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Second Coming | Live Sermon

Kennesaw First Media Ministry

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SPEAKER_00

Welcome to the Kid It's Out First Podcast, where we're building transformed lives one message at a time. Each week you'll hear Christ-centered sermons from Dr. J. Perry Fowler, rooted in the truth of God's Word. This is where real faith meets real life, because a life built on truth is a life that lasts.

SPEAKER_01

Turn to Matthew chapter 21. We're going to look there today at this Palm Sunday story. While you're turning there, let me ask you: do any of you like to go to the mountains? Any of you like feel it this morning? Okay, the mountains are calling and I must go. Anybody feeling that way this morning? All right. Probably many of you are. Well, here's the good news spring break is coming. All right? It's gonna happen pretty soon. But you know, when we think about mountains, mountains have always been good to me. I love mountains. I love to go to the mountains. Matter of fact, I was even born in a town called Mountain Home. Uh, not only that, but uh years later I ended up marrying a girl, and her uh her dad was the pastor at First Baptist Church of Mountain Home. And uh so I returned back there, even though I hadn't lived there for a really long time. But when we look at mountains in the Bible, we see that mountains are very, very significant. Probably none more than this mountain that we read about this morning. I want you to begin there looking with me. It says, and when they had approached Jerusalem and had come to Bethage at, here it is, the Mount of Olives. At the Mount of Olives. What happens? The Bible says, then Jesus sent his two disciples, saying to them, Go into the village opposite to you, uh, and immediately you will find a donkey there, a colt with her, untie them and bring them to me. And if anyone says to you, you shall say, anything to you, you shall say, The Lord, here it is, has need of them, and immediately he will send them. And he took, this took place to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet, say to the daughter of Zion, Behold, your king is coming to you, Gentile, and mounted on the donkey, and even a colt, a foal, of a beast of burden. And then the disciples went and did just as Jesus had instructed them. He brought the donkey and the colt and laid the coats on them, and he set on the coats. And most of the crowds spread their coats on the road, and the others were cutting branches, you know the story, from the trees and spreading them on the road. And the crowds were going ahead of them, and those who followed were shouting, Hosanna. Let's try that out. Somebody yell, Hosanna, Hosanna, to the Son of David. All right, let's try it again. Hosanna to the son of David. We got to do it at least one more time. Hosanna to the son of David. There you go. Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. You know the story. It's an incredible story. We read about that story in Matthew chapter 21, and we can read about it in many, many other gospels. But they were shouting, Hosanna to the Son of David. What an incredible day of celebration it would have seemed to Jesus. Now, when we pause, we think about mountains, we remember that God has done many things on mountain Moses. We've been studying through the book of Exodus. He wanted to, of course, uh climb that old ragged Mount Sinai. And when he did, he found that he met God there, and God said, I am that I am. Say that with me. I am that I am. And we've been studying all about how God reveals himself to us, but he revealed himself especially to the disciples when he went to another mountain. The other mountain was the Mount of Transfiguration. That mountain is up in the northern part of Israel. It's called Mount Hermon. It's covered by snow most of the time. That old snowy caps of Mount Hermon. That's where we see the deity and the humanity of Jesus embraced as Jesus Christ is transfigured before them. So we know that part of the story. Then we read about Abraham in the Old Testament. We read about him going to a mountain. He went to the top of Mount Moriah. And when he did, he took his little boy Isaac. You know the story. And uh there they he laid his son on the altar, but God had a plan, and that was for a ram to be there, a male sheep, so that in turn that he could experience the resurrected life through the substitute lamb. Now that's a story. Story after story after story in the Bible include mountains. So when we think about Mount of Olives, we have to recognize that it is probably one of the most significant mountains in Israel. Because it was there on the Mount of Olives, of course, that Jesus began his descent on Palm Sunday. It was a triumphal moment many people saw in Jerusalem. And that mount was the Mount of Olives, of course, where Jesus would later go and he would sweat drops of blood. Seventy days later, Jesus would ascend to heaven. And the Mount of Olives is very, very significant in the Bible. But in verse 9, what we see happening here on this particular day, we see that these crowds were gathering. Now