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Good morning and welcome to Faith Vision, we are pleased that you chose to worship With us this morning.

Want to thank all those who fast and prayed this past Wednesday

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The Meaning of Binding in Prayer

My message this morning is entitled:

The Meaning of Binding in Prayer

The Text is located in

13 When Jesus came into the region of Caesarea Philippi, He asked His disciples, saying, “Who do men say that I, the Son of Man, am?”

14 So they said, “Some say John the Baptist, some Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.”

15 He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?”

16 Simon Peter answered and said, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”

17 Jesus answered and said to him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven.

18 And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it.

19 And I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.”

Summary:

“The gates of hell will not overwhelm it” is both a promise and a plan not often discerned in Jesus’ words by casual readers (). Of course, the promise refers to the Church victorious as Jesus is growing and sustaining it even to our present day. But the plan is packed in this verse too, a plan Jesus describes as working itself out through the “binding and loosing” activity of the Church’s constituency (vs. 19) as they engage in prayer. What is required here is a “training for the truth” in the lives of believers. That is, we must hear and heed the call of Christ to engage as his Church in the fullness of the role Jesus has designed for us – advancing troops in a spiritual war conducted against the forces of darkness in the world.

19Introduction/Background

Introduction/Background

“The gates of hell will not overwhelm it” is both a promise and a plan not often discerned in Jesus’ words by casual readers (). Of course, the promise refers to the Church victorious as Jesus is growing and sustaining it even to our present day. But the plan is packed in this verse too, a plan Jesus describes as working itself out through the “binding and loosing” activity of the Church’s constituency (vs. 19) as they engage in prayer. What is required here is a “training for the truth” in the lives of believers. That is, we must hear and heed the call of Christ to engage as his Church in the fullness of the role Jesus has designed for us – advancing troops in a spiritual war conducted against the forces of darkness in the world.

Jesus’ promise of hell’s failure is not a description of hell in attack mode against the Church. Rather, it is a picture of the Church in attack mode against hell, assured the victory in the present because of Jesus’ victory on the cross and thus in the eternal realm. In order to fully comprehend our role as constituents of the Church called into battle against darkness, we must understand some critical truths about the function of “binding” that Jesus describes (along with loosing) as one of two of our primary weapons of action. “Binding” through prayer is best understood when we consider the meaning of the term, its relationship to prayer itself, and its net effect as a result of being employed through prayer.

Key Points

I. “Binding” is a specific term and means a specific thing

The word for “binding” in the New Testament Greek is the word desmios (pronounced “des'-mee-os”). The root term here is deó (pronounced “deh'-o”).

(pronounced “des'-mee-os”). The root term here is deó (pronounced “deh'-o”).

a. The verb sundeó (pronounced “soon-deh'-o”) means “I bind together.” Variations on the meaning of the term deó are “to bind,” “to confine,” “to hinder,” and may also equally mean “impelling” or “compelling,” that is, “to impel or compel.”

b. As in reference to a written contract. “Binding” in this sense indicates an enforcement of a previously agreed upon arrangement as in a contract.

c. The concept here is that “binding” is a form of the accessing God’s will in heaven, as it has already been “agreed upon” through the decision-making function of God himself and the work of Christ on the cross in human redemption.

Therefore, in the Lord’s Prayer () when Christ instructs his disciples to pray “Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven,” He is referring directly to this spiritual/theological fact.

d. Praying according to Jesus’ instruction indicates that we are to pray God’s will be binding on earth as it is in heaven.

That is, God’s will should be actuated on earth even as “the contract of heaven” established by God in the first place through his will needs to be made obligatory on the earthly plane.

II. God’s Will in Heaven

d. Praying according to Jesus’ instruction indicates that we are to pray God’s will be binding on earth as it is in heaven. That is, God’s will should be actuated on earth even as “the contract of heaven” established by God in the first place through his will needs to be made obligatory on the earthly plane. 2. God’s Will in Heaven – God’s will is frequently repeated in Scripture and recited in a variety of ways and from numerous perspectives. Perhaps the most compelling statement of God’s will is captured succinctly in the well-known . a. Scripture echoes this truth of God’s will toward the human race as a “good will” set on life, rather than a “destructive will” set on death. b. (and numerous other passages) tells us that God’s will for our lives is an abundance and fullness of life reflective of our relationship with him.

