WEBVTT 00:00:00.160 --> 00:00:02.160 Well, happy Palm Sunday. 00:00:02.319 --> 00:00:07.519 So this is the classic Palm Sunday passage that we're gonna be working our way through this morning. 00:00:07.759 --> 00:00:11.519 So there's a principle at play in this passage. 00:00:11.599 --> 00:00:17.359 And it's sort of one of those life principles that you know, as soon as I say it, you'll you'll you'll recognize it and go, yeah, and I I know that. 00:00:17.679 --> 00:00:26.399 But if we miss it, if we miss this principle, what we find ourselves on is we find ourselves on a path where we're we're constantly looking for peace. 00:00:26.480 --> 00:00:30.640 We're constantly looking for inner peace by outer circumstances. 00:00:30.800 --> 00:00:50.640 Um and this principle speaks to how we dream so desperately and work so hard really for the next income bracket or the next romance, the next friend group, the next house, the next level of influence, all of which can be great things, but they're not quite capable to bring inner peace. 00:00:50.799 --> 00:01:11.200 I mean, it speaks to how we uh we can spend so much time looking forward to and planning a vacation, uh thinking that we won't be cranky there, and then we get there and we're still cranky, and you're like, I thought this was gonna be the one where I wasn't cranky and you're still, and that you know the problem, right? 00:01:11.519 --> 00:01:12.319 You're still there. 00:01:12.480 --> 00:01:17.040 I mean that's the that's always the problem, is this common denominator, and it's us. 00:01:17.200 --> 00:01:24.239 Uh it's why people dream of retiring and then finally you retire and you're bored. 00:01:24.719 --> 00:01:38.719 Uh it it's it's why you can dream of a great achievement and then finally you accomplish it, and you thought that that would be the thing that would relieve you of anxiety, then in fact, all of a sudden you have more anxiety. 00:01:38.959 --> 00:01:43.519 And so the the principle that that's in here is this, and it's simple. 00:01:43.760 --> 00:01:47.120 It's situational bliss does not bring inner peace. 00:01:47.359 --> 00:01:48.640 You already knew that, right? 00:01:48.799 --> 00:01:50.400 You know that by life experience. 00:01:50.560 --> 00:01:55.439 I mean, in the scriptures we see it, and this is verifying what you already know. 00:01:55.680 --> 00:02:03.920 Situational bliss does not bring inner peace, and we think it will, that's why we plan for it and we dream for it, and then we get there. 00:02:04.079 --> 00:02:08.639 But no external situation can actually deliver inner peace. 00:02:08.800 --> 00:02:13.680 Now, just to clarify and be realistic, let's be realistic people here, let's not get too lofty. 00:02:13.840 --> 00:02:17.439 Now, a bad situation turned good, that's a great thing, right? 00:02:17.599 --> 00:02:18.560 I mean, all of us have had that. 00:02:18.639 --> 00:02:31.039 Like you've been in a bad situation and it's difficult, it's difficult on your inner life, it's difficult on family or friendships, it's it's it in that bad situation turned good, that's a great thing. 00:02:31.439 --> 00:02:41.039 But this is about constantly looking for the next situation to bring the peace you've never known, and you're looking for it to do that. 00:02:41.199 --> 00:02:43.680 You're actually looking for it to deliver you. 00:02:44.159 --> 00:02:49.439 And deliverance is comes by God's grace toward you, not by anything else. 00:02:49.759 --> 00:02:56.000 Nothing else has that ability, that power to relieve you of sin. 00:02:57.439 --> 00:03:02.719 Not a great popular word right now, but maybe you're more comfortable with imperfection. 00:03:03.680 --> 00:03:04.080 Same thing. 