WEBVTT 00:00:06.570 --> 00:00:10.250 Matthew chapter 21, verse 5. Just one little 00:00:10.250 --> 00:00:14.410 verse, that means a short sermon, amen? Get back 00:00:14.410 --> 00:00:17.190 there to that food. Hey, but the good news is, 00:00:17.329 --> 00:00:19.809 is even if I go long, it's okay, because most 00:00:19.809 --> 00:00:22.109 of it's in a crock pot, plugged in on warm, so 00:00:22.109 --> 00:00:28.469 it'll be hot whenever we get back there. Matthew 00:00:28.469 --> 00:00:34.670 chapter 21, verse 5. Most of you have probably 00:00:34.670 --> 00:00:38.619 noticed. The palms that Miss Angeline has brought 00:00:38.619 --> 00:00:40.700 and put out for us, we thank you for that, and 00:00:40.700 --> 00:00:43.640 always for the flowers you put out for us. If 00:00:43.640 --> 00:00:47.420 you did not know, this is Palm Sunday. This was 00:00:47.420 --> 00:00:51.259 when Jesus came into town not long before he 00:00:51.259 --> 00:00:55.079 would be crucified. He came into town with celebration. 00:00:55.159 --> 00:00:57.500 There were a lot of people rejoicing, but not 00:00:57.500 --> 00:01:00.880 everybody. There were some that were not so happy 00:01:00.880 --> 00:01:03.759 to see Jesus coming into town and getting the 00:01:03.759 --> 00:01:06.459 reception. that he was getting, and that's what 00:01:06.459 --> 00:01:09.620 we see in Matthew chapter 21. We're not going 00:01:09.620 --> 00:01:12.700 to dig into all the details of it today. If you're 00:01:12.700 --> 00:01:16.400 not familiar with what occurred on that day, 00:01:16.560 --> 00:01:19.260 I would encourage you this week to read Matthew 00:01:19.260 --> 00:01:21.780 21. We'll talk about some of it, but there's 00:01:21.780 --> 00:01:24.959 a lot more to consider and to think about. It's 00:01:24.959 --> 00:01:27.840 really beautiful to read those words, but that'll 00:01:27.840 --> 00:01:29.420 be good homework for you. But we're just going 00:01:29.420 --> 00:01:32.120 to look at one little verse today, Matthew chapter 00:01:32.120 --> 00:01:37.129 21. Verse 5. We'll read it, then we'll pray. 00:01:39.650 --> 00:01:43.569 Tell daughter Zion, look, your king is coming 00:01:43.569 --> 00:01:47.670 to you, gentle and mounted on a donkey, even 00:01:47.670 --> 00:01:51.930 on a colt, the foal of a beast of burden. Let's 00:01:51.930 --> 00:01:56.049 pray. God, we come to you today, and I thank 00:01:56.049 --> 00:01:59.030 you that we can come into your house. I thank 00:01:59.030 --> 00:02:02.120 you, dear Lord, that you are good to us. I thank 00:02:02.120 --> 00:02:04.319 you that you are gracious and that you are patient 00:02:04.319 --> 00:02:07.439 with us. I thank you, God, that you are gentle 00:02:07.439 --> 00:02:11.319 with us, dear Lord. We thank you for Jesus Christ, 00:02:11.439 --> 00:02:13.919 for being who he was. And I pray, dear Lord, 00:02:14.060 --> 00:02:16.939 that today, that through your word, we would 00:02:16.939 --> 00:02:21.080 see the gentleness of Jesus, God. That perhaps 00:02:21.080 --> 00:02:22.939 there are some in this room today, dear Lord, 00:02:23.020 --> 00:02:26.199 that need to feel that gentleness in their life, 00:02:26.280 --> 00:02:28.960 that compassion in their life today. God, I pray. 00:02:29.560 --> 00:02:32.039 that you free us from the worries and the distractions 00:02:32.039 --> 00:02:35.419 and the stresses and the pains and the heartaches 00:02:35.419 --> 00:02:39.219 of this life today, and that in these few minutes, 00:02:39.259 --> 00:02:42.580 your Holy Spirit would speak to us, dear Lord. 00:02:42.900 --> 00:02:45.280 God, there are no good words I can say if they 00:02:45.280 --> 00:02:48.039 do not come from you, so I pray, God, that it 00:02:48.039 --> 00:02:50.199 is your Spirit that speaks through me and to 00:02:50.199 --> 00:02:52.580 each one of us today, that we would hear, that 00:02:52.580 --> 00:02:54.580 we would grow in you, dear Lord, that we would 00:02:54.580 --> 00:02:57.259 trust in you, and that we would find joy in you 00:02:57.259 --> 00:03:01.360 this day. And I ask these things in Jesus' name. 00:03:02.039 --> 00:03:06.960 Amen. The scene has been set for Jesus. He had 00:03:06.960 --> 00:03:10.680 come and he had accomplished almost all of what 00:03:10.680 --> 00:03:13.719 he had come to do. He had come for a purpose. 00:03:13.780 --> 00:03:17.419 He had come to bring salvation to all who would 00:03:17.419 --> 00:03:20.319 trust in him. And he had spent three years or 00:03:20.319 --> 00:03:23.740 so, give or take, doing the work of God, preaching 00:03:23.740 --> 00:03:27.409 and teaching. about the Word of God, trying to 00:03:27.409 --> 00:03:30.669 point them to what God's Word really meant, what 00:03:30.669 --> 00:03:33.389 it stood for, and he wanted them to know that 00:03:33.389 --> 00:03:37.430 ultimately he was going to be the one that they 00:03:37.430 --> 00:03:40.150 would have to follow if they wanted to find salvation. 