The Question of Authority

Thank you, Mrs. Johnson. Appreciate that.

Take your Bibles over to Mark chapter 11.

Mark 11 · chapter mention

And whenever I hear that song, I always think of Brother Dart

and just being able to spend time with him.

And it's good memories, as the Dart used to come and sing here.

And it was just always a blessing to be able to have them here with us.

But they're now singing in a much better place. Amen.

And so we're thankful for that and just the things there.

But in Mark chapter 11 here this morning,

Mark 11 · chapter mention

as we're going to continue in our series through the book of Mark,

we find now it is Tuesday morning and the religious leaders in Jerusalem,

at this point, we're probably hoping that Jesus would not return to the temple.

You know, after the previous two events of the previous two days,

I'm pretty sure that all the leaders within the temple in the area were saying,

we don't want him to show up again today because we don't know what's going to happen.

But you know what?

We're going to find here that Jesus did return.

And we're going to find out what took place because in his previous visits,

I mean, they were still causing a stir among the people.

Stir amongst the leaders in his previous visits.

When you think about as he entered into Jerusalem on that Sunday morning,

as the people had put down their clothes and he rode upon the donkey all the way through town there

and people were proclaiming and crying out just as Zechariah the prophet foretold,

saying,

Hosanna, blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord.

You know, when we understand that they were honoring him as the one that God had sent

as the Savior, the one that was going to deliver them.

And Jesus accepted that praise to him.

And we find the following day after he goes back to Bethany,

he comes back and he comes back to the temple and he disrupts everything going on in the temple on Monday.

You know, if you remember, he overturned the tables.

He changed out the money changers.

And he taught in the temple that day and all the things that took place.

And it caused quite an uproar.

I mean, it's pretty obvious.

It was probably causing much people to talk.

I mean, if there were social media in that day, that would have been what lit everything up.

You know, everybody would be talking about Jesus, what he did in the temple.

You know, and they'd be making the newsreel and the TikTok and everything else.

Everybody would be talking about it, about what was happening.

I mean, it was that type of event that Jesus did in the temple.

That it would have stirred people up, if nothing else, to ask a question.

They would end wondering, who is Jesus?

Who is the one that did this?

Who is the one that came in and caused this uproar?

So we find here is Jesus.

We're going to look here as Jesus returns to the temple on Tuesday morning.

I can just imagine, as I was reading this and thinking about it, you know, oftentimes I try to think about, you know, how are people responding?

And I was just thinking, you know, I just imagine the chief priests and the scribes and the elders that are going to come and confront Jesus when they see Jesus come in.

They're thinking, not again.

Just that element of, okay, here we go, you know.

They're trying to put together, how are we going to deal with this?

Because he had disrupted everything about what they were doing.

Because we have to keep in mind, this was Passover week.

It was the week of Passover and they had certain things that they would do throughout the week in preparation for Passover.

And Jesus had disrupted the normal.

Now the thing was, we need to remember, there was a problem with normal.

What they were doing is not what they ought to be doing.

But we need to understand that it is.

It's just like us.

When our normal gets shaken out, it kind of disrupts everything, doesn't it?

Kind of gets us on edge and we find that dynamic.

But this is where we find is the chief priests and scribes and elders see Jesus coming into the temple and taking his place out there in the promenade in the outer perimeter there.

And I can just imagine Jesus sitting down and the crowd see him.

And they begin to gather and they come together.

And this is where we're going to pick up here in chapter 11 here this morning in verse 27.

And so if you found that in your Bible, let's go ahead and stand together for the honor of reading of God's word.

And we'll pick up here in verse 27 and read down through the end of the chapter.

And we're going to have everybody read responsibly here this morning.

And so I'll read verse 27 and you guys will read verse 28.

Okay, so we'll just go back and forth, okay?

And so let's try this together here this morning.

And it says,

And as he was walking in the temple, there came to him the chief priests and scribes and the elders and say unto him,

By what authority doest thou these things?

