SPEAKER_01: It's good to see you today.
SPEAKER_01: My name is Daniel, and I have uh the great privilege today to get to stand before you and open God's word.
SPEAKER_01: I'm one of the pastors here at First Baptist if I haven't had the privilege of meeting you before.
SPEAKER_01: But we are so delighted that you were here to worship with us today.
SPEAKER_01: And this has been an incredible season here at First Baptist Bernie.
SPEAKER_01: Has it not this spring?
SPEAKER_01: Have we not just had an amazing spring?
SPEAKER_01: I kind of expected a little more response than that.
SPEAKER_01: Maybe it's the cold, okay?
SPEAKER_01: I'm gonna give you a pass on that one.
SPEAKER_01: But everything from Easter Sunday uh to last Sunday with nine baptisms, spontaneous baptisms, I might add.
SPEAKER_01: Uh, what an incredible day that was.
SPEAKER_01: And then even just Friday night with our Starlight Ball, uh, we had a hundred of our special needs VIP guests here, and over 200 of you came out to help serve them uh and just show them the love of Jesus in really incredible, generous ways.
SPEAKER_01: And church, God is moving and it is just exciting to be part of it.
SPEAKER_01: And I hope you're excited and are just anticipating what God's gonna do next.
SPEAKER_01: Uh, I know that I am, and uh this morning I'm praying now that God is gonna work in our midst today, in this service.
SPEAKER_01: Uh, and we're gonna continue in the gospel of Mark.
SPEAKER_01: So if you have your Bible with you, get it out and open it to Mark chapter one.
SPEAKER_01: We're gonna pick up in verse 21.
SPEAKER_01: And last week, Pastor Jason uh spoke about Jesus calling the disciples and their response to immediately follow him, immediate obedience to follow Jesus.
SPEAKER_01: And we saw the importance of their response to follow to respond to that authoritative call of King Jesus in their lives and that he would make them fishers of men.
SPEAKER_01: So today I want to ask you a question, but I want you to answer it like in your head.
SPEAKER_01: Don't say it out loud because it could get really awkward in here if you answered this out loud, okay?
SPEAKER_01: Um, but here's the question: Who has authority in your life?
SPEAKER_01: Think about it for a minute.
SPEAKER_01: Who has authority in your life?
SPEAKER_01: Now I know all of us in this room today, we would say out loud, well, Jesus does.
SPEAKER_01: Because we know that's the right answer to say, correct?
SPEAKER_01: We know the church answer.
SPEAKER_01: We know that's what we're supposed to say in this moment.
SPEAKER_01: Jesus, of course, has authority in my life.
SPEAKER_01: But functionally, I want you to think about your life for a minute.
SPEAKER_01: Who has authority in your life?
SPEAKER_01: Who gets the final word in your decisions?
SPEAKER_01: Who defines what's right and wrong?
SPEAKER_01: Who do you listen to when your feelings and the truth of God's word are in opposition with one another?
SPEAKER_01: Has the answer changed a little bit, maybe?
SPEAKER_01: Because here's the deal: none of us like authority, but we all live under authority.
SPEAKER_01: Some of us live under the authority of the approval of men.
SPEAKER_01: Right?
SPEAKER_01: We are people pleasers at heart.
SPEAKER_01: Speaking to myself here, right?
SPEAKER_01: Like we, the author, like we live under that authority, right?
SPEAKER_01: The approval of man is something that we struggle with and we fight against, and sometimes that is the loudest voice that we hear, and it has authority in our life.
SPEAKER_01: Some of us live under the authority of comfort.
SPEAKER_01: We're gonna make decisions about what makes me feel safe and what makes me feel comfortable.
SPEAKER_01: Some of us live under the authority of fear.
SPEAKER_01: Fear gets the last word in our lives.
SPEAKER_01: And some of us live under the authority of our own opinions.
SPEAKER_01: But make no mistake about it, every single one of us live under authority.
SPEAKER_01: So the question that I want us to answer today, that I believe our passage of scripture today, is going to call us to answer, to really wrestle with the honest answer to this question of who has authority in your life.
SPEAKER_01: Because our passage in the Gospel of Mark today, he is going to show us that Jesus has authority.
SPEAKER_01: That in fact, what he reveals about Jesus in this text is going to show this is who he is.
SPEAKER_01: This is his identity.
SPEAKER_01: He is the one with authority, and his authority demands a response out of you and I.
SPEAKER_01: So if you've got your copy of God's word, we're gonna read our text this morning, and then we're gonna jump into it, okay?
SPEAKER_01: So follow along as I read.
SPEAKER_01: It'll be on the screen.
SPEAKER_01: So follow along there or in the Bible that you're holding right now and listen as we go through this text, beginning in verse 21.
