Sermon Tone Analysis

Overall tone of the sermon

This automated analysis scores the text on the likely presence of emotional, language, and social tones. There are no right or wrong scores; this is just an indication of tones readers or listeners may pick up from the text.
A score of 0.5 or higher indicates the tone is likely present.
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Anger
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My Lighthouse
Romans 1
I Surrender to You
Great I AM
Praise the Father, Praise the Son
There Is Power
Max Lucado shared the story of Frank Koch, who served in the Navy on a battleship:
Two battleships assigned to the training squadron had been at sea on maneuvers in heavy weather for several days.
I was serving on the lead battleship and was on watch on the bridge as night fell.
The visibility was poor with patchy fog, so the captain remained on the bridge keeping an eye on all activities.
Shortly after dark, the lookout on the wing reported, "Light, bearing on the starboard bow."
"Is it steady or moving astern?" the captain called out.
The lookout replied, "Steady, Captain," which meant we were on a dangerous collision course with that ship.
The captain then called to the signalman, "Signal that ship: 'We are on a collision course, advise you change course twenty degrees.'"
Back came the signal, "Advisable for you to change course twenty degrees."
The captain said, "Send: "I'm a captain, change course twenty degrees.'"
"I'm a seaman second-class," came the reply.
"You had better change course twenty degrees."
By that time the captain was furious.
He spat out, "Send: 'I'm a battleship.
Change course twenty degrees.'"
Back came the flashing light, "I'm a lighthouse."
We changed course.
Goes to show, the ultimate authority is the truth
No matter the earthly authority/power, the truth cannot be changed - in fact, it can only be denied to your own detriment
But that doesn't stop fallen man from doing just that: denying the truth.
Our pride is so strong that many times we'd rather run into the lighthouse than accept the truth about who we are.
And the truth is that we have no authority of our own.
Even for those of us who have earthly authority - home/work/church/state - we are all subject to a greater authority - the authority of God.
But when it comes down to it, we don't want that to be true.
And this is the very nature of sin.
We want authority.
We don't want God to be our authority, we want to be our own authority.
This is how sin entered the world to begin with (the fall) - this is how sin operates in our own hearts - we want the authority.
That's the truth.
But the truth is also that, when we do that, we live a lie.
Because the ultimate authority is truth.
The ultimate authority is God.
Today as we continue our series:
See the truth that sin wants to deny
See the authority that sin wants to deny
See the undeniability of the truth - all authority belongs to God.
PRAYER
Isaiah prophesied:
See the truth:
God is the maker of all things, because He has all the power - all of it
He has not withheld the truth from us - He plainly tells us Who He is and who we are
But we choose to deny the truth.
Because we are, all of us, in our natural state, idolaters.
We want a God made in our image, or more concisely - we want a God that is ourselves.
But there is one God, and everyone, eventually, whether they think they want to or not - everyone will bow to the authority of God.
The question is: will we do that now?
That's what Jesus addresses in our passage today.
He has the authority.
That's the truth.
Deny it to your own detriment.
And that's exactly what we see happen.
Jesus spent His time teaching the truth of God (the truth's we've seen over the last two weeks - judgment and faith)
The judgment of God - God must judge sin.
Either your sin is judged when you die, or it is judged when Jesus died - you get your wage or Jesus does
The gift of God (grace!) is eternal life (Last week - Jesus is our fig tree) - it is by grace, but through faith.
Faith leads to works - (saved by faith alone, never a faith that is alone) - (last week: fruit) - through faith we have the result of God working in us, and the results of that is fruit - (the heart that believes is the heart that acts!)
So this is the truth Jesus taught - and He brought it right to the Jews - I won't rehash all they were wrong about, but I will remind us of two things:
Jesus came to bring the Gospel to the Jews - to the house of Israel He came to preach (the lost sheep as He Himself said)
He was rejected by the Jews (the first Christian heresy)
And yet Jesus, after being rejected/argued with/threatened time and again (and knowing that the final rejection was coming!) - after all of this, He kept bringing these unbelievers the Word of God - (especially during the feast - large crowds)
But look at how the most "religious" of the bunch react to Jesus:
Notice what they ask Him - they want proof of His authority - (what authority?
whose authority?)
Authority to do "these things" - what things?
The last two days of Jesus life:
Triumphal entry (Announcement as Messiah - stones cry out!)
Temple cleansing (cleansing sin - "My" house is a house of prayer)
These things are the "these things" that they were asking Jesus about.
They wanted to know by what authority He did them.
The were trying to trap Jesus (last week: they were seeking to destroy Him - they wanted to destroy His influence, His relevance)
If own authority - discredited
If the authority of God - the Messiah - all that "My house" and "I and the Father are One" claims - blasphemer (this is what ultimately led to His crucifixion)
This is what they were trying for here in the Temple.
But they'd have to wait a few more days to get what they wanted.
Notice what they don't ask Him - whether or not what He teaches is the truth (authority, not veracity is always the issue)
Unsaved man doesn't deny the truth of God because it isn't true, but because he doesn't want it to be true - why? - because then God is God and I am not, and I like being my own God.
What we heard this morning about unbelievers from Romans 1:
The truth is plain because God has shown Himself to the world.
It was plain for the Jews in Jesus day - it is for all of mankind today.
- as we heard this morning - they suppress the truth, they refuse to acknowledge God, and they know they deserve to die!
So why don't they believe?
Because they don't want to give up their own authority.
Unbelief is not about truth.
It's about power!
We should know, because we still tend to do the same - last week - though we acknowledge God with our mouths, we often don't with our actions.
Why?
We don't want to give up our own authority!
But we are the church!
And we are the church for a reason!
(universal and RFH - each using our gifts to further the mission of the whole church)
As we have seen, the last part is so important.
We alway concentrate on the making disciples/baptism/teaching - but Jesus makes us a promise - He is with us (last week - results of faith = God doing the work in and through us)
But just as important is that first part.
All authority is His (not just in church/matters of religion/morality - ALL)
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