I

want

to

thank

God

for

this

opportunity.

First,

Pastor

Cecil

and

leadership

in

church

just

signing

off

to

give

me

this

opportunity

to

speak

to

you.

So

I

just

want

to

thank

God

for

the

opportunity

first

and

next,

I

just

want

to

honor

my

wife

and

my

family.

Wow.

These

past

two

weeks

have

actually

been

really

rough

for

us.

Gaby

got

an

incredible

virus

from

daycare

he

got

tested

for.

Everything

was

negative,

but

it

really

just

knocked

our

family

out.

And

Chloe

right

now

isn't

doing

so

great.

My

mom

came

to

help

Gaby

and

she

had

her

mask

on

the

whole

time

and

she's

like,

completely

sick

right

now.

So

I

don't

know

what

Gaby

had,

but

I

say

that.

Not

to,

you

know,

make

us

feel

bad

or

anything,

but

I

say

that

we

made

it

to

church

and

it's

a

time

to

testify

God's

goodness

in

our

life.

The

enemy

had

his

plans

against

our

family

and

against

his

word.

But

God

always

has

a

way

of

turning

around

every

evil

for

his

good.

Anyone

else

in

this

room

have

that

testimony

in

your

life

today,

can

you

raise

a

shout

to

him,

to

the

one

who's

worthy

of

all

the

praise

right

now?

I

know

we

did

it

before,

but

he's

always

worthy

and

he's

always

worthy

of

our

praise.

Can

you

give

a

shout

right

now

to

the

king?

He

is

worthy.

His

presence

is

here.

And

when

he

comes,

there's

healing.

Hallelujah.

And

when

he

comes,

there's

deliverance.

Can

we

give

a

shout

to

the

king

who

is

worthy

of

all

the

praise

at

all

times?

Hallelujah.

I

will

bless

the

Lord

at

all

times.

And

his

praise

shall

continually

be

in

my

mouth.

Hallelujah.

Bless

his

name.

Now,

there

are

things,

when

you

think

about

Palm

Sunday,

growing

up

in

church,

we

immediately

sometimes

kind

of

like,

alright,

I

already

know

this

story.

And

maybe

our

minds

get

turned

off

from

hearing

what

we

have

to

hear

anytime

with

the

gospel.

But

I

would

encourage

you

to

kind

of

imagine

yourself.

I

mean,

today

I'll

be

sharing

about

Palm

Sunday,

but

just

imagine

yourself

in

the

streets

of

Jerusalem

at

that

time.

Now,

the

thing

is,

as

Christians,

as

believers,

we

know

who

our

God

is

because

we've

grown

up

hearing

the

Bible.

We've

been

to

Sunday

school,

we've

been

to

different

events.

So

we

know

who

our

God

is

as

revealed

in

the

Bible.

But

at

that

time,

there

was

still

questions

and

wonderings

of

who

Jesus

was.

People

said

he

was

a

prophet.

People

said

he

was

a

great

rabbi

and

teacher,

and

he

was.

But

he

would

do

these

miracles

and

these

great

things

that

they

haven't

seen

and

they

didn't

understand.

Where

this

power

came

from.

Ultimately,

he

is

God.

He

was

God,

and

he

is

God,

and

that's

where

the

power

came

from.

So

when

we

read.

When

we

read

these

gospel

stories,

it

helps

to

kind

of

put

ourselves

in

their

position,

to

kind

of

get

a

fresh

mindset

of

how

to

understand

the

story

better.

So

we're

going

to

read

from

Luke

19,

verse

28

to

40.

Luke

19,

verse

28

to

40.

All

right,

I'm

going

to

read.

And

at

one

verse,

we'll

all

read

together.

But

I'll

start

at

28.

After

telling

this

story,

Jesus

went

on

toward

Jerusalem,

walking

ahead

of

his

disciples.

As

he

came

down

to

the

towns

of

Bethphage

and

Bethany

on

the

Mount

of

Olives,

he

sent

two

disciples

ahead.

Go

into

that

village

over

there,

he

told

them.

As

you

enter

it,

you

will

see

a

young

donkey

tied

there.

No

one

has

ever

ridden.

Untie

it

and

bring

it

here.

If

anyone

asks,

why

are

you

untying

that

colt?

Just

say,

the

Lord

needs

it.

So

they

went

and

found

the

colt,

just

as

Jesus

had

said.

And

sure

enough,

as

they

were

untying

it,

the

owners

asked

them,

why

are

you

untying

that

colt?

And

the

disciples

simply

replied,

the

Lord

needs

it.

So

they

brought

the

colt

to

Jesus

and

threw

their

garments

over

it

for

him

to

ride

on.

As

he

rode

along,

the

crowd

spread

out

their

garments

on

the

road

ahead

of

him.

When

he

reached

the

place

where

the

road

started

down

to

Mount

of

Olives,

all

his

followers

began

to

shout

and

sing

as

they

walked

along,

praising

God

for

all

the

wonderful

miracles

they

had

seen.

Okay,

when

we

read

verse

38,

could

we

all

read

this

together?

Whatever

version

you

have

is

fine.

They

have

it

on

the

back

as

well.

But

let's

read

38

together.

Blessings

on

the

king

who

comes

in

the

name

of

the

Lord.

Peace

in

heaven

and

glory

in

the

highest

heaven.

Let's

read

it

one

more

time

and

put

some

more

strength

on

that.

Blessings

on

the

king

who

comes

in

the

name

of

the

Lord.

Peace

in

heaven

and

glory

in

the

highest.

One

more

time

and

let's

make

this

a

praise.

Blessings

on

the

king

who

comes

in

the

name

of

the

Lord.

Peace

in

heaven

and

glory

in

the

highest

heaven.

And

the

Pharisees

responded,

teacher,

rebuke

your

followers

for

saying

things

like

that.

