HEALTH & HEALING
INSPIRATIONAL SCRIPTURES
...including barriers to healing
Step 8
POWER & AUTHORITY
ONCE WE STAY IN THE WORD FOR THE LONG-TERM AND GAIN FAITH, JUST TAKE A LOOK AT THE POWER THAT WE HAVE FROM GOD AND THE AUTHORITY WE HAVE BEEN GIVEN FROM THE LORD. JESUS SENT HIS DISCIPLES OUT WITH ALL AUTHORITY GIVEN TO THEM. THE KEY IS THAT THEY WERE DISCIPLES. A DISCIPLE IS DEFINED AS A LEARNER, A PUPIL, AN APPRENTICE.
SAMSON HAD PHYSICAL POWER, BUT WE CAN HAVE SPIRITUAL POWER FROM GOD.
Matthew 28:16-20
16 But the eleven disciples proceeded to Galilee, to the mountain which Jesus had designated. 17 When they saw Him, they worshiped Him; but some were doubtful. 18 And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. 19 Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”
IMPORTANT NOTE: Jesus has been given ALL AUTHORITY over heaven and earth, and He then gives us the authority.
Mark 16:17-18
17 These signs will accompany those who have believed: in My name they will cast out demons, they will speak with new tongues; 18 they will pick up serpents, and if they drink any deadly poison, it will not hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover.”
John 14:12
“Truly, truly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do, he will do also; and greater works than these he will do; because I go to the Father.
Luke 10:17-20
17 The seventy returned with joy, saying, “Lord, even the demons are subject to us in Your name.” 18 And He said to them, “I was watching Satan fall from heaven like lightning. 19 Behold, I have given you authority to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing will injure you. 20 nevertheless do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice that your names are recorded in heaven.”
Matthew 21:21-22
21 And Jesus answered and said to them, “Truly I say to you, if you have faith and do not doubt, you will not only do what was done to the fig tree, but even if you say to this mountain, ‘Be taken up and cast into the sea,’ it will happen. 22 And all things you ask in prayer, believing, you will receive.”
Matthew 17:19-21
19 Then the disciples came to Jesus privately and said, “Why could we not drive it out?” 20 And He said to them, “Because of the littleness of your faith; for truly I say to you, if you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move; and nothing will be impossible to you. 21 But this kind does not go out except by prayer and fasting.”
Note: Mustard seed: the name of a plant which in oriental countries grows from a very small seed and attains to the height of a tree, 10 feet and more; hence a very small quantity of a thing is likened to a mustard seed, and also a thing which grows to a remarkable size. So, we must take note that our faith can grow to a remarkable size, which is needed to do remarkable things according to this verse. How do we do this? Remember, “faith comes by hearing and hearing by (the utterance or preaching of) the word of God”. This will most assuredly require more time spent with God and less time in the world.
Matthew 10:1
Jesus summoned His twelve disciples and gave them authority over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal every kind of disease and every kind of sickness.
Isaiah 54:17
“No weapon that is formed against you will prosper;
And every tongue that accuses you in judgment you will condemn.
This is the heritage of the servants of the LORD,
And their vindication is from Me,” declares the LORD.
Acts 3:5-8
5 And he began to give them his attention, expecting to receive something from them. 6 But Peter said, “I do not possess silver and gold, but what I do have I give to you: In the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene—walk!” 7 And seizing him by the right hand, he raised him up; and immediately his feet and his ankles were strengthened. 8 With a leap he stood upright and began to walk; and he entered the temple with them, walking and leaping and praising God.
Acts 3:12-13
12 But when Peter saw this, he replied to the people, “Men of Israel, why are you amazed at this, or why do you gaze at us, as if by our own power or piety we had made him walk? 13 The God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the God of our fathers, has glorified His servant Jesus, the one whom you delivered and disowned in the presence of Pilate, when he had decided to release Him.
Acts 5:12-16
12 At the hands of the apostles many signs and wonders were taking place among the people; and they were all with one accord in Solomon’s portico. 13 But none of the rest dared to associate with them; however, the people held them in high esteem. 14 And all the more believers in the Lord, multitudes of men and women, were constantly added to their number, 15 to such an extent that they even carried the sick out into the streets and laid them on cots and pallets, so that when Peter came by at least his shadow might fall on any one of them. 16 Also the people from the cities in the vicinity of Jerusalem were coming together, bringing people who were sick or afflicted with unclean spirits, and they were all being healed.
Acts 14:19-20
19 But Jews came from Antioch and Iconium, and having won over the crowds, they stoned Paul and dragged him out of the city, supposing him to be dead. 20 But while the disciples stood around him, he got up (even though considered to be dead) and entered the city. The next day he went away with Barnabas to Derbe.
Acts 16:16-18
16 It happened that as we were going to the place of prayer, a slave-girl having a spirit of divination met us, who was bringing her masters much profit by fortune-telling.17 Following after Paul and us, she kept crying out, saying, “These men are bond-servants of the Most High God, who are proclaiming to you the way of salvation.” 18 She continued doing this for many days. But Paul was greatly annoyed, and turned and said to the spirit, “I command you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her!” And it came out at that very moment.
2 Corinthians 4:7-10
7 But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, so that the surpassing greatness of the power will be of God and not from ourselves; 8 we are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not despairing; 9 persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; 10 always carrying about in the body the dying of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body.
The following are paraphrases of new testament verses and precepts to help us know Gods power that works through us by the authority given us by Jesus. You can go to these verses for more learning. I believe God is trying to get through to us that we have much more than we can ever imagine (see 1 Corinthians 2:9 below), and certainly much more that we are taught. I have highlighted in bold some POWER points that God wants us to know…
Mark 3: Demons fall down shrieking when we come upon them.
Luke 7:6: Shows how to heal by authority.
Luke 7:23: Blessed are those who don’t lose faith in me, says Jesus.
Luke 6:19: Healing power went out from Him. Also happened in Luke 8:46.
Luke 9:54: We even have the power to order fire down from heaven, as Elijah did, once we have strong faith. Here the disciples implied they could do it and Jesus did not say otherwise. Of course, God would not trust us with such unless we are full of Christ, otherwise we may misuse this power.
Luke 10:17 All authority over the power of the enemy, crush serpents and scorpions.
Luke 15:31: Everything I have is yours!!! This is the story of the prodigal son which is a picture of how God looks at those who have given their life to Jesus.
John 15:6: Obey My commands, then any request will be granted, and you will abide in His love.
Acts 2:25: Gods mighty power supports us.
Acts 4:7: Power and authority from Jesus.
Acts 4:31: Building shook after a prayer for the Lord to send His healing power.
Acts 8:39: Philip caught away.
Acts 28:5: Paul shook off a snake.
Romans 8:12: Through the power of the Holy Spirit you can crush your old sinful nature. Holy Spirit
speaks to us in our hearts (not a voice apparently) However, the Devil does speak to us with thoughts, ideas and suggestions that we must put down and/or resist by using Gods Word. Also, since we are God’s children, we share His treasures – for ALL that God gives to His Son Jesus is NOW ours too!!!
Romans 8:32: Since He gave us His Son, won’t He give us everything else.
1 Corinthians 1:7: Every grace and blessing and every spiritual gift and power are ours during the waiting for His return.
The definition of the word “gift” above is as follows:
Outline of Biblical Usage
…a favour with which one receives without any merit of his own
…the gift of divine grace
…the gift of faith, knowledge, holiness, virtue
…the economy of divine grace, by which the pardon of sin and eternal salvation is appointed to sinners in consideration of the merits of Christ laid hold of by faith
…grace or gifts denoting extraordinary powers, distinguishing certain Christians and enabling them to serve the church of Christ, the reception of which is due to the power of divine grace operating on their souls by the Holy Spirit
1 Corinthians 1:17: The mighty power there is in the simple message of the cross of Christ.
1 Corinthians 2:9: No mere man has ever seen, heard or even imagined what wonderful things God has ready for those who love the Lord!!!
