The LORD God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to work it and keep it. And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, “You may surely eat of every tree of the garden, but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.” – Genesis 2:15-17

Part of your created design is to work and keep as an agent of God, carrying His authority and bringing the Kingdom of heaven to earth. It is impossible to KEEP without being KEPT. It is impossible to operate in authority without being under authority. In the Garden of Eden, Adam’s authority over the Garden of Eden was rooted in his ability to adhere to the boundaries that God placed upon him. True spiritual authority is forfeited when those boundaries are broken or transgressed, and the devil is very aware of this.

Jesus’ divine anointing was also connected to His divine restraint. Jesus said (John 5:19), “This is the truth I’m speaking to you, the Son can do nothing of his own accord, but only what he sees the Father doing.” The devil came after Jesus again and again, attempting to get Him to transgress this divine restraint. But Jesus refused to do anything He didn’t see His Father doing; therefore He maintained His anointing through His crucifixion, death, and resurrection, and was then fully able to delegate that authority to His followers as He ascended to His throne.

Jesus faced the same temptation as all humanity — to cross the line. When Jesus faced temptation in the wilderness, he overcame through fasting and standing on scripture. When Jesus faced temptation through His friend Peter, He said get out of my way. Even up to His final moments, Jesus was challenged to do something other than Father God’s will, and He showed us how to pray through the temptation. In dealing with temptation to cross the line, Jesus gave us three clear examples:

• Fast and get your life in alignment with the Word of God.
• Change your proximity to temptation.
• Pray earnestly until breakthrough comes.

God has big plans for our lives. He saved us so that we could reclaim our place in His family, and as part of His family reclaim our influence on the earth. He wants to anoint us with the power and authority to represent His Kingdom. He wants us to take our position at the front door and determine who comes and who goes. He wants to give us the keys to the kingdom. He wants us bind and loose, restrain and release.

• It is impossible to KEEP without being KEPT.
• It is impossible to operate in authority without being under authority.
• It is impossible to be an enforcer and guardian of boundaries if you’re not submitted to boundaries.
• In order to have legal power to issue divine restraining orders, you must operate within divine restraint.

Are we submitted to God and the authorities He’s put in our lives? Are we operating within divine restraint in order to walk in divine anointing? Are we willing to fast, to move, and to pray when we’re faced with the temptation to cross the line?

Join us Sunday as we break into Lab Groups to discuss and apply “Divine Restraint for Divine Anointing”. If you haven’t heard the message or you’d like to hear it again, click on the image above.

His love is better than life!
Matt

Matt Neese
Wellspring.Live

• 11/04 Amos 7, Isaiah 9, Ezekiel 3, Hebrews 1
• 11/05 Amos 8, Isaiah 10, Ezekiel 4, Hebrews 2
• 11/06 Amos 9, Isaiah 11, Ezekiel 5, Hebrews 3
• 11/07 Obadiah 1, Isaiah 12, Ezekiel 6, Hebrews 4
• 11/08 Jonah 1, Isaiah 13, Ezekiel 7, Hebrews 5
• 11/09 Jonah 2, Isaiah 14, Ezekiel 8, Hebrews 6
• 11/10 Jonah 3, Isaiah 15, Ezekiel 9, Hebrews 7
• 11/11 Jonah 4, Isaiah 16, Ezekiel 10, Hebrews 8

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