Breaking Free
511 Authority - "King's palace" -
Learning To Take Charge
This lesson has been taken by permission from the Daniel Files; Author-Winkie Pratney. The Daniel Files is a publication on the Internet that may be copied freely.
The
great need of our time is for leadership.
Leadership is not inherited from the past power and influence of a privileged
few. A man or woman can carry nothing but a dream, determination and the call
of God and still take their place among those that changed history. Daniel and
his friends had nothing when they were taken to Babylon. Like the rest of their
nation, they were stripped of all home, family and personal possessions. They
were powerless and penniless, yet they learned to lead so well that they
survived three different governments and remained in each in the same position
of responsibility and rulership! Not all are leaders. But if God has His hand
on you, you will become a leader in something. What can you learn about
leadership?
IN
GOVERNMENT, GOD IS THE ULTIMATE RULER
"And
the Lord gave ... Judah into (Nebuchadnezzars') hand" (Dan. 1:2)
All
authority in life is ultimately derived from God. When God called Abram and
promised to bless, protect him and make him great it was for the sake of
others. His covenant blessing, protection and power was to bring blessing to
all the peoples of the earth. (Gen. 12:1-3). Whatever God does in your life to
lift you up in the sight of others and to give you authority in their lives is
so that you may serve them and bless them. God gets you right with Him, then
blesses you to be a blessing.
What
is the purpose of power? To IMPLEMENT GOD'S PURPOSES in every sphere of
society. Power in the Bible is always given for Divine purpose. You are called
to know the Lord, His law and conform all of your life to what He shows you. In
your walk with God you will see and sometimes meet many leaders in church and
nation. Not all of these will be good leaders. If God is ultimately in charge,
how does He let some people get into such terrible governmental situations?
Paul said:
"Everyone
must submit himself to the governing authorities, for there is no authority
except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been
established by God. Consequently, he who rebels against the authority is
rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring
judgment on themselves." (Rom 13:1-2:)
Paul
does not say here that all leaders are good or right. He says the KIND of
authority is established by God. God gives a nation the kind of government it
deserves. What kind of power is "best" ? If the "powers" or
forms of authority are those purposed by God for a nation at a particular time
in its history, what does He look for when He changes such a government? What
makes these changes possible?
FORMS
OF AUTHORITY
God
alters the power of government to fit the spirituality of its people. The form
of government best for a nation, a church or a family is based on its overall
spiritual maturity and willingness to conform to reality. He "puts down
and sets up" (Ps. 75:6-7). The measure of real love (obedience to God and
His laws) and wisdom (awareness and faithfulness to His truth) in a nation,
church or individual life sets the limits of the government in our lives. This
control structure need not stay the same forever. It is dynamic and affected by
prayer (dependence) and faithfulness (loving obedience).
It
is true nationally, religiously and personally. God gives us the leaders we
deserve. If we are stupid and selfish we deserve dictatorial leadership - those
who will not ask, but just tell us what to do. If we in turning to God become
less ignorant and selfish, our leadership will eventually move to a lesser
level of control. The way to change leadership away from strong legal control
is to become yourself more wise and loving.
This
basic pattern of authority change is seen in the family:
As a
BABY our parents never ask us what we should do. They have absolute power. They
feed you, change you, run your whole life. You don't get to say or do anything
about it because you are too dumb and too self-centered to make almost any kind
of decision. This is God's protection authority structure. (Rom. 2:20; 1 Cor.
3:1)
As a
CHILD things change a bit as you get older. You parents are hopefully not the
kind of dictators they had to be when you were tiny. They become a bit more
like a King and Queen. They are in charge of a lot of your life, but not all of
it. You get to make requests. They are not always granted, but you do have a
bit more freedom when you show you understand. (1 Cor. 13:11)
Then
you get to be really cool. You are officially a YOUTH. You are much more
grown-up now. You don't want to be treated like a child and have to show your
parents you are wise enough and trustworthy enough to be given greater freedom.
As a young man or woman you are able to provide for yourself, but not for
someone else. You get much more freedom with that responsibility. (1 John
2:14b)
Finally
you graduate from home altogether. By this time you ought to have learned
enough and loved enough to start a marriage and a home yourself. When you
become a FATHER or mother yourself, you take responsibility not only for
yourself but for your family. Your parents no longer are in charge of your
home. They become in God's ideal, good friends and advisors. We see similar
patterns in the type of authority structures in civic and church government:
POLITICS
CHURCH FAMILY
Dictatorship
(Roman Catholic) Baby (John 3:3-5; ) Monarchy (Episcopalian) Child (I John
2:12) Oligarchy (Presbyterian) Young (I John 2:13-14) Democracy
(Congregational) Father (I John 2:13-14)
As self-discipline, self-control and self-government under God
decreases, exterior government increases. Edmund Burke said long ago:
"Society cannot exist unless a controlling power is put somewhere on will
and appetite. The less there is within the more there must be without. It is
ordained in the eternal constitution of things that men of intemperate minds
cannot be free. Their passions forge their fetters."
