Some people reading this may not “feel” like they are seated far above the things that trouble them. Others may not “feel” as if they have been given authority (through Jesus Christ) over all these things… but whether we feel it or not, it remains true. We must believe the bible in order to receive it.
We first believed that Jesus Christ could save us, and then we received His salvation. That’s why Paul kept encouraging believers to continue in the faith…
strengthening the souls of the disciples, encouraging them to continue in the faith, and saying that through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God. – Act 14:22
The bible says it has been done, and we must believe the bible in order to receive it. It sounds easy, but it’s not. Paul said we enter the Kingdom of God through many tribulations. You may struggle to believe at times.
The bible describes it as a “wrestling match”…
For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. – Eph 6:12
A wrestling match is not usually won instantly, you have to grapple and push and pull. It goes for a few rounds. Then you win.
That is why Jesus Christ said that we take the Kingdom of Heaven “by force”…
And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, and the violent G726 take it by force. G846 – Mat 11:12
I included the Strong Dictionary numbers for those two words, violent and force, because it is important for you to know how to go about this process and not to have unrealistic expectations that it will be easy and quick.
Violent G726 – a forcer, that is, (figuratively) energetic: – violent.
Force G846 – seize, catch (away, up), pluck, pull, take (by force)
So that phrase could be expanded to “and energetic people take the Kingdom of Heaven by forcefully taking, plucking, pulling and seizing it!!”
As you can see, this is not a passive process, instead your faith is active and aggressive and always advancing forward…
Beloved, although I was very eager to write to you about our common salvation, I found it necessary to write appealing to you to contend G1864 for the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints. – Jud 1:3
That word contend is also in Strongs Dictionary and it says this…
contend G1864 – struggle for: – earnestly contend for
So when you see a promise and your “amen” feels like a struggle, as if you are pushing through a brick wall with no progress… if it feels like you are wrestling with spiritual powers to receive the inheritance which exists for the sons of God… if it feels like you have to pluck, pull, seize and take it… then you are in the right place doing the right thing.
If you take a stand for what is yours, for what is mine and ours, and you push through easily, then that victory is already won. Congrats! Move on to the next thing. 🙂
Be encouraged, you are the latest in a long line of spiritual missionaries who have advanced the Kingdom of Heaven through this struggle!
I sometimes see this process as if you and I see something that the enemy has stolen from us (for example a part of our identity or our spiritual inheritance) and we walk up to that thing and grab it away from the enemy. I imagine myself saying “give that back, it’s not yours as I rip it out of his hands”.
As we get it back, countless other Christians immediately see it and they begin to make use of it. This is one of the ways that the Kingdom of Heaven takes land and advances.
So let’s go back to what we have learned and let’s contend for it. The bible says you ARE seated far above all the things which trouble this world… receive that by believing it. Believing simply means saying “amen” to a truth that you have been told. When the bible says something is true about you, you simply agree with that truth, you say it’s true.
All these things are yes in Jesus Christ, and you utter your amen to God…
“For as many as are the promises of God, they all find their Yes in Him [Christ].
For this reason we also utter the Amen (so be it) to God through Him [in His Person and by His agency] to the glory of God” (2 Cor 1:20)
Faith + Hope + Love 
I love the part where you say “give that back, it’s not yours, as I rip it out of his hands”. So many time I have acted like the complacent Christian who allowed the enemy to walk all over me and take whatever he wanted without a fight because I thought that’s how a Christian is supposed to act. I have since learned that this is not how I should be. I cannot allow the enemy to steal what God has called me to be. It can be a daily spiritual battle but as I recognize who it is that is trying to destroy what God is building, it makes it easier to say, “give that back, it’s not yours”!
Bingo Shelley!!! You got it!