Speaker 1: 0:01

Morning. If you haven't noticed, I am not Bryce, I'm the much more handsome version. Let's go ahead and get it started this morning with a word of prayer. God, we just thank you for everything, and really that's the only way we can say it. God, everything, including all those blessings daily that we just continually take for granted. God, we live in the greatest country on earth and we have just so many things that go so right for us all the time, and we thank you for that, and you know that we're thankful for that, even when we don't thank you as we should.

Speaker 1: 0:38

Holy Spirit, we just want to invite you in here this morning. You are welcome here. Just help. The words that we sing and the words that we hear preached and the words that we hear prayed just touch our hearts in some way. God, I pray that if there's someone here that is just looking for that missing piece, god, I just I hope that they don't leave here today without knowing your son, jesus Christ, because that's what it's all about is a relationship with Jesus Christ. So that way, we might's all about is a relationship with Jesus Christ, so that way we might have a home in heaven with you one day, and it's in your son's name we pray.

Speaker 2: 1:11

Amen, amen, I'm satisfied with just a cottage below, a little silver and a little gold. But in that city when the ransom will shine, I want a gold one, that silver line. I've got a mansion. Just over the hilltop, in that bright land where we'll never grow old and someday, yonder, we will never more wander but walk the streets that are purest gold. Don't think me poor or deserted or lonely. I'm not discouraged. I'm heaven bound. I'm just a pilgrim in search of a city. I want a mansion, a robe and a crown.

Speaker 2: 2:28

I've got a mansion just over the hilltop in that bright land where we'll never grow old and someday yonder we will never more wander but walk the streets that are purest gold. My only hope is you, jesus. My only hope is you, from early in the morning till late at night. My only hope is you. My only peace is you, jesus. My only peace is you, from early in the morning to late at night. My only peace is you. My only joy is you, jesus. My only joy is you, from early in the morning Till late at night. My only joy is you. All that I need is you, jesus. All that I need is you is you. From early in the morning till late at night, all that I need is you.

Speaker 1: 4:41

Who else commands all the hosts of heaven? Who else commands?

Speaker 2: 4:44

all the hosts of heaven. Who else can make every king bow down? Who else can whisper and darkness tremble? Only a holy God. Come and behold him. The one and the only Cry out sing holy Forever. A holy God. Come and worship the Holy God. What other beauty demands such praises? What other splendor outshines the sun? What other majesty rules with justice? Only a holy God. Come and behold Him. The one and the only Only cry out sing holy forever. A holy God. Come and worship the holy God. What other glory consumes like fire? What other power can raise the dead? What other name remains undefeated? Only a holy God. Come and behold Him. The one and the only Cry out sing holy forever. A holy God. Come and worship the holy God. The holy God. Come and behold him. The one and the only Cry out sing holy forever. A holy God. Come and worship the Holy God.

Speaker 3: 7:31

Today's scripture reading comes from Zechariah, chapter 9, verse 9. Rejoice, o people of Zion. Shout in triumph. O people of Jerusalem, look, your king is coming to you. He is righteous and victorious, yet he is humble, riding on a donkey, riding on a donkey's colts.

Speaker 4: 7:52

Let's begin with the word of prayer. Father, god, we thank you so much for an opportunity to get together this morning to hopefully be encouraged by one another in your love for us. Father, we're thankful for the way that you bring us together. Lord, I ask that you open up our hearts and our eyes and our ears to the things that you want us to know and to understand. Thank you for your son Jesus. Thank you for his life, his example and how he interacted and just engaged with the world, and we're so thankful for that. And it's through his love that we're here today, and it's through His love that we're here today, and it's in His name that we pray. Amen. Good morning.

Speaker 4: 8:34

Before we get started, I do want to share with you just one thing, real quickly. We are about to enter the month of April and therefore we are starting new Bible classes, the adult Bible classes that are at 9.30. We're starting those. I didn't get a slide up there, so I want to just share this with you. We're going to offer two classes, one being in here in the large auditorium. It is going to be taught by one of our elders, gary Frame, and it is titled Galloping Through Galatians. So you are invited to be there. And then Jeff and I are teaching a class in the small auditorium and we were motivated and encouraged by our elder, so we are doing prancing through the parables in the small auditorium and it'll be a little bit more of a discussion-based, maybe a Bible study tool class as well over in the small auditorium and it'll be a little bit more of a discussion-based, maybe a Bible study tool class as well over in the small auditorium. So those are your two classes. You probably won't forget them now that I've said them. Hopefully those titles stick with you.

