Practicing Spiritual Authority

It's bad. Spiritual authority is this. It's a God-given right to receive and use God's power by the indwelling of the spirit of God. Authority is the power and right to give orders, make decisions, and enforce obedience. And as we're going to go through this in the next few minutes, we're going to see that God has delegated to us the spiritual authority to see his kingdom advanced in this world.

Jesus said this in Matthew 28, 18. And Jesus came and spoke to them, the disciples, saying, All authority has been given to me, that is to Jesus, in heaven and on earth. God the Father gave Jesus all the authority and that when he died on the cross, he was buried. But three days later, he was raised by the power of God. And he gave Jesus all authority.

Well, what are some examples of Jesus' authority? Anybody out there? What are some examples from the Gospels of Jesus' authority that he showed he was authority? Anybody? Yeah, right.

Casting out demons. Demons went nuts when Jesus was there. They went nuts. They went scurrying away into a little cubby hole someplace in some dark. What else?

Healing. Healing. You know that in the atonement that Jesus provided for our healing in our lives. He is the one. He wants us to trust him.

That yes, he wants to heal. He wants to bring healing into our lives in all different ways. For alcohol abuse. For alcohol abuse. For alcohol abuse.

For alcohol abuse. For alcohol abuse. Drug abuse. All the abuses that have gone on in this world. He is the one who took it all upon himself.

And by his wounds, we are what? Say it again like you mean it. Say it again. Healing. He wants to bring healing.

Healing. We live in a disheveled world in many ways. But Jesus brings healing in the kingdom of God. Ephesians chapter 1 says, Jesus is far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every name that is invoked, not only in the present age, but also in the ways to come. So what happened at the cross?

Colossians 2. A little bit of review here. When you were dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made you alive in Christ. He, because of his work on the cross that we just sang about a few minutes ago, that he made us alive. He forgave us of all our sins.

It goes on. He has canceled the charge of our legal indebtedness, which stood against us and condemned us. And he takes it all away, nailing it to the cross. Now listen to this part. This is fantastic.

This is where you can live in your life. And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public... To spectacle of them, triumphing over them through the cross. You know Isaiah chapter 53, very clear that written by the Apostle, inspired by the Spirit, surely he has borne our griefs and he's carried our sorrows. Do you have griefs today?

Do you have sorrows? Things didn't go right? Yeah, all of us we've had in our time. Sometimes in my life, you know what it's led to? Where I wanted to commit suicide.

Yes, I know what that's like. I know what it feels like. Thankfully, I did not. But I'm telling you, God wants to give peace in your heart. You say, oh, well, I'm struggling with drugs and alcohol.

I'll say, hey, you're in the perfect place because Jesus wants to start you on a new way right now. Nobody's condemning you. God draws us to himself and whatever thing is hanging you up in your body. Your life does not have to keep you entrenched in it. God provided for you to have freedom in your life.

He's provided for us what he did on the cross. By his stripes, we are made whole. Well, Jesus gave us delegated authority. Luke chapter 10, verse 19. I have given you, that's his disciples, authority to trample on snakes and scorpions and to overcome all the power of the enemy.

Nothing will harm you. This is very important. Some people have taken it to a literal translation. All right. Okay.

Yeah, I remember that. Okay. I remember seeing that. Okay. Please do not bring serpents into your right here because I will not be here.

Okay. I just want you to know that. You know, I just have a thing. We live in Northeast North Carolina and every so often we've seen a snake and everything. And I go the other way.

I said, Sandy, take care of it. By the way, my wife's name is Sandy right there. There she is. That's my girlfriend and wife in one. Okay.

Just want you to know, girlfriend, wife like this. Okay. We've been married 44 years. By the way, we have one child. We love it.

She was born in Elizabeth City. Then she dragged me down here eight years ago when I retired. And so we're in Fountain of Life and we love being there. But I love my wife. I just think she's wonderful.

If you're married, just turn to your spouse right now. Say, I love you. Go on. That's cool. Well, we're going to have a marriage seminar right now.

