SHARKS AND OTHER ROLE MODELS OF POWER

Genesis chapter 1




Today we are walking in: Sharks and Other “Role Models” of Power




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.............................

*****








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







Sharks and Other “Role Models” of Power




Why Authority Has Become the Enemy




Were you surprised at my description of authority in teaching one as being personal and coming from within? Many people think of authority as something only outside of them—even imposed on them.




What do you normally think of when you hear the word authority? Do you have a positive or negative image of it?




How Our Ideas Affect the Way We Live




Our perspectives in life are largely developed by our firsthand experiences. Sometimes, our experiences have a positive effect on us and lead to life-affirming thoughts and actions. Other times, they have a negative effect on us and can cause us to adopt mind-sets that limit us. We therefore have to be careful about basing our lives solely on our experiences. Otherwise, our deductions may prevent us from having full, rewarding lives if they lead us to live in discouragement, fear, distrust of others, and so forth.




Whenever I drive in a particular area in my neighborhood, I am reminded of an accident I had there one time, and those memories and feelings associated with the accident still come back to me. Sometimes, returning to a certain location or environment in our lives can reawaken a discomfort or fear we thought we had overcome. We have to make a decision not to let those feelings control us and affect the way we live.




All of us collect certain fears throughout our lives from experiences that have caused us discomfort, dissatisfaction, or pain. To use a simple example, suppose a child got stuck in an elevator for two hours and developed a fear of enclosed spaces. Then, when he was a young man, he was involved in several car accidents and become fearful whenever driving. As he grew older, he fell and suffered a bad break in his arm, and so he developed a fear of falling. Everyone experiences issues such as these.




While we have to use normal precautions and common sense as we go about our lives, fears of enclosed spaces and accidents are not inherent but learned fears. When someone experiences any type of fear, it is very real to that person, whether or not others feel that the fear is justified. We are dealing with emotions that have begun to affect our behavior and that need to be addressed.




In a similar way, we have developed our attitudes and reactions toward authority—whether negative or positive—from our past experiences with “authority figures” rather than from really stopping to think about the concept. I don’t think that most people naturally fear or reject true authority. If someone is uncomfortable with, fears, or despises the idea of authority, he’s likely had a negative experience at some point that precipitated it.




Our attitudes and perspectives toward authority have a direct effect on our outlooks on life and on ourselves, and on what purposes and goals we pursue. Therefore, our discomfort with and fear of authority likewise need to be acknowledged and addressed if we are going to pursue our personal authority.




Unfortunately, most of us have had opportunities for negative experiences with authority. Many of our parents, extended family members, teachers, employers, and civic and religious leaders have unknowingly contributed to our misunderstanding of authority because of their own lack of understanding of what genuine authority is. Our spouses may have contributed to our confusion over authority because of their own background and personal experiences, which they bring to the relationship. Our cultures have contributed to our misconceptions about authority through established traditions based on misinterpretations of authority. In the religious realm, many people perceive Yah as a monster because of what they were taught as children; they were told that He is a tyrant looking for someone to catch so He can punish him in hell. Finally, we ourselves have perpetuated our misunderstandings of authority by reinforcing the erroneous ideas we have absorbed. Again, much of what we’ve experienced has built up a picture of authority in our minds and hearts that is intrusive or frightening. If a whole race or generation fears authority, it’s because somewhere in their collective past, they experienced pain, discomfort, or dissatisfaction as a result of an apparent authority.




Opinions about Authority




People’s widely different experiences with authority in our contemporary world, as well as in previous eras, have led to quite diverse opinions about it. That is why, if you browse quotations about authority on the Internet and in books, you will find as opposite views as Oscar Wilde’s seeming rejection of it—“Authority is quite degrading”—to Albert Einstein’s ironic observation —“To punish me for my contempt for authority, fate made me an authority myself”—to Daniel Webster’s passionate warning: “[I]f we and our posterity reject religious instruction and authority, violate the rules of eternal justice, trifle with the injunctions of morality, and recklessly destroy the political constitution which holds us together, no man can tell how sudden a catastrophe may overwhelm us, that shall bury all our glory in profound obscurity.”




It seems as if people divide into certain camps when it comes to authority. To some, it represents order and structure. To others, it represents a lack of freedom of thought and action. Authority is considered by many to be a negative force that stifles people’s freedom—or at best a necessary evil to keep life functioning.




Yet authority in its true form is not stifling or restrictive. Genuine authority creates an environment for people to think, to dream, to discover and refine their gifts and talents, to build others up, and to develop themselves fully. Authority has therefore been hijacked, and the result is that it has been misconceived, misdefined, and misrepresented across the globe.




Swimming with the Sharks




In the tropical, sun-drenched Islands in the Caribbean, is considered by millions to be surrounded by the most beautiful waters in the world. Obviously, water activities are very popular. I sometimes like to go spearfishing in the ocean, and I’ve seen sharks a number of times. Whenever I’m underwater and see a shark, however, I still get chills all over, especially if the shark is larger than I am! There have been a few times when all indications have pointed to the fact that the shark was very interested in me, and I felt totally helpless.




One time, I had speared a fish, the fish was still moving on my spear, and a shark came by and apparently decided, “You’ve stolen my meal.” Let me tell you, I was very accommodating. I dropped the spear as I thought, Mr. Shark, you can have the fish and the spear. At the same time I was thinking this, I was swimming away. I knew that if the shark wanted to overtake me and get a piece of me, he could do so without any problem. Why? I was not born to swim, so it was not as easy for me to move through the water as it was for him. It took much more effort on my part than it took the shark because swimming is one of his natural abilities, and the ocean is his natural domain. It is his realm of authority. Sharp teeth are also a part of his authority. It’s an authority I am aware of and respect, and so I protect myself accordingly.




There are many stories and proven cases of shark attacks in which many people have been maimed and others have lost their lives. Do we or can we blame the sharks for these incidences, or do we accept them as a natural result of the authority within nature at work? It seems that the shark considers his behavior natural and well within his authority. In essence, we are trespassing on his domain of authority, and that violation results in a natural display of his authority.




It is interesting to note that we do not condemn all sharks for the actions of one. We do not cancel the value of sharks or dismiss the vital role they play in the broad scheme of things. We see them as simply exercising their authority in nature. Maybe we should rethink our fear of sharks and exchange it for respect for their authority. Every time I am in the ocean and see the magnificent beauty and power of the shark, I am reminded that it is I who am trespassing on his domain of authority, and so I honor that fact by keeping my distance and being ready to leave his domain at a moment’s notice. Through understanding, my fear of authority has become a respect for authority.




Human “Sharks”




I’ve run into certain people who have pretty sharp teeth, as well. We can experience a whole set of problems when we deal with human “sharks” in the guise of authority figures who do serious damage to our lives. The difference between these people and the sharks in the ocean is that they are operating outside the parameters of true authority and beyond their natural environments of authority. They misuse and abuse authority as they rule over others in various capacities and realms of life. They grab what doesn’t belong to them, and, because they have become adept at doing so and are able to wield their sharp teeth, those around them have to drop their own natural authority and swim for their lives.




Considering the bad experiences with authority many of us have had, we need to be careful not to “throw the baby out with the bathwater.” In this series, we will explore many reasons why genuine authority is very good and, in fact, essential to a life of productivity and fulfillment. Yet because it has been abused by those who were the custodians or usurpers of authority throughout history, people have been burned so badly that they reject what they believe has caused that pain—“authority”—rather than the misuses of it.




Some people have used knives as weapons to kill people, but the knives themselves were not the issue. The problem was with those who wielded the knives. Likewise, if you are burned while you are ironing clothes, the iron is not the problem but whatever absentmindedness, accident, or mechanical malfunction caused you to be burned by it. So, the problem is not authority but rather how people have treated it. Most people do not recognize exactly what they’re reacting to when they resist so-called authority. Yet focusing on their bad experiences can prevent them from having good experiences with authority in the future.




Common Misconceptions of Authority




Because these false but commonly accepted concepts of authority have so permeated the nations and cultures of the world, we first need to explore what true authority is not so that we can become free of our misconceptions and clearly understand what true authority is.




See if you recognize any human “sharks” represented in the following concepts of authority. Some of these terms may overlap, but each also has a distinct aspect to it that is worth noting.




A Person Who Wields Power




One of the false concepts of authority that has led to its misuse and abuse is that power is synonymous with authority. Many people have come to see authority as a greater strength that is able to subdue others.




Power is the capacity to move something by force or energy, whether it is an object, an idea, or a person. It is the ability to cause, activate, initiate, transform, or impact. Power can be exercised through position, knowledge, strength, force, integrity, influence, personality, or threats. But power is not the same thing as authority. The difference is that true authority is always sanctioned, or authorized, whereas power can be illegitimate, or unauthorized. Power that is used to harm people in some way is clearly unauthorized; it has then become a weapon. Bullies of all ages use power in this way.




