The King Is Coming: Repentance, Readiness, and True Worship

When Jesus takes hold of something that otherwise is worthless, everything changes at that point. If he borrows your boat, Peter, he'll make it a life changing moment in your life. If he borrows your lunch, boy, he'll make multitude. If he borrows your donkey, sir, he'll make it proof of who he is. If he borrows your back, Simon, he's letting you serve your savior. You just don't know it yet. And if he borrows your tomb, Joseph, he'll leave it empty from then on. [00:41:32] (41 seconds)  #JesusTransformsEverything

But you see, while they had the right script, they had the wrong plot. Their expectations was that Messiah was gonna come and save them from the Romans, come and deliver them from their circumstances. But Jesus didn't come to save them or you or me from our circumstances. Now sometimes he does, but that's not why he came. He came to save us as the angel said, Joseph, name him Jesus for he shall save his people from their sins. [00:59:09] (32 seconds)  #SavedFromSin

This is hard for us. The Bible says, he who believes in Jesus will not be disappointed. Are you? Did he not fix your marriage? Did he not heal you yet of something that you thought he could and should? Did he not give you the job or the career? Are you disappointed in him? Jesus Christ is fulfilling all God's promises, but he's never gonna be your spiritual vending machine. The prayer is not our butler who art in heaven. [01:01:25] (45 seconds)  #NotYourVendingMachine

the reason I say don't stop short of real repentance is this was the issue from the very beginning of the ministry of John the Baptist and Jesus. Repent for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. Now these people are all excited about the kingdom of God. The kingdom's coming. They got that second part. Like, yeah. He says, let's go back to the first lesson. Repent because you're not ready. [01:17:47] (29 seconds)  #RepentForTheKingdom

Put this down. Number two, realize it's easy to lay down cheap praise. Why do I say that? Well, these branches were pretty easy to get according to the text. It cost them nothing. They didn't pay for them. In fact, it doesn't even say they got them from their own fields. They just grabbed them from somebody else's fields. They were able to easily fit in with the crowd. [00:53:39] (28 seconds)  #CheapPraiseVsSacrifice

But you are his workmanship created in Christ Jesus. You understand that? That's Ephesians two ten. God is creating you, conforming you into the image of his son. And so the Lord is gonna put you through stuff, and you're gonna say, why? And Lord's gonna say, because I have need of it to accomplish in you, to bring my bride to myself, to make you ready for heaven. You don't need to know exactly what I'm doing to know that I have a purpose in it. [00:43:49] (30 seconds)  #WorkmanshipInProgress

See, there's one thing worse than dirty garments, that's none at all. And that's why Adam and Eve in their sin realized as their eyes were opened to no good and evil, they realized that they were sinners. The sinner stands spiritually naked before a holy God. By the way, that's why Jesus, when he was crucified, you'll probably never see him ever portrayed the way it really happened. He had no clothes on. They didn't they didn't clothe people they murdered in execution. That was part of the shame of it. He took our place on the cross and experienced our judgment. [00:50:41] (47 seconds)  #HeTookOurShame

I don't think that's wrong to be excited. I think it's wrong to be excited and not living a repentant holy life. Peter said since all these things are gonna be dissolved, what manner of people ought we to be? So my message title is how shall we then live? So friends, study the fact that Christ is coming. Get excited. Tell people. But don't think because you're excited about it, you're necessarily ready. That's not the measure. [01:37:45] (25 seconds)  #ExcitementIsNotReadiness

Behold, I stand at the door and knock if anyone hears my voice and opens the door. If you'll invite me in listen. A relationship with the Lord is not an obligation. It's an invitation. But you've gotta allow him to come in. He knocks. He doesn't barge. He doesn't do what cops do and kicks in the door. Jerusalem is called the city of the great king, and he is the great king. But when Jesus was born, there was no room for him in Bethlehem. [01:10:57] (34 seconds)  #HeKnocksInviteHimIn

In John six, Jesus says to the crowd, you seek me because you ate the loaves, not because you wanna give me your life. The people want a king who will serve them, not steer them. It's like that guy who said to his wife one day, he wouldn't it be great to go to Mount Sinai, stand on the top of the mountain, and shout the 10 commandments from the top of the mountain? She said, I think the Lord would prefer a stay home and keep the 10 commandments. Just not as exciting. [01:05:18] (41 seconds)  #ObedienceOverPraise

Remember shouting to the lord, which is what they're doing, is biblical. But we need to also remember that private obedience always outranks general praise. Put this down number two. Christ stays only where he's welcome. Verse 11 is interesting to me. Jesus entered Jerusalem after the triumphal entry with all the crowds. He's already wept over the city, though. And he came into the temple. Notice this phrase. After looking around at everything, he left for Bethany with the 12 since it was already late. [01:05:59] (47 seconds)  #SacrificeOfPraise

The sacrifice of praise. I don't know if you've ever thought about this, but a sacrifice by definition biblically is costly. It's not cheap. It's not free. Yes. I can say praise the lord and mean it, but I'm asked I'm commanded to offer up a sacrifice of praise. A sacrifice involves bleeding and death by definition. This Friday, we're inviting you to come to his sacrifice. Recognize what he did for you, why we call it Good Friday. [00:55:09] (40 seconds)  #LetJesusLeadYou

Come to the cross not just to say thank you, but to say, Lord, I'm ready. I'm willing to live out my baptism. I wanna die to myself. Maybe what you need to put down on that piece of paper isn't a sin that you've committed. Maybe it's to say, Lord, I accept what you have taken away out of my life. I'm finally gonna stop arguing with you, being bitter with you, waiting for you to make it right with me. And I'm gonna start accepting that you're in charge of my life. And I'm gonna die to this self will that I have that's demanding you to make it different. [00:56:23] (38 seconds)  #DontHardenYourHeart

There comes a point where somebody rejects the lord so much like pharaoh hardens his heart hardens his heart every time he hears, oh, I'm gonna repent. Yes. Moses pray that god will have mercy on us, but he hardens his heart until you get to a point where God says, I accept your decision. You can get to a place by rejecting the gospel to a place where you cannot accept the gospel, not because of anything with the Lord, but because of you. You've made it your heart impervious to the gospel. [01:08:51] (38 seconds)  #HolyByHisChoice

In that time, Jesus will be arrested. He'll be tried repeatedly. He'll be crucified. He'll have died, and he'll have resurrected. Everything's changing in a week. You might know what you're gonna be doing a week from now, and you could be completely wrong. I've entitled the message the king is coming because that's what they were saying, believing that this was the fulfillment of prophecy that Jesus is the Messiah using, as we'll discover, the right words, doing the right things to accept him as their coming king, coming down the Mount Of Olives. [00:35:59] (46 seconds)  #MadeNewInChrist

And so I love this. When the Lord chooses to use something, it becomes holy. And by the way, that's true of you too. If anyone is in Christ, they're a new creation. Old things have passed away. You might have been a very used up, messed up person. This donkey on its own is just a donkey. It's it's just a a a small beast of burden that really, you know, was just an animal. A donkey is an unclean animal, by the way. [00:38:58] (30 seconds)  #NearToTheAfflicted

This is a baby donkey. I'm sure this guy had plans for his donkey. But someone's taking it, and he doesn't know exactly when it's coming back. He's told, don't worry. I'll come back to you. He had no idea. It's gonna be the star of the story. Well, Jesus is, but the donkey is fulfilling God's prophetic word. How about Simon with the cross? Forced to carry a stranger's cross. That was not something he had any idea the value of, but he would. He would. [00:45:43] (39 seconds)  #TrialsDeepenFaith

Some of you have discovered this in your life as a Christian. Some of the hardest times you've ever gone through have also been some of the sweetest in terms of your relationship with Jesus because your prayers have taken on new significance. Your worship has become alive. He goes and he stays where he's welcome. He goes to the house of affliction. John fourteen twenty three, what incredible promise this is. Jesus answered him, whoever loves me will obey my teaching. [01:13:29] (34 seconds)  #SurrenderYourWill

I will instruct you in the way you should go, but don't be like the horse or the mule whose trappings include bit and bridle or they won't come near to you. See, a horse and a donkey, yeah, or a mule, yeah, there's they they have their own will, and they have to be they have to be directed with pain. The bit and the bridle. That's right. That that's what they are all about. We're overcoming that animal's powerful self will to say, no. You don't wanna do that. Yes. You do wanna stop. [00:52:52] (33 seconds)  #MoreThanCeremony

This is the whole point. It's one thing to go through the ceremony, to be in the crowd, to celebrate, to even listen. You can acknowledge who Jesus is and be absolutely right about that. Excited even about his coming. There are people that get very emotional and very outrageous in their praise of the Lord. And what what would be wrong about, you know, shouting? The Bible says shout to the Lord. [01:23:00] (31 seconds)