There is a great lesson to be learned about authority in the story of Jesus and the Centurion that is found in Matthew chapter 8. Let’s go read it.

5 And when Jesus was entered into Capernaum, there came unto him a centurion, beseeching him,
6 And saying, Lord, my servant lieth at home sick of the palsy, grievously tormented.
7 And Jesus saith unto him, I will come and heal him.
8 The centurion answered and said, Lord, I am not worthy that thou shouldest come under my roof: but speak the word only, and my servant shall be healed.
9 For I am a man under authority, having soldiers under me: and I say to this man, Go, and he goeth; and to another, Come, and he cometh; and to my servant, Do this, and he doeth it.
10 When Jesus heard it, he marvelled, and said to them that followed, Verily I say unto you, I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel.
11 And I say unto you, That many shall come from the east and west, and shall sit down with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of heaven.
12 But the children of the kingdom shall be cast out into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
13 And Jesus said unto the centurion, Go thy way; and as thou hast believed, so be it done unto thee. And his servant was healed in the selfsame hour.

In verse 7, we see how willing Jesus was to show mercy to the Centurion’s servant. We so often think we must jump through many hoops to see the favor of God, and Jesus’ statement to the Centurion shows exactly the opposite. He is full of compassion and said “I will come and heal him.” First thing, please note, Jesus did NOT say, “I will come and pray for him.” Yes, there’s a time and a place for prayer. But this went much farther, with great boldness Jesus stated, “I will come and heal him.” There is a difference, you know. When most people pray, it’s throwing something out there in the hope that God will happen to hear, and that if they’re really lucky, maybe, just maybe that prayer will be answered. Then again, maybe not. After all, they say, “You never know what God is going to do…..”

BUT I ALWAYS KNOW WHAT GOD IS GOING TO DO, AND YOU CAN, TOO!

God is ALWAYS going to do what He said in His Word He will do. Always, without exception. If there’s anything we can learn about God, it is that He is always true to His Word. And just like what Jesus said there in verse 7, He said it, and He did it. He HEALED the servant.

In verse 8 we pick up the key to the whole situation, and it wasn’t Jesus that taught it, but rather, the Centurion knew it and operated in it every day, in that he stated, “Speak the Word only…” Go back and read verse 9 again, the Centurion went on to say, “For I am a man under authority….” Now before you can ever accomplish ANYTHING for the Kingdom of God, you need to fully understand this basic principal: you must know WHO YOU ARE in God’s Kingdom, and OPERATE in it under authority.

In these over 27 years I’ve spent in the ministry, I’ve probably heard about every begging and pleading, cajoling, bawling, squalling prayer that’s ever been made. But I’ve heard very few pray and speak with Godly authority that I’ve seen backed up from heaven with corresponding action. Very few, indeed. Healing is one area that Jesus never told His disciples to pray for. That’s right, Jesus never did it, not even once. Nor did the Disciples teach THEIR followers to “pray for the sick”. So that’s why I took it upon myself to set the record straight years ago. You wonder why so few are healed these days? Well, I found myself wondering the same thing, and the LORD revealed to me the simplicity of “I am a man under authority”.

I’m amazed at how many Christians are not using the authority they have been given. And I’m equally amazed at how many Christians are trying to use authority they have NOT been given.
You see, you and I are not the Healer. Christ Jesus of Nazareth, Y’shua Messiah is. We are simply the agents, the representatives of Christ Jesus, given authority by God over every sickness and every disease and over unclean spirits, to drive them out. We are NOT given authority to do as some have attempted to do, “Devil, I cast you back to hell from whence you came.”

First off, God has NOT given us authority to send anyone or anything to hell, secondly, the devil has never been to hell, and you can’t send him or his fallen angels “back” to someplace they’ve never been. That job belongs to God alone, which He will take care of in the judgment. We DO however, as disciples of Christ Jesus, have authority over sickness and disease, and over devils, to drive them out.

In verse 10, Jesus gives us GREAT revelation: He marvelled at the Centurion’s grasp on authority, how he had such great faith in those he gave orders to, that they would be carried out. And in part he had that faith in those under him, because HE was quick and faithful to obey orders given to himself. You see, if YOU don’t take your place in authority under God, you won’t be in charge of anything under you. Oh, you can issue orders all day long, and strut around doing your chicken walk and doing your little victory dances, but if you have not fully submitted yourself unto God, down to obeying the very least of His commands (even the ones you think are not important), you will be just like some guys in the Book of Acts I’m about to tell you about it a bit.

In verse 11, Jesus said that many would come and sit down with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the Kingdom of heaven, referring to THOSE UNDER AUTHORITY.

But in verse 12? Why would Jesus say “the children of the Kingdom”? Children, “descendants of” perhaps means those who “heard” but didn’t “do”. Else why would they be cast out of the Kingdom?

Verse 13, Jesus told the Centurion, “Go thy way; and as thou hast believed, so be it done unto thee.” You can’t operate in authority without believing in it. And believing in it means not just “hearing”, but “obeying”. When you’re “under authority”, then you’re ready to have others under your authority, but not until YOU yourself are submitted under authority. So many “Christians”, I’ve met are ready to rule the world, but are submitted to no one but their own fleshly desires.

Now, I’m reminded of the story of the seven sons of Sceva, in Acts 19:13-17,
13 Then certain of the vagabond Jews, exorcists, took upon them to call over them which had evil spirits the name of the Lord Jesus, saying, We adjure you by Jesus whom Paul preacheth.
14 And there were seven sons of one Sceva, a Jew, and chief of the priests, which did so.
15 And the evil spirit answered and said, Jesus I know, and Paul I know; but who are ye?
16 And the man in whom the evil spirit was leaped on them, and overcame them, and prevailed against them, so that they fled out of that house naked and wounded.
17 And this was known to all the Jews and Greeks also dwelling at Ephesus; and fear fell on them all, and the name of the Lord Jesus was magnified.

These seven men were operating without a relationship with Christ Jesus, therefore, without authority. Oh, they knew the right words to say, but they didn’t have the power of heaven backing them up. I like how the unclean spirit answered, “Jesus I know, and Paul I know, BUT WHO ARE YOU?” In other words, “Who do you think YOU are to rebuke me?” I’ve seen similar things as this account describes happen to people who tried to operate outside of their God-given authority, and it’s never pretty.

But if YOU are saved and filled with the Holy Spirit, in the name of Christ Jesus of Nazareth, Y’shua Messiah, that sickness will obey you and leave. That unclean spirit will come out and leave. Why? Because you’re a man (or woman) under authority. God knows it because He gave it, you know it because you have it, and the devil knows it and he knows he must obey, even though he doesn’t want to, because he’s already been defeated by Christ Jesus. You’re here to “occupy till Christ returns” and enforce that defeat.

We have enough authority over the kingdom of darkness to amaze most people. But it wasn’t given to us to amaze people. It was given to us to, as Jesus commanded in Matthew 10:8, “Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out devils; freely ye have received, freely give.”
We are sent by Christ Jesus of Nazareth, Y’shua Messiah, in His stead, by His power, as His representatives on the earth, to do His Father’s will. So, what say we get to work? There are souls to win to God’s Kingdom, we have the assignment, we have the authority, we have the resources, let’s “git ‘er done!”