Many people who have come into contact with power that is oppressive and even abusive develop a fear of authority because, in their minds, they have transferred that experience to authority itself. For example, if a child is physically abused by a parent, he may try to protect himself from further abuse by rejecting any adult whom he sees as an authority figure. If a wife is repeatedly emotionally abused by her husband, she can become suspicious of others who make suggestions or offer direction, equating their motives with the same kind of control.




On a societal or national level, history is unfortunately strewn with examples of unauthorized power. One of the most obvious examples is Adolf Hitler, who seized control of Germany through intimidation and overpowering force and then turned his weapons of abuse on much of Europe. Those who wield power without authority are forced to subject people to their wills. When we see a person oppressing other people, whether by a carrot-and-stick approach or by controlling their destinies because he has something the people need, that’s an abuse of authority. Slave owners use power to the point of “owning” other human beings and overwhelming them by physical force.




Power was never meant to exist for or by itself but as a tool for good. Power has to be protected and regulated, and genuine authority does this. For example, electricity without conductivity or grounding can be destructive; yet, with these things, it can give us light and energy to run appliances, equipment, electronic devices, and so forth. The same power that could destroy us becomes a service to us if it is regulated, or submitted to the right purpose.




Power is merely energy and ability, but authority is permission and right to use the power. Power without authority is energy without authorization; it is illegal force. The key to success is not power alone but knowing and using authorized power. Someone acting with true authority empowers and protects people. True authority converts power into service.




That is why the greatest protection against misdirected power is genuine authority. When people operate in an authorized way, they will use power to serve constructive ends.




We must also recognize, however, that authority without power is ineffective; it is essentially permission to do something without the ability to carry it out. Authority is responsibility but power is ability. Have you ever appealed to a government official or worked for a supervisor at your job who had no ability to take action or make needed changes or corrections? You cannot give authority without also empowering the recipient to act, or that authority is useless. A person should delegate authority only if he has the capability to back it up.




Authority and power are therefore inseparable. If they are separated, the purpose of each becomes weakened, distorted, or nullified. Each has its place.




A Person Who Has the “Boss Spirit”




The concept of the “boss spirit” is related to power, but its main attribute is the abuse of position through manipulation. The word manipulate is defined as “to control or play upon by artful, unfair, or insidious means.” The boss spirit is the idea that having authority means you can take advantage of people, order them around at will, and get them to do what you want through coercion.




Such a perspective is unnatural and antithetical to true authority. When someone in a leadership position embraces this false idea of authority, he engages in actions that intimidate, discriminate, exploit, oppress, suppress, and abuse people. Many people have either treated others according to the boss spirit or have experienced the receiving end of it, to a greater or lesser extent.




The opposite of the boss spirit is to use authority for the good of all concerned and to seek others’ cooperation and contributions rather than trying to maneuver them.




A Person Who Rules or Is “In Charge”




Many people think that because someone rules over them or is “in charge,” that person automatically has authority. Since authority needs legitimacy and authorization, however, those who usurp the role of leader actually have no genuine authority, even though they are in positions where they can rule.




Any attempt to be in charge without authorization cancels authority. Many governments in nations around the world have had unauthorized rulers. Some of those rulers may have done extraordinary things, but they were still illegitimate.




People who overthrow legitimate rule for the sake of taking power always have to keep looking over their shoulders for those who might do the same to them. They have established a precedent of disregard for established authority. They often have to kill people to get and keep their power because everyone is aware that it is not valid.




A person can legitimately be “in charge,” but he has to earn his position and be authorized for it—through legal election, proper succession, a group’s consensus, and so forth. There is an account in the ancient Scriptures of a young shepherd named David who received authorization from Yah to succeed King Saul as the next king of Israel. A prophet was sent to tell him of his appointment and to anoint him for his rule. However, even with this divine sanction behind him, David did not take the throne until it was time for him to do so. He did not kill the current ruler, King Saul. As long as Saul was still alive, he did not usurp the throne, even though Saul sought to take his life. David stated, “I will not lift my hand against my master, because he is the Lord’s anointed” (1 Samuel 24:10). After Saul died, David then became the legitimate ruler of Israel.




A Person Who Dominates




While the “boss spirit” mainly refers to manipulation, and “in charge” refers to usurpation, the domination concept has to do with control. Many people confuse authority with domination.




There are those whose operate entirely through control. Some of these people are so insecure that the only way they feel they can hide their vulnerability and have others’ respect is (ironically) to be heavy-handed.




In order to maintain a state of control, those who operate according to this approach threaten others or use some of the negative techniques discussed above: they may exhibit a boss spirit, use force, and refuse to delegate because they don’t trust anyone else. They centralize all activity with themselves and become the hub of all power and decisions, micromanaging the activities of their organization, family, ministry, or nation. People who equate such domination with authority may grow to mistrust any parameters others try to put on them or their actions.




Genuine authority doesn’t control but releases people to exercise their own authority. A true leader feels no need to dominate others but immediately shares his authority with them. He wants to delegate authority and encourage others to develop their own abilities.




A Person Who Functions as a Dictator or Tyrant




Some people think that a person who wields absolute power is in a place of authority. The very nature of a dictator cancels authority, however, because true authority does not demand unconditional rule over others.




A dictatorship incorporates the domination approach, to a great extent. It does not allow freedom of expression or permit people to explore ideas and fully partake of opportunities for personal and professional growth—in essence, they are denied the ability to be fully human. People may confuse dictatorship with authority if they have lived under an oppressive system for a period of time so that it has become familiar, even though repressive.




A dictator and a tyrant are similar in that instead of exhibiting true authority, they are authoritarian. One of the meanings of authoritarian is “of, relating to, or favoring blind submission to authority.” Someone with an authoritarian approach demands unquestioned obedience from others. The tyrant spirit is one of ultimate corrupt power that wants others to submit without thought or question. A tyrant is not only a usurper of power, but he also especially wields power for his own personal gain and security.




Again, the very nature of dictatorship and tyranny cancels genuine authority. Any perceived submission that is a result of force or threat is not real submission but surrender. Wherever there’s true authority, there will be true submission—which, as we will see in a later series, is a voluntary act and part of the inherently interdependent nature of authority. Surrender is in stark contrast to this and is always a result of manipulation and fear.




When people are so fearful of another person that they are afraid to do what they actually desire to do because that person has “authority,” they are functioning under a dictatorship. That is not authority; it is intimidation. True authority allows people to express themselves and to develop to the full extent of their potential. It doesn’t restrict but provides instruction, advice, or counsel to build others up. The opposite of a tyrant is someone who seeks the good of others, not his own gain, and even makes personal sacrifices on their behalf.




A Person Who Has a Title




Some people think that because a person has a title, authority automatically accompanies it. We tend to respect and honor people who have titles that seem to elevate them. In this way we confuse labels with legitimacy. It does not necessarily follow that a person with a title is exercising authority. For example, a person may connive, manipulate a system, or even kill to obtain a certain title or role. This person’s rule is unauthorized. Only genuine authority makes rule or power legal.




A true leader may have a title, but he does not operate from the title. He operates from his inner authority, and people respond to his natural authority rather than to his label.




A Person Who Is Loud or “Larger than Life”




At times, people automatically attribute authority to someone who speaks the loudest or appears “larger than life.” This aspect of false authority has to do with a person’s personality—he or she may come across as strong, opinionated, overbearing, charismatic, articulate and persuasive, threatening, or obnoxious. Yet, just because a person or even a group speaks the loudest or the most forcefully doesn’t necessarily mean they have legitimate authority over others. Many people are intimidated by such individuals and therefore succumb to them. They allow them to make decisions and to cause everyone connected with them to move in a certain direction, which may or may not be healthy.




In contrast, I have noticed that true authority is often quiet or even silent. It takes greater natural authority to lower your volume and still be effective. Often, the greater the true authority that is present, the quieter the atmosphere. You know you have effective authority when you say nothing or are very quiet, and people respond positively to you and your influence.




I taught junior high school for five years, and I learned early on that if I had to shout at my students to maintain order, I had no real authority. So, I quickly established boundaries and communicated the values on which my classroom would be run, making it clear on the board and on signs posted around the room what the laws of the learning environment would be. I had been authorized by the school to teach the students, so my authority in that situation was legitimate, but then I had to create the context for that authority. Once the students understood my standards and values, they knew they would have to submit to them if they wanted a good relationship with me. The students responded well and respected my authority, and so there was a good environment for learning.




