Getting In God's Order

God uses authority to give direction. God will use authority to speak into our life and give direction. Now remember, each of us is a priest. That means we can hear from God. We don't have to go through authority to hear God -- that is the good news. We have direct connection. But God will use authority to speak into our life to give direction and to confirm things God has called us to do.

Any time God has called us to do something it always bears witness with two or three people. He will use that covering or protection to affirm that. We must learn how to submit to authority. For a lot of people the word "submit" is a dirty word. Yet, submitting is simply yielding. We're not talking about dictatorship, blind obedience or slavery. God has an established order and we're going to yield to that order. Whenever we yield to God's order then we're putting ourselves in a place to be released in power and authority. When we stand in that place then we're getting released in it.

One of the things that will oppose God's order and authority is the desire to control. The Lord made us with a need or desire to rule. In Genesis 1:26, He gave man a job. He gave him authority over the fish of the sea, the fowl of the air, the animals of the land. But we want to get out of God's order. We want to rule where God did not call us to rule and because of that we have no authority.

We have to submit to God's order so we can be in God's flow. There is a spirit mentioned in I Kings and Revelation called the spirit of Jezebel. This spirit wants to control. It attaches itself to people, sometimes for a long period of time. It controls and dominates. Jezebel was a queen, but she wasn't a king and yet she ruled because she was married to Ahab, who was a puppet for her. She was the authority -- she controlled, she ruled, even though she did not have the headship.

The reason Jezebel didn't want to be king was because she wanted Ahab to take the hits while she controlled.

The role of the Jezebel spirit is simply to control and dominate and to get people out of order. So long as we are in order there is covering, there is protection and there is a flow of power. The devil is going to try to mess that up. He is going to try to get people out from under their authority. That is why He creates a rebellious spirit in people. Whenever people begin to rebel, they are rebelling against authority and the devil says, "I got them because they are not in a place of authority. They are not in a place of protection. They are out there running alone and they are going to be easy for me to pick off because of that." God did put that desire to rule in us, but it needs to be within God's order.

Another thing that opposes God's order is a "misunderstanding." A misunderstanding that one's place in God's order is equal to importance. The main issue is never significance or value. The issue is always order. In God's order there is no prominence among the brethren. In God's order all are equal when we stand before the cross. Nobody is going to be higher than anybody else. But people begin to associate position and rank with significance, value and importance. In the Army there are generals and privates and most would say a general is more important than a private because there are more demands upon a general and he has to make more decisions.

But in God's Kingdom there is no distinction between generals and privates as far as value. They are different in function, but not in value. We think the more responsibility or the higher a rank a person has, the more important and significant he is, the more value he has. But that is the way of the world, not God. In God's standards the rank, the job or responsibilities do not matter. What matters is order, because in God's eyes everyone is the same. We are equal with anybody else.

In the home, it means, "Wives submit to your husbands." Does that mean wives are less important or have less value than husbands? No! "Children obey your parents." Does that mean children have less value? No! It doesn't mean that at all. That is the world's standard, but we don't live by the world's standards. We have God's standards.

We have to realize that our place and calling is very valuable and if we would just get in our place where God has called us, we will have authority and power. We have a measure of it because we have some things as an inheritance as a child of God, but the full release will not be there because we are not in the flow.

What happens when we are under authority -- in God's place and in God's order?

1. It frees us from the awful burden of always needing to get our own way. There is a lot of work in always getting and maintaining our own way. And there is a lot of work in making sure nobody else gets in the way so we can always have our own way. We are responsible for what God has put us in charge of in His order.

2. It frees us from responsibilities about matters God has placed someone else over. One reason there are church fights and splits is because people are taking charge of areas that God never gave them authority over. The church is a body and God gave people different responsibilities. Struggle comes when we try to take on responsibilities God has not given us.

3. It frees us from the terrible bondage of trying to make decisions without God's answer. God has a way of releasing and revealing His will in what He wants to do. Sometimes we don't have God's answer because God has chosen not to speak to us about that. God spoke to other people and sometimes we feel we also have to have an answer.

4. It provides protection and a covering. James 4:7 says, "Submit to God, resist the devil and he will flee from you." We like the part about the devil fleeing, but we have to do the first part -- submitting to God. We submit to God by submitting to those the Lord has put over us. We get into our place in God's authority and we have authority.

5. The resources of heaven are released to us There are a lot of things God would like to flow in us, but we have to get into the flow. We have to be there and let it come and flow through. There are a lot of resources God would like to release to us, but He can't because we are not in the flow.

6. It releases us in authority. Remember the story of the centurion? We struggle with power. We say we want God's authority, power, protection and covering, but we get it when we line up in the flow. The devil will try to get us out of the flow through being offended, lack of self-esteem or significance -- by buying the devil's lie that rank equals significance and importance. But it does not. God is looking for people who will be obedient and submit. Whenever we submit, we will find we're free and there will be more power released to us than we have ever experienced. Some may say their covering makes a difference, that it isn't of God. But God didn't say our covering has to be holy. He said submit, and as we submit, without disobeying God, we will find protection and covering and God will compensate for it.

There may be some holes in our covering that God may allow the enemy to come through. But if we have a submissive heart, we will not believe how much God will cover and protect us and compensate. None of our coverings will ever be perfect. All of our coverings will fail.

Remember, whenever we submit, we're submitting to God. And when we submit to him, we're in the flow. Pressure is released. We don't have to be something we're not. We don't have to be something God has called somebody else to do. We can be who we are, what God has called us to be and we can walk in the full measure of His authority and power. The full measure is yours. Sometimes a woman will ask how she can submit to an unsaved, ungodly husband. Some of the most godly, powerful women don't have a super covering over them. They learned to submit to what God put over them. They didn't disobey God and God honored that.

Many bosses are not very godly, but we obey them unless it means to disobey God. If they ask us to steal, we don't steal. We still stand true to the things of God, but when we submit and yield we are in a position of authority.

In the church, God has established order so people can be released in authority. Are we in the flow? Do we have holes in our covering? Are we protected? Part of discerning our place in God's order will help us understand His call on our lives and if we want to know God's plan and call, then submit to the authorities God has placed in our lives. It is a place of humility and that God can use. God will trust the humble with power.