Pastor Cody Harlow Luke 19:28-44

Verses 28 through 44. God's word says this and I'll try to follow along as best as I can y'all follow along with me back there all right awesome good God's word says this and when he had said these things he went on ahead going up to Jerusalem we drew near to bethaggy and Bethany at the mount that has called all of it he's sent two does of his disciples saying go into the village in front of you we're on entering you will find a cult tied on which no one has ever yet sat untie it and bring it here if anyone asks you why are you untying it you shall say this the Lord has need of it so those who were sent went away and found it just as he had told them as they were untying the Colts its owners said to them why are you untying The Cult they said the Lord has need of it they brought it to Jesus and thrown their cloaks on the cult they set Jesus on it and as he rode along they spread their cloaks on the road as he was drawing near already on the way down the Mount of Olives the whole multitude of his disciples began to rejoice and praise God with a loud voice for all the mighty works that they had seen saying blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord

Peace in heaven and glory in the highest in some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to him teacher rebuke your disciples he answered I tell you if these were silent the very Stones would cry out and when he drew near and saw the city he wept over it saying would that you even you had known on this day the things that make for peace but now they are hidden from your eyes for the days will come upon you when your enemies will set up a barricade around you and Surround you and hem you in on every side and tear you down to the ground you and your children within you and they will not leave one stone upon another in you because you did not know the time of your visitation y'all can be seated Jesus Christ is the Lamb of God who is slain from the foundation of the world since the fall this plan to redeem Mankind and restore right relationship with God has been in motion and we see at the very beginning in the bleakest moments of humanity God's plan to redeem mankind in Genesis chapter 3 verse 15 we see that Adam and Eve they transgressed God's very clear and explicit command and it was at that moment that the Lord he promised a deliverer who would bruise the head of the serpent the promised one this is Jesus Christ this is all according to the first very important detail is God's plan God he has a plan there is nothing out in all of creation that does not that God doesn't allow to happen or decree to God he doesn't operate within some type of a middle knowledge where he works within our Wills we don't see that within Scripture it takes away from God's glory rather what we see is God directing history we know that's the case because God he has

An angle that has already been revealed to us very clearly in the Book of Revelation amen he has a goal that he is working to and it will be accomplished who Among Us can resist God are we bigger are we stronger are we better no but rather God he directs history he causes it and one day history will come to an end time will no longer exist and that will happen at the return of Jesus Christ and everything will be made new in these worn out bodies the sickness the cancer the hate the racism all of those type of things will come to an end be unified under the Lord Jesus Christ last week we kind of got a little taste of that through brother Steve's sermon amen that's a good sermon I got to hear it this past week talking about Unity and it's in Christ that we find that Unity but you know I want you to notice this that God's plan is always better than our plan could ever be Jesus he's going to Jerusalem to be betrayed by wicked men to be subject to ungodly leaders to be mocked by evil men he was to be crucified and he would die who Among Us would plan for that I wouldn't I would not put forward that plan but God and His Infinite Wisdom did because his plan was not to establish an Earthly Kingdom but to establish a visible spiritual Kingdom to reunite man with God to reconcile us to himself but I want you to notice that Christ he isn't being dragged to Jerusalem is he is leading the way there look at what those Scriptures say says and when he

Had said these things he went on ahead going up to Jerusalem he didn't wait for his disciples to go ahead of him he wasn't like Jacob who when he was going back to Esau he sent his children and his wives ahead of him going go ahead guys y'all handle this no Jesus he led the way he didn't wait for his disciples to go ahead of him and you know why that is because Jesus is the Good Shepherd and Christ leads his flock that's what Jesus Does he doesn't drive them like a slaver he leads them like a shepherd this is what the master does how weird would it have been if Peter James and John would have been like come on Jesus let's go it's almost Passover time let's let's go and they're coaxing him now that was there were there was never a time where a disciple is more out of place than when he tries to lead the master you ever find yourself getting ahead of God I know you get ahead of your parents some of you that just answer you get ahead of God I've gotten ahead of God that's a frustrating place to be isn't it because then you're waiting and it's it's hard it's tough and he brings along some discipline during that season and so you're waiting and you're just wondering why God why and he's like well you got ahead of me let me lead you let me guide you one of the greatest heroes of the 20th century one of the guys I love to read about is this guy Winston Churchill okay any Winston Churchill fans in here okay yeah you need to know this guy okay and as we kind of get further and further away from like the greatest Generation we really do need to remind ourselves of these guys because Winston Churchill absolutely fascinating man quick-witted

