By What Authority Are You Doing These Things
First B Jackson
2023-11-05

Automatically transcribed. Where this and the recording disagree, the recording is the record.

----
Zoom in.

Alright. Good morning, everybody. How are we? Good. I just wanna tell you, I am very, very glad to see you, and I genuinely mean that.

I am so thankful for our church body, and I'm thankful for each one of you. I really am. So hear that from me, but also hear this from Revelation 22, more importantly. It's an invitation as we enter worship. So would you stand?

And I'll read. But it's from Revelation 22. It's let anyone who is thirsty come on in. Let anyone who desires, come, drink freely from the water of life. Ain't that a great invitation?

That's very, very real for us this morning. If you're thirsty, if you're hungry, come on in. God so loved.

Amen. Y'all can have a seat. Few announcements. Are they going to be? There are a bunch of Bible studies going on here and they're up in the on the bulletin board in the back as you're exiting out.

You look to the right and see a Bible study board that has a lot of them on there. If you are thinking, you know what I think God's leading me to start a Bible study? Will you let us know? We can put you up there too to get things going? That's a good way.

Youth group, that's an old slide. There is youth group tonight. Mike, are you here? He's here. He's here in the building somewhere.

So youth group is happening this evening from three to five here. High school and middle school youth for first b is happening three to five here at first b. High school for the valley for all the churches in The Valley, there's sort of a high school association almost alliance is happening 06:30 to eight at the tribe ministry center on Broadway. Awana, what's happening to Carl while I plug this base in?

A regular club night at 05:45 to 07:30. So one is going on, and you can still register. You got a kiddo that you'd like to be in Hawaii, can still register.

All right. And we have November 19 is approaching fast. The deadline for the Operation Christmas Child boxes for Samaritan's Purse is November 19. There are still a few boxes back there, we still have some flat ones. We can make more if we need to.

If you want to pack a box to be sent to somewhere in the world to bless a child in some other area of the world, you can do that. We'll have a packing party immediately before, but the boxes are due on the nineteenth and that's coming fast. Wow, would you stand and hit pause on the service and greet somebody? We'll bring you back together with a song. Glad you're here this morning.

Well,

I want to share a prayer for from Ephesians to to us and the prayer is I pray that from God's glorious unlimited resources that he would power us with inner strength through his spirit. God, we're depending on your spirit this morning. Then, Christ will make his home in our hearts as we trust in him and our roots. As a result, our roots grow down into God's love and they keep us strong. Lord, we've made it our song but we also make that our prayer today, God, that you truly would show us who you are, who you are, the fullness of you, God, and that you would fill us, fill us with your heart, that we would have heart like yours, and would you lead us, God, and your love to those around us.

In Jesus name, amen. You can have a seat here for a moment. This is the worship through giving part of the service and I'll invite our ushers to come on forward. We're going to sing, great are you, Lord, from Acts 17. It's one of my favorites.

For in him, the key words there, in him, we live and we move and we have our beauty. Before we sing, Ray, would you pray?

Lord God Almighty, I thank you for revealing who you are in a myriad of ways, Lord, the manifold witness of God. I thank you for showing who you are in nature to the point that, Lord, we can see you there. Thank you for the common grace that you give of conscience and intellect and capacity for understanding, Lord. Lord God Almighty, thank you for all that is new information in our minds this week that draws us towards you. Having just returned from a conference where it was just steady coming at us.

Lord, I'm filtering through and going, wow, that's a new and amazing way to understand God. Would you give us more moments like that, lord, where where we're awed by your presence, where we're awed by your immensity, and by your imminence that you're right here with us, that you'll never leave us or forsake us. Lord God almighty, I pray for the peace that comes from knowing you. In Jesus' name, I ask that you'd spread, your good gospel through, your humble and willing and obedient servants. Lord, that's plan a, and there's no plan b.

So maybe be a part of what you are doing in this community and to the very uttermost parts. Lord, I ask that you would give us a special measure of grace this week to share with others. Extra grace is required for the times. Would you allow that? And would you allow us to really be sharing it, Lord, and not hoarding your blessing?

In Jesus' name, bless all that goes into these plates to do your kingdom's work here and to the very most utter uttermost part. Your will, lord, your way. Amen. Amen. It's time for children's church.

