i'm going to ask you to stand with me if you will let's pray as we prepare to enter into the word this morning hallelujah i want you to join hands with someone and let's place ourselves in agreement according to god's word i'm expecting the wisdom of god to flow accurately in this place this morning and i believe the spirit of god has already given me utterance i shall open my mouth boldly to make known the mystery of the god of the gospel and i believe at the same time we can expect wisdom we can expect it to come forth with simplicity so that all can understand and receive now i want you to agree with me on that all right heavenly father in the name of jesus as we approach the throne of the almighty god we thank you father for your word for it is your word that has delivered us it is your word that has healed us it is your word that has saved us your word causes us to prosper your word builds us up your word gives us an inheritance we thank you for your word hallelujah and father as we enter into this precious word we thank you that the holy spirit who is the teacher of the church the revealer of the hidden things we believe that he shall rise up and he shall minister through me this morning in jesus name and i thank you father that your word declares that if any man lack wisdom he can ask from god and you will give it liberally and we ask in faith and we thank you for the wisdom of god being manifest in this place we thank you heavenly father that as the wisdom of god comes forth it shall flow accurately unhindered by satan in any way and we thank you for simplicity that all may understand and receive and be able to do it and thereby be blessed in all their deeds i thank you father that the anointing of god is on your word your word is a vehicle of the anointing and your word says that the anointing destroys the oak so i expect as the word proceeds from my mouth that it shall be impregnated with a anointing of god and as it goes forth it will destroy the yoke of bondage and there will be no reason for any man woman or child that is in this place today in any kind of bondage there will be no reason why they should not live free by the power of the living god and we thank you for it hallelujah let's praise him for that now hallelujah praise the lord praise the lord glory to god praise the name of the lord praise the name of the lord hallelujah hallelujah hallelujah hallelujah praise god praise the lord praise the name of the lord i want you to shake hands with someone as you're seated and say thank god i believe every word of it i'd like for you to open your bibles this morning first of all to ephesians chapter 3 ephesians chapter 3. it's been a series of messages the spirit of god has shared with me in the last couple of months on man's authority and uh somehow i just can't get off of this i got up this morning and and uh in fellowship with the lord and asking him for his direction in this service this morning there's some things he shared with me in the last few days that i thought i'd be able to share with you this morning but he said no i want you to to stick with the theme on man's authority releases god's ability so that's what i'm going to be teaching in every opportunity that i have to minister in the camp meeting this year i'm going to be sharing with you what i'm going to entitle man's authority releases god's ability i want everybody to say that with me man's authority releases god's ability now i want us to look at something in ephesians chapter 3 first of all let's begin reading in verse 14. ephesians chapter 3 verse 14. for this cause i bow my knees unto the father of our lord jesus christ of whom the whole family in heaven and earth his name that he would grant you according to the riches of his glory to be strengthened with might by his spirit in the inner man that christ may dwell in your hearts by faith that ye being rooted and grounded in love may be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth the length the depth and height and to know the love of christ which passeth knowledge that ye might be filled with all the fullness of god now unto him that is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think according to the power that worketh in us unto him be glory in the church by christ jesus throughout all ages world without in amen now i want us to read verse 20 once again now unto him who's him now unto him referring to god that is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think according to the power that worketh in us now i want you to notice what the apostle paul is telling us in this verse first of all he is letting us know and i'm quite sure that all of you are very much aware of this but he's letting us know that the god that we serve is able is he not somebody said what's he able to do well he's able to do anything you need him to he's the do shaddai he's the superior one the breasty one the almighty god and there's not anything that he's not able to do where your needs are concerned we're serving a god that is able to do anything that we need him to do if you need a financer he's a great one if you need a physician he's excellent if you need a lawyer a counselor an advocate well search no more god is able amen god is able but you know it's not enough just to know that god is able there's a lot of people that know god's able but they're not too sure about what he will do and until you know what god will do just knowing what he's able to do is not a solid foundation for faith there's a lot of people you know that'll stand up in what they call testimony services and magnify the devil i don't understand how you can call it a testimony service when you magnify the works of the devil but a lot of times you'll hear them stand up and say well you know bless god we've had a hard time this week oh my god the devil's been after us and i'm telling you it's been hard we've been in the valley out of the valley in the fire in the flood in the mud we've been through it all oh dear god dear god but we all know our god's able and somebody will jump up and say yes amen that's right he's able and you ain't the only one that's been in the fire and the flood in the mud oh dear god we've been there too oh my my my what are we going to do what are we going to do if god don't intervene we don't know whether we'll hold out to the end but we all know our god's able and somehow stand up say yes amen he's able he's able but dear god i don't know what i'm going to do i hope that don't sound like your church but you know what hadn't anybody said anything yet that's got any faith in it somebody says well i know god's able and i want to know from that person that says god's able the next thing i want to ask them well will he oh you never know what god's going to do well i'll tell you something you're not going to get anywhere with that did you know you hadn't got anything on the devil if all you know is god is able the devil knows that and he shudders at the thought of it amen but you know you take some guy that's just got turned on to the word and has begun to you know fellowship with the holy spirit get some insight into the word you stick him in that same congregation where everybody's you know going through the fire the flood and the mud and everybody's testifying of it confessing of it agreeing with it and you know and and everybody's magnifying the works of the devil you let one fellow stand up in the midst of that kind of congregation and say well i want you to know that we've had a hard time this week but bless god we're not magnifying the hard time we magnifying the answer to our problem we know our god's able and he will deliver us praise god amen and you know what most of the people will do that hear him bless god you smart alec who you think you are saying god will deliver us while we know the bible says many are the afflictions of the righteous and we're scriptural we're afflicted that's not what the bible says oh yes it says it brother in psalm 34 it says many are the afflictions of the righteous bless god i'm afflicted but i know god's able to deliver me that's not enough and in fact you you hadn't quoted the bible yet the bible says many are the afflictions of the righteous but then for worth where i come from but is a conjunction and it means he ain't through talking [Music] is that what it means up here well don't