00:03:40.469 --> 00:03:43.150 And Jesus had imparted this onto his disciples, 00:03:43.270 --> 00:03:45.210 and he had been teaching and preaching them, 00:03:45.370 --> 00:03:49.310 but the time had come for Jesus to complete his 00:03:49.310 --> 00:03:52.689 mission. And Jesus would complete that mission. 00:03:53.389 --> 00:03:57.330 By giving his life on the cross. But before that 00:03:57.330 --> 00:04:01.270 occurred, Jesus came into town that day. He came 00:04:01.270 --> 00:04:05.310 into town as he had many times before. But there 00:04:05.310 --> 00:04:08.229 as he came into town that day, he had a very 00:04:08.229 --> 00:04:12.419 warm welcome from a large group of people. And 00:04:12.419 --> 00:04:15.139 as Jesus rode into town, they began to take off 00:04:15.139 --> 00:04:17.819 their coats, and they began to gather up palm 00:04:17.819 --> 00:04:20.680 branches, and they began to place them in the 00:04:20.680 --> 00:04:24.100 middle of the street. And here come Jesus Christ, 00:04:24.379 --> 00:04:28.339 the King of kings, Lord of lords, riding right 00:04:28.339 --> 00:04:32.000 down the middle of the street. Now this was all 00:04:32.000 --> 00:04:35.269 prophesied. The verse that I just read for you, 00:04:35.310 --> 00:04:39.910 it calls us back to Isaiah chapter 62 and Zechariah 00:04:39.910 --> 00:04:43.389 chapter 9 where God's word said that the Messiah 00:04:43.389 --> 00:04:46.050 was going to come, the king was going to come, 00:04:46.170 --> 00:04:48.949 and he was going to come in an unexpected way. 00:04:49.610 --> 00:04:52.269 At least what you would think when you think 00:04:52.269 --> 00:04:54.850 of a king coming into town. And I was thinking 00:04:54.850 --> 00:04:59.160 as I was studying. What do you expect a king 00:04:59.160 --> 00:05:01.639 to come into town on? What do you expect the 00:05:01.639 --> 00:05:05.040 most powerful man on the planet to come into 00:05:05.040 --> 00:05:07.860 town? And I was thinking, well, what do kings 00:05:07.860 --> 00:05:10.420 and world leaders in our world today drive? I 00:05:10.420 --> 00:05:12.500 wanted to show you a few things to give you an 00:05:12.500 --> 00:05:16.420 idea. Here's the first one right here. Anybody 00:05:16.420 --> 00:05:21.220 ever seen this car before? This is what the Emperor 00:05:21.220 --> 00:05:24.639 of Japan rides in. This is what's called a Toyota 00:05:24.639 --> 00:05:27.180 Century. You've probably never heard of a Toyota 00:05:27.180 --> 00:05:30.199 Century. It's a very rare car. They don't make 00:05:30.199 --> 00:05:33.420 very many of them. They started making them in 00:05:33.420 --> 00:05:37.519 1967, and it was relatively unchanged until just 00:05:37.519 --> 00:05:40.420 the last few years. But this is the newer model 00:05:40.420 --> 00:05:42.420 of it. Of course, it's got all the bells and 00:05:42.420 --> 00:05:44.879 whistles and all of the luxuries. The next car... 00:05:45.290 --> 00:05:48.209 is the car that is driven by the Prime Minister 00:05:48.209 --> 00:05:53.329 of India. This is a Mercedes Maybach. You may 00:05:53.329 --> 00:05:55.870 have heard of a Maybach before, or maybe not. 00:05:56.069 --> 00:05:58.910 You don't... really see them around it's a very 00:05:58.910 --> 00:06:02.129 rare car and for good reason they are quite expensive 00:06:02.129 --> 00:06:05.209 it's a mercedes which is already nice enough 00:06:05.209 --> 00:06:07.829 and then it it goes to the next level they take 00:06:07.829 --> 00:06:11.829 it to 11. it's got a massive v12 twin turbo engine 00:06:11.829 --> 00:06:15.209 it's got all the bells and whistles and everything 00:06:15.209 --> 00:06:19.649 you could possibly imagine The next one on the 00:06:19.649 --> 00:06:22.569 list, you might recognize this. This is the car 00:06:22.569 --> 00:06:25.829 that the President of the United States rides 00:06:25.829 --> 00:06:28.410 in. Now, I'll just say it's a Cadillac because 00:06:28.410 --> 00:06:32.329 it is a Cadillac, but not really. It's not really... 00:06:32.670 --> 00:06:35.149 like any other Cadillac there is and it's actually 00:06:35.149 --> 00:06:38.709 sitting on the on a truck frame on a big truck 00:06:38.709 --> 00:06:41.269 frame and it's got these pieces and parts that 00:06:41.269 --> 00:06:43.529 that kind of are Cadillac but kind of aren't 00:06:43.529 --> 00:06:45.610 stuck on the side of it to make it look like 00:06:45.610 --> 00:06:48.490 a Cadillac and it's got everything you could 00:06:48.490 --> 00:06:52.129 possibly imagine it's bomb proof and rocket resistant 00:06:52.129 --> 00:06:54.829 and it's got its own air supply inside it's got 00:06:54.829 --> 00:06:57.529 a blood bank in there with the president's blood. 