And

he

replied,

if

they

keep

quiet,

the

stones

along

the

road

would

burst

into

cheers.

I

just

wonder

if

there

were

some

religious

teachers

in

here

right

now.

Would

they

be

annoyed

at

the

praise

that

they

hear

this

morning?

Right

now,

one

more

time,

can

we

lift

a

shout

that

only

goes

to

God,

that

he

deserves

all

the

glory.

Could

we

raise

a

praise

to

him

this

morning?

Hallelujah.

Hosanna.

Hosanna

to

the

coming

king.

You

are

worthy,

O

God,

of

all

the

praise.

We

lift

you

up,

oh

God,

in

this

place.

Hallelujah.

Tell

your

neighbor

the

king

is

here.

Tell

your

neighbor

the

king

is

here.

His

presence

is

here.

And

when

he's

here,

he's

here

to

deliver.

When

he's

here,

he's

here

to

heal.

When

he's

here,

he's

here

to

set

free.

I

know

there's

also

times

in

our

life

we're

going

through

a

sickness

and

we

don't

see

the

end

of

it.

And

we're

saying,

God,

where's

the

healing?

Even

in

that

situation,

God

is

king.

He

brings

the

healing.

He

brings

the

deliverance.

If

you

don't

see

it

now,

it

will

happen.

God's

promise,

everything

that

he's

played

on

our

life,

he

paid

a

price.

We

enjoy

the

freedom

now,

but

there

was

a

price

that

he

had

to

pay.

So

it's

not

cheap.

It's

free

to

us,

but

it's

not

cheap.

When

Jesus

bore

those

stripes,

he

brought

healing,

he

brought

deliverance,

he

brought

freedom

and

the

ability

to

raise

people

from

the

dead.

That

is

a

power

that

not

only

is

in

Jesus,

but

it

says,

the

very

power

that

raised

from

Jesus

from

the

dead

lives

in

us.

And

so

when

we

have

that

power,

we

can

also

say,

be

healed,

be

delivered,

be

set

free.

It's

not

us,

it's

not

the

authority

on

our

voice.

It's

the

authority

in

Jesus.

If

you

believe

that,

say

amen.

Amen.

And

now,

the

amazing

thing

about

the

Bible

is

you

can

read

a

verse

a

thousand

times,

but

when

you

get

a

revelation

from

God,

it's

like

you

read

it

for

the

very

first

time.

And

it's

important

to

mention

in

the

scene

that

I

just

read

the

Gospels

all

have

this

scene

written

in

their

Bible

in

the

Gospel.

So

you

see

it

in

Matthew,

you

see

it

in

Mark,

you

see

it

in

Luke,

you

see

it

in

John.

Not

many

accounts.

You

see

it

across

all

four

accounts,

all

four

Gospels,

but

this

one

specifically.

In

Luke,

we

see

it.

And

in

Luke,

what

we

just

read,

you

don't

see

mention

of

palms.

But

in

John,

there

is

a

mention

of

palm

branches.

When

Jesus

entered

the

city,

they

were

raising

their

palm

branches.

Just

to

give

you

some

significance

to

it,

just

to

put

some

context

to

why

we

call

it

Palm

Sunday.

Palm

branches,

just

practically,

they

come

from

palm

trees,

obviously.

Massive

trees,

massive

palm

branches.

On

average,

it's

6ft

to

12ft.

So

these

branches

are

humongous.

And

that's

Just

the

average.

They

can

go

way

bigger.

So

anyone

familiar

with

tropical

environments,

you've

seen

them.

They're

just

enormous.

So

God

didn't

just

create

the

tree

just

to

create

the

tree.

There's

a

symbol

behind

shows.

Victory,

triumph,

peace,

and

eternal

life.

And

even

in

ancient

Greece

and

Roman

culture,

they

would

give

it

to

athletes

who

won

competitions

and

overcame

things.

And

in

biblical

history,

in

Jewish

history,

back

in

Leviticus

23,

verse

40,

at

the

feast

of

tabernacles,

God

commands

the

Israelites

to

take

these

branches

and

raise

them

and

rejoice

before

the

Lord.

So

there's

a

lot

of

context

behind

Palm

Sunday

or

using

the

palm

branch.

There's

a

lot

of

spiritual

significance

behind

it.

Along

with

the

branches

that

they

waved

and

laid

down

on

the

floor,

they

also

laid

down

their

garments.

This

also

has

biblical

connotation.

Back

in

2nd

Kings

9,

verse

13,

King

Jehu,

when

he

was

given

the

coronation,

the

cloaks

were

laid

down

to

claim

that

he

was

royalty,

that

he

was

king

at

the

same

time.

If

someone

is

important

in

the

room,

it's

only

really

our

spouse

or

someone

that

you

really

honor.

Would

you

take

your

coat

off

and

lay

it

down

for

them

or

put

it

on

them

so

you

can

understand

if

people

were

taking

off

their

garments

or

their

cloaks

and

putting

it

on

the

donkey

and

on

the

floor,

they

understood.

Jesus

was

more

than

just

a

rabbi.

He

was

more

than

just

a

teacher.

He

had

something

greater

that

they

couldn't

put

their

hand

on.

When

he

brings

the

kingdom

down,

he

brings

an

authority

and

a

power

that

we

have

never

seen

before.

Who

else

can

say

you

can

pray

for

someone

and

that

person

can

be

healed

immediately?

Who

else

can

say

you

pray

for

someone

and

a

demon

leaves

immediately?

Who

else

can

say

that

they've

raised

people

from

the

dead?

That's

a

power

that

they've

never

seen.

So

they

would

say,

oh,

it's

magic.

It's

something

that's

out

of

this

world.

We

have

no.

We

have

no

reference

to

that.

But

that's

Jesus

bringing

the

kingdom

down

to

earth.

If

we

go

back

to

30

to

34,

verse

30,

34,

Jesus

says,

go

into

that

village

over

there.

