How Do We See Jesus Clearly When Life Is Loud? | Mark 10:46 - 52 | Kevin Queen

Well, hey cross point welcome to church happy new year to everybody it's good to be in the house of the Lord today If you're watching online or if you're at God behind bars, happy new year to you. God bless you Hey, you made a good decision today to be in the house of God on the first Sunday of 2026 It's good to praise the Lord. Hey, wave your hand if you believe this is going to be a blessed year It's going to be a blessed year. It may not be perfect But the blessing of God are on the blessing of God's people because he loves us and he died for us and he's coming back So let's praise it for what he's going to do. All right, I Invite you to clap your hands along with us. Come on one two three Everlasting life So come on you weary Come on, you thirsty come to the well that never runs dry drink of the water Come and thirst no more Come all you sinners Come find his mercy Come to the table. He will satisfy Taste of his goodness find what you're looking for You don't ever say For He gave us Yes, a good day to praise the Lord for his great love we praise you Lord we praise you Here's some good news you can sing about You can bring all your failures bring your addictions Come lay them down at the foot of the cross Jesus is waiting Oh God Oh Do you believe that let's praise him

Let's sing in church praise god Praise him Let's go Start to save us But god Come on, he loves us Good news today, He loves you. He loves us, He loves us. Thank you for your love, Lord, yeah. He loves us, He loves us. If you believe that God loves you, say, praise the Lord. Praise the Lord. You're worthy of our praise, yes. You sing. Only you, Jesus. Come on. Yes. There's no one. You are the infinite, God of the ages. Yet you chose to make my heart your dwelling place. You healed my broken knees, showed me your glory. So I have songs of praise, not even angels sing. Let's sing. Yeah. Who else is worthy? Who else is worthy? If there is no one, only you, Jesus. Who else is worthy? Who else is worthy? If there is no one, only you, Jesus.

Come on. Worthy of our praise. Worthy of our praise. Worthy, worthy, worthy. Lamb of God. Anointed one, Jesus. We give you praise. Come on. Anointed one, who was, and is, and is to come. Seated on the throne. Holy, holy. And righteous one, who shed his blood. And proved to us the Father's love. Jesus Christ, we lift him up. Holy, holy. Lamb of God. Anointed one, who was, and is, and is to come. Seated on the throne above. Holy, holy. And righteous one, who shed his blood. And proved to us the Father's love. Jesus Christ, we lift him up. Who else is worthy? Yeah. Who else is worthy? There is no one. ♪ Only you Jesus, who else is worthy ♪ ♪ Who else is worthy, there is no one ♪ ♪ Only you Jesus, there is no one ♪ ♪ Only you Jesus, there is no one ♪

♪ There is no one, only you Jesus, there is no one ♪ ♪ There's a God, a God, a God, a God, a God, a God, a God ♪ ♪ He's seated on the throne, oh you are holy, holy ♪ ♪ Righteous Lord, we shake His blood to prove to us the Father's love ♪ ♪ The Father's love, Jesus Christ, we lift Him up, oh ♪ ♪ There's a God, a God, a God, a God, a God, a God, a God ♪ ♪ A mighty one, who is to come, oh you are holy, holy ♪ ♪ Righteous Lord, we shake His blood to prove to us the Father's love ♪ ♪ The Father's love, Jesus Christ, we lift Him up, oh ♪ ♪ Who else is worthy, you sing, who else is worthy, come on church ♪ ♪ There is no one, only you Jesus, there is no one ♪ ♪ Who else is worthy, who else is worthy, there is no one ♪ ♪ Only you Jesus, there is no one, only you Jesus, there is no one ♪ ♪ Only you Jesus ♪ ♪ Only you Jesus, there is no one, only you Jesus, there is no one ♪ Man, I love this time of year. It's a time of the year that's filled with dreams and hopes and maybe you took some time to kind of make some plans for the year or set some goals or make some resolutions. And I think the reason that we do that and why we do that is because we believe. Like we believe that things can change. We believe that we can change. We believe that change can happen. We believe that anything's possible. And so while we believe that change can happen, sometimes I think we get confused about how things happen, how change happens. Because sometimes we think that change is just a one-time decision,

