And so in Matthew 21, which is the reason for
Palm Sunday, arrangements were made. Jesus found
a donkey. Verse 4, all this was done that it
might be fulfilled, which was spoken by the prophet
Joel. Tell the daughter of Zion, behold, your
king is coming to you lowly and sitting on a
donkey, a colt, the foal of a donkey. And we
know that then this happened. And as they came
in, they waved the palm branches and they threw
them down and they threw their cloaks as well
on the ground. And they were preparing a way
for this king that was coming. A few moments
later, and I think this is perhaps the picture
most people have of God. Jesus went into the
temple and he flipped over the tables and he...
he was reclaiming the temple as the house of
the Lord. And we remember the moments that Jesus
is tough and strong and him shaking his fist
in the face of the Pharisees saying, you whitewashed
tombs. How many of you remember all those moments
of Jesus? And surely he is the soon -and -coming
king. The second time he comes, he's not going
to be riding on a donkey. He's going to be riding
on a white stallion with fire in his eyes, the
judge of the whole world. That is true. That
is true. And we see his boldness. so many different
situations. This week we'll be looking at the
moments of the cross and Pontius Pilate, he looks
at Pontius Pilate with all the calm and all the
reserve and he says, you would have no authority
over me if it were not granted you from above.
And Jesus, can I just... side note that's not
in my notes. Jesus is not insecure. Jesus is
not insecure. If you have parts of your personality,
and this is oftentimes compartmentalized in our
lives, there's things that we are insecure about.
You know, you hang out with Jesus, and you're
going to get secure like he is. Amen? And that's
good. Praise the Lord. Praise the Lord. But here,
Jesus does not come in a grand fashion. He comes
lowly. In fact, some of your translations say
gentle. Gentle. The Greek word is translated
meek. Meek. And it's found, this exact word,
although derivatives of it are more often in
Scripture, the fruit of the Spirit, one of the
fruits of the Spirit is gentleness, right? But
this exact word, four times in the Scriptures,
Matthew 5 .5, blessed are the meek, the gentle,
for they shall inherit the earth. Matthew 11
.29, take my yoke upon you and learn from me,
for I am gentle. Gentle. 1 Peter 3, 3 and 4.
Speaking of women's attire, do not let your adornment
be merely outward, arranging of the hair, wearing
of the gold, or putting on fine apparel, but
let it be the hidden person of the heart with
the incorruptible beauty of a gentle and a quiet.
So those three times and then also this one.
Behold, your king comes gentle riding on a donkey.
Gentleness, a quality that Jesus embodies. And
I believe wants us to embody as well the spirit
of gentleness. Jesus got this. DNA of gentleness
from his father. Gentleness is a quality that
the father has. It was this quality that David
often wrote about. One of the, probably the most
famous psalm in all of the Bible. Shepherd. And
David understood the fierceness that a shepherd
had to have towards the enemies of the sheep.
But David understood the gentleness that the
shepherd had to give to the sheep. He was gentle
with them and he knew the Lord as somebody that
was my shepherd that was gentle with me. Gentleness.
The Lord is my shepherd. Psalm 1835 says, you
have given me the shield of your salvation. Your
right hand has held me up. Your gentleness has
made me great. David wrote that. Let's all just
say that together. Your gentleness has made me
great. I love that. That's a powerful, promise.
The gentle father. The gentle father. Can you
imagine with as much power as God has if he did
not also have gentleness? If he did not somehow
was able to contain all of that power and kind
of just hold it back, hold it back, hold it back
so that he could relate with you and me. Can
you imagine if every time we related with the
Father, if He unleashed all of His power upon
us? We would not be able to take it. There's
nobody that can stand in His presence except
that He's gentle. God is a gentle God. Isaiah
prophesies of the gentleness of God. He will
feed his flock like a shepherd. He will gather
the lambs with his arm and carry them in his
bosom and gently lead those who are with young.
Hallelujah. Praise the Lord. Some verses that
remind me of God's gentleness. 2 Peter 3 .9 The
Lord is not slack concerning his promise. as
some count slackness, but as long -suffering.
That's a quality that goes with gentleness. Patience.
Long -suffering. Not willing that any should
perish, but that all should come to repentance.
Ezekiel 33, 11 says this. Say to them, as I live,
says the Lord, says the Lord God, I have no pleasure.
in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked
turn from their wicked ways and live. Wow. Turn.
Turn from your evil ways. And so his gentleness
calls them to repentance. Jesus tells a parable
that speaks of the gentleness of the Father.
If a man has a hundred sheep and one of them
goes astray, does he not leave the 99 and go
to the mountains to seek the one that is straying?
And if he should find it, assuredly I say to
you, he rejoices more over that sheep than the
99 that did not go astray. Even so, it is the
will of your Father who is in heaven that...
that not one of these little ones should perish.