stop reading if you ain't talking that's not even polite i mean why you won't cut somebody off when they're not through talking yet i mean you know it'd be impolite for all y'all to get up and leave right now and i ain't even got started good well why you won't do god that way many are the afflictions of the righteous yes amen and close the book that's not what he said he's not through talking he said many are the afflictions of the righteous but the lord will the lord will and says abel it said the lord will deliver them from them all hallelujah hallelujah the lord will somebody said well i don't know whether god will deliver me or not well you need to read your bible it just said the lord will deliver them from them all why quit when you're under pressure if you know how it's going to turn out he's going to deliver you from them all [Applause] everybody say all what's all mean charles capps from england arkansas good friend of mine told me in england arkansas the word all means there ain't no more no exceptions amen the lord will deliver you from them oh he says able well dear god i know he's able i know god's able to deliver me from anything that i get involved in but that's not enough for a solid foundation for faith i not only need to know what god's able to do i need to know what he will do what he will do you remember there was a man a leper that came to jesus one time and i want you to listen to this man's statement he said if thou wilt thou cast cleanse me if now notice the if always indicates an area of doubt if thou wilt in other words the man is saying if we put it in our modern day vernacular we'd say it this way i'm not too sure what you will do if you will you can cleanse me now notice what the man had he had a revelation of jesus ability he said if you will you can if you will you can if you will you can he didn't say i don't know if you will and i don't know if you can in fact i don't own anything i don't know what i'm doing here he said if you will you can i don't know whether you will or not but i do know you can are you with me and did you notice he didn't get anything that wasn't enough foundation for faith and so jesus just turned to him and said you never know what jesus is going to do no he didn't say that the man said if you will help me sir i don't know whether you will i know you can but i don't know if you will jesus said i will [Music] now what's the man know now he not only knows jesus can unless he's hard of hearing or stupid he should know that he will now what if somebody come up to that leper and said do you really believe that jesus can deliver you from this leprosy and he says i know jesus is able and then they ask him yes but do you think he will if the man said well you never know then that man is going to suffer destruction because he don't have a solid foundation for faith particularly after jesus just got through telling him i will amen he said i can and i will and did you notice the moment that that man began to find out what jesus could do and what he will do he had a solid foundation for faith and immediately he was cleansed praise god you know sometimes i i know uh many times i've had people just really get upset with me for making this statement but they'll just have to get their upsetter healed because i'm not going to change the statement i've said this a few times and particularly preachers they you know i have a heart attack with them to do the sinners getting mad at me for just talking the word and i had made this statement i know exactly what god will do in every area of my life oh now brother i don't believe anybody knows that well you're meeting one today i know what god will do in every area of my life how did you find it out because i got a copy of his will [Applause] [Music] that's the will of god and you know the beautiful thing about this will jesus christ of nazareth is the guarantee of it you know what the new testament is many bibles have this in the front of it as you enter into the new testament the will and testament of our lord jesus christ and you know what's so beautiful about it jesus of nazareth has written a will signed and sealed in his blood he had to die in order for the will to be a reality and he's the only fellow i ever met that got raised from the dead to see to it that his will got carried out just like he wrote it amen isn't that true [Applause] now i want you to to understand fully what i'm saying i did not say that i know exactly how god's going to do everything he will do i said i know what he will do i didn't say i know how he's going to do it in fact i quit trying to figure out how he's going to do it a long time ago i love surprises just by the time you go to figure it out you know god's going to do it this way or god's going to do it that way god will come up with a way you've never seen he's unlimited in these avenues and and ways to minister to you and meet your needs but the thing that you need to know is this god's not only able but he will deliver you amen he will deliver you how do you know brother because the bible says so well you never know yes i do know if i can't depend on the bible then i've had it if i can't believe the verse in psalm 34 that says the lord will deliver them from them all if i cannot depend on deliverance in every affliction that i'm involved in if i cannot expect god to deliver me then why do i have the right to believe that john 3 16 is true if psalm 34 is not amen how many of you believe that you're not condemned but you have everlasting life because you believed on the sun how do you know the word says so what's that got to do with it everything well the same word that said that you're not condemned and you've got everlasting life the same holy ghost that inspired that is the same holy ghost that inspired the psalmist to say that he will deliver you from them all and if i'm not condemned and i'm not going to hell and i'm on my way to heaven then also i can be just as confident that every situation that i encounter on this planet that is designed by the devil to kill steal and destroy i can expect god's word to work and he will deliver me from them all hallelujah [Applause] i want you to look at verse 20 once again we need to know that god is able we need to also know what he will do in fact i had the lord say this to me one time he said son i don't want you doubting anything about me but if you've just got to doubt something i would rather that you doubt my ability than my willingness he said he'd be less insulted he said how would you feel you've got children of your own how would you feel if one of your daughters came to you and said daddy we know you can help us we just don't know if you will what are they doing they're not doubting your ability they're doubting your love amen i mean my willingness to do what i'm able to do is an act of my love and if my daughters came to me and said daddy we know you love us why we know you love us you've told us that you love us and we know that you have certain abilities and we know that you are able to do this for us our problem is we just don't know if you will or not i mean that wouldn't that be a an insult i'd be a insult against my love for them would it not i'd whole lot rather one of them come in and say daddy we know you would help us if you could we just don't think you can i'd hold a lot rather than doubt my ability than my willingness and you know what we have a heavenly father that loves us and the bible says that the the eyes of the lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth to show himself strong in behalf of the people and strong in behalf of those whose heart is perfect before him the word says that he opens his hands and fulfills the desire of every living thing gives them their meat in due season that's my father and for me to say well i know god's able to deliver me and somebody says well willie well you never know never know that's to doubt his love and if there's any one thing i know more than i know anything else god loves me amen and god loves you so what we need to realize is that god has the ability to deliver us god has the ability to change your financial circumstances god has the ability to change the condition of your marriage god has the ability to change your uh physical body god has the ability to do something about that house you're living in god has