Did you know that he was one of the most popular politicians in his 30s he was actually very popular he was on a lot of prestigious committees he's a wonderful orator and he was actually very well liked except that he had some very strong convictions which became very apparent later on in his life and actually from the year from when he was 33 years old all the way for the next 30 years he was just kind of cast over to the fringes of politics he was put on these very low ranking undesirable almost kind of vilified in British politics and he just waited and he waited and then when he's about 65 years old the age of retirement guess what Britain is in a full-blown War and who did they turn to for strength during that time they turned to the guy who had strong convictions the guy who actually was making a Ruckus and not well thought of and he was able to lead England through its Darkest Night you know Churchill he didn't push his own agenda while he was relegated to the fringes of British politics what would have happened if he would have felt like things were owed to him he ever felt like things were owed to you I deserve this I need this I want this I'm going to have it we could very well have a very different world sometimes we have to wait for the Lord's leadership we have to wait for him to lead us it might be through hard times it might be through really scary places that the Lord leads us it could be the Valley of the shadow of death and sometimes he leads us to these places where hope doesn't really seem to exist but it's in the midst of those darkest nights that our hope in Christ shines like the brightest star

Get to see Miss Betty fan pretty regular about once a week and she just doesn't have any energy but she still has the joy of the Lord she prays Lord please take me please make it quick and there she is shining like the brightest star in a place where she is walking through the valley of the shadow of death in a similar way God's plans they are always good for Christians not in a worldly sense mind you but good nonetheless for God's glory as such we need to be patient we ought to wait for the Lord's Direction and timing you know what else Christ he also knows all of our needs he knows every single need that you have Jesus he told these disciples that they were to go ahead go ahead to bethagi and find a cult he knew that would be there Jesus knew what he needed to do in order to accomplish all that the Scripture said that he would have to do and the same Lord that knew what he needed to accomplish the task that was ahead of him it's the same Lord that knows what you need as well Philippians 4 19 says and my God Will Supply every need of yours according to the riches according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus means that God he will provide what you need for the task that he has called you to so missionary doing MPD God he will provide as you pray as you build relationships as you ask people to join you as you take those Steps of Faith and you obey him in Walking With Him He will provide your needs and the Beatitudes Jesus he said blessed are those who hunger and thirst after righteousness for they shall be filled this is why we seek the kingdom of God this is why we seek his righteousness because God satisfies and he promises to take care of these needs and when he instructs us to pray

He prays tells us to pray give us this day our daily bread God he promises take care of our needs today not to make you Reliant upon his blessings but on his own being that's why he doesn't oftentimes give us full Abundant Blessings some of you he has praise the Lord for that others others of us we walk day by day look at what else we learned here in verse 31 it says if anyone asks you why are you untying it you shall say this the Lord has need of it so listen to me Christ is God and can use all creation how he sees fit Jesus he refers to himself as the Lord here the Lord has need of it this points to the truth what I just said he is The Sovereign Lord over everything and Luke he adds that note that it all just happened just as he told the disciples that it would happen you know that Jesus he borrowed a lot of things in his Earthly Ministry I mean he borrowed a donkey to ride on he borrowed a boat to preach on he borrowed a coin to prove a point he borrowed bread and fish to feed people with he even borrowed a tomb and how humbling is that the Lord who created everything the heavens and the Earth and his Earthly Ministry would go around borrowing stuff here on Earth we're called to be humble we're called to be me God In the Flesh humbling himself as a servant that's what Christ did and I want you to know Jesus he has rights and authority over everything in all creation and everything that you have you simply borrow from God your abilities can be taken away in an instant but he permits you to use them so glorify God with your abilities he owns all your money he permits you to

