Discovering Your Sphere of Authority
As a believer, it is probably safe to guess you really want to give yourself to God’s dream for your life. You want to invest your time, energies, talents and finances to build His kingdom. You want to move in His love and authority.
But to many, the pathway forward is daunting and unclear. Let’s begin with the basics. God created you as a unique expression of His heart and life. He has an incredible destiny for you that overflows with purpose and genuine satisfaction. He wants to bring you out of the frustration of the wilderness and plant you directly into the realm of His promised land—the realm of intimate fellowship with Him and effectiveness in your life. Friends, this is heaven’s definition of success!
Defining Your Sphere
So it’s time for you to discover and define your sphere of authority. What has God called you specifically to fulfill? In what unique way has He made this clear to you? Where has He set you? Where is He inviting your partnership to manifest His authority? Take some time to write down your thoughts.
This process begins before the face of God and is sustained before the face of God. He alone has the right to define Your life and purpose because He alone died to redeem your life and purpose!
I’ve met only a few Christians who are genuinely unable to answer these questions. They truly have no clarity of God’s direction in their lives. But most folks we’ve encountered have actually heard from God. Their confusion comes in because at the core, they simply do not want to obey His specific direction or wait on His timing.
God’s word creates a window for you to go through and advance (see Rev 3-4). If at first we don’t respond, He is merciful, and He’ll keep the window open for a season! But sustained delay or rejection will eventually close the door He had for us. Friends, your obedience is the only entryway to your throne.
That said, let’s look at Jeremiah 1:10. “See, I have appointed you this day over the nations and over the kingdoms, to pluck up and to break down, to destroy and to overthrow, to build and to plant.”
Set Over Spheres of Authority
God commissioned Jeremiah to bring a demonstration of His kingdom into a specific jurisdiction, or sphere of authority. He set Jeremiah on a throne of rulership no man had offered and no man could promote the prophet to attain. This sphere of authority was tied to specific boundaries—nations and kingdoms—that God Himself defined.
Other prophets recorded much the same experience as Jeremiah. Elijah was a ruler over Israel, yet no man gave him a throne. Instead, God set him in authority over the nation.
God still establishes His seats of governance over nations and kingdoms, or spheres of society. He still grants covenantal authority to root out, tear down, throw down, destroy, build and plant. The prophet Isaiah conveyed this process another way: “I have set my words in your mouth, and hidden you in the shadow of My hand, to establish the heavens, to found the earth, and to say to Zion ‘You are My people’” (Isaiah 51:16).
Note that these seats of rulership are meant to bring the governance of God into every facet of community. They are ultimately meant to bring government in alignment with God’s covenant. Isaiah identifies three realms in which the prophet’s covenantal authority is to be expressed—the heavens, the earth, and God’s covenant land.
In Elijah’s day, there were essentially two thrones of governance over Israel operating at the same time. Elijah’s throne represented God’s covenantal interests. Ahab’s throne had become so corrupted by idolatry and covenant-breaking that it had essentially been given over to Baal. Much like today’s world, this covenant conflict was played out before the eyes of all the nation. Eventually, the throne of Elijah prevailed.
Your Throne
Many of you are going to be granted assignments over specific spheres of authority. You will receive a throne of authority as legitimate in heaven’s eyes as any in your nation. As with Elijah, God will relate to you not only personally, but according to the office or sphere of authority He has entrusted to you.
Again, your assignment is to establish your sphere by covenant with God, and empower His justice and freedom in your world. Your covenant with God brings your throne into alignment with His. From this alignment, you then have access to God’s boundless authority to impact your sphere. It’s a lot easier when God is fighting for you than when you are fighting for yourself—even in His Name!
Covenant Unlocks Authority
This society-shaking, transformative authority is absolutely dependent on your covenant commitment—not just to God, but also to your sphere of influence and/or assigned geographic territory (see Isaiah 62). For many believers, this understanding is the missing link to their success. Many love God and are resolute in their commitment to Him. But their covenant commitment to their sphere sometimes remains elusive. Remember, thrones are established by covenant.
And covenant with God is how we must respond to His invitation. This alone sets our course for the future. Too many Christians set their course and then waiver in their commitments when challenged. What they don’t realize is that the enemy behind the scenes is trying to invalidate their authority by attacking their covenant commitment.
In the eyes of a watching world, this marginalizes our reputation—not to mention our effectiveness. Hey! Stay the course. Become a testimony to God’s covenant faithfulness. And just watch as your steadfast obedience and loyalty is rewarded with a greater expression of Christ’s authority—directly from His crown and throne!
