Authority Over Demons and Disease
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Well, if we have authority over them, they shouldn’t be running over us. Who has authority over
who? According to the Bible, we have authority over them. You never read where the Bible tells
us to be patient because the Lord has temporarily given demons and disease authority over us or
anything like it. He gave us power and authority over all demons, even the great big, ugly, hairy
ones. He also gave us power to cure diseases.
This is said just a little bit differently in Matthew’s account. Matthew 10:1 says, “And when he
had called unto him his twelve disciples, he gave them power…” Now if you look it up, that is
the word for “authority,” and it can be a little bit confusing because in the King James Version,
they’re used interchangeably. There’s a different word for “power,” which is
dunamis
. It’s a
word from which we get our word “dynamite.” Power. We’re talking about explosive strength,
might.
But this is another word,
exousia
, depending on which Greek scholar you read. Never argue
about pronunciation of some of these things. Scholars who spend their whole lives studying these
disagree among themselves. In some of the Hebrew words in particular, we have added vowels
so we can pronounce them. Besides, it’s more important to know what they mean than to
pronounce them perfectly and not believe it. But there’s a word for “power,” and there’s a word
for “authority.” We’re talking about authority.
We have the power in the Holy Spirit. He’s the Powerhouse. He’s the Greater One. He’s the One
Who was hovering over the face of the deep, and when God spoke the Word, He manifested it.
He has power to create planets, and He lives in you and me.
But you can have power
without
authority here in the earth. I mean, you might have a military
tank, and you’ve got power, but that doesn’t mean you have the right to drive it down the street
and blow up my house, do you? You have no authority to be riding down the street shooting it.
You’ll find out quickly that the people who
do
have authority are going to come get you. You
might say, “I’ve got the power! I’ve got the power!” But they say, “Yes, but we have the
authority
and the power.” They’re going to shut you down. You need both power and authority.
You’ve got to have the authority to use the power—and we do. He gave us both of them, power
and authority.
Here in Matthew 10:1, when He says “power,” it is actually the word for “authority.” “He gave
them
authority
against unclean spirits,” to do what with them? “To cast them out, and to heal all
manner of sickness and all manner of disease.” If you put them both together, Luke said, “All
demons.” Matthew said, “All sickness and all disease.” All means what? It means all, everything
included, nothing excluded. Does that mean there is no demon that exists that we don’t have
power over? There is no disease that we don’t have authority over? We have power and authority
over all demons. We have power and authority over all sickness, over all disease. We need to say
that. We need to think that. We need to get that built into our consciousness.
When I had the privilege of working in the Healing School, we’d have a day when we would
minister to people in a special way, and I would spend extra time waiting on the Lord and getting
quiet. The Lord led me to these verses, these very ones, in Matthew 10 and Luke 9. He led me to
