The walk

In my experience God lays down in our path the things He wants us to pick up. God won’t move in our lives unless we move first. To see God move, we must start to walk. As we walk, we will know when we are heading in the wrong direction, as He will make our direction clear; that is assuming we are not stubborn and are genuinely seeking His kingdom.
In my experience, the people that cannot work out what God wants, are not moving in any direction, but waiting for God’s prompting before they move. By moving forwards we can know if the direction we are heading in is the right one or not.

So often we become gripped by fear, unable to decide what direction to take, the longer we remain, the greater hold the fear has over us.
The disciples also found the same when Jesus had been crucified. They feared for their lives and some went back to their old way of life and others hid. Jesus appeared to them and told them to go to Jerusalem and wait for the Holy Spirit. From that point on they were never without direction. Jesus had given them everything they needed.

They had the counselor, power (in the form of spiritual gifts) and clear instructions; “go!” We have to accept that we will make mistakes, we have to make the mistake to know that it is one.
The key then, to taking up our authority, is to first seek His kingdom. I know it would seem obvious, but unless we see the process as a walk, we won’t find what we are looking for. He will lead us (when we walk); leaving the things in our path that we must pick up. These are the plans that He has for us to walk in. If we fail to walk, fail to seek Him or fail to pick up what has been put in-front of us, we will not be taking up our authority.
Failing to move forward will result in stagnation. Failing to seek His kingdom will result in the wrong things being sought and a lost believer. Failing to take up what He has prepared for us will result in a frustrated and unfulfilled believer.
Regardless of the consequences, we must never stay still for long; I can understand that at times we must wait, but let’s not mistake waiting with settling. Waiting is to be poised ready, settling is to set in place plans, that eventually become difficult to move on from.
Regardless of the faith required, we must know that He will supply all that we need, when we move forward. To move forward is not just to randomly pick a direction. This is not about base jumping off a cliff because it feels right. He said “Go and make disciples, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and I will be with you always.” The question to ask, ‘is the direction going to lead to or support any of these; disciple making or teaching others to follow what Jesus commands?’ If so, then know that He will be with you. The rest will work itself out.
Know that as you walk there will be opportunities; we should pause, measuring the opportunity against His calling on our lives. Whether that calling is found within Matthew 28 or something more detailed, take it with caution. Never allow yourself to be distracted from what you know you should be doing and only take up what you know He would want you to add to your life.
Armed with this, you will take up the authority the Lord gives with a wisdom that will mean you stand out as a good custodian of His anointing on your life.
Never allow your fears to tell you when you will move forward, whether you can trust in the Lord or take up the authority He has for you. Know that the Lord does not want us to be ruled by fear; He require faith.

Finding purpose in authority

When we take up what He has ordained, we will find the sort of fulfilment found in nothing else. There is nothing greater than welcoming the anointed authority of the Lord; He plans it for those whom He trusts, knowing that He sees something greater in us than we can yet see. So why is it that so many feel they don’t have a purpose? Everything from the word of God, magazines and TV documentaries tell us that people get depressed and lose hope when they can’t find fulfillment in what they do. As the world is filled with higher expectations on each other; we can sometimes find ourselves doing what we hate, to pay for what we don’t need and living where we would rather not.
Shopping malls are filled with people buying things they don’t need, often as relief from the job they don’t like. Looking forward to 5:00 pm at work, as much as the end of a working week, is for some the norm. Many will yearn for a simpler life and going back to a less complex way of living; yet never do it.
Finding what the Lord has for us and just doing that, is as fulfilling as the greatest job. We fill our days with just doing what He has for us and continuing to learn from Him each day. We find release for ourselves, as well as releasing others to do the same.
For some however there are wrong motives to take up authority. Some seek status, money or for others it is just an expectation that they should have a certain role. For some the wrong reasons have their root in insecurity, for others approval of others. If it is insecurity it is often money that drives us; if so we have lost sight of Matthew 6:25-34:
“Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing? 26 Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? 27 Which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature?
28 So why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; 29 and yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. 30 Now if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?
31 Therefore do not worry, saying, What shall we eat? or What shall we drink? or What shall we wear? 32 For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. 33 But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. 34 Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.”
The peace that we all seek will not come from the output of God’s authority, but from taking up the authority He gives. Masking the worries of this world, by filling the void with pseudo blessings, will not replace the joy of walking in what He has planned for us.
If you follow His anointing, all that we need will be given. Seek the fruit, instead of the root, of His anointing and we will find the fruit will rot in our hands. What I mean is that we can misunderstand what a blessed fruitful and prosperous life means; we can sometimes see this to mean we would be able to buy what we want and spend what ever we want. We can see the large pay packet as a means to do just that. We might fill our lives with all the fruit of a prosperous life, never really living a fulfilled life; because we have not found what He has for us. Chasing after the fruit, rather than the vine, will lead to a fruitless and empty life.
If however we seek what He has, we will find the fulfillment we seek. The result of this, is all that we need, He will supply. We will also find that we will cause ourselves to prosper; Joshua 1:8 & 9, “This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success. 9 Have I not commanded you? Be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”
God does not say, pay this minister and you shall be rich. He did say, you will make your way prosperous. He also said that He would be with us and supply all that we need.
Walk in what He has and you will have fulfillment, peace, all that you need and you will cause yourself to prosper. You won’t have to fill your life with all the fruit of someone else’s blessing and yearn for something better. The moment you find yourself doing either of these, the chances are you are not doing what He has called you to or in the way He requires of you.

