1 00:00:02,560 --> 00:00:06,360 Before we begin and Mark, I want to turn your attention to 2 00:00:06,360 --> 00:00:13,080 something and just share a few truths here in preparation for 3 00:00:13,440 --> 00:00:16,760 the main message. And so don't turn to Mark just 4 00:00:16,760 --> 00:00:19,560 yet, but meet me in Romans chapter one very quickly. 5 00:00:25,260 --> 00:00:28,820 And these thoughts that I am going to share with you blessed 6 00:00:28,820 --> 00:00:31,900 me tremendously and prayerfully. I hope they will bless you 7 00:00:31,900 --> 00:00:42,320 equally, if not more. I want you to see what Paul says 8 00:00:42,320 --> 00:00:44,640 to these believers that he's never met before. 9 00:00:46,200 --> 00:00:53,040 It's here in verse eight, he says First, I thank my God 10 00:00:53,040 --> 00:00:59,320 through Jesus Christ for all of you, because your faith is 11 00:00:59,320 --> 00:01:04,640 proclaimed in all the world. That's powerful. 12 00:01:06,080 --> 00:01:09,920 Paul traveled to many ancient cities, Rome being obviously the 13 00:01:09,920 --> 00:01:12,520 capital of the world, really at that time. 14 00:01:13,120 --> 00:01:16,800 And wherever Paul went among the believers, they were talking 15 00:01:16,800 --> 00:01:21,600 about these Roman Christians. Their faith was shared, their 16 00:01:21,600 --> 00:01:25,720 faith was recognized, their faith was celebrated even by 17 00:01:25,720 --> 00:01:27,640 other believers. It inspired them. 18 00:01:27,640 --> 00:01:30,040 And how could it not? You're talking about a 19 00:01:30,040 --> 00:01:34,760 collection of Christ followers in the heathen city of Rome, 20 00:01:34,760 --> 00:01:38,520 where church history would tell us just in a few years after 21 00:01:38,520 --> 00:01:41,360 this would be great persecution against believers in Jesus 22 00:01:41,360 --> 00:01:44,280 Christ. And despite all of that, these 23 00:01:44,280 --> 00:01:49,800 Roman Christians and their piety was providing strength to other 24 00:01:49,800 --> 00:01:53,960 believers. And Paul here commends that he 25 00:01:53,960 --> 00:01:57,120 celebrates that. You know it's good from time to 26 00:01:57,120 --> 00:02:00,360 time to encourage other believers about their influence 27 00:02:00,360 --> 00:02:02,720 on other believers, even if that's you. 28 00:02:03,920 --> 00:02:07,680 Paul didn't neglect that concept of encouragement of actually 29 00:02:07,680 --> 00:02:10,800 telling another believer. You inspire me. 30 00:02:10,800 --> 00:02:13,440 You inspire others. I hear from others about your 31 00:02:13,440 --> 00:02:15,880 walk with the Lord, your devotion to the Lord, your 32 00:02:15,880 --> 00:02:17,920 service to the church. It's a blessing. 33 00:02:18,200 --> 00:02:20,640 Paul's doing that here, right the outset of his letter. 34 00:02:21,400 --> 00:02:25,720 But interestingly, in commending their faith, he repeats it in a 35 00:02:25,720 --> 00:02:28,520 similar way at the end of this very same epistle. 36 00:02:28,520 --> 00:02:40,600 So go to Romans 16 and notice something with me in verse 19 of 37 00:02:40,600 --> 00:02:42,560 Romans 16. Isn't that an awesome sound that 38 00:02:42,560 --> 00:02:44,880 you're hearing right now? Do you hear that? 39 00:02:45,360 --> 00:02:47,600 You know, somebody called us because we get calls from time 40 00:02:47,600 --> 00:02:50,760 to time who watch us online. And one of the things that they 41 00:02:50,760 --> 00:02:53,120 observed in watching our live services is that they hear the 42 00:02:53,120 --> 00:02:57,240 Bible pages flipping. And they said he hasn't heard 43 00:02:57,240 --> 00:03:00,800 that in such a long time. So I just have to share that. 44 00:03:00,800 --> 00:03:02,080 There we go. I'm, I'm doing what Paul's 45 00:03:02,080 --> 00:03:03,680 doing. Be encouraged. 46 00:03:04,640 --> 00:03:11,040 But look at Romans 1619 now, for your obedience is known to all, 47 00:03:12,400 --> 00:03:16,320 so that I rejoice over you. But I want you to be wise as to 48 00:03:16,320 --> 00:03:19,880 what is good and innocent, as to what is evil. 49 00:03:20,160 --> 00:03:22,240 So he almost echoes what he says in Romans 18. 50 00:03:22,240 --> 00:03:23,440 But he says something different now. 51 00:03:23,440 --> 00:03:26,920 He says for your, not your faith, your obedience, your 52 00:03:26,920 --> 00:03:31,480 obedience is known to all. Is he speaking about something 53 00:03:31,480 --> 00:03:34,680 different here? I think indirectly Paul is 54 00:03:34,680 --> 00:03:37,280 teaching us about what true faith looks like. 55 00:03:39,080 --> 00:03:41,560 Obedience is inseparable from true saving faith. 56 00:03:43,200 --> 00:03:47,560 If you have true saving faith, you're going to walk in 57 00:03:47,560 --> 00:03:52,160 obedience. So the faith that was praised by 58 00:03:52,160 --> 00:03:56,520 these neighboring churches was not a praise about their mere 59 00:03:56,520 --> 00:03:59,160 confession or their profession, but their practice. 60 00:04:00,400 --> 00:04:06,760 How they lived as a result of their faith is what inspired the 61 00:04:06,760 --> 00:04:09,880 other believers. And here's the thing that's 62 00:04:09,960 --> 00:04:14,840 important to keep in mind. True saving faith not only leads 63 00:04:14,840 --> 00:04:19,240 to and produces a life of obedience, but it's a life of 64 00:04:19,240 --> 00:04:23,560 obedience that should be recognized by others, he says. 65 00:04:23,560 --> 00:04:27,320 Your faith is known across the world. 66 00:04:27,600 --> 00:04:34,200 Your obedience is known to all. True saving faith will produce 67 00:04:34,200 --> 00:04:39,880 obedience, and that obedience will be so evident and obvious. 68 00:04:40,640 --> 00:04:43,000 Maybe not to the whole world, but to your world. 69 00:04:44,960 --> 00:04:46,840 This is a true believer in Jesus Christ. 70 00:04:46,920 --> 00:04:48,200 Now that's not even my main point. 71 00:04:48,400 --> 00:04:53,200 I bring that to your attention because think about what kind of 72 00:04:53,200 --> 00:04:57,440 lives these believers lived for it to bless other assemblies and 73 00:04:57,440 --> 00:05:02,040 congregations. What kind of steadfastness, What 74 00:05:02,040 --> 00:05:06,200 kind of boldness and courage, What kind of purity was there 75 00:05:06,200 --> 00:05:09,000 for it to shine so bright in this ancient world? 76 00:05:09,640 --> 00:05:11,960 For the Christian world to be able to say those Roman 77 00:05:11,960 --> 00:05:16,200 believers are something. With all of that being said, go 78 00:05:16,200 --> 00:05:19,560 back to Romans one. Now you notice what Paul says 79 00:05:19,560 --> 00:05:23,680 after he tells these people that their faith is made known to 80 00:05:23,680 --> 00:05:29,000 all. Look at verse 9. 81 00:05:30,400 --> 00:05:34,880 For God is my witness, whom I serve with my spirit in the 82 00:05:34,880 --> 00:05:39,400 gospel of his Son. That without ceasing I mention 83 00:05:39,400 --> 00:05:44,920 you always in my prayers, asking that somehow by God's will I may 84 00:05:45,080 --> 00:05:47,920 now at last succeed in coming to you. 85 00:05:49,000 --> 00:05:53,520 So Paul, Paul saying I pray for you all the time, but he doesn't 86 00:05:53,520 --> 00:05:56,120 just say that. Look at verse 11 for I long to 87 00:05:56,120 --> 00:06:01,040 see you, that I may impart to you some spiritual gift to 88 00:06:01,040 --> 00:06:04,760 strengthen you. So not only am I praying for you 89 00:06:04,920 --> 00:06:07,920 unceasingly, but I long my prayers that I would come to you 90 00:06:07,920 --> 00:06:11,760 in person, that I may impart into you something else, that 91 00:06:11,760 --> 00:06:15,800 you may be further strengthened. You know what that tells me? 92 00:06:15,800 --> 00:06:17,840 This is what I want to drive into your heart because it was 93 00:06:17,840 --> 00:06:22,720 driven into mind that though these believers had a world 94 00:06:22,720 --> 00:06:27,520 renowned class of faith, they still needed to be prayed for 95 00:06:28,840 --> 00:06:32,720 and there was still more for them to experience in God 96 00:06:35,040 --> 00:06:39,360 despite their influence, despite the lives that they have 97 00:06:39,360 --> 00:06:43,520 touched, Paul believed there's still more for God through my 98 00:06:43,520 --> 00:06:49,400 ministry to impart into you. And I opened this message in 99 00:06:49,400 --> 00:06:52,040 this way to inspire you and to encourage you. 100 00:06:52,880 --> 00:06:54,840 There should never be a moment in your life, no matter how much 101 00:06:54,840 --> 00:06:58,720 you graduate in your sanctification, where you feel 102 00:06:58,720 --> 00:07:01,800 like there isn't more, There is always more. 103 00:07:02,480 --> 00:07:04,400 There is always more for you to know. 104 00:07:04,400 --> 00:07:08,280 There is more for you to grow. And what's so fascinating about 105 00:07:08,280 --> 00:07:10,640 these inspiring believers? It's not just that they needed 106 00:07:10,640 --> 00:07:13,600 to be prayed for. It's not that they had more to 107 00:07:13,600 --> 00:07:16,840 experience by Paul's imparting gifts. 