Spiritual authority- I am destined to reign and rule!

 Jesus wants to train us in walking with spiritual authority. This is what he trained his disciples in, and what he imparts to us now. Do you remember what Jesus said to his disciples just before ascending into heaven. He said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore [you] go and make disciples of all nations…." Matthew 28:18-19 Jesus has all authority (granted to him by his Father). He shares this authority with us so that we can go and make disciples of all nations. Jesus doesn't first and foremost give us courage or a pep talk. He gives us authority. So, how do we walk in spiritual authority?

Remember Your Position
Ephesians 2:6 says, "And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus."According to God, where are you? You have been raised with Jesus and are seated with him in the heavenly realms. This position of being seated is a position of authority. Colossians 3:1-3 makes it even more clear, saying that you are seated in Jesus next to your Father, the King. Do you have authority in Jesus? Yes. But this is not often where you live. You live among the physical world of grocery stores, movie theatres, family conversations, and bus rides. How is it that you are seated in the heavenly realms with authority?

Colossians 1:16 says, "For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him." Jesus created not only the physical realm, but also the spiritual realm. Both are real. Therefore, we need to operate in both realms. It is in this very real spiritual realm that you are seated on a throne and anointed with authority. When you activate your authority in this realm, you will see the implications in the physical realm.

We are reminded in Ephesians 6:12 that "our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms." It will take spiritual authority, not aggressive physical authority, to deal with the spiritual forces of evil around you. The spiritual authority we have is full of divine power to demolish strongholds. 2 Corinthians 10:4 When spiritual strongholds have been demolished, you quickly see a turn-around in your physical situation.

Open Your Spirit
If you have eyes and can see, it would make sense for you to open them and use them. You can't get very far in your day with your eyes shut. But, walking with authority requires more than physical eyes being opened. You can't get very far if your spirit (or spiritual eyes) is not open. It is with your spirit that you perceive what is going on around you in the spiritual realm. You may observe physical situations, but it is your spirit that will pick up on many driving factors behind the physical realm.

Example: you observe with your eyes and ears a tense conversation between two co-workers. With your physical mind, you might come up with a logical solution to their problem. However, if your spirit is open to God, he can show you the spiritual factors involved. You can engage in the spirit realm through prayer and intercession and see the problem solved. You can talk and talk through a problem with no resolution, because you are spiritually blind. As Christians, you choose this blindness. Open your spirit to what God is perceiving, and solutions come. 2 Corinthians 4:18

Activate your Spirit
Ask God to reveal to you what is going on behind physical situations you encounter. You face tensions in relationships, a need for finances, fragile family members, and entertaining nights out. Instead of walking around with your spiritual eyes closed, ask God to open them in the moment. Earnestly go after God to let you see what he sees.

As your spiritual eyes are opened, then ask God how to engage in what you are seeing. In other words, ask God how to pray. For "the prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective." James 5:16 In these moments of intercessory prayer, you are activating your authority. Satan is being pushed back and rendered ineffective. The Holy Spirit comes into a situation… simply because you asked. There is so much hinging on your decision to take up authority through prayer. The spirit realm actually responds as you pray.

Use your mouth to activate your spirit.There is so much power in your declaration. We are repeatedly told in Scripture to use our mouths in the activation of our spiritual authority. "Resist the devil." James 4:7; 1 Peter 5:9 "Sing spiritual songs." Ephesians 5:19 "Take your thoughts captive." 2 Corinthians 10:3-5 "Let your kingdom come on earth as it is in heaven." Matthew 6:10. Speak out with authority. Don't live with the enemy. Deal with him, as you speak out loud in Jesus' name.

Engage in active worship and thanksgiving. This keeps your spiritual eyes open. Do not be passive in this area. To be passive in worship and thanksgiving is making a choice to walk around with spiritual blindness. The authority of Jesus begins pouring out of you when you have surrendered yourself to him in worship. When he has all of you in worship, he can finally use you with authority.

Do not be lured into gaining worldly authority. Walk with Jesus in great spiritual authority. He has shared it with you. You are in position to exercise this authority. But, will you activate it? He is waiting on your next move.

