His authority over all

Good morning

How was everyone’s last couple of weeks?

I know I saw that a good deal of us went around Europe

As a matter of fact as I got back from leave

It felt like the entire BN was gone

I know me and my family had a great time

We actually went on a two week tour of Northern Europe

More specifically England and Scotland

And how many of us have been to Great Britain?

Anyone experience the driving up there or was I the only one

Stupid enough to attempt to drive up there?

So just a quick story

So we actually took the train from France to England

And first off that was pretty cool

You actually drive your car onto a train

And while you sit in your car

The train goes under the channel and in 30 minutes you pop up in England.

Well what was interesting is the second you get off that train you’re driving on the left side of the road

If you’ve never experienced this before

Let’s just say it freaks you out

I remember reading something online that said it would be a significant emotional event

And to be honest that was an understatement.

It seriously felt like you were gonna die. Lol.

And I remember praying Lord Jesus help me to not make a mistake!

Because literally everything you do

Is backwards

Going through round about

Getting in the right turning lane versus the normal left turning lane

Watching on coming traffic

Coming from the opposite side of the road,

Even exiting the freeway on the left

Its all backwards

But anyways we had a great time,

Got to see England,

Scotland,

Wales,

Even got to find out that I’m 100% Irish on my Dad’s side

And potentially 50% Irish and 50% English on my moms side

For a person that never knew where they actually came from

I thought that was pretty cool

And just as a side story,

So we googled my family

Apparently we ruled in Ireland for about 350 years

But we were defeated by another family named the O’donnels

So for the remainder of the trip Sydney and I

Were looking for war with anyone named O’donnels

Right Sydney

But I think one of the more interesting aspects of this short vacation we took

Was understanding the difference in cultures of going from a semi capitalistic type society to one that still has its toes in a monarchy.

And I remember when this really hit home

is when all the shops started to close around 1900 on a weekday

and when a police officer was walking around telling vendors in London,

time to wrap it up.

I was wondering what was going on,

you know was someone in trouble?

Did something happen?

After some research I realize

that the monarch or the government had decided

that stores can only remain open

for a certain period of time before they are forced to close

And believe it or not according to one shop owner

That can fluctuate from time to time

And so every day the police come around and tell these stores

when they are allowed to open and when they will close.

I thought this was very unique with regards to

how much authority these people were under

And yet

you wouldn’t really recognize it

because they did it in a way that didn’t seem bad for the people

and didn’t anger any one

At least from what I could see

But what I really want to hit on

or what really took me by surprise

is the authority that the government had.

And the obedience by which the citizens displayed when it came down to the government

I mean the reverence for the queen herself was incredible

You saw it everywhere.

The statement

God save the queen,

You saw it everywhere

You heard it everywhere

Then there was the queens pictures, it was all over the place

And as I was doing the studying for this passage today

I couldn’t think of a more fitting motif

Than our failed understanding of authority when it comes to God

And so today as we dive into Mark 1:21-28

I want us to really focus on on the authority of Christ and what this really means.

Because if I was really honest,

It really feels as though

we as a Christian church

have lost that sense of comfort

when it comes to understanding the authority of Christ.

We watch the news,

we listen to celebrities,

we watch the stock market,

deeply concerned and fearful over what’s next

Without giving any regard to the security and promises of Christ.

And I get it, believe me I do because

just like you all

I fall into this same trap

just as everyone else does.

I mean it’s easy, I hear it every day. Just look at these headlines over the last month.

If you had to guess we are doomed

But what we are going to learn today is that Christ is in charge

That we have nothing to fear

That we are promised,

guaranteed the greatest gifts in Christ

And everything is happening for a reason

And so as we open up today

I wanted to hit on three things

The authority of Christ in the Word of God

The authority of Christ in all things

And I wanted to hit home the hope that we have in Christ

Thanks to His authority over all things

So if you would please open up your Bibles to Mark 1:21-28

Mark 1:21–28 NLT

Jesus and his companions went to the town of Capernaum. When the Sabbath day came, he went into the synagogue and began to teach. The people were amazed at his teaching, for he taught with real authority—quite unlike the teachers of religious law. Suddenly, a man in the synagogue who was possessed by an evil spirit cried out, “Why are you interfering with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are—the Holy One of God!” But Jesus reprimanded him. “Be quiet! Come out of the man,” he ordered. At that, the evil spirit screamed, threw the man into a convulsion, and then came out of him. Amazement gripped the audience, and they began to discuss what had happened. “What sort of new teaching is this?” they asked excitedly. “It has such authority! Even evil spirits obey his orders!” The news about Jesus spread quickly throughout the entire region of Galilee.

Prayer

First off real quick

take notice

That we have barely gotten to the 21st verse

In the first chapter of Mark

And Jesus is already getting quite popular

I like how one commentator put it

They don’t just invite you to preach in a synagogue

Especially within a pharisaical setting

You had to have a reputation

Something

Anything that says you’re worthy of such an honor.

But then notice what happens here

And please pay attention

Because there are certain details

that you will miss

If you don’t pay attention to the

cultural context of what is being said here

Look at verse 22

“The people were amazed at his teaching, for he taught with real authority—quite unlike the teachers of religious law.”

Mark 1:22 NLT

You ever ran into a person

Who never seems to have an original thought

Always quoting someone

Never coming up with their own material

Something original

Well what this passage is referring to

Is in fact a more serious manner

than most actually realize

Jews took the law so seriously

Or they took the Bible so seriously

That they felt that by placing their own thoughts

Or their own interpretation into the text

They were in fact committing the crime of blasphemy

And so I want you to do

Is to slow down here real quick

And read this passage one more time

But with the understanding of who Jesus truly is

And so contrary to what other teachers would do

Jesus didn’t pull any punches

He didn’t quote anyone special

He gave you exactly what the passage meant

And I would imagine it came with a certain energy or power

Or an authoritative feel

I mean can you imagine

Sitting in the presence of Jesus Christ Himself

And listening to Him

Watching Him

Teach you from the very Words

He has given to mankind

One scholar put it like this

Those that were in the audience were amazed The greek says they were “astounded, struck out of their senses, overwhelmed at the manner and the content of Jesus’ teaching. He taught with direct authority from God and had the power to evoke decisions.

It was like he was counter to everything the Pharisees stood for

Can you imagine sitting in the presence of the messiah

Listening to him expand upon his revelation

His commands

His philosophy

On life politics and everything we fight over

How many us spend far to much time listening to this world

Listening to our sin

When we should be listening to Christ

How many of us are addicted

to the thoughts and opinions of people around us

Count our value and self-worth from the acceptance of others

Do you realize how pointless that is

When the Bible tells you that God in the person of Jesus

died on the cross for you

That holds more power

More authority

More justification

than anything else.

Amen

I know we forget that sometimes

I know there are times in our lives

when we place our worth

our value

in the hands of other human beings

when in reality they are no better than you or I.

And so when you look at a passage like this

And you see that the people were astounded at his teaching

I can only imagine what was going on in their mind

Because throughout their entire lives

All they have heard is uncertainty

This is what that teacher said

Or this is what this Rabbi said

This is what this prophet said

Because they wouldn’t dare put their own opinion on the matter.

Can you imagine what that would feel like .

I know that some of you can relate

because there are so many uncertain moments in our lives

there are so many unanswered questions our lives

but I’m telling you

when you turn to Jesus you get a solid answer that comes with authority

An authority that created the moon

and the stars

that put you into existence

that died on the cross for your sin

And when you get that into your mind

your self-worth

your value

goes far beyond

what you ever thought it would.

Your life begins to take on a new meaning,

you begin to realize it’s not all about you,

It’s not all about creating the perfect future

but in fact it becomes about him

And His love for you

And the blessing and the promise that you get to participate

in God‘s plan for his creation.

