WEBVTT 00:00:05.929 --> 00:00:08.710 Kia ora, and welcome to the St. Francis Church 00:00:08.710 --> 00:00:11.490 Sermon Podcast. We're so glad that you've joined 00:00:11.490 --> 00:00:14.789 us. Our prayer is that as you listen, you would 00:00:14.789 --> 00:00:17.690 encounter God's presence, be refreshed in your 00:00:17.690 --> 00:00:20.429 faith, and equipped for everyday life with Jesus. 00:00:21.109 --> 00:00:24.129 As a church, we are learning to faithfully follow 00:00:24.129 --> 00:00:27.760 Jesus by practicing His way at His pace. For 00:00:27.760 --> 00:00:30.760 more info about who we are and what God is doing 00:00:30.760 --> 00:00:36.500 among us, head to stfrancis .co .nz. Grace and 00:00:36.500 --> 00:00:44.539 peace. Hi family. Hi. It is good to be with you 00:00:44.539 --> 00:00:50.420 this morning. Today is Palm Sunday, as Tony has 00:00:50.420 --> 00:00:54.259 already mentioned. It is the beginning of... 00:00:54.759 --> 00:00:58.920 what is known to us as Holy Week. A journey that 00:00:58.920 --> 00:01:01.780 leads us through the events of the final week 00:01:01.780 --> 00:01:07.159 of Jesus' life, culminating in his crucifixion, 00:01:07.159 --> 00:01:14.560 death, and eventual resurrection. Now I say eventual 00:01:14.560 --> 00:01:17.099 when referencing the resurrection, not because 00:01:17.099 --> 00:01:21.859 I am sceptical as to whether it did and or did 00:01:21.859 --> 00:01:25.750 not happen. I believe that Christ is risen. He's 00:01:25.750 --> 00:01:34.049 risen indeed. Yeah. But I think that as followers 00:01:34.049 --> 00:01:39.370 of Jesus, it's important to stick with the process 00:01:39.370 --> 00:01:42.530 and the journey of Holy Week in its fullness. 00:01:43.250 --> 00:01:46.950 It can be tempting to skip over the events of 00:01:46.950 --> 00:01:50.319 Holy Week. We want to celebrate God's victory 00:01:50.319 --> 00:01:52.980 over sin and death and the powers of darkness. 00:01:53.239 --> 00:01:59.640 And so we should. Yeah? Yeah? Yeah. But I do 00:01:59.640 --> 00:02:04.019 wonder if often it is more to do with our aversion 00:02:04.019 --> 00:02:07.980 to pain and to suffering, the human condition 00:02:07.980 --> 00:02:11.520 and the darkness in our own lives than the beauty... 00:02:11.900 --> 00:02:15.319 of our resurrected saviour, that we can be tempted 00:02:15.319 --> 00:02:20.180 to land in Easter Sunday without experiencing 00:02:20.180 --> 00:02:25.419 Holy Week in its fullness. As humans, I think 00:02:25.419 --> 00:02:29.159 it is a very normal thing to like or want things 00:02:29.159 --> 00:02:34.639 to resolve. Who loves cliffhangers? Cliffhangers. 00:02:35.240 --> 00:02:40.110 Who loves it when... somebody goes to say something 00:02:40.110 --> 00:02:42.110 and then forgets what they're about to say and 00:02:42.110 --> 00:02:46.229 then carries on. Yeah, wow, we know that, Janine. 00:02:49.930 --> 00:02:53.030 But that whole, like, wait, no, what were you 00:02:53.030 --> 00:02:56.650 about to say? Or like, no, what was meant to 00:02:56.650 --> 00:02:58.629 happen kind of thing. It's like that moment at 00:02:58.629 --> 00:03:01.469 the end of a movie, Inception, where the spinning 00:03:01.469 --> 00:03:03.370 top is spinning and you start to see it waver 00:03:03.370 --> 00:03:05.310 and you're like, is it going to tip? Is it not? 00:03:05.409 --> 00:03:07.990 Are they in a dream? Are they not? And there's 00:03:07.990 --> 00:03:15.150 no, say. It could be that having finished a good 00:03:15.150 --> 00:03:18.490 book you're wondering what happened to that character 00:03:18.490 --> 00:03:21.849 in chapter 13 that was there for most of the 00:03:21.849 --> 00:03:23.789 journey and then not and there's kind of like 00:03:23.789 --> 00:03:25.490 a plot hole and you're like wait no the writer 00:03:25.490 --> 00:03:28.550 forgot to write him out or in or like whatever 00:03:28.550 --> 00:03:33.090 it was or maybe it's just that there are certain 00:03:33.090 --> 00:03:37.310 songs that like grate on you because it doesn't 00:03:37.310 --> 00:03:40.400 end on the first or the fifth and we're left 00:03:40.400 --> 00:03:45.099 going no give us that resolving chord at the 00:03:45.099 --> 00:03:48.419 end. Whatever it might be I think it's just a 00:03:48.419 --> 00:03:51.539 really normal and natural thing to want to know 00:03:51.539 --> 00:03:54.780 the end of the story. My wife in all her amazement 00:03:54.780 --> 00:03:59.319 loves to read the last page of a book purely 00:03:59.319 --> 00:04:01.419 because she's like I need to know where this 00:04:01.419 --> 00:04:04.180 goes kind of thing and whether it's worth my 00:04:04.180 --> 00:04:08.139 time kind of thing. We like to know the end of 00:04:08.139 --> 00:04:11.120 a story, right? And this is one of the things 00:04:11.120 --> 00:04:15.180 that this week that lies ahead of us now, it's 00:04:15.180 --> 00:04:18.720 going to drag on. Not because it's overly slow, 00:04:18.920 --> 00:04:24.519 but because it's hard. Because we are moving 00:04:24.519 --> 00:04:29.500 towards a whole lot of stuff that as humans we 00:04:29.500 --> 00:04:33.980 struggle with. And we're a part of that story. 