The Authority of the Believer
The Authority of the Believer
March 20th, 2004 and march 21st, 2004
Review:
Several weeks ago I spoke about discipleship and beginning in Christ. I mentioned that being a disciple is:
· Publicly identifying with Jesus
· Learning to obey Him
Matthew 28
18 Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in a the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” [1]
Then the following week we looked at authority. In order to be disciple of Jesus you have to follow His example and submit to authority. Jesus humbled Himself and became obedient even to death on the cross. Authority is from God and that really is the whole sin issue. It all comes down to who is in charge. I didn’t want to give my life to the devil. That came as a by-product of wanting my own way and wanting to serve myself.
Luke 7
When Jesus had finished saying all this in the hearing of the people, he entered Capernaum. 2 There a centurion’s servant, whom his master valued highly, was sick and about to die. 3 The centurion heard of Jesus and sent some elders of the Jews to him, asking him to come and heal his servant. 4 When they came to Jesus, they pleaded earnestly with him, “This man deserves to have you do this, 5 because he loves our nation and has built our synagogue.” 6 So Jesus went with them.
He was not far from the house when the centurion sent friends to say to him: “Lord, don’t trouble yourself, for I do not deserve to have you come under my roof. 7 That is why I did not even consider myself worthy to come to you. But say the word, and my servant will be healed. 8 For I myself am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. I tell this one, ‘Go,’ and he goes; and that one, ‘Come,’ and he comes. I say to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.”
9 When Jesus heard this, he was amazed at him, and turning to the crowd following him, he said, “I tell you, I have not found such great faith even in Israel/.” 10 Then the men who had been sent returned to the house and found the servant well. [2]/
Authority is the umbrella of discipleship. We must submit ourselves to the authority of God but also to the authority of His delegated authority.
1 Corinthians 1
11 My brothers, some from Chloe’s household have informed me that there are quarrels among you. 12 What I mean is this: One of you says, “I follow Paul”; another, “I follow Apollos”; another, “I follow Cephas a”; still another, “I follow Christ.”
13 Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Were you baptized into b the name of Paul? [3]
Some say they just follow Jesus and no man. Paul said follow me while I follow Christ. Delegated authority represents God.
Now we get to the next part:
YOUR AUTHORITY IN CHRIST
-In Matthew 28 Jesus said all authority has been given to Me, you go.
-He is saying, you represent Me. Go instead of Me. Use My name and you have My authority.
-I tell the story of when my parents would give me their credit card to go buy clothes for school. The people didn’t care about me, they just wanted to make sure the card was good.
-In the same way, we have power of attorney to use His name. You represent Him. Demons and circumstances have to obey you as they would Jesus.
-The Centurion believed that Jesus didn’t have to be physically present to heal. His authority extended beyond His physical presence. His power is in His Word and His Name.
-When we speak His Word in faith, it is as if He is saying it. It carries the same weight if you are a believe it.
-We have probably all experienced those times when we sensed God rising up in us and we spoke with authority knowing it was going to happen. I think we should live in that place and not just occasionally reach that place.
1. Who is responsible for your life?
-Doris Day theology is que sera sera, whatever will be will be, the future’s not ours to see, que sera sera.
-That is sometimes known as Calvinism or extreme belief in the “sovereignty” of God.
-This is when we blame all circumstances good, bad, or ugly on God.
-If something bad happens we just say God is teaching me something.
-This absolves me of all responsibility because God does everything.
-We see in part all right, but some things we know.
-God works all things together but He doesn’t cause all things.
James 1 NLT
13 And remember, no one who wants to do wrong should ever say, “God is tempting me.” God is never tempted to do wrong, and he never tempts anyone else either. 14 Temptation comes from the lure of our own evil desires. 15 These evil desires lead to evil actions, and evil actions lead to death. 16 So don’t be misled, my dear brothers and sisters.
17 Whatever is good and perfect comes to us from God above, who created all heaven’s lights.* Unlike them, he never changes or casts shifting shadows. 18 In his goodness he chose to make us his own children by giving us his true word. And we, out of all creation, became his choice possession.[4]
-We are wrong to blame God for bad things.
