REIGNING and RESURRECTION
by Revivalist Todd Bentley

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PART 2 of 2

  In God's kingdom there is just so much to look forward to! In fact, God will take us as far as we want to go. I'm talking about depth, the deep things of God. And yet, as I've been thinking about how the whole concept of resurrection is perceived by many in the church, it's like a lot of believers only see its relevance in light of an Easter Sunday sermon. Or others think that resurrection is all about our heavenly bodies, the rapture, or the second coming-it tends to be something in the future.

RESURRECTION IS ACTUALLY AN ELEMENTARY PRINCIPLE

  On top of that, some Christians consider the whole idea about resurrection, or the opportunity to actually raise the dead, to be pretty radical. But according to scripture, resurrection from the dead is part of the foundation of Christian belief. It's actually an elementary principle! The Book of Hebrews, Chapter 6, verses 1 and 2, says:

  "THEREFORE LET us go on and get past the elementary stage in the teachings and doctrine of Christ (the Messiah), advancing steadily toward the completeness and perfection that belong to spiritual maturity. Let us not again be laying the foundation of repentance and abandonment of dead works (dead formalism) and of the faith [by which you turned] to God, with teachings about purifying, the laying on of hands, the resurrection from the dead, and eternal judgment and punishment. [These are all matters of which you should have been fully aware long, long ago.]" (vv. 1, 2, The Amplified Bible, emphasis mine).

  Still, even though resurrection from the dead is a foundational principle, in order to actually receive and walk in all the benefits involved in what resurrection promises, we need to have our minds renewed.


DEATH NO LONGER HAS DOMINION

  In this regard, in Part One, I shared about how I was developing a "resurrection mindset" and how I realized that the same glory (or resurrection power) that raised Jesus up after his crucifixion had not only touched me; it was working inside of me. Let me explain another aspect concerning this revelation; my point being-today, I've come to understand that "death no longer has dominion." Romans Chapter 6, verse 9 says: "knowing that Christ, having been raised from the dead, dies no more. Death no longer has dominion over Him" (Rom. 6:9).

  Now, because I am a born again believer and I believe that death no longer has dominion, and since sickness and disease cause death, then I have the right to refuse the diseases of the world, the viruses, the sicknesses, the bacteria-or whatever exists in the world that brings death. I refuse it!

  Now, I don't deny the circumstances; I mean if you have cancer, or a tumor, it's real. But there is something about when your body begins to understand that your spirit is raised from the dead-"But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you" (Rm. 8:11) Cancer! You can't live here!

  The same goes for poverty. Poverty is death. Look. Any kind of oppression in your life, any kind of torment, any kind of depression-it's the work of the devil-and it is defeated because death no longer has dominion! In fact, death has to bow! It bowed to Jesus wherever He went. Can you imagine how tense darkness became every time Jesus showed up on the scene? The Lord would show up and devils would start screaming. And the dead were raised!-(See Mk. 5:7 and Jn. 11:38-44.)

  Likewise, when believers know who they are in Christ, sickness and death must bow! For example, when I'm ministering in a crusade, I think like this: The death around me in this crusade isn't allowed to be at work here! Since death no longer has dominion, I take my God-given authority and make a decree; then whatever is of the "realm of death" has to bow to resurrection! There are times when I walk into a room and the diseases in people's bodies can only hold on until I cast out a (demonic) spirit with a word. "I see you, devil. Get out!"

DEATH IS ALWAYS ROOTED IN SIN

  Now let's go on to Romans 6, verses 10 and 11: "For the death that He died, He died to sin once for all; but the life that He lives, He lives to God. Likewise you also, reckon yourselves to be dead indeed to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord." So, count yourselves to be dead to sin in the same way-in that Jesus counted Himself dead and resurrected-count yourselves dead and resurrected. That means death no longer has dominion over you!

  Equally, don't let sin reign-"Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body, that you should obey it in its lusts" (v. 12). Friends, there is a place where because we love Jesus, we obey His commands; and because there is a love, we don't want to wound His heart. After all, we're in a covenant relationship with Jesus Christ and we don't want to hurt the One we love. There is a choice-if you let sin reign, then death reigns because the power of death is always rooted in sin-especially willful, habitual sin, offense, bitterness, and unforgiveness.

  In fact, it wasn't until one man sinned by disobeying God that sickness, poverty, bondage and death came into the world and spread to all mankind (Rom. 5:12). Initially, the one, Adam (and Eve) brought the curse, and it became the curse of the law. Then every conceivable sin that you could imagine, every conceivable sickness or disease, came into the curse. But we were (and are) rescued from the curse because ultimately, the One, Jesus Christ conquered death. Through His death and resurrection, our sin and death are defeated and now both freedom from sin and resurrection can spread to all mankind!

"For just as [because of their union of nature] in Adam all people die, so also [by virtue of their union of nature] shall all in Christ be made alive" (1 Cor. 15:22, The Amplified Bible). "The first man Adam became a living being (an individual personality); the last Adam (Christ) became a life-giving Spirit [restoring the dead to life]" (v. 45).

  The law of the spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death (Rom. 8:2). Look. There is a law! That law of sin and death is a spiritual law and all of hell is ready to back-up that law. But the law of the Spirit of life, the law of resurrection in Christ Jesus, has made me free from the law of sin and death and all of heaven is ready to enforce that law! Therefore, the truth is, it's a law that I'm not sick (sickness can be defeated)! It's a law that I'm the blessed one. It's a spiritual law: "Devil you can't hold me down!" There is a law of the spirit realm, the law of the spirit world, the law of resurrection!

