Pastor Elijah Sebuchu

The authority of the believer spells out the authority a believer has over Satan and his efforts to thwart God's desire for our lives and his attempt to defeat us.
For the rest of your life, one of the most important Scriptural messages you'll ever consider is found here.

As you study the Old Testament, you see that men and women were in a constant struggle with Satan, fighting many spiritual battles. As you study the life of Christ, and Paul, and the other Apostles, you see a constant spiritual struggle. Christians today face many spiritual battles.

I'm so glad I learned the authority of the believer before I ventured into deeper ministry otherwise I would not survive in Uganda

A.    All believers in Jesus Christ have this possession.

The authority of the believer is a possession that belongs to every true child of God.

And it gives so much authority over the enemy that Satan has tried to blind most believers to the authority they have.

Luke 10:19

Now, to point out what the authority is, let's look at 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" (KJV).

But the NIV: ¹⁹ I have given you authority to trample on snakes and scorpions and to overcome all the power of the enemy; nothing will harm you.

Two separate Greek words are used for power here, but one English translation. The first one should be translated authority, not power. The Lord is saying, "Behold, I give you authority over the power of the enemy."

The Christian does not have power over Satan; he has authority over Satan. Let me give you an illustration.

In Uganda we have got what we call the traffic police officers. 10 Years ago most of them have been very energetic powerful masculine men and women but today many University graduates have been recruited into the police force.

One time of every busy hectic day while driving in the city centre I witnessed a very skinny young lady who was controlling traffic. I saw her blow her whistle and lift up her hand. All of a sudden all cars stopped!!!

With all of her personal power he couldn't have stopped one of those cars, but  she had something far better; she was invested with the authority of the police department. And the moving cars and the pedestrians recognized that authority.

*So, first, we see that authority is delegated power.

B.    The source of the believer’s Authority.

Let's examine the source of this authority.

Ephesians 1:19-23.

Paul writes, "And what is the surpassing greatness of His Power toward us who believe. These are in accordance with the working of the strength of His might which He brought about in Christ, when He raised Him from the dead, and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age, but also in the one to come. And He put all things in subjection under His feet, and gave Him as head over all things to the Church, which is His Body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all" (Ephesians 1:19-23, NASB).

All this energy issues from Christ: God raised him from death and set him on a throne in deep heaven, in charge of running the universe, everything from galaxies to governments, no name and no power exempt from his rule. And not just for the time being, but forever. He is in charge of it all, has the final word on everything. At the center of all this, Christ rules the church. The church, you see, is not peripheral to the world; the world is peripheral to the church. The church is Christ's body, in which he speaks and acts, by which he fills everything with his presence.

When Jesus Christ was raised from the dead, we see the act of the resurrection and the surrounding events as one of the greatest workings of God manifested in the Scriptures.

So powerful was the omnipotence of God that the Holy Spirit, through the Apostle Paul, used four different words for power.

1. the greatness of his power-in the Greek-is dunamis, from which comes the English word dynamite.

2. Then comes the word working - energios, where energy comes from - a working manifestation or activity.

3 The third word is strength -kratous -meaning to exercise strength.

4. Then comes might, or esquai-a great summation of power.

These four words signify that behind the events described in Ephesians 1:19-23 are the greatest workings of God manifested in the Scriptures even greater than creation.

This great unleashing of God's might involved the resurrection, the ascension and the seating of Jesus Christ. "When He had disarmed the rulers and authorities, He made a public display of them, having triumphed over them through Him" (Colossians 2:15, NASB).

Satan was defeated and disarmed. All of this unleashing of God's might in the resurrection, the ascension and the seating of Jesus Christ was for you and me -that we might gain victory right now over Satan.

• The source of our authority over Satan is rooted in God and His power.

A good example of the source of Authority: Acts 19:1-17.

The Seven sons of Sceva, A Jewish Chief priest in Ephesus.

Miracles at Ephesus

11 God was performing extraordinary miracles by the hands of Paul, 12 so that handkerchiefs or aprons were even carried from his body to the sick, and the diseases left them and the evil spirits went out. 13 But also some of the Jewish exorcists, who went from place to place, attempted to name over those who had the evil spirits the name of the Lord Jesus, saying, “I adjure you by Jesus whom Paul preaches.” 14 Seven sons of one Sceva, a Jewish chief priest, were doing this. 15 And the evil spirit answered and said to them, “I recognize Jesus, and I know about Paul, but who are you?” 16 And the man, in whom was the evil spirit, leaped on them and subdued all of them and overpowered them, so that they fled out of that house naked and wounded. 17 This became known to all, both Jews and Greeks, who lived in Ephesus; and fear fell upon them all and the name of the Lord Jesus was being magnified.

C.   The qualifications you must have to be able to be consistent in exercising the authority of the believer?

1.       There must be knowledge,  a knowledge of our position in Christ and of Satan's defeat. At the moment of salvation we are elevated to a heavenly placement.

We don’t have to climb some ladder of faith to get there. We are immediately identified in the eyes of God -and of Satan with Christ's crucifixion and burial, and we are co-resurrected, co-ascended and co-seated with Jesus Christ at the right hand of the Father, far above all rule and power, authority and dominion and above every name that is named.

The problem is that, though both God and Satan are aware of this, most believers are not.

And if you don't understand who you are, you will never exercise that authority which is the birthright of every true believer in Jesus. So the first step is knowledge. Hosea 4:6 &  Mathew 22:29.

