TRUE AUTHORITY

Numbers 32:1-33:39; Luke 4:31-5:11; Psalm 64:1-10; Proverbs 11:22

 “But if you fail to keep your word, then you will have sinned against the Lord, and you may be sure that your sin will find you out.”

 “Amazed, the people exclaimed, ‘What authority and power this man’s words possess! Even evil spirits obey him, and they flee at his command!’ The news about Jesus spread through every village in the entire region.”

“Then everyone will be afraid; they will proclaim the mighty acts of God and realize all the amazing things he does.”

Never before have we had so much information with which we are so totally unprepared and unqualified to deal.  We long for leaders with real authority to guide us through the morass. Jesus understood the import of proven authority and recognized words alone don’t mean much. Without the demonstrated power of God, Christ would have been just another figurehead, a radical flame, quickly snuffed and soon forgotten. Without a life sustained by the Spirit that confirmed His Message, His gospel would have been just another exercise in the hypocrisy and inadequacy of “religious” thinking. The difference, of course, was that Jesus lived in radical reliance on true Kingdom influence. He acknowledged the words He spoke were not His own, but what the Father directed. He was bold enough to speak in the directly delegated power of Yahweh. But most important, His authority derived from His consistency in pointing to God, rather than Himself. This may be the truest indicator of His authority: He did not require it for Himself.  He never wavered or backed away from His Mission to bring others back into relationship with God. Whenever the spotlight shone too brightly on Him, He quickly turned it back to the Father.

There is a major difference between attempting to use the Spirit to bolster others’ perceptions of our authority and relying solely on the Spirit to reveal our authority. One works; one does not. The difference lies in the direction to which our authority points others. Every time I try to claim my “fifteen minutes of fame” from ministry, my spiritual authority promptly withers and my frustration increases. When I rely on the Spirit to point others to the Lord, even if the results are less than stellar, it’s not about me, and perseverance is far easier.

True authority is found only in those who don’t want the spotlight for themselves, and who use it as a tool to benefit others. True authority is manifested only in those who are willing to put themselves at the end of the line, and who are willing to empty themselves so the Holy Spirit might fill them. If Christians expect to have any authority, we must begin with a fundamental commitment to the principles of Scripture and the example of Christ’s life.