What Are You Doing?

The Lord has been speaking to me. Open your Bibles. Stay standing. John, chapter 12. You're like, well, Pastor Stephen, we were only in John 1 last week. How did we get to John 12 so quick? Easter's coming. We had to hit fast forward. We're skipping a few scenes, but we're going to see the Lord ride into Jerusalem on a donkey, and we're going to see what that means for me and for you. John chapter 12, verse 12. I want to give a couple of birthday greetings. It is the 13th birthday of our Toronto campus. Let's thank God for Elevation Toronto. Praise the Lord. Stephen, Kristen, the whole crew at Toronto. Y'all go crazy. Y'all celebrate today. It's a big birthday. Our Raleigh location is moving into their brand new building today. Let's go, Raleigh! We're going to have Resurrection Sunday in Raleigh in a brand new building. It's going to be amazing. Praise the Lord. This occasion that we celebrate today, of course, is mitigated in his joy by the fact that for Jesus it would represent his sacrifice as he rides into Jerusalem to give his life for you and I. Now, let me read the passage from John chapter 12, verses 12 through 16. Picking up right here, mid-flow. The next day, the great crowd that had come for the festival heard that Jesus was on his

way to Jerusalem. They took palm branches and went out to meet him, shouting, "'Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. Blessed is the King of Israel.'" Watch what Jesus did. A study in contrast. Here are these loud shouts from the crowd, and Jesus, verse 14, found a young donkey and sat on it as it is written. "'Do not be afraid, daughter Zion. See your King is coming.'" Isn't that good news? Your King is coming. Doesn't that bless you to know your King is coming? Tell somebody next to you, "'The King is coming. The King is coming. The King is coming. The King is coming. The King is coming.'" "'See your King is coming, seated on a donkey's colt.'" That's unexpected. Last week we talked about the staying Jesus. Week one we talked about the seeking Jesus. This week we're going to talk about the seated Jesus, seated on a donkey's colt. Now one more verse I want to give you, then you can be seated. This is what I want to talk to you about today. At first his disciples did not understand all this. Only after. See, some things only make sense after. Only after. Don't worry too much right now about what you don't understand.

Some things only make sense after. Only after Jesus was glorified did they realize that these things had been written about him and that these things had been done to him. That's where I want to stop today. I'm going to give this message a simple title, and then we might call it something different. I'm just going to put it after a question today. Give your neighbor my title. Look at him and say, "'What are you doing?' That's the message today." Well, don't answer him. Just as a setup for a sermon. You don't have to give him a report. Sit down. You may be seated. "'What are you doing?' Very common question, right? You might just ask somebody that. Call them on the phone. "'What are you doing?' Is it a good time or is it a bad time? What are you doing?' You might have asked your kids that the other day. "'What are you doing?' It might have had a different tone and inflection to it that way. "'What are you doing?' Sometimes you might ask yourself that after an hour of scrolling stuff that you really don't even want to look at and you're not even really interested in. And you don't even really like cats, but you've been watching them do stuff on your phone for like 45 minutes. What are you doing?

You know what I'm talking about. Halfway through the stress-eating exercise and you're like, "'What are you doing?' Anytime I eat brisket after 6.30 p.m., I'm like, "'What are you doing?' You know this brisket is going to make an encore appearance tonight at about 3 a.m. What are you doing? I just like the brisket. I don't know. I don't have time to slow down and think about it and analyze it. What are you doing?' Then there is that sense of a season of your life when you even ask that question of God. Seasons where it is not obvious or apparent. Seasons where you cannot point to answered prayers. What are you doing? Seasons where you can't discern why he would remove a certain someone from your life. What are you doing? I needed them, Lord. Don't you know I needed them? What are you doing? What are you doing, Lord? God, I'm going to need you to go ahead and give me a job right now, because I have bills right now, and I know there are going to be streets paved with gold in heaven, but right now that is not a currency for me to pay my power bill right here on this earth that you put me on, Lord. What are you doing? That's what I want to preach about today, because the disciples are not the only characters in this story I read you from John, chapter 12, that we call Palm Sunday. I actually want to look at four different perspectives today from this passage, and this is the way I'd like to take you through the journey, because we're going to see what four different characters or groups we're doing in the story. First, we're going to look at the disciples and see what they're doing, and then we're

