Mark chapter one, verse 21 to 22.
It says this. They went into Capernaum and
immediately on the Sabbath, he entered the synagogue and began
to teach. And they were amazed at His
teaching, for He was teaching them as one having authority,
not as the scribes. You can be seated.
Now, a couple things I want to point out about this passage of
Scripture. Number one, you'll find that
Jesus went to church. I mean, if Jesus is the one
we're supposed to follow and you're not going to find the
scripture that Jesus avoided a synagogue on the Sabbath even
when they wanted to kill him, He's not avoiding it.
He's going to show up to church, right, because he is the head of
the church. So this notion, you know, that
church is really kind of irrelevant.
What Jesus goes to the synagogue and he could have say, well, you
know, they're not pre. They have the scrolls, they have
the things written. And if anyone can explain this,
he can. And when he begins to preach, it
sounds different than everyone else that has stood and in the
pulpit for a modern vernacular, OK, it was noticeable that this
is different, OK? And I'm bringing the Scripture
go, this is the one we brought last week.
We're talking about authority in God's Kingdom, OK?
And so Jesus spoke in such a way that it was recognizable that he
possessed authority in Matthew chapter 15 verse 7, and not
through nine, it says is Jesus again when addressed by
Pharisees and scribes of which she's, you know, doing a little
correction to them at this part in Matthew 15, he says, you
hypocrites rightly did Isaiah prophecy of you.
These people honor me with their what?
With their lips, but their heart is far from me.
But in vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines the
precepts of men. So again, if you were to talk to
them, you would think, man, these people love God.
However, they had no heart to do this.
In fact, it goes even deeper because Jesus actually says this
at another time to to the crowd. He says do what the Pharisees
say, just don't do what they do because they don't live what
they preach. So in essence, he says they
honor me with their lips, which means they're saying things that
are truth from my word. They're meaning scripture.
They're saying things, but these things they're saying, then they
turn them so that it becomes a doctrine of men's precepts.
And let me tell you, that can sound awesome.
It can sound right on, you know, because when you're in the
atmosphere of man, which is there's a way that seems right,
you can preach ways that seem right.
You can preach them. You can preach them like man,
That's right. Why?
Because I could preach in ways that identify with your
humanity. I can preach in such a way to
identify with your struggles. Now I can preach that way.
So we can identify, but never really give you a way out.
Just say, well, God's in control.
Whatever will be will be, you know, we're all going through it
together. God probably sent it anyway,
right? Hold on.
You know, the little ambiguities out there.
And then, you know, let's do this.
And I, I would conclude that the precepts of men, if you don't
watch out, and I'm going to say this because a lot of churches
fall into this category or even, you know, well intended people
who love people fall into social services alone, Meaning you're
helping someone, but you got to make sure you're the reason why
you're helping someone is there because all of us can get, I
mean, you understand how many nonprofits when I say that I'm
not talking church nonprofit, I'm saying nonprofits,
corporations have nonprofits and they do very charitable things,
but their hearts not in it, their hearts not there.
Why do they typically do it? Taxes.
So their motive for giving is not really to help them as much
as it to help themselves. Now again, I don't know people's
hearts. You know, I'm not Jesus
listening to it talk. I'm just saying when we're
helping people, we have to make sure our hearts right so we get
dining with dignity. When you go out, why are you
going? Don't go just cause.
Well, I feel sorry for them. Don't that is not good enough.
That doesn't help them. They don't want you to feel
sorry. God don't want you to feel sorry
for them. God wants you to have
compassion. That's different.
Here's a different motivation for our doing and why we do so.
You always have to tell them. Why do we go to the prison for
those who go to the prison system because we feel bad for
them? No, because we want to bring a
light. We want to see real change and
rehabilitation. So when they get out, they never
go back because they are a different person that
technically they could say the man who walked into this place
or woman is dead because I made Jesus Lord and that person's not
going back out. Now I may look the same right on
the outside, but on the inside, both in my heart and my mind,
I'm a totally different person. The way I think and process
because I've been delivered. I said I've been delivered,
glory to God. So Jesus challenges these guys
and he says, listen people, when they are ministering the Word
without authority, it really just turns into precepts of men
and it's honorable in lip service, but it doesn't have the
capacity to really change people's lives because it's the
spirit alone that really brings change.
