Let’s begin with the most famous king of Israel in the Old Testament: David.
He rose from being a sheep herder and ended up king many years later after his initial anointing from Samuel in the midst of his brothers. There were so many wars in his reign that his son Solomon fought not a single war—as though his father had taken care of business. (David didn’t lose a single battle throughout his entire reign—not even one.)
However, David had one big problem: he wasn’t ethically from the king’s lineage.
So how was he going to become king of a throne he had no right to sit on?
We see the king (Saul) embracing David initially, but after finding out David was becoming more famous than him, he (David) became his sworn enemy. And King Saul spent a ton of time and resources trying to kill this David, to the extent of shaming his own son during the feast. 1 Samuel 20:24-34 (NKJV)
Verse 30: “Then Saul’s anger was aroused against Jonathan, and he said to him, ‘You son of a perverse, rebellious woman! Do you not know that you have chosen the son of Jesse to your own shame and to the shame of your mother’s nakedness?'”
Verses 32-33: “And Jonathan answered Saul his father, and said to him, ‘Why should he be killed? What has he done?’ Then Saul cast a spear at him to kill him, by which Jonathan knew that it was determined by his father to kill David.”
David didn’t dare question Saul’s authority nor revolt against his rule but fought his way through to survive. Even when he was presented with a chance to kill Saul, multiple times, he hesitated. 1 Samuel 24:4-6 (NKJV)
“...And David arose and secretly cut off a corner of Saul’s robe. Now it happened afterward that David’s heart troubled him because he had cut off a corner of Saul’s robe. And he said to his men, ‘The Lord forbid that I should do this thing to my master, the Lord’s anointed, to stretch out my hand against him, seeing he is the anointed of the Lord.‘”
He knew not how he was to end up king but sat back and followed God’s will, which brought him to the position of kingship without personally touching Saul’s bloodline. And just as the psalmist puts it, in Psalm 110:1
“The Lord said to my Lord, ‘Sit at My right hand, till I make Your enemies Your footstool.'”
And so did David, until he came into full authority.
Later God blesses him to carry the throne of Israel forever through Christ. Notice Christ was the other Lord David referred to here, where Jesus reveals this as a question to the Pharisees in Matthew 22:42-45
“saying, ‘What do you think about the Christ? Whose son is He?’ They said to Him, ‘The Son of David.’ He said to them, ‘How then does David in the Spirit call Him “Lord,” saying: “The Lord said to my Lord, ‘Sit at My right hand, till I make Your enemies Your footstool”‘? If David then calls Him “Lord,” how is He his son?’“
God’s authority exercised by Israel
See how Israel prevailed in the wilderness under God’s authority through Moses and Joshua the prophets.
One scenario where Israel wholly depended on their authority from God (through Christ) is their first battle with the sons of Amalek in Exodus 17:9-11
“And Moses said to Joshua, ‘Choose some men and go out, fight with Amalek. Tomorrow I will stand on top of the hill with the rod of God in my hand.’ So Joshua did as Moses said to him, and fought with Amalek. And Moses, Aaron, and Hur went up to the top of the hill. And so it was, when Moses held up his hand, that Israel prevailed; and when he let down his hand, Amalek prevailed.“
What does that show you as a believer? If they were depending on their own strength, it wouldn’t make sense for them to be losing when Moses’ hands went down (representing God’s authority) but would only prevail when his hands went back up, unless in actual sense the Amalekites were naturally stronger than Israel.
So every time Moses exercised God’s authority, Israel conquered its enemies.
This is the secret of winning Christians: exercising their authority through Christ Jesus.
Notes
He has blessed us in every spiritual blessing. In reality no one is blessed beyond someone else. Know ye not that authority belongs to all children of God?
Knowledge acted upon brings results. The devil doesn’t want us to come into recognition (knowledge) of what has been made available to us by bending justice and obscuring the truth because he knows how dangerous the believer becomes when he comes into his true authority.
Hosea 4:6 “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge. Because you have rejected knowledge, I also will reject you...”
“And you shall know the truth; and the truth shall set you free.” It’s not in the truth being available but in knowing the truth that sets you free—after you act upon it.
“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.“
What is real authority?
Authority isn’t personal power. Like a General who sends a captain to lead a group of soldiers to execute the order on his behalf. Notice the captain has not got power (personal strength) to push these soldiers to do what he was told but has authority to do so. They obey his voice (order) because of the authority he came with, not because he is captain. (Authority is delegated power.)
Ephesians 6:10 “Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might.“
Be strong in the Lord and His power. Don’t depend on your strength but in the power of the Lord because He has delegated power to you.
Psychology behind this authority
Matthew 28:18 — Jesus was given authority in heaven and on earth. All authority is given unto Him through the Father. As a head administers duties to different body parts, so is Jesus — the head of the church. And we the Christians are the body of Christ who administer His authority on earth.
Now if Christ be the head; He died and rose again. Notice the head can’t rise up without the body? And if we are the body… (1 Corinthians 12:27 NIV)
“Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it.”
