All Authority

In Matthew 28:18 Jesus makes the absolute statement that, "All authority in heaven and earth has been given to me." This serves as the foundation for a book, "What Jesus Demands from the World," by John Piper, that I am currently reading. I find it challenging,saturated with Scripture, and convicting. The chapters on pride alone are worth the purchase price. I highly recommend it.
In Matthew 8 Jesus encounters a centurion whose servant is paralyzed. This military man understands authority; astonishingly he recognizes that the nature of Jesus' authority means that Jesus does not even need to be physically present in order to heal his servant. He need only "say the word, and my servant will be healed." (v.8) Jesus marvels at this. He has not found such great faith in all Israel. Do we recognize the authority of Jesus? Does the one whom we refer to as Lord have our obedience or do we just do what we wish to do?
How would we know what He wants us to do? This is yet another reason for Biblical literacy, or being a workman who does not need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth." (2 Tim 2:15)
Last night had the privilege of going through the second half of a financial seminar based on Scriptural attitudes towards handling money. I trust it benefited those who attended.