March 23, 2025 • 40 mins
As Jesus enters Jerusalem to the cheers of a crowd waving palm branches, the moment is filled with expectation, tension, and purpose. Just as athletes “take the floor” prepared for action, Jesus steps boldly into His mission—knowing full well what lies ahead.
Are we ready when it’s our turn to take the floor? Are we stepping forward in faith, boldly representing the Kingdom?
Join us this Sunday as we reflect on Christ’s courage, obedience, and the call to rise up in our own Christian journey. It’s game time—bring your faith, bring your fire!
Recorded March 23rd, 2025 Message by Pastor Tim Ward Scripture: John 12:9-19
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
So it's basketball season, as we're all well aware of.
And if you are anything of a basketball fan, you know that we are in the middle
of what's called March Madness, sometimes called the road to the Final Four.
They started this last Sunday, the 16th,
when the leaders of the NCAA Basketball Championship Selection Team chose the
(00:23):
top 68 teams that would begin in the series that would lead to the Final Four,
and ultimately the NCAA National Championship Men's Championship.
Earlier this week, eight of the lower-ranked teams had to play in for the 61st
(00:44):
through 64th spot in the actual playoff brackets on Thursday and Friday.
The first round of the competition took place when those 64 teams took the floor.
The 32 winners of those games then played yesterday and the day before in the second round.
(01:04):
And so now it brings us down to the 16 winners of those games that emerged to
this week, which will be called the Sweet 16.
Now, if you're anything of a fan, you understand that ups and downs happen.
And unfortunately, our own Wisconsin Badgers got beat out last night.
(01:27):
So they're not in the Sweet 16.
And then on March 27th and 28th,
those teams will begin the play of to be qualified for the Elite Eight.
And then on the 29th and 30th
of March they will narrow the field down again to
the final four ultimately coming down to
(01:50):
the championship game on April 7th between
the two best or supposedly best teams in all of the NCAA basketball at least
they're supposed to be the best Oftentimes what happens is some of the best
teams get beat out early by some kind of situation.
(02:12):
We've had one number one team already, number one seat already been beaten out.
I've never been to any of these NCAA basketball events, but I have been to some
state high school championships.
And I've been to some college football cross-country and track championships,
and I can tell you that when the teams come out onto the floor or the field
(02:37):
or the arena, pandemonium breaks out.
The teams don't just casually walk out onto the field. It's a production.
They strut, they jump, they holler.
Whatever they do, there's a complete production on when each team comes out
onto the floor. The volume in the arena is at a blistering level.
(03:00):
The bands are playing loudly on both sides of the competitive floor.
The flames of fans' fervor are being stoked up by the cheerleaders.
And then there's the crescendo of the announcer's voice as he introduces each team.
Ladies and gentlemen, are you ready to rumble? No, that's UFC.
Sorry, that's the wrong sport.
(03:21):
Anyway, the team's university band strikes up an exciting version of their fight song.
There are banners, balloons, and streamers and cheerleaders standing at attention.
Wouldn't you like that to be the case when the church takes the floor?
Wouldn't that be something? When the church takes the floor in the arena of
(03:44):
life, wouldn't it be something,
not that we strut and dance but that people would take notice that God's kingdom,
is coming to bear on this life.
At the stadium there's a light show that flashes across the auditorium and when
the crowd has been worked into
a fever pitch the team runs out into the court and the crowd goes wild.
(04:04):
I'm telling you it's what every preacher secretly wants, wishes would happen
every time he goes into the pulpit to preach.
But instead Instead, when the preacher preaches, sometimes it's the best hour
of sleep people get all week.
There's an excitement, there's a fervor, there's an anticipation of being present
(04:26):
at such an electrifying event.
All this is done because the team and their supporters are essentially declaring
that they've not only come to play, they've come to win.
On Friday night this week, 16th ranked teams have beaten out higher ranked teams.
So that's what's happening here in the passage we're going to read this morning.
(04:50):
Everything that happens this day at Jerusalem is focusing that same type of
excitement and fervor in the crowds.
For three years, Jesus has been building his ministry toward the final scene.
He knows this is not the final scene, but the crowd doesn't know that.
They think that he is coming in to be declared as king, as ruling king over
(05:15):
the Israeli or Hebrew empire.
The crowds believe that this is their crowning moment for the delivery of Israel.
For three years, he has performed one miracle after another after another.
For three years, he has healed the sick, the lame, the blind,
the leprous. For three years, Jesus has attracted one crowd after another to
(05:36):
teach them about the coming kingdom of God.
Not more than about a week prior to this, Jesus went to the home of Mary and
Martha and raised their brother Lazarus from the dead.
You remember that story? And by the time Jesus gets to Jerusalem, the crowd is primed.
They've heard about what he's done.
(05:58):
They're stoked. They're jumping up and down, dancing around and unable to control
themselves, kind of like the crowd when the pastor gets up to preach.
Thank you, thank you.
Jesus' entry into Jerusalem. By the way, that's being recorded,
(06:21):
so let's do it again. Okay, yeah, thank you.
Air ball.
I lost my place. I've got to start over. Jesus' entry into Jerusalem was not
going to be a casual stroll into the city for Jesus.
(06:44):
He had come to deliberately declare that he was king of Israel,
he was the anointed one, he was the promised Messiah, and he was the one who
had been predicted for centuries by the prophets of God.
And so we're going to read starting in John chapter 12, verses 9 through 19.
Meanwhile, a large crowd of Jews found out that Jesus was there and came,
(07:07):
not only because of him, but also to see Lazarus, whom he had raised from the dead.
So the chief priests made plans to kill Lazarus as well, for on account of him,
many of the Jews were going over to Jesus and believing in him.
The next day, the great crowd that had come for the festival heard that Jesus
was on his way to Jerusalem.
(07:27):
They took palm branches and went out to meet him, shouting, Hosanna!
Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Blessed is the King of Israel!
Jesus found a young donkey and sat on it, as it was written,
Do not be afraid, daughter Zion.
See, your king is coming, seated on a donkey's colt.
At first his disciples did not understand all this.
(07:49):
Only after Jesus was glorified did they realize that these things had been written
about him and that these things had been done to him.
Now the crowd that was with him when he called Lazarus from the tomb and raised
him from the dead continued to spread the word.
Many people heard because they had heard that he had performed this sign, went out to meet him.
(08:09):
So the Pharisees said to one another, see, this is getting us nowhere.
Look how the whole world has gone after him.
So about a year before this, Jesus was teaching a large crowd out in the country.
It was getting late and the people were getting hungry.
And so Jesus instructed his disciples to feed them.
You remember this story. but the only food
(08:32):
on hand was the lunch of a little boy out of 5,000 and some people he was the
only one that brought a lunch Jesus blessed that paltry amount of food and fed
more than 5,000 people and they still had 12 baskets of food left over.
The crowd was so impressed that they wanted to make him king right then and there.
(08:56):
John 6, verse 15 says, Jesus, knowing that they intended to come and make him
king by force, withdrew again to a mountain by himself.
That crowd sensed then that Jesus had the bearing to be the long-awaited king
of Israel. He was the one that they were hoping for would come and overturn
the Roman oppression and make Israel the kingdom that it should be.
(09:21):
But the kind of king they wanted wasn't what Jesus had in mind.
They wanted an earthly king. They wanted a king who would not only sit upon
the throne of David, but who would lead them into battle against the hated Romans.
Jesus was everything they could hope for in a leader. He was charismatic,
he was decisive, and he was powerful.
(09:42):
He was capable of feeding thousands of soldiers. He could heal the wounded and raise the dead.
What army on the face of the earth could stand up against such a king?
With Jesus as their king and their commander, they couldn't lose because they
(10:03):
simply would not have any casualty.
This king would deliver them from death.
And so they wanted an earthly king, but they wanted a godly king,
one who would perform miracles. And when it became apparent that this Jesus
wasn't going to be that kind of king, the crowds turned on him.
(10:25):
They called for his blood, and they called for his crucifixion.
So from Palm Sunday, what we call Palm Sunday, the triumphal entry into Jerusalem,
one week later they are crying out for his crucifixion.
What makes man turn that much?
They wanted an earthly king, but that wasn't what Jesus had in mind.
(10:49):
He had no intention whatsoever of establishing an earthly kingdom.
And for the kingdom that Jesus was entitled to, they couldn't even dream of making him king.
They could not make him king of the heavenly realms because that was not in
their purview to be able to do.
His kingdom was already established before the creation of the world.
(11:11):
God had already designed and established and foreordained what was going to happen.
So we can't make Jesus the king.
It's simply not in our power. God the Father has already made him king.
He's the king by nature of what he is, but he's also our king.
Jesus told Pilate this, My kingdom is not of this world.
(11:33):
If it were, my servants would fight to prevent my arrest by the Jewish leaders.
But now my kingdom is from another place in luke
chapter 17 verse 21 jesus declared the kingdom
of god is within you and in romans chapter
14 verse 17 paul taught us the kingdom of god is not a matter of eating and
(11:54):
drinking but of righteousness peace and joy in the holy spirit the kingdom of
god is the church that's who we are not a building not a precipice but a but a people.
The kingdom of God is a people. That's what Jesus came to establish.
That's the kingdom over which Jesus had come to rule and to reign.
(12:15):
In fact, that's what Colossians chapter 1 verse 13 teaches.
It tells us that the Father has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and
brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves.
Right now, we are in the kingdom of God.
Jesus talked about the kingdom of God He talked about the kingdom of heaven
(12:36):
And we are a part of the kingdom of God And you know it's kind of interesting
Sometimes we don't act like we're part of the kingdom Do we?
But Jesus has called us to be part of the kingdom of God. Kingdom of God isn't
and was never intended to be a physical kingdom because earthly kingdoms are
far too limited to accomplish the goals Christ had in mind.
(12:59):
First thing we see about earthly kingdoms, earthly kingdoms are always limited
by physical boundaries.
Back during the Middle Ages, there was a physical kingdom that lasted a thousand years.
It was known as the Holy Roman Empire and began when Charlemagne took the throne
in 800 AD and ended when Napoleon brought it to its knees in 1808.
(13:26):
The Holy Roman Empire covered much of Europe.
The territory this empire encompassed included Germany, Austria,
Switzerland, Czechoslovakia, Belgium, and it included large portions of France,
Poland, and Italy. It reigned for a thousand years, or a little more than a thousand years.
It was intended to be the physical kingdom of Christendom, but it fell short
(13:51):
of being everything that God wanted because it was too limited.
It tried to wrap a fence around the church to protect it, but in an effort to
protect the church, it confined the church.
Fences are for that, right? Fences are made to protect us from what's outside,
(14:12):
but oftentimes it confines us to what is within.
Jesus said, I will build my church and the gates of hell will not stand up against it.
That doesn't mean that the gates of hell are coming against us.
It means that we're to be going against hell.
The reason there are gates of hell is because Satan doesn't want us interfering in his business.
(14:35):
Sorry, dude, we're God's kingdom. That's what we do.
And so we look at what this fence is, what was intended.
To be a fence to keep the bad stuff out was actually a fence that kept the good in.
And so the good did not influence what was outside the gate, outside the fence.
(14:56):
The church doesn't need a fence to surround it. There's no need for walls to protect it.
We have the hedge already by a guy named God. Have you ever heard of him?
He will put a hedge around us to protect us, but
he doesn't want us to stay in confinement the church
needs no such protection the church was
(15:19):
built by jesus to be on the move one time
as i said jesus asked his disciples who the people
of the world thought he was they answered that
many were speculating that he was john the baptist or elijah
or one of the prophets then jesus asked
but who do you say that i am and peter replied you
are the Christ the son of the living
(15:40):
God and Jesus replied I tell
you the truth that you Peter and on
this rock the confession that you have made I will build my church and the gates
of hell will not overcome and in other words the kingdom the church was built
upon the foundations and power of Jesus Christ the church was designed to be
a vibrant force with a power to overwhelm the gates of hell.
(16:04):
And as we said a couple weeks ago, oftentimes we aren't on the floor,
we're sitting on the bench, right?
And so what God is wanting us to do is to take the court.
He's wanting us to be on mission with him. He's wanting us to do all this.
Now, tell me, how far can gates move?
Well, some of our winds that we've had lately could probably move some gates,
(16:27):
but they're not intended to be moved, right? Just opened and closed, right?
Gates open and shut, but other than that, they don't go anywhere.
That's because gates aren't designed to move, they're designed to protect.
They're designed to keep some people in and some people out.
They're designed to keep animals in and some animals out. Ask any farmer.
(16:55):
If his fence is down or if the gate's broken, what happens to his animal?
Animals. I mean, there was time in Fillmore, Minnesota,
when we pastored there, that I woke up, and town has 75 in population,
or did at that time, but we had more cows than we had people,
(17:18):
and there were more than once that we had to get up and herd cattle into somebody's
yard because they'd gotten out of the gates.
In fact, one morning, we had some cows up on the front steps of the church looking
into the windows of the church. It was kind of cool.
I thought we might invite them in, but then, no, that would be utter disaster.
(17:39):
Jesus didn't save us to be on the defensive And to hide behind walls Jesus saved
us so that we could go take Satan down,
That's the intention of all that we did He
did save us to protect us and give us deliverance But he saved us to take Satan
down Our objective is to take him on To take the battle to him To win the battle
(18:02):
But too often the church has allowed Satan to infiltrate its ranks and keep
the church of Christ confined and confused and conflicted.
For Jesus to create a physical kingdom with earthly boundaries would have limited
his church, but Jesus declared the kingdom of God is within you.
So wherever we go, we are the kingdom of God.
(18:25):
You take this kingdom wherever you go, and no worldly kingdom has the power to stand against it.
Back in the book of Daniel, King Nebuchadnezzar had a dream that deeply disturbed him.
He suspected that if he just told his magicians and soothsayers what the dream
was, they would attempt to fake an interpretation.
So he demanded that they give him both the dream and its interpretation.
(18:49):
The only one capable of this was Daniel. Daniel explained to Nebuchadnezzar
that in his dream, he saw a huge statue made of several different metals.
Then in his dream, the king had said, the rock was cut out, but not by human
hands. It struck the statue on its feet of iron and clay and smashed it.
Daniel went on to explain that the statue represented several earthly kingdoms,
(19:13):
and during the last of these kingdoms, the God of heaven would set up a kingdom
that would never be destroyed, nor would it be left to another people.
It would crush all those kingdoms and bring them to an end, but it would itself endure forever.
There's no kingdom on the face of the earth that can stand up against the kingdom of God.
(19:33):
It is intended to be forever. The kingdom is, this kingdom is not limited by physical boundaries.
The kingdom of God has citizens in practically every nation on earth,
and the church's power is only limited by its imagination or lack thereof,
and dependence on the Holy Spirit.
(19:55):
So the second thing we see is this. Since earthly kingdoms require physical
boundaries, those boundaries need to be protected by military might.
Four generations before Jesus was born, there was a man named Judas Maccabeus.
He was called the hammer, not the one you're thinking of.
The one that dances, and was a fairly righteous man who was upset by the fact
(20:20):
that the Syrians occupied the city of Jerusalem.
He was angry about this and rallied an army of Jewish men to his side to fight against the Syrians.
In 163 BC, he entered Jerusalem riding on a massive stallion and the people
shouted, waved palm branches and cheered. Does this sound familiar?
(20:41):
They shouted, waved palm branches,
and cheered, Hosanna, blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.
Judas Macbius, he was their hero, and many thought he was the Messiah.
When he came into town on a great stallion, he was greeted by the huge throngs
of adoring people, proclaiming the coming victory over the Romans.
(21:06):
Does that sound familiar, what they were looking for? When he entered the city,
they cleared out the temple, burned incense, offered sacrifices,
and lit a huge menorah that burned for eight days.
To this day, our Jewish friends celebrate eight days of the festival lights
called Hanukkah to celebrate this accomplishment.
(21:29):
But not long afterwards, Judas Maccabeus was killed in battle and was buried.
He died, and that was the end of the story. And that was the end of the revolt.
About two centuries later, another mighty leader entered Jerusalem in a crowd of adoring fans.
The people weighed palm branches and cheered, Hosanna, blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.
(21:54):
Almost everything that happened during Jesus' triumphal entry into Jerusalem
paralleled what had happened, what had occurred when Judas Maccabeus entered
into Jerusalem two centuries before.
Everything seemed to mirror that prior event except one thing.
Jesus didn't enter the city on
(22:15):
a mighty stallion proclaiming that he was a powerful king and conqueror.
He entered the city on the foal of a humble donkey proclaiming peace.
Judas Macbius entered into Jerusalem riding on the back of a powerful stallion
because he wanted to show his majesty and his authority.
(22:36):
He intended to set up an earthly kingdom, and that required an earthly kind of power.
But in the end, he died, and so did his dream of an earthly kingdom because
that which is born of the earth doesn't last very long, right?
By contrast, when Jesus rode into Jerusalem on the foal of a donkey because
he was announcing peace, not war.
(22:58):
He was proclaiming peace with God and peace with eternity.
He didn't proclaim his power and authority. He proclaimed his father's power
and authority and the kingdom of God.
A donkey is generally, as I said, not considered to be an animal of a war.
A donkey is not an animal associated with military power. Let's face it.
(23:24):
A donkey is not even an impressive animal.
It's a humble creature.
It can't even get its laugh right. And Jesus chose that type of creature to
ride in Jerusalem because his kingdom was not going to be about force of arms or coercion.
The kingdom of God is not about position and power.
(23:48):
The kingdom of God is about submission and surrender.
When the apostles came to Jesus and asked who was going to be,
they asked if they could be on his right and his left when he came into his
kingdom, and Jesus said, this is not for me to give.
Whoever serves is the leader. So we are called not to a position of power or
prestige or status or control.
(24:11):
We are called to a position of submission and service and surrender.
It's about prayer. It's about love. It's about setting an example.
And then thirdly, Jesus hadn't come to set up an earthly kingdom because earthly
kingdoms are almost always focused on who's in charge.
They're about who is able to manipulate themselves into position to wield that power.
(24:35):
When Jesus' disciples talked to him about his kingdom, do you remember what
the disciples asked him?
I told you this before. They asked, who is going to sit on your right and who's
going to sit on your left?
What did these boys really want? They wanted to have position and power,
but the kingdom of God isn't about that.
It's about service, as I said.
Jesus taught his disciples that
(24:56):
his kingdom was going to be different from earthly ones in this respect.
The kings of the Gentiles lorded over them, and those who exercise authority
over them call themselves benefactors.
In other words, those that lord over us believe that they're doing it for our
own good. They are benefactors.
(25:18):
But when somebody is your benefactor, oftentimes they control you, don't they?
But you are not to be like that. Instead, the greatest among you should be like
the youngest and the one who rules like the one who serves.
Jesus said this recorded in Luke 22, verses 25 to 26.
Then in verse 27, he says, I am among you as one who serves.
(25:42):
So even Jesus, the Son of God, God himself, came for the purpose of serving, and so should we.
Jesus hadn't come to exercise authority. He came to seek and to save those who are lost.
He came to meet our needs and lift us back up out of the mire of our everyday
lives. He came to minister to us.
He came to call us into his mission.
(26:04):
He came to raise us into a new awareness of who we are as sons of God,
children of God, the kingdom of God, the ones who are taking the floor are supposed
to be the church in which the gates of hell will not overstand the power of
the church to rail against it.
And I'm ready to kick some gates down, aren't you?
(26:26):
We say this often in here, and I'd like you to say it with me now.
God is on a mission to redeem a lost world to himself, and he chooses to use
us, his chosen people, to accomplish his mission.
That's what God is all about. That's what Jesus came for.
He came to redeem us. He came to save us. But he came to set us on fire and
(26:48):
to set us loose against the gates of hell, to overcome the gates of hell. Are you with me?
Thank you he was called the
hammer not the one you're thinking of the one that dances anyway and was a fairly
righteous man who was upset by the fact that the syrians occupied the city of
(27:10):
jerusalem he was angry about this and rallied an army of jewish men to his side
to fight against the Syrians.
In 163 B.C., he entered Jerusalem riding on a massive stallion,
and the people shouted, waved palm branches, and cheered. Does this sound familiar?
They shouted, waved palm branches, and cheered, Hosanna!
(27:34):
Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.
Judas Macbius. He was their hero, and many thought he was the Messiah.
When he came into town on a great stallion he was
greeted by the huge throngs of adoring people proclaiming the
coming victory over over the romans does
that sound familiar what they were looking for when he
(27:57):
entered the city they cleared out the temple burned incense offered sacrifices
and lit a huge menorah that burned for eight days to this day our jewish friends
celebrated celebrate eight days
of the festival lights called Hanukkah to celebrate this accomplishment.
But not long afterwards, Judas Maccabeus was killed in battle and was buried.
(28:22):
He died, and that was the end of the story. And that was the end of the revolt.
About two centuries later, another mighty leader entered Jerusalem in a crowd of adoring fans.
The people weighed palm branches and cheered, Hosanna, blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.
Almost everything that happened during Jesus' triumphal entry into Jerusalem
(28:46):
paralleled what had happened, what had occurred when Judas Maccabeus entered
into Jerusalem two centuries before.
Everything seemed to mirror that prior event except one thing.
Jesus didn't enter the city on
a mighty stallion proclaiming that he was a powerful king and conqueror.
(29:08):
He entered the city on the foal of a humble donkey proclaiming peace.
Judas Macbius entered into Jerusalem riding on the back of a powerful stallion
because he wanted to show his majesty and his authority.
He intended to set up an earthly kingdom, and that required an earthly kind of power.
(29:29):
But in the end, he died, and so did his dream of an earthly kingdom because
that which is born of the earth doesn't last very long, right?
By contrast, when Jesus rode into Jerusalem on the foal of a donkey because
he was announcing peace, not war.
He was proclaiming peace with God and peace with eternity.
