SPEAKER_01: Hey, I'm Pastor Steve Hole.
SPEAKER_01: I want to empower you today to walk in your true identity as a worshiper and warrior.
SPEAKER_01: Today, embrace the power of God's Word and the Holy Spirit.
SPEAKER_01: Welcome to the Born for War podcast.
SPEAKER_01: Kind of important to be a part of the kingdoms of this earth even as we seek the kingdom of God first.
SPEAKER_01: Right?
SPEAKER_01: And I think the triumphal entry today is a picture of that.
SPEAKER_01: At least that's the way I see it as I frame it out.
SPEAKER_01: So we're going to leave Romans for the next two weeks.
SPEAKER_01: We're not going to be in Romans.
SPEAKER_01: We're going to be in the triumphal entry today.
SPEAKER_01: We're going to be in the death of Christ on Friday.
SPEAKER_01: We're going to be talking about the resurrection of Christ on Sunday.
SPEAKER_01: So here's what I'm going to do.
SPEAKER_01: Different, I've never done this before.
SPEAKER_01: But I want to talk about the kingdom of God as it relates to the triumphal entry.
SPEAKER_01: What maybe, maybe, the Jews and the Gentiles that heard Jesus at that time in Galilee or Samaria or Judea might have been thinking about him as he came into Jerusalem on that Sunday.
SPEAKER_01: So turn in your Bibles to Matthew 4, because I'm going to lead up to this with a few thoughts.
SPEAKER_01: So everywhere Jesus is going, here's what's interesting, you guys.
SPEAKER_01: There's 89 chapters in Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John on the life of Christ.
SPEAKER_01: If you combine all the four Gospels, there's 89 chapters.
SPEAKER_01: There's only four on the first 30 years.
SPEAKER_01: There's only four in the first 30 years.
SPEAKER_01: Almost half of the Gospels cover Passion Week.
SPEAKER_01: We're in Matthew.
SPEAKER_01: I'm doing Matthew because of his emphasis on the kingdom of heaven and the kingdom of God.
SPEAKER_01: But here Jesus begins his ministry in Matthew 4, verse 17.
SPEAKER_01: From that time Jesus began to preach and say, Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.
SPEAKER_01: So Jesus begins his ministry speaking of the kingdom of God or the kingdom of heaven.
SPEAKER_01: Most scholars, not all, but most scholars see the kingdom of heaven and the kingdom of God being pretty much the same meaning.
SPEAKER_01: There's different variations of that.
SPEAKER_01: But for the sake of the argument today, he's speaking of the kingdom of heaven.
SPEAKER_01: Mark might call it the kingdom of God.
SPEAKER_01: But kingdom of heaven, kingdom of God is somewhat interchangeable.
SPEAKER_01: But then down to verse 23, and then Jesus went about all Galilee teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, healing all kinds of sicknesses and all kinds of disease among the people.
SPEAKER_01: Now jot this down.
SPEAKER_01: This is important.
SPEAKER_01: And I don't hear many pastors talk about this.
SPEAKER_01: I don't hear many pastors talk about the kingdom of God.
SPEAKER_01: But the kingdom of God was the central, and it could be argued, the only message of Jesus.
SPEAKER_01: In other words, any other messages he gave were under the rubric of the kingdom of God.
SPEAKER_01: I would challenge you to go through the book of Matthew in your times of the Lord.
SPEAKER_01: Just take a chapter at a time, go through the book of Matthew this month, and just go through and just underline or circle kingdom of heaven or kingdom of God.
SPEAKER_01: And you'll see it's unbelievable how much Jesus talks about the kingdom of God.
SPEAKER_01: So he inaugurates his ministry talking about the kingdom of God.
SPEAKER_01: He's healing, he's casting out demons, and he's talking about the kingdom of God.
SPEAKER_01: Then Matthew 5, 6, and 7 are the ethics or the culture or the values of the kingdom of God.
SPEAKER_01: You know what the kingdom of God is?
SPEAKER_01: The kingdom of God is the rule, the reign of God.
SPEAKER_01: That's what the kingdom of God is.
SPEAKER_01: The kingdom of Great Britain during the colonization years for hundreds of years was they would set up a, they would set up an outpost, they would set up a building in Singapore or in Hong Kong or on some island that they're at, the Bahamas, or parts of South America, or parts of Africa that they brought with them the reign and the rule of the king or the queen to that area.
