|
|
|
|
|
|
|
STRAIGHT
FROM THE PULPIT Pastor Larry Gatlin, So Oregon |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Knowing Your Authority in
Christ: What a topic,
To know your authority in Christ is to know Him. I could never exercise any authority outside of having a
deep personal and intimate relationship with the Lord. There is an old
classic song from the “60s” that said, “To know, know, know, him is to Love,
Love, Love him. Just to see Him smile makes my life worth while. To Know,
Know, Know him, is to Love, Love, Love him and I do, and I do, yes I do.” I know what
you’re thinking, “Pastor Larry has lost
his ever loving mind!” But the truth is -
I’ve finally come into my right mind. The only way that I could ever
fully realize the authority of Christ in my life is if I truly know Him.
There are many people who know about Him, and there are those who
know who He is. There are those who have been forgiven of their sins and on
their way to glory; but, How many can truly say I know Him in true intimacy? In order to
walk in authority it is crucial to know the person that you are walking with.
In Amos 3:3 we are asked the question, can two walk together unless they agree?
Coming into agreement is a big deal with God. Until I come into agreement
with the Lord and His Word I surely won’t be able to walk in all that He has
for me. So first if we are to walk in His authority we must walk in agreement
with His Word. Too often we try to make the word say what we want it to say.
But to walk in agreement we must adhere to all of Gods Word. Jesus
proclaimed that all authority had been given to Him. Matt 28:18 - Mark 1:1 18 Then
Jesus came to them and said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has
been given to me. 19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them
in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and
teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with
you always, to the very end of the age."
NIV If I agree with
that, then I must understand that because He abides in me by the work of the
Holy Spirit, that I have access to His authority. I must allow His authority
to work in me and through me. An important
scripture to look at is Eph. 2:6 Eph 2:6-10 And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the
heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, 7 in order that in the
coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in
his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. 8 For it is by grace
you have been saved, through faith-and this not from yourselves, it is the
gift of God- 9 not by works, so that no one can boast. 10 For we
are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God
prepared in advance for us to do. NIV I want you to
take a close look at something here in these verses. It declares that we are seated
with Christ in the Heavenly places. Not that we are somewhere far off
or He is way up yonder somewhere; but we are seated WITH Him. The word with means, beside, by, among, as well
as, together with, and including. I give you these definitions to point out
that we are seated with Him. Because we are seated with Him and not far away
from Him we have immediate and total access to the throne of God. Where
anything can and will happen for those who BELIEVE. Another
scripture I want us to look at before we finish this article is, Phil. 4:13, “I can do all things through Christ who
strengthens me.” The Amplified version
says, “who
interfuses His strength into me.”
How could He do that if we weren’t, in agreement, seated with, and walking in
true intimacy with Him? The answer
is simple, we couldn’t. But when we do we have full access to all of the
Authority that is Christ’s. I guess that
there is one more thing we should mention. Walking in the Authority of Christ
is like learning to walk in the natural. I don’t run first. Usually a baby crawls,
then they walk, and then they run. It’s a process. If I want to start an
exercise program, I don’t start with the heaviest weight that I can find. I
start wit a lighter weight and work up. But the more I work out and lift
weights, the stronger I get, until I can lift weights that are far beyond
what I started with. But I must exercise on a regular basis. I can’t just
exercise one day and then skip a month. I must be consistent. It is the same
with the Authority of Christ. I must exercise it on a consistent basis. We’ve
all heard the phrase, “use it or loose it”, it is true in Spiritual matters
as well. Exercise the authority of Christ on a regular basis and
it will flow much easier for you. Pastor Larry |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
