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The Triumphal Entry | Mark 11:1-11 | Pastor Daniel Batarseh (Gospel of Mark Bible Study Series) · Bible Study with Pr. Daniel Batarseh | Verse by Verse Series | Maranatha Bible Church - Chicago

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How do you know if somebody is filled with the Holy Spirit?
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How do you know if a church is a church that is filled with the
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Holy Spirit? Well, I can tell you one thing
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for certain. They make much of Christ because
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he was sent to glorify, to glorify Him.
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And that is what we have come to do in the word of God today, to
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glorify the Son of God. And so I invite you to join me
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on that quest in Mark Chapter 11, beginning in verse one
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together. And as you're turning there,
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allow me to make a few remarks. There are very few events that
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are shared in all four gospel accounts concerning the life and
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the ministry of Jesus Christ. The major ones include what you
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and I have studied a few months ago, and that is the miracle of
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multiplication of bread and fish and the feeding, particularly of
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the 5000. That is something that you will
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see in Matthew. That is something you'll see in
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Mark Lutke. That's something you'll see also
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in John. And then there are the obvious
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events. The events of Christ's passion.
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His betrayal, his arrest, His trial.
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His death. His burial, His resurrection.
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All gospel accounts have records of Christ, final mission on
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earth. We also have in all gospel
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accounts, the denial of Peter. Every single writer sought to
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capture that and what we have before us in this text today.
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This particular occurrence is no small event.
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It is paramount. It is significant, and it is
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significant for many reasons. And evidently it was significant
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enough for all these four witnesses to give us a detailed
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report of what took place at this juncture of the ministry of
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Jesus Christ. It is commonly known as the
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triumphal entry of the Lord Jesus into Jerusalem.
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And as you would expect, each of these gospel writers have their
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unique inputs and they have their unique insights.
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And when we compare each of them, they just provide an even
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more full picture of what took place in that parade.
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But I want us to read this, and I want you to read it with
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excitement because you were just told, again, that this is shared
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between all four writers, and we have reason to believe that
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there's something that the Lord wants to say to us in it.
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And so let's begin in verse one and conclude in verse 11 before
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we see what God has to say to us.
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Now. When they drew near to
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Jerusalem, to Bethpage and Bethany at the Mount of Olives,
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Jesus sent two of his disciples and said to them, Go into the
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village in front of you, and immediately as you enter, as you
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enter, you will find a cult tide on which no one has ever sat.
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Untie it and bring it. Anyone says to you, why are you
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doing this, Say the Lord has need of it, and we'll send it
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back here immediately. And they went away and found a
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colt tied out of door outside in the street, and they united it.
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And some of those standing there said to them, what are you doing
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untying the colt. And they told him what Jesus had
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said, and they let him go. And they brought the colt to
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Jesus and threw their cloaks on it.
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And he sat on it. And many spread their cloaks on
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the road, and others spread leafy branches that they had cut
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from the fields. And those who went before and
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those who fall were shouting Hosanna, Blessed is you, comes
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in the name of the Lord. Blessed is the coming Kingdom of
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our father David Hosanna in the highest.
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And he entered Jerusalem and went into the temple.
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And when he had looked around at everything as it was already
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late, he went out to Bethany with the 12 Lord, bless the
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proclamation of your word, bless the hearts who will receive it.
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We are eager to hear from you. Be glorified in this moment in
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Jesus name. Amen.
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This is a very familiar story. We tend to hear it once a year
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at least, but we don't have to wait for that time of the year
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to explore what the scriptures have to say.
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And we should believe that there are practical insights and
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charges and comforts in this text.
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Though deals with a particular unrepeated moment in history.
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When we look at this text, I'm not sure if you caught on to it,
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but there are three particular groups that are mentioned on the
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scene, many actors on the stage, and we can easily group these
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different actors into 3 three different categories, 3
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different identities. The first one is a group that
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you are very familiar with, the disciples.
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We've been following them throughout this journey and mark
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the second group is unique. The group I'm Speaking of are
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the owners of this cult that Jesus requested.
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And lastly, another group of people that we are familiar with
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pertaining to the ministry of Christ is the crowd.
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The crowd. And this is how we're going to
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approach this text together. I want us to look at each of
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these groups because they are mentioned clearly to us, and we
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should prayerfully expect that the Lord has something to teach
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us about them and through them, with the specific highlights
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that He's provided from them. And so it's a very simple
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approach today. Let's begin by looking at the
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first group that is mentioned, the disciples.
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We have learned so much from the disciples.
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We've learned so much about the disciples.
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We have learned so much through the disciples.
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And sometimes what we've learned from them are repeated truths to
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our benefit. And sometimes when we come
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across them, we come across fresh principles that we can
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apply to ourselves as disciples of Jesus Christ in 2024.
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And what we can draw from the first few verses of Mark,
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Chapter 11 is a simple observation, but one that should
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comfort our hearts if we pay attention closely.
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We read here that when Jesus was approaching the city in verse
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one, he sent two of his disciples.
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He had how many? You know, 12, But at this time
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in the specific task, he recruits 2 out of the 12 and he
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sends them out to perform the specific mission.
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And again, this may be a simple thought, but it's worth chewing
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on. Here's the thing that we can
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take from this all of the apostles, all of the disciples
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were called to serve God. But with this specific
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illustration, we are reminded that not all of God's disciples
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serve God in the same way. God has designed, and God has
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determined, specific missions and ministries for each of us.
