Live Free with Josh Howerton - Real Authority is Given | Ep. 416 | Monday, September 9, 2024

Episode Date: September 9, 2024

Genuine leaders are distinguished by their authority, which is not derived from titles but from how they interact with others. Authority cannot be forced or assumed through promotion; it must be voluntarily acknowledged by those who submit. The culture dictates that individuals in authority should hold others accountable, acknowledge their achievements, and accept them as they are. Reflecting on Luke 7 reveals how Jesus consistently defies societal norms to demonstrate love and engage deeply with each individual encountered. For more information, visit lakepointe.church/dailydrive

Thanks for tuning in to today's Daily Drive with Lake Point Church, a daily dose of God's word for your morning drive. When the word, not the world, becomes the majority of your week, your life will start to change. For that reason, our prayer is that God will speak to you through today's devotional. For more digital content to feed your faith, visit lakepoint.comit. And now let's dive in to today's devotional. Hey, welcome to the Daily Drive. My name is Bro, and we hang here for a few minutes each weekday, just diving into God's Word and trying to become a little bit more like Jesus every day.

Now, in order to do that, we've been looking at some one-on-one encounters that people had with Jesus, and today we're going to meet a really good dude that you're going to like a lot. His story is found over in Luke, Chapter 7. And this guy is a hard-working, blue-collar, calloused hands, car hardware, and bass-prochial. kind of guy. He's a tough guy. He's a military guy. A guy who understood real authority. Now, when I say authority, what type of people come to your mind? Police, principal, teacher, coach, president, governor, mayor, boss, parents? The Bible is clear on the appropriate response we are to have to those in authority over us. It says, unless it's contrary to how God has told us to live,

we are to submit to those in authority. Now, sometimes it is contrary to what God would have us do. I mean, a boss tells you've got to lie or participate in a cover-up. In those cases, you always have to go with what God, the ultimate authority, says, over what others are telling you to do. And we should never just blindly follow. But for the most part, you and I are to live with a humble attitude of submission toward those in authority.

And the original word for submit that's used in the Bible comes from the military world. That literally means to voluntarily place yourself under. To voluntarily place yourself under. And you've got to admit that's not always easy to do, is it? I mean, you get a ticket you didn't deserve, and you still got to go to traffic school? That may or may not have happened to me.

Or it's time to pay the IRS your unreasonably high tax bill or the ref totally blows the call or your parents set some kind of curfew that you think is really lame or a teacher give us some unreasonable homework assignment or corporate headquarters, hands down a new org chart that gives you a new supervisor that's not nearly as talented as you are.

It's tough to submit to authority sometimes. But that's what we're called to do. Now, granted, sometimes the challenge comes when the person who is in authority really doesn't exemplify any. You know what I'm talking about? I was in a Walmart a while back, and I watched a young mom get totally exasperated,

she blurts out of profane cuss word, spins her cart around and goes back to where her boy, looks like he about six years old, was standing, probably only like 10 feet behind her just innocently looking at a gumball machine. It was almost like she went into attack mode. She started spanking her kid and screamed, You stay with me, you hear me? And I thought, yeah, who wouldn't want to stay with you?

Now, I'm not judging that frazzled mom. I don't know her circumstances, and we all lose it from time to time. But through the years, I've been learning that real authority is not so much about your position as it is your disposition, the way you treat other people. You see, we tend to equate authority with title, control, power, intimidation, manipulation, and respect that's demanded.

It really doesn't work that way. Let me show you what I think is the proper flow of authority. Now, imagine me writing these down from top the bottom. I wish I could show you a graphic, but just imagine this list. At the very top of the list is the word. authority, followed by the word accountability, then affirmation, then acceptance. So here's the list. Authority, accountability, affirmation, acceptance. Now, if you read it from the top down, this is the way most leaders think authority works. I'm an authority over you. Therefore,

I can hold you accountable for your performance. If you perform right and you meet my expectations, I may affirm you with pay, promotions, maybe a little praise, and then perhaps you'll feel accept it. But that's really between you and your therapist. That's not really my concern. That's the way a lot of people try to lead. That top down, read the org chart. I'm over you. So get in line type of leadership. Anybody ever been led by a leader like that? Now let me ask you, looking at that same list, authority, accountability, affirmation, acceptance. And knowing the countercultural nature of Jesus, how do you think the greatest leader who ever lived? I'm talking about the one who really did possess all rights and ultimate authority, the one who really is over.

Overall, which end of that list do you think Jesus started from with people? Yeah, Jesus worked from the bottom up. He began by accepting them as someone created in the image of God. Then he affirmed their worth and dignity. And when they knew they were unconditionally accepted and affirmed as a person of great value, then they were wide open to accountability and even recognize, even voluntarily placed themselves under his authority. You see, we can force some external accountability.

through threats and intimidation. But people will not respond in a healthy way unless they first know they're accepted and affirmed. And I don't know, but maybe that's a good word for some of you parents to hear. Some of you employers to hear. Some of you coaches to hear. Some of us leaders to hear.

Nobody did it like Jesus. You see, real leaders understand mutual submission. And they say, you know what? I'm not concerned about the org chart. I'm here to facilitate your success. This is not about me. I'm interested in serving you. You see, you may have the position of authority, but real authority

is given, and real authority is easily recognized. Jesus gave this amazing talk one time, commonly known as a sermon in the first book of the New Testament, Matthew 5 through 7, and when the talk was over, it says this about Jesus. After Jesus finished speaking, the crowds were amazed at his teaching, for a taught as one who had real

authority, quite unlike the teachers of religious law. See, the teachers of religious law, They placed themselves in authority. They elevated themselves to a superior position. They did the Pyramid Orch chart led from the top down. They demanded respect. There are no instances in the Gospels where Jesus demanded respect.

He had no earthly position of authority. He didn't wear a hey on the Messiah deal with a T-shirt. He didn't go around always flashing his creator of the universe credentials. People just recognize his authority because of his character. and that's how real authority works. And that's how it works at this encounter between Jesus and this military guy. So here's what I want you to do. I want you to grab a Bible or an app that you might use and read the entire story.

Starting in Luke chapter 7, verse 1. I'll go ahead and set the table today by just reading the first two verses. And then we're going to come back tomorrow and start unpacking this for a few days. Jesus had just finished that famous sermon on the mount. And it says this in verse 1 of chapter 7. When Jesus had finished saying all these things in the hearing of the people, he entered Copernum. They're a centurion servant, whom his master valued highly, was sick and about to die. All right, the scene is set. So read the rest on your own today.

Respond with respect to those in authority over you today, and then come back here tomorrow, and we'll unpack this together. Hope you have a great day. Thanks for tuning in today. For more biblical teaching, and worship, join us for our church online live weekend services on Saturdays and Sundays. For more information about all the digital ministries of Lake Point, visit lakepoint.church slash daily drive. Also, if this podcast was helpful to you, would you be sure to rate, review, and share this podcast to help get the word out?