Authority Challenged part 1
Matthew 21:23 – 32

Verse of the Week: “be careful how you live….Redeeming the time” Ephesians 5:15 & 16

1. Keep your motives pure
“By what authority are You doing these things, and who gave You this authority?” Matthew 21:23
“the chief priests and the scribes and the leading men among the people were trying to destroy Jesus, and they could not find anything”
Luke 19:47 & 48
“we fear the people” Matthew 21:26
“you refused to believe John the Baptist and repent of your sins.” Matthew 21:32
“repent” – to change one’s mind

2. Do the Father’s will
“Which of the two obeyed his father?” Matthew 21:31
“‘I will not’; but afterward he repented and went.” Matthew 21:29
“I have given you authority over all the power of the enemy” Luke 10:19
Knowing God’s will is important.
Doing God’s will is more important.
“the tax collectors and prostitutes will get into the kingdom of God before you.” Matthew 21:31

3. Start today
“Son, go work today in the vineyard.” Matthew 21:28
Performance is more important than promises
“It is better to say nothing than to make a promise and not keep it.” Eccl. 5:5
1) Custodian of the past
“God comforts us in all our troubles so that we can comfort others.” 2 Corinthians 1:4
2) Champion of the present
“be careful how you live….Redeeming the time” Eph. 5:15 & 16
3) Creator of the future
“we don’t look at the troubles we can see now; rather, we fix our gaze on things that cannot be seen. For the things we see now are temporal, but the things we cannot see are eternal.” 2 Cor. 4:18