This is why Jesus said earlier in the same chapter, verse
three, he said in the answer and said then why do you transgress
right. The commandment of God for the
sake of your tradition. You know what all of us have
been associated with tradition and I'm going to tell you as
I've grown in the Lord specifically since I've planted
anchor faith church. Now that does not mean that I I
was totally grown way before them.
You know, because I was raised in denominational church and
only taught that you how to go to heaven when you die and Jesus
is the only way and I was born again in that.
But that was what all that's all I was taught.
Then I ended up going to another denomination that introduced me
to the baptism of the Holy Ghost.
Well, I didn't even know that was even available.
Now I have to admit I was taught that because I've asked I'm in
since since I'm in studying wasn't on the top of my list and
the examples of that in you know, my churches were that way.
Now I was still wrong. I should have done something
different, but I didn't. I just kind of flowed with the
traditions of that church because it's easy to flow with
the traditions that are being taught.
Just kind of go there, right? I would get sick every year,
every year around November, especially Thanksgiving, because
as you all know, my testimony, I was just a skinny guy.
Skinny guy. I graduate 123 pounds.
I was a skinny guy, so Thanksgiving was a big deal to
me because I needed the extra calories.
But for some reason, I would get the flu, you know, And there's
always, well, you catch the flu where everybody catch the flu,
and that's the tradition. You just catch it.
Go ahead and catch everybody else is nobody else has shown me
anything different. That's just the traditions of
me. Come on, I'm not studying
myself. Then I find out about the
baptism of the Holy Ghost. That was boom lights on, totally
different, better lifestyle, way better powers.
Awesome. I mean, power plus being with
the Lord for it is way better than just knowing I'm going to
be with him when I die. Powers way better, right?
But then I went off to Bible school and then I found out that
there was things that you could access with faith, not just
salvation and baptism, the Holy Ghost.
And there were benefits associated with God and all
kinds of things. I'm like, wow, what is
happening? But I had to break tradition.
And because of that three, those three things, it put in me where
I seek, I seek now seek to where I'll say, is that true?
I've heard, I hear that in every circle.
Is that true or is that a tradition?
Now, here's the cool thing. When you begin to go to the word
over something you've heard, if it's truth, you'll just get
stronger and stronger and stronger and stronger.
Even if you have the intent, I'm going to prove it wrong.
You can't you, you wouldn't be able to.
But if it's a tradition, all of a sudden cracks to start showing
up and you're like, man, I've thought this way for a very long
time and I realized it's wrong. It's a tradition and I need to
adjust. Are you hearing me?
So when biblical truths are replaced with traditional
truths, then authority is lost when biblical truths are
replaced with traditional truths.
Now, why do I say truths? They're not technically the
truth, but to them it's truth. I mean, you can get around some
places that have not grown or believers, let's say that have
not grown in certain layers of revelation.
And I can't give you the answer why that is.
But if you can get around some and you can begin to try to show
them. Have you ever tried to show
somebody another side of the word?
And they're like just resistant? I mean, I'm almost mad at you.
You know, you think you're better than me.
I do not. But I happen to know something
that is liberating for you should you want to listen, but
for some reason you don't want to.
And they hold that tradition like it's the truth.
And by holding it, they lose their authority.
They lose their authority. And we said this last week, the
difference between precepts of men or we could say religion and
the and the Kingdom of God is authority is authority.
Now, Thayer's authority, again, we've said this and we're going
to talk about and use that word today.
But Thayer's has a definition that is extremely accurate
concerning authority because when I went to school I was
taught this. And yes, the Greek word has this
in their definition and in the right setting it is reality.
OK. And what took me on this
journey? Tradition.
Now when I say tradition, it is. Is the word authority only this
by definition? Because I was trained in a
location that when you said this word, the proper response is
delegated power. Now is authority delegated
power? That's one definition.
So I did this. I said OK, because I went to
Scripture and I saw that the Holy Spirit in John chapter 16
does nothing on his own initiative, but he only says
what he hears, which means he's operating in delegated
authority. So I popped up to Jesus, found
out what same. You know, in the Gospel Jesus
said I speak nothing on my own initiative, only what I hear.
I say that's called delegated authority, meaning they received
authority higher than themselves.
So now I pop to the Father. If authority literally means
delegated power, who gave the Father his who gave the father
is now it doesn't work. OK, that doesn't work.
So then what is authority? So is authority delegated power?
Or is authority something that can be delegated?
Is it a power that can be delegated?
Because again, if we're like, what's delegated power?
