The Countdown Continues

sending up to Jerusalem. And it came to pass,

when he was come nigh 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, in the which at your

entering you shall 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. And they that were sent went

their way, and found even as he had said to them.

And as they were loosing the colt, the owners

thereof said unto them, Why loose ye the colt?

They said, The Lord hath need of him. And they

brought him to Jesus. And they cast their garments

upon the colt, and they sat Jesus thereon. And

as he went, they spread their clothes in the

way. And he was come nigh even now at the descent

of the Mount of Olives. The whole multitude of

the disciples began to rejoice and praise 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. And some of the Pharisees

from among the multitude said unto him, Master,

rebuke your disciples. And he answered and said

unto them, I tell you that if these 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're

hid from your eyes. For the day shall come upon

you that thine enemies shall cast a trench about

thee and compass 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.

Simple thought this morning. From last week,

we're just, the countdown continues. As we're

making our way from the last month of Christ's

life to the last day of his life on this earth.

We're traveling there. We're taking a walk through

Scripture. I encourage you this next week in

all the Gospels, read the last of Christ's life.

Get it in your heart. Get it in your mind. Put

it in your soul. Amen? Because he came for you.

Father, I love you today. I need your help. I

need your grace. I ask, Father God, that you

would just... Move upon us now, and as we continue

forward, the countdown continues. I ask God that

you would touch me, you would help me. Add your

richest grace into our heart and life as we just

speak. We speak unto you. To the body of Christ,

to glorify your name, that they be built and

strengthened through Christ. And the church said...

Amen. Tell your neighbor the countdown continues.

What we've known as Palm Sunday, as we're celebrating

today, is one of my favorite Sundays of the year.

The reason being that Christ truly received what

he deserved. Amen? From his humble birth until

this moment, he hadn't received what he deserved.

But now, being bestowed upon him is everything

that he deserves. You remember, he is the Son

of God. He is God in the flesh, the incarnate

one, right? He who was from the beginning became

flesh to walk upon this earth. And he's receiving

the glory from his creation that he deserves.

It's my favorite Sunday. On this first Palm Sunday

as Christ is entering in, we understand he's

making his way toward Calvary. And the countdown

to the end of his earthly walk is continuing

on. We're about to embark upon what we know as

Holy Week. And in the city of Jerusalem, there

are hundreds of thousands of people who have

come and gathered for the feast. They've come

for the celebration. They've come for the Passover.

Unbeknownst to many of them, that they were going

to be able to take part in what would be the

fulfillment of the last Passover. Thursday night,

if you sign up for the Seder meal, that's exactly

what's going to be drawn out. It's what's going

to be made and brought to attention. That Passover

meal and what it represents. Not what, but who.

It's who it represents. Every step, every element

is going to be revealed that it is Christ. The

type, the shadow pointing toward what he's going

to do in this next week. This celebration, if

you will, the grand entrance, the triumphal entry

as the Son of God enters in to Jerusalem. For

the climax of his life. The echoes up and down

the streets of Jerusalem as they begin to cry

is Hosanna, save now. Save us now. Remember,

Israel is looking for their Messiah. The deliverer,

the one to set them free. They're looking for

him to come on the scene. And Jesus wasn't the

first one making the claim. There had been others.

But if you read the history of the others, none

of them raised the dead. You read the history

of the others, none of them opened the blinded

eyes. You read the history of others, they never

laid hands on the lame and they walk. They never

spoke to a leper and his sores be cleansed. None

of those had that. None of those others were

able to take some loaves and fishes and lift

his eyes toward heaven and pray a blessing and

feed the multitude thousands. None of the others.

None of the others were born on the day of fulfillment

for the prophets of old. None of the others were

foretold of and the witness of the sign of the

star that shone. None of the others had the verification

that Jesus has. So now he's receiving the celebration,

the joy -filled shouts that are being lifted

to his name. And he's receiving it well. Amen?

You know, he didn't receive a lot through the

course of his life. They tried to bring him in.

