“The centurion replied, ‘Lord, I do not deserve to have you come under my roof. But just say the word, and my servant will be healed. For I myself am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. I tell this one, ‘Go,’ and he goes; and that one, ‘Come,’ and he comes. I say to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.’ When Jesus heard this, he was amazed and said to those following him, ‘Truly I tell you, I have not found anyone in Israel with such great faith.’”
– Matthew 8:8-10
We’ve been talking a lot about understanding and exercising your authority in the Kingdom of God, and for the next few days, I’m going to discuss some specific things you can do to ensure that you are living every day in Jesus’ power! The first one is you must learn to live under God’s authority. Now, I know that this is not a feel-good sort of exercise since we like our independence, but it’s absolutely vital to our effectiveness as believers. To have authority, we must live under authority. The Centurion didn’t have authority because he was tough, he had authority because he knelt to Caesar. Similarly, we have authority because we kneel before the throne of God. If we are not submitted to the authority of His Kingdom in our lives, we can’t act in His authority. This doesn’t mean that we have to be perfect; we live by grace, right? But we still should strive to live humble and holy lives in light of Jesus’ goodness to us. We should not live in blatant iniquity and pretend that everything is fine. Instead, we should really desire to do things God’s way! Here’s an example. Imagine you were traveling internationally and you lost your ATM card. You have a bank account, conceivably with some money in it, but since you lost your card, you lost access to your money. It’s not that the funds were stolen or disappeared, it’s just that you couldn’t retrieve them. I think this is what happens when we are living in rebellion against God: when He presses something onto our heart to change and we continue to resist His truth, it’s like losing that ATM card. Jesus isn’t going to take all your cash, but you are going to lose access to it until you get your card back. Friend, I encourage you to “get your card back” and take told hold of your authority in the Kingdom of Heaven! Submit to Jesus and remember that His ways are not harmful, but helpful; they are designed to empower you to live your best life. God is a good Father and He loves you, so activate His strength in you by letting Him have your life — body, mind and spirit! |
Prayer
Jesus, help me to submit to your Kingdom authority in every area of my life so that I can act in your power on the earth.
Reflection
Spiritually speaking, have you lost your ATM card? If so, what part of your life can you change to get it back?
