Engaging your supernatural heritage to access authorized power to execute your divine mandate.

So many times we can feel very ordinary when in truth, we are not; God made you for more and empowered you to be more, as an individual and as a parent. The enemy plans to weary you through situations and circumstances, so much so that you could forget your identity and the power you wield as God's Gatekeeper over His Church in your house. God has called and equipped you to raise for Him, a ready Church through your work as a parent, you are not ordinary, you are His masterpiece and He created you for this very purpose.  Romans 8:30 Malachi 2:15b

Our work as parents is multifaceted and can place significant demands on our abilities. But we have an assurance in God's word, stating that we have not just been called to be parents, we were qualified in Christ and equipped to succeed. Luke 10:19

A man of God once gave an analogy that clearly defines our authority as believers. We are like policemen who are authorized to make arrests and prosecute criminals. The power of a policeman comes from the uniform and badge he wears, not his physical strength. He can stop a huge truck by simply waving it down, even if he is physically small. But the minute he takes off the uniform and badge, he loses that power.

Similarly, as Christian parents, we have immense power in Christ. When we understand our positioning in Him and the work He has called us to do, we can access tremendous power for our parenting journey. It is essential to live our lives with the understanding of this power to be effective in our roles as parents. Let's briefly look at a few key terms that should help our understanding:

• Authority refers to the ability or permission to issue commands, take actions, and ensure compliance.

• Authorized means having legal permission or official approval.

• "Power" refers to the capability or potential to accomplish a task or behave in a specific manner.

"And He said to them, I saw Satan falling like a lightning [flash] from heaven. [19]  Behold! I have given you authority and power to trample upon serpents and scorpions, and [physical and mental strength and ability] over all the power that the enemy [possesses]; and nothing shall in any way harm you". Luke 10:18-19 AMPC‬

We are not mere parents, we are Gatekeepers to God's Church and He equips us for victory, no matter what the enemy throws at us to mar the work God has called us to do in the lives of our children; negative peer influence, marital upheavals, generational curses, mental health issues, addictions, rebellion, etc.

God in His foreknowing has called and consecrated us in Christ to deliver a ready Church to Him (Rom 8:28-30). When we understand this as our divine mandate and walk in consecration with God, our consecration becomes the uniform/clothing we put on to stop the raging of the enemy and exercise spiritual authority.

As believers, we have been given authority through our consecration in Christ to stop demonic manifestations in our lives and the lives of our children (2 Corinthians 10:3-6 TPT). We can use this authority to take them out if they resist arrest, just like a policeman uses state-authorized power (Acts 16:18). Using our authority in Christ (Luke 10:19), we can put an end to generational spiritual attacks. This is what God has called us to do and what He expects from us as believers (2 Corinthians 10:5-6).

When we allow sin and lack of faith to fill our hearts, we are stripped of our spiritual authority and become vulnerable to the attacks of the enemy. Much of the suffering and pain we experience in life is a result of the fall of man. In his fallen state, man is condemned to a life of hardship and toil. Let's explore the backstory of how we became burdened with the "ordinary" life and the disempowering consequences that followed the fall of man.

7 Consequences of the fall:

•  Man gained an eternal enemy in the devil. The serpent was cursed to crawl on its belly and become man's enemy.

  
  

• Painful childbirth was also part of the curse. Women will experience severe pain during childbirth and be under their husband's rule.

  
  

• The man will have to work hard and suffer to provide for his family. The fallen man is barred from the fruitfulness of the earth and must labour to eat. Genesis 3:17 talks about this.

  
  

• The condemnation and judgement of the flesh are also a result of the fall. Man's end shall be the dust from which he was taken, not the dominion of life. He was immediately sent out of God's presence (the Garden of Eden).

  
  

• The fall opens man up to the temptations of sin. However, God says Man can rule over and master sin. Genesis 4:7 NLT says, "You will be accepted if you do what is right. But if you refuse to do what is right, then watch out! Sin is crouching at the door, eager to control you. But you must subdue it and be its master". 

  
  

• According to Colossians 1:13, Man came under the dominion of darkness because of the fall and under the power of Satan. In Acts 26:18, it is said that man was enslaved by sin.

  
  

• Finally, the fall led to the beginning of an ancestry after the flesh. Adam had a son in his likeness and image, not in the image and likeness of God, from his fallen nature. Genesis 5:3 NKJV says, "And Adam lived one hundred and thirty years, and begot a son in his likeness, after his image, and named him Seth".

  
  

All of these were not part of God's intended purpose for humanity. Therefore, God had to create a plan to save and restore humanity to His default purpose. Jesus paid the price for our restoration. Christianity is not a fluke religion but an elaboration through time, of God's sovereign act of mercy to restore the fallen man and bring man into the standard of operational dominion that God intended for him.

