Transcription downloaded from https://yetanothersermon.host/_/lw/sermons/14093/the-authority-of-the-king/.

Disclaimer: this is an automatically generated machine transcription - there may be small errors or mistranscriptions.
Please refer to the original audio if you are in any doubt.


[0:00] If Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Thank you.

[1:00] Thank you.

[1:30] Thank you. And it's certainly a part of our passage tonight.

[2:03] We've been in a series the last several weeks now called Miracles, and we've been looking specifically at the miracles of Jesus. But tonight's the first night that we're outside the Gospel of John.

[2:14] Thus far, we've looked at all the miracles recorded in the Gospel of John. And now what I want to do just for a few more weeks is jump to some of the other Gospels who share some other accounts of miracles in the life and ministry of Jesus.

[2:30] And so tonight we're in Mark chapter 1, and we're going to see how Mark, like right out of the gate in Mark chapter 1, gets right into the miracle ministry of Jesus.

[2:42] The focus of our attention tonight is going to be Mark 1, beginning at verse 21 through 31. And so if you are able to stand, would you please do so as we read God's Word.

[2:56] Mark chapter 21 says, And they went into Capernaum, and immediately on the Sabbath, Jesus entered the synagogue and was teaching.

[3:09] And they were astonished at His teaching, for He taught them as one who had authority and not as the scribes.

[3:21] And immediately there was in their synagogue a man with an unclean spirit, and he cried out, What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth?

[3:32] Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are, the Holy One of God. But Jesus rebuked him, saying, Be silent and come out of him.

[3:45] And the unclean spirit convulsing him and crying out with a loud voice came out of him. And they were all amazed.

[3:56] You think? Right? So they questioned among themselves, saying, What is this, a new teaching with authority? He commands even the unclean spirits, and they obey Him.

[4:10] And at once His fame spread everywhere throughout all the surrounding region of Galilee. Immediately He left the synagogue and entered into the house of Simon and Andrew with James and John.

[4:23] Now Simon's mother-in-law lay ill with the fever, and immediately they told him about her. And he came and took her by the hand and lifted her up.

[4:35] And the fever left her. And she began to serve them. That evening at sundown they brought to him all who were sick or oppressed by demons.

[4:47] And the whole city was gathered together at the door. And he healed many who were sick with various diseases and cast out many demons.

[4:58] And he would not permit the demons to speak because they knew him. This is God's word. You with me tonight? Let's pray and let's ask God to teach us.

[5:11] God, we thank you for your word. We cherish it. It's why we study it. It's why we come here wanting to hear from it. Because we believe that you do powerful things through it.

[5:25] And so we pray, God, tonight that your authority be present in this place. That your kingdom invade this place as we look to your word.

[5:36] And we pray this in Jesus' name. And God's people said, amen. Amen. I mean, you can be seated. Faith family, be honest. Have you ever fallen asleep in church?

[5:48] Be honest. Have you ever been there in your seat trying so hard to pay attention while the preacher is preaching his heart out and you can't help but just doze off?

[6:01] Like it's all you can do to stay awake. Seriously, show of hands. How many of you have ever, like that, fallen asleep in church?

[6:12] Show of hands. You sinners. Every one of you ought to be ashamed of yourselves. I was certain that never happened here at Faith family.

[6:23] Maybe you were talking about some other church you were visiting one day. Well, as a preacher, there's probably nothing more discouraging, though I'll admit, understandable at times, than someone falling asleep during your sermon.

[6:38] Now, tonight, you're going to be very, very alert, right? And yet, every preacher, I don't care how good they are, every preacher at some point has had to deal with this.

[6:50] In an article by the late theologian J.I. Packer, Packer compares the preaching ministry of two very famous 18th century preachers.

[7:03] Many of you will know their names. Jonathan Edwards, who was the pastor and theologian of the Great Awakening, and John Wesley, who was the founder of what we know today as the Methodist Church.

[7:17] And Packer compares their preaching ministry. And there was a lot of differences between these two famous preachers. Wesley was very passionate in his preaching.

[7:29] Edwards was actually very monotone, rarely raising his voice. He would often just read a manuscript. Sometimes he wouldn't even look up at his audience.

