A solid understanding of spiritual authority is vital to build your faith when casting out demons, healing the sick, and exercising your authority over the powers of darkness.
When we have been given authority to cast out demons, but instead we pray that God brings the demon out instead, we are basically asking God to do something that He gave US the tools to do ourselves! Jesus told US to cast out demons! Nowhere in the Bible does it tell us to ask God to cast out demons!
Mark 13:34, "For the Son of man is as a man taking a far journey, who left his house, and gave authority to his servants, and to every man his work, and commanded the porter to watch."
Authority doesn't beg; authority doesn't ask; authority commands! We are not told to ask God to cast out demons, we are told to do it ourselves! We are not told to beg demons to come out, we are told to CAST them out!
Matthew 8:8-9, 13, "The centurion answered and said, Lord, I am not worthy that thou shouldest come under my roof: but speak the word only, and my servant shall be healed. For I am a man under authority, having soldiers under me: and I say to this man, Go, and he goeth; and to another, Come, and he cometh; and to my servant, Do this, and he doeth it... And Jesus said unto the centurion, Go thy way; and as thou hast believed, so be it done unto thee. And his servant was healed in the selfsame hour."
Authority is exercised through our spoken word. The power of life and death are in the spoken word: Proverbs 18:21, "Death and life are in the power of the tongue: and they that love it shall eat the fruit thereof."
Jesus distributes His authority
Mark 13:34, "For the Son of man is as a man taking a far journey, who left his house, and gave authority to his servants, and to every man his work, and commanded the porter to watch."
Jesus is given authority: Matthew 28:18, "And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth."
Authority given to Jesus' 12 disciples: Luke 9:1, "Then he called his twelve disciples together, and gave them power and authority over all devils, and to cure diseases."
Authority given to Jesus' 70 disciples: Luke 10:17, "And the seventy returned again with joy, saying, Lord, even the devils are subject unto us through thy name."
Authority is accessed through faith
It is also helpful to point out that our spiritual authority is accessed by faith. There is a lot to be learned from the story told in Mark 9:17-29 about how faith allows us to access our authority. When the disciples came across an unusually strong demon that wouldn't budge (verse 18), Jesus made it clear that they lacked faith by calling them faithless (verse 19). He also made it clear that some demons are so strong that a higher than usual level of faith is required to cast them out (verses 28 and 29), and that we can gain that higher level of faith through prayer and fasting (verse 29).
Matthew 17:20, "And Jesus said unto them, Because of your unbelief: for verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you."
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