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And that's what we see here with just a glimpse. 12 were chosen,
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12 were called, 12 were to be trained and used for the glory
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of God. And at this time, not all 12,
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but two out of the 12 we do something in helping prepare for
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prophecy to be fulfilled. And I hope that comforts you,
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because it's a reminder of the activity of the Lordship of
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Jesus Christ over his disciples then, and it has not changed
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concerning how he manages the gifts and the callings of his
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disciples at this time. Some will be sent, some will
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remain, some will serve, others will speak, some will be made
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more known, others for the whole lives will be made hidden, all
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for the glory of Jesus Christ. And your response in mine is
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very simple. Understanding how the CEO of the
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Church operates, you receive what he has given you, you obey
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it faithfully, rejoice in the callings that he has provided,
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and also rejoice in how he works through fellow disciples of
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Jesus Christ. But the scene of obedience and
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the Lordship of Jesus Christ is even more profound when we
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consider what John says about the very same disciples at this
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time. So look at John 12A parallel
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account and look at the commentary that John gives
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concerning his fellow Apostles to be In John 1216 we read after
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describing the triumphal entry from his spirit LED perspective.
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His disciples did not understand these things at first, but when
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Jesus was glorified then they remember that these things had
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been written about him and had been done to him.
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No surprise. How many sayings, how many
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teachings, how many events did the disciples miss the
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significance of, And it is no different here in the final week
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of Jesus time on earth, John tells us that the disciples did
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not understand these things at first.
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They couldn't comprehend it. They didn't interpret it
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correctly. They viewed it through the
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personalized lens of what the Messiah should be and what he
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would do. And so they missed it.
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So although they are operating here in obedience to the
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commands of Christ, they are still plagued by ignorance.
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So yes, let's beat up on the disciples again.
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No, no, no, no, no. You're supposed to be comforted
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by this truth when you connected with what we just read in Mark
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Chapter 11. In what way?
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Here's the value. Here are these disciples who are
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blinded even at this moment, partially seeing and yet still
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the Lord Jesus was willing to use them to fulfill prophecy.
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Isn't that wonderful? So you have these guys who have
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not yet been able to surrender their skewed perspective.
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You have these guys who are slow to learn from the best teacher,
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preacher, expositor in the world.
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You have these guys who again, would be the ones laying the
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foundation of the church, and they have in many times
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attitudes of the flesh flare up way more than you would expect
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for guys of such caliber. And with all of that, Jesus
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Christ doesn't disqualify them. He still invites them and sends
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them. He still utilizes them, you say.
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Well, what does that mean for me?
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Well, you haven't caught on yet. Should you not also rejoice in
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knowing that even when you and I haven't fully grasped the
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significance of serving Jesus, of knowing his truth, even when
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you wrestle with the truth, Christ doesn't put you on the
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shelf. He's still willing to be
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glorified through you. He's still willing to use you to
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touch other people for his name's sake.
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He's still willing to show His Majesty in you and show others
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His Majesty through you. He's still willing to position
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you in particular places and moments and with people.
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Though you're a weak, and though you are feeble, and though you
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are distracted like these were, you were supposed to take
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comfort in seeing Jesus sending these two out of the 12 and
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using these 12 as a whole, even though John tells us they were
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ignorant. And so we see here that Christ
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again in his compassion. What do you see here even in
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this? The grace of Jesus Christ.
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But not just his grace. You see his omniscience?
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He gave them instructions, right?
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Look at verse two and said to them go into the village in
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front of you and immediately as you enter it you will find a
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cult tide on which no one has ever SAT.
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Untie it and bring it. If anyone says to you while
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you're doing this, say the Lord has need of it and we'll send it
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back here immediately. Some would say, well the Lord
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made pre arrangements concerning this and the disciples just
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needed to fill in the rest of the equation so that this can be
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successful. But we have every right to be
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persuaded that this is not Jesus making pre arrangements and
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making those plans known. This is Jesus operating in his
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omniscience, knowing all things, knowing exactly where things
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are, knowing exactly what needs to be said, knowing exactly
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what's about to transpire. This is Christ and his all
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knowing power, demonstrating it to his own and to us.
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Do you know why that's important to see Christ in control here?
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Because he's about to enter a week where he is going to be
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betrayed, arrested, tortured, nailed to a tree.
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And from the early settings of that time, we're already being
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proven that Christ was in complete control.
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Christ wasn't taken by surprise. Christ wasn't arrested outside
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of his will. Christ here, even from the
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beginning of the entrance here, is showing I have this all under
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control. This is going according to the
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script that I myself have written concerning my faith and
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the faith of humanity. You want to know how in control
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he is? Notice the type of Colt that
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would be united and used. We read here the last part of
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verse 2 on which no one has ever sat.
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Nothing's random in the Bible. Yeah.
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Oh, OK Never. Nobody ever sat on it.
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No. Think about it.
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What would happen with an animal that is untrained, that doesn't
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know what it's like to have a human on its back and steering
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it and guiding it? We have every reason to believe
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that it wouldn't be a graceful ride, a very difficult one.
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And yet with that you have this unbroken cult, unused cult,
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inexperienced cult, and Jesus summons it and rides it
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perfectly, showing what again His Lordship, his sovereignty,
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even this beast would submit to his authority and would walk
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exactly where he needed to be taken and would not interfere,
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interrupt with his plans. This is Christ fully in control.
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And so in control is he that he anticipated some witnesses of
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these disciples trying to take this cult.
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How do you modernize that? Imagine two guys coming into
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your driveway and trying to get into your car, knowing that
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there would be some potential witnesses.
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He gives them and equips them with the right statement that
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would ease any tension. And this is where we come to the
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second group that we're going to learn from, not just the
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disciples, but the owners of this cult.