108 00:07:16,960 --> 00:07:20,760 Look at verse 15. So I am eager to preach the 109 00:07:20,760 --> 00:07:27,280 gospel to you also who are in Rome, these believers who are 110 00:07:27,280 --> 00:07:30,680 inspiring other believers to live with greater intensity and 111 00:07:30,680 --> 00:07:33,720 devotion of the gospel. Paul says, I can't wait to 112 00:07:33,720 --> 00:07:37,640 preach to you about the gospel. You can never outgrow your need 113 00:07:37,640 --> 00:07:40,760 to hear about the gospel. You need it. 114 00:07:40,960 --> 00:07:43,520 I need it. Not to say that we just stay 115 00:07:43,520 --> 00:07:46,080 there in those elementary doctrines, no, but we never 116 00:07:46,080 --> 00:07:49,760 failed to revisit it and discover greater depths of it, 117 00:07:50,160 --> 00:07:52,280 and seeing how the scriptures and places that we might have 118 00:07:52,280 --> 00:07:55,720 missed points to it. And so even if you are a 119 00:07:55,720 --> 00:07:58,800 believer here who has vast influence online in your 120 00:07:58,880 --> 00:08:04,280 circles, you need to be prayed for and you need to believe that 121 00:08:04,280 --> 00:08:09,120 there is more that God wants to impart into your life and you 122 00:08:09,120 --> 00:08:13,840 can never outgrow your need to know and grow and be reminded of 123 00:08:13,840 --> 00:08:17,160 the grace of God. Lord, we open this message with 124 00:08:17,160 --> 00:08:22,240 these truths so that we can be humble before you as we explore 125 00:08:22,240 --> 00:08:26,560 this text that you have prepared for us to discover. 126 00:08:26,560 --> 00:08:32,919 Together we are eager, Lord, and though we may stand, we we take 127 00:08:32,919 --> 00:08:37,679 heed lest we fall. Help us remain hungry and 128 00:08:37,679 --> 00:08:41,640 humble, that we may know all that you have for us, not just 129 00:08:41,640 --> 00:08:44,240 today, but until we meet you face to face. 130 00:08:44,800 --> 00:08:48,720 Be with us now as we look at your Son Jesus Christ and a new 131 00:08:48,720 --> 00:08:51,640 light in Jesus name. Amen. 132 00:08:52,480 --> 00:08:57,400 With that being said, Mark 11 with me, please in verse 27. 133 00:09:01,120 --> 00:09:03,800 I want to speak to you today about the wisdom and authority 134 00:09:03,800 --> 00:09:13,810 of Jesus Christ. Let's read together, beginning 135 00:09:13,810 --> 00:09:19,040 in verse 27, down to verse 33. And they came again to 136 00:09:19,040 --> 00:09:21,320 Jerusalem. And as he was walking in the 137 00:09:21,320 --> 00:09:24,280 temple, the chief priests and the scribes and the elders came 138 00:09:24,280 --> 00:09:28,320 to him, and they said to him, by what authority are you doing 139 00:09:28,320 --> 00:09:32,200 these things, or who gave you this authority to do them? 140 00:09:32,960 --> 00:09:35,840 Jesus said to them, I will ask you one question. 141 00:09:35,840 --> 00:09:39,000 Answer me, and I will tell you by what authority I do these 142 00:09:39,000 --> 00:09:42,840 things. Was the baptism of John from 143 00:09:42,840 --> 00:09:46,520 heaven or from man? Answer me. 144 00:09:47,600 --> 00:09:50,440 And they discussed it with one another, saying, If we say from 145 00:09:50,440 --> 00:09:53,560 heaven, he will say, Why then did you not believe him? 146 00:09:54,400 --> 00:09:57,840 But shall we say from man? They were afraid of the people, 147 00:09:58,400 --> 00:10:00,640 for they all held that John really was a prophet. 148 00:10:01,320 --> 00:10:04,840 So they answered Jesus, we do not know. 149 00:10:05,600 --> 00:10:08,480 And Jesus said to them, neither will I tell you by what 150 00:10:08,480 --> 00:10:12,880 authority I do these things. I love Jesus. 151 00:10:14,400 --> 00:10:16,440 Here we find our Lord in the temple yet again. 152 00:10:17,680 --> 00:10:22,440 Earlier that day, Jesus was standing with his disciples by a 153 00:10:22,600 --> 00:10:29,880 withered, dry, lifeless fig tree while sharing these life giving 154 00:10:29,880 --> 00:10:32,360 truths about mountain moving prayer. 155 00:10:33,560 --> 00:10:36,600 And from there, now marked by the Spirit, transports us to 156 00:10:36,640 --> 00:10:39,920 Jesus in the temple in Jerusalem once more. 157 00:10:40,800 --> 00:10:44,080 And this is during Passover weeks, so you can imagine just 158 00:10:44,080 --> 00:10:48,320 how packed the plazas were. And we find here Christ in verse 159 00:10:48,320 --> 00:10:53,720 27 walking in the temple. But he wouldn't be able to walk 160 00:10:53,720 --> 00:10:58,440 too long before he would be ambushed and he was attacked by 161 00:10:58,520 --> 00:11:01,400 three groups of people. According to verse 27, the chief 162 00:11:01,400 --> 00:11:05,920 priest, the scribes and the elders, they came to him. 163 00:11:06,560 --> 00:11:11,440 Now these three groups are the three main components of the 164 00:11:11,440 --> 00:11:14,840 main religious Jewish body of the time, known as the 165 00:11:14,840 --> 00:11:17,680 Sanhedrin. These are top figures. 166 00:11:17,680 --> 00:11:22,680 These are the authority heads of the spiritual and religious life 167 00:11:22,680 --> 00:11:25,360 and regulations for the Jewish people at this time. 168 00:11:26,160 --> 00:11:29,760 And as we would suspect, here are these men who come pouncing 169 00:11:29,760 --> 00:11:33,640 on the opportunity that Jesus is in close proximity to them, and 170 00:11:33,640 --> 00:11:38,680 they are armed with a new scheme, a set of questions that 171 00:11:38,680 --> 00:11:43,560 they believe will cause Christ to stumble and to expose his 172 00:11:44,160 --> 00:11:47,600 foolishness and his inconsistency and perhaps even 173 00:11:47,600 --> 00:11:51,240 some sin in his life. So with aggression they asked 174 00:11:51,400 --> 00:11:54,960 these two questions by what authority do you do these 175 00:11:54,960 --> 00:11:57,560 things? Or who gave you this authority 176 00:11:57,560 --> 00:12:00,560 to do it? Now, before we even look into 177 00:12:00,560 --> 00:12:04,000 those questions, we have to 1st establish that these requests 178 00:12:04,000 --> 00:12:06,800 were not prompted by sincere curiosity. 179 00:12:08,880 --> 00:12:11,200 It was motivated by murderous animosity. 180 00:12:12,120 --> 00:12:14,280 Let me remind you, the last that we heard of these groups of 181 00:12:14,280 --> 00:12:19,360 people go to Mark 11, verse 18, we're told here in verse 18. 182 00:12:19,360 --> 00:12:22,920 And the chief priests and the scribes heard it and were 183 00:12:22,920 --> 00:12:29,040 seeking a way to destroy him, for they feared him because all 184 00:12:29,040 --> 00:12:31,240 the crowd was astonished at his teaching. 185 00:12:31,800 --> 00:12:34,080 So with this in mind, we have every reason to believe that the 186 00:12:34,080 --> 00:12:38,080 motive behind this question and these questions is to find a 187 00:12:38,080 --> 00:12:41,720 reason to find some kind of evidence to condemn the Lord 188 00:12:41,720 --> 00:12:45,480 Jesus to death. And for these twisted men, it 189 00:12:45,480 --> 00:12:48,000 would be this type of interrogation that would be the 190 00:12:48,000 --> 00:12:51,960 way to gather the necessary proof to justify their evil 191 00:12:51,960 --> 00:12:54,600 ploy. Who gave you this authority? 192 00:12:56,960 --> 00:12:59,320 Now, why would this put Jesus in the dilemma? 193 00:13:00,520 --> 00:13:05,960 Why would this specific type of approach place him in a 194 00:13:05,960 --> 00:13:10,080 dangerous place? It's very easy because if Jesus 195 00:13:10,080 --> 00:13:13,360 said that it was with his own authority that he did these 196 00:13:13,360 --> 00:13:18,600 things, then he could be easily dismissed as a self appointing 197 00:13:18,600 --> 00:13:20,120 prophet. He could be discredited in the 198 00:13:20,120 --> 00:13:24,160 public eye. But if he did claim what he said 199 00:13:24,160 --> 00:13:28,800 over and over and over before this moment, that he was in fact 200 00:13:28,800 --> 00:13:33,480 sent by God, that he did even come from heaven, then that 201 00:13:33,480 --> 00:13:37,680 would be fresh grounds for them to accuse him of blasphemy. 202 00:13:39,080 --> 00:13:41,320 And so they think that they have them in a corner here. 203 00:13:42,080 --> 00:13:46,000 So they say, what authority do you have to do these things? 204 00:13:46,000 --> 00:13:48,160 What are these things that they are talking about? 205 00:13:49,240 --> 00:13:53,680 Surely it is what we learned not too long ago when Jesus went 206 00:13:53,680 --> 00:13:56,040 into the temple and cleanse it and drove out the money 207 00:13:56,040 --> 00:13:58,720 changers. We learned that in verse 18 208 00:13:58,720 --> 00:14:00,400 there, right, they heard about this. 209 00:14:00,400 --> 00:14:03,960 They learned, though they weren't there, that Jesus came 210 00:14:03,960 --> 00:14:07,120 in and bulldoze all the corruption out of the House of 211 00:14:07,120 --> 00:14:10,560 God. But there's something else that 212 00:14:10,560 --> 00:14:14,760 Jesus was doing at this moment that also caused them to ask 213 00:14:14,760 --> 00:14:17,400 this question. You won't find it in Mark or 214 00:14:17,400 --> 00:14:21,400 you're going to find it in Luke and Luke 20 verse one. 215 00:14:21,520 --> 00:14:25,400 Mark tells us that Jesus was in the temple walking. 