"A people of God unleashed to transform their world"

“The authority of “A People of God”” Luke 9:1, Acts 1:8, 1 Peter 2:9, Matthew 28:18, Luke 10:19

As a global church we have a vision that we are working with and In our pursuit both individually and collective ly to make this vision a reality ,one of key elements that plays a major role is we as a church coming into the full understanding of the authority we have in christ.

And so as church we will be seeking to refreshen and also deepen our knowledge of the authorithy that has been willed to us through the death and resurrection of our Lord Jesus and practically walk in it to impact our sphere of influence.

There is a statement which states that the greatest need for an unbeliever is to recieve the life of God and the greatest need of a believer is the renewal of the mind where we come to know our identity in christ,what we have and what Christ can do through us.

I will begin with a quote by Happy Caldwell, Believer’s Authority From the beginning of creation to the ministry of Jesus and throughout the church age, there is no message more revolutionary, life-changing, or misunderstood than a believer’s authority on the earth. Yet many believers are totally ignorant of the amazing authority God has given them. Most believe they are just hapless pilgrims trudging through the hardships of life. With a philosophy of “God is in control” and “whatever will be, will be,” they don’t think there’s anything they can do to improve their situation.

What is authority?

In the bible there are 101 words that are used for authority and out of the 101 the predominant greek word used is exousia-authority to rule; jurisdiction; symbol of authority; ruler; control; power; supernatural power; right to judge.

If you search the Scriptures, you will discover that God’s desire has always been to bless His people. He is a loving heavenly Father, and He has entrusted His divine authority to us as His sons and daughters. This is a central part of our mandate and our commission, and He will judge us accordingly.

From the garden of Eden, where God made man in His image (see Genesis 1:26–28), to the book of Revelation, where He calls us “kings and priests” (Revelation 1:6), we see the incredible authority God gave to us as believers. “We shall reign on the earth” (Revelation 5:10) is a repeated theme from Adam to Abraham and from Joshua to Jesus. Luke 10:19 “Behold, I have given you authority to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall hurt you.”

Genesis 1:26 “Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.”

Luke 9:1 “And he called the twelve together and gave them power and authority over all demons and to cure diseases,”

From these scriptures we can infer that first of all authority has a source,it is given,has a jurisdicton or a sphere of influence and it comes with a sense of responsibilty

Source-We see that the source of this authority comes from God who is Spirit which means that this is a spiritual authority and the highest as such For instance, if you attempt to return an item to a store, you generally must have the receipt. That receipt proves where you purchased the item and your right to possess it or return it. If someone at the store challenges your authority to return the product, the receipt establishes your right by proving the item’s source. The same is true of our spiritual authority: It’s critical that we know its source and location.and even in Romans 13:1 “Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God.”

It is given- John 3:27 “John answered, “A person cannot receive even one thing unless it is given him from heaven.” and this is given to people who have come to receive the Lord Jesus Christ as their personal Lord and savior.Luke 9:1 “And he called the twelve together and gave them power and authority over all demons and to cure diseases,” .Because this authority is given it has be received or acknowledged by the receipiant.Ephesians 2:6 “and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus,”

we know that in the beginning Adam ceded the authority they had from God to satan through their disobedience. Luke 4:5–6 “And the devil took him up and showed him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time, and said to him, “To you I will give all this authority and their glory, for it has been delivered to me, and I give it to whom I will.” but Jesus in John 12:31 “Now is the judgment of this world; now will the ruler of this world be cast out.” Luke 10:18 “And he said to them, “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven.”

Location or Jurisdiction

Over nature(see Genesis 1:26 “Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.”)e.g Mark 4:39 “And he awoke and rebuked the wind and said to the sea, “Peace! Be still!” And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm.” Matthew 21:19 “And seeing a fig tree by the wayside, he went to it and found nothing on it but only leaves. And he said to it, “May no fruit ever come from you again!” And the fig tree withered at once.”

Kingdom of Darkness which includes sin(Romans 6:14 “For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace.”) the world (1 John 5:4 “For everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith.)Satan and his cohorts(Luke 10:19 “Behold, I have given you authority to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall hurt you.”we have authority in three different worlds or realms: authority in heaven, authority on the earth, and authority under the earth.When Paul declared that Jesus’ name is above every other name, he listed three specific groups of people who will bend their knees before Him: “those who are in heaven, and on earth, and under the earth” (Philippians 2:10 nasb). These are the three areas where Jesus has authority. And through His name, we have authority in each of these realms as well. We have authority in heaven, because we are seated together with Christ in heavenly places. (See Ephesians 2:4–6.) Jesus told us, “Assuredly, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven” (Matthew 18:18).

Over the salvtion of Men- John 20:23 “If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you withhold forgiveness from any, it is withheld.”

Responsibility that comes with authority-These two complement each other as in practice for a person to carry out effectively out their responsibilty they must given adequate authority.Without authority the person may lack the power to make decisions or take the necessary actions.Conversely if someone is granted authority it can lead to the misuse of power or lack of accountablilty

Authority to Represent

It is worth noting that the reason why the Lord grants a beleiver authority and that is to primarily represent him on earth,continue and fully discharge the duties of the individual ministry with respect to the call of Salvation.

Secondly to establish the reality of kingdom of God,its power and influence over the kingdom darkness which seems to dominate mankind

As a believer how do I walk in the reality of this authourity

Beholding,acknowledging or receiving it by faith according to the word the opposite is true when a believer walks in ingnorance it authorise the devil

Perfect Submission, Perfect Authority-Submission isn’t a popular topic for most people today. Many of us have an independent streak, and we don’t like the thought of someone telling us what to do. This is particularly true in America, where we’re proud of our right to do things our own way. Too often, submission is seen as something negative or demeaning, but nothing could be further from the truth. For a believer who expects to walk in authority, it’s absolutely essential to submit to God’s authority and the delegated authorities He has put over us. Jesus is our perfect model on this, so let’s look at some examples in His life. Many people are very surprised when they learn that Jesus never spoke or acted on His own authority. Though He was the Messiah and God’s Son, He submitted Himself to His Father’s leading on every occasion. (John 5:19) I can of Myself do nothing. As I hear, I judge; and My judgment is righteous, because I do not seek My own will but the will of the Father who sent Me.

(John 5:30) 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 )“Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words that I say to you I do not speak on my own authority, but the Father who dwells in me does his works.”

The centurion in Matthew 8:5–13 understood that Jesus could demonstrate extraordinary authority over sickness and situations because He was in perfect submission to the Father. But many Christians don’t really comprehend what submission involves. To submit oneself means to surrender to the authority, discretion, will, or judgments of another person. If you submit to someone’s authority, you are surrendering to their instruction, correction, and decisions.

we walk in this authority through prayer-Jesus told us, “Assuredly, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven” (Matthew 18:18).

Through spirit-filled word of God spoken in faith by a beleiver -Now Elijah the Tishbite, of Tishbe in Gilead, said to Ahab, “As the Lord, the God of Israel, lives, before whom I stand, there shall be neither dew nor rain these years, except by my word.” 1 Ki 17:1.

when we speak idle words we authorize satan