1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:19,880 Thank you. 2 00:00:19,880 --> 00:00:20,880 Thank you. 3 00:00:20,880 --> 00:00:22,960 Thank you, Matthew Hart, Mike's son. 4 00:00:22,960 --> 00:00:26,520 You can see them walking out there together. 5 00:00:26,520 --> 00:00:32,760 And I'll tell you, that song warms even the blood of those of us who are Celtic. 6 00:00:32,760 --> 00:00:35,960 Of course, it's our song. 7 00:00:35,960 --> 00:00:38,040 Anyway, Mark chapter 6. 8 00:00:38,040 --> 00:00:40,600 Would you turn there please in your Bible? 9 00:00:40,600 --> 00:00:46,660 If you have access to a pew Bible near you and you didn't bring your own this morning, 10 00:00:46,660 --> 00:00:49,880 please turn to page 995. 11 00:00:49,880 --> 00:00:53,320 Matthew, excuse me, Mark chapter 6. 12 00:00:53,320 --> 00:01:00,680 I'm going to begin reading in verse 1 of God's Word. 13 00:01:00,680 --> 00:01:07,680 Jesus left there and went to his hometown, accompanied by his disciples. 14 00:01:07,680 --> 00:01:12,200 When the Sabbath came, he began to teach in the synagogue, and many who heard him were 15 00:01:12,200 --> 00:01:13,200 amazed. 16 00:01:13,200 --> 00:01:16,600 Where did this man get these things, they asked. 17 00:01:16,600 --> 00:01:22,320 What's this wisdom that has been given him that he even does miracles? 18 00:01:22,320 --> 00:01:23,880 Isn't this the carpenter? 19 00:01:23,880 --> 00:01:30,800 Isn't this Mary's son and the brother of James, Joseph, Judas, and Simon? 20 00:01:30,800 --> 00:01:33,600 Aren't his sisters here with us? 21 00:01:33,600 --> 00:01:38,440 And they took offense at him. 22 00:01:38,440 --> 00:01:45,400 Jesus said to them, only in his hometown, among his relatives, and in his own house, 23 00:01:45,400 --> 00:01:48,900 is a prophet without honor. 24 00:01:48,900 --> 00:01:55,240 He could not do any miracles there except lay his hands on a few sick people and heal 25 00:01:55,240 --> 00:01:56,240 them. 26 00:01:56,240 --> 00:02:02,800 And he was amazed at their lack of faith. 27 00:02:02,800 --> 00:02:06,560 Then Jesus went around teaching from village to village. 28 00:02:06,560 --> 00:02:11,880 Calling the twelve to him, he sent them out two by two and gave them authority over evil 29 00:02:11,880 --> 00:02:13,540 spirits. 30 00:02:13,540 --> 00:02:15,540 These were his instructions. 31 00:02:15,540 --> 00:02:21,840 Get nothing for the journey except a staff, no bread, no bag, no money in your belts. 32 00:02:21,840 --> 00:02:25,480 Wear sandals but not an extra tunic. 33 00:02:25,480 --> 00:02:28,280 Whenever you enter a house, stay there until you leave that town. 34 00:02:28,280 --> 00:02:33,840 And if any place will not welcome you or listen to you, shake the dust off your feet when 35 00:02:33,840 --> 00:02:37,380 you leave as a testimony against them. 36 00:02:37,380 --> 00:02:41,040 They went out and preached that people should repent. 37 00:02:41,040 --> 00:02:48,520 They drove out many demons and anointed many sick people with oil and healed them. 38 00:02:48,520 --> 00:02:49,680 We'll stop reading at that point. 39 00:02:49,680 --> 00:02:56,000 Would you pray with me, Father God, I pray that the Holy Spirit would now teach us, each 40 00:02:56,000 --> 00:03:01,760 one of us, something from this text that you want us to hear. 41 00:03:01,760 --> 00:03:07,840 And may we go away the wiser, the richer, knowing you better. 42 00:03:07,840 --> 00:03:09,840 And I pray this in Jesus' name. 43 00:03:09,840 --> 00:03:12,840 Amen. 44 00:03:12,840 --> 00:03:17,880 Heard a story this last week about an elderly gentleman in Texas who went to the car dealer 45 00:03:17,880 --> 00:03:21,440 and bought a brand new Corvette. 46 00:03:21,440 --> 00:03:24,360 He went out onto the freeway and he thought, let's see what this thing can do. 47 00:03:24,360 --> 00:03:29,280 And he put the pedal down and got it up to 80 miles an hour, just flying along, the air 48 00:03:29,280 --> 00:03:32,840 blowing through his hair as much as was left of it. 49 00:03:32,840 --> 00:03:33,840 He's going down the freeway. 50 00:03:33,840 --> 00:03:36,360 He thought to himself, this is just great. 51 00:03:36,360 --> 00:03:42,920 He looked in the rear view mirror and he saw approaching flashing lights. 52 00:03:42,920 --> 00:03:44,400 And he heard the sound of a siren. 53 00:03:44,400 --> 00:03:46,440 He said, well, let's just see what this thing can do. 54 00:03:46,440 --> 00:03:48,740 So he pushed it down a little bit more. 55 00:03:48,740 --> 00:03:51,660 He got it up to 100. 56 00:03:51,660 --> 00:03:54,220 The blue lights were still approaching. 57 00:03:54,220 --> 00:03:57,340 So he put it down to 120. 58 00:03:57,340 --> 00:03:59,400 The blue lights were still gaining on him. 59 00:03:59,400 --> 00:04:00,880 He said, this is absolutely silly. 60 00:04:00,880 --> 00:04:06,520 A man at my age, and so he slowed down, pulled over to the side, he waited for the inevitable. 61 00:04:06,520 --> 00:04:13,120 Well, it wasn't too long before the officer walked up to the car and said, sir. 62 00:04:13,120 --> 00:04:17,280 He said, it's 30 minutes before time for me to get off my shift. 63 00:04:17,280 --> 00:04:18,280 Today is Friday. 64 00:04:18,280 --> 00:04:20,680 It's late in the afternoon. 65 00:04:20,680 --> 00:04:28,160 He said, I'm going to let you go if you can give me one excuse that I've never heard before 66 00:04:28,160 --> 00:04:31,680 for speeding like you were. 67 00:04:31,680 --> 00:04:35,800 The elderly man sat there for a moment and said, well, sir, I'll tell you. 68 00:04:35,800 --> 00:04:42,320 He said, several years ago, my wife ran off with a Texas Highway Patrolman and I was afraid 69 00:04:42,320 --> 00:04:51,100 you were bringing her back. 70 00:04:51,100 --> 00:04:58,040 The officer said, have a good day, sir. 71 00:04:58,040 --> 00:05:01,760 So much for the authority of a highway patrol in Texas, huh? 72 00:05:01,760 --> 00:05:07,760 Hey, we witnessed quite a display of authority this week, didn't we, in the United Nations? 