Establish God’s Authority

Jesus came with God’s authority.

And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth.” Matthew 28:18

“Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father in Me? The words that I speak to you I do not speak on My own authority, but the Father who dwells in Me does the works.” John 14:10

Jesus spoke the Word, and He worked the works of God. Jesus did nothing of Himself, but only what He heard and saw the Father say and do.

The authority of Jesus is over all the enemy’s power, i.e., sickness and disease, death, poverty and lack, famine and drought, disasters, evil, bondage, etc. (Matthew 8:17; Galatians 3:13; 1 John 2: 8b).

Jesus transferred His authority to us, the believer, and His body, the church (Luke 10:19; 1 Corinthians 12:12-14; 27).

What is authority? Authority is the legal right to use power. In other words, authority is delegated power.

What is power? It is the ability to do something or influence behavior. It is what is needed to get the job done!

 We received this authority when we became born-again through grace by faith. We have God-given authority over the devil and his demonic forces through Jesus Christ because Jesus defeated him for us (1 John 3:8). We have His authority because we are in Christ – we were raised with Him and seated with Him at the Father’s right hand in heavenly places. Sitting down in heavenly places is a heavenly place of authority that is backed by heaven. Therefore, our authority’s source is found in our position in Christ, and the enemy is under our feet too! (Ephesians 1:17-23; 2:6). We must partner with Christ to take down and dismantle the places the enemy has set up his kingdom and replace it with the kingdom of God.

We have been given authority to use power supplied by the Holy Spirit or the anointing. Christ means the Anointed One and His anointing, and it is His anointing or power that gives us authority over the enemy (Acts 10:38). The anointing within comes at salvation. The anointing is in you to transform you, reveal to you, and teach, direct and correct you (1 John 2:20, 27).

God has equipped us to face the power of the enemy with greater power to defeat him. Satan was stripped of all his authority because Jesus has it all, but Satan still has power (Ephesians 2:2). However, he is not more powerful than the Holy Spirit, who dwells within us and gives us His power (1 John 4:4). This power is the same resurrection power that raised Christ from the dead (Romans 8:11).

Jesus commissioned us (Matthew 28:19-20). We are to establish God’s authority, enforce the victory of Jesus and bring God’s kingdom on the earth to accomplish His purpose.

“And He said to them, go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. He who believes and is baptized will be saved, but he who does not believe will be condemned. And these signs will follow those who believe: in My name they will cast out demons; they will speak with new tongues; they will take up serpents; and if they drink anything deadly, it will by no means hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover,” Mark 16:15 – 18

Some of the tools of authority God has given us to defeat the enemy are the name of Jesus (Philippians 2:9 – 11), the blood of Jesus (Revelation 12:11), God’s faith (Mark 11:22-24), the Word of God, and prophecy. Speaking decrees, anointing oil (Isaiah 10:27), praying in the Spirit (Romans 8:26-27; 1Corinthains 14:14), the Armor of God (Ephesians 6:10-18), Holy Communion (Luke 22:19-20), thanksgiving, praise and worship, keys to the kingdom (Matthew 16:19), binding and loosing, and the power of agreement (Matthew 18:18-20) are other tools.

We grow and walk in greater authority through spiritual revelation by the Holy Spirit as we spend time in the presence of the Lord and His Word. We need to know what Jesus has given us, who we are in Christ (our identity) and what the Word of God says because it is His will for us. We are not to be ignorant of the enemy’s devices (2 Corinthians 2:11). Satan tries to trick us into giving him authority over our lives, families, cities, and nations.

We need to exercise discernment and follow the Holy Spirit’s leading in establishing His authority and defeating the enemy. The Holy Spirit breaths on the Word and shows us how to apply it as we follow His leading and obey Him.

Jesus spoke the Word of God when confronting the devil (Luke 4:1-12). He said, “It is written.” Therefore, rather than speak our own words or on our behalf, we speak the Word of God. Our words have authority (Proverbs 18:21). Therefore, choose God’s Words because they activate the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus (John 6:63). The kingdom of God operates by faith and is voice-activated! Decree and declare heaven’s words to enforce God’s kingdom. Heaven will back you!

How do you move a mountain? You speak the Word (Mark 11:23). How do you calm a storm? You speak the Word (Mark 4:39). I want to share a testimony with you of an opportunity the Lord gave me to establish His authority in an encounter with a storm.

I was going to a ministry conference in Orlando, Florida, in September 2016. I had an elderly friend who wanted me to fly with her, so we made arrangements to leave from the San Francisco airport rather than the San Jose airport, closer to my home. I wasn’t thrilled about driving an hour to get to the San Francisco airport, but that is where she wanted to depart. So I made arrangements to accompany her. As it turned out, on the day we were to leave, she decided not to go. I remember being upset, thinking that I could have gone to the airport closest to my home. But I did not take offense, and I trusted the Lord that He would work everything out for my good (Romans 8:28).

I heard there was a hurricane headed for the Orlando area and would affect the conference. I began to pray and ask the Lord to divert the hurricane away from the area and protect everyone flying to the conference from all over the world. My flight plans included changing planes in another state. As the aircraft was preparing to land in Orlando, the pilot spoke over the intercom, saying that we needed to sit down, buckle our seat belts and get ready for some rough turbulence and a hard landing due to the weather and the winds from the hurricane.

I began praying and asked the Lord what I should do as the plane started to be bounced around in the air. You could see the fear on people’s faces, and some even screamed while being tossed to and fro like riding a bucking bronco. I was sitting next to the window, and I heard the Lord say to my spirit, close the window shade and start worshiping Me. I took out my phone and put my worship music on, listening with headphones. The young man next to me was trying to play some games on his laptop, but it was too bumpy, and so he put his computer away.

As I was worshiping the Lord, His presence filled the aircraft, and I had an overwhelming sense of His peace upon me. I began to shake and sob under the weight of the anointing of His manifested presence. I wondered what the young man next to me must’ve thought. Next, I heard the Lord’s voice tell me to calm the storm. I said to Him, “Lord, how do I do that?” And He said to me just like Jesus did (See Mark 4:35-41). He said to open the window shade and speak to the storm. So I opened the window shade, extended my hands towards the clouds that I saw in the sky, and I said, “Peace be still.”

 The pilot had said that we would have a rough and challenging landing, but within a couple of minutes of my declaration, we were no longer being tossed to and fro or up and down. Peace had come over the plane, and the sun was breaking through the clouds around it. Our landing was without incident or further turbulence.

When the Lord told me to speak to the storm, I believe that He gave me His faith to do that (Mark 11:22; 1 Corinthians 12:7-10). I will never forget that moment. After landing, I learned that the hurricane had changed course and had gone elsewhere. I also discovered that had I taken off from San Jose, my arrival at the conference would have been delayed because planes were delayed due to the storm.

So not everything that happens is always the enemy trying to mess us up. Sometimes, God positions us to release His power and authority into a situation that He’s given us to complete for His purposes and glory in the earth. Wielding the authority Jesus gave us comes from our declarations and actions demonstrating signs and wonders!

“And as you go, preach, saying, ‘The kingdom of heaven is at hand.’ “Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out demons. Freely you have received, freely give.” Matthew 10:7 – 8

There may be storms in your life where you need God’s peace, healing, or deliverance. He has made way for us to establish His authority over these situations by the death, blood sacrifice, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus Christ. He has given us His power and authority. We can take these circumstances to the Lord in prayer and ask the Holy Spirit what to do. We can bind, rebuke and command the enemy to go in the name of Jesus!

Join me next week as we look at encountering peace from the Prince of peace!