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Oh, thank you, Jesus. Praise God. Thank the Lord for His presence. And so evident in this house today. What a sweet touch of the Holy Ghost. Ministering and moving. Touching hearts and minds. So thankful [music] for what the Lord is doing and what the Lord is going to do. Praise God.
I'd remind you this morning, >> [snorts] >> don't forget your you make a list. Pray the list, work the list. Amen. Have your names on there. Pray over these names every day. And then be inviting them, sending them messages, whatever. Let them know we'd love to see them in the house of the Lord. Hallelujah. Amen.
Wednesday, Wednesday at 11:00 will be Brother Parsley's viewing here in the sanctuary. And then at noon we'll have his funeral. And I'd ask that everyone that's a member of this church, if it's at all possible, please come. Brother Parsley's been a faithful member of Apostolic Lighthouse Church for longer than I've been here, and I've been here 27 years. >> [clears throat] >> 26 years. And so I would ask that that you would come and support Sister Parsley and the family. Amen. And pray for them that God would give them strength. In the name of Jesus. Brother Parsley was a good man. He was a faithful man. Amen. And it's hard to lose people like that. Praise God.
Well, today is Palm Sunday. It's the beginning of what the religious world calls Holy Week. This was the day that Jesus entered into Jerusalem. And they were waving palm branches and saying "Hosanna." And 5 days later, the same people that were saying "Hosanna" on Sunday, on Friday were saying "Crucify him." People are fickle. You're not the first one that's been betrayed by somebody. You're not the first one that's been stabbed in the back. Amen. But I want to talk about Palm Sunday this morning. Hallelujah.
Palm Sunday was not just about palm branches. I know they waved them. When he came riding into Jerusalem that Sunday, waving palm branches they were and saying "Hosanna, Hosanna, Hosanna." Palm Sunday was the beginning of the final week of Jesus' earthly ministry before he went to Calvary. And really, Palm Sunday was the last public appeal of a rejected king.
I want you to grab your Bibles if you've got them, and turn to the book of Zechariah chapter 9. And then I'm going to turn to the book of Matthew chapter 21. Zechariah chapter 9 verse number 9, the prophet Zechariah said "Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion. Shout, O DAUGHTER OF JERUSALEM. BEHOLD, THY KING COMETH unto thee. He is just and having salvation, lowly, riding upon an ass and upon the colt, the foal of an ass."
Matthew chapter 21 verse 1, "And when they drew nigh unto Jerusalem, and were come to Bethphage unto the Mount of Olives, they sent then sent Jesus two disciples, saying unto them "Go into the village over against you, and straightway you shall find an ass tied and a colt with her. Loose them and bring them unto me. And if any man say aught unto thee, you shall say the Lord hath need of them, and straightway he will send them. And all this was done that it might be fulfilled WHICH WAS SPOKEN BY THE PROPHET, WHICH we just read in Zechariah, saying "Tell ye the daughter of Zion, behold, thy king cometh unto thee, meek, sitting upon an ass and a colt, the foal of an ass." And the disciples went and did as Jesus commanded them, and brought the ass and the colt, and put on them their clothes, and they set him thereon. And a very great multitude spread their garments in the way. And others cut down branches from trees and strawed them in the way. And the multitudes that went before and that followed cried, saying "Hosanna to the Son of David. Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord. Hosanna in the highest." And when he was coming to Jerusalem, all the city was moved, saying "Who is this?" And the multitude said "This is Jesus, the prophet of Nazareth of Galilee."
The Lord will help me. For the next 20 minutes or so, I want to preach about when the king comes. When the king comes. Jesus, I love you, and I thank you for your word. I thank you for all these wonderful people that are in this building today. Lord, I need your help. I can't preach without your anointing. Without your anointing, my words are just sounding brass and tinkling cymbal. But God, if you'll anoint me, hearts will be changed, destinies will be altered. And God, that's what we're looking for today. In the mighty name of Jesus, and everybody say "In Jesus' name." Amen. God bless you. You may be seated in the fear of the Lord.
