The Results of Rejecting God's Authority

Intro:

In the Jr High ministry we have been going through the Gospel of Mark. And over the last few weeks we have been looking at the last week of Jesus’ earthly ministry, what we call Passion Week.

this all starts on the the Sunday before Jesus’ crucifixion, what we know it as Palm Sunday, the Triumphal Entry.

see Jesus’ ministry, the things He has been doing, the people He has encounter have all been leading to this moment in time when Jesus will enter the City of Jerusalem. It is here at this moment , on what we know as Palm Sunday, that Jesus will ride on a colt into the City, with the people proclaiming hosanna , or save now....

Jesus is entering the City proclaiming himself not only as king but also as the saving Messiah, fulfilling the prophecy of Zech. 9:9

Matthew 21:4–5 NKJV

All this was done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying: “Tell the daughter of Zion, ‘Behold, your King is coming to you, Lowly, and sitting on a donkey, A colt, the foal of a donkey.’ ”

In the book of Dan. 9 it speaks of the timing of the messiah entering the City , the time frame given by Daniel is precise , and Jesus fulfilled that prophecy to the day, on this day that He entered the City.

For 3 years Jesus has been proclaiming the good news, He has been healing the sick, forgiving sins and all the while, He has made it a point to say.... ‘MY time is not yet come”.....

The reason He would say that was because He understood the perfect timing of God, and the prophecies that would have to be fulfilled, so the way Jesus would enter into Jerusalem and the time He would enter Jerusalem were all important.

Transition

Turn to John 12

So the last week of Jesus’ earthly ministry starts with this entrance into the City. Jesus would ride a donkey from the area of Bethany which was to the East of the City and He would travel to the west coming the the mount of Olives which is this mountain hill area that overlooks the City of Jerusalem. On this trip the people would be proclaiming Hosanna , Hosanna, blessed is HE who comes in the name of the Lord, which is from Ps. 118, which was one of the Hallel psalms that would be sung during the passover feasts, which is the reason everyone was gathering in the City. The passover would be a few days away.

but what i want to do this evening to to stop and take a look at two different events that took place before Jesus enters the City . As a junior high ministry there are some things that we have been looking at, and I thought as the Lord is trying to teach us some things here , it would be good for all of us to look at these things and to draw out some practical applications.

Read John 12:1-8

This part of the story takes place the night before the Triumphal entry . Jesus finds himself in the house of His friends, Mary, Martha and Lazarus. Lazarus had died a few days earlier and Jesus had brought him to life.

Here as Jesus and the disciples gathered, we see the story of Mary coming and pouring out this very costly oil at the feet of Jesus and she begins to wipe the oil with here hair.

This oil would have been expensive, it is believed to have been worth 1 years wages...... it is possible it was the money meant to be used as doawarry , for her marriage.

But this picture is a beautiful picture of a person worshiping Jesus in full surrender, she is giving everything she had, even if it cost her all she had, she is giving all she has in worship to God in this moment....

and i love what V.3 says.

“And the house was filled with the fragrance of the oil”.

This woman’s worship has filled the house, everyone would be aware of this woman’s sacrificial act of worship in surrender.

Transition

The night comes to a close and Jesus now finds himself riding donkey on His way to Jerusalem the next day. He comes to the top of the mount of Olives which overlooks the City of Jerusalem and we begin to see what happens before Jesus enters the City.

Read Luke 19:41-44

what i want to really focus on today is the heart of Jesus in this moment that He is entering the City.

Rejection of Jesus

I. Rejection of Who Jesus was (Luke 19:41-42)

We need to see that as Jesus is overlooking the City , we are told that He begins to weep. That word in the original language speaks of sobbing, of this heart wrenching cry. It was not a couple of tears, but this was an emotion that came from a broken heart.

and we are told why Jesus wept. It tells us that Jesus wept because the people in the City did had not “known” this day the things that make for your peace.

The word “known” speaks of to know something from personal experience.

The word “peace” speaks of - to tie together or wholeness.

In other words Jesus wept because the people this day did not personally know the things that would bring a wholeness to their lives.

understand that Jesus entering the City fulfilling the prophecy of Zeceriah would mean Jesus was the Messiah, the prince of Peace, the saviour that Israel has been waiting for. The problem is that the Jews rejected Jesus as the Messiah. They refused to believe that Jesus was the Son of God, they refused to see Jesus for who He was.

Jesus was the very person who they were longing for. A relationship with Jesus was the very thing that would bring peace to their lives, or the very thing that would bring a wholeness to their lives. But the people were rejecting Him.

Transition

you fast forward 2,000 years later and you find the same thing to be true today. You have people who understand and who feel a hole within their lives and you have a world that is pursuing all kinds of things with the attempt of trying to fill that hole they have in their hearts.

sex, drugs, relationships, approval from parents, approval from friends, from social media platforms etc...... And for many people their lives becomes a life trying to fulfill that empty feeling within them never able to satisfy that.

and Jesus would look over a world today with the same broken heart knowing that the one thing we are looking for , a wholeness is found in a relationship with Him. Yet how many of us reject God today. We come to church and play the christian game, but we don’t actually have a relationship with God.

but these people not only rejected who Jesus was, they rejected His Authority.

II. Rejection of Jesus’ Authority (Luke 19:47-48, 20:1-8)

Jesus would go on to teach daily in the temple leading up to His death and we are told that the religious leaders sought to destroy Him. In Chp. 20 these religious leaders will actually question Jesus by what Authority He is doing these things.

The Religious leaders were rejecting the very words of Jesus, they were rejecting Him and questioning His authority. They did not see Him or His words as coming from God, therefore there was no need to listen to Him of follow Him.

Transition

we can see this take place in our day and age. People even within the church that reject the Authority of God in their lives.

Question

HOW DOES A PERSON REJECT GOD’S AUTHORITY TODAY ?

one of the ways is just like these religious leaders, rejecting the very words of God. Rejecting the bible.

one of the biggest issues with the world we live in today is the fact that no one believes in an absolute truth. And the reason why is because no one wants to be told what to do, no one wants to be told how to live their lives. The bible is absolute truth....

so if you get rid of the bible, of a standard that i am supposed to live by and have no standard, then i can do what i want. This is the way the world thinks. Now they do this because they think they are supper smart and above the bible..... but the bible tells us that people think this way because they are walking according to the direction that satan is taking them.

Ephesians 2:1–2 NKJV

And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins, in which you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience,

and as a result they will reject the bible as being truth and as it being the words of God.

Transition

now what is scary today is not that a world that does not know God rejects the bible, but that Christians reject the bible. You have today thousands of people including in our church, people we may even know, who have began to compromise on their beliefs in the bible.

oh maybe the bible is okay with me drinking, oh maybe it is okay for gay people to get married, maybe it is okay for having sex with a person outside of marriage, maybe it is okay with having an abortion. You get what i am saying.

The society around us who is led by Satan is trying to make these things that are black and white seem grey, they are trying to get us used to the sinful things as normal until we become accustom to it and no longer believe them to be wrong. This is what happens and all of a sudden , we compromise our moral standard, we begin to reject God’s authority in my life, reject His word.

i know the bible says this, but i want to do this instead. This is the danger of allowing yourself to listen to music that is against biblical standard, this is why it is not good to watch movies or tv shows that promote things that are not biblical ..... because if you expose yourself to this thinking enough, sooner or later it will be normal to you and you will begin to even believe these sinful things and act upon them.

III. Rejection of Jesus’ Timing in their lives (v. Luke 19:44)

Jesus twice tells us that the people did not know the time. That word time speaks of the opportune time. See Jesus was entering Jerusalem as the King and savior of the word. The one who would bring peace and wholeness to them spiritually.

but the religious leaders rejected not only who Jesus was, not only Jesus’s Authority but they rejected the timing of Jesus.

The Jews were waiting for the Messiah to come , but their thoughts were that the Messiah was coming as a conquering king to overthrow Rome. Even as Jesus was walking in, these religious leaders waiting for a different time. They missed the day that was directly infront of them.

Transition

this is a hard one i must admit. Even i have a hard time both waiting on God’s time and knowing God’s timing. And this can be an area that if we are not careful, we can reject God as well by rejecting His timing in our lives.

see we have to understand that God is sovereign and has our entire lives in His control.

Jeremiah 29:11 NKJV

For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope.

Psalm 139:17–18 NKJV

How precious also are Your thoughts to me, O God! How great is the sum of them! If I should count them, they would be more in number than the sand; When I awake, I am still with You.

God has a plan and purpose for our lives and He is working all things for God in our lives according to His plans - ROm. 8:28 would tell us.

No Patience

but we often times do not have the paitences to wait for God’s timing and we force things to happen. This happens a lot at this age with relationships. Because you are growing up, your hormones are active and alive and going nuts.... so boys and girls become a thing that you are attractive to, which is normal.

the problem is that we act upon those impluses and desires within us. Lets be real...... dating is meant to prepare for marriage. But how many in high school are thinking about marriage? All we are thinking about is that person is hot, and i want to be with them. We are not thinking with God’s heart and plan in mind for us, we are just thinking by our emotions and desires.

this is how people get themselves in relationships they should never be a part of, and do things they never should have done. The bottom line is , if you are not thinking about marriage, then you have no business talking to a girl or boy with the intent of a relationship.

No Faith

sometimes we can also reject God’s Authority in our lives by not being obedient to what He has called us to do. Sometimes he is telling us to do something and we don’t want to do it. It is uncomfortable, it is embrassing, whatever it is.... but we make excuses for not taking a step of faith and obeying God. This too can be rejecting God’s authority in our lives and also breaks God’s heart.

now We have seen why Jesus had a broken heart and why He wept. The people rejected who He was, they would miss true peace. The people rejected God’s Authority including His word. The people would reject God’s timing because it didn’t fit within their plans.

i want you to know that rejecting God has great consequences .

Result of Rejecting Jesus

I. Israel would be spiritually Blind (LK 19:42)

we see that at the end of this verse Jesus says that these things were hidden from their eyes. in other words they were unable to see what God was doing.

in the book of Ex. we see the story of Moses and Pharoh. You remember that Moses went before Pharoah many times telling him to “let my people go” yet each time , he rejected this and we are told that his heart was getting hard.

each time Pharoah rejected God’s plan, his heart grew a little bit more and more hard.

this is a picture of what happens to you and i . The more we reject who God is, the more we reject God’s Authority in our lives, reject His word, reject His timing.... our hearts get more and more heart until it becomes like a stone. It can become so hard that the things of God no longer affect us or move us....... if you know people who grew up in the church and are now living in sin ..... this is what has happened and can happen to you .

Rejecting God leads to a hardened heart, a hardened heart leads to spiritual blindness which leads to judgement.

These religious leaders could not see who Jesus was and what He was going to do.

Application

When a person is in the dark, they cannot see what is taking place directly infront of them. This can happen to us. God can be trying to work in our lives and He may be trying to use us...... but sometimes we don’t realize that we are spiritually blind.

Spiritual blindness is ….. the inability to see Him and to know Him or hear Him.

i would suggest that if you are having a hard time hearing God, if you are having a hard time seeing what God is doing in your life , if you don’t have this personal knowledge of God..... then you are probably in spiritual blindness. It is time to open your eyes by coming and crying out to God today.

II. Israel would crucify Jesus

the people would ultimately all cry out “ cruxcify him” a few days from now. These would all turn on Jesus and commit spiritual homicide. A premeditated action to take the life of someone.

this is a scary place to be. A person who willfully makes decisions without regarding life. That is what these people would do.

Application

think about a person who willfully rejects God without regard to their own spiritual life. A person who is okay with dying spiritually. This can be us when we make descisions that are sinful. This is a person who is so far away from God who has come to give life.

John 10:10 NKJV

The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.

III. Israel’s temple would be destroyed ( 40 years later) ( Lk. 19:43)

Ultimately, Israel would be judged by their actions. 40 years later the temple and the city would be conquered and destroyed by Roman General Titus. He would litterally encamp around the city, circle around them cutting off the supplies and would engage in a battle destroying the walls and the temple.

men 17 and older were chained and sentenced to death either in the coloseum or in the mines in Eygpt. Women and children were sold into slavery.

it is estimated that some 650K - 1.5 million people would die during this siege of Jerusalem. Talk about the judgement that came as a result of a people rejecting God.

Application

i want you to see the progression. There were 40 years of slowing rejecting God’s authority. Judgement didn’t happen over night..... There were a series of small descisions that were made, and little by little , year by year it would ultimately lead them to their judgement. They would be in bondage, a slave and would die.

there is no way to put it. That is exactly what happens when a person rejects God in their lives, eventually there will be consequences to those choices.

we started out by looking at a woman who was the contrast to this story. A woman who gave everything whatever the cost to worship and to surrender to God. This was just one woman who made a choice.

you too will have a choice to make. You can follow the crowd and reject God in your life , reject His word, or you can be the one person who chose to surrender themselves before Jesus’ feet in full surrender.