Reclaiming the Authority of the Covenant
Last week we discussed how God gave humanity authority over all of creation. But, Satan challenged that authority and deceived humanity into forfeiting it. How would God reclaim for humanity the authority Adam so foolishly surrendered? Since man gave it up, only a Man - Jesus - could get it back. Not surprisingly, the provision for this is in God’s covenant with Abraham.
God’s Planned Covenant with Abraham.
The result of God’s covenant with Abraham is that God gained "legal access" back into the human race.
Through the lineage of Abraham, God sets in motion His great plan of redemption, of restoration.
Gen. 3:15 - "I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel."
God’s covenant with Abraham means that everything Abraham has belongs to God - and that includes his offspring.
God now reenters the human race through Mary, a descendant of Abraham.
Luke 1:30-38
"The angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary, you have found favor with God. 31You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus. 32He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, 33and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever; his kingdom will never end."
34"How will this be," Mary asked the angel, "since I am a virgin?"35The angel answered, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God. 36Even Elizabeth your relative is going to have a child in her old age, and she who was said to be barren is in her sixth month. 37For nothing is impossible with God." 38"I am the Lord’s servant," Mary answered. "May it be to me as you have said." Then the angel left her.
Mary conformed her heart to the word and will of God.
Jesus described this same kind of faith in Mark 11:23-24
"I tell you the truth, if anyone says to this mountain, ‘Go, throw yourself into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart but believes that what he says will happen, it will be done for him. 24Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours"
The Word Became Flesh: John 1:1-3, 14 says: "1In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2He was with God in the beginning. 3Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made.... 14The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us...."
You cannot find out what God’s will is unless you are saturated with His Word.
Don’t keep announcing the problem - God knows the problem - but instead, speak His Word to the circumstances of life, for you have been given authority.
That is how Reclaiming the Authority of the Covenant works. God’s Word comes to us, we receive it, declare it, and pray it. And then it begins to manifest in the physical, observable domain.
Zacharias Not Speaking God’s word.
Earlier in Luke 1, the angel spoke to Zacharias: "Do not be afraid, Zechariah; your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you are to give him the name John." (Luke 1:13)
Zechariah’s response was one of doubt. "How can I be sure of this? I am an old man and my wife is well along in years."
The result of his unfaith is immediate. "Now you will be silent and not able to speak until the day this happens, because you did not believe my words, which will come true at their proper time."
Every time God does something profoundly important on earth, He gets people like you and me to decree it and declare it in conformity with His authority.
I John 3:8 is Jesus’ "purpose statement": "He who does what is sinful is of the devil, because the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil’s work"
The Battle between Jesus and Satan rages in Four arenas:
The hearts of humanity. When Jesus wins over the hearts of people, we call that evangelism.
The physical body. When Jesus touches the physical body, we call that healing.
The Emotions. When Jesus sets us free, we call that deliverance.
Death. Sin and Satan ushers in death; Jesus overcomes it and ushers in life.
The truth is that the enemy may bring horrible things, but God can turn them for good. "God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and power, and ... he went around doing good and healing all who were under the power of the devil, because God was with him" (Acts 10:38). Satan comes to oppress and enslave, but Jesus came to destroy the works of the devil (I John 3:8).