Homecoming Part 4 | Palm Sunday with Chris Schlotterbeck

He is glorious.

Behold the one who has come to us.

Welcome to Hub City Vineyard.

To get connected or to give online,

you can go to connect.hcv.church

or give.hcv.church.

If at any time during this message

you feel called to make a change in your life,

text changeme to 970-00.

Thank you and enjoy the message.

Hey, good morning everyone.

How's everybody doing?

Did you notice anything different?

No screen.

No announcements.

So I get to do your announcements.

Good morning. If you're joining us from home,

thank you for welcoming us into your space.

If you're new here, there's normally the Sky Bible,

but we're having some technical difficulties

with that today.

And we're believing that God's going to miraculously

perform a miracle before Easter.

Is that good enough with you?

I think that's the best answer I can give.

So just pray for wisdom as we try to fix it.

But just real quick on your announcements,

there is a foot washing service tonight at 6.30.

We'd love for you to come and be a part of it.

Even if you have dirty toes, it's all good.

We'll clean them for you, okay?

We're just going to have buckets of hand sanitizer

that you just rub all over your feet.

I'm just kidding.

No, we're going to actually wash your feet.

Next week is Easter.

We're going to have three different opportunities

for you to be a part.

Friday night is our worship night in baptism.

It's always a great night to gather on Good Friday,

worship together, celebrate what Jesus did actually do

on the cross, and we have over 40 people

being baptized on Friday.

Yeah, that's cool, isn't it?

If you're one of those people that are ready

to make that declaration and come out

and make that commitment, please just sign up

at baptism.hcv.church.

Saturday is our egg hunt.

It starts at 10 a.m.

We still need lots of candy to fill over 2,000 Easter eggs.

And we would love for you to be a part of that.

Bring your kids, invite your neighborhoods.

Invite the whole town of Williamsport.

I don't care.

We have plenty of candy, plenty of eggs to give away.

That's at 10 a.m. on Saturday.

And then Sunday, we have four gatherings.

Everyone say four.

For all of you early birds that love to get up before dawn,

we're doing a 7 a.m. sunrise service in the pavilion.

So if you want to be outside in your winter coats,

singing Jesus songs and hearing about the empty tomb,

please join us in the pavilion for a sunrise service.

And then we're going to go eight.

Everyone say eight.

945.

And 1130.

Plenty of opportunities for you to invite people,

include, and allow them to celebrate that the tomb is empty.

Amen?

All right.

So if it's okay with you, I'm just going to open in prayer

because I am a little thrown off by this not having my sky Bible.

I miss it.

And I just believe that God can still use this

and that his kingdom can break in and change lives.

Amen?

So Holy Spirit, come.

We know you're here.

Even with no words, we know you are here,

that it's the cries of our heart that matters.

So God, I just pray for lives to be changed,

hearts to be open, and we welcome your presence here, God.

And we're just thankful for all that you're doing

in our community of faith, in our midst.

And we give this time to you now in Jesus' name.

Amen.

All right.

So today is the start of Holy Week.

If you didn't know that,

which is the final week of Jesus' life on earth,

Holy Week, of course, is considered one of the most sacred seven days

in all of Christianity.

And let's be honest about what can happen in a week's time.

Is it not true that all weeks are not the same?

I mean, how do you not know this week you could lose your job?

Right?

We could get in a car accident.

We're not promised tomorrow.

And there have probably been a few weeks in your life

that stand out from all the rest, true or false?

Thank you.

Many of you may have heard, you couldn't see,

but we had a testimony of Brad and Amanda King and their son, Eddie.

They had an accident at their house this past year,

and they were sharing the story of how they almost lost their son.

What started as a normal day

suddenly turned into a life or death situation

because of an accident with a window.

Eddie would end up being flown to Johns Hopkins

to have immediate surgery that would save his arm and his very life.

But Amanda would go on to say that prior to the surgery,

the individuals that donated blood actually saved her son's life

because he had lost that much blood.

So I'm going to encourage you, April 2nd,

we're having another blood drive here.

If there's an opportunity where you can sign up to give blood,

it is well needed and much appreciated.

This past Friday night, we did our final marriage course

for 16 different couples.

I had an older gentleman show up at our front door at about 6 o'clock.

Our class normally starts at 6.30,

and I noticed something different about him

because he wasn't a part of our class.

