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As I said, we need to create a lifestyle of open communication with Father God, with His Son Jesus, and with the Holy Spirit, the Trinity. You can do that during your prayer time, Bible and prayer. How much time each day do you spend in Bible and prayer compared to the amount of time that you spend scrolling on your smartphone? A lot of people would plead guilty to the fact that they spend a lot more hours on their phone than they do studying God's Word, the Bible. And if you spent more time, I'm not going to say try and spend as much time studying the Bible as you do spending on your smartphone. I don't know that that's possible in today's society. But if you could just do more, if, for example, for the last year you've been spending the first 10 minutes of your day in Bible and prayer, could you increase that to 20? Could you increase that? Could you get up a little earlier and to spend 30 minutes or 40 or 60 minutes each day? If you can just increase the time that you spend with God, your relationship with your Savior Jesus Christ is going to be stronger and stronger and stronger. It's so important we develop that relationship. For example, if you see a person at work and you're single, they're single and you'd like to have a relationship with them, what do you do? You spend time with them. You call them, you write to them, you read their love notes, if you will. But if you spend more time with them, whether it's going out to dinner or just sitting on a park bench speaking, your relationship with them will grow. And it's the same with Christ. The more time you invest in your relationship with Jesus Christ, your relationship with him will grow. And as your relationship gets stronger, your authority in Christ will be stronger as well. The concept of the authority in Christ is a foundational element in Christian theology, reflecting the power granted to Jesus Christ by God the Father, Jesus then says, I give it to you. You're allowed to use my authority. All born-again believers can use the authority which is rooted in the divine nature of Christ, is redemptive work. You have a part in redemption. You have a part to seek out people who need to change, who need to repent of their sins, to be led to Christ. And like I said, one of the easiest ways to lead people to Christ, if you're not the type of person that can speak up and actually lead somebody in the sinner's prayer, you can lead people to Christ by the way you dress, by the way you act, by the way you talk, by the way you love one another, even if that person is unlovable. I find this next segment very interesting. I hope you do too. Your authority in Christ includes authority over nature and spirits. Throughout the Gospels, Jesus exercises authority over nature and spiritual realms realms. Remember in Mark 4:39, he foams the storm with a command. Yes, be still, showcasing his authority over the natural world. Similarly, in Mark 1:27, the people are amazed at Jesus' authority over unclean spirits, exclaiming he commands even the unclean spirits and they obey him. Do we have the authority in Christ to speak to storms and spirits and expect them to obey? Yes, I believe we do. I've heard so many interesting stories about people, pastors on TV, for example, a tornado is coming through their area and they speak to the storm and send it away where it can do no harm to other people. I've even heard of a story about one pastor in Louisiana who had a tornado hit every home around the church, but didn't touch the church because the pastor exhibited his authority to speak to the storm and to make the storm split, move around his church and keep him safe. You don't do that just for yourself. Pray for the whole community to be safe. Do we have the authority to speak to storms? Yes, I tell you the truth. Anyone who believes in me will do the same works I have done. That's John 14, 12 through 21. A long passage, but I won't read the whole thing. But write that down in your notes. John 14, 12 through 21. I tell you the truth. Anyone who believes in me will do the same works I've done, even greater works, because I'm going to be with the Father. The Holy Spirit lives in you now. Does your authority in Christ include doing what Christ did? Yes. I tell you the truth, anyone who believes in me will do the same works I've done. Next, let's look at where we can apply our authority in church. Undoubtedly, uh, the laying on of hands is important. It says in churches, anyone among you sick, let them call the deacons, let them lay hands on you, perhaps even anoint you with oil. That's a way of connecting the gospel message with the healing of a spiritually minded uh Christian, or the deacons of the church, or the board of the church, whatever people who have been selected as the leaders of the church, they join the pastor at the front of the church and lay hands on people for healing. If you don't do that in your church, why not? Talk to your pastor about doing that. We need to understand that there's no magical formulas in the church. I mean, laying on hands has nothing, no power in and of itself. Laying on of hands is only used by God when it's done in agreement with God's word. The person who has hands laid on them has to have the faith to believe and receive. You understand that?

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