 John chapter 12 I'll be looking as mentioned at verses 12 through 19 And so what I'm gonna do is I'll read those verses to you make a few comments And then as mentioned we'll be turning our Bibles to Matthew but beginning at verse 12 reading to verse Excuse me verse 19 And John writes the next day a great multitude that had come to the feast When they heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem took branches of palm trees and went out to meet him and cried Hosanna blessed it is he who comes in the name of the Lord the king of Israel Then Jesus when he had found a young donkey sat on it as it is written fear not daughter of Zion Behold your king is coming sitting on a donkey's cold His disciples did not understand these things at first But when Jesus was glorified then they remembered that these things were written about him and that they had done these things to him Therefore the people who were with him when he called Lazarus out of the tomb and raised him from the dead bore witness For this reason the people also met him because they had heard that he had done this sign The Pharisees therefore said among themselves you see that you are accomplishing nothing Look the world has gone after him And so this portion of scripture that we're looking at tonight Gives us a record of what has been called Jesus's Triumphal entry or the entry of Jesus into the city of Jerusalem What we have an opportunity of seeing and that's what we'll be looking at this evening is what has been called a a royal Welcome, that's what we're looking at now. This particular event here is one of the events that is recorded in all four Gospels it's recorded here as mentioned in in John's Gospel But it's also in in Mark chapter 11 and Luke chapter 19 as well as Matthew chapter 21 Now this is the last public appearance before his death He's about to finish the work that he came to accomplish the work of redemption Remember in chapter 10 verses 14 and 15 Jesus said this he said I'm the good shepherd I know my sheep and my sheep know me Just as a father knows me and I know the father and he went on to say and I laid down my life for the sheep And so he's come to finish the work that he had been sent to do and that is the work of redemption the laying down of his life on behalf of of Mankind and so this great multitude that we see here that is mentioned Notice how this great multitude heard that he was approaching this city and they went out to meet him So what we have in comparing John with the other Gospels is we we see that John records the events that are Leading to Jesus is entering into the city of Jerusalem But the other Gospels narrate events pertaining to it's leaving for the city of Jerusalem For a more complete picture. I want to take you to Matthew. We're gonna look at Matthew, but I'm gonna compare the other Accounts as we go through this so please turn with me as mentioned to Matthew chapter 21 and we're gonna look at this from Matthew's perspective and tie it in Matthew chapter 21 Matthew be in the first Gospel in the New Testament and We'll begin reading here in Matthew chapter 21 at verse 1 I'll read to verse 9 and then we'll look at this what we're looking at again is is Jesus's entrance into the city. We're looking at a royal welcome. So beginning at verse 1 Matthew 21 When they drew near Jerusalem and came to Beth vage at the Mount of Olives Then Jesus sent two disciples saying to them Go into the village opposite you and immediately you'll find a donkey tied and a colt with her Loose them and bring them to me if anyone says anything to you you shall say the Lord has need of them and Immediately he will send them now all this was done that it might be fulfilled Which was spoken by the prophet saying tell the daughter of Zion behold your king is coming to you lowly and sitting on a donkey A colt the fall of a donkey So the disciples went and did as Jesus commanded them They brought the donkey and the colt laid their clothes on them and set him on them a very great multitude Spread their clothes on the road others cut down branches from the trees and spread them on the road Then the multitudes who went before and those who followed cried out saying Hosanna to the son of David blessed it's he who comes in the name of the Lord Hosanna in the highest and so we compare John with Matthew and we look into Matthews to get some details that John doesn't supply It says in verse 1 here in Matthew When they drew near to Jerusalem they came to a place called Beth vage. It's at the Mount of Olives Now Jesus is entering his small village. It's a small village that is facing It's called opposite of it's facing another city called Bethany and if you had a map you'd be looking at the city of Jerusalem and This these two small cities or villages really are about two miles just north and east of the city of Jerusalem It's it's funny to be reading this and sharing this with you in as much as In a little over, you know a week We'll be there, you know will be in we've come down this particular road, Marie and I have Come down this road with our church in and and all something like 26 times We've been to Israel 26 times and we have come down this road here that this we're reading about right now Many times we come down this particular road and we enter into The garden I guess so many and we spend time there. It's really great. If you ever have an opportunity I say that too to encourage you, you know one day I hope that you can come with us because it's just a beautiful beautiful experience and and what's happening here Is that a place called the Mount of Olives? It's directly east of the city and so as this is taking place. It says in verse 2 He says going to the village opposite you immediately you'll find a donkey tied and a coat with her loose them and bring them