 Okay, so last class, we looked at, sorry, good morning everyone, so sorry for the inconvenience. Last class, we looked at the parables and we studied the parables in the light of the Kingdom of God to understand Kingdom culture, Kingdom lifestyle, Kingdom living. Today we'll move on to the next chapter that we're talking about Kingdom authority. So if you could please turn in your PDF copies or if you have your books, you can turn to page number 85 which is talking about Kingdom authority. Any of you have any questions regarding Kingdom parables? Lesson seven, anyone has any questions? If not, we'll move to chapter eight, Kingdom authority. So as we are part of the Kingdom of God, God has vested his authority in our lives. So as believers, we need to learn how to flow in that authority. We've been seeing this from chapter one where we've learned that, you know, God prepared a Kingdom for his people. And, you know, the Kingdom that he prepared was for the saints. The Kingdom that he prepared was for us the church and we saw that he, you know, he initiated this Kingdom. He brought about this Kingdom when he created the world in the Garden of Eden. We see that when Adam and Eve, he created Adam and Eve and God created Adam and Eve. He gave them dominion and authority and power to subdue and to have dominion over the earth. So God has, and we know that when Adam and Eve sinned, they lost that authority. They gave that authority over to Satan. And we know that when Jesus died on the cross, he took back the authority and he gave us the keys of the Kingdom, which resembles the authority. So we have been given authority, we have power. And Ephesians chapter two also says, Ephesians chapter two verse six says that we seated, you know, the right hand of God, which means in spiritually speaking, you know, we've been seated with Jesus, the right hand of the Father. We have been given authority over every powers of darkness, every evil force of dominion. Everything that can subdue us can, every power of the evil one, we have been given authority and dominion over. But we need to know how to operate in Kingdom authority, power and dominion. We see that when Jesus introduced the Kingdom of God, he said the Kingdom of God is here. That's how we introduced the Kingdom of God. He said, the Kingdom of God is here. And he did so with demonstrations of power, authority and dominion. Okay, so we see that even as he taught people about the Kingdom of God and he taught the parables, he said the Kingdom of Heaven is like this. So when he taught about the Kingdom of God, it also says that he went about healing sicknesses, diseases and casting out demons. So Matthew chapter 4 verses 23 to 24. Can somebody read that please? Matthew chapter 4 verses 23 to 24. Can somebody read that? And Jesus went about all gallery, teaching in their synagogues, reaching the gospel of the Kingdom and healing all kinds of sickness and all kinds of disease among the people. Then his name went throughout all Syriac and they brought to him all sick people who were afflicted with various diseases and torments and those who were demon possessed, epileptics and paralytics and he healed them. Thank you Rosalind. So here we see that when Jesus went about teaching the Kingdom of God, he not only proclaimed about the coming of the Kingdom of God, he not only proclaimed that the Kingdom of God is here, is at hand, is reachable, but he also had demonstrations. He demonstrated kingdom authority by healing every sickness as we see in Matthew 4, 23 and 24 and other passages as well. He healed every sickness and disease and he cast out demons. In Matthew chapter 12 verse 28 Jesus said, If I cast out demons by the Spirit of God, surely the Kingdom of God has come upon you. So Jesus is saying, here is the evidence that I'm proclaiming to you the Kingdom and what is the evidence that demons are being cast out, the powers of darkness has been destroyed because of the work of the Holy Spirit. So this is the evidence that the Kingdom of God is here. And what is the evidence that the Kingdom of God is here? Jesus did it through signs, wonders and miracles. Now not only Jesus, but he also turned around to his disciples and he taught them to do the same thing. And we read this in Matthew chapter 10 verse 1 and verses 7 and 8. So can somebody please read Matthew chapter 10 verse 1 and verse 7 and verse 8 please. Matthew chapter 10 verse 1 and when he had called his 12 disciples to him, he gave them power over unclean spirits to cast them out and to heal all kinds of sickness and all kinds of disease. And as you go, reach saying the Kingdom of Heaven at hand, heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out demons, really you have received, really give. Thank you. So here we see Jesus telling his disciples that he wants them to go and tell the people that the Kingdom of God is at hand. That means near them, it's reachable, it's something that they can access. And he says as you do, what else does he tell them? Does he just say go and preach that the Kingdom of God is at hand? What else does he tell them to do? To heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out demons. Thank you Rosalind. So he says, you know, do this as a means of proclaiming the Kingdom of God. Which means Jesus is saying, how do people really know that the Kingdom of God is at hand or is near them or they can access it or they can see it. It's true science, miracles and wonders. So not just preaching about the Kingdom of God, but also demonstrating the Kingdom of God. The Kingdom of God comes not only through words, but also in power, as Paul says in 1 Corinthians chapter 4 verse 20. 