HE'S OUTA HERE!

A great amount of authority comes with the wearing of a uniform. Last night, for instance, at my son's basketball game, the ref made a call which the opposing team's coach did not approve of. The coach was up on his feet questioning the call, to which the ref patiently gave an explanation. The coach, however, was not satisfied and continued to verbally press the ref, for which he was rewarded with a technical. The opposing coach walked to the wall and leaned in frustration.

To the casual (code for "completely clueless") basketball observer (like me) it would seem that all is over, but the ref stops the player who has already taken one free throw and looks at the coach, instructing him to sit down. What??? Is this ref on some sort of power trip? The coach informs him that there is no room on the bench for him to sit, to which the ref answers, "Then move your players down!" When the coach raises his voice again to rebuttle, the ref loudly proclaims, "He's outa here!"

Silence from our team and fans (We don't want to somehow further offend this very powerful ref who has the the authority to throw people out of the game). Grumbles of "Can he do that?" and "Who does he think he is?" and swift lurching of breaths and half-said words from the opposing team and fans.

Coach tries a stall tactic with, "I just want to know why!" Ref says, "NO. This game will not continue until he's out of here. If you're not out of this building in ten seconds, you will forfeit the game." At about the six second mark a door slams behind the coach -one last effort to make his objections heard.

The official word has gone forth and been enforced by the one who has the authority to do so...and the game is back on.

What the completely clueless fan (me) didn't know was that when a coach gets a technical, he must sit down. Opposing Coach knew it but was testing his limits. Did Ref know the rule? Did Ref know he had the authority to enforce the rule? Would Ref have enough boldness to truly fill that position of authority when push came to shove? Coach found out the answer: Absolutely.

Did you know that as a Child of God, when you were baptized in the name of Jesus Christ, you took on the Name of Jesus with all the authority that it affords you? As a Born Again Christian, you have the witness of the Spirit backing you. As a Soldier of the Cross, you have access to the whole armor of God for an offensive battle.

Do you know the rules of engagement? The devil knows them. He knows the authority that you have in the name of Jesus Christ. Will he test you? Most definitely. Will he go willingly? Never.

Remember that you are wearing the Uniform. You have authority in the Name of Jesus. You have the backing of the Spirit. You have the protection of the Whole Armor of God. There is no reason for you to back down against the enemy. Whatever your situation is, speak the Word of authority with boldness. Tell the devil, "NO! You will leave now in Jesus' name!" Yes, he will oppose you and rebuttle and kick and scream and slam doors and make a lot of noise, but when the official Word has gone forth from someone with the authority to speak it, HE'S OUTA HERE!