Essentials Of The Faith / Sunday Morning Sermon Series / Special Services / Easter Season 1999

Palm Sunday 1999

INTRO: Have you ever been in a crowd waiting to see an honored guest or someone famous? Sometimes you see or hear something that let's you know someone special is coming.

 For instance, if you were to hear the song 'Hail to the Chief' who would you expect to see?..the President.
 If you were to hear this (Anchors Aweigh)...who would you expect to see? (Someone from the Navy)
 If you were to hear this (Pomp and Circumstance) ..who would you expect to see? (Graduates)
 If you were to hear this (the Wedding March)...who would you expect to see? (a bride)

 One of the ways we show honor to someone special, is by announcing their coming, their presence with a song, or some other special treatment.

EXP: This is what happened to Jesus as he was approaching Jerusalem. His followers gave Him a special arrival to tell all Jerusalem how they felt about Him. The method they used? Praise!

Trans: I will attempt to show how Believers today can learn much about how they ought to announce/present their King of Kings, to their own world from those who first did it over 2000 years ago on the road from Bethpage to Jerusalem.

 You see, we who are on this side of the cross, who have tasted the forgiveness of Calvary, who have life because of the resurrection of Christ, must understand that Resurrection Living requires a life of Praise! And praise is something more than what we do with our lips.

I. The Appropriate Display of Praise (Matt. 21:1-9)
    A. Obedience is a display of praise
Read: Matt. 21:1-7a
 Jesus tells two of His disciples to go into Bethpage and get Him a donkey and a colt to ride to Jerusalem.  I can just see the confusion on their faces. Why would anyone give us two animals when they don't even know us. And why all of a sudden does Jesus want to ride the last 2 miles to Jerusalem? He always walks, everywhere. And why did he have to ask me to do this?

 Vs. 6 tells us however, that they did exactly as Jesus had asked. Even though they didn't know how it was all going to work out, they just obeyed. You see praise is displayed in our obedience.

App:  In the discipleship group 'Exp. God' we have been learning that our love for God is closely associated to our obedience to Him. When we are willing to obey Him w/o all the details we demonstrate our love for God. When others see our obedience to God's Word, w/o objection, they will see our Love for God and be drawn to Him.

 What is your obedience, or lack of it, saying to others about God? About your Life in Christ? About the truth of the resurrection? How is your life of willing obedience showing your appreciation for God and what He has done for you?

Trans: Obedience, like a special song, is an appropriate display of praise and will announce to the world not only your love for God but His resurrected presence among them.

Next, our text tells us that resurrection living

    B. Sacrifice is a display of praise
Read: Matt. 21:7b-9

 The disciples took the very clothes off their back, laid them on the donkey to be used as a saddle for Jesus to ride on, to make His travel more comfortable and to display their submission to Him as their king.

 In a similar way, the crowd took their clothes, cut branches and laid them down on the road before Jesus so that even the dust wouldn't be a discomfort to Him. So that Jerusalem would see that this Jesus was worthy of Praise because they believed He was their king.

 And all along the road the crowd was shouting praise and blessing to God for Jesus. 'Hosanna, Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord, Hosanna!'

 All Jerusalem heard about Jesus before He even got there because of the shouts and sacrifices of praise offered in His name.

APP: If you were like the millions who couldn't get tickets to the  Mercury Center in California last Sunday night,  you watched on TV, as a large area of the sidewalk was roped off and was covered from the front door to the parking lot with a long red carpet. This grand gesture, this sign of public recognition was a way to honor  the movie stars as they entered the 71st Academy Awards Show.

 And all this for often immoral, egotistical movie stars. What ought we to do for our resurrected King?
 Do we openly sing His praises when we share our faith with the unbelieving world?
 Do we make our lives a public example of sacrifice to God with our material possessions?
 What kind of announcement are we making as we present Christ to those around us?

 Sure we offer our sacrifice of praise in church, but in public... Do we roll out the red carpet of praise or try to hide under it in fear? Obedience and a sacrifice of praise is honoring to God and will properly prepare the way for our resurrected Lord.

Trans: So, when God's people live lives of praise, what happens?

