AUTHORITY
Jesus did not fight the devil.
Cast Down
There is a perception handed down to us that, somewhere in the distant past, there was this gigantic warfare which began in heavenly places to see which god will reign supreme. This perception says that we, who have been redeemed from darkness by what the Holy Spirit has done in our hearts, are now engaged in this battle for supremacy and are charged to chase down and overwhelm wickedness wherever it is encountered.
First of all, no such event is recorded in the scripture as having taken place. The closest we come to that description is spoken of in the Book of Revelation about Satan being cast out of the heavenlies - and that, as with all of what is written in that book, is yet to come. It hasn't happened yet (Revelation 12:7-11). Second, be assured that there is only One True God and He doesn't need to battle anybody. His reign has always been, will always be and is presently - Supreme. Third, Jesus did not fight the devil. Nowhere in scripture is it recorded that Yeshua fought the enemy. Yet, as believers, we are continually admonished to fight the devil, to take back what he has stolen from us, to bind and subdue him. What is astounding is how we are taught and know more about the devil - how to deal with him - than we are taught about how to hear the Voice of God. This is not the way scripture reveals Jesus did it.
There IS a struggle that is taking place, but it is not external. The struggle that is occurring is over what will reign supreme in the hearts and minds of men (II Cor.10:3-6, Amplified).
Authority - from the Greek word exousia (eks-u-se-a)
1) power of choice, liberty of doing as one pleases
2) the power of authority (influence) and of right (privilege)
Of the 103 times that word appears in scripture, it is translated "power" 69 times.
We must continually remind ourselves that part of the reason Jesus lived in the flesh was as a practical example for us to emulate. His walk was not an unattainable, impractical life that many ascribe to but a living testament of how that Power, that Virtue, that Excellence came to be in His Life. That Virtue was attributable directly to the choices He made in His daily existence. He CHOSE to embrace Life at every encounter and to not give any place to the enemy. These are the same choices that we who have embraced Him in our life are given to make every day and when we do, we are imbued with the same virtue, the same authority over darkness as He has (John 1:3-5).
Legion
Have you noticed that the scripture never speaks of Jesus taking authority as is the prevalent teaching today? He was authority. He BECAME authority. Whenever demon activity was recorded in scripture and Jesus stepped into the scene, the first thing that happened was that those demons came and bowed at His feet. He didn't have to DO anything - they had no choice. Then, with a word, he cast them out. There was no fighting, no wrestling, no haranguing and no argument. They just - left. This is the effect embracing virtue has. The only power that darkness has over us is the power we CHOOSE to give it in our daily lives.
If you have a house and are given the keys to the house, you don't wait for someone to give you permission to enter the house - you simply unlock the door with confidence and enter in because that key gives you the authority to do so. You also have keys that allow you access to the house through various entryways, the back door, the garage door, etc. We have been given the keys to the kingdoms of both light AND DARKNESS by virtue of what Jesus did on the cross. When we embrace Him, we embrace all that He is and the authority that accompanies Him. And yet, He did not consider that authority a thing to be grasped and wielded to his own advantage (Philippians 2:5-6 Amplified).
When we try to use that authority to change the externalities of our life because they are inconvenient or uncomfortable, it is because we don't have an understanding of the power that our choice to embrace virtue makes in the middle of those externalities. When we fear darkness (thus trying to eliminate it), it is because we have come to believe that if we find ourselves in the midst of darkness, somehow it will attach itself to us and contaminate us. The reality is just the opposite. When you are in the palm of God's Hand, the scripture says that NOTHING shall cause you to be removed (Romans 8:38-39) and when you walk around in the fullness of the Light of the Holy Spirit in you, the demons of darkness tremble (James 2:19).
Healed
What astonished everybody of His day was how He moved and had His being in authority. What Yeshua understood, and is inviting us to understand today, is the power that authority has over the darkness in our life. As we invest our lives in virtue, in excellence, in His Life - we BECOME authority and that virtue then spills out on all who are touched by it as with the woman who merely touched the hem of His garment and was healed (Mark 5:25-34). His Church, the Body of Christ, as yet, has not come into an understanding of the extent of the power resident in us. Soon we will. Soon we will be forced into a place where the manifestation of that power will be needed for our very existence - as it was with Him.
