Piggybacking on Jesus' Authority

Alignment is the key to not only answered prayer, but spiritual authority. Dr. Tony Evans says when we willingly surrender our control to God, he lets us use some of his. His word is powerful, and that's all you need if you have alignment straight. This is The Alternative with Dr. Tony Evans, author, speaker, senior pastor of Oak Cliff Bible Fellowship in Dallas, Texas, and president of the Urban Alternative. God has unlimited power. We have continuing needs. It literally seems like a match made in heaven. So why aren't more believers seeing their needs met?

Let's join Dr. Evans for the answer. When my children were small, one of the things that I often did was give them piggyback rides. They would get on my back and I'd crawl over the den and give them piggyback rides where they would be sitting their weight on me to carry them. Jesus Christ today would like to offer you a piggyback ride.

He wants to offer you the opportunity to piggyback on his authority. Everything about Jesus's life and ministry is special, but Luke chapter 7 verses 1 to 10 is unique. There is a centurion. A centurion was a mid-level officer in the Roman army who oversaw 100 soldiers, much like a captain or maybe a major in our army. He had a servant who got ill. He got sick and was about to die. It says that the centurion heard about Jesus. Word had gotten out that this Jesus is something else.

The blind see, the lame walk, the dumb talk. I mean, this Jesus is blowing folks' minds with what he's doing. So he sends a couple of Jewish leaders to ask Jesus to come and save his servant who's about to die. Now, that's unusual within itself because the Jews hated the Romans. But this Roman was cut in different cloth because the Jewish leader said he loves our nation, and he even went into his pocket to build our synagogue. This guy is different.

There's a great lesson there, and that is just don't judge people because they belong to a certain group. So Jesus is now on his way to the centurion's house who has made a prayer request, save my servant's life. So far so good. Jesus is on his way. He's gotten the prayer request.

Looks like the answer is on the way. However, before Jesus gets to the house, the centurion sends the message. He says in the end of verse 6, I am not worthy for you to come under my roof.

Don't come any further. He sends some of his friends and says, tell Jesus don't come any closer. I'm not worthy. So one of the things we need to note as we get into this is this centurion, he may have had a lot of money, may have had a lot of clout, but in the presence of Jesus, he was a nobody. So I don't care how high you get, how much money you have, how much clout you accumulate, in the presence of Jesus, you're not worthy.

So this highfalutin centurion understood he knew his place in the presence of Jesus. He says, don't come to my house. I'm not worthy for you to come. But wait a minute, you just ask him to come. You just ask him to come save your servant. But now you're telling him not to come. Well, what do you want him to do? The centurion says, I'm not worthy, verse 7, but just say the word, and my servant will be healed.

Say what? Jess, you don't have to come, just talk from a distance. And it'll be equal to you coming because your words will heal my servant. It's what the centurion says next that is at the heart of our sermon today. And that gives you and me a transformation approach to getting God to move in your circumstances and mine. The key to this whole story is verse 8.

I need to read it again. For I also am a man placed under authority, with soldiers under me, and I say to this one, go, and he goes, and to another, come, and he comes, and to my slave do this, and he does it. Now when Jesus heard this, he marveled.

When he heard this, what? This verse 8. I am a man under authority. I tell folk what to do. They do it. I say go, they go.

I say come, they come. I tell my servant what to do this, he goes and does that. And when Jesus heard that, it shook him up. It caused him to recoil with marvel.

You've got to be kidding me. What was Jesus saying that he wants us to say, or think, or do, that will blow his mind? I am also a man under authority. When you use the word also, you mean like something else. I am like something else, or in this case, I am like someone else. I am also a man under authority. Well, who is he talking to, and who is he talking about? He's talking about Jesus. He says, Jesus, I'm like you.

I am just like you. I am a man under authority. Word has gotten out about Jesus doing all these miracles.

Again, the blind see, the lame walk, folk can now talk, even folk can be raised from the dead, and Jesus is doing some big time stuff on earth. But the centurion says, Jesus, I know how you're doing that. You're doing all that stuff you're doing because you're under authority. Because I am also. You are also. You're pulling all this off because there's somebody over you allowing you to do it. You are under authority.

I also. Jesus Christ in his humanity operated not by virtue of his deity, but by virtue of his submission. Jesus says in chapter 5 of John, verse 19, these words, Therefore Jesus answered and said unto them, Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of himself unless it is something he sees the Father doing. For whatever the Father does, these things the Son also does in like manner. For the Father loves the Son and shows him all things that he himself is doing, and the Father will show him greater works than these so that you may, catch this word, marvel.

I just want to know, before we go any further, is there anybody here with guts to shock God? To cause Jesus Christ to go, whoa. Everything Jesus did, he did in submission to his Father.

And because of Jesus, God the Son was perfectly submitted to his Father, he got miracles done. I am also a man underneath authority, just like you, Jesus. And when I tell folk what to do, who are under me, they do it.

I don't want you to miss this. The reason why I'm over is because I'm under. The reason why I can tell folk the hundred guys underneath me and my servants what to do is because I got some folk over me telling me what to do. I'm under authority, therefore I can speak with authority to those who are underneath me. He uses the word authority.

So let me give you the principle and then break it down further, because this is a principle that will give you access to the miraculous. You cannot exercise legitimate authority over what you are supposed to be over unless you learn to be under what God has put over you. If you are out of alignment with that which is legitimately supposed to be over you, you lose heaven's authority to be able to ball situations that are supposed to be under you. If you rebel against the authority up here, up here is not going to help you with your situation down there. When a policeman pulls you over, you probably pull over.

I hope you do. But you feel an obligation to pull over if the police pull you over because you recognize he has authority, that he has the right to pull you over. But the right that he has to pull you over is he has a legal system and a penal code over him. The code, the penal code, the higher offices over him give him permission to tell you to stop your car, pull over, give you the license, give you the insurance. Why do you obey him?

He's just a human being. You obey him and you come under him because you know there is a system over him that gives him permission to boss you around. So by recognizing that he is over you because there's a system over him that gives him the authority over you to tell you what to do. There is a system of being over, or to put it another way, being aligned. Dr. Evans will come back with another example of an authority under a higher authority in just a moment.

Stay with us. The Bible makes it clear that you know when God has cursed a land, when its fathers are nowhere to be found. Dr. Tony Evans says that what becomes of the next generation of men depends on what happens with this one. Our kids need to see men in their midst who love God and who love them. But what does it take to be that kind of man?

You can find out with the help of the Tony Evans Training Center's free course called Kingdom Man. It'll teach you to see past the phony images of manhood that society surrounds us with and become the loving leader that a wife and family would want to follow. As with all of our courses, there's in-depth study material you can work through at your own pace, lots of exclusive content from Tony, tightly focused Q&A videos, and an online forum where you can collaborate with other students.

It's almost like having a seminary on your smartphone. Check out the free course called Kingdom Man and the growing list of other subjects waiting for you. Visit tonyevans.org today and follow the link to the Tony Evans Training Center. And tonyevans.org is also the place to go to request your copy of Tony's current series called Igniting Kingdom Prayer, a look at how to bring heavenly power to bear on our earthly problems. Right now, we're offering all 12 lessons in this two-volume audio collection as our gift when you make a contribution to help support the ministry of the alternative. Get a copy today when you visit tonyevans.org or reach out to our resource center for some in-person help at 1-800-800-3222. That's 1-800-800-3222. Well, let's get back to our teaching time now.

Here's Dr. Evans. In a football game, the players are younger, stronger, and faster. The refs are older, slower, and fatter. Players have all the power, but the refs have the authority. The refs can blow the whistle, throw out the flag, they can shut it down, and you better not put your hands on them. The reason why they got these fat, slow, older guys have the right to overrule these faster, younger, stronger guys is because they have a system over them, the NFL, and that system over them gives them authority to overrule power because the players are more powerful. But the refs have delegated authority. They are under the NFL, but they're over what happens on that field. So the players are under them because the refs are under the NFL. The refs are over them because there's somebody over the refs.

The centurion says, you don't have to come. All you have to do is speak the word because I know how authority works. The point is, you cannot have authority over, until and unless you are submitted under. Let me say that again.

You cannot have authority over, you cannot have authority over, until and unless you are submitted under. And because most people do not understand this theological principle of authority, prayers don't get answered, victory doesn't get achieved, power doesn't get recognized, changes are not made in spite of prayers being prayed. Because the prayers are being prayed out of alignment. Alignment is the key to not only answered prayer, but spiritual authority.

Seeing heaven come down into history, seeing heaven transform history, and putting the devil under your feet instead of him boxing your head. So the alignment to Jesus Christ is critical if you want heaven to join you in history. This is not alignment to church. This is not alignment to saying grace before your meals. This is alignment to his authority, where he can overrule you. See, if somebody is above you, they can overrule you. If Jesus can't overrule you, you're not under authority. Much of the confusion we see today are folks out of alignment. Now you can go to counseling, you can go to meetings, you can go to special support this and support that, but if you are out of alignment, it either won't work or it won't last, because the alignment is off. And you know what happens when a car gets out of alignment, things get shaky. Tires wear unevenly, because things are not aligned properly. In Colossians chapter 3, kind of breaks it down into some categories.

Let me review some of these categories real quick with you. Beginning with verse 17, we read in Colossians 3, Whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through him to God the Father. So do it under Jesus' authority.

Then he starts breaking it down. Wives, be subject to your own husbands as is fitting to the Lord. If you as a wife are out of alignment with your husband's legitimate authority, if he were legitimate, then you are out of alignment with God. 1 Peter 3 verse 7 says, Husbands, treat your wives with equal honor so your prayers are not hindered. In 1 Corinthians 11 3, every man is to be under Christ's authority.

You do not get to be a totally independent male. It says, Let not that man think he will receive anything from the Lord. He goes on and says, Children, be obedient to your parents in all things, for this is well pleasing to the Lord. The reason why you should teach your children to obey is not just because you're their parents, of course they should, because you're their parent, but because they want to make God happy.

Then he comes to parents. He says in verse 21, Fathers, do not exacerbate your children so that they will lose heart. The reason why he says fathers, by the way, is in the Bible, men are supposed to raise the children, not the women.

I ain't talking about the culture, I'm talking about the Bible. Ephesians chapter 6 verse 4 says, Fathers, raise your children. All the time it's the father who raises the children. Well, you say, well, what's the woman supposed to do?

One word, help. She's supposed to fill in the gaps when you can't, but God holds you responsible for the home. You can't be talking about, I'm the king of this house, and all you do is sleep there. Chapter 4 verse 1 says, Remember you have a master. You are not the final say so.

He is. But when you come under, you now can have authority over, or with God intervening in the process. If you are unwilling to come under the legitimate authority God places over you, then you do not get God's help in what is underneath you. And in chapter 7 he says, When Jesus heard this, he marveled at him, and he turned and said to the crowd, I say to you, not even in Israel have I found such great faith.

I got an uncircumcised Gentile who's got more faith than my church folk. It says in verse 10, when the ones he sent came back to the house, the servant is healed. Jesus believes in long distance prayer answers. He didn't physically go to the house. He just sent the word to the house even though he was absent from the location. Because if you are in alignment, you have access to authority even with the absence of Jesus Christ. Because he's not here, but his word is. And his word is powerful, and that's all you need if you have alignment straight.

Tony will come back in a moment with a final challenge to wrap up our time together today. But first, I wanted to let you know that for a limited time, the popular film Journey with Jesus, starring Dr. Evans, Crystal, Priscilla, and Anthony Evans, is available to stream online. In Journey with Jesus, you'll travel the streets, fields, and synagogues where Jesus walked, and visit the locations where some of the most powerful events recorded in the Bible took place.

Previously shown nationwide only in theaters, you can now bring this extraordinary experience right into your living room. Find out more about streaming Journey with Jesus at tonyevans.org. As we've been learning, kingdom prayer isn't just any prayer.

It starts with understanding God's comprehensive authority over every area of life. We'd like to send you this two-volume collection of all twelve full-length messages, called Igniting Kingdom Prayer, on CD or digital download, as our way of saying thank you when you make a donation to help continue this listener-supported ministry. Make the arrangements today at tonyevans.org, or call 1-800-800-3222. Again, that's tonyevans.org, or by phone at 1-800-800-3222.

Our resource team members are available 24-7, so call any time of the day or night. In its simplest form, prayer is just talking to God. But tomorrow, Dr. Evans will explain why, from a kingdom perspective, it's so much more. Right now, though, he's back to leave us with an encouraging thought. So I want to challenge you to go for a piggyback ride, because Jesus wants you to ride on this authority principle. Galatians 2.20 says, I'm crucified with Christ. My total identity is with Him. Nevertheless, I live. I'm dead, but I'm alive. I'm crucified with Christ, but nevertheless, I live. He says, but not I. It's Christ who lives in me.

And then he comes with the zinger that's misquoted. He says, the life which I now live, I live by faith, now most people say, in the Son of God. But the text says, I live by faith of the Son of God.

Oh, that's different. I not only have faith in Him, I have the faith of Him. In other words, I'm going for a piggyback ride. I am going to believe that if I get on Jesus' back and ride this horse, because I'm underneath His authority, that His faith will cover my faith, giving me great faith in the situations I got to deal with in my life. So I know you're going to leave here and you're going to face some situations. But here's what you ought to say. Ride on, King Jesus. You ought to say, ride on, King Jesus. You ought to call Him and be aligned under Him so you have the authority of Him over the things that He has placed you over, so that now you walk with your head up high, because you walk as a victor and no longer as a victim, because you're in alignment. The alternative with Dr. Tony Evans is brought to you by The Urban Alternative and is made possible by the generous contributions of listeners like you.