the ability to do something about your ugly relatives god has the ability to do something about that old sorry job or that sorry boss so whatever your problem is there's no doubt about it god is able to change the circumstances but not only that he's willing to do it if we'll let him amen he's willing to do it if we'll let him you know one time god said this to me he he reminded me of of my days when i was an automotive painting body man and he said you know when you were a kid growing up i i grew up around you know my dad was a body man worked on automobiles he was he was uh tremendous at it he was had a tremendous reputation in the state of louisiana as being one of the best he was just a professional he knew his business and i grew up around that you know all my life him working on cars and i loved cars and and he started teaching me how to do body works as soon as i was big enough to put a pet hammer in my hand and somehow working around him and watching him and watching his accomplishments started developing an image on the inside of me of my father's ability and as i was growing up as a child my my ultimate goal in life was to be as good at automotive rebuilding as my dad now my goal was to be as good as him the ultimate goal was to get better than him i had such an image on the inside of me of my dad's ability as a body man and you know many times when you have that kind of image you don't think like other people think and there were times when you know you you drive up to an intersection just as a wreck had occurred you know and and other people would be looking at that old wrecked car and they'd think i wonder if anybody got hurt i wonder what happened to them i wonder you know uh what caused this accident i wonder you know this that or the other and maybe some of them would even say man i'll tell you that thing is demolished you know what i think every time i'd see a wreck i mean i just you know i was i was car conscious every time i'd see a car especially those that were wrecked i'd say i just this thought would come up on the inside of me there's one my dad can fix there's one my daddy can fix there's one my daddy can fix you know what i'm talking about and not only did i believe my daddy could fix them i believe he would because when i got old enough i went all over the country bringing old junkers back home i mean pile up in a truck or on a trailer that fallen apart you know i love to antique cars not go all over the place finding these old antique cars is rusted down wheels falling off of them just you know they they look like nothing but i believe my daddy could fix it and i'd haul that thing back home get it back there in the backyard you know and unload that thing and when my dad would come in i'd say there it is i believe you can fix it and at one time did he say boy you've gone too far this is beyond my ability he just said come on boy let's go to work and we go to work working on that thing and the father god said to me he said you know son i want you to get that way about me he said if you begin to realize my magnificent ability and not only my magnificent ability but my willingness to use that ability on your behalf whenever you need it he said in fact what i want you to start doing is every time that you are praying for the sick and you see an old body that comes up before you that medical science has said is a total loss it's beyond repair it cannot be repaired it is incurable and you see people whose lives are destroyed they're wrecked he said when they start coming through the lines the first thing ought to come up on the inside of you is there's one my daddy can fix amen hallelujah not only can he fix them but he will praise the lord so i said what if it's not his will then you are not told me lay hands on the sick and they shall recover are you still here the will of god is very simply expressed in his word and he's not going to say one thing in his word then will something else if he does he's double minded he cannot be dependent upon he's unstable and i don't want to serve anybody like that but my god is single-minded praise the lord there is no variableness in him neither shadow of turning if he says by his stripes you were healed and blessed god ye were healed it can be no other way amen now let's look at this i want us to realize something about god's ability and how it is linked to our authority let's read verse 20 once again now unto him that is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think everybody read out loud the next word let's read it again everybody read with me verse 20 now unto him that is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think according to the power that worketh in us now you know many times we misquote that we half quoted would be more proper we'd say well you know just like the bible says god's able to do it exceedingly abundantly above all that i ask or think period that's not what he said there's no doubt about god's ability but let me share a shocker with you brace yourself god's ability is conditional did you notice if it was just a matter of god's ability being manifest then it'd be manifest without us doing anything but you notice it doesn't work that way in fact it said according to something did you get that according to something in other words if we don't meet the condition then we'll never experience that magnificent ability did you know that this phrase here and god is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think this phrase exceedingly abundantly you check it out in the greek text and you'll find out that it means super abundant above and beyond measure god's ability is immeasurable the god that i serve is so able that his ability is immeasurable there's no way i mean if you had some kind of measuring device that would measure accurately man's ability god would blow it because he's immeasurable his ability is immeasurable can you imagine anybody the bible tells us in isaiah chapter 40 i believe it is that god took one drop of water in the hollow of his hand a piece of dust in the palm of his hand and he comprehended and computed the weight displacement of this planet before it was ever created took one drop of water in the hollow of his hand a piece of dust in the palm of his hand and he comprehended with his magnificent infinite wisdom the weight displacement of this planet in other words that one drop of water god had the ability to figure out how much all of the seas the waters on this earth the oceans the rivers the rainfalls the mudslides i mean the entire existence of moisture and and water and he took that and with one drop of water he comprehended the weight displacement of this planet not only from the time that he would create it but it had to be accurate enough to last throughout the entirety of this planet and then he took one piece of dust in the palm of his hand and with that piece of dust in his infinite wisdom he weighed the mountains of the earth how much do you suppose the rocky mountains weigh how much do you suppose the smoky mountains weigh how much do you suppose the pacific ocean waves how much do you suppose that one of these lakes up around here weighs well god had to figure all that out not only that but he had to take into consideration that on some parts of this planet there's no moisture content whatsoever and then other sides of the planet there's so much rainfall and so much shifting of the rain and the earth that god had to take all that into consideration and when he had it all figured out he chose the perfect words on the inside of him that would express the image that he had in his heart and he stood before all of the universe and said light be and light was and i want you to know when he said that there was oh several billion miles some 16 billion miles of universe came into existence and this planet alone just this one planet the bible's uh our scientists tell us that it travels in one direction at ten thousand miles per second and at the same time a thousand miles per second in the insimultaneously in another direction and not one time as this planet ever got out of balance because the god i serve has infinite wisdom and exceeding abundant ability praise god amen now anybody can do that can surely fix my bank account amen anybody can do that i mean if he can sling a universe into existence surely he can do something