Strength Through Authority | Part 1

From the Love We're Finding studios in Memphis, Tennessee, I'm Byron Tyler, here with the CEO of Love We're Finding, Kerry Vaughn. Kerry, you know the Lord did not create us to live crushed and defeated lives, but to reign and live in victory. Adrian Rogers will explain more on today's broadcast, and as we start this series on Kingdom Authority, I think Adrian Rogers says it best. We are not victims. We are not hopeless or helpless pawns in some sort of a game of cosmic chest.

We can never say the devil made me do it. Any failure that we have is a failure because we have failed to appropriate that which is inherently ours in the Lord Jesus Christ. And so, obviously, if we are filled with unbelief, or we have unconfessed, unrepentant of sin in our life, we're not going to have victory. God does not give Kingdom Authority to rebels, and the Bible says don't give place to the devil. If we have given the devil a campground, a foxhole, into our lives, he's not going to be dislodged or removed, no matter how much we, quote, resist the devil or how much spiritual warfare we do, unless we repent and take away the devil's dirty campground. So, we are to reign in life. We're to have victory. That doesn't mean that we're going to live without pain or problems or tribulation, but the world, the flesh, and the devil have no dominion over the child of God who is walking with Kingdom Authority.

Boy, I like that. You know, my favorite Aeternism, you cannot be over until you're willing to be under, right? You cannot have authority until you get under the authority that is truly over you.

Yeah. And, you know, it's important for us also to note, Kerry, that Kingdom Authority, it comes from a higher power. I mean, it is from God, but we have to be under his authority before we can really experience that authority in our own lives. Yeah, authority comes from above, and we know that.

I was reminded, Dr. Rogers shared a story years ago of a young guy that did not like authority, and he hated authority, and so he decided to leave home and join the military. You know, we always push against it, do we not? But if we can yield and come under God's authority, that is really where our strength lies. Well, listeners are so important to our ministry here at Love Worth Finding.

We love hearing from you, and thank you so much for taking time to respond. Here's a listener that says, I just wanted to say God bless Love Worth Finding. I know Adrian is in heaven. He used to make me mighty uncomfortable when I was in sin, but I kept on listening because I wanted restoration in my Lord. Also, because I love to hear his powerful preaching. Thanks for the preaching and other resources. You know, Kerry, as he said that comment about making me feel uncomfortable by sin, I mean, I believe Adrian Rogers would clearly say that was the Holy Spirit convicting him through God's Word.

Absolutely. It's Isaiah 55-11, right? My word will not return void, but it will accomplish that which I please. So it's the Holy Spirit that's convicting us and pricking our hearts, right, to turn back to God. Kerry, I know listeners are excited about the Adrian Rogers Legacy Bible.

The new edition and updated edition is coming out soon. Beautiful Leather Bible, our most requested resource. In that Bible, you will have some commentary. You will have Adrianisms sprinkled all the way through there, treasures from the Word.

I mean, you want a copy of this for yourself, but you also want copies to give away. So if you have an interest, go to LWF.org, find out all the details about the new and improved Adrian Rogers Legacy Bible. Well, from the Kingdom Authority series, here's our message, Strength Through Authority, Part 1, with Adrian Rogers. And when he had ended all these sayings in the audience of the people, he entered into Capernaum, and a certain centurion servant who was dear unto him was sick and ready to die. And when he heard of Jesus, he sent unto him the elders of the Jews, beseeching him that he would come and heal his servant. And when they came to Jesus, they besought him instantly, saying that he was worthy for whom he should do this, for he loveth our nation, and he hath built us a synagogue.

Then Jesus went with them. And when he was now not far from the house, the centurion sent friends to him, saying unto him, Lord, trouble not thyself, for I'm not worthy that thou shouldest enter under my roof. Wherefore, neither thought I myself worthy to come unto thee, but say in a word, and my servant shall be healed, for I also am a man set under authority. Now, I want you to understand this verse is the key verse.