1.      God sent Jesus to manifest His original intent for humanity as administrators of His earth, with preeminent dominion over all that God created. Jesus demonstrated uncommon and unusual authority in both His speech and acts of miracles, revealing the god-man who had dominion over all creatures, including natural elements. Creation witnessed the manifestation of the god-man and eagerly anticipates His further unveiling through you and I. Jesus had authority over sickness, demons, and ultimately, principalities. (Acts 10:38; Romans 8:18-21, Eph 4:12-13, 20-24).

2.     God, through Christ, appointed the first fruits of the god-man by the works of Jesus with his disciples. Jesus trained, mentored and authorized them to begin living a life of dominion. He left them with the message of the Good News - the salvation of man and deliverance from the life of sin and condemnation. They were to be the first fruit proclaimers who would bring others in, executing God's eternal mandate for fruitfulness and restoration of the earth. (Matt 10:1,7)

3.     God made provisions for man to be forgiven and for his due punishment to be paid in Christ.

4.     God in Christ, will do a public investiture on the disciples, transforming them into apostles to begin the process of kingdom proliferation and the establishment of the god-dynasty. The day of Pentecost was God's ordination service for these proclaimers to go forth in the power of His spirit. "The Seed had come into full germination and gave birth to many Sons" Acts 2:1-4

5.     Restoration of dominion; Matthew 28:18 AMPC "Jesus approached and, breaking the silence, said to them, All authority (all power of rule) in heaven and on earth has been given to Me".

That which man lost by Adam to the devil (Luke 4:6 NKJV, Rev. 13:7), Christ restored at His resurrection!  Power and dominion over all the works of the enemy. You are God's authorized Gatekeeper over the next generation of the Church. You are called and equipped to increase kingdom authority through your child(ren) and their children from; one generation to the next.

Four key things are essential for you to succeed in your calling as a parent and execute God's mandate:

• Know your standing! As a Christian parent, you must know who you are as a new creation. Why did Jesus die for you on the cross; reconciliation (Col 1:19-22; 2 Corinthians 5:18-19), recreation (2 Corinthians 5:17; Romans 8:29, Ephesians 2:10) and restoration (Col 3:10). You are brought into repentance and reconciled to God. You are recreated in Christ and restored to your place of dominion over the earth. You are a god-man (Psalm 82:6), you are not powerless or ordinary.

  
  

• Get into conscious alignment: As a parent you are called to command your household after God, you have been authorized. You can only exercise this authority when you align yourself with God's word concerning you and your household. Read God's word, believe it for, it is the King's word given for your salvation, it is quick, active and effectually exceeding in power to those who believe in it and wield it.

  
  

• Place a demand on heaven's resources: He, Who has has called you to be a Gatekeeper of His Church has made provisions for all you need to succeed (2 Peter 1:3). You cannot be in lack and be begging for bread to feed your children when you are in the place of your authorized ordination as a Christian parent, executing God's mandate over your household. Place a demand on heaven's resources for God's Church in your house! The Bible says no soldier goes to war at his own expense. 1 Corinthians 9:7; if God has called you to raise godly seeds and you have made that your priority, God WILL supply every need required. Pray His word, believe His word and go out with great expectation in your heart knowing that your expectations will not be cut short.

• Exercise your faith! Pray until you pray through; We have a roll call of fore-runners in Hebrews 11:33-35 NKJV "who through faith subdued kingdoms, worked righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, [34] quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness were made strong, became valiant in battle, turned to flight the armies of the aliens. Women received their dead raised to life again. Others were tortured, not accepting deliverance, that they might obtain a better resurrection". 

  
  

  John 1:12 AMPC "But to as many as did receive and welcome Him, He gave the authority (power, privilege, right) to become the children of God, that is, to those who believe in (adhere to, trust in, and rely on) His name–[Isa. 56:5.]"

It is not the exclusive preserve of a select few, the exercise of faith is part of your armoury. By faith you will stand at your altar and call those things that are not as though they were; invoke your child's spirit out of the pit of addiction, out of that difficult phase they might be going through right now (employment, marital, mental health, identity crisis, drug use, etc).  Let that depression and suicidal spirit encounter the fire of your consecration and altar. You can pray through!  Stay on that altar until the angel of the Lord shows up with a word from heaven!

Col 1:13-18, Romans 4:17, Daniel 10:12.

We have been called. We have been authorized. We have been equipped with power from on high, to lead, guide and raise God's Church in our homes in victory. Stand strong, stand in the place of your ordination, stand in Christ.

Know that the enemy can't stop your access, neither can he stop God's hand. So he uses the age-long weapon of wearying you with discouragement and attacking your faith in God's word; do not give in. Stand strong and see the salvation of our God!