Reign In Your Authority

Are you aware that the same power the Lord spoke about in Luke is the same power that we have over the enemy? 

“Behold, I give you the authority to trample on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall by any means hurt you” Luke 10:19.

How often do we disqualify ourselves from that truth by believing the lies from the enemy?

“If you have that authority, why isn’t it working?”

“That was for the people in Jesus’ time.”

“There is sin in your life, so that negates any authority you think you have.”

If you study the scriptures, you quickly realize that the authority Jesus promised is for every believer. The secret is to recognize that you have it and it is given as a gift from God.

Reign In Your God-Given Authority

One of the key ways the enemy keeps this truth from you is to keep you in fear of losing your authority because of sin in your life.

Remember that when Satan wants to throw your past in your face, you can remind him of his future. He has been stripped of all authority he once had. 

Another way we may disqualify ourselves from living in victory is to constantly recognize and then give the enemy a pathetic form of praise when he makes you believe he is out to get you.

Do any of these statements sound familiar?

“Please pray for me, I am under attack.”

“I have been fighting a spiritual battle all day and I feel defeated and weak.”

Any thought or statement we make where we are giving the devil top billing is a lie from the pit of hell. Everyone has those types of thoughts, but it is what we do with them when we hear them that makes all the difference.

God needs to be recognized in our lives – not the devil. He has given us the power, the authority, the Name of Jesus, the Blood of Jesus, and the Living Word of God that unequivocally states that we have the authority over him – not the other way around.

STOP recognizing Satan in your life and start recognizing God and His promises and your life will make a dramatic turnaround.

When you understand that Jesus Christ fought and won the battle and the enemy is a defeated foe, you will no longer make those declarations.

The Battle Has Been Won

The battle is won because we grasp the truth that Jesus paid the price for us. We will then stop talking about the enemy’s ploys and start praising God that we are victorious.

When he tries to usurp your authority, remember that you are in the driver’s seat.  You can buy the thought or the lie or you can dismiss it with the Word of God, the same way Jesus did when he was tempted by Satan.

Romans 16:20 says that the God of peace will crush Satan underneath your feet. He is defeated. He is a defeated foe. See him for who he is and see Christ in your life for who He is.

Throughout the Bible, we are assured that the enemy is beneath us. We are NOT at the mercy of the devil’s attacks.

You are victorious because of Christ and what He did for you. You are not at the mercy of the enemy. We exercise our authority when we realize we are in an offensive position – not a defensive one.

"Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put out the sword, having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and having charged your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace, above all, taking the shield of faith, with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one"  Ephesians 6:14-17.

“But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in sins, made us alive together with Christ and has raised us up together and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus” Ephesians 2:4 – 6.

Why Many Christians Are Defeated

Many Christians are defeated because they struggle to qualify for God’s blessings through their works. That self-effort will rob you of reigning in life by God’s grace.

If salvation comes to us by grace through faith, why is it difficult for many to believe for ‘lesser’ miracles such as healing, provision, or restored relationships?

It is NOT about your work or performance, but Jesus’ finished work. Not only did He sit down at the Father’s right hand but Ephesians tells us He also made us sit with Jesus. Imagine!

The term sitting down is a picture of us, as believers, resting in the perfect and finished work of Jesus. Christ did it for us so we can rest in that truth. 

This does not mean that we passively go through life doing nothing but when we understand who we are because of what Christ did for us, it stirs a passion in us to want to do more – to read the Bible more, to pray more, to help others more, to share Jesus more. And it affects every area of our lives – our home, our relationship, our job, etc.

The apostle Paul, a preacher of God’s grace and the finished work of Jesus said that he “labored more abundantly than they all” I Corinthians 15:10. Realize that God blesses you first and that knowledge of His blessing empowers you to labor more abundantly. 

In other words, we do not work to get blessed but we have the power to work because we are already blessed. 

The work was accomplished on the cross. Receive it with an open heart. Receive His abundance of grace and His gift of righteousness. Sit down and reign in His presence in all areas of your life. 

Stop trying to earn God’s grace and righteousness and begin to thank Him that it is already yours. This is the secret to success and victorious living.