216 00:14:25,880 --> 00:14:31,160 Luke says something else and Luke 20 verse one one day. 217 00:14:31,160 --> 00:14:37,520 This is the same account One day as Jesus was teaching the people 218 00:14:37,840 --> 00:14:42,840 in the temple and preaching the gospel, the chief priests and 219 00:14:42,840 --> 00:14:46,040 the scribes with the elders came up and said to him, tell us by 220 00:14:46,040 --> 00:14:50,400 what authority you do these things or who is it that gave 221 00:14:50,400 --> 00:14:54,960 you this authority? So wasn't just about the news of 222 00:14:54,960 --> 00:14:59,160 how he came in, as we learned, fulfilling his role as a priest 223 00:14:59,320 --> 00:15:03,160 to purge out all the corruption. It was also the fact that he, 224 00:15:03,400 --> 00:15:07,240 with authority, was teaching within the temple, and not just 225 00:15:07,240 --> 00:15:11,080 teaching, he was preaching the gospel to them. 226 00:15:11,800 --> 00:15:15,080 You know where my mind went when I read this the other day about 227 00:15:15,080 --> 00:15:17,680 how Mark began in his gospel account? 228 00:15:18,600 --> 00:15:22,680 You remember Mark 114 to 15, where we're told that Jesus 229 00:15:22,920 --> 00:15:28,120 preached the gospel of God. And then now we come to the end 230 00:15:28,120 --> 00:15:31,040 of the book, near the end of the book, at least, obviously, near 231 00:15:31,040 --> 00:15:32,520 the end of his ministry on earth. 232 00:15:32,880 --> 00:15:36,720 And what do you find Jesus doing preaching the gospel? 233 00:15:37,320 --> 00:15:39,960 You know, this is the beauty of studying a book in its entirety, 234 00:15:40,160 --> 00:15:42,680 going from chapter to chapter, verse by verse. 235 00:15:42,960 --> 00:15:47,640 Because what we see here is a tracing of Jesus and his duty, 236 00:15:47,640 --> 00:15:53,440 being unwavering in his determination, laser focused, 237 00:15:53,960 --> 00:15:58,840 unmoved, unfazed, completely committed to his father as a 238 00:15:58,840 --> 00:16:01,440 servant. And he is our model to serve the 239 00:16:01,440 --> 00:16:04,080 Father with the same steadfast resolve. 240 00:16:05,160 --> 00:16:07,240 When we're introduced to Jesus, we find him preaching the 241 00:16:07,240 --> 00:16:08,600 gospel. When we're coming to the close 242 00:16:08,600 --> 00:16:13,240 of Jesus life on earth, He's preaching the gospel and he is 243 00:16:13,240 --> 00:16:16,160 our model. He's our example for today, and 244 00:16:16,160 --> 00:16:18,680 I can't help but be moved. Seeing the Lord pouring out his 245 00:16:18,680 --> 00:16:22,600 heart serving in this way. He told us that he was sent to 246 00:16:22,600 --> 00:16:25,000 preach. Yes, to die, but to also preach 247 00:16:25,000 --> 00:16:29,320 leading up to his death and a few days before he is ready to 248 00:16:29,320 --> 00:16:32,360 be nailed on a cross he's still serving and what he was called 249 00:16:32,360 --> 00:16:36,360 to do. I think of the words of the 250 00:16:36,360 --> 00:16:39,800 apostle Paul who imitated the zeal and the devotion of his 251 00:16:39,800 --> 00:16:42,320 master. You know, you're asked 252 00:16:42,320 --> 00:16:43,920 sometimes, what's your life verse? 253 00:16:43,920 --> 00:16:45,960 It's hard to say what my life verse is. 254 00:16:46,200 --> 00:16:48,840 I can tell you like the top ten, I guess. 255 00:16:50,240 --> 00:16:54,240 But whenever people do ask me that question, it's always been 256 00:16:54,240 --> 00:16:58,560 this, at least one of them in terms of my walk with the Lord. 257 00:16:58,840 --> 00:17:01,120 Not necessarily what Christ has done for me, but what I can do 258 00:17:01,120 --> 00:17:04,400 for Christ for years. This is this has been the one 259 00:17:04,400 --> 00:17:07,599 for years, and I think he'll stay that way for years. 260 00:17:08,160 --> 00:17:11,160 In Acts 2024, you have to see it turn, turn, turn. 261 00:17:11,160 --> 00:17:13,160 Let's hear that sound again of the Bibles flipping. 262 00:17:13,599 --> 00:17:15,720 You got to see it with your eyes. 263 00:17:17,040 --> 00:17:20,359 Acts 2024. And I know I said that's my life 264 00:17:20,359 --> 00:17:21,800 first. It can be yours too, if you want 265 00:17:21,800 --> 00:17:25,280 it to be. Acts 2024. 266 00:17:26,000 --> 00:17:30,720 Memorize it, Write it on your doorpost. 267 00:17:32,640 --> 00:17:36,880 But I do not account my life of any value, nor as precious to 268 00:17:36,880 --> 00:17:40,400 myself. If only I may finish my course 269 00:17:40,720 --> 00:17:45,280 and the ministry that I received from the Lord Jesus to testify 270 00:17:45,280 --> 00:17:47,280 to the gospel of the grace of God. 271 00:17:47,680 --> 00:17:49,080 That's a good life. Verse. 272 00:17:51,320 --> 00:17:56,840 There is no value to my life. It's not in my job. 273 00:17:56,840 --> 00:17:59,240 It's not in my bank account. It's not in my family. 274 00:17:59,760 --> 00:18:03,360 As wonderful as my family is. It's not about my gifting. 275 00:18:03,360 --> 00:18:05,200 It's not about world records that I've broken. 276 00:18:05,320 --> 00:18:13,280 My life has zero value to it. Apart from me serving the master 277 00:18:14,200 --> 00:18:17,920 in regards to the specific tailor made calling that he has 278 00:18:17,920 --> 00:18:19,960 given to me. Can you say that? 279 00:18:21,640 --> 00:18:25,680 Can you actually say that my life has no value? 280 00:18:25,680 --> 00:18:31,200 Like I'm ready to go home if I can no longer serve Jesus in the 281 00:18:31,200 --> 00:18:32,640 way that he's called me to serve Jesus? 282 00:18:33,080 --> 00:18:35,200 This is radical Christianity. No, it's Christianity. 283 00:18:35,880 --> 00:18:38,800 It's not radical Christianity. Well, that's Paul. 284 00:18:38,800 --> 00:18:41,640 Well, Paul says imitate me. So now you're in trouble. 285 00:18:44,240 --> 00:18:46,560 I do not account my life of any value. 286 00:18:46,560 --> 00:18:52,000 It's not even precious to me. Meaning, life is identified. 287 00:18:52,000 --> 00:18:56,480 Life is in correspondence to my service to the master. 288 00:18:56,760 --> 00:18:59,320 That's what life is. You remove serving the master, 289 00:18:59,320 --> 00:19:01,480 You remove serving his purposes, advancing his gospel. 290 00:19:01,480 --> 00:19:05,680 I don't live that can be possible for you. 291 00:19:05,680 --> 00:19:09,400 Ask God to do it in you. But notice what he says about 292 00:19:09,400 --> 00:19:12,680 ministry. If only I may finish my course. 293 00:19:12,680 --> 00:19:15,400 A lot of people start out serving God, he says. 294 00:19:15,400 --> 00:19:20,080 I want to finish finish my course and the ministry that I 295 00:19:20,080 --> 00:19:23,120 received from the Lord Jesus. Do you hear his language? 296 00:19:24,240 --> 00:19:26,160 Not the ministry that I put myself in. 297 00:19:26,680 --> 00:19:30,760 Not the ministry that I invented for myself, that I received, 298 00:19:31,880 --> 00:19:36,120 that I received from God gives you ministry. 299 00:19:36,640 --> 00:19:39,040 God opens doors for you to serve in ministry. 300 00:19:39,040 --> 00:19:43,200 God fashions you and furnishes you for ministry. 301 00:19:43,640 --> 00:19:44,840 You know why that's important to know? 302 00:19:44,840 --> 00:19:48,160 For many reasons. It helps you see the mundane as 303 00:19:48,160 --> 00:19:52,160 majestic, because if you're serving the Lord in any 304 00:19:52,160 --> 00:19:55,520 capacity, if you see it as it being something given by the 305 00:19:55,520 --> 00:19:57,800 Lord, then you're going to appreciate it much more. 306 00:19:58,880 --> 00:20:01,880 I've received this from the Lord, and in his wisdom he gave 307 00:20:01,880 --> 00:20:05,320 me this kind of ministry. So I'm going to serve him in 308 00:20:05,320 --> 00:20:08,400 this way because this is what Providence has brought to my 309 00:20:08,400 --> 00:20:12,040 plate, and so I will enjoy it and faithfully observe it. 310 00:20:12,200 --> 00:20:18,120 I received it, But then notice the end of this verse. 311 00:20:19,200 --> 00:20:21,240 The message that he wants to leave with the world. 312 00:20:21,840 --> 00:20:24,560 The one thing that he wants to leave behind with the world when 313 00:20:24,560 --> 00:20:29,080 he departs from the world to testify to the gospel of the 314 00:20:29,080 --> 00:20:33,000 grace of God. You know what Paul wanted to 315 00:20:33,000 --> 00:20:36,320 leave with the world. Out of all the attributes, out 316 00:20:36,320 --> 00:20:39,560 of all the truths. I want people to know about 317 00:20:40,280 --> 00:20:43,960 grace. I want people to know about 318 00:20:43,960 --> 00:20:47,080 grace. I want my life, my ministry to 319 00:20:47,080 --> 00:20:50,400 leave in people's mouths the taste of his mercy. 320 00:20:51,560 --> 00:20:54,360 What a man this was. Surely he walked in the paths 321 00:20:54,360 --> 00:20:57,240 and the steps of his master and we're invited to do the same. 322 00:20:57,680 --> 00:21:01,200 Jesus starts out serving and preaching the gospel. 323 00:21:01,200 --> 00:21:03,680 We find him here a few days before he would be crucified 324 00:21:03,920 --> 00:21:07,600 preaching the gospel. And if you're going to live to 325 00:21:07,600 --> 00:21:11,080 serve Christ in this way, where you can say with Paul, my life 326 00:21:11,080 --> 00:21:14,080 has no value. Yeah, I know I need to work and 327 00:21:14,080 --> 00:21:15,640 I need to provide for my family. That's important. 