Latest / Chapter and First- Bible Teaching Ministry of Fort Smith's First Baptist Church / Discover Jesus Series Pt. 16 - Pastor Greg Addison - March 30, 2025

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Discover Jesus Series Pt. 16 - Pastor Greg Addison - March 30, 2025 · Chapter and First- Bible Teaching Ministry of Fort Smith's First Baptist Church

• 0:03
  SPEAKER_00: Ministering to the heart of Western Arkansas's River Valley for over 165 years, welcome to Chapter and First, the Bible Teaching Ministry of Fort Smith's First Baptist Church.
• 0:14
  SPEAKER_00: You'll find sermons and teachings from Pastor Greg, our ministry staff, and guest speakers.
• 0:19
  SPEAKER_00: Thank you for listening.
• 0:21
  SPEAKER_01: Well, clearly it's a big worship day for us as a church.
• 0:26
  SPEAKER_01: We're worshiping him with our faith forward offering.
• 0:29
  SPEAKER_01: We're worshiping him in that set of worship time with Maverick.
• 0:35
  SPEAKER_01: We're calling him later on this afternoon after the service is over in just a few moments to lead us in worship in Chaffee.
• 0:42
  SPEAKER_01: That's a major part of what we do.
• 0:44
  SPEAKER_01: But worship is an interesting topic for us today as we continue our Discuss series.
• 0:50
  SPEAKER_01: What I want to do is today move into the road to the cross as Jesus moves to the cross.
• 1:00
  SPEAKER_01: And so I know it's not Palm Sunday, but if you'll turn with me in your Bibles to Luke chapter 19, we're going to look at that day that we call Palm Sunday.
• 1:10
  SPEAKER_01: We refer to it that way because it sets up the week that Jesus moves to the cross.
• 1:15
  SPEAKER_01: And by doing it today, we get a chance over the next several weeks between now and Easter to walk along with Jesus and his disciples as he prepares them for the cross, the events that led him to the cross, when he died on the cross for us, and then on Easter, what we call Easter or refer to Easter, was the day when he was risen from the grave, where he conquered death and sin and accomplished God's plan of salvation.
• 1:39
  SPEAKER_01: Now the reason that we call this Palm Sunday, as we'll see in a moment, is as Jesus is entering into the city of Jerusalem, people are worshiping him.
• 1:47
  SPEAKER_01: They're shouting his name, they're chanting, they're reciting scripture, they're taking off their coats and palm leaves, and they're putting it in front of the road as a sign of honor as he is coming into Jerusalem.
• 2:02
  SPEAKER_01: And it looks a lot like a worship service in many ways.
• 2:07
  SPEAKER_01: They're focused on the person of Jesus, they're calling out who he is, they're trying to honor him as they know.
• 2:15
  SPEAKER_01: But it's interesting because, as we'll see, they do not understand yet who Jesus is.
• 2:24
  SPEAKER_01: And as they are celebrating Jesus, there's a difference between celebrating Jesus and worshiping Jesus.
• 2:33
  SPEAKER_01: You can celebrate a lot of things about who Jesus is, or your impression of who Jesus is, or what you might think Jesus would do for you, but that's very different than worshiping the person of Jesus.
• 2:45
  SPEAKER_01: Because to worship the person of Jesus is to acknowledge who Jesus really is, who he actually is, as the Savior, and the fact that he was going into Jerusalem to die on the cross to pay the price for our sins.
• 3:02
  SPEAKER_01: That is who Jesus is as the Messiah, and his purpose in all things is spiritually to bring about our redemption.
• 3:12
  SPEAKER_01: And that's what worship actually is.
• 3:14
  SPEAKER_01: I want you to read with me here in Luke chapter 19, starting in verse 28, in this moment.
• 3:20
  SPEAKER_01: Here's what the Bible says.
• 3:22
  SPEAKER_01: He went on ahead, going up to Jerusalem.
• 3:29
  SPEAKER_01: As he approached Bethpage and Bethany at the place called the Mount of Olives, he sent two of his disciples and said, So he's not there yet.
