The Authority Of Christ

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• Pray

Matt. 8:9

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."

Isaiah 9:6
For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

Greek word used here is Strong’s # 1849 “exousia” translated – “it is lawful” “permission” the idea is delegated authority – the authority given by something or someone who can. The federal state or local government gives authority to the IRS, congress, street dept. military, police, etc

• Jesus impressed, not so much that the Roman centurion knew what authority was, but the fact that he realized that it was vital to be under authority (as he was) and likewise, to have authority over others (as he was, and in Jesus’ case, healing too).
• Clearly, Isaiah 9:6 Jesus has Jesus as the ultimate authority – NOTE WORD GOVERNMENT –NOT THERE BY MISTAKE OR MEANINGLESS.

The centurion also knew he (the centurion) was Jesus’ civil authority. But Jesus, because He had the power to heal (he sensed Jesus was superior)

, was his (centurion) supreme authority.

Old axiom – military in origin that you cannot give orders unless you can take orders.

• God’s whole Kingdom based on authority (chain of command) – A Father acting in His kids’ best interest.

Chain of command in best interest of:

1. military
2. family
3. civil
4. company
5. Etc. - Etc.

God’s Order:

1. God The Father – The Word (Jesus) – Holy Spirit
2. Jesus (on earth) -
   • man on earth / God in heaven - John 1:1, 1:14 (read), tempted in every point as we are, name above every name.

• Under the authority of God The Father – Lk 2:49 “about my father’s business” , John 8:28 “I do only that which my Father tells me”, Mark 14:36 “not my will but yours be done”

• Read John 8:25-8:40

3. Government – Federal, State and Civil – for the protection of the individual and the family.

1 Cor 12:28

And God hath set some in the church, first apostles, secondarily prophets, thirdly teachers, after that miracles, then gifts of healings, helps, governments, diversities of tongues

4. Pastor – to guide father and mother in spiritual things so they can guide the family in spiritual things.

5. Father – Genesis / God’s image – man - dominion

6. Mother / wife – Genesis – Adam’s helper

7. Children (family) – To learn by being under authority and be protected as they learn the lessons of life in relation to all spiritual things.

Authority established by God for our protection – example: the family established for the protection and well being of its members.

Matt. 18:3

And said, Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven.

• become as little children (under there Fathers protection and Authority)

• God being perfect established His system of order or authority which is in turn perfect.

• System is not broken, through sin, those who administer it are.

(misuse of power, accused etc.)

Prov 29:2 When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice: but when the wicked beareth rule, the people mourn.

1. God gives us a choice, accept Him or not. -free gift
   1. garden of Eden – man not forced to worship God (obedience or disobedience)
   2. Eph 2:8-9
   3. God made a choice to sacrifice His Son
   4. We have a choice to accept or reject. John 3;16, 17 (read)
2. When we choose God through His Son

a. we choose every thing God makes available to us – Why would we not want it? : (List – count blessings)

2. We have accepted free gift of salvation

c. We are joint heirs to Dad’s Kingdom -

Rom 8 :17 Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory

• If we accept the salvation God offers to us we can an will achieve spiritual freedom.
• Our lives will be changed. Those around us.
• Stay with it – meditate on Word daily – (Rom 12:2 Josh 1:8)

John 4:23
Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks.

John 8:32
Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free."

2 Corinthians 3:17
Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.

If we choose to be under the authority of the Word of God, we will do what the Word says, and since we are spirits, we can then expect the things the Word promises – salvation, freedom and truth, to be under a loving Father protective umbrella.

The Basis For What We Believe

Text:, Col 2:13-15, Rom 5:19

Colossians – Freedom from the law, to expose false teaching religious and self-righteousness through ritual

Romans – Explains Christianity

These two verses sum up what God has done for mankind as He re-established His Kingdom.

A.

Col 2:13 new living Translation

You were dead because of your sins and because you’re sinful nature was not yet cut away. Then God made you alive with Christ. He forgave all our sins.

1. Dead because of sinful nature – Sinful nature is in mankind because of disobedience by Adam to God.

Gen 3:1 – 7

• This passage explains why bad thing happen to good people – why bad thing happen in the world
• You MUST under stand this for anything to make sense

2. Cut away
   1. circumcision – a ritual God commanded Moses to perform on his people ( his charges ) or oversee it done, in the wilderness.

No law from Adam till Moses

2. The idea being a setting themselves apart in a way that they will not forget, that

They remember the act of obedience (and disobedience). – note that obedience is required as He re-establishes His Kingdom.

3. The ownership was transferred for a time to Satan, (who had been kicked out of heaven) – God had to do this because this because He is perfect. The Word says – Pslm 138:2 He magnified thy Word above all thy name. God is a God of perfection. He always does what He says He is going to do – God is CHRACTER

He ALWAYS holds Himself to standards of:

• Legality
• Faithfulness – He always does what He says He will do – NEVER forces anything on anybody

3. Made you alive with Christ

a. Made you and I equals – co-laborers – equals – joint heirs

Rom 8:17 - And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with [him], that we may be also glorified together.

The idea is that if we accept Christ as God into our hearts, then we have Life as He Has – eternal life with God – forever – Part of His Family

B.

Col 2:14 New Living Translation

He canceled the record that contained the charges against us. He took it and destroyed it by nailing it to Christ's cross

1. Cancelled the record – KJV says “blotted out the handwriting”. The idea is that the debt we owe is done away with.

Hebrew word for cancelled is interesting because one of it’s definitions is the canceling of a debt owed. That is exactly the meaning here because when we accept Christ, our accountability or debt that must be paid (God is a perfect God), for the sin inherent in man, by the work Christ did at the cross.

3. Make a show of them openly

• Crashed party in hell – Christ Conquers Death – “more than conquerors in Christ”
• Matt 16:19
• Rom 8:37
• In ancient times returning king – parade spoils of war and leaders upon re-entry of palace or castle walls
• Christ exposes the devil to us – makes fun of him – give us the keys to life and death

Calls us more than conquerors – of death

• Tells us we are the head and not the tail
• Tells us there is no condemnation
• Makes provision for sins to be forgiven - on and on

All of these things are because of Christ and only through Him

It is our job to stay in Him

• Bible study
• Prayer
• Meditation – read Word - study

In The World But Not Of The World

As I look at the news today I can’t help but think the world has gone wacky.  Society calls the things that are wrong right and right things wrong.  Down is up and up is down.

Without Jesus, we should be surprised, with Him as our Lord and Savior we shouldn’t. I must confess that even though I am a blood-bought child of The Living God, I have a hard time (at times) with what’s going on in the world. When I think of the guy on a cruise after perhaps saving for the cruise for years, to be met by a guy in a haz-mat suit because of a Ebola virus quarantine on board, I wonder what is going on. I wonder at what point do I say “wow…that’s as good as it gets”. Or just laugh to keep from crying.

We live in a broken world and have for thousands of years.  Why, as followers of Christ, would or should we be surprised that the world seems to be off the rails now? (Glad you asked) I think it is partially that even though we intellectually know parts of the big-picture God has for the future, we can’t see it that readily. We then get focused on our situation – on ourselves and we have a tendency to focus on the negative aspects of all we can see.

The other part of the answer to that question is the FACT that the Kingdom Of God is EXACTLY the opposite of the kingdom of the world. God’s Kingdom serves, changes hearts from the inside out and thus manifest in changed behavior rooted in love. The broken kingdom of the world can only control behavior by force or threat of force from the outside in. The world’s only concern is if our behavior lines up. The world does not and cannot care about the motivation of hearts. The two will always be at odds – it can be no other way.

Even for Christians it seems the expectation is for conditions in their world, town, state, city or neighborhood to always get better. The fact is though - The world is degenerating. I don't mean that we shouldn't or can't change our individual situations.  We think positively and take control (we think) of our situations to make them have the best possible outcome for us. We plan for the future, careers, family, vacations, college, retirement etc.  We should plan for these things.  It would very be foolish not to.

 We can and should do this. We should do everything we can to have a Kingdom influence – pray, have faith for (after prayer and study to find and know Christ’s mind and example) and act within the confines of the governing laws - remember Christ never once railed against the oppressive Romans or broke their laws. He never once criticizes or bad mouthed the Roman government.  In fact he forgave them and prayed for them.  He instructs His disciples (and us) to go the extra mile for them. 

 I’m convinced that Jesus doesn’t care about your political affiliations.  He doesn’t care if you’re a democrat, a republican, a socialist or whatever.  What He cares about, is whether you follow Him or not.  

We take our example from God.  God is a God of organization and planning, He does nothing haphazardly, He never acts rashly or shoots from the hip.  He has a set of values and standards He has passed on to us.  Those standards are called the Word.

Many places in The Word, God tells us to meditate on it (His Word). When we do this regularly, we start to see things as He sees them. We start to know His mind. We see different problems. Thank God – we see different solutions!

The more we hold to His Word and stick to His thinking, the more we recognize just how upside down the world really is.  John tells us that we are in the world but not of the world.

In Joshua 5:13, the Commander of the Lord’s army (whom we know as Jesus), tells Joshua that He is on no one’s side.  This tells me that Joshua’s commander was God and it also tells me The Lord is with those that are with Him (in context).

It follows then, if Jesus is the Word (John 1:1.and 14), and The Word is God, and He is with those who are for Him and He has provided His Word to us so we can know Him, then it also follows that we know Him and follow Him by utilizing and meditating on His Word as made available to us. Namely The Bible.

