Monday April 2, 2012 Authority Questioned

One day as He was teaching the people in the temple courts and preaching the gospel, the chief priests and the teachers of the law, together with the elders, came up to Him. "Tell us by what authority you are doing these things," they said, "Who gave you this authority?" He replied, "I will also ask you a question. Tell me, John's baptism---was it from heaven, or from men?"

Good Monday Morning, my dear brothers and sisters. Monday and the day we pray for our leaders, all those in authority over us. So I list our president by name. Please pray for President Obama and also his family, first pray for their soul and that if they are not saved, that their hearts would be opened to receive Jesus. Then pray that our president would run all things past Jesus before he brings them to us. Pray for all our other leaders in Washington, pray for your state and local leaders and please remember those who head up our school systems. Pray for our veterans and all of our current military, for our police and fire fighters and all those who work to keep us healthy and safe. Please keep Valarie, Ronald, Allison and others with cancer in your prayers. Pray for Barbara who had a bad fall. And folks, please keep praying for Dolores and also for me, we go through this Holy Week with a very tight schedule.

Praise report... K-9 that was lost came home, gone for almost a week and found its way back home. All glory to God... Helen Thomas told me to "thank you for your prayers."

April 2: The Authority of Jesus Questioned: Luke 20:1 - One day as He was teaching the people in the temple courts and preaching the gospel, the chief priests and the teachers of the law, together with the elders, came up to Him. 2 "Tell us by what authority you are doing these things," they said, "Who gave you this authority?" 3 He replied, "I will also ask you a question. Tell me, 4 John's baptism---was it from heaven, or from men?" 5 They discussed it among themselves and said, "If we say, from heaven He will ask Why didn't you believe him? 6 But if we say from men, all the people will stone us, because they are persuaded that John was a prophet." 7 So they answered "We don't know where it was from." 7 Jesus said, "Neither will I tell you by what authority I am doing these things." (NIV)

So let's look at the scriptures of today and see if we can tell what Jesus is doing and what He is talking about. So we know that Jesus was teaching people in the temple courts and preaching the gospel. Oh, and what part of the gospel are we to take out to the lost and teach to them? You do remember, right? We are to take out the Good News!!!

Mark 16:15 - He said to them, "Go into all the world and preach the Good News to all creation." (NIV)

Then Jesus was asked by the chief priests, the teachers of law and the elders, "by what authority are you doing these things?" and while those who questioned were afraid to speak out for fear of being stoned to death, we know by whose authority Jesus is teaching and preaching and we know who John the Baptist was coming from. John, of course, was the forerunner of Jesus and was acting on the authority of Heaven, which is God The Father. He was sent out to tell people to repent of their sins. We also know that Jesus was also doing what He did for it also was from God The Father. You remember what God The Father said when Jesus was baptized by John.

Luke 3:23 - When all the people were being baptized, Jesus was baptized too. And as He was praying, Heaven was opened and the Holy Spirit descended on Him in the bodily form like a dove. And a voice came from Heaven: "You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased." (NIV)

What more can I say? The Authority of Jesus was questioned, my dear brothers and sisters, but as I just shared with you, Jesus was acting under the authority of God, His Father, and of course that is also our Father who art in Heaven.

Dear Father in Heaven, please forgive me of my sins, and start me clean this week. Thanks for taking us through a busy weekend and thanks for the food that came in, while we were handing food out, You are so faithful to us, Lord, we give You praise and honor for that... And Lord, please watch over our president and all those on our prayer list, including those in our military and in our police departments. And bless all others and heal them according to Your will and not ours... I place my prayers to Our Father in Heaven through His Son Jesus, our Lord and Savior... Amen.

Now go and share those blessings and remember please to tell others of Jesus. Also know if you need food, we have it here to help you. Just call us, 717 691 8200 to set a time to come in... Love ya, Pastor Dan.