SPEAKER_01: That's the kingdom of God is the king, Jesus, ruling and reigning over his kingdom, and his kingdom is you and I.
SPEAKER_01: We are the kingdom, we are the citizens of the kingdom.
SPEAKER_01: You're a citizen of the kingdom of God when you got saved.
SPEAKER_01: You may not have known that.
SPEAKER_01: You may not have known what you signed up for.
SPEAKER_01: But he became king in your life.
SPEAKER_01: And Jesus comes for the first time ever in the history of antiquity.
SPEAKER_01: This man comes talking about the kingdom of God in a way that is being expressed through healing, casting out demons, and a new way of living.
SPEAKER_01: So first he gets everybody's attention.
SPEAKER_01: He gets everybody's attention by healing the sick, casting out demons.
SPEAKER_01: And now in Matthew 5, 6, and 7, he gives us the values of the kingdom, the ethics of the kingdom.
SPEAKER_01: Nobody's ever heard this before.
SPEAKER_01: It's causing a stir all over Israel at that time.
SPEAKER_01: Then in Matthew 6, verse 10, look at Matthew 6, verse 10, Jesus begins to teach us how to pray, and he says, Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name, thy this is how I want you to pray.
SPEAKER_01: Thy kingdom come.
SPEAKER_01: Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
SPEAKER_01: In other words, this is how I want you to pray.
SPEAKER_01: I don't want you to pray, first of all, about all your needs.
SPEAKER_01: That comes later in the prayer, but first of all, I want you to seek the kingdom.
SPEAKER_01: I want you to pray, thy kingdom come.
SPEAKER_01: What's happening in heaven?
SPEAKER_01: What the kingdom, the reign, and the rule of heaven is like, pray for that on earth.
SPEAKER_01: And then he uses a very Hebraic style of poetry by saying, Thy kingdom come, thy will be done.
SPEAKER_01: Parallelism.
SPEAKER_01: He sees the will of God and the coming of the kingdom of God being the same thing.
SPEAKER_01: So, men and women, when you say things like, I just want God's will.
SPEAKER_01: And we say that a lot, right?
SPEAKER_01: I want to know God's will about this relationship.
SPEAKER_01: I want to know God's will for my family.
SPEAKER_01: I want to know God's will about my job.
SPEAKER_01: You're saying, I want the kingdom.
SPEAKER_01: Because sometimes when we say that, when we when we think of the will of God, it's sort of this mystical, ethereal sort of thing of I'll be happy in that, I'll be happier in God's will than maybe my will.
SPEAKER_01: And so we want the will of God.
SPEAKER_01: But here's a more tangible way to look at it is that God wants us to pray, Thy kingdom come.
SPEAKER_01: Bring the kingdom, Lord.
SPEAKER_01: Bring the kingdom into my job, bring the kingdom of God into my family, bring the kingdom of God into my heart.
SPEAKER_01: So then Jesus gets more specific.
SPEAKER_01: So starting at verse 25 of the same chapter, he starts talking about all the things we worry about.
SPEAKER_01: All of us in this room worry about things.
SPEAKER_01: We worry about houses, we worry about our job, we worry about our 401k, we worry about who to marry.
SPEAKER_01: We worry, worry, worry about things, right?
SPEAKER_01: Right?
SPEAKER_01: Everybody go like that.
SPEAKER_01: You know, we all worry about stuff.
SPEAKER_01: Everybody say, I worry about things.
SPEAKER_01: Okay, we do.
SPEAKER_01: All of us do, even as Christian.
SPEAKER_01: But then he says, the answer, the antidote to that is let's bring the kingdom into your worries.
SPEAKER_01: So he says, seek first.
SPEAKER_01: Look at verse 33.
SPEAKER_01: So all these things you worry about, but now seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these what?
SPEAKER_01: What?
SPEAKER_01: These things shall be added unto you.
SPEAKER_01: In other words, if you'll get the primary right, I'll take care of the secondary.
SPEAKER_01: If you'll learn to seek me first as your primary focus, I'll start lining up the secondary issues of your life.
SPEAKER_01: Most marriage problems, most moral problems, most even societal problems, are us as human beings, sons of Adam, daughters of Eve, looking around and worrying about things.
SPEAKER_01: When Jesus says, quit looking around, why don't you look up and seek my kingdom first, and I'll add things up.
SPEAKER_01: I'll start to line stuff up for you.
SPEAKER_01: I'll show you which college to go to, or I'll tell you not to go to college.
