Hosanna in the Highest

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Good morning everybody it's so good to be here it's Palm Sunday it's part of Sunday that's that's pretty amazing I reckon not just because it's the second of April I mean that's pretty amazing literally a quarter of the year has gone so if you're waiting for the start of the year that was it just then it's gone um we are now into the second quarter and um Rachel mentioned earlier this morning that um it feels like they've gotten through so much in kids church well that's because this time last year they'd lost half the turn remember because of covert and we we couldn't start back and there was restrictions so it's amazing what happens where you can just do what you're supposed to do as as per normal so that's exciting we are going to be looking at that story by the way um Jason and Rachel and David loder and myself we did not talk to each other during the week we're friends but we didn't talk to each other during the week but we've I think stolen each other's cheat sheets either that or maybe we've been talking to the same God hey that's probably more likely they've stolen my thunder a little bit about what we're going to be talking about this morning but the story says hosanna in the highest and it's not just a story they're facts man that's actually what happened so actually what happened and I'm going to read that to you right now from John chapter 12. that's going to be probably far too small for you on the screen this is why we have these things called Bibles so you can bring those with you so find your way to John chapter 12. and we'll be reading from verse 12 it says the next day the large crowd that had come to the feast that's the Passover 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 cult 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 this sign so the Pharisees said to one another you see that you are gaining nothing look the world has gone after him may the Lord add his understanding to his word this morning you see the large crowd gathered to see what Jesus was about to do next it's essentially what we're here towards the end of that passage they'd heard the sign of Lazarus if you don't recall the sign of Lazarus was that Lazarus had had died Lazarus was a close friend of Jesus and he had died and Jesus went and prayed in the Tomb and Lazarus came back to life pretty epic right pretty amazing and uh so they had heard Jerusalem had heard this story amongst many other stories about this Man From Galilee who had been wandering around in the region and preaching and teaching and doing these miraculous signs and wonders he sounded like an Avenger and he was coming to town and people were curious and they were wondering what he was going to do next okay and that's the sense that we get it says in verse 18 the reason why the crowd went to meet him was that they heard he had done this sign it's like you can imagine this this this this big city was bustling was thriving because there was a Fanfare being made about this famous Rabbi who was coming into the city and so they went out and they met him and of course Jesus chose to enter Jerusalem in a manner in which had been prophesied in the Old Testament now we've got to remember in this time in the first century there was no new testament the scriptures were the Old Testament that was the scriptures okay and so it would have been very very obvious to many of the folks who were gathered what was going on because Zechariah 9 9 the prophet of Israel was saying Rejoice greatly o Daughter of Zion 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 cult the fall of a donkey it's pretty hard to mix that up with the vision of Jesus riding this cult into Jerusalem and that's the vision that's the the prophetic Vision that we see back in Zechariah and that's essentially what Jesus did as you rode in to Jerusalem and people were celebrating the coming of the king because you you waved branches of trees and Palms when you were heralding the coming of a king of a great person and you would throw your coat on the ground so that they wouldn't dirty their feet as they walked because it was a sign of respect and adoration and this Cry of hosanna which means oh save us which is essentially says savior you are our savior you are coming to this city in some ways the crowd was saying you are the Messiah but I'll say lowercase M and you'll understand what I mean by that in a minute you are the Messiah you're the promised one we can see you are fulfilling prophecy by writing in on this donkey we see the Miracles and the signs and the Wonders that we've heard about we've even heard of what you've done here in this very place in raising the dead back to life that's worthy of Celebration you must be a great savior you must be the king you must be the one that the the prophet spoke about when they said that you would be coming and saving us so you can imagine why the city was so alive and bustling it's like when you two comes to Brisbane no one remembers you too no one cares what's the latest craze now I'm too old now Harry Styles who's that Ed Sheeran oh we've got some fans got terrible taste in music all right so we've got this this Vision oh sorry Siri's gonna play some music we've got this version of Jesus riding in on the cult as was prophesied he is a fulfillment of scripture okay and as he's doing this people are saying well he's the promised one he's the Messiah he's the Savior he's coming to rescue us but this