Luke 4:31,32,36 – “Then He went down to Capernaum, a city of Galilee, and was teaching them on the Sabbaths. 32 And they were astonished at His teaching, for His word was with authority… 36 Then they were all amazed and spoke among themselves, saying, ‘What a word this is! For with authority and power He commands the unclean spirits, and they come out.’”
The people recognized that Jesus’ teaching was different from other teachers of the law. The differentiator? Authority…His words carried weight. They changed circumstances, lives, even weather patterns. I don’t believe it had to do with volume or decibels. It has everything to do with a word used in verse 28, “command.”
When I was a kid my dad never had to raise his voice when he corrected me. He had a certain command in his voice and words that resulted in obedience.
As believers we have authority over the power of the enemy. It is given by the Lord to His followers and is expressed in Luke 10:19 – “Behold, I give you authority to tread on serpents and scorpions and over all the power of the enemy and nothing shall hurt you.” I believe increased levels of authority come with increased obedience. Your sphere of authority will be determined by your discipline and faithfulness. Exercise your authority and serve notice on the powers of darkness. They need to be evicted from lives, homes, neighborhoods, cities, regions, nations, etc. Remember, you have authority!