03.29.2015 Palm Sunday - Why is Faith so Important in this 'Scientific Age'?

03.29.2015 from Grace Summit on Vimeo.

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This week is what our faith is all about – there is reason to lift it up and make it significant – because if you take this week out, there is nothing – absolutely nothing – to what we believe – so I encourage you to read a portion of the Passion Week story every day this week.

Matthew 21:1-

21 Now when they approached Jerusalem and came to Bethphage, at the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two disciples, 2 telling them, “Go to the village ahead of you. Right away you will find a donkey tied there, and a colt with her. Untie them and bring them to me. 3 If anyone says anything to you, you are to say, ‘The Lord needs them,’ and he will send them at once.” 4 This took place to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet:

5 “Tell the people of Zion,

‘Look, your king is coming to you,

unassuming and seated on a donkey,

and on a colt, the foal of a donkey.’”

6 So the disciples went and did as Jesus had instructed them. 7 They brought the donkey and the colt and placed their cloaks on them, and he sat on them. 8 A very large crowd spread their cloaks on the road. Others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. 9 The crowds that went ahead of him and those following kept shouting, “Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!” 10 As he entered Jerusalem the whole city was thrown into an uproar, saying, “Who is this?” 11 And the crowds were saying, “This is the prophet Jesus, from Nazareth in Galilee.”

Palm Sunday is a really important part of Holy Week – there are only a handful of stories that appear in all four gospels – this is one of them.

What is happening in this story is not an accident. Jesus says, “Go and get a donkey” – it was probably the most planned thing He did in His entire ministry. This is a dramatic event that is about to unfold. He has a lesson, and it is pointed – something He wants to communicate and things He wants to accomplish through His triumphal entry into Jerusalem. The donkey plays a key role – by coming in on a donkey, He is not coming in like a warrior KING – who would have come in on a white horse with generals behind him – like if a dignitary comes through in a motorcade – everyone knows what is happening – but by sitting on a beast of burden, He didn’t come as they expected – to liberate them – and when they came out with the palms, they are saying – you are the liberator, the one to return our wealth and prosperity – you will drive out the enemies – but their expectations are wrong – this is the final journey to the cross –and He knows it will expedite His death – He knows what the reaction will be – because He knows what has to happen. They are looking for a Messiah Liberator, but Jesus comes as a crucified Messiah, which they cannot understand, as it is a sign of shame and weakness, but from God’s perspective – it is the power of God.

In 1 Corinthians – there are a lot of parallels to Palm Sunday – like what we have been saying the past 13 weeks – the gospel and the cross – to some – are foolishness and shame, but it is the power and wisdom of God.

The problem during Jesus’ day – the disciples’ expectations – and understanding of who God is and what He was to do – was wrong. And it was the same in Corinth – they misunderstood what it was to be c Christian – and about the Kingdom of God.

We place wrong expectations on God – Who He is and how He should act in our lives. And it is important that we recognize that – He is beginning the journey to the cross and He is leading us on this same journey – we have a journey to the cross – and although the events aren’t the same – it is the same in our surrender.

Part of this is about reworking our expectations about who God is.

This is our nature – here are some examples – we have all had certain expectations constructed in us – starting in childhood by things we hear about God – and the things we learn about God build this tower of faith in our lives. Some of those things are really good – some not so much – but we hold to all of them. They are critical – and they are right – and we think they must be held to at all costs – and then life comes along. Like in the story – He is going to die now, and the disciples are disillusioned. Like in our lives – we grow in faith and then something unexpected happens.

First – our expectation about how God should act in our lives – If we do enough stuff right – we believe God will bless us and make everything comfortable and good and improve our circumstances. And we believe that is God’s job. If we hold up our end of the bargain – our bad circumstances will be quickly resolved to our benefit – but we know that doesn’t always happen.

Prayer – we take a promise – whatever you pray in faith will be done for you – and we go off to pray and then our prayers don’t work the way we think they should.

Some of you are on the prayer chain – and so you know about a family – George and Terry – who have a son – George takes care of our boiler, so he is over here several times a year. Their son Josh was unconscious for about 5 days with encephalitis – and had paralysis in his legs – and we were very concerned – On Friday – his mom drove him down to Edwin Shaw – and about 3 days ago, he walked for the first time since – and he has a long way to go – and there is tremendous praise for answers to prayer. This young man is 22 years old. We have 3 really close friends who have lost their sons in their 20s. And we think – this is good that this happened over here – but sometimes it doesn’t happen over here – and our expectations can be crushed. We follow all of the rules of decision-making – and we have peace that we have done it all right – and the decision is a lousy one! And it all falls apart – after you make it – convinced that you have done everything right. This could sound like a bummer about at this point! I think all of this happens for a reason – God wants us to understand something much greater.

