Flowing Under Authority

I want to conclude the teaching we have been developing concerning the subject of authority: spiritual authority, human authority, and even physical authority as well, because we have said that authority is the same in the physical world, in the spiritual world, and also in the human world, in the world of society.

I want us to begin with a passage. There are other passages I want to discuss with you this morning, and I advise those of you who can to look for these sermons on the Internet and watch them, or buy them here in the church bookstore when they become available, because I know we can benefit from meditating on these concepts, which are quite profound and become increasingly beneficial the more we hear them—not because I preach them, but because they are the word of God, which I feel God is bringing prophetically to His people at this time.

Now, in the Gospel according to Saint Luke, chapter 7, verses 1 through 10, the word of the Lord says, speaking of a centurion:

“...after He had finished all His words to the people who were listening to Him, He entered Capernaum—speaking of Jesus—and the servant of a centurion, whom the centurion greatly loved, was sick and about to die. When the centurion heard about Jesus, he sent some elders of the Jews to Him, pleading with Him to come and heal his servant....”

This centurion intercedes on behalf of one of his servants. It is unusual for a man with so much power to be so deeply concerned that a mere servant of his be healed, because at the time when this took place, that kind of intercession or concern was not typical.

“...and they came to Jesus and earnestly pleaded with Him, saying, ‘He is worthy for You to grant him this, because he loves our nation and built us a synagogue.’ And Jesus went with them, but when He was already not far from the house, the centurion sent some friends to Him, saying, ‘Lord, do not trouble Yourself, for I am not worthy for You to come under my roof....’”

This man realized that the Lord had heard his request, and perhaps someone went to tell him and gave him the news that the Lord was heading toward his house to heal his servant. But the centurion says to Him:

“...do not trouble Yourself; I am not worthy for You to come under my roof. That is why I did not even consider myself worthy to come to You. But speak the word, and my servant will be healed....”

He simply says to Him, look, You do not have to come and be physically present here in my house. I believe Your word is enough; simply speak the word of healing, and that is more than enough. And look at this man’s reasoning. That is where I want to go: the basis of his reasoning, why he tells the Lord, simply speak the word and that is enough; as far as I am concerned, I believe You can do it. He says:

“...for I too am a man placed under authority....”

First, he is a man who is under authority. He was a centurion; we might say that he was like an army captain or major, and he understood that he was under authority because above him there were colonels, there were generals, perhaps even Caesar, who was far above him. He was under authority.

“...I am a man placed under authority, and I have soldiers under my command....”

First, he knows that he is under authority, but he also knows how to wield authority. He knows what authority is because he has authority above him and people beneath him. He exercises authority as well, so he knows how authority works. Beneath him, as a captain or major, there are lieutenants, sergeants, and corporals, as we might put it in terms of rank. I do not know the ranks in the Roman army, but there were people who were under his authority as well.

“...and I have soldiers under my command, and I say to one, ‘Go,’ and he goes; and to another, ‘Come,’ and he comes; and I say to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it....”

In other words, look at how this sounds to him. When I exercise authority, I tell the sergeant with my mouth, “Come here,” and the sergeant comes immediately; and I tell the corporal, “Go over there,” and he obediently goes and does what I tell him. That is the nature of authority. Authority is valid influence that causes others to do something or causes something to obey, whether human, spiritual, or material. It is all the same; it is always the same currency, the currency of authority, that counts. That is what authority is: having enough weight, enough influence, enough backing so that when you say something to someone—“Do something”—that thing or that person obeys, because within you there is the power to enforce what you are ordering to be done.

Then he says, “...‘Do this,’ and he does it.” When the Lord heard this man’s reasoning, it says that He marveled at him, and turning around, He said to the people following Him—in amazement the Lord said, “Do you know what? I have not found such great faith, not even in Israel....”

The Lord marveled that a Roman soldier, not a Jew, who did not understand the Bible, who had never studied the Old Testament as far as we know, and who had no training in Hebrew theology or anything else, displayed such theological insight and spiritual wisdom through his experience as a soldier, and that he was able to transfer this to the spiritual world. And the Lord said, wow, I have not found such great faith, not even in Israel.

