And when he had called unto him his twelve disciples, he gave them power against unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal all manner of sickness and all manner of disease.
Matthew 10:1
Did you notice that that Jesus “gave them power”. He did not keep all of the power for Himself forcing us to cry out to Him every time we need His touch.
Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out devils: freely ye have received, freely give.
Matthew 10:8
I find it interesting how Jesus worded this command. He did not tell His disciple too fast, pray, or cry out to Him. He told them that they were to “heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, and cast out devils”.
In verse 1 He gave them power to cast out unclean spirits and to heal all manner of sicknesses and all manner of diseases.
In verse 8 He told them to do something with the power that had been delegated.
This is something that seems to be missed by many Christians. Jesus did not tell the disciples too fast and pray. He told them to do something with the power that had been given them.
Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever.
Hebrews 13:8
The writer of Hebrews tells us that Jesus has not changed. In my mind this would mean that His command to the disciples would be relevant for us as well.
I feel that it is interesting Jesus did not tell His disciple to pray for the sick. There is also no indication that I’ve been able to find that indicates Jesus or the disciples prayed for the sick. We do see however that they spoke to sicknesses and commanded the lame to walk.
Let me provide a caution before we proceed. The authority and power we are called to exercise are not ours. They were not given to make any of us a household name.
I have heard ministers brag about the manifestations occurring in their meetings. We need to be be extremely cautious when stepping into the things of God.
And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light. Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness; whose end shall be according to their works.
2 Corinthians 11:14-15
It is obvious that some of the manifestations occurring in our meetings are not godly. When the Spirit of God begins to more we will see manifestations of the flesh and Satan as well.
So Jesus delegated authority to the Church but not for our personal gain. Many have fallen as a result of trying to manipulate the power of God. This is why we must develop a habit of daily communion with the Holy Spirit. It is in these times of fellowship that our self nature is brought under His controls.
If we want to walk in authority the way Peter did, we will have to put our flesh nature under the control of the Spirit. The old timers used to call this dying to self. This is not a popular thing to say today. People don’t like to talk about “dying to self” because it makes them uncomfortable.
Christianity is not supposed to always be comfortable. Ministers strive to make their services as non confrontational as possible. The term “seeker friendly” is often used to describe these meetings. If you are going to walk in Christian authority you must be willing to let go of the concept of non-confrontational Christianity.
We will pick up our discussion at this point in the next post. Thank you for stopping by today. If this post has been a blessing please share our blog with your friends and family.
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