I HAVE GIVEN YOU AUTHORITY
Stepping Out of Survival into Dominion
Anchor Scripture: Luke 10:19 (NIV)
“I have given you authority to trample on snakes and scorpions and to overcome all the power of the enemy; nothing will harm you.”
INTRODUCTION: THE END IS NOT A CLOSING — IT IS A HANDOVER
Today is not just the last Sunday of the year 2025.
It is a spiritual checkpoint.
We are not here to merely thank God for survival.
We are here to receive instruction for dominion.
Many believers entered this year praying to escape.
God is ending this year by reminding you:
You were never meant to escape — you were meant to rule.
Jesus did not say:
I will give you authority next year.
I will give you authority when you are perfect.
He said:
“I HAVE GIVEN YOU authority.”
Past tense.
Already done.
Already released.
If Jesus already gave it, then we don’t beg for it.
We learn it.
We stand in it.
We enforce it.
BACKGROUND: WHERE WAS JESUS WHEN HE SPOKE THIS?
Luke 10:19 was not spoken casually.
It was spoken after a spiritual report and a spiritual victory.
Jesus had sent the seventy-two ahead.
They returned rejoicing and said:
“Lord, even the demons submit to us in Your name.” (Luke 10:17)
Then Jesus replied:
“I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven.” (Luke 10:18)
Meaning:
Jesus was not delegating authority from a place of guesswork.
He was delegating authority from a place of triumph.
He saw the collapse of Satan’s advantage.
Then He said:
“I have given you authority.”
So today, understand this:
Authority was not given to you from fear.
Authority was given to you from victory.
I. THE PROBLEM: MANY BELIEVERS LIVE BELOW WHAT WAS GIVEN
(6 minutes)
Jesus spoke Luke 10:19 to disciples who were still learning,
still imperfect,
still growing —
yet He trusted them with authority.
The tragedy of the Church is not lack of prayer.
It is lack of understanding.
You cannot dominate what you do not understand.
You cannot enforce what you do not know you possess.
“My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge.” (Hosea 4:6)
Not lack of fasting.
Not lack of church attendance.
Lack of knowledge.
If ignorance is the enemy’s advantage,
then revelation is your weapon.
This is why today is not entertainment.
Today is impartation.
Today is alignment.
Today is dominion training.
II. “I HAVE GIVEN YOU AUTHORITY” — WHAT DOES THAT MEAN?
The word authority here is the Greek word exousia.
Exousia means:
Legal right.
Delegated power.
Permission backed by heaven.
This is not raw power (dunamis).
This is legal authority.
Believers struggle not because power is absent,
but because authority is unknown.
Illustration:
A policeman may not be stronger than a criminal,
but when he raises his hand, traffic stops —
because authority does not shout, it commands.
Beloved, you don’t need to be louder than the enemy.
You need to be aware of your authority.
The devil is not intimidated by noise.
He is intimidated by a believer who knows,
“I have been given authority.”
III. POWER — DUNAMIS
Dunamis is where we get our word dynamite and dynamo.
Dynamite is explosive power.
Dunamis speaks of force, ability, might —
power that produces results.
Now hear this:
Dynamite is used to break rocks.
Dynamite is used to scatter resistance.
Dynamite is used to open blocked paths.
Dynamite does not negotiate with the rock.
It does not counsel the rock.
It does not beg the rock to move.
It explodes —
and the rock must respond.
So when God gives you dunamis,
it is not for drama.
It is for impact.
It is to break what is blocking.
It is to scatter what is gathering.
It is to open what is closed.
(Pause and declare)
In the same way, by the Holy Ghost,
Christians don’t just endure satanic pressure —
they apply dunamis,
and things break, scatter, and open.
IV. SNAKES AND SCORPIONS — WHO ARE THEY AND WHERE DO ATTACKS COME FROM?
Jesus said:
“I have given you authority to trample on snakes and scorpions…”
Snakes and scorpions are not only animals.
They are spiritual pictures.
They represent Satan and his cosmic powers of darkness.
They represent demonic systems and spiritual operations.
