Using Your Authority

Let’s take a look at how the apostles approached healings and casting out of demons in the Book of Acts. Our first healing after the disciples officially became Christ’s apostles following the first Christian Pentecost and their receiving of the Holy Spirit, is found in Acts chapter 3, starting in verse 1. Peter came upon a man who was crippled from birth and who was begging for money—Peter said to him in verse 6, “Silver and gold I do not have, but what I do have I give you:” Peter then went on to command the healing, “In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk.”

This was a prayer of authority or a command, as we learn in verse 16, Peter knows that this power and authority had nothing to do with him— because of his faith in Jesus, he was given the authority to access this power that flows through the Holy Spirit who reside within him. You will see a pattern develop here of this form of prayer by commanding things to be done, that is contrary to the way Christians pray today. Christians still pray as though there is still a separation between God and man. For my study on prayer, click here— with this link you will open a new browser window, so you will not lose your place in this current study. You may click on this link now to access "Prayers That Get Results", you may then save it in you favorites for later viewing so you may complete this study now.

Our next account of healing by the apostles is found in Acts 5:12-16 . This account is similar to an account in Mark 6:53-56, where people who needed healing, just touched Jesus’ cloak and they were healed. Here a similar account happens when verse 12 tells us that the apostles, in general, performed many miraculous signs and wonders, it doesn’t get more specific than that, but it also says in verse 15 that people were being healed just by having Peter’s shadow fall upon them as he walked by.

Keep in mind throughout all of these accounts, what Jesus said in John 14:12, that “anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing”— He continues on by adding, “and greater works than these he will do, because I go to My Father.” The one point that I continue to stress is that there is nowhere in the four Gospels where Jesus indicates that this authority and power is reserved just for a select few. On the contrary, Jesus clearly says in the verse above, “anyone,” when He was referring to the ability to perform these works.

Our next account comes in Acts 8:4-8 , when Philip visits Samaria. Through his teaching and the miraculous signs he did, the people of Samaria began believing, which in turn cast many evil spirits out of people possessed—paralytics and cripples were healed on account of this.

Next we move on to Acts 9:32-43 , when Aeneas who was a paralytic and bedridden for eight years was healed by Peter— by Peter just commanding in verse 34, “And Peter said to him, 'Aeneas, Jesus the Christ heals you. Arise and make your bed.' Then he arose immediately.”

Continuing on in verse 36, we read about a disciple by the name of Tabitha, which we are told is translated as Dorcas. We are told that Tabitha died and that her body was washed and placed in an upper room. Peter was then called to come when he was told about her death. When he arrived, all the widows were around him crying. He asked them all to leave the room, I believe this was so he could remove any unbelief that may have been in the room. He then, prayed on his knees and then commanded in verse 40, “Tabitha get up.” She then opened her eyes and sat up.

The next account of healing comes in Acts 14:8-20 . Here the apostle Paul gives a good example of how authority is an important ingredient in dealing with the evil in this world—either casting out demons or casting out and healing sickness.

While Paul and Barnabas were visiting Lystra, which was potent with paganism and idolatry, they came upon a man who was crippled from birth (verse 8). Verse 9 tells us that Paul was observing the man intently as he (Paul) was speaking. The verse goes on to say that Paul saw that this man had faith to be healed and in verse 10, “said with a loud voice, 'Stand up straight on your feet!' And he leaped and walked.”

Paul here took the authority that was granted to all those who believe in Jesus (John 14:12-14 ) and commanded the man to stand up on his feet. The verse specifically says that Paul said this in a loud voice and we even have an exclamation point at the end of the command for emphasis of his boldness in this command. When you speak against demonic spirits, you should speak boldly in the name of Jesus and not with any weakness in your voice or doubt within you. This is important and where doubt plays a big role in blocking manifestation of the healing. The demonic spirits are well aware of human weakness and will exploit it when they sense it. Remember, Satan nor demonic spirits can read your mind, they do not know what you are thinking, but they are very keen at picking up other signs of doubt or weakness, and that goes for past weaknesses as well.

For instance, if yesterday you showed weakness in a similar situation, yet today you come with boldness while trying to command a healing, the demons know that humans do not become bold overnight and will test your boldness. If they find any weakness, they know that that weakness is sin and separation from God, which gives them access to you and the ability to block that blessing or manifestation of prayer. Sure, upon repentance you will be cleansed and forgiven of that sin, but the demonic spirits will keep a note of your time of weakness to try to exploit it again later.

