Knowing our authority in Christ is perhaps the most important aspect of Christendom, after salvation. In this live broadcast (the first of a three-part series), Carl questions the false ideology that, ‘God is in control’ of ‘everything’ and ‘everyone.’ He shares scriptures pointing to our responsibility as believers and how we have a part to play in the outcome. Jesus said, ‘nothing shall by any means hurt you’ (Lk 10:19), but how can this be? Knowing our lofty spiritual position in Christ Jesus, is half the battle. Tune in now to find out more about your God given authority and how to apply it…
Here is a complete transcript of the broadcast (below)…
Friend, this is Pastor Carl, and I am in session live on this recording. On a Wednesday evening, we’re talking about the authority of the believer, something that I’ve talked about on previous radio broadcasts, but we’re bringing it live. And friend, you know, it’s so important that we understand the measure and power of authority that we have bestowed to us by Christ Jesus right now, not when we die and go to heaven. That’s what I was trying to communicate there, that we’re seated in heavenly places in Christ now from that position of authority and power. So, when we pray, we’re praying from the throne room.
We’re located in the very same place spiritually that Jesus is in heaven, and it’s from that position of power that we pray. We need to understand our authority, friend. Friend, in Luke 10:19, the word power is used in the King James twice. In one example, it is the Greek word ‘exousia,’ which means authority, and another, it is the word ‘dunamis,’ which means power. So we have both power and authority expressed in that verse of Luke 10:19, and it’s up to us to enforce it. Let’s join me now in live session. We’re talking about the authority of the believer, but the question is, who’s in charge? Who’s in charge? Well, until I was 18, my mother and father were in charge, and I tested the boundaries a few times and found out that they were in charge. Who’s in charge now? Jesus said, if you’ve seen me, you’ve seen the Father, John 14:9. Many people think of God the Father as this person with a white beard and a big stick with the word smite written on it, that every time you don’t obey or you do something wrong, he’s going to smite you with his big stick. That’s how some people think of as the Father.
They think of Jesus as wonderful, loving, accepting, and kind, but the Father, not too sure about him. He was the God of the Old Testament. He was angry sometimes, not totally sure about the Father. Jesus said, if you’ve seen me, you’ve seen the Father, right? Jesus is the will of God in action. It is his will that all be healed. Are all healed? No. Are all saved? No. Because there’s an element of choice that comes into play in our lives, amen? Accidents, floods, earthquakes, storms, disasters, the untimely death of loved ones, and even sickness are the result of spiritual and physical laws in the earth. Remember, in Galatians 3:13, it says we’ve been ‘redeemed from the curse of the law.’ The curse of the law was poverty, sickness, and spiritual death. We’ve been redeemed from that. But there’s curses in the earth still, right? Snakes still move about on their bellies. We know that there’s thorns and thistles. We know that men have to work from the sweat of their brow. We know that childbirth is painful. Those are the curses in the earth. They haven’t gone away, right? So we have to delineate between a good God and a wicked devil. That’s what we have to discern as Christians.
Because if the enemy can make you think that God is your enemy or that God is working against you, you’re in a very vulnerable position, right? If you start thinking that God is your enemy, then what are you going to put up with? Are you going to put up with sickness? Are you going to put up with cancer as a form of teaching or something that I need to learn so that I can be delivered of cancer? No, we submit to God and we resist the devil. We draw clear boundaries, amen? In Deuteronomy 28, it talks about the curses that came. In fact, they’re curses. He’s not teaching us through curses. We distance ourselves from curses and we live in the blessing and favor of God, right? Now, this is a big topic I’m talking about. The authority of the believer. Is God in control of everything? You know, some people say, well, God’s in control. Well, what is he in control of? What is he in control of exactly? Is he in control of the offering? Is he in control of our ability to eat donuts? What is he in control of? It’s an important question to ask ourselves because we have a responsibility, right, in the earth. In 2 Corinthians 4:4, it says that Satan is the ‘god,’ little g, of this world.
He’s also mentioned as the ruler and prince as well. So he has a measure of authority in this earth. If you remember, Jesus was tested in Matthew 4 and Luke 4, right? There was a time of temptation in the wilderness of 40 days. And, sorry, Satan said in one of those temptations that he had authority in the earth. He said, I’ll give it all to you if you bow down and give me homage, Jesus. If you pay me homage, I’ll give you all these things. That means if it was a real temptation, which it was, that means that Satan has a measure of authority in the earth. Adam did not have the moral right to transfer his authority, but he gave Satan some measure of authority. Otherwise, the temptation in the wilderness in Matthew 4 and Luke 4 would not have been real. So, what part does our authority play in the big scheme of things? The enemy would think that God really isn’t that good. He can’t really be trusted with your finances. He can’t really be trusted with your health, because of the things that happened in the Old Testament.
