Authority Part 2
Notes
Transcript
One of the greatest problems we have in our world today is authority.
Some People want to believe they are the Captain of their own ship, Master of there destiny or they are the final authority on faith on life and faith.
Where is the dividing line of authority?
Who has it?
Who thinks they have it but do not?
Who does not have it?
Does a 10 year old have the authority to walk into a school and say he or she wants to altar there gender and the adults in the room or lack of there of cater to the 6 year old and without parental consent.
Where does it stop and do we recognize we have a problem.
A break down of authority means chaos - So this is what we have today.
Much of the chaos starts in the home.
Authority
The Theological Dictionary of the New Testament A. Ordinary Greek Usage.
“ability to perform an action” to the extent that there are no hindrances in the way,
In Genesis 3 the serpent questions Gods authority with Eve.
Then Adam ignored Gods authority and blamed Eve. Eve turns around and blames the serpent (Satan)But who was really to blame. It was who God questioned and tht was Adam Now we have a sin problem that can only be dealt with by a supreme authority.
17 And to the man he said, “Since you listened to your wife and ate from the tree whose fruit I commanded you not to eat, the ground is cursed because of you. All your life you will struggle to scratch a living from it.
Adam becasue of his position was responsible. It seems we would of had a completely different result if Adam would have said NO.
Satan has authority all be it - it is limited
19 We know that we are of God, and that the whole world lies in the power of the evil one.
All unregenerated men are under his dominion.
It is limited but still felt.
We will be looking at the book of Job in a few weeks.
He comes to steal, kill and destroy, and will use every means available to him to d oit.
He also accuses you day and night. Have you ever felt his accusations about you.
He is your greatest adversary - Not your spouse or your boss.
Satan hinders your work and your walk
He darkens minds - So you stray away from Gods authority.
Without giving him to much time today I would like to say
How easy is it to send darkness running. Just turn on the light switch
God is the ultimate authority.
We started with Jesus, He has the authority.
9 For in Him all the fullness of Deity dwells in bodily form,
Lets look at some ways we can see His authority.
1. Jesus has Judicial Authority
Jesus has all authority to judge in legal matters. We have a judgement on the horizon and Jesus will be on the throne .
All will be judged righteous and unrighteous. One will live eternally in glory one will live eternally in Hell.
Men shall be judged, not by rank, or success, or worldly achievement, but according to their works in Christ. though one might get a favorable judgement from a supreme court justice, Jesus will give a true judgement - one that will never be overturned, never based on societal feelings or social pressures.
2. Jesus has Divine Authority
9 For in Him all the fullness of Deity dwells in bodily form,
10 and in Him you have been made complete, and He is the head over all rule and authority;
Jesus authority was questioned by the Pharisees
Cleansing the temple - They ask by what authority can he do this- His response is this is his fathers house and it is a house of prayer not commerce.
Jesus doesn't answer there question. They should have seen the authority in everything he did.
But in John he says I and the father are one. Everyone knew what that meant.
He by nature had the authority.
It is interesting if you study every other world religion. No one stacks up to Jesus.
3. Jesus has the authority to cast out demons.
27 They were all amazed, so that they debated among themselves, saying, “What is this? A new teaching with authority! He commands even the unclean spirits, and they obey Him.”
Jesus sent out 35 groups of 2 and when they came back they said.
17 The seventy returned with joy, saying, “Lord, even the demons are subject to us in Your name.”
4. Jesus has the authority to raise the dead
11 Soon afterwards He went to a city called Nain; and His disciples were going along with Him, accompanied by a large crowd.
12 Now as He approached the gate of the city, a dead man was being carried out, the only son of his mother, and she was a widow; and a sizeable crowd from the city was with her.
13 When the Lord saw her, He felt compassion for her, and said to her, “Do not weep.”
14 And He came up and touched the coffin; and the bearers came to a halt. And He said, “Young man, I say to you, arise!”
15 The dead man sat up and began to speak. And Jesus gave him back to his mother.
16 Fear gripped them all, and they began glorifying God, saying, “A great prophet has arisen among us!” and, “God has visited His people!”
17 This report concerning Him went out all over Judea and in all the surrounding district.
The widow weeps for the loss of her only child. She is now all alone in a hostile world; no family to care for her. Recognizing her intense pain, Jesus approaches the corpse on the plank. He touches the coffin an act that would render him ceremonially unclean, but that pictures his compassion . He tells the corpse to rise up. If there were no authority behind his words, the action would be blackly humorous or tragically misguided. But Jesus reveals the extent of his authority by confronting death. His words are successful: the dead man sat up. This was no longer a deceased mass of decaying flesh.
This miracle is reminiscent of the Old Testament resuscitations performed by Elijah (1 Kings 17:17-24)
5. Jesus has the authority to forgive sins and heal.
1 Getting into a boat, Jesus crossed over the sea and came to His own city.
2 And they brought to Him a paralytic lying on a bed. Seeing their faith, Jesus said to the paralytic, “Take courage, son; your sins are forgiven.”
3 And some of the scribes said to themselves, “This fellow blasphemes.”
4 And Jesus knowing their thoughts said, “Why are you thinking evil in your hearts?
5 “Which is easier, to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Get up, and walk’?
6 “But so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins”—then He said to the paralytic, “Get up, pick up your bed and go home.”
7 And he got up and went home.
8 But when the crowds saw this, they were awestruck, and glorified God, who had given such authority to men.
OK NOW LETS LOOK AT THE HOLY SPIRIT
6. The Holy Spirit Has Authority
Remember Jesus is in heaven waiting for the father to say go get them.
It is a picture of the bridegroom getting ready to go get the bride.
In the mean time what do we do with authority.
Well Jesus knowing that without him we fall apart in a matter of days.
How long did it take the disciples to quit and go fishing. A Weekend.
Jesus appears to them and says go to Jerusalem and wait for the promise.
The promise was the Holy Spirit who is able to fulfill the promise. - Low I will be with you even until the end of days
20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
The Holy Spirit is a person not a impersonal force.
He resides in you
7 Nevertheless, I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you. But if I go, I will send him to you.
16 Do you not know that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in you?
He has a role
4 Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit.
5 And there are varieties of ministries, and the same Lord.
6 There are varieties of effects, but the same God who works all things in all persons.
7 But to each one is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good.
8 For to one is given the word of wisdom through the Spirit, and to another the word of knowledge according to the same Spirit;
9 to another faith by the same Spirit, and to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit,
10 and to another the effecting of miracles, and to another prophecy, and to another the distinguishing of spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, and to another the interpretation of tongues.
11 But one and the same Spirit works all these things, distributing to each one individually just as He wills.
The Spirit speaks and Acts, teaches, prays, guides your decisions, He empowers you and he can be grieved.
It is with this authority we are then able to live a victorious life in Jesus and accomplish the great commission.
Be filled with the Spirit, Come under his jurisdiction .
Conclusion
Is this important? YES
Because if anyone else has this authority we end up with a clash of Titans.
What about Islam? It is the rather explicit teaching of the Quran that Muhammad performed no supernatural, verifiable miracles.
What about Buddhism. It is said buddha had psychic ability, traverse parallel universes and talk to animals. It is all about inner peace not a supreme being who can forgive sins. No divine authority.
To a Hindu it is freedom from the soul and people do not need redemption. All gods are are weary and limited significance.
Communism makes the state to God, it has no reative power. It cannot control the boundaries of the sea or keep all starts in their orbit.
Humanism says man is God. Lets seek human ways to deal with all of our problems. ( Turn the news on for 15 minutes and you can find out how that is turning out)