SPEAKER_01: And it says, and they went to Capernaum, and immediately on the Sabbath, he, that is Jesus, entered the synagogue and was teaching.
SPEAKER_01: And they were astonished at his teaching, for he taught them as one who has authority and not as the scribes.
SPEAKER_01: And immediately there was in their synagogue a man with an unclean spirit, and he cried out, What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth?
SPEAKER_01: Have you come to destroy us?
SPEAKER_01: I know who you are, the Holy One of God.
SPEAKER_01: But Jesus rebuked him, saying, Be silent and come out of him.
SPEAKER_01: And the unclean spirit, convulsing him and crying out with a loud voice, came out of him.
SPEAKER_01: And they were all amazed, so that they questioned among themselves, saying, What is this?
SPEAKER_01: A new teaching with authority.
SPEAKER_01: He commands even the unclean spirits, and they obey him.
SPEAKER_01: And at once his fame spread everywhere throughout all the surrounding region of Galilee.
SPEAKER_01: Verse 29, and immediately he left the synagogue and entered the house of Simon and Andrew with James and John.
SPEAKER_01: Now Simon's mother-in-law lay ill with a fever, and immediately they told him about her.
SPEAKER_01: And he came and he took her by the hand, and he lifted her up, and the fever left her, and she began to serve them.
SPEAKER_01: Well, that evening at sundown they brought to him all who were sick or oppressed by demons, and the whole city was gathered together at the door, and he healed many who were sick with various diseases, and he cast out many demons, and he would not permit the demons to speak because they knew him.
SPEAKER_01: Father, this morning, as we come to your word, God, we are mindful this morning that this is breathed out by you.
SPEAKER_01: You have given us your word to reveal to us who you are, to call us forward, uh, to respond to that truth of who you are.
SPEAKER_01: So, God, today, may your spirit work in this place for the believer here today.
SPEAKER_01: God, may it challenge, may it edify, may it encourage.
SPEAKER_01: God, for those who might be in this room today who have never placed their faith in you.
SPEAKER_01: God, I pray that the preaching of your word today, that your spirit would take it in you.
SPEAKER_01: It would use you, you would use your word today to show them who you are and invite them into a relationship with you.
SPEAKER_01: God, would you speak today in Jesus' name?
SPEAKER_01: Amen.
SPEAKER_01: So the first thing I want us to see in this text that Mark is showing us about this idea of authority is that Jesus has authority in his teaching.
SPEAKER_01: So we're gonna step into Capernaum 2,000 years ago, and we're gonna stand in the synagogue, much like this picture that was taken in Capernaum, in that synagogue, where Jesus would have stood in our text today.
SPEAKER_01: This is what it looks like now.
SPEAKER_01: But Jesus would have stood there 2,000 years ago.
SPEAKER_01: And scripture says he was teaching in this place.
SPEAKER_01: But look at our text.
SPEAKER_01: What does it say about his teaching?
SPEAKER_01: It says, one, they were astonished at his teaching, and it says that he taught them as one who has authority.
SPEAKER_01: What was he teaching here?
SPEAKER_01: In our text, Mark doesn't say it, just says he was teaching.
SPEAKER_01: But if we go back a few verses, we see the message that Jesus was proclaiming.
SPEAKER_01: In Mark chapter 1, verse 15.
SPEAKER_01: Look at what it says that Jesus was saying.
SPEAKER_01: He was saying the time is fulfilled and the kingdom of God is at hand.
SPEAKER_01: And then what does he say?
SPEAKER_01: Repent and believe in the gospel.
SPEAKER_01: That was the message that Jesus was proclaiming.
SPEAKER_01: And so it's not a leap for us to imagine him standing right here preaching that message that the kingdom of God is at hand.
SPEAKER_01: Wake up, pay attention, and respond.
SPEAKER_01: Respond with repentance, respond with belief.
SPEAKER_01: You see, Jesus was stepping in and he was teaching with an authority like the people had never heard.
SPEAKER_01: And Mark gives us evidence of that in this passage.
SPEAKER_01: He says they were astonished.
SPEAKER_01: He says he was preaching unlike any of their religious leaders.
SPEAKER_01: You see, most of the people who stood in the synagogue to teach would say, Well, Rabbi so-and-so once said, and then they would quote somebody else.
SPEAKER_01: And this was the method by which they would teach.
SPEAKER_01: But that's not how Jesus taught.
SPEAKER_01: Jesus just stood and he spoke with authority.
SPEAKER_01: Because he is authority.
SPEAKER_01: He is truth.
SPEAKER_01: It is who he is.
SPEAKER_01: He doesn't have to speak with someone else's authority.