Jesus had been over in a place called Bethany. And while he had been over there, he made it known who he was. He made it known he was the resurrected and the life because he raised Lazarus from the dead over there. And there were crowds gathering. People were beginning to believe in Jesus. People were beginning to see who Jesus truly was. He truly is God in the flesh. And the Bible says in verse 9, the crowds were going ahead of him, and the crowd following them were shouting, Hosanna. And so what we find is we find in this whole passage, we see this particular mountain, which is very significant, not just for the day 2,000 years ago when Jesus comes down the Palm Sunday mountain, this Mount of Olives, but also it is significant because there will be a second triumphal entry, and that second triumphal entry will take place when Jesus Christ comes again in the second coming. Now, when we look at this whole Palm Sunday story, we have to see that it foreshadows something that will happen in the future. So we have to pause and kind of understand yes, there was a first triumphal entry, but praise God, there is coming a second triumphal entry that will happen in the prophetic calendar. And may it be today. Oh Lord Jesus, come. You know what I'm saying? So Jesus Christ is coming again. He came the first time in the first triumphal entry. He's coming again in the second triumphal entry. And what do we know about this? When we go to this mountain today and we look and we see that they approached Jerusalem and had come to Bethage and the Mount of Olives, and Jesus here is there at the Mount of Olives. One crowd is coming from Bethany, the other crowd is coming from Jerusalem. They meet together at the crest of that mountain, and there they begin to do these wonderful things, which is as they begin to celebrate Jesus Christ as King. So what do we know about Jesus? Jesus came the first time as King, and Jesus Christ is coming again as the King. Now, with that said, let's kind of open up the passage and let's learn a little bit about these two triumphal entries. What do we know about it? Well, when we talk about the triumphal entry, the first triumphal entry, we can kind of pause and say it was kind of a troubling entry. And the reason why is because these people are gathered together. Some came from Bethany, some came from Jerusalem. They came together at the crest of the mountain, and the Bible says that they begin to take down palms. And then they begin to sing a song. And Jesus Christ now at this point, it was not just a triumphal entry for them, but this was a troubling moment for Jesus. The first day of the Passion Week, which was that Sunday, which we celebrate and commemorate on this day, that was a troubling day for Jesus. And the reason why it was a troubling day is because of one thing. They were encouraging Jesus to take the crown as King of the universe, as King of Kings, and Lord of Lords, but without the cross. They didn't want him to go to the cross. Remember, Peter didn't want Jesus to go to the cross. And Jesus was constantly having to rebuke people who were when he would begin talking about the cross. And many people would walk away when he talked about the cross because they did not want Jesus Christ to do anything other than just be king. Now let's look at this and let's kind of unpackage it this morning. What we find again, there was one crowd coming from Bethany, one crowd coming from Jerusalem, and they begin to coronate Jesus. Let's see it as we begin to read this passage. We read in verse 8, it says, and most of the crowd, this is what they did, they spread their coats on the road. Now notice what they do. And the others were cutting down branches from the trees and spreading them on the road. And the crowds were going ahead of him, and those that followed were shouting these words, Hosanna. We did that well a minute ago. To the son of David, blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. So no, for us to understand what God is doing here is God is preparing Jesus for the cross. But yet the crowd is coming and they're saying, we want him to be king. We don't want the cross. And so Jesus Christ had prepared for this moment the day before. What we know is Jesus Christ had gone over to Bethany. He had raised Lazarus from the dead. He had proven that he is the resurrection and the life. The chief priests in the meantime were trying to get together to kill Jesus. And then many began to believe in Jesus. And so this is why we have two crowds. We have a crowd from Bethany that have experienced this resurrection, this life of Jesus, and raising Lazarus from the dead. And then we have this other group from Jerusalem. And they meet together again at the crest of this mountain and they begin to celebrate and try to seek to coronate Jesus as the king. And they do it in two ways. First off, they do it with branches. Now that's very significant when we study and we understand the Jewish times of that day. And what we know would happen is back in that day, during the festivals of the Jews, they would cut down branches. And a lot of times in churches, you see them doing that on Palm