but really change happens through a thousand little decisions along the way. For example, I've been thinking a lot about how technology is shaping my life. I've been thinking a lot about how this phone, how this device, this little computer that's in my pocket has been shaping my life. And one of the things I've realized is that, I kind of realized it last year, is that this has become the default for any time that I just have like a moment of free time, just like a moment of unoccupied time. I just, I pull out my phone and I just, I begin, I check the phone, I check the news, I check my feed, I check Instagram, I check my messages, I check my email, I check Slack, I check the scores, I check weather, I just, I check, and what I'm finding is, I mean like from the first, the default, like I wake up and I'm kind of drawn to go check this thing. And then like any moment throughout the day, unoccupied time, if I'm just sitting there, I'll just check this thing. And I'm realizing that this is robbing me of time that I would normally spend thinking, of time that I would normally spend praying, maybe time that I would normally spend just noticing what's going on around me, or time that I would like be human. And so I've been wondering,

what are some changes I need to make this year when it comes to technology? And so I had an idea. I was up for an upgrade. And so I was like, I'll get a new phone. And then what I'll do is I'll only have like the apps that I need. like a smartphone and turn it into a dumb phone because I only have like just the apps that I need, just like the phone and like messages and maybe email and the compass because you know you need the compass. I mean, just in case you get lost in the woods in 1863, like you'll have the compass. So I was like, what are the apps that I need? So I whittled it down to the apps that I need. And this is my new phone with the apps that I need. And then what I realized was happening is I was carrying around two phones. And so I suddenly I became the guy with two phones. I mean, I have two back pockets, I got two phones. And I was like, oh, is that your work phone? No, that's just my distraction phone. You know, that's just the phone with the apps that are distracting. And here's what's happened. I've become the guy who lives between two phones. And what the two phones represent is the guy that I am and the guy that I wanna be. It's the current reality and the reality that I hope for.

It's where I am presently and where God is calling me to be. Anybody identify with this tension? Anybody know what I'm talking about? Anybody? There are six of us, there are six of us. The rest of you do not because you've got your resolutions and you've kept them all four days. And so you're like, look, everyone's welcome. Nobody's perfect except for you. But the rest of us, we need the power of Jesus in our lives because we're stuck between the place that we are and where God has called. And how do we change? How do we become more the person that God has called us to be? Well, if you need a word like that, then I wanna encourage you to open up to Mark chapter 11. Mark chapter 11, we've been going through this eyewitness account, the life of Jesus. And if you've just joined in, if you're jumping in for the first time, I want you to, this is a great time to jump in because Mark chapter 11 is when the, this kind of like this new section of the book. In the first 10 chapters, as we've been going through, and you can catch up, you can read about seven minutes a day over the next six days and you'll be caught up for next week. Take you probably about 45 minutes of reading to get you through the first 10 chapters.

But this next section begins the last week, the final week of Jesus' life. So the rest of the book. So we go like six chapters spent on one week. And I was thinking how wild it is to spend, I mean, name another biography. Name another biography that you'll find where one third of the book is devoted to one 10th of 1% of that person's life. And so Mark, he takes the last week of Jesus' life, one 10th of 1% of Jesus' life, and he devotes one third of the book to it because he wants us to know something significant is happening here. And what's happening here, it changes everything. And it's because of what happens here in this final week, it makes it possible for things to change in our lives too. And so he's gonna slow things down. Remember Mark has been the guy that's been like immediately and then this and this, and then Mark's just gonna slow things down, which is really what we all need at the beginning of a new year. Just take a deep breath and slow things down. And maybe even ask the question, what would you do? What would be the conversation that you would have if you knew you only had one week left? If you knew that you only had seven more days to live, what would you do? I'd probably stop carrying around a second phone.

What would be the change that you would make? Mark takes us into this. And before he takes us into chapter 11, let me set the context. Let me talk about what's going on. We've got a group of people who are desperate for change. The nation of Israel is desperate for change because Rome is oppressing them. They're living with the oppression of Rome. There is an economic choke hold on them through taxation. Rome controls everything. They control the priesthood. They control the government and they're being led. They called it Roman peace, but really it means if you don't do what we say, we're gonna kill you. It was peace by the sword. And so there have been people who have been crucified. There have been people who have been killed. There have been revolts that had been attempted and squashed by Rome. And so they're living with this constant sense of threat, fear, violence, oppression. The people are desperate for change. And Jesus shows up and it's time for Passover. Now it's Passover time. Now Passover in that day wasn't a quiet holiday. It was a tumultuous holiday in that many people had gathered and it was the time, it was the festival in the calendar of the Jewish people

