“Behold, I have given you authority and power to trample upon snakes and scorpions and (physical and mental strength and ability) over all the power that the enemy (possesses); and nothing shall in anyway harm you.
Luke 10:19 Amplified.
Have you ever taken the time to think through this scripture in Luke 10? I have had to and my first reaction when I read it from the Amplified version of the Bible is the fact that the Bible did make the effort to define in brackets what authority and power may mean and they referred to them as physical and mental strength and ability. The moment I saw this I began to think on why it had to be both physical and mental and it dawned on me that power is physical and authority is mental or spiritual.
Still looking at the scripture from Luke 10, Jesus went on to point out that this physical and mental strength and ability will overcome all the power of the enemy. The key difference is while we have received power and authority the enemy only has power.
The moment this came together for me, I started to look at my walk as a Christian differently. It dawned on me that while power is important and I have been given power, I have also been given authority. The issue now becomes which powers the other? Which is first, more important or more potent?
Recently, someone was talking to another person about me and said that one of the issues he has with me is the fact that I don’t spend long enough time praying because in his words ‘things are working for me’. The truth is I had never realised how much things are working for me, until he mentioned it. I mean I know that I am doing great, and that even though I can’t claim to have had things easy, I can say that somehow they tend to fall into place…but to say they were working for me, I would have thought was a stretch.
Which was why before I made the effort to address this person, I first had to do a quick audit to determine if I was spiritually lazy as that person was trying to paint me or if there was something else I was doing or understood that made me not the typical Christian that most people know.
In my audit I realised that first, I wasn’t lazy at all but could understand how others would perceive me as lazy. I was not lazy in the real sense of the word, I simply had taken the time to understand who I was in God, where He has planted me, what He wanted me to achieve and the tools He had put at my disposal. I come across as lazy because I wasn’t given to sleeplessness concerning something God had promised me or has even accomplished and all I am doing is waiting for manifestation.
I realised that I come across as lazy because, nine times out of ten, I prefer to obey what I have been commanded to do, so God could do what He has promised to do. I also come across as lazy because I know without a shadow of doubt what I should do and I get to do them as much as I can just as I am aware what isn’t in my department to do and I am comfortable letting God be God.
You see, the point of Authority is not to flex muscles, the point of Authority is knowing who is indeed in charge. As children of God, Authority confers upon us ‘in chargedness’ and as long as we take that conferment seriously and feed it with the right food, we ought to be fine.
If I was good at formulas, the formula for what I am trying to pass across to you today would be something like this below:
Authority = In chargedness
Power = Manifest Acts
Therefore: In chargedness + Manifest Acts = Effectiveness
As elementary as this may seem to us. Herein lies the difference between the fire-fighting believer and the believer who sets the tone for the life he should live.
My question for you is, are you in charge, or are you huffing and puffing trying to manifest acts? Power without authority is the bane of effective Christianity, I promise.
This edition is loaded but different. We have had to spend the last two years on line only but have now received instructions to get back in print. The format for this is different, we now are running Effectual as a social enterprise rather than for profit. What this means is we need you to keep the editions coming. Just make a contribution towards the print of copies and we will deliver same number to you for your onward distribution. To partner with us please send an email to Bidemi@verbatimcomms.com or info@effectualmag.com with your intention and a telephone number and we will be in touch with you.
Our GLL for this edition is no other than the vibrant Lara Kayode her story and journey as a legal practitioner while doing her best to keep her authority as a daughter of the Most High will intrigue and inspire you.
Some colummns have been laid to rest and new ones are birth in their place, we also have new contributors on board like Ini Apkan, Sola Alao-Chukwura, Ireti Ade-Oyinleye, Ade Ade our poet and ….
Welcome and may you never lack in authority in all things and all ways.
You are loved and appreciated!