From Triumph To Tragedy

INTRO.- From triumph to tragedy. Those words don’t sound very good, do they? I think we would prefer “from rags to riches.” That sounds better, more exciting, more enchanting.

ILL.- Carrie Underwood. Who is she? What did she do? She won the American Idol contest in 2005. Carrie Underwood is 23 years old and was raised on her parents’ farm in rural Checotah, Oklahoma.

On the March 22, 2005, American Idol show, after a performance of Heart’s "Alone", Simon Cowell said, "Carrie, you’re not just the girl to beat, you’re the person to beat. I will make a prediction, not only will you win this competition, but you will sell more records than any other previous ’Idol’ winner." Cowell went on to say on the March 30 show that she has the "it factor" that will make her a star.

On her last song of the night in the final two, Carrie’s performance of "Angels Brought Me Here" had Simon saying, "I think you’ve done enough to win the competition." On May 25, 2005, she became the fourth winner of American Idol, From rags to riches.

As part of her title, Underwood gained a recording contract with Arista Records; her first single, "Inside Your Heaven", was released on June 14, 2005. The single debuted at #1 on the Billboard Hot 100, with first-week sales of 170,000 copies.

Underwood’s second single, "Jesus, Take The Wheel" was made available for radio airplay on October 18, 2005. It received so much airplay that it debuted at #39 on the Billboard Country Chart in its first week, setting a record. As it climbed it finally reached #1 for 6 consecutive weeks setting a record on the country charts.

I was walking through Wal-mart one day and heard, “Jesus, Take the Wheel.” Here are some of the lyrics.

Jesus take the wheel

Take it from my hands

Cause I can’t do this all on my own

I’m letting go

So give me one more chance

To save me from this road I’m on

Jesus take the wheel

Now why in the world would she ever sing a song like that? I think because she believes in giving Jesus the wheel in her life. I hope so. I think so. I pray so. FROM RAGS TO RICHES. Carrie has become an instant celebrity and is probably already worth millions. But her true worth is found in her Christian faith, which I hope she keeps and continues to live.

Rags to riches sounds good but for Jesus, it was not to be. Not on earth. It seems that he went from riches to rags, from triumph to tragedy.

First, he left heaven for earth. From riches to rags. From gloryland to this sinful world. In our text, however, we see another great misfortune or humiliation, if we may call it that. Jesus went from being honored to dishonor. From triumph to tragedy.

PROP.- From out text, let’s consider about how Jesus went from triumph one week to tragedy the next.

1- The Triumph

2- The Tragedy

I. THE TRIUMPH

Triumph time for Jesus was when He entered Jerusalem and everybody was happy. Or so it seemed.

Matthew 21:8-11 “A very large crowd spread their cloaks on the road, while others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. The crowds that went ahead of him and those that followed shouted, "Hosanna to the Son of David!" "Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!" "Hosanna in the highest!" When Jesus entered Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred and asked, "Who is this?" The crowds answered, "This is Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth in Galilee."

The disciples were told to prepare for the Lord’s coming and the people were excited. It was as though a giant ticker-tape parade was taking place. The disciples prepared and the people praised.

As Jesus rode into Jerusalem, the crowds shouted, “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.” Most of the people seemed to believe that Jesus was sent from God. I’m not sure they believed that He was God in the flesh, however. But it’s always nice when people believe in you, who you are, your mission, your work, etc.

ILL.- How many of you have heard Bob Russell of the Southeast Christian Church, Louisville, KY, preach? If you haven’t, you can on the internet via the livingword.org or oneplace.com. The Southeast Christian Church has grown from approximately 120 people to about 19,000 in nearly 40 years. Bob is not a loud preacher. He doesn’t have the greatest delivery but his sermons are excellent, sound, scriptural, and well illustrated. But they also have something else. BELIEVEABILITY. And that’s because Bob is believable. When you hear Bob speak he is very open, honest, frank, and is quick to admit his own inadequacies and errors. This is what helps to make his sermons believable. Consequently, he gets a lot of praise and praise is nice, if it doesn’t go to your head. And I don’t think it has in his case. I think Bob is quick to give the Lord the praise for all the good in his life, including his successful ministry.