In mark 1:40-42, Jesus has an encounter with one of these outcasts of society – a leper. This scenario gives quite an illustration of ministering the good news of the kingdom, beyond the miraculous. Some insights include:

1. The leper recognized Jesus had the goods

“If you will, you can make me whole.” There was obviously something in the manner of Jesus’ life that this leper saw that gave  him faith that Jesus could answer the biggest need of his life.

So this leads me to the soul searching question: Is there enough visible evidence in my life to let people know what I have available?

2. The leper felt comfortable to approach Jesus

There were strict rules of society regarding lepers and their visibility in public. Yet this man was willing to risk the outcome because he believed Jesus would accept him.

Spoken or unspoken, we have “rules” in our societies on the interaction of the marginalized and disenfranchised. Even within the confines of the church we find that many do not feel welcome if they do not measure up to the status quo of what they see in the average member.

Again, must ask myself, Do people feel comfortable enough to approach me?

3. Jesus was moved with compassion

Jesus response was not typical of society: He was “moved with compassion.” Not only did he NOT shirk away, his compassion caused him to move or do something.

How many times do I/we avoid the interaction with the marginalized or disenfranchised? At best we do programs to “minister” and not get involved. “The poor do not want to be a program.” – The Total Church

4. Jesus touched the untouchable

Jesus took a risk based on societal standards: he touched the untouchable. By Mosaic Law, Jesus would have become unclean himself.

I/we need to step out and take a “risk.” To demo the kingdom, we must move beyond the comforts of our lives and step into the areas that others in society would not go.

Real ministry to the marginalized and outcast will produce a twofold results: The First, someone’s life can be transformed. Second, others will see the power of our God.

“In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven. Mt 5:16”

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There was this man that for all of his life lived in need. No matter what he attempted, it seems he could never get ahead. One day he received notification that a distant relative had died and left to him their mansion. Obviously this man was elated. Finally something had gone right for him.

Upon receiving the deed and keys to the mansion, this individual proceeds to his new possession. As he arrives, he is struck with awe and amazement at its size and grandeur. With great excitement, he inserts the key and opens the massive polished oak doors stepping into the most elaborate and beautiful foyer he has ever seen.

The floors are a gleaming marble. The walls are decorated with priceless paintings. The curtains are what you would expect in the most opulent of homes. The chandeliers are of exquisite cut leaded glass reflecting the sunlight into a myriad of rainbow colors. The man is so overwhelmed with joy that tears begin to flow down his cheeks. He pauses for a moment thinking about this distant relative who he has never met, yet this relative has given him the best gift of his life.

Suddenly, the man turns and walks out with a smile on his face, locking the door and returns to his meager dwelling. All through the week, he lives his life of existence, thinking about his mansion. He has told his friends at work about it. Even given some directions to it. Yet every day he returns to his same old abode.

A week later, we find this man back at his new mansion. With similar excitement he places the key in the door and swings open that large door and steps into the foyer. Once again, he is overwhelmed with the beauty, and it is all his! He revels in the wonder that he could be so fortunate and mentally thanks his relative for this gift. After a few minutes he turns and once again, walks out the massive door and returns to his routine life of meager existence.

Unfortunately, because he did not venture further into the mansion, he missed the envelope his relative left in one of the other rooms. Inside this envelope were instructions to access the safe in the office that obtained the keys to various lockboxes where further valuables were stored. This process of weekly visits to his mansion is repeated week after week, month after month, until the man has developed a pattern of accessing limited benefits of his new mansion.

Now we all understand this is a fictitious story. We really don’t believe anybody would be that foolish, not taking full possession of his inheritance.

However, we find this happens week after week in churches throughout the body of Christ. With the traditional focus of the church on the salvation message, we constantly focus on entering the kingdom of God. Our message is continually presenting the door to this wonderful spiritual domain. Week after week we encourage believers to focus on entering into the experience God has for them and making sure that they have continual access.

There is more to the kingdom than the door. Jesus came preaching the Gospel of the Kingdom of Heaven — the good news of the dominion of a spiritual realm. Inside the kingdom God has for us much more than we could ever imagine. There is provision, protection, peace, joy, power and demonstration. We need to venture deeper into our fathers house and seek what He has placed there for us.

How can we accomplish this?
· Change our prayer to abiding prayer – stay until we hear from Him.
· Seek to mature beyond being a child of God to becoming a son of God.
· Walk in the empowering of the Spirit, demonstrating Kingdom (apostolic) authority.

