Thank You Jesus

Good morning children of God! We are so blessed this morning. We are here, together, brothers and sisters in Christ, worshipping the King of Kings! Praise God. You notice the title is “Thank you Jesus.” It’s all I’ve got. The only thing we can offer Jesus is our gratitude and our hearts. And he says it is enough. Jesus made sure we got the better end of the deal.

So I am sitting in my NEW office at home. Yeah, that’s right. I said NEW office. My old office was taken over by my grandson, Jackson, who needs his own bedroom. So you know what happened right? I was moved to the guest bedroom/storage room/my new office. Some things don’t change. So, I am in my new office, and I get to thinking “What was Jesus doing right now.” “What was Jesus doing a few weeks before Holy Week?”

There is not really a good chronological timeline for the weeks leading up to Holy Week. You have Matthew 21 that opens with Palm Sunday, the first Day of Holy Week. So, if we just go back a chapter to Matthew 20, we can get an idea of what was going on.

We really need to set the stage here. Jesus has already predicted his death one time. He knew what was coming. Jesus knew that every thing he did was in the shadow of the cross. Now, the full reality of that hit me several years ago. I was reading the Word, I was reading about what lead up to the crucifixion and the crucifixion, and it hit me like a ton of bricks.

“Our Lord and Savior was on death row for crimes He did not commit.”

Jesus was on death row. I think sometimes we forget the full force of MERCY and GRACE at work in what Jesus Christ did for us. When we say “Jesus took our place on the cross,” we are saying that he was brutalized, terrorized, and crucified for sins we commited. He wrote and signed the check that we couldn't cash, only he could cash. He did that for you and for me. So that we would be guaranteed a place in the Kingdom. Let that sink in for a minute.

I had someone try to call me out on these thoughts when I shared them. I am good with that, I love input. But what they said was weird. They said “Bob, Jesus knew He was going back to the Father, He knew he was going back to Heaven.” Well, I know where I am going, I know I will one day be with the Father, but that would not make torture, terror, or crucifixion any better.

If I were on death row, I do not know that I would be praying for people or teaching them or trying to heal people. I like to think I would be, but I just don’t know. I know that in this frail human body, I have, at times, tried to run and hide from the pain or from what was coming. Other times, through the power of Holy Spirit, I have faced things head on. I don’t know what I would do, but I do know what Jesus did!

Jesus not only continued praying, teaching, and healing, he kicked it up a few notches. Matthew 20 has thirty four verses about what Jesus was doing. I am just going to give you the headlines of what our Savior did in the weeks leading up to Palm Sunday.

– Jesus healed 2 blind men (Matthew 20:29-34). – Jesus taught His disciples about greatness in serving (Matthew 20:20-28). – Jesus taught His disciples about His impending death (Matthew 20:17-19). – Jesus taught His disciples about the kingdom (Matthew 20:1-16).

Along with doing those things, in the Gospel of Mark we read that Jesus spoke with the rich young ruler about his soul, and he spoke to Zaccheus about his soul.

Jesus continued praying, teaching, healing, and seeking out the lost, all the way to the cross, and even on the cross. The weeks leading up to the cross were no different than what Jesus always did. I get in a bad mood or start feeling bad for myself, and I want to withdraw. Jesus never stopped! He did that out of His great love for you and me. He put you first.

Jesus wants us to hear him and to listen to what he is saying to us. He wants us to find rest in him.

Matthew 11:28 NLT

28 Then Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.

“Come to me.” How sweet are those words. Close your eyes and hear the voice of our Savior saying to you “come to me.” I think about Jesus saying those three words to me, and it brings peace to my heart. It is an open invitation to receive his gift of salvation. He is doing something else there as well. Jesus is encouraging us to ALWAYS come to him. To always seek him, no matter what is happening or what has happened!

We live in a world of “DO!” This world can be soul crushing at times. “GO! GO! GO! DO! DO! DO!” “Your not doing enough!” “Your not good enough!” It is exhausting and defeating at times. At times we may even find ourselves keeping Jesus at a distance.

Even in those times of our lives, Jesus says “Come to me.” “You are weary my child.” “You are carrying all of these heavy burdens.” “Allow me to give you rest.”

I know this: Jesus is the only one who can give you the kind of peace and strength that it takes to make it through sometimes.

But it is not only our ear he wants, Jesus wants our minds and our hearts. In John 14:6, Jesus tells us:

John 14:6 NLT

6 Jesus told him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me.

That is the statement to end all arguments about there being “more than one way to God.” There is one way, and Jesus is the way.

Have you ever asked someone for directions? Some folks give good directions, and it seems like some people try to get you lost on purpose. Just like this world does.

There is a big difference between someone pointing “the way” to a place and taking someone by the hand to lead them there.

When Jesus says I AM the Way, he is not just pointing and saying “take a left, take a right, turn at the big chicken, and you might find it.” No, Jesus personally shows you the way. He will take you by the hand and lead you, but we are responsible for taking hold of His hand, hanging on, and walking with Him.

I know better than anybody else that it is so easy to let His hand go sometimes or even push his hand away. Jesus tells us this in Matthew 7:13-14.

Matthew 7:13–14 NIV

13 “Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. 14 But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.

A lot of folks think that Jesus is talking about standing at a crossroads in their life here. Where they are looking at two different paths. That may be true at times, but Jesus is painting a much bigger picture.

The wide gate and broad road Jesus is talking about is what we face everyday, worldliness. It does not really take much thought to follow the world. It certainly does not take any discipline. It is easy. “If it is true for you, then live your truth.” “If you think it is right, then it right for you.” Ya’ll, I can’t. Do you realize that when someone tells you there is no absolute truth, meaning God’s Truth, that they are attempting to state an absolute. “Bob, there is no absolute truth!” “Are you absolutely sure?”

The way of the world is all about self and self desires. The world does not leave room for God in our lives. The wide gate is the world. We face the wide gate from the moment we wake up. That is why it is so important to start our day with prayer and talking to Abba Daddy.

Now that small gate, that leads to Jesus. I want you to see something in Matthew 7:14, Jesus says “few find it.” That scared me. What he is saying is that we have to choose to to seek him and to follow him. And the simple truth is that it is a moment by moment decision at times. It all comes down to the choices we make.

Jesus Christ gives us a way; he does not leave us imprisoned in sin, our past, or our circumstances. But we are responsible for following Him. He is there the entire time, saying “come to me.”

I told the guys at breakfast yesterday that I found myself reading and re-reading Luke 6:46 recently.

Luke 6:46 NLT

“So why do you keep calling me ‘Lord, Lord!’ when you don’t do what I say?

In this single statement, Jesus is saying that a confession of his authority over our lives is meaningless unless it is accompanied by obedience.

If you look at this verse, Jesus isn't getting upset, the disciples are getting upset. Jesus asks a simple question. A question he has every right to ask each of us. He is saying “You cry out to me, you call me your Lord, and then you do what you want to do anyway.” Ouch. That stung me. It made me look at some things in my life.

I see it in myself at times. I see it in others at times. How many times have we professed to believe the words of Christ right up until it gets too hard to live according to those words? Before we know it, we have let go of His Hand and we find ourselves stumbling right back through the wide gate onto that broad road that leads to destruction.

He never intended for you or me to be there. To be on that road. It is not the Father’s will for us to be on the road to destruction. But He is not going to make that choice for us. It is our choice to make.

When we find ourselves facing that wide gate of worldliness, we must seek out Jesus. Jesus leads us into true life! He is the only way.

Jesus is not playing hide and seek with us, it’s not a game of peek-a-boo. His ways are not hidden from us. Our attention can shift so quickly, that we focus back on the world instead of him. His ways are not the worlds ways. It can be difficult to see through the noise at times, but he is right there pouring out his mercy and grace on you and me.

John 14:6 NLT

Jesus told him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me.

In John 14:6, Jesus not only said, “I AM THE WAY,” but he also said, “I AM THE TRUTH.” What does it mean that Jesus is the Truth?

There is a difference between telling someone the truth and living out the truth. When Jesus says I AM (I love that!) the Truth, it means that he is the absolute embodiment of God’s truth. God does not just talk to us about who He is, God shows us what He is like through the person of Jesus Christ.

We look at Jesus and see the perfect picture of the truth of God. The life of Jesus Christ makes things perfectly clear for the believer. He reveals the truth of God, he reveals the truth of this world, he enables us to choose the right way to truth.

This world has no problem telling you how you should live or what you “need to do.” The worlds ways stand opposed to God’s ways. The world’s truth stands opposed to God’s Truth.

Then Jesus said “I AM the Life.” When Jesus Christ said “I AM the life,” he did not sit back and dictate how we should live. He lived it. Jesus is the embodiment of Kingdom living in this world.

I struggled for a longtime trying to understand what Kingdom living meant. I would think about what it would be like to live in Heaven, in the Kingdom, and then think about living here. I had a hard time connecting the two. I finally realized that, yes, like Jesus, kingdom living is to be alive in us. We are supposed to be a glimpse of Heaven to others.

Kingdom Living is-

Living according to God’s principles rather than worldly values

Love for others and the manifestation of spiritual fruit

Building up fellow believers rather than tearing them down

The pursuit of peace

Kingdom living should influence all aspects of our lives. Kingdom living is what separates us from worldly living. Kingdom living is the mark of God on the believers life, the proof of Holy Spirit’s leading in ours lives.

Jesus is the source of life itself. Our current lives and the reason we have eternal life in the Kingdom of Glory. I want to close with these verses today.

John 1:1–5 NIV

1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was with God in the beginning. 3 Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. 4 In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. 5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.

THAT’S OUR JESUS! The King of Kings! Our Lord and our Savior. The Great I AM! The name above all names! The light in the darkness! THE ONE DARKNESS WILL NEVER OVERCOME! And because He lives in you, darkness does not stand a chance! Praise His Holy Name this morning!

Worship Team/Alter Call

If you feel alone this morning, I have it on good authority that you are not alone. He is with you. If you are in a place of defeat this morning, bring it to the Father, God has never been defeated nor will He ever be defeated. If you are weary, if you are crushed in spirit, reach for the Hand of Jesus. He will walk you through it. HE IS SAYING “COME TO ME.”

Brothers and sisters, the alter is always open, bring your burdens to the foot of the cross. Allow us to pray with you and for you this morning. Let us all lift our hearts and our voices to the LORD this morning. God loves hearing His children sing His praises.