Servant

It is unpopular to think that we must submit to someone else; after all, we fought for our right to be free. This idea of a connection between freedom and submission would seem a reasonable one, after all someone held captive against their will has to surrender their freedom; even if that freedom has been taken by force. Although I am sure that most who are reading this would never have actually fought for freedom, but are enjoying the freedom paid by the sacrifice of others before them, all should understand that freedom comes with a price.
As with anything, if we apply a world view of submission to our Christian lives, we will find the result will be contrary to those God intended. The world would see submission as a loss of something, Jesus however saw submission very differently.
Matthew 20:28, “the son of man did not come to be served, but to serve”. And again Philippians 2:5-11 tells of a God who surrendered to the will of His Father and came to serve us. Matthew 23:11-12, “But he who is greatest among you shall be your servant. 12 And whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.”

This upside-down way of seeing submission is the Kingdom of God way, therefore when applied, will ensure God’s power is released into a situation. If there is any doubt this is the case, we should look at the affect this approach had, to a situation when Jesus Christ himself applied this principle.

The Servant of the Lord
Behold My Servant whom I uphold, My Elect One in whom My soul delights!
I have put My Spirit upon Him; He will bring forth justice.
A bruised reed He will not break,
He will not fail nor be discouraged, till He has established justice in the earth.

It is too small a thing that You should be My Servant
I will give You as a light to the Gentiles,
That You should be My salvation to the ends of the earth.

Behold, My Servant!
Many were astonished,
He was marred more than any man,
And His form more than the sons of men

And when we see Him, there is no beauty that we should desire Him.
He is despised and rejected by men,
A Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief.
And we hid, as it were, our faces from Him.

Surely He has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows;
Yet we said,
“He was stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted.”

But He was wounded for our transgressions,
He was bruised for our iniquities;
And by His stripes we are healed.
He was oppressed and He was afflicted,
Yet He opened not His mouth.
He was led as a lamb to the slaughter,
And as a sheep before its shearers is silent.

He was cut off from the land of the living;
for the transgressions of the people He was stricken.

They made His grave with the wicked
It pleased the Lord to bruise Him;
He has put Him to grief.
By His knowledge the righteous Servant shall justify many, For He shall bear their iniquities.
The Redeemer of Israel, their Holy One,
to the Servant of rulers: Kings shall see and arise,
Princes shall worship,

I have heard You,
And in the day of salvation I have helped You;
I will preserve You and give You As a covenant to the people,
To restore the earth!
(taken from Isaiah 42-53)

Mike Henson – Unexpected Twist

Would’t think of adding an unconnected post, but Mike is an outstanding singer/songwriter. Worth a shout out!