II. The Results of Praise  (Matt. 21:10-15)
Read: Matt. 21:10-11
    A. The people were moved.

 When the Magi came looking for the King of the Jews 'all Jerusalem' was troubled. Now, when the King arrives, all the city is stirred (literally shaken). Jesus, because of the praise offered by His followers, made quite and impact on the people and they asked...who is the one who deserves such a grand fanfare?

 Historians tell us that the majority of those in the crowd were Galileans traveling to Jerusalem for the Passover celebration. They were very familiar with Jesus as He was from their area and they had seen Him perform many of His miracles.
 Also remember that Nazareth and the whole Galilee region was not highly favored by the rest of Israel because of it's close proximity to and acceptance of Roman and Gentile culture.

 When asked who this man was, the crowd responded with great pride, Jesus, a prophet from Nazareth of Galilee. What they were saying was He's ours! He's one of us.

APP: And it challenges us to ask do we display as great a pride in our association with Christ when we are asked about our Christianity? When we are asked why we live the way we do? Do we say with great pride, Jesus is my Lord, my Savior. I love Him and He loves me. Or do we say...'O it's just something I do...that's all'?  When Jesus is praised, publicly, people will be stirred and drawn to Him.

    B. God will reveal Jesus for who He is... the Son of God.
Read: Matt. 21:12-13

 The cleansing of the Temple was Christ's assertion of His authority as the Son of God, to those  who had defiled His house. The name of God dwelled in the Temple and Jesus revealed He was God when He said 'My house'.

APP: When Jesus is praised, God will reveal Him as His Son...but in the process, He may have to clean house, His house. This has application to the individual whose life of sin is forgiven before Jesus will enter and dwell within him. And it has application for the church.

 God will not reveal His presence in a church that is defiled. If God is to do His work among us, He must do so in a cleansed environment. An environment totally focused on Him and on doing His will. One where worship and praise is encouraged and sin is repented, one where pettiness is replaced by forgiveness and love and patience. One where God is God over all.

 I believe that is exactly what God sees at CBC. Not a perfect church, but a church centered on worshipping and praising God in all that it does. And God is revealing Himself and what He is doing in our midst.

    C. God will do wonderful things
Read: Matt. 21:14-15

 According to 2 Sam. 5:8 the blind and lame were excluded from God's house by David's decree. But now, the Son of David, welcomes and heals them in His temple. There are none exempt from the blessings of God.

 When this temple, this church, is a living testimony of praise to God, He will reveal Himself and His Son and people will be drawn to Him and to this place. God will and is now doing wonderful things there at CBC...amen? Why? Because of something we are good at or because of some program we start? No, because this is a place that honors God and properly prepares His coming by our sacrifice of praise to those around us.

Trans: But to be honest, even our praise is not our own. We can not take credit for our ability to praise God...that goes to God, Himself.

III. The Source of Genuine Praise (Matt. 21:16)

 Christ insisted that He was worthy to be praised and that the Temple was the appropriate place to display praise. And He said that this kind of praise is perfect because of it's source...It was not found in the emotionalism of the moment but in a relationship with the Father.

APP: I see two things here in the text.

 First, the children followed the example of their parents when they shouted their own praise to Jesus.   Parents, think of the powerful influence you have on your children's worship. Is your example of worship one that will lead your children to praise God on their own?

 Second, the source of praise is found in a living, nurturing relationship with God the Father. One that is dependent on God for nourishment just as an infant is dependent on it's mother's milk.
 Do you still desire to be fed, personally, and intimately by God?
 Are you willing to be as a nursing babe when it comes to your total dependence upon God?
 Praise flows naturally from an intimate relationship with the Father.

Conclusion
 Is your life a sacrifice of praise to God?
 Does obedience and the personal sacrifice of your time, things and tongue to God draw people to Him?   When people see your life, is it like a red carpet being rolled out to honor and welcome the presence of Jesus Christ?
 Is your life of praise like a song that people recognize as introducing the King of Kings?

 Life as a Believer in Jesus Christ, is resurrection living, and resurrection living requires PRAISE!