Good evening. You are the blessed of the Lord.
The message tonight is something I have been thinking about for quite a while. What I am going to share tonight dovetails into what Pastor taught Sunday morning. I’m going to use the phrase “no excuses” in terms of where we are in our relationship with the Lord.
When Pastor was teaching, what went through my mind was “Authority is not the issue.” He was talking about praying for people, but not seeing their healing manifest. He talked about the availability of the gifts of the spirit but few in the Church are walking in therm. So, again, I said to myself, “Authority is not the issue” and that’s the title of tonight’s message.
The message will be somewhat redundant because I want you to truly grasp the understanding that our having the authority to do what God has asked us to do is not the issue at all.
I want to start by looking that the word “power.” In the New Testament, it’s defined by two different Greek words. The first is dunamis, which means “strength power, ability; intrinsic power, power residing in a thing by virtue of its nature.” Every person is born with dunamis, natural power, natural strength. But we are not born with the same dunamis.
Look in Matthew chapter six. We’re going to read a very familiar passage but there is a truth in it as it relates to power. We’re going to read verses nine through 13. Jesus is getting ready to teach the disciples how to pray.
(9) After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name.
(10) Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.
(11) Give us this day our daily bread.
(12) And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.
(13) And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.
Who has the power? God has the power. Now dunamis, as it relates to us in our relationship with our Father, belongs to Him.
Now turn to Matthew 9, beginning with verse one.
(1) And he entered into a ship, and passed over, and came into his own city.
(2) And, behold, they brought to him a man sick of the palsy, lying on a bed: and Jesus seeing their faith said unto the sick of the palsy; Son, be of good cheer; thy sins be forgiven thee.
(3) And, behold, certain of the scribes said within themselves, This man blasphemeth.
(4) And Jesus knowing their thoughts said, Wherefore think ye evil in your hearts?
(5) For whether is easier, to say, Thy sins be forgiven thee; or to say, Arise, and walk?
(6) But that ye may know that the Son of man hath power on earth to forgive sins, (then saith he to the sick of the palsy,) Arise, take up thy bed, and go unto thine house.
(7) And he arose, and departed to his house.
(8) But when the multitudes saw it, they marvelled, and glorified God, which had given such power unto men.
One of the disservices I believe the translators have made in this passage is to translating the Greek word, exousia, as power in verse six and in verse eight. Exousia means authority. The full definition is “permission, right, liberty, power to do something.” Primarily translated as “authority.”
Verse six says “that ye may know that the Son of man hath AUTHORITY. Ladies and gentlemen, why is this important? It has been the Greek word dunamis, then that would have meant that Jesus had something that we did not have.
We read in Matthew chapter six that all power, all spiritual dunamis, belongs to God. Jesus is saying “I have the spiritual authority to tap into My Father’s dunamis.” Are you following me?
So, what is the source of spiritual authority for us? It’s our born again spirit, our new nature.
In John 3:3, Jesus responds to the observation that Nicodemus, a the religious, made after seeing the miracles that He had done.
“Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.”
Getting born again returns us to God’s original intent for humanity that we read in Genesis 1:26.
“And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.”
We were born into this world with authority. The simplest way to understand authority is “I can say ‘yes’ to something or I can say ‘no’ to something.” That’s the authority that we have. In essence, we determine what we will do and what we will not do. We have spiritual authority that has been given to us by our Father. We can use that authority by saying “yes” to our Father or we can choose not to use our spiritual authority by saying "no” to our Father.
But it’s a little bit more complicated than that because all of us want to give our Father access to our authority. Do we not? What is causing our authority not to manifest? That is what we’re going to be looking at tonight.
When we are born into God’s kingdom – when we accept Jesus as our Lord and Savior – we are born with spiritual authority which gives us access to spiritual power.
Let’s look at some examples. We’re going to start with two individuals who were not born again but God needed access to their authority.
Turn to Luke chapter one, a very familiar passage and we’re going to begin with verse 26.
(26) And in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God unto a city of Galilee, named Nazareth,
(27) To a virgin espoused to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin's name was Mary.
(28) And the angel came in unto her, and said, Hail, thou that art highly favoured, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women.
(29) And when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and cast in her mind what manner of salutation this should be.
(30) And the angel said unto her, Fear not, Mary: for thou hast found favour with God.
(31) And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name JESUS.
(32) He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David:
(33) And he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end.
(34) Then said Mary unto the angel, How shall this be, seeing I know not a man?
(35) And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power (the dunamis) of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God.
(36) And, behold, thy cousin Elisabeth, she hath also conceived a son in her old age: and this is the sixth month with her, who was called barren.
(37) For with God nothing shall be impossible.
(38) And Mary said, Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word. And the angel departed from her.
