We know that Jesus is the King, but how do we deal with
the fact that while His kingdom is here, it is not yet here in its
fullness? How do we blend and divide the
two kingdoms we inhabit?
Let's look first at Jesus' authority, and how we work our
authority as Kingdom citizens in this world. The primary meaning of the
biblical word for "authority" in its original language might be
rather surprising. We tend to think of authority as ability, might, power,
having the final say, being authorized, etc., but it's actually freedom of choice, or the right to act.
Jesus' Authority:
Mark 1:21-22, 27. Jesus was talking as if He had the
right to determine all these things; He had the freedom to decide and was
speaking on his own behalf. He exercises that authority by driving out a
demon.
Mark 2:7-12. Saying, "The Kingdom of Heaven is at
hand" means that He's a liar, a lunatic, or our Lord. He says this, but
does not leave us without proof! There is a close association between the
declaration of Kingdom authority and the validation of it.
Mark 11:27-33. Tension mounts as the religious teachers
grow angry and jealous. If only the world were demanding this of the church
today! Why isn't the world angry at us? The problem with Christians in America
today is that nobody wants to kill them.
John 5:27-30 shows Jesus’ right to act. John 10:17-18
shows his freedom of choice. John 17:2.
Giving Authority:
Jesus gives authority (same word) to others in Mark 3:14-25,
Mark 6:6-13, and Luke 10:17-20.
Jesus has authority, He declares it, He validates it,
then He gives it to His disciples. He delegated to the 12 He left behind. But what
is the authority that He give to us, right now? There is only one passage in the Bible that
uses this word for authority in connection with all believes, and that is in
John 1:12.
We have been given the freedom of choice and the right to
act as children of God. What does that mean? Well Jesus only did what the Father
instructed Him, so we are not to go out and “name and claim” anything we
want. Not every lame and blind person in Jerusalem was healed by Jesus or the
disciples.
How much freedom of choice and right to act do we have?
If we are still thinking of “authority” as power, then that means we could go
out and heal everybody and declare things to be so on a whim. But the Greek
definition of “authority” slants it differently: not power, but freedom and right. Do you have the
freedom from God Almighty to use His "signet ring" and do whatever
you want to? Even Jesus didn't have that. Jesus had the right to choose, He
chose the Father's will, and so the Father loved Him. We have the
authority to be the children of God, and in order to exercise the authority of
Kingdom we must listen to what the Father is saying and doing. This is not an
open line of credit, it is an open line to hear God's voice. We have the right
to hear His voice and know His heart. We all have authority, but we give it
back to God; that's what a servant of the King does. It is a magnificent
privilege!
There is certainly a sense in which we can be
authoritative. Jesus had power over the fig tree. We could probably stand to be
authoritative a lot more often than we are, when we have the authority to do so.
Discussions:
· Rod had a revelation that was simply this: God has a great number of alternatives for our lives. While visualizing and setting goals for his own future, Rod kept coming up against God’s “alternate plan”. We might have something in mind for our lives, but there are so many other opportunities!
· Dwayne and Vivian enjoy the privilege of be at Harbor House, getting many opportunities to work with others, serving them and being a part of God’s work. There was a woman from a local bank that came to HH recently for the first time, then last week she called and wanted to know what this group was doing in the community and if the bank could partner with us! The Barbers had to refer the woman to another group in town, since HH is not a 501C3 organization. This episode made an impression on Dwayne, however. Little things like the Cajun dinner fundraiser provide opportunities to show our spirit to others. Let's be doing some thinking about who we are as a church and a community, what our aim and future is. Other people see something here and have an interest in it, so we need to talk about doing something as a group. Let’s decide what direction we want to go in.
· David has an idea he would like the rest of the church to think and pray on. Perhaps you’ve heard of a cowboy church, a church formed around a specific lifestyle, using it to promote the word of God. David has been thinking of an auction church, which would be a way to "sneak" auction-goers into the Kingdom of God. HH would have to be behind the idea in order for it to work, so be thinking about it.
Updates:
· Katherine is walking very well without a cane!
· David saw a "different" Mary when he went to visit her recently. She is in a place in her life where she can't focus on what she's always focused on—ministering to other people—she has to focus on herself. She's been forced to do it, and it has made her more sober in her thinking. She is feeling better, not in pain, not feeling abandoned or discouraged, she’s just in a different place right now.
· Nellie's dad, James Clark, is showing encouraging signs of strength, doing things which seemed beyond hope in January. He’s no longer hallucinating, but please pray that God will hold off any more strokes, give peace, and speed James’ homecoming.
· Ron is coping with changes in his body now that he has been diagnosed with diabetes and some heart issues. Please pray for improvements in his health and support for his family.
Praise Reports:
· Hannah is doing well; John got his permit and is still in Indiana.
· Audrea Vore is pregnant with a little girl!
· God has blessed the building of David and Shirley’s auction house with safety and the timely generosity of Brent Beauford.
· Cameron, Aaron, Joel, and Aubrey finished the Axis and Allies game board that they’ve been working so hard on for so long.
· Abby had her first minor car accident, it wasn’t nearly as bad as it could have been. She also bought a new camera, and got straight As for her first college semester.
· June’s health is improving, but she still needs prayer for herself and her doctors.
· Jamie Billings quit work and is happy about that, but is now looking for work. She and Lee have set December 23 as a possible wedding date!
· Jamie's brother got medicine for his Parkinson's disease.
· Vernon and Nellie have a definite move-in date, March 1!
· Roy's shingles are healing. He was doing work in his shop when he cut hand with a pocket knife; thank God that it didn't hit anything serious.
· Sandy had a bad car accident, but God blessed her by providing a nice couple to help her, and she was unhurt though she could easily have been injured.
· Sharon quit her job and is happy about it, but is now looking for new work. She got to see grandson again.
· Katherine gave thanks for the kid’s musical jam session and fun with friends over the weekend.
· Ruby is doing very well back at home.
· Thank God for Harbor House
Prayer Requests:
· Ron's cousin was seriously dehydrated and admitted to hospital; his liver and kidneys had shut down. His liver has started functioning, but he is still in need of prayer.
· Rod Bumgardner passed away at age 46, and accepted Jesus and apologized to his father before he died. Jim has joined Baptist church and is happily engaged, and Rod had been planning on going to church; he said that he wanted the same peace his father had. Dwayne was reminded of making up with his own parents, recognizing that he had hurt them, and urged the church that if anyone had hurt someone else that you shouldn’t wait until the day before you die to make it right.
· The Wells family—the loss of a family member
· Byron and Mary—grace, patience, peace, strength
· Nation—a great awakening
· Malachi and family—peace and total healing; a good outcome for all this
· Jacob and Heather Turner—ask God to not take His hand off of them; may they call Him Father
· Julie and Kevin—peace
· Jimmy, Robin, Dwayne, Mark, Frank, Sylvane—may cancer never bear fruit again
· John Sales—wisdom and knowledge
· College students—perseverance
· Everyone working on the auction house—protection
· Sulphur Springs—May God smile on it, watch over the gates, root out evil, touch hearts with brotherly love
· Nellie—suffering with a cold
· Amber—her car broke down again, and she will probably have to buy another vehicle
· Levi and Christin
· Blessings on the 2012 Wonder tour
· Sharon's daughter
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