A miniature Dachshund (pininterest)

Use your God-given Authority!

By Helen Jesze, 2018

“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,”

Luke 10, 19 KJV

“Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you,”

James 4, 7 KJV

“So let God work his will in you. Yell a loud no to the devil and watch him scamper,”

James 4,7 The Message Bible

We used to go to minister in a church in Giessen, Germany, and always stayed with the same family. Not only did we get to know the family, but also their brown Dachshund or “Sausage-dog” as we used to call him. When the father of the family would order him, he would run off with his tail between his legs, creep into his little wooden house in the kitchen and look out at us all. But when the grandchildren came and they would try to copy Grandad, the little dog just stayed where he was, almost smiling at them. What made the difference? The dog knew who really had authority over him, and that was Father, not the children!

George and I have been reading a Devotional book he was given for his birthday. This had been put together from writings and sermons by the famous English preacher Smith Wigglesworth, or The Apostle of Faith, as he was often called. One day Smith was standing at the bus-stop. Another lady joined the queue and after a few minutes, a small dog came and sat down by this lady. “Shoo! Go off home!” she said to the dog, but he ran off just a little way and then came back. This happened several times, until in desperation, for the bus was coming, the lady stamped her foot and shouted,”Go off home! Now!!”

Smith was watching this and he shouted out for everyone to hear: ”That’s what you’ve got to do with the devil! He comes uninvited and you’ve got to send him packing!”

Yes, indeed, the devil goes around as a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour, and we must resist him, steadfast in the faith. The devil also knows if we have recognised and taken the authority which Jesus has given to every born-again Believer to tell him to depart out of our lives. This authority is not of us, in our strength or human reasoning, but is given to us by our Master. He said all power had been given to him and he has relegated power to us as his children, that we might have victory over satan.

Unfortunately, we sometimes reverse the order. Instead of submitting to God and resisting the devil, we resist God and his working in our lives and submit to everything satan throws at us. This will bring us certain defeat. The authority which God has given us can only work correctly when we have put everything in our lives, our desires, dreams, aspirations, actions under the Lordship of Jesus. We read about Paul being used by God to heal and deliver people, and some men who tried to do the same.

“Then certain of the vagabond Jews, exorcists, took upon them to call over them which had evil spirits the Name of the Lord Jesus, saying, We adjure you by Jesus whom Paul preacheth. And there were seven sons of one Sceva, a Jew and chief of the priests, which did so. And the evil spirit answered and said, Jesus I know, and Paul I know; but who are ye?And the man in whom the evil spirit was leaped on them, and overcame them, and prevailed against them, so that they fled out of that house naked and wounded, “

Acts 19, 13-16 KJV

This shows us clearly that satan knows God’s children by name and those who have authority over him. He also knows those who are trying to do it ‘by proxy’, yet who are not washed in the blood of the Lamb, Christ Jesus, and are not under the Lordship of Jesus.

Prayer: Heavenly Father, we ask you today that by your Holy Spirit you would reveal more to us about the authority which we have been given as born-again Believers. We put on the spiritual armour from Ephesians 6, submit to you anew today, acknowledging and making you Lord over all we have and are, and resist the workings of satan in our lives. He must flee, for your Word has promised us this! So we thank you and praise you for victories in areas where we have not seen it before! Faithful is He who has promised, who also will do it! In the Name of Jesus we pray, Amen.