POWER AND AUTHORITY

SERMON STARTER

          Jesus demonstrates authority in God’s Kingdom. He was born into a culture where the clenched fist of Roman Power was exerted over His land. They are a perfect example of what I call the misuse of power. They subjugated the people and waved their swords over them. Roman power demanded allegiance to Caesar and forced people to bow with the iron hand of raw power.

          Jesus came meekly with authority and influenced people to follow Him. Countless millions still follow Him today because of His amazing authority. He came with nothing, left with nothing and defrauded no one. He always left people better than He found them. The impact of his authority still influences lives today.

          As a young man leading a work crew I applied these principles of Godly Authority and found my employees to be faithful, loyal and productive. My employer asked me when I came back from a vacation how I managed to generate such loyalty from my work crew. He said, “They just moped around while you were gone. How do you do it?” He would never understand the power of relationship and genuine care for others. He totally lacked the character and empathy required to be a true leader.

          In this sermon I explore worldly power vs. Kingdom Authority.

 

Pastor Phil  <><<

 

 

Sheepfold Ministries, April 18, 2010

Pastor Phil Roland

POWER AND AUTHORITY

Power in this world and Authority in God’s Kingdom

Matthew 4:1-11

“There is a confusion about power and authority in this world and how it is expressed through the church. In God’s Kingdom there is a better way to influencing people for Jesus.”                                                                    Pastor Phil

   “But as many as received him, to them gave he power (authority) to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name: Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.”   John 1:12,13   KJV

 

I. WORLDLY POWER IN THIS PRESENT AGE – Matt. 4

POWER = The ability to force or coerce someone to do your will, even if they would choose not to, because of your position or might

Anyone can wield the sword of power to impose their will on others

            Jesus is tempted in Three Areas of Worldly Power:

          A. Worldly Power thru the Lust of the Flesh – v. 3

                “If You are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread."

                        1. The Temptation of Hunger

                        2. Gratify Yourself, “turn stones to bread”

                        3. Jesus answers, “It is written. . .”

                        4. Desire for Immediate Gratification

                                    a. Cannot delay goals

                                    b. Must have everything ASAP

            B. Worldly Power thru the Pride of Life– v. 6

              "If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down. For it is written: 'He shall                give His angels charge over you,' and, 'In their hands they shall bear you                         up, Lest you dash your foot against a stone.'"

                        1. The temptation of Instant Acclaim

                        2. Greed and Ambition for Worldly Fame

                        3. Jesus answers, “You shall not tempt the Lord your God.”

                        4. Worldly mankind searches for meaning and significance

                                    a. “I just want to leave something behind. . .”

                                    b. Worldly Lie: They really want to take it with them

                                    c. Deception of fame and fortune

            C. Worldly power thru the Lust of the Eyes – v. 9

                 “All these things I will give You if You will fall down and worship me."

                        1. The Temptation of Power and Wealth

                        2. Controlling money and what it buys

                        3. Money symbolizes the power of control

                        4. Jesus answers, ”’You shall worship the LORD your God,                                     and Him only you shall serve.'"

 

 

POWER AND AUTHORITY, cont., p.2

 

II.  AUTHORITY IN GOD’S KINGDOM - Matt. 28:18-29

 “Then Jesus came to them and said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has

been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them

in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching

them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you

 always, to the very end of the age."

 

            A. Define Kingdom Authority

                        1. Koine Greek = EX-OU-SEE-AH = Privilege, Right, Capacity,                                   Delegated Influence, Authority

                        2. Kingdom Authority is expressed through relationships

                                                 

            B. Practical Definition of Authority: The Power of Influence

                        1. The skill of getting people to willingly do your will because                                   of your personal influence.

                        2. Building Kingdom Authority with people requires a special                                 set of relational skills

                        3. Godly Wisdom, Empathy, Courage, God-Earned Patience

                                    a. Eg. The mother who has no power with her daughter                                                    because she has not EARNED it through quality                                                     time spent influencing her.

                                    b. Eg. The husband and Father who has no influence                                                        with his wife and family because he screams and                                                    yells at them, barking orders and demanding their                                        respect.

                        4. Kingdom Authority is self restraint and nurturing others

                                    a. Kingdom Authority is built by treating people fairly

                                    b. “KA” is earned by dealing justly with others

                                               

            C. Roadblocks in expressing Power and Authority

                        1. Misusing power and having no authority with people

                        2. Conversely, You may have authority w/people and no power

                        3. Jesus was NOT in a position of power by choice but had                                     Kingdom Authority

                        4. Worldly power is like a Bar of Soap: the more you use, the                                   less you have.

                                    a. Eg. Parents of teenager who overuse the power sword

                                    b. Over-strict disciplining

                                    c. Basic Teen Conflict: “That’s not FAIR!”

