What did you expect?

Intro

next Steps Event

eater next week! Invite

The past few weeks we’ve been in a series called What’s the Point.

It’s based off a book by Matt Keller called Donkey Mission and tracks the story of Saul in 1 Samuel 9.

Saul was sent with his servant to go and find some lost donkeys for his dad.

We know that Saul thought this was beneath him, it was a frustrating, long, seeming pointless task that he wanted to give up on.

Ever felt places in life like this?

Frustrating, difficult, seeming pointless. Donkey Missions.

Little did Saul know, God had a much bigger Mission and plan for his life, but he had to go through the donkey mission first.

He met a prophet that god ordained along the way, and he actually anointed Saul to be the first King of Isreal!

What a turn of events.

Today were going to talk about something that stalls so many of our lives and keeps us stuck from moving into the greater things God has for us.

And if Saul wouldn’t have kept going when he wanted to quit, this would have made Saul miss his opportunity as well.

Expectations.

Ever dealt with unmet expectations?

i thought this would happen, but it didn’t.

That’s hard!

If there is one thing I know about life is that it is full of the unexpected.

Things looking differently than I thought they would.

have you ever looked at anyone doing something kind of dumb and said, well… what did you expect??

Kid puts their hand on the skillet and says ouch that hurt… Well.....

(show pic of pizza) well.. what did you expect.

We make a mistake when we hold God to our level of expectations.

God doesn’t see things the way we do, we have to expect the unexpected.

He is still in control when things looks differently than I thought they would.

If Sauls expectations had been met, He would have found the donkeys and went back home but would have never been made King.

Grateful for the unexpected.

We’re going to shift gears and go to a different story today. Another Donkey mission.

Today is Palm Sunday.

It’s 1 week before Jesus would be going the cross.

he purposely enters into Jerusalem because he knows it will start the chain of events that lead to his crucifixion.

This event is full of the unexpected.

Let’s look back for just a moment to about 40 days before Jesus goes to Jerusalem:

Matthew 16:21-23

From that time on Jesus began to explain to his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things at the hands of the elders, the chief priests and the teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life. Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. “Never, Lord!” he said. “This shall never happen to you!” Jesus turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; you do not have in mind the concerns of God, but merely human concerns.”

Peter says, why would you go there! You know the religious leaders hate you, they are looking for a reason to get rid of you.

What’s the point of walking into a trap, of doing something that doesn’t seem to make sense!!!

He’s just looking out!

Jesus rebukes him.

he’s not seeing the way God does.

Often it’s moments that we ask What is the point, that are the things God will use to point you toward what he has for you.

Jesus had to go to Jerusalem so that he would go to the cross, which is why he came.

He could see what they couldn’t!

Let’s see what Palm Sunday can teach us about our expectation:

Matthew 21:1-3

As they approached Jerusalem and came to Bethphage on the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two disciples, saying to them, “Go to the village ahead of you, and at once you will find a donkey tied there, with her colt by her. Untie them and bring them to me. If anyone says anything to you, say that the Lord needs them, and he will send them right away.”

1. THE UNEXPECTED TASK

What a donkey mission!!

This seems crazy.

often we go through things we just don’t understand

1. Go into this random town, You’ll see a donkey and it’s colt tied up, it’s never been ridden before.

Ok, um how do you know a donkey will be there?

2. When you find it, just start untying it to take it!!

Uhhh, that’s theft Jesus. We’ll be beat up. flogged. jailed!!!

3. When someone does get upset and says hey why are you taking our donkeys! Just say, the Lord needs them...

I’m for sure getting beat up. No way this will work.

Even if donkeys are even there.

What a ridiculous mission.

Matthew 21:4-6

This took place to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet: “Say to Daughter Zion, ‘See, your king comes to you, gentle and riding on a donkey, and on a colt, the foal of a donkey.’ ” The disciples went and did as Jesus had instructed them.

It all happened the way Jesus said, it was actually supposed to happen this way, the disciples just didn’t know it!!

Here’s what we have to understand, UNEXPECTED TO US, ISN’T TO HIM.

I don’t understand everything, but I have to understand that my understanding is limited.

God is not taken back.

jesus wasn’t just hoping a donkey wold be there and hoping that the people would let them have it.

He knew.

The parts of your life that don’t make sense, that feel so frustrating because its not what you expected.

God is not confused on how to get you to where he has for you.

If we got everything the way the thought it could be, we would miss out on what God says it should be.

Trust!

2. THE UNEXPECTED ENTRANCE

This was different for Jesus.

Until now he’d stayed under the radar, had even told people when he healed them not to tell anyone because his time hadn’t yet come.

Riding in this way would have been understood.

This is the way kings, and warriors would have ridden into town after they won a huge battle.

This entrance was on purpose.

It’s called the Triumphant Entry!

Matthew 21:7-8

They brought the donkey and the colt and placed their cloaks on them for Jesus to sit on. A very large crowd spread their cloaks on the road, while others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road.

They laid down palm branches and their cloaks, shouted and worshipped him!!

John 12:16

At first his disciples did not understand all this...

Luke 19:37

When he came near the place where the road goes down the Mount of Olives, the whole crowd of disciples began joyfully to praise God in loud voices for all the miracles they had seen:

Luke 19:39-40

Some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to Jesus, “Teacher, rebuke your disciples!” “I tell you,” he replied, “if they keep quiet, the stones will cry out.”

they didn’t even fully understand, yet they worshipped.

This is how we have to do!

God I don’t get it, but I worship.

Life doesn’t look the way I thought, but your the king!

Worship anyway.

Luke 19:41-42

As he approached Jerusalem and saw the city, he wept over it and said, “If you, even you, had only known on this day what would bring you peace—but now it is hidden from your eyes.

As they worshiped, he wept.

Because he knew that his reason from coming, and the reason they thought he was there was different.

His wished they knew the real real...

They thought he was coming to overthrow Rome, physically set them free, make everything perfect, take away all hardship on earth...

But the reason he was coming was to die.

Because the real saving they needed was their souls, they just didn’t know it.

3. THE UNEXPECTED KING

Most of this crowd would soon turn on him when they realized it wasn’t what they thought.

When their expectations weren’t met.

Even though Jesus came to do something greater, he knew they weren’t really receiving him because it didn’t fit their expectations.

They wanted a nation conquering king, he came to be a soul saving King.

He wasn’t the king they wanted, but he was the king they needed.

God is more concerned with being what we need than giving us everything we want.

We have to stop limiting him to our set of expectations.

God help me to let seeing you be enough when I can’t see and understand life around me.

In the crowd there were 4 groups of people

Followers. Fans. Visitors. Enemies.

Followers worshipped him as Lord. Didn’t fully understand but trusted.

Fans shouted and got excited because of what they thought we would do for them, but soon fizzled.

Visitors were just in for the festival and just overhead the common and didn’t know what was happening.

Enemies hated Jesus because he didn’t fit their religious box.

But no matter who they were in the crowd, he came for them.

To save them, to set them free, to give them what their souls needs. A savior.

You may be in a place today where life doesn’t look like the way you thought it would.

The diagnosis, the direction, the pain, the progress.

These unmet expectations can lead to such discouragement, frustration, and hopelessness

But he’s the God of the unexpected.

Let him be king.

Saul would have never been king, Jesus the King would have never died to be savior.

Let’s not limit God.

Where are you in that crowd?

So… Expect God.

When you ask, What’s the Point, know that he is.

And that pointing your life toward him always leads to greater, especially when it doesn’t looks like what you thought.

RESPONSE

Salvation prayer.

Communion.