THE BETRAYAL AND RESTORATION OF AUTHORITY

Genesis chapter 1







Today we are walking in: The Betrayal and Restoration of Authority










Today we look to the word-LEADER- H5057 nagiyd-- leader, ruler, captain, prince; excellent thing, (chief) governor, leader, noble, prince, (chief) ruler.





The Torah Testifies.............................

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The prophets proclaim...............





Isaiah 55:4 - Behold, I have given him for a witness to the people, a leader H5057 and commander to the people.










The writings bear witness.............





2Chronicles 32:21 - And the LORD sent an angel, which cut off all the mighty men of valour, and the leaders H5057 and captains in the camp of the king of Assyria. So he returned with shame of face to his own land. And when he was come into the house of his god, they that came forth of his own bowels slew him there with the sword







The Betrayal and Restoration of Authority




An Imitation Life Is Costlier than the Designer’s Life




Our authority is found in what the Creator planned and designed for us to do, but most of us are not living according to our personal authority. To recapture our true authority, we need to discover how humanity’s confusion about authority began and why it persists. We have to start again at the beginning.




Yah said, “Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.” So Yah created man in his own image, in the image of Yah he created him; male and female he created them.(Genesis 1:26–27)




When human beings were made in the image and likeness of the Creator, they were designed to be like Him, act like Him, and function like Him. Just as He rules, humans were to rule the earth—under His ultimate authority, His established principles for the earth. This authority did not belong to human beings; it was entrusted to them by the Creator. A shared authority was delegated to them.




You can never “take” true authority. It is always delegated and therefore can only be received with gratitude and acted upon. You can seize power, but authority has to be given to you. Moreover, if you transfer some of the authority that you have received to someone else, then he, too, can only receive it. He can’t take your authority from you.




The Betrayal of Authority




We noted in the last teaching that true authority corresponds to the principles and laws the Creator has established concerning humanity. If we fail to follow these principles and laws, we will find ourselves outside of the protection of His authority, and therefore we will be at risk. Whatever is not authorized by the Creator can’t be guaranteed to function as designed.




Unfortunately, the first human beings went outside of the parameters of the authority that the Creator Yah had given to them and did exactly what He had told them not to do. Why? Because they desired power more than authority.




Yah has an enemy, Satan (meaning “accuser” or “adversary”), also called the devil, who tempted them to do this. Satan is a created angelic being who rebelled against Yah’s authority himself. His goal is to cause human beings to lose their true selves by forfeiting the precious life and authority that Yah has given to them. He tempted the first human beings by asking them, in effect, “Wouldn’t you like to be like Yah?” Yet Adam and Eve were already like Yah; they were created in His image and reflected His nature. They had His delegated authority. But Satan wanted them to doubt who they inherently were and to become something else, something unnatural. And this is exactly how he has been tempting human beings ever since.




This is how the initial temptation transpired:




The Most High Yah took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it. And the Most High Yah commanded the man, “You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will surely die.”... Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the Most High Yah had made. He said to the woman, “Did Yah really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?” The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, but Yah did say, ‘You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.’” “You will not surely die,” the serpent said to the woman. “For Yah knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like Yah, knowing good and evil.” When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it.(Genesis 2:15–17; 3:1–6)




Again, true authority is always a trust that we are given. It isn’t ours; we don’t own it. Any attempt to misuse or discard it is a betrayal of that trust. Whenever a person is given authority, he must always be aware that it is not his personal property. It is not for sale; it is never be to be gambled, sold, or used for personal gain. This is the behavior we examined in teaching 2 among those who wield false authority—the one who “rules” through overpowering force, the one with the “boss Ruach,” the dictator, and so forth. Instead, entrusted authority must always be used for the purpose for which it was given. And because it is never owned by the one who receives it, it can always be recalled if necessary.




Instead of regarding the trust they had been given, Adam and Eve handed over their authority—and the authority of the whole human race—to an illegitimate ruler. Their action was the equivalent of treason because they betrayed their trust and broke their allegiance to their Creator and Sovereign.




The fundamental source of all of mankind’s deficiencies and problems, therefore, was the original violation of the Creator’s ultimate authority—it was a betrayal of devotion and trust toward the Creator by His creation. This violation is what the Scriptures call “sin.” Everything that is wrong in the world today is a consequence of the abandonment of authority.




