Acting with Authority

We’ve been talking in recent weeks about spiritual gifts. God has given gifts to each of us. Some of us have the gift of organization, others have the gift of teaching. Some have the gift of helping hands, others have the gift of preaching. Among the other spiritual gifts are enthusiasm, discernment, encouragement, hospitality and generosity. By some counts, there are 22 spiritual gifts. And every person sitting in this sanctuary has at least one of them. If you know what your gifts are, you’ll have a sense of what you’re supposed to do with your life. When we, as a congregation, have a sense of the variety of gifts that we have here, we’ll have a better idea of what we’re called to do as a community of faith.

So we need to identify our spiritual gifts if we are going to move forward. Individually and collectively, we need to know what those gifts are. That’s why you all have received in the mail a spiritual gift inventory. It’s a tool to help you identify your spiritual gifts. Maybe you’ve already filled it out and you’ve sent it back in to the church. That’s great! If you haven’t filled it out, I encourage you to come to the Spiritual Gift Workshop next Sunday after church. Bring all of the material that you’ve received on spiritual gifts with you (read it first, then bring it with you), and we’ll have some fun taking that inventory together. Or, if you can’t stay for the workshop next week, then please take the inventory on your own this week and return it to the church by February 9. The Leadership Development Team will score it for you and tell you the results.

If you know what your spiritual gifts are, then you can focus on those tasks which involve the use of your gifts. You can even say “No” when someone asks you to do something which doesn’t involve the use of your spiritual gifts. I mean, if the Property Committee asked me to go up on the roof and fix some shingles, I would say “No” without any hesitation! It’s not one of my gifts!!

When you’re focused on those areas where you’re gifted, an amazing thing happens: you act with authority. When it’s an area where you’re not gifted, you sort of fumble around and you’re not really sure what you’re doing. But when you focus on those tasks that God has gifted you to do, there’s a sense of confidence. People start paying attention to you and listening to your directions. And collectively, we get things done. It’s a blessing for both the individual and the community when you act with authority.

Jesus acted with authority. Jesus knew what his gifts were. Jesus understood what he’d been put on earth to do. Jesus knew who he was. Today we would say that Jesus was comfortable in his own skin. When you’re self-aware and self-confident, as Jesus was, then you can act with authority. Self-awareness comes, in part, from knowing what your gifts are. And self-confidence comes, in part, from using those gifts and fine-tuning your skills around those gifts. Those who are self-aware and self-confident – those who know and use their spiritual gifts – are those who act with authority.

Nine years ago I participated in an ecumenical walk which marked the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity. A group of people from different Christian traditions spent a Sunday afternoon walking from one church to another in downtown Toronto, stopping for a brief service in each church. We were Protestants and Catholics, Greek and Ukrainian Orthodox, Lutherans and Anglicans and Presbyterians and United. But as we marched along in a peaceful demonstration of Christian unity, there was a counter demonstration, and it wasn’t very peaceful. Folks from the Greek Orthodox church where we began were walking beside us and shouting at us and basically saying that their church was the only true church; that their beliefs were the only true beliefs. They marched and they shouted until we got to St. Michael’s Cathedral, where the next brief service was to be held. As this angry crowd approached the church, there was one single priest standing at the church door. He was just a little guy. And with a calm, clear voice he said to that crowd: “This is a house of prayer, not a house of protest. If you are coming to pray, then you are free to enter. But if you are coming to protest, then I must ask you to leave.” And that large, angry crowd turned around, and walked away. That priest spoke with authority.

We’re called to act with authority. Each in our own area, according to our gifts. If no one acts with authority, the community is in trouble. If everyone acts with authority, but they do so in areas where they’re not gifted, then the community is also in trouble. If you don’t act with authority in the area where you’re gifted – in the area where God has called you to act – then someone is going to step in to fill that authority vacuum, and he or she may make a mess of things.