I have delegated power, OK, That's authority, OK, But that's
not because the father doesn't have something that was
delegated to him. He's the source.
He is the seat.
So I was able to conclude will authority is the final say?
It's the final say. It means that is the ruling and
there can be no higher ruling. But because Jesus has been, you
know, put more in a religious atmosphere and not the Kingdom
atmosphere, right? Because of that, we struggle
sometimes with that. Why do we struggle?
Because, well, God said this, but you know, he, what's the
final say? See, that takes your faith to
another level, that the minute you know, the King says
something, well, that's the final say.
In our own natural world, if there is an issue in law, you go
to a judge. Well, who's the highest judge?
The Supreme Court. And when they make a ruling, it
becomes the final say on that with those justices.
But you understand our judge King is higher than all of them.
I said he's higher than all of them.
So in essence, authority is God's final say on a situation
that then He delegates for you to receive, so that it becomes
your final say 'cause it's His final say.
Now Thayer, say it this way, it's the power of rule or
government, the power of Him whose will and commands must be
submitted to by others and obeyed.
Now you can say, well, I don't know, I can believe that because
I don't have to do what God says.
No, you do. It's just that God's merciful
and will allow you to not because he's trying to show you
he is the way he is the truth. He wants you to yield to Him who
is life. But if you reject it, then
eventually one day you'll find that His will is the only one
that's going to be obeyed. And when he says depart from me,
there's no appealing. Come on, you'll help me out
Wednesday night. Y'all are teachable people.
When when the Great White throne judgment occurs, that verdict is
final. There's no plea bargain cuz down
here there's no plea bargain. You're you're not born again cuz
you made a plea bargain. Now, Lord, I'll, I'll follow you
if you do this. No, no, no, no, no, no, no.
You're going to love me with all your heart, your soul, your mind
and your strength. That's how you're going to love
me and I, and that's the only way you're going to love me.
And because my way is life, I want you to have life.
I want you to be a partaker life.
Anything you do outside my word is death because it's the
opposite of me. And I don't want you to choose
that because I'm life. I mean, I just want you to have
life. But at the end of the day, you
can do whatever you want to do, but you will be held accountable
to that. The only way you get out of that
accountability is that all that you've done wrong that must now
be reckoned with has to show up on your book as paid in full
because of the blood. Because what you do wrong is not
under a rug or disappears or like poof is gone.
No, God said my blood paid for that, my blood paid for that.
No, my blood paid for that and my blood paid for that.
No, it didn't go unnoticed. I paid for that.
No, I paid for that. I did that wrongdoing.
I paid for that wrongdoing. So when we say we put him on the
cross, it's true. Because if Adam had never eaten
the fruit, if man had never disobeyed, then we wouldn't know
a person, we wouldn't know a savior.
But we did, and he did. And we can be changed if
conditional statement we choose to obey and submit and yield and
say Lord, I can't do it. You do it.
I I take your way. Aren't you glad you take his
way? So we concluded last week with
Matthew 2818 and said that Jesus came up and spoke to them saying
all authority. How much come on, how much has
been given to me? Where who?
How much does he have? Where, where are you going to go
that he doesn't have the final say?
Come on, where you going to go? Because Jesus's word is the
Father's. He said we're one.
So what I'm saying came from the one who has the final say.
I mean, it's not like I can tell you something the Father's like,
but I didn't say that I'm not doing that.
So you should never said that. Now some people say they hear
the Spirit who only speaks by the word called Jesus that only
then speaks by the Father. And some of the things people
say they heard by the Spirit is not what the Spirit saying.
It's definitely what they want to because in the atmosphere of
seems right personal motive, we want it to be this way.
But really, what does he say? Because what he says always
comes to pass. Glory to God, I said glory to
God. Amen.
You know, and sometimes the Lord
say this is going to happen unless this happens, which means
now he's giving you a fork in the road.
And that doesn't mean what he said is a lie.
He's saying if you continue the course, this will occur.
And there's no doubt, however, if you do this.
Thank you Jesus, he says I set before you life and death choose
and that's a daily choice every day, say every day.
Ephesians chapter one verse 17 to 23.
This make you want to run around the building.
Not that you have to. I'm just saying it should get
your spirit man really excited. It says that the God of our Lord
Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you.
A spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of
Him. I pray that the eyes of your
heart may be enlightened, so that you will know what is the
hope of His calling, and what are the riches of the glory of
His inheritance in the Saints. And what is the surpassing
greatness right? The surpassing greatness of His
power towards us. Who believe these are in
accordance with the working of the strength of his might which
he brought about where in Christ when he raised him from the dead
seated him at the right his right hand in heavenly places
ready far above how much all rule and and and just in case
you don't know what he's got covered.
He's not just have a he did he's not just over all rule.
He's over all authority, he's over all power he's over all
dominion he's over all. So what we doing running around
here acting like we got our own little Kingdom going on and we
do what we want to. He's like, you better learn that
I have. I'm over it all.
I'm over at all. And I'm doing everything I can
to rally you back into my household, into my family,
because if you come into my family, you can rule with me.
Hallelujah, Hallelujah. So he's far above.
It's not even close. I mean, this is not like a Cold
World War situation. You got to get it out of your
head that the devil has all this power, dominion, authority,
rule, and it's pretty close to God.
And they're kind of like in a Cold War.
It's like this back and forth. It's so the struggle's real
people, the Lord's like struggle ain't real.
It's only real to your flesh. But if you get over in the
spirit, you'll find out it's not even real.
It's not even a contest. It's not even worth mentioning.
It's like, I'm so far above all this stuff.
I mean, it's all it is a mound. It's a heap of junk compared to
the rule that I have Whoo, glory to God.
Not only that, but and so he's far above all names and and
every name that is named not only in this age, well, what
name can you have cancer? That's OK, He's above cancer.
Tuberculosis, he's above it, right?
I mean, name a disease. He's far above all of those
names and all of that power. I mean, the father saying I got
a final say on this deal. I have the final say on this
thing. Now the power works because you
believe that. But if you believe the names
have more and the dominions have more, and they're the other
powers and the other authorities and the other rules have more,
the principalities and powers have more, well, then you're
going to live sub because you're not convinced my father has the
final say, Period. And circumstances mean nothing.
I do not use people's personal testimonies to have more weight
of truth than God's words. Well, you know, I prayed, you
know, but the Lord didn't answer it, you know, And I just
realized now the Lord was trying to teach me that.
No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no.
The Lord does what he says. Yeah, but I had someone believe
him for this man, and it didn't happen.
You know, I'm not sure why. The Lord.
No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no.
What you're not sure of is what was going on so that that final
say didn't come to pass in their life.
But something was happening that you're just unaware of.
So don't blame God. And don't think your aunt, your
grandma, your Mama, your auntie, which I said aunt, but I use the
other one. I don't think that your daddy,
your grandfather, had more faith than God, that they will believe
in God. And he could not do it right.
I mean, if we listen to the testimony of some people, we
think, thank God's getting it. He's missing, missing a lot.
I wish he had power. And what do we do?
Here's our tradition. Yeah, but at least we're going
to heaven. That's all that matters anyway.
Well, the King's not saying that's all that matters because
if that's all that matters and you say, son, I just want you to
go to cross. We're not going to put you
through the beating. No reason for the scourging.
Really no reason. No reason for that because it's
by his year, right? It's not by his cross.
Oh y'all don't want to hear that?
So there's no reason for stripes if healings not in the covenant
or it's it's not the healthcare system of the Kingdom.
People look at me sometimes like man, do you have any healthcare?
I'm like, I have the greatest healthcare.
Who's it with Blue Cross, Blue Shield, Humana.
I'm like, no, Jesus Christ, man, oh brother, man, I wouldn't bank
on that. You don't know my daddy.
My daddy has the final say. Oh, just steal.
My daddy created the doctors that are telling me what I'm
supposed to do. My daddy made the DNA that's in
their bodies. He knows more about their bodies
than they know about my body. And I'm supposed to believe
their report? Now, whose report will you
believe? I will believe the report of the
Lord. Hey, all right, let's go on.
Don't get me fired up. Get me fired up.
OK, so let's read 21 again for fun.
Woo. All right, 21, go back 21.
Let's go 21. Go 2121.
There you go. Far above all rule and authority
and power and demean in every name that is named, not only in
this stage, but also the one to come.
And he put, so he's not just above it, he put it somewhere.
He said I'm above 'cause I put it somewhere.
And he put all things in subjection under his feet, under
it. So all those bow to him and gave
him as head over all things. Oh Jesus 2 to the Church.
How can the Church of Jesus Christ on planet earth not be
functioning with great authority?