73 00:05:07,760 --> 00:05:13,880 We had presidents and dictators speaking to the world from the platform there. 74 00:05:13,880 --> 00:05:18,040 One of the most intriguing, at least from our media's perspective, was a gentleman from 75 00:05:18,040 --> 00:05:26,200 Venezuela by the name of Chavez, who made, shall we say, a fool of himself in the opportunity 76 00:05:26,200 --> 00:05:29,320 he had to speak to the world. 77 00:05:29,320 --> 00:05:34,280 There was one thing, however, that I appreciated about his address. 78 00:05:34,280 --> 00:05:39,800 By the authority that he had as the president of Venezuela, he offered to move the United 79 00:05:39,800 --> 00:05:47,560 Nations to his country, and that sounds like a pretty good deal to me. 80 00:05:47,560 --> 00:05:53,200 It would free up some space in New York City that could be put to some beneficial use, 81 00:05:53,200 --> 00:05:56,440 and so I think it's a good idea. 82 00:05:56,440 --> 00:05:58,560 Authorities. 83 00:05:58,560 --> 00:06:01,360 Jesus was a man with authority. 84 00:06:01,360 --> 00:06:03,760 Mark presents him that way. 85 00:06:03,760 --> 00:06:08,500 He presents him as a man with authority, but not like a president, and certainly not like 86 00:06:08,500 --> 00:06:10,560 a dictator. 87 00:06:10,560 --> 00:06:17,680 He presents Jesus as a man of authority who is also a servant, who is going from here 88 00:06:17,680 --> 00:06:21,440 to there to help people. 89 00:06:21,440 --> 00:06:25,740 He is a man of authority who does not dominate or abuse. 90 00:06:25,740 --> 00:06:29,360 He is a man of authority who blesses and saves. 91 00:06:29,360 --> 00:06:37,560 May I say to you that that is the way in which God intends for authority to be used. 92 00:06:37,560 --> 00:06:44,160 Jesus has authority to carry out God's purposes, and as we see in our text today in Mark chapter 93 00:06:44,160 --> 00:06:49,680 6, he shares that authority with his followers. 94 00:06:49,680 --> 00:06:52,200 Jesus calls the twelve to him. 95 00:06:52,200 --> 00:06:54,040 They've been with him before. 96 00:06:54,040 --> 00:06:59,160 They've gone back to wherever they were, and now he calls them to him, and he sends them 97 00:06:59,160 --> 00:07:05,560 out two by two in teams to the villages. 98 00:07:05,560 --> 00:07:10,760 There are three important insights about authority that I see in our text that I want to share 99 00:07:10,760 --> 00:07:12,360 with you this morning. 100 00:07:12,360 --> 00:07:16,700 I hope that the Holy Spirit will write these upon your heart. 101 00:07:16,700 --> 00:07:20,120 First I want to think about what authority is. 102 00:07:20,120 --> 00:07:24,840 Authority is the right to exercise power. 103 00:07:24,840 --> 00:07:29,360 Authority is the right to exercise power. 104 00:07:29,360 --> 00:07:34,760 Under the Constitution of the United States, the president is given authority to do certain 105 00:07:34,760 --> 00:07:36,600 things. 106 00:07:36,600 --> 00:07:39,400 He doesn't need the permission of anyone to do them. 107 00:07:39,400 --> 00:07:45,360 He is privileged, but he is not a monarch. 108 00:07:45,360 --> 00:07:47,960 In our system, he does have some limitation. 109 00:07:47,960 --> 00:07:54,480 He does not have all authority, like the dictator from Venezuela. 110 00:07:54,480 --> 00:08:00,320 The brilliant founding fathers of this nation saw to it that there were checks and balances 111 00:08:00,320 --> 00:08:06,160 written into the Constitution, so that the three branches of government would check and 112 00:08:06,160 --> 00:08:09,180 balance each other. 113 00:08:09,180 --> 00:08:18,160 Each branch has the right to exercise authority that is granted by the Constitution. 114 00:08:18,160 --> 00:08:23,280 Let me give you some more personal kinds of illustrations about what authority is, the 115 00:08:23,280 --> 00:08:25,960 right to exercise power. 116 00:08:25,960 --> 00:08:31,900 You have probably in your wallet this morning a little piece of plastic that has your name 117 00:08:31,900 --> 00:08:40,080 on it and a certain number from a bank, and that grants you the authority to purchase 118 00:08:40,080 --> 00:08:41,480 something. 119 00:08:41,480 --> 00:08:44,840 You don't even have to put cash down. 120 00:08:44,840 --> 00:08:49,200 You have the authority to buy that based upon your credit. 121 00:08:49,200 --> 00:08:51,640 It's called a credit card, of course. 122 00:08:51,640 --> 00:08:58,520 And probably in your wallet you have, or you wish you had, a license to drive. 123 00:08:58,520 --> 00:08:59,920 It has your picture on it. 124 00:08:59,920 --> 00:09:05,640 It is issued by the state of California, and because of that piece of plastic with your 125 00:09:05,640 --> 00:09:11,800 picture on it and a number from the state, you have authority to drive on the highways 126 00:09:11,800 --> 00:09:16,800 of this state and throughout the United States. 127 00:09:16,800 --> 00:09:23,000 Some of you have positions at work by which you have authority to move people around, 128 00:09:23,000 --> 00:09:27,880 to manage them, or to sign off on projects. 129 00:09:27,880 --> 00:09:35,800 Some of you enter a secure facility using an ID card, or maybe it's even a thumb print 130 00:09:35,800 --> 00:09:39,060 or the scan of the retina of your eye. 131 00:09:39,060 --> 00:09:41,840 But the point is that you are authorized. 132 00:09:41,840 --> 00:09:47,780 You have the power to enter that facility. 133 00:09:47,780 --> 00:09:56,040 But the fact is that none of us is free to do exactly whatever we want to do. 134 00:09:56,040 --> 00:10:00,120 That is not what liberty is all about. 135 00:10:00,120 --> 00:10:04,640 We hear the statement today spoken by some who say, well, nobody has the right to tell 136 00:10:04,640 --> 00:10:05,880 me. 137 00:10:05,880 --> 00:10:08,840 And then they name their right. 