WEBVTT 00:00:04.799 --> 00:00:12.480 This podcast is brought to you by Grand Parkway Baptist Church, helping people to know, enjoy, and glorify God. 00:00:12.960 --> 00:00:17.920 For more information about Grand Parkway, visit Grandparkway.org. 00:00:20.000 --> 00:00:25.920 Well, we acknowledge with songs like that, that there's what the psalmist said, where shall I go from your presence? 00:00:26.079 --> 00:00:28.960 If I take the wings of the morning and go to the mountains, you're there. 00:00:29.120 --> 00:00:31.519 If I go to the depths of the sea, you are there. 00:00:31.760 --> 00:00:36.960 So our life is not to be spent trying to avoid you, but to learn to abide with you. 00:00:37.200 --> 00:00:40.079 You said, I'll never leave you nor forsake you. 00:00:40.479 --> 00:00:42.159 That's not the kind of father you are. 00:00:42.240 --> 00:00:44.399 You don't run out on your responsibility. 00:00:44.560 --> 00:00:49.759 You establish a covenant with your people, and you're faithful to that covenant, even when we are not. 00:00:50.079 --> 00:00:55.840 And so to say, abide with me, it's a humbling, honest confession today. 00:00:56.079 --> 00:01:01.679 We want to begin Holy Week, God, by giving us, asking you to give us eyes to see and ears to hear. 00:01:01.920 --> 00:01:05.519 Remind us today that before this is personal, it's historical. 00:01:06.000 --> 00:01:09.439 That's what makes it powerful for every person in this room. 00:01:09.680 --> 00:01:15.200 Holy Spirit, lead us into the truth, illuminate the scripture, and set the captives free today. 00:01:15.280 --> 00:01:16.400 We pray in Jesus' name. 00:01:16.480 --> 00:01:18.400 And everyone said, Amen. 00:01:18.480 --> 00:01:19.200 You can have a seat. 00:01:19.359 --> 00:01:22.239 If you got a Bible, I invite you to take it and open up to John chapter 12. 00:01:22.319 --> 00:01:26.000 If you don't have a Bible, everything I say is going to come up on one of these screens up here, okay? 00:01:26.159 --> 00:01:28.640 The screen we got at a Jerry Jones' garage sale. 00:01:29.120 --> 00:01:34.560 And so uh today is Palm Sunday, and I want to talk to you on Palm Sunday about living as prisoners of hope. 00:01:34.799 --> 00:01:36.319 Living as prisoners of hope. 00:01:36.400 --> 00:01:37.280 Now, what does that mean? 00:01:37.439 --> 00:01:45.680 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. 00:01:45.840 --> 00:01:56.480 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. 00:01:56.719 --> 00:01:57.680 Let me say that again. 00:01:57.840 --> 00:02:01.599 It will sustain you on your darkest day if you understand it. 00:02:01.680 --> 00:02:08.479 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. 00:02:08.560 --> 00:02:10.400 It's called in the Bible the triumphal entry. 00:02:10.719 --> 00:02:13.599 Jesus rides into Jerusalem on the back of a donkey. 00:02:13.759 --> 00:02:17.199 People are going crazy and they don't even understand what's happening. 00:02:17.360 --> 00:02:22.719 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? 00:02:22.800 --> 00:02:26.240 And somebody wrote me back and said, Oh, you do the right thing and people consume it on their lust. 00:02:26.319 --> 00:02:30.080 One of you smart dogs wrote me back and said, You're preaching on parenting tomorrow, right? 00:02:31.520 --> 00:02:32.560 No, no, no. 00:02:32.879 --> 00:02:35.439 So I want to talk to you about what does it mean to live as a prisoner of hope. 00:02:35.520 --> 00:02:38.400 It's not this flotty, smiley, disconnected. 00:02:38.479 --> 00:02:39.120 No, no, no. 00:02:39.599 --> 00:02:42.639 It's very real, it it's it's very grounded in what the Bible says. 00:02:42.719 --> 00:02:45.120 So I'm gonna start reading John chapter 12, verse 12. 00:02:45.199 --> 00:02:45.919 And look at me. 00:02:46.000 --> 00:02:48.319 I want to read a lot of the Bible today. 00:02:48.639 --> 00:02:51.120 More Bible, less kneel, good equation. 00:02:51.280 --> 00:02:51.759 Amen? 00:02:52.639 --> 00:02:54.400 Whoo, that was way too energetic. 00:02:54.560 --> 00:02:56.960 Anyway, uh, John chapter 12, verse 12. 00:02:57.039 --> 00:03:02.479 It says this the next day, the large crowd that had come to the feast heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem. 00:03:02.639 --> 00:03:10.719 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. 