Note: This sermon was written before the COVID-19 Pandemic. The content remained the same for this submission on Sermon.net, but the presentation on this day would be very different. You may find a copy of this message at www.gracecommunity.com/messages
A little boy was sick on Palm Sunday and stayed home from church with his mother. His father returned from church holding a palm branch.
The little boy was curious and asked, "Why do you have that palm branch, dad?"
"You see, when Jesus came into town, everyone waved Palm Branches to honor him, so we got Palm Branches today."
The little boy replied, " Aw Shucks! The one Sunday I miss is the Sunday that Jesus shows up!"
This morning is Palm Sunday- The day, taken from the Gospels, where an entire city threw a parade for Jesus. As Jesus rode into the city, the people threw palm branches in anticipation of his coming. This day marked a time of celebration where Jesus was worshipped and praised.
This day is bittersweet for us because even as we read about the celebration, we know that Friday is coming. The cross is coming. We know that many in this same crowd will exchange words of praise to words of death. Shouting Hosanna and then later shouting Crucify Him.
Over the last few months, we’ve contemplated the subject of worship in great detail. Perhaps your perspective of worship has changed. I hope you’ve learned something about what biblical worship means. I pray I’ve at the very least, energized your passion and zeal to worship Jesus with vigor and all you are.
So it is fitting that as we near the conclusion of this series, it is on Palm Sunday and Easter. Jesus is the singular and exclusive object of all worship. The reason for that is before us today and next week. Without the passion of Christ, there is not worship. We worship Him because he is the risen Christ and that’s the point of Palm Sunday
Billy Graham said that the greatest mission field in our country to today is in our local church. I think the essence of what he was saying is that coming to church does not equate a path to heaven. It is relationship and faith in that relationship alone that transforms the life for eternal salvation. Coming to church is great and necessary, but even singing praises to Christ doesn’t save you. The only assurance of salvation is faith alone in Christ alone. You can come to church week after week, but never have the transformational relationship that saves you.
We see a perfect example of this in our two passages this morning. On Sunday Jesus rode into the city with the people shouting praises and praising God for all the wonderful miracles they had seen. On Friday they are shouting give us Barabas, Crucify Jesus, Crucify Him. Why the change?
They brought the donkey and the colt and put on them their cloaks, and he sat on them. Most of the crowd 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!” And when he entered Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred up, saying, “Who is this?” (Matthew 21:7-9)
Now at the feast, the governor was accustomed to release for the crowd any one prisoner whom they wanted. And they had then a notorious prisoner called Barabbas. So when they had gathered, Pilate said to them, “Whom do you want me to release for you: Barabbas, or Jesus who is called Christ?” For he knew that it was out of envy that they had delivered him up. Besides, while he was sitting on the judgment seat, his wife sent word to him, “Have nothing to do with that righteous man, for I have suffered much because of him today in a dream.” Now the chief priests and the elders persuaded the crowd to ask for Barabbas and destroy Jesus. The governor again said to them, “Which of the two do you want me to release for you?” And they said, “Barabbas.” Pilate said to them, “Then what shall I do with Jesus who is called Christ?” They all said, “Let him be crucified!” And he said, “Why? What evil has he done?” But they shouted all the more, “Let him be crucified!” (Matthew 27:15-23)
There are many reasons why their praise turned to condemnation, but one simple reason is that their words did not match their heart. They possessed a casual, not a committed faith. They had a religion but they missed the relationship. Their Sunday talk didn’t match their weekday walk. So how can we have a committed faith that is real and sincere and consistent throughout our lives? I want to offer you some keys to just such a faith.
I. Key 1: We Need a Fully Committed Faith is Christ-Centered
This sounds obvious, but we often miss it. We live in a society that is on the go and we’re going constantly. We have more functions, engagements, meetings, practices, schedules, and events than our calendars can hold. Eventually, we put God on the back burner or turning to God only when it is convenient or useful.
We’re following the crowd. Going with the flow of culture. We don’t intend to marginalize God. In fact, we understand our need for God. The rest of life just gets in the way. The kids have a travel ball. The house needs to be cleaned. Friends are coming over for Sunday lunch. The next thing we know, God is on the margins of our life.
In our passage, the people praised Jesus as He passed by, but many of them praised him for two reasons. First, because of his miracles. He had healed the sick, raised the dead. What he was doing for them was popular. Second, because they saw in Jesus a political advantage with Romans. Their praise was tempered with the attitude of, “What’s in it for me.”
