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Once Jesus bought back the power and authority from the hands of the enemy, He put it into the hands of His believers. But, one of the saddest things in the Church world today is how few Christians know what they have been given. From the moment that man was created, he was given dominion and authority over this earth. It was lost for many years, but it has now been bought back. Unfortunately, few Christians even know what they have, and even fewer know what their authority covers. I am going to give you an easy way to remember where our authority lies as a Christian. I call it the five S’s. We have authority over five entities: SATAN, SIN, SICKNESS, SELF AND SITUATIONS. 1. We have authority over SATAN. Behold, I have given you authority to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall injure you. Luke 10:19 We are to rule over Satan. He is not to rule over us, but very few Christians ever use that authority. They spend their time fearing what he might do to them, when all the while, Satan has no authority to do anything to us unless we give him that right. Ignorance puts us in enemy territory. Several years ago I was driving someone else’s car and I had a flat tire. They didn’t have a spare, so I had to call for someone to come for me. It caused me and several other people a great deal of trouble. Later, I found out there was a sub-floor under the carpet in the trunk of his car with a spare tire underneath. It was there all the time, but it did me no good because I didn’t know it was there. Too many Christians just don’t know the authority is there, so it does them no good. And having summoned His twelve disciples, He gave them authority over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal every kind of disease and every kind of sickness...And as you go, preach, saying, “The kingdom of heaven is at hand. Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, cast out demons; freely you receive, freely give.” Matthew 10:1,7-8 Mark 16:17 tells us that anyone who believes will do these same things, so this is not limited to the disciples or to the early church. This is authority given to anyone who believes. 2. We have authority over SIN. Since we have authority over Satan, we also have authority over all his works. That covers all SIN because sin is a product of the enemy. We don’t have to sin. Very few Christians have any idea that they can say ‘no’ to the temptation to sin. We have been given that legal right, but the enemy has worked hard to keep that knowledge a well-kept secret. 3. We have authority over SICKNESS. Sickness is a result of sin in the world. Jesus took the penalty for sickness on the cross; therefore, we now have authority over all sickness and disease. But, we must use that authority and not become discouraged and give up. There is no time and space with God, therefore, if a person who has perhaps been trusting in God’s promise for a long time decides to quit trusting, it is counted as never having trusted in the promises to begin with. Only those who finish the race qualify. It is no different in the natural. Let’s say that a runner in the 100 yard dash runs faster than any of his other opponents, leading the way almost to the finish line. But, if he gets tired, stops and walks off within a few feet of the finish line, he is disqualified. He might as well have not even started the race. I’ve known Christians who were faithfully standing on God’s promises for healing. Every day they were quoting God’s healing promises in faith, ignoring the symptoms and keeping their eyes on Jesus—refusing to waver in their faith. But, as time passed, discouragement came in. Finally, they quit standing on their promise, and they gave up. They may have stood until the eleventh hour, but if they gave up at any time, it was as though they never started. I’m not talking about the one who gets weak in his faith and stumbles, but repents and gets back up. I am talking about the one who throws in the towel and gives up. There is no time and space with God. If one doesn’t finish, it is as though he never started. 4. We have authority over SELF. God intends us to take authority over our time, our money, our spending habits, our attitude (we don’t have to put up with being in a bad mood), our physical body, our mind (what we think on), our emotions, our sexual drive, our appetites, etc. If there is any one of these areas that rules us, we are responsible for taking authority over it. We are to rule over our mind, our will, our emotions and our actions. They are not to rule over us. 5. We have been given authority over SITUATIONS. That includes natural disasters that involve us, crisis situations, children still living in our home, potential disasters, oppression, poverty, etc. Much too often when an adverse situation arises, we begin to despair and fall into fear or a ‘woe is me’ mind set. We live in a fallen world. These things will come, but God never intended them to overcome us. Instead, we have been given authority to overcome these things. We do not have authority over someone else’s will. God gives all of us our own free will. We are not to use our authority in areas outside of God’s will. Authority is not the same as power. We have no power over demons; we have no power to physically break up a storm; we have no power to control a sickness, etc. But, we do have authority when we use the Name of Jesus. The power of the God of the Universe stands behind that authority when we use His Name in faith. But, we must be aware of and dependent upon that power that is backing us up in order for our authority to work. Our authority would be totally useless without God’s power behind it. -Peggy Joyce Ruth
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