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DEDICATIONS
I dedicate this book to Mercy Chupa Phiri, the
world’s best wife, my earthly angel and partner
for who she is in my world. I admire your
beauty daily in awe. I am much more when I am
with you.

I also dedicate this book to our cute and wise

daughter, Keturah Phiri. It is wonderful
watching you grow! Love you endlessly.

Shephat

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Copyright © 2017 by Shephat Phiri
All rights reserved. Written permission must be
secured from the publisher to use or reproduce
any part of this book, except for brief quotations
in critical reviews or articles.

Unless otherwise stated, all scripture quotations

are from the New King James Version of the
Bible.

Published by ZoeLibrary Publications

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 By Shephat Phiri
ZoeLibrary PUBLICATIONS

THE BELIEVER’S AUTHORITY

Copyright © 2017. Shephat Phiri

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SALVATION

Have you received Jesus Christ as your personal

Saviour? Salvation is not you giving your life to
God. The Bible says we were dead in sin, so
how can you give your life to Jesus. It is
impossible. You have no life. Salvation is you
receiving the life of Jesus. The Bible says, “All
have sinned and fallen short of the glory of
God.” “You were dead in sin.” Jesus came that
you and I can receive life in abundance. Stop
competing with Jesus, He is the only one who
can give life. Paul said, “I have been crucified
with Christ, yet I live. Not I but Christ lives in

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me and the life that I live in the flesh, I live by
faith in the Son of God who loved me and gave
Himself for me” (Galatians 2:20).
If you are not saved say the prayer below.
Have mercy on me, O God, according to Your
unfailing love. According to Your great
compassion blot out my transgressions. Wash
away all my iniquity and cleanse me from my
sin. For I know my transgressions, and my sin
is always before me. Create in me a pure heart,
O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.
Restore to me the joy of Your salvation and
grant me a willing spirit to sustain me.

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O Lord God, I confess with my mouth the Lord
Jesus and believe in my heart that God raised
Him from the dead. For with the heart I believe
to righteousness and with the mouth confession
is made to salvation. Thank you LORD. Amen.

Congratulations! You are now a child of

God. To receive more information on how
you can grow as a Christian, please get in
touch with me.

Email: [email protected]
Facebook: The Shephat Phiri Foundation.
Twitter: @shephatphiri

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CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION .......................................... 10
CHAPTER ONE: AUTHORITY IS
GIVEN ............................................................. 21
CHAPTER TWO: AUTHORITY IS
INHERITED ................................................... 27
CHAPTER THREE: UNLIMITED
AUTHORITY ................................................. 33
CHAPTER FOUR: AUTHORITY
CHALLENGED .............................................. 43
CHAPTER FIVE: CHRIST IN YOU ........... 52
CHAPTER SIX: FAITH AND
AUTHORITY ................................................. 59
CHAPTER SEVEN: SEATED WITH
CHRIST ........................................................... 66

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CHAPTER EIGHT: MEN OF
AUTHORITY.................................................. 74
CHAPTER NINE: PRACTICE
AUTHORITY................................................ 101

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INTRODUCTION

Can you imagine living in a world where what

you say come to pass? Imagine asking sickness
and disease to go and they go. Imagine asking
the dead to rise and they rise! Imagine
commanding demons and they obey you.
Imagine yourself subduing the kingdom of
darkness. Imagine yourself turning to flight the
armies of demons. Now, stop imagining. All
these can be your present day reality if you
know and believe in the authority you have.

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Many of us have heard that the believer has
authority. This is true. However, even though
we have heard so, this authority does not seem
to be our experience. Some think that the
authority over sickness; over devils belong to
only a few chosen people to whom God has
given special power. It does not. It belongs to
all the children of God. Thank God, we have
authority over evil spirits through Jesus Christ,
but the devil does not want Christians to learn
about the authority of the believer. The reason
being that he wants to defeat us anytime he
wants. We have authority through Christ and

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our combat with the devil always should be with
the consciousness that we have authority over
him because he is a defeated foe.

I believe every human being is equipped to

succeed in every circumstance. The only gap
that exists between you and what you need to
achieve or overcome is knowledge. People are
destroyed for lack of knowledge. The lack of
knowledge is what causes God’s people to
perish. It is never the lack of resources or the
lack of solutions. Resources abound in Christ
and so are solutions. It is our ignorance of power
of God we serve and the power of His Word.

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Jesus answered and said to them, “You are
mistaken, not knowing the Scriptures nor the
power of God.” (Matthew 22:29).

Before we start itemizing the things that fall

under the authority of the believer, we must
acknowledge that, first the believer is under
authority. God is the authority. As Jesus
reminds us, “You also, when you have done
everything you were told to do, should say, ‘We
are unworthy servants; we have only done our
duty’” (Luke 17:10). Believers should point to
God’s authority.

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The believer’s life is one of total dependence on
God, as modeled by the Son of Man (Luke
22:42; John 5:30). In the exercise of this
authority, the believer is simply obeying orders.

Jesus appeared to His disciples after His

resurrection from the dead. His words to them
form the basic foundation for the work of the
New Testament church. It was at that time that
He delegated the authority to carry out that
work. Jesus said, “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

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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…they went forth, and preached
everywhere, the Lord working with them, and
confirming the word with signs following.”
God will confirm His Word, but first it has to be
put forth. That is where you and I come in. God
does not preach. He has given us the authority
to do the preaching. God will not lay hands on
the sick. He will bring the healing, but you and

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I as believers must lay hands on the sick by
faith, believing that God will perform His
Word.

