How many of us in our walk with the Lord, have esteemed and sought after the godly authority demonstrated throughout the Bible by prophets, apostles, and our Lord Jesus Christ. To name but a few of the men God used mightily, such as Moses, Joshua, Elijah, Elisha, Samuel, Paul, Peter and the crowning glory of them all – Jesus, the Son of God.
These patriarchs, (apart from Jesus,) were mere men, just as you and I are, but were prepared by God to fulfil a divine destiny and plan of God. They each had to learn to know the voice of God and develop an intimate relationship with Him, esteeming and loving Him in a healthy “fear of the Lord,” (the only fear that is healthy!) A walk of obedience to the Lord results in intimacy in relationship with Him, as we submit to His authority in our lives.
There are times when the Lord requires something of us and He will not permit us to share it with others. We submit, as unto Him, living to Him and not to man and thus developing intimacy with Him. As we journey through life and submit and humble under God’s mighty hand then we learn to come under His divine authority.
Let us read again the account of the Centurion in Matthew 8:5 – 13.
“There came unto Jesus a centurion, beseeching Him, and saying, Lord, my servant is lying at home sick of the palsy, grievously tormented. Jesus said unto him, I will come and heal him. The centurion answered and said, Lord, I am not worthy that you should come under my roof: but speak the word only, and my servant shall be healed. For I am a man under authority, having soldiers under me: and I say to this man, Go, and he goes, and to another, Come, and he comes; and to my servant, Do this, and he does it.”
Jesus marvelled at his faith and in verse 13 said,”Go thy way; and as thou hast believed, so be it done unto thee.”
The Centurion was a man who understood and demonstrated authority. His “OVER” came out of his “UNDER.” So it is with us. As we walk with the Lord in our daily circumstances and learn to submit to Him, the life of the Indwelling Christ in us will be released more and more. We will find ourselves in every day situations and will unconsciously release, tap into and demonstrate the “life of Another,” i.e.Jesus. The words we speak will bring peace, disperse confusion, de-fuse anger, convict a sinner – the list is endless! Only in retrospect do we realise that the words we spoke unconsciously came from the divine source within us – Jesus! We all have to learn the pitfalls of our fleshly nature and recognise the work of the divine life within us, teaching us humility and giving God the credit, the glory, as He replaces our nature with His beauty and treasures of wisdom. Godly authority is given to a yielded life. We have to learn to hold and handle this treasure. “Having” and “handling” are related. We may desire something but can we handle it to the glory of God? Can God trust us with it?
Matthew 6:13 records the words of Jesus, “…for Thine is the kingdom, Thine is the power and Thine is the glory, forever, Amen.” The power (authority) of God is given for the extension of His kingdom, for His glory. So many have desired the power and authority for their own glory, but God will not release it into the lives of men that cannot be trusted with this divine tool for their own ends. Godly authority is given to those who can be trusted to handle it to the glory of God, for divine purpose. This has to be learnt under submission to God as we journey through life on our divine pilgrimage. As this process takes place, I begin to appreciate the difference between self consciousness and self awareness.
Self consciousness is related to what man thinks of me, e.g. living to people and seeking acceptance from them. Self awareness is recognising the gift within me and living in God’s acceptance, portrayed by a quiet confidence in my relationship with Him.
We have learnt through the school of experience that God has changed the wickedness of our heart, related to self-consciousness. In times past we have reacted very wrongly in given situations that we now respond to peaceably through the divine life released from within us, related to self-awareness….see John 5:30 Jesus said,”I can of mine own self do nothing,” He recognised that the power operating through Him was OF His Father, God. Self awareness operates in an unconscious fear of the Lord with a knowledge that the Indwelt Christ can operate through me, speaking the language of heaven. This divine life is the “life of Another” demonstrating authority for kingdom purposes.
A critical spirit demonstrated by judgements of others and God, needs repenting of. It grieves the Holy Spirit and stagnates my walk with the Lord. In repentance, truth and humility I “clear the road and make wide the way” for the Lord to restore the intimacy in our relationship. Humility releases the divine life of Jesus within me.
The birthright of a Believer is to demonstrate godly authority, but we cannot clothe our carnal nature of criticisms and judgements in a religious robe and walk in our full inheritance. “God resists the proud,” 1 Peter 5:5. My pride is revealed in my judgements of others when the truth is that “there but for the grace of God, go I.” If I do not believe this then I will prove it. My present judgements father my future failures – Romans 2:1 “Therefore thou art inexcusable, O man, whosoever thou art that judgest: for wherein thou judgest another, thou condemnest thyself; for thou that judgest does the same things.”
Let us joyfully embrace the harness of the Lord He has provided for each of us to learn of Him. God’s joy and peace are hallmarks of a Believer’s birthright, as we journey with Him, sweetly submitting to His authority, walking in truth and addressing situations with a RIGHT SPIRIT. Colossians 2:3 records that in Jesus are hidden “all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.” Come forth in me, Lord Jesus!
“sweet will of God, still fold me closer,Till I am wholly lost in Thee”
God bless, and thank you. Love to all,
Susan