SPEAKER_01: This podcast is brought to you by Grand Parkway Baptist Church, helping people to know, enjoy, and glorify God.
SPEAKER_01: For more information about Grand Parkway, visit Grandparkway.org.
SPEAKER_00: Well, we acknowledge with songs like that, that there's what the psalmist said, where shall I go from your presence?
SPEAKER_00: If I take the wings of the morning and go to the mountains, you're there.
SPEAKER_00: If I go to the depths of the sea, you are there.
SPEAKER_00: So our life is not to be spent trying to avoid you, but to learn to abide with you.
SPEAKER_00: You said, I'll never leave you nor forsake you.
SPEAKER_00: That's not the kind of father you are.
SPEAKER_00: You don't run out on your responsibility.
SPEAKER_00: You establish a covenant with your people, and you're faithful to that covenant, even when we are not.
SPEAKER_00: And so to say, abide with me, it's a humbling, honest confession today.
SPEAKER_00: We want to begin Holy Week, God, by giving us, asking you to give us eyes to see and ears to hear.
SPEAKER_00: Remind us today that before this is personal, it's historical.
SPEAKER_00: That's what makes it powerful for every person in this room.
SPEAKER_00: Holy Spirit, lead us into the truth, illuminate the scripture, and set the captives free today.
SPEAKER_00: We pray in Jesus' name.
SPEAKER_00: And everyone said, Amen.
SPEAKER_00: You can have a seat.
SPEAKER_00: If you got a Bible, I invite you to take it and open up to John chapter 12.
SPEAKER_00: If you don't have a Bible, everything I say is going to come up on one of these screens up here, okay?
SPEAKER_00: The screen we got at a Jerry Jones' garage sale.
SPEAKER_00: And so uh today is Palm Sunday, and I want to talk to you on Palm Sunday about living as prisoners of hope.
SPEAKER_00: Living as prisoners of hope.
SPEAKER_00: Now, what does that mean?
SPEAKER_00: Now, if you're not careful, you hear that given the state of our country, the economy, and just the state of the world, Ukraine, Russia, all this stuff.
SPEAKER_00: It sounds like a disconnected, far-fetched pipe dream, but in reality, it's a gritty, down-in-the-dirt reality that will sustain you on your darkest day if you understand it.
SPEAKER_00: Let me say that again.
SPEAKER_00: It will sustain you on your darkest day if you understand it.
SPEAKER_00: And I'm going to labor today to help you to understand what all is happening on Palm Sunday, the day uh Jesus enters in.
SPEAKER_00: It's called in the Bible the triumphal entry.
SPEAKER_00: Jesus rides into Jerusalem on the back of a donkey.
SPEAKER_00: People are going crazy and they don't even understand what's happening.
SPEAKER_00: Somebody, I sent the email yesterday, tomorrow email and said, Hey, have you ever done the right thing and nobody notices or this, that, and the other?
SPEAKER_00: And somebody wrote me back and said, Oh, you do the right thing and people consume it on their lust.
SPEAKER_00: One of you smart dogs wrote me back and said, You're preaching on parenting tomorrow, right?
SPEAKER_00: No, no, no.
SPEAKER_00: So I want to talk to you about what does it mean to live as a prisoner of hope.
SPEAKER_00: It's not this flotty, smiley, disconnected.
SPEAKER_00: No, no, no.
SPEAKER_00: It's very real, it it's it's very grounded in what the Bible says.
SPEAKER_00: So I'm gonna start reading John chapter 12, verse 12.
SPEAKER_00: And look at me.
SPEAKER_00: I want to read a lot of the Bible today.
SPEAKER_00: More Bible, less kneel, good equation.
SPEAKER_00: Amen?
SPEAKER_00: Whoo, that was way too energetic.
SPEAKER_00: Anyway, uh, John chapter 12, verse 12.
SPEAKER_00: It says this the next day, the large crowd that had come to the feast heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem.
SPEAKER_00: So they took branches of palm trees and they went out to meet him, crying out, Hosanna, blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord, even the king of Israel.
SPEAKER_00: And Jesus found a young donkey and sat on it, just as it was written, Fear not, daughter of Zion, behold, your king is coming, sitting on a donkey, uh on a donkey's colt.
SPEAKER_00: His disciples did not understand these things at first.
SPEAKER_00: But when Jesus was glorified, then they remembered that these things had been written about him and had been done to him.
SPEAKER_00: 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.
SPEAKER_00: The reason why the crowd went to meet him was that they heard that he had done this sign.
SPEAKER_00: So the Pharisees said to one another, You see that you are gaining nothing.
SPEAKER_00: Look, the whole world has gone after him.
SPEAKER_00: Now among those who went up to worship at the feast were some Greeks.
SPEAKER_00: So these came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, and asked him, Sir, we wish to see Jesus.
SPEAKER_00: Philip went and told Andrew.
SPEAKER_00: Andrew and Philip went and told Jesus.
SPEAKER_00: And Jesus answered them, The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified.
SPEAKER_00: Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone.
SPEAKER_00: But if it dies, it bears much fruit.
SPEAKER_00: Whoever loves his life loses it.
SPEAKER_00: And whoever hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life.
SPEAKER_00: If anyone serves me, he must follow me, for where I am, there my servant will be also.
SPEAKER_00: If anyone serves me, the father will honor him.
SPEAKER_00: Now is my soul troubled, and what shall I say?
SPEAKER_00: Father, save me from this hour, but for this purpose I have come to this hour.
SPEAKER_00: Father, glorify your name.
SPEAKER_00: Then a voice came from heaven.
SPEAKER_00: I have glorified it, and I will glorify it again.
SPEAKER_00: The crowd that stood there heard it, this they said that it thundered.
SPEAKER_00: Others said, An angel has spoken to him.
SPEAKER_00: Jesus answered, This voice has come for your sake, not mine.
SPEAKER_00: Now is the judgment of this world.
SPEAKER_00: Now will the ruler of this world be cast out.
SPEAKER_00: I will, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself.
SPEAKER_00: He said this to show by what kind of death he was going to die.
SPEAKER_00: So the crowd answered him, We have heard from the law that the Christ remains forever.
SPEAKER_00: How can you say that the Son of Man must be lifted up?
SPEAKER_00: Who is the Son of Man?
SPEAKER_00: So Jesus said to them, The light is among you for a little while longer.
SPEAKER_00: Walk while you have the light, lest darkness overtake you.
SPEAKER_00: The one who walks in the darkness does not know where he is going.
SPEAKER_00: While you have the light, believe in the light, that you may become sons of light.
SPEAKER_00: What does it mean to live as prisoners of hope in 2022, given all that's going on in our culture and in your circumstance?
SPEAKER_00: It means three things.
SPEAKER_00: I'm going to give you a word, uh uh three words from the text, and then I'm going to give you a phrase that's not in the outline, but I want you, if you're taking notes, I want you to write down the phrase.
SPEAKER_00: The first thing we see in the text is just people.