I'm going to have it right now. Yeah. So this authority is really interesting because the King James Version refers to it as a power. But actually, the original Greek word means authority. All believers have been given authority by Jesus.

All of us. How many are believers here? Let me see. Okay. I can't see.

The lights are here, but I'm assuming your hands are going up. Is that he has given you authority over the works of the evil one, every one of us. What is Jesus' mission? 1 John 3 verse 8, we already said it, the reason for the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil. Your children may be going astray, your grandchildren may be going astray, your bosses going nuts, they're acting like, wow, what is going on?

Where I say, oh, well, it's just how they, well, I'm going to kick their can and stuff like that, everything. You can say, why don't you look at it this way? The enemy is not going to have victory over me today. Where you look and say, you look square in the face, Jesus is my protection. He is my strength.

He's everything that I need in my life. He is my one, he's a high tower. He is a strength to us. And if we just kind of lay down, what happens is the enemy has his way. But God has already provided for victory over it.

I'm struggling with a habit or anything. It's time to say, this habit is not going to take me down. In my life, I've had to learn this over the years, that the enemy comes in all different ways. He wants to come all different ways. But I'm telling you, my Jesus is more powerful than anything.

And that he is my strength. And he wants us to get on board with expressing this, to see it reality in our life, that we just don't lay back and say, this is how it's going to be. I guess I have to get used to it. That also, that's, we don't want this. I see here, a great group of people who want strength in God.

You want to live for God. You're saying, this is not going to be controlling my life any longer. And today we're going to have prayer towards the end. And I'm going to be calling people. I'm saying, listen, I want to live for God.

And we're going to come against anything that is trying to derail me in my life. Well, Jesus said this in Mark 16. How about this? He, Jesus said to his disciples, go into all the world and preach the gospel. I'm going to have to take some water.

Give me about 15 seconds here. I look very thin to you, don't I? I can imagine. Wow, I needed that. I needed that.

Oh, thank you. Whoa, man, thank you. I can go on for the next five hours, so don't worry. Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned. Now, listen to this.

This is what Jesus said to his disciples. Yeah, open that baby up. I'll be right. Just open that baby up. Come on, right there.

Get it ready. Come on, right there. Get it ready. Come on, right there. Get it ready.

Come on, right there. Come on. Come on, right there. It does. I always have that issue.

I feel like I have a moccasin in my mouth, and these signs will accompany those who believe. How many believe in Jesus? Who are they? Let me see your hands. Okay, so this applies to all of us, and these signs will accompany them who believe.

This is what he says. In my name, they will drive out demons. Oh, I get scared of demons. Jesus wasn't scared of demons. He knew he was more powerful.

But it's us that God wants to convince us that he has made us more powerful than demons. We're not to hightail it out of the way. We say, no, demons are subject to Jesus, and I'm in Jesus. This thing is going down now. They will speak in new tongues.

If you're not baptized in the Holy Spirit, you need the baptism in the Holy Spirit to give you power. When I got saved, I got saved in, you know, 1977. Many of you would never even thought of, I'm sure, at that time. But nevertheless, about a month later, I started reading the Bible. I started getting, that's what my pastor told me.

Read the Bible. Read the Bible. Okay, I got it. I'll read the Bible. Started reading the book of Acts.

Started reading through the five examples in the book of Acts where they're baptized in the Holy Spirit. They spoke in tongues. And I became convinced that I needed more power. How many need more power in your life? Come on.

Is there anybody who needs more power? Today is the day that you're going to call on God and say, Lord, let me be available. Let me know down in my heart that whatever I'm facing, that you have given me the power over it. And so about a month later, as I had my bathrobe on, I'm laying there about 11 o'clock at night in my dormitory room in the college that I said, Lord, I really, I want to be baptized in the Holy Spirit. I want to speak in tongues.

And right there, just on my bed and everything, I was baptized in the Holy Spirit. It was crazy. Why? Why is it? Why?

Because I was bound to alcohol. I was suicidal. I mean, I could go through immoral, all different things there. And I realized that I need more power in my life. I need more power.