going to look at the crowds, the crowds that were gathered, and we're going to see what the crowds are doing, and then we're going to look at the donkey and talk about what the donkey was doing, and then I want to talk about the king and see what he was doing. The disciples, the crowds, the donkeys, and the king, and we'll have our outline for today. Everybody say, the disciples, the crowds, the donkey, the king. Put all four of those in the comments. Put the disciples, the crowds, the donkey, and the king. What are you doing? Well, the disciples, of course, are walking with Jesus, which sounds simple, and it is simple until it isn't. It's easy for us to judge the disciples when we read a verse like John 12, 16. At first, his disciples did not understand all this. Only after Jesus was glorified did they realize these things had been written about him and that these things had been done to him. There is a part of you that wants to say, after all you've seen and after all you've experienced walking with Jesus, how could you still be wondering what he is doing? But keep in mind, before you judge the disciples, that we know what they don't. When you read John 12, you have an advantage over the disciples, because you know what they don't. You know about the third day. They don't. You know, perhaps, about the messianic fulfillment that is represented in this passage, because you have a cross-reference in your Bible, and it says… If you want to read John 12, verse 15, about the king riding on a baby donkey, that's taken from Zechariah 9, 9, which is in the Old Testament. As soon as you can flip the pages, you can go, Oh, well, of course he rode on a donkey. Zechariah prophesied it 500 years ago. He's fulfilling prophecy. They don't know that, because they are living that, and certain things in your life, while

you are living them, don't look like they look after they're over. There's a difference between looking at something and living in something. So when we see Jesus riding in on a donkey, we see it as a sign of humility and peace and prophecy fulfilled. For them, it was very confusing to watch the master and the CEO of the universe Uber into Jerusalem to do the most important task a human has ever done. You know what they don't. It's important to remember that we get a big picture of Jesus from John's gospel. We know about him turning water into wine, and they saw that. We know about him talking to a woman at a well, and they saw that. We know about him feeding 5,000 hungry souls and women and children, and they saw that. They saw all of these things while they walked with him. We worship him because we read about these things, but they had to walk with him as they realized these things. Sometimes it is easier to worship a Jesus you read about than it is to walk with a Jesus who is frustrating your expectations and confusing your emotions by heading to the cross when you need him to be a king. I just want to talk about for a moment, for all of you who are going through a season of your life that looks like, what are you doing? Keep walking, because the what-ifs you have about your marriage, the what-ifs you have about your health, the what-ifs you have about your children, the what-ifs you have about your career, the what-ifs you have about your emotions, the what-ifs you have will only be answered when you walk. So, keep walking. That's all the disciples did. They walked with him. The disciples are walking. And the disciples are walking with a Jesus they do not fully understand, even though they have been radically changed, even though they have been wonderfully exposed. The disciples are living in it, and there is a difference between living in it and looking at it. Because it is so easy for you to look at somebody else's life and envy them and be jealous of them, but you might be jealous of a life you're only seeing the front side of. If you ever saw the back side of their life, you might not be bitter about yours,