One of the most vital areas of the believer’s

authority is his power to successfully stand
against Satan. Ephesians 4:27 says, “neither
give place to the devil.” We have the power of
God’s Word to exercise our authority. Jesus has
delegated authority to you as a believer. You are
to give the devil no place in your life. You
simply have to exercise your authority. Jesus
has already done everything necessary to secure
the authority and power over sin, sickness and

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demons. You have to employ the faith action to
receive that authority and join forces with Him
in this earth. You are the one to be strong in the
Lord and in the power of His might. You are
“born again, not of corruptible seed, but of
incorruptible, by the Word of God” (1 Peter
1:23). You are the one in authority. It is your
responsibility to put off the old man– the
unregenerate man that you were before you
accepted Jesus. The Holy Spirit does the actual
work in you, but you must make the decision to
allow Him to do it. God has never forced His
will on any person. You put off the old man; use

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the Word of God to renew your mind. You put
on the new man, which is created in
righteousness and true holiness.

The truth you know is the truth that will make

you free. Life’s battles are winnable...Running
from the problem leads into more problems.
There must come a moment in life when you
should decide that this is the last time I am
running in life.
Be bold. Do not look at what you see. Judge not
according to the appearance (John 7:24). Do not
judge your potential by the resources of the
moment. Put your attention on the invisible

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sources of all thing. Fix your mind on Christ.
Look at your situation with the eyes of faith.

Did you know the devil doesn't have any power

over the believer? The only ability Satan can
exercise over you is the ability to deceive you.
If he can get you to believe his lies, he's got you
playing right into his hand. Satan is not all that
smart. Can you imagine a fellow still fighting
when he's already whipped? Now that's pretty
stupid! If you don't believe we have already
won—-go ahead read the book. "Ye are of God,
little children, and have overcome them:
because greater is he that is in you, than he that

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is in the world" (I John 4:4). Revelation 12:11
says, "And they overcame him by the blood of
the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony."

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CHAPTER ONE: AUTHORITY IS GIVEN

Many believers pray and fast for authority.

After praying for it, they wait for a certain
manifestation to tell them that they have
received authority. In the absence of such
manifestations, they keep praying. Jesus
succeeded in securing all power by going to the
cross, dying a horrible death, suffering the
penalty for sin, and defeating Satan in the pit of
hell. He came to earth as a man for one reason:
to re-capture the authority that Satan had stolen
through Adam’s disobedience in the garden.

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Jesus gave His disciples authority when they
had not even asked Him to.

“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” (Luke 10:19).

Behold I give you authority. Authority is

already given. Authority has been given to all
believers. We are not praying for it; it is a
present day reality. Some people pray and fast
for it. I am confident that we have it.

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What is authority? It is the right to give orders,
make decisions, and enforce obedience. Some
believers do not even know the basis of their
authority. God Himself is the power behind our
authority. The value of authority rests squarely
on the power that is behind that authority.
Authority has been given to all believers. We
are not to pray for it. You must acknowledge it
and use it. The scriptures say that these signs
shall follow them that believe. Them that
believe refers to believers like you and me.

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“And these signs will follow those who believe:
In My name they will cast out demons; they will
speak with new tongues; they will take up
serpents; and if they drink anything deadly, it
will by no means hurt them; they will lay hands
on the sick, and they will recover” (Mark 16:17-
18).
We are able to heal the sick, cast out devils and
tread upon serpents and scorpions because to
everyone that believes, authority has been
given. Without authority given, we cannot. Are
you a believer? Are you born again? Then
understand that authority has been given to you.
Just like Jesus called His disciples one day and

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gave them authority to heal the sick, cleanse the
lepers and raise the dead, you too have received
that same authority. Bless God!

“Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the

dead, cast out demons. Freely you have
received, freely give” (Matthew 10:8).

He says freely you have received, freely give.

They received the authority to heal the sick,
cleanse the lepers and to raise the dead. In that
same way He urges us to exercise the authority
freely.

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Dear brethren, right now, you have authority. It
was freely given to you. Give it freely. Bring
relief to someone. You represent God on earth,
exercise authority. Do not be confused about it,
be fully convinced, you have authority. Do not
ask the Father for authority. God will not give
what He has already given.

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CHAPTER TWO: AUTHORITY IS
INHERITED

Are you born again? If yes, did you know that

you are a child of God? Did you know that as a
child of God you are an heir of God? Did you
know that as an heir of God you are a joint-heir
with Christ? The scriptures below tell us exactly
so.

“The Spirit Himself bears witness with our

spirit that we are children of God, and if
children, then heirs—heirs of God and joint
heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him,

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that we may also be glorified together”
(Romans 8:16-17).

As a joint-heir with Christ, whatever belongs to

Christ belongs to you. A joint-heir means that
whatever has been inherited belongs to both
parties wholly. Take an example of a joint bank
account. A joint bank account is one that is
shared by two or more individuals. Any member
of the joint account can withdraw from the
account and deposit into it. For example, if
Shephat and Mercy have a joint account and
there is K100 million, when Shephat is asked,
how much do you have in your account? He

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must say K100 million. If Mercy is asked the
same question, she must also say K100 million.
In a joint account, each individual owns the
whole lot in the account. The amount in the
account is not shared, each person owns it
wholly. Even if Shephat deposits K50, 000, it
still belongs to Mercy also wholly. It does not
matter who puts the money in the account. It
belongs to both parties.

With that understanding, you will realise that

whatever belongs to Christ Jesus belongs to you
also wholly. If Jesus has eternal life, you too

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have eternal life. If Jesus is righteous, you are
righteous too! Bless God.

Whatever authority and power that Christ Jesus

has belongs to us. You are equipped to represent
Jesus fully. All things belong to Jesus. It is also
true that all things belong to you too!

