The Key To Authority
I.
Authority is not found in
the magnitude of your effort, it’s found in the precision of your obedience
A. Authority is not found in
the one who prays the longest or the loudest, it’s found in the one who does
exactly what the Father tells them to do-John 14:21
1.
When
Jesus had the Father’s orders and kept them the Father manifested himself (by doing the works)
a. Mark 4:40-Jesus had
orders and spoke to the storm and the Father stopped the storm; That was the
Father manifesting himself
b. John 11:44-Jesus had
orders from the Father and spoke to Lazarus and the Father rose him from the
dead; That was the Father manifesting himself
2.
20,21-You
could be born again have the Father in you, but not have his orders and not
keep them and you would never see him manifest
a. To the degree you see the Father manifest will be measured
out based on the level of your obedience
3.
21-The
person who has his orders and attends
to them carefully, that means you do exactly what he says to do, that
person will see the Jesus manifest unto them
a. When we hear from Jesus
and get his orders and then do exactly what he tells us to do he’ll manifest
himself to us by doing the works
4.
It’s not the person, the
church, the community or the nation who in their desperation for God prays the
longest and the loudest that will see him move; it’s the people who do exactly
what he says that will see him manifest
a. A major misconception in
the church is that if we just pray long enough and loud enough and get
desperate enough for a move of God, God will move-2 Chronicles 7:14
b. The flesh doesn’t like
that b/c anybody can throw a prayer fit, but it takes effort, time, &
diligence to develop the skill of hearing the voice of God, knowing the voice
of God, & being led of him; Anybody can come in a throw a fit for a few
hours, but to hear the voice of God requires your life
B. There’s no power in vain
repetitions (Matthew 6:7)
1.
What
are vain repetitions? They are a lot of your own effort with little to no power
a. To repeat the same thing
over and over, to use many idle words, to babble, to stammer
b. AMP-Do not heap up phrases, multiply words, repeating the same
ones over and over again
c. Vain-Fruitless, Ineffectual, Empty, Worthless, Having no
substance, value or importance, Not effectual
2.
Repetition doesn’t not
make you effective; what makes you effective is saying what you are told
a. People think they are
going to be heard for their much speaking; they think repeating it is going to
make it effective when he reality what makes a person effective is doing what
the Father showed them to do and saying what the Father told them to say
3.
When
is repetition okay? When is it not okay?
a. Philippians 4:6, Hebrews
13:15-In thanksgiving
1)
That’s
how you communicate with God about your situation once you’ve done what he
showed you to do and said what he told you to say
b. Joshua 1:8-In meditation
(Speaking the Word)
1)
That’s
for building faith in your heart
2)
That’s
the word of God continually being thought on, muttered and spoken day and night
c. Mark 11:24-Not in prayer
to God
1)
You
believe you receive when you pray so there’s no need to pray again
d. James 4:7, Matthew
16:19-Not in exercising authority over the devil
1)
He
heard you the first time; When you resist him he flees, When you bind him, he
is bound
e. Mark 11:23-Not speaking
to the mountain; The mountain heard you the first time
1)
If
you believe that what you say comes to pass, then there’s no need to say it to
the mountain repeatedly
2)
You
speak to the mountain what God tells you to say and then you thank God like
it’s done
4.
Jesus
(When Jesus spoke to situations and exercised his authority he’s not using many
words)
a. 9 words to the fig
tree-No man eat fruit of thee hereafter for ever
b. 10 words to the
mountain-Be thou removed and be thou cast into the sea
c. 3 words to the
storm-Peace be still
d. 3 words to
Lazarus-Lazarus come forth
5.
Too
many words usually reveals:
a. You haven’t heard from
the Father what to say, so you’re just saying your own stuff
b. You trust in your own
effort
c. No confidence in the
Kingdom process of authority
d. Lack of faith-The more
words you need usually the less faith you have
e. Lack of understanding
6.
You
do what the Father shows you to do and then you step back and rest
a. When are words aren’t
from the Father they become idle words-Matthew 12:37
b. Now is when faith comes
to play; because if it didn’t change right away you need to not be moved
c. Now is when resting faith
comes in to play; if something doesn’t change then just rest, don’t go do
something that the Father didn’t tell you to do
d. “Maybe I’m not doing
something or I need to do something” if you do the Father will show you
II.
The people who God uses,
the people who God works through in a mighty way, the people who walk in great
authority are the ones that look to him, hear from him and do exactly what He
tells them to do
A. You do have authority;
you have Heaven’s authority and you’ll see that authority work if you’ll do
what Heaven says
1.
The
Kingdom Process Of Authority-The Father shows me what to do and say by His
Spirit, I do it and say it, the Father in me does the works
2.
