WEBVTT 00:00:09.860 --> 00:00:12.679 Hey everyone, this is Josh from Encounter Church 00:00:12.679 --> 00:00:15.279 Henley and thanks so much for tuning into our 00:00:15.279 --> 00:00:19.000 podcast. Our prayer is that through this podcast, 00:00:19.019 --> 00:00:20.879 you can have an encounter with Jesus that will 00:00:20.879 --> 00:00:24.359 change your life. And now get ready for an inspiring 00:00:24.359 --> 00:00:29.379 message from our preaching team. Who someone 00:00:29.379 --> 00:00:33.659 is really matters. You know, early in our Henley 00:00:33.659 --> 00:00:35.560 Church journey, I preached what I thought was 00:00:35.560 --> 00:00:39.119 a pretty good sermon. I got decent feedback. 00:00:39.280 --> 00:00:41.460 People said a lot of, yeah, great, great word 00:00:41.460 --> 00:00:45.179 today. And Pastor Tech said, I think it really 00:00:45.179 --> 00:00:47.820 landed really well. And then I get in the car. 00:00:48.619 --> 00:00:53.280 Thank you. And I put my seatbelt on and I turned 00:00:53.280 --> 00:00:55.479 to my lovely wife and I said, how'd you think 00:00:55.479 --> 00:00:58.719 tonight went? She said, yeah, look, wasn't great, 00:00:58.799 --> 00:01:05.140 was it? And I'd heard nothing but praise up until 00:01:05.140 --> 00:01:09.819 that point, from people, from pastor techs, but 00:01:09.819 --> 00:01:15.879 not my wife. I know that Ash will shoot it straight. 00:01:16.620 --> 00:01:19.019 She doesn't care if it hurts her feelings. She 00:01:19.019 --> 00:01:24.299 won't lie to me. And I so deeply cherish that. 00:01:27.079 --> 00:01:30.579 And she's also an an accomplished and experienced 00:01:30.579 --> 00:01:32.379 preacher in herself. And she understands the 00:01:32.379 --> 00:01:34.540 craft well. She is good at it. She knows a good 00:01:34.540 --> 00:01:37.099 sermon. And she's probably heard me preach the 00:01:37.099 --> 00:01:39.140 most as well. So she probably knows what's great 00:01:39.140 --> 00:01:43.780 from me and what's not great. Who she is really, 00:01:43.780 --> 00:01:46.560 really matters. And it's because of who she is 00:01:46.560 --> 00:01:51.420 that I have to take what seriously. Who she is 00:01:51.420 --> 00:01:54.680 meant that I changed the way I saw my entire 00:01:54.680 --> 00:01:58.769 sermon. Who someone is matters. If you're trying 00:01:58.769 --> 00:02:00.629 to work out what you're going to do with your 00:02:00.629 --> 00:02:02.269 life and your friend says, hey, man, I think 00:02:02.269 --> 00:02:04.870 you should really become an accountant. You'd 00:02:04.870 --> 00:02:06.969 probably go, yeah, OK, mate, you failed maths 00:02:06.969 --> 00:02:10.909 in high school. What do you know? But if your 00:02:10.909 --> 00:02:12.789 parents or a teacher sat you down and said, look, 00:02:12.789 --> 00:02:14.930 we think you should consider this, you'd probably 00:02:14.930 --> 00:02:16.849 take them a bit more seriously. You'd probably 00:02:16.849 --> 00:02:20.810 at least consider it. Who someone is changes 00:02:20.810 --> 00:02:23.289 how deeply you listen to them, how much you allow 00:02:23.289 --> 00:02:26.750 them and their thoughts and their actions and 00:02:26.750 --> 00:02:32.780 their opinions to shape your life sometimes we 00:02:32.780 --> 00:02:35.780 get people wrong we pick a certain school because 00:02:35.780 --> 00:02:37.539 our friend goes there only to find out it's a 00:02:37.539 --> 00:02:40.319 terrible fit for us or a parent or a teacher 00:02:40.319 --> 00:02:41.860 speaks something over our life that is actually 00:02:41.860 --> 00:02:44.139 profoundly negative and it negatively shapes 00:02:44.139 --> 00:02:48.120 our trajectory and how we see ourselves and over 00:02:48.120 --> 00:02:49.759 time we may realize may I look back and realize 00:02:49.759 --> 00:02:52.240 that the people that we were listening to the 00:02:52.240 --> 00:02:55.219 people were allowing to shape us the voices that 00:02:55.219 --> 00:02:57.740 we were following those people were maybe not 00:02:57.740 --> 00:03:01.879 that helpful for us. We actually gave them far 00:03:01.879 --> 00:03:06.500 too much sway over our lives. Sometimes we get 00:03:06.500 --> 00:03:13.520 people wrong. It is Easter time and we are journeying 00:03:13.520 --> 00:03:16.500 with Jesus to the cross and to His resurrection 00:03:16.500 --> 00:03:19.300 in the Gospel of John in our series No Fear and 00:03:19.300 --> 00:03:22.300 Death and what a great time of the year. This 00:03:22.300 --> 00:03:24.840 week is the week, the reason why we do every 00:03:24.840 --> 00:03:27.259 other week. This is the most important week. 00:03:27.639 --> 00:03:30.800 This is a holy week. So I want to encourage you, 00:03:30.800 --> 00:03:34.319 be in the room with us over Easter. Bring your 00:03:34.319 --> 00:03:38.319 friends over Easter. Come and join in what is 00:03:38.319 --> 00:03:42.879 our most sacred time of the year. Sometimes we 00:03:42.879 --> 00:03:45.919 get people wrong. In our teaching text today, 00:03:46.379 --> 00:03:49.340 there's a crowd of Judeans who have got Jesus 00:03:49.340 --> 00:03:52.539 wrong. See the people of Judea, they've been 00:03:52.539 --> 00:03:55.479 oppressed by the Romans for the last 100 years. 00:03:55.900 --> 00:03:59.319 God has been silent for about 400 and they've 00:03:59.319 --> 00:04:01.180 pretty much had a gutful at this point. They 00:04:01.180 --> 00:04:04.080 long for the promised Messiah. They long for 00:04:04.080 --> 00:04:07.439 an anointed King who will lead them out of foreign 00:04:07.439 --> 00:04:09.900 pagan oppression like God led them out of Egypt 00:04:09.900 --> 00:04:13.460 long ago. And when Jesus comes along, they start 00:04:13.460 --> 00:04:16.360 to think that maybe he's a winner. Maybe maybe 00:04:16.360 --> 00:04:19.699 he's someone to bet on when he feeds the 5 ,000 00:04:19.699 --> 00:04:23.420 in John 6 they say surely Surely he is a prophet 00:04:23.420 --> 00:04:28.259 that we have been expecting And it goes it says 00:04:28.259 --> 00:04:30.579 when Jesus saw that they were ready to force 00:04:30.579 --> 00:04:33.639 him to be their king he slipped away to the hills 00:04:33.639 --> 00:04:37.839 by himself, so Like basically just starting and 00:04:37.839 --> 00:04:41.420 they're like great. You're it. You're gonna be 00:04:41.420 --> 00:04:46.209 the one And she's on my tongue So it's growing 00:04:46.209 --> 00:04:49.569 and this growing belief in Jesus as the Messiah 00:04:49.569 --> 00:04:51.910 reaches a fever pitch after he raises Lazarus 00:04:51.910 --> 00:04:56.250 from the dead many people believe in him and 00:04:56.250 --> 00:04:58.810 This is the tipping point as we learned last 00:04:58.810 --> 00:05:00.670 week for the religious leaders decision to have 00:05:00.670 --> 00:05:04.670 him killed here Jesus does Not what is easy, 00:05:05.009 --> 00:05:09.089 but what is right? And the people here that Jesus 00:05:09.089 --> 00:05:12.410 is heading down the road towards Jerusalem after 00:05:12.410 --> 00:05:15.620 this And so they run out of the city and down 00:05:15.620 --> 00:05:17.459 the road to meet him and they're waving palm 00:05:17.459 --> 00:05:21.139 branches, sing a version of Psalm 118, but they 00:05:21.139 --> 00:05:23.600 add this little consequential bit on the end. 00:05:24.040 --> 00:05:26.439 Praise God, blessings on the one who comes in 00:05:26.439 --> 00:05:30.100 the name of the Lord. Hail to the King of Israel. 00:05:31.279 --> 00:05:34.420 And all of this means one thing. They want to 00:05:34.420 --> 00:05:38.639 make Jesus their national political warrior king. 00:05:39.399 --> 00:05:42.100 They want to make him a king. They think he's 00:05:42.100 --> 00:05:44.579 going to lead an army to defeat the Romans and 00:05:44.579 --> 00:05:48.519 bring peace to Judea. And what tells us that? 00:05:48.540 --> 00:05:51.279 Well the palm branches they're a national symbol 00:05:51.279 --> 00:05:53.920 of Judean independence. It's a symbol of the 00:05:53.920 --> 00:05:56.720 Maccabean revolt that freed Israel and they cleansed 00:05:56.720 --> 00:05:58.459 the temple from foreign oppression 200 years 00:05:58.459 --> 00:06:02.279 before. So it's that and then they attack on, 00:06:02.279 --> 00:06:04.959 hail the king of Israel to a war psalm. It's 00:06:04.959 --> 00:06:07.259 not really that subtle really if you think about 00:06:07.259 --> 00:06:09.839 it. And then there's the running out of the city 00:06:09.839 --> 00:06:13.720 to meet Jesus and bring him in. See, leaving 00:06:13.720 --> 00:06:16.240 a city to go out and meet a company who are coming 00:06:16.240 --> 00:06:18.560 to that city and ushering them in, it's like 00:06:18.560 --> 00:06:22.759 it's a classic triumphant entry. And the translations 00:06:22.759 --> 00:06:25.560 that we have give us the