was their hope and I think this is a passage that really encapsulates the hope of the Jews it says they took branches of palm trees and they went out to meet him that's Jesus crying out Hosanna blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord even the king of Israel and like I said the demonstration of Palm leaves and and other tree branches and coats and all this sort of stuff was an acknowledgment that he was a king and the Cry of hosanna was an acknowledgment that he wasn't just a king he was a mighty king who could save and the people's proclamation of Jesus as king of Israel was an acknowledgment that he was the Messiah and that God had promised that Messiah to them earlier but remember I'm saying lowercase m just bear that in mind and I think their Proclamation fell short because they were waiting to see what Jesus was going to do next what great miracle was he going to perform what great sign was he going to do and how was he going to save them from the Romans how was he going to save them from the Romans because you see that was the people's present Strife that was their present trouble that's what their Affliction was they were under Roman rule they had the Antonia Fortress which was right next to the the temple in Jerusalem it's a formidable building and it was full of Roman soldiers there to remind them day in and day out that they were a conquered people they were being oppressed by the Roman Empire and Jesus in in Luke I'll just read this there's a lot that we could say about this passage of scripture from Luke 19 but there's just one thing I want to highlight from it but I'll read it to you Luke 19 from verse 41 and when he drew near us Jesus Drew near and saw the city of Jerusalem 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 ham 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 the people had in mind a physical salvation a physical saving from their present Affliction from their present problems from the the presence of the Romans in their city and in their country but Jesus had in mind a spiritual saving for all of time would you agree with that right we know that as a benefit of hindsight right it's our history to know what Jesus has done for us but for these folks Jesus hadn't done that yet but he was coming into the the city of Jerusalem and they had in mind a physical salvation for themselves and for their families if you were a parent if you were an adult in this city as Jesus the Savior was writing in whilst you were under Roman rule in your own home and in your city wouldn't you want Jesus to save you too absolutely you would but the people were disappointed that Jesus didn't do what they thought he was going to do have you ever been disappointed by Jesus to be honest I've been disappointed by him all the time because I have an expectation of what I Think Jesus should do for me and in my life because Jesus saves right we know that he heals and we know that he provides and we know that he can do all of those things but he doesn't always do that have you ever prayed for healing in your life and you haven't been healed have you ever prayed for God to provide something for you in your life or in the life of a loved one and he didn't do that every single one of us would have examples of when God did not do what you thought you needed Jesus did not do for the Jews what they thought they needed when he wrote into Jerusalem because it was only a few days later this very same crowd cried crucify him crucify him didn't they a quick the change we are we are so fickle I'm going to say something a bit controversial here I don't think Jesus came to fix our problems I think he came to give us eternal life and I think the apostles were a great example of that we've been journeying through acts the book of Acts as a series in our morning services and hopefully you've been seeing how the apostles rarely got what they wanted it was always the will and the way of God that came through every single one of them died a horrible death except for the Apostle John they were all martyred nobody here wants to be martyred nobody here wants to go through trials and tribulations like many of those disciples did Jesus did not give them always what they wanted but he always gave them something more you see Jerusalem thought they need a saving from the Romans Jesus knows or knew that they needed a saving from Satan if there's something that you're praying for in your life maybe it's too small maybe it's too small because God is always good he always gives good things to his children but maybe what your prayer is is too small or it could be ordained for you to go through that but there is a real consequence of us being disappointed in Jesus because it can lead to some real things like our resentment or some people we know I'm sure many of us have had experience of folks who forsake God altogether because there's been a massive hurt in their life or a tragedy or something's happened and they will say something along the lines of if God is so good if God is so good then how could he do that or how could he let that happen I'm sure we've heard that a few times maybe you yourself have been in the situation or in a place where that has been a question or thought in your mind God all I want to do is serve you all I want to do is obey you and do the things that you've called me to do but why would you put me through this please understand church we are not the first and we will not be the last to think that I'm sure there are many