Three Fundamental Results of the Betrayal




Have you ever bought an imitation brand of a product that you thought you’d like? Sometimes, we think we are saving money when we do this. Yet, often, we get what we pay for. The knockoff product wears out, breaks down, or fades much more quickly or doesn’t function as effectively because it is made of cheaper materials. Then, we have to buy another one to replace it. Going for the imitation can end up being costlier than buying the brand-name or designer version in the first place.




Adam and Eve were taken in by imitation authority—a cheap version of authority—when they played into the hands of the imitation-authority salesman, Satan. The results were disastrous and far costlier than being true to the life the Master Designer had given them:




The Forfeit of Authority. When human beings abandoned Yah’s authority, they forfeited their shared authority of the earth; they gave it over to Yah’s enemy, and that is why Satan is called “the Yah of this age [“world” kjv]” (2 Corinthians 4:4). Through Adam and Eve’s disobedience, Satan seized power on the earth and could now wreak havoc on it. From that point on, humanity has had to live under a false and usurped authority that is bent on its complete ruin.




The Shock of the Unauthentic. Under false authority, life is hard, complicated, disappointing, and burdensome. “Cursed is the ground because of you; through painful toil you will eat of it all the days of your life. It will produce thorns and thistles for you” (Genesis 3:17–18). There is a high cost to living in a shadow of the original authority humanity once had. Yet, human beings brought all these things on themselves as the natural result of choosing to live outside of their true authority. An unnatural action led to an unnatural existence.




Ultimate Self-destruction. Anyone who forfeits true authority will ultimately self-destruct because he is no longer under the protection and safeguard of that authority. This is why Adam and Eve—and all subsequent human beings—had to die. It was the very thing that Yah had warned them of: “And the Most High Yah commanded the man, ‘You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will surely die’” (Genesis 2:16–17). It is what the false authority said would not happen: “’You will not surely die,’ the serpent said” (Genesis 3:4). And it is exactly what did happen: “By the sweat of your brow you will eat your food until you return to the ground, since from it you were taken; for dust you are and to dust you will return” (Genesis 3:19).




Consequences of Lost Authority




The above three fundamental results of the betrayal led to these additional consequences:




Humanity Lost Its True Home




An additional outcome of the relinquishment of authority was that humanity lost its true home. The author of the book of Jude gave us insight into this sobering consequence. He wrote about how Yah gave authority to certain messengers, who subsequently discarded it. Let us look at Jude 1:6 using several translations so that we get the full impact of his insight:




And the messengers who did not keep their positions of authority but abandoned their own home—these he has kept in darkness, bound with everlasting chains for judgment on the great Day.(niv, emphasis added)




And messengers who did not keep their own domain, but abandoned their proper abode, He has kept in eternal bonds under darkness for the judgment of the great day. (nasb, emphasis added)




And the messengers which kept not their first estate, but left their own habitation, he hath reserved in everlasting chains under darkness unto the judgment of the great day. (kjv, emphasis added)




Yah had given positions of authority to these messengers—authority for various assignments—but the messengers left these assignments when they rebelled against His ultimate authority as Creator. From this verse in Jude, we can conclude that the messengers’ authority was not just something they had; it was integral to who they were—to their very nature and existence. It gave them their place in Yah’s reign. When they forfeited their authority, therefore, their existence was fundamentally changed.




Note in the above Scriptures that the words position, domain, and estate are linked with the words home, abode, and habitation. When the messengers abandoned their authority, it was the equivalent of a person abandoning his home and family. Once again, it was a betrayal of trust—and the loss was incalculable.




Jude went on to talk about “Yahless men” who act in the same way as these messengers did and who “reject authority” (Jude 1:4, 8). When Adam and Eve disobeyed Yah’s word, humanity fell from its place of authority, and life on earth was fundamentally altered. Consequently, human beings lost their place in life.




Our true “home” as human beings is the place where we were created to live out our personal authority. Your domain of authority is not a literal building but a place of being, a position. It is where you belong and where you will find all you need to experience fulfillment, refreshment, and renewal. When you discover your inherent authority, you find your true place. You feel at home, you feel comfortable functioning from that position. Why? Again, because true authority is natural. The messengers who rebelled and left their true home chose darkness over the light of Yah. Likewise, when you don’t know who you are, where you’re supposed to be, and what your authority is, then you are ignorant or “in the dark.” You stumble along in life rather than walk purposefully in it.




