King of Glory: The King's Entry | Weekend Service | Josiah Smith

A message by Pastor Josiah Smith on Mark 11:1-11

Compass Bible Church South Valley is located in Kuna, Idaho

For more information about Compass Bible Church go to https://www.compassbiblesv.org/

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Transcript

King Of Glory For Easter

Mark 11 Triumphal Entry Reading

Messiah Declared And Irony Exposed

Jesus Chooses The Cross

Genuine Faith Or Fruitless Praise

Near Jesus Yet Not His

Three Marks Of Real Faith

Walking In Light And Obedience

Good Works As Evidence

Prayer And A Sincere Hosanna

SPEAKER_00 0:02

Well, as Tyler mentioned, we have a daily Bible reading plan that we do here called Lamp and Light. Of course, it comes from Psalm 119. God's word is a lamp to your feet and a light to your path. And one of the things that we've been meditating on, or at least I've been meditating on, from the book of Exodus, comes from Exodus chapter 12. Now, if you're familiar with the story, it's right when they're about to leave and make their exit from Egypt. And God institutes what becomes infamously known, of course, in scripture as the Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread. And he does this for the very specific reason for the nation of Israel to remember, to reflect, and to rejoice because of the work that God accomplished through delivering them out of Egypt. And so the Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread was put at the beginning of the Jewish calendar, year after year, to do just that, to remember and to reflect and to rejoice. Now, of course, this time of year for Christians is also a time to reflect. And of course, we want to do that all throughout the year, but there's something unique about doing this in a yearly annual rhythm where we take time specifically to reflect and remember and rejoice, to rejoice in the salvation that Jesus accomplished on the cross. And this year, our way of kind of focusing and honing in on that is through this theme, the King of Glory. In the New Testament, it is incredibly clear that Jesus is the King of kings and Lord of Lords. He is the one through whom all honor is due. Now we're taking a break right now from our study in Hebrews to focus on this theme of King of Glory, but Hebrews has been drawing our attention to that reality that he is the king, he's the long-awaited king who will sit on David's throne. He's the king of righteousness who rules with the scepter of uprightness. He's the king who never changes. And the scriptures tell us Jesus is the King of kings and the Lord of lords. And one day every knee will bow, and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord. There will be no debate, there will be no uncertainty, there will be no arguments. Every knee will bow, and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord. He is the king of glory. But Jesus's path to glory that we will begin studying today began with humble beginnings. It began with Jesus riding on a donkey rather than a war horse. So today what we are going to do is to reflect, to remember on that humble beginning by looking at the triumphal entry in the gospel of Mark. Now, there's two things that I want to accomplish this morning. And I want to just tell you at the beginning so you can kind of be on the lookout for them. I want you to remember something about Jesus that is revealed and taught plainly in the scriptures. And I want you also to be able to distinguish something, specifically, distinguish something that the crowd reveals for us later. So those two things, those are our goals. We want to remember something, we want to be able to distinguish something. And that's where we're going through Mark 11, the triumphal entry. So if you got your Bibles, please go there. Mark 11. I'm going to read for us verses 1 through 11. Mark 11, verse 1 says, Now when they drew near to Jerusalem, to Bethphage and Bethany, so what they're doing is they're kind of making the ascent on the eastern slope of the Mount of Olives. And so he says that they drew near to Jerusalem, to Bethphage and Bethany. Those are towns on the eastern slope of the Mount of Olives. And it says they go to the Mount of Olives that overlooks kind of to the west the temple mount, where they would gather together, offer sacrifices. It was a place of worship. It represented God's dwelling place with his people. So when they drew near to Jerusalem at the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two of his disciples and said to them, Go into the village in front of you, and immediately as you enter it, you will find a colt tied on which no one has ever sat. Untie it and bring it. If anyone says to you, Why are you doing this? Say, The Lord has need of it and will send it back here immediately. And they went away and found, just like Jesus said, a colt tied at a door outside in the street, and they untied it. And some of those standing there said to them, What are you doing, untying the colt? And they told them what Jesus had said, and they let them go. And they brought the colt to Jesus and threw their cloaks on it, and he sat on it. And many spread their cloaks on the road, and others spread leafy branches that they had cut from the fields. And those who went before, and those who followed, were shouting, Hosanna! That's a shout of praise. It's actually a cry, Save