Morning Sermon

June 21, 2009

"Follow Me..."

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Growing up, my father worked for the NYS Thruway Authority. The NYS Thruway is an interstate highway, built by the state of NY a few years before the federal government decided back in the mid-60's to fund all the interstate highways.

But what is the Thruway Authority? What is an authority? In this case, it is an agency created by the state. It is an agency created to build, maintain, and operate that massive highway, now also known as I-90. The Thruway Authority is an agency endowed with both the responsibility and power to accomplish its task. And because the Thruway is operated by an independent authority, it is a toll road. The Thruway Authority, and those who work for it, are supported by individual tolls, not state taxes.

I use that illustration to help us understand the meaning of the word "authority". Authority means to possess responsibility and power. Authority means the power to bring about your intentions, it means the power to accomplish your goals, it means the ability to fulfill your orders and bring to pass whatever you say.

"The right and power to command, decide, rule, or judge." "The power to enforce laws, exact obedience, command, determine, or judge." The right to exercise power.

The exercise of authority is not popular today because it requires submission. If one person has authority over another, it means that the other person must be in submission. And in human relationships today, we think almost entirely in terms of equality, not in terms of authority/submission.

Unfortunately, many people bring that sort of bias against authority into their religion and religious beliefs. Many people define their religion with an absence of God's authority, and therefore the absence of their own need for submission.

And that is terribly wrong! For if God is anything, he is an authority. If the word of God is anything at all, it is an authority. It speaks with authority, for Jesus speaks with authority.

And it is that authority which we will study this morning. The distinctive characteristic of Jesus' teaching was authority. And that was very obvious whenever he spoke. v.21-22 v.27

Jesus' teaching was different, because he taught with authority. His method of teaching had its own authority.

Jesus didn't share his ideas with others. He didn't discuss or debate academic or philosophical ideas. He proclaimed the truth. And another word for proclaiming is preaching. Jesus preached the gospel. And,

I. THE PREACHING OF THE GOSPEL IS ITS OWN AUTHORITY. In other words, when the gospel is proclaimed, by definition, by its very essence, it is proclaimed in an authoritative manner. It is not presented for your evaluation and review. It is presented for your submission.

You are not given the right to decide whether or not you want to believe the gospel. You are exhorted to believe it, upon threat of your own eternal life. You, yourself are not given the right or the power to decide whether or not the gospel is true. Instead, you are compelled, by the preaching of the gospel, to believe. You are exhorted to believe.

When God speaks, his creatures are commanded to listen. The preaching of the gospel is not a group discussion. The preacher is not simply a facilitator or a moderator. Rather, he is a herald, one who proclaims and announces.

Jesus was the perfect preacher. And the people were dumbfounded in their amazement. Jesus' authority is made clear in this passage. For we see,

A. The authority of God's appointed time. In other words, Jesus' authority is demonstrated by his perfect right to control the timing of his own coming.

v.15 "The time is fulfilled."

"The time is at hand." But what time? God's time. God's plan and God's purpose included God's time. We find similar language in,

Gal. 4:4 "But when the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law."

Eph. 1:9 "...having made known to us the mystery of His will, according to His good pleasure which He purposed in Himself, 10 that in the dispensation of the fullness of the times He might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven and which are on earth--in Him."

1Tim. 2:5 "For there is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus, 6 who gave Himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time."

Rom. 5:6 "For when we were still without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly."

God determined the time for the gospel to be fulfilled. Jesus came at God's appointed time. The gospel was fulfilled according to God's predetermined time. God has arranged everything! God has the power to fulfill his purpose.

Such is the authority of the gospel.

We ought to preach about God's predetermined time, about God's decrees and God's eternal purpose. For it is that power to control time that is essential to the authority of the gospel.

And what does Jesus say happened at the appointed time? v.15 "The kingdom of God is at hand."

Now we're really talking about authority.

B. The authority of God's sovereign rule as king. God's reign in the lives and hearts of his people has begun. The kingdom is no longer an external kingdom, so obvious in the OT kingdom of Israel. Now, the kingdom of God is within us.

