Apostolic Authority Through Submission

The title of this post is oxymoronic to the natural mind, but to the spiritual mind it makes complete Biblical sense. (See 1 Corinthians 2:14) Most of us (if we’re honest) want to have authority. What most people miss about authority however, is that it comes with responsibility. This is true whether it is the authority of a corporate officer or authority granted to a Believer. Most who have received authority though, will usually come to recognize the responsibility they have because of their authority.

Let’s concentrate upon the authority given to Believers. It’s true that with authority there is responsibility, but what most believers miss is that there is no true Biblical Apostolic authority in the Spirit without a key component. I am not speaking of “positional authority” that is given to a Pastor or deacon, etc. in the local Church. I am talking about the authority in the spirit realm that every born again, Holy Ghost filled Believer is supposed to have.

Jesus tells His disciples in Luke 10:17-20 that He gives us authority over Satan and his demon minions. He reiterates this in Mark 16:14-18 when He says …”these signs will follow those who believe: in My Name they will cast out demons; they will speak with new tongues; 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.” (Mark 16:17-18 NKJV)

So why do so many Apostolic Churches and Believers seem to have absolutely no authority in the spirit? They may go through the motions of speaking with authority and claiming authority over spiritual attacks, but the lack of results is very telling. I believe there is a very simple explanation for this lack of authority. You should be able to guess by my title, what I believe the answer is.

Matthew and Luke tell the story of a Centurion of the Roman Army who sent elders of the Jews to Jesus to ask Him to heal a servant who was sick and near to death. So Jesus begins to head with them to the Centurion’s house. But when the Centurion heard that Jesus was coming to his house, he sent friends to Him saying in effect, Lord the reason I did not come in person to ask is I am not worthy for you to come to my house. Also, I realize the authority that you possess and that all you need do is to speak the word and my servant will be healed. This story is told in most detail in Luke 7:1-10.

The amazing thing about this story is how the Centurion explains that he understands Jesus’ authority. He said “for I also am a man placed under authority, having soldiers under me. And I say to one, ‘Go,’ and he goes; and to another, ‘Come.’ and he comes; and to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.” (Luke 7:8 NKJV)

The Centurion recognized that the only reason he had authority over his soldiers was because he was in submission to the officers placed over him and indeed to the Roman Caesar. Without this submission, the Centurion would have not had any authority.

I believe this is where so many Believers miss it in today’s society and culture that teaches us it is all about me. The fact is you may know all the right words to say, even the right Scripture to quote, but if you are not in submission to the authorities God has placed in your life, you have no personal authority in the spirit realm. (Brings to mind the sons of Sceva. See Acts 19:13-16)

So the obvious question is who is my authority to submit to? There are actually several and they are all equally important to be submitted to. Obviously we must be submitted to Jesus Christ as our LORD and His Word (this means being intellectually honest with Scripture and not simply choosing the parts we like and ignoring what we dislike). We must be submitted to our Pastor. Children should be submitted to their parents. Husbands are to be submitted to Christ and the Pastor. Wives are to be submitted to their husband, Pastor and Christ. For the sake of brevity, I will not get into more detail of who or what we should submit to.

The Biblical fact is; Jesus has given His disciples authority over the enemy and power to lay hands on the sick and they should be healed (Obviously God has the final say as to who He chooses to heal). So, again the obvious question comes; why do so few Churches and believers have no authority. Answer: Because they have no submission. If every believer, from the Pastor of the Church down to the newest convert would learn submission to their authority, we would then experience the power of the First Church. There would be signs and wonders following, the world would know us by our love for one another, there would be END TIME revival and harvest in our communities.

As for me, I’ve determined that I will submit myself wholly to my LORD, to my Pastor, to my Presbyter and District officials along with the National officials and to anyone they should place in authority over me. I am ready for a revival in my life and in my Church and communities. So LORD, put me on the Potter’s wheel and do what You know must be done to bring me into total submission to the authorities You’ve placed over me. Then, I will know true Apostolic Authority through Submission.

Trust God… What does it mean to you?

Perhaps the word trust may have a variety of meanings to various people. According to my dictionary it means; firm belief in the reliability, truth, ability, or strength of someone or something.

I have proclaimed many times that I trust God. I have also found many times, that when the bank account met the life circumstance, that I have lacked the trust I thought that I had. These last few months have provided me a unique opportunity that (while not enjoyable) has allowed me the privilege of knowing that I can and do trust God to provide for me. For the first time in my life, it took me about six months to replace the job that ended when my company closed down. This past week I started training for the new job.

Then this past Sunday Bro. Godwin was preaching and said something to the effect that the wall was coming down to expand the sanctuary. I resisted the impulse twice, but on the third impulse I ran off the platform and instead of using the steps, I leapt (a lot higher than I realized) off the stage to run. Unfortunately my bad knees finally caught up with me and I simply went to the ground when my right knee collapsed upon landing.

I managed to drag myself to the sound booth and endured the rest of service in agony as I did not wish to distract from the service. ( my thanks to Bro. Craig Johnston for praying for me in the booth as the worst of the pain left) So, after service I went to the ER as my knee was quite swollen and painful, not to mention when I would attempt to put weight upon it, the bones would feel as though they were separating. The ER doctor took X-rays and determined there was no bone damage and said that it was probably a case of torn ligaments or cartilage. He said it would take an MRI to determine the damage.

Since I have no insurance or money, that was the extent of the advice. He did give me a referral to a free clinic however. Of course the clinic has no MRI and the doctor, who hardly looked at the knee, told me it was probably just a bad sprain (which would be good) but that it’s too swollen to do an MRI anyway and to just stay off of it for at least two weeks and see what happened.

This news of course didn’t work with my new job as they needed someone now and someone who can stand and walk. So, the new job is now the old job.

Now, you may think I said all of that to evoke sympathy or that I am telling a “woe is me” story, but not so. I am simply saying that I have learned through these experiences that I TRUST GOD to see me through. Everybody wants to experience a miracle but no one wants to NEED a miracle. Like the old saying; “everybody wants to go to heaven, but no one wants to die to get there.”

Well, I can truly say that the peace of God passes all understanding. Even today, after having looked at my bills, etc. I realize that I am not worried because I know that no matter what circumstances are in my life, God is right here with me as well. What more do I need? It is a truly liberating feeling to realize that the things of this life are truly temporal and cannot measure up to what God has in store for me and for Dallas First Church. (Trust in God is not just trusting Him when He works everything out the way we want them. Trust means that even if our world seems to fall apart; we lose a job, house, car, whatever the case may be, if we truly trust our God then we know it will work out for our good). (Romans 8:28)

Dallas First Church has undergone some pretty extreme things with the circumstances in Pastors life and his health. But God’s not finished yet! The Revival and Harvest that God has promised DFC has already begun.

In fact, since I can not stand or walk without crutches and not far at that, I now have more time for prayer and Bible. So the end result of this knee injury may or may not be bad financially, but the spiritual side….

I can truly say, God is Good All The Time. I cant wait to see what He is going to do at Dallas First Church. The promises have been given and God is not a man that He should lie. What remains to be seen is; will we step up and be the men and women of God He’s called us to be? Pastor needs us more than ever to step up and be the Leaders he has trained us to be.

Now is the time to stand up and fight hell in the Power of the Spirit. Now is the time to pray like never before. Now is the time to believe God like never before. Now is the time to witness like never before. Now is the time to worship in our services like never before. Now is the time to be expectant (eagerly anticipate) of what God’s about to fulfill at Dallas First Church. Now is the time to TRUST our God. We have a choice before us; to be a part of the work or to simply be spectators. The choice is ours to make.