SPEAKER_00: People.
SPEAKER_00: Why people?
SPEAKER_00: Here's the phrase.
SPEAKER_00: Because God is patient with people.
SPEAKER_00: Now I want to just look at verse 12 and 13.
SPEAKER_00: It says the next day, the large crowd that came to the feast heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem.
SPEAKER_00: So they took palm branches and they went out to greet him and they yelled out things.
SPEAKER_00: They cried out, Hosanna, which means save us now.
SPEAKER_00: But we'll get to that in just a minute.
SPEAKER_00: But I want to say, people, God is patient with people because these are the now a lot of preachers always say on this day, they say, Well, you know, this crowd on Sunday, they were crying out, Hosanna, and then later they were crying out, crucify him.
SPEAKER_00: That's a different crowd of people, okay?
SPEAKER_00: These are the Galilean pilgrims who have come to Jerusalem, kind of like on a journey for the what's called the Feast of Tabernacles that culminates in Passover.
SPEAKER_00: It's been going on for hundreds of years.
SPEAKER_00: God's people celebrate like this.
SPEAKER_00: And so Jerusalem was teeming with people.
SPEAKER_00: It's like the mall on Black Friday, okay?
SPEAKER_00: There's people everywhere, and it's just chaos.
SPEAKER_00: And so people are all excited because Jesus has raised Lazarus from the dead.
SPEAKER_00: That's the last thing Jesus did publicly.
SPEAKER_00: He kind of kept it on the down low for a period of time.
SPEAKER_00: And people were wondering, hey, is he gonna come to the feast?
SPEAKER_00: Is he really gonna come?
SPEAKER_00: So there's this clamoring crowd of people, and they don't understand.
SPEAKER_00: They just want to see a show.
SPEAKER_00: And so God is patient with people.
SPEAKER_00: Now you say, well, what do you mean?
SPEAKER_00: Why is that such a big deal?
SPEAKER_00: Because be careful that you not do not confuse God's patience with God's tolerance.
SPEAKER_00: Let me say that again.
SPEAKER_00: Be careful you don't confuse patience for tolerance.
SPEAKER_00: Like I'm talking to a uh a man not long ago at my office, and he's basically said, I'm not a Christian.
SPEAKER_00: I've basically done pretty much everything the Bible says not to do, and I don't do anything the Bible says to do.
SPEAKER_00: And then he says this, nothing bad's happened to me.
SPEAKER_00: And I said, It's interesting how you think about your life and think about God.
SPEAKER_00: You think about your life in terms of uh managing bad, but what if it's not just managing bad but experiencing good?
SPEAKER_00: He goes, I don't know what you mean.
SPEAKER_00: I said, You you think about it in real negative terms, like I've I've broken all these commandments, I do everything wrong, I don't do what the Bible says, and I do what the Bible says don't do, and nothing bad has happened to you.
SPEAKER_00: That's a really small way of thinking about it.
SPEAKER_00: Because do you ever wonder if there was good that had your name on it and God withheld it because he couldn't trust you with it?
SPEAKER_00: He's like, I said, he said, You're being difficult.
SPEAKER_00: I'm not being difficult, you're you're talking math, I'm talking music.
SPEAKER_00: So be careful.
SPEAKER_00: Everyone of you in this room, you think one of those ways about God.
SPEAKER_00: It's kind of like, man, my life's okay.
SPEAKER_00: My life's okay.
SPEAKER_00: Your life will never be all that it could be apart from the blessing of God on your life.
SPEAKER_00: It's just the way God designed you and I to be.
SPEAKER_00: But God's patient with people, these Galilean pilgrims that come to Jerusalem, they're screaming, Hosanna, which means save us now.
SPEAKER_00: Why is that important?
SPEAKER_00: Here's why.
SPEAKER_00: Because they wanted relief from the harsh circumstances that are brought on by a political regime that they did not vote for, nor do they agree with.
SPEAKER_00: See how relevant the Bible is?
SPEAKER_00: And they're screaming, you wait till the midterms, we're gonna take back the house and descend it.
SPEAKER_00: Hey, look at me, folks.
SPEAKER_00: Make sure that you say Hosanna, save us now to the right person.
SPEAKER_00: He does not reside in Washington, D.C.
SPEAKER_00: That's just free.
SPEAKER_00: And he's not gonna run for president again in 2024 either.
SPEAKER_00: Uh-oh, we just got real personal up in here.
SPEAKER_00: If somebody leaned over and said, Pinch the baby, we're leaving.
SPEAKER_00: No, I just want you to, God's patient with people.
SPEAKER_00: These people are crying out, save us now.
SPEAKER_00: And Jesus realized they don't even understand what they're asking for.
SPEAKER_00: Did you hear them?
SPEAKER_00: They're like, Who's the son of man?
SPEAKER_00: We heard that the Christ is going to remain forever.
SPEAKER_00: And who is the Christ?
SPEAKER_00: And Jesus is like, hello, hello, but he doesn't.
SPEAKER_00: He doesn't say any of that.
SPEAKER_00: He just tolerates it.
SPEAKER_00: Why?
SPEAKER_00: Because God is patient with people.
SPEAKER_00: If you look at verse 17, you'll read these words.
SPEAKER_00: It says, The crowd that had been with him when he called Lazarus out of the tomb and raised him from the dead continue to bear witness.
SPEAKER_00: The reason why the crowd went to be with him was that they heard he had done this sign.
SPEAKER_00: Did you hear that?
SPEAKER_00: These greedy people, they're like, hey, we Jesus did like a, he's like David Blaine, street magician.
SPEAKER_00: Jesus does incredible stuff.
SPEAKER_00: And so they're like, hey, raise Lazarus from the dead.
SPEAKER_00: What else is he going to do?
SPEAKER_00: And so this is what drives their attendance that day.
SPEAKER_00: This is what makes them, the crowd, this thriving mass of humanity.
SPEAKER_00: They're just like, oh my gosh, he raised a dead guy from the dead.
SPEAKER_00: And what, I mean, is anything too difficult for him?
SPEAKER_00: Actually, not, but it's not the right reason.
SPEAKER_00: Let me say it like this: the way you think about God is manifested in the way you relate to God.
SPEAKER_00: The way you think about God, don't tell me what you think or believe about God.
SPEAKER_00: I'll just see, it'll be manifested, it'll be put on display by the way you relate to God.
SPEAKER_00: These people are related to God because they wanted to see signs and wonders.
SPEAKER_00: Now, the Pharisees, by the way, they relate to God totally differently.
SPEAKER_00: If you're in John 12, just turn back one chapter to John chapter 11.
SPEAKER_00: I'll start reading verse 45.
SPEAKER_00: This is right after Jesus has raised Lazarus from the dead, which actually happened, by the way.
SPEAKER_00: And this is what they this again keep this in mind.
SPEAKER_00: The way you think about God is manifested, or it's most on display in the way that you relate to him.
SPEAKER_00: John 11, 45 says this many of the Jews, therefore, who had come with Mary, had seen what he did, believed in him.
SPEAKER_00: But some of them went to the Pharisees and told them what Jesus had done.
SPEAKER_00: So the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered, and the council said, What are we to do?
SPEAKER_00: For this man performs many signs.
SPEAKER_00: If we let him go on like this, everyone will believe in him.
SPEAKER_00: And the Romans will come and take away both our place and our nation.
SPEAKER_00: We are going to lose the house and the senate if we don't do something.
SPEAKER_00: Verse 49.
SPEAKER_00: But one of them, Caiaphas, who was the high priest that year, said to them, You know nothing at all.
SPEAKER_00: Now look at me just for a second.
SPEAKER_00: God is so powerfully sovereign that he even uses people, his enemies, to fulfill prophecy.
SPEAKER_00: Watch this.
SPEAKER_00: You know nothing at all, verse 50.
SPEAKER_00: Nor do you understand that it is better for you that one man should die for the people, not that the whole nation should perish.
SPEAKER_00: He did not say this of his own accord, but being high priest that year, he prophesied that Jesus would die for the nation, and not for the nation only, but also to gather into one the children of God who were scattered abroad.
SPEAKER_00: So from that day on they made plans to put him to death.
SPEAKER_00: Jesus, therefore, no longer walked openly among the Jews, but went from there to the region near the wilderness to a town called Ephraim.
SPEAKER_00: And there he stayed with the disciples.
SPEAKER_00: Now the Passover of the Jews was at hand, and many went up from the country to Jerusalem before the Passover to purify themselves.
SPEAKER_00: They were looking for Jesus and saying to one another as they stood in the temple, What do you think?
SPEAKER_00: That he will not come to the feast at all?
SPEAKER_00: Now the chief priests and the Pharisees had given orders that if anyone knew where he was, they should let them know so that they might arrest him.
SPEAKER_00: If Jesus wanted to hide, you don't hide by riding on the back of a donkey in a town while people are going crazy over your presence.
SPEAKER_00: Jesus rides in because God's patient with people.
SPEAKER_00: Because what they think about him, he is a threat.
SPEAKER_00: We are going to lose our positions of power.
SPEAKER_00: Now, this was demonstrated to me when I was in junior college.
SPEAKER_00: My first year, I went to Tyler Junior College in Tyler, Texas.
SPEAKER_00: And at the time, they were like, this is one of the largest junior colleges in the nation.
SPEAKER_00: And I was like, I just, I'm here because I have yet figured out what I'm going to do with my life.
SPEAKER_00: But anyway, uh at Tyler Junior College back then, this was like in 1984 or 83, excuse me.
SPEAKER_00: Uh, and they had a professor at Tyler Junior College.
SPEAKER_00: It's the only thing I remember about the whole thing.
SPEAKER_00: Uh that where the student center was.
SPEAKER_00: We had a professor, Dr.
SPEAKER_00: Peters, who was blind.
SPEAKER_00: The guy would walk around campus with a white stick, and I mean, he would move pretty quickly.
SPEAKER_00: And I was like, dude, they said he's memorized the whole campus.
SPEAKER_00: I said, no way.
SPEAKER_00: No way.
SPEAKER_00: Also, he would take a role, he didn't have a grade, a teacher's assistant or anything.
SPEAKER_00: He would assign seats and he would memorize where you sat, what you smelled like, and what you sounded like.
SPEAKER_00: Because when you lose one of your senses, all your other senses ramp up a level.
SPEAKER_00: And so Dr.
SPEAKER_00: Peters has said in class, and I had friends that would just thought they were smarter than anybody.
SPEAKER_00: Again, keep in mind the way you think about God is manifested in the way you relate to him.
SPEAKER_00: People always thought about Dr.
SPEAKER_00: Peters and they would relate to him in such a way, like my friends, they would say for about 20 minutes of a lecture, and one day they took their shoes off, picked their books up, and they're tiptoeing to the door in their socking feet.
SPEAKER_00: And they get about five feet from the door, and Dr.
SPEAKER_00: Peters is sitting there lecturing, and he goes, Daniel, get back in your seat, please.
SPEAKER_00: And everybody in the room, you just hear, oh he goes, please, the lecture's not over.
SPEAKER_00: The man's not partially blind, he's totally blind.
SPEAKER_00: And I was like, Oh, when you snatch the pebble from my hand, it'll be time for you to go.
SPEAKER_00: Not now.
SPEAKER_00: Everybody thought things about him when they first got there, and everybody that'd been there for like a semester or two, they were like, Oh, yeah, you don't get anything over on Dr.
SPEAKER_00: Peters.
SPEAKER_00: He knows everything.
SPEAKER_00: I was like, Could you write down these winning power ball numbers right here one time?
SPEAKER_00: Why?
SPEAKER_00: Because what you think about someone is manifested in the way you relate to him.
SPEAKER_00: It was true in the way people related to my blind professor, it's true in the way you relate to God.
SPEAKER_00: What you really believe about God is on display in the way you relate to him.
SPEAKER_00: The people wanted to sign, the Pharisees wanted to kill him.
SPEAKER_00: Holy week begins with Hosanna, it turns to crucify him, but it ends with he is risen.
SPEAKER_00: And look at me, all along the way, God is patient.
SPEAKER_00: He's not tolerant.
SPEAKER_00: Don't confuse God's patience, his long suffering for tolerance.
SPEAKER_00: It's not.
SPEAKER_00: Here's the second thing you see in the text.
SPEAKER_00: You see promise.
SPEAKER_00: It's verse 14.
SPEAKER_00: Uh he says, and Jesus found a young donkey and he sat on it just as it is written.
SPEAKER_00: Now the Bible says, just as it is written.
SPEAKER_00: It's fixing to quote something that was written somewhere else in the Bible.
SPEAKER_00: In the New Testament, typically it refers to something in the Old Testament.
SPEAKER_00: And verse 15 was from the Old Testament book of Zechariah, where verse 15 says, Fear not, daughter of Zion.
SPEAKER_00: Behold, your king is coming, sitting on a donkey's colt.
SPEAKER_00: Now, here's one of the things that uh when I say promise, here's what here's the phrase that goes with that one word.
SPEAKER_00: God acts in keeping with his word.
SPEAKER_00: And if you want to understand why God does what he does and how God does what he does, you need to have uh a familiarity with the Bible.
SPEAKER_00: Not just, hey, where's my Bible?
SPEAKER_00: Bring it on Sunday, but immerse yourself in it.
SPEAKER_00: It's not memorizing information as much as it is being steeped in a personality.
SPEAKER_00: Anybody here drink hot tea?
SPEAKER_00: Hello?
SPEAKER_00: Yes, yes.
SPEAKER_00: Some of you men are like, I'm not saying anything.
SPEAKER_00: Yes, if you drink hot tea, you know what steeping is.
SPEAKER_00: You put the teabag in there, you pour hot water, and you let it steep for four minutes.
SPEAKER_00: Otherwise, the tandem will get better.
SPEAKER_00: Bitter, excuse me, not better.
SPEAKER_00: Bitter.
SPEAKER_00: Uh, how do you know that?
SPEAKER_00: My wife drinks hot tea every day.
SPEAKER_00: Every day, about three o'clock.
SPEAKER_00: That's the joy set before her.
SPEAKER_00: Uh, and and and so, but but but reading the Bible is not memorizing a bunch of Bible information, it's being marinated, it's being steeped in a personality.
SPEAKER_00: So when I say promise, what I mean is that God acts in keeping with his word.
SPEAKER_00: And so this is what we see here.
SPEAKER_00: You now, someone asked me a while back, they said, Hey, you really seem to understand the Bible.
SPEAKER_00: What really kickstarted that for you?
SPEAKER_00: What made the biggest impact on you?
SPEAKER_00: And I said, Oh, the Phil Donahue show.
SPEAKER_00: Yes.
SPEAKER_00: If you remember Phil Donahue, say amen.
SPEAKER_00: Those are old people, by the way, sitting around you.
SPEAKER_00: Yes, this is how long ago this was.
SPEAKER_00: I mean, this was way back, like early 80s.
SPEAKER_00: I was walking, this is back when department stores had TVs and they would leave them on.
SPEAKER_00: I was walking through a store and Phil Donahue just just they were going to commercial.
SPEAKER_00: This is before all talk shows were not about paternity tests, okay?
SPEAKER_00: People were more responsible, and you slept with your wife and you raised your own kids.
SPEAKER_00: It's crazy.
SPEAKER_00: This is free.
SPEAKER_00: What one generation allows in moderation, the next one will excuse in excess, which is why we are where we are.
SPEAKER_00: But I digress.
SPEAKER_00: So I'm I'm walking through like a Dillard's or something, there's a TV, and he says, and when we come back from the break, we'll meet a couple who fell in love and proposed in the mail.
SPEAKER_00: And I was just like, What?
SPEAKER_00: And there's someone standing right there, and I was kind of like, I'm just gonna stand and they come back, and sure enough, they had a couple up there and they were holding hands and just kind of patting each other.
SPEAKER_00: And he said, basically, over 14 months that they had friends that said, Oh, you need to meet.
SPEAKER_00: They lived in different states.
SPEAKER_00: He wrote her letter, she wrote back, he wrote, she wrote, he wrote, she wrote, and pretty soon this thing got, and so finally he just said, Listen, I think my heart's been drawn to you, and I want to confess to you that I don't just have feelings for you.
SPEAKER_00: I'm in love with you.
SPEAKER_00: I love you.
SPEAKER_00: And so I'm just gonna be honest.
SPEAKER_00: And this was before email, this was before Zoom.
SPEAKER_00: And in their letters, they decided, do not send a picture.
SPEAKER_00: I don't know, I don't want to know what you look like.
SPEAKER_00: I want to know who you are.
SPEAKER_00: And so they just kept writing.
SPEAKER_00: And so finally she wrote back and she said, Absolutely, I feel the same way.
SPEAKER_00: A few layers later, he said, I I am he proposed to her in a letter.
SPEAKER_00: She wrote back and said, Yes.
SPEAKER_00: They're on the Phil Donahue show.
SPEAKER_00: By the way, the story's going, and then the salesman's like, No way, and I'm like, No way! And people hear no way, and they show up.
SPEAKER_00: Whoa, what are you talking about?
SPEAKER_00: Shh, these people met it through the mail.
SPEAKER_00: They wrote letters to each other, and the guy's like, Shut up.
SPEAKER_00: No, you shut up, we watch.
SPEAKER_00: And sure enough, and then Phil Donahue, white-haired guy, big glasses, microphone, kind of an antagonist.
SPEAKER_00: He goes, Hey, hey, let me ask you a question.
SPEAKER_00: I mean, come on, really, it's just you and I talking.
SPEAKER_00: Act like there's not a studio audience here.
SPEAKER_00: When you met her, were you kind of disappointed?
SPEAKER_00: What a jerk, right?
SPEAKER_00: And he was like, he just patted her hand and he's like, nope, I was no disappointment.
SPEAKER_00: He goes, Okay, comes over to her and says, Now, now you can be honest.
SPEAKER_00: I mean, he was being gracious, but when you met him, did you think he's not as tall as I thought, short as I thought, he's got a little pudgy, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah.
SPEAKER_00: And she said, No, no, I wasn't.
SPEAKER_00: And Phil Donahue said, How could that be?
SPEAKER_00: How could you not have some level of disappointment?
SPEAKER_00: She patted his hand and she said, But here's why Phil, because when I met him, he was just like his letters described him to be.
SPEAKER_00: If you ever meet him, one thing you'll realize is that he's just like his letters describe him to be.
SPEAKER_00: He just, he, he's, he, that's who he is.
SPEAKER_00: So when I say promise, and I say God acts in keeping with his word, it helps if you have uh a familiarity with the things of God as recorded in the Bible, not found on the internet, okay?
SPEAKER_00: You say, What do you mean?
SPEAKER_00: One of the things I say promise, one of the things that distinguishes the Bible from all other religious texts is that it includes these things called prophecies.
SPEAKER_00: A prophecy is a promise that was made a long time ago and then it came true, just like the Bible said.
SPEAKER_00: The Bible puts itself out there.
SPEAKER_00: There's no other sacred text that has prophecy, only the Bible.
SPEAKER_00: That's why one of the reasons I'm a Christian.
SPEAKER_00: I it's not that I haven't looked at other world religions, but none of them are as vulnerable as the Bible is to say, hey, here's a prophecy, like verse 15 of John 12.
SPEAKER_00: That's a quote from the book of Zechariah.
SPEAKER_00: Okay, the Old Testament book of Zechariah, which was written 550 years before Jesus rides into Jerusalem.
SPEAKER_00: And I'll just read you the whole passage.
SPEAKER_00: This is Zechariah chapter 9, verse 9 to 12.
SPEAKER_00: He says, Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion.
SPEAKER_00: Shout aloud, O daughter of Jerusalem.
SPEAKER_00: Now, what is happening when Jesus rides into Jerusalem this day?
SPEAKER_00: A lot of rejoicing, a lot of shouting.
SPEAKER_00: People are losing their mind.
SPEAKER_00: Hosanna, save us now.
SPEAKER_00: Behold, your king is coming to you.
SPEAKER_00: Righteous and having salvation is he, humble and mounted on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.
SPEAKER_00: I will cut off the chariot from Ephraim and the war horse from Jerusalem and the battle bow shall be cut off, and he shall speak peace to the nations.
SPEAKER_00: His rule shall be from sea to sea and from the river to the ends of the earth.
SPEAKER_00: As for you also, because of the blood of my covenant with you, I will set you your prisoners free from the waterless pit.