heading, Jesus triumphant 00:06:25.560 --> 00:06:28.160 entry. And what they're not saying is that, you 00:06:28.160 --> 00:06:31.079 know, Jesus is sort of entering in a triumphant 00:06:31.079 --> 00:06:34.839 manner. Well, he kind of is, but triumphant entries 00:06:34.839 --> 00:06:37.680 are a thing. They're a thing. It's something 00:06:37.680 --> 00:06:40.579 that's loaded with meaning at the time. You see 00:06:40.579 --> 00:06:45.740 a triumphant entry a triumph was a Roman religious 00:06:45.740 --> 00:06:49.699 custom You win a great victory you send messages 00:06:49.699 --> 00:06:52.860 ahead and say we got him and you return home 00:06:52.860 --> 00:06:55.220 and the people they come out of the city and 00:06:55.220 --> 00:06:57.300 They greet you with great joy and they bring 00:06:57.300 --> 00:07:00.379 you inside and you parade along the captured 00:07:00.379 --> 00:07:04.000 enemy and stolen loot You see, the crowds have 00:07:04.000 --> 00:07:07.180 actually turned Jesus' entry into Jerusalem into 00:07:07.180 --> 00:07:11.220 a triumphant entry. It's a thing. And what it 00:07:11.220 --> 00:07:14.100 is, is it sends a message. We're going to take 00:07:14.100 --> 00:07:18.000 back Jerusalem. This is a rebellion against Rome. 00:07:18.699 --> 00:07:22.000 We have a king. We're going to make Judea Yahweh's 00:07:22.000 --> 00:07:25.899 again. So the crowds want Jesus to be their warrior 00:07:25.899 --> 00:07:30.759 king, and in that, they get him wrong. Now he's 00:07:30.759 --> 00:07:33.620 a king. And He will wage a war, but it's not 00:07:33.620 --> 00:07:36.680 going to go down the way that they think it will. 00:07:37.399 --> 00:07:42.579 They are seeing Jesus how they want to see Jesus, 00:07:43.459 --> 00:07:49.620 not how Jesus actually is. Are we not all so 00:07:49.620 --> 00:07:54.100 guilty of this at times? Trying to make Jesus 00:07:54.100 --> 00:08:00.240 be who we want Him to be. Place our desires and 00:08:00.240 --> 00:08:03.319 our expectations our intentions onto Jesus and 00:08:03.319 --> 00:08:07.740 say Jesus. This is who I want you to be There 00:08:07.740 --> 00:08:10.600 are a couple of classic ways we do this and I 00:08:10.600 --> 00:08:14.439 had some fun thinking about this There's the 00:08:14.439 --> 00:08:18.519 genie Jesus If I just do the right things in 00:08:18.519 --> 00:08:20.980 the right ways, then you'll give me everything 00:08:20.980 --> 00:08:25.100 I want right Jesus There's the cosmic butler 00:08:25.100 --> 00:08:27.709 Jesus Jesus, I mean, if I don't have a certain 00:08:27.709 --> 00:08:29.790 quality of life here, what are you even doing? 00:08:31.149 --> 00:08:34.129 There's a helicopter parent, Jesus. Jesus, I 00:08:34.129 --> 00:08:36.190 know that I jumped off the playground, but why 00:08:36.190 --> 00:08:40.690 didn't you catch me? There's the personal assistant, 00:08:40.830 --> 00:08:43.330 Jesus. Hey man, I'm working real hard for your 00:08:43.330 --> 00:08:45.830 dad here. And if you could just work a bit harder 00:08:45.830 --> 00:08:50.470 for me, that would be great. Or the echo chamber, 00:08:50.470 --> 00:08:52.950 Jesus. Man, I'm so glad, Jesus, that you would 00:08:52.950 --> 00:08:55.929 vote for my political party. completely aligned 00:08:55.929 --> 00:08:58.590 with my theology and never disagree with me on 00:08:58.590 --> 00:09:02.070 anything. These are some classic ways that we 00:09:02.070 --> 00:09:07.250 place what we want onto Jesus. And there's probably 00:09:07.250 --> 00:09:10.950 a multiverse of different ways that we try to 00:09:10.950 --> 00:09:15.009 box Jesus, to limit him, to make him fit our 00:09:15.009 --> 00:09:16.730 intentions and desires for him. And I'm sure 00:09:16.730 --> 00:09:20.409 you can think of more, but all of this is just 00:09:20.409 --> 00:09:25.990 an attempt to domesticate. Jesus, to make him 00:09:25.990 --> 00:09:32.629 quote unquote safe, comfortable, never to encroach 00:09:32.629 --> 00:09:36.509 on our lives, except in the way that we will 00:09:36.509 --> 00:09:40.450 allow him to. Jesus who lives in the box in the 00:09:40.450 --> 00:09:43.250 corner, we bring him out on weekends on Sundays 00:09:43.250 --> 00:09:47.669 or on Christmas and Easter. You know, to domesticate 00:09:47.669 --> 00:09:49.830 something is to take something that would otherwise 00:09:49.830 --> 00:09:52.970 be a disruption or a challenge. and to strip 00:09:52.970 --> 00:09:55.669 it of its power so that it can fit around our 00:09:55.669 --> 00:10:00.409 lives how we want it to. If Jesus is like this, 00:10:00.509 --> 00:10:03.210 domesticated, well then I never have to worry 00:10:03.210 --> 00:10:06.350 about him challenging me, disagreeing with me, 00:10:06.429 --> 00:10:10.110 asking me, asking anything at all of me. If Jesus 00:10:10.110 --> 00:10:12.470 is like that, well then you don't have to change. 