-Anything we put men in jail for we shouldn’t blame God for.
-Imagine if I infected my child with a disease and then said it will make him strong.
-When the man infected his child with aids the world went crazy. How could a father do that to his own child? Yet we will accuse God of that very thing and then assign some noble cause to it.
-Don’t spiritualize and romanticize evil! It is evil! Period.
EXAMPLE
-Someone sent me an e-mail about a barber cutting someone’s hair and the man said “I don’t believe in God because of all the evil in the world.” The barber didn’t know what to say until he looked out the window and saw people with scraggly hair. He said, “I don’t believe in barbers.” Of course the man was surprised and said “You just cut my hair.” The barber said, “Yeah but look at all of the people with bad hair.” The man said they could fix that if they would just go to the barber.” To which the barber replied, “DITTO for God.”
-If I am not responsible for my life I can just hold on to the roller coaster and ride or I can look for a steering wheel.
EXAMPLE- Seinfeld-roller coaster
-Who is responsible for your life? You are.
-Maturity is the acceptance of responsibility.
-God has placed man in an exalted position in Christ and given dominion of the earth to him.
Psalm 8 NLT
When I look at the night sky and see the work of your fingers—
the moon and the stars you have set in place—
what are mortals that you should think of us,
mere humans that you should care for us?*
For you made us only a little lower than God,*
and you crowned us with glory and honor.
6 You put us in charge of everything you made,
giving us authority over all things—[5]
2. Your choices set the course for your life.
Deuteronomy 30
19 /This day I call heaven and earth as witnesses against you that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life, so that you and your children may live [6] /
-The promises of God are offered but they are dependant upon your choices.
2 Corinthians 1
18 /But as surely as God is faithful, our message to you is not “Yes” and “No.” 19 For the Son of God, Jesus Christ, who was preached among you by me and Silas a and Timothy, was not “Yes” and “No,” but in him it has always been “Yes.” 20 For no matter how many promises God has made, they are “Yes” in Christ. And so through him the “Amen” is spoken by us to the glory of God. [7]/
-The promises are yes and we say, AMEN.
Luke 1
26 In the sixth month, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, 27 to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. 28 The angel went to her and said, “Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you.”
29 Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be. 30 But the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, you have found favor with God. 31 You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus. 32 He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, 33 and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever; his kingdom will never end.”
34 “How will this be,” Mary asked the angel, “since I am a virgin?”
35 The angel answered, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called a the Son of God. 36 Even Elizabeth your relative is going to have a child in her old age, and she who was said to be barren is in her sixth month. 37 For nothing is impossible with God.”
38 “I am the Lord’s servant,” Mary answered. “May it be to me as you have said.” Then the angel left her. [8]
-The promise of God was given and Mary said AMEN.
-Confession means to say the same thing. In other words, it means to agree.
3670. ὁμολογέω homologeō; from ὁμόλογος homologos (of one mind); to speak the same, to agree:— acknowledge(2), admit(1), assured(1), confess(6), confessed(4), confesses(6), confessing(1), declare(1), give thanks(1), made(1), profess(1), promised(1).[9]
(Mary was blessed because she believed God.
Luke 11: 27 While 1Jesus was saying these things, one of the women in the crowd raised her voice and said to Him, “aBlessed is the womb that bore You and the breasts at which You nursed.”
28/But He said, “On the contrary, blessed are athose who hear the word of God and observe it.”[10]) /
-Abraham was blessed because He obeyed and went.
-I think about the woman with the issue of blood. She came to Jesus with an open sore. She decided that if she could touch the hem of Jesus’ garment (prayer shawl representing 613 promises of O.T.) she would be healed.
-Jesus didn’t decide to heal her, she decided.
-Her healing was a result of a choice she made.
-The power of God was available to her but she had to choose to receive it.
