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Are looking this morning at the incredible story of the day. The incredible story of Palm Sunday. And the story that we're celebrating today is that our king arrived. Our king came to earth. We're also celebrating today that our king is alive, our king is ruling and reigning, desiring relationship with us and church. What we celebrate today is that our king is coming back. And that is good news this morning. Actually, that's not just good news, that's the best news. No matter what you have going on this morning, no matter your situation or your circumstances, there is good news in Christ. No matter this morning, what you come carrying, and we often come in here carrying some things, don't we? Some weight, maybe sin, maybe shame, maybe guilt, maybe anxiety, maybe the pressure of life and work and finances and all those things. No matter what you come in here carrying this morning, for you there is good news, and that good news comes in Christ. It comes in our King Jesus. Today we celebrate Jesus' triumphal entry. And the outcome of this week, what we call in the liturgical calendar and the life of Christianity is Holy Week, that week between Palm Sunday and the resurrection. What we celebrate, what we look forward to, the triumph of Christ on the cross, we remember that it wasn't just his triumph. As his followers, his triumph is our triumph, and we have reason to celebrate and reason for hope. This morning we have much to remember, much to celebrate, much to rejoice in, because the events of this next week, the things that happened 2,000 years ago, things that changed the world, they're so much more than history, so much more than words on a page like the ones we'll read this morning, because these events that we read about, they transform our story. These are stories that affect us. They transform our lives in the present and they radically alter our future. We have much to celebrate. Starting in verse 12. The next day, the large crowd that had come to the feast heard, so they had come to the feast for Passover. When the large crowd that had come to the feast heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem, so they took branches of palm trees, which I noticed, yeah, a lot of you got those. They're not just for kids. Tim mentioned something about the kids, but I would I'm gonna take some. They took the branches of palm trees and went out to meet him, crying out, Hosanna. That's a word in Hebrew. So the people come out to meet Jesus as he's coming into the city, crying out, Hosanna, blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord, even the King of Israel. So the people are saying, Save us, King of Israel, as Jesus is riding into Jerusalem. It's a shock, that's shocking language, isn't it? Save us, King of Israel. And Jesus found a young donkey and sat on it, just said as it is written, Fear not, daughter of Zion, behold, your king is coming, sitting on a donkey's colt. His disciples did not understand these things at first, but when Jesus was glorified, then they remembered that these things had been written about him and had been done to him. The crowd that had been with him when he called Lazarus out of the tomb and raised him from the dead continued to bear witness. The reason why the crowd went to meet him was that they heard he had done this sign. So the Pharisees said to one another, You see that you are gaining nothing. Look, the world has gone after him. That's an incredible story. And it's an incredible story that we're reminded by the author comes on the heels of another incredible story, which is the raising of Lazarus from the dead. Jesus, his friend, dies, he goes to him and he raises him from the dead. They hear Jesus is coming, and so they come to check it out. And now Jesus is going into town in the midst of Passover celebration, when the town is packed for that celebration. Can you imagine the excitement? Imagine the joy and expectation, the hype surrounding this. Also the chaos, so much emotion, so many moving pieces. The other gospels fill in a few of the details. This cult that Jesus rises. You remember the obedience of the disciples to procure it? Jesus tells them to go and get a cult. If any asks what you're doing, say the Lord needs it, and that's exactly what they do. They're obedient, and that's exactly how it goes down. They're allowed to take this cult for Jesus. Branches of palm trees are laid on the ground. People lay their cloaks out before him, so not quite a red carpet entrance, but pretty grand entrance for this to be going on. And the people are overjoyed to see Christ coming. They shout, Matthew puts it this way, and the crowds that went out before him that followed him were shouting, Hosanna to the so save us, son of David. Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. Hosanna in the highest. And when he entered Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred up, saying, Who is this? Thousands and thousands of people have descended on Jerusalem, and they're all saying, The whole city is stirred up. It's an uproar saying, Who is this? Save us, son of David, salvation in the highest. The people are filled with joy. Mark says, they say, Blessed is the coming kingdom. The expectations of the people are off the charts. Jesus is the one that they've been waiting for, and we think, if only Jesus then strode into the temple and declared himself king. Can you imagine how the story would have changed? If only. Maybe if we were writing the story, we would have dumped Jesus. He walks in and takes his rightful place as king. But that's not what Jesus does. He takes a path that leads to the cross. He finishes the work he came to do at an incredibly high cost. He knew that was coming when he rode in that morning. Everyone in the story is not enthused about what is going on. Maybe that's a really not, you could say a lot more. They're not excited about what is going on. There's from Jesus' followers in these crowds joy and hope. From Jesus' actual followers, it's a joy based in truth. From a lot of these crowds, it's just they heard he did a sign and they want some more. It's an easy believism. But for another group, there's indignation and anger that boils over into murderous hatred, and we can understand why, can't we? So this year as a church, we have been remembering the story of Jesus having spent the whole year looking together at the life and ministry of Christ as we walk through the Gospel of John together. And it's been awesome to follow Jesus through his ministry. And so we can understand the joy and hope from the people, from people like us, because Jesus came to seek and to save the lost. Jesus came bringing healing and hope and restoration. And so the people are filled with joy. But we can also understand the fear and anger from those clinging to power, from those whose religion had become an idol because Jesus to them was a threat, one that had to be dealt with swiftly and decisively. So you have two crowds: a larger crowd, it's excited, there's joyful, and a smaller crowd that's filled with a murderous rage that takes its fullest expression. We see that, we're gonna not celebrate that, we're gonna remember that this week from Thursday into Friday. So this year, as I was reading the story of the triumphal entry, given all that we've seen in the life of ministry of Jesus, there are a few themes that stood out to me, and it wouldn't surprise me if they were similar themes that were standing out to the people as they're watching Jesus come in, because they've had the experience to hear about, to see, and to maybe even be a part of the miraculous work of Christ over the last three years of his ministry. The themes that stood out to me are behold our king. Here he is riding into Jerusalem. Our king speaks the truth, our king is good, and our king is beautiful. They're remembering the life and ministry of Christ. And we have an opportunity to do that, thinking back. Behold, our king, he speaks truth. That's what he did when he came. Jesus was not seeking popularity. He wasn't seeking fame. He was seeking to be true to God, true to his father, and true to the words of Scripture. He's not interested in popularity. He's not interested in being politically correct. He's not interested in people's egos or pride or our attempts at religion. Not interested in those things. He speaks truth. And that truth is often at odds with our flesh. The message that Jesus came with, he said, repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. Repent. Now that word is at odds with our flesh. Because repentance from us requires that we admit that something was wrong. He tells us to turn from our sin to him. You are not basically good. You're not. That's what you've been told your whole life, though, isn't it? That you're basically good. Well, you're at least better than those people we see on TV. You are not basically good. You are born with a sin nature and you grow in that as you grow physically. You have a sin nature. You don't just sin, you are born in sin and you continue in sin. And sin is your greatest problem. It puts you at odds with that enmity with God, perfectly holy Father. For all have sinned and fall short of the God, Romans 3.23. The wages of sin is death, Romans 6.23. What got Jesus killed was his insistence on the truth and him calling sin what it was. What got Jesus killed were objective realities, right and wrong, not based on cultural understanding, not based on religious tradition, but truth that is decided by God, not us. You do not get to decide what truth is. God decides that. The truth that Jesus came declaring is a truth that is based in and defined by God. Truth spelled out for us in God's word in this book. We do not get to change it, add to it, or nuance it. We have an opportunity to submit to it. Jesus came speaking truth. Now, in many ways, our world is maybe even you would put yourself in one of these categories. Our world is okay with how Jesus interacted with people. We hear stories about that show, The Chosen, gaining popularity in the larger culture, because our world is okay with the love that they see in him. He loves people. They might be even okay with his ethical standard, just the way he walks through life, his principles, his morals. Our world loves, love your neighbor. Isn't that what we see on the banners? Love your neighbor. But our world hates, repent, turn from sin. Our world loves turn the other cheek. Make banners of that. People would love it. Our world hates, it is written. Our world loves the story of the Good Samaritan, but our world hates you shall have no other gods before me. Our world loves religion, do's and don'ts, checklists, but our world hates when we ask them to give him total control, to yield and surrender to him. He is Lord, he is king. No, I'm I'm Lord, I'm king, right? No, he is. We read it in Matthew: enter by the narrow gate, for the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few. Jesus speaks truth, and that is a narrow road. It's not the wide road. It's not even the medium road. We can't have one foot on the narrow path and one foot on the wide path. No. I read a devotional on this passage earlier this week. This is what the person said. Jesus did not soften the contrast. There are two gates, two paths, two destinations. One is wide, easy, and crowded. The other is narrow, costly, and less traveled. The wide gate requires little surrender. It allows self-rule, cultural approval, and spiritual compromise. It feels natural because it aligns with the impulses of the flesh and the applause of the world, but ease is not the same as life. The end of that path, Jesus says, is destruction, not always immediately visible, but ultimately certain. The narrow gate is different. It requires humility, repentance, trust. It asks us to lay down pride, self-sufficiency, and divided loyalties. It is not narrow because God is restrictive. It is narrow because truth is specific. I love that sentence. It is not narrow because God is restrictive, it is narrow because truth is specific. Jesus Himself is the gate. To enter means aligning our lives with Him. The way is described as hard, not because it lacks joy, but because it demands transformation. Following Christ reshapes desires, priorities, relationships, and ambitions. It will cost comfort at times. It may cost popularity, but it leads to life, real, eternal, and abundant life. That was a devotional shared by someone we know, a friend of ours, Dan. Our King speaks truth. And we can willingly, joyfully submit to that truth because the truth of Christ is built on the love of Christ. Amen. His truth is built on love for us. He loves people, he loves us, and he desires what is best for us. He sees the destruction of sin and idolatry. He sees the world and its empty promises, its over-promising and under-delivering. Always has, always will. And he wants to rescue us from that. The truth Jesus speaks is based on the love Jesus has. And it's our joyful opportunity to follow him. Behold, our King, he speaks truth and he is good. He's consistently good. Faithfully good. He never changes. He never has a bad day. Never gets up on the wrong side of the bed. Never doesn't get enough sleep. Anyone ever wake up and be like, it's going to be a rough one? You know? He never thinks that. As you read through the Gospel of John, and this is just, it comes out from God's word. The first miracle presented is water into wine at a wedding. And think about that. No one's dying. No one's even injured. It's a couple that's facing embarrassment and shame. And Jesus comes to their rescue. Why would he do that? Because he's good. That's why. Because he cares about people. That's not a God with an agenda. That's a God who's good. When God walked this planet, he loved people, people like you and I, people like our family, people like our neighbors, people like our coworkers, people like our customers. He loved people. He is good. He sees, he listens, he cares, he desires relationship with them. Read the stories in the gospel and look at the way Jesus treats people. He is good. Look at the people that are drawn to him. Look at the people he's having meals with. He's sharing table fellowship with. He's inviting into intimacy and love with himself. He seeks and saves the outcast, the downtrodden, the marginalized, the hurting, the broken, the sick, and the dying. He is not far off. He is near. He gets involved. Our King is good. And he's not only good, that which he calls us to, that which he invites us into, is beautiful. I've seen this most clearly, and what have stood out to me as we've gone through the Gospel of John are these invitations that he's given. And I've mentioned them a number of times. I'm going to mention them one more time because they're what stands out to me. This invitation he gives at the beginning of his ministry in John chapter 1. To these who would be his first disciples. John 1, 46 to 45, Nathaniel said to him, to his brother, Can anything come out of Nazareth? Philip's not to his brother, his friend. Philip said to him, Come and see. Jesus saw Nathaniel coming toward him and said to him, Behold an Israelite indeed in whom there is no deceit. Nathaniel said to him, How do you know me? Jesus answered him, Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you. Nathanael answered him, Rabbi, you are the Son of God, you are the King of Israel. Jesus answered him, Because I said to you, I saw you under the fig tree, do you believe? You will see greater things than these. And he said to him, Truly, truly I say to you, you will see heaven opened and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man. That simple invitation that Jesus gives is come and see, and it's beautiful. Come and see. Come, follow me and see me. See my character, see my nature, see my love, see my goodness, see my faithfulness, see God the Father lived out in me, Jesus is saying. Come and see. That's Jesus' invitation to you and I. Will we respond to this invitation? Jesus invites you to come and see, and he gives you these incredible counts in his word of his life and ministry. You can see Jesus. And what we're told is that we're not seeing him less than the disciples, but it's to our advantage that Jesus went away because now his spirit lives in us, enlivens us, and brings the words of scripture to life. Come and see Jesus' calling to you. Will we see him or continue to be consumed by distraction? Does anyone have like too few distractions in their life? I don't think so. We have too many distractions. And Jesus' invitation is come and see. Will you put aside the distractions and see? Then at the Feast of Tabernacles in John chapter 7, with all that incredible sick incredible symbolism, on the last day of the feast, the great day, Jesus stood up and cried out, If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the scripture has said, out of his heart will fall rivers of living water. Anyone. Anyone who thirsts, anyone who longs, anyone who is not satisfied, we are thirsty because this world and the things of and in this world will never satisfy. The things that it offers, the experiences it provides are temporary and fleeting. We know that. We just keep going back for more. Come to me. Anyone who thirsts, who longs, who is not satisfied. The offer has only one condition. Come. And then it says, whoever believes in me. Whoever believes in me, not in works, not in a checklist, not in hoops to jump through, not in ritual, but who believes in, who leans into, who leans on, who orients their lives around him, Jesus. Blessed is anyone who believes in me, who leans in. And what's promised is for that man or woman who comes to Jesus out of his or her heart will flow, out of their soul, out of their inner being, out of like the most inner part of themselves will flow living water. I don't have to interact with you guys all week, but I'm guessing what flows out of you might not always be living water? Or is that just me? I mean, even this morning, some of your faces are displaying the opposite of living water. Like, would you please stop talking? Out of his innermost being will flow because of, in relationship with Jesus, rivers of living water. Abundance. Abundance that will flow, abundance that will multiply, abundance that will be applied through us to the people in this world who desperately need that. Our world desperately needs living water, and we're the conduits. That's awesome. He'll fill us with his spirit. He'll give us the strength, he'll give us the words to say. At the moment of our salvation as followers of Jesus, his spirit comes to dwell in us, with us, for us, teaching us, guiding us, leading us, and that spirit overflows through us to the people around us. If that's not the story of your life, the issue isn't with the source, the issue is with your heart. So repent. It's the same message. Turn from filling yourselves with all the things that aren't satisfying and turn to the one who will infinitely satisfy and infinitely flow out. Repent. Come and drink. What an incredible invitation. But that's not all. Come and see, come and drink. And then after his resurrection, I think it gets even way better. John 21, Jesus said to them to his disciples, Come and have breakfast. Come and dine. Now none of the disciples dared ask him, Who are you? They knew it was the Lord. Jesus came and took the bread and gave it to them, and so with the fish. Jesus invites his disciples into table fellowship, into an intimate fellowship with him. Come and eat. Again, come and be satisfied. Come and be filled. Fill yourself with things that will last. He will provide. And that's a choice that we make