Over the last three years I have been learning more and more about this statement:
“And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my ekklesia [church], and the gates of Hades will not overcome it.”
(If you have not been following the Ekklesia teachings at Convergence House of Prayer, a good place to start is reading this book or watching some of these teachings:)
(These are clickable ;)
As I have been reflecting more on this idea that we (the "church") are actually a governing people, it has put together many verses and understanding of spiritual authority. The Ekklesia being a group whose decisions causes action, has a different mental picture than a group that gathers to sing songs and hear someone preach each week. This foundational understanding of the very essence of the believer changes the identity and function of a beliver from passive to active.
One of the massive paradigms that the revelation understanding of "Ekklesia" brings, is the way we view spiritual authority. I want to talk about one simple word in this post, REBUKE.
Rebuke
The definition of rebuke is: "Express sharp disapproval or criticism of (someone) because of their behavior or actions." (source)
An example would be what we see in Luke 4:39:
“Standing at her bedside, he rebuked the fever, and it left her. And she got up at once and prepared a meal for them.”
When Jesus "rebuked" the fever, He didn't say, "FEVER! I REBUKE you! In the name of Myself!" But it is funny, cause that is what we do, right? We are praying for someone and we use the word "rebuke". But, think of it like the word "Praise". You wouldn't listen to your child's recital and then afterwords go up to them and say to them, "I praise you! I praise you!" The word is a description of what it is you are actually doing. When you say, "What a great job sweetheart! I am so proud of you!", you are praising them. Likewise, when Jesus rebuked the fever, what were the words was He saying? What was He doing? What was His posture and tone toward the situation?
In looking closer at the Greek word, epitimaó, we see this word means "sternly warning", or to "speak harshly to". (You can read more here: http://biblehub.com/greek/2008.htm) Now imagine Jesus speaking to that fever. What did He say? I think there is a good and very helpful teaching here for us in using authority in prayer.
1. BELEIVE
Believe that you, the Ekklesia, have authority. Take a moment, and ask God for the revelation understanding to be imparted to you, that you would believe that He gave you the authority through Christ, as a part of the Ekklesia.
2. POSITION YOURSELF
Keep short accounts with others and keep your heart and mind free of negativity and offense. If you want to be used of God, it starts here. Take a moment, and repent of your sins, wrong attitudes, and allowances for compromise in your walk with God.
3. EXERCISE AUTHORITY
If you are a parent, you probably exercise your authority all the time, but for those of you who are not in a position of authority in the home or workplace, this might be new for you. The way you begin to exercise your authority is by speaking to things to come into order. One common phrase around our church office back home was, "NOT today Devil! Back off!" Begin to speak into things until it becomes your belief strongly.
I love the story of a young Bethel student that was practicing declarations of calling things out that were not, as if they were for his exercise. His daily practice was to declare, "Whenever Atheists meet me they encounter Jesus!" He hadn't yet met an Atheist, or witnessed to one, but it was his desire to do so. One day he met a guy on the street who told him he was an Atheist, and instead of being afraid, as he would have in the past, since he had been declaring this daily for months and months, he got really excited and exclaimed, "YOU ARE!!?? That's so awesome!!!! Because every time I meet and Atheist, they encounter Jesus!!" He went on tho witness to this guy and obviously, he encountered Jesus! (Story comes from: Igniting Hope Ministries)
I hope I have encouraged you today and given you a few easy and simple steps to igniting your place of authority in the spirit!