“But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light.” 1 Peter 2:9
The church of Jesus is at a critical junction where we must understand our purpose in this life. We were not just saved to be happy. The Holy Spirit is looking to bring the church to a place of maturity in this season. We do not fully understand the work of the Cross and what it has done for us. We have the mandate of God not to remain babies all the time, but to grow up to be mature sons of God so that we can assume responsibility in His kingdom. Our responsibility is to show forth the praises of the One who has called us out of darkness into His glorious light.
We are chosen by God. Indeed, we are a chosen generation called the church, but the Bible says that we are also a royal priesthood. We are a holy nation as well and we live holy because we are a holy people and God’s special people. You are a king as well and because there is a King inside of you, you have become a king. Jesus died so that you can function as a king in the earth.
“For God has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and has brought us into the kingdom of the Son He loves” – Colossians 1:13. We are part of a kingdom that will never end and one of the major things about a kingdom is its military might. When the king sends out his military to fight, they represent him. In the battle for the various Caribbean islands, the military went to expand the territory of the king. We need to understand that we have been called by Jesus to bring change to the world. Uplift Barbados is going into Malawi to bring change, but they are going in as kings, because kings go to war, not priests.
How are we going to change nations when demonic spirits have been assigned to them to bring them under control? God is not just going to come down Himself and say “Oh you in Malawi, I want to bring change.” He gives people jobs so that they can go out and impact others. He rescues others from the kingdom of darkness through you. One of the ways that we can easily bring change to a community is to deal with the principality over the area. Spiritual warfare is a kingly thing, not just a priestly thing as we used to think.
The Bible says that we are a royal priesthood. When you were saved, God made you a king and a priest, not just a priest, so you must fulfill your purpose in the earth as both a king and a priest. If we understood what God made us in Christ Jesus, we would stop being so immature and act like the kings and priests that we are. For years we have emphasized the church, but the kingdom of God is not the church. The church is a part of the kingdom. As a royal priesthood, our kingly mandate is needed especially, but not only, when it comes to the kingdom of darkness.
We have done the evangelism and the church stuff well, but we have missed an aspect of kingdom that only kingdom people can do. Indeed, there are territories that we need to take for the King, but we have failed to address the spirits of the areas we go into. One of the signs that the kingdom of God has come to a region is when the principality over that area has been displaced. We have the power from the King of Kings to displace principalities and powers, but a lot of us have spent time running from witch craft. Our mentality has to change to a dominion mentality. Jesus said that He has given us dominion over all the spirits of darkness. No demon should be running us. We are more afraid of the devil than of God, and when we hear of the devil, we attribute more power and authority to him. But the Bible says that God is a consuming fire i.e. He is more awesome than the devil.
In our kingly anointing we can go up against the kingdom of darkness, but when our neighbour is sick, we call up the pastor. This applies to those who have been in the kingdom a long time. Even hell knows who we are in Christ, but we do not. If you do not start exercising the anointing in you, then you will not see results. It is time to displace the principalities and powers that rule over our territories: New Orleans, Strathclyde, Vietnam etc. You are not just called to pray for people and help them through situations but to take command over the spirits that rule the air over those territories where these people are. Our assignment is to help build God’s kingdom. It is not enough just to go out and evangelise. We have to dismantle the spirits over the areas. Jesus is King of kings. This means that He is king of those who are saved and those who are saved are therefore kings in their own right because He dwells in them.
As we grow in the power of Christ, God wants us to move from spending six hours casting out a demon. Rather, He wants us to do like Jesus and cast out the demon right away- we do not even need to ask its name. Yes, Jesus did that once, but we do not have to make a doctrine out of this. There are things that you have been praying to God about and talking to Him as a priest, when you should be binding them like a king! Matthew 18:18 “Assuredly I say to you, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven. . .” Consider Joshua who was fighting a battle against his enemies and the sun was setting. Understanding who he was, he spoke directly to the sun and moon and told them to stand still. Elijah walking before Ahab said “assuredly as The Lord lives, there will be no rain in this place. . .” Because these men represented God’s kingdom as kings in the earth, they had a relationship with God and could act with authority. So part of our mandate in the earth is to dismantle principalities and powers. Revelations 5:9-10 “And they sang a new song saying: You are worthy. . . . and have made us kings and priests and we shall reign on earth.” Our kingship comes first, not our priesthood.
