The clash with Ultimate Authority

It is good to be back with you guys in church.

It feels like a long time.

I was here for Easter weekend, but before that have been away for a few weeks,

welcoming the new addition to our family, who I think just left the building making a lot of noise.

But I'm glad that he's here making a lot of noise,

because hopefully that means he won't make as much later on tonight.

But it is good to be back in church with you tonight,

and I'm excited to be able to open the Bible with you.

And I'm going to pray, and I'm going to ask God to give us ears to hear what it is that he's saying tonight,

because that's the most important thing.

So let's pray.

Father God, we thank and praise you for the gift of your word.

We thank and praise you for this opportunity to meet freely and to sit under it.

Lord, keep us from pride that would prevent us from hearing you speak.

Give us the humility to recognize things in us that are not in line with your will.

Lord, and give us eyes to see Jesus clearly.

Give us eyes that see him as you have made him, exalted and on the throne.

And Lord, may we be moved to obey him and to treat him as king.

Amen.

Well, we all like the feeling of having power in our lives.

Whatever power that might be.

It might be the power over the remote control in your lounge room.

I thought I had the power in my home,

and something that you don't enjoy is feeling that power slipping away.

Fatherhood has been fantastic in a whole bunch of ways.

Actually, I should just put a preface here.

I'm a new dad, so you're going to expect a lot of dad stories for the next little while.

It's not an apology, it's just a warning.

My world exists around a little man who's standing at the back.

So, lots of baby stories.

So, it's a strange feeling as a new dad to feel yourself losing the power in your own house.

Suddenly, I have almost no say in anything.

If he doesn't like the show that I'm watching, I'm sure he can't actually tell,

but if he starts crying, you'll start flicking channels just to see if you can find one that will settle him down.

It doesn't matter if I want to sleep.

If he wants to be awake, then I'm awake.

And that means when he wants to sleep, I'm going to sleep,

because that's the only time that I can sleep.

And suddenly, all the power that I thought I had is gone.

And when we feel somebody else having power over us,

it's fair enough that we ask the question,

what gives you the right?

Now, Bailey is not quite at the point of being able to answer,

but I'm sure he will have some answers prepared later on in life

as to why he can tell me what I can do.

But you know that feeling when something that you used to be in control of is taken away.

You want to know why someone else has the right to have power and have influence in your life.

Whether it's the boss who tells you to do your job their way instead of your way.

Whether it's the backseat driver who tells you to drive their way instead of your way.

Whatever it is that is telling you that you have to do something not the way that you want,

your immediate reaction is,

what authority do you have to tell me that I'm supposed to do it this way?

What right do you have to tell me how I'm supposed to live?

And that is the question that we come to in the passage tonight in Mark 11 and 12 that we're looking at.

Over the next couple of weeks we're going to look at the authority that Jesus has

and it's appropriate that we start with this question here in verse 28.

Jesus has just arrived in Jerusalem and he's walking in the temple courts with the chief priests,

the teachers of the law and the elders come to him and they ask, verse 28,

by what authority do you do these things?

Now the these things is really, really important there.

There's a bit of baggage that we need to drag into this chapter.

So if you just turn back one page, we're going to do a skim version of what's gone on just a little bit before.

Basically there's a whole bunch of miracles that have been happening,

but a couple of really important ones.

Beginning of chapter 11, Jesus rocks up in Jerusalem for Palm Sunday.

You know the story, people are laying down branches and their jackets.

Jesus is riding on a donkey and people are shouting out,

Hosanna to the king.

This is a royal procession.

So Jesus arrives in Jerusalem in the eyes of some as a relative nobody,

but in his eyes and in the eyes of those at the parade, this is the king arriving.

He shows up and says, I'm the king.

I'm in charge.

You need to listen to me.

You need to submit to me.

And just to make it clear, in the next story,

Jesus turns up to the temple and drives out the people who are there selling

and who have abused the temple and they're turning it into a market

and he gets very aggressive.

And there's one little sandwich story in around the temple about a fig tree that Jesus curses.

He gets angry with this fig tree because it doesn't have fruit.

He curses it.

It shrivels up.

