The Father Heart of God, our Disciplinarian
God loves you.
He loves you too much to let you continue doing your own thing, and bringing dishonor to His name for He is Love and He is Holy.
Let’s look at this in the Word:
Heb 12:5 And ye have forgotten the exhortation which speaketh unto you as unto children, My son, despise not thou the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when thou art rebuked of him:
6 For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth.
7 If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons; for what son is he whom the father chasteneth not?
8 But if ye be without chastisement, whereof all are partakers, then are ye bastards, and not sons.
9 Furthermore we have had fathers of our flesh which corrected us, and we gave them reverence: shall we not much rather be in subjection unto the Father of spirits, and live?
10 For they verily for a few days chastened us after their own pleasure; but he for our profit, that we might be partakers of his holiness.
11 Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby.
12 Wherefore lift up the hands which hang down, and the feeble knees;
13 And make straight paths for your feet, lest that which is lame be turned out of the way; but let it rather be healed.
14 Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord:
In the KJV, the word discipline that we use today, is the old English word chasten.
3811 paideuw paideuo pahee-dyoo’-o
from 3816; TDNT-5:596,753; v
AV-chasten 6, chastise 2, learn 2, teach 2, instruct 1; 13
1) to train children
1a) to be instructed or taught or learn
1b) to cause one to learn
2) to chastise
2a) to chastise or castigate with words, to correct
2a1) of those who are molding the character of others by reproof and admonition
2b) of God
2b1) to chasten by the affliction of evils and calamities
2c) to chastise with blows, to scourge
2c1) of a father punishing his son
2c2) of a judge ordering one to be scourged
Job 36:10 He openeth also their ear to discipline, and commandeth that they return from iniquity.
Notice here that our heavenly Father definitely disciplines us.
Discipline 04148 rowm muwcar moo-sawr’
from 03256; TWOT-877b; n m
AV-instruction 30, correction 8, chasten 4, chastisement 3, check 1, bond 1, discipline 1, doctrine 1, rebuker 1; 50
1) discipline, chastening, correction
1a) discipline, correction
1b) chastening
You are a born-again child of the living God. God is a spirit, and those that worship Him are commanded to do so in spirit and in truth. Jesus said that Joh 4:24 God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.
Joh 6:63 It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.
When God wants to correct you, He will do it with the Word of God. That is why it is so important to be under good Holy Ghost preaching on a regular basis. God operates in the earth by His Word. If you or I are going a wrong direction, God will send His Word to correct us. This is His primary means of discipline and correction to His children.
Yet, He is holy and He is Lord. If we deliberately reject His correction or instruction, He will bring His rod of correction to our lives, and this can be rather painful.
Let’s look at a few more verses on how God expects fathers to discipline their children, to see if we can catch not only the command, but the heart and spirit of our Father’s discipline.
Pr 13:24 He that spareth his rod hateth his son: but he that loveth him chasteneth him betimes.
Pr 22:15 Foolishness is bound in the heart of a child; but the rod of correction shall drive it far from him.
Pr 23:13 Withhold not correction from the child: for if thou beatest him with the rod, he shall not die.
Pr 23:14 Thou shalt beat him with the rod, and shalt deliver his soul from hell.
Pr 29:15 The rod and reproof give wisdom: but a child left to himself bringeth his mother to shame.
07626 jbv shebet shay’- bet (rod)
from an unused root probably meaning to branch off; TWOT-2314a; n m
AV-tribe 140, rod 34, sceptre 10, staff 2, misc 4; 190
1) rod, staff, branch, offshoot, club, sceptre, tribe
1a) rod, staff
1b) shaft (of spear, dart)
1c) club (of shepherd’s implement)
1d) truncheon, sceptre (mark of authority)
1e) clan, tribe
08433 hxkwt towkechah to-kay-khaw’ and txkwt towkachath to-kakh’- ath
from 03198; TWOT-865a,865b; n f
AV-reproof 14, rebuke 7, reproved 2, arguments 1, misc 4; 28
1) rebuke, correction, reproof, punishment, chastisement
2) argument, reproof
2a) argument, impeachment
2b) reproof, chiding
2c) correction, rebuke
Notice in these verses that we are commanded as parents to bring the rod and reproof to our children. Also notice, that the primary way we are to do this, is with words! Yet, we know the heart of God is love.
