Palm Sunday: The Real Story - I

The following message from Pastor Greg Laurie is made possible by some special friends of this ministry. Pastor Greg wanted to see a special word of thanks to the harvest partners who make this ministry possible next time your online check out Pastor Greg's personal blog@blog.greglaurie.com one links go to listen to this angry when we become a barrier to people combing the Holy Spirit draws people helping or hurting that word. Pastor Greg Laurie says consider your part. We want to hear the word of God do we want to expose the gospel, we want to call them the Christ, and so are you are you a barrier people coming to Christ and police cars a hard time getting to the action not only because of it. See also because of the people pulled over to help lift their cars in the way that kind of help are we helping people come to the Lord in the way today on a new beginning.

Pastor Greg Laurie helps us do our part to bring Jesus Christ. What makes you really mad with you. I'm usually very irritable when I'm hungry.

My wife will even say are you hungry, she says, you just need to eat something.

I think they call it being angry right, not just angry but angry. That's hunger and anger combined together but I have to admit there are things that kind of irritate me and a lot of them have to do with that little thing most of us carry around in our pocket called a cell phone. I mean they just taken our lives over in many ways they're ruining our lives. People don't even talk to each other anymore. You'll stand in line for a couple coffee and no one will say hey how you doing are things going I was looking at the phone looking at their fellow people walk across crosswalks with looking at their phone and even maybe they have the green light but people be careful but you know it when someone's talking to you. Don't text because it's sort of offensive. It's like they're talking using some very important notes and you look at your phone in your text, and whether talking until we have almost think what you're saying to me does not matter to me is able. Greg would've what they're saying doesn't matter to me.

Well, don't be so rude don't let them know you actually feel that way.

By the way, we know when you're texting down below the table.he then you're looking down periodically, we can tell because your property moving her lips as you text there's another one when I'm in line at the for the ATM machine. Why do people wait until they get to the machine to take the card out. If you're waiting behind.

Two people could have done that already about this one. Why do I always get seated. When I fly behind the person who needs to fully recline their seat so the whole time I'm looking at there's job this is it up in the my wife, her legs are shorter, it always happened to me doing some better listen.

There are things that do anger and sometimes it can actually affect our health. According to a Harvard study that was done on anger 10 million adult men in the United States are so angry there actually physically sick. Their disease even has a name it's intermittent explosive disorder. I eat D studies have revealed that bad tempered people are three times more likely to have heart attacks. Also, when you're angry you will often say and do really stupid things. One expert said and I quote the angry or we get the more stupid we become what our emotional brain is in charge. We see things in black and white are likely to make stupid and damaging decision. Think about it. Have you ever said something and anger to your spouse and you were just sure you were right to say that than the adrenaline, wears off and you see you've reduced them to tears. In reality kicks in and you discover that that was really a rude thing to say about when you want to send an email off to someone in effect, as you're typing in your get typing really hard to communists all say this to them and then you hit send and then three seconds later you think maybe I should listen that and now you're googling, how do I get my email back answer you don't truly think before you send it.

Sometimes a good idea, type out the letter just don't get sent but here's something that might surprise you. Sometimes it's good to be angry.

There is a good kind of anger that you can tell a lot about a person by what they laugh at and what makes them angry. I think the key is we don't want to have sinful anger Ephesians 426 says the angry but do not sin. Do not let the sun go down and you rather give place to the devil you might be surprised to know that even Jesus Christ himself at times was angry. What made Jesus angry will you look at that and I message today, are also going to look at what makes God sad. Yes God can experience sadness just like you and I can regular CS story before is here where Jesus shows both deep sorrow and righteous indignation. And this is all around the topic of Palm Sunday and I think a lot of times people don't really understand Palm Sunday Palm Sunday to Easter is sort of what Thanksgiving is the Christmas we just get through it well.

Palm Sunday is a very significant day today. Of course, when Christ came into Jerusalem riding the donkey. What we often call the triumphal entry, but really it was the count down to Calvary. Jesus was very intentional. He was on his way into this city to begin that final part of his ministry. He was very popular at this point in his name was on everybody's lips get a huge following of social media. It was blowing up Twitter and Instagram and Facebook. Not really. But if it'd been this date it would have been similar.

Everybody was talking about Jesus and so they cured Jesus is coming to town in verse 11 of the chapter before us is as they heard these things, he spoke another parable because he was near Jerusalem and they thought the kingdom of God would appear immediately so that people thought this is it. Jesus is going to overthrow the stinking Romans ever going to be free again and is going to establish his kingdom on earth so people began to celebrate. People were very excited, but they were misunderstanding his mission. He was not coming to overthrow Rome's army was rather coming to set in order God's temple. And so in many ways this was a bittersweet day. It was sweet because people were singing this praises for a moment, but it was better because these same fickle people were going to turn on him in a short period of time. Some of the people were saying hosanna on Palm Sunday were saying, crucify him only days later.

Yes, he was the king for some, but only for a day but he was coming to fulfill his purpose.

So let's read what happened on the first Palm Sunday.

Look at Luke chapter 19 starting at verse 37 when he reached the place where the road started down the Mount of olives.

All of his followers began to shout and sing as they walked along praising God for all the wonderful miracles that they had seen blessing on the king who comes in the name of the Lord Jesus in heaven and glory in the highest heaven with some of the Pharisees among the crowd said teacher, rebuke your followers for saying things like that. Jesus replied if they kept quiet, the stones along the road would burst into cheers. But as they came closer to Jerusalem and he saw the city ahead. Jesus began to weep saying how I wish today that you of all people would understand the way to peace. But now it's too late, and peace is hidden from your eyes. So here in the first Palm Sunday, Jesus was doing something that was what we might call a real attention getter.

No, Jesus would perform a miracle he would touch a person and he would often say my hour has not yet come.

Don't tell anybody my hour is not yet come will know is our discount. The hour for Jesus to go and voluntarily die on the cross.

Mr. Greg Laurie will have the second half of this message just a moment. We love hearing stories about how God's Word touches lives. I've always believed in God, but I guess I never understood or was a skeptic my life was pretty good but something inside was telling me that there's more stagnant struggle with stress and anxiety just started reading the Bible for the first time in 40 years, finally starting to make sense and anxiety since last I realize my problems were connected to the lack of purpose in my life no more. I surrendered my heart to the Lord would encourage his word impacted your life would you let us know tell us your story by emailing gray and gray@harvest.org again, that's great@harvest.org as we begin to prepare our hearts for Easter pastor Greg is helping set the stage with today's message Palm Sunday real story in a just a few minutes.

Pastor Greg has a word about a brand-new resource for kids. It's good news for parents coming up. It seems odd to us to think about Jesus riding into town on a donkey. I mean, it seems like an Arabian stallion would be more apropos right but he chooses a donkey.

I think sometimes we think that sort of a humble creature that one would not want to write if they were coming in as a victory. You know, the president of the United States is a special limo. It has its own plane wherever the president goes, that limo goes and it's called the beast. It's an adaptive catalog with 8 inch armor plating, bulletproof windows and much more. That's followed by a string of cars so it's a huge entourage. It's very impressive. I've been to Washington DC and I've seen this car drive by the beast with the president of United States inside of it.

You know, very impressive done done done done done deducted… Done right. Okay. Imagine for a moment if instead of that incredible adopted Cadillac car. The president drives in. He drove something more along the lines of the previous the presidential previous set of done done done, it would be more like rain rain rain rain got some very impressive so that so we may sort of see Jesus coming in to Jerusalem on a donkey, why would he pick that creature actually the meaning was not lost on the Romans or the Jews. It was really a perfect choice. You see, in Roman culture. When a hero returned from war as a victor he would come back on a donkey and they would lay palm branches out before so for the Romans. He was effectively declaring himself as a king but in Jewish culture. They also knew that when Messiah King.

He would come also riding a donkey.

Zechariah 99 says rejoice greatly, O daughter of Jerusalem. Behold, your king comes to you.

He's just having salvation lowly and riding on a donkey, so this was something that was very significant in the people understood also know that Jesus was a wanted man. I don't know if they had posters around town wanted Jesus for anarchy and revolution, but he was a wanted man. There was actually a price on his head, Caiaphas the high priest and said if anyone knew were Jesus was patient reported immediately. So here he comes plaintiff and if you will, declaring himself to the Romans as a conqueror and declaring himself to the Jews as the Messiah's owner said he was not coming as a hopeless victim. He was coming as a powerful victor marching bravely in the battle for 38 says they cried out. Blessed is he that comes in the name of the Lord. Another gospel tells us to use the word hosanna understand the word hosanna means save now so contextually what they were saying was Jesus doing now establish your kingdom now overthrow these Roman tyrants now and what does Jesus do verse 41 says he saw the city and he wept over, went what Gary everyone, the party they're excited there singing for love break good times come on, Dan, and Jesus standing there really. I wonder if anybody even notice, but why was Jesus crying. By the way, the word that is used different crying is speaking. That was something audible. He was openly weeping. He was broken hearted.

Why would he be brokenhearted at a party like this because his ministry was almost over.

Time is short and by and large, she had been rejected. Bible says he came to his own and his own received him not. Jesus healed their sick. He raise their dead declines. Their leprosy for their hungry and he forgave their sins, but at this point he's mostly alone and rejected any knew that one of his own disciples was about to betray him Judas Iscariot. We always want to pay Judas as a complete villain he really was a complete goal in but didn't come up that way at first he was among the 12 disciples handpicked by Jesus and considered to be a friend by Jesus. Do you remember what Jesus said to Judas Iscariot when Judas fled the temple guard to arrest Christ in the Garden of Gethsemane Jesus said to Judas friend, why have you come Fred about fiend why have you come he called him Fred. Remember the Scripture tells us that Messiah is asked where he received those wounds and he said I receive them in the house of my friends. Jesus was weeping because he had been rejected. Jesus was weeping because he would be betrayed. Not only that he would be betrayed by one of his friends and he knew also that Simon Peter would deny him the most of the disciples would go into hiding and this broke his heart.

So we've seen what makes God sad. Unbelief makes God sad rejection of his promises makes God sad. Let me ask this.

What makes God mad. Go to Luke chapter 19 look at verse 45. He went into the temple and began to drive out those who bought and sold in it, saying to them, it is written, my house is a house of prayer, but you have made it a den of the understand this was not an explosion of anger on the part of Jesus.

This was righteous indignation. Aren't you glad God doesn't lose his temper that be scary if God just I got really mad throwing planets around you know he doesn't ever lose his temper, but he does display anger but it's a holy anger the gospel of Mark gives us a few more details about this because in Mark 1115. It says when they arrived back in Jerusalem. Jesus entered the temple he began to drive out the merchants and their customers and knocked over the tables of the money changers in the stalls of those selling dogs. They had separate T violent act to overturn a table. These were large tables so he was saying. I don't like what's going on here what was going on there. There were people that were taking advantage of those would come to worship in the temple they would have these approved animals that they could use in the sacrifices that they would sell to the folks had jacked up prices so you can with your own animal that there I'm sorry that sublime as you can offer that but were having a great deal on our special preapproved kosher sacrificial lambs, whether to buy one of these listen instead of praying for the people they were praying on the people and they were actually keeping people from worshiping God know this even in the Old Testament God wanted both Gentile and Jew to believe in him, though the temple belonged to the Jewish people. It was open to the Gentiles as well. So, summing it up. What makes God angry.

Listen to this God gets angry when we become a barrier to people coming to Christ. Listen to this.

This can happen in the church as well. You know, we can become a very exclusive club, and someone that's not one of us." Whatever that would be in your mind comes then we might say what way were they in church will look it up or why would they wear a shirt with that slogan. Why would she dress that way in church. Why would he come here with obviously the issues he's dealing with. When the second is that a gay couple there in church, what, why would they be in church oh is a person transsexual. Should they be in church listen. The church should be available to everyone. It's not just a place for us to worship a good place for us to reach out to a lot of people that need Jesus cries, here's my question for you. Are you a bridge or are you a barrier to people coming to Christ be a bridge yeah you know figure it out, sometimes people to come to church aren't Christians yet still we want them to hear the word of God. Don't we want them to be exposed to the gospel. Don't we want to call them the Christ. Remember, one of the criticisms of Jesus himself when he walked this earth was he's a friend of sinners. Yesterday was because he wanted those sinners to become saints. How can a sinner become a saint. If I'm not having a dialogue with them in communication with them. And so Jesus was angry that these people were being driven away, but I think we need to pray, say, Lord, I want to be a bridge to nonbelievers coming to believe you are Greg Laurie Gordon inside today on being an effective partner with the Lord bringing people to face. Glad you joined us today here on a new beginning. Listen if you want some additional help in sharing your faith more effectively when I take advantage of Pastor Greg free online study course called tell someone. It's one of the most important privileges the Lord has given us. It's all part of our mission to equip believers to know him and make him known. Get the details on this practical study course@courses.harvest.org and then the pastor Greg is a word about a brand-new resource parents and grandparents are really going to love so were very happy to be offering this to book set called sound in love, written by Sally Lloyd Jones, and Kathy is here in studio with my wife. It's Easter time. It seems like this is a really good book to give to a child for Easter what you think is a grandmother I am concerned that all the junk in candidate kids get given at that time in their Easter baskets. I'm always looking for something special to put in their basket and this would be an amazing gift to give the master time.

First of all, there's all kinds of little lands in the illustrations shared that the books that is so gorgeous it comes in this hardcover box and two hardcover books with ads included in there is an original keepsake print which shows a shepherd holding cuddling a little lamb in his arm so this is perfect at Easter time but also just say a word to him. Those of you that is looking to give somebody a sweet gift anyway adult child whatever age you are going to find this book will be a special way to minister to somebody who needs to know that they are loved and found by guide and I I've read it. It has spoken to my heart. It's something that I want to reread and think about because these two books are based on Psalm 23 and the Lord's prayer to very, very familiar passage is so familiar that we only hear the words anymore. This is a way to share it with fresh ears and to welcome into your heart and a new way so I don't see children alike appreciate this look at Easter time. Hey stick it in your Easter basket. Excellent idea. Yeah just contact us and will send Shelley's inspiring resource your way to thank you for your donation effect if you can help us on a regular basis. We hope you will ask about becoming a harvest partner. These are special friends who invest in this outreach each month and if you like to receive found them loved by Easter. Be sure to call us for information on expedited shipping options are number is 1-800-821-3300. That's 1-800-821-3300 or you can write us at a new beginning. Box 4000, Riverside, CA 92514 or go online to harvest.org. Easter is the most hopeful time of year. Pastor Greg Laurie points on the pathway to eternal life. Jesus Christ came out of it empty to fill, aren't you know who needs hope this Easter season bring them to hear the good news Pastor Greg special music at is the perfect opportunity to bring someone to church that does not get to know the Lord. 82% of the uninsured are likely to attend church have a friend or coworker, neighbor or family member invites and here's the big difference this year to do it all online. That's right, Easter is coming to use your house your tablet to your phone wherever you want to view it.

Just go to harvest.org to find out more, let's work together to reach the largest group of people we have ever been able to make contact with this company. Easter harvest Easter on line will Pastor Greg brings more insight on the significance of Palm Sunday, we are preparing our hearts for the Easter celebration here on a new beginning with Pastor Greg before we close you know we are all talking about covert, 19, and the impact it's had on our country. Could we take just a moment before go and pray. We all need to be taking this crisis to the Lord. Yes, let's all pray father I pray right now for anyone who's lost a loved one due to the coronavirus Lord I'm asking for your comfort to be extended to them because you are the God of all comfort. If that person was a believer.

We rejoice that we will see him again and they're not only a part of our past, but there also a part of our future comfort. The broken hearted. I pray for protection for anybody here who's been exposed to the coronavirus Lord let them not get sick. And if they are sick. Lord healed and quickly quicken the healing process. Lord I pray that you will use this moment in American history to wake up the church to share the gospel is Billy Graham did so faithfully in his day that we would share the gospel with our generation. We pray that you will send a spiritual awakening to America were overwhelmed by this pandemic and we don't know what to do were reminded of the story of Jehoshaphat the king of Israel, who was overwhelmed by his enemy and he said we don't know what to do better eyes are upon you, Lord and father are eyes are upon you now intervene, hear our prayer. We ask this so Jesus possible by harvest partners, helping people everywhere know God sign up for pastor grades free daily email devotions and harvest.org