328 00:21:15,640 --> 00:21:18,040 I'm not neglecting that, but the desires of my heart. 329 00:21:18,040 --> 00:21:23,680 But my ambitions are 100% dedicated to serving the Lord. 330 00:21:25,960 --> 00:21:28,840 If you're going to live that way, you can expect what Jesus 331 00:21:28,840 --> 00:21:30,680 experienced in the temple on this day. 332 00:21:31,760 --> 00:21:35,400 Here he is preaching the gospel, and that would not happen while 333 00:21:35,400 --> 00:21:37,680 the enemies of the gospel sat by idly. 334 00:21:39,480 --> 00:21:42,400 Here are these agents of Satan, ready to interrupt what Christ 335 00:21:42,400 --> 00:21:44,880 is doing. You can expect warfare in your 336 00:21:44,880 --> 00:21:50,200 life when you live with this kind of ambition, but there's 337 00:21:50,200 --> 00:21:52,200 nothing to be feared. Because as we're about to 338 00:21:52,200 --> 00:21:56,640 discover whatever ploy, whatever plot these men have, the tables 339 00:21:56,640 --> 00:21:58,000 are going to be turned very quickly. 340 00:21:58,680 --> 00:22:02,840 So let's come back, verse 29 of Mark 11. 341 00:22:03,000 --> 00:22:05,800 Jesus said to them, I will ask you one question. 342 00:22:06,680 --> 00:22:10,000 Answer me, and I will tell you by what authority I do these 343 00:22:10,000 --> 00:22:12,400 things. Was the baptism of John from 344 00:22:12,400 --> 00:22:14,200 heaven over man? Answer me. 345 00:22:15,160 --> 00:22:18,400 You can tell the tone here is is strong, and for good reason, 346 00:22:18,960 --> 00:22:23,960 because Jesus can see right through their insincere phony 347 00:22:23,960 --> 00:22:26,680 interest. These are not men who are 348 00:22:26,680 --> 00:22:28,680 authentically inquiring about His authority, they are 349 00:22:28,680 --> 00:22:31,080 challenging it. Here's how you can translate 350 00:22:31,080 --> 00:22:34,040 what the Pharisees are saying. Who do you think you are? 351 00:22:34,360 --> 00:22:36,560 That's what they're saying. Who do you think you are doing 352 00:22:36,560 --> 00:22:38,280 this? Who do you think you are to 353 00:22:38,280 --> 00:22:40,120 teach here? Who do you think you are to come 354 00:22:40,120 --> 00:22:42,800 in here, Move things around? Who do you think you are? 355 00:22:44,360 --> 00:22:46,280 And this is a good place to remember that ever since 356 00:22:46,280 --> 00:22:50,200 Christ's first Advent, from every age since then, and it 357 00:22:50,200 --> 00:22:52,360 will always be until he comes back again. 358 00:22:52,600 --> 00:22:56,880 Men have resisted the authority of Jesus Christ. 359 00:22:58,880 --> 00:23:04,520 Men have fought, Men have rebelled, Men have raised their 360 00:23:04,720 --> 00:23:07,680 fists against the authority of Jesus Christ. 361 00:23:07,680 --> 00:23:09,280 And that was prophesied in the Bible. 362 00:23:10,400 --> 00:23:12,560 It was prophesied in the book of Psalms, and one of the most 363 00:23:12,560 --> 00:23:14,960 quoted Psalms in the New Testament, Psalm chapter 2. 364 00:23:14,960 --> 00:23:19,840 And in Psalm chapter two we read here of Jesus. 365 00:23:20,000 --> 00:23:25,760 In fact, in Acts 425 to 27 the apostles point to this Psalm as 366 00:23:25,840 --> 00:23:29,560 a fulfillment of it, connecting to Christ through the rejection 367 00:23:29,560 --> 00:23:32,480 of Pontius, Pilate and Herod when they crucified Christ. 368 00:23:33,360 --> 00:23:36,200 But let me remind you that what's happening here and some 369 00:23:36,200 --> 00:23:40,120 small measure was foretold, and you can expect it to until he 370 00:23:40,120 --> 00:23:42,360 comes and sets up his rule and reign, whether people like it or 371 00:23:42,360 --> 00:23:47,720 not. And Psalm 2, we read Why Do the 372 00:23:47,720 --> 00:23:51,120 Nation's Rage? Verse one and the people's plot 373 00:23:51,120 --> 00:23:52,840 in vain. That's how he opens a Psalm. 374 00:23:53,160 --> 00:23:55,560 Why do the Nation's rage and the people's plot in vain? 375 00:23:56,040 --> 00:23:59,120 David writes here in absolute astonishment and perplexity. 376 00:24:00,240 --> 00:24:02,800 Here's how he's really getting, what he's really getting at. 377 00:24:02,920 --> 00:24:07,040 I don't get it. Why are people so angry at God? 378 00:24:09,240 --> 00:24:12,280 Why are so? Why are people so hostile 379 00:24:12,280 --> 00:24:15,800 towards their Creator, who has dispensed common grace in so 380 00:24:15,800 --> 00:24:18,920 many ways, and He ultimately manifested His grace in the 381 00:24:18,920 --> 00:24:21,760 greatest demonstration of love possible and sending his Son? 382 00:24:22,080 --> 00:24:26,000 Why would rulers and leaders rebel against their maker? 383 00:24:26,000 --> 00:24:28,440 Why? And you probably can echo that 384 00:24:28,440 --> 00:24:30,480 sentiment as you look to the world today, as you even look to 385 00:24:30,480 --> 00:24:32,440 some loved ones. I just don't get it. 386 00:24:32,560 --> 00:24:35,960 Why would you reject such good news? 387 00:24:36,000 --> 00:24:38,360 Why would you reject forgiveness? 388 00:24:38,360 --> 00:24:41,360 Why would you reject freedom? Let me ask you that. 389 00:24:41,520 --> 00:24:48,120 Why would you what, like tell me what it is about following Jesus 390 00:24:48,120 --> 00:24:52,160 surrounding to Jesus that's so off putting and so offensive to 391 00:24:52,160 --> 00:24:55,760 you? This is what David is saying. 392 00:24:56,960 --> 00:25:02,000 But this universal hatred is not a random theoretical tension 393 00:25:02,000 --> 00:25:03,880 that people feel about the concept of God. 394 00:25:04,040 --> 00:25:07,480 It's about someone specifically. And that's in verse 2. 395 00:25:08,920 --> 00:25:12,920 The kings of the earth set themselves and the rulers take 396 00:25:12,920 --> 00:25:19,160 counsel together against the Lord and against his anointed. 397 00:25:19,920 --> 00:25:26,280 That's Jesus the Christ against his anointed saying let us burst 398 00:25:26,280 --> 00:25:30,600 their bonds apart and castaway their cords from us. 399 00:25:31,920 --> 00:25:33,400 You know, there are a lot of people who claim that they love 400 00:25:33,400 --> 00:25:36,880 God, even a lot of religions that claim that they love God. 401 00:25:38,080 --> 00:25:44,000 But in First John 223, John says he who denies the Son denies the 402 00:25:44,000 --> 00:25:48,320 Father. If you don't receive Jesus as he 403 00:25:48,320 --> 00:25:52,200 is revealed, you don't have God. You don't have God. 404 00:25:53,400 --> 00:25:57,640 And I've had this discussion with many confused people who 405 00:25:57,640 --> 00:26:00,560 think that just some who hold to some of the texts that we have 406 00:26:00,560 --> 00:26:04,600 in this book, they might be in the right place with God. 407 00:26:04,600 --> 00:26:08,840 No, it's what you do with Jesus that determines where you stand 408 00:26:08,840 --> 00:26:12,800 with God. And so these individuals here, 409 00:26:12,800 --> 00:26:15,600 these leaders of the world, they're against the Lord and 410 00:26:15,600 --> 00:26:17,720 against his anointed. And they say something. 411 00:26:17,720 --> 00:26:20,480 Now the Spirit records how they think and how they express 412 00:26:20,480 --> 00:26:24,920 themselves in verse three. Let us burst their bonds apart 413 00:26:25,160 --> 00:26:27,240 and castaway their cords from us. 414 00:26:27,320 --> 00:26:30,120 What are they saying here? What are these chords? 415 00:26:30,120 --> 00:26:32,080 What are these bonds Speaking of? 416 00:26:32,080 --> 00:26:37,160 It speaks of authority. It speaks of moral restraints 417 00:26:37,160 --> 00:26:41,400 and His commands that are yoked to our wills, these chords and 418 00:26:41,400 --> 00:26:44,320 these bonds. These men wanted to break free 419 00:26:44,320 --> 00:26:48,520 from such a thing. We will not be held captive by 420 00:26:48,520 --> 00:26:52,160 this anointed one. We will not allow Him to drive 421 00:26:52,160 --> 00:26:53,320 us. We will not allow Him to 422 00:26:53,320 --> 00:26:56,640 determine anything for us. We will shake ourselves free 423 00:26:56,640 --> 00:27:02,360 from this. And we see here that they want 424 00:27:02,360 --> 00:27:05,040 their independence and are willing to go to war with God 425 00:27:05,920 --> 00:27:07,760 instead of submitting to His Lordship. 426 00:27:07,760 --> 00:27:10,280 And on a larger scale, they don't want the Lord and His 427 00:27:10,280 --> 00:27:13,880 anointed to rule the world. They want to govern the world. 428 00:27:15,640 --> 00:27:18,440 And even in the Psalm that we read right after that, the Lord 429 00:27:18,440 --> 00:27:21,360 laughs at their scheming and their thinking. 430 00:27:21,360 --> 00:27:23,720 He makes a plea with His very same people. 431 00:27:24,360 --> 00:27:26,440 Even in this you see the mercy of God. 432 00:27:26,720 --> 00:27:30,240 Look at verse 10. Now therefore, O kings, be wise, 433 00:27:30,760 --> 00:27:35,520 be warned, O rulers of the earth, Serve the Lord with fear 434 00:27:36,000 --> 00:27:40,240 and rejoice with trembling. And here's the invitation. 