to me now As we're looking at this, let me develop something with you We need to remember that Jesus had healed a paralyzed man on the Sabbath and the authorities are now determined to put him to death for Doing that. It's common knowledge according to chapter 11 verse 53 that they want to kill him The Bible says in John chapter 7 verse 1 after these things Jesus walked in Galilee He didn't want to walk in Judea because the Jews sought to kill him And so it's become common knowledge that they want to put him to death, but in spite of the danger Jesus is determined to enter into the city in in Luke's gospel Chapter 13 verse 33 Jesus said nevertheless I must journey today tomorrow and the day following for it cannot be that a prophet should perish outside of Jerusalem so Jesus is determined to go into the city and Accomplish what he had been sent to do and So as he's about to do that He he actually sins or deputizes if you will his disciples With a task it says in verse 2 that he says to them going to the village opposite you immediately Immediately you will find a donkey tide a colt with her loose them bring them to me And if anyone says anything to you you shall say the Lord has need of them immediately He will send them and so he sends the disciples Which keeps him from being accosted by any enemies again There are people who want to put him to death and so it's just prudent for him to do something like that He's aware that there are plans that are being made for his capture in John 11 We saw this verse 57 it said the chief priests and the Pharisees had given a commandment that if any man knew where he was He should show it that they might take him so Jesus is aware of that at this time So he sends his disciples and he says to them going to this village opposite you going to Bethany is what he's saying I want you to notice that he initiated the events that led to his triumphal procession into Jerusalem And he does it by giving them a simple order. He says loose them bring them to me I want to emphasize something for a moment If anyone says anything to you say the Lord has needed them Immediately it will send them but that command is loose them and bring them to me Now here's something. It's very practical very basic Most of you if not all of you know this already perhaps There may be some who don't but it's so simple. But I I always I always take a moment for application How hard is it to do exactly what Jesus said here? How hard is that? You know, there are numbers of people Who say to the Lord command me to do something difficult and I'll do it You know something difficult and I'll do it I don't know why we do that because I find that it's easier for me to say I'll do something difficult than it is for me to do something simple You know, maybe because it's simple. It doesn't seem to be brave or take the much faith I don't know but I discovered something in the years. I've walked with the Lord. It's very basic and to keep this in mind It's the truth If you aren't faithful and that which is least you will never be faithful and that which is much If you can't take a simple order and do it you'll never take a great one and do it either And God demonstrates what happens is God helps us to demonstrate or gives us opportunity To demonstrate that we'll be obedient in all things. We'll be seeing this just this next Sunday Yes, we go through second Corinthians chapter 2 1 through 11 and we'll be seeing this where paul makes that statement He said I gave you this command to see if you're obedient in all things It's the simple things guys It's the basic things That's how you grow in the Lord. By the way, that's how you mature Do you read the word? Do you read the word every day? Do you have your devotional time? Even if it's a chapter or two out of the Bible, do you do that? Because if you do You begin to discover the will of God for your life if you do Lord begins to speak to you. No prayer is when we speak to him. His word is how he speaks to us And so who wants to be married to somebody who never speaks to them? And for us we speak to the Lord, but we also want to hear from him And when you read the word guys, he tells you what to do He outlines it for us not every single detail of everything that we do But he gives you his patterns or he gives you his lessons or he gives us insights and how he works And we say oh, that's how you do that Okay, then Lord, I'm going to trust you in this because as I read from from genesis to revelation I see that you are if there's anything I see about you. I see that you are faithful to keep your word So I'm going to trust you and Lord if you if you close the mouth of lions and Daniel's case and And if you save some young men who are going to be burned to death in in a in a fiery furnace as you did with Shadrach Meshachan And the bed to go up that I I suspect that whatever I go through You're able to deliver me to if you can part the Red Sea and you can make the Jordan capable for someone to cross on dry land Then Lord, I'm certain that you can take care of my problems See that's how you learn about the Lord. It's it's not hearing somebody talk to you about him It's him talking to you as you get into the word And it's a simple thing you never forget that it's the basic thing that helps you to grow in your knowledge and understanding of Jesus Christ and so he says something very simple. He says listen He says you're going to go into this village And you're immediately you're going to come across a donkey It's tied. There's a colt with her and this is your heavy command. Loosen bring him to me How hard is that? How hard is that and if anyone says anything to you you shall say shut up? No, you shall say The Lord has need of them and immediately he will send them So remember obedience to the simple command is a