SUBMISSION

Pr. Geoffrey Kibombo

Revelation 12:11(NLT)

“Then I heard a loud voice shouting across the heavens, “It has come at last—salvation and power and the Kingdom of our God, and the authority of his Christ. For the accuser of our brothers and sisters has been thrown down to earth—the one who accuses them before our God day and night.”

Being pastored is a fundamental principle in Salvation; as Christians we need to have a local church or Spiritual home where we belong. However, many times we do not go deeper into knowing why this is necessary and key to our salvation journey and spiritual growth. We may have converted to salvation so many years ago but with no spiritual growth and blessings in our lives. Not having a spiritual home and spiritual father - Pastor to whom you submit is one of the things that can cause someone to meet hardships in the journey of salvation.

In the scripture above, after there was war in heaven and the devil had been cast down with a third of the angels, John heard these words; “It has come at last—salvation and power and the Kingdom of our God, and the authority of his Christ.”

Many people will ask; “If God loves us why does he prepare hell for us?” Hell is for the devil but he is always trying to corrupt you as so that he can take you with him as well. However the bible says that salvation has come and it has come with three things;

1. Power
2. The kingdom of God
3. The Authority of Christ

When you become born-again, you get strength that enables you to do certain things. In salvation there is a kingdom, and every kingdom has beliefs, values and principles which one obey and follow; a kingdom comes with authority and as we all know, there is a king, servants and subjects - there is a leader and people who are led.

You will fail to attain God’s purpose for your life when you are living a vagabond spiritual life – when you want to be your own king in somebody else’s kingdom. The devil will make your salvation jumbled by making you not to be under any leadership because he does not want you to submit to authority. He knows that if you submit under someone there are many challenges you will not encounter. The devil has overcome so many people because they have not learnt the secret of submission. So many people are not pastored – have no spiritual home and father, though they have been born again for many years; every month they have a new pastor and church

There are benefits of having a spiritual father; one of them is that there are some battles you do not have to fight or go through. When you are submitting under a servant of God, you avoid lots of battles, mistakes and wrong choices. You get to tap into sacred wisdom and mostly importantly anointing from the servant of God – you get guidance and counsel from a person who hears from the heart of God.

The devil can overcome some people in their lives because they are neither under authority nor under leadership; so the accuser, who has a short time because he wants to take people to hell, starts overcoming these people because their salvation is shaky: because remember, salvation comes with power, the kingdom and authority.

Any person who is not guided well is like a street child. They guide themselves and no one cares for them, they do not submit under anyone and they break the law as they please. In salvation, we have such people, they do anything they wish, they do not take instructions or guidance from anyone and no one can come to their rescue - they are not protected or covered.

There is a solemn word that God spoke to his servant on behalf the church - there is a covenant God made with his or her servant, and because of that covenant, all of us who submit to him benefit from it. Psalms 105:42 (MSG) says; “……he remembered his Covenant, his promise to Abraham, his servant.”

God made a covenant with Abraham, and because of it, people under him benefited from it – God didn’t let them suffer because they were under someone He had made a covenant with. He therefore rescued them from slavery in Egypt and settled them in the land he had promised to Abraham their fore father. God did not mind their prayers while in captivity, but he remembered that they were under the lineage of Abraham and because of that, he remembered his covenant with Abraham and brought them out of captivity.

In some scenarios God will only come to your rescue because of the covenant he made with his servant you’re submitting to - It only works for those that are submitting. In life, when a fierce animal attacks a home with a father, the father comes out to protect his children and in defending them he at times gets hurt so that those he cares for remain well. Many people do not have protection because they are neither submitting nor under authority. Many are even fighting battles that they should not be fighting. Every church and servant of God has a covenant with God and the believers under that particular servant of God automatically tap into that covenant. 

Exodus 17:11 (NLT) says; “And as long as Moses held up the rod in his hands, Israel was winning; but whenever he rested his arms at his sides, the soldiers of Amalek were winning.”

In the above scripture we see that when the Israelites under Moses, were at battle with the Amalekites, it is the people who were under him that would fail whenever his hands went down. But when Moses’s hands were held up they conquered. There is victory you attain if your leader’s hands are held up; victory achieved without struggle! If we submit under authority there are problems we shall conquer without even unknowing. If we submit, there is a hedge of protection around us.

The bible says; Salvation has come with the kingdom and authority of heaven. Salvation comes with the power - power that enables you to overcome the challenges and that power will only come when you are under authority.

Satan was the angle of covering. We read in Ezekiel 28:14-19 (NLT) that;

"I ordained and anointed you as the mighty angelic guardian. You had access to the holy mountain of God and walked among the stones of fire. 15 “You were blameless in all you did from the day you were created until the day evil was found in you. 16 Your rich commerce led you to violence, and you sinned. So I banished you in disgrace from the mountain of God. I expelled you, O mighty guardian, from your place among the stones of fire. 17 Your heart was filled with pride because of all your beauty. Your wisdom was corrupted by your love of splendor. So I threw you to the ground and exposed you to the curious gaze of kings. 18 You defiled your sanctuaries with your many sins and your dishonest trade. So I brought fire out from within you, and it consumed you. I reduced you to ashes on the ground in the sight of all who were watching. 19 All who knew you are appalled at your fate. You have come to a terrible end, and you will exist no more.”

Before Satan rebelled, he had precious stones as a covering. He was put on the holy mountain and had all the precious things. However, all that brought him pride and he no longer wanted to be under submission, he was banished and cast down. The scripture above is referring to the church. God removed honour and protection from one of his prideful angels and he is now like ashes beneath our feet; when the devil defied authority, he lost all the protection and covering that were upon him. We now fight him because he is no longer under protection

The bible says that because salvation has come, it has come with the kingdom of God. A kingdom has systems of governance and operation. In God’s kingdom everyone has to submit to authority – to pastors, elders and ministry leaders. God routes our blessings and packages through his servants. 

Mathew 14:19 (NLT) says; - “Then he told the people to sit down on the grass. Jesus took the five loaves and two fish, looked up toward heaven, and blessed them. Then, breaking the loaves into pieces, he gave the bread to the disciples, who distributed it to the people.”

In the kingdom of God, there is order and rules to be followed. In the scripture above, Jesus told the people to sit down before they are served – this shows that God commands respect and in order for you to receive from him, he requires submission of you. Secondly, after Jesus had blessed the fish and bread, he gave to the disciples to distribute not people! This is an indication that our packages are routed through the servants of God who then distribute them to the submissive believers. Some of your blessings and requests have been hindered by lack of submission under the anointed servants of God. If you do not have a servant of God who speaks into your life with, you are missing out a lot on heavenly benefits. 

A pastor has a rod and staff – the staff he uses to chase away wolves (devil) from the sheep (You) and the rod he uses it to guide the sheep. So if you do not have a spiritual father and home, you’re not protected and you will easily be deceived and manipulated by the devil. There are blessings that you will not get if you are not submissive!

When Israel was going into the Promised Land, each tribe was allocated a portion of land, and each got a parcel depending on the share that was allocated (Numbers 34). We get our blessing depending on the covenant under our pastor - the gifts and calling upon him. If you are in between you cannot get anything form God. There are blessings we automatically get because of the covenant we submit to; there are battles you do not have to fight because you are submitting to someone and that person combats on your behalf; there is victory you attain when God remembers the covenant he made with his servant.

Your relationship with your pastor benefits you! It is very easy and you need invest in it.

Remember; have a Spiritual home and father, and a relationship with your leaders. Every time you submit you benefit; there is protection, victory and blessings.

Submit under the anointed ones!