435 00:27:40,840 --> 00:27:46,160 Kiss the sun. Where is the Son of God? 436 00:27:46,160 --> 00:27:48,000 Where is the second person of the Trinity in the Old 437 00:27:48,000 --> 00:27:49,120 Testament? Here's a good place. 438 00:27:50,200 --> 00:27:54,360 Kiss the sun. Kiss the sun lest he be angry 439 00:27:54,640 --> 00:27:58,160 and you perish in the way, for his wrath is quickly kindled. 440 00:27:58,440 --> 00:28:00,960 Blessed are all who take refuge in him. 441 00:28:01,680 --> 00:28:05,560 Kiss the Son. A kiss in this context is a 442 00:28:05,560 --> 00:28:11,080 physical expression of adoration and allegiance to a monarch, but 443 00:28:11,080 --> 00:28:14,640 not just to a physical human king. 444 00:28:15,240 --> 00:28:21,000 We even see instances where kissing something or someone was 445 00:28:21,000 --> 00:28:25,400 to pay homage to deity. And so we remember the words of 446 00:28:26,000 --> 00:28:29,200 Elijah when he was depressed and God spoke to him about there 447 00:28:29,200 --> 00:28:32,520 being a remnant who have not kissed Bale. 448 00:28:34,320 --> 00:28:36,880 And so how we understand this here is figuratively speaking, 449 00:28:36,880 --> 00:28:42,160 to kiss the the sun is to express your desire to be 450 00:28:42,160 --> 00:28:46,200 reconciled and friends with the sun. 451 00:28:47,200 --> 00:28:49,920 In essence, when you put your faith in Christ, you kiss the 452 00:28:49,920 --> 00:28:55,840 sun and that was your token of partnership and allegiance and 453 00:28:55,840 --> 00:28:58,640 surrender to Him. And this is what the Psalm is 454 00:28:58,640 --> 00:29:02,240 saying. You do that kiss the sun because 455 00:29:02,240 --> 00:29:06,640 unlike the heathen, we do not want him to burst his bonds or 456 00:29:06,640 --> 00:29:08,360 his cords over us. We invite them. 457 00:29:09,080 --> 00:29:10,760 Why? Because he said my yoke is easy 458 00:29:11,240 --> 00:29:15,120 and my burden is light. The only thing that we should 459 00:29:15,120 --> 00:29:18,360 expect in terms of bonds and cords being broken is him 460 00:29:18,360 --> 00:29:21,880 breaking sin off of your life when He becomes Lord. 461 00:29:23,000 --> 00:29:24,720 And so you have to make a choice. 462 00:29:25,320 --> 00:29:28,160 Either you deny His Lordship and His authority and you get to 463 00:29:28,160 --> 00:29:31,720 keep your bondage and sin, or you receive His Lordship and 464 00:29:31,720 --> 00:29:35,960 authority and he sets you free. This is the invitation. 465 00:29:36,280 --> 00:29:40,480 Kiss the sun and no true freedom and watch the shackles fall and 466 00:29:40,480 --> 00:29:43,760 watch you being able to now know this empowerment from above, 467 00:29:43,920 --> 00:29:47,680 where you're able to resist not his authority, but that which 468 00:29:47,680 --> 00:29:52,040 had authority over you. You see, you're really one of 469 00:29:52,040 --> 00:29:56,040 two things in this life. You're either a slave to sin or 470 00:29:56,040 --> 00:29:59,440 you're a slave to righteousness. There's nothing in between. 471 00:30:01,160 --> 00:30:05,440 You're either a master to yourself, which ultimately your 472 00:30:05,440 --> 00:30:09,000 flesh is a master over you, or Jesus becomes your master. 473 00:30:09,000 --> 00:30:12,760 So make your choice. Some people think that they can 474 00:30:12,760 --> 00:30:15,560 just be in this limbo. There's no such thing. 475 00:30:15,560 --> 00:30:18,040 The Bible at least tells us that that is not the case. 476 00:30:19,040 --> 00:30:21,760 And so the Psalms told us about this. 477 00:30:22,200 --> 00:30:25,480 Jesus here is demonstrating how it was true in his day, and it 478 00:30:25,480 --> 00:30:28,520 will be true with the people you know that don't believe. 479 00:30:28,520 --> 00:30:32,360 And it will only become more aggressive, more obvious, more 480 00:30:32,360 --> 00:30:34,640 blatant as we approach the second coming of Christ. 481 00:30:35,600 --> 00:30:37,000 But guess what? He's going to rule and reign 482 00:30:37,000 --> 00:30:42,520 regardless. So he sees through it, and then 483 00:30:42,520 --> 00:30:45,840 he asks him this question. He gives him a counter question, 484 00:30:45,840 --> 00:30:47,800 the Lord. And this is not an evasion. 485 00:30:47,800 --> 00:30:50,640 This is not him trying to escape their little plot. 486 00:30:52,040 --> 00:30:56,560 This is a brilliant response to expose the dishonesty of this 487 00:30:56,560 --> 00:30:59,120 panel. But why this question? 488 00:30:59,120 --> 00:31:03,240 What is the baptism of John in verse 30 have to do with Jesus 489 00:31:03,240 --> 00:31:06,840 authority? Why does answering this on their 490 00:31:06,840 --> 00:31:11,400 part bring clarity to what they're asking about originally? 491 00:31:12,720 --> 00:31:16,280 It's very easy. Whatever conclusion that these 492 00:31:16,320 --> 00:31:19,120 religious leaders would make about John would determine their 493 00:31:19,120 --> 00:31:21,080 conclusion about the nature of Christ. 494 00:31:22,480 --> 00:31:26,520 Whatever they would determine about who John is will 495 00:31:26,520 --> 00:31:28,960 ultimately determine who Christ is. 496 00:31:29,840 --> 00:31:34,040 Because John in his ministry pointed to Jesus Christ. 497 00:31:35,360 --> 00:31:40,280 John's baptism wasn't the only thing that he did, it was his 498 00:31:40,280 --> 00:31:42,160 message. And he pointed at Jesus as, 499 00:31:42,160 --> 00:31:46,280 behold the name of God who has and who will take away the sin 500 00:31:46,280 --> 00:31:49,040 of the world. So whatever you determine about 501 00:31:49,040 --> 00:31:52,040 this man, this prophet will ultimately lead you to a 502 00:31:52,040 --> 00:31:55,680 conclusion about the essence and the nature and the authority of 503 00:31:55,680 --> 00:31:58,280 Jesus Christ. And guess what? 504 00:31:59,560 --> 00:32:02,480 They understood this. They understood that to accept 505 00:32:02,480 --> 00:32:05,520 John's baptism being from heaven, his ministry coming from 506 00:32:05,520 --> 00:32:08,760 above automatically means that they accept Jesus also coming 507 00:32:08,760 --> 00:32:10,360 from heaven. And So what do they do? 508 00:32:10,440 --> 00:32:11,600 They have their own little huddle. 509 00:32:12,600 --> 00:32:15,760 So they peel back a little bit and they get in a little circle. 510 00:32:16,360 --> 00:32:18,880 And thankfully the Holy Spirit allows us to sneak in and peer 511 00:32:18,880 --> 00:32:22,640 into their little conversation. And they are freaking out 512 00:32:24,080 --> 00:32:27,040 because verse 31 tells us what they're discussing and they 513 00:32:27,040 --> 00:32:30,600 discussed it with one another saying if we say from heaven, he 514 00:32:30,600 --> 00:32:32,600 will say Why then did you not believe him? 515 00:32:32,880 --> 00:32:36,200 Brilliant. So if you do agree that John was 516 00:32:36,200 --> 00:32:39,600 a real prophet, then why didn't you believe him about what he 517 00:32:39,600 --> 00:32:44,160 said about me? Who's in the hot seat now? 518 00:32:45,800 --> 00:32:48,840 If you do believe that John was legitimate, then you also have 519 00:32:48,840 --> 00:32:50,280 to accept me as being legitimate. 520 00:32:50,640 --> 00:32:52,880 And they were not willing to do that. 521 00:32:53,760 --> 00:32:55,360 And so they think about the alternative. 522 00:32:55,880 --> 00:32:58,560 Verse 32. But shall we say from man? 523 00:32:58,560 --> 00:33:02,160 And then they paused, and I wonder if some of them looked 524 00:33:02,160 --> 00:33:04,360 over their shoulder and saw the crowds waiting for their answer. 525 00:33:06,240 --> 00:33:09,640 For they all held that John was a prophet. 526 00:33:09,640 --> 00:33:12,440 He really was a prophet. When you go to Luke's account, 527 00:33:12,440 --> 00:33:15,480 which you don't have to in Luke 20 verse six, you read that they 528 00:33:15,480 --> 00:33:19,040 believe that they would be stoned on the spot if they made 529 00:33:19,040 --> 00:33:21,880 the claim that John was not a real prophet. 530 00:33:21,880 --> 00:33:24,440 That's how much he was highly steamed by the public. 531 00:33:25,560 --> 00:33:31,360 And so stroking their beards, one of the Pharisees speaks up 532 00:33:31,360 --> 00:33:35,280 and he says, why don't we just appeal to ignorance? 533 00:33:35,280 --> 00:33:37,440 Oh yeah, that's probably the best option. 534 00:33:37,440 --> 00:33:40,840 Let's appeal to ignorance. And it seems like this is the 535 00:33:40,840 --> 00:33:42,240 best way. It seems like, yeah, if I was 536 00:33:42,240 --> 00:33:43,800 one of them, that probably the way I would go too. 537 00:33:44,120 --> 00:33:46,680 That's the best way to be unscathed in the situation. 538 00:33:47,560 --> 00:33:52,760 But think about it. How humiliating is this for 539 00:33:52,760 --> 00:33:57,480 these guys who boasted about their superior knowledge and 540 00:33:57,480 --> 00:33:59,040 their spirituality and their insight? 541 00:33:59,040 --> 00:34:01,600 These are the guys who determine and enforce these traditions 542 00:34:01,720 --> 00:34:05,360 that came from oral tradition and their freedom to add things 543 00:34:05,360 --> 00:34:07,360 to that. These are guys that were looked 544 00:34:07,360 --> 00:34:10,760 up to for instruction and guidance, and here they are. 545 00:34:10,760 --> 00:34:12,840 This isn't a private meeting with the Lord Jesus. 