Last week we looked at scriptures whereby Jesus through His death and resurrection regained the authority that Satan had stolen from mankind and given it back to His sons and daughters—born again children of God. It was definitely an exchange of power and authority—Adam was given authority over the earth by God; Adam forfeited that authority because of disobedience; Satan by default gained authority as god of this world; Jesus has all power and authority in heaven and earth; Jesus grants His authority to His sons and daughters.
It was clear that in Matthew 7: 28-29 that Jesus possessed authority: “And it came to pass, when Jesus had ended these sayings, the people were astonished at his doctrine; For he taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes.” We read in Mark 1: 21-27 that Jesus had authority over evil spirits as He went into the synagogue and rebuked a demon possessed man as he identified Him as Jesus of Nazareth—the Holy One of God. Jesus said: “Quiet! Come out of him!” and the demon throw the man into convulsions and crying out with a loud voice, came out of Him.” Those observing declared that His new teaching was with authority as even unclean spirits obey Him! In contrast to the religious leaders of His day, Jesus taught with an authority the people had never seen. He had this authority because He is the Incarnate Word of God. He had the assurance that He was walking in the authority of God’s Word because He is God’s Word (John 1: 14).
Incredible as it may seem, Jesus granted His disciples some of that authority: “Then He called His twelve disciples together, and gave them power and authority over all devils, and to cure diseases.” (Luke 9:1) That is a wonderful gift! The entire ministry of the Church of Jesus Christ rests upon that basis. It is backed up by the Great Commission passages in Mark 16: 15-18, Matthew 28: 18-20 and also Luke 10:17-19. The last scripture is important because some Christians believe that only the apostles had the authority to do these things, but the passage states that seventy other disciples—who were never apostles were also given this authority.
Jesus, the Word, was made flesh, ascended and is seated at the right hand of the Father. The Church derives its authority from the written Word of God, the Holy Bible and the Holy Spirit. Christians should look to the Bible as our ultimate source of all truth. It should be our only guide when it comes to how we attain salvation, live our lives and serve our King. Romans 10:17 says: “…faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God.” In Luke 18: 8 Jesus asked the question: “But when the Son of Man comes, will He find faith on the earth?” Jesus then told a parable directed to the religious leaders of the day who trusted in themselves and their righteousness. As we observe the religious landscape today, we see many false teachings and ministries that rob the authority and glory away from Jesus Christ. Jesus’ sharp rebuke to the religious sects of the day certainly applies to us today: “For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.” The sad reality is that many believers have turned away from God’s Word, and as a result, they have turned away from trust in Jesus Christ, the Living Word and have entered self-determined paths. The issue of spiritual authority involves how to take back through the Word of God and the Spirit of God the ground which Satan has stolen.
God has been bringing to me the phrase “Fan the Flame.” He brought to mind the description of the Church at the end of the age in Revelation 3: 14-19. Jesus rebuked them for neither being cold nor hot but lukewarm. Then He brought me to Paul’s words to Timothy in 2 Timothy 1: 5-7 where he told him to fan into flame the gift of God—the spirit of power and love and self-discipline. The question is: What happened to the Church over the years since the fire of the Spirit came down on Pentecost? It was evident that they were on fire to fulfill the Great Commission and to take back the ground Satan had stolen—with thousands being saved and performing miracles in the authority of Jesus Christ. Acts gives us the record of whole households being saved. Miracles of various healings occurred—lame cured, sight restored, paralysis healed, resurrection of the dead, demons cast out, unharmed by a snake bite, and supernatural manifestations of Jesus and angels. The apostles had passion and vision to reach the world with the truth of salvation. As they followed the Holy Spirit’s leading, traveling thousands of miles in a few short years, they managed to share the gospel with people all the way from Jerusalem to Rome. They could teach only a few thousand people at a time, and their letters, which were widely shared in the early church, could reach thousands more.
It is apparent that we as true believers have lost the passion and the zeal that possessed the early church. As a result, instead of the Church (assembly of believers), who symbolize the Kingdom of God on this planet, separating themselves from the world and sin, the Church compromises with the world and continues to live in sin, just like the rest of humanity. Many believers do not spend enough time studying and/or listening to the Word, let alone putting it into practice in their life. The number of Christians who yearn for a holy and blameless life, and who live in obedience to the Father like Jesus, is small. To many Christians are just concerned with ourselves, and are perplexed that we do not have the abilities and miracles that Jesus performed. Could it be that we have disconnected from the source of that power and that it is no longer about Jesus and His desires but about our own desires?
Paul understood that there would be strong opposition from Satan to hinder the Great Commission Jesus had left His followers. His words to “fan into flame the gift of God” is what we must do today in order to fulfill that command. The Greek word for “gift” in this passage is “charisma” which is God’s endowments upon believers by the operation of the Holy Spirit in the Church. According to 1 Cor. 12: 4-11 every believer is given a gift of the manifestation of the Spirit for the benefit of all—wisdom, word of knowledge, faith, healings, miracles, prophecy, discernment of spirits, different kinds of tongues, and to another interpretation of tongues. Isn’t it true that we are seated with Him in the heavenly realms, and that we should be bringing the Kingdom of God to this world rather than enforcing the kingdom of darkness? Compared to the apostles, we have far more ways to communicate—radio, television, print resources, and the internet—and through them, we can reach millions of people around the world.
We as believers have been given the Word of God, the empowerment of the Holy Spirit and the authority of Christ! It is time for Christians to FAN THE FLAME OF THE GIFT OF GOD and access the power from on high! God is an all-powerful, all-encompassing God, and there is no limit to what He can do. He chooses to release His power through His saints—through sinners that have been washed by the blood of the Lamb! We have access to amazing power from on high—but we have to be open vessels, allowing the anointing of God to flow through us as we go about daily! According to Luke 10:19 we have power to tread upon serpents, scorpions and every power of darkness has been given to us! Let’s pray as we’ve never prayed before that the Lord will use us as vessels through which His power can be released!
This prayer is adapted from the lyrics of “Build Your Kingdom Here” by Rend Collective Experiment:
Set Your rule and reign in our hearts; increase in us we pray. Like wildfire in our very souls, Holy Spirit, come invade us now. We are Your Church—we need Your power in us. We seek Your kingdom first. We hunger and we thirst for You our joy to see the captive hearts released; the hurt; the sick and the poor at peace. Come set our hearts ablaze with hope. Build Your kingdom here. Let the darkness fear. Show Your mighty hand; heal our streets and land; win this nation back; change the atmosphere. Unleash Your kingdom’s power, reaching near and far. No force of hell can stop Your beauty changing hearts. Fill us with the strength and love of Christ! We are Your Church—revive us we pray! AMEN