SPEAKER_01: It is his authority.
SPEAKER_01: What does he say in John 14, verse 6?
SPEAKER_01: Jesus says, I am the way, I am the truth, and I am the life.
SPEAKER_01: He says, I am the authority.
SPEAKER_01: So I am standing in this place and I am preaching to you with this authority.
SPEAKER_01: Church family, Jesus does not interpret the truth.
SPEAKER_01: He is the truth.
SPEAKER_01: You know, I think it's interesting as we would continue in Mark's gospel, if we would read in any gospel account, the people never had a problem with the fact that Jesus was a teacher.
SPEAKER_01: They had a problem with his authority.
SPEAKER_01: Because if Jesus was just a teacher, guess what?
SPEAKER_01: You get to edit him.
SPEAKER_01: You get to listen to what you want to, and you get to push aside what you don't, right?
SPEAKER_01: You remember that in school, correct?
SPEAKER_01: Right?
SPEAKER_01: You would tune out most of what your teacher said, wouldn't you?
SPEAKER_01: You only listened if you thought your grade depended on it, right?
SPEAKER_01: Right?
SPEAKER_01: But if Jesus has authority, if he is more than just a teacher, if he has authority, you don't get to edit him.
SPEAKER_01: He edits you.
SPEAKER_01: We must change based upon who he is and based upon what he says.
SPEAKER_01: But his authority is not just revealed in his teaching, his authority is also revealed in his power over the spiritual realm.
SPEAKER_01: Right?
SPEAKER_01: This is where the story gets good, right?
SPEAKER_01: Like we read this and I think we sanitize it so many times, like, oh yeah, Jesus cast out a demon when he was standing in the synagogue.
SPEAKER_01: I don't think that's how the people in this day would have reacted in this moment, would they?
SPEAKER_01: When we think about what's happening in this place.
SPEAKER_01: It says that Jesus was standing there and he was teaching, and then it says this man in their midst just stands up and he starts, you know, in my mind, I'm thinking about this.
SPEAKER_01: He's shouting.
SPEAKER_01: He disrupts the whole scene.
SPEAKER_01: And he's saying, I know who you are.
SPEAKER_01: What are you doing here?
SPEAKER_01: Why are you disturbing us today?
SPEAKER_01: He says, You're the holy one from God.
SPEAKER_01: And what does Jesus do?
SPEAKER_01: He doesn't say, Yeah, you're right, that is who I am.
SPEAKER_01: No, he silences him.
SPEAKER_01: That's interesting, right?
SPEAKER_01: Because, I mean, the demon is actually speaking the truth in this moment, but Jesus doesn't allow the demon to continue doing that.
SPEAKER_01: In fact, in another place at the end of our text today, it says he would not allow the other demons that he cast out while he was there in Capernaum to speak about who he was, even though they knew who he was.
SPEAKER_01: Scholars call this fact the messianic secret.
SPEAKER_01: And it's it's woven throughout the Gospels, but it's really uh specific here in Mark.
SPEAKER_01: Mark focuses on this in his gospel account several times, where Jesus would not allow a demon or a person who saw who Jesus was to actually announce that to the crowds.
SPEAKER_01: Jesus would silence them.
SPEAKER_01: Now we're not gonna spend too much time on that, but I do want to, it's in our text, so I want us to talk about it for just a moment.
SPEAKER_01: Why would Jesus do that?
SPEAKER_01: Why would he silence the demon in this moment when he is speaking about Jesus' identity?
SPEAKER_01: It wasn't the right time.
SPEAKER_01: First of all, right, he spoke the truth, but he spoke it at the wrong time, and it was coming from the wrong voice.
SPEAKER_01: And you know what can happen when it's spoken at the wrong time and with the wrong voice, it can mislead.
SPEAKER_01: That's a whole nother sermon for a whole nother day.
SPEAKER_01: Church family, we have the word of God.
SPEAKER_01: We are called to teach it, we are called to live it out, but when we do it in the wrong way, when we do it in the wrong voice or with the wrong heart or with the wrong spirit, it can be misunderstood.
SPEAKER_01: So it is a call to us to make sure that we are clear when we are when we are proclaiming and standing on the authority of the word of God, that we are doing it with a life that matches what it is we're saying, and we're doing it with a voice that communicates the heart and the character of Jesus.
SPEAKER_01: And that's as much as we're gonna have time to say about that.
SPEAKER_01: That's another sermon for another day.
SPEAKER_01: But the second thing about this, why else would Jesus have silenced the demon in this moment?
SPEAKER_01: Because he gets to control the revelation of his identity.
SPEAKER_01: It's on his timetable, not ours.
SPEAKER_01: Think about what Jesus says several times in the Gospels.
