Real Authority

By Pastor Greg Byman
St Joe Community Church
October 7, 2018

How authoritative is your authority? When man sinfully kicks God off the throne of his life, he soon realizes that he needs a replacement authority. While our nation fumbles around, hopelessly looking for some compelling substitute for God, Christians have an opportunity to re-introduce the beauty and majesty of God’s true authority, expressed personally in the Lordship of Jesus Christ. Today, Pastor Greg Byman focused on Matthew 8:5-13 as he preaches through “Real Authority,” at St Joe Community Church on Sunday, October 7, 2018.

Pastor's Notes

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Transcript

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Transcription

[Every man] must submit to the highest authority in our land and do what [authorities] say. They mean you have to like it. But if you committed to do it. Then you need to follow through with the commitment to do it. In the end of the lesson anyway that's that's that's the reality and that's where this man was he was completely disciplined in Luke it said that he was a tremendous man who cared for he cared for the less fortunate eat you see in this passage he's caring for a servant a slave this person in the Roman world was was very lowest end of the totem pole of any kind of needs of any kind of of rights. You didn't care about slaves you didn't care about service the culture was the weak are oppressed and the strong oppressed end of story and for this man to be pleading with the King of Kings in the Lord of Lords Jesus Christ to heal his servant it was kind of an anomaly. In the Roman Kingdom. In Luke it says that people were pleading with Jesus to listen to this man's request for his servant because he had been a good man who had actually built them a synagogue. So we so we see as we color in the story this man although was the oppressed or representing the emperor of Rome over and above the Jerusalem or the Israelite nation. He had compassion for those he was over he was ruling over militarily he cared about the people around him even though by his own ability in life he he didn't have to. And he probably wasn't getting any points at home with his rulers in fact I imagine he got ridiculed Are you kidding me you put money out of your own pocket. To pay for a synagogue for their god. What how are you kidding me probably laughed at him occasionally. And it's like when you might say you go to work and you say you know why I donated such and such and such and such for the work of the Lord they are my church and people are you kidding me that you don't have to do that that you know. It said other church that makes people give money yet you went to church they didn't even ask you for money and you gave What's that all about because the Lord led me to do that really. Why you buy a boat instead that be a really nice offering anyway I mean why don't you do something when you go out to eat instead of give an offering what were you thinking. So the censuring cared for others who were less fortunate than he was they were in less circumstances than he was. But there's another thing about him he believed that Jesus could heal this man he believed and what the power that Jesus had he believed in the power that Jesus possessed to heal his servant he may have heard about the man that was pleading for his son and Jesus said Go I'm not going to go where your son is but he's healed right where he is and and at that very hour that he said he was healed that's when the child was healed when the father came home he found his son alive and well and he was just fine he didn't die from his disease and Jesus healed him from a distance maybe he heard this Jesus is Ministry was centered in the Galilean area where this man was stationed and so we see that quite likely he heard all the stories of what Jesus had done to heal people so he's a good man who is highly disciplined he cared for the less fortunate and I believe Jesus could heal but I want you to see something else and here he was a man of faith. Here's a man that believed in Jesus Christ. In fact it says Jesus said to him I assure you I have not found anyone in Israel was so great a faith so what are we saying here why are the key verse the key verse that shows us his faith in Jesus Christ not just a good man not just a man that believed that Jesus was a good healer or that Jesus had was some kind of other power in the world. This man understood where Jesus came from by this one statement in verse nine. It says for I to the man under authority. I too. Am a man under authority. Jesus you and I have something in common it's different but similar. You're under authority there is no way you could do what you're doing if you did not have authority over your life that granted you the power and ability to do what you do Jesus and guess what I get that because I'm a man under authority and I have that authority under the Emperor the king of Emperor the the ruler of Caesar is my authority and by his authority it trickles down to my position where with that authority I can make my men do whatever I want them to do and of story I get it and so in that same way Jesus I'm not worthy for you to come to my house I'm I'm not even close to being the kind of person that ought to deserve your presence in my home if you'll just say the word just saying that my servant will be healed just just take care of Jesus and that's all I'm asking I'm not asking to inconvenience you I'm not asking you for for a special favor I'm not asking for a special state visit from a great dignitary like yourself all I'm asking Jesus is that your grandmother request and I believe you can do it because you have authority that comes from beyond you. Even Jesus Himself in John Chapter five. John Chapter five he says to us in that passage He's quoted in verse nineteen I assure you the son is not able to do anything on his own but only what he sees the father doing for whatever the father does the Son also does these things in the same way in a verse thirty continuing on in that passage it says I can do nothing on my own I judge only as I hear and my judgment is righteous because I do not seek my own but the will of Him who sent me Jesus was under the authority of his father and in fact so much so that in Philippians Chapter Two influence chapter two verse eight it says he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death even to death on a cross What did he say in the garden to seventy nevertheless Oh oh god oh god father Father Father God if only you can let this cup this this horrible beating this horrible excruciating most painful way of execution ever possible of crucifixion if only but the weight of your removing yourself from me in the sense of turning away from the sin but I am bearing on the cross on behalf of the world if only this this darkness that over will overtake me and a moment where I become sin and I become the perfect sacrifice for the son of the world the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world. And. Take it from me. But