As

you

enter

it,

you

will

see

a

young

donkey

tied

there

that

no

one

has

ever

ridden.

Untie

it

and

bring

it

here.

If

anyone

asks,

why

are

you

untying

that

colt?

Just

say,

the

Lord

needs

it.

So

they

went

and

found

the

colt,

just

as

Jesus

had

said.

And

sure

enough,

as

they

were

untying

the

colt,

the

owners

asked

them,

why

are

you

untying

that

colt?

And

the

disciples

replied,

the

Lord

needs

it.

Now,

just

off

that,

we

read

that

so

many

times,

but

can

we

say

that's

just

a

not

normal

operation

of,

like,

transaction

on

give

and

receive.

Usually

if

you

wanted

something

from

someone,

you

would

say,

can

I

have

the

donkey,

please?

But

here,

Jesus

is

telling

his

disciples,

here,

my

directions

go

to

the

owner,

take

the

donkey.

Then

when

the

owner

asks,

just

say,

I

need

it.

That's

not

normal.

So

can

we

say

right

there,

Jesus

is

practicing

his

divinity,

showing

you

that

what

authority

has

is

not

just,

I'm

a

great

teacher,

I'm

a

great

rabbi,

it's,

I

have

authority

that

you

have

not

seen.

And

so

when

he

does

that,

the

disciples

completely

do

exactly

as

he

said.

And

as

Jesus

said,

it

happened.

And

one

thing

that

God

highlighted

to

me

in

verse

30

was,

as

you

enter

in,

you

will

see

a

young

donkey

tied

there

that

no

one

has

ever

ridden.

I

think

because

I

used

to

growing

up,

I'd

read

in

King

James

Version,

so

I'll

just

zoom

past

it,

not

really

understanding.

Like,

I

knew

Jesus

rode

on

a

donkey

on

Palm

Sunday,

but

I

didn't

understand

these

details.

And

then

I

saw,

why

did

Jesus

say

that?

Find

a

donkey

that

no

one

had

ever

ridden

before.

We

see

this

theme

of

God

using

people

or

animals

or

things

that

have

never

been

used

before

have

been

rejected,

have

been

put

aside.

Culture

has

put

them

down.

We

see

this

theme

all

across

the

Bible.

God

uses

the

lowly.

The

way

the

kingdom

operates,

Jesus

says,

the

first

becomes

the

last.

Last

becomes

the

first.

When

you

enter

a

room,

don't

go

to

the

seat

of

authority.

Sit

at

a

lower

seat.

And

if

they

see

that

they

want

to

give

you

the

seat,

they

will

offer

you

a

seat

of

authority.

It's.

But

the

world,

it

operates

a

different

way.

As

soon

as

you

see

an

open

seat

on

the

subway,

I'm

taking

it.

I'm

not

giving

you

a

chance

to

take

it,

because,

oh,

we

don't

have

another

chance

to

get

it.

So

the

way

the

world

operates

versus

how

Jesus

brought

the

kingdom,

it

didn't

make

sense.

Jesus

was

saying,

oh,

if

he

gets

slapped

on

the

face,

show

your

other

cheek.

The

Jews

were

like,

we

haven't

learned

that.

That's

new

to

us.

Jesus

was

saying,

it's

okay

to

pray

for

your

enemies,

but

okay

to

pray

for

your

friends.

But

now

pray

for

your

enemies.

And

not

only

that,

love

them.

The

Jews

were

like,

we've

learned

eye

for

an

eye,

tooth

for

tooth,

all

this

time.

And

so

the

whole

understanding

of

how

the

kingdom

was

being

used

did

not

make

sense.

It

took

me

back

to

the

story

of

David.

We

see

that

even

There,

the

kingdom

happening

there.

When

Jesus,

when

David

was

being

anointed

as

king,

Samuel

entered

the

room

and

he

looked

at

all

of

Jesse's

sons

and

he's.

And

he

got

excited

because

he

saw

some

tall

guys,

some

strong

guys,

they

were

battle

tested.

So

he's

like,

I

can

just

take

my

pick.

But

Samuel,

being

the

prophet

of

God,

being

anointed,

man

of

God,

knew

something

was

not

settling.

He

knew

God's

hand

wasn't

on

it.

So

we

asked

Jesse,

do

you

have

another

son?

And

he

said,

yeah,

but

I

don't

know

if

you

want

him.

But

he

said,

bring

him.

And

when,

as

soon

as

he

entered

the

room,

Samuel

knew

that

that

was

supposed

to

be

the

next

king.

But

again,

from

an

outward

perspective,

you

would

say

you

would

want

a

king

to

be

someone

that

had

some

war

experience,

that's

been

through

the

rough

time,

and

that's

like

a

natural

response.

But

God

knew

David

had

to

be

king.

So

much.

So

when

that

man

that

was

blind

was

calling

out

to

be

healed,

what

did

he

say?

Son

of

David,

have

mercy

on

me.

Immediately

he

knew

the

connection

because

there

was

a

connection

to

David

and

to

Jesus,

the

Messiah.

And

so

here

we

see

the

donkey.

Donkeys,

they

have

a.

Their

whole

purpose

of

living

is

to

transport

heavy

objects,

people.

That's

all

that

they're

assigned

to

do.

But

here

you

say

that

the

donkey

had

never

been

used,

so

its

purpose

had

not

been

realized.

But

here

comes

the

king.

Here

comes

the

king.

He

says,

look

for

that

donkey.

That's

the

one

I

want

to

use.

And

now

the

donkey,

for

the

very

first

time,

is

being

used

by

the

creator

of

the

universe,

the

one

who

created

him.

Can

I

encourage

you

today?

If

you

feel

rejected

in

any

way,

if

you

feel

left

aside,

if

you

feel

like

you

have

not

fulfilled

what

God

has

called

in

your

life,

don't

put

yourself

down.