Sunday. There will be people in churches all over America today that will come in. Children will walk through the aisles and they'll wave these palm branches. They're probably doing that in our children's church this morning. But as they did that, that was a symbol. First off, it was a symbol of celebration of being released from Egyptian bondage. But on top of that, it was a celebration of the Messiah who would be the branch of Jesse. And so what they were doing with these palms is they were singing, Jesus, you're the true Messiah. Jesus, you're the true king. Go and take your crown. But then what we find is they began to sing a song. It was a familiar song. And it was a song that they would sing, and it went like this Hosanna to the Son of David. In other words, save now, save now is what Hosanna means. And so, right then, what they're wanting them to do is come and be the king without the crown. They don't understand the second triumphal entry, which we'll get to in just a moment, but they only now at this moment just want Jesus Christ to become the king that they desire for him to be. But there would be no crown without the cross. So Jesus does something so that he can communicate what kind of king he was and what he is, and he tells his disciples, we read it in verse 2, he says, Go to the village opposite of you, and immediately you will find a donkey. Now, what's going on here? Why does he want a donkey? He says he's going to see it tied, and there'll be a colt with her, untie them, bring them to him. Anybody asks, hey, what's going on? Just say, hey, the Lord has need of these, and they'll let you have them. So this was all part of prophecy. This was all foreordained. We see that in verse 4. And just to show that Jesus knew what was about to happen. Jesus knew that they would want him to take the crown, but not have him go to the cross. This is a time of temptation for Jesus. It was a time when they were tempting Jesus and they probably didn't even understand it to the level that they were. But Jesus knew there would be no true peace without the prince of peace giving his life in pain on the cross. So what we look forward to in this particular week is as we look forward to the Friday, because without Friday, there would have never been a Sunday. Without the death of Jesus, there would never be the resurrection of Jesus. And by the way, Jesus is the resurrection and life. And if you want to know for certain that you're going to heaven, then you have to come through Jesus. Jesus is the resurrection and life. He says, even if a man dies, yet shall he live. Why? Because I am the resurrection and life. Your trust in anything else outside of Jesus will never get you to heaven. It required a cross before we could get a crown. Now, with that said, Jesus takes this donkey, and what's this donkey represent? It represents peace. It represents, of course, humility, the humility of Jesus. And so Jesus is seeking to communicate with them what kind of salvation he's about to bring. And it's salvation of sins from sins. And it was going to take place through his humility, through his going willingly to the cross and dying for you and me. Aren't you grateful for the cross? I love why Paul said, God forbid if I I would glory in anything but the cross. But the cross of Jesus Christ. But they wanted him to have his glory. They wanted this to be the glory moment for Jesus, but instead, this was the moment he was preparing to die. You know, so often when we think about kings and the kings entering into uh their kingdom, and we think about the coronation of kings, what happens is when a king is, of course, when he's coronated, you take the crown and you put it on their head. Whether it's a man or whether a woman, Queen Elizabeth, by the way, had a$20 million crown. You didn't know that when you saw her on TV, did you? But she had a$20 million crown. Charlemagne had a crown that was had eight sides. It was studded with emeralds, sapphires, and pearls. And Charlemagne, they say that the cost of that crown was the price of a king's ransom. That's how expensive it was. Furthermore, uh Richard the Lionheart, he had a crown that was so heavy that he had to have two people holding the crown steady while it set on his head. So we'd always have two servants, one on this side, one on this side, holding up his crown because it was so glorious. But when we think about Jesus Christ, he didn't come to take that kind of crown. He came as a humble king. And what we know he came to do is he came to wear a crown. Yes, it was a crown, but it was not a crown that was formed by the skillful fingers of a silversmith. It was not created by a craftsman. It was put together by a rough hands of a hurried Roman soldier who put it on his head, not in pomp and ceremony, but put it on his head as hollow mockery and blasphemy. It was a crown of thorns. And that's why Jesus Christ came to wear for you and me at the first triumphal entry. But here's the good news Jesus Christ is coming again. And because Jesus Christ is coming again, the Bible says he's going to come back to that mountain, that same mountain, the Mount of Olives. And the