us, Lord! Hosanna, blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. Blessed is the coming kingdom of our Father David. Hosanna in the highest. And he entered Jerusalem and went into the temple. And when he had looked around at everything, as it was already late, he went out to Bethany with the twelve. Now, this scene, the triumphal entry, as it's called, kicks off what is now referred to as Passion Week. It's essentially the week that leads up to the cross. And what we see happening here in this triumphal entry, in this great crowd that is welcoming Jesus into Jerusalem. This is Jesus' public declaration that he truly is the Messiah. Now, if you read the Gospel of Mark, something interesting happens all throughout the Gospel of Mark. It's called the Messianic Secret. You've read those passages, I'm sure, where Jesus goes and he heals someone, and what does he tell them to do? He says, Don't tell anyone about this. So there's this messianic secret, as it is called, where he's doing things, and of course he has drawn crowds in other ways in the Gospel of Mark. He's healed many people. His teachings have been noticed. He taught as one with authority. The scribes were amazed, but now there seems to be this very clear and very public declaration of who Jesus is. He truly is the Messiah, that he is the king from the line of David that they have been waiting for. And that's why they are shouting, and that's why there's great fanfare and spreading their cloaks on the road, and others spread leafy branches, and they're shouting, Hosanna! Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord. Blessed is the coming kingdom of our Father David, Hosanna in the highest. So as Jesus makes his way into Jerusalem on this donkey, he receives a royal welcome. A welcome certainly befitting a king. You see that there in the text, there is a great celebration. There are great shouts of joy. There is great anticipation for Jesus being the Messiah. That's why they're shouting, Hosea, save us, Lord, save us. Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. Jesus receives an incredibly royal welcome. People laying down their garments, their own clothes, laying down these branches, clearing the way, making a way for Jesus to head into Jerusalem. But if you know the story as it unfolds, the whole triumphal entry is plagued with a sort of twisted irony. As we watch the scene unfold, of course, we are aware of where the story goes. He enters into Jerusalem with loud shouts of praise. But how do things end? Well, it leads to, at least, them shouting, crucify him, and give us a Barabbas. And so there's this twisted irony kind of woven into the triumphal entry. And though Jesus rides in being celebrated as a king, we know that in less than a week's time he will be prosecuted and killed like a criminal. And Jesus was well aware of this. Jesus knew what Jerusalem had in store. In fact, in just the previous chapter in Mark 10, verse 45, Jesus says, For even the Son of Man came not to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many. Jesus knew exactly what he was doing, and he knew exactly where he was going. And yet he was willing. Think about that. Jesus was willing to head towards Jerusalem, knowing full well what was on the other side, knowing full well that he had to give his life as a ransom for many. So remember those two things that I wanted to accomplish. I wanted to remember something and to distinguish something. Let's start with the remembering. Point number one: remember Jesus' willingness to head toward the cross. Remember that no one strong armed Jesus to the cross. He knew all along that this is where he was headed. And yet he continued to move forward. He continued to head towards Jerusalem. Remember Jesus' willingness to head toward the cross. And I want you to kind of just see a survey of the Gospel of Mark, how Mark, the author of Mark, he prepares us for this reality. Jesus actually predicts three different times before Passion Week that he was going to suffer much at the hands of many, die on the cross, and three days later rise from the dead. He predicted this three different times. And of course, his disciples are all confused. So if you're in Mark, go to Mark chapter 8. Let's start there. Here's the first occurrence, the first prediction of Jesus telling of his death and resurrection. So in Mark 8, this is right after Peter rightly confesses that Jesus is the Christ. So Jesus asks him in verse 29, and he asks them, but who do you say that I am? And Peter answers rightly, You are the Christ. You are the Messiah. And he strictly charged them to tell no one about him. That's that messianic secret that we are talking about. But look at verse 31. And he began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and the chief priests and the scribes and be killed. And after three days rise again. I love verse 32. And he said this plainly. He said it plainly. He said it clearly, so clearly, in fact, that Peter didn't know what to do with it, and he was frightened. Do you see that? And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. Hey, Jesus, you got this all wrong. Let me teach you a thing or two, Jesus, about why we're headed to Jerusalem. This isn't it, not to be killed and to suffer much to be rejected by the elders and chief priests. And he says, No, Jesus, this is not what is the plan. This is