Authority - How Does it Work?

There seems to be growing interest in the subject of authority these days.  I read the other night where an exasperated woman said she was “claiming her authority” over a desperate situation, as if this might help resolve her problem. I think statements like this reveal part of the problem with our understanding of authority. Most of us know we've been given authority from God, but we don't know how it works.

One thing to consider is the relational aspect of authority. It is often (though not always) the case that authority is permission granted to one person to represent the interests of another person who prefers not to manage their affairs personally. Authority is granted by one person and exercised by another. This arrangement makes authority dependent upon a relationship of trust.

The authority that a person receives usually gives them freedom to make decisions without requiring special permission before exercising their authority.  Authority is permission to act without permission. The exercise of authority is generally at the complete discretion of the one to whom it was granted, even if the exercise of authority is not wise, or beneficial to the one they represent. The one who has been granted authority has the right to make both good and bad decisions. Generally, the wise exercise of authority provides opportunities for promotion to a higher level of authority, while poor exercise of authority leads to a reduction or complete removal of it.

The concept of authority is illustrated in the kingdom parables where Jesus spoke about servants who were given charge of their master's affairs while their masters were away.  (See the parable of the faithful and wicked servants in Matt 24 and the parable of the talents in Matt 25.)

Now I'd like to illustrate how authority works in everyday life:

A shift supervisor who works at a factory has authority over the operations on his shift, which might include personnel management, scheduling, ordering supplies and resolving employee disputes. But his authority is restricted to the hours that he is at work and to the specific factory he works at. He doesn’t have the same authority during another supervisor’s shift or at a different factory. His scope of authority is limited and it is also relational. It was granted to him and can be revoked by the manager of the factory if trust is eroded.

The manager of the factory has similar authority. It is likewise limited to the factory he works at, and it is relational. The CEO of the company is the one who grants his authority and it can be removed at the CEO's discretion. The CEO has similar authority. It may have been granted by the company’s board of directors, who were appointed by the shareholders. His authority gives him the right to make major decisions involving the company’s interests and it can be revoked at their discretion. Everyone in the chain has authority that is given to them by someone else. Any of them can be promoted if they exercise their authority well, or have their authority removed if they exercise it poorly.

Christians have been given a multitude of different types and levels of authority. As God’s personal representatives on earth, our authority encompasses many areas, but unlike in the world where people are given authority over other people, we are not given such authority. Some people will disagree, but the New Testament believer is subject only to the authority of Christ. We do not have other humans in authority over us. While we may have teachers and people who encourage and train us, these individuals do not exercise authority over other believers. Authority that is exercised over individuals is the model that has been used throughout history by governments and military institutions. It was specifically this model of authority that Jesus said would not be allowed among His disciples.

Instead Jesus gave us authority over such things as sickness, disease, and storms, and each of us is given authority to speak on certain subjects. (That will be discussed in my next message.)

Some of us are given authority to influence the communities of music and art. Others are given authority to influence the fields of physics and chemistry, while still others have authority to represent God’s interests in the field of medicine. These are just a few examples of the areas of society God grants us authority to operate in. As we identify the areas of authority that God has granted to us and as we represent His interests in accordance with His desires, our level of authority increases.

The relationship we have with God is the key to it all. We must begin by asking Him what areas we've been given authority in. That requires us to develop the ability to communicate with Him. Next, we must learn how He wants us to exercise our authority in those areas. Again - this requires a deeper relationship. As our relationship grows, we'll be given more details about how He wants us to exercise the authority He gives us with wisdom and righteousness.

The Legacy of Adam

This is an ingenious way to deal with demons, courtesy of my friend Northwest Prophetic. The original post (with comments) can be found here. 


I had a revelation recently about how important it can be that we – Adam’s heirs – are inheritors of Adam’s calling, Adam’s authority.

One night, a group of prophetic intercessors had gathered together in our home, and were praying about a minor stronghold in our hometown. There was a high bridge downtown, a favorite among the despondent members of our community; it became known as “Suicide Bridge.” For years, it had been known by that name, and used for that purpose.

