"Jesus, you're all this heart is living for...." I sang those words this morning in church. I so want them to be true. But, truth be told...the approval of my peers, well, not necessarily my peers, but the people I love, respect, care about deeply, means a lot to me. Too much, probably, to say that Jesus is ALL I'm living for. I wonder if Jesus was ever tempted just to maintain "status quo," to fly under the radar, to keep his mouth shut. I'm certainly tempted by that. What was it that constantly propelled him to stir the pot, to be contravertial, even confrontational? I think it's 'cause he knew without a doubt that the TRUTH would set us FREE.
In the interest of FREEDOM, I'm gonna take another kick at the can. What I write may not be the TRUTH (as in the whole truth and nothing but the truth), but I hope there are at least elements of truth in what I've been learning. I'm asking the Spirit of Truth to teach me the TRUTH...and if I ask for bread will he give me a stone??
So, here goes.....
There’s a statement going around in my current circle of influence about the sovereignty of God that starts out “God allows things he could prevent in order to…” I forget how it ends…something like; in order to bring us to him, or bring us to the end of ourselves, or to make us fit for heaven, or some such thing. Forgive me for misquoting. I’m not here to say whether I embrace that statement or not. I can’t even quote it.
Whether or not God “allows things he could prevent in order to…”, a question rumbling around in my brain is this. Do we (Christians) allow things WE could prevent, by remaining unaware of our rights of citizenship in the kingdom of God.
Kerry was recently rear ended in a multi-vehicle accident in Calgary. He remains unharmed…however the rear bumper of the car is in pretty bad shape. Enter, the insurance company. An adjuster called and recommended an approved repair shop to have it fixed. The repair shop recommended an approved rental car company to rent a car (on the insurance company) to commute while our car is repaired. So far so good. The rental company asks if we have collision coverage on our car, we say no we don’t, he says you can’t rent our car unless you put collision coverage on it, for a meager fee of $15 per day. Kerry goes “fair enough, I understand the need for coverage, I need the car”. Several days go by before Kerry mentions it to dear wifey. Dear wifey works in an insurance brokerage office. Alarm bells go off. Wifey goes to boss and asks why we have to pay $15 for collision coverage… do we not have a ‘loss of use clause’ to cover expenses such as these. Boss says “yes you have coverage. Call the rental company and tell them you are covered…you shouldn’t have to pay.” Wifey calls Kerry, Kerry calls rental company, …rental company drops the fee.
The point is, Kerry allowed himself to be billed $15/day because he was unaware of his rights, of his coverage, as an insured client of Wawanesa.
We are citizens of the Kingdom of God, we are children of God, we are heirs, we are priests, we are ambassadors. We have rights. We do not demand these rights of God, or of people, we demand them of the patterns of this world. We have authority, not over people, not over God, but over spiritual forces, rulers, powers of this dark world. We have been equipped to “stand our ground.” I believe WE allow things, bad things, into our lives and the lives of our loved ones, because WE are not aware of our rights, of our authority, of our power.
If all that is true of Christ is true of us (and we say we agree with this statement), and Christ has authority, then I have authority – in Christ. If he is powerful, then I am powerful – in Christ. “When Jesus had called the Twelve (disciples) together, he gave them power and authority to drive out all demons and to cure diseases, and he sent them out to preach the kingdom of God and to heal the sick.” Later he sent the 72 “who returned with joy and said, “Lord, even the demons submit to us in your name.”” Later he said “Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation. Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned. And THESE SIGNS WILL accompany those who believe; In my name they will drive out demons; they will speak in new tongues; they will pick up snakes with their hands; and when they drink deadly poison, it will not hurt them at all; they will place their hands on sick people, and they will get well.”
Did you ever notice that Jesus rebuked a fever. Did you know that a fever (at least this fever) is an “entity” of some sort that responds to the rebuke of Jesus? Weird, huh? Did you ever think to rebuke a fever?? It sounds crazy…but… Whatif I’m ALLOWING a fever (or whatever else) I could prevent, by simply rebuking it in the authority vested in me by Jesus Christ??
Notice the phrase “vested in me”. I hear that phrase at weddings. If I were to walk up to a young couple who were madly in love and “pronounce them man and wife”, would that make them married?? No. If my pastor, operating through the proper channels said those same words, would that make them married? Yes, it would. Why?? Because he has the authority to “pronounce them man and wife”. And there is quite a lot of legal procedure to go through to “un-pronounce” them.
A police man has authority, a life guard has authority, a parent has authority, each in their own jurisdiction. They know what they have authority over and what they do not.
Authority is often tested by those who wish to rebel against it. My junior high alumni has the proud distinction of being able to “crack” not one, but two junior high teachers. These teachers had authority over behavior in the class room. They say sit down…you’re meant to sit down. They say be quiet, you’re meant to be quiet. If you do not, then there are consequences. If there is not compliance to the discipline, then a higher authority is called in to apply further, more severe consequences. That’s how it’s meant to work. If, however, the teacher is not convinced of her authority, or properly trained in the use of her authority, or tries to exert authority outside of the boundaries of her authority, things start to fall apart. There are very few junior high students who will simply comply to authority without first testing the boundaries of it. It did not take long for any one of us to know who you could push around and who you could not. Those who would not be pushed, convinced us very early of their authority, and taught in relative peace and order their entire junior high career. Those whom we could push, we pushed until they fled the room in tears and eventually quit their jobs. No mercy. Both types of teachers had equal authority. One exercised it, on did not.
We have been seated with Christ in the heavenly realms, far above all power, rule and authority. We have been given fullness in Christ. What is true of Christ is true of us. Will we be tested in that authority?? You bet. Will our rights as citizens be undermined if we remain aware of them?? Absolutely.
I am only just beginning to understand what I have authority over. I am just beginning to exercise my authority over some things. Colds, for example seem to knock on the door, like a bad sales-man. I have only recently learned that I can say, no thank you, I’m not interested. Some sales-men/colds are very pushy, and I have to get quite insist that they are not welcome here. As with all sales-men, once they have entered the home, they are significantly harder to get rid of, so the key for me seems to be early detection and a firm no thank you. (not that you have to be polite to a cold…but hey, you get the drift…)
I have still more to say…but ….stay tuned.
In the interest of FREEDOM, I'm gonna take another kick at the can. What I write may not be the TRUTH (as in the whole truth and nothing but the truth), but I hope there are at least elements of truth in what I've been learning. I'm asking the Spirit of Truth to teach me the TRUTH...and if I ask for bread will he give me a stone??
So, here goes.....
There’s a statement going around in my current circle of influence about the sovereignty of God that starts out “God allows things he could prevent in order to…” I forget how it ends…something like; in order to bring us to him, or bring us to the end of ourselves, or to make us fit for heaven, or some such thing. Forgive me for misquoting. I’m not here to say whether I embrace that statement or not. I can’t even quote it.
Whether or not God “allows things he could prevent in order to…”, a question rumbling around in my brain is this. Do we (Christians) allow things WE could prevent, by remaining unaware of our rights of citizenship in the kingdom of God.
Kerry was recently rear ended in a multi-vehicle accident in Calgary. He remains unharmed…however the rear bumper of the car is in pretty bad shape. Enter, the insurance company. An adjuster called and recommended an approved repair shop to have it fixed. The repair shop recommended an approved rental car company to rent a car (on the insurance company) to commute while our car is repaired. So far so good. The rental company asks if we have collision coverage on our car, we say no we don’t, he says you can’t rent our car unless you put collision coverage on it, for a meager fee of $15 per day. Kerry goes “fair enough, I understand the need for coverage, I need the car”. Several days go by before Kerry mentions it to dear wifey. Dear wifey works in an insurance brokerage office. Alarm bells go off. Wifey goes to boss and asks why we have to pay $15 for collision coverage… do we not have a ‘loss of use clause’ to cover expenses such as these. Boss says “yes you have coverage. Call the rental company and tell them you are covered…you shouldn’t have to pay.” Wifey calls Kerry, Kerry calls rental company, …rental company drops the fee.
The point is, Kerry allowed himself to be billed $15/day because he was unaware of his rights, of his coverage, as an insured client of Wawanesa.
We are citizens of the Kingdom of God, we are children of God, we are heirs, we are priests, we are ambassadors. We have rights. We do not demand these rights of God, or of people, we demand them of the patterns of this world. We have authority, not over people, not over God, but over spiritual forces, rulers, powers of this dark world. We have been equipped to “stand our ground.” I believe WE allow things, bad things, into our lives and the lives of our loved ones, because WE are not aware of our rights, of our authority, of our power.
If all that is true of Christ is true of us (and we say we agree with this statement), and Christ has authority, then I have authority – in Christ. If he is powerful, then I am powerful – in Christ. “When Jesus had called the Twelve (disciples) together, he gave them power and authority to drive out all demons and to cure diseases, and he sent them out to preach the kingdom of God and to heal the sick.” Later he sent the 72 “who returned with joy and said, “Lord, even the demons submit to us in your name.”” Later he said “Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation. Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned. And THESE SIGNS WILL accompany those who believe; In my name they will drive out demons; they will speak in new tongues; they will pick up snakes with their hands; and when they drink deadly poison, it will not hurt them at all; they will place their hands on sick people, and they will get well.”
Did you ever notice that Jesus rebuked a fever. Did you know that a fever (at least this fever) is an “entity” of some sort that responds to the rebuke of Jesus? Weird, huh? Did you ever think to rebuke a fever?? It sounds crazy…but… Whatif I’m ALLOWING a fever (or whatever else) I could prevent, by simply rebuking it in the authority vested in me by Jesus Christ??
Notice the phrase “vested in me”. I hear that phrase at weddings. If I were to walk up to a young couple who were madly in love and “pronounce them man and wife”, would that make them married?? No. If my pastor, operating through the proper channels said those same words, would that make them married? Yes, it would. Why?? Because he has the authority to “pronounce them man and wife”. And there is quite a lot of legal procedure to go through to “un-pronounce” them.
A police man has authority, a life guard has authority, a parent has authority, each in their own jurisdiction. They know what they have authority over and what they do not.
Authority is often tested by those who wish to rebel against it. My junior high alumni has the proud distinction of being able to “crack” not one, but two junior high teachers. These teachers had authority over behavior in the class room. They say sit down…you’re meant to sit down. They say be quiet, you’re meant to be quiet. If you do not, then there are consequences. If there is not compliance to the discipline, then a higher authority is called in to apply further, more severe consequences. That’s how it’s meant to work. If, however, the teacher is not convinced of her authority, or properly trained in the use of her authority, or tries to exert authority outside of the boundaries of her authority, things start to fall apart. There are very few junior high students who will simply comply to authority without first testing the boundaries of it. It did not take long for any one of us to know who you could push around and who you could not. Those who would not be pushed, convinced us very early of their authority, and taught in relative peace and order their entire junior high career. Those whom we could push, we pushed until they fled the room in tears and eventually quit their jobs. No mercy. Both types of teachers had equal authority. One exercised it, on did not.
We have been seated with Christ in the heavenly realms, far above all power, rule and authority. We have been given fullness in Christ. What is true of Christ is true of us. Will we be tested in that authority?? You bet. Will our rights as citizens be undermined if we remain aware of them?? Absolutely.
I am only just beginning to understand what I have authority over. I am just beginning to exercise my authority over some things. Colds, for example seem to knock on the door, like a bad sales-man. I have only recently learned that I can say, no thank you, I’m not interested. Some sales-men/colds are very pushy, and I have to get quite insist that they are not welcome here. As with all sales-men, once they have entered the home, they are significantly harder to get rid of, so the key for me seems to be early detection and a firm no thank you. (not that you have to be polite to a cold…but hey, you get the drift…)
I have still more to say…but ….stay tuned.
posted by toomanywhatifs at
7:44 PM
5 Comments:
I really don't think it's quite that cut and dry. I certainly don't disagree with you that we have been given authority to do many things for God and yet we don't take the time to understand or aknowledge them. I do however KNOW that there are times when God steps back for various reasons whether to strengthen us or to teach us. Otherwise this little passage would not exist.
2 Corinthians 12: 7-9
To keep me from becoming conceited because of these surpassingly great revelations, there was given me a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness."
If God was not willing to take it from Paul, what chance did Paul have of removing it himself? Yet he was told he was given authority to do so.....
....not in this case. God needed to align his heart, mind and comprehension as to reliance on him. Once again, I'm not saying your wrong....as a matter of fact I think you're right on. I do however believe that if we need a correction of course in our walk with God, he will provide it by over-ruling that authority in order that we again realize that authority without recognition of the king is no authority at all.
Otherwise, we may as well all be a bunch of "name it and claim it" folks.
By
Born to be Transformed, at 1:10 PM
J: I hesitate to use that scripture because of my lack of surpassingly great revelations, third heaven and such things. Another point to ponder...(I read this point in a book, I should read it again so I can verify it, but...)...one other reference to a "thorn" in the Bible referred to a PERSON who was constantly undermining another persons work. Since the Bible seldom refers to "the flesh" as skin and bones, and often refers to it as mans pride, independance and inability to please God outside of Christ's righteousness, the above makes sense to me. It is not difficult to imagine someone following Paul around in ministry and contantly undermining his work and his message. Think of all the rants about false teachers. Maybe one guy persistantly got under his skin. We do not have authority over the actions of other people, due to the exceptionally high value God puts on man's free will.
Another point is this. This verse is constantly used as the be all and end all proof that God does not always heal. Given that the meaning of the phrase is still unclear and unproven, I'd like the case to be built on a few more verses. We are constantly warned about building a theology on one single verse. Lay a few more verses on me and lets see what happens.
By
toomanywhatifs, at 5:17 PM
As I read through the book of John one of the things that stands out to me is that yes, Jesus was God, had all authority but He only did and said what His Father told Him to do or say.
I'm thinking the tricky part is to "know" Abba in such an intimate way.
By
Anonymous, at 7:59 AM
I'm with JAJA on this one (hey there JAJA, how are ya? Long time no see). The name-it-and-claim-it gospel leaves me cold.
Just something to think about:
Even supposing that this verse is taken out of context, why couldn't/shouldn't/wouldn't God's grace be sufficient for us in ALL circumstances? Does God's grace leave us when we are ill or in traction?
Why the constant need to have (or even demand) a healthy life? I go back to my thought that he never promised it to us, we have no reason to expect such, and the other thing is I think it's just plain wrong to accuse someone of having little faith because they are stricken with a disease of whatever sort, or to inform them they are not living in faith because they have sought out medical help.
I'm not going to add anything further to this train of thought. I don't claim to be right, I'm just saying what's on my heart. Right now my heart is saying, enough is enough. I'm done.
By
Annacond, at 9:05 AM
I photoed (?) a wedding on Saturday. I've done many. This one was wonderful, perhaps my favorite. I don't even know them. No expectations forced on me except to "capture our wedding in your photojournalist fashion"...love it. Artistic licence and free reign. Here comes the tricky bit. This crew was poor in the planning dept. I'm not big on massive cement-type planning, but these guys neglected to have rings in place, flowers pinned to people, shoes on or water to combat bridal dry-mouth nerves. They even "lost" the keys to their getaway car...I found them. Very carefree, perhaps to a fault. So, since I was there anyway, I began to run around and do little things that needed doing. I even chauffered some family around.
As the ceremony drew near, I began to get concerned that I was loosing my focus. I had to stop everything else I was up to, and attack the job at hand.
The shots are brilliant as it turns out, they even paid me before I left the reception. All around happiness. Thanx Jesus!!!
The point to this is simple, as you pointed out.
I, as the photographer, was given all authority and walked in it. Because of this, and recognising it, I was able to do my bit very well AND lots of other neccesary and overlooked things besides. The moment I wondered in authority, even though my wondering was good, I experienced strife.
In Jesus, we have authority. We must not only walk in it, but understand to what magnitude we have been given it.
Also, in saying that, we must understand that just because we pray or expect stuff, doesn't mean that things will go our way. Thats a dangerous illusion to be distracted by.
Thanx for the post...good meat and drink to ponder!
By
Spoke, at 9:03 AM
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