Have you ever met someone who was arrested by the Governor of his or her State? I mean, in-person, physically handcuffed and taken to jail by the Governor. Have you?
Of course not. But would the State Police have any authority apart from that governor?
Today, I want to talk about the spiritual authority that Jesus has given you to heal the sick.
The governor’s job is to officialize laws, but the police have the responsibility to enforce those laws. Conversely, the police don’t get to make the laws; rather, they get to make sure they are carried out.
The Lord woke me up the other night with this analogy burning in my head. He said, “You cannot heal anyone apart from My authority; but it is your job to enforce that authority—not Mine.” In other words, I can’t heal the sick apart from Christ’s authority, but it is still my job to go and heal the sick.
Notice how Jesus gives the authority specifically to His disciples:
Matthew 10:1 – Jesus called his twelve disciples to him and gave them authority to drive out impure spirits and to heal every disease and sickness. (NIV) Matthew 10:5–8 – These twelve Jesus sent out with the following instructions: “….As you go, proclaim this message: ‘The kingdom of heaven has come near.’ Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those who have leprosy, drive out demons. Freely you have received; freely give… (NIV) Mark 6:12–13 – They went out and preached that people should repent. They drove out many demons and anointed many sick people with oil and healed them. (NIV) Luke 10:9 – [Jesus told the seventy-two disciples,] “Heal the sick who are there and tell them, ‘The kingdom of God has come near to you.'”
Then we see story after story of Christians acting on the authority they have received. For instance, we see Peter and John simply taking a crippled man by the hand and saying, “In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk” (Acts 3:6). No prayer there—just authority. The man was healed instantly.
A few verses later, Peter and John are clear that it was not by their own power or godliness that they made the man walk, but rather that it was the name of Jesus and the faith that comes through Him. But that doesn’t change the fact that they personally practiced the spiritual authority over sickness that had been delegated to them. It was Christ’s authority, but they enacted it.
Does a State Police officer need to call the Governor every time he believes he has reason to make an arrest? No. He makes the arrest and lets the matter get sorted out later as to whether it was right or wrong. In the same way, do we really need to have a special word from God every time we see a sick person? Or is it more correct to simply act on the injustice we see and enforce the laws of the Kingdom that are based on the sacrifice of Jesus–the same sacrifice that purchased that person’s healing? A police officer cannot be shy if he sees a crime in progress, and neither can we. Since Jesus purchased healing for all sickness at the whipping post, sickness is now illegal.
Our God is the King who both writes and establishes the supernatural laws of His grace, love, mercy, compassion, and justice. When we surrender to His Kingdom, we become caretakers of those laws—enforcing them wherever they are being broken. We do this through love, service, faith, and compassion. These things lead us to take action because “faith without action is dead” (see James 2:17, 26).
So I want to encourage you to try something that might be new for you. The next time someone tells you that they’re sick, diseased, or injured, don’t offer to pray for them. You don’t need to ask the King to do something that He has given you the authority and responsibility to do. Instead, take authority. Speak to the disease and command it to leave. Speak to the broken bone and command it to re-form. Speak to the fever and command it to break. Use the authority you have been given, and do it in the name of Jesus!
God bless,
–Art
