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Who are your authorities?

Commander-in-Chief

Parent

Principal

Coach

Teacher

Boss

Pastor

Realize God placed themin your life.

The king ordered Ashpenaz, the chief of his court officials, to bring some of the Israelites from the royal family and from the nobility—young men without any physical defect, good-looking, suitable for instruction in all wisdom, knowledgeable, perceptive, and capable of serving in the king’s palace—and to teach them the Chaldean language and literature. Daniel 1:1-7

Bill Clinton George W. Bush Barack Obama

Napoleon the Great?Napoleon rose to prominence during the French Revolution as a general. In 1799, Napoleon staged a coup d’etat and installed himself as First Consul, then five years later crowned himself Emperor. The tide turned for Napoleon with his disastrous invasion of Russia in 1812. His army was decimated and never regained its previous strength. He was forced to abdicate in April 1814 and was exiled. Napoleon’s accomplishments include uniting the French people after the French Revolution, aiding the rise of the metric system, and great military victories. On the negative side, many lives, both French and other nationalities, were lost during Napoleon’s conquests. He was a control freak. During his reign, France was basically a police state with a network of secret police and spies. There was also much corruption among the family members he chose to put in power.

THE QUESTION How do I follow leaders who don’t follow God?

THE POINT We are to obey all authority figures.

The Karate Kid Mr. Miyagi agreed to teach Daniel karate as long as Daniel did exactly as he instructed. Miyagi asked Daniel to perform strange tasks that seemed to have nothing to do with karate. But in the end, Daniel developed the skills to defend himself and to compete in and win a martial arts tournament.1

Soda lots of sugar and loaded with caffeine

Fries & Potato Chips lots of fat and calories

Pizza loaded with lots of sodium

Candy loaded with sugar

Doughnuts lots of sugar and trans fat

Refuse to compromiseyour convictions.

Know that God will honor your obedienceto Him.

God gave these four young men knowledge and understanding in every kind of literature and wisdom. Daniel also understood visions and dreams of every kind. Daniel 1:17-20

Daniel determined that he would not defile himself with the king’s food or with the wine he drank. Daniel 1:8-16

Warning: Ea t a t Your Own R isk

You should disobey an authority when asked to do something…

❶ Illegal❷ Immoral❸ Harmful

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“ Peace comes in situations that are completely surrendered to the sovereign authority of Christ.”

—Beth Moore, Breaking Free

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Read Acts 5:25-32.Why did Peter and the apostles disobey authority? Did they disobey the authorities just to be rebellious? Explain.

The apostles disobeyed authority in order to proclaim the gospel.

Does this excuse us to disobey anytime we believe we have the right as Christians? Why or why not?

Disobey authorities only when you have no other choice.

What are the consequences for disobeying a teacher? your principal? your coach? your parents?

Read Acts 5:33-42. What conseqences did the apostles face for disobeying authority? How did the apostles respond to their punishment?

Instead of making the apostles fearful, the suffering they had endured at the hands of the Jewish leaders only made them more courageous. What consequences would you be willing to face today if you felt it necessary to disobey authority by taking a stand for Christ?

Memorize: Every day in the temple complex, and in various homes, they continued teaching and proclaiming the good news that Jesus is the Messiah. (Acts 5:42)

When you do itfor the rightreason.

Share examples of how obedience and disobedience to authority can be done in a way that glorifies God.

THE POINT You need to have a God-sized reason to disobey authority.

THE QUESTION When should I disobey authority?

Is there ever a good time or reason to disobey authority? If so, when?

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When you arepreparedto suffer theconsequences.

SOURCES Session 1 1. R.C. Sproul, “The Divine Foundation of Authority,” Tabletalk

Magazine [online], 1 March 2009 [cited 19 Sept 2014]. Available from the Internet: www.ligonier.org.

2. Heather Martin, “Union Student’s Reflections: ‘My Experience in the Tornado,’ ” Baptist Press [online], 14 Feb 2008 [cited 19 Sept 2014]. Available from the Internet: www.bpnews.net.

3. “Dictator,” Merriam-Webster Dictionary, [cited 19 Sept 2014]. Available from the Internet: www.merriam-webster.com.

Session 2 1. Matthew George Easton, “Repentance,” in Illustrated

Bible Dictionary and Treasury of Biblical History, Biography, Geography, Doctrine, and Literature, (London: T. Nelson and Sons, 1897), WORDsearch CROSS e-book, Under: “Repentance.”

2. Colin S. Smith, Jonah: Navigating a God-centered Life (Christian Focus, 2012).

3. Josh Hamilton (as told to Tim Keown), “I’m Proof that Hope is Never Lost,” ESPN The Magazine [online], 5 July 2007 [cited 19 Sept 2014]. Available from the Internet: sports.espn.go.com.

Session 3 1. Mark Twain, “Advice to Youth” speech, 1882.2. Shakira, BrainyQuote.com, Xplore Inc, 2014, [cited 19 Sept

2014]. Available from the Internet: www.brainyquote.com.3. Allexthea Carter, Howard University News Service [online],

8 March 2007 [cited 19 Sept 2014]. Available from the Internet: www.hunewsservice.com.

Session 4 1 The Karate Kid, Dir. John G. Avildsen. Columbia Pictures,

1984.

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