Palm Sunday – Prepare The Way! (Luke 19:36-46)

Essentially, he's saying to everyone, I love how Tim Keller puts it. He says that Jesus was saying, crown me or kill me, but I will not simply be liked. Meaning, there's no room for anyone to just admire him or think he's like an interesting person. He's a good teacher. He is. But there's no neutral ground here. He's either lord of all or not at all. He is the one who spits the lukewarm out of his mouth. Like, those are the stakes, guys. Jesus cried into Jerusalem declaring, crown me or crucifying me or or crown me or crucify me, but you will not ignore me. You cannot. [00:10:33] (44 seconds)  #CrownOrCrucify

That's the message. The message was clear. We need a hero. We need a king. We need a savior to save us, not just from the bad out there, but the bad in here. The cry of the prophets was prepare the way for the king over and over and over again. The whole book of Nehemiah, which we just finished up again, the entire Old Testament, it all brings us to this conclusion. And then almost five hundred years later, a man shows up. A man shows up in the wilderness with this very message. A man named John the Baptist, and he cries out in the wilderness, prepare the way. The king is coming. [00:07:34] (52 seconds)  #PrepareTheWay

Is this the cry of your heart? Is this the cry of your life? Prepare the way the king is coming. If you're in Christ, guys, if you are truly a child of God, if you are actually a Christian, then this is our anthem. This is our life's aim. We realize this is not all there is, guys. This life, this world, all the mess that people put in front of that purpose and that mission to glorify God in that way, which by the way is going to bring out more joy than you could ever ever experience in any other endeavor. Is that your heart's cry? And if not, I pray it will be by the time we end here. [00:14:09] (39 seconds)  #KingIsComingAnthem

You know what's hard? To bring Jesus into that personal relationship that you have. I'm not talking about just preaching on a street corner or up in front of the church. I'm talking about that relationship that that might offend somebody. It might make it awkward. It might create some issues. But when you do, it's taking risks to say, come and see. Come and live. Come and meet the one who's changed my life. Guys, this is the gospel, that God became a man, and he lived the life that we couldn't live. And he died the death that we deserve to die. [00:30:24] (35 seconds)  #ComeAndSee

Have you ever wondered what's the point? Right? Have you ever this is a question that I think the world asks a lot. Maybe this is something that's on your specific mind even this morning. Maybe you're like, man, this is definitely for me. That you're wondering in your heart, what is the point of it all? What is my real purpose? Do I even have one? It's an interesting question. It's a question that kinda it almost feels like it's open ended as if everybody has a different you have to find your purpose and find your truth. This is the kind of nonsense that the world that we live in operates out of. [00:00:25] (42 seconds)  #FindRealPurpose

Now hear me, guys. Don't get me wrong. Do not get it twisted. Push back darkness. Seek justice. Amen? It's what we do. It is good. It is right. But don't get it confused. The deep cry of creation isn't merely a cry for more outside in reform. It's for inside out transformation. That's the hope. Because this world's ultimately passing away. This is not all there is. Creation is groaning for resurrection, for new life, for rebirth, for total transformation from the inside out. Hosanna in the highest, save now. Save from sin, save from death, save from injustice, save from evil, save us from ourselves. Hosanna in the highest. The only one worthy to break the seal and open the scroll has indeed, and he's made it available to us. Now what? [00:33:45] (53 seconds)  #InsideOutTransformation

But Israel had coalesced to their own conveniences. And instead of raising their own sacrificial lambs in their homes and connected to their hearts, they would just purchase a sacrifice when they arrived at the temple. Much more convenient. That's what they were selling in that outer court. That's what was cluttering up the temple. That's what was cluttering up the gospel message. It was clogging their worship and their witness to the nations for the sake of their own comfort and convenience. They had missed the heart of God. This is what made Jesus so angry. They had clogged up. They were not preparing the way for the coming king. And when the coming king came, he was not happy. And he rolls into the temple. And what's he do? Goes off. [00:43:21] (56 seconds)  #StopConvenientFaith

We see that resurrection is at work and at play, that victory is what our praises are informed by, and it's already taken place in Christ. God is sovereign over it all. The victory has already been accomplished in Christ. Resurrection is secure. That just as Jesus promised in this life, you will have trouble and tribulation. But take heart, I have overcome the world. That's what this declares. And when we take hold of that victory, even in the crushing, it prepares the way for the coming king because it says this is not all there is. Tough week. Things didn't go the way I wanted them to go. Things are rough. They're not as they should be. Christ has overcome. Let's pray. [00:48:52] (51 seconds)  #VictoryInChrist