And when those who had been sent returned home, they found that the servant who had been sick was well. I even wonder whether the Lord ever said, “All right, be healed, centurion’s servant.” It seems to me that this man’s faith was so great that it activated the power of Christ simply by believing the Lord Jesus, because he knew how authority operates.

And you can see why I chose this passage. There are very profound things here that we must understand, because, notice, when I began preaching these sermons, I did not understand everything I understand now. The Lord has spoken to me a great deal, and this morning in particular I said, wow, now I truly understand many things.

Sometimes we say things without knowing all the ramifications of what we are saying, but I truly feel that the Lord is speaking to me and speaking to us so that we can truly move in the power in which He wants us to move. But notice that I had told you at the beginning—look it up, if you wish, in the sermon before last, I believe it was; it was not even last Sunday’s sermon, because this is the third Sunday that I have spoken about authority—that there are different kinds of authority.

I said that the universe, the physical world, the cosmos, creation, the mountains, the earth, atoms and molecules, the biological human body, animals, celestial bodies, stars, galaxies, and planets—everything operates according to the principle of authority. And I showed you in Psalm 104 how the Lord gave the command, and it happened. For example, you look in Genesis and the Lord says, “Let there be light,” and what happened? Light came. “Let the sun and the moon arise,” and they arise. “Let the waters be separated from the land,” and they were separated. “Let there be fish and animals and birds,” and all those things came into being. What made it possible for all those things to be created? The authority of God’s mouth. The power, the authority, that is in God.

And God wrote laws into the universe that will not be violated. The planets function according to certain eternal laws. Light travels at a certain speed. Human biology functions according to specific rules; the seas and the nature of water are unchangeable. In the physical, physiological world, there are different laws that God established, and God spoke the world into being, because God is the perfect, total authority. Therefore, when God says something, His word is absolutely irresistible. What He says must be done and must be fulfilled. If He said, “Let there be light,” light comes into being because He said it. That is to say, only God has that absolute power, that absolute authority, so that whatever He says in any realm—physical, spiritual, or human—must be obeyed perfectly.

But then we see that the physical world obeys laws and authority that come from God. And I also said that the spiritual world—the world of demonic and divine spirits, the angelic world as well—operates under authority, and we saw how there are ranks, there are hierarchies, there are angels and archangels, there are cherubim and seraphim; the Son submits to the Father, and the Father is over the Son. In the world of demons, there are principalities, there are powers, there are different ranks of demons and different authorities and powers, and the spiritual world also operates under concepts of authority.

By the way, this morning the case of the sons of Heseba came to mind. How many of you have heard of the sons of Heseba in the Book of Acts? These were two men who saw Paul perform great miracles. They saw that demons came out of people through the Apostles. Why? Because the Apostles had authority. Who gave the Apostles authority over demons? The Lord Jesus Christ. Do you not remember that Matthew and Mark say that the Lord gave them authority over demons when He sent them out? And when they returned, it says, “Lord, even the demons submit to us.” They were dumbfounded. The Lord told them, that is nothing; you will do things even greater than those I do.

And before He went to His Father, He said, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth; therefore, go.” He gave authority to the disciples. So when these two men saw—I do not know how many there were; let us suppose there were two—that demons came out through the word of the Apostles, they said, well, we can do the same thing too. And then they went to a demon-possessed man and said to him, “In the name of Jesus, whom Paul preaches, we rebuke you and command you to come out of them.” And what did the demon answer them? He said, well, we know Peter and we know who Paul is, but who are you? And he pounced on them, and it says that they ran away with all their clothes torn to pieces because they could not withstand the demon’s strength.

What do we see here? The same idea. The demons said, well, we know that we have to obey the authority of Paul and Peter and the Apostles because the Lord God gave them authority, but you—where are your credentials? Show me your exorcist’s license; where is it? Since they did not have one, the demons did not obey them.

