Hosanna | Ps. Keith Pittman | Palm Sunday

Welcome to the Celebration Church Orlando podcast.

Thank you so much for listening today.

We hope it encourages you and inspires you.

Here's today's message.

There we go.

There we go.

I need to make the nine o'clock service jealous.

Um man, I I love I love the atmosphere.

I love the what God is doing in here, and I believe that he's going to continue to uh to build on that today.

Before I jump into uh today's message, I do want to take a moment to highlight um kind of what this week really does represent um for all of us as followers of Christ and specifically what that means for us here in Celebration Orlando.

You know, we acknowledge that this is uh the Passover week, it's uh the most sacred time for us as followers of Christ where we have an opportunity to kind of recognize the journey of Jesus, starting with today, Palm Sunday, and ultimately concluding next Sunday with Easter services, resurrection, where Jesus uh dies on Good Friday, but he's resurrected and what that means for us.

And so we have a lot of amazing things planned.

And so I want to invite you guys at 7 a.m.

Somebody say 7 a.m.

7 a.m.

every single day.

We're gonna be releasing um some videos that are really brief but are meant to serve as devotionals and encouragement as we highlight some key things that Jesus did at that time.

We're out on location, guys.

Like I was out in the woods, man.

Snakes were going by.

I put my life on the line so that you guys can be encouraged by the gospel.

And so all I'm asking you to do is at 7 a.m.

What time is it?

7 a.m.

7 a.m.

Monday through Thursday.

Just hop on to Instagram or if you're on you want to check out on YouTube, these brief videos, but it's really gonna help us to have an intimate awareness of what Jesus did and really kind of see the chronology leading up to uh the empty tomb.

And then on Friday, Good Friday, instead of 7 a.m., it's gonna be 7 p.m.

We flipped it on you, say 7 p.m.

7 p.m.

is gonna be a special um uh Good Friday service, very brief, but really helps us to understand the weight of what Jesus carried to the cross, and then we're gonna be able to celebrate the empty tomb together.

And so, what that means is for next Sunday, as you heard Megan say, we're gonna have three service options.

So let me give you some context as to what that means for us.

Um, last year we had over 600 people that came and worshiped with us through our two services last year.

It was powerful.

But our venue, if you're here with us in person, um it seats about 250.

So with two services, even if we filled every single seat, we still didn't have enough last year.

And our church has grown substantially since last year.

And so what I'm projecting and and kind of guesstimating is that we'll probably have between 750 to 800 people here next week.

Because we're gonna get folks that typically don't come, we're gonna get people that come every now and then, and we're gonna have our regulars all coming at the same time.

And so that means that our services are going to more likely be crowded.

And that's not to be an encouragement, that's for us to celebrate the harvest of what the goodness of God is doing.

But but here's what I'm asking every single one of you.

Um, because we know that this is gonna be a time when anyone who's remotely connected to our church will all converge around that same weekend, that if you're part of our regular group core people, we're asking you to please come to the 12 o'clock service.

Because the reality of it is, and just looking at human behavior, um, that a lot of folks who don't typically come to church, they're gonna come to the earlier service.

They want to get out to brunch.

I want to get to brunch, but I get it.

But but what I'm asking for is for our core people, if you could come to that 12 o'clock service, that actually opens up seats for our 9 and our 10:30 service and it'll help create space for people.

We will have some overflow available, but for our 12 o'clock service, we won't.

Um, so we're asking a lot of our core folks to come to that 12 o'clock service so we can create space for folks that that may have never come or ones who come every now and then.

We want to try to make as much space to accommodate as many people as possible.

All the services will be identical, but that really will help us out.

So I'm excited about what God's gonna do um for this Easter season.

Can I get a good amen?

Amen.

Now let's jump into uh today's message.

If you have your Bibles, um, I want you to join me in the Gospel of Mark, chapter number 11.

The Gospel of Mark, chapter number 11.

The account that I'm gonna read to you um about what we call the triumphant entries, Jesus coming into Jerusalem.

Um, it's actually found in all four Gospels.

There's not many things um that John's Gospel comes into alignment with the other three Gospels, but this is one of those ones where you can kind of get a forensic perspective reading all four Gospels and looking at the different things that each author chooses to highlight.