A similar principle can be seen in many effective leaders of countries, companies, and even families. The measure of their authority is what happens in the midst of their silence—or even their absence. For instance, if a mother goes on an errand, leaving an older child to oversee the household, the measure of her true authority will be reflected in how that older child responds during her absence. Does he run wild through the house, or does he make sure his younger siblings are taken care of? If the household is at peace when the mother returns, the children have respected her authority even when she was out of sight. Or, suppose you are in a meeting at your workplace at which fifteen people are present but not the president of the company. Perhaps there is confusion about what should be done regarding a certain matter or who should do it. Then, the president walks in and sits in the back, and the whole discussion and environment change as people calm down and begin to make constructive suggestions. That is an example of silent authority that is put into motion just by one’s presence.




Yahusha of Nazareth had this inherent authority. Once, when the religious leaders of His day wanted to trap Him, they brought to Him a woman who had been caught in adultery to see if He would agree that she should be stoned to death, which was the punishment according to the law. He responded with silence, while they kept demanding an answer. Then, He quietly asked them one question, which decisively defeated them, and they went away. That’s authority.




They were using this question as a trap, in order to have a basis for accusing him. But Yahusha bent down and started to write on the ground with his finger. When they kept on questioning him, he straightened up and said to them, “If any one of you is without sin, let him be the first to throw a stone at her.” Again he stooped down and wrote on the ground. At this, those who heard began to go away one at a time, the older ones first, until only Yahusha was left, with the woman still standing there. Yahusha straightened up and asked her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?” “No one, sir,” she said. “Then neither do I condemn you,” Yahusha declared. “Go now and leave your life of sin.” (John 8:6–11)




Yahusha was later dragged before the Roman governor, Pontius Pilate, and was falsely accused. He didn’t say a word in response. His silence unnerved Pilate. It’s interesting that Pilate’s response was to threaten Yahusha with authority, telling Him that he had the authority to release Him or to kill Him. Yahusha told him, “You would have no authority over Me, unless it had been given you from above” (John 19:11 nasb). Yahusha was operating under an authority that was higher than the Roman government’s, and even Pilate had to submit to that authority, whether he was aware of it or not.




Confidence or composure, such as Yahusha demonstrated, comes from a sense of true authority. Authority creates its own confidence. A person with true authority doesn’t have to flaunt it; it sells itself. Likewise, when a person has legitimate authority, he doesn’t have to use force or volume to demand that he be heard. People will listen to true authority, whether they agree with it or not. The religious leaders of Yahusha’ day kept questioning His authority because they wanted to undermine Him. Yet many of the people responded to Him. “The crowds were amazed at his teaching, because he taught as one who had authority, and not as their teachers of the law” (Matthew 7:28–29).




What Authority Is Not




The accepted concepts of authority listed above have nothing to do with real authority, yet the problem is that the majority of the world’s population believes that one or more of these ideas represents authority, and that is why we are experiencing an authority crisis. These false ideas are what many people think of when they hear this word because authority has been defined or modeled for them in distorted ways, and their experience of it has been oppressive, negative, stifling, and even deadly.




We must understand that authority is not... dominating others




overpowering others




dictating to others




oppressing others




mastering others




forcing people to do what you want them to do manipulating people to do what you want them to do controlling others




restricting others




tyrannizing others




subjecting other people to your will




To summarize, we often perceive authority as any person, party, or position that dominates, controls, or manipulates other people or situations, usually to that perceived authority’s

advantage. And all of us hate to be dominated, manipulated, and controlled!




Those who exhibit false authority not only hurt everyone around them but also stifle the true authority that is within themselves and that they could be offering to others. They are not operating in their proper authority and domain but in a false domain of abuse. While we naturally side with the victims of false authority, we must realize that both perpetrators and victims of erroneous perceptions of authority need to find and live in the freedom that comes only through true authority.




Results of the Misuse and Abuse of Authority




People react in different ways to the neglect, misuse, or abuse of authority, but our negative conceptions of and experiences with authority produce life- draining emotions and attitudes. Think about specific negative experiences in your life in which you have dealt with people in alleged authority or found yourself in circumstances that seemed to control you. Now, consider how you have reacted to them as you read through the following list of reactions people may have to false authority:




Fear: They are afraid of being ruled and controlled.

Intimidation/Timidity: They are unsettled by those who claim to have authority over them and may go along with their orders or suggestions only because they feel they have no choice.




Distrust/Caution: They keep themselves at arm’s length from others because they don’t want to be taken advantage of or have their lives run by someone else.




Suspicion: They are distrustful of those who want to be in charge, and so they steer clear of them.




Friction: Their relationships with those who are “in charge” are tense; they have difficulty finding common ground on which to connect with supervisors, teachers, parents, and colleagues.




Antagonism/Contentiousness/Defiance: They are disagreeable and belligerent in their interactions with others.




Defensiveness: They are easily offended and try to protect themselves from criticism.




Resentment: They develop a bitter spirit toward those whom they perceive as “management” or “executives.”




Protest: They object to suggestions, thinking, Nobody’s going to tell me what to do, so they immediately dispute any attempt to influence their lives.




Avoidance: Because of their negative experiences with authority, they avoid exercising initiative or taking supervisory roles themselves.




Threat: They feel in danger from and vulnerable to those who have power.




Stress/Anxiety/Worry/Dread: They experience distress when interacting with authority figures.




What a terrible way to live!




As a result of the misuse and abuse of authority, our world—especially the present generation—has an underlying current of distrust, disrespect, and fear of authority. Some people have come to even reject any semblance of authority. Others have come to believe that suppression and oppression are natural components of authority, or at least ones that are to be accepted, tolerated, or endured. These long-established concepts of authority and the behavior that results from them are the fundamental cause of many of the problems we face in the world today. They are essentially destroying people, preventing them from becoming all that they were born to be.




Even though we can understand and sympathize with the above reactions and emotions, they are not healthy, and they will do nothing toward helping us to exercise our own inherent personal authority.




The Beautiful Principle




The negative experiences we’ve had with authority inevitably have an effect on our fulfillment and effectiveness in life. Therefore, let’s leave behind our prior misconceptions of authority and move past our reactions to the misuse and abuse of authority and instead discover the nature and principles of true authority.




I like to call authority the “beautiful principle” because it’s not about “lording it over” others. It’s about making smooth paths for people. It’s a means of providing the resources, protection, refreshment, enlightenment, growth, happiness, fulfillment, satisfaction, and contentment we all need.

In the next teaching, we will explore the nature of true authority, and what this nature is based on.

AUTHORITY IS WITHIN YOU

Genesis chapter 1







Today we are walking in: Authority Is Within You




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.............................

*****








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




IN the beginning Elohiym created את the heavens and את the earth. And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Ruach Elohiym moved upon the face of the waters. And Elohiym said, Let there be light: and there was light. And Elohiym saw the light, that it was good: and Elohiym divided the light from the darkness. And Elohiym called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And the evening and the morning were the first day. And Elohiym said, Let there be an expanse in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters. And Elohiym made the expanse, and divided the waters which were under the expanse from the waters which were above the expanse: and it was so. And Elohiym called the expanse Heaven. And the evening and the morning were the second day. And Elohiym said, Let the waters under the heavens be gathered together unto one place, and let the dry land appear: and it was so. And Elohiym called the dry land Earth; and the gathering together of the waters called he Seas: and Elohiym saw that it was good. And Elohiym said, Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb yielding seed, and the fruit tree yielding fruit after his kind, whose seed is in itself, upon the earth: and it was so. And the earth brought forth grass, and herb yielding seed after his kind, and the tree yielding fruit, whose seed was in itself, after his kind: and Elohiym saw that it was good. And the evening and the morning were the third day. And Elohiym said, Let there be lights in the expanse of the heavens to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for appointed feasts, and for days, and years: And let them be for lights in the expanse of the heavens to give light upon the earth: and it was so. And Elohiym made two great lights; the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night: he made the stars also. And Elohiym set them in the expanse of the heavens to give light upon the earth, And to rule over the day and over the night, and to divide the light from the darkness: and Elohiym saw that it was good. And the evening and the morning were the fourth day. And Elohiym said, Let the waters bring forth abundantly the moving creature that has life, and fowl that may fly above the earth in the open expanse of heaven. And Elohiym created great dragons, and את every living creature that moves, which the waters brought forth abundantly, after their kind, and את every winged fowl after his kind: and Elohiym saw that it was good. And Elohiym blessed them, saying, Be fruitful, and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let fowl multiply in the earth. And the evening and the morning were the fifth day. And Elohiym said, Let the earth bring forth the living creature after his kind, cattle, and creeping thing, and beast of the earth after his kind: and it was so. And Elohiym made the beast of the earth after his kind, and cattle after their kind, and את everything that creeps upon the earth after his kind: and Elohiym saw that it was good. And Elohiym said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps upon the earth. So Elohiym created man in his own image, in the image of Elohiym created he him; male and female created he them. And Elohiym blessed them, and Elohiym said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moves upon the earth. And Elohiym said, Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and את every tree, in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for food. And to every beast of the earth, and to every fowl of the air, and to everything that creeps upon the earth, wherein there is life, I have given את every green herb for food: and it was so. And Elohiym saw everything that he had made, and, behold, it was very good. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day. BERE'SHIYTH (GENESIS) 1:1-31 את CEPHER

