Celebrating The Mission

What a powerful name it is. Amen. If you have

your Bibles, please be turning with me to Luke's

Gospel, the 19th chapter. Luke 19. It is Palm

Sunday. Amen. The beginning of the most holy

week of any calendar labeled in the world. The

week of the passion. Amen. The passion of the

Christ. How many of you have seen that movie?

Just a quick question. How many of you can't

watch it again? That's me. I can't. I can't do

it. I just can't watch it. It tore me apart.

And in my simple understanding, knowing that

that was the worst that Hollywood could even

make it look, and that didn't even scratch the

surface of what Jesus went through. And then

when I thought about, he went through it for

me. I can't do that again. I just can't do it

again. He done it for you. He done it for us.

And as our attention is being pointed toward

next Sunday, next Sunday is Easter. Amen. I decided

a few years ago I was going to quit trying to

just really blow that out of proportion. We're

having church next week. Amen. So, people's minds.

that have been raised in or around church, whether

they want to contemplate it or not, they're going

to be thinking about Jesus. So this is a great

opportunity for you to invite them to the house

of the Lord with you. You know, used to, and

probably in still some places around, folks kindly...

Make little sly remarks about the CEOs which

is the Christmas and Easter only folk. Pastors

will make snide remarks from pulpits about that.

And I've been guilty but I have repented since.

Because if that's the two Sundays we get, we

ain't got time to be joking around about it.

It's 50 % of the opportunity that we may have

to reach people. So, invite people to the house

of the Lord. Because you tell them this, our

pastor will preach the resurrection. Amen? And

I promise you I'll do that. We're going to preach

Jesus alive. We may get him crucified today.

But next week's not about crucifixion. Next Sunday

morning is not about a cross. It's about an empty

tomb. Amen. Luke's Gospel, 19 beginning at verse

28. And when he had thus spoken, he went before

ascending up to Jerusalem. He went ahead of them.

And it came to pass when he was come nigh or

near to Bethpage and Bethany. At the mount called

the Mount of Olives, he sent two of his disciples,

saying, Go ye into the village over against you,

and into which you're going to find a colt tied,

whereon yet never man sat. Loose him, and bring

him hither. And if any man ask you, Why do you

loose him? Thus shall you say unto him, Because

the Lord hath need of him. Now, that'll dispute

every argument. He just went back in the house.

Okay. And they that were sent went their way,

and they found even as he'd said to them, like

it was going to be different, you know. Oh, Lord.

And as they were loosing the coat, the owners

thereof said to them, Why loose ye the coat?

And they said, The Lord hath needed him. And

they brought him to Jesus. Not another word about

the man in his coat. He didn't say no, they just

went back to the house. And they brought him

to Jesus, and they cast their garments upon the

colt, and they sat Jesus there on. And as he

went, they spread their clothes in the way. And

when he was come nigh, even now at the descent

of the Mount of Olives, a whole multitude of

the disciples began to rejoice. and praised God

with a loud voice for all the mighty works that

they had seen, saying, Blessed be the king that

cometh in the name of the Lord. Peace in heaven

and glory in the highest. Heard that before,

haven't we? And some of the Pharisees from among

the multitude said to him, Master or teacher,

rebuke thy disciples. And he answered and said

unto them, I tell you that if they should hold

their peace, the stones would immediately cry

out. And when he was come near, he beheld the

city and wept over it, saying, If thou hast known,

even thou at least in this thy day, the things

which belong unto thy peace, but now they are

hid from thine eyes, for the day shall come upon

thee that thine enemies shall cast a trench about

thee, cast thee round, and keep thee in on every

side, and shall lay thee even with the ground.

and thy children within thee, and they shall

not leave in thee one stone upon another, because

thou knewest not the time of thy visitation.

Man, there's so, so much in those passages there.

