Focus: The Believer's Authority

Text: Lk.10:19

"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."

The seventy disciples have come back from a successful two-by-two evangelistic campaign, and according to their testimony, the demons were subject to them. Then the Lord Jesus Christ told them of how He saw Satan fall from heaven in a flash of light. Do you know that every time you withstand or cast out a demon, that Satan falls?

The Lord Jesus Christ further declares, "I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over ALL the power of the enemy…" The power Satan possesses is 'dunamis' in the Greek, but the power Christ gives the believer is 'exousia.' Dunamis means the ability to do something and achieve results, but 'exousia' is the authority of God invested and resident in the believer's spirit or new nature. With this supernatural legal right, the Christian is be able to neutralize the forces of darkness. Christ has given us the authority to deputize for Him on earth and to bring Satan to his knees. Satan's 'dunamis' cannot withstand the 'exousia' of God in the Christian's life. James writes, "SUBMIT yourselves therefore to God. RESIST the devil, and he will flee from you" (Jam.4:7). It is our God-given right to devastate and plunder Satan and his cohorts once we are surrendered and submitted to our God. A Christian under God is a person of authority. Satan is under the Christian who is under God. God will not allow anything under His feet to be above your head.

A Christian has God's mandate to destroy the works of the devil and to dislodge or dismantle all the results he tries to achieve.

Child of God, use your God-given authority to execute judgment on the devil and his kingdom. Stop being terrorized, intimidated and victimized by Satan. Kick Satan out of your space. Jesus says that nothing shall by any means hurt you - and that means absolutely nothing. Jesus says, "And he shall flee from you." The devil can't stand the force of your authority. So stand your ground and lose no inch of space to him. You have Christ's authority. Use it.

by Bishop Moses E. Peter