Few Christians have considered the immense risk Christ took when he bestowed so much authority to the Body of Christ. If we don’t utilize our God given authority, then the enemy is able to take advantage of our passivity. Not enforcing our authority is equivalent to having no authority at all. God respects our authority and dominion on this earth. Are you ready to operate in your God given authority when the opportunity arises? Tune in now to find out how…
Here is a complete transcript of the podcast…(below)
“Today, I’d like to talk about a very important topic surrounding whether or not God can be limited in our lives by our lack of prayers or our inability to enforce the authority that Christ bestowed to us. A lot of people put everything on God and don’t think they have a part to play in the outcome of whether their prayers are answered or not. Firstly, I want to start out by saying that God is a just God and although this may be a conspicuous point to make, we do need to review this attribute in light of prayer, especially. If God is just, which He is (and Psalm 7:9, Romans 3:4, Psalm 25:8 say He is), then by definition, He is a gentleman, and a gentleman does not override anyone’s will. Satan in contrast is a usurper and subjugator, seeking to gain authority by any means necessary for the purpose of domination, manipulation, intimidation and control. It’s a foolish thing to know that help is available yet deny it, but in the Bible there’s a principle of asking that is paramount: asking, seeking and knocking etc. are reminders to us that we have a part to play in the outcome. There is an onus on us to pursue and ask for assistance from our Heavenly Father and God will honor this petition.
If God were to move on our behalf without our asking, He would be acting against our will and because he respects us, He will not do so. Hence the dilemma of a loving and just God, wanting what’s best for His children but restricted if they are unwilling to ask, so that He can move in their lives. Pride is often the culprit for not asking. We sometimes say: “it’s okay God, I think I can handle this one on my own” much to our detriment. It was this thinking that caused serious contention in the family of Abram the patriarch. Sarai decided she had to “make something happen” outside of God’s timing and volunteered Hagar into Abram’s bed chamber (Genesis 16:1) for the purpose of producing a child to extend their lineage. The rest is history. Because of Sarai and Abram’s decision, the lineage of two warring tribes in the Middle East was set in motion. These opposing seeds have become a huge source of conflict: Arab vs. Jew, Islam vs. Judaism and so on and so on. Yes, friends, our untimely and disobedient decisions can have major repercussions, but God is so merciful that He still blessed Ishmael (Genesis 17:20) despite his birth being caused by Sarai and Abram’s disobedience.
Adam was granted dominion over the earth within the boundaries that God gave. One of the definitions of ‘dominion’ in Merriam Webster’s dictionary is ‘supreme sovereignty’ or ‘the power to rule.’ In Genesis 3:6, when man sinned, he relinquished this authority to Satan. To speak plainly, that’s why bad things occur in the world. God owns the world (Psalm 50:10), and the earth has been given to the children of men (Ps 115:16) but Satan has the lease to the earth until his time runs out, when Christ returns a second time. Until then we have an anointed cherub gone ‘rogue’ with vast spiritual forces at his disposal subjugating mankind, all the while hidden in the shadows. Simultaneously, man himself is predisposed to evil due to his inherent fallen nature. This is the multidimensional sin war in which we find ourselves comprising of the flesh, the devil, and demon forces.
Remember, God gave the Israelites the Promised Land, but they still had to drive out the people from the land and subdue it. By faith the land was theirs, but they still needed to apply corresponding action to ‘take’ the land. Satan doesn’t relinquish authority in someone’s life until he is opposed by the action of a greater authority. That greater authority is the “name of Jesus” (Philippians 2:9) and we believers have been given the awesome privilege of using that name. Satan is mentioned in Scripture as being the ‘prince of this world’ (John 16:11), the ‘prince of the power of the air’ (Ephesians 2:2) and ‘god of this world’ (II Corinthians 4:4) (little ‘g’). The words ‘prince’ and ‘god’ are synonymous with rulership and authority. The Apostle John mentions the current state of the world in which w live when he said,” “We know [positively] that we are of God, and the whole world [around us] is under the power of the evil one (Amplified version).” – 1st John 5:19.
Let’s look at the temptation of Jesus in the wilderness. In Matthew chapter 4 and Luke chapter 4, the Bible says that Satan took Jesus up to a high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of this world in a moment of time, let’s read it together:
“And the devil, taking him up into an high mountain, shewed unto him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time.6 And the devil said unto him, All this power will I give thee, and the glory of them: for that is delivered unto me; and to whomsoever I will I give it.7 If thou therefore wilt worship me, all shall be thine” Luke 4:5-7.