SPEAKER_00: Return to your stronghold, O prisoners of hope.
SPEAKER_00: Today I have declared that I will restore to you double.
SPEAKER_00: Not only does the Bible go on record, makes a promise, a prophecy, and then fulfills it exactly like the Bible said.
SPEAKER_00: Because if that's not fulfilled, you can discount the Bible, you can discredit the Bible and say this is just a book written by men.
SPEAKER_00: But because there's hundreds of prophecies that were spoken of years, centuries ago.
SPEAKER_00: Earlier, and every one of them came true.
SPEAKER_00: You have to take the Bible seriously.
SPEAKER_00: It's not just about intellect, it does involve intellect, but it also involves understanding.
SPEAKER_00: See, I want you to notice three things that the Bible says about the Messiah, the one who was to come before he ever came.
SPEAKER_00: It's three things.
SPEAKER_00: Number one, he says he's coming.
SPEAKER_00: He says he's behold, your king is coming to you.
SPEAKER_00: And then it uses three phrases to describe him.
SPEAKER_00: First of all, it says he's righteous.
SPEAKER_00: He's righteous.
SPEAKER_00: Why is that a big deal?
SPEAKER_00: Because we're not.
SPEAKER_00: Righteous means right with God or having the capacity to make one right with God.
SPEAKER_00: I see people all the time in counseling.
SPEAKER_00: I use this phrase a lot, and people don't like it.
SPEAKER_00: I don't use it to be snarky or to be harsh.
SPEAKER_00: But when people like the guy earlier, it's kind of like, well, you know, I've done everything the Bible says don't do, and I haven't done what it says to do, and nothing bad's happened to me.
SPEAKER_00: And you know, I'm kind of my own man.
SPEAKER_00: And I said, Well, I said, here's your problem, you're self-righteous.
SPEAKER_00: And he said, I like the way that sounds.
SPEAKER_00: I said, Oh, it it it it it the reality is much worse than it sounds.
SPEAKER_00: Because what he said, what do you mean?
SPEAKER_00: I said, What you're saying to God, now don't just listen to this story.
SPEAKER_00: Listen because some of you in this room are self-righteous.
SPEAKER_00: Yes, you trust in yourself, you don't trust in God.
SPEAKER_00: You check the bank account, you check the 401k to make sure you got some margin, you're good.
SPEAKER_00: That's just another form of self-righteousness.
SPEAKER_00: I said, You look to yourself to make yourself right with God.
SPEAKER_00: He's like, Yeah, what's wrong with that?
SPEAKER_00: It's terrible.
SPEAKER_00: It's self-righteousness.
SPEAKER_00: Basically, it is setting aside the righteousness of God.
SPEAKER_00: Well, that's just your opinion.
SPEAKER_00: No, no, no, that's the way God set the world up.
SPEAKER_00: So, what do you mean?
SPEAKER_00: He says he's righteous.
SPEAKER_00: By the way, Charles Spurgeon, a great uh preacher from England years ago, he said the greatest enemy to human souls is the self-righteous spirit, which makes men look to themselves for salvation.
SPEAKER_00: If you're sitting here today and you're looking to yourself, you are self-righteous.
SPEAKER_00: You may not use that phrase, but that's that's what the Bible would say of you.
SPEAKER_00: The Bible, that's the way uh a quote from a famous preacher, here's a quote from the Bible, Titus chapter 3, verse 4 says this.
SPEAKER_00: But when the goodness and the loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, now by the way, you ever wonder what the goodness and the loving kindness of God our Savior, what that is?
SPEAKER_00: It's Jesus.
SPEAKER_00: It's not just an adjective or a phrase.
SPEAKER_00: Look at it again.
SPEAKER_00: But when the goodness and the loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, what's the next word?
SPEAKER_00: He.
SPEAKER_00: He saved us.
SPEAKER_00: Not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and the renewal of the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us richly through uh Jesus Christ our Savior, so that by being justified by his grace, we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life.
SPEAKER_00: See, it's not because of works done by us in righteousness.
SPEAKER_00: If you are self-righteous, you'll never be able to do enough good to outweigh your bad in the eyes of God.
SPEAKER_00: Matter of fact, the Bible goes even further.
SPEAKER_00: He says in the book of Isaiah, all your righteous deeds are as filthy rags in the sight of a holy God.
SPEAKER_00: So self-righteousness is a vain hope of deliverance.
SPEAKER_00: This is why it's good news that it said the Messiah is going to come riding on a donkey, and this is what he's like.
SPEAKER_00: First thing, he's righteous.
SPEAKER_00: Secondly, it says, and having salvation.
SPEAKER_00: Having salvation.
SPEAKER_00: Now, here's another thing that distinguishes Christianity from all the other world religions.
SPEAKER_00: In them, you sacrifice to save yourself.
SPEAKER_00: You do enough good to outweigh the bad, or you kind of do enough good and you're reincarnated, you come back at a higher level, and eventually you reach nirvana, which is not true.
SPEAKER_00: It's a great 90s rock band, by the way.
SPEAKER_00: I heard come as you are the other day.
SPEAKER_00: I was just like, oh, I told my wife, I just turned it up.
SPEAKER_00: She goes, Is this Christian?
SPEAKER_00: Let's just pretend for a minute.
SPEAKER_00: No, this is one of the greatest songwriters of his generation, Kurt Cobain.
SPEAKER_00: Tragic ended life, and she's like, Who is Kurt Cobain?
SPEAKER_00: I'm like, What did you just say?
SPEAKER_00: One of us grew up in church, one of us didn't.
SPEAKER_00: But I digress.
SPEAKER_00: Anyway, look at me.
SPEAKER_00: Nirvana, you can't get again, that's just another form of self-righteousness.
SPEAKER_00: I'm gonna come back and do good, get reincarnated, and eventually you're gonna climb the reincarnation, reincarnation food chain, and you're gonna be at nirvana.
SPEAKER_00: All that, all that belief depends on you making yourself right with God.
SPEAKER_00: Something the Bible says is impossible.
SPEAKER_00: So why is it a big deal that says having salvation?
SPEAKER_00: Because again, this is one of the things that distinguishes Christianity because in all these other world religions, you sacrifice to save yourself.
SPEAKER_00: Look at me.
SPEAKER_00: In Christianity, God sacrifices Himself to save you.
SPEAKER_00: Big difference in the two.
SPEAKER_00: The capacity to save ourselves does not exist in us apart from Jesus Christ.
SPEAKER_00: My buddy that I was talking about earlier, who by the way I love, he's a great guy.
SPEAKER_00: He's like, I'll watch you every once in a while.
SPEAKER_00: I mean, give me a shout out.
SPEAKER_00: So here's your shout-out.
SPEAKER_00: Uh what do you mean?
SPEAKER_00: We're talking, I said, Hey, you ever think about how your life is going to end?
SPEAKER_00: Because he's an older man, he's very successful, he's very intelligent.
SPEAKER_00: I said, You ever think about your mortality?
SPEAKER_00: Because I asked him, he said, What do you got going on?
SPEAKER_00: I said, I got a funeral and got this.
SPEAKER_00: He goes, Oh, I said, You ever think about your funeral?
SPEAKER_00: No, man, it's depressing.
SPEAKER_00: Well, you know, you're gonna die.
SPEAKER_00: And I I all the king's horses and all the king's men ain't going to keep you from dying.
SPEAKER_00: He goes, Yeah, I don't like to think about death.
SPEAKER_00: It kind of depresses me.
SPEAKER_00: I said, Why does it depress you?
SPEAKER_00: Because I don't know what's gonna happen.
SPEAKER_00: I said, I can tell you.
SPEAKER_00: He goes, Really?
SPEAKER_00: I said, Yeah, the Bible says it's appointed unto each man a time to die, and then after that comes the judgment.
SPEAKER_00: He folds his arm, he goes, And what is that supposed to mean?
SPEAKER_00: I said, Yeah, I saw a guy with a tattoo the other day on his arm.
SPEAKER_00: It said, Only God can judge me.
SPEAKER_00: And I was just like, Yeah, and that's gonna happen.
SPEAKER_00: And you're gonna wish to God that it was people judging you, not a perfect God.
SPEAKER_00: He's like, So, I mean, why are you Christians all into judgment?
SPEAKER_00: We're not into judgment.
SPEAKER_00: For the Christian, it's gonna be the judgment seat of Christ, the Bima seed, is gonna be about the good that we've done and the bad, but but there's gonna be reward for this life.
SPEAKER_00: He's like, What do you mean?
SPEAKER_00: Oh, I'm gonna be at the front of the line for a while, just receiving all my reward.
SPEAKER_00: And he goes, What are you gonna get rewarded for?
SPEAKER_00: I said, for putting up with people like you.
SPEAKER_00: He's like, No, seriously.
SPEAKER_00: And this is what he says.
SPEAKER_00: He says, Well, listen, at the very end, I might just, I might just I might just become a Christian.
SPEAKER_00: And I said, listen carefully, because some of you think the same thing, especially you young people, y'all like, hey, I'm gonna just kind of sin, do what I want.
SPEAKER_00: And then when I'm old like you and got a minivan and a mortgage, I'm gonna get religious.
SPEAKER_00: Sure.
SPEAKER_00: And here's the problem with that, and with my friends thinking, both of them act like you own salvation, but the Bible teaches very clearly that God owns salvation.
SPEAKER_00: I said to my friend, I said, if you look in the book of Revelation, they're around the throne of God, they're singing a song, and one thing they say to God is, Salvation belongs to our God who sits upon the throne.
SPEAKER_00: He goes, Okay, bring that down where I can understand it.
SPEAKER_00: I'll bring it down.
SPEAKER_00: You act like you got a salvation voucher in your pocket, and you can just whip it out at any time and redeem it when you're tired of sinning.
SPEAKER_00: Yet the Bible says, Jesus says in Matthew 11, no one can know the Father except those I choose to reveal him to.
SPEAKER_00: So what are you saying?
SPEAKER_00: I'm saying that you could get to the end of your life and God's the Spirit of God, not going to always strive with the spirit of man.
SPEAKER_00: He could just give you over to your appetites.
SPEAKER_00: But your problem is you're self-righteous, and then secondly, you've got a bad soteriology, a doctrine of salvation.
SPEAKER_00: You act like you own salvation.
SPEAKER_00: The Bible says, way back in Zechariah, 550 years before Jesus rides into Jerusalem.
SPEAKER_00: Oh, by the way, he's righteous and he's having salvation.
SPEAKER_00: This is why the Bible says in Acts chapter 4, verse 12, there's no name given under heaven whereby which men shall be saved except the name of Jesus.
SPEAKER_00: Why?
SPEAKER_00: Because he has salvation.
SPEAKER_00: And he offers it freely.
SPEAKER_00: Third thing the Bible says is that he's humble.
SPEAKER_00: He's humble.
SPEAKER_00: Why is that a big thing?
SPEAKER_00: Because it's hard to be right and not hurt people with it.
SPEAKER_00: Jesus could have rode in, kind of going, Hello, king, donkey, palm branches, remind you of anything?
SPEAKER_00: Who knows their Old Testament history?
SPEAKER_00: But he doesn't.
SPEAKER_00: He rides in and they're screaming, Hosanna, save us now.
SPEAKER_00: Do something about our living conditions, Jesus.
SPEAKER_00: Get off the donkey and get busy.
SPEAKER_00: But he doesn't.
SPEAKER_00: Why?
SPEAKER_00: Because if he would have saved them the way they wanted to be saved, he would have damned all of us to hell.
SPEAKER_00: But he didn't.
SPEAKER_00: Here's the last thing you see is just provision.
SPEAKER_00: It's verses 20 to 36.
SPEAKER_00: I won't take the time to read it all, but I will read this little part right here.
SPEAKER_00: Verse 20.
SPEAKER_00: Now among those who went up to worship at the feast were some Greeks.
SPEAKER_00: So these came to Philip, who was from Bethsain in Galilee, and asked him, Sir, we wish to see Jesus.
SPEAKER_00: Philip wouldn't have told Andrew.
SPEAKER_00: Andrew and Philip wouldn't tell Jesus.
SPEAKER_00: And Jesus answered them, the hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified.
SPEAKER_00: Now stop right there.
SPEAKER_00: Isn't that a weird response?
SPEAKER_00: Hey, there's people here to see you.
SPEAKER_00: The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified.
SPEAKER_00: Jesus is in a trance.
SPEAKER_00: Everybody back up.
SPEAKER_00: No, there's two words for time in the Greek language.
SPEAKER_00: One is chronos, chronological.
SPEAKER_00: Like right now, some of you are checking your watches, kind of go, he sounds like he's getting done.
SPEAKER_00: We could get out early today.
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, when those other guys preach, they have to practice on you.
SPEAKER_00: That's why they talk so long.
unknown: Short.
unknown: It's just a joke.
SPEAKER_00: No, it's chronos, chronological.
SPEAKER_00: It goes from this to this to this to this.
SPEAKER_00: Like right now, you're thinking about lunch, and then after lunch, the masters, amen.
SPEAKER_00: Yes, and then a nap?
SPEAKER_00: Yes.
SPEAKER_00: That's chronological.
SPEAKER_00: Time runs out.
SPEAKER_00: The other word for time in Greek is kairos.
SPEAKER_00: Kairos.
SPEAKER_00: And in Kairos, chronos, time runs out.
SPEAKER_00: Look at me.
SPEAKER_00: In kairos, time fills up.
SPEAKER_00: That's why the Bible says things in the fullness of time.
SPEAKER_00: God sent his son born of a woman.
SPEAKER_00: When Jesus, he that's why Jesus would say things, and people get so mad they pick up rocks to stone him, and he'd walk right to the crowd and they would say, What happened?