For I also am a man set under authority, having under me soldiers. And I say unto one, Go, and he goeth. And to another, Come, and he cometh.

And to my servant, do this, and he doeth it. When Jesus heard these things, he marveled at him, and turned him about, and said unto the people that followed him, I say unto you that I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel. Now, if Jesus Christ marveled at this man, I mean absolutely marveled at him, if Jesus Christ was astounded by what this man said, then you ought to take note of it. And if Jesus Christ said of all of the sons of Abraham that he knew that this man had more faith than any he had met, don't you think you ought to pay attention?

We're dealing with something that is significant. Don't miss that. Don't miss what the Lord Jesus said. I'll read verse nine again. When Jesus heard these things, he marveled at him, and turned him about, and said to the people that followed him, I say unto you, I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel. And they that were sent returning to the house found the servant.

Oh, that had been sick. Now, again, I want to say that Satan, that sinister minister of misinformation, will do all that he can do to keep you from learning the truth of your kingdom authority in the Lord Jesus Christ. Now, he wants to pull the veil of darkness over this truth. Now, the Lord did not create you, bring you into this world, to be a victim of Satan, for you to live a crushed and defeated life. To the contrary, our Lord expects you to reign, as we're going to see, not someday in the sweet by and by, but right now in the nasty now and now. You are to have victory over Satan in this day and in this age.

Now, let's back up again. We're talking about the principles of kingdom authority. And remember that when God created Adam and Eve, God created Adam and Eve, put them on earth, and the Bible says in the book of Genesis that God told them to have dominion. That means they're to reign.

They're to rule. They were the king and queen of this earth. But they disobeyed God. They yielded everything to Satan. They lost their dominion.

They lost their crown. Rather than having dominion, they became slaves of Satan. They became servants to Satan. And when Adam rebelled against heaven, Adam lost his authority on earth. And Adam became a slave to Satan, and a child of a slave is a slave also, and therefore all of those who are in Adam became slaves of Satan. But the Lord Jesus Christ came to this earth. The last Adam, the Lord Jesus Christ, won back for us the victory that the first Adam lost and we were able to sing together as a congregation, oh, victory in Jesus.

Now, we need to understand this because if we don't understand it, no matter how true it may be, it'll do us no good whatsoever. There was an emancipation proclamation when Abraham Lincoln set the slaves free in the south. They were free, set free. Thank God for that. But did you know that many slaves continued on the plantation?

Many continued to serve their old master. Why? Two reasons. One, some of them didn't get the news. Secondly, some of them couldn't believe it. It seemed too good to be true. I tell you, there's some people in this world today who have not yet gotten the news of our emancipation in the Lord Jesus Christ and of our kingdom authority and others. And some in this place right now, it will seem too good to be true. Now, we often hear people say, oh, the truth will set you free.

Well, be careful. The truth doesn't set you free if you don't know the truth, if you don't know it. What did our Lord Jesus say about that? In John 8, verse 31, Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If you continue in my word, then are ye disciples indeed, and ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free. Now, what I'm trying to do in this series of messages is to help you to know the truth. Now, we're not talking about overcoming Satan in the world to come.

We're talking about now where you work this afternoon and tomorrow morning. You see, we lost it in Adam. We got it back in Christ. Here's a key verse. Put this one in your margin. Romans chapter 5 and verse 17.

It sums up everything that I'm trying to say. For by one man's offense, death reigned by one. Who was that one man who offended? Adam.

Who took over then? Death. Death reigned because of Adam's offense and because of Adam's sin. Much more, and thank God for that much more now, they which receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness shall reign in life by one, Jesus Christ. They shall reign in life, not reigning somewhere, but right now, as I say, not just in the sweet by and by. Now, let's look in Luke chapter 7, verse 1.

Now, here's the story. There's a man, a centurion. That means he was an army officer. He had 100 men under his command at his post. He was a very important man in the Roman army. He was a Gentile, and he had a servant that was sick, and he was talking about his servant. His servant was about to die. People came to Jesus and said, this is a good man.

