13/12/2010 - Those who have authority give the command

• 
• 
• 
• 

For I also am a man under authority, having soldiers under me. And I say to this one, ‘Go,’ and he goes; and to another, ‘Come,’ and he comes; and to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it. (Matthew 8:9)

The answer the Roman centurion gave to Jesus is significant in spite of being very simple. Our Master was amazed at that captain’s spiritual wisdom. It wasn’t his wise mind that made the commander realize it but it was our Heavenly Father who taught him the principles that must be the pattern of a life of faith.

God’s people have always suffered due to lack of wisdom (Hosea 4:6). The Word depicts in detail the suffering of Christ on the cross and points out to the fact that he was doing so in our place and yet, amazingly, some of God’s people are still oppressed, going through all kinds of assaults from the enemy while they cry out for a healing that doesn’t seem to come any time soon. Something must be wrong.

It is not the Lord’s fault but ours because we don’t always pay attention to what’s being preached. We read the Scriptures but we don’t dare to believe in what is recorded there. Whenever any kind of evil attacks us we immediately enter into prayer – or what we call intercession prayer – and we start blaming our Father. At that moment we quote the biblical promises and start to wonder why they are not being fulfilled we almost call Him a liar.

Lack of knowledge causes us to make mistakes; we suffer and blame The One who could never be blamed for omitting something or being irresponsible. We’ve already been given guidance about life. The Scriptures teach us what to do in all circumstances but we don’t give them their due place in our lives, that’s why we end up hesitating instead of standing firm for having been enlightened.

The centurion didn’t hesitate; he stated what he’d been taught instead. To him, those who have authority don’t need to go anywhere or ask anyone, but command. He said that one sole word was enough for his servant to be healed. Yes! That’s the statement that’s missing in your mouth. You must shun the idle words and never use them again; rather, you have to use the Word of Faith with determination.

An envoy is someone who is sent to represent the one who sent him. The centurion realized that Jesus wasn’t able to expel demons if His Father wasn’t behind all that. His conclusion was that Christ had been sent to a war against the empire of evil and, then, with one word – a statement – , His servants would do the work just like happened to him when he spoke on behalf of the Roman Empire.

Now, what about you? Haven’t you learnt that, in the Name of Jesus, you have the same ministry of the Son of God? Stand up and rebuke the evil that’s assaulting you and believe that your command will be fulfilled!

In Christ, with love,

R. R. Soares