SPEAKER_01: Hey, my time has not yet come.
SPEAKER_01: He said that to his own mom when his mom asked him to do something about the fact that there was no wine at the wedding.
SPEAKER_01: He says, My time has not yet come.
SPEAKER_01: Jesus controls the revelation of his identity.
SPEAKER_01: And I think that's one of the things that we struggle with most about Jesus' authority, isn't it?
SPEAKER_01: That it's not on our timetable.
SPEAKER_01: He doesn't operate when we think he should operate or how he should operate.
SPEAKER_01: And then the last thing I want us to think about with this messianic secret is this fact here.
SPEAKER_01: Jesus silenced the demon for this reason.
SPEAKER_01: I think this is the most important of all the reasons of why he silenced it.
SPEAKER_01: His mission was for his identity to be understood through the lens of the cross.
SPEAKER_01: And not before.
SPEAKER_01: You see, we can't understand who he is as the Messiah without the cross.
SPEAKER_01: It's unintelligible without the cross.
SPEAKER_01: And so Jesus says, No, we're not going to talk about who I am yet.
SPEAKER_01: I want you to understand my identity as it relates to what I came to do, which was to go to the cross to pay for sin, so that you could have a right relationship with God.
SPEAKER_01: Amen?
SPEAKER_01: One more thing I want to say here in passing, as I read through this text, it made me think scripture doesn't say that this guy in their midst that was possessed by a demon, like this wasn't, it doesn't really lead us to believe this was the first time he had ever shown up in the synagogue.
SPEAKER_01: Right?
SPEAKER_01: That he just came out of the hills and the caves and he wandered in on this day of all days when Jesus was preaching.
SPEAKER_01: It kind of leads us to believe that he was probably there on a regular basis.
SPEAKER_01: So why now?
SPEAKER_01: Why is this the first time that this demon is agitated by what he hears in the synagogue?
SPEAKER_01: It's just how my mind works as I think about this text.
SPEAKER_01: Why is this the first time?
SPEAKER_01: There's been a lot of religious teaching in the synagogue prior to Jesus standing there on this day.
SPEAKER_01: But you know what?
SPEAKER_01: Religious teaching without the real presence and authority and power of Jesus doesn't threaten the darkness.
SPEAKER_01: See, we can be adjacent to the truth, we can know all the right rhythms of church, and never have truly surrendered to the authority of Jesus Christ in our life.
SPEAKER_01: And let me tell you as plainly as I can, until we do, we are never going to experience the power of Jesus at work in our lives until we are willing to bow a knee to his authority.
SPEAKER_01: It was the authority of Jesus in this moment that caused the demons of hell to quiver in this place.
SPEAKER_01: Now let's look one more thing.
SPEAKER_01: This text shows us not only did he have authority in his teaching and authority over the spiritual realm, he has authority over the natural realm as well, does he not?
SPEAKER_01: The passage then moves us into the town.
SPEAKER_01: We leave the synagogue.
SPEAKER_01: This is on the Sabbath day that Jesus was there in the synagogue teaching and he casts out the demon.
SPEAKER_01: Well, it says after he's done teaching, he goes to the home of Simon's mother-in-law, there in the town of Capernaum.
SPEAKER_01: And what does he find when he gets there?
SPEAKER_01: She's sick.
SPEAKER_01: She's ill.
SPEAKER_01: It says she has a fever.
SPEAKER_01: What does Jesus do?
SPEAKER_01: He heals her.
SPEAKER_01: Then it says later that evening, why is it the evening that people start to come to him?
SPEAKER_01: I think people would have been beating down the door the minute Jesus walks to Peter's mother-in-law's house, right?
SPEAKER_01: He's just cast out a demon.
SPEAKER_01: Well, because it was the Sabbath day and you weren't allowed to work, which meant walking somewhere.
SPEAKER_01: And so you could really only go back to your own home.
SPEAKER_01: So they had to wait till sundown on the Sabbath, and then they were ready.
SPEAKER_01: Like they were watching the sun in the sky, and the minute it got low enough, they were off to where they knew Jesus had gone.
SPEAKER_01: And so they get there, and what do they bring with them?
SPEAKER_01: All of their sick, all of the others that they know are demon-possessed.
SPEAKER_01: And they bring them to the door of Peter's mother-in-law's home, and Jesus says, heals them, and he casts out demons.
SPEAKER_01: I think it's important that Mark shows us these two different scopes of Jesus healing because it reveals something about his character.
SPEAKER_01: He's personal.
SPEAKER_01: He cared deeply about Peter's mother-in-law, and he wanted to heal her, and he does.
SPEAKER_01: But he also cared about the community at large and about their needs and their sickness and their brokenness.