546 00:34:13,120 --> 00:34:17,600 This is at the most public place you can be, and they are ready 547 00:34:17,600 --> 00:34:19,560 now to confess in front of everybody. 548 00:34:20,360 --> 00:34:26,719 Oh, you don't know. And so no matter where you go, 549 00:34:28,080 --> 00:34:31,080 these men are going to pay a price for approaching Jesus in 550 00:34:31,080 --> 00:34:34,679 this way. There are two things I want to 551 00:34:34,679 --> 00:34:36,280 bring to your attention from this verse. 552 00:34:37,840 --> 00:34:39,560 There are two lessons that you can draw from this. 553 00:34:39,560 --> 00:34:48,120 Number one, the Lord is always able and He always will humble 554 00:34:48,239 --> 00:34:51,360 the proud. Always. 555 00:34:53,360 --> 00:34:57,440 These men are proud, proud of their false empty piety, proud 556 00:34:57,440 --> 00:35:00,760 of their knowledge, proud of their self righteousness in 557 00:35:00,760 --> 00:35:04,640 comparison to other sinners. And we see that by way of 558 00:35:04,640 --> 00:35:09,520 example here that Jesus will find a way to bring low those 559 00:35:09,520 --> 00:35:14,320 who place themselves high. And he will do so in this life 560 00:35:14,320 --> 00:35:17,120 in many ways and he will finally do it on that day according to 561 00:35:17,120 --> 00:35:19,680 Isaiah 211, where he alone will be exalted. 562 00:35:21,320 --> 00:35:24,680 You know, there's an interesting way that the Bible describes 563 00:35:25,040 --> 00:35:29,280 God's attitude towards sin. And not just sin in general 564 00:35:29,640 --> 00:35:32,680 because he feels a certain way about sin, but specifically with 565 00:35:32,680 --> 00:35:35,960 the sin of pride. There's something unique about 566 00:35:35,960 --> 00:35:41,240 how the Lord feels about arrogance, and it's told in two 567 00:35:41,480 --> 00:35:42,960 places. But let me quote you one in 568 00:35:42,960 --> 00:35:44,640 James 4/6. And you don't have to turn 569 00:35:44,640 --> 00:35:48,360 there. We're told that God opposes the 570 00:35:48,360 --> 00:35:51,720 proud. He opposes the proud. 571 00:35:51,840 --> 00:35:56,640 That's very unique into how he feels about sin when it comes to 572 00:35:56,640 --> 00:35:59,640 this. He opposes the Greek word is to 573 00:35:59,640 --> 00:36:03,440 range battle against. In other words, in the original, 574 00:36:03,440 --> 00:36:05,640 when you read, if you read that in the Greek, you would read a 575 00:36:05,640 --> 00:36:09,120 military term. Here's how you translate it. 576 00:36:09,400 --> 00:36:17,200 God goes to war with the proud. He goes to war with those who 577 00:36:17,200 --> 00:36:20,920 are arrogant. Arrogant about what? 578 00:36:21,000 --> 00:36:23,720 Anything. He can't stand it. 579 00:36:24,280 --> 00:36:28,600 And here's the thing. When God chooses to set up his 580 00:36:28,600 --> 00:36:32,760 ranks and to fight against the proud, he always wins. 581 00:36:33,480 --> 00:36:36,680 Always. He will find a way to humble 582 00:36:36,680 --> 00:36:40,520 them. And so for God to oppose the 583 00:36:40,520 --> 00:36:43,040 proud says something about how he feels about it. 584 00:36:43,520 --> 00:36:45,760 So I'm meditating on this last time thinking, OK, Lord, if 585 00:36:45,760 --> 00:36:49,640 that's how you feel about pride, what? 586 00:36:49,800 --> 00:36:50,800 Just about spiritual things? No. 587 00:36:50,800 --> 00:36:56,200 Proud about how you look. Proud about how you know so 588 00:36:56,200 --> 00:36:59,920 much. Proud about your, yes, your 589 00:36:59,920 --> 00:37:04,880 performance in any area of life. Anything that you think you've 590 00:37:04,880 --> 00:37:07,680 achieved in your own strength, anything that you think makes 591 00:37:07,680 --> 00:37:10,720 you feel better and more significant than someone else, 592 00:37:11,000 --> 00:37:12,880 is what the God of Heaven looks down on. 593 00:37:12,880 --> 00:37:14,680 It says I'm going to go to war with that person. 594 00:37:17,200 --> 00:37:23,280 I'm going to go to war. So here I am thinking I already 595 00:37:23,280 --> 00:37:28,000 go to war with this flesh. I'm already at war with Satan 596 00:37:28,080 --> 00:37:31,600 and the Kingdom of darkness. This world is at war with me. 597 00:37:32,080 --> 00:37:37,160 I don't want to go to war with God because I can go to war with 598 00:37:37,160 --> 00:37:40,160 everything else. All the demons, all the people, 599 00:37:40,160 --> 00:37:42,600 all the evil politicians, all whatever. 600 00:37:42,800 --> 00:37:44,840 I can go to war. As long as God is with me, I'm 601 00:37:44,840 --> 00:37:48,200 going to be victorious. But if even I have all of those 602 00:37:48,200 --> 00:37:54,360 guys with me and I'm at war with God not going to win, what is 603 00:37:54,360 --> 00:38:00,440 the secret to humility? There are many places to go. 604 00:38:00,440 --> 00:38:03,480 Let me give you one. From what we're talking about 605 00:38:03,480 --> 00:38:06,600 him. So why not John Baptist, John 606 00:38:06,600 --> 00:38:10,400 the Baptist, the First Baptist, John the Baptist. 607 00:38:10,400 --> 00:38:15,200 When he was told that Jesus now and his ministry are baptizing 608 00:38:15,200 --> 00:38:18,520 more people and people are going to him to get baptized, you know 609 00:38:18,520 --> 00:38:20,120 what his response was? It's brilliant. 610 00:38:20,360 --> 00:38:23,840 It's amazing. This fire breathing prophet who 611 00:38:23,840 --> 00:38:27,200 brought the nation of Israel to its knees is now seeing a shift 612 00:38:27,200 --> 00:38:33,080 in popularity. What do you do when now a new 613 00:38:33,080 --> 00:38:35,320 church comes on the scene and people want to go to that 614 00:38:35,320 --> 00:38:38,560 church? What do you do when you have a 615 00:38:38,560 --> 00:38:40,760 conference and people are now going to a different conference 616 00:38:41,120 --> 00:38:43,880 and not your conference? People are no longer going to 617 00:38:43,880 --> 00:38:45,680 your Bible study because there's another Bible study. 618 00:38:45,840 --> 00:38:49,080 What do you do? This is essentially what John is 619 00:38:49,080 --> 00:38:51,840 being told. People are not coming to your 620 00:38:51,840 --> 00:38:54,400 meetings as much as John. They're going to Jesus. 621 00:38:54,680 --> 00:38:58,760 And here's what John says. In John 327, John answered a 622 00:38:58,760 --> 00:39:02,760 person cannot receive even one thing unless it is given him 623 00:39:02,760 --> 00:39:08,600 from heaven. I'm bothered by that. 624 00:39:09,400 --> 00:39:11,280 You know why? Because John had a revelation. 625 00:39:11,800 --> 00:39:15,360 Anything I have, my preaching ability, the size of my 626 00:39:15,360 --> 00:39:19,960 ministry, the reach of my influence, Not one thing that I 627 00:39:19,960 --> 00:39:24,480 have has not been given. It came from heaven. 628 00:39:26,040 --> 00:39:29,200 It came from heaven. Meaning I'm not in charge of 629 00:39:29,200 --> 00:39:32,000 this. Ultimately, the essence of 630 00:39:32,000 --> 00:39:33,960 humility is recognizing everything that you have, 631 00:39:33,960 --> 00:39:35,800 everything that you own, everything that you do, has been 632 00:39:35,800 --> 00:39:38,880 authorized by God. That's the essence of humility. 633 00:39:39,240 --> 00:39:41,720 And as long as you train yourself to believe that and to 634 00:39:41,720 --> 00:39:45,600 see everything through that lens, you will know perpetual 635 00:39:45,720 --> 00:39:49,240 humility. And even when it comes to 636 00:39:49,480 --> 00:39:51,480 something like this, that challenges your life, that 637 00:39:51,480 --> 00:39:53,880 challenges probably your sense of purpose and the exciting 638 00:39:53,880 --> 00:39:56,960 things that you enjoy, even if you do it for God, you can 639 00:39:56,960 --> 00:40:01,480 actually, like John in the same context, rejoice, especially 640 00:40:01,480 --> 00:40:07,240 when Jesus is glorified in it God and we see here with Jesus. 641 00:40:08,040 --> 00:40:11,000 We'll always find a way to humble the proud. 642 00:40:11,000 --> 00:40:12,120 You know what he did with Nebuchadnezzar? 643 00:40:12,120 --> 00:40:16,920 He turned his brain to mush. And overnight you had 644 00:40:16,920 --> 00:40:20,160 Nebuchadnezzar, this high and lofty king who believed that he 645 00:40:20,160 --> 00:40:22,920 was the one who established his Kingdom on the earth, became 646 00:40:22,920 --> 00:40:26,880 like a beast now, eating grass with his mouth on his fore legs. 647 00:40:30,400 --> 00:40:32,520 But here's the second thing from Jesus in dealing with these 648 00:40:32,520 --> 00:40:36,640 Pharisees that we can draw a lesson from notice here in verse 649 00:40:36,640 --> 00:40:39,480 32. But shall we say from man, they 650 00:40:39,480 --> 00:40:43,800 were afraid of the people, for they all held that John really 651 00:40:43,800 --> 00:40:48,640 was a prophet. The fear of man is a deadly 652 00:40:48,640 --> 00:40:53,000 snare. They were afraid. 