I KNOW MY ABILITY IN CHRIST!

One major reason why many Christians allow the devil to intimidate and frustrate them is because they don’t even know what they can do in Christ – their ABILITY.

So today, I want to show you from the Scriptures what God says you can do because you are in Christ! Frequently we hear Christians confessing what they cannot do.

We hear them say, for instance, “I just cannot seem to get out of debt regardless of how hard I work at it; I cannot eat certain types of food as they make me sick; I cannot receive the baptism of the Holy Spirit.”

Beloved, you will never be able to do more than you are willing to confess that you can do in Christ.

“For you are snared by the words of your mouth (Prov. 6:2) and where the word of the king is there is power” (Eccl. 8:4).

Jesus said, “By thy words thou shall be justified, and by thy words thou shall be condemned” (Matt. 12:37).

As a New Creation, you have been empowered and commissioned to go and manifest Christ to the world. How?

1. Everything God is He poured into Jesus Christ. Everything God the Father is, all of God’s power, all of God’s Beingness, He poured into His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ.

“In Him dwelleth the fullness of the Godhead bodily” (Col. 2:9).

2. Everything Jesus is He poured into the Church. This is so because when Jesus rose from the dead and just before He ascended to be seated at the right hand of the Father, He said, “All power (authority) is given unto Me in heaven and in earth ...” (Matt. 28:18).

Everything Jesus is He has poured into the Church. The very next thing Jesus did was to delegate this authority to the Church.

Jesus said, “Go ye therefore…” (Matt. 28:19).

To back up this power, Jesus gave a promise to the Church saying: “And these signs shall follow them that believe; In My name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; 18 They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover” (Mk. 16:17-18).

And when He ascended into heaven He poured Himself out into the church (you and I) as the Holy Spirit. On the day of Pentecost, the waiting disciples were filled with the Spirit of God; they were filled with Jesus Himself (Acts 2:1-4), and they went out to turn the world upside down.

Everything God the Father is He poured into Jesus, and everything Jesus is He has poured into His Church.

When you received the Holy Ghost baptism, the Holy Spirit brought with Him all His ability, the ability that raised Jesus from the dead (Rom. 8:11).

Therefore, as a New Creation, you have the ability of God in you (Eph. 3:20). This ability of God speaks of His power.

As a New Creation you have an authority that no power in the Universe can challenge.

You have power over all the power of the devil.

Jesus said, “Behold I give you power to trample upon serpents and scorpions and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall by any means hurt you” (Lk. 10:19).

Now let us consider the words authority and power. For instance, the policeman is known by his uniform. This uniform shows that the government of a particular country has given that man authority to maintain law and order in that land.

But to be able to enforce his authority he needs to be equipped with gun, tear gas, grenades etc. When he commands you to stop based on his authority and you don’t, then he can force you to stop by shooting the tyres of your car to deflate it. This weapon with which he enforces his authority is called his power.

When you gave your life to Christ, you automatically received this authority. Thereafter, you were equipped to be able to enforce that authority so that you can do exploits for God.

This is why the Scriptures say, “You can do ALL things through Christ that gives you the strength” (Phil. 4:13).

Jesus said…, “If thou canst believe, ALL things are possible to him that believeth” (Mk. 9:23).

Natural human reasoning would limit you to your own ability if you let them. You look at the problems and storms and say that you can’t.

The language of doubt, and the five senses is, “I can’t. I don’t have the ability, the opportunity, or the strength. I am limited.”

It’s true you don’t have the ability, but there a Great One residing on the inside of you in your spirit-man, who not only has the required ability, but is the ability Himself.

The language of faith says, “I can do all things through Christ that gives me the strength.”

You don’t rely on your own strength, but on the strength of God. The Bible did not say anything about your being strong in yourself, rather it says that God is your strength.

“Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of His might” (Eph. 6:10).

As a New Creation you ought to know what you can do in Christ. You can do whatever God says you can do. Concerning your ability in Christ, God says you can:

1. Overcome Temptations (Heb. 2:18; 2 Pet. 1:6; 2 Pet. 2:9; Prov. 34:19). You must die to self to be free from sin (Rom. 6:6-7; Rom. 8:37; 1 Cor. 10:13; Ps. 119:9-10; 1 Tim. 6:11; Gal. 5:16-17, 24-25). You must determine in your heart to stay away from sin (Dan. 1:8).

2. Resist the devil (Jam. 4:7). How do you resist the devil? You resist the devil with the Word of God concerning that particular area the devil is tempting you at the moment.

3. Cast out devils (Mk. 16:17-18). These signs shall follow (accompany) you. Which signs? The ability to cast out demons. In other words, you have the right to exercise authority over all evil spirits because Jesus did not say that these signs would follow only preachers, ministers or those in five-fold ministry only. All New Creations have the authority to cast out devils.

The Scriptures speak of some examples: In the Name of Jesus, Paul cast the spirit of divination out of a girl that was possessed in the city of Ephesus (Acts 16:16-18).