And who gave thee this authority to do these things?

And Jesus answered and said unto them,

I will also ask of you one question and answer me,

And I will tell you by what authority I do these things.

The baptism of John, was it from heaven or of men?

Answer me.

And they reasoned with themselves, saying,

If we shall say from heaven,

He will say,

Why then did ye not believe him?

But if we shall say of men,

They feared the people,

For all men counted John,

That he was a prophet indeed.

And they answered and said unto Jesus,

We cannot tell.

And Jesus answered and saith unto them,

Neither do I tell you by what authority I do these things.

Let's pray.

Heavenly Father, as we come before you this morning,

Lord, we're just thankful for your word.

We're thankful for all that you provide for us.

Lord, we're thankful that you are the one in authority.

And you came with authority.

Lord, we pray just to help us understand how we respond to that authority.

Lord, especially your word and with you.

Lord, as we see here this morning,

The need that something must be done.

That needs to be addressed of your authority in our life,

Of what you're doing.

And Lord, we pray we might not deny or delay.

Lord, we might just accept who you are and what you've done.

And Lord, we pray just to have your hand upon each heart here today,

Lord, that we might consider that place of your authority in our lives here today.

And Lord, we just ask all these things in your precious name.

Amen.

May be seated.

You know, I think the scene here would have been something to behold.

As you see, Jesus was walking in the temple, getting ready to teach.

And people would have been following him.

And all of a sudden, you begin to hear a rumble in the background.

The rumble of many little feet coming across the temple there.

And we find that this group that was coming to meet Jesus,

We see here where the chief priests and the scribes and the elders of the people.

And we find as these inquisitors drew closer,

This would have been quite a crowd of individuals that came to meet Jesus.

It wasn't just one or two.

It was like a whole crowd that would have been there that day to meet Jesus and to confront him.

There would have been many there.

So they would have made a noise coming across the temple area there.

You know, I don't think it was carpeted like we have here.

You know, it was a stone building.

So you would have heard people coming in the ruckus that was about to happen.

And these three groups of Jewish leaders converge here to confront Jesus about what they had,

all that had taken place.

And we're going to look at their demand because they had a demand about his authority.

You know, and oftentimes we look at this,

but I want you to understand as the chief priests and the scribes and the elders came that day,

they were the ones that if there was a problem,

they were the ones that had a position of authority within the temple to deal with different things.

So in other words, it wasn't like a wrong crowd confronting Jesus in that sense,

but why they were confronting him was a problem.

And we're going to look here because the chief priests,

just to kind of give you a little layout here of who these were,

you know, the chief priests,

the administrative staff over the priests of the temple,

you know, they kind of oversaw all that,

the temple things,

the things the priests were to do with the sacrifices

and to take care of the showbread

and to take care of all the lamps

and all the things that were necessary.

That was their responsibility.

They had oversight of that.

And so they were,

Jesus was, you might say,

was in their quote-unquote territory of responsibility.

You know, and so when Jesus would come,

then you had the scribes.

Now the scribes,

those were those responsible for studying the Hebrew scriptures

and they served as those who would copy the scriptures

and they were editors and teachers and jurists.

They were ones who would look at the law

and try to keep track of it

and understand those things.

And then you have this other group,

the elders.

Now we don't know for sure how many came

in the chief priests group

or the scribe group,

but we do have a pretty good idea

how many showed up with the elders.

Because we know from the Old Testament

some things about this group

and where they got it.

You know, we find here the elders,

this group was also known as the Sanhedrin.

It was comprised of 70 men

from among the people.

And now these men,

their responsibility is they would take care

of the moral and ethical questions of the day.

You know, we think today we just,

we're the only generation sometimes

that have moral or ethical questions that come up,

but how do we deal with it?

But you know,

as human beings throughout time

and as you grow and mature

and as cultures change

and different things impact it,

we have different moral and ethical questions

we have to answer.