But this particular one, I love it because of the way that the writer um just kind of gets into the action and really helps us to kind of almost feel uh the dust of what's going on.

To give you some context, it's it's it's a Passover week.

And Jesus has been in and out of Jerusalem over the years, and there's been a lot of momentum and a lot of attention that's been drawn.

He's just resurrected Lazarus, and and so now we have him coming into uh Jerusalem at this time.

Now, Passover is the most sacred holiday for practicing Jews, and it still remains to be that in addition to the Day of Atonement.

These are really powerful sacred holidays that they still continue to celebrate.

What this also means is that this is one of the holidays where no matter where you lived, everyone came to Jerusalem.

So it's hard for us to really pinpoint, but but I've looked and seen some scholars believe that was upwards of a million people all converging into Jerusalem at the same time.

Just a ton of people.

And so a part of that group of people are people that have been made aware of the ministry of Jesus over the years.

You also have people that were in Jerusalem who benefited from many of his miracles.

You also have the people that were following Jesus after he resurrected Lazarus, but then you also have some people that were part of the religious establishment that were anti-Jesus.

We call them Jesus haters.

And so all of these people are all converging at the exact same time.

Some of them are curious about Jesus, others are celebrating Jesus, others are anti-Jesus, and they all come together.

You can imagine the tension and the emotion and the curiosity that is emerging, but it sets the tone for what we are about to enter into.

So starting here at verse number one, it says this and when they approached Jerusalem at Bethagi in Bethany, near the Mount of Olives, he sent two disciples and told them, Go into the village ahead of you, and as soon as you enter it, you will find a colt tied there on which no one has ever sat.

Untie it and bring it.

And if anyone says to you, Why are you doing this?

Say, the Lord needs it and will send it back here right away.

So they went and they found a colt outside in the street tied to the door.

They untied it, and some of those who were standing there said to them, What are you doing, untying the colt?

And they answered them, just as Jesus had said.

So they let them go.

Then they brought the colt to Jesus and they threw their clothes on it, and he sat on it, and many people spread their clothes on the road, and others spread leafy branches and that were cut from the field.

And those that went ahead of him, they they followed and they shouted, Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.

Blessed is he that's coming in the kingdom of our Father David, Hosanna in the highest heavens.

As we kick off Holy Week, I think it's only appropriate for us to kind of enter into this space of Hosanna and what it means for us as modern-day believers of Jesus, and talking a little bit about the power of our praise.

If you're taking notes, and of course you are, I want you to write this message title down, Hosanna, with an exclamation point.

Don't put no period there, don't put no question marks there, you put an exclamation point.

Let's pray and let's get into it.

Lord, we thank you so much for your word.

We thank you for this precious community, and we we thank you, Father, for allowing us to come together, knowing that when two or three are gathered in your name, that you're right here amongst us.

Father, I decrease and ask for you to increase.

And Lord, we ask now for open eyes that we can see you.

I pray for open ears that we can hear you, and I pray for open hearts to receive everything that it is that you want to deposit and transform us today.

It's in Jesus' name that we pray.

Amen.

Amen and amen.

I I'll I'll be real with you guys.

My my message is is really not prolific.

It's really, it's really not um that complex.

It's it's really actually quite simple, in fact, and I never do this.

I'm gonna go ahead and give you my one and single point that you can write down, and then you can put your notes up, and we can just lean in, we can be locked in because I do feel like there's a journey that God wants to bring us on.

Here, here's the one thing that I want you guys to make sure that you walk away with is that the praise from our lips activates the power in his hands.

Let me say this again: the praise from our lips activates the power in his hands.

In fact, we're gonna do a little bit of call response.

I want you all to say it with me.

Say the praise from our lips activates the power in his hands.

Amen.

You can put your notes up and let's go on this journey and have some fun.

So we recognize that that words carry uh a lot of power.

We understand that that words have the ability to shift atmospheres.

We all know that.

If you ever worked in a toxic work environment, you can come in and have a good mood, and all it takes is that one person to come in to say something that can shift the entire atmosphere and throw your whole mood off.

We we know the power of words.

The the Bible even says that life and death are in the power of the tongue, that we can say things and we can shape things, we can build people up with our words, we can tear people down with our words, we can enter into the covenant of marriage with our words.

