1 00:00:00,160 --> 00:00:03,576 Hello and welcome to the Middletown Baptist Church podcast, 2 00:00:03,688 --> 00:00:06,584 where we are proclaiming the truth to the world. 3 00:00:06,672 --> 00:00:09,672 My name is Pastor Josh and I want to thank you for listening to 4 00:00:09,696 --> 00:00:10,760 this podcast. 5 00:00:10,920 --> 00:00:14,616 I hope that this podcast can be a blessing to you and strengthen 6 00:00:14,648 --> 00:00:16,300 you in the word of God. 7 00:00:16,720 --> 00:00:20,120 Now come along, let's look into the Bible and see what God has 8 00:00:20,160 --> 00:00:21,700 for us here today. 9 00:00:23,520 --> 00:00:26,440 We're going to be in Matthew chapter 21. 10 00:00:26,480 --> 00:00:28,866 That's going to be our main text for, for the morning. 11 00:00:29,018 --> 00:00:31,954 And we'll be looking at some other passages as well here on Palm 12 00:00:32,002 --> 00:00:32,590 Sunday. 13 00:00:32,890 --> 00:00:35,602 But our main text is going to be in Matthew chapter 21. 14 00:00:35,626 --> 00:00:39,922 And I posed a question to you early on in the service and, and 15 00:00:39,946 --> 00:00:41,170 I want you to be thinking about it. 16 00:00:41,210 --> 00:00:44,642 I hope you have been thinking about it already is who is Jesus 17 00:00:44,706 --> 00:00:45,426 to you? 18 00:00:45,578 --> 00:00:49,554 Because I believe that's the most important question to answer 19 00:00:49,602 --> 00:00:50,590 in our lives. 20 00:00:51,050 --> 00:00:54,270 I remember asking my wife a really important question. 21 00:00:54,680 --> 00:00:55,872 Will you marry me? 22 00:00:55,976 --> 00:00:59,984 Some of you fellows remember those days that you were nervous 23 00:01:00,032 --> 00:01:02,304 maybe to ask, and I was nervous. 24 00:01:02,352 --> 00:01:03,952 I thought maybe she would say no then. 25 00:01:03,976 --> 00:01:04,720 What would I do then? 26 00:01:04,760 --> 00:01:05,616 I don't know. 27 00:01:05,768 --> 00:01:08,304 But I remember asking her and her answer was yes. 28 00:01:08,352 --> 00:01:09,488 I mean, obviously. 29 00:01:09,584 --> 00:01:11,856 And so we're thankful, right? 30 00:01:11,928 --> 00:01:16,000 I'm thankful for the fact that she said yes, but that was a huge. 31 00:01:16,080 --> 00:01:17,120 A huge question. 32 00:01:17,240 --> 00:01:18,272 Will you marry me? 33 00:01:18,376 --> 00:01:21,912 There's other questions that we ask in our life and answer. 34 00:01:22,096 --> 00:01:25,688 But one of the things that I think about when it comes to church 35 00:01:25,784 --> 00:01:29,080 and the faith and what we would call Christianity is this, 36 00:01:29,200 --> 00:01:29,432 really. 37 00:01:29,456 --> 00:01:34,792 There are a lot of people who will say they believe in Jesus, recognize 38 00:01:34,856 --> 00:01:40,744 his existence, recognize maybe even his power, recognize the history 39 00:01:40,832 --> 00:01:44,520 of Jesus and the fact that he walked in Jerusalem, he walked in 40 00:01:44,560 --> 00:01:45,384 Galilee. 41 00:01:45,512 --> 00:01:48,616 But many people are not willing to admit that he is Messiah, 42 00:01:48,648 --> 00:01:49,620 that he is Christ. 43 00:01:49,760 --> 00:01:53,196 And we're going to look at a story here today where we get the. 44 00:01:53,268 --> 00:01:56,252 The account of Jesus's whole. 45 00:01:56,316 --> 00:01:59,372 The whole triumphal entry from the beginning, from the Mount of 46 00:01:59,396 --> 00:02:01,148 Olives down to Jerusalem. 47 00:02:01,244 --> 00:02:03,052 And this is what we celebrate on Palm Sunday. 48 00:02:03,156 --> 00:02:06,604 You might hear Palm Sunday and you might have seen some palm branches 49 00:02:06,732 --> 00:02:09,404 in church, and you might hear that it's a week before Easter. 50 00:02:09,452 --> 00:02:11,800 But what are we remembering on Palm Sunday? 51 00:02:12,180 --> 00:02:14,156 Is it just another day on our calendar? 52 00:02:14,188 --> 00:02:17,680 Is it just another day that we have written on our. 53 00:02:17,720 --> 00:02:19,264 Our phones and our calendars on our phones? 54 00:02:19,312 --> 00:02:19,744 No, it's. 55 00:02:19,792 --> 00:02:23,296 It's of great significance to believers, specifically in the fact 56 00:02:23,368 --> 00:02:26,672 that Jesus at this point in time, professes himself to be Messiah. 57 00:02:26,736 --> 00:02:30,560 Palm Sunday is the day that we remember his triumphal entry into 58 00:02:30,600 --> 00:02:33,856 Jerusalem one week there before the resurrection. 59 00:02:33,968 --> 00:02:36,912 And so as Jesus entered into the holy city, and as he enters in 60 00:02:36,936 --> 00:02:40,384 Jerusalem, he is now culminating his earthly ministry 61 00:02:40,432 --> 00:02:41,920 and getting to a place where he. 62 00:02:41,960 --> 00:02:43,504 He is going to sacrifice Himself. 63 00:02:43,552 --> 00:02:46,816 And next week we're going to talk more about the crucifixion, 64 00:02:46,928 --> 00:02:49,456 and we're going to talk about the resurrection and the victory 65 00:02:49,488 --> 00:02:50,528 that we have in that. 66 00:02:50,584 --> 00:02:54,352 But he had come to save the loss, and now it was his time to 67 00:02:54,376 --> 00:02:55,168 do so. 68 00:02:55,304 --> 00:02:58,656 And so he comes and he presents himself in this triumphal 69 00:02:58,688 --> 00:03:04,448 entry to the place where he is going to give himself for mankind. 70 00:03:04,624 --> 00:03:06,352 And people are going to praise him. 71 00:03:06,376 --> 00:03:08,176 We're going to see that here in Matthew, people are going to praise 72 00:03:08,208 --> 00:03:11,854 him because he comes in as a Messiah. 73 00:03:11,902 --> 00:03:13,502 And they know that he's indicating that. 74 00:03:13,526 --> 00:03:16,270 And we're going to see that here in this passage. 75 00:03:16,350 --> 00:03:19,278 But at the end of this, we know that the end of all of this, 76 00:03:19,334 --> 00:03:22,782 really there's some confusion because the same people that are 77 00:03:22,806 --> 00:03:26,062 praising him, the same people that are calling out hosanna, the 78 00:03:26,086 --> 00:03:29,182 same people that are throwing their garments down in front of him, 79 00:03:29,206 --> 00:03:32,382 the same people that are waving the palm branches are the 80 00:03:32,406 --> 00:03:35,550 same people in, in about a week or so that are going to be saying, 81 00:03:35,590 --> 00:03:39,502 crucify him, because he did not fulfill what they were expecting. 82 00:03:39,646 --> 00:03:42,782 They were expecting a Messiah that would come and rid them of the 83 00:03:42,806 --> 00:03:43,582 rule of Rome. 84 00:03:43,646 --> 00:03:47,854 They wanted a political messiah, they wanted a militaristic 85 00:03:47,902 --> 00:03:50,462 messiah that would free them from their, what they would think 86 00:03:50,486 --> 00:03:52,046 is the greatest bondage they ever had. 87 00:03:52,118 --> 00:03:54,622 But we know that they had a greater bondage than Rome. 88 00:03:54,686 --> 00:03:56,222 That bondage was the bondage of sin. 89 00:03:56,286 --> 00:03:58,302 And we all deal with that bondage of sin. 90 00:03:58,446 --> 00:04:00,974 And the Bible says that Jesus came to seek and to save that which 91 00:04:00,982 --> 00:04:01,454 was lost. 92 00:04:01,542 --> 00:04:04,836 Yes, Jesus was coming as a conqueror, but he was coming to conquer 93 00:04:04,868 --> 00:04:05,076 sin. 94 00:04:05,108 --> 00:04:08,292 Now we know that one day Jesus will come as the ultimate conqueror. 95 00:04:08,356 --> 00:04:10,292 And at the end, there will be the greatest victory in the fact 96 00:04:10,316 --> 00:04:11,860 that all evil will be destroyed. 97 00:04:11,940 --> 00:04:15,316 But at this point in time, Jesus comes as someone who is presenting 98 00:04:15,348 --> 00:04:18,548 to them spiritual salvation, not political salvation. 99 00:04:18,724 --> 00:04:22,436 And when Jesus didn't fulfill what they were expecting, they turned 100 00:04:22,468 --> 00:04:23,012 on him. 101 00:04:23,116 --> 00:04:25,204 And so they had expectations in Jesus. 102 00:04:25,252 --> 00:04:29,124 They had expectations in their king, they had expectations in their 103 00:04:29,212 --> 00:04:29,908 Messiah. 104 00:04:30,004 --> 00:04:33,476 And yet when Jesus did not fulfill their man made expectations, 105 00:04:33,588 --> 00:04:34,596 they were ready to rebel. 106 00:04:34,628 --> 00:04:36,212 They were ready to turn their backs. 107 00:04:36,356 --> 00:04:38,596 And that's the story of the triumphal entry. 108 00:04:38,788 --> 00:04:41,396 And so we're going to talk about that here in Matthew chapter 109 00:04:41,588 --> 00:04:42,596 21. 110 00:04:42,748 --> 00:04:45,060 And I actually want us to start at the end. 111 00:04:45,180 --> 00:04:47,380 Okay, that's a weird place to start. 112 00:04:47,420 --> 00:04:49,204 But we're going to start at the end and we're going to look at 113 00:04:49,212 --> 00:04:50,320 verse number 10. 114 00:04:50,940 --> 00:04:54,948 And what we're going to see here is the reaction of the people 115 00:04:55,084 --> 00:04:57,764 when Jesus comes in on the donkey, which we're going to talk 116 00:04:57,772 --> 00:04:57,892 about. 117 00:04:57,916 --> 00:05:00,954 We're going to talk about how Jesus tells his disciples to go get 118 00:05:00,962 --> 00:05:01,338 a donkey. 119 00:05:01,354 --> 00:05:03,994 And there's great significance to that fulfillment of prophecy. 120 00:05:04,122 --> 00:05:06,602 Jesus comes down and proclaims himself as Messiah. 121 00:05:06,666 --> 00:05:08,522 And we're going to look at the end of that. 122 00:05:08,546 --> 00:05:11,066 We're going to look at as he comes into the city, what the people's 123 00:05:11,098 --> 00:05:12,010 reactions were. 124 00:05:12,130 --> 00:05:15,386 And it says in verse number 10 of Matthew 21, and he was. 125 00:05:15,458 --> 00:05:19,230 When he was coming to Jerusalem, all the city was moved, 126 00:05:19,570 --> 00:05:22,522 they were stirred there, there were reactions. 127 00:05:22,586 --> 00:05:26,860 Now, some reactions good, some reactions bad, but the city was moved, 128 00:05:27,010 --> 00:05:29,096 saying, who is this? 129 00:05:29,248 --> 00:05:31,608 So the question that they were asking is this, who is this guy? 130 00:05:31,624 --> 00:05:31,800 Who. 131 00:05:31,840 --> 00:05:33,080 Who is this Jesus? 132 00:05:33,240 --> 00:05:34,456 And the response is this. 133 00:05:34,528 --> 00:05:34,760 And. 134 00:05:34,800 --> 00:05:37,896 And the multitude said, this is Jesus, the prophet of Nazareth, 135 00:05:38,008 --> 00:05:39,208 of Galilee. 136 00:05:39,384 --> 00:05:42,232 So the response was, it was this, this, this prophet, this, this 137 00:05:42,256 --> 00:05:45,112 guy from Nazareth, this guy from Galilee. 138 00:05:45,176 --> 00:05:47,400 And, and I think that it's important for us to understand that 139 00:05:47,440 --> 00:05:49,944 the answer to this question, who is Jesus? 140 00:05:49,992 --> 00:05:50,664 Matters. 141 00:05:50,792 --> 00:05:52,860 It has eternal implications. 142 00:05:53,460 --> 00:05:56,252 Because if we respond in anything outside of that he is our 143 00:05:56,276 --> 00:06:00,108 Savior, that he is Messiah, that he is the one who sacrificed 144 00:06:00,124 --> 00:06:03,436 himself for my sins, he is the forgiver, he is the one who loved 145 00:06:03,468 --> 00:06:06,028 me, then we are putting our faith in something else. 146 00:06:06,044 --> 00:06:08,380 We are putting our faith in something that is going to fail. 147 00:06:08,500 --> 00:06:13,180 But when we say, Jesus is my Messiah, he is my Savior, he is God, 148 00:06:13,260 --> 00:06:17,116 then we are recognizing what he was proclaiming back so long ago. 149 00:06:17,268 --> 00:06:20,156 And so Jesus came in peace as a perfect lamb. 150 00:06:20,188 --> 00:06:22,280 And you know anything about the Passover? 151 00:06:23,100 --> 00:06:27,508 There was this sacrifice that would be given year after year, and 152 00:06:27,564 --> 00:06:28,948 it would be the Passover lamb. 153 00:06:28,964 --> 00:06:32,660 And the Passover lamb was a picture or a foreshadowing of the 154 00:06:32,700 --> 00:06:33,796 ultimate sacrifice. 