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The other morning, sitting at my office (Starbucks) cleaning files from my computer, I ran across an ebook entitled “Marketing Apple, 5 Secrets of the World’s Best Marketing Machine.” I remembered downloading, but never reading it: so I began to peruse it. The first section jumped out at me and I saw application to the Kingdom of God.

The section is titled: “Don’t Sell Products, People buy what other people have.” The author describes how each iPod user actually becomes a marketer (evangelist – my word) for Apple.  The article references the iPod commercials depicting happy and excited people dancing to the tunes on their iPods. These energetic people were not promoting the techno wonders of the iPod – they were marketing an experience.

Further, they pointed out the distinctive white headphones each individual was wearing. The marketing guru’s took the most visible part of the iPod and used it to create a status symbol of sorts, or an indicator you were part of the club. Thus, as you are living life, jammin’ or chillin’ to the tunes of your iPod, you are marketing to the world the Apple brand.

And you don’t even get a commission!

Now how does this apply to the kingdom of God? Glad you asked.

For too long, I believe our evangelism methods have been apologetics based: we have created a sound biblical thesis as to the fallen nature of each individual and the necessity of a life transforming, born again experience.  Once we have memorized the Roman Road, 4 Steps or Laws or any other exegesis, we then schedule our “outreach” time and descend upon the hapless lost souls needing the word of truth we have for them…. And for the most part, it is rejected.

At other times, people listen to what we say: then look at our lives and the two do not mesh well together. The experience we are marketing is inconsistent with our message.

So, what am I getting at?

We should be like Apple and the focus of our lives should be to demo an experience. While eternity is important, we need to demo that the journey is worth taking. Those outside of the Kingdom need to see that this life is exciting, full of joy, peace and adventure. This needs to be conveyed outside the confines of church services, in the real world of daily life.

We also need to create this “I’m part of the club” mentality. Now wait, I’m not saying an exclusive, cliquish group: but one that is noticeably different from the masses and appealing. Thankfully, the Lord has already created a way for this to happen: it is the characteristics of the fruit of the Spirit. Just as the white headphones identified the iPod users “club,” the demonstration of the characteristics of the fruit of the Spirit will identify us as part of the Kingdom.

If we consciously focus on our marketing (evangelism), we can create a demand for our “product.” People may not be concerned at the moment about eternity, but they come to desire what we are revealing to them and will be willing to make “the deal” to posses it.

Food For Thought
First – every day we are marketing (or evangelizing). So chose to market our King and his kingdom
Second – be conscious of the experience you are marketing.

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“Faith faith faith, just a little bit of faith. You don’t need a whole lot, just use what you’ve Got. “ Who ever wrote the lyrics to this song: I wonder if they really listened to what they were saying? It seems that they are implying that faith is this magical, mystical elixir that just “a little dab will do ya!” I don’t know, maybe they have a better understanding, but this is not the faith that I see in the word.

The faith I read of is something that takes us on a process of discovery; an illumination into our innermost fears and the awesomeness of a loving God.

The initiation of this faith process is many times an exciting one. God speaks to us or “calls” us to some “thing.” We rejoice that He desires to use us, Wow! What the Lord may not tell us at that moment or we fail to hear is something like this: “I can use you, but not where and how you are right now, you need to leave this place.” The calling is to leave what and where we are and follow Him to another place. Sounds good until we walk a few miles on this journey.

This faith journey does not take us on the well-traveled expressways; but the meandering lonely dirt roads of life are where we find ourselves. And I might add without a road map! Oh don’t get me wrong, the Lord knows the way, he just doesn’t show us.

It is on these isolated back roads, by ourselves, that we begin to discover what is in us. This is where WE (the self) begin to wrestle with our FAITH. You see, faith is not some emotional high or repeating to yourself how much you believe God is able to …… (fill in whatever the situation may be). Faith is the belief, trust and COURAGE to ACT or CONTINUE the journey even when the road is rough, desolate or even none existent (at least to us).

I think of individuals who have traveled this journey, like Abram. God spoke to him – woohoo! But what did he say? Leave – your family, friends, and country – everything familiar to you. I can imagine a possible dialog like the following. “Where am I going Lord?” “Don’t worry, I will show you.” “But how will I know where to go?” “Just start walking.” “How will I know when I get there?” “Just start walking.” “But God?” “If you believe me, just start walking.” So we see Abram demonstrated his faith by action – he took a literal step of faith.