Jesus showed His authority in many ways:

• He healed every kind of disease (Mat 9:35)
• He had authority in teaching (Mk 1:22)(Lk 4:32)
• He forgive sins (Mk 2.10)(Lk 5:20)
• He claimed authority to give eternal life (John 3:36)
• He rebuked and cast out demons (Mat 17.18)(Lk 9:42)
• He did not have to directly i.e. in person confront the problem (Mk 7:24-30)
• He had authority over nature by calming the wind and the sea (Mk 4:39)
• He had power to release people from Satan’s grasp (Lk 13:10-17)(Mat 12:22)
• He had authority to take action when appropriate (John 2:13-18)

6. Our Authority and Rights in Christ

6.1 Plundering Satan’s Kingdom

Since Satan is still ruler of this world (but for a short time only) we naturally ask ‘how is it that we (mere mortals) can have any effect in the world?’

As noted above, the good news is that, although Satan is still officially ruler of this world, he no longer has full authority here. His kingdom has been invaded. Jesus regarded the world as Satan’s ‘house’ with Satan as ‘the strong man’. He told the Pharisees that He has the authority and power to bind the owner and then plunder his house (Mat 12:29). When this happens the kingdom of God triumphs over Satan’s kingdom and demons are cast out. It is rather like a country’s president who still officially rules but who is losing control and authority. Jesus’ death and resurrection defeated Satan and, in Jesus’ name, Satan and demonic forces are rendered powerless.

So through Jesus’ death and resurrection, man is now engaged in an on-going battle to be reinstated as number two in the hierarchy of creation. The outcome is certain; Satan will soon be crushed under our feet (Rom 16:20).

6.2 Our Spiritual Authority is a Legal Right

The basis of our authority is our position in Christ. Because Christ has redeemed us we have a legal basis for our authority; authority in Christ is our legal right. Jesus said:

I have given you authority to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing will injure you 

Luke 10:19

When someone has given us a good present, we should use it! And it is always there even when we forget it. Our authority doesn’t come and go like a feeling; we have it even when we feel we don’t!

6.3 Power through the Holy Spirit

Jesus called His disciples together

and gave them power and authority over all the demons and to heal diseases 

Luke 9:1

He then sent them out to proclaim the kingdom of God and to perform healing (the latter to show the love and compassion of God and to confirm their preaching). Note that at this point in time they had not been ‘baptised in the Spirit’ since the presence of Jesus was sufficient. But when Jesus ascended into heaven the disciples needed His supernatural presence in order to continue their work. Jesus said they had to wait until they had been given power from heaven:

… stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high 

Luke 24:49

Given legal authority and supernatural power they could then pursue their ‘great commission’ – to go and make disciples of all nations (Mat 28:18-19). Today, Christ’s authority and power is promised to every believer. In the name of Jesus we can ask the Father for anything in line with His will:

If you ask the Father for anything in My name, He will give it to you 

John 16:23

But if Christ’s authority came via the Holy Spirit (Jesus was ‘full of the Holy Spirit’, Luke 4:1), and the apostles needed the baptism of the Holy Spirit (Acts 1:5), then so do we. This can be seen as a ‘release’ of the indwelling Spirit already in every believer and it can come by the laying on of hands, or in private, or some other way. The baptism releases manifestations of the Spirit (1 Cor 12:6) for the common good, such as:

• wisdom
• words of knowledge
• healing
• discernment
• prophecy
• tongues

Given these gifts, today’s church will operate as the disciples did under the authority and power of Jesus. It is our right as followers of Christ. For example, we have the right to exercise:

• authority and power over unclean spirits (Mk 6:7)
• authority and power to heal disease (Mat 10:1)
• authority and power to move mountains (symbolic or otherwise) (Mat 17:20)
• authority to announce the forgiveness of sins through Jesus (John 20:23)

God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind (2 Tim 1:7)
Importantly, this applies to preaching. Why do so many church sermons seem intellectually satisfying, but ineffective in changing people’s lives? Maybe they are given ‘in the wisdom of men’ – from the intellect – rather than in the power of the Spirit? Paul clarifies the point:

My preaching was not in persuasive words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power 

1 Corinthians 2:4

7. The Correct Use of Spiritual Authority

Authority is entrusted to us by God and must be viewed and used correctly. Jesus is our model. Here are some ground rules:

• Although it is our legal right through Christ, we do not own spiritual authority – we simply channel it. It is given on trust or delegated to us and we are accountable to God
• Spiritual authority is a by-product of serving God and is not an item in its own right
• Authority should be used with spiritual discernment. Is this the right situation or time?
• Use of authority should be backed by prayer and intercession. A spiritual mentor is also helpful
• It is not given so we can try to coerce God. Avoid animism, where we expect results through the use of ‘sacred phrases’ like the blood of Christ, or through objects such as crosses, or through the ‘name it and claim it’ (Word of Faith) approach. God is under no obligation to give what we want. It is even animistic to speak of ‘the power of the word of God’. Rather, God’s power flows through His word
• Authority must never be used outside God’s will, or conflict with scripture
• It must be used for the purpose it has been given. It is for Christ’s kingdom and not our reputation. Jesus warned against this in Lk 10:17-20 and refused to ‘show off’ when asked by the Pharisees for a sign (Mat 12:38). So it must be used in humility
• All use of authority must be wrapped in love and compassion
• We learn spiritual authority in an experimental / experiential context as we operate in Christian ministry. When the ministry involves some form of healing, authority must be used alongside the principles of Lordship, confession and forgiveness – with the use of authority LAST. The correct order when ministering inner healing is: understanding myself, giving Jesus permission (as Lord, having all authority), confessing, forgiving, and finally taking authority over the enemy

8. Operating in the Authority of Christ

8.1 Authority over Places

Spiritual authority can be used to invest spiritual power in whole countries, geographic regions, buildings, land or other places. This applies both in Christ’s kingdom and in Satan’s. In the satanic context, when a spirit occupies a place or region they are often referred to as territorial spirits. For example, there is a ‘prince of Persia (Iran)’, and a ‘prince of Greece’ (Dan 10:13,20), and some Christians in Oman have found it so spiritually oppressive that they cannot work there! Some major cities undoubtedly have territorial spirits e.g. some claim Washington DC is based upon a satanic pentagram with the White House at one of the five apexes!

Just as Christians have been delegated legal authority from Christ, so a spirit must have been given a legal right to have authority over a territory or organisation. Such rights are given through allegiances, dedications and behaviour of humans. Christians can often discern when a place has satanic authority, as might occur when a place is used for prostitution, pornography, occult books, gambling, martial arts, new-age activities and homosexual practice. Places like Masonic lodges, Indian burial grounds and temples can also harbour satanic power until broken by Christ’s authority. It is crucial to break the power of commitments, agreements, dedications, curses and sins that have been made in the place.

Conversely, places like churches, homes and land can be spiritually cleansed by being dedicated to God. So how would you approach the problem of a porn shop in the city centre?

8.2 Authority over Demons

In extreme cases, a person can be ‘taken over’ by a demonic spirit or spirits. In such cases it may often be impossible to communicate with the person themselves. See how Jesus dealt with the following cases:

• The man in the synagogue (Mk 1:23-26)
• The man in the tombs (Mk 5:2-13)
• The possessed boy (Lk 9:37-42)

Who or what did Jesus communicate with in these cases? Was it a long or short process (see also Matthew 8:16)?

8.3 Authority when Attacked

We are told to always be alert:

Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour 

1 Peter 5:8

The attack can be very direct, or very subtle. Often the enemy disguises himself as an ‘angel of light’ (2 Cor 11:14). If the attack comes through a person, remember to love the person but hate the enemy. Hate is a natural outcome in warfare. Jesus said:

No one can serve two masters … he will hate the one and love the other 

Matthew 6:24

When we love Jesus we naturally hate or despise the enemy. Conversely, those who serve Satan hate Jesus and His followers. But do not fear. Remember:

Greater is He that is in you (the Holy Spirit) than he who is in the world 

1 John 4:4

Speak the word of God. Jesus repeatedly used the word when tempted in the wilderness by saying ‘it is written’, ‘it is written’, ‘it is written’. The enemy does not like to hear the words of scripture. Remember, the enemy also knows God’s word and believes it! He will defeat you if you don’t know the word.

Ask the Holy Spirit to reveal any spiritual strongholds in your life that might be inviting attack. Repent of these. Confront the enemy (a demon) by standing on your legal authority in Jesus. Verbally rebuke the demon, as Jesus did. In the name of Jesus command it to stop whatever it is doing and go to the feet of Jesus. Much of the time the enemy bluffs.