Does this mean we need to spank our children for every act of defiance they exhibit. Emphatically, no!, although spanking may definitely be required. The Nazi’s in world war II were highly disciplined, but their motive was not love. I believe that the mark of our authority must be brought to their lives, and this may not necessarily be a spanking. It may be a time-out, a lost treat or privilege, grounding, or whatever works to develop the character of that particular child. For some, a spanking only hardens them, while a time-out brings forth fruit in keeping with repentance. We are required to love our children and to rule them well. They must be under the mark of our authority at all times, as long as they are under the age of eighteen living under our roof.
Bottom line: God would rather correct us with His Word. If we disobey, He can inflict pain to instruct our spirit.
The story goes how a father had two sons who absolutely refused to listen to him. As a Christian farmer, there were chores to be done, and there was no room for disobedience, yet the boys would refuse basic instructions, and with a heavy heart, the father dutifully, faithfully wielded his belt. Believing the Word of God, that the stubborn rebellious attitude in his sons would one day break in time. Yet, this did not occur. Instead of the boys becoming more obedient and cooperative, they became more and more stubborn and hard hearted, to the point that they would openly mock their father after a spanking, saying things like “That all you got old man?”
Things became so heated that the father spent many anguished nights in prayer, seeking the face of Jesus, for wisdom to instruct his wayward boys. The boys seemed to only get worse, and what had begun as gentle spankings had now become almost beatings, and still the boys laughed it off, and refused to listen to their tender-hearted father.
Finally, things came to a head, the father caught his boys involved in some mischief in one of the barns, and marched them in for yet another spanking. The atmosphere was tense, and they both knew this time was serious. Someone was going to get hurt today.
With grew deliberation, the father took off his belt, and began to approach his oldest son. The look in his eyes, cold as steel in February. Then, these steel grey eyes began to brim over with tears, and he took the belt and began to beat himself, once, twice, again, and again, until his body began to bleed. At first the boys thought it was funny, but the father did not let up, in tears he cried. Can’t you see? When you do wrong, someone has to pay the price, and if you are unwilling to bear it, I must. The boys broke, and they too began to weep, seeing in their bleeding father, the love of Jesus, when He allowed Himself to be broken and bleeding upon the cross, because someone had to pay the price for our sins.
If you are wondering how much God loves you, and struggling with obedience, go see the movie ‘The Passion’ by Mel Gibson. You and I deserved punishment for our sins, Jesus took our punishment so we can go free.
I’ve learned this much about people, that they don’t care how much you know, until they know how much you care.
We were taught a ‘Broken Record technique’ during our training for driving a school bus. When I drove a school bus for several years preparing for ministry we were often required to transport difficult children from special ed, or even reform school settings. Obviously, we can not physically restrain them if they refused to sit down or act respectfully, so we used the broken record routine. If a child was standing up for instance, we called him or her by name, and made eye contact with them, and told them what we wanted them to do. “Jack, you need to go back to your seat, sit down, and face the front.” Words are powerful things. Jack typically would not move at the first command, so we repeated ourselves. No matter what Jack said or did, we continued to repeat the same command, until Jack obeyed. No matter what Jack said or did, we simply repeated the command, and expected him to obey. If he totally refused, we simply pulled the bus over to the side of the road, and repeated what we needed Jack to do. At this point, all the other children are yelling at Jack to sit down, and we could proceed with the trip home. This technique always works, with children that are not your own, although at one point I had to wait at the side of the road for almost ten minutes, until several children finally obeyed.
If we want authority, we must be under authority.
Jesus was a man under authority
Matt 8:5 When Jesus had entered Capernaum, a centurion came to him, asking for help.
6 “Lord,” he said, “my servant lies at home paralyzed and in terrible suffering.”
7 Jesus said to him, “I will go and heal him.”
8) The centurion replied, “Lord, I do not deserve to have you come under my roof. But just say the word, and my servant will be healed.
9 For I myself am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. I tell this one, ‘Go,’ and he goes; and that one, ‘Come,’ and he comes. I say to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.”
See it, the centurion was a soldier: A man under authority. He recognized the authority of Jesus, because Jesus too, was a man, operating under the authority of the Father, directed by the Holy Spirit.
If you want authority you must submit to authority.