times in the disciples lives when they experience incredible hardship and struggles and strife and all they wanted to do was serve and follow Jesus we've got the incredible example of a mankind a man named Paul and he was just a man we like to put him up in lights and look up to him because he was an apostle but he was just a man who was in dwell with the same holy spirit that you and I have but I've joked about it many times before you would not get on a boat with this man because it kept sinking it's like you and I are driving a car and getting in a car crash every time you needed to go from one place to another to go and minister to the word of God and you could think well God all I'm doing is being obedient to your will and going and doing that wish you've asked of me surely you can make my path straight so that I can get from point A to point B and yet here we have a much bigger example and Jesus coming to this city and the people thought he was their savior and he was but not in the way that they were expecting they were looking for a political ruler maybe even a captain of an army to come in and Route the Roman forces and free them from their labor a very real need that they had for themselves and for their families and you think to yourself if you were in their situation wouldn't you stand aside and go but you raised a man back to life this this should be nothing for you to take out the Romans you've you've healed people you've done such incredible things in the region and it's not just one or two reports there are hundreds of reports of people receiving miraculous signs and wonders you've you've made a blind man see you've made people walk again who have never walked in their life you've healed decades old sicknesses these aren't much reports and there's at least 5 000 Witnesses who said that you fed them all from virtually nothing so what's the routing of the Romans compared to all of that surely you can do that yes he can but we've got to understand Jesus's Ministry and it says in that scripture that we just read that the disciples didn't really understand what his ministry was until after he rose back to life and he went back to heaven we see that towards the end of that passage that we just read verse 16 it says 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 implication there is that even the disciples were discouraged even the disciples who had walked closely with Jesus in his Earthly Ministry were discouraged that as he triumphantly entered into Jerusalem was Herald as the coming of the king as the Savior by the people they too were a little bit discouraged but aren't you meant to save us aren't you meant to provide a way we've seen you heal we've seen you provide we've seen you do such incredible things art when are you going to do the cool thing Jesus they were waiting for the moment when Jesus was about to turn on God mode right and they missed it because they were looking in the wrong direction and this is this is a challenge for us church because we have the danger of missing it as well and we're gonna miss it if we misunderstand what we expect well if we have a misunderstanding of Jesus ministry if we expect something of him other than that which he's come to do and so the what some of the things that we can do is obviously learning Jesus's commands in Matthew 28 it tells us to go and teach people his commands how can you teach them his commands if you yourself don't know what they are there aren't too many questions that I can go to and say oh what are some of the commands of Jesus they can tell me the Ten Commandments for the most part but how many of us would be able to just rattle off here are some things that Jesus said that our Commandments that we must do even as the church covered by his grace read his word and understand his promise you know how many times have you heard pastors tell you you are doing yourself a disservice if you are not in the word of God I guarantee you just about most people in this room probably read more of Facebook and other literature than they do of the word of God each day what was the first thing you reached for this morning maybe you're not a device kind of person but did you reach for the newspaper or the magazine or whatever it is I'm not saying it's true for everybody but there are a lot of folks who get more content from other things than they do from the word of God Jesus tells us that the word of God is the bread of life that he is the bread of life the implication is that he is foundational for our sustenance right he's not the add-on he's not the garnish he's not necessarily the the little bits that make things taste good he is the very essence and source of our nourishment how do you we expect to know what he is saying and to follow his commands if you don't know his voice and we gain the perspective of the Holy Spirit you and I have an incredible privilege in bearing the Holy Spirit unlike these first century Christians did they didn't have that opportunity it wasn't until Jesus went back into heaven remember in Acts 2 when the Holy Spirit was gifted to people and every other good thing that we're receiving this life is a bonus think about that for a second God came to restore us to a right place with him so that we could come back and have eternal life that was the mission of Jesus right the Kingdom of Heaven is here it's no longer near it's here right if that was the mission of Jesus then then he's fulfilled that every other good thing that you have in your life