And as he walked up, I also noticed that he was carrying our Easter mailer,

which you may or may have not gotten recently.

As he was walking in, he asked to speak with the pastor,

and I generously walked over and introduced myself,

and he looked at me and said,

is it okay if we go somewhere else and chat?

We walked into the A-frame.

He sat down as he sat down.

Tears began to stream from his eyes.

And he looked at me and he said,

Chris, I lost my wife two days ago.

She died of cancer.

And he went on to tell me the story that eight short years ago,

she had been diagnosed with cancer.

She had immediate surgery.

The doctors promised her seven years.

She ended up living for eight.

So he was celebrating that time with her,

even saying that he was holding her hand and watched her take her last breath.

With tears streaming down his face, he said,

I am coming from a funeral home where I was preparing for her memorial service.

And he said, as I was driving home, I just felt this urge.

I needed to get back into church.

So I visited a couple different churches in downtown Hagerstown,

but their parking lots just didn't feel right.

The buildings didn't feel right.

And as I pulled into my driveway and opened my mailbox,

your mailer inviting me to come home was on top.

Not all weeks are the same. Amen.

And their people say to us that those mailers do nothing.

He even looked at me and said, is it okay if I join you for service this Sunday?

And sure enough, 9 a.m., he was sitting right back there,

and I high-fived him and gave him a big hug.

Maybe for you.

It's a second or third job interview that you're about to have

that could change your life forever.

Maybe for you, right?

You're about to have a newborn or just recently had a newborn baby.

And if you don't know anything about kids,

your firstborn child turns your life upside down.

It's a week like you've never had before

where you begin to question the very existence of a God

because you don't sleep, right?

But then you come to appreciate your children and how beautiful they are.

A lot of things can happen in one day, and you give it a week, everything can change.

Not all weeks are created equal.

And because of events that you don't expect or imagine could never happen to you,

you can find yourself and your life being turned upside down.

And listen, friends, that's as true for Jesus as well.

Holy Week is the final week of Jesus' life,

and it takes place in Jerusalem from Sunday through Friday.

Jesus will enter the city on a Sunday and be executed on a Friday.

It is the week that literally changed the world.

Jesus would suffer, die, and be resurrected out of love for you and me.

Now, all four Gospels or biographies, Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John,

record the final week of Jesus' life.

And today we will look at several different sections from the Gospels

to get a full picture of Palm Sunday,

but primarily we will be focused in the Gospel of Mark.

Now, if you were to start reading chapter one of Mark

and read the first 10 chapters of this Gospel, you literally would be out of breath.

Mark is probably my favorite Gospel because it's action-oriented.

This is by far the most action-packed Gospel,

and its pace is like you're in a twister.

As you begin to read, suddenly you realize Jesus healed someone.

Then he's in a boat crossing a lake.

Then he feeds a bunch of people, over 5,000,

casts out a demon, jumps back in the lake,

is back to the other side where a man with leprosy is healed.

Now he's in a fight with the Pharisees.

He's on to another town where he'll raise someone from the dead.

This Gospel is like driving through Jesus' life at 90 miles per hour,

at least the first 10 chapters.

Then suddenly, when arriving at chapter 11, everything slows down.

It's like you're driving in the fast lane down 81 South, right?

And you're cruising along at a cool 90.

Well, for some of you, 78, because you don't want to get pulled over.

But as you're driving down 81 South, you realize you've got to get off at halfway Boulevard.

You want to make it to HTV on time.

But to get off, you have to pump the brakes hard because you know that turn to the right,

you're going to spin out if you're not going 20 miles an hour,

only to find yourself cruising by the Valley Mall at a cool 25.

Right? That's like the Gospel of Mark.

You're at fast pace, and then it just stops.

In Mark's Gospel, the first 10 chapters, check this out,

cover three years of Jesus' life,

while the final six chapters are devoted to eight days.

Eight days.

And please understand this last week of Jesus' life.

It's totally disproportionate to the amount of ink that it receives.

Three years in 10 chapters, eight days in six.

Everything slows down.

And I personally believe this is done for a reason.

Because Mark wants us to slow down during this last week of Jesus' life

and allow it to shape us into Jesus' followers that are making a difference.

So we also must remember that the disciples walked into Jerusalem with Jesus

as the final week of his life started, and God is inviting us to do the same.

