And when he was come into the temple, the chief priests and the elders of the people came unto him as he was teaching, and said, By what authority doest thou these things? and who gave thee this authority? And Jesus answered and said unto them, I also will ask you one thing, which if ye tell me, I in like wise will tell you by what authority I do these things. The baptism of John, whence was it? from heaven, or of men? And they reasoned with themselves, saying, If we shall say, From heaven; he will say unto us, Why did ye not then believe him? But if we shall say, Of men; we fear the people; for all hold John as a prophet. And they answered Jesus, and said, We cannot tell. And he said unto them, Neither tell I you by what authority I do these things (Matthew 21:23-27).
Today's Morsel: The story is told of a lion that went through the jungle roaring proclaiming his authority as king of the jungle. He would roar and scare the other animals. One day he came to a giraffe and roared and said, "Who is the king of the jungle?" The giraffe was fearful and said, "Why of course you are Mr. Lion." The lion pounded his chest and said to him, "And don't you ever forget it." Then he came to a group of monkeys. He roared and said to them, "Who is the king of the jungle?" The monkeys were fearful and said, "Why of course you are Mr. Lion." Again, the lion pounded his chest and said to them, "And don't you ever forget it." And then he came to a herd of elephants and he roared and said, "Who is the king of the jungle? " To the lion's surprise, one of the elephants reached out with his trunk, grabbed the lion, and threw him into a tree. The elephant picked him up again and smashed him to the ground. Then he took him and tossed him into the river. When the lion had gained his composure and dragged himself from the river, he crawled up to the elephant and said, "Listen, just because you do not know the answer is no reason for you to get all mad about!"
When the religious leader questioned Jesus of His authority, Jesus responded in kind with a question. And because they could not answer His question, Jesus told them he would not answer their's; to which they became angry with Him. If someone were to ask you where you obtain your authority to preach the gospel, do you know the answer? Your authority to preach doesn't come from man. Your authority to preach was given to you by Jesus when He commissioned the believers "Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned. And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover" (Mark 16:15-18). To pastor a church you may need man's authority, but to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ, that authority comes from Jesus only. So if you are born again of the water and the spirit get busy, the world needs to hear about Jesus!
Sing: I serve a risen Saviour, He's in the world today; I know that He is living, Whatever men may say; I see His hand of mercy, I hear His voice of cheer, And just the time I need Him, He's always near.
He lives, He lives, Christ Jesus lives today! He walks with me and He talks with me, Along life's narrow way. He lives, He live, salvation to impart! You ask me how I know He lives: He lives within my heart.
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