Intro: God gave man authority in the garden. Satan through deception robbed man of his authority on earth. Man lived in bondage to sin. When Jesus said, it is finished, He completed the work of regaining the authority that man had lost. He took the keys from Satan, and gave all authority back to man. But most people don’t realize that they possess this authority, so until someone operates in the authority given them, authority is useless. Jesus never meant for his followers to struggle through life but to walk in victory. Tonight, we will look at walking in Spiritual Authority.
1. Matthew 28:18-20 in the great commission Jesus said, I possess all authority in heaven and earth. He then released his disciples to take the message of the gospel into all the world.
The same authority that He operated in while he walked this life was now given to His church.
2. Ephesians 1:19-23-Jesus isn’t just sitting in heaven waiting for our arrival. He is seated at the right hand of God, as the High Priest of God, who makes intercessions for us. Jesus is the head of the church, we operate as His body. Since He is above everything, we are above everything by being in Christ. Everything is under our feet. Through the name of Jesus, the Word of God, the blood of Christ, the power of the Holy Spirit, we operate in authority over every thing.
3. Colossians 2:14-15 Jesus has freed us from the domination of sin in our lives. Everything that the devil had on us, Jesus erased by the blood. He made a show of the devil nailing all of our sins to the cross. So we don’t walk in defeat, but victory over sin, Satan and all powers in this world.
4. I John 4:4—because of the Holy Spirit operating in us, the same power that raised Christ from the dead. We have greater power than all the demonic forces in this world. We can take authority over anything that comes against us. No weapon formed against us will prosper.
5. Luke 10:19—Jesus gave the 70 power to go out in His name. They rejoiced that the devil was subject to them through the name of Jesus. Jesus has been given a name that is above every other name.
6. Matthew 18:18—there is an agreement between heaven and earth. Jesus as the Head, seated with all authority, binds what we bind, and looses what we loose. You can bind up the devil in Jesus name. You can loose people from the chains that have them bound.
7. 2 Corinthians 10:3-5-this is not carnal authority, but the authority that God has given into our lives through Jesus Christ. If we operate in the flesh or carnal, we will be defeated. We must operate in the Spirit of God, Word of God and Name of Jesus to walk in ultimate victory.
8. Matthew 8:8-10—having authority and using authority are two separate things. All believers have been given this power from on high, but not all operate in their God given authority. Until you learn Spiritual Warfare, you will be unable to walk in the total freedom that Jesus purchased by His Blood.
Galatians 5:1—stand in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free. You have to stand in the liberty, having done all, to stand.
9. Mark 1:22—acting like you have authority and really possessing authority are two different things. The scribes and Pharisees acted like they had authority, but people recognized Jesus as truly possessing Spiritual Authority. It is the same today, people can see through religion, the devil can recognize someone who is talking the talk without walking the walk. You must be connected to Christ to operate in His authority.
He is the vine, we are the branches, without Him we can do nothing.
Close: don’t worry that all hell is against you, just remember all heaven is for you.