demonstration of spiritual maturity obedience to the simple commands Not only is an evidence of maturity, but a second aspect of it is it leads to depth It leads to God Revealing himself to you. You ever say Lord, just speak to me a lord. Just reveal yourself to me. Have you ever do that? I I I do God show yourself to me Not in your full glory. I couldn't behold your face and live like you told Moses no man can see your face and survive. I'm not asking for that What I'm asking is that you'd manifest yourself I'm asking for your help in John 14 21 Jesus says he who has my commandments and keeps him It is he who loves me and he who loves me will be loved by my father And then he goes on to say and I will love him and manifest myself to him I will reveal myself to him So you're out there and you're sharing your faith with someone Well before you do that you're a little nervous But it seems like the Lord's opening the door for conversation and and and you say I'm no Billy Graham I'm not a person who strings 15 scriptures together and understands all of it and able to do I'm not that person at all. And you you hear the prompting of the Lord saying you need to tell him about me I I can't do that. I You know and say, you know, but lord, maybe if you send somebody else Kind of again like Moses said, you know, I cannot speak and and God's word to him is who formed your mouth You say you can't speak who formed your mouth You know, what makes you say you can't speak? When if you trust me, I'll give you words and wisdom that none of your your adversaries can gain say nor resist I I can do that and see that's what happens guys Is is you trust the Lord in simple obedience is so basic you trust the Lord in simple obedience and God shows up And then you walk away from that conversation and you say I can't believe this I can't believe where did I come up with all those scriptures? How'd that happen? How'd I do that? And the Lord says I was with you. I told you if you obey my word if you obey my commandments, I'll manifest myself Do you understand what I mean now? Do you know what I mean now? I was in my parents house 23 years old What three weeks ago, no 23 years old And I'm standing in the kitchen my dad a young man who had been invited to a bible fellowship that was host We were hosting but it wasn't something I was doing And this young man and I are standing there in the kitchen. My dad is standing next to me This would be during the summer of 1973 And the young man says something And as he speaks and says what he says I began to Explain to him why what he said was biblically wrong And I quoted scripture And I told him how that scripture worked in what he was saying and What the truth was versus what he mistakenly was believing again, you got to understand I was 23 years old I wasn't teaching bible studies. I was just a young man Just talking about jesus with this guy It was it was in like an october it was after I turned 23. I'm trying to be precise and But as this is happening The young guy walks away says thanks he walks away and my dad looks at me and my dad says to me I didn't know you could do that And I said do what? Do what? He said I didn't know you could explain the bible in a way that people can understand That Was my that my heavenly father using my father To provoke me to think That maybe god called me To teach his word I had never thought of it before But through my dad my heavenly father said That's what I want you to do And so learning to communicate learning to open learning to open this book and to study the two things that I Hated in school studying and speaking in public Is what god called me to do what did he call you to do? Because when you trust him He manifests himself He shows himself to you And that's because you love him you obey him. So obeying the simple commands reveals not only maturity and trust That it also reveals god and it leads you to a depth of understanding You see sometimes we don't understand the significance of our actions We we do what we're supposed to do, but the insights will come later Only in obedience do we discover the joy at the will of god In john 13 jesus says at verse seven What I am doing you don't understand now, but you will know After this and that's what works. So he says this is what I want you to do a simple command I'm not telling you all the reasons for it I want you to go I want you to go into this village You're going to find a donkey there's a cult Loose them bring them to me if anyone says anything to you you shall say the lord has need of them immediately He will send them More than likely a pre-arranged Thing so All they need to do is say the lord needs this and the guy knows it's the right people to release the cult and the Donkey too and they simply do that now in verse four All this was done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet Saying tell the daughter of zion behold your king is coming to you lowly and sitting on a donkey the cult the full Of a donkey Now this scripture comes out of the old testament prophet zechariah chapter nine verse nine It was written some five hundred and twenty years before christ and so Jesus is going to ride this donkey and and and there are various reasons why he chose to ride the donkey Well one in doing so he's claiming to be messiah He's fulfilling god's promise to david remember god had spoken to to david and had made a promise to him It's recorded in second samuel chapter seven verses 12 and 13 Where god said to him when your days are fulfilled and you rest with your fathers I will set up your seed after you Who will come from your body? I will establish his kingdom. He shall build a house for my name I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever So it was a a messianic prophecy But a second thing is that it reveals the