25 Signs You Are Leading from your dark side

25 Signs You are Leading from Your Dark Side

By Joseph Mattera www.josephmattera.org


1. You inwardly celebrate when a colleague or fellow minister falls.
2. Your spirit of competition causes you to inwardly celebrate when other organizations or ministries in your field aren’t doing as well as you.
3. You are more concerned about your local church or organization than the good of the kingdom of God and cultural transformation.
4. You manipulate people to promote yourself and try to make things happen instead of allowing God to open doors and promote you.
5. You look for opportunities to backstab other leaders in your region or field of work.
6. You are driven to succeed to counter your insecurity, poor self-esteem and a sense of insignificance.
7. You thwart the emergence of other strong leaders in your organization.
8. You are closed-up relationally and have no open, transparent relationships in which you share your weaknesses and fears.
9. You do not share power and work on your own in regards to major decisions that impact your organization or ministry.
10. You are shifty in relationships, taking sides with those you are presently with, and then taking another point of view when with another person when there is a conflict or controversy.
11. You will sacrifice the future for the present in regards to debt financing and risk taking instead of leaving a legacy of financial sustainability.
12. You do not receive correction kindly but always get inwardly defensive.
13. You are constantly blaming others when things go wrong.
14. You constantly justify yourself instead of facing your failures.
15. You have no deep relationship with God and lead out of your flesh and soul life.
16. You don’t lead out of sound biblical principles unless it is convenient.
17. You view yourself more as a pragmatist than a principled person.
18. You are loyal to people only until you have used them to get to the next level.
19. You avoid confrontation and walking in the light according to Matthew 18:15-17 and 1 John 1:7.
20. You only care for those who care for you and serve your agenda.
21. Your greatest desire in life is to make a name for yourself.
22. The bottom line in regards to organizational effectiveness is more important to you than people.
23. You have a hard time forgiving those who offend you.
24. You carry resentment and baggage from the past that you refuse to let go.
25. You don’t walk in the peace of God but in the stress of the world.

STOP - LOOK - AND LISTEN

STOP - LOOK - and LISTEN
Jesus has given us a simple way to live constantly in the center of the Father's will. In one place he said, "I can only do what I see my Father doing." In another place he said, "I can only do what I hear my Father saying." As I read this recently the word, "only" leaped out at me and for the first time I saw how important that word was in the context of that statement! Of course Jesus did not have to wait on word from the Father to take the next step as he walked down the road, but he did wait on word from his Father before he entered into any ministry or special endeavor for which he needed divine guidance. As I thought on this, God gave me three words: STOP, LOOK, and LISTEN!

The "stop" speaks of taking time to be alone with God on a regular basis. We have to stop the rush of life and take time to listen and look to see what God is doing and what He wants us to do. That requires time spent in prayer away from the rush and the noise of daily life. Jesus often went to solitary places to pray. More than once we read that he went into the mountains to pray. Once he went alone into the wilderness to fast and pray for forty days. We read that he would arise a great while before daylight and go out alone to pray. He prayed alone in the garden of Gethsemany the night before his crucifixion. Jesus was a man of prayer! He made it a habit to have quiet fellowship with his Father away from the crowds of sick and needy people. That is the only way he could have been in a place to hear from God on a daily basis.

The "Look and listen" speaks of how Jesus was constantly listening and looking to see what his Father was doing and saying so he could enter into the work of God and flow with it in the power of the Holy Spirit. Everything Jesus did he was guided by the hand of God to do it. If we will stop, look, and listen, we can live as fruitfully and as victoriously as Jesus did. DO YOU BELIEVE IT?

