Sunday, April 7, 2013

Shalom,

Luke 9:1-2 says this:
1 Then Jesus called together the Twelve [apostles] and gave them power and authority over all demons, and to cure diseases, And He sent them out to announce and preach the kingdom of God and to bring healing.

Notice that Jesus gave them both power AND authority. That tells us that there is a difference between the two! "Power" is the Greek word "dunamis", which means: force; miraculous power; strength; ability; inherent power (power residing in a person or thing by virtue of its nature. Jesus was giving these disciples the same power that was in Him as a man in continual fellowship with God! "Authority" is the Greek word "exousia", which means: privilege; capacity; competency; freedom; mastery; delegated influence; power of choice; power of rule or government; right to exercise power. These disciples were thoroughly furnished to go out and do exactly what Jesus commanded them to do! They were fully equipped to go out and do exactly what Jesus Himself had been doing! Remember that Jesus left His glory in heaven! Everything He did on the earth, He did as 100% Man! Let's look at what Jesus said to them on their return in verses 17-20:

17 And the seventy returned again with joy, saying, Lord, even the devils are subject unto us through thy name.m 18 And he said unto them, I beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven. 19 Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you. 20 Notwithstanding in this rejoice not, that the spirits are subject unto you; but rather rejoice, because your names are written in heaven. KJV:

The first "power" in verse 19 is "exousia" or "authority" and the second is "dunamis" or "force and ability". Look at Matthew 28:18-20 from the Amplified Bible (KJV says "power" but it is "exousia"):

18 Jesus approached and, breaking the silence, said to them, All authority (all power of rule) in heaven and on earth has been given to Me.  19 Go then and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them into the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,  20 Teaching them to observe everything that I have commanded you, and behold, I am with you all the days (perpetually, uniformly, and on every occasion), to the [very] close and consummation of the age. 
AMP

So YOU, as a born again believer, have been given the authority to use the power over all the so-called power of the enemy! YOUR power is MUCH greater than His and YOU have all the authority of Heaven backing you up! AMEN! Now get out there and DO something with it!  Here is an older song from Hillsong called "He's Real" (He's got all the power you need!):



Shalom in Him!