In Luke chapter 15 Jesus tells the story of the prodigal son. This son was taught well by his father all of his life. The father taught his son how to live a good life and expected him to follow that teaching. The father expected his son not only to hear his words of instruction but he also expected his son to actually do what he was taught. Instead the son rejected his father’s wisdom and chose to take his own path.
When the prodigal son finally returned to his father after his life of immorality he was also turning himself back over to the words, teaching, instruction and correction of his father. It was a realization that his father was right. It was a decision to return to his father’s ways. Repentance did not come when he thought about going home. Repentance didn’t come when he made the decision to go home. Repentance did not come when he told other people about his decision. The moment that the prodigal son took his first step toward home was the moment of repentance. When the son finally saw his father he confessed to him that he had sinned against him. Repentance had already taken place and now was the moment of confession.
In our culture a criminal may confess to a crime but not be repentant of that crime. We do ourselves an injustice buy calling this a confession. This is not a confession. It is simply a statement of fact. Sometimes we may confess to a wrongdoing to each other or even to God but not be repentant of that wrongdoing. This also is not a confession. It is a simple statement of fact. True confession is the result of repentance. It comes after repentance, not before. True confession is not possible without repentance.
In Matthew 3:2 John the Baptist taught repentance, not confession. In Matthew 4:17 Jesus began his ministry buy telling people to repent, not to confess. In Acts chapter 2 and chapter 3 Peter preached repentance, not confession. In Acts chapter 8 Peter told Simon the sorcerer to repent, not to confess. There was and there is no need to teach confession because it is simply a by-product of repentance. Just as love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self control are all fruits of the Spirit it can be said that confession is a fruit of repentance.
When Jesus told the parable of the prodigal son He was speaking to a generation of people that were familiar with the law and the words of the Father. They were raised up and taught the traditions of their people and the law of God by their parents, the synagogue and teachers of the law. Everyone in the community was aware of what was expected of them by God. It was not a foreign concept.. They new exactly what Jesus meant when he instructed them to repent. He was telling them to return to the lifestyle prescribed by the Father. This was a lifestyle of which they were all familiar.
At the time of repentance some people know very little of what God expects of them. But they are repenting with the small amount of understanding that they have. Others know a lot more regarding what God expects of them and they are also repenting based on their understanding as well. Repentance is the same for both individuals but yet both may look very different in their walk. According to Philippians 2:12 we are each to work out our salvation with fear and trembling.
Repentance is evidenced by obedience. As we learn what God expects of us, we change our ways to align ourselves with His will. Too many people have the impression that our sin nature and our flesh’s desire to sin will just shrivel up and die because we have repented or that it will die simply by reading the Bible. Obedience requires hard work and renewing our minds. It requires careful study followed up by action. It requires thoughtful decision making. It’s not always an easy process but it is very rewarding as our God rewards those who diligently seek Him (Hebrews 11:6).
God’s love for those who have made Him Lord is absolutely unconditional. Romans 5:6 says that while we were still powerless and without strength, Christ died for the ungodly. In Matthew 5:45 Jesus said that God Himself causes the sun to rise and the rain to fall on both the just and the unjust. If God moves on behalf of the ungodly in such a loving manner, as Christians we have got to get it into our hearts and understand that we are safely and securely in His care.
A Christian who feels guilty after committing a sin is not feeling the same hell-bound condemnation that was once his or her fate prior to conversion. Instead, this feeling of guilt is an automatic response to the act of sin which no longer is the dominating force in the life of the Christian. The act of sin is foreign now. Sin is so foreign that when it is present it sticks out like a sore thumb. It is bothersome. It is cumbersome. It is heavy and it must be dealt with.
A Christian must not make the mistake of associating the feeling of guilt with condemnation because he or she is no longer condemned (Romans 8:1 & 2). A Christian must take that feeling of guilt as a positive sign that sin has so decreased in his or her life that when it does show up it creates a blip on his or her “sin radar”.
The presence of chest pain can be a symptom of a heart attack. The presence of a fever can be a symptom of kidney stones. The presence of a sore throat could be the symptom of tonsillitis. The presence of “feeling guilty” can be the symptom of sin in one’s life. Just as the presence of chest pain, fever or sore throat are not symptoms of death but symptoms of something that can lead to death, the presence of “feeling guilty” is not the symptom of condemnation which is death but it is the symptom of something that can lead to death.