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We're not told hereby Mark, that they were their owners were told
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by Luke and Luke 1933, if you want this for a reference and
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see it with your own eyes, you can turn there, Write it down
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for later. And Luke 1933, we read.
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And as they were untying the colt, its owners said to them,
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why are you untying the colt? You have every right to ask.
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That's your car. Is there anything to learn from
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these owners? You better believe it primarily
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in their response to what the disciples relayed from Christ to
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them. Again, the Lord anticipated
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this, and so He gives them the key phrase that would resolve
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it. The Lord has need of it, and
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we'll bring it back immediately. And in Mark 11-6, you see the
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result of that declaration? They let him go.
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They let him go. You know, we don't know who
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these owners are. We don't know their names.
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We don't know their backgrounds. We don't know their ties to
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Christ. But what they did in this moment
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speaks volumes about them, doesn't it?
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It does because they surrendered.
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They surrender their possessions.
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They surrender their will. They surrendered their rights to
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the simple understanding of the knowledge of the wishes of
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Christ. All these owners needed to hear
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this. Jesus needs it.
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Then let him have it. Let him take it.
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This could indicate that these guys were believers.
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But I want to take it beyond that.
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Not just believers. A certain type of believer,
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saturated and totally consecrated to the Lordship of
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Jesus Christ, swiftly, readily, joyfully surrendered all they
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needed to hear. The Lord has need of it.
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What about you and I with the commands of Jesus?
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We're a little bit more hesitant with some of them, are we not?
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There's no debate from these guys.
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There's no questioning, There's no negotiation.
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They threw the keys into their hands, so to speak.
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And I'm moved by these unnamed servants because this is the
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type of worship that the Lord Jesus Christ deserves, that the
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moment you understand His will, it's made known to it's clear to
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you that your heart is unreserved and giving yourself
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to what His wishes are. That is what it looks like.
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And let me help you make it easier.
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If you are one who feels tension in your heart, imagining the
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thought that if Christ were to ask anything of you, it belongs
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to him anyway, it's all his anyway.
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He's the rightful owner of it. Everything you have, the the
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nice shirts you guys have on right now.
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You guys look beautiful today. The colors and all that and how
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you got you in your car and the the warm house that you're going
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to return to. All of those things, my beloved
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brothers and sisters, are borrowed.
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I know your name is on the contract.
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I know you worked hard for it, but even the strength to work
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hard for it and the intelligence to save up for it came from God.
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It's His. And the more you rehearse that
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and the more you ask God to open your eyes that the more liberty
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you will know in the place of radical obedience.
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The Lord has neither. Well, it's His anyway.
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Let him take it. But just meditate longer on this
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with me. Sometimes you just need to read
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slow and let it simmer on your heart.
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The Lord has need of it. The Lord has a need.
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He's the all sufficient one. He is the great.
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I am, I am that I am. How is it that we read here that
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the Lord has a need? Well, I can tell you right off
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the bat that this is not the Lord explaining that He's needy.
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He is not needy, nor is He lacking in anything as some
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would assume, and only will. No completion or fulfillment
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from getting something from us. He doesn't need anything.
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He's not lacking anything. He's complete and whole and
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holy. So what does this mean for the
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Lord to say? I have need of it?
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I think about it even further. This is the Lord who created all
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things, who out of nothing, brought everything.
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I have no doubt in my mind, and neither should you, that if God
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really wanted a donkey, he could have called it into existence
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and its maturity. All right, there we go.
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We have it. Now let's go.
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Could he have done that? Absolutely.
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But he has need of it. In what sense?
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I argue here that this is, this is an example of the Lord and
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his character expressing what his desires are.
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He doesn't need anything, but he has desires.
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He's a person He loves and he hates.
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He takes pleasure and there are things that cause him to recoil.
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And in this moment we learned that the Lord takes pleasure in
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seeing His servants express their trust and their love to
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Him by giving what He asks of them.
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The Lord has need of it. The Lord requires it from you.
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He requests it, not because he is lacking again, but because he
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is longing. And I think you and I at this
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point can pause and ask my delaying and obedience and
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anything. Let me just speak to you as a
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brother to a fellow brother to a fellow sister.
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Are you delaying this afternoon? Has God been pressing your heart
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on something? And you know it's from God and
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you know you saw it in God's word and you know that it
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pertains to a particular situation in your life, But
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you've been delaying learn from these owners.
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They did not miss a beat. They did not reserve anything.
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They gave it freely and gladly and urgently.
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So let this be a reminder, perhaps to some.
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I don't know what's going on in your life, God knows.
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But here we are with this text and this point, and maybe it
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will point at something in your life.
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Do not delay any longer. Get to it.
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God's been speaking to you about it.
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Why are you delaying? The Lord has native it.
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The Lord requires it from you, and He is worthy to receive it.
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But Mark does something interesting here in talking
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about this cult. He he he doesn't do something
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that Matthew and John do. He doesn't give us the
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explanation why Christ really wants this cult.
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What's the big deal? You know it.
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You've been through enough Easter services and Passion Week
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services to understand why this is happening.
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But let me remind you and read the two things that Matthew and
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John write concerning the fulfillment of this moment.
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Matthew 21 Turn with me there in verse 4.
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Matthew 21, verse four, in Matthew's account we read this
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took place to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet saying,
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say to the daughter of Zion, behold, your king is coming to
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you humble and mounted on a donkey, on a colt, the foil of a
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beast of burden. This is prophecy being
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fulfilled, Matthew says, and John echoes that you read it in
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John chapter 12, verse 14 and 15.
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You need to turn there because we're going somewhere with this
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in John 1214, and Jesus found a young donkey and sat on it just
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as it is written. Fear not, daughter of Zion,
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Behold, your king is coming, sitting on a donkey's colt.
