01/12/25 Authority Issues - Mark 11:27-33

For e only spe e good morning welcome to First Baptist we're so glad you're here inside where it's warm and cozy and I hope and trust that as we continue in worship this morning that we'll all just enjoy our time together as and what and look forward to What the Lord Has for us before I have before I make some announcements I have Diana scogan coming forward and with a special announcement from loving our world happy New Year family for those of you who have a goal or a resolution for 20125 to live life on Mission I have great news for you the loving our world team is going to be emphasizing disaster relief Ministries this year and this is an organization that is a group of Baptists that provide help Hope and healing in the name of Jesus to people that are in crisis so we have some trainings coming up there's one March 7th and 8th in Raymore Missouri and one April 4th and 5th in Arnold Missouri and we'll put some information online about that for you guys and we have another very exciting development we are going to be sending a team a rebuild team to help the people who have lost their homes in Hurricane Helen in North Carolina so alen and Debbie Webb alen's right back here is going to be leading our team and he has skills tools all the good stuff that we need the dates will be March 23rd to 29th so it's a week the only expense really is travel the only requirements are really are willing heart being 18 years old and a background check so see me if you're interested in that we'll be having an informational meeting coming up in just a few weeks about that because it's coming up right here before you know it so very good opportunity there and then

We also have an opportunity to participate in a vision 316 trip which is our Mexico eyeglass Ministry I know there may have been a couple of you who clicked on the survey online saying that you might be interested in going but the software did not record your names so let me know who you are and if you're interested I would love to chat with you a little bit about that so thank [Applause] you continuing with loving our world I have a thank you note that I would like to read to the church family says Dear FBC camton family and loving our world team this bright and joyful season was made doubly so for your generous support and Gifts toward Josh's upcoming trip to Cotto I Coast we are so thankful for the way that you let the Lord use you to bring light to those in darkness in word and deed may this next year be filled with the sound of beautiful feet going forth to spread the good news we love you guys Josh and Christy wont I have one important announcement and that is next Sunday we are going to be doing a pregnancy Health Center baby shower and we're inviting you to join us by bringing items diapers sizes 3 to six fragrance free baby wipes and new clothes sizes prei to 4T so we can be a blessing to this ministry in our community by participating in that and that will be taking place next Sunday the next announcement I have is in front of you is this connection card I highlight it most every week this week in particular I want to draw your attention to the back where it or whatever the back or front where it says prayer request SL questions each week there is an email that goes out from Cody with a whole list of announcements and a lot of

Pertinent information if you are not receiving that email I would invite you to your email address and your information down on this and drop it in the offering plate it's very important that you're connected and that you're informed with what is taking place in our church I think that's all my announcements let us go to the Lord in prayer father God I thank you and I praise you that we get to be here this morning thank you for this beautiful morning for the beauty of your creation the Splendor of your majesty that is evidenced just through the beauty of the snow and through just the things that we get to see and enjoy Lord I pray now Lord as we continue in worship that our hearts would just continue to be open and pliable that our ears and our mind would be stilled and able to hear and to receive all that you desire to do in and through us today we pray for the worship team for Cody for each person that is here in this church serving you and leading Us in worship that Lord you would just be honored and glorified by our time together we ask all this in your name amen if you would like to stand as we sing about Christ's marvelous magnificent matchless [Music] love magic marous matchless love to best and astounding to tell forever existing in Worlds of above now offered and given to all oh Fountain of beauty Eternal the Father the spirit the son sufficient and endlessly generous magnificent marvelous matchless [Music] love creation is bring with thankfulness the mountains exalted they stand the seasons rejoice in your

Faithfulness all life is sustained by your hand you Crown every B with col you paint every shade in the sky each day the dawn wakes us an Anor magnificent marvelous m [Music] love how great how his love end forever more magnificent marvelous love what Grace that you entered are broken us you came in the fullness of time how far we had fallen from rightousness but not from the mercies of Christ your crosses are door to Red your death is our fullness of life that day how forgiveness flow as a FL magnificent marvelous matchless love how great how his love forever more magn and marvelous matchless [Music] love United in your Resurrection you lift us to infinite Heights could anything sever or take us from magnificent marvelous matchless love how great how his love end forever more magnificent marvelous matchless love [Music] A Mighty Fortress Is Our God were never failing our helper he amids of blood of mortal is riling for still our ancient F do seek to work us wo his craft and power are great and arm with Cru on Earth is not his equal did we in our own strength conf our striving would be