PRAYING
FOR LEADERS
Because
God gives us the kind of leadership we deserve, we should pray for those in
authority. You are not free to ridicule a God-appointed leader even if they are
wrong. Continued wrong brings its own Divine judgment. If someone keeps doing
stupid or wrong things, you will see God deal with them in His own way. Your
job is to stay out of the way of that dealing. Trust God, not the leadership.
If
you have a good leader, pray that God will encourage and grace them. It is
lonely at the top. Leadership with its privileges and responsibilities also
carries many dangers. Pray for and encourage them. George Verwer of Operation
Mobilization counsels:
"It
is in your power to make or break your leader. To ruin his leadership, just do
the following..."
(a) Don't do what he asks you unless you
FEEL like doing it.
(b) Don't do what he asks unless you
understand and agree with it completely.
(c) Forget to do the tasks assigned to
you to do.
(d) Do what he asks, but grumble and
complain about it to yourself and others.
(e) Make him explain detail why he wants
it done before you do it.
(f) Take everything he says as a
personal offense; bear grudges in your heart.
(g) Never bother to clear the air in a
misunderstanding with him.
(h) Point out to others in the group the
mistakes and failures of the leader.
(i) Present to others "prayer
requests" on what you feel is wrong with him.
(j)Constantly express doubt his
decisions are wise; always expect the worst.
(k) Point out constantly that you are
right and that you have more experience and a
superior
spiritual life than your leader.
(1) Be sure to say, "I told you
so," when he makes mistake.
(m) Never take into consideration
cultural or other differences that may lead your
leader
to think and act differently from you
(n)Assert your authority over the
leader, especially when he isn't around.
(o) Constantly correct him and give him
advice, especially among others.
(p) Don't take time to pray with him,
and miss as many devotional times as possible
so
that you can never seek the face of the Lord together.
(q) Be especially sharp to catch all his
driving faults and make sure that all of the
group
knows about them.
(r) Keep him up late at night talking
about his mistakes and how you feel he should
lead
the team, coupled with discussion on minor devotional differences.
"If
you practice one of these points, I can almost guarantee that you will succeed
in destroying both the unity of the team and the effectiveness of the leader.
All of us, therefore, should take as our motto Matthew 7:12: "Let us have
fervent love among ourselves, for love covers a multitude of sins.
"Therefore all things whatsoever you would that men should do to you, do
ye even so to them; for this is the law and the prophets."
"
Let us realize that there will be problems, disagreements, and differences of
opinion. By triumphing in the life of love and faith, all these things will but
strengthen
the
team. (Hebrews 12:1,2)
THE
PATTERN OF A LEADER
(A) THE LEADER: Who you are and your
call in Christ is key to all leadership.
E.
M. Bounds said it: "The church is looking for better methods; God is
looking for better men." What you are on a day-by-day basis forms the
platform for what you say. (1) Be TOGETHER. Dress well, look good, and feel
good. Let God own your body so it is strong and serviceable. Groom so that you
have the maximum influence with the crowd you want to reach. Obey God's health
laws to keep you feeling fit and alert. (2) Be OUTGOING. Christians must be
marked by a noticeable absence of hang-ups. Be positive, outgoing, and
cheerful. That ought to come naturally from a clean heart and life, and a real
concern for others in God's love. Don't be afraid to speak up for what you know
is right, or to take a stand on issues of moral or spiritual value. (3) Be
CONSISTENT. Your Daniel Files will help you here. We designed them to give you
overall excellence in your life. Christians ought to be the most natural,
stable and trustworthy people around. Always strive for the SAME OFFICE in
every organization you are in. If you want to be president, always run for
president; if you want to be secretary, always aim at being secretary.
(B) The OBJECTIVE: Know what you want to
do and why. It is important to have as good a knowledge of your goal as you
possibly can. Make it a point to be highly informed. Anticipate objections and
problems; draft out rough solution for them before you run into them. Decide
what position you feel God want you to have. Fix it clearly in your heart. Then
set your goal and work towards it with courage and faith.
(C) BEGIN YOUR CAMPAIGN: Never put off
for tomorrow what you can do today. Don't wait until you are older to run for a
position of influence. Begin now! Make as many friends as possible without
compromising issues of truth or value. Develop LOYALTIES; be the kind of person
one can really trust.