Pray in tongues, simply speak out the name of Jesus, or sing in worship. The enemy hates all of these actions

Claim protection when entering enemy territory (a place or a region), or when leaving property, or going on a long journey:

He will give His angels charge concerning you 

Psalm 91:11

Claim protection for our children by reminding the enemy that they have angels in heaven (Mat 18:10). Finally, remember, the enemy does not like ‘the blood of the Lamb’ because he knows the Bible:

They overcame him (Satan) because of the blood of the Lamb 

Revelation 12:11

9. The Authority of Christ in Inner Healing

Imagine yourself needing inner healing. The correct order when receiving healing ministry is:

Understanding yourself, acknowledging Jesus as Lord (having all authority) and giving Him permission to heal you, confessing, forgiving, and finally, and taking authority over the enemy.

Confessing can involve recognising our own sin, generational sins and ungodly relationships.

9.1 Lordship

Jesus is the highest authority and must be acknowledged as such. He is LORD of your life:

• Lord of my will, my decisions, my mind, my thoughts, my worldview
• Lord of my emotions, my reactions, my sexuality, my communication to the world
• Lord of my possessions, my work, my finances etc. etc.

9.2 Problem Acknowledgement & Confession

Thinking of Lordship may highlight areas of our lives which don’t agree with God’s way and so stand in the way of healing. These could come directly from our own actions, or be handed down from previous family members (ancestral or generational sin). We need to confess (repent) of these things before God. Specific areas that may need confessing are vows, curses, trauma and soul ties:

Vows or oaths were common in the OT; they backed up what a person was saying. But Jesus advised against such things for two reasons 1) our truthful character and word should be sufficient, and 2) we are not really in any position to enforce the vow anyway (Mat 5:33-37). So Christians should not generally make vows (although Paul did). Unfortunately, negative vows creep into everyday life in a subtle way. We say ‘I (vow that I) will never like that person’ or ‘I (vow that I) will not have children’, or ‘I (vow that I) will not go there again’.

Curses are real, biblical, and very powerful. God cursed the ground because of Adam’s sin (Gen 3:17) and the earth has struggled ever since. But God removes the curse over the ground (and especially around Jerusalem) when Christ comes again (Zech 14:11). Jesus cursed the barren fig tree and it died immediately (Mat 21:19). Because of such power we are warned not to curse anyone e.g. by saying ‘you good-for-nothing’ or ‘you fool’ (Mat 5:22).

Curses can be formal e.g. curses directed against a person from Satanic or New Age groups, ancestral, such as a curse on an unwanted pregnancy (‘I wish I wasn’t pregnant’), or they can come informally. An informal curse is quite common and casually comes from such statements as ‘I wish you were dead’ or ‘I hate you’. Or it could come from a doctor who, after a diagnosis says, ‘you have only three months to live’. An informal curse can also come from us (self-cursing), such as a strong negative self-image, or by saying ‘I will never amount to anything’. We might even curse parts of our own bodies, resulting in problems with our bodies. All these activities invite the enemy into our life and clearly we must be careful how we talk!

Soul Ties: these are ungodly bonds that arise for example from a sexual relationship, from an unhealthy (e.g. intense) friendship, from a dominating relationship e.g. a mother-daughter relationship, or from fantasy with another. Some churches have a dominating pastor who places unnecessary rules and demands upon people. Sexual relationships bond people spiritually and a wrong (i.e. immoral) bonding conflicts with the fact that our bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit (1 Cor 6:19).

Generational Sin: Just as certain illnesses can run from generation to generation in families, so can sin. The sins of our ancestors can run unforgiven for generations (Exod 20:5). Ancestral sin such as alcoholism, immoral sexual behaviour or criminal activity can let the enemy into the family tree. Recurring effects can be:

• Miscarriages
• Persistent poverty
• Emotional problems
• Sudden or early death
• Sickness and disease

Trauma: Trauma often comes through abuse. This could be sexual, ritual, emotional or physical abuse. It robs people of their worth and enables the enemy to enter their lives, either directly or through ancestry. Trauma does not need confession, but it needs to be recognised as a possible problem area that needs dealing with.