They represent:
Satan himself and his agenda
Principalities and powers
Rulers of darkness
Spiritual wickedness in high places (Ephesians 6:12)
Witchcraft powers
Familiar spirits
Monitoring spirits
Ancestral altars and covenants
Territorial spirits
Occult manipulation and satanic intelligence systems
Now make it practical.
Where will the attacks come from?
Attacks come through:
•Witchcraft manipulation and control
•Curses spoken over destiny
•Night operations and satanic meetings
•Occult covenants made knowingly or unknowingly
•Ancestral agreements and altars in families
•Demonic surveillance, monitoring, and spiritual tracking
•Jealousy-inspired spiritual attacks and envy-driven battles
•Agents of darkness planted to frustrate and scatter
And yes — Jesus’ language also covers this clearly:
Snakes represent hidden attacks.
Scorpions represent painful attacks.
Hidden attacks are things that strike quietly.
Painful attacks are things that sting suddenly.
Jesus is saying:
I already factored in hidden attacks and pain —
and I still gave you authority.
So stop praying as if God forgot your situation.
He already empowered you for it.
Jesus did not say negotiate.
He said trample.
V. “TO TRAMPLE” — NOT TO NEGOTIATE
To trample means:
To step on deliberately.
To walk over.
To place your feet on something inferior.
Jesus did not say:
Fear them.
Run from them.
Hide from them.
He said:
Trample.
Some believers give snakes and scorpions a chair in their lives.
Jesus said put them under your feet.
VI. “OVERCOME ALL THE POWER OF THE ENEMY”
Notice this carefully:
Jesus did not say the enemy has no power.
He said you overcome it.
The enemy may have dunamis — raw force.
But you have exousia — legal authority.
Authority always overrides power.
When a child of God does not know who they are,
even defeated enemies look powerful.
But when a child of God stands in revelation,
darkness loses confidence.
VII. “NOTHING SHALL BY ANY MEANS HARM YOU”
This does not mean you won’t face battles.
You won’t face resistance.
You won’t face opposition.
It means:
The battle will not define you.
The attack will not destroy you.
The pressure will not finish you.
You may go through fire —
but fire will not consume you.
Why?
Because authority preserves destiny.
VIII. END-OF-YEAR CONFRONTATION: HOW HAVE YOU BEEN LIVING?
As the year ends, the Holy Spirit asks:
Have you been begging instead of commanding?
Have you been surviving instead of ruling?
Have you been praying from fear instead of authority?
Prayer without authority becomes ritual.
Prayer with authority becomes enforcement.
Jesus never told the disciples to beg demons.
He told them to cast them out.
IX. DOMINION IS A MINDSET, NOT A SHOUT
You don’t step into dominion by noise.
You step into dominion by alignment.
Dominion begins when:
You stop seeing yourself as a victim.
You stop interpreting life from fear.
You start standing on what Christ has already done.
The cross did not only save you,
it authorized you.
CONCLUSION: A HANDOVER INTO THE NEW SEASON
(6 minutes)
As this year closes, heaven is not asking:
What did you survive?
Heaven is asking:
What will you rule?
If you enter the new season with a survival mindset,
you will keep living as a victim of cycles.
But if you enter the new season with revelation of authority,
you will end patterns, scatter darkness, and rule in dominion.
Jesus did not say,
“I will help you fight.”
He said,
“I have given you authority.”
So rise.
Stand.
Enforce.
Not because you feel strong —
but because Jesus said so.
And hear this:
If my people perish for lack of knowledge,
then my people rise by revelation.
Today, God is not giving you new authority.
He is opening your eyes to what you already have.
This is your end-of-year handover:
From fear to faith.
From survival to dominion.
From begging to enforcement.
From being chased to trampling.
DECLARATION (LEAD THE CHURCH)
Lift your voice and say:
I have been given authority.
I trample on snakes and scorpions.
I trample on hidden attacks and painful attacks.
I overcome all the power of the enemy.
Fear has no place in my life.
I enter the new season in dominion.
Nothing shall by any means harm me.
In Jesus’ name.
Amen.
