SATURDAY, DECEMBER 7, 2024
IT’S ALL IN HIS NAME – Pastor Chris
And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils…(Mark 16:17).
When it comes to exercising your authority in Christ, it’s important to understand that you’re not doing it in your name but in the Name of Jesus. The focus is on Jesus. He didn’t say, “These signs shall follow them that believe they can do it”; no! Rather, He said it will “follow them that believe”; believe what? The Gospel!
As a christian, you’re qualified, empowered, authorized and accredited to cast out devils, heal the sick, cleanse the lepers and raise the dead. So, it’s not about your ability but the authority of the one who designated you to do it. His Name is Jesus, and He has all power in heaven and in the earth. He said in Matthew 28:18, “…All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth.” Hallelujah!
On the basis of that authority, He said to us in the ensuing verse 19, “Go ye therefore, and teach all nations….” You represent Him. He’s given you the legal authority, the power of attorney, to act in His stead. When you speak, when you make demands or issue decrees to demons and circumstances in the Name of Jesus, they hear and obey you as though Jesus Himself were speaking.
Because you’re the “believing” one, and Jesus Christ is Lord of your life and you’ve received eternal life into your spirit, you don’t need to exercise any more believing or faith to cast out devils. Just exercise the authority Christ has given you. Don’t try to believe; you already believe.
It often helps to use the traffic police officer at the road junction to explain this. All he does is motion to oncoming vehicles to stop and they grind to a halt. If they don’t, they’d face the wrath of the law. That officer doesn’t have to first “believe” he can get the vehicles to stop. By his physical ability or personal power, he can’t. But as long as he’s in that uniform, he has the authority of the state that he represents.
You sit on Jesus’ seat; that means you act in and by His authority. All creation—animate and inanimate—according to God’s sovereign decree have been commanded to hear and obey Jesus: “…and behold a voice out of the cloud, which said, This is my beloved Son, in whom l am well pleased; hear ye him” (Matthew 17:5). This applies to you because the Bible says, “…as he is, so are we in this world” (1 John 4:17), and we do all things in His Name. Blessed be God!
CONFESSION
I’ve been qualified, empowered, authorized and accredited to cast out devils, heal the sick, cleanse the lepers and raise the dead. My dominion over Satan and the principalities of darkness is absolute because I live in and by the authority of the Name of Jesus. I’m a victor now and always. Amen.
FURTHER STUDY:
Matthew 28:18-20
And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. 19 Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: 20 Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, [even] unto the end of the world. Amen.
Luke 10:19
Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you.
John 14:13-14
And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. 14 If ye shall ask any thing in my name, I will do [it].
DAILY SCRIPTURE READING
1-Year Bible Reading Plan:Jude & Daniel 9-10
2-Year Bible Reading Plan: Revelation 9:1-10 & Amos 7