Spirit Lake Baptist Church Sunday

April 10, 2022, PALM SUNDAY

My King Jesus

Matthew 21:1-11

Introduction: (Show pictures of past kings) Today you and I don’t live under a system of rule. However, there are more than 44 reigning monarchs in the world today. Here are a few: Spain, Morocco, Lesotho, Nepal, and the Netherlands are a few countries that still have kings and queens. These people are the children of the children of former Kings and Queens.

Today I want to talk about My Jesus. Turn in your Bible to Matthew 21:1-11. In this passage of Scripture, we discover that Jesus is presented as Israel’s king on what is traditionally called, Palm Sunday.

As I thought about Jesus being King, I couldn’t help but think about how He had been received in the past and how He is being received in the .

When Jesus Christ is preached, people will respond. They will put their in Jesus Christ because of the message they heard. They responded because they heard a specific statement that addressed a need, or a desire in their life. In other words, many people come to Jesus Christ not to make Him their King, but to receive something from Him. Why did you come to Jesus Christ?

As we come to the Gospel of Matthew, I believe that it is important for us to understand that Jesus is being presented as the answer to Israel’s greatest need. Keep in mind that Jesus is entering Jerusalem just week before He was taken outside this city and crucified. Jesus was put to death exactly one week after presenting Himself as Israel’s King.

What kind of a king Jesus do people want today? I believe that people want…

I. A King

There are a lot of people who turn to Jesus Christ because they have just been diagnosed with a terminal illness. I want to let you in on a secret. We all have a disease – we are all going to die. Sick people will try anything to get better – even Jesus! The Bible says,

And as it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment, (Hebrews 9:27)

There is not one of us as believers that will get out of this life without passing through the shadow of (save the rapture of the church – Psalm 23; 1 Thess. 4:13-18).

Someone discovers that they are sick, and immediately they want Jesus to them. They want King Jesus to deliver them from their infirmities. (By the way, I’m speaking through experience here).

Please hear this – Jesus may heal you. But He doesn’t to do so. Be careful that you don’t read into the Bible what is not there. When the Bible says,

But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; The chastisement for our peace was upon Him, And by His stripes we are healed. (Isaiah 53:5)

We must understand that Isaiah 53:5 was referring healing. It refers to being healed of our sins. Jesus Christ took upon Himself all our sins. Every type of ugly sin that you can imagine. He bore our iniquity and by His stripes we are healed.

There are many people, who turn to Jesus, and they want Him to heal them. They expect Jesus Christ to heal them. Some even that He heals them, and when their healing never comes, they became disenchanted with Jesus Christ, and with Christianity. Many people have walked away from Jesus Christ because He didn’t or hasn’t healed them. They say that Jesus Christ didn’t work for them.

Hear me – Jesus Christ is not a machine.

I witnessed a friend of mine (Doug Sherman) some years ago who died completely understanding that his King Jesus didn’t have to heal him. He was fully aware that his healing was yet to come! His wife (Becky) told me that his passing was peaceful and that you could sense as if there were angels present in the room. All is calm for those who truly trust Him.

Look, I believe God can heal infirmities (He did mine!), but that He doesn’t heal all physical infirmities. And don’t forget that many of the loudest faith healers have died! They weren’t healed.

Yes, some people want a Healing King! And some people want…

II. A King

It’s true, there are some Christians who want a King! By that I mean, there are some who want a King Jesus that will make them wealthy. They are drawn to words in the Bible like:

• Prosper
• Riches
• Money
• Wealth
• Gold
• Silver

By the way, do you know what the Bible says about the religious Pharisees? We read,

“Now the Pharisees, who were lovers of money, also heard all these things, and they derided Him.” (Luke 16:14)

Yes, there are many people who want a King! I still vividly remember years ago when a couple attended the church, I pastored in South Dakota who was into the. They asked me, “Are you a positive preacher? Are your sermons positive?” And then they said, “We only want to attend a church where we hear positive sermons.” You see, Amway promoted this. They taught that to be successful that you needed to surround yourself with affirming people. Stay away from anything negative.

Remember the ? If you think it, you can have it.

Television Evangelists

The prosperity gospel has done a lot of to the cause of Christ. There are people, who watch the T.V. evangelist, and they read the mass-mailing letters that are sent out from those ministries, and they are enamored by everything the evangelist writes about – faith, health, prosperity, and money. These guys and gals speak of “seed faith”, by that they teach that if you plant a dollar into their ministry that God will give back to you one hundred-fold. They say things like, “Tell God what you want”, or “name it and claim it.”