Losing we're not the right and on our side the man of God's don't choose may be Christ Jesus it is he the Lord of hosts name from age to age the same and he must win the batt and though this world with Devils fil should threaten to undo us we will not fear for God have F his truth to Triumph through us the Prince of Darkness GM we tremble not for him his rage we can endure for though his Doom is sure to word shall F him a mighty foress a rock unfailing the king of B Glory forever for Endless ages enr in praises the king of glory forever amen that word above allly of things to them abided the spirit and the gifts are ours through him who with us sided let goods and kindreds go this Mortal life fall the body they may kill God's truth of body is still his kingdom is forever [Music] a mighty foress a rock unfailing the king of glory [Music] forever for Endless ages enthroned in praises the king of glory forever amen a mighty foress a rock un failing the king of glory forever amen for in this SES enthroned in praises the king of glory forever forever oh amen you may be seated let's

Pray dear Lord thank you for today thank you for the many blessings thank you for melting the ice Lord we've had two church members die recently and I was just I've just been thinking about everything they've done for us here thank you for them dear Lord be with this offering in Jesus name amen as we continue this morning with our catechism for the day our question is what are the decrees of God we focus on two passages this morning the first in Ephesians 1 which says even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world that we should be holy and blameless before him in love he predestined us for adoption to himself as Sons through Jesus Christ according to the purpose of his will in him we have obtained an inheritance having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will and Romans 9:22 and 23 what if God Desiring to show his wrath and to make known his power has endured with much patience vessels of Wrath prepared for destruction in order to make known The Riches of his glory for vessels of Mercy which he has prepared beforehand for Glory let's stand and continue singing to our Lord and Savior [Music] who has H the oceans in his hands who hased every grain of sand kings and Nations tremble at his voice all creation Rises to rejo Behold our God Seated on his

Throne come let us adore him Behold our King nothing can compare come let us [Music] adore who has G counsel to the Lord who can question any of his words who can teach the one who knows all things who can all his wonderous Behold our God Seated on his throne come let us adore him Behold our King nothing can compare come let us adore [Music] who has B the nails upon his [Music] heading all the guilt of sinful men God Eternal humble to the Grave Jesus Savior PR now to rain behold oh God Seated on his throne come let us adore him Behold our King nothing can compare come let us adore you will rain forever me you will rain forever the you will rain forever you will rain forever you will rain forever you will rain for

Behold our God Seated on his throne come let us adore him Behold our King nothing can compare come let us adore Our God Seated on his throne come let us adore him Behold our King nothing can compare come let us [Music] adore join us in prayer Lord we thank you so much for this morning we do thank you for the clear roads that we were all able to get here safely Lord we pray for Cody now as he brings your message to us Lord just give him confidence give him just a peace about the message that you have brought to his heart today Lord and just pray that we would leave this place knowing you better and understanding your word more fully in Jesus name amen well if you have your Bible and I hope that you do please turn with me back into the Book of Mark am I on there we go okay we are jumping back into this Gospel account I'm thankful to be back in here after I don't know we've been out of it for a little over a month very thankful for the break of the Christmas season the busyness and all the fun and everything like that but I'm also a creature of habit and love to love to just be dealing with what's next depending on the weather and if everything goes according to plan we should be finishing up The Book of Mark sometime at the end of June early

July somewhere in that area at that time if the Lord wills it and allows it we'll be going into the Book of Ruth that's always a lot of fun and we're going to be learning about our kinsman Redeemer and we wanted to do a short book after Mark just because we've been in it for over a year now and so we want new Ruth and then we're going to do a shorter epistle will be in Philippians after that and that'll definitely carry us through the end of 2025 maybe into 2026 we'll see how everything goes just recap where we've been Jesus he has entered into Jerusalem and things are things are really accelerating at this point you might remember that there was that joyful procession we call it Palm Sunday where people are asking for Jesus to please save us hosan hosan to the son of David Hosanna is he who comes in the name of the Lord and they were asking of course for deliverance from oppression from Rome but it was also a fulfillment of Prophecy that Jesus Christ he is the Messiah and he is the promised one of course Jesus he cursed that fig tree it withered it died he cleansed the temple we remember that right if I'm playing a board game with you just know flipping a table is always in the cards to act Christlike in that circumstance if I'm losing I'm joking by the way I'm a pretty good loser in that I'm always losing board games but I love it but now here he is and he's not wasting anyone's time it is the last few days before he dies and yes it will take us six months to get through all of that and a question comes up from the relig leader who do you think that you are who allowed you to flip over tables to yell at everyone to accuse this place of being a den of Thieves in today's world we deal with a lot of issues of authority if we were to Define authority authority I don't

