There have been several questions posed to me lately regarding the term “power” when used in relation with understanding the authority of the believer.
Now I’ve used the term “power” in my articles and sermons in the past, and since some people have asked me questions plainly, I feel it best to also explain it here so that everyone can understand it better.
Let’s take a look at Luke 10:19:
“Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you.”
Many translations use the word power there, but the word in Greek is exousía, which means authority or jurisdiction.
Why does this make a difference? Well, it’s the difference between having the power to do something by ones’ own strength versus the authority to do something by the backing of another entity.
The best example I can give is one of a traffic officer. If a traffic light malfunctions on the road, you’ll undoubtedly see an officer in the middle of the intersection directing traffic by hand.
So he’s there directing traffic and when he holds out his hand to stop traffic in a particular direction, all the cars stop.
Now, that man does not have the power to stop all of those cars by the strength of his own hand… but he does have the authority to do so because of the law
enforcement agency which backs him.
If you or I were to go out there with no badge and no sign and try to direct traffic, it wouldn’t end well… I can assure you of that!
See a lot of believers stumble on trying to do things with their own power and wonder why nothing works and some even give up on their faith thinking that the Bible is a false sham, when in-fact they have missed the meaning of the words.
It is not our power that we should be using, but we should absolutely be using the authority of Christ. When we pray for things, we should always remember whose badge we wear, and by whose authority we claim to get our answers to those prayers; keeping that in our minds would clear up a lot of difficulty right there!
This week a lot of things have tried to rise against me to stop me from getting our online broadcasts going; yet in all of the pressures and the obstacles, I took each one as it came and using the authority of Christ, each one was demolished and the videos are scheduled to be posted in the next few days.
Regardless of what your obstacles are: health, finances, jobs, relationships… I’ve personally experienced each area, and I can testify from the same experience that resting and abiding in Jesus, and using His authority as a believer is the only true way to gain victory over the thing.
Notice that this ministry is named Thriving Branch and not Dead, Dying or Struggling Branch.
Rest in Him and know the victory that comes with that rest.
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