The devil said that he’d give Jesus the authority to reign over the kingdoms of this world. So clearly, Satan is listed as the ruler of the kingdoms of this world and John’s Epistle confirms his status today for those who are not in Christ Jesus. You might say, “yeah, but the devil can’t be trusted. He’s a liar and the father of lies (John 8:44)!” That’s true; however, the bible clearly states that Christ was tempted three times in the wilderness and in order for it to be a true temptation; Satan told the truth in this instance. He really did possess the kingdoms of the world when he tempted Christ, as the scriptures states, they were already delivered unto him.
Did you also notice that Jesus did not dispute what Satan said? If it was a lie, Jesus would have rebuked him, but he did not. So clearly if Satan did not have authority and power of the kingdoms of the earth, then it wouldn’t have been a true temptation, but it was! In Luke 4:2, the Bible states that Jesus was tempted for forty days by the devil, so this ‘transfer of authority’ temptation was indeed genuine.
People say that God is sovereign: which is true. Yes, because His word says so, but He is sovereign over His kingdom, not sovereign over the earth. The lease has been transferred from man to a rogue cherub named ‘Lucifer.’ The salient point is this: God does not approve of everything that He allows. Does God approve of murder? No. Does He allow it? Yes. Does God approve of abortion? No. Does He allow it? Yes. Does God approve of theft and abuse? No. Does He allow it? Yes. Does He approve of accidents in the earth that randomly kill people? No. Remember that the earth is still cursed and although we have been redeemed from the ‘curse of the law’ (Galatians 3:13), we have not been redeemed from the ‘curse of the earth’ (Genesis 3:17-18) until the lease expires.
When it comes to spiritual authority know this, the authority you now have in your possession is infinitely more powerful than Satan has at his disposal, because you are seated in heavenly places in Christ Jesus, right now, not when you die and go to heaven. Never forget as a believer, that in any kind of spiritual warfare, Satan only has the authority that you give him through purposeful sin or disobedience. You may however be predisposed to certain addictions or weaknesses in your life through generational sin that has not been dealt with or addressed through your bloodline. The onus is on us to not only deny sin, but break these curses, cast off besetting sin and live free from a life of condemnation.
Until Christ returns, God does not have full authority over this earth. In His present priestly office, Jesus sits until his enemies are made his footstool (Hebrews 10:13) and we the church are subduing Christ’s enemies in the meantime. In the Millennial reign of Christ, God will have total rule and reign over the earth, every man will be redeemed; sin set aside, and satanic forces will not be able to tempt us. This is known as a Theocracy. But for now, sadly, Satan still holds sway in this earth through sickness, disease, child abuse, molestation, murders, rape, crime, sex trafficking, pornography and even slavery which are ever present. The heinous sins of this world are still in existence (much to God’s disdain) with no sign of abating. Just listen to the evening news and you will know who is ruling this earth and the airwaves through which the news is sent. This is the reason that in the 20th century alone, governments around the world were responsible for killing 262 million people worldwide. The University of Hawaii, who were responsible for this study, called it “Democide” or mass genocide. Did Hitler or Pol Pot or Stalin or Lenin start out as evil men or did they yield their will to evil forces, enabling the mass slaughter of so many innocents? I think you know the answer. This is why we are admonished to pray for those in authority that we may lead a peaceable life (1st Timothy 2:1-4).
We as believers in Christ have authority over Satan (Luke 10:19, 1st John 4:4, Colossians 1:13) and clearly this is revealed in Scripture, but it needs to be exercised! Demons are not expelled unless the command is given. Sickness and disease must be commanded to leave. We don’t compromise or negotiate with the forces of evil; we must oppose them through prayer, the blood of Jesus, the name of Jesus, the armor of God and the word of God. Edmund Burke, an Irish political philosopher and statesman of the 18th century, once said, “All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing.” The author S. Douglas Woodward also quipped, “Any society that denies evil stands ready to enthrone it.” These men were motivated to confront evil, and we the church should be ever ready to do so. We don’t go looking for spiritual fights, but we know how to use our bestowed authority and power when we need to:
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” (Lk 10:19).
The serpents and scorpions mentioned in this passage are a typology of the demon forces which we have authority over. When it comes to the church even Jesus said that we should ask the Father to send laborers into the harvest (Mathew 9:38). Clearly, it wasn’t happening by default, and we still need to petition the Father to carry out His will in our lives. It’s a dangerous thing for Christ to give his glorious church so much authority and for us not to use it. What a predicament he must be in! What a gamble Jesus took on us, the church! We are responsible for enforcing his authority on this earth.
Friend, when two Kingdoms collide there is conflict. Don’t be afraid of the conflict as we’re on the winning side! I challenge you today to obey the Holy Spirit and ask Him where Satan has propagated his deleterious agenda into your life. It’s time to command him to leave through forceful expulsion in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth!”
Related keyword searches:
