You Have Spiritual Authority Against the Demonic

Then God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth.” —Genesis 1:28

God sits on a throne and is a very powerful being who dwells in eternity, but He also dwells in those who are humble and contrite in spirit.

“For thus says the High and Lofty One who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy: ‘I dwell in the high and holy place, with him who has a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones’” (Isaiah 57:15). God blessed man and woman when He made them and commanded them to be fruitful and multiply. God told them to fill the earth and subdue it and have dominion over the fish of the sea, the birds of the air, and everything that moves on the earth. He told Adam and Even to rule and reign over God’s creation. God’s intention for man from the beginning was for him to be the head of everything on the earth.

I call heaven and earth as witnesses today against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing; therefore choose life, that both you and your descendants may live; that you may love the Lord your God, that you may obey His voice, and that you may cling to Him, for He is your life and the length of your days; and that you may dwell in the land which the Lord swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, to give them. —Deuteronomy 30:19-20

When Moses took the children of Israel out of Egypt, he told them that they had a choice to make. They could choose to live in the blessings of God or live in the curses of their own ways. They could choose to be the head or the tail (see Deuteronomy 28). Moses urged the people to choose life that they might love the Lord their God and obey His voice that they and their descendants might live. After receiving the laws of God, Moses saw the importance of being obedient to God’s ways, His rules, and His laws. Moses saw that by their obedience, the Israelites could walk in God’s authority. This concept was part of the restoration of Adam; however, it was through the law, which was temporary. Today, through Jesus Christ, we have a new covenant through faith in Jesus’ death and resurrection and through faith in what God has spoken. We are ruling and reigning as kings in this life through Christ Jesus.

God has put inside every man the desire to rule and reign and be the head. Every man senses in his heart that he should not be ruled over by others and be a victim. That is why throughout history, there have been rebellions. In Jesus’ time, the Romans ruled over the Israelites, who wanted God to deliver them from Rome. Many at that time thought that Jesus had come as the King of the Jews to deliver them from Rome. Jesus, however, had come back for a much higher purpose—to die for the sins of all mankind and redeem us back to the Father. God always wanted to be the King of Israel, His chosen people. It was never His perfect will for Israel to have any other king. Within man is a desire to conquer and rule over everything and for everything to be in submission to him. However, on the earth today you see people largely in survival mode. When man fell in the garden and was cast out, all creation fell as well. The earth deteriorated, and now things are the opposite of what they should be.

Greater Than John the Baptist

Assuredly, I say to you, among those born of women there has not risen one greater than John the Baptist; but he who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he. And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and the violent take it by force. For all the prophets and the law prophesied until John. And if you are willing to receive it, he is Elijah who is to come. He who has ears to hear, let him hear! —Matthew 11:11-15

Jesus was saying in Matthew 11 that up to a certain point, violent people were taking the kingdom by force. In the Old Testament, the Kingdom of God advanced, and many wars were documented. King David went against different types of people and civilizations that were against the Lord God Almighty. The Kingdom of God on earth advanced at an alarming rate through God’s mighty warriors. In the New Testament, Jesus pointed to John the Baptist and said there had not been one greater than John up to that point. That is surprising because John’s ministry was peaceful in comparison to what had been accomplished before him. John simply preached repentance and baptized people in the Jordan River, and yet, Jesus said he was the greatest. In other words, the Kingdom of God in the New Testament was advancing spiritually without the violence seen in the Old Testament.

Jesus went on to say that anyone who is least in the Kingdom of God is greater than John the Baptist. The body of Christ was formed on the day of Pentecost when the Holy Spirit came. Pentecost happened after John the Baptist was beheaded, and Jesus had ascended to the Father. The Holy Spirit came to baptize people with the evidence of speaking in tongues. Pentecost enabled the born-again believer to receive the Holy Spirit within them. The Kingdom of God is now within you when you accept Jesus Christ as Lord, and you are baptized in the Holy Spirit.