It was on this journey of faith; we see a revelation of what was in Abram. Twice he lied about his relationship with his wife – “she’s my sister.” Well, at least it was a half-truth – justification. In a time of weakness he followed Sarai’s advice and took matters into his own hand: we know the long-term affects of that. Yet in the end, God fulfilled His word and Abraham received his promise.

Joseph is another example. A young boy with a dream from God. Yet his faith journey was one of literal bondage. Ps 105: 17-19 gives insight into what God was doing in him during this process. Joseph revealed his understanding of God’s plans when he told brothers: “what you meant for my harm God meant for my good.”

So faith is a journey of discovery: it is doing when we don’t see the end, it is stepping when we don’t see the path, it is continuing when we don’t know the way. Faith is not so much about what I believe; it is about what I do.

Are you on a faith journey:
Wondering what God is doing in your life?
Check out our new book
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What’s Happening, When Nothing’s Happening

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I am not sure, but somewhere along the line, Christianity has presented this idea that once you are born again God just makes everything OK. It is presented that He is our go to guy to “get er done” and the bible is a cookbook of recipes for the solutions to our problems. Yet we find no matter how much we pray, study or quote scripture: life is still pretty hard! (it’s ok to say amen here).

Is there a purpose or outcome of all this? Why would this happen if I’m His child and I have been living my best for him? A couple of days ago I read Romans 5:3-5 in a different translation and have found myself ruminating over it.

“We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they are good for us — they help us learn to endure. 4 And endurance develops strength of character in us, and character strengthens our confident expectation of salvation. 5 And this expectation will not disappoint us. For we know how dearly God loves us, because he has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with his love.” NLT

The writer of these verses was familiar with problems and understood the purpose in our lives. Below is a list:
• They help us learn to endure
• Endurance develops strength of character
• Character strengthens our expectation of God’s work

These problems actually help us grow – it develops our character: strength, peace, contentment, trust, faithfulness and hope in God. And this will not disappoint us.

I am not implying that we should like problems, but that we should keep the right perspective. Our born again experience is not a destination: it is the entrance to a transformational life. The ultimate destination is to be conformed to His image. It is the trials of life that assist the Spirit in this transformation.

How do we know this is for our benefit? The writer says we know God loves us because He has given us His Spirit to fill our hearts with love. He would not choose to dwell in something that was destined to fail! So this correct perspective can allow us to rejoice – because we know the end game is to be like Him!

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“What!” you may be exclaiming: “That is absurd, when can God’s promises hurt?” May I offer a response – when they do not seem to be coming to pass.

Think for a moment of the excitement you experience when the Lord gave you a promise. Maybe it is about your job, finances, loved ones or a particular ministry. Daily you anticipate its fulfillment. Yet as time passes and the promise does not seem to materialize, there is a change in our attitude. Excitement now becomes frustration, maybe even anger as time continues to pass.

This promise forever alters our paradigm of life: it is always there, sometimes in the forefront of our thoughts, sometimes just below our consciousness.  It places us in a position that we cannot go back to how we used to think, yet it seems we cannot go forward either. There are days you wonder if you really heard Him right? Has He forgotten you? Did you miss it? Did you do something wrong? Questions and emotions can run rampant causing such mental anguish.

So yes the promises of God can hurt. But there is a reason.

Joseph experienced the same pain, yet God was using it as a process of development.  As a young man, Joseph received a promise from God. In a dream his  family was bowing to him and Joseph proceeds to tell them of this wonderful promise. Obviously, the family was not too thrilled.  This starts a process of development in Joseph’s life: he is cast into a pit, sold to a slave caravan and transported to Egypt, re-sold to Potiphar, then cast into prison.  Some promise huh! Some pain! Yet there was a reason for this besides getting him to Egypt.

Until the time that his word came: the word of the LORD tried him. Ps 105:19

Joseph’s promise required a process of preparation. The text above tells us that until the promise came to pass, Joseph was tried. According to BDB Hebrew Lexicon, “tried” means “to smelt, to refine, to test.” According to TWOT this word “is primarily used for gold and silversmiths and for the process of refining metals before they were worked into fine vessels.” The time between receiving the promise and its fulfillment was a refining time for Joseph. Ok, that makes sense and we can grasp that. So…….

Now this is what strikes me about this process: it was the “word of the LORD” that tried him. The very promise given him became his refiner! Think about that. How many times do we really associate a promise from God as purifying us? Usually we get excited: we claim His promises, we declare them and we look for them to come to pass. Yet have we ever stopped to think that His promise could also become the instrument of our purification?