Recently, several of us had noticed that when we crossed that bridge, thoughts of suicide, temptation to jump, came upon us: we who were healthy, satisfied, happy individuals. These clearly were not our thoughts: they came from outside of us, from something associated with death, and associated with that location.

As we prayed together, we understood that there had been enough suicides, enough wrongful deaths in that place, that the enemy had capitalized on all the death, and assigned a demon to the bridge, to become a stronghold, whose responsibility, it seemed, was to maximize the enemy’s investment in the form of suicides from the bridge.

Most of the intercessors gathered together that night had learned that the “right way” to deal with things like this was to discern the name of the demon, and then to use that name, with the authority of the name of Jesus, to break the creature’s right to live there and to work there.

But we didn’t know the creature’s name.

As we were looking for the name, God spoke up: “You are heir to Adam.” Hunh? What? “You have inherited Adam’s authority to name living creatures.”

And the light went on!

We named the demon, “Bob,” and then we broke “Bob’s” authority and assignment in that place, and kicked him out. The “urge to jump” was gone the next morning, and within a week, the city “just happened” to raise all the railings on the bridge to eight feet high. There have been no more suicides that I know of off of that bridge. More importantly, there is no “urge” to end it all when passing by that place.

Hmm. That was interesting. I suspect we may be onto something.

Another time, we were involved in a wonderful and glorious session of healing and deliverance, in a wonderful, family-based environment. Most of the words of knowledge that directed our ministry came through pre-teenagers that night. Everything was going well, our friend was finding real freedom, until we came upon one demonic stronghold that would not let go.

After we fussed and fumed for a bit, God said it again. “You are heir to Adam.” We named the beastie “Squiggly” (as that was the dominant characteristic: he squirmed and slipped out of our “grasp” as we prayed). We assigned him the name, seriously: we took up the authority we’d inherited from Adam, we stripped it of whatever (unknown) name it had gone by, and we gave it a new name: its name was now Squiggly. Then we commanded it by that name, and the demon submitted quickly and left peacefully.

Based on our revelation, supported by our experience and by the Biblical description of Adam’s calling, I believe that we as heirs of Adam have the right to Adam’s commission: “Whatever Adam called each living creature, that was its name.” If you can’t find the thing’s name, then give it a name, and use that name to get rid of it.

Finally, I observe that there is, in practical terms, a substantial difference between referring to a spirit, and naming a spirit. Talking about “that squiggly demon” is not at all the same thing as naming the thing “Squiggly,” assigning it the name, exercising Adam’s authority. If I am just talking about a spirit, a demon, then I am not exercising the authority I’ve inherited from Adam; I’m merely talking (to it, to God, about it…) as a man. But to name something is to both claim and exercise authority over it, authority that you actually have, authority that you’ve inherited. Step into the authority you’ve inherited from Adam: wield the authority you’ve been given.

I’m interested to hear if others have found this weapon, and what experiences they’ve had when wielding it.

Releasing The Supernatural Presence of God

Every time I listen to Bill Johnson, I’m challenged in some part of my life. Most often it’s in the place of living the kind of life Jesus lived. Call me a fool, but I’m trying to take seriously the fact that Jesus said we would do even greater things than He did.

I’d heard this particular message before, but this time his words brought to mind something I’d been wrestling with for a long time. Bill hinted at the answer I’d been looking for. He loves to hint at the answers, without coming right out and telling you the full implications of what he's saying. There’s always a pregnant pause for reflection.

The message was on hosting God’s presence. If you aren’t familiar with hosting the presence of God, I recommend viewing the video (here) because much of what I’m about to share is tied to the concepts he illustrates so well.

As Christians, we are carriers of God’s Spirit and partakers of His divine nature. God is present in and resides with us. His presence in us is the life and power behind all that we do. He has enabled us to do things that wouldn’t be possible otherwise. His divine enabling is one aspect of His grace. While the law sets prohibitions on what we can do, His grace enables us to do more than we would ever dream of before receiving it.