kind of rule that jesus would exercise Because he's riding on a donkey the full of a donkey Now that may not mean anything to us today But during that day it had great significance why Because when a king would enter in with the desire to conquer He would ride a horse That's how he would enter and he would be on a on a war horse It would it would represent that he was coming in war You see that in the book of revelation when jesus comes Riding on a horse, but a king riding a donkey symbolized peace And that's what's taking place here when the king would come on a donkey That was a symbol of peace and jesus is coming because he's the one who brings peace Now somebody wrote This entry into jesuslam has been termed the triumph of christ It was indeed the triumph of humility over pride Of poverty over affluence Of meekness and gentleness over rage He is coming now meek to those who are plotting his destruction He comes to deliver up himself into their hands Their king comes to be murdered by his subjects And to make his death a ransom price for their souls And so he's entering in because remember in isaac chapter nine verse six He is the prince of peace And then the third thing it's done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet zechariah Jesus came in order to fulfill that which was written concerning him When you read your bible that stated many times in chapter 10 verse 7 of hebrews I said behold i have come in the volume of the book it's written written of me to do your will oh god We saw in john 6 38 i have come down from heaven not to do my own will but the will of him who sent me Matthew 5 17 do not think that i come to destroy the law or the prophets i didn't come to destroy but to fulfill And so jesus came to fulfill the word that's what he's doing And he's fulfilling zechariah's prophecy in verse 5 that says tell the daughter of zion behold your king is coming to you Lowly sitting on a donkey a colt the full of a donkey Now mark adds something to this and it's important to note this mark gives us an insight this colt had never been ridden Mark 11 to jesus said go into the village opposite you And as soon as you have entered it you will find a colt tied on which no one has sat Loose it and bring it Now this is because anything set apart for sacred use Was previously used nothing nothing set apart Was was used for anything and so this this colt has never been written But one of the other things i don't know i don't know do i have any cowboys to cowgirls in here i'm obviously not one maybe we have some uh I'm not a horseback rider I don't like horses I'll look at them and i'm getting near them They they're mean so i i don't get near them Almost fell off of a horse once You know they had to pull the electrical plug before i broke my neck That's dumb but I i i know something about them i know that I know that if it's never been broken That if you try and climb on it you're gonna have a problem aren't you all of us know that If it's never been broken if there's never been a rider on it try and climb on it See what it does See if it turns around and smiles at you and says yeah, let's go for a walk see if it does I don't i everything i know about horses is they have a tendency Of rearing up to try and remove you a beast of burden like that a donkey colt whatever they they they They don't necessarily accept a rider They have to be trained to do that. What's this show me about jesus christ That even the donkeys even creation Obeys him and submits to him And it's easier for him to be carried along by a donkey Than it is for him to be carried along by us sometimes Because we will try and remove him from lordship where the donkey didn't The donkey accepted him for what he is and that's something to observe as we look at this The the the colt was unbroken Well in verse six it says the disciples went and did as jesus commanded them They brought the donkey and the colt laid their clothes on them And set him on them Now as this happens They began to proceed before him a great very great multitude spread their clothes on the on the road others Cut down branches from the trees and spread them on the road The multitudes who went before and those who followed cried out saying Hosanna so you can imagine the noise that's taking place And if you had the opportunity to see the palm sunday road if you had the opportunity to see It's kind of a small road maybe wide enough for a car but not much Not much wider than that at least today. That's about the size of it in the area But the road as it's going steeply going down The people are lining up and some are coming out from the city And others are proceeding with jesus down and the two crowds Those coming out to meet him and those who are going with them begin to merge into a single crowd And as this has taken place they're all they're all shouting they're all yelling and they're saying hosanna the word hosanna here in verse nine Means save now the crying for salvation Hosanna save now to the son of david messiah Blessed is he who comes in the name of the lord hosanna In the highest so these are words of praise and and all the the the Passover pilgrims are are are uniting and converging Now as this takes place luke gives us more insight if you take notes, it's luke 1937 It says he was now drawing near the descent Of the mount of olives and the whole multitude of the disciples began to rejoice and praise god with a loud voice For all the mighty works they had seen And then luke says what occurs as he's about to enter the city you have to picture this the drama of this the The it's up. It's a lie It's so loud because there's so many people in the streets. It's there are multitudes. It's not 16 or 20 people We're looking at a good distance of people coming out and crowding up and jesus coming. There