[7:41] Wesley traveled extensively, preaching over 40,000 times in lots of different locations, usually on the same type of topic.

[7:53] Edwards, on the other hand, pastored the same church for 24 years. Wesley would use a lot of illustrations and stories in his preaching.

[8:04] Edwards was more of a teacher, kind of an exegetical preacher. But while they differed in style and form, both of them said they struggled with the same issue, keeping their congregations captivated.

[8:22] Wesley said this, quote, Not this Wesley, the historical one. Quote, I know that if I were to preach for one year in the same place, I would preach myself and most of my congregation to sleep.

[8:38] Jonathan Edwards, in a sermon titled, this is the title of his sermon, quote, When the Spirit of God has been remarkably poured out on a people, a thorough reformation of those things that before were amiss amongst them ought to be the effect of it.

[8:54] That was the title of the sermon. You can imagine how long the sermon was. Something tells me Edwards would not do very well with Twitter, right? And in that sermon, Jonathan Edwards, quote, urged his people, listen, to avoid laying down in their seats in the middle of public worship.

[9:19] The Jonathan Edwards, the instrumental leader of the Great Awakening, had to urge his congregation not to sleep in worship.

[9:30] You have no idea how that comforts me. In some sick and twisted way, it comforts me. I am so grateful that to date, so far as I know, no one at Faith Family has ever laid down in their seat and fallen asleep in public worship.

[9:50] And if you did, I would make fun of you in front of everyone. Here's the point, Faith Family. Two of the greatest preachers of church history, two of the greatest preachers of church history, John Wesley, founder of Methodism, Jonathan Edwards, the great leader of the Great Awakening, struggled to keep their people captivated.

[10:16] Let me ask you tonight, this Faith Family, have you ever been captivated by something? Have you ever been captivated?

[10:27] In other words, has anything ever captured your attention, consumed your focus, mesmerized your mind so much that not even for a moment could you turn away?

[10:41] Have you ever experienced something like that? Some of you, maybe it was you were captivated by a book, and you were so captivated by the story, you could not put the book down.

[10:53] For some of you, maybe it was a piece of artwork, and you were so captivated, all you could do was just stare at it. Maybe for you, it was a sunset, or some kind of scenic view, and you lost yourself in that scene for a moment.

[11:10] Maybe you've been captivated by someone you love, and no matter what you could do, you could not get them off your mind. Maybe it was a topic that you were so captivated by that you devoted your life to study it.

[11:26] How many of you have ever been captivated before? Attention captured, focus consumed, mind mesmerized.

[11:43] Now let me ask you this. Have you ever been captivated by Jesus?

[11:56] Or maybe a better question is this. Are you captivated by Jesus? Does he consume your attention?

[12:08] Does he mesmerize your mind? And the whole reason that I'm saying this is because that is exactly the experience of those who witness the ministry and miracles of Jesus here in John chapter 1.

[12:24] Look at how many examples they are. Verse 17, And Jesus said to them, Follow me, and I will make you become fishers of men. And what?

[12:36] Immediately they left their nets and followed him. They didn't hesitate for a second. Verse 19, And going a little farther, he saw James, the son of Zebedee, and John, his brother, who were in their boat mending the nets.

[12:51] And immediately he called them, and they left their father Zebedee in the boat. Dad was probably a little upset. Where are you going?

[13:02] But immediately they went. Look at verse 22. And they were, say it, astonished at his teaching.

[13:15] Look at verse 27. And they were all what? Amazed. So that they questioned among themselves, saying, What is this? A new teaching with authority.

[13:28] Look at verse 32. That evening at sundown, they brought to him all who were sick or oppressed by demons. And the, how many? Whole city was gathered together at the door.

[13:44] Look at verse 35. And rising very early in the morning, while it was still dark, he departed and went out to a desolate place. And there he prayed. And Simon and those who were with him searched for him.

[13:57] And they found him. And what did they say? Everyone is looking for you. And then look finally at verse 45. He went out and began to talk freely about it, to spread the news, so that Jesus could no longer openly enter a town, but was out in desolate places.

[14:18] And people were coming to him from every quarter. Do you see what I see in the text? When I read this text, I say everybody, everywhere, was captivated by Jesus.