That's good. I like it when they're jumping and getting ready to go. Well, good morning. We went this week, Thursday, Carl and Mike and I rode up together and Diane and and Nick and Jennifer Flanagan and Sandra Roddick and Sarah Roddick. And they all we all went up to a sewing piece conference.

That's what it's called. Sewing pieces put on by Relational Wisdom three sixty. And I'm sorting through all of the tremendous amount of information that came towards us in the couple of days we got to spin. We came back early. But, wow.

It's so good. It reaffirms what you already know, but at the same time, it's just giving you a different way of looking at it possibly, better communication. It was really, really good. So thank you all for sending us, and we're glad to be back. Time for Children's Church.

This is what we're covering today. It is the official challenge to Jesus' authority. Now we know that Jesus has already had, low level interactions with people on the ground. It happens almost every week. There's some incidents of the pharisees kinda questioning him about things.

But now, he has been into the temple by way of a triumphal entry that we studied a couple weeks ago. And then last week, we went into Jesus purifying the temple. He comes in and Jesus cleanses the temple, purifies the temple. He what he does is purify. That was hopefully the point of last week's message.

And now they're answering. So this would be Tuesday of Holy Week if you're trying to keep up chronologically on, you know, on your calendars. This is Tuesday, and there's probably more information about Tuesday than any other. So I won't get through all of Tuesday today. It's just a lot of, straight up teaching and questioning, but this is kind of the heart of the matter is it's the official challenge to Jesus' authority from the three synoptic gospels.

This is what it looks like. And I might add to that at the very end. We'll see how it goes because we have communion. We'll see how it goes. Okay.

When he entered the temple area, it said right before this that after he had purified the temple, he went back up the hill to Bethany on the Mount Of Olives. It's up there a couple of miles away from the temple area. He was going back there to spend the night. If you pay attention to the gospel of John, John says that he was there hanging out that evening with Mary and Martha and Lazarus who he had freshly raised from the dead. Okay.

He's at dinner party. Now when he comes down the hill, he comes down the hill every day and he sets up in the temple and he begins to teach. So when he entered the temple area this day, Tuesday, the chief priest and the elders, that would be the Sanhedrin, the people that are supposed to be in charge, the ones who have the authority. Right? The chief priest and the elders of the people came to him while he was teaching and said, by what authority are you doing these things?

These things is cleansing the temple. Who do you think you are? Who told you you could do this? Where did you get yours? They had the right to be here.

We told them they could be here selling things and changing money and all that. Who are you doing these things for? What is your authority? By what authority are you doing things? And who gave you this authority?

Where does it come from? Mark. I'm going read them all. They're almost identical this week. And they come again into Jerusalem.

And as he was walking in the temple area, the chief priests, scribes and elders, so scribes are added to the list. That's stenographers maybe. No. Those are the people who studied the law, part of the Sanhedrin. All three of those groups would be part of the official leadership in Jerusalem.

Of course, under Rome, the oppressive government. They come to him and they begin saying to him, by what authority are you doing these things? Who do you think you are? And who gave you the authority to do these things? Luke, on one of the days while he was teaching the people in the temple area and preaching the gospel.

He's not specific about the time, but the other two are. The chief priest and the scribes with the elders confronted him, they declared saying to him, tell us by what authority you're doing these things? And who is the one who gave you this authority? And Jesus responded and said to them, alright, I'll ask you one question too. I'll answer your question if you answer my question.

If you tell me, I'll also tell you by what authority I do these things. I'll be straight up with you. But Jesus said to them, I'll ask you one question. You answer me, and then I'll tell you about what authority do these things. I like the way Luke puts it.

It's kind of funny to me. He says, he replied to him, I'll ask you a question and you tell me. I'll ask you a question and you tell me because this really gets to the heart of the matter. His question is the baptism of John was from what source? The baptism of John, John the Baptist, was from what source?

Now think about that. It's John the Baptist's message is something to think about here. His message was, behold the lamb of God and pointing to Jesus. His message was, repent. Repent.

The axe is already laid to the root of these trees. You need to repent, every single one of you, for the forgiveness of sins. Every single one of you includes chief priests, scribes, elders, pharisees, everybody. The baptism of John. What was what was from what source?

Baptism for the repentance of sins. Was from what source? Was it from heaven or was it from men? Luke says, was the baptism of John from heaven or from men? Mark says, was the baptism of John for from heaven or for men?

Answer me. It's a little more pointed in Mark. Right? Answer me. Riddle me this, Batman.

You know? I've got this right here before you. Tell me. If you tell me, I'll tell you. And they began considering the implications among themselves saying, alright.

If we say from heaven, think about this. John the Baptist has been executed by Herod in the intervening time. Between between the time that he was pointing out Jesus is the lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world, he also was calling out you might call it speaking truth to power. He was calling out Herod for Mary and his brother's sister. Right?

I mean, sorry, brother's wife. He, which in the Herod family, any of those things are possible. They began considering implication among themselves saying, if we say from heaven, because he was executed by the ones complicit with the government. Course, that's some of us too. If we say from heaven, he's gonna say, why didn't you believe him then?

You ignored him completely and you were glad when he was gone. If we say he was from heaven, he'll say to us, then why didn't you believe him? But if we say for men, they all regard him as a prophet. And we fear those people. The fear of man.

The fear of God's beginning of wisdom. The fear of man's timing is more effort than anything else. It's terrible. And they began considering the implications among themselves. If we say from heaven, then he'll say, then why didn't you believe him?

But should we say from men? They were afraid of the people and they all considered John to have been a real prophet. They all means the crowd, not the Sanhedrin. They didn't know. The fact that John's message was pointing towards Jesus, that he was the forerunner, and there are so many prophetic examples in Isaiah and Daniel and Elijah and other place I mean, Ezekiel and many other places that are pointing to there's gonna be a forerunner who comes before it makes way the straight makes way straight before I get there.

And John claimed to be that guy, and then Jesus comes along beside it. It's pointed out by me. He's baptized. And then the last three years, he's been ministering. People loved John the Baptist.

John the Baptist was a prophet that was not for profit. Right? These officials were were just not there. They were. Some of them at least.

Most of them for in it for the money. They discussed among themselves. Luke says, if we say from heaven, he'll say, why didn't you believe him? But if we say from men, all the people will stone us to death. That's what they were afraid of.

For they are convinced that John was a prophet. And answering Jesus said the answering Jesus, they said, we don't know. Did they know? They took the easy way out. We don't know.

Answering Jesus, they said, we don't know. Don't know. Luke says, and so they answered that they did not know where it came from. Not sure about John's authority. Caught between a rock and a hard place here.

I don't know. And then Jesus said to them, neither am I telling you by what authority I do these that. Going do And be do so And to he we're kinda did. He kinda did by saying, if you believe John's from heaven, then you already know these things. The crowds are coming around because they already know these things.

They believe John, and that's why they believe me. Well, part of the reason anyway. He also said, am I telling you by what authority I do these things. And Luke says, neither am I telling you by what authority I do these things. That's a little vignette.

It's great. Jesus answering a question with a question. You know? He does it a lot. You And might think, well, that's kinda sneaky.

He didn't answer the question. Why didn't he just say, I am from heaven? Everything he did was saying he was from heaven. All of the healing that he was doing, all the teaching as one who had authority was from heaven. Next little passage is only in Matthew.

It's a little parable in the and and it goes immediately from neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things. But what do you think? He throws it back in there. A lot of this sewing peace thing that we just went to was asking open ended questions to allow people to understand what it is that they actually think. What do you think?

Okay. A man had two sons. He came to the first and he said, son, go work today in the vineyard. Daddy says to one son, you go to work today in the vineyard. But he replied, I don't want to.

Does that sound familiar in any way to anybody? I don't want to. But he said, I don't want to. Yet, afterward, he regretted it and he went. He regretted it and he went.

He I don't want to. That's not the way I want to do things. I had so many plans. He but he did go afterwards. And the man came to his second son and said to the same thing.

He said, You go work in the vineyard today. And the boy replied or the son replied, I will, sir. Yes, sir. Absolutely, sir. And yet he did not go.

Which of the two did the will of his father? Which of those two sons did the will of his father? And they were sitting at the chief prescribes, the helpers, probably some disciples around too. Matthew wrote this down, so likely there. Which of the two did the will of the father?