Think this oh I had it off sorry that's me it's amazing what a what one week golf will do all of a sudden you're just like who am I what am I doing what day it is or what day is it you forget to talk everything Authority is the power or right to give orders or make decisions that's what Authority is it's the power or right to give orders or make decisions you and I we have authorities in our lives you want ever have a boss that decided to change a computer program and you just thought I don't want to do that and you had to learn a whole new computer program in order to accommodate your boss's Wishes the old one worked fine right then you get used to it and you realize it's actually okay for the most part bosses they get to make those kind of decisions children your parents your parents are authorities right you know they tell you go clean your room and what are you supposed to do clean your room right do those dishes or what have you I know my kids hear that elected officials right they have authorities in our lives where they might say that hey you we've got to pay taxes for this thing and if we don't pay taxes well we know how what happens then right much of Mark's audience they were slaves and so they were very familiar with the issues of authority in their lives of course they were they were Roman slaves in a society ruled by social status and for you and I we need to realize that we have an ultimate Authority an overarching authority even over our own lives and that is of course our creator the Lord God he has literally determined our very days he has determined our steps he order he has sustained Us by the word of his power and so the question that I kind of want to deal with today is do you recognize his authority over you or are you like the religious leaders

Andul at the authority of Christ you ask that question who gave you permission to do this so let's talk about Authority today let's stand together in honor of God's word as we read Mark chapter 11: 27 through 33 God's word it says this and they came again to Jerusalem and as he was walking in the temple the chief priests and the scribes and the elders came to him and they said to him by what Authority are you doing these things and who gave you this authority to do them Jesus said to them I will ask you one question answer me and I will tell you by what Authority I do these things was the baptism of John from heaven or from man answer me and they discussed it with one another saying if we sa from heaven and he will say but why didn't you not believe him but shall we say from man they were afraid of the people but they all held that John really was a prophet so they answered Jesus we do not know and Jesus said to them neither will I tell you by what Authority I do these things let's pray so Lord we do ask that you would clearly display your Authority in our lives as we deal with this passage Lord deal with our hearts I pray that if there's areas of rebellion or places where we haven't surrendered that authority to you God I pray that you would just conform us more into that image that you have for us more and more into the image of Jesus Christ we ask that you would speak to our hearts today illuminate made our minds to understand this passage and Lord I pray that you would help me to rightly divide the word of Truth and before I do that divide me Lord pierce my heart help me to recognize the authority that I am

Under father we ask that you would bless us that you would keep us God Lord we're just so thankful for what you're doing in our midst in Jesus name amen well Mark he reemphasizes the centrality of Jesus being in Jerusalem this is the fourth time in chapter 11 that he has mentioned that Jesus is in Jerusalem Jesus has finally arrived at his goal his purpose from cesaria Philippi he has fixed his eyes Southward towards Jerusalem and the temple he's taught he's traveled he's he's healed for six months on his way to this location and for the fifth time in this chapter Mark emphasizes the setting it is not just Jerusalem the temple the temple was the central place of worship for the Jews in the ancient world and the temple complex was led by three major groups that's the priests the scribes and influential laymen that they called Elders these three groups they composed Sanhedrin it's a group of 70 men that formed the ruling Jewish Council and these are the three groups that have questioned and antagonized and resisted Jesus throughout all of his in John the Baptist's Ministries Jesus he had prophesied that this group of men would be the ones to crucify him it says and he began to teach them that the son of man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders the chief priests and the scribes and be killed and after three days rise again in Mark 10:33 it says saying we are going see we are going to Jerusalem and the son of man will be delivered over to the chief priests and the scribes and they will condemn him to death and deliver him over to the Gentiles we see in Mark 11: 18 this passage and the chief priests and the scribes heard it and they were seeking a way to destroy him for they feared him because all the crowd was astonished at his

