Lately I have felt the need to deeply root myself in the Word concerning the power and authority that has been given to us by Jesus. The enemy would love for us to believe we are powerless Christians who have no ability to shift things in the earth for the Kingdom of God, but that couldn't be further from the truth!

If you don't know if you have received the gift of salvation or been filled with the Holy Spirit of God, click here first.

We are going to look at the Scriptures first and then expound into teaching.

"Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you."

-Luke 10:19 KJV

And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, "All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen."

-Matthew 28:18-20 KJV

And he said unto them, "Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned. And these signs shall follow them that believe; in my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; they shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover."

So then after the Lord had spoken unto them, he was received up into heaven, and sat on the right hand of God. And they went forth, and preached every where, the Lord working with them and confirming the word with signs following. Amen.

-Mark 16:15-20 KJV

"Verily, verily, I say unto you, he that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father. And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If ye shall ask any thing in my name, I will do it."

- John 14:12-14 KJV

And when he had called unto him his twelve disciples, he gave them power against unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal all manner of sickness and all manner of disease.

-Matthew 10:1 KJV

"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."

-Matthew 16:19 KJV

And he called unto him the twelve, and began to send them forth by two and two; and gave them power over unclean spirits.

-Mark 6:7 KJV

"Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out devils: freely ye have received, freely give."

-Matthew 10:8 KJV

And I brought him to thy disciples, and they could not cure him. Then Jesus answered and said, :O faithless and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you? how long shall I suffer you? bring him hither to me."

And Jesus rebuked the devil; and he departed out of him: and the child was cured from that very hour.

Then came the disciples to Jesus apart, and said, "Why could we not cast him out?"

And Jesus said unto them, "Because of your unbelief: for verily I say unto you, if ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, 'Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible to you.' Howbeit this kind goeth not out but by prayer and fasting."

-Matthew 17:16-21 KJV

And in the morning, as they passed by, they saw the fig tree dried up from the roots. And Peter calling to remembrance saith unto him, "Master, behold, the fig tree which thou cursedst is withered away."

And Jesus answering saith unto them, "Have faith in God. For verily I say unto you, that whosoever shall say unto this mountain, 'Be thou removed and be thou cast into the sea;' and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith. Therefore I say unto you, what things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them."

-Mark 11:20-24 KJV

Then he called his twelve disciples together, and gave them power and authority over all devils, and to cure diseases.

-Luke 9:1 KJV

"Keep on asking and you will receive what you ask for. Keep on seeking and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks, receives. Everyone who seeks, finds. And to everyone who knocks, the door will be opened."

-Matthew 7:7-8 KJV

And so he only did a few miracles there because of their unbelief.

-Matthew 13:58 KJV

Then Jesus told them, "A prophet is honored everywhere expect in his own hometown and among his relatives and his own family." And because of their unbelief, he couldn't do any miracles among them except to place his hands on a few sick people and heal them. And he was amazed at their unbelief.

-Mark 6:4-6 KJV

Go back and look at these again, notice these are the words of JESUS.

All these verses are words that Jesus Himself spoke, or describing something He did.

Every one of these verses is about imparting the power that He holds into those who believe in Him. This power wasn't only for the twelve disciples. If that were true, Paul never would have walked in the power of the Holy Spirit and seen healing, signs, and wonders following his ministry. If you doubt, just read through the book of Acts and you will quickly see the power Paul possessed even though he wasn't one of the original twelve disciples of Christ.

It almost feels strange to me to expound on the words of Jesus, but it feels necessary because He has made it so abundantly clear that we are to carry HIS power in the world. We were never created or designed to be powerless. He came to restore to us the authority we rejected in the Garden of Eden.

When we reject what He suffered, died, and conquered hell to give to us, aren't we just adding to His wounding? We are telling Him, it wasn't enough. When we elevate our experiences over His Word of truth, aren't we essentially calling the Lord a liar?

Our experiences cannot invalidate the Word of God-He does not and cannot lie.

(Numbers 23:19, Titus 1:2, Hebrews 6:18)

I know from experience that this is a hard pill to swallow, because what about the person who has believed? What about the person who has stood on the Word of God and still isn't seeing their breakthrough? What about the person who has tried time and again to step out in power and faith and seen nothing happen?

In these Scriptures we just read through, Jesus rebuked His followers for their lack of belief. The only thing that hinders breakthrough in the Bible is lack of belief and demonic interference.

How do we work through lack of belief and demonic interference?

1. We strengthen ourselves in the Word of God. We saturate ourselves in the truest reality which is His unfailing Word. If He said it, we can depend on it. If He says, "By His stripes you have been healed," (1 Peter 2:24) then you have to believe that as the truest reality even if the symptoms in your body are trying to tell you otherwise. It's not delusion, it's faith.
   

2. Thank the Lord for answering you! His promises are yes and amen! Celebrate the finished work of the cross. If you don't know what was accomplished for you at the cross and the resurrection, FIND OUT! This is so important. I cannot emphasize enough how much we need to understand exactly what Jesus accomplished for us. Don't take the preacher's word for it, don't trust the internet, run to the Word of God. Hebrews is a very good place to start to understand the covenant you entered into with Jesus when you declared Him your Lord and Savior.

   The Word says we have a better covenant than the Israelites did! We should understand just what that means for us. If Jesus suffered for it, I don't know about you, but I don't want to settle for anything less! Remember, it isn't about what you do, it's about believing and standing on what HE did.
   

