Believers Authority and Forcing the devil Out Healing School September 18,2023

Seeking Comes First (Delivering Revelation)

Remember the song, 'Seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you, Halle, Halleluiah!' Great song in that era (1971). Apparently, people did seek God. Early days of the Jesus movement you know. My parents were among those who surrendered and lived their lives for God and saw Him do wonderful things. I am the product of their prayers and lifestyle. Ahh, those were the days. Oral Roberts, Kenneth Hagin, Derek Prince, Kathryn Kuhlman, and many more surrendered to the Lord, then became ministers traveling the country, doing the works of Jesus. My parents used to volunteer at Kathryn Kuhlman events whenever she came to Oakland. Where was I back then? In high school, doing anything except following Jesus. My bad. Now I am very grateful they prayed and my siblings all 7 of them also prayed for my salvation. There came a time when I eventually surrendered my life to God and spent much time seeking Him. I got to know my Father in Heaven who came to live in me. My lovely wife, Debra had a little different experience growing up. Her parents came to know God in that era also. As a teen, she would travel with her parents to prayer group events and had many experiences watching them and others minister to people. Seeking the Lord was the factor in both of our lives which eventually led us to each other and 35 years of marriage.

Generally, people will seek God in a crisis after they realize no natural answer exists. It would be like the disciples trying to wake up Jesus because a great storm arose. They had Jesus in the boat so everything should have been alright. Many churches have Jesus onboard, from the Berean's to the Charismatic's. Maybe you ask yourself, "did I read my bible today?" But sometimes it just takes a small scare and people don't know if Jesus will deliver them this time! Trying to have faith in a storm is not easy, just ask the guy next to you who is bailing water. I can just hear the guy now saying to Jesus, "Don't you care that we perish?" "Then grab a bucket!"

But never mind the doubters. You've come fully prepared, already spent time with God , and know what to do with a fearful situation. Kind of like Chuck Norris. At the very least you know to call on the name of the Lord, Jesus.

What is the Ideal state of mind to be in? Let me ask you this, Do you know your spiritual temperature? You know, hot or cold, lukewarm or just plain spewed out? Well if you're in Minnesota you might need a warming blanket! God is ready to take you up in temperature anytime you are ready. The scriptures talk about the term, FERV'ENT, definition.- 'to be hot, to boil, to glow.' I used to weld steel for a hobby…I had torches fueled with oxygen and acetylene to cut the steel. Those torches could get to over 2500 degrees, enough to melt the steel and then with a burst of oxygen would blow away the white hot metal from in front of the torch tip. Without the white hot heat produced no desired result would take place.

Jesus' temperature was always fervent! Look at Luke 22:15 "Then He said to them, “With fervent desire I have desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer!"

Luke 22:44 "And being in agony, He, (Jesus) was praying very fervently; and His sweat became like drops of blood, falling down upon the ground]." NASB. You can't be any more fervent than that! That is more than torch hot! The goal is to be so hot with God in your life that you blow away the devil! "It's" going to burn anyway!

Look what Paul says in Romans 12:10-12 "Be devoted to one another in brotherly love; give preference to one another in honor, 11 not lagging behind in diligence, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord; 12 rejoicing in hope, persevering in tribulation, devoted to prayer."

1 Peter 1:22 "Since you have purified your souls in obedience to the truth for a sincere love of the brothers and sisters, fervently love one another from the heart,"

James 5:16 "Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much." Websters definition, avail - to be strong or able, to profit, to be of force or authority; Here is the blow "it" away part! God wants us to be like Jesus!

How do we get there?

1 Kings 22:5 "But Jehoshaphat also said to the king of Israel, “First seek the counsel of the Lord." Matthew 6:33 "But seek first his kingdom."

What is the sign you are not hot enough?

2 Chron. 16:11-13 "The events of Asa’s reign, from beginning to end, are written in the book of the kings of Judah and Israel. 12 In the thirty-ninth year of his reign Asa was afflicted with a disease in his feet. Though his disease was severe, even in his illness he did not seek help from the Lord, but only from the physicians. 13 Then in the forty-first year of his reign Asa died and rested with his ancestors." Answer, He did not seek help from the Lord!

If you're not warm enough to seek then I would suggest getting around those who do go after God with their whole heart. Don't spend a lot of time with those that are able to live life without the Lord. You need to become like a heat seeking missile fired in your Fathers direction. That way you will eventually be on target enough to get some of Heavens fire on you! You do not have to stay cold, lukewarm or spewed out! Just take a look at yourself - does life look like this? Psalm 63:1 "My soul thirsts for You; My flesh longs for You In a dry and thirsty land Where there is no water." Then make this commitment- O God, You are my God; Early will I seek You!"

The benefits of seeking God

Psalm 53:2 "God looks down from heaven on all mankind to see if there are any who understand, any who seek God." The Lord is looking for those who will seek Him. Why? Let's look.

Psalm 119:2 "Blessed are those who keep his statutes and seek him with all their heart." Blessed is plenty of reason to seek.

Psalm 122:9 "For the sake of the house of the Lord our God, I will seek your prosperity." Don't seek prosperity without God in it.

Isaiah 65:10 "Sharon will become a pasture for flocks, and the Valley of Achor a resting place for herds, for my people who seek me." Seeking the Lord will lead you to rest.

Jeremiah 29:13 "You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart." You will find God!

Matthew 6:33" But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well." All the things you've been doing without.

Psalm 27:4 "One thing I have desired of the Lord, That will I seek That I may dwell in the house of the Lord All the days of my life, To behold the beauty of the Lord, And to inquire in His temple."