Teaching and so these ruling priests these experts in the law these influential men are coming together to challenge the authority of this young Rabbi From Galilee and what is this group doing in the temple they're going to confront Jesus and what's Jesus doing he's walking around freely the day before he causes a massive scene you got to imagine that those men probably said you ought to be ashamed of the way that you behave this day in the temple Jesus you should know better than that you're 33 years old and instead what is Jesus doing he's not ashamed he's there in his father's house they're the ones that made it into something that it wasn't supposed to be they were the ones that made it a d of robbers and thieves a place of Commerce and livestock rather than a place of prayer and worship they're the ones that should have been ashamed and he walks around because he's not afraid of any punishment or backlash it is a clash of authority and this is a continuation of conflicts that occurred all the way back in Mark chapter 3 when they're trying to figure out who Jesus is they send these scribes down there and the scribes who came from Jerusalem they were saying about Jesus he's possessed by beelo by the prince of demons he casts out the demons so if you're taking notes write this down the first point is a challenge to Christ's Authority challenge to Christ's Authority these men they gathered to ask Jesus by what Authority are you doing these things who gave you this Authority the biggest concern that these men have is not who Jesus is but who's in charge that Greek word is exusia which is a noun form of exes it means permission it means right power to do something Paul uses this phrase to describe the authority that was given to

Him by the Sanhedrin to go and persecute and kill Christians he had been given that authority eesti and exusia authority combined two ideas of who gave you the right and what gives you the might to do these things and what are these things of course I've told you the cleansing of the temple Jesus who's cutting into these men's prophets because they got a percentage of the cut of all those trades occurring in the temple not just in the sale of cattle and livestock but if they brought in Roman currency which had a picture of the emperor which people worshiped and believed to be divine well they can't use that to make sacrifices and to pay the temple tax so they had to go and get that changed out well they had to pay exorbitant fees in order for their money to be able to be used in the temple which means that they had to they had to pay in order to worship God we don't charge an insurance fee to come to Jesus Jesus has already paid it the implicit answer from these men who asked who gave you this Authority the implicit answer is not us they were seeking to undermine Jesus as the ultimate Authority you see Jesus Is God Almighty in Psalm 103: 19 it tells us that the Lord has established his throne in the heavens and his kingdom rules over all Jesus is the one who rules and Reigns right now his kingdom is established and you kind of got to wonder what kind of Kingdom or Throne does he have well it says righteousness and Justice are the foundation of your throne steadfast love and faithfulness go before you that's the kind of ruler that Jesus is he's a righteous ruler that means that he's good and everything he does is right it is full of mercy and

Love it even says justice are the is the foundation of your Thrones means that God doesn't make bad judgments or poor judgments we're called to trust his judgments because he is righteous and he is just also it says in there that it's a steadfast love it means it's faithful his love doesn't waver or change or EB Earth flow based upon the seasons or our actions it is steadfast and constant and he is faithful means that he is faithful to you that's the kind of ruler that's the kind of God that we have Imagine a King who holds absolute authority over his kingdom every law every decision every action flows from his decree and it's always good it's not like Earthly Kings or presidents that can make really bad decisions okay his decisions are always good and right and Christ's Authority is perfect it is just and it is eternal Matthew 28:18 it tells us that all authority in heaven and on Earth has been given to Jesus his rule extends over all creation from the smallest Sparrow to the highest star and we can trust his Reign you know people have been predicting the end of the world and how it's going to end for decades and decades and Millennia and Millennia it's it goes all the way back you know you might remember 2012 Mayan calendar oh my gosh we're all gonna die and you know we look at that and we laugh at that you know anybody remember y 2K y 2K you know I remember I came home it was like December 28th 1999 and my grandfather he had bought like you know like 24 pack of water and like some dried beans it's like yeah that's gonna get us through it you know you know we think about those things right and we hear one of the latest ones is that the poles are shifting and when the poles shift it means that all chaos is going to ensue

