Greetings,
In order to function in the authority that God has given us, we must fully accept our responsibilities. This is an embracing of who we are with our whole spirits, souls, and physical lives. In order to function fully in the authority given to us we must stir our spirits up towards the purpose of that function. We must fill our souls with thoughts, strategies, plans, and dreams in the direction of our authority. We must physically do something that is an action in the direction of our authority. This is a daily process of maintaining an active spirit, soul, and body posture towards our responsibilities. This is a proper posture for authority. Remember, authority is your ability to bring life to others. When we accept our authority we must become purposed and focused in giving life to others in that area. This can even be in the practical way that we serve others. It can be a very simple menial task, but it takes on a spiritual life when we unite our spirits, souls, and physical lives in the direction of that task.
If you have been given the responsibility of leading others, you must fully embrace that responsibility for the sake of bringing life to those you lead. This involves stirring your spirit up in that direction. This includes praying in the Spirit with an aim of stirring up your leadership ability within you. It involves putting your attitude, your emotions, thoughts, and complete focus in the direction of leading where you are responsible to lead. It also includes taking physical actions. It includes envisioning the daily footsteps and future expectations. If you are over a business you may walk through your work place expecting to receive thoughts. You might physically touch the equipment your employees work with and release a blessing. If you are over a church walk through the rooms of the ministry and bless the chairs, speak life to the various departments, imagine what you see in your spirit in the room while you physically do what you feel to do. Remodel a room, landscape a yard, do something in the physical that matches what you see happening in your spirit and your soul. This is a proper focus of a leader who intends to lead. It will release a spiritual force of life for those you lead and will activate your ability to hear God in the direction He desires for you go lead. If you are a farmer, walk through your field and envision the crops you hope to see. Think of ways to prepare for the harvest. Grease the machinery, sharpen the things that need to be sharpened, oil what needs to be oiled, foresee the unexpected before it happens. Prepare the irrigation system, stock the needed supplies, and put the equipment in working order. By doing these things you are positioning yourself for a harvest. If you don’t do these things, you are positioning yourself to not receive a harvest. These are the proper position of accepting your God-given responsibilities in life.
It is also possible to improperly position yourself in areas you are not responsible. If you are an employee and you begin to think of what you would do if you were the employer, you are positioning yourself to hinder the company business. You are crossing a boundary in the sphere of your influence. If you are an intercessor in a church and you begin to think in ways of governing in the church you actually release an illegitimate power that is like a force of spiritual witchcraft. You have a responsibility of sensing things, but it has not been given to you to govern in areas you are not responsible. If you pray in areas you are not responsible and decide what should or should not happen you are releasing an illegitimate power that will even hinder those who are responsible in those areas. A proper way to pray is to pray under those who are responsible. Thank God that they hear Him. If you sense something, pray in a way that you acknowledge you don’t know what to do, but those responsible will hear what is needed in order to rule in their area of responsibility. Communicate with those in authority what you sense or see, but don’t decide in your heart or mind what should or should not be done. Sow the substance of authority. Authority is a testimony of relationship. One sphere of influence serves another sphere, but each work together to fulfill the God-given roles of each part.
Any delegated authority must respect the higher levels of authority. Those higher levels would be the Holy Spirit speaking to the heart of individuals, the conscience of individuals, and other levels of delegated authority. When we cross the boundaries of our authority and put ourselves over a higher authority than our own we cannot give life. We will actually resist the flow of life through the proper lines of authority.
When someone in a local church disagrees with leadership and they assume the responsibility of the congregation they will hinder the leadership of that church. If their attitude is one of, “I know what I would do” they are grasping for power, but not functioning in a proper role of authority. When they do this, they begin to draw people unto themselves. They are assuming a responsibility that is not theirs. They have become thieves without realizing it. They are trying to get purpose, determination, and focus in an area of responsibility that was not given to them. It might be just sitting in the chair and manifesting their thoughts against leadership. The next step may be some form of further detachment. They are no longer seeing themselves as a part of the whole. They have disconnected from relationship and are attempting to rule by gift or function. They are attempting to take a role of leadership by seeing themselves a step ahead of the whole. They have assumed a role of leadership in the congregation. They will refer to the leadership and the congregation as being separate from them. They are releasing a spiritual energy into that congregation. Their hearts are hardening. It releases energy and even opens the door for demonic influences. It is an illegitimate flow of spirit, soul, and physical energy. It won’t stop the leadership of that ministry from hearing God, but it can hinder the free flow of life in the congregation. When I pioneered the ministry that my son now pastors, I faced this on several occasions. When someone in the congregation assumed the responsibility of leading from among the people I experienced resistance in my responsibility of leadership. It would even affect my thought patterns and my ability to think freely. Many thoughts would begin to bombard my thinking. When this happened I had to become more focused and determined to lead. If you are a leader and you feel resistance from those you lead, you must position yourself to lead all the more. Don’t cross the boundaries yourself. Don’t seek to control people’s thoughts or personal responsibilities. Just fully embrace your God-given responsibilities and step into it with strong confidence and focus. Stir your spirit, fill your soul with a purposed attitude, emotion, and thoughts, and do something physical that is part of your God-given responsibility. Do it with a spirit of life, not a spirit of defensiveness. You have the authority to lead and that authority is your ability to give life to others. Position your prayer, attitude, emotions, thoughts, strategies, and actions in a life-giving way for the sake of those you lead. Embrace the presence of God in your responsibilities and seek the joy that comes from His presence. Don’t let others put a heavy burden upon you, simply step into your role of leading.
Jude 8-11 Likewise also these dreamers defile the flesh, reject authority, and speak evil of dignitaries. Yet Michael the archangel, in contending with the devil, when he disputed about the body of Moses, dared not bring against him a reviling accusation, but said, “The Lord rebuke you!” But these speak evil of whatever they do not know; and whatever they know naturally, like brute beasts, in these things they corrupt themselves. Woe to them! For they have gone in the way of Cain, have run greedily in the error of Balaam for profit, and perished in the rebellion of Korah.
Michael the archangel wouldn’t bring a reviling accusation against the devil, a fallen archangel, but appealed to the authority over the devil. He refused to revile his own kind even in a state of fallen identity. When believers resist the sent authorities of other believers they are acting as brute beasts, different flesh than those of their kind. They look for opportunities to see what is wrong with those sent to them in authority. They may even find things that are naturally true that justify their thinking. Their vision will be obscured because they are crossing a line of their own God-given authority and their perception of the truth will be twisted. Their error is that of Cain, Balaam, or Korah. They are seeking to take something that is not theirs out of jealousy, or taking something to become something they are not for their own personal gain, or exalting their ability to hear God as an excuse for not hearing the voice of God through the authorities sent to them by God. They are grasping for power in some way, but they are not seeking to give life to others. They are grasping for power and the result is a resection of the life source of authority in their lives. When these things happen to a leader in a congregation the leader must become stupid to their resistance, stir his or her spirit by praying in the spirit, and attach his or her heart to the place where God’s voice can be heart. God’s voice will build up their most holy faith and the life-giving grace of leadership will flow for the sake of those they lead. Wisdom, strategy, action, and an outcome of life will follow.
Jude 20,21 But you, beloved, building yourselves up on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit, keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life.
Food For Thought,
Ted J. Hanson
That hit the nail on the head !!!
Blessings and love.
Steve and Rita