We could stop at any one and be good for quite

a while. I want to preach to you this morning,

though, with the help of the Lord, on celebrating

the mission. Celebrating the mission. This is

Mission Emphasis Sunday. And I see no greater

emphasis than this Palm Sunday for us to focus

in and celebrate the mission. And we're going

to celebrate the mission by looking at the plan,

the purpose, and the promise. Father, I love

you and I thank you for your goodness and your

mercy. Now, Lord, I need your help. You're going

to have to help me be expedient today as time

has slipped on already. So I need you, oh Lord,

help me to stay on track. Help me to stay in

the pathway. Help me say what is glorifying to

your name and edifying to your people. And Lord,

that when we leave this place, we will say it

has been good to be in the presence of the Lord.

We'll give you praise for it all in Christ's

lovely name. And the church said, amen. You can

be seated. The Lord has stirred my heart along

this thought today in celebrating the mission.

If we think about it, and so it begins. The beginning

of the ending. Notice I said the ending and not

the end. The divine drama that began before time

as we know it or as it. even existed. The drama

has been put in place. The plan of God has been

put in motion. The sequence of events in the

scene being read in today's storyline will bring

to a close what in theater in the five stages

of the plot structure Stage number three. Stage

three in the plot structure of theater is called

the climax. We would think that would be the

end, but no, this is positioned in the middle.

Definition, the turning point where tension peaks

and the main conflict must be addressed. We have

read the Palm Sunday story. We have read the

story of the triumphal entry, which we now know

is the beginning of the week of passion. We know

that the trials are coming. We know that the

beating is going to take place. Can you see now

there is something that's got to be done? There's

an address that has to be made. The conflict

must be looked at. When we think about this for

information purposes, I think if we know what

stage three is, it's important to know the other

four to help us in our mind locate where we are

in this divine drama, the will and the plan of

God for humanity. If we are approaching the point

where the conflict has to be addressed, then

stage one is simply the exposition. It's the

intro to the characters. The setting, the initial

stabilized situation. So what would that be?

That would be in the beginning God created the

heavens and the earth. We go through the week

of creation, the six days of creation. We see

man in the Garden of Eden. We see man flourishing.

We see God coming down in the cool of the day,

walking and communing with creation. And in his

walk, God sees that Adam is lonely. Can I tell

you that loneliness was the first condition of

created humanity? God wasn't lonely because there's

the Father, the Son, and the Spirit. They communed,

but in his creation, and he created us in likeness

and in his own image so that we too crave fellowship.

We crave relationship. And as we see in this

exposition, we see as the initial stable situation

is put into play, the drama begins. Oh, and doesn't

it? Doesn't the drama begin? It begins to unfold.

The conflict is early on. We see the conflict

begin in chapter 2. We see where, in retrospect

to this loneliness, God takes from Adam a rib

and creates a helpmate. A woman for him to have

communion with and relationship and fellowship

with. And then the conflict begins because there

are two individuals that are really focused on

in any drama. There's the protagonist, the hero.

Then there's the antagonist, the villain. And

so we see God who is the one who is the hero.

And then we see the antagonist come on the scene

and the conflict begin. The conflict in the drama

is sin. Doesn't matter how it happened. Doesn't

matter the deception. The conflict is sin. And

in our own lives, doesn't matter how it happens,

doesn't matter particularly what it is, the conflict

is sin. And so we have the exposition. Then it

moves on to the rising action, a series of scenes

where the protagonist faces obstacles building

suspense. Oh, can you not begin to see the drama

of humanity and God's divine plan beginning to

unfold now? As we've just stepped into Act 1,

Scene 1, there's eight stages, eight different

acts most of the time, and then there's multiple

scenes to fulfill each act and bring each act

to a close. So if you let your mind begin to

carry over, you see the exposition, you see how

it all begins, then you see the rising action.

Sin enters in, and the obstacle is now made available.

But, oh, we move on to the next scene, and then

God has to make a way. Why? Because then we see

that there is a requirement. of blood for the

covering of the sin. We see the protagonist entering

in to make a resolution possible. Amen. And as

this begins to unfold itself, we are finding

ourselves looking at the climax when now the

tension has to be addressed. The conflict has

to be addressed. We see the 4 ,000 years up to

where Christ is. We see how the drama unfolds.