155 00:06:33,828 --> 00:06:36,964 And Jesus being the Lamb of God to take away the sin of the world. 156 00:06:37,132 --> 00:06:41,604 John, chapter one, verse 29, John the Baptist says about Jesus, 157 00:06:41,652 --> 00:06:43,460 hey, here is the Lamb of God. 158 00:06:43,540 --> 00:06:46,660 Here is the one who is going to be the final Passover sacrifice. 159 00:06:46,740 --> 00:06:49,990 Here is going to be the once for all sacrifice that will not only 160 00:06:50,030 --> 00:06:53,526 cover our sins, but conquer our sins if we come to him in faith. 161 00:06:53,638 --> 00:06:56,694 And so as Jesus is introducing himself publicly as the Messiah, 162 00:06:56,742 --> 00:06:59,590 as the King, he's Also presenting himself as the perfect 163 00:06:59,670 --> 00:07:02,198 sacrifice for the sins of the world. 164 00:07:02,334 --> 00:07:06,038 And so Jesus's purpose in riding into Jerusalem was to make 165 00:07:06,094 --> 00:07:09,670 public his claim to be their Messiah, to make public the claim 166 00:07:09,710 --> 00:07:12,966 to be the king of Israel in fulfillment to the Old Testament 167 00:07:12,998 --> 00:07:13,462 prophecy. 168 00:07:13,526 --> 00:07:18,376 So let's go back to the beginning of this chapter and let's 169 00:07:18,408 --> 00:07:19,528 kind of set the stage. 170 00:07:19,624 --> 00:07:23,640 Set the stage to this triumphal entry, says in verse number 171 00:07:23,680 --> 00:07:23,928 one. 172 00:07:23,984 --> 00:07:27,688 And when they drew nigh unto Jerusalem and were come to Bethphage 173 00:07:27,864 --> 00:07:32,776 unto the Mount of Olives, and sent Jesus two disciples saying unto 174 00:07:32,808 --> 00:07:35,672 them, go into the village over against you, and straightway you 175 00:07:35,696 --> 00:07:37,784 shall find an ass tied in a colt with her. 176 00:07:37,872 --> 00:07:39,736 Loose them and bring them unto me. 177 00:07:39,888 --> 00:07:43,384 And if any man say, ought unto you, ye shall say, the Lord hath 178 00:07:43,432 --> 00:07:46,080 need of them, and straightway he will send them. 179 00:07:46,380 --> 00:07:50,164 All this was done that it might be fulfilled, which was spoken 180 00:07:50,212 --> 00:07:53,556 by the prophet saying, tell ye the daughter of Sion, behold, thy 181 00:07:53,588 --> 00:07:57,412 king cometh unto thee meek and sitting upon an ass and a colt, the 182 00:07:57,436 --> 00:07:58,260 foal of an ass. 183 00:07:58,300 --> 00:08:01,892 And so the Bible says very clearly here that Jesus tells his 184 00:08:01,916 --> 00:08:05,540 disciples to go grab this donkey so that he could ride it in 185 00:08:05,580 --> 00:08:08,020 so that he could fulfill prophecy. 186 00:08:08,100 --> 00:08:09,540 Now, what prophecy is this talking about? 187 00:08:09,580 --> 00:08:10,180 Well, I. 188 00:08:10,220 --> 00:08:12,324 I do believe that it's important for a Christian to have 189 00:08:12,332 --> 00:08:15,356 a wholesale view of the Bible, because if we just take one passage 190 00:08:15,388 --> 00:08:17,772 out of context, we might not understand the full implications 191 00:08:17,836 --> 00:08:21,276 because there is a red thread going throughout all of scripture 192 00:08:21,308 --> 00:08:23,196 from Genesis to Revelation. 193 00:08:23,308 --> 00:08:26,540 And, and the, the common denominator of all of the Bible is 194 00:08:26,580 --> 00:08:27,484 it's a story of Jesus. 195 00:08:27,532 --> 00:08:30,892 It's a story of our need for redemption and the one who is our 196 00:08:30,916 --> 00:08:31,596 redeemer. 197 00:08:31,708 --> 00:08:34,492 And so the whole story of the Bible points to Jesus. 198 00:08:34,556 --> 00:08:36,876 And so what we're going to see here is that there's a couple passages 199 00:08:36,908 --> 00:08:40,144 of scripture in the Old Testament that point to this very, 200 00:08:40,292 --> 00:08:43,768 this very incident, this very activity that Jesus does here with 201 00:08:43,824 --> 00:08:44,424 the donkey. 202 00:08:44,472 --> 00:08:46,152 So I want you to go back all the way. 203 00:08:46,176 --> 00:08:47,896 You didn't think you were going to go back all the way to Genesis, 204 00:08:47,928 --> 00:08:50,260 but we're going to go to the Genesis, chapter 49. 205 00:08:50,800 --> 00:08:54,056 Now, I'm not going to be able to mine the depths of all the prophecy 206 00:08:54,088 --> 00:08:56,856 here, but what I do want you to see is that from the very beginning, 207 00:08:56,888 --> 00:08:57,640 God had a plan. 208 00:08:57,680 --> 00:09:00,072 And Jesus is the fulfillment of that plan. 209 00:09:00,176 --> 00:09:03,144 Genesis chapter 49 talks of a man named Judah. 210 00:09:03,272 --> 00:09:07,818 Judah was obviously one of the sons of Jacob. 211 00:09:07,914 --> 00:09:12,426 And as you well know, the sons of Jacob became the tribes of Israel. 212 00:09:12,538 --> 00:09:16,010 And the Bible speaks of how there will be a Messiah that comes 213 00:09:16,050 --> 00:09:18,138 from the line of Judah, the. 214 00:09:18,194 --> 00:09:19,178 The tribe of Judah. 215 00:09:19,194 --> 00:09:21,930 And Jesus is referred to as the line of the tribe of Judah. 216 00:09:22,010 --> 00:09:25,034 And so we see that prophecy here Genesis, chapter 49. 217 00:09:25,122 --> 00:09:29,866 Genesis, chapter 49, verse 9 says, this Judah is a lion's whelp 218 00:09:29,898 --> 00:09:31,834 or a lion's cub from the prey. 219 00:09:31,882 --> 00:09:35,730 My son, thou art gone up he stooped down, he couched as a lion 220 00:09:35,850 --> 00:09:38,914 and as an old lion, who shall rouse him up the scepter? 221 00:09:39,042 --> 00:09:44,178 The king shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between 222 00:09:44,234 --> 00:09:45,954 his feet until Shiloh come. 223 00:09:46,042 --> 00:09:49,746 And unto unto him shall the gathering of the people be binding 224 00:09:49,778 --> 00:09:53,042 his foal unto the vine, and his ass is colt unto the choice vine. 225 00:09:53,106 --> 00:09:56,162 He washed his garments in wine and his clothes in the grape, the 226 00:09:56,186 --> 00:09:57,058 blood of grapes. 227 00:09:57,154 --> 00:09:59,538 And so the Bible says here very clearly that there. 228 00:09:59,674 --> 00:10:02,562 There is Judah, who was a lion's cub, but ultimately there 229 00:10:02,586 --> 00:10:05,634 would be the lion of the tribe of Judah who would come and be the 230 00:10:05,642 --> 00:10:10,524 king, who would come and ride this donkey into Jerusalem and recognize 231 00:10:10,572 --> 00:10:12,220 himself as the Messiah. 232 00:10:12,300 --> 00:10:14,524 Then we go to Zechariah, chapter 9. 233 00:10:14,692 --> 00:10:19,132 Zechariah, chapter 9, verse 9, tells us this very same thing. 234 00:10:19,156 --> 00:10:21,436 And it's a prophecy that is fulfilled, and it's actually quoted 235 00:10:21,468 --> 00:10:24,860 here in the book of Matthew and in the Gospels as well. 236 00:10:24,900 --> 00:10:27,468 And so I want you to see this because I want you to see the connection 237 00:10:27,644 --> 00:10:30,188 between the Old Testament prophecies and Jesus because it's 238 00:10:30,204 --> 00:10:33,130 important for us to understand that Jesus isn't just a good teacher. 239 00:10:33,300 --> 00:10:37,150 Jesus isn't just a person who had historical significance because 240 00:10:37,190 --> 00:10:38,174 he taught morals. 241 00:10:38,302 --> 00:10:41,614 Jesus not only claimed to be God, but demonstrated himself to 242 00:10:41,622 --> 00:10:42,718 be God in many different ways. 243 00:10:42,734 --> 00:10:45,550 And one of those would be the fulfillment of prophecy. 244 00:10:45,630 --> 00:10:50,158 Zechariah, chapter 9, verse 9, says, Rejoice greatly, O daughter 245 00:10:50,174 --> 00:10:54,270 of Zion, that's speaking of Israel, shout, O daughter of Jerusalem. 246 00:10:54,350 --> 00:10:57,090 The people of Jerusalem, behold thy king. 247 00:10:57,430 --> 00:10:59,266 The Messiah cometh unto thee. 248 00:10:59,358 --> 00:11:04,186 He is just in having salvation, lowly and riding upon 249 00:11:04,218 --> 00:11:07,658 an ass and upon occult, the foal of an ass. 250 00:11:07,714 --> 00:11:11,402 And so this is a fulfillment there in the book of Matthew, when 251 00:11:11,426 --> 00:11:14,042 we read that verse, it's talking about that reference to the 252 00:11:14,066 --> 00:11:18,106 Messiah there in Zechariah chapter 9, the reference to the Messiah 253 00:11:18,138 --> 00:11:20,042 there in Genesis chapter 49. 254 00:11:20,146 --> 00:11:22,906 And so we say all that to say that Jesus does this for a purpose. 255 00:11:22,938 --> 00:11:24,042 Jesus has a plan. 256 00:11:24,146 --> 00:11:25,294 Jesus has. 257 00:11:25,382 --> 00:11:27,422 Has the whole thing laid out in front of him. 258 00:11:27,446 --> 00:11:30,958 And he's not just doing this by way of chance, he's following 259 00:11:31,094 --> 00:11:32,126 the will of God. 260 00:11:32,158 --> 00:11:36,174 And this is important because in the ancient Middle Eastern world, 261 00:11:36,342 --> 00:11:37,950 leaders rode horses. 262 00:11:38,110 --> 00:11:39,374 That was a sign of victory. 263 00:11:39,422 --> 00:11:40,894 That was a sign of being a king. 264 00:11:40,942 --> 00:11:44,430 But then we know that riding a donkey meant that he was coming in 265 00:11:44,470 --> 00:11:45,246 a sense of peace. 266 00:11:45,278 --> 00:11:47,774 And we know that Jesus, being the prince of peace, is coming in 267 00:11:47,782 --> 00:11:48,750 peace at this point. 268 00:11:48,870 --> 00:11:52,174 And so the act of fulfillment of prophecy shows Jesus's humility, 269 00:11:52,222 --> 00:11:56,486 as it says there, his meekness and the peace as he enters in proclaiming 270 00:11:56,518 --> 00:11:57,238 himself to be king. 271 00:11:57,254 --> 00:11:58,790 He wasn't coming to overthrow Rome. 272 00:11:58,870 --> 00:12:01,926 He wasn't coming there to overthrow any political power. 273 00:12:01,998 --> 00:12:05,254 He was coming there in peace to offer salvation to those that 274 00:12:05,262 --> 00:12:05,926 are lost. 275 00:12:06,078 --> 00:12:09,542 And so as Jesus enters here, the people have no doubt that he 276 00:12:09,566 --> 00:12:10,726 is entering as Messiah. 277 00:12:10,758 --> 00:12:12,134 I want you to see that here. 278 00:12:12,302 --> 00:12:16,454 So back In Matthew chapter 21, it says there in verse 6, and the 279 00:12:16,462 --> 00:12:19,670 disciples went and did as Jesus commanded and brought the ass 280 00:12:19,710 --> 00:12:23,744 and the colt and put on them their clothes, and they set him thereon. 281 00:12:23,792 --> 00:12:26,592 And a very great multitude spread their garments in the way, 282 00:12:26,616 --> 00:12:29,472 and others cut down branches from the trees and straw them in 283 00:12:29,496 --> 00:12:29,712 the way. 284 00:12:29,736 --> 00:12:31,392 And the Bible tells us in. 285 00:12:31,416 --> 00:12:31,888 In. 286 00:12:32,024 --> 00:12:34,256 I believe it's the Book of John, that it was palm branches. 287 00:12:34,288 --> 00:12:36,880 And so that obviously is where we get Palm Sunday here. 288 00:12:37,000 --> 00:12:37,328 And. 289 00:12:37,384 --> 00:12:38,848 And obviously we. 290 00:12:38,904 --> 00:12:44,304 We understand this is a sign of them recognizing who he is, recognizing 291 00:12:44,432 --> 00:12:45,536 this Messiah ship. 292 00:12:45,568 --> 00:12:48,832 In verse nine, it says in the multitudes that went before and that 293 00:12:48,856 --> 00:12:51,818 followed cried hosanna to the Son of David. 294 00:12:51,944 --> 00:12:55,542 Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord, Hosanna in 295 00:12:55,566 --> 00:12:56,410 the highest. 296 00:12:57,150 --> 00:12:57,670 And so. 297 00:12:57,710 --> 00:13:01,286 So like we said before, the people knew that this was Jesus presenting 298 00:13:01,318 --> 00:13:02,758 himself as their Messiah. 