UNDER THE INFLUENCE OF THE HOLY SPIRIT
Surrender, Authority & the Power of the Gospel - August 24, 2026
There is a difference between knowing you have authority and knowing how to walk in it.
One of the greatest lessons I am learning in this season is that Kingdom authority was never given to me so that I could operate independently of God.
It was given so that I could operate in agreement with Him.
And that requires surrender.
WHEN THE HOLY SPIRIT CHANGES THE PLAN
I have learned that following the Holy Spirit doesn’t always look like following my original plan.
Sometimes I may begin with praise.
Then suddenly the atmosphere shifts.
The praise becomes worship.
The worship becomes prayer.
The prayer becomes intercession.
And sometimes emotions surface that I wasn’t expecting.
There have been moments when I have had to simply stop trying to control the direction of the livestream and yield.
That is part of my training.
I’m learning to follow instead of force.
To listen instead of perform.
To surrender instead of control.
And sometimes the most spiritual thing I can do is let God interrupt me.
THE HOLY SPIRIT IS NOT AN AFTERTHOUGHT
We talk about the Father.
We talk about Jesus.
But we must also understand the person and work of the Holy Spirit.
The Christian life was never designed to be lived by human strength alone.
The Holy Spirit leads us, teaches us, convicts us, empowers us, and points us toward Christ.
That means I cannot simply wake up, decide what I am going to accomplish for God, and then ask Him to bless my plan.
There is another way:
Lord, what are You doing?
How are You leading me?
What are You saying?
What do You want me to do?
Then—
Yes, Lord.
YIELDING IS NOT WEAKNESS
Sometimes we think surrender means weakness.
I have discovered that surrender can actually be an expression of tremendous trust.
I don’t have to understand everything before I obey.
I don’t have to know the entire route before I take the next step.
I don’t have to know how God is going to accomplish something before I agree with Him.
Faith doesn’t require me to have the whole blueprint.
Sometimes faith simply requires me to say:
I trust the One who does.
DON’T LIVE BENEATH YOUR POWER
One of the strongest themes from this livestream was the danger of living beneath the authority Christ has made available to us.
Jesus said:
“Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy.”
— Luke 10:19 KJV
That is a remarkable statement.
Yet how often do believers live as though they have no authority at all?
Fear dictates.
Circumstances dictate.
People dictate.
Past failures dictate.
Culture dictates.
The enemy whispers—and we agree.
But Jesus has given His followers authority.
The answer isn’t arrogance.
The answer is alignment.
Know who gave you the authority.
Know what He has said.
Know who you belong to.
Then stand accordingly.
THE ENEMY’S STRATEGY: DISTRACT, DECEIVE, INTIMIDATE
During the livestream, we talked about some of the ways the enemy seeks to keep people from walking in what God has given them.
Distraction.
Deception.
Fear.
If he can keep you distracted, you may never focus on your assignment.
If he can deceive you, you may believe a lie about God, yourself, or your authority.
If he can intimidate you, you may possess authority but never exercise it.
That’s why discernment matters.
And that’s why the Word matters.
We don’t determine truth by how something feels.
We measure what we hear against what God has said.
REPENTANCE IS A RETURN
There also comes a point when we recognize that we’ve agreed with things that don’t belong in our lives.
Thought patterns.
Worldly influences.
Fear.
Unbelief.
Compromise.
Wrong relationships.
Wrong motivations.
Wrong agreements.
The response isn’t condemnation.
It’s repentance.
Repentance means turning.
Coming out of agreement with what is contrary to God and returning to Him.
The Gospel doesn’t simply tell us that we are forgiven.
It calls us into a transformed life.
DO YOU REALLY KNOW THE GOSPEL?
This became one of the deepest questions of the livestream:
Do we actually have a revelation of salvation?
Or have we simply learned how to participate in religious activity?
There is a difference.
You can attend church and still need a revelation of Jesus.
You can know Scriptures and still need to surrender your life to the One those Scriptures reveal.
You can say Christian words without understanding the Gospel.
The Gospel isn’t a religious accessory.
It is the power of God unto salvation.
And salvation isn’t merely a label we wear.
It is a reality that changes us.
WE HAVE ALL GONE ASTRAY
Isaiah 53:6 says:
“All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.”
That verse brings the Gospel into focus.
We went our own way.
Jesus bore our iniquity.
That should produce humility.
That should produce gratitude.
That should produce worship.
Because the foundation of our authority isn’t that we somehow became worthy enough to command circumstances.
The foundation is Jesus Christ and what He accomplished.
CHRIST IS THE SOURCE OF OUR STRENGTH
Philippians 4:13 says:
“I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.”
Notice where the strength comes from.
Christ.
Not me.
Not my personality.
Not my education.
Not my experience.
Not my title.
Not my platform.
Christ.
That changes the way I approach everything.
When I feel weak, I don’t have to pretend I’m strong.
