Superhuman Authority for Healing
In Mark 6, Jesus delegated the power of dominion given to Him, as the anointed Son of Man and the second Adam, to His twelve apostles. As a result, they went out to different villages and had the same results that Jesus did in ministering to the sick and casting out demons. The delegated authority worked as if Jesus was actively doing the ministry Himself. “Well, that was because they were the twelve apostles,” you might reason. Luke 10 shows another expansion of the dominion Jesus operated in:
After these things the Lord appointed seventy others also, and sent them two and two before His face into every city and place where He Himself was about to go…. Then the seventy returned with joy, saying, “Lord, even the demons are subject to us in Your name.” And He said to them, “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. Behold, I give you the authority to trample on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall by any means hurt you. Nevertheless do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rather rejoice because your names are written in heaven” (Luke 10:1, 17–20).
The seventy were men and women of different professions and backgrounds. The common denominator was their belief in Jesus and their decision to follow after Him. When Jesus appointed these seventy individuals, He authorized them to operate in His power of dominion. He delegated authority to them in the same way that He had when He sent the apostles. As a result, the seventy returned with similar results. When they returned, they were celebrating and exclaimed to Jesus that the demons were subject to them through His name.
The demons had to submit themselves to the orders of the disciples because they were authorized representatives of the name of Jesus. The name is amazing, because of what it contains and who it belongs to. In expressing the greatness of the name, the apostle Paul said:
God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father (Philippians 2:9–11).
The word for name includes the authority and character of that name. It is accurate to conclude that when the disciples said, “in the name of Jesus” they were also saying, “in the authority of Jesus.” Everything they did after they were sent was as authorized representatives of the authority of Jesus. When they preached, they preached in the authority of Jesus. When they prayed for the sick, they did so in the authority of Jesus. When they cast out demons, they did so in the authority of Jesus. They were able to use the authority of Jesus because He had delegated it to them for their mission. Jesus did not delegate His authority and the right to use His name only to the twelve and the seventy. He also delegated His authority and the right to use His name to all who believe in Him:
And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen (Matthew 28:18–20).
When Jesus said “Go therefore,” He transferred the authority He had been given in heaven and on earth. The transfer of authority is also seen when He said to go, make disciples, and baptize in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. In Mark 16:17–18, Jesus said:
And these signs will follow those who believe: In My name they will cast out demons; they will speak with new tongues; they will take up serpents; and if they drink anything deadly, it will by no means hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover.
Jesus made it clear that these signs are not for a select few. These signs are meant to follow all who believe in Him. In His name and authority, believers are able to operate in superhuman authority over sickness, demons, and deadly attacks, and they are granted the ability to speak with new tongues. This is delegated authority for the sake of the mission. You do not go out and pick up a venomous snake to display your authority. That is not operating in delegated authority; however, if you are ever in a situation like Paul was in Acts 28, you can shake the serpent off just like he did.
At different times in my life and ministry, I have used this delegated authority to minister freedom to others. As I relate a few of those stories, I want to point out that believers cannot be possessed with demons. The Holy Spirit indwells believers’ spirits, and He does not allow roommates. I also want to point out that not every mental health challenge is a result of a demonic attack. I am grateful for anointed therapists just like I am grateful for anointed doctors. In the same way that not every physical sickness is the result of a demon, not every mental sickness or challenge is the result of a demon. However, Satan seeks to increasingly harass the minds of individuals. Beyond thoughts and ungodly mental strongholds, the enemy seeks to bind and torment believers in depression, oppression, and obsession. In cases like these, the enemy’s evil spirits seek to hang on to or hang around the minds of believers.
On one such occasion, my wife and I were leading an experience at our church. We refer to our gatherings as experiences because we believe every time we gather, we are going to experience God by experiencing His word, His presence, and His love. In this particular experience, the Spirit of God directed us to call for those who were dealing with depression. Three ladies answered the call. While they were coming forward, the Spirit impressed on my heart that I was to tell spirits to “come out.” I shared an abbreviated teaching with the congregation, explaining that not every mental health challenge is the result of a demon. Then, I walked down the stairs and gently laid hands on each of the ladies and simply said, “Come out.” As I did, the power of God fell upon each of them, knocking them to the floor.
What causes this story to stand out in my mind is a letter I received not too many days after that experience. The letter was from one of the three women I ministered to. In the letter, she shared how she had been put on three medications to assist with her mental challenges. After the experience, she returned to the doctor who prescribed those medications. The doctor re-examined her and immediately removed her from two of those medications. She concluded her letter by sharing that she was believing to be removed from the third one in the very near future.
Over the years, the Spirit of God has directed me to minister in this way to those tormented by demonic nightmares and other things. In those times, I would order whatever spirit was tormenting them in the night to leave them alone, and as a result the individual would have sweet sleep. Another time in particular, I remember an individual who had not had quality sleep in days because of the torment of the enemy. At the altar, the Lord directed me, and I commanded all of the spirits that were harassing the individual to leave. This person was completely free, so free in fact that she experienced sweet sleep at the altar and eventually went home and had the best sleep she had had in a long while.
Another time, I was ministering in South Africa during a healing meeting. We were nearing the end of the meeting when a young lady came up on crutches. I had not called for her or for anyone else to come forward. As she approached the altar, I laid my hands on her and said, “Fix it, Jesus.” Immediately, she fell to the floor and began to writhe under demonic oppression. I asked the pastor’s wife to assist, and we immediately jumped into action using the delegated authority Jesus had transferred to us and declared peace over this young lady. After she was free, she walked perfectly without needing any assistance from the crutches.
As Paul said, we have been rescued from the authority of darkness and have been translated into the Kingdom of the Son of His love (see Col. 1:13). Satan and all of the kingdom of darkness cannot make believers do anything, because believers have been delivered from the dominion of darkness and granted their own dominion. The power of dominion that believers have received is far above all the powers and authority of darkness.