But we must identify what it is to feel guilty. There is no scriptural basis for “feeling guilty”. Bruce Malina and Richard Rohrbaugh note in Social-Science Commentary on the Synoptic Gospels that within the context of the ancient world, the "introspective, guilt-oriented outlook of industrialized societies did not exist...." Guilt should not have anything to do with feelings. By definition, the word “guilty” means to be proven responsible for a wrongdoing. One who has been convicted is guilty but just because he or she has been proven guilty does not automatically make them feel guilty. A person either IS guilty or IS NOT guilty but they cannot FEEL guilty.
When we “feel guilty” we are actually judging ourselves (1 Cor. 11:31, 32). We are automatically judging ourselves through the information that has been implanted within us. This information has taken root within us by the standards presented to us through scripture. But we must also keep in mind that many other sources have influenced our thinking such as parents, laws of the land and authority figures. Unfortunately, these sources do not always line up with scripture. When we violate one of these learned standards, recognition of this violation begins to merge. This feeling is what we call “feeling guilty”.
When we begin to “feel guilty” we need to evaluate the source by using scripture as our standard (1 Peter 2:2 & James 1:21, 22). If we correctly identify that what we have done has violated scripture then we need to repent and move on. There is no need to dwell on the violation. There is no condemnation in the violation. Jesus paid the price for that violation.
From this point on you can rejoice when you “feel guilty”! It is evidence that sin is becoming foreign to you because scripture is doing its work within you as described in Hebrews 4:12. Find the source of that feeling and if repentance is required get it done and move on.
When we are praying we must be mindful of what we are asking of God. What are we asking Him to do? What are we asking Him to perform on our behalf or on the behalf of someone else? Is what we are asking of Him biblical? Do we have the right to ask Him for such things? For example, what are we asking God to do when we ask Him to make us the person He wants us to be? If we have confessed that Jesus is Lord and believe that God raised Him from the dead (Rom. 10:9), then we are the righteousness of God! (Isaiah 54:17, 1 Cor. 5:20, 21) There is no higher being, no higher person nor higher status than this! We are in the process of being transformed into His likeness according to Romans 12:1 & 2. In whose likeness could we possibly want to be if being the righteousness of God is not enough? If we ARE the righteousness of God then who do we expect God to make us to be? When we ask God to make us the person He wants us to be what we are really asking Him to do is to cause us to behave ourselves and be obedient to Him! That’s really what it comes down to. We may struggle to overcome a particular sin. We may realize we aren’t what we could be in our walk with Him. We may be frustrated because we seem to fail so many times at trying to be this great person of God that we have pictured in our heads. No matter what the situation may be, we tend to get frustrated because we haven’t achieved our definition of righteousness and we ask God to step in to make us behave that way. What are we asking God to do when we ask Him to make us the person He wants us to be? Do we expect Him to literally freeze our physical bodies in mid-motion at the precise moment we are about to commit a sin so thus preventing us from doing it? Will He supernaturally funnel all of His wisdom and knowledge into our heads so that we will be the person He wants us to be? Will He take necessary steps to make sure that all of our decisions are made the way that He wants us to make them? All through the post-Pentecost scripture we are instructed by Paul as well as others to “put away filthiness”, “abstain from sinful desires” and “hold on to the good and avoid every kind of evil”, etc. Ephesians chapters five and six explain very thoroughly the kind of people God expects us to be. These two chapters tell what we should avoid and what we should embrace. They teach us how to treat our parents, our children, our spouses, others in the church, as well as our employers. They also teach us how to fight the daily battle that the enemy wages against us. Romans chapters 12 through 15 also teach us how did live godly lives. Most importantly, there’s not even a hint in any of these chapters that we are to ask God to do these things for us. Colossians chapters three and four also give detailed instructions regarding how we are to live our lives. In fact, Colossians 3:5 tells us to put to death the earthly nature and Colossians 3:8 tell us to rid ourselves of these things. These two verses alone are very clear that WE are to do these things. In fact, it is very clear throughout ALL of the New Testament that God has instructed US to do these things. He does not tell us to ask Him to do it for us. We do not have one solitary example of any post-Pentecost apostle, teacher or writer asking this of God or instructing us to do the same. However, these very same Spirit-filled individuals have left us a myriad of examples and instruction on how we are to do these things for ourselves. We cannot ask God to do something for us that He has already done. He has already made us the righteousness of God so there is no need to ask Him to make us who He wants us to be. We also cannot ask Him to do for us what He has instructed us to do so there is no need ask Him to cause us to be obedient to Him. Part of our authority in Christ is the fact that we are calling the shots. We make the decisions that cause us to be sick or to be well. We make the decisions that cause us to be poor or to prosper. We make the decisions that cause us to be disobedient or to live in obedience to Him. Choose to take your authority today! After all, God gave it to you.