These messengers voluntarily left their positions of authority. Demons are therefore messengers who are out of position. They are still messengers, but they are out of order and separated from their former authority. A human who is out of order is still human, of course, but is out of his domain or realm of authority; his life isn’t what it was meant to be.




Similar to the messengers who abandoned their authority, people who are not exercising their authority and using their inherent gifts are often emotionally and mentally “tormented.” They can tend to be irritable, start fights with others, and suffer from anxiety because they’re not doing what they’re supposed to be doing, and it’s unsettling, disheartening, and frustrating to them. They’re not “demons,” but the word demonic seems to define their experience. And because they are out of order, they also have the tendency to torment those around them.




The difference between the messengers who abandoned their authority and human beings, as we will see, is that human beings don’t have to remain in darkness. They can be restored to their former authority.




The Perpetuation of False Authority on the Earth




Without genuine, absolute authority, there is only false, transitory authority—an “authority” based on circumstances, mere speculation, opinion, tradition, whim, and so forth, even in religious matters. This has been a characteristic of the world since the betrayal.




As part of His restoration plan, the Creator gave to humanity the Scriptures to guide them back to Him and to their original authority. Again, the Scriptures are the “user’s manual” for humanity. They are reliable, in contrast to the fickleness of human beings. This is why Yahusha taught the people to listen to the teachers of the law when they quoted the “manual,” or the law, but not to act in the ways they did, because the teachers’ lives didn’t reflect what they taught. He said,




The teachers of the law and the Pharisees sit in Moses’ seat. So you must obey them and do everything they tell you. But do not do what they do, for they do not practice what they preach. They tie up heavy loads and put them on men’s shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to lift a finger to move them.(Matthew 23:2–4)




These religious leaders were not living according to the principles and standards established by the Creator, even though they knew what these principles and standards were. At another time, Yahusha said directly to the religious leaders, “You have let go of the commands of Yah and are holding on to the traditions of men” (Mark 7:8). Again, we see human beings giving more credence to opinion and tradition than to the truth from their Creator.




Yahusha also warned His disciples about another aspect of false authority—a method of ruling over people that was practiced by those who were outside of Israel, who were generally referred to as “the Gentiles,” a word that means “the nations.”




Yahusha called [His disciples] together and said, “You know that those who are regarded as rulers of the Gentiles Most High it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all. For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a

ransom for many.” (Mark 10:42–45)




The term “Most High it over” in this passage has the connotation of “control” or “subjugate,” and the phrase “exercise authority” denotes “wielding full privilege over.” As Yahusha moved His disciples toward restored relationships with Yah and renewed authority, He showed them that the nature of true authority is not about having total control by “Most Highing” it over others but about using the gifts you have been given to serve others.




As we can see, the whole human race was thrown off course because our first human parents, Adam and Eve, abandoned their authority. Because of their rebellion against the Creator, the nature of humanity was altered so that all human beings who were born from them were also corrupt and prone to seeking their own false authority—collectively and individually.




The conflict and abuse we see in our world today on a wide scale is what happens when authority is misconceived and misused. And, again, this is what has led many people to misunderstand and fear authority in general.

The good news is that the Creator had no plans to leave humanity in this state. He provided a way of reconciliation and restoration.




Humanity Is Unauthorized to Change Itself




Let’s consider how the Creator went about this reconciliation and restoration through the analogy of an authorized dealer versus an unauthorized dealer, which is similar to the designer versus imitation concept.




Few people are more dangerous than an unauthorized dealer. Many of us have had the experience of taking a piece of equipment, an appliance, or a car to someone who didn’t know what he was doing. He claimed he could fix it, but we found out afterward that he was “experimenting” with our valuable possession. Why? He was unauthorized to deal with that specific device. He didn’t have either the authority as one connected with the company that made it or the innate ability to fix it.




The Unauthorized Merely Experiment




The unauthorized must experiment because they don’t have access to the original plans. They can have only a trial-and-error approach to repair. This is why, when they take apart your equipment, they can’t always put it back together again—or back the same way. Therefore, whenever you take a malfunctioning piece of equipment to someone who is not authorized, you walk away just hoping that everything will be fine. And if you’ve had a bad experience with a similar situation, your confidence level in the unauthorized can be even lower. Where there is no sense of authority, there is no confidence. In fact, an absence of authority produces confusion and even chaos.