about your limp amen i mean anybody can swing a universe into existence and not one time if you got up in the morning read your paper and say oh it got out of balance half of egypt got slung off no if he has that kind of ability then you know fixing my my little penny anythings is no problem at all i mean one day my wife several years ago i was off on a meeting or something you know and and she was there at the house and and uh the sink clogged up we didn't have the money to get a plumber in there or anything you know i mean man we believe in god keep the water on much less get it unstopped you know and i was gone she was there with you know washing dishes and the thing was all clogged up and it wouldn't drain i mean you don't have any money to do anything with you know so she decided she's gonna go the word and use her faith so she was standing in front of that sink and she said you're the god of abraham isaac and jacob you're the god of moses you're the god that split the red sea and surely if you can split a red sea you can cause this sink to drain anything with hallelujah amen [Music] god's ability is immeasurable this is the same god that raised jesus from the dead the same god to split the red sea the same god that causes water to come out of a rock in a desert the same god that has the ability to talk to birds and tell those birds sustain my man this same god i'm talking about his ability is immeasurable there's no question about him being able to meet your every need many times the devil come in there and flood your mind and try to tell you oh you got too big a problem i mean dear god you need a hundred dollars now don't misunderstand me to some people that might as well be a million i remember a time in my life when trying to get a hundred dollars might as well been a million dollars but then right on the other hand there's somebody else you know needs nine billion god's able god is able and the devil come in and try to tell you well you got too big a problem i mean after all have you ever heard anybody getting delivered to this have you ever heard anybody you know overcoming this have you ever heard of it no all you heard is they believed that and died they believed that lost everything they had they believed that and and you know they come clean them up off the street uh they believe that no is there anybody in here that's believing for financial miracles right now have you ever gone to the throne of god and said father i have need of a financial miracle your word says you're able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that i can ask or think according to the power that works within me god i need a miracle and god says as he wipes his eyes i wish i could help you we got depression going on up here we had to lay jesus off just this morning the angels are on strike i even had to hawk the pearly gate to pay the note on the throne room brother copeland was up here just this morning needing another airplane he wiped us out no no you're not going to break god [Applause] and your problem's not too big his ability is immeasurable immeasurable immeasurable you can't measure god's ability but i'll tell you what i'm learning some about it because i'm seeing it manifest in my life but it's not an automatic thing it's according to something and notice what he said god is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that you can ask or think while i'm at it let me send you this the more you understand this the bigger you think amen i'm telling you yeah there what there's some things that i'm able to think right now that a couple of years ago would have blown my head apart you know what i'm talking about i mean just my mind couldn't tell that it'd harder tilt tilt the more i get into god's word and get the mind of god the bigger broader more constructive my thinking is god's a big broad constructive thinker praise god now he's always going to be a step ahead of us but nevertheless praise god my steps are getting closer i'm thinking bigger right now than i've ever thought before and i can't hardly wait till next week but i want you notice what he says god is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think according to everybody say according to [Applause] according to the power that lies dormant within us it said according to the power that worketh power that worketh power that worketh power that worketh i want to let you in on something god can't bless lazy believers he will bless those who are working they got something working on the inside of them there's a lot of people that want the benefits of living by faith there's a lot of them that want the benefits of living by the new covenant there's a lot of them that want prosperity that want healing that want the blessings of god to come on them and overtake them but they won't do what it takes to get them and then they get mad at those that are winning get jealous of them don't you leave you think this is tough brother copeland comes at 2 30. and he taught me everything i know see there's a lot of christians that are standing on the sidelines watching these others win and saying bless god i don't know why i mean look at him here i am pillar of the church that's what's wrong with you old stone heart i mean god's blessing those that are at work somebody said but i live by faith and i thought the definition of living by faith meant quit thy job thou shalt not work my bible says faith worketh hello amen [Music] oh jesus if you got any idea that living by faith means quit thy job thou shalt not work thou shalt not eat either thou dummy amen god said your worst name uh infidel well now i guess i better dance i didn't get no response out of that now god is blessing workers i didn't say just a bunch of good deeds i'm talking about workers i'm talking about diligent people i'm talking about disciplined people oh brother i hate that word i know the bible said that god's ability he's actually telling us that god's magnificent ability is released in behalf of those in whom power is working did you get that it said according to the power that worketh in us it didn't say according to something that's just laying dormant within us he said according to the power that worketh in us in other words man's doing something and man's doing something releases god's doing something in other words he's saying that man that god's ability is linked together with man's authority and when man is releasing his authority when that authority is working within him then that in turn releases god's ability now listen to this i can prove it to you whatever you bind on earth is bound in heaven not backwards heaven will bind it and then you bind it it didn't say that it said whatever you buy now i want you to notice god has the ability to stop the forces of evil from entering your life but he will not do it until you release your authority you're the one who's been given the authority to bind the devil and when you bind the devil that releases god's ability and he'll see to it that rat is bound amen [Applause] i want you to turn to luke chapter nine with me very quickly luke chapter nine i want to show you something about your authority and how it is linked together with god's ability there's no question about god's ability he's able the problem has been we haven't done what we're supposed to do with our authority we've been waiting on god to do something people keep saying i'm just waiting on god waiting on god waiting on god and you're not waiting on god god's waiting on you and when man begins to do what god instructed him to do when you've been given the power of attorney to do something then you ought to do it for instance i have a man that works with me on our staff he's my pilot and he's responsible for our airplane and i have given him the authority now listen to me i've given him the authority where that airplane is concerned i don't go out there and check the fuel i don't go out there and check the engine i don't go out there and check the mechanical operation of it i don't go out there and see if the airplane's been taken care of when we get ready to go on a trip i don't go out there and fool an airplane i ain't got time that's his job i've given him the authority over that airplane i told him charlie the airplane is yours when we leave the ground and we get ready to go on a meeting you're the boss you're