Whose Authority Are You Under?

⁵And when Jesus was entered into Capernaum, there came unto him a centurion, beseeching him, ⁶And saying, Lord, my servant lieth at home sick of the palsy, grievously tormented. ⁷And Jesus saith unto him, I will come and heal him. ⁸The 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. ⁹For 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. ¹⁰When Jesus heardit, he marvelled, and said to them that followed, Verily I say unto you, I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel. Matthew 8:5-10

I was reading this morning and these scriptures spoke to me and got me to thinking about how so many Christians are not this positive in their faith and foundation with God.

We state that we are a Christian and then when the devil throws any little thing at us, we fail to use the authority, the power, and the wisdom to come against that little thing. You say, it is not a little thing to me. What we fail to remember so many times is that it may be a big thing to us, however, it is a little thing to God.

We need to learn to stand and use the authority that God has given us. Since God’s power is mightier than the devils, what God gives to us to use in God’s name is mightier than the devil.

Now, remember that the centurion did not have the authority when he first joined the army. First, he had to learn to be under subjection to those over him, then he had to earn the right to use that authority correctly. Finally, the centurion could speak and know and act on the knowledge that what he said would be done.

The same is true for us today. First we have to learn how to be in subjection to God and God’s Word. Until we learn to follow the Lord in all areas we cannot show the devil that we know what we are talking about. We must also remember that God is able to do all things, and He wants us to use His wisdom to use His authority in ALL areas of our lives.

C.I. Wilson

Precious Lord, I ask that you give us wisdom in how we use the authority that You have given us. Show us when to use, how to use, and the way to use Your authority for Your glory and not ours. Amen