KNOW YOUR AUTHORITY
10th Jan 2014
One strategy of the devil is to seek to convince us of our inadequacies, especially when confronted by challenging situations. He specialises in reminding us of past failures, weakness or inexperience. The result is lack of action, passivity or searching out someone ‘more spiritual’ to do what we should be doing.
Jesus didn’t go looking for confrontation with the enemy, but He refused to see human suffering when He had divine authority and resources to heal, and deliver. The Kingdom of God was constantly confronting and overcoming the kingdom of darkness, as Jesus demonstrated his God given authority over all the works of the devil.
You and I have been given the same authority, which is latent until we use it. Practise on yourself, and as you experience the power and authority of the Name of Jesus, expand your influence so that you disturb and deliver wherever you go.
A young woman we knew had many small tattoos surgically removed. The wounds were healing nicely - that is except for one. Those who had applied that tattoo warned that if she ever tried to remove it there would be trouble; now she was experiencing pain and swelling in that area and when I took her back to the surgeon who had performed the procedure, his response was, “it’s in her mind.”
She now battled fear, anger, frustration; the pain was real and she demanded to be taken to the leader of the fellowship for prayer. The hour was late so we prayed with her and told her that if there was no improvement by the morning we would do what she had asked. However, during the night as the pain persisted, something rose within and she yelled at her arm, “In the Name of Jesus, stop hurting, swelling go down, get off my body devil!” To her utter amazement that is exactly what happened.
She had felt totally inadequate, but she used her resources, her God given authority, and saw the power of Jesus in action. It healed her physically, but also changed her perception of who she was in Christ Jesus.
Use your God given authority to speak to the mountains in your life that seem so immovable!
by Joyce Sibthorpe