[14:35] There was no falling asleep in his sermon. Amen. No nodding off as you witnessed a miracle. No, no, no, no. People were absolutely captivated by him then.

[14:48] And I pray in this very moment, we would also join them in being captivated by the man, Christ Jesus. Amen.

[15:00] They were captivated. And why were they captivated? What was it about Jesus that drew people in, that kept them coming back for more? Here's what the text tells us.

[15:11] He had an authority they'd never seen before. He had an authority of which they had never experienced before in their life.

[15:25] And that's because, dear friend, when you encounter Jesus, you are encountering more than a good teacher, more than a miracle worker, more than a kind and compassionate man.

[15:35] You are encountering the kingdom of God. When you encounter Jesus, you are encountering a king who has invaded this world with a kingdom, which is what Mark wants you to see.

[15:53] This is the very reason Mark is writing his gospel. He wants to show you the king is here and his kingdom is at hand. If you're with me, say amen. This is why throughout chapter 1 already, Mark will say, and if I say John, it's because I just spent like two months in John, so give me grace.

[16:12] I mean Mark. Unless, of course, I mean John. Mark says, chapter 1, verse 1, he's the son of God. And then he talks about John the Baptist preparing the way for the king, verses 2 and 3.

[16:26] Then Jesus' baptism, he's anointed by the Spirit at his baptism, which is king language. He has the anointing of God.

[16:37] And then he goes out, verse 12, and defeats the enemy of God in the temptation account. And then verse 16, he calls his disciples. And now, in these following verses that we've just read, Mark is going to take us into a day in the life of Jesus the king.

[16:58] And he's going to show us over what is probably a 24-hour period, how the kingdom has invaded, and it has brought an authority of which you have never seen.

[17:13] Verse 21. And they went into Capernaum, and immediately on the Sabbath, he entered the synagogue and was teaching. And they were, what again, Faith Family?

[17:27] They were astonished at his teaching. Why? For he taught them as one who had authority, not as the scribes.

[17:40] So the first thing Mark shows us in this particular section is Jesus and his authority. This king has brought a kingdom, and with that kingdom is an authority.

[17:51] And one of the ways you see this authority is the way he teaches Scripture. Mark starts this snapshot of a day in the life of Jesus in the synagogue on the Sabbath.

[18:05] Now, a little note here. This was a practice that really didn't start until the intertestamental period. You didn't have synagogue worship or synagogue gathering in the Old Testament.

[18:20] You had the temple. But during the intertestamental period, because of all of the influence of the culture around Israel, they instituted a practice called synagogue where they would gather together sin, meaning same or likeness, gog, like pedagogy, teaching.

[18:42] So the idea was because of all the surrounding influence, we need to come together so that we're on the same teaching. Are you with me?

[18:52] That we're united in what God has said. And that pays the way of what will be known as church. We need, because of all of the influences surrounding us, we need to gather together and be on the same page, literally.

[19:13] Amen? And so that's what synagogue was. And so mostly Jewish males on the Sabbath would gather together and they would have synagogue worship.

[19:26] Now, the order of such worship was fairly standard. They would recite some prayers. There would usually be some reading from the Torah or maybe one of the prophets.

[19:38] And then usually different scribes, different people on different Sabbaths would give a sermon. They would take a part of Scripture and they would teach it.

[19:48] Well, on this particular day, the guest speaker is none other than Jesus. Can you even imagine? Can you imagine showing up one day at church and being like, we have a guest speaker?

[20:03] And that guest speaker is the very Son of God. Well, that's what happened on this Sabbath. And Jesus here is given the opportunity to give a sermon.

[20:16] And we don't know what Scripture He uses on this account. We don't even really know what His content is. But if you look back at verse 14 of chapter 1, it gives you maybe a little insight as to what He taught on.

[20:30] It says, After John was arrested, Jesus came into Galilee proclaiming the what? The gospel of God, saying the time is fulfilled and what?

[20:41] The kingdom of God is at hand. Repent and believe in the gospel. So I think we're on pretty firm textual ground to say, I don't know what passage He chose.

[20:54] I don't know all the content of which He discussed, but it was focused on the gospel of God. We know, one, it focused on the gospel, and we know, secondly, it left everybody in the room totally captivated.