1 Corinthians 10: The Holy Spirit shows us all Gods deepest secrets!!!
1 Corinthians 4:19-20: We are functioning with God’s power…19 But I will come to you soon, if the Lord wills, and I shall find out, not the words of those who are arrogant but their power. 20 For the kingdom of God does not consist in words but in power. 21 What do you desire? Shall I come to you with a rod, or with love and a spirit of gentleness?
Galatians 3:5: We get the power of the Holy Spirit and work miracles because we believe in Christ and fully trust Him, but not because we merely read it.
Galatians 4:1-7: Because we are God’s sons, just as Jesus is, everything God has belongs to us! Not some, but everything.
Ephesians 1:19: Paul prays that we will understand how incredibly great His power is to those that believe.
Ephesians 3:16: His glorious, unlimited resources will give to us the mighty inner strengthening of His Holy Spirit as we trust in Him (even to heal).
Ephesians 3:20: Glory to God who by his mighty power at work within us is able to do far more than we would ever dare to ask or even dream of – infinitely beyond our highest prayers, desires, thoughts or hopes.
Ephesians 4:8: Psalmist says Christ returned triumphantly to heaven after his resurrection and VICTORY over Satan…and gave generous gifts to men.
Ephesians 15-16: We grow up in all aspects into Him who is the head, even Christ.
Colossians 2:8: Don’t let others spoil your faith and joy with their wrong philosophies and answers built on men’s thoughts and ideas (witness Ephesians 4:14), instead of Jesus for in Christ there is ALL of God, so therefore, we have everything when we have Christ and we are filled with God through our union with Christ, who is the highest Ruler, with authority over every other power or dominion…which Jesus gives us according to Luke 10:17 and Luke 15:31 and Mark 16:17.
James 5:14: The Churches should be exhibiting the power of God because according to James they can lay hands on the sick and heal them, by their prayer if offered in faith.
1 Peter 2:15: It is Gods will that your good lives should silence those who foolishly condemn the Gospel without knowing what it can do for them, having never experienced its POWER.
1 John 5-4: For every child of God can obey him, defeating sin and evil (and therefore sickness) and receiving pleasure by trusting Christ to help him.
Revelation 13: All power belongs to Jesus sitting on the throne, and in previous verses He gives us authority to use it, all that He has, to those who worship Him and that He can trust!
And finally, this passage may seem unbelievable, or incomprehensible, but…
Matthew 14:22-33
22 Immediately He made the disciples get into the boat and go ahead of Him to the other side, while He sent the crowds away. 23 After He had sent the crowds away, He went up on the mountain by Himself to pray; and when it was evening, He was there alone. 24 But the boat was already a long distance from the land, battered by the waves; for the wind was contrary. 25 And in the fourth watch of the night He came to them, walking on the sea. 26 When the disciples saw Him walking on the sea, they were terrified, and said, “It is a ghost!” And they cried out in fear. 27 But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying, “Take courage, it is I; do not be afraid.”
28 Peter said to Him, “Lord, if it is You, command me to come to You on the water.” 29 And He said, “Come!” And Peter got out of the boat, and walked on the water and came toward Jesus. 30 But seeing the wind, he became frightened, and beginning to sink, he cried out, Lord, save me!” 31 Immediately Jesus stretched out His hand and took hold of him, and said to him, “You of little faith, why did you doubt?” 32 When they got into the boat, the wind stopped. 33 And those who were in the boat worshiped Him, saying, “You are certainly God’s Son!”
Note: It may be understandable that Jesus walked on water, but for a short time even Peter did, until he took his eyes off Jesus.