And when they come back, they discover that it's dead.

And what's going on there in those couple of stories is Jesus has rocked up.

He said, I'm the king.

He's arrived.

And then he's shown what it looks like to obey the king.

The fig tree is an image throughout the Old Testament of Israel.

So even though he does curse a fig tree and it withers and dies,

it's actually like he's acting out a drama for everyone who's there to see.

And it's his way of saying, see how this fig tree didn't do what it was supposed to do?

I get to judge that.

It's my authority to say that's not good enough and to curse that fig tree.

When Jesus rocks up to the temple and the Jews have turned it into a marketplace instead of a place where the nations could come and pray,

Jesus comes and turns over tables, makes a whip, starts shouting, has a commotion because he says,

I'm the king.

I get to judge that.

I get to say that's not okay.

I get to tell you that God's not happy with that.

In fact, what Jesus is saying is, as king, I have authority to tell you what God wants.

He says, as king, I have authority to tell you God's not happy with you.

And so it's understandable that the leaders of Israel, the leaders of God's nation Israel would say,

hang on a sec, we're God's people and we're the leaders of God's people.

We're the ones who say what God wants.

We're the ones with authority.

And so who are you to turn up and start passing judgment?

Who are you to turn up and act like everybody has to listen to you?

Jesus is saying, I am king, I am judge, and you must submit to me.

He's saying, I'm the only judge, and you must listen to my words.

Now, before we get any further, it's worth acknowledging, which came out pretty quickly in our little sharing time before,

we don't do submission as an idea very well.

I got permission to tell this story.

I want to preface this story by saying that my wife is amazing and that she is a very submissive wife

and that she honors me very, very much.

But I remember when we came to get married and I'd proposed, she said yes, and we met with our minister.

And you may or may not know that in the green prayer book that was once upon a time what we always did in church,

there is two different services for weddings.

They're very, very similar.

There is one very significant word that is different in the vows that the husband and wife say.

In the first service, it says, better, worse, rich, or poor, etc., etc.,

and the husband says, to love and to cherish.

The wife says all the same things except, she says, to love and obey.

In the second service, that obey word is changed back to cherish,

just to make sure that there's no submission going on in this marriage because we would not want that.

So me and Sal sat down, we pulled out the vows and we thought, which one should we do?

And Sal said, obey?

Don't want to say that, that's a bit weird.

People will think you're going to rule over me and all that sort of stuff.

And sure enough, we opted for the second option.

And I have to say, I've only done three weddings,

but those three weddings and a whole bunch of weddings that I've been to,

I don't think I've ever heard anyone do the obey option.

Because we get really nervous about the idea of submission.

We get nervous about the idea of saying, I'm going to be under your authority.

I'm actually going to put you in control.

I'm going to give you the authority and the power.

And we get nervous because we're not so sure that anyone else is going to look after us

as well as we're going to look after us.

I mean, that's the heart of it.

I mean, hopefully me and Sal are at the point now where she's getting a little bit more confident

that I'm going to look after her.

And she might be more confident to say now, I obey.

But the reality is, any kind of submission is hard because we are nervous that we're going to get burned.

Or maybe we're just nervous or not nervous.

Maybe we're just convinced that we're doing a better job than this other person.

If I put this person in control, it's going to go badly,

not because they're going to try and not look after me,

just because they're not as good at looking after me as I am.

They're not as powerful as me.

They don't know me as well as I do.

And so the issue with submission is fear and pride.

And ultimately, that's the heart of every sin that we do.

It's the heart of sin through the whole of scriptures.

It's the non-submission because of fear and because of pride.

It starts in Genesis 1 with Adam.

Do you remember Satan's temptation of Adam?

She goes, did God really say?

Is God really being good to you?

Do you actually think he's giving you all this good stuff?

Just this question, this seed of doubt and fear that God's not going to look after him.

And ultimately, the sin comes when Adam decides that, hey, I want to be like God.

Satan says, you eat this fruit, you won't die.

You'll become like God.

You can have just as much power as him.

Then you won't be under anyone.

You'll be in control.

And Adam thinks, great.

