The Authority of the Believer

The Authority of the Believer (I have given you authority to trample on snakes and scorpions and to overcome all the power of the enemy; nothing will harm you. Luke 10:19)

A lot of Christians think everything in life is “automatic.”  If everything was automatic than why did Jesus say, “if you continue in my word you will be my disciples.” John 8:31 “If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you. John 15:7

For any of us who have done computer programming understand the if/else statements which is usually followed by a “than” statement.  The than is where the computer program defaults to the next line of code will execute instead.  

 In other words in life, you follow one path if you do that and another path if you do the other.

I’ve “invested” a lot of time in studying the Bible.  I had to force myself to sit down when I first became a Christian to get through the Bible several times in understanding it and not being bored at times, but I found when you make an investment in something most likely you are going to stick with it.  I find a lot of people who quit going to church when a spouse dies or go through a divorce because they have little investment in spending time in God’s word.  Very easy to fall away when you don’t have an investment.  Harder to move on after a long-term marriage because you had a long investment.   More devastating when you have put a lot of money into the stock market when it’s your own hard earned money.   Where we invest our money is usually what we like to do if its going to movies, a collection of Mustang cars, US Postage stamps, trains, dolls, Starbucks, Macy’s, Colt’s football tickets, whatever we particularly are interested in and love.  There is an “investment” in the kingdom of God and time in God’s word and prayer.

Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a workman who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth. 2 Timothy 2:15

Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. Matthew 6:19

I’ve got over 40 years invested in God and his kingdom so it’s a little harder to turn back now!   Paul does talk about people who shipwreck their faith so we can crash our faith at times.

Cling to your faith in Christ, and keep your conscience clear. For some people have deliberately violated their consciences; as a result, their faith has been shipwrecked. 1 Timothy 1:19

Jesus said,   “I pray that you don’t take them out of the world that you keep them from evil.”  Thy will be done on earth as it is heaven.   Give us this day our daily bread and deliver us from the evil one.  Choose this day whom you are going to serve the gods of Egypt (idols) or the Almighty God. (Joshua 24:15)

Choose “this” day.  Today. What is God saying to me today?

or he is our God. We are the people he watches over, the flock under his care. If only you would listen to his voice today!  do not harden your hearts as you did at Meribah, as you did that day at Massah in the desert, Psalm 95:7-8

So, as the Holy Spirit says: "Today, if you hear his voice do not harden your hearts as you did in the rebellion, during the time of testing in the desert,  Hebrews 3:7-8

For many churches Jesus was only yesterday as far as miracles go in working through people. 

Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever. Hebrews 13:8

Many people don’t believe in the miraculous, many churches don’t preach the miraculous, live in the miraculous or teach the miraculous.  And yet, it talks about God gives people the power to perform miracles by the Holy Spirit.  His Holy Spirit is still here.  

He gives one person the power to perform miracles, and another the ability to prophesy. He gives someone else the ability to discern whether a message is from the Spirit of God or from another spirit. Still another person is given the ability to speak in unknown languages, while another is given the ability to interpret what is being said. 1 Cor. 10:12

So Jesus is only Jesus of yesterday because he is not the God of miracles for today according to their church traditions. The Bible says, “You make void the word of God by your traditions.”

Thus you nullify the word of God by your tradition that you have handed down. And you do many things like that." Mark 7:13

It sort of reminds me of when my sister told my mother that she was getting older and it was okay to go to a family practice physician when she was younger, but as she gets older she needs a more specialized physician.  She needed an internal medicine doctor to diagnose the problem.  The problem turned out to be gall bladder cancer and her family practice physician missed it, and then by the time they took out the gall bladder she passed away since it has taken over too much of the liver.