Take
RESPONSIBILITIES as they come up be thoroughly dependable in doing them. Get
involved in important school functions where you will not have to compromise
your testimony. Make it a point to be TOTALLY INVOLVED where the action is.
Always begin at the lowest seat; (Luke 14:10) if the competition is keen, run
for a lesser office first and excel in it.
LEGAL
LIMITS
Every
nation has some kind of state religion. A country without one is just a country
in transit from one form of religious belief to another. That
"religion" may be secular humanism, atheism, some form of occult or
even some kind of Christian consensus. This "national religion" may
not be a mandate or a command. It may not be enforced by rules. It may only be
a common pressure on all to conform. The idea of a nation without a belief
system is as big a myth as that of "objective journalism."
Only
revival or national spiritual awakening and reformation can affect the laws and
morals that guide a nation to the true God. As nations come under the dealings
and judgments of God, true saints in them are often isolated, rejected and
persecuted.
When
the truth of Jesus threatens a national religion, those who stand for Him can
be a target for bigotry, fear and hate. Whenever possible you must use the
existing laws of the land to guide your witness. You may have SPECIFIC RIGHTS
under the law that those that oppose your stand either do not know or ignore.
Don't be afraid to use good laws to support your stand for Christ. (Acts
16:16-40; 19:24-41; Rom. 13:3-8) The Students Bill Of Rights On Campus (See
Appendix) is one such set of guidelines from US Constitutional Law. But
remember; such rights are fragile. They depend only on the level of true
Biblical wisdom (law) and love (obedience) that existed in the country at the
time. People change. Their spiritual lives, nations revive or decay. Christian
witness will go on till Jesus comes. (Matt. 24:14; 28:18-20; Mark 16:15-20)
WHAT
IF THE LAWS ARE AGAINST YOU?
In
different nations and times you will run into laws that seek to limit, block or
stop you speaking out for Jesus. Christians through the centuries faced the
tough choices of what to do when human law came into conflict with God's
commands. You don’t always get a third way. Sometimes obeying what God says
means having to break a bad man-made law. (Acts 5:25-29) In every case, those
that loved God did not flinch from the consequences, even if it meant capital
punishment. (Acts 4: 13-31; 5:17-42)
Daniel
faced it in the den of lions. His three friends faced it in the fiery furnace.
Stephen was stoned to death. James, the brother of Jesus, was killed by the
sword. All of the disciples except John died a violent death at the hands of
angry governments- and even he was tortured in boiling oil. Early Christians
were flogged, imprisoned, stoned, crucified. Jesus never said it would be easy.
Jesus never said it wouldn't cost.
Christians
faced it in the coliseums of Rome. Caught and chained, they faced the terror of
being torn apart by wild beasts before a jeering crowd, or being set on fire as
a ghastly living torch to light the sick spectacles of Roman games. Yet
twelve-year olds refused to even drink a toast of wine to Caesar to
acknowledge, as he demanded, that he was the only true Lord and
"god". They died in the laws of lions rather than deny Jesus. Yet it
was said that for every Christian who died in the arena, seven watching romans
became Christians. Now more Christians have died for Jesus this century than
all the others put together. The blood of the martyrs is the seed of the
Church. HOW TO FACE A DEN OF LIONS
"All
men die. Not all men really live." (Mel Gibson in Brave Heart) Daniel and his three friends each were
put to the ultimate test: deny God or die. Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego faced the fiery furnace.
Daniel had the den of lions. Jesus
came into the place of terror with them.
How
do you face the ultimate test? God has not promised us that we would not die.
ALL OF US DIE. Some of us die sooner than others. The only difference in death
between a Christian and someone who is not is that the Christian is ready to
meet Jesus. A Christian is dead already; dead to the world, alive to Christ.
Death for you as a child of God is to fall asleep in His arms and awake in the
other world, alive forever beyond the power of pain, safe forever from all
sickness and suffering. (I Thess. 4:13; I Cor. 15:49-55; I Cor. 5:1-9)
Daniel
and his friends fully knew the cost of loving God and staying true to Him.
Faced with the full horror of agonizing death, they did not flinch or turn
back. And in both cases, they experienced a wonderful supernatural
intervention. Each time, Gods showed up in a way that made even the King
worship. God can do it again. Miracles still happen. But from Daniel we can
learn three important factors if you have to face your own "den of
lions" some day:
(1) Innocency: Keep your heart pure.
When Daniel came out of the den delivered by a miracle of God, he said God shut
the lions mouths because "innocency was found in him." Don't ever go
into a lions den without a CLEAN HEART. Get clean from all known sin. When they
lowered Daniel into that pit he knew only one thing: his heart was wholly right
with God. (Dan. 6:22; Matt. 5:8; Ps. 24:3-5; 51:6-13.)