The Hidden Christ

The Hidden Christ
by Chip Brogden
Jesus, the Christ of God, did not reveal Himself to the world at large, but to a handful of disciples. We ought to ask why He did not appear upon a mountain in blinding light, or descend in a cloud, but was born into the world as a baby in a stable. A few shepherds worshipped Him the night He was born, Simeon and Anna blessed Him in the Temple at His dedication, and two years later some astrologers from the East worshipped Him. But no one else in all the world grasped the significance of this Child. It was hidden from 99.9% of the world.
When Jesus first met Peter, what was Peter’s perception of Jesus? Here is a rabbi who has attracted quite a large gathering of people with His interesting stories and teachings. Very well, there is nothing wrong with that, I’ll even let you borrow my boat while you preach. Did Peter perceive Who this Man really was? Of course not. He called Him “Teacher” and “Rabbi”.
But then the Teacher said to go out into the deep and let down the nets for a catch of fish. Peter must decide whether or not to obey. After all, Peter was a fisherman, and since he had fished all night and caught nothing, what would be the point? What does a carpenter know about fish? Nevertheless, he complied. When he did as Jesus said and let down the nets they caught an abnormally large amount of fish, so much so that their boat threatened to capsize.
To you and me this may sound like a coincidence, or luck. Some might call it a miracle, and it is miraculous, but it is more than a miracle, it is a sign. A sign is a miracle which points to some truth. This is a miracle, but the miracle was not done just for the sake of Peter gaining an abundant supply of fish for his business. It was a sign given by Christ in order to reveal Himself to Peter. In Scriptural language, it is “revealing His glory.” There is nothing glorious in the Son of Man, but in the Son of God we see glory.
Jesus merely said, “Launch out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch of fish.” Nevertheless, Peter perceived that Jesus was no ordinary man. For when he saw what happened, he fell down and sobbed, “Lord, depart from me, for I am a sinful man.” The One he called Teacher he now calls Lord, and Peter is immediately made to see the contrast of himself, a sinful man, and Christ, the Holy One of God. Everyone else heard the teaching, but Peter saw the Person.
Why would catching a huge net of fish produce this reaction in Peter? Why was he not simply thankful, or happy, or incredulous? What caused him to fall down upon his knees and confess his sin? It was not because Jesus gave him an altar call, or led him in the Sinner’s Prayer, or even asked if He could be his personal savior. It was not necessary, because once Peter’s eyes were opened to see the Real Jesus, he fell to his knees quite naturally.
The object of Christianity is not to give people a teaching or to lead them in a prayer, but to introduce them to a Man. I would rather have thirty seconds of seeing than thirty years of preaching. People can listen to me preach all their life and never understand a word, but if the Lord opens their eyes to SEE Who I am preaching about then they will understand everything.
When people are in your presence, what do they touch - a system of beliefs, a code of conduct, an ethical standard, or a Person? We may have an abundance of words and teachings, but all of them together are nothing but letters if they are not constantly pointing us to a Living Christ.
We have surely failed if we can put together a teaching that is so easy to follow that we do not need to know the Lord Jesus. Unfortunately, when I listen to some people teach, I realize that anyone can put their teaching to good use, whether they know the Lord or not. So the teaching is worthless to the Kingdom of God because it creates no dependency upon Christ as All in All.
Eventually the revelation of Christ moved Peter to make the bold confession that “Thou art the Christ, the Son of the Living God.” Jesus did not teach Peter what to say, He merely revealed Himself to Peter. He did not sit down with His disciples and say, “I am the Christ, the Son of the Living God. Now repeat that after Me several times, and I will test you on this in the morning.” He did not teach them a catechism or a rosary or a mantra or a confession, He merely revealed Himself to them as He in fact is. They made the confession in due course, having revelation.
The Testimony of Jesus always springs forth from the Revelation of Christ. If we do not have the Revelation then we cannot have the Testimony. That is to say, we cannot bear witness of what we have seen and heard if we have not, in fact, seen or heard anything. We try to get people to confess in order that they may ATTAIN to something, but true confession comes forth naturally after they have OBTAINED it.
