I Am Also A Man Under Authority – Part 3

Pastor Dave Byers – Solid Rock Ministries, Portage La Prairie, MB

Spiritual sons

The Kingdom of God way of submission is that the spiritual sons will go further than the spiritual fathers, but never over them. This is the spiritual heritage that Jesus has passed onto us. Jesus said you will look like your teachers but you will never be above your teachers. He also said in John 14 that you will do greater things because He went to the Father. This offends the carnal mind because the carnal mind cannot grasp the wisdom of God. The carnal mind is at enmity against God (1 Corinthians 2; Galatians 5:17; Romans 8:6-8). Jesus truly wants everyone to step into the fruitfulness, the increase, and the multiplication of His Father’s Kingdom.

You reap what you sow

The world teaches how to step on and over those above you; to serve them until your big break to then take over their position. When people use manipulation to get to the top, they will find themselves harvesting the same in their own lives. Others will rise up through the same system to take them out of their position. Galatians 6:8 shows us how the one who sows to the flesh (self and self-promotion), will reap corruption from the flesh and its system. Simply put–you reap what you sow.

You can see how many people who run for elections will stop at nothing to downplay, criticize, and even defame the other candidates’ names. There doesn’t seem to be very many who go through elections and win based on good character and honourable motives. We need to understand that according to James 4, God promotes and exalts the humble but is against the proud and arrogant. Matthew 10:34-42 shows us true discipleship and the avenue by which we receive from God is through honour. There is God’s way of doing things which is the best way of all. The blessing of the Lord makes us rich and He adds no sorrow to it. (Matthew 6:33; Proverbs 10:22) When we promote and exalt ourselves there is much sorrow with that promotion. Matthew 25 shows us that when honour is our motive then joy will be our reward. I’ve seen over the years how God’s ways work. I’ve seen people with humbled and submitted hearts rise up because God has exalted them-even though they were the unexpected ones to do so. I’ve also seen people who seem to be more spiritual not get exalted by God because of spiritual pride (Romans 12; James 4).

Let’s be those who rejoice for our lives are written in heaven. Let us be those who realize who we are under rather than who we are over. Let us take the authority of God that has been given to us and use it with a humble and submitted heart. Let us be a people who realize that we need to be under God’s authority in this earth. Let us be a people who are submitted to the leaders that are over us so that we can be accountable. Finally, let us be a people who have submitted to the maturing process of God found in Ephesians 4 so that we can come into the true spirit of unity, maturity and growing into the full measure of Christ.