#My Life: #22 The Shepherd in Control.

Anyone who says they honor God’s authority and resists authority on earth, or refuses to subject themselves to human authority, is a liar, and the Truth is not in them.

HE IS THE SHEPHERD | I AM NOT

We, as His children, should find great comfort in knowing that God is in control. When we begin to realize that anything and everything that happens in our lives, He allows or permits it. He decides for us what is best based on His RIGHTNESS.

It is imperative that we accept that He can choose to do whatever pleases Him, break us, take us, eliminate us, send us to Hell, restart our lives through salvation, or any other action that brings us discomfort, and He’d be righteous in doing any of these things because He is God – the Creator of our existence. Attempting to resist, fight, take control, or punish those who refuse to submit to our demands, simply must be broken.

God told us He is not easily mocked, and He will not accept anyone who attempts to do what His fiercest enemy (Satan) tried to do in His Heaven.

That, of course, was attempting to steal His position of being God. It has always amazed me how mankind projects their inept worldview through the constraints of a bubble – somehow thinking that their little universe/worldview can rise above the sovereign view of the God of the universe. Humm – maybe we are vapors of stupor.

Yet you do not know what your life will be like tomorrow. You are just a vapor that appears for a little while and then vanishes away. (James 4:14)

I think, without a doubt, we can say that God, and God alone, has the right to be sovereign and independent. When man is born, he is independent of God and completely dependent on man. When that man dies, he/she had better be completely independent of man and totally dependent on God. The Greek word for sovereign is dunastes, which means ruler, officer, great authority, mighty, or potentate (King). Any authority that exists is relevant because of God.

Every person is to be in subjection to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those which exist are established by God. (Rom 13:1 NASB)

The greatest test of determining if a person is playing god is, examining how this person handles authority. Anyone who says they honor God’s authority and resists authority on earth, or refuses to subject themselves to human authority, is a liar, and the Truth is not in them. Those who resist authority oppose the prerogatives of God, and those who have opposed these standards of authority will reap self-imposed condemnation.

Therefore whoever resists authority has opposed the ordinance of God; and they who have opposed will receive condemnation upon themselves. (Rom 13:2 NASB)

Remember that this condemnation is not from God but rather from the authority structure established by God. This is how He disciplines His children.

The first manifestation that we see in new converts is (or should be) a Spirit lead attitude toward existing authority. This is the evidence of salvation. For if a man respects God, he will respect all of which He has established. If man or woman respects earthly authority, they are certain to gain favor with God – particularly if the authority is unreasonable.

Servants, be submissive to your masters with all respect, not only to those who are good and gentle, but also to those who are unreasonable. For this finds favor, if for the sake of conscience toward God a person bears up under sorrows when suffering unjustly. (1 Peter 2:18-19)

I am about to lose a few readers at this point but in our church culture today, we read these verses something like this:

I am not a slave, nor will I subject myself to unreasonable authority but only to those who have earned the right through their good and gentle behavior. God would never what me to be unhappy or bear up under an ungodly authority, for this is not His character. So therefore I will church-hop, change spouses, jobs or whatever until I find an authority figure that will treat me with respect.

Really? What credit is there if we live happy lives under reasonable authorities, which produces an environment that produces right choices? I would rather gain God’s favor through the example of Jesus, who silence the ignorance of men by submitting to their dominion.

For what credit is there if, when you sin and are harshly treated, you endure it with patience? But if when you do what is right and suffer for it you patiently endure it, this finds favor with God. For you have been called for this purpose, since Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example for you to follow in His steps, WHO COMMITTED NO SIN, NOR WAS ANY DECEIT FOUND IN HIS MOUTH; and while being reviled, He did not revile in return; while suffering, He uttered no threats, but kept entrusting Himself to Him who judges righteously. (1 Peter 2:20-23)

Did you get that key statement – for you have been called for this purpose? He left us an example of just how He works through us to handle authority, fully knowing that any ruler of His time was not going to be able to do anything His Father did not permit.

Pilate *said to Him, "You do not speak to me? Do You not know that I have authority to release You, and I have authority to crucify You?" Jesus answered, "You would have no authority over Me, unless it had been given you from above; for this reason he who delivered Me to you has the greater sin." (John 19:10-11)

This is a clear and powerful example of how earthly unreasonable authority is under the hand of the Father above. Even Jesus made it known to an authority figure that thought he had sovereign decision-making ability over Christ – that all authority established is established by God! Yet the children of God go through life throwing their playing god around like it is a self-made proclamation of sovereignty. Humm, maybe we should rethink this playing god stuff.

Here is the connection between playing god and authority. Many, after catching on to the sin of playing god, refuse to submit to leaders who do. Our lesson on authority, and the sovereignty of God, becomes critical – for most leaders lead by attempting to take God’s job from Him.

