To Gain Authority and Power To Rule Our Circumstances in the Person and Presence of Christ

Do not be afraid of what you are about to suffer. I tell you, the devil will put some of you in prison to test you, and you will suffer persecution for ten days. Be faithful, even to the point of death, and I will give you the crown of life. (Revelation 2:10—NIV)

To be able to rule, in the Presence of Christ, over all our circumstances—that is an objective worth pursuing. It is God's will that Christ be totally subject to Him. It is God's will further that every child of God be in total subjection to Christ just as Christ is in subjection to the Father.

When we begin our Christian walk we worship many things, circumstances, and relationships. We do not realize it, but we are in bondage to them.

A great part of our Christian life consists of the Lord removing the powers that stand between Christ and us and putting them under our feet.

Do you want to know what your idols are? Think of those things, circumstances, and relationships that would grieve you terribly if they were removed—grieve you to the point of questioning the goodness of God.

These are your idols. You are in bondage to them even though it seems to you that you are not.

You shall worship the Lord your God and Him only shall you serve. You shall love God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength.

Part of our rest, our land of promise, is to rule, in Christ, over all that is about us; to not be subject to fears, desires, lusts, the opinion of people, or anything else that would cause us to act in a manner contrary to the manner in which we think God would have us act.

At one time I was bound by an attraction to classical music. The Lord asked that I give it up. This I did. Now I can take classical music or leave it. It no longer has a grip on me. I rule it. It serves me, not I it. Since the Lord has burdened me to write the things I have heard from Him over the last fifty years, I do not have time to practice the piano. I expect that in the next life, if this is what I desire to do, I will have all the time, strength, and instruction I need to further my ability.

Music no longer is a god to me.

Becoming obedient to Christ alone so we are free to rule joyfully and gloriously in every circumstance is a very desirable state in which to live.

How does God develop such rest in us? He permits Satan to put us in prison, in situations in which we are denied our fervent desires and compelled to do that which displeases us. We can be in such a situation for many years. While we are in prison our gods speak to us to find a way out. But we have to break God's laws in order to break out of the prison.

If we wrench our circumstances, probably harming people in the process, we lose all the value of that which the Lord planned for us. We remain an adamic creature.

If, however, we wait patiently for the Lord to bring us to joy, our bondages are broken. We are set free to govern our circumstances in Christ. We no longer are bound by the several fears and lusts that had us chained.

So far we have seen two great areas of being and doing that must be brought into subjection if we are to be able to enjoy the Paradise of God, the new environment planned for us. These two areas are perfect union with Christ and the authority and power to rule in Christ over our circumstances.

What else must be brought under subjection?

To Obtain Total Deliverance from All Behaviours That Bring the Torment of Divine Judgment upon Us