← Dufresne Ministries Podcast
Dufresne Ministries Podcast
Our Authority In Christ, Part Two | Nancy Dufresne | Jesus the Healer Broadcast
00:27:56
Loading summary
Transcript3 lines
- [00:01]
A
Hi, I'm Nancy Dufresne. Welcome to our podcast channel. We know you'll be blessed by today's message.
- [00:09]
B
We're so glad you're joining us today. For Jesus the Healer, we invite you to get hold of your Bible, get a notepad and pen or pencil, and follow along with us. Become a student. And as you're sitting there, don't just float. Release your faith. Expect something. And as you do, and as you allow these truths to go into your spirit, make them part of your daily life, I encourage you to go back and watch the previous episode to this one. We're doing a series now on our authority in Christ, and you're going to need to It'll bless you to know what we said previously so that you can go with us further in building on what we're going to say in this episode. But I want us to start today by reading In Psalms chapter 8 and verse 4. Psalms, chapter 8 and verse 4, it says this, what is man, that thou art mindful of him, and the Son of man, that thou visitest him? In verse 5, for thou hast made man a little lower than the angels. But the Hebrew says, and the Old Testament was originally written in Hebrew, the Hebrew says, thou has made him a little lower than Elohim. That means you made him a little bit lower than God, not just angels, but God himself. So it says, you made him a little bit lower than God, and you have crowned him with glory and honor. And I love verse six, too. You made him to have dominion. You made him to have dominion, to have authority. So what we need to understand is as having a shared inheritance with Christ, everything that belongs to Christ belongs to us. Our inheritance doesn't just include health. It doesn't just include prosperity. Another thing it includes is authority. And so we need to be skillful with exercising and using all of our inheritance, and that includes our authority. We have to know our authority, and we have to know how to exercise and use that authority. Again, verse 6 says, God has made man to have dominion over the works of God's hands. Thou has put all things under his feet. And then we read over there in Ephesians where it says that Jesus was that by the power of God, he was raised from the dead. He was seated at the Father's right hand. What is at the seat of authority. And then it says because God loved us, that he raised us too. He made us alive and raised us up together with Christ. And this is one of the things that we talked about in the previous episode. That Jesus is called the head and the church. The body of Christ is his body. And you know this. Your body has the exact same rights as your head. These are not two separate entities, they are one. Your head and your body make one unit comprised of many parts, but making one unit even. So, we are one with Christ. His authority is our authority. What belongs to him belongs to us. And people don't understand this. And the devil wants to keep them blinded to this. Because when you understand that the same authority that belongs to Christ is yours, then you're done letting the devil work his plan in your life every day. Jesus did not allow the enemy's plans against him to succeed. Every single day of Jesus earthly ministry, he was opposed. When he was out laying hands on the sick, when he was preaching the truth, so many religious leaders and the public and the crowds would oppose, he just kept doing. He just stepped over that opposition and kept going. He never let any opposition hinder or slow him down. Your authority will keep you going. Your authority will keep you moving ahead in the plan of God. And yes, there was opposition, but Jesus authority forbid its entrance to hinder him, to stop him. Yes, when being one with Christ and having our authority with Christ, that doesn't mean things leave us alone. It means that it has no, no success against us. It means it will fail when it comes against us. Amen. If we exercise our authority. Amen. Our authority will not automatically go into effect unless we demand our rights. We're not demanding it of God, we're demanding it of the devil. That when the devil opposes our body, we say, you take your hands off my body. When the devil opposes our finances, you take your hand off my finances. If he's opposing your family and your, you say, you take your hands off my children, you take your hands off my business, everything associated with me. Every day exercise your dominion. Every day exercise your authority. If you're not, the devil is going to use that day to try to gain an entrance. Every day the life of the believer is a daily life of resisting as well as rejoicing, as well as believing. It's also a lifestyle of resisting. Not resisting God, not resisting the Holy Ghost, not resisting those God's put in our lives as authority over life, but resisting the entrance of the enemy. And if we do not exercise our authority every day, the devil will get a bit of an inroad into our lives. So everything, every symptom that comes against you, resist it. Every wrong, troubling thought, resist it. Every worried thought, resist it. How do you resist it, you talk to it. How does a police officer exercise his authority? He first uses words, and then he can use physical forces if he has to. But he doesn't just stand there silently and say, look at my badge. He doesn't just wear his badge and just stand there silently. He says something with that authority that's his. Even so, the way our authority is put into motion is through our words. You speak to things. And Jesus said that in Mark, chapter 11, verse 23. He said, Whosoever shall say unto this mountain, be removed. See, this mountain's opposing this mountain's in the way. This mountain is hindering. This mountain is stopping progress. So he said, whosoever shall say unto the mountain, be removed. What's he talking about? Exercise your authority. If you will exercise your authority, say to the mountain, be removed, be cast into the sea, and shall not doubt. See, you have to believe the authority is yours. Shall not doubt, but shall believe in his heart. Those things which he says shall come to pass, he shall have whatsoever he saith. That verse is telling us things will obey you if you talk to them. Why? Because when you exercise your authority, heaven will back you up. God's power will back you up. Authority is no good without power behind it. The power of God is present in your life, within you and around you. And for you to back up the authority that you exercise, it's not just you and your own human effort or your own human ability trying to make these things happen and come to pass. You say something that's in agreement with the authority God's given you, and his power will meet that authority and back you up every single time. But you have to believe that his power is backing you up. And listen, if you really believe that God's power was back, if we really believed fully as we ought to, that God's power was backing us up, what more would we be doing for him and in the plan of God? Amen. And so Jesus made this statement in John 8:32, you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free. You have to know these things for yourself. It's not enough that your pastor knows it. You have to know it. You have to know it for your own life. No one can exercise authority in your life but you. Your pastor is not responsible to exercise his authority in place of you exercising your authority. He's authorized and anointed to teach you your authority. But you're going to have to step up and take your own rights and privileges. And attending church is great, and you need to be attending church. But that will not take the place of you exercising your own authority. Just showing up at church is not the exercise of authority. Every single day you have to exercise your authority against things that try to intrude against the plan of God into your Life. In Hosea 4, 6, God spoke and says, my people are destroyed for lack of knowledge. When people do not know what belongs to them in Christ, then they end up losing out on benefits that are theirs. And so we know this, that we have to not only just know that there's authority, we have to use that authority. And as we said in the previous episode, so much of the time people have wrong thinking. They say, well, why are wrong things happening in the world? Because people who with the authority aren't using their authority. See, Adam had authority and he turned his authority over when he sinned. And when he went against the plan of God, went against the word of God, and he sinned and he turned. Not only, not only, not only did he give up fellowship with God, but he stepped out of his place of authority. When fellowship was broken, authority was broken. And so Satan, not only he became, in First Corinthians, chapter 4, verse 4, calls him the God of this world. That means that he has the authority now that Adam had. But when Jesus came, he came to get God's man back, to bring man back into fellowship and into union with the Father. But he also to do that, he also restored his authority. So know this. You have the authority. That's why we're told and instructed. In Hebrews 4, verse 16. Come boldly to the throne of grace. We're authorized. How are we authorized? Well, our seat is right next to the Father. We've been raised and seated with Christ in heavenly places is what the Word says. We belong at the throne. We belong at the throne. Amen. So Christians will that think wrong, that don't understand these truths that we're teaching, they will sometimes accuse God with, well, why did God let this happen to me? Why did God let this happen to my family? Why did God let this happen to my children? We have to understand this. God allows what we allow. Why? Because God has handed us a shared authority. Remember when Jesus prayed when he was on the earth, his disciples said, teach us to pray. And he prayed and he spoke a prayer. And he said, our Father, which art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. God's will is always done in heaven. Why? Because that's where he resides. His throne is located there. So in his own presence, he exercises the authority of heaven. Now, if the if God's will was being done on earth the way it is in heaven, why did Jesus pray for it to be done on earth as it was in heaven? Because it wasn't going to. It wasn't done unless somebody cooperated with God in heaven. So how can God's will be done on the earth as it is in? For people who are one with the Father, one with Jesus, share the same authority that we exercise our authority on earth that God is exercising in heaven. Amen. It's an amazing thought that we are part of the fulfillment of that prayer when Jesus said, father, thy will be done on earth. How? Through us. As we exercise our dominion, we exercise our authority. We forbid what God forbids. We permit what God permits. Forbid it. Heaven can't back that up. If we permit it, then heaven has to permit it. So instead of accusing God of why does he allow bad or wrong things to happen, we need to accuse our own lack of use of the authority of God. Well, I didn't know I could. Well, the Word says his people are destroyed for lack of knowledge. When we don't know, it is a negative. It's a defeat to us when we don't know, so we can no longer ever accuse God of failing us. When you understand what belongs to you in Christ, you never let it come through your lips that God hasn't held up his end of the of the deal. It's always on our part. It's never on God's part. It's on man's side if there's failure because we have the same authority Jesus operated in when he was on the earth and that he now exercises at the right hand of the Father. We have the same authority and that authority will accomplish the same thing it did for Jesus. But we have to exercise that authority. Amen. So if we ever go to God and say, God, why did you allow that in my home? If you had ears to hear, God would say, why are you allowing that in your home? That's the way heaven would answer if you would listen. Because that's what the Word tells us. Amen. Heaven backs us up, but we have to act, so heaven has something to back up. Matthew, chapter 18 and verse 18. Jesus was speaking wonderful words, and this is part of demonstrating our authority. He said, verily, I say unto you, whatsoever you shall bind on earth, whatsoever you shall bind not whatsoever God shall bind, whatsoever you shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven. Whatsoever you shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. We could read it this way because other translations read this way. Whatsoever you forbid on earth, heaven will forbid. Whatsoever you permit on earth, heaven will permit. Amen. Whatsoever you forbid in your home, heaven will forbid it. Whatsoever you permit in your home, heaven has to permit it, good or bad. This means heaven will back us up. Notice that in this phrase it doesn't say whatsoever shall be bound in heaven, you shall bind on earth. No, the action begins on earth. The action begins on earth. Whatsoever you shall bind on earth. Then heaven responds to what you're doing on the earth. Yeah. Amen. Whatsoever you don't, that you don't forbid. Heaven's got nothing to back up. Amen. Heaven backs us up. So Jesus in this we see a transfer of authority happening. Man didn't know this, but Jesus is letting him know. This is the way of your life. You bind. If you don't want something in your life, forbid it. If you want to permit something in your life, permit it. Loose it in your life. Amen. Loose. Loose. The income to come to you. See, Satan will bind up income. Satan will bind up increase. Loose it. If things aren't reaching your life, it's because they're tied up somewhere. The things you need. Remember what Jesus said when he was going to before his, before he was crucified, he came into Jerusalem. And the prophets talked about he would come into Jerusalem riding on a colt. Remember that? So he said to his disciples, there is a colt and told them the location. He said, go and loose it and bring it to me. He didn't just say, well if God has a colt for me, the colt will show up. No, he gave instruction to the disciples to go loose what the master needed to use. And they did it. And he came writing. Notice this. Some things are loose, they need to be loose because they're tied up at a different location. Loose them. How do you loose them? With your words? Realize that authority. Your authority from God will be backed up by heaven. Now the thing is you just can't go randomly binding and loosing things unless it's in the plan and the will of God. Because see, the authority of God is for the plan of God. It's for the will of God. You can't just. Well, you know, I claim that house down the road. Well, if somebody else owns that house and lives in that house, you can't take what belongs to another man. God's not out letting you dispossess other people, right? But if God says that's your house, you can see, Father, I release my faith for it. I claim that house based on your word. See, you have to know his will and his word for your binding and your loosing to operate. Another thing, when you bind and when you loose be in the spirit, don't just be in your mental arena. Have your be connected to your heart. Your heart has to be, this has to flow out of your heart. It's not just a mental transaction, it is a spiritual transaction. So you need to take time, get in the presence of God, worship God, get, get connected to your spirit. Amen. Hallelujah. So Jesus shows us in Matthew 18:18 that whatever you bind shall be bound. Heaven will bind it. Whatever you loose, heaven will back you up. He's showing us that Jesus defeated Satan, then he turned around and handed us the authority. And so we have a role in this. So see, religious thinking is that God's going to do everything. God did do everything. He gave you authority. He gave you all authority, he gave you all ability. Heaven did all. Now you do all. Oh my Hallelujah. Every encounter, and this is a huge truth for you to get hold of. Every encounter with the devil always needs to be with the consciousness that he has already been completely and utterly defeated and destroyed and that you have total authority over him as a defeated foe. Do not approach him and treat him like he is equal to you or above you in Christ. He's not. Now you as a man, you're no match for the devil. But you're not approaching the devil as a man. You're approaching him with the authority of Christ, as your oneness with the Father, as the body to the head. That's how you approach the devil. It is not a man approaching and dealing with the devil. It is a Christ man. It's a new man, a new creature in Christ, using new creature authority, using who we are in Christ to approach and deal with the situations. Colossians in chapter 2, verse 15 says this. And Jesus having spoiled principalities and powers, he made a show of them openly triumphing over them in it or in the cross. Jesus utterly defeated, stripped principalities and powers of their authority. Jesus defeated Satan, then turned around and handed us that victory. Jesus did not defeat Satan for his own sake, he defeated him for our sake. So that we could have victory. Amen. We're not out defeating Satan again. We're not out defeating him again. He is already defeated. So anytime symptoms show up, lack shows up, mental torment shows up, you address it with the understanding you are already defeated, that symptoms are defeated, that Lack is already defeated. And I am here to remind that which shows up that you are a defeated foe. And I'm enforcing the authority and the victory that is already won for me. That's how you, that's what heaven will back up. Amen. When you understand that he is defeated and you treat him that way, you think of him in those terms and you talk about him in those terms. Amen. We're not out defeating Satan again. We are out enforcing his defeat. And we are enforcing our victory. Not that we won, but what Christ won for us and what Jesus accomplished in our behalf. Some exciting words In Romans chapter 5. I want you to read with me. Romans chapter 5, verse 17. It says this. For if by one man's offense, death reigned by one. Well, what's it referring to? Adam. That when Adam, Adam entered into offense, he violated God, he committed high treason, sinned against God, Death reigned. What's that mean? Death got the upper hand, Death got authority, Death started working. Death see anything of death that's in the earth, God had nothing to do with sin, opened the door to that. Yes. So for by one man's offense, Adam's death reigned by one much more. They which receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness shall reign in life by one, Christ Jesus. So Adam's defeat was not the last one standing. Jesus came, reversed everything Adam did, and he defeated Satan. And then notice this, I love these words that we which receive the abundance of grace, that's us in Christ, right? And of the gift of righteousness. See, we're right with God now because it's a gift. It's nothing earned, but we've received the gift of righteousness. And now what happens? We shall reign in life. Not by us, but by Him. Not by something we won, but by what he won for us. We are to reign. I love the phrase, reign in life, reign in life. Praise God. We're terrain over circumstances. Circumstances show up and they don't get the last word. We get the last word. When you see this word reigning in life, these are things that, that draw up the image of a king just in an earthly natural realm. He reigns meaning this. It doesn't matter what shows up in his courts. It doesn't matter what shows up in his, in his kingdom. If he says anything, those words are the final words. Those words are the last words. Those words are the words that stand. So when he speaks, what he says goes into effect. Because he's king, he's reigning, he's reigning. This is the position we've been raised to a reigning position that when circumstances show up, don't stand there silent. Say something. A king doesn't just let the adversary show up in his domain and start wreaking havoc. He will say something and declare words that will determine the outcome. You determine the outcome. You can't determine whether or not circumstances show up or not, but you can determine the outcome of that circumstance. And how are we to determine it? By using our authority, using our dominion. We reign in life. Now people say, well, it doesn't seem like I'm reigning in life. You will if you use your authority. It's the used authority that causes us to reign in life. Amen. So circumstances show up and we decide what's final. We determine the outcome of that. Notice this we are authorized to live as though we have no enemies. Why? Because Jesus made us master over Satan. But we have to exercise our authority and use that authority and live as masterfully as he's made us to be. Amen. Hallelujah.
- [27:39]
A
We trust you've enjoyed this message. Visit us@DefrainMinistries.org to learn of our upcoming meetings. Share your testimony, become a partner or visit our online store. This program has been made possible by the friends and partners of defrain Ministries.