All those years as a slave or in prison, Joseph must have been asking God about the promise. He probably questioned what he heard: wondered if he missed something or did something wrong. I can imagine there were many nights lying awake staring into the darkness of despair, wondering: “where is this promise?” Yet through this, there was a refining going on IN Joseph.

It was the purification process of the promise that equipped Joseph to fulfill the promise. Joseph was an immature seventeen-year-old when he received the dream, what did he know about leadership. Yet it was the pain of the years of servanthood in Potiphar’s house and the prison that equipped him as a leader and administrator. When It was God’s time, Joseph was ready to step into his promise.

Today, you may be wondering when will God bring his promise to pass. You are tired, frustrated and maybe angry. Don’t lose hope, if you are here, you are right where God wants you! You are in a process.

For a more detailed understanding of the process, see our book: But God, You Said: What’s Happening When Nothing’s Happening or click here

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Regarding potential, I found the following quote in my notes; sorry I do not remember the source:

• Some see situations as they are, others as they can be.
• Some see people as they are, others as they can be.
• And some see themselves as they are, others as they can be.

Potential, it is there, just waiting to be noticed.

Potential
Potential represents something that is latent or unrealized. It is there, but has not yet come into being. We understand the idea of potential energy, oil and batteries have potential energy in them; the key is in knowing how to release it.

God Is A God Of Potential
The exciting thing for you and I is that God focuses on potential. Prior to the creation processes Gen 1:2 states “the earth hath existed waste and void, and darkness [is] on the face of the deep” (YLT). Yet when God spoke creation into existence, He was revealing what was in his mind. He sees the potential!

He also sees the potential in His children. To Jacob, whose name mean supplanter, he said, you will be Israel, a prince with God. To Gideon the least of the smallest tribe in Israel, hiding behind the winepress threshing wheat: He called him a mighty man of valor. He called the original disciples to follow Him and he would make them into something. He took a despised tax collector and made him a gift of God (Matthew). He sees the potential!

He doesn’t look for perfection, but potential
But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty; and the base things of the world and the things which are despised God has chosen, and the things which are not, to bring to nothing the things that are, 1 Cor 1:27-28 NKJV
God uses the unseen potential (by natural eyes) to bring to nothing what is readily visible.

God sees past your present situation: he sees the potential inside of you waiting to be let out. He sees your future. He is the ultimate craftsman taking the rough materials of our lives and releases what’s on the inside.

Paul instructs us how we can also see the potential:
“Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, Nor have entered into the heart of man The things which God has prepared for those who love Him. But God has revealed them to us through His Spirit. For the Spirit searches all things, yes, the deep things of God. .” 1 Cor 2:9,10 NKJV. The natural man cannot see potential, but the Spirit does. It is connecting with His spirit that allows us to see the potential with in us. It is allowing His spirit to transform and renew our minds: revealing to us what He sees in each of us.

Food for thought:
Am I focusing on what I see or seeking what He sees?

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I like labels that tell me what is in a container: this allows me to effectively use what is in the container. Imagine, you need sugar for you coffee and the white granular stuff you grab is salt! Would surely mess up your cup of Starbucks coffee.

Labels assist us in the identifying the usage of something. For instance, most clothes have a care label inside. Identifies the material and how to care for it. I have made the mistake of washing a dry clean only item before – guess I did not trust the label!

There are many similar examples of the blessings of a label. These I like.

But where I hate labels in regards to spiritual things: in this realm, they are detrimental. We use labels in the spiritual arena in the following ways:

First – to identify
Listen in on spiritual conversations and you will here someone say something like: “Oh, they are ….(insert any name of an organization, denomination, or theological persuasion here).” The idea is, that now that person being talked about has been identified. Those involved in the conversation believe they now have an understanding of who that person is and what they believe.

I have had conversations with people and when they ask me what I am, I have either not answered, or said Christian. This frustrates them, they press for more info: why? Because I did not give them anything to identify me with.

The problem with labeling someone to identify them is that we all have a different idea of what that label means. Let me give you an example.

The term apostolic is being used a lot lately and depending upon what group you hang with, the definition is different. When you say apostolic there are those that believe:

• It refers to the catholic church
• It refers to the office of an apostle
• It refers to a particular doctrine of salvation
• It refers to a particular lifestyle
• It refers to the miraculous ministry of the first church
• It refers to the restoration of a sending and foundational ministries

So you see, using this word as identifying someone, still does not really ID them.
Just think of the other labels used in Christianity and how this also applies.