Speaker 4: 9:37

But as we get started this morning we're jumping into a new series with the idea of fixed, with the idea of focusing and being fixed on something, and as we enter this season in about four weeks we're going to celebrate Easter and as we look at the life of Jesus, the last week of his life was a really busy time. There was quite a few events, there was quite a few moments that take place in the last week of his life and what we want to do is kind of fixate, if you would, on some of the things that he was focused on in those last moments as he was preparing to fix the relationship for humans and God, and so that's what we're going to do. So, as we get started, I just want you to think about what job or position do you think requires the most attention and focus? Okay, I got an electrician over here. Rigo says electrician.

Speaker 4: 10:43

I thought he was going to say a mattress salesman, right, a surgeon? A parent? Somebody says yes, amen, preach it, brother. What is it? Carpet salesman. A pilot? Hey, yeah, a pilot's on the list. Big Al, I got you on the list. Anything else? Air traffic controlman? Somebody says Raising a baby. Yeah, school bus driver. Policeman All right, here we go.

Speaker 4: 11:19

Let's go through the list real quick. That is a. I learned this last night at midnight. That is a chess grandmaster. Yeah, easy there, there we go. Chess grandmaster, and you get that title. When you get so good at chess Like it's beyond champion, you get this title. And the neat thing about that title is you keep it for your life. It's you are always. Once you are a grand chess master, you are it forever, unless you get caught cheating. Then they rip it away from you. This is what I read in the rules. Second one is this we're counting down, so that was eight. This is number seven A race car driver.

Speaker 4: 12:05

That makes sense, right? You're traveling at high speeds. Any slight movement that isn't necessary could result in a big crash, could result in you losing your pace and things like that. So, race car driver, here's a stock trader dealing with millions of dollars in high pressure decisions and making decisions quickly on what to do with a lot of money and what's going to happen with it. That's a high pressure, a lot of focus.

Speaker 4: 12:29

This one, we said that's an air traffic control person. They have the task of making sure that airplanes both land and take off safely and that they don't run into each other, just to put it simple terms. And so that's a high-focus job. This one's blurry, but pilot you do have to focus. I would think. I don't know. I've never flown a plane. Doug Frame wasn't here this morning. I was going to ask him how hard it is. But a pilot, a sniper, Think about that. You're on a special mission, you have a target. If you miss it might blow the whole thing, because now you're discovered, might ruin the attack. That's number three on the list. Number two a bomb technician. Talk about focus, high pressure situation. You have to be ready because if you make the wrong move, it could be costly for everybody. Also, a demolition expert was on there, somebody that would be preparing to take down a building and make sure it's done safely, and then number one on the list was a surgeon. And so each one of those jobs require an intense focus, because lives, missions and fortunes depend on it.

Speaker 4: 13:56

And this week, as we kind of enter in to the last week of Jesus' life, as he's entering Jerusalem, there's an even greater fixation on not just an immediate task, but an eternal plan for salvation, and that's what Jesus was focused on, and all throughout it he never wavered, even in the face of praise, opposition and suffering. He was focused on His plan. I'm going to do an activity this morning. I want you to close your eyes. Close your eyes, I'm going to try to hopefully lead you into a moment of feeling like you're a part of this story, and so I want you to imagine yourself standing on the crowded streets of Jerusalem.

Speaker 4: 14:43

The city is buzzing with excitement. It is Passover week and it has begun. The streets are packed. There's thousands of pilgrims and visitors in town all over Israel coming to Jerusalem. The merchants are out in the streets shouting, trying to sell their goods. Families are setting up alongside the road, setting up their camp for the week. There's laughing, there's talking and there's preparation for one of the most important celebrations of the year. There's over a quarter million lambs along for the ride in preparation of the Passover and they're running around and they're loud, and you're standing there.

Speaker 4: 15:22

But today is different Because there's a rumor spreading like wildfire through the crowd. People are whispering, people are starting to point, people are starting to run together as friends when finally somebody shouts he's coming and you realize that they're talking about Jesus of Nazareth. You've heard the stories everyone has. The blind can see, the lame can walk. Some are even saying that he raised a man from the dead. Could it really be the Messiah? Could he finally free Israel from the Roman rule?

Speaker 4: 16:05

Then you see it there's a movement at the top of the Mount of Olives. A large crowd is now coming down the road and in the midst of it, in the top of the Mount of Olives, a large crowd is now coming down the road and in the midst of it, in the middle of the crowd, riding on a donkey, is Jesus the Savior, the Messiah. The people around you start to push forward and start rushing forward. Some of them are cutting branches off the palm trees and waving them in the air. Other people are now taking off their cloaks and their coats and they're laying them on the dusty road. And it's like a royal procession, but it's different. A warrior king would come on a war horse, with soldiers and weapons, but Jesus is here on a donkey, a symbol of peace, a symbol of humility.

