SESSION 02 - AUTHORITY IN REDEMPTION
ARRIVAL
Arrival, sharing life, munching snacks.
SESSION 2 - GROUP VIDEO
Watch 10-20 minutes of a GROUP video teaching, that correlates with the full Workshop semester topics.
GROUP CONVERSATION GUIDE
SPIRITUAL AUTHORITY IN REDEMPTION
RECAP: WHAT IS SPIRITUAL AUTHORITY?
SHORT DEFINITION:
The responsibility to rightfully govern and enforce justice.
LONG DEFINITION:
A God-given endowment,
a permanent provision and responsibility of jurisdiction,
to rightfully govern and enforce justice,
aligned with God’s purposes.
RESPONSIBILITY AND AUTHORITY:
Where responsibility is given, there must be associated authority.
And authority is given, there must be associated responsibility.
The two are inseparable.
BIG IDEA QUESTION AGAIN:
Does God use human agency to fulfill His purposes,
OR does God arbitrarily dictate outcomes via His sovereign determination?
DEFINE SOVEREIGNTY:
God can do whatever He wants, whenever He wants,
without being accountable to anyone.
SCENARIO ILLUSTRATED:
From the time you were young, you had vocational, or ministerial dreams. Overtime you worked through the self-validation issues and have come to a conviction that God has put various life-dreams in your heart. These dreams were of you fulfilling something, or doing something significant. However, you have witnessed the regression of these dreams coming to pass. Every time you take a step forward it seems that you take nine backwards.
How are you to interpret this scenario? What is God’s responsibility? What is your responsibility? What are you supposed to do?
- Do you abdicate all responsibility to God; after all He is sovereign and in absolute control of the subatomic details of your life? Do you delegate up to God and deflect any responsibility? (Cessationist)
- Do you ask God for a time-expiring authority, a gift of the Holy Spirit, that will give you temporary ability to supernaturally change the circumstances? (Charismatic-Sovereignist)
- Do you establish your conviction in Redemption, knowing that Jesus purchased for the believer to have permanent authority, to execute God’s will and Kingdom in this earth? When it looks like circumstances refuse to change, do you stand in your place and enforce God’s will, refusing to back down? (Redemptionist)
CONSIDER THE QUESTION:
If God delegated His rule on earth to His people,
and His people are delinquent to those responsibilities,
how much pain and sorrow have we unduly endured,
and how much of our understanding of God has been skewed?
TODAY’S BIG IDEA:
WHERE DID THIS AUTHORITY COME FROM?
ROMANS 13:1 NKJV …For there is NO AUTHORITY except from God, and the authorities that exist are appointed by God.
SEVEN STAGE TRANSFERENCE OF AUTHORITY
- GOD GAVE MANKIND AUTHORITY OVER THE EARTH AT CREATION
- ADAM SINNED, SURRENDERING TO DEATH AND SATAN
- SATAN LEGALLY BECAME THE GOD/RULER OF THE EARTH
- JESUS’S OBEDIENCE/INHERITANCE QUALIFIED HIM FOR THE ORIGINAL AUTHORITY GIVEN TO ADAM
- JESUS IS ANOINTED BY THE HOLY SPIRIT
- JESUS RESTORES ALL AUTHORITY AT THE CROSS AND RESURRECTION
- JESUS DELEGATES THE AUTHORITY TO BELIEVERS
[To learn the Scriptural truths behind these seven stages of transference you are encouraged to take the FULL WORKSHOP SEMESTER.]
GROUP DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
Take a few moments to discuss your answers to these questions with the Group.
ICE BREAKER
What is one thing you can do now that will make the biggest difference in your life for tomorrow? Explain.
MY MEMOIR STORIES
IMPORTANT: If the Group would like to continue telling one Memoir Story per week until they are completed, that might allow for a more congruent transition. Please be sensitive to the Science of Freedom content and discussion. It is important that our people are exposed to the possibilities in their potential that this content will provide. Please take no more than 20-25 minutes for the Memoir to leave time for the rest of the content below.
MEMOIR: PREPARING TO TELL MY STORY (Scope Timeline) worksheet to help you think through your story. You can download the SCOPE TIMELINE WORKSHEET at the link. There is a longer version of the worksheet, that gives an extra step to dig deeper into your story, which can be downloaded at LONG VERSION WORKSHEET (RECOMMENDED). You can also watch the WRAP UP video from last week that explains how to use the worksheet. Each person's Memoir should be 10-15 minutes long.
QUESTIONS
1. After watching this session’s video, what is your biggest takeaway, “ah ha” moment, or challenging thought? Why?
2. In the opening, Pastor set up a scenario of a person having God-given dreams in their heart, yet struggling to see it come to pass. How do you think people generally would approach God and the issue?
OPTIONS:
- Would they ask/appeal to God, delegating up to Him, expecting He desires to hold the management and outcome of their child’s miracle.
- Would they ask God to give them a gift of the Holy Spirit, a time sensitive authority, making them a temporary partner in the miracle outcome?
- Would they activate their permanent God-delegated authority, acknowledging God has partnered with them for the management and outcome?
WHY? Why do you think people will generally respond in the option you have chosen?
3. Describe your thoughts, feelings or impressions of the SEVEN STAGES OF TRANSFERENCE OF AUTHORITY. Have you ever thought about how Satan derived his authority? Have you ever thought about how Jesus derived his authority?
4. How does this concept of spiritual authority influence your personal handling of human suffering, difficulties and challenges in the future? Explain why.
SESSION 2 - WRAP UP
This is a 5-10 minute section for MOVING FORWARD, GOING DEEPER, use of worksheets and periodic church-wide announcements.
MOVE FORWARD
Receive the challenge to “move forward” by applying what was learned this week.
SUGGESTIONS:
- IF YOU HAVEN'T ALREADY, PREPARE TO TELL YOUR STORY, your MEMOIR, to the rest of us over the next few weeks. Use the MY MEMOIR: PREPARING TO TELL MY STORY (Scope Timeline) worksheet to help you think through your story. You can download the SCOPE TIMELINE WORKSHEET. There is a longer version of the worksheet, that gives an extra step to dig deeper into your story, which can be downloaded at LONG VERSION WORKSHEET (RECOMMENDED).
- PRAY FOR GROUP MEMBER - Pray for at least one person in the Group. Try to identify someone who hasn't been prayed for, or given an encouraging Scripture. Don't worry about feeling inadequate as a prayer. No one feels like they are professional prayers, at least not when they look into eyes of the Almighty God. Praying the Scriptures over people is the best way to learn how to pray effectively. Simply find a Scripture, put the person's name in the text, and pray those words out loud. Then ask the Lord to help you think of things to say to Him about them that would help their lives.
- ASK FOR A SCRIPTURE WORD - Ask God to give you a Scripture to give them to encourage, comfort and edify them. You can Google search "God's Promises" and find a plethora of appropriate texts. Look for one that seems to give you a spark of energy as you think about the person you have been praying for.
- DELIVER THE WORD TO THEM - Then send them an email, text or phone call to encourage them. This is how the Holy Spirit works in our lives. As you practice these movements you will expand your own capacity with God, all while giving people much needed hope and strength.
GOING DEEPER
Encouragement to engage the FULL WORKSHOP SEMESTER experience. While this is not required, nor is the Group discussions connected to the full workshop, it is an option for everyone.
PRAYER / DISMISS GROUP
Prayer time with the Group.