And this morning I woke up early, I was preparing, praying,

and I sent a very early text to Rudy.

I said, Rudy, we need to challenge our community of faith

to go through this final week of Jesus' life together.

Okay, so Rudy went online, he picked out a devotional for us.

Okay, it's gonna be blasted all over our social media pages this afternoon.

Kelsey has sent in an email to our entire email list.

Okay, today after this gathering, so you can check your emails,

you can go to our social media pages.

I want to challenge you.

Join the community in reading through Jesus' final seven days together.

Because I believe there's power in community, amen?

And if we're focused on reading these truths together,

then we will see God do amazing things in our midst.

Today, we will be looking at the beginning of Jesus' journey home

as we discuss his triumphal entry on what has become known as Palm Sunday.

Today we are celebrating Palm Sunday as our homecoming series continues.

If you missed any of the talks in this series, I want to encourage you.

Go to our YouTube channel, subscribe and listen in.

Now to get us in the mood for Palm Sunday, we ordered palm branches for everyone to have.

If you have a palm branch, hold it up in the air and wave it like you just don't care.

If you need one, put both hands up.

We want to give you one.

We want to give you a palm branch.

So put your hands up if you need a palm branch.

We are gonna use these later in our gathering.

They're gonna prove a point to us.

So you need a palm branch and listen, take it with you.

First service was putting them back in.

No, they're for you to have.

Okay, take it with you.

All right, if you know anything about Catholicism, you can burn them

and then put ashes on your forehead if you want, but you don't have to.

So anyway, make sure you get a palm branch.

I'm gonna use it later.

I'm gonna use it later in this talk, but all of that,

okay, remember we're going old school here, so get a pen out too,

leads us to our first talk.

So you can write it in the blank, it's in your outlines that you can have

if you want to follow along.

Our first talk this morning, Jesus can be misunderstood.

Jesus can be misunderstood.

Mark chapter 10, verses 32 to 34.

Mark 10:32–34

They were now on the way up to Jerusalem and Jesus was walking ahead of them.

The disciples were filled with awe, but notice the people following behind

were overwhelmed with fear.

Taking the 12 disciples aside, he pulls them aside.

Jesus once more began to describe everything that was about to happen to him.

Listen, he said, we're going up to Jerusalem where the Son of Man

will be betrayed to the leading priests and the teachers of religious law.

They will sentence him to die and hand him over to the Romans.

They will mock him, spit on him, flog him with a whip, kill him,

but after three days he will rise again.

So please understand, friends, Jesus didn't suddenly fall into some kind of trouble.

He knew exactly what was going to happen to him during this final week.

Three times, in fact, Jesus told his disciples that he was going to Jerusalem

to suffer and die, which is kind of ironic because the name Jerusalem

actually means or is translated into the city of peace.

Jerusalem was anything but peaceful for Jesus.

See, this was a clear description of what was going to happen to him during the week.

Now, if Jesus was to pull you aside and tell you the things that were going to happen to him,

I believe that we heard he was going to suffer, hang on a cross, die, and rise on the third day.

True or false?

But the disciples, they didn't seem to get it.

They weren't listening or they weren't paying attention, whichever it was.

The reality is Jesus had become a celebrity.

See, with every miracle Jesus performed, he raises Lazarus from the dead, he feeds the 5,000.

Jesus actually became a celebrity.

Remember, the Bible tells us crowds followed him.

And when they say crowds, it means thousands of people followed him.

He was popular with the people.

Many believed he was the promised king or Messiah, the savior that Israel would be waiting for.

So the disciples believed they were walking into Jerusalem for a coronation.

They were rolling into the capital city essentially to take it over.

They would have been saying to Jesus, hey man, you're going public.

We're going viral.

We got all the people behind us.

And the religious leaders are all afraid because Jesus was at the height of his popularity and his power.

But we also must remember Jesus' words.

What was he going to do?

He was going to Jerusalem to suffer and die.

They were going to arrest him, condemn him, beat him, torture him, murder him.

Anyone want to follow now?

See, it suddenly was a line drawn in the sand where the disciples, they didn't want to hear those truths.

But then Jesus did say, peace will come upon you because after three days I will rise.

The disciples didn't get it.

They believed they were going to be into Jerusalem and Jesus is going to be crowned king.