nevertheless. Now what I want. I'll do what you want father. I'll go to the cross I'll do exactly what you asked me to do but in my humanity I don't really want to my flash I know what's going to take I know what's going to happen I see it. And he's crying he's sweating drops of blood he's so intensely passionately praying to his father Oh. God my father. You see. In the Godhead three and one you know God the Father God the Son God the Holy Spirit and and Jesus was subordinate to the will of the father it's a relationship lesson actually that we're going to unpack in our marriage and family series about how God in His image were made in His image that's why we hunger for relationships and that's why when there isn't mutual submission or there is an order in those relationships there's chaos and that's why in our country today there is tremendous chaos because we have thrown aside all the order of the way relationships are supposed to work in the home and in society. And we're in trouble if we don't get back to the original image of what family a marriage ought to be. We're in trouble if we don't figure out how to mutually submit to one another out of love for Christ and Jesus has this authority because he's been under authority of his father. And the Holy See and this century and understood that you see. This man of faith Jesus said I've never found a man like a faith like this Jesus highlights his faith he says it mean he had talked about people having great faith but he says I haven't up to this point my ministry he marveled you know one other time Jesus marveled he wasn't surprised this marvelous Wow. Can you imagine if Jesus did that to you I mean can you imagine if like like you did something really cool for God I mean I'm not like you just out of the heart desire for a living for him you did something and you just can see Jesus just go wow. I mean how many you've ever had a human being an adult do that for you I mean that cool a coach like if you're an athlete and you did some spectacular play that just absolutely lifted the team to a new level of intensity and your coach just goes. Wow. I coached you to do that but not that I mean you went way up above a teacher did that you know you put in a paper and you go man I am so Man I'm so blessed to be your teacher here in my Some teacher some so blessed that you're leaving from anyway. But but we we we we can see how people do that for us in humans but imagine the King of Kings Go on wow. That's what he did with this man he marveled at him. He went all. You got it you know the only other time Jesus did that is when everybody was rejected him and he marveled at their rebellion he marveled how these people who had studied the scriptures and knew what God said in the Old Testament and were supposed to be looking forward to him coming he marveled at how blind they were and how much they were rejecting him as the savior of the world. So glad and interesting he marveled at the wickedness of the godly or of the religious people and he marveled at the great faith of what they considered to be a pagan and someone far from God let me just say in this room. If you feel like you're full of crud right now because you've not quite figured out how to get his life in line with God You're among friends and God may actually be marveling at your desire and hunger to live for Him more than he's marveling at someone who has their act together and maybe their hardest turned a little cold to him and they're just going through the motions as a religious person the question is do you have real authority in your life that's the thing here that's really what I want to say do you have real authority. Or are you just have play authority it's your authority what you've manufactured to be your authority or is it the authority that actually means something and will matter in eternity the secret to authority is our submission to higher authority I want you know the secret to real authority. Is whether or not you are submitted to an authority higher than yourself. So many people think that authority is something to be grabbed and taken and overcome. That we're to fight for authority. And words squelch anything that has authority over us not realizing that the leverage of authority is only as strong as the weight of the authority that you're under you get that if you're in school. The secret to success whether you're a middle school or high school or college is are you leveraging the authority you have is the authority that you have to do what you do and to act the way you act and to live and thrive in that environment as how submitted you are to the authority that's over the school that you're in I used to joke all the time I could have gotten away with anything in high school nobody would have suspected me sadly I took advantage of that occasionally. Because why I respected the authorities in my life generally. Not all the time not perfect certainly not please don't talk to my teachers one teacher really didn't like me but I don't like her either and and. I think she was under authority correctly and I was just calling around. That was a joke. To pray for pray for me. And I'm telling you what. Life gets easier young. Friend of mine his son went into the Marines Marines and other i know sorry but I mean he's in oh he's going to boot camp and he said it was a breeze. Now he was being cocky. He understood authority and respect because his family his dad taught him authority and respect. I had another friend of mine he says I saw a kid in the parking lot and she actually candidate ten for that kid to comply he said one of my dad handles in the air I mean what do you mean ten. I'm going to count to ten for you to obey me really no. We've got to learn authority early in our life because when we are under authority properly life is easier and we actually get to do more things we have more freedom and we get more authority. When we respect a teacher we get to go and do things that other kids don't get to do when we respect the boss now I don't this is a general statement there are wicked people out there that who cares what you do you're going to get trampled on but I'm talking about in the best of circumstances in the generally right circumstance that you live in when you live in authority correctly good things happen. You are you have authority to do things and a good way another statement I want to make this morning as we look at this passage our authority is only as good as the authority over us Arthur already is only as good as the authority over us so if you have a corrupt authority over you then the authority that you have to do things will be marred and tempered by that corruption. Just like I mentioned if you have a lousy boss. I was on the phone the other day. Talking with somebody and I was tempted to say as they were giving me a very bad assessment I won't mention what industry insurance. About a claim. Insurance that I say insurance I didn't mean to say that. I won't mention the company out loud maybe on Twitter later and they were it was I was mad and I wanted to say to the