00:10:13.330 --> 00:10:15.710 You don't have to grow. You don't have to invite 00:10:15.710 --> 00:10:17.889 your friends to church. You don't have to give 00:10:17.889 --> 00:10:20.490 God control of your finances or your time or 00:10:20.490 --> 00:10:22.850 where you live. or your career or how you use 00:10:22.850 --> 00:10:25.169 your body you don't have to care about the poor 00:10:25.169 --> 00:10:29.470 you don't have to forgive you don't have to serve 00:10:29.470 --> 00:10:33.289 you don't have to stay when things get hard you 00:10:33.289 --> 00:10:36.590 don't have to love sacrificially you don't have 00:10:36.590 --> 00:10:41.149 to surrender but Jesus actually isn't safe in 00:10:41.149 --> 00:10:44.850 that regard Jesus as much as we may try to fit 00:10:44.850 --> 00:10:48.129 him and stuff him in boxes we To try and keep 00:10:48.129 --> 00:10:49.649 him out of, you know, we'll keep him in this 00:10:49.649 --> 00:10:50.950 part of our lives, but we'll keep him out of 00:10:50.950 --> 00:10:52.669 the rest of our lives. As much as we try to do 00:10:52.669 --> 00:10:55.470 that, we actually can't do that. We actually 00:10:55.470 --> 00:10:57.509 can't make Jesus fit around our lives like a 00:10:57.509 --> 00:11:00.149 good lap dog, put him outside when he's being 00:11:00.149 --> 00:11:05.509 a bit annoying. We actually can't strip him of 00:11:05.509 --> 00:11:09.549 his power. However we may try, we cannot actually 00:11:09.549 --> 00:11:12.789 domesticate Jesus. Who's read The Lion, the Witch 00:11:12.789 --> 00:11:15.490 and the Wardrobe? Or watched the movie? Like 00:11:15.490 --> 00:11:19.899 that counts. There's a classic scene in that 00:11:19.899 --> 00:11:24.759 where Lucy is talking to Mr Beaver about Aslan. 00:11:26.100 --> 00:11:28.340 He says, Aslan's a lion? Like she doesn't know 00:11:28.340 --> 00:11:31.460 that Aslan's a lion. He goes, yeah, Aslan's a 00:11:31.460 --> 00:11:36.039 lion, the lion, the great lion. Oh, said Susan, 00:11:36.220 --> 00:11:43.279 I thought he was a man. Is he quite safe? I shall 00:11:43.279 --> 00:11:47.470 feel rather nervous about meeting a lion. Safe, 00:11:48.149 --> 00:11:50.629 said Mr. Beaver. Who said anything about safe? 00:11:51.250 --> 00:11:54.809 Of course he isn't safe, but he's good. And he's 00:11:54.809 --> 00:11:58.450 the king, I tell you. Just like you can't domesticate 00:11:58.450 --> 00:12:02.269 a lion, you can't domesticate Jesus. See the 00:12:02.269 --> 00:12:04.070 crowd, they try and place their intentions and 00:12:04.070 --> 00:12:06.590 their desires upon Jesus. And sometimes we are 00:12:06.590 --> 00:12:09.889 guilty of doing the same. But Jesus, even in 00:12:09.889 --> 00:12:12.129 the midst of this passage that we have read today, 00:12:12.490 --> 00:12:15.210 is subverting their intentions. He's showing 00:12:15.210 --> 00:12:18.110 that he's actually untamable. In the middle of 00:12:18.110 --> 00:12:19.970 this triumphant entry, so he's walking into the 00:12:19.970 --> 00:12:22.809 city, everyone's making this fuss about welcoming 00:12:22.809 --> 00:12:27.029 him, and he just stops mid -entry, and he goes 00:12:27.029 --> 00:12:29.950 and finds a young donkey and a colt, and then 00:12:29.950 --> 00:12:32.429 keeps going. He just breaks it up right in the 00:12:32.429 --> 00:12:36.610 middle. He continues, and he's riding this donkey, 00:12:36.850 --> 00:12:39.350 and by doing this, he's evoking, he's giving 00:12:39.350 --> 00:12:43.539 Zechariah 9 verse 9. You see, triumphant entries, 00:12:43.580 --> 00:12:48.000 they're done on war horses. Jesus enters on a 00:12:48.000 --> 00:12:51.019 colt, he's a young donkey. War horses, they're 00:12:51.019 --> 00:12:53.600 huge, they're impressive, they're intimidating. 00:12:54.340 --> 00:12:57.480 Donkeys are goofy and cranky when you don't have 00:12:57.480 --> 00:12:58.679 enough, when they don't have enough coffee in 00:12:58.679 --> 00:13:01.879 the morning. If you are a parent, you will understand 00:13:01.879 --> 00:13:06.320 that. You don't fight wars on a young donkey. 00:13:07.259 --> 00:13:10.220 See, he's subverting their expectations of a 00:13:10.220 --> 00:13:12.700 warrior king and fulfilling the prophecy from 00:13:12.700 --> 00:13:14.940 Zechariah 9. And this is the prophecy, rejoice, 00:13:15.059 --> 00:13:17.519 O people of Zion, shout in triumph, O people 00:13:17.519 --> 00:13:20.480 of Jerusalem. Look, your king is coming to you. 00:13:20.659 --> 00:13:24.259 He is righteous and victorious, yet he is humble, 00:13:24.840 --> 00:13:27.600 riding on a donkey, riding on a donkey's colt. 00:13:28.340 --> 00:13:32.080 You see, Jesus is a king, yes. He is even their 00:13:32.080 --> 00:13:35.080 king, yes. But even in this moment, he's letting 00:13:35.080 --> 00:13:38.480 him know like I'm not just a king of Judea I'm 00:13:38.480 --> 00:13:42.879 actually the king of the universe What's the 00:13:42.879 --> 00:13:47.399 verse after Zechariah 9 9 Zechariah 9 10 you're 00:13:47.399 --> 00:13:50.799 right This is what it says. I will remove the 00:13:50.799 --> 00:13:53.820 battle chariots from Israel and the war horses 00:13:53.820 --> 00:13:55.980 from Jerusalem I will destroy all weapons used 00:13:55.980 --> 00:13:58.220 in battle and your King will bring peace to the 00:13:58.220 --> 00:14:02.519 nations His realm will stretch from sea to see 00:14:02.519 --> 00:14:05.200 and from the Euphrates River to the ends of the 00:14:05.200 --> 00:14:13.080 earth. Your King has come in Israel. He's righteous 00:14:13.080 --> 00:14:15.679 and victorious and humble. He is a good King. 00:14:16.159 --> 00:14:18.700 He's here to do away with war. He's here to bring 00:14:18.700 --> 00:14:21.480 peace, not just to Jerusalem, but to the ends 00:14:21.480 --> 00:14:24.500 of the earth, the ends of the world. Jesus is 00:14:24.500 --> 00:14:27.759 saying, you think I am the King of Israel, try 00:14:27.759 --> 00:14:30.669 the universe. You think I'm here to free Jerusalem 00:14:30.669 --> 00:14:33.110 from the oppression of Rome? I'm actually here 00:14:33.110 --> 00:14:35.330 to free creation from the oppression of sin and 00:14:35.330 --> 00:14:38.190 death. You think I'm here to win a decisive victory? 00:14:38.470 --> 00:14:41.830 Yeah, I am. But it won't be through weapons of 00:14:41.830 --> 00:14:43.970 war and the shedding of the blood of my enemies. 00:14:44.429 --> 00:14:47.210 I will win a decisive victory by letting my enemies 00:14:47.210 --> 00:14:50.690 shed my own blood through sacrificial love. My 00:14:50.690 --> 00:14:54.730 death will put death to death. And they were 00:14:54.730 --> 00:14:58.860 close. But the crowds, they... They missed the 00:14:58.860 --> 00:15:01.820 real Jesus. They got Jesus wrong. They wanted 00:15:01.820 --> 00:15:04.139 him to fit their agenda, to come and fix their 00:15:04.139 --> 00:15:07.919 little Rome problem. And their expectations of 00:15:07.919 --> 00:15:10.580 who Jesus is, they just crash up against the 00:15:10.580 --> 00:15:15.100 reality of Jesus. I want you to hear this friends. 00:15:16.080 --> 00:15:18.159 Whether or not you think you've got Jesus right. 00:15:19.399 --> 00:15:21.659 Whether you try and treat him like a genie, or 00:15:21.659 --> 00:15:26.059 a PA, or even if you're skeptical of his existence. 00:15:26.639 --> 00:15:31.659 That does not change who Jesus is. Jesus does 00:15:31.659 --> 00:15:34.639 not change based on how or what you think about 00:15:34.639 --> 00:15:36.700 him. If he did, then he would just be a figment 00:15:36.700 --> 00:15:39.820 of your imagination. Jesus is not a concept or 00:15:39.820 --> 00:15:41.980 an idea. It's not like your best thoughts on 00:15:41.980 --> 00:15:45.740 Australian foreign policy. I want you to hear 00:15:45.740 --> 00:15:52.240 this. Jesus is. Jesus is. Jesus lives. Jesus 00:15:52.240 --> 00:15:54.080 sits at the right hand of the Father and He will 00:15:54.080 --> 00:15:55.940 come again to judge the living and the dead. 00:15:56.240 --> 00:15:58.840 Don't get sucked into thinking that reality is 00:15:58.840 --> 00:16:03.039 subjective. This is reality. That Jesus lives. 00:16:04.059 --> 00:16:05.980 And He is righteous and He is victorious and 00:16:05.980 --> 00:16:09.059 He is humble. Jesus is the King who left His 00:16:09.059 --> 00:16:10.960 throne to die for you and me so that we could 00:16:10.960 --> 00:16:14.340 have life. Jesus is the King who will come and 00:16:14.340 --> 00:16:19.759 put you and me and all of creation right. We 00:16:19.759 --> 00:16:22.580 can try to domesticate Jesus all we like we can 00:16:22.580 --> 00:16:24.679 try and make him who we want him to be but that 00:16:24.679 --> 00:16:27.720 would just time after time Crash up against the 00:16:27.720 --> 00:16:33.600 reality of the living triangle Who someone is 00:16:33.600 --> 00:16:39.980 matters friends this is who Jesus is and the 00:16:39.980 --> 00:16:45.539 only proper response to Jesus is worship and 00:16:45.539 --> 00:16:53.559 surrender Worship and surrender. But isn't worship 00:16:53.559 --> 00:16:59.179 easier than surrender, if we're honest? Isn't 00:16:59.179 --> 00:17:02.539 it easier to worship? Don't we prefer to worship? 00:17:03.059 --> 00:17:06.779 Isn't it easier to elevate God, sing some songs, 00:17:06.940 --> 00:17:10.119 create, enjoy, declare the goodness of God and 00:17:10.119 --> 00:17:13.859 praise His name than to actually get down and 00:17:13.859 --> 00:17:20.680 bow the knee to Him? Isn't it easier? It's so 00:17:20.680 --> 00:17:23.200 much easier to worship than it is to give up 00:17:23.200 --> 00:17:26.579 our way, our will, our desires, and our attentions 00:17:26.579 --> 00:17:29.420 for our lives. To literally hand over the keys, 00:17:29.700 --> 00:17:31.559 I don't have keys in my hand, but hand them over 00:17:31.559 --> 00:17:36.039 to Jesus and to follow Him. Because this is His 00:17:36.039 --> 00:17:39.000 call to you and to me. If you want to be my follower, 00:17:40.079 --> 00:17:46.420 you must give up your own way. Take up your cross 00:17:46.420 --> 00:17:53.880 and follow me. We struggle to surrender to Jesus. 00:17:54.940 --> 00:17:57.980 I know I do. I have all these things I want to 00:17:57.980 --> 00:18:00.039 do with my life. I hate being uncomfortable. 00:18:00.960 --> 00:18:03.140 I want to have everything the way that I like 00:18:03.140 --> 00:18:06.599 it. I want good friends and books to read and 00:18:06.599 --> 00:18:09.680 cups of tea with hot cross buns. I want the beauty 00:18:09.680 --> 00:18:11.779 of an early son. I want the laughter of my kids 00:18:11.779 --> 00:18:13.990 and I also never want to be interrupted. And 00:18:13.990 --> 00:18:19.849 those two things just don't go together. I know 00:18:19.849 --> 00:18:22.190 what I like. I know what I prefer. I know what 00:18:22.190 --> 00:18:25.869 my first preference is. I know my way. I know 00:18:25.869 --> 00:18:29.329 my way. But surrender is letting go of my way 00:18:29.329 --> 00:18:32.529 and choosing God's way. And this is hard because 00:18:32.529 --> 00:18:36.730 surrender is a kind of death. It's a letting 00:18:36.730 --> 00:18:40.779 go of our way. our preferences, our intentions, 00:18:41.079 --> 00:18:43.140 our desires, and it's letting them go, it's letting 00:18:43.140 --> 00:18:45.880 them die, it's letting them be subservient to 00:18:45.880 --> 00:18:50.059 God's will. And that might mean that God's will 00:18:50.059 --> 00:18:53.000 might be to do things and to go places and to 00:18:53.000 --> 00:18:55.339 put yourself in situations that may not be your 00:18:55.339 --> 00:18:58.119 first preference. You might have to let your 00:18:58.119 --> 00:19:02.640 career go. You might have to move away from home. 00:19:02.940 --> 00:19:04.759 You might have to move out of the comfort zone. 00:19:05.259 --> 00:19:07.039 You might have to use your resources for the 00:19:07.039 --> 00:19:09.619 sake of the world and not just for your own entertainment. 00:19:10.220 --> 00:19:12.740 You might have to fast and pray and serve the 00:19:12.740 --> 00:19:15.460 last, the loss and the least to step into what 00:19:15.460 --> 00:19:21.160 God has for you. Psychologist David Benner says 00:19:21.160 --> 00:19:24.619 this, the paradoxical law of God's kingdom is 00:19:24.619 --> 00:19:27.140 that only when we give up what we clutch most 00:19:27.140 --> 00:19:32.440 desperately will we receive it. Grasping destroys, 00:19:33.579 --> 00:19:37.920 but surrender releases and transforms and restores. 00:19:38.980 --> 00:19:42.279 And that echoes what Jesus says. If you try to 00:19:42.279 --> 00:19:44.140 hang onto your life, you will lose it, but if 00:19:44.140 --> 00:19:47.339 you give up your life for my sake, you will save 00:19:47.339 --> 00:19:50.819 it. Surrender is hard because it requires a little 00:19:50.819 --> 00:19:57.160 death of your will for your life. Most people 00:19:57.160 --> 00:20:04.240 won't give up their will. except for love. David 00:20:04.240 --> 00:20:06.339 Bennett goes on, apart from duress and fear, 00:20:06.599 --> 00:20:10.319 nobody voluntarily submits their will and surrenders 00:20:10.319 --> 00:20:14.380 their autonomy for any other reason than love. 00:20:15.259 --> 00:20:17.039 When my kids were little, no part of me wanted 00:20:17.039 --> 00:20:21.220 to surrender my will and autonomy to sleep. No 00:20:21.220 --> 00:20:24.539 part of me. But they were up in the middle of 00:20:24.539 --> 00:20:27.319 the night and you got to get up to them. Only 00:20:27.319 --> 00:20:29.039 love gets you up in the middle of the night. 00:20:29.210 --> 00:20:32.710 to get a small child back to sleep. Only love 00:20:32.710 --> 00:20:36.470 takes a four -year -old to a four -year -old's 00:20:36.470 --> 00:20:43.750 birthday party. That's so horrible. And awkward. 00:20:44.509 --> 00:20:46.589 I'm already awkward so it's like a good start. 00:20:48.730 --> 00:20:54.289 Only love. You know it's right, it's the right 00:20:54.289 --> 00:20:57.809 thing to surrender to Jesus. Because He is the 00:20:57.809 --> 00:21:00.509 King of the universe and yet we won't surrender 00:21:00.509 --> 00:21:04.089 to Jesus. We won't do it unless we truly love 00:21:04.089 --> 00:21:08.789 Him. Unless our love for Him is actually greater 00:21:08.789 --> 00:21:12.109 than our will for ourselves. Again, David Benner, 00:21:12.190 --> 00:21:16.849 he's my guy today. The only love that is powerful 00:21:16.849 --> 00:21:22.490 enough to make us want, key word want, to turn 00:21:22.490 --> 00:21:26.049 over the keys of the kingdom of self. Not simply 00:21:26.049 --> 00:21:31.849 willing to do so is the love of God that springs 00:21:31.849 --> 00:21:37.009 from a deep person knowing of God's love for 00:21:37.009 --> 00:21:42.630 us. You know, it's been a long journey with Jesus 00:21:42.630 --> 00:21:46.970 for me and I'm not always very good at it, but 00:21:46.970 --> 00:21:53.390 I'm no longer just willing to surrender. I actually 00:21:53.390 --> 00:21:58.359 have grown to want to surrender to Jesus. And 00:21:58.359 --> 00:22:00.480 it's a key distinction, isn't it? You might be 00:22:00.480 --> 00:22:03.519 willing to do something, but that's miles away 00:22:03.519 --> 00:22:09.079 from wanting to do something. And here's why. 00:22:09.079 --> 00:22:12.099 Here's why I want to surrender my will to Jesus. 00:22:12.839 --> 00:22:15.460 Even though I'm bad at it, but if just something's 00:22:15.460 --> 00:22:17.940 worth doing, it's worth doing poorly. Isn't that 00:22:17.940 --> 00:22:25.390 right? Here's why. I'm just overcome by Jesus. 00:22:26.930 --> 00:22:30.329 Jesus was someone who truly, truly mattered. 00:22:31.029 --> 00:22:34.769 Like really, he mattered so much more than I 00:22:34.769 --> 00:22:42.049 ever will. And yet out of love for me, he set 00:22:42.049 --> 00:22:45.430 aside his will for his own life. He drank the 00:22:45.430 --> 00:22:50.200 cup. He was humiliated and tortured and surrendered 00:22:50.200 --> 00:22:54.140 his life on the cross so that I could have life 00:22:54.140 --> 00:23:00.819 He did that for me. I Never deserved that I haven't 00:23:00.819 --> 00:23:02.660 done anything that would warrant that kind of 00:23:02.660 --> 00:23:12.420 love and Yet it is so It is so friends it's easy 00:23:12.420 --> 00:23:18.089 to surrender in love To the one who in love surrendered 00:23:18.089 --> 00:23:24.150 his life for us When you know in yourself that 00:23:24.150 --> 00:23:28.509 God has loved you this much Surrendered to God 00:23:28.509 --> 00:23:30.849 actually becomes a desire of your will. It's 00:23:30.849 --> 00:23:33.309 not like you do it just because you have to you 00:23:33.309 --> 00:23:37.430 do it because you want to Friends, however, you 00:23:37.430 --> 00:23:41.099 see yourself As far from God, as undeserving, 00:23:41.200 --> 00:23:44.119 as unlovable, as basically a good person, a good 00:23:44.119 --> 00:23:46.440 Christian, a bad Christian, or as sceptical as 00:23:46.440 --> 00:23:50.980 it comes, wherever you see yourself. This is 00:23:50.980 --> 00:23:54.099 who you are. If you have faith in Jesus, this 00:23:54.099 --> 00:23:58.839 is who you are. You are saved by grace through 00:23:58.839 --> 00:24:02.160 faith. And this is not your own doing, but it 00:24:02.160 --> 00:24:07.880 is a gift of God. Who someone is matters. and 00:24:07.880 --> 00:24:11.859 this is who you are if you'll accept this gift 00:24:11.859 --> 00:24:15.819 of God if you'll accept it as a gift you can't 00:24:15.819 --> 00:24:17.880 earn it you don't deserve it you can't grow it 00:24:17.880 --> 00:24:20.440 you can't lose it that's not how a gift works 00:24:20.440 --> 00:24:26.680 you are loved by God deeply you are so loved 00:24:26.680 --> 00:24:30.900 by God that Jesus the victorious righteous humble 00:24:30.900 --> 00:24:32.759 king of the universe would give up his life for 00:24:32.759 --> 00:24:36.299 you so no matter what anybody thinks about you 00:24:36.480 --> 00:24:38.759 And no matter what you even think about yourself, 00:24:39.480 --> 00:24:46.079 you matter. You matter and you are loved. And 00:24:46.079 --> 00:24:48.339 this is the kind of love you've received by God 00:24:48.339 --> 00:24:52.319 and King who sits on the throne of the universe. 00:24:56.180 --> 00:25:03.339 How will you respond to Jesus? How will you respond 00:25:03.339 --> 00:25:07.099 to Jesus? There's lots of things we could do 00:25:07.099 --> 00:25:10.319 here tonight I've got like a million keys that 00:25:10.319 --> 00:25:13.119 I could use to Give you one and you could hand 00:25:13.119 --> 00:25:15.980 back, you know hand to God the keys of to your 00:25:15.980 --> 00:25:18.859 life And I could do all these like other creative 00:25:18.859 --> 00:25:21.799 things But I don't think tonight's the night 00:25:21.799 --> 00:25:24.619 for that. I Think you have to really wrestle 00:25:24.619 --> 00:25:27.259 with this question. How am I gonna respond to 00:25:27.259 --> 00:25:30.259 Jesus? Not the Jesus that I make not the Jesus 00:25:30.259 --> 00:25:33.410 I want him to be but the real Jesus who is here 00:25:33.410 --> 00:25:35.569 amongst us because two are more are gathered. 00:25:38.170 --> 00:25:42.930 How will you respond to Jesus? We're gonna sing 00:25:42.930 --> 00:25:45.950 all hail come Jesus, all hail King Jesus now. 00:25:46.910 --> 00:25:48.710 And what I wanna do is I wanna challenge you. 00:25:50.210 --> 00:25:52.869 Do you wanna surrender to Jesus tonight? Because 00:25:52.869 --> 00:25:56.170 you can, I can't make you do anything. But don't 00:25:56.170 --> 00:25:58.049 do it because you feel like you have to. Don't 00:25:58.049 --> 00:25:59.509 do it because you think there's an obligation 00:25:59.509 --> 00:26:03.980 to do it. Don't do it because people are watching 00:26:03.980 --> 00:26:06.799 you because people aren't watching you They're 00:26:06.799 --> 00:26:09.660 all caught up in their own stuff. I'm not looking 00:26:09.660 --> 00:26:14.299 at you How will you respond to this Jesus and 00:26:14.299 --> 00:26:16.880 if it is to respond in surrender I challenge 00:26:16.880 --> 00:26:19.619 you get on your knees bow your knee literally 00:26:19.619 --> 00:26:23.319 in your body Physically get on the floor. I had 00:26:23.319 --> 00:26:28.000 a time where God really challenged me Why wouldn't 00:26:28.000 --> 00:26:31.319 I get on my knees in worship? And the heart of 00:26:31.319 --> 00:26:33.220 it was that I really was just thinking about 00:26:33.220 --> 00:26:34.940 how I looked, because it looks kind of dumb. 00:26:36.319 --> 00:26:37.819 But that's because it's a posture of submission. 00:26:38.099 --> 00:26:41.200 Like, it's not meant to look cool. It's meant 00:26:41.200 --> 00:26:45.059 to be, I'm yours, Jesus. I'm letting go of everything. 00:26:45.460 --> 00:26:48.460 I'm before you. I'm before you and you alone. 00:26:50.440 --> 00:26:53.500 And I did it once, and it was hard, and I did 00:26:53.500 --> 00:26:56.859 it twice, and it was easier. And then it just... 00:26:57.039 --> 00:27:01.079 became a part of how I express myself in worship. 00:27:02.000 --> 00:27:06.579 But Jesus had to challenge me. And I want to 00:27:06.579 --> 00:27:09.740 challenge you today. How will you respond to 00:27:09.740 --> 00:27:27.130 Jesus? or if you're interested in how you can 00:27:27.130 --> 00:27:30.150 support this ministry, please go to our website 00:27:30.150 --> 00:27:34.809 encounteradelaide .com .au Thanks again for listening. 00:27:35.289 --> 00:27:35.930 God bless you.