And you know and you got all these different things the fact is that Christ isn't going to allow things to happen unless he wants them to happen unless he has permitted them to happen and that is a strong reassurance for us as Christians isn't it no one else has that strong reassurance but we do in Christ Mark 4: 34- 41 35 through 41 Jesus he calms the storm with a simple command peace be still and the disciples they Marvel asking who then is this that even the wind and the Sea obey him see this illustrates his authority over nature when the chaos of Life both literal and metaphorical overwhelms us we can rest in the truth that Christ's words hold power over the storm that we can trust his strong hands a general in the military He commands troops but even the world's most powerful General his authority is limited it's limited to their army but Christ he's the supreme commander of heaven and of Earth Matthew 8: 8-10 the Centurion he recognizes that Authority comparing it to his own but he acknowledges that Jesus's power goes beyond anything that he could ever think or imagine he heals with a word even disease is subject to the authority of Christ Christ's Authority is unmatched in the visible and the invisible realm and artists they have complete authority over their painting don't they decide where every stroke goes where every color is where every little detail goes and just like that Christ has Authority because he's the creator of all things John 1:3 it says that all things were made through Jesus everything in creation belongs to him you know they got a diamond asteroid that's supposed to be flying past Earth and you know scientists are like if we get this we can give everyone a billion dollars right I'm sure that

Will not do any harm to our economy but Christ he has all authority he owns everything in the cosmos the scene and the unseen when we acknowledge his authority we submit to the one who knows us completely who has designed us intricately for his glory and for our good imagine a courtroom where a judge he has both the knowledge of the law and perfect insight into every single case see Christ he is the ultimate judge who has all authority to execute and ex exercise perfect Justice unlike human judges he sees the heart he knows every motive all the seen and the Unseen his authority ensures that Justice will ultimately Prevail and that provides accountability and hope to the world a shepherd's voice carries authority over the Sheep because they know him and because they trust him John 10:27 through 28 says my sheep hear my voice and I know them and they follow me and his authority is not oppressive but loving and he guides his people to safety he leads us besides Still Waters and I'm thankful for that his leadership reminds us that his authority is both powerful and compassionate ensuring that we are never never without care and I could continue on and on and on but do you believe that Christ has all authority what about authority over you because you gota be careful about that because if we really believe that Christ has Authority then it should make a difference in how we live it requires humility and submission means that your resources are his where how you conduct yourself professionally is his if we believe that Christ is the ultimate Authority then it should impact our homes our relationships the things that we

Do or are you like the religious leaders that resist Christ's rightful Authority you kind of say who do you think that you are who gave you that Authority if God's word instructs us then our job is to okay God how does this apply to my life like right here what does it mean for me to submit to you how do I live my life in light of that Jesus he ask this counter question though right that's the next point the first question was designed to shame Jesus and to make him submit Jesus's question is designed to reveal their lack of authority in the face of God and it's a conditional question isn't it's based upon their answer that they will get their answer to their question Jesus's answer of a question with the question as a common rabic teaching tool the if then style demonstrates a this truth and Jesus is so gracious because his question is designed in such a way to help them to see the answer is Jim brother Jim there you are one of the things that he's taught me and I love this is that truth discovered is more closely held on to than truth revealed if Jesus is just going to tell them I am the Messiah and he'll get there right then you know he reveals it but he wants them to discover that for themselves he wants them to understand that they want to get this answer but Jesus wants them to know who he is question Mark 11 was the baptism of John from heaven or from Man twice he says it in this pan in this passage I'll ask you one question answer me and then he repeats it again at the end of verse 30 answer me he is speaking with authority I need an answer from you and that's true for each and every single one of us isn't it we started the series in Mark asking that question what will you do with Jesus Christ and we've