because there is a chance that the cost they are paying to be who they are is greater than the toll you would want to pay. So, don't be jealous. Also, don't judge. Don't judge, because we are all walking. We are like the disciples. There are things that we don't understand, and we will not until after. I heard about a poem that Corrie ten Boom used to love. I thought she wrote it, but I found out she was quoting it from Grant Colfax Tuller, who was a poet. I want you to listen to this, because she read it as a Holocaust survivor. She read it after forgiving people who tortured her family. She read it after surviving something that most of us would have stumbled over. She read this poem called The Weaver. My life is but a weaving between my God and me. I cannot choose the colors he weaveth steadily. Ofttimes he weaveth sorrow and I in foolish pride. Forget he sees the upper and I the underside. Not till the loom is silent and the shuttles cease to fly will God unroll the canvas and reveal the reason why. The dark threads are as needful in the weaver's skillful hand as the threads of gold and silver in the pattern he has planned. What she's saying is, I don't see the picture from my perspective. I don't see what his hands are doing while I am going through the hardships of my life. And it is the weaver that I worship. I walk with him, and I talk with him, but I often wonder, what are you doing? I can tell I might need to break this down a little bit, so let me show you something. Holly and I have a great marriage. I picked the right partner, and I'm reaping the benefits ever since. Praise the Lord. For our 20th anniversary a while back, Shel made us this cross stitch. Can you see it? Kind of. Right? You can kind of tell what it is. It kind of looks like she didn't do a good job. It kind of looks like she needs to go back to cross-stitch class, take a couple of remedial weeks. But, of course, if you see the other side, you can see she did pretty good. You can see she made me look just like I did on that fateful day with no beard, standing before my wife in my S&K suit about three sizes too big for me. And there we are like this on this side. Every marriage does have an underside. I just want you to remember, when you look at everybody's Easter pictures on Instagram in about a week, they're showing this, but they probably went through this in the car before they got the Sears to take the picture. That's a callback reference from the 80s.

You see what I'm saying? Zoom back in, y'all. What are you doing? This is what it looks like, and this is how it's lived. I said, this is what it looks like, and this is how it's lived. She got out of the car the other day, and she asked me, does my hair look good messy or bad messy? Now, after 20-something years, I can tell you that the answer to that automatically is good messy. But I can also tell you there is a difference between good Messi and bad Messi. Good Messi is when you are trusting God in your life to work out the details you can't control, and you are trusting God's sovereignty in your life for situations that are too big for you. Good Messi is in a marriage where we fight for the marriage, where we fight with each other instead of against each other, and we fight for each other. Every marriage has an underside. Every marriage that looks like this looks like this somewhere. Every marriage that looks like this, where the couple has their debts paid off, had conversations about, "'Are you really bringing that coffee table into my house, and did it really cost…' I remember the first time she told me she wanted to spend $400 on a coffee table. I said, "'You'd better find one that has some dings and dents in it. You'd better find one that's busted out the top of it.'" $400 for a coffee table? See, because we are still weaving together our values for money. She has a value for a coffee table. I didn't even drink coffee at the time. How am I supposed to pay $400 for something I don't even drink I'm not even going to use? It looks like this. Every marriage, in terms of sexual relationships, in terms of communication, in terms of conflict management, it always looks like this. What I'm trying to say is don't confuse what it looks like with how it's lived. Or you might give up on something great because of something gross, and you might give up on something miraculous because of something messy. When God is bringing something together in your life, remember you have to trust him with the underside. That might be the whole word for somebody today. Trust him with the underside. I know it's ugly, but trust him. I know it's crazy, but trust him. I know it's confusing, but trust him. I know it's not coming together as fast as you want it, but trust him. I know you can't figure out what it is yet, but trust him. I know everybody around you is acting kind of judgmental, but don't judge the underside. In God's hand, the dark threads are just as important as the light threads, and all things work together for the good of them who are called according to his purpose. So, if he called me according to his purpose, that means there will