“Therefore, let no one boast in men. For all

things are yours” (1 Corinthians 3:21).

Ok, let us find out if Jesus Christ has any

authority at all.

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And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying,
“ALL authority has been given to Me in heaven
and on earth” (Matthew 28:18).

Jesus said ALL authority in heaven and on earth

has been given to Him. That means all authority
belongs to Him. If it belongs to Him, then it
belongs to you too! Bless God. You have been
equipped to represent Christ fully. All authority
in heaven and on earth are yours. You are not
ordinary. Be ready to exercise what belongs to
you because you know it is yours. You are an

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heir of God, not only that, a joint-heir with
Christ Jesus. Praise God in the highest!

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CHAPTER THREE: UNLIMITED
AUTHORITY

In the first chapter of Genesis, God told Adam

to dominate this earth – take dominion over it
and subdue it. This was not only for the earth,
but also for all that was in it. In other words, if
anything gets out of order, Adam was to put it
back in order. It was Adam’s responsibility.

Then God said, “Let us make man in Our image,

according to Our likeness; let them have
dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds
of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth

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and over every creeping thing that creeps on the
earth” (Genesis 1:26).

Man was created to have dominion. God gave

Adam authority and unquestionable dominion
over His creation, over the works of His hands.
Adam had dominion over the fish in the sea,
over the birds of the air and over the cattle and
over all the earth and over every creeping thing
that creeps on the earth. Adam had authority
only on earth. His influence was limited to the
earth. Adam didn’t do what God commanded
Him to do. He turned his authority over to the
evil one. The church today stands in position

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that is parallel to that of Adam in the beginning.
We have authority to demand deliverance from
our adversary through Christ Jesus.

God gave the first man dominion over it, but

Adam ate of the tree of knowledge of good and
evil. Why didn’t God stop him? Because it was
Adam’s responsibility. Adam was ruler over the
earth. He could do what he wanted with it. So
when he ate from the tree, he sold his influence
to Satan and Satan became the god of the world.
“Satan, who is the god of this world, has
blinded the minds of those who don’t believe”
(2 Corinthians 4:4). Where did Satan get the

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title of being the god of the world? He got it
from Adam. Satan is the god of this world
system and not god over the believer.

Jesus has authority both in heaven and on

earth. His name has influence in heaven, on
earth and on earth beneath (Philippians 2:8-
10).
And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, “All
authority has been given to Me in heaven and
on earth” (Matthew 28:18).

If Jesus has authority in heaven and on earth,

then as a joint heir you have the same authority.

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Now you know that your influence is not just on
earth but in heaven as well. You are not to
admire the dominion Adam had, it was limited
to earth. Yours is both in heaven and on earth
and on earth beneath.

You have authority to bind forces of evil that

come against you on earth. The powers of
darkness, and demons have no authority in the
earth unless you give them authority. There's a
parallel of Adam and the believer. As Adam
stood in the beginning, so the Church stands
today. Adam had authority to say, "In the name
of Almighty God, Satan, depart!" But he didn't.

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He failed to use his authority, so he lost it. The
Church stands today in a parallel position. We
can use our authority or turn it over to Satan and
allow him to operate on it. The scripture clearly
states that:

“Assuredly, I say to you, whatever you bind on

earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever
you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven”
(Matthew 18:18).

What you bind on earth is bound in heaven,

what you lose on earth is loosed in heaven. You
have the authority working for you in both

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realms, the natural and spiritual realms. All the
authority in heaven and on earth is at your
disposal. Step out there and command pain,
sickness and demons to go. You have that
authority right now. You are the envy of those
who had power only on earth. You are
awesome. You are endowed with power and
authority. Authority is your portion. You were
born into it.

“Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes

in Me, the works that I do he will do also; and

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greater works than these he will do, because I
go to My Father” (John 14:12).

If you believe what Jesus said is truth. If you

believe you have authority, go and do the works
of Christ Jesus. You have authority to do
greater works.
Now it happened on one of those days, as He
taught the people in the temple and preached
the gospel, that the chief priests and the scribes,
together with the elders, confronted Him and
spoke to Him, saying, “Tell us, by what
authority are You doing these things? Or who is
he who gave You this authority?” But He also

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answered and said to them, “I also will ask you
one thing, and answer Me: “The baptism of
John—was it from heaven or from men?” (Luke
20:1-4)

The authority to baptise that John had was from

heaven. Jesus’ authority to heal the sick, cast out
demons and raise the dead was from heaven.
Your authority brothers and sisters is from
heaven. Go and cast out demons, heal the sick,
raise the dead and cleanse the lepers. Freely you
have received, freely give. You have authority
from heaven. Bless God! The devil cannot have

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power at all against you unless it be given him
from above. “God has spoken, twice have I
heard that power belongs to God.” Praise God!
Power belongs to Him.

Though Adam had it good, it only took him a

short time to foul things up. But Jesus came and
restored dominion. You are created in the image
of God and in His likeness. Jesus has restored
you to your rightful order. Remember, ALL the
authority belongs to Him. The only authority
you have is His delegated authority.

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CHAPTER FOUR: AUTHORITY
CHALLENGED

Nobody spoke with more authority than Jesus.

At age thirty, Jesus was anointed with the Holy
Ghost so that He could undo, loosen, and
dissolve the works of the Devil. He was the last
Adam.

