We stumble in spiritual warfare when we rely on personal power. But we prevail in divine authority.
How often we confuse personal power and charisma, with divine authority. How predictably we advance leaders who would probably have made it anyway. It is a cause of great resentment in many that they are like Cinderella’s, left at home, whilst the same notables get their pickings in the team and in places of favor.
Saul is a great example of someone with the external attributes, which those who confer power love to affirm. But Saul, in relying on his personal power, forsook legitimate power: for all authority comes from God. If Saul had humbled himself under God’s hand and submitted to the mandate of His God, to do what God had commissioned him to do, his legacy would have been perpetual. But he chose to go his own way and therein is no power, certainly not the power of God.
Real power and authority comes from the Word, the revealed heart of God. It defines who we are, our rights of way or prerogatives, and our divine mandate.
Who we are. Thhe first vital pretext of our authority is our position and identity in Christ. Christ triumphed over sin, hell and the grave and extended that victory to us. If we appropriate what is ours we will prevail, but if we concede legitimacy to Satan’s words, we will succumb to the weakness and inadequacy he speaks over us. Those with apparent personal power, have no power at all except it comes from God, but those without apparent power can be powerful indeed if they live within God’s Word.
Our rights of way or prerogatives. God has commissioned us to live out our lives within His purpose. We are called to do His will. Jesus conceded that to be His life mission. He only came to do His Father’s will. He was challenged, but the real challenge of Satan related to His reference point (It is written: The Lord is one and Him alone will we serve), His boundaries (It is written: we shall not tempt the Lord our God) and His principles or ethos (It is written: man shall not live by bread alone but by every Word of God). Those three pillars were inviolate and became the foundation of His authority. He asserted His place in the Father, through obedience to the truth. Satan could not resist or fault Him on that and thus He did not walk in personal power, but divine power.
Our mandate. All are mandated to be priests and kings of God. You have a place in His household and no one can deny that. Many are called to be husbands and fathers or mothers, and with that comes authority to fulfill God’s mandate. Satan seeks to undermine your role and if you concede ground to him or renege on your mandate, you will be progressively disempowered. You will also disempower the next generation. Satan lost all legitimate pretexts against us, at the cross. You, however, have abundant pretexts for victory, conceded through the cross.
We are also empowered to fulfill God’s specific mandate for our lives within His household, to actively share in the life and thought of the Kingdom. Such invovement will rely on personal power to the extent that you either miss His calling or sin, but if you know His calling, then your authority vests in His authority, notwithstanding any other disadvantages.
We need to determine who rules our hearts.
Israel asserted her national identity as long as the King, the Priesthood and the Prophetic pillars of the kingdom were sustained at the centre: in Jerusalem. Battles at the borders of the kingdom were determined by what happened at the centre, in the heart of Israel. That is no less true for our lives. If Jesus, our Prophet, Priest and King leads us, restores us to God and rules through His Word, we will prevail in other area of our lives.
Stop limiting yourself to your personality, stature or charisma, or lack thereof. Those considerations are not, nor ever shall be, the basis of authority. Those who depend on such things will be found wanting, but those who allow His authority to define their lives, will prevail and become history makers, for all authority comes from God, not men (John 19:11).
(c) Peter Eleazar at http://www.bethelstone.com/
How often we confuse personal power and charisma, with divine authority. How predictably we advance leaders who would probably have made it anyway. It is a cause of great resentment in many that they are like Cinderella’s, left at home, whilst the same notables get their pickings in the team and in places of favor.
Saul is a great example of someone with the external attributes, which those who confer power love to affirm. But Saul, in relying on his personal power, forsook legitimate power: for all authority comes from God. If Saul had humbled himself under God’s hand and submitted to the mandate of His God, to do what God had commissioned him to do, his legacy would have been perpetual. But he chose to go his own way and therein is no power, certainly not the power of God.
Real power and authority comes from the Word, the revealed heart of God. It defines who we are, our rights of way or prerogatives, and our divine mandate.
Who we are. Thhe first vital pretext of our authority is our position and identity in Christ. Christ triumphed over sin, hell and the grave and extended that victory to us. If we appropriate what is ours we will prevail, but if we concede legitimacy to Satan’s words, we will succumb to the weakness and inadequacy he speaks over us. Those with apparent personal power, have no power at all except it comes from God, but those without apparent power can be powerful indeed if they live within God’s Word.
Our rights of way or prerogatives. God has commissioned us to live out our lives within His purpose. We are called to do His will. Jesus conceded that to be His life mission. He only came to do His Father’s will. He was challenged, but the real challenge of Satan related to His reference point (It is written: The Lord is one and Him alone will we serve), His boundaries (It is written: we shall not tempt the Lord our God) and His principles or ethos (It is written: man shall not live by bread alone but by every Word of God). Those three pillars were inviolate and became the foundation of His authority. He asserted His place in the Father, through obedience to the truth. Satan could not resist or fault Him on that and thus He did not walk in personal power, but divine power.
Our mandate. All are mandated to be priests and kings of God. You have a place in His household and no one can deny that. Many are called to be husbands and fathers or mothers, and with that comes authority to fulfill God’s mandate. Satan seeks to undermine your role and if you concede ground to him or renege on your mandate, you will be progressively disempowered. You will also disempower the next generation. Satan lost all legitimate pretexts against us, at the cross. You, however, have abundant pretexts for victory, conceded through the cross.
We are also empowered to fulfill God’s specific mandate for our lives within His household, to actively share in the life and thought of the Kingdom. Such invovement will rely on personal power to the extent that you either miss His calling or sin, but if you know His calling, then your authority vests in His authority, notwithstanding any other disadvantages.
We need to determine who rules our hearts.
Israel asserted her national identity as long as the King, the Priesthood and the Prophetic pillars of the kingdom were sustained at the centre: in Jerusalem. Battles at the borders of the kingdom were determined by what happened at the centre, in the heart of Israel. That is no less true for our lives. If Jesus, our Prophet, Priest and King leads us, restores us to God and rules through His Word, we will prevail in other area of our lives.
Stop limiting yourself to your personality, stature or charisma, or lack thereof. Those considerations are not, nor ever shall be, the basis of authority. Those who depend on such things will be found wanting, but those who allow His authority to define their lives, will prevail and become history makers, for all authority comes from God, not men (John 19:11).
(c) Peter Eleazar at http://www.bethelstone.com/
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