The Road of the True King

The tragedy of Jerusalem wasn't that they hated Jesus. It was that they celebrated him without truly surrendering to him. We know the rest of the story. We know that they celebrated him, but we also know they're the ones that crucified him. But the tragedy of Jerusalem was this, is that they celebrated him, but they never surrendered to him. What kind of king do your home see? What kind of king do your children see? What kind of king does the world see in your reactions or your words? What kind of king do they see? [00:20:15] (63 seconds)

Who truly rules behind closed doors? I want you to ask yourself this question. This week, this question brought me to my knees. I can be really honest with you. Ask yourself if someone following Jesus following the Jesus they see in your home, would they recognize the king of kings? Would they recognize the king of Luke 19? If someone follow the Jesus they see behind your closed doors, would they recognize the king of Luke 19? [00:21:18] (50 seconds)

The crowd celebrated. They shouted. They praised. And praise itself is not a problem. Praise is actually beautiful. The problem comes when praise replaces surrender. The problem comes when praise replaces surrender. Praise is easy when Jesus fits our expectations. When everything is going well, Praise it is easy when the king looks like we want him to look, but the gospel presses us with this hard truth. It is possible to celebrate Jesus publicly and to resist him privately. [00:16:46] (59 seconds)

The road of the true king always leads through surrender, but it never leaves us empty. Because the king who asked us to bow is the same king who gave his life for me, for us, for you. You see, we're never left empty. He asked us to bow, and he will fill that spot. The question is simple. Who we follow? Will we follow this king on his road, or we'll cheer him on when the road feels safe? [00:24:10] (47 seconds)

But what I learned early in life was this. The strongest authority I've ever seen was the kind that bowed his knee, his head, his heart first. I need you to hear that from me. Guys, the strongest authority I've ever seen in my life was that of a man that bowed his knee, his heart before Christ, before he did anything else. Nothing else mattered as much as bowing before Christ. This image shaped how I understood leadership, power, and faith because a real because real authority is not proven by how much control you take, but by who you submit yourself to when no one is watching. [00:09:27] (60 seconds)

This is called humility on purpose, and this is not weakness. I need you to hear that humility on purpose is not weakness. This is strength under control. This is authority fully submitting to God. You need to understand that while Jesus was walking on this road, while he was on this colt, he was fully submitting to God the father. This is strength under control. Jesus is king, but not the king they were expecting. Jesus writes forward, the crowd responds like crowds do. They tend to kind of someone's yelling, we yell. If we look, we all look. Right? [00:15:54] (53 seconds)

Listen, I'm not saying everyone in your life's gonna become a pastor, but what I'm gonna say is when you bow and surrender, when you sit down and you surrender your lives, dads, I need you to listen to me. Your kids may not always see it with their eyes, but they hear it. They see their dad weeping as he reads scripture. Moms, your kids see you weeping. Who are you surrendered to? The king invites us to surrender our lives to him, to surrender all of our self to him. And sometimes the most powerful and the most honest prayer we can prayer pray is very simply, Lord, I need you. [00:33:14] (49 seconds)

I need you to hear that. True power, true authority comes from who you submit yourself to when absolutely no one is watching. Last week, we were reminded that real strength is strength under control. The kind of strength that kneels with a towel instead of demanding a throne. What imagery that has. Real strength under control. Not someone on a throne, not someone wearing a crown, but wearing a towel. As Jesus rides towards Jerusalem in Luke 19, we see that same kind of strength again. [00:10:26] (52 seconds)