And as they were crying out and throwing off their cloaks and tossing dust into the air, the commander ordered Paul to be brought into the barracks, stating that he should be examined by scourging so that he might find out the reason why they were shouting against him that way. But when they stretched him out with thongs, Paul said to the centurion who was standing by, “Is it lawful for you to scourge a man who is a Roman citizen and uncondemned?” When the centurion heard this, he went to the commander and told him, saying, “What are you about to do? For this man is a Roman.” The commander came and said to him, “Tell me, are you a Roman?” And he said, “Yes.” The commander answered, “I acquired this citizenship with a large sum of money.” And Paul said, “But I was actually born a citizen.” Therefore those who were about to examine him immediately withdrew from him and let go of him; and the commander also was afraid when he found out that he was a Roman citizen, and because he had put him in chains. Acts 22:23-29.
O Lord, surely I am Your servant, I am Your servant, the son of Your handmaid, You have loosed my bonds. Psalm 116:16.
And this woman, a daughter of Abraham as she is, whom Satan has bound for eighteen long years, should she not have been loosed from this bond on the Sabbath day? Luke 13:16.
Submit therefore to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. James 4:7
Today your LORD (יהוה) God says:
You must put an end to illegal activity in your life and enforce your Kingdom rights. And you can do this without fighting a battle. The battle has been won, Jesus disarmed the devil and took back man’s seat of authority, but you must enforce it, or like any thief, he will continue to take territory he has no legal right to possess.
Jesus told Nicodemus that no one can enter My Kingdom without being born again from above. You cannot even see it without that because you discern spiritual realities with your spirit and not with your five physical senses as a general rule. You have a stony heart when you are born, and this is from being born of the perishable seed of Adam, for he corrupted the seed to be perishable and to be limited in what you discern and think upon. But now Jesus has changed all that for those who care to receive Him and transfer from Satan’s kingdom to Mine, those who are rescued from the power of darkness and transferred to the Kingdom of My beloved Son, in whom you have redemption and the forgiveness of sins. There is NO condemnation now for those who are in Christ Jesus.
Adam handed over his leasehold authority to the devil and transferred out of My jurisdiction to that of the devil, but to anyone who wishes to be born again into My Kingdom the lordship of the devil in their lives has ceased and they have chosen to submit to a new Sovereign. That is why if you submit to Me, you can resist the devil and he must flee.
Let Me explain so you understand you position above and not beneath, for in Christ these things are under your feet.
When you are born again as a new creation in Christ you are born into My Kingdom, you legally become a citizen of My Kingdom by birth, your new birth from imperishable seed of the Word. And as a citizen you have the rights and privileges of a citizen, in fact, I have told you, and it is true for I cannot lie, that I have given you the Kingdom. Now, citizens of a county have the privilege of being defended by that country’s military and the army, navy and air force and in My Kingdom the angelic host fulfills that role, that is, the army of My angels, for I Am the LORD of Hosts. A citizen of a country does not fight the enemy but the enemy knows if they touch that citizen, the military of the place of that person’s citizenship will come against those holding him bound, and so they must loose that person upon demand by that person’s home sovereign.
Now, I want to remind you of an incident in the life of My servant Paul that you can relate this to and learn a new way of victory every time without much effort on your part. The battle for My people is My battle. Yours is the victory. The people were trying to stop Paul’s preaching in Jerusalem so they literally mobbed him. The captain of the guard ordered Paul to be brought into the barracks, stating that he should be examined by scourging so that he might find out the reason why they were shouting against him that way. But when they stretched him out, Paul simply said to the centurion who was standing by, “Is it lawful for you to scourge a man who is a Roman citizen and uncondemned?” When the centurion heard this, he went to the commander and told him, saying, “What are you about to do? For this man is a Roman.” The commander came and said to him, “Tell me, are you a Roman?” And he said, “Yes.” The commander answered, “I acquired this citizenship with a large sum of money.” And Paul said, “But I was born a citizen.” Therefore those who were about to examine him immediately withdrew from him and let go of him; and the commander also was afraid when he found out that he was a Roman citizen, and because he had put him in chains. Acts 22:23-29.
Do you see? He could not bind and torture a Roman citizen who had not been condemned by a tribunal of Rome. Your adversary, the devil, has no authority over a citizen of My Kingdom who I have not condemned. And there is no condemnation for those in Christ Jesus, for I so loved you that I gave My only Son to you so that all who believe in Him would not perish but have eternal life. I did not send My Son into the world to condemn it but to save it. The devil has no legal right or jurisdiction to oppress, bind, chain, impoverish, and/or torment a citizen of My Kingdom. He has no right to bring the curse into your life, for I have redeemed you from the curse. I will come against Him with the sword of My mouth and I will call out twelve legions of angels to undo his work, I am the LORD of Hosts.
Do you see in the case of Paul, all he had to do was declare before his adversaries that he was a citizen of Rome for them to back off from tormenting him and withdraw? And why did they back off? Because they knew that coming against a Roman citizen they were not just coming against Paul but a very strong nation that was backing him by their legal process and the protection of the military of that nation. But if Paul had not enforced his citizenship rights and privileges and permitted the men to scourge him, his bloody stripes would have been his own fault for allowing them to get away with it when he did not have to permit it with very little effort on his part. In the same way, it is up to you to inform the devil of your kingdom rights and privileges. Do not ever forget all My benefits. David constantly reminded himself of them—“Bless the LORD, O my soul, and all that is within Me bless His Holy Name,” he sang, “Bless the LORD, O my soul and forget not all His benefits: He forgives all my sins and offenses and remembers them no more, He heals all my illness and disease, He pulls me out of the pit, and He fills my days with good things and my youth is renewed like the eagle’s.” Psalm 103:1-5.
Never give up and give in to the devil. He will try to wear you out but stay standing your ground and he will have to back off. He has no legal right over a citizen of My Kingdom.
If you have submitted to My jurisdiction by receiving Jesus as your Lord, you have the entire host of Heaven at your command for I have commanded My angels to protect you and to encamp about you to deliver you. Remember that and never back down, say with Jesus, “Or do you think that I cannot appeal to My Father, and He will at once put at My disposal more than twelve legions of angels?” Matthew 26:53. And the answer is “yes,” of course He will.
I love you. Your citizenship is in Heaven. It is your country of origin now that you are born again. You are a citizen by birth. And it cost you nothing but faith in your heart in so great a salvation.