Not only was Christ Himself hidden and revealed in degrees, but most of what He taught was hidden. He purposely disguised the truth in parables, and only explained Himself privately to His disciples. Even then, much of what He said was misunderstood, and they failed to grasp the significance of it until after His resurrection, when He opened their minds and hearts to understand, and the Spirit came to bear witness of Christ and teach them inwardly.
When Christ rose from the dead, we would expect Him to present Himself alive to Pilate, to Herod, to Caiaphas, and to the all the people who had Him crucified. But He did not. We see that Christ had the ability to reveal, or not reveal Himself to people. For Mary mistook Him to be the gardener, and the two disciples on the road to Emmaus did not perceive Who He was, because it was hidden from them.
You see that Christ is revealed or hidden from men as He so desires. So many professed disciples of the Lord Jesus fail to recognize Him. The Lord tells them to go to Galilee, but they go to Emmaus. Many people sitting in church would not discern the Lord Jesus if He walked up the aisle and sat down on the altar. They are not really His sheep, therefore they cannot hear His voice, and they do not know Him.
Even His closest disciples are prone to doubt and unbelief. After the resurrection, Thomas declared, “I will not believe unless I see the scars and put my hand into the wound in His side.” When Jesus therefore appeared to them He did not argue or try to convince Thomas. He simply said, “Behold! Look! See my hands and my feet!” When Thomas saw the Lord, he spontaneously cried out, “My Lord, and My God!” This is revelation. Revelation does not require any arguing or convincing, as if it all depends on how well we can make a defense of the Gospel. I see no argument in the Lord Jesus, I only see Him. Seeing Him, I am convinced, and no argument is necessary.
Now we want to impress upon you that the seeing which we talk about is an inward seeing, an inward revelation, an enlightenment of the heart. Jesus told Thomas more blessed than the ones who see with their eyes are those who see with the Spirit, and know and perceive Christ as Lord and God.
There is an apostolic prayer recorded in Ephesians 1 which touches upon this issue:
“I pray that God the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ will give to you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the (full)knowledge of Him, the eyes of your understanding being enlightened, that you may know what is the hope of His calling, and the riches of His inheritance in the saints, and the exceeding greatness of His power in us who believe.”
This is a rich prayer. It is very high. There are a couple of lessons for us here.
First, God must reveal His Son to us by way of the Spirit who illuminates our heart. How can we pray the Lord’s Prayer for years and never enter into God’s thought or mind for what it all means? Because we learned to recite the Lord’s Prayer but we did not have the spirit of wisdom and revelation to SEE what we are praying for. But Paul saw it. Who showed it to him? It came to him by revelation from God Himself. “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.” Where and how do they see Him? Their heart is enlightened and thus made pure. In like manner, Paul prays that we too would be given this revelation of Christ.
Second, the word “knowledge” here does not mean head knowledge or facts we can learn from an encyclopedia. It is the Greek word EPI-GNOSIS, which is a compound word more accurately translated, “full-knowledge”. It means to come to a mature, experiential, existential, and complete knowing of Christ. So, Paul is praying - not for sinners, but for people who are already Christians - that God will reveal Christ to them in ever increasing measure so that He may fill all things. It is another way of saying, “Your Kingdom come, Your will be done.” For this indeed is God’s will, thought, and design for the Church, the earth, and the universe - the whole of creation.
It is amazing to see how many times Paul uses the word “all”. He says the grace of God has appeared to ALL men, that his mission is to make ALL men see, that Christ is to fill ALL in ALL, that ALL things will be gathered together into Christ. God’s end is not the Church, but ALL. The Church is only the beginning. He begins with a man (Abraham), then with a family (Israel), then all the nations. In like manner, God intends to fill the individual, then the Church, then all things.
God has purposely hidden Christ and makes Him available to us only by revelation when we have humbled ourselves as children and forsaken our wisdom. Revelation is sufficient, for if we have the revelation of Christ then we see all we need to see, and if we do not have the revelation of Christ, nothing else will do us any good. The Church is the synthesis of individual disciples who have the revelation of Jesus and have received His Life, and Jesus is building His Church upon the revelation of Himself.

