Greetings,
Authority is not merely based upon the tasks we do in life. It is based upon who we are. Who we are determines the authority for the tasks we do in life. Being faithful in the tasks we do have more to do with the substance of our authority as sons and daughters of God, then it does with the tasks themselves. It is part of the process of training and of receiving the substance of God’s name.
Authority begins with a birthright and then progresses through a process of training to the times of appointment in our lives. It is not training that qualifies us for authority. It is the process of authority that demands the necessary ingredients of training. Training can give us a skill, but skill alone doesn’t qualify us for authority. It is the sound of God in our name that qualifies us for an appointment that warrants a legitimate anointing for authority. Something of the substance of God has to be a part of who we are in order for us to exhibit the authority of God. This is all a process, and as I have stated, within the process of authority there are years of training. We must be faithful to who we are in every step of the journey. Some things that seem to be practical are really the spiritual ingredients to the authority of our lives.
Many years ago I worked as an operations technician for an oil company. During that time God was calling me into ministry, yet I was also excelling in my secular job. I was advancing in my secular training for the company and being promoted in the workplace faster than my peers. I had a lot of favor in the company. God had also broken my heart to pursue Him and His call upon my life. The favor of God was on me for things of the Spirit. I was seeing many supernatural experiences as well as daily encounters with God and spiritual revelations. I was in the midst of training that was both natural and of the Spirit. I was writing many songs and ministering in various places on my time away from work.
Part of my daily job was to work the computer with lots of time just watching the computer screens. During one night shift I decided to print some of my latest spiritual songs on the printer. When I hit the print button, nothing printed. I tried printing several times, but nothing happened. Following that work shift I was off for a couple of days. When I returned to work I logged into my work computer and saw an email entitled, “Separation of Church, State, and ARCO”. The letter read something like this: “Dear Mr. Hanson; I am sure the refinery wide evangelism was not your goal, but you’re your recent compositions were received by all of the managers. Please refrain from such activity in the future…” My work foreman called me in for a conversation as well. His advice to me was to not use the company computer for personal business in the future. I had made a mistake. I was on company time doing ‘spiritual’ things. It was a big blow to my favor at work. I was about to discover that the authority of my life for my spiritual destiny was directly connected to my diligence in the practical things of my present work responsibilities. Wherever we are that is where we need to be. Tomorrow’s authority is not today’s, but how we live in the present moment is an essential ingredient to our authority tomorrow.
I asked God for His forgiveness in my error and I began to pray that He would give me my favor back in the workplace. I was walking through an area of my outdoor technician responsibly and the Holy Spirit spoke to me about a practical innovation that would save the company a lot of money. He told me what to do, how to design it, and how it would work. I spent several days drawing up the plans and presenting my idea to the management of the company. To make a long story short, the idea proved to be a good one and they implemented my suggestion. It saved the company money and I got my favor back. I got to make a short speech to the managers as to my suggestion and I even received a small financial bonus. I took my bonus money and bought a word processor so I could print my songs at home and not at work. It was a good lesson for me in being faithful to every task of life in the process of authority. I had to work hard in the natural to be qualified in my spiritual destiny. My favor didn’t just magically return to me, I had to apply myself fully to my present job. Where you are is where you have to be. You must be faithful to every step of responsibility in your life in the process of authority.
Jesus established His birthright but was immediately submissive to additional natural training and further spiritual training. Being misunderstood is part of the training process. Jesus, with a right heart, probably built a chair or two that was misunderstood. Joseph might have said: ‘Jesus, run that chair down to Eleazor’s house. He’s been waiting for it.’ Upon delivering the chair, Eleazor might have said; ‘I can’t believe this. This is a lousy chair.’ How would Jesus react? They said it was a lousy chair. What do you do when you are mistreated and accused of wrong doing over a chair?
Jesus learned and received training from His natural father and His spiritual Father. He was likely wrongly disciplined and misunderstood. He learned obedience to His heavenly Father in the practical things of life.
Hebrews 5:8 …though He was a Son, yet He learned obedience by the things which He suffered.
At the age of 12 Jesus laid hold of His birthright. At the age of 30 He laid hold of His inheritance. Age 30 is an age where the Jewish man could hold a place of eldership. They could enter into a living inheritance of the family business. At age 30 Jesus didn’t ask his natural father, Joseph, for a piece of the carpenter business. He asked His heavenly Father for a piece of the family business of the nations. The baptism of John revealed that Jesus was ready to receive the appointment for the anointing of the family business. His heavenly father announced His favor upon His Son and Jesus commenced to defeat the devil’s stronghold upon God’s people and Jesus began to heal the sick, cast out devils, raise the dead, multiply bread, and many supernatural miracles of life. He went about destroying the works of the devil by manifesting the works of His Father in heaven.
Unless we are born of the water and the Spirit we cannot inherit the Kingdom of God. We cannot deny the glory of each seed. Our natural seed has a glory that must be seen. It is directly connected to our spiritual destiny. We must be who we are today or we will never be who are meant to be tomorrow. We must embrace the YEARS of training. God did not intend for us to reject the glory of one for the glory of the other, but rather to fulfill the glory of each. Like the plant that is first a seed, then a sprout, then a stalk with the head that develops to supply food for others; we must embrace the process of authority in our lives. Today is not worse than tomorrow, and tomorrow is not better than today.
When Jesus was a baby the old man Simeon prophesied over him. Simeon prophesied over Jesus, not Jesus over Simeon.
Luke 2:25-35 And behold, there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon, and this man was just and devout, waiting for the Consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him. And it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord’s Christ. So he came by the Spirit into the temple. And when the parents brought in the Child Jesus, to do for Him according to the custom of the law, he took Him up in his arms and blessed God and said: “Lord, now You are letting Your servant depart in peace, according to Your word; 30 for my eyes have seen Your salvation which You have prepared before the face of all peoples, a light to bring revelation to the Gentiles, and the glory of Your people Israel.” And Joseph and His mother marveled at those things which were spoken of Him. Then Simeon blessed them, and said to Mary His mother, “Behold, this Child is destined for the fall and rising of many in Israel, and for a sign which will be spoken against (yes, a sword will pierce through your own soul also), that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed.”
The King of kings fit in an old man’s hands. God was willing to place destiny in the fragile hands of an old man. Simeon was fulfilling destiny. Jesus was fulfilling destiny as well. The hands of blessing were the hands of lesser gifting. The hands of blessing were the hands of lesser ability. The hands of lesser gifting and lesser ability were the hands of authority essential for the process of the authority in Jesus’ life.
Food For Thought,
Ted J. Hanson