And they said, well, the first. Although he didn't understand at first or want to or regret it, and then he regretted his decision, he changed his mind. He repented. Oh, sowing peace. It would be so much easier if we would, when we recognize it, that we are digging in our heels.

If we could just go, you know what? I was wrong. Regret it, turn from that way, and go the other direction. Which of the two did the will of his father? They said the first.

And Jesus said to them, truly I say to you, chief priests, elders, truly I say to you, the tax collectors and the prostitutes will get into the kingdom of God before you do. Who does it say responded to the message of John the Baptist? For John came, he came to you in the way of righteousness and you didn't believe him. I told you you didn't believe. You said, we don't know, but you do know.

And you pushed him aside. You did not listen to him. You didn't believe him. But the tax collectors and the prostitutes did believe him. And you seeing this, you didn't even come around and have second thoughts afterwards so as to believe in it.

You saw what it did in their lives and yet you couldn't let go of your own erroneous notions. That's only Matthew. I love that. That one's been a hidden nugget for me. I don't know that I remember that story.

When I hit it this week, was like, wow, that's about as direct as you can get. The authority issue, by whose authority do you do this? I'll answer that if you answer me the truth here. From heaven, from men, John's baptism. Which was it?

Answer me, Mark says, leans in. And they say, I don't know. I'm afraid. I'm afraid of that answer. He says, It's because you didn't believe him.

You didn't believe him. You stuck in your heels and you lost out. And yet all these tax collectors and prostitutes did. And even after you saw the transformation it made in their lives, you wouldn't let go of your religious nonsense. Okay.

Listen to another parable. Here we go. Listen to another parable. There was a landowner who planted a vineyard and put a fence around it and he dug a wine press in it and he built a tower and he leased it to vine growers, he went on a journey. That that reading that, if you know anything about the Old Testament, you see this, and it probably takes you I I think I actually left it out of these slides.

It's Isaiah five one to two. Isaiah five, which the whole book of Isaiah is a prophetic book seven hundred years before Jesus prophesying mainly about what's gonna happen between now and Messiah. Right? And even after that before Messiah's return. But five, one and two, if you want to look that up.

And when the harvest time approached, he sent his own slaves to the vine grower to receive his fruit with the people who had been managing shop for him. And the vine growers took the owner's slaves and beat one, killed another, and stoned another. If you're thinking about Isaiah, which they would have to, they know the scripture, Isaiah was beaten. He was chased down into the hollow part of a tree and then he was sawed in half inside of that tree according to tradition. The vine growers took his slaves, beat one, killed another, stoned another.

Again, he sent other slaves more than the first and they did the same things to them. But afterward, he sent his son to them. And this owner of the vineyard. Some people have trouble with this being a straight up allegory. The vineyard owner is God equals.

You know? The vineyard is his people, Israel. Right? He left it with some people that were supposed to take care of it. And when he sent the prophets, they beat them, banished them, killed them.

But then afterward, he sent his son to them saying, Well, certainly, they will respect my son. Mark, same thing. I didn't underline anything new because it says virtually exactly the same thing. He began to tell people this parable, man planted a vineyard and leased it to vine growers, went on a journey for a long time. At the harvest time, he sent a slave to the vine growers so they would give him his slave of produce of the produce of the vineyard.

The fruit. But the vine growers beat him and sent him away empty handed. Sounds like they're hoarding the fruit. He proceeded to send another slave but they beat him and also treated him shamefully and sent him away empty handed. And he proceeded to send a third, but this one too, they wounded and they threw out.

Now the owner of the vineyard said, What am I to do? What am I to do? How? How? This is mine and yet it's been mismanaged.

What am I to do? This is what I'll do. I'll send my beloved son, and perhaps they'll respect him. But the vine growers saw the son and they said among themselves, this is the heir. Come, let's kill him.

Let's take possession of his inheritance. We're going to get it for our own. And they took him and they threw him out of the vineyard and they killed him. There are so many things here outside the city wall. He was crucified less than a week later.

Therefore, when the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those vine growers? And they said to him, he will bring those wretches to a wretched end and lease the vineyard to other vine growers who will pay him the fruit in their proper seasons. But those vine growers said to one another, this is the heir. Come, let's kill him. The inheritance will be ours, Mark says.

