Daily Devotional January 27 - Nine stages of spiritual growth - stage 8 (authorized) - Romans 8:29-30

"For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren.  Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified." Romaqns 8:29

God Thinking promotes the idea that when you grow and prosper in accordance with God foreordained parameters for each stage of your development, two things happen:

1. You fulfill the will of God for mankind, in that you bring to pass what God foreordained, (you fulfill prophesy by responding to what God declared you would do.)
2. You fulfill the will of God in your personal life, in that God brings to pass what you ordain, (God fulfills what you declare or desire so that you will be fulfilled.)

When we are living out our experience with God in a way that reflects Christ in us, we are authorized.

• You don't need authority to say no to God.
• You don't need to be authorized to pick on the few who are doing all the work.
• You don't need to be authorized to practice unbelief.
• You don't need to be authorized to watch.
• You need to be authorized when you see that the enemy is about to make some headway in your sister's life or your best friends job.
• You need to be authorized if you want to speak the words that move people to make a decision for the kingdom of God.
• You need to be authorized to cast out devils and to be God's man or woman for the hour to speak a word of faith that brings about healing.

The disciples first needed to be called and washed and strengthened and prepared. Jesus filled them and empowered them and inspired them through constant example and impartation of His Spirit, through teaching them and performing miracles.  Jesus didn't send them out empty handed, (spiritually). The men and women that were sent out with authority were experienced in spiritual matters.

They have spent some quantity time and quality time with Jesus.
They are not afraid of challenge and ridicule and hardships.
They are not practicing for the purpose of being seen anymore.
They are mature in the faith, not moved by disputations and silly arguments, devils advocate questions or the naysayers poison darts of doubt.
The authorized know the Master.
The authorized understand God's ways.
The authorized follow the leading of the Holy Spirit.
The authorized make it happen.
The authorized are past changing their mind about Christ.
The authorized are given authority to accomplish the will of God, under the understanding that there will be seasons that they might not necessarily be personally fulfilled or be comfortable.

Are the authorized blessed? Of course.
Are the authorized happy? Yes.
Are the authorized fulfilled? Yes.
Are the authorized at peace? Absolutely.
But the reason that the authorized does what they do is not to be fulfilled in what they do, (although they are fulfilled in what they do - being fulfilled in what they do is a byproduct of serving God in this capacity.)  The reason the authorized do what they do is because they are called, washed, strengthened, prepared, filled, empowered and inspired.

They have been groomed to do the will of God by listening to and following the leading of the Holy Spirit, accomplishing the will of God through obedience to God, in spite of personal gain, personal notoriety, personal advancement, or personal fulfillment.

Some are called to give their life and when they make up their mind that this is an acceptable end for the sake of the gospel, they will be authorized to handle the Word of God.  The people rejoice because there is justice and safety when the righteous are in charge. But when the wicked and indiscreet are in power, the whole nation bows their head in shame.

Authority or authorized as used in scripture means - privileged - competent - mastery - delegated influence.  Authorized as expressed by God for man is - to be privileged to exercise the will of God, and to provide authentic representation of the mind of Christ, for a given task, as delegated by the Holy Spirit.

• To be authorized is not to receive the stamp of approval to operate freely of sound scriptural doctrine, or to move on our own will, or to operate apart from the leading of the Holy Spirit.  Those who are authorized have ample biblical knowledge to represent what God is doing among His people at the time they are in service to God, while on this earth.  The knowledge that they have obtained by study and obedience has been transformed into wisdom, by God.
• To be authorized is to finally reach the place where the one authorized is at peace with the way that God deals with man.
• To be authorized is to set aside our own direction for that of the will of God.
• To be authorized is that place of no resistence to God's leading and to God's ways

And yet all of us are already authorized in so many ways.  I believe our potential for living under the leadership and guidance of the Holy Spirit far exceeds our current usage of our inner resources.
Here's why:

We are already authorized to have dominion over a great many things and the way we handle the usage of those things determines what other things we are given Godly charge over: Genesis 1:26-30 says, "And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion (authority) 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 creepeth upon the earth."

And in Galatians 4:6-7, "And because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father.  Wherefore thou art no more a servant, but a son; and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ."

We have been authorized to do a great many things already.
When God made us in His image and likeness, He pre-authorized us to have dominion over all the earth and every living thing in it.
We are all authorized to follow the scriptures in our life.
We need no further blessing to answer the call to come to God and God authorizes all who have heard the Word to answer the call to come to God.
Those God saves He authorizes to inherit His kingdom - to become heirs of every gift of God that God so deems fit to impart.
Those who have been filled with the Holy Spirit are authorized to operate in the gifts, the talents and skills that we have acquired and developed and received from God.

At each phase of growth of your whole being, physical - emotional - mental and spiritual, God authorizes (releases) the necessary building blocks to operate successfully at each God ordained stage of growth.  What that means is: that if you are walking in the glorious light that Jesus gives to you - at each stage of your development - God sees to it - God imparts - God does the placement of each particle of light that you need so that you can fulfill the will of God and at the same time live out your life with inspiration and assurance of destiny.

It's only when you get out of sync with God ordained times and seasons that things go awry. It's not that things won't go wrong and it's not that things won't happen that are out of your control and it's not that others won't infringe on you or misuse you or abuse you and it's not that nature won't cause events to take place that bring about an undesirable end - But how you deal with each of these events in your life determines whether or not you are authorized to complete certain tasks.

God allows negative things to happen to you, but what comes out from you is to be holy.
God allows bad things to happen to good people, but good people are not to allow bad things to come out from them.
God allows nature to kill and maim, but the righteousness of God is served by you and I.
God allows evil to operate, but God has raised you up to stand against it, not to participate in it.

To be authorized as it pertains to this eighth stage of spiritual growth is to understand that no longer can you operate under your own will. You must yield to the will of God, not in one or two little things that don't really matter - but in everything.