the pilot you're the boss at that time soon as we get on the ground i'm the boss but when we only hear you the boss you have the authority where this airplane is concerned i give you the authority to keep it maintained keep it running properly i give you the authority to pull maintenance on it i give you the authority whatever that airplane needs you don't even have to come and ask me you just do it now if i go out to the hangar get ready to come to tulsa oklahoma and i get out there and charlie's you know sitting around i say charlie let's go to tulsa he said all right so i start getting in he says wait a minute we gotta go get some fuel i said well why don't you have fuel in the plant well i don't know i said well i gave you the authority to do it you have to wait on me well you never know what jerry's going to do now i said you have the authority to keep it fueled up and then he says well we can't go to tulsa not only do we not have any fuel the engine won't run i said why won't the engine run well i didn't know if you wanted to fix it well i gave you the authority to keep maintenance on the plane oh guess what we're not going anywhere because somebody didn't use their authority amen they're on the other hand there's people that try to go beyond their authority you know there's a lot of christians getting in trouble because they're trying to do things that they haven't been given the authority to do i mean that'd be like if you know if i go out to the to the hangar and i say charlie let's go to tulsa and i open a hangar door and there's a motorcycle sitting in there instead of an airplane and i say where's the airplane i sold it and bought us a motorcycle hey jack you ain't got the authority to sell it you can work on it you can fly it but you don't have the authority to sell it now he's in trouble because he's going beyond his authority amen and that's what a lot of christians are filing up things with they're trying to do things that they don't have the authority to do i've had people come to me times you know and say would you come raise my dead uncle from the dead no not unless i've been given the authority to because if i go try to do something i hadn't been given the authority to do then i'm in trouble somebody said well the bible said raise the dead yes it did but jesus didn't raise all the debt in his ministry either only those he'd been given the authority to raise amen and there's people trying to do things that they hadn't been given the authority to do there's a thing called the prompting of the holy spirit and that's what we need to be sensitive to amen now let me show you something here very quickly about this authority we're going to get we're going to deal with all these areas before this meeting's up and i believe praise god you'll leave here knowing your authority and it'll release god's ability and you're going to be a stick of dynamite going somewhere to explode where the devil's concerned hallelujah now look at this luke chapter nine let's begin reading in verse one then he called his twelve disciples together and gave them power and authority over all devils and to cure diseases gave them power and authority over all devils and to cure diseases how many devils and he sent them to preach the kingdom of god and to heal the sick now once you notice what he's done jesus called these men together and gave them authority over all devils and to cure diseases let's see what happened verse 6 and they departed and went through the towns preaching the gospel and healing everywhere now what you notice what's happened did you notice that you'll never see any record of the disciples healing anybody before they had been given the authority it was not until jesus called them to him and said i give you authority right then authority was imparted unto them and when he gave them authority to do something they immediately went out and did it they exercised that authority and what did it do it released god's ability did it not and they healed everywhere you know the lord taught me something about this because i have a great desire i have a great desire to see every person that i lay hands on and minister to to be healed instantly and i got frustrated with it at one point in my ministry because i'd see results i'd see instant things happening happening happening and then there'd be other situations where you know uh it was just a matter of the people standing on the word and and and standing on their faith don't misunderstand me that's where the real stability comes is standing on the word but i believe praise god that the closer the to the appearing of the lord jesus christ that the processes of everything will be speeded up accelerated i believe the period of time between the amen there it is going to get shorter and shorter amen and i believe we're right at that time right now praise god i'm seeing it happening in a tremendous way but there was a time when i got a little bit frustrated about it and the reason being is because when people would come up with all kinds of diseases and and incurable situations somehow i got over into an area unconsciously i didn't realize i was doing it but you know i kept the thought would come what do you think you can do for them what have you got to offer that person i mean look at that body it's deformed it's crippled it's the limbs are missing or you know it's it's cancerous or whatever the situation may be and you'd look on that and all of a sudden a thought would come what do you think you can do i mean you're not dealing with a headache boy you're not dealing with you know a runny nose this is serious and god shared something with me one day and i'm telling you it changed my life it changed where the ministry to the sick was concerned he said son i don't know if you realize or not but you don't have the ability to heal anybody he said as far as ability you don't have anything to offer them he said i'm the one with the ability he said but i'll tell you what you do have authority he said i told you in my word in the 16th chapter of mark and these signs shall follow them that believe they shall lay hands on the sick and they shall recover he said not only do you have my word for it but i have anointed your hands i've called you to a ministry of the sick at deliverance and he said i have anointed your hands and i have given you the authority to lay your hands on the sick they'll not only recover because my word says it for the believer but they'll recover because i have anointed your hands to pray for the sick he said as far as ability is concerned you can't do anything for them but when you've been given the authority and you release the authority that releases my ability and you and i'll work together in this if you'll supply the authority i'll supply the ability and they'll get up and go amen it's that simple i don't have the ability i don't have the ability to reach down on in the inside of a body and pull a cancer out of it that's destroying that man's life i don't have that ability to reach down in there and pull that thing out but i tell you what i do have i have the authority to lay my hands on that person in the mighty name of jesus and curse that cancer and demand that it wither from the roots and then that releases god's ability and he can do it any way he wants to he can squeeze the thing he can squash it he can pull it out of there he can do whatever he wants to do because he's god almighty and he has the ability amen i want you to notice when these disciples were given authority their authority was linked together with god's ability and when they begin to exercise their authority in turn it released god's ability now i want you to turn to luke chapter 10 look at this very closely luke chapter 10 verse 17. you'll find in verse 1 of that same chapter luke chapter 10 that jesus appointed 70 others also in other words there's 70 other men that he gave authority to over all devils and to cure diseases now what you notice until they'd been given authority they couldn't you know they were worthless as far as laying hands on the sick or casting out devils they had been given the authority at that point but once they were given the authority then thank god god supplied the ability now these 70 others that he commissioned and gave them authority in verse 17 and the seventy returned again with joy saying lord