00:06:57.810 --> 00:07:00.129 And there's two of these that go everywhere the 00:07:00.129 --> 00:07:02.550 president goes, wherever he goes in the world. 00:07:02.730 --> 00:07:07.009 And this is a lap of luxury that our president 00:07:07.009 --> 00:07:10.509 rides in. Y 'all will like this next one. This 00:07:10.509 --> 00:07:15.110 next car here is one of the many cars of the 00:07:15.110 --> 00:07:18.250 Sultan of Brunei. You say, I don't know where 00:07:18.250 --> 00:07:20.189 Brunei is. Well, look it up after church. He 00:07:20.189 --> 00:07:23.180 has Quite the car collection the Sultan of Brunei 00:07:23.180 --> 00:07:26.240 does. This right here is a Rolls Royce Silver 00:07:26.240 --> 00:07:29.939 Spirit. Of course, it's all plated in gold, 24 00:07:29.939 --> 00:07:34.660 karat gold. It is the ultimate status symbol 00:07:34.660 --> 00:07:38.839 of wealth and power. Let's check out this next 00:07:38.839 --> 00:07:43.620 one. The next one is the car of the King of England, 00:07:43.759 --> 00:07:47.379 the Royal... And I know what some of you are 00:07:47.379 --> 00:07:49.279 probably thinking. You're probably saying, well, 00:07:49.360 --> 00:07:51.639 that kind of looks like a grandma car. And you're 00:07:51.639 --> 00:07:54.100 right. It is a grandma car because it actually 00:07:54.100 --> 00:07:56.480 was designed by the Queen of England when she 00:07:56.480 --> 00:07:59.360 was still alive. And everything in it is made 00:07:59.360 --> 00:08:02.980 for... Let's just say an older person. The floorboards 00:08:02.980 --> 00:08:05.959 are super flat with all the mechanical stuff 00:08:05.959 --> 00:08:08.660 running far under the car so there are no humps. 00:08:08.800 --> 00:08:11.199 The roof is raised really high so she can get 00:08:11.199 --> 00:08:13.600 in and out and not bump her head. She even got 00:08:13.600 --> 00:08:15.699 a special compartment she could tuck her purse 00:08:15.699 --> 00:08:17.639 away in so she wouldn't have to have it sitting 00:08:17.639 --> 00:08:20.439 on the floor anywhere. Big windows all the way 00:08:20.439 --> 00:08:22.879 around, front and back, even over part of the 00:08:22.879 --> 00:08:27.519 roof so that she can be seen by everyone. Next 00:08:27.519 --> 00:08:30.730 car on the list. This one's a little different. 00:08:30.970 --> 00:08:33.750 This is the presidential car of the president 00:08:33.750 --> 00:08:36.889 of Chile. Now, you may say, well, this don't 00:08:36.889 --> 00:08:39.710 look very extravagant. And maybe it's not, but 00:08:39.710 --> 00:08:42.970 this has been the presidential car since 1970. 00:08:43.289 --> 00:08:50.129 It is a 1966 Ford Galaxy 500 XL. And this is 00:08:50.129 --> 00:08:53.090 what the president of Chile is ridden around 00:08:53.090 --> 00:08:56.049 in. Now, this is quite the collection of cars. 00:08:56.750 --> 00:08:59.769 These are the types of vehicles that the most 00:08:59.769 --> 00:09:03.070 powerful people in the world drive. They are 00:09:03.070 --> 00:09:05.809 the fastest. They are the most extravagant. They 00:09:05.809 --> 00:09:11.210 are made to give this symbol of power, this symbol 00:09:11.210 --> 00:09:14.230 of wealth. They are made so that everyone can 00:09:14.230 --> 00:09:17.169 see them and know their power and their strength 00:09:17.169 --> 00:09:20.090 and know that they are the leader, that everyone 00:09:20.090 --> 00:09:23.009 can watch them and stand on the sides of the 00:09:23.009 --> 00:09:26.230 roads as they drive by in these beautiful cars. 00:09:26.090 --> 00:09:29.690 extravagant and powerful cars, and these are 00:09:29.690 --> 00:09:32.289 the types of vehicles that the most powerful 00:09:32.289 --> 00:09:37.429 people in the world drive. Here we see in our 00:09:37.429 --> 00:09:41.929 story today that Jesus Christ, the King of kings, 00:09:42.110 --> 00:09:45.919 the Lord of lords, did not come into Jerusalem 00:09:45.919 --> 00:09:49.360 that day on anything extravagant at all. You 00:09:49.360 --> 00:09:51.440 know, Jesus, he could have snapped his fingers, 00:09:51.600 --> 00:09:54.399 and any of those cars that you saw on that screen, 00:09:54.539 --> 00:09:57.259 Jesus could have had them, boom, appear right 00:09:57.259 --> 00:09:59.820 there in Jerusalem that day. Can you imagine 00:09:59.820 --> 00:10:01.639 if Jesus would have come down the road in that 00:10:01.639 --> 00:10:04.600 gold car? Man, people would have, they wouldn't 00:10:04.600 --> 00:10:06.000 have known what was going on. Their mind would 00:10:06.000 --> 00:10:07.980 have been blown. They would have said, what is 00:10:07.980 --> 00:10:10.299 that chariot that he's riding in? Where are the 00:10:10.299 --> 00:10:12.360 horses at? And you say, they're under the hood. 00:10:12.460 --> 00:10:14.259 They say, how did you get horses under the hood? 00:10:15.059 --> 00:10:18.620 People wouldn't have known what was going on. 00:10:20.679 --> 00:10:23.639 But Jesus Christ, there's something that is beautiful 00:10:23.639 --> 00:10:27.870 about Jesus. It's far more beautiful than gold 00:10:27.870 --> 00:10:31.250 adorning our wheels, and it's far more beautiful 00:10:31.250 --> 00:10:34.429 than horsepower. It's far more beautiful than 00:10:34.429 --> 00:10:37.590 the finest leathers from the finest places in 00:10:37.590 --> 00:10:39.750 the world. It's far more beautiful than all that. 00:10:39.809 --> 00:10:43.649 The beauty of Jesus Christ is in his humility. 