[21:10] There was no urging for people not to lay down in their seats and fall asleep in public synagogue. Everybody was alert on this day.

[21:22] And why were they so captivated? Why were they so drawn in? Well, the text tells us that Jesus had an authority unlike the scribes. There's a great implication for us here.

[21:34] Hang with me. The scribes had acquired great learning, but most of them taught what rabbis and scribes before them had taught.

[21:46] And so they often would regurgitate things that other scribes had already said. But not so with Jesus. Jesus was powerful, and Jesus was penetrating.

[21:59] Why? Because His was not the authority of anybody else. His was the authority of God Himself. Amen? Now you say, what is the implication of that for us?

[22:14] Well, it is, and this is not meant to be a dig here. Please know my heart in that. But this is a fundamental difference between Catholicism and Protestants.

[22:26] Catholics often will simply quote the creeds, or they'll regurgitate tradition, or they'll say, well, this is what the church has always said.

[22:37] And Protestants, although I'll be honest, and a lot of you have visited a lot of Protestant churches, the more I hear, the more I'm growing more and more concerned about Protestants. Amen? Protestants are supposed to be, this is what God says.

[22:53] This is what the Word says. This is not what, oh sure, we might quote another theologian, or we might quote something for church history, but our ultimate goal is not to be the authority, but point you to the authority, which is the Word of God.

[23:11] Amen? And so while not in a literal sense, like in Mark 1, Jesus is physically standing before us and preaching the sermon, but to the degree that we are faithful to the text, the Spirit of the living God that was speaking that day is speaking this day, and it comes with the same authority.

[23:32] Amen? And that's why I am very aware, you will often hear me say, there is no authority whatsoever in me. That's a great place for an amen. Like that might be the loudest amen you give all night.

[23:45] Amen? There's no authority in you. The authority is in the Word of God. And that is why, and it is only by God's grace, we don't have any upper hand on anybody, it is purely by God's grace, we preach the gospel, because the gospel, Romans 1, 16, is the power of God unto salvation.

[24:10] You want powerful preaching? Preach the gospel. Notice this on the screen. Where the Word of God is taught, the kingdom of God is present.

[24:22] Where the Word of God is taught, the kingdom of God is present. So the first thing Mark wants to show us in this snapshot of Jesus' 24-hour day here, is He is the King who has brought a kingdom, and the authority is seen in how He teaches.

[24:44] Now here's the second part of the snapshot, verse 23. You having as much fun as I am? I guess not. Don't lay down in your seats and fall asleep.

[24:55] Right? Verse 23. And immediately there was in their synagogue a man with an unclean spirit. And he cried out, What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth?

[25:05] Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are, the Holy One of God. But Jesus rebuked him, saying, Be silent and come out of him. And the unclean spirit convulsing him and crying out with a loud voice came out of him.

[25:19] And they once again were all amazed, so that they questioned among themselves, saying, What is this? A new teaching with authority. He commands even the unclean spirits, and they obey Him.

[25:33] So the first is, Jesus is in authority with the Scripture. Second is, Jesus and His authority over the spirits. This man doesn't just have authority when he teaches Scripture.

[25:44] This man has authority over the unclean spirits in the room. Now you know you're a good preacher when you start preaching demons out of people.

[25:55] Amen? Like something good's happening. But I would submit to you that that's what gospel preaching is. Look at this on the screen. Gospel preaching is an act of exorcism.

[26:08] Gospel preaching is an act of exorcism. Why? Because gospel preaching doesn't seek to entertain.

[26:20] Gospel preaching seeks to deliver people from the powers of darkness. I have no interest in entertaining you.

[26:31] I have no interest of you walking out here tonight saying that was a good sermon, or that was a bad sermon, or I got caught up in my sleep. I want deliverance. And that's why we must preach the gospel.

[26:46] And it's what Jesus does here. He's preaching the gospel, and it comes in an authority unlike they'd ever known, and it does authoritative things, namely, exercises power over the forces of darkness.

[27:03] There is an unclean spirit in the room that immediately reacts at the teaching of Jesus. It's like the drug Anabuse.

[27:14] Some of you know what Anabuse is. It's what they give alcoholics to help them break their addiction. What they do is they give them an injection or maybe a pill, and then they'll bring out, you know, a cart of alcohol, some Southern Comfort, a little bit of Bush Light, maybe some Jack Daniels, some Wild Turkey.