We read in Luke 4:33,34 where Jesus' authority

is challenged. “And in the synagogue there was
a man, which had a spirit of an unclean devil,
and cried out with a loud voice, saying, let us
alone; what have we to do with thee, thou Jesus

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of Nazareth? Art thou come to destroy us? I
know thee who thou art; the Holy One of God.”
The religious leaders wanted to kill Jesus, but
the demons recognised Him: "We know who you
are; the Holy One of God." The demons
challenged Jesus' authority in the earth. Demons
knew it was illegal for God to come to earth in
His divine power and destroy the works of the
Satan. Satan had become the god of the world
system. Demons challenged Jesus because they
thought they had authority here. They came
against Jesus by saying, "We know Who You
are, so let us alone! We know Who You are, and
You cannot do this." Jesus said, "Be quite and

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come out of him." And they did! Now if there
was any doubt about who has greater authority
here, that should settle it! Jesus was operating
as a man, anointed with the Holy Ghost.

“And when he was come to the other side into

the country of the Gergesenes, there met him
two possessed with devils, coming out of the
tombs, exceeding fierce, so that no man might
pass by that way. And, behold, they cried out,
saying, what have we to do with thee, Jesus,
thou Son of God? Art thou come hither to
torment us before the time?” (Matthew

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8:28,29). Notice that demons know a time is
coming when they will be destroyed. They said,
"It's not time yet, and You can't do that." Jesus
said only one word, "Go!" and they went. Satan
and his demons know there is a day of
reckoning coming. So they challenged Jesus.
"Have You come to destroy us before our time?"
In other words, "You can't do that yet. It's not
time!" And they come again to Jerusalem: and
as He was walking in the temple, there came to
Him the chief priests, and the scribes, and the
elders, and say unto Him, “By what authority
doest thou these things? And who gave thee this

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authority to do these things?” (Mark 11:27,28).
Not only did demons challenge Jesus, but also
the religious leaders. "Where did You get this
authority?" That question was demon inspired.
Those men didn't know that legal authority
belonged to those born on earth. Notice the two
questions they asked:
1. By what authority doest thou these things?
2. Who gave thee this authority?

The Devil wanted the answers, so he moved the

religious leaders to find out for him. Jesus’
power and anointing came from God.

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“How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the
Holy Spirit and with power, who went about
doing good and healing all who were oppressed
by the devil, for God was with Him” (Acts
10:38).

We give you thanks God, O Lord God

Almighty, the One who is and who was and who
is to come, because you have taken your great
power and reigned. The nations were angry, and
your wrath has come, and the time of the dead,
that they should be judged, and that You should
reward Your servants the prophets and the
saints, and those who fear Your name, small and

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great, and should destroy those who destroy the
earth. Amen!

There will be time in life when your authority

will be questioned by both demons and human
beings (religious leaders, political leaders,
people in your community). When it happens,
do not hesitate to answer. Know that you cannot
receive anything unless it be given to you from
above. Whatever you have that is good and
perfect comes from the Father of lights. When
you are challenged, do not doubt who you are.
Stand strong in the Lord and in the power of His

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might. God called you. God chose you. You did
not choose Him.

Jesus has been highly exalted and has been

given a name above every name and He has
given that name to us to control the force of
evil. The authority of this earth has been given
to man. We have authority to petition God by
prayer and move the forces of heaven in our
behalf. We have authority in prayer by the
words of our mouths to bind evil forces—the
powers of darkness—and render them
harmless and ineffective against us.

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We do not need more power; we just need to
apply the spiritual laws that God has given us.

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CHAPTER FIVE: CHRIST IN YOU

When you exercise your authority, are you the

one that does the work? If you think so, it limits
your effectiveness. Even our Lord Jesus Christ
did not think that He did the work.

“Do you not believe that I am in the Father, and

the Father in Me? The words that I speak to you
I do not speak on My own authority; but the
Father who dwells in Me does the works” (John
14:10).

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Jesus says it was the Father in Him that did the
work. Brethren, you have God in you. Jesus is
in the Father, and we are in Christ and Christ in
us. The same Father who was in Jesus doing the
good work is in us.

Jesus answered and said to him, “If anyone

loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father
will love him, and We will come to him and
make Our home with him” (John 14:23).

Jesus is sitting at the right hand of the Father.

We are one with Him. We are not seated there

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physically. Our bodies are not there yet. But
Jesus is there to appear in the presence of God
for us. He is there, representing us in heaven, as
we represent Him here on earth. We (the Body)
are representing Jesus on earth. In so many
words Jesus said, "If you will represent Me
there on earth, I will represent you here in
heaven." You are well represented there. Jesus
is not on earth physically except through the
Church, as His Body. The only physical Body
Jesus has on this earth today is you. If God is
going to heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the
lepers and cast out demons, He will do it
through you and me as the Body of Christ

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anointed with the Holy Spirit. God sees us the
physical Body of Christ. “If God be for us, who
can be against us?”

“
At that day you will know that I am in My
Father, and you in Me, and I in you” (John
14:20).

Do not be self-conscious. Be confident of the

One in you. Christ is in you. “Christ in you, the
hope of glory.” “Greater is He that is in you
than he that is in the word.” Christ is our
ability. We can do greater works because He
who did the work in Jesus is also in us. As a

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believer, you are not lacking in ability, Christ is
your ability. You have authority to overcome
every life situation including debts, sickness,
poverty, death, failure and demons.

Be confident in the Father and His ability. Any

time you exercise authority, the forces of
heaven are at work in your favour. We can do
greater works because He who did the work in
Jesus is also in us. Glory to God! God wants you
to have the consciousness that Christ lives in
you. This consciousness will cause you to live
supernaturally every day. You’ll no longer have
fears or confusion in your life; you’ll no longer

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think that you’re limited, because you know that
Christ in you is everything. When you have the
Christ consciousness, you’ll be a master over
circumstances. You’ll have no sense of lack or
need, because to have Christ is to have
everything. The whole world is yours. Have you
come to know that Christ literally lives in you?
He dwells in your heart by faith, which means
you don’t have to feel that Christ is in you. It
has nothing to do with feelings, because you
live beyond the senses. You live by faith and not
by sight. When you are in Christ, God does not
see you for what you for you actually are. He

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sees you through what Jesus did to make you
perfect. When God looks at you in Christ, He
does not see your impurities. He sees you in
Christ. That is why it is your responsibility to
confess your sins when you fall short of the
glory (1 John 1:9). When you do that, God sees
you in the image that He created you.