is a bonus it's called a blessing if it's truly a good thing you don't deserve it it's not your right but God gives you that there may be somebody sitting next to you right now that is a good thing in your life doesn't matter whether you like them or not but they're more than likely a good thing in your life otherwise why are you sitting there right that person is a gift of Grace from God and that person is a blessing in your life because they are a good thing yes they might be needy maybe they sometimes smell maybe they have lots of things going on their life there are other things that you need to deal with but they are a blessing in your life that's people who loves coffee I bet you two-thirds of the congregation are just hanging out for 10 15 to go and have their coffee and they're probably thinking right now we're getting awful close Adrian got 10 minutes because coffee is common if coffee is so good why not rest on the better thing which is the word of God see Brad's boring until you don't have it right Bread's boring until you no longer have sustenance in your life and all of a sudden to a starving person bread is the elixir of life because it is not coffee and so I just wanted to to mention that this morning that we we can celebrate lots of things we can celebrate the coming of the king but don't misunderstand who he is he is not here to fix your problems he is not here to make your path easier he is not here to necessarily heal you provide you and do all the things oh he will because he's a good loving father that's what good fathers do right but please don't expect him to do you presume upon Grace when we say to Jesus or while you're here you know to restore my Eternal Soul into my rightful place in heaven and give me eternal life while you're here will you just kick out the Romans will you just do that thing for me I think oftentimes we stand around and we say yeah I know I'm supposed to go and Proclaim you Jesus yeah I know I've got this great testimony of who you are and what you continue to do in my life but there's this thing that's in my head so-and-so may be cranky can you go and smite them so and so cut me off on the road shred their tires if it wasn't me it's God it's okay we try and justify and bargain and plead with God for things that are as Petty as those dumb jokes sound right but when we step back and we look at it we go in the context of Eternity how important really is this request any physical Affliction and this is a hard one it's easy to laugh at dumb jokes right but this is a hard one what if you're praying for someone who you dearly love to be healed and if they're not they're going to die Jesus could heal that person but he doesn't have to faithful believer would say my God can do it but even if he doesn't he's still my God and we read about that in Daniel right the fiery furnace that God can save us from this affliction but even if he chooses not to he is still Our God that's what faith says and Faith isn't blind we have an assured hope right it's an assurance of things hoped for and a conviction of Things Not Seen there's no more certain thing than that and so I just want to leave you with this thought well I think I've lost my slides here the blessing of Jesus is peace you know Jerusalem wanted salvation from the Romans because they thought they would be free they would still have problems would you agree even if the Romans were routed and done away with and Jesus did that like a political ruler but they were expecting even if if he had done that the Jews would still have been full of sin broken people would have still been broken people even without the Romans and we read throughout of all of of Biblical history about the Jews and how they continually stuff things up by the way not just the Jews all of us right right we stuff things up really well before we knew Jesus and now as even after we've received Christ we're still really good at stuffing things up aren't we yeah that's kind of like our superpower right we're great at making dumb things and making dumb choices and doing the wrong thing and we can justify it in the moment but we tend to regret them afterwards Jesus knew if it wasn't the Romans it'd be somebody else if it wasn't the Romans it'd be the Jews themselves they would always be strife and trouble and one of the reasons why he wept was Jerusalem miss the coming of the great king not just a political ruler will you miss the presence of the king in your life or are you waiting for Jesus to do something before you'll truly follow him and if you're thinking like that then here's a question what would it take for Jesus to do before you truly follow him and if you've been a Christian for a little while and you're thinking man I wish Jesus would do some signs and wonders like he used to do in Jerusalem make all those unbelievers believe what would it take for Jesus to do in your life before you would believe like that we've missed Jesus's Ministry he came to save your Eternal Soul and he has given you the Assurance of Heaven you don't need an insurance policy it's guaranteed Signed Sealed Delivered you don't have to worry about that he did not come to fix our problems as a matter of fact he promises to us in John 16 Verse 33 says tribulation is promised to you this is the same Jesus tribulation is a promise to you but remember this I have overcome it in other words it doesn't matter what happens to you in this world in this life physically emotionally mentally there are some horrible things