Now you can hear the voice of God because the Kingdom of God and God’s supernatural world is right inside of you.

Let me stop here and tell you what I saw when I was sent back from the dead. I was in the operating room standing beside my body, and Jesus was talking to me. Then Jesus took me and showed me many amazing things. It took me a long time to digest everything I heard and saw while I was with Him. One thing I saw was that all of us in the Kingdom of God from John the Baptist until right now are greater than John. You are greater than all the people in the Old Testament, which does not seem right because you think of Moses, Elijah, Elisha, Enoch, Abraham, and all those great people. Jesus said that John was the greatest in the Kingdom until His time.

Yet Jesus said that everyone—even the least of us—is greater than John. John had gone on to be with the Lord before the day of Pentecost, and it is because of Pentecost that the sons of God are revealed in these last days. The children of God are now revealed, and the power of God rests in you and on you through the baptism of the Holy Spirit.

God wants you to speak His Word from the kingdom inside of you where the Holy Spirit dwells. Signs and wonders will follow the speaking and the preaching of the Word of God (see Mark 16:20). Meditate on this profound truth! God wants you to accept the outpouring of the Holy Spirit and the evidence of speaking in tongues. The Spirit of God wants to work through you and show the glory of God through your life and advance the Kingdom of God.

Everyone in the Bible built a foundation for John the Baptist to come, and then John prepared the way for Jesus to come. But just before Jesus ascended to Heaven, He said He was to send the Comforter or the Holy Spirit to the body of Christ. Jesus said that the Church—you and me—would do the works that He did and even greater works than He did because of the Holy Spirit (see John 14:12).

You are supposed to be doing greater works in Jesus because He is continuing to advance the kingdom through you. As a born-again child of God, you are greatest in the Kingdom of God right now. You are at the end of the age, and you have the supernatural power of God within you.

He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who 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 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. —Mark 16:16-18

In these verses, Jesus is telling us that as believers we now have the Kingdom of God inside us. If we believe, signs and wonders will follow us. You will drive out demons—uproot demons from their strongholds and push them out. You will speak in new tongues, which is a supernatural language that did not exist before. You might not know this language, but you will speak as the Spirit gives you utterance. This Scripture also says you will take up serpents or come against anything that tries to harm you. If you drink anything deadly, it will not hurt you. And you will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover. You will have supernatural protection and the miracle of walking in the power and ministry of Jesus Christ.

John the Baptist had no recorded miracles, and yet he was the greatest in the kingdom until that point. He just had one message, and that was a message of repentance. Now, through the revelation of all the sixty-six books in the Bible, you have a gospel you can preach from Genesis to Revelation. You have the full account of what God did for man. You can now preach from every one of those books in the Bible by God’s revelation. You can preach the gospel from the Old to the New Testament, and you will have signs following you. That is God’s plan for man, and you have been chosen at the end of this age to fulfill His purposes.

When I was in Heaven, I saw that everybody up there wants to meet us because we’re the ones chosen at the end of the age to wrap it all up. They think of us as the cream of the crop! Remember, Jesus Christ is God’s plan for man from creation until now. He’s always been God’s plan for man. Jesus Christ is the center of salvation, the Lamb of God slain from the foundations of the world. But God has also chosen you, and you are a part of His plan. I pray that you are hearing God’s voice speak to your spirit—bearing witness that you are chosen to display the works of Jesus. Trust that still small voice inside you. Do you see how wonderful it is to hear and discern God’s voice?

The Covenant Reestablished

So God blessed Noah and his sons, and said to them: “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth. And the fear of you and the dread of you shall be on every beast of the earth, on every bird of the air, on all that move on the earth, and on all the fish of the sea. They are given into your hand. Every moving thing that lives shall be food for you. I have given you all things, even as the green herbs. But you shall not eat flesh with its life, that is, its blood.” —Genesis 9:1-4

God blessed Noah and his sons as they left the ark, and the waters receded. In essence, God was saying to man that you are now in command again. In this covenant that God made with Noah, God and man were starting over. It is almost the repeat of the covenant God made with Adam giving dominion over everything to Noah. God just repeated His command, and the dominion that God gave Noah still stands today because we are descendants of Noah. When God cleansed the earth with the flood, there were eight people on the ark of God who made it through the destruction, and we are their descendants.