00:03:04.240 --> 00:03:14.800 Your imperfection before God, your sin, your brokenness, uh, to relieve you from the penalty of that before God, to relieve you of the shame of that and the guilt of that. 00:03:15.039 --> 00:03:18.080 Only God's grace, no external situation can do that. 00:03:18.240 --> 00:03:19.520 Uh, maybe you saw this interview. 00:03:19.599 --> 00:03:21.039 I mean, this has been about 10 years ago. 00:03:21.199 --> 00:03:24.000 It was so popular, it went around on YouTube, still on YouTube. 00:03:24.240 --> 00:03:35.199 I think every church in the universe has used this interview, and Tom Brady probably had no idea that the Christian world was going to use this to such degrees, but it's so profound, like you can't resist it. 00:03:35.360 --> 00:03:39.360 And so I've used it several times in the last 10 years, and it just came back up this week. 00:03:39.439 --> 00:03:43.840 I was thinking about this because he was 27 years old, about 10, 11 years ago. 00:03:43.919 --> 00:03:52.240 He had won three Super Bowls, he had tens and tens and tens of millions of dollars, quarterback for the Patriots, in case you hadn't caught up with that. 00:03:52.479 --> 00:04:04.400 And so uh dating supermodels, houses, um if anybody, if anybody has the external situation as bliss, this guy has it. 00:04:04.639 --> 00:04:09.599 I think even every man in here would even say that's an attractive man. 00:04:09.680 --> 00:04:19.920 Like Tom Brady, like male crush, like he's an attractive man dating attractive women with lots of money, incredible talent. 00:04:20.079 --> 00:04:24.959 The guy's got the external situation figured out, got it solved. 00:04:25.199 --> 00:04:26.879 And this is what he says on this interview. 00:04:26.959 --> 00:04:34.000 He says, Why do I have three Super Bowl rings and still, and still there's something greater out there for me? 00:04:34.319 --> 00:04:37.839 I mean, maybe a lot of people would say, hey man, this is what is. 00:04:38.160 --> 00:04:40.399 I reached my goal, my dream, my life, me. 00:04:40.480 --> 00:04:43.519 I I think God, it it's gotta be more than this. 00:04:43.680 --> 00:04:47.199 I mean, this can't be what it's all cracked up to be. 00:04:47.360 --> 00:04:48.319 I mean, I've done it. 00:04:48.399 --> 00:04:49.600 I'm 27. 00:04:50.079 --> 00:04:53.279 What else is there for me? 00:04:54.319 --> 00:04:59.120 So, what what he's communicating, so I did a bit of research on this, I'm like, this is fascinating. 00:04:59.279 --> 00:05:01.519 So, actually, psychologists is a real thing. 00:05:02.000 --> 00:05:08.720 There's a real thing, psychologists actually label real things that exist, and it's success depression. 00:05:09.120 --> 00:05:11.040 And it's actually a real thing that occurs. 00:05:11.199 --> 00:05:17.519 Uh another phrase that comes around this realm in psychology is encore anxiety. 00:05:17.920 --> 00:05:23.519 Like you accomplish the thing that you just you are waiting to accomplish it. 00:05:23.680 --> 00:05:25.120 And some of you know what I'm talking about. 00:05:25.199 --> 00:05:32.240 You did a big accomplishment, or maybe it was a smaller accomplishment in terms of the world's eyes, but for you it was a big deal, and you get it, you did it, and you accomplished it. 00:05:32.319 --> 00:05:36.959 It took a lot of work, took a lot of time, or you got the job, or what you whatever, you got it. 00:05:37.040 --> 00:05:41.759 And then there's this bit like like the encore anxiety of like what now, what next? 00:05:41.920 --> 00:05:43.439 Like now, what do I need to do? 00:05:43.680 --> 00:05:44.959 Like it doesn't stop. 00:05:46.560 --> 00:05:53.759 And so there's a couple articles that I read this week, businessinsider.com, this article, the fascinating reason many billionaires get depressed. 00:05:53.839 --> 00:05:55.360 And you go, yeah, yeah, yeah, whatever. 