2024.04.17 - Authority
Monday, April 15, 2024
3:08 PM
o You will never have authority beyond what authority you are submitted to . . .
o Sometimes there are not miracles and mighty works, healings and answers to prayers because we will not fall under the authority of God or anyone else.
· We allow Him in our lives as Savoir but do not make Him Lord of our lives
o If I remain in control of my life and will not submit I am all the authority that I will ever have . . .
· broken and ruined by sin and the fall, unable to save and heal myself . . . unable to move and be beyond the boundaries of my own humanity
§ The anointing of God will move us beyond our own limitations, anointing is only given by God, it cannot be taken, stolen or earned. Like His grace it is a free gift given at His good will and pleasure when and to whom He wishes
o Matthew 8:5-13
5 And when Jesus was entered into Capernaum (the field of repentance; city of comfort)
there came unto him a centurion(the captain of 100 men), beseeching him,
6 And saying, Lord, my servant(not a soldier, not a warrior, not one of rank or importance, but his servant) lieth at home sick of the palsy, grievously tormented. 7 And Jesus saith unto him, I will come and heal him.
8 The centurion answered and said, Lord, I am not worthy that thou shouldest come under my roof: but speak the word only, and my servant shall be healed.
9 For I am a man under authority , having soldiers under me: and I say to this man, Go, and he goeth; and to another, Come, and he cometh; and to my servant, Do this, and he doeth it.
10 When Jesus heard it, he marvelled, and said to them that followed, Verily I say unto you, I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel(Jesus ties faith and authority together in this statement, he relates them somewhat ).
11 And I say unto you, That many shall come from the east and west, and shall sit down with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of heaven.
12 But the children of the kingdom shall be cast out into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
13 And Jesus said unto the centurion, Go thy way; and as thou hast believed, so be it done unto thee. And his servant was healed in the selfsame hour. KJV
THE SERVANT
o The servant . . .Was not a soldier, or warrior or listed to be a man of rank or importance but listed to be a servant
o The servant . . .Was totally submitted to the one who was over him therefore relying on the centurion for his healing, his food, direction and protection
o The servant . . .Who was no longer able to perform, who was not now pulling his weight and instead of a blessing was a burden to the centurion, he was a broken person who was unable to help or heal himself or move beyond the point at which he found himself without help, he was for all intents and purposes almost lost to the centurion
THE CENTURION
o Loved the servant . . .Who was so important as a servant that the leader of 100 fighting men left those over who he had charge, those with swords who could take on the enemy and could and would fight to the death, and left his post, left behind his pride and rank, left behind his station and stature and came to seek Jesus on his behalf - the authority humbled himself to save the life of another
o A shadow and picture of leaving 99 and going after the one
o A shadow and picture of Jesus laying down His place in Heaven to come low and walk among us to save us
o A shadow and picture of Jesus NOT calling on the legion of angels to come and deliver Him but to walk in humility, in humanity.
o A picture of Jesus standing at the right hand of The Father and interceding for us
o Was a lesson in authority and humility - You will never operate IN authority until you have learned to be UNDER authority
o Had authority and power on earth but what he needed was the same from Heaven - you can be well known on earth and totally unknown in Heaven
· Matthew 7:22-23
22 Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works?
23 And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity. KJV
· 2 Timothy 3:5
5 Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away. KJV
POWER AND AUTHORITY
o Power
· Matthew 28:18-20
18 And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth.
19 Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:
20 Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen. KJV
§ Power . . .exousia - authority, jurisdiction, liberty , right, strength
· Acts 1:8 But ye shall receive power , after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth. KJV
§ Power . . . Dunamis - ability, might, strength, violence, force, miraculous power
· Gifts, etc - some are given power to lead, while they are not Christians in is in their creative makup to have power, influence, etc, that does not mean they are good . . .Hitler was a powerful man, Hitler was not a godly man
o Authority
· Matthew 21:23-27
23 And when he was come into the temple, the chief priests and the elders of the people came unto him as he was teaching, and said, By what authority doest thou these things? and who gave thee this authority?
24 And Jesus answered and said unto them, I also will ask you one thing, which if ye tell me, I in like wise will tell you by what authority I do these things.
25 The baptism of John, whence was it? from heaven, or of men? And they reasoned with themselves, saying, If we shall say, From heaven; he will say unto us, Why did ye not then believe him?
26 But if we shall say, Of men; we fear the people; for all hold John as a prophet.
27 And they answered Jesus, and said, We cannot tell. And he said unto them, Neither tell I you by what authority I do these things. KJV
§ Authority . . . Same word as used in Matthew 28 - exousia - power and authority combined in one package
§ The priests and elders did know about power and authority, however, they were not under the authority of God, only operating in the authority of man and "the church" which is limited at best
§ Their knowledge of power and authority was more about control than submission - they wanted more to control people rather than submit to God - there is a WORD!!