Mat 8:10 When Jesus heard this, he was astonished and said to those following him, “I tell you the truth, I have not found anyone in Israel with such great faith.
11 I say to you that many will come from the east and the west, and will take their places at the feast with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven.
12 But the subjects of the kingdom will be thrown outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”
13 Then Jesus said to the centurion, “Go! It will be done just as you believed it would.” And his servant was healed at that very hour.
If you are going to be like Jesus, you too, must be a person under authority.
Submission to authority
As Christians, we are required to submit to godly authority in a number of arenas. These are:
1) Family
2) Our employers.
3) Our governments
4) Church leadership
Family – I am giving a very brief teaching here. I do a seven week course entitled “Couples Communication” that covers the following seven topics: Marriage, the role of the husband in the home, the role of the wife in the home, Raising your children for Christ, In-laws and outlaws, Sex, Finances and Budgeting, and Keeping your love alive. I’ll probably edit this, print it and make it available as a teaching series for pastors, pray!
Ephesians 6
Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. “Honor your father and mother”—which is the first commandment with a promise— “so that it may go well with you and that you may enjoy long life on the earth
When we are children, we are required to obey our parents. This still applies if we are living under their roof. We are never required to submit to sin though. This has been a challenge in ministry as people come to Christ from various broken backgrounds. Some families have sexual brokenness and pornography permitted. Other families steal, and teach their children that this is ok. Some families do not handle alcohol responsibly, and even children that come to Christ from a bus ministry or outreach setting, need to learn godly boundaries and responsibilities with respect to alcohol. Drugs and cigarettes can be another problem. Violence in the home, and even some television and video games are not something a Christian should allow in his or her life. Some families are involved in gambling, bingo, and other vices. For other families, power and control are the drugs of choice, as they feel it is ok to oppress their fellow man, and lie, cheat or steal to get ahead in the rat race. Obviously, we are not rats, we are running a different race. In other families, occult practices, Ouija Boards and horoscopes are often consulted. Again, this is not acceptable for a Christian.
Having said all of this, the question for children is how do we obey our parents if our parents are not obeying God?
- Simple, do the right things that they ask you. You know, things like cleaning your room, coming in on time, doing your homework. If they ask you to do things contrary to the Word of God, refuse, and tell a teacher at school or guidance counselor if necessary. When you are 18, you can move out into your own house or apartment, and live for Jesus there. There are ways to disagree without being disagreeable. Even after you have moved out, you still need to love, honor and respect your parents. I can think of a situation where a screaming parent continually yelled at a husband obscenities, false accusations, and insinuations. Evidently, they had been able to exhibit control over their daughter for years with this kind of behavior. The husband, in total peace quietly replied, “I am sorry you feel that way, that is not true. We love you honor you, and respect you.” When the in-law continued in this tirade for almost 30 minutes, the husband quietly continued repeating the same thing “I am sorry you feel that way, your allegations are not true, we love you, honor you, and respect you.” I understand that this happened some years ago, and there has never been another angry outburst out of this man’s in-laws since.
Eph 6:2 Honour thy father and mother; (which is the first commandment with promise;)
3 That it may be well with thee, and thou mayest live long on the earth.
Employers: – Eph 6:5 Servants, be obedient to them that are your masters according to the flesh, (your boss at work) with fear and trembling, in singleness of your heart, as unto Christ;
6 Not with eyeservice, as menpleasers; but as the servants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart;
7 With good will doing service, as to the Lord, and not to men:
8 Knowing that whatsoever good thing any man doeth, the same shall he receive of the Lord, whether he be bond or free.
9 And, ye masters, do the same things unto them, forbearing threatening: knowing that your Master also is in heaven; neither is there respect of persons with him.
10 ¶ Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might.
Here’s my paraphrase of these verses. Employees, obey your bosses at work, with respect towards them and God, without a hidden agenda. Work for the Lord.
Don’t do your work nicely only when your boss is looking, trying to impress people, but as a servant of Christ, do the best job you can, doing your work as unto the Lord, not unto men.
The Lord is your source, and He is faithful. When you do a good job, He will notice, and your income will not be limited by merely your paycheck, the Lord will reward you. (and He is not limited to money as a means of rewarding you, He can heal your body or family member, He can bring peace to your home, He can give you wisdom and favor, He can direct you in your shopping excursions so that you get incredible deals on the things you buy.)