SPEAKER_01: And so he met their needs as well.
SPEAKER_01: Church, I want you to understand something.
SPEAKER_01: We need to consider his authority and his character together if we're going to understand either one of them.
SPEAKER_01: Don't ever look at the authority of Jesus without looking at the character of Jesus, and don't ever look at the character of Jesus without understanding the authority of Jesus.
SPEAKER_01: They work together, they are intertwined.
SPEAKER_01: You cannot separate them.
SPEAKER_01: His healings are not just compassion.
SPEAKER_01: Mark is showing us that Jesus has this authority to heal because it's another sign that the kingdom has come.
SPEAKER_01: Back in verse 15, the kingdom of God is at hand.
SPEAKER_01: This is another evidence that the kingdom of God has come.
SPEAKER_01: He's demonstrating it by his healing.
SPEAKER_01: He's saying this, listen, sickness will not get the final word.
unknown: Right?
SPEAKER_01: He is healing in this moment, but all sickness is not healed yet.
SPEAKER_01: That's the tension of the already, but the not yet that we live in today.
SPEAKER_01: Right?
SPEAKER_01: First John chapter uh 3, verse 2 says, brothers, we are children of God, but what we will be has not yet been revealed.
SPEAKER_01: Right?
SPEAKER_01: We know we belong to him as followers of Jesus.
SPEAKER_01: We are children of God, but there is still more to come.
SPEAKER_01: That is the reward of our salvation.
SPEAKER_01: You see, some Jesus is healing sickness, but yet not all sickness is healed in this moment.
SPEAKER_01: But the kingdom of God has broken through.
SPEAKER_01: He is come.
SPEAKER_01: And he is at work.
SPEAKER_01: These healings that Mark is showing us, right?
SPEAKER_01: This is not just a random compilation of miracles, demon casting out, and physical healing of sickness.
SPEAKER_01: No, these this is meant to build an argument and a case that says Jesus has authority and his authority has come in this moment.
SPEAKER_01: This is not a teaching that says if you have enough faith, you can be healed.
SPEAKER_01: It's a teaching that Jesus has come and he has come to reverse the curse that sin has brought into this world.
SPEAKER_01: So I want us to spend our remaining time thinking about the implications of his authority, and then taking a few moments and just a full disclaimer is there going to be uncomfortable moments?
SPEAKER_01: For us to apply that authority to our lives.
SPEAKER_01: I might should have like had a waiver for all the control freaks in the room to sign before you walked in today that this sermon was going to step on all of our toes because it will here as we go through the rest of our time together.
SPEAKER_01: But first of all, the implications of his authority.
SPEAKER_01: What do we learn from this?
SPEAKER_01: First of all, we learn that the kingdom of God is breaking in.
SPEAKER_01: We've already said Mark 1.15, the message Jesus came to proclaim was that the kingdom of God has at hand.
SPEAKER_01: Repent and believe.
SPEAKER_01: Demons are being expelled, enemy territory is being taken, sickness is being healed.
SPEAKER_01: The kingdom of God is breaking in.
SPEAKER_01: Things are changing.
SPEAKER_01: The presence and the authority and the power of Jesus changes things.
SPEAKER_01: He stepped on the scene and they are changing.
SPEAKER_01: But I want you to also see through this text, we see that Jesus' authority is immediate and it's effortless.
SPEAKER_01: There's no rituals, there's no struggle, there's no resistance there.
SPEAKER_01: There's no contest for it.
SPEAKER_01: He doesn't have to fight for authority.
SPEAKER_01: He just steps in because he is authority.
SPEAKER_01: It wasn't delegated to him.
SPEAKER_01: It is who he is.
SPEAKER_01: It's immediate.
SPEAKER_01: It's effortless.
SPEAKER_01: He speaks.
SPEAKER_01: And the spiritual realm and the natural realm obey.
SPEAKER_01: This echoes Genesis chapter 1, right?
SPEAKER_01: As we think about this, right?
SPEAKER_01: The kingdom of God is at hand.
SPEAKER_01: Jesus has stepped on the scene.
SPEAKER_01: He is doing the work of redemption.
SPEAKER_01: The work of redemption, right, is now on full display in the person of Jesus in this moment.
SPEAKER_01: He has come with authority to bring about the kingdom of God.
SPEAKER_01: And he speaks and things happen.
SPEAKER_01: Think about Genesis chapter 1.
SPEAKER_01: God speaks and things happen.
SPEAKER_01: He has ultimate authority.
SPEAKER_01: He speaks into nothing and creates.
SPEAKER_00: Mark is showing us this is who he is.
SPEAKER_00: This is God.
SPEAKER_00: He is the authority.