  But, in order to ensure your freedom from the curse of the law, don't miss these three vital principles: First, remember, the law of sin and death can only be broken by Jesus Christ and if you're born again. Second, God can only enforce the law of the spirit of life in Christ Jesus as you do your part by confessing your sins and asking Him to forgive you and cleanse you (according to 1 John 1:9). Third, you must also take responsibility for wielding your authority against the enemy's attacks, but you can only do a thorough job if you know who you are in Christ.

  Then the ruler of this world (the devil) has nothing to hang on to, no claim on you. After all, Satan couldn't do a thing to stop anything Jesus did! Why? It was because Jesus was without sin-". . . the ruler of this world is coming, and he has nothing in Me." (Jn. 14:30). That's what I'm aiming for! How about you?

  As I said last week, only the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of holiness can help us conquer what the flesh wants. True overcoming only happens as we abide in Christ, not having our own righteousness "which is from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith." And overcoming happens by knowing Him: "that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death," (Phil. 3: 9, 10, emphasis mine).

  You can't even get to the power of His resurrection until you can say, "I know Him!" There will be no power of Christ's resurrection working in your life unless you know Him intimately. It's about intimacy, but not just an intimacy wherein you spend time with the Lord. I'm talking about being "one in the spirit." (Study John 17:20-23). Then God's glory is sure to shine through you and the people around you will notice this-"Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were uneducated and untrained men, they marveled. And they realized that they had been with Jesus" (Acts 4:13).

Friends, when you've "been with Jesus" like Peter and John you'll know what real faith is.

REAL FAITH BRINGS REIGNING AND RESURRECTION POWER

  Look at what Paul the apostle said about faith: "I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me" (Gal. 2:20, emphasis mine). It bears repeating: "the life that I now live, I live by faith. . ." You see, you're not going to have resurrection without faith. We must understand what faith, real faith is and how faith works! As a matter of fact, get every book, get every series that you can on faith!

  Equally, always remember that faith and intimacy go hand in hand. Just as I said in Part One, if intimacy with God is lacking there will be no reigning and resurrection power, so too, anointing will not manifest without you being full of faith.


TAKE STEPS TO PROTECT YOUR FAITH & PRESS IN ALL THE WAY

  So we need to remove the unbelief. Actually, Jesus "removed unbelief" by having the people who were in fear and/or unbelief leave the location where He was about to perform a miracle (Lk. 8:51-55). Because there is something about being sure that those that are with you are just as "in faith" as you are. Unbelief hinders miracles. Jesus, Himself, was hindered from doing miracles in his hometown because of the people's unbelief (Matt. 13:58). For instance, I've had meetings where I was full of faith, but other people there brought their unbelief into the meeting and their lack of faith hindered the flow. I've had to say on a few occasions, "If you don't believe and you're a skeptic, I want you to leave the meeting right now." Until they left, I could not move in the realm of miracles fully.

  So protect your faith. Put boundaries in place to protect what you believe. Here is an example of what I mean by "boundaries." Sometimes there are certain influences-it might be from the people around you who want to challenge your beliefs-yet not in a positive way. But when you have worked through your Christian beliefs with good, sound, mature, men and women and, for instance, you believe that healing and prosperity are inherent in salvation; protect that belief. There are things that I won't even entertain because I don't want to mess up my groove. I won't even debate it. I don't want to be sidetracked or waste my time by allowing such things to get into my grid!

  Faith is something you go after and you keep. "God is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him" (Heb. 11:6). Contend and be aggressive about pressing in. The Bible says: "And from the time John the Baptist began preaching and baptizing until now, the Kingdom of Heaven has been forcefully advancing . . ." (Matt. 11:12 NIV, emphasis mine). So keep warring, don't let up; be persistent like the widow (Luke 18:1-8). She just kept coming to the judge, asking for justice and in the end the Lord said, "Hear what the unjust judge said. And shall God not avenge His own elect who cry out day and night to Him, though He bears long with them? I tell you that He will avenge them speedily. Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will He really find faith on the earth?" (vv. 6-8).

  Press in, contend and be aggressive like the Prophet Elijah, after he discerned that rain was coming. He went into intercession seven times on Mount Carmel, each time sending his servant to check and see if rain was on the way (1 Kings 18: 43-45). So don't stop praying and believing mid-way. Pray through till you're convinced, based on what God already said and begin to walk in an attitude of thanksgiving even if your circumstances aren't changing. Remember, you're pressing in for what you know God wants you to have. Receive what He said, by faith; yes, acknowledge the circumstances, but at the same time, what you have received from God by faith is more real.

THROUGH FAITH IN THE WORKING OF GOD

  Resurrection happens through faith in the working of God. Let's take a look at Colossians Chapter 2, verse 12: "buried with Him in baptism, in which you also were raised with Him through faith in the working of God, who raised Him from the dead" (Col. 2:12). There is a connection between understanding the effective working of His power, the power that works within you and me, and the outward power that manifests. An example would be when someone is healed in their body when the manifest power of God is evident in a meeting, but it works according to the connection between the manifest power, outward manifest kingdom power, and the power that works within you.

  Also, instead of being so focused on getting more power, we need to focus more on having faith "through the working of God." We need to understand how the power that's on the inside works and begin to focus on strengthening the inner man, and learning how to tap into the anointing that we already have on the inside. So we need to build ourselves up and recharge the "dunamis power" of the "battery" that we already have on the inside. And one way to build ourselves up in our most holy faith is to pray in tongues. We'll activate the "dunamis generator!" As we do, through faith and working with God, resurrection life and power will manifest!

Todd Bentley