Dwight Fletcher | Do you know who you are?

WHETHER WE recognise it or not, or believe it or not, we are in a battle – a spiritual battle. There is a spiritual realm around us made up of godly spiritual beings and evil spiritual beings. The evil ones are trying to destroy our societies and our world, including our lives. But God has given us the authority to push back the darkness from this world.

Jesus expressly said, “You are the light of the world.” Matthew 5:14 (NIV). As light, we have to shine and we have to battle to establish and expand God’s rule on the earth. When we fail to do this, Satan will steal, kill and destroy what should be rightfully ours. We are in a battle for our loved ones and friends. Without Jesus, they are going to a lost eternity – hell – and we have the authority to show Jesus to them. Furthermore, they are often attacked with sicknesses and trials from the evil one, so that we must come alongside them and push back darkness. God has authorised us to do this.

Look at what is happening around us. There is a wave of ungodly thinking and living that is sweeping the world, and it is affecting our lives and the lives of our children. If we don’t stand up for the Lord, we will soon be overrun.

What the enemy wants is that we do not recognise who we are in Christ. That we are sons of God, whom He has filled with supernatural power and the authority to make a difference. It is a bad day for the devil when, as Christians, we discover our authority through the Name of Jesus. But it is a great day for the Church and for the work of God when one more Christian takes up that authority and steps into a new realisation of who we are through Jesus.

The world teaches us to fear Satan and even as Believers many of us do. But Jesus did not teach that we should fear him. Jesus taught that the enemy is the one who is afraid; he fears us and our authority. Jesus declared war on evil and He sees His church as the aggressor. Since He has triumphed over sin, Satan, and his demonic hordes, then so have we. They have lost their power over us and we have gained the authority of God over them.

As Believers we are not ordinary. We have the Spirit of God living inside us. We are loved by God; valued by Him. We are not orphans; we are not alone; we are not abandoned. We are chosen and we belong. We have been made acceptable by God and we are fully capable for the assignment that He has for us.

We need to understand our authority and start using it for the glory of God. “… faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word about Christ.” Romans 10:17 (NIV).

The Name of Jesus is the master key that unlocks doors no one can shut, and shuts doors no one can open. When we pray in the Name of Jesus, we are exercising His authority in the earth. We have to open our mouths and declare it. We cannot exercise our authority with a closed mouth. We can say, “in the Name of Jesus I forbid this spirit of fear from my child.”

When we were born again, God gave us authority, but until we use it, it is only potential. Let us grab hold of the authority that we have through the name of Jesus and roar.