A few days later at the trial, they saw a beaten and disfigured Jesus- A man who no longer looked like a deliverer or a conqueror. He didn’t do any razzle-dazzle. And as words were said about him, they bought into all the lies and quickly changed their position. For them, it was all about Me, Me, Me.
There is a legend about an ancient village in Spain. The villagers learned that the king would pay a visit! In a thousand years, a king had never come to that village. Excitement grew! "We must throw a big celebration," The villagers all agreed. But, it was a poor village, and there weren’t many resources. Someone came up with a classic idea. Since many of the villagers made their own wines, the idea was for everyone in the village to bring a large cup of their choice wine to the town square, “We’ll pour it into a large vat and offer it to the king for his pleasure! When the king draws wine to drink, it will be the very best he’s ever tasted!”
The day before the king’s arrival, hundreds of people lined up to make their offering to the honored guest. They climbed a small stairway and poured their gift through a small opening at the top. Finally, the vat was full! The King arrived, was escorted to the square, given a silver cup and was told to draw some wine, which represented the best the villagers had.
He placed the cup under the spigot, turned the handle, and then drank the wine, but it was nothing more than water. You see every villager reasoned, "I’ll withhold my best wine and substitute water, what with so many cups of wine in the vat, the king will never know the difference!" The problem was, everyone thought the same thing, and the king was greatly dishonored.
Today, On April 5, 2019, choose to honor your great King, Jesus Christ by giving Him our very best. Withholding nothing. From this day forward, giving him your all. The manner of your praise should be constant, consistent, and committed.
II. Key 2: Our Faith is Relationship Driven.
Many of those who gathered to throw their coats and palm branches onto the street and who shouted praises did so because it was the popular thing to do at the time. At that one brief moment, Jesus was trendy. Perhaps some began doing it with sincere motives, but others soon did it because others were doing it. Later at the trial, shouting crucify Him was the thing to do. In fact, for a brief moment, it was trendy to make a murderer their hero when they shouted we want Barabbas.
In our own lives, a committed faith comes only through a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. One where every day is fresh and new as he personally directs our steps. In order to have a committed faith, we must develop and maintain a personal relationship with Jesus.
III. Key 3: Let Your Faith Be Strengthened Through Trial Instead of Derailed
At the parade, it was trendy to offer praise… Everyone was doing it.. But At the trial to speak out for Jesus was risky…Possibly even life-threatening.
Many of us come to Jesus expecting everything to go Good… Maybe some slight bad but not too much of it… So when the bottom drops out for us… Do we often ask God Why? Thinking it is not supposed to happen this way.
If our faith is based on our situations or circumstances it will never be committed… It will always be casual. In my life, I have gone to many big Christian events. Many packed large stadiums… Where the praises for God rock the entire arena… Where everyone is praising…
When returning home while everyone is still glowing from the worship, I say guys it is easy to do that here, but tomorrow you face the hard task, can you do that in a world that is not all praising in fact a world that is mocking laughing and is often angry.
A committed faith takes the good with the bad. Knowing that all we are ever promised is that in the midst of both our good and bad; Jesus will never leave us nor forsake us. He will stand with us.
A story is told of A little girl who while walking in a garden noticed a particularly beautiful flower. She admired its beauty and enjoyed its fragrance. “It’s so pretty!” she exclaimed. As she gazed on it, her eyes followed the stem down to the soil in which it grew. “This flower is too pretty to be planted in such dirt!” she cried. So she pulled it up by its roots and ran to the water faucet to wash away the soil. It wasn’t long until the flower wilted and died.
When the gardener saw what the little girl had done, he exclaimed, “You have destroyed my finest plant!”
“I’m sorry, but I didn’t like it in that dirt,” she said. The gardener replied, “I chose that spot and mixed the soil because I knew that only there could it grow to be a beautiful flower.”
God has placed us exactly where we are. We must trust him. In trusting, We eventually see that He is using our pressures, trials, and difficulties to bring us to a new degree of spiritual beauty. True Contentment comes when we accept what God is doing and thank Him for it.
This morning is your faith casual or committed. As we approach this week where our Jesus suffered incredibly for us. A week were our sins, past, present, and future were the nails that hung him on that cross doesn’t Jesus deserve a second look. Doesn’t he deserve total control of your life? Doesn’t he deserve a personal relationship with You? This week consider it all… and choose to give it all to him…
Take it to the Cross
Close
Pray
Sermon Notes
