and it was very much of an encouragement. And I didn't realize this, but
I was in his car. I said, how many miles you got
on this car? He said, well, it's over 200,000. And I couldn't believe
it's been 10 years since he got a vehicle. And it's about time
for them to get another one. So this summer, up into this
summer, I'd like for us to do whatever we can to help them
out. So if you have a windfall that you can designate to that
up into this summer, do so. Luke chapter 20, I've entitled
this message Who gave you this authority? If somebody came into this room
and started, came in and pushed over this pulpit and started
ripping up the pews and saying, you all get out of here, and
maybe came in with a whip and did so, they better have a good reason
for doing it. They better have the authority
that would make it lawful for them to do this. They better
have the right. Now this is what had just taken
place. Look in Luke chapter 19, verse
45. And he went into the temple and
began to cast out them that sold therein and them that bought,
saying unto them, it's written, My house is the house of prayer,
but you have made it a den of thieves. And he taught daily
in the temple, but the chief priests and the scribes and the
chief of the people sought to destroy him and could not find
what they might do for all the people were very attentive to
hear him. They were literally hanging on
his words. And it came to pass that on one of those days, and
this was Tuesday, He was going to go to the cross on Friday.
This is three days, three days before the crucifixion. He knew
it was going to take place. This is why he came. Well, what
was he doing? He taught the people in the temple.
And we don't need to wonder what the subject matter was because
it says he preached the gospel. The Lord Jesus Christ was preaching
the gospel. I pray that God would enable
me to preach the gospel this morning. He was preaching the
gospel. Then the chief priests and the
scribes came upon him with the elders and spake unto him, saying,
Tell us, by what authority doest thou these things? Or who is
he that gave thee this authority? You come into the temple and
start knocking down things and running people out and calling
us a bunch of thieves. Who gave you the authority? to
do something like this. Now, they had carefully crafted
this question because they thought whatever answer he gave, they
could use it against him and turn him into the authorities.
That's why they asked him this question. I think it's almost
humorous to see sinful, stupid men trying to
entrap omniscience. That's what they were doing.
They were trying to entrap him with some kind of words that
they thought would get him in trouble. And then our Lord answers
this question. And he answered and said unto
them, I will ask you one thing. Answer me. The baptism of John,
was it from heaven or of men? Now the Lord Jesus had and has
authority. Only he has authority. And any authority any man has
is a delegated authority. But he has all authority. Now, authority is the liberty
to do as one pleases, with no one having the right to question
him, the right to exercise power. And it was who he was that gave
authority to what he said. Turn with me to Matthew chapter
seven for a moment. Now, this is the end of what
could barely be called the greatest message ever preached. Verse
28, Matthew chapter 7. And it came to pass, when Jesus
had ended these sayings, the people were astonished at his
doctrine, at his teaching, for he taught them as one having
authority. And I love this slam. not as
described. They looked at this young, uneducated
carpenter and were stunned by the authority with which he spake,
the confidence with which he spake, the certainty with which
he spake. Let me pull out a few things
out of this sermon on the mount. Look at Matthew chapter five,
the way he opens it. Verse two, and he opened his
mouth and taught them saying, blessed are the poor in spirit
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Now look at the certainty
he says that with. Blessed, he knows who's blessed. Blessed are the poor in spirit,
those who have nothing to recommend themselves to God, not a thing,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Look what he says in verse 11
of Matthew chapter five. Blessed are you when men shall
revile you and persecute you and shall say all manner of evil
against you falsely, Why? For my sake. Who does he think he is? That
he pronounces blessedness on someone who's persecuted for
his sake. Look in verse 17 of Matthew chapter
5. Think not that I am come to destroy
the law or the prophets. I am not come to destroy, but
to fulfill." Now, I love the way he doesn't say, I was born
for this. He says, I'm come. I was before
I came, and now I've come. And I've come for this reason,
to fulfill the law and the prophets, to keep the law and all the prophecies
concerning me. I love it when he said to that
group in Capernaum, this day, after they heard him speak, he
said, this day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears. I am the fulfillment of scripture. You know, every prophet said,
thus saith the Lord. Here is the Lord saying it. He's not saying, Thou saith the
Lord. He said, I say unto you. And that's where the authority
comes from. Not Thou saith the Lord, but I say unto you. Look in verse 21, Matthew 5. You've heard that it was said
of them of old time, thou shalt not kill. That's the scripture.
