Thanks so much. I'm so thrilled to be here.
If you know Tony, you love the guy, but is it just me or does
anyone wonder if that's kind of one of those fake Zoom
backgrounds? You know, I'm like, I think I
know how to do that on my computer.
I, I saw that this morning during the run through and I
immediately text him and I'm like, dude, you are not in DC.
It's a lie. Like I shot a video out there
and he sent a picture back of him and started.
He goes, he goes, don't tell anyone.
I'm in Hawaii, you know, but so I've just been talking trash to
him already today. You have a great pastor and Tony
and the other leaders here. It is such a blessing, such a
joy to finally be able to be here and put my eyes on the
great work of God. Tony is a dear friend.
I don't know if you know that, but it's not every city where
pastors are really friends and really heartfelt friends.
I cannot tell you how many tacos I've eaten at Nepal with Tony.
You know, it's just been so good over at his house with Sarah,
the kids. Wow, just lost my voice there.
It it's delightful and we've shared some ministry together.
I don't know if you know this or not, but John and Kelly Scotty
who were here and you've been investing in them.
We had a chance to to just like the apostle Paul talks about
labor on the foundation that is Christ and them also they now as
a lot of you know and support them.
They're in North Africa. You know, just the day after
Easter Sunday, I'll be heading North Africa with a bunch of
other pastors and I'll be hanging out with them and, and
show us what you're doing. And I can't wait, I can't wait
to do that. But it's been fun to really
cultivate relationship with with Tony, honestly, over these last
couple years. To have a true friend in the
Kingdom minded friend is, is a real delight.
He's come to our staff team and encouraged us.
And I hope I can be an encouragement to you real quick.
I just wanted to say something to you that I have been looking
forward to saying for the last couple years.
Thank you. I don't know if you know this,
but I sat down once with with Tony over lunch and he said we
took a Christmas offering and our custom is to give away a
percentage of that offering every year.
And we prayed as a leadership team, and God's LED us to give
away a percentage of that to Salt Company, to assault church.
And he slides an envelope across the table.
And you know. When that kind of thing happens,
you want to open it, but you don't.
Not right there, you know? And I thought couple 100 bucks,
man, that's really generous or whatever.
He left and I probably got to my car and ripped that open $7000
you gave to help another church in this city reach people for
Jesus. I I just want you to know.
Yeah. That's worth laughing about.
Thank you. I want you to know this, though.
No one does that. No one does what you did.
Churches get so competitive that they think they're playing March
Madness. You know, they, they think we
got to kill everyone out here and and they'll realize the the
world needs Jesus and there there needs to be more of us,
not less. And your church, listen, you're
going to forget almost everything I teach from the
Bible this morning. I get it.
I I forget almost everything I teach after a few days later.
I understand how that works. But here's what I don't.
Here's if you remember something, remember this.
You're setting a pace in your generosity.
You are a Kingdom minded church. You believe in the capital C
church even more than just like the little C, like just Vita.
And I'm saying thank you so much for being those kind of men and
women. God is using you.
And it has been such a blessing to us who's a part of this
bigger harvest field. We're just sort of in another
corner of it, you know, on the other side of Gainesville.
So so grateful for you guys. All right, enough sentimental
stuff about churches being friends.
Let's jump into our passage this morning.
Let me give you a little bit of context to where we're going.
The death and resurrection of Lazarus has just happened.
That just happened and that was taught about a little while ago.
But that is that is just previous to our passage where
Jesus goes to be with Mary and and Martha in their pain and
sees Lazarus raised from the dead.
Oh, I forgot to introduce one last thing.
Oh, shoot. Time out.
I didn't introduce you to my family.
I know it's way out of order. I I am married.
There's Jenny. I just looked at my notes.
I'm like, ah, my family. There's Jenny.
We've been married 30 years, and that's our youngest child.
No, that's just kidding. That's a grandchild.
Can you imagine? What a gap.
That's Josiah, my son on the left and then Claire and Ellie
and they're all in full time ministry in different ways and
in and in different places. And then Josiah, Michelle or
Mary, that's my son and daughter-in-law and our little
granddaughter Flora. So I know out of order we are
already into Lazarus and all that kind of stuff, but that's
my family. I actually am married.
So there you go. Hey, we'll jump right back into
it. Lazarus and the raising of
Lazarus just happened. Let me give you a little bit of
context from John 1134. And some of these slides are
just going to be up on the screen for you and then we'll
jump into our main text in a moment.
But here's a little context. If you didn't come, you know,
these last handful of weeks. The Bible teaches in John 1134
and he, this is Jesus said, where have you laid him?
Lazarus who had died, where have you laid him?
They said to him, Lord, come and see.
It says Jesus wept. So the Jews said, see how he
loved him. And then it goes on to say, many
of the Jews, therefore, who had come with Mary and had seen what
he did, believed in him. So, so get this right before our
passage this morning, many Jews saw not only the power of Jesus
to raise the dead, but also the compassion and love of Jesus to
enter into people's pain. And there was something about
that that was so magnetic. It was winning the hearts of
many Jews. OK, so that's that's right
before our passage. Now getting a little closer.
The verse is literally right before our text.
John 12, nine. Let me read what else this adds.
When the large crowd of the Jews learned that Jesus was there,
they came not only on account of him, but also to see Lazarus,
whom he had raised from the dead.
So the chief? Priest made plans to put Lazarus
to death as well, because on account of him many of the Jews
were going away and believing in Jesus.
All right, now I'm not the sharpest tool in the shed.
But I'm thinking, dude, you guys already killed Lazarus once and
you're going to try and kill him again.
Like, come on, let's at least learn from our mistakes.
Like Lazarus, they didn't kill him the first time, But like
killing someone that Jesus just rose from the grave, that's a
losing battle. You know, you're, you're not
going to win that you're just, you're going to lose more
people. I, I think that, you know,
insecure leaders just don't think straight.
And, and this is, this is them. But guys, with that backdrop in
place, with the resurrection of Lazarus, the anointing of
Jesus's feet, they married that whole scene, the power of Jesus
on display, the compassion of Jesus on display, Jews heading
towards him already with that backdrop, we we are at the
triumphal entry. This is literally a week before
Easter Sunday. Chronologically, it's found in
all four gospels. And let me read our passage for
this morning. It'll be up on the screen.
Also, if you don't have a Bible, John 1212 reads this.
The next day, the large crowd that had come to the feast.
Heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem, so they took branches
of palm trees and went out to meet him, crying out Hosanna.
Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord, even the king
of Israel. And Jesus found a young donkey
and sat on it, just as it is written.
Fear not, daughter of Zion, Behold, your king is coming,
sitting on a donkey's colt. His disciples did not understand
these things at first, but when Jesus was glorified then they
remembered that these things had been written about Him and had
been done to him, the crowd that had been with him when he
called. Lazarus out of the tomb and
raised him from the dead continued to bear witness.
The reason why the crowd went to meet him was that they heard he
had done the sign. So the Pharisees said to one
another, you see that you're gaining nothing.
Look, the whole world has gone after him.
All right, that's our text. I just want to slow down and
break it down kind of one phrase at a time.
The the Bible starts in verse 12 by talking about the the next
day, the next day that that's the day after the dinner with
Lazarus Mary, Martha held in honor of Jesus.
That's where where Jesus feet were anointed by by Mary's
perfume right That's so we're in the next day and notice this it
says that that there's a large crowd, a large crowd.
A large crowd had come to the feast.
Now there are two crowds. This is super important that you
see it. You have a smaller crowd and a
large crowd. This is critical that you see
this the large crowd. This is not the small crowd with
the Jews who had witnessed Jesus's love and the
resurrection of Lazarus. It's not that crowd.
This is not the small crowd who had made it to the feast held in
Jesus honor that saw his feet get anointed.
It's not that crowd. This is a different crowd.
This was the large crowd, the large crowd that had come to the
Passover feast. And it's very important.
You see, there's a small crowd and a large crowd.
Now this large crowd was enormous that would have come to
the Passover. Get get this.
This was a time of the year when Jews would return to Jerusalem.
Didn't matter if you didn't live there.
In fact, Jewish males 3 * a year were commanded to come back to
Jerusalem to celebrate some feasts.
The Passover is one of those 3 feasts and they often just
brought their wife, their kids, whatever.
It was like mandatory family vacation, but one you wanted to
be on. This is a great time.
And the city of Jerusalem that no one knows exactly for sure,
but had 10s of thousands of normal inhabitants, That city
would explode, but with an additional somewhere between and
this is a wide range, 100,000 to maybe a quarter million more
people. So the city just exploded in
inhabitants. I mean, you, you thought you
thought come fall, a lot of students come to Gainesville.
I mean, you talk about the roads getting congested.
I mean, Jerusalem just exploded with humanity and Jesus and his
disciples are some of those pilgrims coming into Jerusalem
to celebrate the Passover. So, so you have maybe 300,000
people jammed in this city all celebrating and Jesus is on his
way coming into that. And it says, I hope you notice
this, the large crowd, it says that they, they heard that Jesus
was coming to Jerusalem. They heard who told them, who
told them that Jesus was coming. It looks like the small crowd
that had been with him, with Lazarus.
Looks like the small crowd had been talking.
Looks like the small crowd been talking to the large crowd.
They let the world know. You got to check out Jesus.
You got to know about this Jesus verse 18 clearly says that's
coming up in our passage. The reason why the crowd, the
large crowd went out to meet and was they heard that he had done
this sign. They heard and here's kind of a
universal truth. You know what I know it.
We all talk freely about what we love most, don't we?
We can't, we can't stop ourselves.
It's like, did you see Hail Mary yet?
Aw, you got to go sit. Have you eaten at Noble Tacos?
You got to go. I mean, the whatever it is you
love, you talk most freely about and food's an easy one,
honestly. My wife and I found humble wood
fire pizza. Anyone like seriously, that's
and if you like mushrooms, the fungi pizza, that's your pizza.
That's where you want to be. And if you like burgers, DJs,
cast iron. You been there?
Oh, my word. Come on.
Are you kidding me? Like just the fry sauce alone.
I think I could just take a quart of that and just slowly,
but I'd probably get through it. It's so good.
Like, it is easy for me to talk about what I love most.
All of us do that. All of us do it.
Why? Because here's what we're doing.
Whatever we find ourselves most enjoying, we find even greater
joy when we can pull others in to the center of our joy.
Christians have a word for that. It's called evangelism.
When you love someone so much that honestly it would increase.
Your joy to pull them in to the center of that relationship you
love because that's what's happening.
The small crowds talking, they can't help it.
They've seen the love of Jesus. They've seen a Savior who
weaves, and they've seen his power to raise the dead.
You can't keep that to yourself. So they're talking and the large
crowd. Is there because the small
crowd? Was talking and look what they
did. Verse 13 says that large crowd
they took branches of palm trees.
They're thrown on the path like palms.
I don't know if those are just brought here for today or maybe
they're always there palms, they're just just throw them on
the path and it seems weird to us, but not to them.
Palm branches were a sign of victory, like a victorious kings
coming back waving palm branches.
It was like this is a sign of victory.
You know, maybe nowadays people are waving their cell phones and
lights and palm branches. That was the thing and throw
them down. In fact, we see them elsewhere
in the Bible. Look at this from Revelation 79.
Be on the screen as John records.
After this I look and behold a great multitude that no one
could number from every nation for all tribes and peoples and
languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb,
clothed in white robes. And here it is.
With palm branches in their hands and the passage goes on
how they're declaring the greatness of God palm branches.
It shows up in the Bible. It's a sign of victory.
A victory they're assigning to Jesus in this moment.
We'll get into that more. But look, palm branches
communicate that their king is bringing victory, but listen to
how their words communicated the exact same thing.
What they said in verse 13 is Hosanna.
Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord, even the King
of Israel. Now you got to know this.
They are grabbing a hold of a prophecy of Scripture that was
forever pointing to Jesus from the Old Testament, Zechariah 99.
See, God's people were looking forward to a coming king, and
they're grabbing hold of that passage and assigning it to
Jesus. Listen to the prophecy from
Zechariah 99. It says this.
Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion.
That was a reference to Jerusalem.
Shout aloud, O daughter of Jerusalem.
Behold, your King is coming to you righteous, and having
salvation. Is he humble and mounted on a
donkey? On a colt the full of a donkey.
So when they shouted, Hosanna, blessed is he who comes in the
name of the Lord, even the king of Israel, they were quoting
that passage. They were saying, we're
connecting everything that the Old Testament said about Jesus
and we're saying we found it. We found it in this guy.
He is the king of Israel for so long in the book of John, you've
probably seen this. It's time to not come.
It's time to not come.
It's almost like he's playing down his identity in front of
the crowds. And now this is the great
unveiling. This is the great aha moment
where he goes public to everyone.
The king is coming, the king of Israel.
After 3 1/2 years of public ministry, now he is finally
announcing it to the world. He is not just the king of
Israel, He is the king of all kings.
And this declaration galled. The religious leaders of the
day, they hated it. Even when Jesus would be
crucified the upcoming Friday, Pilate would nail that
declaration onto his cross in three different languages, that
Jesus is the king of the Jews, I think in Greek, Hebrew and
Aramaic and the Jewish news, like take that down he goes.
I've written what I've written. Just it just so disturbed them.
They hated the thought that a king was coming and that it was
Jesus. They wanted a king.
They wanted a different kind of king.
But look at what they shouted. The crowds, the masses shouted
when they saw Jesus again, with Zechariah in mind, they shout
this hosanna, which in Hebrew means this Please save or save
us. They're looking at Jesus, who
they see to be the God's king, coming to Jerusalem as the
Scriptures foretold. And they're yelling save us,
save us, save you from. What?
That's a good question to start with, the famous apologist, Dr.
William Lane Craig said this. Just listen.
Just kind of gives you a context of why they wanted someone to
save them. Israel labored under the
oppressive military dictatorship of a Pagan nation, Rome, the.
Jews chafed under the yoke of Roman rule.
Within 35 years of Jesus death, Jews would be in full scale
rebellion against Rome, finally resulting in the catastrophic
destruction of Jerusalem in 8070.
But in the meantime, this was a this was what was going on.
Israel was a seething cauldron of unrest.
Jews yearned for a Messianic deliverer who would once and for
all restored to Israel the throne of David and established
God's Kingdom in the land. When they said save us, Jesus,
they weren't thinking of sins at all.
They're saying save us from Rome.
Listen, people see in Jesus what they want to see in him, not
necessarily what he wants them to see and they saw in Jesus.
We we're really excited about you if you give us what we most
want. In fact, we're shouting Hosanna
so loud we're hoarse. But we're going to get our
voices back, and by Friday we'll be shouting crucified.
Because it didn't take long before they realized.
It's like he's not on my agenda. I want to be safe from some
things, but it doesn't seem like he's worked in my timetable.
They saw in Jesus what they wanted to see in Jesus.
See, they celebrated that he came to give them victory from
the nation of Rome, when instead he was coming to give them
victory over sin and death. And here's the incredible irony.
Jesus came not to save some from one nation, but to save.
Many people from all nations and I thought.
Man that makes us even more mad because they wouldn't have put
God bless the USA on their bumper stickers.
It just then God bless Israel and there's enough stories that
are Jonah like in the Bible that goes we don't care about anyone
else. And Jesus is like, you're not
like me, you're not like me. But they shouted Hosanna, they,
they, they shouted save us. And here's what I saw myself
just musing on Vita. As as we just consider this
passage, I found myself amusing on this.
What are you looking at Jesus to do when you hear Jesus and you
hear that he's a savior and Lord?
Do you think rightly about Jesus when he says that?
Because I think it's possible that some people who go, yeah,
Savior and Lord still don't know Jesus and are heading towards
eternal judgment. He came as a savior from sin,
not a savior from your life of boredom, from a failing
business, a struggling marriage. And get this, Jesus graciously
helps us with all of these things, right?
The real tears that we cry, that I cry in marriage when I can't
get along, like he meets us in those places and does rescue.
I'm not saying that he doesn't. I'm saying He came first and
foremost to solve a way bigger problem.
Look, we can have Jesus and want him as a savior and miss what he
came to save people from eternal judgment.
And then I and then I fear that some might get that part.
Oh, I want that. Yeah, I want Jesus as Savior,
but the. Lord part, Can we skip that?
I love the Savior part. I really want to go to heaven.
Who would not want to escape eternal judgment that they
deserve? I want that.
I just still want to be in control because we want a savior
and we don't want a Lord. And look, can we just see that
Jesus is Savior and Lord? Savior and Lord.
You can fully accept him as Savior and Lord, or you can
fully reject him as Savior and Lord.
But you can't have Savior and not have Lord.
You can't follow half of. Jesus, who he is.
This Sunday they're shouting hosanna because they thought
we'd love to be safe from Rome. Within the week they'd shout
crucify because they thought you don't fulfill my immediate
expectations. And then what's this bit about
Jesus making his grand entrance on a donkey?
On a donkey? And I would choose a better
animal than that. Wouldn't you like a donkey?
People love making grand entrances.
I was doing a little research online.
I didn't know this. I don't watch a lot of things
like this, but apparently Lady Gaga arrived at a granny's once
in an egg her grand entrance. Literally I saw this picture
these guys are carrying in. A.
Ginormous egg. She's in the egg somehow, I
don't know if it cracks or what. She comes out of the egg.
That's her. People make grand entrances in
odd ways. I was reading about all kinds of
different things. Tom Cruise, he, because he can
do this. He he flies in his grand
entrance. Oh, it's my helicopter.
I just flew it in like our president, Air Force One Marine
one motorcade, like grand entrances.
People make grand entrances to events and even back in this
state, no different. No different now.
Most people, ruling kings and prominent people, they would
make grand entrances and like, give me a strong animal, like a
War Horse. That's it.
Ride that thing in. That's awesome, you know, or
they would get pulled by a whole team of horses.
They'd like being a chariot, you know, getting pulled in history,
even records, though it's rare that in some shows of prominence
people would come in on an elephant.
Whoa, You're making an entrance, associating yourself with power.
I I'd at least go, can I get a Clydesdale?
Because those are big horses, but Jesus.
All of a sudden, here he comes on a donkey.
What I just it, I just wanted more, you know, and, and here's
the thing, had Jesus been heading to.
War. He'd have been on a War Horse,
but he is coming to make a different statement.
He was fulfilling Zechariah's prophecy in the Old Testament
that the king, the king was coming to declare not war, but
peace. He was coming to not bring war.
He'll, he will bring that soon, but peace, peace.
Now I just want to hit pause and go.
What peace did Jesus come to bring?
What peace are we talking about here?
And peace is sounding Jesus and we see it all over the
Scriptures. Now you have angels declaring 1
Angel declared this about Jesus when he came.
Luke 214 says, and you'll maybe recall this glory to God in the
highest and on earth, peace among those with whom he is
pleased. Peace, the coming of Jesus would
bring peace now. Now, what is meant by peace?
Is it that kind of emotional tranquility that kind of pour a
bubble bath kind of finally the kids are out, you know, and
just, is that what's meant? Is that what the Angel said?
Jesus is coming to bring you a bubble bath?
I don't think so. You know, is that what's meant?
Now Jesus does come to bring emotional calm in the midst of
chaos. Listen to this just so you do
know that there is this side of things.
John 1633. This is as the disciples are
probably freaking out Jesus talking about I'm about to leave
you guys and he says at the end of this chapter, I've said these
things to you that in me you may have peace in the world, you
will have tribulation, but take courage I've.
Overcome the world. So Jesus does bring emotional
stability and calm and tranquility to our lives.
That's true. That's in the Scriptures.
But that's not what we're talking about right here.
That's not the peace that we most need.
We 1st and most importantly need the peace Jesus offers us
between our souls and the enemy of our souls, God.
Himself and you go. I think he misspoke.
I think the enemy of our souls of Satan.
Look, what I'm saying is, until we are forgiven by God through
Jesus, God is not father to us. We are his enemies, let us not
think too highly of ourselves. We can say my kids AI don't know
a plus student and got the school award.
Look, here's the reality. We are sinful.
Beyond our wildest dreams, our thoughts.
Our words, our actions. We are so depraved, so far lost,
that the Bible says that we are by nature objects of God's
wrath. We do not start off friends of
God, we start off enemies of God.
We need not so much peace from a bubble bath.
We need peace from the war that we are in with God Himself, and
we cannot initiate that peace. We have so offended the
greatness of God that we stand as objects under His wrath,
expecting an imminent judgment for sins we know we've done and
a judgment we know we deserve if we're just going to be honest
with ourselves. Come on, you know what you've
done. You know it's how you think.
I know what I've done. I know what I do daily.
We need peace with God. Our greatest issue is not
internal war, it is war with the Holy God.
How would we find peace there? And see, this is the beauty of
the gospel. But God's like you cannot, but I
can. And he sends a son.
He sends a son to live the perfect life that you and I
haven't lived. And not only that.
His. Son then goes to the cross to be
blasted with the full venting of the wrath that God has against
us, and He stands in the place of it and absorbs the wrath of
the Father on our behalf. I always.
Wondered as a non Christian, why did he die?
Why did Jesus die? Couldn't his father have rescued
him from the cross? He was dying to absorb the wrath
that we deserve on the cross, to make the ultimate trade.
His perfect standing and righteousness we get, our stand
in the judgement He gets, and we move from enemy to child of God.
And spoiler alert for next Sunday.
I mean, he didn't stay dead. I'm so sorry if I ruined it for
whoever's teaching after me. He doesn't stay dead like 3 days
later he beats the grave, just blows out of that.
Tomb and declares that He has risen, proving everything He
ever said and did was faithful and true.
He can be trusted. He has our path to eternal life
and He has our path to peace with God, who begins our enemy,
who desires to be our Father. That's what Paul meant in Romans
5 when he talks about peace. Romans 51 says, therefore, since
we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through
our Lord Jesus Christ. There's something else we we
just have to see right here. Maybe even before I hit it.
Honestly, let me just stop for a second.
I wonder if there's someone here this morning who doesn't have
peace with God. I don't mean like, oh, there's
unrest in my marriage or with kids.
We don't know how to solve this. I'm not talking about that.
I'm not talking about on a horizontal level.
What I'm saying is this. You know that you're guilty of
your sins and you don't know if you're forgiven yet.
You don't know if it's safe to die, whether you would go to
heaven or you'd go to hell. I'm telling you that today God
probably just brought you here to hear this.
Today you can be forgiven. Today you can finally make peace
with God. Jesus didn't come to condemn, He
came to save. You're already condemned.
He came to solve the problem that you can't solve, that I
can't solve. Jesus comes to open heaven for
us. Today you could be made a friend
of God. Today you could receive the King
of kings, the Lord of Lords. You could experience the peace
that he wants to bring you through the cross.
Today. That's your step, it's to go.
God, please forgive me. I deserve your judgment.
Please come into my life, forgive me and bring me peace as
I become your child. That's where you need to start.
But, but, but there's something more.
I'm going to go back to John 12, just 17 and 19.
They're at the very end. It says the crowd that had been
with him, with Jesus when he called Lazarus out of the tomb
and raised him from the dead continued to bear witness.
This is a small crowd. They continued to talk.
The reason why the crowd went out to meet him, that's the
large crowd. The reason why that crowd went
out to meet him was that they heard he had done the sign,
heard it from who was the small crowd.
So the Pharisees said to you see that you're gaining nothing.
Look, the whole world is going after him.
Remember earlier how I said there's a small crowd, there's a
large crowd and they're talking. The small crowd had witnessed
Jesus tears, his love, his compassion, his power, and they
saw the raising of Lazarus. And what do they do?
The Bible says they bore witness.
Witness. I sat outside of a courtroom
this week waiting to be called in on the stand in a sexual
abuse case, and I don't know all the details, but I labor to get
my words just right of what I'd heard, an indicted piece of
evidence. That's it.
I was ready to bear witness. I don't know lots of details
about lots of things that are happening, but I know this much
and I'm ready to say it. When you Call My Name, that's
what we're talking about. Bear witness.
The small crowds, I don't know exactly where he came from.
He just rose the guy from the dead.
Never saw that before. You should probably go listen to
him. I don't know all what he's
about, but I remember this before he rose him from the
dead, which you would think would be the.
Most amazing thing I've ever seen.
He wept. He wept and he knew he was going
to raise him from the dead. He still entered into people's
pain even when he knew he could fix it.
What king is there like that? I don't know what they were all
saying, but they were just saying what they knew.
That's what a witness does. My friends at Vita, if you know
Jesus, God is calling you to be a witness, to bear witness.
You don't need to know everything.
No one knows everything. I guarantee you I don't.
I don't have some back in my Bible that's got some answers
that you don't have. Like I just trying to be
faithful with what I know. What a great challenge from just
that announcement time from Kurt this morning, he says.
Man, try and bring 3. Let's just be witnesses.
The small crowd is talking to the large crowd and people are
coming to see. Jesus, that's what he's calling
us to. OK, that might be your
application this week. It's like, that's what I need to
do. God might even in the service
bring a few people to your mind and you've just been putting it
off. God put them right around you.
He put them in your neighborhood.
He put them on your dorm floor. He put he put them right down
there in the cubicle. Next year's at work they're just
or he brings in mind this isn't a family member.
You're so mad at them for what they did at Thanksgiving.
Like get over it. Be a witness like God might use
you this week to tell someone in the large crowd, man, you got
you got to check out Jesus. Here's what I know.
The Gospels come to you on its way to someone else, and we need
to be witnesses of that. God's calling us as a part of
the smaller crowd to tell the larger crowd we're on one side
of the city. We're trying to tell them you're
on another side of the city. We're trying to tell them small
crowds, trying to tell a larger crowd that they need Jesus.
Are you telling anyone when's the last time you used the word
Jesus around an unbeliever? When's the last time you said it
outside of a worship song? Like we need to be talking about
him. Well, I said.
One truth is just true. You guys know it.
People talk freely about what they love most.
Here's my honest confession when it comes to talking about Jesus.
I do love him most, I think. I don't talk freely about him.
I guess I maybe just, I don't know, contradicted my universal
truth. I don't.
I mean, I want to, but in practice I struggle with talking
to people about Jesus, and sometimes I'd just rather not.
And that's how it was with this guy.
John, I don't know about you. I, I, I ride a motorcycle to
work and I get off of I-75, which is terrifying on a
motorcycle. I get off I-75 on the Newberry
exit and that's where I take a left hand turn to kind of sneak
up around where our building is AT.
And same homeless guys there all the time.
His name's John. And I don't know how you guys do
with homeless people on every corner.
I, I don't know how to think about this.
Sometimes I won't even pick the, the road next to them.
I'll purposely get in one row apart.
I don't know, just you're less likely to come up to me right
now. And then even when I'm parked,
I'm going. I don't know if Jesus is
anything like me. I don't know if I'm anything
like him. I bet he'd be talking to this
guy. And guys, I have stopped.
I've shared the gospel. I've taken out the meals like
I've done. Some stuff with homeless people.
But sometimes it just feels like I'm just, am I just buying the
next drink? I don't know.
I don't know how to think. Often times when I'm in those
places, I don't know what you do.
But this particular turn, I'm just there.
I'm in the left hand turning lane and John comes up to me.
He's got a sign, big old guy, you know, He comes up to me and
he goes, hey, I can tell your back tire is.
Looking a little. Bald, you might only have a few
more weeks. You're going to want to get that
changed. I thought.
This is getting so convicting. This is going the wrong
direction. Now the homeless guy is trying
to love me and I'm like, oh man, thanks a lot.
And I said, OK, all right, green light saved by the light.
And then I tell you, I take this path all the time and John posts
up at like 3:30 in the morning to get the spot.
People don't start giving him dollars until like 7 something,
but he posts up early. Otherwise he'll give up the spot
to someone else. Send me next time.
Hey, your tire. I've got some friends.
There's a shop just on the other side of I-75.
They're great. I think they would change your
tire for you. Thanks, John.
You know, just like the conviction and, you know, I
start a friendship with John. I didn't want to.
I feel bad that I'm even saying that in just all honesty.
But now John's my friend the other day, I'm introducing her
to Jenny because that that we were in her.
She's got a car. So we're in that one, you know,
and I'm like, this is Jenny and oh, and then Jenny's talking
about, you know, and you know, I invited John to Easter.
He goes, it's probably the best day of the year for me.
I can't be gone. And he'll tell you about how
he's trying to help. And I believe this actually, I
have enough relationship with with him now that I have learned
about his grandkid and trying to fix her teeth and all this kind
of stuff. And he's like, I just can't be
gone on that day. But guys, this Thursday, like we
we're kind of little messed up at salt church.
We do a Good Friday thing on Thursday it whatever.
But but this Thursday, I think he said we can go out to dinner
and then he'll come to our good Thursday.
And you know what, Here's what I'm saying.
We got a bear witness. And sometimes I don't feel like
doing the very things God wants me to do.
But I think the follow Jesus, we still faithfully do what God's
calling us to do. And I have found as a Christ
follower that most things God wants me to do, I don't want to
do. I wake up in the morning and
it's not like is it time to read my Bible?
Yay. No, I'm just like snooze,
snooze, snooze, like, but you know what?
There's never a time I've gotten up and gotten in God's word and
poured out my hearts and in prayer where at the end I
thought, I wish I'd have stayed in bed.
I go. I'm so glad I sought the Lord.
Same thing with money. Oh, it's hard sometimes to give,
but there's never a time where I went.
Wish I had that back. No, that you can't take it with
you, but you can send it ahead. You can invest in the Kingdom.
It'll last forever. Like almost everything.
Dirty dishes. Do you ever want to do them?
But you know what, the very things that I don't want to do
sometimes serve my wife or my family.
When I do them, I feel like more of a man, like I've just honored
the Lord and I'm blessed. I'm telling you, it's like that
sharing Jesus. There's times I don't want.
That I step into that place of awkwardness.
Here we go. And somehow, in the midst of it,
making a decision without emotions, it's like my heart
catches up. And the Lord blesses it.
What I'm saying is in this passage there is a small crowd
talking to a large crowd, one small crowd of people telling
another large crowd of people that peace with God is possible
through Jesus. That's the point.
Peace with God is now possible. The King is here.
You can be. Reconciled to him, and God is
calling us to that place. And I'm telling you, people all
around you need him. People all around us need him.
The harvest field is so large. We're in it.
Maybe in one corner of it over here, Salt Church, you're in
maybe another corner. We're cheering you on.
You're cheering us on. There's so many people in
between us who need the Lord. We have to speak up.
Small crowds talking to large crowds about Jesus.
And let me just say one last thing to motivate us in this
Jesus Christ, who rode that little donkey and who made that
great declaration. Jesus Christ will ride again.
You know this right? Jesus Christ will ride again.
Not on a donkey this time. Jesus will ride again on his War
Horse. And I want to motivate you.
As we look back to the triumphal entry, I want to let this
passage. Push your mind forward to the
next time. He's going to ride a horse.
It's the first time in the Bible we see Jesus not walking.
He gets on a donkey. There is another time where he
will ride. Listen to this.
Let me just read this over you. I'm going to ask the band to
come on back up and join me on stage as I read this closing
passage, Revelation 19, it will be on the screen, John says.
Then I saw heaven open, and behold a White Horse.
The one sitting on it is called faithful and true, and in
righteousness he judges and makes war.
His eyes are like a flame of fire, and on his head are many
diadems. And he has a name written on him
that no one knows but himself. He is clothed in a robe dipped
in blood, and the name by which he is called is the Word of God.
And the armies of heaven, arrayed in fine linen, white and
pure, were following him on white horses.
Guess what? We get a ride.
From his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down
the nations, and he will rule them with a rod of iron.
He will tread the wine Press of the fury of the wrath of God the
Almighty. And on his robe and on his thigh
he has a name written. King of Kings and Lord of Lords,
I'm telling you, thank you, Vita.
Jesus will soon reign. He will soon rule.
He will destroy his enemies and he will do it alone.
And yet others will be riding with them, I think as
spectators. I think their clothes stay
clean. Meanwhile, he's in a robe dipped
in blood. And the the sword of the coming
out of his mouth. I think the how powerful his
words are. He just slays them with his
words, the picture, I think of judgment.
But until then, until he returns as conquering king.
Until then, Vita, let's faithfully bear witness.
It doesn't matter if you don't know a ton.
Say what you do now. Tell them that.
Peace with God is possible through Jesus.
They need that most. And may we find it in Him riding
on a donkey into Jerusalem. He declares as King of Kings,
peace with God as possible. May we find in him.
Let me pray for us.