Authority Over Your Life

Introduction

Two weeks ago we the message of holding fast to your confession of faith. In that message he communicated that regardless of what you see or are experiencing, Jesus is Lord.

Last week we heard the message on the importance of our spiritual foundation. Building our faith on sandy, or sinking, sand and not on solid rock is a sure way to fail. We should be building our faith on a sure foundation, the revelation of Jesus Christ. Matthew 16:13-20 tells us how Jesus was going to build His church.

Matthew 16:13–20 NKJV

13 When Jesus came into the region of Caesarea Philippi, He asked His disciples, saying, “Who do men say that I, the Son of Man, am?” 14 So they said, “Some say John the Baptist, some Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” 15 He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” 16 Simon Peter answered and said, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” 17 Jesus answered and said to him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven. 18 And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it. 19 And I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.” 20 Then He commanded His disciples that they should tell no one that He was Jesus the Christ.

Message

Jesus also stated that he is the cornerstone which is historically the first, or head, stone in a masonry project. So not only is Jesus our foundation, he is also first when it comes to building on that foundation. And then Jesus communicates that he is our authority. He communicates that in Matthew 28:18.

Matthew 28:18 NKJV

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

I am reminded of a time when my family and I chatted with a couple of young brothers. One is a friend of the family and he was in a bad place at the time because his friend, who was new to the faith, was of a doctrine that believed that you must be baptised in the name of Jesus Christ and of no other name. Our friend was baptised in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit and began to feel as if his baptism was invalid. So we got on the phone and had a friendly discussion of the matter. In Matthew 28:19 Jesus tells His disciples to baptise in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. In Acts 2:38 Peter says to be baptised in the name of Jesus Christ. If there was ever a conflict in scripture, we would do best following what Jesus said. But let’s not consider this a conflict yet. Let’s look deeper into the scriptures. The word ‘name’ in both passages of scripture have meaning. They are translated from the Greek word Onomah, which means name but more specifically authority. Understanding this changes things. Now, we are not debating if we should baptise in the words of Jesus Christ vs Father/Son/Holy Spirit. We are asking is there a difference between the authority of Jesus Christ vs the authority of the Father/Son/Holy Spirit. That answer is no. There is no difference. It’s the same authority.

Now I am going to submit to you today that names have authority and there are names that have authority in your life. Very likely names that you have given authority over your life that Jesus never intended. And so the question for today is: What name has authority over you? We sang a song about it last week and Elder Wes expounded on it. When names have authority over us they influence us, consuming our thoughts and conversations, shaping our perspectives and subsequently directing our actions. Not all names can have authority. But many names can: Health (high blood pressure, diabetes, cancer, covid-19), Emotions (anger, hate, frustration, disappointment, selfishness), Finances (poverty, lack), Race (black, white, racism), Political affiliations (liberal, conservative). Phil 2:5-11 tells us about the relationship between Jesus and other names or authorities.

Philippians 2:5–11 NKJV

5 Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, 6 who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, 7 but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. 8 And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross. 9 Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, 10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, 11 and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

So if there is a name that is dominating our thoughts, our conversations, and influencing our belief about this word and people that don’t align with Christ, we need to dethrone it. And we do this by exalting Christ. We must continually feed on His word, His truth. **Read Book Intro** What am I saying? World in world out. Garbage in is garbage out. But truth in allows truth to flow out. Our lives should to be consumed more with His word and less of the worlds’. The bible tells us that Satan is the prince of the air the ruler of this world. This tells me that whenever I listen to this world (those that aren't submitted to the authority of Jesus), I have to keep in mind that they are subject to be heavily influenced by Satan. If not submitted to Jesus then by default they are submitted to Satan and his influences. Want to know if Jesus has real authority and in your life?

What percentage of your media consumption is Christ centered?

What percentage of the books that you read are Christ centered?

What percentage of your conversation is Christ centered?

What percentage of your thoughts are Christ centered?

What percentage of your actions are Christ centered?

These questions are great for self-assessment which is extremely important. How do you know if you are moving in the right direction if you don’t know where you are.

Closing

There are many name out here in our world, many authorities. All of them will bow to Jesus Christ. You don’t have to wait until the end, nor should you. You can and should dethrone those ungodly authorities in your life. It’s possible by living a Christ centered life. Filling your life with God things and removing those things that are not.