August 27, 2009
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Submission to Authority
This topic has been a lesson I've been learning all my life, and its only been the past year or so that I've realized just how important it is to God. There have been times I have been under leadership and become so frustrated or impatient with with the way the group was being led. I would feel that I knew the better way and would want to seize control or talk back. God has almost always told me to keep quiet though. Rather than confront in the natural, He has told me to pray for my leaders and keep humble. It can be a tough pill to swallow. The following is an excerpt from a seminar I gave recently... this covers the importance of submitting to authority...
In Numbers 5 there is a section that most people, particularly women, find repulsive. It is the instructions for what a husband is to do if he suspects his wife has committed adultery. The process involves the wife having to drink bitter water that includes a serious curse if she is guilty. Interestingly, there are no instructions for what a wife is to do if she suspects her husband has committed adultery. There is no test for the man, only for the woman. Why is this? Look closer at the chapter… Numbers 5:19 (ESV) says, “Then the priest shall make her take an oath, saying, ‘If no man has lain with you, and if you have not turned aside to uncleanness while you were under your husband’s authority, be free from this water of bitterness that brings the curse.” The basis of the curse is lack of submission to authority. This is why there was no test for the man, because the man is not under his wife’s authority. What God was showing through this test is His seriousness for His people to submit to the authorities He has given them. And God, as a jealous husband, will also have His right to test His people and allow a curse if they go astray from Him.
Numbers 5:28 says, “But if the woman has not defiled herself and is clean, then she shall be free and shall conceive children.” Any fruit born outside of authority is adulterous fruit. It is considered bastardly fruit before God. And just as children born out of wed-lock or born of impure relationships in Biblical times were scorned and rejected, so does God not look with favor to those who try and do ministry outside the authorities He has given them. There is covering under spiritual authorities and there are critical lessons of obedience and humility needed for those under the leadership.
Numbers 5 and the test for adultery also teaches us that if we have a spirit of jealousy or frustration with our disciples or with our authorities, we need to bring it before God in prayer. God wants us to deal with our unhealthy emotions. He will often lead us to either continue to lift up the topic in prayer or in humility confess our struggles with the person. The more we bottle things up, the more prone we will be to explode later on.
If you would like the rest of the notes to the seminar, e-mail me at jm@comequicklyministries.org. God bless!
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