The effects of the unauthorized can be seen in a variety of realms of life. For example, have you ever been in a restaurant that is so well run that you never have to ask for refills on your water or coffee, your food comes in a timely manner, and the atmosphere is peaceful? The opposite experience is being in a restaurant where the serving staff seemed agitated and confused, your order isn’t taken correctly, other patrons are fidgeting around the hostess stand because they have been waiting for a long time to be seated, and the atmosphere is generally uneasy. That is the difference between an environment governed by authority—an authorized environment—and an environment where authority is absent—an unauthorized one.




The value something holds for you often determines whether you will pay the cost to have an authorized dealer fix it. The dealer always seems to be more expensive, but it can also often be more secure. Why? The dealer is not experimenting. He has been authorized by the company to work on the product, and he has access to the company’s knowledge and experience in relation to it.




The authorized can provide maximum performance, or function, while the unauthorized may only misuse and abuse valuable things. After sending something to be repaired and getting it back, have you ever said, “It was better before I sent it to be fixed”? It was bad, but it wasn’t as bad as it is now. What you had sent was at least working somewhat until an unauthorized person began to deal with it.




The Authorized Dealer




To repair human authority, we need to return to the Authorized Dealer, not to any substitute. Think about your life as being a product of The Creator, Incorporated. He is our Manufacturer.




If you’ve purchased products that have come with warranties, you may have noticed that manufacturers are very particular about authorization and the need to follow the instructions carefully. Someone gave me an audio device as a gift, and it came with a user’s manual. On the back of the manual was a card that read “Limited Warranty/Guarantee.” Most warranty and guarantee certificates are worded in a similar way. For example, a “Limited Warranty” often covers ninety days for labor and two years for parts. Within the first three months of your owning the product, if anything goes wrong, the manufacturer will fix it free of charge—at no cost for labor. For two years, if anything goes wrong, the manufacturer will replace any faulty or broken parts, but you have to pay for the labor. It doesn’t sound like a bad deal, but you have to look at the fine print, which includes the word “Conditions.” Every manufacturer has conditions: if you do this, we will guarantee or do that. If you keep this, we will perform that.




The Manufacturer’s Condition




What is the condition of The Creator, Incorporated? The Manufacturer will replace defective parts at no charge to the original owner. He guarantees free replacement; it is what the Scriptures call grace. There is a grace period for the restoration of our relationship with the Creator and of our original authority, and we are now still within that grace period. If we reconnect with the Creator during this grace period, then the warranty is eternal and unlimited. A manufacturer’s conditions usually say that parts used for replacement are warranted for the remainder of the original, limited warranty period. Therefore, as long as this product exists, parts will exist for it. With The Creator, Incorporated, no matter how old you are, no matter how many mistakes you have made, He still has a warehouse full of “parts” waiting to replace your defective ones anytime you come to Him.




A manufacturer will provide labor for the repair or replacement of defective parts without charge. Similarly, only our Authorized Dealer can do the work of restoration. We have to place our faith in Him alone to do the work that needs to be done.




Let’s look at the even finer print that is usually included in a manufacturer’s manual. The free labor and parts are subject to the following conditions: the owner must provide verification of the date of purchase when requesting limited warranty service. There has to be a point, sometime, when you bought the item or received it as a gift, so that you own it. The company doesn’t want to fix a product that you stole.




Likewise, we can’t just ask the Creator to reestablish authority in us when we have no intention of being restored to Him and following His Manual (the Scriptures) for our lives. The Creator will say, “There has to be a relationship between us.” There has to be a point in your life when you make a specific decision to accept the grace offered to you so that you belong to the Creator once more.




Salvation is a personal thing, just as inherent authority is personal. That means that what we are (which has been given as a trust) belongs to Him, and what we will be is also His.




Another condition of a manufacturer, which I alluded to earlier, is that all repairs must be performed by an authorized dealer or facility connected to the company. The user’s manual provides information on the locations of authorized service agents and how to reach them. The Creator, Incorporated, functions in a similar way. If you want restoration and repair for your life, you must go to His Authorized Dealer. No experimentation with the product is allowed.




The Manufacturer’s Manual is very clear about who the Authorized Dealer is because there is only one: Yahusha the Hamachiach, the Son of the Owner of the company. He is the only way, the only truth, the only life. No one can be restored except by Him. (See John 14:6.) If anyone tries to be restored by any other means, he is the equivalent of a robber who climbs through windows or breaks into houses to gain access to what is inside. (See John 10:10.) You can attempt to come to the Manufacturer by another way, but you will have no verification, no certificate of authorization. Yahusha said, “My Father will give you whatever you ask in my name” (John 16:23). Many people are not receiving what the Creator desires for them because they are coming in unauthorized ways.




