Submission to Authorities

We heard what John the Baptist said, and I believe that was the secret of his life, where he said concerning Jesus, he was sent on earth to prepare the way for Christ. And he said in John 3.30, he must increase, and if he is to increase, I must decrease. That M-U-S-T is very important.

If I realize this is not an option, I must at any cost decrease. And everything that helps me to decrease, I must cooperate with completely. If it's some difficult person at work that helps you to decrease, cooperate so that Christ can increase.

If it's a problem in your marriage with a difficult partner that helps you to decrease, take it. And in 2 Corinthians 4, it says how the life of Jesus is manifested in an amazing verse, which has been a blessing to me for 50 years. 2 Corinthians 4.11, how God cooperates with us.

We who live are constantly being delivered over to death. Did you find that in your life experience? If God loves you, what is the proof of God's love for you? We say Christ died for us. That's the child's answer.

What is the answer of the mature saint? How do you prove Jesus loves you? I am being constantly delivered over to death for Jesus' sake. That's how I know God loves me. Because that way, I decrease.

Because as I'm delivered over to death, I decrease so that, verse 11, the life of Jesus will be manifested. So anyone, you know, we all say we want the life of Jesus to be manifested in us. Well, according to this verse, I've got to accept it when God delivers me over to death for Jesus' sake in different situations.

And one way He delivers us to death is by making us subject to authorities on the earth. Authorities in the office, authorities at home, authorities in the government. All those authorities we gladly submit to.

For example, if you don't submit to the authority in your office, you lose your job pretty quickly. And so we submit not because we want the life of Jesus, but because we want our salary on the first of the month. It's not because we have any great love for the Lord that you submit to the boss in the office, but God's will is that you must submit to the boss in the office because God has commanded it.

Not because you want your salary. That is the worldly person. A Christian will submit to his boss in the office because God has commanded him to be submit to all authorities.

The same way a Christian will obey the laws of the government. He'll pay his taxes exactly. Whether people know it or not, he'll be absolutely honest.

Even if he can cheat, he will not cheat. Why? Nobody's going to catch him if he cheats in his taxes. But he does it because that's what God's will is.

And in secret also he submits so that delivered over to death for Jesus' sake, so the life of Jesus might be manifest in us. And I want to give you a little light on Genesis chapter three. You know, when God made Adam and Eve, Adam was supposed to be her head.

She was a helper. But the Lord said, I'll make a helper for him. So he's the head.

And Eve was made the helper. And I believe God made that clear to her when she was created, when Adam was asleep. He had taken a bone out of Adam and made Eve.

And I'm fairly sure that the Lord told Eve, you were made from a bone in a man I'm going to just introduce you to in a moment. And that man is going to be your head. And you are to be his helper.

You are not to be his head. You must be his helper. I'm sure God told Eve that.

So when the devil came in Genesis three, his aim was to attack that. You know, we, we often think the first sin was Eve ate from the tree. That's what I also thought.

But I've got a little more light on it now. That was not the first thing. I believe that was the second sin.

I'll show you what the first sin was. Genesis three. When they came to the tree of knowledge of good and evil, where was Adam? It says in Genesis three, verse nine, where six Genesis three, verse six, the last part, her husband was with her.

He wasn't somewhere else. So you've got to picture this in your mind. Whenever you read the Bible, I see the Bible in pictures.

So I see this tree of knowledge of good and evil. And I see Eve standing there and I see Adam standing right next to her. And then the devil begins to talk.

And you know, it says in verse one, he said to the woman, why didn't you say that to the man? He wanted the woman to rebel against the authority God had placed over her. That's what the devil wanted. Because that's his own nature.

The Bible says that he was the head of the angels, Satan. He was even over Michael and Gabriel. Michael and Gabriel were the juniors of this person whose name is not mentioned anywhere in scripture.

He was the highest angel. And he said, I'm not happy with this. I want to rebel against God.

And that moment he became the devil. Sin did not come through disobedience into this universe. Sin came through rebellion against authority.

Never forget that. Sin came through rebellion against authority. And that's what the devil wanted Eve to do.

Forget the knowledge of good and evil, that tree, that will come secondary. But I must get this woman to rebel against the authority God has placed over her. So he speaks to her.

And what should she have done when the devil said, eat from this tree? She should have said, excuse me, God has given me a head. Let me ask him. That was Eve's first sin.

That she did not consult Adam. She did not submit to Adam's authority. Then the second sin was eating the tree of knowledge of good and evil.

What was Adam's first sin? Yeah, he also ate from that tree when Eve gave it to him. But that was not his first sin. His first sin was when he saw the devil talking to Eve.

He did not intervene and said, shut up. You talk to me. And Eve, don't talk to the devil.

Don't talk to the serpent. He should have asserted his authority. But he was like these useless husbands today, who do not assert their authority in their home.

