4-16-2000
Will You HONOR The King?
Luke 19
Palm Sunday by Ronald George
Jr. at the Fayetteville Baptist Church
A group of four year olds were gathered in a Sunday
school class in Chattanooga. The
teacher looked at the class and asked this question: "Does anyone know what
today is?" A little
four-year-old girl held up her hand and said," Yes, today is Palm
Sunday." The teacher
exclaimed, "That's fantastic, that's wonderful.
Now does anyone know what next Sunday is?"
The same little girl held up her hand and said, "Yes, next Sunday is
Easter Sunday." Once again the teacher said, "That's fantastic. Now,
does anyone know what makes next Sunday Easter?" The same little girl responded and said, "Yes, next
Sunday is Easter because Jesus rose from the grave" and before the teacher
could congratulate her, she kept on talking and said, "but if he sees his
shadow -- he has to go back in for seven weeks."
“Show me the man you honor and I will know what kind of
man you are.” T. Carlyle
Who
honored him and how did they do it? Will you do it?
Scripture
Text: Luke 19:27 (KJS) But those mine enemies, which would not that I
should reign over them, bring hither, and slay [them] before me. 28 And when
he had thus spoken, he went before, ascending up to Jerusalem. 29 And it came
to pass, when he was come nigh to Bethphage and Bethany, at the mount called
[the mount] of Olives, he sent two of his disciples, 30 Saying, Go ye into the
village over against [you]; in the which at your entering ye shall find a colt
tied, whereon yet never man sat: loose him, and bring [him hither]. 31 And if
any man ask you, Why do ye loose [him]? thus shall ye say unto him, Because
the Lord hath need of him. 32 And they that were sent went their way, and
found even as he had said unto them. 33 And as they were loosing the colt, the
owners thereof said unto them, Why loose ye the colt? 34 And they said, The
Lord hath need of him. 35 And they brought him to Jesus: and they cast their
garments upon the colt, and they set Jesus thereon. 36 And as he went, they
spread their clothes in the way. 37 and when he was come nigh, even now at the
descent of the mount of Olives, the whole multitude of the disciples began to
rejoice and praise God with a loud voice for all the mighty works that they
had seen; 38 Saying, Blessed [be] the King that cometh in the name of the
Lord: peace in heaven, and glory in the highest. 39 And some of the Pharisees
from among the multitude said unto him, Master, rebuke thy disciples. 40and he
answered and said unto them, I tell you that, if these should hold their
peace, the stones would immediately cry out.
1.
The disciples honored him with obedience.
The
disciples honored the Lord by following his direction for their lives.
Is it better to give your offerings to
Lord or to obey his desires for your life?
He wants you to be saved. He
wants you to serve Him in this life in a church where you can use your God given
talents to honor him. The greatest
ability you can have is availability. Do
you remember what the prophet Samuel said to king Saul who had disobeyed the
Lord and thought that he could make up for it by giving a sacrifice?
1Sam 15:22 (KJS) And
Samuel said, Hath the LORD [as great] delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices,
as in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold, to obey [is] better than sacrifice,
[and] to hearken than the fat of rams. 23 For rebellion [is as] the sin of
witchcraft, and stubbornness [is as] iniquity and idolatry. Because thou hast
rejected the word of the LORD, he hath also rejected thee from [being] king.
2. The owner of the colt honored him with what he
owned. Would you be
willing to give what you have to honor the Lord?
You can’t take it with you. On
a recent telecast Billy Graham told the story of the man who instructed his wife
to put his money in his casket when he died, so that he could buy his way into
heaven. So, when he died his wife
deposited the money in the bank and wrote a check to put in the casket with her
husband. You can take it with if
you give what you have to the Lord. Too
many times what we own becomes that which comes between the Lord and us.
Instead of that which we use to bring him honor.
3. The
colt honored him with submission. Every
new colt has to be broken before it can be ridden. The colt that Jesus rode had never been ridden before.
It submitted itself to Lord for his use.
And he was glorified. My
brother in law went into the horse farm business a couple of years ago.
Just recently he sold a colt to another man.
When the man came to get the colt the animal would not allow them to load
it. They wollered that animal for 2
hours before it was tired enough to get into the wagon.
It would not submit. When
Jesus gets on an unbroken colt it immediately submits itself to the master.
He is the creator so that when the creation recognizes him it submits to
the higher power.
4. The
crowd honored him by laying their clothes/palms in the way.
The people honored the King when he came into a town. They would greet him on the road with shouts, praises, and
palm branches or anything else that they could find to lay into the path to
make his entry into the town smooth. What could we do to make his way smooth?
To honor means to respect, admire, esteem, reverence, worship,
venerate, or to be in awe of. Will you honor him by giving to him what you have to make his
way smooth into the lives of others? He
laid down his clothes for you and me on the cross when he was crucified naked.
Will you give what you have as a sacrifice to him?
5. The
whole multitude honored him by praising God and rejoicing for all the mighty
works they had seen. A
teacher was doing her best to discredit the miracles of the Bible.
She said, "Take, for instance, the crossing of the Red Sea. We know
this body of water was only 6 inches deep."
Immediately from the back of the room came the remark, "Praise God
for the miracle!" Annoyed, the teacher asked, "What miracle?"
"Well," explained the boy, "the Lord must have drowned the whole
Egyptian army in just 6 inches of water!"
They
praised Jesus one day and crucified Him the next.
Do we do the same thing? Lip
praise is useless if not backed by life praise.
All God's creatures will praise. All
were (vs.40) created to honor God. Every
knee shall bow and every tongue shall confess.
Now or later. "Save now, I beseech thee, O Lord," is
essentially the meaning of "Hosanna." The crowds were acknowledging
Jesus as the promised Messiah, the Son of David, and the "chief priests and
scribes ... were sore displeased" at this (Matthew 21:15). But this also
had been predicted in the Psalm: "The stone which the builders refused is
become the head stone of the corner. This is the LORD's doing; It is marvelous
in our eyes" (Psalm 118:22-23)
6. The
stones would honor him. All of his
creation will honor him.
Roma 14:11 (KJS) For it is written, [As] I live, saith
the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God.
Even the stone cold ones will one day be forced to bow to him
in submission. But now we can honor
him willingly and lovingly. He is
the King who has come in the name of the Lord.
He is the Lord. Will you
honor him?
7. The
Pharisees could have honored him, but they chose to honor themselves.
Do we smooth the road or throw obstacles in the path of His
work in the church? Are we holding back or trying to hold others back from
praising the Lord? If we hold back
then we are holding back all those who would come through our witness.
8.
We can honor him today by laying our palms before him.
Will you go out of your way to honor and please the king?
Working together (vs.39) Pharisees were faultfinders.
Church has faultfinding Pharisees, never happy, never satisfied, always
complaining. Those who will cause
trouble & confusion in church dishonor Christ.
They never allowed Christ to be their Lord.
If He is Savior, you'll want Him to be Lord also.
Will you lay your palm before him today? If it is your desire to honor the Lord today by giving to him
your life will you come lay your palm on the altar?
Just do it.