And we see the protagonist, the hero, if you

will, enter. into the drama, trying to bring

about a resolution, we see sacrificial offerings

made. Because without the shedding of blood,

there is no remission for the conflict. And remember,

the conflict is sin. And so without the shedding

of blood, there is no remission for sin. There

is no resolution for the conflict. And so as

we see him begin to enter in, we see a law, a

mosaic law come into play. We see this protagonist

on top of the mountain of... It's shaking. It's

quaking as his voice is thundering and as his

finger pins out the accusation. Not only that,

where man must come into alignment as he writes

out the remedy for the conflict. Thou shalt have

no other gods before you. I am God. You shall

not have any graven images. You shall have not

anything. Don't bow before anything. Treat mankind

the way that I desire to treat you. Those ten

commandments, we see it in place. We see this.

endeavor to live out the drama trying to bring

about this separation that has been taken. The

conflict brought about separation from the hero

and the created. Oh, are we beginning to see

where we find ourselves? This remedy is about

to climax. Stage four is called falling action.

Okay, now we see in the third stage, we see the

turning point. The law wasn't the turning point.

We see the turning point here in this third act

way down there toward the end of the scene because,

see, this act is about to close. This sequence

of events is about to come to a close. In this

scene, we have the pronunciation. On earth, peace,

goodwill toward men. Did you notice the reversal

of the language in the birth narrative and now

in the triumphal narrative? As they begin to

quote, it said in Luke 2, it's glory to God in

the highest and on earth peace. And here it's

peace and glory to God. It's inverted. And this

praise is there. It's this drama. It's beginning

to fulfill itself. And you and I are... are living

here near. Now we're living in this falling action

because the climax had already taken place. Time

had been divided by the scene that we are approaching

now. Time had been separated. A .D., A .B .C.,

time had been separated by the climax, the turning

point, the ultimate point where the protagonist

has entered in and addressed the obstacle and

the conflict of sin. He's entered in and he's

sent himself to take care of the situation. We

see this falling action, the aftermath of the

climax. That's where you and I are living today.

We are living in the aftermath of the climax

in this divine drama where the story begins to

wind down. Oh, and that's what we're seeing.

That's where we are. We're in the falling action.

What has taken place after the climax, after

what has taken place here as the protagonist

has entered in himself. The hero, my God, has

entered in, to address the conflict himself.

That fifth and final stage which we're looking

toward is called the resolution which is the

final scene that closes the story and resolves

remaining questions. So, Pastor, what does that

have to do with where we are? As I said, we are

living right in the middle of the aftermath of

the climax. We think it's the end. No, the resolution

is the end. And the resolution is seen through

the plan and the purpose and the promise of God

himself. When we see that mission beginning to

fulfill and the celebration of the climax. Are

you following me this morning? There is a celebration

going on. Because you see, Zechariah 9, 9, the

prophet had already told them to be watching.

Your Messiah is coming into your city. He's coming

in meek and he's coming in humble. He's coming

in lowly. And you'll know it's him because he's

coming in. On a donkey, he's coming in, and you'll

know it's him. You'll know it. I'm telling you

to be watching for the commotion when the climax

is beginning to come, when the protagonist is

about to address, and there's a turning point.

I am so thankful that God finally had enough

of sin reigning and sin having domination. I'm

so glad that he's ready to take care of the obstacle.

I am so glad. For a triumphal entry. As Jesus

begins to make his way into the city. As the

prophets had said. As the screenplay had already

been written. The script had already been made.

The drama has already unfolded. And now here

he comes. He's riding in toward his destination.

He's riding in. The plan was always from the

beginning of the world, Christ was slain from

its very foundation. The plan was always that

Christ would come. The plan was always that the

redemption of humanity would come through God

himself. And we celebrate the mission along with

the multitude who waved their palm branches and

who took their coats and spread them along the

way. Some say, well, it was just a very small.

crowd, just a little bunch of people. Let me

tell you, you don't turn a city upside down with

a small crowd. Amen? Pharisees don't get torn

up for 15 or 20 people. They get torn up when

thousands are flooding the streets and the shout

of, Hosanna! Save us and save us now! He who

comes in the name of the Lord, my Lord, it causes

stir. The climax isn't a quiet thing. The climax

wasn't something hidden in the shadows. This

This addressing of the conflict was vocal. It

was outright. It was loud. It was on purpose

because the plan of God was being unfolded right

before their eyes. God's plan has always been

to reconcile and redeem his creation. It has

always been to make a way to redeem humanity.

Oh, my Lord, Palm Sunday is truly Hosanna. God,

save us and save us. The whole drama unfolds.

It lays out the whole portrait of the plan of

God. Call him Jesus because he will save his

people. Call him Emmanuel for it is truly God

with us. What does the plan look like? What does

the script say? Isaiah 53. foretold what was

about to happen by the end of this week. He's

going to be beaten and bruised. The suffering

servant. He's going to be beaten beyond recognition.

Think of the passion of Christ and close your

eyes and think ten times, multiple times worse.

You see. Mel Gibson couldn't get them to actually

open up the rib cage of the man portraying Christ

and put his lungs in display. He couldn't expose

his bones so that you could see his ribs. He

couldn't show literally where they had plucked

handfuls of the master's beard from his face

and his face bled. You think plucking a chin

hair is tough? Let some idiot screaming by the

wayside gnashing at their teeth grab a handful

of your facial beard and rip it from your skin.

They couldn't portray that. And what's more,

as best the attempt could be, he could not fully

reveal the weight of the world. On Jesus. Mel

Gibson and his directing and all the actors and

their good portrayals. The man acting as Jesus

could not know the weight of your and my sin.

That's the reason I can't watch it. Because I

know the weight of my sin. And it breaks my heart.

It just tears me up to know he suffered. That

for me. The plan was always redemption. Well,

what is the purpose of the cross? The same as

the plan, redemption. What is the purpose of

Holy Week? That he would bear within himself

your transgression. No wonder the songwriter

penned it well. He who knew no sin became sin.

Why? So that you might have righteousness. So

that you and I might be in standing rightly before

God the Father. The screen right. The one who

orchestrated the drama. So that we can stand

before him in free pardon. because of our acceptance

of his sacrifice. I read something the other

day that really stirred me, and I thought, well,

maybe I've been doing it wrong all these years.

Nowhere in Scripture is there listed what we

call the sinner's prayer. What we see promoted

is repent. It's repent. Why? Because as we are

living in this fallen action, the action that

takes place after the climax, that's where you

and I are. And living in this fallen action,

we have a decision that we have to make. Are

we going to yield ourselves to the divine plan?

And the plan was that God would send his son,

that God would come himself, the incarnate one.

God would enter in, the protagonist would enter

into the drama himself. But that was always the

plan. From the beginning of the beginning. Before

the sequence of time began. Before there was

a sun to rise and a moon to follow. Before all

of that. So you think God knew all that? Yeah.

Sure I do. And he looked through what we know

as time. And he saw this little redneck country

boy. Half raised in a place called Snuthart.

That one day he would be redeemed because of

the climax. In the midst of the falling action

that takes place after. He himself entered in

to live out the drama, to bring redemption for

the created, which is you and I, so that we may

be transformed into his likeness and his image.

As this drama unfolds, we see the purpose. Again,

the purpose is the same thing as a plan, to save

humanity. The purpose is about fulfilling the

plan of redemption, John 3, 16, for God. So love

the world. You say, that's awful simple, preacher.

Well, we overcomplicate this thing sometimes.

It is simple. You and I were born sinners. You

and I need redemption, and God provided it. He

provided it himself. He entered into his own

drama to bring about the resolution for us. The

purpose, what's the purpose of the cross? Because,

you see, they understood the cross. Understood

sacrifice. You and I, sacrifice for us is if

you have to go a week without AC. Oh, my God,

it's so hot. Well, wait until hell. You think

a little discomfort now at about 89 is going

to get you. That's sacrifice for us. I can't

go through Dunkin' Donuts today. I ain't got

but 560, and I know that cup's 780. I guess I'll

just sacrifice today. You got enough gas, ride

to the drip. From 2 to 430, it's half price.

Oh, that sacrifice. We have to do without some

of these conveniences. Some of our conveniences.

And when we can't be conveniently adequate, we

are sacrificing. You know, a sacrifice is a Savior

who bled and died. Who for the joy that was set

before Him endured the shame of the cross. Endured

it. Think about that. He endured it. The joy

was not Calvary. The joy was me and you and the

possibility of our redemption. Why? So that we

can spend eternity with him in fellowship and

communion. You do realize that was the created

order. Adam and Eve, you know why it's so hard

for us to die sometimes. You wonder sometimes.

You see folks struggling in death because the

body was created to live. Before the entrance

of sin and all the things that cause disease,

the heart just kept on pumping. The lungs just

kept on taking in and breathing out, in and out.

And the body was created, and it actually healed

itself. Through the nutrients of food and everything,

our body healed itself to live. And when we see

people struggling in death, man, why don't they

just let go? Because they were created to live.

That body, this thing, was created to live. Death

was foreign. I got one law. That's my tree. Don't

touch it. Don't eat it. It belongs to me. The

day you do thereof, you shall surely die. The

purpose is redemption. Because we now know according

to the script. That though this outward man die

daily, according to the script, it's appointed

unto man once to die. According to the script,

after that appointment, it's the face of just

God. As we embark upon this week, I want our

minds to really be stirred about what Jesus...

did as he entered in Jerusalem. He was fulfilling

the script, but more so he was fulfilling the

plan and making sure that everyone know that

it was a purpose for his being there. The purpose

was for him to get to Calvary. But what I love

is what happens in between as the plan unfolds.

He looks at a city and he weeps and he says,

my, my, my, what peace you have for me. That

song just come into my mind. Take it to the Lord

in prayer. Oh, what peace we often forfeit. Oh,

what needless pain we bear. All because we do

not carry everything to God in prayer. That's

the peace. And he makes his way into Jerusalem,

and he looks, and he weeps, and then he gets

mad. He goes in, turns tables over. Why? Because

he's broken, and this is what you've got? This

is what you're doing? And you don't, he said,

if you would have recognized me, I am the plan.

Had you recognized me, your peace would have

been fulfilled. But the peace that they were

looking for is not what he come to offer. They

wanted peace from Roman dominance. Not peace

in the divine drama. Peace with their creator.

That's what he came to offer. That's what he

still offers. That's why we're living in the

fall in action. And that fall in action is after

the climax. After Sunday is where you and I are

living. Something had to be done. The purpose

of God had to be unfolded on humanity. Redemption.

And this act is drawing near a close. And it

closes with the crucifixion. purpose of Christ

being here. To be the mediator between God and

man. That when we sin we know we have an advocate

with the Father Christ Jesus the righteous. When

we are in conflict with him he has provided the

plan and the purpose and the promise. And the

promise being that John recorded it well. If

we are faithful and just to confess our sins,

he's faithful and just to cleanse us of our sin

and all unrighteousness. That's in the script.

The screenplay can't be erased. It can't be added

to. It is as the author intended. And then there's

the promise. The promise is found early in the

script, as early as Genesis 3 .15. When there's

this heel and the seed that's going to bruise,

the promise is introduced early. I've learned

a little bit more about watching television programs,

especially when you repeat watch them. It's easier

to see the plot. Now you're going to be looking

for stage four. You're going to be looking for,

is this stage three or two? You're going to watch

Andy Griffiths and say, what stage is that in?

But you begin to see how the plan, the plot,

begins to unfold. And you can see when there's

a turning point, especially in a suspenseful

drama. This is suspense. We are living in the

tension of the fulfillment of the ultimate promise.

The promise was that he would come and he came.

The promise was that the plan said he's coming

in on a donkey for a purpose. That he would give

himself. What does the script say? Scarcely will

a good man give his life for a good man. Very

rarely would that happen. But for an enemy, never.

But while we were yet sinners, Christ died for

us. So what we do is we join the multitude. I

celebrate today. I celebrate this Palm Sunday.

I wave the branches of my own limb. Here's my

palm. Let her wave, baby. Folks like Brother

Ron, they got a few leaves missing on theirs.

Whack them off. Wave the limb, Brother. Wave

the limb. We rejoice in this drama. We join with

the multitude. And knowing that the plan is being

unfolded. That the purpose is being fulfilled.

Because God loves you. God loves me. This thing

is preached nine ways from Sunday different than

I thought it would. But man, do I feel the Lord

today. Stand with me. All over this house. You

say, are you not going to get to the resolution?

That's next week. We'll look at the resolution

next week. I was sitting writing this out last

night. I begin to think my mind begin to spin

around the drama that we're living out. The fulfillment

of the plan. And as we know, the script is being

fulfilled every day. As we look toward the day

in which we're living in this fallen action for

the resolution. The promise of the resolution.

The ending. This is the beginning, not the end.

The beginning of the ending. Look at what's going

on in the Middle East today. You know what the

script says in the last days? Say, God, I'm going

to pour out my spirit. Revival's taking place

around this world. We just simply don't see it.

Thousands are being saved. As a curtain falls

in Iran, evangelists are on site preaching. Wars

and rumors of wars. We see the script before

our very eyes. Are we going to be like the people

he addressed? Had you known it was me, you wouldn't

have missed the peace that I have. But yet you

have missed your time of visitation. I don't

want to miss my visit. No. As I'm living in this

act before the last act, the closing act, in

this fallen action. The aftermath of what we

know is the climax of time, my opinion. The climax

of time was when God intervened and paid the

price. Time split. No other religious leader

in the world has had that effect because no other

religious leader that has arisen. God. The only

one who can affect change in the script is the

author. You may ad lib a little, but it doesn't

change the script. He is the only one that has

the authority to change the script. But it's

all been scripted. He had it all out. It's all

been planned. 1 ,500 years span, 40 different

authors, one inspiration, the central focus,

the Christ. So I celebrate the mission. The mission

was redemption all along. From the moment the

conflict began, Actually, eons before the plan

was laid, the script was written. Now you and

I have entered into this drama. We are born.

You're here. You're on this earth. We're living

in the effects of the climax. The fallen action,

that which takes place. It's been some 2 ,000

years now since the first Passion Week. It's

been some 2 ,000 years have come and gone. But

the script is verified almost daily. Accurate.

What does that have to do to me? With me? What

part do I have in it? Well, the plan was always

you. You have to look at it that way. Because

when the end finally comes, when the resolution

comes and the finality of the script is fulfilled

and the curtain closes, if you will, how's it

going to close? Well, it will close with this

great big four square city. Woo! Coming down.

You mean it doesn't? close with the rapture?

No. That's not the end. The curtain doesn't close

there. It's a thousand years or more after that.

This is wonderful. Father, I love you today.

Lord, I feel your drawing power today. Holy Ghost,

I feel you speaking to hearts this morning. If

you don't know Christ as your Lord and Savior,

he came, died for you. This week is all about

you. This passion is all about you. The cross,

his death, his resurrection, it's about you.

It's about his love for you. And his desire to

spend eternity with you. But the only way to

do that is that the resolution for your eternal

estate is taking place. By your acceptance and

your repentance. Heads bowed all over the house.

You don't know Jesus this morning as your Lord

and Savior. Just slip your hand up real quick.

Nobody's looking but Pastor. Just slip it up.

I don't know Jesus. I'm lost. I don't know a

whole lot about what you said this morning. Matter

of fact, I may even be somewhat confused, but

there's something in my heart. Teacher, there's

something stirring in my soul this morning, and

I can't explain it. I don't have AFib, but my

heart is racing. The tension I feel within. Father,

I pray over the house this morning that before

this day is over, that they'll bend a knee and

repent and accept you as their redeeming factor.

They'll confess their sins with their mouth and

believe with their heart unto salvation. Continue

to deal today, Holy Ghost. Continue to speak

to hearts and draw and pull the lost to you.

For as we are living in this fallen action and

result of your divine intervention, save today.

Save today. Amen and amen and amen. God bless

you. I love you this morning. Give the Lord praise,

would you?