THE POWER AND THE AUTHORITY

  1. The Church — The Power :
    • On the Day of Pentecost the Holy Spirit came down with supernatural display of power (Acts 2:2-4)
    • The Spirit came upon the disciples with fire and the Spirit filled them.
    • The Spirit baptized the disciples into the Body of Christ and the church was birthed. (John 14:20; 1 Corinthians 12:12-13; Ephesians 1:22-23; Colossians 1:17-18; Romans 12:5)
    • The believers were empowered to fulfill the Great Commission (Acts 1:8).
    • Signs and wonders followed them. (Acts 3:7; 6:8; 8:7; 9:34, 40;19:11-12)

  2. The Church — The Authority :
    • Jesus proclaims that all authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Him. Matthew 28:18
    1. First Commission — Matthew 10:1-8
      1. Given to the twelve disciples, but they were sent only to the lost sheep of Israel.
      2. They were given authority to:
        • Preach: “The kingdom of heaven is at hand”
        • Heal the sick and cast out demons
        • Cleanse the leaper and raise the dead
    2. Second Commission — Luke 10:1-24
      • This commission was given to 70 disciples. (v. 1)
      • They were to take His message to places and towns where Jesus would follow (v. 1)
      • They were given authority to proclaim the kingdom of heaven was near and to heal the sick. (v. 9)
      • They came back rejoicing that even demons obeyed them in Jesus’ name.
    3. Third Commission, after the Resurrection:
      • Mark 16:15-18 — Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. Signs that will follow believers:
        1. They will drive out demons
        2. They will speak in new tongues
        3. If they pick up snakes or drink poison, it will not hurt them
        4. Place hands on sick and they will be healed.

  3. The Church — The Attack :

    • The believers received the power to do the work Jesus had commissioned them to do with His authority. From then on, every believer IN CHRIST was a potential enemy of Satan, his demons, and the principalities of his kingdom of darkness. Each member of the Body of Christ, the church, had the life of Christ in them and the believers had been given authority and power to continue the work of Jesus — Christ in them! (Colossians 1:27) And the attacks began!

  4. Warnings :
    • James: Submit to God, resist the devil and he will flee from you (James 4:7)
    • Paul: For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against… the rulers of the darkness … against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly. (Eph. 6:12)
    • Paul: Put on the armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. (Ephesians 6:11, 13-18)
    • Paul: Above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one. (Ephesians 6:16)
    • Paul: Do not give place to the devil (Eph. 4:27)
    • John: Test the spirits (1 John 4:1)
    • Peter: Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion seeking whom he can devour (1 Peter 5:8)

  5. Our God — Our Refuge And Our Shield — Psalms 119:114; 144:2
    • Believers in Christ are kept by our God with His angelic protection and with many promises that He has given us in Christ.
    • But as we read the apostles’ warning, believers in Christ must be ever so vigilant, standing firm against the enemy with our armor in preparation for the battle, testing the spirits, and resisting the devil in every front.
    • Most of all, ever so careful to not open the door to the enemy’s luring, seductive, controlling, lying spirits.
    • Every believer with the life of Christ in him/her is a target of the enemy in order to destroy his/her witness. The devil will use all kinds of evil spirits to come against believers who let down their guard and open the door to the enemy.
    • Evil spirits sent to attack:
      • A spirit of lust
      • A spirit of control
      • The spirit of deception
      • A lying spirit
      • The spirit of fear
      • A spirit of greed
      • A spirit of infirmity
      • A spirit of religion, tradition
      • A murderous spirit
      • A spirit of idolatry & divination
      • A spirit of the world
      • A spirit of entertainment and stupor
      • Controlling spirits of drugs
      • Controlling spirit of alcohol
      • Controlling spirit of gambling
      • Controlling spirit of gluttony
      • A spirit of confusion

  6. The Reality Of The Battle :
    • The Lord Jesus said: “The thief (the enemy) comes to steal, kill, and destroy”. (John 10:10)
    • What Satan will come to do is to steal, kill, and destroy and in the process, he uses his spirits of darkness to do the work.
    • Satan comes against Peter: The Lord Jesus said: Simon, Satan has asked for you…(Luke 22:31-32)
    • Born-again believers: We have been rescued from the kingdom of darkness and we are in the Kingdom of the Son of God (Colossians 1:13), but we still live in a world controlled by Satan.
    • We need to test the spirits attacking us and come against them with the authority and the power given to us. (1 John 4:1)
    • The unsaved people of the world are under the attack and control of these spirits of darkness as John reveals:
      • “We know that we are children of God, and the whole world is under the control of the evil one." 1 John 5:19