be an underside that he oversees, and I cannot judge what he's making by the moment I'm in, or I will be like the disciples who saw the cross as a failure. But this was not the failure. This was the foundation. Isn't it amazing that the disciples walked with Jesus into the most confusing moments of their life, but the most confusing moment was the one he used the most? I can tell you, looking back on 46 years of living, that some of the times I was most confused were some of the times he most used. So, don't give up on God just because you're on the underside. It might be ugly on the underside. It might be uncomfortable on the other side. It may be inconvenient on the underside. It may be embarrassing. It may be humiliating. You might have to ask some questions you may not understand until after. When Jesus was glorified, they got it, and then they went, "'Oh' is this." The faith is to make it through the lows so you can get to the "'Oh.'" Meanwhile, the disciples are walking, and the crowds are waving, and they are waving palm branches. These palm branches are not random. I remember a few years ago in church… Actually, it must have been about 15 years ago, because this was back when I used to copy everything my buddy Perry Noble did in church, because I didn't know what I was doing. He had people break these glow sticks one Sunday, and on Palm Sunday they all raised them in the air, and they were singing, "'Shine your light and let the whole world see' for the glory of the risen King." Everybody broke the glow stick and raised it up in the air on Palm Sunday, and we were using it to represent all of the people we wanted to see come to Christ. We were raising the glow sticks. I read this young girl on Twitter. She said, "'My mom asked me if we had palm branches in church on Palm Sunday, and I had to tell her no, they had glow sticks.'" I was like, that's just elevation, right? Not a lot of tradition around here. In fact, this is the first time I've preached on the donkey on Palm Sunday in about 10 to 15 years. But before I can even talk about the donkey… I have to talk about the crowds, because we named this Sunday after what the crowds held in their hand and what they waved as a sign of victory. The palm branch represented victory, like when a great conquering king would take new territory and come back into town on a war horse, they would wave these palm branches

and these myrtles, and they would shout, "'Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!' And they'd do it three times, "'Hosanna! Blessed is he!' Because the victor was coming back, and they would wave the branches, talking about, "'Hosanna! Blessed is he!' And this is a Scripture they were quoting from Psalm 118, verse 26, "'Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!' Now Jesus is headed to a cross, and he's coming through Jerusalem, and about 120,000 people are gathered to celebrate the Passover festival and it's crowded in the streets of Jerusalem, and they're shouting out, "'Save now!' That's what hosanna means, "'Save now!' Because don't we want God to get it out of us and get us out of it right now? And don't we want God to do what he's going to do right now?' And since they just got word that Lazarus was in the ground, but he got up, maybe they figured that this prophet, this priest, this Messiah, whatever he was, could do for them what they had waited for the king to do, and so they are shouting, "'Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!' And they're shouting loud." I believe that as they are shouting hosanna, which is a praise word, Jesus can already hear the echoes of crucify him, which the same crowds would be shouting on Friday. Don't ever get too attached to people's praise. Don't ever get too attached to people's praise, because if you live by it, you'll die when they take it away. Even don't be too attached to when your kids think you're a good parent. Sometimes you might have to take their phone, and they might call you the Devil. Now what are you going to do about it? You running a popularity contest or a household? Don't be too attached to people's praise. Don't even be too attached to your parents' praise.

Sometimes your parents see you as their product, and they can't even guide you as good as God can because they're trying to get you to fulfill something they didn't accomplish in their life, and only God can show you what your next step is. So don't be too attached to their praise. If you live when they give it, you'll die when they take it away. Don't be too attached to people's praise. Don't be too attached to the likes. Don't be too attached to the encouragement of your boss. What are you going to do if your boss moves divisions? What are you going to do if you get a boss that doesn't like you? You're still going to work hard because you're God's child. Jesus never moved by the approval of people. Jesus never moved for the yeas of the crowds. Jesus never moved for the high fives even of his own disciples. Jesus was not moved by the crowd. He moved through the crowd. I'm going somewhere. The disciples are walking. The crowds are waving, and they are shouting, "'Hosanna!' But they will not still be shouting when he is led like the lamb to the slaughter. They will not still be shouting when Pilate puts him up, turns him over, and hangs him to die. They will not still be shouting on Saturday when his body lays in a tomb.'" What are you trying to say? Don't confuse loud with loyal. Don't confuse loud with loyal. The crowds are waving. The crowds will wave. That's fine, but Jesus was not moved by the crowds. I don't know who this point is for, because it's really just an incidental point to get