The power of a believer is in the indwelling

Christ. He is the only power that will enable
anyone to live a victorious life. This power can
change individuals, families, cities and nations.

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CHAPTER SIX: FAITH AND
AUTHORITY

In Genesis Chapter 1, we see the creative force

of God being exercised simply by commands
such as, “Let there be light,” and “be fruitful
and multiply,” and nothing more. Note: the
result of some commands occurred immediately
and some have been occurring over a period of
time. Therefore, we must not put time frames on
our statements of authority but rather stay in a
state of trust or faith in God concerning them.
When you first start confessing God's Word
about a situation in your life, you are causing

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faith to come. As you continue to speak God's
Word, you destroy the old image and perfect a
new image inside you.

The Word says that God calls those things that

are not as though they were. In other words, the
things that we see in the natural can be altered
by a command from one who is acting from a
spiritual vantage point, while in a state of faith.
Many of the prophecies of the Old Testament are
being fulfilled today as a result of the command
that exists in the prophecy given. They were
inspired by God's Spirit and He is seeing to it

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that His Word, spoken by the prophets, is doing
that which it was sent forth to do.

“I have sworn by myself, the word is gone out of

my mouth in righteousness, and shall not return,
that unto me every knee shall bow, every tongue
shall swear” (Isaiah 45:23).

Authority is only seen where there is need. The

more needs you encounter the more you see
the authority of God in your life on display.

“So I brought him to Your disciples, but they

could not cure him.” Then Jesus answered and

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said, “O faithless and perverse generation, how
long shall I be with you? How long shall I bear
with you? Bring him here to Me.” And Jesus
rebuked the demon, and it came out of him; and
the child was cured from that very hour. Then
the disciples came to Jesus privately and said,
“Why could we not cast it out?” So Jesus said
to them, “Because of your unbelief; for
assuredly, I say to you, if you have faith as a
mustard seed, you will say to this mountain,
‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move; and
nothing will be impossible for you (Matthew
17:16-18).

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In Matthew 10:1, Jesus gave them authority. In
Matthew 17:16, they failed to cast out a demon.
Was the authority not enough? By no means.
Look at the verses below:

“Then He called His twelve disciples together

and gave them power and authority over all
demons, and to cure diseases” (Luke 9:1).

Then the seventy returned with joy, saying,

“Lord, even the demons are subject to us in
Your name” (Luke 10:17). When Jesus gave
authority and sent His disciples to heal the sick,

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cast out demons, cleanse the lepers and raise the
dead, they went and exercised that authority.
The scripture reports that they returned with joy,
saying, “Lord, even the demons are subject to
us in Your name.” The authority He gave them
worked. But in Matthew 17:16 they failed to
cast a demon. They had the authority, but
unbelief short circuited the power of God. Faith
is involved in exercising spiritual authority.

Do not be discouraged when you exercise

authority and things do not respond the way you
expect. Do not get disturbed. Base your faith on
what the Word says. Some people’s faith is not

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based on the Bible; however, it is based on
manifestation. They operate outside in the sense
realm. Do not be moved by what you see. Do
not be moved by what you feel. Be moved by
what you believe. The Lord said you boys could
not cast out the demon because of unbelief
(Matthew 17:18).

Exercise authority. Keep at it. As you do, you

will get better and have more confidence in the
authority and power of God that you have. Be
blessed.

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CHAPTER SEVEN: SEATED WITH
CHRIST

If the life of a Christian is to be pleasing to God,

it must be properly adjusted to Him in all things.
Too often we place the emphasis on our own
lives. God measures everything, from start to
finish, by the perfections of his Son. In the book
of Ephesian, we find the highest spiritual truths
concerning the Christian life.

“And what is the exceeding greatness of His

power toward us who believe, according to the
working of His mighty power which He worked

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in Christ when He raised Him from the dead
and seated Him at His right hand in the
heavenly places, far above all principality and
power and might and dominion, and every name
that is named, not only in this age but also in
that which is to come. And He put all things
under His feet, and gave Him to be head over
all things to the church, which is His body, the
fullness of Him who fills all in all” (Ephesians
1:19-22).

God made Christ to sit. He also made us to sit

with Him. God has done everything for us in

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Christ. What does it mean to sit down? It simply
means to rest. We let Him bear the
responsibility and cease to carry it ourselves.
This was God’s principle from the beginning. In
creation God worked from the first to the sixth
day and rested on the seventh. We may
truthfully say that for those first six days, God
was very busy. Then, when the task He had set
Himself completed, God ceased to work. The
seventh day became the Sabbath of God. It was
God’s rest.

But what of Adam? Where did he stand in

relation to the rest of God? Adam, we are told

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was created on the sixth day. Clearly, then, he
had no part in those first six days of work, for
he came into being only at the end. God’s
seventh day was, in fact, Adam’s first. Adam
began His life with the Sabbath, for God works
before He can rest, while man must first enter
into God’s rest, then can he work. Praise God!

And here is the gospel, that God has gone one

stage further and has completed also the work
of redemption, and that we need to do nothing
whatever to merit it, but can enter by faith
directly into Christ’s finished work. God gives

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us our position of rest. GOD brings His Son’s
finished work and presents it to us. And then
says to us, “please sit.”