299 00:13:02,854 --> 00:13:04,886 And the reason why we know this is because the people praise 300 00:13:04,918 --> 00:13:08,646 him as they should, as we should when we come into the presence 301 00:13:08,678 --> 00:13:09,014 of God. 302 00:13:09,062 --> 00:13:12,086 When we understand who he is, when we understand who he's claiming 303 00:13:12,118 --> 00:13:15,270 to be, when we understand his works, when we understand his character, 304 00:13:15,350 --> 00:13:18,246 really the only natural reaction for us should be to worship 305 00:13:18,278 --> 00:13:21,902 him, to recognize who he is and give him all the acclaim, to 306 00:13:21,926 --> 00:13:25,534 give him all the glory, to recognize that we are insignificant 307 00:13:25,582 --> 00:13:29,422 in the eyes of a creator and that yet he still loves us and he 308 00:13:29,446 --> 00:13:31,502 still has grace for us, and he still extends that to us. 309 00:13:31,526 --> 00:13:34,654 And so there's all these people in Jerusalem there for Passover. 310 00:13:34,782 --> 00:13:35,998 This is a public event. 311 00:13:36,054 --> 00:13:37,662 This isn't something that he does in private. 312 00:13:37,766 --> 00:13:41,118 He's publicly declaring that he is the Messiah. 313 00:13:41,294 --> 00:13:44,702 And so what we can see here in this case is that they recognize 314 00:13:44,766 --> 00:13:46,786 that they verbally praise Jesus. 315 00:13:46,958 --> 00:13:49,994 Verse verse number nine, they say, hosanna to the Son of David. 316 00:13:50,042 --> 00:13:52,026 Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord. 317 00:13:52,058 --> 00:13:53,950 Hosanna in the highest. 318 00:13:54,690 --> 00:13:55,674 What are they doing here? 319 00:13:55,762 --> 00:13:58,554 They're recognizing his royalty by identifying him in the 320 00:13:58,562 --> 00:13:59,370 house of David. 321 00:13:59,450 --> 00:14:01,786 That would have been synonymous with royalty. 322 00:14:01,978 --> 00:14:02,330 He. 323 00:14:02,370 --> 00:14:04,106 They realize that he is sent from God. 324 00:14:04,138 --> 00:14:07,322 Hosanna essentially means save us God or save us God. 325 00:14:07,386 --> 00:14:10,746 That's taken from Psalm 118, verses 25 and 26. 326 00:14:10,818 --> 00:14:14,362 And so them saying hosanna is them recognizing that Jesus is the 327 00:14:14,386 --> 00:14:15,750 one who can save them. 328 00:14:16,080 --> 00:14:17,640 And I think that's all of us. 329 00:14:17,760 --> 00:14:20,408 At some point in our lives, we all have to get to the point to understand 330 00:14:20,544 --> 00:14:22,312 that it's only Jesus who can save us. 331 00:14:22,336 --> 00:14:23,740 We cannot save ourselves. 332 00:14:24,400 --> 00:14:27,048 There isn't a political leader that can save us. 333 00:14:27,184 --> 00:14:31,112 There isn't some type of thing that I can do in my life that can 334 00:14:31,136 --> 00:14:35,192 take me from my sin and take me from my darkness and take me from 335 00:14:35,216 --> 00:14:38,280 my brokenness and move me to a place of light and salvation and 336 00:14:38,320 --> 00:14:40,312 freedom outside of Jesus Christ. 337 00:14:40,416 --> 00:14:42,744 And so they recognize that he is king. 338 00:14:42,792 --> 00:14:45,580 They recognize that he is the one who can save. 339 00:14:45,880 --> 00:14:47,616 And again, they were right to give him praise. 340 00:14:47,648 --> 00:14:47,968 But it's. 341 00:14:47,984 --> 00:14:51,536 But it's clear that they were confused about what Jesus was bringing 342 00:14:51,568 --> 00:14:52,300 to them. 343 00:14:53,160 --> 00:14:56,256 They were looking for, as we said, a military leader to liberate 344 00:14:56,288 --> 00:14:57,360 them from foreign rule. 345 00:14:57,440 --> 00:14:59,872 And Jesus was coming ultimately to save them from the 346 00:14:59,896 --> 00:15:00,688 bondage of sin. 347 00:15:00,784 --> 00:15:05,312 They were creating a savior that they wanted, not the Savior 348 00:15:05,376 --> 00:15:08,976 that was needed, not the Savior that was proclaiming himself 349 00:15:09,008 --> 00:15:09,900 before them. 350 00:15:10,200 --> 00:15:10,918 And what. 351 00:15:11,024 --> 00:15:12,602 What we can take from that is this. 352 00:15:12,706 --> 00:15:15,642 There are a lot of people that are sitting in churches today in 353 00:15:15,666 --> 00:15:18,554 America and around the world that are saying this. 354 00:15:18,642 --> 00:15:21,226 I want Jesus to be this way. 355 00:15:21,378 --> 00:15:23,290 I want him to fit into my box. 356 00:15:23,370 --> 00:15:25,290 I want him to fit into my narrative. 357 00:15:25,370 --> 00:15:27,274 I want him to fit into my culture. 358 00:15:27,402 --> 00:15:30,090 Instead of saying, how has Jesus changed me? 359 00:15:30,130 --> 00:15:33,354 How can he bring me to a place where I'm more like him? 360 00:15:33,442 --> 00:15:35,590 We want to make Jesus more like us. 361 00:15:35,970 --> 00:15:39,066 We want to lower him down to a level to say, well, you know what? 362 00:15:39,138 --> 00:15:39,962 He's just like us. 363 00:15:39,986 --> 00:15:42,650 And the fact that he is just like us is that he is 100% human. 364 00:15:42,690 --> 00:15:46,342 Yes, the Bible says that in Philippians chapter 2, he limited 365 00:15:46,406 --> 00:15:46,726 Himself. 366 00:15:46,758 --> 00:15:47,766 He humbled himself. 367 00:15:47,878 --> 00:15:50,102 But the Bible also speaks in Philippians chapter two about how 368 00:15:50,126 --> 00:15:51,558 Jesus is far above us. 369 00:15:51,694 --> 00:15:53,414 His name is above all names. 370 00:15:53,542 --> 00:15:55,894 There is going to be a point in time where every tongue is going 371 00:15:55,902 --> 00:15:57,494 to confess that Jesus Christ is Lord. 372 00:15:57,542 --> 00:16:01,414 Every knee is going to bow to Jesus Christ, whether it be in salvation 373 00:16:01,462 --> 00:16:02,486 or in judgment. 374 00:16:02,598 --> 00:16:04,966 And so what we have to understand is that Jesus is far above 375 00:16:04,998 --> 00:16:09,464 us and therefore we cannot create a Jesus that fits into our 376 00:16:09,622 --> 00:16:10,580 narrative. 377 00:16:10,740 --> 00:16:12,116 Maybe you've heard it said this way. 378 00:16:12,188 --> 00:16:14,000 Well, my Jesus wouldn't do that. 379 00:16:14,380 --> 00:16:16,132 That's not my type of Jesus. 380 00:16:16,276 --> 00:16:19,060 Frankly, in all love, that is not our decision to make. 381 00:16:19,100 --> 00:16:22,020 Jesus is who he is and there's nothing that we can do to change 382 00:16:22,060 --> 00:16:22,452 that. 383 00:16:22,556 --> 00:16:25,412 And there's a lot of people in this world that say, you know what? 384 00:16:25,516 --> 00:16:28,516 Jesus is just, he's a good guy, He's a good teacher. 385 00:16:28,548 --> 00:16:29,880 I love his morals. 386 00:16:30,300 --> 00:16:31,476 Did Jesus have good morals? 387 00:16:31,508 --> 00:16:31,780 Of course. 388 00:16:31,820 --> 00:16:33,236 Read the Sermon on the Mount. 389 00:16:33,428 --> 00:16:37,298 Wonderful sermon about how to have mortal morality, how to live 390 00:16:37,354 --> 00:16:38,098 righteously. 391 00:16:38,194 --> 00:16:40,950 But Jesus is more than just someone who's teaching morals. 392 00:16:41,370 --> 00:16:43,858 Jesus is more than someone who just had a. 393 00:16:43,914 --> 00:16:47,810 Had a good insight on the life and eternity. 394 00:16:47,890 --> 00:16:50,850 Jesus is more than just a teacher, though they called him Rabbi. 395 00:16:50,930 --> 00:16:53,122 There's more than just Jesus being a teacher. 396 00:16:53,186 --> 00:16:56,450 And so many people are willing to attest to the fact that Jesus 397 00:16:56,530 --> 00:16:57,474 is a good man. 398 00:16:57,562 --> 00:17:00,402 Many people are willing to even follow Jesus's teachings to 399 00:17:00,426 --> 00:17:03,570 a degree, but many people are not willing to say that Jesus is 400 00:17:03,610 --> 00:17:05,598 the way, the truth, the life. 401 00:17:05,654 --> 00:17:07,102 John, chapter 14, verse 6. 402 00:17:07,206 --> 00:17:10,702 I want you to see in John chapter 14, Jesus says, hey, you 403 00:17:10,726 --> 00:17:12,590 know the way and you're gonna come with me. 404 00:17:12,630 --> 00:17:13,726 And there was a guy named Thomas. 405 00:17:13,758 --> 00:17:14,686 What did Thomas say? 406 00:17:14,758 --> 00:17:17,422 Jesus, how we don't know the way, where do we go? 407 00:17:17,446 --> 00:17:20,862 And Jesus says that famous verse, verse 6 of John 14, I am the 408 00:17:20,886 --> 00:17:22,030 way, the truth and the life. 409 00:17:22,070 --> 00:17:25,390 No man cometh unto me, no man cometh on the Father, but by me. 410 00:17:25,510 --> 00:17:28,702 And so the Bible clearly teaches that Jesus claims to be God. 411 00:17:28,846 --> 00:17:32,046 Jesus is God, and therefore we must treat him that way and worship 412 00:17:32,078 --> 00:17:32,970 him that way. 413 00:17:33,580 --> 00:17:36,680 And so Jesus came with power, he came with peace. 414 00:17:37,100 --> 00:17:39,880 But the people were perplexed, the people were confused. 415 00:17:40,540 --> 00:17:45,604 Luke records Jesus as in, in this instance, that. 416 00:17:45,772 --> 00:17:47,476 I want you to see this because this is so cool. 417 00:17:47,508 --> 00:17:50,260 I was reading this this weekend and I've always heard this. 418 00:17:50,300 --> 00:17:52,740 I mean, we know the story of the Palm Sunday, we know the story 419 00:17:52,780 --> 00:17:53,860 of the Triumphal entry. 420 00:17:53,940 --> 00:17:56,420 But when I really read this and understood what Jesus was saying, 421 00:17:56,460 --> 00:17:57,972 it was so shocking to me. 422 00:17:58,076 --> 00:17:59,124 Luke, chapter 19. 423 00:17:59,212 --> 00:18:02,360 It's another gospel account of the Triumphal entry. 424 00:18:02,750 --> 00:18:06,582 And Jesus is coming in and people are praising him. 425 00:18:06,606 --> 00:18:08,902 And there are some people that have a problem with that. 426 00:18:09,086 --> 00:18:12,502 If you remember, the Pharisees, right, The Pharisees were 427 00:18:12,526 --> 00:18:15,446 these individuals that were opposing Jesus because His teachings 428 00:18:15,478 --> 00:18:17,094 were contrary to their teachings. 429 00:18:17,222 --> 00:18:20,390 And obviously it was cramping their style, so to speak. 430 00:18:20,550 --> 00:18:26,182 And so In Luke, chapter 19, verse 39, some of the Pharisees from 431 00:18:26,206 --> 00:18:29,494 the multitude come and they say unto him, master, rebuke thy 432 00:18:29,542 --> 00:18:29,974 disciples. 433 00:18:30,022 --> 00:18:32,020 Meaning, don't receive this praise. 434 00:18:32,520 --> 00:18:35,072 Now, if they were just praising him as a good teacher, they 435 00:18:35,096 --> 00:18:38,192 wouldn't rebuke Jesus for His disciples coming there. 436 00:18:38,216 --> 00:18:41,376 They, they, they said, jesus, rebuke your disciples from calling 437 00:18:41,408 --> 00:18:42,064 you Messiah. 438 00:18:42,112 --> 00:18:43,840 Rebuke them for saying hosanna. 439 00:18:43,920 --> 00:18:44,960 And what does Jesus say? 440 00:18:45,000 --> 00:18:46,208 This is so amazing. 441 00:18:46,384 --> 00:18:50,960 He says, I tell you that if these should hold their peace, the 442 00:18:51,000 --> 00:18:53,632 stones would immediately cry out. 443 00:18:53,816 --> 00:18:58,074 Jesus comes in power and he demands worship. 444 00:18:58,202 --> 00:18:59,610 And what that means is this. 445 00:18:59,650 --> 00:19:01,994 If there was no one that praised him, the stones would cry 446 00:19:02,042 --> 00:19:02,538 out. 447 00:19:02,674 --> 00:19:05,434 Creation itself recognizes that Jesus is God. 448 00:19:05,482 --> 00:19:08,970 So therefore, we understand that as believers here today, we 449 00:19:09,010 --> 00:19:12,090 have to come under him, we have to submit ourselves to him and 450 00:19:12,130 --> 00:19:13,722 realize that he is our Lord. 451 00:19:13,866 --> 00:19:17,310 And so the people were moved by the power of Jesus, but they misunderstand, 452 00:19:17,730 --> 00:19:20,874 they misunderstood, I should say, the salvation that he was providing 453 00:19:20,922 --> 00:19:21,600 for them. 454 00:19:21,770 --> 00:19:23,556 Jesus is sometimes viewed as. 455 00:19:23,628 --> 00:19:26,740 For many people, they wouldn't say this word for word, but many 456 00:19:26,780 --> 00:19:28,660 times Jesus is viewed as a good luck charm. 457 00:19:28,740 --> 00:19:30,708 I want to add him to my life. 458 00:19:30,844 --> 00:19:32,900 I want to make sure all my bases are covered. 