00:10:44.649 --> 00:10:48.509 It's in his gentleness. And Jesus could have 00:10:48.509 --> 00:10:51.590 chosen anything in the world to ride into town 00:10:51.590 --> 00:10:54.490 on that day. But of all the things he could have 00:10:54.490 --> 00:10:58.929 chosen, he chose a donkey. Of all the things 00:10:58.929 --> 00:11:03.409 he could have chosen, this was not the ride of 00:11:03.409 --> 00:11:08.230 a king, not the Son of God, not the King of Kings, 00:11:08.370 --> 00:11:11.929 not the Lord of Lords. Of all the things, he 00:11:11.929 --> 00:11:14.669 couldn't just get just an old raggedy chariot 00:11:14.669 --> 00:11:18.490 maybe? Of all the things that Jesus could have 00:11:18.490 --> 00:11:22.500 chosen that day, He chose the lowliest thing 00:11:22.500 --> 00:11:28.179 that he could. He chose a small donkey. And in 00:11:28.179 --> 00:11:33.279 the scripture we read today, it says, Look, your 00:11:33.279 --> 00:11:36.179 king is coming to you, gentle and mounted on 00:11:36.179 --> 00:11:39.419 a donkey, even on a colt, the foal of a beast 00:11:39.419 --> 00:11:42.899 of burden. There was one word that stood out 00:11:42.899 --> 00:11:45.059 to me as I was reading this week and studying 00:11:45.059 --> 00:11:47.919 and looking at this passage. And we really see 00:11:47.919 --> 00:11:50.779 this in Jesus all throughout his ministry. And 00:11:50.779 --> 00:11:55.460 that is that Jesus is gentle. Now some of your 00:11:55.460 --> 00:11:58.559 translations may differ there. Some may say humble 00:11:58.559 --> 00:12:01.340 and some may say lowly and some may say weak 00:12:01.340 --> 00:12:04.360 and some say gentle. And all of those words are 00:12:04.360 --> 00:12:07.940 slightly different. But in the context of this 00:12:07.940 --> 00:12:11.740 verse, they really all mean the same thing. we 00:12:11.740 --> 00:12:14.000 see that there was something unique about Jesus 00:12:14.000 --> 00:12:17.860 and something beautiful about Jesus. He wasn't 00:12:17.860 --> 00:12:21.299 coming to be seen by everyone. He wasn't coming 00:12:21.299 --> 00:12:24.620 to be some celebrity. He wasn't coming so that 00:12:24.620 --> 00:12:27.299 everyone would bow before him and say, oh, there's 00:12:27.299 --> 00:12:30.600 Jesus. He was coming humbly to give his life 00:12:30.600 --> 00:12:33.559 on a cross so that our sins could be forgiven. 00:12:34.820 --> 00:12:38.940 And that day Jesus came into town as he had spent 00:12:38.940 --> 00:12:43.470 the last three years of his life. dealing with 00:12:43.470 --> 00:12:48.149 people gently, with compassion and grace and 00:12:48.149 --> 00:12:53.669 mercy and love. And that's still how Jesus deals 00:12:53.669 --> 00:12:58.529 with us today. Jesus is still a gentle Savior 00:12:58.529 --> 00:13:03.029 today. It's the gentleness of Jesus that we need 00:13:03.029 --> 00:13:06.730 today because our lives are so full of sin. Our 00:13:06.730 --> 00:13:09.870 lives are so full of evil. Our hearts are so 00:13:09.870 --> 00:13:12.570 full of just this darkest, nastiest stuff that 00:13:12.570 --> 00:13:15.610 there is. And we have done such horrible things 00:13:15.610 --> 00:13:18.470 in our life. But I want to tell you today that 00:13:18.470 --> 00:13:22.120 whatever your sin may be, That Jesus has died 00:13:22.120 --> 00:13:25.940 on the cross. He wants to deal with you gently 00:13:25.940 --> 00:13:29.159 today. That Jesus tells us through his word today 00:13:29.159 --> 00:13:32.820 that we may be forgiven of our sins if we would 00:13:32.820 --> 00:13:36.879 simply come to him. That Jesus has come to carry 00:13:36.879 --> 00:13:40.740 our burden for us. And on that day, 2 ,000 years 00:13:40.740 --> 00:13:44.980 ago, Jesus came into town on a donkey, a beast 00:13:44.980 --> 00:13:48.399 of burden. He rode a beast of burden. And just 00:13:48.399 --> 00:13:51.539 a few days later, Jesus would be the one who 00:13:51.539 --> 00:13:55.379 would take the burden for you and I so that Jesus 00:13:55.379 --> 00:13:59.500 could deal with us gently today. Our sins are 00:13:59.500 --> 00:14:02.279 deserving of the wrath of God, of the eternal 00:14:02.279 --> 00:14:05.080 punishment of God. But Jesus says, I want to 00:14:05.080 --> 00:14:07.759 give you away. I want to deal with you gently. 