Confessions of a Church: Authority

The Psalm writer wrote: Open my eyes, that I may behold Wonderful things from Your law. As we come before a Holy God and hear his word, may we have eyes open to the wonderful and fearful things from his law. May it move us to repent and seek forgiveness, fear disobedience, and live in light of the grace we have received.
This is the word of God.  It is eternally true and applicable for all of life:

Proverbs 16:12- 22- It is an abomination for kings to commit wicked acts, For a
throne is established on righteousness. Righteous lips are the delight of kings, And
he who speaks right is loved. The fury of a king is like messengers of death, But a
wise man will appease it. In the light of a king’s face is life, And his favor is like a
cloud with the spring rain. How much better it is to get wisdom than gold! And to
get understanding is to be chosen above silver. The highway of the upright is to
depart from evil; He who watches his way preserves his life. Pride goes before
destruction, And a haughty spirit before stumbling. It is better to be humble in
spirit with the lowly Than to divide the spoil with the proud. He who gives
attention to the word will find good, And blessed is he who trusts in the Lord. The
wise in heart will be called understanding, And sweetness of speech increases
persuasiveness.

All authority is from God, whether it be the authority given to a king, a president, a pastor, or a judge. This week, we have seen the abuse of authority by those entrusted to exercise it faithfully: warfare waged without congressional approval; twisting of God’s Word at T4G to further an agenda of faux justice, devoid of true biblical repentance and reconciliation; a so called justice system meant to punish evildoers being utilized to harass faithful Christians, while the true perpetrators of wickedness go unpunished. The Proverb today tells us that : “ It is an abomination for kings to commit wicked acts, for a throne is established on righteousness”. Rulers who commit wicked acts abuse the authority granted to them from God, and God calls it abominable. Wicked, abusive authority is abominable because the source of all authority, Jesus Christ, is righteous, perfect, and always does the Father's will, and He is our example. These very public displays of wickedness from rulers catch our attention, yet, our own private abuses of authority are no less despicable in God's eyes. As Mothers and Fathers, Husbands and wives, Pastors, managers, employees, homemakers, children, have you been faithful stewards of the authority God has granted to you this week? Whatever realm of life you find yourself exercising authority granted to you from God, are you doing so for His glory, or yours? Are you seeking to build His kingdom, or are you looking to reign over your own little empire? Abusing authority amounts to a failure to love the Lord your God, and your neighbor as yourself. Let us confess this morning how we often fail to keep God’s Law by abusing the authority He grants us. Please join me in kneeling if you are able.
 
Dear Heavenly Father, from the most obvious outward sin, to the seemingly
smallest internal infraction of Your Law, we are guilty. Our sins are to the heavens
Oh Lord, and no amount of working, cleansing, or hiding by us can appease the
wrath that our sins deserve. Lord, often we become arrogant and prideful, taking
the authority granted to us by You, and use it in self-serving ways, lording over
others, grasping for authority that has not been granted, twisting Your word to
selfish ends. Father, we are mere worms, but oftentimes arrogantly believe that
the authority You grant us, is due to some inherent trait of leadership, or ability,
or goodness within us. Help us to remember that thrones, and all authority, are
established on Your Righteousness. Please show us grace and mercy Lord. Please
grant us repentance in this area that we do not deserve. Please forgive us for
seeking to usurp Your authority based upon righteousness, and replacing it with
our own which is tainted with selfishness, and pride. It’s in Jesus name we pray,
Amen.
 
Listen now to the comforting assurance of the grace of God, promised in the gospel to all that believe:

Romans 10 : 5 -10 For Moses writes that the man who practices the righteousness
which is based on law shall live by that righteousness. 6 But the righteousness
based on faith speaks as follows: “Do not say in your heart, ‘Who will ascend into
heaven?’ (that is, to bring Christ down), 7 or ‘Who will descend into the abyss?’
(that is, to bring Christ up from the dead).” 8 But what does it say? “The word is
near you, in your mouth and in your heart”—that is, the word of faith which we
are preaching, 9 that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in
your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; 10 for with the
heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he
confesses, resulting in salvation.

Lift up your hearts!!!!

(From the liturgy of Sovereign King Church. Written by Aaron Sabie, April 16, ,2018)