The authority God has given them. And allow the wife to do whatever she likes. And bring the devil into the home.

Fathers who don't assert their authority over their children. And allow the children to do what they like. Remember this, my brothers and sisters, the devil's aim is to get you to rebel against authority.

To get your children to rebel against authority. The devil will try God Eve to rebel against authority. And he'll try with every wife to rebel against your God-given authority, which is your husband.

A woman who does not want to do that should not get married. She should stay single all her life. But then she'll have other authorities if she goes to work.

So rebellion against authority is the first sin that Eve committed. Then the second sin was taking from the tree of good and evil. You've probably never heard that before, but that is the truth.

And the first thing that Adam had committed was that he did not assert his authority as the head of the home. He just watched this like some dumb guy. All this going on and she eats it and he sits there and she gives it to him and he opened his mouth and eats it.

What type of husband was he? I've seen lots of husbands like that in Christian homes who sit there with their mouth open and never do anything when they see children going astray, the wife doing something wrong. He just keeps quiet. Oh, I don't want to offend her.

Probably Adam felt like I don't want to offend her. She's my wife. Let me love her.

It's all right if she rebels against my authority. It's okay. But God told you to be an authority.

You didn't make yourself an authority there. Adam, God gave you a position. And if you're a husband, God's given you that position.

And if you don't, if you exercise it, you're not trying to show off. You're just fulfilling your function. It's so important.

And if a wife, every wife would realize that, that by disobeying her husband, she's opening the door for the devil in her home. And if parents, the Bible says, children, honor your parents. And if parents don't assert their authority over their children and let them do what they like in the home, they're not strict with them.

They don't punish them when they should be punished or whatever way they make them obey. They are opening the door for this spirit of rebellion and the devil to come right in. So when you see confusion in your home, try and find the root cause of it somewhere along the way.

The one who created that spirit of rebellion got in there. Now, in an office, we'd never do it. You would never dare to ask a question in the office, who's in charge here? They ask it in the church.

They wouldn't dare to ask that in an office, they'd lose their job. But in the church, we ask, who made you an authority over me? That's what they told to Moses. We all know of people who were taken straight up to heaven alive, Enoch and Elijah.

Do you all know who was who were taken to hell alive without dying? Korah, Tathan, and Abiram who rebelled against Moses. Some of them, not all of them, some of them stepped out. Moses said, don't stand with them.

God will punish you. What were they doing? What was their sin? Their sin was rebellion against authority God had placed over them. Moses was an authority over the whole of Israel.

And Korah, they were related, they were all from the tribe of Aaron. So Korah said, who do you think you are, Moses? Who asked you to be an authority over here? We're also like equally chosen by God. And you know what Moses did? I love that.

He didn't argue with him. He fell on the floor. He said, I keep my mouth shut.

If God does not support my authority, I will not support myself. That is the mark of a true man of God. He will never assert his authority.

If somebody questions it, it's okay. I have nothing to say. And God will deal with that person.

That is how I have taught all the elders in CFC churches. I said, don't ever assert your authority. If you're not appointed by God, then go ahead, assert your authority and God will never support you.

But if God has appointed you, you can afford to keep your mouth shut. God will do something to teach that fellow a lesson he'll never forget for the rest of his life. And that's why we need to teach our children obedience to authority.

That's how the devil enters in. That's how he entered into Eden and all the confusion that came into the world through one woman who was not subject to authority, through one man who did not assert his authority. What a different story it would have been if Eve had just said, I've got to let me consult my husband.

Or if the husband had said, you're not going to do that, Eve, don't talk to him. So these are the things we need to learn. And the devil is doing the same thing today.

As I said, you'll never do it in the office because you're afraid you'll lose your salary. Which of you have dared to go into an office and question your boss or say, who's the boss around here? Would you dare to ask that question? He wouldn't be there tomorrow. Or to even disobey him.

Why is it only in the church people question authority and ask, who are these elders to tell us what to do? I have always followed the policy of keeping my mouth shut whenever people question that. And I've seen in the last 50 years in different CFC churches what has happened when people rebel against authority. I did not find any delight in it.

But when I see God's law working, that's God's law. He always supports. He doesn't support self-made authorities.

If you're a self-made authority, God will never support you. But if God has appointed you, you can be sure he'll back you up throughout your life. So that's something we got to be very careful about.

And that's why the Apostle Paul says in Hebrews 13, we don't know who wrote Hebrews, but Hebrews 13 says the same Bible which says you must, masters, servants, obey your masters. In the, in the, in an office, you're a servant. Obey your boss.

The same scripture that says in your office, obey your boss, says in Hebrews 13, 17. In the church, obey your leaders. It's the same scripture, the same Holy Spirit.