You are created in God’s image. You not only look like God in image, but you also act like Him because you were created to fellowship with Him. To have fellowship with God, you can walk and talk with Him. You can act like Him and do the things He does. And you can hear His voice. There are limitations because of this fallen world, but God’s intent was for man to enjoy fellowship with Him like in the Garden of Eden. God came down and spent time with Adam—walking, talking, and sharing close communion in the cool of the day. Ultimately, Jesus was sent to earth to redeem back the fellowship between man and God. Now, you are created in the image of God, and what He has spoken over you is a blessing just like He spoke over Adam. Notice how Genesis 1 reads:

So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. Then God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth.” —Genesis 1:27-28

The word God used there is subdue, which means conquer. It means everything must submit to us. This idea of dominion and authority seems to be lost in Christianity today. We have become backward about the covenant and the promises of God. Yet I saw in Heaven that we are not supposed to be that way. In fact, we need to change the way we think. God created us to rule and reign—not be slaves. It is not right for human beings to be slaves or be ruled over by men who are not in the will of God. God sent Jesus Christ to redeem us! Jesus pulled us out of sin and washed us in His blood. We are redeemed and set apart from the world, and God is the One who rules over us. We must submit to God, His Spirit, and His Word.

And raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus. —Ephesians 2:6

Paul is teaching that you are seated with Jesus in the heavenly realms, and you are made to have dominion and authority. Your spiritual authority over demons translates into this physical realm because demons enforce a curse and work against the will of the Lord. Angels come to enforce the blessings of God. They are hosts of Heaven who do the will of the Lord. So, if you want to rule and reign in this life, you must enforce the blessings. You must break the curses and drive out devils.

God has designed you to reign as a king in this life. God’s plans and purposes are for you to dominate the devil as a child of the Most High God. You have inherited the dominion and authority of Heaven. You are to pray that the will of the Father be done on this earth as it is in Heaven. You must be disciplined in your life to accept these things that I am saying because Jesus came to seek and save those who were lost. He came to retrieve people, to deliver people, and to heal people, and you are supposed to do the same. You are supposed to rescue souls from the devil and take back what the devil stole.

You must live a disciplined life so you do not get caught up in the devil’s traps. You must remain separate from the world and live an upright life in Christ Jesus. Just say “no” to the flesh at all times because your flesh is how the devil tries to entrap you. You must not fear because fear is torment and domination, but you are full of God. God is love, and in Him there is no fear only perfect love, which drives out fear (see 1 John 4:18).

Fear is a spirit, and Paul told Timothy that we are not to have a spirit of fear but of love and of power and of a sound mind (see 2 Timothy 1:7).

The Warfare of the Mind

Jesus purchased you, redeemed you, restored your authority, and that is what you need to concentrate on now. Be disciplined, focused, and meditate on these truths. Through Jesus Christ, you have been restored to the original relationship that God had with Adam. While you are on this earth, you must deal with your body and mind that are not redeemed, and you have warfare to do.

For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ. —2 Corinthians 10:4-5

Demons that have stopped you from hearing from God will now have to flee. They have been the ones who have stopped you from hearing God’s voice. You are a child of God, and Jesus said His sheep hear His voice (see John 10:27). As Christians, we always hear God’s voice because He is our Shepherd. Jesus said we hear His voice, so we can! It is the demonic warfare down here on earth that tries to keep you out of the place where you can hear from God. But they are fleeing right now in the name of Jesus! All the warfare and all the attacks you have encountered are diminishing now because the power of the Lord Jesus Christ is coming into your life.

Angels of the Lord are camping around you and creating an atmosphere for you to hear from your heavenly Father. Stand firm and refuse to accept anything contrary to God’s Word and will. As a child of God, you have ears that hear and eyes that see. Sometimes you just need to open the Bible and let God speak to you that way because the Bible is the Word of God; the Bible is the will of God. God is producing in you every good thing, and He is doing it by depositing the Word of God—His incorruptible seed—in you.

Let me remind you that warfare is not against flesh and blood or warring against people. You are to cast down arguments or anything contrary or anything that tries to exalt itself against the knowledge of God. I just want to re-emphasize this verse in Second Corinthians, because it is so important.

For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ. 2 Corinthians 10:4-5

Spiritual warfare is not about you wrestling with demons physically or spiritually. A demon cannot have power over you if you do not let him into your thought process. Once a demon gets into your mind, he can get into your body. If you are a born-again Christian, a demon cannot get into your spirit, but it still can control you by how much power you have given it over you. So don’t let the enemy have any power over you. Come against anything that exalts itself against the knowledge of God. As this verse says, you must bring every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ. In other words, discipline your soulish realm. This is very important to grasp because your spiritual warfare also has to do with your mind and your body. Your spirit is not the only contact point with the spiritual realm, your mind and your body are also, and that is where the devil tries to get in.

You must be rough and forceful with the devil and never give him any leeway. You must be strong against him. Do not let the devil dominate you; you dominate the devil. Make the devil the victim by resisting him, pushing him back, and being rough with him. Then you need to pull down those strongholds in prayer. Any false ideas you have must go by having your mind transformed, which comes by renewing your mind with the Word of God (see Romans 12:2). In the name of Jesus, you must come against anything that is opposite to the Word of God. This is true spiritual warfare.

Jesus came to this earth in the image of man, and yet, He is God. Jesus walked on this earth and operated in two realms— the heavenly realm and the earthly realm. He is our example of how to live on earth; He showed us how to do it. Jesus was crucified, He redeemed us, went back to the Father, and the Holy Spirit was sent to earth to empower us. Jesus cleared the way for us to walk in power through the Holy Spirit.

Jesus only acted on the will of the Father. It was God’s will to rule and reign over demons through Jesus. It was God’s will for Jesus to live and move and have His being in the Father and for Jesus to do mighty miracles (see John 5:19). But it is also God’s will that you live and move and have your being in Him (see Acts 17:28) and that you move in miracles, signs, and wonders (see Mark 16:17-20). It is the Father’s will that you walk in authority, that you have dominion, and that you see the Kingdom of God come forth in a very powerful way.

God knows your name and has already written a book about you. God has already considered everything about you. He wrote your days in that book before one of them came to pass. Before you were even born, He had already considered you, designed your life, and planned everything through for you. He wrote this wonderful book about you, and He is thinking of you right now. God wants to accomplish everything He already planned for you and is written in Heaven in your books.

There is nothing impossible to you! No matter what the circumstances are right now in your life or how contrary they seem, it does not matter. God has already written about you, and you need to stand on what God’s Word says. Your life is different now because Jesus Christ came into your life. He has changed the way you think and the way you respond to things. He has intervened in your life, and because of that, limitations have been removed. Now it is your turn to remove the limitations on others by telling them about the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Once you overthrow evil spirits harassing you, you can minister to others the same freedom you have and drive devils out of their lives. You can watch people change and respond to the environment of Heaven because demon spirits are no longer influencing them. Most people do not establish the battleground in their own lives and rid themselves of demonic forces. They feel hindered all the time in ministry, but true ministry is when you are free first and then go out and minister to others.

A Yielded and Disciplined Lifestyle

For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. —Hebrews 4:12

You have the Word of God dividing between what is spiritual and what is soulish and dividing between the thoughts and intents of the heart like surgery. God’s Word will show you what is of Him and what is of you and what is of the soul and what is of the spirit. The Word of God is that powerful— that sharp!

When you are born again, the Sword that is the Word of the Lord begins separating and discerning. This doesn’t happen in your head but in your heart. The Spirit of God wants you to see clearly what is of Him and what is of the devil or even your flesh. The Spirit of God wants to open your spiritual eyes, and He does this inside of you.

Sometimes your mind, will, and emotions work against God, and that is why you need to have the Word of God operating in your life. The Sword of the Spirit is the Word of God. You must pray in the Spirit, pray in tongues, and build yourself up, and then meditate on the Word of God. This practice will cause you to grow and mature, and the voice of your spirit will get louder and louder. The voice of your spirit is connected to the voice of God, and when you join yourself to the Lord you become one with Him in Spirit.

But he who is joined to the Lord is one spirit with Him. —1 Corinthians 6:17

Your body might not respond, but your spirit will respond to the voice of God. The Word of God will separate what is of your spirit and what is of your soul. Hearing God’s voice becomes a lot easier when you educate your mind, will, and emotions and discipline your body according to God’s Word. It quiets the different influences that pull you away from the original voice of God down deep in your heart and discerned by your spirit. In this process, you start to rule and reign as you hear the voice of your Father and eliminate all the other voices. You will discern rightly because the Word of God and the Spirit of God become evident in your life.

I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me. —Galatians 2:20

Here in Galatians, the apostle Paul is talking about the crucified life and how he was crucified with Christ. He said he no longer lived, but Christ lived in him. If you’re not hearing God’s voice, this Scripture may help you understand why. Have you crucified your flesh? Are you living the crucified life?

I assure you, believers, by the pride which I have in you in [your union with] Christ Jesus our Lord, I die daily [I face death and die to self]. —1 Corinthians 15:31 AMP

Paul said he faces death to himself daily, and because of that, he was able to be an apostle, an effective vessel on this earth. Paul is saying that in your union with Christ, you also can take upon yourself the death of Jesus and the life of Jesus. They both can work in you. That life he’s talking about is the resurrection power of Jesus Christ. You must learn to yield to the crucified life, which means saying “no” to ungodliness and worldly passions.

Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls. —Matthew 11:29 NLT

Jesus gave you His yoke and wants you to live a disciplined life yielded to God’s will and not your own. He wants you to put His yoke upon yourself so He can teach you how to walk in the Spirit in this life. In other words, you will “no” to the flesh and say “yes” to the Holy Spirit. Then the Spirit of God can lead you into all truth, and that is what the Holy Spirit does.

However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come. —John 16:13

I believe the Spirit of God is speaking to you and leading you even now. Many times, there are just minor adjustments that you need to make daily in order to walk with God. Then before you know it, things clean up in your life and you begin to hear the voice of God in a stronger way. Keep in mind that you must have an intensity to push back at the devil and be rough with him to overthrow him. Never forget that God’s intention for man is to rule, reign, and dominate—not be a victim.

A Story

Years ago, my wife, Kathi, and I declared war on financial debt in our lives. We took authority over it in the name of Jesus every chance we could. I could sense the authority in the Spirit as we spoke the powerful name of Jesus to our circumstances.

As we continued in our giving, worked hard, and controlled our spending, God began to help us financially. We were astonished at the resistance we encountered in the spirit over this endeavor to become debt free. It felt like we were doing hand-to-hand combat with hordes of evil entities that did not want us to be free.

But as we persistently endured, breakthroughs began to happen with financial miracles coming one after another. We had finally dethroned evil spirits who were enforcing a curse in our lives. Even though Jesus has already dethroned these principalities and powers, Kathi and I had to learn to enforce our victory with spiritual warfare using the name of Jesus.

I ended up getting extra hours at work in overtime pay. I would be offered more work than I could handle. My company also gave me raise after raise in pay and benefits over a ten-year period. Finally, someone left us money to pay off our house mortgage after we had just paid off our automobile. We now live debt free and never desire to go back to debt. We learned to walk in our authority and dominion, and you can too!