Use it under his guidance and so glorify God with your money he owns your family he owns your home and your goods your business bring them to the Lord tell him that they are his and not your own but that you have been entrusted with him though so be a good Steward with them and you ask the Lord help me God to do this God he owns you by rights of being your creator and he beckons you to trust in him trust in him as Savior trust in him as Lord he's the king he's the most wonderful and the most gracious and he beckons you to follow him the second important detail is the people's praise the people's Praise Jesus he is riding along he's on this on this donkey this cult and I want you to notice just how peaceful this procession is it's a peaceful demonstration it's not a cry to overthrow the Romans it's not a call to Arms it's not a revolution like the Socialists or Anarchy like antifa Jesus he rides along and the crowds they put their cloaks on the road and in Matthew it puts a tells us exactly what they say in Matthew 21 verses 8 and 9 it says most of the crowds spread their cloaks on the road and others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road and the crowds that went before him and that followed him were shouting Hosanna to the son of David blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord hosanna in the highest suddenly the people of Jerusalem they hear what's going on outside of their City walls and they come out and they see Christ descending the Mount of Olives the one who raised Lazarus from the dead this is the Galilean prophet in the teacher these are the ones that the Pharisees and the Sadducees absolutely hate in the crowds they're laying their cloaks on the road and the palm

Branches and they're singing these songs these songs of Coronation to the king of Israel the people are rejoicing and they are praising God and I want you to notice just how joyful the people's praise is it's full of joy when we see God receiving all the praise and all the glory and all the honor whether it's through a new believer being baptized praise the Lord for that as we take communion and we remember what Christ did for us and how he invites us and he beckons us into a relationship with him that should cause us to glorify the Lord when a Believer who has been walking through Temptation and they've been struggling through it and they're seeing victory in their lives over this over this sin that once ensnared them and we get to celebrate that when they're set free from those type of things what a glorious moment that is when a hardened believer whose heart has been cold to the Lord is broken and they begin to lift their hands in worship these are these are small tremendous things ordinary Acts of God's grace and so we Proclaim Hosanna to the son of David and we rejoice in and praise God and these people they were they were praising God for what the Scripture says for all the mighty works that they had seen the people's praise was also watchful it was watchful they were looking for where Jesus was what is God doing because where Jesus Is God works we've seen that in our own church too amen oh come on guys we've seen baptisms this year we've seen people join our church doesn't that get you excited amen you know you know joyful peaceful watch right you

Guys gotta work on that joyful a little bit praise the Lord for those things across the Gospel you know what these people they had seen God do they had seen Jesus perform at least 46 different miracles 46 tremendous Miracles over 25 very different healings some of those might be very different it's kind of hard to tell 25 different healings at least eight exorcisms that'd be spooky to see at least 10 wondrous Miracles like Christ feeding the five thousand or Christ feeding the four thousand raised three people back to life after they had died and so they saw God working in these people of God they wanted to be where God was and the crowd they sing this beautiful coronation is a direct quote from Psalm 118 verses 19 through 29 and I want to read it to you I think I've got the verse that they quote underlined here but I'm going to give you the whole context of this passage because it's a it's a beautiful coronation that points to Jesus all the way through it's Psalm 118 verses 19 through 29 open to me the gates of righteousness that I may enter through them and give thanks to the Lord this is the Gate of the Lord the righteous shall enter through it I thank you that you have answered me and have become my salvation the stone that the builders rejected has become the Cornerstone you guys remember that this is the Lord's doing it is marvelous in our eyes this is the day that the Lord has made let us rejoice and be glad in it save us we pray O Lord O Lord we pray give us success blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord we bless you from the house of the Lord the Lord is God and he has made us his light to shine them upon us bind the festival sacrifice with courts up to the horns of the altar see the Salvation that's anticipated

Here in Psalm 118 is found in Jesus Christ he is the festival sacrifice who would take on the punishment for Sinners he is the one who would save his people as we stated he is the stone that the builders rejected he is the Gate of righteousness that we enter through he is the light of the Lord Shone on men yet the men love Darkness more than God's light but not everyone is thrilled with the arrival of Jesus or that in our world there will always be people who are opposed to the person and work of God and so we see these Wicked religious leaders who were scornful of Christ and here's what it says about the people's praise they were very dismissal of who Jesus is notice that Jesus's disciples they called him the Lord Jesus he called himself the Lord and they borrowed the cult the cult and the people they praised Jesus as he was descending the Mount of Olives by calling him the king and here are the Pharisees how do they address them as teacher viewing Jesus as a good teacher is not enough for salvation and this is where the dismissive part comes in this is the Lord of all creation the one who upholds the universe by the word of his power he is the one who breathed everything into existence he created time he created space he created matter and it is through Christ that everything lives and moves and has its being and you know what the Pharisees say rebuke your disciples how hard-hearted does that have to be for Pharisees to look at the king of all creation and be dismissive of who it is that is coming down the Mount of Olives notice that they were irritated because he was receiving all the glory