And they took him and they killed him and threw him out of the vineyard. What will the owner of the vineyard do? He will come and put those vine growers to death and give the vineyard to others. Luke, when the vine growers saw him, they discussed one another saying, this is the heir. They recognized who he was, but they did not want him to be who he was.

They didn't want to have to submit to him. Let's kill him and take over his inheritance. It will be ours. And so they threw out of the vineyard and killed him. What then will the owner do to them?

He will come and put these vine growers to death and will give the vine, the vineyard to others. However, when they heard this, they said, may it never happen. You think they recognized who he was talking about? The next part of the text says they recognized who he was talking about. May it never be.

May that never happen. Jesus said, did you never read the scriptures? I mean, that's your that's your thing. Right? You're supposed to be people of the scroll, people of the book.

Jesus said to him, did you never read the scriptures where it says, a stone which the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone. This came about from the Lord and it's marvelous in our eyes. That is from Psalm one eighteen, by the way. Let's hear Mark say it. Have you not ever even read the scripture?

A stone which the builders rejected, this has become the chief cornerstone. This came about from the Lord and it is marvelous in our eyes. Luke doesn't include the second part of the quote, but he does include the first. This Jesus looked and said, this then what is it it what is this statement that has been written? Open ended question.

You tell me what this means. The stone which the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone. Psalm one eighteen, a Psalm of Ascents. It is a Psalm that they would sing as they rose up to go up the hill to Jerusalem for the Passover. The greater Halel.

This is something all of them had sung just in the past couple of days and even quoted part of it as the triumphal entry was Hosanna, Hosanna, blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord, also Psalm one eighteen. Fresh on everybody's mind. Stone which the builders rejected has become the chief's cornerstone. This came about from the Lord. It's marvelous in our eyes actually.

The next verse is what you hated to hear at Christian camp. This is the day. This is the day which the Lord has made. Get up out of bed. Get up out of bed.

'24 is this is the day which the Lord has made. Let us rejoice and be glad in it. This is a good thing. It's a good thing Unless you're the builders who are rejecting it, and they were. Therefore, I say to you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you, as plain spoken as can be.

You were supposed to be in charge and you have not been. And given to a people producing its fruit. And the one who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces and on whomever it falls, it will crush him. All of them mention this, Matthew, Mark and Luke. Everyone who falls on that be do do And we're

And

And they so were seeking to seize him. And yet again, they feared the people, the fear of man. They didn't do what they would have done because they knew that the crowd would seize them. They were seeking to seize him and yet they feared the people for they understood that he told the parable against them. They they knew what it meant.

There's no doubt about it. And so they left him and they went away and they plotted against him. All backroom conversations and plotting, they're all over Holy Week. The scribes and the chief priests tried to lay hands on him that very hour and yet they feared the people for they were aware that he had spoken this parable against them. Now when the chief priest and the pharisees oh, wait a second.

Pharisees haven't been mentioned till now. Chief priest they're there. They're always there. They're always lurking. They're always looking.

They're always trying. We'll see that in just a minute. The chief priest and the pharisees do not get along. They're political opposites. They don't like each other.

But the chief priest and the pharisees heard his parables. They understood that he was speaking about both of them. And although they sought to arrest him, they feared the crowd since they considered him, Jesus, to be a prophet, not just John, but Jesus, prophet, priest, and king. I'm gonna go just a little further, and we are going to a time of communion. 20.

Luke 20 says, and so they watched him closely. Luke's the only one who calls them what they are in this little bit. And so they watched him closely, and they sent spies who pretended to be righteous in order that they might catch Jesus in some statement so that they could hand him over to the jurisdiction and authority of the governor. They hate the government. Some of them, half of them hate the government.

The other ones love them. But they're getting together. They watched him closely. They sent spies who pretended to be righteous in order that they might catch him in some statement they could cancel him. I mean, so they could hand him over to the jurisdiction and authority of the governor and the spies questioned him saying, teacher, oh teacher, we adore you pretending to be righteous.

Teacher, we know that you speak and teach correctly. It's obvious. You're not partial to anyone. But you teach the way of God on the basis of truth. Now what they're saying right there is absolutely true.

But they were spies and they did not believe it. They were pretending to believe it. Is it permissible for us to pay taxes to Caesar or not? We really want to know. Now if you've got a pro government and an anti government faction here and they sent spies, They're trying to get him to say something that will get him in trouble with one of them.

Right? Is it permissible for us to pay taxes to Caesar or not? But he saw through their trickery. He's Jesus. To be able to see through their trickery.

And he said to them, show me a denarius. Denarius is one day's wage, the way. It's a coin. Whose image whose image and inscription does it have? And they said, Caesar's.

Show me a denarius. There's a picture of Caesar on this thing. They're in the temple, first of all. That's a graven image. Oh.

It is an image. Show me Daenerys. Whose image and inscription does it have on it? Now they would have had to trade that denarius in for temple tax too, which is another graven image, which they were in charge of. Chief priests and scribes at least.

Elders. Show me a denarius. Whose image and inscription does it have? They said, Caesar's. And he said to them, then pay to Caesar the things that are Caesar's and to God the things that are God's.

And they were unable to catch him in a statement in the presence of these people. Sounds like he didn't answer the question again, but he did answer the question. This time he had an explicit statement about give Caesar what belongs to Caesar. He had an implicit statement that he didn't say out loud. Okay?

We'll get to that in a minute. They were unable to catch him in a statement and in the presence of the people and they were amazed at his answer and they said nothing. The first time is I don't know and now they're just quiet. Mark, they sent out some of the Pharisees and Herodians. Okay.

Another group of people that don't get along with anybody else. To him in order to trap him in a statement, they came to him. They said to him, teacher, we know that you are truthful and do not care what anyone thinks for you are not partial to anyone. Remember Luke says they're spies. But you teach the way of God in truth.

Is it permissible to pay a poll tax to Caesar or not? Are we to pay or not pay? But he, knowing their hypocrisy, said to them, why are you testing me? Bring me a Daenerys. Look at it.

And they brought one and he said to him, whose image and inscription is this? And they said, well, Caesar's. Jesus said to him, pay to Caesar the things that are Caesar's and to God the things that are God's. And they were utterly amazed. That coin didn't have In God We Trust on the back of it, the way, just if you're an American.

Right? It it didn't say what it was that you owe to God. And they were utterly amazed at him. Matthew, same story. He said to them, then pay to Caesar the things that are Caesar's and to God the things that are God's.

And hearing this, they were amazed. He got away again. How does he keep doing that? He's been doing this since Luke four. He slipped out when they're trying to throw him off of Nazareth Ridge.

Here's an implication for an application. He said explicitly give that to Caesar. That's fine. Romans 13 says, the government is established by God. You got to yeah.

It's a government. It's fine. Deal with it. An implication for application though is this. Whose image do you bear?

Whose image do I bear? Whose image do we bear? Genesis one twenty six to 28 says, and then God said, let us make mankind in our image according to our likeness. Whose image do we bear? We bear.

We are image bearers. There's a concept that all through seminary came up over and over and over again. It came up at this conference to the Imago Dei that every person has value because they are image bearers of God. Every one of them, as confused as we as people can be, we have value because we are image bearers. Let us make mankind in our own image according to our likeness and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the sky and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every crawling thing.

It's different for humans. We carry the image of God. That's not the case for every living thing. Certainly points to him. So God created man in his own image.

In the image of God, he created him male and female. He created them and God blessed them and God said to them, be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it and rule over the fish of the sea, the birds of the sky, every living thing that moves on the earth. We are image bearers. So to whom should we be given? Maybe it's better to say, to whom should do I owe?

I owe myself to the one whose image I bear. I think that's the last slide. Here we are at communion table. Would you all pray with me? God Almighty, what a beautiful communicator you are.

Day after day, night after night, the heavens are telling of the glory of God. There's no language where they can't be understood, Lord. You communicate who you are. Effectively, Lord, it says that you do so in a way that we're without excuse. Would you allow us the grace, Lord, of being able to just answer your question?

You are from God, from heaven. We know that. We trust that. We believe that. I agree with John the Baptist.

I agree with you. I I agree with what God is trying to do through you. I need a savior because I'll fall short. That's the answer. Would you allow us, Lord, to recognize what you're communicating to us and not dig in our hills and rebel against it?

