FIGHT, Using God’s Word,  with AUTHORITY!

“And they spoke the Word of God with boldness [authority].” (Acts 4:31).

When Jesus was attacked by the devil in the wilderness, He fought back with the Word.

We all get attacked at times. Recently, there were a number of battles Linda and I were facing and we needed a breakthrough and we decided to stop and to go on a warpath, and we read aloud many proclamations of God’s Word on ourselves and on our lives and we started to see miracles take place.

For one, I had lost my wallet a few days before with important documents in it, and we stood in faith commanding the devil to return it immediately. And today I received a call from someone who found it and said they would put it in the mail to my house address. Hallelujah!

There are two weapons that we always use against the devil, and they work every time. One is the Word, and the other is praise. So, if ever you’re on the spot, turn around and put God’s Word on the spot. Whenever we feel overwhelmed and are in need of a desperate answer, we get specific with God and push back with the authority that Jesus had in rebuking evil spirits.

The Word says one thing of Jesus that always astonished me: “Because He taught them as one who had authority, not as the teachers of the law.” (Mk 1:22, Mat 7:29).

Twice in the new testament it says that Jesus “marveled“. One time He marveled at the people’s unbelief in His hometown (Mk 6:1-6), and the other time He marveled at the faith and authority of the centurion who came to Jesus for the healing of his servant. (Mat 8:5-13). Most preachers highlight the fact that the centurion told Jesus, “Speak the word only,” but in actuality, the centurion first explained to Jesus why he only had to speak the word to his underofficers; because he had authority. And when he said something, it was an order, a command, that had to be obeyed.

And that’s an important point that is not often highlighted as a key to enforcing the laws of the Kingdom, in our Christian life. When Jesus told His disciples that He gave them the “keys of the Kingdom”, He immediately explained what they are. He said, “Whatever you bind and loose on earth” (Mat 18:18), meaning that whatever you command with the authority of the Word of God has to obey you. That is intense… We have been given authority to align on earth anything that’s not in line with the will of God. And that’s really what Jesus did in healing the sick and casting out demons and preaching the truth.

I met with a friend today who was telling me that he had been injured at work and therefore had to let go of a number of physical projects that he had intended to do, but now was unable to finish. When he told me that he had fallen from a ladder, I asked him where was it that he hurt, and right away I laid hands on him and commanded his shoulder and neck to be healed.

After one command his shoulder no longer hurt, but the pain in his neck had not yet subsided. So I again commanded the pain to leave him entirely, and immediately I asked him to turn his neck in whichever direction that he couldn’t before… and he turned and twisted his head every possible direction and he said, “Wow, I haven’t been able to do this in so long, the pain is gone!”

He was astonished of course, but so was I! Even though I have been praying for the sick, as I always do, I have not been seeing that many results recently. And I realized the difference this time: I spoke with “authority”. I stood as an ambassador, actually as a son of the living God and used the authority invested in me. And I just expected the works of the devil to be destroyed right there and then. And when it was not fully destroyed the first time around, I went after it again, and was going to see it through, and the devil knew it.

Jesus told us to speak to the mountain (Mk 11:23) and not ask God to move it for us. The Bible tells us that “life and death are in the power of the tongue” (our words). Jesus tells us, in Mark 11:23 that we can have whatsoever we say. That means that our words have power. Why? Because He gave us authority to align things on earth with the will of God. (Mk16:15-18).

To understand our authority, first we need to understand who we are in Christ. The Bible tells us we are the body of Christ and the same power that raised Jesus from the dead is in us. We have the power and the authority to take the Word of God, the name of Jesus and the power of the Holy Spirit to stop the devil’s attacks and to destroy the works of the devil.

Jesus spoke to the fig tree, He spoke to the wind, He commanded (with authority) evil spirits to leave! Whenever we hear of anything that is not in line with what we know the Word of God says, it is our duty to speak God’s Word on the situation, with authority.

So while we must quote the Word of God to the devil, it has to be mixed with FAITH. And when you have the faith for something, you exercise authority. Authority is the demeanor and the language of faith. You can’t speak faith in a wimpy fashion. That’s not faith. “But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind. That person should not expect to receive anything from the Lord.” (Jam 1:6-7).

So God help us to pray with expectancy. Let’s use the authority invested in us to enforce the Kingdom of God on earth as it is in heaven. For centuries people have tried to discredit or destroy the Word of God. The kings of this Earth have set themselves against it. America’s public schools have banned it. Yet the Word of God endures.

There is an immense amount of power in the Word of God, hence the need to use it with an authoritative voice.

“For the Word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.” (Heb 4:12).

We are fully equipped using God’s Word! “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.” (2Tim 3:16,17).