The authority of a believer

I decided to write this post in English, since that is the language I've been preaching in during the last months and I've found a better flow using this  language...

  This is just one of my favorite things I like to read about in the Bible – partly because I don’t have to look for it, it’s just there, everywhere! We all know how helpless we are in our human nature, when we face the difficulties of life we are so often thrown down to our knees, and there is almost nothing we can do. ALMOST nothing. When you are down on your knees you’re in perfect position to pray, and that is what makes the difference. Prayer has the power to change the circumstances, but you need to pray for those things to break forth, on earth as they are in heaven! (Matt 6:10)

  God never created us to be a slave of the circumstances, we were told to “rule” (Genesis 1:28), and in Deuteronomy 28:1-14 we read about blessings for obedience. Verse 13 says “The Lord will make you the head, not the tail”. I think one of the reasons why mankind is so totally lost in these days, is that we have been made slaves. As Christians we should not be slaves of work, circumstances, money, sickness or anything else. The only one we should serve and call master is Jesus Christ Himself, and his burden is light! (Matt 11:30).

 What should we do then when we meet difficulties, setbacks and hardship? So often I hear and see Christians who meet these kinds of things, and they just say “it must be the will of God”. Well hello, since when?? Since when has it been God’s will to give His children sickness, financial problems and problems in the family life? His will for us is good. The Lord’s plans for us are plans to prosper and not to harm us; He wants to give us a hope and a future (Jer 29:11). Furthermore, James 1:17 tells us that “Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows”. Can we please demolish the theories of God punishing us for something bad we have done by bringing sickness and difficulties into our lives?

  For me, accepting those things is not an option. Unless the Holy Spirit tells you that the hardship you are going through is God’s way of teaching you something (which I really doubt He does), please, don’t just assume you need those things to learn something. The only thing you need to learn is that the devil is a liar! And oh, by the way, the devil is real. In the modern world people tend to think that the devil and demons are myths and something the church has come up with to scare people. Oh my. My, my, my. How dangerous isn’t that! As believers we are supposed to be Jesus-centered, not devil-centered, but we still need to know that the devil is real, ministry is warfare, we need to know the ways in which the devil works so that we can nullify his plans and not be fooled.

 To get back to the topic… When we meet difficulties we are supposed to rule over them. We are supposed to rise up over the situation and take control. The only one we are to submit to is God, we are not supposed to become a slave to the circumstances around us! When you meet them – use your AUTHORITY! Hallelujah, I’m getting all worked up in the Spirit here… But I really mean this. As Christians we need to remain humble, but that’s humble BEFORE GOD. The Bible says “Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you” (James 4:7). Do you see that? We are supposed to be humble before and submit ourselves to God, but we are to RESIST the devil! So many times I have seen Christians do the exact opposite. Many times we are proud and boast before God, but then we surrender before the devil. Why? Because that is how the devil deceives us. The devil can’t create things, so he turns upside down what God has created (to give you an example: sexuality is a good thing, but the devil turns it upside down and it becomes sinful; lust, pornography…). In the same way the devil makes us act in the exact opposite way of what was God’s plan for us.

 Please, dear brother and sister, recognize the POWER and AUTHORITY you have as a believer. According to Luke 10:19 we have been given authority over all the ability of the enemy (the verse is talking about snakes and scorpions which of course means demonic oppression), Jesus has given us authority to cast out demons (Mark 16:17-18), 2^nd Cor 10:3-5 talks about the spiritual warfare, Eph 6:10-18 talks about the armor of God. There is a war raging, and if you believe in Jesus, you are a soldier. No matter if you are a girl or a boy, young or old, Pentecostal or Catholic, you are a soldier and there is a daily battle to fight. The question is, do you want to put on the armor of God daily? Are you ready to use the authority?

 Do you remember the situation when the Israelites escaped from the slavery in Egypt? Led by Moses they fled, but it didn’t look that good. The Red Sea before them and the enemy behind them. Literally between the rock and the hard place… What happened? Look at Moses. The people were mourning, they were terrified. They were sure they would be facing death. What does Moses answer them? “Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the Lord will bring you today” (Exodus 14:13). Then the Lord speaks to Moses: “Why are you crying out to me? Tell the Israelites to move on”. For God the situation was no problem, but the Israelites focused their eyes on the circumstances instead of focusing on God! The Lord goes on by telling Moses to raise his staff and stretch out his hand over the sea to divide the water. What if Moses wouldn’t have obeyed God? What if he would have started crying like all the others? Well he didn’t. He used the authority God had given him, and the people were saved and their enemy destroyed.

 Once I read about a brother (forgot his name, sorry) from the US who was facing enormous troubles, most of them financial. Every day he would find new bills in his mailbox. One day he got tired of that, and he spoke to his mailbox. It was something like this: “I speak to you mailbox! You are not going to bring me any more bills, you are going to bring me good news!”. The next day he found a check of – if I remember correctly – 10 000 dollars in his mailbox.

 The other day I was receiving bad news from Finland, one message after the other. Sickness, financial troubles, relationships on trial… You name it. I was feeling really discouraged and down, but then I rose up and DECIDED (you need to make a decision, that’s always the first step!) to use my authority. I went down to the prayercave in the church, and prayed and literally shouted out! I also spoke to every principality and all the rulers of darkness that were attacking my family and friends. Then I took my phone from my pocket, and I said “You are going to bring me good news in the name of Jesus!”. It took less than ten minutes when I got the first message – one with good news. By the end of that day I had received many good news, and surely something had changed. Something had happened. I had chosen not to be defeated, I chose to use the authority I have – and this not in my own name but in the Glorious name of Jesus. The King of Kings, Majesty, The Great I Am, The Alpha and Omega. We have overcome by His blood, and in the same blood we have the power and authority.

  Finally I want to encourage you to STUDY the word of God. Don’t just read it, study it. Make mind maps, lists, underline important scriptures – whatever makes you learn. Secondly, put it into practice. We are not supposed to be just hearers but also doers of the word (James 1:22). When you read the word you will know yourself better, you will know God better, and you will also get to know more about your authority as a believer. When you then face hardships – stand on the word. Use the word. The devil won’t flee because of my words, but he will flee because of God’s words, even if they come out of my mouth. So when I feel sick I say “By His wounds I am healed” and stand on the word given in 1 Peter 2:24. When I feel worried I cast my anxieties on Him, because He cares for me, and so I stand on the scripture in 1 Peter 5:7. When I feel I’m under oppression I say that I have been given authority over all the ability over the enemy, and I stand on the word in Luk 10:19. We are supposed to study the Word until we have a word for every situation (2 Tim 4:2).

 Dear brother. Dear sister. Don’t be a baby in your faith. Yes, it will take you to heaven, I’m not questioning that, but I’m saying that you may miss out on a lot down on the earth if you let the devil steal from you (Jesus said the enemy has come to steal, destroy and kill, John 10:10). If you don’t use your authority you may never come into your “promised land” that God has for you, something marvelous He has prepared for you already here on the earth. Let’s stop being babies. Let’s get mature in our faith, use our authority and make a change in this world.