Shalom,

Once we understand from the Word of God that we have been given authority over all the power of the enemy, we need to know how to use that authority. Remember that when Jesus first gave authority to His disciples, when He was still ministering here on earth, He said:

Luke 10:19 (KJV)
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.

The Amplified Bible is a little more accurate here because it shows that the two Greek words translated power in the KJV are two different words. The first "power" is the Greek word "exousia" which means authority, jurisdiction, liberty, power, right and strength. The second "power" is the Greek word "dunamis" which means inherent power, the power that resides in something or someone. The verse is here:

Luke 10:19 (Amplified)
19Behold! I have given you authority and power to trample upon serpents and scorpions, and [physical and mental strength and ability] over all the power that the enemy [possesses]; and nothing shall in any way harm you.

Remember that before Jesus ascended into Heaven after His death, burial and resurrection, He said this to His disciples:

Matt 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)

That word "power" is again the Greek word "exousia".

The Amplified Bible says this:

Matt. 18:18-20 (Amplified)
18Jesus approached and, breaking the silence, said to them, All authority (all power of rule) in heaven and on earth has been given to Me.
19Go 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,
20Teaching 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. Amen (so let it be).

All power and authority has been given to Jesus and we now, as part of His body, have that SAME power and authority over the enemy here on earth. How do we use that authority? Jesus gave us this example:

Mark 11:22-23 (KJV)
22 And Jesus answering saith unto them, Have faith in God.23 For verily I say unto you, That whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith.

Verse 22 should more accurately be translated ..Have the faith OF God, not IN God. Jesus was telling us to operate in the same kind of faith that He operates in. How does that faith operate? Jesus goes on to tell us that. He said we are to exercise our God-given authority by SAYING! You and I need to be speaking to things, situations and circumstances in our lives to MOVE! Whatever mountain of circumstance we may be facing, Jesus said to handle it this way. SPEAK TO IT! What do I say? Say "Be removed!"

The reason many born again believers feel that their prayers are not heard, is that they are continually asking God to do something that He specifically told US to do! What is Jesus doing in Heaven now? Let's find out:

Heb 10:12-13 (KJV)
12 But this man, after he had offered one sacrifice for sins for ever, sat down on the right hand of God;13 From henceforth expecting till his enemies be made his footstool.

Rom 8:34 (KJV)
34 Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us.

Rom 8:34 (Amplified)
34Who is there to condemn [us]? Will Christ Jesus (the Messiah), Who died, or rather Who was raised from the dead, Who is at the right hand of God actually pleading as He intercedes for us?

Jesus is seated at the right hand of God the Father, interceding for us, and waiting for US to use the authority He gave us to put HIS enemies, who are also OUR enemies, under His feet! Under the "foot" of our God-given authority! We need to be continually meditating on the Word of God, finding out what belongs to us as children of God. We cannot operate in something we know nothing about!

What SHOULD we be asking God for? We should ask for the things we need and don't have. We need to ask for His specific guidance and direction for our lives. This comes AFTER we have followed the general guidance found in the Word. We are told to ask for wisdom for any given situation when we need it. (James 1:5) We are told to ask for the Lord to send laborers into the harvest. (Matt. 9:38) Ask for the gift of the Holy Spirit baptism (Luke 11:13) so that you can pray in other tongues, praying spirit to Spirit with God, so that you can develop a better understanding of His Word, which must be spiritually discerned. (1 Cor. 2:14) THEN you will begin to understand how to operate in YOUR God-given authority over YOUR life!

Shalom in Him!

Shalom,

Today I want to look at "authority" in the Word of God. Jesus operated in authority:

Matt 7:28-29 (KJV)
28 And it came to pass, when Jesus had ended these sayings, the people were astonished at his doctrine:29 For he taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes.

Matt 21:23 (KJV)
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?

Mark 1:27 (KJV)
27 And they were all amazed, insomuch that they questioned among themselves, saying, What thing is this? what new doctrine is this? for with authority commandeth he even the unclean spirits, and they do obey him.

Luke 4:36 (KJV)
36 And they were all amazed, and spake among themselves, saying, What a word is this! for with authority and power he commandeth the unclean spirits, and they come out.

John 5:26-27 (KJV)
26 For as the Father hath life in himself; so hath he given to the Son to have life in himself;27 And hath given him authority to execute judgment also, because he is the Son of man.

The word "authority" in all of these verses is the Greek word, exousia, which means: ability, competency, capacity, mastery, delegated influence, jurisdiction, power, liberty of choice, physical and mental power. We all agree that Jesus had and operated in authority! He commanded and demons fled. He spoke and sickness and disease disappeared. He turned water into wine, a lunch into a banquet, opened blind eyes, made crippled legs whole and many more. Remember the story of the centurion? Jesus just spoke and it was done:

Luke 7:6-9 (KJV)
6 Then Jesus went with them. And when he was now not far from the house, the centurion sent friends to him, saying unto him, Lord, trouble not thyself: for I am not worthy that thou shouldest enter under my roof:7 Wherefore neither thought I myself worthy to come unto thee: but say in a word, and my servant shall be healed.8 For I also am a man set under authority, having under me soldiers, and I say unto one, Go, and he goeth; and to another, Come, and he cometh; and to my servant, Do this, and he doeth it.9 When Jesus heard these things, he marvelled at him, and turned him about, and said unto the people that followed him, I say unto you, I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel.


Then we see where Jesus gave His disciples His authority:

Luke 9:1 (KJV)
1 Then he called his twelve disciples together, and gave them power and authority over all devils, and to cure diseases.

