Matthew 16:13-20 – “Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, He began asking His disciples, saying, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?”  14 And they said, “Some say John the Baptist; and others, Elijah; but still others, Jeremiah, or one of the prophets.” 15 He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?”  16 And Simon Peter answered and said, “Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.” 17 And Jesus answered and said to him, “Blessed are you, Simon Barjona, because flesh and blood did not reveal this to you, but My Father who is in heaven. 18 “And I also say to you that you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build My church; and the gates of Hades shall not overpower it. 19 “I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; and whatever you shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.”  20 Then He warned the disciples that they should tell no one that He was the Christ.”  NASB

I believe that God’s Revival, Renewal, and Restoration are in full progress today.  I believe that He is still building His Church and that the Gates of Hell are unable to stand against it.  I do not believe that the Church is simply a fort holder waiting for Jesus to come on a rescue mission and save us from the devil.  I believe we are ‘more than conquerors’ through Jesus and we have ‘authority over all the power of the devil.’ 

Revival is a world word, but Renewal is a Church Word.  However, the world cannot be revived until the church is renewed.  We, Christians, are in a Covenant Partnership with God.  If God is going to manifest Himself as the Bible promises the church MUST realize that we have dominion over the devil.  If God is going to come into our world, He is going to come through us.  The world will go to hell if the church does not get renewed and restored.  Therefore, God is working on His church today and in a sense waiting on us!

One of the things God is doing, is restoring order.  We have allowed people to become shoe-horned into wrong offices, ministries, and positions.  We have assigned to them, duties and positions that demand a gift they do not have.  I believe that one of today’s move of the Holy Spirit is to redo much we have done.  He is seeking to set things in order so that He can move and manifest His presence in power.

We read in Hosea 4:6 – “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge.”  Also, in Proverbs 29:18 – “Where there is no vision, the people perish…”  We cannot command the devil, bind or loose without knowledge of God’s promises and provisions.  It is as we KNOW that we are able to progress toward the goal and learn to effectively apply that knowledge.  Binding and Loosing are directly connected to the Cross and the Victory of Jesus there.  We must LEARN what He did, how it affects us, and our Authority. 

The ministry of the Local Church must include recognizing Gifts, Callings, and Abilities.  It must then raise them up, equipping the saints for the work of ministry (Ephesians 4), and release those ministries in the proper time and the proper place.  God is doing that in every congregation that will allow the (Zaw-kan) to function.  In a very real sense, Jesus is saying (my paraphrase): “I have overcome the enemy for your sakes, so whatever you bind on earth shall be as having been bound in the heavens.”  (Matthew 18:18 – Original).  It says, ‘heavens’ plural ‘pois-quinois’. 

Therefore, whatever you bind on earth is bound in the heavens and whatever you loose on earth is loosed in the heavens.  You bind and loose based on God’s word and the authority of Calvary.  It is the authority Jesus gave us.  It is from our position in Christ that we can ‘bind’ and ‘loose.’  When you and I, from our position in Christ, speak God’s Covenant, the angels of heaven go to work in heaven, and the Holy Spirit makes it a reality on earth.

You have power and authority over all the power of the devil, not some of the power of the devil. Therefore, I call on all believers and say, it is time that we become who God said we are and begin to ‘bind’ and ‘loose’ in the name of Jesus and for the cause of the Kingdom.  Our binding and our loosing must be with restoration and redemption in mind never personal power, prominence or prestige.  It is all about Him and not about us!  He must increase but we must decrease.

God bless you as you enjoy this walk in Him!