Jesus often released the power (or presence) of God into a situation to bring about an expected result. He said, “The words that I speak are spirit and they are life.”

His very words carried the spirit and life of God in them. As he spoke to the sick, his words destroyed sickness. He knew how to release God’s presence. The release of God’s presence isn’t always under our control. Sometimes it flowed from him as he passed through a crowd like with the woman who was healed of her flow of blood.

Peter understood that he carried the presence of God. When the lame man asked for alms, Peter said, “Silver and gold I do not have, but what I do have I give you: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk.” (Acts 3:6). What did Peter have? The presence of God. As he released it into the lame man, it enabled him to walk.

The instruction of Jesus was aimed at helping the disciples understand this concept; that they were carriers of God’s presence. As such, they had been authorized and empowered to do more than they realized and they were often afraid to fully walk in this reality.

When the loaves of bread were multiplied, it was the disciples who perceived that the multitude was hungry. They went to Jesus about the problem. They offered two solutions; send the crowd home, or buy them food. Having little money, they suggested sending them home. Jesus told them, “You give them something to eat.” In His instruction, Christ gave them the supernatural ability to carry out his command and they didn’t even know it. They gathered some bread and gave it to Jesus, expecting him to work a miracle. He blessed it and handed back a handful of bread. It had not yet multiplied. It was when they obeyed his command to feed the multitude that it multiplied. And it happened by their own hands.

Apparently, they either didn’t realize they had worked this miracle or they didn't remember it the following day as they sat in the boat being tossed about in the storm. Had they remembered the miracle of the loaves, they may have rebuked the storm themselves. But in their fear, they forgot the enabling they had received and Jesus had to calm the storm for them. He then chided them, because they didn’t remember the loaves. The disciples often forgot who they were and what they had been authorized and empowered to do. And so do we.

Many of us are fearful of overstepping our authority to operate in the supernatural. We say, things like, “I’ll participate in the supernatural, but only if God leads me in the experience or only if He initiates it.” The fact is - the natural man perceives supernatural experiences to be dangerous.

We're taught to fear the supernatural on the premise that it can lead to deception or harm. I won't tell you that it can't harm you or lead to deception. That would be naive. Satan owns a large chunk of supernatural real estate and it's not hard to find. While I appreciate the danger the enemy poses, I’d like to explain why avoiding the supernatural isn't the solution.

One of the ways God speaks to us is through preachers. One of the ways Satan deceives the world is through men and women who preach a perverted gospel. Should we abandon preaching because the enemy has found a way to deceive people through a false message?

Of course not.

The problem isn't that preaching itself is dangerous. The problem is that many of us are not able to discern truth from deception. The real problem lies in the heart of the ones who hear the preaching. If all God’s people exercised proper spiritual discernment, false preaching would have no audience and pose no threat.

One way God speaks to us is through dreams. One way the enemy speaks to us is through dreams. Should we refuse instruction from God through dreams, simply because the enemy has found a way to use them to deceive us?

Of course not.

The proper approach is to learn how to discern the difference between God’s dreams and the enemy’s and disregard the ones from the enemy. Sorting out dreams is a matter of learning God’s ways, recognizing His voice and His agendas, and learning to interpret the dreams by His Spirit. These are all things that come to us as we mature in our walk with Him.

One way God manifests His mercy is through healing. The enemy has found a way to heal people as well, through various counterfeit forms of healing. Should we reject the ministry of healing because the enemy has used it to deceive people? Again, we can’t reject the legitimate expression of God’s love because some have fallen for a counterfeit. We must learn to discern the one from God and teach others how to spot the counterfeits.

The prophets and apostles traveled in the spirit from place to place doing all sorts of bizarre things. Jesus himself traveled across lakes, alone and with the disciples, supernaturally. The enemy has learned how to transport people supernaturally through experiences like remote viewing and astral projection. Should we reject the idea of supernatural transport merely because the enemy has developed a copycat?

Of course not.