§ These leaders thought that if you had POWER you also had AUTHORITY, and that is not true.
§ Power does not give you authority but authority does give you power
· Jesus puts power and authority in a combined package:
§ Mark 13:34
§ Luke 19:17
§ John 5:27.
WHOSE RIGHT IT IS
· Just because you have a gun (power) doesn’t necessarily mean you have the right (authority)
- You can steal power but not authority
- False authority is always overturned in The Word of God . . . false authority will not last and stolen power is like a drug – the effects will wear off and weakness will come again
- Romans 13:1 Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers(exousia not dunamis). For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God.2 Whosoever therefore resisteth the power, resisteth the ordinance of God: and they that resist shall receive to themselves damnation KJV
o John 10:10 The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly. KJV
· He operates in power but not in authority - the success of the enemy is relevant to the authority he has in your life
· There are ONLY two in all creation who can give the enemy authority in your life
§ God - Job
§ You - Garden of Eden
· He who you allow to have access to your ears and eyes you allow to have access to your soul
· Ezekiel 21:27 I will overturn, overturn, overturn, it: and it shall be no more, until he come whose right it is; and I will give it him.
What did Christ do with the EXOUSIA God gave Him? He gave it to men . . .Matthew 28 . . .all power is given unto ME go YE therefore . . .YOU have the authority to go and the power to overcome - the Promise is in the Commandment and the Commandment is the Promise
LEVEL UP - MIRACLES, SIGNS, ANSWERED PRAYERS, ALL OF IT
o The Centurion had authority and power on earth, given by men, but again, what he needed was authority and power from a different source to accomplish something outside of what flesh and blood could accomplish -
· so he leveled up spiritually.
§ Going to the next level on earth would have done him no good yet this is what many people try to do, they try to gain spiritual leverage by doing carnal things- imagine him, a centurion, taking his little sick servant to Rome and asking in Rome what he asked of The Lord! There are instances where "Rome" can stand for anything - ANYTHING - but God
- Church should not be a place where you see a painted by words picture of Who and What Jesus is then not allowed to touch or partake – should be a place where you have a true encounter with The Living God and are allowed then to decide for yourself who is worthy to be Lord of your life.
o He came to Jesus, and submitted himself to The Lord - fully and completely, in humility and in faith, in this instance he "received" Jesus
· Matthew 10:40-42
40 He that receiveth you receiveth me, and he that receiveth me receiveth him that sent me.
41 He that receiveth a prophet in the name of a prophet shall receive a prophet's reward; and he that receiveth a righteous man in the name of a righteous man shall receive a righteous man's reward. KJV
· That means you actually get what you see . . .so take a second look!
· A prophet is not without honor except in his own country . . . all they see is the you you used to be
· Familiarity with someone can cause you to take off Heaven’s glasses
SUBMISSION
· Mark 16:17-18
17 And these signs shall follow them that believe;(have faith in, entrust one's spiritual well being, to put trust with (submission) In my name shall they cast out devils ; they shall speak with new tongues;
18.They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover. KJV
· John 5:19 Then answered Jesus and said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, The Son can do nothing of himself, but what he seeth the Father do: for what things soever he doeth, these also doeth the Son likewise. KJV
o He who had all power did only what He was told to do - total submission
· James 4:7-8
7 Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil , and he will flee from you.
8 Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded. KJV
· Acts 19:11-16
11 And God wrought special miracles by the hands of Paul:
12 So that from his body were brought unto the sick handkerchiefs or aprons, and the diseases departed from them, and the evil spirits went out of them.
13 Then certain of the vagabond Jews, exorcists, took upon them to call over them which had evil spirits the name of the Lord Jesus, saying, We adjure you by Jesus whom Paul preacheth.
14 And there were seven sons of one Sceva , a Jew, and chief of the priests, which did so.
15 And the evil spirit answered and said, Jesus I know, and Paul I know; but who are ye?
16 And the man in whom the evil spirit was leaped on them, and overcame them, and prevailed against them, so that they fled out of that house naked and wounded.KJV
The Kingdom of God operates on laws and principles that are immutable - they cannot be changed.
AUTHORITY WAS GIVEN BY THE KING
Esther 8:11
11 Wherein the king granted the Jews which were in every city to gather themselves together, and to stand for their life, to destroy, to slay, and to cause to perish, all the power of the people and province that would assault them, both little ones and women, and to take the spoil of them for a prey KJV
o The ONLY thing that had changed was that the King now issued authority giving the right to Jews to defend themselves