This next dimension we are entering is to be about that power, that authority, being manifest, not just in this one or that one, but through the Body as a single entity - an example of which is found in Acts 5:16 where it says they were all healed. The turmoil in the world today is just an indication of the stage being set for the manifestation of Yeshua IN the Sons of God (Romans 8:14-19). "You are My friends if you do whatever I command you. No longer do I call you servants, for a servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all things that I heard from My Father I have made known to you. You did not choose Me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit, and that your fruit should remain, that whatever you ask the Father in My name He may give you." John 15:14-16
The Power that everyone is seeking is surrounded by a tightly guarded wall and the gate to enter that compound, that kingdom, is monitored closely. Love is the key that unlocks that gate and grants us access to the power within that kingdom. Without that love, we become just so much noise (I Corinthians 13).
"Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one's life for his friends." John 15:13
What is your life? Is it not your hopes, your dreams, your aspirations, the things you desire, the things you hope to achieve, the things you hold dear, the things you cherish? To lay down your life means to forsake all of that so that the dreams, aspirations, desires and achievements of those closest to us might be realized. When we CHOOSE to lay down our life in this manner, we then have our being in Him, for He is Love. We then can ask what we will and it will be granted us for we then ARE IN HIS NAME OF LOVE. We are asking not so as to be consumed on ourselves, but for the benefit of others. The choices we make every day to embrace His Excellence, His Virtue in our lives gives us the authority to walk in the Power He demonstrated in His life with those around us. God delights in answering those requests - those prayers.
We have already been given the authority to bring the kingdom (righteousness, peace and joy) into this earthly realm. As you embrace His Life, you then carry the kingdom within you. Lord, I pray the Body would begin to realize the extent and breadth of the power of the authority that has already been placed within them because of who You are. Reveal yourself in your servants in this hour, O God.
"Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: They shall prosper that love you." (Psalm 122:6)
Harold Smith
Jesus did not fight the devil.
Cast Down
There is a perception handed down to us that, somewhere in the distant past, there was this gigantic warfare which began in heavenly places to see which god will reign supreme. This perception says that we, who have been redeemed from darkness by what the Holy Spirit has done in our hearts, are now engaged in this battle for supremacy and are charged to chase down and overwhelm wickedness wherever it is encountered.
First of all, no such event is recorded in the scripture as having taken place. The closest we come to that description is spoken of in the Book of Revelation about Satan being cast out of the heavenlies - and that, as with all of what is written in that book, is yet to come. It hasn't happened yet (Revelation 12:7-11). Second, be assured that there is only One True God and He doesn't need to battle anybody. His reign has always been, will always be and is presently - Supreme. Third, Jesus did not fight the devil. Nowhere in scripture is it recorded that Yeshua fought the enemy. Yet, as believers, we are continually admonished to fight the devil, to take back what he has stolen from us, to bind and subdue him. What is astounding is how we are taught and know more about the devil - how to deal with him - than we are taught about how to hear the Voice of God. This is not the way scripture reveals Jesus did it.
There IS a struggle that is taking place, but it is not external. The struggle that is occurring is over what will reign supreme in the hearts and minds of men (II Cor.10:3-6, Amplified).
Authority - from the Greek word exousia (eks-u-se-a)
1) power of choice, liberty of doing as one pleases
2) the power of authority (influence) and of right (privilege)
Of the 103 times that word appears in scripture, it is translated "power" 69 times.
We must continually remind ourselves that part of the reason Jesus lived in the flesh was as a practical example for us to emulate. His walk was not an unattainable, impractical life that many ascribe to but a living testament of how that Power, that Virtue, that Excellence came to be in His Life. That Virtue was attributable directly to the choices He made in His daily existence. He CHOSE to embrace Life at every encounter and to not give any place to the enemy. These are the same choices that we who have embraced Him in our life are given to make every day and when we do, we are imbued with the same virtue, the same authority over darkness as He has (John 1:3-5).