In verse 35, the word “power” is dunamis. Without Mary’s permission, without her authority, the dunamis of the Holy Spirit would not have come upon her. Mary was not born again, and the Holy Spirit still had to have her permission.
Think about it. We have to give God permission to save us, to give us eternal life, do we not? If I’m wrong, tell me. God loves us but He is not going to save us because of His love for us unless we do what is required to receive the salvation.
Mary had to say “Yes” to “God’s will” before the Holy Spirit could move. The Holy Spirit, God, would not force Mary say “Yes.” He wanted Mary, and us, to respond to Him out of love.
This is what I want you to understand about the authority that we have. God will not force us to do anything, and Satan cannot make us do anything. That is why it is important that we understand authority, ladies and gentlemen.
Satan has people who have given him access to their authority. Just look at our country and the world and it’s unmistakable. God needs us to be at a place in Him where He can use our authority for kingdom purposes.
Now turn to Exodus 14 and we’re going to see another person who is not born again but who yields his authority to God. We’re going to read verses 10 through 16. The Children of Israel have left Egypt and are now at the Red Sea and hear Pharaoh’s army approaching.
(10) And when Pharaoh drew nigh, the children of Israel lifted up their eyes, and, behold, the Egyptians marched after them; and they were sore afraid: and the children of Israel cried out unto the LORD.
(11) And they said unto Moses, Because there were no graves in Egypt, hast thou taken us away to die in the wilderness? wherefore hast thou dealt thus with us, to carry us forth out of Egypt?
(12) Is not this the word that we did tell thee in Egypt, saying, Let us alone, that we may serve the Egyptians? For it had been better for us to serve the Egyptians, than that we should die in the wilderness.
(13) And Moses said unto the people, Fear ye not, stand still, and see the salvation of the LORD, which he will shew to you to day: for the Egyptians whom ye have seen to day, ye shall see them again no more for ever.
(14) The LORD shall fight for you, and ye shall hold your peace.
If the passage had stopped with verse 14, the Children of Israel would have been slaughtered. How do you know this Bro. Barry? Let’s keep reading
15) And the LORD said unto Moses, Wherefore criest thou unto me? speak unto the children of Israel, that they go forward:
(16) But lift thou up thy rod, and stretch out thine hand over the sea, and divide it: and the children of Israel shall go on dry ground through the midst of the sea.
Moses had to use his authority and be obedient to God before the Red Sea would part. He had to stretch forth the rod, he had to use his authority, before God could part the Red Sea. Moses had a sin nature.
In these two examples, we see how important our authority is to God and His will being done on earth as it is in heaven. And unlike Mary and Moses, we are children of God. Are you giving your Father access to your authority, are you giving Him permission to unleash His dunamis in you and through you?
What I am about to say is an uncomfortable truth: Because many in the Church do not see the manifestation of their authority, many question its validity. Why is that? Let’s look at a couple of passages to find the answer.
Turn to Matthew 17 and we’re going to begin with verse 14.
(14) And when they were come to the multitude, there came to him a certain man, kneeling down to him, and saying,
(15) Lord, have mercy on my son: for he is lunatick, and sore vexed: for ofttimes he falleth into the fire, and oft into the water.
(16) And I brought him to thy disciples, and they could not cure him.
Why did the man bring his son to the disciples? He must have known something about them and what they had done. Look at Matthew chapter 10, verse 1:
“And when he had called unto him his twelve disciples, he gave them power (exousia, authority) against unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal all manner of sickness and all manner of disease.”
Look at verse five.
(5) These twelve Jesus sent forth, and commanded them, saying, Go not into the way of the Gentiles, and into any city of the Samaritans enter ye not:
(6) But go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.
(7) And as ye go, preach, saying, The kingdom of heaven is at hand.
(8) Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out devils: freely ye have received, freely give.
The father of the lunatic must have heard what the disciples had done when Jesus sent them out.
Ladies and gentlemen, do you remember in Acts 6 when the religious leaders were upset with Peter and John for preaching Jesus? They said that they were unlearned men but admitted that, based on what they were hearing and seeing, the disciples had to have spent time with Jesus.
The father had brought his son to the disciples because he had heard about the healings and deliverance – the power of God that flowed through them.
What is it that we need to be doing ladies and gentlemen? We need to be doing what Jesus had done. Jesus said in John 14:12 “the works that I do you shall do.”
Let’s continue.
(17) Then Jesus answered and said, O faithless and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you? how long shall I suffer you? bring him hither to Me.
(18) And Jesus rebuked the devil; and he departed out of him: and the child was cured from that very hour.
(19) Then came the disciples to Jesus apart, and said, Why could not we cast him out?
And Jesus said “It’s because you didn’t have the authority to cast him out.” No, He didn’t say that.
