Latest / In the Stillness Podcast / Praise With Your Life, Not Just Your Lips

Transcript

Praise With Your Life, Not Just Your Lips · In the Stillness Podcast

• 0:00
  Hey everyone, it's friendly. Happy Monday.
• 0:03
  I hope that you are starting this new week off well, wherever
• 0:07
  you're listening from. I'm still a little snowed in
• 0:09
  here in Texas, but I've been so thankful for a slower weekend
• 0:14
  and just getting to enjoy more time being still and sitting in
• 0:20
  Jesus presence. And I truly hope the same for
• 0:23
  you guys. Today we're going to be in a
• 0:25
  passage that a lot of us have heard countless times,
• 0:28
  especially around the time of Palm Sunday and as we lead into
• 0:31
  Easter. But it is so important, I
• 0:34
  believe, that we sit with this because it asks us some very
• 0:38
  honest questions as followers of Jesus.
• 0:42
  So before we jump in, I do want to share just a little bit of my
• 0:46
  heart with y'all. Some of what I say today is
• 0:48
  going to sound very direct, and that's intentional.
• 0:52
  It comes from a place of love. Personally, I do not like sugar
• 0:57
  coating truth. I would rather someone care
• 0:59
  enough about me and my growth to shoot me straight and help me
• 1:04
  mature in my faith. So that's what I'm going to aim
• 1:06
  for today. Loving truth that does challenge
• 1:09
  us to grow. And of course, I am doing this
• 1:12
  out of an overflow of my quiet time with the Lord.
• 1:14
  So it's things that He's pressing on my heart as well.
• 1:18
  But I would love for y'all to just sit with it, reflect on it
• 1:21
  and pray and ask God to speak to you through this path passage.
• 1:25
  So we're going to be in Matthew chapter 21 verses one through
• 1:30
  11, and this is titled Jesus rides into Jerusalem on a
• 1:33
  donkey. As they approached Jerusalem and
• 1:37
  came to Bethpage on the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent 2 disciples
• 1:42
  saying to them, go to the village ahead of you and at once
• 1:46
  you will find a donkey tied there with her colt by her.
• 1:50
  Untie them and bring them to me. If anyone says anything to you,
• 1:54
  say that the Lord needs them and he will send them right away.
• 1:58
  This took place to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet.
• 2:02
  Say to daughter Zion, See, your king comes to you gentle and
• 2:06
  riding on a donkey and on a colt the full of a donkey.
• 2:12
  The disciples went and did as Jesus had instructed them.
• 2:16
  They brought the donkey and the colt and placed their cloaks on
• 2:19
  them for Jesus to sit on. A very large crowd spread their
• 2:23
  cloaks on the road, while others cut branches from the trees and
• 2:27
  spread them on the road. The crowds that went ahead of
• 2:30
  him and those that followed shouted Hosanna to the Son of
• 2:34
  David. Blessed is he who comes in the
• 2:37
  name of the Lord, Hosanna in the highest heaven.
• 2:40
  When Jesus entered Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred and
• 2:44
  asked, Who is this? The crowds answered, this is
• 2:48
  Jesus the prophet from Nazareth in Galilee.
• 2:53
  OK, so going right into the takeaways and teachings that the
• 2:57
  Lord gave me in my quiet time, one of the first things that
• 3:01
  stood out to me was how Jesus gives very clear instructions to
• 3:05
  two of his disciples. He sends them out together and
• 3:08
  we see all throughout the Bible people often are sent out and
• 3:13
  work in pairs and he tells them exactly where to go, what
• 3:17
  they'll find there, and even what to say if they're
• 3:20
  questioned. And it got me thinking honestly,
• 3:24
  wouldn't we all love that? Wouldn't life feel easier or
• 3:27
  simpler if God always gave us the step by step instructions?
• 3:32
  The exact locations, exact timing, or the exact outcomes?
• 3:37
  Obedience feels simpler when everything is just laid out
• 3:40
  clearly. But I want to pose y'all with
• 3:44
  this. Here's the reality.
• 3:46
  It actually takes more faith to walk with God when you don't
• 3:49
  know every detail. And scripture tells us First
• 3:52
  Corinthians 1433. God is not a God of confusion
• 3:56
  but of peace. Y'all.
• 3:58
  He is not trying to leave us lost or guessing.
• 4:01
  He will direct you. He just often doesn't.
• 4:04
  He often does it one step at a time.
• 4:08
  Psalm 119105 says Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to
• 4:13
  my path and a lamp. It doesn't illuminate the entire
• 4:18
  Rd. It gives us just enough light
• 4:20
  for the next step. And that's on purpose because
• 4:24
  God wants our dependence. When we walk closely with Him
• 4:27
  every single day through His word, through prayer and
• 4:31
  obedience, we stay centered in His will and being in the center
• 4:35
  of His will. That's the safest place you can
• 4:37
  be. You will not miss where He wants
• 4:39
  to take you when you're walking with Him step by step.
• 4:43
  And here's something important. We already have clear
• 4:46
  instructions on what we're called to do.
• 4:49
  We see this in Matthew 28, verse 19, when He commands us to go
• 4:54
  out and make disciples of all nations.
• 4:57
  Y'all that calling, It's not dependent on your job title or a
• 5:01
  certain platform or a specific season in your life.
• 5:05
  Yes, we all have individual roles and responsibilities that