Like it's amazing how powerful our words are.

My my my grandchildren learned this lesson very, very early in life.

It's amazing how when we're at home, they're always making fun of me, we're always laughing and joking.

But every time we find ourselves going to a toy store, their words get a little bit more generous when they're talking to me.

All of a sudden they're giving me all types of compliments.

They love my haircuts, they love my outfit, they love everything because they understand that that the fruit of their lips can activate a blessing in their life.

And I don't know if it's manipulation, but I do know that whenever they give me a compliment, I'm like, you can have whatever you want.

I'll buy this entire store out um on credit.

But we'll figure it out.

We'll make payments.

Maybe they got a firm after pay.

We'll figure it out.

Um, but we'll do whatever we gotta do because I love, I recognize that for me, I am a I'm a words of affirmation person.

I I provide them and I appreciate receiving them.

Megan and I, we're we're leading um a married small group now, um, and and it's all centered around communication.

And and what I've learned, and even though we've been together for well over two decades, I continue to have to remind myself that that communication is not just about me communicating to her the way that I would communicate, but I need to communicate with her the way that she wants to be communicated with.

Listen, I'm trying to give somebody some free counseling right now.

I'm in school for this right now.

When I've in another two years, you're gonna have to pay me for what I just said.

Okay.

But but I I I recognize, I recognize that that I can't communicate with her on my terms because what can happen is I'm speaking to her the way that I would want to be spoken to, and unfortunately, I could be frustrated when she doesn't respond the way that I would respond.

And in order for me to create it and cultivate a culture of peace, I have to look at how she wants to be communicated to and meet her where she's at.

As simple as that is, and as profound as it can be, I think that sometimes we miss that when it comes to our relationship with God.

We we often don't even think about us being in a relationship with God.

Meaning this, we tend to approach God on our terms.

We approach him on our terms and we actually want him to be grateful that we did it.

Lord, I'm praying, you're welcome.

I read the Bible today, you're glad I'm here.

Like, Lord, Lord, I'm I'm I'm I'm worshiping you today.

You should be glad.

I don't even like this song that much.

Like, it's almost like we approach God on our terms and we expect him to respond, but but God actually has given us a beautiful blueprint on how he wants us to communicate with him.

He's literally saying, like, if you can just look at the guidelines that I've established for you, and if you can engage me the way that is going to trigger a response from me, I promise you there's gonna be some things activated in your life.

And we have a lot of different things, of course, like all the spiritual disciplines that we've been talking about, the importance of prayer, the importance of community, the importance of generosity, those things are all there.

But one of the consistent things from Genesis to Revelation is praise.

Praise is the one thing that is consistent through all scripture.

Because think about this: when we're on the other side in heaven, we're not reading the Bible.

We have the Bible in Jesus, we're we're not praying anymore, our prayers have been answered.

But worship and praise will be the thing that we can do on earth that will also come with us when we go into heaven.

So we might as well practice now.

We might as well get into a good rhythm of it now, because if this is the one thing God's not going to be interested into your intellectual understanding of things, he wants to understand your obedience and your willingness to exalt him in all things.

So we have an opportunity while we're on earth to be able to engage that right now.

When we understand the power of praise and what scripture has to say about it, we see that praise has the ability to change the atmosphere.

David says it this way in Psalms 34, verse 1.

Psalms 34:1

He says, I will bless the Lord at all times, and his praise shall continually be in my mouth.

Psalm 100, verse number 4, he says, Enter his gates with thanksgiving.

That's kind of like the church in our current context, and into his courts with praise and give thanks and praise to his name.

What I what I recognize in my journey with God is that praise serves as exaltation, but it's also an invitation.

I'm exalting God, but I'm also inviting him into my situation.

Psalm 22, 3 says this way But you are holy, enthroned in the praises of Israel.

This means that God is present in our praises, that when we lift our voices, that when we lift our hands, that we are inviting God to show up in our situation.

To put it simply, our praise is like a beacon of light that attracts the attention of God.

That the praise from our lips activates the power that's in his hands.

This is why when we look at the text that we've just read, that we understand that in spite of the long travel and in spite of all that the people have personally been walking through, that when they began to think that they were in the presence of the Messiah, their feelings didn't determine their praise.

They they said, This is the Messiah, and we want to lift up praise to him because of who he is.

Let's let's look, let's dig into it for a minute.

Jesus is entering into Jerusalem.

However, he he wanted to make an entrance, and he's fulfilling the prophecy in Zechariah 9:9.

Zechariah 9:9

You can write that down and go back and look at it.

But what it's ultimately talking about is the day that the Messiah will enter into Jerusalem, riding on a donkey that no one else has ever written.

It's a very powerful prophetic declaration and fulfillment that Jesus is on with them.

So he tells his disciples, okay, listen, I'm coming into Jerusalem.

Okay, and and and we got to make an interest, we're gonna fulfill this prophecy.

So I want you to go ahead and here's what I want you to do I want you to go into the village, I want you to find uh a donkey that's never been written.

Um, he's gonna be tied up.

I want you to untie him, and then I want you to bring them to me.

If anyone says anything to you, I want you to tell them that the Lord has need of them, and that's it.

Now, when I hear those instructions, that is incredibly detailed.

Like Jesus didn't skip anything.

That is a lot of detailed instructions.

However, if I can be honest with you, it's still a little bit vague to me.

He he tells them where to go, what to do, what to look out for, what to say.

He gives them all these instructions, but but he leaves out something that I would almost need in order for me to move forward.

Why?

Like you're telling me to do a bunch of things, but I don't understand why.

It's almost like someone giving you a bunch of ingredients and you don't know what you're supposed to make.

Like, what am I supposed to do with this?

True, true story.

Megan and I were talking, and she was like, you know what?

I wanna, I'm tired of going out and giving these stores my money.

And Keith, I know you're always cooking on a grill.

It's time for me to show up, and I want to let you know that I still got it.

And so I want to make some crab cakes.

And I'm like, man, you gonna cook, Megan?

Praise the Lord.

I don't care what it is, it's just I'm thankful for you.

Hosanna.

Um so she so she's like, okay, I'm gonna make these crab cakes.

I'm like, cool, you're making crab cakes, I'll get up right now and get every ingredient we need.

I get up, I'm driving down the street, I hear my phone go off, I see that as her text me, it's all good.

I I get I get to the grocery store, I pull my phone out.

Now, you guys know me.

Y'all know when I get to a grocery store, I'm on a mission.

I literally am itemizing what lines I need to go into, what lanes I need to go into.

I'm not walking around a store, I'm not wandering like the children of Israel.

I know I'll one, I'll two, I'll three, I'll six, I'll seven, I'll eight.

I'm out.

Like it's very, very clear for me when I need to move.

So when I walk into the store, I don't know why I assumed that my wife would communicate with me the way that I want to be communicated with.

Just give me a list and make it plain.

She sends me a TikTok video.

And as I'm walking in and I hit the button, there's people dancing and stuff, people looking over.

I'm like, what am I supposed to do with this?

And so I text her, I'm like, what am I doing with this?

She said, Oh, that's the TikTok recipe.

I'm like, I don't need to see how to make it.

I just need you to give me the list of the ingredients.

She's like, Well, you can watch the video and then you can break down what you need.

I'm like, oh the least you could do is tell me what items.

Do we need all the items?

There's like 20 different ingredients.

I thought we saw some crackers that were there.

Do I need to buy more crackers?

Like, well, cracker's only 99 cents.

I know, but that's 99 extra cent that could go towards my sneaker budget.

Do we need crackers?

Like, you gotta you gotta give me all the specifics.

I went to the store knowing what I was supposed to do, but I didn't have the details that I felt that I needed.

I I say I say this in jest, but when we look at this text, we're literally seeing Jesus send these men with some very specific instructions without a clue of why they're doing it.

Now, every leadership principle that I have ever learned says start with why.

I've I've watched TED talks on it, I've I've watched on effective ways to cast vision.

Everything is all about you have to start with why because why is the thing that brings about inspiration.

When we start with why, it motivates people.

In fact, I I've been looking at some of the things that people talk about when it comes to talking about why, and they say that there's two ways to influence human behavior.

You can manipulate them or you can inspire them.

When you give them why, it serves as a tool for inspiration.

I also see where it says, people don't buy into what you do, they buy into why you do it.

Those are great leadership jewels, man.

Those are great that you can use to run any business.

It's grateful, it's a great thing to use when you're you're leading your family.

These are wonderful things, but but when I look at scripture, I don't see it that way.

And in fact, what I see more often than not in scripture is that why is not provided until it's all done.

So, what if we're approaching God like He's a business model and we're missing out on the business of God?

That what happens when we're being approaching God with all of the questions and we ask ourselves why we're missing out on the what he wants to do.

What why why do I gotta be the one to forgive instead of seeing what God wants to do once we do forgive?

What why do I gotta be the one that makes the phone call first instead of saying, but what is God going to do when I make that phone call?

Why I gotta be the one that turns the other cheek?

They're the ones who offended me, they're the ones who betrayed me.

Why I gotta be the one to do it?

That never seems to be the component that's necessary in order for us to see a move of God.

We could all ask the why questions.

We all have those moments where we're trying to bump up against understanding why God is compelling us to do something.

But but a valuable lesson that I've learned is that understanding is not a prerequisite of obedience in the kingdom of God.

That there are moments when God couldn't be more clear.

And if I could be real transparent with you, I haven't seen many miracles that happened because someone asked why.

I've seen and I've seen answered miracles when people said yes.

That a lot of times we're stuck on the why that we miss out on what God wants to do.

And so, as a fan of Nike, I've got a new theological statement, and that is just do it.

Sometimes you just got to do it.

It may not make sense, you may not satisfy the why right now, but just do it.

When I look at some of the most profound miracles that Jesus performed, it was never caught up on the why.

It was just do your part and watch God do his part.

Imagine when Jesus was turning water into wine.

Fill these jars up with water.

Why?

That makes no sense, Jesus.

They're out of wine.

Why am I doing this?

But instead of them getting caught up on the why, they did it, and now they were able to see a miracle.

Jesus feeds almost 20,000 people and he says, Man, bring me two fish and five loaves.

Y'all know I hate math of all forms.

But I know that my math ain't math, and if you're thinking that this is gonna actually feed that many people, why do you want me to bring you two fish and five loaves?

Will you will you just trust me and will you just do it?

What about the ten lepers?

Man, Jesus, we will you have mercy on us?

Yes.

You know what?

Go into the village and show yourself to the priest.

But Lord, we still have leprosy.

We're not supposed to go into the village until we're some things you're gonna have to just walk out.

Will you trust me?

Just do it.

What about what about when when Lazarus was dead for four days and then Jesus shows up?

Lord, if you just would have been here, then my brother wouldn't be dead.

Where have you laid him?

They end up going to the tomb and then Jesus says, roll back the tomb.

What if they never got past why?

Lord, our brother's dead.

Why?

And we won't move forward until you answer the question, why?

No, I need you to just trust me because I'm about to do a new thing.

And if you're so consumed with why, you're gonna miss out on the what.

I need you to remove the gravestone and watch what I do.

Faith is not the absence of critical thinking, but it's the belief in something bigger than our questions.

It's getting to a point where I recognize that I'm going to trust God.

What if your miracle is on the other side of your answer?

And what if the miracle is on the other side of your obedience?

Sometimes we just gotta say, I'm gonna just do it because I trust him.

Jesus is talking to these disciples and he gives them some very specific instructions, and they go and they just do it.

Now, he tells them, I want you to go and find a donkey that has never been ridden.

Again, that's that's very, very specific.

And if and if it's me, if I'm on Jesus' leadership team, I I got some notes for him at this point.

Because I'm thinking to myself, okay, look, I get it.

We're gonna go in, we're gonna get this donkey.

You want to have this whole moment.

We recognize that that back in the day, that when people came in riding a donkey, that that was a sign.

Of coming in in peace.

Now, if you were coming in to take over, you would ride in on a horse because that said a different message.

But when a royal person came in on a donkey, it was authority, but you're showing up with peace and humility.

Jesus was very specific on how he wanted people to see him because people had an expectation he was going to come in and that he was going to take over the government, but he said, I'm not here to take over the government, I'm here to build a new kingdom.

That's a message that I think we've lost in our modern context.

I digress.

Now let's move on.

He's telling them, I want us to go out and find a donkey that has never been ridden.

Now, a donkey that has never been ridden, it symbolizes a couple of things.

One, it means that he was God because the only time that a sacred an animal was used for something that had never been done, it was often to carry the presence of God.

So we see that he's fulfilling the prophecy about him having this sacred anointing on his life.

Certainly it does have that aspect that communicates this idea of Jesus having authority over this untamed animal.

But I think there's a third thing that I believe that we can benefit and be encouraged in, and that is the grace and his choosing.

See, if it's me and I'm on Jesus' leadership team, I'm saying, listen, Lord, look, I get it, I get it, man.

We want to make a scene, you want to come in, you want I get it, I get all that.

But you do understand that you're choosing an animal that has never been written.

That's very unpredictable.

That's dangerous.

We don't know what to expect from this animal.

I've watched enough episodes of Yellowstone to know that you don't try to ride an animal that has never been written.

This isn't a moment for that, Jesus.

I feel like we need to use something that's a little bit safer.

Let's use something that's already docile, let's use something that's already submitted, let's use something that's already been trained, and then we can use this other wild donkey later, but but this isn't the time to do it.

But but Jesus wanted to send a very clear message about the grace of him choosing.

Because what I believe God wants us to take away from this is that there's some of us that may feel like we're that donkey that's been tied up, and we've been watching all the other people being used.

They got all this experience, they got all this wisdom, they got all this strength, they got all these things that they've accumulated through the years.

I can only imagine if I can personify the donkey, and I I don't know why I think about Eddie Murphy and Shrek at this moment, but but I can only imagine them walking around and like, oh man, look, you have been you've been tied to this post this entire time.

Have you never been used?

Bro, I've been on so many journeys, I am so strong.

And what can happen before long when we're not used long enough, we can think our in our lack of use means that it's a lack of value.

And so it's those moments that I believe God wants us to look in his word and be encouraged.

That God doesn't call the qualified, but he qualifies the called.

That there are going to be some moments in our lives that God is gonna approach us and we're gonna say, Lord, but I I don't have experience in this area, but God's like, it's a good thing I'm not asking for your experience, I'm asking for your availability.

I I want to know if you're willing to be available to carry my presence into environments that maybe other people just can't get into.

Maybe there's something raw about you, and maybe there's an edginess about you, but I actually want to use that.

That when we're sitting up here rejecting people because they don't fit the part or they don't look the role, Jesus is saying, man looks at the outward appearance, but I look at the inward appearance, and I'm choosing you because I know that you can carry the weight of what I'm calling you to go into.

It's only a God that will look at David, a young shepherd boy who has never been in war and say, I'm gonna choose you to be the people, the person that's gonna reflect my kingdom, and then I'm gonna allow the Messiah to be born through.

It's only God that would have the humor to say, Man, Moses, I know that you have a stutter, but I'm gonna use you to go and speak on my behalf to Pharaoh and free the people up.

Man, only a God that will look at 12 disciples who were rejected from all the other rabbinical schools and say, But you are exactly the person that I need for this amazing kingdom work.

Maybe if it's our lack of experience, is what God wants to use so that He can get the glory, but we can still be a part of the story.

I'm talking to somebody in here right now that you feel disqualified, you feel that you don't have value, maybe you don't know all the scriptures like everybody else, maybe you don't have it all figured out.

But if you can have a willing heart and open hands, I want to let you know that God will use you, God's going to use you, but you gotta simply say yes to the mantle.

God is asking you to carry him into some environments that I cannot get into.

So now we see Jesus is now positioned to come into the city.

And as he's coming into the city, there's this moment where people are recognizing that Jesus is coming in on this donkey.

And so they feel compelled to say the words Hosanna.

Hosanna in the highest, Hosanna to the king who's who's coming in the in the name of our father David.

Hosanna, Hosanna.

The word Hosanna means save us.

Save us now.

It's it's it's it's found in what we call the halal of the book of Psalms.

Halal is means to praise.

Hallelujah is where we get the Lord.

So if you ever heard people say, praise the Lord, it's hallelujah.

It's this idea of praise unto the Lord.

So Psalms 113 through 118 are all these passages that talk about the importance of praising God.

And what would happen is whenever the people were traveling to Jerusalem, they would read and sing these psalms.

And we became like this community thing, like a road trip where they're just singing along and they're singing these psalms, and it's creating an atmosphere of worship and expectation where they're singing, Hosanna, Lord save us.

They're they're inviting God in.

But but let me give you the context of their praise.

The people who are singing these words are dealing with Roman occupation.

That that means that that Rome has invaded and has taken over all the surrounding areas, and so they're dealing with governmental oppression, structure and stress is being placed upon them.

The people that are saying Hosanna are the same people that are dealing with temple corruption, that the place, the household of faith, which should have been an environment that cultivates health, that cultivates joy, that cultivates peace and inclusion, has turned into this divisive environment where they were manipulating the people and hurting the people.

The people that were crying out, Hosanna, were people that were in the middle of deep religious division because you had all these different sanctions and sects within Judaism.

You had Pharisees, you had Sadducees, you had Essenes, you had all these different people.

They had their own different belief systems, and they all were trying to figure out their role with the government and all these other things.

And so the people are in the middle, confused and dealing with pain.

The people who said Hosanna were dealing with social inequality, while you had the rich people continue to gain more wealth at the expense of the poor people, and there was never an opportunity for those balances to be established.

That these were just a few of the challenges that the people of God were facing, and yet, in spite of that, they still had a praise for God.

That even in spite of the oppression, they had a praise for God.

That that in spite of the corruption in the temple, they had a praise for God, in spite of the uncertainty with the government, they they still had a praise for God.

Hosanna.

See what we understand when we look at the words Hosanna, we understand that it's an exaltation, but it's also an invitation.

That Hosanna, when we say save now, that means that I acknowledge that you're able to save, and I'm inviting you to save me in this situation.

Hosanna, the praise from our lips activates the power that's in his hands.

What's really what's really interesting is that every single thing that I addressed, Jesus dealt with that week.

He confronted the temple.

The first thing he did is he confronted the temple, Hosanna.

He he he approached a religious leader who's been compromised politically, Hosanna.

He began to to bring judgment and bring things in order, which ultimately led to his crucifixion, Hosanna.

That everything they had lifted their voice about, Jesus showed up in.

It's amazing how the praise from our lips activates the power that's in his hands.

You know, when I when I look at the list of the things that I just shared with us, I can't help but to see some parallels in the world that we live in right now.

Because it seems to me everywhere we turn, there continues to be pain.

There's no shortage of it.

It seems like every other day I'm I'm hearing about another natural disaster.

Like when when you really think about it, because sometimes we can have this this this sympathy fatigue where we just get to a point where we we almost just lose the ability to recognize the reality of what's going on because it's so frequent.

But but literally in the past couple months, thousands of people have died through natural disasters, earthquakes, and tornadoes.

It's like this is this is this is something that you see in Book of Revelation type stuff.

Hosanna.

We we see such extreme disparities between the wealth and the impoverished in the systems that support it.

I don't feel guilty for being blessed, but I do feel convicted about what God, what do you want me to do more of?

Because I recognize that I'm a solution to the problem.

Every single week as a church, we get inundated with prayer requests from another cancer diagnosis, uh, another person dealing with depression.

Uh, I just read an article where a 13-year-old boy who who just killed himself because of the bullying that he was experiencing in school.

It's it's it's it's hard to comprehend the suffering and and the pain that we see.

Our country is so deeply divided right now that I almost don't even want to go on social media because everything becomes a thing.

I'm I'm deeply concerned about the world that my grandchildren are going to be raised in.

And my caution is that my granddaughters are gonna grow up in a world that looks like the world that their grandparents grew up in.

How do we get here?

Hosanna, God, I don't understand it.

And and just last week, I thought these precious lies were taken in another mass shooting.

And here's the reality: just saying that for some people will make people think that that's a political agenda when you're just acknowledging that people are dying and we need the God to show up, but we're so divided that we can't even acknowledge suffering without us having our political positions that we take.

Hosanna, we're not any different than the people then.

And and Jesus was fulfilling literally hundreds of prophecies and they all missed it.

I wonder if we're still missing it too.

Jesus was right in front of them walking on water and they missed it.

Jesus was resurrecting dead people and they missed it.

He rides in, fulfilling all these prophecies, and they missed it.

And I can't help but to think if there's moments where we're missing it.

Hosanna, God, we need you.

But but interestingly enough, in spite of everything I just shared with you, I am still filled with hope.

I am still filled with faith.

I still expect revival because it's in these moments when I begin to feel the pressure the most, I find myself coming back to 2 Corinthians 4, 8 and 9.

It says, We are afflicted in every way, but we are not crushed.

We are perplexed but not in despair.

We are persecuted but not abandoned.

We are struck down but not destroyed.

I don't know who needs to hear this, but even in spite of what the world presents to us, we still serve a living Savior who is ready and willing to show up in our situation.

I don't know what your Hosanna situation is, but it's a moment like this that we get a chance to say, Hosanna, Lord, I lift you up and I invite you in, Hosanna.

God, I say Hosanna over my family.

I lift you up and I invite you in, Hosanna.

I say Hosanna over my finances, I lift you up and I invite you in.

God, I am dealing with so much stress and depression, but I recognize that you will give me perfect peace if my mind is stayed on you.

So I say Hosanna over my mind, I lift you up and I invite you in.

Lord, I say Hosanna over my children, and I know that the world is telling me that they're gonna be drifting away because statistics show me that people are drifting further away from God.

But I stand on your word where it says, if you train up a child in the way that he should go, then he will not depart from these days.

So I say Hosanna over my family.

I say Hosanna over this church, I say Hosanna over you.

I am lifting you up, God, and I am inviting you in in spite of the fear, in spite of the circumstances, in spite of the struggle.

Lord, you are glorious, you are powerful, you are anointed, you have all authority, and I trust you.

I don't understand it, but I trust you, and I'm gonna simply say yes.

I'm gonna say yes to the invitation, I'm gonna say yes to allowing you to use me in every environment you call me into.

But I'm gonna say, Hosanna, I lift you up and I invite you in.

That's what it means to live a life that, in spite of the suffering, you recognize the goodness of God in it.

I want every one of us to stand on our feet.

We're gonna go into a time of just reflective worship, and we have an opportunity to put into practice this very idea.

Because there's some among us that there's some things that we need to invite God into.

This is a Hosanna moment for you.

Maybe your Hosanna moment is with your family, maybe it's with your marriage, maybe it's in your singleness, maybe, maybe there's other areas where you feel like you're being bombarded, but you are not forsaken.

And what our praise allows us to do, it allows us to lift up the goodness of God, but it also allows us to invite him into our situation.

Let's create some space and let's be intentional, not built off of emotionalism, but both based off of faith.

Lifting our hands up and saying, Lord, I trust you.

As we go into worship, maybe maybe you need to respond in a way.

Maybe you want to come to this altar where where I would love to pray with you.

Maybe you want to get out into the aisles and kneel.

What I know is we all have a next step of some sort.

Let's not miss this moment to invite God into whatever it is that you're carrying.

Lord, I thank you.

I thank you for your goodness.

I thank you for your grace, and I thank you for your mercy.

And Lord, we invite you in.

From the fruit of our lips, God, we know it activates the power of your hands.

So, Father, our heart's posture says, Hosanna, Hosanna, God, save us.

We need you now.

We need you in our family, we need you in our schools, we need you in our government, God, we need you in our households, God, we need you with our resources, Father.

There seems to be more problems than solutions, but we know that you are the answer.

Hosanna, Hosanna in the highest, because we recognize that every knee shall bow and every tongue shall confess to the goodness of who you are, God, Hosanna, God.

We give you all glory, honor, and praise, Hosanna, because you are worthy.

You are sitting in throne amongst the praises of your people, Hosanna.

You're amongst us right now, and you're moving things on our behalf, Hosanna, God.

You're bringing healing to our households, Hosanna.

Anything that's not life, you gotta remove it.

I'm asking for you to strengthen and stabilize us in this moment.

Hosanna, Hosanna, Hosanna in the highest.

God, save us now.

We need you.

Now we need healing, now we need resurrection, now we need restoration, now we need unity now, God, in the name of Jesus.

Thanks again for listening.

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