SPEAKER_01: It's probably what he'll tell you most of the time.
SPEAKER_01: No, I'm only kidding.
SPEAKER_01: But go to the right colleges, okay?
SPEAKER_01: Unless you want to be a socialist.
SPEAKER_01: No.
SPEAKER_01: But the reality is that we seek the kingdom first.
SPEAKER_01: He'll start adding up, he'll start lining up the things that are needed for you in your life.
SPEAKER_01: So this is what the king's doing.
SPEAKER_01: So he's marching across the land.
SPEAKER_01: He's in Judea, he's in Samaria, he's in Galilee, and he's preaching this kingdom message.
SPEAKER_01: Well, then he takes a turn.
SPEAKER_01: He takes a turn.
SPEAKER_01: Look at chapter 9.
SPEAKER_01: So in chapter 9, Jesus takes an abrupt turn as it relates to this kingdom.
SPEAKER_01: Look at verse 35.
SPEAKER_01: So verse 35 follows what we saw at the very beginning.
SPEAKER_01: He's preaching everywhere, he's preaching the kingdom wherever he goes.
SPEAKER_01: Then Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom and healing every sickness and every disease among the people.
SPEAKER_01: But when he saw the multitudes, he was moved with compassion for them, because they were weary and scattered like sheep having no shepherd.
SPEAKER_01: So Matthew says this better than any of the gospel writers.
SPEAKER_01: He really captures the heart of Jesus.
SPEAKER_01: Then he said to his disciples, and this is where the change comes.
SPEAKER_01: Therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.
SPEAKER_01: And this is why it's a change.
SPEAKER_01: Because teachers and prophets throughout history have gathered people to themselves, but very few had a vision and even a strategic plan to actually empower those that are following them with the same message.
SPEAKER_01: So now Jesus is saying, as he looks out upon the crowd, I'm not going to be the only one doing this.
SPEAKER_01: I'm expecting that what I do, you can do.
SPEAKER_01: Verse 7.
SPEAKER_01: And as you go, preach, saying, The kingdom of heaven is at hand.
SPEAKER_01: So now he's not only telling us to listen to him, he's now empowering us to do what he did.
SPEAKER_01: And he had just said, look, there's a harvest.
SPEAKER_01: People are hungry for this stuff.
SPEAKER_01: Bring the kingdom.
SPEAKER_01: You guys now are empowered by me.
SPEAKER_01: This is pre-Holy Spirit.
SPEAKER_01: So this is just that anointing by Jesus that they carry with them.
SPEAKER_01: Now the Holy Spirit's involved in it for sure, but they haven't been anointed with power yet, and yet they go forth.
SPEAKER_01: And it's amazing what they see God do.
SPEAKER_01: As a matter of fact, it talks about the fact that they come back amazed that the demons are subject to them.
SPEAKER_01: And then Jesus says, I saw Satan fall like lightning from the sky.
SPEAKER_01: But don't even rejoice in that.
SPEAKER_01: Rejoice that your names are written in the kingdom of heaven.
SPEAKER_01: Well, then in chapter 16, so look at chapter 16, Jesus gives us a prophecy in chapter 16, verse 18.
SPEAKER_01: A prophecy of what's going to happen in the days ahead.
SPEAKER_01: And he's speaking to the confession that Peter gives.
SPEAKER_01: He says, On this rock, I will build my church, Ecclesiah, I will build my church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it.
SPEAKER_01: And I'm also going to give you the keys of the kingdom of God, the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and what you bind on earth will be bound in heaven.
SPEAKER_01: What will be loosed on earth will be loosed in heaven.
SPEAKER_01: So now he's getting more radical.
SPEAKER_01: So first it's Jesus doing it.
SPEAKER_01: Now he's got 12 doing it, and now he's prophesying that there's this ecclesia, these called-out ones, this governmental body, which is literally what it means.
SPEAKER_01: Same word for assembly.
SPEAKER_01: An assembly of people in the future are gonna bring the kingdom, and when they bring the kingdom, they're gonna have this key, the keys of the kingdom that can unlock, that can unlock power, but can also lock down power.
SPEAKER_01: Now, isn't that interesting?
SPEAKER_01: So it can unlock the power of the kingdom, but it can actually shut down, uh, it can shut up, is what literally what it means, something on earth that actually will be affected in the fourth dimension.
SPEAKER_01: So it's getting, it's starting to get wider, folks.
SPEAKER_01: It's getting wider.