Speaker 4: 16:57

But in all of this, the people don't even really notice. The crowd begins to shout, with their voices growing louder and louder Hosanna, hosanna to the Son of David, blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. The sound is echoing off the city walls and it's almost deafening. People are cheering, they're clapping, they're crying out with joy Hosanna, hosanna, save us. Now. They believe that Jesus is the King they've been waiting for, the One who will overthrow Rome and restore Israel's glory.

Speaker 4: 17:35

But as you in the crowd look closer at Jesus, you notice something's different. He's not smiling like somebody who's about to claim the throne. His eyes are set ahead and he's looking beyond the celebration. There's almost a determination in his face. As you look at him and for a moment, you see something. You see a moment of sorrow. You hear the murmurs in the crowd, some are confused. The Pharisees are standing at a distance and they're furious. And one of them finally shouts out Teacher, tell your followers to stop. But then, as you're watching Jesus, you see Him look and reply and he says if they keep quiet, even the stones would cry out.

Speaker 4: 18:23

As the celebration continues, jesus draws closer to the city gate and as suddenly something unexpected happens, you're watching and you notice that he stops and he looks over all of Jerusalem and then he begins to weep. The crowd doesn't notice, they're too busy celebrating. But you see it, you hear His words as he whispers through His tears. If only you had known on this day what would bring you peace. But it's been hidden from your eyes and at that moment you realize Jesus knows something that the crowd doesn't. He knows that they're shouting for the wrong kind of salvation. He knows that just in a few days, many of their voices crying Hosanna will then be crying out, crucify Him. He knows that the very people he came to save will reject Him. But as you watch Jesus, he continues to ride on. He continues to fixate on His mission. Still, he will fulfill the Father's plan, no matter the cost.

Speaker 4: 19:36

You can open your eyes. Hopefully you didn't fall asleep. Can you see it? Can you imagine it? Hopefully you were able to. There's the tension in the air, but there's celebration in the air. But there's celebration in the air because Jesus, the Savior, the King, is in town. Jesus wasn't distracted by the praise of the crowd or the opposition of the Pharisees, but he was focused on what he was determined to do. And so, as we jump into Scripture, we're going to be in Mark 11, v. 1-3, here in just a second. And we're going to be in Mark 11, verse 1 through 3, here, justa second. And we're going to jump around the four Gospels.

Speaker 4: 20:15

All four Gospels tell this event. It says as Jesus and his disciples approached Jerusalem, they came to the towns of Bethpage and the Bethany on the Mount of Olives. Jesus sent two of them ahead. Go into the village over there, he told them, and as soon as you enter it, you will see a young donkey tied there that has never been ridden. Untie it and bring it here. And if anyone asks what you are doing, just say the Lord needs it and he will return it soon.

Speaker 4: 20:49

I love this moment because Jesus basically just says put it on the tab. Put it on the tab and there's no questioning it. He just tells the disciples you just go and I prepared it. The way has been prepared. This is all how it's supposed to be. You're going to see this colt, you're going to see this donkey that nobody has ever ridden and just grab it, take it and if anybody says anything, just say Jesus said so. And that's what they did. And we were talking about this in the 830. And Mark and I kind of had a chuckle because you imagine these disciples kind of pulling this donkey that's never been trained before and it's kind of bucking and pulling and it doesn't know what you're doing. And they're probably thinking what in the world is Jesus going to do with this thing? Maybe we got the wrong one. But you see, what happens in this story is we learn that Jesus is fixated on fulfilling the Father's plan. Jesus is fixated on fulfilling the Father's plan. Jesus is fixated on fulfilling the Father's plan.

Speaker 4: 21:56

Zechariah 9.9,. What Steeler read for you says Rejoice, o people of Zion, shout and triumph, o people of Jerusalem. Look, your King is coming to you. He is righteous. He is victorious, yet he is humble. He is victorious, yet he is humble. Who does that sound like? That's Jesus. It's a prophecy that was written years and years before. He says your King is coming, jerusalem. He's righteous, he's going to be victorious. Yet he's humble, and you'll know. He's righteous, he's going to be victorious, yet he's humble, and you'll know he's coming because he's going to ride on a donkey and it's going to be a colt and it's going to be something that has never been ridden before. You see, he wasn't just fulfilling the prophecy by accident. He knew exactly what he was doing. He was making, for one of the first times he was making the public declaration that he was in fact the prophesied king.