SPEAKER_01: The third thing about his authority that I think this text helps us to see is that right response matters when it comes to the authority of Jesus.
SPEAKER_01: The crowds in this text, they're amazed, they're curious, they gather.
SPEAKER_01: But the sad thing is we don't see them committed.
SPEAKER_01: We don't see them surrendered to his authority.
SPEAKER_01: They love the show, they love the spectacle, they're amazed by it.
SPEAKER_01: It's created a buzz in the town, right?
SPEAKER_01: They want the, they want all the fruit of his authority.
SPEAKER_01: But we know as we read through the gospel, they are resistant to surrender and bow a knee to his authority.
SPEAKER_01: It's a great warning in this text.
SPEAKER_01: You can be amazed by Jesus and not follow him.
SPEAKER_01: What does this mean for our lives as we read this text and as we consider the authority of Jesus and how it's revealed to us here in Mark's gospel?
SPEAKER_01: What are we to do?
SPEAKER_01: How are we to handle this?
SPEAKER_01: I want us to think about it in a few ways this morning.
SPEAKER_01: First of all, it's this that you cannot ignore his authority.
SPEAKER_01: Simply, we don't get to domesticate Jesus.
SPEAKER_01: We don't get to create the version of Jesus that we're most comfortable with.
SPEAKER_01: He is who he is.
SPEAKER_01: He is the one who controls.
SPEAKER_01: We do not.
SPEAKER_01: He is the one confronting the demons.
SPEAKER_01: He is the one who is commanding them to leave.
SPEAKER_01: He is the one who is restoring the sick and the broken.
SPEAKER_01: Can't ignore his authority.
SPEAKER_01: But his authority demands surrender.
SPEAKER_01: I think it's interesting in this text the demons obey the authority of Jesus faster than the people do, don't they?
SPEAKER_01: It's important for us when we're thinking about surrender.
SPEAKER_01: It's not the same thing as amazement.
SPEAKER_01: Because, see, the kingdom of God in this moment, Mark is not showing that Jesus arrives politely, that he doesn't step in and says, excuse me, guys, is it okay if I step in here and right and I start teaching a new message than what you've heard before?
SPEAKER_01: Would it be okay?
SPEAKER_01: Can I just interrupt your your your plans for just a minute to do this?
SPEAKER_01: No, that's not how Jesus steps in.
SPEAKER_01: He steps in with authority.
SPEAKER_01: He doesn't arrive politely.
SPEAKER_01: It says he, I mean, Mark shows us he breaks in.
SPEAKER_01: He doesn't suggest things, he doesn't negotiate, he doesn't sit around and take a vote with the people there in Capernaum.
SPEAKER_01: No, he steps in as the king who has power over the spiritual and over the natural realm, and he begins to teach about who God is and what it is that he has come to do.
SPEAKER_01: Mark is forcing us to wrestle with one really important question in our text today.
SPEAKER_01: If Jesus really has this kind of authority, what does that mean for me?
SPEAKER_01: I know this will come as a surprise to many of you who know me well, but this makes me think of a Narnia, uh Chronicles of Narnia illustration.
SPEAKER_01: Okay?
SPEAKER_01: So I resent, I gotta come up with a new one.
SPEAKER_01: They're gonna get sick of hearing me talk about Narnia, but there's not a better one for this, and so you're just gonna have to just uh humor me with this one today.
SPEAKER_01: But it's the classic famous line from the book, The Lion, the Witch in the Wardrobe, when the four children are told about Aslan, and they're told that he is the king and that he is a lion.
SPEAKER_01: And what is it that they say?
SPEAKER_01: Is he safe?
SPEAKER_01: And the answer to them is safe.
SPEAKER_01: Of course, who said anything about him being safe?
SPEAKER_01: Of course he's not safe, he's a lion.
SPEAKER_01: But he's good.
SPEAKER_01: And he's the king, I tell you.
SPEAKER_01: You see, they're not asking, is he powerful?
SPEAKER_01: They're assuming that he's powerful.
SPEAKER_01: He's a lion.
SPEAKER_01: They ask, is he safe?
SPEAKER_01: Because deep down they understand something about authority that I think we often forget.
SPEAKER_01: If someone has authority, you don't get to control them.
SPEAKER_01: I think we live our Christian lives too many times thinking that we are the ones in control.
SPEAKER_01: And I think that is why so many times we live with an anemic version of what it is that Christ has called us to in this abundant life of knowing and following Him.
SPEAKER_01: And I think many times it's because of this here.
SPEAKER_01: We think that we control things rather than we submit and we surrender and we follow after Him.
SPEAKER_01: And that's exactly what Mark is showing us here.
SPEAKER_01: When Jesus arrived, everything changed.
