Authority of the Believer

The passages above are those referenced by a reader who asks to be shown such works in todays time. These passages raise many questions in the believing community where so many different doctrines are to be found throughout the denominations in regards to these verses. What this question generally asks is what it means to be living under the favor of the Almighty as given by Yahshuah through the Spirit. More specifically, it deals with the spiritual and the miraculous ... something we do not see much of in this country. This is something that we as believers have typically heard of, but not personally seen or experienced, and so therefore are left wondering if it is really true and something we should even begin to expect in the first place.

The topics of the Spiritual gifts, of giftings, or of modern day miracles and healings can be confusing. There are many questions and skepticisms because we have all seen the fakes and the abuses caused by schemers. Yet, what about those healings (physical) and deliverances (demonic) that actually do occur and are real and miraculous and without question are true documented occurrences of modern day healing? What can we say about these? And why is it that here in America so little of this is happening while in other parts of the world like Africa and China, where they are hearing the gospel for the first time, so much is happening ... including healings, deliverances from demons, and even the raising from the dead. When we clear ourselves of the fakes and the imitators, we are left with the true miraculous power that Yahshuah has sent into this world through His body (believers) by means of the Spirit.

Taken plainly, the Scriptures do state that these things should happen and encourages people to grow in these gifts. So how are we to know what is true and what is fake? The answer comes in the same answer that all such questions come in ... we are the disciples of Yahshuah and as such we are to be like Him (our Master). Our Master wants to heal and free the oppressed. He is our head ... He is doing the leading. We are continuing the work here on earth. What work is that? The same work that He did when He walked the earth. He went preaching the gospel, and healing and deliverance went with Him.

Being His disciples means many things for us. One of those things is that we represent Him and that we speak on His behalf and with His authority. It is no different than a person who owns an estate and has many hired servants. If the chef goes to town to purchase groceries, he is able to place the order and put it on His master's tab and the store will get the money from the master. The chef has the authority to do business in his master's name. The chauffeur has the authority to go and make purchases or repairs to the vehicles. The gardener can buy mulch, trees, or new mowing equipment all in his master's name. Each of these workers has been given authority to do this ... each in his own department of work. It is no different for us. We are the workers of our Master. He has given each of us authority over different aspects of the kingdom according to our abilities. This includes going out and preaching the gospel, healing the sick, and freeing the cursed and demon oppressed ... we are given authority over things both physical and spiritual. We say we want to be like Him, but do we show it? Do we do the things He did? His disciples did it. The early church did it. If this is our example, why do we not do it?

Do you believe in satan? Do you believe in demons? What about curses? Do you know they war against the Almighty's people? Do you know they should not prevail, but instead that believers have the authority through our Messiah to stop them. The Almighty loves His people and wants them healed, at peace, etc. Our Messiah died an agonizing death at Passover (Pesach) to make an atoning sacrifice for us, which is why we can call Him 'Savior'. Yet how many of us stop there at Passover, receiving salvation, and do not continue on in the sequence of the High Days and Feasts gaining all the more that He has for us. He arose at Firstfruits (Yom HaBikkurim) and through that we have access to new life as well. At Pentecost (Shavuot) He sent the Spirit to empower us and make us able to carry on His work. Do we accept these and move onward with our new life and new power and authority, or do we sit back and relax knowing that we have salvation? Do we not know that our salvation is an ongoing process that is not officially over until judgment? Do we not realize that although we have salvation guaranteed, that we still have more to gain and look forward to?

Faith requires believing in what is unseen. Most if not every promise of the Almighty is unseen when it is made. How the promises can be accomplished often are not understood. In the physical we can see nothing of it or how it might happen, but Spiritually things are already set in motion for it to occcur. It takes faith for miracles to occur. It takes obedience for blessings to flow, but obedience is also based on faith. Have you ever noticed that miracles tend to occur more frequently for the new believer or the just about to become a believer? That when a person becomes more mature in their faith, the miracles decrease? It is not because there is less power or because a person has lost faith, but because that person is likely living with greater and greater blessing as their walk with the Almighty has grown into what it should be. When a person lives under blessing, the need for a miracle to save a person from a situation becomes less and less frequent.

Because of this, it makes sense that miracles are most often found and associated with the preaching of the gospel. The people listening are the very people who have the worst problems and the most need for dramatic intervention in their lives. But it takes faith. When we look at Yahshuah's ministry on earth, we see that people were healed 'according to their faith' and in the instance of His hometown where there was little faith no mighty works were possible except a few healings. Note that: they were not even possible.

There are many different allegories I could choose to demonstrate this, but I go with the nation of Israel when they were leaving the wilderness and entering the Promised Land. As they entered, they had the promise of a land flowing with milk and honey and of being able to fend off those who were already there. It does not take much reading to realize that when Israel advanced forward in faith, they had little, if any, fighting to do to win the territory and that when they did not have faith, they lost that territory to the enemy and sometimes never received that promise even after hundreds of years. It is the same for us! We have the promises of what we can do in this world when we work for our Master ... what we can do through His authority given to us. But it requires Faith ... if we do not boldly go out and march into what is promised, expecting to receive the promise, then the enemy will keep it out of our hands and cause us trouble over time. If we cannot act on faith, then we ourselves place a limit on what we receive from Elohim.

I use an allegory, because much of what happens in the spiritual gifts and miraculous range is, well, spiritual. We cannot see it ... which is one precursor for faith because it is not based on faith if we can see it. The Scriptures tell us that we wrestle not with flesh and blood, but in the spiritual. This is where most believers stop, fail, or fall ... the Spiritual aspect of life, those behind-the-scenes happenings, is discounted or made of no effect because they are made into symbolism or merely teaching material with no real application to or effect on our lives. Yet it is this unseen area of life that may have the greatest impact on us. It needs to be dealt with. We should be fighting the enemy and winning. It is a war. We know the outcome of this war, but until then, the enemy will take as much territory as we are willing to let him have. It is time to say 'enough', it is time to stop him where he is and then take back what is rightfully ours.