Now if you are a boss or manager, be gentle with people, as God’s servant. Don’t get puffed up or intimidating with people. Be fair with folks, not a respecter of persons, and pay them the best you are able to. Everyone hates a control freak. Treat people as Jesus would, knowing that we will all have to give an account to our Master in heaven, and he plays no favorites.
Had a carpenter who worked for me for many years say to me: ‘Chris, you are the best guy I’ve ever worked for in my life. You actually care about us”
I replied: “Well, I just try to not do to you, what some of jerks I’ve worked for, have done to me.” And that’s another story…
Don’t be a whiner or a wimp. Be strong in His strength, readily available for the asking. Remember He is Almighty God, ever ready to strengthen you, if you remember to ask.
There is much more that can be said about a Christian’s role in the workplace. God wants you to have a good job, and to do well at it. We are redeemed from the curse, and our jobs are to be a blessing, not a curse. Jesus is the last Adam, and God gave the first Adam a job in the garden before the fall of man, to care for and to protect the garden.
I like what one leader said: “First you get an education so you can get a job, then if you understand freedom, you keep studying and learning while you are working for someone else, so that you can eventually own your own company, and see the profit come to your house instead of another’s. If you can’t work well for another man, how will you accept the responsibility to handle your own business?”
Newt Gingrich
Government
Titus 3:1 Remind the people to be subject to rulers and authorities, to be obedient, to be ready to do whatever is good,
Ro 13:1 Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God.
Ro 13:2 Whosoever therefore resisteth the power, resisteth the ordinance of God: and they that resist shall receive to themselves damnation.
Ro 13:3 For rulers are not a terror to good works, but to the evil. Wilt thou then not be afraid of the power? do that which is good, and thou shalt have praise of the same:
4 For he is the minister of God to thee for good. But if thou do that which is evil, be afraid; for he beareth not the sword in vain: for he is the minister of God, a revenger to execute wrath upon him that doeth evil.
5 Wherefore ye must needs be subject, not only for wrath, but also for conscience’s sake.
6 For this cause pay ye tribute also: for they are God’s ministers, attending continually upon this very thing.
7 ¶ Render therefore to all their dues: tribute to whom tribute is due; custom to whom custom; fear to whom fear; honor to whom honor.
Notice these passages. In verse one, we see we are to be subject to the higher powers. Governments are God’s idea, and are set in place (ordained) of God.
We are not to oppose the just rule of law, in fact, as Christians, we see here that governments are commanded by God to grant you praise and to help you as you do good. Pay your taxes, as unto the Lord. Why? God has set police, firemen, and even elected officials in the earth to do you good. When you continually honor God, often you will discover God uses government to honor you.
1 Tim 2:1 ¶ I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men;
2 For kings, and for all that are in authority; that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty.
3 For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour;
4 Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth.
4 For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus;
Fun Fact – the word: ‘Niisowah’ used in this graphic is an Estonian word simply meaning: ‘That’s Right!’.
Pray for those in authority, first thing in the morning. This is a commandment with a promise. If you pray for the government, police, etc, first, the Word of God promises here that you will lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty. It is not automatic – rather conditional only if you are praying for government, and doing good.
Ultimately, there is purpose to our prayer: the gospel to the nations. It is much easier for missionaries to travel, for pastors to pastor, evangelists to hold crusades, and teachers to teach, when there is not a war on. God’s will is that all men be saved, and this will only occur, as the church continues to go forward, announcing the truth of Jesus Christ. Pray for governments.
Church Leadership –
Testimony: Heb 13:7 Remember your leaders, who spoke the word of God to you. Consider the outcome of their way of life and imitate their faith.
Heb 13:17 Obey your leaders and submit to their authority. They keep watch over you as men who must give an account. Obey them so that their work will be a joy, not a burden, for that would be of no advantage to you.
