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Well, one thing that is going to be very familiar to you is that I usually talk about the same thing. I don’t mean to, but it all goes back to the same root, which is our love relationship with Jesus Christ. So everything that we do, every gift that we have, every plan that we hope to accomplish, our destiny in the Lord, how we make it through every day is all about us falling deeper in love with Jesus.And something that you’ve heard me say quite a bit is the word tells us that we will do greater things than Jesus did. We will do greater things than Jesus did. We don’t even do what Jesus did.Sometimes I say, God, forget the greater things. Just show me how to do what you did. What are we missing? I say this all the time.What are we missing, Lord? And I was listening to a teaching by a man named John Paul Jackson. I don’t know if you guys have ever heard of him, but he is a powerful man of God. Now he’s with Jesus now, but he is a powerful man of God.His teachings and his understanding that God gave him continues, and that’s why I could hear him. I love YouTube. This man was talking, and he said something that grasped my heart, like my attention, my everything.I was at work. I had my headsets on, and he said this statement, and it so caught me, because it’s the very thing that I’ve been saying, God, what are we missing? And he said this, you will never have authority greater than your relationship with God. You will never have authority greater than your relationship with Jesus.It’s all about relationship, no matter what we want to be good at, no matter what we want to accomplish. If we don’t first have a relationship, a love relationship, an intimate relationship with Jesus, then we’re missing the best part. Everything else just flows from it.It’s like all the snow at the top of the mountains. It’s a beautiful sight, but when the sun comes out and the snow melts, it all comes down the mountain. It fills the rivers in the valley with water.It all flows from that, from the high down. Everything flows from the high down, and he is seated in heavenly places. It flows down to us, but we have to position ourself, because he will never make us do it.I know for a fact, because I’ve asked him, would you just make me do this? Would you just change my heart, please? I’m struggling in this, and I just can’t seem. I do really good, and then I kind of like wander off, and you know, get in my own world. I do my own thing.Oh God, I’m doing it again. Can you just make my heart always want to be with you? But that wouldn’t be love. That would take away our free will, and that’d make us a robot.Wow, wouldn’t that be boring? So that’s what I want to talk to you about today. We were purposed for greater things. He gave us all a destiny, and the destiny that we have is so much bigger than we think it is, because we are afraid to say that we could have a bigger destiny, because you know, that we’d be prideful, and it’s just me.I mean, I just live in this little town, and I don’t know any people, and I don’t have all these gifts, and I mean, it’s just me. I mess up all the time, and we discredit ourself, and so I want to remind you. I feel like the Lord just said to share this with you guys, because it’s challenging me, and I think if I have to be challenged, so do you, right? There’s a truth.There’s a freedom that comes in this, so this is what I want to explain. First, I’m going to do a little definition, some definitions. I’m going to talk about dunamis, and I’m going to talk about exousia.Now, those are the Greek words. Dunamis is power. Exousia is authority.Now, the reason I’m doing this, these glasses, I only see up close. You’re all a blur, but take them off. You’re all a blur.If I put on my other glasses, I can see you, and I can’t read, so I’m just going to be all over the place, because I need bifocals, and at home, I use both glasses at the same time when I’m doing something, and I’m watching TV, but I would look really stupid, and I’m on camera, so I’m not going to do that. Sorry, that’s my explanation. I feel better now.You all know why I’m doing this all the time. Okay, so in the word, when we’re reading the word, the word that they use, power and authority, sometimes are flipped, so we get a misunderstanding of what we need, so when we say, I need more power of God in my life, and then I will be able to heal the sick, and I’ll be able to cast out demons, but that’s not the truth. We need authority to do that.When we walk in authority, the power comes because of the authority. You can’t have power, and then automatically get authority, and as I was listening to him explain this, and you have to understand, this is not new to me, but it is, because it’s what I understood, but in a whole different place. It’s like, all of a sudden, I’m in this new territory, and I’m trying to remember, and figure out how it works in my day, so if I don’t say this, real fluently, just bear up with me, because I’m in the process of learning the very thing I’m sharing you, but I just think it’s so important that we understand this, so let me give you example about power.Power is the miraculous, so when Jesus healed the lepers, the 10 lepers, he used his authority, because authority brings healing. Authority is what says, you can’t remain here. It’s authority.It’s not power. I’m bigger, I’m stronger, and I’m going to push you out. No, it’s authority.The Jesus, with authority, healed the 10 lepers. One came back and said, thank you. The Bible says, when he came back and said, thank you, he was miraculously healed, so before, they