Last week as I was reading Luke chapter 10, and as I reached verse 19, I closed my eyes and began to declare it out loud, Thank you Lord for you have given me power over snakes and scorpions…

Before I could go any further, I heard the Holy Spirit say:

No, I have not given you power.

And I began to reason in my mind, saying: God you did give us power.

And the sweet Holy Spirit replied, “Read the scripture carefully.”

And I began reading Luke 10:19 out loud. It said:

Behold, I give you the authority to trample on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall by any means hurt you.

Wow, we children of God don’t have power over the enemy but authority!

There is a huge difference between the two. Power is the ability to do something, but authority is the right to be able to do something. For instance, I may have the power to stop the traffic on the road, but it won’t work because I don’t have the authority to do it.

Three truths you need to cling to

1. You have authority
Power is raw might. Authority is the access to execute that power. You can have power but unless you have authority you can’t release it. In Christ we have authority and not just power.

2. Devil’s power is borrowed from you
The only power that the enemy has is what you give him. His power is borrowed. His power is fake. His power is no power. And that’s why the scripture says, you have authority over all his power and nothing will harm you!

3. Authority comes with a purpose
Now let me bring it to a full circle. Why have we been given authority? Well, authority doesn’t come to you without a purpose. And the purpose is this: To Go and Make disciples (Matthew 28:18-19).

I am praying this word will birth a fire in your bones and shake you the way it shook me!