Authority Is Within You




You Have Personal Authority and Power to Fulfill Your Purpose in Life




Neither the judges nor the audience expected anything from the plain- looking, middle-aged, unemployed woman from Scotland who was a contestant on the reality television show Britain’s Got Talent in the spring of 2009. When asked what her dream was, Susan Boyle answered, “I’m trying to be a professional singer.” As she talked with the judges before her performance, they were openly skeptical, and many of the audience members rolled their eyes and shook their heads incredulously, perhaps thinking this contestant had been included for a comic element by the producers of the show. When the introductory notes of her song started to play—“I Dreamed a Dream,” from the musical Les Miserables—some audience members even looked as if they were anxiously holding their breaths, afraid that this unassuming, naive woman would humiliate herself before millions of people.




Then, she began to sing.




With lyrical tones, compelling emotion, and a professional delivery, she sang the song as if she had written it herself to describe her unfulfilled life up to that point and her hopes for the future. Most of the audience members were clapping, cheering, and standing when she had sung just a few lines, and she received a resounding standing ovation at the conclusion of her performance. In minutes, she went from being perceived as a joke to being considered an inspiration and a role model for all who are seeking a second chance in life, or for all who want a first chance to manifest to the world who they are on the inside.




Susan Boyle became an international phenomenon overnight through her television appearance, the popularity of the tape of her performance on YouTube, and the overwhelming attention of the media. People were captivated by her voice and moved by her story of decades of struggling and longing to make something of her life.




Though her instantaneous rise to fame has caused inevitable stress for her along the way, she seems to have come to terms with the crush of attention. After finishing the contest in second place, she went on to build the professional singing career she had always dreamed of. Her debut CD, I Dreamed a Dream, has sold over eight million units worldwide as of this writing. The apex of her dream came to pass when, during the historic visit of Pope Benedict XVI to England and Scotland in September 2010, she was chosen to sing for the Pontiff at the conclusion of his open-air mass in Glasgow, which was attended by 65,000 people.




What does authority have to do with a television performance or even a singer? Doesn’t authority have to do with exercising some jurisdiction or control over other people? Doesn’t it involve, for example, leaders and followers, bosses and employees, parents and children, teachers and students, law enforcement officers and lawbreakers—in other words, those in charge and those under them who are instructed, directed, ordered, or made to do something?




Every Person on Earth Has Authority




There is an underlying aspect of authority that has not often been acknowledged or addressed by leaders, corporations, governments, and individuals but that is crucial for effective and fulfilling human endeavor. It provides the key not only for individual accomplishment but also for corporate success.

Susan Boyle’s story illustrates the essence of authority, as well as the heart of this series: true authority is personal, and true authority comes from within.




Authority does not mean having power or control over others.

Authority is not something you automatically receive with a title, either, such as “manager,” “boss,” “CEO,” or “president.”




Personal authority is inherent within every human being, whether that person is considered the one “in charge” or the one following orders. Authority is also inherent within every living thing created on earth. It is natural. It does not have to be “worked up,” and it cannot be given to someone—only released and developed.




Personal authority can be defined as the intrinsic gifts a person or thing possesses in order to fulfill the purpose for which that person or thing was placed on this earth. Because authority is intrinsic, every person or living thing already has the ability to fulfill his/her/its authority in the area, or the domain, of his/her/its gifting.




You have a personal authority that enables you to fulfill your purpose on earth. Have you identified your own personal authority? If you believe you have, are you functioning in it to the fullest extent that you would like to and that you are

able to?




Four Foundational Principles for Understanding Authority




In this series, you will discover how to apply four foundational principles for understanding authority and entering into the power of your personal domain:




The Principle of the Author: The release of your personal authority is linked to the origin of your gifts and power, by which you can fully carry out your life’s purpose through your personal domain. Once you discover the true source of the authority that is inherent within you, opportunities for experiencing fulfillment and for contributing your unique gifts to the world will open wide.




The Principle of Authorization: You not only have personal authority within you, but you also have the permission and the right to carry it out in the world. No matter what your past experiences have been, or no matter what restrictions you have previously felt, you have the authorization you need to start fulfilling your life’s purpose. You’ll discover the key to that authorization in coming teachings.




The Principle of Authenticity: No person is truly authentic until he is manifesting his inherent authority. Once you understand and become your true self—who you were born to be—your life takes on authenticity. In other words, you are real, or authentic, while you are being who you were meant to be and doing what you were meant to do. In the following pages, you will learn how to identify and develop your authentic self.




The Principle of Authority: The above three principles lead to this fourth and foremost principle of authority, which is twofold. First, everyone and everything is designed to fulfill its purpose. Because your authority is inherent, you are automatically equipped to be what you have been authorized to be and to do what you have been authorized to do. You have been designed to fulfill your life’s purpose. Your personal authority guides the focus of your life and enables you to accomplish what you were born to accomplish. Second, everything depends on and must yield to something else in order to function, grow, prosper, and succeed. As you read this series, you will increasingly see how you can tap into your unique design and begin to apply it to the various aspects of your life. Your personal authority will emerge, and you will be able to live an effective life as you work in collaboration with others to fulfill each other’s purposes.




Authority Is Personal but Not Exclusive




Because authority is in essence personal, some people make the mistake of thinking that it is therefore exclusive to them and has nothing to do with others. They may think, I’m following my personal authority, so don’t get in my way. Or, they may tend to pursue their unique gifts and abilities only for what they can get out of them. Yet that perspective does not reflect the nature of personal authority, which is designed to operate in concert with other people and for the benefit of others, as well.




Since authority is within every person, and since humans are social beings who interact in social institutions, what happens when my authority meets your authority in the family, in the government, in the church, in the business world, and in other relationships and realms of human interaction? Authority works in such a way that people’s personal authorities are interrelated and function interdependently in corporate life. This isn’t just an observation but a vital principle: we need each other’s authority to fulfill our own.




Personal authority is carried out in the context of many realms of life and in association with a variety of human interactions and organizations. It operates in conjunction with collective human endeavors, such as we experience in families, communities, governments, churches, nonprofit organizations, schools, small businesses, and large corporations.




Yet none of these relationships and endeavors can truly thrive and be successful unless each individual associated with them understands his personal authority and is operating under it. Personal authority empowers each person to contribute his greatest gifts and skills for his own fulfillment and for the benefit of the whole community—no matter how large or small that community may be.




What Is Your Dream?




What is your dream for yourself, your family, your business, your organization, or your nation? Many people don’t know how to live out their dreams or find their true place in the world because they don’t understand how to put into practice the above principles of authority. You may have some idea of your personal authority but are not fulfilling the vast potential still inside you; you recognize that you are living well below your abilities.




What is true on a personal level is also true on a corporate level. Most of our corporate, community, and national problems come from the fact that people do not truly understand or live in their personal authorities or function in the interdependent nature of authority, which occurs when people blend their gifts to work together for the good of the whole.




Three Keys to Activating Personal Authority




In Susan Boyle’s case, her potential to inspire and entertain people through her inherent gift of music had been limited through a series of setbacks, not the least of which was early rejection by her peers, and the low self-esteem that resulted. Apparently, as she grew older, even though she sang locally, she increasingly had a sense that life was passing her by.




What led to the change in her circumstances?




First, she was aware of her inherent, inner authority—her tremendous singing ability—and had not let that talent fall by the wayside but had tried to develop it as best she could. Personal authority is dependent upon your truly knowing yourself, knowing the authority inside you. It is impossible to exercise your authority if you do not know yourself.




Second, although circumstances in her life had prevented her from having a professional singing career in the past (she had even sent demo CDs to music companies, without success), Susan tried one more time. She made a conscious decision to act on her inherent authority. In fact, she had promised her mother, who had passed away, that she would “be someone.” Her success at “being someone” was not initiated by the fame and acclaim she received but because she exercised her inherent authority—who she was gifted to be— and the world took notice. When she employed her authority, she discovered the very real power of her personal domain.




Third, even though it was outside of her “comfort zone,” she submitted to placing herself in a situation where others could recognize her personal authority and enable her to pursue and develop it to the highest extent. Once she was willing to let that happen, her obvious talent commanded attention. The discovery of Susan Boyle’s outstanding musical gift serves as an excellent example of the nature of one’s personal authority and its interdependence with the personal authority of others. Please note carefully that I did not say her gift was created but rather “discovered.” The Britain’s Got Talent television show did not give authority to her singing gift but simply provided the stage for the release of her authority. In essence, she had always possessed the authority of her gift in the domain of singing, but she needed an audience and an opportunity to serve it to the world. Yet she almost didn’t try to be a contestant on the television program because she thought she was too old to pursue her dream. You are never too old or too young or too poor or too rich or too anything to pursue your inherent authority. What is natural within you will manifest itself if you allow it to.




Your Personal Domain




King Solomon, one of the wisest people who ever lived, wrote, “A gift opens the way for the giver and ushers him into the presence of the great” (Proverbs 18:16), and “Do you see a man skilled in his work? He will serve before kings” (Proverbs 22:29). Susan Boyle’s gift made a way for her—it brought her before influential people who opened doors that enabled her to fulfill the inner dreams and longings she had held all her life. Although she had already exercised her gift in various ways in her local community, there was an even greater realm in which she was meant to share it.




Your authority also has a domain in which it is to be exercised. The size or scope of that domain, and whether you become “well-known” is not the issue. The issue is whether you will recognize what is inherent within you and exercise your gift for yourself and others. Your authority is your unique leadership ability in the world.




Many people allow their true authority to remain untapped. They have neither discovered nor pursued their special ability to contribute to their generation. Whether one is genuinely operating in one’s gifts is not necessarily measured by outward success. Both a multimillionaire businessman and a single mother struggling to make ends meet can still have hidden, untapped authority that, once released and manifested, will bring something of tremendous value to their lives and the lives of others.




The only way you can exercise true authority is to recognize and start functioning in the power of your personal domain.




Counterfeit and Authentic Pursuits




When people violate the principles of authority, it is usually because they don’t have a foundational understanding of what genuine authority really is. Many individuals who have great gifts, talents, dreams, and promise have destroyed their futures by failing to implement these principles.




For example, many people pursue prosperity or fame for their own sakes, but these pursuits are not authentic. Instead, people should be pursuing their inner authority. They will discover that when they do so, prosperity will come toward them. Our prosperity is found where our authority is.




True authority is the right and the power to be who you were created to be. You can be a more effective parent, carpenter, hairdresser, entrepreneur, CEO, teacher, student, pastor, government official, or any other role or calling—you can be a more effective person—if you discover your true authority and understand and live out its principles.




If you have already discovered your personal authority and are pursuing it, you can be even more effective in it by applying the principles of authority delineated in this series. You can discover how they operate and what they can do in your life and vocation as you interact with theirs in various realms of life and learn how to blend your personal authority with others’ for greater results. You’ll also learn the origins of your personal authority, why authority works, how authority works, and how to implement it.




If the concept of personal authority is new to you, or if you have been frustrated because you know you have something to contribute to your generation but don’t feel you have been exercising your personal authority and want to be effective in it, you will find the tools you need in this series. Everyone can exercise authority because authority is within each of us.




Why Many People Are Afraid of Authority




Although everyone has personal authority, and although all the major realms of human interaction involve the use of authority, personal authority is still one of the most misunderstood principles in human relations.




Because of this, most people I meet are afraid of authority to some degree. You may be one of them. You may have picked up this series with some measure of apprehension. That is understandable, considering the way authority has been modeled for many of us. Most people misunderstand authority because they have never seen it in its true form. Authority has been misconceived, misdefined, misrepresented, and misused. We’re afraid of it because we don’t understand its nature and purposes. As a result, it is seen as a negative element rather than a positive one.




You may have had a bad experience with a parent, a teacher, an employer, or another “authority figure.” You may be a woman or a member of a race or community who has been told you are inferior and who has been prevented from developing your abilities to the fullest. Perhaps you have been a victim of oppression in which religious authority was used to control your life or, even worse, a religious authority figure took advantage of your trust and mentally or physically abused you. If that is the case, your distrust, fear, and hatred of authority are understandable. Or, you may be among those who believe that only people who have a certain title or a type A personality or who reach a certain “level” in life can have authority.




Authority as an aspect of life has been misunderstood and misused to the point that it has often become the opposite of what it was meant to be. Yet you will discover in this series that the nature of genuine authority is the antithesis of suppression and oppression and is actually the source of true freedom and fulfillment.




In the next teaching, we’ll explore some of the distorted and restricted views of authority that people have accepted, and the misconceptions they breed, which have brought us to what I believe is an actual crisis in authority. In every country of the world, people misunderstand, misuse, or abuse authority. As a result, we have too much of the wrong kind of authority and too little of the right kind of authority. Our failure to understand authority has led to a decreasing quality in people’s lives and a lack of true order, peace, and progress in societies and cultures of the world.




What Are You Authorized to Do?




Authority is therefore the key to fulfillment and effective living, the means to proper function in life, and the guarantor of success. Authority is the law of maximum performance. It is also the means of powerful, positive influence in other people’s lives. If authority is all of these things, then is it imperative that we all understand this critical concept? Obviously, yes.




Unless you know what you’re authorized to do in life, you will always experience some degree of dissatisfaction, uncertainty, frustration, and perhaps even anger in regard to your circumstances. Yet, you have the opportunity, responsibility, and ability to develop your own personal authority and carry out your unique purpose in life in conjunction with others.




You are uniquely designed for what you were born to do through your gifts, abilities, and personality. No matter what other people may have told you in the past about your potential, you can release the principles, power, and protection of authority into your life.




Each of the following teachings are designed so that, as you proceed through this series, you will gain a more complete picture of true authority and the many applications of authority to your life that will free you to be all you were meant to be. You’ll learn about the basic realms of authority and how to live fruitfully in each.




Through The Purpose and Power of Authority, you will come to...




recognize what true authority is—and what it is not




understand your own personal, inherent authority




discover how to identify the “territory” or area of life you are authorized to oversee




learn the origins of true authority




gain order, simplicity, and peace in your life




respond constructively to others in their own realms of authority




exercise your intrinsic power and gifting




lead others into their own personal authority




live confidently and purposefully




be true to your life calling




maximize your gifts, talents, and skills




find true prosperity




work with joy




Susan Boyle determined to do something with her life after years of disappointment and therefore exercised the authority within her. “I made a promise to be someone,” she said. I want you to make that same promise to be someone. That “someone” is your true self manifested to the world. Susan Boyle not only has used her authority, but she is an authority. True authority is self-manifestation.




In the next few teachings, we will look at some foundational principles of authority that are an essential background for understanding and implementing your personal authority.

UNDERSTANDING YOUR ORIGINAL KINGDOM MANDATE

Matthew chapter 13


Today we are walking in: Understanding Your Original Kingdom Mandate






Numbers 24:7


He shall pour the water out of his buckets, and his seed shall be in many waters, and his king shall be higher than Agag, and his kingdom H4467 shall be exalted.





KINGDOM



Today we look to the word-KINGDOM- H4467 mamlâkâh, (mam-law-kaw') -dominion, (abstractly) the estate (rule) or (concretely) the country (realm):—kingdom, king's, reign, royal



The Torah testifies...............


Exodus 19:6


And ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests, and an holy nation. These are the words which thou shalt speak unto the children of Israel.


Numbers 32:33


And Moses gave unto them, even to the children of Gad, and to the children of Reuben, and unto half the tribe of Manasseh the son of Joseph, the kingdom H4467 of Sihon king of the Amorites, and the kingdom H4467 of Og king of Bashan, the land, with the cities thereof in the coasts, even the cities of the country round about.


Deuteronomy 17:18


And it shall be, when he sitteth upon the throne of his kingdom, H4467 that he shall write him a copy of this law in a book out of that which is before the priests the Levites:




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


1 Samuel 10:18


And said unto the children of Israel, Thus saith the LORD God of Israel, I brought up Israel out of Egypt, and delivered you out of the hand of the Egyptians, and out of the hand of all kingdoms, H4467 and of them that oppressed you:



Isaiah 9:7


Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will perform this.




Jeremiah 18:9


And at what instant I shall speak concerning a nation, and concerning a kingdom H4467, to build and to plant it;







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



1 Kings 9:5


Then I will establish the throne of thy kingdom H4467 upon Israel for ever, as I promised to David thy father, saying, There shall not fail thee a man upon the throne of Israel.



