Authorative Christians

At the moment I have an uncle who is very seriously ill in the hospital and watching him in the bed WE ALL FEEL TOTALLY HELPLESS. There is nothing we can do apart from be there and watch his slow deterioration

There are times in all our lives when we can only feel our powerlessness. How often have you heard someone say- “My hands are tied, I can do nothing”?

The other week when the human barricades where up from 4pm each day and the nights were filled with rioting it was perfectly obvious that the police were helpless. When I found myself closed in by lines of women and children and a few angry men the police could only keep a watching brief. One man in a long queue of cars asked me “can you do anything here?” In a word no.

In Luke 4 the context is about the power of Jesus [Holy Spirit]- he leaves the wilderness where he was tempted to imitate Adam in taking control himself and away from God.

He begins his ministry full of the Spirit only to face another temptation- to give in to the crowd but he challenges them instead and walks through the opposition

Then he enters Capernaum and is opposed by this man who is possessed by demons and he begins to work out his manifesto, which he had set out when he read from Isaiah about setting free the prisoners and forgiving sin and recovering the sight of the blind.

All the people were amazed, again at the authority he was showing, this son of Joseph the carpenter. Here is the key word is authority – this man who had such power was also a man with authority. Power and authority are not the same- sometimes people have power and no authority and at other tomes they have the authority and no power

The police have the authority vested in them by the people to maintain law and order but they only have the power when they police with the consent of the same people. Of course they can take power by the force of arms but when they do that they have to be convinced that the end will be justified by the means- past history has shown that there are times when less is best- how often have we seen the authorities, in the movies and in real life, going into a situation with all guns blazing only to discover that more people ,innocent people, were killed in the process and so the short term gain has lead to long term defeat?

When the human barricades went up there was a withdrawal of consent from the unionist population either directly or indirectly when the majority acquiesced. In contrast to that the protestors had the power but no authority. Their authority was not legitimate.

Here we see that Jesus had both power and authority. In Matt 28 he tells us that all power in heaven and on earth has been given to him. This power is from above and here everyone was amazed by his power to deliver from sin and the demons and to save men from their sins- what a man this was. We also see that this was the legitimate power of God it was authorised by Him. He was the Messiah and here lies the whole issue- who was this man really? Was He the Messiah?

In these stories we have that authority manifested over:

• sickness
• the demons
• people

1. DEMONS

This was a time when demons were very prominent in the thinking of the people. They were implacably opposed to this man Jesus Christ- they had no doubts as to who he was. While the religious people questioned his identity the demons knew exactly who he was-

“What do you want with us Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are- the Holy One of God”

Later in the letter of James he says something similar

James 2:19 “You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that- and shudder.”

Jesus shows his power and authority by saying “BE QUIET”

Now here is the difference between authority and power- when the policeman stands in the middle of the road with his hand up or that red torch the traffic stops. If I did the same they would blur the horn and drive on. The uniform tells you that he has the right to stop the traffic. When the women and children stood in the road they had no authority but they had a kind of power, that kind which assumes its own authority for a while- they had little power themselves for they were weak and anyone could have defied them and driven through the ranks but their power was behind them in the community.

In Jesus we have one who has both power and authority- so when he commanded the demons to leave they did so. The result was an utter amazement at his authority.

2. SICKNESS

News about Jesus spread like wildfire and the crowds followed him out of the synagogue and to his mother-in –laws. When he arri8ves there he finds that she is sick with a fever and the family ask him to help her so he bends over her and REBUKES the fever and she gets up at once-again we see his power and authority. Then he spend all night healing the sick and setting them free from the demons. Again they recognise him immediately.

Now he faces another temptation- the temptation to curry favour but he knew that his time was not yet right- he had no desire for them to make him king- like the devil they promised something which they could not give as he was king already.

He was ready to give his all in healing yet not to the point of neglecting his mission to preach the gospel in other towns and cities. Just as he had authority over sickness and the demons so he has control over us also. He can cast out our demons- personally and collectively. He can set free Northern Ireland, Ulster, Ireland and Britain and give us life to the full, if we will just pay attention to him and allow him to direct our ways.

3. PEOPLE

In Chapter v5 we have the calling of Peter as one of his disciples.. While he takes the opportunity to preach to the crowd using the boats as a makeshift platform or pulpit he also draws Simon to himself.. He had seen what Jesus had done for his mother-in-law and for here friends and neighbours and now he experiences this great catch of fish – there are so many fish that the boats began to sink with the weight and peter and the others are left in awesome wonder at this man. Even though they were tired and weary from fishing all night and catching nothing they did what he commanded and their obedience was rewarded way beyond their expectations

Do you stand in wonder at Jesus Christ?

Are you ready to obey him even though you are tired and weary? Are you amazed that he gave his body and his blood that you might have life to the full?

What is your reaction to this wonder? Peter became acutely aware of his own sin and could only feel dirty and unworthy- “Go away from me Lord I am a sinful man”

There is no presumption here only an acute sense of personal failure and sin. Sa we come to the table of the Lord Jesus we too are to come with a deep sense of sinfulness yet also knowing and experiencing His forgiveness- this bread and this wine speak of total forgiveness and complete fellowship with the living Lord. We should never stop being amazed at His grace and mercy. We wants us to be complete human beings just as Jesus himself was-so today we come to accept his forgiveness

To realise his promised new life

And to live in his power and authority.

Yes we are totally helpless when faced with the magnitude of our sin and our hands are tired but this table reminds us that in His power we are “more than conquerors” we are victors and not victims.