From Failure to Fullness III, The Ring

And I find it to be a thrilling thing, you know, to wait on the Lord, because when you do, you move in a confidence that what he is giving you is that word for that moment. And that's so much better than just hoping that what you've pulled together from way back when, it's going to hit the mark. You see, I know what the Lord's put in my heart today is for this people. Because the Lord confirmed through a number of his servants that I was the one that was to be here to share this morning, even though at one point appeared that someone else would be sharing. I want you to turn your bibles to Luke 15. If you haven't been with us, you're moving in in the middle of a study of forgiveness as seen in the Prodigal Son. The first week we looked at the prodigal Father and we saw the dimension of his heart toward the son. Luke 15 and we saw that the Father's heart was exemplified by these words, This picture beginning in verse 20 as the Son determined in his heart that he needed to repent. Verse 20 of Luke 15 and he arose and came to his father. But while he was yet at a distance, his Father saw him and had compassion and ran and embraced him and kissed him. And we looked at each of those words and what that revealed of the Father's heart toward that Son. And the Son said to him, father, I have sinned against heaven and before you, and I am no longer worthy to be called your son. And we looked last week at the Son's perception of his own unworthiness, the fact that he wanted to deem himself as a hired slave in his father's household, but the Father would have none of it. And the Father instead said to him to his servants, bring quickly the best robe. And last week we looked at the robe of righteousness that Jesus gives to those who come to him. Acceptance. The full length robe that covers the hurts and the scars of the past and places us in full and right standing in the Father's household. Then the Bible says that the Father gave the order to put a ring on his hand. What is the significance of the ring on the prodigal's hand? In the third chapter of the Book of Esther, we There's a story that's told about a man who was a servant of King Ahasuerus, and his name was Haman. And Haman had made a decree because he wanted the king to be so exalted that every person would bend their knee and bow down before King Ahasuerus well, the king really didn't take a lot of interest in how that was being enforced. And Haman came to him one day and said, you know, King, everybody is keeping your decree except those Israelites and particularly that man Mordecai, who was a servant of the Israelites. In Esther, chapter three, we read the story of how Mordecai had so angered Haman that he went to King Ahasuerus and said, I want you to order a decree that every Jew, man, woman and child will be annihilated for Mordecai's disobedience and not following your command. The Bible says that the king thought about it and said, it sounds good to me. And he took the ring off of his finger and gave it to Haman and said, be it as you said. And by the authority of that ring that Haman now had, he literally had the power to annihilate an entire nation, men, women, and children. In the eighth chapter of the book of Esther, we find that by Esther's obedience and going to the king, that entire decree is reversed and Haman's hypocrisy is revealed. And the king issues another decree which overturns his former one, and he gives it his ring of approval. And do you know that the next time that that word for ring is found in the Bible is right here in Luke, chapter 15, verse 22. You see, the ring, brothers and sisters, in ancient times had an entirely different significance than it does for us today. We think of rings almost purely in terms of decoration. To the people of antiquity, rings were a symbol of authority. They had a dynamic to them, and great power was given by the authority that was vested in that ring. And so when we see the story of the prodigal Son, we recognize that Jesus didn't accidentally say in this parable, put a ring on his finger because he wanted him to look good, but he was saying to him that the son was about to be restored to full authority in the family business, restored to full partnership in what the Father was doing in his business. And for us today, there is no underestimating the significance of this teaching, because so many Christians today find themselves coming into an understanding of acceptance before the Lord, but have no idea of what their authority is to be. And I find in my heart that the work of the kingdom of God is so greatly impeded by those of us who don't really know what it is we're to do. We don't really understand what authority God has given to us. And consequently we Walk into places where hell has raised up a standard and we're unable to bring it down. And today I want us to look at that authority and to see how God has brought us into a functioning relationship as a family member. How many of you, at some time in your Christian life don't put your hand up in this? How many of you, as Peter did in Acts chapter three, when he saw someone bound up by Satan, was able to say, silver and gold have I none but that which I have, I give to you in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth. Nazareth, rise up and walk. How many of you at some time in your Christian life have found the exercise of authority from your lips, setting someone free? And make no mistake about it, God never intended for that to be floating around among a few. He meant that to be on the lips of every person who named the name of Jesus. He meant that to be functioning as part