I can draw from His strength.
When I don’t know what to say, I can trust Him.
When I don’t know what to do, I can seek Him.
When I am overwhelmed, I can surrender.
IF GOD BE FOR US
Romans 8 gives us another anchor:
“If God be for us, who can be against us?”
— Romans 8:31 KJV
And then Paul points us back to the cross:
“He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all…”
— Romans 8:32 KJV
Think about that.
God did not withhold His own Son.
The cross is already evidence of God’s immeasurable love.
So when I face circumstances that make me question whether God is with me, I can look back at what He has already done.
The cross settles the question of His love.
ALL THINGS WORK TOGETHER
Romans 8:28 says:
“And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.”
It doesn’t say every individual thing is good.
It says God works all things together for good.
That distinction matters.
Some things hurt.
Some things disappoint.
Some things expose us.
Some things teach us.
Some things require repentance.
Some things require endurance.
But none of it has to be wasted in the hands of God.
He can take the pieces of our lives and work them into His purpose.
DECIDE AND DECREE—BUT STAY SUBMITTED
We returned again to Job 22:28:
“Thou shalt also decree a thing, and it shall be established unto thee.”
But as I continue learning about Kingdom authority, I become increasingly aware of the importance of surrender.
I don’t want to decree something simply because I want it.
I want to know what God is saying.
I don’t want to use spiritual language to manipulate an outcome.
I want my words to agree with His Word.
I don’t want to operate independently.
I want to be led.
Authority without surrender can become presumption.
Surrender without action can become passivity.
Kingdom life requires both yieldedness and obedience.
INTERCESSION MATTERS
Job 22 also speaks about intercession.
The passage describes the righteous praying for others and God delivering them.
That is a beautiful reminder that our relationship with God isn’t only about ourselves.
We are called to stand in the gap.
To pray.
To intercede.
To believe.
To carry people before God.
And sometimes the person you’re praying for doesn’t yet have the strength, understanding, or desire to pray for themselves.
That doesn’t mean we control their outcome.
It means we can faithfully bring them before the Lord.
THE NARROWNESS OF THE WAY
1 Peter 4:18 asks:
“And if the righteous scarcely be saved, where shall the ungodly and the sinner appear?”
That is not a verse designed to make us comfortable with casual Christianity.
It reminds me that following Jesus is serious.
Salvation is precious.
Grace is costly.
Discipleship matters.
We cannot reduce Christianity to inspirational quotes and Sunday routines.
Jesus calls us to follow Him.
THE ANOINTING HAS A PURPOSE
And then we arrive at Isaiah 61.
This passage became a powerful closing point for the livestream:
“The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me; because the LORD hath anointed me…”
The passage continues with good news to the poor, healing for the brokenhearted, liberty for the captives, and freedom for those who are bound.
Jesus later applied this passage to His own ministry in Luke 4.
The anointing isn’t about making us look impressive.
The anointing has an assignment.
It is connected to service.
To freedom.
To healing.
To proclamation.
To restoration.
To the purposes of God.
That’s why I don’t want to chase an experience while ignoring the assignment attached to it.
FROM POWER TO PURPOSE
This is where the pieces come together for me.
God gives authority.
The Holy Spirit empowers.
The Word establishes truth.
Jesus is the source.
Prayer brings us into communion and agreement.
Repentance keeps us aligned.
Intercession turns our attention toward others.
And the Gospel gives us the message.
This isn’t about becoming powerful people.
It’s about becoming faithful representatives of a powerful King.
I DON’T WANT TO OPERATE WITHOUT HIM
The older I get in this walk, the less interested I become in proving that I can do something.
I want to know that He is doing it with me.
I don’t want to preach without Him.
I don’t want to pray without Him.
I don’t want to prophesy without Him.
I don’t want to make decisions without Him.
I don’t want to build something for God that He never asked me to build.
I don’t want to become so focused on the assignment that I lose intimacy with the One who gave it.
So my prayer is becoming very simple:
Holy Spirit, lead me.
If You say move, I’ll move.
If You say wait, I’ll wait.
If You change the direction, I’ll follow.
If You interrupt my plans, I’ll surrender.
If You expose something in me, I’ll repent.
If You send me, I’ll go.
KINGDOM COORDINATES
SURRENDER.
LISTEN.
OBEY.
REPENT.
PRAY.
STAND.
SERVE.
PROCLAIM.
And above everything—
KEEP JESUS AT THE CENTER.
Because Kingdom authority isn’t about learning how powerful I am.
It is learning how completely I can trust the power of Christ in me.
The Holy Spirit is not merely helping me accomplish my plans.
He is teaching me how to surrender my plans.
And maybe that is one of the greatest lessons of all:
The goal isn’t simply to operate in the power of God.
The goal is to become so yielded to God that His power can operate through a surrendered vessel.
Charnette Kay ⚔️
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