had leprosy.Some of their joints were missing. Maybe their nose was off of their ear, because that’s what leprosy does. It eats away, and leprosy’s gone, but they still didn’t have their fingers.They still didn’t have their nose or whatever was missing, but when the one came back and said, thank you, Jesus made him whole. That was power. It was the miraculous.They go hand in hand, and it’s easy to get them flipped, and if you ask me some things, I might not know the difference, so don’t. Don’t ask me anything. Let me tell you what God is showing me, and you guys take it to God, because the Father loves when we go to him, and Holy Spirit is here to train and to teach us, and this is not something you learn, and then you got it.It’s not like buying shoes and then wearing them. It’s something that you have to, you know, you say, I got new shoes, and I really like them, but I got to work them in, because they just don’t fit quite right yet, and they’re not comfortable. That’s where I’m at right now, so if I’m like twitchy, it’s because I’m not comfortable telling you something I’m not comfortable with, because I don’t understand how it works.I’m just grateful that it does. So, when the scripture says, Luke 135, the Spirit of God will come upon you, and the power will rest on you, and for this reason, the Holy Child will be called to the Son of God. Now, this is a different translation like King James.I think it was the Passion, but Luke 135 is talking about what the angel said to Mary. Mary conceived through the power of the Holy Spirit. It was a miracle.It wasn’t authority that had it happen. It was a miracle that made it happen. Okay, so Acts 1.8, when the Holy Spirit comes on you, you will receive power of the Holy Spirit.The Holy Spirit’s power is in you, so that’s the power that’s dunamis. So, the power that we get is miraculous. The power we get is creative, and the power we get is a gift.When the Holy Spirit came upon me, I received power. I didn’t earn it. I didn’t deserve it.There’s nothing I can do to gain it. It’s just what I got. It’s a gift.Okay, now, authority is not a gift. Authority has nothing to do with salvation. Salvation is a gift.We get it through faith, right? It is by faith you are saved through grace. Not of yourself. It is a gift of God.Not of what I do, because that way I can’t boast. Ephesians 2.8 and 9. So, authority is something that is bestowed. It’s given to you as an honor.It’s kind of like an example that I think of is that when I am doing my job, I get paid. I’m doing what I’m supposed to do. I have a benefit.So, when I am pressing into God, I get a benefit. My authority increases. It’s like faith increases from hearing the word.Authority increases with the closer proximity to God. When you are in God, the closer you are, the more you know him, the greater your authority is. So, one of the examples this gentleman gave is, and I do, I recommend if any of you want to really understand this better, maybe he’ll explain it better, but if you pull him up, the title of his is Intimacy with God.The true authority that comes from intimacy with God. So, but anyways, back to what I was saying. When we have authority, when we connect with the Lord, we have more authority.So, if you go to 1 Corinthians 6.17, it says, but the one who joins himself to the Lord is mingled into one spirit. So, as I get closer to the Lord, I have, he and I become one. That means I have his authority.That oneness. It’s like Tim and I are one. We’re married.We have an intimate relationship. When we got married, we made a commitment to each other, and now we’re walking it out. Is it perfect? No.Is it always happy? No. Don’t take my word for it, but please don’t ask him. There are things in marriage that can sometimes be very tricky.Sometimes it doesn’t make sense. You ever try to talk to your spouse and say, you’re not making any sense. And the other one says, you’re just not listening.I’m making perfect sense. It’s because we’re two people that are not the same, but we have been called as one. And there’s an intimacy we have and a relationship we have that’s different than I have with anybody else.I have other friends that I have an intimate relationship with, but it’s not the same. We’re intimate because we share our heart with one another. But my husband and I become one.That’s different. So, as I become more one with Jesus, with the Father, with the Spirit, I gain more authority. All right.John 15, 7 in the Passion, it says, if you live in life union with me, and if my words live powerfully within you, then you can ask whatever you desire, and it will be done. You can ask whatever you desire, not need, desire. But when I’m connected with the Father, then my desires are going to be the same.There’s a lot of things that I would love. I would love to have a big vehicle so that I can take my grandkids, and we can all go to Wisconsin and see my daughter, and I can take all my friends. We can go to the beach.I would love to have a big car, but we can’t afford it. So, I don’t ask him for it, because we’re connected, and I want what helps him to be at peace, and he wants what I need. And we find what works.That’s marriage. Right? Well, when we’re with the Father, he has no limit. He has no restraints.He is love. All love. He can’t disappoint.Not if I’m in him, because his heart becomes close to mine. We start understanding things. When you play games, a lot of times it’s not fair if a husband and wife are the same team, because they know the way each other thinks.So, they recognize things that others wouldn’t recognize. You have your own little jokes and your own