Bible says that when he comes, that he's not coming on a donkey. Let me read it to you. And I saw him that opened up the heavens, and behold, a white horse. Jesus Christ is not coming on a donkey at the second triumphal entry. He's coming on a white horse. And the Bible says, and he who sat on him was called faithful and true, and in righteousness he judges and he makes war. His eyes are a flame of fire, and on his head, listen to this, are many diadems. Yes, the first time he wore a crown of thorns, but the next time he'll wear diadems because he is king of kings and he is Lord of Lords. Upon his name and upon his vesture will be this name. Nobody will know the name. His cloak is dipped in blood, and his name is the word of God. And on his robe and on his thigh, there will be this one statement written: King of kings and Lord of Lords. That's who he is. That's my King, Jesus. And he's coming again. The first time he came on a lowly donkey, the next time he's coming as Lord, and he is going to judge the living and the dead. And I encourage you today, get ready. Jesus is coming again. And as he's preparing to come again, you're going to see him someday as king. But the second thing we see is he's going to come back to the same mountain. Now we see this. And this first triumphal entry, the Bible says, and when they approached the Mountain of Olives, in the sovereignty of God, God had a plan. He pre-planned this access for this donkey so Jesus could get on it. And so, okay, the first time, the first triumphal entry, I'm going to come and I'm going to give my life. But they went to the Mount of Olives. The Mount of Olives played a major role in the passion of Jesus. I've already mentioned it. Jesus, of course, was there. He came down the Mount of Olives so that he could offer to give life to us through his death. Jesus, of course, on that night before his death, the moment of his betrayal, he was on his knees in that garden, sweating drops of blood. The first blood shed for your salvation was shed in the garden of Gethsemane. And then Jesus followed that resurrection, and he went back 70 days later to that same mountain, and there were two angels there, and Jesus ascended to heaven. And praise God he did because he's at the right hand of God. And if you were to die tonight, here's the good news you have a king and you have a priest that will be your advocate because he is ascended on high. What a glorious Savior we have. Now, in this, though, I love to read about the second, second and wonderful triumphal entry of Jesus. Because yes, he came the first time on a donkey, he's coming next time on a white horse, but he's coming to the same mountain. And Zechariah chapter 14, verse 4 says what's going to happen at that mountain at the second coming of Jesus. He says, In that day his feet will stand on, here it is, the Mount of Olives, which is in the front of Jerusalem to the east, and the Mount of Olives will be split in the middle, and then from the from the east to the west, and a very large valley will be formed there, so that half the mountain will move toward the north and the other half toward the south. And what's this say to me? This is that when Jesus comes again and he puts his foot on this earth, it's going to move mountains. Listen, every eye will see him. The rapture of the church tells us that prior to this, what we know will happen is Jesus will come, and the Bible says he comes as a thief in the night. Let me tell you, at the second coming, he's not coming as a thief. He's gonna put his foot down, and when he puts his foot down, listen, it's gonna wake up the world because it's gonna split this mountain, the Mount of Olives. And Jesus is going to walk down that old Kendron Valley, the place where the blood was flowing from the sacrifices of Passover, which Jesus would have got his feet bloodied simply by walking across there, going over to Gethsemane. But yet what we know is this second triumphal entry, Jesus will go down and he'll walk up to the Eastern Gate, which by the way, if you'll study it, is sealed until this time of the Messiah Jesus Christ comes again in his glory in this second coming. And it is fit through scripture and fit through prophecy, and it's still a reality in Jerusalem today. But that eastern gate will open and Jesus will walk into Jerusalem and Jesus. When he walks in, he'll sit down on the throne of David and he will rule and reign for a thousand years. That's what the Bible teaches. You say, Well, I've never heard about that. Yeah, you have because you've probably heard the Lord's prayer. And you've probably been praying this for years. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Little did you know you're praying for the second triumphal entry of Jesus Christ to come soon. Oh, come, Lord Jesus, come. What a glorious day that's going to be. But when we have that experience, when the second coming happens, listen, it is going to be that same mountain. It will split in half. And what we know is everything will be changed. The Bible says in Isaiah chapter 24, verse 23, for the Lord of hosts will reign on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem, and his glory will be before the elders. You know who the elders are? Look at your neighbor and say, That's us the church. That's us the church. We're going to reign with him forever. And what a glorious thing that is. But in this thousand-year millennial reign, what we find is what the world has been longing for, what the earth has longed for, will finally happen. We will have a peace on earth like we have not experienced before Eden took place. And uh it will be a glorious day. Somebody say, Come on, Jesus, come on. I love what Jerry Vine says. He says it this way He says, you know, when I get up and I come to that morning stroll down the streets, there'll be a wagon full of roses. And I'll look over at this lady and I'll say, There's no thorns on the roses. And she'll say, she'll say, I'll say, Where did you get those roses? She says, I got them in the desert. To which he said, I'll say this, uh, in the desert, how in the world do roses without thorns grow in the desert? And she says, Have you not heard? The Lord reigns in Zion, and the desert shall bloom like a rose. But also I will walk up, he said, to a pet shop, and a man will be buying a cobra for his little boy for a pet. I'll say, Why are you buying that little boy a poisonous snake so that he can have it as a peep a pet? And he'll say to me, Haven't you heard the Lord reigns in Zion? And the lion shall eat straw like the lamb, like the lamb, and the little child shall play upon the whole of the cobra. He said, This, I'll go a little further and I'll say, Where are the policemen? Someone will answer to them, the Lord reigns in Zion. Have you not heard that we've beat the swords and the plowshares and the spears and into pruning hooks, and the nations are gonna learn war no more. Somebody say hallelujah. In our world of war and loss, Jesus Christ is coming again. He said, I'll go up and ask if there's a hospital I can go visit since I'm a pastor. And so I can encourage the sick. And somebody will say, There's no need for hospitals here. Haven't you heard? The Lord reigns in Zion, and the inhabitants of the land will never say, I'm sick. And he says, I'll look for the crippled, and they'll say, We don't have any of those anymore because the Lord reigns in Zion. And I'll say, Well, are there any deaf mute around? He says, Ah, we don't have those either, because the Lord reigns in Zion. Have you not heard? Jesus Christ is coming again. And when he comes again, listen, there will be no more cemeteries because Jesus, the Lord, will reign in Zion. There will be no more churches, believe it or not, because we will go to the mountain of God in Jerusalem, will flood it, and we will worship him face to face, King of kings, Lord of Lords. Can you even envision it? That's the word of God. Have you even heard of that? It's all in the scriptures. All that will be broken and have been broken will be restored. All that's lost will be found. All that's been cursed will be reversed, and Jesus, when he comes again, is going to be glorious. Let me read to you Romans 8. Write it down. Read it this afternoon, Romans 8, 9 through 25. I like the message version of it. It says, the created world itself can hardly wait for what's coming next. Somebody say, I can't wait. Everything in creation is going to be more or less held back. God reigns in it and all creation and all creatures will be ready. They will be released at the same moment into the glorious times ahead. And meanwhile, the joyful anticipation deepens. You ever been anticipating something in your life? Can you anticipate a place where there's no more? No more. And no more of everything you can think of in this world that involves evil. Let me tell you what happened to me this week. It was kind of weird. We were going to a wedding this weekend. And we were going to a wedding and we went around the other side of Atlanta. And we drove up to go to eat some holy chicken. Chick-fil-A. If y'all don't know that. We went to go to church. And guess what happened? At the drive-thru, somebody's SUV caught on fire. I know somebody's gonna say that ought to be a sin. I'm sure you will. But we drove over to Chipulte and we parked our truck in there, and I wasn't paying a whole lot of attention. My wife had her set of keys. I had my set of keys. I left my set of keys in the console. And we were sitting there just eating our very healthy Chipulte, which was actually healthy. And uh while we were eating it, all of a sudden my alarm on my truck, and I got up and I looked, I was kind of stunned by it, and there was a white SUV of some guys that backed in right next to it. And um we set the alarm off. And somebody could say, well, they just bumped into it. I tried it out later, I just didn't tell my wife, and I locked the car door and I pulled that front handle like I was trying to get in, and guess what? But all I knew is when I walked out there, I got out there quick, and the guy's eyes were about this big around and saucers, and I just looked at them like I was Jesus. I know Michael, the archangel, had to be in front of me because they took off fast. But I thought, you know, what a world we're living