You see that the world of spirits operates this way as well. How often do we see in the Bible that God has given us authority? The word exousia, or exousía in Greek, means authority. Sometimes that word is translated as power or other things, but it means authority. God gives us authority over sicknesses; He gives us power, another word that is also used.

If you look in the Gospel according to Saint Mark, chapter 16, it says that before the Lord left, He said, “...go into all the world and preach the Gospel. Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned. And these signs will follow those who believe: In My name they will cast out demons; they will speak in new tongues; they will pick up serpents in their hands; and if they drink anything deadly, it will not harm them; they will lay their hands on the sick, and they will recover....”

In whose name? In the name of Jesus. Why? Because Jesus has authority, and when I move legitimately in the power of Jesus’ name, that authority is transferred to me. So the demons understood that, and as children of God, God has given us authority over sickness; He has given us power over sicknesses, He has given us power over demons, He has given us power over the obstacles of life. We have that authority, brothers and sisters. We have authority through the name of Christ Jesus.

Now, here is the thing; I am going to explain something to you. You have to know how to move in that authority. Most Christians do not know how the matter of authority works, and that is why... Look, the fact that you have an insignia does not necessarily mean that your subordinates will obey you. In armies, there are many officers whose men do not respect them, either because they are cowards, because they are undisciplined, because they do not know how to conduct themselves as warriors, or because they do not know how to exercise authority. They speak, and people do not even pay attention to them, because authority has to be earned. On the battlefield, soldiers will not follow an officer who does not exemplify the authority he embodies. That is why army officers are taught to speak in a certain way, to give orders in a certain manner, and to conduct themselves according to the laws of authority so that their authority is not diminished and the people—their soldiers—do not lose respect for them.

Simply having insignia does not mean that you will wield authority properly. The fact that you inherently possess authority as a follower of Jesus Christ does not necessarily mean that you will actually have that authority when you confront life’s problems, when sicknesses come, or when financial crises come. There are even many people who are living inconsistent lives, and then, when they want to exercise authority, they discover that their authority has drained away through another pipe, that the air has leaked out of them. Their conscience accuses them, and they know that there are unconfessed sins in their lives; there is no life of prayer, fasting, holiness, or seeking the Lord; they do not know the Word. So what authority are they going to use? What authority will they have when a demon comes into their lives to harm them, when a terrible illness comes, or when a financial crisis comes? They do not know how to operate; they have not studied the laws of authority.

Am I making myself clear, brothers and sisters? Because that is the problem with the church at this time: the church has lost its understanding of the mysteries of the Holy Spirit. We do not know how the spirit world works; we do not know how the laws of authority work; we have no experience in that area, and therefore we are powerless. That is why there is a powerless church that does not display that military, martial bearing, that confidence, that poise when it speaks, when it testifies, when it prays, because that person does not truly know who he is. He does not know how to move in authority, or in his conscience there is a sense that he knows—she knows—“I do not have the tools to move in authority.” So when he speaks, what comes out is instead an effeminate and weak voice rather than a voice of command: “Do this, and you must obey because I am moving in the authority of Christ Jesus.”

You understand what I am referring to, brothers and sisters. That is why it is so important for us to understand what the requirements are for a Christian to move in authority by functioning according to the principles of authority. Let me look for another example, because I want you to understand this very clearly, and this example might come across as, “Here comes the pastor again, talking about tithes and offerings.” That is not so. But look, when the Word... There are principles of authority which say that, for me to have authority in the financial world, I must operate according to the laws God has established; and if I am not obeying authority in the spiritual world, I will not have authority in the physical world. So if God has said, “Bring the tithes into the storehouse”; if God has said, “Your finances belong to me”; if God has said, “Seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these other things will be added to you”; if God has said, “Whoever trusts in me will not be put to shame”; if God has said, “Give me a tenth of your money, sacrifice it to me, consecrate it to me, bring it to me as a burnt offering, and I will bless you until it overflows”—that is spiritual authority.