Jesus is seated at the right hand of the Father. In full authority and dominion as the Son of God.
That only means the body (the church) is there with Him in heaven. We are with Christ in heaven. (1 Corinthians 6:17 — we are one with Christ.) And His authority is manifest through us because the head and the body are one.
However, don’t be deceived by religion in seeking perfection. As in the old covenant, where they were more aware of sin than they were of truth, but in the new covenant we are more aware of Christ and in Him we abide.
The cross comes first.
Jesus asks a lady who wants her children to be with Him in His kingdom; He asks if they are willing to drink of His cup of suffering? Matthew 20:21-22
“And He said to her, ‘What do you wish?’ She said to Him, ‘Grant that these two sons of mine may sit, one on Your right hand and the other on Your left, in Your kingdom.’ But Jesus answered and said, ‘You do not know what you ask. Are you able to drink the cup that I am about to drink, and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with?‘”
There is a price to walk in this authority; and it comes after carrying your cross—dying to the world and self. Only then shall we receive and share in the glory of Christ.
Notice Enoch: he walked with God until he was no more (God consumed him), but then He was taken to heaven after that. (Genesis 5:24) He died to self and let God take over, and his faithfulness saw him receive glory where God took him to heaven without physical death.
Now the burden to carry your own cross rests on each of you (obviously the Holy Spirit is there to help us, as we see when Simon of Cyrene helps Jesus to carry His cross towards Golgotha when He was tired).
Maturing in faith, gaining authority
Everything seemed to have been going well but right after we got born again. It looked fine at the start but got much worse than it was even before we got saved. We now fight lust, anger, pride and so much more now than before.
This is because when you died to self and got born again through Christ, the devil waged war on you to fail along the process and fail to receive the authority (glory) through Christ from the Father. And the only way things will get better isn’t by looking back but by pushing through to the very end, without deviating to the left or right. Only then shall you prevail against the powers of darkness because you are fighting from a position of victory.
Even Jesus comments in John 16:33
“…In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.”
Jesus conquered death and gave us the keys to the kingdom. And so shall you.
“I am He who lives, and was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore. Amen. And I have the keys of Hades and of Death.“
Also in Matthew 16:19 (NIV)
“I will give you the keys to the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.”
You just have to push harder and fight till you see the devil down because he is already below you. What you are seeing is mere noise and threat. Jesus gave you the keys and only faith can see you to victory.
Exercising real authority
Since we are “sitting” at the right hand of the Father, we ought to (have to) exercise our authority. It’s our responsibility not His. Notice when the disciples were puzzled after they failed to cast out a demon from a boy (Matthew 17:14-18)
In verse 20: “So Jesus said to them, ‘Because of your unbelief; for assuredly, I say to you, if you have faith as a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, “Move from here to there,” and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you.'”
Moses raised up the rod and hit the water—after he got the word from the Lord to do so. God also told him to tell the Israelites to stop worrying and march on in authority. (Exodus 14:15)
And so are you as a believer obliged to do so; when the devil is shouting and everything seems to be falling apart. You are supposed to march on in that wilderness and order that Red Sea to open up, and only faith in Christ can do this—not worrying or complaining.
“For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.” (2 Timothy 1:7)
The fear isn’t orchestrated from God but from the devil, and only those bold in Christ can stand on the day of battle.
Notice Peter, who was able to walk on the water after recognising Jesus doing it. He looked at Christ and became just like Him. But the moment he lost touch and his personal fears got ahead of him—what happened to him? (Matthew 14:28-31)
Yes, you can be in Christ but still be oppressed by the devil! Why? That’s because you haven’t come into recognition and exercised your authority through Christ.
The devil is already defeated. You are fighting a finished war and all you need is faith.
How hard is that for you?
Jesus Christ isn’t here physically (on earth) but His body (the church) is here. He is sitting at the right hand of the Father in heaven. If He has authority in heaven then it’s upon us His body (who are here on earth) to exercise that authority on His behalf on earth. Remember Matthew 16:19
“Whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven…”
Do you see where it comes from?
Doubt is the enemy
Another thing is to avoid doubting whether God heard you. Do you really think someone who knows the number of your hairs can fail to perceive your sincere prayer request?
“If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him. But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind. For let not that man suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.“
People tend to forget we walk by faith and not by sight, yet this is what separates a true Son of God from a mere follower of Christ. Go ahead and exercise authority.
Speak to that situation that is bothering you and tell it, “Get out of my way in the name of Jesus.”
Tell that foul spirit bringing sickness, “Get out of me now in the name of Jesus.” Do this to that situation in question bothering you.
Miscellaneous
Many believers have been deceived that to be healed or cast out demons calls for manifestation—thinking the person has to have some form of aggressive behaviour or movement to show that the devil is leaving. Now some pastors and spiritual leaders have even gone ahead and asked the demons questions. Like where it comes from? what does it want and so forth.
Deliverance comes in different ways and not all forms of deliverance happen with physical manifestations…
Don’t be deceived. We will be elaborating more about this topic in next articles and later this year.
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