Speaker 4: 22:57

Most of the time when Jesus did something, he kind of hushed everybody down. You know, he did a miracle where he healed somebody and he said, hey, don't say anything. But this time it's not like that. It's boldness of this is who I am. I am the prophesied King. So he rode not just any donkey, but he rode a colt. He rode an animal that had never been ridden before. That's a small detail that we maybe miss sometimes, but it's significant A wild, untamed colt submitting to the Messiah.

Speaker 4: 23:33

Normally an animal that had never been ridden before would be wild, it would be considered unbroken and it would probably be resistant. A colt that had never been saddled would likely buck and resist and panic when somebody would go to sit on it. Now I want you to also think about this. What happens when you put a child in a loud room? They go nuts. What would happen to an animal when you put it in a loud space? What's it going to do? Most likely it's going to go crazy. You got it. Most likely it's going to go crazy. You got it. Faith, it's going to go crazy.

Speaker 4: 24:16

Yet when Jesus sits on the young, untrained colt, it remains calm and obedient. We don't read the story that Jesus was hanging on for dear life as he was riding through Jerusalem, but we get the sense that it was a peaceful entry. He's riding through Jerusalem, but we get the sense that it was a peaceful entry Because it simply carries the Savior in perfect surrender. The moment almost paints a beautiful spiritual parallel for us. Like the colt, we are often untamed, resistant and wanting to do our own thing, but when we allow Jesus to take the reign of our lives, we find peace, purpose and direction.

Speaker 4: 24:55

The colt wasn't forced into submission. It's simply yielded to the presence of Jesus and we have to simply yield to the presence of Jesus. Are we calm under his presence or are we consistently fighting for control? Are we willing to be used by God, even when we don't understand the plan? Now, I know it's just an animal, but you have to be thinking. What in the world is going on? It's loud, people are shouting, somebody's trying to sit on me. Do we allow Jesus to direct our steps or do we try to go our own way? Just as the colt was at peace under Jesus, we find peace when we surrender to him.

Speaker 4: 25:37

The world teaches us that submission is weakness, but the kingdom of God says surrender leads to strength and purpose. When we fight against God, we live in chaos, but when we yield to him, we experience the peace of being in the hands of the king. The donkey was in the hands of the king. An unbroken animal remains calm under the Messiah. I believe that's on your outline there. An unbroken animal remains calm under the Messiah. That teaches you and I something. It teaches you and I that I can find calmness when I put God first, when I align things in the way that they need to be God first and I'm under Him. God's in control and I'm yielding to His presence. Many times we like to put ourself up there and it causes chaos. But there is peace in the hands of the king.

Speaker 4: 26:39

So Jesus was fixated on fulfilling the Father's plan for his life. That's what was guiding and directing his movements. The second thing is this is he's fixated on being what they needed, not what others wanted him to be? Jesus was fixated on being what they needed, not what others wanted him to be. It takes us to Luke 19. We're switching Gospels for just a second. It takes us to Luke 19, where it says so they brought the colt to Jesus and threw their garments over it for Him to ride on. As he rode along, the crowd spread out their garments on the road ahead of Him and when they reached the place where the road started down, the Mount of Olives, all of His followers began to shout and to sing as they walked along, praising God for all the things that he did. The people began to shout Hosanna. Do you know what the word Hosanna means? Save us now. The people are grabbing branches and spreading out their clothes and it's this big procession of praise and they're saying Save us now.

Speaker 4: 27:49

But for many people in the crowd, they wanted a political Messiah. For many people in the crowd, they wanted a political Messiah. For many people in the crowd, they had an expectation of what Jesus was going to be. He was going to overthrow Rome and become the physical king that they thought they were getting. They expected a majestic conqueror who would bring victory, and instead they received a suffering servant who would bring peace. They wanted a warrior king, but Jesus came as a suffering servant. They wanted an immediate political victory, but Jesus came to win eternal victory through the cross.

Speaker 4: 28:30

And we sit there and we say how did they miss it? We do it all the time. We have expectations of what God is supposed to do in our life right, we get that way. We have expectations of what God is supposed to do in our life right, we get that way. We have expectations of the way that God is supposed to handle a situation. God is supposed to be the Savior, so he's supposed to bless me and I'm supposed to have all of these riches. Well then, when it doesn't happen, it leaves us frustrated. And when it doesn't fit our timeline, oftentimes we just say I'm done. When we create these expectations of what God is supposed to be, what Jesus is supposed to be, and it's not met, then we often quit, just like the people in Jerusalem.