And he grabs the fruit and everything goes wrong because he refuses to submit.

It continues on when we get to the Tower of Babel.

People don't want to listen to God and his plans anymore.

They figure if we get together and we build a big tower, we'll be as big and impressive as anyone.

So we can just do our own thing.

And non-submission results in the judgment and scattering of people.

It's happening here again in Mark 11 and Mark 12.

The chief priests hear what Jesus is saying.

They hear him saying, I'm the king.

They hear him saying, you need to listen to me.

They hear him saying, some of the stuff you're doing is not okay and you need to obey me and listen to what I'm saying.

But they are nervous that if they do, they might not be so powerful anymore.

They might not be the popular guys in Israel anymore.

And so out of fear and out of pride, they don't submit.

And it still happens for you and me today.

Think of a little example like giving.

Like being generous in our offertory at church, in the money that we give to the work of ministry.

We know that God calls us to give generously.

We know that he calls us to give our best and our first.

But we just have this moment every time of thinking, if I give this, will God look after me?

I mean, I kind of need it.

Or maybe if I give this, the church isn't going to use it very well.

So maybe it's better if I hold on to it and make my own decisions about who gets it and when they get it.

We just don't like to submit.

We don't like anyone, including God, to have authority over our lives.

And often our trick as Christians is that we say, yes, God, you're in charge.

But then we just ignore what we've said in all the little decisions that we're making,

which basically equals one big decision of God, no, you're not in charge.

And the picture here in Mark 12 is very similar because this is more than just fear and pride for them.

This is more than just a non-submission because they think they've got a better deal.

Have a look at it with me.

It says, Jesus replies to them, I'll ask you one question.

Answer me and I'll tell you by what authority I'm doing these things.

John's baptism, was it from heaven or from men?

Tell me.

Simple enough question.

And so these men who are smart, learned men, disgusted among themselves,

and they realize that if they say that John's baptism is from heaven,

then they'll get in trouble because they didn't listen to John either

when John said the king is coming and you're doing the wrong thing.

So they can't say that.

But they also realize if they say from men,

they'll get in trouble because the people that they're trying to have authority over

think that John was important and so they'll lose their power.

So the fear is there, but it gets worse.

They answer Jesus, we don't know.

They do know, but they don't want to know.

It's not an issue of fear or pride here anymore.

It becomes an issue of hard-heartedness.

The answer is right in front of their eyes,

but it's something that they don't want to hear.

It's not like they're asking Jesus if he's over 18

and all he's got to do is show a license and then they'll say,

okay, you're king, we're on board.

It doesn't matter what he does.

It doesn't matter how he answers.

They're not interested in his authority.

They're just trying to find a way out.

They're just trying to find a loophole.

They're trying to justify the position that they already have.

It's not a genuine question and it's not an answer that they're willing to hear.

And so we get to Jesus' response here in chapter 12, the parable.

Now, this is a parable from the Old Testament,

which was in the Isaiah passage,

which Jesus grabs and kind of revamps for this modern context.

So in Isaiah 5, in the passage that Joe read out,

it's a parable about a vineyard.

And in that passage, that vineyard is representative of Israel

and God is the one who plants the vineyard and looks after it

and does everything that could possibly be done

and yet still it doesn't produce fruit.

But here, the story is not so much against the vineyard,

but against the people looking after the vineyard.

Jesus kind of aims his focus in on these chief priests,

these hard-hearted leaders of Israel

who have rejected the king that God has sent.

And so the story unfolds.

The man plants the vineyard.

He puts the watchtower in.

He puts the pit around it for the wine press

and then he rents it out to some farmers and goes on a journey.

Eventually, he knows it's time to come and collect

some of the fruit of the vineyard.

He sends some of his servants to get it.

They beat them and throw them out.

And then he sends more and some they kill,

others they beat.

And he sends more and more and more.

And then finally in verse 6,

he had one left to send a son whom he loved.

He sent him last of all saying,

they'll respect my son.

They'll give my son the respect that they would give to me

as the owner of the vineyard.

But the tenants said to one another,

this is the heir.

Let's kill him and the inheritance will be ours.

