God Says You Have All Authority

The bridal paradigm message is shouting out that each believer as the bride of Christ has an inheritance and where that authority through our inheritance begins.

God gave humans the ability to make choices. This is a great act of devotion towards the human race. God is looking for voluntary lovers and followers who will operate in the dominion that God has given them. Dominion simply means you have all authority. What power and glory was given to humanity! Our greatest source of power and authority rests on the shoulders of intercession.

First Century Authority and Power Has Not Changed

As the bride of Christ, we must embrace the spirit of intercession through Jesus, the Chief Intercessor. Jesus’ job description in heaven is that of the premier intercessor. It could be said that this is what Jesus lives for. Up to this point in history, the bride of Christ has seldom stepped into her role as an intercessor. As the bride of Christ, we need to know that all of our authority and protection rests on the shoulders of our intercession.  This is why God is raising up houses of prayer throughout the earth.

The first century church apostles ignited a devotion to prayer and the Word of God (see Acts 2:42; 6:4). If the church apostles spent a normal eight-hour day in ministry, they spent 4 hours per day in prayer. It is amazing that we currently see little authority and power over the Enemy. The difference between the Church of today and the early Church is one thing: prayer! Prayer was the fuel that catapulted Peter from the upper room to preaching so that 3000 people received salvation (see Acts 1:14; 2:41-42).

My Daughter-In-Law Julissa

Today we are less concerned about church leadership having a deep devotion to God’s word and intercession and more concerned that church leaders are organized, are counselors, and are individuals with soul-winning charm and personalities that draw people to the church.

Jesus Speaks of Night-and-Day Prayer

In Luke 18, Jesus provokes His disciples by challenging their traditions. He asks, “When the Son of Man comes, will He find faith on the earth?” (Luke 18:8). His question is a warning to Christians who would limit the power of God at the end of the age. Jesus is calling us to resist our powerless traditions; He is asking us individually, “Will I find faith in you?”

Jesus clearly states in Luke 18 that night-and-day prayer is the fuel that will drive His justice. Jesus deliberately equates “faith” with “night-and-day prayer.” To Jesus, they are inseparable. Jesus did not ask, “Will I find programs implemented? Will you be in board meetings? Will I find your doctrine correct?” What we believe is quite important, but it never rises above the spirit of intercession.

If we are going to step into the authority that we have been given then we can expect the supernatural move of God to be imparted on our behalf as we encounter night-and-day prayer and in particular when we do “not lose heart” (see Luke 18:1).

Jesus demonstrates the importance of our authority through intercession by giving a parable about a widow who petitioned a judge who had no respect for man, much less God (see Luke 18:1-8). Because she continued to cry out, the judge gave her the legal protection that was legally hers. God gives us legal right to wear Him out (see Luke 18:5). Jesus concluded by saying, And the Lord said, “Listen to what the unjust judge says. And will not God bring about justice for his chosen ones, who cry out to him day and night? Will he keep putting them off? I tell you, he will see that they get justice, and quickly (Luke 18:6-8).

I Must Have More of God

It is significant that Jesus compared His elect to a widow harassed by an Enemy. The widow has legitimate reasons to quit, but she prevails instead. She refuses to remove herself from her highest potential simply because of her lowly state. She makes no apologies for her lack of finances, wisdom, or charisma. Giving herself no reason to fail, she boldly states her case before the judge where she pleads for and receives what is hers: legal protection from her opponent.

Being Desperate Defines Your Authority.

How did a common widow gain such authority? We can imagine that there must have been a time when, under the relentless pressure of her adversary, she became desperate, and desperation worked to her advantage. Desperation is God’s mallet. It demolishes the stronghold of fear and shatters the chains of our excuses. When our desperation exceeds our fears, the kingdom of God advances.

Your desperation for God provides the legal protection that the widow pleaded for. You are the widow who has now received all power and authority to defeat the enemy of God. As we are relentless through intercession, we will see the justice of God released on our behalf into all the earth! As we persevere, let us keep praying and never settle for failure. For, this is what the bride of Christ does. She stays on the wall of intercession moving in her authority and prays for justice!

Focus Your Authority

Through the spirit of intercession and boldness, the church is beginning to take our position seriously as we stand against the enemy of God. The problem, historically, has been where we place our focus. We place our time, energy, and spiritual resources on the devil instead of on the majesty and beauty of God. You have to admire the admonition that James gives us.

Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Come near to God and he will come near to you (James 4:7-8 NIV).

The first thing that we are commanded to do is to submit to God. Remember the word submit means to agree with God.

When, in the midst of spiritual warfare, there are 10 minutes devoted to Satan and 2 minutes given to declare who God is, this is not submitting to God. But, as you engage in the beauty of God, remember that He will, from time to time, prompt us to speak directly to the Enemy. But, this is not our focus and concentration.

All of our protection and authority rest on intercession and meditation as we draw near to God and focus on His nature and character.

Given Protection and Authority

When Christ died on the cross, heaven made a declaration of truth. The debt that we owed was canceled, and we were brought from death into life. Along with our sins being forgiven, this decree also declared and guaranteed protection for the bride of Christ. This eternal shield provides guaranteed protection from the enemy of God. What does this mean? This means that we not only have eternal protection from the enemy of God but we have complete and full authority over him.

When you were dead in your sins and in the un-circumcision of your flesh God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins, having canceled the written code, with its regulations, that was against us and that stood opposed to us; he took it away, nailing it to the cross. And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross (Colossians 2:13-15).

We, as believers and followers of God, stand on Jesus’ “ceiling.” The things that Jesus contended to bring from heaven to earth have become the foundation that we stand upon. Jesus’ death on the cross, and His ascension from the dead, have given us the ability to stand on His power and authority. We have been given ultimate authority to engage in spiritual warfare against the enemy of God. Our greatest and most powerful source of spiritual warfare is declaring God’s word of truth against all evil and ushering in God’s justice to the earth through intercession.