SPEAKER_00: And Jesus would say, My time has not yet come.
SPEAKER_00: He lived with this certain certainty that God had a purpose for his life.
SPEAKER_00: And it was all in God's timing.
SPEAKER_00: And so when they come and they ask him this question, it's like ding, sets into motion.
SPEAKER_00: This is why Jesus says the hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified.
SPEAKER_00: Now, when I say provision, here's the phrase that goes with that because provision, they're like, oh, these things all start with the same letter.
SPEAKER_00: It's what you preachers do.
SPEAKER_00: Now, better than that, I want you to see this.
SPEAKER_00: God always has a plan.
SPEAKER_00: So if I'm sitting in this room and I was in the fifth grade, I would ask myself, is there anything in my life now and in the future that God does not have a plan for?
SPEAKER_00: Because you will live as if you believe the answer to that question.
SPEAKER_00: You believe yes or you believe no.
SPEAKER_00: If you believe no, then it all depends on you and you got to figure it out.
SPEAKER_00: But I would say to you, the Bible says great things like in Acts 17, Paul tells these people he's preaching to, a bunch of religious, lost people, smart Alex.
SPEAKER_00: He says, hey, God's determined the exact places that you're going to live.
SPEAKER_00: And he did this so that you would seek him.
SPEAKER_00: So God knows where you're going to live.
SPEAKER_00: God knows who you're going to marry.
SPEAKER_00: God knows where you're going to go to college, what you're going to major in.
SPEAKER_00: So if I'm in the fifth grade, I'm just chilling.
SPEAKER_00: I'm like, God has a plan for that.
SPEAKER_00: What does he not have a plan for?
SPEAKER_00: It's a great question.
SPEAKER_00: It's a great way to live because provision means God always has a plan.
SPEAKER_00: This last section is where Jesus reveals to the people why he came.
SPEAKER_00: Peter tries to talk him out of it.
SPEAKER_00: He says, Get behind me, Satan.
SPEAKER_00: You've got on your mind the things of man, not the things of God.
SPEAKER_00: Now, if you were listening earlier, this is how long God's had a plan, by the way.
SPEAKER_00: If you were listening earlier, Clyde read from John chapter 1, and it ended about verse 29, where John the Baptist sees Jesus, public, he shows up in public and he says, Behold the Lamb of God that takes away the sins of the world.
SPEAKER_00: Nobody got it.
SPEAKER_00: They were all like, well, okay, we've heard things about you.
SPEAKER_00: But if you go further back into Exodus chapter 12 in the Old Testament, God instituted this thing called Passover.
SPEAKER_00: There was a political ruler of the day.
SPEAKER_00: He was a despot, despicable man.
SPEAKER_00: His name was Pharaoh.
SPEAKER_00: You ever heard of him?
SPEAKER_00: Say yes.
SPEAKER_00: Moses goes to Pharaoh because God said, Go tell them, let my people go.
SPEAKER_00: Now, by the way, the Bible is not a bunch of one-off stories, it's not moral fables that you can encourage your kids with.
SPEAKER_00: Look at me.
SPEAKER_00: It's one story God has been telling from the very beginning all the way to the end.
SPEAKER_00: It's one story with one central character, and it ain't us.
SPEAKER_00: Exodus chapter 12, he tells he tells Moses, stammering, stuttering, Moses, hey, go tell Pharaoh, let my people go.
SPEAKER_00: So he goes to Mo to Pharaoh, the most powerful man in the world, and he says, God says, let my people go.
SPEAKER_00: And Pharaoh's just honest.
SPEAKER_00: He goes, Who is the Lord that I should obey him?
SPEAKER_00: I do not know the Lord.
SPEAKER_00: I will not do what he says.
SPEAKER_00: By the way, that question is tattooed on your kids' heart.
SPEAKER_00: Not because they're bad kids, it's because it's mine and your privilege to demonstrate to our kids who God is.
SPEAKER_00: If you want your kids to obey God, then teach them who God really is.
SPEAKER_00: Because the question of their heart is, who is the Lord that I should obey him?
SPEAKER_00: I do not know the Lord.
SPEAKER_00: I will not do what he says.
SPEAKER_00: And so God says, You don't know me?
SPEAKER_00: Let me introduce myself with these things called plagues, 10 of them.
SPEAKER_00: And they get increasingly worse.
SPEAKER_00: You get up to the tenth one, it's a plague of the firstborn, okay?
SPEAKER_00: Now stay with me because Christianity is historical before it's personal.
SPEAKER_00: And if you understand the historicity of your faith, then it makes it much more powerful when it becomes personal.
SPEAKER_00: So way back in Exodus, God says, here's the deal.
SPEAKER_00: But he said to his people, he said, Listen, if you'll get a lamb and you'll keep this lamb for five days and make sure it is without spot or blemish, because I don't want you offering crippled sacrifices.
SPEAKER_00: Well, we got a three-legged lamb over here with one eye and three ears.
SPEAKER_00: We'll give that away.
SPEAKER_00: Nobody wants that.
SPEAKER_00: No, no, God says, I want the best.
SPEAKER_00: And so, spotless lamb, they keep it for five days.
SPEAKER_00: And why do they keep it for five days?
SPEAKER_00: Because they have to examine it and make sure it's not defective.
SPEAKER_00: And at the end of that fifth day, they can sacrifice it.
SPEAKER_00: And God said, Here's what you do: you take the blood of that lamb and you apply it to the doorpost of your house.
SPEAKER_00: And when the death angel comes, who's going to kill all the firstborn, it will, and he sees the blood applied to the doorpost of your house, he will watch this, pass over your house and spare you.
SPEAKER_00: Your firstborn will live.
SPEAKER_00: This is the institution of Passover.
SPEAKER_00: So for hundreds of years, the Jewish people, God's people, have been celebrating the Feast of Tabernacles.
SPEAKER_00: Let's go to Jerusalem.
SPEAKER_00: Here we go.
SPEAKER_00: And it culminates in the Passover.
SPEAKER_00: Now, why is that such a big deal?
SPEAKER_00: Because the day on which Jesus rides in here in John 12 is the first day of their celebrating, they're selecting their Passover lambs.
SPEAKER_00: So all these families, there's as many as a quarter of a million baby lambs in Jerusalem, and they're being bought, and they take them home for five days to inspect them.
SPEAKER_00: Now, this is Palm Sunday.
SPEAKER_00: Jesus rides into Jerusalem.
SPEAKER_00: Look at me.
SPEAKER_00: He'll spend the next five days being passed around from this person to that high priest to this political official.
SPEAKER_00: And then finally, remember I said earlier that God is so sovereignly powerful, He can accomplish His will even out of the mouths of pagans, people who do not believe.
SPEAKER_00: The culmination of this is when Pilate, he's like, He looks at people, he talks to Jesus and he looks at the people, he washes his hands and he says, I find no fault in him.
SPEAKER_00: And when he says that, what he's really announcing is you now have a lamb without spot or blemish that can be sacrificed for the sins of the world.
SPEAKER_00: And this is what happens.
SPEAKER_00: And Jesus knew full well it was gonna happen when he rode into Jerusalem.
SPEAKER_00: He knew it when he first came on the scene, he knew it before the very foundation of the world.
SPEAKER_00: And so here's the question you have to ask.
SPEAKER_00: See, they thought it was punishment, but for God, it was God considered it provision.
SPEAKER_00: And so when I say that God has got a provision, in other words, God always has a plan, ask yourself this question this morning.
SPEAKER_00: Is there anything going on in your life right now that you're not quite sure God has a plan for?
SPEAKER_00: If God is this exacting and he so controls the head and the heart of everybody, not just believers, but unbelievers.
SPEAKER_00: Where one religious knucklehead said, hey, it's better that one person die for the whole nation, then the whole nation perish.
SPEAKER_00: That's a good idea.
SPEAKER_00: And that's what he does.
SPEAKER_00: You see, folks, here's what it comes down to: everything God does in the Bible, he does to instill in you and me this deep sense of abiding faith that you can be people of hope.
SPEAKER_00: You're so connected to hope that you're almost a prisoner of hope.
SPEAKER_00: Not because it's a pipe dream and some, hey, just smile and just grin and bear.
SPEAKER_00: No, no, no.
SPEAKER_00: Because you understand the exacting detail with which God governs the affairs of the world in my life and your life.
SPEAKER_00: Let's pray together.
SPEAKER_00: If you're a guest, just relax.
SPEAKER_00: We like to teach the Bible, and then we'd like to give you some space to think about it.
SPEAKER_00: Some questions come up on the screen.
SPEAKER_00: You can just discreetly whip out a phone, take a picture if you want, you can jot one down.
SPEAKER_00: But just spend this next minute or two just thinking and listening and asking.
SPEAKER_00: I'm gonna voice a prayer, and then Clyde will sing something over us.
SPEAKER_00: Let me pray.
SPEAKER_00: God, thanks for the Bible.
SPEAKER_00: Thanks that it's thought-provoking.
SPEAKER_00: Thanks that our faith is historical, it didn't start with us, so we don't get to redefine what it looks like to be a Christian and deconstruct and be all progressive.
SPEAKER_00: Anything that deviates from the clear teaching of the Bible is wrong.
SPEAKER_00: And so, Lord, we're not here to distinguish ourselves, we're here to submit to the distinguished God of the universe and say yes to everything you say yes to, and no to everything you say no to.
SPEAKER_00: Now, Holy Spirit, brood over us, we pray, as we think and linger in Jesus' name.
SPEAKER_00: Father, thank you.
SPEAKER_00: We've been set free from religion and religious nonsense, we've been set free from people who don't understand but just pretend.
SPEAKER_00: We've been set free from politicians, so Lord, we're humble today when we see your obedience and your commitment to do everything the Father asks you to do.
SPEAKER_00: We're mindful of that.
SPEAKER_00: Let us be motivated to be the same way.
SPEAKER_00: This is our prayer, God.
SPEAKER_00: We prayed in Jesus' name, and everyone said, Amen.
SPEAKER_00: Amen.
SPEAKER_00: If you're our guest today, let me say thanks for being here.
SPEAKER_00: If you have any questions about anything you saw or heard or be saying or whatever, or if we can pray with you about anything, some of our pastors will be available down front as soon as we're dismissed.
SPEAKER_00: We would love to help you take the next step in your journey, whatever that step is, okay?
SPEAKER_00: Uh we have some few things going on in the life of our church wants you to be aware of.
SPEAKER_00: So give your attention to the screens for our announcements.
SPEAKER_01: Thank you for joining us today.
SPEAKER_01: Here's some things we want you to know.
SPEAKER_01: If you're new, text welcome to 281-626-5707.
SPEAKER_01: This way we can know you're here and get you connected with the life of our church.
SPEAKER_01: If you're looking for a place to be involved in your church, contact any of our pastors or ministry directors.
SPEAKER_01: The body is made up of many members, and we would love to help you get where you belong.
SPEAKER_01: Just head to our website at grandparkway.org.
SPEAKER_01: Men's breakfast is this Tuesday at 6 a.m.
SPEAKER_01: in the warehouse.
SPEAKER_01: Join us for free breakfast in time and God's Word.
SPEAKER_01: Living Well in Chaotic Times is a study of Titus taught by our women's pastor, Marcy McClendon.
SPEAKER_01: It begins April 26th.
SPEAKER_01: Register at grandparkway.org.
SPEAKER_01: Today is the beginning of Holy Week, which means you will have the opportunity to immerse yourself in the history and experience the goodness of what was accomplished in Jesus last week.
SPEAKER_01: Maundy, Thursday, and Good Friday take place here in our sanctuary at 7 p.m.
SPEAKER_01: and child care is available by registration only.
SPEAKER_01: Holy Week will conclude with Easter Sunday as the church gathers to stand in the power of his resurrection.
SPEAKER_01: There will be an additional service that day at 7:30 a.m.
SPEAKER_01: We look forward to all that God has in store.
SPEAKER_01: If you have any questions about what you heard today or would like someone to pray for you, find one of our pastors at the front of the stage at the conclusion of our service.
SPEAKER_00: One note on the Titus study, the Women's Bible study.
SPEAKER_00: That is at night.
SPEAKER_00: It meets from 6:30 to 8:30.
SPEAKER_00: And my wife gets home at about 10.
SPEAKER_00: And I'm like, what do you do?
SPEAKER_00: We women, we like to just be with each other.
SPEAKER_00: We're not like you men.
SPEAKER_00: Okay.
SPEAKER_00: Anyway, it's a four-week study.
SPEAKER_00: It's from 6:30 to 8:30.
SPEAKER_00: Child care is available.
SPEAKER_00: But if you've got a husband, that's your child care right there.
SPEAKER_00: Amen, men.
SPEAKER_00: We love for our wives to have spiritually formative opportunities to gather with other women.
SPEAKER_00: Amen?
SPEAKER_00: We'd like to conclude our service with a spoken blessing, so if you would stand to your feet.
SPEAKER_00: Hold your hands out.
SPEAKER_00: He came for you.
SPEAKER_00: When he wrote in on that day, he knew today would happen.
SPEAKER_00: And everything that's ever happened, he knew.
SPEAKER_00: That doesn't mean it's his fault or his responsibility.
SPEAKER_00: But he knew.
SPEAKER_00: And he died for it.
SPEAKER_00: So you can be forgiven, and you can forgive those who need your forgiveness.
SPEAKER_00: He came for you.
SPEAKER_00: He's never gonna stop coming for you.
SPEAKER_00: Our God is a God who comes for his people.
SPEAKER_00: Stop running and rest.
SPEAKER_00: In the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.
SPEAKER_00: Amen.
SPEAKER_00: Bless you.