Sermon Tone Analysis

Introduction

ILLUST - my really bad week:

had to work late every day that week

youngest was in hospital

on way to hospital water pump literally fell out of my Jeep

If you had a big red ‘do over’ button or a time machine would you redo the week before to avoid the problems of the week?

What if you knew the week ahead was going to be the bad week?

Would you do something now to avoid it?

**Do you need change in your life?

Change in your life will not happen simply because a truth exists.

Change occurs in you life based upon your response to the truth.

Some change is

Change is only as effective as our response to the truth.

A reality can exist in your life that (if affected fully) can change your life forever.

However, your response to the reality can limit or negate it’s intended affects in your life.

We can choose to respond with resistance -attempting to keep the reality of a truth from affecting us in any way

We can choose to respond with indifference - taking a passive role in which case the reality or truth may or may not affect us.

We can choose to respond with acceptance - opening ourselves and allowing the truth to have the maximum affect in our lives.

ILLUST - I was once stung by a yellow jacket on my uvula (cue the laugh track) The reality was that it hurt and my throat was beginning to swell.

Ex.

Life-saving pills - If I am ill with a strong infection and am offered antibiotics, my response to the pills can alter my life.

I could resist and die, be indifferent and possibly live, or accept the pills and live.

Why we must respond to the King

Because of who he is.

You can deny the existence of gravity, but you still won’t fly.

You can even use things to fight against and alter the effects of gravity for a season, but it doesn’t change the fact that gravity exists and you will eventually return to earth.

Jesus is King.

This whole scene where Jesus rides into the city to shouts is reminiscent of a king’s coronation.

Matthew connects this scene to an Old Testament prophecy about the Messiah - God’s anointed one who he promised would come to save people from their sins and rule as king over everything.

Because of what he has done.

The claim of Jesus as the promised King of Everything was authenticated not only through the fulfilled prophecy surrounding his identity and personhood, but it was also authenticated by his actions and the power he displayed.

We saw this last week:

Only the King of Creation can still the wind and waves.

Only the King of all humanity can heal the sick and hurting.

Only the King of the spiritual realm can cast out multiple demons with a single word.

Because of what he will do.

John’s vision of future events states this:

Rev

When Jesus returns this second time everyone will recognize him as king.

All these things show us we must respond to the King.

And more importantly:

**Your life depends on how you respond to the King.**

tells the story of when Jesus entered Jerusalem as King.

I find it interesting the different characters in the story and how they respond to Jesus being shown as King.

Through these people, we find several ways people typically respond to Jesus as King.

Ways people respond to the King

This us the response of:

Committed obedience (1-2)

We don’t know who the two disciples were, but imagine Jesus calling them for this task.

‘Hey Pete and Phil, I’d like you two to go on ahead to to that little town there.

As soon as you get into the town you’ll see a donkey - take it.

If anyone stops you just tell them I need it and it’ll all be cool.’

Imagine I called up Pastor Tom and Pastor Brent and told them I was planning on heading into South Bend so I asked them to go on ahead to Mishawaka, you’ll find a black Toyota sitting at Starbucks.

Go ahead and jump in it and bring it back here.

And if someone comes flying out of the coffee shop with their latte in hand, just tell them, ‘It’s all good, Jesus needs it.’

Imagine what must have been going on inside of these followers of Jesus:

They were given a task by Jesus that seemed perhaps out of their comfort zone.

Maybe they had seen Jesus provide many times before but worried that perhaps this time might be different.

Maybe they wondered how they would know which donkey was God’s will.

Maybe they felt embarrassed when people asked them why they were heading into the village, ‘Do you really think some guy is going to let you simply take his donkey?

Why would you trust this Jesus when he expects you to do such crazy things.

I don’t know what was going on inside the two disciples, but if they are anything like me, some, if not all of those questions were in play.

Maybe you can relate.

What I DO know is that they responded to Jesus with committed obedience

* I wonder if we would respond the way the disciples did.

Despite the questions you may be facing right now about what Jesus is doing or about to do, are you going to respond with committed obedience?

Expectant sacrifice (3-6)

lk 19:33

On the other end of the Uber donkey were two owners (most likely because according to Matthew there were two animals - a donkey and colt)

The reality of the coming King required a response from them as well.

We know from the story that they saw the disciples untying the donkey, asked what they were doing, and when told that Jesus needed them, gave them willingly.

Why did they allow the disciples to do it?

Had they known of the disciple’s master?

Had they had an encounter with Jesus previously?

Had they had an encounter with Jesus previously?

Were they witnesses to Jesus’ miracles?

Did God prepare their hearts ahead of time to give of the donkey?

Were they witnesses to Jesus’ miracles?

Somehow God prepared their hearts to give for Jesus, because they allowed the disciples to take the donkey.

While they may have thought the donkey rental was a simple thing, a small sacrifice, it was, in fact a key component in God’s greater plan of redemptive history.

That was THEIR donkey!

Did you ever stop to think that the sacrifice you give could play a big part in God’s redemptive plan?

ILLUST - Money collected by people at FBC during a capital campaign helped renew my faith so I could preach to you today.

(you may not know their names, but I do)

In November, we as a faith family asked God to make our faith Boundless as we expectantly sacrificed whatever Jesus was asking so we could be boundless from our mortgage in order to pursue God’s plan for us in ministry.

During that time, three major hurricanes rocked areas to our south.

While Texas and Florida have regained a majority of normalcy, there are still parts of Puerto Rico without power six months later.

We, as a faith family, prayed and committed that the first 5,000 over our 50,000 one-time goal offering would go directly to help those hardest hit by the hurricanes.

As you gave sacrificially, we saw God show up and help us not only hit our big goal of 55,000 but double it with 110,000

We prayed for God to show us the best way to use his blessing, and I’d like to report that we as a faith family have recently donated 11,000 to help rebuild churches and help churches rebuild communities in Puerto Rico.

I am expectant that your sacrifice will have lasting Kingdom impact on people we may never know.

*Do you see the sacrifices that Jesus asks of you as an intrusion on YOUR time, YOUR money, YOUR relationships?

Or do you see it as a way to serve your King that may affect redemptive history?

Convenient worship (7-9)

This is like a flash mob worship service.

ILLUST - It’s like all of us heading down to the UP mall food court and rocking out some Chris Tomlin at the top of our lungs.

It’s going to make a scene.

People are going to drop their Chik-fil-a and stare.

What we know is that by the end of the week, those shouting their praise for Jesus at the beginning of the week will be no where near him.

Can you imagine?