Second – to judge
Once we have identified someone with a label, we now use it to judge them. Oh, yes we do! We either judge them as acceptable (and probably continue our relationship) or we deem them as not measuring up to our level. Just imagine that statement “Oh, (slight pause – then continue in slightly lowered voice) they are…..” The implied judgment is there.

On of the greatest control methods of large groups are to label those who do not share all their same ideologies. By labeling them they create this social castigation, hoping they will succumb to peer pressure and “get back in the fold” so to speak.

Ultimately, using labels to judge, creates division within the body of Christ.

Third – to determine our interaction
I touched on this above. When I label someone, I judge, and then determine my level of interaction with them. There are individuals, because others disagree on one theological point, will have nothing to do with them. Organizations and groups have been formed around a few differing ideas. In fact, the level of interaction with the very people we are to impact has been severely limited by the labels we place on them.

Heathens, lost, sinners, druggies, prostitutes, drunkards and the “churches” terminology goes on and on for those that do not know Jesus in an intimate way. We identify these groups with labels, we judge them as below us (at least in spirituality) and we determine our limited interaction with them. Yes limited.

It seems that most churches speak of a separation from these people. Our interaction is relegated to the commando style outreach foray into their lives for the sole purpose of telling them they have a choice of heaven or hell. Then we retreat to the safety of our sanitized Christianity.

Jesus dealt with this mentality from the religious Pharisees in his day:

Mark 2:15 Later, Levi invited Jesus and his disciples to his home as dinner guests, along      with many tax collectors and other disreputable sinners. (There were many people of this kind among Jesus’ followers.) 16 But when the teachers of religious law who were Phariseesb saw him eating with tax collectors and other sinners, they asked his disciples, “Why does he eat with such scum?c” 17 When Jesus heard this, he told them, “Healthy people don’t need a doctor—sick people do. I have come to call not those who think they are righteous, but those who know they are sinners.” NLT

The Pharisees labeled, judged and ignored these people. They took issue with Jesus because He did not think like they did.

So where am I going with my ranting? Labels are ok on food containers and clothes, not on people. We should view each other as Jesus does and go beyond the judgmental barriers of labels and minister the grace and power of Jesus Christ to all.

Just thinking out loud…

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We have entered a transition phase of business marketing and advertising. There is this shift from interruption tactics to a more organic form. The day of mass TV ads, full-page magazine spreads, billboards, radio spots and direct mail seem to waning in effectives. Why?

• First, we are so inundated with these ads: we begin to block them.
• Second, many have become irritated with these unsolicited interruptions of our valuable time.

In short, the interruption marketing will actually shut the doors to the very people business are trying to reach.

Unfortunately, the church has as it’s mainstay of “witnessing”, interruption marketing. It is not uncommon to find well-intended believers knocking doors to invite strangers to some special event they are not interested in. Invite cards are handed out to total strangers in line at stores. I have witnessed strangers butting into another’s conversation, manipulating it to the heaven or hell issue. In each of these instances, the interruption implies that what I have is more important than what you are doing.

Then, those churches that do have some resources fill the highways with billboard telling me how they are the most personable church around (oxymoronic?). Then there are the radio and TV ads interrupting the programming: and we cannot forget the direct mail postcards that fill our mailboxes.

Now am I saying these are wrong? No. Just probably not effective. They are expensive and can potentially alienate the very ones we are attempting to reach.

The Answer – Go Viral
In the business world of today, the hot method today is the idea of word of mouth (mouse) or viral marketing. This is basically when one person is so enthralled with your product or idea; they willingly spread it to someone else by email, tweet, Facebook post, phone call or conversation over coffee. The idea is so relevant and easy to pass on, that people become the carriers of the “virus.”

The first church was the original viral marketers. They did not have billboards, mass mailings, invite cards, various ministries such as singles, youth, children. They did not have the mega buildings and phenomenal drama presentations. Yet they impacted their culture in such a dramatic way. How? Because they made the Good News (gospel) contagious.

They had something that was demonstratively real: they lived it out everyday of their lives. One contact with a “carrier” was so potentially infectious. The result was that the Lord added daily to the church.

What is the idea of The Viral Gospel?

First it must be virulent
Virulence is a virus’ ability to reproduce itself and affect changes in its host (simple def).

The Good News must be virulent in our lives; it must first be alive and active in us! This demonstration will make the gospel contagious – something that people want to grab

Second – Contagious
The good news must be easy to spread. Unfortunately, the average church mindset is come to our service – here you can get saved, healed etc. The majority of events happen around the building we call church or a specific sponsored event by the church.

