Below is the handout I prepared for our men's small group for this week. We've been looking at Ezra in our reflections on the Minor Prophets since without understanding Ezra and Nehemiah (as well as significant elements of Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Daniel), we will lack the context to consider Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi.
I'm sharing this particular week's material because of its subject matter. In today's society, in our culture, and indeed in the world, we are witnessing lawlessness in myriad forms. From government, to entertainment, to sports, to education, to the professing church; in morality, ethics, "spirituality" and "religion" - lawlessness appears to be prevailing. I use the word "appears" because that is what it is, an appearance - for as Daniel Chapter 2 and Psalm 2 demonstrate, the Living God and His Son are forever prevailing and are, in fact, allowing mankind to turn upon itself (Romans Chapter 1) and imbibe the darkness it desires.
We have lost sight of what godly leadership looks like, and we are drinking from the cup of lawlessness as it is passed around in our culture - we are constructing our own Tower of Babel - we are drunk with the self-centeredness of lawlessness - not only without, but often within the professing church.
Well, there just may be something here for you to reflect on.
In Ezra 7:1 – 10 what do we learn
about Ezra? Is there anything significant about his family tree? What do we see
about his heart, his desire, his passion?
Based on the limited information
contained in these chapters, how might you characterize Ezra’s relationship with
the King? How did God work through this relationship?
Please consider the following
passages: Proverbs 16:10 – 15; 20:2, 8, 26 – 28; 22:11; 24:21; 25:5 – 6; 29:4,
14; 31:1 – 9.
Matthew 20:20 – 28.
What do we learn about leadership
and authority in these passages?
How should we exercise authority?
How should we respond to
authority?
How can we teach others about
authority?
What have we learned about
authority in our own lives – both in terms of using it and in terms responding
to it? Please give some examples of when
you “didn’t get it” and when you did “get it”. In other words, when did you not
use authority responsibly? When have you not responded to authority in a
responsible manner? How has your understanding of authority matured over the course
of your life?
Ezra was under the king’s
authority, and the king found Ezra trustworthy to place in authority.
While there are many “go-to”
places in the Gospels that speak of authority, three passages that speak
strongly to me are Matthew 20:20 – 28; John 13:1 – 17, and Matthew 8:1 – 13.
I have used Matthew 8:1 – 13 in
previous handouts, and I have used it in teaching and preaching for decades,
and when I use it I ask the question, “What did the centurion see in Jesus that
caused him to place his faith in Jesus?”
Without fail, 100% of the time
people respond, “He saw that Jesus had authority, that Jesus was in authority.”
However, the Gospel accounts of
Jesus and the centurion are consistent in that the centurion did not view
Jesus as being in a position of authority, but rather as being under
authority. The centurion understood the nature of authority because he was
a military man who, I think, thought deeply about his responsibilities. He knew
that all of his authority was derived from the chain-of-command that went right
up to the Roman Emperor – the centurion was not a loose cannon doing whatever
he wanted however he wanted.
Jesus was, of course, living in
submission to His Father, (yes, yes, the Trinity and the Incarnation are
mysteries, at least to me), John 5:19, 30; 6:38; 8:28; 12:49; 14:10.
I use the centurion passage to
teach about authority and also to show how easy it is to read the Bible but not
read the Bible, to miss the point of a passage because we assume we know
what we’re reading and so we superimpose our own images and thoughts on a
passage. If we don’t submit to the Biblical text we’ll not “see” the
Biblical text.
In my marketplace career I was
keen to remember, and speak and act, as a man under authority; the authority of
Jesus Christ, the authority of the firm I worked for, and the authority of my
clients to whom I had a fiduciary duty. Even when I had my own very small
operation in Maryland, because I had an agency relationship with my clients, I needed
to be mindful of the authority and duty of those relationships.
In essence, I could never
speak and act on my own authority, my authority was always derived; from Jesus
Christ, from my firm, and from my clients. This, for the Christian, should
simply be the way we live – we ought never to speak and act on our own
authority – for outside of Jesus Christ we have none, we have been bought with
a price, the blood of the Lamb (1 Corinthians 6:19 – 20).
I could give you many examples of
pain I have caused when I have acted on my own authority, which is to say that
I know what I’m talking about. I could also give many examples of managers who
have worked for me who have grown when they have submitted to authority, when
they have learned to be servant- leaders. I could also give many examples of
managers who have worked for me and who never “got it” – they used their
positions first for their own benefit and didn’t really care how they treated
their employees or our clients and customers – they didn’t know how to submit
to authority. This latter group did not tend to remain employed – they either
couldn’t stand the accountability and left of their own accord or I had to free
them up for hopefully a better future elsewhere.
I could also give many examples
in the church world of people, including pastors, choir directors, praise team
leaders, Sunday-school superintendents, deacons, elders, denominational
officials, seminary leaders…you name it…who are in “authority” but don’t “get
it” to the detriment of others. But thankfully there are also many examples on
the positive side. But, of course, we see this in any group of people, PTAs,
service organizations, sports organizations…it is the fallen nature of man
outside of Jesus Christ.
All the more reason for us to
learn to live under authority so that we might use the authority given to us in
Christ to be a blessing to others.
The work of Satan is
characterized by lawlessness and rebellion. Our society, indeed our world, is
being swept away by lawlessness. We are rebelling against God’s moral law,
against common decency, against God’s special revelation in Jesus Christ and
His Word, against pretty much all authority. The human authorities we do have
are also engaged in rebellion (Psalm 2) and are legalizing the repudiation of
the image of God and His Law and codifying sin and demonic images of humanity –
resulting in hideous confusion and a moral and spiritual meltdown which, like a
nuclear-plant meltdown, is spreading toxicity into our environment.
This lawlessness is, I think, often
as present in our churches as it is in general society. We don’t know the
Bible, we don’t obey the Bible, we explain away the Bible’s clear moral and
ethical teaching, we make excuse after excuse for our collective and individual
disobedience and sin, we are ashamed of holiness, we are often ashamed of
Christ and go with the flow around us.
Chesterton wrote, “A dead thing
can go with the stream, but only a living thing can go against it.” Are we alive or are we, and our congregations,
dead?
Will we, will I, will you…live
under the authority of Jesus Christ…no matter what?
Love,
Bob
No comments:
Post a Comment