And that was the saying,

this elder's job was to kind of look through

and kind of come to a consensus.

Okay, this is where we're going to be.

This is where we're going to land on this.

And we find they get that from Numbers 11

when Moses put together the 70

to help rule Israel.

And that was kind of their pattern.

So we know already there was probably

between 80 and 100 people came to meet Jesus.

That's the reason I'm saying

you could hear him coming.

I mean, when 80 people are moving across the room together,

you can hear him.

I mean, that's a pretty sizable group of individuals.

I can see them coming here

and we're going to find here

as they come and confront Jesus

and these questioners demand

that the Lord answer them

regarding the authority to do these things.

Now notice here in verse 28 in our text,

it says,

And say unto him,

By what authority doest thou these things?

And the follow-up to that,

and who gave thee this authority to do these things?

You know, those are two pretty good questions they asked.

There was nothing wrong with the question itself

that they were asking.

Because remember,

they were responsible

for what took place in the temple.

So them asking the question itself

was not the issue.

The question itself isn't the problem.

But we're going to look here this morning.

The problem was their attitude

and their perception that led to the question.

Because we can ask a question for the wrong reason.

You know, sometimes we can ask questions

and say,

You know, this is important.

I need to know more about it.

I need more information.

I need more substance of what's going on here.

But I want you to understand,

as we look at this,

we're going to find that these men

that confronted Jesus this day

were not there to get more information.

They were there to try to discredit Him.

They were there to try to say,

He's going to say something

that's going to give us ammunition

against Him.

You know,

we're going to catch Him in a question here

on this question of authority.

And so they asked Him,

And who, you know,

why do you do these things?

And who gave you authority to do it?

Because you think about,

Jesus took a lot of authority

when He came into the temple

and He began driving out

all the those that bought and sold

and overturning the tables in the temple.

That was something somebody

had to have some authority to do.

It wasn't just something you throw in.

You know, if you think about,

if you go in some place

you're not supposed to be

and you start doing that,

you're going to get kicked out pretty quick.

You know?

I want you to understand

that they had a question

about His authority

because the way people were gathering

and looking and honoring Jesus,

and we're going to look at what was going on,

here this morning.

Because Jesus here,

by accepting the claim,

when they said,

Hosanna,

and that He came in the name of the Lord,

and He was the one,

they're basically saying,

He's the one that came to save us.

He's from God.

That's a big claim.

The next day,

He comes in and cleans out the temple

and wouldn't let anybody pass.

That's a big claim of authority.

Why can you do this?

Or why are you doing this?

The leaders were upset

because He accepted the praise

and the honor,

and He took authority

to cleanse the temple

and to prepare the place

for the Passover that week.

You know,

they did not come

with an honest inquiry,

but their question

was in the basis of

who gave you the authority

that we have?

Why are you questioning

my authority?

That's really what they were asking Jesus.

They're saying,

hey, listen up,

we have the authority.

Who do you think you are?

Now, this is an important reality

because these two questions

still impact us today.

Because when the gospel is proclaimed,

there's a question,

by what authority

do you declare

what the gospel is to people?

Because the gospel contains authority.

Because the authority is

God's assessment

of an individual.

You know,

you can accurately assess

an individual

by God's Word.

God says His Word

is a mirror.

It reflects directly.

And God reveals to us

very clearly

that we are all sinners

and have all come short

of the glory of God.

I want you to understand,

we understand that

I'm a sinner

and you're a sinner.

How do we know that?

I don't have to see what you do.

God already declares it to be so.

And when we understand the gospel,

when somebody's confronted

with the gospel,

they're confronted

with the question,

who gave you authority

to assess me?

We don't assess them,

but God's Word does.

By God's authority,

it's a declaration.

You know,

when we understand

the big picture here,

because the problem is

most of the time

people think

they're a good person.

You know?