of the life of every son and daughter of his whom he has redeemed. Now let's take a look at authority as God gives it. First of all, what is the sphere of authority? There's two dangers, as I see it, when it comes to authority. One is to see it entirely overplayed, kind of like if you saw Superman. Two, this man by the name of General Zott, I think his name was, comes crashing in through the sunroof and the White House and plops down in the Oval Office, and the president, who's played by e. G. Marshall, comes out and he makes him bow down and say, I now have rulership over the entire world. And so it was some sort of a, you know, a bit of an overplaying of authority, I'd say. Well, some Christians, you know, see that, well, God's given me this authority, and they walk around and basically they're looking for something everywhere to cast out or take authority over. Do you know what I mean? There's an overplaying, there's a preoccupation with authority. But far more in excess in terms of misunderstanding are those who see completely ineffectually their role in the exercise of authority. They entirely underestimate it. And rather than seeing an opportunity to exercise what God has given them, they find themselves unable to speak, unable to act, unable to pray. What is the sphere of authority? The Lord calls us to operate in what is, as it were, the family business. As we become a son of God, the Bible tells us that we are brought into a relationship in the body of Christ. Now, the word for body is the word corpus in Greek. And that is the word from which we get. What do you hear in there? Corpus. Yes. Corpse? Not exactly. That's part of it. That's true. What else? Corporation. The word corporation comes from the Greek word corpus. And it's entirely appropriate to say that the family business for Christians is the enacting of the life of Jesus Christ, the enforcing of the life that he lived through, the power that he delivered to us in his resurrection. And it's entirely appropriate to think in terms of the economy of God, the business of God here on earth. Now, when we come as sons and daughters of God, we don't begin right away to move in the exercise of that family business. There's a fellow here, for example, whose family owns a manufacturing firm. And that man has full authority in that business. But 15 years ago he was simply a son. He had not in any way grown into the dimension of exercise that he now has in that business as a full matured man, and really has not come fully into the ownership that basically he'll ultimately move into. And so it is with us as sons and daughters of the Lord. We come in, we are accepted, we are robed, but we grow into the dynamic of the authority that the Lord calls us into. You understand what I'm saying? And it's not something we just take in overnight, but it's something that we grow into. The family business is the enacting of the life of Jesus on earth. Look at Luke chapter 19, would you? Many times in the Scriptures, Here in Luke 19 is a great illustration of where Jesus talks in terms of doing business in his name. Verse 12, Luke 19, he said, therefore a nobleman went into a far country to receive a kingdom and then return, calling ten of his servants. He gave them ten pounds and said to them, trade with these till I come. Now, in the King James Bible, I believe that's translated occupy, isn't it? Occupy. Till I come trade with these things, this money, until I come back. And then he goes on to recount the story of how the investments go. And one does this and one does that. And you know the story. Matthew 25 gives us even a broader understanding of the parable of the talents. Here again, Jesus uses financial illustration of doing business. And the word there, trade with, gives us the picture that business is being done, not business in the sense of buying and selling, but business in the sense of enacting something in the name of God. I had an opportunity to have lunch with a man about three or four months ago, a man who I love and respect a great deal. And I a Man who by his own admission, has given the best years of his life to his corporate concern. And I said candidly to him, brother, why do you think it is that men and women are willing to give the best energies of their life, the prime of their life, untold hours, even anguishing in their bed at night for a corporation and its goals, and yet find that they can only give what's left over to God at the end of the week? And I appreciated his answer because it wasn't off the top of his head. But he thought for a moment, he said, you know, the answer to me is obvious because the rewards are right there in front of you. And I want to say to you, when it gets down to doing the business of the family of God, it takes a man or a woman with a vision beyond the immediate, but to the eternal to see that this is something that Jesus calls us into fully, that we can work for a company, but ultimately our corporation is a heavenly one and our place of doing business is in the kingdom of God against the kingdom of Satan. And I don't for one minute have to feel any kind of remorse in saying or any kind of hesitation to say to a man, your number one priority is to love and serve God. And whoever puts their banner over your doorway, that company, that employer, whoever he or she might be, is second actually, even below that, below your family in terms of their call in your life. And so we see that the Lord Jesus calls us to do family business. What is this kingdom Enterprise? What is it that we are called into to pursue? An eternal reward. I didn't see it the other night, but apparently there was a program with