It was a high point of his ministry.

And even though he predicted his death, burial and resurrection three different times, they didn't understand.

And friends, I believe if we're not careful, we can make the same mistake.

We can go somewhere.

We can gather here on a Sunday morning.

We only hear what we want.

Oh, I'm only checking a box.

I'm making myself feel good.

Oh, I'm here for my wife, for my husband or my girlfriend, whatever it may be.

And you're not hearing the truth of what Jesus is challenging us to.

See, when Jesus makes statements like the one in John 14 when he says Jesus told him,

I'm the way, the truth and the life.

No one could come to the Father except through me.

Now, many people consider that verse divisive, right?

Very divisive, oh, that's division.

What about the other religions?

What about this?

Jesus wasn't trying to cause division.

He was simply making a statement because if you continue on in the verse, he says,

if you had really known me, you would know who my Father is.

From now on, you do know him and have seen him.

See, it's not about being divisive.

Jesus is simply saying, if you've seen me, you've seen God.

If you've connected to me, you know God personally.

It's an invitation.

It's not a divisive comment.

It's an invitation to experience God in a real way.

And see, this was part of God's plan from the very beginning.

God the Father would send his Son into our world to what?

To love, to lay down his life, to heal our broken lives.

But first, it meant that Jesus had to be rejected, condemned, killed,

hung on a cross to pay the price for our sins.

So let's set the scene for Sunday morning in Jerusalem.

Passover, it's about to begin.

Everyone is gathered from all over the known world for a week-long religious festival.

They were celebrating Israel's most important story, the Exodus from Egypt.

Remember, they were in slavery in Egypt and God liberated the people.

So please understand, this was like the Super Bowl.

All the Jews from all over the world would pour into Jerusalem,

celebrating their Exodus from Egypt.

Scholars estimate that the city, just its inhabitants,

but 200,000 more pilgrims would journey into the city.

So this city was busting at the seams, looking to celebrate this festival,

which leads us to our next song.

Jesus then enters Jerusalem clothed in royalty and humility, Mark 11, 1-2.

As Jesus and his disciples approached Jerusalem,

notice they came to the towns of Bethpage and Bethany on the Mount of Olives.

Jesus sent two of them going ahead.

He says, go into that village over there, he told them,

and as soon as you enter it, you will see a young donkey tied there

that no one has ever ridden.

Untie it and bring it here.

Now, if you think about it, this is kind of a rear request,

because remember, the disciples thought Jesus would enter as a king.

And here he is requesting to enter the city on a donkey.

Now, they would have looked at this request as being a little odd,

because all throughout the Gospels, if you read Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John,

Jesus walked everywhere he went.

There was no Ubers in Jerusalem back then.

He had to walk everywhere.

In fact, Jesus had just walked 90 miles from Galilee to Jerusalem.

And now he's requesting a donkey, and he's only a half a mile from the temple.

But see, Jesus is trying to make a point.

He's trying to show us, his disciples and the people gathered,

what kind of king he really is.

500 years, this is amazing, before Jesus was even born,

the prophet Zechariah made a promise to the Jews in the Old Testament

when he recorded these words, Zechariah 9.9,

rejoice, O people of Zion, shout and triumph, O people of Jerusalem,

look, your king is coming to you.

He is righteous and victorious, yet he is humble, riding on a donkey,

riding on a donkey's coat.

So please understand, everyone in the city would have known this prophecy.

For Jewish people, especially boys, since age eight,

they would have memorized those exact words.

The Jewish Messiah, the Savior, the King,

would one day ride into Jerusalem on a donkey.

And the people believed they would then be liberated from Rome.

And Jesus is intentionally sending a signal that I am the long-awaited King of the Jews.

This is Jesus going public.

He's saying, people, you've been waiting your whole life for this very moment,

I am the Messiah.

And remember, Zechariah prophesied that the Messiah would be riding on a donkey.

So what kind of king is Jesus really?

Well, the donkey says it all.

He is royalty and humility all in one.

Because we must realize in the first century,

that is not how a king would have entered the city.

If you were a victorious king who conquered a nation,

the king would ride in on a white stallion, a warhorse,

bigger than any of any other horses pulling golden chariots.

The king would then be flexing his muscles, making a statement,

saying, I'm in control now.