Most people look at themselves

and look at their own righteousness

and say,

I'm not as bad as.

The problem is there

we often look at the wrong thing.

You know?

We look at the wrong assessment

because our measurement

isn't your neighbor.

Your assessment

isn't against the person

you don't like.

We're being measured

by God Himself.

He is the standard.

Jesus Christ

is the standard

by which we're measured.

It doesn't take long

to figure out

you fall short.

You don't measure up.

It's a question

of authority.

My authority

or God's authority.

You know,

Isaiah 5.21

tells us this.

It says,

Woe unto them

that are wise

in their own eyes

and prudent

in their own sight.

You know,

it's really easy

to think highly

of ourselves.

and we understand

that when the gospel

is presented,

when the demand

is made of authority,

we have some questions

that need to be answered.

Now notice,

they demanded an answer

already assuming

they could discredit it.

Notice what they tell him here.

And they,

and he says,

they tell him this

and ask in verse 28,

By what authority

doest thou these things?

And who gave thee

this authority to do?

These things.

So Jesus responds here

in the next verse.

His response to them

is not a direct answer

in a sense,

but an indirect answer.

And there's a reason for that

because remember,

they were looking

for ammunition.

They were looking

for something

to discredit him.

You know,

we can learn a lot

from Jesus

about a little tact.

because Jesus

could have openly declared,

I do it by my own authority

because I and the Father

are one.

But that would have created

a problem

at the moment

because the timing

was not yet right.

Because the scribes

and elders

could have said,

he assessed himself

to God.

By our law,

we can stone him.

Now we know

that Jesus is

and Jesus didn't

deny that he wasn't.

But notice how he

deals with the situation.

He looks at them

and asks them a question.

He says,

you answer this first

and then I will tell you

by what authority.

And we'll look a little later

in the weeks to come,

we're going to see

that Jesus gives them

an answer

through parable.

and when you finish

reading in chapter 12,

you'll find out

that they understood

the answer.

Jesus didn't give them

ammunition,

he gave them an answer

that they didn't like.

But it was an accurate answer.

And they didn't doubt

what he said.

But we find here

that Jesus,

look at Jesus' question.

He said,

verse 29,

I will also ask of you

one question

and answer me

and I will tell you

by what authority

I do these things.

And he asked him

a very simple question.

He looks at him

and says,

the baptism of John,

was it from heaven

or of man?

simple question.

But it was a question

also of authority.

Because by what authority

did John come?

These men

that were there

before Jesus

were struggling

with that same question.

They struggled

with John.

John was a problem

to them.

They sent people out

to investigate John.

They went out

to try to catch John

in something

that they could

hold against him.

These are individuals

who looked at

John's ministry

and to say,

what was going on?

The baptism of John.

And Jesus says,

was it from heaven

or of man?

Jesus gives them

a reverse question

of authority.

He says,

what authority

did John come by?

Now,

we're going to see

the dilemma

that Jesus put him in.

Because Jesus

didn't ask this question

just to get out

of answering.

He asked this

pointed question

back to them

to make them

process

the thought

of authority.

Let them consider

how were they thinking?

Were they perceiving

things correctly?

Because the answer

of authority

rested in the answer

to Jesus' question

about John.

John.

Because, you know,

John, like I said,

had made quite a stir.

And his ministry

had stirred up

many things.

And we hear now

and understand

that John,

those that heard him

personally

were many among

this group.

And they had heard

his message.

because John came

proclaiming the one

that was going to come.

But I want you

to understand

there's no separation

between John's message

to the people

and Jesus' message

to the people.

The two are

perfectly aligned.

Consider Matthew

Matthew 2 · chapter mention

chapter 2,

or Matthew chapter 3

Matthew 3 · chapter mention

and verse 2.

John the Baptist

here,

this was his message,

Repent ye

for the kingdom

of heaven

is at hand.

He said,

Repent ye

for the kingdom

of heaven

is at hand.