That's why it is important to get your body and soul in agreement with the Holy Spirit who resides within you. If they are not in agreement, than most likely, you are living a life on the proverbial emotional rollercoaster— one day you feel close to God the next day He feels miles away. Living in this manner will not be spiritually productive, because in order to live this way, you must have doubts as to the power and authority that you have in Christ. We read in James 1:6-7, 6) 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. 7) For let not that man suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord.

Do you see that? This concept is so important to grasp and one of the reasons why we read in 1 Corinthians chapter twelve about the diversities of spiritual gifts. The reason for some being given the gift of healing, for instance, is because God is well aware that people are different and some will not have the capacity to rid themselves of doubt where they will be able to command and manifest a healing in themselves, because of a weakness to doubt, so they will need the assistance of those who are stronger in faith and that will over-ride their own doubt.

This concept is difficult to overcome, believe me I struggled with this for years, especially in the area of finances. You can be strong in one area, yet need assistance in another area. This is where the diversities of spiritual gifts comes into play. I've commanded and seen healing manifest in my body, yet struggled in the area of finances. Why? Because of poor career decision making in my early years, a cloud of doubt formed over the area of finances in my life to the point where even when I began to see these principles of power and authority that we have through Jesus, that cloud of doubt continued to linger over my finances. Until I was able to remove that cloud, I didn't see success in that area.

How do you remove such doubt? Jesus tells us in Matthew 17:21, "However, this kind does not go out except by prayer and fasting. Some early manuscripts do not contain this verse 21, so some translations, for instance the New International Version, do not include this verse, but do make a note of it in their footnotes. However it does appear in other manuscripts. But, when we look at the cross reference of the same account in Mark 9:29, all translations include this same passage as said by Jesus, but some exclude "and fasting." This would lead me to agree with believing Jesus did say this and applying it to our study. So, with that said, if you find this spiritual roller-coaster a problem in your life, I recommend a time of prayer and fasting related to strengthening you and removing this unbelief.

If you study all the verses where Jesus and the apostles healed or cast out demons, it is done in this same manner by taking authority over the sickness, disease, or demon, which Jesus gave all of us through His victory over Satan at Calvary. Most Christians plead with God for healing or whatever it is they are praying for. I know I prayed that way for years and saw very little success in answered prayer. It was discouraging to say the least. Since receiving this revelation of the power and authority that is available to us, my life has been completely transformed.

Although the Bible does not tell us directly, the apostle Paul must have been miraculously healed himself right after the healing of this man. If we read on in Acts 14:19-20 , we learn that Paul was stoned after some Jews who were against the apostles and stirred up the crowd against Paul and Barnabas. The crowd than, stoned Paul, dragged him outside the city, thinking he was dead. This must have been a serious stoning if he appeared dead to them.

But, following, is where I conclude that Paul was miraculously healed— in verse 20, we read, “However, when the disciples gathered around him, he rose up and went into the city. And the next day he departed with Barnabas to Derbe.” As Paul laid there close to death, the apostles gathered around him, he than rose up and went into the city— than to top it off went to Derbe, approximately 125 miles from Lystra, the following day with Barnabas.

Now, I don’t know about you, but I would guess that if you or I were stoned nearly to death today, I doubt very much we would be in any kind of condition to make that kind of trip, with the means of travel they had available, and be able to go the very next day. No, I believe he was healed by the apostles back to full health with no side effects. The Bible doesn’t tell us exactly what happened when the apostles were around Paul while he laid near death, because it was probably just assumed that we would realize that he was healed of his wounds— number one, because Jesus, through His death and resurrection, “healed our wounds” (Isaiah 53:5 , 1 Peter 2:24 ,
Matthew 8:17 ). And, number two, that is what the apostles did— heal people, so why wouldn't they heal Paul.

As we move on here in Acts 16:16-18 , we read of a slave girl who had a spirit by which she predicted the future. The girl followed the apostles shouting, “These men are servants of the Most High God, who are telling you the way to be saved.” Verse 18 tells us that she kept this up for many days. Finally in the conclusion of verse 18 we read how Paul took the authority given him by faith in Jesus and commanded, “In the name of Jesus Christ I command you to come out of her!” And at that moment the spirit left her.