If

you

are

sitting

here

today

and

you

feel

like

you

have

no

purpose

in

this

world,

know

that

a

kingly

purpose

is

more

than

enough.

If

you

are

sitting

here

today

and

you

feel

like

you

have

no

purpose

in

this

world,

know

that

a

kingly

purpose

is

more

than

enough.

His

assignment

to

you

is

coming.

If

David

thought,

hey,

my

brothers

are

battle

tested.

I'm

going

to

go

now,

fight

some

battles.

Immediately,

he

would

have

been

disqualified.

Immediately,

he

would

have

been

disqualified.

The

anointing

that

was

purposed

on

his

life.

If

we

push

God

on

the

timeline

that

he

has

assigned

for

us,

God

may

not

fulfill

the

complete

plan

and

purpose.

We

might

do

some

things

that

look

like

it,

but

God

wants

to

fulfill

his

plan

and

purpose.

And

when

he

does

it,

he

does

all

things

for

good.

And

now

the

thing

is

this

donkey

and

the

use

of

it

there

was

more

significance

than

just

that.

The

Old

Testament

and

the

New

Testament

are

two

separate

sections.

And

a

lot

of

times

growing

up,

you

see

one

side

of

God

in

the

Old

Testament,

in

the

New

Testament

you

see

Jesus

as

man

on

the

earth

and

then

you

see

the

Holy

Spirit

being

poured

out.

But

really

the

whole

point

of

the

Old

Testament

and

the

New

Testament

is

to

work

together

to

reveal

Christ

in

everything.

So

you'll

see

prophecies

that

were

sent

forth

from

the

Old

Testament

getting

fulfilled

in

the

New

Testament.

And

even

now

being

fulfilled

where

Joel

said,

I'll

pour

my

spirit

upon

all

flesh.

That

applies

for

every

generation.

And

now

even

in

this

generation

where

we

want

to

see

the

hand

of

God

move,

you

feel

like

the

darkness

is

just

creeping

and

getting

bigger

and

bigger

and

bigger,

greater

and

greater.

And

sometimes

you

look

around

like

man.

Is

this

really

the

place

that

God

created?

Is

this

really

what

God

had

intended

all

the

time?

But

can

I

tell

you

today,

God's

purpose

is

greater.

What

he

has

planned

for

us

individually

for

the

world

will

supersede

anything

we

ever

believe.

Greater

is

he

that

is

in

me,

that

is

in

the

world.

So

that

person

that

saved

me,

that

resurrected

me,

that

blessed

me,

when

I

get

the

Holy

Spirit,

when

I

receive

his

power,

I

have

power

that

this

world

has

not

seen.

I

have

power.

There's

things

that

I

can

do

that

the

world

has

not

seen.

And

so

this

prophet,

if

we

go

to

Zechariah

9,

verse

9,

Zechariah

9,

verse

nine.

And

it

says,

rejoice

greatly,

O

daughter

of

Zion.

Shout

aloud,

O

daughter

of

Jerusalem.

Behold,

your

king

is

coming

to

you

righteous

and

having

salvation

is

he

humble

and

mounted

on

a

donkey,

on

a

colt,

the

foal

of

a

donkey.

Now

this

was

said

and

written

500

years

ago,

before

Jesus

came.

500

to

550,

that

range.

If

you

would

say

something

was

said

that

long

ago

and

was

fulfilled

500

years

ago,

that

is

not

humanly

possible.

You

would

say

in

our

human

understanding,

if

you're

a

non

believer,

you

would

say,

oh

yeah,

you

use

some

magic,

you

use

some.

Oh

while

the

person

wasn't

looking

you,

you

put

this

back

here

in

the

back

of

the

book

so

you

can

make

a

connect

in

this

front

of

the

book.

But

here

is

the

Bible

and

that's

just

one

prophecy.

This

happens

all

the

time

where

God

speaks

a

word.

And

as

he

said

with

Samuel,

every

word

that

he

speaks,

it

doesn't

go

just

void,

it

doesn't.

It

doesn't

fall

on

the

floor.

It

has

a

purpose.

Every

word

that

God

speaks

is

purposeful.

It

has

weight

on

it.

He

just

doesn't

say

things,

to

say

things.

When

he

even

created

the

universe,

he

just

said,

let

there

be

light.

And

because

of

his

power,

light

was

created.

Who

else

humanly

has

that

authority?

Who

else

humanly

has

that

power

to

do

that?

And

so

we

see

here

Zechariah

the

prophet.

He

hasn't

seen

Jesus,

but

he

says

human.

He's

speaking

to

Israel

and

he

starts

prophesying

about

a

coming

king.

So

follow

with

me,

Zechariah

the

prophet.

By

the

power

of

God,

he

speaks

a

word.

So

now

this

word.

And

the

Jews

knew

that

a

messiah

was

coming.

So

every

generation,

they're

looking

for

this,

for

someone

to

come

free

them.

So

now

this

word

is

traveling

500

years,

400

years,

300

years,

200

years,

100

years.

And

now

it's

AD30.

And

here

comes

the

word

of

God.

And

here

comes

Jesus.

The

Bible

says

Jesus

is

the

word

of

God

and

he

is

word

made

flesh.

Now

this

prophecy

comes

into

that

place,

and

here

comes

Jesus

in

the

flesh

and

meets

that.

How

is

that

possible?

That's

in

his

very

nature

to

do

that.

Any

word

that

God

speak

cannot

be

void.

He

cannot

lie.

So

let

me

take

a

moment

to

encourage

you.

If

there

is

a

promise

over

your

life,

if

there

is

something

that

is

said

over

your

child,

over

you,

over

your

work,

over

your

job,

over

your

ministry,

over

your

sickness,

over

your

health,

can

I

say

by,

by

the

power

of

the

Holy

Ghost,

it

will

come

to

pass.

Now,

here's

the

thing.

It's

not

every

word

that's

spoken.

