THE LIFE OF
FAITH AND THE GLORIOUS CHURCH
febrUARY 26th
REVELATION KNOWLEDGE OF GOD'S AUTHORITY [WORD]
BRINGS FORTH AN "ETERNAL" CHANGE
...."Now Saul, still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of
the Lord, went to the high priest, and asked for letters from him to the
synagogues at Damascus, so that if he found any belonging to the Way, both men
and women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem. And it came about that as he
journeyed, he was approaching Damascus, and suddenly a light from heaven
flashed around him; and he fell to the ground, and heard a voice saying to him,
"Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?" And he said, "Who art
Thou, Lord?" And He said, "I am Jesus whom you are persecuting, but
rise, and enter the city, and it shall be told you what you must do"....
Acts 9:1-6 NASB
The very first words
that came out of Saul's mouth after he had fallen to the ground were "Who
are Thou, Lord?" Now Saul had absolutely no idea as to the
"person" of the one who was appearing to him, but he clearly
discerned that authority of the words as being "the Lord"! At that
point he did not know it was Jesus, but he clearly acknowledged the authority
on the words that were spoken to him. Up until this point in his ministry Saul
believes he is serving God. He was a good Pharisee, and as far as he knew the
"Christians" were a threat to those who served God, and needed to be
destroyed. But in a split second, as the light from Heaven flashed around him,
he received a deep and clear revelation of the authority of God. He knew that
Whoever was speaking to him was the "supreme authority" in the
universe, and this serves to define clearly the Divine principle of authority
that we are putting forth. The key thing we are looking at here is the fact
that Saul received a revelation of God's authority, and from this example we
can see how this changed his life entirely. In the same way, as we gain the
initial revelation of God's authority, our lives too shall be changed from one
of partial obedience and partial consecration to lives that are
"wholly" given to God - to live for His purposes, and His purposes
alone. As we place ourselves in a position to receive a continually deeper
revelation of God's authority, our lives shall be continually changed and our
service before God shall have, as its chief characteristic, "perfect
obedience". Moments before the light of Heaven shone in Saul's heart he
was breathing threats of murder against the disciples of the Lord, but in a
split second it was "revealed" to his heart that Jesus Christ was,
indeed, the Lord of the universe. This is a clear example of what the reception
of "revelation knowledge" will cause in the life of the believer as
they open their heart "wholly" to receive from God. In this last
hour, the Father is opening the hearts of many people and raising them up to
serve Him - in His "absoluteness". It is not insignificant that God
used this example of Saul, a man who was so vehemently opposed to the true work
of God, for it shows the power of God both "to will and to do".
ONE
WHO HAS A REVELATION OF AUTHORITY WILL ALWAYS DISCERN ALL THINGS THROUGH THE
ONE WHO ABIDES WITHIN THEM AND "FLESH AND BLOOD" SHALL NO LONGER BE A
"FACTOR" IN THEIR DISCERNMENT
...."And the men
who travelled with him stood speechless, hearing the voice, but seeing no one.
And Saul got up from the ground, and though his eyes were open, he could see
nothing; and leading him by the hand, they brought him into Damascus. And he
was three days without sight, and neither ate nor drank. Now there was a
certain disciple at Damascus, named Ananias; and the Lord said to him in a
vision, "Ananias." And he said, "Behold, here am I, Lord."
And the Lord said to him, "Arise and go to the street called Straight, and
inquire at the house of Judas for a man from Tarsus, for behold, he is praying,
and he has seen in a vision a man named Ananias come in and lay his hands on
him, so that he might regain his sight." But Ananias answered, "Lord,
I have heard from many about this man, how much harm he did to Thy saints at
Jerusalem; and here he has authority from the chief priests to bind all who
call upon Thy name." But the Lord said to him, "Go, for he is a
chosen instrument of Mine, to bear My name before the Gentiles and kings and
the sons of Israel; for I will show him how much he must suffer for My name's
sake." And Ananias departed and entered the house, and after laying his
hands on him said, "Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus, who appeared to you on
the road by which you were coming, has sent me so that you may regain your
sight, and be filled with the Holy Spirit. And immediately there fell from his
eyes something like scales, and he regained his sight, and he arose and was
baptized; and he took food and was strengthened"....
Acts 9:7-19 NASB
Another significant
point here is that Jesus used Ananias to go and to minister unto Saul. From all
accounts Ananias was a servant of the Lord, yet he was neither designated as an
apostle or a prophet - but he was obviously a man who had humbled himself
before the Lord, and was, therefore, "available" for use. Looking at
this situation through Ananias' eyes, and remembering that Saul was an up and
coming young Pharisee who was both very well known and highly respected in the
religious circles of the day, Ananias - who had heard of Saul's persecution of
the Church - must now go forth in obedience to God - trusting Him that he will
not meet his end at the hands of Saul. On the other hand Saul must humble himself
before this servant of God - who most certainly had none of the
"credentials" which he himself had. If Paul had considered in any way
who Ananias was - in relation to his own previous experience - then he most
certainly would not have been in the position to "hear" [receive]
that which God had spoke to Him through Ananias. But because Saul, in a
moment's time, had "met" his Lord and had been humbled before Him, he
was now able to "recognize" the one whom God had sent as having His
authority. As we continue our study of spiritual authority we will view fully
the principle of God's "delegated" authority and His
"inherent" authority, and we shall come to understand clearly God's
way of doing things. One of the keys to understanding true spiritual authority
- and the delegation of that authority - is this:
that whoever
has "met" authority, that is, whoever has a revelation of God [the
Father and His Word] as He is, deals purely with "Authority", never
"flesh and blood" alone.