The crowds would be cheering, celebrating the entrance of this king.

I mean, it still happens today in England.

Right, think about royal weddings, royal funerals, right?

It's a big parade, it's a big procession of horses and elegance and power,

but not Jesus.

And what is he trying to say to us today?

He's saying, my kingdom is not of this world.

Is my kingdom about wealth? No.

Is my kingdom about military power? No.

Is my kingdom about prestige? No.

It's about humility, peace, and humble servant.

So he rides in on a humble donkey to tell the people,

I'm the servant king here to serve you.

Which leads us to our next thought.

See, the people then welcome Jesus as king.

Look at Mark 11, 7 through 10.

Then they brought the colt to Jesus, and he threw their garments over it,

and he sat on it.

Many in the crowd spread their garments on the road ahead of him,

and others spread leafy branches.

He was cut in the fields.

Jesus was in the center of the procession,

and the people all around him were shouting, praise God!

Blessings on the one who comes in the name of the Lord.

Blessings on the coming kingdom of our ancestor David.

Praise God in the highest heaven.

Now everyone grab out your palms.

Okay, these palms you're holding in your hands

would have actually been the exact things that the people would have thrown along the road.

Take a look at your palm.

These palms, the people would go out to the palm trees,

they would rip off the large palms,

and then they would tear them like this,

and as they tore them, they would then throw them on the ground,

so that the king would have something to ride on.

In the ancient world, this is how the people welcomed a victorious king or war hero.

And as the king entered the city, they would strip these palm branches,

they would lay them down, and essentially they would be laying out the what?

The red carpet.

For them, this was the red carpet,

and they would welcome home the victorious king.

And as Jesus was entering the city,

he's riding down the Mount of Olives on a donkey,

thousands of people, they're waving their palms,

they're praising God, they're throwing them on the ground,

they're throwing their garments on the ground,

and they're saying, thank you, our king has come.

They're welcoming Jesus as their savior, as their king in this royal possession.

The people are shouting, long live the king and his kingdom.

But in their minds, and even in the disciples' minds,

they're thinking, finally, someone to deliver us from Rome.

This was a victory parade, a royal celebration, it was a party,

but wait, something was wrong.

Which leads us to our next thought.

Jesus wept for Jerusalem.

Mark 11, 11.

So Jesus came to Jerusalem, went into the temple,

after looking around carefully at everything,

he left because it was late in the afternoon.

So imagine, imagine you're a disciple.

And imagine you're walking along beside the donkey with Jesus riding on it,

seeing all these people celebrating him as king, welcoming into Jerusalem,

and suddenly you turn over, you look to your left,

and you see Jesus sobbing.

Tears are rolling down his face, and suddenly, as a disciple you're confused.

Jesus, why are you crying at your coronation, at your celebration?

Luke describes it this way in Luke 19, 41 and 42.

But as he came closer to Jerusalem and saw the city ahead, he began to weep.

How I wish today that you of all people would understand the way of peace.

But now it is too late and peace is hidden from your eyes.

And that word for weeping is not a gentle alligator tear that you see from a young child when they cry.

It's uncontrollable sobbing and sorrow.

So here we find Jesus weeping as the disciples are so confused because everyone is celebrating.

Why is the king crying?

Because he knew that the whole world can change in a week.

Jesus knew that in five short days the same crowd who is now shouting praise God and celebrating will shout,

crucify him, crucify him.

And we all know people are fickle, and Jesus knew that everything could change in a week.

Jesus knew the hearts of men, knew the hearts of women.

He realized that as soon as the crowds recognized that he wasn't bringing political revolution,

he wasn't bringing military victory, that's what they wanted, he knew they would reject him.

Why? Well that leads to our final thought.

See God's kingdom is upside down.

When Jesus entered Jerusalem, not everyone was happy.

The Pharisees, the religious leaders in fact, were threatened by him

because Jesus condemned their hypocrisy.

Jesus called out the religious leaders for taking advantage of people,

for not living what they taught and making friends with the Roman authorities.

Many of us know that Jesus called them snakes, hypocrites, a brood of vipers.

So the Pharisees, they got offended.

And we read this by Tuesday in Mark 14, it was now two days before Passover and the Festival on Leavened Bread.

The leading priests and the teachers of religious law were still looking for an opportunity to capture Jesus secretly and kill him.

But not during the Passover celebration, they agreed or the people may riot.

See the Pharisees, the religious leaders, they didn't want to risk a riot at Passover

because the Romans, they may rush in, crack down, and take away all their power.

Now I know this sounds absolutely crazy, but toxic politics were a part of the ancient world too.

Right? Why are the Pharisees so jealous?

Because he called them out.

But also because God's kingdom is like no other. It's a kingdom about other people.

It's about focusing on others and serving others. Mark chapter 12, Jesus replied,

Mark 12 · chapter mention

the most important commandment is this, listen, O Israel, the Lord your God is the one and only Lord.

And you must love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength.

The second is equally important. Love your neighbors yourself.

No other commandment is greater than these.

You know, so Jesus challenges people. He says, no, lay down your life.

Serve others. Put other people first.

And then he even takes it a step further, which the religious leaders couldn't handle.

He says, love your enemies. He challenged us. He says, love them, Luke 6.

But to you who are willing to listen, I say, love your enemies.

Do good to those who hate you. Bless those who curse you. Pray for those who hurt you.

See, Jesus, he wasn't a conquering king who fit into these political expectations.

I hate to break it to you, friends. He wasn't left. He wasn't right. He wasn't red or blue.

He was the prince of peace who models a different way to live.

And that way is self-sacrifice. It's putting others first.

Luke chapter 9, then he said to the crowd, if any of you wants to be my follower,

Luke 9 · chapter mention

and this is for all of us today, you must give up your own way, take up your cross daily and follow me.

That means we take up ourselves and die to self so that we can love our enemies,

and encourage our enemies. Even when it seems impossible, that's the way of following Jesus.

But Jesus also knew of Jerusalem's future.

See, the people, they wanted to make Jerusalem great again, so they were celebrating his king.

But Jesus knew that 35 years after he entered the city,

Rome would send 60,000 soldiers to storm the city and kill over 1 million Jews,

tearing down the temple in 70 AD.

Now do we understand why Jesus was weeping?

He knew that temple was going to be destroyed.

He knew that people were going to die, but he also knew that he was going to lay down his own life.

He was weeping for Jerusalem's destruction and his coming crucifixion.

See, Palm Sunday was a day of celebration for most, but it was a day of bitter sweet sorrow for Jesus.

He felt the pain of a week that would change his world and would change our world as we know it.

It would end not with a coronation, not with a celebration, but it came dying on a cross for our sins,

for sins he didn't commit.

Jesus' journey home begins with a parade on Palm Sunday and ends with his crucifixion on a Good Friday.

It's just a simple reminder that a lot can happen in a week.

And I want to encourage you, Jesus is here this morning, desiring to be in relationship with you,

which leads us to our action steps, daily welcoming God's kingdom.

See, when Jesus taught the disciples to pray, he taught them a simple prayer that said,

may your kingdom come, may God's kingdom come, on earth as it is in heaven.

And he desires that we daily welcome his kingdom every single day.

And what does that look like? Four simple steps. And the first one's this.

We have to cry out. We have to cry out to God.

John chapter 12, the next day, the news that Jesus was on the way to Jerusalem swept through the city.

John 12 · chapter mention

A large crowd of Passover visitors took Palm branches, went down to the road to meet him.

They shouted, praise God, blessings to the one who comes in the name of the Lord.

Hail to the King of Israel.

Remember, this is the first time that the people of Israel has declared Jesus as king.

And in so doing, they are saying, he is the Messiah. He is the Savior.

In fact, when they're shouting this way, they are quoting a Messianic scripture from Psalm 118 that reads this way.

Please, Lord, please save us. Please, Lord, please give us success.

Bless the one who comes in the name of the Lord. We bless you from the house of the Lord.

See, the people are saying, crying out, Jesus, save us now.

We need your intervention. We need freedom from Rome.

We need this.

But another set of verses from the book of Psalms that speak to our daily need for God's intervention in our life,

as we read them, and this is a good section of scripture that I'm going to read to you,

but I feel it's pertinent and it applies to our life.

And I want you to listen to how God repeats his desire for us to cry out to him on a daily basis.

Psalm 107, and it starts in verses 4 through 8.

Some wandered in the wilderness, lost and homeless, hungry and thirsty. They nearly died.

Lord, help!

