Quote from Forum Archives on May 14, 2002, 9:22 am

Posted by: masinick <masinick@...>

Dear friends,

Today's message is a continuation of a series that Neil has been
sharing about the spiritual realm and authority. Today, Neil examines
another quality or qualification, spiritual dependence. Neil has a
really solid description, so I'll simply let his words speak for
themselves.

Your Brother in Christ,
Brian

N E I L A N D E R S O N D A I L Y D E V O T I O N A L
from Freedom in Christ Ministries

May 14

DEPENDENCE ON GOD

I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me, and I
in him, he bears much fruit; for apart from me you can do nothing
(John 15:5).

The fourth qualification for demonstrating authority over rulers
and authorities in the spiritual realm is dependence. A
Spirit-filled life is dependent on God the Father. Even Jesus and
the Holy Spirit modeled this dependency. Jesus said: "I can do
nothing on My own initiative" (John 5:30); "Now they know that
everything you have given me comes from you" (John 17:7 NIV);
"But when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into
all the truth; for He will not speak on His own initiative, but
whatever He hears, He will speak" (John 16:13).

Spiritual authority is not an independent authority. We don't
charge out on our own initiative like some kind of evangelical
ghostbusters to hunt down the devil and engage him in combat.
God's primary call is for each of us to focus on the ministry of
the kingdom: loving, caring, preaching, teaching, praying, etc.
However, when demonic powers challenge us in the course of
pursuing this ministry, we deal with them on the basis of our
authority in Christ and our dependence on Him. Then we carry on
with our primary task.

Nor is the spiritual authority of the believer an authority to be
exercised over other believers. We are to be "subject to one
another in the fear of Christ" (Ephesians 5:21). There is a
God-established authority on earth which governs the social
structures of government, work, home and church (Romans 13:1-7).
It is critically important that we submit to these governing
authorities unless they operate outside the scope of their
authority, command us to do something against God's will, or
restrict us from doing what God has commanded. Then we must obey
God rather than men.

Lord, it's a great relief to know I can depend on You. You are
the Rock, the Almighty, unchanging, full of glory. I praise You.

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=====
--
Brian Masinick, "The Mas", mailto:masinick@yahoo.com
Home page: www.geocities.com/masinick/

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