I don't know what to do, but I just need something more in my life. They will pick up snakes in their hands. They will drink in deadly poison. Does not mean please don't go out and do snakes. If you get bitten, yeah, I believe that God is going to do it.

But it is more the idea that the enemy is often referred to as a snake, as a typology, and that he does not have to have dominion over our life. Can anybody say amen? Today, we're going to be putting it at this altar saying, God, no more the enemy doing it in these areas of my life. Think about them. Think about those things that you struggle with, you're going through, things like that.

And to say, today, today, in this service, we're going to trust God because he has provided for us victory over these things. And they will drink deadly poison. And it will not hurt them, and they will place their hands on sick people, and they will what? Get worse? Get better.

Get better. When you pray for somebody, even they say, oh, I don't know if I can do it. I have to get the pastor to do it or something like that. Pastor Hans, oh Lord, send me a thing, Pastor Hans. And know that if you're a believer, how many are believers?

Let me check it again. If you're a believer, you send and say, okay, I'm going to pray for this person. Maybe a little trembling. Maybe a little, I don't know what to do. Do it.

Step out. You'll find your faith will grow. It will grow. You will grow in faith and trust in God. Well, who is the power for this delegated authority?

Simply the Holy Spirit of God, who is God himself. As I mentioned in Acts 1, verse 4, that Jesus told them to wait in Jerusalem, that's the early disciples, to wait there until they were baptized in the Holy Spirit. And of course, in Acts 1, verse 8, but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come on you. If you believe in Jesus, he has given you power in your life. It is power to decimate the work of the evil one.

What is the work of the evil one? Very, very clearly, Jesus said that the thief has come to what? Steal, kill, and destroy. When you see those three things happening, God is not doing that. God is good.

The enemy is trying to, he's trying to disrupt your family. All different people cause people to be against each other. That's all of the enemy. It's all the other. The thief has come to steal, kill, and destroy.

But I have come to give life and life more abundantly. I'll give you the small swig then. Acts chapter 2, you go into it very clearly. They're all assembled, 120, including Mary, the mother of Jesus. She is there.

Others there, they're waiting on Jesus, waiting on for the Holy Spirit. And they are baptized in the Holy Spirit. Incredible signs that God gave. Ephesians chapter 1, verse 18 and 20. That the power of God's great power is the same as the mighty strength.

Get this. The power that is in us, that's what it's saying. It's the same mighty strength he exerted when he raised Christ from the dead and seated him at the right hand of Heavenly Father. We don't always think of this, but this needs to be very important for us. Is there the same power that raised Jesus from the dead after three days in a tomb?

Is the same power that lives in us? If we do not learn to access, then we do not receive the benefits of it. The same power. Imagine. You are, imagine.

five types with him, And... Jesus on the cross, he is dead. He dies, put in a tomb for three days, but raised by the power of God. See, this is what spiritual authority is all about. Where you recognize more and more in your life that I'm not going to be run over and roughshod in my life and everything.

I'm going to stand and say, Jesus, you live in me. And that means your power is greater than anything that I'm facing in my life. Can I hear an amen? Amen. Very, very important in our lives.

A spiritual authority. Jesus said this, Matthew 18, 18. Whatever you forbid upon earth will be what is forbidden in heaven. And whatever you permit on earth will be permitted in heaven. Incredible passage here.

Incredible passage where heaven hears this. That, oh yeah, we're going to stand firm and we're trusting God. How many can say, yeah, that there in your heart you know that Jesus is above everything of this world? Can you say amen? Amen.

Everything. There's nothing that he is not aware of. Matthew 18 also says, Truly, I tell you, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven. Whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven. Listen to this part.

Crazy. We're going to do this a bit later. Again, truly, I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about anything they ask for, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven. Incredible. No, this is, these are words of Jesus.

He said it to, to agree as touching any one thing. It will be done for them by my Father in heaven. For where two or three gather in my name, there am I in the midst. God is into destroying the works of the evil one and who is it done through? Through us as his body.

