God’s Purposes Have Set Times
After Jesus Christ had died on the cross and had risen again, He appeared to the Apostles over a period of forty days and spoke to them about the Kingdom of God. God had promised through the Old Testament prophets that the Nation of Israel would be restored. So, the Apostles’ focus at this time was on the Kingdom of God being restored to Israel and on the timing of God bringing this promised restoration. They asked Jesus,
“Lord, are you at this time going to restore the Kingdom to Israel?”
Acts 1:6
It seemed they were expecting Jesus to bring restoration in a single moment. But Jesus replied,
“‘It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by His own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be My witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.’ After He said this, He was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid Him from their sight.”
Acts 1:7 – 9.
We see from this Scripture that there are set times and dates for His purposes and that the Father has set them by His own authority. God’s desire is to see His Kingdom made manifest on the earth, working through those who believe in Him. When something is made manifest, it means it has been caused to appear, been revealed, been proven or had evidence given of it. And God’s plans are not just to see this happen for Israel alone, but for the whole world.
- God’s purposes in any given situation will far exceed our own understanding.
- God’s plans for restoration are far greater than we realize.
- The times and dates are set by Him.
Trust in His Timing for His Purposes to be Fulfilled
We can see then, that if the Father has set specific times and specific dates for His purposes to be fulfilled – that if we do not understand this, we may try to act in our own timing, trying to fulfil what we think His purposes are. But if we do this, His purposes, which far exceed our own, will not be fulfilled and the glory will not go to Him.
Jesus told His disciples to wait and to stay in the city until Jesus sent what the Father had promised – See Luke 24:49. On the day of Pentecost they were clothed with power from on high, as they were baptized in the Holy Spirit. It is this same baptism of the Holy Spirit today that gives us the power to be witnesses for Christ to all the ends of the earth. As Jesus was then taken up before their very eyes, an understanding had to come to them at some point; that it would be by the power of the Holy Spirit operating through them, that the Kingdom of God would now be made manifest on the earth. – See the book of Acts chapter 2, for the full account of the infilling of the Holy Spirit, which still occurs in those who believe today.
In the same way, when Jesus was asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come? He answered them,
“The Kingdom of God does not come with observation; nor will they say, ‘See here’ or ‘See there!’ For indeed, the Kingdom of God is within you.”
Luke 17: 20 & 21
- We need to trust our Heavenly Father and yield ourselves to His will.
- He is faithful to fulfil that which He has promised.
- It is the power of His Holy Spirit working in and through us that accomplishes His work on the earth.
The Lord says through the prophet Jeremiah,
“I will come to you and fulfil My gracious promise…..For I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call upon Me and come and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. You will seek Me and find Me when you seek Me with all your heart. I will be found by you,’ declares the Lord, ‘and will bring you back from captivity…back to the place from which I carried you into exile.’”
Jeremiah 29:10–14
We Declare God’s Kingdom on the Earth
Jesus Christ has given all those who believe in Him, the authority to make manifest, His Kingdom on the earth. The name ‘Jesus’, means, ‘The Lord Saves’ or ‘Jehovah is Salvation.’ The word ‘Christ’ means, ‘Anointed’ or ‘The Anointed One.’ Jesus said,
“And these signs will accompany those who believe: In My name they will drive out demons, they will speak in new tongues; they will pick up snakes with their hands; and when they drink deadly poison, it will not hurt them at all; they will place their hands on sick people, and they will get well.”
Mark 16:17 & 18
Every time we see these signs, or other answers to prayer take place in Jesus’ name through us, we are declaring that God’s Kingdom has come to the earth. It is made manifest in the situations we face, and in the lives of the people we are praying for.
Handling snakes without harm, also speaks of the divine protection of God over us when we deal with things in the demonic realm. We need have no fear when facing demonic powers because of Jesus’ authority in us. Drinking deadly poison, likewise, can also be likened to our God given protection from all sorcery. It has no power over us and can cause no harm, because of the comfort and authority of Jesus Christ in us. Before Jesus went to the cross, He said,
“I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in Me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father. And I will do whatever you ask in My name, so that the Son may bring glory to the Father. You may ask Me for anything in My name, and I will do it.”
John 14:12 14
Jesus is stating in these verses that if we have faith in Him, then His power will work within us and through us to accomplish the things that we ask of Him, according to His will. It is Christ Jesus that accomplishes this work through us. And all of this is so that the Son may bring glory to the Father.
- We ask in Faith.
- We ask in Christ’s name and according to His will.
- Jesus accomplishes it.
- The Father is glorified.
We Have the Imputed Authority of Christ
The word ‘imputed’ means to ‘assign, ascribe or credit something to someone else.’ In this same way, Christ has assigned, credited, or given to every believer in Christ, His own authority to overcome the works of the enemy. In Luke chapter 10, Jesus sent seventy–two of His disciples out, two by two ahead of Him, to every town and place where He was about to go. He instructed them,
“And heal the sick there, and say to them, ‘The kingdom of God has come near to you.’”