(29:51):
He didn't proclaim his power and authority. He proclaimed his father's power
and authority and the kingdom of God.
A donkey is generally, as I said, not considered to be an animal of a war.
A donkey is not an animal associated with military power. Let's face it,
(30:12):
a donkey is not even an impressive animal.
It's a humble creature. It can't even get its laugh right.
And Jesus chose that type of creature to ride in Jerusalem because his kingdom
was not going to be about force of arms or coercion.
The kingdom of God is not about position and power.
(30:36):
The kingdom of God is about submission and surrender.
When the apostles came to Jesus, they asked if they could be on his right and
his left when he came into his kingdom, Jesus said, this is not for me to give.
Whoever serves is the leader. So we are called not to a position of power or
prestige or status or control.
(30:59):
We are called to a position of submission and service and surrender.
It's about prayer. It's about love. It's about setting an example.
And then thirdly, Jesus hadn't come to set up an earthly kingdom because earthly
kingdoms are almost always focused on who's in charge.
They're about who is able to manipulate themselves into position to wield that power.
(31:23):
When Jesus' disciples talked to him about his kingdom, do you remember what
the disciples asked him? I told you this before.
They asked, who is going to sit on your right and who's going to sit on your left?
What did these boys really want? They wanted to have position and power,
but the kingdom of God isn't about that.
It's about service, as I said. Jesus taught his disciples that his kingdom was
(31:45):
going to be different from earthly ones in this respect.
The kings of the Gentiles lorded over them, and those who exercise authority
over them call themselves benefactors.
In other words, those that lord over us believe that they're doing it for our
own good. They are benefactors.
(32:06):
But when somebody is your benefactor, oftentimes they control you, don't they?
But you are not to be like that. Instead, the greatest among you should be like
the youngest and the one who rules like the one who serves.
Jesus said this recorded in Luke 22, verses 25 to 26.
Then in verse 27, he says, I am among you as one who serves.
(32:30):
So even Jesus, the Son of God, God himself, came for the purpose of serving. And so should we.
Jesus hadn't come to exercise authority. He came to seek and to save those who are lost.
He came to meet our needs and lift us back up out of the mire of our everyday
lives. He came to minister to us.
He came to call us into his mission.
(32:52):
He came to raise us into a new awareness of who we are as sons of God,
children of God, the kingdom of God, the ones who are taking the floor are supposed
to be the church in which the gates of hell will not overstand the power of
the church to rail against it.
And I'm ready to kick some gates down, aren't you?
(33:13):
We say this often in here, and I'd like you to say it with me now.
God is on a mission to redeem a lost world to himself, and he chooses to use
us, his chosen people, to accomplish his mission.
That's what God is all about. That's what Jesus came for.
He came to redeem us. He came to save us, but he came to set us on fire and
(33:36):
to set us loose against the gates of hell to overcome the gates of hell. Are you with me?
Thank you.
You know, in some churches they say, can I get a witness? But we won't do that anyway.
And that's the mindset that God wants for us. He wants that mindset for us to
(33:57):
build upon in his kingdom.
He created the church to be a team effort.
Yes, you've got preachers and you've got elders and you've got Sunday school
teachers and you've got board members who have positions of responsibility in the church.
Don't you notice that I said positions of responsibility, not positions of privilege.
He has people in his church as responsible servants in his kingdom but there
(34:23):
is absolutely no place in the kingdom for grandstanders.
The Pharisees were idle bystanders in Jesus' times who did nothing but nitpick
and try to find fault with everything Jesus and the others did but never lifting
a finger to lighten the load, instead making it heavier.
Does anybody know which coach NCAA men's basketball coach has won the most national
(34:47):
championship in men's basketball history?
Starts with John. John Wooden. John Wooden, the former coach of the UCLA Bruins,
his team won 10 national championships because of what he was focused on.
He didn't build basketball players. He created teams.
(35:08):
And he built men. If you watch many basketball matchups, you'll see that many
teams have a go-to guy who is the anchor of the team.
And when the go-to guy is hurt or not performing, the team struggles and loses.
But individual accomplishments and records held little value to Wooden.
(35:29):
Every year, he put together the best group of players he could find and the
five men who best complemented each other and worked together with the ones
he started on the basketball court.
His motto was this, the most important player when we win is the rest of the team.
(35:51):
Wooden encouraged his players to accomplish the assists or acknowledge the assists of their teammates.
If one player received a pass that allowed him to go in and score,
Wooden wanted that person to give the other man a wink or a point to him as
they moved down the court to the opposite end to the defensive side.
(36:13):
And you will watch this in all of the replays of every game.
When one gets assisted to make a layup or a shot, They will come down the court,
and they will acknowledge the person who gave them assist on the way down.
A new player once asked Wooden, what if the other player isn't looking when
I point to him? Wooden just smiled.
(36:33):
Don't worry. He'll be looking. He'll be looking for the acknowledgement that
you're thanking him for doing that.
That's the kind of teamwork that Christ wanted to build into his church.
Jesus wanted to establish a kingdom where all of the citizens would work at building each other up.
In fact, the church should be a place for one anothering, as we say.
(36:58):
Jesus said, this is my command. In John chapter 15, verse 17,
he says, love one another.
In Romans chapter 12, verse 10, the Bible goes on to say, we should be devoted to one another.
In Romans 15, 7, it says we should accept one another. In Galatians 5.13,
it says we should serve one another.
(37:19):
In Ephesians 4.2, it says we should bear with one another.
In 1 Thessalonians 5.11, encourage one another.
In Ephesians 4.32, be kind and compassionate to one another.
Ephesians 4.32, and we should forgive one another, just as in Christ God forgave you.
(37:39):
Do you see any place in the kingdom of God for lone rangers?
Church is not about me it's not about my church nor is it even about you and it's not your church,
Jesus said I will build my church,
(37:59):
and the gates of hell will not be able to stand the church's onslaught what
it's all about is Jesus Christ and all the people around us whom he came to save,
Revelation isn't about the glory story of when we're going to go to heaven.
Revelation is about church of God, know this is coming, get it right,
(38:21):
and help me depopulate hell, right?
That's what it's all about.
And when it's all about Jesus and the people around us, he came to save us,
Jesus came to save them as well.
And when we do it right, when we give Jesus and his kingdom the kind of attention
they deserve, people will want to see the Jesus who we say we belong to.
(38:45):
Our actions, our lives, our attitudes will be the celebration out in the field,
out in the arena, as the church of God enters the world for the battle of a lifetime.
After Jesus had been acknowledged as being king by the crowds,
we're told that some Gentiles came up to one of his disciples and said,
(39:08):
Sir, we would like to see Jesus.
Friends, when we do church right, when we do Jesus right, Jesus will get the
glory and people will come up to us to ask us to see and know about the Jesus we serve.
They will see Jesus in us.
(39:29):
So they won't have to ask, we've come to see Jesus, can you show us?
They will come to us and say, what is this that you have that I don't?
When the church is living like Jesus meant it to be, there's no power on earth
or in the spiritual realm that can stand against it.
(39:49):
Evangelism, as Dallas Willard said, evangelism will be largely automatic,
we won't have to have programs to do evangelism we will live evangelism and
it will be largely automatic as people want to come to know the God who has
redeemed us and brought us to himself,
(40:10):
it's time for the winning team to take the floor and quit being bystanders and
grandstanders don't you think?