The Transfer of Ministry

The Transfer of Ministry

By Dudley Hall www.sclm.org


"Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes in me will also do the works that I do; and greater works than these will he do, because I am going to the Father. Whatever you ask in my name, this I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it. (John 14:12-14) (ESV)
In this last discourse Jesus has with his disciples, we are getting the distinct impression that he is preparing them for assuming responsibility for his mission when he is no longer with them in the flesh. What an assignment! What faith Jesus is expressing in these guys! He is risking the entire success of his mission on these imperfect, common men.
There are some who believe that imperfect, common people will not be able to carry out his commission. They have a scheme where we fail and Jesus comes back to earth to do what we were assigned, but couldn't do. Make no mistake. He will return, but not to do our work. He will return to be celebrated among those who have trusted in him without seeing him physically. He has left us with all the resources we need to display the kingdom of God on earth just as he did while incarnate.
We do the works of God the same way Jesus did them while on earth. We pray and God the Father answers. Notice that the prayers he describes here all relate to our assignment. Though he is interested in our daily bread, here he is speaking in the context of getting the job done. He gives priority to the prayers of those who are single mindedly seeking to display his kingdom. This is exactly how Jesus did it. He was not drawing upon his divinity to do miracles so that people would know he was God. He was trusting the Father as a man so that we could see how a common man or woman could live if we had the same relationship with the Father as he.
Those who have accepted this assignment will never be bored. They don't have to be burned out. They can partner with God the Father to reveal what his kingdom looks like in every sphere of life. Think what sense of dignity we would have if we believed we were partners with God himself. Think about the confidence we could have if we believed he would supply our resources to get the job done. Think of what glory others could see if they watched God work through us in displaying his pleasure and purpose in our daily work.
Those disciples had trouble believing this good news. We still do. Let's give it a try. Let's pray with confidence and work with excellence and see heaven's resources move to earth.