SPEAKER_01: Now, we come to the triumphal entry.
SPEAKER_01: So look at chapter 21.
SPEAKER_01: So in chapter 21, it's very interesting.
SPEAKER_01: And the reason it's interesting is, among other things, is the fact from 21, I mean, remember, Matthew has 28 chapters.
SPEAKER_01: So fully a quarter there of Matthew is all on just the final week.
SPEAKER_01: That's how important this is.
SPEAKER_01: This week's really important in the life of Christ.
SPEAKER_01: It's really important you.
SPEAKER_01: In the way we're gonna unpack it as far as the kingdom of God, we're gonna unpack it some more on Good Friday, we're gonna pack it some more on the resurrection day.
SPEAKER_01: But look at Matthew 21.
SPEAKER_01: Here's what's super significant about chapter 21 is Jesus is going public.
SPEAKER_01: He wants to go viral here.
SPEAKER_01: So before this, every time Jesus casts out a demon or heals a sick, and everybody gets excited, don't tell anybody.
SPEAKER_01: It's not my time.
SPEAKER_01: Don't keep it.
SPEAKER_01: And he's trying to tap this thing down.
SPEAKER_01: Words getting out, but he doesn't want anybody to know.
SPEAKER_01: Totally different now.
SPEAKER_01: In the final week, he is going public, he's going viral.
SPEAKER_01: It's on his Facebook page.
SPEAKER_01: I mean, it is out there, man.
SPEAKER_01: He wants everybody to know, and he's gonna clash.
SPEAKER_01: He's gonna clash with two kingdoms.
SPEAKER_01: First kingdom is a political kingdom, not necessarily with Pilate.
SPEAKER_01: Pilate's gonna come later.
SPEAKER_01: Not necessarily Herod or Caiaphas yet, but he's but he's gonna come against a political view of Jesus, a political view of his kingdom.
SPEAKER_01: Okay, and then secondly, he's gonna be opposed by the religious systems of Israel.
SPEAKER_01: Jesus always is opposed, the true Jesus is always opposed by religion, the kingdom of religion.
SPEAKER_01: And so, and so Jesus comes in, and it's about to be a clash of two kingdoms.
SPEAKER_01: So let's pick it up at verse one.
SPEAKER_01: Now, when they drew near Jerusalem and came to Bethej at the Mount of Olives, then Jesus sent two disciples, saying to them, Go into the village opposite you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied and a colt with her, loose them and bring them to me.
SPEAKER_01: And if anyone says anything to you, you shall say, The Lord has need of them, and immediately he will send them.
SPEAKER_01: All this was done that it might be fulfilled, which was spoken by the prophet, saying, Tell the daughter of Zion, Behold, your king is coming to you lowly and sitting on a donkey.
SPEAKER_01: A colt, the foal of a donkey.
SPEAKER_01: So the disciples went and did as Jesus commanded them.
SPEAKER_01: They brought the donkey and the colt, laid their clothes on them and set him on them.
SPEAKER_01: And a very great multitude spread their clothes on the road.
SPEAKER_01: Others cut down branches from the trees and spread them on the road.
SPEAKER_01: Then the multitudes who went before and those who followed cried out, saying, Hosanna to the son of David.
SPEAKER_01: Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.
SPEAKER_01: Hosanna in the highest.
SPEAKER_01: And when he had come into Jerusalem and all the city was moved, saying, Who is this?
SPEAKER_01: So the multitude said, This is Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth of Galilee.
SPEAKER_01: Jesus is coming in to the holy city.
SPEAKER_01: He's coming into a very religious city.
SPEAKER_01: He's coming into a very political city.
SPEAKER_01: Over this next week, he's gonna be confronted by the top religious leaders of Israel and the top political leader over Israel from Rome.
SPEAKER_01: He is walking into a situation in which Jesus, if you're taking notes, you ought to just write this over the triumphal entry.
SPEAKER_01: Jesus is picking a fight.
SPEAKER_01: He is picking a fight.
SPEAKER_01: None of this, don't tell anybody stuff.
SPEAKER_01: He wants to come in.
SPEAKER_01: He wants to come in as a king on a donkey, but he's coming in as a king.
SPEAKER_01: Zechariah 9.9, he's fulfilling prophecy.
SPEAKER_01: The people see him as a king.
SPEAKER_01: Psalm 118, 26, Hosanna means save us now.
SPEAKER_01: And they see a political, military leader coming in.
SPEAKER_01: And what better time than the Passover?
SPEAKER_01: What better time than the Passover?
SPEAKER_01: One of the three great feasts of Israel.
SPEAKER_01: The Passover is that feast to remember.
SPEAKER_01: Bondage out of Egypt.
SPEAKER_01: Moses leading them.
SPEAKER_01: This is a type of Moses that's coming in, you guys.
SPEAKER_01: It couldn't be a better time for this political military coup to happen than right now at the Passover.
SPEAKER_01: Isn't that prophetic?
SPEAKER_01: Isn't that prophetic of the release from the Egyptian rule?
SPEAKER_01: Now it's the release from Roman rule?
SPEAKER_01: Over 70 years, the Romans have civilly, but in some cases cruelly ruled over Israel.
SPEAKER_01: The Jews want freedom.
SPEAKER_01: They believe that the Messiah to come will be a ruler in Israel, militarily, spiritually, religiously, politically, and Israel will be a nation again.
SPEAKER_01: He's called the son of what?
SPEAKER_01: The son of David, the greatest ruler in Israel.
SPEAKER_01: They see him as a son of David.
SPEAKER_01: I mean, it's somewhat the son of God, but the son of David is pronounced here because this is the feeling, this is the sense, this is the expectation.
SPEAKER_01: If you know a little bit of the history of that time, there were a lot of messiahs at that time coming up.
SPEAKER_01: There were a lot of men who said they were the Messiah, that they were the ruler.
SPEAKER_01: So there was this sense of all over Israel, there was this strong sense of expectation that God's on the move.
SPEAKER_01: Rightly so, by the way.
SPEAKER_01: And by the way, when you see cults growing in impact, when we see the rulers of the demonic coming in greater power, that's a sign of an expectation that the king is coming in greater measure.
SPEAKER_01: So even what we see in Washington and some of the idols we've talked about, and that spirit of Molech over our land, a spirit of Molech over our state is an indication to me that the king is coming.
SPEAKER_01: That the king is coming in greater measure, that revival is around the corner, that a kingdom of God revolution is coming because Satan is on the move.
SPEAKER_01: And I don't get it all.
SPEAKER_01: But there's some there's some sense in which Satan can see into the fourth dimension in ways that we as humans can't.
SPEAKER_01: That he sees, he can feel it probably.
SPEAKER_01: Remember, Satan's just a created being, just an angel created by God.
SPEAKER_01: He has supernatural powers, but he can't be but at one place at one time.
SPEAKER_01: And I think he picked spots.
SPEAKER_01: Some used to say that Japan was his throne.
SPEAKER_01: Remember, see Peter Wagner, this professor at fellows said, You're from, you were in Japan for 10 years.
SPEAKER_01: That's the Throne of Satan.
SPEAKER_01: He said that one time in class.
SPEAKER_01: I don't know about that, but what he was talking about were all the idols that are, but there's a there's more idols in Thailand, actually.
SPEAKER_01: But the reality is that darkness is close by light in the spiritual warfare that's happening in the fourth dimension.
SPEAKER_01: And that's what's happening here.
SPEAKER_01: There's this expectation that a Messiah is about to come.
SPEAKER_01: And so that's why many heard about, I mean, the rumors that were going around were, hey, there were these three magi, there were these three kings, there were these three princes, there were three, these three ambassadors that came from these other nations some 30 years ago.
SPEAKER_01: You remember that thing that happened there in Bethlehem?
SPEAKER_01: And there was a star?
SPEAKER_01: That's why Herod was so fearful of what was going on with the birth of Jesus, was because he had expectations too.
SPEAKER_01: There was this overall sense that God was on the move, that there was a Messiah that was going to be born, that there was a Messiah that was going to come and he was going to be the king of the Jews.
SPEAKER_01: So they're expecting it.
SPEAKER_01: They're fired up about it.
SPEAKER_01: And Jesus says, okay, well, I've come to pick a fight with some of the views related to who I am.
SPEAKER_01: So what's going on here?
SPEAKER_01: There's a prophetic way to look at this too: that Jesus came four days before the Passover.
SPEAKER_01: That's when the Passover lamb was picked, was brought forth from the nation of Israel, and was inspected for four days.
SPEAKER_01: He's going to go through four days of inspection.
SPEAKER_01: Nobody sees that though.
SPEAKER_01: I don't think anybody sees it yet.
SPEAKER_01: I don't even think the disciples see it.
SPEAKER_01: They just show you how confused the disciples are, and they've been with him every day for three and a half years practically.
SPEAKER_01: Acts chapter 1.
SPEAKER_01: Isn't that amazing?
SPEAKER_01: Acts chapter 1.
SPEAKER_01: So Acts chapter 1, Jesus has already died on the cross.
SPEAKER_01: He's resurrected on the third day.
SPEAKER_01: He has 40 days where he teaches on the kingdom of God.
SPEAKER_01: And then what does Acts 1.6 say?
SPEAKER_01: In Acts 1.6, the disciples say, Are you going to restore the kingdom to Israel?
SPEAKER_01: They still don't get it.
SPEAKER_01: So let's be careful in judging Israel too harshly here.
SPEAKER_01: I think we would have been in the same boat.
SPEAKER_01: There was such confusion about the true intentions and character of the kingdom of God through Jesus.
SPEAKER_01: They still don't get it after all of that.
SPEAKER_01: And then Jesus, I guess he sees just sitting there and going, really?
SPEAKER_01: Really?
SPEAKER_01: Wait, I died on the cross.
SPEAKER_01: I've got the marks on my hands.
SPEAKER_01: I rose on the third day, and you still think it's a political kingdom.
SPEAKER_01: You still think that's the answer.
SPEAKER_01: So he doesn't even answer him.
SPEAKER_01: He says, But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you, and then you'll get it, and you shall be my witnesses in Jerusalem, Judea, and Samaria, and even to the most parts of the earth.
SPEAKER_01: What's Jesus doing?
SPEAKER_01: Well, first of all, I think he's confronting a political view.
SPEAKER_01: Verse 5, it says, He comes a king on a lowly donkey, a colt, the foal of a donkey.
SPEAKER_01: Comes humble, he comes lowly.
SPEAKER_01: He doesn't come on a white horse.
SPEAKER_01: Verse 9, he lets the people say, Hosanna, save us now.
SPEAKER_01: Hosanna to the son of.
SPEAKER_01: He lets him say that.
SPEAKER_01: Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.
SPEAKER_01: He knows he's king.
SPEAKER_01: He comes as king.
SPEAKER_01: But it's a different kind of kingdom.
SPEAKER_01: Write that down.
SPEAKER_01: It's a different kind of kingdom, men and women.
SPEAKER_01: Different kind of kingdom.
SPEAKER_01: Let me give you four contrasts of the kingdom of God and a political kingdom.
SPEAKER_01: Four contrasts of the kingdom of God and the political kingdom.
SPEAKER_01: Number one, instead of prancing on a white steed with royal robes, Jesus enters on a lowly donkey wearing the clothes of the poor and humble.
SPEAKER_01: Let me say that again.
SPEAKER_01: Instead of coming in on a white horse, he comes in on a donkey.
SPEAKER_01: So coming in with victory, when a king came in or a conquering general or commander came in to a nation that had been conquered, he came on a white horse, or he came on a horse.
SPEAKER_01: But when a king or a commander was wanting to bring a peace treaty, or he came in peace, he came on a donkey.
SPEAKER_01: So Jesus came on a donkey, notwithstanding the fact that he's a king, but he comes as a king of peace.
SPEAKER_01: Number two, instead of military political might, Jesus comes with the force of love and grace.
SPEAKER_01: So instead of military political might, Jesus comes with love and grace.
SPEAKER_01: Number three, instead of conquering nations, Jesus conquers the hearts and minds of people.
SPEAKER_01: So Jesus never comes, and Christianity doesn't do well.
SPEAKER_01: Christianity as a religion has never done well in conquering nations in the name of Christ.
SPEAKER_01: Forcing people to believe, not a good strategic plan.
SPEAKER_01: Allowing people to believe because of the power of the gospel, good strategic plan.
SPEAKER_01: Christ never came forcing anyone to believe.
SPEAKER_01: As a matter of fact, Jesus made it really difficult to believe because he wanted them to truly believe.
SPEAKER_01: So when he says, take up your cross and follow me, not exactly the top ad for getting people to join your team.
SPEAKER_01: Number four, instead of temporal peace built on treaties and political, Jesus brings an everlasting peace built on the cross and the resurrection.
SPEAKER_01: So if you've never given your heart to Christ here this morning, if you don't know the Prince of Peace, we invite you.
SPEAKER_01: You're invited into the kingdom.
