Under Authority

Greetings in the name of Jesus! This is Rob Haymes. This is 15 Minutes With Jesus. Today’s program is called Under Authority. Let’s turn to Mat 8:5-13, Now when Jesus had entered Capernaum, a centurion came to Him, pleading with Him, saying, Lord, my servant is lying at home paralyzed, dreadfully tormented. And Jesus said to him, I will come and heal him. The centurion answered and said, Lord, I am not worthy that You should come under my roof. But only speak a word, and my servant will be healed. For I also am a man under authority, having soldiers under me. And I say to this one, Go, and he goes; and to another, Come, and he comes; and to my servant, Do this, and he does it. When Jesus heard it, He marveled, and said to those who followed, Assuredly, I say to you, I have not found such great faith, not even in Israel! And I say to you that many will come from east and west, and sit down with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven. But the sons of the kingdom will be cast out into outer darkness. There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Then Jesus said to the centurion, Go your way; and as you have believed, so let it be done for you. And his servant was healed that same hour. What did the centurion say to Jesus? He said, I am a man under authority, having soldiers under me, and I say to this man, Go, and he goes, to another, Come, and he comes, and to my servant, Do this, and he does it. If a man is not completely submitted to Jesus, who is submitted completely to His Father; if he is not walking with Him in obedience, going where He sends him; saying what He is saying; doing what He is doing; if he is doing his own will, and not the will of the Father, he is in rebellion, and he has no authority to be where he is, in the seat which he has taken, and his words have no authority with them; no power. Luke 4, Jesus went into the synagogue in Capernaum, and it says in verses 33-37, Now in the synagogue there was a man who had a spirit of an unclean demon. And he cried out with a loud voice, saying, Let us alone! What have we to do with You, Jesus of Nazareth? Did You come to destroy us? I know who You are—the Holy One of God! But Jesus rebuked him, saying, Be quiet, and come out of him! And when the demon had thrown him in their midst, it came out of him and did not hurt him. Then they were all amazed and spoke among themselves, saying, What a word this is! For with authority and power He commands the unclean spirits, and they come out. And the report about Him went out into every place in the surrounding region. In 1 John it is written, If any man says he abides in Him, let him walk as He walked. How did Jesus walk? He walked as a man under authority. He only did what He saw His Father doing, and He only said what He heard His Father saying. That’s why, when Jesus spoke the Word, it came to pass. He commanded and it was. It was the Father’s will. It was the Father in Him doing the works. The centurion believed that Jesus was a man under authority, and that if He spoke the Word only, it would come to pass. Jesus only went where His Father sent Him, and He went in power and authority to accomplish what His Father sent Him there to do.

How many men who claim to be ministers of God are actually sent by Him? How many are walking in Jesus’ authority? When Jesus sent out the twelve disciples, two by two, He gave them authority and power to heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, and cast out demons, and He told them, Freely you have received, freely give, and preach, saying, The Kingdom of Heaven is at hand. He told them what to say, and what to do.  So, if a man is not sent by Jesus, and he is speaking his own words, not the words which the Holy Spirit would give him, and he is doing his own will, and not the will of the Lord, not being led by the Holy Spirit, and on top of all that, he is taking up offerings and charging a price: how evil and vain is that?! The Apostle Peter spoke of false prophets among the people in the last days who will bring in damnable heresies; who, through covetousness, with feigned words, words they make up themselves, will make merchandise of the people. They have no authority or power from God. Many of them walk in witchcraft, seducing the people with lying divination. In this hour, how many are truly sent by the Lord? How many are under His authority, and you can say to them, Speak the word only and it shall come to pass? Jesus only did what He saw His Father doing. So it is with His true disciples; His true ministers. So, if Jesus sends you, and you are doing His will; speaking His Words, what He sent you to do will be accomplished as you continue under His authority, including whatever works of power the Father wills to do through you by the Holy Spirit. You will be speaking His Word by the Holy Spirit, and it will be life to those who have ears to hear and hearts to receive what the Spirit of the Lord is saying, and God will be glorified.