The 5 Point Evangelism Method of Jesus

The 5 Point Evangelism Method of Jesus

By Joseph Mattera www.josephmattera.org


This is a good reminder by Joseph Mattera of how Jesus simply moved in the foundation of love and obedience to the Father to bring Kingdom transformation to the hearts of men. It was practical and supernatural all at once... Robert R.

The Lord Jesus was the greatest influencer and evangelist the world has ever seen. Proverbs 11:30 teaches that the soul winner must be wise. Jesus called His followers to become fishers of men (Mark 1:17).
Text: John 4:1-26
Therefore, when the Lord knew that the Pharisees had heard that Jesus made and baptized more disciples than John (though Jesus Himself did not baptize, but His disciples), He left Judea and departed again to Galilee. But He needed to go through Samaria.
So He came to a city of Samaria which is called Sychar, near the plot of ground that Jacob gave to his son Joseph. Now Jacob’s well was there. Jesus therefore, being wearied from His journey, sat thus by the well. It was about the sixth hour.
A woman of Samaria came to draw water. Jesus said to her, “Give Me a drink.” For His disciples had gone away into the city to buy food.
Then the woman of Samaria said to Him, “How is it that you, being a Jew, ask a drink from me, a Samaritan woman?” For Jews have no dealings with Samaritans.
Jesus answered and said to her, “If you knew the gift of God, and who it is who says to you, ‘Give Me a drink,’ you would have asked Him, and He would have given you living water.”
The woman said to Him, “Sir, You have nothing to draw with, and the well is deep. Where then do You get that living water? Are You greater than our father Jacob, who gave us the well, and drank from it himself, as well as his sons and his livestock?”
Jesus answered and said to her, “Whoever drinks of this water will thirst again, but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst. But the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life.”
The woman said to Him, “Sir, give me this water, that I may not thirst, nor come here to draw.”
Jesus said to her, “Go, call your husband, and come here.”
The woman answered and said, “I have no husband.”
Jesus said to her, “You have well said, ‘I have no husband,’ for you have had five husbands, and the one whom you now have is not your husband; in that you spoke truly.”
The woman said to Him, “Sir, I perceive that You are a prophet. Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, and you Jews say that in Jerusalem is the place where one ought to worship.”
Jesus said to her, “Woman, believe Me, the hour is coming when you will neither on this mountain, nor in Jerusalem, worship the Father. You worship what you do not know; we know what we worship, for salvation is of the Jews. But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him. God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.”
The woman said to Him, “I know that Messiah is coming” (who is called Christ). “When He comes, He will tell us all things.”
Jesus said to her, “I who speak to you am He.”
The Lord Jesus was the greatest influencer and evangelist the world has ever seen. Proverbs 11:30 teaches that the soul winner must be wise. Jesus called His followers to become fishers of men (Mark 1:17).
The following five principles taken from His encounter with the woman at the well teach us Jesus’ evangelism method.
I. He Was Compelled (John 4:4)
1. Jesus needed to go through Samaria; He was compelled. His desire to lead lost people back to His father compelled Him to go where He would bear the most fruit.
II. He Had Contact
1. One of the great mysteries is how Jesus could have been fully God and fully human at the same time. If God desired to reach out to the human race so much that He would take upon Himself the form of a human being, how much more should Christians put themselves in places where they can be in contact with the lost!
2. Jesus put Himself in a place (Jacob’s Well) where He would have contact with the lost.
3. Too many Christians fail to take advantage of the extensive contacts they have with unbelievers at their job, while shopping, their neighbors, etc.
A. The greatest mission field for the Christian is not in another country but on their job, their block, or with their unsaved family members.
III. He Connected (John 4:7)
1. He purposely engaged in conversation based on common human need (for a drink of water); He didn’t just come out of nowhere and start preaching to her. He made her feel comfortable using water as His point of contact.
A. Depending on who you are speaking to, you can use sports, art, fashion, current events, the weather, etc. as a point of contact to share the Gospel. I usually never just come out and start preaching to people; I wait until God gives me a conversational opening as a segue to share my faith, lest the person I am attempting to evangelize gets the wrong impression of me and counts me as a religious fanatic.
B. Although Jesus was God He was also fully human. He often capitalized on His humanity so He could bridge the gap of understanding between humans and the Father.
C. Too often Christians attempt to witness of God using ethereal, abstract theological terms that confuse, turn off, or don’t relate to unbelievers.
D. The primary way to be a witness of God is by our sanctified (set apart) “humanness.” As Jesus preached using the vernacular of His day, we also ought to speak and act in such a way that connects people to God, not scaring them off with religious nomenclature they can’t understand and/or super-spiritual behavior they will flee from. (Personally, one of my obstacles to becoming a Christian was the frequent use of terms like “Amen,” “praise the Lord,” “Hallelujah,” etc. that the saints used when I was with them.)
E. I am convinced that more people are turned off from Christianity because of excess religious baggage of Christians than because of the offense of the Cross!
IV. He Offered the Cure (John 4:10)
1. At the right time He offered her living water.
2. Sometimes I find Christians make a mistake by trying to relate too long to a person as “prep time” without ever attempting to share their faith.
3. After we have related to a person, we need to pray for an opening and then not be afraid to share the Gospel with them.
V. He Confirmed It (John 4:16-19)
1. The Bible teaches that the Gospel comes in power and not just with words (1 Corinthians 2:1-4).
2. Jesus moved in a word of knowledge (one of the nine manifestations of the Spirit found in 1 Corinthians 12:4-8) and supernaturally told the woman about her male relationships.
3. In this way He was confirming the power and validity of what He preached to her.

Spiritual Authority and theThings We Love, Part 2

Spiritual Authority and theThings We Love, Part 2

by Francis Frangipane www.frangipane.org

To read Part 1...As wide as our sphere of love, to that extent we have spiritual authority. We see this in the mother who loves her child. Such a woman has authority to protect, train, and nurture her offspring. She has authority to protect what she loves. The same is true of the husband over his family. His authority is not merely to rule but to establish in his home the life of Christ. True spiritual authority is born of love.
The individuals who love their local congregation have authority to build up that congregation. Their authority is not extended, however, beyond the boundaries of their love. If we love the entire body of Christ in a locale, our authority touches the lives of those in our city or region, either through the burden of prayer or through teaching or outreach and service.
The testing ground of all spiritual things is love, for love alone purifies our motives and delivers us from the deceitfulness of self. Even authority in spiritual warfare must be rooted in love. David gained the skills to slay Goliath, not on a battlefield, but by defending his father's sheep from predatory animals. David loved the sheep so much that he risked his life for them. So also we grow in authority as we protect our Father's sheep, the flock He has given us to love.
Authority is muscle in the arm of love. The more one loves, the more authority is granted to him. If we love our cities and are willing to lay down our lives in service to our community, God will enlarge our hearts. He will grant us new authority in spiritual warfare. However, no man should ever engage in confrontational warfare who does not love what he has been called to protect. If you do not love your city, do not pray against the ruling forces of darkness. Satan knows the genuineness of our love by the brightness of the glory that surrounds us. A man or woman without Christ-inspired love will soon shrink back and fail in spiritual warfare. Only love "never fails" (1 Cor. 13:8).
Indeed, when it comes to spiritual warfare, there are many things the Holy Spirit has to say that we are not able to hear until the base of our love is expanded. In His wisdom, the Lord protects us from presumptuously attacking the strongholds of hell and suffering loss. Yet, if we are truly anointed in God's love, the price to see our culture saved is not too great. But it will be a price that love alone can pay.
Authority to Build Up the Body of Christ
"For even if I should boast somewhat further about our authority, which the Lord gave for building you up and not for destroying you . . . " (2 Cor. 10:8).
Many so-called "prophets" today think they are called, like Jeremiah, to "pluck up and to break down, to destroy and to overthrow" (Jer. 1:10). Jeremiah's message was to a people who were destined to be carried off into Babylon. The prophet spoke to a people who did not have the Holy Spirit and the blood of Jesus. Israel was, at that time, a nation that God Himself said was destined for captivity, and had been speaking and warning against judgment for over 250 years.
Yet, even if we had only the prophet Jeremiah as our example, God's commission of Jeremiah was more than confronting sin. It also included promises of restoration and deliverance, "to build and to plant" (Jer. 1:10). To represent the heart of the Lord, which is the true prophetic role, the servant of God must know both God's grace and His truth. We must know by revelation whether the Holy Spirit is preparing to destroy or seeking to rebuild.
Today, in my opinion, we are a people coming out of captivity, a people whom God is encouraging to build, as they did in the days of Nehemiah, Ezra, Haggai, and Zechariah. We have been in exile from the promises of God, but we are returning to rebuild the Lord's house. Yes, we are in a time of judgment, correction and discipline, yet it is not a time to tear down the body of Christ; it is time to establish and to build up.
The authority coming to the Church in this next outpouring will be an authority to restore the local, citywide church. Like Paul's authority, ours will be given for building and encouraging and not for destroying.
God has this new leadership constantly before His eyes. Pastors from many denominations, along with their congregations, are meeting together in prayer, seeking to draw the very fire and heart of God into their souls. Emerging from this foundation of humility and prayer is a new authority to make disciples of Christ. Because their love extends outward into their cities, their authority reaches outward as well, even into the heavenly places. These are the leaders whom God is raising up. And those whom God raises up, He backs up with His power. Authority is muscle in the arm of love.
Dear Lord, make me a willing sacrifice. I desire Your authority, Lord. Give me courage to surrender in obedience, even when I do not see the outcome and when all I see is loss. Help me to trust as I walk through the narrow gate. Establish in me Your love that I might defend Your people with authority. In Jesus' name, amen.