You ought to go over there and help him. He was serving. So Jesus is going to this man's house, and the man sends out a message. He says, listen, I didn't feel that I was worthy to come to you. I don't, I'm not worthy that you should come into my roof, but he said, all you have to do is to give the command, and my servant will be healed.

And then he explained why he said that. He said, for I too, I also am a man set under authority. That is, I have officers over me.

I'm a centurion, but there's a general over me, and over that general is the emperor. I understand that I am under authority. Therefore, I have authority. Therefore, I can say to this servant, go, and he goes. I can say to this soldier, come, and he comes.

Why? Because I am under authority, and because I am under authority, I am over these who are under me. Simple, that's the way it works. He was a military man. He understood the way things worked in the military, and when he said that, Jesus marveled. He said, he's got it. He has seen it.

He understands it. Why can't even the children of Israel understand this? I haven't seen faith like this in all the land of Israel. He understands kingdom authority, and Jesus marveled. Now, you need to understand today this same kingdom authority. Now, what do we mean by authority?

It means the official legal right to act. Now, we're going to learn four things today about kingdom authority that come out of this text, okay? And I don't want this to be academic.

I want to go beyond academics into your life. Now, first of all, the source of kingdom authority. All authority comes from a higher power.

It comes down. Authority comes from above. You have to be under authority to have authority. I also am a man set under authority. That's what he says there in verse 8.

For I also am a man set under. Authority comes from above. Therefore, any authority that you may hold is no better or stronger than the one who is over you.

Because, you see, you have to have someone to back up the authority that you hold. When a policeman comes and knocks on the door, there's been a disturbance. He knocks on the door, and the person behind the door may say, who's there? And the policeman will say, open the door in the name of the law. In the name of the law.

Know that we're to pray what? In the name of Jesus. Open the door in the name of the law. Now, what this man is doing is just appealing to a higher authority. Now, he doesn't just come and say, this is John Jones, would you please open the door?

Open the door in the name of the law. Well, where does he get this authority? Well, he's a policeman.

He's been commissioned. So, behind that badge is the police department of the city. Well, suppose the man doesn't want the police department of the city to interfere with him. Well, behind the police department of the city is the state militia. Well, suppose he won't obey that.

Behind that is the National Guard and the forces of the United States if there comes to be an insurrection. That one man is backed up by incredible authority. And that's what we need to understand, that that authority comes from above. Now, the reason that God's children have authority is because of the Lord that is over them. Now, let me give you another great verse that will help you understand this. 1 John 4 and verse 17. I'm going to take just a phrase out of that verse.

Don't turn to it, but jot it down. As he is, talking about Jesus, as he is, so are we, now here's the key phrase, in this world. As Jesus is, so are we because we are in him and he is in us.

This is the doctrine of identification. When he died, he died for us and so we died with him, right? His death had your name on it. When he died for you, you died with him, okay? Now secondly, when he rose, you rose with him. You are identified, united with him in resurrection. The Bible says if we've been buried in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection. Jesus died for us and then Jesus rose for us. He died for us, he gave himself for us and then he rose to give himself to us. And so we have resurrection life. Now when Jesus ascended, we ascended with him and the Bible teaches that we're seated with the Lord Jesus in the heavenlies, far above all principalities and powers, and so therefore, Jesus' victory is our victory. Understand this, that the authority comes from Jesus and we are united with Jesus in his death, burial, resurrection, ascension, enthronement and therefore, we sing victory in Jesus. Does Jesus have dominion over Satan? Does Jesus have authority over demons? Are you in Jesus? Yes, that's the point.

It flows from above. If they're subject to him, they must be subject to us. Now that doesn't mean that you're somebody important.

