This is the last study on discipleship. And this is the last characteristic outlined here by Jesus in the Gospel of Mark. And it is a characteristic that I believe many of Christians do not embrace, nor do they live in. Which results in a life that is characterized by freedom and bondage. At certain points, there is freedom from sin and a life pursuing the Lord, and then a certain points, there is a bondage to sin and living a life that is running from the Lord. So their lives are a constant battle to stay out of sin, and yet they can't. But God has promised us authority in Him. He has promised power to resist and to flee from sin and turn to pursue a holy, pure, righteous life. But it begs the question, WHY AND HOW?

The reason for the question of "why?" is easy. It says in Scripture that our battle is not against flesh and blood, but against the powers of the spiritual world. And that we have an enemy, named SATAN who is a real being, whom God created. Ezekiel 28:12-15 describes him as a beautiful, powerful, holy angelic being of great power and anointing. God created Him in His sovereign and just authority with free-will. And it was this free-will, coupled with his power, that led Satan to rebel against God, desiring to rise above God and sit on the throne with ultimate authority, which God has. But God wasn't having any of this, and He cast Satan into the pit of Hell, where he set up his kingdom and exercises his power. (All of this is outlined in Isaiah 14:12-15 and Ezekiel 28:12-18). He exercises his power on earth as he prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking to kill and destroy. And his purpose is outlined perfectly in 2 Thes. 2:4 "opposes and exalts himself against every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, proclaiming himself to be God." SATAN DESIRES TO BE WORSHIPPED AND GLORIFIED. He wants the glory for himself. And I would say that he is doing a great job of this. The world today is exalting Satan in everything that it does, and that is what he wants. And in doing this, he is opposing God.

Satan will never oppose God directly. He won't win. So he opposes God through God's most prized possession, Christians. Satan opposes God, and God's plan through God's people. Satan wants to cause doubt, denial, deception, and destruction of God' people so that they will in turn worship him. And his methods haven't changed. He tempts us in the same way he tempted Eve (Genesis 3:1-6), through pleasure, possession, and power. And we give into those temptations. We give into the desire to be happy anyway we can, to get whatever we can and find worth in the possessions we have, and be as successful and powerful as possible. It is these three temptations that drive humanity today. We want to be happy, we want ownership of everything, and ultimately we want power. But when we give into these temptations, we are not happy, we really have nothing, and ultimately our power is given to Satan.

Yet, we have the AUTHORITY TO RESIST SATAN. Through Jesus Christ's death, burial, and resurrection, Jesus has "disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them in Him." (Col. 2:15) Jesus Christ defeated Satan, as it was promised from the beginning. And this ability to defeat sin and Satan has been granted to those who are in Christ Jesus. We have authority to resist temptation, and authority to choose to live righteously. BUT WHY DON'T WE DO IT?

Two reasons are found in the story of the disciples and the demon in Mark 9:14-29. The disciples were weak in two areas of their faith. The first one is FAITH. These disciples had weak faith in the authority that the Lord had given to them. Their faith rested more in themselves rather than in Jesus. And in the same way, when temptation arises and sin comes knocking, our faith rests in ourselves to flee from the sin rather than exercising the authority we have in Christ and having a strong faith in that. WE NEED TO HAVE FAITH THAT THE AUTHORITY IS REAL IF WE EVER WANT TO WALK IN IT FULLY. Secondly, these disciples were UNDISCIPLINED. Warren Wiersbe says this, "the authority that Jesus had given them was effective only if exercised by faith, but faith must be cultivated through spiritual discipline and devotion." When we are disciplined in our faith we are drawn closer into the heart of God and we become aligned with His power. In doing that we walk with Jesus' authority.

And when we walk with the authority, WE ARE EXALTING CHRIST. When we resist Satan, when we flee temptation, we are glorifying Christ. We show the world that all authority is in God, we show the world grace, love, peace, deliverance, power, and hope. We show the through Jesus Christ, Satan no longer has a hold on our lives, but we can be free. In doing that we are exalting Christ and shunning Satan.

Therefore, this authority is not only given for you, but it is given for others to see the power in the world. And for those reasons, we need to embrace the authority that we have. Exercise the power of the Holy Spirit in us to deliver us from the sin that so easily entangles and to put Christ on display as exalted and glorified and the answer to life. So I encourage you all to walk in that AUTHORITY you have in Christ! God Bless!