Where do power and authority come from? In this sermon clip, Bill Johnson teaches from the Gospels and Jesus’ example of walking in power and authority. As believers, we are called and commissioned to walk in both power and authority.
like to suggest jesus came with
authority because he said yes to the
mission but he came with power because
of the encounter your authority comes in
your yes to the commission but your
power comes in the encounter
jesus came to earth
commissioned by the father
for clarity’s sake jesus christ is the
eternal son of god
never
stopped being god he’s not an ascended
being that’s somehow
attained to some position he is the
eternal son of god
but the great mystery of
scripture
is that he was 100 god while at the same
time he became 100 man
and if you can figure that out please
explain it to me
it’s it’s the great challenge in
conversation in teaching
but both realities are equally true
so jesus came to earth having been
commissioned
from the father
first john 3 8
tells us what the commission was
it says he came to destroy the works of
the evil one
planet earth had been infected with the
devil and the demonic horde that helped
to bring about absolute chaos loss lot
death destruction
into the earth
jesus came
to correct and to destroy the devil’s
works
the authority that he operated in
was connected to
his commission chris puts it best he
says you can’t be commissioned co would
be like in co-laboring co
you can’t be commissioned
until you come into submission to the
primary mission
jesus came with the mission of the
father
and exercised the authority of heaven as
a human being
a policeman has authority
but he doesn’t have authority to build a
house without a permit
[Music]
there are a number of positions
political positions
where maybe somebody has authority in
economics or has authority in housing or
whatever they can’t step out they don’t
have authority outside of their
assignment outside of their mission
you and i have authority jesus
after his resurrection
stood before
his 11 remaining disciples
and threw them through all of humanity
who would say yes to jesus and he said
all authority’s been given to me
therefore
go into all the world preach the gospel
disciple nations teach them what i
taught you
part of what he taught them was matthew
10 to heal the sick
to raise the dead to cast out devils
that’s a part of the commission
so it says teach them what i taught you
then he closes with this statement for i
am i will be with you always
jesus then commissioned his disciples
now in luke 9 verse 1 author of matthew
10 verse 8 says he gave
power and authority
to his disciples
jesus came with authority i don’t
believe he came with power
he came with authority because he said
yes to the mission
but he didn’t come with power
instead we see
john the baptist baptizing in water
and he is preaching to the crowd and he
said there is one coming after me
i’m not even worthy to untie his shoes
he will baptize you in the holy spirit
and in fire
and as he’s preaching he looks up on the
banks of the river and he sees jesus
jesus didn’t have a sign over his head
saying i am the christ
john looks at him i like to describe it
this way every cell of john’s being
came into realization and recognition
that that is the lamb of god
it wasn’t just a passing mental
inspirational thought it was a
revelation that impacted the entirety of
john’s being and he stopped and he said
look behold the lamb of god who takes
away the sins of the world
in other words this is the moment i’ve
been waiting for here he is
the scariest thing john ever experienced
i’m sure happened in the moments that
followed
jesus walked up to him
and he said i want you to baptize me
john knew that his baptism was a baptism
of repentance
jesus had nothing to repent for
he was baptized in what i would call an
intercessory role intercession is
basically to stand in the shoes of
another and plead their case as though
it were your own
so jesus stands in the place of all
those who would repent of sin in the
years to come he stands in their place
and is baptized in water john said an
interesting thing
he said i need to be baptized by you
what did john just announce about jesus
he will baptize you with the holy spirit
in fire john was saying i need your
baptism you don’t need mine
i need yours and
john was out of season
he was not in the seas where he could be
baptized in the holy spirit and fire
because that would not come till after
the death of christ and of course john’s
death preceded that
which interestingly the bible declares
that john was the greatest of all the
old testament prophets but the least the
least in the kingdom was greater than
john
i would like to suggest that that holy
spirit baptism gives you access to a
reality in god that not even john the
baptist had access to
back to the
script here
so jesus
gets baptized in water when he comes up
out of the water
mark’s gospel mark and luke both
mark
1 and luke 3 says the heavens parted
the word used in africa which gospel i
believe it’s luke’s gospel
the word that’s used there for the
parting of the clouds
is actually a violent term
the same word for parting that word
parting of the clouds parting is used
twice in matthew 27
to describe something that happened in
the natural realm
after the death of christ when he died
when jesus died in matthew 27 it says
that the veil in the temple
very tall was torn from top to bottom
from god’s end to men’s
that veil they say is four to six inches
thick in fabric
and it was ripped from the top to the
bottom in the same verse it says and the
rocks around jerusalem were torn in half
so imagine some angel coming down
ripping rocks in him
so we’re
in other words we’re talking about a
violent act we’re not talking about a
gentle breeze separating clouds
the bible describes the enemy as the
prince of the power of the air i’d like
to suggest that there is a figurative
thing going on here where when jesus was
baptized in water there was a rending a
tearing of the heavens and the spirit of
god came down through that opening if
you will upon jesus
in the form of a dove and remained he
was baptized if you will in the spirit
at that point it’s the very next chapter
is the first time we see jesus walking
in power so i’d like to suggest jesus
came with authority because he said yes
to the mission but he came with power
because of the encounter your authority
comes in your yes to the commission but
your power comes in the encounter
jesus gave authority and power to his
disciples while they walked with him
but when he
ascended to the right hand of the father
he told his disciples in luke 24
which is the basically same
encounter or moment where jesus gives
his mission in matthew 28 so it’s just
two different chapters
24 adds this one element he says don’t
leave jerusalem until you’re close with
power
here’s your authority all authority’s
been given to me now therefore go so
here’s the commission but then a loose
gospel he adds this phrase don’t leave
jerusalem until you clothe the power
power comes in the encounter authority
comes in the commission