little sayings. When you become acquainted with the Father, the Son, the Holy Spirit, when you are drawing into a close relationship, you become one, and then you are trusted.And anything that you want, he wants you to have, because he knows you’re not going to ask for something that’s evil or bad. It’s a relationship that gives us that. Only in that relationship can you draw near to the throne of grace.The Bible says you can come boldly before the throne of grace for help in your time of need. It’s a throne of grace. I didn’t earn it.I don’t deserve it, but I have a relationship with Jesus, and so I can get into the very throne room of God, and I can get whatever it is I need for that moment. Whatever it is, I get help. That’s what happens when you have relationship.That’s authority. When Paul was walking around and preaching the gospel to different towns, he went to that one place, you know, where there was a…oh, my mind, Paul’s preaching, and she goes out and starts yelling, he’s the son of the living God. He’s the son of the living God.He’s like, wow. People would look back and go, if we heard that, if somebody came in here and said, oh, that person really knows Jesus, we’d go, wow, they’re really prophetic. Well, this wasn’t prophetic.This didn’t come from the heart of God. This was a demon. And it began to annoy Paul, because he was like, oh, listen to the servant of the most high.Listen to the servant of the most high. It’s like, finally, he turned around and said, I think it’s amazing, because he must be really patient, because it took him three days. I mean, I can hardly fathom this, but he turned around and he said, come out of her in Jesus’ name.Came out. The demon came out. Then he got in trouble, because now the demon that let her prophesy, devil’s heart, now the guy who owns her can’t get any money, because now she doesn’t know anything.It was a lying spirit the whole time. That’s discernment. How did he know that? Why didn’t he get duped? Why didn’t he think, wow, she knows Jesus.She’s here to be my confirmation, so the people will listen to what I have to say. Now, he had the heart of the Father, because he was in close proximity with him and he had authority, because he had a good relationship with Jesus. His heart was connected.I love the Old Testament. Right now, I’m in it. We’re doing several books in it right now.It surprised me how many times, because I’ve heard this and I’ve seen it, but I didn’t realize, because you read several books in the Old Testament at the same time, I didn’t realize how many times it says it in so many books, where the Father says, my people, they love me, they worship me with their mouth, but their heart, it’s far from me. They worship me with their mouth, but their heart, it’s far from me. It’s offensive to God and of our judgment, because when all we want is to do the right thing, but our heart is not connected because we love him, then what we do doesn’t count.Is that what 1 Corinthians 13 says? Without love, you’re nothing but a bunch of noise. If you don’t really love, it doesn’t count. It’s annoying.So, when we love the Lord, our God, with all of our heart, soul, mind, and spirit, then we want to be with him. We want to understand his heart. We want to understand his ways.We want to be with him more. We want what we do, how we look, how we act to make him happy, because we just love him so much. We just, what can I give you, God? I don’t have anything that you don’t already have.I don’t have anything you didn’t already give me. I mean, how, you know, it’s like when your husband’s saying, can you give me some money so I can go buy you a birthday present? You know, you feel like, I don’t want to do that. I want to do this to be a blessing to him back.I don’t want to make him have to pay for his blessing. That’s what it’s like when we love the Father. So, authority comes from our relationship with him.Now, one of the things that makes it hard is we don’t always trust God. If we trusted God, it would be easier. But if I asked if anybody here ever thought God was going to do something and he didn’t do it the way they thought and hoped and prayed that he would, we’d all raise our hand.So, how do you trust somebody that is untrustworthy in your perspective? That’s a tough one. That’s a really tough one. And often, God will bring me back to something.I’ll be complaining to him, because I don’t know if you guys complain to him, but I figure I might as well put it on my mouth, because he already knows my heart. And sometimes I don’t, but if I let my mouth speak to him, I hear what’s in my heart, and then I know what I have to repent of. But many times I’ve gone to him and said, I don’t get it.I just don’t get it. I mean, you said that I could come to you. You said, I remember when I was sick a lot, I had a blood disorder that they got healed me of, because there was no cure, but I don’t have any more.I love his healing power. But it wasn’t like, okay, you have this blood disorder. Okay, Jesus healed me.Okay, he did. No, I had it for like, I don’t know, almost 20 years. So it was something I had to live with, doctor for.I felt like, you know, my doctor’s a vampire, could take in my blood. I had to be careful what medicine I took, because the blood disorder was just stupid. So anyway, like one day, God healed me of it.And I used to say to him, okay, I get it. Things don’t always happen as quickly as you want it to happen. I get it.Even what the enemy meant for evil, you do for good. I get it. But what I don’t get, God, is you promised me joy.I don’t got it. When are we not supposed to have joy? We have joy that doesn’t make any sense. And well, God, right now, it would not make any sense for me to have joy, but I’m supposed to have it.And I don’t. And I know you can’t fail. So what in the world am I missing? And then he began to show me.I put my own time frame on it. I decided God had put, spent enough time letting me be like that. I decided he was slow.The Bible says he’s not slow to fulfill his promises. But I thought he was, because it wasn’t happening when I wanted it to happen. When you don’t have peace, and you don’t have joy, and the Bible promises both, no matter what you’re going through, you have peace that doesn’t make any sense and joy all seasons.And you don’t have it. And you know God is faithful, and he can’t disappoint. And yet, here’s the reality.I was so miserable. It wasn’t fair. My husband could leave.I was stuck with me. I followed me everywhere I went, and I was miserable. He could leave and go, you are miserable.I’m going to the garage. Don’t take me with you. I just didn’t get it.But God starts showing me that there’s a difference between my way and his way, my thoughts and his thoughts. According to Isaiah 55, how bad can it be? Well, as high as the heavens are from the earth, that’s how far the distance is between the way I think and the way he thinks. And it’s a good thing, because the higher up you get, the more you see.The closer you get, you don’t see anything. You just see this. But God sees the big picture, and he knows the perfect time.It’s tricky. Walking with the Lord and trusting him sometimes feels hard, because you’re not getting what you believe you should get based on his word that gives us promises. So did we miss God? Are we not walking in his authority, because we are walking in our own way? But we’re saved, and we love him.But you know, sometimes he asks us to do things we just really don’t want to do. Sometimes he has to do it longer than we really don’t want to do it. And that makes us want to do it our way.I’ll give you an example. Satan. Satan was Lucifer.According to scriptures, the way that we understand it, Satan was Lucifer. Lucifer was a created being. He’s an angel.He was called an angel of light. He dwelt right next to the Father in the throne room. His position was to lead worship for all of heaven.Satan, Lucifer, got to walk so close to the Father, and he would see the things, the secrets, the mysteries inside the Father, and then he would burst into song, and he would sing it. Bible says that he had instruments built all through him, and he would make worship, and he would declare through worship the greatness of God, the heart of God, the mysteries of God. And one day, and it’s a mystery, don’t even ask me how this happened, but he got really full of himself, and he got mad at God, and he got thrown out of heaven.Now, he had all kinds of authority and power. He was right next to the Father, but what happened when he hit the earth? He’s not in heaven anymore. He’s not close to the Father anymore.He had power. Power is a gift. The gifts are irrevocable.Satan, have power now? Yep. Why? Because it’s a gift. It’s irrevocable.Does he have authority? No. He lost his authority. It was stripped off him.Gone. He has no hope of getting it back. So, the next picture, if this was a play, the curtains would close.We’re going to open up again. Act two. Here we are in act two.It’s a beautiful garden. God created everything in the world. And he created man, and he gave him a woman.He created them both. It’s not fun. Neither one of them had a belly button.The only two humans who never had a belly button, because God created them. They have everything. And then, you know what they also had? Authority.God gave them authority. He said, I want you to take dominion over this earth. I want you to take dominion over the animals, over the ground.He gave them all authority over the earth. Now, Satan’s on earth. He stripped the authority.He decided, I gotta get that authority back. It wasn’t about the fruit. He really didn’t care if they ate fruit or not.All Satan wanted was the authority. Why? Because authority triumphs power. You know that.Let me find it. I’m not going down my list. So, I’m not going to find it.In Matthew 9, 6-8, the word says that you might… Oh, this is only… Let me give you an idea. I think this is… Let me back up. Luke 10-19.This is when Jesus spoke to the disciples of 72 before he sent them out. And he said this, I’ve given you authority to tread on serpents and scorpions and over all the power. Authority trumps power.Authority comes from our walk with Jesus. So, what happened was Satan wanted the authority. He tricked them.He didn’t really trick them. He tricked the woman. Eve got tricked.The husband, he sinned both eyes open. He knew he wasn’t supposed to eat that. God told him that before he ever created the woman.He was with her when it happened. I’m just saying this because sometimes this woman, we get a bad rap. Yeah, we might be fooled sometimes and duped.But don’t put that against me. My husband’s supposed to stand up for what’s right and go, no honey, that’s not the best way. Come on back.He didn’t do that. Adam committed treason against God. He knew the truth and he purposed to listen to his enemy, not his father.And then Satan became the God of this world. And we’re all born into sin. Thank you, Adam.If it wasn’t for her, nope, sorry guys. If it wasn’t for Adam, we’d still be in the garden. No condemnation guys, just saying.It’s just setting the record straight. Whatever you do as a couple is powerful. One can send a thousand a flight, two can send 10,000.It’s good to have unity in the home.