me to the main point of this message. While the crowds are waving, the donkey… Can we talk about the donkey? I know we're all impressed by Palm Sunday, but why can't we call it Donkey Sunday? Because it doesn't have the same ring to it? Because while the disciples are walking and the crowds are waving, watch what the donkey is doing. The donkey is waiting. Now the crowds are walking. The crowds are waving, and the donkey is waiting. This is really fun. Go back to John, chapter 11, verse 4. You know John doesn't give a lot of details about the donkey. In fact, when he talks about the donkey, he says something so simple you almost just read right over it. Jesus found a young donkey and sat on it. That's all the details we get from John. John, like a true man, just gives you the bottom line. Yeah, he found a donkey, and he sat on it. But you know what this tells me? I'm speculating, but I have good reason. I studied. John wasn't one of the disciples who got sent to get the donkey. That's what it tells me. It's like my kids fighting around the table. They'll be trying to tell a story at dinner, and they'll be like, "'Shut up! Let me tell it!' Or, I mean, sorry, we're a church. We're a pastor's family. "'Please be quiet. Please hearken unto my voice.'" That's what they say at my table. What about your table? They say, "'Shut up! It's your house.'" What's wrong with you? You're a terrible parent. They say, "'Shut up! It's my story! Let me tell it!' I almost felt when John said, "'Jesus found a young donkey and sat on it and then just went right on to Psalm 118, 26, and the palm branches and all of the wonderful things.' I almost felt Peter speak up and say, "'Shut up, John! You weren't there! Let me tell it!' So, in Mark's gospel…" Flip over to Mark real quick, because this is the underside. This is the side of the story from the one who was there. In Mark, chapter 11,

you get a little fuller account. You get more than just, "'Jesus found a donkey and sat on it and rode on into Jerusalem.' You get a little bit clearer picture, and you get a little bit more detail. I want to read it to you from Mark, chapter 11. "'As they approached Jerusalem'…" Same disciples walking toward Jerusalem. "'…and came to Bethphage and Bethany at the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two of his disciples…' We don't know which two. I'm speculating it was Peter, based on the nature of the job." You know, you have some disciples you need to pray for you, and then you have some disciples you need to do other stuff for you that isn't quite as spiritual. Watch what Jesus told them to do. Verse 2. "'…saying to them, Go to the village ahead of you, and just as you enter it you will find a colt'…" That's a baby donkey. "'…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 will send it back here shortly.'" Skinner, I can't skip over this and talk about the donkey being borrowed, because I'm thinking about the fact that Jesus borrowed two things around Easter. One was a donkey, and one was a tomb. But see, it wasn't exactly borrowed the appropriate way. This is not technically how you should borrow something. That's why I think Jesus needed Peter to do something that was so dumb it would take a dumb disciple to do it. Do I have any dumb disciples in the room today who aren't the smartest, who aren't exactly the sharpest tools in the drawer? But, Jesus, if you need something to hit something, I'll hit something for you. That's Peter. Peter is kind of dull, but he'll do it. Tell your neighbor, I'm dull, but I'll do it. That's why I think the Lord called me to start the church when I was 25, when I was dumb enough to do stuff. I didn't know how to run a profit and loss statement. I didn't know how to check a ledger. All I knew how to do was ask the Lord, and if the Lord told me to give everybody glow sticks, I gave them glow sticks. I didn't care if Aunt Ethel liked it or not. I was dumb enough to break a glow stick and tell them, Happy Easter. I was dumb enough to do some stuff. The problem with some of us is that we've gotten smarter than a donkey, but when Jesus was looking for something to come into town on, he did not look for a scholar. He did not look for the head of the class. He did not look for a valedictorian to be his vessel. He said, I need a donkey. I wonder who I can trust enough to take my word without detail, to take my word without explanation,