See God focused worship will result and religious people being irritated God focused worship it worships the Lord it elevates the Lord and nothing else a worship service is to be God-oriented Jesus focused Spirit empowered everything else done away with Jesus he told this Parable in Luke chapter 18 verses 10 through 14. It says two men went up to the temple up into the temple to pray one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector the Pharisees standing by himself prayed thus God I thank you that I am not like other men extortioners unjust adulterers or even like this tax collector I fast twice a week I give tithes of all that I get it's not very arrogant at all is he but the tax collector standing far off would not even lift his eyes to heaven but he beat his breast saying God be merciful to me a sinner I tell you this man went down to his house Justified rather than the other for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled but the one who humbles himself will be exalted this should have been a lesson for the Pharisees on that Sunday morning when Christ arose they should have immediately fell to their knees and said the Lord he is God instead they continued to resist the will and the work of the Lord the third important detail is Jesus's prediction Jesus's prediction we don't talk about this on Palm Sunday because kind of not Palm Sunday or easter-ish but it's the word of the Lord and as Jesus he comes to these walls of Jerusalem the walls of Jerusalem were about 30 feet tall and in the midst of all the joyful singing and all the procession there is the Lord weeping

We'll talk about the tears of the Lord there are three times in Scripture where we see Christ weeping firstly was when Lazarus died just before Christ bottomed back to life Jesus he was moved to Tears by the sorrow of Lazarus's sisters and he wept God Jesus he also wept In The Garden of Gethsemane Hebrews chapter 5 verse 7 says this in the days of his flesh Jesus offered up prayers and supplications with loud cries and tears to him who was able to save him from death and he was heard because of his reverence his tears moved the heart of the Father and thirdly Jesus weeps here at the triumphal entry but Jesus's tears weren't for himself here he wasn't weeping because of what he was about to experience here we see Christ weeping for the city because they would reject him Jesus he said that from the cross in Luke chapter 23 verse 28 but turning to them Jesus said Daughters of Jerusalem do not weep for me but weep for yourselves and for your children for centuries the Jewish people have been looking forward to the coming King and they were looking for the Messiah and for Millennia they looked for the one who would crush the Serpent's head and here he is descending the Mount of Olives coming just as Scripture had fulfilled with hosanna's to the son of David and palm branches and celebration and here he is Christ the Messiah Jesus knew that he would be rejected and still he went the religious leaders had already done so teacher rebuke your disciples that's what they said to their rightful King but Jesus he knew what would make for their peace the peace that Jesus is referring to is not the Roman occupation ending

But the penalty of sin being atoned for full atonement can it be perhaps you don't have peace and I'm for certain that's because you may not have Christ even those prone to worry can find their Rest In Christ you make you Jesus as good teacher but listen to me that's not enough Christ isn't just someone that you can have a positive opinion of he's God he deserves your admiration and your Worship in your very heart he's the king of creation and he died to reconcile you to the father and one day you will stand before God and there's only two destinations and where you are whether you are united with God in Christ whether you are separated from God in your sin that's what determines your Eternal fate if only you knew for the about the things that would make for peace he died so that you would live and I want you to notice here the sovereignty of the Lord he says now they are hidden from your eyes God he made it where the people in that City wouldn't be able to understand what was going on before them even the disciples wouldn't understand until Christ gave them understanding after their resurrection and why is that oh it wasn't their time to comprehend what was God doing his plan to redeem mankind was emotion not to establish an Earthly Kingdom but to reconcile Sinners Like You and Me and now he beckons us to know him and to worship him through Christ are you praying to God for understanding are you saying God I want to know you more I want to understand you more would you open up my eyes that I might fall deeper in love with who you are what you've done through your son God I'm I'm learning so much about you can you just show yourself to me can you give me understanding about this God

It's a prayer that the Lord will answer because he promises to show himself to those who diligently seek him to get to know him because he is worth it and lastly I want you to notice the Judgment of the Lord when she knows the Judgment of the Lord look at what Jesus says for the days will come upon you when your enemies will set up a barricade around you and Surround you and him you in on every side and tear you down to the ground you and your children within you and they will not leave one stone upon another in you because you did not know the time of your visitation you see rejection of God is what led to the city of Jerusalem to fall and this happened in 70 A.D when Emperor Titus caught wind about you know an uprising there was Jerusalem after Nero had died all these different areas started rebelling against Rome and this is portrayed in this picture that I have up here for you that's Francesco Hayes who is Spanish painter from the 1800s and here he has depicted men women and children getting tossed off of the high place because Jerusalem had been sacked several Legions of Roman soldiers surrounded that City and for months the city was under siege its population of 200 000 were nearly all slaughtered or died from sickness the second temple was destroyed and everything was leveled except for the Western Wall in three towers the fall of Jerusalem it came suddenly it came fiercely and it fulfilled exactly as the Lord had said that it would and it's because they didn't know the time of their visitation and so I want to tell you something that the time of your visitation is now for those of you who do not know Jesus Christ you are not guaranteed tomorrow not guaranteed another hour

