God Has Given Believers Unlimited Power
Matthew 18: 18- 19, “Verily I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever ye shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. 19 Again I say unto you, That if two of you shall agree on earth as touching anything that they shall ask, it shall be done for them of my Father which is in heaven.”
POwerbelongs to God. Power is the ability to do things, either physically or spiritually. There is delegated power, which is the authority given to stated actors by the masses, either by election or by appointment to act on behalf of the nation state. He who has delegated power executes it in carrying out projects without exaction of energy. It is different from raw power, which entails use of physical strength to get things done. Whether physical or delegated, all powers belong to God and He gives to whoever He wishes. That is why the Bible states clearly in Psalm 62: 11, “God hath spoken once; twice have I heard this; that power belongeth unto God.” The sovereignty of God is never in doubt. He is Himself, He owns everything, including power. God is indeed power- personified. God demonstrated His ownership of power during creation. Apart from human being, He moulded in His own image and likeness, every other creature was spoken into existence. According to biblical account of creation, the entire earth was covered with water and darkness and the spirit of God was hovering on the earth and God said in Genesis 1: 3, “And God said, Let there be light: and there was light”. There was no dissipation of physical strength to bring this light. Similarly, other living and non- living things were created. God then delegated this power to human beings He created, especially those who believe on Him and His ownership of this power. Hence, the Bible says in Matthew 16: 19, “And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.” God’s only begotten Son, Jesus Christ, used this power extensively during His earthly ministry. During His earthly sojourn, our Lord Jesus Christ was 100 per cent both God and man.
With the authority of loosening and binding and heaven backing Him, He raised Lazarus from the dead after four days in the grave. In John 11: 41- 44, “Then they took away the stone from the place where the dead was laid. And Jesus lifted up his eyes, and said, Father, I thank thee that thou hast heard me. 42 And I knew that thou hearest me always: but because of the people which stand by I said it, that they may believe that thou hast sent me. 43 And when he thus had spoken, he cried with a loud voice, Lazarus, come forth. 44 And he that was dead came forth, bound hand and foot with grave clothes: and his face was bound about with a napkin. Jesus saith unto them, Loose him, and let him go.” The power of death was defeated, hence the victim released to go. Similarly, our Lord Jesus Christ raised the only son of the widow of Nain, when the corpse was being taken to graveyard for burial. Our Lord Jesus Christ commanded the people carrying the casket to bring it down and He called the inmate to rise. The young man became alive immediately and started talking. He handed the man over to the mother. At the command of our Lord Jesus Christ, the grip of the power of death was loosened and he became free. The Bible says in Luke 10: 19,
“Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you.”
God has given us the power to attack and defeat the enemy at any given moment. The days are evil and the enemy is moving like a roaring lion seeking for whom to devour. The Devil and his agents, the demons, have inflicted the people with evil afflictions leading to death, sicknesses and even poverty. Many people are helpless in these situations, but God has given His children the key to open the door of freedom in time of problem. Whatever the challenge that is confronting us, we have the power to make declarations to defeat that enemy. By Divine empowerment, we have the authority to issue declarations that will put the enemy on the run. Our God, our Father created everything. So, He has power over them all and has given us, the believers who serve Him, the authority to dominate and control every other creature on earth. Whatever we do not like, we have the power to bind it, cast it out and allow what we want and at the same time command our heart desires to come and become our own. God has made it clear that any declaration believers make in line with His Will, will definitely enjoy the backing of heaven. Joshua put God on the line while fighting the enemy in the war front.
In Joshua 10: 12- 14, he declared, “Then spake Joshua to the Lord in the day when the Lord delivered up the Amorites before the children of Israel, and he said in the sight of Israel, Sun, stand thou still upon Gibeon; and thou,
Moon, in the valley of Ajalon. 13 And the sun stood still, and the moon stayed, until the people had avenged themselves upon their enemies. Is not this written in the book of Jasher? So the sun stood still in the midst of heaven, and hasted not to go down about a whole day. 14 And there was no day like that before it or after it, that the Lord hearkened unto the voice of a man: for the Lord fought for Israel.” Joshua was an ordinary human being like you and I, but he knew the Word of God and believed in the power therein; hence banking on the promise of God, he made the declaration and heaven backed it up. You can also make any declaration faithfully and God will
THEREARE two kinds of tongues – tamed and untamed. “Out of the same mouth proceedeth blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not so to be.” Tamed tongues are transformed, controlled, reserved for speaking good and bringing blessings on lives. But the untamed tongue has negative power. It boasts great things and escalates a little fire. But “Who is a wise man and endued with knowledge among you? Let him shew out of a good conversation his works with meekness of wisdom.”
The tongue, compared with other parts of the body, is obviously a little member; yet it decides the direction and progress of one’s life. The unsaved tongue connected with a dirty heart, is “a fire, [ and] a world of iniquity…” It leads the whole man the wrong way. The uncontrolled, undependable, untamed, untransformed tongue of the unsaved, backslidden, carnal and careless man drives him to hell. “It is set on fire of hell”. No man can tame the tongue. Education, civilisation, position, wealth or religion cannot tame the tongue because “it is an unruly evil.”
Like the friends of Job, many people jump into the ministry without knowing what they are talking about. The Lord summed all their counseling to Job as “folly”. We need to watch over our tongue and ensure what we say is according to the word of God, so that we are not brought into untimely judgment. We must think of the consequences of what we intend to say and not be in a hurry to give out information. We should ensure that what we say is the absolute truth.
If you have the gift of communication, use it aright. Do not lead other people astray or persuade them to do wrong. Use the gift of the tongue to make sure people go in the right direction.
“Therewith bless we God, even the Father; and therewith curse we men, which are made after the similitude of God.” Apostle James, through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, calls us to self- examination and to abhor every form of deceitfulness and duplicity. Some persons gather people with their tongue but scatter them with the same; they build but destroy, heal and hurt. They are undependable and their tongue is lawless; they lack control and principle. Thus, they teach to be strong but tempt to weaken; support and sabotage; lift up, but also pull down; refresh, but later reproach; endorse, but afterwards endanger.
Further Reading ( King James Version): James 3: 1,5,10,13,17,18. James 3: 1- 8; Job 42: 7; 5: 27; 42: 8; 2 Samuel 1: 516; 4: 10; Daniel 6: 6- 9,24; Matthew 27: 19- 22,25; Jeremiah
50: 6. James 3: 9- 12,14- 16; Psalms 62: 4; 50: 16,17,19,20; 55: 21; Proverbs 26: 25- 28; Numbers 22: 18,38; 23: 10,26; 24: 12,13,16,17; 31: 8,16; Revelation 2: 14; 2 Peter 2: 15- 19; Psalm 12: 1,2. James 3: 13,17,18.