00:04:34.860 --> 00:04:39.379 if we're really honest with ourselves. So as 00:04:39.379 --> 00:04:41.699 we move through this week, we are ultimately 00:04:41.699 --> 00:04:45.839 going to be faced with the reality of human suffering, 00:04:45.959 --> 00:04:50.839 of fear, of betrayal, of abandonment, of our 00:04:50.839 --> 00:04:55.060 old foe death. And above all, as Scripture puts 00:04:55.060 --> 00:04:58.939 it, he was pierced for our rebellion. He was 00:04:58.939 --> 00:05:03.420 crushed for our sins. He was beaten. so that 00:05:03.420 --> 00:05:06.720 we could be made whole. And he was whipped so 00:05:06.720 --> 00:05:10.860 that we could be healed. And so a disclaimer 00:05:10.860 --> 00:05:13.720 up front, there may be moments this morning that 00:05:13.720 --> 00:05:19.100 you and I find confronting. And we might feel 00:05:19.100 --> 00:05:22.019 uncomfortable at times, heaven bid in church. 00:05:22.579 --> 00:05:27.160 Heaven forbid we feel uncomfortable. But that 00:05:27.160 --> 00:05:30.160 is the journey that's ahead of us, in front of 00:05:30.160 --> 00:05:37.199 us. Or as the old hymn goes, it was my sin that 00:05:37.199 --> 00:05:43.860 held him there until it was accomplished. His 00:05:43.860 --> 00:05:46.959 dying breath has bought me life. I know that 00:05:46.959 --> 00:05:55.189 it is finished. There's no running from the reality 00:05:55.189 --> 00:05:59.449 of what this week in front of us holds. Yes, 00:05:59.529 --> 00:06:04.250 there will be Easter Sunday, but let's avoid 00:06:04.250 --> 00:06:07.769 the temptation to skip over all that Christ had 00:06:07.769 --> 00:06:14.850 to endure for us on our behalf because we feel 00:06:14.850 --> 00:06:20.350 a little uncomfortable. And so let us, let it 00:06:20.350 --> 00:06:25.459 sink in. How much God loves this world. How much 00:06:25.459 --> 00:06:29.800 he loves you and I. And so this morning as we 00:06:29.800 --> 00:06:34.500 wrestle, this week as we wait for Easter Sunday, 00:06:34.620 --> 00:06:40.459 that glorious morning, we will be sitting with 00:06:40.459 --> 00:06:45.500 the reality of, yeah, who we are and the effects 00:06:45.500 --> 00:06:49.439 of our sin on this world. And that Jesus had 00:06:49.439 --> 00:06:53.399 to undergo and go through that for us. But I 00:06:53.399 --> 00:07:00.240 think that also, and maybe just as, like, uncomfortably 00:07:00.240 --> 00:07:04.319 for us, we can end up in a position where we 00:07:04.319 --> 00:07:10.579 can zero in on that and skip over the fact that 00:07:10.579 --> 00:07:16.379 God did it for me. Like, for you. Like, this 00:07:16.379 --> 00:07:19.449 is personal. Like if anything could be taken 00:07:19.449 --> 00:07:24.410 personally, this. This should be. For you and 00:07:24.410 --> 00:07:28.310 for I. For God so loved the world that he gave 00:07:28.310 --> 00:07:37.329 his only son. For you. For me. And so yes, every 00:07:37.329 --> 00:07:40.230 Sunday is a celebration of what God has done. 00:07:40.470 --> 00:07:43.250 Every Sunday is a mini Easter Sunday in that 00:07:43.250 --> 00:07:47.120 sense. But Palm Sunday. And Holy Week shows us 00:07:47.120 --> 00:07:50.839 that the way of Jesus is one of downward mobility, 00:07:51.160 --> 00:07:55.139 a downward descent by choice. And it's really 00:07:55.139 --> 00:07:59.259 important to add that, a downward descent by 00:07:59.259 --> 00:08:04.779 choice, that Jesus, with intention, went into 00:08:04.779 --> 00:08:11.500 this. For the joy set before him, he endured 00:08:11.500 --> 00:08:19.100 the cross, scorning its shame. Yes, knowing that 00:08:19.100 --> 00:08:21.720 he would be raised up and that glory would be 00:08:21.720 --> 00:08:25.699 given to him. Glory unlike glory ever been given 00:08:25.699 --> 00:08:30.259 and or known. But you are a part of the joy. 00:08:31.579 --> 00:08:36.720 You are a part of that joy that he considered 00:08:36.720 --> 00:08:43.620 when he endured that cross. And so it's this 00:08:43.620 --> 00:08:47.139 wild gamut of emotions, yeah? where we recognise 00:08:47.139 --> 00:08:53.080 that we put him there and by choice he went. 00:08:56.019 --> 00:08:59.500 That we did not inflict anything on him that 00:08:59.500 --> 00:09:03.720 he did not choose. And that in great love he 00:09:03.720 --> 00:09:08.000 moved on our behalf, doing for us what we could 00:09:08.000 --> 00:09:10.620 not have done for ourselves. Is this good news, 00:09:10.720 --> 00:09:16.639 guys? Yeah. But let's not skip over Holy Week. 00:09:21.159 --> 00:09:25.179 There is no resurrection without first dying. 00:09:26.200 --> 00:09:29.240 Yeah? There is no resurrection without first 00:09:29.240 --> 00:09:32.480 dying. This is the way of Jesus, the way of the 00:09:32.480 --> 00:09:36.539 cross. Our readings today, the gospel account 00:09:36.539 --> 00:09:39.759 of Jesus' entry into Jerusalem, his triumphant 00:09:39.759 --> 00:09:42.940 entry from Matthew chapter 21, and our epistle 00:09:42.940 --> 00:09:46.600 reading from Philippians chapter 2, both use 00:09:46.600 --> 00:09:51.720 royal or kingly language when speaking of Jesus, 00:09:51.860 --> 00:09:56.240 which is befitting of him, of who he is and what 00:09:56.240 --> 00:09:58.820 he was doing. But it was so unlike any other 00:09:58.820 --> 00:10:01.980 that he rides in, not with grand stallions and 00:10:01.980 --> 00:10:04.539 chariots and fanfare, although there was some 00:10:04.539 --> 00:10:08.019 fanfare, but not from the political powers or 00:10:08.019 --> 00:10:11.840 religious powers at be, but from the day -to 00:10:11.840 --> 00:10:16.080 -day folk. Not necessarily also because they 00:10:16.080 --> 00:10:18.259 knew exactly who he was, but they recognized 00:10:18.259 --> 00:10:20.539 that there was something different about him, 00:10:20.580 --> 00:10:26.480 and so they cried out, Hosanna, save us. We think 00:10:26.480 --> 00:10:32.340 there's something different about you. The example 00:10:32.340 --> 00:10:35.039 that we see of Jesus' kingship is so radically 00:10:35.039 --> 00:10:38.580 other from any kind of leaders or ruler that 00:10:38.580 --> 00:10:42.769 history or this present day has ever known. In 00:10:42.769 --> 00:10:45.750 a world clambering for status, refining the art 00:10:45.750 --> 00:10:49.029 of one -upmanship and claiming power for oneself, 00:10:49.389 --> 00:10:53.909 we see instead Jesus willingly giving it up, 00:10:54.110 --> 00:10:59.129 even to the point of giving his very self come 00:10:59.129 --> 00:11:06.610 Good Friday. If anyone had the right to claim 00:11:06.610 --> 00:11:11.409 power, it's him. And here we see him willingly. 00:11:12.289 --> 00:11:15.370 Giving it up. Just as we heard about in Philippians 00:11:15.370 --> 00:11:23.649 chapter 2. Taking on the form of humans. Humble 00:11:23.649 --> 00:11:30.590 servant as a humble servant. And so this morning, 00:11:30.629 --> 00:11:34.009 as we look to Jesus, fixing our eyes on him, 00:11:34.129 --> 00:11:36.289 because that's what we're here for, yeah? This 00:11:36.289 --> 00:11:38.289 is what we're here to do, to fix our eyes on 00:11:38.289 --> 00:11:41.879 Jesus. I want us to ponder together who he is 00:11:41.879 --> 00:11:45.080 as king, the nature of his rule, and the kingdom 00:11:45.080 --> 00:11:48.519 that he brings and is establishing. And so we're 00:11:48.519 --> 00:11:52.320 going to, as I like to do, have a bit of a korero, 00:11:52.440 --> 00:11:54.899 have some question time, where we're going to 00:11:54.899 --> 00:11:58.399 talk with some people around us. If you are an 00:11:58.399 --> 00:12:00.820 introvert and you are dying inside, it's okay. 00:12:00.879 --> 00:12:02.679 Just put your head down and you will be left 00:12:02.679 --> 00:12:09.720 in peace. We've got a reader. This is the question. 00:12:10.320 --> 00:12:14.200 What does the language of king and kingship evoke? 00:12:14.240 --> 00:12:16.740 And by in you, should I say, let's finish the 00:12:16.740 --> 00:12:19.759 sentence, evoke in you. And by evoke, I'm just 00:12:19.759 --> 00:12:23.480 talking about thought or feeling or a memory, 00:12:23.620 --> 00:12:26.740 okay? So we're not talking about things that 00:12:26.740 --> 00:12:28.639 are necessarily like hyper -spiritual or anything 00:12:28.639 --> 00:12:31.259 like that. We're just talking about when we consider 00:12:31.259 --> 00:12:34.879 the word king. or the language of king and kingship, 00:12:34.879 --> 00:12:37.240 what does it evoke in you? What does it produce 00:12:37.240 --> 00:12:40.039 in you? It can be a theological thought, it could 00:12:40.039 --> 00:12:41.799 be a feeling of some description, or it could 00:12:41.799 --> 00:12:47.779 be a memory of, well, that you had, that you 00:12:47.779 --> 00:12:49.860 have of some sort. So let's take a couple of 00:12:49.860 --> 00:12:51.639 minutes to discuss that and we'll come back together. 00:12:51.840 --> 00:12:54.799 Is that cool? Yep, awesome, let's do it. So that 00:12:54.799 --> 00:12:57.100 together we can kind of track. Because I think 00:12:57.100 --> 00:12:59.960 that although each one in some way kind of links 00:12:59.960 --> 00:13:02.620 to the other and speaks to the other, that there 00:13:02.620 --> 00:13:05.519 are important things to note from each one. And 00:13:05.519 --> 00:13:09.019 just also to go, as followers of Jesus, as we 00:13:09.019 --> 00:13:12.779 move into Holy Week together, as we move toward 00:13:12.779 --> 00:13:15.919 the cross and the empty tomb on the other side 00:13:15.919 --> 00:13:20.419 of it together, what might God be saying to us? 00:13:20.480 --> 00:13:22.960 What might He be, by His Spirit and through His 00:13:22.960 --> 00:13:27.120 Word, identifying in us in regards to, If I'm 00:13:27.120 --> 00:13:29.779 claiming to be a follower of Jesus, are these 00:13:29.779 --> 00:13:33.860 things outworking in my life? And so let's talk 00:13:33.860 --> 00:13:36.659 about when we follow Jesus, he becomes our master. 00:13:37.039 --> 00:13:40.879 So the language and idea of master is unusual 00:13:40.879 --> 00:13:45.500 in today's vocabulary. At most, we might hear 00:13:45.500 --> 00:13:50.480 the notion of... Being the master of one's own 00:13:50.480 --> 00:13:53.419 destiny, like that seems to be something that 00:13:53.419 --> 00:13:56.860 we hear thrown around a bit, or mastering something 00:13:56.860 --> 00:14:00.299 that person has mastered the art of, or somebody 00:14:00.299 --> 00:14:02.539 who's sitting their masters kind of thing. Those 00:14:02.539 --> 00:14:05.960 were three kind of immediate examples that I'm 00:14:05.960 --> 00:14:10.700 at least familiar with hearing around the place. 