I remember several years ago, when I didn’t want to hear these verses from the Bible. I had been a rebel since my birth, born to be wild. Yet, as you all know, Jesus appeared me on that bridge in April 1989 during my suicide attempt, and spoke to me, and brought me to the place where I became born-again. Yet, saved does not equal grown up, and although I was in love with God, I still had a stinking attitude towards authority. Well, to make a long story short, I copped an attitude with my pastor one day, acting like a rebellious teenage brat. I don’t remember exactly what I did, but I knew right after I did it, that God was not pleased. Yet, I had only experienced the loving side of God, and since I had never had anyone spank me all of my life, I didn’t think God was that way. Surprise! I was working driving a school bus, and to make a long story short, I quit one company over something stupid. I went home, and talked to my family, and decided I needed another job. My brother said he’d seen a ‘help-wanted’ sign at Kott roof truss company out on Moodie drive, in Ottawa, Ontario. So I went over there, applied, and got hired.
Yet, my first day, I knew I was in trouble. It was brutally hard work, and my foreman was a young man with an attitude. For whatever reason, he didn’t like me, and decided to break me. He seemed to be always yelling at me for something, deliberately pushing me. At first I got mad, then when I went to God about it, He told me to stay with it. So, I obeyed God, second by second, minute by minute, hour by hour, day by day.
Each night, I’d go home eat a little bit of food (I was too tired to even eat a big meal). Take a hot bath, then go to sleep, and do it all over again the next day.
The work got harder, not easier as time went on, and as days became longer, they increased our hours. I was taking Bible school courses at night, and sometimes I would be so bone-weary that I could barely stay awake through class.
I asked God for another job, but He commanded me to stay there. Then I saw it. God was using this job to work discipline and submission into my life. When I saw that this was a test, I got determined to pass it. Week after week, I got more determined to not let this place break me, then a force greater than my own will was generated. God helped me to make it.
As the days got longer, instead of us working 7-3pm, they increased us to 6:30am to 4Pm, then 4:30 PM and there was talk about working on till five, then six. Well, I was praying in tongues, and crying out to God to survive, and as the hours increased, I began to return home in a daze. Shocked, and numb from running all day long, carrying lumber, running a nail gun, stacking roof trusses. What began as a prayer to God for deliverance, became a whimper, then a sigh, then silence.
Finally, the weeks turned into months, and torment became tolerable. One Thursday, my foreman did it again. He announced that we would be increasing our hours come Monday, that we had to be in 6Am to 5PM. Something deep inside of me broke. I couldn’t take it anymore. With a resigned shrug, I went out to the lumber yard behind a pile of lumber, knelt down in the mud, and wept bitterly. I cried OK God, enough, I’ll do this the rest of my life if you want, but I’m finished with Bible school. I cannot make it another day of this. I felt peace. I was heard, and I knew it.
Well, Friday went by in a blur of activity, then at two O’clock I was called into the foreman’s office, with another man. It seems that Thursday night, two of the main customers for roof trusses had called and cancelled their orders, and they had to lay off a couple of men. Since I was one of the new guys on the crew, I was cut.
When I heard it. It was like light dawned upon my darkness. That ten thousand pounds fell off of me. And I was free.
What’s the moral of the story? I got a spanking for lipping off to my pastor, designed by God, to work respect for authority and discipline into me. It worked.
In fact, it worked so well; it still sends shudders through me as I think about it. While I was at another church, three years later, My pastor got in my face and corrected me. I didn’t like it nor him, so I took a walk up in the Gatineau hills to tell God on him. I said to God, “Hey God, who is that wet-behind-the-ears pastor to tell me what to do?” God simply said, “Want to build roof trusses again?” Quickly, I was scared, and said “No God, please forgive me, I don’t want to go back there ever again. I’m sorry”
Heb 13:17 Obey your leaders and submit to their authority.
I hope you can learn from this experience in my life, and spare yourself the trip down rebellion road.
Man does not break God’s law, he only breaks himself upon it.[1]
Follow me as I follow Christ..
Heard a great quote: ‘You have never really submitted to authority, until you are first not in agreement” Keith Moore
Yet, if you are called to leadership in the kingdom of God, God Himself will back up your leadership, and people will naturally submit to you:
Ps 18:44 As soon as they hear of me, they shall obey me: the strangers shall submit themselves unto me.
This should be the heart of true leadership: Recognizing a God given call, and then prayerfully waiting on the Lord while He develops our ministries, and brings to us a people to fulfill our calling with. Without a vision, the people perish. Without a people, the vision perishes.
Out job as leaders is to get the Word out to the people. To write the vision God has given us, plainly, so that those called to help us implement God’s vision, can easily hook up and take part.