A few years back the phrase “” was coined. It was a phrase the world gave to these televangelist money grabbers. People like Oral Roberts, Rex Humbard, Jimmy Swaggart, Jimmy Bakker, Kenneth Copeland, Binny Hinn, Creflo Dollar, and Peter Popoff to name a few.

What is sad is that this thinking has literally infiltrated many churches across America and around the world. And it is closer than you think.

The Gateway Church

There is a “church” in Coeur d’ Alene that believes one of their members has gold dust that falls from heaven upon them, or that jewels fall from the sky into the yard of this parishioner, or a gold crown just miraculously appears in his mouth. They claim that in December 2006 that they had received 40 gemstones supernaturally.

The Church in Redding, California also states that similar events happen in their church as well. Everything from a glory cloud that appears in their sanctuary, to gold dust falling upon worshippers.

Yes, some people today are drawn to a King! And many of these same people are foolish enough to send their money to these ministries (See an example of a letter sent to me).

Some people want a Health King, and some people want a Wealth King. And others want…

III. A King

Do you remember the song that Madonna sang, “Just a girl living in a material world?”

There are Christians who have the idea that God wants them to have it – the cars, the homes, the boats, the four-wheelers – the travel trailer, the lake cottage, the land, the trips, and did I forget anything? How about the 85” 8K television sets, and all the other stuff we must acquire?

I have watched people who gather new items around them like children gathering candy on Halloween night. They have a sweet tooth for whatever is fashionable and new. They buy and they spend, and they gather, and they store. And boy oh boy can we as people ever store.

A King is who they serve. But consider what the Bible teaches us about Jesus Christ Himself. We read in Matthew 8:20,

And Jesus said to him, “Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head.”

And in Luke 12:15, Jesus taught,

And He said to them, “Take heed and beware of covetousness, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of the things he possesses.”

Is it possible that some people have misplaced ? I think so!

Build Bigger Barns

I knew a guy in South Dakota, Les Ripple, was his name and he had barns – big barns that were stuffed with stuff. Things like, antique cars (old fashioned cars), lots of antique tables and chairs – expensive things. All are stored away in barns. It all was collecting dust, and for what purpose? And I ask, And for what purpose?

Lester Ripple was into material things! He was a collector. When is enough, enough?

I heard about a lady that collected – she had shelves and shelves of teacups. What are you gathering? And where do we store all our stuff? And for what purpose?

We buy things with we don’t have, to people we don’t know, only to it away because we don’t use it.

It was Jesus who said,

“For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?” (Matthew 16:26)

What kind of Jesus do people want today? Some want a Health King, others a Wealth King, and still others a Material King? I believe that they want…

IV. A King

Yes, there are some “Christians” that want a King.

There are some Christians who after they came to faith in Christ view Jesus and their Christianity as a tool to project them into . I have met people, who have been talented, but they really aren’t that great, but they believe they are, and that Jesus is going to get them to Nashville. For them it is Nashville or Bust! These individuals want the limelight of Christendom.

Last week Kevin Ward spoke about The Battle for the Mind. He shared about Tic Tock and other social media platforms. Places like , Instagram, Facebook, and . People who desire fame want followers, and they will do crazy things to gain additional followers. Fame people talk about the number of people following them on their social media accounts. What is sad is that their mental and emotional health is based on how many followers they have. When they gain followers, they are upbeat, but when they lose followers, they are upset – what a roller coaster of a ride.

It seems that not many people want to play fiddle today! Everyone wants to play first chair. They want attention, to be noticed. See me, see me is their cry! What about you?

The Bible tells us that Jesus didn’t come to “be served, but to serve, and give his life a ransom for many.” (Mark 10:45).

Best Seat in the Coming Kingdom

Are you aware that even some of Jesus’ own wanted the limelight – they wanted the best seats in the future kingdom? In Mark 10:37 we read,

“They said to Him, “Grant us that we may sit, one on Your right hand and the other on Your left, in Your glory.”

I wonder sometimes if Christians aren’t caught up with the whole mentality for Christianity! They want Jesus, but they want a Jesus that will make them famous.

Our Leader is Better than Yours

The Corinthians church boasted about who they followed. In

1 Corinthians 1:12 we read,

“Now I say this, that each of you says, I am of Paul, or I am of Apollos, or I am of Cephas, or I am of Christ.”

Those into a fame king are name droppers.

Titles in the Church

Years ago, there was a man attending church here that wanted to be our school superintendent. I hesitated and approached it slowly. I’m glad I did – it came out that this man had an addiction to pornography. I can’t imagine putting a man into a position in our church that is addicted to pornography. Understand, this man wanted a position. He wanted a title.