00:14:10.919 --> 00:14:14.480 But even so, those... even though those ideas 00:14:14.480 --> 00:14:17.179 may be common, we're not necessarily hearing 00:14:17.179 --> 00:14:20.759 that language like a whole lot. But the idea 00:14:20.759 --> 00:14:25.279 of being mastered, so not mastering, but being 00:14:25.279 --> 00:14:29.220 mastered, or having a master, strikes against 00:14:29.220 --> 00:14:34.820 the modern notion of freedom and self in every 00:14:34.820 --> 00:14:42.460 way. But as followers of Jesus, That is who he 00:14:42.460 --> 00:14:46.059 should be to us. That as a follower of Jesus, 00:14:46.340 --> 00:14:52.200 he is our master. He is our king. He gets to 00:14:52.200 --> 00:14:59.059 say. And as a follower, will I listen? Will I 00:14:59.059 --> 00:15:02.960 obey? Will I be attentive to what he is saying 00:15:02.960 --> 00:15:07.440 and is doing? He isn't just a king or even the 00:15:07.440 --> 00:15:13.019 king. He is our king. And Philippians, of which 00:15:13.019 --> 00:15:15.539 we've had a portion read from chapter 2, uses 00:15:15.539 --> 00:15:18.679 this language of citizens of heaven all the time. 00:15:18.740 --> 00:15:22.460 And Paul was contrasting that the followers of 00:15:22.460 --> 00:15:24.899 Jesus were to be different to the citizens of 00:15:24.899 --> 00:15:31.200 Rome. That they were not to be about elevating 00:15:31.200 --> 00:15:35.259 oneself and oppressing the poor. That they were 00:15:35.259 --> 00:15:37.779 to look out for their neighbor and to love them. 00:15:38.419 --> 00:15:42.620 Not... to practice one -upmanship on them. The 00:15:42.620 --> 00:15:47.820 language that is contrasted in the letter to 00:15:47.820 --> 00:15:50.980 the church in Philippi is significantly different 00:15:50.980 --> 00:15:54.100 to the culture of the day in the Roman Empire, 00:15:54.340 --> 00:15:57.580 and may I say, potentially not all too dissimilar 00:15:57.580 --> 00:16:01.679 to the culture of today in modern Western culture 00:16:01.679 --> 00:16:07.100 and thinking. There is a famous story of Sir 00:16:07.100 --> 00:16:10.470 Walter Raleigh. who laid down his cloak in the 00:16:10.470 --> 00:16:13.529 mud for Queen Elizabeth I to walk on so that 00:16:13.529 --> 00:16:17.809 she didn't get her royal shoes dirty. Now, whether 00:16:17.809 --> 00:16:20.570 this story is true or not, it is endured because 00:16:20.570 --> 00:16:25.070 it captures a powerful act of honouring. To lay 00:16:25.070 --> 00:16:27.490 down your cloak for another is to value them 00:16:27.490 --> 00:16:29.870 as highly as you can. It's to put something of 00:16:29.870 --> 00:16:32.570 yourself at their feet and to show that nothing 00:16:32.570 --> 00:16:36.809 you have is too precious. to place before them. 00:16:36.870 --> 00:16:39.509 A willingness, you could say, to give your everything 00:16:39.509 --> 00:16:42.309 to them. In our gospel reading this morning, 00:16:42.409 --> 00:16:45.389 we see people throwing down their cloaks on the 00:16:45.389 --> 00:16:52.889 ground as Jesus comes in on a lowly donkey. Throwing 00:16:52.889 --> 00:16:55.250 their cloaks down onto the dirt. These weren't 00:16:55.250 --> 00:16:59.429 paved grounds. This was dirty grounds. They would 00:16:59.429 --> 00:17:05.759 have been dung and all sorts. And then hooves, 00:17:05.779 --> 00:17:09.619 trotting on the cloak. Probably going to rip 00:17:09.619 --> 00:17:14.339 stuff. But this is the entrance that Jesus makes, 00:17:14.500 --> 00:17:16.980 and this is the response that the people give 00:17:16.980 --> 00:17:20.819 to Jesus entering. What is interesting is that 00:17:20.819 --> 00:17:24.099 in ancient Near Eastern cultures, a cloak is 00:17:24.099 --> 00:17:27.200 something that you had one of if you had one. 00:17:28.099 --> 00:17:32.430 Cloaks were a symbol of status. And so in some 00:17:32.430 --> 00:17:35.390 way, there were people, at least some of the 00:17:35.390 --> 00:17:38.710 people, well off enough to throw their cloaks 00:17:38.710 --> 00:17:41.029 on the ground. And that's probably partly why 00:17:41.029 --> 00:17:43.930 there was also palm branches being used. Just 00:17:43.930 --> 00:17:47.430 grab something around you. Let's pave the way 00:17:47.430 --> 00:17:54.230 for this guy riding in on a donkey. This wasn't 00:17:54.230 --> 00:17:57.289 laying down one of many that they had. It wasn't 00:17:57.289 --> 00:18:03.289 one of 10 shirts in there. This was giving the 00:18:03.289 --> 00:18:08.150 only of what they had. Their all, their everything. 00:18:08.250 --> 00:18:10.049 And again, not necessarily because they understood 00:18:10.049 --> 00:18:13.930 fully who Jesus was, but they noted that there 00:18:13.930 --> 00:18:18.529 was something different about this one who rode 00:18:18.529 --> 00:18:25.490 in, not on a stallion, but on a donkey. At the 00:18:25.490 --> 00:18:27.880 beginning of Lent, On Ash Wednesday, when we 00:18:27.880 --> 00:18:30.079 gathered, we heard the words of Jesus from the 00:18:30.079 --> 00:18:32.819 Sermon on the Mount that gives us the practices 00:18:32.819 --> 00:18:37.539 of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving for the season 00:18:37.539 --> 00:18:39.700 that we are about to come out of. We are on the 00:18:39.700 --> 00:18:42.200 last Sunday of Lent. From Matthew chapter 6, 00:18:42.240 --> 00:18:44.759 we read this. Do not store up for yourselves 00:18:44.759 --> 00:18:47.460 treasure on earth where moths and vermin destroy. 