Iliff and Saltillo UM Churches
Palm Sunday
March 20, 2005
“Choosing to Live By God’s Agenda”
John 12:12-19
INTRODUCTION: Are you aware that year after year we hear or read this story and miss what God is saying to us about our personal life? Within this story is the truth about why many of us are struggling and missing out on life. We want to be happy, to love and be loved, to be fulfilled, successful and to develop to our fullest potential; but the way we often live, we never seem to quite come up to that ideal. Why is this? The Palm Sunday message contains some answers for us.
When Jesus rode into Jerusalem on a colt that day, things were shaping up for a showdown. The crowds went wild shouting, “Hosannah!” and waving Palm branches.
“Blessed is he who comes in the Name of the Lord!”
“Blessed is the coming kingdom of our father David!”
Various types of people lined the streets--the fickle majority who followed him for what they could get, the small convinced minority, the 12 disciples, the critical Pharisees, and other people who opposed him.
Psalm 118:26-27 speaks of this triumphal entry by saying,
“The Lord is God, and He has made his light shine upon us. With boughs in hand, join in the festal procession up to the horns of the altar.”
This Old Testament prophecy was fulfilled on that day as they honored him and called him king. But their agenda was completely different from what His was on that eventful day. The people were looking for a powerful earthly king who would have immediate results in getting them out of the mess they were in. They envisioned an earthly, political kingdom. They envisioned a powerful king. But Jesus rode into town on a colt, another indication of his humility.
The people didn’t understand Jesus’ mission even though He tried to tell them over and over again. They just didn’t get it. They couldn’t grasp what He was trying to tell them probably because they didn’t want to--they had their own agenda. The mission of the people that day was fickle and short term whereas Jesus lived for eternity--a long term salvation of the world--then and in the ages to come. What a contrast between their selfishness and his selflessness.
Jesus knew that in order to help people, He could not live for Himself and do as he pleased. He said many times in Scripture how He wanted to only do the will of the Father who sent Him. Some Scriptures indicating this are John 4:34 in which Jesus said, “my food is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish His work.” Even when things got tough, He continued to say, “Not as I will but as thou wilt” (Matthew 26:39). As he got closer to the crucifixion He prayed, “Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done.” As he prayed this, he was going through much anguish where his sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground. and yet He continued to look at the big picture and continue to move toward the cross.
TRANSITION: So what does all of this have to do with us? Palm Sunday is about whether we are going to be in charge of our life or whether He will be in charge. Palm Sunday is about the “long look” toward the cross and its meaning for all humanity. Jesus could face the cross because He knew what the end results would be. When we are living by His agenda, we may not know about tomorrow, but we know who holds tomorrow. We can face the unknown tomorrows because of this fact.
Many people are hesitant to live by God’s agenda for fear of what it will require of them. There is a fear that the cost will be too great of a sacrifice. Teenagers feel that if they choose God’s agenda over their own, they will miss out on fun. There is a fear that God might ask us to do something we do not want to do. People are afraid that their careers will not go well if they live according to God’s agenda--that they will not be able to get ahead. We drag our feet and say, “Maybe some day I will really commit my life fully to do what God wants me to do.” But the years roll by and we never get around to it.
There was a man who was going to work for the Lord when he retired. He and his wife had been busy doing their own things for years and never had much time for church. When he was 65 he was going to retire and work full time in some kind of Christian service. Then about the time of his retirement, he had a stroke and his health rapidly deteriorated. He was unable to fulfill the things he wanted to do.
Palm Sunday is about whether we will keep on talking about making a difference or whether we are going to give ourselves to actually doing the will of God for our lives. It’s a time when we are confronted with making a choice, and Jesus always gives us a choice. It is up to us.
How do you know you’re living in the will of God? Do the next thing he tells you to do. It is a gradual process. He doesn’t expect you to do it all at once.
1. A Wise Person--”Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on a rock” (Matthew 7:24).
When we choose to live by His agenda, we are building our life on a firm foundation rather than sinking sand. He will give us the wisdom we need to make the best decisions.