00:14:07.899 --> 00:14:11.820 I'll take the harshness of the wrath of God and 00:14:11.820 --> 00:14:14.799 the punishment of God, and I will go to the cross 00:14:14.799 --> 00:14:18.179 and give my life so that I can gently deal with 00:14:18.179 --> 00:14:20.860 you and give you compassion and let you know 00:14:20.860 --> 00:14:23.820 today that if you would just come to Jesus Christ, 00:14:23.960 --> 00:14:27.039 your sins would be forgiven. That whatever is 00:14:27.039 --> 00:14:29.700 in your heart, whatever you've done, that Jesus 00:14:29.700 --> 00:14:32.759 Christ says those things can be wiped away and 00:14:32.759 --> 00:14:37.419 it can be washed as white as snow. Today, Jesus 00:14:37.419 --> 00:14:41.559 Christ wants to forgive your sins. He wants to 00:14:41.559 --> 00:14:44.820 deal with you gently. He wants to take your burden 00:14:44.820 --> 00:14:50.840 from you. Jesus was not a flashy and fancy Savior. 00:14:51.519 --> 00:14:55.600 Not like the world leaders we see today. He was 00:14:55.600 --> 00:14:58.720 a humble man with one mission, to do the will 00:14:58.720 --> 00:15:01.960 of God. And he desired to do the will of God 00:15:01.960 --> 00:15:06.659 because he loves you. He doesn't love us to stay 00:15:06.659 --> 00:15:09.120 in our sin. He doesn't want us to continue on 00:15:09.120 --> 00:15:11.679 our evil. He wants us to repent of that, to say, 00:15:11.720 --> 00:15:14.399 Lord, I know I've done wrong. I know that I've 00:15:14.399 --> 00:15:17.179 sinned, but I believe, Lord Jesus, that you took 00:15:17.179 --> 00:15:19.779 my sin when you died on the cross and was raised 00:15:19.779 --> 00:15:22.740 again by God. So would you forgive me, dear Lord? 00:15:22.840 --> 00:15:26.299 I repent of my sins. Be my Lord and Savior, Lord 00:15:26.299 --> 00:15:29.179 Jesus, I want to follow you. That's why Jesus 00:15:29.179 --> 00:15:32.539 died on the cross. And so there is forgiveness 00:15:32.539 --> 00:15:35.399 for us today. There is hope for us today. The 00:15:35.399 --> 00:15:38.200 gentleness of Jesus Christ that was on exhibit 00:15:38.200 --> 00:15:40.980 when Jesus came into town on that donkey all 00:15:40.980 --> 00:15:46.200 those years ago is here before us today. Matthew 00:15:46.200 --> 00:15:49.059 chapter 11 verses 28 and 29 says, Come to me 00:15:49.059 --> 00:15:51.679 all you who are weary and burdened and I will 00:15:51.679 --> 00:15:55.029 give you rest. All of you, take up my yoke and 00:15:55.029 --> 00:15:58.590 learn from me, because I am gentle and humble 00:15:58.590 --> 00:16:02.210 in heart, and you will find rest for yourselves. 00:16:02.350 --> 00:16:05.809 What a beautiful, beautiful invitation today. 00:16:06.710 --> 00:16:09.909 That Jesus says, come to me, I am gentle and 00:16:09.909 --> 00:16:12.470 humble, and if you come to me, you will find 00:16:12.470 --> 00:16:17.379 rest for yourselves. We need rest today. Life 00:16:17.379 --> 00:16:20.440 is tough. It is tough. Even on the best days, 00:16:20.480 --> 00:16:22.539 life is tough. You are running in every different 00:16:22.539 --> 00:16:24.659 direction with your spouse and with your kids 00:16:24.659 --> 00:16:27.539 and with your church and with your job, and everything 00:16:27.539 --> 00:16:32.679 is just full force. It's just nonstop. Good days, 00:16:32.759 --> 00:16:35.600 bad days. The bad days, it just seems like they 00:16:35.600 --> 00:16:37.919 never end, one thing after another. And there 00:16:37.919 --> 00:16:40.240 are seasons of our life where we feel that we 00:16:40.240 --> 00:16:43.360 cannot go on and we just need rest. And it can 00:16:43.360 --> 00:16:46.379 only be found in Jesus Christ who invites us 00:16:46.379 --> 00:16:50.720 and says to us, Come to me, I am gentle and humble, 00:16:50.799 --> 00:16:54.899 and you will find rest in me. That invitation 00:16:54.899 --> 00:16:57.659 is available to every single one of us today. 00:16:59.690 --> 00:17:02.669 Just one moment of rest in Jesus Christ is enough 00:17:02.669 --> 00:17:05.190 to give us the strength to go for a long time. 00:17:06.130 --> 00:17:09.029 Those bad days come one after another after another, 00:17:09.230 --> 00:17:11.509 but man, the beauty and the joy and the peace 00:17:11.509 --> 00:17:14.890 that comes when we humble ourselves before God 00:17:14.890 --> 00:17:17.250 and say, God, I cannot do it. I do not have the 00:17:17.250 --> 00:17:20.769 strength. I cannot go on any further. Just that 00:17:20.769 --> 00:17:23.509 moment in the presence of God, just one moment 00:17:23.509 --> 00:17:26.069 where we feel God's presence, just one moment 00:17:26.069 --> 00:17:28.609 where we know the love of Jesus Christ, just 00:17:28.609 --> 00:17:31.950 one moment changes our day and changes our week. 00:17:34.630 --> 00:17:37.049 Perhaps some of you