00:19:02.400 --> 00:19:06.880 No one can serve two masters. Either you will 00:19:06.880 --> 00:19:09.940 hate the one and love the other, or you will 00:19:09.940 --> 00:19:12.180 be devoted to the one and despise the other. 00:19:12.259 --> 00:19:17.480 You cannot serve both God and money. No one. 00:19:18.509 --> 00:19:24.769 No one can serve two masters. You cannot serve 00:19:24.769 --> 00:19:31.430 both God and. You cannot serve both God and. 00:19:32.529 --> 00:19:36.369 What is that and for you and I this morning? 00:19:37.230 --> 00:19:40.730 What is the and for you and I this morning? Does 00:19:40.730 --> 00:19:43.549 God truly have every part of our hearts and lives 00:19:43.549 --> 00:19:47.609 or is there a section that is reserved? Dave 00:19:47.609 --> 00:19:51.869 only. Don't touch. Don't you dare come near. 00:19:52.269 --> 00:19:59.250 This is mine. This is mine. Start to sound a 00:19:59.250 --> 00:20:06.890 little Gollum -esque. To follow Jesus means to 00:20:06.890 --> 00:20:10.809 live an active, daily surrender to him, yielding 00:20:10.809 --> 00:20:17.670 to his will, his work, and his way. As our master 00:20:17.670 --> 00:20:24.569 and our king. And so, what do we do with this 00:20:24.569 --> 00:20:28.130 as followers of Jesus? If we claim him as our 00:20:28.130 --> 00:20:32.990 king, does he also have the office of master? 00:20:34.430 --> 00:20:38.450 Does he get to have the last say? Does he get 00:20:38.450 --> 00:20:42.009 to have the only say? I say this not because... 00:20:42.410 --> 00:20:44.670 Hey, I'm there and I'm amazing. I'm saying this 00:20:44.670 --> 00:20:47.829 because I see the gap in my own life between 00:20:47.829 --> 00:20:50.950 the hands being raised and declaring that he 00:20:50.950 --> 00:20:54.049 is king over all, and yet I know that there is 00:20:54.049 --> 00:20:59.609 that thing in my heart and my life where he doesn't 00:20:59.609 --> 00:21:02.950 have authority. Not because he isn't big enough 00:21:02.950 --> 00:21:06.509 or strong enough, but because I stand back and 00:21:06.509 --> 00:21:08.630 I say, no, you can't touch that, or no, this 00:21:08.630 --> 00:21:13.539 is too ugly for you. We can resist his rule for 00:21:13.539 --> 00:21:18.539 a myriad of reasons. And so as followers of Jesus, 00:21:18.900 --> 00:21:25.920 he is to become our master. Will we yield? Will 00:21:25.920 --> 00:21:30.599 we surrender? Your kingdom come, your will be 00:21:30.599 --> 00:21:34.670 done on earth as it is in heaven. And so as we 00:21:34.670 --> 00:21:36.670 move to the next point, I think it's important 00:21:36.670 --> 00:21:39.349 that we consider the kind of king that he is, 00:21:39.369 --> 00:21:41.650 as we've already had a bit of a discussion about 00:21:41.650 --> 00:21:46.009 the example of Jesus versus the example of human 00:21:46.009 --> 00:21:48.069 monarchy that we have known throughout history. 00:21:48.390 --> 00:21:51.329 And so when we follow Jesus, he becomes our? 00:21:52.349 --> 00:21:56.390 Master. Well, yes, master. Point two is he becomes 00:21:56.390 --> 00:21:59.509 our? Model. Awesome. All right. When we follow 00:21:59.509 --> 00:22:03.440 Jesus, he becomes our? Master. When we follow 00:22:03.440 --> 00:22:07.680 Jesus, he becomes our model. Awesome. Cool. As 00:22:07.680 --> 00:22:11.119 a parent, it is confronting watching your kids 00:22:11.119 --> 00:22:17.819 growing up in both good and not so great ways. 00:22:18.740 --> 00:22:23.460 As you see them mirror you, your attitudes, your 00:22:23.460 --> 00:22:28.240 manner, your behavior, your responses, your reactivity, 00:22:28.400 --> 00:22:35.700 your values, or... lack thereof. On the night 00:22:35.700 --> 00:22:38.160 of the Passover, during Holy Week, we see Jesus 00:22:38.160 --> 00:22:41.259 bend down and he washes his disciples' feet. 00:22:41.380 --> 00:22:45.619 And we read this account from John 13, where 00:22:45.619 --> 00:22:49.660 it says, when he had finished washing their feet, 00:22:49.880 --> 00:22:54.140 he put on his clothes and he returned to his 00:22:54.140 --> 00:22:58.180 place. Do you understand what I have done for 00:22:58.180 --> 00:23:03.039 you? He asked them. You call me teacher and Lord, 00:23:03.200 --> 00:23:07.900 and rightly so. That is what I am. Man, I know 00:23:07.900 --> 00:23:11.039 he's not condemning them here, but this idea 00:23:11.039 --> 00:23:14.279 of how easy it is to call him teacher and Lord, 00:23:14.500 --> 00:23:17.500 because that is what he is. But then gets this. 00:23:18.000 --> 00:23:21.319 Now that I, your Lord and teacher, have washed 00:23:21.319 --> 00:23:24.900 your feet, you also should wash one another's 00:23:24.900 --> 00:23:28.160 feet. I have set you an example that you should 00:23:28.160 --> 00:23:30.799 do as I have done for you. Very truly, I tell 00:23:30.799 --> 00:23:35.420 you, no servant is greater than his master, nor 00:23:35.420 --> 00:23:38.720 is a messenger greater than the one who sent 00:23:38.720 --> 00:23:41.660 him. Now that you know these