Again, take notice that Paul did not plead with God to remove the demon from the girl, on the contrary, he took the power and authority given him and commanded it himself, speaking directly to the demon, just as God would have all of us do it in the new covenant under the blood of Christ. This concept of speaking directly to whatever it is that you are praying for, is not a new concept— it was commanded by Jesus Himself in Matthew 17:20, “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.”

We can look at this statement as a figurative statement, because Jesus uses the same mustard seed analogy to get His point cross as to just a small amount of faith needed to receive the power of God in your life. So it is with the mountain analogy— because Jesus finishes with “and nothing will be impossible for you”, you can replace the word “mountain” with the infirmity that you are speaking to whether it be sickness, disease, financial problem, or whatever trial you may be going through.

I hope that you are beginning to see a pattern here of how authority, which was given over to Satan in the Garden of Eden, has been given back to us by Jesus’ victory at the Cross. Although Jesus was the Son of God, He was still human just like you and me, while He was on earth.

He was able to utilize this authority, not just because He was the Son of God, but because He lived a righteous life— He never sinned, so He never succumbed to temptation as every other human who has ever lived has. How was Jesus able to do this? He was able to stay sin-free, because He knew the Father intimately, He was in constant communication with the Father. Although it is not natural in the physical world to be in an intimate relationship with the Father, it is possible for us to do. Although Jesus lived a sinless life, He lived it for us, so it is not necessary to be perfect as Jesus was. God knew this, of course, and was the reason for Jesus' coming, but that doesn't mean you will be effective in all areas of this power and authority if you are living in any kind of on-going sin that has not been repented of.

In Matthew 6:21, Jesus tells us Himself how to be intimate with the Father, “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” Simple, but, powerful. If your treasure is of a worldly nature, for example, money (it doesn’t have to be money, Jesus is referring to anything that you put before God in your life)— than that’s where your heart will be focused. But, if your treasure is godly in nature, for example, focused on Jesus, who is the only way to the Father (John 14:6 ), then that’s where your heart will be focused.

Satan has done exactly what he set out to do, that is turning mankind away from God. He has done this by getting their focus off of God— and what better way than using money as his tool of choice. 1 Timothy 6:10, tells it all, “For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many grief’s.” Wow! That is a powerful statement. Because man’s focus was on money and not on God, they have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many grief’s.

Money in itself is not the problem. The problem with money stems from man’s obsession with it. It has become a God in itself to man. There are many Scriptures that tell us how man has misused money— God never intended for it to consume a man’s life trying to horde as much as he can.

On the contrary, we read in Malachi chapter 3 how you will be blessed if you share your money and use the principles of tithing that are described for us in the Bible. Malachi 3:8-12 , God, through the prophet Malachi, tells us how the Israelites have robbed Him— how have they robbed God? Through their tithes and offerings.

The principle of tithing refers to a tenth of all you produce. Back in the days of the Israelites, it wasn’t just money that was tithed, it may have been a tenth of the crops that they produced. But, today, even though it is no longer required by the law, because if we are in Christ, we are no longer judged by the law, because now we, who accept Jesus, live by grace— yet we should still want to give back to God by giving to the Church as well as other Christian based charitable organizations.

Although it should be done from the heart, there is a benefit to us for giving. In Malachi 3:10, “Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this," says the LORD Almighty, "and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it.” Jesus reiterated this in Luke 6:38, “Give, and it will be given to you: good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over will be put into your bosom. For with the same measure that you use, it will be measured back to you.”

Jesus doesn’t mention it as a tithe, He mentions it more in the line of an offering. Because, as I mentioned, we are no longer under the law— the tithe was a part of the law. But, again it should come from the heart, you shouldn’t feel obligated, because if you do feel obligated, you’re not giving for the right reasons. In 2 Corinthians 9:7, the apostle Paul writes, “So let each one give as he purposes in his heart, not grudgingly or of necessity; for God loves a cheerful giver.”

If you are forcing yourself to give and do it with gritted teeth, don’t even bother— God does not want, nor does He need your money, it’s all about faith and trusting God to supply your needs.