No longer do you have to say, oh, well, those riots happen and we have things and wildfires that happen. What about, what about, let's just dream just a little bit. What about if rather than just accepting, well, that's how our government is and, you know, blah, blah, blah, like this, everything. We're going to say, no, no, our government is a government that is to exalt the name of Jesus. Rather than complaining and say, well, they shouldn't say this, they shouldn't do.

What about the body of Christ coming forward and say, we're going to stand against the work of the evil one because Jesus is Lord of everything. Complaining, complaining about what your officials should be doing or they shouldn't be doing, that doesn't do a lot. That only uses up your energy and your life. It can make you tired. It can make you distraught, exhausted and everything.

What about of saying, we're going to bind on earth. We're going to are you, you wouldn't bind on earth. So It will be bound in heaven for us. We're going to agree together that our government, our officials, those that are elected in the next ballot that comes out, say they're going to be people of God who love God and are being used of God. How about that?

How about the difference that we can make in order to be able to do it rather than say, well, that's just how it is. Let may God deliver us from this spirit of, well, that's just how it is. It's a total lie. God wants to make it different through his people. So let's look at some scriptures here that you know that Jesus in Luke chapter 4, he was very clear.

He went into the wilderness and everything. He was tempted by the devil himself right there. He's trying to get him to fall down and worship him and all kinds of stuff. That in it is that he used the word of God. And this is extremely important.

If we're talking about where we're talking about agreeing on earth is touching any one thing that you bind what you bound bind on earth will be bound in heaven. But loosed on earth, it'll be loosed in heaven. We must be people, men and women, young people, everybody. We must be people of the word of God in our lives. In other words, when I have a problem that's going on in my life, they rather say, oh, I don't know what to do.

Maybe you get fearful. Maybe fear comes in and you say, oh, I don't know. May I lose my job and whatever could happen. What about going to 2 Timothy 1 7 and claiming it and saying, for God did not give us a spirit of fear, but power and love and a sound mind. How does that work out?

Say, Lord, you've not given me a spirit of fear, but a power, love and a sound mind. And you say you straighten your back up and say, Lord, I know I could be really fearful right now, but you have not given me this spirit of fear, but a power, love and a sound mind. You bring it up like Jesus did in Luke chapter 4. Read it through. Read it through.

You'll see it. They use the word of God and say, this is what the word of God. You will not put the Lord your God to the test. Things like this. He used the word of God.

See, the word of God is powerful and active and and discerns in our life. The the work in our lives and cuts to the very core of who we are so that we can have a victory in our life. What about financial needs? Philippians chapter 4. But my God shall supply all you need according to his riches and glory in Christ Jesus.

How does that work out? Lord, we're going through a financial thing right now, but you have given me everything that I need. You are the one who is provided for all of my needs according to your riches in glory in Christ Jesus. And. Rather than going under the table and calling the 700 Club, 800 Club, 900 Club, Baptist Convention and whatever is going, say, Lord, I'm going to stand firm because your word says my God will supply all my need according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus.

Boy, it'll save you a lot of worry. And doing things that maybe you shouldn't really do because your head will go, I don't know what I'm going to do. You know, see, God doesn't want us confused. He has not given us a spirit of confusion in our lives. How about peace?

Say, wow, I'm just going through my children, my grandchildren. Seems like everything's kind of up and down. But Isaiah chapter 26, 3, you will keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you. He brings peace in life. What about our future?

Surely there's a future and your hope will not be cut off. You know, every person here, there's a future that God has mapped out for you, every one of us. He has a future. Surely there is a future and your hope will not be cut off. I perceive in this group there's hopes at different times that have been dashed and it's not turned out the way you thought it should.

And things have been difficult. But I'm telling you, surely there is a future and your hope will not be cut off. When I was in the throes of wanting to kill myself at different times in my life before and after Jesus, it was like, you know, I had a horrendous childhood. It was bad. It was not good.

It was, you know, bad. So what happens is, so I'm saying, surely there is a future. That's a verse that I've memorized when I was first saved. Surely there is a future and your hope will not be cut off. That's God's will.

He'll speak to your life. Yes, he can make the, yeah, he works. What does it say? Romans 8, you know very clearly. He works all things.

