This kind of a person is up one minute and down the next. He says, "Well, yes, I'm going to get it. No, I'm not. Yes, I am. No, I'm not. Yes, I am." God said that a person with this kind of attitude will never get anything from Him; the devil will make sure of that!
How many of you know you've got the power of attorney to use the Name of Jesus? Do you know what the power of attorney is? Businessmen do.
Suppose a pastor friend tells me, "Ed, I'm going to preach in Europe for two years, and I'm going to sign my church over to you for that length of time." What he means is, he's going to give me the power of attorney to operate the church just as if he were here.
I could sign checks in his name. I could draw money out of the bank. I could run the church just as if he were here—but he's not here; he's in Europe.
Where Satan Gets His Power
This is the same thing Jesus did when He left this earth: He stripped Satan of all his power! Satan doesn't have any power. The only power or authority he's got is what we give him!
Some people want deeper revelations, but they haven't even mastered the truths of Mark 11:22-24, that you can have what you say. You can locate people by what they say. You can discover if they have faith or if they're in unbelief.
When you tell the devil, "Devil, don't touch my stuff," say it with authority! In the spirit realm, we believers have authority.
When I get on an airplane, I have authority to believe for a safe flight. Once on board, I take authority over that aircraft and its crew in the Name of Jesus. It doesn't matter if the pilots are drunk or sober. I've got angels to protect me, regardless of the circumstances.
You may say, "You're being egotistical." No, I'm not. We've got to know the difference between being arrogant and knowing who we are in Christ.
Never Show Fear
A famous investor who had hit hard times was quoted in a national newspaper as saying, "When an adversary can see fear in your eyes or hear it in your voice, you're as good as dead."
When it looked like his empire was falling apart, he said he stayed firm. He didn't show any fear in his eyes or in his voice; he just kept on going. Even though this man is ungodly, he knows something we Christian should adopt.
Who is our adversary? The devil. How much stronger should we be able to stand against our adversary, using the authority we have in the Name of Jesus, than that ungodly man stand against his adversaries.
The Spirit of Wisdom and Revelation
Now let's look at a passage from Ephesians 1 that will really bless you when you study it:
Cease not to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers, That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him:The eyes of your understanding being enlightened....I'm not going to confess that I don't know something. I'm going to say instead that I might not have the answer right now, but I'm going to get the answer, because I have the wisdom of God flowing out to me. I have the mind of Christ!
(Eph. 1:16-18)
Jesus wasn't stupid, and He didn't promise us the spirit of stupidity. He has given you "...the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him" (verse 18). We need to have the knowledge of Jesus.
What did Jesus really accomplish at Calvary? That's what Paul talks about in First Corinthians 11, when he discusses discerning the Lord's Body:
For he that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh damnation to himself, not discerning the Lord's body. For this cause many are weak and sickly among you, and many sleep [die].You can take that to mean both physical and spiritual death. Why? Because they don't discern what was provided for them at Calvary.
(1 Cor. 11:29-30)
No one is hanging on that cross—because Jesus isn't there. He isn't dead, and He isn't in any tomb. He's seated at the right hand of the Father.
He came and got us out of the mess Adam got us into. He came and stripped Satan of all his power. He gave us the power of attorney. He gave us the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him.
What Would Jesus Do?
If Jesus were here right now, what would He do? He would heal the sick. He would cast out devils. He would have the wisdom to know how to handle things. If we want Jesus' kind of wisdom and knowledge, we need to study more about Jesus.
But too many people today are lifting up men instead. Why don't you follow Jesus? He's the best example we've got.
Paul continues his teaching in Ephesians 1:18-19:
The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints, And what is the exceeding greatness of his power to usward who believe....How many of you are believers? He's talking about you and me.
We need a revelation of Jesus. We don't need to be overly concerned about everything that's happening in the world. There are going to be more earthquakes in the world.
There are going to be more wars in the world. There is going to be more starvation in the world. The Bible says all these things are going to come, and then the end. We're just seeing prophecy come to pass.
But right in the middle of it, we can have the knowledge of Jesus. We can know, we can be in the know, and we can be helping know what's about to happen.
Excerpt permission granted by Ed Dufresne Ministries