9.3 Forgiveness & Breaking the Enemy’s Authority
First we recognise that (only) Jesus has the authority to forgive sin (Mat 9.6). Jesus said:

He has sent Me to proclaim release to the captives (Luke 4:18)
If the Son makes you free, you will be free indeed (John 8:36)

He is faithful and just and will forgive our errors (1 Jn 1.9). He wipes the slate clean and forgets them. Having confessed and recognised our sin, we simply accept Jesus’ forgiveness. God forgives us, we need to forgive others, and we may also need to forgive ourselves.

Breaking Bondages: We have recognised and confessed our sin and generational sin. We have recognised the bondages (or possible bondages) that have arisen directly from our actions or from our ancestors (bondage, or the right the enemy has over people, comes through vows, curses, trauma, soul-ties or sin). In the name of Jesus we now have the authority to break such bondages.

Authority to break the enemy power is claimed over all ancestral vows in the father’s [mother’s] line and over all personal vows. We break any informal curses from others, and renounce any self-curses. Similarly, the power of ancestral trauma and sin can be broken by claiming the authority of Christ. Soul ties are also renounced in the same way. Be as specific as possible. As in Nehemiah 1:6-7 or Dan 9:5-11, we can take responsibility for ancestral sin and repent for our ancestors in order to remove family guilt from ourselves. More generally we could pray something like:

I renounce all vows, dedications, curses and authority given through sin or reaction to trauma in the name of Jesus Christ

10. Christ’s Authority in Physical Healing

10.1 Causes of Sickness & Disease

Physical sickness and disease is natural in a fallen world; all creation “wears out like a garment” (Ps 102:25-26). Systems, including our bodies, go from an ordered state to an unordered state under the Second Law of Thermodynamics. The untended garden goes from an ordered state (tidy) to randomness. Similarly, our bodies naturally go from a healthy to an unhealthy state. For example, an adult loses some 100,000 brain cells (neurons) every 24 hours and our body cells seem to divide about 50 times, and then die! This natural progression seems to be a natural cause of sickness and disease. For more detail see physical healing.

Another major cause of sickness and disease comes from unclean spirits (Acts 10:38)(Luke 8:2, 13:11,16)(Mat 8:16, 10:1, 12:22-24, 17:14-18). For example:

Jesus … went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil 

And this woman … whom Satan has bound for eighteen long years, should she not be released from this bond?

Acts 10:38 ,  Luke 13:16

These powers can influence our lives in at least two ways. First, God may allow such activity in order to test our faith, even though we may be living good lives in His sight (Job 1:8,12 and 2:3). More often, unclean spirits can make a direct attack on our lives, and from biblical examples these attacks can cause oppression, madness, blindness, dumbness, physical crippling etc..

10.2 God’s Will

Whatever the cause of sickness and disease, whether through a ‘natural’ progression from order to chaos, or through spiritual bondage, God’s will is usually for us to be healed; Christ carried away our diseases (Mat 8:17). God wants man to be healed just as much as He wants man to be saved; He wants us to be made whole in body, mind and spirit:

Who pardons all your iniquities, Who heals all your diseases 

Psalm 103:3

In the New Testament, the Greek word ‘soteria’ (salvation) means both spiritual and physical salvation. The theme is both a good soul and good health (3 John 2)!

So we have authority in Christ to claim physical healing in a person. The authority is either over a fallen world resulting in what we might call ‘natural’ sickness, or over sickness caused by satanic oppression.

Healing is a form of ministry for today’s church. Out of 35 recorded miracles of Jesus in the gospels, 26 of them involve some form of healing (including raising from the dead and deliverance from evil spirits). At least half involved some form of physical healing. God gave Jesus power to heal all forms of disease, such as leprosy, lameness, paralysis, blindness, deafness, and dumbness. Clearly, Jesus regarded healing to be fundamental to people’s needs, and still does! So in His name we command healing, and rebuke the demonic authority where appropriate:

Jesus … gave them authority over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal every kind of disease and every kind of sickness” 

Matthew 10:1

Once we recognise this, we can take steps against these demonic forces in Jesus’ name and with His authority (Mat 10:1). We follow Jesus’ examples by taking authority in His name over Satan’s kingdom and by plundering Satan’s kingdom:

• Jesus rebuked the fever in Simon’s mother-in-law and it left her (Luke 4:39)
• Jesus rebuked the lunatic boy, the demon came out, and the boy was cured (Mat 17:18)
• Whatever was causing the leprosy was overridden when Jesus said to the man ‘be cleansed’. Immediately the leprosy left him (Luke 5:13)

11. Authority to Bless

Blessing others is not a sanctimonious, ‘holier than thou’ action. It is not just the empty speaking of a few words. It is very biblical and powerful, and is often used as a way of invoking God’s spiritual power for a person’s benefit. So the authority to bless can be a form of ministry.