• 3:37
  SPEAKER_01: He's in a city called Bethany, right outside of Jerusalem.
• 3:41
  SPEAKER_01: It's the place where Mary and Martha and Lazarus live.
• 3:44
  SPEAKER_01: And you'll remember he raised Lazarus from the dead.
• 3:47
  SPEAKER_01: He sent two of his disciples and said, Go into the village ahead of you.
• 3:51
  SPEAKER_01: As you enter it, you will find a young donkey tied there on which no one has ever sat.
• 3:58
  SPEAKER_01: Untie it and bring it here.
• 4:00
  SPEAKER_01: If anyone asks you, Why are you untying that donkey?
• 4:05
  SPEAKER_01: Say this, The Lord needs it.
• 4:09
  SPEAKER_01: So those who were sent left and found it just as Jesus had told them.
• 4:12
  SPEAKER_01: As they were untying the young donkey, its owners said to them, Why are you untying our donkey?
• 4:18
  SPEAKER_01: The Lord needs it, they said.
• 4:21
  SPEAKER_01: Then they brought it to Jesus, and after throwing their robes on the donkey, they helped Jesus get on it.
• 4:26
  SPEAKER_01: And as he was going along, so now they move from Bethany and they begin to enter into Jerusalem.
• 4:32
  SPEAKER_01: Just to give you a mental picture of what that looks like.
• 4:34
  SPEAKER_01: I've been there on that place on the Mount of Olives, and there's a road that goes up.
• 4:39
  SPEAKER_01: And uh it when you go into uh Jerusalem, it is all in hills and mountains, and it's there's not a flat place anywhere in Jerusalem.
• 4:48
  SPEAKER_01: It's kind of like walking around Silver Dollar City.
• 4:52
  SPEAKER_01: You're like this, or like this, or leaning over, or climbing up, it's all of that.
• 4:56
  SPEAKER_01: And so that's kind of what it looks like.
• 4:57
  SPEAKER_01: And he crosses this hill and he begins down this road, and as he looks down this road, you can see right there in a panoramic view the picture of the temple.
• 5:08
  SPEAKER_01: And so he is looking at the temple, people lining the road as he enters in on this donkey and he uh travels down this road in Jerusalem.
• 5:18
  SPEAKER_01: As he was going along, they were spreading their robes on the road, and the other versions also tell us they were putting palm leaves on the road.
• 5:26
  SPEAKER_01: Now he came near the path down the Mount of Olives, and the whole crowd of the disciples began to praise God joyfully with a loud voice for all the miracles they had seen.
• 5:37
  SPEAKER_01: And this is the crowds lining the road who were chanting this.
• 5:41
  SPEAKER_01: They're quoting from Psalm, the king who comes in the name of the Lord is the blessed one, peace in heaven and glory in the highest heaven.
• 5:49
  SPEAKER_01: Some of the Pharisees from the crowd told him, Teacher, rebuke your followers.
• 5:57
  SPEAKER_01: Because here's what the Pharisees are saying: they are worshiping you as the Lord, the one who comes in the name of the Lord, the Messiah.
• 6:06
  SPEAKER_01: That is blasphemy.
• 6:07
  SPEAKER_01: You tell them to stop.
• 6:11
  SPEAKER_01: Teacher, rebuke your followers.
• 6:13
  SPEAKER_01: And he answered, I tell you, if they were to keep silent, the stones would cry out.
• 6:18
  SPEAKER_01: Now keep in mind, here's Jesus.
• 6:21
  SPEAKER_01: He's riding this donkey, and he's coming down this hill, and all these people are chanting, and the Pharisees are shouting at him, and all of this is going on.
• 6:30
  SPEAKER_01: And he sees in panoramic view the temple.
• 6:35
  SPEAKER_01: And all of the picture of Jerusalem and God's people and all of the promise through the temple, and all of that's going on, and the people are coming into Jerusalem to begin the Passover ceremonies and the worship that they call the Passover.
• 6:50
  SPEAKER_01: And Jesus is watching all of this and he's taking all of this in, and he understands that as they are worshiping him, they don't understand what's about to happen.
• 7:02
  SPEAKER_01: As he approached and saw the city, he wept over it, saying, If you knew this day what would bring peace, but now it is hidden from your eyes.
• 7:15
  SPEAKER_01: The days will come on you when your enemies will build an embankment against you, surround you, and hem you in on every side.
• 7:22
  SPEAKER_01: They will crush you and your children within you to the ground, and they will not leave one stone on another in you, because you did not recognize the time of your visitation.
• 7:36
  SPEAKER_01: As he continues down this road and he enters the temple area, he went into the temple complex in verse 45, and he began to throw out those who were selling, and he said, It is written, My house will be a house of prayer, but you have made it a den of thieves.
• 7:53
  SPEAKER_01: Every day he was teaching in the temple complex for the next week.
• 7:56
  SPEAKER_01: The chief priests, the scribes, and the leaders of the people were looking for a way to destroy Jesus, but they could not find a way to do it because all the people were captivated by what they heard.
• 8:06
  SPEAKER_01: So what's happening in this story as this happens, and why is Jesus weeping tears of sorrow over Jerusalem when he's coming into the city to become the Savior and accomplish God's plan of salvation?
• 8:22
  SPEAKER_01: Well, there's one main truth we need to understand about this moment, and this main truth is why Jesus' heart is broken and why he's not receiving this adulation as worship.
• 8:34
  SPEAKER_01: Why this celebration is only celebration and it is not worship.
• 8:39
  SPEAKER_01: You see, the people think that Jesus is coming as the Messiah, the throne of David to be a king, an earthly king in the same fashion as David.
• 8:49
  SPEAKER_01: He's going to throw off the yoke of the Roman Empire, and they are going to become the people of God, and they're going to become who they were in the days of David and Solomon.
• 8:58
  SPEAKER_01: That's why they're chanting from Psalms, peace and heaven and glory on the highest.
• 9:03
  SPEAKER_01: It's why Jesus says, if you knew this day what would actually bring peace, but you don't, and now it's hidden from your eyes.
• 9:13
  SPEAKER_01: You see, Jesus is coming into Jerusalem for a specific purpose.
• 9:17
  SPEAKER_01: It is the week of Passover.
• 9:19
  SPEAKER_01: Passover is that celebration from the Old Testament that you have heard about, if you've been in church, where when they came out of the land of Egypt on that last time when Pharaoh wouldn't let them go, he brought them frogs and he brought them locusts and he blackened the sky and he made the Nile River run with blood, and he did all these tribulations and trials trying to get Pharaoh to let the people go, and he wouldn't let them go.
• 9:44
  SPEAKER_01: And they had that last trial when God told them, Listen, here's what I'm going to do.
• 9:48
  SPEAKER_01: I'm going to visit judgment on this country for how it's treated my people and all of that.
• 9:53
  SPEAKER_01: And what he says is, Listen, here's what you do.
• 9:55
  SPEAKER_01: My people, if you will take a sacrificial lamb, and they understood the sacrifice of lambs, the shedding of blood, as the picture of the Messiah who would pay the price for our sins.
• 10:06
  SPEAKER_01: And you will prepare a meal from your family, and you will take the blood of the lamb, and you will put it on the doorposts of your house, and you will prepare yourself to leave.
• 10:14
  SPEAKER_01: And during the night, I'm going to send my angel of judgment, the death angel, through the land of Egypt.
• 10:20
  SPEAKER_01: And anyone who has put the blood on the doorposts of their home, I will pass over that house.
• 10:28
  SPEAKER_01: But if you've not placed your trust in me, if you have not done this act of worship, of acknowledging me and what I'm doing, then the death angel will come in and the firstborn in every house not covered by the blood.
• 10:43
  SPEAKER_01: And as you know, it was a terrible tragedy in Egypt as God visited his judgment on Egypt.
• 10:49
  SPEAKER_01: Pharaoh let the people go, and they came out of Egypt, and they went into the promised land.
• 10:54
  SPEAKER_01: And so the Jews began to develop that as a ceremony, and it would be called the Passover.
• 11:00
  SPEAKER_01: And every year they would come to the temple, they would make pilgrimages to Jerusalem, and they would come to celebrate Passover.
• 11:08
  SPEAKER_01: Now, the way Passover would work is on a certain day, a week out from the day of Passover, it was a specific day when you would select the lamb that your family would use to be the Passover lamb.
• 11:24
  SPEAKER_01: Everyone knew what day that was.
• 11:27
  SPEAKER_01: Everyone knew how it worked.
• 11:29
  SPEAKER_01: Everyone coming into Jerusalem understood on this particular day that we call Palm Sunday is the day that you select the lamb for your Passover for your family.
• 11:42
  SPEAKER_01: So Jesus is making it clear by entering in Jerusalem on that day, in that time, that I am the ultimate Passover Lamb.
• 11:52
  SPEAKER_01: That Jesus is the Messiah who's coming to take away our sins.
• 11:56
  SPEAKER_01: Is also a fulfillment of prophecy.
• 11:59
  SPEAKER_01: This whole thing about the donkey and go get the donkey and nobody set on it and riding in on all that.
• 12:03
  SPEAKER_01: That's a prophecy from the Old Testament where it identifies the Savior, and they knew enough to understand that this is a special day and Jesus is a special person coming in, but they do not understand that Jesus is the Passover Lamb.
• 12:19
  SPEAKER_01: And they have to understand that Jesus came for a purpose.
• 12:23
  SPEAKER_01: The whole point of all of that form of Jewish worship, the pictures in the temple, the separation of God's presence behind the veil and the Holy of Holies, all of that is all a picture of God's promise of the Messiah.
• 12:37
  SPEAKER_01: And in the midst of all of that, they do not recognize that Jesus is coming for a specific purpose to die on the cross for our sins and to provide salvation.
• 12:49
  SPEAKER_01: That is the main truth of this day.
• 12:51
  SPEAKER_01: And Jesus enters this day and it is heavy on his heart.
• 12:54
  SPEAKER_01: It is the focus of his mind.
• 12:57
  SPEAKER_01: He knows that every day will be specific days between now and the cross when I will die on the cross to pay the price for the sin of mankind.
• 13:06
  SPEAKER_01: And so Jesus came for a purpose.
• 13:08
  SPEAKER_01: And so when he has heavy on his mind and heart his purpose, and he sees all these people who do not understand why he's coming, even though they should, it breaks his heart.
• 13:20
  SPEAKER_01: So truth number one, I want you to see this.
• 13:24
  SPEAKER_01: Jesus weeps for those who miss him.
• 13:29
  SPEAKER_01: Who miss him.
• 13:30
  SPEAKER_01: There are a lot of people who don't understand who Jesus is.
• 13:34
  SPEAKER_01: They may have an impression of Jesus, or they may think that Jesus does this, or they may come and say, Jesus, will you fix this in my life, or fix this habit or problem or family issue, or fix my job, or fix this deal, or uh whatever, and you come and Jesus doesn't do that for you, and you misunderstand who Jesus is, you don't understand what he's doing and why he came.
• 13:55
  SPEAKER_01: Jesus didn't come to make this a better world to go to hell from.
• 13:59
  SPEAKER_01: He didn't come to make life easier or better or anything else.
• 14:02
  SPEAKER_01: Jesus came to be our Savior so that we could spend an eternity in heaven and avoid an eternity in hell and judgment.
• 14:09
  SPEAKER_01: And Jesus has a purpose.
• 14:12
  SPEAKER_01: He comes as our savior, and here he is weeping because he's seeing all these people who don't understand who he is and why he came.
• 14:22
  SPEAKER_01: He has a purpose for them.