00:05:55.519 --> 00:06:07.360 Um they actually do get depressed, and the reason why that they have a pretty strong likelihood of getting depressed is because they have it all. 00:06:07.920 --> 00:06:09.040 And now what? 00:06:10.240 --> 00:06:11.040 Now what? 00:06:13.040 --> 00:06:27.920 So Forbes.com, in their article, why the super successful get depressed, uh, this came around a study done by Penn State, and it reports that CEOs are twice as likely to get depressed than other job positions. 00:06:28.480 --> 00:06:33.040 And part of this is the pressure, part of it's the accomplishment. 00:06:33.600 --> 00:06:50.639 And some studies are showing, and this is relevant to all of us, whether you're CEO or you have some other positions relevant to all of us, is studies are showing that there's greater depression in wealthier countries and wealthier families than in lower-income countries and lower income families. 00:06:50.959 --> 00:06:57.680 See, the external bliss you thought would solve all the problems, it just doesn't. 00:06:58.000 --> 00:07:05.040 And if you don't believe me, then just go find somebody where you look at their life and you go, oh, they got the external stuff figured out. 00:07:05.199 --> 00:07:09.600 Just go to take them to coffee and you'll find out it's not true. 00:07:10.079 --> 00:07:18.319 Todd Esseick, who's a he's a contributor to Forbes and a psychologist in New York City, he says this Uber success can be depressogenic. 00:07:18.480 --> 00:07:25.199 Many C-suite executives are prone to depression despite their success, maybe even because of it. 00:07:26.399 --> 00:07:26.800 Right? 00:07:27.519 --> 00:07:35.600 So as a country, we're we're much more we're much wealthier than we were, uh than our great-grandparents were. 00:07:36.319 --> 00:07:38.160 And we're much more depressed. 00:07:38.480 --> 00:07:45.839 Like we're on more meds, all the statistics, we have greater anxiety, greater fear, and yet we have more wealth. 00:07:47.759 --> 00:07:53.120 The principle is screaming out, situational bliss does not bring inner peace. 00:07:54.480 --> 00:07:56.160 The perfect situation. 00:07:56.959 --> 00:08:00.079 Now, a good situation, a better situation, that's really helpful, right? 00:08:00.160 --> 00:08:01.040 It's really helpful. 00:08:01.199 --> 00:08:02.879 We've all had that, and it's been very helpful. 00:08:02.959 --> 00:08:09.680 But trying to get it all perfect, that perfect situation, it can't deliver you. 00:08:10.480 --> 00:08:19.040 It has no power to deliver you from shame, from guilt, from anxiety, from fear. 00:08:21.199 --> 00:08:26.240 See, in this passage, this text, and this is where you go, well, what does it have to do with this text? 00:08:26.399 --> 00:08:33.679 What we see in this text is we see people laying down these palms, and what we're going to discover is what they're doing when they lay this down. 00:08:33.840 --> 00:08:43.679 They're looking for situational bliss, and they're seeing Jesus come in and they're looking for situational bliss, and he's coming to bring something else. 00:08:43.919 --> 00:08:48.559 So, two points to kind of summarize this and kind of organize the thoughts here. 00:08:48.720 --> 00:08:55.679 Point number one, I've sort of hammered it home so far, and that's this situational bliss does not bring inner peace. 00:08:56.240 --> 00:09:01.120 So, if I can reread the text just to kind of keep my mind in it, John 12, 12 through 15. 00:09:01.200 --> 00:09:06.480 The next day, the great crowd that had come for the festival, so this Passover is going on in Jerusalem. 00:09:06.559 --> 00:09:10.399 We talked about that last week, heard that Jesus was on his way to Jerusalem. 00:09:10.559 --> 00:09:19.440 They took palm branches and they went out to meet him, shouting, Hosanna, blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord, blessed is the king of Israel. 