“For he who has entered His rest has himself

also ceased from his works as God did from
His” (Hebrews 4:10).

When Christ ascended, He transferred His

authority to the Church. He is the Head of the
Church and the believers make up the Body.
Christ is seated at the right hand of the Father,
the place of authority and we are seated with
Him. We are joint-heirs with Him. We died with

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Him. We were raised with Him. This is not
something God is going to do. Notice the Head
(Christ) and the Body (the Church) were raised
together. The authority that belongs to Jesus
also belongs to us. We are seated with Christ in
the same place of authority in the heavenly
places. We are to reign as kings. We are kings!
Praise God in the highest, for Christ “has made
us kings and priests to His God and Father, to
Him be glory and dominion forever and ever.
Amen” (Revelation 1:6).

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“For if by the one man’s offense death reigned
through the one, much more those who receive
abundance of grace and of the gift of
righteousness will reign in life through the One,
Jesus Christ” (Romans 5:17).

Reign with Christ. You are a king. Kings don’t

beg. They command. You are of God’s little
children. Satan is of the world. Though you are
in the world, you are not of the world. You are
a pilgrim on this planet. The power that is in you
is greater than the power that is in the world,
because the power that backs your authority is

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greater than that which backs your enemy. Bless
God!

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CHAPTER EIGHT: MEN OF
AUTHORITY

The creative power of God will work for you as

you speak it. Let us go back to the creation of
the earth. How did God do it? With words. He
had an image inside of Him of the earth that was
dry and filled with light. But at that moment the
earth was covered with water and darkness was
upon the face of the deep. The Spirit of God was
moving over the face of the water, but nothing
changed until God spoke the image that was
inside Him.

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Even though God had the image inside Him and
the Spirit of God was there to cause it to come
to pass, it had to be released out of His mouth
before any changes could take place. Today you
can have an image inside you. You may even
have the Word of God for it. The Spirit of God
may be moving concerning the very thing you
have an image of, but until you release that
image through faith-filled words, very little will
happen to bring that into being.

Genesis 1 reads like it does so you will know

how God created. "And God said...And God

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said...And God said...." Ten times in Genesis 1
you find that phrase. It would have been
sufficient to have "And God said" only once,
then list all the things God said, except that God
was trying to get over to us what caused
creation—words. That's why it is so important
to confess God's Word: say what God says
about you instead of what the devil says.

With your words, you can still the avenger, stop

the enemy's words, and subdue them with
God's Word. For whatever you bind on earth is
bound in heaven. Whatever you loose on earth
is loosed in heaven. You have authority to bind

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off the earth what is bound out of heaven. You
have authority to loose on earth what is loosed
in heaven. Ask yourself: "How is it in heaven?
Is there sickness, disease, poverty?" No. Then
you have authority to bind it here on earth. God
spoke what He wanted, not what He did not
want.

Jesus and the Centurion

All authority comes from God and the basis of
authority is the Word of God. Jesus Christ is the
Word of God made flesh and we must learn to
abide in Him when exercising authority. Jesus
could exercise no authority except from His

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abiding position in His Father. I can of mine
own self do nothing: as I hear, I judge: and my
judgment is just; because I seek not mine own
will, but the will of the Father which hath sent
me” (John 5:30).

The centurion, whose servant Jesus healed

simply by speaking a word, understood
authority and caused Jesus to marvel and make
a comment concerning the greatness of his faith.
The centurion understood that when Jesus says
something, things happens.

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The centurion answered and said, “Lord, I am
not worthy that You should come under my roof.
But only speak a word, and my servant will be
healed. For I also am a man under authority,
having soldiers under me. And I say to this one,
‘Go,’ and he goes; and to another, ‘Come,’ and
he comes; and to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he
does it.” When Jesus heard it, He marveled, and
said to those who followed, “Assuredly, I say to
you, I have not found such great faith, not even
in Israel! And I say to you that many will come
from east and west, and sit down with Abraham,
Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven. But

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the sons of the kingdom will be cast out into
outer darkness. There will be weeping and
gnashing of teeth.” Then Jesus said to the
centurion, “Go your way; and as you have
believed, so let it be done for you.” And his
servant was healed that same hour.

The centurion understood authority because he

was under authority.

Jesus, James and John

After Jesus gave His disciples authority, they
knew that there was no need to go to Him again
to ask for it, but to use it. Being conscious of the

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authority they had, the two disciples of Jesus
proposed to the Master to call fire from heaven
to burn up a city. If the Master had allowed
them, they would have done it without praying.
There is a time for prayer and there is a time to
exercise authority.
Now it came to pass, when the time had come
for Him to be received up, that He steadfastly
set His face to go to Jerusalem, and sent
messengers before His face. And as they went,
they entered a village of the Samaritans, to
prepare for Him. But they did not receive Him,
because His face was set for the journey to

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Jerusalem. And when His disciples James and
John saw this, they said, “Lord, do You want us
to command fire to come down from heaven and
consume them, just as Elijah did?” (Luke 9:51-
54).

Peter and John and the Paralytic man

One day, Peter and John went to the temple to
pray, and at the gate of the temple which is
called Beautiful, they met a crippled man. Then
Peter said, "Man, I do not have any money, but
I will tell you one thing, what I do have, I will
give to you: In the name of Jesus, rise up and
walk!" (Acts 3:6). What did Peter have? He had

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the name of Jesus. There’s power in the name of
Jesus. It is a name like no other. In the name of
Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk. The
religious leaders asked, “By what power or by
what name have you done this?” then peter
filled with the Holy Spirit said to them, “By the
name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth.” No prayer
was offered, but a word of command.

