I got a reason (John 12.12-19)
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The next day the great crowd that had come to the festival heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem.
So they took branches of palm trees and went out to meet him, shouting,
“Hosanna!
Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord—
the King of Israel!”
Jesus found a young donkey and sat on it; as it is written:
“Do not be afraid, daughter of Zion.
Look, your king is coming,
sitting on a donkey’s colt!”
His disciples did not understand these things at first; but when Jesus was glorified, then they remembered that these things had been written of him and had been done to him.
So the crowd that had been with him when he called Lazarus out of the tomb and raised him from the dead continued to testify.
It was also because they heard that he had performed this sign that the crowd went to meet him.
The Pharisees then said to one another, “You see, you can do nothing. Look, the world has gone after him!”
Intro:
I always get excited this time of the year……………….!!!!!
Because.....
Palm Sunday sets the tone for our Holy week that crescendos into the celebration of Resurrection Sunday....
(pause)
and.....
........to be honest it doesn’t take much to get me excited about who God is for my life..
(slight pause)
But if you just needed a reason...... (slight pause)
.......this is a good week to find a reason!
(pause and optional expound)
See....
…Faith is immaterial or beyond what we could ever see or think
(pause)
And truth is at the very substance of our faith…………
And this is what drives us to believe ……….
that in God’s own timing.......
....what we believe God for…….
.......will come to pass.
(pause)
But sometimes
the enemy tries to convince us
.....that our faith will never connect with what is real……
…or what is truth….. (optional EX: Jesus tempted of Satan)
But that’s why I always get excited during this season………………..
Because this is the time where we really……
...…get to tell the devil……….
“I got a REASON...........
.............to believe what I believe!”
(pause and expound)
Look at it now………
The next day the great crowd that had come to the festival heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem.
So they took branches of palm trees and went out to meet him, shouting,
“Hosanna!
Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord—
the King of Israel!”
According to the few verses preceding the text I just read…….
The lifting of Lazarus from the dead………
….by the power of Christ draws attention…………..
(pause)
And it is by design that we witness the Power of resurrection already showing us glimpses of what can happen
...........when God places Gods hands into the grave!
(pause)
And that’s what I love most about my God…………..
(pause)
And that is the fact…………..that our Jesus………
…….can walk with us
into a dead situation……………
(pause)
- Does not matter how elongated the timeframe in which a thing has been wrapped in grave clothes…….
- Does not matter how much disgusting odor has saturated itself into the fibers of our existence…..and or situations……….
(pause)
There is a glory…………
waiting to show up……
when a Word of God is pronounced…….
(slight pause)
And this is why it’s so important to daily consider our reason for believing…………….
Because if we ever adjust ourselves according to the WORD…
…even things that look dead in our lives have to look at us differently…………
(pause)
And it’s all in God’s timing………..
(pause)
And according to the text
When the glory shows up……..
the biblical characters in the text took………………..palm branches……………
(pause)
And the significance of this action…………
is that when the palm branch is waved in the air………..
It communicates victory……………
and it symbolizes triumph………………….
(pause)
And according to the historical explanation of the palms……………
They would hold the branches in their hands and wave them in a sign of victory………………
(Demonstrate this.....)
(pause)
So when Jesus………….is approaching the city…………..
the palms are demonstratively shaking across the sky......
...........with the joy of those that have just witnessed Jesus conquer Lazarus’s death!
(pause)
And Freedom…..
I wonder what would happen if everybody in Freedom
would start thinking about our reasons to believe…………………
and begin waving our proverbial palms in victory………….
(pause)
I wonder if God would be pleased with us as we lifted our hands toward heaven as a sign of our faith………………
......Even in spite of those areas of our lives that resemble a dead Lazarus…………….
(pause)
Because the evidence of our praise tells God that……. …..
As soon as God’s presence is revealed……
...…that’s when we start lifting him up!
(pause)
Look at it now………….
Because the bible says that they went out to meet him!
(pause)
And the Greek word for “meeting” is used when a victorious leader or king returns to a city………
……or when a visiting dignitary came to the city………
(slight pause)
….and everyone who lived in the city would go out to greet him to accompany him back into the city.
(pause)
Freedom......
.....I believe we ought to have a reason to go out and greet our King daily!
(slight pause)
And I also believe......
.......that everybody around us should hear our reason.
....especially if you are a parent
......because our children should know why we get so excited!
(pause)
Barrel:
I can remember my mama shouting all over the church when I was little..
.....I didn’t understand why she was so excited when I was a young fella sitting in the church.
....and it took time for me to mature to the point where I had my own personal experience with Christ.
But recently......
......I asked her
“Mama, what’s your reason?”
I know why you shouted then.........
But.......
.........why do you shout now?
......why do you go out to greet your KING now?
(pause)
And my mama started sharing so much........
......i had to say Mama just give me ONE REASON
(pause - optional laughter)
And so she said.....
Son,
.......because he keeps answering my prayers!
(pause and expound)
And Freedom the bible says....
as they come to meet him………..they open their mouths and cry out………
“Hosanna!”
(Pause………….)
Now I could stop right there............
Because there was so much emphasis in this crying out……..Hosanna!
(pause)
You see........
what they were really saying comes out of a greeting found in Psalm 118………that says…..
“Save us!”
(pause)
And so......
Hosanna is the Aramaic equivalent to the words………SAVE US!
(pause)
And so with all of their praise…………
there was this expectation
.........that was tied up into how they communicated……………their……..
“Hello”…………to Jesus!
.........as they are coming out to greet the King!
(pause)
Because they needed Jesus to realize……………
.......that they see him a certain way based on how they are responding to his presence!
(pause)
And so as Jesus is coming into the city………
....and they are greeting him!
(pause)
They need Jesus to know……….
that when we see you……
…we see
Victory and Triumph
Peace and Tranquility
Resurrecting Power
and.......
Saving grace
(pause)
And......
I wonder if there is anybody in here that could honestly say…………
you can’t wait for Jesus’s presence to show up……………
so you can let him hear you holler……….
Hosanna.......in your own words!
(pause)
In other words……………
“Jesus………
……this is how we see you!”
(pause)
And watch this Freedom.....
Because that’s not all they said………
……..but according to the text they also said,
“Blessed is the King of Israel that comes in the name of the Lord”
(pause)
In other words………
…….they have the ability to recognize the Identity of Kingship!
(pause)
And so they had a mindset that was ready to celebrate what they needed in the Kingship of Christ………
(pause)
One scholar noted that John’s gospel may be under the influence of Zephaniah 3.15 where it says…
“The Lord has taken away His judgments against you, He has cleared away your enemies…
….The King of Israel, the Lord, is in your midst;…
…You will fear disaster no more.”
(pause)
And in my spiritual imagination I see a people who realize that God has dealt with all of their stuff…………
...…and now this same God is standing in their presence!
(pause)
Because if our King can bring Lazarus back………………..
I know he can bring me back!
(Pause)
And I don’t know who I’m preaching to..........
But somebody in here is waiting for God to bring something back!
(pause)
You’ve been praying for God to give you another reason to believe!
........it looks like a dead situation
........it doesn’t look like you want it to look
(pause)
But......
.......God if you can bring this one back!!
(pause and expound)
(Optional - Oh God……..help me in here!)
Expound:
I will greet you daily on a NEW LEVEL!!!!
God.....
.....when you bring this one back
.......my testimony will SHIFT even HIGHER!!
(pause)
Look at it now………………
Jesus found a young donkey and sat on it; as it is written:
The text says.....
Once the disciples have found the donkey’s colt for Jesus to ride on……….he saddles the colt!
(pause)
Now many would wonder……………
why did a KING show up on a small, young donkey……………..
instead of a mature, large stallion……….from the army…………
(slight pause)
But what Jesus was doing is fulfilling the prophecy
(pause)
In other words………
……Jesus has a responsibility to provide their victory not how they think he ought to do it………………….
(slight pause)
.........But how God has ordained it to come to pass!
(pause)
And sometimes the king may not look a certain way…………..
........when the King arrives
(pause)
But I dare you to check the atmosphere
........to see what’s happening around you…………..
(pause)
Because as Jesus is entering into the city………….
The anointing is addressing the atmosphere………….
Because………
…..it is triggering the minds of the people to remember what the prophets talked about as it related to the Messiah!
(pause)
watch verse 15…..
“Do not be afraid, daughter of Zion.
Look, your king is coming,
sitting on a donkey’s colt!”
(pause)
Church family….
I don’t know how you envision your victory………………
(pause)
And…I’m not sure……
…….what victory has to look like for you to believe in it….
(pause)
But I learned a long time ago………
…..that sometimes you don’t get to choose what that looks like!
(pause)
And so for me………
……..all I need to see is the Glory!
(pause)
When Moses saw the Glory……………….of God…………
......The bible says when he came back down off of the mountain
……..the people could not stand to look upon him
……..because he had been with the King!!!!!!!!!
(pause)
[Look at somebody and holler…………]
“I got a REASON”
Look at it now………
His disciples did not understand these things at first; but when Jesus was glorified, then they remembered that these things had been written of him and had been done to him.
According to the text………
The disciples were not exactly on top of what was going on…………………until all of a sudden everything begin to click in their minds……………
(pause)
And......
They started connecting the dots…………
And when they realized that Victory was being shouted…………and Kingship was entering the city…………..
(pause)
Something caused them to remember………………
(pause)
It was almost as if…………….when they recognized the praise in the atmosphere………….
and the honor being given to Jesus….
SOMETHING CONNECTED……in their thinking…
…and a light bulb came on!
(pause)
And this is what happens when you and I start going out to meet the King......
.......when Victory is shouted
.....and Kingship shows up
.....Folk start recognizing what’s going on!
Freedom.......
......your lives helps people start recognizing God’s glory!
(slight pause)
And the bible says......
they begin to remember the anointing…………..
......and what generations had been praying for.
(pause)
They begin to reflect on going to UNTIE (gk - Release) the baby donkey for Jesus……………
They begin to review in their minds......
.......on throwing their clothes on the baby donkey………..
And then.....
They begin recalling the shouts of Hosanna…………….
And the text says………………..
“At first……………..they were just there…………..”
(pause)
But…………..
when they messed around and paid attention to the worship and the honor being given to Jesus……
…….something clicked!
(pause)
And I just wonder if........
.....anybody in here could take about 30 seconds and praise God for how God has led your life up to this point!
Everytime you think about what God has done for you........
- You keep seeing the Victory that shows up.......
- You keep seeing the Triumph that shows up.......
- You keep seeing how God’s Word has been lifting and carrying you.....
(pause)
I’m trying to get something to click.............
I’m trying to help you remember......
Because.......
........your life is a PRAISE MAP!!!
.......God did this over here!
......and God did that over there!
(pause)
Look at it now………because here is the shift………where the devil gets mad!
The Pharisees then said to one another, “You see, you can do nothing. Look, the world has gone after him!”
According to the text…………….
Because Christ is drawing too much attention………………………
The Pharisees said…………..
“Everything we do…………keep’s coming up short”
(pause)
“And after all we have done to ridicule who he is……………..”
(pause)
“Here he is…………..riding (demonstrate this) in on a Donkey………
……….and the people are celebrating him as if he is a King”
(pause)
And that’s why I get excited about this season…………….
Because this is our opportunity to tell the Devil and all of his imps……..
“We got a reason to celebrate our faith………..”
(pause)
And.......
Everything you tried to do………
……….to mess up my mind…………..failed!
(pause)
And my faith is still standing………
……on God’s truth………..
(pause)
And I wish I had some folk in here that didn’t mind shouting…………
“I got a REASON!”
And.......
something just clicked.......
Because……………I see Jesus………..coming into the city……………..
..........riding on a donkey
(pause)
And so.......
........everything that’s dead in my life
........is getting ready to see the reason I’m waving my hands!
“I got a good REASON......
......to act like I’m acting!”
(slight pause)
Here comes my KING............
...........riding on a donkey!
(pause)
And GLORY…………
……..is all over this place in the atmosphere!
“We got a Reason!
You made the blind man see
You made the lame man walk again
You caused the dead to rise
.........and then you came in riding in on a donkey to “Restore” our life!!
Oh......
......We got a Reason!”
COMPLETION………………………………….EXPOUND!!!!