-When I have a cold I can say:
· I live in a fallen world where sin and sickness live
· I went outside with wet hair
· God gave me a cold to teach me something
EXAMPLE
-It reminds me of a cousin who used to used to spend the night and wet the bed and then in the morning say “Somebody wet my bed and my pants.”
-Sorry, I’m not responsible. The moral of the story is: If you wet your pants, don’t blame it on God.
Proverbs 19
3 A man’s own folly ruins his life,
/yet his heart rages against the Lord. [11]/
YOU ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR YOUR LIFE
YOUR CHOICES SET THE COURSE FOR YOUR LIFE
3. Your choices can release God’s authority
Ephesians 1
15 /For this reason, ever since I heard about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints, 16 I have not stopped giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers. 17 I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit a of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better. 18 I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, 19 and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is like the working of his mighty strength, 20 which he exerted in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, 21 far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every title that can be given, not only in the present age but also in the one to come. 22 And God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church, 23 which is his body, the fullness of him who fills everything in every way. As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, 2 in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. 3 All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our sinful nature a and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature objects of wrath. 4 But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, 5 made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved. 6 And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, [12] /
Romans 16
20 /The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet…. [13] /
-God’s inheritance is in you.
-We were made alive with Him, raised with Him, seated with Him.
-God is crushing satan under your feet.
-Rise up and accept your authority in Christ.
-Jesus connected Himself to His body.
-We have to exercise His authority for His authority to be exercised.
-What area of your life do you need to exercise authority in?
EXAMPLE
Jerry O’Dell was a crusade director for a well known Charismatic minister. He hung with other Charismatic ministers. He saw those ministers facing problems with their family and so did he. He then got among faith ministers who believed in their authority and he learned to exercise his authority and his kids were delivered and are walking with the Lord.
-This is a huge area. Pray the Ephesians prayers and read brother Hagin’s book back in the back.
----
a Or into; see Acts 8:16; 19:5; Romans 6:3; 1 Cor. 1:13; 10:2 and Gal. 3:27.
[1]The Holy Bible : New International Version. 1996, c1984 (Mt 28:18). Grand Rapids: Zondervan.
[2]The Holy Bible : New International Version. 1996, c1984 (Lk 7:1). Grand Rapids: Zondervan.
a That is, Peter
b Or in; also in verse 15
[3]The Holy Bible : New International Version. 1996, c1984 (1 Co 1:11). Grand Rapids: Zondervan.
*
James 1:17
Greek from above, from the Father of lights.
[4]Holy Bible : New Living Translation. 1997 (Jas 1:12). Wheaton, Ill.: Tyndale House.
*
Psalm 8:4
Hebrew what is man that you should think of him, the son of man that you should care for him?
*
Psalm 8:5
Or a little lower than the angels; Hebrew reads Elohim.
[5]Holy Bible : New Living Translation. 1997 (Ps 8:2). Wheaton, Ill.: Tyndale House.
[6]The Holy Bible : New International Version. 1996, c1984 (Dt 30:19). Grand Rapids: Zondervan.
a Greek Silvanus, a variant of Silas
[7]The Holy Bible : New International Version. 1996, c1984 (2 Co 1:18). Grand Rapids: Zondervan.
a Or So the child to be born will be called holy,
[8]The Holy Bible : New International Version. 1996, c1984 (Lk 1:26). Grand Rapids: Zondervan.
[9]Thomas, R. L. (1998, 1981). New American Standard Hebrew-Aramaic and Greek dictionaries : Updated edition (H8674). Anaheim: Foundation Publications, Inc.
1 Lit He
a Luke 23:29
a Luke 8:21
[10]New American Standard Bible : 1995 update. 1995 (Lk 11:27). LaHabra, CA: The Lockman Foundation.
[11]The Holy Bible : New International Version. 1996, c1984 (Pr 19:3). Grand Rapids: Zondervan.
a Or a spirit
a Or our flesh
[12]The Holy Bible : New International Version. 1996, c1984 (Eph 2:1). Grand Rapids: Zondervan.
[13]The Holy Bible : New International Version. 1996, c1984 (Ro 16:20). Grand Rapids: Zondervan.