The problem once again is not that supernatural transport is a form of deception, but rather that we must learn how to discern the spiritual pathways of God from the highways of the deceiver and walk only on the ones God has provided.

For some, the answer to the problem of deception is simply to refuse to participate in anything supernatural. For others, the answer lies in only participating if God sovereignly brings the experience to their doorstep. I would suggest that these attitudes are nothing more than fear and disobedience dressed up as prudence and caution. Whether you live a supernatural life or not, you’re subject to deception.

The enemy uses many ways to deceive us including the belief that supernatural experiences are of the devil. The lives of Jesus and the disciples demonstrate the exact opposite. It was their willingness to host and release the presence of God that kept them free of deception. As carriers of His presence they received revelation directly from God on spiritual matters, which kept them walking in the truth.

Jesus is the most supernatural man who ever lived, yet He only did what He saw the Father doing. From this fact, it might appear as if he lived from moment to moment never knowing exactly what the Father had in store for him next. Yet when we read the gospels we don’t see him caught off guard, as if something had just happened that he didn’t expect. He was intentional and deliberate in all that he did.

The Father didn’t drop him unexpectedly upon the waves of the sea. He went there on his own for a specific purpose. When he appeared to Thomas after walking through a wall, no one would suggest that the Father sovereignly tossed him through the wall. Jesus chose the wall instead of the door to make a point. It was a deliberate act, where he exercised his will to do something. When he raised Lazarus from the dead, he knew days in advance what he was going to do and he told the disciples about it.

It doesn’t seem to me as though Jesus waited for His Father to make the kind of “sovereign moves” many of us are waiting for Him to make. He knew His Father’s heart and His will, which allowed him to cooperate fully with the Father’s plan. When he saw the lame, He knew the Father’s heart was to heal them. When he saw the poor, he knew the Father wanted to feed them. And when he saw the storm, he knew the Father approved of his decision to speak peace to it. When the crowd tried to throw him over a cliff, he supernaturally passed through their midst with the Father’s consent. He operated in the supernatural without fear because He knew the proper actions to take. That knowledge came from studying and knowing His Father’s heart.

As we step out in faith, and cooperate with God’s plan, He will give us experiences to help us get to know His ways. As we learn His ways, we’ll grow in confidence that we’re doing the things He approves of.

Some of us receive words of knowledge. What are they for?

To reveal something God wants us to address. Often it’s to alert us to lay hands on someone who needs healing. Words of knowledge are nice. They’re God’s way of prompting us to take action. But we can’t always wait for God to move first. We must eventually take the training wheels off the bicycle. And that means we must learn to initiate the encounter ourselves.

I used to wait for God’s approval before I’d pray for anyone to be healed. As I’ve grown in my walk, I’ve learned that I don’t need to wait for Him to tell me to pray for a certain person. If I decide to lay hands on someone, He usually backs me up. If I miss someone who is open to healing, He'll often tell me.

God began speaking to me a few years ago about spiritual transport (It was His idea, not mine). He brought up the subject and gave me a number of dreams about it. One night, while sleeping, He transported me to Brazil – not to the country itself, but to the heavens over it. Confirmation of the trip came a few months later when a friend told me about a dream he’d had where I met him at a spiritual portal over Brazil. I'd never told him about my experience, so he wouldn’t have known about it.

God desires us to experience these things with Him. I’m not completely certain why, but in the coming days, spiritual transport will be more common. In a recent dream, I saw a representation of the spiritual highway of the kingdom. Its capacity to move people was being doubled.

One of the great questions we’ve been wrestling with in the realm of spiritual transport is whether we must wait on God to sovereignly move us, or if we should learn to do it of our own free will. There are arguments to be made on both sides, but in the final analysis, the question is the same one we ask of all supernatural experiences – must we wait on God to initiate it, or are we mature enough to know when and how to do it ourselves?

One objection often raised is that some of us will “seek the experience” for the sake of the experience itself, instead of seeking God as the provider of the experience. It's true that some of us will be lured into seeking the experience out of boredom, curiosity, or some other foolish reason.