Trust is the currency of ministry, and the only real currency we have in the hearts of God’s people. When people see faith, the fruit of the Sprit, wisdom, power with God and people, and a pure heart and motive, they will automatically serve us in our leadership. They have a good given right to good leadership, and a holy example set before them. Biblically, they need to see Jesus character formed in us, before they have any responsibility to follow.
1 Cor 4:15 Even though you have ten thousand guardians in Christ, you do not have many fathers, for in Christ Jesus I became your father through the gospel.
16 Therefore I urge you to imitate me.
17 For this reason I am sending to you Timothy, my son whom I love, who is faithful in the Lord. He will remind you of my way of life in Christ Jesus, which agrees with what I teach everywhere in every church.
Paul had no problem exhibiting strong leadership towards those he was called to lead.
1 Cor 11:1 Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ.
Phil 3:17 Join with others in following my example, brothers, and take note of those who live according to the pattern we gave you.
2 Cor 8:5 And they did not do as we expected, but they gave themselves first to the Lord and then to us in keeping with God’s will.
Much teaching has come forward over the years on correct forms of church government. I’m not going to play Holy Spirit here and try and tell you which particular denomination to belong to, or which ministries to feed from. I am going to say that you need to be either attending a good Bible believing church (and paying your tithes there), or pioneering one. Just because a church is not perfect does not mean you should not attend it. I can think of many seasons in church life, where the best I could do for certain churches, was show up, worship God, pay my tithes, keep my attitude right, and then go home and hit my knees in fervent prayer while God made some things right in the church and in me. Jesus said, “By their fruits you will know them”. Check out the fruit of a ministry, and then hook up whole-heartedly.
Training for Reigning
Gal 4:1 What I am saying is that as long as the heir is a child, he is no different from a slave, although he owns the whole estate.
2 He is subject to guardians and trustees until the time set by his father.
3 So also, when we were children, we were in slavery under the basic principles of the world.
See it, God uses the basic principles of your day-to-day life to work His life lessons into you, until you grow up and learn to walk by faith in obedience to the Spirit.
4 But when the time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under law,
5 to redeem those under law, that we might receive the full rights of sons.
6 Because you are sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out, “Abba, Father.”
7 So you are no longer a slave, but a son; and since you are a son, God has made you also an heir.
Freedom comes as you align your life with God’s word.
With freedom comes authority, and responsibility.
Gal 5:1 It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.
Mat 10:28 Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell.
There is a book written entitled, ‘A Divine Revelation of Hell”. Although I do not agree with all of it, there is a story told by the author that bears repeating.
In this vision or visitation from the Lord, the Lord took this lady to hell. In hell, in a prison cell encased in fire, was a man screaming in torment. When he saw Jesus, he cried out, Lord, please give me one more chance, you know I’ll do better.
The Lord looked straight into his eyes, and with eyes of steel said,” You’re still a liar, even here.”
Re 21:8 But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.
I used this example to say this. 1 Tim 3:1 ¶ This is a true saying, If a man desire the office of a bishop, he desireth a good work.
2 A bishop then must be blameless, the husband of one wife, vigilant, sober, of good behaviour, given to hospitality, apt to teach;
3 Not given to wine, no striker, not greedy of filthy lucre; but patient, not a brawler, not covetous;
4 One that ruleth well his own house, having his children in subjection with all gravity;
5 (For if a man know not how to rule his own house, how shall he take care of the church of God?)
6 Not a novice, lest being lifted up with pride he fall into the condemnation of the devil.
7 Moreover he must have a good report of them which are without; lest he fall into reproach and the snare of the devil.
These are the qualifications for leadership: they should be the battle cry of every true Christian leader.
If these character qualifications are not in place in a church leader, don’t submit to them, but gently leave that ministry.
So how does one decide to submit to authority or because of conscience, disobey?
You must know how to be led by God. Generally, you submit.
Yes, Jesus said there would be times that obedience to the gospel would get you in trouble with the authorities.
Jesus submitted to paying the temple tax, even though He was not required either legally or morally to do so.
Matt 17:24 ¶ And when they were come to Capernaum, they that received tribute money came to Peter, and said, Doth not your master pay tribute?
25 He saith, Yes. And when he was come into the house, Jesus prevented him, saying, What thinkest thou, Simon? of whom do the kings of the earth take custom or tribute? of their own children, or of strangers?