are hundreds thousands of people I was at Oh boy Dodger stadium 1988 it's the last time I wanted to watch a dodger game live But i'm glad I went it was a world series game And the dodgers were playing the athletics. Some of you remember this some of you have read about it And gibson got up to bat And I was in On the right field lying just just about a hundred feet from first base Someone had given Me a seat a ticket to see the game And there I am When uh Gibson hit that home run And I I always remember it Because he was all gimpy, you know, he came walking up just gimpy. Everybody knows the story There he is fighting with the best Relief pitcher and baseball accuracy And i'm expecting him to go down. I mean the guy was so Messed up. He could hardly even walk and when he swung he could see him kind of Pain But he hit that ball And it came rising and it was rising as it went past us And I watched it and I turned and watched it as it dropped into the bleachers there in right field Unbelievable the noise A dodger stadium Well, they were screaming and shouting and yelling because they had shown a picture of me. No, they were Just They were screaming It was I have never heard anything so loud Thunder Thundering it kept going and kept going and kept going and the game's over And for a half hour I was still in the seat people were still shouting Finally, we walked out And climbed in the car and you could still hear the thunder and the sound of the people in the stadium They didn't want to go home After seeing such an amazing moment In baseball history, right? We shouted for gibson And these people are shouting for jesus And it's loud and it's thunderous and they're screaming safe. Now osana Glory to god in the highest There is this loud Loud noise taking place and as this is all taking place you have to picture this as jesus is coming He doesn't enter in immediately into the city. Luke tells us this Luke says in in chapter 19 of of his gospel again, if you take notes, it's found in luke 1941 through 44 Luke says As he as jesus jr He saw the city And he wept over it Saying if you have known Even you especially in this your day the things that make for your peace But now they're hidden from your eyes For the days will come upon you when your enemies will build an embankment around you surround you and close you in on every side And level you and your children within you to the ground And they will not leave in you one stone upon another Because you didn't know the time of your visitation That's what jesus did in the midst of all the screaming the palm branches that are being thrown before him The people crowding the streets and waving their hands and crying out loud That noise and enthusiasm as they're following him as he's proceeding and then he stops And speaks to the city Notice how luke says you didn't know the time of your visitation that word visitation speaks of inspection Your your investigation Someone defined that word the act by which god looks into and searches out the ways deeds and character of men In order to judge them accordingly You didn't know the time of your inspection You didn't know Now what is he referring to how how could they know Of this surprise inspection. How is that? It was prophesied by zekariah They weren't aware of his declaration But not only did zekariah write concerning this but daniel the prophet also did In daniel 9 24 through 26 the first portion of verse 26. This is what daniel prophesied 70 weeks are determined for your people and for your holy city To finish the transgression To make an end of sins To make reconciliation for iniquity To bring in everlasting righteousness To seal up vision and prophecy And to anoint the most holy Know therefore and understand That from the going forth of the command to restore and build jerusalem Until messiah the prince There shall be seven weeks and 62 weeks 69 weeks the street shall be built again and the wall Even in troublesome times And after the 62 weeks messiah shall be cut off But not for himself Let me break that down for you daniel prophesied 490 Years are determined to accomplish six specific things one to end jewish apostasy a two To make an end of sin to completely deal with it three To make reconciliation which is accomplished in christ four To bring in everlasting righteousness which occurs at the second coming five To seal up vision and prophecy because it's no longer necessary everything being complete And then six to anoint the most holy to anoint jesus and his reign as messiah now Sir robert anderson and i'm going to read this because i want to get this right Sir robert anderson wrote a book You can still buy the book it's called the coming prince and He did his research related to daniel's prophecy and It speaks in daniel's prophecy Again where he says That there were 70 weeks determined for your people in holy city finished transgression etc Etc and he speaks concerning the time that the That the command goes to restore and build jerusalem So the term to restore and rebuild jerusalem Is something that that sir robert anderson began to investigate and so he wanted to know When that command went out to restore and rebuild jerusalem And he found the answer it's in the bible it's in neomaya the old testament book of neomaya chapter 2 verse 5 as well as verse 14 That's when the king artxerxes gave the command to go and restore and rebuild jerusalem you see it In neomaya 2 5 and according to one historian That is the most valid date in history because we know the date it was march 14th 445 We know the date when that command went out So what happened is sir robert anderson took the 69 weeks of daniel And began doing mathematical calculations at first He took the 69 weeks and he multiplied the weeks by by the number of days by by 7 and he came up with 483 days and and he checked any and he wanted to see from that command 483 days later What significant thing happened and and he found that nothing happened on the date 483 days after march 14th Nothing happened So he began to think that perhaps this is not a seven day week that's being spoken of but perhaps it's the old testament week of years Because the bible has what is called weeks of years you see it in the viticus for example chapter 25 verses 3 and 4 Where it says six years you shall sow your field and six years you shall prune your vineyard and gather its fruit But in the seventh year there shall be a Sabbath of solemn rest for the land a Sabbath to the lord You shall neither sow your field nor prune your vineyard. It's called Uh, it's weeks of years. So using weeks of years Uh anderson computed what the amount of days That would add up to now i'm get a little more complicated the jewish year is made up of 360 days So anderson began with the number 360 including the extra days that are in the jewish calendar And leap years and things like that and he did his his his calculations taken all of that into consideration. So He had 69 weeks times seven day weeks times 360 for years 69 weeks seven years per week 360 days per year which Comes up to 173,880 days He's still with me right 173,880 days and he went from march 14th And he started counting the days. Can you imagine how tedious no calculators at that time? So he counted 173,880 days from march 14th 445 bc and he came to april 6th ad 32 Which is palm sunday? amazing Palm sunday The day that jesus rode the donkey into jerusalem palm sunday Had been prophesied by daniel you would know your king And that's why jesus Cried and he said you didn't know the day of your visitation You didn't take my word seriously You weren't looking for me The answer was before you all along And because you rejected me Because you had no heart for me Because you weren't anticipating me Destruction is going to come because in rejecting me judgment follows daniel 926 says after the 62 weeks missai shall be cut off but not for himself That relates to jesus dying on the cross He he he was cut off but not for himself. He was innocent He didn't die for his own sins. He died on behalf of others And nothing that rightly belonged to him was given to him So jesus is there And you see something in him And i want i want to emphasize this for a moment too We we see in the gospel of john we see that jesus Wept over one person he wept over his friend lazarus remember the easiest Bible verse in scripture to memorize it's two words jesus wept jesus wept He wept for lazarus But he also wept for a city and a people That gives us the gamut of the love of god That he cares for everybody and he cares for individuals too Meaning that you may be in a crowd of people And think you're insignificant But he's aware of you as well as everybody else And he loves you just as much as he loves anybody else And so he wept because he says you did not know the day of your visitation And you are going to be encompassed you will be destroyed. This is going to take place and around 40 years later Titus of rom destroyed that city It's it's it's all recorded in history How that titus came in the jewish people were rebellion against roman rule and And ultimately what happened and you see it in matthew 24 more clearly But what happened in prophecy jesus speaks specifically of this taking place So everything is destroyed the temple is destroyed everything's destroyed I mentioned to you that titus had a soldier the soldiers soldiers who were surrounding the temple somebody threw in a burning torch it it caught Some of the drapes on fire It incinerated everything within the confines of the temple It was so blazing hot that the gold Articles in the temple melted from the extreme heat and actually seeped into the stones And then what happened is once everything cooled down Titus sent his his men in and they took the temple apart brick by brick And they took all the gold that had melted from between the stones and and and took it all and then took the the everything And and took the jews captive to rom And that's why jesus is crying. He said you didn't know the day of your visitation Listen if here's a practical application Um If if you want to be How do I say this if if you want to be used by the lord you have to learn something Now immediately somebody says well, yes, you need to learn the scriptures And you you need to learn to walk in the holy spirit and you need to learn how to communicate your faith And and all of that's right. Yes, of course. Yes. Yes. No the scriptures and and and and pray and and all of those disciplines But you know what you really need to learn to do to this is very basic You need to learn to cry You you need Some of some some don't know how to do this You need to learn to cry What do I mean just cry No, I know how to do that. I'm pretty good at it. No for the lost for the lost To actually instead of hating them so much because it's easy to be mad At people for being what they are They're so rude They can be so rude Say in jesus name break their teeth. Oh god. I mean, they're so rude I think envy and you know this And sometimes you're driving and someone decides that they're going to just get in front of you just cuz Or you pull up to a gas pump and they decide they're going to get it and it happens to me And I tell marie. That's just not nice. Don't do that to me even if I'm your husband. You don't have the right to do that There are people that They never have a good day. They always have a bad day and they like to share that with others So we all have a bad day because of this one person And you know what I've been trying to do for years I've been learning to do and asking god to help me to do Is to is to to cry for the loss To care about them enough to get on my face before the lord And pray for him Because it's easy to be angry at them If you watch enough news, you can go to bed mad every night Every night And those how can they why they every night you can go to bed mad Or you can go to bed crying and praying and saying god in jesus name bring revival and jesus name wake us up In jesus name lord, there's so many lost and just by watching what's taking place on the face of the earth right now Lord, the time is short short And and lord, I have friends and I have family who don't know you I I'm concerned for And that's what you do. He who goes forth weeping Bringing freshest seed with them to doubtless come again rejoicing bringing his sheaves with them You learn that that weeping endures for a night, but joy comes in the morning And then you learn to cast your cares before the lord and they say god in jesus name This this this person i'm working with they're so difficult, but they're also so hurt and they're so lonely and god I I I just I I just need a tender heart towards them Now not all people are the kinds of people you can get close to and and be loving with you know Some people don't want it. I understand that But they may not want you near them and they may be mean to you, but they can't stop you from from praying for them They can't So you go into another room and you say oh god, I'm upset. This person's a jerk Just a jerk. There's a beautiful greek word. I use all the time idiote You know what that means But lord Oh god in jesus name Because I I I I I believe we all agree with this the only thing that's going to change this nation Is when the people change and the only way the people are going to change Is when jesus works in their life to change them. I believe that with all my heart That's why we go out with the gospel. That's why we do it and that's why We learn to cry to god and say god in jesus name Would you break my heart for the things that break yours? Lord I have my eyes are dry My prayers are cold So ignite me because we're in the last days They don't know you And that's a very important thing. And so jesus wept because they were going to enter into destruction and so Closing let's turn on back to chapter 12 of john and i'll close With verses 16 through 19 and close with a couple practical applications in prayer His disciples didn't understand these things at first But when jesus was glorified Then they remembered that these things were written about him And that they had done these things to him Therefore the people who were with him when he called lazars out of his tomb and raised him from the dead bore witness For this reason the people also met him because they heard that he had done this sign the Pharisees therefore said among themselves You see that you are accomplishing nothing. Look the world has gone after him and so Notice it says in verse 16 the disciples didn't understand these things at first It requires the spirit of god to illuminate our minds To understand what god is doing So don't get discouraged if you don't seem to understand certain things quickly There are many things we need to unlearn And there are new things that we need to learn And some things simply take time to understand And you normally begin to understand spiritual things in stages Various things might occur in an order You begin to put those things together And you begin to understand and as you're doing so the holy spirit begins to give you a deeper understanding Remember spiritual lessons come through the holy spirit In john 1426 the helper the holy spirit whom the father will send in my name He will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you It's the work of the holy spirit within us I read the word And I pour myself into it But god takes his word And by his holy spirit gives me understanding And then I learn how to apply that Because spiritual lessons come through the holy spirit And so they didn't understand these things but remembered after jesus had resurrected and was glorified And as this is taking place we see the response people are there looking they recognize This is the one who had called lazarus out of the dead They're bearing out of the tomb and they're bearing witness People are wanting to to meet him. They heard he'd done this time But the Pharisees are saying amongst themselves you're accomplishing nothing the world has gone after him So there's this this conflict that's taken place and then mark closes this event by saying in mark 11 verse 11 That jesus went into drusselm into the temple when he had looked around at all things as the hour was already late He went out to bethany with the 12 Literally it was late in the afternoon, but there's a spiritual significance. The hour was already late In many ways The time was coming For jesus To be put to death The hour was late. It was late for the people Who were rejecting him? It was the last moments And then he was going to be taken And he was going to be put to death And so I would say at this point here That the amazing events that are taking place are fulfilling scripture Give to us an insight into the ways of god And also Encourages me to trust his word guys his word is truth He is the father of eternity. He knows all things He gives to us what is called pre-written history. It's called prophecy He's the only one who does that you don't find in any other quote-unquote religious books Prophecy You know why? Because god didn't inspire those books The only book that you find has pre-written history Is the bible Because the god you worship Is the god of eternity And he is the god of truth And he tells you what's going to happen before it does So after it does happen You trust him and you say he was true to his word And if he was true to his word then He'll be true to his word now