Legion
Have you noticed that the scripture never speaks of Jesus taking authority as is the prevalent teaching today? He was authority. He BECAME authority. Whenever demon activity was recorded in scripture and Jesus stepped into the scene, the first thing that happened was that those demons came and bowed at His feet. He didn't have to DO anything - they had no choice. Then, with a word, he cast them out. There was no fighting, no wrestling, no haranguing and no argument. They just - left. This is the effect embracing virtue has. The only power that darkness has over us is the power we CHOOSE to give it in our daily lives.
If you have a house and are given the keys to the house, you don't wait for someone to give you permission to enter the house - you simply unlock the door with confidence and enter in because that key gives you the authority to do so. You also have keys that allow you access to the house through various entryways, the back door, the garage door, etc. We have been given the keys to the kingdoms of both light AND DARKNESS by virtue of what Jesus did on the cross. When we embrace Him, we embrace all that He is and the authority that accompanies Him. And yet, He did not consider that authority a thing to be grasped and wielded to his own advantage (Philippians 2:5-6 Amplified).
When we try to use that authority to change the externalities of our life because they are inconvenient or uncomfortable, it is because we don't have an understanding of the power that our choice to embrace virtue makes in the middle of those externalities. When we fear darkness (thus trying to eliminate it), it is because we have come to believe that if we find ourselves in the midst of darkness, somehow it will attach itself to us and contaminate us. The reality is just the opposite. When you are in the palm of God's Hand, the scripture says that NOTHING shall cause you to be removed (Romans 8:38-39) and when you walk around in the fullness of the Light of the Holy Spirit in you, the demons of darkness tremble (James 2:19).
Healed
What astonished everybody of His day was how He moved and had His being in authority. What Yeshua understood, and is inviting us to understand today, is the power that authority has over the darkness in our life. As we invest our lives in virtue, in excellence, in His Life - we BECOME authority and that virtue then spills out on all who are touched by it as with the woman who merely touched the hem of His garment and was healed (Mark 5:25-34). His Church, the Body of Christ, as yet, has not come into an understanding of the extent of the power resident in us. Soon we will. Soon we will be forced into a place where the manifestation of that power will be needed for our very existence - as it was with Him.
This next dimension we are entering is to be about that power, that authority, being manifest, not just in this one or that one, but through the Body as a single entity - an example of which is found in Acts 5:16 where it says they were all healed. The turmoil in the world today is just an indication of the stage being set for the manifestation of Yeshua IN the Sons of God (Romans 8:14-19). "You are My friends if you do whatever I command you. No longer do I call you servants, for a servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all things that I heard from My Father I have made known to you. You did not choose Me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit, and that your fruit should remain, that whatever you ask the Father in My name He may give you." John 15:14-16
The Power that everyone is seeking is surrounded by a tightly guarded wall and the gate to enter that compound, that kingdom, is monitored closely. Love is the key that unlocks that gate and grants us access to the power within that kingdom. Without that love, we become just so much noise (I Corinthians 13).
"Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one's life for his friends." John 15:13
What is your life? Is it not your hopes, your dreams, your aspirations, the things you desire, the things you hope to achieve, the things you hold dear, the things you cherish? To lay down your life means to forsake all of that so that the dreams, aspirations, desires and achievements of those closest to us might be realized. When we CHOOSE to lay down our life in this manner, we then have our being in Him, for He is Love. We then can ask what we will and it will be granted us for we then ARE IN HIS NAME OF LOVE. We are asking not so as to be consumed on ourselves, but for the benefit of others. The choices we make every day to embrace His Excellence, His Virtue in our lives gives us the authority to walk in the Power He demonstrated in His life with those around us. God delights in answering those requests - those prayers.
We have already been given the authority to bring the kingdom (righteousness, peace and joy) into this earthly realm. As you embrace His Life, you then carry the kingdom within you. Lord, I pray the Body would begin to realize the extent and breadth of the power of the authority that has already been placed within them because of who You are. Reveal yourself in your servants in this hour, O God.
"Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: They shall prosper that love you." (Psalm 122:6)
Harold Smith
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