It’s
not Jesus picking what he would do and say and the Father doing the
works or Jesus saying a bunch of stuff and just hoping the Father blesses some
of it
3.
Do you know whom God is
going to work through in a boundless way? The people that will do exactly what
they are told. We like to assume we
are these people, but most have much room for development
B. Moses was used of God and
walked in authority because he did what he was told
1.
Exodus
14:12-Moses walked in great authority
a. 14-Moses knows the
process: The Father does the work and you shut up
b. 15-Crying unto God isn’t
going to do anything to help in this situation
1)
Moses
had been authorized to lead the people out of Egypt and into the promise land
so there’s no need for him to cry to God to do something
2)
Once you’ve been
authorized crying to God is unacceptable; To many that’s Christianity in a
nutshell, crying to God to get Him to do something that He authorized them to
do
c. 16-God told Moses to
divide the sea; This authorized Moses to do it
d. 21-Moses walked in
authority because he did exactly what he was told
1)
Did you notice God didn’t
do any work until somebody did exactly what he said
e. 26-For the water to cover
the Egyptians God told Moses to stretch his hand over the sea and then Moses
did exactly what he was told and the Father did the work
2.
Numbers
12:3-Moses walked in that authority because he was meek; he looked to God and
did what he was told (Meek-Yielding, Submissive, Humble)
a. Moses was the most used
man of his generation, he was also the meekest man in his generation
3.
Numbers
20:1-Moses lost his authority because he didn’t do exactly what he was told
a. 6-This is why Moses
walked in great authority---He looked to God
b. 8-The instructions were
to take the rod, gather the people and speak to the rock
1)
10-The
orders didn’t say anything about speaking to the people
2)
11-The
orders didn’t say anything about hitting the rock
c. 12-Moses lost his
authority to take them into the promise land---Doing exactly what you are told
is big in the eyes of God
1)
MSG-Because you didn’t
trust me, didn’t treat me with Holy reverence in front of the people of Israel,
you to aren’t going to lead this company into the land that I am giving them.
2)
The
issue wasn’t his anger, the issue is he didn’t do what he was told
d. When you don’t do what you are told and say what you are told
it shows the Father that you can’t be trusted with great assignments, greater
authority, great anointing
III.
We are as much an ambassador of Jesus as Jesus was of the
Father (John 5:43, 17:18)
A. We
represent the authority power of our King-Matthew 28:18-20
1.
He has all the power and
authority in Heaven and in Earth – All power of rule has been given to
him
a. He’s
going to rule the Earth through us, We are his ambassadors
2.
Go ye-That’s being sent
a. Jesus
says you go & my authority and power (which is all authority in Heaven
& Earth) will back you
b. Go
ye therefore-Why go?-Because this authority and power
will be backing you
c. Jesus
is saying I’m sending you and I’m backing you – He that sent me is with
me
3.
When I say in the name
that means that I represent his power and authority
a. When
I say in the name of Jesus, that’s to say it is as if Jesus himself is standing
here
b. You might not look like
much, but look who’s backing you
B. Now when I go, If I will
only do and say what Jesus shows me to do and say then Jesus will back me the
way the Father backed him and I’ll walk in authority the same way Jesus
did-John 20:21, John 17:14-18
1.
They are dealing with
fear because the tomb was empty and they figured the Jews would be after them
thinking that they were responsible for it
2.
As Father has sent me
EVEN SO I send you (The process is going to be the same with you and me as it
was with the Father and me)
a. The
Father sent him and backed with power (the storm), provision (money in fishes
mouth), protection (they couldn’t kill him)
b. Jesus
had Heaven’s complete backing
c. The
Father showed him what to do and what to say
d. The
Father did the works through him when Jesus obeyed what he said
3.
You don’t have to be
afraid of anything-The same way that my father sent me I am sending you and I’m
going to back you with power, provision and protection that same way he backed
me. I’m going to show you what to
do and say and when you do it and say it the Father in you will do the works.
4.
EVEN SO I send you-The Father sent Jesus
into the Earth and told him what to say and what to do and when Jesus did and
said what he was told the Father backed him and did great and mighty things
through him. Jesus was Heaven’s
ambassador evil couldn’t attach itself to him, death
couldn’t get a hold of him. The
devil tried to harm him but couldn’t.
Sickness and disease couldn’t come on his body. He spoke to storms and they
listened. To devils and the
listened. To terminal diseases and
they listened. He resisted the
devil on every turn and the devil fled from him. He said Satan has found nothing in
me. That ambassador authority life
is available to me.
5.
Jesus is
saying I’m going to back you the way the Father backed me (The spirit without
measure)