Jesus desires that we follow him, he invites us to a heirship that elevates us; and he sends us out to do the will of God. More importantly, he charges us with authority. Mark 16:15-20: 15 He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation. 16 Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned. 17 And these signs will accompany those who believe: In my name they will drive out demons; they will speak in new tongues; 18 they will pick up snakes with their hands; and when they drink deadly poison, it will not hurt them at all; they will place their hands on sick people, and they will get well.”
It therefore appears that God has assured us divine authority; and the key or sceptre of this authority as a child of God is – the name of God (or in the name of Jesus) as presented in the extract above. But do we have the right to exercise this power even as (proclaimed) children of God? Are you a Man (man/woman) of authority? Or are you like the 7 Sons of Sceva in Acts 19:13-17
13 Some Jews who went around driving out evil spirits tried to invoke the name of the Lord Jesus over those who were demon-possessed. They would say, “In the name of the Jesus whom Paul preaches, I command you to come out.” 14 Seven sons of Sceva, a Jewish chief priest, were doing this. 15 One day the evil spirit answered them, “Jesus I know, and Paul I know about, but who are you?” 16 Then the man who had the evil spirit jumped on them and overpowered them all. He gave them such a beating that they ran out of the house naked and bleeding. 17 When this became known to the Jews and Greeks living in Ephesus, they were all seized with fear, and the name of the Lord Jesus was held in high honor.
The questions which should follow, I guess, is – are you really a child of God who has the right to exercise the authority? And who is a child of God? A child of God is that who desires and commits to doing the will of God – someone who is in continuous fellowship with God. Being children of God gives us the legitimacy to exercise authority because we express the will of God. We can say therefore that being children of God make us men and women of authority, in which we can express the power we possess by calling on the name of the Lord. Or have you forgotten that the name of the Lord is a strong tower that the righteous run to it and are saved? – Psalm 18
Prayer: Heavenly Father, we come to you today in humility, we thank you for all your love and mercy; we ask of you to help us to know you more, love you more and serve you more. Today, we ask for the full knowledge of your will and the grace and courage to live according to your will, in Jesus name we pray, amen!