I think what has happened in our modern scientific western world – we have replaced faith with having the right answers. Faith has lost its experiential nature.

Hebrews 11; 1 Now faith is being sure of what we hope for, being convinced of what we do not see

He is bigger than what we can see – His understanding is inscrutable! We can’t understand it!

8 By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to a place he would later receive as an inheritance, and he went out without understanding where he was going.

Abraham lived in the richest city of that period – and God called him to somewhere he did not know – and Abraham said YES! Let’s go this way! I have this land I want to give you!

8 By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to a place he would later receive as an inheritance, and he went out without understanding where he was going.9 By faith he lived as a foreigner in the promised land as though it were a foreign country, living in tents with Isaac and Jacob, who were fellow heirs of the same promise.

There is this land, but he is still an alien – traveling back and forth

. 10 For he was looking forward to the city with firm foundations, whose architect and builder is God.

Abraham leaves with this expectation of land and new nation and this place for his family – and that expectation is destroyed – so Abraham changes his expectations –and learns what needs to stay and go.

We will hold to this tower we construct until parts of it don’t work anymore.

All of us know of parents who knew exactly how to raise their children! All we have to do is look at one another! And things go fine for a time and then we realize that this thing is not working. That is how it is with our faith – we need to reexamine this house we have built and be able to critique it! I am not talking about historic Christianity – but how we live out our lives. We need to understand what stays – and also what needs to go. We must do some deconstruction of the building that we have constructed. And there are parts we need to take off – and it is hard to take off things we have held onto. And after we take off those bad things, we need to rebuild on things that are sure and solid.

Hebrews continues –

11 By faith, even though Sarah herself was barren and he was too old, he received the ability to procreate, because he regarded the one who had given the promise to be trustworthy. 12 So in fact children were fathered by one man—and this one as good as dead—like the number of stars in the sky and like the innumerable grains of sand on the seashore. 13 These all died in faith without receiving the things promised, but they saw them in the distance and welcomed them and acknowledged that they were strangers and foreigners on the earth.

All of them died without receiving the promise. BUT – they saw them from a distance and recognized that there is a greater promise.

Palm Sunday – Jesus is saying – You are waiting for this king – but there is something greater that I must do – and it is something you don’t want to hear about – something we are unable or unwilling to lean our ear in and listen and accept. We all have that struggle of letting God do the work He wants to do inside of us.

Jesus, after this, goes into the temple. It is not an accident. He goes after the religious leaders and the structure of the Jewish system – and He is addressing these corrupt people saying it needs to be deconstructed. See this building – destroy it and I will rebuild it in 3 days – and that is what has to happen – deconstruct your life so He can reconstruct it.

I’m going to skip to the end…

Ways to deconstruct and reshape – start your own journey to the cross – heart attitudes – ties in with 1 Cor – Stop seeking the praise and approval of people – it destroys us – ruins our lives, workplaces, and families – and there is only 1 approval we need – The Lord’s! You have been accepted, you have been forgiven – and with someone else, you are never sure. With God, you can be sure – not because you are worthy, but because He loves you and He has chosen to approve of you. He is happy with you – completely happy with you – in our language – He loves you deeply.

Things to think about –

Do you let others’ opinions of your performance shape your identity and your ability to think highly of yourself? If that is controlling, you have an approval issue.

Do you accept your faults? Do you have a hard time accepting criticism or compliments? I’ve been criticized twice for what I have done today -and because I am teaching this – I had to be glad for it. They were constructive! But that is what I did – not WHO I AM. Who am I? I am God’s beloved son in whom He is well-pleased.

When the boss comes in and says you need to redo this job, you need to say (to yourself) I am God’s beloved son in whom He is well-pleased.

If this resonates, you need to ask yourself – Who are you trying to please and why?

The willingness to go down deep and that is a good thing to do this week – to examine and go inside there – there are resources out there – but it is important to figure that our – ant the sooner the better!

Don’t wait until you are fifty! Some of us did! Better to do it sooner.

Give up control for the need of power. It is the other side of the approval coin. It is about getting your own way.

You believe that if someone would change one or two things about themselves, you would be happier – so you go about changing them.

The great message we have to carry as ministers of God’s word and followers of Jesus – God loves us , not because of what we have accomplished – but because He has chosen us, and to proclaim His love in life.

To get to that pint – we have to get to the other side.

Let’s pray.

Heavenly father – Speak into our hearts and lives this week so we can gain deep understanding into knowing that we are loved and forgiven by God, chosen – and that we receive everything in You.