I think we have a lot of that in the church universal nowadays but it's time
for us simply to take the floor and be the servants that God wants us to be
proclaiming the victory of Christ to everyone around us and would you stand and say this with me,
(40:34):
say this with me God is on a mission to redeem a lost world to himself and he
chooses to you as us his chosen people to accomplish his mission get it?
Got it good.
So it's basketball season, as we're all well aware of.
And if you are anything of a basketball fan, you know that we are in the middle
of what's called March Madness, sometimes called the road to the Final Four.
They started this last Sunday, the 16th,
when the leaders of the NCAA Basketball Championship Selection Team chose the
(00:23):
top 68 teams that would begin in the series that would lead to the Final Four,
and ultimately the NCAA National Championship Men's Championship.
Earlier this week, eight of the lower-ranked teams had to play in for the 61st
(00:44):
through 64th spot in the actual playoff brackets on Thursday and Friday.
The first round of the competition took place when those 64 teams took the floor.
The 32 winners of those games then played yesterday and the day before in the second round.
(01:04):
And so now it brings us down to the 16 winners of those games that emerged to
this week, which will be called the Sweet 16.
Now, if you're anything of a fan, you understand that ups and downs happen.
And unfortunately, our own Wisconsin Badgers got beat out last night.
(01:27):
So they're not in the Sweet 16.
And then on March 27th and 28th,
those teams will begin the play of to be qualified for the Elite Eight.
And then on the 29th and 30th
of March they will narrow the field down again to
the final four ultimately coming down to
(01:50):
the championship game on April 7th between
the two best or supposedly best teams in all of the NCAA basketball at least
they're supposed to be the best Oftentimes what happens is some of the best
teams get beat out early by some kind of situation.
(02:12):
We've had one number one team already, number one seat already been beaten out.
I've never been to any of these NCAA basketball events, but I have been to some
state high school championships.
And I've been to some college football cross-country and track championships,
and I can tell you that when the teams come out onto the floor or the field
(02:37):
or the arena, pandemonium breaks out.
The teams don't just casually walk out onto the field. It's a production.
They strut, they jump, they holler.
Whatever they do, there's a complete production on when each team comes out
onto the floor. The volume in the arena is at a blistering level.
(03:00):
The bands are playing loudly on both sides of the competitive floor.
The flames of fans' fervor are being stoked up by the cheerleaders.
And then there's the crescendo of the announcer's voice as he introduces each team.
Ladies and gentlemen, are you ready to rumble? No, that's UFC.
Sorry, that's the wrong sport.
(03:21):
Anyway, the team's university band strikes up an exciting version of their fight song.
There are banners, balloons, and streamers and cheerleaders standing at attention.
Wouldn't you like that to be the case when the church takes the floor?
Wouldn't that be something? When the church takes the floor in the arena of
(03:44):
life, wouldn't it be something,
not that we strut and dance but that people would take notice that God's kingdom,
is coming to bear on this life.
At the stadium there's a light show that flashes across the auditorium and when
the crowd has been worked into
a fever pitch the team runs out into the court and the crowd goes wild.
(04:04):
I'm telling you it's what every preacher secretly wants, wishes would happen
every time he goes into the pulpit to preach.
But instead Instead, when the preacher preaches, sometimes it's the best hour
of sleep people get all week.
There's an excitement, there's a fervor, there's an anticipation of being present
(04:26):
at such an electrifying event.
All this is done because the team and their supporters are essentially declaring
that they've not only come to play, they've come to win.
On Friday night this week, 16th ranked teams have beaten out higher ranked teams.
So that's what's happening here in the passage we're going to read this morning.
(04:50):
Everything that happens this day at Jerusalem is focusing that same type of
excitement and fervor in the crowds.
For three years, Jesus has been building his ministry toward the final scene.
He knows this is not the final scene, but the crowd doesn't know that.
They think that he is coming in to be declared as king, as ruling king over
(05:15):
the Israeli or Hebrew empire.
The crowds believe that this is their crowning moment for the delivery of Israel.
For three years, he has performed one miracle after another after another.
For three years, he has healed the sick, the lame, the blind,
the leprous. For three years, Jesus has attracted one crowd after another to
(05:36):
teach them about the coming kingdom of God.
Not more than about a week prior to this, Jesus went to the home of Mary and
Martha and raised their brother Lazarus from the dead.
You remember that story? And by the time Jesus gets to Jerusalem, the crowd is primed.
They've heard about what he's done.
(05:58):
They're stoked. They're jumping up and down, dancing around and unable to control
themselves, kind of like the crowd when the pastor gets up to preach.
Thank you, thank you.
Jesus' entry into Jerusalem. By the way, that's being recorded,
(06:21):
so let's do it again. Okay, yeah, thank you.
Air ball.
I lost my place. I've got to start over. Jesus' entry into Jerusalem was not
going to be a casual stroll into the city for Jesus.
(06:44):
He had come to deliberately declare that he was king of Israel,
he was the anointed one, he was the promised Messiah, and he was the one who
had been predicted for centuries by the prophets of God.
And so we're going to read starting in John chapter 12, verses 9 through 19.
Meanwhile, a large crowd of Jews found out that Jesus was there and came,
(07:07):
not only because of him, but also to see Lazarus, whom he had raised from the dead.
So the chief priests made plans to kill Lazarus as well, for on account of him,
many of the Jews were going over to Jesus and believing in him.
The next day, the great crowd that had come for the festival heard that Jesus
was on his way to Jerusalem.
(07:27):
They took palm branches and went out to meet him, shouting, Hosanna!
Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Blessed is the King of Israel!
Jesus found a young donkey and sat on it, as it was written,
Do not be afraid, daughter Zion.
See, your king is coming, seated on a donkey's colt.
At first his disciples did not understand all this.
(07:49):
Only after Jesus was glorified did they realize that these things had been written
about him and that these things had been done to him.
Now the crowd that was with him when he called Lazarus from the tomb and raised
him from the dead continued to spread the word.
Many people heard because they had heard that he had performed this sign, went out to meet him.
(08:09):
So the Pharisees said to one another, see, this is getting us nowhere.
Look how the whole world has gone after him.
So about a year before this, Jesus was teaching a large crowd out in the country.
It was getting late and the people were getting hungry.
And so Jesus instructed his disciples to feed them.
You remember this story. but the only food
(08:32):
on hand was the lunch of a little boy out of 5,000 and some people he was the
only one that brought a lunch Jesus blessed that paltry amount of food and fed
more than 5,000 people and they still had 12 baskets of food left over.
The crowd was so impressed that they wanted to make him king right then and there.
(08:56):
John 6, verse 15 says, Jesus, knowing that they intended to come and make him
king by force, withdrew again to a mountain by himself.
That crowd sensed then that Jesus had the bearing to be the long-awaited king
of Israel. He was the one that they were hoping for would come and overturn
the Roman oppression and make Israel the kingdom that it should be.
(09:21):
But the kind of king they wanted wasn't what Jesus had in mind.
They wanted an earthly king. They wanted a king who would not only sit upon
the throne of David, but who would lead them into battle against the hated Romans.
Jesus was everything they could hope for in a leader. He was charismatic,
he was decisive, and he was powerful.
(09:42):
He was capable of feeding thousands of soldiers. He could heal the wounded and raise the dead.
What army on the face of the earth could stand up against such a king?
With Jesus as their king and their commander, they couldn't lose because they
(10:03):
simply would not have any casualty.
This king would deliver them from death.