They cried in their trouble and he rescued them from their distress.

He led them straight to safety to a city where they could live.

Now listen to these words.

Let them praise the Lord for his great love and for the wonderful things he has done for them.

Then down in verse 11, they rebelled against the words of God,

scorning the council of the Most High. That is why he broke them with hard labor.

They fell and no one was there to help them. Lord, help!

They cried in their trouble and he saved them from their distress.

He led them from the darkness and deepest gloom. He snapped their chains.

Number two, listen to this. The second time he says it.

Let them praise the Lord for his great love and for the wonderful things he has done for them.

Now verse 18. They couldn't stand the thought of food and they were knocking on death's door.

Lord, help!

They cried in their trouble. He saved them from their distress.

He sent out his word and healed them, snatching them from the door of death.

Again, the third time. Let them praise the Lord for his great love and for the wonderful things he has done for them.

And now down in verse 26, we read their ships were tossed to the heavens and plunged again to the depths.

The sailors cringed in terror. They reeled and staggered like drunkards and were at their wits end.

A lot of people don't realize that that term, wits end, actually is in the Bible.

Lord, help! They cried in their trouble and he saved them from their distress.

He calmed the storm to a whisper and stilled the waves.

What a blessing was that stillness as he brought them safely into the harbor.

And again, the fourth time. Let them praise the Lord for his great love and for the wonderful things he has done for them.

And listen, I want you to understand God is not upset or angry with the people.

He's not frustrated with them for crying out for help. He wants us to cry out for help.

God doesn't get upset when we look to him for advice and we look to him to meet our needs.

But he is saying, I want this to become a lifestyle for you.

I want you to give thanks all the time, not just when you need something.

And as people, quite often, the only time we turn to God is when we're in crisis, when we need something from him.

But God says, no, cry out not just when you're in trouble or you need something.

I want to hear from you every single day.

Why can't we daily be thankful?

So many of us don't realize we have so much to be thankful for, but we don't focus on that.

We only focus on the negative.

And I believe if we develop a lifestyle of thankfulness, it will overcome our stress, anxiety, worry, and fear that so many Americans struggle with.

That so many Americans deal with on a daily basis.

But as followers of Jesus, we have the opportunity to cry out for God's kingdom to come and his will to be done now on earth as it is where?

In heaven.

And we know in heaven, right, there is no fear.

There is no tears.

There is no mourning or crying or grief or pain for the old order of things.

They what?

They passed away.

And that's available to us today when we cry out, which leads us to our next step.

We fear not.

John 12, 15, don't be afraid people of Jerusalem.

Look, your king is coming riding on a donkey's colt.

And I want you to realize this is the most frequently repeated command in the entire Bible.

The command, fear not, is not a negative command.

It's a positive command.

God is telling us not to fear, to fear not.

And it's a direct command that's quoted over a hundred times in the Bible.

And there's some form of this command in the Bible, 365 times or one for every day of the year.

In other words, put your trust in God and do not be afraid.

It's a command from God that communicates to us, hey man, just relax.

You're stressed out for no reason.

I got this.

If you're in a relationship with me, you are covered.

And it's what allows us to experience joy every single day.

1 John chapter 4 tells us this, dear friends, since God loved us that much, we surely ought to love each other.

1 John 4 · chapter mention

Such love has no fear because perfect love expels all fear.

If we are afraid, it is for fear of punishment.

And this shows that we have not fully experienced his perfect love.

God is inviting us to experience a love that many people just don't understand.

But the enemy, our enemy, the devil wants to distract us and cause us to worry.

Be overwhelmed. Be stressed out.

He wants us to take our focus off of others during this season where people are searching for God.

I mean, I know last week Rudy gave out the little Jesuses, right?

Yes. Did everybody, if you got one, did you leave it with your server?

Or your gym or wherever? Right?

It's such a great idea. Well, we have a ton of cards left.

If you want to order some more little Jesuses off Amazon, go to the Welcome Hub, grab some cards,

leave it at your gym, leave it with your server, whatever,

and invite people to experience new life as we celebrate Easter next week. Amen?

So our first two steps. What was number one?

Cry out. What was number two? Fear not.

And our third, not as we expect. Not as we expect.

John chapter 12, don't be afraid, people of Jerusalem.

John 12 · chapter mention

Look, your king is coming riding on a donkey's coat.

