The Authority to Bind and Loose
Matthew 16:13-16 When Jesus came into the coasts of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, saying, Whom do men say that I the Son of man am?
And they said, some say that thou art John the Baptist: some, Elias; and others, Jeremias, or one of the prophets.
He saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am?
And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.
I. Jesus asked the disciples to explain who men described him to be
A. Some said that he was John the Baptist
B. Some said that he was Elijah
C. Some said that he was Jeremiah
II. Jesus asked the disciples "Who do you say that I am?"
A. Our opinion of Jesus should not come from the world
B. Our opinion of Jesus should come from the Word of God
C. Peter's response was "Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God."
III. Peter's revelation of Jesus came directly from God
Matthew 16:17 And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Bar-jona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven.
IV. Revelation comes from God through the Holy Spirit
A. A minister can preach that Jesus Christ is Lord, but it takes divine revelation to realize that Jesus is more than a man
B. It takes divine revelation to realize that Jesus is more than a prophet, a teacher, or a good man
C. It takes divine revelation to realize that Jesus is the Son of God
Matthew 16:18 And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.
V. Peter was not the rock on which the church was built
VI. The "rock" was the confession of the Lordship of Jesus Christ
VII. Binding and Loosing
Matthew 16:19 And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shalt be loosed in heaven.
Matthew 18:18 Verily I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever ye shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.
A. Prerequisites for binding and loosing
1. The context of Matthew 16 is accepting Jesus Christ--you must be a believer
2. A sinner cannot bind and loose
3. The context of Matthew 18 is forgiveness--a believer must be in fellowship with God to bind and loose
B. "Shall be bound" and "shall be loosed" in the Greek are in the perfect passive tense
1. This tense in the Greek refers to something that was accomplished in the past with results that keep working into the present
2. Whatever we bind on earth has already been bound in heaven
3. Whatever we loose on earth has already been loosed in heaven
4. God does not bind when we bind
5. We bind because He has bound
6. God does not loose when we loose
7. We loose because He has loosed
C. We need to find out what God has bound in heaven and bind it on earth
D. We need to find out what God has loosed in heaven and loose it on earth
E. Binding and loosing is toward Satan who has bound people who need to be loosed in Jesus' name
VIII. God's desire is that heaven and earth work together
A. In heaven, things are settled
B. On earth, things are not settled
C. God left us here to bring agreement on this earth with what has already happened in heaven
IX. Jesus' followers were shocked that they could cast out devils in Jesus' name because they did not have the revelation that they were fallen beings
Luke 10:17-19 And the seventy returned again with joy, saying, Lord, even the devils are subject unto us through thy name.
And he said unto them, I beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven.
Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you.
A. Jesus' response was that He had watched as Satan fell from heaven
1. Jesus was telling the disciples that they were dealing with a fallen being
2. Jesus wanted the disciples to understand that it was because the demons had already fallen, that they were subject to the disciples
3. Satan was conquered twice
a. When he was cast out of heaven
b. When Jesus died, was buried and was resurrected from the dead
B. Satan's place in the Garden of Eden
1. Satan was not a serpent that came to Eve from a tree
2. "Serpent" was the name that was given to Satan
3. Satan came in all of his brilliance to the garden
4. God told Satan that he would go on his belly and eat dust all of his life
5. The foot of Jesus is on the neck of Satan
C. Jesus did not tell the disciples to "walk" on "serpents and scorpions", he told them to "tread"
1. Jesus Christ defeated Satan
2. Jesus Christ literally crushed the head of Satan on the cross
3. Jesus wanted the disciples to put their foot next to his on Satan's head
4. It is unscriptural to say "God, get rid of the devil for me"
5. God said "YOU cast out devils, YOU lay hands on the sick, YOU be a witness"
X. Binding and loosing is not prayer
A. Binding and loosing is using our authority against Satan
B. We are to use our authority to manifest the enemy's defeat which was already accomplished through Jesus Christ
C. Literally, when we bind and loose we are joining in something that has already been answered
XI. Christians often pray for mountains to be removed when they need to speak to the mountains
Mark 11:23 For verily I say unto you, That whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea;
A. We need to speak to sickness--with the stripes of Jesus we have already been healed
B. There are many things that believers need to speak to because of the authority that has been given to them through Jesus Christ
XII. Satan binds people, believers are supposed to loose people
A. Daily we are surrounded by Christians who do not have the knowledge, strength or understanding to bring deliverance into their lives
B. When Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead, the first thing Jesus said was "Loose him and let him go." (Luke 11:44)
C. We are surrounded by many born-again people who are still bound in grave clothes
D. Jesus gave us authority to see that they are loosed in this life
XIII. When Jesus arose from the dead, He not only conquered Satan He exposed him
Colossians 2:15 And having spoiled principalities and powers, he made a show of them openly, triumphing over them in it.