You

always

have

to

test

the

Spirit.

It

has

to

be

backed

by

the

Holy

Spirit.

It

has

to

be

backed

by

the

Bible.

It

has

to

be

backed

by

God.

But

if

God's

hand

is

upon

it,

just

as

the

sun

raises

in

the

sky

and

you

see

it

every

day,

God

will

perform

that

miracle

on

your

life.

If

you

are

looking

for

something

that

God

needs

to

do

in

your

life,

if

it's

a

relationship,

maybe

the

marriage

is

struggling

a

little

bit.

Maybe

if

it's

a

relationship

in

your

workplace,

maybe

you're

not

seeing

eye

to

eye

with

your

boss.

Anything.

God

just

doesn't

say

great

things

and

great

promises.

It's

even

the

details

in

our

very

minute

details

in

our

life.

He

actually

knows

what

we

need

before

we

can

even

ask.

So

he's

so

mindful

of

it.

So

I've

come

here

to

say,

and

God

has

placed

it

on

my

heart.

Any

promise

that

is

placed

over

your

life

Understand

that

God

will

fulfill

that.

It's

not

just

a

man

saying

it

or

just

a

woman

saying

it.

It's

God

himself

wanting

to

see

that

come

to

pass

in

your

life.

But

here's

the

thing.

Here

comes

Jesus,

the

Messiah,

fulfilling

what

prophecy

had

foretold.

And

the

Jews

missed

it.

They

completely

missed

it.

He

was

right

in

front

of

them.

Because

their

expectation

of

who

the

Messiah

was

to

be

was

not

what

they

thought.

You

have

to

understand

that

these

people,

they

have

been

under

oppression

for

the

longest

time.

So

back

under

the

Egyptians,

the

Babylonians,

and

now

the

Roman

government,

the

Jews

thought,

when

the

Messiah

comes,

he's

going

to

get.

He's

going

to

free

them

of

all

their

government,

the

Roman

government,

he's

going

to

topple

their

government.

He's

now

going

to

assign

them

roles

in

government.

And

so

they

were

excited

to

see

what

Jesus

would

do.

And

when

he

started

doing

things

that

were

against,

not

against,

what

they

learned

growing

up,

they

started

to

question

what

was

this

actual

motive?

Who.

Who

was

he

actually

supposed

to

be?

And

Jesus

knew

that

even

though

they

were

people

of

the

law,

they

knew

their

Torah.

They

knew

every

word

of

God.

There

was

something

that

Jesus

had

to

defeat.

They

knew,

or

Jesus

came

to

defeat

intangible

objects

that

had

an

eternal

impact.

But

many

people

were

waiting

to

see

him

defeat

the

Roman

government.

So

just

a

week

later,

so

now

today's

Palm

Sunday.

Next

week,

when

we

show

up

on

Easter,

it's

commemorating

the

time

where

Jesus

defeated

death,

hell

and

the

grave.

The

reason

why

we're

Christian,

if

Jesus

never

saved

us,

if

he

never

went

to

the

cross

and

he

died,

if

he

never

was

then

resurrected,

if

he

never

went

to

the

throne,

if

we

never

went

and

got

the

keys

of

death,

hell

in

the

grave,

we

all

would

perish.

There

is

no

reason

to

show

up

at

church.

The

only

reason

why

we

show

up

every

Sunday,

why

we

put

Jesus,

we

try

to

put

Jesus

first

every

day

in

our

life.

It's

because

of

what

he's

done

for

us.

That's

the

difference

between

Jesus

and

every

other

God.

Every

other

God

expects

you

to

do

something,

and

based

off

your

works,

you

will

be

rewarded.

But

here

Jesus

comes

and

says

we

love

him

because

he

loved

us

first.

It

doesn't

go

back

the

other

way.

Every

other

God

expects

a

transaction

like

that.

And

even

while

we

were

yet

sinners,

Christ

died

for

us.

So

the

healing

that

you

receive,

Jesus

already

did

that

on

the

cross.

The

freedom

that

you

received,

Jesus

already

did

on

the

cross.

And

as

the

alpha

and

omega,

we

now

have

access

to

what

he's

done.

Even

back

then.

The

same

blood

that

he

shed.

We

may

not

physically

see

it,

but

the

power

is

still

the

same.

His

works

are

still

the

same.

The

deliverance

that

we

can

attain

is

still

the

same.

We

may

not

see

it

around

us,

but

he's

expecting.

If

there's

a

power

that

works

in

us,

he

wants

us

to

now

do

that

in

the

earth.

I've

mentioned

this

before,

but

we

are

partners

with

God

on

this

earth.

We

are

ambassadors

with

Him.

So

what

does

ambassadors

of

a

kingdom

look

like?

If

we're

ambassadors

of

a

kingdom,

we

have

that

culture.

We

wear

the

clothes,

we

eat

the

food

of

that

culture.

The

way

we

talk,

the

way

we

move,

you

understand

this

person's

from

a

certain

culture.

So

the

same

way,

when

we're

out

in

the

world,

when

we're

out

at

our

workplace,

in

our

schools,

immediately,

just

the

way

we

are,

just

the

way

we

talk,

just

the

way

we

move,

just

the

way

we

operate,

people

should

know

they're

not

from

this

world

almost.

That

should

be

the

response.

I'm

not

saying

to

be

weird,

but

I'm

saying,

like,

they

should

say,

this

is

different.

His

response,

I

wasn't

actually.

There's

been

times

where

people

have

literally

tried

to

annoy

me

at

work.

And

my

response

has

always

been

trying

to

help

them,

kill

them

with

kindness,

heap

coals

of

fire

on

their

head.

And

they're

just

like,

why

do

you

do

this?

But

that's

just

a

response

of

the

kingdom.

And

now

what

I'll

say

is,

it's

not

always

easy.

I'm

not

saying

living

this

Christian

life

is

easy.

