The
authority you walk in is based on ownership… it is based on covenant. Paul wrote by The Holy Spirit in 2
Corinthians chapter 6:
14
Do not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers. For what fellowship has
righteousness with lawlessness? And what communion has light with darkness? 15
And what accord has Christ with Belial? Or what part has a believer with an
unbeliever? 16 And what agreement has the temple of God with idols? For you are the temple of the living God.
As God has said:
“I
will dwell in them
And
walk among them.
I
will be their God,
And
they shall be My people.”
17
Therefore
“Come
out from among them
And
be separate, says the Lord.
Do
not touch what is unclean,
And
I will receive you.”
18
“I will be a Father to you,
And you shall
be My sons and daughters”,
Says
the LORD Almighty.
Holiness
is about ownership and relationship with Our Heavenly Father. We are
to be set apart from the world and not allow ourselves to submit to the
unclean. Don’t continue to team up with
unbelievers in mismatched alliances, for what partnership is there between
righteousness and rebellion? Who could mingle light with darkness? What harmony can there be between Christ and
Satan? Or what does a believer have in common with an unbeliever? What friendship does God’s Temple have with
demons? We must not allow ourselves to
be unequally yoked with the world in any manner.
It
is written by The Holy Spirit in Acts chapter 19:
11
Now God worked unusual miracles by the hands of Paul, 12 so that even
handkerchiefs or aprons were brought from his body to the sick, and the
diseases left them and the evil spirits went out of them. 13 Then some of the
itinerant Jewish exorcists took it upon themselves to call the name of the Lord
Jesus over those who had evil spirits, saying, “We exorcise you by the Jesus
whom Paul preaches.” 14 Also there were seven sons of Sceva, a Jewish chief
priest, who did so.
15
And the evil spirit answered and said, “Jesus
I know, and Paul I know; but who are you?”
16
Then the man in whom the evil spirit was leaped on them, overpowered them, and
prevailed against them, so that they fled out of that house naked and wounded.
Demons
know your authority and they also know whether you realize and walk in that
authority. In the above passage, the
sons of Sceva were not believers but tried to walk in the authority of
believers. The result… they were beat up
badly. They had no authority over demons
and as a result they suffered the consequences.
They knew the Law of Moses for their father was a Jewish chief priest
but that knowledge did not help them in dealing with the demon.
What
was the result of their encounter? The
demons admitted to the power and authority of the Name of Jesus thus the
authority of the name of Jesus was exalted:
17
This became known both to all Jews and Greeks dwelling in Ephesus; and fear
fell on them all, and the name of the Lord Jesus was magnified. 18 And many who
had believed came confessing and telling their deeds. 19 Also, many of those
who had practiced magic brought their books together and burned them in the
sight of all. And they counted up the value of them, and it totaled fifty
thousand pieces of silver. 20 So the word of the Lord grew mightily and
prevailed.
Sorcery
is defined as magic; enchantment; witchcraft; divination be the assistance of
evil spirits, or the power of commanding evil spirits. It is a work of the flesh and is included in
Galatians chapter 5:
19
Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery, fornication,
uncleanness, lewdness, 20 idolatry, sorcery,
hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions,
dissensions, heresies, 21 envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like;
of which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told you in time past, that those who practice such things will
not inherit the kingdom of God.
We
are instructed to give preeminence to the Name of Jesus for He alone was worthy
to be our sacrifice. We now have the
same power and authority as He has when we walk as Sons and Daughters. As we renew our minds to this reality, our
confidence will grow to the point of full maturity and we will not be hesitant
when we come face to face with demons.
We
must not let our mind’s soulish logic and reasoning hold has back from this
important Truth.
In
the Great Commission found in Mark chapter 16, Jesus spoke:
15
And He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every
creature. 16 He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not
believe will be condemned. 17 And these signs will follow those who believe: In
My name they will cast out demons; they will speak with new tongues; 18 they
will take up serpents; and if they drink anything deadly, it will by no means
hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover.”
What
was the first confirming sign of power and authority? We are to take authority over demons and cast
them out of people. This authority is
one aspect of authentication that the lost need to see which separates us from
the religions of the world. Let us
expect and embrace this power and authority given to us. There is a desperate world out there that
needs us, now!