Podcasts about hossana

Serie: Noches de Domingo | Mateo 21:1-11 | 1985

Happy Palm Sunday! In this week's episode of Church to Go, Pastor Adam leads Grace Bible Church into the sanctuary with shouts of Hossana and waving Palms. This week's focus is on the triumphal entry of Jesus in John 12.  Church to Go is a product of Grace Bible Church in Elmhurst, IL., and a part of their Authentic Grace podcasting network. All inquiries to Church to Go should be directed toward the church office directly. 

2022

قداس أحد الشعانين وصلوات الجناز العام

"Every moment you're in, in your life, there is a mystery in it and there's something that God is wanting to reveal about Christ in your life. We learn to walk in the spirit."     Hossana in the highest! This past Sunday was Palm Sunday, and to celebrate Christ's triumphant entry we will be looking at building a life in the spirit. Join us this week as we continue to walk in Jesus'  RESURRECTION POWER!   If you would like to learn more about Bethel Cleveland and how to get involved, please visit our website at bethelcleveland.com.

Hossana! by Pastor Daniel

4/10/2022 - John 12:20-43 - Pastor Ernie Jeong Sermon Video https://youtu.be/pTC4jM8O8Jc Full Worship Service https://youtu.be/_8tFwticxbc Sunday Bible Study https://youtu.be/XCZIDgHLvOw Children's Message (Video) https://youtu.be/XrUT9JRNamU ~~ Recent Videos: https://www.faithmoorpark.com/recent ~~ Prayer Requests: https://www.faithmoorpark.com/prayers ~~ Visit our web site to learn more about Faith Lutheran Church. Watch View past worship services, sermons, bible studies, and devotions. https://www.faithmoorpark.com/ ~~ Support Faith Lutheran Church: AmazonSmile: https://www.faithmoorpark.com/amazon Online Giving: https://www.faithmoorpark.com/giving ~~ Faith Lutheran Church is part of the Lutheran Church, Missouri Synod (LCMS) located in Moorpark, California.

Slideshow for this message is available Introduction John 12 Last week was the triumphal entry into Jerusalem. You will remember from John 8 to John 12 there were three death threats on Jesus' life leading up to passover. That increasing pressure and mounting danger caused people to ask, “Do you think he'll come to the feast at all?” And so there's this incredible suspense because on the one hand you have this incredible miracle working messiah claiming to be God which has the crowds clamoring and electric with excitement after Jesus' raising of Lazarus from the death and on the other hand you have this vitriolic opposition to Jesus on the part of the religious leaders such that they had posted a warrant for his arrest. Do you think he'll come to the feast at all? Well he comes and not just tip-toeing. He comes charging. He's developing all this excitement by traveling up to Jerusalem with these traveling pilgrims, he's doing miracles, speaking out boldly. And essentially his strategy is to use the crowd as cover. The idea is this: if there's enough excitement in the crowd then if the Pharisees try to arrest me in public, the crowd will riot and they dare not pull that stunt, lest Rome descend upon them. They have a lot of healthy fear about Rome's wrath. And so Jesus rides into Jerusalem under the protection of the wild shouts of praise. Save us. Hossana. And presumably, the crowds just stick to him like glue for the next three or four days so there is no opportunity for the religious leaders to arrest him. So Jesus would have descended off the mount of olives and into the kidron valley crossed over and then up through the Eastern gate and then would have ended up teaching and interacting with the crowds up here on the temple mount. So what we read today in John chapter 12 is Jesus interacting on the temple mount sometime during this next week with the throngs of people who are buzzing and swarming with interest like flies on honey. Before we read the text, let's zoom out for a moment. On the one hand there's a story to reconstruct. There's a chronological backbone and we have done work from time to time to try and reconstruct that story by harmonizing the four gospels together. But we lose something if we do that. We lose sight of the point John his trying to make. He is specifically including things and excluding others to give you a theological understanding of how to view Jesus Christ. And today I want to break away from the chronology of the story itself to focus on something John does here thematically. He's arranging material to make a theological point that we really don't want to miss. And we'll do this by picking up the last verse from last week. The Pharisees peer at the people from their perch as Jesus parades in on a donkey. Remember their emotional reaction? Look at it in verse 19. Let's take a second to look at this word WORLD. The whole WORLD has gone after him. John uses this word a lot in his writing. It's a massive theme. The word kosmos is used 14 times in Matthew, Mark, and Luke combined and 78 times in the book of John. That tells you something right there. This is a theme. And the way John uses the word is fascinating. John is an absolute master at the play on words and he does it here in such a marvelous manner to make a really important point. The word world is has a lot of different meanings and shades of nuance but you can lump it's usage into three distinct categories. On of the clearest ways to illustrate these various usages is to simply point out that John 3:16 says, “For God so loved the world that he gave his son.” And then we have 1 John 2 which says, “Do not love the world.” Why are we told to not love something that God loves. For God so loved the world? Who is he speaking of? People (all humanity). Do not love the world. There he's speaking of Pollution (sin and all that which is hostile to God). So when the Pharisees say, the whole WORLD has gone after him. They are talking about that second usage, people (all humanity). Now tuck those different nuances away. We'll come back to it today, but we are introducing here because it's increasingly going to be a theme we will draw upon as we move into the later chapters of John. Now to illustrate just how much of that “whole world” has gone after him, John now explains how even Gentiles are clamoring to get some time with him. Now one small side note here and I can't help it. Why is this detail about the communication chain from Philip to Andrew to Jesus here? Lisa and I were laughing at it. It's kind of funny. It seems so trivial. "Philip went and told Andrew; Andrew and Philip went and told Jesus." If I were writing the story and especially if I had to write it on the skins of animals by hand, that detail is getting cut. Editorial sovereignty slices that sentence off. But God keeps it for us. Why? I think there's a lesson here about Andrew. Who was Andrew? Very little is known but we know at least this: He was the first disciple called. He was also Simon Peter's brother. How many people had either forgotten that or never knew that Andrew was Peter's brother. You see, everyone knows Peter. Nobody knows Andrew. Andrew gets no press. He just doesn't seem to be as charismatic. I mean, he just doesn't have the splashy gifts. But every time we see him, he's like this giant funnel to Jesus. **During John's baptism we read, “Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, was one of the two who heard what John had said and who had followed Jesus.** The first thing Andrew did was to find his brother Simon and tell him, “We have found the Messiah” (that is, the Christ). And he brought him to Jesus.” When the crowds are starving and there's no food, he's the one that pipes up and suggests, “Well we have these five loaves and two fishes?” What can you do with that Jesus? But what is he doing here? He's connecting people to Jesus. Some Greeks come to Philip. *And Philip, I can imagine saying, “What do we do with these guys?* They want to see Jesus. Jesus is really busy. What do you think we should do.” And Andrew brings him to Jesus. Jesus can fix it. Jesus will know what to do. And the encouragement is, you might not have the great splashy gift. You might not know how to answer the apologetic question that is super difficult. But bring them to someone who can. Connect them. Be a pointer to Jesus. Let your enthusiasm and trust in Christ be, in and of itself, the gift. I think that's who Andrew was. So Andrew says, okay, there's some Greeks here, let's get them to Jesus! Gentile Interest Getting them to Jesus was not as straightforward as you might think. Greeks of course are Gentiles. These are non-JEWS. And they are going to have to geographically go where Jesus is. Well, where is he? Almost certainly, he's on the temple mount. So you've got to get yourself to the temple. Now it's important to understand here that the temple was the place of worship for ETHNIC Jews. We talk today in our modern context about having seeker sensitive churches. And the basic ministry philosophy of a seeker sensitive church is to make church a place that is very welcoming, accommodating and understandable to a person who is coming in from the outside. Let's remove any religious jargon, get rid of any unnecessary hurdle. Well, the temple was pretty much the polar exact opposite of that. The temple was about as seeker insensitive as it gets. If you are a Gentile and you walk up onto the temple mount, the first thing you are greeted with is this giant wall with a sign posted. Court of the Gentiles. Warning no Gentiles beyond this point: punishable by death. We talked about the Romans not being given the authority to execute. There was actually an exception. The Jews were permitted to execute anyone who was a Gentile and passed beyond the clearly posted signs, even if they were a Roman citizen. How's that for welcoming? Welcome to our temple. You stepped foot in the wrong area. You need to die. How does that feel? Here you are looking at this foreign religion. And walking past you are Jews, women, children. But you can't go in there to worship. Why? What's wrong with me? You are not God's chosen people. I mean how offensive can you get? What? God doesn't care about me because of the color of my skin? 99.9 percent of people just turn up their noses. I'll never serve a God like that. But these seekers are looking to the miraculous works of Jesus, the miracles. They are coming the way God wants all men to come to him, in humility, prepared to have their minds formed by whatever God says is right and true and beautiful. The only thing I care about is truth. And this guy is indisputably connected to God. We must talk to him. I'm not going to be offended because of my sensitivities. Maybe my sensitivities are incorrect. And contained in their penitent, eager, inquisitive, interested response, you've got this incredible irony. Jesus came to save the Jewish people. Jesus comes to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. And yet the actual priests, those who have access to the very innermost part of the temple to YHWH, those who could advance all the way in, those who should have the deepest understanding, those who have the greatest access to the truth, they are the ones who want to kill him. And yet those who are on the outside - spiritual outsiders, racial outsider, those who are unclean, those who have the most disadvantage they are the one ones who are responsive. And so they ask Philip and Andrew if they can speak to him. And perhaps at this moment Jesus is deeper into the structure of the temple. After the court of gentiles you had the court of women, then the court of men, then the court of priests, etc…these concentric circles of exclusivity. And so perhaps Jesus has to be fetched. They aren't even allowed to find Jesus on their own. They need permission. It's humbling on many levels. So Jesus says, “I'd love to speak with them.” Now look at what happens next. It's really strange. Here is his opening statement to these Gentiles: Whenever Jesus talks about his hour coming, he's referencing his death. Now think about this. This is a non-sequitur. I mean how does this fit the context in any way? Jesus we want to learn more about you. We hear you have done all these miracles. Some have even said, you've claimed to be God. Tell us more about that? Jesus replies, “Well, the hour has come for me to die.” How in the world does that sentence logically follow? You want to know what he's doing? He's doing the same thing for these Gentiles as he's done for the Jews. He's painting the cost of being a follower of Jesus Christ. We know that's what's on his mind based on what he says further down. You want to follow me? You want to ascend with me as King. Then you will have descend as well. Look down in verse 26. Following me, means going where I plan to go. Are you sure you are ready? He's laying out the terms of the kingdom. I'm glad you've come to worship me as king, but I want to make a distinction between God and genie. I'm not a genie. I'm not a god you rub and out I pop and deliver you your three wishes. I am good. But following me won't be easy. Following me means dying to self. But it also means truly living. Jesus' glorification is tied to his refusal to seek his own glory. To be a follower of Jesus Christ, that means that we must accept the principle of the seed. We must die. In order for a seed to bear much fruit it must accept its own death. It must be willing to say that it is through my death of self that life will come. Out of my death to self that much fruit will come. He's driving men and women to a choice. Once again, we have these sharp contrasts and distinctions. John 11 is the raising of Lazarus. What's the reaction: Some fall on their faces to worship. The religious leaders plot to kill Jesus and Lazarus. John 12 opens up and Mary pours out her treasure at the feet of Jesus, a years wages. Judas betrays him for 30 pieces of silver. And now here. And so what Jesus says to these Greeks now makes perfect sense. He's again, functioning as a wedge. Which side are you on? You have come to address me as King. The hour has come for me to die. How do you feel about your King dying? How do you feel about your King ruling from a cross? How do you feel about your King reigning in weakness? Remember this is the passage immediately following the triumphal entry. It's kind of annoying because we keep breaking up the reading of this story by these 7 day interludes. I doubt John ever intended that. Do yourself a favor and just read the whole book in one sitting this week. I promise you'll see some things. If we were just reading this sequentially, the affect it would have on us would be real. The whole WORLD is going after him. There's roars and chants ringing in the ears of people. Save us! Save us! King, King, King. Speech. Speech. Speech. What were they looking for? They wanted a Judas Macabees. They wanted a hammer. That's how things get done after all. Power is taken not given. The spoil goes to the strong. Survival of the fittest I mean there's all this political energy…and then boom. We want to follow you. Lead us Jesus. Lead us. Get on your horse and lead us! You want to follow? And Jesus answers. I'll lead you. That I will do. But if you want to be a follower, then you must follow me where I go. Follow me onto the cross. It's time for me to die. You have to loose your life to find it. You have to kill self to keep self. You have to give it all away before gain anything. You want true riches? Then give away your riches. you want power? Then give power away. You want true strength? Then embrace weakness. You want to go up? You have to go down. This is the kingdom ethic. This is what it means to be a follower of Jesus. Making it Real. And at this point in the narrative, the crowds fade away, the Greeks fade away and you get what is really a Shakespearean soliloqy. And even though there is noise and camels snorting and people banging their brass pots and frightened sheep slipping out of the hands of their owners, you get this moment where all the characters around fade away and it's just you dropping in on a private conversation between Jesus and the father. It's a very personal moment. You know what Jesus is doing right here. He's saying, "I believe, but I'm struggling with what this is going to mean for me." Jesus Christ, is struggling with anticipated suffering. Do you know that its okay to be struggling with anticipated suffering. If you are anxious about anticipated suffering in your life, that is okay. Look what Jesus does with that temptation to sinfully worry. Jesus says, "I don't want to go through this. I don't want to suffer like this. Father my soul is troubled. The verb is a strong one, and signifies revulsion, horror, anxiety, agitation. Do you see the turmoil in his soul? Listen, suffering is horrible. Nobody wants to suffer. It is not an ungodly response to recoil at the thought of suffering. Suffering represents a distortion in the created order. It's not the way things ought to be. Listen, Jesus knows that feeling. Jesus is crying out to the father, “I don't want to go through this suffering. I don't want to have to endure this. Just the thought of it is horrifying to me.” Jesus is experiencing in this passage the same turmoil we experience. Now, look at what steadies him. Look at what anchors his soul. As so as he begins to pray to be spared this hour, to escape this cup, he immediately faces his unswerving commitment to adhere to his Father's will. No, there is a purpose in the suffering. God has ordained this suffering for his glory and for that reason I will embrace it. Let me suffer in such a way that it brings God glory. You can see this internal conflict. “The horror of death, and the love of His father's will were colliding.” And it is in that moment that He just bursts out. Glorify your name. The glory of God is his anchor. He loves the glory of God more than he loves his own life, his own comfort, his own freedom. Here's the point that John is driving home to us today and it's a sober one. There is a time when we all need to count the cost. There's a time for all of us where Jesus says, “Stop playing church. Stop trying to stay on the fence. Are you for me or against me? Are you a Mary or Judas.” Will you follow me, even unto death? There is one sense in which being a Christian costs you nothing. It's a free gift after all. You can earn it. You can't pull out a wad of cash and pay for your salvation and then say, "I paid the price, now give me what is owed to me." That's impossible. But in another sense, in order to get this free gift, you must surrender everything. When you get married, you don't pay a bunch of money to your spouse and say, "Okay, I've paid the price. Now I get the benefits of being married." No, you have to give your entire life, “and forsaking all others for you alone” when you do that, then the free gift is yours. In the same way, being a Christian costs you everything. And that surrender in one sense is not easy. It's not fun. You will probably pray a prayer similar to Jesus, “Father, save me from this hour.” And in that hour you will have a choice. Before Jesus, there existed a choice. Run from Jerusalem. Hide in the hills. Get away from Jerusalem where I can be free of these death threats and just live a quiet comfortable life, or, submit to the Father. For this reason I came into the world. Glorify your name. Glorify your name in my suffering. That is of greater importance. Remember Hebrews 12? Hebrews 12Enter That's what we are doing. We are considering Jesus who endured such hostility against himself, so that we can be encouraged in our suffering, the same way Jesus was encouraged in his. Father glorify your name. Can you say that in what you are being asked to surrender? Maybe it's your health. Maybe it's your spouses health? Maybe it's your reputation. Following Jesus means surrendering my reputation. Maybe it's your time. I have to choose between sports or your hobby or even something good like ministry or family and Jesus. I have to choose between work and church. Or maybe it's your money. Remember the rich young ruler. Jesus said, “Sell all that you have and come follow me.” And he went away sad. He wouldn't do it. You see, it's at that moment when it really costs you that it goes from being a theory you agree with to a truth upon which your very life rests secure. Let's get real. Nobody disagrees with this concept at a high level. I mean, who is going to disagree? Of course we can see that this kind of surrender is good. We see someone who is truly happy who gave everything away and we say, "yeah, that makes sense. That's like Jesus. but you see, we haven't given everything away. We hear the testimony of someone who says, "I used to be a work-a-holic and I just decided I'd had enough and I decide to make church and Bible reading and family worship a priority." And we do it every day and it was the best decision of our life. And that doesn't surprise you. Of course that makes sense. You have to abandon the world if you want to follow Christ. But you haven't done that. We see someone who left their high paying career and their cushy job and went onto the mission field or they went into the ministry and they say, “That was the best decision of my life.” And we stand back and say, “Yeah, that makes total sense.” But we haven't done that. We are still a million miles away from that decision. You see there is a way to agree without agreeing. There's a difference between agreeing with the model and trusting in it. In our membership class last week, we were talking about what it means to put your faith in Jesus Christ, to really believe him. And we used this analogy. You see do we really want to follow Jesus? That's what he's asking these Gentiles. Do you really want to follow me. If you want to follow me then you've got to go where I go. I'm going to the cross. Still interested? I'm going to do the father's will. And I trust that the father's will is good. It is for this reason that I came, to do the father's will. For Jesus Christ, get in the wheelbarrow for Jesus meant climb on the cross. And it's in that moment of total surrender, that God answers. What does he mean, the voice came for your sake, not mine. He means, I want you to see what I am choosing. I want the glory of the father. That's what's motivating me. That's what's driving me! Jesus did not get carried away by a fevered multitude and wound up on a cross. He was seeking the glory of the father. In the same way that a man is motivated by money and in so doing sacrifices his life upon the altar of the almighty dollar, so Jesus is motivated by the glory of the father. That's everything to me. It's worth it! Now, interestingly, Jesus makes some commentary on what his death means. He says the crucifixion will be the means by which he judges the world. Judgment of the world. Remember what the Pharisees said earlier. Oh no, the whole WORLD is going after him. And now Jesus is saying, by me, hanging on the cross, “Now is the judgment of the world.” What does it meant to judge? It means to evaluate on the basis of truth. You're a line judge in tennis. Was the ball in or out. You judge it? You judge an art contest? Which one deserves the blue ribbon? You judge a traffic dispute. Who caused the accident. And then there's a verdict. There's a conclusion that is spoken. Jesus says. Now is the judgment of this world. Okay, well what's the thing needing to be judged? Well, of course, it's the thing that the whole book of John is about. Who is Jesus? Is he God come in the flesh or is flesh pretending to be God. Is a Liar, a Lunatic, or Lord. What the judgment? What is the assessment of that claim? There was all this debate about who he was. (e.g. 6:14, 42, 60; 7:15; 8:48, 52–53; 9:29; 10:19; 11:37). The world thought it was passing judgment on Jesus. The ruler of this world thought he was passing judgment on Jesus. The crowds thought they were passing judgment on Jesus, "crucifiy him, crucify him." In reality, the cross was passing judgment on them. And although the cross might seem like Satan's triumph, it is in fact his defeat. Why? Because it is through this ‘defeat' that victory comes. Now let's stop right here for a second. What is this talking about? When I am lifted up from the earth, I will draw all people to myself. Without the verse that comes next, I would almost certainly conclude that is talking about the resurrection and subsequent ascension. By what means would Jesus draw the world to himself? You would think by demonstrating power and victory over death. Coming out of the grave. Walking to the top of the mount of olives and raising to heaven. I mean, that would be so dramatic, so amazing. That will be the thing that just smashes the unbelief and people will come sprinting to the feet of Jesus. Certainly that would be the way, right? But that's not what he meant. The whole world is going after him. Let's recall back to the beginning where we talked about John's usage of the word world. By what means would the whole world going after him. (people) Jesus say, when I am lifted up I will draw all men to myself. Is that Christ being lifted up and exalted by the crowds? Save us, save us. Is that Christ being exalted to a throne? Nope. That's the shallow, fickle, mm deep interest of the world. That's what the Pharisees thought. Oh no, the whole world (people) is gone after him. That type of self-serving interest is of the WORLD (pollution). That's worldly attraction. And this is the judgment of the world (pollution), the death of Jesus. And it through that death the ruler of this world (planet) will be cast out. Victory through death. The Glory comes by Giving. The Healing comes by Hanging. Jesus had to die like a seed to reproduce his life in others. And that is what we are going to celebrate now in a time of communion.

Introduction John 11-12 Now today we are studying what is traditionally known as the triumphal entry. But its not triumphant at all. It's actually tragic. It's depressing. It's grossly carnal. That may surprise you. Maybe you've only thought of this event as a high point, a ministry mountaintop for Jesus. Why are we using words like tragedy, depressing and carnal to describe an event in which the nation of Israel pours out of the city to welcome Jesus as King. Well, let's take a closer look. Now there's no way to appreciate this passage unless we go back and build the drama leading up to this point. And what we need to do in particular is rehearse the ways in which the threat to Jesus' life had been steadily growing over the past few months. This thread is very easy to trace in the book of John. Now let's just rehearse what's happened so far. In John chapter 8, Jesus makes some very clear statements about who he was. Do you remember, “Before Abraham was, I am” and the Jews correctly hear that statement as blaspheme; Jesus, claiming to be God; so they pick up stones to stone him. Death threat #1 Then in John chapter 10, just a couple months later he preaches the good shepherd sermon during the feast of dedication. The religious leaders approach him and say, “Tell us plainly who you are.” I and the Father are one and they pick up stones to stone him. Death threat #2 Now Jesus is in danger, no doubt, but I want to make an observation about the type of danger. What was going in both of these passages was a reaction. In both these passages, a small group of religious leaders would have been on the scene. Their sentiments certainly would have been reflective of a much larger group but the larger group was not present. Had they succeeded in stoning Jesus, they almost certainly would themselves have been thrown in prison. There would have been consequences. The Jews were not given liberty to carry out capital punishment. That was a job reserved for Rome. John 8 and 10 was Pharisaical vigilante justice. Now what happens after that second stoning attempt. Do you remember? Jesus flees to Perea to escape the area ruled by Pontius Pilate, to that area beyond the Jordan that was under the jurisdiction of Herod Antipas. And I want to take you back there just for a moment to remind you of that event. The Pharisee approach Jesus while in that area and they are trying to lure him back into the domain of Pilate. Jesus isn't buying it. And then he makes this startling prediction. Do you remember this? Luke 13 That's Psalm 118. This is a Messianic Psalm given to Israel to prepare Israel to welcome her Messiah. So essentially what Jesus tells these guys is you won't see me again until the city welcomes me as Messiah. Now the point is, if you had been standing there that day, you would have said, “There's no way that is going to happen!” There is just too much hostility up there. The religious leaders rule that hill with an iron fist. They would never let that happen. Let me give you an analogy. After 9/11, Osama Bin Laden was the most wanted man on earth. George Bush, our president at the time, was trying to destroy him. Can you imagine Osama Bin Laden sending George Bush a message, “You won't see me until I walk into the whitehouse as president.” That's overstated a bit, but you get the point. How in the world did this happen? Now, it actually gets even worse. What happens next? While in Perea, Jesus gets word that Lazarus is sick. And do you remember what the disciples say when Jesus says, “We are going to Jerusalem to wake him?” Do you hear the fear? After their complaints are ignored, they agree to go and we read of Thomas' remark. Let us go with him that we may die to. In other words, its really dangerous. It's deadly. But it gets worse still. Now he never actually visits Jerusalem. Lazarus lived in Bethany which is just on the outskirts. And Jesus never actually sees the religious leader while he is there. He manages to avoid them. But word gets to the religious leaders that he has raised Lazarus and do you remember their response when heard of this indisputable proof had been performed? There's death threat #3. Now, you are starting to pick up on a theme. But its important to understand that this death threat #3 at the end of John 11 is of a different species than we have seen thus far. This is almost certainly a reference to the Sanhedrin, that Jewish supreme court composed of 70 men. You had 35 on each side and then the high priest in the middle. *So when we read of Caiaphas saying, “You know nothing at all.* It's better that one man should die for the people than everyone die.” That's Caiphas sitting in this seat addressing the Sanhedrin. Now here's the point: the key distinction is this official determination to try Jesus according to the legal processes available to them, legal processes that were of course highly greased. We need to try him in our courts. We need to drag him into Rome's courts. And we need to convince Rome to nail him to the cross. That's a much different animal than the reactionary rage we see in chapters 8 and 10. The point is to illustrate the increasing seriousness of the situation. There is an escalation in the resolve to destroy. From Jesus' perspective, it's one thing to be in danger of death knowing that the law protects you. It's another thing to be in danger of death knowing the law itself is after you. Jesus is not merely an unliked person. He's now a criminal target. They've stapled up wanted posters. To put it in modern terms, everyone's phones go off in unison and there's an Amber alert with a description of Jesus. So Jesus gets word of this and he flees this time to a city to the North called Ephraim. Politically, everything is charged. Everyone knows he's in deep trouble. And you feel that tension, so-thick-you-could-cut-it-with-a-knife tension in the next three verses. Do you see the suspense? Everybody is so intrigued by Jesus. Word is circulating like crazy that this miracle worker raised Lazarus from the dead and Lazarus is walking around (go talk to him yourself). And there's frenzy and excitement and curiosity. But the politics are clearly felt by everyone. For some reason the religious leaders hate this guy and want him dead. And if your an average Joe, you say, "This is going to be interesting. Passover is the most important pilgrimage feast and we've never seen Jesus miss one? But man, he is not liked by these guys. Do you think he'll risk his neck and come up to Jerusalem at all? If he does, there's going to be fireworks. So that was all setting the stage. Do you see the problem. How is Jesus going to ride into Jerusalem to the shouts of the people, to the wide-eyed amazement of the crowds when he's the most wanted man in Jerusalem? You ready for this? We are going to turn to Luke 17:11 and I'm going to show you something. Now this verse you might just blaze right over in your Bible reading. It seems nearly inconsequential on the surface. This verse describes Jesus going up to Jerusalem for passover to see Mary, Martha and Lazarus for the meal we talked about last week. Now we would think nothing of that whatsoever except for the fact that we were told from John's gospel that prior to making that journey Jesus was in Ephriam. Let's get our bearings. Now if Jesus was in Ephraim and his destination was Jerusalem Why in the world would Jesus choose a route that goes north through Samaria and Galilee? That the opposite direction. Well, there's a reason and it's really interesting. Most of the population of Israel in Jesus' day was in Galilee, by far. The reason is obvious. Galilee was pleasant. Galilee is well-watered. It's flat. Easy to plant crops. Compare that to Judea. It's hilly. It's rocky. It's harder to find water. The only reason to live in Judea is because that's where the temple was. So three times a year for the pilgrimge feasts you'd have these migrations from Galilee to Jerusalem. And they would meet up in this valley here. Now there were two routes. By far the easiest and most direct route would have been on what's called the ridge route. Back to our map here But the problem is it goes through Samaritan territory. And because Jews either didn't want to defile themselves by going through Samaritan soil or because they wanted to avoid any danger or conflict, they would opt to go this other way via the rift route that follows this syro-african rift. It's way, way harder because you have descend deep into this rift and then haul yourself out of it. And let me show you with a topigraphical map what I mean by much more difficult. This is what Jesus was doing. He was going up and joining these bands of traveling pilgrims. And the record is really detailed at that point. Jesus is not sneaking into Jerusalem. He's charging. He's leading a band of pilgrims boiling over with excitement. All along the way he's healing people. He's teaching. This is where he cleanses the ten lepers and only one of them comes back. When he gets to the city of Jericho we are told that he heals the blind Bartameus. He's teaching on divorce. So the journey would have taken around a week. And you can imagine that with all this excitement, the commotion is building. The traveling band of pilgrims is growing as word spreads. Now this basically brings us up to last week. Jesus is heading up to Jerusalem but where does he stop first? This is what we preached on last week. First he's going to stop in at Lazarus' house in Bethany. And when did he get there? Six days before the passover. Now if you put that time, together with that place, the drama of the narrative jumps to life. Why? Because Bethany was just outside the Sabbath zone. Do you remember, one of the stipulations of the Sabbath is that you couldn't walk more than a Sabbath days journey. A Sabbath's day's journey was something like 1.2 miles. And it wasn't like you only had 3000 steps that day and then you had to sit down. It was a zone. So the rabbis would go out all the major gates and put these markers on the road to let you know you had reached the Sabbath zone for that city. Here's an example of one of those markers found in a city in Galilee. It's three Hebrew letters that spells Shabbat or Sabbath. So Bethany was just outside that Sabbath zone. So if you are traveling with Jesus and you are hoofing it into Jerusalem Friday night because as soon as it's sundown Sabbath begins and you see Jesus peel off into to Bethany and he's waving at you. And on the way into the city you see the Sabbath marker. Put all that together in your mind. What is everyone in the city asking? Jesus is a wanted man. Do you think he will come to Jerusalem at all? You are traveling into the city and you have an answer that comes in two parts. Jesus is coming. And He'll be here Sunday morning. Now this isn't conjecture. We know this frenzy was happening based on the record. Remember how last week ended. After Mary anointed Jesus' feet with oil. When the large crowd learned that Jesus was there. Learned that Jesus was there? How did they learn? That traveling band of pilgrims that came in with Jesus spread through the city like spilled ink on a map. And the news leaks into every home into every ear. And whether your destination was Bethany or Jerusalem or Bethlehem which is just a short distance away, the news is spreading. And so everyone is waiting for Sunday morning when they know he will come into the city. And look at what the text says! Now first off, when the Bible says large crowd, it's not kidding around. Josephus was a historian and he records the number of lambs slain during the passover of 66AD as being 256,500 lambs. And the minimum number of people you could have per lamb was 10 so that would be 2.5 million people. Maybe those numbers are exaggerated. Maybe they are accurate. Either way we are talking just throngs and throngs of people shoulder to shoulder spilling out into the city. And these are all Jews. Like all 2.5 million of them. And what are all 2.5 million Jews shouting. Hossana, which is Hebrew for, “Save Us!” Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord, even the King of Israel. KING. Are you hearing this correctly. These are words of sedition. Guys, there is so much drama here. What did Passover celebrate? It celebrated God raising up a deliverer Moses who, through miraculous signs and wonders, overthrew their Gentile overlord in Egypt. Well, there's a Gentile overlord they'd like to overthrow, Rome. And who is Jesus? Well, he's a miraculous deliver. His name is Jesus which in Hebrew is Joshua which means Savior. He's here to save us. If that's not enough, you have the Daniel 9 prophesy which is ticking. Daniel 9 prophesy. That clock had been ticking. So all this commotion. People are laying down Palm branches. Let's talk about these palm branches for a moment. Remember back in John chapter 10 we learned about the origins of the feast of dedication. If you attended Benj Foreman's NT backgrounds class you learned all about this along with Judas Maccabeus. The quick version, is that about a 150 years before Jesus' day, the Syrian ruler, Antiochus, had stormed into Jerusalem and killed thousands of Jews and desecrated the temple by sacrificing a pig on the altar, forcing the priests to eat its flesh. Talk about seething with anger. Talk about just pure hatred for your Gentile overlords. The Jews needed a Savior. They needed a deliver. And Judas Maccabee was their man. His nickname was the hammer. He led them in a successful revolt and they were able to reclaim the temple. And get this, the crowds celebrated his victory by waving palm branches. They stamped the image of palm branches into coins to commemorate the victory. And what is everyone shouting. Hosanna, blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. What did Jesus tell the Pharisees 3 months previous while he was in Perea. You will not see me again until the city of Jerusalem welcomes me with the chant, “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.” What they are doing? They are quoting Psalm 118. So put it all together: It's passover which commemorates Moses and deliverance from Egypt. They are quoting Psalm 118 which is a Messianic Psalm that anticipates the coming Messiah. They are laying down palm branches which remembers Judas Maccabees. They are calling him KING (there's only one king). They are shouting out SAVE US. You have revolutionary energy on your hands here. Now stop RIGHT THERE. Remember we said that John chapter 12 is written to show us this massive divide between who people perceive him to be and who he really is. Remember last week. To Mary Jesus was worth Everything all the way to Judas who believed Jesus was worth nothing. How much more opposite can you get. And here we have that same phenomena played out in dramatic 3D color. We call this TRIUMPHAL entry. What did Jesus want? He wanted repentance. Wasn't that the message of John the Baptist? Repent for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. But that's not what he got. He got the rock star adulation of a crowd that really wanted to use him. Think about rock star. He's got 100,000 fans but they are all there using him. Entertain me. And the second they can't do that, they kick him to the curb. That's what's going on here. And it breaks the heart of Jesus. It just absolutely crushes him. Because he can see what's going on. What is their solution to the problem. War. Insurrection. Military action. Luke 19 Now in rides Jesus. Not on a stallion but on donkey. Jesus has was the Pharisees want (the admiration of men). And yet it's the possession of that very thing the Pharisees want that causes Jesus to weep.

Slideshow for this message is available Introduction As a society we disagree. With so many people, so many backgrounds, perspectives, religions, this disagreement is inevitable. Now, resolving factual disputes, in theory, should be relatively easy: find a group of experts to collect the data and ask them to lay out the conclusions. This approach works fabulously when the issue at stake is the atomic weight of helium. We hear the expert opinion and we have no reason to question it. It's settled. But what if those FACTS have implications? As humans we are programmed, maybe even hard-wired, to dismiss FACTS that don't align with our worldview. We have this built in tendency to interpret, favor, selectively recall certain information that confirms our prior beliefs or values. This tendency is strongest when we are dealing with highly emotionally charged issues or deeply entrenched beliefs. Social scientists call this MOTIVATED REASONING. We are all motivated to look at data a certain way based on your preconceptions. Take a hot topic issue. Are we all being objective with the data? What does the data say about climate change, or gun control or vaccination or the safety of nuclear energy or genetically modified foods? I'm sure you have an opinion on that. We are all biased. We are all victims of our own MOTIVATED REASONING. According to studies done on this subject, this MOTIVATED REASONING has nothing to do with the level of education a person has, the family they grew up in, the type of culture in which a person lives. None of us are immune to this. Now today we get to John chapter 11. This is the story of the raising of Lazarus from the dead. This is one of the only examples we have in the Bible of Jesus intentionally making a miracle more dramatic. What Jesus is doing is graciously creating a situation in which even those who are heavily biased by motivated reasoning will have to confess the truth. He's trying to establish the FACTS of who he is so dramatically, so indisputably, so incontestably, so undeniably, so indubitably that his opponents will have no choice. Some will believe. But we will also see some, astoundingly, harden themselves further in unbelief. Now before we get too judgmental, let me assure you, all of us in the room are approaching the text this morning with MOTIVATED REASONING. Jesus will tell is things we don't want to hear and we are hard-wired to go to great lengths to explain those things away, to find alternate explanations, to rationalize, to justify and to excuse ourselves from the implications. So as we begin would you just ask the Lord to remove that from you right now. “Lord, would you allow the truth to penetrate my heart regardless of the implications and protect me from my motivated reasoning.” Overview We are in John chapter 11 and we are at a bit of a turning point in the book so we would do well to take a moment to get our bearings. Chapter 11 and the story of the raising of Lazarus occurs sometime between September and April. We know that because of two time markers we have been given in John 10 and 12. This is a calendar of the Jewish feast and how the Jewish calendar overlays on top of our Gregorian calendar. If you remember in John chapter 8-9 it was the feast of tabernacles. That's here in September/October. In John 10 we are told it is the feast of dedication (Hannakah) which is here in December and in John 12 we are told it's passover. And this is Jesus' last passover. So today we enter John chapter 11, which means we are somewhere in between those two which means we are approaching the final months of Jesus' ministry. Think about where we are in the book. We are just a little over half way. That tells you something about the emphasis doesn't it? The gospels are essentially four biographies of the Life of Jesus of Nazareth but they are oddly heavily lopsided in their content. If you were to count the number of chapters in Mt-Jn you'd have 89 chapters. 85 of those chapters focus on the last 3 1/2 years of Jesus ministry. Of those 85 chapters 27 of them deal with the last 8 days of his life. Why? Because you give space for that which you want to emphasize. The focus of Jesus life is his death. Because it is through his death that we achieve atonement, redemption, forgiveness of sins, resurrection and life. That becomes the entire focus of the epistles that follow. So we are roughly halfway through the book of John and John will spend as much time on these last 8 days of Jesus life as he does on the previous 33 years of Jesus life. Now there are events which really set the stage for these last eight days and John 11 is one of the most significant. Now to understand it, let's pick it up where we left off last week. Remember from John chapter 10, Jesus preaches the sermon on the good shepherd. The Jews say, tell us plainly who you are and Jesus says, "I and the Father are one." The Jews pick up stones to stone him. I want to focus for just a moment on the geography and strategy behind that move for just a moment. Let's ask the question, why does Jesus make this move to the area across the Jordan. Answer: this is almost certainly a political move on the part of Jesus. The emperor in Rome at this time is Tiberius. And the way Roman emperors ruled their empire is to appoint prefects over the various districts of the Roman empire. So the area we call Israel was broken up into these various regions. Here's a map that demonstrates that. In John 10 Jesus is in the city of Jerusalem celebrating the feast of dedication at the temple. Jerusalem was part of the region of Judea and this whole area was under the governing jurisdiction of Pontius Pilate who of course features heavily in the chapters to come. After the Jews pick up stones, Jesus flees and heads East to Perea. This area along with Judea were under the Jurisdiction of Herod Antipas. To go from Jerusalem to Perea is not very far, maybe something like 15-20 miles. Why would Jesus do this? You have to understand Pilate's situation. Pilate at this time, was a bit of a crippled ruler. Early on in his reign he was very powerful. He ruled with significant authority. He had a protector in Rome named Seganus who funded and protected him. But a couple things happened that changed that. First, Segenus his protector was executed for sedition. And then Pilate did a few things that upset the Jews and Rome sided with the Jews. So Pilate got in trouble and he no longer had a defender. Pilate was in the dog house with Rome and the Jews knew it. He couldn't muscle his way around among the Jews. The Jews had leverage on him and could get him to do their bidding. And the overwhelming evidence of this in the NT is the crucifixion. Just a cursory reading of the text shows that Pilate doesn't want to crucify this guy but the Jews force his hand. So Jesus flees from the area of Judea where Pilate is ruling because the Jews have all sorts of power there. He crosses over the Jordan river and ministers in Perea where Herod Antipas is ruling. Now let's talk about Herod Antipas. This is a different Herod by the way, than Herod you read about in nativity story. Herod Antipas and Tiberius (who, remember, was the emperor) were childhood friends. He's got all sorts of protection from Rome. In addition to that, Herod Antipas is ruling a largely gentile area. The Jews don't factor into the politics of this area. The Jews have no power over Herod Antipas. So Jesus flees to this area to escape the Jews and particularly to escape the political power the Jewish leaders enjoy in this area over Pontius Pilate. So he's going to be in Perea for 2-3 months. Now only Luke records this part of Jesus' ministry. And there's one very significant interchange that Jesus has that is going to be very helpful both in illustrating this political dynamic but also in setting us up for John chapter 11 and the raising of Lazarus. Now you have Pharisees coming to Jesus and warning him that Herod wants to kill him. Now right there, just that in and of itself, ought to be a red flag. Didn't the Pharisees, just a chapter earlier want him dead? Something doesn't seem right. Something's afoot. I'm pretty sure the Pharisee isn't motivated by his affectionate desire for the wellfare of Jesus. And almost certainly this is a ploy. Herod doesn't care about Jesus. Herod Antipas probably barely knows who Jesus is. He hasn't stirred up any trouble in his domain. So when the Jews say, “Herod wants to kill you.” Jesus knows it's a trap. The Pharisees are trying to push him out of the territory of Herod Antipas and move him into the territory of Pilate where they have control. That's what's going on. Now Jesus knows that and so he responds. 32 And he said to them, Go and tell that fox, ‘Behold, I cast out demons and perform cures today and tomorrow, and the third day I finish my course. 33 Nevertheless, I must go on my way today and tomorrow and the day following, for it cannot be that a prophet should perish away from Jerusalem.' He's saying, my time has not yet come. It's really kind of dark humor. He responds, “You guys are coming from Jerusalem, the city that always kills the prophets. Remember Jeremiah? remember Micah? Prophets have to die in Jerusalem, so until I go there I'm safe.” If you wanted to make an analogy you might say, “Surfers don't have to worry about being eaten by sharks unless their surfing in shark infested waters and prophets don't have to worry about dying unless they are in Jerusalem.” Do, you realize the Jews of Jesus' day would actually build tombs for the prophets. They didn't pretend that the bodies were there, but they wanted a place to put wreaths and garlands as if to say, “We are so embarrassed that our forefathers killed the prophets who wrote our Bible.” And of course we would never do that. In another place Jesus is going to say, “You build tombs to the prophets, but you are going to bring the blood of Abel to Zechariah upon yourselves.” All those prophets spoke of Jesus, and they are trying to kill Jesus! And then you have this lament. 34 O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it! How often would I have gathered your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you were not willing! Behold, your house is forsaken. Jesus isn't in Jerusalem. But he's mourning their hardened hearts. And then he says this marvelous, prophetic WORD. And I tell you, you will not see me until you say, ‘Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!'" What does that mean? Jesus, right here is quoting Psalm 118. Psalm 118 is a Messianic Psalm. This is the Psalmist giving God's people instruction on how they are to receive their Messiah. It's almost like the Psalmist is giving them a future hymn book. When Messiah comes, you sing this Psalm. Who hasn't woken up and said, “This is the day that the Lord has made. Let us rejoice and be glad in it.” Yeah, that's true. But that's not what this Psalm is talking about. It's talking about the day that Messiah comes. And when that day comes, you should all cry out, “Hossana” which means save us. Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. That's how you welcome Messiah. And so what Jesus is saying to the Pharisees is this: the next time you see me will be when all of the inhabitants of Jerusalem spill out of the city and lay down their garments and palm branches and WELCOME ME AS MESSIAH, "Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord." The whole city is going to welcome me as KING. Now, here's the point, if you were to have been there when Jesus said those words, you would have said, “That's impossible. By this time it was public knowledge, The Pharisees hate Jesus. The Pharisees and Saducees control that entire hill. They control the temple. The disciples of Jesus are convinced that a journey to Jerusalem is the same thing as a journey to the grave.” How in the world, Jesus, are you going to OPENLY walk into Jerusalem with the crowds welcoming you as Messiah, when you know good and well that the Pharisees and Sadducees are BENT on destroying you? Well the answer in part the raising of Lazarus. And you want to talk about MOTIVATED REASONING? This is a text book example. Now let's regain our bearings. Jesus has crossed over the Jordan and has had this entire exchange with the Pharisees in the relative safety of Herod Antipas. But now Jesus gets word that Lazarus is sick. Jesus is good friends with Lazarus. Lazarus lives in Bethany. Where is Bethany? Bethany is only about a mile from Jerusalem so Jesus would have likely stayed here when he was in the city for Feasts. But notice the region in which Bethany lies. Bethany is right here, back in the region of Judea, right where the Pharisees want him (back in the jurisdiction of Pontius Pilate where they have control). So this is a dangerous mission. Jesus, come back to the area where you were just about stoned to death. As we continue through the text you can detect the disciples resistance to the suggestion that they should go back up to Judea. As a side note, it's very interesting that John distinguishes which Mary he's referencing. Mary, the one who annointed Jesus feet with oil and washed it with her hair. Why is that interesting? Because he hasn't yet told the story yet about Mary anointing Jesus feet with oil. That's coming later in chapter 12. This is a pretty good evidence that John assumes you've got the other gospels in your hand. Remember John wrote his gospel last. What he's doing is assuming that you as the reader know the story as told by Matthew, Mark and Luke and since we've been introduced to more than one Mary in the synoptic gospels, he's clarifying which one he's referencing. At any rate, Jesus gets word that his friend Lazarus is very ill. Now notice the careful wording of Jesus. This is an illness that does not lead to death. He doesn't say, Lazarus will not die. He says it's an illness that doesn't culminate, terminate in death. Instead it's a sickness that leads to the glory of God. Now let's get very specific as to what is meant by that. God's doesn't receive glory from the fact that illness exists. Illness is not part of the original design. God did not look at illness in the garden and pronounce it good. Death is the consequence of sin. But, this disease and its associated suffering will be the mechanism through which God's glory over illness is displayed. In the end, the illness DOES not win. The illness lead to death. In the LONG VIEW, this illness actually leads to resurrection life. And it's at that moment that God's glory is revealed. Now at this point, the disciples understand PRECISELY ZERO of what Jesus means by this. Here's almost certainly what is going through the disciples minds. They get word that Lazarus is sick and Jesus, using his divine insight responds to the messenger, this is not a sickness that leads to death and he sends the messenger away. Sweet! Instead this is an illness that leads to the glory of God. Great! He's going to get healed like many of the others that Jesus healed. There are multiple examples in the Scripture where Jesus heals from afar with a mere word. I'm certain that's what the disciples thought. I'm certain that's what the messenger who returned thought. I'm sure the disciples thought, it will be interesting to hear the rest of the story next time we meet up and see Lazarus. I'm sure everyone mentally checked the time and said, “Okay's about noon on Thursday and Lazarus will say, ‘yeah, right about noon on Thursday I just instantly started feeling better.'” And everyone forgets about it. Jesus announces no further intention. But, we as readers get special insight into his plan. But our special insight is shocking! Did you hear that? Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. Let's zoom in on that word for love. As you know, there are several words for love for love in Greek and this is the word agape. It's the highest form of love. It's perfect, unconditional, pure. It most often refers to DIVINE love because only God can love with that much purity. So the text says, he LOVED these three with that kind of love. Now look at verse 6. The word so is a strong word. It means THEREFORE. Jesus LOVED these guys and on the basis of his love for them, he stayed two days longer in the place where he was. Did you hear that? Because God loved them so perfectly, in a totally unconditional way, he didn't come when they called upon him in their moment of GREATEST need. This is bottomlessly instructive for us. We think it ought to read, since Jesus loved them so much, he immediately did what they asked and went to the aid of Lazarus to make sure he wouldn't die. We think that the Love of God means doing what we we want. God if you loved me you would fix this financial problem in my life. God if you REALLY loved me, you'd fix this relational problem that I am experiencing either in my marriage or with my kids, or my friends or in the church. That, Lord would be evidence of your love for me. God if you REALLY, REALLY loved me then you would get rid of this cancer or this disease or this health handicap. But actually the love of God is doing what is best for the person even if it involves our suffering. Did you catch that? God LOVES you; and so often times he will wait those two extra days. The very best thing in the world for you right now might be the delay of God. Why did he wait two additional days? When Jesus arrived on the scene Lazarus had already been dead four days so If he had set out immediately, Lazarus would have still been dead two full days. But he waited. Why? Because he wanted to establish with spectacular certainty that LAZARUS was not just mostly dead, but CERTAINLY dead. God's delays are not denials. The fact you think its a delay is an evidence of your MOTIVATED REASONING. What Mary and Martha wanted was for Jesus to swoop in and overcome sickness. What Jesus wanted was to swoop in and overcome death. Which is better? Now at this point, remember, the disciples still have no idea that this is what's going to go down. Remember, the last thing they heard was that this was not an illness that leads to death. They assumed this was a healing from afar. That was two days ago when Jesus said that. They've completely forgotten about Lazarus. They've totally learned to trust Jesus. He's not going to die. End of story. Move on with our life. But then Jesus, undoubtedly, surprises them and says. Now I'm not sure they are even making the connection at this point between Lazarus and Judea. I think because they have so completely abandoned the idea that the sickness of Lazarus was a problem that when they hear Jesus say, “Let us go to Judea” they understood him to be updating them on their itinerary. And their initial reaction was this idea is not one of your better ideas, Jesus. To our ears this would be like Jesus saying, “let us go to Kabul international airport in Afghanistan.” What's wrong with JFK or Kona? When they hear this suggestion, they get real concerned. Jesus, you know the politics over there. Last time we were there they tried to kill you. You barely escaped with your life. Are you sure, Jesus? So out of their mouths comes this complaint and Jesus' response: Now Jesus is basically forcing them to square their theology with their fear. He says, why do we work in the day instead of the night? Because in the day you can see. You don't stumble in the day. There's no fear of stumbling when there is light. The light of the world prevents you from making a wrong step. If you are with me, guess what? It's daytime. Why? because I am the light of the world. You can't make a mistake if you are following me. Keep that in mind folks. You can't make a mistake if you are obeying what Jesus tells you to do. There is no possible way to REGRET obedience. That is a perfect step made in the light. The outcome might be horrendous by any other standard, but it's not a mistake. It's not a mistep. Following Jesus means you will never stumble. And the converse is true as well. "If anyone walks in the night he stumbles, because the light of the world is not in him." If you do anything apart from Jesus, if you make decisions in life and don't include Jesus, if you ignore your conscience and push Jesus to the side, then whatever decision you make, no matter how successful it is in the eyes of the world, will result in stumbling. You can't be on the right path if the path doesn't include Jesus as Lord and savior of your life. You will CERTAINLY stumble. Listen, we are going to Judea. Yes, it is dangerous. But you won't stumble because I am the light of the world. Now he tells them what their Judean mission will be. The disciples are, at times, dense; however, this is not one of those times. Jesus had plainly told them this was not a sickness that leads to death. How else is a person supposed to interpret those words? The disciples hear Jesus say, “I'm going to go wake up Lazarus.” Again, how else are they supposed to interpret those words. Jesus, I'm sure he's tired. After all, he's had a brush with death. But you told us it wasn't a sickness leading to death. Right? I'm sure he's sleepy. Do we really need to go to Judea and risk our lives to get him out of bed? He'll wake up when he's kicked the virus and feels better. Now comes plain language. Now here's where things get chilling. I am glad for your sake that I was not there so that you might believe that I really do have power to raise people from the dead. Which means what? Which means that they currently DO NOT believe. This is basically our stopping point. The miracle itself we are going to talk about next time. But I want you to just hear what Jesus is saying. You guys have been following me around for a few years now. And you still don't really believe. And this is applicable for all of us as well. We believe in Jesus, but we don't really believe he has power over the things we are suffering RIGHT NOW. You believe. But you don't believe. Jesus says to to his disciples, you believe I can heal people. You've seen that. But do you realize who I am? Who I really am? I can raise people from the dead. I can overcome the grave. You don't yet believe that. Now as evidence that they don't belive that, look what Thomas says. So Thomas, called the Twin, said to his fellow disciples, “Let us also go, that we may die with him.” This gives you some idea of the level of danger represented in Jesus' suggestion. In the minds of the disciples, this was a suicide mission. This was Normandy. These guys know the hornets nest of Judea. Now what does Thomas mean here? This is one place in the Bible where you'd love to have some tone, inflection and intonation. Either Thomas is saying: “Jesus, I'm so committed to you, I'll gladly go to Jerusalem and die with you.” In that case it's a very commendable statement of loyalty… “Fine, if you want to go to Jersualem to try and raise Lazarus from the dead, you'll likely be having to raise more than just Lazarus. We are all dead if we go there.” In this case it's heavy sarcasm But in either case, in both cases, what is Thomas lacking? He does not believe that Jesus has power OVER death. Either we will die, Jesus will die or both. But someone is going to die. And Jesus says, “I'm glad Lazarus died, so you can believe.” He's painting them into a corner. Let's apply this. Gospel Message Let me assure you. All of us today walk into the room with motivated reasoning. None are unbiased. None are objective. None are willing to just receive truth without question. There are FACTS presented here that our conception of reality wont readily support. What is the FACT established in this passage? The FACT above every other FACT is that Jesus has power over suffering and death. The FACT is that Jesus has purposes in SUFFERING and DEATH. Jesus is LORD over it. The whole Bible is written to establish that FACT. Now that conflicts with a deeply emotional conviction that if God loves me, I will not suffer. And so when we suffer, our MOTIVATED REASONING kicks in. How can God still love me. And rather than interpreting our circumstances through the love of God we interpret the LOVE of God through our circumstances. That's motivated reasoning. If you are suffering right now, what is true of Lazarus is true of you, "your suffering is for the glory of God." But I guarantee you that if you are suffering right now you are motivated to reason differently. It doesn't feel that way. The FACT that Jesus is LORD over suffering is in conflict with your sense that if Jesus loved you, he would rescue me from suffering. This passage is teaching us to look beyond our feelings to what is true. Of course it feels that way. Of course the suffering is not fun. Suffering always hurts. For Lazarus the coughing and the vomiting and the sweating and the fever were all real. He had to endure all that. The evil of suffering had its way. If God was to exercise supremacy OVER death, then logically speaking, death and the accompanying suffering must have its way first. Perhaps the silence of God in our life is the silence of those two days. Perhaps God is waiting so that he can establish with such spectacular certainty that he is sovereign over the suffering you experience. We don't know his good purposes. But we know that they are for his glory and our good. I'm glad, for your sake, that you are suffering. Why? How can you say that? Because through the suffering you will believe. You will know who I am. There's no alternate explanation. And would you not agree, that there is no more loving thing in the world that God could possibly do for you than to help you see him more clearly. Baptism This evening, we have a baptism service. And so come out to that. Come out and watch a FUNERAL and a BIRTH. That's what baptism is. We bury the old man. This man whose MOTIVATED to reason that this world is all about me. We put that old man in the grave. And what rises is new life. New life is born. Unless a man is BORN AGAIN, he cannot enter the kingdom of heaven. If you are not a Christian and are wondering how you become one, the answer of the Scriptures, is repent and be baptized. The Bible sees these events are simultaneous. It's a physical expression of what has taken place in the heart. We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life. (Rom. 6:4 ESV) Baptism is our funeral and birthday. We get a death certificate and a birth certificate on the same day. So bring a dinner to enjoy on the lawn afterwards. Bring a chair or a blanket and let's listen to the stories of life and celebrate Jesus' victory over death.