26 Peter saith unto him, Of strangers. Jesus saith unto him, Then are the children free.
27 Notwithstanding, lest we should offend them, go thou to the sea, and cast an hook, and take up the fish that first cometh up; and when thou hast opened his mouth, thou shalt find a piece of money: that take, and give unto them for me and thee.
I call this, picking your battles.
If you really sell out for Jesus, you are going to run up against ungodly authority at some point. Like the government of Quebec that denied our ministry registration for four years, and then took us to court over it, but that’s another story.
Luke 21:12 “But before all this, they will lay hands on you and persecute you. They will deliver you to synagogues and prisons, and you will be brought before kings and governors, and all on account of my name.
13 This will result in your being witnesses to them.
14 But make up your mind not to worry beforehand how you will defend yourselves.
Luke 21:15 For I will give you words and wisdom that none of your adversaries will be able to resist or contradict.
Notice the attitude exhibited by the believer here. They allow themselves to be delivered up, submitting to the government, trusting God to deliver them.
Acts 5:29 Peter and the other apostles replied: “We must obey God rather than men!
Notice attitude towards authority. Respectful, yet not yielding.
Jesus said, Mr 8:38 Whosoever therefore shall be ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation; of him also shall the Son of man be ashamed, when he cometh in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.
Lu 9:26 For whosoever shall be ashamed of me and of my words, of him shall the Son of man be ashamed, when he shall come in his own glory, and in his Father’s, and of the holy angels.
In the life of a believer, a person must often make choices between what they believe, and what people expect of us.
Matt 10:32 Whosoever therefore shall confess me before men, him will I confess also before my Father which is in heaven.
33 But whosoever shall deny me before men, him will I also deny before my Father which is in heaven.
This verse means a lot to me, because it cost me a job driving a school bus once.
Here’s how it happened. I was working for M and O bus lines, in Ottawa, Ontario driving a school bus to Centennial school downtown. I had been driving a school bus for about six years at that point, and God used me mightily as an evangelist there, telling stories about Jesus, and singing with school children, basic Sunday school songs. I loved the children, and had great favor with all of their parents. Well, at Centennial, there was a principal who hated God and anything to do with him. One morning, as I dropped off the children, he confronted me stating that it was against public school board policy to discuss religious matters during the transportation of children to and from school. I replied that I knew this, and that we spoke about Jesus like we would talk about cartoons, baseball, or any other subject. He quoted some school by-law that expressly forbid the mention of Jesus in the public school system. I told him that I was aware of this by-law. He got in my face, and said, “The question, young man, is not whether or not you are aware of this by-law, but whether or not you are willing to comply to it!” I smiled and explained that I was studying for ministry, and drove a school bus to support myself, I generally reserved my teaching for children’s Sunday school. He said “That’s it, you are insubordinate, I am having you removed from this route.” I quietly replied, “We will see about that, I don’t work for you, rather the bus company. I don’t tell you how to run your school, and you can’t tell me how to drive my bus.”
Well, he went off in a rage, and then began the trail of faxes demanding I be fired. My boss called me in that night after my run, and asked if I would be willing to sign a letter stating that I was in compliance with school board policy, and was not there as a troublemaker, but was simply there to drive my bus in a responsible manner.
He had this letter all typed out, and I quickly signed it, without really thinking about it, I had to run as we were involved in an event entitled “Forty Days Ablaze” where 25 churches had come together to do a 40 day fast, seeking God for revival for the nations capital of Canada. So, I went home, changed, and picked up a few friends, and went on to the revival service that night.
The preacher preached out of Matt 10, and made it very plain that to truly serve the Lord, one could not compromise when persecuted for His names sake: that if I would deny Jesus before men, that he would deny me, before my Father in heaven.
It really cut me to the quick, in fact, so much so that I went home, wrote out a clear renunciation of my submission to this principal and this school board policy. I gave it to my boss the next morning at 6Am, and then prepared for the inevitable blow-up.