To meditate means to mull over, kick around in your mind, to ponder and to think about deeply. You can go to the internet and read up on methods to meditate on The Word. While there is nothing wrong with employing or learning a new method for anything. We should always be learning God’s Word and ways to study it. In fact, I am going to re-post a study on a method of meditation on The Word that changed my life as only God’s Word can.

Remember though, the children of Israel, as they received this instruction had no internet. Bible study instruction was nonexistent because there was no Bible. They had God’s Word to think about and mull over in their minds and most importantly to act on and employ in their lives – in everything they did. It is obviously impossible for them or us to employ anything in their or our lives without thinking about it.

 The focus here is on God’s Word – it can, does and will change lives. Meditating, thinking about,  focusing on, His words and thoughts changes our point of view to His. We then know Him more and more. The more we know Him, the easier it is to have faith in and act on what He is telling us to do.

The fact is we MUST do this on PURPOSE. Meditating on The Word won’t happen otherwise. We can’t know Him otherwise. We can’t expect God’s Word to work in our lives if He has nothing to work with. We can’t see things from His perspective if we don’t know it because we haven’t thought it over, kicked it around in our minds, thought about, thought deeply or pondered it. It's on us!

He is telling us what to do Joshua 1:8 (meditate on The Word) and then leaving it up to us Deut. 30:19 (choose life).

Be Set Like Flint

• Pray
• Text -  Isaiah 50:7  For the Lord GOD will help me; therefore shall I not be confounded: therefore have I set my face like a flint, and I know that I shall not be ashamed.

• Flint abundant in mideast wilderness

• Known to be very hard –arrow heads – holds edge – stays in the shape it’s given

• When the stone was cut by a craftsman, worked, (set) - it was there, established, not going away. (GOD is a Craftsman (Isa 64:8 – potter clay / formed you and I)

When people looked to a God they could not see - in faith, then suddenly He became clear to them and there spiritual eyes were opened  - David knew God, was an example of faith and the relationship that ensues, to his people and to us – relationships grow out of faith

·       We cant see the wind but we can see what the wind does

Lets look at Psalm 8 to get a look at one of David’s examples and what he realized as his relationship grew

Psalm 8

 

1 O LORD, our Lord,
       how majestic is your name in all the earth!
       You have set your glory
       above the heavens.

A. 1^st Lord = Hebrew NAME of God. Yahweh, eternal, supernatural

       B. 2^nd Lord = master, superintendent, king, of men

·          the idea is that God of their worship is their master. He is Greater than His creation (Rom 1:19-23)

C. The earth is too small for His Glory – It takes an infinite universe to show The Glory of an Infinite   God – no time or space limitations

2 From the lips of children and infants
       you have ordained praise ^[b]
       because of your enemies,
       to silence the foe and the avenger.

A.    God uses the weakest, most frail instrument to give him praise. Their instinct is to give Him spontaneous praise – He, because of His Glory, is so apparent.

B.    God uses these to silence those who rail or come against Him (Matt 21:16). – Read Matt 21;14-17

 3 When I consider your heavens,
       the work of your fingers,
       the moon and the stars,
       which you have set in place,

A.     The magnificence of the visible heavens for the purpose of illustrating God , who, though the mighty Creator of these glorious worlds of light, makes man the object of His favor.

a.   The universe and stars are too much to grasp or comprehend, yet for you it was nothing to create – set in order science and math physics order – it is rocket science

4 what is man that you are mindful of him,
                the son of man that you care for him?

A.    literally “frail” man

B.    son of man – all lower case, only varies in the form of speech, mankind.

C.    Care – some versions say visiteth = God shows us favor  (Psalms 65:10)

D.    Who am I that the Creator God cares about me?… If God cares about David – He cares about me and you – If he will meet David in a pasture He will meet you and me you and me here, on the street, in our yard or basement - anywhere

5 You made him a little lower than the heavenly beings ^[c]
       and crowned him with glory and honor.

·          Angels can’t watch over us if they are bound to the same limitations as us

·          They don’t know the concept of time

·          Bible says the are “ministering spirits” to us – our servants  (Heb 1:14)

·          They carry out the work of God – no free will (because of that, WE are the only ones who can worship Him – that is one of the reasons we were created, to have relationship with God) (

 6 You made him ruler over the works of your hands;
       you put everything under his feet:

·         Royal dignity, Hebrews says we are joint heirs with Christ – (Psalm 21:5, 45:3, Romans 8:16-17)

 7 all flocks and herds,
       and the beasts of the field,

·         Dominion over all – Genesis 1:26-28

 8 the birds of the air,
       and the fish of the sea,
       all that swim the paths of the seas.

·         Genesis

 9 O LORD, our Lord,
       how majestic is your name in all the earth!

·         General praise of His Glory – David sums up his awe of God