where they celebrated, where God had set them free. free from oppression before. So he set them free from Egypt and from Pharaoh, and now here they're gathered for Passover, and they're saying, God, would you set us free again? And so there's this feeling, and the crowds would swell. They were like three times the normal population. So I want you to imagine, imagine like the CMA Fest is going on, and the Preds are in the finals of the Stanley Cup. Imagine like that was going on back in 2016, 17, like when that happened. So imagine that's in 17, imagine that's what's going on, and then imagine like the crowds with the societal turmoil, and imagine the threat of a revolt. And Jesus showed up on Sunday, but Pilate shows up on Friday. Now, Pilate was the Roman governor. We're just going history channel just for a second more. Pilate was the Roman governor who showed up in Jerusalem for Passover, and he showed up on Friday. And he shows up, he traveled about 65 miles from Caesarea Maritima, which he arrives in Jerusalem coming from the west, so he would have traveled 65 miles, and when he comes into town, he would have been on horseback with 800 foot soldiers, another 200 mounted troops. And so the people, they would have heard the marching.

They would have seen the sun glistening off of their armor. They would have seen the weapons. They would have seen the standards that were raised. And what Rome was doing was clear. What Pilate was doing was clear. He was saying, I'm watching, don't try anything. And that's the context for what's taking place. Now, just to refresh you, last week, we had blind Bartimaeus and Jesus going through Jericho, and blind Bartimaeus said, he said, son of David, have mercy on me. So the first person to publicly just say, Jesus, you are the Messiah, and where Jesus publicly acknowledges, yes, I am the Messiah. And now here he is, this sets the context for what's been called the triumphal entry in Mark chapter 11, verse one. And as they approached Jerusalem and came to Bethphage and Bethany at the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two of his disciples saying to them, go to the village ahead of you, and just as you enter it, you will find a colt there, tied there, which no one has ever ridden. Untie it and bring it here. If anyone asks you, why are you doing this? Say, the Lord needs it, and we'll send it back here shortly. They went and found a colt outside in the street,

tied at a doorway, and as they untied it, some people standing there asked, what are you doing untying that colt? They answered as Jesus had told them to, and the people let them go. And when they brought the colt to Jesus and threw their cloaks over it, he sat on it. And many people spread their cloaks on the road, while others spread branches they had cut in the fields. And those who went ahead and those who followed shouted, Hosanna. Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. Blessed is the coming kingdom of our father, David. Hosanna in the highest heaven. Jesus entered Jerusalem and went into the temple courts. He looked around at everything, but since it was already late, he went out to Bethany with the 12. Let's pray together. Father, we come to you. We thank you that you are sovereign. We thank you that you are good. We thank you that you love us so much that you have sent your son, Jesus. We thank you that you came for us and that you continue to pursue us. God, I pray that every heart today would have an encounter with your love, with your pursuit. God, I pray that we would all open up our hearts

at the beginning of this new year to receive from you, to receive your spirit, to receive your truth. God, I pray that you would transform us, that you would make us more like you through the hearing of your word. Pray the words of my mouth, the meditation of my heart will be pleasing to you. In Jesus' name, amen, amen. All right, now the reason that we have this story, the reason we have this story, and really this is one of the only stories that's in, there are two stories that are found in all four gospels. The two stories are this one, the triumphal entry, and the feeding of the 5,000. So those are the only two stories in all of scripture, they're in all the gospels. And so we go, this is the reason, this is one of the stories, the reason this is one of the stories that gets airtime in all four gospels is because all the gospel writers want us to know that Jesus is the king, that Jesus is the king above all kings, that Jesus is the one true king, that he is the ultimate king. And so Mark is wanting to let us know, and he's also just been, he's been letting us know since the very beginning, since the very beginning of this story. this book and in Mark chapter one,

