How to be responsible with the authority given by God
Unlike the gifts that God gives to us, spiritual authority from God is revocable! My spiritual authority has intensified through my decades of ministry; therefore, I'm qualified to teach what God has developed within me.
Shayna Rattler, the host of A God Shift podcast, invited me for an interview to discuss being responsible with authority. I've presented the edited version of the podcast as a teaching tool for you. I've shared an additional teaching tool below.
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The God Shift Podcast Interview
Shayna Rattler
My definition of a God shift is "The moment that you unlock your Kingdom authority, collide with God's purpose, and then that moves you into a greater destiny. So, in essence, I feel like my definition of Kingdom authority, I think about our birthright of all the things that we've been authorized to do that allows us to kind of activate God's promises in our lives and activate Scripture."
So I would love to hear your definition of Kingdom authority.
Dr. GreeneBarr
I would start with the Scripture that I heard many years ago, but it didn't have the fullness of understanding. "Let this mind be in you. that's also in Christ Jesus" (Philippians 2:5) So, Kingdom authority begins for me with that passage of Scripture. I heard it, and I understood it, but until I understood what was in the mind of Christ, it didn't have full effect in terms of Kingdom authority. Because first and foremost, I didn't understand Kingdom. I needed clarification on what that meant in the context of Jesus coming and us being under a new covenant. I didn't understand any of that. I was very much a church girl. I've been in Church all my life and did not understand authority or the Kingdom. I understood Church. But I didn't understand authority. Yet, when I started getting the mind of Christ, for which I had to pray, I began to realize that the Kingdom and "Churchdom" are not the same.
Shayna Rattler
What time in your life you've had to exercise Kingdom authority to get to where you are today?
Dr. GreeneBarr
There have been many instances; it's almost like you can't un-know a thing when Holy Spirit brings you into revelation; you have a choice to make. You can ignore it and act like it doesn't exist. Or you can say, "All right, Holy Spirit, here I am use me as you will." That's what I began to do when I began to understand that there was a difference. Yet, in that process, I also learned from 1 Corinthians 5:16 that we should know no one by the flesh. Instead, we should know them by the Spirit. I've always told my church members that Spirit knows spirit! When you walk in authority, we have from Christ Jesus; guess what? Not only do you know it, but the other spirits around you recognize that this is someone who knows who they are in Christ. So then you start experiencing pushback, and it's not always warfare, but you know that things shift when you walk into a situation, and you know it's not personal, it's that Spirit knows spirit. Sort of like when Jesus walked into the temple, and a demon-possessed man almost lost his mind screaming, "Jesus, what are you doing here? You're here before your time".
Early in my ministry, because I was Spirit-filled before I became an ordained minister, I began to experience the "Spirit, knowing spirit" encounter where I had to stand in authority. Because I was in a construct heavily monitored by hierarchical measures, I couldn't openly articulate what I discerned. Instead, I had to command situations by the authority given to me in Christ. It was one of those situations where I couldn't say what was on my mind, but by the Spirit of God, I can exercise authority here, and things will begin to shift! Then no one can say, "You know, GreeneBarr is not respecting authority, blah, blah blah." But at that moment, everything in the realm of the Spirit knew that I had exercised my rights as a Kingdom citizen. These experiences have happened throughout the decades of my ministry.
Shayna Rattler
So when you say that you were positioned to command authority, did you command that with your words? Did you use authority through your presence? How did you demonstrate that you had that Kingdom authority?
Dr. GreeneBarr
Allow me to provide an example. I remember one occasion when attending a hierarchical church meeting along with one of my congregational officers who had already arrived at the location before me. Once I took my seat at the designated place for pastors, she noticed a behavior among some leaders. She described her observation, saying, "Pastor, when you come into a room, you don't even say anything, but people sometimes begin to scatter." Why did these people scatter? Because Spirit knows Spirit. So when we carry the Spirit of the Lord, we don't always have to say anything. The presence of God in us and through us begins to bring the light, and darkness cannot remain comfortable when there is light. So we bring light everywhere we go when we are Spirit-filled. We know the mind of Christ is in us, so we don't always have to say things. Sometimes I would just come into a space, wherever God would send me. When you're on assignment, an authority from God comes for you to walk in your assignment. In other instances, I would speak, but I wouldn't have to say much.
When I'm quiet before God, and I know there is an uneasiness in the atmosphere, I ask Holy Spirit, "Ok Lord, what's in this room?" (Knowing something is "off" in the atmosphere is the gift of discerning spirits in operation). "Lord, tell me what I'm dealing with in this room, and how do you want me to handle it?" In moments like this, I'm conversing with Holy Spirit while people around me do whatever they're doing. Once I get clarity (by way of the supernatural gift of discerning the spirits) as to what's in operation, I ask how Holy Spirit how He wants me to deal with it. "What do you want me to say? Do you want me to do something?" The Lord may want me to wave my hand. However, He wants me to move (take action). I move (take action) the way He tells me. I do what He tells me to do, and then things have to line up (adjust) based on what God has said to do in that situation.
Now, if I say something, I'm not going to be rude because then that doesn't show forth the love of God. Neither does it demonstrate the ministry of reconciliation. I don't have to be snappy, and I don't have to present an aggressive attitude. I boldly say what the Lord wants me to say. Sometimes you can speak in a whisper. Force is not what makes the atmosphere adjust. Depending on the situation, I might have to start praying quietly in tongues. The point here is that it depends on what is going on.
I've had all those situations over the years, and I calmly pray in the Spirit when they appear. Because the people around me knew that I was a Spirit-filled Believer, they would chuckle and often laugh because they would make fun of my beliefs. But in my mind, I'm thinking, "Make fun all you want, but God is getting ready to shift something in here. So let me keep praying in the Spirit until I get a word of wisdom on how to move out."
Shayna Rattler
Sometimes your power shows up in the room before you even open your mouth.
Dr. GreeneBarr
May I follow up on that? Two things. First, I'm constantly reminded of Moses, when he would spend time in the Lord's presence and come out of His presence. His face would be glowing. It scared the people, but his complexion was glowing because of the time he had spent in the presence of the Lord. The same is true for us. When we come into situations, spirits and people respond to an inner glow, the Holy Spirit, and the anointing from the time we have spent in the presence of the Lord.
The second thing that is very critical is what I refer to as "preemptive work". For example, it's a part of my regular morning schedule to spend between two and three hours with the Lord daily. Every day I read, I listen to what the Spirit of the Lord wants to say. We're having a meeting, fellowshipping, and I'm worshipping. Sometimes God has things He says, and sometimes He doesn't. Either way, this is our time. The Lord may give me something to pray that I might not walk into for another week. Take this morning as an example; some of the things I was praying about in the Spirit I might not walk into for days or weeks because my prayer was doing "preemptive work" for something that might come a month from now.
Preemptive work is for those times when we're walking into rooms, meetings, and situations or answering the phone for those unexpected conversations. Preemptive work in prayer has prepared me to successfully take people through deliverance and get them filled with the Holy Spirit during an unexpected telephone call. As a result of "preemptive work" during my daily meeting time with God, my authority has grown significantly. When I meet with the Lord, it's not because I'm trying to get assignments. It's just a part of the lifestyle of being an Apostolic Prophet.
Shayna Rattler
When you look at the fact that over the years, you've identified that you have Kingdom authority and mastered learning how to use it, what did you learn during those processes?
Dr. GreeneBarr
Well, the first thing I learned is I don't think I've mastered it. Honestly, I know what I know, but I know that what I know is not all that there is that God wants me to know. When I look back at each lesson, such as when God took me to His "war college", I'd never heard of such a thing, so I had many questions. Each lesson in authority, each demonstration, each lecture, each on-the-job training, can I tell you that I was afraid because I didn't have a mentor when it came to knowing the ways of Holy Spirit. For context, Dr. Samuel DeWitt Proctor was my pastoral ministry mentor, but in what we're talking about now, Kingdom realities, I didn't have a mentor.
I met Dr. Miles Monroe on a few occasions, but I could not consider him a personal mentor. I met and listened as he talked, but Holy Spirit has functioned as my mentor. I don't know about you, but sometimes I wish I had a flesh and blood person to talk with concerning God's power and authority. For this reason, I've spent time mentoring others because I know what that's like not to have one. So I had to lean on Holy Spirit, and He would take me to a new level every time.