Spiritual Authority and theThings We Love, Part 1

Spiritual Authority and theThings We Love, Part 1

by Francis Frangipane www.frangipane.org

While the doctrines of Christianity can be taught, Christlikeness can only be inspired. By their humble and holy lives, this next generation of leaders will inspire multitudes. They will truly walk in Christ’s love; they will be granted great authority.
The Church has many administrators, but few examples of Christ; many who can explain the doctrines of Christianity but few who walk as Jesus walked. Indeed, while many stand in leadership today, not many function in the higher realms of authority that Christ purchased for His Church. However, a new badge of authority is coming to the Church. It will bring deliverance on a scale unprecedented; in some cases, entire cities will be turned toward God.
What is spiritual authority? It is nothing less than God Himself confirming with power the word of His servant. Moses exemplified spiritual authority when he warned unrepentant Pharaoh. The Spirit of God confirmed Moses’s judgments with power that broke the pride of Egypt. Jesus manifested spiritual authority when He confronted demons in people, silenced storms, healed diseases, and then fulfilled redemption in resurrection power. The Father let none of Christ’s words go unfulfilled.
The Bible provides us with many examples of those with spiritual authority. Every example tells us the same underlying principle: those who are raised up by God are backed up by God. They will "decree a thing, and it will be established" (Job 22:28). Such is the nature of spiritual authority.
The Source of Authority
Obviously, as pastors, leaders, and intercessors, we need to operate in greater authority. Yet while we enjoy a variety of graces that add to our personal edification, God gives us authority for one specific purpose: to fulfill His purposes on the earth. What are God’s purposes? One main unveiling of the divine purpose is seen in the Great Commission. Jesus said, "All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations" (Matt. 28:18-19).
Christ gave the Church authority to make disciples. We have been much more successful in making converts than disciples. In our day, many are believers in Jesus, but few are truly followers of Christ. If the goal is discipleship, how do we accomplish this? We are to take our converts and teach "them to observe all that [Jesus] commanded" (v. 20). When the Church returns to teaching all that Jesus taught, our disciples will have authority to do all that Jesus did.
Yet, spiritual authority is not something we possess merely because we strive for it. We cannot buy it as Simon the magician attempted to do (Acts 8:18). The power of authority will not function simply because we copy the methods of another, as the sons of Sceva realized (Acts 19:14-16). Nor can it be attained automatically because we read books about building the Church. We cannot pretend to have spiritual authority. As we focus upon obeying the words of Christ, there are divinely ordained ways for Christ’s authority to unfold in our lives.
From the beginning of our salvation we have enjoyed the Father’s unconditional love. As we mature, however, there comes a time when the Father’s love toward us seems conditional. As it was for Christ, so it is for those who follow Him. He said:
For this reason the Father loves Me, because I lay down My life.
---John 10:17
Jesus lived in the deepest intimacies of the Father’s love because He laid down His life for the sheep. If we will grow in true authority, we will do so by laying down our lives for His sheep. Have you felt the drawing, the divine working of the Father bringing you into Christlike surrender? Be encouraged: He is equipping you for this next outpouring of His Spirit. But also be advised: your authority will be an outgrowth of your life laid down in love.
As leaders, we do indeed have administrative authority due to our positions in church government; however, spiritual authority transcends administrative authority. Here is the path to true spiritual authority: in full possession of our souls, without fear or intimidation by any outside source, we choose to lay down our lives for Christ’s sheep. Yes, in full freedom, with avenues of escape plainly within view, we fearlessly surrender our souls to God.No one controls us but God, yet our lives are laid down, like Christ’s, in intercession for others. When we could easily fight and win, yet turn the other cheek; when we are unjustly opposed, yet quietly endure---at those moments spiritual authority is entering our lives.
No one has taken [My life] away from Me, but I lay it down on My own initiative.
---John 10:18
Jesus was not forced to accept crucifixion; He chose crucifixion. Christ’s Gethsemane prayer was not an entreaty to escape the cross, for while Jesus was still in the garden, He told Peter, "Do you think that I cannot appeal to My Father, and He will at once put at My disposal more than twelve legions of angels?" (Matt. 26:53). Jesus had a choice: legions of warring angels and immediate personal deliverance, or death on the cross and deliverance for the world. He chose to die for us. The willful decision to lay down our lives as Jesus did is the very path upon which true authority develops. Jesus said, "I have authority to lay [My life] down" (John 10:18). His authority came in the laying down of His life. Our authority comes from the same source: picking up our cross and laying down our lives for others.
Authority, Not Control
Spiritual authority is the provision of God to transform the temporal with the power of the eternal. It is not something our flesh can imitate, nor is it found in the tone of our words or the gaze of our eyes. Divine authority requires divine sanction. This sanction comes from passing the tests of love.
When authority is administered without love, it degenerates into control. God does not call us to control His people but to inspire and guard them. The outcome of control is oppression, witchcraft, and strife. But the result of love is liberty and the power to build up and protect God’s people.
True spiritual authority exists above the realm of fleshly control. Our lives, and the lives of those who follow us, are laid down on our own initiative. It is a choice we make because of love. Since true authority itself is born in freedom, freedom is what it breeds.
We will walk in either the true authority of love, the false authority of control, or no authority at all. Both false authority and no authority are rooted in fear, and we react to fear in either of two ways. The first reaction, which produces false authority, is to seek to control those around us, thus making the circumstances around us more predictable and less threatening. The other response to fear is to refuse to accept and exercise any authority at all. Many relationships are simply the pairing of these symbiotic needs: the desire to control and the willingness to be controlled. Both are fueled by overreactions to fear.
Scripture tells us, however, "There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear" (1 John 4:18). Since true authority is built upon love, its goal is to liberate, not dominate. Therefore, before one can truly move in spiritual authority, he must be delivered from fear and its desire to control; he must be rooted and grounded in love.
Authority to Inspire Christlikeness
When our teaching about God and our obedience to Him are one, spiritual authority accompanies our lives. Jesus astounded the multitudes, for He spoke "as one having authority" (Matt. 7:28-29). What He taught was consistent with how He lived. Therefore, we also must live and display the virtue we seek to teach.
Dear pastor, if we seek to train our congregations to pray, we ourselves must first be intercessors. You may say, "But out of a congregation of several hundred, only three people join me for prayer." Then with those three develop your intercessor base. Do not be discouraged, for you will win others. But the measure of our success is not the numbers in attendance on Sunday mornings. God has given us people so we may train them, not merely count them. Of this group, those whom we inspire to live like Christ are actually the measure of our success, the test of our effectiveness in the ministry.
Another may say, "But I’ve never been a leader." When anyone lays down his or her life in Christ’s love, others will see and follow. Whether you are a business owner, a housewife, or a teen, such a one can speak with confidence and authority as Christ’s disciple. In truth, if you are following Christ, others are following you. You are, indeed, a leader.
This next generation will not just teach the people; they will inspire the body of Christ to live like Jesus. Their example in all things will awaken godliness in those around them. From true virtue shall the leaders of tomorrow draw true authority, for when the nature of Christ is revealed, the authority of Christ soon follows.