So I obey that law; I submit like the centurion. I know that there is a spiritual law that comes from the mouth of God and under which I stand, so I submit to that law. I obey the Lord; I give the Lord the tithe. I am not asking, “Well, is the pastor going to take it and use it for a summer vacation, or do this or that with it?” No. God said it; I give it in the name of Jesus; I do my part. I fulfilled my duty toward the authority above me.

You know what? That means that now I can use that authority to bless my finances, to defend my finances. I can pray with authority for God to bless and prosper my household, my money, my physical property, bless my seed, prosper my children, prosper my community, prosper my church, because I am a man who lives under authority and therefore can exercise authority. But financial problems come upon many people, and they realize that they can never get anything right, never get ahead. They are always doing things and then their world comes crashing down; they are always losing and starting all over again, the same thing all the time, and they pray and nothing happens. They are always in poverty and hardship, and they wonder, “Is God not faithful?” You know what? Your prayers... First put right the matter of the authority above you before you can exercise authority. Do you understand what I am telling you now?

When you move with that sense of authority—and, brothers and sisters, as I tell you, I did not understand this either until today, I could say, as I am beginning to understand why I started speaking in these ways—it is that the different dimensions of authority intermingle with one another. And the problem of the church, your problem and mine, is that we do not understand the science of authority. The church itself does not understand the intricacies, as they say in English, the complexities of the concept of authority, and that is why we have a feeble church. That is why we have a church that speaks to the world, and what does the world do? It laughs at it. It is a church without authority. It is a church that tells the world all sorts of things, and people say, “Whatever, you crazy old man. You have nothing to tell us; what you are saying is nonsense.” People laugh at the church.

Look at the difference: when an Elijah spoke, when an Elisha spoke, kings trembled. When the church moves in authority, the world—look—has to obey because it has to obey, and it has to pay attention because it has to pay attention. That is because a self-assured church, a church that has paid the price, a church that knows what it believes, a church that is not... Do you know what the church is like nowadays, in this country, for example? We first ask people when they come to church, “What would you like us to preach?” And then we preach that to them. “What offends you? What do you not like me to preach?” Then I take a poll, a survey, and I remove from my preaching repertoire all those subjects that cause controversy and discomfort, so people will not get upset with me and leave, and so the deacons or elders will not make trouble for me and fire me from my position as pastor.

That is authority; that is faintheartedness; that is spiritual cowardice. That is being a hired hand; that is not being a prophet or a spokesman for the Word of God. The church is like that at this time. People come and even tell the church how it should worship, what its rituals should be, and how it should behave during the service. They say, “If you behave this way, we will come; if not, we will not.” And the church very obediently adjusts its repertoire and its ways so that people will come, so that they will come and not leave us alone.

You know, when the power of God moves in the church, when the authority of God is present, the church tells the world what it has to do. The church tells the world, “We have the Word of eternal life for you. You need to come here, and you must submit to the church’s direction—not the church to society’s direction, which is what we currently have.” Because it is a church that has no power, no authority, the church speaks to the world and the world laughs at it. It is an irrelevant church because it is operating according to something else. It is like a captain, a colonel, saying to the soldiers, “What would you like to do today? Shall we go to war or not? Shall we attack the enemy or not? Shall we use stones, rifles, or grenades? What would you prefer us to use today?”

Is that how an army operates? Of course not. The officer speaks, the general gives the order, and the soldiers obey. Then things move effectively. And that is also how the spirit world operates; that is how the church of Jesus Christ operates. But a cowardly church, a fainthearted church, a church that does not know the mysteries of the Spirit, a church that has not seen the miracles of God, a church that does not believe God—because if the church believed God, it would say, “We are going to tell the world the Word of God, and if the world does not obey, God will bring His judgments, or God will discipline them so that they come and align themselves with the church”—stands upright, clear in its position.