1 Chronicles 17:11


And it shall come to pass, when thy days be expired that thou must go to be with thy fathers, that I will raise up thy seed after thee, which shall be of thy sons; and I will establish his kingdom H4467.


Psalm 145:13


Thy kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and thy dominion endureth throughout all generations.






Understanding Your Original Kingdom Mandate




The Ruach Ha Kodoesh said to me that 5783 is the year of kingdom influence!!! Everybody say, influence. This is in my heart like a loaded gun. This is the year that is calling for less talk and more action!! This is the year of no more pretending to be in the kingdom, but demonstrating the kingdom!! So here's what I want you to focus on today, write this down--how to become an influence. I am speaking from authority today. I know exactly what I'm talking about, so listen to me--how do you become an influence? We want to focus today on understanding the secret to influencing your world.
People don't know that I was born 6th in line of twelve children to my mother in Queens, NY. Then later moved to Biloxi, Mississippi at the age of 12. Growing up, I never thought that one day what I would be charged with teaching the lost tribes of Israel!
How do you become an influence??? How do you rise up from simple beginnings?? Sometimes you would think, oh you are not a special person! That's not true. I believe there is, what I call a divine decree, every human being was created by the Most High to be an influence on earth! Every human being, while most of them died and never influenced their neighborhood!
The second decree of influence, simply means to dominate in life. Anyone who has influence is simply a person who is dominating an environment that they are in. They have this force that comes with their life, that makes people listen to them or make people respect them or make people believe them. All of us are influenced by somebody, in other words those persons
have dominion. Whoever dominates an area of life will have influence on planet Earth.
If you look at all the influential people, I'm not talking about just the famous, because some of them are not influential, they are just famous. Don't confuse fame with influence!! Fame is like a flame, it goes out. Influence is what lasts even after you're dead. Case in point, how does the influence of someone like Paris Hilton compare to the far reaching influence of Dr. Martin Luther King? There are some things that we may be called to do that are a far reaching influence of not just a nation but across the whole world!!! Now that means that your life has so much dominion that even death can destroy it! This great man, Martin Luther King has streets named for him all throughout the country!
Listen to me please--you are not too old to be an influence! You were placed in time to influence your generation that's why the Most High took you out of eternity and put you in a body. Because He wanted earth to be influenced by you and we confuse--influence with popularity! Not everyone who is popular, will be influential. As a matter of fact the word popular is from the root word population. Which means that the population likes you for a while and then they'll crucify you later! Influential people are not necessarily popular, they are impactful! Yahusha HaMaschiach was not popular, but we can't get rid of Him! He was influential!! I put it to you, then we have to learn what is influence?
Here is a statement made by Yahusah HaMaschiach concerning you and me, who are in the kingdom, concerning influence, He said these words: Matthew 13 verse 33 Another parable spake he unto them; The kingdom of heaven is like unto leaven, which a woman took, and hid in three measures of meal, till the whole was leavened.
He told them the parable, the kingdom of heaven is like yeast that a woman put in a large amount of dough and it worked its way into the dough until all of the lump was full of yeast. This
statement is about influence. The Most High sent you to earth to be an influence. Just like yeast influences the dough--you are not born just to exist! You were born to make a difference and born to make an impact. And I am convinced that the Most High does not want to wait for people just treading water!! The Most High is saying, I want you to be an impact and influence in the earth! The Most High put you in time--so that you could make this influence!! Every time a year begins to change, everybody begins to think of this concept of time. There are a few things about time I like to say, because the passing of a year is the marking of time. Time is defined as an interruption in eternity. Now the Most High doesn't live in time, but He put us in it. And the Most High put us in time, because it is very difficult to live in eternity! I thank the Most High, I live in time! Let me tell you why. Because whatever is in eternity--lasts forever! So if you ever had a headache in eternity? How about an eternity with a divorce? Does the pain last forever?? Thank the Most High, that marriage is only for Earth.
Luke 20:35 But they which shall be accounted worthy to obtain that world, and the resurrection from the dead, neither marry, nor are given in marriage:
Yahusha said that in the afterlife there's neither marriage nor giving in marriage.
The Most High lives in eternity, and eternity is time without measure and therefore we were placed in time, for a purpose, to fulfill purpose!! And that purpose is to give meaning to our lives! We were sent here to make an impact, to make a difference. I didn't realize that until I began to study the Bible as this is where I discovered something. You were born to influence time and you don't need to live long to influence the planet!!
Think about the oldest man that ever lived, his name was Methuselah. The Bible says: Genesis 5:27 And all the days of Methuselah were nine hundred sixty and nine years: and he died.
Yahusha lived to be thirty three and a half years old and then He died. We can't remember Methuselah but we can't forget Yahusha! Age therefore it's not a measure of impact! The Most High gave us time so we can live life in what I call phases. The Most High gave you a year at a time, a month at a time, a week at a time and a day at a time. So you can live life in doses. I love the way the psalmist David said Psalm 118:24 This is the day which the Most High hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it. Take a look at that, Fiveamprayer, David says, this is the day not the month--the day the Most High has made I will rejoice in it! The day, what have you done with your last 10 days that have moved you forward in your purpose? How did you spend your time in the last 24 hours?? And how did that contribute to your progress of your passion and your dream? He gives us life, in phases. Purpose is placed in phases because you would never give birth to attach yourself to a phase. Let me tell you something--I thank The Most High for years. because you can now look back and say someone died 10 years ago. Or I had a failure in this area five years ago. Thank The Most High for years!! Years push things back! Years deliver you from the memory and the pain of things! Thank The Most High for time! Please don't be attached to phases!
Never let a phase define you!! You know right now you're single you ain't married. Well that's only your current phase! Don't get attached to that! And when you get married, you have to shift from that single phase to the married phase. Now you can’t go over to a friends house, anymore, like you used to!! Just go over there anytime you feel like it!! Not any more!! Now you can’t fast for a week because now you gotta cook for your spouse or eat with your spouse. You gotta be able to be free from phases! The Most High has given you a new year to set you free from the old year! Each phase prepares you for the succeeding phase! Every year that The Most High gives us was supposed to be preparation--for the next one. The problem is if you didn't know what you were supposed to do in the year that you had--then you are going into the next one unprepared or ill-prepared!!! That's why The Most High gave you the capacity to think and to plan. I put it to you that you must enjoy your phase, but never become your phase! Some of you got a good job, now let me tell you something--you don’t know what could happen to that company in 5783!! So don't get attached to your job nor your title and if you find your value in your title you are in trouble!! Live with your phases loosely. I am so conscious of my phases. Write this down, your phases are still ahead of you-- he best ones, okay? So you might have lost your business that's no problem, there are probably some greater businesses ahead of you. Maybe you lost some clients, no problem there's some clients on the way in 5783 that can triple your income!! Don't ever allow the past's phases to interfere with the future phases!!
I can't wait to meet the people I'm supposed to meet in 5783 and some of them are coming loaded! But I got to be prepared with the vision for them to pay for it. There's a part that everyone must play in life! Write this down, no phase is forever say it, out loud again--no phase is forever! Some of you are having a good time, right? You had a good 5782.
I'll never forget some advice that was given to me, expect the best and prepare for the worse. That means have a good attitude, but don't be stupid. Whatever you going through right now I guarantee will not last--that includes the bad times and the good times. There's a time when your business is up and everybody is happy--profits and then it feels like every demonic attack is headed towards your business and you're going into the new year behind the 8 ball. Now you are thinking, Most High should I fold up or hang in there? There is going to be a change in the next phase that's going to triple your income compared to what you had in 5782! This is just a phase. Some of your marriages went through hell and some of them are still hanging on by a thread. The Most High said don't get a divorce!! The phase is going to change! She is going to catch herself in April! He’s going to get himself back on track in June! Don't leave him yet, I'm going to make him a teacher of the Torah! Don't be attached to phases!!
I have come to understand that everything is just a season Oh, please remember this as long as you live!!!! Ecclesiastes 3:1 To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven.
How many things got a season? This is very serious, that means if you've got a lot of money-- that's a season. So what you're doing to get a lot of money is you give a lot and plant alot of seeds. So that when your lean times comes--you got a harvest to come in from somewhere. Be generous in your hard times and in your good times so you could survive the drought of life.
Everything comes in a season--relationships go through seasons, everything! Your job is doing good right now, in 5782 was a good time on your job. Everybody was getting promoted, you were happy, and praised The Most High! Wait until 5783 another season there is a demonic force on your job. You still gotta show up and you got to handle the season. What I love about that verse is that nothing lasts, that's hope! Praise The Most High! So right now you got a mortgage that's a season. There's going to be a time and you're going to be able to burn that note and run around the whole block shouting free at last, free at last!!
So phases, Ecclesiastes 3:10 (NIV) I have seen the burden God has laid on the human race. It says, I have seen the burden The Most High placed on man. What's his burden? He makes everything perfect in its time. There's a time for you to mature in every area and the timing is set by The Most High, it says he also has placed in the heart of man eternity and yet they cannot fathom or understand what The Most High has done from the beginning to the end! We live in a continuum of time and don't understand the phases. I want to recommend something to you. What's your past?? It's dangerous--you are about to say goodbye to a past, please let it go! The past is a portion of your future, it is not your future! I will put it another way, the past is dead except for the life you give it! You can keep resurrecting 5782 and not let it die! People who hurt you, things that didn't work out. Or goals that you didn't achieve places that you didn't go to. Even people who didn't treat you right. The Most High doesn't want you to take that into what awaits you in this new year! Your past is as alive, as the life you give it. I put it another way you cannot go to your future, if you live in their past. Therefore you cannot change the past but you could plan your future. This is the moment in time when most people are thinking about what am I going to do?
The future gives hope to the past and that's why I only used the past for educational reference; it is never my habitation. Everybody makes mistakes, everybody fails. Everybody falls, everybody doesn't seem to achieve everything, but you don't live in that.
Learn how to let the past go, because the past can become a weight. Philippians 3:12-13 (KJV) Not as though I had already attained, either were already perfect: but I follow after, if that I may apprehend that for which also I am apprehended of HaMashiach Yahusha. 13 Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, brothers I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it but one thing I do, Paul the Apostle says, I forget the past….
Forgetting puts the past behind us, while we are straining toward what's ahead of me I press toward the goal to win the prize for which The Most High has called me heavenward in HaMashiach you have not done everything you want to do, yet and maybe there's some memories you would love to forget. Well forget them and move on and achieve greatness. There are some people you need to forget, I'm going to say this again because somebody needs to hear this! There are some people you need to forget and leave them in 5782 and go on your own. Learn some new people, I trust your heart will hear this, I call it the power of your future! Your future is not ahead of you, it's trapped within you! And this is why your future has very little to do with other people in the sense that you don't get your future from them.