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This is prophesied. This was something that was
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declared hundreds of years ago. Tell me who the prophet was.
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Anybody know? Zechariah?
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Zechariah declared this, that Israel's king will come on a
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colt, lowly humble, a colt signifying peace, not a horse
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signifying war. But what's interesting is when
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you look at these prophecies and compare them with the original
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writing from Zechariah. So as you're turning there, go
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to Zechariah 99 and maybe you'll observe something that is worth
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mentioning. And as you're turning there,
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think about this. Why didn't Mark include the
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prophecy? You may disagree with me, but I
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believe there's a strong case for this point that although
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Mark is not shy in portraying Christ as the Messiah, as the
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Son of God, as being divine, his preoccupation is not like
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Matthew and John in wanting to portray Jesus as a king.
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You've heard this week after week.
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What is Mark's goal in his writings?
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To portray Jesus as what? A servant.
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A servant? So perhaps that's why he omits
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this prophecy, though not denying the significance of the
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moment. Here's what the prophet
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Zechariah says, and hopefully you remember what Matthew and
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John wrote. Zechariah 99 Rejoice greatly, O
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daughter of Zion, shout aloud. O daughter of Jerusalem, Behold,
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your king is coming to you righteous and having salvation.
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Is he humble and mounted on a donkey, on a colt the full of a
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donkey. Matthew and John don't record
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the prophecy word for word, and some would be satisfied to say,
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well, this is just because they're paraphrasing, and that
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happens in the Gospels on many occasions.
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They're paraphrasing this prophecy, but perhaps they
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omitted something on purpose because they both do it.
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The thing that they remove is the first words of Zechariah 99
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Look at it again. Rejoice greatly, O daughter of
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Zion, shout aloud, O daughter of Jerusalem.
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Matthew doesn't say rejoice greatly.
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John doesn't say rejoice greatly again.
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We can just be content to say this is paraphrase.
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Or if not, it makes sense why they did not include that part.
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The reason why they would not write concerning this audience
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rejoice greatly in describing this moment is because they
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could not rejoice greatly as long as they rejected Jesus
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Christ as their King. In other words, the command to
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rejoice does not apply. The experience of true shouting
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from the heart is not part of this because they have not yet
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truly repented and received Jesus Christ as the Messiah that
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he truly is. So yes, Matthew and John say
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this is the one that Zechariah promised and prophesied at the
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same time. It's a sad thing to see that the
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rejoicing was not included because the people did not
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receive him as such. Now let me make this as a side
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note. You can't know true joy without
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repenting and receiving Christ. He will know superficial,
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superficial shouting. You'll get excited by trivial
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trinkets of this world. But this rejoicing from the
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soul, the shouting from your gut, so to speak, can only truly
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be experienced when you recognize him, when you repent
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of the sin that separates you from him, and when you receive
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him as the king on his terms, not your own.
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Because they're shouting. Are they not Hosanna?
26:56
They're rejoicing, yes, but for what reason?
26:59
We're going to find that out in a moment.
27:02
But while you're there in Zechariah 99, look at Zechariah
27:05
910. You know why many Jews would
27:08
discredit this moment and this prophecy being fulfilled in the
27:12
person of Jesus Christ? Because Zechariah did not
27:14
complete his prophecy in verse nine.
27:16
He continues it in verse 10 and the Jew today, who knows their
27:20
Hebrew scripture would say you Christians missed it.
27:24
How can you say that Jesus fulfilled this prophecy when he
27:27
hasn't fulfilled verse 10? Look at verse 10.
27:30
I will cut off the chariot from Ephraim and the War Horse from
27:34
Jerusalem, and the battle bow shall be cut off, and he shall
27:37
speak peace to the nations. His rule shall be from sea to
27:42
sea, and from the river to the ends of the earth.
27:46
You believe Jesus the Messiah? Oh Zechariah 99 and Mark 11.
27:50
Matthew 21. John 12.
27:53
Where is his rule from sea to sea?
27:57
Where is the peace to the nations?
28:01
And so they write this off. But you're a studied servant of
28:05
God, are you not? And you understand how even
28:08
prophecy works in many places, that you can have a prophecy
28:13
declared in one breath and in the very next breath.
28:15
It speaks of a different time, a different Advent.
28:19
Zechariah 99 is the first coming.
28:21
Zechariah 910 is the second coming.
28:25
We still believe it's Jesus, just another time.
28:27
There's a pause between those verses.
28:30
Jesus does that himself when he quotes from Isaiah 61, where he
28:34
talks about this being the year of the Lord's favor.
28:36
Then he stops there and he closes the scrolls in the
28:38
synagogue. Why?
28:39
Because the next part is what talking about the vengeance of
28:42
our God. He stopped the prophecy there
28:45
because it wasn't time for the vengeance of our God that is yet
28:48
to come. And the same principle, the same
28:51
rule applies here. Zechariah 99.
28:53
He's coming on a colt. Well, where's Zechariah 910?
28:56
Hold on tight. It's still coming.
29:01
And when he comes that time, he ain't coming on a donkey.
29:05
He's coming on a horse. And he will speak peace to the
29:07
nations and he will extend his scepter and he will have rule
29:11
from sea to sea. So you learn something from the
29:14
disciples. You learn something, I hope,
29:16
from the owners. But now we come to the final
29:20
group of people, the crowd, Speaking of the Jews.
29:24
Let's read here again verse seven of Mark 11.
29:28
And they brought the cult to Jesus and threw their cloaks on
29:31
it. And he sat on it.
29:33
And many spread their cloaks on the road, and others spread
29:36
leafy branches that they had cut off from the fields.
29:40
And those who went before those who follow were shouting
29:42
Hosanna. Blessed is he who comes in the
29:46
name of the Lord. Blessed is the coming Kingdom of
29:48
our Father David, Hosanna in the highest.
29:52
So you just heard that this is not true.
29:56
Rejoicing. It looks like it.
29:59
This is electric. This is jubilant.
30:01
More than that, this is not empty praise, though really is.
30:05
There's some substance to it because they're declaring
30:08
scripture and they are ascribing Christ to Messianic
30:12
declarations. Psalm 1, Psalm 118, verse 25 and
30:18
verse 26 is what they're quoting from.
30:22
And some would say, well, no, Those verses speak about the
30:24
pilgrims who would come to the temple during the feast.
30:27
Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.
30:29
This is not really messianic. Well, OK, when you go to
30:32
Matthew, you know what it says? Hosanna to the son of David.
30:37
OK, now you can't say anything. They're crowning Jesus with
30:41
messianic accolades. This is the son of David.
30:45
This is the one who's going to usher in the Kingdom of our
30:47
Father David. And we think, well this this is
30:52
what we've been hoping for in the ministry of Christ.
30:56
Isn't this what Christ himself longed for from his own people,
30:58
the people of Israel? No, because you you got to
31:06
question why they are getting excited.
31:08
You got to question why they are rejoicing.
31:13
Like the disciples, they had a skewed understanding of what the
31:15
Messiah would do, and they got all excited about the the
31:19
miracles of Christ. And this is the best prospect
31:22
that we've had in centuries. This is, this is the best
31:25
candidate for the Messiah that we've ever seen.
31:27
Yet. And here's what they're hoping
31:30
as Jesus is entering into the city on a cult, before them is
31:34
that side, and behind them is the surveillance and the
31:37
oppression of the Romans. And so in these poor minds, what
31:42
they believe is about to take place is Christ now is making
31:46
his way into the city and he's going to overthrow this
31:48
government. He's going to take over.
31:52
He has the power to do it. He can command sickness to
31:55
leave. He can command demons to go.
31:57
He's raised the dead, surely, by the word of his own mouth.
32:01
He can relinquish and Vanquish these enemies before us.
32:05
And so they're shouting, they're declaring, they're quoting, but
32:10
from a wrong understanding, from a skewed understanding.
32:16
And how we know that the same crowd here that is hailing
32:20
Jesus, crowning him with their praises, are going to condemn
32:23
him in a few days. Do you know why they're going to
32:25
condemn them? Because they learned that Jesus
32:27
didn't fulfill what they desired.
32:28
And when they learned that Christ did not overthrow the
32:32
government, he did not attack. He did not use his disciples to
32:37
advance the purposes of God with the sword.
32:39
And now they see him as a poor, pitiful man on trial, arrested.
32:43
So let's get rid of this guy. We're done with him.
32:47
He didn't meet our expectations. And so Christ here is willing to
32:55
absorb this for a reason. But before we get to that
32:57
reason, let's think about this truth Today.
33:00
You know, you have many people who look at even believers or a
33:03
group of believers or ministries, and what do they
33:05
see? They see what they saw here.
33:07
Excitement, shouting praises even things from scripture being
33:16
proclaimed. Excitement is not the evidence
33:20
that people are understanding or operating in the truth.
33:23
Yeah, it's not. Don't measure that to equate to
33:31
these people understanding truth.
33:33
Now, if it is fueling the truth, is fueling that excitement, that
33:37
joy, then praise God, he's he's worthy of that zeal.
33:40
But zeal in itself can be empty. Passion in itself can be
33:45
misguided. And so sometimes you look out
33:50
and you see that too. And you wonder, what are these
33:52
people even getting excited about?
33:54
What are they hearing week after week?
33:56
How are they living in this way? How do they have such a poor
33:59
grasp on the truth? But they can see more passion
34:01
than those who have the truth. I can tell you this, it's not
34:04
foreign. You have the same thing here
34:06
with these people, all the hoopla and the packed place.
34:11
And they didn't get it, didn't have a true grasp on the truth.
34:18
You know what's so amazing about this?
34:21
It's not just what they're saying, but how Jesus is willing
34:23
to tolerate it, You know, for so long.
34:27
Jesus in the ministry and the gospels suppresses this kind of
34:31
stuff. How many times have we read
34:34
Jesus not wanting those to spread the news of who he was
34:36
and what he did? Christ wasn't prone to allowing
34:41
things to be advertised unless he commanded it for a specific
34:44
reason. And now you come here and you
34:47
see Jesus not only willing to tolerate it, but he almost
34:51
provokes it. He invites it, he absorbs it,
34:56
and he refuses to deny it. What?
34:59
What changed here? How is this so public?
35:03
And how is Christ actually allowing this?
35:06
I mean, you even read in a different gospel accounts where
35:08
the Pharisees says Teacher rebuke your disciples.
35:11
Do you understand what they're saying?
35:12
And he You remember what he said?
35:14
Hey, if they don't cry out, the rocks will.
35:18
So this is the Lord now allowing this, not just allowing this.
35:22
He's prepared for this. He's in charge of it.
35:28
And I believe there are two reasons why.
35:30
There's a shift now in how Christ deals with the praises
35:33
and the Messianic hailing of the Jews.
35:38
One, it's time the Lord Jesus is ready to be arrested, to be
35:46
betrayed, to be put on trial, to die, to go into a tomb and to
35:50
raise from it. This is the Father's will.
35:54
And we know that every time these kind of things were done,
35:58
it only fueled the hostility of the religious leaders, and it
36:01
would be no different now. And Christ is ready for the
36:05
hostility of his enemies to reach a boiling point through
36:09
this, because this is the moment that we've been all been waiting
36:12
for. Christ is ready to surrender His
36:14
life. And so, in perfect Providence,
36:17
this parade was necessary. It was permitted.
36:23
But there's a second reason. I mean, at all the times that
36:27
Christ could have done this, he does it during the time of
36:30
feast, specifically the feast of Passover.
36:33
We're going to learn that Jesus himself dies the same time when
36:36
these lambs would be sacrificed in Jerusalem.
36:40
Everything is going according to the prophetic calendar.
36:44
And so the Lord chooses to go public in this way.
36:48
When you have thousands of Jews in the city, when you have
36:51
thousands of people from around the world pilgrims coming to
36:55
honor this feast, and here Christ is willing to be
37:01
proclaimed as such and to confirm His identity from the
37:05
lips of these people, including the lips of babes.
37:08
You know why? Because this is his final
37:11
massive public testimony of himself to this people.
37:17
It would eliminate absolutely all potential doubt or
37:21
misunderstanding of what people thought Christ thought of
37:25
himself. There's no questioning now.
37:28
Everybody's hailing him as the Messiah, and he is riding on a
37:31
donkey with a smile on his face. He believes this about himself,
37:38
and that would only be accounted to their actions when they would
37:41
kill him. You saw me receive these praises
37:48
as the Messiah, and you're still willing to kill me.
37:50
So this is now going to just add to the guilt of the unbelief of
37:54
these religious leaders and the Jewish people as a whole.
37:58
This is very strategic, what the Lord is doing here.
38:02
And so here it is. You have the praises, you have
38:04
the leafy branches, you have the coats, you have the shouts, you
38:06
have baby singing, you have boiling red faced Pharisees on
38:11
the sidelines. What we're told in another
38:14
gospel account where they say to one another, look, the world has
38:17
gone after him and with all of this something happens.
38:24
Verse 11 And he entered Jerusalem and went into the
38:31
temple and we had looked around at everything as it was already
38:36
late. He went out to Bethany with the
38:39
12. I don't know about you, but
38:43
that's pretty anticlimactic. You just feel like things are
38:48
being built up. You feel like there's going to
38:50
be this crescendo. And what you read here is almost
38:54
something of a mystery. Jesus comes through the city and
38:59
then in one verse everything is hushed and you get the picture
39:06
of Christ almost being alone as he enters into the temple.
39:14
And there's no follow up to the hosannas.
39:20
There's no again on the side of the people.
39:23
There's no confrontation with the Romans because you didn't
39:26
come to do that. There's no response from Christ
39:30
to these crowds. It's just Christ now appearing.
39:33
No people around, no word being said.
39:36
And if you can, this is what you would see from this verse.
39:39
Christ in the temple doing this. I don't know how long he was
39:47
doing it for, but Mark is very descriptive in saying that he
39:50
looked at everything in the temple that stirred me.
39:57
What is he doing here? Why is he looking at everything?
40:01
Can I tell you why? He's inspecting, see?
40:06
What do you mean, he's inspecting?
40:08
He comes into the House of God, and he's evaluating the
40:11
condition of the place that pointed to him, at the place
40:16
that was supposed to host the glory of God, at the place where
40:19
the priests were supposed to serve the people of God.
40:23
And he's looking, and he wants to make sure things are the way
40:26
they're supposed to be. And if they're not, he's going
40:29
to do something about it, he said.
40:30
What do you mean? We'll Scroll down here in the
40:31
same chapter in verse 15. And they came to Jerusalem and
40:36
he entered the temple and began to drive out those who sold and
40:40
those who bought in the temple. And he overturned the tables of
40:43
the money changers and the seats of those who sold pigeons.
40:49
So when Christ came there in verse 11, that's what he learned
40:52
with his investigation. They're making my father's house
40:57
into a business, into a money making scheme.
41:03
And you know what's so powerful about that?
41:05
I can imagine this thought running through his mind because
41:08
this is not the first time he cleansed the temple.
41:10
He did it in John Chapter 2, near the beginning of his
41:12
ministry. You remember that?
41:15
Looks like my temple needs to be cleansed again.
41:21
Why didn't you do it right there?
41:22
And then why didn't you do it in verse 11?
41:24
He had the power he could have. It's a picture of how Christ is
41:29
slow to bring judgment and before he does bring His
41:35
justice, he investigates. It reminds me of what we read
41:42
with Abraham when the Lord. The Lord came to Abraham with
41:46
the two angels and we're told that the Lord went to go to
41:49
Sodom and he expressed this to see if the evil that has reached
41:52
the heavens is so. Did God need to come down to
41:57
earth to see if the evil of Sodom was so?
42:00
No. But he chose to come down,
42:02
manifest himself in the flesh, and to walk and make his way to
42:06
the city and make a final conclusion.
42:08
Not because he is not omniscient, not because he's not
42:11
all present, but because he wants to express and explain his
42:16
character to us in a way we would understand.
42:18
He is slow to judge, and his judgment is absolutely perfect.
42:27
It is calculated. And this is how we learn as
42:33
people who have been commanded to judge.
42:36
No, we haven't been commanded. No, you are commanded to judge.
42:40
Well, Jesus said judge not lest you be judged.
42:42
Yeah, he told you how to judge rightly in that teaching not to
42:45
not judge at all. But as people who are prone to
42:47
make judgments, as people who are prone to make assessments
42:51
and make conclusions about people learn from Jesus.
42:53
He was very slow before he made a judgment.
42:58
He's very careful, intricate, mindful, before he executed.