What can be more exciting than that

I speak to people every day

They have no feelings of purpose

No feelings of joy

feelings of being loved

When you look at first number 22 right here

you see that all authority has been given to the Messiah

and when you take that mentality

into the remaining gospels

you come away with a personal identity that is second to none

Which leads me to my second point

His authority over that which we cannot see.

Turn with me to verse 23

And before we get into it

Let’s just address the elephant in the room

Yes,

This is an exorcism

And yes,

The Bible deals a lot

And I mean a lot which demons,

Angels

And a world that we don’t necessarily understand

And I know a lot of pastors

A lot of teachers steer clear of this topic

Simply because it scares people off

Gives you that weird feeling

Like everything is out of control

I mean look at what Hollywood has done

You have movies like the exorcist

that just terrify us

give us this idea that we are powerless against such forces of evil

And yet the Bible tells an entirely different story.

And forgive me here cause I’m gonna get a bit academic for just a moment

And I wouldn’t do this

If I didn’t feel this needed to be addressed

But the Bible teaches at its fundamental core that we are 3/1

Body, soul or conscience, and spirit

Notice the soul and spirit are not the same thing

So when we become a Christian

The Bible teaches that the Holy Spirit comes inside of you

and dwells within you

or lives within you or your spirit.

Everyone still with me?

Now when a person is possessed by a demon

There is a big difference between possession and oppression

Possession meaning they are within your Spirit

And oppression meaning they acting like a big brother

Poking you, annoying you, tempting you to fight

But the focus is on the soul or the conscience

Not the eternal part of you

Make sense

So then logic tells us that a Christian

A person that has the Holy Spirit

A person that is indwelt by the very Spirit God

Cannot be demon possessed

Otherwise your saying that God has no power over demons

God has no power over evil

So when we walk around in fear of Satan

In fear of the spirits

In fear of demons

I hate to say it folks but your displaying a lack of understanding

When it comes down to the very authority that is within you

The very authority that is dwelling inside of you right now

And please don’t get wrong

Their is a healthy balance between understanding

Who and what the enemy is

Versus being so terrified of this world

That all you do is focus on the negative

When all you do is allow the enemy to steal your joy

You know demon’s, fallen angels,

They understand this better than else

And let me prove it to you.

Real fast turn with me to verse 23 and 24

Mark 1:23–24 NLT

Suddenly, a man in the synagogue who was possessed by an evil spirit cried out, “Why are you interfering with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are—the Holy One of God!”

Believe it or not

Demons know and understand what is coming

How many of you realized that demons know this book better than you do

They know this book from the front to the back

They lived through this book

which also means they know exactly whats coming

Believe it or not what you are witnessing in this passage right here

Is what we call an eschatological prophecy

Or an understanding of what is to come

Demon’s know

Satan knows

When the Kingdom of God is finally here

When Jesus comes in all of His glory

Ladies and gentlemen the book of Revelation Chapter 20

Tells us that each and every fallen angel, demon will enter Hell for all eternity

They know whats coming

They know their time is limited

And so when they see Jesus

They see the one that will soon judge them

For their rebellion against God

If your not getting it yet,

Jesus Christ

Your Lord and Savior

Holds authority over this life and the next,

Over this world and the world you can’t see

He is the creator,

The savior

The judge

And the Jury

He can to die for your sin

But He will also come back to take what was stolen

Creation will be His again

The Bible promises that

The demons understand and know this beyond a doubt

And the Word of God tells us His authority reigns supreme.

If you take anything out of this sermon today

I want you to get this

Your view on the authority of Christ

will shape your view

of how you see everything

to include the Messiah

The cross

even your eternity

don’t let the short sermon fall to the wayside

Jesus is lord of all

He is the creator everything

And everything was created by him

for him and

through him

and even the demons know

and they tremble In fear

because they know what is coming.

Let’s close in prayer.