in. What a world we're living in. You just don't know any moment, any second. Something can happen. But when Jesus comes again, this brings us to the third point. He's going to rule the world with a rod of iron. Have you ever read that? Let me show you this. When we read scripture, what we know is when Jesus comes again, we're going to celebrate the fullness of salvation. At the first triumphal entry, by the way, Jesus entered the temple, and remember what he did? He drove out the money changers. Remember how he did that? The one time we see Jesus angry, he takes some cords and he starts giving some people a holy licking. You know what I'm saying? I mean, he is executing judgment. And while he's doing this, of course, we're mind-blown by that because Jesus had such authority, nobody stopped him. They couldn't stop him. He's God. But yet, when Jesus Christ comes again, have you read what he's going to do? Yeah, in the first triumphal entry, if you read this passage, look on down, look at verse 12. He will cleanse the temple. He did in the first uh event. It says, and Jesus entered the temple. This is at the first triumphal entry. He went down to the temple. He drove out all those who were buying and selling in the temple, and they overturned tables of money changers and seats of those who were selling doves. Let me tell you, if Jesus comes into your house tonight and starts kicking over stuff, you better get on your knees and repent. You know what I'm saying? And he said, it is written, My house shall be called a house of prayer, and you're making it a den of thieves or a robber's den. And the blind and the lame, notice what happens after that. The blind and the lame came to him in the temple and he healed them. This is the one thing I see about Jesus. Jesus, as he began the Passion Week, the one thing that we know about him is he continually communicated that he is God. All the way from what we mentioned last week, that he that when Malchus, of course, Peter cut off his ear, he put his hand on his ear, and when he put his hand on that spot on his ear, he didn't have a reattachment, he had a recreation. And I teased about that with my dad joke and said, hey, that's the first miracle here. But nonetheless, can you imagine what that was like? Even the high priest slave knew that Jesus was God. Only God can recreate or create. But now what he's doing is in the very temple of the people that are planning for his death, the Bible says that in front of them the blind and the lame came to the temple and he healed them. It's obvious Jesus is God. And this is his father's house. This is the house of the Lord. And he said, You made it a den of thieves or robbers' den. But the chief priest, notice this. The chief priests and the scribes saw the wonderful things that he had done. See, they didn't miss out on it. And the children who were singing and shouting in the temple and Hosanna to the son of the David, and they became excited and happy. Is that what that says? No, it says they became indignant. Do you know why? They rejected the Son of God. They rejected even knowing who he was, they rejected him. And today you'd say, well, why would anybody reject Jesus? Well, let me just ask you the question: why would you? If you know the gospel, if you're online and you're hearing us today and you say, I know the gospel, I know Jesus, but in your life, you have no intention of following Jesus. You have no intention of living for Jesus, you have no intention of truly knowing him personally in your life. You're just hoping for a ticket to heaven. Listen, why would you treat Jesus who died for you in such a manner? But God is a God of grace. And God offered opportunity. I want you to see what happens here, and we'll get back to this and I'll take this thing to the house. What it says is, and the children were shouting in the temple. Let's say this again, travel with me. Ready? Hosanna! To the son of David! Hosanna! To the son of David! Hosanna! To the son of David! These kids were screaming that. And the chief priests were indignant. Jesus cleansed the temple. But I want you to know that when he comes again, he's going back to that same location. And what we know he will do is he will rule and reign. He will sit on the throne of David. And the Bible says he will rule the universe. See, he cleansed the temple at his first triumphal entry. The second triumphal entry, he will cleanse the earth. Let me read this to you and let you know this is biblical. It's biblical because John chapter 2 teaches us that, of course, that he will rule and that he came and he rules and reigns. But Psalm chapter 2, let me read this to you. Verse 6 through 9. I have installed my king. Say that with me. I have installed my king. Guess where? Upon Zion. You know where Zion is? That's Jerusalem. My, here it is, holy mountain. I will surely tell the decree of the Lord. I will surely give the nations as your inheritance to the very ends of the earth as your possession. You shall break them with, read it with me, a rod of iron. He took cords the first time to cleanse the temple. He'll take a rod of iron the second time to cleanse the earth. And