Luke 17:20 "Now when He was asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, He answered them and said, "The kingdom of God does not come with observation; 21 "nor will they say, 'See here!' or 'See there!' For indeed, the kingdom of God is within you."

How does it happen? How does the kingdom come? There is a certain mystery, very much beyond our control.

Mark 4:26 "The kingdom of God is as if a man should scatter seed on the ground, 27 "and should sleep by night and rise by day, and the seed should sprout and grow, he himself does not know how. 28 "For the earth yields crops by itself: first the blade, then the head, after that the full grain in the head."

So what does it mean to say that the kingdom has come? It means that the king, the real king, rules upon his throne. As we studied last week, when God said to Jesus, "You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased," he was quoting Psalm 2, a psalm in which God also says, "I have installed my King on Zion, my holy hill."

God has installed his king on Zion. The kingdom has come. God's promise and covenant to act on behalf of his people to bring salvation has been fulfilled. The central act of history, under God's control and direction, has begun. The stage is set for the climactic conclusion to all of history--the return of Jesus in the fullness of his glory.

The kingdom is not merely a future expectation, as if this whole present church age is some sort of parenthesis not anticipated by OT prophecy. That is the great error of dividing up the Bible into many isolated dispensations. Many Christians see the present church age as an interruption in the prophetic vision of the OT. They are still waiting for a future kingdom, believing that Christ, also, is still waiting for his kingdom to be established.

Well the truth of the matter is, the kingdom has come. The time has come. The kingdom of God is at hand. The king is upon his throne, exerting all authority and power now. And he shall return in a full demonstration of that power when he returns in final judgment.

Therefore, the preaching of the gospel must be based upon the authority of Jesus' sovereign rule as king. And a large part of that sovereign authority to rule as king is,

C. The authority to demand unconditional surrender. The authority of the gospel, the authority of the preaching of the gospel is the authority to demand unconditional surrender.

v.15b

That demand is echoed in Jesus' last exhortation to his disciples, what we call the great commission.

Matt. 28:18 "And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, "All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. 19 "Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 "teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age." Amen."

"All authority has been given to me." Therefore, go and make disciples.

And how do we make disciples? First, by demanding unconditional surrender. v.15 "Repent, and believe."

We studied repentance last week. Turning from sin. Hating sin. Turning toward God in obedience. Without repentance, there will be no revival. Without repentance, there will be no salvation.

Jesus demands repentance. He demands that we believe. And the preaching of the gospel must include that demand for unconditional surrender.

Illus: In our day and time, it seems that peace treaties always come through negotiated settlement. Even when one side in a war is dominant, peace comes through negotiation. Wars are ended by negotiated settlement, not unconditional surrender. Diplomacy, not military supremacy.

But obtaining peace with God does not come through diplomacy, it doesn't come through a negotiated settlement. You don't come to God through a negotiated deal. You come through unconditional surrender.

Repentance and faith are God's terms, terms of surrender which he, with authority, demands that we accept. You must repent. You must believe.

Preaching is not emotional manipulation. It is not a sales pitch designed to manipulate you to buy something you really don't want. It is an authoritative proclamation.

Jesus then demonstrates the authority of the gospel by performing miracles. Those signs, wonders and miracles all reveal his power. And,

II. JESUS' POWER DEMONSTRATES HIS AUTHORITY. Look at his power: v.23-28

There is a lot I could say about this miracle, and about all the miracles. But notice just a couple things about Jesus' power. First,

A. All spirits are helpless when confronted by Jesus' power. Look at what they say, when they are confronted by Jesus: v.24

We see this idea of the helplessness of evil spirits in more detail in Mark 5 The demons are sent into a herd of pigs, who rush over a cliff when they become possessed. The demons spoke to Jesus there,

Mark 5:7 "And he cried out with a loud voice and said, "What have I to do with You, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I implore You by God that You do not torment me."