SPEAKER_01: And nobody is sitting there in this moment saying, whoa, this feels really safe and manageable.
SPEAKER_01: Because when authority shows up, it disrupts everything.
SPEAKER_01: You see, the reality is we don't mind a safe Jesus, do we?
SPEAKER_01: One who gives advice or one who fits into our plans, one that we can agree with or ignore depending on the situation.
SPEAKER_01: We don't mind that kind of Jesus.
SPEAKER_01: But that's not the Jesus Mark shows us.
SPEAKER_01: He shows us a Jesus who declares truth, who silences demons, who heals with authority.
SPEAKER_01: So the question really in this text is not, do I like him?
SPEAKER_01: The question is, will I submit to him?
SPEAKER_01: And if I'm full, if I'm honest with you today, this is the place where God is dealing with me in this passage of scripture.
SPEAKER_01: And my prayer is that he will deal with you with this question as well.
SPEAKER_01: Where do you, where do I need to submit to his authority in my life, in your life today?
SPEAKER_01: One of the questions to help answer that that I'm asking is this.
SPEAKER_01: Where am I resisting his word?
SPEAKER_01: Where are you resisting his word in your life?
SPEAKER_01: Do you know what scripture says, but you've been editing it to fit your life for your convenience?
SPEAKER_01: Is there a relationship that you have right now that you are in that you know the word of God would say that is not healthy?
SPEAKER_01: That is not God's desire for you, but you're ignoring that?
SPEAKER_01: Is there a pattern of sin in your life that God's word speaks clearly to, but you're resisting laying that down?
SPEAKER_01: Is there a place where obedience to his word feels way too costly?
SPEAKER_01: And so you're just trying to live like it's not so.
SPEAKER_01: Trying to excuse it away.
SPEAKER_01: If he has authority, we do not get to rewrite his word.
SPEAKER_01: So maybe this morning, the question of where do you need to submit to his authority today is to simply say, Lord, I need your help because I struggle with obedience to your word.
SPEAKER_01: And I know in my own strength I cannot do it.
SPEAKER_01: So, God, as I come to your word, I'm praying, God, that you would help me, that your spirit would continue to renew my mind and strengthen me so that in your power, in your strength, I can submit to your authority as it pertains to your word.
SPEAKER_01: Maybe the place today where you need to answer this question, where do I need to submit to his authority today?
SPEAKER_01: Maybe it's in this area.
SPEAKER_01: Where are you trusting your feelings over his authority?
SPEAKER_01: When your emotions and God's word collide, who wins?
SPEAKER_01: When anxiety says one thing and fear says another, your past says something else.
SPEAKER_01: Are you gonna listen to those things or are you going to listen to the voice of Jesus?
SPEAKER_01: Because he is spoken.
SPEAKER_01: You see, submitting to his authority, living under his authority means that he has the final word, even when your feelings and your thoughts and your fears and your worries are really loud.
SPEAKER_01: It doesn't change who he is.
SPEAKER_01: Maybe it's in a third area.
SPEAKER_01: Where do you need to trust his authority with things that you can't control?
SPEAKER_01: Maybe it's with a health issue that you're experiencing right now.
SPEAKER_01: You're like, God, are you there?
SPEAKER_01: God, do you care?
SPEAKER_01: God, are you big enough to handle what I'm going through?
SPEAKER_01: Maybe it's with a child who is far from God, or a spouse who's far from God, or a relationship that just seems to be right on the edge of falling apart.
SPEAKER_01: Are you going to try to control that and manage that and fix that in your own strength?
SPEAKER_01: Or are you going to recognize and remember that God has the final say?
SPEAKER_01: He is the authority.
SPEAKER_01: I can trust him with this situation.
SPEAKER_01: I can't fix it on my own.
SPEAKER_01: Only he can do it.
SPEAKER_01: And so I must rely and yield to his working and however he wants to work in this situation.
SPEAKER_01: Maybe it's with a circumstance in your life that just hasn't changed.
SPEAKER_01: Maybe it's a job situation.
SPEAKER_01: Maybe it's a dysfunction within your family.
SPEAKER_01: I don't know what it might be, but we all have those circumstances that just weigh us down in our lives, do we not?
SPEAKER_01: That sometimes we're like, God, if that circumstance could just change and we spend all of our time focused on how can I change it?
SPEAKER_01: How can I fix it?
SPEAKER_01: One of the applications of his authority is to recognize I can't do it in my own strength.
SPEAKER_01: Only he can do it.
SPEAKER_01: And so the best response, the best action on my part is to simply yield to his authority, to surrender, to follow after him, to let him lead the way, and I simply follow.
SPEAKER_01: You see, the question is not whether Jesus has authority.