653 00:40:53,000 --> 00:40:55,600 You know what's so strange? When you go to a text like John 654 00:40:55,600 --> 00:40:59,960 12, you read about some of the authorities who believed on 655 00:40:59,960 --> 00:41:04,440 Jesus but were afraid to confess it because of the Pharisees and 656 00:41:04,440 --> 00:41:06,320 they didn't want to be kicked out of the synagogues. 657 00:41:06,840 --> 00:41:09,760 Like, how weird is this? You have these religious leaders 658 00:41:09,760 --> 00:41:12,560 that are afraid of the opinions of the people, and you have the 659 00:41:12,560 --> 00:41:14,920 people who are afraid of the opinions of the religious 660 00:41:14,920 --> 00:41:17,120 leaders. Everybody's scared of each 661 00:41:17,120 --> 00:41:21,040 other. And no matter what side you're 662 00:41:21,040 --> 00:41:24,640 looking at it from, the consequence of the fear man is 663 00:41:24,640 --> 00:41:28,360 the same. It paralyzes you, it cripples 664 00:41:28,360 --> 00:41:30,400 you. And the worst outcome of the 665 00:41:30,400 --> 00:41:36,240 fear of man is when it calls you to not obey the Lord Jesus 666 00:41:36,240 --> 00:41:41,320 because you want the approval of someone else to live. 667 00:41:41,320 --> 00:41:44,200 For the approval of man guarantees A defeated life. 668 00:41:45,360 --> 00:41:48,120 And based on what we just learned here, this illegitimate, 669 00:41:48,120 --> 00:41:52,160 ungodly fear where you're constantly wondering every step 670 00:41:52,160 --> 00:41:54,880 of the way, what so and so will think, what so and so will do. 671 00:41:54,880 --> 00:41:57,120 Now let me pause and say that there's a legitimate concern 672 00:41:57,120 --> 00:42:02,800 that you should have for people and what you do, but always with 673 00:42:02,800 --> 00:42:05,680 the motivation of will this glorify Christ. 674 00:42:06,520 --> 00:42:09,600 Is this going to put a, is this going to put a bad testimony on 675 00:42:09,600 --> 00:42:11,120 my name? Ultimately to the name of 676 00:42:11,120 --> 00:42:12,520 Christ? You should think that way. 677 00:42:12,520 --> 00:42:13,760 But that's not what we're talking about here. 678 00:42:13,760 --> 00:42:16,200 We're talking about fear of those who would stand in the way 679 00:42:16,200 --> 00:42:18,760 of you living the way you're supposed to live for the glory 680 00:42:18,760 --> 00:42:22,400 of God. This illegitimate fear knows no 681 00:42:22,400 --> 00:42:25,240 discrimination. It could infect anybody here. 682 00:42:25,240 --> 00:42:28,280 We see it affecting leadership. So you have leadership here who 683 00:42:28,280 --> 00:42:31,640 are scared by the opinions of the people that they lead, and 684 00:42:31,640 --> 00:42:35,280 then you have the people who are being LED afraid of the verdict 685 00:42:35,280 --> 00:42:39,640 of their leaders. It's a scary thing to live this 686 00:42:39,640 --> 00:42:43,120 way and nobody's out of reach of its clutches. 687 00:42:43,800 --> 00:42:46,600 You have Peter, Peter listen post and filling of the Holy 688 00:42:46,600 --> 00:42:49,040 Spirit, Peter being forgiven by Jesus Christ. 689 00:42:49,160 --> 00:42:52,320 This is Peter in Galatians 2 who, when he was in a meeting 690 00:42:52,320 --> 00:42:55,360 with Gentiles, learned that the circumcision party was coming 691 00:42:55,360 --> 00:42:58,520 over for fellowship and he refused to be with the Gentiles 692 00:42:58,600 --> 00:43:01,000 because he feared the circumcision party. 693 00:43:02,280 --> 00:43:07,080 So even an apostle, a man of God who's seen miracles, who's been 694 00:43:07,080 --> 00:43:09,960 restored by Christ, who knew the empowering work of the Holy 695 00:43:09,960 --> 00:43:13,680 Spirit, fell into this trap of being fearful what man would say 696 00:43:13,680 --> 00:43:18,720 if he obeyed the Lord. That's why the Bible says in 697 00:43:18,720 --> 00:43:23,840 Proverbs 29 verse 25, the fear of man lays A snare. 698 00:43:24,600 --> 00:43:28,480 But just like the idea of pride, how do I assure that I can avoid 699 00:43:28,480 --> 00:43:32,560 these booby traps? How can I dodge every mind on 700 00:43:32,560 --> 00:43:36,160 the path of obedience that would try to keep me away from knowing 701 00:43:36,160 --> 00:43:38,560 the fullness of pleasing my master? 702 00:43:38,560 --> 00:43:40,840 It's in the same verse, the fear of man lays A snare. 703 00:43:40,840 --> 00:43:43,480 But whoever trust in the Lord is safe. 704 00:43:45,000 --> 00:43:48,400 The way you overcome what you might be afraid man will say or 705 00:43:48,400 --> 00:43:52,080 do to you is to trust that as you obey God, he'll take care of 706 00:43:52,080 --> 00:43:54,360 everything. He'll take care of your 707 00:43:54,360 --> 00:43:55,960 reputation. He'll take care of your 708 00:43:55,960 --> 00:43:58,600 resources. He'll take care of absolutely 709 00:43:58,880 --> 00:44:02,040 everything. I trust you, Lord. 710 00:44:02,520 --> 00:44:04,320 I know this is the right thing to say. 711 00:44:04,520 --> 00:44:06,200 I know this is the right thing to do. 712 00:44:06,360 --> 00:44:10,280 I know that this is the right thing I must commit in order to 713 00:44:10,280 --> 00:44:14,760 keep your heart pleased with me. And I trust that you're going to 714 00:44:14,760 --> 00:44:17,600 take care of me when I do it. That's a man. 715 00:44:17,600 --> 00:44:21,160 That's a woman who is free from the snare of the fear of man. 716 00:44:23,360 --> 00:44:25,560 Here are these men afraid of the people you have the people 717 00:44:25,560 --> 00:44:29,120 afraid of them. And Jesus stands out. 718 00:44:30,400 --> 00:44:35,960 And verse 33 as we close, So they answered Jesus we do not 719 00:44:35,960 --> 00:44:41,000 know. And Jesus said to them, neither 720 00:44:41,000 --> 00:44:43,680 will I tell you by what authority I do these things. 721 00:44:46,280 --> 00:44:47,960 Notice it's not that Jesus didn't know. 722 00:44:48,040 --> 00:44:49,680 He made a choice to not let them know. 723 00:44:51,240 --> 00:44:53,760 I'm not going to tell you. You're not going to tell me. 724 00:44:53,760 --> 00:44:56,560 I'm not going to tell you. It's fair game, right? 725 00:44:59,320 --> 00:45:03,480 Let me give you a practical point and a theological point in 726 00:45:03,480 --> 00:45:06,960 closing. Jesus and Mark tell me what's 727 00:45:06,960 --> 00:45:09,720 Mark trying to portray Jesus as? As the perfect. 728 00:45:09,720 --> 00:45:11,200 What servant? Good. 729 00:45:12,080 --> 00:45:14,680 The perfect servant of God. I see something here that I can 730 00:45:14,680 --> 00:45:18,880 learn from Jesus about dealing with people who have questions 731 00:45:19,960 --> 00:45:22,560 about the truth. You've met those people. 732 00:45:23,640 --> 00:45:25,800 There are some people that no matter how much you walk them 733 00:45:25,800 --> 00:45:28,880 through, no matter how many arguments you give them, no no 734 00:45:28,880 --> 00:45:35,400 matter how many apologetic things that you do in their 735 00:45:35,400 --> 00:45:39,440 presence and send them resources, this or that, they 736 00:45:39,440 --> 00:45:43,800 will not accept the truth. Not because they don't 737 00:45:43,800 --> 00:45:45,920 understand, but because they don't want to understand. 738 00:45:47,560 --> 00:45:49,720 And what I see the Lord doing here is something exemplary for 739 00:45:49,720 --> 00:45:53,600 you and I. There's some situations in some 740 00:45:53,600 --> 00:45:55,600 individuals where you have to say enough's enough. 741 00:45:56,160 --> 00:45:58,480 I've done my part. I've said all that I could say. 742 00:45:59,520 --> 00:46:00,640 I've argued all that I can argue. 743 00:46:00,640 --> 00:46:02,120 I've attended enough debates with you. 744 00:46:03,240 --> 00:46:07,200 But I've discern now that no matter what light you have, you 745 00:46:07,200 --> 00:46:12,280 will not accept the truth. That's what the Lord's doing 746 00:46:12,280 --> 00:46:13,880 here. He's walking away from the 747 00:46:13,880 --> 00:46:15,640 situation. May God give you and I the 748 00:46:15,640 --> 00:46:17,520 discretion and wisdom to know how to do the same. 749 00:46:18,320 --> 00:46:20,600 Because there are so many people who are more willing and more 750 00:46:20,600 --> 00:46:23,240 open. And the wisdom behind this is 751 00:46:23,240 --> 00:46:27,440 that if you keep fighting, and if you keep resisting their 752 00:46:27,440 --> 00:46:32,320 resistance and trying to make a way to crawl open their hearts, 753 00:46:33,280 --> 00:46:36,360 you might be wasting time and energy and you're casting your 754 00:46:36,360 --> 00:46:38,480 pearls before swine. Jesus. 755 00:46:38,480 --> 00:46:43,080 All right, I tried here. I said all that I can say, but I 756 00:46:43,080 --> 00:46:47,960 see another thing too here. Jesus can only go so far as long 757 00:46:47,960 --> 00:46:53,720 as you are honest. You know, in discipleship, 758 00:46:54,520 --> 00:46:57,000 people ask about counsel. People ask about discipleship. 759 00:46:57,440 --> 00:47:00,240 Personally, this is what I've experienced and this is 760 00:47:00,240 --> 00:47:02,560 something that has kept me in many ways. 761 00:47:03,400 --> 00:47:06,680 I can't disciple anybody, nor can I counsel you, my friend. 