That’s the situation that’s addressed in our Old Testament Lesson. The Israelites are camped on the east bank of the Jordan River. And they have this notion that God is commanding them to cross the river and conquer the west bank of the Jordan River. Some of their descendants still have that notion more than 3,000 years later, and perhaps that commandment regarding the West Bank has reached the end of its shelf life; but that’s another sermon. In today’s story, the Israelites are preparing to cross the river and drive the Canaanites out of the land. That’s a military manoeuvre that requires leadership. That’s a manoeuvre that requires someone to act with authority. Moses is that leader, Moses is the one who has that authority. But Moses knows that he’s about to die. He’s not going to make it with them to the Promise Land. The good news, Moses tells the people, is that God is going to raise up a prophet to take his place. The bad news is that until that happens, there may be a leadership vacuum which all sorts of false prophets are going to enter. “There may be people telling you what to do who are speaking on their own authority, not God’s authority. The words that you hear them speak will not be words that God has placed on their lips” (see Deuteronomy 18:15-20). That’s Moses’ warning to the people.

Nature abhors a vacuum. If there’s no one acting with authority, then people will step in and seize authority that they don’t really have. They’ll start to order people around in ways that God has never asked them to do, that God has never authorized them to do, that God has never gifted them to do.

Act upon the authority that God has given you. Discern your gifts and put them to good work and so act with your God-given authority. Because, if you don’t, you can be pretty sure that someone will take your place and act with authority that God has not given them. And that’s not good for the community.

So step forward in areas where you’re gifted; and hold back in areas where you aren’t. If it’s an area where you’re gifted, be bold. If not, put it on hold. Regardless of who you are.

I’ve heard keen insights come from kids who are 7 and from folks who are 97. I’ve heard good ideas from folks who’ve been at Knox for just a few months, and from others who’ve been here for 50 or 60 or 70 years. But let’s be clear about this: longevity alone doesn’t give you authority. The fact that you’ve been a member here for many years doesn’t automatically give you authority. No one is entitled to make decisions in this church or any other church simply because they’ve been a member for a long time. It’s not about length of service, it’s about legitimacy of gift. If it’s one of your gifts, be bold; if not, put it on hold.

It’s kind of like the authority that Peyton Manning has over the Indianapolis Colts. He’s the gifted quarterback; he’s got that authority. So the Colts are at the line of scrimmage, and Peyton’s shouting orders to his team. “Watch this guy, he’s going to blitz; and that guy over there too. Hey, Running Back, I’m going to fake it to you. Yo, Wide Receiver, you go long. If you’re covered I’m going to dump it off to this Tight End in the flat. Hut, hut, hike!” It works. And if the Colts had a defence like the Pittsburgh Steelers, maybe they’d be in the Super Bowl today. But imagine what it would be like if Peyton stepped up to the line of scrimmage and said, “Yeah, well, whatever.” Everyone else would be trying to call the play. The running back would call one play, and the wide receiver would call another play, and the centre would call a third play. And it would be chaos. I mean, the centre can hike the ball with authority, but he can’t quarterback the team with authority.

I once sang in a choir which the choir director tried to run like a democracy. It didn’t work. It’s the same way in the church: when everyone is in charge, no one is in charge. I mean, we all have authority, but only in the areas where we’re gifted. That’s why it’s so important to fill out your spiritual gift inventory. If you’re gifted, be bold; if not, put it on hold.

God has a plan for your life. God is sending you on a mission. Maybe you already know what that mission is. If so, go for it. Maybe you’ve been on that mission for years. If so, may God continue to bless you on your journey. Or maybe you’re having a whole lot of difficulty imagining that you do have a mission, that you do have gifts, that you can act with authority. If so, hear this:

If you say, “It’s impossible,” God says, “All things are possible.”

If you say, “I’m too tired,” God says, “I’ll give you power.”

If you say, “I can’t figure things out,” God says, “I’ll direct your steps.”

If you say, “I can’t manage,” God says, “I’ll supply your needs.”

If you say, “I’m not smart enough,” God says, “I’ll give you wisdom.”

If you say, “I can’t go on,” God says, “My grace is sufficient.”

If you say, “I can’t do anything,” God says, “You can do all things.”

If it’s one of your gifts, be bold; if not, put it on hold. We can waste a lot of time and energy doing things that we’re not gifted to do. Or we can move forward with power and authority doing the things that God has called us to do. Be bold, be strong, for the Lord our God is with us! Amen.

Text: Mark 1:22
Preached by Bruce D. Ervin
1 February 2009