Authority.
This one word has been stirring in my spirit. And it’s not just me. It is many of you as well. There is an open door right in front of us. The Lord has gone before us and prepared the way for us to annihilate the evil in our nation.
But we will miss a God-ordained opportunity if we don’t exercise our authority properly. The Lord is giving me revelation after revelation about authority so I can teach you and raise up a church that gets it.
God has established a structure of authority in every realm. Even in the angelic realm, there are different positions and ranks of authority. The same is true in this natural realm we live in.
All of us carry positions of authority. There is not one person here who does not have authority over some aspect of life.
But some of us have more authority than others. Some have been called to positions that require a greater level of authority.
We are not all on the same level. There is a God-ordained order to everything. We’re talking about in the home, in the church, in the nation, and at work.
Authority is God’s idea. That’s why we don’t like it very much. His ways are not our ways. But His ways are better. Not only do we all carry positions of authority, but everyone also has areas of submission.
There are times when you lead and times when you follow.
We have a mess on our hands because most Christians have no idea when to exercise authority and when to submit. Wouldn’t you like to know?
Let’s start with an area in which we all have authority. This applies to everyone under the sound of my voice.
Many fail to distinguish the difference between your spirit and your body. Your physical body is not who you are because you are a spirit that will live forever. If your physical body died today, you would continue living because you are a spirit.
Your spirit would either go to be with the Lord or make it’s way to hell. It’s easy to determine what your outcome would be because there is only one way to heaven: Jesus Christ.
You must believe Jesus Christ is the son of God, born in a human body, sacrificed for your sins, and raised from the dead. And you must make Him Lord of your life. If you don’t do that, you are going to hell. Plain and simple.
Your spirit will live on forever in heaven or hell. The choice is yours. Your physical body was given to you by God. This convergence of our spirit and physical body is an absolute miracle and the pinnacle of God’s creation.
Angels don’t get a physical body. Demons don’t get a physical body. This flesh that we live in is a gift reserved for us, mankind, the magnificence of God’s creation. Doesn’t that give you a new appreciation for what you have?
I know what we currently live in is tainted by sin and far from God’s original creation. But one day soon, in the twinkling of an eye, we will all be changed.
Our physical body will be made perfect when the Lord returns. No more aches, pains, sickness, or disease. We’ll be able to travel through walls just like Jesus did after He was raised from the dead.
Don’t you find it amazing that God sees fit that we live our eternity in a glorified physical body? He likes this thing He created so much that He’s not going to trash it, but perfect it.
God could have required us to live out eternity as a spirit. He could have just let our physical body die and never resurrected it. But that’s not what He wants.
1 Corinthians 15:51-53 NLT - But let me reveal to you a wonderful secret. We will not all die, but we will all be transformed! It will happen in a moment, in the blink of an eye, when the last trumpet is blown. For when the trumpet sounds, those who have died will be raised to live forever. And we who are living will also be transformed. For our dying bodies must be transformed into bodies that will never die; our mortal bodies must be transformed into immortal bodies.
This is the ultimate reward of our salvation. We will all receive glorified, perfected, transformed bodies that will never die or get tired or feel sick.
Believers who have already died are with the Lord as a spirit. They left their physical body behind and are eager for that trumpet to sound so they can return and get their transformed body.
But us. I believe we are the ones who will be transformed while we are still living. When Jesus comes to rapture the church, the dead in Christ will rise first, and then we will be caught up with them to meet the Lord in the air.
What a glorious day that will be. How wonderful it will be to have a body that has been completely freed from decay and death.
But in the meantime, there is still merit to this body we’ve been given. The Lord is not giving us a new body; He is transforming the one we already have.
Your physical body has been given to you as a gift from God. You can’t even put a value on it because it is worth so much.
What you have is so valuable that all of hell rages against you. The enemy wants what you have, so he tries to steal your physical body through demonic oppression.
If that doesn’t work, he goes for the kill through sickness and disease. If you reject that, the enemy tries whatever he can to destroy you.
But God did not give satan a physical body. He gave that to you. This is the area in which we all have authority. My physical body was given to me. I have full authority over what happens to this flesh.
You don’t get to tell me how to cut my hair, or what to eat, or how often I should exercise, or when I can use the restroom. Everything that has to do with this physical body is under my jurisdiction.
Let’s take it a step further. The demonic force of sickness and disease doesn’t get to call the shots. It has no right to my physical body. This thing belongs to me and is under my jurisdiction.
This is why we don’t need to fear demons, either. They only get to inhabit our physical body if we give them an open invitation. Once you evict them, they have no choice. You are the landlord.
Now, let’s go all the way. Your flesh is attracted to sin. It looks for opportunities to usurp your authority. It is a little rebellious at times. Can I get an amen?
But your flesh doesn’t have authority over itself. You have complete authority. So, when your flesh wants to sin, you simply tell it, “No. We’re not doing that.”
Many of you are thinking, “I hear ya. But why am I still sick? Why do I still sin?”
Here’s your answer. Just because you have complete authority over your physical body doesn’t mean you are actively exercising your authority.
My family and I live on a little homestead. We have forty chickens, ten sheep, two cows, a horse, and a pony.
In the most recent round of chicks we’ve raised, we ordered two roosters. For whatever reason, they sent us a bonus rooster, so there were three.
We didn’t have roosters before because they are noisy and can be a bit of a hassle. But I felt the need to make our flock self-sustainable.
And I don’t know if you’ve realized this yet, but if only one gender is present in a relationship, that family will die off rather quickly.
As we raised the roosters, I continually let them know who had the authority at the Young homestead. They would try to peck me, and I would pen them to the ground. Kade is king rooster here. It only took a few weeks of this, and they fully submitted.
A few months ago, one of them decided to test the limits with Beth. When she went outside, it would run up to her from behind and act like it would attack, although it never did… until a week ago.