They tried to make him king. They tried to set

him up and he would just disappear through the

crowd because the time wasn't yet. So as he is

receiving this glory, it lets us know that the

time of fulfillment is approaching. As his birth

signaled and his birth was signed and now his

death is fulfilling in the same way. The prophet

of old, Zechariah, began to say, O Jerusalem,

rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion. Shout, O

daughter of Jerusalem. Behold, thy king cometh

unto thee. He it is, and he is just, and having

salvation lowly, and riding upon a donkey upon

the colt, the foal of a donkey, fulfilling to

the T the word that had been prophesied concerning

him. None of the others came in. If they would

have got on an unbroken donkey, they would have

had a rough ride to Jerusalem. They would have

ended up walking, but can I tell you something

this morning? That creation knows the touch of

its master. Creation knows the voice of its creator.

You go get my ride into town. You bring it here,

and if anybody asks, you just tell them the master

has need of him, and there'll be no argument.

My God. As the word is being unfolded and scripture

being revealed, they could not see him. People

laying palm branches and waving palm branches.

Before him, they're taking their coats off and

paving the streets with their garments and shouting,

Hosanna, because many of them wanted saved then.

It wasn't their soul that they wanted redeemed.

It was their nation they wanted redeemed. They

wanted again the prominence in the world and

on the world scene. They wanted their king to

rule over them, not some Roman Caesar. They wanted,

it was their desire, that they be free from the

bondage of humanity. But can I tell you this

morning, that was not the mission and that was

not the ministry, nor was that the purpose that

Christ came in the beginning and to start it

all out and to finish this with. That was not

why he came. He came for liberation. He came

for freedom, all right. But it was their soul

and their heart, and it was sin that was his

main purpose. It was all about sin as he's coming

about. His mission, his ministry was spiritual.

It was about the heart of man. It was the soul

and the spirit of man. He could care less whether

we have freedom in this world so long as we have

freedom in our heart and freedom from sin's grip

and freedom from sin's curse, if you will, and

the destruction that sin will bring. It was a

spiritual mode for him, and it was all about

the spirit of man. Oh, he could have done both,

but that was not the reason he came then, but

it will be the reason that he comes. again. He

will come again my Lord. He is coming again.

Know that today and his mission will be fulfilled

as the countdown continues. His mission and ministry

was spiritual intended on preaching the chasm

between lost humanity and his creator. It's about

bringing men again into reconciliation to reconcile

our hearts to the heart of the Father. That was

why he came and now he's receiving due glory.

Now they are lifting their voices and praising

him, whether they knew for the reason why or

not. But they were doing so in fulfillment of

the word of the heavenly father who had already

spoke in time of old. Oh, Zechariah, you tell

them your king's coming in. Your king's coming

into Jerusalem, and you can look for him coming

in meek and lowly, riding not on a donkey but

on a foal of a donkey that had never been ridden.

You will know your king. How so? How so? You'll

know him because a star marked his birth and

the angelic host from heaven declared peace on

earth, on earth peace and goodwill toward men.

Glory to God in the highest. Palm Sunday, my

favorite Sunday. It's about reconciling humanity

to God and bringing about. A heavenly kingdom.

It's about bringing his kingdom on the earth.

Amen. So his entry into Jerusalem on this Palm

Sunday is a portrait of fulfillment. It just

lets you know that God hasn't forgotten to dot

the I's and to cross the T's. Amen. It wouldn't

have been good enough just to ride the mother

of the colt. Oh, it's a donkey. No. No, he dots

the I and crosses the T. It's the colt, that

on which no man had ever written. You'll know

it's him by the ride. Hallelujah. How many people

you know pull up in your driveway, you can't

even see through the windshield, but you can

tell by the ride they come in on? Huh? Oh, that's

so -and -so. They're turning in down at the foot

of the hill. Oh, that's so -and -so. I can tell

by their ride. They weren't paying attention

to his ride. They were not paying attention to

the detail. God, he pays attention to the details.

He doesn't want to leave anything left at chance.