even the devils are subject unto us through thy name now notice they had authority they exercised that authority and it released god's ability in verse 18 and he said unto them i beheld satan as lightning fall from heaven 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 now let's read verse 19 once again 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 now what he's telling us is this he didn't say we have the ability to stop devils in your own strength and your own ability you're no match for the devil you can't handle him nor his demonic forces but we're not talking about our ability nor our strength we're talking about our god-given authority and jesus said i give you authority to tread on serpents and scorpions and over all the power of the enemy and nothing shall by any means hurt you let me read this to you from the moffat translation i have indeed given you the power of treading on serpents and scorpions and of tripling down all the power of the enemy he says i've given you the authority to trample down all the power of the enemy anybody know what trampling is i'd like for you to demonstrate trampling a little louder more forceful [Applause] now this time i want you to really get it i want you to know when you're using your authority that's what it sounds like to the demons of hell [Applause] that's the roar they hear you have been given the authority to trample down trample down you know i could do a pretty good job of trampling down this plant right here if i just kept trampling and stepping on it and stepping on it and stepping on it and stepping on it and stepping on it it wouldn't even resemble a plant we used to have a house that was on a corner and there's a junior high school down another end and the kids instead of going around the curb they cut through our yard and in a little while they beat a path across there why because day in day out they trample they trample they trample they trample they trample they trample you can put up signs no trampling they trample and trample and trample and they just keep trampling and finally got a path beat across there well i want you to know you ought to be beating the path across satan's back he's supposed to be under your feet hallelujah [Applause] [Music] he's supposed to be under our feet we've been given the authority to trample him down instead of us being trampled down when we release our authority it in turn releases god's ability jesus said i give you authority over the devil now i want you to notice something once we begin to release our authority our authority is linked together with god's ability in other words god's ability is not going to be manifest in your life only according to something there's got to be something working in you working in you you cannot let your authority lie down dormant you know there's a lot of times when you just lay there and let the devil run all over you without you putting up any resistance and you can't expect god's ability to be manifest there are times when there are people that you know uh the devil come against you maybe with some symptoms of the flu or something and you're laying there and you know and all the time knowing the bible says by himself i am healed knowing that the bible says resist the devil and he will flee from you and all the time you sit in there knowing that and doing nothing about it the symptoms get greater and the next thing you know i mean your nose is running your eyes are watering you got chills and all the time you all this time you taking on the flu you're sitting there knowing that you don't have to put up with it that you have authority and all the time you sitting there knowing but not doing anything about it the devil's trampling over you and just knowing it is not going to release god's ability amen just knowing everything the bible says it's not going to release god's ability it's when you got something working on the inside of you it's when you take that knowledge and put it to work praise god it's when you pick yourself up off at bed and say no devil in the name of jesus i have authority over you you don't have any right to put this on my body my body's off limits to you and all of your forces i am bought with a price my body is to glorify god and i can't glorify god with my body being sick i'm gonna glorify god by being well now you get your symptoms off me and you go in the name of jesus and he got to go he's got to go somebody said what if he don't then james lied but i rather believe somebody else is like not james he got his inspiration from god where are you getting yours amen i have the authority but if that authority is just lying dormant that'd be just like a guy that's got a million dollars in the bank and don't know how to write a check wouldn't it be a terrible way to live a million dollars in the bank all the money you'd ever need and the guy don't know how to write a check and he lives like a beggar because he don't know how to write a check don't you know god's made a tremendous deposit in the treasury of your heart he's given you authority over all devils and to cure diseases praise god and if you don't learn how to write a check on that authority you're going to live a pitiful life amen then right on the other hand there's somebody you know they got a million dollars in the bank they know how to write a check but they won't do it well there's christians like that that know they have been given authority but they won't write a check on that authority and they still live like beggars way below their privileges as children of the living god folks god's ability is manifest in our behalf as a result of something working in us according to the power that worketh according to the power that worketh according to the power that worketh in other words if you want to see god's ability then you're going to have to get something working on the inside of you release your authority speak forth the word of god don't just sit there and watch all this destruction come knowing full and well that you have the authority to stop it and not do anything about it no you stop it in the name of jesus christ of nazareth use your authority and if it looks like the devil hadn't fled you stand there and having done all the stand you stand some more and either here you one's got to quit and i want to let you in on something he's a quitter by nature because judgment's already been passed on him he's doomed he's doomed i want you to turn to matthew 18. let's talk for just a moment here before we close this morning from matthew chapter 18 a very familiar passage of scripture i want to show you your authority linked together with god's ability verse 18 matthew 18 18 verily i say unto you whatsoever ye shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven whatsoever ye shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven now what's god telling us he's telling us that we have been given the authority to bind or lose but if we don't do any binding or losing then it will not be bound or loose in heaven amen whatever you bind in other words he's saying the responsibility for binding is on me not on god somebody said well if just as soon as god does something about my problem no it's not just as soon as god does something it's as soon as you do something that will enable god to do something amen he said whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven now we know there's nothing in heaven that needs to be bound but that's not what he's saying he said whatever you bind on on earth in other words what he's referring to is that heaven will support it heaven will back it jesus is the surety he's the guarantee that it will be bound whatever you bind on earth all of heaven will support it and it is bound whatever you loose on earth heaven will back you and it is loosed do you understand that all right now from the phillips translation i want to i want you to look at a couple of words here that the phillips uses that that's a little bit stronger than bind or loose philip said believe me is it amazing jesus had to start it with that the truth himself said i'm not lying about this believe me because what he's about to tell us is so staggering to the human mind he had to preface it with i'm telling you the truth believe me whatever you forbid listen to this whatever you forbid upon earth will be what is forbidden in heaven whatever you permit on earth is what will be permitted in heaven somebody said well the the lord has allowed the devil no you did you did and whatever you allow god will have to because he's given us the authority now if we didn't have the authority to be a different situation but he said whatever you forbid is forbid whatever you permit is permitted in other words i have the ability to forbid something that i don't want permit it amen and if there are things happening to me that are trying to destroy me then i'm going to have to do something about it i can't let the authority that god's given me just lie dormant and think that god's going to come in here with his magnificent power and deliver me from this it don't work that way folks i realize that when you're a spiritual baby there are special manifestations of god's grace where you didn't have anything to do with it god just come in there and a special manifestation of grace and delivered you but we don't live by a special manifestations of grace we live by faith and i'm responsible for doing something the devil comes in there and tries to put sickness on my baby i'm responsible for binding him i can't say god deliver my baby until i do something about it i must bind the devil i've got to run him off and god will support it and see to it that he's gone whatever you bind is bound whatever you lose is loosed whatever you forbid is forbidden whatever you permit is permitted i'm telling you people we have a vast amount of authority in this earth and some of it we've never even tapped into amen you know what the moffat translation says whatever you prohibit on earth is prohibited in heaven now what you notice these words get stronger and stronger listen to the definition of the word bind to bind means to hold to restrain or to make prisoner to hold restrain or make prisoner god says whatever you hold restrain or make prisoner i'll see to it it is held with strained and made prisoner god's telling us that we are his policemen on this earth amen i'm god's policeman and not only am i god's policeman but he's given me a police uniform to wear that represents god it's called the armor of god amen and when i'm wearing my armor i want you to know i got authority on this earth praise god just like the policeman out here directing the traffic how many of you know that that policeman does not have the ability to stop your car you come driving down there about 40 miles an hour and here's a man standing out in the street with his hand up and a whistle blowing and he's commanding you to stop he doesn't have the ability to stop you a 250 pound man does not have the ability to stop a 3 000 pound car driving at 40 miles an hour but i'll tell you what he does have authority he don't have to have ability he's got authority praise god amen and he can jump out in the middle of the street and he can say halt in the name of the law and he don't have to have the ability to stop you you'll put on your breaks and come to a screeching halt where because he represents the law he's been given authority to stop your car and the law will back him well i want you know you take that same policeman off duty sitting in his house the t-shirt cut-offs pair of tennis shoes drinking a coca-cola watching wide world of sports and he gets inspired and decides he wants to go out and do something walks out in the street and his t-shirt and his cutoffs and his tennis shoes with his hat and his whistle and starts stopping traffic he better get out of the way he's out of uniform and nobody will recognize his authority there's a lot of christians on the earth today that are naked somebody ain't got nothing on but a helmet that's all he preached be saved be safe be safe be safe and a bunch of naked christians wearing a helmet amen don't you know that's a funny-looking sign if a policeman was to stand out in the street with no clothes on nothing but his hat and a whistle and saying i command you to hold i command you to halt i'll tell you what's going to happen to that guy they're going to pick him up in a white truck and you know guys white uniforms and haul him off and that's exactly what happens to christians that don't exercise their authority and are out of uniform the demons of hell are running all over them but i want you to know when you strap on your breastplate of righteousness and you got your lines girded out with the truth and you got your feet shot with the preparation of the gospel and you got your helmet of salvation on and you got your shield of faith and you've got the sword of spirit in your eye of the spirit the word of god come out your mouth you are a fully dressed policeman in this earth and you have authority to stop all the demons of hell hallelujah he said divine means to hold to restrain or to make prisoner praise god to loose means to set free remove restraint to no longer be confined oh i love that i'll tell you every time i read that i get turned on you ever heard of people that are confined to wheelchairs confined to the bed confined to this confined to that jesus said whatever you lose will be loosed whatever you set free remove restraint or to no longer be confined i tell you i've had the pleasure of watching the power of god here recently raising people up out of wheelchairs and i tell you every time i see them coming up is is i think of this whatever you lose whatever you lose whatever you lose whatever you remove restraint whatever it is that's restraining that person from being able to get up walk off whatever you lose whatever you lose and i'm telling you it excites me so and i don't have to have the ability to heal them i don't have to have the ability no more net policeman has to have the ability to stop a car i got authority praise god and in the name of jesus christ of nazareth i command you to be loosed from this confinement praise god and watch the power of god hit them and jump up and walk off hallelujah that's exciting that's exciting we have the authority to bind to loose to forbid the word forbid means to rule against to command a refraining from some action to rule against there's some things the devil's trying to do in your household that you ought to rule against what if your son came in one day your boy he's turned 12 years old he comes in to you and says all right mom dad gather round i've got an important announcement i'm 12 now and i demand the keys to the family car i'm stepping out tonight if you're smart you'll rule against it forbid it if you please amen so i said what if i forbid it and he does it anyway spank him [Music] he'll soon find out you got authority amen i remember when i was a little boy you know i've got a sister that's four years younger than me but she was always bigger than me i was out playing marbles in the backyard one time you know and and and my little sister come out on the back porch standing in her little sun suit you know she was a smartie she loved this she'd come out there and put her hands on her hips like this and say bye-bye come and eat i'd turn around and say you're not my boss i don't have to listen to you and boy she get fire in her eyes and she turn around march off in that kitchen you know and she'd go in there and she'd stand in front of my mother and she'd say mama i told bubba to come and eat he told me i'm not his boss and he don't have to do what i say and mama said you go tell mr bubba that mama said come eat my sister walked out there she hadn't got any bigger she ain't got any older she ain't got any stronger but this time she'd say bubba mama said come and eat that's different amen that's different [Applause] cause bubba knows mama got authority mama got ability too you know how bubba knows because bubba challenged mama's authority one time and bubba got hurt [Applause] well you stand out there and tell the devil in the name of jesus whom brother hagin preacheth the devil will jump all over you but you come out there and say in the name of jesus christ of nazareth whom i serve whom i am i'm command you in jesus name to refrain from your actions against me no weapon formed against me shall prosper the devil says says who says god [Applause] amen that's different hallelujah god's got the ability to spank him good you have the authority to release the spanking amen whatever you buy and whatever you lose whatever you forbid to rule against the devil coming in and saying i'm going to take your kids rule against it i'm going to put your kids on dope rule against it i'm going to destroy your business rule against it i'm going to follow up your ministry rule against it i'm going to take your wife from you rule against it see we've not done anything we sit around here and let let the devil run all over us begging god to do something when all the time he said whatever you forbid is forbidden he said whatever you permit will be permitted to permit means to allow or to give consent we've given our consent to some of the works of the devil just let him come right in there and do it permit it and then blame god i don't know why god allowed this i do because you did whatever you permit will be permitted is that clear we've got authority folks we've got authority when we release that authority it in turn releases god's ability now the word prohibit he said whatever you prohibit will be prohibited it means a forbidding by means of an official decree you ever heard the word decree we don't use that word too much in our modern day terminology but you'll find that many times in the bible it's a it's a word that kings use and have you heard we reign in life as kings we are kings and priests under our god kings make official decrees nebuchadnezzar made a decree one time said if you don't fall down when you hear the instruments of music if you don't bow you will that was an official decree and everybody that disobeyed that official decree burned well i want you to know the bible says whatever you prohibit that means to issue a official decree from headquarters if you please job 22 verse 28 god told job this he said thou shalt also decree a thing and it shall be established unto thee i have the authority to decree certain things to happen and god will support it god's ability is linked to my authority if i don't allow the authority to be exercised then god's ability will not be manifest i'm going to stop it right here and i'm going to take it up here the next time i minister but i want to tell you something you just prepare yourself because the further we get into this thing i'm telling you it is something else when we begin to realize that god's magnificent ability is linked directly to our authority before this meeting's over with i'm going to tell you from genesis to revelation how you got that authority praise god all in one service and i'm and i want you to to prepare all this week to exercise your god-given authority i believe we're in the realm of the miraculous i believe that there's going to be some things happen in this meeting praise god and you'll find out it'll be because men use their authority and it'll release god's ability hallelujah i want you to stand to your feet for just a moment please don't leave yet we're not concluded i want you to stand to your feet i want you lift both hands and i want you to say this with me heavenly father in the mighty name of jesus your word declares i have been given authority over all devils all sickness all disease and in the name of jesus i do not have to tolerate the works of the adversary he does not have authority over me he has no dominion over me i have been delivered from the power of darkness i've been translated into the kingdom of god's dear son and in that kingdom i am a citizen i have citizen rights i have birth rights i have god-given authority god said whatever i find is bound whatever i forbid is forbidden whatever i prohibit is prohibited in the name of jesus satan listen to me demons listen to me adverse circumstances listen to me i bind you i forbid you to come against me any longer i don't have to pull up with it i'm a child of god i have authority my god has ability i use my authority now and in turn it releases god's ability in jesus name i declare i am free i am free i am free now god now god release your ability i've done my part and you'll do your part thank you thank you thank you thank you hallelujah hallelujah hallelujah glory to god glory to god praise the name of jesus praise the name of jesus hallelujah hallelujah to god glory to god glory to god praise the mighty name of jesus hallelujah hallelujah hallelujah i want you to be seated i want to give you an opportunity this morning to invest in the expenses the budget of the camp meeting i thank god that brother hagin his staff have been obedient to god to provide this refreshing time and highlight as far as i'm concerned every year and it takes a tremendous amount of money to function and to operate and to carry on a meeting like this and i know that you've come here many of you have come from all over the united states you've come here to be fed the word of god but i trust that you also came to participate to get involved praise god and i want to encourage you this morning this is the very first offering there's no reason in the world why it can't be the best praise god amen hallelujah somebody said well i'll just wait until the end the meeting well that's fine if you want to but once you exercise your faith and believe god to be able to put something in every offering thank you for those weak amens i said let's believe god to be able to invest every time praise god hallelujah you know this ministry is believing for financial miracles while this meeting's going on i don't see any reason why that you can't expect something to happen while the meeting is going on in your behalf if we can come get healed how come we can't come and get blessed financially so let's stretch our faith out believe god that every participant in this meeting not only the ministry that is represented here but the people that have come praise god will be blessed healed prosper in every area of their lives i want you to join with me as i pray and i'm going to ask the spirit of god to reveal to you what would please him in your giving and then i want you to be obedient to his word mary made a statement one time that proved to be an important statement that brought on miracles in her behalf she needed wine at the banquet she told her servants whatsoever he saith unto you do it and when they did it it brought about miracles so i want to say that to you this morning whatsoever he saith unto you do it do it and it'll bring about miracles obedience is the key so let's pray and let's ask the spirit of god to reveal to you what would please him in your giving this morning father we thank you for this glorious time that we've enjoyed fellowshipping with your word we thank you father for this lovely group of people they're so receptive to your word and i thank you father that what we have in this auditorium is a large amount of people that are not only hearers of the voice of god but doers as well and father as you speak to each and every one of them this morning concerning what would please you in their giving in this very first offering i thank you for their obedience i thank you for their faithfulness i thank you for their willingness to share of their substance and i believe in turn that you will see to it that because they are investing for your sink and the gospels they shall in this life receive not less than a hundred fold return now father we can think in terms of the hundred fold because you give us that figure but now we ask you to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we can ask or think according to the power that is working within us right now in jesus name we speak the blessings of god in behalf of every person in here if there's a person that has no substance to give father i call upon your immediate attention for that person and i believe that you not only multiply seed that is sown but you are the provider of seed get them some seed before this meeting is up so that they can sow it and produce a great harvest in jesus name and we thank you for it amen praise the lord praise the lord well let's bless the lord for it hallelujah [Applause] praise the lord praise the lord the ushers will prepare to minister to the people this morning if you're do you have offering envelopes do you need anyone need an offering envelope if you'll lift your hand the ushers will give you one of these offering envelopes and you can put your name and address on it they'll issue you a receipt for your giving lift your hand up high we'll take just a moment those of you that are making out checks make it out to kenneth hagin ministries