• 14:24
  SPEAKER_01: All throughout scripture, time doesn't allow us to go through it, but time after time after time you see God reiterate his purpose for Israel, his plans for Israel, his covenants for Israel, how he's going to use Israel to bring the Messiah, and he has a plan for his people, even in judgment.
• 14:40
  SPEAKER_01: In the book of Jeremiah, that verse that we love, I know the plans that I have for you, plans for good and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.
• 14:48
  SPEAKER_01: Even in judgment, he gives that I have a purpose and a plan for you.
• 14:52
  SPEAKER_01: But God doesn't just have general purposes and plans for the crowds, he has plans for each and every person.
• 15:01
  SPEAKER_01: There's a beautiful picture in the book of Matthew when Jesus is talking to a crowd.
• 15:06
  SPEAKER_01: And it says that Jesus was brokenhearted as he saw the people in the crowd and he saw them living lives he hadn't planned for them as sheep not having a shepherd.
• 15:17
  SPEAKER_01: The Bible tells us in the book of Ephesians, when you give your life to Christ, when you trust him as your Savior and you're saved by his grace through faith, the Bible says we are his workmanship created in Christ Jesus.
• 15:27
  SPEAKER_01: And then it tells us that he has a plan for you that he is working in your life to accomplish.
• 15:33
  SPEAKER_01: We are his workmanship created in Christ Jesus.
• 15:37
  SPEAKER_01: That workmanship is skilled, talented, artisan workmanship that Jesus is working in your life through salvation.
• 15:46
  SPEAKER_01: And he says, we are his workmanship created in Christ Jesus for good works that he has prepared beforehand for us to walk in.
• 15:54
  SPEAKER_01: That's why in church life people say, Pastor, say God has a plan for your life because he really does.
• 16:01
  SPEAKER_01: He has a plan for you.
• 16:03
  SPEAKER_01: And his salvation activates the opportunity for him to come into your life and to build and shape and mold and grow.
• 16:11
  SPEAKER_01: And as an artisan, make beautiful what he's planned and equipped you to walk in that journey.
• 16:20
  SPEAKER_01: It's incredible when you think through the plans that God has.
• 16:24
  SPEAKER_01: And Jesus is looking and he sees Jerusalem and he knows the plans that he has for his people.
• 16:30
  SPEAKER_01: And he knows the plans that he has for every person on that road who does not understand how to trust him as their Savior.
• 16:42
  SPEAKER_01: And step into the plan that he's made for them.
• 16:46
  SPEAKER_01: The plan that he's about to die on the cross for them to have.
• 16:51
  SPEAKER_01: Listen, don't miss God's plan for your life.
• 16:57
  SPEAKER_01: When you give your life to Jesus Christ, you are surrendering your life lock, stock, and barrel to him.
• 17:03
  SPEAKER_01: We say this often.
• 17:04
  SPEAKER_01: When you come to place your faith in Jesus Christ, it means you repent of your sin and you take your life, everything you've been, everything you are in this moment, and everything you ever will be, and you give it all to Jesus Christ, and it is his.
• 17:17
  SPEAKER_01: But friends, Jesus will do more with your life than you can ever imagine.
• 17:21
  SPEAKER_01: He has made a plan for you from the beginning of time.
• 17:25
  SPEAKER_01: He has an incredible plan for you.
• 17:27
  SPEAKER_01: And when we step into faith in salvation and we make him our Lord and our Savior, we are trusting that not only does he forgive us of our sins and not only does he save us, but he enters into a relationship with us.
• 17:39
  SPEAKER_01: And in that relationship, he has created a plan for you that is glorious, that is wonderful, that is for his glory, it is for your good.
• 17:47
  SPEAKER_01: It will resonate through eternity, the plan that he has for you.
• 17:51
  SPEAKER_01: And you are stepping into allowing him to shape and be a workman and an artisan and work in your life to equip you to step into that plan.
• 18:02
  SPEAKER_01: This is one of the most powerful pictures in Scripture.
• 18:05
  SPEAKER_01: And time and my lack of eloquence does not allow me to describe how incredibly powerful this moment.
• 18:14
  SPEAKER_01: I remember standing on that hill and looking down there, and obviously there's no more a tabernacle, but there is a the mosque that is there with that gold dome.
• 18:23
  SPEAKER_01: And it at least gives you the understanding of how beautiful the temple would have been there.
• 18:29
  SPEAKER_01: And you stand on that hill and you look down these roads and you picture the streets lined and people chanting and calling for peace because they think he's going to be King David instead of King Jesus.
• 18:45
  SPEAKER_01: They think he's going to be a ruler instead of the Savior.
• 18:49
  SPEAKER_01: They think he's going to do something temporary in their lifetimes rather than eternal.
• 18:56
  SPEAKER_01: And when Jesus understands they have missed him, he weeps and it breaks his heart.
• 19:04
  SPEAKER_01: He gives you an incredible picture of how much Jesus is invested in his purpose of salvation, is invested in the lives of people so that they can experience what he's planned for them.
• 19:20
  SPEAKER_01: Don't miss Jesus the Savior.
• 19:25
  SPEAKER_01: You also see in this moment that Jesus judges those who reject him.
• 19:31
  SPEAKER_01: Why do they tack this story about throwing the money changers out of the temple at the end of this?
• 19:37
  SPEAKER_01: Well, we are given insight in this description from Luke, and each of the Gospels has some details of this day and moment.
• 19:45
  SPEAKER_01: And in all of them we see this rejection of the Pharisees, this pushing back on who he is.
• 19:52
  SPEAKER_01: And one of the reasons that people don't understand is because they had taken the worship system that God had designed and they had hijacked it and turned it into something else.
• 20:02
  SPEAKER_01: This whole money changers in the temple thing, all these people are coming to Passover, and it's hard to load all that stuff.
• 20:09
  SPEAKER_01: They weren't blessed to have Ford F-150s that you can stack all your stuff in the back of.
• 20:14
  SPEAKER_01: They're traveling by foot, by donkey with a pack on their back, and when they get there, they are exchanging money and they're buying their animals to bring for the sacrifices.
• 20:25
  SPEAKER_01: And out in this outer part, the outer courtyard of the temple, people are out there and they're selling.
• 20:31
  SPEAKER_01: And it's just like when you go to Disney World or somewhere and they charge you$47 for this little thing, right?
• 20:38
  SPEAKER_01: Bobblehead deal.
• 20:40
  SPEAKER_01: Or it's$150 for a hamburger when you go to a you know amusement park or something like that.
• 20:46
  SPEAKER_01: And they are just bilking the people in this moment who are trying to come to worship.
• 20:51
  SPEAKER_01: They're trying to look for the Savior and the Messiah who would come.
• 20:54
  SPEAKER_01: They're trying to worship in Passover.
• 20:57
  SPEAKER_01: And they're getting just raked from all of this.
• 21:02
  SPEAKER_01: And Jesus goes in to reject this whole process that is covering up the fact of who he really is.
• 21:10
  SPEAKER_01: It's complicating all of this process.
• 21:13
  SPEAKER_01: And he goes in there and he runs them out of the temple and says, This is supposed to be a house of prayer because this is a spiritual place.
• 21:20
  SPEAKER_01: It is a spiritual act that Jesus is doing.
• 21:23
  SPEAKER_01: And they're convoluting it with all this other stuff.
• 21:26
  SPEAKER_01: They are rejecting him.
• 21:27
  SPEAKER_01: And then you see this picture here in verse 47, they just get madder and madder and madder.
• 21:33
  SPEAKER_01: Every time he teaches, and people turn and understand who Jesus is and trust him, it just hacks them off more.
• 21:40
  SPEAKER_01: Every time Jesus does a miracle, every time he makes something happen spiritually, it just makes them more and more angry.
• 21:48
  SPEAKER_01: And that's what begins the process of beginning to manipulate to get Jesus onto the cross in their minds to make him pay the price.
• 21:58
  SPEAKER_01: And so Jesus.