I have also had a man who approached me and said to me, “I want to be a church .” Whenever someone says that to me, immediately a red flag comes up. It is the church that appoints deacons. Those who are caught up with a Fame King want positions. This is not God’s way.

What kind of king Jesus do people want today? A Health King, a Wealth King, a Material King, a Fame King? I believe that they want…

V. A King

As we look back at our text here in Matthew 21:1-11, we discover that Israel desired a King. They were being oppressed by the Roman government. Israel was controlled by the iron fist of tyranny.

Can you imagine what it would have been like on this Sunday as Jesus rode down from the Mount of Olives, across the Kidron Valley, and up into the city of Jerusalem? The Jews believed that they were watching their coming .

The Zechariah spoke about Israel’s coming king (Zechariah 5:5). And we read about its fulfillment in Matthew 21:5,

“Tell the daughter of Zion, ‘Behold, your King is coming to you, Lowly, and sitting on a donkey, A colt, the foal of a donkey.”

As Jesus made His way to Jerusalem, we are told in verse 8, what the people did – we see their actions.

And a very great multitude spread their clothes on the road; others cut down branches from the trees and spread them on the road.

What a picture to behold. Can you see this in your mind’s eye? This was their way of acknowledging their King. It was their way to honor their King. It’s what you do for Royalty!

Several years ago I watch the movie, and in that film, there was a scene where a man in the crowd takes off his coat and throws it on the ground to cover a puddle in which Queen Elizabeth was about to walk over. He did it because of her nobility. It’s what you do for royalty!

Not only do the people spread their clothes on the ground, and lay palm branches down on the ground for Jesus to walk on, but the people begin to cry out in unison (see verse 9b),

“Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the LORD!’ Hosanna in the highest!”

Are you aware that the word, “Hosanna” literally means, “ us we pray?” These people were acknowledging with their words that they accepted Jesus as their King. Look at the three words, “Son of David.” They were acknowledging Jesus’ rightful position as their King. David was a King, and David’s son has the right to reign. Therefore, Jesus had the right to be their King.

The Political Situation

We must understand that Israel was looking for a King. They wanted their own government. They didn’t want to be ruled by Rome one minute longer. They wanted Jesus to set up the promised Messianic Kingdom and make Jerusalem the Capital city.

The bad news that Sunday was that Jesus didn’t come as a political King. Understand that this crushed the people’s expectations. I can only imagine that the people thought something like, “What? You’re not going to deliver us – what kind of king are you?”

And how many people today say the same thing today?

• What, you’re not going to me – what kind of King are you?
• What, you’re not going to give me – what kind of King are you?
• What, you’re not going to give me things – what kind of King are you?
• What, you’re not going to give me, what kind of King are you?
• What, you’re not going to us, what kind of King are you?

Now, can I tell you what kind of King Jesus Christ is? He is…

VI. A /Ruling King

You heard me – He is a /Ruling King! One week after Palm Sunday. Just one week to the day. Jesus Christ was taken by force (abused, falsely accused, spit upon, mocked, beaten to a pulp), and the people who had cried out in verse 9,

“Hosanna to the Son of David! “Blessed is He who comes in the name of the LORD!’ Hosanna in the highest!”

We’re now crying out,

“ Him.” (Mark 15:13b)

Pilate said to the people,

“Why, what has he done? (Mark 15:14b)

But the people cried out the more,

“ Him.” (Mark 15:14c)

Do you and I understand who King Jesus is? Do we understand that Jesus Christ came into this world to become the sacrificial that takes away the sins of the world (John 1:29)? Do we realize that He took our sin, and replaced it with His righteousness? (See 2 Corinthians 5:21). Do we fully grasp the Jesus Christ we have received into our lives?

He is the Savior/Ruling King!

I ask you today – does He, King Jesus, over your life?

You might be saying, “I didn’t for a ruler. I signed up for a king that would heal me; a king that would make me wealthy, a king that would allow me to have it all, a king that would make me known, a king that would deliverer me, but I didn’t sign up for a ruler king.

Conclusion: Do you know why I am this sermon? Because I look around and I see Christians who want a Savior, but I don’t believe that they want a ! When you received Jesus Christ into your life you were receiving Him as your Savior, but He also is to become the – your Master, your ! He is to rule over your entire life. He is to be the King of all of your life – body, soul, mind, and will. You and I are not to hold back, but everything is to be brought under the Lordship of the King – Everything!

So, I close by asking you – What of King did you receive?