We’ll explore that. What do you have authority over? You don’t have authority over other people, right? I’ve tried it. I said, in the name of Jesus, I command my wife to do the washing up, the vacuuming, the dishes, and she didn’t cooperate. I’ve tried that. I’ve tried it. It doesn’t work. It’s very important to get things in context, right? Luke 10:19, “Behold, I give unto you power to tread upon serpents and scorpions and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing by any means shall hurt you.” What a promise. But did you notice that power was mentioned twice in the King James? Power was mentioned twice. The word in the Greek for the first power is exousia, which is authority. The second word is dunamis. It’s where we get the word dynamo from. Dynamite. It’s the same power. So Jesus granted the disciples power and authority. Now, this is before Acts chapter 2. This is before the outpouring of the Spirit, okay? This is while they were seated under Jesus in mentorship. He gave them authority over spirits. Serpents and scorpions is a metaphor, right? It’s a metaphor for the demonic realm. If you’re in Christ Jesus, you have authority over these spirits. But what authority exists if authority is not enforced? You could have authority, but if you don’t enforce it, it’s the equivalent of having none, right? We respect police officers. They have the authority.
They have a badge on their shirt which represents the governing authority of the region, whether it’s the city, whether it’s the state, whether it’s the government. And they also have power to back up that authority with a gun. They have power and authority. You Christians have authority, but if you haven’t used your power, what use is that? We have a part to play in the outcome, friends. That’s what I’m trying to say here. This dunamis power was transferred to us. We don’t go looking for spiritual fights, but if we come across them, we don’t back down either, right? Now, not everything is a demon. We’re not saying that demons are this and demons are that, and the demon was in the cookie, and the demon told me to eat the donut. And you can get out of balance here, all right? It reminds me of the demon of gluttony, and it said, I’ll come out for a cookie.
Jesus is seated in heavenly places, right? Jesus is seated at the right hand of the Father right now. He’s forever making intercession for you and me, but where are you seated? Where are you seated? Let’s read Ephesians 1 right up to Ephesians 2:6, if you can get your Bibles out. Let’s find out where we’re seated right now, starting in verse 3. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ, right? If we’re the body of Christ, where are we? We’re located with him, right? If Jesus is the head of the church, and we’re the body, we’re attached.
You’ve never seen a head walk down the street. Have you ever seen a head walk down the street? No, it needs the body, right? We’re the body of Christ. Verse 4, “according as he has chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love, having predestined us, or predestinated as the King James says, unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will, to the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved, in whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace, wherein he hath abounded toward us in all wisdom and prudence, having made known unto us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure, which he has purposed in himself, that in the dispensation of the fullness of time, he might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven and which are on earth, even in him, in whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestined according to the purpose of him, who works all things after the counsel of his own will.”
Friend, we have been predestined not to come here tonight necessarily, because there was a choice in that, right? You could have watched the television. But you chose to come to D-Hop, right? There was a choice. Jesus has called you to be transformed into his image, your soul, your mind, your will, and emotions, to be conformed to his image. That is the definition of success as a Christian. That’s what he’s called us for. Right, let’s go to verse 17. “That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him, that your eyes of understanding may be enlightened, that you may know what is the hope of his calling and what the riches of his glory of his inheritance in the saints, and what is the exceeding greatness of his power towards us who believe, according to the working of his mighty power.” Friend, we have access to power now, not when we die and go to heaven. What use is it there? Let’s dance on the streets of gold. Let’s talk to David. Let’s talk to Abraham. Can anybody see any demons? Nope, they’re not up here.
They’re down there, right? The purpose of being seated in heavenly places, right, in Christ Jesus is to have authority now so that we may use it. But what use is authority if it’s not used, right? Verse 20, “which he wrought in Christ when he raised him from the dead and set him at his own right hand in the heavenly places.” Get ready. Far above principality, power, might, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come. Does that mean his name is above cancer? Does that mean his name is above AIDS? Does that mean his name is above the flu? It sure does. The principalities, powers, and might, and dominions are spoken of also in 2 Corinthians and Ephesians later, where it talks about the demonic realm, the principalities, powers, rulers of darkness, the spiritually wicked in high places, in the atmosphere.
It talks about Satan being the prince of the power of the air, okay? That is his realm. We won’t go there too much tonight. The book of Daniel talks about the prince of Persia and the prince of Greece. These were spirits working in the second heaven against the saints, okay? This hasn’t changed. Jesus has spoiled them openly, but again, if we don’t take authority over them in certain decisions in our own life, then they have the equivalency of power still, right? Verse 22, “And hath put all things under his feet, and gave him to be the head over all things, to the church, which is his body, the fullness of him that fills all in all.” And verse 1 of chapter 2, “And you hath he quickened who were dead in trespasses and sins, wherein times past you walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now works in the children of disobedience.
Verse 5, “Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, and hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus.” Spiritually, you’re located where? In Denver? No. You’re located in heavenly places, right? The book of Ephesians chapters 1, 2, and 3 spend a lot of time talking about growing in knowledge of the things that Jesus has already done for us so that when it comes time to pray, we don’t pray like this, Oh God, I’m just a weak worm of the dust. I mean, I got saved three years ago, but oh, it’s a struggle, Lord. Is that a prayer of faith? When you pray, friend, you need to see yourself in this position. See yourself seated in heavenly places. Now, when you start up here, Whoa, prayers are easier to come by because I’m already in the throne, man. I’m already in the throne, right? Amen? We pray from that position of authority.
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