Authority

Matthew 8:9 For I am a man under authority, with soldiers under me; and I say to one, 'Go,' and he goes, and to another, 'Come,' and he comes, and to my slave, 'Do this,' and he does it." 10 When Jesus heard him, he marveled, and said to those who followed him, "Truly, I say to you, not even in Israel have I found such faith. 11 I tell you, many will come from east and west and sit at table with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven, 12 while the sons of the kingdom will be thrown into the outer darkness; there men will weep and gnash their teeth." 13 And to the centurion Jesus said, "Go; be it done for you as you have believed." And the servant was healed at that very moment.

I have been learning a lot about authority all over again as we go through the Transformations program again. To live productive Christian lives we need to be under authority. How many Christians have the "I can do it all myself" attitude. Jesus himself was a man under authority, so much so in fact that a Roman Centurion recognized this. Many times Jesus said I do not do my own will, but that of my father. As such Jesus's disciples were under authority to Jesus.
Authority is God's design and if we are not under it we are not walking in the true power of the Holy Spirit. So just what is authority? Well authority really is not walking under your own will. When I am walking under the authority of my leaders I am directly opening myself up to correction and leadership.
The best leaders are the best followers. Who are you to tell me what to do? Who are you to tell you what to do? This is just hitting home with me so much lately. I am finally starting to get my focus on making sure I submitting to the leadership above me and walking in discipleship relationships.
What is that key component that you are missing in your walk with the Lord? How many Christians do you know that are so wrapped up in there own little Christian world and all their petty little internal problems that there is no way they feel they could bring somebody to Christ. Let alone walk along a new Christian and disciple them.

Jesus's last commandment before He left this world was to go out and make disciples of all the world. This wasn't Jesus's suggestion, it was a commandment.

So what are you doing for God? Are you so focused on working on your issues and reading self-help books that discipling has never crossed your mind? Sorry for my bluntness here, but it is like trying to polish a turd, it will never happen. As soon as you conquer one issue, the fear of actually moving out of your comfort zone will force you to come up with a whole new issue that you will have to buy a whole new set of self-help books for.
Bring your life under the submission of your Godly leaders, and find some one to disciple you. Then start to disciple others. This is the way Jesus intended the Church to be. Lets stop going to church and start being the church.