He crosses the I. He dots the T. He fulfills

the minutest of detail. There's going to be wise

men come looking for him. There's going to be

a star, and it's going to settle over him, and

that's where you're going to find him. He's coming

out. He'll be born in Bethlehem. Just go to Bethlehem

and look for the star. My God, he's coming into

Jerusalem. He's coming in before the feast day.

He is the Paschal Lamb. The Lamb will enter in.

Know him by his ride. My God, there's not going

to be a mistake in him by his ride when he comes

back. He's going to be riding a white horse.

He's going to have a sword in his hand. And his

eyes are going to be in fire. My God, he will

come and establish his kingdom. Give him glory

now. Getting ahead of myself. Hopefully by fall

you'll know me when you see me come in on my

ride. I'm working on it. I'm getting it put together.

When you hear it, you'll say, oh. That's a pastor's

ride. Because you'll probably hear me up at the

ball field before I get here, hopefully. We'll

know him if you just pay attention to what he's

driving. Zachariah said... O daughter of Jerusalem,

behold, your king cometh unto thee. He is just,

having salvation, lowly, riding upon the donkey,

upon the colt, the foal. My Lord. He didn't want

that point to get by. He's entering into Jerusalem.

Portrait of fulfillment. By riding in on this

donkey, it symbolizes they knew more than what

we know about what it means by a king to come

in on a donkey. They understood that if a king

comes in to a city on a donkey, he's coming in

peace. It's the symbol. The donkey is the meekness.

He's coming in by peace. But if he comes in on

his war steed, he's coming in for a different

purpose and reason. He's coming in to conquer.

Well, did I tell you he had a white horse in

stable? I told you that, didn't I? He's got a

white steed in stable waiting. I can see this

thing flaring its nostrils. You've seen them

where they begin to breathe. And when they understand

the anticipation of what's going on. How many

of you have ever watched the Kentucky Derby?

Those horses know that when they get close to

that gate, honey, it's on. We're about to be

cut loose. I can run like I want to run. And

they begin to flare the nostril. They begin to

prance their feet. There's a white steed in glory

in the stable marked Prince of Peace. And he's

there. And he's beginning to paw the ground.

And his nostrils are beginning to flare. They

didn't recognize him. but they will one day because

he's coming on the ride that he's coming on.

They will not fail to recognize what he demonstrated

by coming in on this foal is that his kingship

was not about military prowess. They wanted him

to be king so they didn't have to bow to Caesar.

That was all. But had they gone back and understood

the prophets of old, they would have understood

that the Messiah, the Christ, the anointed one

was to reconcile them to their father. It wasn't

about their earthly prowess. It was about kingdom

principle and kingdom purpose. Understand the

mission and the ministry and the purpose of Christ

on this earth was all about the will of the Father.

It was about fulfilling everything that mankind

could be in reconciliation and sin be abolished

out of our life so that we can be in relationship

with the Father. You've got to understand that

sin is the separator between us and God and the

only one that is able to emancipate us. From

that sin is Christ and Christ alone. So he had

to come in by order. He had to come in the way

it was spoken, declared, and written. By thus

saith the Lord. Zechariah's words had to be fulfilled

to the smallest detail. So he comes in peace.

They want political freedom. He came for spiritual

liberation. He came to orchestrate salvation

for humanity. He came to secure peace while we

are on earth. You say, well, the world's turned

upside down, but I've got peace in it. Are you

beginning to see? He said, I've come to give

you peace, my peace. I come to give to you, not

as the world gives, but my peace. Amen. Because

in this world, you shall have tribulation. But

be of good cheer. Don't worry. Be happy. Why?

Because I have given you my peace. In spite of

turmoil, in spite of all hell breaking loose

around you, I speak, I came, I came that you

might have peace and that you might have it abundantly

in your life. And the joy that I bring is not

as the world provides for you, but it's my joy

that I give unto you that in the midst of it

all you can don't worry and be happy. Got a little

of that reggae going in my head now. He not only

come to offer a new covenant, he came to establish

the covenant. Behold, I show you a new and better

way, Paul said, as he began to write, and it's

Christ. Better than that of the offerings of

goats and bulls and rams. I'll show you a more

excellent way, and that is the way of love. He

came in on that. You do know, right? I mean,

deep down, you understand that he could have

done all that they wanted him to do. Right? I

mean, you understand that, right? Can you imagine

the restraint? I really can't get a good grip

on the restraint because I'm not one good at

restraining. Can you imagine the restraint of

the Christ? Do you know why he stops and looks

over the central city of God's people and weeps?

Because of his restraint. What he wanted to do

then, he couldn't do. He had to restrain himself

from doing. I mean. To walk on water. He lost

restraint. My disciples are in trouble. I got

to get out there. So he just takes off. I know

Peter, if he gets wet now, I'll never, I'll lose

him. I've got to get out there. So he just takes

off. He lost restraint. He looks over multitudes

that are laid out by the hundreds, thousands

they bring to him, sick, tormented, possessed,

driven by the enemy. And the Scripture says he

has compassion on them all, everybody there.

He lost restraint. He just couldn't hold it back.

So he healed them all. You do know that the volumes

that are written are nowhere near. Enough to

say what he did do. Let alone what he restrained

himself from doing. Restraint so he comes in

humility. When we begin to think about how he

devised all the expectations. Know that they

were not looking for their king to come meekly.

Because they failed to understand the scriptures.

So their expectations were unfulfilled in the

Messiah. So they rejected him. But deep down

they knew because in John 11 they're talking

about, well, you know, we need to kill him. But

if we kill him, we'll have to kill Lazarus too

because there's too many people know he was dead.

I mean, come on now. Knock yourself upside the

head that we can't kill Jesus. If we do, we've

got to kill Lazarus. And there were too many

people there the day he called him up, and it

was four days, so we have no excuse. He was already

starting to decompose. The boy stunk when he

come out of there. And if we kill him, we will

have a revolt on our hands. I mean, the signs,

we're just, I mean, it's like getting slapped

in the head with a stop sign, and you just keep

on going. But I think John tells us why in his

rendering of this event. In verse 27 in chapter

12, John says, he records the words of the Lord.

He says, now is my soul troubled and what shall

I say? Father, save me from this hour. But for

this cause came I unto this hour. He's having

another conversation. This conversation is carried

on with these Pharisees, and they're wanting

him to tell these disciples to quieten them.

You need to tell them to hush. They're causing

an uproar. Well, they should be. You should be

joining them. You should be with them. I cannot

tell them to quieten themselves. If they hush

their mouth, the stones are going to cry out.

The rocks are going to begin to scatter. You

will hear a testimony from Joshua's witness stone.

It will begin to testify as to who he is. If

you think this is bad, you really don't want

Moses' stone tablets to rise up from somewhere

and begin to cry out for me. You don't want that.

You don't want the 12 stones that were piled

up in the middle of the Jordan when God rolled

the banks back and come across on drag. You don't

want those 12 stones to testify. You better just

let well enough alone. Or maybe he should have.

There again, there's that restraint. I said,

okay, y 'all be quiet. And then let every rock

in Jerusalem cry out. It would have been deafening

because that place ain't nothing but one big

rock. It would have been deafening to hear the

stones glorifying Christ. There's a revelation

that takes place at Jerusalem. There's a revelation

on Palm Sunday. It reveals the difference and

the contradicting will of humanity and the expectations

of humanity toward that of God. They expected

one thing, but God had something else in mind.

How many times do we have unanswered prayer and

we have expectations when we go to God and our

expectations aren't fulfilled? It's because God

has another plan. Matter of fact, he has his

plan. You have yours. I have mine. They had theirs.

They had it all laid out. When this king gets

here, when the Messiah gets here, authority,

power, baby, we're on our own again. But that's

not what God had in mind. He wanted surrender.

He wanted subjection. He wanted their heart.

He wanted their trust. He wanted this. Not their

expectation for grandeur and political prowess.

He wanted their heart. He wanted them to surrender.

So what did he do? He sent his peaceful son in

peace. But you know what he's going to do? He's

going to release the warrior one day. They wanted

a warring king. They're going to end up getting

one. It ain't going to be pretty. It ain't going

to be fun to watch. He will come in that authority

and power. But he came in his peace to the expectation

of the father. This is the reason I've come to

this hour. So y 'all go ahead and celebrate.

Because this is the only one I'm getting here

for right now. But you do know, right, that one

day every knee, even those that are stiff and

locked up, there's a libereness that's going

to come in at the will of the Father. When he

presents his son to all creation and he says,

bow before your king, it's automatic. It has

nothing to do with will. It has nothing to do

with the emotion of humanity. Flesh will bow

to its creator. And every tongue, I want to hear

some confession out of you. You can't confess

him now. Well, hold on. There's a day coming

your confession will be reality. When you bow

before him and he truly receives all that is

worthy and due him, every tongue will confess

him as Lord. I'm trying to hurry. What time is

it? Oh, I got a minute or two. He set his kingdom

up. His kingdom operates differently from earthly

systems and powers. It's not built on physical

force or by physical force. His kingdom is established

by grace and love. And solidified by mercy. Again,

let's go with restraint. He walks down the streets

and demons say, hey, are you here to mess with

us? Right? He just walks down the street. He's

minding his own business. They fall down and

go to screaming. Huh? Isn't it funny how... The

devil's got more sense than people do sometimes.

That ain't bad right there. The devil's got more

sense than some people do. They know to at least

bow before him and recognize him for who he is.

I mean, what have we got to do with you? I mean,

we're just minding our own business tormenting

these people. What are you doing here? You need

to leave. Restraint. That's restraint. Palm Sunday.

The countdown continuing toward his glorification.

He reveals himself through grace and love and

peace. You know, it's not the first time that

God does something different than the expectations

of humanity. You go back to when Israel wants

a king. They pick on one, the biggest guy in

town. Mistake. His heart wasn't toward God. So

what does God do? He picks him one. And he's

still not the one they expected. Samuel, get

up and go to Jesse's house. I'm going to anoint

myself a king. Get your horn full of oil, and

I'll tell you which one it is. I can see the

prophet getting into the Bedouin tent. Of Jesse,

and he goes in, and he's got these sons lined

up, big boys strapping young men. Schmediums.

He gets in front of the eldest. It ain't you,

Michael. Not Brian's, not Randy's. I ain't going

to tell you which one it is, but it's the one

least expected. Can you not imagine the pride

of Jesse with those strapping sons standing before

the prophet, knowing that one of his boys is

about to be king? Right? He probably told the

eldest son, brush your teeth, son. Look like

something, right? Proud father. I would be a

proud father knowing that God is going to choose

one of my boys to be the next king. But I'd like

to think that I'm at least proud enough to get

them all there. Jesse probably in his wildest

imaginations and expectations thought he would

never get down today. He wouldn't need to get

to David. And he's standing there, shoulders

back. No, it ain't you. On down the line. And

then to see the prophet of God look at you and

say. Is this all you got? I mean, your shoulders

are back, right? You got a tent full of knotheads

standing there, and he says, is this the best

you got? Is this it? Well, I got one more. Well,

we'll stand until he gets here. Well, he's, that's

all right. Send for him. We'll stand. Why? Because.

Samuel knew the king's coming. Because he wasn't

one of them. And if he only had one left, guess

who's going to be the anointed king of Israel?

The last one. So we will just stand until you

get him in here. And when he gets in there, the

father said, that's him. That's the one. I've

selected the one after my own heart. Uncork the

horn and pour out the oil. On David. expectations.

God, hey, look, don't let your expectations down.

He's got something in store for you. It may not

be what you think it is, but it'll be better

than you can even imagine. That's why the New

Testament declares he chooses the foolish things

to confound the wise. I've probably even told

you before, you do realize. Then when you're

screaming and running from a bumblebee, you're

watching a miracle right before your very eyes.

He can't fly a straight enough line to catch

you, so just stand still. Physics and aerodynamics

says that a bumblebee is not supposed to fly.

He would have been like me in January. His wings

wouldn't be big enough to carry his body weight.

