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Reigning in Life A study on spiritual authority by Ken Chant

INTRODUCTION  The great question for Christians is this: "How should we live?"

 some say: confident, aggressive, in full control of every event

 others say: passive, fatalistic, meekly enduring whatever comes

 Both views are wrong!  we cannot reign over life: for many things happen to us that we can neither avoid nor control (1 Co 4:11; 2 Co 6:4,5; 11:23-28; etc)

 But neither should we fall under life – as though we are nothing better than helpless victims of fate, which would be quite contrary to scripture.

 Paul had a better perspective, expressed in his remarkable phrase –

"We reign IN life by Jesus Christ" (Ro 5:15-17).

 He means that the man or woman of genuine faith should be able to –

 complete all that lies in the will of God  grasp every promise that is available  make every event work for our good and God's glory.

 Even as Spirit-filled believers, this will require us to fulfil certain powerful principles –

CONFRONT YOUR HIDDEN FEARS  The great enemy of this royal life is fear, which is the remorseless preventer of faith.

 You cannot find victory, healing, prosperity, or gain mastery over Satan, while that fear lurks within.

 Fear must be confronted and ruthlessly cast out!  “Fear is nothing but surrender of the helps that come from reason” (Wis 17:12).  Fear and faith cannot reside together in the same heart.

CONFIRM YOUR ROYAL PRIVILEGE  In this study I want to share just four parts of the royal privilege that belongs to every believer in Christ –

1) THE ROYAL GIFT  Notice the contrasts Paul draws between Adam and Christ –

 Adam gave us his "trespass" (mentioned 6 times); but Christ gave us his "grace" (mentioned 6 times).

 Those two "gifts" differ from each other in – Consequence Comparison Compulsion

2) THE ROYAL TITLE  There is something awesome about a monarch who knows who he is, and knows that he has a divine right to the throne.

 So we should seize our royal title and stand in the knowledge that the blood of the King of kings is in our veins!

 People fail to do this because they feel like usurpers; their reaction to the good news is like Saul's (1 Sa 9:21; 10:1,20-22).

 Contrast that with David, whose origins were much more humble than Saul's  Yet he embraced the word of God, and went from strength to strength.

3) THE ROYAL ACCESS  The idea is still being promulgated that most Christians dwell in the "outer court“.

 We are told that we have to "break through" into the "holy of holies", where the glory of God is found.

 But that is heresy!  Under the law of God no one could enter the holiest except by divine right.

 If anyone tried to force his/her way into the sacred place, one of two things happened –

1. either they met with instant death (by God's hand or by the law); 2. or else they found nothing !

 So set yourself firmly against any teaching that denies your right of instant access to the throne of God simply by the precious blood (He 10:19-23).

4. THE ROYAL ROBE Can a naked monarch, or even one dressed in rags, still behave regally?

 Satan uses the same principle! He either strips our royal garment from us, or persuades us to cast it aside.

 So clothe yourself with that royal robe, woven for you by Christ at Calvary, and given to you freely by his grace.

5. THE ROYAL THRONE  No monarch has authority until he/she has ascended the throne.

 Does that disqualify us? No! For two reasons –

1. We are already enthroned with Christ, who is, as it were, our proxy.

2. A monarch is expected to be absent from the throne, out on the battlefield, when the kingdom is under attack – but with no loss of authority!

CONCLUSION  We face the same choice that Alexander gave to Abdalonymus in the suburbs of Sidon in 332 B.C....

 Don't waste the opportunity; doubt no more; be washed; “put on the spirit of a king"; step up to throne; seize your royal authority!

1. Take mastery over all that you can change  you don't have to be a slave to sin, in fear of death, a victim of disease, at the mercy of every gust of wind in life.

2. take mastery in all that you cannot change.  Those who know the blood- royal should always, in one way or another, be more than conquerors!