I'm

not

saying

to

live

out

Christ

is

always

easy.

But

that's

why

we

go

to

him

every

day.

We

go

to

him,

because

even

Jesus

laid

that

pattern

out

when

he

did

incredible

works.

When

he

did

those

things,

he

didn't

stand

there

and

just

feel

himself.

He

didn't

say,

now

I'm

going

to

flex

on

this.

He

went

back

to

the

Father.

He

went

back

to

his

place

where

he

would

pray

to

the

Father

because

he

knew

this

is

how

I,

if

I

operate,

this

is

how

my

disciples

would

do

it.

And

these

believers,

at

that

time,

the

people

gathered

there

at

that

time,

there

were

people,

his

followers.

And

you

can

also

imagine

there

were

people

that

maybe

heard

some

commotion

from

their

homes,

so

they

came

out

to

see

Him.

There

was

also

maybe

people

that

just

got

delivered

from

Jesus

that

came

to

see

him.

And

so

now

they

were

shouting

shouts

of

hosanna,

Hosanna,

which

translates,

save

us,

Messiah.

They

were

looking,

now

they

see

Jesus.

And

now

there's

an

excitement.

So

you

can

almost

feel

like

A

few

people

are

saying,

is

this

the

Messiah?

Looks

like

it.

He's

moving

like

it.

Hosanna.

And

it

starts

to

erupt

in

the

crowd.

And

slowly

now

there's

this

jubilation.

Slowly

now

there's

this

celebration

of,

yeah,

he

is

a

king.

He

is

a

Messiah.

He

is

the

one

that

we're

waiting

for

all

this

time.

And

shouts

of

Hosanna

lifted

up

at

the

same

time

as

shouts

of

Hosanna

were

going

out,

murmurings

and

shouts

are

also

saying,

kill

him.

Kill

him.

There

were

Pharisees

and

Sadducees

looking

at

Jesus

and

not

claiming

his

authority,

not

saying

he

was

the

Messiah.

And

so

what

I

would

say

off

that

is,

there's

times

in

our

life

where

you

feel

there's

honor

coming,

and

then

you're

trying

to

wonder

why

there's

a

negativity

coming

against

you,

maybe

from

a

person

or

for

people

around.

You

know

that

in

the

place

of

honor,

there

is

also

a

place

where

people

will

bring

negative

things

in

your

life.

If

it

happened

to

Jesus

while

he

was

getting

honored

as

the

Messiah,

as

the

coming

king,

it

can

happen

to

us.

We're

not

so

special

of

a

people

to

be

separated

from

that.

But

understand

that

Jesus

has

gone

through

this.

He's

gone

through

every

kind

of

hurt,

not

just

those

people.

Listen,

he

was

with

followers,

and

he

was

with

his

people

all

his

life.

He

showed

them

what

he

did.

He

ate

with

them,

he

drank

with

them,

he

slept

with

them.

At

the

end,

when

he

needed

them

the

most,

his

followers

deserted

him.

Imagine

that.

And

like,

a

lot

of

times,

you

read

the

scripture

and

you're

like,

man,

if

I

was

in

their

shoes,

I

wouldn't

have

done

that.

It

was

so

easy

to

say

that.

But

now

we're

here,

and

sometimes

we

look

at

the

Jews

and

what

they've

been

through,

and

we're

like,

man,

if

Jesus

showed

up,

I

would

have

missed

that.

But

can

I

tell

you

something?

They

may

have

missed

him

in

the

physical,

but

a

lot

of

times,

every

day,

we

miss

Jesus.

So

many

opportunities

when

we

can

just

spend

5

minutes,

10

minutes

with

him.

We

miss

that

opportunity

when

we

can

just

share

a

word

to

someone

on

the

street.

We

miss

that

opportunity

because

we're

so

busy,

you

know,

when

the

kingdom

comes.

And

that's

something

that

happens

in

worship.

Jesus

says,

your

kingdom

come,

your

will

be

done.

He

wants

the

healing

and

everything,

but

he

also

wants

to

slow

down

our

time.

We're

in

such

a

rush

in

this

world

to

go

to

the

next

thing,

the

next

thing.

So

even

with

that,

we

come

into

this

place

and

we

feel

like,

okay,

what's

the

next

thing?

When

is

Justin

going

to

stop

preaching

so

we

can

go

to

the

announcements

and

go

home?

That

is

just

a

natural

feeling

as

humans

that

we

have

because

we're

operating

in

our

body.

But

when

the.

When

heaven

comes

down,

when

his

presence

comes

down,

time

stops.

When

we

go

to

heaven,

we're

not

going

to

be

like,

oh,

what's

next?

Because

there's

no

such

thing

as

time.

And

that's

something

that

escapes

our

mind.

We

can't

understand

that.

So

God

wants

to

move

in

a

place

where

we

can

just

slow

it

down

ourselves.

I

know

our

lives

are

busy.

I

know

there's

so

many

things

going

on.

But

even

for

myself,

as

tired

as

I

am

with

the

babies,

God

keeps

pressing

on

my

heart.

Spend

time

with

me,

whatever

it

looks

like,

in

the

morning

while

I'm

holding

them,

driving

in

the

car,

it

doesn't

matter.

God

just

doesn't

want

you

to

be

the

first

thing

in

the

day.

He

wants

to

be

part

of

your

whole

day.

So

it's

not

just

enough

to

say,

I

said

five

minutes

of

prayer

and

I

said

something,

and

then

walk

away.

It's

the

whole

day.

When

you're

struggling

at

work,

start

to

pray.

God,

I

need

your

help.

This

patient,

she's

being

annoying.

He's

being

annoying.

My

boss,

I

can't

deal

with

him.

Start

to

pray.

You

will

see

a

grace

start

to

fall

on

your

life.

And

so

the

Pharisees

were

not

happy,

right?

