Keys to Being a True Worshipper

Tonight's passage is one we hear on a very regular basis. We focus on the praise they gave Jesus. While the things they said are things Jesus is worthy of, their praise was tainted because their hearts were not truly following after Christ.

The Jews were hoping he was coming to bring victory through the slaying of the Romans, but Jesus was really coming to bring victory by allowing himself to be slain for our sins. When they come to the realization Jesus was not going to fit their expectations they began to seek his death.

Does a large crowd usually equal the right path? Usually not. Matthew 7:13-14 is a good reminder of this. Not many choose the right path. Just because a large group is believing something does not mean it is right.Just because a large group is singing worship songs does not necessarily mean it is a healthy true believing group.

If your praise is tainted by your unbelieving heart, unbelief will eventually come out through your behavior. The crowds true heart shows in John 19 as the priest and Jews shout crucify him as they release a true criminal. If your heart is truly not following after Jesus you will eventually betray Jesus when either church or Jesus don’t fit your wants / desires.

I think the reason so many leave the church over hurt is because the whole time they were at the church they were singing tainted praise. From the outside it looked like they were focused on the Jesus of the Bible while the whole time their praise was focused on the Jesus of their own making.

So what did they mean when they said, “Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord, even the King of Israel!”

They were looking for a very earthly definition of a king. They were looking for a king that would fit the description of 1 Samuel 18:7. They wanted to see Jesus come in and kill the Romans and send the running and trembling back to Rome.

They were praising him because they thought he was coming to bring comfort to their desired way of life. But that is not what a relationship with Christ is about. It is not about having your definition of comfort. It is not about shaping the world in your desired image. A relationship with Christ is about getting out of our comfort to grow in Him and to walk into the discomfort to bring the Gospel. They wanted to be saved from the Romans, earthly oppression.

Jesus does not conform to us, we conform to Jesus.

What is the true meaning of, “Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord, even the King of Israel!”?

Hosanna means save us. What are we to be saved from? Sin, spiritual darkness. Christ came to free us from something far greater than earthly oppression. He came to save us from spiritual oppression, so we may walk in redeemed life. If i am spiritually saved I am in a place of speaking hope in all earthly oppression. The earthly oppression makes the hope I speak of that much brighter.

Christ is much more than just the king of 8,019 sq miles in Israel. Christ is King of every single atom in the universe. Their is not a single atom that does not fall under his domain. One day every knee will bow rather willingly or unwillingly.

The Jews had such a small view of who Jesus was. Their view was so constraining and made them miss out on so much beauty of what Jesus was doing.

The Jews attention was caught because Jesus had resurrected one man. And they got earthly ambitions by that one resurrection. Jesus was dying to resurrected millions and He has eternal ambitions.

What view of Jesus do you have? Do you truly mean your praises?

If you let the world paint you a counterfeit Jesus the world will burn your faith to the ground.

True Worship and Humility

Jesus rides into Jerusalem on a young donkey. Is that what a king would ride on?

Humility is displayed here. People were treating him like a king and he could have had a grand entrance of embrace. But he knew their true hearts.

Following God is not about being all flashy and look at me. Rather it is about walking in humility and look at what God is doing. It can be tempting at times to make much out of what we are doing. When we do so we can distract people from hearing what God truly wants them to here. If you make your Christianity about being flashy God will blow you like a transformer.

Humility is about not distracting others from the work God is doing.

Grow in Understanding to Deepen Worship

We see in verse 16 the disciples did not really understand everything going on. The disciples did not understand what was going on in the moment but after seeing Christ resurrected they understood. As we look at the early church they became more bold as they grew in this understanding. Your praise is going to grow deeper and more pure as you stay in the Word. Let Christ show you who he is, don’t let the world paint a false gospel to sell to you.

True worship is rooted in Scripture.

The Price of True Worship

To truly lift sincere praise to jesus we must understand the words of verses 24-26. If life to you is all about the comforts, the american dream, etc. your life is wasted and no eternal good. Event hough your alive you never truly live. In the end you just a zombie wondering around ultimately causing destruction. But when you realize life is much bigger than your comforts, that their is eternal meaning to our lives that only comes through redemption, that is when you truly start to live.