Mark chapter one, the very first thing that Jesus says coming out of the gates, in Mark chapter one, verse 15, Jesus says this, he says, "'The time has come,' he said, "'the kingdom of God has come near. "'Repent and believe the good news.'" So right out of the gates, Mark has been letting us know, there's what this gospel is about, is that the kingdom of God is here. The rule and reign of God is here. The presence and power of God has come near. Jesus said, the time is now that you can get in on the kingdom of God. And so Mark just gets right into it. He goes hard into the paint. In the very first chapter, 15 verses in, just skips Christmas. He's like, we'll let Matthew tell you about the virgin birth, we'll let Luke tell you about the shepherds and the wise men, but Mark just, he takes us right into the arrival of Jesus and the declaration that the kingdom of God is here. So that's how Mark begins it. And then in Mark chapter 11, this is a big deal. He's working toward this moment. Do we go toward this moment the whole time? He said, now Jesus, in his triumphal entry, and then for 10 chapters before this, leading up to this, he's been letting us know,

here's what the kingdom of God is like. And it's in the kingdom of God that light overcomes darkness. It's in the kingdom of God that truth wins out over lies. It's in the kingdom of God that love drives out fear and the kingdom of God that grace overpowers shame. It's in the kingdom of God that mercy triumphs over judgment. It's in the kingdom of God. It's in that kingdom that the last are first and that the greatest serve and that sins are forgiven and demonic strongholds are broken and that death does not get the final word. It's in the kingdom of God that we have a king who leads with compassion, boldly speaks truth. We have a king who brings peace to chaos, healing to disease. And he out kings every other king that this world has ever known. It's the kind of king we have. And so Mark is telling us, here's this moment we've been working toward where the king enters into Jerusalem and he's entering in, what's he doing? He's entering in the true king, the final king, the ultimate king. He enters into Jerusalem riding on a donkey. What kind of king has his triumphal entry on a donkey?

I mean, on an animal that is better fit for a child or a hobbit. Who is this king? What is going on here? Why is Jesus riding a donkey? If you're asking that question, we go back to Zachariah chapter nine, verse nine. Now this is a prophecy. This is a prophetic word that was given 500 years before this moment. The prophet Zachariah has a vision. He says, rejoice greatly daughter Zion, shout daughter Jerusalem, see your king comes to you righteous and victorious, lowly and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey. So here's this prophet Zachariah who catches a vision of what's gonna happen in this place in the future. So much so that if you go to that spot, about a seven iron from where Jesus rode the donkey into Jerusalem is Zachariah's grave. Zachariah was buried because he wanted to be buried close to that place where the Messiah would enter in to Jerusalem. Pilate came in from the West. Jesus comes in from the East. He's coming in and he's riding down on a donkey to fulfill this vision. And Zachariah is about the only one who thought that he would be coming in on donkey.

Everybody else thought that he would be coming in on a war horse. Because they want Rome to be overthrown. They want their enemy to be destroyed. And so they're expecting that Jesus would come in on a war horse, that he would show Caesar who is boss. But the hard truth here is that sometimes the Messiah we want is not the Messiah we need. Sometimes the Messiah that we want is not the Messiah that we need. See, Jesus isn't coming to do away with the Romans. He's coming to do away with sin. And the grip that it has on our heart, he's come to bring freedom from guilt, freedom from shame, freedom from condemnation. He's come to overcome death and the power of hell in our lives that Jesus would lead us to freedom. Sometimes the Messiah we want is not the Messiah that we need. Sometimes we want the Advil Jesus. Jesus, just take the edge off and make me feel better. Or we want the Walmart Jesus, or maybe the Target Jesus. Just give me what I need and then I'll stop by again when I need something. Or maybe we need the hype man Jesus. Just kind of hype us up and just tell me the good parts, but don't address the sin in my life. Or the district attorney, Jesus. Make the people who hurt me pay,

but don't talk about where I've hurt others. Or the life coach, Jesus. Like help me accomplish my goals, help me maximize my potential, but don't ask me to take up my cross and deny myself. Or the insurance policy, Jesus. You just hang around just in case something goes bad, something goes wrong. Or the political, Jesus. That fits nicely into my categories and agrees with me on everything. I think it was Anne Lamott who said, you can safely assume you have created God in your own image when it turns out that God hates all the same people you do. And in this passage, it teaches us anything. It teaches us that we have to accept Jesus on his terms and not ours. Because the king gets to call the shots. That's what a king does, a king. And so when Jesus is riding into Jerusalem, he's forcing people to decide, are you going to crown me or are you going to crucify me? Are you gonna crown me or are you gonna crucify me? And so Jesus forces us to decide what we're gonna do with him. Are we gonna crown him or are we going to crucify him? He forces that moment of decision, but we don't get to decide how, where, and when he shows up. That's his job.