So they took him, killed him,

and threw him out of the vineyard.

Jesus tells this story,

which is not at all subtle,

to explain to these chief priests

what they are doing in God's eyes.

God has given them as a nation his law.

He has been with them.

He has protected them.

He has provided for them.

He has made promises to them.

And yet with everything he has given them,

they have mistreated him.

With everything that he has given them,

they have abused it.

They have taken it for granted.

And they are not content with all the stuff

that he's given him.

They want more.

They don't just want to work in a great vineyard

that's been set up for them,

that they didn't invest in.

They want the vineyard for themselves.

They don't want to have a boss.

They don't want to be accountable to anyone.

They don't want to submit to anyone.

See, the hard thing I think here

is that there's almost a good desire

in these chief priests.

I think we're overly harsh

if we read this passage and think

these guys just set out at the beginning

to be evil, to be sinful, to be rebellious.

These are the leaders of God's people.

Somewhere in there,

they desired to lead God's people

towards God's design.

Somewhere in there,

they desired that Israel

would become a great nation again,

that God's name would get heard

all over the world

because of this great nation.

And they wanted to be

at the front of the pack,

leading, making that happen.

But progressively,

that good intention

got derailed by a sinful agenda.

That desire for God's will to be done

got derailed by a desire

for their own power,

for their own position,

for their own prestige,

for their own freedom

to do whatever they want,

for their own lack of accountability

to anyone else.

And I want to warn you

that we are in the same danger

here at church now.

I don't know how long

you've been a Christian

and ultimately it doesn't matter.

We can start out

in our journey as Christians

with this amazing desire

to be Christ-like,

with this awareness of sin

and this awareness

that we need to change

and this awareness

that it's going to be

a whole life journey

and then suddenly

we find ourselves

derailed by a desire

to be a little bit comfortable.

Suddenly derailed

by a desire

to at least feel at peace

with the person that I am.

We don't like that sense

of I'm not doing okay

and there's things in me

that make God angry

and I need to confess

and feel forgiven

and so that good intention

to be more Christ-like

gets dragged away

by a desire

to be comfortable

and church is an easy place

to do that.

We're in danger

as a community.

We may begin

as a 5pm congregation,

we're a young congregation

and we did begin

with a desire

that more people

would join this community,

that this would be open,

that others would be welcome

but it's really easy

for that to get derailed.

For us to start

to feel kind of comfortable

with the group that's here.

I've got a few good friends,

some people I enjoy sitting with,

I like the way we do music,

if there was more people

it'd be hard to park,

I might not get to sit

where I want to sit,

maybe I'd have to talk

to a stranger

at church on Sunday.

And so good intentions

can become very easily derailed

and ultimately

that reflects

that we don't want to listen

to Jesus anymore.

Ultimately that reflects

that we're ignoring

his agenda

and we're listening

to our agenda.

That like the chief priest

when Jesus says

get uncomfortable,

go and speak to people

about Jesus,

we want to know

what right have you got

to make me uncomfortable.

We want to know

what right have you got

to tell me

how to live my life

because I think

I'm doing an alright job.

We need to be very careful

that we don't get

too comfortable

because the best

of intentions

can be derailed

because we are sinful

to the core.

And we live in a world

that is at war

with God's design

and desire.

And as soon as we

stop fighting

we will lose ground.

Be warned,

this is a danger

for us as well.

And so God

speaks this parable

against these chief priests

and the elders

and the teachers

of the law

and ultimately

he says

you are refusing

to submit

to the owner's authority.

See the danger

is that it's a progressive

slope for us

because we start

by becoming

a Christian

and being eager

for the word

and then we make

this shift

where we feel

like we're doing okay

and we're still eager

for the word

but we're kind of eager

just to hear it.

You know,

if I open it

and read a passage

out loud

or maybe in my head

or if I'm near church

if I'm sitting in church

but not really paying attention

the word's still

kind of floating around

and then we just get

further and further away.

We stop listening

to what it says

and then ultimately

we stop looking at it

for any kind of guidance

or direction

because it's just easier

because we figure

I'm in charge

I know how to do this now.