1 Corinthians chapter 4 verse 20, Paul says the Kingdom of God is not in word, but in power. So if we think that we are born again, then we are born again into the Kingdom of God, into the Kingdom of Heaven. We are Kingdom citizens. We don't belong to this God and as Kingdom citizens, we not only think Kingdom perspective, we don't only live Kingdom lifestyle. We don't only invite the Kingdom culture, but we also do what God has required of us in terms of not just enjoying his Kingdom, but also we have this privilege, but we have this responsibility to preach and proclaim the Kingdom of God and also to flow in mighty science, miracles and wonders. And we know this in the book of Acts as well, that in the early church people walk in this power and this authority. And we know that sometimes we might be thinking, can I do all of these signs, miracles and wonders? Well, as part of the Kingdom of God, we are co-heirs with Jesus Christ and he has given us the power and the authority. So we've already been given the power and the authority. We just have to know the power and the authority that we have and we need to use the authority that we have to extend God's Kingdom here on. Then we see that in the book of Acts, the early church also walk in this power and authority. They did it the way Jesus taught them to do. And so we see that even Paul went along with all the other apostles, the disciples, they went about proclaiming the Kingdom of God in power. And we see that, like we saw earlier, the Lord Jesus has given the church the keys of the Kingdom. That means he has given them the Kingdom authority. The church has been given the authority or the keys of the Kingdom of heaven to bind on earth what has been bound or declared in heaven and to release on earth what God has released in heaven. We read this in Matthew chapter 16 verse 19. We've already looked at these references. So when the King has vested his authority in his people, then we carry this authority wherever we go. So the Kingdom of God comes with demonstration of Kingdom authority and power. Not only when we preach and teach, but also when we do science miracles and wonders, God's authority, God's power is just released through us. So Jesus intends for us to do the same thing in our day and in our generation. He told his disciples, in Matthew chapter 28 verse 19, I want you to go and make disciples of all nations and I want you to teach them all that I have taught. So what did Jesus teach them? What is everything that Jesus taught them? He says, you know, I want you to teach everything that I taught you, all that I taught you. So what did Jesus teach them to go proclaiming the Kingdom of God, to preach and teach the Kingdom of God and to heal the sick, to raise the dead, to cast out demons? That's what we just read in Matthew chapter 10 verse 1 and verses 7 and 8. So this is what he taught them and he says, you know, I want you to go and make disciples of all nations and I want you to teach them all that I have taught you. So when we're just preaching and teaching, we're just not doing everything that Jesus has taught us. But when we preach, teach and we know, we demonstrate through God's power through science miracles and wonders by healing the sick, raising the dead, casting out demons. So we are actually doing what Jesus has taught us to do. So Jesus wants us to do the same thing. It was not just for Jesus. It was not just for his disciples and then the 70 elders that he, 70 people that he chose. And it was not just for the early church, but it is also the same mandate that we carry as people in his kingdom. So he wants us to do the same thing in our day as we preach the kingdom of God and as we bring the kingdom of God into our circumstances, into our environment. He wants us to do it with the demonstration of kingdom authority and kingdom power. So what does God really want us to do and how do we do it? Sometimes we can say, well, Jesus did it, that's fine because he was the son of God. The disciples did it because they were with Jesus. He gave them the authority and it's okay for the early church because Jesus again told them, he gave them the authority, the anointing. We can say that, but we can ask ourselves, but who am I? And whenever we question ourselves, can I do it? Can I do science miracles and wonders? Okay, maybe I can preach and teach now that I'm in my third year in Bible college, second year in Bible college. And I can preach and teach, but who am I really? I don't have the authority, but as people who are born again, and