Speaker 4: 29:12

We sometimes misunderstand who Jesus is. We have to understand that he came to fulfill a greater plan than whatever plan that we come up with. Lastly, as we kind of wrap up, he's fixated on people. He is fixated on people. Luke 19, 41-42. But as he came closer to Jerusalem, he saw the city ahead and he began to weep. He began to weep. He says how I wish today that you, of all people, would understand the way to peace.

Speaker 4: 29:59

Jesus wept. It wasn't just a silent tear. If you read the Greek, the word that's used implies that it was a deep, sorrowful weep. This wasn't a hidden cry, it wasn't just a cry into your shoulder, but this was weeping because he was heartbroken because the people weren't going to experience the peace that he wanted to bring. He was lamenting for them because he knew what was coming. Jesus' desire is for people to experience the love, peace and joy that only he can offer. You see, jesus was fixated on the people. Even when they were going to reject Him, even though the city didn't recognize Him for who he truly was, he still was heartbroken for them.

Speaker 4: 30:47

I don't think this is one of those moments where Jesus is crying because he knows what's going to happen or what he's about to go through. I think he's weeping in this moment because he loves people and it was all part of the plan to love people and I was all part of the plan to love people and I think he's just truly heartbroken at this point Because there's some that just don't understand, and so the question that we have to ask ourselves, as we kind of think about this, is what am I fixated on? What am I focused on? What is it that drives me on a weekly basis, on a daily basis? What is it that I'm pursuing? What is it that I'm focused on? Do I weep over lost souls or do I just get frustrated at a broken world? I don't think Jesus is mad and angry. He's sad because of the broken world. Do I weep over the lost or do I just say, hey, how bad the world is.

Speaker 4: 31:54

Jesus wasn't angry at their blindness, he was broken for them. Jesus didn't just fixate on people himself, he called you and I to fixate on them as well. In Matthew, chapter 4, one of the first things that we hear Jesus say, as he's calling his disciples, it says he was walking along the shore of the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers Simon also called Peter, and he saw Andrew. They were throwing their nets into the water, for they fished for a living. Jesus called to them come and follow Me and I will show you how to fish for people. And they left their nets at once and they followed Him. That was Jesus' invitation at the beginning and then in Luke 19,.

Speaker 4: 32:44

As it comes to an end, he's weeping because it's all about people. His greatest focus was on renewing the relationship with a broken world. Let's pray, father. We thank you so much for showing us the heart of Jesus, father, that His heart was fixated on people from the moment that he called his disciples to be fishers of men to the moment that he's weeping in Jerusalem.

Speaker 4: 33:10

Father, we're so thankful for the fact that your love never wavered and that you were focused on fulfilling the Father's plan. Father, I pray that we can fix our eyes on the things that Jesus fixes his eyes on. Father, I pray that you break our hearts for the lost, that we use our hands to reach out to the hurting and that you will use our feet to move towards love. Father, I pray that we won't be distracted by the things of this world and the many different things and challenges and obstacles that you throw our way or that is thrown our way, or that is thrown our way, but that we would focus on your mission, your people and your kingdom. Thank you for Jesus. It's in His name we pray, amen.

Speaker 1: 33:53

Amen. There are things as we travel this earth-shifting sands.

Speaker 2: 34:00

That transcend all the reason of man, but the things that matter the most in this world, they can never be held in our hands. I believe in a hill called Mount Calvary. I believe whatever the cost. And when time has surrendered and earth is no more, I'll still cling to that old rugged cross.

Speaker 2: 34:50

I believe that this life with its great mysteries, surely someday will come to an end, but faith will conquer the darkness and death and will lead me at last to my friend. I believe in a hill called Mount Calvary. I'll believe whatever the cost. And when time has surrendered and earth is no more, I'll still cling to that old, rugged cross Over all the earth. You reign on high, every mountain stream, every sunset sky. But my one request, Lord, my only aim, is that you reign in me again. Lord. Reign in me, reign in your power over all my dreams, my dreams In my darkest hour. You are the Lord of all I am, so won't you reign in me again, over every thought?

Speaker 2: 36:31

over every word, may my life reflect the beauty of my Lord, because you mean more to me than any earthly thing, so won't you reign in me again. Lord reign in me, reign in your power over all my dreams, in my darkest hour. You are the Lord of all I am. So won't you reign in me again. So won't you reign in me again, lord, won't you reign in me again.

Speaker 1: 37:18

We are dismissed. Have a great week. Invite somebody to church next week.