April 8am, 2001
How Far will you go with Jesus? Part
III Zechariah 9:9-12
“Palm Sunday” Genuine
Worship: Getting In Touch. By
Ronald E. George Jr. at the Fayetteville Baptist Church.
Where
my father grew up in Nicholas County the only access road to the farm was up a
steep hill. The road up the hill
was steep and rocky. Anyone making his or her way up to visit had a slow 15-20
minute ride. Sitting on the porch
we could hear them coming. Since there is no phone on the hill, this question
was always asked. I wonder who is
coming up? I wonder who is coming
down the road today to your life.
Who is that coming down the road?
Who is that one who is coming down the aisle today?
Would you go down the road with him?
Would you worship him? Should you worship him? Take off my coat for him?
Why should I? Who is
He? What is He like? What is his name? What
does he look like? So there
would be no doubt about his identity he sent messengers called prophets who
would tell the story before hand. He
is the One who the prophet Zechariah told about hundreds of years before.
He is the one who fulfilled what Zechariah said in Chapter 9.
Remember what he said:
Scripture
Text:
Zech 9:9 Rejoice
greatly, O daughter of Zion; shout, O daughter of Jerusalem: behold, thy
King cometh unto thee: he [is] just, and having salvation; lowly, and riding
upon an donkey, and upon a colt the foal of an donkey. 10 And I will cut off
the chariot from Ephraim, and the horse from Jerusalem, and the battle bow
shall be cut off: and he shall speak peace unto the heathen: and his
dominion [shall be] from sea [even] to sea, and from the river [even] to the
ends of the earth. 11 As for thee also, by the blood of thy covenant I have
sent forth thy prisoners out of the pit wherein [is] no water. 12 Turn you
to the strong hold, ye prisoners of hope: even to day do I declare [that] I
will render double unto thee;
Who
is coming down the road?
1.
He is the King! He
deserves to be praised and honored. He
is the King, but have you recognized him as your king. You say you already
have a king. Who is he?
Is he earthly or heavenly? Is
he temporary or is he eternal? The
king is the one who is responsible, capable, honorable, trustworthy, loyal,
and powerful. No He isn’t a boy
scout, but I believe that the boy scouts have tried to adopt his
characteristics. He is the King
who is one the look out for others. He
is able to do what is necessary to protect you, keep you, provide for you, and
give all that you need. He is the
King of all kings. Is He your
King today?
2.
He is just! He treats
everyone equal. No matter who you
are today He still treats you the same. It’s
no matter to him who or what you are. He
will always treat you justly. Many
kings of the world have come and gone and each has left behind this legacy.
They were all human and fallible.
Humans don’t have the power, the knowledge, or the love that is
necessary to treat all people the same. We
don’t have the ability to treat everyone the same and equally in all
matters. He is the one who goes
beyond any human attempts to be just. He
is the one who wrote the book. His
justice is superior, because he is love.
Love is the all-compassing characteristic that supercedes the demands
for justice. Justice through the
strain of love is the justice that we see on the cross and is poured out on
us. Would you worship a King who
defines the just?
Gal. 3:26 (NIV) You are all sons of God through faith
in Christ Jesus, 27 for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed
yourselves with Christ. 28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free,
male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.
29 If you belong to Christ, then
you are Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise.
3.
He has salvation.
He gives salvation to those who are going to die.
Saved from the wrath that is to come.
The Jews on Palm Sunday were looking for the Lord to deliver them from
the rule of the Romans, but what they failed to recognize was their soul that
needed to be delivered. They made
plans for their earthly life, but they forgot to plan for their soul’s
salvation.
Some
may wonder if they have a soul or a spirit.
One of the convincing facts of life that have helped me to recognize
the reality of the soul or the Spirit was a fellow by the name of Diddle
O’Dell. Diddle was injured in a
mining accident that severed both of his legs just above the knee.
But, Diddle was still a whole man.
Although one third of his body was dead and buried, he was still just
as much a man as any of us are who have both of our legs.
Be sure that you recognize that you have a soul and that you trust it
to the one who is eternal life. After
Jesus was crucified he rose from the dead and was seen by over 500 people.
There is a soul and there is life after death. Have you remembered yours and recognized who is the King who
comes down the road today with salvation.
Why should you trust your soul with the Lord? Trust your soul and your eternal life with the One who has
already been there and won. He
died and was buried and he rose again on the third day.
What
would you have gained if you would win the lottery or win the millionaire
show, if you forgot to make plans for you soul?
The One who comes down the road today invites you to allow him to be
your permanent retirement plan. Let
Him be your King of kings. Put
your life in its entirety in his hands and under his care.
He is salvation. There is
no other name given under heaven whereby men must be saved, but the name of
Jesus. Romans
10:12 (NIV) For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile--the same Lord
is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him, 13 for, "Everyone
who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved."
4. He
is lowly and riding upon a donkey (a beast of burden). Is this King rich?
Yes, he is rich, because he is also the One who has created the earth
and all that there is. Then I expected to see him riding in a Rolls Royce or on a
white stallion. But, no look he
is riding a donkey. He is riding
a beast of burden. He would have
been riding a Ford or a Chevy or something similar, if it had been today.
Why would he do that? He’s
all that, but He is also lowly and humble.
He is rich in humility. He
came to those who couldn’t come to him.
He came down to us when we couldn’t come up to him.
He comes for all, so he had to come to the lowly to be reachable for
all. He is the King who doesn’t
need to lift up himself. He is
exalted because of who He is. He
is the King of kings. Would you
worship a King who rides on a donkey?
He doesn’t exalt Himself, but He exalts you.
5.
He speaks peace. He will
have dominion from sea to sea to the ends of the earth.
Will he have dominion in your soul?
Will his kingdom extend itself to you today?
6. He
will set the prisoners free. He
says today: “Come up out of
there.” Your soul and your
life is in a pit where there is no water.
All that awaits you is certain death.
He says to us today, “Come up out of there.”
It is daylight out here. There
is life out here. Let him make
you his prisoner of hope. Worship
him today as your King. Come up
out of there. How far will you go
with him? He calls you a
prisoner of hope.
Is
He your King, have you seen his justice, have you received his salvation, have
you looked down to him, Are you trusting in his reign, have you heard his
peace, does he have dominion over you, Have you tried his peace, has He set
you free, Are you a prisoner of the Hope?
How far will you go with Jesus? Will
go down to honor Him? Will you
take off your coat of pride and give it to him?
Will you make his road straight? Will
you clear out all of the roadblocks before him?
Will you make him a road into your heart and into the heart of others?
How far will you go with Him? Come
up out there.