Jacob blessed his twelve sons with specific promises (Gen 48-49). For instance, he blessed Judah to be like a lion, and the tribe of Judah became prominent amongst the other tribes. It was through Judah that we get ‘the lion of Judah’, Jesus.

The usual form of blessing in NT times was peace, grace and mercy. Paul starts each of his letters with such blessings. Jesus blessed His disciples by giving them His peace (John 20:19). This is a powerful peace far exceeding any worldly peace.

We can enter a house and with Christ’s authority proclaim peace upon that house:

Whatever house you enter, first say, ‘Peace be to this house’ 

Luke 10:5

Christ’s peace will rest upon all in that house if it is accepted. We can also bless people in specific ways, such as having a new self-love, self-appreciation, or patience. Jesus blessed children:

And He took them in His arms and began blessing them, laying His hands upon them 

Mark 10:16

Material objects can also be blessed so that the power of God can flow through them (but beware animism). Jesus’ clothes (Mat 9:20-21, 14:36) and Paul’s handkerchiefs are examples (Acts 19:12).

Blessing is also a form of spiritual warfare. Jesus tells us to “bless those who curse you” (Luke 6:28). Paul says “Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse” (Rom 12:14). In doing so we might find a reaction from the enemy, who can’t stand a person being in-filled with God’s love through the act of blessing.

The Source of kingdom authority

All authority comes down from a higher power. Authority comes from above. That's why we say that we are "under" someone's authority. The Centurion understood being under authority (vs. 8). In coming to Jesus, the Centurion was appealing to a higher authority.

When a police knocks and says, "Open, in the name of the law" we open. Why? He has authority.

Behind the police is the city.

Behind the city, the state militia.

Behind the state militia, the National Guard of the United States.

Incredible authority stands behind that one man.

Likewise, in Christ we have incredible authority. Why? Because we are united with Jesus in His death, burial, resurrection, ascension, and enthronement (see Rom. 6:3-9). Our authority comes from Him. We spread the gospel through His authority (Matt. 28:18-20). We live our lives as believers are under heavenly authority (1 Pet. 3:22).

2. The secret of kingdom authority

All authority is linked to obedience (vs. 8). You cannot have authority until you get under the authority that is over you. That's the reason that Satan worked to get Adam to disobey. When Adam disobeyed, he forfeited his authority.

We resist being under someone's authority. But, God does not give kingdom authority to rebels. If you do not learn to be under, you will not be over.

In His life on the earth, Jesus was under the authority of His earthly parents, the Holy Spirit, the Father, the Word of God, and the government (see Luke 2:51; 4:1; John 17:4; Mark 14:49; Matt. 17:27).

3. The scope of kingdom authority

When the Lord gives you authority, He gives you spiritual authority (Luke 10:18-19). God gave Adam authority over the physical realm (Gen. 1:27-28). We still have that. In Christ, though, one day we will have full spiritual authority (Hebrews 2:6-8). Our full inheritance is waiting until Jesus returns. We do not yet see all things put under Him. But in this day and in this age, he has given us authority over the enemy (2 Peter 1:3). That is the scope of your kingdom authority.

4. The strength of kingdom authority

The Centurion understood the strength of authority. He surrendered to someone else's authority (Luke 7:7-8). Strength for the Christian life comes from surrender. Our spiritual strength comes because we are surrendered to Jesus Christ.

Authority differs from power. Authority comes from the office. Power resides in the person. Football players, big and fierce, have power. The only man on the football field without a uniform and pads, armed only with a whistle, he – the little guy – has the authority. He can stop a play or send guys to the locker room. Jesus says that we are the "little guy." "I give you authority over all the power of the enemy." Our strength comes from His authority. It's time we told the enemy to take a hike.

Because you have kingdom authority, you don't have to live a defeated life.