Part 1: “The Decrees and Declarations of Spiritual Kings and Priests Unto God, Reveal A Deeper Truth About Themselves in Jesus Christ.”
Happy New Year to All, especially to those who are of the household of faith in Jesus Christ, the Lord. We thank God that by the grace of God we are here in 2022, to see a new year and be a part of what God is doing in the Church and around the world in these last days.
Before I get started with today’s Sermon, let me say a few things about “Winning.” I am a true Sportsman at heart. For nearly all my life, I have either played sports or watched and rooted for certain sports teams. For me, I can think of only one thing greater than winning a game. Let me tell you what it is with special emphasis:
“WINNING ALL THE TIME!”
No matter the game, nor the competition, being “undefeated” is my passion. I enjoy winning so much that I will not even let a child win a game—no matter your age, you have to earn the win! I have no desire to boast or brag when I win. For me, it’s all about the thrill and enjoyment of playing the game. When the game is over, I cannot wait to shake hands and pat my opponent on the back, and say, “let’s play again!”
However, full disclosure, I have experienced the agony of defeat in sports. For example, my actual record of winning on my college basketball team, in which I was captain of the team, was abysmal. For the four-years that I played, our combined record was 45 wins and 70 losses! But who is counting, you know? I am, because I can’t stand losing! Well, at least I can say on those losing teams I maintained a winning attitude.
Oh, but praise be to Almighty God, when it comes to spiritual matters, in Christ Jesus, as born-again Christians, we always win! No matter the obstacle or struggle we face in life or death, through Jesus Christ, we always win a more than a decisive victory. (Rom. 8:37-39 & I Cor. 15:57)
It’s just the truth that our spiritual DNA entitles us to overcome anything and everything that is in the world through our faith in Jesus Christ. (I John 5:4-5) Through Jesus Christ we can do all things, as His Anointing supplies us with supernatural strength to always land in the winner’s circle! (Phil. 4:13)
What is the secret to our success or, winning formula? We win all the time because God through Jesus Christ has delivered us from the power of the kingdom of darkness and translated us into the kingdom of His dear Son Jesus—established before the foundation of the world. (Col.1:13) In other words, we have been delivered from Satan’s Team, which always loses, and transferred over to Jesus’ team, which always wins!
As born-again Christians, we are citizens of the commonwealth of the kingdom of God. When God translated us into His kingdom, He elevated our status to royalty. Every born-again Christian is seated at the King’s Table where the feast of the Lord is going on. Everything that the King is served and eats, we partake of the same scrumptious meal.
Now, frequently I remind you all, as well as people I meet during outreach ministry of the primary reason Christians attend church every week. That is, to unlearn who we were before coming to Jesus Christ, to discover who are in Jesus Christ. And, such is the case today. We are here to discover and learn about our rights, roles, and responsibilities as citizens of the kingdom of God in Christ Jesus.
When we know who we are in Christ, we can move forward in the power and wisdom of God to accomplish all that God has purposed and willed for our lives from the foundations of the world. To walk and live in absolute uniqueness to anything this world has ever seen or known. Simply because our kingdom is not of this world, but of God. (John 15:19)
Sadly, many Christians live far beneath their royal status in the kingdom of God because they lack sufficient knowledge of their position and how to operate within this great commonwealth of the kingdom of God, wherein we all have been made uncommonly wealthy in Jesus Christ Anointing.
For the next several weeks we will be in the “Discovery Zone,” learning about our richness and royalty in the kingdom of God. From my last Sermon of 2021, entitled, “The Gift From God You Will Never Forget: The Shed Blood of Jesus Christ,” I want to use the all-powerful blood of Jesus Christ, shed before the foundation of the world, but revealed to us in these last days for our good—as a spring-board into this new series entitled: “Rule Your Mouth, Rule Your World!”
Let us turn to Revelation 1:5-6. The Apostle John received this revelation from Jesus Christ. It reads as follows,
And from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness,
and the first begotten of the dead, and the prince of
the kings of the earth. Unto him that loved us, and
washed us from our sins in his own blood. And hath
made us kings and priests unto God and his Father,
to him be glory and dominion forever. Amen.
I bring to your attention, that the Apostle John said that Jesus Christ “washed us from our sins in His own blood, and “made us kings and priests unto God.” No matter what anyone thinks or says about you, God has made you a spiritual king and priest unto Himself! No matter how you may feel about yourself, God has made you a spiritual king and priest unto Himself. God is never going to change His mind and strip you of your title and remove you from the kingdom of God because of your poor performance. For God’s gifts and callings are irrevocable. (Rom. 11:29)
So it is high time for you—the born-again Christian—to discover and settle for yourselves, once and for all, that God does not deal with you after your sin—meaning see you and treat you as a sinner. For all eternity, God has washed you from your sins. God only sees and deals with you as a son of God, that He has made a spiritual king and priest unto Himself in Jesus Christ.