Let’s go to Acts 19:11-20, Now God worked unusual miracles by the hands of Paul, 

so that even handkerchiefs or aprons were brought from his body to the sick, and the diseases left them and the evil spirits went out of them. Then some of the itinerant Jewish exorcists took it upon themselves to call the name of the Lord Jesus over those who had evil spirits, notice: they took it upon themselves, saying, We exorcize you by the Jesus whom Paul preaches. Also there were seven sons of Sceva, a Jewish chief priest, who did so. And the evil spirit answered and said, Jesus I know, and Paul I know; but who are you? Then the man in whom the evil spirit was leaped on them, overpowered them, and prevailed against them, so that they fled out of that house naked and wounded. This became known both to all Jews and Greeks dwelling in Ephesus; and fear fell on them all, and the name of the Lord Jesus was magnified. Notice: the evil spirit said, Jesus I know, and Paul I know, but who are you? Jesus was under the Father’s authority, and Paul was under Jesus’ authority, but these men had no authority. They took it upon themselves. Paul was sent by the Holy Spirit in Acts 13: Certain prophets and teachers were fasting and praying and ministering to the Lord, and the Holy Spirit spoke, and He said, Separate unto Me Barnabas and Saul for the work that I have called them to do. And then the disciples prayed and fasted again, and laid hands on them, and they were sent out by the Holy Spirit. As you read that account, they continued in obedience to the Spirit, and they only went where He led them to go. Paul continued in obedience and submission to his Lord, and the Lord worked mightily through him. 

The Father is the head of Jesus Christ. Jesus is the head of the man. The man is the head of the wife, and the woman is blessed as she walks in submission to the authority of the man, as unto the Lord, and as she receives from the man what his head has commanded him to give her. As he is in submission to his head, Jesus, he will be keeping His Words: he will be loving his wife as Christ loves the church. Love is patient; love is kind. The man is blessed as he walks in obedience to Christ, his head, serving Him in the newness of the Spirit; following Him to do the will of the Father. Jesus always does the will of the Father, His head; He always does what pleases Him. Are you a man under authority? Are you a woman under authority? Are you submitted to the authority which God has put in your life? If you are in Jesus, He is in you, and He is your Lord; He is your head. He said, If anyone will be My disciple, he or she must deny themselves, take up their cross, and follow Me every day. We are not our own. We have been bought with a price.

The Apostle Peter said, If you call on the Father, who, without partiality judges according to each one's work, conduct yourselves throughout the time of your stay here in fear; knowing that you were not redeemed with corruptible things, like silver or gold, from your aimless conduct received by tradition from your fathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot. Again, when Jesus sent out His twelve disciples, He gave them authority to speak and to minister. And in Mat 10:14&15, Jesus said, And whoever will not receive you nor hear your words, when you depart from that house or city, shake off the dust from your feet. Assuredly, I say to you, it will be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah in the day of judgment than for that city! So, when someone is truly sent by the Lord, people would do well to listen to what they have to say and receive their ministry, because they speak and minister as servants of God in His authority: not so, if He did not send them. If someone is truly sent by God they will be walking in His authority and in His Spirit, and what they say will come to pass. The Bible says, Prove all things and hold fast to that which is good. That which is good is always in accord with His good Word. In verse 19&20 we read, And when they deliver you up do not worry about how or what you should speak. For it will be given to you in that hour what you should speak; for it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father who speaks in you. In John 13:20 Jesus said, Most assuredly, I say to you, he who receives whomever I send receives Me; and he who receives Me receives Him who sent Me. There you see a perfect picture of the authority of God. All authority begins with the Father. All authority comes from God. Amen! 

This is so important that we understand this! 1 Cor 6:19&20, Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own? For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God's. You are bought with a price! Jesus bought you with His Blood! He is your Lord! You follow Him and He leads you. You are His servant. He sends you with His authority as the Father sends Him with His authority. As you walk this way, doing the will of the Father, He will work through you, but you must have a heart after God, not yourself, truly seeking to glorify Him; loving Him; serving Him, and fearing Him. And you must have the Holy Spirit, and yield to Him, and He will lead you to follow Jesus. 

In Mat 15:8&9, Jesus spoke these words, quoting Isaiah 29:13, These people draw near to me with their mouth, and honor me with their lips; but their heart is far from me. But in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men. I want to encourage you this day to ask the Father to give you a heart like His Son: a heart that is completely submitted to Him, loving Him, and fearing Him, doing what He leads you to do, truly seeking to honor Him. If you will honor God, He will honor you. If you will humble yourself, He will exalt you. Remember, Jesus loved the Father, and He humbled Himself to the death of the Cross, so that we might be saved. Therefore the Father has highly exalted Him, and given Him a name above every name, that, at the name of Jesus, every knee shall bow, in Heaven, on the Earth, and under the Earth, and Every tongue shall confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. Amen! See what God will do in your life, if you will do this with all your heart! God bless you.

Interpretation of a message in tongues:

I am God Almighty! You who are listening to my servant Rob this day: Humble yourselves before Me, the living God, and I truly will exalt you, if you will do this!

Humble yourself! Seek my face! Seek Me, says the Lord! Seek to please Me; seek to follow Me, and I will bless you, says the Lord.