And say, I'll make myself I'll let him know. I'll make myself like the most high. Who says he ought to be in charge? I think I'm in charge. You've given us free agency, Lord.

We can do that, but it won't be true. Lord God Almighty, I pray that you would bless this time together, this time of communion. I'll ask the elders to come forward right now. Lord God Almighty, as we consider this table and we consider that we bear your image, Lord, but we have chosen corruption. We have been corrupted in some ways.

The fall has left a mark on us, Lord, that we need to have cleansed, purified, removed. We need for our selfish motives to be changed. We need, Lord, we recognize as we're doing this collectively, we recognize in this. We recognize that we need a savior who had a perfect record. You walked it out in the flesh, Lord, and this little cracker represents your flesh.

You gave your innocent blood. You were tempted in all the ways just like we're tempted but yet without sin. Lord God Almighty, my goodness. There's no such thing as my goodness. If I have any righteousness, it is derived from Jesus and gifted by your spirit.

Lord God, may we recognize the innocent blood that was shed on our behalf. In Jesus' name, ask you to bless as we distribute this little piece of bread, cracker, wafer that we would altogether collectively consider our own walk and our own way and see where are some of the ways that we owed ourselves to you and we did not give ourselves to you, that we chose other. In Jesus' name, I ask you to point out to us our sins, Lord, as we will be giving them back over to you for absolute and complete complete forgiveness. In Jesus' name, amen. As as they finish up and they come back up front here.

I I feel the heaviness in the room. Can we just pray for a minute? Lord God almighty, it is heavy to consider the weight of our own sin and all the ways that we have not been obedient, haven't been humble, haven't been helpful. God almighty, I pray that you would give us the strength that comes from knowing that you were, that you were, that you are gracious. Even in your pointing it out to the chief priests, scribes, the elders, the Herodians, the Pharisees, every time you laid it out there, you said, Eve, you haven't done this.

You need to do this, but you haven't done this, and you are willing to receive. Lord, if anybody has is here that has just heard for the first time and been convinced for the first time that Jesus did that for me. Jesus has my back. Jesus was considering all. I'm just like those people.

I'm broken. I'm flawed. I'm upset. I don't know what to do about it. I can dig in my heels and pretend or I can just answer the question.

John was from heaven. You're from heaven. I'll take I'll take what heaven has sent in me. That's what we're celebrating right now. Lord God, may we have the joy that comes from that.

We may may we have the peace that comes from that. In Jesus name, amen. On the same night that Jesus was betrayed, he took bread after supper and he broke it and he gave thanks for it. And he said to his disciples in the room right there, this is my body which is given for you. Take this and eat of it and do it in remembrance of me.

In the same manner that he had taken the bread, he took the cup. We're gonna distribute that right now. Lord God Almighty, we ask that you would bless each one that would partake and receive this, holding nothing in their hands, Lord. We don't have anything that we can bring. The blood of Christ is sufficient though for us to be restored, for us to be reborn.

So God Almighty, I pray that you'd bless this. For each one who partakes of this cup, lord, that it would be invigorating to them that give new and abundant perspective on life and new life. I also pray for each one that lets it pass because they don't believe that the impact of some one in our presence right now that their life would lead that other person to trust in Jesus. Amen. Also took the bread.

He also took the cup and he said to his disciples there, this is the new covenant in my blood. They've been looking forward to this. Everybody was supposed to be looking forward to this new covenant in his blood. Since Jeremiah, since Joel, this is the new covenant, Jesus said, in my blood. Take this and drink of it and do it as often as you will in remembrance of me.

Amen. Lord, when we fall short, you fulfilled. May we continue to proclaim your death each time we do this, and may we continue to claim what it is that you've done for us. Would you use us lord the way you want to for a world who does not know you yet in Jesus name. Amen.

Would you stand and we're going to sing a little creed statement. Authority. On the question of authority, last night, when I laid down, so what's the benediction for tomorrow? Well, Jesus said, right before he ascended, said, all authority has been given to me. He he said it out loud.

All authority has been given to me. All authority has been given to me, and I'm giving it to you. And I'm saying, go. You be going. And as you're going, you be making We We We We time.