[27:33] And what happens is they'll drink that, and then once that alcohol hits their system where the Anabuse is, it immediately reacts for like three hours.

[27:47] You're hurling and vomiting, and then guess what? You get to do it again, and you get to do it again, and you get to do it again until you are broken of that desire to drink.

[28:00] Here's the point in using that as an illustration. The gospel is pure moonshine, and you heard it here from a Tennessee redneck. The gospel, that may be the most theological thing I have ever said in my life.

[28:14] The gospel is pure moonshine, and when it comes into contact with an unclean spirit or an unsubmissive heart, there is an immediate reaction.

[28:27] Why? Because there is a kingdom that is invading another kingdom. And when that happens, it is always a declaration of war.

[28:42] Jesus stands up and not only teaches with authority, but immediately, this guy, for all we know, he's been in synagogue every week. But this time, with this guest preacher who has an authority unlike anybody else, there is an immediate reaction.

[28:59] And this is not the only time Mark shows us this. Let me give you a couple of other examples before we unpack this more. Later on in this passage, we see a similar thing.

[29:10] Verse 32. That evening at sundown, they brought to him all who were sick or oppressed by demons. So you see that again. And now jump to Mark chapter 5.

[29:22] Mark chapter 5. And you'll see another example. We're actually not going to look at this one in our series. I think it fits here. This is Jesus setting foot on Gentile soil.

[29:35] It says, they came to the other side of the sea of the country of the Gerasenes. And when Jesus had stepped out of the boat, immediately there met him out of the tombs a man with an unclean spirit. So you see the comparison.

[29:47] He lived among the tombs and no one could bind him anymore, not even with a chain. For he had often been bound with shackles and chains, but he had wrenched the chains apart and he broke the shackles in pieces.

[29:58] No one had the strength to subdue him. Night and day among the tombs and on the mountains, he was always crying out and cutting himself with stones. And when he saw Jesus from afar, he ran and fell down before him.

[30:12] And crying out with a loud voice, he said, see if you don't see the same thing. What have you to do with me, Jesus, son of the most high God? I adjure you by God.

[30:22] Do not torment me. For he was saying to him, come out of the man, you unclean spirit. This is a man who is in a condition.

[30:33] And the only way that condition will change is if he experiences a miracle. And Jesus casts that demon, both in Mark 5 as well as Mark 1 multiple times, that demon out to show the kingdom of God has invaded the kingdom of darkness with an authority of which you have never seen before.

[31:01] No wonder they're captivated. No wonder he has mesmerized their minds. Let me say just a few things here quickly about this topic because some of us get uncomfortable when we start talking about demons and powers of darkness and things like that.

[31:20] Four quick things I'll just mention in passing. First of all, the powers of darkness are real. Can we just acknowledge that? If you're a person of the Bible, there's no denying that the Bible teaches that the powers of darkness are real.

[31:36] Now in our culture, people are fascinated by this. We have haunted houses. We have all kinds of movies about demonic children that live down the hall next door to you.

[31:47] But we must put aside those kind of misrepresentations that we see in our culture at the same time realizing that spiritual warfare is real. demonic spirits are a reality.

[31:59] In fact, they're more a part of life than we realize. C.S. Lewis, I think, is helpful here when he says, there are two equal and opposite errors in which we can fall about devils.

[32:13] One is to disbelieve their existence. The other is to believe and have an excessive or unhealthy interest in them. Those are two dangers we should avoid.

[32:26] One is to say, oh, that's just, you know, fiction or fantasy. That stuff doesn't exist. No, the Bible teaches that the powers of darkness are real.

[32:37] And at the same time, we must not become a people that are obsessed and overly, in other words, don't be consumed or captivated by them.

[32:47] Be captivated by the one who has power over them. Amen? And so here we find a middle ground where we acknowledge this reality, but yet our hope is in Jesus.

[32:59] Wayne Grudem writes, quote, the emphasis of the New Testament is not on the influence of demons, but on remaining sin in the believer's life. But we should recognize that sinning does give a foothold to some kind of demonic influence in our lives.