things, you will 00:23:41.660 --> 00:23:46.759 be blessed if you do them. In this example, just 00:23:46.759 --> 00:23:49.960 before the meal, where Jesus gathers with his 00:23:49.960 --> 00:23:55.609 friends and followers to enjoy Passover, He sets 00:23:55.609 --> 00:24:02.269 this example of service even as he is facing 00:24:02.269 --> 00:24:06.670 the prospect of death. He knew what was ahead 00:24:06.670 --> 00:24:12.130 of him and yet he served. He washed his disciples' 00:24:12.349 --> 00:24:17.630 feet. The teacher, the Lord, washed the followers, 00:24:17.750 --> 00:24:24.920 the students' feet. But, get this, As followers 00:24:24.920 --> 00:24:28.940 of Jesus, just as the first followers of Jesus 00:24:28.940 --> 00:24:31.880 were not only considered servants but friends, 00:24:32.079 --> 00:24:36.579 we read this in Ephesians 5, verses 1 and 2. 00:24:37.220 --> 00:24:42.440 Follow God's example, therefore, as dearly loved 00:24:42.440 --> 00:24:47.279 children, and live a life of love, just as Christ 00:24:47.279 --> 00:24:50.900 loved us and gave himself up for us, as a fragrant 00:24:50.900 --> 00:24:56.000 offering. and a sacrifice to God. Follow God's 00:24:56.000 --> 00:25:01.460 example, therefore, as dearly loved children. 00:25:05.079 --> 00:25:09.740 We are adopted into and made members of his royal 00:25:09.740 --> 00:25:13.339 family and household, heirs to the very promises 00:25:13.339 --> 00:25:18.420 of God, and called his dearly loved children. 00:25:19.849 --> 00:25:22.470 And so going back to the illustration of parenting 00:25:22.470 --> 00:25:26.690 and children, modelling or imitating the mums 00:25:26.690 --> 00:25:31.329 and the dads. Yes, Jesus is our example. But 00:25:31.329 --> 00:25:36.470 look at what kind of example. Look. Look and 00:25:36.470 --> 00:25:40.190 see. And if what you read in Scripture is contrary 00:25:40.190 --> 00:25:44.920 to your experience of God, then keep... Sit with 00:25:44.920 --> 00:25:48.099 Jesus. Stay with Jesus. Don't get up and leave 00:25:48.099 --> 00:25:52.259 until you have tasted and seen that he is good, 00:25:52.420 --> 00:25:55.640 that he is God, that he is who he says he is. 00:25:57.700 --> 00:26:00.960 I think too often we push off from the table, 00:26:01.039 --> 00:26:05.880 the family meal, ready to accomplish great things, 00:26:06.119 --> 00:26:17.579 when we need to sit and stay. Receive from him. 00:26:24.019 --> 00:26:26.720 And so just as Jesus said to his friends and 00:26:26.720 --> 00:26:29.579 his followers sitting around the table at that 00:26:29.579 --> 00:26:34.920 final meal, may we also hear, do you understand 00:26:34.920 --> 00:26:40.099 what I have done for you? Do you understand what 00:26:40.099 --> 00:26:46.579 I have done for you? Do you understand what I 00:26:46.579 --> 00:26:57.160 have done for you? Not because of who we are. 00:26:57.900 --> 00:27:01.259 Not because of what we can do. Definitely not 00:27:01.259 --> 00:27:04.480 because of what we have accomplished. Look at 00:27:04.480 --> 00:27:09.740 human history. But because of who he is. Because 00:27:09.740 --> 00:27:14.099 he is good. And in love, he moved on our behalf 00:27:14.099 --> 00:27:18.160 when we could not. That we would cry out with 00:27:18.160 --> 00:27:22.220 the peoples, like on that day, Hosanna, save 00:27:22.220 --> 00:27:26.019 us. Do for us what we cannot do for ourselves. 00:27:30.000 --> 00:27:32.359 And which leads us to our final point for the 00:27:32.359 --> 00:27:36.720 morning. When we follow Jesus, his mindset is 00:27:36.720 --> 00:27:43.920 formed in us. To know the mind of someone takes 00:27:43.920 --> 00:27:48.759 years of study. People spend their lives trying 00:27:48.759 --> 00:27:52.160 to understand certain individuals, to think like 00:27:52.160 --> 00:27:54.839 them, to view the world the way they do, to understand 00:27:54.839 --> 00:28:00.920 why they did what they did, from psychologists 00:28:00.920 --> 00:28:05.779 to, what's the term, criminologists? We're trying 00:28:05.779 --> 00:28:09.500 to understand the mindset, the frame by which 00:28:09.500 --> 00:28:11.539 people perceive the world and why they think 00:28:11.539 --> 00:28:14.759 the way they think. But scripture goes way beyond 00:28:14.759 --> 00:28:20.420 this, knowing how somebody thinks, by literally 00:28:20.420 --> 00:28:22.660 inviting the follower of Jesus to have the same 00:28:22.660 --> 00:28:26.660 thoughts and way of thinking as Jesus. Imagine 00:28:26.660 --> 00:28:31.119 that, just for a moment. The very thoughts of 00:28:31.119 --> 00:28:35.019 Jesus are the thoughts... we are invited to have, 00:28:35.200 --> 00:28:40.740 as followers of Jesus, to think, to see, to love 00:28:40.740 --> 00:28:43.660 the way that Jesus does. As we read in Philippians 00:28:43.660 --> 00:28:46.900 2 verse 5, in your relationships with one another, 00:28:47.099 --> 00:28:52.400 have the same mindset as Christ. Have, have the 00:28:52.400 --> 00:28:55.839 same mindset. In 1 Corinthians chapter 2 verse 00:28:55.839 --> 00:29:00.420 6, it also says that we would have the mind of 00:29:00.420 --> 00:29:06.460 Christ. Imagine if our thought life was so radically 00:29:06.460 --> 00:29:10.059 touched and transformed by the very person and 00:29:10.059 --> 00:29:14.079 presence of Jesus that his thoughts became our 00:29:14.079 --> 00:29:20.619 thoughts. Imagine if we saw people and saw the 00:29:20.619 --> 00:29:24.359 world around us the way that Jesus does. And 00:29:24.359 --> 00:29:27.740 I say this not again because I've mastered this. 00:29:28.059 --> 00:29:32.450 No, I say it because of the exact opposite. The 00:29:32.450 --> 00:29:35.609 more I see Jesus, the person who he is, and I 00:29:35.609 --> 00:29:39.069 say yes to his kingship, to him being master 00:29:39.069 --> 00:29:43.329 of my life, the greater gap I see between his 00:29:43.329 --> 00:29:46.369 thoughts and the way I see this world and the 00:29:46.369 --> 00:29:51.710 people that fill it. I say, Lord, have mercy. 