Robby Interview Pastor Dema, Hossana Church Ukriane http://hosanna.org.ua/ Amazing story from Spanish Billy Graham crusade translated into Ukraine... To Bible Study... To Growing Minisitry even to Politicians  

قداس أحد الشعانين وصلوات الجناز العام

Que considerar durante este domingo de ramos y la importancia de reconocer a Jesús como nuestro Rey. Este es un podcast producido por @IluminaMás

29 || 03 || 2021 ||

Matthew 21:1-11

Message from Bro. Jacob Vanover on March 28, 2021

En femenino - Música con Hossana Kir by CCRTV

En esta tercera parte vamos a hablar de producción musical con Julián Collazos, cómo fue que nacieron muchas de las canciones icónicas de Marco Barrientos, entre ellas "Hossana". Gracias por escucharnos!!

Tribulation, Patience, Experience, Hope (KJV) or Suffering, Perseverance, Character, Hope (NIV); the four spiritual stages in ones life that takes place for hope to become hope. In conclusion of this teaching and prayer series we take a look at the remaining stages in the 'The Metamorphosis of Hope'. Our bible text for this final episode is taken from James 1:4, NIV. Join me and be fully blessed. Hossana! --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/rccg-coryonkers/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/rccg-coryonkers/support

The reason I did this again was because the last episode of these two songs had the audio sounding weird. So I re-made this episode so everyone can have a better sound quality of this episode. I hope everyone enjoys it, and have a blessed day. In my conclusion, you can also listen to these two videos on YouTube. I DO NOT OWN ANY COPYRIGHT --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/brendan-brown29/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/brendan-brown29/support

Today I will be playing two of my favorite gospel songs from Donnie McKirkland and Kirk Franklin. I DO NOT OWN ANY COPYRIGHT --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/brendan-brown29/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/brendan-brown29/support

Battle axe prayers for the 30th week of the year. Join me in petition and thanksgiving to our Father, the most high God for the fourth week of the month of July 2020. Hossana! --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/rccg-coryonkers/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/rccg-coryonkers/support

We talk about the "whore of the earth," and sexual freedom out the wazoo. We go over the very first compass in human history and building an Arc-type boat. ***Special thanks to D12 for their song "My Band" off the album D12 World and to YouTube for the Saturday song***