SPEAKER_01: And he brings peace.
SPEAKER_01: He's a Prince of Peace.
SPEAKER_01: But it's not based on a document you sign or becoming a member of a church or signing up for these ten things that you have to do.
SPEAKER_01: Rather, it's surrender, it's surrendering your heart to him.
SPEAKER_01: Well, then secondly, Jesus came against the kingdom of religion.
SPEAKER_01: Jesus came against the kingdom of religion.
SPEAKER_01: Look at verse 12.
SPEAKER_01: So Jesus comes in to Jerusalem, the holy city.
SPEAKER_01: Then Jesus went into the temple of God.
SPEAKER_01: So Jesus doesn't go to Pontius Pilate's palace.
SPEAKER_01: Jesus doesn't go to the palace of Herod or Caiaphas.
SPEAKER_01: He goes to the temple of God, the center of religious sacrifice in Israel, drove out all those who bought and sold in the temple, overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those who sold doves.
SPEAKER_01: And he said to them, It is written, My house shall be called a house of prayer, but you have made it a den of thieves.
SPEAKER_01: Now this is the second time, church, that Jesus has cleansed the temple.
SPEAKER_01: In the Gospel of John, it appears that he cleansed the temple in the early year, probably within the first year of his ministry.
SPEAKER_01: Some have given different dates on that, but this is the second time that he's cleansed the temple.
SPEAKER_01: And this is not, let me just read this again.
SPEAKER_01: Jesus went into the temple of God and drove out.
SPEAKER_01: Drove out all those who bought and sold.
SPEAKER_01: This is not Sunday school Jesus.
SPEAKER_01: This is not Surfer Boy Jesus.
SPEAKER_01: This is not kind of brown hair with a little bit of sun-drenched streaks through it, really tanned, with a lamb on his shoulder, you know, a little white robe and a surfboard in the other arm.
SPEAKER_01: You know.
SPEAKER_01: You look at that, and that's that guy looks like a sissy.
SPEAKER_01: That guy says that's a sissy Jesus.
SPEAKER_01: But we like that.
SPEAKER_01: Some of you have a statue like that somewhere in your house.
SPEAKER_01: Or you have a little picture like that, or you got the children's books, and you look at that, and he's a surfer boy Jesus.
SPEAKER_01: No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no.
SPEAKER_01: This guy's carpenter, Jesus.
SPEAKER_01: There wasn't a lot of wood in Israel.
SPEAKER_01: And if you've seen the pictures in the little children's books about Jesus, you know, his little hammer right there, and he's got wood around him.
SPEAKER_01: You see a chair, maybe a little rocking chair, and you go, wow, that's what he did for 30 years.
SPEAKER_01: Whoa.
SPEAKER_01: But when you go to Israel, and I've led tours in Israel, we actually talk about the fact that there were more stones than there were wood.
SPEAKER_01: So there's more of a strong possibility that carpentry in the time of Christ would be stone masonry.
SPEAKER_01: So he made stone tables, he made stone chairs.
SPEAKER_01: You ever tried to lift a stone table?
SPEAKER_01: So I think what he's doing is he's coming in, and there's stone tables, and there's stone chairs, and there's stone booths all over the place, right?
SPEAKER_01: This is muscular Jesus.
SPEAKER_01: This is carpenter Jesus.
SPEAKER_01: He's more of a Navy SEAL than a Sunday school teacher.
SPEAKER_01: That's the Jesus, and he's coming to disrupt the political system.
SPEAKER_01: He's come to disrupt the religious system.
SPEAKER_01: So let me give you four contrasts.
SPEAKER_01: Can you write these down?
SPEAKER_01: Four contrasts.
SPEAKER_01: I think these are important between religion and Jesus.
SPEAKER_01: Number one, religion emphasizes the outward, but Jesus always emphasizes the inward.
SPEAKER_01: Religion emphasizes what you do.
SPEAKER_01: Jesus wants to know who you are.
SPEAKER_01: That's Matthew 5, 6, and 7.
SPEAKER_01: So he says, you say this, and he mentions some outward religious practice, and he says, but here's what I say to you.
SPEAKER_01: And he goes to the heart of the matter.
SPEAKER_01: He speaks to the heart.
SPEAKER_01: He says, seek first the kingdom of heaven.
SPEAKER_01: You see, religion says if you get all the outward right, it'll change the inward.
SPEAKER_01: Jesus says if you get the inward right, it'll change the outward.