Same idea here. v.24a

What impotence! What helplessness! Who had all the power and all the authority, even over demons? Jesus.

That is certainly obvious by what happens here, v.25-26

What a magnificent demonstration of Jesus' authority. Spirits, created spirits, evil spirits, are helpless. But they aren't stupid or ignorant. They know who Jesus is. v.24b

B. All spirits know Jesus' true nature. Their description of Jesus is correct. It is accurate, more accurate than many today who deny some of Jesus' attributes as God. They didn't deny his deity, they didn't deny his holiness. And they certainly didn't deny his powerful authority.

The only trouble is, they didn't submit to it either! Their description of Jesus wasn't a confession of faith, but rather a hopelessly unsuccessful attempt to win his favor or someone control him by naming his name.

Such an attempt was, of course, useless.

The evil spirits know Jesus, and they know his authority. James 2:19 "You believe that there is one God. You do well. Even the demons believe--and tremble!"

Jesus' power sufficiently demonstrates his authority, so that we are without excuse. But it's not enough simply to acknowledge his power and his authority. Instead, we must listen to him, because,

III. JESUS SPEAKS WITH HIS OWN AUTHORITY TO COMMAND. Jesus gives commands! He doesn't offer suggestions. He doesn't share his ideas. He speaks with authority--he commands. Specifically,

A. Jesus commands his disciples to follow. v.16-17

In that command, there is absolute authority. "Come, follow me."

Illus: These were ordinary men, fishermen. They were not powerful and mighty men in the eyes of the world. With all respect to those of you who are fishermen, fishermen aren't usually known as very significant and important. They are now, and were then, ordinary, common men.

But Jesus commanded them, "Follow me."

Let's not look at them, as men in a different category from us. For God makes that same demand of us. "Follow me."

In fact, Jesus says, Matt. 10:34 "Do not think that I came to bring peace on earth. I did not come to bring peace but a sword. 35 "For I have come to 'set a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law'; 36 "and 'a man's enemies will be those of his own household.' 37 "He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me. 38 "And he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me. 39 "He who finds his life will lose it, and he who loses his life for My sake will find it."

Matt. 16:24 "Then Jesus said to His disciples, "If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. 25 "For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it. 26 "For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?"

Luke 9:59 "Then He said to another, "Follow Me." But he said, "Lord, let me first go and bury my father." 60 Jesus said to him, "Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and preach the kingdom of God." 61 And another also said, "Lord, I will follow You, but let me first go and bid them farewell who are at my house." 62 But Jesus said to him, "No one, having put his hand to the plow, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God."

And to a rich young man who thought he was quite righteous and godly in himself,

Matt. 19:21 "If you want to be perfect, go, sell what you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me." 22 But when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions."

Jesus commands each of us, with authority, saying "follow me."

And how should we respond? We can do no better than to follow the example of these guys. v.18

Same thing happened with Zebedee's sons. v.19-20

B. Jesus' disciples obey his commands. It is that simple. This whole sermon is on authority, Jesus' authority. The authority of the gospel of Jesus.

And this whole study of authority is meaningless and irrelevant, unless you are willing to submit to that authority. Beloved, in the pages of Scripture, Jesus speaks to you with authority. He does not request that you follow him. He requires it. He demands that you follow him. And to follow him means to obey him.

As I preach the gospel, I don't share with you my own ideas and suggestions. I'm not discussing with you possible ideas for you to consider. I am proclaiming to you the truth. I am announcing to you what Jesus Christ has said.

And so, with the authority of the gospel of Jesus Christ, I command you, you must deny yourself. You must give up control of your own life, you must give up this idea that you can be your own authority. You must give God control of your life. You must crucify yourself, you must put to death yourself.

John 12:24 "Most assuredly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it produces much grain. 25 "He who loves his life will lose it, and he who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. 26 "If anyone serves Me, let him follow Me; and where I am, there My servant will be also. If anyone serves Me, him My Father will honor."

This morning, as I proclaim the gospel to you, listen to Jesus Christ as he speaks with authority: "If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me."

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