If you're an older "Star Trek" fan, your guy was Captain Kirk. If you're a younger "Star Trek" fan, as in "Star Trek - The Next Generation," then your guy was Captain Picard. And if you've never watched "Star Trek" any generation, you could care less. Kirk and Picard were the captains of the Starship Enterprise. And no matter what conflict or calamity they encountered, those guys were in charge. I've been told that Captain Picard would speak three words after he gave an order - and you knew who was in charge. With this commanding tone, he would simply say - "Make it so."
Well, I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Indisputable Orders."
The issue of authority was very clear on the fictional Starship Enterprise. The issue of authority is even clearer in your non-fictional Starship Life. And authority is the defining issue in every situation you face that is beyond your control - maybe like the one you're in right now. And there is no question about who's in charge.
In Luke 7 beginning in verse 2, our word for today from the Word of God, there's a dramatic story that spells this all out in flesh and blood. "A centurion's servant, whom his master valued highly, was sick and about to die. The centurion heard of Jesus and sent some elders of the Jews to Him, asking Him to come and heal his servant." Jesus is on His way when actually the friends of this Roman commander come with a message from him - "Don't bother coming. I'm unworthy to have you here."
His message went on to say, according to the Bible, "'But say the word, and my servant will be healed. For I myself am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. I tell this one, 'Go,' and he goes; and that one, 'Come,' and he comes. I say to my servant, 'Do this,' and he does it.' When Jesus heard this, He was amazed at him...He said, 'I have not found such great faith even in Israel.' Then the men who had been sent returned to the house and found that servant well."
As far as I know, this is the only record we have of Jesus ever being amazed by someone's faith. And while He chastised His disciples for having "little faith," He said this man with no Biblical background had "such great faith." Why? If we can understand what impresses Jesus about this man's faith, we can begin to exercise that kind of faith to get miraculous results.
This man understood the connection between faith and authority. Even though he spent his life being in charge, he now faced a situation that was totally beyond his control - his dear servant's illness. You may be facing one of those "totally beyond my control" things right now. But this man realized that Jesus had total authority over this situation as surely as this commander had total authority over his servants. So, "Jesus, if you tell this disease to go, it's gone. If you say to this illness, 'Do this,' it will do it!"
So "great faith" trusts completely in Jesus' total authority over that which is totally beyond my control. I don't know what you're facing right now, but I do know who's in charge. If Jesus says, "Go" or "Come" or "Do this" to your impossibility, it must obey. So your company isn't going to decide the outcome - Jesus is. Your condition isn't going to decide the outcome - Jesus is. The economy isn't going to decide it, the person standing in the way isn't going to decide it, your capabilities aren't going to decide it - Jesus is going to decide it!
So pray boldly, worry less, rest more, and proceed courageously. Pray and act as if Jesus is in charge - He is! He will speak His will to your storm, your situation, or your struggle and say, in essence, "Make it so!" And so it will be!