Then you have

Jesus' statement

at the beginning

of his ministry

when he began

his ministry here.

We find over there

in Mark chapter 1

Mark 1 · chapter mention

and verse 15.

And Jesus

and saying,

The time is fulfilled,

the kingdom of God

is at hand.

Repent ye

and believe the gospel.

the messages

were the same.

The problem

with the people

that came,

they had rejected

John's message

and they didn't like

Jesus' version

of it any better.

Because it gave

the same assessment

when they had rejected

the message

of John the Baptist

and now they had rejected

that same message

of Jesus.

Because notice here

in verse 31

it brings to light

the gravity

of the situation

because this reveals

the heart

of these individuals.

Because they really

weren't seeking

for an answer,

they were seeking

on how they could

maneuver.

How they could

protect themselves,

how they could

keep themselves

in a good light.

You know,

it's no different

from us today.

Have you ever noticed

how we're masters

at trying to maneuver

to make sure

we look good?

I mean,

it's just something

that comes

part of our nature

to say,

I want to prop

myself up

to look good.

I don't want to

have to deal

with uncomfortable

things about myself.

It's much easier

to point out

other people's

uncomfortableness.

Things that they did.

You know,

it's always easier

to point the finger

than it is

to look back at us.

But we find here

that they begin

to analyze

the question,

the dilemma

that we're in.

Look here in verse 31,

it says,

and they reasoned

with themselves,

saying,

now notice

what they were saying,

because it's the question

that got them

caught up.

Because this decision

put them in a dilemma

of what they were

going to do.

Because they were

caught between

two places

of authority.

Because what they

said here

revealed a lot.

Now notice

that it was not

just a personal

debate,

but it was

something they did

together.

It says they reasoned

with themselves.

So you kind of

look at the scripture

there,

and this is kind of

what I picture

in my mind,

that Jesus confronts

them with this,

and they look at Jesus

and say,

just a minute.

And they turn around

and they all huddle up,

you know,

and going,

okay,

what are we going

to do here?

How do we answer

this?

They reasoned

with themselves,

saying,

how do I deal

with it?

How are we going

to deal with

this question?

This is a good,

tricky question

Jesus posed

to us here,

because it has

implications.

There's a lot

of things implied

by how we say

something here,

because notice

what they do

here.

Verse 31,

saying,

if we shall

say from heaven,

he will say,

why then

did you not

believe him?

But if we say

of men,

they feared the

people,

for all men

counted John,

that he was a

prophet indeed.

So the first

two parts of

their dilemma

here were very

clear.

they had a

real dilemma

on their hands.

They're like,

well,

John's a hard

one to answer

here,

because if we

say from

heaven,

Jesus can

look at us

and say,

well,

why didn't

you believe

him?

You're the

ones that

are supposed

to be looking

for the things

from heaven.

You're the

ones that

are supposed

to be guiding

people to

heaven.

You're the

ones that

are supposed

to be overseeing

all that God

is doing here.

You have a

responsibility

from heaven.

You have a

responsibility

to respond

correctly.

I can just

see their

minds

strolling,

you know,

spinning around

in there going,

okay,

how do we

get out of

this one?

Because they

say if it's

from heaven,

we have a

big problem

because we

rejected John.

Because you

have to keep

in mind,

John had

been beheaded

at this

point.

So his

ministry was

passed.

In other words,

they couldn't

do anything

different about

it now.

But they

did have to

make a

decision about

it.

Because it

carried with

it, the

first was

to agree

that John

was sent

by God.

In other

words, that

he was from

heaven.

The

implications

here, if

John was

sent by

God, then

his religious

leaders, why

did they not

believe him?

And his

call to

repent and

to believe

the gospel,

to believe

in the

Messiah that

was coming.

And

God

was the

same.

There was a

direct

parallel here.

to say, if

I accept

that, then

I have to

accept Christ

also.

That at

least he

was from

heaven.

They had to

recognize who

he is.

You say, why

is that?

Well, John

had openly

endorsed Jesus

saying, all

my message is

the one I'm

pointing to.

That's him.

So if you

accepted John

as from

heaven, it

was the same

as saying, I

acknowledge that

John was the

forerunner that

was prophesied

that pointed

to Jesus.

You know, John

made it very

clear.

The gospel of

John in

chapter 1,

verse 29,

tells us this.

It says, the

next day John

seeth Jesus

coming unto

him, and

saith, behold,

the Lamb of

God, which

taketh away the

sin of the

world.

That's a

pretty bold

statement.

For John to

point at Jesus

and make that

statement, that's

a big proclamation.

A big

acknowledgement

saying, hey

guys, the one

I've been telling

you about, that's

him.

The one that

God sent me to

proclaim and to

tell you he was

on his way, he

has arrived.

But considering

they'd already

rejected him as

savior, and

rejected John as

being from God,

there was a

problem.

They had a

dilemma on

their hands.

You say, well,

what was the

dilemma there?

Well, the

dilemma was the

other side.

Because notice

the other side of

their dilemma.

The second, if

they rejected,

John was sent

by God, but

what is we say

of men?

Notice what he

tells us here

in verse 32.

It says, but if

we shall say

of men, they

feared the

people.

Because what

their desire was

to say, John

was just somebody

doing something

on his own.

In other

words, men

endorsed him

which gave him

authority.

But that was a

problem because

the people, the

very same people

that recognized

their authority

as priests

and scribes

and the

elders, those

same people

recognized John

as not just

somebody sent

by man or

somebody that

they promoted.

The people

looked at John

and said, he

is a prophet.

prophet.

Now by saying

that, I want

you to understand

that basically

it's telling us

this, the

prophets of old

that are recorded

in the Old

Testament, in

the people's

mindset, they

looked at John

and the

prophet

he is equal

to them.

He was a

prophet sent

by God to

our day.

that's a

pretty powerful

thing amongst

a quarter.

To understand

the word of

God, a prophet

in the Old

Testament carried

a lot of

clout.

To the

people, John

was a prophet

and John was

a prophet sent

by God.

The people

were accurate

in understanding

who John

is, but

these leaders

didn't like it

because John

challenged their

authority.

You know, if

you read through

the scripture

you'll find

that John

wasn't very

kind to them

a lot of

times when

they would

come out

and he

would expose

them for

who they

were.

Now you've

got to

remember

something very

important here.

We talk about

this today.

You know,

today we talk

about insiders.

You've got to

remember what

was John's

father's job.

He was a

priest.

priest.

In other

words, John

knew all

about the

inner workings

of what was

going on

behind the

scene.

You know?

And I don't

think it made

him very

comfortable when

he called

them out.

Because the

problem is if

somebody calls

you out and

you know they

don't really

have a clue,

it doesn't

bother you that

much.

But when somebody

calls you out

and you know

they're accurate,

that's a

problem.

And John

had dealt

with them and

so we see this

consideration of

what they,

if John was

from heaven,

then we ought

to have believed

him, but we

can't say we

didn't believe

John was from

heaven because

then the people

would be a

problem and

we're scared of

the people too.

Because you've

got to understand

they were in

authority because

the people

accepted it.

And they

were in

authority because

the people

accepted it.

they feared

the people.

Fear of

people directed

their decision

regarding John

and Jesus.

That's the

other reason

you'll find

that they

didn't just,

we'll read here

a little later,

they didn't just

come and take

Jesus right where

he was.

They waited to

take Jesus in

the middle of

the night.

Why was

that?

Well the Bible

says because

they feared

the people.

They didn't

want the

uproar.

So here they

have, they

can either

accept or

they can

reject.

And so they

picked the

third route.

Now it's kind

of funny that

they picked

this because

in everything

else they

always had the

answer.

because remember

what crew

are we talking

about?