And so they wanted an earthly king, but they wanted a godly king,
one who would perform miracles. And when it became apparent that this Jesus
wasn't going to be that kind of king, the crowds turned on him.
(10:25):
They called for his blood, and they called for his crucifixion.
So from Palm Sunday, what we call Palm Sunday, the triumphal entry into Jerusalem,
one week later they are crying out for his crucifixion.
What makes man turn that much?
They wanted an earthly king, but that wasn't what Jesus had in mind.
(10:49):
He had no intention whatsoever of establishing an earthly kingdom.
And for the kingdom that Jesus was entitled to, they couldn't even dream of making him king.
They could not make him king of the heavenly realms because that was not in
their purview to be able to do.
His kingdom was already established before the creation of the world.
(11:11):
God had already designed and established and foreordained what was going to happen.
So we can't make Jesus the king.
It's simply not in our power. God the Father has already made him king.
He's the king by nature of what he is, but he's also our king.
Jesus told Pilate this, My kingdom is not of this world.
(11:33):
If it were, my servants would fight to prevent my arrest by the Jewish leaders.
But now my kingdom is from another place in luke
chapter 17 verse 21 jesus declared the kingdom
of god is within you and in romans chapter
14 verse 17 paul taught us the kingdom of god is not a matter of eating and
(11:54):
drinking but of righteousness peace and joy in the holy spirit the kingdom of
god is the church that's who we are not a building not a precipice but a but a people.
The kingdom of God is a people. That's what Jesus came to establish.
That's the kingdom over which Jesus had come to rule and to reign.
(12:15):
In fact, that's what Colossians chapter 1 verse 13 teaches.
It tells us that the Father has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and
brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves.
Right now, we are in the kingdom of God.
Jesus talked about the kingdom of God He talked about the kingdom of heaven
(12:36):
And we are a part of the kingdom of God And you know it's kind of interesting
Sometimes we don't act like we're part of the kingdom Do we?
But Jesus has called us to be part of the kingdom of God. Kingdom of God isn't
and was never intended to be a physical kingdom because earthly kingdoms are
far too limited to accomplish the goals Christ had in mind.
(12:59):
First thing we see about earthly kingdoms, earthly kingdoms are always limited
by physical boundaries.
Back during the Middle Ages, there was a physical kingdom that lasted a thousand years.
It was known as the Holy Roman Empire and began when Charlemagne took the throne
in 800 AD and ended when Napoleon brought it to its knees in 1808.
(13:26):
The Holy Roman Empire covered much of Europe.
The territory this empire encompassed included Germany, Austria,
Switzerland, Czechoslovakia, Belgium, and it included large portions of France,
Poland, and Italy. It reigned for a thousand years, or a little more than a thousand years.
It was intended to be the physical kingdom of Christendom, but it fell short
(13:51):
of being everything that God wanted because it was too limited.
It tried to wrap a fence around the church to protect it, but in an effort to
protect the church, it confined the church.
Fences are for that, right? Fences are made to protect us from what's outside,
(14:12):
but oftentimes it confines us to what is within.
Jesus said, I will build my church and the gates of hell will not stand up against it.
That doesn't mean that the gates of hell are coming against us.
It means that we're to be going against hell.
The reason there are gates of hell is because Satan doesn't want us interfering in his business.
(14:35):
Sorry, dude, we're God's kingdom. That's what we do.
And so we look at what this fence is, what was intended.
To be a fence to keep the bad stuff out was actually a fence that kept the good in.
And so the good did not influence what was outside the gate, outside the fence.
(14:56):
The church doesn't need a fence to surround it. There's no need for walls to protect it.
We have the hedge already by a guy named God. Have you ever heard of him?
He will put a hedge around us to protect us, but
he doesn't want us to stay in confinement the church
needs no such protection the church was
(15:19):
built by jesus to be on the move one time
as i said jesus asked his disciples who the people
of the world thought he was they answered that
many were speculating that he was john the baptist or elijah
or one of the prophets then jesus asked
but who do you say that i am and peter replied you
are the Christ the son of the living
(15:40):
God and Jesus replied I tell
you the truth that you Peter and on
this rock the confession that you have made I will build my church and the gates
of hell will not overcome and in other words the kingdom the church was built
upon the foundations and power of Jesus Christ the church was designed to be
a vibrant force with a power to overwhelm the gates of hell.
(16:04):
And as we said a couple weeks ago, oftentimes we aren't on the floor,
we're sitting on the bench, right?
And so what God is wanting us to do is to take the court.
He's wanting us to be on mission with him. He's wanting us to do all this.
Now, tell me, how far can gates move?
Well, some of our winds that we've had lately could probably move some gates,
(16:27):
but they're not intended to be moved, right? Just opened and closed, right?
Gates open and shut, but other than that, they don't go anywhere.
That's because gates aren't designed to move, they're designed to protect.
They're designed to keep some people in and some people out.
They're designed to keep animals in and some animals out. Ask any farmer.
(16:55):
If his fence is down or if the gate's broken, what happens to his animal?
Animals. I mean, there was time in Fillmore, Minnesota,
when we pastored there, that I woke up, and town has 75 in population,
or did at that time, but we had more cows than we had people,
(17:18):
and there were more than once that we had to get up and herd cattle into somebody's
yard because they'd gotten out of the gates.
In fact, one morning, we had some cows up on the front steps of the church looking
into the windows of the church. It was kind of cool.
I thought we might invite them in, but then, no, that would be utter disaster.
(17:39):
Jesus didn't save us to be on the defensive And to hide behind walls Jesus saved
us so that we could go take Satan down,
That's the intention of all that we did He
did save us to protect us and give us deliverance But he saved us to take Satan
down Our objective is to take him on To take the battle to him To win the battle
(18:02):
But too often the church has allowed Satan to infiltrate its ranks and keep
the church of Christ confined and confused and conflicted.
For Jesus to create a physical kingdom with earthly boundaries would have limited
his church, but Jesus declared the kingdom of God is within you.
So wherever we go, we are the kingdom of God.
(18:25):
You take this kingdom wherever you go, and no worldly kingdom has the power to stand against it.
Back in the book of Daniel, King Nebuchadnezzar had a dream that deeply disturbed him.
He suspected that if he just told his magicians and soothsayers what the dream
was, they would attempt to fake an interpretation.
So he demanded that they give him both the dream and its interpretation.
(18:49):
The only one capable of this was Daniel. Daniel explained to Nebuchadnezzar
that in his dream, he saw a huge statue made of several different metals.
Then in his dream, the king had said, the rock was cut out, but not by human
hands. It struck the statue on its feet of iron and clay and smashed it.
Daniel went on to explain that the statue represented several earthly kingdoms,
(19:13):
and during the last of these kingdoms, the God of heaven would set up a kingdom
that would never be destroyed, nor would it be left to another people.
It would crush all those kingdoms and bring them to an end, but it would itself endure forever.
There's no kingdom on the face of the earth that can stand up against the kingdom of God.
(19:33):
It is intended to be forever. The kingdom is, this kingdom is not limited by physical boundaries.
The kingdom of God has citizens in practically every nation on earth,
and the church's power is only limited by its imagination or lack thereof,
and dependence on the Holy Spirit.
(19:55):
So the second thing we see is this. Since earthly kingdoms require physical
boundaries, those boundaries need to be protected by military might.
Four generations before Jesus was born, there was a man named Judas Maccabeus.
He was called the hammer, not the one you're thinking of.