Alright, well today is Palm Sunday which remembers the day when Jesus road into Jerusalem and was welcomed by the crowds shouting, “Hossana” which means, save us! It’s a cry for help. It’s an acknowledgment of need. It’s a cry that says, “You can provide something for me that I can’t provide for myself.” That’s what Israel was doing. They were saying, “Jesus, we have a need that only you can meet.” Now what is that need? It is often the case, that there is a pretty big difference between someone’s perceived need and their actual need. For example, someone who is a terrible money manager might think that what they need is more money; however, their actual need is learning how to manage their money. Israel was right to cry out “Save us!” And we are going to learn via Ecclesiastes today what it was they needed saving from. So if you have a Bible turn with me to Ecclesiastes chapter 7. Review Kirk led us so helpfully through the first part of chapter 7. And let me review for just a moment because for our Palm Sunday purposes today we need to see chapter 7 as a whole unit. Chapter 7 as a whole is all about wisdom. Kirk preached last week about the nature of wisdom to compare. Wisdom is constantly making value judgments by comparing and contrasting. When I compare these two things, this has more value than that. It’s always looking for what’s better. And wisdom gives us some surprising conclusions. Sorrow is better than laughter. House of mourning is better than the house of feasting Better is the end than the beginning. Now what does Solomon mean by this? I’m not sure I agree? Death is horrible. Sorrow is one of the most unpleasant emotions in the world. None of us would ever say sorrow and death are good. So how are sorrow and mourning better than laughter and feasting? There is one way in which they are better. In fact, it’s so good in this one particular way that Solomon sets up chapter 7 to just shock us into listening. To appreciate the shock value, we need a little lesson in Hebrew poetry. There’s a technique that is often used throughout the Bible called Hebrew parallelism. It’s as common as bread. It’s everywhere. As soon as you learn to identify it, you’ll see it all over your Bible. Let me give you a classic example of this. So Hebrew Parallelism always comes in pairs of phrases where the second line repeats the idea found in the first line. Okay, so that’s Hebrew Parallelism. Now, Ecclesiastes 7 opens with Hebrew parallelism. So let’s identify the pattern. Clearly it’s a pattern of comparison. So if this is all I had and I had to complete this parallelism on my own, I would say something like this. That’s what I would expect - something like that. But instead he shocks us. So what’s the parallel thing to good name? The day of death. A good name and the day of death are synonymous. And what’s the parallel thing to precious ointment? The day of one’s birth. That’s the good but inferior thing. What’s that verse teaching? If you want to have that name that is like a precious ointment you must think ahead to the day of your death. It is at the day of your death that one’s good name is proclaimed. The day of birth is wonderful but you haven’t established a name for yourself. You’ve been given a name, but your fill up that name with meaning by living your life and it’s at the end of life that the name means something. Only time will tell what kind of name you have. It’s at the day of death that a lifetime of decisions are revealed. And so all of chapter 7 is pushing us forward in time to think about where this life is headed. That’s what wisdom does. It’s always looking forward. It’s thinking about what happens if this pattern were to continue. Wisdom makes changes early so it can utilize the advantage of time to effect outcomes. And that is why Solomon can say that a funeral is better than a birth. Because a funeral helps you to think long term. Death is a better teacher than life. It’s not a fun teacher but it’s an excellent one. You’ve all had that really fun teacher than you really liked but never learned anything from. And then you have that teacher than you hated but have to admit that he did an unbelievable job of imparting truth. Which one is better? Well if the goal is learning, you have to admit that latter is better. Similarly, people may not like death but they sure do listen to death in a way they listen to no one else. Death is not a preacher gifted with any kind of comedic gift. Death is not a teacher who has any ability to entertain as he teaches. Death certain isn’t a popular instructor. But death has gravity. His words sink in deeply. He stands behind a really large pulpit made of oak. He’s got a really deep voice, really meaty hands and he uses them deliberately to drive home the point. And people stare in terror as they agree with him. His message is impressive and undeniably true. He speaks words nobody wants to say but once said are respected in silent agreement. Right now the world is listening because people are dying. Right now the world is thirsty because a virus that nobody can see is killing people. They don’t like this teacher, but they are listening to him. Right now people are asking questions they would never ask if their portfolios had doubled and they were vacationing in luxury. Instead, portfolios are halved and loved ones are being stripped away. They are forced to evaluate purpose and meaning. Death is a powerful teacher. A hearse teaches you more about life than a BMW. A coffin teaches you more about life than a couch A mortician teaches you more about life than a pharmacist. If you want to learn how to live you need to go to the house of the dead and realize, that one day, I will be in that coffin. What if I die from coronavirus. What will people say about me? What will my life have been about? But not only that, perhaps the greatest question death forces you to ask is this. What comes after this life? Nobody ever looks at a newborn baby, coddles it and says, "I wonder what happens to this baby after he dies." No, you just celebrate and enjoy as you should. Everyone loves a birth. But a funeral is different. Conversely, it’s hard NOT to ask that question when you are staring at a body in a casket. I wonder where he/she is now? The house of birth is a great place, but that most important question is never asked there. It’s in the house of death that we ask these most important question. So Solomon begins by introducing us to this great teacher, this powerful, somber instructor named DEATH. The reason death is such a great teacher is that it will force you to look ahead. It will teach you, as Kirk said last week, to play the long game. That is what wisdom does. Wisdom always looks ahead and anticipates what’s coming next. Wisdom is Limited. But there’s a problem. Because here’s what happens. Wisdom keeps looking ahead. If it’s better to look ahead one day, then I’ll do that. And if it’s event better to look ahead on week, then I’ll do that. And if it’s better still to look ahead one year, I’ll do that. It keeps looking and looking further out till it gets to the end of life. It sees death. It sees a funeral. It sees dirt on top of a casket. And then all of the sudden the limitations of wisdom comes crashing down. And we see in chapter 7 at least 3 limitations of wisdom. Death is coming. And it’s a really serious problem. Everything my wisdom has helped me achieve will be stripped away from me. Big time problem. Okay, given that reality let me use my wisdom to solve the problem. Let me use my wisdom to alter and circumvent and change the outcome. But what can you do? Will eating better help? Maybe I need to stockpile groceries and toilet paper. That’s wise. What about hiring some good doctors? Will piling up friends and good connections help? No. Nothing can stop it. And you just end up with a cosmic shrug? My wisdom can’t fix this problem. To be wise is better than being a fool. That is clear in the book. Being wise helps you live in light of death. But being wise can’t stop death. Not only can wisdom not stop death. He observes that there is no guarantee that it will even extend your life. You can confirm this simply by asking those who’ve lived more life than you. If you’ve lived to be 65, 75 or 85 years old you’ve seen a lot. You’ve observed a lot different of fools live their lives and you’ve observed a lot of wise people live their lives. Now let me ask you veteran observers out there, does wisdom guarantee a longer life? Solomon is one of those veteran observers. He’s standing on the top of the mountain. And he looks at all the wise and dumb ways people focus their life. He says in my short, vapor-like life, I’ve seen it all. I’ve seen the good die young. I’ve seen the evil die old. He’s not saying that being righteous is a bad idea and that wickedness is good. He’s just saying, that righteousness and wisdom doesn’t guarantee a long life. If you were banking on your righteousness extending life, think again. Do you see the limitation of wisdom? Wisdom can’t stop death and it can’t even necessarily guarantee extended life. There’s a second limitation of wisdom. Wisdom can’t provide meaning. Now, here’s what is meant by this. Let’s say you make it the aim of your life to get really wise. I’m going to read lots of books and really understand how the universe works. I’m going to understand political theory. I’m going to understand emotional health. I’m going to find answers. I’m going to be the answer man on everything, I’m going to do what men say is impossible - to be a modern renaissance man. And let’s just say that you are successful. Let’s just assume for a moment that you understand the solution to every economic problem. You understand the solution to every political problem. You understand how to solve every family problem, every church problem, every work problem. You understand how to solve the industrial and manufacturing problems. You could walk into the laboratory and solve the science problems. That can provide you with some level of satisfaction but you will realize two things very quickly. First, you will have lived your entire life to understand HOW to solve the problems but you will lack the power to actually implement the solutions. For example, have you ever helped a married couple work through their marital conflict or your children work through an argument they are having or your friend work through a problem they are having with their parents and you think to yourselves, well they are just being selfish. The solution is simple. They need to stop being selfish. That’s wisdom to identify the problem. How effective is it to, in your great wisdom tell them, “You know, your problem is you are both just being selfish?” That typically yields very small results. Can you fix deforestation by identifying the causes deforestation? Can you fix the political corruption of the world by merely identifying the problem? The solution involves knobs that need turning that are outside your reach. But secondly, let’s just for a moment say you are successful. With your great wisdom you have succeeded in solving every problem known to man. You, the master problem solver have done it all. Every political problem solved. Every science problem, thanks to your great insight, solved. The grand question still remains. What’s next. With no problems left to solve, what do I do with my life to find meaning? If your dishwasher needs fixing, you need wisdom to fix it. But that doesn’t give your life meaning. Meaning is a much deeper need and much more complicated. I’ve been watching the series ALONE where 10 people are left on Vancouver island each in their own isolated place with some minimal gear and the goal is to survive as long as possible. The guy who lasts the longest gets a half million bucks. And what’s interesting about the series is that at first there are all these problems to solve. Where do I get water? How do I get shelter? How do I make fire? Where’s my long term food source? And some of these guys are just ingenious beyond description. They are fabricating all sorts of great solutions to these problems. But the day comes about 30 days in when they pretty much got it nailed. They have food. They have shelter. They have a nice bed. But all their wisdom in solving these problems, can’t provide them with purpose. All of them get terribly and dreadfully bored. All of them crave human companionship. All of them say at one point or another, “What’s the point of all this?” And what gets them way more than the food, or the cold or the conditions is just the problem of meaning and purpose. Wisdom can’t fix that problem. Solomon identifies this problem. He’s saying righteousness can destroy you. Wisdom can destroy you. How can both of these good things destroy you? By hoping in them to save you. By hoping in them to give you MEANING. If you give your life to being wise thinking that it will provide you with meaning, you will one day be destroyed by it because it will let you down. One day, you will have solved all the problems you are able to solve. You will be forced to admit impotence on the ones you cannot solve. And your idol of wisdom will break your heart. Now some, in being betrayed by wisdom will totally chuck it all together. They will say, being wise is hard and if that doesn’t satisfy, well then I’m going to chuck the whole thing. And they swing wildly in the other direction to just living like a fool. He says, that doesn’t work either. Foolishness is worse. Foolishness will destroy you too, probably even sooner. Don’t hope in wisdom to give you long life but foolishness isn’t any better. So there are major limits to wisdom. So wisdom can’t stop death. It can’t provide meaning. The third and most significant limitation of wisdom. In verses 18 through the end of the chapter he describes a problem that is the most problematic of all. Wisdom can’t cover sin. It can’t erase it. It can’t address the root of it. It can’t atone for it. It’s like a cancer is eating out your lungs and all you have is Tylenol. Wisdom can explain the problem of the heart but it can’t change the heart. Solomon says, let me look around at the very wisest man I can find and see if it fixes the problem of sin. Solomon says, picture in your mind all the world’s leaders sitting around a table at the G-20 summit. You have some of the sharpest minds in the world. Wisdom can get catapult you past the collective wisdom of all these men. He envisions in his mind a man smarter than the collective wisdom of everyone in this entire room. And yet, it can’t solve the sin problem. There’s not a man on earth who does good and never sins. If wisdom could cure sin, than this wise man would be cured, but sin is immune to wisdom. Do you see how serious the problem is? Wisdom can’t fix the sin problem. Interpersonal sin First of all he shows that it’s impossible to fix on an interpersonal level. What’s his point here? Compare what people are saying on the outside vs what they are thinking on the inside. “Oh you look so lovely today.” when in reality they are thinking, “I can tell you tried to get put together, but that color looks terrible on you.” “I’m so glad we met. Let’s get together again soon.” when in reality they are thinking, “I hope I never see you again. It’s not wonder you have no friends.” Don’t think you are exempt from others making these mental comments about you; why? Because you make these mental comments about others. Don’t listen too close or you’ll be shocked what people say about you. If you knew what people were really thinking you would not be flattered. There is two things that are simultaneously true: What people say about you is probably true. You are sinful and people pick up on that and they criticize you for it. And what people say about you is probably also not true because jealousy and sin color and taint. The whole cycle is tainted with sin. The fact that we gossip is evidence of the sin problem and the fact that there is something to gossip about is evidence of the sin problem. And wisdom can’t ultimately do anything about it. Desire And the reason we can’t fix sin on an interpersonal level is because we can’t fix it on a desire level. He ends this section by choosing just one example. He says, "You want to know why wisdom can’t fix these problems. Wisdom traffics in the realm of the mind. But the sin problem exists in the realm of desire. We simply love the wrong thngs. We desire the wrong things. And he describes here the stereotypical twisted desires of men and women that cancerously feed off one another. He pictures a women’s unhealthy desire to be wanted. He pictures a woman who does everything in her power to entice, lure, seduce, tempt, and coax a vulnerable man. To capture the eye of man through her dress, through her makeup. It’s a provocative image akin to the adulterous woman in Proverbs 7. Then he describes the sin of man’s unhealthy sexual desire for this seducer. It’s a twisted fleshly desire that just destroys the man. And he says, just look at this. It’s so broken. He says, this is more bitter than death itself. You know what he’s observing? He’s observing this bitter, caustic, soul-destroying, cycle where the sin of a man brings out the sin of the woman and the sin of the woman brings out the sin of a man. The man craves the woman in a soul destroying way and the woman craves the man in a soul destroying way. They go to the grave together as their souls are hollowed out neither of them happy or satisfying. Both of them destroy any possibility of joy by pursuing something they think will bring them joy. It’s so sad. He’s describing our modern pornography problem. You have just sewers of content for men to feast on and you have women who have been just victimized by the lusts of men, women who are craving to be lovely and accepted and are going about it in the exact wrong way. Solomon observes this cycle and he just mourns it. It’s more bitter than death itself, he says. And this is just one problem of the thousands of problems he observes. The summary is the last verse of chapter 7 It’s our bent to wander. Prone to wander, Lord I feel it. Wisdom is powerless to address this problem. So can you see the limitations of wisdom described in chapter 7. Can you think of greater problems than these - the problem of sin. The problem of meaning and the problem of death? Wow, yeah, those are pretty big problems. Wisdom identifies all those problems but can’t fix em. Now what? Three of the biggest problems in the world and wisdom can solve any of them. Well Solomon has an answer: The target is not wisdom. The target is the fear of God. Sure, it’s good to apply wisdom in this life. Take hold of this thing good thing you want because it’s good for you. Take hold of this other good thing you don’t want because it’s also good for you. But what all of this WISDOM should be teaching you is that WISDOM can’t save you. It can’t solve your deepest problems. Wisdom should cause you to cry out to God, what the pilgrims on Palm Sunday said to Jesus, “Hossanna!” Save us. You need to seek God. You need to fear him. What does it mean to fear God? It means to acknowledge that he is the keyholder to the three main things you want. You want life, purpose and freedom from sin. And you fear that thing that controls those outcomes. It is right to fear/respect people in positions of power. You probably fear your boss to a degree because he has the power to take away your job, something you need to survive. You may love your boss if he is a good boss but you also fear him because he is the keyholder. If you were in trouble with the law, you’d fear the judge because he’s the keyholder to your freedom. If you were about to go under the knife in a delicate surgery, you’d fear the physician because he’s the keyholder to your health. In a similar way, we fear God because he holds the keys to life, meaning and freedom from sin. We can’t get these things on our own. It’s God alone who can meet our deepest needs. It’s to God and God alone that we must cry, “SAVE US!” Transition to Palm Sunday Okay so that gets us to Palm Sunday. Palm Sunday remembers the day Jesus rode into Jerusalem on the back of a donkey to the shouts and cries of the crowds who were shouting “Hossana, blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.” And what does Hoshana mean? It means “Save us!” Now Bookman was here just recently and walked us through the passion week in adroit fashion. And one of the great questions he asks is this: “Given Sunday why Friday?" In other words given the wild-eyed, popular excitement of the crowd to welcome him on Palm Sunday, how could that same fickle crowd be screaming, "crucify him!” on Friday? You have this wild swing from accepting him as King to crucifying him as a criminal. How did that happen. And Bookman’s answer is Monday and Tuesday. When the crowds shouted “Hoshanna!” Save us! What did they want saving from? Answer: Rome. They wanted a king, a military leader, who could exercise military wisdom and throw off the shackles of Rome. They wanted WISDOM to deliver them from a political problem of a foreign sovereign. But Jesus looked at that request and said, that is not what you need. Your problem is much more serious than a Roman Emperor. You need far more serious help. You need heart surgery. You need to change what you love. You need to change what you worship. On Monday and Tuesday of the passion week Jesus cleansed the temple and taught with authority challenging the scribes and the Pharisees and taught them they needed to be asking a different question. No amount of wisdom could fix this problem. A wise political leader, a wise military commander might have been able to cast off the yoke of Rome, but no amount of wisdom could cure them from their deepest problems. They needed not a man, but a GOD-MAN who would live a perfect life and be crucified on a tree for the sin of all who would believe. We are setting things up for the good Friday narrative. Now Good Friday we are going to utilize the video medium in a creative way to really focus on the narrative of Jesus’ journey to the cross. We are going to tell the story. So I’d encourage you to watch the narrative unfold in the way we have planned. Application Okay, now let wrap this up with some application. Maybe you are watching this alone. Spend some time in prayer around these questions. Don’t waste this time. Now this can be difficult if you aren’t used to doing this as a family, so I want to help break the ice here. Maybe there are some kids in the room with their parents and you don’t do this kind of family discussion thing very often.Kids look at your dad. It’s hard job being a dad. Your dad has probably tried to be a spiritual leader at times and he’s done less than a perfect job. Dad’s you can knod your head and affirm this. But give him some grace. It’s really hard to do. I’m a pastor and I find this hard to do. If you are honest, you haven’t made it easy for him. You haven’t exactly begged him to do this. So look at your dad and affirm him. Ask him to lead you. That would mean a lot to him. Wife look at your husband and encourage him to be the leader. Encourage him! It takes lots of practice so it’s not going to be perfect, but whatever happens just thank him for trying. Encourage him to keep trying. That will mean a lot. Maybe you are single mom or your husband is away, mom’s lead your kids. And kids, listen respectfully to your mom. Maybe your kids have left the house and it’s now just you and your husband. Either way, spend a few minutes talking about these questions:

Here is my worship song of this week and I hope that it ministers to you as much as it did to me. Thanks for listening to this podcast. God bless you. Feel free to send me a message via email on ejiskede@gmail.com if you would like to share your worship song and testimony with me. Have a blessed week. Lyrics I see the king of glory Coming on the clouds with fire The whole earth shakes, the whole earth shakes, yeah I see His love and mercy Washing over all our sin The people sing, the people sing Hosanna, Hosanna Hosanna in the highest Hosanna, Hosanna Hosanna in the highest I see a generation Rising up to take the place With selfless faith, with selfless faith I see a near revival Staring as we pray and seek We're on our knees, we're on our knees Hosanna, Hosanna Hosanna in the highest Hosanna, Hosanna Hosanna in the highest Heal my heart and make it clean Open up my eyes to the things unseen Show me how to love like you have loved me Break my heart for what breaks yours Everything I am for your kingdom's cause As I walk from earth into eternity Hosanna, Hosanna Hosanna in the highest Hosanna, Hosanna Hosanna in the highest Hosanna, Hosanna Hosanna in the highest Hosanna, Hosanna Hosanna in the highest Hosanna in the highest In the highest In the highest Hosanna, Hosanna in the highest Source: LyricFind Songwriters: Brooke Ligertwood Hosanna lyrics © Capitol Christian Music Group --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/ejiro-osakede/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/ejiro-osakede/support

In the Gospel of Mark 11: 9 the Bible says " And they that went before, and they that followed, cried saying, Hossana; Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the lord". on this Palm Sunday, the word of God was ministered by the God servant with divine inspiration, erupting in an effusion of revelation that catapulted the congregants to higher dimensions even as the church prepares for Easter. Pastor Obed Joy Obeng is the Senior Pastor of Miracle Manna Church, Kumasi. He is the Radio Pastor at Luv 99.5 FM, Kumasi of the mega program "PRAYERLINE", a network of praying believers, where thousands around the world join him as he leads them in prayers victoriously in Christ to command their morning to influence their day on Mondays to Fridays @ 2 am - 5 am. Pastor Obed also organizes a monthly all-night service dubbed BREAKTHROUGH Night at his church, where there is a massive attendance with the Spirit of God moving and operating freely to touch lives and fulfill destinies for major breakthroughs and testimonies in all facet of life. Join the man of God live on Facebook for his e-church & Prayerline on; #Pastor Obed Da Bishop #Da Bishop #Prayerline on Luv 99.5 FM.

La ciencia sugiere que las creencias religiosas habrían surgido como una extensión natural de avances evolutivos desarrollados en la cognición social y el comportamiento. Así, con el paso del tiempo, los mismos cambios en el volumen del cerebro que permitieron al ser humano demostrar empatía hacia otros individuos, podrían haber posibilitado también la aparición del sentimiento de relación íntima con entidades sobrenaturales y, en consecuencia, la emergencia de las religiones. Usar en la misma frase ciencia y religión le ha costado el pellejo a más de un osado, no obstante, si en vez de la palabra ciencia, usamos música; la cosa cambia. Me gusta pensar que los mismos engranajes que nos han llevado a creer en entidades superiores, también nos han desarrollado la comunicación musical y además de los temas cotidianos, la crítica social o el amor, del mismo modo el ser humano siente la necesidad de expresar a través de la música su propio devocional sobrenatural. Hoy en Más Allá de Orión repasaremos algunas de las canciones y artistas más comprometidos con sus referentes religiosos. Algunos desde el éxtasis…otros, en cambio, desde la paranoia o la urgencia. Listado de canciones. 1- Jesus Chris super star –Hossana 2- Bob Dylan –Gotta serve somebody 3- Elecric Prunes –David Axelrod- Keley Elefson 4- George Harrison –My sweet lord 5- Cat Stevens –Yusuf Islam- All is for Allah 6- The Osmonds – Last Days 7- The Byrds –The Christian life (version de the louving brothers, Ira y Charlie Louving) 8- The Doobie Brothers –Jesus is just alright 9- Eric Clapton –Blind Faith- In The Presence of The Lord 10- John Lennon –God-

Odia(उड़िया) ईसाई गीत-"Hossana Alleluia".3gp

Odia(उड़िया) ईसाई गीत-"Hossana Alleluia".3gp

Her name is Mphumi. She visited our church one Sabbath and graced us with her beautiful voice to the glory of God.

Especial de Jóvenes de La Comunidad de la Gracia en Iglesia de Hoy con Cristo, Parte 2-2. Canciones: "Hossana" de Marcos Barrientos. "En los montes y en los valles" Marcos Witt. "Alabanza y honor" de Marcos Witt. Ver más en: comunidaddelagracia.com.ve facebook.com/CdlGracia twitter.com/CdlGracia

December 16, 2012; Joel Hubbard, Vineyard MetroNorthAbout Us: The Vineyard MetroNorth is part of a non-traditional, national movement that is dedicated to bringing renewal to all people, especially to those that may have had trouble connecting in a traditional church environment.Our mission is to help people connect to God and others ........Worship Set:Trading My SorrowsHossanaYou AloneBetter Is One DayJoy To The World (Unspeakable Joy)Again I Say Rejoice

Today is traditionally called Triumphal Entry but in our serious on Spiritual Violence we looked at how Triumph entered into our fight!

Today is traditionally called Triumphal Entry but in our serious on Spiritual Violence we looked at how Triumph entered into our fight!

Today is traditionally called Triumphal Entry but in our serious on Spiritual Violence we looked at how Triumph entered into our fight!

Today is traditionally called Triumphal Entry but in our serious on Spiritual Violence we looked at how Triumph entered into our fight!