We Are Seated With Him...
Ephesians 2:4-7 says, "But God, who is rich in mercy, for His great love wherewith He loved us, even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;) and hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus: that in the ages to come He might shew the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us through Christ Jesus."
If you go back to Ephesians 1 you will see that the mighty power which God worked in Jesus when He raised Jesus from the dead, also set Jesus at the right hand of the Father in heavenly places - far above all principality, power, might and dominion and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come. You are seated there with Him by faith, when you believe it.
What God is going to do, is reveal this gospel to you - that Jesus died, He was buried and He rose again. God will reveal this gospel to your heart. Any revelation that we receive from God will come by the Spirit and will be revealed to our spirit. You cannot receive this or anything else of the Spirit through your mind. Because in I Corinthians 2:14 it says "the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned." Romans 8:7 says the carnal mind is an enemy against God. So everything we receive from Him will come by the Spirit and by faith in the blood of Jesus, mixed with the gospel.
Then if you have not been baptized in water, you need to be; and believe that your old man is buried into the death of the Lord Jesus and then you are raised up with Him to walk in newness of life. Because when He was raised from the dead by the power of God, He raised you up with Him. When you are planted in the likeness of His death, you will also be in the likeness of His resurrection. And when you believe that your old man is crucified with Him, that the body of sin is destroyed, then you will not be serving sin. But you will be alive unto God by His resurrection. (Romans 6.)
Colossians 3:1-2 says, "If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God. Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth." Matthew 6:33 tells us to seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added unto us; food, shelter and clothing. When your affections are on the things above, you will not be seeking the things of the world. You will be seeking the kingdom (or power) of God and His righteousness, which is by faith and it is revealed in the gospel, and all these other things will be taken care of.
Everything about us - what we do, how we think, how we speak, what we feel, desires we have - will have to be purified by faith in the blood of Jesus because God is going to conform us into the the image of the Lord Jesus Christ. That is what this walk is about. You will have to come to the place where you lay down your desires and only want His desires in your life. Then the life you are living in the flesh will be unto the One who died and was raised from the dead and is seated at the right hand of the Father.
You know, that there is not one thing in your life that you cannot overcome, because Jesus already overcame it when He was raised from the dead. He overcame the world. He told us that in this world we would have tribulation, but to be of good cheer, for He had overcome it. I John 5:4 tells us that the victory for us to overcome the world, is our faith.
You will have to mix faith with the gospel if you want to be profited. And that word profit (in Hebrews 4:2) is to prevail or benefit. If you will mix your faith with the death, burial and resurrection power of the Lord Jesus, you will prevail over everything that hinders you in your life. You will have to believe that you are seated with Jesus in heavenly places - above all of these spirits. Jesus triumphed over every power, principality, dominion and wicked spirit. He prevailed over all sickness, disease, poverty, fear, torment, unbelief, etc. - so they have all been judged. And all we have to do is believe the gospel and mix our faith with it to see salvation take place in our lives over these things. When you believe this gospel, God will also reveal to your spirit that you are a king and a priest and that you rule and reign in this life through the gift of righteousness. You will rule and reign over the powers of darkness in every situation.
In I Thessalonians 2:13, Paul was talking to the church of the Thessalonians and said, "For this cause also thank we God without ceasing, because, when ye received the word of God, which ye heard of us, ye received it not as the word of men, but as it is in truth, the word of God, which effectually worketh also in you that believe."
You can look back in verses 2, 4 and 9 of this chapter and see that the word of God he was talking about was the gospel. When you receive this word that I am preaching, as the word of truth, which is the gospel, it will effectually work in you if you will believe. It has effectually worked in me for 14+ years. And God is no respecter of persons. You will prevail in every area of your life over the powers of darkness. And it will be a daily thing.
Believe that when He was raised from the dead, He raised you up with Him and that you are seated with Him in heavenly places. When you get this in your heart, you will start walking in victory in every area of your life because Jesus already won the victory 2000 years ago. Amen.