Jesus,

you were helpful

at the beginning

but it's easier

just to submit to me

than to submit to you.

It's easier

to not hear

that I wasn't perfect today

and I need to confess

some stuff.

It's easier

to be the only one

who has to decide

whether or not

you get to heaven

because it's much easier

to tell yourself

that you're a good person.

I was reading

an article recently

that my mum sent me.

She's wrestling

with Christianity

possibly a new Christian

and she sent me

an article

written by

a homosexual guy

a practicing

homosexual guy

basically

unpacking

what the Bible

says about homosexuality

and it was

a fairly

straightforward article

he pretty much said

look all those people

who have read

in the Bible

that homosexuality

is wrong

they're reading

the Bible wrong.

He said these verses

and listed off a bunch

if you read them

in context

then actually

it says something

different

and

leaving aside

the fact

that I'm not sure

that he's reading

those verses

correctly

it was amazing

how he was still

looking to the Bible

for guidance

but he'd actually

stopped listening

to what it was saying.

He claimed

that he was submitting

to the authority

of God

but what he was doing

was finding the bits

of God's authority

that he didn't like

and then making them

say what he wanted

them to say.

He was claiming

to submit to someone else

but ultimately

he had decided

I'm in charge

what suits me

and what is comfortable

for me

that is what I'm going

to do.

Now I know

that that is a

controversial issue

but it is true

of so many areas

of our life.

Christianity

will be uncomfortable

transformation

is uncomfortable

the Bible

the Bible describes

the Christian life

as one of pruning

of one of being

refined by fire

expect to open

the Bible

and be made

uncomfortable

because you are

not perfect

and God is in the

business of

transforming you

from one degree

of glory

to another

and it is

his authority

that matters

and when we

refuse to submit

to his authority

we reject him

and we presume

the role of king

we presume

the role of judge

and if you don't

think you do it

just think in the

past week

how many times

you have looked

at someone else

and thought

wow

that is sinful

wow

that is not okay

but the good news

in this passage

is significant

there is a

significant warning

in verse 9

when it says

the owner of the vineyard

will come and kill

those tenants

but he's the

encouragement

he will give

the vineyard

to others

have you not read

the scripture

the stone the builders

rejected

the stone the chief

priest rejected

the stone that we

often reject

has become

the capstone

the son

the last

messenger

that God

has sent

who was rejected

and sacrificed

and crucified

by us

on the cross

has been raised

by God

and has been

made the capstone

the centerpiece

the foundation

the everything

for the kingdom

of God

he has been made

the only way in

no amount of good

effort

no amount of

anything else

counts now

all that matters

for God's

kingdom

all that matters

for entry

into God's

kingdom

is

the verdict

of the king

we were looking

at this in

our young adults

bible study group

during the week

when God

raises Jesus

from the dead

it's at that point

that he defers

all authority

onto Jesus

at the end of

Matthew

in chapter 28

the risen Jesus

as he's about to

return to the throne

in heaven

says

all authority

on heaven

and on earth

has been given

to me

he's saying

I'm the king

I'm the judge

I'm the one

who decides

who goes to heaven

and who doesn't

I am the only way

by trusting in me alone

in Philippians 2

we know

that Jesus

humbles himself

to death

on the cross

and that God

raises him up

and exalts him

to the highest place

and gives him

the name

that is above

every name

that every knee

shall bow

and every tongue

confess that Jesus

Christ is Lord

he's given

absolute authority

to judge

I shared this

with our youth

ministry a little

while ago

when we were

looking at this

passage

but so often

the barrier

for people

when it comes

to following God

is how can

God be loving

and send people

to hell

how is that fair

but this passage

makes it really

clear for us

if you reject

the king

you reject

the kingdom

it is right

that the one

who sits

enthroned

with all

authority

over his

kingdom

will not

include those

who do not

submit to his

authority

there is nothing

wrong with that

and Jesus

has that authority

in this passage

but he also

has the authority

to forgive

it's just a little

hint in there

in verse 9

he'll come

and kill those

tenants

and give

the vineyard

to others

that authority

has been given

to Jesus

as the risen

ascended Lord

that he alone

will decide

those who will

enter into his

kingdom

and who will it

be?

