Behind Closed Doors
Submission to Human Authority (Part II)
3/3/02
Today I want to talk with you about something that over time will significantly affect your relationships with other people, your relationship with God, your success on the job, and your ministry capacity. There are no easy answers in what I’m about to say- but answers do come if we live this way. There are no quick fixes in the message this morning, but to apply the principle to your life will fix a lot of problems.
My subject is Seven Truths about Human Authority. The last time I shared with you I dealt with the first three:
I.The Appointment of Human Authority over our lives
comes from God.
I am using the term Human Authority to refer to authority God gives to people over us in various areas of our lives. In his book Spiritual Authority Watchman Nee calls it delegated authority. We all claim to be under God’s authority. That can get very vague and subjective. But I want to suggest to you that my submission to God or your submission to God will be lived out in how we relate to people in authority over us.
Romans 13:1 pointedly says “…the authorities that exist are appointed by God.”
II.All Human Authority is Limited in its Scope.
Only God has absolute authority over our lives. But God segments our lives so thatdifferent individuals or governments have authority over different areas of our life-
at home there is accountability to family
members, on the job there is accountability
to a boss, at church there is spiritual
leadership, in society there are civil
authorities.
None of these authorities have a right to
totally govern our lives.
III. Submission to Human Authority is not based upon
our respect for the Person over us but for the
Office or Position that person is given by God.
We saw this demonstrated in the life of David as he submitted himself to King Saul and even though Saul was doing everything wrong and treating David so unjustly, still David honored Saul as “the Lord’s anointed.”
Now, lets consider four other Biblical principles of human authority.
IV. Rebellion against Human Authority comes out of a
Prideful Discontentment with
God’s Choices.
Does God have the Right to Put me anywhere He wants to in relationship to other people?
Can He put me in charge of whatever He wants?
Can He put me under whomever He wants to put me under?
Does the person over me have to be smarter than me, more capable than me, more spiritual than me?
Are there certain criteria they have to meet before I will submit to them? Or am I to recognize and respect the sovereignty of God in my life and take the place God gives me?
What did Joseph do when he found himself in Egypt?
What did Jesus do as He stood before Pilate at His trial?
We hear much in our society about human rights. But we don’t hear much about the rights of God. A very popular message in our society is how to climb the ladder to the top- how to be the best at what you do- how to excel above others.
And I do believe God wants to promote us and bless us –just like He promoted Joseph-just like He promoted David.But the way we get there is very different than the way the world tries to get there. It is good to have a dream, a goal, a purpose. It is good to pursue that dream in a disciplined manner. But the heart must stay surrendered to God and His sovereignty during the process.
“Humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God that He might exalt you in due time.”
The root of rebellion is pride. What happened to Lucifer in the origination of sin?
Ezekiel 28:17 “Your heart was lifted up because of your beauty. You corrupted your wisdom for the sake of your splendor.”
Pride was the original sin. That led to an unholy discontentment with the place God had given.
Turn with me to Isaiah 14:12-15
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! 13For 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;
14I will ascend above the heights of the clouds, I will be like the Most High.’
15Yet you shall be brought down to Sheol, To the lowest depths of the Pit. NKJV (1)
The cry of rebellion is always “I will ascend..” with an emphasis on the “I”. In contrast, Jesus said “He who exalts himself will be abased and he who humbles himself will be exalted.”
Lucifer was not satisfied with the place God had given him-he wanted something God had not given him- he wanted God’s throne.
Pride asks questions like “Why am I not in charge since I’m more capable than Him or her? I am not being treated with the respect I deserve. I’m being unjustly passed over. If people only knew how capable I am ; how spiritual I am. Etc.”
That’s the kind of thing that was going on in Korah’s heart when he rebelled against Moses. Numbers 16:3 “They(speaking of Korah and the 250 princes who
agreed with him) gathered together against Moses and Aaron, and said to them,
“You take too much upon yourselves, for all the congregation is holy, every one of them, and the LORD is among them. Why then do you exalt yourselves above the congregation of the LORD.” NKJV
They were saying, “Moses, we’re just as spiritual as you-maybe a little more so.