Believers Authority

AUTHOR'ITY, definition; Legal power, or a right to command or to act; as the authority of a prince over subjects, and of parents over children. Power; rule; sway. We have two different examples of the usage of the word "power". One is Characterized by the Greek word "exsousia" and the other is the Greek word "dunamis". From what I've read in the definitions, both carry the same ideas of miraculous or supernatural power or ability, and both have the meanings of delegated legal authority. One must possess both to carry out Jesus commands to His disciples. Both are included in the following scriptures:

Matthew 6:13 "And do not lead us into temptation, But deliver us from the evil one. For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever." Amen. (dunamis): (miraculous) power, might, strength

Matthew 9:8 "Now when the multitudes saw it, they marveled and glorified God, who had given such power (exsousian) to men." (authority, jurisdiction, liberty, power)

Matthew 10:1 "And when He had called His twelve disciples to Him, He gave them power (exsousian) over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal all kinds of sickness and all kinds of disease."

Mark 3:13-15 "And He went up on the mountain and called to Him those He Himself wanted. And they came to Him. 14 Then He appointed twelve, that they might be with Him and that He might send them out to preach, 15 and to have power (exsousia) to heal sicknesses and to cast out demons." Strongs1849 eksousía - (authority, jurisdiction, liberty, power)

Where did the power come from?

Luke 4:14 "Then Jesus returned in the power (dunamis) of the Spirit to Galilee, and news of Him went out through all the surrounding region."

Acts1:8 "But you shall receive power (dunamis) when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth."

The power came from God is the easy answer. Apparently the power of God can be transferred to others. It was Baptism in the Holy Spirit which empowered Jesus and then the disciples to do what Jesus said do in Mark 16 before He left the planet.

Luke 4:36 "For with authority and power He commands the unclean spirits, and they come out. "* This scripture differentiates between the two Greek and English words with authority being," exousia"power to act, & authority" Then Power being "dynamae" or force, specially, miraculous power

Luke 22:69 "Hereafter the Son of Man will sit on the right hand of the power of God.”

Luke 24:49 "Behold, I send the Promise of My Father upon you; but tarry in the city of Jerusalem until you are endued with power from on high." We don't need to tarry any more!

I pray this for you right now, and include myself.

Ephesians 1:17-21 " that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him, 18 the eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in you, the saints, 19 and what is the exceeding greatness of His power (dynameos, dunamis) toward us who believe, according to the working of His mighty power 20 which He worked in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, 21 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."

Satan crushing power (Forcing the devil out)

What I find interesting is that dynanei and exsousia both contain the word force in the definition. To be more specific supernatural or miraculous force. Apparently we have the same ability Jesus had on earth and still has.

Let's look at what it means to cast out demons. So according to Luke 8:26- 35 Jesus went to a place called Gadarenes. There He was met by a man, demon possessed for a long time. He wore no clothes and lived in the tombs. When he saw Jesus he cried out, fell down before Him, and with a loud voice said, What have I to do with You, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I beg You, do not torment me!” 29 For He had commanded the unclean spirit to come out of the man. For "it" had often seized him, and he was kept under guard, bound with chains and shackles; and he broke the bonds and was driven by the demon into the wilderness." (I thought torment was what demons did, not what people do to them). Apparently they fear being cast out or like in verse 31 "And they begged Him that He would not command them to go out into the abyss".

How is this different than today? We meet people who are demonized (possessed) all the time. We just don't realize it. We maybe think they are evil but not possessed. It has become commonplace. Sickening. There is a place in Nevada out in the wilderness where demented people go to celebrate the Burning Man festival every year. From what I hear people which are demonized go there and get more of the same. Many are without clothes and not in their right minds! Same devils.

Jesus asked (the demented man), saying, “What is your name?”

And he said, “Legion,” because many demons had entered him.

How many demons can someone have? I suppose a legion. How much authority do you have? Enough! Jesus would not have left us without enough. Tip, Speak like Jesus did to the lead demon!

"Behold I give to you power over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall harm you!" So I don't think all of these things came in all at once. Probably over time. They did come into the man's house, (his temple) and of course they won't leave unless you or someone else forces them out. They are squatters!

32" Now a herd of many swine was feeding there on the mountain. So they begged Him that He would permit them to enter them. And He permitted them. 33 Then the demons went out of the man and entered the swine, and the herd ran violently down the steep place into the lake and drowned."

Looks like the demons produced a violent reaction in the pigs just like in the man. Violence is on the Bitterness demon list. I wonder was that man's first demon Unforgiveness? Could have been they all murdered the pigs! Murder follows violence. Think Bacon-It was a great loss

34 "When those who fed them saw what had happened, they fled and told it in the city and in the country. 35 Then they went out to see what had happened, and came to Jesus, and found the man from whom the demons had departed, sitting at the feet of Jesus, clothed and in his right mind. And they were afraid!"

So here came the gawkers and they were afraid! Why? Were they wondering where the demons went to? Hope it wasn't my house! And where did the man get the clothes? Ever think of that? I don't know but Jesus fed five thousand and almost sunk Peters boat with a huge catch of fish! I think Jesus cleaned things up quite well, probably told those scoundrels to never return or touch anyone else. It is a good practice.

Romans 16:19-20 "Therefore I am glad on your behalf; but I want you to be wise in what is good, and innocent concerning evil. 20 And the God of peace will crush satan under your feet shortly." God is the satan crusher! He uses us to do the Kingdom's work.

We don’t really know where the legion went? Dry places maybe. Abyss is a possibility. I still remember one day after volunteering at the Healing Rooms in Brooklyn Center the Lord showed me a vision of piles of demons laying hurt, wounded maybe dead, outside of the building. I would like to think of them that way, the only time "it" makes me happy!