00:29:59.829 --> 00:30:03.509 We live in a world Bombarded by noise and messaging. 00:30:04.849 --> 00:30:08.029 We live in a world bombarded by noise and messaging. 00:30:08.309 --> 00:30:11.130 Does anyone else have those moments in the kitchen 00:30:11.130 --> 00:30:12.869 where you're wondering why you're feeling so 00:30:12.869 --> 00:30:17.569 overwhelmed and you can't think straight, only 00:30:17.569 --> 00:30:19.750 to then have someone walk in and turn the range 00:30:19.750 --> 00:30:21.970 hood off and all of a sudden you can think clearly? 00:30:22.890 --> 00:30:26.390 Anybody else have that moment in their day? No? 00:30:26.769 --> 00:30:28.930 Okay, it might be the radio in the background. 00:30:29.900 --> 00:30:33.519 You know, like, or the volume of the house, the 00:30:33.519 --> 00:30:36.539 ambient volume of the house going up with kids 00:30:36.539 --> 00:30:39.299 or grandkids screaming around, like, whatever 00:30:39.299 --> 00:30:44.380 it is, that you're sitting there, like, Laws 00:30:44.380 --> 00:30:46.079 and I, like, the amount of times, because our 00:30:46.079 --> 00:30:47.980 dining room is in our kitchen, and we're sitting 00:30:47.980 --> 00:30:49.980 there, and yeah, we're trying to feed kids and 00:30:49.980 --> 00:30:52.500 get food into their mouths, 100%, so there's 00:30:52.500 --> 00:30:55.160 like a layer there already. But we're wondering 00:30:55.160 --> 00:30:57.720 why there's just like this general tension like 00:30:57.720 --> 00:30:59.779 in the room and we're wondering what the heck 00:30:59.779 --> 00:31:01.900 is going on. And then one of us will go over 00:31:01.900 --> 00:31:04.900 and turn the range hood off and the overall volume 00:31:04.900 --> 00:31:07.200 of the room just drops. And you hear kind of 00:31:07.200 --> 00:31:10.059 everybody breathe, kids included. Oh my gosh. 00:31:11.019 --> 00:31:16.240 Why was that still on? But in all seriousness, 00:31:16.460 --> 00:31:21.079 we are called as followers of Jesus not to try 00:31:21.079 --> 00:31:23.960 to be more like Jesus. but to actually become 00:31:23.960 --> 00:31:27.920 more like him. And scripture goes after our thought 00:31:27.920 --> 00:31:32.819 life as a key way that this happens. Do not conform 00:31:32.819 --> 00:31:34.940 to the pattern of the world, but be transformed 00:31:34.940 --> 00:31:39.980 by the renewing of your mind, as we read in Romans 00:31:39.980 --> 00:31:43.640 12 verse 2. John Mark Comer in his book, The 00:31:43.640 --> 00:31:45.660 Ruthless Elimination of Harry, writes this, the 00:31:45.660 --> 00:31:48.680 noise of the modern world makes us deaf to the 00:31:48.680 --> 00:31:53.329 voice of God, drowning out the one input, we 00:31:53.329 --> 00:32:00.630 need most. And so the question that we're asked 00:32:00.630 --> 00:32:05.450 is, what's that range hood in your life? What 00:32:05.450 --> 00:32:09.150 is that thing that creates that or raises the 00:32:09.150 --> 00:32:13.150 ambient noise in your life that drowns out or 00:32:13.150 --> 00:32:18.549 deafens us to the very voice of God and the source 00:32:18.549 --> 00:32:23.160 of all life? What is the rangehood in yours and 00:32:23.160 --> 00:32:30.559 mine, my own life? In just a few chapters over 00:32:30.559 --> 00:32:33.019 in Philippians 4, the Apostle Paul writes this. 00:32:34.079 --> 00:32:36.319 Rejoice in the Lord always. I'll say it again. 00:32:36.839 --> 00:32:41.960 Rejoice. Let your gentleness be evident to all. 00:32:42.940 --> 00:32:50.000 The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything. 00:32:51.630 --> 00:32:55.349 Is that not a wild statement for today? Don't 00:32:55.349 --> 00:32:58.069 be anxious about anything. Yeah, oil prices, 00:32:58.250 --> 00:33:02.950 so what? Oh, the Houthis have joined. Oh, wow. 00:33:05.970 --> 00:33:11.109 Feels like my family is falling apart. It's okay. 00:33:13.210 --> 00:33:22.700 Work is super hard right now. I'm with you. Do 00:33:22.700 --> 00:33:26.539 not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, 00:33:26.539 --> 00:33:30.619 by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, let's 00:33:30.619 --> 00:33:33.619 not forget that bit, present your requests to 00:33:33.619 --> 00:33:36.940 God, and the peace of God, which transcends all 00:33:36.940 --> 00:33:40.819 understanding, it doesn't make sense, will guard 00:33:40.819 --> 00:33:46.779 your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Finally, 00:33:46.779 --> 00:33:49.210 brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever 00:33:49.210 --> 00:33:51.970 is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, 00:33:52.049 --> 00:33:54.490 whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable, if 00:33:54.490 --> 00:33:57.750 anything is excellent or praiseworthy, think 00:33:57.750 --> 00:34:04.990 about such things. Think on these things. Let 00:34:04.990 --> 00:34:09.590 them fill your mind. Dwell on them. Let them 00:34:09.590 --> 00:34:14.730 dwell in you. In the peace of God. And the peace 00:34:14.730 --> 00:34:16.750 of God, which goes beyond all understanding, 00:34:16.889 --> 00:34:20.570 beyond all anxieties, not diminishing anxiety 00:34:20.570 --> 00:34:24.630 or the things that we feel as humans, enters 00:34:24.630 --> 00:34:34.070 into our circumstance, into our experience. The 00:34:34.070 --> 00:34:36.610 peace of God is not distant from it. The peace 00:34:36.610 --> 00:34:39.550 of God can be experienced right in the midst 00:34:39.550 --> 00:34:43.570 of it. And we will struggle to know the mind 00:34:43.570 --> 00:34:46.670 of Christ or have his mindset formed in us if 00:34:46.670 --> 00:34:49.630 we are inattentive to the voice of God by being 00:34:49.630 --> 00:34:52.010 careless about what we fill our days and our 00:34:52.010 --> 00:34:55.389 minds with. Our attention shapes our affection. 00:34:56.150 --> 00:35:00.030 Our affection forms our allegiances. When we 00:35:00.030 --> 00:35:02.130 give ourselves to lesser things, we begin to 00:35:02.130 --> 00:35:04.789 love them most and start living as though they 00:35:04.789 --> 00:35:10.559 are actually our masters. As the late poet Mary 00:35:10.559 --> 00:35:13.500 Oliver so aptly put it, attention is the beginning 00:35:13.500 --> 00:35:18.000 of devotion. And as Jesus, our rabbi and savior 00:35:18.000 --> 00:35:21.980 taught, where your treasure is, there your heart 00:35:21.980 --> 00:35:25.639 will be also. And so as we begin this journey 00:35:25.639 --> 00:35:29.400 through Holy Week and toward the cross, this 00:35:29.400 --> 00:35:32.940 morning, there is no easy landing. There's no 00:35:32.940 --> 00:35:36.559 summary of what we're about to enter into and 00:35:36.559 --> 00:35:40.739 what Jesus, entered into on our behalf. Yeah, 00:35:40.840 --> 00:35:43.400 there's some things we can take away from this 00:35:43.400 --> 00:35:47.500 morning, but there's no comfortable, pithy, yeah, 00:35:47.619 --> 00:35:53.559 this is good, and then I can forget. No, this 00:35:53.559 --> 00:35:59.539 Holy Week, we enter into with Jesus the realities 00:35:59.539 --> 00:36:05.650 of human experience and our own darkness. that 00:36:05.650 --> 00:36:10.010 his light may shine brighter in us, through us, 00:36:10.190 --> 00:36:15.329 around us. And so I end with these three questions 00:36:15.329 --> 00:36:19.369 again, not in summary because we're journeying 00:36:19.369 --> 00:36:25.190 this together, but to provide, I don't know, 00:36:25.250 --> 00:36:28.050 something for the week that is ahead that we 00:36:28.050 --> 00:36:32.849 may consider if we are Jesus' follower, how is 00:36:32.849 --> 00:36:36.719 he my master? How is he my model? And is his 00:36:36.719 --> 00:36:40.360 mindset actually being formed in me? So the questions 00:36:40.360 --> 00:36:44.420 are, where is Jesus not yet master and king in 00:36:44.420 --> 00:36:48.880 your life? As you consider the example of Jesus, 00:36:49.000 --> 00:36:51.420 where might the spirit be nudging you this morning? 00:36:51.900 --> 00:36:54.239 And what has captured your attention and affection 00:36:54.239 --> 00:36:59.739 more than Jesus? Again, family, I say this not 00:36:59.739 --> 00:37:04.559 because... I've mastered any of this. I'm so 00:37:04.559 --> 00:37:12.000 far from. But in God's goodness and grace, as 00:37:12.000 --> 00:37:15.239 I fix my eyes on him, the author and perfecter 00:37:15.239 --> 00:37:21.460 of my faith, I'm slowly wanting him to be my 00:37:21.460 --> 00:37:26.059 king more. I'm wanting him to be my master more. 00:37:27.239 --> 00:37:30.480 I want him to be my example and model and I want 00:37:30.480 --> 00:37:34.739 to mirror him more. I want his thoughts in my 00:37:34.739 --> 00:37:43.019 head more. Because in love he came and did for 00:37:43.019 --> 00:37:46.079 me what I could not have done for myself. Hosanna, 00:37:46.179 --> 00:37:54.980 save us. Hosanna in the highest. Lord, we now 00:37:54.980 --> 00:38:00.409 just, Give ourselves afresh to you in an active 00:38:00.409 --> 00:38:04.070 surrender, in yielding to your word, to your 00:38:04.070 --> 00:38:08.670 spirit's work amongst us, and to the way of the 00:38:08.670 --> 00:38:11.289 cross, knowing that there is no resurrection 00:38:11.289 --> 00:38:15.170 life without death first. And so help us this 00:38:15.170 --> 00:38:22.090 week to be faithful in walking in your footsteps, 00:38:22.369 --> 00:38:27.280 moment by moment, day by day. knowing that, yes, 00:38:27.460 --> 00:38:32.840 Easter Sunday is coming, but that we would not 00:38:32.840 --> 00:38:36.280 shy away from the reality of the cross and all 00:38:36.280 --> 00:38:41.179 that you underwent for us. For your glory's sake, 00:38:41.199 --> 00:38:44.480 we pray these things, King Jesus. Amen.