00:09:19.840 --> 00:09:25.120 Jesus found a young donkey and he sat on it, as it is written, Do not be afraid, daughter Zion. 00:09:25.360 --> 00:09:30.080 See, your king is coming seated on a donkey's colt. 00:09:30.240 --> 00:09:39.759 Now, maybe this story is new to you, maybe the Jesus story is new to you, but at this point, Jesus, he is an absolute rock star. 00:09:40.639 --> 00:09:44.879 This name is just filtering around like crazy. 00:09:45.120 --> 00:09:51.840 People want to catch a glimpse of this guy who is doing some incredible miracles at this point. 00:09:52.080 --> 00:10:00.720 And so they're all showing up, and they're showing up, and what we see with these palms, and they're all laying down, they're yelling out, save us, save us, deliver us, deliver us. 00:10:00.879 --> 00:10:04.080 They're laying down symbols, nationalistic symbols. 00:10:04.240 --> 00:10:06.159 The palm was a nationalistic symbol. 00:10:06.320 --> 00:10:07.200 It's on their coin. 00:10:07.279 --> 00:10:08.320 Maybe you've heard this before. 00:10:08.480 --> 00:10:16.080 It would be like us going to a parade and laying down American flags at somebody's feet. 00:10:16.240 --> 00:10:19.039 Like it was a nationalistic symbol. 00:10:19.200 --> 00:10:26.879 They were calling out for political freedom from this situation. 00:10:27.679 --> 00:10:35.919 Rome is over them, and they're going, Jesus is coming in, and he is going to save us from Rome. 00:10:37.039 --> 00:10:39.759 And so this is many of their intents here. 00:10:39.919 --> 00:10:41.679 We still do this today, right? 00:10:41.840 --> 00:10:43.279 We still do this. 00:10:43.519 --> 00:10:46.960 We feel anxious, we feel ashamed, feel like we need saving. 00:10:47.039 --> 00:11:02.159 And instead of considering God's character and love and work for us, the sufficiency of Jesus as a sacrifice and his grace toward us, just as we are, I turn and I try to fix everything around me. 00:11:02.320 --> 00:11:17.679 And if I can just get it all under control, and if I can just fix the situation, and the situation can just be right, and we can just get the right candidate to be president, and then all of a sudden everything will be solved, right? 00:11:17.759 --> 00:11:19.600 All the problems will go away. 00:11:20.240 --> 00:11:29.039 Or maybe we make the entire project of our shame and our guilt and our anxiety uh religious, and we sort of like turn God into a vending machine, right? 00:11:29.120 --> 00:11:33.039 I mean, maybe this you heard this phrase, like the a theology of glory. 00:11:33.360 --> 00:11:34.879 That things are always get better. 00:11:35.039 --> 00:11:37.440 God just always makes everything better constantly. 00:11:37.519 --> 00:11:38.480 Like He's a vending machine. 00:11:38.720 --> 00:11:42.480 You put a coin in, you get something out, and just keep putting the coins in over and over again. 00:11:42.559 --> 00:11:53.279 And your life is just, as a Christian, just one season following another season of greater bliss, and another season of greater bliss, and another season of greater bliss, another season of greater bliss. 00:11:53.360 --> 00:12:00.399 This is a really good way to raise money on television, by the way, is you just keep promising greater and greater seasons of bliss. 00:12:00.559 --> 00:12:03.200 And there's one problem with it. 00:12:04.159 --> 00:12:06.000 It's just not true. 00:12:08.240 --> 00:12:10.000 It's a mixed bag. 00:12:15.200 --> 00:12:23.360 And somewhere along the line, we have to embrace that life and salvation and peace does not work like that. 00:12:24.879 --> 00:12:39.200 So Henry Nowne, a priest, a writer, a theologian in his book, The Return of the Prodigal, he wrote this addiction might be the best word to explain the lostness that so deeply permeates contemporary society. 00:12:39.360 --> 00:12:45.120 Our addictions make us cling to what the world proclaims as the keys to self-fulfillment. 00:12:45.279 --> 00:12:54.799 Accumulation of wealth and power, attainment of status and admiration, lavish consumption of food and drink, and sexual gratification without distinguishing between lust and love. 00:12:55.039 --> 00:13:02.320 These addictions create expectations that cannot but fail to satisfy our deepest needs. 00:13:02.480 --> 00:13:17.360 As long as we live within the world's delusions, our addictions condemn us to futile quests in the distant country, leaving us to face an endless series of disillusionments while our sense of self remains unfulfilled. 00:13:17.519 --> 00:13:24.320 In these days of increasing addictions, we have wandered far away from our father's home. 00:13:24.559 --> 00:13:30.720 The addicted life can aptly be designated a life lived in a distant country. 00:13:30.960 --> 00:13:36.240 It is from there that our cry for deliverances rises up. 00:13:45.519 --> 00:13:50.240 So these palms are being laid down, the crowds are cheering for these deliverances. 00:13:50.399 --> 00:13:53.440 Like that's what's literally the deliverances are rising up. 00:13:53.519 --> 00:13:59.759 They're cheering, you know, deliver me, give me my freedom for so many a political declaration. 00:14:00.480 --> 00:14:04.080 And Jesus is saying, I'm not here to deliver you politically. 00:14:04.639 --> 00:14:09.759 I'm not here to make every situation in your life perfect. 00:14:10.000 --> 00:14:13.519 I'm here to deal with your inner life primarily. 00:14:15.919 --> 00:14:22.240 I'm not here to constantly make every situation perfect, but to deem you perfect. 00:14:22.720 --> 00:14:26.159 And to, because of that work, to give you real relief. 00:14:26.799 --> 00:14:37.600 See, the palms speak of our misunderstanding of Jesus, to want him to deliver us from different circumstances and constantly going to him for that, for all the external. 00:14:37.840 --> 00:14:47.919 But the palm does not consider the real purpose of Jesus, to deal with our position before God, not our position before Rome. 00:14:49.600 --> 00:14:52.799 And I hope, I hope, I hope you have great situations. 00:14:52.879 --> 00:14:54.639 Don't hear me not say that. 00:14:54.879 --> 00:14:56.879 And God's in all the situations. 00:14:57.279 --> 00:15:02.240 I hope you have great situations, but situations will be difficult, you will have suffering. 00:15:02.399 --> 00:15:09.360 You or a friend or a family member may get sick, you will get sick, all of us will eventually die. 00:15:10.720 --> 00:15:17.919 And the great thing here is Jesus comes in and says, I want to make you secure before God in any situation. 00:15:18.480 --> 00:15:29.200 So whether you have situational bliss or whether the situation is just filled with poverty, I want you to be able to have the security that you are God's beloved. 00:15:29.600 --> 00:15:35.519 So point number two is this salvation and inner peace come by understanding Jesus. 00:15:36.399 --> 00:15:49.039 So I grew up in a church that at least my interpretation, I'm not saying they were saying this, I was saying I was interpreting this, that salvation was narrowed down to not going to hell. 00:15:49.360 --> 00:15:52.720 It was narrowed down and limited to that. 00:15:52.879 --> 00:15:54.159 And it is that. 00:15:54.639 --> 00:16:01.600 That is salvation, that God saves us so that we will have eternal rest with him. 00:16:02.080 --> 00:16:05.039 Through the work of Jesus, we have that security. 00:16:05.200 --> 00:16:10.559 That is salvation, the imputation of our sin put upon him, his righteousness to us. 00:16:10.799 --> 00:16:12.159 We are secure. 00:16:12.320 --> 00:16:13.840 And so that is salvation. 00:16:14.000 --> 00:16:18.480 But what this means is it means today I am his beloved. 00:16:18.879 --> 00:16:30.480 So it's not just salvation as a ticket to kind of cash in when we die, but because we're going to be secure in the afterlife, it means something for today. 00:16:30.799 --> 00:16:40.399 It has something to say today about deliverance, about deliverance of needing situations to be perfect. 00:16:40.879 --> 00:16:45.759 So about 15 years ago, I was in a calculus class at the University of Georgia. 00:16:46.080 --> 00:16:48.080 Very first day, I sit on the back row. 00:16:48.159 --> 00:16:50.159 I know all about the back row. 00:16:50.320 --> 00:16:53.679 I would not be up here if I was not paid to be up here. 00:16:53.759 --> 00:16:54.559 I'd be in the back row. 00:16:54.720 --> 00:16:58.000 I know about the back row, you got the headrest, nobody else has the headrest. 00:16:58.240 --> 00:17:00.879 You sneak out, come in, some of you have already done it. 00:17:01.039 --> 00:17:03.440 I know all about I love, love the back row. 00:17:03.519 --> 00:17:04.240 Thank you very much. 00:17:04.400 --> 00:17:15.279 So I'm in the back row of this calculus class, maybe 35 people in there, and the lady who's teaching, brilliant lady, uh, she's from Russia, so very strong accent. 00:17:16.079 --> 00:17:17.839 Nobody can understand her. 00:17:18.319 --> 00:17:19.200 And it's brutal. 00:17:19.359 --> 00:17:23.440 I think maybe a class or two go by and it's just none of none of us are getting this. 00:17:23.519 --> 00:17:25.759 And she's just motoring through the content. 00:17:25.839 --> 00:17:29.759 She's just flying through it, and none of us, none of us are getting it. 00:17:29.920 --> 00:17:34.720 The misunderstanding is making it impossible to think and feel and react properly to the content. 00:17:34.960 --> 00:17:36.240 We just can't do it. 00:17:36.319 --> 00:17:43.519 And so finally, I think we're about two classes in, and this guy toward the front, I am I just so distinctly remember him. 00:17:43.680 --> 00:17:49.359 He's very kind of fratastic in the in the fraternity world, and he is very southern, he has boots on. 00:17:49.440 --> 00:17:54.480 I speak southern, I had a four-wheel drive truck as my first vehicle, so I understood, I could understand his accent. 00:17:54.640 --> 00:17:58.799 And so he had his hat on with his curls going, and he was fantastic. 00:17:58.960 --> 00:18:02.720 He was great, but he just decided I can't deal with this. 00:18:02.960 --> 00:18:09.119 And he would just very politely, just over and over again, he said, ma'am, can you repeat that? 00:18:09.519 --> 00:18:11.119 Ma'am, can you repeat that? 00:18:11.440 --> 00:18:12.559 Over and over. 00:18:12.960 --> 00:18:15.759 And the problem was is we still couldn't quite understand her. 00:18:15.839 --> 00:18:18.400 But then there's this one girl who could understand her. 00:18:18.480 --> 00:18:19.599 That's the air conditioning. 00:18:19.680 --> 00:18:21.680 We're thankful for it, even though it's loud. 00:18:22.160 --> 00:18:25.279 And so uh he would, ma'am, I don't understand that. 00:18:25.440 --> 00:18:29.279 And and then this one girl would kind of translate for the rest of the class. 00:18:29.359 --> 00:18:37.119 And so this process just kind of went over and over and over again, where the the lady would teach, we couldn't understand her, ma'am. 00:18:37.279 --> 00:18:38.319 Can you repeat that? 00:18:38.480 --> 00:18:45.920 And then the girl would translate the the English to the rest of us who understand English over and over and over again. 00:18:46.160 --> 00:18:48.400 This went on class after class the entire semester. 00:18:48.480 --> 00:18:50.079 It was the only way we survived. 00:18:50.319 --> 00:18:53.920 I don't know how all the other classes she taught survived, but that's how we survived. 00:18:54.160 --> 00:19:01.440 And it had to be this way because understanding what is being revealed means everything. 