And you know what? In time, God realigns the world, and the world has to conform to the Word of God. This country is looking for and needs a church with authority. Look at this matter of Sarah Palin, the governor of Alaska who is running on the Republican ticket. You know everything they have dug up about this woman—this is not an endorsement of Sarah Palin; you may believe whatever you wish about that—but regarding this woman, whether she speaks in tongues or not, because she comes from a Pentecostal, Assemblies of God background, all the journalists in the United States went to Alaska to see whether they could find a video in which Sarah Palin was speaking in tongues, so they could portray her as a charlatan, a madwoman who could not lead this nation as vice president, or as president if McCain were someday to die.

And unfortunately, do you know what is happening here? The poor woman herself, I think, if they asked her—I hope she would have the integrity to say, “Yes, I speak in tongues”—but they are praying that she will not be asked that question. And I say there are millions of Americans and millions of people around the world, tens of millions of people, who speak in Christian tongues. If the world does not like speaking in tongues, that is the world’s problem, not ours. We do not have to be ashamed of using a mystery that comes from the Word of God. And you know what? I consider myself quite lucid intellectually and mentally, even though I speak in tongues. And I do not believe that the fact that I speak in tongues disqualifies me from understanding what is happening in the world around me and governing properly.

But the church has been intimidated, and personally I suspect that perhaps she—I do not know—changed churches a few years ago to defend herself against that accusation, choosing a church that was a little more subdued, a little quieter. That happens in American politics. And to the people who believe in the true God, this country says, “If you practice certain elements of the Bible, you are a fanatic, a fundamentalist, a madman, and you have no right to govern us.” That is why we sometimes change our tune so that the world will accept us and let us play in its yard.

And you know what? When the church does that, it is making deals with the devil himself. It is subtly telling Satan, the culture, and the world, “You have power over us,” instead of the church exercising authority over the nations. And when a church makes that kind of deal, it immediately loses authority. It gets itself out of the immediate predicament when the journalist asks, “Do you speak in tongues?” “Well, tongues—which kind of tongues do you mean? Linguistically speaking, or whatever?” And they go around in circles and do not answer the question because they are afraid.

You know what? At that moment, a subtle transaction takes place in the spirit world. The demons are witnesses. God is a witness. The Holy Spirit is a witness. The entire spiritual world is a witness, and depending on how you act at that moment, you either have authority or you do not. That is why we must live with integrity as much as possible. I myself, who preach this, am afraid to speak this way because I myself sometimes do not measure up to what I preach, but I know that I must rise to that level. And that is what I ask the Lord: that He help me rise to it.

Let me give you another example of this: Daniel and his friends. Daniel is in Babylon. He knows that the food given to these young Hebrews, who are at this university to become officials of the king of Babylon, is food that has been dedicated to idols; it is demonic food, food offered to demons. And Daniel understands the matter of authority, and he says, “You know what? If I eat that food consecrated to demons, that tells me that, implicitly, I am acknowledging the authority of the demons and participating with them.” And Daniel and his companions say, “You know what? We are not going to eat that food.” That was countercultural; it was contrary to what the culture demanded; it was contrary to the ethos, to the values of that moment at the university where he was.

He was not being a team player. He was not playing the team game; he was stepping outside its values. But Daniel says, “No, there is a spiritual principle involved here; there is a principle of spiritual authority involved here, and I am going to stand firm.” Then he says to his supervisor, “You know what? Put us to the test. Let us eat only vegetables for ten days, and then see what we look like, whether we are healthy or not.” Because the supervisor had told them, “You know what? If you do not eat that food, you are all going to waste away, and then they will say that I am not doing a good job of taking care of you.” So he says, “Give us ten days to see what happens—just ten days—and test us.”

Because this is important: I am giving you steak here, not because I am giving it to you, but because it is the Word of God. Daniel tells them, “Let us put it to the test.” What does the Bible say? It says that after ten days, Daniel and his companions were healthier; their faces looked healthier and fuller than those of all their companions who were eating steak and salmon and all the king’s food. And although they were eating only vegetables, they were stronger than their companions. And the Bible says not only that, but that God also gave Daniel knowledge; He gave him the intelligence to earn all A’s at the university. And He also gave him spiritual wisdom, discernment, revelation. What happened? Daniel submitted to spiritual authority, to divine authority. He did not care whether the idea was popular or not; he was operating according to principles of the Spirit, in the spirit world. And what happened? That translated into authority in the material world. His own body obeyed the authority God gave him, because when one submits to divine authority, one receives authority over matter, over human relationships, over everything else.