Luke 10:9
“Then the seventy returned with joy, saying, ‘Lord, even the demons are subject to us in Your name.’”
Luke 10:17
Jesus’ immediate response is very interesting. Whilst testifying to a powerful eye witness account, He replies,
“I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. I have given you authority to trample on snakes and scorpions and to overcome all the power of the enemy; nothing will harm you.”
Luke 10:18 & 19
Jesus saw Satan thrown down from heaven before He came to live on the earth, because He was with the Father in heaven when it took place. Speaking of Jesus, the living Word, the Apostle John says,
“In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning.”
John 1:1 & 2
When Jesus testifies to the seventy-two of His own eye witness account, it is as if He is telling us, that every time we use His name, we are exercising that same authority. The very same power of God that threw Satan down from heaven, is made manifest through us as followers of Jesus today, every time we use the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ has given all those who believe in Him, the authority to overcome – to prevail over; master or completely conquer – all demonic powers in His Name. When we stand in Christ’s authority and in His name, the enemy has to yield.
Rejoice that Your Names have been Written in Heaven
Jesus then said to these same seventy-two,
“However, do not rejoice that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.”
Luke 10:20
This immediately brings the authority of Jesus Christ at work within us into perspective. We are simply the vessels He uses, saved by His grace. We have no power in or of ourselves, even over our own Salvation. We are completely dependent on Christ’s finished work of the Cross for everything. Everything we do in Christ’s name is just that – Christ’s name, with Christ’s power and Christ’s authority. His authority has been imputed – ascribed, attributed or regarded as belonging to us, by His grace, in order that He might bring His Kingdom to the earth. It is not our name, our kingdom, our power, or our authority, but Christ’s and Christ’s alone. But we become His vessels for His authority to flow through.
- Christ’s authority is total authority.
- All authority over the enemy has been imputed to us in Jesus’ name.
Our Accuser Has Been Hurled Down
When John the Apostle was on the Island of Patmos; while he was in the spirit, he received revelation from God. He heard a loud voice in heaven saying,
“Now have come the salvation and the power and the Kingdom of our God, and the authority of His Christ. For the accuser of our brothers, who accuses them before our God day and night, has been hurled down. They overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony; they did not love their lives so much as to shrink from death.”
Revelation 12:10 & 11
This Scripture reveals that it is Satan – who was hurled down and fell like lightning from heaven – that is the accuser of the brethren – the accuser both of us, as believers in Christ, and of our Christian brothers and sisters. But any ability to hold our sin against us that Satan previously held, was totally removed from him at the cross. Our testimony of the blood of the lamb, representing Christ’s death, burial and resurrection on our behalf; and the authority of Christ and the saving power of His Kingdom at work within us; is what overcomes – prevails over, masters and completely conquers – the power of the enemy. Every accusation; whether true or false; that he makes against us is then immediately cancelled out.
Satan has been Stripped of his Power
Though Satan may continue to accuse us before God both day and night; Christ’s death and the finished work of the cross at Calvary has totally stripped Satan of any power over those who believe in Him. His accusations against us, before God or others cannot stand. We reject both the accusations Satan brings against us and we reject the accusations he brings against our brothers and sisters in Christ.
When we have sinned, but have repented of those sins before God, we are washed and totally cleansed by His blood, so that we stand righteous before God. When we stand by faith, there is no disqualification then, that can stand against us. We become clean vessels by Christ’s Blood, through whom the Holy Spirit is then able to work, manifesting Christ’s authority and Kingdom on the earth. If we do not understand that our repentance and Christ’s forgiveness means we are sanctified before God, we may be reluctant to step out in faith and therefore deny the ability of God’s power to work through us.
The Word of Our Testimony Is Important
Jesus has called us to be His witnesses.
“But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you, and you will be My witnesses………to the ends of the earth.”
Acts 1:8
When people are called as witnesses to testify in court, they testify as to what they have personally seen, heard, or experienced.
- Witnesses testify to the truth
Revelation 12:11 mentioned before, also declares that what we testify with the words of our mouth is vitally important. It is not somebody else’s spoken testimony that overcomes, but our own. When Peter and John were speaking to the people; the priests, the captain of the temple guard and the Sadducees were disturbed, because the Apostles were speaking of Christ’s resurrection from the dead. Having then been put in jail and questioned, Peter and John were commanded to no longer speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus. But Peter and John replied,
“Judge for yourselves whether it is right in God’s sight to obey you rather than God. For we cannot help speaking about what we have seen and heard.”
Acts 4:19 & 20
Be His Witnesses Right to the End
- When Christ’s resurrection from the dead has made such an impact on our lives, we cannot keep silent about it.
- There is something within us that cannot help but speak about the things that Christ has done.
