Week 2 – The Authority of the Believer by Pastor Mark Cowart
Have you ever felt powerless to change your circumstances? Well, the truth is you have much more authority than you know. I want to show you how to walk in your God-given authority as a believer in Jesus Christ. You can see miracles, break down strongholds and change the spiritual atmosphere around you. You have both the legal right and the power.
Consider the building of a house to illustrate. You can’t just build a house anywhere. You have the legal right to build on property you own, within the parameters prescribed by local ordinances. Within those boundaries, you may be issued a permit documenting your legal right to build in a specific location. Then you must also have the power – the manpower and machinery to do the groundwork, assemble the materials according to plan and complete the structure.
As believers, we have the legal right to operate in the spiritual realm, to do what Jesus has commanded and empowered us to do. Again, I want to emphasize, the exercise of this power begins with our words.
Death and life are in the power of the tongue,… Proverbs 18:21 NKJV
My dad developed a serious lymphoma cancer when I was very young, and he was not expected to survive it. One of his friends remarked when visiting, “Richard, you look like you’ve got one foot in the grave.” My dad would never speak negatively. It was just who he was. And, he said, “I’ll outlive every one of you.” You know, he outlived every one of them.
His words spoke life. When you continually speak life, the realm of the spirit is activated. Your words, those coming out of your human mouth, will license either angelic forces or demonic forces. In 1980, I was seriously injured in a meat-cutting accident and lost 2/3 of my lifeblood. Due to complications, my recovery was doubted by the doctors. But, I knew the power of my words. While in the intensive care unit the following week, the Lord showed me there were demonic forces just waiting for me to say the wrong thing. I refused to speak defeat.
I was whispering under my breath, “Father, please, don’t let my spirit leave my body.” I had heard testimonies of people who said, when their spirits left their bodies, they didn’t want to come back. I knew I had things to do in ministry before I would finish my work here on earth. I’ve heard other stories that demonstrate when a person continually says words of death, that gives entrance to the enemy. You can probably think of similar examples.
Earlier in this teaching, I referenced The Authority of the Believer by John McMillan, a missionary who did exploits in the Philippines and China because of the revelation he had of the authority of the believer. This book inspired other teachings on this topic. One such work found its way to the hands of pastors in communist West Berlin, Germany, behind the Berlin Wall which stood from 1961-1989.
This teaching, that had been smuggled in, led to those men of God taking up their authority and commanding the Berlin Wall to come down, and that it would happen without bloodshed. It was prophesied that this would happen, but even factions of the resistance, like the editors of an underground publication, refused to publish such an outrageous statement.
A lot of people believe President Reagan, who famously said, “Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall,” was responsible for this historic event. He had a part in it and was used by God. However, behind him were the believing pastors in isolated West Germany exercising their authority in Christ and continually and persistently declaring it done.
Thou shalt also decree a thing, and it shall be established unto thee: and the light shall shine upon thy ways.
Job 22:28 KJV
One of the principles of faith is calling things that be not as though they were. This is illustrated in Romans by the example of Abraham.
As it is written: ‘I have made you a father of many nations.’ He is our father in the sight of God, in whom he believed—the God who gives life to the dead and calls into being things that were not. Against all hope, Abraham in hope believed and so became the father of many nations, just as it had been said to him, ‘So shall your offspring be.’
Romans 4:17-18 NIV
If you’ll remember, God changed his name from Abram to Abraham which means “father of a multitude”. Every time he introduced himself with this new name or someone addressed him by it, the decree was repeated.
You can exercise this authority by the words of your mouth. Those things that you speak begin to cause things to come to pass or cause things to be hindered. It is so important that you study this teaching. God has given you authority beyond what you have realized, to affect your situation and those for which you are led to pray. Steward it well.
Your enemy, the devil, will try anything to distract you from learning this. It is up to you to apply yourself to searching the scriptures and laying hold of this life-changing revelation. I recommend taking notes. Do whatever works best for you to reinforce and retain your grasp of what God has provided for you to walk in.
The spiritual authority given to the believer in Jesus Christ is a free gift. Like forgiveness of sins, there is nothing you can do to earn it. Jesus is the one who paid the price. It is yours. At the same time, there is a price to pay to walk, to operate, in this authority.
This may sound like a contradiction, but it is what I call a “paradox” of Christianity. To clarify, let’s look at the life of Joseph. The trials in this Old Testament hero’s life began at a young age. He faced rejection by his own family to a degree that few of us have had to experience.
I will say, though, there are places in the world today where to follow Christ is to be rejected by a person’s family – they may even try to kill them.
Young Joseph enjoyed the favor of his father, and he had prophetic dreams. His brothers were so offended by his “presumption” and so jealous already that they conspired together to sell him into slavery in a foreign land. He was betrayed again in his master’s house in Egypt and sent to prison. This was all part of God’s plan.
He sent a man before them, even Joseph, who was sold for a servant: Whose feet they hurt with fetters: he was laid in iron: Until the time that his word came: the word of the LORD tried him. Psalm 105:17-19 KJV
What does this have to do with us today? It shows how there is a price to pay to walk in what God has called you to do. For example, I say it this way. If you are called into the ministry, there is a difference between the calling of God and the separation unto (or promotion into) the ministry. In the same way, Joseph had to wait and go through all those refining fires, still believing the vision God had given him.
I’m talking about the in-between time from when the dreams came to when he saw the manifestation – something like 13 years! He was about 17 when his brothers sold him and 30 when he was promoted by Pharaoh after interpreting the dreams about the coming famine. All that time, “the word of the Lord tried him.” (v. 19 above)
Like Joseph’s original dreams, I believe prophecy is an invitation, not an inevitability. God invites us to see what he sees and to fight for it by resisting doubt and moving forward toward it in faith.
I commit to you this charge, Timothy, my child, according to the prophecies going before as to you, that by them you might wage the good warfare, having faith and a good conscience, which some having rejected, concerning the faith have suffered shipwreck,… I Timothy 1:18-19
This Joseph did through the years of his preparation, “until the time that his word came”. He kept faith and a good conscience. His story is recorded for us as an example. You must not be discouraged because you haven’t yet walked in the fullness of the authority of the believer. You are on the way there, facing the challenges to your destiny along that way. Remember the enemy who does not want you to get there.
The devil is going to oppose you and resist you. Because of this, you must keep your walk with the Lord strong. You must maintain your closeness with Him. How do you do that?
I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing…. If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you. By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples. John 15:5-7 NKJV
God’s Word will transform you into the faithful warrior capable of wielding the authority of the believer led by the Holy Spirit in the Name of Jesus Christ. The enemy cannot stop that from happening except to distract you from your personal study of what your heavenly Father has to say to you to guide you forward to your destiny.
Pray this over your life:
Thank you, Father, that you watch over your Word to perform it. You will not let it return void. By your Spirit, Lord, quicken this teaching to my heart, so that I will faithfully and consistently seek you and grow into this authority, no matter what the devil puts in my path to distract me. Amen
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