244 - Authority Over Guilt
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Show Notes:
Today’s episode is full of scripture and encouragement for us to live in the authority that God has given us instead of walking in guilt.
For the full episode, hit play above or read through below.
This theme of authority and walking in the authority that God has given us is something that the Lord has been teaching me and stirring in me for a really long time in ways that I’m not really expecting. It’s funny because I shared some of these stories on Instagram several years ago and I got so many messages from people who said, “Yes, I feel this so much.” Here’s what I shared:
I shared that sometimes I feel the most defeat, guilt, doubt, and unsettledness in the walls of my own home, whether it’s a decision that I’m trying to make, a closet that has been filled with junk and hasn’t been cleaned out in years and it keeps bothering me and making me frustrated. Even working out and moving my body. I want to do it, but then I feel frustrated. The Lord was gently teaching me, “Hey Nancy, you have authority in these areas of your life. Even though they seem small. Even though that closet seems discouraging, small, or insignificant, it actually is significant.”
When I would reframe my thinking and pray about the closet, working out, or these things that felt so defeating in my life, the Lord started to show me, “You have authority over that closet.” It sounds silly to say it, but isn’t that how the enemy works? He works in ways that get under our skin and discourage us in ways that we aren’t really expecting or in small ways that become big things. Believe me, I know there are bigger things in life that the enemy discourages us in. There is guilt and shame heaped on us through poor decisions we’ve made. Relationship trauma. All of those things. I am here to say that today, according to scripture, the Lord Jesus has given us authority. The authority that we have comes directly from Him.
What I want to do today is just encourage you. I am going to speak a lot of scripture over you. Then, I want to share some encouragement for you to step into the authority that God has given you today. Wherever you are, whatever season, chapter, or place you find yourself in today, it is different than what it was yesterday. It’s going to be different than tomorrow, but whatever it looks like today, the Lord has equipped you and given you the authority to walk in spiritual authority in your life, in your family, and in your home.
First, I want to read Matthew 28:18:
“Then Jesus came to them and said, ‘All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.”
So first things first, we know that all authority belongs to Jesus, period. Then we look at Luke 10:19. Jesus is talking and he says, “I have given you authority to trample on snakes and scorpions and to overcome all the power of the enemy. Nothing will harm you.”
If you want to be really encouraged by a way to live out and walk in authority in our lives, especially as women, go read Titus 2 (the whole chapter). It’s amazing! I am going to read bits and pieces of it here.
“You, however, must teach what is appropriate to sound doctrine.” Okay, quick pause. I am interjecting some thoughts here. If you are teaching something, you are in a place of authority that the Lord has given you. Even just out of the gate in Titus 2, he is saying you have authority. “You, however, must teach what is appropriate to sound doctrine. Teach the older men to me temperament, worthy of respect, self-controlled and sound in faith and love and in endurance. Likewise, teach the older women to be reverent in the way they live. Not to be slanderers or addicted to much wine, but to teach what is good. Then they can urge the younger women to love their husbands and children, to be self-controlled and pure, to be busy at home, to be kind, and to be subject to their husbands so that no one will malign the word of God.”
It goes on and closing out the chapter, it says, “These, then, are the things you should teach. Encourage and rebuke with all authority. Do not let anyone despise you.” If you read the whole chapter, it’s basically saying, “Hey, stand up and teach what is right and good and pure. Teach God’s word and how to live according to His law and His command because it brings life. Stand up and teach these things. ‘Encourage and rebuke with all authority and do not let anyone despise you.’”
I hope you can take a deep breath, breathe that in, and know that if you know the Lord, you know the Word, and you’ve asked the Holy Spirit to help you, you are equipped to teach what is right, good, and true. Whether you’re teaching to other people outside your home or whether it’s teaching to the little ones inside your home, you are equipped for that and have the authority to do that. So be encouraged by Titus 2. Go read that.
Mark 6:7 says, “Calling the twelve to Him, Jesus began to send them out two by two and gave them authority over impure spirits.” Again, this is a beautiful illustration of Jesus sending out the disciples, commissioning them, and giving them authority over impure spirits.
The last scripture I am going to read to you is a passage from Ephesians 1:18-23:
“I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people, and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is the same as the mighty strength he exerted when he raised Christ from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every name that is invoked, not only in the present age but also in the one to come. And God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills everything in every way.”
I love those last verses because it’s again going back to the very first verse that I read saying that Christ is the one who has all authority. God has placed all things under His feet and appointed Him to be head over everything for the church, which is the body, the fullness of Him who fills everything in every way. So Jesus does have all authority and we are His body. We are the church. We too have the authority that Jesus has given us when we follow Him, accept Him, and ask Him to be Lord over our lives.
If you quit listening to this episode right now, I hope that you will be filled up and reminded of the authority that the Lord has given you today. As His child, as His follower, He has given you authority in every area of your life. Maybe go back and listen to all of it again. Maybe ask the Lord, “What scripture do you want me to cling to today? How do you want me to walk this out in my life?”
I am just going to close with a few words of encouragement. Basically just speaking from my own life and times in my life when I have felt really guilty, really confused, or really defeated. I feel like “defeated” is a great word because this is how the enemy loves to work. He wants us as believers to stay in guilt, shame, defeat, confusion, in victim mentality. All that does is it’s like a giant shadow over the authority that God has given us. It will creep in and kind of boot out that authority. Then we live in this defeated place. It can come out even in my mentality over that stupid closet in my house. I feel so defeated. I can never do this thing, even though I try. I just feel defeated, defeated, defeated.
I just want to encourage you. That is not the way that the Lord wants us to live. Think about the words, “Your kingdom come. Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.” You think about heaven. You think about Jesus, His authority, and the millions and millions of people who have gone before us. They are not living defeated or confused. They know who they are in the Lord. So here’s my encouragement to you, as you listen to this scripture, as you analyze and think about your life. Are you feeling defeated, confused, or guilty? I want you to think. How can I get quiet with the Lord? How can I ask Him to really help me know the authority that He has given me? Ask Him to empower you to step into that authority in every area of your life. From the way that you manage your home, your clutter, your refrigerator, your closets, your laundry, all the way to how you parent and how you speak with your children and disciple your children, to how you work and how you show up at work. How is your attitude and mentality? Do you believe that you are walking in and carrying the authority of Jesus Christ with you as you enter whatever work looks like for you and the assignments that he has given you right now?
This affects the decisions you make in life. Sometimes I can make a decision and just be so flip-floppy or wish-washy about it and be concerned or feel unsure. Think about how the Lord has given us the authority to make decisions and move forward in our lives. So let’s sit in that place of we have authority in Jesus and we can decide, be coauthors of our life, and make good decisions with His help and be confident in those decisions.
So take some time and pray and write out, even the specifics of the decision-making process that you’re in, the season that you’re in. Whatever assignment He has given you. Right now, if there’s an event in your life coming up that you are facing or a situation that you are trying to handle wisely, take your journal or a piece of paper and just write it all out. Then ask God to show you, “How can I live in spiritual authority in this area of my life?”
I also want to encourage you. If you want to change course because you need to, you can. If the Lord reveals that it’s time for you to pivot or do something different, you absolutely can and that’s a good thing. I think as humans, we are resistant to change. We’re resistant to changing course a lot. I know I am. Change course confident in the authority that He has given you to be able to do that. Know that the most important thing is the work that He is doing in your heart, who you are, and how you’re showing up for Him and for your family.
I think one of the best ways for me to feel like I can really experience and connect with the Lord and understand the authority that I have in Him is to pray out loud. That is such a simple thing. If you’re listening to this and you’re in the car (maybe you have kids, maybe you don’t), if you can find some quiet time. If you’re in the car alone or if you’re on a walk by yourself, or if you know of a time coming up soon when you’ll be alone, take some time to pray out loud, in the powerful name of Jesus, according to the authority that He has given you. Pray through some of these scriptures. Claim them. Speak them over your life. There is something that takes place and shifts for me when I say something out loud. When I do something with my physical body, that changes the atmosphere. So speaking words out loud.
Sometimes I’ll get on my knees to humble myself and submit myself as a sign to the Lord. Another way that I feel like I can really connect with the Lord and hear what He is saying is when I’m walking and praying out loud together. There is something about moving your body and speaking truth at the same time. That’s really beautiful. So I encourage you, if you’ve never done that or if you want to try something new, pray out loud, pray over your kids. Lay hands on them at night while they are in their bed asleep. Just pray blessings over them in the name of Jesus. Know that the Lord has given you authority in the areas of your life that He has given you stewardship over right now.
A couple of last thoughts. While you’re learning to walk in authority and as you walk in the authority that the Lord has given you, always go back to the truth that Jesus is the One who holds all authority. We can rest in that. We can rest in His sovereignty. We know that we’re not going to do this thing perfectly, but we can rest in constantly going back to the fact that Jesus is the One who has all authority. He is the one who has a say in the end of our lives or decision. He is the One who covers it all. There is so much peace in His sovereignty, leadership, kindness, and love in our lives. We can walk in the authority that He has given us while also walking in the beautiful humility that all authority comes from Him. Any authority that we have is because of Him and what He did on the cross.
So trust Jesus to have the ultimate authority. We can rest in His sovereignty and His leadership. We can walk in the authority that He has given us while also humbly receiving it as a gift through His love, grace, kindness, and goodness that He offers us.” As in Heaven, here on earth, Lord.” Make that your prayer and think about the way that Jesus lived. He shocked people all the time with the way he talked with authority, with the way that he lived, the way He cast out demons and had authority over sickness and every area of their lives. They were amazed by Jesus. Guess what? He said, “Follow me. Do as I do. Walk as I walk.” So that is an invitation for us to walk in the authority that Jesus walked in.
So don’t be afraid. Humbly pray and confess to the Lord the ways that you have not been doing that. Invite Him into your life to show you how you can walk in authority every single day in Jesus’ name. Let’s embrace that today. Even if you never leave the four walls of your house. No matter what you’re doing. If you’re running errands, you have powerful, beautiful authority right where you are.
I’m so grateful you’re here. I am going to close today’s podcast episode with Ephesians 1:18-21:
18 I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people, 19 and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is the same as the mighty strength 20 he exerted when he raised Christ from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, 21 far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every name that is invoked, not only in the present age but also in the one to come.
Thanks for listening and I’ll catch you next time!