A Christian co-worker coughs, hacks, and sneezes for days on end yet he insists that he doesn’t have cold symptoms. For years you have watched this Christian struggle with this type of and situation over and over but yet he continues to speak as if these symptomatic problems don’t exist.
This Christian does not paint a good picture to the unbelieving world of who a Christian ought to be.
As Christians we don’t have to deny reality but we can, should, and must denounce that reality’s right to our bodies, our relationships, our finances, etc. There’s nothing wrong with saying “Yes, I have symptoms of a cold”, but the exciting news is that we don’t have to allow that cold the right to our body. We have to speak to that cold. We have to tell it to go away in the name of Jesus. We have to tell it to be gone in the name of Jesus. We have to recite the healing scriptures that have been given to us for this very purpose. If Jesus spoke to something as major as a fever then certainly we can speak to a cold.
All throughout Jesus’ day people came to Him from all over with every kind of infirmity, sickness, injury and disease. The fact that they came to Him was an act of faith that they were going to be healed.
The Christian in our scenario is probably going to suffer from his maladies for quite some time because the sickness and other issues that try to afflict his body need to be dealt with, not denied! As long as they are denied, they can’t be dealt with. This means they have basically been given permission to run amuck in the life of the victim.
Our enemy, Satan, tries to stop us from speaking the words that actually need to come out of our mouths. These are the very words that destroy the effects and the power of the enemy. In Luke 10:19 Jesus said that He has given us authority to overcome the power of the enemy. The power is the effects as well as the results of the enemy’s attacks against us. The symptoms of a cold are the results of an attack by the enemy. It’s those very symptoms that Jesus has given us the authority over.
We must act according to the scriptures. All throughout the scriptures we see that healing took place as a result of words and actions….not denial. In Luke 5:12-14 Jesus reached out and touched the leper and said “Be clean”. He told the man with a withered hand to hold out his hand which he did and it was whole. Healing came about as a result of words and/or action. Not inaction. We do not have one single example of anyone being healed due to inaction.
The steps to living according the healing atonement are…
1.While you are still well make a habit of memorizing and reciting healing scriptures out loud as you place your hands over various areas of your body. (Isaiah 53:4 & 5, Matthew 4:23, Matthew 8:16 & 17, Matthew 9:35, Luke 10:19, Romans 8:1 & 2 and 1 Peter 2:24) Command those areas of your body to operate in the way that God created them to do. It may feel strange at first but do it anyway. You’ll get use to it.
2.If you begin to recognize the symptoms of sickness, double these same efforts with an emphasis on the areas of your body that are showing these symptoms. Rebuke the sickness that is trying to come on your body. Tell it to be gone and to leave in the name of Jesus and don’t stop until it leaves and the symptoms cease. (Acts 3:6 & 16) Do not allow these symptoms to change your normal daily routine. Act according to the Word which says you have been healed. (Matthew 7:24, James 1:22) Skipping out on your daily routine is an act on your part proving that you believe these symptoms have the authority to do this to you. This allows the sickness to manifest. Acting as normal is evidence that you believe that the Word is true. It’s an act of faith.
3.If you follow the first two steps and the faith that you have fails do not be alarmed because this is a learning process and there is still hope. Call on someone whom you know who believes that we have been healed. Have them pray for you. Have them rebuke the sickness. Have them anoint you with oil. There is nothing wrong with having someone help you in your time of need. It is not an admission that you have failed. It’s further evidence that you believe the Word spoken in James 5:14 & 15.
4.If the symptoms come back then start at step two. The enemy does not give up easily. He knows that his victory is not in the fact that he made you sick. His victory only comes when he has convinced you that the Word is not true and does not work. So if it comes back do it again!
The first step to knowing your authority in Christ is to know the Word. The second step is to speak it out loud and act on it at the same time.