Authority part 3

The story of authority began prior to creation. God had all authority and it was the first act of sin, that we know of, that led to the fall of lucifer. We know that lucifer was filled with pride and wanted be lifted up as the Lord is
Isaiah 14:12
12 “How you are fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning!
How you are cut down to the ground, you who weakened the nations!
13 For you have said in your heart: ‘I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God; I will also sit on the mount of the congregation on the farthest sides of the north; 14 I will ascend above the heights of the clouds, I will be like the Most High.”
So the fall of satan was the opposition to God’s authority, by setting up his own. We don’t know any more details than small snippets, we do know that the next time interaction with satan is recorded, he was questioning authority in the garden of Eden. It was satan who asked the question, “Has God indeed said?” At this point Eve stands her ground and points out the specific instructions of the Lord. Then in his second attempt, to question authority, he was successful. What is interesting is that it was not just God’s authority in His word that was questioned by satan, but what He had delegated. Satan asked the question of Eve, to bring into doubt what God had said, therefore questioning God’s word. What is often not considered is that satan also questioned what God had delegated to man; authority.
Genesis 1:26 Then God said, Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth. 27 So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. 28 Then God blessed them, and God said to them, Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”
and
Genesis 2:16 And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat; 17 but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.”
What’s important to note is that God’s authority is manifest in His word. In order to question God’s authority, satan had to question His word, “Did He really say..” So we know that if that is the point of attack by satan, this is the area we must never assist him in undermining.
As satan’s attack was not just upon God’s authority, but also that which had been delegated, we have to wonder why. At that time man had been given authority over all the whole earth, so satan needed to abuse what God had given man. We were given all authority over creation, and it was the sin of man that caused what God had created, to become something that is subject to decay. Paul explains it in Romans 8:19-22:
“For the earnest expectation of the creation eagerly waits for the revealing of the sons of God. 20 For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it in hope; 21 because the creation itself also will be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God. 22 For we know that the whole creation groans and labors with birth pangs together until now.”
God had delegated to Adam authority in the garden; he could do as he saw fit. What he was not able to do was to eat of the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil. So by tempting man to disobey God, he was able to undermine the delegated authority given to man over the whole garden; therefore subjecting creation to decay, until the sons of God have been revealed.

Satan cannot take anything by force, he has no authority to do that. What he has to do is to persuade the one given authority, to give it up. When he approached Eve he could not demand anything of her, but was first able to persuade her that God did not say what she thinks He said, but that God was deceiving her. What satan persuaded Eve of, was that God didn’t want what was best for her and was denying her of her right to be like God.

Authority part 2

Last time I highlighted that we have all become used to being our own masters, to being the captain of our own ship and, so long as no-one gets hurt, we are able to do as we please.
The concept of being accountable to someone or even to a higher being stands contrary to the western mindset. I pointed out that we often call this new philosophy ‘Post Modernism’; as if we have now left the modern age and are living beyond what could be modern.
Following on from that, I want to point out that what has not been considered, and the reason why some wrong thinking has been allowed to permeate throughout society, is a lack of appreciation for the negative impact this is having. This philosophy is attacking the very authority God has laid down and the affect is being felt throughout all areas of society.
The biblical philosophy of authority stands contrary to the post modern philosophy, ‘of equality to all and that there is no such thing as truth!’ I hope we can consider the strengths of authority and submission to it; as a result the blessings that come from grasping true authority.
What is difficult for many to grasp is that there is a blessing to be had in taking up our authority and submitting to those who have already taken up theirs. What is peculiar to the current age is that it can be seen as arrogant to take up ones authority and weak to submit to another in authority. The world is crying out for strong leaders, yet will attack anyone taking up that authority. The same world is often in outcry at the lack of respect throughout society, at times yearning for some old fashioned values, yet at the same time will push for power to all and negate the need for accountability.
I make no apology for presenting authority from a biblical view. It was from God that authority was and still is being delegated. It was to this same authority that Jesus Christ himself submitted, therefore demonstrating both the requirement and benefits of both taking up our God given authority as well as submitting to those with authority over us.
What is to the shame of the Church is that there is a growing movement that complements the post modern philosophy and rejects any idea of God delegating authority to man.

Romans 13:1-2 (NKJV)
Let every soul be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and the authorities that exist are appointed by God. 2 Therefore whoever resists the authority resists the ordinance of God, and those who resist will bring judgment on themselves

Authority part 1

In this pluralistic age, where everyone is their own god, the words ‘submit’ and ‘authority’ are dirty & aged. We have all become used to being our own masters, to being the captain of our own ship and, so long as no-one gets hurt, able to do as we please.
The concept of being accountable to someone or even to a higher being stands contrary to the western mindset. We often call this new philosophy the ‘Post Modern age’; as if we have now left the modern age and are living beyond what could be modern.
The sense of power and freedom enjoyed by those who have embraced this concept, is unparalleled in all of history. There has never been a time when society can demand accountability, only when there can be proof of harm to another. All are encouraged to pursue their own gratification or journey in life, just don’t force what your believe on everyone else. This aversion to accountability has even permeated into our schools and our workplaces. Teachers are having to justify their position of authority to students, and then when these young people join the workforce, they are demanding equality with those who employ them.