to take my word without the cross-reference, and do what I need you to do. The Bible says in verse 5 of Mark, chapter 11, that some people standing there asked, What are you doing? Just like the title of our sermon. Just like they were wondering about Jesus, and they're wondering what Jesus is doing. Jesus, are you really going to let them kill you like this? Jesus, are you really going to ride up… into Jerusalem in a jalopy? I mean, Jesus, you're a king. Don't you hear them calling you a king? A king can't drive a Kia. Jesus, at least let us put in a good word with somebody who has a train… You know they have luxury donkeys. You know they have big, grown donkeys. Did you say you want a baby donkey, a little donkey? Can we at least get a big donkey, Jesus? Jesus said, no, I need to be big, so I need what I ride on to be small so they can see how big I am. Oh, God. So, what God will do if you have the faith to trust him with stuff you don't understand is that he will pick something you never would have chosen, and he will ride into situations that you never would have gone into. Who is this message for today? The king is coming, but he's not coming in a chariot. The king is coming, but he's not coming with a banner. The king is coming, but he's not going to do what you wanted him to do. He's going to do it on a donkey. But if you have enough faith to untie that donkey, if you have enough faith to obey what he showed you… Here's the word of the Lord. God said, "'Obey it now, and I'll explain it later.'" So, I know this doesn't make sense. I know it looks like a mess, but it's a good kind of messy. I know you don't understand why I would ride into town on a donkey. I imagine the disciples untying the colt, and somebody says, "'What are you doing untying that colt?' There's somebody in a situation right now, and maybe even the voices in your head are saying, "'What are you doing forgiving them? What are you doing moving on from that? What are you doing in church today? What are you doing trying this again? What are you doing going back into recovery? What are you doing studying the Bible? What are you doing praying and worshiping God? What are you doing being nice to them after they were nasty to you? What are you doing getting back up again after you fell down seven times? What are you doing launching another business? What are you doing taking another step? What are you doing calling that family member and saying, "'Let's try again'? What are you doing taking your next step? What are you doing stumbling into tomorrow? What are you doing still

trusting God, hands lifted high, praising him, not with hands that say, "'Save now,' but hands that say, "'I trust you, God, enough to obey you now.'" You can explain it later. Oh, the Lord said to tell you the donkey was found, but it wasn't free yet. So, high-five somebody and say, "'You're about to be set free.'" Because that donkey… Oh, I have to preach about the donkey. I have to preach about the donkey to somebody who feels useless, to somebody who feels common, to somebody who feels like your life isn't much. Can we think about the fact that for 500 years it has been prophesied that Jesus would ride into town on a donkey? So, that means for 50 decades, 500 years, God has been getting this donkey's DNA ready for Jesus to sit on it. Look what Jesus said. I don't know if it's verse 3, Mark, chapter 11, or verse 4, but we're going to find it on the screen today, because I have to show you this. Go to the village ahead of you. Side note. It's not behind you. God is moving you forward in this season. It's not behind you. It's not going to be anybody who left you that God uses to bless you. It's ahead of you. It's not going to be anybody who walked away. See, because there's somebody in here I'm preaching to, and somebody just left your life recently, and you thought, God, what are you doing removing them? God said, I'm making room for me to move, so I had to get that out of the way, because what I'm going to bless you with is always ahead of you. Go to the village ahead of you, and just as you enter it… It's not going to take long. When you get to where I send you, you will find a colt, a donkey, a baby donkey there which no one has ever ridden. Untie it, set it free, and bring it here. Now, there's an important detail. No one has ever ridden it. That means this donkey, this colt, this baby donkey, this unclean animal, this thing the king wanted to ride in on and reserved it… He made sure no one ever sat on this donkey so he could be the first one to sit on this donkey. God said it wasn't rejection. It was preparation. It wasn't rejection. It was reservation. God was saving you for this moment because there's something he wants to do in your life. God said, I want a donkey that is inexperienced. Isn't it crazy? If we would have been submitting our resume to bring the king into Jerusalem, we would have listed our experience, but our very experience that we would have listed would have disqualified us for the job because God said, I want a donkey that stumbles into Jerusalem. I want a donkey that's awkward to ride on.