• 5:09
  were to fulfill, but if you're a believer, you are a part of the
• 5:13
  body of Christ, the church, and we are all called to witness for
• 5:17
  Him until He returns or calls us home.
• 5:21
  So here's the honest question, are you doing what God has
• 5:25
  already instructed you to do right now, today?
• 5:30
  We all go through different seasons, we have different
• 5:33
  callings. But are you being obedient in
• 5:35
  the place where God has you today?
• 5:37
  Because often it's in the ordinary, the mundane everyday
• 5:41
  tasks that may feel unnoticed or insignificant, that God is
• 5:46
  shaping us for something far greater, something that we can't
• 5:49
  even imagine. Those two disciples, they
• 5:52
  probably had no idea that their simple obedience would place
• 5:57
  them right in the middle of Jesus entrance into Jerusalem.
• 6:01
  They were not chasing importance, they just obeyed.
• 6:05
  And because they were faithful in what seemed small, they got
• 6:09
  to be a part of something historic.
• 6:11
  So God is building our faithfulness and our
• 6:14
  perseverance in the small things.
• 6:17
  Galatians 69 reminds us, let us not grow weary in doing good,
• 6:21
  for in due season we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.
• 6:25
  So now I'm going to transition into Jesus and His humility.
• 6:31
  Now I could spend so much time talking about this in this
• 6:34
  passage, but I'm just going to focus on a few of the key
• 6:37
  things. This is not the expected royal
• 6:40
  entrance for the King of Kings, Y'all.
• 6:43
  He rides in on a donkey. It's not some powerful War Horse
• 6:48
  all decked out with garments. He's known as a prophet from
• 6:53
  Nazareth. This is a small, overlooked
• 6:56
  town. It's not a place of political or
• 6:58
  worldly power like Rome. And Jesus enters as the King of
• 7:04
  peace. He's not demanding attention.
• 7:07
  He's not stirring up chaos. He brings people together in
• 7:11
  unity and celebration. And here's what I really want us
• 7:15
  to sit with. Jesus is consistently teaching
• 7:19
  that leadership begins with humility.
• 7:21
  We saw this yesterday talking about how a true leader is a
• 7:26
  servant. But he doesn't just say this.
• 7:30
  He doesn't just preach. He truly lives it out.
• 7:33
  And this is where our belief meets our behavior.
• 7:37
  This is the difference between talking the talk or actually
• 7:41
  walking the walk. Jesus embodies everything he
• 7:44
  teaches in this moment. It also fulfills prophecy from
• 7:48
  Zechariah, from Isaiah and the Psalms.
• 7:52
  The people are shouting hosanna and this means save.
• 7:56
  It's a cry of praise directed at the Savior of the world.
• 8:01
  Makes sense, right? But we see tragically, that only
• 8:06
  a few days later, a lot of these same voices would soon fall
• 8:10
  silent and turn against Jesus because many who are praising
• 8:14
  him in this story would desert him and they would call for his
• 8:18
  crucifixion. Which brings us straight to if
• 8:21
  you claim Jesus as your Savior, if you praise him as such,
• 8:27
  y'all, we have to live like it. Do not settle for a superficial
• 8:31
  lukewarm faith just to blend in with the crowd and what
• 8:34
  everybody else is doing. Because what sets true followers
• 8:38
  of Jesus apart is their submission to Him and their
• 8:42
  willingness to stand for truth even when it's uncomfortable,
• 8:46
  even when the world challenges it, wants to suppress godly
• 8:50
  values or compromise. So I'm going to give you all a
• 8:54
  few direct, challenging questions that the Lord put on
• 8:58
  my heart and I would love for us to reflect on one.
• 9:02
  Are you praising Jesus with your lips but sinning against him in
• 9:06
  your heart? If you worship Him as Savior,
• 9:10
  are you living like He has truly saved?
• 9:12
  You think? Is there a noticeable difference
• 9:17
  between the way that you live now and the way you lived before
• 9:20
  you knew Him? So as we sit with these, I'm
• 9:24
  going to go ahead and pray us out.
• 9:27
  Jesus, thank you for being our humble, faithful King.
• 9:34
  You're the one who saves, serves and leads with perfect love.
• 9:41
  God, would you examine our hearts, expose anything in us
• 9:45
  that has become maybe for performance that's become
• 9:50
  comfortable or half hearted? Would You empower us to obey You
• 9:56
  100%, not just publicly but privately to We want to seek You
• 10:02
  out in the quiet place. Father, help us to remain
• 10:06
  faithful in the small unseen places.
• 10:09
  What do you provide us with? Courage to stand firm, to be
• 10:13
  courageous with the truth even when it's costly.
• 10:17
  And may our lives reflect the transformation that you have
• 10:21
  brought about within us. Lord, we don't want to be people
• 10:25
  that only proclaim Your name. We want to be living proof of
• 10:29
  Your love and Your grace and truth in a world that
• 10:34
  desperately needs it. God, we pray this on your name,
• 10:38
  Jesus, Amen. All right, well, this was just
• 10:43
  such an awesome quiet time for me and lots of great challenging
• 10:49
  questions that the Lord was really putting on my heart.
• 10:52
  So I pray that it teaches y'all something and y'all have a great
• 10:57
  start to your week. I'll see y'all on the next one.