In other words, they
never come into a place where they are dependent upon what "flesh and
blood" has said, but rather all things that are spoken are viewed through
the Anointing that abides within them [the Holy Spirit]. To summarize: whoever
has "met"[received a revelation of] authority deals purely with
authority and never just the person - but the person "in Christ", and
all that proceeds from them in that "ascended" position. God has
NEVER made the provision for us to obey men, but rather His authority and
Anointing on and in men and women. One who has a revelation of authority will
ALWAYS discern ALL things through the One who abides within them, and
"flesh and blood" shall no longer be a "factor" in their
discernment.
TO
REJECT THOSE "SENT" BY THE FATHER IS TO REJECT JESUS!
There are many of God's
children who - UP UNTIL THIS TIME - have refused to submit themselves to the
Anointing on God's true, delegated authorities and this is because they do not
have a revelation of God's "inherent" authority [the Word of God]. It
is only as the believer has a revelation of God's inherent authority that they
shall be able to recognize that authority on and in the true servants of God
sent to them. Therefore, a refusal to submit oneself to God's authority [the
Word of God] will cause them to reject those "sent" by God which, in
turn, is counted by God as a rejection of Himself, in much the same way as
Jesus said in Acts 9:5:
...."I am Jesus whom you
are persecuting"....
From this statement, we
see that Jesus takes "personally" the actions of all those who come
against those who belong to Him. In fact, both He and the Father take
personally the rejection of the "authority" that has been bestowed
upon His holy bondservants and handmaidens. Let us understand clearly that
God's Word is His authority in this earth, and in realizing the seriousness of
this matter let us subject [submit] ourselves fully to His Word by giving it
first place in our lives, thereby bringing EVERY thought captive to a
revelation of it - on a continual basis. Because of the failure of many to give
God first place in their lives - and, thus, be subject to His authority - there
has been a hindrance and a delay in God unwrapping His "gifts" to the
Church.
WITHOUT
RECEIVING THOSE WHO ARE SENT TO HER FOR HER EDIFICATION, THE CHURCH WILL NOT
REACH HER FULL POTENTIAL IN CHRIST
It is indeed the
Father's desire for each one of His children to operate in the unity of the
Spirit and, thus, come to the place where they are walking in the unity of
faith - an absolute faith that is the product of a deep and abiding submission
to Him [to His authority]. It is also one of the Father's deepest heart desires
to manifest Himself powerfully on behalf of His people and, in doing so, cause
many great signs and wonders to come to pass as the captives are set free. Yet,
because many have refused to subject [submit] themselves "wholly" to
the authority of God's Word, the Father's hands have been
"temporarily" tied and, thus, many continue on in bondage to the Evil
One! One thing is certain, that without receiving those who are sent to her for
her edification, the church will not reach her full potential in Christ - and,
thus, the flow of the Holy Spirit shall be hindered greatly in the earth! In
this last hour, the children of God are not only going to have to have a
revelation of His Word, but they are also going to have to be in a position
continually to hear the voice of His Spirit - Who will, in turn, guide them and
teach them how to apply the revealed knowledge that they have been blessed
with. It is His instruction that "allows" us to live moment by moment
in "perfect" obedience - regardless of any "outward circumstances".
God's Word and His Spirit are more than enough to cause us to "rise
above" [overcome] all of the schemes of the Evil One - who seeks only to
cause us to come into division and strife knowing that if he is successful
[even temporarily] then there shall be defeat and failure manifested in the
church. Satan's chief scheme is to cause division and strife in the midst of
God's people - for it is certain that this type of activity [carnality] truly
is a "distortion" and "misrepresentation" of God - AS HE
TRULY IS! There are many children of God who have a "degree" of
revealed knowledge, but in their pride [arrogance] and their rebellion they
continually choose to apply that which God has blessed them with to suit their
"own" purposes [self-desire and self-agenda] - and this of course
leads them into all manner of evil. As we continue on in our study of spiritual
authority we are going to examine the sin of "presumption" in depth
and we are going to see clearly the seriousness of "any" mental
ascent on our part [leaning upon our "own" understanding], pertaining
to the will of God. Many children of God - through their "negligence"
- have become "insensitive" towards the Father and His Word, and
have, therefore, "lost sight" of His absoluteness, and of the Divine
Requirement [Luke 10:27] for their life and ministry. Because of these things, they
have willingly - albeit "unknowingly" - been moved off the path of
the Father's perfect will, and have been held captive by Satan to do his will.
This is indeed a very serious matter in the eyes of the Father, and one can be
sure that this situation will most definitely be confronted by the power [holy
fire] of God in this last hour - with many captives being set free!
Related Scriptures: Philippians 2:13; 2 Corinthians 10:5; Psalm 133:1-3;
Ephesians 4:11-16; 2 Timothy 2:26; Isaiah 4:2-6;
*****