Repeated that over and over throughout this passage because you have to do something with Jesus you can't just leave him alone he dominates and everything beckons to him all creation points to Jesus we have to do something with him either you're for him or you're against him and he says answer me was the baptism of John from heaven or from man and the question that Christ asks demands the answer it's not a false dichotomy it is either or either John's baptism was Heaven was from Heaven meaning from God okay it's synonymous in that culture or was it just from man was it a man-made religion you see Jesus he is Shifting the focus of the leader failure to discern Divine Authority Jesus he never claimed to be sent by anyone except the father he never claimed to be a follower of any Rabbi who wasn't a follower of Caiaphas or galel or any of the popular rabbis at that time he taught in his own name because there is no higher name that he can go to he said I've been sent from the Father the father has sent me but you have heard it said but I say to you he's teaching with his own authority and it is this failure to see or admit that condemns these men in fact they think that this question is some sort of a trap which Jesus trying to get at here he's trying to pin us down in front of all these people but in fact Jesus is trying to lovingly and graciously show them the truth the answer is that John's Authority was from God Matthew 3 it says for this is he who was spoken of by the prophet Isaiah when he said the voice of one crying in the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord make straight his paths John 1:29 the next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of

The world you see it is through the rejection of John's Ministry that the leaders reject God's salvation and plan I want you to think about that for a moment because these are these are the leaders of the chosen people of God this is this is Israel and yet they are as far away as the most Pagan person on the furthest continent they have no love for God if they had a love for God they would love incarnate but they don't they love their Authority they love their religion and so they reject the Savior are you willing to recognize the authority of God as revealed in his word I sure hope so none of us can be a growing maturing believer without submission to God's word but I want you to note this third point which is the leaders ignorance look at their debate Mark 11 31-32 and they discussed it with one another saying if we say from Heaven he will say why then did you not believe him but shall we say from man they were afraid of the people for they all held that John really was a prophet see they're not concerned with what's true or false here they're concerned with what's safe or unsafe they're concerned about what will give them victory in a debate winning argument note that if John's baptism was from man John's message was completely false he was a false prophet and that means that we have a false Gospel and Christ has false Authority if John's Ministry is not valid at best Jesus would be considered a con artist pulling off the most elaborate hoax in history but we know based on experience based upon God's word and apologetics that John's message is trth that he was truly a prophet sent from

God to prepare the way for the Lord and that we do have a true Gospel which means that Christ has true Authority R Allen Cole he writes that the root of the trouble lay not in their intellect but in their stubborn wills and they stood self-condemned it was yet another opportunity for them to realize and confess their blindness and to ask for Sight theirs was the unforgivable sin that constant willful opposition and blindness that is the sin against the Holy Spirit see true Spiritual Authority comes from God's word and God's spirit not from Human Traditions not from political influence or anything like that we are people of the book we Are People of the word and we have to choose are we seeking God's truth or relying on worldly wisdom for Authority the chief priests and the elders they consider their options and so they choose a third one we don't know they plead ignorance to the question which kind of reveals a little bit how on Earth can these men be spiritual authorities spiritual leaders and yet they can't discern spiritual matters they'd rather suffer the humiliation of ignorance than to admit that John was a prophet remember JN called them out he called him a brood of vipers he told him how Wicked they were Jesus did the same thing if they admit that they're that John's in Authority that means that Jesus is in Authority which means that they have to bring themselves under his authority but if they reject it and they say that John's baptism was not real well then they suffer the wrath of everyone around them caught in a tight spot but you know this is an ongoing issue in Israel's history book of Jeremiah God he constantly criticized his people because

Of their willful ignorance that's what these leaders are doing isn't it look at what Jeremiah writes he says hear this oh foolish and senseless people who have eyes but see not who have ears but hear not do you not fear me declares the Lord these men back way back in the Old Testament were foolish were senseless they could see but they couldn't see clearly they could hear but they couldn't hear clearly they have these ways to see they have the capability but they can't because they didn't have a fear of Lord they didn't want to acknowledge God or understand it look at what it says later on To Whom Shall I speak and give warning that they may hear behold their ears are uncircumcised they cannot listen behold the word of the Lord is to them an object of scorn they take no pleasure an scorn means that people hated the word of God they didn't view it as any type of authority these were unbelieving people their hearts were hardened towards his word and towards his authority look they've turned their back to the iniquities of their forefathers who refus to hear my words that means they're still going down the same path they're not repenting they're not turning to Christ they've gone after other gods to serve them the house of Israel and the house of Judah have broken my Covenant that I made with their fathers broken their Covenant these are Covenant people and this just underscores their total refusal to listen to God's word and their choices to pursue idolatry the choice of the Jewish leaders here is the exact same in a lot of ways they're atheists because they reject God to reject the authority of Jesus Christ is idolatry to re to reject his authority treason you see they know the word they have the word they have the covenants