We are also of the tribe of Levi, the priestly tribe. We too are princes in Israel.You’re no better than us-so what makes you think you have the right to lead us?”
Its simply because God gave him that right and responsibility. Not because Moses was better but because the Sovereign God wanted him to and told him to do it.
In that situation Moses did not defend himself. He did not argue it out with Korah.
He simply fell on his face in prayer and committed it to God. Some of you know what happened. God opened the earth and swallowed up Korah and his followers
and destroyed them. That’s what God thinks about rebellion. Rebellion is always a symptom of pride and inflated idea of self importance.
Are you humbly filling the place God has given you at this time in life? Are you diligent to please the Lord and be faithful in that place? Or are you discontent?
Are you frustrated because your role is not as important as it ought to be- you’re not getting the recognition you feel you deserve?
V. God Defend Authority as Authority!
That means I might right about the issues I have taken up. But if my heart is in rebellion I am wrong as far as God is concerned. Turn to Numbers 12 (Read).
Here are Aaron & Miriam talking with each other about their leader’s problem.
It was a subtle thing. They were not leading an open rebellion the way Korah did.
They were just talking with each other-but in verse 2 we read these words “…and the Lord heard it.” God saw the rebellion behind their words. Behind the rebellion was spiritual pride. Verse 2 “…Has the Lord indeed spoken only through Moses? Has He not spoken through us also?” We pray more than Moses does. We prophesy.
We’re spiritual people. Who does he think he is telling us what to do?
Isn’t it amazing how easy it is for us to justify our rebellious attitudes? There are shortcomings in every leader. Moses had been married outside the Nation of Israel to a descendant of Ham. That was a big no, no according to their rules. Miriam & Aaron were older than Moses and in the Hebrew culture that gave them a certain status as well. And to top it off they were both in full agreement. You can always find someone to agree with you. And its very easy for us to take that as a sign we are right.
It would seem that all this talk went on Behind Closed Doors-but the Lord heard it.
Notice the Lord did not defend Moses’ marriage. He did not explain why He put the youngest of the three in charge. God simple defended the authority He had
established. Miriam was immediately struck with a terminal illness-leprosy.
How did she get healed? The person she was rebelling against prayed for her.
It was as she came back under that covering that her healing came.
I am not going to have time to deal with the other two truths this morning. So we will save them for next time. Last week when I was in Colorado Springs I share with Loren Houltberg, a Foursquare pastor in Kansas that I am preaching on this subject. He said that he had been talking with John Bevere and that he was in the process of publishing a book on this subject. The interesting thing is a few years ago when I began a lengthy series about the Fear of the Lord – some of you remember that 12 week series. Half way through that series a person brought me a book that had just come out by John Bevere on that subject. Anyway the Lord is speaking to us about the right attitudes toward authority.
Before I close I will just mention the other two truths concerning human authority.
VI. God provides Protection, Guidance and Blessing
through Human Authority.
God wants to bless us and take care of us but He has His way that He does it.
And many times He does it through the authority He places over us.
VII. Our Capacity to Function in authority is
directly Dependant upon our Submission to authority.
We’ll talk about that more next time as well.
It takes faith to submit to human authority – a faith that can look beyond the person and see a loving God “…working all things together for our good.”
Perhaps you’re here this morning and you’re saying in your heart “Lord, I believe,help my unbelief.” You know what, He will help you in that way. If you give Him the problem He will either change you or the circumstances or both. He will lovingly, and wisely change what needs to be changed. “Ask and you shall receive.”
If you’re here this morning and you’re not sure about your relationship with God or you want to submit yourself to God and get your relationship right with him – I want to encourage you to come and receive prayer and make that commitment to the Lord.
Note:
(1) Theologians disagree as to whether these passages in Isaiah 14 and Ezekiel 28 speak only of earthly rulers or prophetically look beyond those individuals into the distant past to the fall of Satan. I personally believe the magnitude of the claims in those
verses would indicate the latter. However, regardless of which theological position taken the principle being discussed still holds true.
Richard Tow
Grace Chapel Foursquare Church
Springfield, MO
www.gracechapelchurch.org
