While reading from Jude this morning the Lord began to minister to me from verse six about the importance of maintaining our position of authority and our proper dwelling in Christ Jesus. The English Standard Version actually records it as, “And the angels who did not stay within their own position of authority, but left their proper dwelling, he has kept in eternal chains under gloomy darkness until the judgment of the great day.”  The King James Version states it this way: kept not their first estate, but left their own habitation.  The New King James reads: did not keep their proper domain, but left their own abode. Now I admit that the Scripture verse itself actually refers to the angels, but if this truth applied to angels, then this same truth applies to us too.

It’s our responsibility to keep ourselves in the presence of God; He does not move away. From my own experience when I didn’t stay closely connected with God as His child, then I also didn’t stay in my rightful place of using my authority as a joint-heir with Jesus. When our fellowship with Jesus wanes, so does our faith and our victories.

This is why it’s so very important to keep hearing the Word of God – so our faith will remain strong. Any time a person continuously walks apart or away from the presence of God, they are leaving the power of their authority behind too. Our authority is rooted in and based upon Jesus, the Son of God. It’s that simple. If we move away from God’s Word, then we move away from God’s Presence and authority.

Second Thessalonians 3:13 warns us to not grow weary in well doing. This weariness isn’t just about a person becoming physically and emotionally weary in serving the Lord, it’s also about not growing weary in keeping our faith strong. The more we stay in the presence of the Lord, the stronger we are in faith and less likely to become weary in this world of chaos.

Psalm 91:1 teaches that only those who “dwell in the shelter of the Most High will abide in the shadow of the Almighty.”  To dwell means we keep our attention directed towards God; to pay attention to what He has said in the Bible and to what He is saying to us each day. A shelter is what gives us protection from the outside elements.  When we abide, dwell, and stay focused on the Word of God, we receive revelation and wisdom on how to apply the authority of our position as a child of God in our lives. A Christian has the right to use the Name of Jesus because Jesus himself delegated his authority to us in Matthew 28:18-19.

Second Corinthians 10:3 reminds us that we do not fight against flesh (other people); and John 10:10 teaches that our fight is against demonic activity that comes to kill, steal, and destroy us. That same verse in John, Jesus also says that He came to give us life and life more abundantly. For a person to experience the abundantly life that Jesus came to give us, we must remain dwelling in the shelter of God on a daily basis.

My heart’s purpose in writing this message is to encourage you to consider where you are in your faith and fellowship with Christ Jesus. I want to encourage you to stay in the dwelling place of God’s shelter so you will not become weary in well doing, in service and in faith; so you will be stable in all your ways and have a zeal to live holy and righteous before God, bringing him glory and honor.