[33:16] So faith family, the powers of darkness are real. Second, the powers of darkness, and this may seem obvious, are evil. You are dealing with real evil when you deal with powers of darkness.

[33:30] They are not neutral forces. Engaging in such forces is not harmless. They represent real evil authority that is contrary to the kingdom of God.

[33:43] Are you with me? Second, or third, I mean the powers of darkness are present. They are present. They are more, I believe, part of our realities than we realize.

[33:55] They are all, there's all kinds of dark and evil things that exist in our world and are happening all the time. They are present. Fourthly, is the powers of darkness are unseen.

[34:10] And what I mean by this is Paul, the Apostle Paul, actually says, the God of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers.

[34:21] In other words, do you know what the demonic forces want you to think? They're not there. They don't exist. They have no authority or influence at all.

[34:33] They would be perfectly fine for you to think they're fiction. But the Bible is clear that the powers of darkness are real, they're evil, they're present, and they're unseen.

[34:46] Now you could say, I'm really fascinated in this. Could we talk more about demons? No. And here's why. There's much more that could be said, but it would miss the main point of the passage.

[35:00] Because the main point of the passage is not the unclean spirit. The main point of the passage is that Jesus has complete and total authority over the unclean spirit.

[35:13] And listen, even the unclean spirit knows it. Look at verse 24 again. It says, What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth?

[35:25] Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are, the Holy One of God. This unclean spirit knows two things in crystal clarity.

[35:39] Who Jesus is, He is the Holy One of God, and the mission that Jesus has been given, namely, to destroy them. 1 John 3, verse 8 says, The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil.

[35:56] Faith family, rest assured, greater is He that is in you than he that is in the world. Know this, no matter what the gates of hell tried to do, they cannot prevail against the power of our Christ.

[36:14] Our hope, our hope is not in government legislation. Another good place to amen. That might have been louder than the other one. It is not in better internet filters or more godly friends.

[36:28] The hope of the Christian is in the King and His kingdom that has an authority unlike we have ever seen. Isn't Jesus captivating?

[36:42] Oh, He's captivating. Not only because He teaches Scripture with authority, and not only because when it comes to the powers of darkness, He exercises authority, but now Mark shows us one final snapshot of Jesus' authority, and I will be super quick on this, verse 29.

[37:01] Immediately, He left the synagogue and entered the house of Simon and Andrew with James and John. This is lunch after church. And Simon's mother-in-law lay ill with a fever, and immediately they told him about her, probably a, you know, keep your social distance.

[37:18] And he came and looked and took her by the hand and lifted her up, and the fever left her, and she began to serve them. Here's the third thing that Mark is showing us here.

[37:30] Look at this man's authority when it comes to Scripture. Look at this man's authority when it comes to the spirits. And then look at this man's authority over sickness. In this third snapshot, Jesus arrives at Peter's home, and He discovers that His mother-in-law has a fever.

[37:48] Of course, keep in mind, that in those days when you don't have antibiotics, you don't have modern medicine, a fever was very, very serious. We should note that this is Sabbath.

[38:01] I've made the statement, I think Jesus only healed on the Sabbath. That's not true, but He sure does a lot of healings on the Sabbath, which was against the tradition of the religious leaders.

[38:12] Jesus could have easily waited to the next day. There's no evidence here that she was sick to the point of death, but nevertheless, He goes against their traditions, and He takes her by the hand, and He lifts her up, and the fever is gone.

[38:29] What we should see here is this. Notice it on the screen. That once again, Jesus gives Sabbath on the Sabbath. The Sabbath was to be a time of healing, and once again, Jesus, the true Sabbath, the one who has the authority to heal, helps her experience Sabbath.

[38:47] So, in this passage, we see three things. First, the miraculous teaching of Jesus, His authority with Scripture, His miraculous transformation, that is, the authority over the spirits, and this miraculous treatment of Peter's mother-in-law, authority over sickness.

[39:05] So, how do I wrap all this up in one big idea? What are we supposed to learn from this miracle, or this series of miracles that Jesus performs here in Mark 1?

[39:18] And here's the idea that I'm going to leave you with, and it's this. Jesus, Jesus, and His authority to set you free. Jesus is the one who has the authority to bring freedom in your life.