And

so

they

replied,

teacher,

can

you

tell

your

people

to

stop

yelling?

And

the

reason

why

they

were

saying

that

was

because

they

didn't

respect

his

authority.

They

didn't

see

him

as

the

Messiah.

And

so

Jesus,

in

the

nlt,

we

don't

see

it.

But

in

the

King

James

Version,

you

see

his

response.

He

starts

off

by

saying,

I

tell

you.

And

that

shows

Jesus

flexing

on

his

divinity.

He

now

says,

you

know

me

as

rabbi,

you

know

me

as

teacher.

You

know

me

as

someone

that

talks

with

you

and

deals

with

you.

But

as

I'm

getting

closer

and

closer

and

closer

to

defeat

death,

hell

in

the

grave.

Let

me

make

it

clear,

if

you

had

any

kind

of

confusion

in

your

mind,

I

am

king,

I

am

the

Messiah.

And

I

tell

you,

if

my

followers

are

quiet,

the

very

rocks

and

stones

will

cry

out

to

the

Pharisees,

this

is

literal

prophecy

before

their

eyes,

being

fulfilled

right

in

front

of

their

eyes.

But

they

still

don't

see

it.

They

want

to

kill

the

word

that

was

spoken.

So

can

I

tell

you,

in

our

lives,

if

a

word

is

spoken

and

it

has

been

fulfilled,

don't

despise

It,

Walk

in

it.

This

is

not

a

word

that

has

been

given

to

you

by

any

man,

by

anyone

off

the

street.

This

is

the

very

God,

the

creator

of

the

universe,

the

One

who

knows

every

thought,

the

One

who

knew

us

before

we

were

even

formed.

There's

no

one

other,

no

other

human,

no

other

doctor,

no

nurse

that

can

do

that.

Medically,

only

God

knows

us

from

our

inside.

So

if

he

says,

you

are

going

to

be

a

minister,

you

are

going

to

be

a

pastor,

you're

going

to

be

an

evangelist,

you're

going

to

be

a

prophet,

you're

going

to

be

a

doctor,

you're

going

to

be

a

lawyer,

you're

going

to

be

someone

successful

in

this

world.

He's

not

saying

it

just

to

say

it.

You

may

not

see

it

when

he

said

it,

but

when

it

happens,

understand

that

God's

word

is

being

fulfilled.

God's

word

on

your

life.

Every

promise

that

he

has

placed

on

your

life

will

come

to

fulfillment.

I

know

we

get

discouraged.

It

gets

discouraging

because

you

walk

around

and

say,

God,

there's

all

these

things

that

you

promised

on

my

life.

God,

there's

so

many

things

in

my

life.

I

don't

see

it

come

to

pass.

But

can

I

tell

you,

he

will

do

it.

He

will

do

it.

The

Pharisees,

the

Jews,

here

comes

Jesus

fulfilling

prophecy.

But

they

didn't

expect

Jesus

to

look

like

that.

They

didn't

expect

the

Messiah

to

look

like

that.

So

they

missed

out

on

the

very

word

that

was

prophesied

over

their

life.

Any

dream

God

has

given

you.

Now,

we

dream

a

lot

of

dreams.

I

know

that.

But

any

dream

that

God

has

given

you.

I

know

there's

some

dreams

God

has

given

me

that

I

still

remember

by

detail

today.

Why?

Because

it's

God

who

gave

me

that

dream.

If

he

gave

you

the

dream

to

build

a

business,

do

it.

Do

it

in

faith.

Don't

wait.

Because

he's

trying

to

move

on

this

earth

by

the

kingdom.

He

can

only

do

that

through

us.

If

he

gave

you

a

dream

and

a

vision

to

work

with

someone,

to

deal

with

someone

in

a

business,

to

start

some

venture,

don't

hold

back.

If

God

has

shown

you

that

you

will

be

some

kind

of

speaker

down

the

road

that

is

led

by

God,

don't

doubt

it.

Don't

look

at

your

current

situation.

Don't

look

at

who

you

currently

are,

just

say

God.

I

don't

know

how

that's

going

to

happen,

but

by

your

grace,

I

know

it

will.

This

kingly

authority

that

he

has

that

only

he

can

do

is

something

that

we

see

through

all

of

scripture

and

one

Thing

that

I

see

as

a

contrast.

I

love

this

story.

We

see

Jonah.

He's

running

away

from

the

calling

that

God

has

on

his

life.

So

he

goes

on

a

boat.

And

to

run

away

from

his

problems,

he

goes

to

the

bottom

of

the

boat

and

goes

to

sleep.

And

that

boat

is

getting

destroyed.

And

those

guys

on

the

boat

think

they're

going

to

die.

All

because

of

Jonah.

Is

not

following

what

God

told

him

to

do.

In

the

same

way,

we

see

a

scene

in

the

Gospels

where

Jesus

is

on

the

boat

with

his

followers

and

that

same

boat

is

being

tossed

and

turned.

What's

the

difference?

Jesus

is

on

the

boat.

So

I

came

here

to

say,

the

next

time

you

have

a

problem,

don't

go

to

the

bottom

of

the

boat

to

run

away

from

your

problems.

Go

take

a

nap

with

the

Prince

of

Peace.

He

has

control

over

everything.

This

king

is

king

over

your

sicknesses.

He

is

king

over

your

health.

He

is

king

over

your

finances.

He

is

king

over

your

life.

He

is

king

over

your

children.

He

is

king

over

your

job.

When

your

bank

account

is

zero,

when

your

bank

account

is

a

thousand,

in

every

situation,

he

is

king.

It

may

not

look

like

it,

it

may

not

feel

like

it,

but

I'd

rather

have

Jesus

on

the

boat

sleeping.

The

next

time

I'm

going

through

a

problem

and

I

know

Jesus

is

on

the

boat,

I'm

getting

my

blanket

and

my

pillow

and

I'm

going

to

join

Him.