43:06
And so here's Jesus at this temple looking around and verse
43:10
15 is the verdict. But I see something else here,
43:14
and if you're willing to go with me on this brief little journey,
43:16
it will be worth it. Because there is, I believe, a
43:19
deeper message here, and it's connected to a sequence of
43:23
events in the Old Testament that many people are unfamiliar with
43:26
because they're intimidated by this book as a whole.
43:31
Jesus in this snapshot ends in the Temple.
43:34
Where did he begin? Look back at verse one of Mark,
43:37
Chapter 11. Now, when they drew near to
43:38
Jerusalem to Beth Age and Bethany at the Mount of Olives
43:43
and another account we're told that he descended the Mount of
43:47
Olives. So he starts at the Mount of
43:49
Olives and he finds his way in the Temple.
43:55
It reminds me of a series of events that took place in the
43:59
days of Ezekiel. Ezekiel is a profound book, and
44:04
in this particular part in Ezekiel, God shows the prophet
44:09
the climactic consequence of the idolatry of the nation of
44:14
Israel. You know what it was the glory
44:17
of God would be removed from their midst.
44:21
They were removed. The great part of the people of
44:24
Judah were moved into exile. But Ezekiel receives this vision
44:29
that not only are my people going to be removed from the
44:31
land, I myself am changing my address.
44:36
Where did God's glory abide for hundreds of years?
44:39
In the most holy Place? In the Holy of Holies, where
44:43
only one man, one time a year could enter.
44:46
But the presence of God being in that very place, though it was
44:49
concealed and hidden, it was enough for the people to
44:52
understand. God delights to dwell with us,
44:55
and God's presence is here is what marks us and makes us
44:58
distinct from all the nations. Remember what Moses said.
45:00
If your presence does not go with us, how will we be
45:04
identified as your people? Everything centralized around
45:09
the presence of God, the glory of God.
45:11
And that glory represented, yes, his intimacy, his power, his
45:16
favour, his willingness to walk in the midst of those who are
45:20
sinners. And God says to Ezekiel, I'm so
45:25
grieved, I'm so fed up with, after centuries of profits being
45:30
sent and my people violating my laws, that would ultimately
45:34
violate my heart, that I'm going to remove my glory from my
45:38
house. And here's what's so amazing,
45:42
the sequence of events of how God does it.
45:46
You would think that for God to do that, he would remove his
45:48
presence and it would evaporate in that moment.
45:50
Not so. And the only way you're going to
45:52
see it is if you go with me in this final passage of Scripture
45:54
for today in Ezekiel chapter 10. Look at this with me.
45:57
There are three verses I want you to see in Ezekiel 10 and in
46:00
Ezekiel 11. Look at verse four of Ezekiel
46:12
chapter 10. If you have been paying
46:20
attention so far, let me give you a hint.
46:22
This is a good place to pay attention.
46:26
And the glory of the Lord went up from the cherub to the
46:30
threshold of the house, and the house was filled with the cloud,
46:35
and the court was filled with the brightness of the glory of
46:38
the Lord. So the glory of God resided
46:41
between the cherub that was upon the ark of the covenant.
46:47
But we're told here that the glory of the Lord went up from
46:49
the cherub to the threshold of the House of God.
46:54
So it leaves the most holy place, the glory of God, and it
46:57
parks at the entrance of the house.
47:02
And then you come down and you read verse 19.
47:06
And the cherubim lifted up their wings and mounted up from the
47:10
earth before my eyes as they went out, and the wheels beside
47:15
them. And they stood at the entrance
47:18
of the Eastgate of the House of the Lord.
47:22
And the glory of the God of Israel was over them.
47:26
So it leaves the Most Holy Place.
47:29
And now it arrives to the threshold, the entrance into
47:32
that sacred house. But in verse 19 we read here
47:36
that it now leaves the threshold, and it comes into the
47:40
entrance of the complex as a whole.
47:43
What are you seeing here? Yes, the glory of God is being
47:46
removed, but in stages. Why is this happening?
47:50
Because God is reluctant to remove his favour from his
47:53
people. God is not quick to turn his
47:56
back on his people. God does not delight in removing
48:00
his hand from his people. And the fact that this vision is
48:05
being portrayed is to explain that God will lift his hand off
48:10
slowly so that you would realize it and realizing you would
48:13
repent. And you say, no, Lord, keep your
48:15
hand on my life. Keep your hand on this ministry.
48:22
Don't let your glory be removed. But what happens so often is
48:27
like Samson, people don't even realize what's happening.
48:30
They play sport with their sin. They they tempt themselves and
48:34
they try to see how close they can come to the line.
48:37
God is so patient with that man, Samson.
48:39
On an individual basis, the Lord is so slow to remove himself and
48:43
allow yourself to be exposed to the elements of this Dark World
48:46
and your flesh. And we see here on a corporate
48:49
level with the nation of Israel, he goes from the most holy
48:52
place. This is God I'm talking about.
48:54
This is God the one who has every right that every time you
48:58
and I sin and do wrong to say you know what, I'm done with
49:00
you. People, even Christians, are
49:03
willing to do that so quickly. Not God.
49:06
From the most Holy place to the threshold of the house to the
49:09
entrance of the east. But that's not the final place
49:13
you come to. Chapter 11, verse 23.
49:20
And this is the final place that we read about the departing
49:23
glory of God, Ezekiel 11/23. And the glory of the Lord went
49:29
up from the midst of the city and stood on the mountain that
49:33
is on the east side of the city. You know what mountain that is?
49:37
The Mount of Olives. It's from the Most Holy Place to
49:41
the Threshold to the entrance of the Eastgate, and then it goes
49:46
to the top of the Mount of Olives.