Palm Sunday is one of the strangest days in your Bible. Today, full of shouting, excitement, celebration, praise, and prophecy. And yet, underneath all the noise of Palm Sunday, there is a deep sadness. BECAUSE JESUS IS RIDING INTO A CITY CELEBRATING THAT is celebrating him outwardly while they were rejecting him inwardly. THEY ARE CRYING "HOSANNA." BUT IN A FEW DAYS, many of the same voices will cry "Crucify him." And that tells me something very powerful. It tells me that a CROWD CAN GET CAUGHT UP IN THE moment and still not be changed by that moment. THAT'S WHERE PALM SUNDAY BECOMES DANGEROUS BECAUSE IF WE'RE NOT CAREFUL, YOU AND I CAN HAVE A CHURCH SERVICE WITHOUT SURRENDER. AND WE CAN HAVE PRAISE WITHOUT REPENTANCE. WE CAN HAVE EMOTION WITHOUT TRANSFORMATION. AND I'VE COME TO PREACH this afternoon for a few moments to tell YOU THAT JESUS DID NOT RIDE INTO Jerusalem to BE APPLAUDED. HE CAME INTO Jerusalem to take over. >> [applause] >> AND IF THE KING COMES RIDING THROUGH THIS HOUSE TODAY, HE'S NOT COMING for your shout. You hear me? He's coming FOR YOUR HEART. WHEN JESUS COMES RIDING THROUGH THIS AUDITORIUM THIS MORNING, I KNOW HE LIKES YOUR SHOUT, BUT HE'S NOT COMING FOR THE SHOUT. HE'S COMING FOR YOUR HEART. HE'S LOOKING FOR SOMEBODY THAT'LL SAY "I SURRENDER. I GIVE UP. I BOW TO YOUR AUTHORITY. YOU CAN REIGN AND RULE IN MY [screaming] LIFE." >> [applause] >>
Let me tell you, on that Palm Sunday in Jerusalem many years ago, the king did not come to visit. He came to rule. Matthew 21 VERSE 5 SAID "BEHOLD, THY KING COMETH UNTO THEE." THAT STATEMENT IS LOADED. NOTICE, THE BIBLE DIDN'T SAY "YOUR TEACHER COMETH UNTO THEE." Didn't say "Your healer, your comforter, your miracle worker cometh unto thee." BUT IT SAID "THY KING cometh unto thee." That means Palm Sunday is not first about what Jesus will do for you. Let me say that again. Breaker, breaker, 1-9. Everybody got your ears on? Palm Sunday is not first about what Jesus will do for you. But Palm Sunday is first about who Jesus has the right to be over your life. That's what Palm Sunday is really ALL ABOUT, AND THAT'S WHERE FOLKS STRUGGLE. >> [applause and cheering] >>
OH. PEOPLE LOVE [screaming] A JESUS WHO BLESSES THEM. THEY LOVE A JESUS WHO HEALS AND COMFORTS AND DELIVERS AND RESTORES AND PROVIDES AND OPENS DOORS THAT ARE CLOSED. I love a Jesus like that. But they don't love a Jesus who confronts and who commands and who corrects and who demands and who reigns. Oh, they want a JESUS THAT'LL BLESS. >> [laughter] >> THEY WANT A Jesus that'll open doors. They want a Jesus that will provide. THEY WANT A JESUS THAT WILL HEAL, BUT THEY DON'T WANT A JESUS THAT WILL CONFRONT THE SIN IN THEIR LIFE AND DEMAND A CHANGE IN THEIR LIFE AND WILL SAY, "HEY, I'M GOING TO RULE ON THE THRONE OF YOUR HEART." >> [applause] >>
I'M GOING TO TELL YOU THIS MORNING, YOU HEAR THE PASTOR, JESUS DID NOT COME TO BE A PASSENGER IN YOUR LIFE. YEAH. HE DIDN'T COME TO BE A PASSENGER IN YOUR LIFE. SOME PEOPLE WANT A JESUS THAT'LL SIT IN THE PASSENGER SEAT. AND OTHER PEOPLE WANT A JESUS THAT'LL SIT IN THE BACKSEAT. AND THERE'S SOME THAT ARE EVEN WORSE than that. THEY WANT A JESUS THAT WILL FIT IN THE TRUNK. AND THEY'LL TAKE HIM OUT WHEN THEY HAVE AN EMERGENCY. PALM SUNDAY SAID, "MOVE OVER. THE KING'S ARRIVED." "MOVE OVER. THE KING'S COME TO TAKE his rightful place." And if he is king, he gets to tell you what stays and what goes, what lives AND WHAT DIES. IF HE'S A KING, HE HAS THE AUTHORITY TO RULE IN YOUR LIFE. AND WE ARE living in AN HOUR WHERE PEOPLE WANT A SAVIOR WITHOUT A LORD, BUT YOU CAN'T HAVE A SAVIOR WITHOUT A LORD. PEOPLE WANT DELIVERANCE WITHOUT DISCIPLINE. THEY WANT BLESSINGS WITHOUT BROKENNESS, AND THEY WANT POWER WITHOUT REPENTANCE. >> [applause] >>
BUT JESUS IS NOT RIDING THROUGH THIS CHURCH ON PALM PALM SUNDAY SAYING, "WILL YOU ADMIRE ME?" BUT HE'S ASKING, "WHO WILL BOW [screaming] TO ME?" >> [applause and cheering] >>
Palm Sunday teaches many things that if you read through this quickly, you'll miss a lot of what it's trying to teach you. Palm Sunday teaches that just because somebody is shouting doesn't mean they're submitted. PALM SUNDAY TELLS US THAT JUST BECAUSE THEY'RE PRAISING DOESN'T MEAN they're changed. Palm Sunday TELLS US THAT JUST BECAUSE THEY KNOW HOW TO CLAP DOESN'T MEAN THAT THEY KNOW HOW TO CRUCIFY THEIR FLESH.
Talking about when the king comes. When the king comes. People still praise Jesus as long as he'll heal their body. And they'll praise him as long as he fixes their family. And they'll praise him as long as he blesses their finance. But oh, hang on. The minute Jesus starts dealing with their rebellion and their bitterness and their unforgiveness, the same spirit that would praise over A BLESSING WILL START BACKING UP. Cuz flesh loves a Jesus that performs. But flesh hates a Jesus that rules.
They waved palm branches. He come riding into Jerusalem that Sunday and the crowd was going berserk and they were shouting and they were praising and they were waving palm branches and they were saying, "Hosanna to the highest. Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord." But I'm going to tell you something, the real worship was not when they were waving palm branches, but the real worship was when they laid what they laid down. Matthew 21, verse number eight said, "And a very great multitude spread their garments in the way." You hear PASTOR TODAY. EVERYBODY REMEMBERS PALM branches on Palm Sunday. There'll be churches with palm branches lined across the platform. There'll be churches that have people walk up and down the aisles this morning waving palm branches because everybody remembers palm branches for Palm Sunday. But I want you to know the real worship wasn't in the palm branches. The real worship was in THE GARMENTS. WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT, PASTOR? THE BIBLE SAID, "AMEN, a very great multitude spread their garments in the way." Amen, that's where real worship is. WHEN YOU TAKE OFF YOUR GARMENT. WHAT IS THAT? THE GARMENT REPRESENTS THEIR IDENTITY. THE GARMENT REPRESENTS THEIR COVERING. THE GARMENT REPRESENTS WHAT THEY POSSESS. THE GARMENT REPRESENTS WHAT BELONGS TO ME. AND WHEN THEY THREW THOSE GARMENTS IN THE ROAD, THEY WERE SAYING, "WHAT COVERS ME? WHAT BELONGS TO ME? AND WHAT REPRESENTS ME, I LAY IT BEFORE HIM." >> [cheering] [applause] >>
When the king comes. When the king comes. That's worship. That's real worship. When you take your garment, the thing that is your identity, the thing that is your possession, the thing that is your covering, the thing that belongs to you and you can lay it down before Jesus, that's real worship. Worship, hear me. People miss this. But I want to tell you this morning, worship is not just what comes out of your mouth. Worship is what you're willing to put under his feet. >> [applause] >>
And there's a lot of people that will sit in the church service and they can raise their hand and say, "I surrender and I love Jesus and God, do whatever you want with me." But that's just words. Amen, real worship isn't just what comes out of your mouth, but real worship is what you're willing to lay down and put under his feet. You hear this preacher this morning. It's easy to wave something in church. It's harder to LAY SOMETHING DOWN. IT'S easy to lift your hands. It's harder to surrender everything. >> [applause] >> It's easy to say Hosanna. It's harder to say, "Take this thing out of me." It's easy to clap, dance, skip, run the aisles, get excited, but it's a whole lot harder to say, "Lord, I