Today is the day of salvation and what will happen if you reject that message what will happen if you reject the Lord judgment will come and it will fall and it will be terrible unless you take shelter in Christ because he is the only safe place and my prayer is that today that you would do as Jesus said Mark chapter 1 repent and believe the Gospel you don't come to you have to come to God by telling the Lord I'm changing my mind about about Sin about everything about myself I just want you and so Lord would you just deal with me would you make my heart new would you cause me to be born again because I want you must believe the Gospel that Jesus is the son of God that he came that he lived a perfect sinless life they fulfilled all prophecy that he was beaten that he was betrayed that he died on the cross for you and that on the third day he rose again when you come to God through Jesus Christ he won't turn you away and you all need to go through me you don't need to go through anyone else Jesus is the mediator between God and man amen you must deal with God through Christ but maybe you have some questions myself or any other believer in here would be happy to talk with you about that about what it means to have a relationship with Jesus Christ this Palm Sunday what will you do will you rest in God's plan will you trust that God has a good plan for everything even when it's hard and inconvenient and scary perhaps you need to praise the Lord perhaps there is very little heart in your worship or maybe there's a dismissal of God's goodness toward you turn to God turn to God Christian

And trust in him do business with the Lord perhaps you are concerned about your soul then today's that day you can you can talk to me after service we'll sit down and we'll talk about that and we'll feel it out because there is nothing more important than settling that before you leave today trust him because he is willing to save you head heart hand head I want you to know that Jesus cares for you with great love everything that you have is a gift from God and so I asked would you turn to him today heart I want you to believe that God he can use his creatures that includes you however he wants God he used beasts famine pestilence and abundance to exercise his own will God he directs the hearts of kings and Men and it's that belief that brings peace and joy when you see the world falling apart and I want you to examine to see if you're resisting the Lord anywhere are you hardened to the Gospel do you try to tell the Lord what to do you try to correct God is there Rebellion anywhere where the Lord wants to come in and maybe you just said no not that Lord I want you to deal with that yet I got other areas that I want you to deal with oh he is there and he wants to work in your heart Christian don't resist him repent of that and know that the Lord he cares for you let's stand and let's respond in worship together Lord bless us God as we just talked about Palm Sunday I pray that you would just help our hearts and our minds to chew on this Lord

Not that we would be resistant to your will or anything like that Lord that help us to be flexible Lord to be broken before you to Bow our knees that we would submit to you as our as our great mighty king God deal with us move in our hearts and if there's anyone here that maybe they just know that they know that they need you that today they would just come down at the end of service shake my hands say Pastor I gotta talk about this there's nothing more important than that God we just pray that you would continue to work at First Baptist Church in my life and in a life of every member here help us dear Lord to love you and to serve you Lord may your name be blessed through our worship Jesus name amen [Music] How Deep The Father's Love For Us how vast beyond all measures that he should give his only son to make a wretch his treasure how great the pain of searing laws the father turns his face away as wounds which Mar The Chosen One bring many sons to Glory [Music] behold the man upon a cross my sin upon his shoulders [Music] ashamed I hear my mocking voice call Out Among the scoffers it was my sin that held him there until it was a complete finished his dying breath has brought me life I know that it is finished [Music] I will not boast in anything no gifts no power no wisdom but I will boast in Jesus Christ his death and Resurrection

Why should I gain from his reward I cannot give an answer but this I know with all my heart his wounds have paid my Ransom why should I gain from his reward I cannot give an answer [Music] but this I know with all my heart his wounds have paid my resume [Music] but this I know with all my heart his wounds have paid my friend would you pray with me again heavenly father thank you today thank you for this message that we've heard and we're reminded that we're going to leave here this morning and we're going into our mission field and help us to be a good representative for you and whatever we do in Jesus name amen don't forget there's some hot delicious soup down in the gym right now so make your way down there we'll have a good time