(20) And Jesus said unto them, Because of your unbelief: for verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you.
(21) Howbeit this kind goeth not out but by prayer and fasting.
I like the way the Amplified Bible renders the first part of verse 20: “Because of the littleness of your faith [that is, your lack of firmly relying trust].”
What did He address with the disciples? Their UNBELIEF. The disciples’ authority was not the issue. Their unbelief was the issue.
What hindered their authority from manifesting? UNBELIEF.
Faith in Jesus, in who He is and in what He taught is critical if we are to walk in our God-given authority.
UNBELIEF causes us to question the validity of our spiritual authority.
How do we deal with unbelief? In this passage, Jesus identifies fasting as the way to remove unbelief.
Turn to Mark 4 and look at verse 35.
(35) And the same day, when the even was come, He saith unto them, Let us pass over unto the other side.
(36) And when they had sent away the multitude, they took Him even as He was in the ship. And there were also with him other little ships.
(37) And there arose a great storm of wind, and the waves beat into the ship, so that it was now full.
(38) And He was in the hinder part of the ship, asleep on a pillow: and they awake Him, and say unto Him, Master, carest thou not that we perish?
(39) And He arose, and rebuked the wind, and said unto the sea, Peace, be still. And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm.
(40) And He said unto them, Why are ye so fearful? how is it that ye have no faith?
(41) And they feared exceedingly, and said one to another, What manner of man is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?
Remember that I said at the beginning of the message that I was going to be redundant.
What did Jesus not address? The disciples’ authority to rebuke the wind and calm the waves.
What did He address with the disciples? Their FEAR.
What hindered their authority from manifesting? FEAR
The disciples’ authority was not the issue. Their fear was the issue.
How do we deal with fear? Mark 5:36 – “As soon as Jesus heard the word that was spoken, he saith unto the ruler of the synagogue, Be not afraid, only believe.” Only believe what? Only believe what the Bible says about the situation we find ourselves in.
Like unbelief, FEAR causes us to question the validity of our spiritual authority.
So far, we have seen two things that can hinder our authority, our spiritual authority, from manifesting. Unbelief and fear.
Now, let’s see another reason. Turn to Luke 9 and we’re going to read verses 51-56. We are going to look at a couple of biker boys. That’s what I call James and John. They were born to be wild!
(51) And it came to pass, when the time was come that he should be received up, he stedfastly set his face to go to Jerusalem,
(52) And sent messengers before his face: and they went, and entered into a village of the Samaritans, to make ready for him.
(53) And they did not receive him, because his face was as though he would go to Jerusalem.
(54) And when his disciples James and John saw this, they said, Lord, wilt thou that we command fire to come down from heaven, and consume them, even as Elias did?
(55) But he turned, and rebuked them, and said, Ye know not what manner of spirit ye are of.
Verse 56 is the lesson.
(56) For the Son of man is not come to destroy men's lives, but to save them. And they went to another village.
Again, what did Jesus not address? The disciples’ authority to command fire from heaven.
What did Jesus address, ladies and gentlemen? And it is, in my opinion, the number one reason why. I know we talked about faith and unbelief. I know we talked about fear. But for a majority of the Church today, what Jesus addressed is their lack of COMPASSION for the people.
Ladies and gentlemen, if that is not your heart’s desire, if that is not one of the things that motivates you, forget about walking in spiritual authority. If you are speaking wrongly about people you don’t like or disagree with it, STOP IT!
The only way people are going to know about Jesus and learn about Him is through us. And if we’re walking around condemning them, how on earth are they going to see Jesus? The church has to take off their Pharisee robes and burn them!
And we know that if we’re not walking in compassion, we are not going to pray for them.
What we see in these passages is not a lack of authority, but the presence of things in our lives that hinder our ability to live out that authority. Unbelief, or as the Amplified Bible says, “the littleness of our faith,” hinders the manifestation of our authority. Fear also hinders the manifestation of our authority. And we have also seen that a lack of compassion hinders the manifestation of our authority. For us, in this world, our inherent spiritual authority is never an issue. It is never in doubt.
So here is a question we must answer for ourselves, and it’s like the one Pastor Jim raised on Sunday: “Since God has empowered us to walk in the authority, what’s hindering us from exercising the authority He ‘expects’ us to walk in?”
The one thing unbelievers need to see is the authority of God operating in our lives because that is the only thing that separates us from them. Remember how the people responded to Jesus in Matthew 9 when He healed the man sick of the palsy? Verse nine says, “But when the multitudes saw it, they marvelled, and glorified God, which had given such power (authority) unto men.”
Ladies and gentlemen, when we give God access to our authority and He is able to move through our authority to bring His will to pass, He gets the glory!