If you live according to the conditions of the warranty, you can expect to receive the benefits of the guarantees, or the promises. People continually try to change the Creator’s warranty. Some people assert that “all roads lead to the same place” when it comes to connecting with Yah. Yet that is never the case with any other destination. For example, if you wanted to go to the airport, would you drive down every road within one hundred miles of it in order to get there? There has to be a route that will lead where you want to go. That route is the Authorized Dealer, Yahusha Hamachiach.




Usually, a manufacturer’s conditions further state, “No person, agent, distributor, dealer, facility, or company is authorized to change, modify, or amend the terms of this warranty.” Similarly, when Yah has spoken, the warranty is closed. We are not to add to, subtract from, or alter what He has established because that would be unauthorized and unauthentic. Unauthorized ways of thinking and living will prevent us from fulfilling our original authority.




The Scriptures are very clear that we need a new nature in order to be restored to the Creator and to our true authority. Yahusha said,




I tell you the truth, no one can enter the kingdom of Yah unless he is born of water and the Ruach. Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Ruach gives birth to Ruach. You should not be surprised at my saying, “You must be born again.” (John 3:5–7)




For Yah so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For Yah did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.(verses 16–17)

“Born again” is a term that has been thrown around casually so that its meaning has been lost. But it originated with Yahusha Hamachiach, and it means that you have received a new nature, through Him as the Authorized Dealer, that allows you access to the Creator and His full plan for your life.




There is usually a final statement in a manufacturer’s warranty that says, “If you violate any of these specific conditions, this warranty is cancelled.” Again, can it be any clearer than that? We need to operate under the principles and laws of the Creator to reap all the benefits He offers to us.




You may have been trying to receive Yah’s help for your life without realizing that you’re not under warranty. You know you’re not living right, but you’re asking Him to fix you up. The warranty is activated when we tell Yah we want to live according to His principles instead of the way we have been living. The Creator, Incorporated, is always available, and you can come under His warranty at any time by receiving the gift offered through the Authorized Dealer.




The Gift of the Authorized Dealer




Yahusha is the Authorized Dealer, and He says He will repair our defective authority by giving us a new life according to the nature of the Creator Himself. In this way, He restores what Adam and Eve lost through their abandonment of authority and disobedience of the Creator’s principles. Yahusha said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life” (John 8:12).




The way this restoration occurred was in accordance with the principles of authority: The Ultimate Authority is responsible for His product, and only He can save it.




Why does He want to save you? “To all who received him [Yahusha Hamachiach], to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of Yah” (John 1:12). The Greek word translated “right” in this verse is the same word that is sometimes translated as “authority” or “power.” In other words, the authority of the Creator provides you with the authority to be His child, to have a relationship with Him in which you not only can call Him “Creator” but also “Father.”




Why is Yahusha the Authorized Dealer who can make this happen? Why is it that those who receive Him obtain this right or authority or power to become children of Yah?

He is the Authorized Dealer because He is also the Manufacturer. In John 10:30, Yahusha said, “I and the Father are one.” Yahusha’ disciple John also recorded:




In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with Yah, and the Word was Yah. He was with Yah in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of men....The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth. (John 1:1–4, 14)




Yahusha is the Manufacturer who came to earth to rescue His broken products. The only way they could be forgiven and restored from their abandonment and rebellion was by someone paying the price on their behalf. Just as the grandson of the founder of Toyota represented both the company and the product before Congress, Yahusha Hamachiach, as the Son of Yah—the Word made flesh—was the only One who could represent both the Creator and His created beings in order to fix the breach between the two and bring about full reconciliation and restoration. The redemptive work of the Creator required the sending of His own Son to earth to secure the reputation of His image in humanity.




Restored to Your True Place




When Yahusha Hamachiach died on the crucifixion stake, He paid the price for our fallen human nature, which we inherited from our first human parents. He also paid the price for all the times when we ourselves have acted contrary to the nature and principles of our Creator. Treason is punishable by death, and Yahusha Hamachiach took that punishment for us, enabling our restoration.




But His action provides only the warranty. You have to accept the gift of being a brand-new “product” in order to come under the warranty. You have to respond to it by making a personal decision to come under the Manufacturer’s offered warranty in order to receive the necessary forgiveness and restoration.