It's because we believe the precepts of men.
It's the only reason we accept the precepts of men as doctrine.
Because He is head over all things to the church, which is
his body, the fullness of him who feels All in all.
Oh my goodness. So here's a crazy thing.
Our Father is full is the final say.
He delegates his final say to Jesus.
Jesus in the earth. As we saw last week, whatever he
said, it happened now. He didn't just go through on a
power trip. You got to understand this is
the difference between the traditions of men and selfish
ambition, Christians and Jesus. Because a lot of times
Christians are saying, oh, Lord, we want to see your power.
We want to see the miraculous. I want to be able to raise the
dead. I want to be able to cast out
devils. Lord, I want to see the blind
eyes, the deaf ear. I want to do this.
I want to, but their motive is the issue.
Jesus only did what the Father said, so he didn't have a
personal motive. Which means when pressed at
times, show us a miracle. He did not take the delegated
authority to perform. Didn't do it.
He said no. The only sign you'll get now is
my word, because my words powerful enough that my word is
what's powerful. So here's the thing, The Father
has a final say. He delegated his final say to
Jesus when he walked on the earth.
He obviously functioned that way.
And that final say was directly connected to the final say He
said about man in Genesis 1. He said let us make man in our
image. Who said this?
God the Father let us make man in our image corn our likeness
and let them have dominion rule over the fish of the sea, over
the birds of the sky, over all the cattle, over all the earth,
and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.
So man had dominion on the earth.
So when Jesus comes in, he says, just walk in the dominion.
I gave Adam. This is why fish are
multiplying. This is why fish jump in Nets.
This is why fish get on fish hooks.
This is why trees listen to him. This is why bread multiplies,
because it's a plant from the earth.
This is why winds and waves obey him.
These, this is the authority Adam had that he gave to the
devil, that he gave to the devil.
And so Jesus functions, but he only functioned that way when he
was in the earth because the Holy Spirit was the one telling
him what was Dad saying? So again, the Bible is about
God. There's a lot about God.
It's amazing. But it's also about man, God's
children. And you cannot go to one side
and only make it about God because God's like, yeah, but I
got a lot to say about you, but you can't make it just about us.
He came to save me. He came to take care of me.
You know, it's about me. Look what God did for me.
I'm so excited for what God's done for me.
Look what God did. Look, I was here and he did
this. Next thing you know, we're just
talking about us, right? Will he save me?
I don't have to do this. I don't have to do that.
I don't need to go there yet. He's saying hey, it's not just
about you, it's about you towards me.
So our stories are here together.
Are you hearing me? Luke Chapter 9 verse one, one
and two says this. And he called the 12.
Y'all know who the 12 are, right?
Says 12 disciples. OK, that includes Judas, the one
who portrayed him and and gave and what what he do.
He gave them power and authority over the demons and to heal
diseases. He sent them out to proclaim the
Kingdom of God and to perform healing.
And that's he says I need you to I'm giving you delegated
authority power. I'm giving you my authority.
I'm delegating it to you to represent My Kingdom to these
places. And when you go preach the
Kingdom, let them know everything you're doing comes
from My Kingdom because My kingdom's not like the kingdoms
of this world. They need to see it's different,
and I need you to go do it. Now let's drop down to this
verse a little bit later in Luke Chapter 9.
Let me see what verse it is verse 6 and it says this
departing they began going throughout the villages
preaching the gospel and healing everywhere was Jesus their
healing not physically, but he was there with authority.
In essence, this means that God gave them the power of attorney,
and power attorney means you represent me as if it is me
where I send you. Now the gospel.
What's the gospel? Oh, this is really good right
here because I help with tradition.
What's the gospel here? Can somebody tell me what the
gospel is? Good news, It can't be.
Jesus died on the cross for your sins.
Because Jesus has not died on the cross for their sins.
This is that's what gospel. Well he told us in verse 2.
He said go preach the Kingdom of God.
That's the gospel and heal the sick.
So when they went to preach the Kingdom, that's why Jesus only
preached the Kingdom. Everyone went, the Kingdom of
God is like this and the Kingdom of heaven is right there.
He didn't say I'm going to die for you.
Believe on me when I die so that when you die you can go to
heaven. That was not his gospel.
Now believing that he died in rows because he did die and was
raised was for the payment of your trespasses, sends your
treason against his Kingdom so you could become a child of God.
It is the doorway into His Kingdom.