not what you're here to do. And even in verse 33, but turning and seeing his disciples, he rebuked Peter and said, Get behind me, Satan, for you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man. Jesus was clear with his disciples from early on. I'm headed towards Jerusalem because I'm headed towards the cross. And he was willing to do that. Turn to the next chapter, Mark chapter 9. Here's the second prediction of Jesus' death. In Mark chapter 9, this was after Jesus heals a boy with an unclean spirit in verse 30. It says, Then they went out from there and passed through Galilee, and he did not want anyone to know. For he was teaching his disciples, saying to them, The Son of Man is going to be delivered into the hands of men, and they will kill him. And when he is killed, after three days, he will rise. But they did not understand the saying and were afraid to ask him. And you can imagine that. After the stinging rebuke, Peter's called Satan. Get behind me, Satan. They're not saying anything this time when Jesus says this again. When he says, I am headed towards the cross. The Son of Man is going to be delivered into the hands of men, and they will kill him. Turn just one more chapter to Mark chapter 10. This is his third prediction, and it gets increasingly specific. Increasingly specific. Even in my Bible, it says Jesus foretells his death a third time as the heading. But Mark chapter 10 and verse 32, it says, And they were on the road going up to Jerusalem. Remember, that's the triumphal entry. He's entering into Jerusalem. They're on their way. And Jesus was walking ahead of them, and they were amazed. And those who followed were afraid. And taking the twelve again, he began to tell them what was to happen to him, saying, See, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be delivered over to the chief priests and the scribes, and they will condemn him to death and deliver him over to the Gentiles, and they will mock him and spit on him and flog him and kill him. And after three days he will rise. The Gospel of Mark makes it so clear the cross was not a surprise to Jesus. He journeyed towards Jerusalem intentionally to lay down his life. In fact, Jesus in the Gospel of John teaches that no one can take his life apart from if he is willing to. He has the authority. In John chapter 10, verse 17 and 18, Jesus says, For this reason the Father loves me, because I lay down my life, then I may take it up again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up. This charge I have received from my Father. So no one was getting the best of Jesus. He had the authority to lay it down, he had the authority to take it up. And what does he do with that authority? He heads towards the cross, willingly. And I love the picture that Hebrews gives us of the demeanor of Jesus as he's headed towards the cross. In Hebrews 12, 1 and 2, the author of Hebrews tells us that the joy that Jesus had in this journey to Jerusalem and ultimately to the cross. In Hebrews 12, verse 1, it says, Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, and here it is, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God. You want to know what kind of savior Jesus truly is? Here's the kind of savior Jesus is. So he endured it. He willingly headed to Jerusalem. He made his way to Jerusalem, not to be served, but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many. Friends, we need to reflect and remember on Jesus' willingness. We need to remember the willingness of Jesus to head towards the cross, to be beaten, to be mocked, to be scorned, to be wrongly accused, and ultimately to be put to death like some sort of criminal. He did that willingly. No one takes his life from him, he lays it down on his own accord. And the gospel, the beauty of the gospel is that Jesus did that so that he could pay the ransom, he could be the propitiation, he could receive the penalty for your sin, and that you could have life in his name. For the joy set before him, he endured the cross, despising the shame. Remember the willingness of Jesus to head towards the cross and the joy with which he did it for the ransom that he would accomplish, the ransom that he would purchase, the price for our redemption. Now, what's so fascinating about the triumphal entry is the crowd in a lot of ways. You can imagine that there's uh lots and lots and lots of people. I mean, they're lining the streets, uh, they're laying their garments down on the ground. There's there's hoopla and fanfare and shouting, and you can imagine singing, great shouts of of joy, but there's something twisted, remember, the irony of that happening at the same time. And we need to be able to distinguish between what the scriptures say is genuine faith and fruitless praise. So here's the thing I want you to distinguish. Point number two, distinguish between genuine faith and fruitless praise. In this triumphal entry, we have uh like a city welcoming Jesus in, shouting Hosanna, saying he's the king who will sit on David's throne. Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord, blessed is the coming kingdom of our father David, Hosanna in the highest. And yet, this crowd, they they didn't quite understand, much like the disciples, who Jesus really was, or what he was there to accomplish, and the manner in which he was to accomplish it. Now it's significant that Jesus rides in on a donkey. A donkey was not the animal of choice for a warrior king. It was not the animal of choice for someone that wanted to parade around in the streets declaring victory, at least in the militant sense that we would see during this time. Jesus rides in on a donkey, and that is a fulfillment of a prophecy that was spoken long ago by the by the prophet Zechariah. Zechariah 9:9 says, Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion. Shout aloud, O daughter of Jerusalem. Behold, your king is coming to you. Righteous and having salvation is he, humble and mounted on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey. And so this is in fulfillment of the kind of savior that Jesus would be. And his purpose for riding into Jerusalem on this donkey, in part, is to showcase his humility and to showcase his fulfillment of prophecy, but ultimately to show that he came to bring peace, peace between God and men. The problem with that is that the crowd didn't want a humble king riding on a donkey. They wanted Jesus to be some sort of warrior king that conquered their enemies. They wanted some sort of political revolution. They wanted freedom from the oppression of Rome. They wanted Jesus to strike down their enemies. And so they're excited because that's what they're intelligent. They're excited. They're saying, Hosanna, blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. They wanted, however, a political revolution, but Jesus came to provide something better. He came to provide spiritual restoration. And in that sense, what we can even notice here as we continue to sort of think about the Passion Week and all the events that happened after the triumphal entry, the crowd praised Jesus with their lips. I mean, you see that, right? Hosanna, Hosanna in the highest. The crowd praised Jesus with their lips, but many of their hearts were far from him. And in that sense, their praise was truly fruitful. Because some of the same people that were shouting Hosanna in the highest were the same people that would later shout, crucify him on the cross. This is fruitless praise. They honored Jesus with their lips, but their hearts were far from him. And we see this distinction even in the triumphal entry between rightly identifying who Jesus is and rightly responding to who Jesus is. The crowd actually gets it right. He is the one who comes in the name of the Lord. He is the one who is from their father David. He is the king. He is the one through whom and for whom all things were made. He is the one to whom all honor is due. They rightly see something about him. They identify him as this Messiah. Blessed is he who's coming in the name of the Lord. Blessed is the coming kingdom of our Father David, Hosea in the highest. So they rightly identify who Jesus is, but they do not rightly respond to him. In much the same way today, there might be some of you here in this room. I just want to encourage you. Some of you perhaps have laid your garments down on the ground for Jesus, but you have not laid down your lives for him. And Jesus teaches in the Gospels that if we are going to be a follower, a disciple of Jesus Christ, it will cost us everything. Matthew 16, 24 through 26. Here's what Jesus says. Then Jesus told his disciples, if anyone would come after me, if anyone would be my follower, if anyone would be my disciple, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what shall a man give in return for his soul? The crowd in Mark chapter 11 teaches us that it's entirely possible to be in proximity to Jesus, but never truly know him. This actually reminded me of my wife and I before we started dating. We both, unbeknownst to the other, signed up for a missions trip to Peru. And so we we showed up and we had known each other. We had had some other history before this that you can find out at a later date. But we had some other history, and so I noticed her when she walked into the room. And to be honest, I was kind of like, oh great, here we go. But we were on the we were on the team together. We would meet in the same room at the same time on the same day of the week with the same team every single week for months, leading up to this mission strip to Peru. You know how many times my wife and I talked to each other in those months leading up to Peru? No times. Zero times. It wasn't until Peru that she saw how awesome I was. And here we are. We were in the same rooms, we were on the same team, but we did not know each other. It's entirely possible to be in proximity to Jesus, but never truly know him. What's this look like? It looks like if you're someone that right now or in the past has considers yourself a frequenter of church, I go to church, I prioritize church. Going to church does not mean that you are a disciple of Jesus Christ. Growing up in a Christian home does not mean that you are a disciple of Jesus Christ. I mean, I grew up in a home with a father for a pastor, right? The holiness was dialed to 10. It wasn't, but in our house. My dad was a pastor, and I was not a Christian until the Lord opened my eyes to the truthfulness of the gospel and the reality of my sin. Owning a Bible, or perhaps for many of you, many Bibles does not make you a Christian. Voting conservative and having a conservative values does not make you a Christian. Trying to be a good person does not make you a Christian. Having a sticker on your truck