Last Monday we took a look at authority. The central message of this post is to clearly establish through scripture that Jesus passed His authority to His disciples, including modern day disciples. That would be us. We are commanded to follow in His teachings and to fulfil the purposes of the Kingdom of God. The Great Commission, healing, deliverance, support the poor, etc. (Luke 9:1&2)

Also we reviewed the power of our spoken words and the supporting scriptures. What I didn’t have time to share was that authority and power that the Lord shares with His people on earth can vary. And there are limitations, significant responsibilities and great expectations God places on His people with regard to authority. So let’s take a quick look at what these are.

Prayer Life/Intimacy: Nothing is available from the Heavenly Kingdom without a personal relationship with the Lord. Intimacy and prayer are central to walking in authority. In our war rooms (prayer rooms) is where we learn to discern the promptings of the Spirit. We often are led in specifics on how and whom we are to pray. And then during our prayers, we release the power of God into lives and circumstances.

We have the ability to pray and challenge the demonic in Jesus name through His resurrection. That becomes our legal right.

Authority Is Gods to share: We must steward all gifts from our Father well. Especially authority in the spiritual realm. It should never be thought of a way to manipulate or command something that is not specifically spoken to us by God and confirmed in scriptures. We must use it for the purpose that it was given.

We must remain always aware that God can give authority and remove it and that we only possess His authority because we are walking in intimacy with Christ. We cannot become prideful because we received spiritual gifts.

We are accountable to God and to others for the word we speak. And EVERYTHING we do within our spiritual warfare is to be drenched in love. And our accountability can be measured through the fruit our ministry produces.

Fear God: Great reverence for His purposes and will in our lives as we speak words to one another.

The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom: and the knowledge of the holy is understanding.
—Proverbs 9:10 KJV

Our authority in Christ grows over time as we grow in our love for God and people. Also when our compassion for others expands as does our understanding of the Word of God, our anointing and gifts expand. It’s true in many areas of our life as we grow in our understanding of God’s will, we grow in our freedom, joy, peace and all the gifts of the spirit.

Understanding our inheritance as a child of God in the area of authority is crucial because next week we are going to look how the devil deceives us. He will come in like the rats with the trash and set up house. He walks in through open doors. So we will take a look next Monday at the gates the enemy uses to have access to our lives.  

Quiet Time Study: (Take these questions to the Lord in your quiet time. Then listen.)

• This week I want you to take spiritual authority over your home. Walk through the house and bless the rooms and speak words of prayer for the people who inhabit the rooms. Command any unclean spirit to leave and go to Jesus, never to return or retaliate. (Name it if the Lord brings it to mind. Such as a spirit of hate, violence, pornography, addiction, perversion, etc.) Release a blessing of love, peace, joy and hope in Jesus. Change the atmosphere of your home. People will notice. I know this is true. Within the last week I’ve had a guest in my house. This young woman commented, “I love your house. There is something warm about it.” Others have said, “It’s so peaceful here.”

Community Questions (answer in the comments):

• Can anyone share with me any changes in their lives and in the spiritual realm of your warfare? Be bold because someone out there needs to know that he/she can truly walk in the authority of Christ. They need to know that cleaning out the demonic is possible.

Love you my friends. I will be traveling to the Open Heavens Conference this week. I hope to bring back another astonishing set of encounters to share.

Hugs, Lynn