But I'm getting there. You see a bumblebee, you

see a miracle. God's creative power. Why? Because

God said, bumblebee, bumble. And so he starts

flopping his little wings. He gets his little

fat body up and he just goes where he goes. He

just goes where he goes. He'll go way over here

just to get back over here. He takes things and

confounds the wise. The religious rulers of the

day had a perception in mind of what their king

would be. They were looking for a Saul, and the

whole time he's sending them another David. Let

that sink in. What are you looking for? What

are you expecting? What is it that you need and

what is it you're hoping for in life? I know

life's topsy -turvy. Sometimes the things we

expect, it goes absolutely the opposite in our

life. Right? Life gets turned upside down because

of our expectations. But when our trust is in

his will and in the power of his might, things

change in our life. We surrender to him and our

expectations become his will. I expect what his

will is for my life. It's not always easy to

accept, but it's his will. Isaiah penned it this

way, where the Lord spoke to him and said, write

this down and tell my people, my ways are not

your ways. My thoughts are not your thoughts.

They're much higher. You'll never be able to

fathom or even comprehend why I do what I do,

but know this. Behold, I'll do a new thing for

you. Shall it not spring forth and shall you

not know it? He said, I'll make a highway for

you in the desert. When you walk through the

waters, through, get it? When you walk through

the waters, they'll not overtake you. When you

walk through the flames, they'll not kindle up

against you. Our expectations is that we don't

have to see the flames. We don't even want to

doggy paddle. We don't even want to get wet in

the kitty end. But his will for our life means

that sometimes we're in over our head. Right?

We're in over our head. Why? We have to depend

on him so that we do not lean to our own understanding.

stand with me I'm trying to quit I'm not near

done but I'm trying to quit we struggle when

life doesn't go our way when things don't turn

out the way we want them we get we get bent out

of shape those unexpected turns and twists If

we're not careful, we'll allow the enemy to convince

us of the possibility that God no longer cares

about us. Anybody ever been told that one? Well,

God don't love you. If he did, you wouldn't be

facing what you're facing. That's hogwash. We

face what we face because our faith is in him.

We face what we face because it becomes a testimony

to his faithfulness. So that others around looking,

they see what we endure and go through by His

grace. And it does matter how you endure it and

go through it. Count it all joy when you fall

into divers temptations. Well, what's happy about

that? God is mindful of where we are. It's a

perception. Our call is to that of wanting to

surrender, not just... To our own expectations

but to his will. There are times that his answers

don't even look like. They make sense. But when

it's all said and done. And his will. Is performed

in our lives. He receives all the glory. He receives.

all the praise that is due him as we go through

this life. The promise is never that the cross

wouldn't be heavy. Right? It's heavy. Life is

very heavy. The reality of the things that we

deal with day in and day out are heavy. Some

of the consequences of life are devastating,

right? But he's faithful. Because of those same

fulfilled promises of Zachariah, there are many

others concerning you and I. Come unto me, all

you that labor and are heavy laden, Jesus said,

and I'll give you rest. Take my yoke upon you.

It's easy. It's light. And I'll carry. We'll

swap out. Take his yoke. They all saw him, but

they missed him. Many missed him. They missed

him because he didn't measure up to their expectations.

You can be close to him, but still be far away.

The Pharisees spoke with him. But could not see

him for their own pride. They studied the scriptures

daily, diligently. But could not see him because

of their expectations. It was what they wanted.

You can be close to him. You can walk with him

every day. The entirety of his ministry like

a Judas. And betray him. You can proclaim your

love for him like a Peter, but yet end up denying

him. Faith. Expectations is about trust in God.

It's about having faith in him being able to

sustain and fulfill everything that we want and

that we need. Faith is about receiving. It's

not about receiving as much as it is about believing.

Faith is believing, not only receiving, but it's

believing that he's able. Expectations. Father,

I love you today. Lord, as we continue on our

way for this countdown to the crucifixion and

resurrection. I know, God, that you're able.

If you're in this house this morning and you

need prayer, I want you to make your way down

here. I don't know what your expectations are.