Moreover, as a citizen of the kingdom of God, God seeks to have the same fellowship with you that He enjoys with Jesus Christ who is seated at the right hand of God. Jesus Christ is King of Kings and our Great High Priest, and we are God’s spiritual kings and priests on earth.
We were made spiritual kings and priests unto God, so that the same Anointing and life of Jesus Christ, as He is seated at the right hand of God, can flow into and through our lives here on earth. Thus, the Scripture says as Jesus Christ is, so are we in this world. (I John 4:17) As Jesus Christ rules over “All” from heaven above, we also are to rule over all things in the earth!
God created the earth, or I should say based on last week’s teaching, the re-created earth, to be inhabited and controlled by mankind who God made in His own image after His likeness. Therefore, the earth and everything in it, belongs to God’s people and their generations! (Gen.1:26 & Ps. 115:16)
Let me add that you are never to refer to yourself as a “king and a priest.” No, no, you are a spiritual king and a priest unto God. You are completely God’s property; spirit, soul, and body wholly. (I Thess. 5:23) Say this with me out loud:
“I am a spiritual king and priest unto God, and I reign in life by one Jesus Christ!” (Rom. 5:17)
Now, it is vitally important that you understand as a spiritual king and priest unto God, you serve at the pleasure of God. Your born-again spirit (heart) is completely under the control of God, and moves as He wishes. Proverbs 21:1 reads as follows:
The king’s heart is in the hand of the Lord, as
The rivers of water: he turns it whithersoever
he wishes.
In other words, the born-again spirits of God’s spiritual kings, are always under His control to only speak what God says from the Word of God, and by the unction of the Holy Ghost. From the hearts and mouths of God’s kings, we “decree and declare things” be done in the earth—and they are done! Examine Job 22:28, it reads:
Thou shalt also decree a thing, and it shall be
established unto thee: and the light shall shine
upon thy ways.
This is the lifestyle of God’s spiritual kings. With our hearts stirred up by God, we make a decree (make known the truth from God’s Word) about what God says about a thing, and the thing becomes firmly fixed and unmovable in the earth.
The spoken decree of the king has the action of both, bringing to pass what God has commanded; and it divides, separates, and destroys the works of the devil. That which is a lie spun from the pit of hell with all of its intended deceptive, chaotic, and destructive properties is removed—and the decree made ushers in that which is right, good, orderly, and pleasant.
Now, to “declare a thing” means to praise, exalt, or proclaim—to make a boasting about God. When we declare, we are giving all the credit to God for granting the decree. The Bible instructs us to boast about the mighty works of God. Our souls are to always “make its boast in the Lord,” then the humble will hear it and rejoice along with us.” (Ps. 34:1-2) Spiritual kings never accept the status quo, defeat, nor death, but “live to declare the works of the Lord.” (Ps.18:17-18 & 27:13-14)
For example, as the spiritual kings of God, when the doctor has given the report of sickness to a person, and we learn about it, we decree and declare healing upon the sick person. No matter what the illness, sickness, disease, or disability a person may be experiencing, we speak directly to it and command it to go from their body.
Our Authority to rule over all sickness and diseases is established in Scriptures like I Peter 2:24, which reads,
Who his own self (Jesus) bare our sins in his own
body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should
live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were
healed.
Then by our faith and trust in I Peter 2:24, we boldly declare—make our boast in the Lord—that the person is healed from the sickness and made whole, continually, until we see it established in their physical body. Yes, in advance of seeing any physical evidence that the person is healed—we thank God, praise God, dance before God, and testify before the world that God has healed the person!
Those who will hear our decrees and declarations and come into agreement with them, (the humble) will rejoice with us and receive miracles and the promises of God manifested in their own lives! When the spiritual kings of God decree and declare a thing—it makes a wide and well-lit pathway for others to receive supernatural provisions from God.
Let me emphasize that every born-again believer has the anointing to decree and declare things from the Word of God and see the physical evidence of it in the earth. It is not just a gift that God has given to the 5-fold ministry (some Apostles, Prophets, Evangelists, Pastors, and Teachers) and a select few Christians in our Churches.
As a citizen of the kingdom of God, it is your kingdom right and responsibility to boldly open your mouth and decree and declare the things, you both see and hear in the Word of God, and by the Spirit of God. You are to doggedly expect to see whatever you say come to past!
You are to hold on with anticipation to the decreed thing until it shows up in physical manifestation—just like a dog holds on to a juicy steak bone. The dog simply will not let go of the bone! Everything you say by the Spirit of God, God will surely bring it into physical manifestation, as you were ordained by God from the foundation of the world to do these mighty works. (Is.55:8-11 & Eph. 2:10)
Furthermore, Revelation 1:5-6 establishes that we are “priests” unto God. Wow! As a priest unto God, through the shed blood of Jesus Christ, we have free and unlimited access to approach God for ourselves, and more importantly on behalf of others. As a priest, you are an intercessor and forgiver of sins!
Whenever you pray for others in faith, without wavering, you are performing and fulfilling your priestly function. You have been appointed by God to cry out and make petitions to God for the sake of the soul of every person. The priests of God serve as repairers of the breach between God and man through Jesus Christ.
The priest of God prays earnestly for the salvation of all people—family, friends, co-workers, neighbors, enemies, and strangers to all be made a part of God’s kingdom. The priest will not be content until every name on God’s list (prayer list) has been delivered out of the hands of the enemy and delivered into the kingdom of God! And then they start a new God's! Examine Isaiah 62:6-7, it reads,
I have set watchmen upon thy walls, O Jerusalem,
which shall never hold their peace day nor night;
ye that make mention of the Lord keep not silence,
and give him no rest, till he establish, and till he
make Jerusalem a praise in the earth.
Next, feast on I Tim 2.1. There is always something we need to pray to God about concerning every person on the planet! And, if we need to pray for every person, then God has something good He desires to give to every person too! Thus, it is essential that daily, the priests of God offer up prayers for all people!
I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications,
prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be
made for all men.
Read and rehearse for yourselves the Apostle Paul’s inner-most desire to see salvation come to His Jewish brothers and sisters, to come to Christ and receive salvation. (Rom.10:1)
Brethren, my heart’s desire and my prayer to God for Israel is, that they might be saved.
Consider the words of James, the brother of Jesus Christ, as his ardent zeal for the Church was for it to be free from sickness and disease, and that secret sins be revealed, confessed and forgiven. For the purpose of bringing about true liberty, holiness, and abundant life to the people of God. (James 5:14-16)
Is any sick among you? Let him call for the
elders of the church; and let them pray over him,
anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord.
And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the
Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed
sins, they shall be forgiven him.
Confess your faults one to another and pray
one for another that ye may be healed.
The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous
man availeth much.
As priests of God, we have been given an “inheritance of the forgiveness of sin”—to lovingly and liberally—offer forgiveness to those who commit sin and offences against us and all other people, just as Jesus Christ forgave us all for our sins. (Eph.1: 7, 4:21, Mark 11:25, & I John 5:16)
Notice, that in all of the Scriptures we have covered concerning the roles of God’s spiritual kings in making decrees and declarations from the Word of God, to the roles of God’s priests of praying, interceding, and granting forgiveness of sins—it all centers on rendering God-ordained service to other people. We can see through the roles of God’s spiritual kings and priests that we are required to present our lives as living sacrifices unto God, to be selfless servers of others.
As spiritual kings and priests unto God, we are to take no thought about the cares of this world, and how we will manage for ourselves. Rather, we are to seek first the kingdom of God, and His way of doing things. (Matt. 6:31-33) We never beg for bread because from the kingdom of God all things are added unto us. We take care of God’s business, and in turn, God takes care of our business beyond measure.
Spiritual kings and priests unto God are forever growing in their knowledge and understanding of how the kingdom of God works within them. They hone in solely on God’s agenda! They love God and only seek to love and serve others through Jesus Christ. They measure their greatness by lowering themselves in the sight of God and men, and putting the needs of others, before their own needs. In this way, God exalts them in due season. (I Pet. 5:6)
Remember the words of Jesus Christ, when the disciples asked who is the greatest in the kingdom of God. (Matt.18:1-4) Jesus called a little child and sat him in their midst. He said, “verily, except you be converted, and become as little children you cannot enter into the kingdom of heaven.” Jesus added that the one who humbles himself as the little child did, “the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven.”
In other words, the one who obeys what God has called them to do, and does it with a glad heart, is greatest in heaven. When you are great in the eyes of God and heaven, you will exercise great Spiritual Authority as you decree and declare the Word of God, and rule your world.
When our lives as spiritual kings and priests unto God become a portrait of loving and serving others, as Jesus Christ loved and served us, then we will walk in the fullness of the provisions of the kingdom of God. When we see the feet of others as more precious than our own and of need of care—then we will be happy and fit to walk in the promises of the kingdom of God.
As we enter this New Year, and week of 2022, I will not call for the church to enter into a period of fasting. Rather, I have two homework assignments for you. First, for practice in making decrees and declarations, I want you to read and study the story of the healing of the lame man at the gate of the temple called Beautiful performed by the Apostles Peter and John, as recorded in Acts 3:1-16. See if you can identify the Apostle Peter’s decree and declaration within the verses.
Second, read and meditate on the example and blessing revealed from serving others as illustrated by Jesus Christ in John 13:1-17. We will examine it closely next week.
Should the Lord tarry, see you then!