Can you say that with me? He works all things. Say it again. All things together for good, for your good. All of it.

The good, bad, ugly, poor choices, things you wish you did different. And God always has an alternative. He always has an alternative. Brothers and sisters, listen to me. He provided for all of it.

And the worst thing, your poor choices too. Your poor choices. All of us have had, how many have had poor choices? Don't raise your hands. Right?

All of us in our toes will be up, yeah, like that. But you know what? God is not rejoicing in the poor choices. He's saying, I work it all together for good to them. Unknown.

I had to learn. I had to learn this in a way that I was struggling. I said, man, I don't understand this. I don't know what's going on. And one day, God spoke to me, broke through all of my babbling.

I'm just babbling. Finally, I got tired. That's a good place to be. And then I finally got broke through on my heart and say, you don't have to understand everything to trust me. You don't have to understand everything to trust me because his heart is always good.

And he can bring you through a lot of stuff, I'm telling you. And what he calls to you, I believe even in this church right now, you're saying, you don't have to understand everything to trust God because he's above it. He will and is working all things together for good to them that love God and those that are called according to his purpose. What about anxiety? Psalm 4610.

Listen to this. Be still. Help me out. Go on, say be still. Say it again.

Be. It's only two words. Be still. Say it again. I kind of do this.

I don't know. I like putting action. Can you go like that with be still? Be still. And it says after it, and know that I am God.

Say that with me. And know that I. Yeah. No. Be still and know that I'm God.

It's like a father coming along and say, be still, daughter, sister, brother, be still and know that I'm God. I kind of picture of it. He's kind of patting our heads, you know, be still and know that I'm God. You can go through anxieties with that. You can find to say, oh, I'm really anxious.

I'm worried about my job. I'm worried about this and that new thing. Be still and know that I'm God. How about healing? Physical.

Emotional. Mental. God takes it all in because he made all of us cool. He wants. He loves all of us.

He has a plan, a purpose. First Peter 224. He himself, that's Jesus, bore our sins in his body on the tree that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds, you were healed. So it's not just been in the future, present now, but it's in the past.

You were healed. He provided for healing in your life. Well, I don't know if it's God's. It is God's will. Let's not equivocate on this whole thing that, well, I don't know.

After all, I knew people that had died. Yeah, well, I've known people who died. But still, it does not negate. I was healed. Were healed.

Were healed. And then in Isaiah 53, I am healed in these situations. And then as a nurse. Bye. ируh.

Bye. In the prayer of agreement, which we're going to be doing in just a second, again, I say to you, if you two of you agree on earth about anything they ask, this is Matthew 18, 19, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven. Your Father in heaven wants to bless you, not just to contain it, but to be a blessing to other people, to have a life beyond. Let me tell you something. Why did I want to commit suicide?

Because I was just tired of being tired. I was tired. I was spent. I can still remember it. I can smell it.

I said, if I'm right there and there, thankfully I had a plan of suicide. True, I did. No, but God in heaven heard everything. And his plan, surely there is a future and your hope will not be cut off. Let me tell you, my Father and your Father in heaven has a plan for everything.

He always has a plan. He will work things together for good. He is always wanting to be a blessing to you. He is your blessing in your life. He's truly with you at all times when no one's there.

He is right there, ma'am. He's right there. I don't know your name. You sang a bit of a beautiful voice and everything. Let me tell you something is that God has a plan when you don't see a plan.

Because our heavenly Father has it all together all the time. And he asks us to trust him, to trust him, what we're facing in our life. You don't have to go out of here today. You don't have to go out of here and say, wow, that was nice songs and that crazy old guy there that came in. You know, it's all right.

I'm old, yeah, but I feel young. I feel like in my 30s. Very cool. You know, then about 9 o'clock at night, I feel like I'm 105. Like, what happened today?

Okay, I'll sit there with my wife. Like, it happens every about 9 at night. So, I'm trying to get the evening renewed or what's going on. Yeah, yeah, you know what I'm talking about. So, Jesus used that scripture there, that prayer of agreement against the devil's temptations in Luke 4.