3. When we have stood and done all we can do to stand, we have to know the Word is working for us even when it doesn't look like it. When Jesus cursed the fig tree it looked as though nothing had changed in the natural. The disciples couldn't discern a difference, but Jesus knew that His word held power and that what He said was true even if they couldn't discern it yet. That fig tree began withering the moment Jesus spoke to it. It withered roots up. As I'm writing this, I'm realizing how interesting that is in connection to deliverance. Sometimes the things we are dealing with need to be dealt with at the ROOT before you can see the FRUIT. Trust that if you have stood in faith and believed the Word, your answer is coming, it's just a matter of time before you see your answer in the natural.
   

4. If it's a demonic storm, ask the Holy Spirit. Ask Him exactly what you need to do to stop the enemy's interference in your situation. Ask Him to reveal to you any doors you may have opened knowingly or unknowingly and then shut them together.

   Live a life in the fear of the Lord. Remember, we just read that Jesus gives us ALL POWER over the enemy! He is absolutely powerless unless we hand it over to him. Don't be deceived! He is a defeated foe.
   

5. Guard your mouth. Jesus said if we speak to a mountain, it will be cast into the sea. There is tremendous power in our words. We can either build up or tear down by the words we speak. We can open doors and close doors with our tongues. Proverbs and James are excellent places to begin reading for an understanding of how to guard our mouth gates to keep us from destruction.

6. I think sometimes we can get offended when we feel as though we are doing all the right things, but nothing is happening. It can feel frustrating to hear another sermon or open the Bible and see all these miracles and Jesus healing people, but feel that our own life isn't reflecting the same. Guard your heart from this! Our hearts are the wellspring of our lives. When something like offense or bitterness comes out, we need to swiftly get to the root of it.

   
   

   If you find your heart asking questions like these: "Are you saying I don't have enough faith?" "Are you saying if I'm not healed and prosperous I'm not saved?" "Are you saying I've opened doors to the devil in my life? I would never!" Jesus wants to come in and heal those areas. Let Him in, beloved.

   Sometimes the questions that pop up when we are confronted with something we feel is a lack in our lives or something we feel God is withholding from us, our reactions are revealing the deeper root in our heart of unbelief, distrust, unhealed trauma, etc. We have to allow Him to come in and rewrite our narrative. He has already provided everything we need to live abundant lives in Christ Jesus. (Ephesians 1:3, James 1:17, 2 Peter 1:3, 2 Corinthians 1:20, Philippians 4:19, Matthew 6:33, 2 Corinthians 9:8, Psalm 34:10, Romans 8:32, John 10:10)

   So often we allow a spirit of defensiveness, offense, and bitterness to keep us from receiving the truth of the Word. As believers we are called to encourage one another, to lift up the arms of our brothers and sisters in Christ, and to bear burdens together! When we hear something that triggers a reaction within us, it is most definitely worth examining.

   
   

   When I have had those feelings arise in my heart, my first reaction was anger at the person delivering truth whether that was the Holy Spirit, a preacher, or a friend. I've come to recognize that those feelings were just showing an area I hadn't surrendered to Jesus and His truth yet. When we allow Jesus to write the narrative of our lives, we will begin to live in the best He has for us. Those questions will begin to leave our hearts and be replaced with the truth of the Scriptures. Preaching the truth in the Scriptures should never feel like an accusation, but it should be used to build up and encourage and to strengthen one another to believe for the best that Jesus died and rose again to give us! We cannot judge what is in another's heart. I don't even try to judge what is in my own heart, that's a job just for Jesus! I do however ask Him to search me and know me and take out anything that isn't aligning with His truth over my life. When He reveals those things it can be VERY uncomfortable. It can be hot in the Refiner's fire. I can honestly say though I have never regretted walking into His furnace when I'm invited! There is always freedom to be found in there.
   

7. Trust that when Jesus says something it's true. If He says you have power from the Holy Spirit. Then you simply have power. We just have to practice it. There are muscles on your body. If you never use them, they are weak. When you begin to exercise them, you gain strength. The power you are given from the Holy Spirit needs to be put into exercise. Power must be exercised in our lives! So many ministers have talked about how they prayed for hundreds of people before they began seeing miracles and healings in their ministries. They put into practice what they believed and didn't give up. There is something to be said for faithful endurance and perseverance! If we want to live in the power of the Holy Spirit, we must step out in faith that we have what we have asked for. We truly have nothing to lose and everything to gain. What is the worst that could happen? You see no change and get to stand in faith on the Word of God for another day? What's the best that could happen? You see people saved, healed and delivered?

   
   

   There is no losing in either of these scenarios! Sounds like an excellent risk-to-reward ratio to me!
   

   Could you imagine if every believer embraced this mindset?! I’m believing for it!

I want to encourage you today to take God at His Word. He's a good Father, longing to have a relationship with you. He longs to give you good things. He sacrificed so much for us to live in His power and promises!

The authority you have as a Spirit-filled believer is astounding. "NOTHING shall by any means harm you!" That is an incredible word straight from the mouth of Jesus over your life! The question is, do you believe it?

Journal Prompts: How have I experienced the power of the Holy Spirit working in and through me? What areas of my life have I not yet surrendered to His power? Is there an area of my life where I am believing a lie of the enemy? How is God asking me to practice using the power He has given me? Activations:

Pray for someone that has a need. Write down in your journal specifically how you are praying for them and pray until you receive an answer. Don't give up! Press in. I have prayers I prayed for years that are finally just now being answered! It's amazing to look back and see the faithfulness of God in the midst of the waiting when it isn't an instantaneous breakthrough.

Ask the Lord to search your heart and lead you through His refining fire. Let Him begin to transform you from the inside out.

Write down any lies you have been believing and go on a Scripture hunt for the truth.

Begin to study the covenant you are in with Jesus.

*If you don't know if you are saved, or if you have been filled with the Holy Spirit click here.

Jenny Johnson 8.7.26