THE PURPOSE AND POWER OF AUTHORITY

Genesis chapter 1






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.............................

*****






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 Purpose And Power Of Authority


The (Un)Reality Show


Nothing in life is more disturbing than to interact with a counterfeit character. We have all felt the frustration, deep disappointment, and even trauma of the violation of trust we have placed in a person who was later exposed to be a fraud. It seems that in our fast-paced, plastic-driven, Web- based societies, it is increasingly difficult to find authentic people. Many people are taught—directly or through observing the general values of their societies—that it is acceptable to scheme, play games, and promote private agendas in order to achieve personal success, at the expense of honesty, integrity, ethics, moral convictions, and principled character. It’s as if everybody is performing a role in the game of life and not genuinely living life. Consequently, many don’t know whom they can truly depend on. Religious leaders, elected officials, corporate investors, various public institutions, and even spouses whom we trusted have deeply hurt us through betrayal, abuse, or abandonment.


Meanwhile, the level of disappointment resulting from our largely superficial societies is at an epidemic level. Even our so-called reality shows on television are not “real”; they are staged and edited. This lack of authenticity is not an isolated crisis but a worldwide one. People change like the weather and live lives based on expediency alone. Strangely, our cultures often openly display their defects with seeming pride and glory in their failures and immorality through television, radio, and Internet programming.


What the world needs right now are authentic people. Authenticity is not a quality one can learn through a general educational process or through experimentation. True authority is natural—it is the natural manifestation of the inherent authority in a human being. In other words, authenticity can be discovered only because it already exists. A human being becomes authentic when he discovers his true self and makes a specific and ongoing decision to reveal that self to the world.


Authenticity cannot be counterfeited. It is the true “reality show.” Being authentic means living, working, and serving humanity in your personal domain in life. An authentic person never tries to be something; he just is. Being authentic, therefore, is being yourself—not as society has dictated you should be, but what you are in your essence.


I invite you to embark on the discovery of your true self. As you do, you will find your personal authority and live it out in all areas of your life. This is the only path to authenticity.


Introduction


Authority Turned Upside Down


Industrial nations fear it, emerging nations hate it, but few understand it. The very word authority conjures up images of oppression and abuse, and yet life in the universe and on planet earth cannot function without it.


There are many benefits and opportunities connected to authority that most people have never dreamed of. I am therefore coming to believe that the greatest problem in our world today is a basic disrespect for authority with an accompanying disregard and dismissal of it. The fundamental reason for this problem is that most people harbor basic false ideas about the nature of authority. I have discovered over the years that there is much confusion and misunderstanding about this concept. Confusion comes first—people have been taught or have experienced conflicting notions of what it is. And misunderstanding is the result—they aren’t aware of its personal benefits or its value to their social institutions and nations as a whole.


Because we misunderstand what authority really is—and because this misunderstanding perpetuates the abuse of authority and its consequences— we are always somewhat suspicious of it.


We may have a passing (superficial) knowledge of authority, but we have totally missed the richness of its true nature. Consequently, we deal with it as a necessary evil. For example, when people go to their jobs, many do what the boss tells them to do—not because they want to or feel that it will benefit them in any way, but rather so they can keep their positions and their paychecks or maintain working relationships with their supervisors. In another example, some people grudgingly submit to the laws of the land while driving their cars, but if they run a red light or exceed the speed limit and get stopped by the police, they try to negotiate or argue with the officers. They recognize them as representatives of the law, but they want to challenge the law to see what they can we get away with. A similar attitude toward authority can be found in other realms of life.


Entire cultures have developed that are suspicious of authority. For instance, throughout the entire Western world and in developing countries, authority is looked on distrustfully, though for different reasons.


I believe that in the Western, developed world, people have what you might call “an affair” with authority—they use it when it’s convenient, but they don’t want to give it permanent status in their lives. In the developing world, authority has become a hated enemy, one that represents the chains and whips of slavery and oppression.


The Western world keeps authority at arm’s length and even fears it because Westerners highly value the concept of freedom, which has become synonymous with individualism. The ideals of the democratic psyche have evolved down through the years to the point where freedom means liberty or license without control or restriction. Anything that seems like control or restriction must be contained. That is why, if you were to suggest to Westerners that they create boundaries for their behavior, many of them would rebel against that recommendation. In short, the masses are suspicious of authority in all its forms, largely as a result of the evolution of ideas derived from, or influenced by, the Reformation, the Enlightenment, the American and French Revolutions, governmental involvement in scandals and unpopular wars, relaxed moral and ethical standards, and the emergence of democracy as the dominant political force in the world.


Meanwhile, in the minds of many people who live in Third World nations, due to those countries’ histories of colonization and slavery, authority has come to represent not just restriction or control but outright domination. Those in the Third World revile the idea that anyone could have authority over them. Many former colonies are now emerging democracies with nationals in positions of leadership, or they desire to move in that direction, and the last thing they want is to have to submit to some outside authority that could reverse the progress they have made.


In this way, the concept of authority has slowly come to be seen in a negative light—sometimes, a fiercely negative one—throughout the earth. Again, one part of the world fears authority, while another hates it, and the result is that few people trust it. Much of the problem is that authority has been misinterpreted, misused, and abused by a great number of individuals, leaders, groups, and nations over the centuries. And large numbers of people have experienced demeaning and even deadly treatment from this misuse and abuse so that few would imagine embracing authority as a valuable and necessary component of a peaceful, productive life.


Yet, even though most of us want to exist without authority being exercised over us, I believe we suffer from an inner contradiction because, somewhere deep within us, we recognize that we need authority in our lives. We don’t want authority to control us, but we want our lives to be stable, orderly, and fruitful—the result of established and consistent authority. We’ve all seen a microcosm of this dilemma in children who seem to enjoy a chaotic atmosphere where there is little adult supervision but who then become fretful until someone comes along who gives them structure and parameters to live by. Suddenly, they are more relaxed and content and are able to interact with others in a constructive way.


As adults, we hope to have learned to govern our personal behavior to a large extent. Yet, we may be living in a larger version of the above scenario as we interact with others in our homes, our workplaces, and our nations, where structures and parameters are spiraling out of control, preventing us from enjoying the rich and fulfilling lives we were meant to live. We may be in the middle of the chaos, in which case we cannot fully realize the effects that the stress of this type of environment is placing on us. Or, we may be well aware that things are not right with us and with our societies.


The purpose of this series is to unveil the beauty of true authority and to restore authority to its place of dignity in our personal lives, our cultures, and our nations. Authority needs to be reintroduced to both the individual and to society at large as a true friend—no longer the object of a transitory, arm’s- length relationship or a deadly enemy.