need that moment today. Even 00:17:37.049 --> 00:17:38.670 those who have walked with Christ for a long 00:17:38.670 --> 00:17:41.049 time, there are seasons and times in our life 00:17:41.049 --> 00:17:44.349 where we just need that moment. Just, God, don't... 00:17:44.759 --> 00:17:47.440 Don't forget about me. God, let me know that 00:17:47.440 --> 00:17:50.180 you care. Let me know that you love me. God, 00:17:50.279 --> 00:17:53.240 I just need some gentleness in the midst of the 00:17:53.240 --> 00:17:57.200 harshness that I feel in this world. And if we 00:17:57.200 --> 00:18:00.700 just seek Jesus today, just one moment in his 00:18:00.700 --> 00:18:04.319 presence, just one moment of his peace, just 00:18:04.319 --> 00:18:08.059 one moment of his gentleness gives us the strength 00:18:08.059 --> 00:18:11.420 to carry on. Listen to this scripture from Psalm 00:18:11.420 --> 00:18:14.039 chapter 18, verse 35. This is David speaking 00:18:14.039 --> 00:18:19.559 here. He says, You have also given me the shield 00:18:19.559 --> 00:18:22.819 of your salvation. Your right hand has held me 00:18:22.819 --> 00:18:27.849 up. Your gentleness has made me great. Isn't 00:18:27.849 --> 00:18:30.009 that an interesting use of the words? And all 00:18:30.009 --> 00:18:32.990 of the ways that God was with David and blessed 00:18:32.990 --> 00:18:36.529 David and the greatness of David that David exhibited. 00:18:36.630 --> 00:18:40.609 What does David say here? He says, your gentleness 00:18:40.609 --> 00:18:46.680 has made me great. It was the gentleness of God 00:18:46.680 --> 00:18:49.240 in dealing with David. It was the gentleness 00:18:49.240 --> 00:18:52.279 of God that David experienced. It was the gentleness 00:18:52.279 --> 00:18:55.420 of God that gave David the strength in the midst 00:18:55.420 --> 00:18:58.220 of his difficult situations. And David says, 00:18:58.400 --> 00:19:02.420 it's your gentleness, God, that has made me great. 00:19:04.200 --> 00:19:07.039 So perhaps today we need to feel the gentleness 00:19:07.039 --> 00:19:10.420 of God, and there is no greater example of the 00:19:10.420 --> 00:19:13.599 gentleness of God than that of Jesus Christ. 00:19:15.150 --> 00:19:18.349 All those years ago, Jesus came into the town 00:19:18.349 --> 00:19:22.789 of Jerusalem to complete his mission. And there 00:19:22.789 --> 00:19:24.970 were a large group of people there, and they 00:19:24.970 --> 00:19:28.609 were celebrating who Jesus was. They were praising 00:19:28.609 --> 00:19:31.490 him, and they were lining the road with palm 00:19:31.490 --> 00:19:33.990 branches and with their coats, and they were 00:19:33.990 --> 00:19:37.569 rejoicing in the Savior that was prophesied, 00:19:37.750 --> 00:19:44.390 the Savior who had come. But not everybody. There 00:19:44.390 --> 00:19:46.549 were some that day, and they had seen the same 00:19:46.549 --> 00:19:48.849 things as everyone else. They had heard the same 00:19:48.849 --> 00:19:51.910 things as everyone else, and they weren't happy 00:19:51.910 --> 00:19:55.430 to see Jesus come into town. If you go back and 00:19:55.430 --> 00:19:58.349 read in John's account of the triumphal entry, 00:19:58.529 --> 00:20:01.650 just a little bit before that, we see a beautiful 00:20:01.650 --> 00:20:05.430 miracle of Jesus. We see a miracle where Jesus 00:20:05.430 --> 00:20:10.609 raises a man from the dead, a friend of Jesus. 00:20:10.950 --> 00:20:14.359 Lazarus had died. Jesus got word. A few days 00:20:14.359 --> 00:20:18.220 later, Jesus made his way to the family. Of course, 00:20:18.240 --> 00:20:21.039 everybody was mourning. And Jesus goes to the 00:20:21.039 --> 00:20:23.920 tomb where Lazarus was buried. And Jesus says, 00:20:24.059 --> 00:20:26.660 come on up out of there, Lazarus. And Lazarus 00:20:26.660 --> 00:20:30.279 is raised from death to life. Now, obviously, 00:20:30.380 --> 00:20:32.599 this caused quite a stir. Word was getting around. 00:20:32.799 --> 00:20:34.799 There was a big commotion. And a lot of people 00:20:34.799 --> 00:20:37.420 were coming to Jesus. Now, a lot had already 00:20:37.420 --> 00:20:39.240 come to him. They had already seen and heard 00:20:39.240 --> 00:20:41.299 Jesus do a lot of things. But this is pretty 00:20:41.299 --> 00:20:43.730 phenomenal. When you hear of a dead man being 00:20:43.730 --> 00:20:46.930 raised, and people were beginning to flock to 00:20:46.930 --> 00:20:50.369 Jesus even more and more, and probably some of 00:20:50.369 --> 00:20:52.150 these that heard this story were part of those 00:20:52.150 --> 00:20:54.309 who were laying those palm branches down. And 00:20:54.309 --> 00:20:56.950 while one group had heard of the greatness and 00:20:56.950 --> 00:20:59.670 the gentleness and the grace and the power of 00:20:59.670 --> 00:21:03.309 Jesus Christ and were celebrating it, there was 00:21:03.309 --> 00:21:05.730 another group that had heard the same things, 00:21:05.809 --> 00:21:09.490 and do you know what their response was? It's 00:21:09.490 --> 00:21:12.450 baffling what their response was. All of these 00:21:12.450 --> 00:21:15.549 Pharisees and the chief priests and all of these 00:21:15.549 --> 00:21:18.970 leaders, it says in Scripture, the first thing 00:21:18.970 --> 00:21:22.170 they say is, look at all these people that are 00:21:22.170 --> 00:21:25.730 flocking to Jesus because of what happened to 00:21:25.730 --> 00:21:28.450 Lazarus. And do you know what their solution 00:21:28.450 --> 00:21:32.069 to the problem is? They said, we must kill Lazarus. 