Jesus Christ will reign as King of kings and Lord of lords according to the scripture, and may it be, may it be today. God has a plan for you and me. What a glorious reign it's gonna be. You know, uh just a few years ago, Denny's had a problem. You know who Denny's is, it's that restaurant that nobody goes to anymore. But nonetheless, uh I kind of liked Denny's. Uh but nonetheless, there were 1,221 Denny's. And it was kind of a family restaurant, it was Americana, I loved it. Anyway, but Denny's had a problem because they decided to do something they had never done before. And what they did was they decided to close on Christmas. Well, you may or may not know this, but Denny's is a 24-7 365 restaurant. Well, when they decided to close on Christmas, they had a problem because none of their doors had locks on them. They didn't need them. Somebody was always there. But now they were going to close up on Christmas, it cost them thousands of dollars just so that their employees could have Christmas off. But it cost them thousands of dollars because they couldn't just leave the place wide open. But when Jesus Christ comes again, according to the scripture, he will rule with an iron rod. And we will experience with Jesus something that we prayed for for years. Your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. And the Bible tells us what will happen. The Bible tells us in the last days the mountain of the Lord's temple will be established, Isaiah chapter 2, verse 2 and 3. It will be established in the highest of mountains. It will be exalted above the hills. And listen to this, all the nations will stream to it. Any of you, have any of you ever stormed the field at a football game? Have any of you done it? I've done it, so I'm gonna admit it, I've done it. I was part of the reason why Auburn had to pay a half a million dollars uh fine when we beat Alabama one year, but I just had to go. Uh listen, is anybody a Georgia Tech fan in here? All right, if you're Georgia, y'all stormed the field this year. Did you not know that? Y'all got fined too. Anybody in here a Mississippi State fan? I don't blame you. Well, they stormed the field when they beat this year Arizona, number 12, Arizona. They paid their fine too. But guess what? That's what it's going to be like when Jesus reigns in Jerusalem. We're gonna storm the mountain. Yes, in the first triumphal entry, they came from Bethany and they came from Jerusalem, they stormed the mountain. Save now, save now, Jesus, save now, Hosea to the Son of David. But Jesus Christ, knowing what he had to do, instead of going and taking the crown that they wanted him to take, he took the crown of thorns why for you and for me, so that in turn the day is coming when the second triumphal entry happens, when the elders to his eyes stand before the throne reign with him in Jerusalem, and the glory of God will be seen, and the earth will be restored to a glorious moment for a thousand years. And we will storm the mountain, and we will say, as Isaiah chapter 2, verse 2 and 3 says, Come, let us go to the mountain of the Lord, to the temple of God, the God of Jacob. He will teach us his ways, so that we may walk in his paths. The law will go out from Zion, the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. Mark it down. It's on God's prophetic calendar. The first triumphal entry happened, and the second triumphal entry will happen. And Jesus, he came the first time in Bethlehem, and he'll come again to Jerusalem. He's coming for you and me. And the question is, are you ready? Are you ready? I close by just saying, if you're not, today's a good day to get ready. To say, Jesus, I know who you are. You're the God, man. You're the savior of the world. You're the redemption price for my sin. And you are the salvation. You are the Hosanna that I need in my life. Come live and reign as King and Lord of my life. I receive your grace, and guess what? He'll come and live in you today. Father, we thank you for the blessed hope that we have. The blessed hope that we have in Jesus Christ. Thank you for an extension of understanding of this event on Palm Sunday. Thank you that we can see that that day was a day of commitment for Jesus to go to the cross. But now, Jesus, you look forward with anticipation and we do with you for you to come and take your crown. Come, Lord Jesus, come. Oh Lord, we look forward to that great and glorious event. And Lord, those that have gotten ready this morning, help them to come and just say, Jesus has come into my life. I've received Him as Savior and Lord. I want to be baptized. I want to take my step. I want to take my stand. I'm not ashamed of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Would you come this morning? Others that need to come and join this church. Others that need to come and pray. Listen, this is God's day, not mine, not yours. It's his day. And every day is his day. And as has been said, every day with Jesus is sweeter than the day before. Lord Jesus, draw us now to this place, this altar, to celebrate you by laying down our lives before you today in Jesus' name.

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