The book of Hebrews states:




Although he [Yahusha Hamachiach] was a son, he learned obedience from what he suffered and, once made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him.(Hebrews 5:8–9)




“Perfect” in this sense indicates complete maturity, complete submission. The word for “source” refers to an original cause. We obey Yah because He is the source or cause of our eternal salvation, and it is He who enables us to live according to our original authority, as well.




Let us fix our eyes on Yahusha, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the crucifixion stake, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of Yah.(Hebrews 12:2)




The word translated “author” here also has the meaning of “founder” or “leader.” Yahusha Hamachiach was the only One who fulfilled complete obedience to the Creator’s principles and laws. He therefore leads us into and is the model for our complete obedience to them, as well, so that we can live according to our authority.1




Someone might ask, “Why would Yah send His Son to be a sacrifice for us? Why would Yah experience punishment for us? Why would Yah raise Yahusha from the dead and establish Him as King of Kings?” He did all of this to redeem us, because the authority we are carrying inside us is so awesome that He considered it worth His death. Do you really understand that the earth needs you? It needs your purpose and your gift. It needs your authority.




Drawn to His Goodness




There are people who want to be restored to the Creator Yah but are frightened of Him. They believe that to “fear” the Most High means to be afraid of Him. But to fear in regard to Yah means to respect Him, to have an awareness of all the power He has on your behalf. He can do great things for you through His power.




If you have developed a fear of authority in relation to Yah over the years, this fear may have hindered you from receiving the restoration He offers you. In my own life, it took me a long time to understand and accept the truth that Yah isn’t mad at sinners. Paul of Tarsus, the great first-century theologian, wrote, “But Yah demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Hamachiach died for us” (Romans 5:8). Yah is not angry at you for what you did that was wrong. He is hurt by it. Why? Because He knows that it hinders you from doing what is right. He knows that if He doesn’t help you, you will hurt yourself.




Yah’s goodness should therefore bring us to Him. He is not a tyrant or a dictator—He is a Savior! He is not a monster and a destroyer—He is a redeemer and a restorer. Remember that “Yah did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him” (John 3:17). Understanding the truth about Yah’s love and provision to restore us will eliminate our fear of Him and His

authority.




Yahusha’ Personal Authority




Yahusha functioned by His personal authority, and He is our model of true authority as we are restored to our Creator and begin to live in our delegated authority. Let us look at some of the ways in which He demonstrated these things.




1. Yahusha understood His authority. He said, “For as the Father has life in himself, so he has granted the Son to have life in himself. And he has given him authority to judge because he is the Son of Man” (John 5:26–27). Most of the confrontations Yahusha experienced with the religious leaders of His day were about authority. These leaders were agitated at Him, asking, in effect, “Who authorized You to do and say these things?” Authority seemed to be their major concern about Him, but He knew His own authorization. Yahusha was only in His early thirties during His ministry on earth, and most of the Pharisees were older than He, but they didn’t have true authority. Yahusha was singled out because He spoke with authority, and the scribes and the Pharisees spoke as those without authority. (See, for example, Matthew 7:28–29.) They only talked about the Scriptures (as well as other teachings), but Yahusha was the Word. He spoke as the Source, not in references to the Source.




2. Yahusha’ confidence was a result of His authority.




[Yahusha said,] “The reason my Father loves me is that I lay down my life— only to take it up again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again. This command I received from my Father.” At these words the Jews were again divided. Many of them said, “He is demon-possessed and raving mad. Why listen to him?” But others said, “These are not the sayings of a man possessed by a demon. Can a demon open the eyes of the blind?”

(John 10:17–21)




When you truly understand your authority, it will give you the confidence to follow it.




3. Yahusha equated understanding and operating under authority with having faith, as we see from this account of the centurion who asked Yahusha to heal his servant:




[The centurion said,] “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.” When Yahusha heard this, he was amazed at him, and turning to the crowd following him, he said, “I tell you, I have not found such great faith even in Israel.” Then the men who had been sent returned to the house and found the

servant well.(Luke 7:7–10)




4. Yahusha was authorized to give life.




[Yahusha prayed to the Father,] For you granted [Your Son] authority over all people that he might give eternal life to all those you have given him. Now this is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true Yah, and Yahusha Hamachiach, whom you have sent. I have brought you glory on earth by completing the work you gave me to do.(John 17:2–4)