We're talking

about the

chief priests,

the scribes,

and the

elders.

They were

basically the

oversight of

everything that

went on.

They were

supposed to be

the smart ones

that could

determine, you

know, what

was right and

what was wrong.

they were

looking at

Jesus and

say, well, we

cannot tell.

now I want

you to

understand it

was kind

of a cop

out but it

was also

a problem

because their

third response

was indifference.

They didn't

want to be

embarrassed by

the situation

because no

matter what

they did,

they were

going to, you

might say they

were going to

have egg on

their face.

because publicly

they were either

going to be,

have to admit

they were wrong

about that John

was sent by

heaven or

they're going to

have egg on

their face from

the people

declaring he

was from

men.

Indifference is

often a way

just to prevent

embarrassment.

To prevent

having to make

a decision that

needs to be

made.

You know, we

see here that

they use this as

an expedient

answer.

Not a

principled

answer but an

expedient answer.

It was playing

it safe rather

than standing up

for truth.

Because the

reality is just

like these men

that day had to

make a decision

about Jesus,

when it comes to

the authority of

Jesus in your

life you have to

make a decision.

You have to make

a decision about

where you are and

where Jesus is in

your life.

Because a choice

has to be made

regarding his

authority and

regarding his

person.

Because he is

either the son of

God sent to

take away your

sin that you

might be dressed

in his righteousness

and holiness to be

able to stand

before God or

he's not.

to be indifferent

towards Christ

doesn't gain you

anything.

It might save

you face with

men and

people but it

will not save

your soul.

They had to make

a decision.

Notice here in

verse 33 when

he says and

they answered

and said unto

Jesus we

cannot tell.

And Jesus

answering saith unto

them neither do

I tell you by

what authority I

do these things.

You know that

response of

indifference led

to basically the

reality of it was

denial.

They wanted to

be able to

deny that Jesus

is who he said

he is.

They wanted to

be able to

deny that he

was the one

that was sent

by God.

He was the

one that was

foretold that

was going to

come all the

way through the

scripture.

The one who

was going to

come and he

was going to

die for our

sin upon the

cross to shed

his blood for

you and me.

That our sin

might be covered.

He came to

pay the price

that we could

not pay.

Each one

must decide

for themselves

about Jesus

and his

authority

and his

authority in

your life.

Because Jesus

has authority.

The question

is what are

you going to

do with it?

How's that

authority impacting

you?

You know

some follow

the crowd.

You know

we find some

these men

were like

well we don't

want to upset

the crowd.

The men

that were

around that

thought John

was a prophet

and if we

say not then

we're going to

upset the

crowd.

You know

sometimes we

fail to make

a decision for

Christ because

we're worried

about the

crowd.

Where is it

going to make

others think

about us?

We need to

understand very

clearly this

morning that

if you allow

others to

influence your

decision about

Jesus you're in

trouble.

because we

cannot let

others impact

that.

They were

not willing

to face

being rejected

by others.

You know

both the

religious crowd

and the

worldly crowd

will keep

you from

following Jesus

and the

authority of

his words.

You know

today we

have many

religious

people who

their authority

is in

religion.

religion.

I want you

to understand

our authority

is in the

word of God.

It's not in

a religion.

It's in

understanding our

relationship to

God.

And our

responsibility

because of

that opportunity

of relationship.

relationship.

We need to

make a

decision.

We can't

stand in

the middle.

You know

even this

morning in

people's minds

I guarantee

you there's a

fear of men

and others is a

real thing.

You know

have you ever

heard somebody

say I don't

care what

others think?

they might put

on a good

show but I

guarantee you

they still

consider what

other people

think.

What other

people think

impacts them.

It's part of

being around

people.

The question

is what

impact are

they going

to have?

What impact

do you allow

them to have?

You know

we make

decisions based

on how

others will

respond.

Fear of

man and

not by

faith in

the word

of God.

