One of the most important activities of the believer’s life is prayer. No matter how important and necessary it is prayer cannot take the place of the exercising of our authority. There are situations in life when Jesus Christ expects us to use the authority that He has given us instead of praying. The Scriptures clearly declare that He has given us authority over all the power of the enemy and it is our responsibility to exercise this authority at the appropriate time. Unfortunately, many believers would rather pray when the right thing to do would be to exercise their authority. We have not really understood that our authority comes from God’s delegated power. The believer has no power in himself or herself but has access to God’s delegated power. The policeman can exercise his authority to stop traffic or make an arrest. He has no power in himself but he has the power of the state behind him. In the same way the believer has been given authority. He has no power within himself but has the power of almighty God Himself behind him. When Moses came to the Red Sea and saw the armies of Egypt pursuing them he prayed to the Lord to make a way for them. He was asking the Lord to do something he had already been given the authority to do. Instead of praying God expected him to use the rod to exercise his authority over the Red Sea. As believers we spend a lot of time praying to God to do what He has already given us the authority to do. Jesus Christ has given believers the authority to come against all the ability of the evil one in His name. We need to know when to pray and when to exercise our authority in the name of Christ.
The Scriptures begin with the words “In the beginning God‘. He is the only one who has power in Himself and all power has to emanate from Him. He created the heavens and the earth and all things therein. He made man in His own image and likeness and created the angels. God in His wisdom has given different levels of authority to His creation. God, as Creator, owned everything. He gave dominion, or authority, over the earth to man. This meant that only someone with a physical body had the right to exercise authority on earth. Satan had no right or power to oppress man or rule over the earth. He was under man’s authority. The only reason Satan is able to oppress, dominate, or cause problems is because man yielded their God-given authority to him. He used the body of a snake and through deceit became the god of this world. Satan is an angel and God put angels in a position of authority below that of man. Apart from that they are spirit beings without a physical body and therefore had no authority on earth. When Satan usurped man’s position through deception it created a problem. God is Spirit and was limited in His actions because He had given authority over this earth to people with physical bodies. He, therefore, could only intervene by becoming a man.
Christ had to become a man in order to win back and restore authority to man. Man can, however, only have access to this authority when he trusts in the finished work of Christ and submits to Him. This is only possible after a revelation of Jesus’ true identity. Peter, one of Jesus’ closest disciples, was the first to have this revelation and proclaimed Jesus’ true identity as the Messiah. Matthew declared that the revelation given to Peter about the person of Christ came from the Father. A direct personal confrontation of the disciples by Christ led Peter to acknowledge Him as the Messiah. Just as the disciples were confronted with the question of who Jesus is, so every person today is still being confronted with the same question. Everybody needs to know who Jesus Christ is because what we think about Him determines our present life and our eternal destiny. Our personal trust and submission to Jesus Christ, the Son of God, as our Saviour and Lord restores our relationship to God and the authority we lost. Who do you say is Jesus Christ?
Our confession of Christ as Saviour and Lord leads to a new life. It is accepting that we have sinned and that Christ shed His blood and died on the cross to pay the penalty for our sins. It is being united with Christ in His death and resurrection. The confession of Christ as Saviour and Lord leads to God’s blessings and eternal life. The presence of the Holy Spirit testifies that we are sons of God and have come under His grace and divine favour. As sons of God we submit to Him and rely on His word that are spirit and life. When we speak God’s Word in the power of the Holy Spirit it is as if God was speaking Himself.
Every law abiding citizen obeys the directions of a police officer because his authority is backed by the state. Believers have a far greater authority because they are backed by all the power of heaven. Unfortunately, many believers do not believe in their authority and very often do not expect anything to happen when they exercise their authority. We forget we are dealing with the devil who does not abide by the law. When a police officer meets resistance he does not just give up. He has the power of the state to assist him enforce the law. It is the same with the believer. He has the power of the government of heaven to assist him. However, just as the police officer is under authority, obedient to his superiors and goes where he has been assigned and not outside his jurisdiction so believers must be under authority to Christ, be obedient to Him and do His will. Just as a police officer must stay in contact with his superiors and follow directions so the believer must stay in contact with Jesus Christ and follow His directions. Jesus has given authority to those who belong to Him. The problem is that we do not believe it, and therefore do not exercise it.
The exercise of the believers authority requires a renewed mind. We must accept and believe what Christ has done for us and act on it. Since He took our place and we His place the renewed mind is having the mind of Christ. Christ’s victory over Satan and death is also our victory. We are engaged in a battle that has already been won but still yield to the enemy although Christ has given us the appropriate weapons to enforce our authority. We must not only know about our weapons but more importantly know how to use them. Our weapons are the Blood of Jesus, the Name of Jesus, and the Word of God. We have no authority to come against the powers of darkness in our own strength. We come against them in the Name of Jesus. It is in His power and not in ours. We need to exercise the truth of the good news of Christ’s victory. Jesus overcame Satan and death so death can no longer hold any one of us captive. The gates of Hades symbolize the organized power of death and Satan that have lost all their power because of the victory of Christ. As citizens of the Kingdom we have access to the power of heaven and have authority over the forces of evil that keep many people in bondage. We have the authority to bind the forces of darkness and liberate those in bondage.
The police officer must know how to use his weapons, or his opponent will overcome him, and maybe kill him. The believer must also be skilful in the use of his weapons. He must know God’s will and not operate outside it just as a police officer must know the law and not operate outside it. The believers victory has already been won. The keys of the kingdom of heaven give us access or entrance into heaven to involve them on our behalf. God’s will for us is to be whole and enjoy an abundant life. Satan will still try to defeat God’s purpose in our lives but we have the authority to overcome him. We have the authority to bind every evil spirit that is causing lack in any area of our lives. We can bind the spirit of poverty and sickness. We can bind the evil forces behind the various lusts holding us captive and destroying us and release God’s promises of healing and restoration. Jesus says in John 6:63 that His words are spirit and life. We are to speak words of life to our situations and to the situations of those in need. We are to set the captives free and many are being held captive to sin, lack, poverty, sickness and disease. We who have tasted of the grace of God have a responsibility to our fellow brothers and sisters. How can we partake of the blessed life and keep it all to ourselves. Let us be involved in setting the captives free.
David understood how to exercise his authority. Even under the Old Covenant when he confronted Goliath his confidence was in the power of God. He demonstrated his authority by declaring the outcome of the battle and everything he declared happened. We are under a better covenant. God has restored man’s authority. Luckily, this time it is a joint authority between us and the Lord Jesus Christ and we can no longer hand it over to the devil without the involvement of Jesus Christ. It is like having a joint bank account that requires both signatures in order to cash a check. Although we may fail, Christ will never sign this authority over to the devil. Satan can not do anything to us unless he deceives us to yield to him. We may give him authority in our life and personally suffer for it, but our God-given authority can never go to him again. Who do you say Jesus is? Is He one of the masters or is He one of the prophets? Or is He your Saviour and Lord? If He is your Saviour and Lord, then you are a joint heir with Christ and has authority to bind the works of evil and release the promises and blessings of God to the praise and glory of the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen!