A. Jesus made a public display of Satan
1. God the Father saw it
2. The angels in heaven saw it
3. The demons saw it
4. The fallen angels saw it
B. When Jesus arose from the dead, Satan was conquered once and for all
XIV. Joshua's victory is our example
Joshua 10:22-25 Then said Joshua, Open the mouth of the cave, and bring out those five kings unto me out of the cave.
And they did so and brought forth those five kings unto him out of the cave, the king of Jerusalem, the king of Hebron, the king of Jarmuth, the king of Lachish, and the king of Eglon.
And it came to pass, when they brought out those kings unto Joshua, that Joshua called for all the men of Israel, and said unto the captains of the men of war which went with him, Come near, put your feet upon the necks of these kings. And they came near, and put their feet upon the necks of them.
And Joshua said unto them, Fear not, nor be dismayed, be strong and of good courage: for thus shall the Lord do to all your enemies against whom ye fight.
A. Five kings formed an alliance against Joshua
B. Joshua's army was incredibly outnumbered
1. It did not matter how many were on Joshua's side
2. It mattered whose side Joshua was on
Romans 8:31 What shall we say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us?
C. Joshua understood that God was fighting with him
B. When evening was approaching Joshua realized that they were close to winning the battle
E. Joshuadid not pray to God to stop the sun and the moon so that he and his army could win the battle, he spoke to the sun and the moon and commanded them to stop
F. The earth stood still for nearly 24 hours while Joshua and his army won the battle
G. When the 5 kings saw that they were going to lose the battle, they fled and hid in a cave
H. Joshua trapped the five fleeing kings
1. A stone was put over the mouth of the cave
2. A guard was placed outside the cave
I. After Joshua and his army fought and won the battle, the earth began rotating again
J. Joshua commanded the 5 kings to be released from the cave
K. Five pressure areas in life are indicated by the names of the kings
L. Joshua called for the captains of the armies of Israel and told them to put their feet on the necks of the 5 kings
XX. Even though sin, sickness, and poverty have been conquered by Jesus does not mean that they are conquered in our lives
A. We must put our foot next to Jesus' foot on the neck of sin, sickness disease, and poverty
B. Joshua is a type of Jesus
C. Jesus has conquered every curse that tries to come against us, but we must put our foot next to the foot of Jesus
Galatians 3:13 Christ hath (past tense) redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree:
I Peter 2:24 Who his own self-bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were (past tense) healed.
Colossians 2:13 And you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath he quickened together with him, having forgiven (past tense) you all trespasses.
II Corinthians 8:9 For ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that, though he was rich, yet for your sakes he bacame (past tense) poor, that ye through his poverty might be rich.
XXI. Jesus invites us to put our foot next to his on the neck of every problem that has or will ever come into our life
A. Sin
B. Sickness and disease
C. Poverty
D. Besetting habits
1. Tobacco
2. Drugs
3. Prescription drugs
4. Pornography
5. Overeating
XXII. Anything that tries to exalt itself as king over our life has already been conquered for us to appropriate in our lives