God’s will is frequently repeated in Scripture and recited in a variety of ways and from numerous perspectives. Perhaps the most compelling statement of God’s will is captured succinctly in the well-known .

a. Scripture echoes this truth of God’s will toward the human race as a “good will” set on life, rather than a “destructive will” set on death.

- The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.

The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.

b. (and numerous other passages) tells us that God’s will for our lives is an abundance and fullness of life reflective of our relationship with him.

- The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.

10 The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.

The point here is that God’s will for humanity – generally and in any given particular situation – is a good and beneficent will that, were it to be fully enacted on earth, would greatly change the quality of people’s lives immediately.

Thus, we are to seek God’s will as the Church for ourselves, others and the world. In knowing that will, we are to pray, intercede and press into the power of God through the cross to serve others spiritually and practically toward the end result of enacting and knowing God’s (good) will for their lives. In this way, the very terminology employed in describing the “binding” made reference to by Christ in describes the very activity the Church is to be busy doing on this earth.

III. “Binding” is closely related to prayer

The concept of “binding” is surprisingly similar in its root idea to prayer, than most people know. In fact, in the original Greek language employed in the New Testament, the prayer concept of “supplication” is very similar linguistically to “binding.”

a. The word desmios (pronounced “des'-mee-os”) is most often translated “supplication” in Scripture.

The verb indicates action that could be described as “entering into negotiations toward an agreement.

In a sense it is the activating of the divine contract in heaven upon the earth.

This verb is found in the “middle voice” in Greek, which indicates an “asking derived from want.” This is the essential meaning of the idea of supplication.

b. Thus, the central relationship between the various words translated (each in their different Greek tenses) “binding,” “compelling,” and “supplication/ting” demonstrate a strong tie in original meaning and intention.

c. Supplication, then, can accurately be defined as the “asking derived from want” that compels God’s will be pressed through to fulfillment on earth as it is in heaven. The “want” needing to be filled is the void of God’s will on earth in the first place.

IV. “Binding” through prayer makes God’s will effective on earth

Clearly, Jesus is describing the role of the Church and its constituents as one of acting as God’s Kingdom agents to actuate his will for humanity on earth and in his name.

through prayer, affecting spiritual warfare that makes a difference in the supernatural realm even as we practically serve people to advance God’s good will in their lives in the earthly realm. Our supplicative prayer and practical help is the primary work of the Kingdom.

We do this primarily through prayer, affecting spiritual warfare that makes a difference in the supernatural realm even as we practically serve people to advance God’s good will in their lives in the earthly realm.

Our supplicative prayer and practical help is the primary work of the Kingdom.

Conclusion:

Our calling in the Kingdom as the Church is clear: do warfare against darkness. We do this warfare by prayer and practical service. Our prayers agreeing with and pressing to fulfillment God’s will already established for mankind in the heavenlies. Our practical service – activating the will of God on earth in the expressions of love and care these “good works” having been predordained to communicate through us from the beginning. The meaning of “binding” is the powerful truth of the necessity to pray and work God’s will into human lives.

Prayer:

through prayer, affecting spiritual warfare that makes a difference in the supernatural realm even as we practically serve people to advance God’s good will in their lives in the earthly realm. Our supplicative prayer and practical help is the primary work of the Kingdom. Conclusion Our calling in the Kingdom as the Church is clear: do warfare against darkness. We do this warfare by prayer and practical service. Our prayers agreeing with and pressing to fulfillment God’s will already established for mankind in the heavenlies. Our practical service – activating the will of God on earth in the expressions of love and care these “good works” having been predordained to communicate through us from the beginning. The meaning of “binding” is the powerful truth of the necessity to pray and work God’s will into human lives.

Salvation:

For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. As we bow our heads: Repeat after me: Lord I believe that Jesus is the son of God, and that He died for my sins and rose again, I asked forgiveness of my sins, and I asked that Jesus would come into my heart today. Receive forgiveness of sins in the name of Jesus

Tithes & Offering:

Announcements: Pepper Dewberry

Alita Lopez

Mission Statement:

Loving God, Loving People, Living by Faith

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Preaching Jesus Christ, and Making Disciples of all Nations

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Sharing God’s Goodness: Testimonies

Closing Scripture: Art Ramzy

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