October 7, 2018 Prague Christian Fellowship

October 7, 2018 Prague Christian Fellowship

Adapted from Alan Vincent s teaching All actual authority stems from Christ. (1 Cor 11:1 THE MESSAGE) Let every soul to the higher authorities be subject, (Rom 13:1 Young s Literal Translation)

1) DIVINE AUTHORITY Imperial, Divine, Sovereign Authority. God Himself is absolute final authority especially in the power of His presence (Job 42:5,6; Rev.1:17), & the Father has given all authority to His Son 1) DEMONIC INFLUENCE Just as all of us are tempted at times by fiery arrows of the devil (Eph 6:16), we can be manipulated by others who are under such influence (James 3:15-16, Eph 2:2-3). (Mat 29:18). For the Scriptures say, "God has put all things under his authority I Cor. 15:27).

Eph 2:2-3 You used to live in sin, just like the rest of the world, obeying the devil the commander of the powers in the unseen world. He is the spirit at work in the hearts of those who refuse to obey God. All of us used to live that way, following the passionate desires and inclinations of our sinful nature. By our very nature we were subject to God's anger, just like everyone else.

2) AUTHORITY OF THE WORD 2 Tim 3:16-17; Psalm 119: 1-176 All scripture is inspired by God! I have refused to walk the paths of evil, for I will remain obedient to your Word 2) FALSE AUTHORITY OF TRADITION Mark 7:7-8, 13; Gal 1:13-14 Yielding to the oral or written traditions of men and as a result not obeying the Word of God. 2 Tim 3:16-17 All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right. God uses it to prepare and equip his people to do every good work.

Gal 1:13-14 You know what I was like when I followed the Jewish religion how I violently persecuted God's church. I did my best to destroy it. I was far ahead of my fellow Jews in my zeal for the traditions of my ancestors.

3) AUTHORITY OF CONSCIENCE The application of truth of the Word by the Holy Spirit in our conscience which must be cleansed, instructed and sensitized by the Holy Spirit It must also be constantly immersed 3) FALSE AUTHORITY OF FLESH I needed to do it or "I felt led is often not God, but instinctive feelings / defenses or selfishness - our old sinful nature (aka flesh patterns), or it could be cultural / peer pressure or even in God s presence (1 Tim 1:5, Rom 9:1, 14:14-15,23, 1 John 3:18, 1 Cor 8:12-13) deception (Phil 1:9-10, Gal 1:10, 5:16-17, 1 Cor 8:7-8, Col 3:5 MSG) Rom 14:23b For you are not following your convictions. If you do anything you believe is not right, you are sinning.

Fleshly Feelings (Gal 5:16-17) So this is my prayer: that your love will flourish and that you will not only love much but well. Learn to love appropriately. You need to use your head and test your feelings so that your love is sincere and intelligent, not sentimental gush (Phil 1:9-10, MESSAGE) Cultural/Peer Pressure Obviously, I'm not trying to win the approval of people, but of God. If pleasing people were my goal, I would not be Christ's servant (Gal 1:10) Deception However, not all believers know this. Some are accustomed to thinking of idols as being real, so when they eat food that has been offered to idols, they think of it as the worship of real gods, and their weak consciences are violated. (1 Cor 8:7-8)

I) It Keeps Us In The Truth (Rom 9:1) II) It Discerns Good And Evil (Job 34:4), and Enables Us To Make Right Judgments (Rom 2:15) III) A Conscience Directing You Does Not Mean It Directs Others (1 Cor 10:29) IV) The Conscience Is Easily Damaged By Disregarding It s Warnings! It is not always correct (1 Cor 4:4) V) A Pure Quickened Conscience Has Greater Authority Than A Delegated Authority

4) DELEGATED AUTHORITY Responsibility and faithfulness come before authority. Authority always follows responsibility. You must care before you command. You Must submit before you benefit and before you can carry such authority (2 Cor 10:8; 2 Cor 13:10; 1 Cor 4:21). 4) USURPED AUTHORITY Imposed on others. Claiming an authority God has not given. Using authority as a means of control. This is false. Behind this illegal manipulation and control is the spirit of witchcraft and of Jezebel (2 Cor 11:13, Rev 2:2, Mk 10:42).

Just say the word from where you are, and my servant will be healed. I know this because I am under the authority of my superior officers, and I have authority over my soldiers (Luke 7:7-8). In the same way, these people who claim authority from their dreams live immoral lives, defy authority, and scoff at supernatural beings (Jude 8). Then, when all things are under his authority, the Son will put himself under God's authority (1 Cor 15:28)

Biblical Leadership is practiced with an attitude of: Servant-Fatherhood (I Thes 2:7-12, 2 Cor 12:14, Mat 20:26) Being an Example (1 Pet 5:3, Heb 13:7, Phil 3:17, Tit 2:7) Valuing Relationship (Heb 8:10-13, 1 Cor 11:3, 1 Jn 4:15 TMT Apostolic Authority (2 Cor 13:6, 1 Cor 12:28, Eph 4:11) Elder Authority & Pastor Authority (1 Pet 5:5, Eph 4:11, 1Tim 5:17, Tit 1:5) Parental Authority (Eph 6:1, Col 3:20, Heb 12:9-10) Husband Authority (1 Pet 3:1&5, Eph 5:22&24, Col 3:18) Employer Authority (Eph 6:5-8, Col 3:22-25, 1 Pet 2:18) Secular Governmental Authority (Rom 13:1-7, Tit 3:1, 1Pet 2:13, 1Tim 2:2)

5) STIPULATIVE AUTHORITY The authority of legal rights or of a contractual agreement. In Luke 18:1-7 She claimed her legal rights. Avenge me! Luke 10:19 All authority over all the power of Satan. Ex 22:1-4; Prov 6:31. The right of restitution over one who has stolen. The "oughts and "musts" of scripture. 5) LEGALISM/ CHARISMANIA This is the counterfeit of true authorized/given authority aka: independence (Gal 3:1-3). Manipulative control is the spirit or form of witchcraft. Self-justification is rooted in the original sin. Self-love seeks knowledge to feel important rather than to serve God and His Body (I Cor 8:1). The word of God and prayer make it holy (1 Tim 4:5 NIrV).

"There was a judge in a certain city," he said, "who neither feared God nor cared about people. A widow of that city came to him repeatedly, saying, 'Give me justice in this dispute with my enemy.' The judge ignored her for a while, but finally he said to himself, 'I don't fear God or care about people, but this woman is driving me crazy. I'm going to see that she gets justice, because she is wearing me out with her constant requests!'" Then the Lord said, "Learn a lesson from this unjust judge. Even he rendered a just decision in the end. So don't you think God will surely give justice to his chosen people who cry out to him day and night? Will he keep putting them off? I tell you, he will grant justice to them quickly! (Luke 18:2-8)