This Month's Newsletter

So when we question the authority of others we question the authority of God. So if we don’t’ respect the authority that God sets in place we will be subject to the detrimental effects of the spirit of rebellion.

Ephesians 4:11-16 (NKJV)¹¹And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, ¹²for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, ¹³till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ; ¹⁴that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting, ¹⁵but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head—Christ— ¹⁶from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love.

We promote unity by stepping in the position that God has called us to fulfill, and not wanting someone else’s position. That is exactly what happened to Korah. He stepped into an un-appointed leadership position and called a meeting. Not only did he call an unofficial meeting, but he also brought a list of complaints to the meeting.

-You have too much authority
-You think you’re the only holy one
-You lift yourself up above the congregation.
-You think you brought us out of Egypt
-You’re trying to make yourself into a prince
-You have given us no inheritance.

One time at a church where I pastored- before I came here a woman called an unofficial meeting with me and her husband and a friend of theirs. At the meeting she handed me a list of 22 things that she didn’t like about me. Things like I didn’t rule my house good enough. In other words I let my wife have her own mind. I allowed a wobbly shelf to be in a classroom in the basement so I must not be concerned about the kid’s safety. The one that really got to me was that I was too nice to poor people. I read through the list of 22 petty complaints by someone who had no authority in the church whatsoever. Well she rebelled and took more than 12 people with her from the church. As the years went by she called and asked if we could come over to her house so she could apologize to us face to face. The problem was that the damage had already been done. Her husband pretty much quit serving God with all his heart; he was just like a lifeless vessel. Her niece became an alcoholic and lost her children, a woman who was a friend of theirs had a massive heart attack and blew a hole in her heart and she was only 30 years old. Another friend of theirs that left with them went to prison. And she herself lives with chronic panic attacks and lupus. I believe that is was all because they rose up against God’s delegated authority.
God will change leadership when it is necessary. If a man or woman of God in authority is not seeking God that doesn’t give us the right to turn on them, but instead to cover them with our prayers and pray a prayer covering over them. We can’t rebel against authority leaders because they are flawed in their personal life, but we don’t have to sit under their authority either. All we have to do is quietly leave and keep the reason why between them and us.
God has placed authority in our life to protect us and to help us draw closer to him through submission to his authority. Resisting authority can kill others around you. Almost 15,000 people ultimately died because of Korah’s rebellion against Moses.

Resisting the spirit of Rebellion
We close the door to rebellion (which by the way has its roots in witchcraft) by submitting and loving one another.

Ephesians 5:21 (NKJV)²¹submitting to one another in the fear of God.

If rebellion can so ignite God’s wrath that he would open up the earth and swallow the rebellious down into hell and then close the earth after them- then authority will invite the blessings of God to pour into our lives.

Numbers 16:23 - 33 (NKJV) ²³So the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, ²⁴“Speak to the congregation, saying, ‘Get away from the tents of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram.’” ²⁵Then Moses rose and went to Dathan and Abiram, and the elders of Israel followed him. ²⁶And he spoke to the congregation, saying, “Depart now from the tents of these wicked men! Touch nothing of theirs, lest you be consumed in all their sins.” ²⁷So they got away from around the tents of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram; and Dathan and Abiram came out and stood at the door of their tents, with their wives, their sons, and their little children. ²⁸And Moses said: “By this you shall know that the LORD has sent me to do all these works, for I have not done them of my own will. ²⁹If these men die naturally like all men, or if they are visited by the common fate of all men, then the LORD has not sent me. ³⁰But if the LORD creates a new thing, and the earth opens its mouth and swallows them up with all that belongs to them, and they go down alive into the pit, then you will understand that these men have rejected the LORD.” ³¹Now it came to pass, as he finished speaking all these words, that the ground split apart under them, ³²and the earth opened its mouth and swallowed them up, with their households and all the men with Korah, with all their goods. ³³So they and all those with them went down alive into the pit; the earth closed over them, and they perished from among the assembly.

If we bless those over us in the Lord it brings blessings into our lives. If church members bless their pastor God will bless them as well.

1 Thessalonians 5:12 - 13 (NKJV) ¹²And we urge you, brethren, to recognize those who labor among you, and are over you in the Lord and admonish you, ¹³and to esteem them very highly in love for their work’s sake. Be at peace among yourselves.

We must release the spirit of life by repenting of our sin of wrong speech. Friend’s seek God and draw near to Him. When we see Him as he really is then we will see ourselves as we really are. Let God renew your mind through His word by not only reading the word but by applying the word to your everyday life. And flow in the spirit of life by actually thinking about what you are going to say to someone before you say it. Think about how the words that you are releasing from your lips and going to affect them. This is my word for you; “consider yourself warned.”

Continued Next Month