The one that dances, and was a fairly righteous man who was upset by the fact
(20:20):
that the Syrians occupied the city of Jerusalem.
He was angry about this and rallied an army of Jewish men to his side to fight against the Syrians.
In 163 BC, he entered Jerusalem riding on a massive stallion and the people
shouted, waved palm branches and cheered. Does this sound familiar?
(20:41):
They shouted, waved palm branches,
and cheered, Hosanna, blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.
Judas Macbius, he was their hero, and many thought he was the Messiah.
When he came into town on a great stallion, he was greeted by the huge throngs
of adoring people, proclaiming the coming victory over the Romans.
(21:06):
Does that sound familiar, what they were looking for? When he entered the city,
they cleared out the temple, burned incense, offered sacrifices,
and lit a huge menorah that burned for eight days.
To this day, our Jewish friends celebrate eight days of the festival lights
called Hanukkah to celebrate this accomplishment.
(21:29):
But not long afterwards, Judas Maccabeus was killed in battle and was buried.
He died, and that was the end of the story. And that was the end of the revolt.
About two centuries later, another mighty leader entered Jerusalem in a crowd of adoring fans.
The people weighed palm branches and cheered, Hosanna, blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.
(21:54):
Almost everything that happened during Jesus' triumphal entry into Jerusalem
paralleled what had happened, what had occurred when Judas Maccabeus entered
into Jerusalem two centuries before.
Everything seemed to mirror that prior event except one thing.
Jesus didn't enter the city on
(22:15):
a mighty stallion proclaiming that he was a powerful king and conqueror.
He entered the city on the foal of a humble donkey proclaiming peace.
Judas Macbius entered into Jerusalem riding on the back of a powerful stallion
because he wanted to show his majesty and his authority.
(22:36):
He intended to set up an earthly kingdom, and that required an earthly kind of power.
But in the end, he died, and so did his dream of an earthly kingdom because
that which is born of the earth doesn't last very long, right?
By contrast, when Jesus rode into Jerusalem on the foal of a donkey because
he was announcing peace, not war.
(22:58):
He was proclaiming peace with God and peace with eternity.
He didn't proclaim his power and authority. He proclaimed his father's power
and authority and the kingdom of God.
A donkey is generally, as I said, not considered to be an animal of a war.
A donkey is not an animal associated with military power. Let's face it.
(23:24):
A donkey is not even an impressive animal.
It's a humble creature.
It can't even get its laugh right. And Jesus chose that type of creature to
ride in Jerusalem because his kingdom was not going to be about force of arms or coercion.
The kingdom of God is not about position and power.
(23:48):
The kingdom of God is about submission and surrender.
When the apostles came to Jesus and asked who was going to be,
they asked if they could be on his right and his left when he came into his
kingdom, and Jesus said, this is not for me to give.
Whoever serves is the leader. So we are called not to a position of power or
prestige or status or control.
(24:11):
We are called to a position of submission and service and surrender.
It's about prayer. It's about love. It's about setting an example.
And then thirdly, Jesus hadn't come to set up an earthly kingdom because earthly
kingdoms are almost always focused on who's in charge.
They're about who is able to manipulate themselves into position to wield that power.
(24:35):
When Jesus' disciples talked to him about his kingdom, do you remember what
the disciples asked him?
I told you this before. They asked, who is going to sit on your right and who's
going to sit on your left?
What did these boys really want? They wanted to have position and power,
but the kingdom of God isn't about that.
It's about service, as I said.
Jesus taught his disciples that
(24:56):
his kingdom was going to be different from earthly ones in this respect.
The kings of the Gentiles lorded over them, and those who exercise authority
over them call themselves benefactors.
In other words, those that lord over us believe that they're doing it for our
own good. They are benefactors.
(25:18):
But when somebody is your benefactor, oftentimes they control you, don't they?
But you are not to be like that. Instead, the greatest among you should be like
the youngest and the one who rules like the one who serves.
Jesus said this recorded in Luke 22, verses 25 to 26.
Then in verse 27, he says, I am among you as one who serves.
(25:42):
So even Jesus, the Son of God, God himself, came for the purpose of serving, and so should we.
Jesus hadn't come to exercise authority. He came to seek and to save those who are lost.
He came to meet our needs and lift us back up out of the mire of our everyday
lives. He came to minister to us.
He came to call us into his mission.
(26:04):
He came to raise us into a new awareness of who we are as sons of God,
children of God, the kingdom of God, the ones who are taking the floor are supposed
to be the church in which the gates of hell will not overstand the power of
the church to rail against it.
And I'm ready to kick some gates down, aren't you?
(26:26):
We say this often in here, and I'd like you to say it with me now.
God is on a mission to redeem a lost world to himself, and he chooses to use
us, his chosen people, to accomplish his mission.
That's what God is all about. That's what Jesus came for.
He came to redeem us. He came to save us. But he came to set us on fire and
(26:48):
to set us loose against the gates of hell, to overcome the gates of hell. Are you with me?
Thank you he was called the
hammer not the one you're thinking of the one that dances anyway and was a fairly
righteous man who was upset by the fact that the syrians occupied the city of
(27:10):
jerusalem he was angry about this and rallied an army of jewish men to his side
to fight against the Syrians.
In 163 B.C., he entered Jerusalem riding on a massive stallion,
and the people shouted, waved palm branches, and cheered. Does this sound familiar?
They shouted, waved palm branches, and cheered, Hosanna!
(27:34):
Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.
Judas Macbius. He was their hero, and many thought he was the Messiah.
When he came into town on a great stallion he was
greeted by the huge throngs of adoring people proclaiming the
coming victory over over the romans does
that sound familiar what they were looking for when he
(27:57):
entered the city they cleared out the temple burned incense offered sacrifices
and lit a huge menorah that burned for eight days to this day our jewish friends
celebrated celebrate eight days
of the festival lights called Hanukkah to celebrate this accomplishment.
But not long afterwards, Judas Maccabeus was killed in battle and was buried.
(28:22):
He died, and that was the end of the story. And that was the end of the revolt.
About two centuries later, another mighty leader entered Jerusalem in a crowd of adoring fans.
The people weighed palm branches and cheered, Hosanna, blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.
Almost everything that happened during Jesus' triumphal entry into Jerusalem
(28:46):
paralleled what had happened, what had occurred when Judas Maccabeus entered
into Jerusalem two centuries before.
Everything seemed to mirror that prior event except one thing.
Jesus didn't enter the city on
a mighty stallion proclaiming that he was a powerful king and conqueror.
(29:08):
He entered the city on the foal of a humble donkey proclaiming peace.
Judas Macbius entered into Jerusalem riding on the back of a powerful stallion
because he wanted to show his majesty and his authority.
He intended to set up an earthly kingdom, and that required an earthly kind of power.
(29:29):
But in the end, he died, and so did his dream of an earthly kingdom because
that which is born of the earth doesn't last very long, right?
By contrast, when Jesus rode into Jerusalem on the foal of a donkey because
he was announcing peace, not war.
He was proclaiming peace with God and peace with eternity.
(29:51):
He didn't proclaim his power and authority. He proclaimed his father's power
and authority and the kingdom of God.
A donkey is generally, as I said, not considered to be an animal of a war.
A donkey is not an animal associated with military power. Let's face it,
(30:12):
a donkey is not even an impressive animal.
It's a humble creature. It can't even get its laugh right.
