Our Spiritual Rights

Bill of Rights as American Citizens:

If you are a citizen of the United States, you have certain rights, which are outlined in the Constitution and called “The Bill of Rights.”

As long as you obey the laws of the land, you are in right-standing with the United States government.

Some of these rights are freedom of religion, speech, press, right to keep and bear arms.

Gerald Groff, an evangelical Christian postal worker, who refused to work on Sundays for religious reasons and said the U.S. Postal Service should accommodate his religious belief.

He sued USPS for religious discrimination when he got in trouble for refusing to work Sunday shifts.

It went up all the way until the supreme court and he won.

The justices clarified law that made it illegal for employers to discriminate based on religion, requiring that they accommodate the religious beliefs of workers as long as the accommodation does not impose an "undue hardship on the employer's business." The court had previously defined the statutory term "undue hardship" by saying that employers should not have to bear more than what the court called a "de minimis," or trifling, cost.

In life, we are willing to fight for our rights—what belongs us. We put forth a big effort to make sure we get what is rightfully ours—an opportunity, a personal belonging, a raise, a promotion, or just to keep the freedoms that we already have.

But, in spiritual things, we tend to just roll over and give up.

The Bible is your spiritual “bill of righteousness,” outlining all the rights and privileges available to you.

Whether or not you partake of your rights is another matter. Ignorance will rob you of the abundant life that is freely available to you.

The best illustration of this is the story of the man who saved for years to be able to buy a boat ticket to America.

Once he had saved enough, he bought his ticket and boarded the ship. Since he didn’t have any money left for food, he brought along some crackers and cheese.

Every evening at mealtime, he would look into the dining room at the other passengers enjoying their food, then he would return to his cabin and eat his crackers and cheese.

The day the ship docked in New York harbor, a steward came to him and said, “Sir, have we offended you in any way? I noticed that you didn’t eat any of your meals in our dining room.”

The man answered, “Oh, no! You see, I didn’t have enough money for meals, so I ate in my room.” Then the steward said, “But sir, your meals were included in the ticket!”

As a believer, you are a citizen of the kingdom of God, and you have a right to everything in the Kingdom.

There is a covenant between Jesus and God, signed in Jesus’ blood, which provides these rights for you.

If Jesus is your Lord, then you are in right-standing with God—you have the righteousness of God. You have a right to everything God has.

When you accepted Jesus as your Savior, you received rights and privileges you did not have before, because you became heirs to His promises (Galatians 4:1-7).

You have legal rights in the spiritual realm, but you have to take your place and exercise them!

Galatians 4:1-7

Galatians 4:1–7 ESV

1 I mean that the heir, as long as he is a child, is no different from a slave, though he is the owner of everything, 2 but he is under guardians and managers until the date set by his father. 3 In the same way we also, when we were children, were enslaved to the elementary principles of the world. 4 But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, 5 to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons. 6 And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba! Father!” 7 So you are no longer a slave, but a son, and if a son, then an heir through God.

Romans 8:17

Romans 8:17 ESV

17 and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him.

1)You Have the Right to Be Free

John 8:36

John 8:36 ESV

36 So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.

a) God gave us free will.

Why did He give us free will and not just force us to be righteous? Because God didn’t want robots or servants. He wanted a family. That’s why the right, the privilege and the power to DECIDE has been left by God in the hands of men.

You have the right, for example, to decide where you’re going to spend eternity. You have the right to choose life or death, blessing or cursing. You have the right to choose heaven or hell, and God will back your decision.

b) You have the right to be free from sin, the flesh, the world and the devil.

Free from shame, guilt, and condemnation. Free from your past, addiction, depression. Jesus took it all for you.

What keeps us bound is believing lies.

If you choose to believe the lie, and you don’t contend for your right to be free, you’ll be locked in a cell. Only, this cell has the key available in the lock because you don’t belong there—you’ve already been set free. All you have to do is turn the key and walk out—straight to freedom. Straight to victory.

2. You Have the Right to Be Healed

Isaiah 53:5

Isaiah 53:5 ESV

5 But he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed.

Matt 8:14-17

Matthew 8:14–17 ESV

14 And when Jesus entered Peter’s house, he saw his mother-in-law lying sick with a fever. 15 He touched her hand, and the fever left her, and she rose and began to serve him. 16 That evening they brought to him many who were oppressed by demons, and he cast out the spirits with a word and healed all who were sick. 17 This was to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet Isaiah: “He took our illnesses and bore our diseases.”

1 Pet 2:24

1 Peter 2:24 ESV

24 He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed.

Maria Woodworth-etter:

A little girl was carried into the meeting [at Springfield, Illinois, c.1884], as helpless as a baby. She had spinal meningitis, was paralysed all over, her brain was impaired, her head dropped on to her chest, and she had no use of her back and limbs. She had been so for six months, and for four months had only eaten nothing but drunk a little milk.

‘I laid hands on her and commanded the unclean spirits to come out of her. In five minutes she could sit up straight and lift her hands above her head. Five minutes more and she could talk and stand up… The next morning she was the first one up, running from house to house telling what God had done for her.’

Kenneth Hagin:

There was a 16 year old teenager named Kenneth Hagin who was on a bed of sickness for 16 months with two terminal organic heart conditions or deformed heart and an incurable blood disease which left his body was almost totally paralyzed.

I began reading in Matthew 1:1. When I got to Mark 11:24,I read, ". . . What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them." I heard the Holy Spirit quote the rest of that verse: “…. BELIEVE THAT YE RECEIVE THEM, AND YE SHALL HAVE THEM” (Mark 11:24).

Suddenly, I got the revelation of that scripture and I saw where I had been missing it! I was only quoting part of Mark 11:24: “… What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe….” But I wasn't quoting the last part of that verse, which says “….believe that ye RECEIVE them(whatsoever you desire), and ye shall have them”(Mark 11:24).

I prayed for healing because that's what I desired, but I was trying to have my healing first, and then I was going to believe I received it.

The the Lord told him to get out of bed while he was laying down paralyzed. When he made the effort to get out of bed he said the power of God fell on him and he got out of bed.

3)You Have the Right to Not Live In Fear

Romans 8:15

Romans 8:15 NKJV

15 For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, “Abba, Father.”

Do you worry about anything? Are you afraid of getting sick, getting fired or losing a loved one? Are you afraid people are talking about you behind your back? Are you afraid of what your future looks like?

Fear involves torment but Jesus said I have come to give you life and life more abundantly.

Smith Wigglesworth once told a story about waking in the night and feeling the presence of evil in the room. As he looked to the foot of his bed, he saw the devil standing there trying to instill fear in him. But instead of responding in fear, he said, “Oh, it’s only you,” then turned over and went back to sleep.[1]

You don’t have to act on fear. You don’t have to practice fear. You don’t have to talk fear. Give it no place. If you sense it rising up within you, stop right then and take authority over it in Jesus’ Name and cast it out.

How do we claim our rights and walk in them?

a) Know your rights.

b) Claim your rights.

Now, you’re not demanding them from God—He already provided them for you. They are already something that God has promised in His Word not something that He has not.

Go to the Word, find the scriptures that outline your right in the area you are seeking. Then, you take a stand.

c) Expect to receive it and stand your ground.

Here is the tough part. You need to stand. Not just for a minute or a month—but for as long as it takes. That’s how you claim your rights. “I don't have to play a nine-inning game with the devil. I play till I win. It's my bat, it's my ball, and my Father is the judge. We don't quit till we win.”

d) Give thanks to God for providing those rights.

Thank God before it manifests; thank Him after it manifests. There is a faith in thanksgiving that seals your rights in place.

So, thank God after you stake your claim. Let Him know you are expecting it to come to pass. Keep praising and keep thanking—

Then, when you get your answer, give God the glory. And thank Him and praise Him some more.

Prayer over our family based on our rights

No evil shall befall us neither shall any plague come near our dwelling. For God has given His angles charge over us to watch us in all our ways and In our path is life and their is no death.. Psalm 91:10-11

There is blessing and no cursing. We are blessed coming in and going out. We are the head and not the tail. We are above and not beneath. Deuteronomy 28:6,13

No weapon formed against us shall prosper for our righteousness is of the Lord. Isaiah 54:17

For I know the plans I have for you says the Lord plans to prosper you and not to harm you, to give you a future and a hope. Jeremiah 29:11

By your stripes we have been healed. Isaiah 53:5

Amen

What the Cross provided.

God’s people were able to get in on their rights as God’s children before the cross because they recieved it on credit. After the cross it was paid in full.

Jews have something to remind them of the blessing.....their tassels and over the door step.