00:21:34.269 --> 00:21:36.210 And you know what their second solution to the 00:21:36.210 --> 00:21:40.450 problem was? And we must kill Jesus. They had 00:21:40.450 --> 00:21:43.829 seen and experienced the power of Jesus Christ. 00:21:44.069 --> 00:21:46.049 They had heard the preaching and the teaching 00:21:46.049 --> 00:21:49.650 of Jesus. They had seen Jesus bring a dead man 00:21:49.650 --> 00:21:52.589 back to life. And instead of listening to Jesus 00:21:52.589 --> 00:21:56.509 and to following Jesus and to accepting his compassion 00:21:56.509 --> 00:21:59.390 and his gentleness and his love, their solution 00:21:59.390 --> 00:22:02.329 to the problem was let's kill Lazarus and kill 00:22:02.329 --> 00:22:07.250 Jesus. And so today we have a decision before 00:22:07.250 --> 00:22:11.000 us. Through the words of Scripture, maybe you're 00:22:11.000 --> 00:22:12.880 familiar with it, maybe you've read the Bible 00:22:12.880 --> 00:22:15.339 a lot, maybe you haven't read it much, but if 00:22:15.339 --> 00:22:17.700 you haven't, I want to tell you the truth of 00:22:17.700 --> 00:22:20.259 the gospel of Jesus Christ, and that is that 00:22:20.259 --> 00:22:23.200 God loves you today, and that we are sinners, 00:22:23.339 --> 00:22:26.700 and that we are doomed apart. From Jesus Christ. 00:22:26.779 --> 00:22:29.259 That there is no way for our sin to be forgiven. 00:22:29.420 --> 00:22:32.640 But Jesus Christ loved you so much that he gave 00:22:32.640 --> 00:22:35.220 his life on a cross so that you could be forgiven. 00:22:35.400 --> 00:22:38.039 And God raised him from the dead once and for 00:22:38.039 --> 00:22:41.660 all. And through Jesus Christ our sins can be 00:22:41.660 --> 00:22:44.220 forgiven. And through Jesus Christ death will 00:22:44.220 --> 00:22:46.759 not have the final say over us if we would just 00:22:46.759 --> 00:22:49.720 seek him. That is the truth and the beauty of 00:22:49.720 --> 00:22:51.900 the gospel of Jesus Christ. And there is so much 00:22:51.900 --> 00:22:54.839 more beauty to be had when you read and see the 00:22:54.839 --> 00:22:59.079 Gentiles. of Jesus through Scripture. And so 00:22:59.079 --> 00:23:03.220 today we come and we're aware of who Jesus is. 00:23:03.339 --> 00:23:06.500 We're aware of the beauty of Jesus. We're aware 00:23:06.500 --> 00:23:10.240 of the gentleness of Jesus. We're aware at least 00:23:10.240 --> 00:23:12.880 of the one miracle of Jesus raising Lazarus from 00:23:12.880 --> 00:23:16.000 the dead. And so we know who Jesus is today. 00:23:16.160 --> 00:23:19.180 And so the question to you is how will you respond 00:23:19.180 --> 00:23:24.859 today? Will you be one who knowing who Jesus 00:23:24.859 --> 00:23:28.339 is, who is like those who greeted him and welcomed 00:23:28.339 --> 00:23:32.559 him into Jerusalem and said, Jesus, come on in. 00:23:33.420 --> 00:23:36.680 Are we those today that hear the gospel of Jesus 00:23:36.680 --> 00:23:39.500 Christ and hear of the gentleness of Jesus Christ 00:23:39.500 --> 00:23:42.819 and say, Lord Jesus, I'm a sinner. Would you 00:23:42.819 --> 00:23:44.779 forgive me? Would you come on in, dear Lord? 00:23:44.859 --> 00:23:49.619 I welcome you. I pave the way for you to come 00:23:49.619 --> 00:23:51.779 and to change my life and to change my heart. 00:23:53.680 --> 00:23:57.019 Or will we be those standing to the side who 00:23:57.019 --> 00:24:00.480 know full well who Jesus is, who've seen the 00:24:00.480 --> 00:24:02.680 work of Jesus Christ and have heard the word 00:24:02.680 --> 00:24:07.819 of Jesus Christ and desire to get rid of him? 00:24:09.460 --> 00:24:13.740 Which group will you be today? Maybe your whole 00:24:13.740 --> 00:24:15.400 life you've been in that group and you've heard 00:24:15.400 --> 00:24:17.619 about Jesus and you've heard about Jesus, but 00:24:17.619 --> 00:24:19.779 you've never welcomed Him in. You've watched 00:24:19.779 --> 00:24:21.839 Him walk by. You've watched Him pass by. You 00:24:21.839 --> 00:24:23.200 don't want to listen to Him. You don't want to 00:24:23.200 --> 00:24:25.259 have anything to do with Him. But maybe today 