• 22:00
  SPEAKER_01: Makes clear, he judges those who reject them.
• 22:03
  SPEAKER_01: He judges these Pharisees and scribes.
• 22:06
  SPEAKER_01: You get some of it in some of the other versions.
• 22:10
  SPEAKER_01: He throws all that process.
• 22:11
  SPEAKER_01: He overturns it and he throws it out of the temple.
• 22:13
  SPEAKER_01: And he's judging all of these things that reject him.
• 22:16
  SPEAKER_01: And make no mistake, if you reject the person of Jesus, there is judgment for that.
• 22:26
  SPEAKER_01: But Jesus also calls to faith those who follow him.
• 22:29
  SPEAKER_01: If, real quickly, I've put on the screen just to make it a little quicker.
• 22:34
  SPEAKER_01: In the Matthew version of this story, here in Matthew 21, the Bible says this.
• 22:40
  SPEAKER_01: Early the next morning, he was returning to the city, and he was hungry.
• 22:44
  SPEAKER_01: So he's gone back into Bethany, and now he's going back to the temple in Jerusalem again.
• 22:49
  SPEAKER_01: He's returning to the city and was hungry, and seeing a lone fig tree by the road, he went up to it and found nothing on it except leaves.
• 22:56
  SPEAKER_01: And he said to it, May no fruit ever come from you again, you dirty rotten fig tree.
• 23:03
  SPEAKER_01: At once the fig tree withered.
• 23:05
  SPEAKER_01: When the disciples saw it, they were amazed, and they said, How did that fig tree wither so quickly?
• 23:11
  SPEAKER_01: And Jesus answered them, I assure you, if you have faith and do not doubt, you will not only do what was done to the fig tree, but if you tell this mountain be lifted up and thrown into the sea, it will be done.
• 23:25
  SPEAKER_01: What he's trying to do is get their attention.
• 23:27
  SPEAKER_01: He says, If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer.
• 23:32
  SPEAKER_01: That is a profound promise.
• 23:35
  SPEAKER_01: Whatever you ask for in prayer.
• 23:38
  SPEAKER_01: And what he's trying to do is teach them a lesson as we go into this moment.
• 23:41
  SPEAKER_01: The fig tree represents the children of Israel.
• 23:44
  SPEAKER_01: All throughout scripture, you see pictures of that.
• 23:46
  SPEAKER_01: And he stops with this tree and he curses this tree because it's just like the people who don't understand who he is and they've missed what he's doing.
• 23:54
  SPEAKER_01: They are like a fig tree.
• 23:55
  SPEAKER_01: Its purpose is to produce fruit, and it's not producing fruit.
• 23:59
  SPEAKER_01: And he judges it for that failure.
• 24:02
  SPEAKER_01: But he does it in front of his men who are following him, and he says, Listen to me, I need you to understand.
• 24:08
  SPEAKER_01: When I go to the cross, when I die for your sins and raised again, what happens is you're going to take up the mantle of ministry.
• 24:17
  SPEAKER_01: And I need you to step into that with faith.
• 24:20
  SPEAKER_01: You need to believe in what's about to happen.
• 24:22
  SPEAKER_01: And in the future, as you look back to that, you need to remember and stand on the truth of what I have done as the Savior.
• 24:30
  SPEAKER_01: When you come in prayer, and when you're praying over your churches, and you're praying over evangelism, and you're praying for open doors for the gospel, and you're praying for God to move and you're praying for those things to happen.
• 24:42
  SPEAKER_01: Pray in faith.
• 24:44
  SPEAKER_01: Remember, I conquered death and sin.
• 24:48
  SPEAKER_01: Remember, you are standing in the strength of God through his Son, Jesus, through the Messiah.
• 24:56
  SPEAKER_01: Don't be without fruit.
• 24:58
  SPEAKER_01: If you're going to follow, if you understand, then believe and pray and work and bear fruit.
• 25:07
  SPEAKER_01: Because I'm going to the cross to conquer death and sin.
• 25:13
  SPEAKER_01: I'm going to the cross to create victory.
• 25:18
  SPEAKER_01: I'm going to the cross to bring God's salvation about.
• 25:23
  SPEAKER_01: Believe.
• 25:26
  SPEAKER_01: Follow and believe.
• 25:29
  SPEAKER_01: When you come to worship, how do you come?
• 25:35
  SPEAKER_01: Do you come with preconceived notions or pictures or frustrated because Jesus wouldn't do?
• 25:40
  SPEAKER_01: Did you come and you miss?
• 25:43
  SPEAKER_01: Do you sit and you think those people are crazy?
• 25:46
  SPEAKER_01: They don't know what they're doing, and you reject Jesus.
• 25:50
  SPEAKER_01: Do you come in faith, believing what God has done on the cross?
• 25:55
  SPEAKER_01: I want you to bow your heads as we close this morning.
• 26:00
  SPEAKER_01: I'm going to ask you, how do you come to worship?
• 26:06
  SPEAKER_01: Have you understood truly who Jesus is?
• 26:08
  SPEAKER_01: We're trying to show you from this series and from this scripture today and from the worship that we do who Jesus is.
• 26:15
  SPEAKER_01: If you've never trusted Christ as your Savior, I want you to understand clearly, Jesus came and he died on the cross for you.
• 26:23
  SPEAKER_01: He rose again, conquering death and sin, so he could provide you a means of salvation.
• 26:28
  SPEAKER_01: Don't miss him, don't reject him.
• 26:32
  SPEAKER_01: In a moment, I'm going to pray.
• 26:34
  SPEAKER_01: God's people are going to stand and they're going to worship.
• 26:38
  SPEAKER_01: And through their worship, show you their belief and faith in Jesus.
• 26:43
  SPEAKER_01: And we're going to invite you to come.
• 26:45
  SPEAKER_01: If you come today and you're a Christian, you don't need to be saved.
• 26:50
  SPEAKER_01: You're already saved.
• 26:52
  SPEAKER_01: But maybe you're struggling.
• 26:56
  SPEAKER_01: I want to encourage you with this passage here that Jesus calls you to believe in him.
• 27:03
  SPEAKER_01: He calls you to ask for whatever you need in prayer and believe and come to him in faith.
• 27:10
  SPEAKER_01: If you're struggling, I'm just going to ask you to make a commitment.
• 27:15
  SPEAKER_01: Put your eyes on Jesus.
• 27:17
  SPEAKER_01: Make a commitment to bring whatever it is that you're struggling with, to bring that to Jesus.
• 27:24
  SPEAKER_01: Remember that he died for you, that he rose again, that he loves you, that he has a plan for you.
• 27:29
  SPEAKER_01: I'm going to ask you as you sing to make a commitment in your heart.
• 27:33
  SPEAKER_01: Say, yes, Jesus, I'm going to bring that to you.
• 27:37
  SPEAKER_01: Lord, we love you and we thank you for all that we're doing today.
• 27:40
  SPEAKER_01: But most importantly, we thank you that you wrote through the eyes and the experiences of Matthew and Mark and Luke and John this moment so we could see why Jesus came and how much he loves us and wants us to walk in faith with him.
• 27:58
  SPEAKER_01: Lord, give us a freedom to come to you and worship, believing, trusting, and seeking you.
• 28:08
  SPEAKER_01: We pray these things in the strong name of Jesus.
• 28:10
  SPEAKER_01: And God's people said, Let's stand and sing, and if you need to come, you come.
• 28:16
  SPEAKER_00: We pray this message has been a blessing to you and helped to strengthen your walk with Jesus.
• 28:21
  SPEAKER_00: Please know we want to minister to you and pray for you.
• 28:24
  SPEAKER_00: Send an email to contact us at fsfbc.org and let us pray for you and help you in any way we can.
• 28:32
  SPEAKER_00: Thank you for listening to Chapter and First, the Bible Teaching Ministry of Fort Smith's First Baptist Church.