The Triumphal Victory | Student Pastor Zach Hammond
by Zach Hammond
First Apostolic Church of Maryville (Maryville, TN)
Kind: sermon
Scripture: Zechariah 9:9, Matthew 21:1-11, Luke 19:30-44, Psalm 109:29

Source: https://acts238.life/repository/sermons/zach-hammond--the-triumphal-victory
Published by Acts 2:38 Life from the sermon transcript on that page.
Free to copy and share with attribution.

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If you get your Bibles out tonight, we're going to go to the word of the Lord. Thankful to be a part of the church. Amen. >> From the book of Zechariah, ver chapter 9 and verse number nine. Thankful to be a part of the church. I I know there's a big difference between attending together and contending together. A lot of places you go, there's just people attending church. But I'm thankful that I feel like tonight that as you walk through and you even you shake hands and you fellowship that you feel like you're yolked up with people, that you're contending, you're fighting for the the things of God. Amen. We're in this world, but we're not of this world. And I'm thankful tonight to be just in a place where I feel like we have a collective conscience to say that we believe in the things that are true and the things that are holy and the things that are pure. Amen. >> Amen. I'm thankful to be a part of the church. Right after service tonight, uh we are going to celebrate Pastor Ericson out in the lobby area and they've got all kind of fun stuff planned. And so, uh, we're going to make sure just to shower him with our gratitude and thankfulness for him and all that he means to each and every one of us and celebrate him big. We love Brother Ericson, right? >> Amen. Come on. There's nothing wrong. Let him know one more time how much we love him. Thankful for him. A pastor could have just kept on preaching just a few moments ago and went on into Palm Sunday as he hit uh kind of gave you the spark notes of where I'll go as I feel compelled to preach about what we celebrate as Palm Palm Sunday. Zechariah chapter 9 and verse number su verse number nine says rejoice greatly oh daughter of Zion shout oh daughter of Jerusalem behold thy king cometh unto thee he is just and having salvation lowly riding upon an ass and upon the colt the fo of an ass Zechariah 9 and9 says rejoice greatly. >> Now, if you go read this in Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, and we'll we'll go through a couple of the accounts. None of them quote that part. They all quote him, but they don't quote those two words. You'll see here in a moment why, but while everybody's rejoicing, Jesus is weeping. And so their account is not rejoice greatly because they're looking at a man that has tears in his eyes while everybody's swinging palm branches and dancing and shouting and celebrating hosana, hosana, hosana. So hopefully tonight we can step beyond the pages of what Matthew, Mark, Luke or John recorded and look back to the prophecy of what God had already spoken. And that is this is a triumphal entry. That is my title tonight. And I want to preach to you about this wonderful, wonderful Sunday that we celebrate uh where Jesus makes his entrance into what we see as the greatest week, the greatest week there is. So I I want you just for a moment, different prayer, be a different sermon. It's going to take me a minute to get where we want to go, but would you just lay your Bibles down? I know you already have, but could you just tell him how thankful we are that he came and he died and he was buried and he rose again. Lord, we're here tonight because of your sacrifice, oh God. Lord, we're here tonight because of everything you did, Lord. Lord, as you took upon our shame and you took upon our sin and you took upon God, the debt that we owed, Lord, we thank you for the opportunity tonight to stand in your presence to feel what we feel. Lord, to be a house, to be a temple, a vessel with God, this great great and perfect gift that you've given us of your spirit all through the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. We love you and we bless you. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. And amen. You may be seated tonight. The Bible's unique and that it uses words that uh we don't necessarily use today. And even in reading our opening text, I was almost careful in how I referred to the donkey. >> Just I just want to say donkey, you know. Um, there's little ones in here tonight and they seemingly just pick up on everything. So, we'll be careful how we refer to the donkey. But this donkey, this this colt is sitting in sitting at an intersection. It's between these two villages that seem to be side by side. And he sends Jesus's sends two of his disciples over and they said, "You're going to find a cult." Which is altogether just interesting to me is he knows he's already over there tied up. And so they don't question him. They don't have a conversation. There's there's they just go and they find him at the intersection there between where he was he was at and where he was headed. And so they go and they get this cult. And can you imagine being that donkey? You go from sitting in an intersection hot, pouring with sweat, no purpose, no rhyme, no reason for life, to all of a sudden here you go walking into the city of Jerusalem and everybody's staring at you. The wind's blowing through your