Submit to them. And I want to ask you, my brothers and sisters, if you belong to this church, I mean, if you're a visitor here, welcome. I'm not talking to you.

I hope you find some authority in your life somewhere. Otherwise, you'll miss out on something in your life. But those who say we are part of this church, I want to speak to you.

Do you have a leader? If I were to ask you, do you work in an office? Do you have a boss? You say, no, I don't know. I don't know we have a boss. Who's your boss? I don't know.

You'll never say that. You go to a little child and say, do you have a dad? No, I don't know. They'll say, oh yeah, well dad, I'll tell you who he is.

It's only in the church people say, who's in charge here? I don't know. That is this tremendous work that the devil has done, who got into Adam and Eve there. It's come into many, many churches.

Obey your leaders, Hebrews 13, 17. Submit to them because, and I tell you, you're very fortunate here in NCCF that you have four elders. I've never seen them like that, like you have today, who keep watch over your souls as those who will give an account to God one day.

You think it's an easy job to be an elder? I've been an elder 50 years and I tell you, that's why I call them all toilet cleaners. What does a toilet cleaner do? Somebody creates a mess. A child goes and creates a mess and does not know how to flush the toilet.

The father and sometimes the child may mess up all over the floor. The mother or the father has got to clean it up. That is what an elder does.

And I've done it numerous times in many churches. I know what the job of an elder is. And one day God will manifest to the whole world, all the elders in different churches through 20 centuries, the number of toilets they cleaned.

And a lot of people who sat in those churches who didn't value them, despised them. And what a day it will be that day. I feel sorry for those who did not respect them.

Watch who they watch over you as those who will give an account. So therefore, verse 17, let them do this with joy and not with grief, because if it's with grief, it will be unprofitable, not for them, it'll be unprofitable for you. See what it says? Don't let them have to do their job with grief.

They're saying, oh Lord, that brother is such a pain in the neck. They won't submit. Always questioning, speaking behind, gossiping, backbiting, causing rebellion.

They're not against you. They say, oh Lord, I don't want them to suffer grief in the final day. I have to give an account in the final day.

What does that verse 17 mean? That means in this last day, the Lord will call up the elders. They have to give an account. And the Lord will ask you, what is your opinion of this person in your church? And that person in your church and that person in your church.

And it says they have to give an account to God. I believe it. I believe every word in the scripture will be fulfilled.

And it says, don't let them do it with grief that your elder at the judgment seat of Christ and say, oh Lord, I don't know what to say about him. And then the Lord calls up somebody else. And concerning that person, it says here they can do it with joy.

Lord, I'm happy to say about that person. He was really submissive. This is a very important thing.

If we say, we really say we are delivered over to death for Jesus' sake, so that the life of Jesus may manifest in me. I'm not preaching what I've not practiced. I never became an elder until I was 35 years old.

And I was converted when I was 19. For 16 years, God kept me under other elders. And in the early church, the elder knew that I was more gifted than him to speak because God gave me a gift when I was 23.

He would never let me speak. He would always get up and preach his boring sermons. And you know what I did? I kept quiet.

And I would fellowship with him closely and never talk about it. And we had wonderful fellowship. I'd visit his house often and pray with him and never once question his authority in that church.

I never would ask him, why don't you give me a chance to share? Never, never, never. Not even once. And then I, that was a brethren assembly.

Then I left that. I was a little older and I was in another set of assemblies. And there also people began to see that I had a gift and I got opportunities to share in large gatherings there.

And some people got jealous and they gave a false report about me to the senior elder. And he banned me from speaking forever in all his churches. And so I would go to the church where I used to have special meetings and I would sit at the back.

And the Lord said, keep your mouth shut. If anybody asks you why, don't give an answer. So I sat there.

My wife knows this. She and I would sit there. Anybody asked me, why aren't you speaking? You were speaking here every Sunday.

No, I'm just not speaking. I would never speak one word against that elder who told me to shut up. I respected him.

And I sat there for two years and I moved away. And for the next three, four years, it was like that. And then one day God baptized me in the Holy Spirit and we started CFC.

But he attested me for a number of years before giving me that responsibility as an elder. And that's what he does. And I believe there are many, many people who could have been elders who did not qualify because their initial training period, they never learned to submit to authority.

So dear brothers, when you say he must increase and I must decrease, God will arrange the circumstances for you to decrease. Like we read in 2 Corinthians 11, he will deliver you over to death for Jesus' sake so that the life of Jesus can be manifested in you. And when he delivers you over to death for Jesus' sake, do what Jesus did.

Stretch out your hands for them to drive the nails. Put one leg over the other so that they can drive the nails. And don't speak one word.

Say, Father, forgive them for they don't know what they do. I tell you, the life of Jesus will be manifest in you. He who has ears to hear, she who has ears to hear.

Let them hear. Amen.