STORY: There was a king who gave a servant a walking stick. He said if you can find anyone more stupid than you are, you can give it to him. This servant was a real klutz. It was an ugly old stick but years went by and he never found anyone to give it to. He found out the old king was sick and he went back to visit him. He told him that he was about to die. The old servant said have you made preparations to die? Do you know God? He said, “No, I haven’t made any preparations. I could have, but I didn’t.” The servant said, “Here is the walking stick, for you are far more stupid than I.”
2. Fellowship--”If anyone loves me, he will obey my teaching. My Father will love him, and he will come to him and make our home with him.” John 14:23
We all want friendship and fellowship with people, and He says that when we choose to follow His agenda we will as a result of obeying his teaching have a relationship with God. We won’t be stumbling along through life feeling alone and isolated because we will experience the love of God and His closeness in many ways through all of the circumstances of life.
3. A part of the family--”For whosoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brothers and sister and mother.” Matthew 12:50. We have been accepted into the Family of God and accepted into the beloved. People today crave the bond of family but are having a lot of difficulty building strong family relationships. People feel isolated from one another because of the high mobility in our society, the lack of closeness with their families, and the damage often caused by divorce and separations in families. He says that whoever chooses to do the will of God is a part of the family of God.
4. Insights--”If anyone chooses to do God’s will, he will find out whether my teaching comes from God or whether I speak on my own.” John 7:17
We can receive the insight we need to understand right from wrong. If anyone chooses to God God’s will, he will know whether my teaching comes from God. He will give us the insight to know true from false. We will not have to wonder if we are being deceived or not. The truth will set us free because we are following the One who knows, and He will shine His light on our pathway.
Our meager self-denial and sufferings are gaining for us a richness of life out of all proportion to what we give up. Just from the above scriptures we find out that choosing to live by His agenda, we will gain the wisdom to build our lives on a solid foundation from the beginning. When storms come and we have to make tough decisions, He will give us the wisdom to make the best ones because He knows the end from the beginning and can guide our daily steps better than we ever could by trying to go it alone. Why are we so hesitant to allow the King of Kings and Lord of Lords to guide our steps? Is it perhaps because we don’t know Him as well as we should and our confidence has not developed to the point it should? Jesus teaches us what to do in order to see this confidence grow.
In Luke 9:24-25 he says, “Deny self, take up your cross daily and follow me--not just once in awhile. Our daily commitment and walk with Him will help us to know that He does not want to harm us but wants the best for us. In our daily walk we can make gradual decisions which will give us this assurance and hope not only for the present but for the future. Our journey of faith unfolds with confidence that we will be wise just like the person who built his house on the rock.
CONCLUSION: What happens when we choose to live by God’s agenda? I believe we will start seeing our lives becoming more and more what we want them to be as well as what God wants them to be. We will not be as inclined to be as stressed out or filled with worry and depression. He will fill us with a greater joy and zest for life--remember He is the resurrection and the life. He will start to make us productive people whose lives will have made an impact on our world, our communities, not only now but long after we die and are gone. Our lives will live on in the lives of the people we have helped and touched in some way. When we choose to live by God’s agenda rather than our own, our inner souls will no longer be shallow and impoverished. They will be rich and overflowing.
Today, Palm Sunday, 2005, I would like to ask you these questions:
What do you think God’s agenda is for you? Are you willing to say, “Thy will be done in my life?
Palm Sunday is the time to look at our lives to see where we are standing in the crowd. Are we a part of the fickle majority who lives for the moment, the critical Pharisees, the convinced minority who have had a personal encounter, the disciples who were walking with him daily?
Are you where you want to be with the Lord on this Palm Sunday?
How is God speaking to you this morning? What is He wanting you to do or say at this point in your life? What steps does he want you to take in your faith journey today?
God doesn’t want to make our lives as miserable as possible. Jesus said, “I come that you may have life more abundantly.”
Let us pray:
