You've Got The Power

God loves us so much, and has given us everything that we need to not just to survive, but to thrive! However, our perception of God, can drastically change the way we see God, and what we are willing to accomplish. Our perception should be that God is a kind and loving Father, who wants nothing less than the best for us!

Luke 4:1-13

1 Then Jesus, being filled with the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness,

2 being tempted for forty days by the devil. And in those days He ate nothing, and afterward, when they had ended, He was hungry.

3 And the devil said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, command this stone to become bread.”

4 But Jesus answered him, saying, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God.’ ”

5 Then the devil, taking Him up on a high mountain, showed Him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time.

6 And the devil said to Him, “All this authority I will give You, and their glory; for this has been delivered to me, and I give it to whomever I wish.

7 Therefore, if You will worship before me, all will be Yours.”

8 And Jesus answered and said to him, “Get behind Me, Satan! For it is written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only you shall serve.’ ”

9 Then he brought Him to Jerusalem, set Him on the pinnacle of the temple, and said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down from here.

10 For it is written: ‘He shall give His angels charge over you, to keep you,’

11 and, ‘In their hands they shall bear you up, lest you dash your foot against a stone.’ ”

12 And Jesus answered and said to him, “It has been said, ‘You shall not tempt the Lord your God.’ ”

13 Now when the devil had ended every temptation, he departed from Him until an opportune time.

Luke 4:5-7

5 Then the devil, taking Him up on a high mountain, showed Him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time.

6 And the devil said to Him, “All this authority I will give You, and their glory; for this has been delivered to me, and I give it to whomever I wish.

7 Therefore, if You will worship before me, all will be Yours.”

That word delivered, actually doesn’t just mean delivered, it actually means:

To surrender or transfer over, To give into the hands of another, To give over something to keep, use, take care of and manage

That is like when the cops transfer material or detainees. They give over everything they have to another person, precinct, state, or even another agency, for instance, if the prisoner is wanted by the FBI, their authority may take priority, and thus the local cops transfer the prisoner, and their authority over that prisoner and his possessions to the other agency.

- That is the word that is used here.

So, who delivered all the kingdoms of the world, and the power to the devil?

In order to find that out, we have to go back to Genesis…

Genesis 1:26

Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.”

Dominion:

To rule over, to dominate, to reign… like a king. - So Adam was given authority to rule and reign over all the earth, and everything in it.

But you the earth is the Lord's, and you would be correct!

Psalm 24:1 says, "The earth is the Lord’s, and all its fullness, the world and those who dwell therein."

But He have to Adam to manage…

For a brief, unspecified time, Adam and Eve enjoyed their God-given rulership, and had a taste of what God's people would eventually experience in the future. God crowned Adam and Eve with glory and honor.

Psalm 8:5-8

5 For You have made him a little lower than the angels, and You have crowned him with glory and honor.

6 You have made him to have dominion over the works of Your hands; You have put all things under his feet,

7 All sheep and oxen even the beasts of the field,

8 The birds of the air, and the fish of the sea that pass through the paths of the seas.

But when Adam and Eve disobeyed God's command and ate of the forbidden fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, Adam transferred all dominion and authority to God's enemy, the Devil.

In Luke 4:6, when Jesus Christ was being tempted by the Devil, he said to Jesus,

"And the devil said to Him, “All this authority I will give You, and their glory; for this has been delivered to me, and I give it to whomever I wish."

- And notice… Jesus did not question the legitimacy of the devil’s claim.

- BUT if the first Adam could give authority to the devil, the second Adam (jesus) could take it back!

With the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, the penalty for sin was paid, thereby restoring to Christians (people who believe and accept the sacrifice of Jesus)…. Restoring to those people all that Adam lost in the garden due to sin.

Spiritually, Christian believers again have dominion, power and authority that they can exercise over the enemy and his works…

- Ephesians teaches of the resurrection and ascension of Jesus, by saying that:

Ephesians 1:20-21

20 God raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places,

21 far above all principality and power and might and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in that which is to come.

Ephesians 2:5-6

5 even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved),

6 and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus

Romans 5:17

17 For if by the one man’s offense death reigned through the one, much more those who receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ.

Jesus did take back from the devil the authority that he stole, and then gave it to us when He gave us the keys to the kingdom. And Jesus explained this in Matthew 16:19…

“And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.”

Keys: Authority, Power to open and shut, Power and authority of various kinds

So Jesus was saying that He gave us the authority in/of the kingdom

Jesus told His disciples, which also applies to us, that He gave them authority, then He told them what the authority allowed them to do

Again Matthew 16:19 says..

"... whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.”

- Where does the binding and loosing begin… on Earth

- Where is the binding and loosing completed… in Heaven

We have the ability to declare God’s Word over a situation (that doesn’t currently line up with the Word of God), then as we are speaking that request, Heaven hears and grants our request

These are Jesus’s Words, not mine!

Again, the definition of dominion is:

To rule over, to reign… like a king. That doesn’t mean we act better than everyone, but like Jesus we serve, and set free. But we just don’t serve and set free the physical earth, but everything thing in it. That includes setting people free from the demonic forces that are destroying people’s lives.

As believers, we are to carry on the work of Jesus, and expand the Kingdom of God on the earth. That’s what Jesus did, and that’s what we should do!

And if you haven't already done so, the first change we need to make is getting your life right with God…whether you’ve never given your life to God, or you used to walk with God and you’re not near as close as you used to be… today is the day for change!

So, scripture says in Romans 10:9-10

9 that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved

10 For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.

Some people call it getting saved, but it’s so much more than that. It’s not just about coming to the front and praying a prayer.

And I’m sure there are people that may have said the words before, but they’ve never made Jesus Lord of their life. You went down to the altar before, but there was no real change in your life. It’s not enough to just say the words… the Bible says that every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.

Saying Jesus is Lord of your life, and your life not showing it, is a like a tree that doesn't produce fruit. James 2:17 says, “faith without works is dead!”

I can’t not stress that enough… your life must produce fruit!

So, at this time I would like to invite you to repeat after me…

Jesus, I know that you gave your life for mine

You died, to cleanse me, then you rose on the third day

To complete my transformation Into a new and wonderful creation.

I turn from my old ways, and I turn over my life to you

Jesus I make you Lord of my life!

Whether you made a decision to change for the first time, or you rededicated your life to the Lord today, I want to hear from you! At the same time, if you need prayer for any reason, I ask that share that prayer request with me; because whether your issues are physically, mental or emotional, you can be set free! Have A Blessed Day! Pastor George Finney New Life Church

georgegfinney@gmail.com