A Nugget from New Life Network
(by Dr. Larry Ollison)
Scripture for the Day (May 13, 2016)
“Behold, I give you 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)
In Luke 10:19 Jesus gave authority to the seventy disciples He sent out. Then in Mark 16:17-18, Jesus gave this same authority to everyone who believes in Him. When Jesus gave believers this authority, He was giving the authority to the church. Christians are the church. When you accept Jesus as your Lord and Savior, your spirit within you becomes born again. You become a part of the church. When the Bible talks about the church, if you are a believer in Jesus, it’s talking about you. And, as a Christian, you are an heir to the authority Jesus gave.
So when Jesus said, “I give you authority …over all the power of the enemy,” He’s talking to you. As a believer you have been given authority over the demonic forces of this world. They are subject to you. Now, the devil doesn’t care if you have authority over him, as long as you don’t exercise it. As long as you stand idly by and let him destroy your home, finances, and body, he could care less how much authority you have. All that concerns him is whether or not you use it.
Once I substituted in a high school class for a day. When I went into the class, the students knew I had authority. They knew I had the authority to expel them from class and to give them a failing grade for that day. But, they were not sure if I knew I had authority or if I would use it. So, they pushed just a little. They started making a few noises. When I didn’t make them stop, they started getting a little louder. Eventually they were almost out of control. Then, I used my authority and got the class back in line. But it wasn’t easy. I had let things get so far out of hand that it took all the class time just to get things under control. If I had used my authority in the beginning, things would have never gotten out of control in the first place.
Satan is just like that high school class. He knows we have authority over him. He knows that with a word we can expel him. He knows that if we know our place in the body of Christ and operate in the anointing and authority that has been given to us, he will be ineffective in his attacks on us. So, he tests us to see if we know we have the authority. And, if we know we have it, he tests us to see if we will use it.
We should walk daily in our authority. We should keep things under control. When we allow things to get to the limit, we usually act out of desperation rather than authority.
Ephesians 1:22-23 tells us that we are the body and Jesus is the head. Verse 22 says that God has put all things – principalities, powers, might and dominion and everything that has a name – under the feet of Jesus. The feet are a part of the body. As the body of Christ, as believers, the enemy is under our feet. (See Psalm 91:13; Romans 16:20.)
Satan has been defeated, but he hasn’t yet been destroyed. You must take authority over him daily. And you can. Jesus gave you that authority.
For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh: (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;) Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ; (2 Corinthians 10:3-5)