He wanted everyone to know it's more than just getting born
again, born against the beginning of your Kingdom life.
So go show my Kingdom. Because when you show my Kingdom
and you show my nation, then people are going to want to come
to my Kingdom and want to be a part of my nation, just like
people want to be a part of the US because they think it's
better opportunities. Well, there's the best
opportunity to be in the Kingdom of God.
It's the great, it's the Kingdom that has no end.
Whoa, you know what it is? You ready for this?
This always ruffles the little feathers when I say it, but I
say it anyway. It's a global takeover.
It's world domination and not by dictator mean narcissistic.
It's I'm life. The earth is mine because I made
it. It's not like I had it.
So I'm taking it back. I'm taking it all back,
Hallelujah. And we're causing the earth to
be like I originally planned it to be.
That's why they'll be a new heaven and a new earth.
Glory to God. So you see here, all authority
that Jesus has, He can give. And it's not like, how do I want
to say it less? His word is final because it's
His Father's word that's final. So when you say it, it's as if
Jesus said it. Well, I'm saying what Jesus
said, but it won't have the same effect because it's coming
through me. No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no,
no, no, not at all. It's the same.
Let's go on Luke chapter 10 verse one.
Now after this, the Lord appointed 70 others, so we can't
say this was only for the original 12.
He pointed 70 others, sent them in pairs ahead of Him to every
city and place where He himself was going to come.
And he said, well, this says nothing about him delegating
power or authority. Nothing.
Oh, or does it not? Now drop down to verse 17.
Verse 17 of this chapter says the 70 returned with joy,
saying, Lord, even the demons are subject to us in your name.
So when he said, I want you to do this, Luke does not
communicate the same thing that was spoken to the 12, although
it obviously was spoken to them as well because how could they
have the results? And he said to them, I was
watching Satan fall out lightning from heaven.
Behold, I have given you authority.
So here it is. He doesn't say it in verse one,
but he tells us in verse 19 what he said, what he gave them.
Behold, I have given you, which means Jesus can give it.
Why are we resisting it? I want you healed.
Oh Lord, I'm not worthy. What Sing about your worthiness?
It's about His word. Now again, if you are in Christ,
you've been made worthy. You've been made righteous.
Now your mind still may not be worthy because you're renewing
it, trying to get some things together.
But as far as your spirit, man, it's been made worthy.
Remember, we're not sorry sinners saved by grace.
I'm just a Sinner saved by grace.
That's tradition. That's not true.
That's traditional truth. It's not truth, not biblical
truth. Biblical truth is I was a
Sinner. I've been saved by grace through
faith and now I'm a believer in covenant with God.
I'm a child of God. So a child of God is not the
same species of being as the Sinner.
The Sinner is dead, his spirit is dead.
The the Christian or the in Christ believer, the new
creature is alive to God. So I can't say I'm the same
person. I'm not now.
I may be still thinking like the old person, but if I would
actually make him Lord, then he would clean up my mind in my
participation of renewing my mind to His word.
And I begin to say, wow, I'm this now and I'm this now and
I'm this now. OK, Lord, I'll accept what you
say about me 'cause Your word is the final say because you're not
telling me just 'cause you like me and I'm just special one and
there's many believers like I think I'm Jesus is special.
Go ahead and think all you want to, but you're not We're all
we're all in fellowship with the Lord and I accept what he So
let's go on verse 19. I've given you authority to
tread on serpents and scorpions and over come on, help me out
and over how much all the power of the enemy.
My gosh, man, why, why do we reject the obvious acts chapter
10, verse 38. Look how God anointed Jesus of
Nazareth who went around doing good and healing all who were
oppressed of the and yet here he said.
Now listen, I've given you this authority over all the power of
the enemy, and nothing will injure you.
It's because we'll accept a tradition about our situation
instead of biblical truth about it.
Come on, say to yourself, Lord, help renew my mind that I will
believe that I am exactly what you say I am and whatever you
say is the final say because you have all authority and He has
all authority. I said he has all authority.
The problem is a lot of times we allow our emotions to rule over
God's word. We allow our situation to a rule
to rule over God's word. We allow our condition to rule
over God. Other people's words to rule
over what God has said. All right, don't let it happen.
Verse 20. Nevertheless, he said do not
rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but
rejoice that your names are recorded in heaven.