that says God and country or guns and God does not make you a Christian. None of those things make you a Christian any more than the crowd who laid their garments on the ground to welcome Jesus to Jerusalem only to yell a few days later, give us Barabbas. None of those things make you a genuine Christian. It's entirely possible to be in proximity to Jesus, but not know him, not be his disciple. Do you see that here in Mark 11? There's crowds of people, there's tons and tons of people shouting Hosanna, but then later on, in just a few days, some of those same people are shouting for him to be crucified, lining the streets, putting off, putting your garment on the ground, laying palm branches, does nothing to make you a disciple of Jesus Christ. If none of those things make you a Christian, then what does a Christian, according to the scriptures, is someone who has genuine faith in Jesus Christ? Which, by the way, if you keep reading in Mark chapter 11, he right after the triumphal entry, he curses the fig tree, he cleanses the temple. But then he gives this lesson from the withered fig tree, and it's a lesson about faith. He says to them, Have faith in God. That's verse 22. Truly I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, be taken up and thrown into the sea, and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says will come to pass, it will be done for him. Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours. There's this lesson of faith. A Christian is someone who has genuine faith in Jesus Christ. So how do you know? How do you know if your faith is genuine? Because again, some of you in this room, and me, including if it weren't for the grace of Jesus Christ, would line the streets for a parade for Jesus, but your hearts would be far from him. You might shout, Hosanna, you might shout, Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord, but all along, that does not make you a Christian. A Christian is someone who has genuine faith. So how do you know? How do you know if you have genuine faith in Jesus, this Messiah who willingly went to the cross to endure the suffering and shame that we deserved? How do we know? I want to give you three three ways to evaluate your faith, to distinguish between genuine faith and fruitless praise. Here's the first one. Genuine faith believes and confesses. I just took that right from scripture. Genuine faith believes and confesses. This is Romans 10, 9 and 10. Paul says, because if you confess, to confess is to agree or to say the same thing as. So if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord, you're agreeing that who God says Jesus is, he is. He is who he says he is, he did what he said he did, and it means what he says it means. That's what it means to confess. You agree to say the same thing. If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord, and believe in your heart. Now, believe is far more than just a mental recognition. The crowds recognize something true about Jesus. That does not mean that they were saved. Belief is a deeper trust, it's a sense of relying on, having a dependence of, a full trust. It says, believe, trust in your heart that God raised him from the dead. You will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved. A belief, again, is far more than simply understanding the facts about Jesus. Belief requires a trust that encompasses your life. My life belongs to Jesus. That's what belief is. I'm fully relying on him, I'm fully trusting in him, I'm confessing that he is Lord, he is the King of kings, that he did die on the cross, that he's the eternal Son of God that took on flesh, lived a perfect life, died on the cross in my place, and rose again from the dead three days later. Believing is trusting my life fully belongs to Christ. And in that sense, belief is walking across the bridge and trusting that it's going to sustain your weight. Belief is getting on the plane, being confident in the pilot. Belief is a total surrender and a total trust. That's what genuine faith is. Genuine faith believes and confesses, it agrees that Jesus is who he says he is. He did what he said he did, and it means what he says it means. That's genuine faith to believe and to confess. That's how we evaluate and distinguish between genuine faith and fruitless praise. Here's the second way that we can evaluate. Genuine faith leads to genuine fruit. Genuine faith leads to genuine fruit or genuine life change. Jesus himself says this. John chapter 15, verses 4 and 5. Jesus says, abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself unless it abides in the vine. Neither can you, unless you abide in me. Jesus says, I am the vine. You are the branches. Whoever abides in me, and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit. For apart from me, you can do nothing. Genuine faith leads to genuine fruit, genuine life change. Just like a vine is what is the means by which a branch can produce fruit, being connected to Christ, abiding in Christ comes with it evidence of fruit. Because Christ is the source. He is the means by which you will grow and bear fruit. Genuine faith leads to genuine fruit. Now, there's lots of ways that we could categorize this to make it practical, but I want to give you two ways. If we're if we're thinking about genuine fruit, there's two ways from first John that I want you to think about as you evaluate and distinguish genuine faith from the fruitless praise of the crowds. The first, John would say in 1 John 1, is walking in the light. If you're evaluating, do I have genuine faith? You need to evaluate, do you walk in the light? John 1 John chapter 1, verse 5, 6, and 7, John says, This is the message that we have heard from him and proclaimed to you that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. If we say we have fellowship with him, if we're going to claim to have a relationship with Christ while we walk in darkness, John says we lie and we do not practice the truth. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin. And so if you're this morning wrestling with, do I have genuine faith? and you're trying to distinguish genuine faith from fruitless praise, you need to ask yourself, does your life look more like the darkness, or does it look more like the light? And darkness, let's let's define that. Jesus defines darkness as sin. Here's the judgment it says in the Gospel of John. The light came into the world, but men preferred the darkness. Men preferred their sin. And so it says in 1 John 1, if we say we have fellowship with Him, while we walk in darkness, while our life is consumed with the cares of this world, while our life is marked by sin, while our life looks more like the world and the flesh and the devil than it does Jesus Christ, John, the Apostle John, would look you straight in the eye and call you a liar. He says, You lie and do not practice the truth. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another. And the blood of Jesus his son cleanses us from all sin. Genuine faith walks in the light. Not perfectly, not 24-7, 365. No, it's it's a battle. We wrestle with indwelling sin. We wrestle with the flesh. But nevertheless, John tells us that genuine faith leads to walking in the light. And you gotta ask yourself: does your life look more like the light and the truth and the gospel of Jesus Christ? Or does it look more like the darkness of this world? You evaluate it on whether or not you walk in the light. Here's the second thing that John speaks to in first John. He says that you can know that you have genuine faith by whether or not you obey Christ. Whether or not you obey Christ. In 1 John chapter 2, John says in verse 3, and by this we know that we have come to know him. That's what we're asking. How do we know? How do we tell? How can we distinguish? He says, and by this we know that we have come to know him. If we keep his commandments, whoever says, I know him, but does not keep his commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him. But whoever keeps his word in him, truly the love of God is perfected. By this we may know that we are in him. Whoever says he abides in him ought to walk in the same way in which he walked. Genuine faith leads to genuine fruit, walking in the light, walking in obedience to Christ. And if you're here and you can't honestly say, I'm seeking to walk in the light, I'm seeking to obey Christ. You need to evaluate where you're at with the Lord. Paul tells us in Corinthians to examine ourselves to see if we are in the faith. You need to have some honest reflection about what scripture says a Christian is. A Christian has genuine faith, and genuine faith leads to genuine fruit. Because those who abide in Christ, he it is that bears much fruit. And by this we know that we have come to know him if we keep his commandments. Whoever says he abides in him ought to walk in the same way in which he walked. Is your life marked with a pursuit of striving to be obedience to Christ? Is it marked with a pursuit of walking in the light? And if it's not, friends, let me encourage you, evaluate your relationship with Christ because it's entirely possible to be in proximity to him, but not know him and not be transformed by him. So we said genuine faith believes and confesses. Genuine faith leads to genuine fruit. And then the third thing that I would say is genuine faith pursues good works. Genuine faith pursues good works, not as a means of salvation, but as evidence of salvation. Paul says this in Ephesians 2, 8 through 10. For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not your own doing, it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them. Genuine faith leads to a pursuit of good works. Even James, James chapter 2, verse 14 says, What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him? In verse 17, he says, So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead. The King of glory in Mark chapter 11 rides into town, receiving praise from people that would later crucify him. He willingly went to the cross for the joy set before him. And my encouragement and my challenge to you is don't be like the crowd who makes way for Jesus, but never trust in him. Friends, trust in Jesus. I'm gonna pray for us, and then we're gonna actually close with the same song that we opened with, Shout Hosanna. And I want to sing it from a place of sincerity and a place where we truly recognize who Jesus is. Because there were those in the crowd who said, Hosanna, Hosanna, and yet later cried, Give us Barabbas. And so I want us to sing those words with a true understanding of who Christ is, what he accomplished, and what it means. So let me pray for us, and then we'll sing that song again together. God, thank you for Jesus' willingness.