What harm will come to them?

The same harm that comes to anyone who seeks the supernatural as entertainment.

They’ll learn that the enemy is the primary supplier of supernatural entertainment and it’s on his terms that they’ll play. And they’ll suffer the consequences of their immaturity. I think once again, that the problem isn’t the experience per se, but the foolish, immature heart that doesn't distinguish between the kingdom of God and the kingdom of darkness. Thrilled by anything supernatural, they’re lured into darkness little by little.

I think it's always wise to invite God to be a part of our experiences. I rarely pray for anyone to be healed without asking the Holy Spirit to bring His presence and be involved in what I'm doing. How much more should we invite Him to be a participant in something like spiritual transport?

The issue may boil down to a matter of knowing the Father, His ways and His voice so well, that deception is spotted the moment it appears. If we're honest, some of us will admit that we don’t know the Father’s voice or heart well enough and we fear that if we make a move, it will be in the wrong direction. So we remain paralyzed; afraid to move in any direction.

Papa isn’t looking for pawns that can be moved around a chess board. He isn’t looking for timid creatures paralyzed by fear. He’s looking for sons and daughters, who are willing to accept responsibility, grow in maturity and cooperate with Him in a divine plan. He wants us to know that plan or at least the part that involves us.

Jesus said a servant does not know his master’s business. But after He revealed his plan to the disciples, he called them his friends. And that is how God sees us.

As friends of God we must grow in discernment so that we know when the enemy is speaking or acting instead of God. Part of that process is learning God’s plan, which provides a map for us. Another part is to grow in spiritual maturity, which comes by spending as much time with Him as possible, asking questions, meditating on the answers and trying out the gifts he’s given you.

Yes, we’ll make a few mistakes; we are His children after all and we haven't been this way before. But no mistake is wasted if we learn the lesson that comes with it.

-till next time,

PM

Brandon Lee on Authority For Healing

On a recent trip to Mexico, Brandon Lee took a few minutes to instruct a group on the basics of our authority to heal the sick. During the trip many people were healed. For more on Brandon and what happened on the trip, check out his blog post here.

Authorty To Heal

When someone mentions the word "Authority" in a discussion about God or the church, what type of things come to mind?

For many of us, we think about people in the church who hold places of authority, such as pastors, bishops or priests. Some think about the authority God has over His creation. In this message, we'll discuss the authority the average Christian has in the realm of healing.

If you're like most of us, at some time in your life, someone you respected taught you how to pray. That first prayer may have sounded something like, "God, please bless mommy and daddy and my family and our dog, Buster....in Jesus name, Amen!

When you were older, your style of prayer probably changed. Some of us developed a bit more desperation. "God I really, really need this job! You know how much it means to me, so please hear me and make this job happen now!!....in Jesus name, Amen!

Some of us use a variation on something Jesus said about prayer, believing there is virtue in accepting the outcome, regardless of how it works out: "Lord, if it's your will, please heal gramma of cancer, but if it's not your will, give me the grace to accept her sickness and death."

It's true that Jesus taught His disciples to pray, "Thy kingdom come, thy will be done..." finishing with, "Nevertheless, not my will, but yours be done." But I would politely suggest that this is model of prayer has absolutely no relevance to healing.

The question before us then is, what is the biblical model of prayer in regard to healing?

When Jesus was summoned by the Roman Centurion to heal of his servant, the soldier recognized the authority Jesus had over sickness. Because he understood authority, his faith was able to apprehend heal his servant. No prayer was involved; Jesus spoke a word and the servant was healed. It was a simple transaction involving the faith of the Centurion and the authority of Jesus. There are a number of other healings involving Jesus that occurred in this manner. (See Matt. 8)

If you review all the individual healing accounts recorded in the New Testament, you'll find that not once did anyone ask God (the Father) to heal someone who was sick or possessed. Some people begged Jesus to heal them. But Jesus never begged His Father to heal anyone. He simply spoke a word of healing, touched them or in some other way transferred healing power to them.