[39:35] I would submit to you, dear faith family, that every one of these situations was about freedom. That in each one of these snapshots, teaching, unclean spirit, Peter's mother-in-law, in each one of these snapshots, what you see is some kind of bondage.

[39:56] Captivity. It may be bondage to teaching traditions. It might be bondage to an unclean spirit. It might be bondage to a sickness or disease. But what Mark is showing us here, I believe, is that Jesus has the power to miraculously change whatever bondage you're in and set you free.

[40:19] That's the point. That's the point. The kingdom of God has come. The king is here. Look at his authority. It's unlike any authority you've ever seen.

[40:31] It's an authority that frees you from whatever bondage you are in. Jesus' faith family has the authority, first of all, to set our minds free.

[40:46] That's why his teaching was so captivated. That's why where the gospel is, there is freedom. What did Jesus say in John 8, 32?

[40:57] You shall know the truth and the truth shall set you free. Faith family, hang with me. As we learn the gospel, as we teach the gospel, our minds become free and more captivated by God.

[41:18] That's how you know that the gospel is having an effect on you is your mind is becoming more and more free of the things of the world and you are captivated by the things of God.

[41:32] That's what happens here. The gospel constantly opens up our minds and gives us new perspectives. How many of you have had wrong ideas about God and wrong ideas about Scripture and the gospel set you free from your wrong ideas and set your mind on truth?

[41:57] Anybody? Jesus has the authority to do that. Secondly, is that he has the authority to set our body free. Jesus can take any physical condition or any addiction you have and set you free from that.

[42:17] Faith family, I've been clear on this throughout the series. It doesn't mean that he will always heal you physically. There are a lot of people in these stories that do not get healed but we absolutely believe that Jesus can heal you of whatever physical situation you're going through.

[42:35] Listen, pray like it. Pray like it. Pray like you believe in the authority of Jesus over your body.

[42:49] Or maybe there's somebody in your family that is going through a physical sickness or disease. Pray like you believe believe in the authority of the kingdom.

[43:00] He can heal. Thirdly, and finally, is Jesus has the authority to set our soul free. You may not be bound by chains.

[43:11] You may not have a demon possessing you. But your condition, listen, your condition and my condition is just like that demon-possessed man. The demon-possessed man is a picture of a life apart from Christ.

[43:29] That's our spiritual condition. Look at the language the Bible uses and I'm almost done so hang with me. You were dead in your trespasses. This is Ephesians 2, 1 and 2. And the sins in which you once walked following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work and the sons of disobedience.

[43:49] That was you. John says it in 1 John 5, 19. We know that we are from God and the whole world lies in the power of the evil one.

[44:00] That was you. It might still be you. Colossians 1, verse 13. He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved son in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of our sins.

[44:18] Don't you see the Bible uses the same language of us spiritually that it uses of this man who had an unclean spirit. All of these physical miracles are signs of spiritual salvation.

[44:34] We may not be enslaved by an unclean spirit, but we were all enslaved to sin. Amen? And Jesus had the authority to set us free.

[44:50] And he has the authority to do that to you tonight if you have never looked to him by faith. Is it any wonder, is it any wonder that those that experienced the ministry and miracles of Jesus were so captivated by him?

[45:10] A man with an authority unlike they had ever known. but do you know what's even more captivating to me? Is that Jesus, the man with the authority of God, was willing to lay it all down in submission to God.

[45:31] For there in the garden while his disciples were falling asleep, Jesus was captivated by one thing, doing his Father's will.

[45:47] And in that moment it appeared as though the powers of darkness had won. But Sunday morning it became clear, the gates of hell did not prevail.

[46:01] And all God's people said, Amen. Pray with me, pray with me. Lord, thank you for this passage tonight. I pray that its work in our hearts would be the work of being captivated by Jesus.

[46:15] That we would adore him. That we would worship him. That we would follow him with our lives. That we would not just be entertained with what he can do, but we would worship who he is.

[46:29] And Lord, I pray that tonight by the preaching of your word that we have seen, just caught a glimpse of your kingdom and the power and the authority that is in our King, Christ Jesus.

[46:43]  Do your work in this place, draw your kingdom near. In Christ's name we pray. Amen. Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass