Authority & Power

I was recently reading from Matthew 10:

(NIV)Matthew 10:1, 7-8
Jesus called his twelve disciples to him and gave them authority to drive out impure spirits and to heal every disease and sickness. [7] As you go, proclaim this message: ‘The kingdom of heaven has come near.’ [8] Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those who have leprosy, drive out demons. Freely you have received; freely give.

I was thinking about last statement 'freely you have received' and realized it was related to the proclamation that Jesus made in verse 1. It was authority that He was calling the apostles to give away. That is so different then the worldly model, where we associated authority and power and are loath to give away either.

In the Kingdom, the authority paradigm is completely different, and Jesus makes it clear that it's in giving it away, that more is given. He demonstrated this paradigm in the feeding of the five thousand - where we would normally hold onto the food we have in the midst of a crowd, if we give it to the Lord, He will provide for all.

Holding on to authority, trying to control others, thinking that power and authority are something to hoard and control, is completely wrong in the Kingdom. Authority is supposed to lead to healing, miracles, and the defeat of the kingdom of the enemy. We must learn this lesson, we must freely give away all the authority we receive, allowing the Lord to refill us of all that we give away.