I'm sure all of us here in class are born again. As we are born again, we are born again into kingdom of God. We are heirs of God and joint heirs with Jesus. And we know that this was God's original plan to let his saints to reign on the, to bring his kingdom here on. And Matthew chapter 25 verse 34, can somebody read that please? Matthew chapter 25 verse 34, can anyone read Matthew chapter 25 verse 34? Then the king will say to those on his right hand, come, you blessed of the, of my father, inherit a kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. Thank you Rosalind. So it was God's intent to have a kingdom that his people would inherit it. And today as a child of God, you know, we read in Romans chapter eight verses 16 and 17. It says there that God has put his spirit into our hearts and therefore we are heirs of God and we are joint heirs with Jesus. So you and I are here in the kingdom of God, you know, we have inherited the kingdom. So the authority of the kingdom of God is flowing in and throughout life. The kingdom authority is vested in each one of us, the authority of God, the king, you know, the God most high, the king of kings, the Lord of Lords who rules from generations to generations, the ancient of days, the one who lives in unapproachable light, the one who's awesome, mighty, omnipotent, omnipresent, the omniscient one, the one who's sovereign. You know, he is the one who has given us the authority, okay. And his authority, the authority of that king, this great king, this mighty king is flowing through each one of us. And we are those people who have inherited his kingdom. So you know, the whole thing about studying the kingdom of God, I just want you all to realize, you know, who you are. It's very important for us to know who we are, you know, what we have, what we have been called out of, what we have been called into, and you know, where is, what is our position, where we are standing now. And you know, what authority, what we have inherited as being people who are in Christ, okay. We've not just, you know, in Christ, we've not just received forgiveness of sins. We have not just received salvation. We have not just received the hope of eternal life, but we have received much more than just that. I mean, that is what we just see. And sometimes Satan blinds our eyes to what we have seen. But if you are carefully following through, you know, this whole study about the kingdom of God, I don't know if you're excited, but you know, for me teaching this again, it's just so exciting to and just reminding myself again about, you know, who I am in Christ, what is my standing, what is my calling, where I've been positioned to and not to limit myself. So it's time for us to rise up to actually see who we really are and not to, you know, some of us have been looking down on ourselves. Some of them, some of us have been very timid. Some of us have been fearful of, you know, stepping out into the supernatural, into doing things for God. But you know, just to know that even as we study in the series, it's just to, it brings such powerful insights and truths about who we are in Christ, where we stand. And what is the kingdom that we have inherited and, you know, what God has given to us and how we can take hold of it and how we can do mighty things for His kingdom because the kingdom authority of God who is King is just flowing through each one of us. So we need to also know what we have inherited, what we have and what is flowing in them through us. Now, for example, you know, when a police, police traffic policeman, you know, when he blows the whistle and signals you to stop, you know, you have to stop. Why? Because, you know, he's given, he's vested with the authority by the government, you know, and so we need to obey him. We need to stop, we need to, you know, listen to what he's saying and answer him. So it's also in the spiritual realm, you know, we might not think too highly of ourselves, we might not have a big name, we might not have fame, we might not meet these mighty preachers or, you know, healers, medical workers and all of those things. But, you know, but knowing that, you know, the kingdom authority has been vested in each one of us and that we are hairs of God and joint hairs with Jesus. And it's time for us to raise up our hand. You know, sometimes the policeman, you know, he sees a violation and he might just turn away. He doesn't do anything about it. And sadly, in our churches today, there are many believers are like this policeman who, you know, who see a violation of a rule be broken or the law not been kept. But, you know, they just turn away, they don't do anything about it. And, you know, they just pretend like nothing has happened. And we need to change that because we see things around us in our church, in Christian organizations. And we just cannot turn, you know, our eyes away, but we need to change that. We need to be a generation that says, you know, that I know I'm a part of the kingdom of God. I know that the almighty God has made me an heir and his kingdom authority is flowing through my life. And it's time for me to raise up my hand and to stop the devil from what he is doing, whether it's, you know, stop the devil, what he's doing in your life or whether to stop the devil, what he's doing in your family, in your finances, in your health, in your church, in your city, in your neighborhood, in your nation. So it's time for us as, you know, people of the kingdom of God to raise up and to rise up to who God has called us to and to use the authority that he has given us. Now, why did God invest his authority in us, you know, simply because he wanted us to bring his kingdom into this world? And the reason, you know, when he created the world, he created the garden and he put Adam and Eve there, you know, he gave them dominion to rule over the earth and to subdue. Okay, to subdue Satan, basically, because subdue is more like a military term. And, you know, there was no other human being on the face of the earth to subdue other than the evil ones. So gave him the authority to subdue and to have dominion of the earth. That means to bring about his kingdom into this world. And we know that this was God's original plan, even before the foundations of this world. Okay. And, you know, God will never do it for us. We need to do it. Okay, so he has given us the authority and power. He gave Adam and Eve. He expected them to do it. And God will not do it for us, but he has given us everything that we need for life and godliness, as his word says. He has given us the power of the authority. He has given us the weapons for warfare, like we studied last semester. But it's time for us to do it. He looks up to us to do it. So the reason why we have the authority is because of our position. Okay, we have positional authority. And in the Bible, you know, positioning is very, very important. Okay, if you want to receive blessing from God, it's important for you to position yourself at the right time and the right place. Doing the right thing, like you learned last semester in fulfilling God's purpose for your life, you learned about positioning. How important it is for you to position yourself. For example, you know, Elijah, when he was running away from King Ahab, God told him, go to the brook of chariot and stay there. And you know, I will... Dunzo food for you. He sent the ravens to give him food. Now, when the stream dried up, God told him to go to Zeraphit and he'll find a widow. Now, if Elijah says, no, God, I don't want to go to Zeraphit. It's a town of the wicked Queen Jezebel. They could easily find me, you know, he would never have received God's provision in the family. He had to move from chariot to Zeraphit. So we see that, you know, every time we position ourselves right, we will experience God's provision. We will experience God's blessing. We will experience God's protection. Like we read in Psalm 91, He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty. And we say, no evil will befall them. No plague will come near the tent. So when there's no evil before us, when there's no plague coming in our tent, is when we are, you know, in the shelter of the Most High, in the secret place of the Most High. That means when we are intimate in our relationship, in our walk with God, you know, we position ourselves to receive God's protection. So, you know, in the same way, even as we position ourselves now, our position is that we are children of God, that we are heirs of God, we co-heirs with Christ. So we are standing in that position and because we are in that position, you know, we receive God's authority. So we have positional authority. And we read Ephesians chapter four versus Ephesians, sorry, Ephesians chapter two versus four and six. Can somebody read that please? Ephesians chapter two versus four to six. Can somebody else read other than Rosalind? But God who is rich in mercy, because of his great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ. By grace you have been saved, and rest of us, rest us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus. Amen. Amen. Thank you, Subashish. So we as believers are seated in a position of high authority, and where is our position? We are at the right hand of the Father, okay, and everything is under our feet. That means every demonic work, every demonic spirit is underneath your feet. Can you say an amen to that, you know? And Paul said that the God of peace will soon crush Satan, you know, underneath your feet. So where is Satan? He is underneath our feet. And why is he there? Because of, you know, Jesus has already won the victory on the cross. He is a defeated foe. And, you know, as you are in Christ, you also are part of that victory that, you know, Jesus received for us on the cross. And hence, you know, every demonic work, every demonic spirit is underneath your feet. You don't have to be intimidated by them, overwhelmed, scared about them. But we need to know authority that Satan is under our feet. Now, you know, we have been given this position of high authority. We are seated at the right hand of the Father. This is spiritually speaking. You know, our authority is, our position is that we are seated at the right hand of the Father, along with Jesus. And, you know, it's a choice that you and I make. We can either be seated at the right hand of the Father and fall asleep peacefully, happy that we have received salvation, that, you know, we are going to heaven one day. Or we can say, God, thank you for raising me up to such a position of authority that, you know, you know, knowing us as human beings, we would not want to, you know, give anyone, you know, our place of position, thinking about it in the world. Nobody, we would guard our position, you know, if you're in the topmost position. We don't want anyone else to take our position. But here we see God is so loving. You know, how he just thinks about us. You know, how much he's, what length, what depth he's gone to think about us that he has given us the right hand, you know, which was, which is specifically for his son, but he's also given to everyone who believe in him. So, you know, knowing our position, we need to say, God, I'm willing to use the authority that you have given me. Thank you for raising me up to such an authority. You know, and I'm willing to use the authority in the environment, in the place that you have placed me with. I'm willing to allow your kingdom authority to flow through my life, you know, or you can choose to just, you know, sleep over what God has blessed you with, or you can rise up to use the authority what God has given to you to influence your life, to influence your family, to influence your neighbors, your city and your church and the citywide church. Okay, so God has blessed so much kingdom authority in your life and in my life that it's time he rose up and exercised that God given authority. Now, the challenge you and I face is that we operate in two worlds. Okay, we are, we are part of this world that we are living in and we are also part of the kingdom of God or the kingdom of heaven. Okay, so in this natural world, when we face problems, you know, we try to figure it out, you know, and we try to solve the problem. Yes, we need to address the issue, we need to address the problem and address the natural things that need to be done because we live in this world. But as people who know that kingdom authority that has been vested in our lives, we must also say how can I exercise my God given authority to address this problem or this situation and that is the challenge. Yes, when we face a situation or problem because we're living in this world, you know, we kind of address it to the natural things that need to be done but, you know, as people who belong to the kingdom of God, we need to have a different kingdom perspective thinking and, you know, we need to say how can, you know, I am a kingdom citizen, you know, having the kingdom authority that's vested in my life, how can I exercise my God given authority to address this problem or situation. So how can I bring kingdom authority into this situation? Yes, I need to address it in the natural. I need to do something in the natural. We definitely need to do it but also remember that we are heirs of God, we're joint heirs which is the real and this is real because, you know, everything in the natural is subject to the spiritual. Everything in the natural is subject to the spiritual. Everything in the natural can be changed from the spiritual. So your problem can be changed. The sicknesses can be healed. Demonic works, demonic oppression, demonic strongholds can be stopped, you know, if you come through it from the spiritual into the natural. But the challenge is for us to go beyond our reasoning that tells us and say that I'm going to handle this, you know, by the spirit of God. I'm going to handle this by kingdom authority that has been vested rather than just, you know, thinking the natural mind, logical mind. Of course, we need to use our natural mind, our logical mind but we need to come through with the spiritual into the natural because, you know, problems can be changed supernaturally when we, you know, come through with that perspective from the spiritual into the natural. So as people of the kingdom of God, you know, we must be conscious and live out of the kingdom of God that is within us, the authority and power and dominion that has been vested in us and we need to do this at all times, in all situations. Okay. Now, what do we have authority over or what are the realms of authority? Now, for example, you know, we have just been looking at the example of the policeman. It would be very wrong if the traffic policeman came into my house and told me what I need to do in my house, what I shouldn't be doing in my house. Now, he can't do that because he does not have authority to do that. Now, as a traffic police, his realm of authority is only on the street, on the road concerning the traffic. When he steps out of that realm, his authority does not function. So only in that realm of street or the, you know, the road to handle traffic that is this area of authority. And when he steps out of that realm, his authority does not function. And so similarly, the same is with you and I, we need to understand, you know, our realm of authority that God has given us. It is in that realm, we can see the fruit of the kingdom of God flowing in and through our lives. Okay. So first we need to understand that we have authority over every demonic work. What's the realms of authority that we have? You know, we need to understand that we have authority over every demonic work. Anything that Satan is doing in our lives or in our church or in the Bible study or the family, it might have come down from generations. You know, we have authority over God has given us authority. We have a positional authority. And, you know, if it's a demonic work, we have authority over it. Okay. Take, just take for example, you know, if somebody in your church, you know, they come to you, some believer or somebody in your workplace or somebody in your family come to you and say, you know, they've just been having bad dreams, nightmares, and they are really scared. It's terrifying them. So you can just say, you know, oh, that's, you know, that's actually here. But you can just tell them, okay, you know, you can pray or you can just keep the Bible underneath your pillow. You know, you can give them all of these so-called silly tips. But, you know, but what if you say, okay, can I pray for you? You know, and knowing that you have the kingdom authority and just, you know, declaring that kingdom authority that you have over every demonic work, where you stand, where your position is, where you are seated, and that Satan is underneath your feet, you can just pray for that believer. You don't have to be scared of Satan or his demonic attacks on you because you're a child of God. You know, and you have the authority. You stand in a greater position. You already stand at the point of victory. So you can pray for deliverance and, you know, and just believe that person is delivered in the name of Jesus. Now, what if that person gets delivered, you know, the person is going to put their faith and trust in Jesus. It's not going to take them 100 sermons or 1000 sermons to convince them that, you know, the person of Jesus Christ is real. Just a single prayer by a believer who knows his authority, you know, that brought healing, that brought deliverance to the situation can change the eternal destiny of that individual. And we know that even when Philip went to Samaria, I think Acts chapter eight, you know, he preached the gospel there. And, you know, he accompanied it with great science, miracles and wonders. And it was great joy in the city. And, you know, people believed because of the science, miracles and wonders they did. And everybody, you know, were baptized and later on, you know, they were also baptized in the holy spirit. Just imagine the whole city of Samaria just accepting because they saw mighty science, miracles, demonstration of God's power, which was attested through preaching and teaching. So, you know, it'll just be wonderful if we just pray and this person is delivered, you know, they will just experience the power of God and they will accept Jesus as their personal savior. So you and I also have the authority, not only demonic forces, but also the natural elements over circumstances, over situations that concerns us in our world, things that are affecting us, our job, you know, our career, our family, our future, things that relate to you, you know, you have authority to dominate that. Oftentimes, you know, we, all of these dominate our lives, our jobs can dominate our lives, our career can dominate our lives, our sickness can dominate our life, situations, past, things that we're going through in the present, family situations, people, you know, seem to have taken a hold over us, you know, seem to dominate our lives. But, you know, we need to know that, you know, we have been given authority to dominate all of those situations. So you stand above all of those things. You don't, we don't allow these things to affect our lives and our situations and pull us down. But, you know, we have the authority to dominate that. So when you face storms in life, we need to be like Jesus. What did Jesus do when he faced the storm? He rebuked the storm. Thank you. He rebuked the storm and he spoke to the storm. He spoke to it and he rebuked the storm. So, you know, we need to speak to the storm. You know, Jesus didn't say, Father, what do I do? You know, we're facing the storm. He just got up from his sleep and, you know, he just rebuked the storm. He just asked us, you know, to be quiet and everything became quiet. So, you know, we need to speak to our situations in Jesus' name. We'll see how, you know, how do we exercise our kingdom authority? Now, one area we cannot exercise our authority is in the area of other people's will. Okay. We can exercise authority over demons, demonic situations, oppressions, strongholds, situations in life, storms in life. But there is one area that we cannot exercise our authority and that is in the area of other people's will. Okay. We'll stop here. We'll go for a break and we'll come back after the break. Okay. Thank you all. I'll see you after the break.