138 00:10:08,840 --> 00:10:12,080 And that may be true or it may not be true. 139 00:10:12,080 --> 00:10:22,080 Because you see, ultimately, only God, only God is absolutely free to exercise authority. 140 00:10:22,080 --> 00:10:24,560 Why is that? 141 00:10:24,560 --> 00:10:30,740 Because all authority belongs to Him and comes from Him. 142 00:10:30,740 --> 00:10:34,040 He is supreme over all the universe. 143 00:10:34,040 --> 00:10:36,900 That's why He's God. 144 00:10:36,900 --> 00:10:42,840 He has ultimate authority, the ultimate right to exercise power. 145 00:10:42,840 --> 00:10:47,040 But there's another subpoint I want to make as we talk about authority, and that is that 146 00:10:47,040 --> 00:10:51,160 authority is not the same thing as power. 147 00:10:51,160 --> 00:10:55,840 I don't want to make too big a deal about this, but technically speaking, the two have 148 00:10:55,840 --> 00:10:58,280 some distinctions. 149 00:10:58,280 --> 00:11:02,320 Authority is the right to act. 150 00:11:02,320 --> 00:11:08,920 But power is the ability to actually perform what you have the right to do. 151 00:11:08,920 --> 00:11:11,040 Understand the difference there? 152 00:11:11,040 --> 00:11:16,080 In the language of the New Testament, the Greek language, there are two words that differentiate 153 00:11:16,080 --> 00:11:18,440 these ideas. 154 00:11:18,440 --> 00:11:22,000 And both of them are used in our text today. 155 00:11:22,000 --> 00:11:23,880 There is the word authority. 156 00:11:23,880 --> 00:11:27,340 The Greek word is exousia. 157 00:11:27,340 --> 00:11:32,620 It is a word that comes from a verb that means it is lawful. 158 00:11:32,620 --> 00:11:38,160 And so it comes to mean in its noun form an authority. 159 00:11:38,160 --> 00:11:39,360 It's lawful for me to do this. 160 00:11:39,360 --> 00:11:41,840 I have authority to do this. 161 00:11:41,840 --> 00:11:53,040 And so Jesus gives authority to his 12 over evil spirits, it says in verse 7. 162 00:11:53,040 --> 00:11:57,520 But there's also the word used here for power in our text. 163 00:11:57,520 --> 00:12:02,640 It's the word dunamis, from which we get our word dynamite. 164 00:12:02,640 --> 00:12:07,020 It's used here and translated as miracles in the NIV. 165 00:12:07,020 --> 00:12:10,360 It's used in verse 2 and then again in verse 5. 166 00:12:10,360 --> 00:12:18,560 And it refers to the ability, the might, to actually do what you have the authority to 167 00:12:18,560 --> 00:12:24,800 do because you see one can have authority without power. 168 00:12:24,800 --> 00:12:29,240 And one can have power without authority. 169 00:12:29,240 --> 00:12:36,680 When you think about authority without power, think for example of a bouncer at a party 170 00:12:36,680 --> 00:12:40,280 who weighs 110 pounds. 171 00:12:40,280 --> 00:12:46,800 He's got the authority, but does he have the power? 172 00:12:46,800 --> 00:12:51,280 Or I think of the President of the United States who has authority to command the military. 173 00:12:51,280 --> 00:12:54,800 He is the chief commanding officer of the military. 174 00:12:54,800 --> 00:12:55,800 He's got the authority. 175 00:12:55,800 --> 00:13:01,800 The question is, does he have the power to actually send them out in battle because Congress 176 00:13:01,800 --> 00:13:07,020 has to fund the military? 177 00:13:07,020 --> 00:13:14,160 And Congress can withhold the funds and therefore the military has no ability to go and to fight 178 00:13:14,160 --> 00:13:17,640 the war that the President commands them to fight. 179 00:13:17,640 --> 00:13:21,600 That's part of the check and balance system you see. 180 00:13:21,600 --> 00:13:26,800 There is such a thing as having authority but not the power. 181 00:13:26,800 --> 00:13:30,760 But you can also have the power not the authority. 182 00:13:30,760 --> 00:13:36,720 I think of this from my own childhood. 183 00:13:36,720 --> 00:13:45,000 My mother was widowed very young at 33 with four children and she had to go to work to 184 00:13:45,000 --> 00:13:49,040 support us, put food on the table literally. 185 00:13:49,040 --> 00:13:52,280 So she worked in a grocery store. 186 00:13:52,280 --> 00:13:57,800 And while she was at work, guess who was in charge? 187 00:13:57,800 --> 00:14:00,360 I was the oldest of four. 188 00:14:00,360 --> 00:14:07,120 I was 10, 11, 12 years of age in those years and I had a brother two years younger than 189 00:14:07,120 --> 00:14:12,860 myself, a brother four years younger than myself, and then a sister who was seven years 190 00:14:12,860 --> 00:14:16,640 younger than myself. 191 00:14:16,640 --> 00:14:22,220 And I remember on Saturday nights in particular I wanted to do something special for our mother 192 00:14:22,220 --> 00:14:24,800 because she worked hard. 193 00:14:24,800 --> 00:14:27,060 She worked hard. 194 00:14:27,060 --> 00:14:32,640 She would work in town at the grocery store and then she would come home and she would 195 00:14:32,640 --> 00:14:38,020 do chores around the farm that we were too young to do. 196 00:14:38,020 --> 00:14:44,160 And so on Saturday nights once Have Gun Will Travel was off and once Gunsmoke was off, 197 00:14:44,160 --> 00:14:48,240 some of you will remember those programs. 198 00:14:48,240 --> 00:14:52,840 And before she got home we had about half an hour, 45 minutes. 199 00:14:52,840 --> 00:14:56,380 Grocery store stayed open very late in that little town. 200 00:14:56,380 --> 00:15:03,840 And so I would use the power to get my siblings to get busy and let's clean up the kitchen 201 00:15:03,840 --> 00:15:05,680 for mom. 202 00:15:05,680 --> 00:15:08,080 And we would go to work at it. 203 00:15:08,080 --> 00:15:12,760 And if they didn't want to do that, well, that was tough. 204 00:15:12,760 --> 00:15:18,160 I had a yardstick. 205 00:15:18,160 --> 00:15:23,580 I call it the shepherd's staff of course, but it was a yardstick. 206 00:15:23,580 --> 00:15:28,840 And I had had it, I knew how to apply it because I had had it applied. 