I sort of have strayed from my point here, but I felt it necessary to point out that money is probably one of Satan’s most powerful tools. And this all ties into being in tuned with the Holy Spirit and just trusting God. If you are utilizing the Holy Spirit and not allowing the cares of our natural, physical everyday lives to get in the way and disrupt the authority of the Holy Spirit, than you are living in an intimate relationship with the Father and His Son Jesus Christ.

It is at this point that you will begin to see the blessings of this authority manifest into you physical life through your health, finances, and all other areas of your life. But, to get there you must begin in faith and, as Jesus said in Mark 5:36, “don’t be afraid, just believe!.“

As we continue with our examples of how the apostles used their authority, we come across an interesting account that didn’t include the apostles, but we can learn a lot from this. In Acts 19:13-16 , we read about some Jews who heard Paul preach and seen his authority in action— set out to use this authority themselves. Verse 13 describes how they would approach casting out evil spirits as Paul did— they would say, “In the name of Jesus, whom Paul preaches, I command you to come out.!”

Before we continue with what happened here, we see that they did learn how to take authority and command a blessing. As I mentioned earlier, under the New Covenant of grace through the blood of Jesus Christ, we no longer seek God’s intervention in situations such as, demon possession, health, financial blessings etc… We now have the authority at our command. Again, this was given to us by Jesus Himself in John 14:12-14, “12) Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do he will do also; and greater works than these he will do, because I go to My Father. 13) And whatever you ask in My name, that I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. 14) If you ask anything in My name, I will do it.”

We also have Jesus’ “Great Commission” to His disciples in Mark 16:15-18, “15) And He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. 16) He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned. 17) And these signs will follow those who believe: In My name they will cast out demons; they will speak with new tongues; 18) they will take up serpents; and if they drink anything deadly, it will by no means hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover.” Now, many assume He was just referring to the disciples here, but take notice at verse 17, “And these signs will follow those who believe”, that is a general statement by Jesus referring to “ALL” who believe, not just the disciples.

Jesus also tells us in Matthew 17:20, “… 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.” Here Jesus was telling his disciples how to ask for and receive supernaturally, spiritual blessings. He didn’t tell them to plead with God, “Oh God, pleeeease give me this or give me that.” No! He told them to speak directly to their mountain. It’s true under the Old Covenant, we can find many instances of prayer where the person praying, would petition directly to God for His intervention into whatever it is they were praying for.

Under the Old Covenant, they did not yet have the authority to claim it themselves— Jesus did not yet bridge the gap between God and man and access to the Holy Spirit. Upon Jesus’ victory at the Cross, we now have a bridge connecting us to the spiritual realm of God and access to all the blessings that are a product of living according to the Holy Spirit.

By taking authority in your life and commanding those areas of your life that need improvement to obey your command in the name of Jesus, you will begin to see positive changes that may have alluded you before, because you were pleading with God for Him to change things, when Jesus told you the Father has already taken care of all of your needs, before you even ask, through Jesus’ victory at the Cross.

A good analogy of this that I had learned from Andrew Wommack of Andrew Wommack ministries, is an example of a person struggling financially who awoke one morning and was told by someone that during the night, they had buried a chest with one million dollars inside of it, underneath their front law. Now, to that persons physical sense of sight, they would not be able tell, because the grass was put back exactly intact as it was before. So, this seed of doubt lead them to believe that it wasn’t true. The earth did not look as though it was disturbed, to them it looked just as it did the previous day. There was no physical evidence to prove otherwise. But, the person who buried the chest told them, “it is true, so, since you cannot tell from your physical five senses, you must believe in faith, by taking me at my word that I did it.”

Much like, today, we read in the Bible what Jesus accomplished and the authority that is at our finger-tips if we would only believe in faith. But, when we look around at society, and even in most cases, our local Churches— we do not see the evidence of this. So, we must believe in faith that what God has told us through the Bible is true, regardless of what our physical senses are telling us. Because your physical five senses are going to say, “Oh come on! Prove it by showing me something that I can see, touch, taste, smell, or feel.” To our physical bodies, anything other than physical proof is meaningless.

Now, if that person who was told of the fortune that was buried under their front lawn, dismisses it as a fraud, because their physical senses cannot detect it, and doesn’t bother to dig into their front lawn, in faith, believing that it is true, then they would not reap the benefit of that treasure in their lives and it will go to waste, even though it is right their waiting for them to claim it.