Your king is coming not as you expect.

Remember Zechariah's words.

500 years before Jesus was born, your king is coming.

He is victorious and righteous. He is humble, riding on a donkey, riding on a donkey's coat.

What is Zechariah saying?

Your king is coming not as you expect.

Remember, at this point in history, a king would have rode in on what?

A white horse, a war horse.

Now I learned this this week. I didn't know this, but horses are actually measured by human hands.

So horses, their height, people count hands to see how tall a horse is.

Now if you're a conquering war hero, they would want to ride in on a white stallion that was at least two hands taller than any other horse.

But a king, a king, when he rode into the city, he wanted four hands taller than any other horse.

But there's something written in the Gospels that I believe a lot of people miss.

And let me read it for you in Matthew 21, 2. Listen to this.

So into the village over there, he said, this is Jesus telling the disciples,

as soon as you enter it, you will see a donkey tied there with a coat beside it.

Untie them. Everyone say them.

And bring them to me.

So in other words, these verses are saying that the donkey's mother was present with the coat as Jesus rode into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday.

Why?

Because the coat would have been much calmer with its mother riding beside.

But yet if you look at paintings or renderings of Palm Sunday,

there's no rendering that's correct because it only shows Jesus on a donkey.

When in reality, the correct rendering would have showed the donkey, the mother with the coat beside it.

Jesus would have been riding on the coat.

And many scholars believe, and I want you to picture this in your mind,

Jesus riding into Jerusalem, right on a donkey's coat, and his feet are literally dragging on the ground.

Why? Why?

Because he was trying to express that he's a humble king.

And see, the people, the people, they wanted relief.

They wanted Jesus to save them from their temporary circumstances while Jesus was bringing a permanent solution, connection with the Creator.

When Jesus was being who they wanted him to be, what did they do?

They praised him, the Savior.

But when Jesus was being who they needed him to be, a Savior, what did he desire from them?

A crown.

He didn't need their praise.

He wanted the crown because he knew that was the step that needed to be taken so that we could reconnect with the Savior,

which leads us to our final step.

And it's an invitation to all of us.

We need to respond.

Many in the crowd spread their garments, waved the palms in the air,

and Jesus was in the center of the procession, and they were shouting, praise God!

Blessing on the one who comes in the name of the Lord.

Blessing on the coming kingdom for our ancestor David.

Praise God in the highest heaven.

And today, this morning, I believe Jesus is riding into towns.

He's riding into people's stories.

He's riding into circumstances.

He's riding into your life today to break addictions and chains and fear,

whatever may be happening in your life.

And the question this morning is, will you respond?

Will you worship?

Will you praise?

Will you humble yourself and allow others to serve you?

Like I said, come back tonight and get your feet washed.

Humble yourself. Get over yourself.

And realize that it's about serving others.

Will you stand with me this morning?

You know, I am so thankful that even in the midst,

even in the midst of technology that doesn't work,

I believe God's truth and his gospel goes forth.

Amen?

And I believe that Jesus is riding into this room this morning,

desiring to ride into people's hearts.

And it's a choice that you have to make, and I would be amiss

if I did not give you that opportunity.

So as we do every Sunday here at HTV, we're going to pray a simple prayer.

I'm going to invite you to pray it with me,

either in the quietness of your heart or out loud as we all pray it together.

Because it's an opportunity to reconnect with your Creator.

Let's pray together.

Jesus, I'm broken.

I'm full of doubt, shame, regret, anger, sin.

Change me.

I believe you're God's son.

I believe you died for me.

Make me new.

Set me free.

Fill me with your Spirit.

Give me the ability to praise you and celebrate what you did for me.

In Jesus' name, Amen.

Now listen, if you prayed that prayer for the first time,

you said those words, see me, high five me, give me a hug, send me a text.

Whatever you need to do, because I'm going to challenge you,

get baptized on Friday.

Take the next step and begin that journey with Jesus

that will radically change your life.

Now before we end, I felt like I needed to pray a prayer over you

that comes from number six.

Number six, verses 24 to 26.

I actually pray this prayer over my son, Phoenix,

every single night I'm wearing the prayer on my back.

And it says this, may the Lord bless you and protect you.

May the Lord smile on you and be gracious to you.

May the Lord show you His favor and give you His peace.