those who submit

to his authority

that doesn't mean

those who are good

that doesn't mean

those who try hard

it means those

who submit to him

as the king

who died to take

their place

and rose again

those who put

their hand up

and say

I'm not good

enough

I need you

and you're in charge

those who recognize

that they need

his input

and his guidance

those who recognize

that his agenda

is the one

who matters

his authority

is not negotiable

his authority

is absolute

the vineyard

in this parable

belongs to the owner

the son of the owner

carries the authority

of the owner

God is the owner

of everything

God is the creator

of everything

Jesus is the son

of God

and he carries

the authority

of the creator

father

who made

every single one

of us

it doesn't matter

whether you acknowledge

it or not

ultimately

one day

every knee

shall bow

and every tongue

confess that

Jesus is

Lord

I remember

in year 8

at school

we had the

strange tradition

of going on

a maths excursion

to Wonderland

I'm not sure why

usually you had

a worksheet

that lasted

about 10 minutes

of the day

and the teachers

gave up

and let you run

riot

but I remember

my year 8

excursion

quite distinctly

because I never

made it to Wonderland

we were all waiting

fairly excited

to get on the buses

at school

there was a bit

of a crush

with our whole year group

trying to get on the bus

first

giddy with excitement

and as we were

trying to get

onto the bus

one of the teachers

was standing

at the bus door

making sure

we wouldn't get

on the bus

and I was at the front

of a group of my friends

and we were all pushing

and then kind of

being pushed back

and it was kind of

a little bit strange

but we all got

pushed forward

and at that point

as several of us

got pushed forward

this teacher thought

it would be appropriate

to push me

to make sure

we all went back

I then thought

it would be appropriate

to push him

seeing as he had

pushed me

he then thought

it would be appropriate

to send me to the principal

and not let me go

on this excursion

I then dropped my bundle

and said a list of expletives

that won't be repeated

and the situation descended

but I remember

getting down

to the principal's office

feeling very angry

and very defiant

I remember walking

into his office

and not sitting in the chair

that he offered me

but standing

and eyeballing him

and demanding

an apology

for the fact

that I had been

robbed of the opportunity

to spend the day

at Wonderland

with my year 8 friends

and I demanded

and I demanded

and he

just kind of stood

letting me

yell and complain

and do whatever

and eventually

at the

sort of point

where

we weren't making

any progress

my parents were called in

and as we were sitting

in the room

with me

and my parents

and this principal

I realised

that it didn't matter

how much I didn't want

to submit to him

ultimately

I had the choice

to submit

to stay a part

of his school

or to not submit

and leave

it didn't work

that I could not

submit and stay

because

he had absolute

authority

in that particular

sphere

and see

what we need

to understand

is that

if we consider

ourselves part

of the kingdom

of God

if we want

to be part

of his agenda

part of his will

part of his plan

to bring all things

under the headship

of Christ

it's not okay

for us

to just keep

not submitting

it's not okay

for us to pretend

like his authority

doesn't matter

it's not okay

for us to act

like we're in charge

and we're the one

who makes the decisions

it's not okay

for us to think

we can find

some other way

of being a part

of the kingdom

some other way

of making God happy

according to this parable

the thing

that matters

is the way

you treat the son

the thing

that is the difference

is the way

you acknowledge

the son

as king

the point

is this

the son

matters

the king

matters

it's his authority

that matters

it's his agenda

that matters

and the son

and the son's agenda

is the father's agenda

and hopefully

after six weeks

of looking at the kingdom

of God

here as a congregation

you will have learnt

that God's agenda

is God's kingdom

what he is about

is exalting

Jesus as king

so that every knee

will bow

and every tongue

confess

that Jesus

is Lord

that is God's agenda

that is the agenda

that matters

that is what

Jesus demands

of us

and anything

less

will bring

judgment

the chief priests

have lost focus

the chief priests

have got distracted

from the purpose

that God

has given Israel

and they have

rejected the son

and they have

killed the son

but the question

we've got to ask

ourselves is

have we lost focus

I don't know

what point it was