lady. Do you feel icky working for such an unethical company or do you fit right in I didn't say that OK. I thought she might have caller ID she might match you I am I'm a pastor that would be wrong. Or she'd find somebody to cancel my insurance over here I know I was scared or mad I don't know but I was just livid. Sometimes you're working for a company that's unethical. And the same authority that you have is not only perceived by others but it might actually be an unethical way of living out the authority that you have over the people in your life. And I pray that you figure out how to get out of that situation if possible but but this unsure and had figured out how to live that out I don't know how I did that seems like Jesus was always meeting great military guys that had it together and were trying to live for Him for God For The One True God and how they did that I don't know because their ultimate authority believed in that he was God. So I that's a whole nother conversation. Now here's the deal there's a couple of things here this this story it put in my eyes as to him pyres. The empire of Rome and God's empire. Alternately Rome failed and here's the deal the Roman Empire that this insuring understood was going on he it's finite it was controlled by human beings who lived and were eventually going to die that corrupting carnal. This imply or was self-serving and it ultimately failed it was corrupt to the core. It was debased. And it was wrong ultimately even though they Christianized Rome by one person we're all Christians now that worked no. The heart wasn't right and we're still. Serving all kinds of gods underneath the table in ultimately failed Rome is a is an appear to me of and of a nation that we need to look at as a nation and every nation where young nation and we are already on our way to great destruction probably if we don't take note of history. And then there's God's Kingdom which is eternal. God is beginning in the end he never ends he never he always existed God is perfect in pure and God isn't self-serving He actually sent a savior he did not have to leave he could left us in our sand and had us banished from him forever in our imperfection because we would not deserve to be in front of a perfect God with our sin and he would have been perfectly good and right and been OK with doing that or been nothing about his character with it if but his love compelled him his very nature said I'm going to send a savior to save you from your sins and He sent Jesus Christ and God's Kingdom is forever victorious I've read the end of the book we when you haven't read it lately really when how many like to read the end of the novel before you start the novel OK I'm going to be a spoiler we when. God lasts forever this world will not last forever it will pass away but God's word God's Kingdom God's people people who have put their faith and trust in him will last forever his authority is at work and plan for that are we allowed to do that once in a while and it's OK It's OK. To understand that so final exam time questions and then we're going to go who or what are you submitted to we're all submitted to something. We're all submitted to something. Usually. When we're hungry angry lonely or tired. Is when it comes up what we're really in what's really in charge of our life when you're hungry. Whether it's food or sex or relationships or anything else when you're hungry for those things. Where if you go to when you're angry. When you let off a little steam. That shows who's in authority over your life. I'm not going to gloat about that but I'm thankful that God at some point pricked my conscience with for me not to say anything to that person on the phone about how I felt about their life and how angry I was that they were doing something unethical according to my claim I just went out a different direction with a different authority but anyway that's a whole other thing. But but at that moment when you're pressed when you're lonely you're all by yourself where's your go to who's in authority over your loneliness. And when you're really tired. When you're really tired. And you want to kick your feet up and don't and you don't want to do nothing and that's exactly how you say it. And you're pressed upon by the people in your life to serve in a way that you don't want to serve because your time is God in control of your actions at that moment. Or if you put your flesh in control of that moment what or who are you submitted to the next key question is how effective is your authority you know sometimes parents complain about their children being on the ruly when really they're just a little mere of our personal adulthood and ruinous if they don't see us under the authority of God then what's the world does it matter if they're under the authority of God If our employees see us as being under cutters and we're just here for them to serve us instead of us serving them then what's it matter if they listen to what you say they're just here biding their time till they can find a better spot thank you very much. Leadership is a whole lot like herding cats you have to help people do the right thing but if they don't see that you have any authority in your life that's good and right impure. Then they're not going to respect you for nothing and if you're having problems with exerting authority in the people in your life it might be a sign the you have the wrong authority over your life. The defining factor is your ultimate authority and I'm just going to ask it straight up are you submitted. To the authority of Jesus Christ. Let's have the band come forward and we're going to stand or feet now and I want to give you an opportunity to bow in submission to the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords. I want you to be able to say like that since Yuri and said to Jesus I to man under authority and I recognize that you Jesus were under the authority of your father to come to this earth and die for me and to save me from my sins and by that the authority I am bowing to you and I am come to you not for myself not to say I just want you to be my rich uncle or my Santa Clause I truly want and believe that you are the ultimate authority of this world I ultimately believe that you are my King and I want to put you in charge of my life forever. I'm done playing games. I want a new ethical system to start being formed in my heart so that I can do the right thing instead of the same thing over and over again expecting a different result. Oh God help me so this morning that green card that you have in your bulletin is a way for you to say I'm committing my life to Christ I want to get baptized to explain to the world that I want to be following Jesus in a real and fresh way this altar these prayer people it'll be up for forward are available to help you to repent and say repent that sounds like you know to actually turn from the way you've been living in rebellion to authority to God's authority and to say I'm willing to return to the authority of God in my life and to research render your life to Jesus Christ.