five, five or six billionaires. Did anyone see that? Five or six billionaires were on to kind of discuss their mindset toward work and life. The name of one of them, some of you girls probably have in your back pocket, Diane von Furstenberg is a billionaire at your expense, among other things. Maybe some of the guys have it, I don't know. But at any rate, these individuals were sharing, and from what I understand, the clear communication from each of them was they loved their work. They would rather work. They would rather be out there making things happen more than anything. And the money to them was incidental. It wasn't what they were making as much as what they were doing that drove them. And I'll tell you something, the Lord Jesus is calling many of us to love his work, to love giving our hearts to the pursuits of the things that are on his heart more than anything else. With our Eye toward a heavenly reward and not an earthly one. The family business. What is it? What exactly are we talking about? The Bible is clear to me, and I believe if anyone would take the time as you study it, I'm sure you'll see that God has intended for man to rule. Genesis 1 makes it clear that man was to live in dominion. But you know the story of how man chose to follow his own plan and gave over his right to rulership by surrendering to Satan. And ever since that time, he has been in a process of re establishing his relationship to God and his dominion on earth and the life and the sacrificial death and the resurrected power of Jesus that made our living in that right relationship possible. It made for us possible a restoration to the family business. And what the Lord has called us to do is to be restoring relationship, restoring kingdom rule wherever we go. Now, I'll tell you, this may sound a little bit vague to some of you, but it's a very plain thing to me. When we walk into a situation where darkness and sin have found their resting place, God calls you to come in as an entrepreneur of the family business and enforce the name of Jesus where you are. As you walk into a marriage that's about to fall apart, the Lord calls you to come in and do business against that darkness. As you walk into a room full of workers around a bunch of lathes and all you hear are curse words and see pinups and hear criticism of everything and everyone, God calls you to enforce the redemptive love of Jesus right there. As you pump gas, as you ride the elevator up to the 64th floor of the steel building, God's calling you to be the one that enforces life. That's what the family business is, to reinstitute the rule of God where the rule of Satan once stood in power. When Jesus said the kingdom of God is at hand, what does he mean? When something's at hand, what does that mean? It's right there beside you. And when he said, the kingdom of God is at hand, what did he talk about? A kingdom is a place where a king has a rule. And when Jesus said, the kingdom of God is at hand, he was saying, the rulership of God is right here, right now. And wherever you and I go, beloved, we are to be taking the rulership of God right there with us. Amen. Right there with us. That's what the family business is, to enact what Jesus has won in Calvary, right there where we are. The Bible says in John 1:12 that to as many as received Him. He gave them the authority. That Greek word there is exousia, it's translated power. In some of your Bibles, it's the same word for authority. Gave them the authority to be sons of God. God gives you the authority to be his person right where you are, enacting his redemption right where you are. Oh, hear this word. There is an authority that's given to you not just in these walls. If we're effectual in being God's people right here, terrific. But if this is as far as it goes, if we leave this place and find ourselves falling underneath the rule of the enemy again, we'll never begin to be what God wants us to be. We'll never begin to move into power. We'll never begin to see Satan pushed back. And I know the Lord's calling us to be a church, not just in this place, but a church moving in authority wherever we go. The thing that has struck me, beloved, as being so sad in this hour is that many Christians understand that they have an authority, but they fail to see that they have a responsibility as well. Jesus gives us an authority only because he gives us with it a responsibility. John 20:21. Just as I have been sent, Jesus said, so I send you. We're kind of like people who have been pulled out of an ocean into a lifeboat. Did you see the picture in the paper today of the. What was the name of the ship that sunk in 56? Andrea Doria. Right. And you see it listing, just about to go under, and the lifeboats were plopped around it. And. And many of us as Christians are like people who've been pulled out of the sea of sin and despair into a lifeboat. And all we do is just crash right there and say, oh, praise God, here I am. And all around us are people dying in their sin. And unfortunately, many of us would be content just to sit there and eat those rations until the Rapture. But the Lord's calling us to throw over those lines and pull in those who are still under the rule of the enemy, those who find themselves still under the bondage of the rule of Satan. And I'll tell you something. I know that God and his purposes for Northway Christian community and is moving us beyond the place of just having a few who are doing this and doing that. God forbid that we ever become a place that's known by one or two leaders. We want to become a people who are known by our ability to see the things of God and to do them right where we are