[Yahusha said to the people,] Do not work for food that spoils, but for food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. On him Yah the Father has placed his seal of approval....All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never drive away. For I have come down from heaven not to do my will but to do the will of him who sent me. And this is the will of him who sent me, that I shall lose none of all that he has given me, but raise them up at the last day. For my Father’s will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day.(John 6:27, 37–40)




5. Yahusha was authorized to forgive sins.




But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins.... (Mark 2:10)




Then Yahusha said to her, “Your sins are forgiven.” The other guests began to say among themselves, “Who is this who even forgives sins?” Yahusha said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you; go in peace.”(Luke 7:48–50)




6. Yahusha is authorized to make us children of Yah.




But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of Yah, to those who believe in His name. (John 1:12)




How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of Yah! And that is what we are! (1 John 3:1)




7. Yahusha is authorized to restore authority.




For just as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, even so the Son gives life to whom he is pleased to give it. Moreover, the Father judges no one, but has entrusted all judgment to the Son, that all may honor the Son just as they honor the Father. (John 5:21–23)




All that belongs to the Father is mine. That is why I said the Ruach will take from what is mine and make it known

to you. (John 16:15)




The scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to [Yahusha]. Unrolling it, he found the place where it is written: “The Ruach of the Most High is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Most High’s favor.” Then he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant and sat down. The eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fastened on him, and he began by saying to them, “Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.” All spoke well of him and were amazed at the gracious words that came from his lips. (Luke 4:17–22)




8. Yahusha gives us authority. One of the last words Yahusha used on earth in speaking to His disciples was “authority”:




All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ruach, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.(Matthew 28:18–20)




It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Ruach comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.(Acts 1:7–8)




Often, the greatest obstacle to people living according to their authority is a lack of understanding that they have real authorization to carry it out. This prevents them from believing and undertaking what they were created to do, and so they settle for something much less than what they could be and do. They allow outside forces and influences rather than their internal authority to determine how they live their lives. This is why they don’t contribute their gifts to their generation. As a result, they and their generation lose out.




In the previous teaching, I described how an author has the copyright to his work and how he has the right to share the copyright claim with someone or to provide for an inheritance of it. When Yahusha died on our behalf, giving us the authority and power to become children of Yah, we received the full inheritance of rights that He obtained. “Hamachiach is the mediator of a new covenant, that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance—now that he has died as a ransom to set them free from the sins committed under the first covenant” (Hebrews 9:15). Authority is the principle of rights.




Authority is the Author’s permission for you to be what He designed you to be. You not only have permission but also the commission and the power to fulfill your purpose. With this knowledge and understanding of authority, you can experience Yah’s plan for your life and not just dream about it.




The Privilege of Authority




The messengers from the book of Jude we discussed earlier were not restored to the place they abandoned, but Yah has made provision for human beings to be restored to theirs. What will you do with the authority that has been provided for you? You have a choice to accept it or to discard it.




I know many individuals, and you probably do, too, who have tremendous gifts, talents, and dreams, and who had great promise for their lives, but who destroyed their futures by violating genuine authority in some way.




The prisons are filled with potentially great leaders who are confined for life because they violated the authority of society, which has established laws for order and peace. The drug houses are filled with talented people who will never fulfill their potential because they are violating the authority of their bodies by abusing them with harmful, illegal substances.




Many people currently have great ideas, dreams, and plans for their lives, but they are on a collision course with destruction because they are—or are contemplating—violating the privilege of authority the Creator has given them by seeking their own authority for selfish purposes.




Why do people end up ruining their lives in this way? They have left (or have never known) the place of authority where they truly belong—just like their original human parents did.




The commentary from Jude tells us that living in our Yah-given authority is like being home or coming home, like settling into our own habitation. We have not only the privilege of receiving authority from Yah but also the responsibility of remaining in it after we receive it. This honors our Creator and preserves order and peace in our own lives and in the lives of people around us.




I encourage you to pray this prayer to the Creator: “Most High, show me my authority. I come to You on the basis of the sacrifice of the Authorized Dealer, Yahusha Hamachiach. I receive His gift of restoration and come under His offered warranty in order to receive forgiveness, restoration, and eternal life. I don’t want to waste another day out of position. I want to be in order. I want to know the authority You have for me so that I can be in the right place in life. So that I can maximize myself and be a support to those around me. So that I can fulfill Your pleasure and be what You created me to be. Help me, Most High, not to leave my position. In the name of the Authorized Dealer, ALL PRAISES TO THE MOST HIGH YAH .”