Authority has been turned upside down so that it has come to represent the opposite of what genuine authority is. Instead of control, authority promotes real freedom and opens the door to possibilities. Instead of domination and death, authority ignites the personal potential within each person, while bringing protection and life.


The cultures and nations of our world are experiencing unnecessary conflict and wasted potential because so many people misunderstand authority. It is impossible for us to maximize our lives apart from a clear understanding of the character of true authority—that it is not only good but also beneficial and necessary for maximum fulfillment and achievement in our individual purposes, in our family relationships, and in the broader social structures of our nations and the world.

PURPOSE AND SUCCESS

Luke chapter 9




Today we are walking in: Purpose And Success




Today we look to the word-PURPOSE- H6213 ’asah--to do, work, make, produce; to act, act with effect, effect






The Torah testifies...............

****






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




Isaiah 14:26

This is the purpose H6213 that is purposed upon the whole earth: and this is the hand that is stretched out upon all the nations.







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




Ecclesiates 3:1

To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose H6213 under the heaven:




Purpose and Success


What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, and yet lose or forfeit his
Luke 9:25


Everybody everywhere wants to be “successful,” but only a very few people succeed. Millions are driven, possessed and preoccupied with this passion. They would sacrifice anything to be seen or accepted as “successful.”


Success in today’s world is usually defined by the superficial rewards glorified in the media: wealth, power, fame, luxury, prestige and recognition. Yet few of us have a firm idea what it takes to be or feel successful. It is easy to presume that a young corporate executive who rises to the top management position of a major corporation and earns nearly a million dollars a year is successful, but would the young man agree? That depends largely on the sacrifice he made to get to the top, the quality of his life outside work, and perhaps most significantly, his personal reason for pursuing his particular career.


If the young man has a positive sense of direction that encompasses his whole life, not just his professional career or bankbook, and if he understands why he wants what he wants, his accomp lishments may give him genuine satisfaction, making him a success in his own eyes. If, however, he does not have this clarity of purpose, and especially if he has been struggling to live up to someone else’s definition of success—be it that of a parent, a spouse or perhaps society in general—he is likely to reach the top of his professional ladder but wonder why he feels so dissatisfied and burned out.


In the end he may realize that his identity as an individual has been compromised by the forces pushing him to attain career stardom. He has become trapped by the pressure to get ahead, and his life is out of balance. There are millions like this young executive who are striving daily after a prize they despise, to accomplish a goal they personally hate.


We, as a society, have confused success with fulfillment, accomplishment with satisfaction, and achievement with peace. I believe it is essential for you and for me to look beyond the wonderful things material success can buy, to the heavy price it can exact. You must question why you are so driven to succeed and why you’ve made the choices
and the sacrifices that professional life thus far.
have shap ed your private and professional life thus far.

Can you recall the personal goals that motivated you before external success became your life’s ambition? Do you remember the origins of your assumptions about success? After you’ve traced the development of your personal definition of success, you must consider what it means to be true to yourself.


Few of us ever stop to develop a personal and meaningful definition of success that allows us to thrive as well as strive. Instead, we absorb a composite of largely superficial illusions from the media, parental demands and peer pressure. In essence, success in our culture requires becoming what everyone else tells you to be. It is assumed, almost as an afterthought, that success by the world’s standards will magically include happiness, but this formula leaves little room for genuine personal fulfillment.


Most people look at those who appear to be successful and think they would be fools to change their jobs or lifestyles, even if they hate what they are doing. Not surprisingly, life dominated day after day, year after year, and one step up the ladder after another by this quest for success becomes increasingly less satisfying and more anxious. Millions of people live at this critical point, trapped between external success and internal collapse. In simple terms, success is not as simple as we once thought.


Success Defined


What is success? By now it must be obvious that I am questioning the world’s perception of success. Success has very little to do with what you accumulate, possess or achieve. It has even less to do with other people’s opinions and their assessment of you and your accomplishments. Success can only be defined by purpose and measured by obedience. The following statements support this premise.


Purpose is the original intent for the creation of a thing. It is the reason for its existence and the why behind something’s existence. Purpose is the “assignment” that is produced by the intent of the creator or manufacturer.


Completion of the intended assignment is the fulfillment of the reason for existence. Being true to the original intent is the essence of obedience and the measure of faithfulness.


The satisfaction and pleasure of the manufacturer when the product fulfills his intended purpose is the measure of success.


Success is the fulfillment and the completion of the original intent for the creation or the production of a product.


Success is obedience to purpose.


Success is not what you have done compared to what others have done, but what you have done compared to what you were supposed to do.

The above statements show that success has more to do with being than doing. To be successful is to finish the originally intended assignment according to the plan and the specifications of the creator. Purpose is thus the key and the foundation of success. It is the only true source of fulfillment and the only accurate measurement of life. Therefore, success cannot be determined by the opinions of others about your actions, but by the satisfaction of the One who gave you the assignment.


You are not successful if everyone says you are. You are not successful if you have done what others expected you to do. You are not successful if you receive commendation and recognition from your peers or the accolades of the masses. You are truly successful only if you have done what you were purposed to do.


Purpose is doing not a good thing, but the right thing. As “the best” is the enemy of “the good,” so the enemy of “the right thing” is “a good thing.” It is dangerous to do a good thing at the expense of the right thing. Yet, there are thousands of people, even in the Church, who are busy doing good things that Yah neither told them to do nor purposed for their lives. (Many ministers are wearing themselves out pursuing ministry goals, projects, programs and assignments that are not part of Yah’s plans for them.) They have adopted another man’s vision or purpose as their personal standards for competition and comparison. Trapped by the expectations of others, they live to please everyone except Yah.


Be careful not to confuse right with good, famous, big, easy, acceptable or popular. Your only responsibility is to respond to Yah’s purpose for your life. Your only measure of success is to find your purpose for your life and do it! Living with purpose is the difference between being busy and being effective. Don’t let the tragedy of faithfulness to the wrong thing waste your life. Refuse to allow activity without progress to dominate your existence. Purpose protects you from doing good at the expense of doing right.


Yahusha is the perfect example and the ultimate display of an individual who knew and understood the nature of success. Because He knew His purpose, He was protected from the opinions of others and the distractions of doing good. Many times He expressed His understanding of His purpose in words like, “for this cause came I into the world,” or “for this reason was the Son of Man manifested.” His awareness of His purpose not only protected Him from distracting activity, it also served as the reference point from which He made His decisions and measured His success. At the completion of His assignment He could declare, “It is finished.” Until you are able to say these words with assurance, your life will never be fulfilled and you will live another person’s life.


You Must Discover Your Purpose!


I know deep inside you there is a cry and an agreement that confirms the truth that you were born for a purpose. You can feel the desire to reach for something greater than just making a living. I know you are tired of the rat race, trying to keep up with everyone, attempting to live up to their expectations. You despise the job you go to every day, and the ministry has become a source of frustration. Not even the presence of the Ruach HaQadesh fills the emptiness inside.


Perhaps, you have never made a spiritual commitment to your Creator through Yahusha Christ, and you are living a life of frustration. Perhaps all your accomplishments and achievements have brought you more frustration and disillusionment than joy. Maybe you have succeeded in fooling everyone that you are a success by meeting their expectations, but deep inside you have failed to be true to your inner dreams. You have made everyone happy except you.


If this nightmarish existence describes your life, you have not yet discovered your purpose. I, therefore, urge you to make a quality decision today to submit your life to your Creator and Manufacturer. Remember, nobody knows the purpose of a product except the one who made or created it. You were created by Yah the Abba, and only He knows the purpose for which He gave you birth. He knows His plans for your life and the reason He gave you breath. He wants you to be fulfilled.


He is not asking you to be religious, only to reestablish a relationship with Him that can give you the resources to move from emptiness to personal satisfaction. Only then can you resume your purpose in life and find the personal and corporate fulfillment you desire. If you wish to surrender your life to Him, I encourage you to pray the following from your heart:


Dear Abba Yah,
Creator and Manufacturer of my life, I am aware that You have created me for a specific purpose and designed me to fulfill that intent. I am aware that we as men have fallen away from You by our disobedience and have thus lost a sense of our purpose in life. I am also aware that You sent Your Son, Yahusha the Christ, to restore us to You so that we can once again discover our reason for being. I, therefore, ask You, in the name of Yahusha, to cleanse my life and send the Ruach HaQadesh into my heart right now to reveal to me Your purpose for my life. I also submit to Yahusha as my Lord and personal Savior and commit myself to finishing the assignment You have for me.


In the name of Yahusha I pray, Amen.


May Yah bless and enrich your life as you begin the journey of discovering and completing your purpose.