You see, this is the great revelation God is giving you and me this morning: to exercise authority, submit to authority, whether spiritual, human, or whatever kind it may be. Respect the laws that are above you, flow according to the laws that are above you, and the blessing will come into your life in other ways.

How many people violate the laws of the material world and, for example, eat all kinds of food excessively, without discipline, do not watch what they eat, do not get any exercise, live completely disorderly lives in the material world, disobeying the laws God established concerning the care of the body—and then illnesses come, physical problems come, and many times difficulties come? It is not always because of disobedience, but in many cases, brothers and sisters, we are not respecting the laws of the material world, and so we should not expect to have authority. Then we pray to the Lord, “Lord, heal me, help me,” and God says, “You know what? Stop eating so much sugar or so much salt; stop eating so much fat. Instead of eating those four pieces of pork crackling, eat one, once a week. Get a little exercise, exercise your body, use the parts you are not using.”

Do you understand, brother? The fact is that, ultimately, authority has to do with everything. And when a person moves under authority, God’s blessing flows more easily in that person, in that person’s life. A man complains that his wife does not obey him, or that his children do not obey him, but many times he should ask himself whether he is submitting to the Father’s authority in the way he treats his wife and his children.

How many sisters say amen to that? All of them, surely. Or a sister is not submitting to a husband who treats her well and acts in accordance with authority, and there are things in her life where she sees no blessing: her marriage is not being blessed, and her children are not prospering. Look, sister, question and examine yourself to see whether or not you are submitting to legitimate authority. A child sees that things are not going well for him in life; he is always failing; things do not go well for him in this or that; his mind cannot think clearly; there is no blessing from God in his life; the heavens are closed; there is failure wherever he goes, closed doors wherever he turns, and stumbling everywhere. Son, ask yourself whether you are obeying your father and mother, whether you are submitted to the authority above you, where God says, “So that it may go well with you, so that it may go well with you, so that it may go well with you.” And if things are not going well for you, it is possible—not always, but it is possible—that it is because you are not flowing in accordance with the laws of authority; you are not submitting to your head.

Are you obedient to your teachers? If you do not render the honor your elders and the adults over you deserve, perhaps that is why there is no blessing in your life and you are on the road to failure, because you are not functioning according to the principles of authority.

You see, brothers and sisters, how this matter of authority intertwines one thing with another. It is very profound, very profound. That is why—and I will close with this—that is why the centurion was blessed in the way he was blessed in his purpose. This centurion’s understanding of the physical world gave him understanding of the spiritual world, and that is why he was so successful in his purpose of having his servant healed. Because this man knew how to conduct himself. Throughout his life he respected the laws of authority; in everything he did, this man seems to have conducted himself impeccably. And people like that, brothers and sisters, who conduct themselves in that way... look at their lives: you will see blessing, you will see success, you will see influence. They will have the respect of others because they are people who know how to give God what belongs to God, Caesar what belongs to Caesar, the IRS what belongs to the IRS, the police officer what belongs to the police officer, their wife or husband what belongs to him or her, and their children what belongs to the children, in terms of authority and respect and everything else, and they owe nothing to anyone. Remember the passage from Romans—I do not know whether I discussed it here or at the twelve o’clock service. It says, “Owe no one anything; to whom tribute is due, tribute; to whom respect, respect; to whom honor, honor.”

In other words, make sure that in your life you give everyone what each one deserves, that you always conduct yourself within the law—the law of the spirit, the law of the material world, the law of human relationships. Move under authority and examine yourself: Where is the rebellion in your life? Where is the lack of alignment with authority in your life? Align yourself with authority, and blessing will flow through you, and you will succeed—you will get your way, in other words.

