Are You Exercising Your Authority?

Homily for Tuesday 15^th January 2019

_“But Jesus rebuked him, saying, ‘Be silent, and come out of him!’ And the unclean spirit, convulsing him and crying with a loud voice, came out of him.” *(Mark 1:25-26)*_ 

It is one thing to have power over something but a different thing altogether to exercise that power. With a cutlass in my hand, I have potential power but until I swing that cutlass over the piece of wood in front of me, all that power in me is useless. Many Christians today are either unaware of the power they possess over demons or do not know how to exercise that power.

Our first reading today gives us a little clue of the amount of power we possess. It says: “What is man that thou art mindful of him, or the son of man, that thou carest for him? Thou didst make him for a little while lower than the angels, thou hast crowned him with glory and honor, putting everything in subjection under his feet.” (Hebrews 2:6-8).

So what makes us powerful? What is the source of our power? The answer lies in the fact that God cares for us. It says, “thou art mindful of him… thou carest for him.” All authority on earth and in heaven lies in the hands of God, whatever authority we have comes as a reflection of the care God shows to us. We are never powerless because God never stops caring for us.

Again, what is the extent of the power we possess? As the above passage puts it, we are “a little lower than the angels, crowned with glory and honour, with everything in subjection under our feet.” It does not say, we would be crowned… No. It says we are crowned already. We don’t need to pray for what we already have.

In our Gospel passage, Mark explained how Jesus exercised his authority. First, in his preaching. Jesus taught with boldness and confidence. He was never afraid of saying the truth. Secondly, Jesus exercised his authority by commanding the evil spirits. Jesus did not display a single iota of fear because He knew who He was and the power he possessed.

As Christians, scriptures make us understand that we have this same authority. In John 4:4 we read: “Little children, you are from God, and have conquered them; for the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world.”

Are you exercising your authority?

Do not let anyone deceive you into thinking that unless he or she prays for you, nothing would work for you. There is no gainsaying the fact that many so-called prayer warriors and even ministers take advantage of the excessive fear in Christians to rob them by demanding huge sums of money for prayer.

Some of us ministers instil so much fear in the minds of Christians through false visions, fake prophecies and outright lies. Not only do such ministers fear demons more than God, they over exult demons to the point of making them solely responsible for every possible problem in the life of the Christian (including common sense related problems). The Christian goes home fearful, worried and troubled at the slightest instance. In this state, the child of God is just at the mercy of the minister as a slave in chains is to its master. Don’t be fooled. You too have authority.

Yes, demons exist, but we are victorious in Christ. There is nowhere God ever told us to be afraid of evil spirits. If you must fear at all, fear God, for this is the beginning of wisdom.

Let us Pray: Lord Jesus, free me from fear and instil in me the wisdom and courage to exercise the authority you have already bestowed in me. Amen.

Be Happy. Live Positive. Have Faith. It is well with you. God bless you. (Tuesday of the 1^st Week in Ordinary Time. Bible Study: Hebrews 2:5-12, Psalm 8, and Mark 1:21-28).