The name of Jesus will devastate the world of

darkness by exposing it to light. A man with
authority can command the legion of devils and
tell them to loose and let go! Jesus has never

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used that Name for His own benefit. It is always
used for others.

Any born-again man who desires to use the

name of Jesus and proclaim the authority God
has invested in Him can do so with results! But
the person who refuses to act on his authority
permits Satan to run roughshod over him. He
has denied his authority, and Satan uses that as
an opportunity to kill, steal, and destroy.

Peter and Aeneas

When Peter met a paralysed man called Aeneas
at Lydda, he did not pray or fast, he just spoke

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to the paralysed man and the man was healed.
He used authority. Peter did the same thing he
did at Beautiful Gate. Our Lord Jesus said,
“Heal the sick, cleanse the leper, raise the dead,
cast out demons”, and not pray for the sick.
Even the Master Himself, He never prayed for
the sick. He was healing them.

There he found a certain man named Aeneas,

who had been bedridden eight years and was
paralyzed. And Peter said to him, “Aeneas,
Jesus the Christ heals you. Arise and make your
bed.” Then he arose immediately. So all who

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dwelt at Lydda and Sharon saw him and turned
to the Lord (Acts 9:33-35).

You can see when Peter went to visit the saints

that dwelt at Lydda. There he found a crippled
man kept to this bed eight years, sick of the
palsy. All Peter did was remind him that Jesus
Christ had made him whole. Peter exercised his
authority over the world of darkness. There's no
doubt that Satan had bound this man for eight
years, but the name of Jesus penetrated that
darkness and loosed him.

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Peter and Tabitha
God's will and purpose for this earth is that it be
here like it is in heaven. It has to be the will of
God because Jesus told His disciples to pray that
it would be that way (Matthew 6:10). It is God's
will that mankind have dominion over this earth
and subdue it. Adam was created to be ruler
over the earth. Actually, man is supposed to be
god over the earth. God gave him dominion
over it. He said, "There it is, Adam. It's yours.
You can do what you want with it.

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At Joppa there was a certain disciple named
Tabitha, which is translated Dorcas. This
woman was full of good works and charitable
deeds which she did. But it happened in those
days that she became sick and died. When they
had washed her, they laid her in an upper room.
And since Lydda was near Joppa, and the
disciples had heard that Peter was there, they
sent two men to him, imploring him not to delay
in coming to them. Then Peter arose and went
with them. When he had come, they brought him
to the upper room. And all the widows stood by
him weeping, showing the tunics and garments

88
which Dorcas had made while she was with
them. But Peter put them all out, and knelt down
and prayed. And turning to the body he said,
“Tabitha, arise.” And she opened her eyes, and
when she saw Peter she sat up. Then he gave
her his hand and lifted her up; and when he had
called the saints and widows, he presented her
alive (Acts 9:36-41).

Peter spoke into another world and said, "You

come back." Tabitha's spirit obeyed him and
came back. A man with authority in more than
one world can exercise his authority and God's

89
ability. A man with authority can call into the
spirit world and bring back the spirit into the
body because of what Jesus did for us!

Paul and a sorcerer - Elymas

There is power in believing what you say. The
scripture says, “for assuredly, I say to you,
whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be removed and
be cast into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his
heart, but believes that those things he says will
be done, he will have whatever he says” (Mark
11:23).

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Now when they had gone through the island to
Paphos, they found a certain sorcerer, a false
prophet, a Jew whose name was Bar-Jesus, who
was with the proconsul, Sergius Paulus, an
intelligent man. This man called for Barnabas
and Saul and sought to hear the word of God.
But Elymas the sorcerer (for so his name is
translated) withstood them, seeking to turn the
proconsul away from the faith. Then Saul, who
also is called Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit,
looked intently at him and said, “O full of all
deceit and all fraud, you son of the devil, you
enemy of all righteousness, will you not cease

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perverting the straight ways of the Lord? And
now, indeed, the hand of the Lord is upon you,
and you shall be blind, not seeing the sun for a
time.” And immediately a dark mist fell on him,
and he went around seeking someone to lead
him by the hand. Then the proconsul believed,
when he saw what had been done, being
astonished at the teaching of the Lord (Acts
13:6-10-13).

Paul believed what he said and he got what he

said. Paul believed that he had authority to do it,
and then he saw himself through the eyes of
God. Without doubt, he was able to influence

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the natural sight of a sorcerer by pronouncing a
judgement against him. We are God’s fellow
workers. Satan is the "strong man", but Jesus is
the "Stronger Man", who overtakes him and
strips him of all his armour of protection, and
then divides the “spoils” of His victory back to
His disciples. Jesus is the Conqueror and He has
made us “more than conquerors.” Demons
identify and respect authority. The demons that
dealt with the sons of Sceva said, “Jesus I know,
Paul I know…” Be bold as a lion when it comes
to dealing with unclean spirits. You are clothed
with power from above.

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Paul and a diviner
The devil wants to get inside people. He is
limited in what he can do without a body
through which to manifest himself. The devil
and evil spirits can do very little unless they
have a body. Satan is illegal on the earth. He is
a created being. Mankind have rightful
dominion of the whole earth.

Now it happened, as we went to prayer, that a

certain slave girl possessed with a spirit of
divination met us, who brought her masters
much profit by fortune-telling. This girl

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followed Paul and us, and cried out, saying,
“These men are the servants of the Most High
God, who proclaim to us the way of salvation.”
And this she did for many days. But Paul,
greatly annoyed, turned and said to the spirit,
“I command you in the name of Jesus Christ to
come out of her.” And he came out that very
hour (Acts 16:16-18).

With one command, the demon left the damsel.

There were no negotiations. The demon
recognised the authority. Spiritual authority is
real. Greater is He who is in you!