I want a donkey that no one has sat on because I'm doing a new thing. Happy Palm Sunday, everybody. While the disciples are walking and the crowds are waving and the donkey is waving… I figured, if we can't be good disciples, at least let us be good donkeys. At least let us invite the presence of God into our situation. Even if we're awkward, at least let us stumble forward, because the disciples are walking and the crowds are waving and the donkey is waiting, and all that time the king is weaving. My life is but a weaving between my God and me. I can't talk to anybody else about this right now, but it's between my God and me. Nobody else is really seeing the mess on the underside of my family right now, but it's a weaving between my God and me. I cannot choose the colors he weaveth steadily. Ofttimes he weaveth sorrow, and I in foolish pride forget he sees the upper and I the underside. The Lord told me to tell you, keep walking. He's weaving. Because at some point, the Bible says that after Jesus was glorified… This is his death. This is his burial. This is his resurrection. This is his ascension. The Bible says the disciples did what Jesus told them to do, even though they didn't understand it. Will you? While you're asking God, what are you doing? Maybe he's asking you the same. What are you doing? Because there are some things in this season of your life where he has called you to trust him, and he has called you to have integrity, and he has called you to be kind, and he's called you to be patient, and he's called you to be giving, and he's called you to be a servant, and he's called you to prayer, and he's called you to worship, and he's called you to pray. So, can you and will you do what he gave you to do? As they are untying the donkey, the king… Jesus is weaving. See, he's weaving. They're walking. Crowds are waving. A donkey is waiting, and Jesus is weaving. He's reaching back 500 years, all the way to Zechariah's prophecy, and he says, I can't have a pretty horse. Zechariah didn't say a pretty horse. He said a donkey. I have to sit on a donkey, because the word said a donkey, and I have to fulfill the word. God knows the word he spoke over your life. God knows the word that was in your spirit before your body came out of your mother's womb. God knows what he has for you. God knows the plans he has for you, and he's weaving some things together. It was only after he got up from the

grave that they realized what he did on the cross. They realized he was cross-stitching. I said they realized that he was cross-stitching. They realized that every drop of blood he shed was on purpose. It was not spilled. It was poured out, and God says, nothing will be wasted in the hands of the weaver. Not one tear, not one broken heart, not one lonely night. Because while the disciples were walking and while the crowds were waving and the donkey was wailing, there was a king who was weaving. I don't… know when they had their moment, but at some point, Peter looked at John and said, "'Oh! Oh, the donkey! The donkey!' John is like, "'What are you on about, Peter? The donkey? Yeah, the donkey! The one Jesus didn't tell you to go get because he knew you were too quiet to say what he needed to say?' John is like, "'Shut up, Peter, but what about the donkey?' And Peter, I don't know what he was thinking about that night, but he just goes, "'Zechariah! Zechariah! Zechariah 9-9! Zechariah!' I mean, there weren't actually technically chapters and verses in the Bible at this point in time, but go with me for the sake of an illustration. He goes, "'Zechariah 9-9!' It was in the Old Testament. "'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! I thought it was crazy when he sent us to get the donkey. I thought it was weird when he sent us to get the donkey. I thought it was crazy when he let me go through a divorce and he didn't stop it. I thought it was crazy when the doctor said, "'You have this disease, and you're going to have to go through treatment.' I thought that it was crazy, and I asked God, "'What are you doing?' But now I realize that there was a purpose that he was fulfilling that I could not see at the time, and I'm telling you to trust him in the lows so you can get to the O.'" I came to encourage somebody, keep walking. Tell your neighbor, keep walking. He's weaving. He's weaving. That's what you have to believe in every season of your life. He's weaving. He's weaving. As you're going through things you don't understand… Give me John, chapter 12, verse 16, and I'll close with this. The Bible says, at first they did not understand. Only after Jesus was glorified did they realize that these things had been written about him and these things had been done to him, and only did they see after he was glorified that while they were walking he was weaving. I want you to know he's weaving. The good things and the bad things, all things work