Now what's important about that? What is greater than having the
authority of our King is that we are sons and daughters of his
Kingdom. That's greater, that's greater,
which tells us if you have authority without relationship
with God or sonship, it's nothing.
And this is the problem again. People want to function in the
power of God without actually being submitted in a
relationship with God. That's the problem.
That's never what God intended. Again, He has all authority, and
He had. He has not intimidated to give
you authority. You just have to use it fully
submitted to Him because you couldn't do it without Him, and
if you do, it will cost you. Now what do I mean by that?
Moses hits a rock, water comes out.
Why does the water come out after he hit the rock?
Because God said hit the rock son.
But there was another time later on in his walk with the Lord,
after he had been face to face with God and been on the been in
his glory and had to cover itself with a veil, all kinds of
stuff. But yet now we got some issues
going on the camp. He's pray for this bunch so
much. He's watching them drop off
dead, you know, because they've been disobedient.
They are exactly what God said, a stubborn and stiff neck bunch.
And so the Lord said, just speak to the rock, 'cause he's
merciful. And as you like they, these
people are dying anyway. I've already pronounced judgment
all all those that rejected me at my word, they're not getting
down. So he comes down in his emotions
once again, Maybe you saying to himself, I should have took the
first deal, should have took the first deal.
When the Lord said I'll get rid of them all, I'll start a whole
new nation with you. I really should have took that
deal when I had all these problems, wouldn't have been
wandering around all these doggone years.
Here we go again, right? But what the Lord say?
Speak to it. But what did he do?
Hit it? How many times did water come
out? Oh, but what came after that?
He said you didn't honor me in front of the people.
I mean, how can we come to church and not be honoring him?
You didn't honor me in front of the people.
I won't let you in now. You can't.
And he listen, this was so, so serious to God.
After all he has seen with God and been in conversation with
God one-on-one that when he day after day, potentially month
after month, whatever the Lord takes him to the heel where he
could see it and he says see it OK don't ask me again.
You're not getting in knowing what you know acting like that
it's not happening same in anyway.
So we are not here to get born again to have his power so that
we look at us. No, when we demonstrate power,
it should be saying look at him, look at him, look at him, look
at him. This is why honestly, I am a
little more cautious and don't a lot of times openly testify of
certain things that have occurred because, you know, in
today's society, they're videotaping everything and then
what happens? People flock.
Y'all don't want to hear they're doing 'cause they're trying to
draw. They don't have nothing.
All they should have is a ear to hear what God said, do what God
said. It performs, it happens, and it
should be glorifying God. People are not running to these
meetings to meet God, they're running to see the person that
power went through. Now I will give you 1 little
testimony years ago in Nicaragua, because This is why I
know this is true and I don't talk about this one a whole lot.
We read Nicaragua in a meeting. There's no walls, we're outside.
And so I'm preaching on the Kingdom of God and His authority
and it starts raining. It's a rainy season anyway.
It starts raining and man, it comes down and it is so loud
under the tin roof that I know man, they're not.
They're not hearing me now because I'm going through a
translator. And so the person that ran the,
the ministry or the mission was, you know, over here to the side.
And I heard the Lord say to me, tell the rain to stop.
So I said, in the name of Jesus, I command that rain to stop.
And then I just went on, kept preaching.
Within 60 seconds, the rain got super light, almost gone.
Now, the ministry leader, when I said that, he said, oh, he's
lost them. They're never going to listen to
this guy now. But then all of a sudden, right
or no, you were there, right? Were you at that one?
No, You you missed that one. Too bad.
Who? I wish I knew somebody that was
here. You were there.
You were at that one. Who else was there?
We had other people there. Were you there at that one,
Brandon? No.
Too bad. It was awesome anyway.
Yeah, Wayne Norman was Wayne, were you at that?
No, that was another one. We've got been there so many
times people anyway, so we're ministering and it's goes and it
get and everybody's kind of looking around right and then
all of a sudden a little bit more comes and Lord said tell
them that was already falling. I said, well this app was
already falling when this hits the ground had to be done and
then I kept preaching and then it quit done.
So people are a little, you know, like what just happened,
right? So there's a river we have to
cross to get to this camp, no bridge, a river and it's low
Creek. We were able to get through.
Well, when this much rain fell as it did, it ran rain for maybe
10-15 minutes before the Lord says, say something, the river
had risen and they were like, well, you're not going to be
able to go because it's too high.
They went down to look, you're not going to be able to go.
It's going to take at least 8 hours.