The Thoughts of Man After having committed your life to God, have you ever said something harsh to someone and knew it was wrong? Have you lied to anyone? Have you ever committed any sin of any sort at any time after committing your life to God? Of course you have. We all have. It is a constant and daily struggle to put our flesh down and walk in the Spirit. Every wrong action begins with a wrong thought. We have to ask ourselves where these wrong thoughts come from. Are they from God? Of course not. In 2 Corinthians 10:1-6 Paul tells us how we are to succeed in this daily struggle. He very thoroughly explains that the weapons we have are not of the flesh, they are spiritual.
The greatest weapon of all weapons is the Word of God. We can never have enough of the Word. In fact, sometimes we can't even correctly interpret portions of scripture until we have studied other portions of scripture because it is all tied together. We also need to act on the Word by faith. We cannot just know the Word; we have to act on it as well. Chapters one and two of James are almost entirely devoted to this very important point. Acting on the knowledge that we have of the Word will teach and discipline us to know God's truth. We will be able to discern what is, as well as what is not, of God.
These weapons are powerful enough to pull down any imagination that is contrary to God and the knowledge of who He is. They are powerful enough to bring any and every type of thought into the captivity and obedience of Christ! If all of our thoughts came from God, then none would exist that needed to be brought into the captivity of Christ! So it is very plain and rather obvious that wrong thoughts do not come from God. This discussion may seem rather simplistic and tedious to most readers but it is necessary to bring us to the next point.
If we know that none of our wrong thoughts come from God then what about the good ones? Can we say that all of our good thoughts come from God? Now we are treading in uncomfortable territory.
One time there was a young man who very excitedly told me about someone who had prophesied over him earlier in the day. When I pressed him for more information he said that someone came up to him with a message and said it was from the Lord. The message was that if this young man would stay in the Word and stay on track with the Lord, he would one day be a great man of God. Did this message come directly from the Lord's mouth to this man's ears? The Holy Spirit would never, under any circumstance describe anyone other than God as great. God is not in the business of glorifying man. Man is supposed to be in the business of glorifying God. The word "great" is a fleshly, prideful word that would not be used by God to describe a man.
The message given by this individual was not intended to be harmful. But it started with a thought. Did that thought come from God? It would be contradictory for the Holy Spirit to glorify anyone other than God according to John 16:14.
As Christians we have got to be very careful and cautious with our thoughts as well as the words we use to convey these thoughts. It would be better of us to be suspicious of all of our thoughts, revelations, ideas, prophecies, etc. until they can be proven true according to the Word.
We need to actively and aggressively bring EVERY thought into the captivity of Christ. Even the good ones!
Most Christians know of 1 Corinthians 6:19 where Paul explains that our body is a temple of the Holy Spirit. But few Christians look deeply into the details of what this really means. As soon as the subject comes up we go into a defensive mode and we quickly rattle off all of the things that we use to do with our bodies but don't do anymore. However, when pressed on the topic, most of us would eventually admit that we need a little more work in this area. In 1 Corinthians chapter 6 Paul is confronting acts of selfishness, greed and disrespect but especially the important issue of sexual sin. In the verses just prior to verse 19 Paul hits it pretty hard regarding just how destructive sexual sin really is. In fact, in verse 18 he explains that every other sin is not against the body but sexual sin affects the body itself. The very body that is inhabited by God. We all know that if we learn something in the scriptures, we need to do everything we can to live accordingly. But why is taking care of these temples in which we reside even important in the first place? Is there some sort of spiritual recourse or is the Holy Spirit restricted in His power if we don't take care of our bodies? Many of us become more motivated to accomplish a goal when we know the reason that the goal needs to be accomplished in the first place.
Authority in Christ Ministries has put together just a few reasons as to why it is important to God, as well as us, to keep these temples clean, undefiled and holy.
1.Testimony: Imagine if you had never seen any pictures or heard any descriptions of the White House in our nation's capitol. Imagine what your reaction would be if you took a vacation to Washington D.C. to visit the White House and when you got there what you found was a run down, dilapidated, ugly eyesore of a house not fit for a rat to live. Would you be filled with pride and feelings of patriotism for your country? Would that sight make you want to be a better citizen of this country? Probably not. You would probably be embarrassed and maybe even ashamed.
If we are going to let the world know that we are Christians then we want to be sure that our houses are not run down, dilapidated or an eyesore to them. When people come to us, they should see that we are a new creation because they have witnessed the Spirit that is within us and that it shows on the outside because we take care of our bodies. Our bodies should be a reflection of God in us. 1 Peter 3:15 says that we are to always be ready to give an account of the hope that is within us. Taking care of our bodies is an excellent way to give an account before we even say a word.