Amen? Now when you have gone astray, aren't you
glad that the Father did not respond with harshness?
Think about your own life. Think about when you
went astray. The two of you in here that went
astray. You know who you are. No, we all have
a tendency to wander, don't we? Even as believers,
hopefully in lesser and lesser ways, the longer
we live for the Lord, hopefully we start learning
a thing or two, right? But we still have a tendency
to wander. Sometimes we don't like the path that
God has placed us on. And so how many of you
have tried to cut your own path? You've tried
to make things happen and force them down a certain
road and make them happen. It does not work.
And do you know what leads us back to repentance?
What the New Testament says? The New Testament
doesn't use the word gentle. The New Testament
uses the word kindness. It is your kindness,
Lord, that leads us to repentance. And because
Jesus is gentle with you, he leads you back from
your place of straying. Praise the Lord. Praise
the Lord. His gentleness. Glory to God. Glory
to God. The Father is in this room right now.
And He is gentle. And I want to speak just for
a moment to the fathers in the room. Fathers
in the room. It is important. That amidst all
of the other responsibilities that we have as
fathers, that we reflect our heavenly Father.
And that this quality of gentleness be something
that our children experience. Amen? Let me read
a couple verses to fathers. And you fathers,
do not provoke your children to wrath, but bring
them up. In the training and the admonition of
the Lord. Can you feel the gentleness, the gentle
heart of the Father in that instruction? Do not
provoke your children to wrath. Now, I have been
known to be provoking. I must confess. I must
confess. Are there any other provokers out there?
Yeah, we got some honesty going on now. Now,
the Bible doesn't say don't ever provoke them.
But you gotta know when to stop. Don't provoke
them to wrath. I believe in the fun of a family,
amen? But do not provoke them to wrath. Gentleness,
bring them up. In the training and the admonition
of the Lord. Here's another one. Fathers says
it twice. Paul said it to the Ephesians. That
first verse was Ephesians 6 .4. He says it again
to the church of Colossians 3 .21. Fathers, do
not provoke your children. Lest they become discouraged.
And so. we have to be careful even in correction.
Amen? Correction can lead to discouragement if
it's not coupled with gentleness and encouragement.
Amen? Reflect the heart of gentleness. Thank
you, Lord. Your fellowship with the Holy Spirit
will make you gentle. Your fellowship with the
Holy Spirit will make you gentle. It is true
that the company that you keep is who you become
like. That's why we've got to be careful who
we're friends with, right? Friendship with the
world is enmity with God. But friendship with
God is life forevermore. And when you hang out,
when you fellowship, when you regularly are connecting
with the Holy Spirit, gentleness becomes a quality
that grows in you. I already said that it was
a fruit of the Spirit. Let me read it to you.
Galatians 5 .22. The fruit of the Spirit is love,
joy, peace, long -suffering, kindness, goodness,
faithfulness, gentleness, self -control. Self
-control. Against such things, there is no law.
I believe that we as Christians should become
more and more gentle the longer that we walk
with Jesus. Praise God. Praise God. Gentleness
affects how we treat each other. Have you ever
seen somebody that you know is going the wrong
direction? Yeah. People in your life that have
gone the wrong direction. Paul says that when
we see people go the wrong direction, we have
a responsibility to go after them. Well, I don't
want to do that, Pastor. I'm a peacemaker. It
will cause ruffles. No, it will express your
love for them and your desire to see them in
heaven and your desire to not see the enemy snatch
away what God has placed in their life. You have
a responsibility to go after them. Listen to
what Paul told the Galatian church. Brethren,
If a man is overtaken in any trespass, you who
are spiritual, now this is not equivalent with
arrogance, please. We are not saying we are better
than you. You who are spiritual, restore such
a one in a spirit of gentleness. Considering
yourself, lest you also be tempted. That means
we can't come with pride. We can't come with
arrogance. In fact, you need to spend a moment
in prayer and you need to say, God, before I
go and talk to my brother and sister, clothe
me with gentleness. Make me more like you, Jesus.
Make me more like you. Gentleness is a part of
who we are. What does the gentleness of Christ
mean? The gentleness of Christ means that when
you are at your lowest, Jesus will not crush
you. Hallelujah. That's good news, friends. When
you are at your lowest, Jesus will not crush
you. Matthew 12, 9 says this, Jesus will not
quarrel nor cry out. nor will anyone hear his
voice in the streets. A bruised reed he will
not break, and a smoking flax he will not quench.
So if you are a bruised reed or a smoking flax,
if that's the season of life that you are in
right now, that's the way that you feel about
your life. I'm just bruised and a smoldering
wick that's not even producing any flame. It's
just smoldering and smoking and making the room
smell foul. That's the way my life feels right
now. Jesus will not break you. And Jesus will
not snuff you out. But rather, He comes alongside
of you until you receive justice, until He brings
you forth to victory in Jesus' name. He wants
you on the team, even though you're hurting.
The gentleness of God means that when you are
at your lowest, Jesus will not crush you. You
can turn to him. Secondly, it means the gentleness
of God means that God is knowable. Isaiah 55
says of the Lord, for my thoughts are not your
thoughts. Nor are your ways my ways, says the
Lord, for as the heavens are higher than the
earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and
my thoughts than your thoughts. Imagine if God
stayed in that place, never revealed anything
to us. What if he never gave us any revelation
about who he is? What if he never taught us?
But because he's gentle, God is knowable. He
makes it so that you and I can have relationship
with him. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Glory to God.
He lowers himself. And Jesus did this. He humbled
himself. Philippians says he did not consider
equality with God something to be grasped, but
he humbled himself, made himself nothing, became
obedient even unto death. Why? So that you and
I could know him. Amen? God's gentleness means
that he is knowable. And finally this morning,
some of you cannot believe that I'm already to
my last point. And it's not even 1130. Oh, hallelujah.
Finally, the gentleness of God makes him approachable.
Makes him approachable. Hallelujah. Hebrews says
that we should come before him with boldness.
Come into his throne room with boldness that
we might find help in our time of need. And it
is Jesus. You remember when the disciples were
telling the kids, get out of here, don't bother
the teacher. And what did the gentleness of Christ
compel him to do? Let the children come to me.
Let them come to me. I know I'm a rabbi. I know
this isn't normal for rabbis. But I want the
kids to come around me. I want to touch them.
I want to bless them. And the kids had no qualms
at all about approaching the King of Kings and
the Lord of Lords because He was approachable
by everybody. You think that Jesus is only knowable
and only approachable by the religious people.
It is not the truth. He's humble. And he invites
you to come. And I read, I quoted a part from
Matthew 11, but I want to read verse 29. I want
to read it to us. I'll back up. Come to me, verse
28. All who labor. and are heavy laden, and I
will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and
learn from me. There he is, knowable, knowable.
Learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart,
and you will find rest for your souls. For my
yoke is easy and my burden is light. I want to
just take a moment this morning and I want to
thank God for his gentleness. I want to thank
God for his humility. I want to thank God for
his patience. I want to thank God for this soft
side that He has that makes it so that we can
come to Him. When I was an assistant pastor in
Galesburg, I got it over and over and over again
from our young people. They were afraid of me.
I kind of liked it. I don't know. But I realized,
They don't want to come and talk to me because
they're afraid of me. And I don't know if it
was the position or what or the way I carried
myself then. I don't know what it was, but they
had this fear. I wasn't very approachable. I
don't want to be like that. And I remember not
just one of them, many of them were like, I don't
want to be like that. I hope that you don't want
to be like that. Jesus is not like that. Now
there are times when he reveals himself that
all we can do is tremble and fall down at his
feet as though dead. In all of his glory and
splendor. But there are so many times when he
just says, come to me. I am meek. And I am lowly.
And you can come. You can come. So Jesus, we
thank you this morning, even as we just pause
here for a moment here in your presence. And
we just recognize your humility. We recognize
your compassion. We recognize your gentleness.
And we ask God that you would do two things this
morning. One, that you would help us to experience
your gentleness. You would help us to experience
who you are, more of who you are. You are gentle.
God, when we are like a bruised reed, When we
don't understand what is happening in our lives
and we respond in a way that draws back, I thank
You that You do not draw away from us. You do
not cut us off. You do not say, I don't want
You. Lord, even when we fail, even when we sin,
You don't turn away. We become like that one
wandering sheep that has gone astray. But Lord,
it is your gentleness that comes after us. It
is your kindness that leads us to conviction
and repentance. And we turn back. And so Lord,
I pray that your gentleness will just hover over.
Lord, it's the secret place that Pastor Cammie
has been talking about through this whole season.
It is the secret place we find refuge under your
wing. It is a place of gentleness. God, I pray
that somebody, even just one in here, will experience
the gentleness of Christ. Hallelujah. Hallelujah.
Would you come and play He Loves How He Loves?
Thank you, Lord. Thank you, Lord. We thank you
for your gentleness. We thank you for your touch
in this room right now. We look to you, Jesus.
God, the second thing I want to pray is that
you would just keep working on me. Keep working
on us. God, I just, in preparing this message
and in preaching this message, see so many rough
edges in me. And I want to clothe myself in gentleness,
and I want to clothe myself in humility. God,
I want to be like you. I want to be like you
to the people around me, to my family. I want
to be like you. Jesus, transform my life. Transform
my life. Make me like Jesus. God, I just freely
confess my need. I just sense repentance just
happening around the room right now. Sometimes
we don't like what we see when we look at our
own personalities and our own lives. God, we
just come before you and we lay our lives on
the altar. We say, God, have your way. Make me
like Jesus. Make me like Jesus.