Notice that this girl was possessed with a spirit of divination; the spirit of fortune-telling to foretell the future; the Python spirit.

Remember that this girl is a Spirit-filled sister. She was in the Pastor’s crew. She was in the Evangelistic Team even publicizing the men of God so that people can come and listen to the Word of God in their mouth.

This girl could have as well been in their Prayer Team or Music Ministry. When such people come under the cross fire of the anointing of God, this spirit manifests: The spirit threw the girl down on the ground and caused her to wriggle like a snake, hissing or bringing out her tongue like a snake.

The Bible said that Paul was greatly annoyed. Some translations say that Paul was grieved each time he encountered this girl. That is to say that he experienced PSYCHIC PAINS. This made Paul to doubt the spirit operating in that girl.

Here the spirit of divination was posing as the Spirit of prophecy, the Spirit of God. I am very concerned here because this spirit of divination operates very closely in the House of God.

This spirit is very active in the midst of businessmen because it ensures that they make profit. While operating inside the church, this spirit will be causing a lot of grief among the people. Watch out in your Churches where a brother or sister is passing on great annoyance to people; you can’t relate well with such people. You have people in your midst who are always creating and causing offences, strife and division. Notice that this girl could be classed as the Gim-Gim” sister.

Paul did not speak to the girl. He spoke to the spirit. He said to the demon, “I command you in the Name of Jesus Christ, come out of her.”

And the demon came out of her the same hour” (Acts 16:18). The demon had no choice. It had to bow and come out of her very fast at the sound of that Name, Jesus.

It is the Name of Jesus that did it. And that Name today has the same power it had in the time of the early apostles.

If you are a New Creation, you have this authority to use the name of Jesus to cast out demons wherever they are found.

“Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you” (Lk. 10:19).

4. Speak with new tongues. “And these signs shall follow them that believe; In My name shall they … speak with new tongues…” (Mk. 16:17-18).

Every New Creation has the right to speak with new tongues, in the Name of Jesus (Lk. 24:49; Acts 1:8; Gal. 3:14; Acts 2:33; Jn. 14:26; Joel 2:28-29). God will also give you this gift if you ask Him in faith (Lk. 11:11-13; Rom. 8:32).

5. Take up serpents and it will not harm you (Mk. 16:17-18). When you talk of serpents, you are talking about demons. You have the authority to take up serpents. Because of your authority as a New Creation, the serpent is incapacitated and cannot harm you by any means.

For instance, a very poisonous snake fastened unto the hand of Paul, in the Island of Malta, yet he shook the beast into the fire without being hurt (Acts   28:3). Nothing shall by any means hurt you brother. That is the promise of God.

“You shall tread upon the lion and the cobra, the young lion and the serpent you shall trample underfoot” (Ps. 91:13).

Yet you shall go unhurt. Why? Because you are a New Creation and you have known the Name of Jesus (Ps. 91:14).

Listen friend, no matter how much the devil tries to harm you, he cannot succeed because you have the Name of Jesus.

Brother, nothing can hurt that Name. So nothing can harm you because you have that Name and you also bear that Name, Jesus.

Hence the Scriptures say, “No weapon formed against you shall prosper…” (Isa. 54:17).

God said, “When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee: when thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be burned; neither shall the flame kindle upon thee” (Isa 43:2).

“Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for God is with me, and His rod and staff, they comfort me” (Ps. 23:4).

The LORD, our Protector, can lead us through difficult valleys to safety. Even in the most turbulent situations Jesus is with us because we have His Name.

“And His Name is a strong tower the righteous (the New Creation) runneth into and is safe” (Prov. 18:10).

Because of the authority you have as a New Creation, the LORD promised us saying, “When you pass through the waters, He will be with you; And through the rivers, they shall not overflow you. When you walk through the fire, you shall not be burned, nor shall the flame scorch you. For He is the LORD your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Saviour” (Isa. 43:2-3).

For instance, the Lord protected Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-Nego in the fiery furnace (Dan. 3:25-27).

6. Drink anything deadly and it shall not hurt you (Mk. 16:17-18). I know of a minister of the Gospel whose wife belonged to the marine kingdom. This woman gave the husband poison in his food seven times, and nothing happened to him. The seventh time the poison was given to him in his food his whole body turned yellow but realizing his authority as a New Creation, he called the name of Jesus and was instantly made whole. Hallelujah!

In another instance, a certain man of God was captured by the men of the underworld, taken into their hide out, and forced to eat a poisoned food. This man of God settled down and enjoyed his food knowing who he is in Christ.

In the early 90’s I was stung by a scorpion. This scorpion injected that very painful poison into my body. The pain was unbearable. But solution came when I used my authority as a New Creation. I cited Mark 16:17, and commanded the poison to turn into nourishment for my body, in Jesus’ Name.

