Taking it to the Boss
I know you've experienced it. Let's call it consumer frustration or customer frustration. Maybe it's all about a bill you believe there's a mistake on, or a problem with your phone or some other service, or maybe it's a store policy that seems to have you going in circles trying to find an answer. You've talked yourself blue in the face, trying to get some resolution from this salesperson or this customer rep. Then it dawns on you - this person doesn't have any authority to make any difference in this situation. They're just reading from the company script. So what do you do? You ask for the boss, the manager, the owner. That's where I usually get an answer, because they've got the authority to do something!
Authority is really the decisive factor in getting anything done; putting it in the hands of the person who is in charge. Now that's a fundamental secret of getting things done when you pray! Those who understand that mountain-moving faith is about realizing who's in charge are people who pray with power and who get results.
Jesus made that clear in our word for today from the Word of God. In Luke 7, beginning with verse 7, we hear the message a desperate Roman officer sent to Jesus about his dying servant. He was as Scripture says, "valued highly." The centurion says to Jesus, "Say the word and my servant will be healed. For I myself am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. I tell this one, 'Go,' and he goes; and that one, 'Come,' and he comes. I say to my servant, 'Do this,' and he does it."
Then Luke records Jesus' unique response. "When Jesus heard this, He was amazed at him, and turning to the crowds following Him, He said, 'I tell you, I have not found such great faith in Israel.' Then the men who had been sent returned to the house and they found the servant well." Now Jesus had described His own disciples as "you of little faith." But He says this Gentile soldier has great faith. It's the only time in the Bible when we're told Jesus was amazed at someone's faith. Usually, He's amazed at their lack of faith.
So what kind of faith amazes Jesus, and by the way, prays down miracles? Well, it's all about authority. This officer was saying, "Just as I have total authority over my soldiers, Jesus, so You have total authority over this disease my servant has. This disease will do what You tell it to do, Lord!" So when you pray, you pray to Jesus as the Lord over every germ, every virus, every disease on this planet. He is the Lord over every heart of every person in your situation. He is the Lord over every weather system, every home, every piece of land, every human authority, every resource, every corner of this world and this universe. "Jesus, the economy isn't going to decide what happens to me - You are. This condition isn't going to decide it - You are. These people aren't going to decide it - You are. The odds aren't going to decide it - You are, Jesus!"
No matter how big the need, no matter how limited the resources, no matter how short the time, Jesus has whatever it takes to do what needs to be done! So quit coming to Jesus as if He's limited to what we can see and what we can come up with. He's the Boss of everything and everyone that touches your life! If you want something done, go to the person in charge of the whole universe!
Ron Hutchcraft
I know you've experienced it. Let's call it consumer frustration or customer frustration. Maybe it's all about a bill you believe there's a mistake on, or a problem with your phone or some other service, or maybe it's a store policy that seems to have you going in circles trying to find an answer. You've talked yourself blue in the face, trying to get some resolution from this salesperson or this customer rep. Then it dawns on you - this person doesn't have any authority to make any difference in this situation. They're just reading from the company script. So what do you do? You ask for the boss, the manager, the owner. That's where I usually get an answer, because they've got the authority to do something!
Authority is really the decisive factor in getting anything done; putting it in the hands of the person who is in charge. Now that's a fundamental secret of getting things done when you pray! Those who understand that mountain-moving faith is about realizing who's in charge are people who pray with power and who get results.
Jesus made that clear in our word for today from the Word of God. In Luke 7, beginning with verse 7, we hear the message a desperate Roman officer sent to Jesus about his dying servant. He was as Scripture says, "valued highly." The centurion says to Jesus, "Say the word and my servant will be healed. For I myself am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. I tell this one, 'Go,' and he goes; and that one, 'Come,' and he comes. I say to my servant, 'Do this,' and he does it."
Then Luke records Jesus' unique response. "When Jesus heard this, He was amazed at him, and turning to the crowds following Him, He said, 'I tell you, I have not found such great faith in Israel.' Then the men who had been sent returned to the house and they found the servant well." Now Jesus had described His own disciples as "you of little faith." But He says this Gentile soldier has great faith. It's the only time in the Bible when we're told Jesus was amazed at someone's faith. Usually, He's amazed at their lack of faith.
So what kind of faith amazes Jesus, and by the way, prays down miracles? Well, it's all about authority. This officer was saying, "Just as I have total authority over my soldiers, Jesus, so You have total authority over this disease my servant has. This disease will do what You tell it to do, Lord!" So when you pray, you pray to Jesus as the Lord over every germ, every virus, every disease on this planet. He is the Lord over every heart of every person in your situation. He is the Lord over every weather system, every home, every piece of land, every human authority, every resource, every corner of this world and this universe. "Jesus, the economy isn't going to decide what happens to me - You are. This condition isn't going to decide it - You are. These people aren't going to decide it - You are. The odds aren't going to decide it - You are, Jesus!"
No matter how big the need, no matter how limited the resources, no matter how short the time, Jesus has whatever it takes to do what needs to be done! So quit coming to Jesus as if He's limited to what we can see and what we can come up with. He's the Boss of everything and everyone that touches your life! If you want something done, go to the person in charge of the whole universe!
Ron Hutchcraft
No comments:
Post a Comment