That's what kings do. Augustine said this, he says, "'You have made us for yourself, O Lord, "'and our hearts are restless "'until they find their rest in you.'" He's reflecting on that and he's thinking, every heart longs for a king like Jesus. Some people just don't know it yet. Every heart longs for a king that is faithful and that is true and that is good and forgives and heals and leads and reigns with mercy and judgment for a king who is sovereign and who has a plan and who's working all things out to the good of those who love him and who called according to his purpose. Every heart longs for a king like that. And this is the only way change happens. Someone tell you, I've tried to be the king of my own heart and what happens is not good. I end up tired, weary, anxious, worn out, trying to control all the things that I can't control and peace comes to my heart. I said, Jesus, I surrender to you, be king. That's how we were designed to live, that we take our little kingdoms of this world and we surrender to his authority, he is king. Now, what I need is a triumphal entry every day, 365. And so what Jesus did on that day publicly is what he wants to do in all of our hearts personally. So what I'm gonna do is spend the last minutes

that we have together talking about what we can learn from how people welcomed him in that day, how we can experience the peace and the presence that Jesus came to bring us. So three responses that we can learn from this passage. The first thing is if we want a triumphal entry to happen in our hearts, first thing we see is that we need to start, we're looking at this year first is to start running, start running. So we got really nervous, at the beginning of the year, you're like, you don't understand about my knee. Let me just say, the only way that this happened is some people were willing to run errands for God. Start running errands for God. We start running errands for God, it was back in 2021. I just, I was going through a time in my life where I was like, it felt like it had been so long since I had heard from God, since I'd just heard God's whispers, since I'd heard him just kind of leading and directing and not like an audible voice, but the whisper in the heart. It'd been a while since I'd heard that. And I was just praying, just talking with God. And I just said, God, just tell me what you wanna do. I went back and looked in my journal and I wrote it down. Felt like he said, I tell people who aren't too proud to run errands. And I wrote my journal in that case, God, I wanna be your errand boy again. I wanna be the one that you can trust to do anything.

Just a moment of reflection. When was the last time that you ran an errand for God? Jesus was looking for a couple of disciples. who would be willing to fetch the donkeys. You know, a lot of people think that the two people that he chose were Peter and John, the two disciples that in chapter 10 were like, hey, can we get your right and your left in the kingdom? Can we share in your glory? And Jesus is like, hey, then will you fetch a couple of donkeys? Because I think what Jesus said, hey, you want to be great in my kingdom? Be willing to fetch the donkeys. When was the last time you just, you ran an errand for God? Where you change your agenda, where you change your plans, where you kind of put things on hold to just go do the thing that he asked you to do. If Jesus is king, that means he can interrupt our schedule. He can interrupt our plans and where he can ask us to go run errands, to just stop what you're doing right then and just to pray for somebody. Or to send a note or send a text, an encouraging text to a friend or somebody that you know needs a word. Or help out with the dishes without being asked or take out the trash when it's not your turn.

Or check in on a coworker who you can tell just something's off. Or give somebody a ride who needs it. Or take a meal to a family who's struggling or who's going through a hard time. When was the last time that you just ran an errand for God? See, Jesus, for Jesus to enter into the city, somebody had to be willing to change their plans. And I think, do you know what the greatest ability is in the kingdom of God? What the greatest, it's not speaking, it's not teaching, it's not singing. You know what the greatest ability is in the kingdom of God? It's availability. And God is looking for men and women and for boys and girls who are willing to do whatever he asks when he asks. It's available to be, to just be available for him to run an errand. For Jesus to ride into the city, somebody had to volunteer to fetch the donkeys. And Mark spends five out of 11 verses talking about donkey logistics. What's going on here? I mean, he spends so much time. And I think what he's showing us through this is that Jesus, I believe he's showing us that Jesus made arrangements.

This is not just happenstance. He's been working on this plan for 500 years. And God has plans in your life that he's been working on for a long, long time, things that he's wanted to bring about. But in order for us to step into the fullness of what God has for us this year, we have to be willing to lay down our agendas and to pick up his call in our lives to run errands. And who knows, maybe the breakthrough in your life will be on the other side of saying yes to something that's seemingly small, but that would be the way that Jesus would enter in through our availability is the greatest ability that we bring to the kingdom. Because you can have a lot of other talents, but if you're staying focused on your agenda rather than an openness to King Jesus, I'll do whatever when you want. I'll be your errand boy again. I'll be your errand girl again. I will run errands. I will gladly run errands for you. It's how Jesus enters in to the city. Second thing that we see is that in order for Jesus to enter in on triumphal entry, somebody had to be generous. Can you say be generous? Be generous. And try one more time, be generous. Be generous, very good.