SPEAKER_01: That's the first thing.
SPEAKER_01: Number two, Jesus, in contrast to religion, religion is about what you can't do.
SPEAKER_01: Jesus is about what you can do.
SPEAKER_01: So, so religion is always saying, don't do that, and don't go there.
SPEAKER_01: You know, when I grew up, it was like, don't smoke, drink, or chew, or date girls that do.
SPEAKER_01: But Jesus says, this is what you can do, seek the kingdom first.
SPEAKER_01: Love your neighbor as yourself.
SPEAKER_01: Forgive those who spitefully use you.
SPEAKER_01: That's heart matter.
SPEAKER_01: Jesus is about the heart.
SPEAKER_01: This church is about the heart.
SPEAKER_01: The church is more of a hospital than a temple.
SPEAKER_01: This church is more about a hospital than a temple.
SPEAKER_01: You come broken, you come with all kinds of stuff messed up in your life.
SPEAKER_01: We understand that.
SPEAKER_01: You're messed up.
SPEAKER_01: We're sheep.
SPEAKER_01: We're sheepleep.
SPEAKER_01: And we follow the dumbest things, though.
SPEAKER_01: Christ says, Look, I'm not focused on the hour, I'm focused on your heart.
SPEAKER_01: If you'll let me have your heart, you, through the power of the Holy Spirit, will take care of the hour.
SPEAKER_01: Number three, religion puts up barriers.
SPEAKER_01: Jesus tears down barriers.
SPEAKER_01: So if you'd have gone into the temple at that time, there was a court of the women.
SPEAKER_01: There was a court of women.
SPEAKER_01: There was a court of the Gentiles.
SPEAKER_01: You couldn't go past those barriers if you were a woman.
SPEAKER_01: You couldn't go past those barriers if you were a Gentile.
SPEAKER_01: Jesus walks in, he starts tearing down barriers to the gospel.
SPEAKER_01: Some of you here this morning have a lot of barriers because of your background and your history with the Lord and his barrier and barrier.
SPEAKER_01: You can't do that and go to church.
SPEAKER_01: You can't be a part of this and go to church.
SPEAKER_01: Jesus is about tearing down those barriers and saying, anybody's welcome.
SPEAKER_01: Everybody's welcome.
SPEAKER_01: We all have come to the Lord with filthy rags.
SPEAKER_01: And he takes our filthy rags and he turns them into white, clean, forgiven robes in our heart.
SPEAKER_01: And then fourthly and lastly, in contrast to Jesus and religion, religion makes you work your way to God, but Jesus says, I am the way to God.
SPEAKER_01: It's really important.
SPEAKER_01: Religion says, work your way to God.
SPEAKER_01: Do all these things and you'll get closer to God.
SPEAKER_01: And Jesus says, I'm the way to God.
SPEAKER_01: You can't do it.
SPEAKER_01: Come to me, all who are weak and heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
SPEAKER_01: If you'll put on me, I can transform you into the person you always wanted to be.
SPEAKER_01: And that's a disciple of Christ where there's peace in your heart.
SPEAKER_01: Righteousness, peace, and joy are the fruit of the kingdom of God.
SPEAKER_01: That's the message of Jesus.
SPEAKER_01: It comes against political kingdoms, it comes against religious kingdoms.
SPEAKER_01: It comes against barriers that we've placed on people.
SPEAKER_01: We do it all the time.
SPEAKER_01: I do it.
SPEAKER_01: I make the mistake all the time of doing that.
SPEAKER_01: And have to check myself at the door and realize, wait, wait, Jesus tears down barriers.
SPEAKER_01: He doesn't put up barriers.
SPEAKER_01: That's the gospel of the kingdom.
SPEAKER_01: That's why I'm convinced when I was driving today, coming down Union from Black Forest, and I can see all the houses out there.
SPEAKER_01: People live in those houses.
SPEAKER_01: And I just stuck my hand out the window and said, Lord, bring the kingdom.
SPEAKER_01: Bring the kingdom.
SPEAKER_01: Because I know that in everybody's heart that's really what they want.
SPEAKER_01: But maybe it's never been presented to them in a way where it's inviting enough of the goodness of God and the love and the grace of God that they are invited into the true kingdom.
SPEAKER_01: Not religion, but the kingdom of God.
SPEAKER_00: To connect with Pastor Steve's sermons, books, and blog, visit Steve Holtonline.org.
SPEAKER_00: God bless.