Jesus, Authority and Power…

Morning!

Raises his cup of coffee

Hebrews 3: 12-13

“Take heed, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief, in departing from the Living God.  But exhort one another daily, while it is called today; lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin.”

Leadership requires authority.  Authority requires power.

I was thinking on this a little last night.  The definitions of the words involved are important.  These are two statements that I am considering their truth at the moment.  The goal is to understand leadership a little more.  We could probably refine that last statement some.  The goal is to understand leadership in a Christian context with precision and excellence to improve our effectiveness in prayer and fellowship with the Holy Spirit.

Romans 12: 1-2

“I beseech you, therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.  And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, Will of God.”

So let’s look at some definitions again in our study on leadership.

Authority: (noun)

- Power to influence or command thought, opinion, or behavior; freedom granted by one in authority: right.

- Persons in command; a governmental agency or corporation to administer a revenue-producing public enterprise.

- Grounds, warrant; convincing force.

- A citation used in defense or support; the source from which the citation is drawn; a conclusive statement or set of statements; a decision taken as precedent; testimony; an individual cited or appealed to as an expert.

So leadership requires the power to influence or command thought, opinion or behavior.  So the question I ask myself is, what is power?

Power: (noun)

- Ability to act or produce an effect; ability to get extra-base hits; capacity for being acted upon or undergoing an effect; legal or official authority, capacity, or right.

- Possession of control, authority, or influence over others; one having such power, a controlling group: establishment.

- Physical might; mental or moral efficacy; political control or influence

(There are several other definitions I am leaving out which are irrelevant to our study this morning)

So our statement becomes:

Leadership requires the power to influence or command thought, opinion or behavior.  Power is the ability to act or produce an effect, the possession of influence over others.

Where does the authority and power to lead come from?

I propose there are two choices.

It is either given or it is taken.

Giving authority to someone is a spiritual act.

Taking authority over someone is a physical act.

John 15: 1-8

“I am the true vine, and my Father is the husband man.  Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away: and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit.  Now ye are clean through the Word which I have spoken unto you.  Abide in Me, and I in you.  As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in Me.  I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in Me, and I in him, that same bringeth forth much fruit: for without Me ye can do nothing.  If a man abide not in Me, he is cast forth as a branch and is withered; and men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned.  If ye abide in Me, and My Words abide in you, ye shall ask what you will, and it shall be done unto you.  Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be my disciples.”

So where does our power come from?

Our text in John here makes it plain.  Our power comes from Jesus Himself.  Without Jesus we can do nothing.  Without Jesus, no-one can do anything.  Doing something of one’s own power seems an impossibility.  It comes down to the Sovereignty of God.

So where does that leave us?

Leadership requires authority.  Authority requires power.  Power requires Jesus.

So where does the Christian leader need to look for authority and power?

James 1: 21-25

“Wherefore lay apart all filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness, and receive with meekness the engrafted Word, which is able to save your souls.  But be ye doers of the Word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.  For if any be a hearer of the Word, and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass: For he beholdeth himself, and goeth his way, and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was.  But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed.”

Where do we, as Christians, look for power now?

We are to seek the Kingdom of God first.  If we seek for His righteousness, if we look for Him as if for hidden treasures, His Word teaches us we will be guided in our steps.  Turn our thoughts over to the Lord and He will guide us.  Seek first the kingdom of God and all things will be added to you afterwards.

Or are we still looking to the world?  Do we still seek physical solutions for spiritual problems?  Do we seek power in ourselves?  Do we seek power in another when there is only one Power, Jesus Christ, Lord of all?

The Father, The Son and The Holy Spirit.

Who is our Authority today?

I think that’s a good start for the day.  Quick announcement, the podcast is live.  You can find it on the website.  Our side study in fasting turned out to be a good side trip.  I’ll take a look over what we’ve done this past week and see where we’re going next week.

Happy waiting!

:)