want you to take out of me the thing that's holding me back. I'm ready to lay down that thing Amen that has been a crutch in my life. It's easy to CLAP MY HANDS. IT'S A LOT HARDER TO SAY, 'GOD, THIS IS AN IDOL IN MY LIFE AND I WANT YOU TO HAVE IT.' THAT'S OH GOD, THAT'S WHAT AN ALTAR'S FOR, FOR PEOPLE TO BE DEALT WITH BY THE WORD OF GOD AND COME OUT OF THEIR SEAT AND SAY, 'I'M NOT JUST GOING TO SAY AMEN. I'M GOING TO PUT ACTIONS WITH MY WORDS AND I'M GOING TO LAY THAT THING DOWN THAT'S BEEN HOLDING ME BACK. I'M GOING TO LAY THAT THING DOWN THAT HAS SEPARATED ME FROM GOD. I'M GOING TO LAY THAT THING DOWN THAT HAS ROBBED ME OF MY PRAYER LIFE."
Palm Sunday is not about can you wave the palm branches. Palm Sunday is asking, "Will you surrender?" And if Jesus is really king, then something [snorts] in your life has to be under his feet. >> [snorts] >> Maybe it's your pride. Maybe it's your attitude. Perhaps it's secret habits that nobody else knows about. Maybe it's an unsubmitted spirit. Or perhaps it's your prayerlessness. But you hear me. You cannot You cannot shout Hosanna over what you refuse to lay down. Some people are praising over things that they won't surrender.
I'm talking about when the king comes. And he's in this room today. The king's in this room right now. He come walking into this room a long while back. And when you walked in here, he was here to meet you. And I'm preaching about him today. When the king comes, when the king comes, him and some people have are here and they're trying to praise over things that they won't surrender. That's why they have no breakthrough. That's why they HAVE NO LIBERTY. THAT'S WHY they have no deliverance. That's why they leave church the same way they came to church because they're trying to praise over things that they refuse TO SURRENDER IN THEIR LIFE. AND I'M GOING TO TELL YOU GOD WILL NOT ANOINT WHAT YOU PROTECT FROM HIS AUTHORITY. >> [cheering] [applause] >>
WHEN THE KING COMES. Said I want my life to be anointed. He won't anoint your life as long as you're protecting it from his authority. If he's going to anoint your life, it's only going to be after you say, "All right, not my will, thine be done." So after you have that prayer meeting, if you will, in the Garden of Gethsemane, him and then you wrestle with your flesh, and you wrestle with your emotions, and you wrestle with how you feel, HIM AND YOUR FLESH SAID, "I DON'T WANT to do it." But your spirit said, "HANG ON. NEVERTHELESS, NOT MY WILL, BUT THINE BE DONE." >> [applause] >>
YOU WANT to be anointed? When the king comes, you got to surrender. He only rules over what you surrender. I'm going to tell you the story of the first Palm Sunday. It's a story of a people that wanted a king to fix their world, but not mess with their heart. >> [snorts] >> WHEN THEY CRIED, "HOSANNA! HOSANNA! BLESSED IS HE THAT COMETH in the name of the Lord." What they were really saying, that word HOSANNA MEANS, "SAVE NOW. SAVE, we pray." So when he come walking or riding in on that Sunday morning on the back of that donkey, and they were waving palm branches, and they were saying, "Hosanna!" What they really were saying is, "Save now." What they were really saying is, "Save, I pray." Him and they wanted Him and they were not asking for him to save them from their sin. Most of them were not asking for salvation from their sin problem. They were asking for relief from pressure. They were asking for Jesus to overthrown the Roman government. THEY ASKED HIM TO FIX their politics. They wanted him to change their environment. Some of them wanted him to make their life easier. But Jesus didn't come first to fix their system. He came to expose their sin. That's what happens when the king comes. You've got to go back before you can go on.