The word ‘martyr’ in the Greek is translated ‘martys,’ meaning: ‘witness, martyr or record.’ The word ‘witness’ in the Greek is translated ‘martyreo,’ meaning: ‘bear witness, testify, bear record, witness, be a witness, give testimony, have a good report.’ The outline of the Biblical usage for ‘martyreo’ is ‘to be a witness, to bear witness, i.e., to affirm that one has seen or heard or experienced something, or that he knows it because taught by divine revelation or inspiration.’ – See Strong’s Concordance.
Even when faced with persecution for what we profess, we are compelled to continue to share this life–changing truth, just as the Apostles did. Because of the importance of Christ’s message for a world that is rapidly heading into an eternity without Him, we must put aside our own agendas and fears and be prepared, if required, to, ‘love not our lives so much as to shrink from death.‘ – See Revelation 12:11.
Our Testimony Draws Others to Christ
The Apostle John said about his own experience of Christ, and that of the other Apostles,
“That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched – this we proclaim concerning the Word of life (here he is referring to Jesus Christ). The life appeared; (Who is Christ) we have seen it and testify to it, and we proclaim to you the eternal life which was with the Father and has appeared to us (in Christ). We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with His Son, Jesus Christ. We write this to make our joy complete.”
1 John 1:1–4
We testify of the Father’s love through Christ because our joy cannot be complete until others come to share in that same love of God with us. Whilst Saul was still persecuting the Christians – many of whom were imprisoned or put to death – Jesus appeared to him in a bright light, saying,
“‘Saul, Saul, why do you persecute Me? It is hard for you to kick against the goads.’ Then I (Saul) asked, ‘Who are You, Lord?’ ‘I am Jesus whom you are persecuting,’ the Lord replied. ‘Now get up and stand on your feet. I have appeared to you to appoint you as a servant and as a witness of what you have seen of Me and what I will show you. I will rescue you from your own people and from the Gentiles. I am sending you to them to open their eyes and turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, so that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in Me.”
Acts 26:14 – 18
During this life–changing experience, Jesus told Saul, a Jew, who was persecuting Christians; that He was appointing him to be a witness to the Gentiles. Saul, who later became the Apostle Paul, then travelled about extensively, teaching and preaching the Scriptures. In the exact same way, our testimony is just as important. It has the power to open people’s eyes, so that they may be turned from darkness to light; from the power of Satan to God; so that they may receive forgiveness of sins, and have a place among those who are sanctified by faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. The Apostle Paul, Silvanus and Timothy, write to the church of the Thessalonians,
“God from the beginning chose you for Salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and belief in the truth.”
2 Thessalonians 2:13
- The word of our testimony gives expression to the desires of other people’s hearts.
- Sharing our testimony is a powerful tool for reaching the lost as God becomes real to others through our personal stories.
We Must Taste and See for Ourselves
We can watch someone else eat a juicy piece of fruit in front of us, and we can long for it with all of our hearts. But we do not get to experience it, or benefit from it, unless we taste it for ourselves. Just as watching someone else drink a cool glass of water does not refresh us or quench our own thirst, the Bible tells us, we must taste and see for ourselves that the Lord is good.
“Taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the man who takes refuge in Him.”
Psalm 34:8
‘Taste’ in the Hebrew is translated ‘ta’am’, which means: to ‘taste or perceive.’ – See Strong’s Concordance. To perceive something means not just to observe it – but to understand, discern and distinguish it clearly from other things. We will never truly understand, discern or distinguish the truth of Christ’s love for us unless the Holy Spirit gives us a personal revelation of God’s love. And we will never experience the depth of God’s love and forgiveness for us, unless we receive Jesus Christ as our Saviour personally. If you have never accepted Christ as your Saviour, but would like to do so now, please start by praying this prayer below. If you would also like to receive the baptism of the Holy Spirit talked about in this word; to have a new boldness to be a witness for Christ and see the power of God working through you; please also join me in praying the prayer at the end.
Dear Heavenly Father, I come to You in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. I confess that I am a sinner and I turn away now from all that I know to be wrong. I thank You for dying on the cross for my sins and I ask You to forgive me and to totally cleanse me from all guilt, shame and condemnation. I now receive Your complete and ongoing work of sanctification in every part of my life, as I invite You, Holy Spirit, to come and live inside of me; to walk with me; and to transform me into a brand – new person inside. In Jesus’ mighty name, Amen.
Dear Jesus, I pray that you would baptize me with Your Holy Spirit, as You have promised, completely filling me with Your power and with a new boldness to be a witness for You. Thank you for the complete authority You have given me over every accusation of the enemy, against myself and my brothers and sisters in Christ. Thank You Jesus, for Your authority to overcome – to prevail over, master and completely conquer – every demonic power that would try to stand against me, or the works of Your Kingdom. Thank You in advance, Heavenly Father, for what Jesus is now going to begin working in and through me by the power of Your Holy Spirit. In Jesus’ mighty name, Amen. – Now begin to exercise your faith!
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