Well, it took the company a month or so to get up enough guts to actually fire me, but here’s how they did it. Dave, one of the owners, called me into his office one Friday on a pay night. They had had me do an extra run, and it was pay night, so all the other drivers were gone home. They asked me if I had changed my mind with respect to the decision I had made the month before. I asked, “What decision, the one where I refused to stop talking about Jesus? As far as I know, Canada is still a free country, and we are still allowed to talk about whatever we want in this country.” He said, “Well I’ll have to have you sign this paper terminating your employment with this company, because you fail to comply with company guidelines.” I said, “Really? What guidelines? Does this paper you are asking my to sign state exactly what guidelines I am supposedly breaking?” Obviously, it didn’t. I said, “So you have no good reason to fire me, based on driver safety, work habits, or my personal conduct, and you want me to agree to your decision to fire me based upon my lack of submission to an unjust school board policy?”
“Well, the way I see it said Dave, “it is simply business. I have a customer that is unwilling to use one of my employees. I want to keep the contract, and I have no other work for you to do, so it is just business.”
So, I said “Well, Dave, this is your company, and you can run it the way you think is best, but know this. There is a God, and Jesus Christ is Lord. I guarantee, you will never, ever forget this day, for eternity will record what is being done here. I will be blessed and promoted by God, but you sir, will definitely give an account.”
“That’s what you believe” said Dave, and it was done. I was unemployed. To make a long story short, I found another job, got accepted at Rhema Bible Training Center that September, and am now one of the growing ranks of Rhema graduates making a difference for Jesus in this generation. I don’t regret one bit what I did then, I only wish I had been a bit bolder and forced something from them in writing so that I could have pressed this issue in a law suit: it might have paid for a lot of my education.
1Pe 3:15 But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear:
Remember Shadrach Meshach, and Abednego.
Daniel 3-4:1
Message – Faith in the fire.
You remember the story of the three Hebrew boys in the fiery furnace. They did not bow, and they did not burn, and there was a fourth man with them in the fire. The ended up delivered,(with their enemies burned up) promoted, and the with the gospel glorified and preached to the whole nation.
When push comes to shove with Jesus. You stand, and He’ll push and shove ungodly persecutors out of your way.
Someone asked brother Andrew, a missionary to China, who has been smuggling bibles into communist countries for years, what he thought of submission to earthly governments.
He said something like this:
Any time a government implements a law opposed to the gospel, I cheerfully break it. Yet a wise man before he builds, counts the cost. When I break a law in obedience to the Word and Spirit of God, I am trusting God to protect me from the consequences of breaking this law. Yet, if He doesn’t, I have decided that I am fully willing to bear any consequences the breaking of this law entails, even if it costs me my life, therefore I am submitted to God’s authority.
He gave the testimony of how he and his wife were held a gunpoint and tortured in a Middle Eastern country, for smuggling in Bibles. Brother Andrew said that although he is still willing to risk his own life and safety, after this encounter, he is unwilling to allow his wife to accompany him on dangerous missions.
I heard a story about Idi Amin, the tyrant who ruled Uganda where he commanded Christian leaders to appear before him. Almost exactly half showed up as commanded, the other half prayed about it, and heard the voice of God command them to run away and hide in the hills. Those who showed up, Amin had lined up and shot.
Notice this. If you decide to break any earthly law, you must have decided:
- That this law directly contradicts the Word of God. I.e. Abortion, Same-sex marriages, countries that forbid the preaching of God’s Word.
- You feel led of God, that you are His instrument to perform this particular ministry.
- You have prayed, and are fully willing to personally bear any consequences the breaking of this law might incur.
Testimony: Christian Satellite – The Canadian Radio and Television Corporation (CRTC) has not legalized Christian Satellite networks yet. We felt impressed to get it anyway, and I know this was right for us. After we had it installed, we heard an update over the satellite service provider announcing their burden for Canada, and that CRTC legislation had just been approved, legalizing Christian Satellite viewing for use in Canadian churches. I believe our faith changed Canadian law!
Ro 8:14 For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.
Homework:
- Can you see areas in your life where you did not recognize God’s authority in your life?
- How did you respond in the past to this?
- How are you going to correct yourself and submit to godly authority?
- Have you ever faced unjust authority?
- How have you responded?
Suggested Reading:
Couples Communication notes
Improving your serve – Chuck Swindoll
God’s Armour Bearer – Terry Nance
Apostles, Prophets and Pastors – Kenneth E. Hagin
[1] Footnote:
- T. Purkiser,Exploring the Old Testament(Kansas City: Beacon Hill Press of Kansas City, 1955), 1 p422