49:50
And you don't read about the departing of the glory anymore.
49:55
It ends there. And there's no indication if it
49:57
removed itself from there or not.
50:00
But what you do read is later on in Ezekiel 43 that the glory of
50:03
God will return to this new temple.
50:04
A temple that we have not seen in history yet, A temple that is
50:07
for a future time, a temple that will come when Christ comes.
50:11
But here's what's so interesting.
50:12
You have the glory leaving the House of God, going to the Mount
50:16
of Olives. And I'm reminded of something
50:18
concerning the person of Jesus Christ.
50:20
According to Hebrews One, He has been described as the radiance
50:23
of what? The glory of God.
50:26
And what do you see about the radiance of the glory of God in
50:29
the person of Jesus Christ? In Mark 11 he starts on the
50:32
mount of Olives and he descends back into the House of God.
50:42
So God, in his grace and mercy, in the glory of the person of
50:47
Jesus Christ, returns to where Ezekiel said he left from.
50:53
And here he is the glory of God in the temple.
50:57
And the people missed it again. Did they honor the glory of God
51:05
and the person of Jesus Christ? Did they recognize him as such?
51:09
No. They performed the most gross
51:11
act of idolatry and apostasy. They killed him.
51:16
What happened to this glory in the person of Jesus Christ?
51:19
The same thing that happened to the glory of God in Ezekiel.
51:24
They rejected the glory of God in Christ.
51:26
Where does Christ find himself after his death, Burial.
51:28
Resurrection. Acts One?
51:31
Let me remind you, go to Acts One and we're ending it.
51:34
Maybe. Look at Acts 1.
51:43
Jesus in his resurrected state, he ascends into heaven.
51:51
A cloud took him from their sight, and in verse 10, And
51:55
while they were gazing into heaven as you went, behold 2 men
51:58
stood by them in white robes, and said, men of Galilee, why do
52:00
you stand looking into heaven? This Jesus who was taken up from
52:03
you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go
52:06
into heaven. Then they returned to Jerusalem
52:09
from the mount called Olivet. That's where he was.
52:16
So in the same way that the glory departed from the temple
52:19
up to the Mount of Olives, in Ezekiel, here we see the glory,
52:23
the grace of God in Jesus Christ starting on the Mount of Olives,
52:26
coming back into the temple. They rejected the glory of God.
52:29
And where do you find him now? On the Mount of Olives again.
52:31
And what's going to happen? Is that it?
52:35
No, no, no. Zechariah 14 four says that the
52:38
feet of him will come and plant them on the Mount of Olives.
52:43
The glory of God in Jesus Christ will return again.
52:46
And here's the best part. He's not going to leave after
52:48
that. No, no, no, no, no.
52:50
Those who would reject his glory at that time will not be able to
52:54
remove the glory. They will be removed by his
52:58
glory. And you and I will enjoy his
53:01
glory forever and ever and ever. If you belong to him, if you
53:08
know him, are you like the crowd today?
53:11
You like the Christian songs and you like the Christian people
53:14
and you like the Christian conferences, but you don't know
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Christ. You have this idea of Christ.
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He's this fluffy teddy bear up there.
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He's a grandfather in the sky that you can just plop on his
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lap whenever you need something, and you ignore him for the rest
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of the year. But he's there, the smiley
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grandpa whenever you come back with treats.
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No, he's king. He is ruler.
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He is Lord. He is a bridegroom.
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He's a shepherd of your soul. He wants what you say with your
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lips to come from a heart that has been washed in his blood.
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Are you surrendered? Are you a spectator?
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Are you a follower? Are you a conference attender?
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Which one are you? He wants you today and He wants
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you today because he loves you. And in loving you, he prayed a
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prayer in John 17 that those who would belong to him would be
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with him forever, that they may see His glory, Because in seeing
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his glory you will know true fulfillment, you will know true
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satisfaction, and you will know why you were created.
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Lord, we thank you for this time in Mark 11, we thank you for the
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depth of the word of God. We thank you of how rich it
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really is. And Lord, we thank you that we
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can from redeemed hearts say Hosanna.
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Blessed is he who comes. In the name of the Lord.
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We can say you have saved us. And as Hosanna means, we can
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say, save us now. Save us from our temptation.
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Save us from our troubles. Save us from our flesh.
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Save us from our unbelief. And so let at this time we
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rejoice in you, knowing that you are the one who will come back
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in his glory. And we will share in that glory
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and enjoy it forever. We bless you and we worship you
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today. In Jesus name.
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Amen. Amen.
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The praise team can come as we worship the Lord.
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And I want to invite you. If you're a person here who
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doesn't know Christ on a personal level, this is how
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glorious He is. That even during this time of
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singing, you can engage with him and you can confess with your
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mouth that he is Lord. And you can believe in your
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heart that God raised him from the dead.
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And from doing so, you will know justification, you will know
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redemption, you will know forgiveness, and I'm telling you
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it will change you. It will restore you.
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It will be what the Bible says, a born again experience where
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you feel like you've just come to life for the first time.
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You can't choose whether you're born or not in the physical.
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You can choose if you get to be born again spiritually, that's
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up to you. And I hope that you would want
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to take advantage of a message like this to see the absolute
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brilliance of God's mind in his word and say I want to follow
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this God, and more than the brilliance of this word, the
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brilliance of his humility and his love in his sacrifice and
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saying, I want to serve this God who has graciously given his
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life up for me. That's your opportunity today.
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You can leave here more than just an exciting experience in a
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building. You can leave here with life in
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Christ. And as they sing, you can cry
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out to this God, and he will answer if you do so from faith.