2.God's Dwelling Place: Both the tabernacle of Moses and the temple of Solomon's day were magnificent and glorious and the Holy of Holies was the dwelling place of the Lord. This changed when Jesus acquired our salvation for us. From that point on, the Lord Himself dwells within us. This is not a fairy tale. It is real. The-Lord-God-Himself-Dwells-Within-Us!
Read 1 Chronicles chapter 29 sometime and take note of the incredible amount of wealth that was stored up for the building of the dwelling place of the Lord. 2 Chronicles chapters 3 and 4 describe the intricate details of the construction of the temple and its furnishings. If this much detail was put into the old covenant dwelling place of the Lord, how much more should we put into the new covenant dwelling place!
Romans 8:9-14 is extremely thorough in explaining that it is our obligation and our duty to keep our bodies from sin. As we keep our bodies from sin, the Spirit of God that dwells within us will bring life to our mortal bodies.
3.Provides Strength: Temples for many gods could be found in well populated and fortified cities of ancient days. Many of these temples were at the center of many rituals, rights of passage, religious ceremonies, social activities and commerce. It was extremely important to invading armies to attack, destroy or defile the temples of these cities. By using this military strategy, the hearts, minds and wills of the citizens of that city were broken. The people would become fearful and panicked after seeing their way of life burned to the ground. This was precisely the military strategy of the Babylonians as they brought the Jews into exile in 2 Chronicles chapter 36.
If we don't watch over our temples and guard them diligently, we will leave doors open for the enemy to come in and cause us to doubt. It will cause fear. It will cause us to lose faith. By taking care of our bodies and claiming the promises we've been given regarding our bodies we can remain strong both physically and spiritually.
4.Worship: A temple is a place of worship, a place of honor and a place reverence. Romans 12:1 says that it is our spiritual act of worship to present our bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God. Did you catch that? It's an act of worship. You are worshipping God simply by taking care of your body. The next time you take a step in the right direction when it comes to the care of your body just remember that in the eyes of God you have honored Him with worship.
When you walk into a room in which someone is sleeping you respect the fact that they are sleeping by keeping noise to a minimum. You don't keep the noise down so that they will eventually fall asleep because they are already asleep. You are respecting and honoring the fact that they are already asleep. In 1 Corinthians 6:19 and 20 we are told to honor God with our bodies BECAUSE it is a temple of the Holy Spirit. It's not that we are to honor God with our bodies so that it will eventually become a temple of the Holy Spirit. It already is a temple of the Holy Spirit and that fact alone should cause us to want to respect and honor Him with our bodies.
Think about the person you know better than anyone else in the world. You probably know their habits, personality, sense of humor, tendencies, likes and dislikes, temperament, etc. You probably know their physical features, facial expressions as well as their walk and the way they use their hands as they speak. You know this person so well you can probably even predict with a fair amount of accuracy how they would react to most situations.
Now just for a moment speak out loud exactly what that person is thinking at this very moment.
How did you do?
Chances are that you did not do very well. It is nearly impossible to know what anyone is thinking at any given point in time. We can make an educated guess based on how well we know that person but it's still a guess. Even if we guess correctly, it's still a guess. If you asked that person what they were thinking at the time and you happened to be correct, you still didn't know because you had to ask them to be sure. If we were able to know what a person was thinking, we would never have to ask.
1 Corinthians 2:11 says that no one knows the thought of a man except the man's spirit that is within him. The last part of the verse says that no one can know the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God.
There is lot of the teaching in the church of today that is built around one verse theologies. These types of scriptures are sometimes used to create doctrine and belief systems that do not line up with the intent of the Word of God. The topics of many books found on the shelves of Christian book stores are also based on such scriptures.
Not all of the blame can fall on the shoulders of church leaders. Laypersons, authors and even ministers can all fall into the same trap. We must all be extremely cautious and vigilant during our own study time. It is very easy for us to build our own belief system based on single scriptures or portions of scripture because it may sound good, feel good, make sense or even justify our own life experiences.
1 Corinthians 2:11 is one such scripture. A person could build or support an incorrect belief system based on this scripture alone. One could easily take this one verse and make the following statement: Just as no one knows the thought of a man except the man's spirit that is within him, no one can know the thoughts of God except the Spirit that is within Him. It sounds like a fairly solid statement when taken from this one verse alone. But we cannot stop here. We must move on to the next verse.
