Today’s Bible readings are Numbers 2:1-3:51, Mark 11:27-12:17, Psalm 47:1-9, & Proverbs 10:24-25
Mark 11:27-28
27 They arrived again in Jerusalem, and while Jesus was walking
in the temple courts, the chief priests, the teachers of the law and the elders
came to him. 28 “By what authority are you doing these things?”
they asked. “And who gave you authority to do this?”
This is a great question that leads to
an incredible truth for us as believers. It drove the Pharisees crazy to see
Jesus being so successful & winning the hearts of the people they way that He
was. They wanted to know where His authority came from. How was Jesus able to
do the things that He did? What was behind His power?
We know that is was God who was behind
what Jesus was doing. God gave authority to His Son to do the works that He was
doing.
Acts 10:38
38 how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy
Spirit and power, and how he went around doing good and healing all who
were under the power of the devil, because God was with him.
What
is authority & why is it important???
Authority: 1. the power to determine, adjudicate, or
otherwise settle issues or disputes; jurisdiction; the right to control,
command, or determine.
2. a power or right delegated or given;
authorization
Authority is “delegated power”. It is
when a person who has power gives another the right & authorization to
operate under the power of the one who possesses it. It is what a police
officer has. They may not be powerful, but the law that they represent has
great power that is vested in them. That authority gives them a right to
command & control things. Their authority is also backed up by the power of
the law.
Jesus came & God gave Him authority
to work miracles & release people from the control of darkness. The reason
that He was able to operate at such a level of power was because He understood
the authority that He possessed. He many times said, “It is not I, but the
Father in me that does the work.” Jesus had authority because He was under the
authority of His Father. He was totally submitted to His Father. That is why He
operated at such a high level of authority.
Why does this matter to us? It is one
thing to realize the authority of Jesus, but how does it affect us today?
The main reason is because Jesus gave
us the same authority that He has. That’s right, the same authority that Jesus
has; YOU HAVE!!! It is given to every believer who is in submission to Jesus.
Remember when Jesus sent out the 12 apostles? He gave them authority to heal
the sick, cleanse the lepers, & cast out demons. They went out in that
authority & had GREAT success. He later sent out 72 more others with the
same commission & the same authority.
Luke 10:17
17 The seventy-two returned with joy and said, “Lord, even
the demons submit to us in your name.”
Jesus was modeling to us that if we
will surrender & submit to Him that He will give us authority to live a
different kind of life, a life of freedom. The kind of life where we are no
longer dominated by the devil, but rather, we will exercise authority over him;
just like the disciples were doing here.
Remember the “Great Commission”?
Matthew 28:18-20
18 Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in
heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Therefore go
and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and
of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey
everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the
very end of the age.”
Jesus gave us His authority. He had the
right to do so. He promised to be with us to the end, JUST AS, God was with
Him!!! This is the GOOD NEWS!!! What does this mean for you & I???
Mark 16:15-18
15 He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel
to all creation. 16 Whoever believes and is baptized will be
saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned. 17 And
these signs will accompany those who believe: In my name they will drive out
demons; they will speak in new tongues; 18 they will pick up
snakes with their hands; and when they drink deadly poison, it will not hurt
them at all; they will place their hands on sick people, and they will get
well.”
This is what authority will do for a
person. It changes a person’s life when they realize the authority they have
& the ONE who stands behind it backing them up. We have power to do the
works of Jesus because we have the authority of Jesus.
I challenge you to take that authority
& use it to bring freedom to others. That is what it is for. Go out &
start breaking the chains of bondage today in Jesus name!!!
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