and There is a charge on all of our hearts for that. Beloved, if you're a babe in the Lord, the Lord is calling you to move ahead in this thing. But for many of you, you've known the Lord for a while, and because of an absence of teaching or just a lack of understanding, you've not really ever known what it meant for you to be able to say, in the name of Jesus, I speak this. In the name of Jesus, I give you this hand. And to move in authority. That's what the Lord is calling us to. That's what he wants to bring forth from us. The ring on our hand is a ring not of decoration, but of dynamic. The sphere of authority, then for us is the kingdom of God. What is the seal of our authority? The Son had a very clear representation of his authority, right? When he would walk up to someone and say, I want to do some business with you, all he would have to do is just show him that ring. And that would be all it would take to act in the name of His Father. But we don't have that. We don't have a mark anywhere on us that says, this is in fact, interestingly, the only time the Bible talks about a mark in this life is the mark of the beast, mark in the number 666, or some form of that which will be our authority to do and transact business in the last days. So we don't have any representation right in front of us. But how do we know that we are acting? How do we know that we have this authority? What seal do we have that verifies and attests to the fact that we are authentic in the eyes of the people that we're dealing with? John 6:27. The Bible says that Jesus received the seal of the father in John 3:33, 4 and 5. In there, it describes how Jesus spoke the words that the Father gave him to speak. And he had the Spirit without measure, the seal of God upon Jesus Christ with the Holy Spirit. And I want you to look at Ephesians 1:13, Ephesians 1:13. In him you also, who have heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and have believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, which is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it to the praise of his glory. The seal in your heart is the life of the Holy Spirit. That is your demonstration. That is your expression of authority that God's given you to move in the things of God. I think it's just so precious to the Lord. That he gave us the same seal that he put upon Jesus, the seal of the Holy Spirit. And that's how we know the Holy Spirit in you bears witness that you are a child of his. If you're still at a place in your Christian life where you're struggling with whether or not you're a Christian, you need to come to a place where you know that the Holy Spirit bears witness within that you are his. You know, a seal. In antiquity, the word for sealed means in its root, to be sunk into. Isn't that a neat picture to be sunk into? We are sunk into the Holy Spirit. And it designated two ownership and a personal guarantee of your authenticity. So that if you're sealed by the Holy Spirit, that means you're owned by him and you have the Father's personal guarantee that you're authentic. And I think it's a beautiful thing how God in many of our hearts is giving us a quickening to people who are moving in the Holy Spirit so that we do you ever find that you can discern early on if a person is moving in the power of the Holy Spirit or if they're just kind of going along in things that they've learned from somewhere else? The Holy Spirit is a real dynamic, and you can, by the Spirit in you, begin to distinguish when there's really life being ministered, when there's really the genuine article being seen. The Bible says that when Jesus taught that, the people said he teaches with a ring of authority. There's an authority about his teaching that the scribes and Pharisees don't have. They could tell the difference, and I pray you can, too. When you turn on that television or that radio, I hope you can discern the difference between somebody who's just out there sharing something they learned in school somewhere or some doctrinal truth that they've built their whole life around, as opposed to the living Holy Spirit that's ministered. So that's the seal. That's the seal of the Holy Spirit. And where is the seal placed, beloved? Okay, the Holy Spirit's in our hearts. Where does God place the seal? I want you to catch the significance of what God's done here. In Romans 4:11, the Bible says that circumcision was a sign and a seal of the promise of God. Now with all the misunderstanding and all the things that can go along with the whole idea of circumcision, and there's some who would like to take that and twist it into some sort of a jumble of masochism. Against the Hebrew faith. But circumcision, you see, was a sign and a seal of God that the thing that God was promised by the Father, which was to have a great progeny, nations would come out of that man's loins, the Father had said, and he would be this his seed, would rise to be a great nation of people, numberless as the stars. And God chose to put the seal of that promise at the very place from which it would come forth. Now, in the same way, God has chosen to put the seal of the promise of our authority as sons and daughters of God at the very place where that authority, where that power comes forth. And it's on our lips. It's on our lips, you see, we exercise our authority to bring forth sons and daughters of God from our lips. And I don't want to go too far into this today, but do you see that the Holy Spirit, who is in our hearts, has put his seal on our lips? And that is one of the reasons why God has given us the gift of tongues and all the things that are misunderstood and feared about.