Authority

[0:00] A Pastor's Reflections, Authority, Genesis 41, 28. This is the thing which I have spoken unto Pharaoh. What God is about to do, he shows unto Pharaoh.

[0:12] Matthew 28, 18. And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All authority is given unto me in heaven and in earth. 1 Corinthians 2, 4.

[0:24] And my speech and my preaching was not with enticing words of man's wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, authority.

[0:37] The word authority comes from the idea of authorship. The author, originator, or creator is the one who has the authority over what he has originated.

[0:50] As God is the author, originator, and creator of all things, he alone is the final authority. God's authority is not in question, but it is many times denied.

[1:05] Man cannot escape God's authority in his life, but that does not keep him from living in rebellion to it. When man's rebellion meets God's authority, which one should give way before the other?

[1:18] Should God's authority take a backseat to man's rebellion? Man, simply because it might upset man, to be reminded of the truth he still lives under, even though he has rejected it?

[1:32] In Genesis 41, Joseph is standing before the highest authority in the land of Egypt, Pharaoh. Pharaoh, who is used to having the final say in all matters of life and death over his people, has run smack into something that he has no authority over, his spirit.

[1:52] God has spoken to Pharaoh in a way that has reminded Pharaoh that he is not the master of his own destiny. As Joseph speaks to Pharaoh regarding the meaning of his dream, more than just the meaning of a dream is revealed.

[2:06] It is also revealed that there is a higher authority than Pharaoh. Pharaoh recognizes in Joseph, not just wisdom, but authority.

[2:18] Joseph, a prisoner only moments before, is now speaking truth to Pharaoh with an authority that Pharaoh could only wish to possess. It is the authority of the word of God.

[2:30] In Christ, we will often find ourselves in a position similar to that of Joseph. We may not be the highest authority among the people we associate with, but what we possess is of the highest authority, God's word.

[2:50] When given the opportunity, will we allow God to use us to speak forth his word with authority? Or will we hold back in fear of offending an earthly authority Joseph respected Pharaoh and recognized him as his earthly authority, but he also recognized God as being authority over both of them.

[3:12] Pharaoh's word may have been the authority over all of Egypt, but God's word is authority, authorship, over all creation. There is no authority over the truth.

[3:24] It stands alone as the highest and final word. Let God use you to humbly and faithfully speak forth his final word.

[3:35] 1 John 1 5 This then is the message which we have heard of him and declare unto you that God is light and in him is no darkness at all.

[3:47] Father, thank you for the powerful creation-shaking word of God, a word that has shaken man to his core, a word that speaks with all the authority of heaven, a word that declares loudly and powerfully God's love.

[4:03] Use us today to proclaim that word with authority. Amen.