(2) Forgiveness: Even though the King's
own foolishness and pride had created this death sentence for Daniel, Daniel
held no grudges. Study his response. There is no railing against the King, no
bitterness, no Divine-judgment death threats. "Before you oh King I have
done no hurt." Daniel went to the lions holding NOTHING against his
executors. The early Christians who also faced the lions said "These lions
are not our enemies. They are our friends. They will usher us into the Presence
of God." Go into the den FULLY FORGIVING those who have done you wrong.
(Dan. 6:22; Luke 23:34; Acts 7:59-60)
(3) Trust in the Lord. The bottom line
for every den of lions is "Trust God or die." For some it will be
"Trust God and die." Whatever the outcome, when you face your crisis,
you must go trusting in nothing or no-one except the Sovereign Living God.
"Daniel was taken up out of the den and no manner of hurt was found on him
because he believed in his God." (Dan. 6:23; Ps. 4: 3-5; 20:6-9; 37:39-40;
118:5-9; 91:1-16).
WITNESSING
TO A "KING"
How
do you speak to someone who is in authority over you? How do you appeal to say
a parent, a teacher, a boss? What if one who has charge over you is not a
Christian and you want to ask them for something they may not understand or
agree to?
(1) Practice the peace-maker principle.
You have not come to demand. You do not put them down because they do not
believe. Paul said: "Fear God. Honor the king.". (See "Negotiation")
(2) Respect the person's position for
Jesus sake. Come like Ester with proper honor and respect for their authority.
No servant of Jesus has any right to speak to a person of rightful authority
with arrogance.
(3) Present if possible, a "Third Way."
Use what we have already given you in presenting a position to a person you
hope to influence. But remember this difference: God has allowed them at
present to be in authority over you. This fact must temper all you do. "Do
not rebuke an elder" God says "but entreat them as a father." (I
Tim. 5:1)
In
making your request, make it in faith and in heart-submission to Jesus through
this persons' authority. Trust that God can work in and through them, even if
they don’t know God. Remember Nebuchadnezzar. Sometimes even unsaved people see
things in your life you can't or don't, and will make a decision that is right
for you, even if it is one you don't like. If God really wants you to do it, He
will work it out eventually. Don't think that denial or delay are always things
outside God's will.
(4) You are to honor and obey your
"king" in all things their area of authority except where their
decision is a direct violation of the law of God. Do not treat lightly any idea
of disobedience to legitimate authority. If what you want is only a want and
not a word from the Lord, submit to a denied request as you would if Jesus said
"No." If for instance you want to go to a Christian concert and your
parent forbids you, don't assume their denial violates God's command to
"assemble yourselves together." Don't put in some
"spiritual" reason for something much simpler God may not even be in.
Learn to submit your wants and wishes to another. You will earn the right to be
heard and perhaps from this grow faster in Jesus than if you always got what
you want. "Submit yourselves ... as to the Lord."
CHANGING
A LEADERS' HEART
What
if you believe God really wants you to do something but your "king"
may not let you? What if what you want to ask is not really a Bible law and
(their denial of your request will not break any law of God) but you still
think it is God's will? If you find yourself in this situation, you have a
special avenue of appeal.
Prov.
21:1 speaks of a special situation. "The king's heart is in the hand of
the LORD; he directs it like a watercourse wherever he pleases." (NIV)
What if you are unable to plead with someone over you in authority? Then you
are a good candidate for a miracle of God. At times the Lord can actually
change the choices or preferences of those in authority to accomplish His
purposes in those under their authority. It is a supernatural, miraculous
influence directly on the minds and hearts of rulers. It is not a right, nor a
rule, but a special act of grace and mercy. And you can ASK God for it.
You
can pray: "Lord, I believe you want me to do this, but my authority may
not let me. You have power over their authority. I submit wholly to Your will.
If you want me to do this, change their hearts so I can do what I believe You
want without violating their charge over my life."
He
may grant it in a wonderful way. God uses these "will-freezes" to
accomplish His purposes in Scripture; to fulfill prophecy, provide for and
protect His servants, sometimes to accomplish judgment on sin or rescue for a saint.
(Dan. 4:23-25; Exodus 7:13; 10:1; Deut. 2:30; John 19:18-24; Luke 4:28-30) What
God did once He can do again. All the promises of God are yes and Amen in
Christ Jesus. You can only ask.
This lesson has been taken by permission from the Daniel Files, by Winkie Pratney. The Daniel Files is a publication on the Internet that may be copied freely.