You're authorised to cast out demons, you're authorised to heal the sick, you're authorised to raise the dead. Now here's the interesting thing. We're authorised to raise the dead, we just don't see so much of it here, but in other countries, particularly Pastor Anwar, his ministry, they have raised a number of people from the dead; David Hogan, I think overall I think they've raised nearly 300 people from the dead in their ministry. So it is authorised, it just doesn't always happen, and I've tried once but it didn't work. I just need to grow in my faith. [Laughter] Okay, we're authorised to bind and loose, that means to restrain spirits or things operating, or to release things to happen. We're also authorised to forgive, to speak and release forgiveness. So here's authority that you're given to do some things.
Now the key thing is, it's great to know what they are, but how do I actually go about this? How do you operate or exercise spiritual authority, and there's several things that are a part of it, so I want to just identify what they are, because some people speak and there's nothing happens at all. Others speak and something really happens - what's the difference? The difference inevitably is in the heart. Now let me give you some simple foundations on this exercise of authority. The first thing is, you need to know your standing with God. You need to be quite convinced of where you stand with God, because if you're not sure where you stand or your righteousness before God, if you're not sure of that when you speak, you'll doubt that anything's going to happen. You've got to not doubt in your heart, when you speak something will happen, so first of all I need to know the authority or the standing that God has given me, for example in ministering right now, if I could just use an example here. Could I just use you for an example?
So just come, I'll just take your hand, alright, just take your hand. I need someone to stand behind her just in case something happens. So now suppose I've come to minister, and I need to release the power of God or something like that. Now the first thing, she's come forward for prayer, for some reason and I'm needing to minister or to bring God to her, so ministering is not praying little prayers. It's about bringing God to the person. Now the first thing that you become conscious of, is where your standing is with God, so she's looking to me to give her some answer, so I tell her well, why don't you just close your eyes, and look up to the Lord, so I direct her attention away from me and onto the Lord. It's always good to get people to look to the Lord. Why? Because it stops the operation of witchcraft around you, to try and manipulate you to do something they want. You get them looking to God rather than looking to you. He is the source. Keep Jesus being honoured all the time.
Then the second thing that I become aware of is, my goodness, what am I going to do, and what will happen, and what if nothing happens? All that sort of stuff goes on inside. Now that is all to do with your standing with God, so if - oh man, I didn't pray, oh no. Now you see that's all to do with your standing with God, it's about accusations coming to erode you, so if you're going to move in authority, and move with power, you must be completely convinced in your heart that you are deeply connected to God, and I've taken a lot of time to practice that. We use the word righteousness, but for most people it doesn't mean anything. They don't know how does this work in my life. It just means that I am able to stand innocent before God, and be welcomed and embraced by Him, absolutely free of any charges against me.
So if I was just to meditate now and to allow my mind and heart to just become fixed, that God, I am near to Him right now. I can stand near to Him. I can honour Him and love Him and His presence is here and because of that I can release the power of God, because of positioning, because of being conscious of the presence of God. Many people are conscious of sin, conscious of being alone, conscious of being not good enough. That is a spiritual pressure around you that stops you flowing with authority. You have to silence all of that, and you silence it by the truth, that my sins are all forgiven, every one of them. I can boldly come into the presence of God. I took quite a bit of time to meditate until in a moment I can meditate and become just aware of God. It just took time for that truth to be built in, but once it's built in it makes it very easy to work with the Holy Spirit. If it's not built in to your life, your standing with God, then flowing with the Holy Spirit is immediately you get full of condemnation and full of wrestles and accusations and struggles. All sorts of doubts go on in your mind, so you have to recognise that's just what they are, attacks on your mind.