00:24:25.259 --> 00:24:27.819 for the first time the Holy Spirit is working 00:24:27.819 --> 00:24:30.660 on you and you know that you are doomed to an 00:24:30.660 --> 00:24:33.180 eternity in hell apart from Jesus Christ if you 00:24:33.180 --> 00:24:35.740 don't repent of your sin. And I pray that today 00:24:35.740 --> 00:24:39.259 that each one of us in this room would be those 00:24:39.259 --> 00:24:43.549 who would welcome Jesus Christ in. That we would 00:24:43.549 --> 00:24:46.809 lay down the palm branches of our heart and say, 00:24:46.849 --> 00:24:51.349 Lord Jesus, we rejoice in you today. The gentleness 00:24:51.349 --> 00:24:55.210 of Jesus Christ is a beautiful thing. Let us 00:24:55.210 --> 00:24:59.109 experience that today and let us be gentle with 00:24:59.109 --> 00:25:03.009 those that we encounter. Let's pray. God, we 00:25:03.009 --> 00:25:06.349 thank you for your good word. Dear Lord, we thank 00:25:06.349 --> 00:25:09.089 you for the humility and the gentleness of who 00:25:09.089 --> 00:25:14.799 Jesus is, dear Lord. We live in a world where 00:25:14.799 --> 00:25:18.740 we find beauty and wealth and extravagance and 00:25:18.740 --> 00:25:21.740 power and showing that off, dear Lord, and we 00:25:21.740 --> 00:25:24.519 see that. We've seen it for centuries, dear Lord, 00:25:24.559 --> 00:25:27.299 and all the kings and the presidents and the 00:25:27.299 --> 00:25:29.119 rulers and the leaders that have come before. 00:25:29.359 --> 00:25:32.160 But, dear Lord, that's what makes Jesus unique. 00:25:35.059 --> 00:25:37.640 God, we thank you for the humility and the gentleness 00:25:37.640 --> 00:25:41.500 of Jesus. That, dear Lord, he didn't come for 00:25:41.500 --> 00:25:46.680 himself. For us. He humbled himself dear Lord 00:25:46.680 --> 00:25:50.759 to obedience. Obedience that led to death on 00:25:50.759 --> 00:25:53.519 a cross dear Lord. He suffered and he bled and 00:25:53.519 --> 00:25:57.519 died. And he did that God. For each one of us. 00:25:58.619 --> 00:26:01.559 So God I pray today that if there is one in this 00:26:01.559 --> 00:26:04.920 room that is struggling. That is struggling with 00:26:04.920 --> 00:26:09.259 just the pains and the stresses of life. That 00:26:09.259 --> 00:26:11.119 I pray this morning dear Lord that they would 00:26:11.119 --> 00:26:15.420 find the gentleness. of Jesus Christ. I pray, 00:26:15.480 --> 00:26:18.019 God, that they would just seek you in this moment, 00:26:18.099 --> 00:26:21.119 God, that they would have just a moment of reprieve 00:26:21.119 --> 00:26:25.500 from their sufferings, God. That in this moment, 00:26:25.519 --> 00:26:27.339 you let them know you love them and you care 00:26:27.339 --> 00:26:29.400 for them and you're there for them, dear Lord. 00:26:29.480 --> 00:26:32.019 Just let them feel your grace this morning, dear 00:26:32.019 --> 00:26:35.880 Lord. That we would be those just as David, that 00:26:35.880 --> 00:26:38.500 we would profess today that, God, that is your 00:26:38.500 --> 00:26:42.720 gentleness that has made us great. God, maybe 00:26:42.720 --> 00:26:44.660 there is one in this room today and they do not 00:26:44.660 --> 00:26:47.000 know who Jesus Christ is. Maybe they know about 00:26:47.000 --> 00:26:49.759 him. Maybe they've heard about him. But maybe 00:26:49.759 --> 00:26:52.740 they have never trusted in Jesus Christ. Maybe 00:26:52.740 --> 00:26:54.579 they've never asked him to be their Lord and 00:26:54.579 --> 00:26:57.019 Savior. Maybe they've never asked to be forgiven 00:26:57.019 --> 00:26:59.440 of their sins, God. Maybe they've avoided him 00:26:59.440 --> 00:27:02.220 for years, turned a blind eye to the miracles 00:27:02.220 --> 00:27:05.799 for years, dear Lord. But I pray today that they 00:27:05.799 --> 00:27:09.079 would find the gentleness of Jesus Christ, God. 00:27:10.079 --> 00:27:12.519 That we would lay down the palm branches of our 00:27:12.519 --> 00:27:16.160 hearts, God. That we would confess our sins to 00:27:16.160 --> 00:27:19.259 you, dear Lord. That we would repent of our sins 00:27:19.259 --> 00:27:22.660 and that we would seek to have the humility and 00:27:22.660 --> 00:27:24.660 the gentleness of Jesus. That we would accept 00:27:24.660 --> 00:27:28.059 it and feel it and live that example to those 00:27:28.059 --> 00:27:31.200 we encounter. God, I thank you for each one that's 00:27:31.200 --> 00:27:32.740 here today. I pray that you'd bless them, dear 00:27:32.740 --> 00:27:34.619 Lord. If there's one that's got something going 00:27:34.619 --> 00:27:36.960 on, I pray that as we sing in these next few 00:27:36.960 --> 00:27:40.259 moments, dear Lord. that your Holy Spirit will 00:27:40.259 --> 00:27:43.019 work on. I pray that they would respond to you. 00:27:43.259 --> 00:27:46.599 And I ask these things in Jesus' name. Amen.