2.      The second qualification is belief. A lot of people really don't comprehend one of the primary aspects of belief, which is "to live in accord-ance with". This is not merely mental assent, but it leads to action.

 You could say it like this: That which the mind accepts, the will obeys. Other-wise you are not really a true believer.

Do we actually believe that we've been co-resurrected, co-ascended, co-seated with Jesus Christ? If we do, our actions will be fervent.

We should wake up each morning and say, "Lord, I accept my position. I acknowledge it to be at the right hand of the Father, and today, through the Holy Spirit, cause it to be a reality to me, that I might experience victory". You talk about space walking! A Christian who is filled with the Holy Spirit and who knows his position with Christ is walking in the heaven lies. I put it this way: Before you can be any earthly good, you have to be heavenly minded. Your mind should be set at the right hand of the Father, knowing who you are.

Often, when I wake up in the morning, while my eyes are still closed, I go over my position in Christ, thanking the Holy Spirit for indwelling me, etc. But every morning, I acknowledge my position in Christ. I don't have to drum it up -I ask the Holy Spirit to make my position real in my experience.

3. The third qualification is humility. While belief introduces us to our place of throne power at the right hand of the Father, only humility will ensure that we can exercise that power continuously.

 Let me tell you, ever since Mr. and Mrs. Adam occupied the garden of Eden, man has needed to be reminded of his limitations. Even regenerated man thinks he can live without seriously considering his total dependence upon God.

Yet, humility to me is not going around saying, "I'm nothing, I'm nothing, I'm nothing.

I'm just the dirt under the toenail. That's an insult to Christ. It's not humility -it's pride.

Humility is knowing who you are and knowing who made you who you are and giving Him the glory for it. Sometimes, when I hear a person claim he's nothing, I say, "Look Sir, I don't know about you, but I'm someone." I am someone. On December 16, 1991,

Jesus Christ made me a child of God, and I'm sure not going to say I'm nothing. Maybe I'm not all I should be, but I am more than I used to be, and God's not finished with me yet. I know He has made me, and I won't insult what God has made.

4.      The fourth qualification is boldness.

 Humility allows the greatest boldness. True boldness is faith in full manifestation. When God has spoken and you hold back, that is not faith, it is sin. We need men and women who have set their minds at the right hand of the Father and who fear no one but God. True boldness comes from realizing your position in Jesus Christ and being filled with the Holy Spirit.

From my point of view and what I have gone through in my own ministry in Uganda, having been at the front line with every kind of demons in Uganda since 1991, without boldness you lose out!

Ephesians 6: 10-13.

5. The fifth and final qualification is awareness, a realization that being at the right hand of the Father also puts you in the place of the most intense spiritual conflict. The moment your eyes are open to the fact that you are in that place, that you have been co-resurrected, co-ascended and co-seated with Christ, Satan will do everything he possibly can to wipe you out, to discourage you.

You become a marked individual. The last thing Satan wants is a Spirit-filled believer who knows his throne rights. Satan will start working in your life to cause you not to study or appropriate the following principles which show you how to defeat him.

• Going through all of the above was necessary to lay a foundation on which you can exercise the authority of the believer.

Please also remember 2 things

1. Remember, authority is delegated power.

So unless you confess authority out of your mouth, nothing will happen. Remember the  traffic police officer in my city: Kampala City. She had to blow the whistle and to lift up her hand in order for the cars to stop!

Usually I speak right out loud and address Satan directly, "Satan, in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ…".

I always use this point first because those three names -Lord, Jesus and Christ -describe His crucifixion, burial, resurrection and seating, and His victory over Satan.

"Satan, in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and His shed blood on the cross, I command you to stop your activities in this area." Or, "Satan, in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and His shed blood on the cross, I acknowledge that the victory is Jesus' and all honor and glory in this situation go to Him."

 I speak to Satan in various ways, but I always use those beginning phrases because they remind him that he is already defeated.

Secondly  I realize there is nothing I can do. I have no power over Satan, I only have authority. And the more I learn of the power behind me, the force behind me, the greater boldness I have in exercising the authority of the believer.

I've learned to exercise the authority of the believer and then to walk by faith and to wait. Sometimes I have had to wait six months or a year, but in the long run, when I look back on a situation and see how God has been glorified, it is beautiful.

And I never repeat the exercise of the authority of the believer in a given situation. Satan only needs one warning. God will take care of it from there.

Whenever you think of the Authority of believers always remember what Jesus Himself said in Mathew 28: 18. Jesus said, "All authority has been given to me in heaven and earth. Go therefore, and make disciples of all nations.

Thank you very much for choosing to exercise your Authority as A believer of Jesus Christ.

Elijah Sebuchu:

Elijah Sebuchu is the Founder & Senior Pastor of Kampala International Christian centre(KICC), located at Kyanja- Kampala Uganda.

Kampala Christian International Centre(KICC) is one of the fasted growing non denomination Christian churches in Kampala Uganda.

Elijah Sebuchu is the founder and president of: global Discipleship Ministries, which is anet work of Evangelical churches in Uganda, with churches saturated all around Uganda.

Elijah Sebuchu is the founder and president of Hands of Love Foundation,Inc, anon profit organization registered in Uganda, USA and United Kingdom with the vision of Educating and Empowering the Children and Youths of Uganda and Africa at large. 50% of the population of Uganda is children and Youths below 15 years.

Elijah Sebuchu is married to Ruth with Children.