How to say Hosannah

Welcome to Palm Sunday

We are entering into what is arguably the most important eight days in the Christian Calendar, starting today and moving through the rest of this week we hit all the highs and lows of what it means to be a true follower of Christ.

In this next 8 days we see a pattern of how to interact with God, what it means to be in relationship with him, and how important it is to have a real relationship with him as opposed to one that is based on coming to a building on occasion, and doing what Mom and Dad or Grandma or aunt or uncle or whoever matters in your life wants you to do.

Today we are going to talk about how it’s possible to praise. What it takes to live in an attitude of worship etc even when you know what’s coming. In that vein we are going to look at a few things. We are going to look at our part and then at His part.

Our Part

Get our ducks in a row.

Being ready to worship is as important if not more so than the worship itself.

Follow the plan that He lays out.

Jesus gives us what we need, the question is are you willing to take what he offers or are you going to go off on your own?

Luke 19:28–31 HCSB

When He had said these things, He went on ahead, going up to Jerusalem. As He approached Bethphage and Bethany, at the place called the Mount of Olives, He sent two of the disciples and said, “Go into the village ahead of you. As you enter it, you will find a young donkey tied there, on which no one has ever sat. Untie it and bring it here. If anyone asks you, ‘Why are you untying it?’ say this: ‘The Lord needs it.’ ”

:28-3

Trust that what he says, is what is.

We try too hard to do God’s job. We think for some reason that we know what God needs or wants, when in reality he sets things in front of us waiting for us to accept them.

Luke 19:32–35 HCSB

So those who were sent left and found it just as He had told them. As they were untying the young donkey, its owners said to them, “Why are you untying the donkey?” “The Lord needs it,” they said. Then they brought it to Jesus, and after throwing their robes on the donkey, they helped Jesus get on it.

Do what matters

Know how and why we worship.

Luke 19:36–38 HCSB

As He was going along, they were spreading their robes on the road. Now He came near the path down the Mount of Olives, and the whole crowd of the disciples began to praise God joyfully with a loud voice for all the miracles they had seen: The King who comes in the name of the Lord is the blessed One. Peace in heaven and glory in the highest heaven!

We worship with what we have not with what we wish we had!

We worship because of all that has been done for us, but also for OTHERS!

We worship with our VOICE!

Worship Anyway.

Luke 19:39–40 HCSB

Some of the Pharisees from the crowd told Him, “Teacher, rebuke Your disciples.” He answered, “I tell you, if they were to keep silent, the stones would cry out!”

Luke 19:39-40

A lot is made about this. Do you want the rocks and stones to cry out we should worship, what matters here though is not the people that are worshiping, it’s the people that are not worshiping. Jesus didn’t tell the people that were saying Hosanna that if they don’t do it then others will, he told the people that were not worshiping this information. We must realize that in all that we do as a follower of Christ and as a worshiper there will be people that don’t understand that don’t get it, that will want to silence you. Notice too these are not people outside of the group, these are not political leaders, the government is not telling these people to stop saying and doing these things. It’s the people in the crowd the religious people in the crowd that should know better..(expound)

His Part

God plays a part in why we worship more than anything else, and His part is always the same.

Love even though.

Luke 19:41–44 HCSB

As He approached and saw the city, He wept over it, saying, “If you knew this day what would bring peace—but now it is hidden from your eyes. For the days will come on you when your enemies will build an embankment against you, surround you, and hem you in on every side. They will crush you and your children within you to the ground, and they will not leave one stone on another in you, because you did not recognize the time of your visitation.”

Jesus knew all that was coming, Jesus knew that there was not going to be all that much love and worship in just a few days, Jesus knew what he WANTED for the people and he also knew that they did not really understand it much less want it. He knew that the were going to CHOOSE anything but him.

Remind us what matters.

Luke 19:45–48 HCSB

He went into the temple complex and began to throw out those who were selling, and He said, “It is written, My house will be a house of prayer, but you have made it a den of thieves!” Every day He was teaching in the temple complex. The chief priests, the scribes, and the leaders of the people were looking for a way to destroy Him, but they could not find a way to do it, because all the people were captivated by what they heard.

Luke 19:45-

We see this exchange and realize that Jesus was human but more importantly we can and should understand that even in doing this he is reaching to people that are there. HE is cleaning out the people that are selling in the temple complex, Jesus it reminding people that it’s not about what we throw together at the last minute, it’s not about trying to look good and right it’s about being right. What was going on was so much more than just making it easier for people that traveled to worship. In fact the point of sacrifice is that we give something of worth that matters, it takes forethought. Couple the Priests making sacrifice into a money maker and the fact that they set up the stalls in the space of the temple reserved for devout Gentiles, people that had chosen to worship Yahweh and had a place in the temple where they could pray, ruined the witness that they were to have to the world around them. Turning Yahweh into the same type of God that they had turned from, one that demanded ritual as opposed to a relationship that the ritual was to flow from.

This Week’s Challenge

Take time every day this week to notice something that God has done for others as well as yourself and offer praise for it. Post what you are going to shout hosanna for on the Churches Facebook Page.