that's promised as a matter of fact if you're not experiencing some of these things are you even alive Jesus Promised trouble and tribulation it's the beginning of school holidays parents buckle up trouble and tribulation right they laugh too hard teachers it's only two weeks they're coming back to you right but there's work and there's post covert world and housing prices and health and and everything else if you're waiting for the right moment just like the first quarter of this year that just it just went by it just went this is the moment every moment of every day we get to remember who he is and what he has done for us and that we have eternal life and that is our assured hope not Jesus I'll do I'll do that thing that you want me to do if you do this stop it he's already given you eternity what more do you want what more do you want I love that passage from Philippians 4 7 and the peace of God which surpasses all understanding not passes surpasses over and above greater than all understanding will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus Paul wrote that while he was wroting and rotting in a Roman jail standing in his own filth recycled to Rusty cast iron shackles his circumstances were terrible would you agree and yet he could write this as an encouragement to his brothers and sisters in the church and he said if you would just hear this if you hear this he was at peace whilst they were trying to make him physically suffer and this is my point this morning church Jesus came to bring peace to you not to fix your problems because the ultimate fix to your problems is heaven right and so that's guaranteed for a little time yet we are still here but do you have the Peace of Christ have you claimed it in your life if you've never accepted Christ in your life Now's the Time because a quarter of the year is gone now is the time to do that and if you've been a Christian for a little while but you haven't been walking with him or maybe you have been walking with him but you've been asking yourself but but but Jesus why is it so hard why is it so difficult I don't feel that reading my Bible all the time but you tell me to keep doing it so I do it it's a Daily Grind but it doesn't feel great no it doesn't but it brings your life just like the Jews got bored of manna from heaven right remember that you might not Exodus go and read it cool story they didn't have any food and so God was like okay I'm going to rain down this stuff from the sky you're not going to know what it is but it's going to be beautiful Manna literally translated in in their language is what is this like literally that's what it means what is this I had no idea what it was but it was amazing they could bake it into cakes they could bake it into bread but after a while if that's all you've had they got bored of it as I started grumbling and said oh God it'd be nice to get to meet where are you at in your life where are you at in your Christian walk are you waiting for God to do another cool thing and then you'll believe are you waiting for God to do another miracle another sign another wonder and then you'll do the next thing here's the thing Church it'll never be enough when you got saved eternity was enough right when you got saved when you first believed when you encountered Jesus eternity was enough at what point since that time is eternity now not enough why do we look for the signs and wonders God can and will do those things of course he will because that's just who he is right but if you're expecting that you have a right to see that and experience that you've missed the point of Jesus ministry he's not here to save Jerusalem he's here to save everybody he's not just here for the church he's here for the whole community okay not just for the nice pretty people in this room because you're all incredibly beautiful but he's also here for the unlovely people in our region in that area in this world right and there are some horrible Sinners that may have wronged you but he even died for them it doesn't matter whether you're okay with that that's the truth is eternity enough for your church because it feels like peace and it feels like contentment in the midst of your physical aching in the midst of your heart aching in the midst of trouble and strife it feels like peace it feels like Paul hanging in a Roman jail and still being able to encourage those around him because he wasn't focused on what was happening to him he was remembering the sure promise that he has of Jesus hosanna in the highest yes because Jesus is Lord always was always will be true amen heavenly father thank you so much thank you so much for the Messiah for Jesus capital M thank you so much Jesus for your incredible obedience and the perfect example that you are that we need but Heavenly Father we pray that as we continue in this life that we would no longer look to the things around us but rather Look to You above us and remember the perfect standard by which we have been called to live not so that we can try and attain Perfection but we can remember but you have won the victory for us Lord Jesus and that we can come to you but eternity would be enough father God we have no deals we have no Bargains that we can make we have no arguments we have no proposals that would be sweeter than what you've given us for free so Hosanna are in the highest you are the Savior you are the Risen one you are the Lord God Almighty and we wait for you expectantly to return again in Christ name we pray. Amen.