This servant—look at the first thing he does. He knows how authority works, and whom does he send to speak with Jesus Christ? Read it there. He does not go himself; he sends the elders of Capernaum, he sends the scribes—whom exactly does it say? Help me here, because this is important, brothers and sisters; that is why I am going to insist. It says, “...he sent some elders of the Jews to Him, pleading with Him to come and heal his servant...”

Why does he do that? Because, through the laws of authority, he knows that he is simply a Roman soldier. He is not part of the Jewish religion; he has no legal standing, he reasons, to go before Jesus. He has no legal right, so to speak. He feels, “I have no credentials, I have no authority. If I were Jewish, a Hebrew, I could communicate with this man.” Because that is how it works in the army. In the army, if you are a corporal, you do not bypass everyone to speak with the general. Where do you go? You go to the sergeant so that the sergeant can speak with the lieutenant, and the lieutenant with the captain, and the captain with the major, and the major with the colonel. Because you know there is a chain of command, and he knew that the chain of command dictated that the one who spoke with Him should be a Jew and a spiritual elder. This man understands the laws of authority.

And finally he says to the Lord, “You know what, Lord? I understand how these laws work. You do not have to be present.” A general does not have to be present to tell a colonel or a lieutenant to send a battalion to a certain place. What does the general do? He picks up the phone, calls, and gives an order, and that order reaches the place it needs to reach and is carried out, because the general has the authority to have it carried out. So the centurion said, “That is how the spiritual world must work,” and brothers and sisters, that is how the spiritual world works.

According to the authority you have, you can move mountains, or you can move a little pile of money, or you can move a cancer, or you can move a headache, or you can have a parking space found for you when you need one. Those are the mysteries of the spiritual world. If you move in authority, if you are under authority—this is very complex, but that is how it is. So he said to Him, “You know what? You do not have to come, Lord; simply give the order.” It bothered him that a being as powerful as Jesus should have to travel to his house. He said, “No, man, pick up the phone and call, send an email, and it will be done.” And the Lord said, “Wow, this man’s faith is great,” and immediately his servant was healed.

And look at this other thing: this man knew how to use authority because he loved his servant. Had he been another kind of person in authority, he would have kicked his servant instead of loving him, but here we have him caring for his servant. And you know what? To annoy you even more, I am going to preach one last sermon on authority soon, because there is another part that I have left in the... because that is how it works in the family and everywhere else.

You will see when I focus more fully on authority in the family, and you will see that this applies everywhere... God is giving us a very important revelation for our lives. And if you have the wisdom to listen to it and pay attention to it, your life will be revolutionized, your life will be changed, and you will be able to move in that authority. May the Lord grant that we meditate carefully: How is my life with respect to authority? Is there rebellion in my heart? Is there criticism? Is there resistance to authority? As Dominicans say, do I grumble when I am told to do something, when I am advised, and when I am told no? Look, there are people in this church and in other churches who, when I say no to something, show it immediately. You can almost see the little wisps of smoke coming out of their noses and ears. They do not know how to submit to authority, and that does not bring blessing.

When you do not flow under authority, do not expect to have authority. The word of the Lord for the people of God. Let us stand. As you know, our praise group is preparing; they are taking a class, and that is why they are not here right now. That will continue for a few weeks until they finish their class, which we believe is a great blessing. So be it. But let us have a word of prayer here. I bless you in the name of Jesus. May God help us understand these things more and more. Father, thank You, thank You for having us here this morning. Thank You for blessing us with Your Word, Lord; we receive it. Help us preach these things in the Spirit of Jesus Christ. Help us submit to the Word of God. And as for me, who preaches these things, Lord, help me conduct myself according to them. Give me understanding concerning what I preach, Father. I am the first who needs to learn to move under authority in order to exercise authority. But this morning we ask You: help us and bless Your children; bless Your people, Father.

We bless Your people this morning, Father. We declare Your blessing over their lives, in the mighty name of Jesus. And the people of God say, “Amen.” May the grace of the Lord be with you, my brothers and sisters. God bless you. We love you very much. Greet someone this morning.