That's the scripture. You've heard that it was said
by them of old time, thou shalt not kill, and whosoever shall
kill shall be in danger of the judgment, but I say unto you. I know the Bible said this, and
I know the way you interpret it, but I'm the only one who
can interpret the Bible. I say unto you. Look in verse
27. You've heard it said by them
of old time, thou shalt not commit adultery, but I say unto you. that whosoever looketh on a woman
to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in
his heart. Look at verse 31. It's been said,
whosoever shall put away his wife, let him give her a writing
of a divorcement. But I say unto you, that whosoever
shall put away his wife, saving for the cause of fornication,
causes her to commit adultery. And whosoever shall marry her
that's divorced, committeth adultery. I say, you've heard it written.
But I say, now you look at the authority with which he speaks. This is the one time who is speaking
is more important than what is said because of his authority. Verse 33. Again, you've heard it said by
them of old time, thou shalt not forswell thyself, but thou
shalt perform unto the Lord thine oath, but I say unto you. Verse 38, you've heard that it's
been said an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth, but I say
unto you that you resist not evil, but whosoever shalt smite
thee on the right should turn to him the other also. Verse 43, you've heard that it's
been said, thou shalt love thy neighbor and hate thine enemy,
but I say unto you, love your enemies, bless them that curse
you, do good to them that hate you and pray for them which despitefully
use you and persecute you that you may be the children of your
father, which is in heaven. Now, how powerful that is, I
say, I say. The Lord spake with the authority
where there was no room to question what he says. Now, when God speaks,
It's settled. No one can call it into question. He doeth according to his will
in the armies of heaven and among the inhabitants of the earth,
and none can stay his hand or say unto him, what are you doing?
Give an account for yourself. Give a reason for doing this.
He doesn't have to. You see, He's the Lord, and He
speaks with absolute and complete authority. Turn with me for a
moment. Hold your finger there in the
Sermon on the Mount and turn with me to Romans chapter 9. I'm going to
show you what authority is. Romans chapter 9. Verse 15, for he saith to Moses,
I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion
on whom I will have compassion. So then it's not of him that
willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that showeth mercy.
I'm thankful for that scripture. You believe in free will? You
don't believe the Bible. Case closed. Verse 16. Or verse 17, for the scripture
saith unto Pharaoh, even for this same purpose, have I raised
thee up, that I might show my power, my authority, that's the
word, that I might show my authority in thee, and that my name might
be declared throughout all the earth. Now he raised Pharaoh
up and he hardened his heart to show his authority, the scripture
says. Verse 18, therefore hath he mercy
on whom he will have mercy, and whom he will, he hardeneth. Now
thou wilt say to me, why does he yet find fault for who has
resisted his will? If he raised me up and hardened
me so that I can't do anything, how can I be held responsible
for my sin? I love the way Paul answers.
Nay, but, O man, who are you to reply against God? You have no reason to reply. You can't sit in judgment on
God. Whatever He does is right, whether you like it or not. That's
who God is. Now that's authority. I love...
Give it! How can He hold me responsible?
Hush that up. You don't have any ground, any
reason, any right to reply against God. Whatever He does is right
whether you agree with it or not. That, my dear friends, is
authority. And that is the authority with
which Christ speaks. Look back in the Sermon on the
Mount, Matthew chapter 7. Verse 21, Not everyone that saith unto
me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven, but he
that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. Many will
say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied
in thy name, and in thy name have we not cast out devils,
and in thy name have we not done many wonderful works, and then
will I profess unto them, I never knew you. Depart from me, ye
that work iniquity. Now he's got the authority to
be the judge. Look in verse 24. Therefore,
whosoever heareth these sayings of mine and doeth them, And then,
verse 26, everyone that heareth these sayings of mine and doeth
them not. He talks about the wise man and
the foolish man. And what authority has the Lord
Jesus Christ? Now they're saying, where'd you
get this authority? Well, he has authority, doesn't he? He has
such authority that whatever he says is right and cannot be
questioned. Do you believe that? Do you believe
that from the depths of your heart? Whatever he says is right.