To be contagious, we must take the good news out of the host carrier and touch the lives of others. Each believer (carrier) needs to be instructed in his or her giftedness and empowered to demo the good news of our King and his kingdom. As they move through their daily lives, the potential to transmit the good news grows exponentially.

Third replication
A virus spreads by injecting its DNA into a host cell: which then begins to reproduce the virus.

In the church, we call this discipleship. We must go beyond the focus of saved or lost, heaven or hell motivation and we must take the spiritual DNA we received at our new birth and through the power of His spirit, transfer it to others. The result is we are replicating the image and nature of Jesus in others.

The viral gospel – the powerful, life changing, replicating good news of Jesus is what will impact our communities.

Food for thought -
Are you a carrier?

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Authority is not a quality one person “has,” in the sense that he has property or physical qualities. Authority refers to an interpersonal relation in which one person looks upon another as somebody superior to him. Erich Fromm

Being sent to operate in Kingdom (apostolic) authority implies that someone of a greater power is designating where I am to operate my authority. This illuminates a key principle to using authority:

To the extent that I am submitted to authority,
determines the level of authority I can operate in.

Using Jesus as our example, we see that He was submitted to the one who sent him. This resulted in His ability to manifest the authority and power of God. His submission was evident by what He said and did. Jesus Himself said He came down from heaven, not to perform His own will, but the will of the one who sent Him. He further states that His doctrine was actually not His, but it was of the one who sent Him (Jn 6:38, 7:16, 8:28, 12:49, 12:50, 17:8). This is truly apostolic: being in submission to the authority of the one who is sending. As a result of not seeking His own will, we see His ministry was one of the miraculous.

Failure to be in submission to authority can result in our lack of authority because we cannot be trusted. In Acts 19:13-17 we observe the failure of certain individuals who attempt to operate in apostolic authority without being themselves submitted to authority. There were seven sons of a man named Sceva who were vagabond Jews. They took upon themselves to call the name of Jesus over those who were filled with evil spirits. They invoked the name of Jesus who Paul preaches. Unfortunately for them, it states that the spirits recognized Jesus and Paul, but questioned who they were. Subsequently, the man who was possessed of the spirit lept on them, prevailed physically, and forced them to flee from the house wounded and naked.

Examining this incident closer we see two potential reasons for their failure.

First they were vagabonds. This word has been translated as wander, wanderer or vacillate. They were individuals who did not have a place to settle and were not committed anywhere. They were men looking unto themselves.

Secondly we see they were the sons of one Sceva. Holman Bible Dictionary says of Sceva: ”No such Jewish high priest is known from other sources, particularly not one living in Ephesus. The title may be the result of a copyist or a title Sceva took upon himself to impress leaders of other religions in Ephesus.” If this is correct, we see that the father, Sceva, was a man who desired to lift himself up in the eyes of others and was not submitted to authority. This attitude exemplified by Sceva could have been passed on to his sons.

The combination of these two attitudes seems to have resulted in sons who wanted authority but were not willing to walk in submission. Subsequently, when they attempted to exercise authority they failed.

A final interesting note in this story is the response of the spirit to these men. It said “Jesus I know and Paul I know.” Both Jesus and Paul were submitted to authority, Jesus as the Apostle coming to do the will of the one who sent him, and Paul an apostle doing the will of Jesus who sent him. These men were under authority and they were known in the spirit realm.

Last year while ministering in Pakistan, one of the missionaries told me a modern day account of this type of incident. In a city, there was a woman who had been possessed for years. Multiple attempts by ministers to cast out the spirit ended with humiliated and broken men. On the next to the last attempt, the spirit spoke up and said they were so strong that not even Ali Sabbabas (I am not spelling name correct) could cast them out. Immediately the family began to inquire who this person was.

After a couple of months of searching, they found this apostolic pastor. They informed him of the situation and asked if he would cast the spirit out; agreeing, he went with them. The account is that he walked into the room an in a matter of seconds, took authority and cast out the spirit!

When we submit ourselves to authority and begin to operate in authority, even the spirits know who we are!

For us to walk in the same authority that Jesus did, we must be submitted as He was. In placing ourselves under God’s structure of authority we can be assured that He will willingly authorize us to use His power.

Food for thought –
Are you submitted? Do you have a mentor in your life?

Adapted from the book: Apostolic Authority, Every Believer’s Privilege.
Order Here

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