Revealing

a respect

for God

above all

else is

critical.

Think about

what Jesus

tells us

over in

Matthew

Matthew 10 · chapter mention

chapter 10.

Matthew

Matthew 10 · chapter mention

chapter 10

in verse

28 he

says this

and fear

not them

which kill

the body

but are

not able

to kill

the soul

but rather

fear him

that is able

to destroy

both soul

and body

in hell.

In other

words he's

telling them

very clearly

they might

be able

to take

your physical

life but

eternity

is much

more critical.

One day

your life

here is

going to

end.

You know

the Bible

tells us

we all

have an

appointment

and you

might look

and say

if you're

young well

that appointment

is far

off.

I want

to let

you know

that you

might be

young but

it doesn't

make it

far off.

You might

be old but

it doesn't

mean it's

tomorrow

either.

The

situation is

you have

to deal

with it

now because

you don't

know what

tomorrow

brings.

To deal

and to

make a

decision

I don't

know

is not

a decision.

I don't

know

says

I'm

indifferent

or too

scared

to do

what I

need

to do.

It's a

denial

of what's

before us.

When you

trust the

Lord you

have something

more.

You know

the Bible

tells you

I want to

encourage you

on the

reality of

who Jesus

is because

I want you

to understand

what he

tells us.

Isaiah 51

in verse

7 says

this

hearken

unto me

ye that

know

righteousness

the people

of whose

heart

is my

law.

Fear

ye not

the reproach

of men

neither be

afraid

of their

revelings.

And so

I want you

to understand

God says

if we

have him

we have

what we

need

to stand.

Matter of

fact Hebrews

Hebrews 13 · chapter mention

chapter 13

and verse 6

tells us

so that we

may boldly

say the

Lord is

my helper

and I

will not

fear what

man will

do

shall do

unto me.

I want you

to understand

God gives

us the

ability

he is

our

helper

to do

what we

need to

do.

To stand

for him

and today

we need

people that

are going

to stand

in the

authority

of God.

Not to

stand in

your own

authority

or somebody

else's

authority

but to

stand in

the authority

of the

word of

God.

To stand

upon the

truth.

You know

this morning

you have

an opportunity

to make

a decision

regarding

the Savior.

I want

to encourage

you today

if you

don't know

him as

Savior

I want

to ask

you a

little

question

what's

hindering

you?

What's

keeping

you from

recognizing

and calling

upon Jesus

as your

Savior?

Is it

fear of

others?

Is it

fear of

what somebody

else might

say or

do or

fear of

being

embarrassed?

You know

the devil

uses

embarrassment

to keep

us

locked

in a

lot

of

things.

The

word of

God

tells us

to confess

it and

forsake

it and

Jesus

will

cleanse

it.

You know

today if

you're a

believer I

want you to

ask yourself

another

question.

That's the

question of

authority.

authority

requires

priority.

Jesus'

authority is

present.

Jesus'

authority is

real but

what priority

will we give

to it?

We have to

give it the

priority,

make a

decision.

What has

the priority?

Is it

religion?

Is it the

fear of

others?

Is it the

fear of

embarrassment?

I want to

encourage you

today to

don't let

those things

keep you

from trusting

Christ and

his authority

today.

As heads

are bowed

and eyes

are closed

this morning.

You know

when it

comes to

making a

decision,

Jesus always

pointed them

to say you

need to make

a decision.

this morning

each one of

us in

here is

making a

decision.

Yes,

the reality

is you're

making a

decision right

now.

Is that

decision going

to be I'm

going to

keep my

authority?

I'm going

to give

others

authority in

my life?

Or if I'm

going to get

God and

his word

authority?

authority.

You're

making that

decision today

whether you

want to or

not.

That's just

the reality

of how you

respond to

the truth

of God's

word.

Don't let

other things

keep you

from coming

to him.

Heavenly

fathers, we

come before