Wednesday, November 19, 2008

Authority of a believer

“…As you go, preach this message: 'The kingdom of heaven is near.' Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those who have leprosy, drive out demons. Freely you have received, freely give...” –Matthew 10:7-8 NIV [italics & emphasis mine]



In Matthew 10, we see Jesus sending His twelve disciples on ‘internship’; He sends them on practical training for He knows He was to depart from them shortly. In Luke 10 we see Jesus sending Seventy-two disciples; this time it records their report when they came back. They rejoiced that demons flee at their word but He told them that they should rejoice because ‘their names are written in heaven’ (vv 20)…this means, whatever happened was a result of their relationship with God.



After His resurrection, He tells them that the authority which was given to Him, He now hands it over to them (Matthew 28:18). The same authority is handed to every believer today…we have the authority and the permission to preach the gospel, heal the sick, raise the dead, drive out demons. Yet for a number of reasons, Christians have not come to full understanding of this, we think that only ordained ministers should do those things.



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copyright ©2008 Light to my path † † † by TJM Kyara
“Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path” Ps 119:105 KJV

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