1 Corinthians 2:12 says We have not received the spirit of the world but the Spirit who is from God, that we may understand what God has freely given us. (NIV) These two scriptures together paint an entirely different picture.
Here's the new statement based on just these two scriptures together: No one knows the thought of a man except the man's spirit that is within him. The thoughts of God are only known by the Spirit and that Spirit has been given to us therefore we can also know the thoughts of God.
So now we have learned to be very wary of only holding on to one particular scripture.
Guess what? It's not enough. We need to dig even further into the portion of scripture that contains more than just these two verses. In all of 1 Corinthians chapter 2 Paul is explaining that he does not operate on his own but in the power and the wisdom of God which comes through the Spirit. In fact, verse 10 even explains that God has revealed things to us through His Spirit, things that were not known or entirely understood in the past.
So now we have learned to be very wary of only holding on to one particular scripture but we have also learned to take the substance of the context of the entire portion of scripture.
As you may have figured out by now this is still not enough. We must also back up this portion of scripture with other portions in the text, preferably one from the old covenant and one from the life and teachings of Jesus. We already have our post-Pentecost portion here in 1 Corinthians chapter 2.
In the old covenant the Spirit would move upon the Lord's prophets every now and again unlike today when the Holy Spirit continues to abide with the Spirit filled believer. On one such occasion the prophet Amos was prophesying Israel's punishment for not returning to God and in chapter 4 verse 13 he speaks of God as the one who forms the mountains, creates the wind and reveals His thoughts to man. This was obviously done through the prophets, including Amos, as the Spirit of the Lord moved upon them. This is one example of an old covenant confirmation that God makes His thoughts known to man.
In John chapters 15 and 16 Jesus explains to His disciples the purpose and the works of the Holy Spirit. In John 15:26 Jesus clearly states that He would send the Holy Spirit from the Father and the Holy Spirit would testify of Jesus Himself. In John 16:13 He explains that the Spirit will guide us but will only speak what He hears. Therefore, once again we have the thoughts of God being revealed to man and instructed by Jesus.
At Authority in Christ Ministries we feel that is of the absolute and utmost importance that God's people understand the Word that He gave to us. It's not as simple as reading a few scriptures and gleaning understanding from them. We have got to dig deep into scripture to make sure that our beliefs are supported throughout the entire Word.
In the Greek translation of the New Testament there are several definitions for the word ask. However, there are two distinct definitions that are used the most often. In fact, these two definitions are used so much that it is rare to find the word ask being used in any other way.
The first definition of the word ask is to request as a favor.
The second definition of the word ask is to request as something due.
These two definitions of ask are very, very different from each other. But yet our English translation only uses the one word ask whenever scripture calls for either definition.
It is very important to know which definition of the word ask should be applied as we are reading scripture.
In John 16 beginning at verse 17 Jesus is explaining to His disciples about what will happen after his death, resurrection and beyond. Verses 23 and 24 is definitely an eye opener when we apply the correct definitions of the word ask. Verses 23 and 24 reads as follows in the NIV: In that day you will no longer ask me anything. I tell you the truth, my Father will give you whatever you ask in my name. Until now you have not asked anything in my name. Ask and you will receive, and your joy will be complete. In both the NIV and the KJV the word ask or asked appears four times in these two verses. But yet only one of these words actually means to request as a favor. Can you guess which one it is?
Let's review these verses again but this time the Greek translation will be in parentheses: In that day (after my resurrection) you will no longer ask (request a favor of) me (for) anything. I tell you the truth, my Father will give you whatever you ask (request of something due) in my name. Until now (before my resurrection) you have not asked anything (requested of something due) in my name. Ask (request of something due) and you will receive, and your joy will be complete.
Many of us have the impression that as we are praying in Jesus name, in the heavenlies Jesus turns to God and makes our request for us or puts his blessing on our request therefore convincing the Father to honor our request. Not so! In fact, John 16:26 Jesus plainly states that He is NOT asking the Father on our behalf.
Because of what Jesus did on the cross you are to request what is due you instead of asking God for a favor. Jesus practiced this His whole life. His did not ask sickness and demons to leave as a favor to Him. He exercised His authority and told them to leave and they did! We are to do the same with boldness and then our joy will be complete!
At Authority in Christ Ministries we want you to know AND PRACTICE your authority. But that's not all. We want to hear about it as well. Send us an e-mail and let us know of the awesome testimonies that are happening in your life as you take your authority in Christ!
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