Luke 10:17-20 (KJV)
17 And the seventy returned again with joy, saying, Lord, even the devils are subject unto us through thy name.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.

Notice the first word, power, in verse 19 above. It is the same Greek word, exousia, that was translated "authority" in the other references. The second word "power", is the Greek word, dunamis, which means, force, power, inherent power. So Jesus gave the disciples the "authority" over all of the power and influence of the enemy! They, operating in the authority given to them by Jesus, did what Jesus did! They went about teaching, preaching and healing, casting out demons and setting people free!! That brings us to the commandment that Jesus gave to the church before He ascended into heaven. He said:

Matt 28:18-20 (KJV)
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.

Jesus says here that ALL power belongs to Him and notice what the Amplified Bible says:

Matthew 28:18-20 (Amplified)
18Jesus approached and, breaking the silence, said to them, All authority (all power of rule) in heaven and on earth has been given to Me. 19Go 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, 20Teaching 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. Amen (so let it be).

Jesus says, "Go ye"! We are individual parts of His body, of which He is the head. The whole body has the same "authority" as the head! Jesus fully expects His people, His body, His church, to go into all the world, armed with HIS authority over all the power of the enemy, and use that authority to set people free from the bondage and control of the enemy!

We'll talk more about how to exercise that authority in a future blog post.

Shalom in Him!

Shalom,

I want to look at some Scriptures concerning the Gospel today. The word "gospel" is only found in the New Testament. That tells me that it pertains specifically to the New Covenant that we believers have through the Blood of Jesus Christ. The word translated "gospel", is the Greek word, euaggelion, which means: a good message, good tidings, glad tidings, the proclamation of the grace of God manifest. We will look at several Scriptures that refer to the gospel:

Matt 4:23 (KJV)
23 And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all manner of sickness and all manner of disease among the people.

Matt 9:35 (KJV)
35 And Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every sickness and every disease among the people.

Matt 11:5 (KJV)
5 The blind receive their sight, and the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, and the poor have the gospel preached to them.

Mark 1:1 (KJV)
1 The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God;

Mark 1:15 (KJV)
15 And saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel.

Luke 4:17-19 (KJV)
17 And there was delivered unto him the book of the prophet Esaias. And when he had opened the book, he found the place where it was written,18 The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised,19 To preach the acceptable year of the Lord.

Luke 9:6 (KJV)
6 And they departed, and went through the towns, preaching the gospel, and healing every where.

Acts 8:25 (KJV)
25 And they, when they had testified and preached the word of the Lord, returned to Jerusalem, and preached the gospel in many villages of the Samaritans.

Acts 14:7 (KJV)
7 And there they preached the gospel.

Acts 15:7 (KJV)
7 And when there had been much disputing, Peter rose up, and said unto them, Men and brethren, ye know how that a good while ago God made choice among us, that the Gentiles by my mouth should hear the word of the gospel, and believe.

Rom 1:9 (KJV)
9 For God is my witness, whom I serve with my spirit in the gospel of his Son, that without ceasing I make mention of you always in my prayers;

Rom 10:15 (KJV)
15 And how shall they preach, except they be sent? as it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things!

Rom 15:19 (KJV)
19 Through mighty signs and wonders, by the power of the Spirit of God; so that from Jerusalem, and round about unto Illyricum, I have fully preached the gospel of Christ.

Rom 15:29 (KJV)
29 And I am sure that, when I come unto you, I shall come in the fulness of the blessing of the gospel of Christ.

1 Cor 1:17 (KJV)
17 For Christ sent me not to baptize, but to preach the gospel: not with wisdom of words, lest the cross of Christ should be made of none effect.

2 Cor 4:4 (KJV)
4 In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them.

What we see through all of these verses is that from Jesus, to His disciples, to the church (that's us!), the most important thing that they did and continued to do, is to preach the Gospel! The last thing that Jesus told His disciples before He ascended into heaven was this:

Mark 16:15 (KJV)
15 And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.

The Amplified Bible says this:

Mark 16:15 (Amplified)
15And He said to them, Go into all the world and preach and publish openly the good news (the Gospel) to every creature [of the whole human race].

We are to be about the business of preaching the Gospel, the good news, because Jesus said so! The word "preach" is the Greek word, kerusso, which means: to herald as a public crier, to publish, to proclaim openly and always with an authority which must be listened to and obeyed. We are to preach the Gospel, because it is the Gospel that will change people's lives. Look at this Scripture:

Romans 1:16 (KJV)
16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.

The word "power" here is the Greek word, dunamis, which means: miraculous power, strength, ability, abundance, inherent power. The Gospel contains the miraculous power of Almighty God Himself! This Gospel, when received by faith, will result in "salvation", the Greek word, soteria, which means: deliverance, preservation, safety, rescue and health. It is the deliverance from all the works of darkness, beginning with the New Birth and eternal salvation, and continuing into every area of our life here on earth! When John said:

3 John 2 (NKJV)
2 Beloved, I pray that you may prosper in all things and be in health, just as your soul prospers.

..that is what he was referring to! When we meditate on the Word of God, the Gospel, until it becomes real to us, then we will be able to walk in all the fullness of life that our heavenly Father intended! He wants the best for us and He has provided the way for us to have it. The rest is up to us! How much "soteria" will you have in your life? Get into the Word of God. Study it, love it, meditate on it, believe it, obey it and you will see deliverance happening in every area of your life! Jesus said so!

Shalom in Him!