Matthew 28:18-20 And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen.

We are giving away our authorities in many ways in our lives

  • Many have relinquished our God-given authority and have given it to the worldly “experts”
  • g. CNA featured a multi-million industry in Asian to raise Super kids to become CEOs

Judges 2:10 When all that generation had been gathered to their fathers, another generation arose after them who did not know the Lord nor the work which He had done for Israel.

  • Joshua Generation has seen the works of God but the new generation did not know the Lord
  • This is not a message of condemnation, of blame or accusation. This is a message to tell us we still have time to take back this authority and win back our generations to GOD.
  1. Reclaim God’s Authority

We have lost God’s Authority in the Beginning.

  • Genesis 1:28 Then God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”
  • Adam and Eve lost the authority of dominion that God gave to them because they disobeyed.

In the New Testament, Satan tempted Jesus by talking about his authority or dominion.

  • Luke 4:5-7 And the devil said to Him, “All this authority I will give You, and their glory; for this has been delivered to me, and I give it to whomever I wish. Therefore, if You will worship before me, all will be Yours.” Matthew 4:9 Jesus said to him, “Go, Satan! For it is written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God, and serve Him only.’”
  • Jesus rebutted Satan with the Word of God for the WORD of GOD is GOD’s given authority.

We lose our authority when we sin and when we give away our authority to the devil.

  • We lose GOD-given authority if we go after worldly things and its glory, and we will give the devil a foothold because we are indirectly serving the world, worshiping the world, and listening to what the world tells us and not the WORD of GOD
  • The opposite of sin is obedience and submission to God.

Jesus’ death took back the authority of Satan, and the authority over sin.

  • Hebrews 9:12-28 He has appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself. And as it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment, so Christ was offered once to bear the sins of many… Ephesians 1:22 And He put all things under His feet, and gave Him to be head over all things to the church.
  • Romans 6:6 knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin… Romans 6:14 Sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under law but under grace.
  • John 20:17 but go to My brethren and say to them, ‘I am ascending to My Father and your Father, and to My God and your God.’
  • Jesus gave us the authority to be children of God, when He spoke to Mary, He didn’t just refer God as “My Father” and “My God”, but He also used “Your Father” and “Your God”.
  • The devil has no authority over us unless we give it to him.
  1. Exercise Godly Authority

We can exercise Godly authority by exercising HIS authority that was given to us.

  • John 20:21 Jesus said to them again, “Peace to you! As the Father has sent Me, I also send you.” Luke 10:19 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… Mathew 28:18 make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you
  • God’s authority is found in His word and His works, and when we obey, GOD will be with us
  • HE has given us HIS authority to reach out, to make disciples, teaching them to be Christ-like

Exercise Godly Authority as Christ Followers

  • Luke 9:1 Then He called His twelve disciples together and gave them power and authority over all demons, and to cure diseases.
  • To make disciples, we have to first become one, then to our family, children, and the seekers

Exercise Godly Authority as Husbands and Wives

  • 1 Corinthians 11:3 But I want you to know that the head of every man is Christ, the head of woman is man, and the head of Christ is God.
  • Men and women are equal in GOD’s eyes, but we do have different roles
    • From the OT: Adam was formed before Eve and formed differently
    • From the NT: The Christian husband is the authority in every Christian household
  • In a Christian marriage, it’s 3-in-1 [Husband, Wife and the Holy Spirit]
    • Just as the Trinity are equal but GOD is the Head and CHRIST submits to HIM and the HOLY Spirit does the implementation and yet they are ONE.
    • The rightful authority structure that the God has ordained is: The headship of men is not Lordship. It is leadership through love and humility, respect and honour
  • The wives shall not be the neck of the head of the household
    • Revelation 2:20 Nevertheless I have a few things against you, because you allow that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess, to teach and seduce My servants to commit sexual immorality and eat things sacrificed to idols
    • Jezebel dominates her husband Ahab causing him to sin against the Lord
    • Jezebel spirit is a spirit of dominance and manipulation to achieve her desired end
    • Jezebel spirit is not limited to women only as men can possess the same spirit

Exercise Godly Authority as Parents

  • Deuteronomy 6:6-7 And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise.
  • Proverbs 22:6 Train up a child in the way (GOD’s way not the child’s talent or strength) he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.
  • We cannot leave the building of values and character of our children to the world.
  • Proverbs 19.18 “Discipline your son while there is hope, And do not desire his death (NASB), or set your heart on putting him to death, (ESV) or be a willing party to their death (NIV).
  • How Jesus was raised as a child – Luke 2:40 “And the Child grew and became strong in spirit, filled with wisdom; and the grace of God was upon Him.”

 

It is time for us to re-orientate our roles and to make sure that we operate according to God’s word. It’s time to take back and exercise our GOD-given authority.