THE AUTHOR OF PLAYING GOD

Who is the author of this playing god stuff? Satan! Why do indwelt believers find it easier to submit to Satan verse releasing Christ from within? Because our flesh is the mirrored image of Satan. His characteristics match our flesh (the trash the old nature left behind) – for he is the author of our flesh. What exactly do our flesh and Satan have in common? Read this:

"How you have fallen from heaven, O star of the morning, son of the dawn! You have been cut down to the earth, you who have weakened the nations! "But you said in your heart, 'I will ascend to heaven; I will raise my throne above the stars of God, and I will sit on the mount of assembly in the recesses of the north. ’I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High.' (Isa 14:12-14)

Now there is some serious idolatry! Here is what the indwelt Christian is convicted of when walking after the image of Satan – their flesh: (my commentary on Isaiah 14:12-14)

Oh, how mankind has become born into the image of Satan, like the star of the morning, son of the dawn (Lucifer). You have been made children of the father of lies, who weakens the nations! Now you, too, say in your heart, ‘I will work to function as God; I will raise my earthly position and rob from the prerogatives of God and re-work His doctrines and attempt to put them in His mouth. I will be sovereignly in control of myself, others, and maybe even God. I will continue to try to be like God and make myself like Him.’

Now that is some serious ugly! In all of my many years of counseling others, I have never heard a single indwelt say such horrific words. Although, I have met hundreds, maybe thousands, of believers that live this way. The Truth is, after all my brokenness due to my playing-god, I can finally say that my flesh is the mirrored image of God’s greatest enemy! In being able to say that, I can embrace the true defilement of playing-god, as well as the one who founded it. (see PG-105 Functioning as God)

Since Satan still desires to be like God, we see in the garden, and there forward, the devil is committed to two things. We see in the Book of Genesis to the Book of Revelation – he is committed to deception and accusation. Because he is not a creator of anything, he takes the prerogatives of God, re-doctrines them, and puts them back into God’s world through what we call playing god. Reworking God’s doctrines and prerogatives is deception and forcing indwelt believers to function as God puts man and God in the bull’s eye of accusation.

Then I heard a loud voice in heaven, saying, "Now the salvation, and the power, and the kingdom of our God and the authority of His Christ have come, for the accuser of our brethren has been thrown down, he who accuses them before our God day and night. (Rev 12:10)

The only way Satan can consistently accuse us before our God is through proof that His children are attempting to do the same thing he tried and that is functioning as God. What is the “church” known for today? Offering twisted doctrines (re-forming God’s doctrines) and accusing other believers outside their “denominations” of being wrong for not joining them in their self-life proclamations. That is the enemy’s goal – to deceive the body of Christ and get them to join him in his doctrines of demons.

But the Spirit explicitly says that in later times, some will fall away from the faith, paying attention to deceitful spirits and doctrines of demons by means of the hypocrisy of liars seared in their own conscience as with a branding iron, men who forbid marriage and advocate abstaining from foods which God has created to be gratefully shared in by those who believe and know the truth. (1Tim. 4:1-3 NASB)

If you ever want to offend someone – call them a liar. The fact is, the Word tells us that we are born liars. One thing is certain; you never have to teach someone to be a liar, for it is compellingly built within our fallen nature at conception. It is ok to say and admit that our flesh is a liar! Therefore, we belong to the “father of lies” at birth. This is also why the flesh, that is in us that is not us, still acts subservient to this father of lies. The enemy knows this reality and uses it against God and us. Until Jesus saves us, redeems us, transforms us, and places the Holy Spirit within us, we’re obligated from the womb to do the things of the “father of lies.” For example, if you ever find yourself lying on a regular basis – white lies or otherwise, be assured that you have been walking after (not in) your flesh. If you find yourself defending your playing god when confronted, you are functioning under the father of lies through your flesh that is in you – this is why we lie to ourselves, others, and the Spirit of Christ.

Each of these things we see in Satan are all the things we see in our fallen nature (if unsaved) or in our flesh (if saved). Humanity is deceived, lied to, and fronted with playing god for the evil one. This is clearly seen in our mortal existence. Humans are created by God to reflect images (identity), either the image of His Son or the image of His enemy. There are no other images (identities) to reflect. No matter how we educate ourselves with twisted emergent (lukewarm) doctrines of demons, this truth will never change.

Depraved thinking is man downloading the opinions of the enemy. Then regurgitating the thoughts of Satan.

Christ’s mind in the indwelt functions in the same way, which is downloading the absolute Truths of God. The word opinion comes from the root word “pinion,” which means “wings that cover.” When you add the “o” in front of this word, you have self-imposed “ownership,” meaning “covering oneself.” I believe that is what we call lies, covering your rear. Satan is deceptive, crafty, and filled with twisted truth. By simply adding one letter to a righteous word, he can form one of the most used deceptions to mankind – my opinion is...

Coming up next is “The Boy Who Acts as Judge.”