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Understanding Spiritual Authority
Part 4
by Dale Yerton
THE LAW OF LIMITS
Each
ministry gift has specific limitations which should be respected and
observed. We make ourselves vulnerable to
satanic attack when we overstep our authority.
The name apostle means “envoys sent forth with authority,” but we must not
forget all authority is limited. Only
God has total authority. There are some
things we cannot do. II Corinthians
12:5
1. MEASURED SPHERES II Corinthians
10:13-15
·
God did not call us to
minister in every place.
·
Our spiritual authority
is limited to the sphere God has appointed us.
·
Paul recognized his
apostleship was to the Gentiles.
Galatians 2:8
·
Peter recognized his
call was to the Jews.
2. MEASURED GRACE Ephesians 4:7
·
God did not call us to
do everything. “I planted, Apollos watered, but
God gave the increase.” I
Corinthians 3:6 Each apostolic gift is linked to another of the ministry gifts:
·
Paul was a
teacher/apostle.
·
Peter was a
pastor/apostle.
·
Timothy was an
evangelist/apostle.
·
Barnabas was a
prophet/apostle.
3. MEASURED FAITH Romans 12:3
·
We each have different
measures of faith.
·
It is dangerous for us
to move beyond the measure of our faith into presumption.
·
When we try to be
involved in every area of ministry we end up only doing a mediocre job in the
main area where God has called us.
ANIMAL SCHOOL
There
is a fictional story told of an animal school.
In this imagined school the animals were taught to swim, to run, to
climb and to fly. They found the birds
could fly very well but were not good at running. The fish were excellent swimmers but were not good climbers. The conclusion was that each animal should
concentrate on their best gifts.
Here
are some symptoms we are exceeding our limitations.
WARNING SYMPTOMS
1.
Competition with other
ministries. II Corinthians 10:12
2.
A growing sense of
inadequacy.
3.
Becoming over-protective
of our ministry and reputation.
4.
Feelings of
despair. II Corinthians 1:8
5.
Breakdown through
burnout and exhaustion.
When
we exceed our limitations we cease burning the oil of the Holy Spirit and start
burning the wick of ourselves. Matthew
12:20
BENEFITS
OF EMBRACING OUR BOUNDARIES
1.
Deliverance from the
“franchise mentality.” It is wrong to believe we have a monopoly on the Kingdom of God.
2.
Freedom from the
“messianic complex.” It is dangerous to
start seeing ourselves as saviors instead of servants.
3.
Practicing the principle
of referring people to other ministers who are more gifted in certain areas
than us.
4.
Walking in confidence we
are doing God’s will.
5.
Reaching fulfillment in
our ministry gifts.
PURPOSE
OF MINISTRY GIFTS Ephesians 4:11-16
“Equipping the saints for the work of the
ministry.” The job of the
leader is to empower followers by training them for ministry.
“Till we all come into the unity of the
faith.” Spiritual leaders
should produce an atmosphere of peaceful unity within the church.
“That we should no longer be children.” The greatest sign of maturity is revealed by
fruitfulness.
“The whole body.” The body is only whole when every joint and
member is working properly.
FRUIT
OF APOSTOLIC GIFTS
1.
The unity of the faith. Maturity produces a spirit of peace.
2.
Appointing other
ministries. Fathers recognize
potential.
3.
Ordination of other
ministries. Apostles endorse ministry.
4.
Bringing order to the
church. Apostles carry spiritual
authority.
5.
Conquest of nations for
Christ. Apostles give focused
direction.
6.
The gift of faith for
finances. Apostles operate in high
levels of faith.
WHEN APOSTOLIC AUTHORITY IS ACCEPTED
AND APPRECIATED THE KINGDOM OF GOD
IS
ESTABLISHED!THE POWER OF UNITY
The
Midianites invaded Israel totally destroying the land so that they were “greatly
impoverished.” Judges 6:6 God appeared to Gideon and promised him that
he would “defeat the Midianites as one man.” V16 The Spirit of the
Lord came upon Gideon, and he blew the trumpet sounding a battle cry to which
32,000 Israelites responded. V34
THE BATTLE PREPARATION
The Fear Test
God
told Gideon his army was too big. If
God gave them the victory, they would take the credit. Judges 7:2
Gideon gave an option to the people; let everyone who is afraid go home,
and 22,000 left. Those who were afraid
couldn’t walk in unity. They were
watching the enemy instead of their leader.
Those dismissed were too careful!
The Faith Test
God
told Gideon his army of 10,000 was still too large and that he would test them
by with the way they drank. Gideon
brought them to the water and 9,700 of them got on their knees and put their
mouths to the water for a drink. 300 of
them bent their knees and lapped water to their mouths with their hands. God chose the 300 and sent the others
home. The 300 were watching while they
drank. Those dismissed were too careless!
THE BATTLE EQUIPMENT
Now
that Gideon had unity he could equip his men for the battle. It is important that we understand, Gideon
was not leading followers – he was leading leaders. Every one of the 300 was a leader capable of leading a thousand
soldiers. Gideon outfitted his troops
by giving them a:
·
TRUMPET – which
represents worship. A trumpet is no
good unless you blow it at the right time in the right way. You must pay attention to your leader to be
a good worshipper.
·
PITCHER – which
represents things we must sacrifice.
They were made to be broken. The
pitcher was a clay pot which contained a smoldering torch. As “one man” they were to offer their
sacrifice by breaking their pitchers. We
must be careful not to break the spirit of unity by not offering to God the
things He asks us to give.
·
TORCH – which
represents our passion. Our passion cannot
burn until the pitchers are broken.
Then we must wave our torches in unity causing them to illuminate the
black sky.
THE BATTLE PLAN
The
battle plan was simple: “Look at me and do likewise. Watch, and when I come to the edge of the
camp you shall do as I do.” V17 At midnight, they stood in unity around the Midianite
camp and sounded their trumpets, broke their pitchers and waved their
torches. The Midianites were put into
total confusion. In the darkness they
thought they were surrounded by a huge army.
They didn’t know which direction to run, or who was the enemy, so they
attacked each other.
What would have happened if the careful
had been with Gideon? They would have been too scared to blow
their trumpets, break their pitchers and wave their torches. They would have been watching the enemy
instead of their leader. There would
have been large segments of his army hiding in the darkness which would have
allowed the Midianites to escape.
What would have happened if the careless
had been with Gideon? They would have been experimenting with
their equipment before Gideon gave orders.
They would have been looking at their equipment instead of watching
their leader, checking to see if the trumpet was in tune and looking to see if
the torch was still burning. Their
carelessness would have given away the element of surprise. The enemy would have discovered and attacked
them.
THE BATTLE CRY
They
were to cry, “The sword of the Lord and of Gideon.” Judges 7:18
This was not sacrilegious. To
obtain great victory we need a great God and a good leader. All they needed was God and Gideon.
Gideon’s
“one man” army smote the Midianites and killed their kings. Their names are significant:
·
Oreb – means
the “raven.”
·
Zeeb – means
the “wolf.”
It
makes no difference whether the enemy comes by land or air, God will give us
the victory over them if we will learn the secret of unity.
Our
goal is simply this; “Every man stood in his place all around the
camp.” Judges 7:21 When we find and stay in our places, God
will give us total victory.
UNITY PRODUCED VICTORY!
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