Let's be clear; I was often scared because I never wanted to misrepresent the Lord. Also, I've been in situations where God might be giving instructions, like the time when God told me to take a baby through deliverance. I'm thinking, "I don't wanna mess this up." Or if God sends me into a peculiar circumstance and there are no cliff notes on how to proceed, there's no book I can pull out for instructions. So I have to move forward in faith. At the same time, if I'm looking at someone whose life depends on me exercising authority in order for their life to be reconciled with God and perhaps to their relatives, etc. I don't want to mess it up.
Yes, those thoughts might just be me in my head; I don't know. But since God called me and He knows how I am, the Lord often tells me, "Just move out on what I've showed you." So every time I go to another expression of authority, I do have some trepidation like, "Oh God, we've not done this before." Caution is present.
There have been times when God told me to prophesy, and I didn't want to. I did not grow up in this prophetic environment at my home Church. I grew up in a mainline tradition that didn't teach or demonstrate the gifts of the Holy Spirit. Now I think, "I'm out here, Lord, and you want me to prophesy? You want me to cast demons out of people. You want me to lay hands on people so they can be healed"? No, I really don't want to mess this up. But I would have to remind myself that God called me. I have to operate in faith. Then I remind myself, "Girl, if you mess up, the Lord can still fix it because you're the conduit, and He knows you're not trying to misrepresent Him. The people are coming by faith. He can still meet their need even if you mess up".
This process has helped me along the way to recognize how to operate in Kingdom authority even when I am feeling uncertain. The flesh causes me to feel afraid, like I might do something wrong. That's the flesh. That's not the Spirit of God speaking.
Shayna Rattler
Even in the example, you gave, I'm assuming that when you said a baby, you meant a baby in the faith.
Dr. GreeneBarr
No.
Shayna Rattler
You literally meant a baby?
Dr. GreeneBarr
Yes. I've taken babies through deliverance.
Shayna Rattler
We need to be careful in what doses we pass out our authority based on different people.
Dr. GreeneBarr
We are able to be responsible in our assignment because, technically, it's not our authority. It's delegated authority. It's the Lord's authority. So we're operating under delegated power. It's difficult to abuse something when you know it's not yours. It's delegated to us, yet I have seen people who start with God's authority and drift away.
Can we talk about how seductive flowing in the power of God and the gifts of God can be? Because sometimes people are flowing in their gifts, and they think they're exercising authority. When this happens, the people who are receiving from the person who has drifted away from God often can't articulate what they sense is drawing them. They don't know and can't discern whether the gift is drawing them, if the anointing is drawing them, or if the authority commanding the atmosphere is drawing them. So the people may not know which is pulling on their soul or spirit.
Shanya Rattler
What's the difference between gifting, anointing, and authority?
Dr. GreeneBarr
Allow me to use the vocalist as an example. Now you can take a person, and I'm not going to call any names, but I'm sure there are female and male singers who come to mind, and the tonality of their voices is splendid. That's a gift.
The tonality is splendid, and it doesn't matter what they're singing; they can precisely hit their notes and convince you of whatever they're singing. That's a gift, and they're talented, they're gifted, but then the anointing can ride like the wave on their voice to break off heaviness, etc. It's the supernatural on their natural, so you can hear a talented, gifted singer, and let's say they sing gospel. If they are in a place in their life where they're walking close to God, and the Lord puts His presence on their ministry of song, you can fill it as soon as they open their mouth.
Even right now, I have one singer in my mind. I know she sings secular music because it pays more, but that woman needs to forever and always sing gospel. She can break out into a gospel song in the middle of her R&B concert, and everybody present starts weeping before the Lord because the anointing is on her gospel.
Even when a person is not the greatest singer, you can experience the presence of God in their voice. So it's clear they are anointed, but for the person who is an extraordinary singer, people who can't discern the presence of God will confuse that with anointing because it sounds good.
An additional tool for increasing the anointing of the Lord in your life is available in this workshop; "Preaching with the Anointing" This teaching is applicable to daily Christian living and the ministry of preaching.