All it managed to do was claw at her boots, but that’s all it took. If the kids hadn’t been outside, Beth would have taken care of it right then. But that rooster got an undeserved two-day extension.
Then came the day of reckoning. Beth pulled back her hair, put war paint on her cheeks, grabbed her favorite gun, kissed it, and walked out the front door like a boss.
The rooster had no idea what was coming. He ran towards her to attack and didn’t make it as far as he had in the past. Pow! That chicken is now fully submitted.
Beth had authority over that rooster the whole time. But because she delayed exercising it, things got out of hand.
That rooster wasn’t attacking me. I had already shown him who was boss. Sometimes, he ran at me from behind, but I would just turn around, and he would stop as he was suddenly reminded of his upbringing.
By the time Beth had an opportunity to teach him who was boss, he had gotten too fast to catch and pin to the ground. She tried other things to no avail. Elimination was the right solution.
Not only did Beth not enjoy being attacked, but momma bear wouldn’t take a chance on one of our kiddos getting harmed by the rooster. Now, I think it was all a set up so I could tell you this story.
You have complete authority over your physical body. When sickness tries to attack it, it’s time to ask yourself, “What would Beth do?”
If you roll over and let sickness trample all over you, there’s nothing God can do to help you. He’s given you authority over your body, and He honors His structure of authority.
God will not usurp your authority. He will not override you. If you refuse to exercise the authority you have over your physical body, don’t blame God. That’s on you.
As much as God wants you healed, He can do nothing until you exercise your authority. He will not violate your authority.
That’s how you know sickness is from the devil because it doesn’t honor authority. It worms its way in when you aren’t paying attention and then acts like it’s the boss.
What do you do when a pest makes its way into your house? Whether it be mice, spiders, or ants, you go on a mission to eliminate every last one of them.
It’s time to get out the war paint and put on your camo. When sickness knocks at your door, you fling that door open like a boss and run it down with your AK-47.
I’m not talking about a gun, either. I am talking about James 4:7. Submit to God, resist the devil, and he will flee.
Why does he flee? Because he already knows you have the authority. He knows that what you say goes. He knows that you are king rooster.
But he also knows how weak we are at exercising our authority. Satan will run over everyone who will let him. But as soon as you take a stand, he runs off like a little pansy.
Exercising your authority is not a half-hearted action. It is a faith-filled command. It is when you will allow nothing except what you have spoken.
You know what I am talking about. There is a stark contrast between telling your kid, “Now, Joey, I need you to stop doing that,” and “Joey, stop. You will never do that again.”
Our culture has been trained to be soft, and now you see why. The enemy is on mission to get us to stop exercising our authority.
That’s why we have gentle parenting, and no more discipline at schools, and feminism, and an attack on masculinity, and churches that tolerate sin. All of this is the enemy trying to make us weak.
If you are blaming your parents, or the government, or your church hurt, or your mean boss for the issues you are facing, the devil has you right where he wants you.
You are not a victim. It doesn’t matter what has happened to you in the past. I know, it sounds like I lack compassion, but that’s not the case. You are not what happened to you.
When you submitted your life to Christ, old things passed away. All things became new. You were adopted into God’s family. You are a child of God. You are the head and not the tail. You are to reign as a king and priest in this life.
You are not a victim. You are victorious. Because no matter what happens to you in this life, in the end, you win. You get to spend eternity with God while the devil and his followers burn in hell.
You are not a victim of sickness or disease or cancer or sin. You have a pest problem. Load your gun with the authority God has given you and run out every trespasser.
You have complete authority over your physical body. No one, not even God, has the authority you do. That physical body is yours. Take charge, bring it into submission, and eliminate everything that doesn’t belong.
God can help you, but you have to ask. I can help you, but you have to ask. There are many here that can help you, but you have to ask.
God will not run over you like the devil does. If you don’t exercise your authority, God will not try to take charge. He honors your authority whether you use it or not.
If you have a sin problem, it’s because you are not exercising your authority. If sickness is prevailing, it’s because you are not exercising your authority.
Maybe you didn’t know you had this level of authority until today. Or, maybe you’ve been trying to manage the devil with gentle parenting.
Either way, I now see a victorious people in front of me. I’ve stirred you to the core of your being to rise up in your authority. You are walking out of here with a boldness you didn’t have before.
No longer will you half-heartedly say things that sound like you are exercising your authority. Oh no. Now, you will issue an endless supply of faith-filled commands.
I REFUSE to be sick. This body belongs to me, and I will not allow sickness, or disease, or generational infirmities to take up residence in this gift God has given me.
I REFUSE to sin. I don’t care how badly this body wants to overeat, or engage in sexual sin, or gossip, or rage with anger. I say no. We’re not doing any of that.
And just like it was for Jesus, I decide when I am going to die. This physical body belongs to me. I call all the shots. I decide what this body is going to do and not do.
How many of you are ready to join me and become completely resolved that you are the only one with complete authority over your physical body?
This is just the beginning of our understanding of authority. We still need to unpack how authority works in the home, and in the church, and in the city.
We must know where we have authority and where we don’t. This is the only way the church can come into a place of unity and accomplish what God has set before us.
As much as I would love to keep going and cram you full of teaching on authority, the Lord directed me to stop here.
Take home what you’ve learned today and ponder on it. Keep it at the forefront of your mind all week. I’m sure you’ll have plenty of opportunities to exercise authority over your physical body.
Don’t miss these opportunities. This is the foundational zone of our authority. If we can’t bring our flesh into subjection, we don’t have any place to exercise authority elsewhere.
Don’t allow your body to talk you into sin. Don’t allow it to be sick. Don’t allow the devil to have even an ounce of control over it. Know your authority and exercise it boldly.