I find the same thing in the spiritual world is there a lot of family practice preachers, but they don’t have specializations in understanding the miraculous.  As you get older and you start dealing with more issues than you realize that you need the miraculous as a Christian.  When the doctor told me I had the beginning stages of arthritis and there is nothing they can do for it (my grandparents had arthritis), I went to a Bible study and had them lay hands on my knees and then I had a few times I had the pain come back on me, but I’ve been pain free for a year now standing on God’s word.  Physicians can’t do anything for arthritis but treat the symptoms and they encourage me to exercise. My knee used to lock up in pain every time I traveled on a plane, car and at night when I slept.  It is great being pain free.

The Lord has allowed me to see into the spiritual realm and a recently I had a dream that an evil man was stabbing me with a sword when I had money in my hand to steal my money.  That was right around the time the transmission went out in my SUV, and I found out the  transmission machine overfilled it five quarts.  I was able to get my money back from the mechanic of $811.00 when the seal went out during my traveling to Michigan.  I’ve had several dreams about evil men.  One evil men was choking me and I was choking him back and then he was doing Chinese torture in the middle of my forehead.  I know the “choking him” was with the word of God.  The Chinese torture in the middle of my head is the thoughts that bother me about losing my husband at times.

Recently, I’ve been attacked with heart palpitations and the Lord dealt with me this past Sunday that I need to seek out a church that believes in divine healing.  Two  nights ago a heart palpitation came on me and when you are thinking about dying, it’s amazing how a lot of things go through your head.  I realize to live is Christ and to die is gain. (Philip 1:21).

I laid my own hands on my heart just like I continued to lay hands on my knees for pain up until a year ago until I had the total manifestation of the pain going away.  The Bible says to “lay hands on the sick and they will recover.”  I also have been stepping out in faith to lay hands on others for healing also. Another scripture came to my mind last night while I was lying there thinking about dying:

I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. “The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God,” who loved me and gave himself for me. Galatians 2:20

I am living this life by faith and many times God has me exercise my faith and one is for healing.

Anyway, I know I’m ready to die spiritually, I have a current will and life insurance, but I feel that I have a few loose ends to tie up with my children.  It’s sort of like dying with dirty underwear and I was talking to the Lord last night about it because the way my husband went suddenly (died immediately with a massive heart attack), he did not even install the windows in the basement he had boarded up, he did not get to say goodbye and it was just a tough way to go for all of us.  I know a lot of people don’t deal with mortality issues but I have had to deal with mortality with four family members who passed away in front of me.  They are like important pieces on a chess board to me and wipe them out, you neutralize your opponent until you can get to their queen.   I am convinced with the number of widows around and it’s ever increasing that neutralizing a queen is not a good thing!

"Bishops and knights are called minor pieces. A knight is about as valuable as a bishop, but less valuable than a rook. Rooks and the queen are called major pieces. Bishops are usually considered slightly better than knights in open positions, such as toward the end of the game when many of the pieces have been captured, whereas knights have an advantage in closed positions. Having two bishops (the bishop pair) is a particularly powerful weapon, especially if the opposing player lacks one or both of their bishops.  Three pawns are likely to be more useful than a knight in the endgame, but in the middle game a knight is often more powerful. Two minor pieces are stronger than a single rook, and two rooks are slightly stronger than a queen."

With my husband, a major red flag was his chronic asthma that was not only a thorn in his flesh, but it was a daily concern every day of my life.  For another widower, his wife had Cystic Fibrosis so he knows what it’s like to be worried about a person’s health condition every day too.  It was all the times we would be out and he would forget to bring an inhaler or wake up in the morning and he could not breathe freely.   When he had a heart attack at first I thought it was an full asthma attack.

It makes me think of Paul’s statement, “I have a daily concern/pressure of the church.”  It was a daily pressure on me.  I’ve never been a pastor’s wife with the responsibility of a church, but being married to an evangelist and musician formerly and having that same calling, there is a concern that I’m not doing enough to win people to Christ.

And, apart from other things, there is the daily pressure on me of my anxiety for all the churches. 2 Cor. 11:28

While I was neutralized the other night with dizziness and a heart problem lying in bed, I thought about this scripture:

For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Jeremiah 29:11