all the time. Jesus or all the other options. Jesus or all the other distractions. Think about your life as one big long buffet table. What are you going to choose? What are you choosing to satisfy, to fill? Who or what? We have an opportunity to choose relationship with Him. And these invitations of Christ, come and see, come and drink, come and dine, these are extended to us, offered to us daily, moment by moment. Will we come to him? Allow him to provide and sustain and satisfy. He provides these things through relationship with him, through time spent with him in prayer, in scripture, in rest. He provides these through the Holy Spirit. And it's not like you just get filled up in the morning and then you're on their own the rest of the day. These are daily moment-by-moment opportunities to walk through life with him in relationship with him. He speaks truth. Church, he's beautiful. So today on Palm Sunday, as we remember the triumphal entry of our King, where are you at with these? These things we see displayed in the life of Christ. With truth. Are you submitting, yielding yourself to Him? Maybe you know what He's told you to do, and you just don't want to do it still. Will you yield? Will you submit? Or will you be offended by Him, offended by His Word, offended by us, your church, when we say, hey, what I see in your life is sin, and I'm going to call it sin. Will you be offended by that or will you repent and turn back to him? He speaks truth. His word is true. It's for your good. And our opportunity is to repent. Our opportunity is to worship and follow him. What's your opportunity this morning? Stop running away. Stop turning. Stop ignoring. Turn to him? What about his goodness? Do you believe that he is good? Do you really believe that he's good? Believe that he has your good in mind? Do you believe that he is not indifferent toward you, but he loves you, that he cares about you, that he desires to bless you? Will you continue to hold him at a safe distance, or will you press in trusting him? Will you continue to hold on to your own control, your own lordship? Or will you surrender to his? He is good, perfectly good, knowing your entire life, everything that's been happening, everything that's happening now, and everything that will happen. He knows it all. And he's good. Will you trust him? That's what an incredible offer. And he's beautiful. He invites you to him in relationship. Is relationship with him, spending time with him, a joyful priority or another thing on your to-do list? The kids and I have made a playlist that we listen to in the morning, and one of the songs that starts with, You don't fully honor what you don't enjoy. Think about that for a second. You don't fully honor or worship what you don't enjoy. And Jesus is inviting you to enjoy him, to be satisfied in him, to see him as he really is, to see him as beautiful, to discover him in his word, to discover him in prayer, to discover him in relationship, not just a relationship where you're talking all the time, but one where you're listening and resting in relationship with him. We have an opportunity to make relationship with him a joyful priority. Not something to get done and move on with the rest of our day, but the thing that gets us out of bed in the morning. Church, our king arrived. He came. Church, our king is alive, ruling and reigning, desiring relationship with us. And church, our king is coming back. That's good news. That's the best news. Let's make him this week, give him an opportunity this week to more and more be the king, more and more be the Lord of our lives. And let's tell his story to a world that desperately needs this hope. Join me in prayer. Lord, we're thankful for this familiar story. God, in a story that really comes alive as we think about all that you revealed to us about yourself and your son, Jesus. And Lord Jesus, we thank you for what you reveal about the truth, what you reveal about the goodness and how you show us the beauty of relationship with you. And Father, I pray this week that you would satisfy and you would fill. Lord, I pray that you would be a joyful priority for us. God, and I pray that our lives would bear the fruit of that. Lord, that more and more people would see in us abundance. God, they would see from us flowing rivers of living water. God, if we're honest, that we've got a little bit of room to grow in that area. And so, Lord, I pray that you would help us, that you would give us your hope. God, give us your strength. Continue to help us to be filled with your spirit. God, that we would exhibit you more and more. And Lord, this week I pray that you'd give us opportunities to share about the hope we have in you. Lord, give us opportunities to invite, whether that's to church or to our homes for a meal, or God, give us opportunities to invite people in and to share with them about you. Pray all these things in Christ's incredible name. Amen.