It's the truth and it can't be questioned. I hate that statement. God said it. I believe it. That
settles it. I hate that statement. No, God
said it and that settles it. Doesn't matter whether you believe
it or not or whether I believe it or not. It's settled. Thy
word forever is settled in the heavens. And what authority he
demonstrated. He said, all authority is given
to me. Every bit of it. He has the authority
of purpose. He has the authority of creation.
He has the authority of providence. And he has the authority of salvation.
First of all, he has the authority of purpose. He said, I've purposed
it. I will bring it to pass. Now
here's his authority. Whatever he purposes comes to
pass. And he has the authority, the
ability to make sure it comes to pass. He has the authority
of creation. Simply as an act of His will,
He brought the universe into existence. Now you think of what
authority that is. There was nothing but God. He
said universe be created and there was. He created something
from nothing. Now that is authority. He has
the authority of providence. That means everything that happens,
He's in control of. Everything that happens is His
will being done. Everything? Everything. Everything. No exceptions to this rule. He
controls everything and everybody. And all power anybody has is
simply delegated. I love it when Pilate said, Don't
you know that I have power?" That's the same word as authority.
Don't you know that I have power to crucify you and I have power
to release you? And he said, Thou couldst have
no power at all over me, except it be given thee from above.
He is in control of everything. Me and you are doing his will. Power belongeth unto the Lord. Now, somebody says, well, that's
making puppets of everybody. Call it whatever you want, but
it's so. He's in absolute control of everybody and everything,
including the free actions of men. Whatever you do, he's in
control of. Now, if you sin, you can't blame
him. You can't say, well, his sovereignty
caused me to do it. You can't say that. But I'll
tell you what, he's in control of it. And he's, the Lord has
made all things for himself, yea, even the wicked for the
day of evil. He's an absolute sovereign control. And I love to think of his authority
and salvation. Lord, if you will, for the leprosy,
Lord, if you will, you can make me clean. He said, I will. Be thou clean. You see, salvation
is in his hands. It's up to him. Now listen real
carefully. I want everybody in this room
to hear this real carefully. It's up to him as to whether
or not you'll be saved. You believe that? It's so. It's up to his sovereign will
as to whether or not you'll be saved. Now somebody says, you're
giving us no control of anything. Exactly. Exactly. You got that
right. Your salvation is in His hands. He can save you to the praise
of the glory of His grace, or He can pass you by to the praise
of the glory of His justice. Somebody says, I don't agree
with that. I don't care whether you do or not. It's the truth.
It's the truth. This is who God is. He's in absolute
control. He has all authority. He said
to Pharaoh, even for this same purpose have I raised thee up,
that I might show my power in thee, and that my name might
be declared throughout all the earth. Therefore hath he mercy
on whom he will have mercy, and whom he will, he hardened. Now, the only reason anybody
would have an objection to that is because they think they got
something coming from God. They think God owes them something.
They think there's some kind of goodness in them that would
make it wrong for God to pass them by. But I've got news for
you. You're wrong. If that's what you think, you're
wrong. God has all authority. Christ has all authority. I love
to think of his authority over life and death. He said, no man
takes my life from me. I have power, authority to lay
it down. I have power or authority to
raise it up. This commandment have I received
of my father. He has authority over demons.
What word is this? For with authority and power,
he commands even the unclean spirits and they come out. I
love it where those demons said, suffers to go into the herd of
swine. And Jesus gave them leave. They
couldn't make a move. The devil can't even make a move
without his sovereign authority and power. That's who he is.
