We live in cultures and societies that are influenced by the curse of the fall of man and authority has been twisted and diminished to an understanding of control and manipulation. This book reveals authority as a life-giving liberation in the earth. True authority brings life and the release of life to others. It is neither a function of nor a character of getting from others, but rather that of giving increase and life to others. Power can control, but true authority facilitates and releases. It doesn't bring control. It brings freedom. A lot of people want power, but not so many want true authority. Authority relates to responsibility. It is a God-given substance that requires us to be responsible to God for receiving it and giving it for the life and well being of others. Power satisfies self, but authority empowers others to truly live. Jesus came to redeem our purpose and destiny in Christ. The real issue was lost authority. The real issue was the human mandate! That mandate involved being able to destroy every form of death with life and to crumble every lie with truth. Authority produces life in others. Authority elevates others to their fullest existence, while mere power will rob from others to elevate a person beyond their measure of life-giving influence. Authority starts from the place that we are and progresses forward in the journey of life. Authority is a path of responsibility and we must be responsible in every phase of our journey! It is for the life of others, not for the success of us. Our path of destiny is one of significance, not merely one of personal success! Authority is a testimony of relationship. One sphere of influence serves another sphere, but each work together to fulfill the God-given roles of each part. When we find the place of our responsibility in life, that responsibility is given for the sake of giving life to others. Even in the practical aspects of the world, when we are responsible with what has been entrusted to us it benefits others. We must all learn to recognize who we are in life, embrace the authority of who we are, and live to give life to others in the responsibility of our authority. Authority is not a matter of seeing what is in the world and attempting to bring heaven to it. It is a matter of seeing what is in heaven and then bringing a measure of that heavenly substance to a hungry world.
