Set over Kingdoms and nations to root out, pull down, destroy, build and plant
Jeremiah 1:10
Legal, and vital truth are different sides of a two edged sword. Legally, we have been given a position in Christ, seated with Him in heavenly places and with authority to use His name. Vitally, effective use of the name hinges on the reality of our spiritual condition. If, and it does, judgment begins in the house of God, and if, and we are, the temple of God, then it’s living as purified vessels that makes us fit for the masters use, thereby enabled to righteously exercise the dominion and authority given.
This reminds me of the book of Acts, where the seven sons of Sceva try to cast out a devil in the name of Jesus whom Paul preaches. The demonic forces, acknowledge the name of Jesus, recognize Paul, yet do not acknowledge these men’s right to drive them out.
While we recognize the power in the name of Jesus and our right to use the name, it comes with the believers responsibility to be under the authority of our Lord, Jesus Christ.
Jesus went about doing good and destroying the works of the devil BECAUSE, there was nothing in Him that attached Him to the God of this world, John 14:30.
I want you to understand the importance first of all in the phrase ‘set over’. Our ability to recognize our set places in God is necessary. These will be the field, the garden, we are given to tend and keep.
The Apostle Paul wrote from 2 Corinthians 10:13- NLT…
“We will not boast about things done outside our area of authority. We will boast only about what has happened within the boundaries of the work God has given us which includes our working with you. 14: We are not reaching beyond these boundaries when we claim authority over you, as if we had never visited you. For we were the first to travel all the way to Corinth with the Good News of Christ.”
All spiritual activity eventually involves engagement with people and the exact relationships given and the roles assigned by God within them.
If I’m not set in the right physical place, I am unable to pursue the relationships given to me in that place. I’m out of sync; but within the right place, with the right people, there is and should be increase occurring.
Nor do we boast and claim credit for the work someone else has done. Instead we hope that your faith will grown so that the boundaries of our work among you will be extended. 2 Corinthians 10:15
Much spiritual energy can be misdirected if first things are not first. We all want to be effective in our spiritual battles so understanding who, what and where we have been set becomes vital to our victory in them.
Engaging in spiritual battle requires us to follow the example Jesus’ has set before us. We learn from His testing in the wilderness when we ourselves are pressed to control our natural circumstances, i.e. ‘command these stones to be turned into bread’. We are so aligned with the Father that we too are able to say ‘and I shall live only by the word of God’. In other words, unless I am instructed to say and do something, I will not exercise my own desires. I will not worship and exalt my own will and I will not test the Lord through my own presumptive desires.
All successful battles begin with our proper alignment to God and end with the will of God being accomplished. We send forth His word which always accomplishes what He has sent it forth to do. Jeremiah’s instruction began with…. "Behold I have put my words in your mouth”, before he was to begin to root out, pull down, destroy, build and plant.