And you know, this excites me. I love this. I love who he is. John chapter 17, verse two says,
thou has given him power over all flesh. He has absolute power
and sovereign authority over you, that He should give eternal
life to as many as thou hast given Him. And listen to this. He said, as the Father hath life
in Himself. You see, me and you don't have
life in ourselves, do we? All the Lord's got to do is let
us stop breathing, we're going to die. But the father, he's
independent. He has no needs, the way you
and I do. He's independent. As the father hath life in himself,
even so hath he given to the son to have life in himself.
He gave him authority, the scripture says, this is in John 5, he gave
him the authority to execute judgment. Now let me tell you
what that means. Because of the cross, he can say to that woman, who
was taken in adultery in the very act. Woman, where are those
thine accusers? Hath no man condemned thee?"
She said, no man. He said, neither do I condemn
thee. He's got the authority to do
that. That publican beaten on his breast, God be merciful to
me, the sinner. He said, I say unto you, there's
that authority. I say unto you that this man,
Went down to his house justified. Cleared of all guilt. And he's
got the authority to say that. Now if I say you're justified,
what does it mean? Nothing. Nothing. If I say I'm justified,
what's it mean? Nothing. But if he says I am,
you know what? I am. Because he said it. He
could say to that thief hanging there on that cross beside him,
when he said, Lord, remember me when you come into your kingdom.
He said, this day thou shalt be with me in paradise. Now that's authority, isn't it?
Whatever he says goes. He has the authority to do what
only God can do. You remember when He said, Son,
be of good cheer, thy sins be forgiven thee. And they said,
who is this that speaketh blasphemies? Who can forgive sins but God
only? Right. He is the only one who
has the authority to forgive your sins. He can forgive your
sins, or He can pass you by. He's the Lord. Whatever He does
is right. Now He has authority, and back
to our text in Luke chapter 17, I mean Luke chapter 20, I love
to think of the Lord's authority. Now after he'd driven those people
from the temple and came to pass it on one of those days, three
days before he died, as he taught the people in the temple and
preached the gospel, the chief priests and the scribes came
upon him with the elders and spake unto him saying, tell us
by what authority doest thou these things? Or who is he that
gave thee this authority? Now look at the way the Lord
answers. Verse three. And he answered and said unto
them, I will ask you one thing. Answer
me. I love the way he said that.
Answer me. The baptism of John, was it from heaven or of men? Now, what is the baptism of John? You know, John did baptize. Was it different from Christian
baptism? What is the baptism of John? Now, John was a very
unique figure. He was the fulfillment of Old
Testament prophecy. He was prophesied in Isaiah chapter
40, in the book of Malachi, several other places in the Old Testament.
He's the only one who was foretold. The Apostle Paul wasn't foretold.
Peter wasn't foretold. But he was the actual fulfillment
of Old Testament prophecy. He was filled with the Spirit
from his mother's womb. When Mary went to visit Elizabeth
and Elizabeth was pregnant and she found out who Mary was, the
scripture says the babe leaped in the womb as he heard of the
Lord Jesus Christ. He was filled with the Spirit
from the womb. Somebody says, can you explain
that to me? No, no I can't, I wouldn't even try. But he was, that's
what the Bible says. He's the one whom the Lord said
is the greatest man to ever live. Among them that are born of women,
there's arisen none greater than John the Baptist." Now, what
was John's baptism? And the Lord asked him, the baptism
of John, when he was baptizing people, was this of God? Did
it come from heaven? Is that where he got his authority?
Or was this merely manmade? Well, turn with me a moment,
with me to Mark chapter one. Verse 1. The beginning of the gospel of
Jesus Christ, the Son of God. And he begins with John the Baptist. As it's written in the prophets,
Behold, I send my messenger before thy face, which shall prepare
thy way before thee. The voice of one crying in the
wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.
John did baptize, in the wilderness, and preached the baptism of repentance
for the remission of sins. And there went out unto him all
in the land of Judea, and they of Jerusalem, and were all baptized
of him in the river of Jordan, confessing their sins." John the Baptist. He preached the baptism of repentance
for the remission of sins. Now question, does that mean
Your sins are remitted by you repenting of them. Interesting fact, the phrase
repent of your sins is not found in the Bible. Did you know that?