when you came

to know the forgiveness

that God offered you

in Jesus

I don't know

if you don't even

know that feeling yet

but if you do

when God gave you

new life

and called you

to be a part

of his kingdom

called you to follow

his king

have you lost focus

have you compromised

the chief priests

even after hearing

this story

where Jesus says

you are too proud

to call on me

to save you

their reaction

is not

please help us

their reaction

is how can we

kill him

do you come

to church

and hear the bible

say you need

to love your

neighbour

do you come

to church

and say the truth

matters to God

don't lie

do you come

to church

and hear the bible

make demands

on the way

that we live

and instead

of falling

on your knees

and asking God

to do that work

in you by his

holy spirit

you just kind

of dismiss it

you just kind

of ignore it

you just kind

of write it off

as out of context

or out of date

or unimportant

or maybe even worse

you don't even

look at yourself

to see if there's

any possibility

that something

might need

to change

have we lost

focus

submitting

to the authority

of Christ

is about

humble

dependent

submission

it is about

an eager desire

that we would

be transformed

more and more

to be like Jesus

because that's

what the kingdom

is

it's us

becoming more

and more

Christ-like

so that his

name is

exalted

have we lost

God's desire

that every knee

would bow

and every tongue

confess

are we more

about just enjoying

the relationships

we've got here

are we more

about just enjoying

the cozy community

that is 5pm

that is the

after party

or are we

burdened

every week

we sit in

here and

there is

space on

the seat

next to

us

for somebody

who right

now sits

under the

judgment

of God

because that

is God's

agenda

that is

what Jesus

in his

authority

as king

of the

kingdom

demands

of his

people

Jesus'

authority

is marvelous

in our

eyes

verse 10

the stone

the builders

rejected

has become

the capstone

the Lord

has done

this

and it

is marvelous

in our

eyes

because God

raised Jesus

from the

dead

and gave

him the

name

above

every name

so that

we might

submit

so that

we might

rejoice

so that

we might

have certain

hope

that even

though we

don't deserve

it

even though

we're not

good enough

the king

welcomes us

with open

arms

I want to

pray for us

but just

before I do

I want you

to take a

minute right

now to ask

yourself the

question

however long

you've been

following Jesus

remembering the

call that he

made on your

life when he

forgave you

and gave you

life and

called you to

follow him

until he

returns

have you

lost focus

have you

stopped

listening to

the bible

like it's

got something

to say

to you

have you

stopped

looking at

the world

around you

like God

has something

he wants

you to do

in it

have you

stopped

treating

Jesus like

he has

absolute

authority

let's pray

father

god

we want

to

acknowledge

that we

fall so

far short

of the

life that

you call

us to

we want

to thank

and praise

you that

even after

we had

kicked out

messenger

after messenger

even after

we have

ignored you

time after

time

you were

willing to

send your

son to

pay the

debt that

we owed

father we

want to

thank you

that you

have raised

Jesus up

and that

we have

a hope

that is

certain

and unshakable

lord we

ask that

you would

not allow

us to

use that

hope as

a license

to stop

listening to

you

but that

you might

fill us

with a

deep desire

that you

would be

lord of

absolutely

every part

of our

life

god please

give us

eyes to

see where

we fall

short

give us

hearts that

want more

than anything

not comfort

but christ

likeness

give us

hearts that

desire what

you desire

that jesus

would be

exalted

that his

name would

be known

in us

and through

us

that others

might come

to know the

joy that is

only found

in him

god if there

is people

sitting here

tonight who

don't yet

know the

forgiveness

that you

offer

who are

still hoping

out of their

own wisdom

or their

own power

or their

own effort

that they

might please

you

may they

hear your

word tonight

that what

matters is

the son

what matters

is jesus

lord for

those of us

who have been

following you

and known you

for most of

our lives

don't let us

ever forget

don't let us

ever become

familiar with

that gospel

message

daily may

we wake

deeply

desiring

that we

would submit

every minute

of every day

to the lordship

of christ

father thank

you for your

incredible grace

to unworthy

sinners like

us

please transform

us that others

might come to

know that grace

as well

amen