459 00:19:32,980 --> 00:19:35,120 I want to make sure he gives me what I want. 460 00:19:35,420 --> 00:19:38,244 And, and so what we do is we go to Jesus when we need something, 461 00:19:38,332 --> 00:19:41,492 or we go to Jesus when we want something and we want him to give 462 00:19:41,516 --> 00:19:44,596 us what we want in our lives instead of coming to him and realizing 463 00:19:44,628 --> 00:19:48,080 that he is the only way, that he is the only hope that we have. 464 00:19:48,120 --> 00:19:50,560 And so what happens here is that we see Jesus as a good love 465 00:19:50,600 --> 00:19:50,992 charm. 466 00:19:51,056 --> 00:19:54,144 We're only going to go to him when we think we need Him. 467 00:19:54,232 --> 00:19:56,656 But in many cases, we're going to miss the whole point of understanding 468 00:19:56,688 --> 00:19:58,496 that he is the only one who can save us. 469 00:19:58,568 --> 00:20:03,056 And so Jesus came to save us from our sins and to offer eternal 470 00:20:03,088 --> 00:20:04,384 life in Him. 471 00:20:04,472 --> 00:20:05,136 That is it. 472 00:20:05,208 --> 00:20:05,968 No, no one. 473 00:20:06,024 --> 00:20:09,136 You know, I think a lot of times we think of Jesus such a shallow 474 00:20:09,168 --> 00:20:09,408 way. 475 00:20:09,464 --> 00:20:11,728 Well, Jesus is going to help me with my finances. 476 00:20:11,904 --> 00:20:15,418 Maybe Jesus is going to help me with my health. 477 00:20:15,554 --> 00:20:16,426 Maybe. 478 00:20:16,618 --> 00:20:18,970 Whatever you say to the believer that comes to Jesus, and 479 00:20:19,010 --> 00:20:21,642 then what happens is that maybe their finances aren't the way 480 00:20:21,666 --> 00:20:22,810 they expected them to be. 481 00:20:22,930 --> 00:20:25,722 Maybe their health is not what they expected it to be, then you 482 00:20:25,746 --> 00:20:27,674 would say, well, I guess Jesus doesn't love you anymore. 483 00:20:27,802 --> 00:20:29,162 Well, no, we wouldn't say that. 484 00:20:29,186 --> 00:20:30,506 We would say that, hey, you know what? 485 00:20:30,578 --> 00:20:32,298 Jesus is more than money. 486 00:20:32,354 --> 00:20:33,962 Jesus is more than your body. 487 00:20:34,066 --> 00:20:36,026 Jesus is more than your circumstances. 488 00:20:36,138 --> 00:20:38,090 Jesus is there concerned with your soul. 489 00:20:38,170 --> 00:20:40,590 And so what the Bible speaks of is this eternal. 490 00:20:40,730 --> 00:20:44,118 This eternal stake is at risk here. 491 00:20:44,174 --> 00:20:45,606 It's my eternal destiny. 492 00:20:45,638 --> 00:20:46,870 It's the eternal focus. 493 00:20:46,990 --> 00:20:49,570 And so people miss what was right in front of them. 494 00:20:49,950 --> 00:20:51,990 They missed what Jesus was doing. 495 00:20:52,030 --> 00:20:53,446 They missed what Jesus was teaching. 496 00:20:53,478 --> 00:20:54,150 They missed it. 497 00:20:54,190 --> 00:20:57,830 And I would say here today, let us not be the ones who miss what 498 00:20:57,870 --> 00:20:59,958 Jesus is teaching us in accordance to his word. 499 00:21:00,054 --> 00:21:00,406 Let's. 500 00:21:00,438 --> 00:21:01,526 Let's not miss it. 501 00:21:01,678 --> 00:21:04,422 We're distracted with so many things in this world today. 502 00:21:04,606 --> 00:21:06,530 So many things are pulling our attention away. 503 00:21:06,940 --> 00:21:08,196 So many things are. 504 00:21:08,268 --> 00:21:11,716 Are causing us to get off of what God would want us to be focusing 505 00:21:11,748 --> 00:21:12,036 on. 506 00:21:12,108 --> 00:21:13,140 But what I would say is this. 507 00:21:13,180 --> 00:21:16,196 Let's realign ourselves with the truth of who Jesus is. 508 00:21:16,268 --> 00:21:18,772 Let's realign ourselves with what's right in front of us and say, 509 00:21:18,796 --> 00:21:20,788 lord, I want this to be my direction. 510 00:21:20,884 --> 00:21:23,560 I want your direction to be my direction. 511 00:21:23,980 --> 00:21:27,428 And so we need to realize that Jesus came to die for our sins and 512 00:21:27,484 --> 00:21:29,720 pay the price for our iniquity. 513 00:21:30,140 --> 00:21:30,644 Even. 514 00:21:30,732 --> 00:21:34,206 Even they can think about it this way. 515 00:21:34,358 --> 00:21:34,830 God. 516 00:21:34,910 --> 00:21:37,330 God loved us even when we were unfaithful. 517 00:21:38,710 --> 00:21:41,294 Romans, chapter 5, verse 8 is one of my favorite verses. 518 00:21:41,422 --> 00:21:43,662 But God commended or demonstrated his love towards us 519 00:21:43,686 --> 00:21:46,206 in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. 520 00:21:46,358 --> 00:21:48,210 It's the necessity of grace. 521 00:21:48,630 --> 00:21:50,734 And these people needed God's grace. 522 00:21:50,862 --> 00:21:51,838 They were sinners. 523 00:21:51,934 --> 00:21:52,878 We are sinners. 524 00:21:52,974 --> 00:21:55,886 And so as Jesus was riding this donkey into Jerusalem on the. 525 00:21:55,958 --> 00:22:00,424 On the Palm Sunday road, there were individuals there that needed 526 00:22:00,472 --> 00:22:01,480 the grace of God. 527 00:22:01,560 --> 00:22:01,848 Why? 528 00:22:01,904 --> 00:22:03,180 Because they are sinners. 529 00:22:03,520 --> 00:22:06,264 And I'm looking out at a crowd today, and I'm looking at myself, 530 00:22:06,312 --> 00:22:10,904 and I'm realizing that we just in the same way, need God's grace. 531 00:22:10,952 --> 00:22:12,424 We are in desperate need of God's grace. 532 00:22:12,472 --> 00:22:12,728 Why? 533 00:22:12,784 --> 00:22:13,944 Because we are sinners. 534 00:22:14,072 --> 00:22:18,072 And therefore we cannot reach God by any other way outside of faith 535 00:22:18,136 --> 00:22:19,976 in Jesus Christ alone. 536 00:22:20,168 --> 00:22:23,160 And so what I want us to challenge ourselves with here today 537 00:22:23,200 --> 00:22:23,890 is this. 538 00:22:24,040 --> 00:22:26,610 We cannot earn his forgiveness. 539 00:22:27,590 --> 00:22:30,450 It's more than a merit of our loyalty. 540 00:22:31,270 --> 00:22:31,774 More. 541 00:22:31,862 --> 00:22:33,438 More than just, hey, you know what? 542 00:22:33,494 --> 00:22:34,478 I'm loyal to you, God. 543 00:22:34,494 --> 00:22:36,142 I'm here in church every single Sunday. 544 00:22:36,246 --> 00:22:37,214 I give to the church. 545 00:22:37,262 --> 00:22:37,902 It's more than that. 546 00:22:37,926 --> 00:22:39,930 It's having a relationship with him. 547 00:22:40,310 --> 00:22:43,246 And we know that people miss the point because In Luke chapter 548 00:22:43,278 --> 00:22:45,902 19, it states that Jesus wept over Jerusalem. 549 00:22:46,046 --> 00:22:49,326 He wept over them because he realized that they were praising 550 00:22:49,358 --> 00:22:49,550 him. 551 00:22:49,590 --> 00:22:51,774 But like I said before, in a few days they're going to be chanting, 552 00:22:51,822 --> 00:22:52,978 crucify him. 553 00:22:53,174 --> 00:22:56,602 And so because of all of this excitement, we see that, you know, 554 00:22:56,626 --> 00:22:58,602 there are people saying hosanna, there are people that are 555 00:22:58,626 --> 00:23:01,034 recognizing him, proclaiming himself to be king. 556 00:23:01,082 --> 00:23:05,350 But then we get to verse number 10 and it says, and when some 557 00:23:06,050 --> 00:23:10,010 saw Jesus, they were moved and they asked the question, who is this? 558 00:23:10,050 --> 00:23:13,226 And the multitude said, this is Jesus, the Prophet of Nazareth, 559 00:23:13,258 --> 00:23:14,270 of Galilee. 560 00:23:14,930 --> 00:23:16,986 And we're getting back to where we started. 561 00:23:17,058 --> 00:23:20,532 The most important question that we need to answer is who is 562 00:23:20,556 --> 00:23:21,920 Jesus to us? 563 00:23:22,220 --> 00:23:23,840 It's a life changing decision. 564 00:23:24,140 --> 00:23:26,500 It's a decision that changes our eternal destination. 565 00:23:26,660 --> 00:23:29,172 It's a decision that changes what we love. 566 00:23:29,276 --> 00:23:33,236 It's a decision that changes who we are in the innermost core 567 00:23:33,268 --> 00:23:33,828 of our being. 568 00:23:33,884 --> 00:23:35,140 It changes our identity. 569 00:23:35,220 --> 00:23:38,532 The Bible says that before we came to Christ, before we come to 570 00:23:38,556 --> 00:23:41,332 Christ, when we are in our sin, we are enemies of God. 571 00:23:41,396 --> 00:23:43,812 And then the Bible says that when we trust in Jesus Christ as 572 00:23:43,836 --> 00:23:47,438 our Savior, we now become sons of God, children of God. 573 00:23:47,534 --> 00:23:50,910 That's a huge shift going from being an enemy of God to now being 574 00:23:50,950 --> 00:23:51,630 his child. 575 00:23:51,750 --> 00:23:53,710 I, I mean, I don't have a lot of enemies in my life. 576 00:23:53,750 --> 00:23:57,246 Okay, but, but an enemy is a different person than my children. 577 00:23:57,318 --> 00:23:57,598 Okay? 578 00:23:57,614 --> 00:23:58,366 I see my children. 579 00:23:58,438 --> 00:23:58,766 I don't. 580 00:23:58,798 --> 00:24:00,910 If you see your children as an enemy, that's a, that's a big issue. 581 00:24:00,950 --> 00:24:01,118 Okay? 582 00:24:01,134 --> 00:24:02,238 Don't, don't see it that way. 583 00:24:02,294 --> 00:24:02,734 Okay? 584 00:24:02,782 --> 00:24:06,494 The idea would be that we are taken as, as Peter puts it in the 585 00:24:06,502 --> 00:24:10,090 New Testament, taken from darkness and moved to marvelous light. 586 00:24:10,670 --> 00:24:13,222 The Bible gives a lot of references of what salvation really 587 00:24:13,246 --> 00:24:13,430 is. 588 00:24:13,470 --> 00:24:16,742 But I think we have to go back to the, the point and the focus of 589 00:24:16,766 --> 00:24:17,094 this. 590 00:24:17,182 --> 00:24:18,550 Jesus has changed me. 591 00:24:18,590 --> 00:24:19,942 Jesus has moved me. 592 00:24:19,966 --> 00:24:21,970 Jesus has transformed me. 593 00:24:22,350 --> 00:24:25,702 Because we, we know that again, Jesus is asking all of us 594 00:24:25,726 --> 00:24:28,582 that question, whom do men say that I am? 595 00:24:28,686 --> 00:24:31,382 I want you to go to another passage of scripture that gives an 596 00:24:31,406 --> 00:24:32,502 example of this. 597 00:24:32,686 --> 00:24:35,702 It is in, in the book of Matthew and we're going to look at 598 00:24:35,726 --> 00:24:37,010 Matthew, chapter 16. 599 00:24:37,750 --> 00:24:41,550 This is an interaction that Jesus has with his disciples and 600 00:24:41,590 --> 00:24:42,770 specifically Peter. 601 00:24:43,590 --> 00:24:46,542 And even though Peter didn't have it all right, I do believe that 602 00:24:46,566 --> 00:24:48,170 Peter's answer here is right. 603 00:24:48,550 --> 00:24:54,830 And I think that all of us, hopefully at some point in our lives 604 00:24:54,950 --> 00:24:57,486 are going to get to this place where we make a decision on who Jesus 605 00:24:57,518 --> 00:24:58,410 is to us. 606 00:24:59,110 --> 00:25:01,646 You might say, today, Jesus is my Savior. 607 00:25:01,838 --> 00:25:02,462 Amen. 608 00:25:02,526 --> 00:25:03,786 That's a beautiful thing. 609 00:25:03,958 --> 00:25:06,626 But you might say, well, Jesus is someone that I come to church 610 00:25:06,658 --> 00:25:12,002 and I hear about, I hear other people talk about, I see other people 611 00:25:12,026 --> 00:25:14,674 getting excited about, I see other people singing about. 612 00:25:14,842 --> 00:25:18,642 But the truth is that if Jesus is not real to us as a savior, we 613 00:25:18,666 --> 00:25:20,114 will never sing his praises. 614 00:25:20,162 --> 00:25:25,426 We will never be able to cry out to him with a true heart in worship 615 00:25:25,458 --> 00:25:27,362 if we do not know him as our personal savior. 616 00:25:27,426 --> 00:25:28,990 Let me give you an example of this. 617 00:25:29,540 --> 00:25:33,692 What if I said to you guys, okay, I'm putting out a new product, 618 00:25:33,876 --> 00:25:37,996 and I need all of you to take home this product, use it for a week, 619 00:25:38,148 --> 00:25:41,708 and then I need all of you to get on the Internet and I need you 620 00:25:41,764 --> 00:25:43,708 to give me a good testimony of this product. 621 00:25:43,764 --> 00:25:44,828 I need to sell it, okay? 622 00:25:44,844 --> 00:25:45,980 I need to make some money. 623 00:25:46,100 --> 00:25:49,484 So I need all of you guys to put your name behind this product, 624 00:25:49,652 --> 00:25:52,252 and I need all of you guys to take some time and maybe even if 625 00:25:52,276 --> 00:25:52,908 you feel. 626 00:25:53,044 --> 00:25:55,748 If you feel like it's a good product, which I hope that you do, 627 00:25:55,844 --> 00:25:58,240 I hope that you put a little investment into it, right? 628 00:25:58,620 --> 00:26:01,428 And you guys take the product home and. 629 00:26:01,484 --> 00:26:05,284 And you want to like it, you want to believe in it, but you take 630 00:26:05,292 --> 00:26:07,060 it home and immediately it breaks. 631 00:26:07,220 --> 00:26:10,180 And you call someone else in the church and you go, hey, how. 632 00:26:10,220 --> 00:26:12,132 How did Pastor Josh's product work for you? 633 00:26:12,156 --> 00:26:13,844 And you go, well, it broke. 634 00:26:13,892 --> 00:26:16,164 It broke on me, too, the first time I used it. 635 00:26:16,252 --> 00:26:17,092 Well, what are you going to do? 636 00:26:17,116 --> 00:26:18,900 Are you going to be able to put your name to that? 637 00:26:19,020 --> 00:26:19,396 Most. 638 00:26:19,468 --> 00:26:22,022 Most of you, if you're honest, would say, you know what? 639 00:26:22,116 --> 00:26:24,450 We love you, but we can't put our name on that. 640 00:26:24,570 --> 00:26:25,922 We can't give a good testimony of that. 641 00:26:25,946 --> 00:26:27,590 I can't sing its praises. 642 00:26:28,410 --> 00:26:29,602 I can't invest in that. 643 00:26:29,626 --> 00:26:29,858 I can't. 644 00:26:29,874 --> 00:26:31,470 I can't give my life to that. 645 00:26:32,090 --> 00:26:35,586 And, And I think that's a lot of times how people see who, Jesus. 646 00:26:35,618 --> 00:26:36,082 They, they. 647 00:26:36,106 --> 00:26:38,562 They see Jesus as, hey, this is something good. 648 00:26:38,586 --> 00:26:38,930 But I. 649 00:26:38,970 --> 00:26:40,514 I don't really buy into it. 650 00:26:40,682 --> 00:26:41,218 I'm not. 651 00:26:41,274 --> 00:26:44,162 When the stakes get high, I'm not willing to put my life on the 652 00:26:44,186 --> 00:26:44,562 line. 653 00:26:44,666 --> 00:26:44,882 I. 654 00:26:44,906 --> 00:26:47,636 I'm not willing to put him before everything else. 655 00:26:47,738 --> 00:26:48,000 I. 656 00:26:48,040 --> 00:26:51,440 I'm going to love him and I'm going to serve him until something 657 00:26:51,480 --> 00:26:52,816 else better comes along. 658 00:26:52,968 --> 00:26:55,312 Something else that maybe means something more to me, that 659 00:26:55,336 --> 00:26:56,784 I trust in more. 660 00:26:56,952 --> 00:26:59,488 And I would tell you here today, Jesus isn't a product. 661 00:26:59,544 --> 00:27:02,816 He, he, he is a gift that is given to us in salvation. 662 00:27:02,848 --> 00:27:05,168 And therefore when we trust in it, he will never fail us. 663 00:27:05,224 --> 00:27:07,424 The Bible says he'll never leave us nor forsake us. 664 00:27:07,512 --> 00:27:10,752 And, and, and so very clearly, if we believe in who Jesus is and 665 00:27:10,776 --> 00:27:15,302 if we trust in him, and if we believe in what he says about himself 666 00:27:15,366 --> 00:27:18,150 and we believe that he is our Savior, it will change us. 667 00:27:18,190 --> 00:27:21,158 It will allow us to naturally praise Him. 668 00:27:21,294 --> 00:27:25,014 If I got up here and I said, and let's, let's go into a pretend 669 00:27:25,062 --> 00:27:28,566 world, none of you guys have had ever tasted chocolate. 670 00:27:28,678 --> 00:27:29,286 Okay? 671 00:27:29,398 --> 00:27:32,006 It's an alternate universe where I'm the only person that knows 672 00:27:32,038 --> 00:27:32,934 what chocolate is. 673 00:27:33,022 --> 00:27:36,438 And I get up here and I say, okay guys, I'm going tell you chocolate's 674 00:27:36,454 --> 00:27:37,302 an amazing thing. 675 00:27:37,406 --> 00:27:39,360 It's, it's tasty, it's good. 676 00:27:39,400 --> 00:27:42,752 And all of you might to a point say, okay, I understand what 677 00:27:42,776 --> 00:27:44,384 it means for something to taste good. 678 00:27:44,472 --> 00:27:46,624 I understand what it means for something to be sweet. 679 00:27:46,672 --> 00:27:49,712 But you would not be able to identify with my understanding of 680 00:27:49,736 --> 00:27:52,464 what chocolate is because I know it and you don't. 681 00:27:52,592 --> 00:27:53,744 It's the same thing with Jesus. 682 00:27:53,792 --> 00:27:55,888 Sometimes there are people that are like, man, I just don't 683 00:27:55,904 --> 00:27:58,560 understand how a person can be so excited about Jesus. 684 00:27:58,640 --> 00:28:00,752 I don't understand why people could be so committed. 685 00:28:00,816 --> 00:28:02,288 I don't know how there have been martyrs. 686 00:28:02,304 --> 00:28:04,656 I don't know how there have been people like Nate Sait and Jim 687 00:28:04,688 --> 00:28:07,988 Elliott who have gone down to the AKA Indians and sacrificed themselves 688 00:28:08,084 --> 00:28:09,556 just to give a person the gospel. 689 00:28:09,588 --> 00:28:11,236 I just don't understand that, folks. 690 00:28:11,268 --> 00:28:14,308 It's because those people have tasted in the grace of Jesus Christ. 691 00:28:14,364 --> 00:28:15,956 They know that he is real. 692 00:28:16,028 --> 00:28:18,884 And their answer is the same answer that Peter gives here in Matthew 693 00:28:18,932 --> 00:28:19,844 chapter 16. 694 00:28:20,012 --> 00:28:21,380 And so let's look at that here. 695 00:28:21,500 --> 00:28:26,160 This is right after Jesus is preaching some very difficult things. 696 00:28:26,620 --> 00:28:30,920 And many people, many people are, are turning away from Jesus. 697 00:28:32,110 --> 00:28:34,982 And, and we're going to look at it here in verse number 13 of 698 00:28:35,006 --> 00:28:41,686 Matthew, chapter 16 says, When Jesus came into the coast of Cesarea 699 00:28:41,718 --> 00:28:45,894 Philippi, he asked his disciples saying, whom do men say 700 00:28:45,982 --> 00:28:48,006 that I, the Son of man am? 701 00:28:48,158 --> 00:28:50,406 So he asked them, what are people saying about me? 702 00:28:50,558 --> 00:28:54,010 And they said, some say that thou art John the Baptist. 703 00:28:54,510 --> 00:28:58,202 So there's a reference to Jesus's cousin John the Baptist and 704 00:28:58,226 --> 00:29:00,090 who he is and his great preaching. 705 00:29:00,250 --> 00:29:02,826 Though John the Baptist was a very powerful preacher, he wasn't 706 00:29:02,858 --> 00:29:03,450 God. 707 00:29:03,610 --> 00:29:07,066 So there was individuals that thought that he was a great prophet, 708 00:29:07,258 --> 00:29:11,674 some Elias or Elijah Others, Jeremias or Jeremiah or one of the 709 00:29:11,682 --> 00:29:11,994 prophets. 710 00:29:12,042 --> 00:29:14,746 And so what they were saying basically, is this. 711 00:29:14,818 --> 00:29:17,930 A lot of people recognize the power in your life, Jesus, but most 712 00:29:17,970 --> 00:29:20,090 people recognize you as a great prophet. 713 00:29:20,250 --> 00:29:22,106 And we even saw that back in the book of Matthew. 714 00:29:22,138 --> 00:29:24,180 They said, this is Jesus, the prophet of. 715 00:29:24,220 --> 00:29:25,540 Of Nazareth, of Galilee. 716 00:29:25,620 --> 00:29:27,956 So most people recognize Jesus as this great prophet. 717 00:29:27,988 --> 00:29:30,196 They did not recognize him as Messiah. 718 00:29:30,388 --> 00:29:30,740 And. 719 00:29:30,780 --> 00:29:33,140 And so then Jesus goes, okay, I'm not concerned about what other 720 00:29:33,180 --> 00:29:33,716 people think. 721 00:29:33,788 --> 00:29:34,804 I'm talking to you. 722 00:29:34,892 --> 00:29:35,940 What do you think? 723 00:29:36,060 --> 00:29:38,692 And so today, I could sit up here all day and we could say, hey, 724 00:29:38,756 --> 00:29:39,364 you know what? 725 00:29:39,452 --> 00:29:39,796 What. 726 00:29:39,868 --> 00:29:42,436 What are you finding online about what people say about Jesus? 727 00:29:42,548 --> 00:29:44,612 And I guarantee you, all of you would say, well, I saw this, 728 00:29:44,636 --> 00:29:46,196 and I've seen this, and I've seen this. 729 00:29:46,268 --> 00:29:46,788 Okay? 730 00:29:46,884 --> 00:29:49,332 Right now, at this very moment, I'm not concerned about what 731 00:29:49,356 --> 00:29:52,290 other people say about Jesus, but my biggest concern is about what 732 00:29:52,330 --> 00:29:53,394 you say about Jesus. 733 00:29:53,442 --> 00:29:55,710 And so Jesus turns it, and he says this. 734 00:29:56,090 --> 00:29:58,750 But whom say ye that I am? 735 00:30:00,490 --> 00:30:02,110 Who do you say that I am? 736 00:30:03,210 --> 00:30:04,034 You, Peter. 737 00:30:04,082 --> 00:30:05,474 Who do you say that I am? 738 00:30:05,642 --> 00:30:07,682 You, Middletown Baptist Church attender. 739 00:30:07,746 --> 00:30:09,554 Who do you say that Jesus is? 740 00:30:09,642 --> 00:30:11,970 And in Simon Peter answers this way in verse 16. 741 00:30:12,010 --> 00:30:15,378 And Simon Peter answered and said, thou art the Christ. 742 00:30:15,434 --> 00:30:17,304 Or that's another word for messiah. 743 00:30:17,402 --> 00:30:22,000 King, Lord, thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. 744 00:30:23,140 --> 00:30:25,116 He recognizes that Jesus is God. 745 00:30:25,148 --> 00:30:26,796 He recognizes that Jesus is Messiah. 746 00:30:26,828 --> 00:30:28,348 He recognizes that Jesus is king. 747 00:30:28,364 --> 00:30:31,228 Does that mean that at that point, Peter never has any more problems, 748 00:30:31,324 --> 00:30:32,924 that Peter never gets to a place of doubt? 749 00:30:32,972 --> 00:30:36,156 No, we know the rest of Peter's story, but his recognition 750 00:30:36,188 --> 00:30:37,788 of who Jesus is is. 751 00:30:37,844 --> 00:30:40,108 And some people will say, well, Jesus never accepts praise. 752 00:30:40,204 --> 00:30:41,804 Jesus never accepts that he's God. 753 00:30:41,852 --> 00:30:43,484 Jesus never accepts that he's Messiah. 754 00:30:43,532 --> 00:30:44,652 Go to the very next verse. 755 00:30:44,716 --> 00:30:46,988 And Jesus answered and said unto him, blessed art thou, Simon 756 00:30:47,004 --> 00:30:49,764 bar Jonah, for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee. 757 00:30:49,812 --> 00:30:53,380 But my Father, which is in heaven, he says, hey, this is great. 758 00:30:53,420 --> 00:30:53,828 This is. 759 00:30:53,884 --> 00:30:54,516 You were right. 760 00:30:54,588 --> 00:30:56,276 And you didn't find that in your own strength. 761 00:30:56,308 --> 00:30:57,796 You didn't find that in your own wisdom. 762 00:30:57,828 --> 00:31:00,324 You didn't find that in your own righteousness. 763 00:31:00,372 --> 00:31:02,244 You found that because God opened your eyes. 764 00:31:02,292 --> 00:31:05,092 God revealed this to you, and the Holy Spirit has convicted your 765 00:31:05,116 --> 00:31:05,252 heart. 766 00:31:05,276 --> 00:31:07,892 And you've come to a place in belief, and that's what it is here 767 00:31:07,916 --> 00:31:08,244 today. 768 00:31:08,332 --> 00:31:10,068 None of us come to Jesus in our own accord. 769 00:31:10,124 --> 00:31:12,516 None of us come to Jesus just because we're really good people. 770 00:31:12,588 --> 00:31:13,956 Really, really smart people. 771 00:31:14,108 --> 00:31:16,484 The Bible says very clearly, the word of God is powerful. 772 00:31:16,532 --> 00:31:17,652 The Word of God is preached. 773 00:31:17,716 --> 00:31:18,900 The Word of God cuts our heart. 774 00:31:18,940 --> 00:31:20,100 The Holy Spirit convicts us. 775 00:31:20,140 --> 00:31:22,260 And we get to a place in our life where we have to make a decision 776 00:31:22,300 --> 00:31:23,412 about who Jesus is. 777 00:31:23,516 --> 00:31:26,116 We can either receive the conviction of the Spirit, embrace 778 00:31:26,148 --> 00:31:28,724 the conviction of the Spirit and come to him in faith, or we can 779 00:31:28,732 --> 00:31:30,500 get to a place in our life where we say, well, that's a great 780 00:31:30,540 --> 00:31:31,732 story, but I'm going to reject. 781 00:31:31,796 --> 00:31:33,044 I'm going to push that away. 782 00:31:33,212 --> 00:31:35,796 And so the Bible clearly teaches here that the right answer 783 00:31:35,828 --> 00:31:37,796 to the question of who is Jesus is this. 784 00:31:37,868 --> 00:31:38,708 He is God. 785 00:31:38,804 --> 00:31:39,732 He is Messiah. 786 00:31:39,796 --> 00:31:39,922 He. 787 00:31:39,936 --> 00:31:40,862 He is my Savior. 788 00:31:40,926 --> 00:31:42,930 And that's the only acceptable answer. 789 00:31:43,430 --> 00:31:48,050 I would tell you here this morning that Jesus came on a donkey 790 00:31:48,470 --> 00:31:51,170 there on the Palm Sunday road in his triumphal entry. 791 00:31:51,670 --> 00:31:54,462 But there will be one day where Jesus does not come on a donkey. 792 00:31:54,606 --> 00:31:57,182 There will be one day that Jesus comes on a horse as a conquering 793 00:31:57,246 --> 00:31:57,966 king. 794 00:31:58,158 --> 00:31:58,510 And. 795 00:31:58,550 --> 00:32:01,134 And trust me, we want to be on the side of the victor. 796 00:32:01,182 --> 00:32:03,166 The Bible says that there's victory in Jesus. 797 00:32:03,198 --> 00:32:04,158 The Bible says that there. 798 00:32:04,214 --> 00:32:04,430 That. 799 00:32:04,470 --> 00:32:07,296 That we are more than conquerors as we have a relationship 800 00:32:07,328 --> 00:32:08,336 with Jesus Christ. 801 00:32:08,488 --> 00:32:10,560 But I would say to you that one day it will be too late. 802 00:32:10,600 --> 00:32:11,856 One day Jesus is going to come. 803 00:32:11,928 --> 00:32:14,000 And the Bible says in Philippians chapter two, as where 804 00:32:14,040 --> 00:32:17,392 we started, that there will be one day that every knee shall bow, 805 00:32:17,456 --> 00:32:20,240 every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord. 806 00:32:20,320 --> 00:32:23,024 Whether whether or not they believe now that they're going to 807 00:32:23,032 --> 00:32:25,040 believe one day, there's going to be no more doubt. 808 00:32:25,200 --> 00:32:26,336 So what I would say is this. 809 00:32:26,408 --> 00:32:29,776 At this point in our history, at this point in time, the Bible 810 00:32:29,808 --> 00:32:32,200 says very clearly that we have a decision to make. 811 00:32:32,280 --> 00:32:33,496 It's a time of reckoning. 812 00:32:33,528 --> 00:32:35,592 Are we going to believe that Jesus is the Christ? 813 00:32:35,696 --> 00:32:37,192 Are we going to put it off? 814 00:32:37,376 --> 00:32:38,440 Now, I would say this. 815 00:32:38,480 --> 00:32:38,632 There. 816 00:32:38,656 --> 00:32:38,840 There. 817 00:32:38,880 --> 00:32:41,096 There is that step of believing that he is God. 818 00:32:41,128 --> 00:32:43,672 There is that step of trusting in him in faith. 819 00:32:43,736 --> 00:32:46,216 But then there's that next step of am I going to be a disciple 820 00:32:46,248 --> 00:32:47,160 of Jesus? 821 00:32:47,320 --> 00:32:50,312 Because belief in and of itself is not enough to say that 822 00:32:50,336 --> 00:32:51,340 I'm a disciple. 823 00:32:51,760 --> 00:32:53,352 I can believe that Jesus exists. 824 00:32:53,416 --> 00:32:55,272 I can believe that Jesus can save me. 825 00:32:55,296 --> 00:32:56,904 I believe that he is my Savior. 826 00:32:56,952 --> 00:32:59,264 But then at that point in time, I can just live my life the 827 00:32:59,272 --> 00:33:00,112 way that I want to live it. 828 00:33:00,136 --> 00:33:02,288 And I can be a Christian who's miserable because I'm not walking 829 00:33:02,304 --> 00:33:03,168 in the will of God. 830 00:33:03,264 --> 00:33:05,504 The Bible says that there's a distinction of what it means to be 831 00:33:05,512 --> 00:33:06,576 a disciple. 832 00:33:06,768 --> 00:33:10,220 Disciple literally means a learner, a follower of Christ. 833 00:33:10,840 --> 00:33:14,560 I want you to see two passages of scripture that speak to Jesus. 834 00:33:14,720 --> 00:33:19,696 Challenge to go past just believing in him, but to obey Him. 835 00:33:19,768 --> 00:33:21,424 I want you to see two passages of scripture. 836 00:33:21,472 --> 00:33:23,721 One is in John, John 8. 837 00:33:23,914 --> 00:33:26,934 31, John chapter 8, verse 31. 838 00:33:27,022 --> 00:33:30,246 Folks, the, the challenge for us this morning is this. 839 00:33:30,318 --> 00:33:32,678 Number one, who is Jesus to me? 840 00:33:32,734 --> 00:33:33,542 Well, he's my Savior. 841 00:33:33,606 --> 00:33:34,022 Number two. 842 00:33:34,046 --> 00:33:35,530 Is he, is he your Lord? 843 00:33:36,030 --> 00:33:37,450 Is he your Master? 844 00:33:38,590 --> 00:33:41,930 Are you trusting in him for salvation and your eternal destination? 845 00:33:42,350 --> 00:33:44,358 Great, I hope that you are. 846 00:33:44,494 --> 00:33:48,038 But number two, are we trusting in him for the everyday? 847 00:33:48,214 --> 00:33:51,686 Are we trusting in him to help us grow in his work? 848 00:33:51,758 --> 00:33:55,070 Are we trusting in him to, to sacrifice and to obey? 849 00:33:55,150 --> 00:33:59,422 The John, chapter 8, verse 31 says this, okay, if you want to be 850 00:33:59,446 --> 00:34:00,014 his disciple. 851 00:34:00,062 --> 00:34:02,958 He gives us an example of what it means to be a disciple. 852 00:34:03,134 --> 00:34:05,727 Then Jesus said to Those Jews, John 8. 853 00:34:05,828 --> 00:34:07,678 31, which believed on Him. 854 00:34:07,734 --> 00:34:11,326 So these are Jews that have believed on Jesus. 855 00:34:11,358 --> 00:34:12,798 They don't just believe that he exists. 856 00:34:12,894 --> 00:34:15,054 I talked about this in my Bible study this morning. 857 00:34:15,142 --> 00:34:17,326 They had no problem recognizing that Jesus existed. 858 00:34:17,358 --> 00:34:18,755 He stood right there in front of them. 859 00:34:18,877 --> 00:34:21,463 They didn't look at Jesus and go, I don't know if he really exists. 860 00:34:21,591 --> 00:34:22,071 Okay? 861 00:34:22,135 --> 00:34:25,459 They knew that Jesus existed, but they believe on Him. 862 00:34:25,839 --> 00:34:28,135 They believe that he is the Savior. 863 00:34:28,247 --> 00:34:31,079 And so then he says, here's the next thing, okay? 864 00:34:31,239 --> 00:34:37,899 If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed. 865 00:34:38,399 --> 00:34:43,299 And ye shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free. 866 00:34:43,839 --> 00:34:46,535 The challenge is, yes, believe in him as Savior. 867 00:34:46,567 --> 00:34:50,332 But then secondly, continue in his word to show him that you love 868 00:34:50,356 --> 00:34:50,920 Him. 869 00:34:51,220 --> 00:34:55,772 Jesus very clearly says it in John 14:15, if you love him, you 870 00:34:55,796 --> 00:34:56,960 keep his commandments. 871 00:34:57,700 --> 00:35:00,076 And so the Bible calls us to love God with all of our heart, soul, 872 00:35:00,108 --> 00:35:00,604 mind and strength. 873 00:35:00,652 --> 00:35:01,180 What does that mean? 874 00:35:01,220 --> 00:35:02,844 To follow him, to be a disciple? 875 00:35:02,892 --> 00:35:05,452 He wants more than just your Sunday mornings. 876 00:35:05,596 --> 00:35:08,840 He wants more than just your, your 10%. 877 00:35:09,140 --> 00:35:12,300 He, he wants more than just a little bit here and there. 878 00:35:12,340 --> 00:35:13,228 He wants your life. 879 00:35:13,284 --> 00:35:14,236 He wants your all. 880 00:35:14,308 --> 00:35:17,110 He wants, he wants you to be fully committed to Him. 881 00:35:17,890 --> 00:35:19,610 And so we see that in John chapter eight. 882 00:35:19,650 --> 00:35:21,802 But, but there's another passage of scripture that I want 883 00:35:21,826 --> 00:35:24,746 you to see, cuz this is, this is really convicting. 884 00:35:24,858 --> 00:35:28,554 As I read this passage of scripture here this week, I had to 885 00:35:28,562 --> 00:35:33,210 do some introspection because we might call Jesus our Lord, but 886 00:35:33,250 --> 00:35:35,350 truthfully, are we acting that way? 887 00:35:35,650 --> 00:35:38,826 Are, are, are we really acting like he is our master? 888 00:35:38,858 --> 00:35:39,594 Because that's word. 889 00:35:39,642 --> 00:35:41,550 That word Lord means master. 890 00:35:41,890 --> 00:35:44,602 And, and there are some people that teach lordship salvation, which 891 00:35:44,626 --> 00:35:45,146 means this. 892 00:35:45,218 --> 00:35:47,514 If God is not your Lord, you're not saved at all. 893 00:35:47,602 --> 00:35:49,082 Okay, I, I don't believe in that. 894 00:35:49,106 --> 00:35:51,114 I believe that the Bible simply teaches that if we come to 895 00:35:51,122 --> 00:35:52,666 him in faith, we are going to heaven. 896 00:35:52,698 --> 00:35:54,186 We are, we are saved. 897 00:35:54,298 --> 00:35:57,226 But the Bible does challenge us to take that next step of committing 898 00:35:57,258 --> 00:35:58,506 to him as our Lord. 899 00:35:58,538 --> 00:36:00,922 What does it say here in Luke 6:46? 900 00:36:01,026 --> 00:36:02,202 This is Jesus speaking. 901 00:36:02,266 --> 00:36:04,570 If you have a red letter Bible, it's going to be red. 902 00:36:04,690 --> 00:36:11,264 It says, and why call ye me Lord, Lord, and do not the things 903 00:36:11,352 --> 00:36:12,460 which I say? 904 00:36:15,720 --> 00:36:17,180 That's a tough question. 905 00:36:17,640 --> 00:36:19,600 Okay, so the first question was this. 906 00:36:19,720 --> 00:36:20,752 Who is Jesus to you? 907 00:36:20,776 --> 00:36:23,664 The second question is, why do you call me Lord if you don't do 908 00:36:23,672 --> 00:36:25,152 the things I tell you to do? 909 00:36:25,336 --> 00:36:26,820 You're contradictory. 910 00:36:27,320 --> 00:36:31,248 Whosoever cometh to me, verse 47, and heareth my sayings and doeth 911 00:36:31,264 --> 00:36:34,800 them, I will show you to whom he is like. 912 00:36:34,840 --> 00:36:36,420 And he's about to give a parable. 913 00:36:37,440 --> 00:36:41,976 He is like a man which built a house and dig deep and laid the foundation 914 00:36:42,008 --> 00:36:43,020 on the rock. 915 00:36:43,920 --> 00:36:47,960 And when the flood arose, the streams beat, beat vehemently upon 916 00:36:48,040 --> 00:36:51,720 that house and could not shake it, for it was founded upon a rock. 917 00:36:51,800 --> 00:36:56,088 And so he talks about a man who hears God's word, obeys God's 918 00:36:56,104 --> 00:36:56,344 word. 919 00:36:56,392 --> 00:36:59,224 His life is on the foundation of the rock. 920 00:36:59,272 --> 00:37:02,392 And so when the storms of life come, it doesn't matter because he 921 00:37:02,416 --> 00:37:03,820 has a strong foundation. 922 00:37:04,480 --> 00:37:07,112 So let's see the other guy that he talks about here. 923 00:37:07,216 --> 00:37:11,352 But he that heareth and doeth not is like a man that without a 924 00:37:11,376 --> 00:37:14,200 foundation, built a house upon the earth. 925 00:37:14,360 --> 00:37:15,816 Or we would call the house of sand. 926 00:37:15,848 --> 00:37:15,992 Right? 927 00:37:16,016 --> 00:37:20,584 The, the foundation of sand against which the stream did beat 928 00:37:20,632 --> 00:37:24,120 vehemently and immediately it fell. 929 00:37:24,200 --> 00:37:26,660 And the ruin of that house was great. 930 00:37:27,360 --> 00:37:29,820 So what's the difference between the two houses? 931 00:37:30,610 --> 00:37:34,362 The foundation, okay, the houses look the same. 932 00:37:34,466 --> 00:37:36,378 There wasn't a distinction between the two different looking 933 00:37:36,434 --> 00:37:36,890 houses. 934 00:37:36,970 --> 00:37:38,458 The difference is the foundation. 935 00:37:38,554 --> 00:37:42,874 And so if we want to be Christians who are firmly, firmly 936 00:37:42,922 --> 00:37:46,042 based in the foundation of Jesus Christ, what do we do? 937 00:37:46,146 --> 00:37:50,890 We hear His Word, we believe His Word and we obey his word. 938 00:37:50,970 --> 00:37:51,706 That's a disciple. 939 00:37:51,738 --> 00:37:56,402 A disciple is able to follow Christ and call him Lord when things 940 00:37:56,426 --> 00:37:59,874 are going in a bad way, when things become difficult. 941 00:38:00,002 --> 00:38:02,210 The houses were fine until the storms came. 942 00:38:02,330 --> 00:38:04,722 And I'm going to tell you it's going to be very easy to live as 943 00:38:04,746 --> 00:38:06,354 a Christian until the storms come. 944 00:38:06,442 --> 00:38:07,938 And that's the difficult place. 945 00:38:08,074 --> 00:38:10,722 Difficult place is when the rubber meets the road and the storms 946 00:38:10,786 --> 00:38:11,106 come. 947 00:38:11,178 --> 00:38:13,522 Are we going to be willing to say, I'm a disciple of Jesus when 948 00:38:13,546 --> 00:38:16,434 it's difficult, when it's culturally okay in America to be 949 00:38:16,442 --> 00:38:19,186 a Christian, we're all, hey, amen, we're all Christians. 950 00:38:19,298 --> 00:38:21,890 You go down the Bible belt and everyone's a believer in Jesus Christ. 951 00:38:21,930 --> 00:38:24,140 They're 10 churches on one road. 952 00:38:24,260 --> 00:38:24,924 That's okay. 953 00:38:24,972 --> 00:38:25,868 I'm glad about that. 954 00:38:25,924 --> 00:38:28,892 But the truth is that when Christianity is a cultural thing, 955 00:38:28,996 --> 00:38:32,252 it's sometimes isn't a real thing for people because it's just 956 00:38:32,276 --> 00:38:33,320 what we all do. 957 00:38:34,100 --> 00:38:38,284 But, but what happens when being a Christian is anti culture, 958 00:38:38,412 --> 00:38:39,612 countercultural? 959 00:38:39,756 --> 00:38:41,884 Are we going to be willing to say that, oh, I'm going to do the 960 00:38:41,892 --> 00:38:44,076 same things for Jesus, I'm going to still go to church? 961 00:38:44,108 --> 00:38:44,348 What? 962 00:38:44,404 --> 00:38:47,164 Let's, let's give a real big hypothetical here. 963 00:38:47,332 --> 00:38:51,676 What if they said, you can't go to church anymore, you can't preach 964 00:38:51,708 --> 00:38:55,148 about Jesus anymore, you can't meet the way that you're meeting 965 00:38:55,204 --> 00:38:55,644 anymore? 966 00:38:55,692 --> 00:38:59,420 How many of us would say, well, there's a place in my life 967 00:38:59,460 --> 00:39:01,388 where I'm going to obey God rather than man? 968 00:39:01,524 --> 00:39:02,700 That's a hard question. 969 00:39:02,820 --> 00:39:04,040 It's a hard question. 970 00:39:04,660 --> 00:39:06,780 And thankfully we don't have to worry about that. 971 00:39:06,820 --> 00:39:08,876 We all can come to church here freely today. 972 00:39:09,028 --> 00:39:11,532 But I don't know if any of you guys saw recently in the news, there 973 00:39:11,556 --> 00:39:13,564 was a pastor that was up preaching. 974 00:39:13,612 --> 00:39:15,042 I believe it was in South Africa. 975 00:39:15,196 --> 00:39:19,478 And he, at gunpoint, was taken from the pulpit and they still haven't 976 00:39:19,494 --> 00:39:20,262 found him yet. 977 00:39:20,366 --> 00:39:22,410 The prayer is that he's returned back safely. 978 00:39:22,990 --> 00:39:23,782 Scary. 979 00:39:23,926 --> 00:39:25,734 The world is a scary place. 980 00:39:25,902 --> 00:39:28,390 But Jesus doesn't say, hey, follow me when everything's going 981 00:39:28,430 --> 00:39:28,950 okay. 982 00:39:29,030 --> 00:39:31,718 He says, follow me in all points, even when the storms come. 983 00:39:31,774 --> 00:39:33,062 But where do we build that foundation? 984 00:39:33,126 --> 00:39:34,678 That foundation is based in Jesus Christ. 985 00:39:34,734 --> 00:39:36,710 And so therefore we go back to that first question. 986 00:39:36,750 --> 00:39:37,510 Who is Jesus? 987 00:39:37,590 --> 00:39:40,316 Well, he's a guy that I come and sing about on Sunday mornings. 988 00:39:40,478 --> 00:39:40,816 He's. 989 00:39:40,848 --> 00:39:43,020 He's a guy that I might like, watch a show about. 990 00:39:44,200 --> 00:39:47,472 Is he your savior, number one? 991 00:39:47,576 --> 00:39:48,896 Number two, is he your Lord? 992 00:39:48,928 --> 00:39:50,176 Is he your master? 993 00:39:50,368 --> 00:39:51,980 Are you willing to serve him? 994 00:39:52,360 --> 00:39:55,520 Those people saw Jesus coming in and at that point they were all 995 00:39:55,560 --> 00:39:56,048 about it. 996 00:39:56,104 --> 00:39:58,640 Praise God, Hosanna, save us. 997 00:39:58,760 --> 00:39:59,792 And then Jesus comes in. 998 00:39:59,816 --> 00:40:02,368 If you know the rest of the story, Jesus comes into the temple 999 00:40:02,544 --> 00:40:04,592 and he's like, I don't like what you guys are doing. 1000 00:40:04,776 --> 00:40:07,440 It's against what My father would have you do. 1001 00:40:07,480 --> 00:40:10,178 And he turned over some tables, and they said, whoa, whoa, 1002 00:40:10,194 --> 00:40:10,498 whoa, whoa. 1003 00:40:10,514 --> 00:40:10,690 That. 1004 00:40:10,730 --> 00:40:10,994 That's. 1005 00:40:11,042 --> 00:40:12,754 That's hurting us in our finances. 1006 00:40:12,802 --> 00:40:13,522 Okay? 1007 00:40:13,666 --> 00:40:15,234 That's hitting us where it hurts, Jesus. 1008 00:40:15,282 --> 00:40:16,850 And so people started to turn a little bit. 1009 00:40:16,890 --> 00:40:18,898 Well, Jesus, why didn't you overthrow Rome? 1010 00:40:19,074 --> 00:40:21,570 Well, because that's not what my plan is right now. 1011 00:40:21,690 --> 00:40:22,882 Okay, well, then, no, no, no. 1012 00:40:22,906 --> 00:40:23,870 We don't want that. 1013 00:40:24,330 --> 00:40:28,674 And we even know that later on in the story, there is an opportunity 1014 00:40:28,722 --> 00:40:31,110 for them to have Jesus released. 1015 00:40:31,770 --> 00:40:34,642 What do they do instead of picking Jesus to release him, they 1016 00:40:34,666 --> 00:40:35,922 pick a guy named Barabbas who. 1017 00:40:35,946 --> 00:40:37,870 Who is a criminal who deserves death. 1018 00:40:38,760 --> 00:40:41,424 And all of us, to some degree, are Barabbas, right? 1019 00:40:41,512 --> 00:40:43,872 All of us are the ones that deserve death. 1020 00:40:44,056 --> 00:40:46,060 But yet Jesus takes our place. 1021 00:40:47,160 --> 00:40:48,352 And that's what Jesus was doing. 1022 00:40:48,376 --> 00:40:50,540 He was coming in to say, I'm taking your place. 1023 00:40:51,560 --> 00:40:54,380 And so this is the culmination of all of it. 1024 00:40:54,680 --> 00:41:00,176 Because if we have this proper view of the Savior, we'll understand 1025 00:41:00,248 --> 00:41:00,480 this. 1026 00:41:00,520 --> 00:41:02,304 Number one, do I have a relationship with Him? 1027 00:41:02,392 --> 00:41:04,912 Number two, does he rule my heart? 1028 00:41:05,096 --> 00:41:06,620 Does he rule my mind? 1029 00:41:07,080 --> 00:41:08,980 Does does he rule my actions? 1030 00:41:09,560 --> 00:41:11,280 And so this is a challenge this morning. 1031 00:41:11,320 --> 00:41:12,540 The challenge is this. 1032 00:41:13,080 --> 00:41:14,960 What do I believe about Jesus? 1033 00:41:15,120 --> 00:41:18,656 What I believe about Jesus will dictate what I believe about 1034 00:41:18,728 --> 00:41:19,504 everything else. 1035 00:41:19,632 --> 00:41:22,576 What I believe about Jesus will dictate the way that I live. 1036 00:41:22,648 --> 00:41:25,620 What I believe about Jesus will dictate the way that I respond. 1037 00:41:26,200 --> 00:41:29,724 If I believe that Jesus is God, if I believe that. 1038 00:41:29,752 --> 00:41:31,796 That he is the only way I'm going to trust in him and him alone 1039 00:41:31,828 --> 00:41:32,920 for my salvation. 1040 00:41:33,260 --> 00:41:36,676 If I believe that Jesus meant what he said about loving my neighbor 1041 00:41:36,708 --> 00:41:37,476 as myself. 1042 00:41:37,588 --> 00:41:42,356 If I believe what Jesus said about teaching people to become disciples. 1043 00:41:42,468 --> 00:41:46,708 If I believe what Jesus said about loving my enemy, if I believe 1044 00:41:46,764 --> 00:41:50,212 what Jesus said about living a righteous and holy life, you know 1045 00:41:50,236 --> 00:41:50,516 what? 1046 00:41:50,588 --> 00:41:54,040 I'm going to be more serious about my application of his teaching. 1047 00:41:54,860 --> 00:41:58,026 And so here this morning, I want you to think about that question. 1048 00:41:58,098 --> 00:42:00,070 Who is Jesus to you? 1049 00:42:01,730 --> 00:42:07,370 Matthew chapter 21 tells us that many people, most people, turn 1050 00:42:07,410 --> 00:42:08,842 their backs against him. 1051 00:42:09,026 --> 00:42:12,190 He had a few that stayed true, but even those that stayed true, 1052 00:42:12,530 --> 00:42:15,430 the night in which he was betrayed ran right. 1053 00:42:16,210 --> 00:42:18,230 There's a very select few that didn't go. 1054 00:42:19,090 --> 00:42:22,202 So this isn't a message about, hey, you got to be perfect to know 1055 00:42:22,226 --> 00:42:22,910 Jesus. 1056 00:42:23,360 --> 00:42:24,376 You don't have to be perfect. 1057 00:42:24,408 --> 00:42:25,580 You can't be perfect. 1058 00:42:26,000 --> 00:42:29,192 The Bible says, believe and trust in him and allow him to work 1059 00:42:29,216 --> 00:42:29,592 in your life. 1060 00:42:29,616 --> 00:42:31,432 And when we understand the Reliance of that. 1061 00:42:31,456 --> 00:42:32,184 He is my King. 1062 00:42:32,232 --> 00:42:33,368 He is my Messiah. 1063 00:42:33,464 --> 00:42:34,216 He is the. 1064 00:42:34,288 --> 00:42:35,864 The King of kings and the Lord of Lords. 1065 00:42:35,912 --> 00:42:36,856 He is the Prince of peace. 1066 00:42:36,888 --> 00:42:40,040 He is the one who I alone can find salvation in. 1067 00:42:40,080 --> 00:42:43,624 Then that's when we start to realize our great need for him in 1068 00:42:43,632 --> 00:42:45,112 our lives in every capacity. 1069 00:42:45,176 --> 00:42:46,408 Let him come into our lives. 1070 00:42:46,464 --> 00:42:47,784 Let him rule our lives. 1071 00:42:47,872 --> 00:42:49,320 Let him rule our families. 1072 00:42:49,400 --> 00:42:50,744 Let him rule our church. 1073 00:42:50,792 --> 00:42:51,656 Can you believe. 1074 00:42:51,808 --> 00:42:56,040 Can you believe that we as a church sometimes get so focused on 1075 00:42:56,080 --> 00:43:00,152 our busyness that we forget that this is God's work, this is 1076 00:43:00,176 --> 00:43:01,016 God's church. 1077 00:43:01,128 --> 00:43:05,432 This is his plan, this is his system of getting people to come 1078 00:43:05,456 --> 00:43:05,752 to him. 1079 00:43:05,776 --> 00:43:07,768 In the kingdom of God, he is the head. 1080 00:43:07,824 --> 00:43:08,632 We are the body. 1081 00:43:08,736 --> 00:43:10,500 Without the head, we cannot live. 1082 00:43:11,040 --> 00:43:14,296 And so dare I say that we allow Jesus to come into our church 1083 00:43:14,328 --> 00:43:18,164 and start dictating the truths instead of our culture or our opinions 1084 00:43:18,312 --> 00:43:19,600 are our traditions. 1085 00:43:20,420 --> 00:43:21,600 See, traditions. 1086 00:43:21,940 --> 00:43:23,404 I was okay until you said traditions. 1087 00:43:23,452 --> 00:43:24,044 I like traditions. 1088 00:43:24,092 --> 00:43:24,892 I like traditions, too. 1089 00:43:24,916 --> 00:43:25,148 Okay. 1090 00:43:25,164 --> 00:43:27,084 I'm the most traditional person you'll probably find. 1091 00:43:27,172 --> 00:43:28,876 But the idea would be for me is this. 1092 00:43:28,948 --> 00:43:35,212 If a tradition takes place of the gospel, then we've got an issue. 1093 00:43:35,396 --> 00:43:37,660 Now, if you're about the traditional gospel, amen. 1094 00:43:37,740 --> 00:43:40,188 But if you say, pastor, you can't preach about this because we've 1095 00:43:40,204 --> 00:43:41,484 just never talked about that before. 1096 00:43:41,572 --> 00:43:44,572 The Bible says that that is very clearly a danger because we 1097 00:43:44,596 --> 00:43:47,894 are putting man's fables and traditions before the truth of Jesus 1098 00:43:47,942 --> 00:43:48,534 Christ. 1099 00:43:48,702 --> 00:43:51,222 Now, the truth of Jesus Christ will never take us away from a place 1100 00:43:51,246 --> 00:43:51,814 of righteousness. 1101 00:43:51,862 --> 00:43:54,646 The truth of Jesus Christ will never take us to a place of sin. 1102 00:43:54,758 --> 00:43:56,454 So therefore, we have comfort in that. 1103 00:43:56,542 --> 00:43:58,742 And the comfort is, is that the Holy Spirit will always lead 1104 00:43:58,766 --> 00:43:59,782 us to a place of truth. 1105 00:43:59,846 --> 00:44:02,758 The Holy Spirit will always lead us to what aligns with the word 1106 00:44:02,774 --> 00:44:03,366 of God. 1107 00:44:03,478 --> 00:44:06,182 And so therefore, this morning, I'm going to have a time 1108 00:44:06,206 --> 00:44:08,010 of invitation here in a few moments. 1109 00:44:08,510 --> 00:44:11,942 And there's nothing magical about getting up and coming to the 1110 00:44:11,966 --> 00:44:13,210 steps, okay? 1111 00:44:13,290 --> 00:44:15,962 You can do business with God wherever you are, and that's the 1112 00:44:15,986 --> 00:44:16,870 beauty of it. 1113 00:44:17,170 --> 00:44:21,082 But there is a sense today that I would say that all of us to 1114 00:44:21,106 --> 00:44:25,018 some degree, need to come up with an answer as soon as possible 1115 00:44:25,154 --> 00:44:27,430 about who is Jesus to me? 1116 00:44:28,130 --> 00:44:29,210 Who is he? 1117 00:44:29,330 --> 00:44:30,362 Is he a good teacher? 1118 00:44:30,426 --> 00:44:31,050 Yes. 1119 00:44:31,210 --> 00:44:32,826 But he's not just a good teacher. 1120 00:44:32,938 --> 00:44:33,962 Is he my Savior? 1121 00:44:34,026 --> 00:44:34,670 Yes. 1122 00:44:35,570 --> 00:44:35,978 Okay. 1123 00:44:35,994 --> 00:44:38,048 If he saved me for my sins, then what do I. 1124 00:44:38,154 --> 00:44:40,196 What do I do to thank him for that? 1125 00:44:40,348 --> 00:44:41,840 How do I worship Him? 1126 00:44:42,140 --> 00:44:45,444 You know what happens sometimes in my life? 1127 00:44:45,612 --> 00:44:47,600 I'M sure it never happens in your life. 1128 00:44:47,980 --> 00:44:49,920 When I started to think, well, you know what? 1129 00:44:51,980 --> 00:44:53,524 My life could be a lot better. 1130 00:44:53,692 --> 00:44:55,640 Circumstances have gotten really tough. 1131 00:44:56,540 --> 00:44:58,804 I look at that person over there that has this, and I say, I 1132 00:44:58,812 --> 00:45:02,596 wish I had that God must not love me because of this hardship 1133 00:45:02,628 --> 00:45:03,460 and this hardship. 1134 00:45:03,540 --> 00:45:06,740 And we get so caught up in the things that don't matter. 1135 00:45:06,860 --> 00:45:11,000 And we put our hope in our love, in our satisfaction, and things 1136 00:45:11,040 --> 00:45:13,432 that don't matter that we forget about the only thing that 1137 00:45:13,456 --> 00:45:14,260 does matter. 1138 00:45:14,720 --> 00:45:16,168 How could we ever. 1139 00:45:16,304 --> 00:45:19,080 How could I ever doubt that God loves me? 1140 00:45:19,200 --> 00:45:23,512 How could I ever doubt that Jesus is the one, the true way? 1141 00:45:23,616 --> 00:45:24,952 Because the word of God points. 1142 00:45:25,056 --> 00:45:26,024 I mean, I encourage you. 1143 00:45:26,032 --> 00:45:29,032 If you have not read through the Bible, read through the Bible. 1144 00:45:29,176 --> 00:45:30,984 I guarantee you it will point to Jesus. 1145 00:45:31,032 --> 00:45:32,504 It'll point to our need for a Savior. 1146 00:45:32,552 --> 00:45:36,392 It'll point to the truth of who Jesus is as King of Kings and 1147 00:45:36,416 --> 00:45:37,350 Lord of Lords. 1148 00:45:37,520 --> 00:45:38,890 And so I encourage you all to think about. 1149 00:45:38,930 --> 00:45:40,250 I know it's a simple message. 1150 00:45:40,410 --> 00:45:43,002 I know you've heard probably nothing today that is new to you, 1151 00:45:43,026 --> 00:45:44,394 but what I wanted to say is this. 1152 00:45:44,482 --> 00:45:47,370 Sometimes we need that reminder to realign ourselves with 1153 00:45:47,410 --> 00:45:48,950 who he is in our life. 1154 00:45:49,490 --> 00:45:53,290 Sometimes I, you know, why do we have to have reminders? 1155 00:45:53,370 --> 00:45:56,474 Because we are forgetful people and we get so caught up in 1156 00:45:56,482 --> 00:45:57,786 the things that are happening right now. 1157 00:45:57,858 --> 00:45:58,826 Have you seen the news? 1158 00:45:58,898 --> 00:46:00,150 Yeah, I've seen the news. 1159 00:46:01,810 --> 00:46:03,194 The news has been bad forever. 1160 00:46:03,242 --> 00:46:03,594 Okay? 1161 00:46:03,642 --> 00:46:04,186 Life is. 1162 00:46:04,258 --> 00:46:04,954 Life is tough. 1163 00:46:05,002 --> 00:46:05,462 Okay? 1164 00:46:05,546 --> 00:46:07,742 You would go, I'm sure, if you went back to the Roman Empire, there 1165 00:46:07,766 --> 00:46:09,054 was bad news going along, right? 1166 00:46:09,142 --> 00:46:10,190 People are people. 1167 00:46:10,310 --> 00:46:11,214 Sin is sin. 1168 00:46:11,262 --> 00:46:12,894 It's going to be happening around us. 1169 00:46:12,982 --> 00:46:13,790 So what do we do? 1170 00:46:13,830 --> 00:46:15,182 We don't look to that as our hope. 1171 00:46:15,206 --> 00:46:19,374 We looked at Jesus Christ, the Messiah, the King of Kings and the 1172 00:46:19,382 --> 00:46:20,290 Lord of Lords. 1173 00:46:21,350 --> 00:46:22,942 So this morning, I'm going to ask if you're able to. 1174 00:46:22,966 --> 00:46:23,918 To stand with me. 1175 00:46:24,054 --> 00:46:26,862 I'm going to ask everyone to just bow your heads, no one looking 1176 00:46:26,886 --> 00:46:27,118 around. 1177 00:46:27,174 --> 00:46:30,430 I don't really want anyone to be distracted here right now. 1178 00:46:30,550 --> 00:46:34,390 I want this to be a time in which you can truly, truly not. 1179 00:46:34,430 --> 00:46:35,830 Not answer to me. 1180 00:46:35,950 --> 00:46:36,278 Okay? 1181 00:46:36,294 --> 00:46:37,318 I don't need to know your answer. 1182 00:46:37,334 --> 00:46:38,246 I'd like to know your answer. 1183 00:46:38,278 --> 00:46:39,590 But I don't need to know your answer. 1184 00:46:39,670 --> 00:46:39,910 The. 1185 00:46:39,950 --> 00:46:44,438 The only, the only person that you need to answer to is God himself. 1186 00:46:44,614 --> 00:46:44,950 And. 1187 00:46:44,990 --> 00:46:47,558 And the question that I believe he is asking all of us today 1188 00:46:47,614 --> 00:46:49,890 in accordance to his word is this. 1189 00:46:50,510 --> 00:46:51,890 Who am I to you? 1190 00:46:56,750 --> 00:46:59,210 Am I just a good luck charm? 1191 00:46:59,960 --> 00:47:01,792 Am I just something that you go to? 1192 00:47:01,896 --> 00:47:05,776 Kind of like a magic genie that you go to when you need something 1193 00:47:05,848 --> 00:47:08,192 great or c. 1194 00:47:08,376 --> 00:47:12,880 Are all in all, when you sing that song this morning, God is so 1195 00:47:12,920 --> 00:47:13,500 good. 1196 00:47:14,760 --> 00:47:16,272 Is that really what you feel? 1197 00:47:16,376 --> 00:47:17,820 Is that really what you believe? 1198 00:47:18,520 --> 00:47:24,544 If you believe that he is good, completely good, we will trust 1199 00:47:24,592 --> 00:47:25,238 Him. 1200 00:47:25,424 --> 00:47:28,138 And if we trust him, we will obey him. 1201 00:47:28,274 --> 00:47:31,514 If we obey him, we will continuously receive those blessings 1202 00:47:31,562 --> 00:47:32,378 of God. 1203 00:47:32,554 --> 00:47:34,922 We all get to receive the blessing of God in faith when we 1204 00:47:34,946 --> 00:47:36,010 come to him in salvation. 1205 00:47:36,090 --> 00:47:38,538 But I would encourage you that there's so much more than just saying, 1206 00:47:38,594 --> 00:47:40,190 hey, I got a ticket to heaven. 1207 00:47:40,850 --> 00:47:42,170 There's joy now. 1208 00:47:42,290 --> 00:47:42,666 There's. 1209 00:47:42,698 --> 00:47:44,090 There's sufficiency now. 1210 00:47:44,130 --> 00:47:45,386 There's fulfillment now. 1211 00:47:45,458 --> 00:47:45,834 There's. 1212 00:47:45,882 --> 00:47:49,194 There's hope now in the fact that, hey, I can live for Jesus Christ 1213 00:47:49,282 --> 00:47:51,242 now and the time that I have for him. 1214 00:47:51,266 --> 00:47:52,870 And he has given us a goal. 1215 00:47:52,950 --> 00:47:55,046 He has not said, hey, you have a ticket to heaven. 1216 00:47:55,078 --> 00:47:55,974 Sit back and relax. 1217 00:47:56,022 --> 00:47:58,070 He says, now that you are going to heaven. 1218 00:47:58,150 --> 00:48:00,326 Now bring as many people as you can with you. 1219 00:48:00,478 --> 00:48:04,438 Do what we call the Great Commission, Reach out, make disciples. 1220 00:48:04,534 --> 00:48:06,742 But like we've been saying, and you're going to hear me say this 1221 00:48:06,766 --> 00:48:09,974 a lot, we cannot make disciples as the Great Commission 1222 00:48:10,062 --> 00:48:14,970 calls us to do, unless we are disciples ourselves. 1223 00:48:15,790 --> 00:48:18,736 Are we willing to take the next step after, after our faith 1224 00:48:18,768 --> 00:48:22,320 in Jesus Christ to say, jesus, I believe that you can save me. 1225 00:48:22,360 --> 00:48:27,152 But I know now too that you can also preserve me and sustain 1226 00:48:27,216 --> 00:48:28,620 me and teach me. 1227 00:48:29,880 --> 00:48:32,140 Think about the contradiction it is. 1228 00:48:32,760 --> 00:48:37,392 Think about the contradiction it is when we trust in him for our 1229 00:48:37,416 --> 00:48:40,432 eternal destination, but we don't trust in him for the day to 1230 00:48:40,456 --> 00:48:41,020 day. 1231 00:48:41,800 --> 00:48:46,192 If he can handle your eternal destination, he can handle your struggle 1232 00:48:46,256 --> 00:48:48,624 today he can handle that brokenness. 1233 00:48:48,672 --> 00:48:50,736 Today he can handle that broken relationship. 1234 00:48:50,768 --> 00:48:53,632 He can handle that sickness, he can handle that doubt. 1235 00:48:53,696 --> 00:48:56,704 He can handle that financial strain that you have in your life. 1236 00:48:56,792 --> 00:48:57,968 He can handle the news. 1237 00:48:58,024 --> 00:49:00,320 He can handle our country, he can handle our world. 1238 00:49:00,440 --> 00:49:02,620 So folks, give it over to him today. 1239 00:49:02,920 --> 00:49:07,488 Believe in him in faith, trust in him, obey him, follow him. 1240 00:49:07,544 --> 00:49:11,054 And the blessings will continuously pour out upon us and 1241 00:49:11,062 --> 00:49:12,830 the hope that we have in eternity. 1242 00:49:12,990 --> 00:49:15,038 Lord, I pray that you be in this time of invitation, working 1243 00:49:15,094 --> 00:49:16,090 hearts and lives. 1244 00:49:16,470 --> 00:49:20,046 Pray that you challenge us to answer the question in the biblical 1245 00:49:20,078 --> 00:49:20,414 manner. 1246 00:49:20,462 --> 00:49:21,086 Who are you? 1247 00:49:21,158 --> 00:49:21,998 You are God. 1248 00:49:22,094 --> 00:49:22,814 You are King. 1249 00:49:22,862 --> 00:49:23,534 Who is Jesus? 1250 00:49:23,582 --> 00:49:24,942 He is Lord of Lords. 1251 00:49:25,006 --> 00:49:26,526 He is the Creator of the universe. 1252 00:49:26,558 --> 00:49:27,486 He is our Savior. 1253 00:49:27,518 --> 00:49:28,766 He is the Prince of Peace. 1254 00:49:28,878 --> 00:49:30,286 He is Messiah. 1255 00:49:30,478 --> 00:49:33,182 Lord, help us to all come to that place of understanding here 1256 00:49:33,206 --> 00:49:36,462 in our lives and help us to know it not only in our minds, but 1257 00:49:36,486 --> 00:49:38,098 also in our hearts. 1258 00:49:38,194 --> 00:49:42,466 That will go and before us and it will show in our testimonies. 1259 00:49:42,498 --> 00:49:44,178 Lord, I pray that that can be the case in our lives. 1260 00:49:44,234 --> 00:49:46,258 Lord, I pray that you be in this time of invitation, working 1261 00:49:46,314 --> 00:49:47,042 hearts and lives. 1262 00:49:47,146 --> 00:49:48,658 We ask all these things in Jesus name. 1263 00:49:48,714 --> 00:49:49,430 Amen. 1264 00:49:49,850 --> 00:49:52,434 Thank you again for listening to the Middletown Baptist Church 1265 00:49:52,482 --> 00:49:53,234 podcast. 1266 00:49:53,362 --> 00:49:55,950 I hope that this sermon has been a blessing for you. 1267 00:49:56,330 --> 00:49:58,626 If you would like to find out more information about our church 1268 00:49:58,658 --> 00:50:02,274 or this sermon, you can find us at middletownbaptistchurch.org 1269 00:50:02,402 --> 00:50:05,180 or find us on Facebook or YouTube. 1270 00:50:05,680 --> 00:50:10,936 You can also email me directly at Josh massaro@middletownbaptistchurch.com. 1271 00:50:11,088 --> 00:50:14,600 if you've enjoyed this podcast, please subscribe and follow 1272 00:50:14,640 --> 00:50:17,660 along for future podcast and updates. 1273 00:50:18,000 --> 00:50:19,160 Thank you so much. 1274 00:50:19,280 --> 00:50:20,104 God Bless. 1275 00:50:20,232 --> 00:50:21,280 Have a wonderful day.