The same goes for those who dismiss what Jesus has accomplished, because their physical senses, that are easily manipulated by Satan through thought processes, cannot prove through physical evidence that it is true— they will not reap the benefits of all that Jesus accomplished. God will not force anyone to believe, because it will be contrary to His plan and will for your life. If God were to force people to believe, then He might as well have just created robots, subject totally to His command. But, He didn’t create robots, He created human beings, and through the laws that He instituted from the beginning, gave them freedom to choose (Deuteronomy 30:19 ).

As we move on with the account in Acts 19, we learn another lesson that without a relationship with Jesus, the demonic spirits will not heed your command. Although there is an indication that it may have worked at times for these Jews described as the Seven sons of Sceva, a chief Jewish priest. Verse 14, says that these men “were doing this” (that is, driving out evil spirits). But Verse 15, shows us that doing this without a true relationship with Jesus can be dangerous, while attempting to command out a spirit, the spirit replied through the man “And the evil spirit answered and said, “Jesus I know, and Paul I know; but who are you?” The man whom the spirit was possessing then proceeded to severely beat them to the point of leaving them naked and bleeding.

If these men were casting out spirits prior to this account, it leads me to believe that there are some demonic spirits that are more powerful than others or at least more aware then others. Because without a true close relationship with Jesus, these men who may have cast out other demon spirits, came upon a demonic spirit who they by themselves were no match for. This demonic spirit was well aware who was in close relationship with Jesus when he mentioned knowing Jesus and Paul, but not knowing them who were trying to cast him out.

We as human beings have lost the battle to Satan in the Garden of Eden, without Jesus we have no authority whatsoever, over these demons, and in turn, have no defense against evil. Because as we discussed, knowing Jesus, is knowing God’s Word. The only way to know God’s Word is to study it on a regular basis.

By studying God’s Word and knowing and developing a relationship with His Son, Jesus— by God’s grace we are given back our authority over the demonic world. But, as with the analogy of the buried treasure, if you accept Jesus as your Savior and receive the Holy Spirit, but do not realize this authority, or you deny the authority that we gain through Christ, this authority will be ineffective in your life. Many may say, “Well if this is true, than, why doesn’t God make it clear to us?”

My answer to that is that Jesus made it clear to us in the Bible, but your heart is hardened to the truths of God! We see this hardness of heart as a problem that the Pharisees and many of the Jews had throughout the New Testament. Even the apostle Paul when he was Saul had this problem, until Jesus Himself called out to him in the desert on the way to Damascus.

The saying, “history repeats itself”, I believe has come true in this case, because the body of Christ today, definitely has been hardened to these truths. Even the apostle Paul warned about this happening in Acts 20:29-30, when he said, “29) For I know this, that after my departure savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock. 30) Also from among yourselves men will rise up, speaking perverse things, to draw away the disciples after themselves.” And these perverse things that Paul speaks of, I believe, have translated into misunderstanding, in the modern day Church, this aspect of our salvation here on earth.

Let’s think about it— what better way for Satan to weaken the body of Christ, than to distort this authority aspect of our salvation. Satan zeroed in on our authority, because it directly effects his ability to manipulate our thought processes. If we (the body of Christ) would recognize our authority over Satan, and command that authority against the demonic realm, that’s when James 4:7, “… resist the devil, and he will flee from you”, will become reality in your life.

I personally, use to read that Scripture, and wonder when Satan would be out of my life. I’d wait and hope that each day would be the day that he would magically disappear from my life— not realizing that I had to take the authority given to me by Jesus and command him gone from what ever part of my life he is effecting, whether it be health, finances, anger-management, or all of the above— and than some.

Now, Satan will not relinquish his hold on you easily, especially in problem areas that he’s been able to sabotage your righteousness in the past. At first he may say to you, “Jesus I know, Paul I know, but who are you?” But, you must hold fast to your faith and rid yourself of unbelief as we discussed and keep building on your relationship with Jesus, by studying, fasting, meditating, praying with all your heart, putting God first in your life. It is then, that Satan will move on to the next person and say, “Jesus I know, Paul I know, and (Put Your Name Here) I know, but who are you?”

When you get to this point in your walk with Jesus, it is then, that the windows of heaven will be opened to you, and with the blessings you will receive, there will not be room enough to receive it.

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