00:03:10.879 --> 00:03:20.560 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. 00:03:20.719 --> 00:03:23.360 His disciples did not understand these things at first. 00:03:23.520 --> 00:03:29.680 But when Jesus was glorified, then they remembered that these things had been written about him and had been done to him. 00:03:29.840 --> 00:03:36.080 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. 00:03:36.240 --> 00:03:40.479 The reason why the crowd went to meet him was that they heard that he had done this sign. 00:03:40.639 --> 00:03:44.400 So the Pharisees said to one another, You see that you are gaining nothing. 00:03:44.560 --> 00:03:46.800 Look, the whole world has gone after him. 00:03:47.039 --> 00:03:50.879 Now among those who went up to worship at the feast were some Greeks. 00:03:51.039 --> 00:03:56.560 So these came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, and asked him, Sir, we wish to see Jesus. 00:03:56.800 --> 00:03:58.159 Philip went and told Andrew. 00:03:58.319 --> 00:04:00.159 Andrew and Philip went and told Jesus. 00:04:00.319 --> 00:04:04.080 And Jesus answered them, The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. 00:04:04.319 --> 00:04:09.520 Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone. 00:04:09.680 --> 00:04:11.599 But if it dies, it bears much fruit. 00:04:11.759 --> 00:04:13.680 Whoever loves his life loses it. 00:04:13.759 --> 00:04:16.959 And whoever hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. 00:04:17.120 --> 00:04:22.560 If anyone serves me, he must follow me, for where I am, there my servant will be also. 00:04:22.720 --> 00:04:25.279 If anyone serves me, the father will honor him. 00:04:25.439 --> 00:04:27.759 Now is my soul troubled, and what shall I say? 00:04:27.920 --> 00:04:32.800 Father, save me from this hour, but for this purpose I have come to this hour. 00:04:32.959 --> 00:04:34.560 Father, glorify your name. 00:04:34.720 --> 00:04:36.160 Then a voice came from heaven. 00:04:36.319 --> 00:04:39.199 I have glorified it, and I will glorify it again. 00:04:39.439 --> 00:04:43.040 The crowd that stood there heard it, this they said that it thundered. 00:04:43.199 --> 00:04:45.199 Others said, An angel has spoken to him. 00:04:45.439 --> 00:04:48.800 Jesus answered, This voice has come for your sake, not mine. 00:04:48.959 --> 00:04:50.639 Now is the judgment of this world. 00:04:50.800 --> 00:04:53.279 Now will the ruler of this world be cast out. 00:04:53.519 --> 00:04:57.759 I will, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself. 00:04:58.000 --> 00:05:00.800 He said this to show by what kind of death he was going to die. 00:05:00.879 --> 00:05:05.439 So the crowd answered him, We have heard from the law that the Christ remains forever. 00:05:05.600 --> 00:05:08.000 How can you say that the Son of Man must be lifted up? 00:05:08.160 --> 00:05:09.360 Who is the Son of Man? 00:05:09.600 --> 00:05:13.439 So Jesus said to them, The light is among you for a little while longer. 00:05:13.680 --> 00:05:16.480 Walk while you have the light, lest darkness overtake you. 00:05:16.639 --> 00:05:19.759 The one who walks in the darkness does not know where he is going. 00:05:20.000 --> 00:05:25.279 While you have the light, believe in the light, that you may become sons of light. 00:05:25.519 --> 00:05:32.959 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? 00:05:33.120 --> 00:05:33.920 It means three things. 00:05:34.000 --> 00:05:42.399 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. 00:05:42.480 --> 00:05:44.800 The first thing we see in the text is just people. 00:05:45.040 --> 00:05:45.360 People. 00:05:45.519 --> 00:05:46.639 Why people? 00:05:46.720 --> 00:05:47.519 Here's the phrase. 00:05:47.839 --> 00:05:50.079 Because God is patient with people. 00:05:50.240 --> 00:05:52.319 Now I want to just look at verse 12 and 13. 00:05:52.399 --> 00:05:57.360 It says the next day, the large crowd that came to the feast heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem. 00:05:57.439 --> 00:06:00.879 So they took palm branches and they went out to greet him and they yelled out things. 00:06:01.199 --> 00:06:04.240 They cried out, Hosanna, which means save us now. 00:06:04.319 --> 00:06:05.600 But we'll get to that in just a minute. 00:06:05.680 --> 00:06:17.920 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. 00:06:18.079 --> 00:06:19.839 That's a different crowd of people, okay? 00:06:20.079 --> 00:06:28.399 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. 00:06:28.560 --> 00:06:30.959 It's been going on for hundreds of years. 00:06:31.279 --> 00:06:32.959 God's people celebrate like this. 00:06:33.040 --> 00:06:35.680 And so Jerusalem was teeming with people. 00:06:35.839 --> 00:06:38.240 It's like the mall on Black Friday, okay? 00:06:38.399 --> 00:06:41.120 There's people everywhere, and it's just chaos. 00:06:41.199 --> 00:06:44.959 And so people are all excited because Jesus has raised Lazarus from the dead. 00:06:45.040 --> 00:06:46.959 That's the last thing Jesus did publicly. 00:06:47.120 --> 00:06:49.600 He kind of kept it on the down low for a period of time. 00:06:49.680 --> 00:06:52.240 And people were wondering, hey, is he gonna come to the feast? 00:06:52.399 --> 00:06:53.360 Is he really gonna come? 00:06:53.439 --> 00:06:56.720 So there's this clamoring crowd of people, and they don't understand. 00:06:56.800 --> 00:06:58.079 They just want to see a show. 00:06:58.160 --> 00:07:00.240 And so God is patient with people. 00:07:00.399 --> 00:07:01.759 Now you say, well, what do you mean? 00:07:01.839 --> 00:07:03.120 Why is that such a big deal? 00:07:03.439 --> 00:07:08.560 Because be careful that you not do not confuse God's patience with God's tolerance. 00:07:09.360 --> 00:07:10.319 Let me say that again. 00:07:10.399 --> 00:07:13.040 Be careful you don't confuse patience for tolerance. 00:07:13.199 --> 00:07:17.839 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. 00:07:18.000 --> 00:07:23.600 I've basically done pretty much everything the Bible says not to do, and I don't do anything the Bible says to do. 00:07:23.680 --> 00:07:26.399 And then he says this, nothing bad's happened to me. 00:07:26.720 --> 00:07:30.079 And I said, It's interesting how you think about your life and think about God. 00:07:30.160 --> 00:07:37.600 You think about your life in terms of uh managing bad, but what if it's not just managing bad but experiencing good? 00:07:38.160 --> 00:07:39.199 He goes, I don't know what you mean. 00:07:39.360 --> 00:07:48.639 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. 00:07:48.800 --> 00:07:50.959 That's a really small way of thinking about it. 00:07:51.199 --> 00:07:56.639 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? 00:07:57.439 --> 00:08:00.319 He's like, I said, he said, You're being difficult. 00:08:00.399 --> 00:08:04.000 I'm not being difficult, you're you're talking math, I'm talking music. 00:08:04.319 --> 00:08:05.040 So be careful. 00:08:05.120 --> 00:08:08.079 Everyone of you in this room, you think one of those ways about God. 00:08:08.319 --> 00:08:11.120 It's kind of like, man, my life's okay. 00:08:11.439 --> 00:08:12.399 My life's okay. 00:08:12.639 --> 00:08:16.959 Your life will never be all that it could be apart from the blessing of God on your life. 00:08:17.279 --> 00:08:19.199 It's just the way God designed you and I to be. 00:08:19.360 --> 00:08:25.680 But God's patient with people, these Galilean pilgrims that come to Jerusalem, they're screaming, Hosanna, which means save us now. 00:08:25.839 --> 00:08:26.720 Why is that important? 00:08:26.879 --> 00:08:27.439 Here's why. 00:08:27.600 --> 00:08:34.720 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. 00:08:36.879 --> 00:08:38.960 See how relevant the Bible is? 00:08:40.080 --> 00:08:44.480 And they're screaming, you wait till the midterms, we're gonna take back the house and descend it. 00:08:45.279 --> 00:08:46.639 Hey, look at me, folks. 00:08:46.879 --> 00:08:50.639 Make sure that you say Hosanna, save us now to the right person. 00:08:51.919 --> 00:08:54.399 He does not reside in Washington, D.C. 00:08:55.679 --> 00:08:56.960 That's just free. 00:08:57.120 --> 00:09:00.720 And he's not gonna run for president again in 2024 either. 00:09:01.679 --> 00:09:04.320 Uh-oh, we just got real personal up in here. 00:09:04.879 --> 00:09:08.080 If somebody leaned over and said, Pinch the baby, we're leaving. 00:09:08.879 --> 00:09:11.120 No, I just want you to, God's patient with people. 00:09:11.279 --> 00:09:13.360 These people are crying out, save us now. 00:09:13.519 --> 00:09:16.080 And Jesus realized they don't even understand what they're asking for. 00:09:16.240 --> 00:09:16.879 Did you hear them? 00:09:16.960 --> 00:09:18.320 They're like, Who's the son of man? 00:09:18.480 --> 00:09:21.279 We heard that the Christ is going to remain forever. 00:09:21.360 --> 00:09:22.240 And who is the Christ? 00:09:22.399 --> 00:09:26.240 And Jesus is like, hello, hello, but he doesn't. 00:09:26.639 --> 00:09:28.080 He doesn't say any of that. 00:09:28.240 --> 00:09:29.200 He just tolerates it. 00:09:29.279 --> 00:09:29.519 Why? 00:09:29.679 --> 00:09:31.840 Because God is patient with people. 00:09:32.000 --> 00:09:34.080 If you look at verse 17, you'll read these words. 00:09:34.159 --> 00:09:40.000 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. 00:09:40.159 --> 00:09:44.159 The reason why the crowd went to be with him was that they heard he had done this sign. 00:09:44.399 --> 00:09:45.120 Did you hear that? 00:09:45.279 --> 00:09:49.759 These greedy people, they're like, hey, we Jesus did like a, he's like David Blaine, street magician. 00:09:49.919 --> 00:09:51.120 Jesus does incredible stuff. 00:09:51.200 --> 00:09:53.279 And so they're like, hey, raise Lazarus from the dead. 00:09:53.360 --> 00:09:54.639 What else is he going to do? 00:09:54.799 --> 00:09:57.279 And so this is what drives their attendance that day. 00:09:57.360 --> 00:10:00.960 This is what makes them, the crowd, this thriving mass of humanity. 00:10:01.039 --> 00:10:04.799 They're just like, oh my gosh, he raised a dead guy from the dead. 00:10:04.960 --> 00:10:08.000 And what, I mean, is anything too difficult for him? 00:10:08.720 --> 00:10:11.200 Actually, not, but it's not the right reason. 00:10:11.279 --> 00:10:16.159 Let me say it like this: the way you think about God is manifested in the way you relate to God. 00:10:16.399 --> 00:10:19.519 The way you think about God, don't tell me what you think or believe about God. 00:10:19.679 --> 00:10:23.840 I'll just see, it'll be manifested, it'll be put on display by the way you relate to God. 00:10:24.000 --> 00:10:27.600 These people are related to God because they wanted to see signs and wonders. 00:10:27.759 --> 00:10:31.360 Now, the Pharisees, by the way, they relate to God totally differently. 00:10:31.440 --> 00:10:34.879 If you're in John 12, just turn back one chapter to John chapter 11. 00:10:34.960 --> 00:10:36.879 I'll start reading verse 45. 00:10:37.200 --> 00:10:42.399 This is right after Jesus has raised Lazarus from the dead, which actually happened, by the way. 00:10:42.559 --> 00:10:45.279 And this is what they this again keep this in mind. 00:10:45.440 --> 00:10:50.879 The way you think about God is manifested, or it's most on display in the way that you relate to him. 00:10:51.200 --> 00:10:57.440 John 11, 45 says this many of the Jews, therefore, who had come with Mary, had seen what he did, believed in him. 00:10:57.600 --> 00:11:00.559 But some of them went to the Pharisees and told them what Jesus had done. 00:11:00.720 --> 00:11:05.120 So the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered, and the council said, What are we to do? 00:11:05.279 --> 00:11:07.039 For this man performs many signs. 00:11:07.200 --> 00:11:09.919 If we let him go on like this, everyone will believe in him. 00:11:10.080 --> 00:11:13.360 And the Romans will come and take away both our place and our nation. 00:11:13.600 --> 00:11:17.200 We are going to lose the house and the senate if we don't do something. 00:11:18.080 --> 00:11:19.200 Verse 49. 00:11:19.360 --> 00:11:24.399 But one of them, Caiaphas, who was the high priest that year, said to them, You know nothing at all. 00:11:24.559 --> 00:11:26.080 Now look at me just for a second. 00:11:26.639 --> 00:11:33.360 God is so powerfully sovereign that he even uses people, his enemies, to fulfill prophecy. 00:11:33.840 --> 00:11:34.879 Watch this. 00:11:35.519 --> 00:11:37.519 You know nothing at all, verse 50. 00:11:37.679 --> 00:11:44.000 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. 00:11:44.399 --> 00:11:55.440 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. 00:11:55.679 --> 00:11:58.639 So from that day on they made plans to put him to death. 00:11:58.879 --> 00:12:04.799 Jesus, therefore, no longer walked openly among the Jews, but went from there to the region near the wilderness to a town called Ephraim. 00:12:05.039 --> 00:12:06.720 And there he stayed with the disciples. 00:12:06.879 --> 00:12:13.360 Now the Passover of the Jews was at hand, and many went up from the country to Jerusalem before the Passover to purify themselves. 00:12:13.519 --> 00:12:17.919 They were looking for Jesus and saying to one another as they stood in the temple, What do you think? 00:12:18.159 --> 00:12:20.320 That he will not come to the feast at all? 00:12:20.559 --> 00:12:27.679 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. 00:12:28.320 --> 00:12:35.279 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. 00:12:35.840 --> 00:12:40.240 Jesus rides in because God's patient with people. 00:12:48.559 --> 00:12:50.960 Because what they think about him, he is a threat. 00:12:51.120 --> 00:12:53.200 We are going to lose our positions of power. 00:12:53.360 --> 00:12:56.240 Now, this was demonstrated to me when I was in junior college. 00:12:56.320 --> 00:12:59.759 My first year, I went to Tyler Junior College in Tyler, Texas. 00:13:00.080 --> 00:13:03.360 And at the time, they were like, this is one of the largest junior colleges in the nation. 00:13:03.440 --> 00:13:07.679 And I was like, I just, I'm here because I have yet figured out what I'm going to do with my life. 00:13:07.840 --> 00:13:15.200 But anyway, uh at Tyler Junior College back then, this was like in 1984 or 83, excuse me. 00:13:15.279 --> 00:13:17.600 Uh, and they had a professor at Tyler Junior College. 00:13:17.679 --> 00:13:19.039 It's the only thing I remember about the whole thing. 00:13:19.120 --> 00:13:20.799 Uh that where the student center was. 00:13:20.960 --> 00:13:21.919 We had a professor, Dr. 00:13:22.000 --> 00:13:23.519 Peters, who was blind. 00:13:23.840 --> 00:13:27.120 The guy would walk around campus with a white stick, and I mean, he would move pretty quickly. 00:13:27.200 --> 00:13:29.840 And I was like, dude, they said he's memorized the whole campus. 00:13:29.919 --> 00:13:31.039 I said, no way. 00:13:31.279 --> 00:13:31.840 No way. 00:13:32.080 --> 00:13:35.519 Also, he would take a role, he didn't have a grade, a teacher's assistant or anything. 00:13:35.679 --> 00:13:40.879 He would assign seats and he would memorize where you sat, what you smelled like, and what you sounded like. 00:13:41.120 --> 00:13:44.639 Because when you lose one of your senses, all your other senses ramp up a level. 00:13:44.799 --> 00:13:45.279 And so Dr. 00:13:45.360 --> 00:13:49.039 Peters has said in class, and I had friends that would just thought they were smarter than anybody. 00:13:49.200 --> 00:13:53.919 Again, keep in mind the way you think about God is manifested in the way you relate to him. 00:13:54.240 --> 00:13:55.679 People always thought about Dr. 00:13:55.759 --> 00:14:06.159 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. 00:14:06.240 --> 00:14:08.159 And they get about five feet from the door, and Dr. 00:14:08.240 --> 00:14:12.399 Peters is sitting there lecturing, and he goes, Daniel, get back in your seat, please. 00:14:13.759 --> 00:14:20.320 And everybody in the room, you just hear, oh he goes, please, the lecture's not over. 00:14:20.559 --> 00:14:23.919 The man's not partially blind, he's totally blind. 00:14:24.159 --> 00:14:28.320 And I was like, Oh, when you snatch the pebble from my hand, it'll be time for you to go. 00:14:28.559 --> 00:14:29.360 Not now. 00:14:29.840 --> 00:14:36.559 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. 00:14:36.639 --> 00:14:37.279 Peters. 00:14:37.519 --> 00:14:38.720 He knows everything. 00:14:38.879 --> 00:14:42.559 I was like, Could you write down these winning power ball numbers right here one time? 00:14:43.759 --> 00:14:44.399 Why? 00:14:44.639 --> 00:14:48.399 Because what you think about someone is manifested in the way you relate to him. 00:14:48.639 --> 00:14:53.200 It was true in the way people related to my blind professor, it's true in the way you relate to God. 00:14:53.440 --> 00:14:57.840 What you really believe about God is on display in the way you relate to him. 00:14:58.240 --> 00:15:00.720 The people wanted to sign, the Pharisees wanted to kill him. 00:15:01.039 --> 00:15:06.399 Holy week begins with Hosanna, it turns to crucify him, but it ends with he is risen. 00:15:06.639 --> 00:15:09.759 And look at me, all along the way, God is patient. 00:15:09.919 --> 00:15:10.799 He's not tolerant. 00:15:11.039 --> 00:15:15.519 Don't confuse God's patience, his long suffering for tolerance. 00:15:15.679 --> 00:15:16.240 It's not. 00:15:16.399 --> 00:15:17.840 Here's the second thing you see in the text. 00:15:17.919 --> 00:15:18.960 You see promise. 00:15:19.279 --> 00:15:20.240 You see promise. 00:15:20.320 --> 00:15:21.600 It's verse 14. 00:15:21.840 --> 00:15:26.240 Uh he says, and Jesus found a young donkey and he sat on it just as it is written. 00:15:26.399 --> 00:15:28.320 Now the Bible says, just as it is written. 00:15:28.399 --> 00:15:31.360 It's fixing to quote something that was written somewhere else in the Bible. 00:15:31.440 --> 00:15:34.720 In the New Testament, typically it refers to something in the Old Testament. 00:15:34.799 --> 00:15:41.120 And verse 15 was from the Old Testament book of Zechariah, where verse 15 says, Fear not, daughter of Zion. 00:15:41.200 --> 00:15:44.480 Behold, your king is coming, sitting on a donkey's colt. 00:15:44.639 --> 00:15:50.720 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. 00:15:50.960 --> 00:15:52.879 God acts in keeping with his word. 00:15:53.600 --> 00:15:55.759 God acts in keeping with his word. 00:15:56.000 --> 00:16:04.000 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. 00:16:04.080 --> 00:16:05.440 Not just, hey, where's my Bible? 00:16:05.519 --> 00:16:07.759 Bring it on Sunday, but immerse yourself in it. 00:16:07.919 --> 00:16:12.799 It's not memorizing information as much as it is being steeped in a personality. 00:16:13.039 --> 00:16:14.879 Anybody here drink hot tea? 00:16:15.279 --> 00:16:15.919 Hello? 00:16:16.639 --> 00:16:17.279 Yes, yes. 00:16:17.519 --> 00:16:19.279 Some of you men are like, I'm not saying anything. 00:16:19.440 --> 00:16:21.679 Yes, if you drink hot tea, you know what steeping is. 00:16:21.840 --> 00:16:25.440 You put the teabag in there, you pour hot water, and you let it steep for four minutes. 00:16:25.519 --> 00:16:27.200 Otherwise, the tandem will get better. 00:16:27.279 --> 00:16:28.799 Bitter, excuse me, not better. 00:16:29.039 --> 00:16:29.279 Bitter. 00:16:29.519 --> 00:16:30.320 Uh, how do you know that? 00:16:30.399 --> 00:16:32.399 My wife drinks hot tea every day. 00:16:32.639 --> 00:16:34.480 Every day, about three o'clock. 00:16:34.559 --> 00:16:36.159 That's the joy set before her. 00:16:36.320 --> 00:16:46.320 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. 00:16:46.480 --> 00:16:50.639 So when I say promise, what I mean is that God acts in keeping with his word. 00:16:50.960 --> 00:16:52.480 And so this is what we see here. 00:16:52.559 --> 00:16:56.960 You now, someone asked me a while back, they said, Hey, you really seem to understand the Bible. 00:16:57.039 --> 00:16:58.720 What really kickstarted that for you? 00:16:58.799 --> 00:17:00.399 What made the biggest impact on you? 00:17:00.559 --> 00:17:03.039 And I said, Oh, the Phil Donahue show. 00:17:04.160 --> 00:17:04.640 Yes. 00:17:04.880 --> 00:17:07.359 If you remember Phil Donahue, say amen. 00:17:07.839 --> 00:17:10.240 Those are old people, by the way, sitting around you. 00:17:10.480 --> 00:17:12.240 Yes, this is how long ago this was. 00:17:12.319 --> 00:17:15.039 I mean, this was way back, like early 80s. 00:17:15.200 --> 00:17:19.440 I was walking, this is back when department stores had TVs and they would leave them on. 00:17:19.599 --> 00:17:23.519 I was walking through a store and Phil Donahue just just they were going to commercial. 00:17:23.680 --> 00:17:27.039 This is before all talk shows were not about paternity tests, okay? 00:17:27.279 --> 00:17:31.920 People were more responsible, and you slept with your wife and you raised your own kids. 00:17:32.240 --> 00:17:33.519 It's crazy. 00:17:34.640 --> 00:17:35.519 This is free. 00:17:35.680 --> 00:17:41.359 What one generation allows in moderation, the next one will excuse in excess, which is why we are where we are. 00:17:41.440 --> 00:17:42.240 But I digress. 00:17:42.400 --> 00:17:50.640 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. 00:17:50.799 --> 00:17:52.960 And I was just like, What? 00:17:53.279 --> 00:18:00.480 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. 00:18:00.559 --> 00:18:04.960 And he said, basically, over 14 months that they had friends that said, Oh, you need to meet. 00:18:05.119 --> 00:18:06.160 They lived in different states. 00:18:06.319 --> 00:18:18.400 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. 00:18:18.480 --> 00:18:19.519 I'm in love with you. 00:18:19.839 --> 00:18:20.960 I love you. 00:18:21.119 --> 00:18:22.480 And so I'm just gonna be honest. 00:18:22.559 --> 00:18:25.519 And this was before email, this was before Zoom. 00:18:26.240 --> 00:18:28.799 And in their letters, they decided, do not send a picture. 00:18:28.880 --> 00:18:30.559 I don't know, I don't want to know what you look like. 00:18:30.640 --> 00:18:32.079 I want to know who you are. 00:18:33.279 --> 00:18:34.640 And so they just kept writing. 00:18:34.720 --> 00:18:37.759 And so finally she wrote back and she said, Absolutely, I feel the same way. 00:18:38.000 --> 00:18:41.519 A few layers later, he said, I I am he proposed to her in a letter. 00:18:41.680 --> 00:18:43.279 She wrote back and said, Yes. 00:18:43.440 --> 00:18:45.039 They're on the Phil Donahue show. 00:18:45.440 --> 00:18:52.079 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. 00:18:52.160 --> 00:18:53.119 Whoa, what are you talking about? 00:18:53.279 --> 00:18:56.240 Shh, these people met it through the mail. 00:18:56.400 --> 00:18:58.720 They wrote letters to each other, and the guy's like, Shut up. 00:18:58.799 --> 00:19:00.559 No, you shut up, we watch. 00:19:00.799 --> 00:19:05.680 And sure enough, and then Phil Donahue, white-haired guy, big glasses, microphone, kind of an antagonist. 00:19:05.759 --> 00:19:07.200 He goes, Hey, hey, let me ask you a question. 00:19:07.279 --> 00:19:08.799 I mean, come on, really, it's just you and I talking. 00:19:08.960 --> 00:19:10.480 Act like there's not a studio audience here. 00:19:10.640 --> 00:19:13.759 When you met her, were you kind of disappointed? 00:19:15.200 --> 00:19:16.799 What a jerk, right? 00:19:17.680 --> 00:19:21.359 And he was like, he just patted her hand and he's like, nope, I was no disappointment. 00:19:21.839 --> 00:19:24.559 He goes, Okay, comes over to her and says, Now, now you can be honest. 00:19:24.640 --> 00:19:31.039 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. 00:19:31.200 --> 00:19:32.559 And she said, No, no, I wasn't. 00:19:32.720 --> 00:19:34.880 And Phil Donahue said, How could that be? 00:19:35.119 --> 00:19:37.759 How could you not have some level of disappointment? 00:19:38.000 --> 00:19:44.000 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. 00:19:45.680 --> 00:19:50.799 If you ever meet him, one thing you'll realize is that he's just like his letters describe him to be. 00:19:51.680 --> 00:19:54.640 He just, he, he's, he, that's who he is. 00:19:54.799 --> 00:20:06.160 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? 00:20:06.480 --> 00:20:08.000 You say, What do you mean? 00:20:08.160 --> 00:20:15.599 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. 00:20:15.759 --> 00:20:21.359 A prophecy is a promise that was made a long time ago and then it came true, just like the Bible said. 00:20:21.599 --> 00:20:22.960 The Bible puts itself out there. 00:20:23.039 --> 00:20:25.680 There's no other sacred text that has prophecy, only the Bible. 00:20:25.839 --> 00:20:27.680 That's why one of the reasons I'm a Christian. 00:20:27.759 --> 00:20:36.319 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. 00:20:36.480 --> 00:20:38.799 That's a quote from the book of Zechariah. 00:20:39.119 --> 00:20:46.000 Okay, the Old Testament book of Zechariah, which was written 550 years before Jesus rides into Jerusalem. 00:20:46.160 --> 00:20:47.519 And I'll just read you the whole passage. 00:20:47.599 --> 00:20:50.160 This is Zechariah chapter 9, verse 9 to 12. 00:20:50.319 --> 00:20:53.119 He says, Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion. 00:20:53.359 --> 00:20:55.519 Shout aloud, O daughter of Jerusalem. 00:20:55.680 --> 00:20:59.359 Now, what is happening when Jesus rides into Jerusalem this day? 00:20:59.759 --> 00:21:02.480 A lot of rejoicing, a lot of shouting. 00:21:02.720 --> 00:21:03.920 People are losing their mind. 00:21:04.079 --> 00:21:06.720 Hosanna, save us now. 00:21:07.440 --> 00:21:09.200 Behold, your king is coming to you. 00:21:09.440 --> 00:21:15.440 Righteous and having salvation is he, humble and mounted on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey. 00:21:15.599 --> 00:21:23.279 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. 00:21:23.440 --> 00:21:27.440 His rule shall be from sea to sea and from the river to the ends of the earth. 00:21:27.680 --> 00:21:34.079 As for you also, because of the blood of my covenant with you, I will set you your prisoners free from the waterless pit. 00:21:34.240 --> 00:21:37.200 Return to your stronghold, O prisoners of hope. 00:21:37.440 --> 00:21:41.279 Today I have declared that I will restore to you double. 00:21:42.480 --> 00:21:49.440 Not only does the Bible go on record, makes a promise, a prophecy, and then fulfills it exactly like the Bible said. 00:21:49.599 --> 00:21:55.759 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. 00:21:56.000 --> 00:21:59.839 But because there's hundreds of prophecies that were spoken of years, centuries ago. 00:22:00.400 --> 00:22:02.559 Earlier, and every one of them came true. 00:22:02.720 --> 00:22:04.400 You have to take the Bible seriously. 00:22:04.480 --> 00:22:09.119 It's not just about intellect, it does involve intellect, but it also involves understanding. 00:22:09.359 --> 00:22:14.640 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. 00:22:14.720 --> 00:22:15.359 It's three things. 00:22:15.440 --> 00:22:16.640 Number one, he says he's coming. 00:22:16.799 --> 00:22:19.119 He says he's behold, your king is coming to you. 00:22:19.200 --> 00:22:21.279 And then it uses three phrases to describe him. 00:22:21.440 --> 00:22:23.359 First of all, it says he's righteous. 00:22:23.599 --> 00:22:24.640 He's righteous. 00:22:25.119 --> 00:22:26.240 Why is that a big deal? 00:22:26.480 --> 00:22:27.519 Because we're not. 00:22:27.759 --> 00:22:33.039 Righteous means right with God or having the capacity to make one right with God. 00:22:33.920 --> 00:22:35.759 I see people all the time in counseling. 00:22:35.839 --> 00:22:37.839 I use this phrase a lot, and people don't like it. 00:22:37.920 --> 00:22:40.400 I don't use it to be snarky or to be harsh. 00:22:40.720 --> 00:22:47.839 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. 00:22:47.920 --> 00:22:49.359 And you know, I'm kind of my own man. 00:22:49.440 --> 00:22:53.200 And I said, Well, I said, here's your problem, you're self-righteous. 00:22:53.759 --> 00:22:55.440 And he said, I like the way that sounds. 00:22:55.519 --> 00:22:59.759 I said, Oh, it it it it it the reality is much worse than it sounds. 00:22:59.920 --> 00:23:01.200 Because what he said, what do you mean? 00:23:01.279 --> 00:23:04.559 I said, What you're saying to God, now don't just listen to this story. 00:23:04.720 --> 00:23:07.599 Listen because some of you in this room are self-righteous. 00:23:08.720 --> 00:23:12.240 Yes, you trust in yourself, you don't trust in God. 00:23:12.640 --> 00:23:17.200 You check the bank account, you check the 401k to make sure you got some margin, you're good. 00:23:17.599 --> 00:23:19.680 That's just another form of self-righteousness. 00:23:19.759 --> 00:23:23.519 I said, You look to yourself to make yourself right with God. 00:23:23.839 --> 00:23:25.440 He's like, Yeah, what's wrong with that? 00:23:25.599 --> 00:23:26.559 It's terrible. 00:23:26.799 --> 00:23:28.079 It's self-righteousness. 00:23:28.240 --> 00:23:31.839