Spiritual Authority

As I woke up this morning, still lying on my bed; I grab hold of the book beside me. Besides, this was also one of the newer books that I borrowed from my cg member last night. I tend to also be more favorable in reading the newer ones that I receive. The title of the book “A Woman’s Guide To Spiritual Warfare” by Quin Sherrer & Ruthane Garlock. As usual, I would randomly flip through the pages first before I start reading them from the front.

“In the Name of Jesus, you give the purse back to me,” Kay shouted as she chased a young teenager across the grocery store parking lot. “I earned that money, and you have no right to it”

As she grabbed the scared kid by the arm and jerked her purse out of his hand, he broke down crying. It was his first time to try snatching someone’s purse as he’d seen his older buddies do. But he picked the wrong young woman in this  case-or the right one, depending on how you look at it.

Kay knows she has authority in the name of Jesus, and she instinctively responded to the challenge without thinking of the possible dangers. She began sharing the gospel with the youngster, explaining that he needed to accept Jesus as Saviour, then trust God to provide him a job. He walked away visibly shaken.

“Kay, you could have gotten hurt!” Ruthanne said when she told her about the incident. Kay was a convert from the drug culture, now attending Bible school. The store that she had stopped was a known trouble spot for thievery.

“ I had just gotten paid at work, and I needed that money to pay my school bill,”she said. “No way was I going to let the devil steal from me!”

We’ve already established that our conflict is with an invisible enemy and his evil agents in the spiritual realm, who operate through individuals. We cannot use physical weapons against enemy agents, but God has given us invisible spiritual weapons, the name of Jesus. Consider this Scriptures :

“You are my King and my God,…Through you we push back our enemies; through your name we trample our foes. I do not trust in my bow, my sword does not bring me victory; but you give us victory over our enemies, you put our adversaries to shame”(Ps 44:4-7)

The moment my eyes fell on this verse, I could not but say to myself,

“This verse again???”

The night before, a new comer in the cg received a vision & a word from the Lord. One of which she said she saw the word ‘boast’ in her spirit during worship. So she started looking up for the word boast & the first passage she flip to was from Ps 44:8,

  “In God we boast all the day long, and praise thy name for ever. Selah.”

When I heard it yesterday, my fast lightning mind reminded me that this was the same verse Coach Maddy message me two Thurs ago:

Ps 44:4-8: “ You are my King and my God. You COMMAND VICTORIES for your people. Only BY YOUR POWER can we push back our enemies, only IN YOUR NAME can we trample our foes. I do not trust in bow, I do not count on my sword to save me. It’s YOU who gives us VICTORY over our enemies. It is YOU who humbles those who hate us. O God we give glory to you ALL DAY LONG and CONSTANTLY PRAISE you name”

Deep in my spirit I knew that God was trying to tell me something.

So I started asking Him. And this was what he reminded me.

“Remember when your house was broken into (last week)…when your mum came home & the thief heard that she was back, they fled up (to the hole on top of my bro’s room) & your mum ran out to your neighbors house”

“Yes…”

“What could she have done?”

Immediately this thought came, “She could have shouted - In Name of Jesus?”

It’s as though a “light” has dawn on me. And I continued on with our conversation. It really did open me up to realize how small our faith is when it comes to these practical things in life to use the authority given to us.

Honestly, if I were in my mum shoes, I would run too. Wouldn’t you?Hee. Maybe if you were a guy, you might be the hero for my mum & chase after the thief=)

But when I start picturing it from a different view, it just turns out really funny. Imagine the thief as the devil, he comes in(to your life) secretly stealing away your things(your joy, your finances, your relationship…)in ways he hopes you’ll never notice him because he knows the authority you have over him. And when he thought you had noticed him, he out of fear fled & you not knowing he was afraid of you, as fearful as you are too in your situation run away from him. Hee~ Now picture Jesus in you. Do you see you-Jesus running away from the devil when they meet each other?Hee~surely not.I can’t imagine such happening. He’ll be so cool. He needs to only use the authority given to Him and be the Hero. Satan knows our authority, but hopes that we will stay ignorant. We must be as convinced of our authority as the devil is.

I remembered the first time (this being the third) the thief tried to come in. It was the day I called my mum but she wasn’t at home but somehow I felt uneasy in my spirit & I started praying in the Spirit. Half an hour later she called back to tell me that the gates & the front door were all broken but nothing was touched. I knew very well then the power of prayer. For in His Word he says,

Eph 6:12  For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.

2Co 10:3  For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh:

2Co 10:4  (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;)

It’s natural or easy for me to use this authority to cast out demon if I see someone possess by one. But it’s so easy for us to forget to use this same authority that lies in us when we are faced with challenges thinking that it’s part & parcel of life. You know the thief doesn’t come in when he knows you’re in, he sneaks in when you least expect it. The challenges that you go through are his tactics to steal away bit by bit from your life without you realizing it. Or you may not even take it as it’s from him because it doesn’t look “evil”?

But remember, His Word says, we wrestle NOT against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.

Take up your spiritual authority in every area of your life. Be it your studies, your family even your emotions. Speak Life-the Name of Jesus into your situation & see things turn around for your good because the devil IS afraid of you!=)

Lastly, something my friend wrote which I felt was really beautiful. Be blessed by it=)

“Just as the Lord met the people’s need in the pillar of cloud-warm fire in the night, shady cloud by the day – so also the Holy Spirit meets our needs today. All the children of Israel had to do was to follow the cloud, keep their eyes on the pillar. Why was God a pillar? A pillar implies strength, upholding a house. And that’s exactly what the next mention of the Hebrew word is – for the incorruptible wood, overlaid with gold, in the tabernacle of Moses. Look to Jesus your Lord as your pillar, and He will be the one who lifts up your house, stands between them and Egypt! Ex 14:19, 20, 24.

Grace IS with us, God’s beloved!=D