                                    d. Worldly Power damages relationships

 

            D. Anybody can be in a position of Worldly Power

                        1. Worldly Power can be bought, or sold

                        2. Worldly Power can be transferred or taken away

                        3. Power can be given through a relative, a friend, or inherited                                money.

           

 

POWER AND AUTHORITY, cont., p.2

 

            E. Kingdom Authority cannot be taken away

                        1. The authority of Jesus and His Kingdom is about who you                                   are as a person, your character, and the influence you’ve

                             built with people.

                        2. Displaying the Fruit of the Holy Spirit – Gal. 5:22,23

                            “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering,                                           kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control.”

                        3. Kingdom Authority is gained thru relationship with Jesus

                            “Jesus said to him, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one                                   comes to the Father except through Me.” John 14:6

                        4. Jesus is the Key to Kingdom Authority – Matthew 16:19

                            "And I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and

                              whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and

                              whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven."

 

 

 

 

                     

POWER         AND        AUTHORITY

 

        Power of this World                                            Authority of the Lamb

 

 

 

 

Pastor Phil  <><<

 

 

 

 

 

Gandhi and the Power of Influence

 

He has no earthly power at all.  He accomplished his work through the power of personal influence. Gandhi was less than 5 feet tall and weighed less than 100 pounds. He lived in a country that wasn’t even his own native land. India was in his time a third of a billion people and a virtual slave nation to the British Empire. Gandhi flatly stated that he would succeed in obtaining independence from England without resorting to violence. The liberal press of his time mocked and laughed at him, but he did it.

Gandhi knew how to draw the world’s attention to India so others could begin to see the injustice of what was happening. He told his followers they would have to sacrifice as they served the cause of freedom, but through their sacrifice they would begin building influence with those watching throughout the world. He told his followers they would have to endure pain and suffering in this nonviolent war of civil disobedience, just as there is pain and suffering in all wars. But he was convinced they could not lose. Gandhi personally served and sacrificed a great deal for the cause.

He was imprisoned and beaten for his acts of civil disobedience. He went on severe fasts to draw further attention to India’s plight. He served and sacrificed for the cause of his country’s freedom until the world took notice. Finally, in 1947, not only did the British Empire give India its independence but the welcomed Gandhi in downtown London with a hero’s parade. He did it without resorting to guns, violence and earthly power. He did it through influence.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Martin Luther King and the Power of Influence

 

Dr. King went to India in the late fifties to study Gandhi’s methods. What he learned impacted his strategy for America’s Civil Rights Movement of the early sixties. I grew up in the Southwest at that time blacks had to sin in the back of the bus, sit in special sections of the restaurants if they would serve them at all, drink out of separate “colored” drinking fountains, and endure even worse humiliation. And this was a hundred years after the Civil War. We lost more Americans over the right of a black man to be free, than in all other wars combined.

          All that worldly power, blood and suffering didn’t change the fact a hundred years later that if a white person entered a bus and all the seats were full, a black person had to stand up and go to the back. Dr. King understood like Gandhi that he didn’t have the power to do anything about it, but he could bring the nation’s attention to the injustices that black people were enduring.

          Dr. King endured suffering through countless death threats, threats of violence to his family, his time spent in prison for his civil disobedience, and even his home and church were firebombed.

          But Dr. King became the youngest man to win the Nobel Peace Prize. He became Time Magazine’s “Man of the Year,” the first African-American to have that distinction. His direct influence contributed to America’s Civil Rights Act of 1964, the most sweeping civil rights legislation even passed.

 

 

POWER AND AUTHORITY, Text:

 

Matthew 4:1-11

Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil.

2  And when He had fasted forty days and forty nights, afterward He was hungry.

3  Now when the tempter came to Him, he said, "If You are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread."

4  But He answered and said, "It is written, 'Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.'"

5  Then the devil took Him up into the holy city, set Him on the pinnacle of the temple,

6  and said to Him, "If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down. For it is written: 'He shall give His angels charge over you,' and, 'In their hands they shall bear you up, Lest you dash your foot against a stone.'"

7  Jesus said to him, "It is written again, 'You shall not tempt the LORD your God.'"

8  Again, the devil took Him up on an exceedingly high mountain, and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory.

9  And he said to Him, "All these things I will give You if You will fall down and worship me."

10  Then Jesus said to him, "Away with you, Satan! For it is written, 'You shall worship the LORD your God, and Him only you shall serve.'"

11  Then the devil left Him, and behold, angels came and ministered to Him.