762 00:47:08,320 --> 00:47:12,640 As long as you are dishonest, you need to be truthful about 763 00:47:12,640 --> 00:47:14,000 this situation. You need to be. 764 00:47:14,000 --> 00:47:17,560 You need to be open. If I see the Son of God not 765 00:47:17,560 --> 00:47:20,600 willing to go far with those who are willing to not be honest, 766 00:47:20,960 --> 00:47:23,480 then who am I to think that I can be successful with the same? 767 00:47:26,040 --> 00:47:30,400 So as long as you're untruthful, this isn't going to go anywhere. 768 00:47:31,600 --> 00:47:33,400 We can have 10,000 counselling meetings. 769 00:47:33,800 --> 00:47:35,920 What's going to what's going to ensure that this is going to 770 00:47:35,920 --> 00:47:38,640 actually have some kind of fruit Is is if you're willing to say 771 00:47:38,640 --> 00:47:40,560 I'm honest, I'm honest about myself, I'm honest about the 772 00:47:40,560 --> 00:47:42,520 situation, I'm honest about my past. 773 00:47:43,800 --> 00:47:45,400 You don't want to be honest. Pharisees. 774 00:47:45,560 --> 00:47:46,480 Chief priests. Elders. 775 00:47:46,480 --> 00:47:48,760 OK, you have. I have nothing to offer you. 776 00:47:50,080 --> 00:47:53,520 May we learn from the master. Here's a theological point. 777 00:47:55,360 --> 00:47:57,600 The grace of God, the patience of Jesus has limits. 778 00:48:00,600 --> 00:48:02,920 Here are these Pharisees over and overcoming to Jesus coming 779 00:48:02,920 --> 00:48:04,280 to Jesus. And Jesus is willing to engage 780 00:48:04,280 --> 00:48:06,120 in conversation. But you can see now that his 781 00:48:06,120 --> 00:48:10,040 patience is wearing thin, even the way he originally counter 782 00:48:10,040 --> 00:48:12,080 asked the question. Right, He says I'll ask you in 783 00:48:12,080 --> 00:48:13,760 verse 29. I'll ask you a question. 784 00:48:13,760 --> 00:48:16,720 Answer me and I'll tell you by what authority I do these 785 00:48:16,720 --> 00:48:18,120 things. Was the baptism of John from 786 00:48:18,120 --> 00:48:19,320 heaven or from man? Answer me. 787 00:48:20,000 --> 00:48:22,360 That's not the tone that you see regularly with Jesus when he 788 00:48:22,360 --> 00:48:24,320 deals with sinners. He's very patient with sinners. 789 00:48:24,480 --> 00:48:27,520 You read in John chapter 4 how he leads that woman at the well 790 00:48:27,720 --> 00:48:30,240 patiently as her revelation of the Messiah grows. 791 00:48:30,600 --> 00:48:32,880 You see it in John chapter nine with a man who was born blind, 792 00:48:33,040 --> 00:48:35,720 Jesus being patient with him as he also is growing in the same 793 00:48:35,720 --> 00:48:37,880 awareness of who's standing before him and who healed them. 794 00:48:37,880 --> 00:48:40,160 But when it comes to these guys at this point in Jesus ministry, 795 00:48:40,160 --> 00:48:41,720 it's like just let's just get straight to the point. 796 00:48:42,200 --> 00:48:44,640 Answer me, come on, let's get to it. 797 00:48:44,680 --> 00:48:47,960 And then when they wouldn't admit it and they wouldn't be 798 00:48:47,960 --> 00:48:52,760 honest, he says it's done. You want to be willfully 799 00:48:52,760 --> 00:48:54,080 ignorant, You don't want to be honest. 800 00:48:54,080 --> 00:48:58,720 Then stay in your darkness. And the truth that about this 801 00:48:58,720 --> 00:49:05,240 university in the scriptures is that the Lord at some point can 802 00:49:06,080 --> 00:49:11,840 retreat and pull away and no longer persuade you of the thing 803 00:49:11,840 --> 00:49:13,560 that you've heard so many times already. 804 00:49:14,920 --> 00:49:17,360 When that happens, every case is different. 805 00:49:17,640 --> 00:49:21,520 But that's why the Scripture says today is the day of 806 00:49:21,520 --> 00:49:26,120 salvation. If you hear His voice, do not 807 00:49:26,120 --> 00:49:32,720 harden your heart, because you never know at one point you so 808 00:49:32,720 --> 00:49:35,560 hard in your heart that it will be never feeling again. 809 00:49:37,240 --> 00:49:39,800 And that's not God's fault. That would be ours. 810 00:49:40,280 --> 00:49:43,080 So he begs you, don't harden your heart. 811 00:49:43,080 --> 00:49:46,840 Maybe there's even maybe there's even one person here today who 812 00:49:46,840 --> 00:49:49,760 is not yet fully surrendered to Jesus Christ. 813 00:49:50,640 --> 00:49:55,000 I want to tell you something. He has all authority, and 814 00:49:55,000 --> 00:49:57,600 whatever authority you have in your autonomy, whatever you 815 00:49:57,600 --> 00:49:59,400 think you have in terms of control of your life and your 816 00:49:59,400 --> 00:50:04,280 future will prove to be false, especially when you stand before 817 00:50:04,280 --> 00:50:08,320 him. And the appeal of the Master is 818 00:50:08,320 --> 00:50:12,800 not a power struggle with you. The appeals that he longs to 819 00:50:12,800 --> 00:50:16,440 befriend you and forgive you and restore you, and know his gentle 820 00:50:16,440 --> 00:50:20,480 leadership that would give you life and give him glory. 821 00:50:21,400 --> 00:50:25,360 And so can I ask you today, have you given yourself to the full 822 00:50:25,360 --> 00:50:30,480 authority of Jesus Christ? Is he really your Lord? 823 00:50:30,960 --> 00:50:35,840 Is he? And I invite you today to bend 824 00:50:35,840 --> 00:50:39,240 your knee and to confess with your mouth Jesus Christ. 825 00:50:39,240 --> 00:50:43,720 You are Lord of my life. I choose to kiss the sun today. 826 00:50:45,600 --> 00:50:48,160 Why would you kiss the sun? Because He embraced you at the 827 00:50:48,160 --> 00:50:52,120 cross, and He came into this world, and He shed His blood and 828 00:50:52,120 --> 00:50:55,960 He extended His arms. Yes, to be crucified, but also 829 00:50:55,960 --> 00:51:01,360 to invite you into His heart and to receive you and to restore 830 00:51:01,360 --> 00:51:04,040 you and to give you eternal life. 831 00:51:04,680 --> 00:51:09,640 But that can't happen unless you get off the throne of your will, 832 00:51:09,640 --> 00:51:12,920 and you give him that seat He say belongs to you. 833 00:51:12,920 --> 00:51:16,200 Lord, you're my savior, yes, but be my Lord as well. 834 00:51:17,720 --> 00:51:20,240 And know this whether you choose to do so or not. 835 00:51:21,560 --> 00:51:26,200 He will be Lord, and every knee will bow, and every tongue will 836 00:51:26,200 --> 00:51:29,360 confess that he is such. Let's pray together. 837 00:51:45,470 --> 00:51:51,070 Thank you, Lord, for establishing and for many of us 838 00:51:51,070 --> 00:51:53,350 reinforcing the truth of your authority. 839 00:51:54,390 --> 00:51:57,590 We believe that you are who you say you are. 840 00:52:01,040 --> 00:52:05,240 And Lord, we ask that at this time we would rejoice to know 841 00:52:05,240 --> 00:52:10,120 that you have all authority in heaven and on earth, and that 842 00:52:10,120 --> 00:52:13,120 you will never leave us nor forsake us, and that with that 843 00:52:13,120 --> 00:52:15,600 authority you also Commission us to go into the world and make 844 00:52:15,600 --> 00:52:20,400 disciples of all nations. Help us be wise in seeking to 845 00:52:20,400 --> 00:52:23,560 make disciples. Help us be fearless and not 846 00:52:23,560 --> 00:52:28,400 concerned with the fear of man. Help us be courageous and 847 00:52:28,400 --> 00:52:34,560 knowing that you will reward our obedience and help us do what 848 00:52:34,560 --> 00:52:37,160 Paul said he did. Help us do what you and your son 849 00:52:37,160 --> 00:52:41,000 exemplified. Finishing well that wherever we 850 00:52:41,000 --> 00:52:46,000 started we bring it to a close in faithfulness. 851 00:52:47,760 --> 00:52:51,880 So, Lord, strengthen us strengthen even those whose 852 00:52:51,880 --> 00:52:55,040 faith is so inspirational. Already, as the Romans needed, 853 00:52:55,480 --> 00:53:00,400 we recognize our need for a fresh impartation of joy, of 854 00:53:00,400 --> 00:53:04,760 wisdom, of mercy. Well, we just open our hearts at 855 00:53:04,760 --> 00:53:07,000 the close of the service, asking that you do what you will with 856 00:53:07,000 --> 00:53:10,200 our hearts and Lord. Lastly, for the person here 857 00:53:10,200 --> 00:53:14,080 who's sitting visiting and who's heard maybe for the 1st or the 858 00:53:14,080 --> 00:53:18,040 10th or the 100th time, about what Christ has done, may the 859 00:53:18,040 --> 00:53:21,720 decision be made today. May your Holy Spirit and His 860 00:53:21,720 --> 00:53:27,480 perfect power and grace grip the hearts of those who are still in 861 00:53:27,480 --> 00:53:30,560 tension wanting to keep their own authority. 862 00:53:31,120 --> 00:53:32,600 Being the Lords of their own lives. 863 00:53:32,600 --> 00:53:36,920 May may that be no more. And may you win them to 864 00:53:36,920 --> 00:53:39,680 repentance. We now sing to you, Lord, 865 00:53:39,680 --> 00:53:42,880 thanking you for this meal that you've given us for our souls. 866 00:53:43,280 --> 00:53:45,960 And with this fresh strength we give you a fresh song. 867 00:53:46,400 --> 00:53:48,600 In Jesus name we pray. Amen. 868 00:53:48,880 --> 00:53:49,880 Amen. Amen. 869 00:53:51,400 --> 00:53:54,840 Why don't we stand that praise team will come up and they'll 870 00:53:54,840 --> 00:53:56,200 help us in these last songs?