207 00:15:28,840 --> 00:15:32,520 And so I didn't ever have to really apply it that way. 208 00:15:32,520 --> 00:15:35,280 I would just carry it around with me. 209 00:15:35,280 --> 00:15:40,880 And if there needed to be a little tap, there'd be a little tap and I had three slaves who 210 00:15:40,880 --> 00:15:46,060 helped me get the kitchen clean for mom. 211 00:15:46,060 --> 00:15:52,480 You see I had the power, but I didn't really have the authority. 212 00:15:52,480 --> 00:15:54,800 I just took it. 213 00:15:54,800 --> 00:15:59,800 You can have power without authority and you can have authority without power. 214 00:15:59,800 --> 00:16:04,860 But God has both authority and power. 215 00:16:04,860 --> 00:16:06,000 He is unlimited. 216 00:16:06,000 --> 00:16:14,660 God can do whatever he wants to do with what is consistent with his nature. 217 00:16:14,660 --> 00:16:22,000 For example, in Psalm 115 the psalm says, why do the nations say, where is their God? 218 00:16:22,000 --> 00:16:24,520 Our God is in heaven. 219 00:16:24,520 --> 00:16:27,800 He does whatever pleases him. 220 00:16:27,800 --> 00:16:34,680 That is our God, supreme in both authority and power. 221 00:16:34,680 --> 00:16:42,480 Nebuchadnezzar, the great king, the monarch of Babylon learned this the hard way. 222 00:16:42,480 --> 00:16:46,240 God humbled him as you recall in the fourth chapter of Daniel. 223 00:16:46,240 --> 00:16:53,080 But part of his confession after that humbling was, all the peoples of the earth are regarded 224 00:16:53,080 --> 00:16:55,920 as nothing. 225 00:16:55,920 --> 00:17:02,520 Nebuchadnezzar talking here now, he's speaking about the God of heaven, the God of Israel. 226 00:17:02,520 --> 00:17:12,080 He says, he does as he pleases with the powers of heaven and the peoples of the earth. 227 00:17:12,080 --> 00:17:17,720 He's talking about the immaterial world, the spiritual world of angels. 228 00:17:17,720 --> 00:17:21,540 And he's talking about the human realm, the material realm. 229 00:17:21,540 --> 00:17:26,840 He does as he pleases with the powers of heaven and the peoples of the earth. 230 00:17:26,840 --> 00:17:37,060 No one can hold back his hand or say to him, what have you done? 231 00:17:37,060 --> 00:17:41,520 My mother ultimately held me accountable on those Saturday nights. 232 00:17:41,520 --> 00:17:49,240 She would come home and she admired the kitchen and how well we had cleaned it up and organized 233 00:17:49,240 --> 00:17:50,840 it. 234 00:17:50,840 --> 00:17:55,200 And then she heard the complaints. 235 00:17:55,200 --> 00:17:58,180 And then there was reckoning. 236 00:17:58,180 --> 00:18:02,760 You see, she could say to me, what have you done? 237 00:18:02,760 --> 00:18:07,040 But friends, nobody can say that to God. 238 00:18:07,040 --> 00:18:08,360 Nobody. 239 00:18:08,360 --> 00:18:13,480 Jesus demonstrates in this gospel that he has both authority and power. 240 00:18:13,480 --> 00:18:16,140 He is God. 241 00:18:16,140 --> 00:18:23,160 He has the authority and the power to deal with disease, with demons, with nature. 242 00:18:23,160 --> 00:18:24,640 He forgives sin. 243 00:18:24,640 --> 00:18:29,400 He tells a woman she is saved as well as healed. 244 00:18:29,400 --> 00:18:33,600 He raises the dead. 245 00:18:33,600 --> 00:18:37,560 But here's something interesting we see in this text. 246 00:18:37,560 --> 00:18:41,320 It's very sobering. 247 00:18:41,320 --> 00:18:54,760 For the sake of his purposes, God limits himself in some respect to the faith of people. 248 00:18:54,760 --> 00:19:02,320 Jesus had power and authority to do what he wished, and yet when he came to Nazareth, 249 00:19:02,320 --> 00:19:08,800 his hometown, where he was raised, where he was known, where he belonged to a family, 250 00:19:08,800 --> 00:19:12,760 and their names are listed here. 251 00:19:12,760 --> 00:19:22,920 In that town it says he could do no miracles there, no dunamis, no powers there, except 252 00:19:22,920 --> 00:19:27,240 lay his hands on a few sick people and heal them. 253 00:19:27,240 --> 00:19:32,920 Now you and I might say, wow, that's pretty good. 254 00:19:32,920 --> 00:19:35,880 Lay your hands on some sick people and heal them. 255 00:19:35,880 --> 00:19:41,240 But compared to what Jesus did elsewhere, that was nothing. 256 00:19:41,240 --> 00:19:43,240 Nothing. 257 00:19:43,240 --> 00:19:48,440 His authority, his power in Nazareth was the very same as it was in Capernaum or any of 258 00:19:48,440 --> 00:19:50,520 the other cities. 259 00:19:50,520 --> 00:19:54,640 But in Nazareth something was different. 260 00:19:54,640 --> 00:19:58,760 There was an unbelief that characterized the people. 261 00:19:58,760 --> 00:20:06,240 You say, well, was this sort of the kryptonite syndrome? 262 00:20:06,240 --> 00:20:10,240 That's the stuff that weakens Superman, right? 263 00:20:10,240 --> 00:20:14,520 He's around that and his powers are drained from him. 264 00:20:14,520 --> 00:20:22,120 No, that's not the case at all because the power does not drain from God. 265 00:20:22,120 --> 00:20:26,420 That by his own purpose he's limited himself. 266 00:20:26,420 --> 00:20:40,520 And his freedom to act is limited by the faith or the lack of faith of the people. 267 00:20:40,520 --> 00:20:45,600 That's true in our church too. 268 00:20:45,600 --> 00:20:47,320 That's true in your family. 269 00:20:47,320 --> 00:20:49,180 It's true in your life. 270 00:20:49,180 --> 00:20:54,280 You see, God has the power to do whatever pleases him, but it is your faith and mine, 271 00:20:54,280 --> 00:20:59,960 it is our faith together that either loosens the hand of God to do what he has the authority 272 00:20:59,960 --> 00:21:09,600 and power to do or which restrains him and limits him by his own plan. 273 00:21:09,600 --> 00:21:16,800 And because he could do no mighty works in Nazareth, he left there. 274 00:21:16,800 --> 00:21:19,440 And he went to other villages. 275 00:21:19,440 --> 00:21:27,920 You see, where the Lord finds unbelief, he moves on. 276 00:21:27,920 --> 00:21:29,120 I know you agree with me. 277 00:21:29,120 --> 00:21:34,640 I don't want him to find unbelief at Los Gatos Christian Church. 278 00:21:34,640 --> 00:21:39,840 I don't want him to find unbelief in me. 279 00:21:39,840 --> 00:21:44,160 I don't want him moving on. 280 00:21:44,160 --> 00:21:46,240 I want my faith to be growing. 281 00:21:46,240 --> 00:21:47,840 I want our faith to be growing. 282 00:21:47,840 --> 00:21:51,560 I know you agree with me on this. 283 00:21:51,560 --> 00:21:57,480 We want to be pushed beyond our comfort zones, beyond what we're used to, the way we've 284 00:21:57,480 --> 00:22:02,560 always done it. 285 00:22:02,560 --> 00:22:12,920 We want our faith to be able to grasp what God can do so that what is done here is clearly 286 00:22:12,920 --> 00:22:15,280 God doing it. 287 00:22:15,280 --> 00:22:21,040 It is so far beyond what we could accomplish by ourselves that people will have to say 288 00:22:21,040 --> 00:22:22,800 it must be God. 289 00:22:22,800 --> 00:22:24,720 Isn't that what you want? 290 00:22:24,720 --> 00:22:27,120 Can you say amen to that? 291 00:22:27,120 --> 00:22:28,760 That's what we want together. 292 00:22:28,760 --> 00:22:30,320 That's what you want personally. 293 00:22:30,320 --> 00:22:38,720 I need to move on though to a second observation about authority in our text. 294 00:22:38,720 --> 00:22:43,920 And that is, authority is either inherent or it's entrusted. 295 00:22:43,920 --> 00:22:53,760 You see, authority may be given or delegated just as you as a parent employ a babysitter 296 00:22:53,760 --> 00:23:05,280 and you delegate part of your responsibility as a parent to that babysitter for the evening. 297 00:23:05,280 --> 00:23:11,080 Authority may also be attributed because of the position that one holds, such as you as 298 00:23:11,080 --> 00:23:14,720 a parent. 299 00:23:14,720 --> 00:23:17,680 There's nothing in particular you've done to earn it. 300 00:23:17,680 --> 00:23:20,880 Hopefully you've earned respect as a parent. 301 00:23:20,880 --> 00:23:24,760 But the very fact that you are a parent gives you authority. 302 00:23:24,760 --> 00:23:29,920 It's the position that you hold that's attributed to you. 303 00:23:29,920 --> 00:23:40,520 But then in another way, authority may reside innately in someone because of simply who 304 00:23:40,520 --> 00:23:43,480 they are. 305 00:23:43,480 --> 00:23:48,440 This is what is true of God. 306 00:23:48,440 --> 00:23:51,840 Jesus has authority on all of these counts. 307 00:23:51,840 --> 00:24:00,720 He is God, so authority and power is inherently His because of who He is. 308 00:24:00,720 --> 00:24:04,960 Secondly, He holds a position. 309 00:24:04,960 --> 00:24:09,120 It is the position of the Son of Man. 310 00:24:09,120 --> 00:24:12,800 The messianic Savior of the human race. 311 00:24:12,800 --> 00:24:19,520 And so authority is attributed to Him because of the position that He has. 312 00:24:19,520 --> 00:24:24,400 And thus He can, as He does in chapter 2, forgive sin. 313 00:24:24,400 --> 00:24:30,480 He says, so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority to forgive sins, I say 314 00:24:30,480 --> 00:24:37,360 to the paralyzed man, take up your mat and walk. 315 00:24:37,360 --> 00:24:45,480 And then God has delegated authority to Christ. 316 00:24:45,480 --> 00:24:51,480 Jesus says in John chapter 10, if you want to turn there you're welcome to in your Bible, 317 00:24:51,480 --> 00:24:53,720 to John chapter 10 and verse 17. 318 00:24:53,720 --> 00:25:01,800 It's page 1062 in the Pew Bible. 319 00:25:01,800 --> 00:25:06,720 He says, the reason my Father loves me is that I lay down my life only to take it up 320 00:25:06,720 --> 00:25:08,560 again. 321 00:25:08,560 --> 00:25:13,440 No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. 322 00:25:13,440 --> 00:25:19,760 I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again. 323 00:25:19,760 --> 00:25:25,000 This command I receive from my Father. 324 00:25:25,000 --> 00:25:29,300 You see the Father delegated to Him this authority. 325 00:25:29,300 --> 00:25:30,800 Lay down your life. 326 00:25:30,800 --> 00:25:31,800 Take it up again. 327 00:25:31,800 --> 00:25:38,360 If you want to turn over a few pages to John chapter 17 in verse 2, Jesus is praying here 328 00:25:38,360 --> 00:25:41,280 in this high priestly prayer. 329 00:25:41,280 --> 00:25:47,520 He is praying in the third person talking about Himself and the Father. 330 00:25:47,520 --> 00:25:55,600 And He says, for you Father granted Him the Son authority, verse 2, authority over all 331 00:25:55,600 --> 00:26:02,480 people that He might give eternal life to those you have given Him. 332 00:26:02,480 --> 00:26:10,560 So God has delegated to Jesus the authority to give eternal life to all of those that 333 00:26:10,560 --> 00:26:16,400 the Father gives Him and who therefore come to Him. 334 00:26:16,400 --> 00:26:24,160 Jesus has all authority and there is absolutely nothing in all of creation that is above Him. 335 00:26:24,160 --> 00:26:27,240 Nothing is subject to Him. 336 00:26:27,240 --> 00:26:32,560 As Paul writes in Ephesians chapter 1, God raised Jesus from the dead and seated Him 337 00:26:32,560 --> 00:26:40,280 at His right hand in the heavenly realms far above all rule and authority, power and dominion 338 00:26:40,280 --> 00:26:43,880 and every title that can be given. 339 00:26:43,880 --> 00:26:48,080 Not only in the present age, but also in the one to come. 340 00:26:48,080 --> 00:26:57,320 He wraps it all up there and He says that He is absolutely over everything. 341 00:26:57,320 --> 00:27:02,120 And what we see here is that this one who is over everything delegates authority to 342 00:27:02,120 --> 00:27:04,120 his followers. 343 00:27:04,120 --> 00:27:05,280 Do you see that? 344 00:27:05,280 --> 00:27:11,580 Going back to our text in Mark chapter 6, He delegates authority to the twelve to carry 345 00:27:11,580 --> 00:27:13,820 out God's purpose. 346 00:27:13,820 --> 00:27:24,600 For them it was to go and to preach and it was to deal with evil spirits. 347 00:27:24,600 --> 00:27:30,520 You see what we learn here is that Christ's followers do not have inherent authority. 348 00:27:30,520 --> 00:27:34,040 We have assigned authority. 349 00:27:34,040 --> 00:27:38,120 We don't have authority in who we are to do God's work. 350 00:27:38,120 --> 00:27:45,920 But folks, we do have authority that Christ has entrusted to us. 351 00:27:45,920 --> 00:27:53,600 And that brings me to my third observation and that is authority is intended to be used. 352 00:27:53,600 --> 00:27:56,840 Authority is not an honorary entitlement. 353 00:27:56,840 --> 00:28:04,440 It is not a privilege that is given to us to be played with. 354 00:28:04,440 --> 00:28:10,840 Jesus did not give authority to the twelve so that they could go out and be successful 355 00:28:10,840 --> 00:28:20,200 and then retire or go on vacation or become celebrities. 356 00:28:20,200 --> 00:28:26,240 He gave them authority to be used all of their lives in this world. 357 00:28:26,240 --> 00:28:32,860 He gives them instructions for this particular time in verses 8 through 11. 358 00:28:32,860 --> 00:28:36,000 They were to go out with very little. 359 00:28:36,000 --> 00:28:37,840 They were not to be anywhere very long. 360 00:28:37,840 --> 00:28:43,360 If a city didn't receive them, they were to shake the dust off their sandals indicating 361 00:28:43,360 --> 00:28:48,580 that the place had rejected their message and therefore they were being rejected and 362 00:28:48,580 --> 00:28:51,940 they moved on. 363 00:28:51,940 --> 00:28:56,080 The twelve used that authority. 364 00:28:56,080 --> 00:29:03,400 And it says they drove out many demons and anointed many sick people with oil and healed 365 00:29:03,400 --> 00:29:06,300 them. 366 00:29:06,300 --> 00:29:13,000 If you are a follower of Jesus today, you have authority that has been given to you, 367 00:29:13,000 --> 00:29:14,560 delegated to you. 368 00:29:14,560 --> 00:29:19,400 The question is what are you doing with your delegated authority? 369 00:29:19,400 --> 00:29:26,240 You say, well I'm too old. 370 00:29:26,240 --> 00:29:27,240 I'm retired now. 371 00:29:27,240 --> 00:29:31,240 I don't do authority things. 372 00:29:31,240 --> 00:29:33,080 I've done my part in the past. 373 00:29:33,080 --> 00:29:34,080 I've put in my time. 374 00:29:34,080 --> 00:29:35,600 Now it's the younger people. 375 00:29:35,600 --> 00:29:41,080 It's their turn to use their authority. 376 00:29:41,080 --> 00:29:44,960 Some of us would have to say, well I'm frankly too wrapped up in my career to use my authority. 377 00:29:44,960 --> 00:29:50,880 I'm too busy juggling the stresses of my life. 378 00:29:50,880 --> 00:29:54,920 I don't have time to use my authority and focus on reaching out to others or serving 379 00:29:54,920 --> 00:29:55,920 others. 380 00:29:55,920 --> 00:30:01,040 That's outside my comfort zone anyway. 381 00:30:01,040 --> 00:30:06,800 I want us to think for just a minute about the authority that you have from Jesus. 382 00:30:06,800 --> 00:30:07,800 What is it? 383 00:30:07,800 --> 00:30:16,040 Now I need to insert at this moment, are you a follower of Jesus? 384 00:30:16,040 --> 00:30:21,120 Because if you're not a follower of Jesus by faith, having trusted in him as your Lord 385 00:30:21,120 --> 00:30:27,680 and Savior, then you have none of the authority we're going to talk about. 386 00:30:27,680 --> 00:30:34,880 So the first critical question is, are you a follower of the Lord Jesus Christ? 387 00:30:34,880 --> 00:30:35,880 You say, well yes I am. 388 00:30:35,880 --> 00:30:36,880 I'm saved. 389 00:30:36,880 --> 00:30:39,920 I've trusted Christ as my Savior. 390 00:30:39,920 --> 00:30:45,700 If that is the case then whoever you are, whatever your position in life, you have the 391 00:30:45,700 --> 00:30:50,760 following authority delegated to you from Jesus Christ. 392 00:30:50,760 --> 00:30:55,080 Got that? 393 00:30:55,080 --> 00:31:01,440 The first delegation of authority from Jesus is found in Matthew chapter 28 verses 18 to 394 00:31:01,440 --> 00:31:02,440 20. 395 00:31:02,440 --> 00:31:03,440 You know these verses. 396 00:31:03,440 --> 00:31:09,080 Jesus came to his followers and said, all authority in heaven and on earth has been 397 00:31:09,080 --> 00:31:11,760 given to me. 398 00:31:11,760 --> 00:31:13,960 We've already seen that. 399 00:31:13,960 --> 00:31:20,320 And then he says, therefore you go and make disciples of all nations. 400 00:31:20,320 --> 00:31:25,960 And then he says, I am with you always to the end of the age. 401 00:31:25,960 --> 00:31:27,280 What is Jesus doing here? 402 00:31:27,280 --> 00:31:35,840 He is delegating authority to his followers to go and make disciples of Jesus. 403 00:31:35,840 --> 00:31:42,700 We're to do that in his name, which means we are to go as his representatives. 404 00:31:42,700 --> 00:31:46,560 He delegates authority to proclaim the gospel. 405 00:31:46,560 --> 00:31:50,640 He delegates authority to baptize the converts. 406 00:31:50,640 --> 00:31:56,240 He delegates authority to teach the word of God, all the things that Jesus has commanded 407 00:31:56,240 --> 00:31:57,960 us. 408 00:31:57,960 --> 00:32:00,400 You have that authority. 409 00:32:00,400 --> 00:32:01,520 You say, well I'm not a missionary. 410 00:32:01,520 --> 00:32:06,520 I know, maybe you're not in the sense that we use that term so often. 411 00:32:06,520 --> 00:32:12,640 But you are God's delegated person and you have authority to preach the gospel wherever 412 00:32:12,640 --> 00:32:18,840 you are. 413 00:32:18,840 --> 00:32:22,600 John chapter 14 we see a different delegation. 414 00:32:22,600 --> 00:32:23,680 Verses 12 to 14. 415 00:32:23,680 --> 00:32:29,800 Jesus says, I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I've been doing. 416 00:32:29,800 --> 00:32:34,000 He will do even greater things than these because I'm going to the Father. 417 00:32:34,000 --> 00:32:40,080 And I will do whatever you ask in my name so that the Son may bring glory to the Father 418 00:32:40,080 --> 00:32:44,240 and you may ask for anything in my name and I will do it. 419 00:32:44,240 --> 00:32:51,960 Here we have the authority to address the throne of God in his name. 420 00:32:51,960 --> 00:33:02,320 I remember a time in my life when I went on a particular mission for someone, part of 421 00:33:02,320 --> 00:33:09,600 my job, and the person handed me a credit card and said, whatever you need while you're 422 00:33:09,600 --> 00:33:14,000 on this trip, here's the credit card. 423 00:33:14,000 --> 00:33:20,640 Buy meals, get the gas, do whatever you need to do, get the job done, here's the credit 424 00:33:20,640 --> 00:33:24,000 card. 425 00:33:24,000 --> 00:33:27,160 Essentially that's what Jesus is saying here. 426 00:33:27,160 --> 00:33:35,000 You are my follower and I delegate to you the family credit card. 427 00:33:35,000 --> 00:33:38,440 You can come to the Father yourself and pray. 428 00:33:38,440 --> 00:33:44,600 But you have to understand what an amazing thought this was to the Jews because they 429 00:33:44,600 --> 00:33:52,240 were used to distance from God and walls and curtains and rooms. 430 00:33:52,240 --> 00:33:58,440 And you had to be a very special class of person, a priest, even a high priest, to get 431 00:33:58,440 --> 00:34:02,640 that kind of access to the throne of God. 432 00:34:02,640 --> 00:34:04,320 You went through other people. 433 00:34:04,320 --> 00:34:06,400 Jesus says I'm opening it up. 434 00:34:06,400 --> 00:34:07,920 Here's the credit card. 435 00:34:07,920 --> 00:34:08,920 Pray. 436 00:34:08,920 --> 00:34:11,920 Now this is not carte blanche, right? 437 00:34:11,920 --> 00:34:12,920 We know that. 438 00:34:12,920 --> 00:34:17,080 In other words, we need to ask according to the will of God. 439 00:34:17,080 --> 00:34:18,880 We need to ask from pure motives. 440 00:34:18,880 --> 00:34:25,880 We need to ask as we understand what God wants and then we surrender to whatever he does. 441 00:34:25,880 --> 00:34:34,120 But folks, you and I have the authority to go to the throne of God itself. 442 00:34:34,120 --> 00:34:38,360 Are you using that authority? 443 00:34:38,360 --> 00:34:42,640 First Corinthians chapter 5 brings us to a very sobering one. 444 00:34:42,640 --> 00:34:52,280 Here we have the context of a member of the Corinthian church who is in a state of sinning 445 00:34:52,280 --> 00:34:56,880 and he will not repent of his sin. 446 00:34:56,880 --> 00:35:01,500 It's a terrible moral stain on the church. 447 00:35:01,500 --> 00:35:03,520 And so Paul says this is wrong. 448 00:35:03,520 --> 00:35:07,080 And you people are bragging about this man. 449 00:35:07,080 --> 00:35:12,560 You think that you have a lot of tolerance because you're allowing him to be a part of 450 00:35:12,560 --> 00:35:16,240 your fellowship and he's disgracing the glory of God. 451 00:35:16,240 --> 00:35:24,960 And so he says when you are assembled in the name of our Lord Jesus, verse 4, and I am 452 00:35:24,960 --> 00:35:30,520 with you in spirit and the power of our Lord Jesus is present, notice that, the power of 453 00:35:30,520 --> 00:35:39,000 our Lord Jesus is present, hand this man over to Satan so that the sinful nature, the flesh 454 00:35:39,000 --> 00:35:45,400 may be destroyed and his spirit saved on the day of the Lord. 455 00:35:45,400 --> 00:35:48,320 What is happening here? 456 00:35:48,320 --> 00:35:54,680 The word of God says that there is an authority delegated to the church to hand a sinning 457 00:35:54,680 --> 00:36:00,000 believer over to Satan. 458 00:36:00,000 --> 00:36:05,520 This is the most extreme kind of church discipline. 459 00:36:05,520 --> 00:36:08,840 There are all kinds of steps leading up to this. 460 00:36:08,840 --> 00:36:14,240 But now the extreme point had been reached in this case and Paul says you as a body of 461 00:36:14,240 --> 00:36:21,400 people in the name of the Lord Jesus with the power of Jesus, you are to turn this man 462 00:36:21,400 --> 00:36:28,080 out from the church into the realm of the world that Satan may be able to destroy his 463 00:36:28,080 --> 00:36:38,080 body so that in the end he will repent and his spirit will be saved. 464 00:36:38,080 --> 00:36:40,480 God raises questions, I understand that. 465 00:36:40,480 --> 00:36:44,360 We don't have time to deal with all of them this morning, but there's one implication 466 00:36:44,360 --> 00:36:53,500 you need to get here and that is by being a part of the church there is some supernatural 467 00:36:53,500 --> 00:37:00,840 protection for me from the evil one. 468 00:37:00,840 --> 00:37:08,400 But if I allow sin to so corrupt my life that I am turned out from the church and the church 469 00:37:08,400 --> 00:37:19,520 uses its authority to put me out, that protection is gone. 470 00:37:19,520 --> 00:37:27,240 And the evil one has access to me that he did not have before to destroy my body, to 471 00:37:27,240 --> 00:37:30,280 bring me low. 472 00:37:30,280 --> 00:37:34,600 And don't you think he will do it? 473 00:37:34,600 --> 00:37:41,640 The end result of that is intended to be the repentance of my heart and restoration to 474 00:37:41,640 --> 00:37:48,000 God that ultimately I'll be saved. 475 00:37:48,000 --> 00:37:57,640 This is a sobering delegated authority to us as a church. 476 00:37:57,640 --> 00:38:04,200 Here's a fourth delegated authority as found in Mark chapter 9 as well as other places. 477 00:38:04,200 --> 00:38:08,640 I'm going to skip down to the end of that text of verse 41 where Jesus says, I tell 478 00:38:08,640 --> 00:38:15,400 you the truth, anyone who gives you a cup of water in my name because you belong to 479 00:38:15,400 --> 00:38:18,960 Christ will certainly not lose his reward. 