And that was the end of the matter. My finger that was swollen and red in colour, came down and the pain ceased. Glory to God!

7. Lay your hand on the sick and he will recover (Mk. 16:18). You have the authority to lay hands on the sick, no matter the type of sickness and the LORD will surely confirm His Word.

That sick person will certainly become an evidence of the power of the Gospel. As a New Creation, you need to know that healing for your physical body is part of the Gospel of the LORD Jesus Christ.

Christians all over the world have the power to heal the sick. Indeed they have been commissioned to heal all manner of sicknesses and diseases.

Jesus instructed His disciples saying, “And as ye go, preach, saying, The kingdom of heaven is at hand. 8 Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out devils: freely ye have received, freely give” (Matt. 10:7-8).

"Then Jesus called His twelve disciples together, and gave them (1) power and (2) authority over all devils, and to cure diseases. 2 And He sent them to preach the kingdom of God, and to heal the sick” (Lk. 9:1-2).

Jesus said, “And into whatsoever city ye enter, and they receive you, eat such things as are set before you: 9 And heal the sick that are therein, and say unto them, The kingdom of God is come nigh unto you” (Lk. 10:8-9).

When he began to lay His hands upon the sick and suffering people, the most extraordinary miracles of divine power were manifested.

Blind eyes were instantly opened, deaf ears were unstopped, lame legs walked, crippled limbs received new life, and withered hands got restored.

On nine separate occasions, great multitudes came to Jesus, and “they were healed, every one of them.” Jesus stood up one day at the announcement of His ministry and said:

Jesus said, “The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me to preach the Gospel to the poor, He hath sent Me to HEAL the broken hearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and the recovery of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed; To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD” (Lk. 4:18-19).

Sometimes he touched the people with His hands. When people touched Him like that Jesus was aware that virtue had gone out of Him.

Sometimes, like the woman with the issue of blood (Mk. 5:34), they would creep up to Jesus and touch the hem of His garment, and as many as did so were made perfectly whole (Matt. 14:36; Mk. 6:56).

Virtue is the power of God flowing from Jesus into the person that touched Him a touch of faith. Most times Jesus did not even need to touch the people.

He would only speak a word of command, and instantly the sick person was healed (Matt. 8:8).

And look at the promise of Jesus, “Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on Me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto My Father” (Jn. 14:12).

The reason for the greater work being that Christ goes to be with the Father, giving us access into the very presence of God that these greater works may be done.

Jesus said, “If you shall ask anything in My Name, I (Jesus) will do it” (Jn. 14:14).

8. Raise the dead (Jn. 11). I can raise the dead because Jesus has empowered me to do so.

Jesus said, “Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out devils: freely ye have received, freely give” (Matt. 10:8).

9. Trample upon serpents and scorpions and over every power of the enemy and nothing shall by any means harm you (Lk. 10:19).

10. Succeed in everything you do (Josh. 1:8; Ps. 1:1-3).

11. Have whatever you confess (say) (Mk. 11:23).

12. Pass through the waters, through the rivers, through the fire and you shall not be burnt, neither shall the flame kindle upon you (Isa. 43:2-3; Isa. 59:19).

13. Live a righteous and holy life (Heb. 12:14).

14. Die to self (Mk. 8:34; Gal. 2:20).

15. Move mountains (Matt. 17:20).

16. Still the storm when the wind blows in the contrary (Mk. 4:35-41).

17. Be a celebrated soul winner (Prov. 11:30; Dan. 3:2).

18. Make it to heaven (Jn. 14:2-3).

19. Leave at peace with all men (Rom. 12:18).

20. Reign in this life (Rom. 5:17).

21. Still get on even when you are weak (Joel 3:10).

22. Can be free from drug addiction (Mk. 9:23).

23. Manifest hospitality (Heb. 3:1-3).

24. Crush an army and scale over high walls.

25. Command the rain to stop.

You can command cancer to die. You can command the blind to see. Command the cripple to walk. You can command the leper to be cleansed. You can command the sun to stand still (Josh. 10:12-14), having received the fullness of Christ to do as Jesus did and even greater.

Why are all these possible? Because there is a power at work in you.

“Now unto Him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us” (Eph. 3:20).

Conclusion: The realization of the unbeatable ability we have in Christ will put you permanently on the side of victory.

Therefore, take time to know who you are in Christ, your position in Christ, your inheritance in Christ, and your ability in Christ. Think it! Believe it! Confess it! Act like it! As you do this, your faith will abound, and you will face life with confidence and boldness.

You are so special to God. You mean so much to God. You matter a lot to His eternal purpose. Stop despising yourself! See yourself as God sees you! See yourself as a success and not a failure. See yourself as an over-comer and not as a defeated one. See yourself as more than a conqueror. See yourself as fearless!  

Watch out for the next edition of the Good News from the Pulpit!

 

• Your friend, I. I. MADUBUNYI (Head Pastor)                 Sept. 3, 2017