That's

the

only

place

we

have

priests.

What

are

we

going

to

do?

Worrying

about

the

problem

that

doesn't

do

anything.

That

doesn't

add

any

grace

to

our

life.

It

only

takes

away

hair.

Look

at

this.

I've

been

worrying

all

my

life.

It

doesn't

do

anything.

It

doesn't

do

any

good

for

us.

But

it's

his

grace

that

helps

us

persevere.

It's

his

peace.

How

else

can

you

look

at

someone

who's

going

through

so

much

turmoil

in

their

life

and

say,

why

isn't

this

guy

losing

his

mind?

Why

isn't

this

woman

losing

his

mind?

Let

that

person

come

and

talk

to

you

and

find

out.

That's

a

place

where

you

can

share

God's

word,

where

you

can

share

the

life

of

Christ.

There's

a

hymn

that

we

love

to

sing

around

this

time.

And

I'll

sing.

Speaks

about

God

holding

our

future.

And

it

really

speaks

to

Palm

Sunday

and

Easter

and

every

aspect

of

our

life.

Because

he

lives.

I

can

face

tomorrow

because

he

lives.

All

fear

is

gone.

Because

I

know

he

holds

my

future.

And

life

is

worth

the

living.

Just

because

he

lives.

We'll

sing

it

One

more

time.

But

now

we're

gonna

change

the

lyrics.

We're

gonna

say,

because

he's

king

I

can

face

tomorrow

because

he's

king

all

fears

is

gone

Because

I

know

he

holds

my

future

and

life

is

worth

the

living

Just

because

he

lives

Come

on,

raise

your

voice

in

this

place.

Because

he's

king

I

can

face

tomorrow

because

he's

king

all

fears

are

gone

Because

I

know

he

holds

my

future

and

life

is

worth

the

living

Just

because

He's

king

Hallelujah.

Anyone

else

believe

that

in

the

room

this

morning?

Hallelujah.

Can

you

lift

a

shout

Hallelujah.

To

the

one

who

holds

our

future

to

the

one

who

holds

our

life

in

his

hands

Hallelujah.

Raise

a

shout

Hallelujah.

We

lift

your

name.

You

can

stay.

I'm

wrapping

up

here.

But

here's

the

thing.

When

Jesus

comes

as

king

in

our

life,

in

the

story

of

the

gospel,

where

did

Jesus

go

to

right

after

this?

He

went

to

the

temple.

If

we

were

Jesus

and

we

were

receiving

all

the

celebration

and

praise,

we

would

have

set

up

a

dinner

or

something

with

our

friends

and

family

afterwards

to

celebrate

it,

to

make

a

whole

thing

of

it.

But

Jesus,

immediately,

as

he's

being

exalted

and

celebrated

as

king,

goes

right

to

the

temple.

And

at

the

temple,

he

comes

in

as

king,

and

he

comes

in

aggressively

with

a

whip

because

he

sees

that

the

house

of

God

is

being

used

for

something

that

it

wasn't

supposed

to

be.

So

can

I

tell

you,

if

we

really

see

him

as

king

in

our

life,

if

we

really

see

him

as

Lord

in

our

life,

then

he's

going

to

topple

some

tables

in

our

life.

Tables

of

cultural

tradition,

tables

of

religiosity,

tables

maybe

of

the

love

of

money

and

many

other

things.

You

put

your

table,

whatever

that

is.

If

any

of

these

tables

take

the

place

of

Jesus

and

we

use

them

instead

of

worshiping

Jesus,

it

becomes

an

idol.

And

that

table,

that

idol

needs

to

be

flipped

over.

When

I

know

in

the.

In

the

gospel,

Jesus

came

aggressively,

but

he

wasn't

mad

at

the

people.

He

wasn't

mad

at

the

temple.

He

was

mad

at

the

spirit

of

deception

that

entered

into

that

place.

So

when

he

comes

into

your

house

and

he

starts

to

say,

oh,

you

accepted

me.

Now

get

the

spirit

of

lust

out

of

here

now.

Get

the

spirit

of

depression

out

of

here

now.

Get

the

spirit

of

anxiety

out

of

here

now.

Get

the

spirit

of

poverty

out

of

here.

He

is

getting

mad

at

the

enemy.

So

when

he

comes

with

the

whip,

it's

against

the

enemy.

He

doesn't

come

to

hurt

us.

But

in

that

process,

because

we've

been

so

tied

to

that

thing,

it

hurts.

It

hurts.

But

that's

what

it

means

for

Jesus

to

be

lord

of

our

life

in

every

detail,

in

every

aspect

of

our

life.

If

we

ask

him

to

come

to

be

king,

we

have

to

expect

a

royalty

and

authority

that

we

have

never

experienced

from

anyone

else

or

anything

else.

God

is

moving

in

his

people

and

he

wants

to

see

that

there

are

people

that

see

him

as

king.

That

not

just

when

he

comes

down

on

a

donkey,

everyone

is

excited

because

we're

fulfilling

prophecy

and

he's

the

Messiah.

There's

a

place

for

that

in

worship,

there's

a

place

for

that.

When

we're

excited

about

something

in

a

message,

there's

a

place

for

that.

But

when

we

see

him

as

king,

he

is

going

to

do

some

things

in

our

life

that

shift

our

vision,

that

shift

our

way

of

thinking,

the

way

we

move

in

our

life.

There

might

have

been

people

at

that

time

in

the

crowd

that

were

just

there

and

didn't

want

to

bend

the

knee

to

God,

bend

the

knee

to

the

Messiah,

recognize

him

as

king

in

their

life.

But

can

I

tell

you,

the

next

time

Jesus

comes,

he

comes

on

a

horse.

And

then

he

will

come

to

topple

every

government,

every

ideology

that

has

been

against

him.

He

will

cast

it

down.

And

then

on

that

day,

every

knee

will

bow,