Authority is the power or the right to give orders, make decisions, and enforce obedience. With authority comes great responsibility. We can violate or abuse our authority by asking someone to do something that is illegal, immoral, unscriptural, or unethical. Through Jesus we are given authority, "Behold, I have given you authority to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall hurt you." (Luke 10:19).
Through the authority given to us by our Father we are able to make declarations. A declaration is the act of making an official statement about something or the act of declaring something. The main purpose for America's Declaration of Independence was to explain to foreign nations why the colonies had chosen to separate themselves from Great Britain. Declarations can proclaim life or death. Proverbs 18:21, "Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and they that love it shall eat the fruit thereof." We must declare with our mouths, "Simon Peter answered, You are the Christ (the Messiah), the Son of the living God." (Matthew 16:16).
Declarative words propel us to experience all that Jesus won for us: "For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned." (Matthew 12:37). By hearing life-giving declarations Grace is imparted on us, "Let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth, but what is good for necessary edification, that it may impart grace to the hearers." (Ephesians 4:29). Declarations can also help to overcome anxiety and to become glad, "Anxiety in the heart of man causes depression, but a good word makes it glad." (Proverbs 12:25).
Declarations seal the realities of salvation into our lives, "If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved." (Romans 10:9&10).