And Jesus chose that type of creature to ride in Jerusalem because his kingdom
was not going to be about force of arms or coercion.
The kingdom of God is not about position and power.
(30:36):
The kingdom of God is about submission and surrender.
When the apostles came to Jesus, they asked if they could be on his right and
his left when he came into his kingdom, Jesus said, this is not for me to give.
Whoever serves is the leader. So we are called not to a position of power or
prestige or status or control.
(30:59):
We are called to a position of submission and service and surrender.
It's about prayer. It's about love. It's about setting an example.
And then thirdly, Jesus hadn't come to set up an earthly kingdom because earthly
kingdoms are almost always focused on who's in charge.
They're about who is able to manipulate themselves into position to wield that power.
(31:23):
When Jesus' disciples talked to him about his kingdom, do you remember what
the disciples asked him? I told you this before.
They asked, who is going to sit on your right and who's going to sit on your left?
What did these boys really want? They wanted to have position and power,
but the kingdom of God isn't about that.
It's about service, as I said. Jesus taught his disciples that his kingdom was
(31:45):
going to be different from earthly ones in this respect.
The kings of the Gentiles lorded over them, and those who exercise authority
over them call themselves benefactors.
In other words, those that lord over us believe that they're doing it for our
own good. They are benefactors.
(32:06):
But when somebody is your benefactor, oftentimes they control you, don't they?
But you are not to be like that. Instead, the greatest among you should be like
the youngest and the one who rules like the one who serves.
Jesus said this recorded in Luke 22, verses 25 to 26.
Then in verse 27, he says, I am among you as one who serves.
(32:30):
So even Jesus, the Son of God, God himself, came for the purpose of serving. And so should we.
Jesus hadn't come to exercise authority. He came to seek and to save those who are lost.
He came to meet our needs and lift us back up out of the mire of our everyday
lives. He came to minister to us.
He came to call us into his mission.
(32:52):
He came to raise us into a new awareness of who we are as sons of God,
children of God, the kingdom of God, the ones who are taking the floor are supposed
to be the church in which the gates of hell will not overstand the power of
the church to rail against it.
And I'm ready to kick some gates down, aren't you?
(33:13):
We say this often in here, and I'd like you to say it with me now.
God is on a mission to redeem a lost world to himself, and he chooses to use
us, his chosen people, to accomplish his mission.
That's what God is all about. That's what Jesus came for.
He came to redeem us. He came to save us, but he came to set us on fire and
(33:36):
to set us loose against the gates of hell to overcome the gates of hell. Are you with me?
Thank you.
You know, in some churches they say, can I get a witness? But we won't do that anyway.
And that's the mindset that God wants for us. He wants that mindset for us to
(33:57):
build upon in his kingdom.
He created the church to be a team effort.
Yes, you've got preachers and you've got elders and you've got Sunday school
teachers and you've got board members who have positions of responsibility in the church.
Don't you notice that I said positions of responsibility, not positions of privilege.
He has people in his church as responsible servants in his kingdom but there
(34:23):
is absolutely no place in the kingdom for grandstanders.
The Pharisees were idle bystanders in Jesus' times who did nothing but nitpick
and try to find fault with everything Jesus and the others did but never lifting
a finger to lighten the load, instead making it heavier.
Does anybody know which coach NCAA men's basketball coach has won the most national
(34:47):
championship in men's basketball history?
Starts with John. John Wooden. John Wooden, the former coach of the UCLA Bruins,
his team won 10 national championships because of what he was focused on.
He didn't build basketball players. He created teams.
(35:08):
And he built men. If you watch many basketball matchups, you'll see that many
teams have a go-to guy who is the anchor of the team.
And when the go-to guy is hurt or not performing, the team struggles and loses.
But individual accomplishments and records held little value to Wooden.
(35:29):
Every year, he put together the best group of players he could find and the
five men who best complemented each other and worked together with the ones
he started on the basketball court.
His motto was this, the most important player when we win is the rest of the team.
(35:51):
Wooden encouraged his players to accomplish the assists or acknowledge the assists of their teammates.
If one player received a pass that allowed him to go in and score,
Wooden wanted that person to give the other man a wink or a point to him as
they moved down the court to the opposite end to the defensive side.
(36:13):
And you will watch this in all of the replays of every game.
When one gets assisted to make a layup or a shot, They will come down the court,
and they will acknowledge the person who gave them assist on the way down.
A new player once asked Wooden, what if the other player isn't looking when
I point to him? Wooden just smiled.
(36:33):
Don't worry. He'll be looking. He'll be looking for the acknowledgement that
you're thanking him for doing that.
That's the kind of teamwork that Christ wanted to build into his church.
Jesus wanted to establish a kingdom where all of the citizens would work at building each other up.
In fact, the church should be a place for one anothering, as we say.
(36:58):
Jesus said, this is my command. In John chapter 15, verse 17,
he says, love one another.
In Romans chapter 12, verse 10, the Bible goes on to say, we should be devoted to one another.
In Romans 15, 7, it says we should accept one another. In Galatians 5.13,
it says we should serve one another.
(37:19):
In Ephesians 4.2, it says we should bear with one another.
In 1 Thessalonians 5.11, encourage one another.
In Ephesians 4.32, be kind and compassionate to one another.
Ephesians 4.32, and we should forgive one another, just as in Christ God forgave you.
(37:39):
Do you see any place in the kingdom of God for lone rangers?
Church is not about me it's not about my church nor is it even about you and it's not your church,
Jesus said I will build my church,
(37:59):
and the gates of hell will not be able to stand the church's onslaught what
it's all about is Jesus Christ and all the people around us whom he came to save,
Revelation isn't about the glory story of when we're going to go to heaven.
Revelation is about church of God, know this is coming, get it right,
(38:21):
and help me depopulate hell, right?
That's what it's all about.
And when it's all about Jesus and the people around us, he came to save us,
Jesus came to save them as well.
And when we do it right, when we give Jesus and his kingdom the kind of attention
they deserve, people will want to see the Jesus who we say we belong to.
(38:45):
Our actions, our lives, our attitudes will be the celebration out in the field,
out in the arena, as the church of God enters the world for the battle of a lifetime.
After Jesus had been acknowledged as being king by the crowds,
we're told that some Gentiles came up to one of his disciples and said,
(39:08):
Sir, we would like to see Jesus.
Friends, when we do church right, when we do Jesus right, Jesus will get the
glory and people will come up to us to ask us to see and know about the Jesus we serve.
They will see Jesus in us.
(39:29):
So they won't have to ask, we've come to see Jesus, can you show us?
They will come to us and say, what is this that you have that I don't?
When the church is living like Jesus meant it to be, there's no power on earth
or in the spiritual realm that can stand against it.
(39:49):
Evangelism, as Dallas Willard said, evangelism will be largely automatic,
we won't have to have programs to do evangelism we will live evangelism and
it will be largely automatic as people want to come to know the God who has
redeemed us and brought us to himself,
(40:10):
it's time for the winning team to take the floor and quit being bystanders and
grandstanders don't you think?
I think we have a lot of that in the church universal nowadays but it's time
for us simply to take the floor and be the servants that God wants us to be
proclaiming the victory of Christ to everyone around us and would you stand and say this with me,
(40:34):
say this with me God is on a mission to redeem a lost world to himself and he
chooses to you as us his chosen people to accomplish his mission get it?
Got it good.
Popular Podcasts
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com
24/7 News: The Latest
The latest news in 4 minutes updated every hour, every day.