What do you believe—really believe—about God today? What we believe about God depends entirely on our perception of God—our God view, meaning how we see Him. We struggle to trust God when we do not really know Him in relationship. Do you trust people you do not know? It is one thing to meet people and become their acquaintance, and it is another thing to get to know them. To say, “I believe that God has all authority to empower me”… how do you know that? The ADMIT section painted a picture of MEdom—my addiction to me—that is quite bleak.
We are helpless on our own. We can only be helped by a power greater than ourselves (and greater than our problem since our problem is unmanageable) with the ability and authority to change how we think if we are going to have a chance at recovery from our problem. Even if we agree that God exists, what does that mean for me in my recovery from my selfish sin addiction that leads to symptoms of every other form of addictive thinking, feeling, and behaving?
Whether creation took six days or six billion years is really beside the point. What matters when examining the the authority and sovereignty of God is to accept that God is transcendent and everything else, including the created spiritual reality, is singular; created and under the sovereign authority of Almighty God. The entire ever-expanding universe is under the authority of transcendent God. The worst disaster ever encountered on planet earth is not even noticed or felt in the context of the vast universe, yet as we explore the truth of Scripture, God is paying attention to the number of hairs on your head. You are but a speck on the earth. The earth is but a speck in the galaxy. The galaxy is but a spot in the universe, all created by transcendent God. Yet, God notices you. He notices every move you make; and every breath you take.
Once you accept that God is transcendent, meaning that God is not restricted or confined to the singular law of cause and effect, and that the rest of all that exists does so under the law of cause and effect, then it stands to reason that God is above such a law. Since God is creator of all than it also stands to reason that God is the authority over all that He has created. Every sun and star, every planet, every piece of material in the universe—even the chemical makeup of the air space not consisting of visible material matter—is under the authority of its creator. Everything that lives in whatever capacity it exists does so under the authority of its creator. Every plant, animal, man, woman, and child lives under the authority of the Creator.
If we live under God’s authority then when we pray for God to heal us and deliver us from our addictive mess it should occur without question, correct? Yes…and no. The blessing for us is that we have the free will to choose for ourselves. On the other hand, the problem for us is that we have the free will to choose for ourselves.
By asking the necessary questions, NLX 101 examines the issue of God’s authority and challenges participants to consider if they are better off resisting the authority of God in their life, hoping to fix themselves and the world on their own, or submitting to the truthful reality of God’s authority. If they conclude that they are better off living under God’s authority then, as asked by Scripture, why don’t they do what He says?