You were very generous with your response. In the ancient world, the King could ask for anything through requisition, the King could take anything. But what's interesting about this is that Jesus asked to borrow. He said, tell them the Lord needs it and it'll be sent back there shortly. That word, the Lord, is the same word in Psalm 24, 1 where it says the earth is the Lord's and everything in it, the world and all who live in it. So that word Lord means royalty. And so Jesus takes this word and he says, tell them that the King needs what's being asked. And so what was interesting about that is at that moment, that person with the donkeys, the guy who owns the donkeys, gets a choice. Is he going to lend the donkeys or is he gonna keep the donkeys? I was thinking about it. Jesus has a habit of borrowing things. You go through the scripture, you read, Jesus has, he has a habit of borrowing things. He was born in a borrowed manger. He lived in a borrowed house. He rode in a borrowed boat across the Galilee. He fed thousands with a borrowed meal. He rode on a borrowed donkey. The last supper happened in a borrowed upper room and he died on a borrowed cross and he was buried in a borrowed tomb

that he gave back after three days. Jesus has a habit of borrowing things and then giving them back blessed. Let's think about this. The one who made the world chose to change the world through what people were willing to place in his hands. And it still happens today. But that man had a choice that he would make. He was like, he had a choice. Would he trust Jesus? But Jesus said, I'll give it back. And he gave the donkey back and that donkey was blessed more than any other donkeys ever exist in the whole world. That was a blessed donkey. That donkey had a testimony. Donkey might've strut a little bit after that. Ears perked up just a little bit because that donkey carried the Messiah, the guy who owned the donkey. He was like, let me tell you a story about this donkey. I mean, for the rest of his life, he had a testimony, he had a story because of his generosity. And through asking, through inviting him to give, what Jesus was doing was giving him the joy that came through giving. Jesus could have taken it, but he didn't, he asked to borrow it. And you know what? I think if that guy said, no,

I think Jesus would have asked somebody else and somebody else would have got the story. But the invitation, Jesus still rides into cities on the back of generosity. And then last, we want a triumphal entry to happen. Somebody has to be willing to bring their praise. You gotta be willing to bring your praise. If you want a triumphal entry to happen in your life, you gotta be willing to bring our praise. I want you to think about that crowd. What they gave was counter-cultural. It was against their comfort. It was against convenience. They were defying the Romans. They were defying the ways of the world that when they ushered in the presence of Jesus, when they ushered Jesus into that moment through their praise, through their actions, through what they did when they proclaimed, Hosanna, blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. Blessed is the coming kingdom of our father David. Hosanna in the highest heaven. This is from Psalm 118. It's in their songbook. They're singing this out. There's a prayer and a praise. Hosanna means save us. So they're saying, King Jesus, save us now. We need your salvation. They took their cloaks, their jackets off.

They took their cloaks and they laid them down and then laying them down for the donkey, for the cold to go on. They were like putting out a red carpet for Jesus. They were taking what was costly. They were laying. I want to show you all of their actions were praise. They were waving palm branches, which were symbols of freedom. And so this was not casual. This was not casual what was happening. This was costly in that they were saying, we welcome you in Jesus. They were giving their highest praise to the one who deserved it. And so while their expectations were wrong, their passion was right. While their expectations were wrong, their passions were right. While their expectations were off, their praise was on. And Jesus approved of their praise. Luke 19, he says that some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to Jesus, teacher, rebuke your disciples. I tell you, he replied, if they keep quiet, the stones will cry out. Jesus is saying, if they don't praise me, creation will because creation knows who its creator is. Do you?

He's saying to the Pharisees, do you know who's in your midst? Because when we know who is there, when we know who will welcome in, it is costly praise and our hearts need a King like Jesus. Can I tell you something? You know what our hearts need most this year is to praise Jesus. Our hearts need to praise Jesus. Because when we praise him, when we praise him, it opens up our hearts to receive more of what he wants to give. So when we sing out, when we declare in praise, when we worship him, when we throw down our cloaks, when we wave the palm branches, I don't have a palm branch, but I have my hands. And I'm not suggesting that you throw a cloak down or your coat down, but maybe there is something else that you need to put down. And just open up to receive. G.K. Chesterton said, when we cease to worship God, we do not worship nothing, we worship anything. We worship jobs and cars, houses and money and people and sex and relationships and self and power and control and all the things of this world that can never satisfy. You guys, Jesus is the only one who can satisfy one who can satisfy the longings of our heart. Paul David Tripp said, corporate worship is designed to remind you that your world is not out of control, but under the control of your sovereign savior king.