480 00:38:18,960 --> 00:38:28,960 You and I are authorized by Jesus to serve others in need, to do it in his name. 481 00:38:28,960 --> 00:38:34,760 When we see they need the cup of cold water, they need the piece of clothing, they need 482 00:38:34,760 --> 00:38:42,800 the financial assistance, they need the comfort, they need your presence. 483 00:38:42,800 --> 00:38:47,520 We are authorized, every one of us, to meet that need. 484 00:38:47,520 --> 00:38:58,360 And Jesus says, don't you know that when you do that, you're going to be rewarded. 485 00:38:58,360 --> 00:39:03,280 Number five, Luke chapter 10. 486 00:39:03,280 --> 00:39:05,160 What a delegated authority do we have? 487 00:39:05,160 --> 00:39:10,320 Well another one here, the 72 returned on this occasion with joy and said, Lord, even 488 00:39:10,320 --> 00:39:13,240 the demons submit to us in your name. 489 00:39:13,240 --> 00:39:18,760 And Jesus replied, I saw Satan fall like lightning from the heavens. 490 00:39:18,760 --> 00:39:23,560 I've given you authority to trample on snakes and scorpions and to overcome all the power 491 00:39:23,560 --> 00:39:24,560 of the enemy. 492 00:39:24,560 --> 00:39:29,680 Nothing will harm you, however do not rejoice that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice 493 00:39:29,680 --> 00:39:32,820 that your names are written in heaven. 494 00:39:32,820 --> 00:39:33,820 Rejoice in who you are. 495 00:39:33,820 --> 00:39:41,080 But Jesus does imply here that his followers have the authority to enforce the power and 496 00:39:41,080 --> 00:39:47,040 the victory of the cross over Satan and demons. 497 00:39:47,040 --> 00:39:51,800 We are not weak victims of the powers of darkness. 498 00:39:51,800 --> 00:39:56,780 We can be strong in the Lord and in the power of his might and put on the full armor of 499 00:39:56,780 --> 00:40:02,280 God so that we can stand in the evil day. 500 00:40:02,280 --> 00:40:07,400 That's the position we have, that's the delegated authority that is given to us, to enforce 501 00:40:07,400 --> 00:40:11,320 the cross over the powers of darkness. 502 00:40:11,320 --> 00:40:16,080 And finally, Colossians 3, 17. 503 00:40:16,080 --> 00:40:21,580 Whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving 504 00:40:21,580 --> 00:40:23,800 thanks to God the Father through him. 505 00:40:23,800 --> 00:40:33,040 You and I have the authority to represent Christ in everything we do. 506 00:40:33,040 --> 00:40:38,720 We need to get out of this mindset that we inherit that seems to separate life into the 507 00:40:38,720 --> 00:40:42,280 sacred and the secular. 508 00:40:42,280 --> 00:40:47,360 This is the sacred duty of my life, this is my secular responsibility. 509 00:40:47,360 --> 00:40:49,280 That is not a biblical view. 510 00:40:49,280 --> 00:40:55,000 The biblical view is that all of life is sacred and whatever I do is done to the Lord. 511 00:40:55,000 --> 00:40:57,000 It's holistic. 512 00:40:57,000 --> 00:41:02,200 And so I have authority from Jesus Christ to go into the classroom. 513 00:41:02,200 --> 00:41:06,880 And in that classroom to represent Christ by the kind of work I do and the attitudes 514 00:41:06,880 --> 00:41:10,680 that I display. 515 00:41:10,680 --> 00:41:16,320 I have the authority of Jesus Christ to go into my workplace and thereby the quality 516 00:41:16,320 --> 00:41:22,480 of my work and by the team-manship and the way that I get projects done to represent 517 00:41:22,480 --> 00:41:27,740 him, I'm delegated that authority. 518 00:41:27,740 --> 00:41:32,060 Take that into every realm, the home and friendships and relationships. 519 00:41:32,060 --> 00:41:36,240 Whatever you do, do it in his name. 520 00:41:36,240 --> 00:41:42,440 You're authorized to do that. 521 00:41:42,440 --> 00:41:50,680 Let me summarize by saying Jesus knew who he was, why he had come, and he used his power 522 00:41:50,680 --> 00:41:55,840 to serve God's purposes for him. 523 00:41:55,840 --> 00:42:03,920 Passionate followers of Jesus know who they are, why they are here, and they use their 524 00:42:03,920 --> 00:42:09,440 delegated authority to serve his purposes. 525 00:42:09,440 --> 00:42:13,840 Are you a passionate follower of Jesus? 526 00:42:13,840 --> 00:42:18,620 Knowing who you are, why you're here, are you using your delegated authority to carry 527 00:42:18,620 --> 00:42:29,280 out these six and many more areas where Jesus has given us authority? 528 00:42:29,280 --> 00:42:32,080 Is that you? 529 00:42:32,080 --> 00:42:35,080 Let's pray together. 530 00:42:35,080 --> 00:42:47,560 Father, as we look at your word, our hearts are instructed and sobered and challenged. 531 00:42:47,560 --> 00:42:57,280 We feel deeply our sense of need and coming short in so many ways, we all do. 532 00:42:57,280 --> 00:43:05,480 I pray that rather than being overwhelmed with that, we will understand your grace in 533 00:43:05,480 --> 00:43:14,000 which we stand, that we will understand who we are in Christ and why we're here, and 534 00:43:14,000 --> 00:43:22,000 that we will not play with the authority you've put into our hands, but we will use it until 535 00:43:22,000 --> 00:43:31,440 the day that we're called home and not give up on it a minute before. 536 00:43:31,440 --> 00:43:40,160 Make us serious about the authority you delegated to us to use it for the glory of God. 537 00:43:40,160 --> 00:43:45,200 In Jesus' name, amen. 538 00:43:45,200 --> 00:43:48,840 Jesus knew who he was and why he had come. 539 00:43:48,840 --> 00:43:53,240 We're going to remember that now in the Elements of Communion. 540 00:43:53,240 --> 00:43:57,000 The ushers will distribute these elements, and we invite you, if you're a follower of 541 00:43:57,000 --> 00:43:59,760 Jesus, to partake with us. 542 00:43:59,760 --> 00:44:23,480 Please receive the element, and I'll be back in a moment, and we'll eat and drink together.