It's not found in the Bible. If this meant that By repentance,
by your repentance, by you repenting of your sins, then your sins
will be forgiven. Repentance would have been a verb, but here
it's a noun. A noun. Repentance. Repentance. And that word for is quite often
translated concerning. Repentance concerning the remission
of sins. Now, if you believe that your
sins are remitted because you've repented, explain to me what
repentance is. Well, I'm sorry. Were you sorry
enough? Well, I quit doing it. Have you?
Have you? If repentance is you being sorry
and you quitting doing it, then you haven't repented. Amen? That's the truth. Repentance is a change of mind. That's what the word means. A
change of mind concerning the remission of sins. As a matter
of fact, when John the Baptist baptized the Lord Jesus Christ,
you remember he said, Thou comest to me, I need to baptize of thee.
And the Lord said, Suffer to be so now, for thus it cometh
us to fulfill all righteousness. Now, the fulfillment of righteousness
is seen in baptism. When I'm baptized, I confess
that the only way I can be saved is by being in the Lord Jesus
Christ. The only way I can be righteous
is by being in Him, and when He worked out righteousness,
I was counted righteous. When He died, I died. When He
was raised, I was raised. Thus it becometh us to fulfill
all righteousness. Repentance is a change of mind
concerning the remission of sins. Everybody in the world is born
believing that religion is a process you go through in order to get
your sins forgiven. I believe, I repent, I change
my life, I straighten up, I do this, I quit doing that, and
my sins will be forgiven. Wrong. That's salvation by works and
nothing more. That's all that is, salvation by works. The forgiveness of sins is not
the end of a process. Salvation begins with the full,
free, complete blotting out of all your sins, past, present,
and future. Do you know the sins I haven't
even committed yet have all been forgiven? And when you're forgiven,
you find out you've been forgiven. That's what it is. Salvation
begins with the forgiveness of sins. When we have the remission
or forgiveness of sins, not only do we avoid the punishment for
them, but the reason for the punishment has been removed. That's why God says there are
sins and iniquities I will remember no more. There's nothing there
for him to remember. They've been blotted out, they've
been put away, they have been cancelled. Now, this baptism
of John, I think we understand what it is. It was a baptism
before the death of Christ, but it was teaching the same thing.
I've heard so many different explanations of the baptism of
John, and all of them didn't make any sense, but the baptism
of John is the same thing as Christian baptism, except it
was before Christ died. That's the only difference. It
was before Christ died, but he was teaching the same thing.
Behold the Lamb of God, which takes away the sins of the world.
Let me verify that. Turn to John, I mean Acts 19.
I want you to see this. Verse 1, it came to pass that
while Paul's was a Corinth, Acts 19, 1, Paul, having passed through
the upper coast, came into Ephesus and found certain disciples and
said unto them, have you received the Holy Ghost since you believed?
And they said unto him, we have not so much as heard whether
there be any Holy Ghost. Now he's not talking about, have
you been born again? He was talking about what they
had at that time, those supernatural gifts of the Holy Spirit. And
verse three, and he said unto them, unto what then were you
baptized? And they said unto John's baptism. Then said Paul,
John verily baptized with the baptism of repentance, saying
unto the people that they should believe on him which should come
after him, that is on Christ Jesus. You see, it's the same
thing, same thing. Christ hasn't died yet, but that
is the baptism of John. And then the Lord asked these
fellows this very simple question, this baptism of John. Is it God-inspired
or is it merely John's invention? Is it of men? Back to our text in Luke 20. These men expose themselves at
this time. Verse 5. Verse four, the baptism of John,
was it from heaven or of men? And let me ask you this, what
I'm preaching to you right now, is it from heaven or is it simply
my words? Is it from heaven? Am I telling
you the truth? Am I telling you the very truth
of God or is this merely man-made? Answer that. Answer that. Well, here's how they answered,
verse five. And they reasoned with themselves. That's always
a mistake. You know what? You always mess
up when you do that. They reasoned with themselves.