Shanya Rattler
To those struggling to figure out how they can walk in their own authority to be able to shift their life in a better way, what would be the best tip that you would give them of how they can exercise their Kingdom authority?
Dr. GreeneBarr
Everything we do in the Lord begins with us humbling ourselves to God. We must move past Jesus only being our Savior and into that relationship where He is our Lord. For the listener (and reader) struggling in this area of their walk with God, please take our eyes off of being preoccupied by "what's my authority". Remember the book Purpose Driven Church? That book caused a movement of people seeking to know their "purpose" when that wasn't the real aim of being a Believer. Take your eyes off of seeking "Where is my authority?". Step back for a minute and get to the core of what it means to be in the Kingdom. Being in God's Kingdom means that our relationship with the Lord is in a solid place of " I humble myself before you God".
I remember a song we used to sing in my home, "Anyway, you bless me, Lord. I'll be satisfied". Well, when we get back to the place of satisfaction in His presence, satisfaction when He speaks to our hearts, no matter what He wants to say, our life of authority begins to take shape. When the love relationship with the Lord is central to our life, we will look up and start getting assignments from God, such as, "I want you to speak to that person walking through your neighborhood. That's an assignment, even though it may not seem like much. But when we walk in humility and a loving relationship with the Lord, we recognize that every task has layers and dimensions.
Become faithful to the few things that God asks you to do. Start asking, "Well, God, what do you want me to say to the person?" God's authority is not like putting on a pair of shoes. We grow in it through our experiences and trust. God has to make sure that we're faithful. Many Christians don't like to go through the faithfulness test, but you can't escape it. Remember, it's the relationship that determines authority. The relationship with God has to be primary. Make sure you are humble before the Lord and faithful to whatever He tells you to do. Ask God clarifying questions like, "You want me to go talk to the person we're walking down the street? God, what's on your heart? What do you want to say to that person? What do I do if they resist you?" When you ask questions for that assignment, God will respond and tell you the Scriptures that reveal His heart. Now, you must read the Bible.
Holy Spirit will start giving you instructions by the Word of the Lord. When you follow God's instructions and see things shifting, such as heaviness, lift, etc., go back to God. I share this wisdom when I'm consulting with Believers. The function of authority is not just to move out but also to return to God and sit in His presence. Ask God for a debriefing. Go back to God after your assignments and get a debriefing. Tell the Lord, "I know what I did, but Lord, can you explain to me by the Spirit what happened?" And then, you begin to see what authority looks like in a small matter. Then the next assignment God gives you, you'll walk out with greater confidence in how to be obedient to what Holy Spirit is saying.
There's no authority in rebellion and disobedience. There's no authority in quenching Holy Spirit because authority is not ours; it's delegated to us.
So that's what I would say, and I pray it's helpful and clear. Let's start with being humble and obedient to even the minor thing. Do it and then go back for your debriefing with Holy Spirit and ask Him to help you to understand. I see what happened in the natural, but God, what was happening in the realm of the Spirit?
Shanya Rattler
Are there any final words you would like to have for the audience?
Dr. GreeneBarr
I want to say to Believers in the Lord Jesus Christ that this may be a conversation that might be a little uncomfortable for you because it doesn't ring true to what you've heard growing up. So I encourage you to spend quiet time with the Holy Spirit. And ask the Lord, "Please open this up to me. Help me understand the length, breadth, and depth of what they are talking about". Because it is so easy to discard what we don't understand, this is my final piece of encouragement and wisdom.
I came out of mainline denominational Church, and I understand how easy it can be to be critical and shut yourself down to things you've never heard before. But in so doing, you could be subtracting from your walk with God because you won't let Holy Spirit bring you to a greater understanding of who God is and what it means to have Jesus as Lord.
Shanya Rattler
It's a great point. I'm so thankful that you shared that. Dr. GreeneBarr, you do many fabulous things; ministry consulting, mentoring, Christian counseling, etc., so where can our listeners find you and follow you on social media?
Dr. GreeneBarr
My online hub is http://drgreenebarr360.com
Shanya Rattler
Dr. Cecelia GreeneBarr, thank you so much for being here today on a God shift and listening audience. I know that this conversation has blessed you. And I know that it has taught you some things that you may not have known or known on this level.
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