00:19:02.640 --> 00:19:03.839 Means everything. 00:19:04.079 --> 00:19:08.240 And what you misunderstand or you understand changes everything. 00:19:08.400 --> 00:19:12.160 It directs how we think and feel and react and the way our lives are changed. 00:19:12.240 --> 00:19:17.279 I mean, that content that teacher was teaching, if we don't understand here, we can't do anything with it. 00:19:17.440 --> 00:19:19.200 In fact, we might do the wrong thing with it. 00:19:19.359 --> 00:19:24.880 In this text, we see people, some people misunderstanding what Jesus is coming for. 00:19:25.200 --> 00:19:30.000 Understanding what is being revealed means everything. 00:19:30.160 --> 00:19:39.759 And so you have the palms being laid down, many of which are laying them down for political freedom, save us from Rome, from the external situation, and yet he's on a donkey. 00:19:40.000 --> 00:19:43.279 Another great symbol for us because it's a symbol of peace. 00:19:43.440 --> 00:19:56.079 Because if he was coming into Jerusalem as a power move, he's not on a donkey, he's on a war horse, and he is ready to go, but instead he's on a donkey. 00:19:56.160 --> 00:19:58.799 He's on an animal of peace. 00:20:01.039 --> 00:20:05.839 So salvation and peace are really counterintuitive. 00:20:07.039 --> 00:20:11.920 I mean, especially for our human nature, because we think it comes by the palm. 00:20:12.079 --> 00:20:21.119 We think it comes by the external situation, but it actually comes in the humility of God coming toward us and dying for us. 00:20:22.559 --> 00:20:24.640 Inner peace comes that way. 00:20:24.799 --> 00:20:36.160 It comes by us relinquishing control of needing every situation to be perfect and embracing your own imperfection and your sin and resting and the revelation of God to you. 00:20:36.240 --> 00:20:47.039 And the more you understand that, the more that salvation that is secure for you, the more the salvation is secure for you in the afterlife can mean even more for you today. 00:20:48.960 --> 00:20:56.079 That donkey, the Savior on that donkey, riding into town, and he's going to go to the cross on Friday. 00:20:56.160 --> 00:20:58.799 That's what we celebrate on Friday, good Friday. 00:20:59.279 --> 00:21:11.039 All of our brokenness and frailities and shame, all the crap we carry around, and we don't have to, is put on him, and his righteousness and holiness is put on us. 00:21:11.200 --> 00:21:14.960 No greater picture of humility and love and grace. 00:21:16.079 --> 00:21:20.160 And it is by those means we are saved. 00:21:20.799 --> 00:21:26.319 And we are defined by those means of God's love and sufficiency for us. 00:21:26.559 --> 00:21:40.079 So, my brothers and sisters, may you understand the revelation, the great grace of Jesus the Christ, through whom we know the humility, character, and unstoppable love of God for us. 00:21:40.640 --> 00:21:42.000 Let's pray together. 00:21:45.920 --> 00:21:52.160 God, thank you that you come by means of the donkey. 00:21:54.559 --> 00:21:56.559 Even saying it sounds silly. 00:21:57.039 --> 00:22:23.039 It shows so much of your humility to come into our poor situation, our needy situation, to come into our poverty and to our shame and to our sin and to take it upon yourself, revealing yourself to be of perfect humility, perfect character and love and grace and justice. 00:22:25.759 --> 00:22:32.799 Would you help us to understand the revelation more of Jesus? 00:22:33.440 --> 00:22:49.599 That we might rest greater, not in getting every situation perfect, but to exist in any situation and greater rest and peace, resting in the salvation that is secured for us by your word. 00:22:50.720 --> 00:22:53.440 We pray for this in Jesus' name alone. 00:22:53.680 --> 00:22:54.160 Amen.