MYRA D. COLGATE
CHEROKEE PENTECOSTAL HOLINESS CHURCH
(Jesus said),
“Watch out for false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are voracious wolves.
“You will recognize them by their fruit. Grapes are not gathered from thorns or figs from thistles, are they?
“In the same way, every good tree bears good fruit, but the bad tree bears bad fruit.
“Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.
“So then, you will recognize them by their fruit.
“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord’, will enter into the kingdom of heaven—only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven.
“On that day, many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, didn’t we prophesy in your name, and in your name cast out demons and do many powerful deeds?’
“Then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you. Go away from me, you lawbreakers!’”
Matthew 7:15-23 (GSB)
(Jesus said),
“Yes, the way to identify a tree or a person is by the kind of fruit that is produced.
“Not all people who sound religious are really godly. They may refer to me as ‘Lord’, but they still won’t enter the Kingdom of Heaven. The decisive issue is whether they obey my Father in heaven.
“On judgment day many will tell me ‘Lord, Lord, we prophesied in your name, cast out demons in your name, and performed many miracles in your name.
But I will reply, ‘I never knew you, go away; the things you did were unauthorized.’”
Matthew 7:20-23 (NLT)
When it comes to the authority of the believer, there is only One Person, Jesus Who has made this possible for us. As one of the Finished Works of Jesus, He is the One Who grants us Access to the Father, in His Name, and through the Holy Spirit it is by obeying the instructions we read in the Word or hear from the Word being carefully followed and obeyed from within each spirit.
God is the Word. When Jesus said, “Somebody touched me.” Faith had reached up and touched Him. (Touch Jesus.) “Daughter, your faith has made you whole,” He said to the woman with the issue of blood, who had confessed that to Him, even though she knew it could mean her death by stoning, if it was ever discovered. It was because He had been touched by her Faith. She had kept saying to herself, “If I can but touch the hem of His garment…” The desperation of her situation had taken away all of her finances over a period of twelve years—not to mention all she had lost in her health and probably relationships since she would have had to stay outside of towns or be stoned to death. She would have been considered by many as unclean. God is Faithful. God can and will do the impossible.
We have authority granted because of the Finished Works of Jesus. They were done just before and on the Cross. Think of all He bore, the all-night beatings, the humiliations, the utterly illegal all-night trial by the religious authorities of Israel and then the Roman authorities in Israel, the betrayals by his disciples, the lies—the Cross’s unbearable pain and the unutterable sorrow of the necessary abandonment as He became our sin, by the Father. His Father could never look upon sin without punishing it and then turning His back on it, because He is a Thrice-Holy God. (Holy means separation from sin.)
It is no wonder that Jesus said, “No man cometh to the Father, but by me.” What He has done for us has earned Him the right to authorize each and every one of our assignments and appointments daily. If we do not clear them from the Foundation of all, it is unauthorized. It is the disciples, who are believers, who are being granted authority. We should be commanding our day, as we have cleared it, before the Throne of Grace at the first of each day. Jesus is now the King of Kings (us) and the Lord of Lords (us). He is also our High Priest forever. Disciples must continue in the Word, reading the Word daily, for authority is granted to those believers who are also truly His disciples and readers of His Word. (Matthew 8:5-11). (Read Hebrews 12:22 to the end of the chapter for a word picture of how each day is to begin.) (Who would not hold God in the greatest of respect and awe knowing, “Our God is consuming fire.”?)