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Elijah and Fifty men
Elijah was man of power. He demonstrated the
power of Omnipotent God. He spoke and it was
so because he believed he had authority to call
fire from heaven. He said, “If I be the man of
God, let fire fall from heaven and consume you
and your fifty.” No prayer was offered.
Adversities can be subdued through the
utterance of a word spoken with total faith or
trust in God, because power and authority is
released through a faith spoken word against the
circumstances that are opposing the believer.

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Then the king sent to him a captain of fifty with
his fifty men. So he went up to him; and there he
was, sitting on the top of a hill. And he spoke to
him: “Man of God, the king has said, ‘Come
down!’” So Elijah answered and said to the
captain of fifty, “If I am a man of God, then let
fire come down from heaven and consume you
and your fifty men.” And fire came down from
heaven and consumed him and his fifty. 11 Then
he sent to him another captain of fifty with his
fifty men. And he answered and said to him:
“Man of God, thus has the king said, ‘Come
down quickly!’” So Elijah answered and said to

97
them, “If I am a man of God, let fire come down
from heaven and consume you and your fifty
men.” And the fire of God came down from
heaven and consumed him and his fifty. Again,
he sent a third captain of fifty with his fifty men.
And the third captain of fifty went up, and came
and fell on his knees before Elijah, and pleaded
with him, and said to him: “Man of God, please
let my life and the life of these fifty servants of
yours be precious in your sight. Look, fire has
come down from heaven and burned up the first
two captains of fifties with their fifties. But let
my life now be precious in your sight.” And the

98
angel of the LORD said to Elijah, “Go down with
him; do not be afraid of him.” So he arose and
went down with him to the king. Then he said to
him, “Thus says the LORD:
‘Because you have sent messengers to inquire of
Baal-Zebub, the god of Ekron, is it because
there is no God in Israel to inquire of His word?
Therefore you shall not come down from the bed
to which you have gone up, but you shall surely
die’” (2 Kings 1:915).

A man with authority can call into the heavens

for heavenly intervention. We must remember

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we are moving according to the spiritual
dimension that does not, for the most part, align
itself with the natural or physical dimension.
We must assume the same attitude when
exercising authority as we do in prayer.

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CHAPTER NINE: PRACTICE
AUTHORITY

The Body of Christ must recognize they have

authority in all three worlds. Jesus is going to
stay seated at the right hand of the Father until
we get busy and exercise our authority and His
ability to destroy the work of the Devil. We
must act on the words of Jesus, "Heal the sick,
raise the dead, and cast out demons," until He
comes!

How is Jesus? Jesus is victorious. He is more

than a conqueror. Do you see Him as He is? He

101
is seated at the right hand of the Father far above
all principalities and powers and might and
dominion. That is where Jesus is today. And as
Jesus is, so are we now in this world. “Because
as He [Jesus] is, so are we in this world” (1
John 4:17). Even while we are living in this
world, we are far above all evil forces through
the name of Jesus. He has given us His name to
use.

And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, “All

authority has been given to Me in heaven and
on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all
the nations, baptizing them in the name of the

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Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,
teaching them to observe all things that I have
commanded you; and lo, I am with you always,
even to the end of the age” (Matthew 28:18 –
20).

As you step out teaching people about Jesus

Christ and the kingdom of God the power and
authority is ready to be exercised. Authority is
only seen where there is need. Any time you feel
symptoms of sickness or pain, command the
pain to check out in Jesus name. You are not
necessary praying here; you are exercising

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authority. Bless God! Thank God that you have
relief after exercising authority and you will see
manifestation. After commanding sickness,
pain, infirmity to go in Jesus name, begin to
thank God that it is done. When you begin like
this, you will begin to hear testimonies of relief.
You are more than conquerors. He says freely
you have received the authority to heal the sick,
cleanse the lepers and raise the dead. In that
same way He urges us to exercise authority
freely.

Dear saint, right now you have authority. We

were created to have dominion. God created

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mankind after His kind. What are you waiting
for? You step out and use that authority. Give it
freely. You represent God on earth. Exercise that
authority. Do not be confused about it; be fully
persuaded you have authority. Satan is afraid of
us. He is an outlaw. Believers are to reign as
kings in life with Christ.

You can understand why John said in 1 John

4:4, “You are of God, little children, and have
overcome them.” Overcome who? The
principalities, powers, rulers of darkness, the
Antichrist, and all other demon powers. The

105
Greater One is in you! The one in the world is
not so great—he is defeated.

We were to be god (ruler) over the earth. But let

us keep it in the right perspective. That is what
got the devil into trouble: thinking he was God.
We are not God, and we are never going to be
God. We are sons of God, joint-heirs with Jesus.
Jesus Christ has completely conquered Satan
and all his works, and has delegated His
authority to His followers to rule and reign till
He returns to finally establish His Kingdom for
eternity. You have authority as a believer –

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NOW GO INTO ALL WORLD AND MAKE
DISCIPLES OF ALL NATIONS!

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 Shephat Phiri is the
Youth Director and
Cell Group Leader
at Pentecostal
Holiness Church,
Christ Harvest
Center in Ndeke, Kitwe – ZAMBIA. He is also
the co-founder of the Shephat Phiri Foundation
with Mwelwa Kashiba. Shephat Phiri is also
the secretary of Soteria Africa Missions
(SAM).

108
BOOKS BY SHEPHAT PHIRI
 The Body of Christ
 Let the Redeemed of the LORD Say
So
 Key to Answered Prayer
 Concept of Faith

Order ebooks well as hardcopies by emailing:

Email: [email protected]
Facebook Page: The Shephat Phiri Foundation

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