And when we gather like this on the weekends, it is counter-cultural. It is an opposition to the gods of this world, to the spirit of the age. When we gather like this and we push aside convenience and we push aside comfort and we gather in places, every seven days we gather together to roll out the red carpet, to welcome Jesus, it reprioritizes the order of our hearts. We say, Hosanna, Hosanna, save us, save me from my sin. Save me from myself. Save me from all the other saviors that I run to in this world. Jesus, I trust in you. And it may not be the Messiah we're expecting or the Messiah that we want, but he is always the Messiah that we need. On that day when he rode into Jerusalem on the back of the donkey, it was on Sunday. Now, Passover would be on Thursday. And in Exodus, it gives the instruction. Remember, they had the last supper together. That was the Passover meal. But it gave the instruction that four days before the Passover, in Exodus, it says there will be the lamb selection day. It's where every family would go and they would purchase a lamb that would be the lamb. And that lamb would live with them, would be a part of their family life

for the next four days until Passover. Do you see what's happening here? Mark wants us to see that on the lamb selection day, on the back of the donkey is the lamb of God who's come to take away the sin of the world. The only spotless lamb, the only one who is perfect, the only one who could take our sins upon himself is Jesus. Maybe not the Messiah that they were expecting, but he is the one that they needed. And he's the one that we need too. And that's why we cry out, Hosanna. You pray with me, let's pray together. Father, we thank you. We thank you for how you meet us with your word and exactly what we need. We thank you. And I pray even right now, would there just be a willingness, maybe an openness. I'm used to rolling out of the red carpet, our hearts, saying, we welcome you again King Jesus. That you would come and bring about the change that we need. Maybe not the change that we were expecting, maybe not the thing that we were wanting, but the change that we need. Maybe for some it's been a while since you've ran an errand for God. To know the joy of obedience and the adventure of following Him. Will you just tell Him I'm here? Jesus, would you save me from my schedule?

Would you save me from my plans? Would you save me from small living? I say yes to you. Maybe it's to open up your hands and say, Jesus, you can borrow anything you want in my life. It all belongs to you. Just tell me when and where. I wanna be generous. Maybe for some, being casual with your praise. He's inviting you into crying out, giving Him glory, putting Him first. Jesus, we ask that you would enter into our hearts into our church, into our cities, into our families, triumphantly. King of kings, Lord of lords, that you would do what a king does. That is full of love and full of life, full of goodness. That you would rule and reign and that you would give us peace. From your peace, we would receive exactly what we need so that we can give it to others. It's in Jesus' name we pray, in Jesus' name we worship, amen. Would you stand with me? Let's praise.

We welcome you, Jesus. Humble king, you chose the road that led to suffering Nothing was spared to prove your love for me The mystery, your final breath became eternity Why we had lost forever, you redeemed Hosanna, Hosanna In the highest, forever Hosanna, Hosanna Hallelujah, forever Triumphant king, the lamb of one slain arose in majesty There's never a heart beyond the victory You are the one that we are welcoming Yes, you are You are the one that we are welcoming Hosanna, Hosanna In the highest, forever Hosanna, Hosanna Hallelujah, forever Hosanna, sing Hosanna In the highest, forever Hosanna, Hosanna Hallelujah, forever Forever and ever Come on and worship the king Lift up your hands and lift up your voice He is worthy, he is worthy We'll bless your name, we'll bless your name Let's sing together Blessed is he, blessed is he Who comes in the name of the Lord

Let's join and sing Join now and sing Jesus is king He reigns forevermore Say blessed is he Blessed is he, blessed is he Who comes in the name of the Lord Join now and sing Join now and sing Jesus is king He reigns forevermore Say blessed is he Blessed is he Who comes in the name of the Lord Join now and sing Jesus is king He reigns forevermore Sing Hosanna Hosanna, Hosanna In the highest, forever Hosanna, Hosanna Hallelujah Hallelujah, forever. Sing Hosanna. Hosanna. Let's sing it church. Hosanna in the highest, in the highest, forever and ever. Forever. Hosanna, Hosanna. Hosanna.

Hallelujah, forever. Sing.