Quote from Forum Archives on May 11, 2001, 12:25 pm

Posted by: masinick <masinick@...>

Dear friends,

Do you believe in the Christ's authority over all things? If you
are a believer, you might be inclined to answer yes. If you are
not a believer, you might be interested, but unsure. The
following message from Neil Anderson's "Daily in Christ"
devotional series might be helpful to you if you are willing to
consider the question.

Personally, I have absolute confidence in the authority of
Christ, and I make every effort to base my decisions on the
principles that are outlined. Even so, as Christ continues to
work within me, through the power of the Holy Spirit, I find
things in my life that aren't always fully surrendered to the
authority of Christ. That's an honest response. When I am
honest, and willing to be refined, I find that Christ is able to
continue with me, building me up, encouraging to trust each area
of my life to Him.

It is surprising how many new areas of my life He reveals that I
have kept hidden - not always intentionally, but He knows who I
am better than I do --- and He is completely trustworthy.

How about you? Are you engaged in the process of surrendering
everything to the authority of Jesus Christ? If it is a new
thing for you, it might be something you are reluctant to try.
Once you do surrender to Him, you will find that He encourages
and sustains you --- and --- this is Good News --- He forgives
you, even when you fail. I like that, because I fail more often
than I like to admit. Yet He is faithful to me, and He is worthy
of all authority in my life. I give Him praise today with this
testimony.

Brother Brian

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Devotionals from Crosswalk.com > The Intersection of Faith and
Life devotionals.crosswalk.com/devo/display/1,8631,~10,00.htm
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Daily in Christ

BELIEVING IN CHRIST'S AUTHORITY

Matthew 17:20 Truly I say to you, if you have faith as a mustard
seed, you shall say to this mountain, "Move from here to there,"
and it shall move; and nothing shall be impossible to you.

What does it take to effectively exercise Christ's authority over
spiritual powers? Can any Christian do so regardless of his
level of spiritual maturity? If so, why aren't we more
consistent in demonstrating our authority over Satan's kingdom?

I believe there are at least four qualifications for
demonstrating authority over rulers and authorities in the
spiritual realm. We'll consider them over the next few days.

The first qualification is belief. In the spiritual realm, if
you don't believe you have authority, you're not going to
exercise it. If your belief is weak, your expression of it will
also be weak and ineffective. But if you grasp with confidence
the authority that Christ has conferred upon you, you will
exercise it with confidence.

Imagine a rookie traffic copy approaching a busy intersection to
direct traffic for the first time. They told him at the academy
that all he had to do was step into the street and hold up his
hand and the cars would stop, but he's not so sure. He stands on
the curb, tweets his whistle weakly, and sort of waves at an
oncoming car, which roars by him. His authority is diminished by
his lack of confidence.

Now imagine a seasoned officer coming on the scene. He sizes up
the situation, steps into the street carefully but confidently,
gives a blast on his whistle, and stretches out his hand

--and the cars stop. There's no doubt in his mind that he's in
control in that intersection because he has a settled belief in
his authority.

You may consider yourself just a "rookie" at stopping the devil's
traffic in your life. But Jesus Christ is a seasoned veteran,
and you're in Him. Build your faith in your authority by
studying how Jesus operated against the powers of darkness in the
Gospels and how we are commanded to do so in the Epistles.

Prayer:

Lord, enlarge my belief that I have been given authority over
principalities and powers in Christ, and help me act on that
belief.

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=====
--
Brian Masinick, "The Mas", mailto:masinick@yahoo.com
Home page: www.geocities.com/masinick/
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