They have the signs they have the prophecies they have everything that they need but it has to be spiritually discerned they've seen Jesus's life for three and a half years and what do they want to do they want to destroy him because they hate God and they hate God because they're ignorant of him and they don't want his authority and that's the biggest danger of ignorance isn't it ignorance in this area will lead to destruction there was once a man who hired a builder to construct a house and later he discovered that the Builder had never made anything or studied it so when the storm came everything fell apart it was destroyed it's terrible it's just like what it says in Proverbs by wisdom a house is built and by understanding it is established by knowledge the rooms are filled with all precious and pleasant riches Middle Ages scientists they believe that illnesses and things like that were caused by bad air whatever that is and because of this they ignored things like good hygiene and meanwhile the presence of germs could just be simply washed away by open and water we know that now but just bad hygiene caused an Untold number of deaths in the ancient world you see understanding is crucial to thriving and a lack of it causes tremendous harm these men instead of saying you know we're not sure what do you think about John's baptism they just viewed Jesus Through the worst possible wind and they rejected him in their ignorance this lack of an answer well listen to Christ's response it's a silent rebuke Jesus refuses to answer their un insincere question so it just stops the challenge his authority it stands unshaken requiring no validation from

Human institutions Jesus he affirms this in John chapter 19 so pilate said to him you will not speak to me do you not know that I have authority to release you and authority to crucify you and Jesus answered him you would have no authority over me at all unless it had been given to you from above therefore he who delivered me over to you has a greater sin this issue of authority has not been settled yet in fact over the next few weeks we're going to see a lot more conflict over this issue of authority but for today I want to ask you what do you think about the authority of Christ because I believe that Christ's Authority requires our submission not debate and so ask yourself are you living in obedience to him are you walking with Jesus Jesus's Authority is rooted in who he is he is the Eternal God made flesh it's what we finished celebrating at Christmas right he knows where he came from he knows what will happen he knows it all he has decreed creation from the beginning and has all the rights and privileges of being God Almighty because he is and so what will you do with Jesus's Authority head heart hand head God he wants you to know that Jesus has all authority as the Great Commission says all authority in heaven and on Earth has been given to me Jesus is the Supreme Master and Commander of Our Lives he rules and Reigns over us now with Justice with righteousness with steadfast love and mercy I'm very thankful for that heart God he wants you to believe that you must Orient your life around and under his authority so don't be like the chief priest describes the elders that resist Jesus but in humble submission rever him as Lord and as God and hand God he wants you to consider if these things if there are things in your life that you need to repent of and change

Whatever that is that's between you and the Lord you don't have to go through a pastor you can talk to a pastor but you go through Jesus he is our great high priest whatever that is it's between you and the Lord ask him read the word and he will give you the answers that you need to walk humbly and to submit to his authority and so God we do thank you so much for this time that we have together I'm just thankful to be back in church this week God I just pray that you would help each and every one of us to live confidently under your gracious Authority that we would know you more that we would love you better and God we just thank you so much that you're the one that works that in our hearts and in our lives we just pray that you would help us Lord to orient ourselves under under you help us to seek out your word and to make those changes whatever they may be that we may live Faithfully before you in Jesus precious name amen let's all stand and let's worship together [Music] take up the cross and me I heard my master I gave my life to Rome thee surrender your all to whereever he lead it's how go whereever he I'll go follow my Christ who loves me so whereever he leads

[Music] my heart my life my [Music] all to Christ whoes me is my master King where he leads go wherever he leads I'll go wherever he I'll I'll follow my Christ who loves whereever he leads all go and Lord that is true of my heart and I'm sure the heart of many that are in here and perhaps there's someone here that maybe that song is not true yet I pray that today they would leave here knowing that they're yours by faith if they would just repent of their sins and trust in you father I pray that you would bless us as we go from here as missionaries and ambassadors of Christ Lord wherever you want us to go that's what we'll do whether that's to North Carolina or to go build homes or just staying here and Faithfully raising kids or as retired people Lord going out and serving in the community I just pray that you would lead us and that you would guide us father we love you and we thank you for your kindness and your mercy in Jesus name amen so