7 Aug 2013 by Adeline Lum CM-
On 25 of July, Dr Peggy Wong and Pr Dianithi Durairaju were the speakers of Kingdom Christian Fellowship (KCF) led by Pr Raymond Yeo, at Isaiah 40 Café at Subang Jaya.
Pr Dianithi Durairaju was the second speaker and delivered a powerful speech entitled, ‘Just Say the Word!’
Have you heard about the story of the centurion’s mighty faith (Luke 7:6-7)?
The centurion’s servant was sick and sent his friends to ask for Jesus. When Jesus approached his house, he sent his friends to stop Jesus from going into the house because he counted himself unworthy to have Jesus under his roof.
Source of Authority
Instead, the centurion’s friends came running to Jesus to deliver his message, “But say the word, and my servant will be healed (Luke 7:7)!”
How many of us have the faith of a centurion? We can find the answer to the centurion’s faith in verse eight:
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 (Luke 7:8).
The centurion understood the meaning of authority because he had authority over 100 men, yet he was also under the authority of the Roman emperor. He knew that his source of power came from a higher power.
Likewise, if a police officer flagged our car, we would stop. Why? This is because behind the police officers, the government gave them the authority to keep law and order.
Similarly, the centurion understood that Jesus Christ held the authority from God. In coming to Jesus, he was appealing to a higher spiritual authority (1 Peter 3:21-22). A lower person cannot give you authority, but it must come from above.
1 Peter 3:21b-22
It saves you by the resurrection of Jesus Christ, who has gone in Heaven and is at God’s right hand- with angles, authorities and powers in submission to him.
We know that God created men and gave them authority to dominate (Gen 2:19-20). But men lost power when the first Adam sinned, and everyone became slaves to sin (Romans 6:17). But the last Adam, Jesus Christ, came to redeem us and give us victory (1 Cor 15:45-48).
“If you are a child of God, then Jesus Christ lives in you today (1 Cor 3:16). I tell you, you will know on this day that you have authority. The source of the Kingdom’s authority comes from Jesus and Jesus is in you (1 Cor 3:16),” said Dianithi.
Secret of Authority
Secondly, authority is linked to obedience. You cannot have authority until you get under the authority above you.
“And Satan knew how to play the game. He knew that Adam was under the authority of God. Hence, when Adam disobeyed, he forfeited his authority,” said Dianithi.
We always resist being under authority. God will never give authority to people who rebel.
“If you don’t learn to be under, you won’t learn to be over. In order to get people to submit to you, you got to learn to submit to someone. That is where you learn humility and submission,” said Dianithi.
Remember that we are always under the authority of Jesus Christ, God and the Holy Spirit.
During Jesus’ time on earth, He was also subjected to the authority of his earthly parents. When his parents asked him to return to Nazareth with them during the Festival of the Passover at Jerusalem, Jesus obeyed and went with them (Luke 2:51).
When he was baptized in the Holy Spirit, he obeyed the Holy Spirit and was led into the forest (Luke 4:1). Not only that, he was also obedient to the laws of the land. In Capernaum, he ordered his disciples to catch a fish with coins inside to pay the taxes.
“Some people may think that they belong to the Kingdom of God, but they do not belong to the laws of this land. But even Jesus obeyed,” said Dianithi.
Scope of Authority
Jesus gave his 72 disciples the spiritual authority to cast out demons in His Name (Luke 10:17). In Christ, all of us have the spiritual authority (Heb 2:6a).
Hebrews 2:6-8
Instead, someone has declared this somewhere in the Scripture:
“What is a mortal that you should remember him, or the Son of Man that you take care of him? You made him a little lower than the angels. You crowned him with glory and honor. You put everything under his control.” When God put everything under his Son’s control, nothing was left out.
2 Peter 1:3
God’s divine power has given us everything we need for life and for godliness. This power was given to us through knowledge of the one who called us by his own glory and integrity.
“Prophets function in the spiritual authority, not in the flesh. The flesh cannot speak what is in the spiritual realm,” said Dianithi.
Strength of Authority
Lastly, know the strength of the Kingdom. The centurion surrendered to the Roman Emperor’s authority, whereby he would fulfill every command given. He understood the chain of command, and a higher authority would allow him to achieve something greater.
“That is why he came to Jesus and said, ‘Say the word.’ When a command is given, it is manifested in power because Jesus has taken the authority to say out the word,” said Dianithi.
The strength of a believer in Christ thus, comes from surrendering to Him.
Difference between Authority and Power
Authority differs from power. For example, in a football match, the players may have the power to play and score. But the person who has the authority in the football field is the referee. No matter how much power a player has, the referee need to only blow his whistle to send the player off.
“God is saying to us, ‘You have that little guy (referee) in you. As long as you remain in me (James 15:4), I will give you authority and power over everyone. Our strength comes from His authority and it’s high time for you to recognize authority. It’s high power, tell the devil to get lost and I don’t want to see you anymore. None of us should live defeated lives,” said Pr Dianithi.
John 15:4
Remain in me, and I will remain in you. For a branch cannot produce fruit if it is severed from the vine, and you cannot be fruitful unless you remain in me.
Let us live victoriously then by claiming the authority in Jesus Christ through trust, obedience, and humility.
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