Volume 06, Issue 28: Authority

If my life is no different from the next person’s, if I don’t have power to bring change into my situations, then what’s the point of being a believer?

You shall receive power when the Holy Spirit comes up on you.

Power is force. Authority is the right to use power. You can receive all the power available, but if you do not know how to exercise the authority you have with that power, you will not see results.

The Jewish leaders appealed to Jesus on behalf of the Centurion based on his works. The Centurion countered their approach. He recognized the authority of Jesus, and appealed to that authority to have his slave healed.

When authority speaks, things happen. All the authority God gave to Jesus, he gave to us. Authority to trample on snakes and scorpions. Authority to overcome all the power of the enemy. Authority to defeat everything.

Authority is something we need to accomplish things. God has given us authority to live the Christian life. The Christian life is a victorious life. It’s not a wimpy defeated life. It is a life of victory; a life where we are not defeated by troubles and happenings. The Christian life is a life of overcoming, a life of conquering.

When a traffic police officer raises his hand on the road, the driver must stop. Not because of the officer, but the authority behind the officer.

A believer’s authority is based on the finished work of Jesus. It is not based on feelings or status. Every believer of Jesus has authority; authority to fulfil the purpose for which he called us. Authority to stand against Satan, and diseases, and all other things that mess with us.

The believer’s authority is given to prevent the enemy from coming in to steal, kill, and destroy. It is given to attack the works of the evil one. But because we don’t know what authority we have, the devil is calling the shots in some of our lives.

The believer’s authority is given to declare the message of Jesus with boldness. But most believers go about life quiet, their faith hidden and securely tucked away, not to be mentioned.

The believer’s authority is given to bind, and to lose. But we let wrong situations go on uninterrupted. We neglect the authority given to us to speak to bad situations and cause them to cease.

The believer’s authority is not for ‘name it and claim it’, it is given to bless people. Jesus has entrusted us with authority, but we keep going back to him to solve our problems. Jesus has vested authority in us to take charge over lack and sickness, yet many go unhealed.

The believer’s authority is meant for this place, here on earth. We need to walk in victory here and now. We need to be a blessing to people and do good here.

We are not helpless, and we are certainly not hopeless. May faith arise from the inside for us to realize that we are children of the King. To know that God has given us all authority we need to change our lives, and to impact other people’s lives.

May we arise above believers who ask God for this and that, and be true believers who exercise the authority already given to us. May we be Christians who exercise the believer’s authority, and live victorious Christian lives.

Don’t accept things as they are. Apply your believer’s authority. Is there a situation in your home that you need to speak to, maybe in your children, or in your office? Speak to situations in your life. Speak to situations in other people’s lives, and in the world.

Nothing shall be impossible for you, for I have given you authority to stumble on snakes and scorpions, and over the works of the enemy.

Are you sick and tired of something not right in your life? Rise up and speak with the authority God has given you. God has given us all that pertains to life and godliness. He has given us victory over every area of our lives. We have authority over what happens to us. We have authority over our lives. We have authority to effect change, and to do good.

But before we get there, why is it that many believers are unable to exercise their authority? Intimacy with God is where we get the confidence and courage to exercise authority. Our intimacy with God determines our level of authority. Jesus rose early in the morning to commune with the Father. Then he went into his day speaking the will of the Father, exercising authority over sickness, scarcity, sin, evil, and the devil; doing good.

Lillian Chebosi