SPEAKER_01: The question is, will you live like he is the authority in your life?
SPEAKER_01: So where do you need to stop negotiating with him and start surrendering to him?
SPEAKER_01: Last week, that call was made.
SPEAKER_01: Hey, an area of obedience, right?
SPEAKER_01: You know you've needed to follow the Lord in baptism and you've been putting it off.
SPEAKER_01: And so the call was made today.
SPEAKER_01: Right?
SPEAKER_01: Immediately get up from where you sit and just take that step of obedience.
SPEAKER_01: Follow him, be baptized.
SPEAKER_01: Today, I want to ask where do you struggle with surrendering to the authority of Jesus in your life?
SPEAKER_01: Are you gonna lay that down?
SPEAKER_01: Are you going to submit to him as king rather than trying to make him into a God that you can be comfortable with?
SPEAKER_01: Today, believer, you may be sitting in this room and you're like me.
SPEAKER_01: It's really easy to get into just living life and letting the cares of this world start to overwhelm you, to start to think that it's up to you, your ingenuity, your creativity, your smarts to be able to figure things out and put all the pieces together, right, to create the life that you want.
SPEAKER_01: And so you just go about doing it and you're hoping God is watching over your shoulder and he's gonna bless it.
SPEAKER_01: Today, maybe is just a moment for you to pause and remember you've got it backwards.
SPEAKER_01: He is king.
SPEAKER_01: We submit to his word.
SPEAKER_01: We follow after him.
SPEAKER_01: He's the one with the power to change, he's the one with the ability to help us overcome those things in our life that do not bring him glory.
SPEAKER_01: It's not up to us to fix ourselves.
SPEAKER_01: It's us up to us to abide in him and let him work and renew our minds and renew our hearts.
SPEAKER_01: So maybe today the way you need to surrender to his authority is just simply posture.
SPEAKER_01: It may just be to kneel and say, God, would you remind me in those moments where I think I am king, to remember that you are king.
SPEAKER_01: Husbands in the room, maybe today you need to remember, wow, God has called me to lead my family.
SPEAKER_01: God has called me to be the spiritual leader in my home.
SPEAKER_01: But all too often I think I'm the leader of my home.
SPEAKER_01: I'm not to come under the headship of Christ and then lead out of that place.
SPEAKER_01: I'm just leading because I'm in charge.
SPEAKER_01: And maybe today, God's calling you to submit to him and then lead out of that posture.
SPEAKER_01: To serve your wife, to serve your kids, to love them in sacrificial ways.
SPEAKER_01: But you can't do that until you come under and submit to his authority in your life to lead your family with humility and gentleness and compassion under the authority of Jesus Christ.
SPEAKER_01: There's application today for all of us when it comes to this understanding.
SPEAKER_01: If you're here today and you've never placed your faith in Jesus Christ, the call of the word of God is for you to bow your knee and confess Jesus Christ as King.
SPEAKER_01: To repent of your sin, to believe that Jesus Christ, with his death on the cross, paid the penalty for your sin, and he is inviting you to follow him, to follow his authority, to follow him as king.
SPEAKER_01: And so maybe today you've heard that gospel message, and you know today the way you must respond is to place your faith in Jesus Christ alone for salvation.
SPEAKER_01: Our praise team is gonna come right now, and we're gonna sing two songs.
SPEAKER_01: Two songs of response.
SPEAKER_01: That is not meant to give you two songs to slip out and go on to the next thing you have to do today.
SPEAKER_01: This time of response is meant for you.
SPEAKER_01: You've heard the word of God.
SPEAKER_01: These songs of response are to give you time to reflect and open-handedly say, God, what do you want to do in my life?
SPEAKER_01: Because of your word.
SPEAKER_01: So as we sing, we're gonna stand and we're gonna sing.
SPEAKER_01: But you have the freedom in these moments to do business with God.
SPEAKER_01: And it may be just to declare these songs in faith and to sing them out loud.
SPEAKER_01: It may be to come to these steps and use them as an altar to deal with those areas of your life where you've been resisting the authority of Jesus Christ in your life.
SPEAKER_01: It may be that you need to come and take one of the ministers that will be down front and say, I need to talk to someone because I've never placed my faith in Jesus, and today is the day I know I need to do that.
SPEAKER_01: We would be more than happy to talk to you about that.
SPEAKER_01: Whatever it is, the invitation today is to come.
SPEAKER_01: Come to the King, submit to him, surrender to him, and find the freedom and the abundance and the life that comes when we are not our own authority, but we are following the one who has ultimate authority.
SPEAKER_01: God, would you take your word and would you use it today in Jesus' name?
SPEAKER_00: Would you stand and let's single?