That's why I bring out all the scriptures. Go to the Bible. Your faith will grow. Faith comes by what? Hearing.

And hearing by the what? The word of God. That's how you grow in faith. You grow in experience. You grow in faith and everything.

So, 1 Timothy, we're going to end with this in just a sec. 1 Timothy 6, 12. Fight the good fight of faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you have been called about and which you have made the good profession in the presence of many witnesses. God wants us to stand with him.

Give me some more. We're going to end with this project and the hope of being called for the root of the hearing. in everything. Not, oh, I don't think I can do this. I can't.

I've said that in my life. That's why I can say it. I'm telling you, it does not work. It leads you in down paths that you don't want to go. I'm telling you.

But if you look at, say, today, before you leave, say, hey, I'm going to go with God and we're going to do it in a couple different ways. Prayer of agreement. We're going to be agreeing to God. Whatever you're going through in your life that you maybe haven't even shared with people here, and even shared with your family, God has had already a plan to set you free. He wants to give you hope that he has a plan and purpose.

And that thing, whatever it is, what's been going on and ripping you apart at night and causing you to feel guilty and condemned and everything like this. In Matthew 18, again, I truly tell you that if two of you on earth agree about anything they ask for, it will be. It will be done. Would you say, it will be done? Now, say it like you mean it.

Let's try it again. I'm sorry. I don't believe you. It will be done. A little louder.

I mean, Jesus said it, so you know he's not lying about this whole thing. And he's telling his disciples, and someplace along the way, you know, Matthew picked it up. And he said, well, you know, this, you know, that's what he said. He said, yeah, yeah, but you don't know what I'm facing. I'm telling you, Jesus faced it all on the cross.

He knows exactly what it's like. And he came to disarm the works of the enemy. And he does not want you. Listen, he does not want you bound with one single tittle in this world. He wants you, when that worry, he wants to take it away and start your new today.

If you have going through healing and need healing, well, it's the time right now. You know, your children, all kinds of fears, anxieties, worries, what your boss said to you this week or should have said and everything, he wants to take it away. Because your heavenly father is the ultimate authority in everything. He is ultimate in everything. There is no one greater than him.

And he gave the delegated authority, Jesus, his son, there he is fully God. And then Jesus, when he was on the earth to his disciples and to us, he said, this is the way, this is the way. I have come to destroy the works of the enemy. Lastly, this, we said it already, Matthew 18. Truly, I tell you, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven.

And whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven. I'm of the opinion that we do not use the scripture as much as we should and believe it. Our prayer of agreement are binding and loosing. And I'm going to ask you, I'm going to ask you here, brothers and sisters, who many of you I've never met before and may never see again, you know, but you know what? I hope we do different times.

I'm telling you, I'm asking for some courageous people here, some men and women, say, you know what, I'm not going to go through this anymore, I'm going to trust God, I'm going to put a line in the sand like you do on the seashore, which I found out many people here are surfers, I'd like to learn that, I don't know if I'll live that long, but you go right over here, okay, you've got to go here, draw a line in the sand at this all to say, no more. I'm not going to be conflicted in my mind and my heart and facing this and thinking that and this, you know, whatever it is, brothers and sisters, it's time to draw the line with the Word of God that where I will agree, we agree together is touching any one thing, it will be done for them by my Father in Heaven, He has already provided for it, and He is looking to do it, He's looking for it, can I say, can I say, He's looking for it, for His bride, full of men, women, young people, children, who say, we're not going to put through this anymore because Jesus paid for me already, and however, you may feel like really wretched and all that kind of stuff, I'm telling you, I had to learn to not go by my feelings, but by the Word of God. So I'm looking, you and you go by your feelings, I wouldn't even got out tonight, there, but I've had to learn through my life that the Word of God is true, not always my feelings. But when I look and say, God, I feel this way, but your Word says that I am more than a conqueror through Him who loved us, let me tell you unequivocally that you change in your feelings, you change in how you view things, and you start seeing Jesus as the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. Let's stand right now, let's stand right now.