hair. Nose is in the air. Palm branches are brushing your face perhaps. Man, what a feeling. You went from nothing to everything in just a few moments. It seemed, huh? Can you imagine being the donkey walking into Jerusalem thinking, "Man, what an upgrade. I went from an intersection that really led to nowhere to walking in and being a part of one of the greatest celebrations that would ever take place, you know, and I I just imagine what it would have been like cuz I mean they they do have feelings. I mean they do have emotions. All you dog lovers and all you animal lovers, you know, they they've got you just imagine what that was going through the mind of that donkey. But you know, I I've seen a lot of people when they come to God and they start experiencing uh God coming to the intersection of their life and all of a sudden he takes them from a place of no purpose to all of a sudden they're walking in the anointing and they're walking in ministry and they're being used and how did I stumble into this place and before you know it they start feeling pretty good about themselves. >> But we must always remind ourselves we're just a donkey carrying Jesus. It's not about us. It's about what we're carrying. It's not about us. It's what's resting on us. Anytime you start feeling good about yourself, just remember he used a donkey >> before he used me. It's a powerful powerful story that we see. and he's already been brought to Bethlehem once on a donkey. He just was in the womb of Mary and he's brought back to Bethlehem. And he he's brought to Beth Bethlehem this first time and they he would be laid in a manger in this place that that was so perfectly perfectly anointed and prophesied by God. This would be the place of the temple lambs. This the tower of the flock. The temple shepherds would have been very busy before Palm Sunday. It is the day of the lamb. Palm Sunday is known as multiple different things. It's the 10th day of Nissan, but it's the day of the lamb. It's selection day for the flock, for the temple. And uh we see here that this this is each family was responsible for a lamb for a home. That's the way it's worked since the great exodus of the people being delivered and the Passover, the blood on the doorpost. You bring a lamb into your home and the this this the the death angel Passover. It's still the same way. There's a sacrifice. There's Passover that's going to take place and you got to come together on the 10th day of Nissan. And you got to bring your lamb, the spotless lamb. You got to get that from the temple flock because that's where they housed them. They swatted them and put them in that tower and they kept them safe without spot and without blemish. It wasn't just any shepherds. You've heard us talk about it around Christmas time. I've preached and talked to you about the prophetic in Micah where he says they're going to he's going to be born here because he's going to be swaddled and he's going to be kept just like he will be prepared that he's going to come back home. >> He's eventually going to come back to this very place called Bethlehem because he is the lamb. This is the place of his birth. This lamb would come all the way back home. The perfect parallel of the Old Testament. A lamb for a house. Bring the lamb back home. Bring the lamb back into the house. A spotless lamb. Your best lamb. And it will be sacrificed for the sins of the people. Then they would place the lamb on the altar of the tabernacle. They would place the lamb that that they would place the lamb in the place you would see it as it kind of morphs through dispensations of time of scripture to where we find ourselves on this final final week here that the time where this lamb would come home would be the final lamb. It would be the final sacrifice. It would be the final lamb for the house, for the church. And God will do things in your family if you'll take the lamb home. >> God will do things in your home. He'll remove that division. He'll remove that strife. He'll remove those things because he didn't say bring it to the temple. He didn't say bring he said take it to your house. >> Take it to your house. put the he said if you're going to bring the lamb to the priest even once we get to the place of the tabernacle plan in the wilderness every house every home every representative had to bring a lamb >> it's a lamb for a home and if you can get the blood of the lamb on the house you'll have way less issues in the house amen >> it's all about the lamb in fact this would be the last the last sacrifice needed although many didn't understand it you'll see here that that's the whole issue with this week is some understood just partially but most had no clue what was going on in the centuries following the destruction of Jerusalem in AD70 and I'm going to give you some some some stuff to think on here for a minute but we'll get somewhere just stay with me okay and the Jewish people they begin to write two portions of history it's rather interesting if you enjoy reading or studying any of those types of things but the history is is along with religious uh commentary is there there's all sorts of things written and these two pieces of history are known as the Jerusalem Talmud and the Babylonian Talmud and they both record certain things in parallel that historians and archaeologists and everybody say if these two are parallel then we need to write it off as this is what was really happening and so I want to read you just two little short portions out of uh the Jerusalem Talmud and the Babylonian Talmood that I think are rather interesting 40 years before the destruction of the temple, the western light went out. The crimson thread remained crimson. And the lot for the Lord always came up in the left hand. Now, they're talking about the the the ceremony of the day of atonement with the scapegoat. They would pick in a black or a white rock. They would tie the the the the the cloth or whatever you say, the the the the crimson thing around his head. And whichever rock came out, they would choose the goat. One would be the Lord's goat. One would be the scapegoat. one the fit man would take out, the other they would sacrifice and and and all those things. But they would take once they sacrificed that goat, they would take and they would put this this this this cord that was around the the Lord's goat, they would take it and tie it around the temple doors. Look at this. In in the Jerusalem town, it says they would close the gates of the temple by night and but by the time they get up in the morning, they were wide open. The light went out. The crimson cord would remain crimson. There's no more white. And every time they reached into that bag to choose the Lord's goat or the scapegoat, it always come up the same color. Babylonian Talmud reads the same. During the last 40 years for the before the destruction of the temple, the lot of the Lord did not come up in the right hand one time. Nor did the crimson colored strap uh become white again. nor did the western light shine and the doors of the temple are mysteriously swinging open history books. Crazy since both of these talments recount the same information. The knowledge of these events are obviously accepted and in fact widely accepted across the Jewish community community. And you say why would this be so significant and why are these unusual things happening? You know, the lot came up randomly when choosing between the two goats for 40 years before the destruction of the temple. Now, the high priest is picked the black stone now for how many? 40 years. We're talking about one in a 5.5 billion. That's the odds that he reaches in and he can't pull out anything other than a black rock. Can you imagine him looking in thinking, "What's going on?" the temple door that this this this red wool has always turned white when they've done everything correctly, but it just stays red. For 40 years, it's not working. The priest goes in, the priest comes out, he does everything he's supposed to do. We checked all the boxes. We committed and and you put our hands on this goat and we let him out and we did all the things we've been doing forever. But now for 40 years, we keep doing these same things and none of them are working. >> And it's the most mysterious. They're you can tell when you're reading their history. They are they're they're flipping out. What's going on? Are our sins covered or are they not? Are we forgiven or are we not? And there's this confusion amongst the people and and you see that the the light went out. Doesn't matter. They go in there. It literally reads, "Pastor, they go in light it before he could get out of the temple, it went out." >> Can you imagine? >> It's like that lamp on my mailbox. I light it. Two days later, gone out. I mean, can you imagine how frustrating? But I can't I can't imagine that anything would have been more crazy than to be a kid hanging out around and all of a sudden those temple doors, huh? This was like their their, you know, horror stories. The Babylonian town, you know. Can you imagine? The doors just swing open at night. >> So, it's just this crazy stuff starts happening. They can't explain it. And it blows my mind that they wrote for 40 years. >> Some of you longer than you've been alive. They just kept doing the same thing. Even if it didn't work, >> we're just going to keep doing it. I mean that was their atonement for everybody in the >> you can imagine the feeling and I don't know if I'm forgiven or not >> talking about a depressed people why is the light not staying lit why is this not working this is what we've been told to do this is the levitical way always and before it's always done all of these things you say well what in the world happened 40 days before the destruction of the temple that caused such unusual things. Jesus Christ >> was crucified >> and said, "It is >> finished." Because when he said it was finished, you don't need a goat. You don't need a dove. >> You don't need a lamb. You don't need a cord. You don't need a door. You don't need anything. The veil has been torn and now we can boldly approach the throne of grace. Amen. And so so many things so many things have led up to this perfect moment in history. These flawless lambs of the tower of the flock were herded into Jerusalem. They were herded through the sheep gate. If you look at the city of Jerusalem on a map, there's certain gates that lead in. And there was a sheep gate that led out to the valley that these Levitical shepherds would watch over this this tower from the tower of the flock to make sure that these these lambs were ready for the lamb selection day at what we would call Palm Sunday. This little yet powerful story starts to change though when Jesus has done everything up until this point until he makes a little bit of a detour and he doesn't come through the sheep gate. He comes through the eastern gate. He comes through the eastern gate where he would not be coming as a lamb that was meek and lowly. No sire. >> For the first time ever, he allows his followers to make known >> who he is. >> It's the first time he's ever been, you know, hey, hey, hey, just just just keep that under wraps. I'll touch your family. I'll heal your body. I'll do this. I'll do that. But just just keep that under wraps. you can follow me, but I'm going to go on out to the wilderness and separate myself cuz I've got to keep this all under control. And so, we see here that he would not be coming through the sheep gate this time. No sir, he's coming through the triumphant entry. He's coming through this eastern gate. He's on a journey from Mary and Martha's house from Bethany. And he stops in Beth Page and these two disciples fetch him this colt from the intersection. And today we recognize and stop this day of the lamb. And we we we celebrate this day as Palm Sunday, >> right? >> Where Jesus would not be in a womb of a mother or he wouldn't be wrapped in swaddling clothes. He would be fulfilling prophecy. As Zechariah says, "Rejoice greatly. >> Rejoice greatly, oh daughter of Jerusalem. Behold, here comes a king. >> Here comes a king." A moment that would have been something to see. All four gospels record it. They're worth comparing, but we don't have time to read them all. Let's read Matthew's account. Matthew 21 and verse number one. Please follow along with me if you can. And when they drew nigh unto Jerusalem, and were come to Beth Page up onto the Mount of Olives, then sent Jesus two disciples, saying unto them, "Go into the village over against you, and straightway you'll find an ass tied and a cult with her. Loose them and bring them unto me. And if any man say ought unto you, you should say, 'The Lord hath need of them, and straightway he will send them. All this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying, Tell ye, the son that the daughter of Zion, behold, the king cometh unto the meek, and sitth upon an ass, and the colt, the fo of an ass. And the disciples went and did as Jesus commanded, and brought the ass, and the colt, and put on they they put on their coats and set him thereon. They created a little saddle out of their their their garments if you could see it that way, you know, and and so we we see a lot of things here. I know um it takes some time in scripture to really study, but royalty in that day didn't ride on horses. Royal royalty rode on mules or donkeys. They were more sure-footed. They were more uh established. They were they were not they were easier easier to be tamed and these sorts of things. So this is uh he he he he said he calls him a a sure-footed beast of burden. You see pastor even referred to it earlier. It's the fulfillment of scripture that he gets he get gets on top of this untamed creature >> untamed this this and again I know I I think probably a little bit too much into these stories but I can imagine as the two disciples walk up and say hey this this thing's not broke I don't know if this is the right idea or not like you just going to jump on this thing and so I can imagine like they're they're putting they they take their coats off, you know, they're making this little this little saddle to try to help him like and it says they sat him up on there, you know, it's like maybe it looked like one of those rodeo shoots, you know, everybody's gathered around, just drop him in there, hope he makes it, you know. >> But you got to realize this wasn't a cowboy. This was the creator. >> And when you put the creator Yes. >> On the creation. >> Don't don't don't forget this is the one who says peace. >> Be still. This is not another person climbing upon the back of a beast. This is not another person that's it. Don't matter what's untamed or that man could tame or untamed. That donkey may have never been tamed by a man. But I'll tell you one thing that was never going to happen. He wasn't going to buck the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords. Why? Because you're talking about the creator that sat down. I'm sorry, but I just believe every portion of scripture is always there to remind me that he is alpha >> and he is omega. He is the beginning and the end, the first and the last. I don't know if you understand this, but he's he's able to sit down and rest upon anything. >> I'm sure there's people standing by thinking, "Here we go. >> You better get him on that thing before he gets in front of everybody, huh? better hang a carrot out in front of him or something. >> We're talking about the one who spoke to the wind. The one who is the fulfillment of scripture, fulfilling everything that's been spoken, fulfilling everything that was supposed to happen. You could put Jesus on anything because at the name of Jesus. >> You can put Jesus on absolutely anything. Anything you're dealing with tonight. You might have some untamed situations. You don't know how to tame it. You don't know how you don't know what to do. And and I know I know you're saying, "Man, you're stretching a lot out of this story." But somebody could get something out of the simple fact that he climbed up on a donkey that had never been tamed. >> Cuz you need to stop trying to break your situation and put Jesus on it. Some of you are are trying to tame your own situation. And he's just asking, "Can I sit on you? Can I rest on you? Can I be the one that is? >> If we'd stop trying to call all the shots, >> we might get to experience something we otherwise would not have been able to participate in. >> We're just all a bunch of donkeys carrying Jesus." That's right. >> God help us. >> Story goes on. And a very great multitude, pastor mentioned it. They spread their garments out in the way. Others cut down branches from trees and strawled them in the way. And the multitudes that went before and followed cried, saying, "Hosana to the son of David. Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord. Hosana in the highest." And when he was come into Jerusalem, all the city was moved. Some assume and they they say that they they think that there would have been over two million people gathered there. >> We're not talking about just a, you know, a family picnic or something. We're talking about a city that's full of people. >> The city was moved saying, "Who is this? Who is it? >> Because he comes riding in like a king. He didn't come through the sheep gate. >> He came in like a king. And they they respond. The multitude said, "This is Jesus, the prophet of Nazareth of Galilee. Who is this triumphal entry for?" There was multiple crowds there that day. Some asking who he was and others that I'm for certain knew exactly sure and well who he was. >> Jews gathered there for the day of the lamb. They're doing what they always do on this this day, this Palm Sunday. And and and then and crowds from Galilee had gathered. There's people who are there and they're only there because they just watched Jesus raise Lazarus from the dead. >> That's the crowd that was probably going crazy. Let's just be honest. That's probably the people ripping off tree branches going. >> Turn the page back. He came from Mary and Martha's house where he's eating with a man that's been dead four days. >> He still smells like the aroma. He literally left Bethany, stopped in Beth Page to pick up a donkey and comes right through the eastern gate. And there's people following behind him that not only want to see him, they want to see Lazarus. >> They want to see a man that was dead. These people want to see the miracle worker for themselves. They they they they're all playing a role in prophecy and they don't even know it. Historians say if you look back over the Gospels and you start looking, there's a man that's that's in that crowd that just a few days earlier, not too not too long in the history of what's going on in the Gospels, there's a man named Barardus. >> Hey, I'm pretty sure Barardeus looking at the pages, old Bart was there. >> Yeah. >> And I guarantee you old Bart wasn't saying nothing about Hosanna. Bart was singing the old song, I once was blind. >> But now I see. >> Hey, that's that's it. Yeah, that's that's Barnameus. He's not blind no more. >> Think about the crowd. Think about who was there. All the people that were standing over there have throwing a pity party for all of Lazarus's family because Jesus just don't care about us. >> All of a sudden, they're here. They are. They they they throwing their coats down. Many were fulfilling prophecy and didn't even realize it. There was a crowd shouting hosana, which means saved. Now, you can imagine it was like a testimony service. It was like a good Sunday night worship service. There was a leper there that's saying, "Oh, he healed me." I I can't help but think there's people in the audience. These are not followers that just said, "Hey, this looks like a cool thing. I mean, let's just jump in on the party. just a guy on the back of a donkey. No, these are people that says, "Hey, I guarantee you there's probably a lady there that said, "All I did was touch the hem of his garden." >> There's there's people in the crowd that says, "Oh, he he healed my daughter. >> He touched my son. He did this. He did that." And so, it's not just a demonstration of a people reciting something, throwing this palm branch back and forth. No, it's people that have been trying and they have been waiting to tell somebody about the goodness of Jesus. Why? Because he said, "Hey, no, no, no, no, no, not yet. I'm going to heal you, but you got to stay calm. Don't tell nobody about this miracle." And all of a sudden, he lets all of those who've been touched by the power of the God who's walking in flesh say, "Hey, come on. We're not going to ease around anymore. I'm going to release you to demonstrate publicly what you've been wanting to do for a long time. All of a sudden, there's this change. There's a shift that happens. Everybody that's the miracles of the gospel stories are all coming out of the woodwork and they've been following and say, "Hey, Jesus is going to let us have a personal party of how good he's been to us. Yeah, >> he's not going to hold us back anymore. Oh, Lazarus is walking around. I was just in that grave a few days ago. I bet he was I bet he was throwing his hands up. I bet he was He's probably the leader of the crowd, right? It's a triumphal entry. He set me free. He set me free. He healed my body. He touched my mind. It looks a lot like a worship service this Palm Sunday. Now, you can you can read John and Mark's account later for yourself. We don't have time to read it tonight. But let's look at Luke's account. Remember, it's the 10th day of Nissan, the day of the lamb, the lamb selection day. So, just as the lambs went through inspection, Jesus would go through inspection for four days. That's why he had four trials. Four days they checked the lamb out. Is it spotless? Is it without blemish? Nothing was happening with these lambs until the 14th day of Nissan. So, we see here that Jesus, he would experience the same 4-day inspection as all the other lambs that would be slain. He's put on trial three times by Pilate and once by Herod. And they found no blemish in him. >> They found no fault in him. It didn't m didn't matter how hard they looked. Didn't matter how hard they they they they tried. We found no blemish, no spot, no wrinkle, no fault. Luke 19 tells us this in chapter in verse 30 here of chapter 19, saying, "Go ye into the village." Watch how Luke records this. He says, 'You're going to find in in in which you're entering, you shall find a colt tied whereon yet a never never as a man sat to loose him. Luke's always going to give you the details. He's a doctor. All right. And if any man ask you, why do you loose him? Tell him that you say unto him because the Lord has need of him. And he said, they went their way and found even he had said unto them. And and and you see here he's he's he gets kind of detailed here. And I like this. As they were loosed the colt, the owner said thereof said unto him, why loose ye the colt? And he said, "Well, the Lord hath need of him." And they brought him to Jesus, and they cast their garments upon the colt, and they sat Jesus thereon. This this is a powerful moment, and I want you to understand this. This is one of the only times in scripture that we see that Jesus does not walk. Jesus is lifted up. Everywhere else, he's in a crowd. where you got to reach just to touch the hem of his garment. He's head height with everybody else. He's blended in. But all of a sudden, he says, "I want to be lifted up." It's a triumphal entry. It's the shift of everything that's happened in the gospels. It's the all of a sudden, it's the change that takes place as he says, "If I be lifted up, >> I'll draw all men unto me." He walked up Cal Calvar's hill, but he rode into the city from the east. >> He was lifted up and he said, "If I be lifted up," So you got to understand this is powerful because every time I've ever read that in my life, I think, "Hey, that's because he was lifted up on the cross and he was." But before he was lifted up on the cross, he was lifted up in praise. >> Before they lifted him up in a open shame, they lifted him up in a celebration. Before they did any of the things where they were spitting on him and mocking him, they put him on the kings. >> They put him on the king's trail and brought him into town and they celebrated him as they lifted him up. >> Can you see this? It's so powerful to see that there is this change. >> He had to allow the people to share who he was. He had to allow the celebration to take place. And as he went, Luke says, just like Matthew and Mark, John, they spread their clothes out in the way. They allowed him to walk on their garments. And when he come nigh, ever now at the descent of the Mount of Olives, the whole multitude of disciples began to rejoice and praise God with a loud voice for all the mighty works that he had done. I'm telling you, all those people that had been hiding and and and sitting back, all of a sudden, they said, "You're telling me I can praise him because I'm not a leper anymore. You're telling me I can praise him because I'm not bound anymore? You're telling me I can praise him because he cast demons out of me? You're telling me all the things that I've had to keep bound up, I can publicly display that now. >> Yes, sir. >> He said with a loud voice >> for all the mighty works he's done in all the other pages of scripture that we've read, saying, "Blessed is the king." Here we go. Zachchariah again, and cometh in the name of the Lord, peace in heaven and glory in the highest. And some of the Pharisees, I love this, and thank God Luke recorded it because the other three forgot it. Some of the Pharisees from among the multitudes said said unto him, "Master, rebuke these people, >> settle these folks down. We're tried to have the day of the lamb. We're trying to select. We're trying to have church. Would you calm these?" >> We're trying to do what we do every week. I come check my attendance list off and I shot drop the thing in the bucket and I leave and do what I always do. No, >> would you calm these folks down? I know there's some of you that just like my God, there he goes again. Them kids are running. That kids are spinning. He's a shouting. I don't know about you, but maybe God's done more for them than he's done for you. But there's somebody who was touched years ago that can't hold back their opportunity to give a public demonstration of what God had done in their life. There's not one time I want to be given an opportunity to bless the name of Jesus. And here's where it's at. We quote this scripture all the time. this is where it's at. >> Jesus responds. He says, "Hey, listen. This is prophetic. >> I can tell them to be quiet, but even if I do, >> the rocks." >> Why? Because this is not an entry through the sheep gate. This is not an entry that's just I'm gonna ease into town. I'm gonna come in by night. No, sir. It's a triumphal entry. You you can quiet this section down, but there's some rocks over here that are going to cry out. There's oceans will start singing. David said the trees will start clapping their hands. He said the heavens will declare my glory. I'm telling you, you can praise him if you but if you don't, something's going to cry out when it's time for him to enter the room. When it's time for him to come in the house, somebody's going to praise him. When I look back over my life, I don't want no carrots crying out for what my God has redeemed me from. >> God help us that we have to have a substitute sacrificer. >> We have to have a substitute worshipper. We have to have a substitute >> for what God did for you. >> God help us. I've been in this a long time. >> That means he's been good to you a long time. >> I praised him last week. Well, I'm glad he gave you breath the rest of the week. I'm telling you, the devil is doing his best to fill your mind with excuses. But if you would just praise him, there is a triumphal entry that when God comes in this time that he can do something like he's never done before. >> He says, "You better rebuke them. Tell them to stop." >> He says, "Oh," he said, "It don't matter if I tell them to stop." All creation. Why? Because you cannot stop what God has spoken. That's right. >> You can't stop what God has spoken over your life. >> Some of us cling to a promise as if it's an old bloody garment. >> We cling to things to callings and promises and things that we read. No, no, no. It is as fresh today as it ever has been. >> God help you and I to see what Zachchariah was saying and not miss this moment >> cuz that's what he says here. Keep reading with me. Keep reading. He says, "And when he was come near, he beheld the city, and he wept >> over it, >> saying, If thou hast known, >> thou at least in this day the things which belong unto thy peace, >> but now they are hid from thine eyes." >> You see that? If you can't see it, it's because you're not a worshshiper. >> There's things you can't see >> because you're not willing to worship. >> It's hid from your eyes. >> You don't see the purpose of lifting your hands. >> You don't see the purpose of pushing past the moment. You don't see the purpose of crying out. >> It's hid from your eyes. For the day shall come upon thee, and thine enemies shall cast a trench about thee, and compass thee round, and keep thee on every side, and shall lay thee, even with the ground, and thy children within thee, and they shall not leave in thee one stone upon another, because thou knowest not the time >> of thy visitation. I can see the emotion of the Savior. There's no wonder that Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John couldn't write the first two words because Jesus as he sees Lazarus and he sees the woman at the well perhaps and he sees this one and that one that are rejoicing for what he's done, he sees people, >> millions perhaps of people that have no idea >> that the lamb that would be slain for the foundation of the world >> is in in the midst. You miss the moment. This is the second time we see Jesus openly weeping within two or three pages of scripture. This time it's because we didn't acknowledge him. Here he is. I'm declaring that I am the alpha and the omega. That's why I'm doing what I'm doing. He's he's on the back of this mule because he is the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords. And they missed him. He's about to be crucified. He's about to do everything that the whole Old Testament is about and everybody missed it. And I'm so so stirred tonight because I believe if you miss him now, you'll miss him later. >> If you miss him coming through the eastern gate on the back of the donkey, you'll miss him coming through the eastern gate on the back of a horse. I'm telling you, we missed the moment. The next time Israel sees this king, he'll be coming in great power >> cuz he's coming back. >> It's a triumphal entry. He would He's just allowing the people that's been following him for years now just to honor him, to lift him up, to give him praise, and to hopefully give a hint to everybody else that is ignorant to who he is. An opportunity to participate in adoring and honoring and lifting up the King of Kings. It's a worship service. There's times I've been in church services, especially as a young person, Brother Tony, I didn't know what was going on, but I knew I wasn't going to sit back and watch everybody else do it. >> Right. There's times where you might not even know that Monday's carrying something that you're not ready for. and and and brother Ben Lee takes off running. You ought to run with him. >> Why? Because it's a triumphal entry. Why miss the opportunity? Why miss the visitation? Why? Whip. I mean, if if everybody over at the UT game stands up and starts clapping their hands, you stand up. Start clapping your He's weeping because there's a portion of the people in the crowd that don't even know he's there. They're over there eating their popcorn, scrolling through, seeing who won the game. And they don't realize the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords is here just wanting a little honor. I've been here. I've been serving this community. I came here. I'm about to die for you. I just want to be lifted up for a moment. Lifted up for a moment. Come on. Could you just take just a moment and lift him up? Could you maybe throw your head back and just give him a praise from your heart that just is consumed with love and adoration towards him. Oh, hallelujah. >> Hallelujah. I couldn't help but tonight >> as I was thinking throughout the week about this Sunday, what it means, only God could have a triumphal entry for a battle he hadn't won yet. I was thinking uh the other day I was at a a sporting event. Some young people were playing and I happened upon a group of kids that they didn't have nothing else to do and you you wouldn't believe it but they were on their phones. It was shocking. Um and uh they were watching some video and then they would all get up. They put the phone down. They would all get up and they would all start doing these dances. And I'm not going to mimic them because I'll end up on social media. But I happened to pick up after like 15 minutes of sitting there and trying to see what's going on because it's super distracting. There's like five of them dancing around looking foolish. They were planning out what they were going to do when they made the shot. They were planning out what they were going to do when they won the game. They were planning out their victory dance before they even got on the court. >> That's right. >> And I thought, man, that's pretty powerful. And I couldn't help it today, I was reading, I was thinking, that's pretty much what's going on here. >> He's coming in as a already victorious King of Kings. Oh, many would say he's the lamb slain, but no, he come riding in like he's already out of the grave. >> Only God could walk in with victory >> about to be crucified. I >> I just don't know if you could fathom what I'm talking about. I believe the tears that Jesus had flowing from his eyes is knowing the potential of what was on the other side of a praiser. >> I mean, it's great that Lazarus is praising him. My God, he should be dead. >> But there's somebody over here that's blind to the fact that if they would praise him, God would do something. I'm telling you, the greatest capacity lid that you have on your life is waiting until after the victory is over to praise him because you're only getting half of what God's got for you, I'm telling you right now, if you would praise God on the entry side of your miracle, God would do greater things in the midst that you could praise him greater on on the other side. Only God could have a triumphal entry to a crucifixion. I'm here to tell you, I'm here to preach to you tonight. God is wanting to make a triumphal entry into your situation. He don't want to sneak into your situation. He wants to demonstrate his power. He wants to demonstrate his glory, but he needs you to demonstrate your praise. He needs you to demonstrate that I'm unashamed. I'm undignified. I'll take my willing to look foolish. Are you willing to take off your identity? Pastors already talked about it. This was their identity. He says, "Are you willing to take off the old man? Are you willing to put down Oh, let me read you. Let me read you. I'm fixing to let them go cuz they've already been singing it. Pastor Ericson's already been singing it. We don't even realize it. We sing it in the future. Dance like he did it. He hadn't even done it yet. But you've got to dance like he's going to do it. But the only way that can happen in your life is you got to rid yourself of your pride. You got to take off what yesterday says. You got to take off what's holding you back. Here it is. Here it is. This is probably one of my most favorite scriptures in all the Bible. Psalms 109 and 29. Let my adversaries be clothed with mine infirmities. Let what I used to wear be on him. And let them cover themselves with their own confusion. As with a mantle, some of us are never going to get a mantle because we're not willing to take off our infirmities. But I want you to see what's going to happen to the adversary here in just a moment. It's the same thing that happened in this triumphal entry. They begin to throw down their garments and starts walking the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords. Can you imagine what's happening with the adversary that just felt all the fury, all the wrath, all the confusion. >> What he had on you, he now wears. That's what David said. He said, "I want you to feel a little bit of what I've been feeling. You can have the confusion that I had last night where you were telling me the lies as I was trying to go to sleep. I'm going to take that off right now and I'm going to put it under my feet where it belongs. Now, I'm going to challenge you. I'm going to challenge you for just a moment. Here's what we got tonight. This is a helicopter. It's not a plane. We're not going to go through the safety instructions. We're just going to take off. I'm going to give you an opportunity for a triumphal entry and then we're going to make a triumphal extra and celebrate 50 years. Are you with me? This ain't going to be me getting up four times and being like, "Oh, you really ought to praise him." You either love him or you don't. You're either in the crowd that wants to praise him or you don't. Yeah. Either I wish you'd throw your head back, close your eyes, and would you take off the garment of heaviness and put on praise in the name of Jesus? Would you give him a triumphal entry into the house of the Lord at this first apostolic church on a Sunday night?