[The following is a full manuscript of my sermon delivered on Palm Sunday morning, the 20th of March, 2016. Look for the video on our Vimeo channel, http://vimeo.com/pilgrimreformedchurch.]
Today is Palm Sunday, when we traditionally celebrate our Lord’s triumphal entry into the city of Jerusalem. The people thought their conquering king, the long-awaited Messiah, had finally come and they all turned out to cheer Him on. They filled the streets and rooftops to welcome the King’s coming. Can’t you just see some of them running through the city to alert their friends, shouting “The king is coming! Our king is coming!” I wonder why no one seemed to notice that their King rode in on a lowly donkey, rather than a fierce war horse.
While I do want to observe the coming of our King today, I also want to conclude our series on the seven churches of Revelation. You may not think those two go together, but please bear with me as we take a slightly different path than the traditional. Listen and follow along as I again read from the Apostle John’s Book of Revelation, flipping quite a ways ahead to chapter 19, verses 11 through 16, reading from the New King James Version of our Bible…
While I do want to observe the coming of our King today, I also want to conclude our series on the seven churches of Revelation. You may not think those two go together, but please bear with me as we take a slightly different path than the traditional. Listen and follow along as I again read from the Apostle John’s Book of Revelation, flipping quite a ways ahead to chapter 19, verses 11 through 16, reading from the New King James Version of our Bible…
11 Now I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse. And He who sat on him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and makes war. 12 His eyes were like a flame of fire, and on His head were many crowns. He had a name written that no one knew except Himself. 13 He was clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called The Word of God. 14 And the armies in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, followed Him on white horses. 15 Now out of His mouth goes a sharp sword, that with it He should strike the nations. And He Himself will rule them with a rod of iron. He Himself treads the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. 16 And He has on His robe and on His thigh a name written:
KING OF KINGS ANDLORD OF LORDS.
--Revelation 19:11-16 (NKJV)
Let us pray… Father God, Your Son Jesus gave everything for us, ending His mortal life on a cross, before You resurrected Him back to His life eternal. While we are so sad that He had to die for us, we celebrate with great joy that He still lives. Our risen King lives! Speak to us this morning, Father, and touch us with Your Holy Spirit, that we might better understand what it means for our King to come. In the blessed name of Your Son Jesus we pray. Amen.
There’s this story of a ship’s captain who peered into the dark night and saw faint lights in the distance directly ahead. Immediately he told his signalman to send out a message: "Alter your course 10 degrees south." Promptly a return message was received: "Alter your course 10 degrees north."
The captain was angered - his command had been ignored! So he sent a second message: "Alter your course 10 degrees south -- I am the captain!" Soon came the reply: "Alter your course 10 degrees north -- I am seaman third class Jones."
Immediately the captain sent a third message, knowing the fear it would evoke: "Alter your course 10 degrees south -- I am a battleship." And then the reply: "Alter your course 10 degrees north -- I am a lighthouse."
In the midst of our dark and foggy times, all sorts of voices are shouting orders into the night, telling us what to do, how to adjust our lives. Out of the darkness, one voice signals something quite different from the rest - something the world despises. But that voice happens to be the Light of the World, and we ignore it at our own peril.
The shrill voices of our society and modern culture distract us, pulling us in all different directions at once. Only one voice offers a clear, concise message. Only one voice provides a specific, straight path to follow. The voice of Jesus, our King.
Now if we paid attention over the last few weeks, we should know the kind of church that voice is calling to. Jesus praised six of the seven churches of Revelation for rejecting evil, for persevering in the face of adversity and trials, for having patience, for bearing suffering without complaint, for keeping faith in Christ and never denying His holy name. Our Lord commends them for their love, their faith, their service, their patience, and encourages them to keep those all strong and steadfast.
But I think more telling than all these compliments are the criticisms the Lord raises. Two of the seven church families escaped criticism altogether, but what Jesus had for the other five should give us great concern. They had lost their fervent love of Christ and of serving Him. They tolerated immorality, idolatry, and heresies.
They allow the culture of the world in which they lived to creep into their worship and practices, corrupting them. They were dying or dead spiritually. And maybe worst of all, they were indifferent – in their faith and in their love of the Lord.
In each case, the church was told to repent! Turn back from their wickedness, from their wayward paths, from their sinful ways, and turn directly once more to God. They were told to be faithful until the very end. To do good works in service to Jesus with kindness and joy, not some sense of duty they simply had to fulfill. To shore up and strengthen those who are weak and failing. To be zealous in their attitudes and their service for Christ.
By the way, every time I just said “they”, I also meant “we”. And if they and we do these things, we will be rewarded richly in heaven. We’ll be dressed in pure white robes. We’ll share His throne with Jesus. I think the neatest reward is to receive a new name, a name that is only for each of us, a name Jesus picked out just for us since before the beginning of time.
Now in each and every case of these seven churches, Jesus closes with this cautionary comment: “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.” Jesus doesn’t say “let everyone in the churches hear what the Spirit says”. He says “let everyone who has an ear hear what the Spirit says”.
Family, do we have ears? Have we heard, over the last few weeks, just what the Spirit had to say to these seven churches? Then we need to hear, heed, listen to what Jesus says! This is that one voice I mentioned earlier, the one voice we ignore at our own peril! The one voice we fail to follow at our own risk!
In the traditional Palm Sunday readings from the Gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke, we hear how Jesus had His disciples go and get a donkey, a colt, for Him to ride on. And we can read where He did this so that prophecy would be fulfilled. The prophet Zechariah spoke for God so long ago of the coming of the God’s Messiah. In chapter 9 verse 9 of his prophecy, Zechariah says…
There’s this story of a ship’s captain who peered into the dark night and saw faint lights in the distance directly ahead. Immediately he told his signalman to send out a message: "Alter your course 10 degrees south." Promptly a return message was received: "Alter your course 10 degrees north."
The captain was angered - his command had been ignored! So he sent a second message: "Alter your course 10 degrees south -- I am the captain!" Soon came the reply: "Alter your course 10 degrees north -- I am seaman third class Jones."
Immediately the captain sent a third message, knowing the fear it would evoke: "Alter your course 10 degrees south -- I am a battleship." And then the reply: "Alter your course 10 degrees north -- I am a lighthouse."
In the midst of our dark and foggy times, all sorts of voices are shouting orders into the night, telling us what to do, how to adjust our lives. Out of the darkness, one voice signals something quite different from the rest - something the world despises. But that voice happens to be the Light of the World, and we ignore it at our own peril.
The shrill voices of our society and modern culture distract us, pulling us in all different directions at once. Only one voice offers a clear, concise message. Only one voice provides a specific, straight path to follow. The voice of Jesus, our King.
Now if we paid attention over the last few weeks, we should know the kind of church that voice is calling to. Jesus praised six of the seven churches of Revelation for rejecting evil, for persevering in the face of adversity and trials, for having patience, for bearing suffering without complaint, for keeping faith in Christ and never denying His holy name. Our Lord commends them for their love, their faith, their service, their patience, and encourages them to keep those all strong and steadfast.
But I think more telling than all these compliments are the criticisms the Lord raises. Two of the seven church families escaped criticism altogether, but what Jesus had for the other five should give us great concern. They had lost their fervent love of Christ and of serving Him. They tolerated immorality, idolatry, and heresies.
They allow the culture of the world in which they lived to creep into their worship and practices, corrupting them. They were dying or dead spiritually. And maybe worst of all, they were indifferent – in their faith and in their love of the Lord.
In each case, the church was told to repent! Turn back from their wickedness, from their wayward paths, from their sinful ways, and turn directly once more to God. They were told to be faithful until the very end. To do good works in service to Jesus with kindness and joy, not some sense of duty they simply had to fulfill. To shore up and strengthen those who are weak and failing. To be zealous in their attitudes and their service for Christ.
By the way, every time I just said “they”, I also meant “we”. And if they and we do these things, we will be rewarded richly in heaven. We’ll be dressed in pure white robes. We’ll share His throne with Jesus. I think the neatest reward is to receive a new name, a name that is only for each of us, a name Jesus picked out just for us since before the beginning of time.
Now in each and every case of these seven churches, Jesus closes with this cautionary comment: “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.” Jesus doesn’t say “let everyone in the churches hear what the Spirit says”. He says “let everyone who has an ear hear what the Spirit says”.
Family, do we have ears? Have we heard, over the last few weeks, just what the Spirit had to say to these seven churches? Then we need to hear, heed, listen to what Jesus says! This is that one voice I mentioned earlier, the one voice we ignore at our own peril! The one voice we fail to follow at our own risk!
In the traditional Palm Sunday readings from the Gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke, we hear how Jesus had His disciples go and get a donkey, a colt, for Him to ride on. And we can read where He did this so that prophecy would be fulfilled. The prophet Zechariah spoke for God so long ago of the coming of the God’s Messiah. In chapter 9 verse 9 of his prophecy, Zechariah says…
9 “Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion!
Shout, O daughter of Jerusalem!
Behold, your King is coming to you;
He is just and having salvation,
Lowly and riding on a donkey,
A colt, the foal of a donkey.”
--Zechariah 9:9 (NKJV)
Your King is coming. He is just, and brings salvation with Him. And He comes lowly, humbly, riding on a donkey. This describes how Jesus entered Jerusalem that last time, that triumphal time when all the people cheered Him and hailed Him as King, before calling for His blood only a few days later.
Family, I cannot stress it strongly enough that Jesus is coming again. The King is coming! And this time it will not be lowly, riding on a donkey. This time the Conqueror comes, riding upon a white charger, with the full force of heaven’s mighty army of angels riding behind! His eyes will burn like fire, reflecting the wrath of God. The Word of God will issue from His mouth like the sharpest sword. He will be the Word of God, come again, this time to judge and make war in righteousness! And just so no one can mistake His true identity, He will be emblazoned with the words “King of kings and Lord of lords”!
Brothers and sisters, the King is coming! Not just your King, not just our King, but The King! The King over all kings, the King over all the earth, the King of all God’s Creation is coming! The King is coming with the full wrath of God! The King is coming to wage war against the forces of evil and darkness and He will win! The King is coming to judge every human being who lives and who has ever lived! And the King is coming soon!
Are we ready? Are we the church Jesus wants to see when He returns, or are we lacking in some way? Do we understand what He said to the seven churches in His Revelation, and how those words apply to us today? Are we heeding that one voice, do we have ears to hear what the Spirit is saying to us?
O the King is coming, the King is coming! I just heard the trumpets sounding, And now His face I see; O the King is coming, the King is coming! Praise God! He’s coming for me!
Amen.
Let us pray… Father God, You foretold through Your prophet Zechariah of how Your Messiah would enter into Jerusalem that final time: lowly, humbly, riding on a donkey. Not at all what we would expect for a king. But then, Father, Jesus told us how He would appear when He returns to this earth. This time we will truly see the conquering King, the King above all kings, the Lord of all lords! Your Son will come into all His glory and His power and might will be evident all across the face of the earth. All evil will be vanquished, and all mankind judged.
Lord God, we repent of our sinful ways. We repent of our waywardness, of our wandering away from the path Your Son Jesus blazed for us. Forgive us, please Father. Help us be sincere in our desire to repent. Hear us now, as we come before You with bowed heads and humbled hearts, pleading for Your forgiveness, calling out into the silence directly from our hearts…
Lord Jesus, You have been anointed by our heavenly Father as our King. May we understand what that really means and serve You, and only You. When You come again, mighty King, may You find us to be the church You intend us to be. Help us, Lord of lords. Help us attain that goal. In Your glorious name, King Jesus, we pray. Amen.
Family, I cannot stress it strongly enough that Jesus is coming again. The King is coming! And this time it will not be lowly, riding on a donkey. This time the Conqueror comes, riding upon a white charger, with the full force of heaven’s mighty army of angels riding behind! His eyes will burn like fire, reflecting the wrath of God. The Word of God will issue from His mouth like the sharpest sword. He will be the Word of God, come again, this time to judge and make war in righteousness! And just so no one can mistake His true identity, He will be emblazoned with the words “King of kings and Lord of lords”!
Brothers and sisters, the King is coming! Not just your King, not just our King, but The King! The King over all kings, the King over all the earth, the King of all God’s Creation is coming! The King is coming with the full wrath of God! The King is coming to wage war against the forces of evil and darkness and He will win! The King is coming to judge every human being who lives and who has ever lived! And the King is coming soon!
Are we ready? Are we the church Jesus wants to see when He returns, or are we lacking in some way? Do we understand what He said to the seven churches in His Revelation, and how those words apply to us today? Are we heeding that one voice, do we have ears to hear what the Spirit is saying to us?
O the King is coming, the King is coming! I just heard the trumpets sounding, And now His face I see; O the King is coming, the King is coming! Praise God! He’s coming for me!
Amen.
Let us pray… Father God, You foretold through Your prophet Zechariah of how Your Messiah would enter into Jerusalem that final time: lowly, humbly, riding on a donkey. Not at all what we would expect for a king. But then, Father, Jesus told us how He would appear when He returns to this earth. This time we will truly see the conquering King, the King above all kings, the Lord of all lords! Your Son will come into all His glory and His power and might will be evident all across the face of the earth. All evil will be vanquished, and all mankind judged.
Lord God, we repent of our sinful ways. We repent of our waywardness, of our wandering away from the path Your Son Jesus blazed for us. Forgive us, please Father. Help us be sincere in our desire to repent. Hear us now, as we come before You with bowed heads and humbled hearts, pleading for Your forgiveness, calling out into the silence directly from our hearts…
Lord Jesus, You have been anointed by our heavenly Father as our King. May we understand what that really means and serve You, and only You. When You come again, mighty King, may You find us to be the church You intend us to be. Help us, Lord of lords. Help us attain that goal. In Your glorious name, King Jesus, we pray. Amen.
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