The Plan
A few key passages from the New Testament reveal the plan Jesus had for his disciples in regard to healing and deliverance. It's actually a simple outline for ministry:

In Matthew chapter 10, Jesus chose 12 disciples and commissioned them to be sent out. (The word apostle means, literally 'one who is sent'.) He gave them instructions to heal the sick, cast out demons, raise the dead and preach the gospel of the kingdom.

In Luke 10:19 he gave them authority over all the power of the enemy: "Behold, I give you the authority to trample on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall by any means hurt you."

In Acts chapter 1: Jesus told them, "But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”

Jesus told his disciples His expectation of their ministry: “Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do he will do also; and greater works than these he will do, because I go to My Father."

In these passages, Jesus gave His disciples clear assignments for healing. He gave His expectation of the kinds of things they would do and He gave them the power and authority to do them. Let's take a closer look at the power and authority He gave them.

Authority
What kind of authority do Christians have over the enemy? The Greek word found in Luke 10:19 that is translated 'authority' is the word, ἐξουσία (exousia).

Strong's concordance gives the following definitions of this word:

1) Power of choice, liberty of doing as one pleases
a) leave or permission
2) Physical and mental power
a) the ability or strength with which one is endued, which he either

possesses or exercises
3) The power of authority (influence) and of right (privilege)
4) The power of rule or government (the power of him whose will and commands must be submitted to by others and obeyed)
a) Universally:
1) authority over mankind
b) Specifically:
1) the power of judicial decisions
2) of authority to manage domestic affairs
c) Metonymically:
1) a thing subject to authority or rule
a) jurisdiction
2) one who possesses authority
a) a ruler, a human magistrate
b) the leading and more powerful among created beings superior

to man, spiritual potentates

d) A sign of the husband's authority over his wife
1) the veil with which propriety required a women to cover herself
e) The sign of regal authority, a crown

Power
What kind of power did Jesus give His disciples? The Greek word translated 'power' in Acts 1:8 is the word δύναμις (dynamis).

Strong's concordance defines this 'power' as:

1) Strength power, ability;
a) Inherent power, power residing in a thing by virtue of its nature, or which a person or thing exerts and puts forth
b) Power for performing miracles
c) Moral power and excellence of soul
d) The power and influence which belong to riches and wealth
e) Power and resources arising from numbers
f) Power consisting in or resting upon armies, forces, hosts

Summary
Both these definitions speak of power and authority that reside with the one who has them. While they are tied to the ultimate authority of Christ, they may be exercised by us as free agents of the kingdom.

The authority we have is the legal right to do what Jeusus commanded us to do. The power we have is the anointing from God to heal through the operation of the Holy Spirit in us.

If we know His commandment is to heal the sick, cast out demons, raise the dead and preach the kingdom, and we know that the power and authority has been given to us to do these things, why would we need to ask God to do them for us?

Most of us have been taught incorrectly about healing by someone we respect. But it's never too late to correct our course, once we know we're going in the wrong direction. There are many well - meaning church leaders who don't understand what Jesus intended His church to do in this area. I would remind you that Jesus said the responsibility for building the church rests with him. (Matt. 16-18) The responsibility of church leaders is to train and equip the saints for the work of ministry that they're called to (Eph. 4:11)

If you haven't yet begun to exercise this power and authority, there's no time like the present. You'll never know for sure if what I've said is true, until you test it out. Read up on this matter and ask God to confirm His plan for you. If you have fears, questions or concerns, send me a message and I'll do what I can to help.

If God Heals Then Why Am I Sick?

It's fair question to ask - If God heals, then why am I still sick? Pete Cabrera answers the question using an analogy that boils down to the issue of our authority to over sickness and the proper exercise of that authority.

God Wants You Confident - Steve Thompson

There is a subtle difference between arrogance and confidence, as Steve Thompson explains.

The Intruder

It's Halloween.

BOO!

Questions?

Go here: http://gonowchurch.org/