together for the good of those who love the Lord and are called according to his purpose. The king is weaving. The disciples are walking. The crowds are waving. The donkey is waiting, but King Jesus is weaving. You have to believe that in seasons of your life when people leave you and you have to believe in seasons of your life when people come. He's weaving. They all left Jesus at the cross. He never stopped weaving. Don't let who leaves you stop you from believing in the one who is weaving and knitting. He's a cross-stitcher, and with every step of faith you take, that's another stitch. He's weaving. He's weaving some things. Your gifts and your weaknesses…he's weaving. Your past and your present…he's weaving. The good days and the bad days…he's weaving. The places you're strong and the places you're not…he's weaving. The king is weaving. So, when you see your king coming on a colt, don't be surprised. He likes to show up in situations that look small. He likes to show up in vehicles that seem weak, and when he weaves his strength with your weakness… I'll have to turn around. I'll have to give up. I'll have to give in. The king is coming. Sunday is coming. Glory is coming. Victory is coming. Breakthrough is coming. Healing is coming. He's weaving. Keep walking. He's weaving. Keep praying. He's weaving. He knows what he's doing. God is a cross-stitcher. You may not understand it right now, but after Jesus is glorified, you will understand, oh, he took me through that to show me who he was. Oh, he took me through that so he could be for me what I could not be for myself. Oh, it was good for me that I was afflicted, because the times for me that were the most confusing were… the times he used the most. What are you doing, God? What are you doing? I'll tell you what I'm doing. I'm weaving. I'm weaving. I'm weaving. I'm weaving. I've got good hands. Bring me my blanket. I'll close with this. I was walking out to preach to you, and I saw this on my couch, and I thought maybe this could help me get my point across, because when I say he's weaving and when I say that you have to trust him with the underside, you could look at this and faintly make an outline of what it was. John, chapter 12, verse 16. They did not understand all of this at first. They did not understand all of this at first. My life is but a weaving between my God and me. They did not understand while they were walking. They did not understand while the crowds were waving. They did not even understand while the donkey was waiting. But on the other side,

I saw it was his hands. You see how when you're on the underside it's kind of ugly, you're like, I think this is God, but I'm not sure. I don't know if this is God. But when it's… Sorry, I'll practice my illustration for next week for Easter when the guests come. When it's his hands. Then I wanted to tell you to trust on this side what you can only trace on this side. He's weaving. Only after Jesus was glorified did they realize these things had been written about him and that these things had been done to him and that these things God used and these things and these things and good things and bad things and high things and low things and pretty things and painful things. He's weaving. He's weaving. Father, I bless you for your Word today. It spoke to me so much as I remembered the times in my life that I've looked back and seen that you were weaving while I was walking, that you were weaving while I was waiting. I praise you today, Lord, because you brought somebody here to be reminded of the skillful touch of your hand, the weaver's hand. I thank you that today, Lord, as we stare into Easter Sunday and anticipate your resurrection, you have given us the faith to face Friday knowing that the weaver will never leave our side. Father, you know who you're speaking to today. You know their name. You know their need. You know the need beneath the need beneath the need that presents itself as the problem, and you are the weaver. God, I thank you that all things do work together for good for those who you love and are called according to your purpose. May we be better than the disciples were, because we know what the disciples did. May we walk in the light of our resurrected Savior. May we worship our weaver who works all things together for good.