Do you realize that anything you and I naturally think is
wrong? Do you hold yourself with that much mistrust? I hope you
do. Anything you and I naturally think is wrong. They reasoned
with themselves. If we shall say from heaven,
he'll say, why then believe ye him not? But if we say of men,
all the people will stone us, for they be persuaded that John
was a prophet." Now, these men show what cowards they were and
what lack of conviction they had. They said, man, if we say
of heaven, he said, why didn't you believe him? We'll look like
idiots. And if we say, of men, why, the people hold John in
high repute, and that's what people do with dead prophets.
They always, they don't listen to them while they're alive,
but when they're dead, oh, they were great, and they all had a high
opinion of John. They'll end up stoning us. They were too
cowardly to stand up for what they really believed. So how
did they handle this? Verse seven, and they answered
that they could not tell whence it was. We don't know. We don't
know. What a vague answer. We don't
know. And I love the way the Lord answers
them in verse eight. And Jesus said unto them, neither
tell I you by what authority I do these things. You see, the
Lord has such authority that he doesn't have to give me and
you an answer. He doesn't have anything to prove. And he's under
no obligation to do so. He has all authority. Somebody says, well, I don't
agree with that. Do you think that bothers him? He has absolute authority and
he's undisturbed by all opposition. Now, what do we do with this?
His authority. Now, he speaks. It's so. He has all authority. What do we do with this? Well,
let me give you two things we do with this. And here's the
first thing. We say with the publican, God,
be merciful to me, the sinner. My salvation is in your hands. Lord, if you will, You can make
me clean. Can you imagine that leper saying,
I've decided to accept you as my personal savior. Lord, I'm going to let you make
me clean. I'm going to do you a favor. I'm going to let you
save me. No, he didn't come like that, did he? I mean, that kind
of thinking is offensive, isn't it? The Lord of glory? No, Lord,
if you will, You can make me clean. Have you ever done that?
Have you ever fallen before? The scripture says the leper
came and worshipped him. He worshipped him. You know,
you'll only worship absolute authority. You won't worship
anyone or anything that you have any control over. But if you
see the absolute authority of Jesus Christ, you'll worship. He came and worshiped him saying,
Lord, if you will, you can make me clean. Now, if you really
believe that he has all authority, that's exactly what you'll do.
Everybody who believes he has all authority does this. But turn with me to Matthew chapter
28. Here's the second thing. If He has all authority and everything's
in His hands and He's in control of everybody, what's the point
in preaching the gospel? What's the point? Why bother? I mean, He's in absolute control.
He does everything. He doeth according to His will.
What's the point in preaching the gospel? You know, that's
about as dumb as saying, if it's God's will for me to have a garden,
I'll have one. Therefore, I'm not going to plant
anything. Isn't that dumb? And yet men, intelligent men,
make dumb statements like that regarding the gospel. But look
what the Lord says in verse 28. And Jesus came and spake unto
them, saying, All power, all authority is given unto me in
heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore, go ye therefore, and teach all
nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the
Son and of the Holy Ghost, teaching them to observe all things whatsoever
I've commanded you, and lo, I am with you always, even unto the
end of the world. Now, why do we preach the gospel? Is it because we think we can
talk somebody into believing or we can put some kind of pressure
on somebody and get him to respond? No. We preach the gospel because
all authority is given to him. And we preach knowing that he
will take his word and bring whoever he decides to bring in. All authority. We preach the
gospel to every creature. knowing that all authority is
given to him. Who gave you this authority?
I just got it. It's mine because of who I am
and I don't answer to you. Amen. Let's pray together. Lord, we love your authority. We love your power. And we ask
in Christ's name that you will say to dead sinners live. And we ask in Christ's name that
you will say to living sinners, live. We ask that you would give
us the grace to exult in, to rejoice in, and to love your
authority. Now, Lord, bless this message
for Christ's sake. Speak to each heart here according
to your will. In Christ's name we pray, amen.