Like man, we don't have. I said we don't have 8 hours.
I'm supposed to be at a university and preach tonight.
I said we have to go. I said man, in the name of
Jesus, that river has to go down Within 15 minutes.
Some people showed up and this place went crazy.
Now, I don't understand anything in Spanish, so I have no idea
what's going on, but they're like running around like crazy
people around this vehicle, you know, I mean, everybody's
running, they're talking and everybody's loud, right?
Come to find out that what they're asking is how did you
get here? How did you arrive the waters to
and they're like, it was down, it was low.
I could pass. They said it's never happened
ever. Well, what happened after I left
the country, it didn't rain the rest of the rainy season.
Four months later, six months later, I come back to and the
camp was telling their, 'cause these guys were drug addicts,
you know, alcohol is a place where they could come and try to
get restored, a retreat place, you know, And so they had fault,
called their parent, their family members, and say the guy
that made the rain stop is coming.
Well, unfortunately there's always a communication issue
because I tell them that I'm coming on this day, but it
happens to be 1:00 in the morning.
So I said we're coming this day at night at 1:00 AM, but they,
they got thought it was later that night.
So we get an airport. No one's there to pick us up.
No one. So someone else that we end up
knowing country picked us up, we end up going their house and
then we end up getting to the camp late on Sunday.
Well, about 6 to 800 people they said were there waiting, but
they couldn't wait because they had to go back to all their
little towns and stuff. And I'm like, what happened?
They're like, well, they came to find a guy.
Wanted to hear from the guy that stopped the rain.
Well, you know, I don't stop rain.
The Lord does, but this is what happens in our Western culture
is that when these things are occurring, if you don't watch
out, you start people start following signs that come with
our authority and not him who has the authority.
It's a very important lesson because Mark Chapter 16, last
Scripture, here it is, Mark 1617 to 20 says this.
These signs will accompany those who have believed in my name.
They will cast out demons, they'll speak with new tongues,
they'll pick up serpents, and if they drink any deadly poison, it
will not hurt them. They'll lay hands on the sick
and they will recover. So then the Lord, when He had
spoken these, he was received up Hallelujah into heaven, and sat
down at the right hand of God. Verse 20 And they went out and
preached everywhere. Here it is while the Lord worked
with them and confirmed the word by the signs that followed.
Notice the Lord worked with them, not for them.
This is one of the greatest misunderstandings of His
authority is that believers want to have God work for them.
Will you have all the power do this for me and do this for me?
And I'm praying that you'll do this.
And I'm asking you, you'll do this.
In essence, we're commanding Him to give us from His authority
what we want. And the Lord's like, doesn't
work that way, don't work that way.
I'm giving you my authority so that you can say what I say,
Yes, that's right. And then I'll perform it right
and work with you so that my word is confirmed wherever you
go. Because you're saying Jesus said
that's why we say in the name of Jesus be healed.
Not in the name of Apostle Earl, not in the name of Apostle
Marcy, not in the name of Pastor Mike, not in the name of Pastor
Angie, not in the name of Eloise, not in the name of
Brian. No, in the name of Jesus.
So when we pray or lay hands on you, you're right.
And if you're like, well, I hope, I hope they got we never
had anything We're anointed, but that anointing isn't our
anointing. It's his anointing.
And yet people will go to the ones that have gotten something.
But the reality is they're pulling from the same location
and people can receive because they have more faith that they
are harnessing God's power. Then the person next to you who
is harnessing God's power. What did it say?
These signs shall accompany verse.
Go put at verse 17 and I'll close with this so you can get
this thought in your head, 'cause this authority's been
delegated. These signs will accompany those
who are those who have that's not the apostle only that's not
the prophet only that's not the teacher only that's not the
pastor only, that's not the evangelist only that's are you a
believer? Come on, are you a believer?
That means you could look to your neighbor in front of you
and say, look, I'm not feeling real good.
Will you lay hands on me so I'll be healed because I know that
you have delegated authority from our king and he says lay
hands on the sick and I'm touching myself believing, but I
haven't seen results. Will you?
And it's not like, oh, I don't think you have some.
We never had something, He gave us something and now we freely
give it away in His name. Delegated power, which is the
final say on the matter. And the only way that final say
will not come to pass in your life is if you don't believe the
final say that is spoken over you or said to you.
You resisted and you put your rule above his and it'll look
like it's there till you find out it's not there.