No, it's him. And because of what he has done, because of his victory, then we have victory in the Lord Jesus Christ. Now what we need to understand is this, what the relationship of Jesus Christ to the church truly is. Don't think of the church as a business with Jesus as the president. The church is a body with Jesus as the head.

Do you see the difference? That is, we are organically related to the Lord Jesus Christ. His life is in us. Our authority comes from the Lord Jesus and that's the reason when Jesus gave the great commission in Matthew 28 and sent us out to spread the gospel, he said, of all authority is given unto me, go ye therefore. Therefore, because I have this authority and now I am giving you the power of eternity to act for me.

Here's a great verse, 1 Peter 3 and verse 22, it speaks of Jesus who has gone into heaven and is on the right hand of God, angels and authorities and powers being made subject unto him. Here's the first truth, the source of kingdom authority. It flows from above.

It comes from a higher power. Now, that brings us to the secret of kingdom authority. That's the second thing, the secret of kingdom authority.

Look again in verse 8. For I also am a man set under authority having under me soldiers. I'm under, so I have people under me. Here's the secret.

It's very plain, it's very wonderful. You cannot be over until you are under. You cannot have authority until you get under the authority that is over you.

Now, that's so simple, but it's so wonderful. You see, all authority is linked to obedience. Why would a person give you authority to act for him if you were disobedient to him? That's the reason that Satan endeavored to get Adam to disobey. When Adam disobeyed, he forfeited his authority. Now, our generation doesn't like the word authority. We don't like to be under anybody. And many of us dare not realize the vestiges of rebellion that still lurk down in our hearts, but we don't want to submit to authority. And you're looking at a guy, by nature, it's the same way. I was looking for a parking place a while back and I saw a sign that said, don't even think about parking here. I was so full of rebellion, I thought about it. I mean, we all have that thing in us. We don't want anybody to be over us, but God does not give kingdom authority to rebels.

God does not give kingdom authority to rebels. I've often used this illustration. How many of you have ever tried to teach somebody to drive? Child, anybody else? What's the first thing you showed them, not even the ignition switch, certainly not the accelerator, not how to put it in drive. The very first thing, if you've got an iota modicum of intelligence, the brake. Honey, here's how you make it stop.

Here's how you make it stop. There's the brake. Now, suppose that child that you're teaching, that young teenager says, hey, Dad, I'm not interested in the brake.

Show me how to make this thing go. I'm not interested in the brake. That is of no importance to me. You just find yourself taking the keys and putting them back in your pocket. Isn't that right? Because you know if that person is not interested in how to make it stop, you're not interested in telling him how to make it go.

Isn't that right? I'm going to tell you this about God the Holy Spirit. If you do not know the restraint of the Spirit, you will never know the release of the Spirit.

If you cannot operate the spiritual brakes, God will never show you the spiritual accelerator. You see, the reason that many people do not have kingdom authority is they have not learned how to be under and therefore they will not be over. Now, God has authority everywhere. There's the authority of the Word of God. Are you under? There's the authority of the Lordship of Christ.

Have you submitted to it? There's the authority of the direction of the Holy Spirit. Do you know it? There's to be authority in the home, as we're going to see later on. There's authority in the church. There's authority in the government. There's authority everywhere.

Now, the secret of kingdom authority is plain and clear. You cannot be over unless you're willing to be under. That's an important reminder today as we conclude this message by Adrian Rogers.

You cannot be over unless you're willing to be under. Submit to the Holy Spirit's work in your life right now. And maybe you're listening and you don't have a relationship with God through Jesus Christ. Go to our website, lwf.org slash radio and find our Discover Jesus page. There you'll see resources and materials that will answer questions you may have about how to place your faith in Jesus Christ. Again, go to lwf.org slash radio and click Discover Jesus. Well, thanks for joining us for our study in God's Word. If you'd like to start receiving daily devotions and links to our program, be sure to sign up for our daily heartbeat emails at lwf.org slash radio. And we hope you'll join us next time for part two of Strength Through Authority right here on Love Worth Finding.