I'm reminded of the story of the lady at the well of the book of John, chapter 4. >> [snorts] >> She'd had all kind of problems in her life. Jesus comes to that well. He said, "Give me to drink." And she said, "How can I give you a drink drink? You don't know my background. You don't know where I COME FROM. MY PEDIGREE'S MESSED UP." Jesus said, "Ma'am, if you knew who I was, you wouldn't be asking me to get you a or I wouldn't be you wouldn't be letting me ask you to get me a drink, but you'd be asking me to give you a drink." Him and that lady said, "Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, wait. Hang on." And the Lord said, "I'm going to tell you what you do." He said, "You go back. Him and YOU GO BACK AND TELL THY HUSBAND." AND SHE SAID, "HEY, I don't have any husband." And he said, "YOU SAY RIGHT. YOU'VE HAD FIVE HUSBANDS, AND THE MAN YOU'RE WITH NOW ISN'T YOUR HUSBAND." AND SHE WENT BACK, AND SHE GOT A HOLD OF EVERYBODY, AND SHE TOLD THE WHOLE CITY. YOU KNOW WHY? JESUS WAS GIVING US A PRINCIPLE. BEFORE HE CAN WORK IN OUR LIVES, WE'VE GOT TO GO BACKWARD BEFORE WE CAN GO FORWARD. WE'VE GOT TO GRAB THE THING THAT HOLD US BACK SO HE [screaming] CAN TURN IT LOOSE IN OUR LIFE. YOU'VE GOT TO GO BACK BEFORE YOU CAN GO ON. >> [applause] >>
JESUS, WHEN THE KING COMES, HE COMES TO EXPOSE SIN. And that's still the problem. Told you I'd be 20 minutes. How long have I been? I'm I'm going to give me 5 minutes, I'm done. I get excited and I lose my time. But >> [applause] >> Jesus Jesus comes to expose sin in our lives. And that's still the problem with a lot of church folk. They want a God that'll rebuke the devil. And they want a Jesus that'll fix their nation. And they want a savior that'll turn the economy and bless their house and heal their marriage, but they don't want a Jesus him and that will deal with their lying tongue AND THEIR PROUD SPIRIT AND THEIR worldly appetites. A lot of people want deliverance from pressure. They don't want deliverance from the flesh. HEAR ME. A LOT OF THE PRESSURE YOU HAVE IN YOUR LIFE YOU'RE TRYING TO TAKE MEDICINE TO GET OVER. YOU'RE TRYING TO TALK TO EVERYBODY TO GET THROUGH. THE REASON YOU'VE GOT THAT PRESSURE IN YOUR LIFE IS BECAUSE YOU WON'T SURRENDER YOUR FLESH TO GOD. AND AS LONG AS YOUR FLESH RULES, YOU'RE GOING TO HAVE PRESSURE. AS LONG AS THE FLESH IS ON THE THRONE, YOU'RE GOING TO HAVE PRESSURE. BUT I'VE COME to tell somebody today you can lay it at an altar, and you walk you CAN WALK OUT OF THIS PLACE DIFFERENT THAN THE WAY YOU WALK IN. >> [applause and cheering] >>
And I'm done. If you can come to the music, please. Bible said in Luke chapter 19, verse number 41, and when Jesus was come near, he beheld the city, and he wept over it. Jesus wept in the middle of their praise. The crowd was shouting. The atmosphere was electric. THE CITY WAS STIRRED. While everybody else was celebrating, Jesus was weeping. Why was he weeping, Pastor Smith? Because he knew something they didn't know yet. He knew that they were in a moment of divine visitation, and many of them were going to miss it. Hear me today. You can be in the middle of a powerful move of God, and still miss what God's trying to do in you. You can feel goosebumps. You can cry at the altar. You can clap your hand during the preaching. You can still leave with your heart unbroken before God. And I'm going to tell you I've been I've been filling this pulpit on a weekly basis now for almost 26 years. >> [snorts] [clears throat] >> And there's nothing sadder to me than seeing people near Jesus that are not being changed by Jesus. You can sit in an apostolic church, and you can hear truth, and you feel conviction, and you can sense the moving of the Holy Ghost, and you can still walk out unchanged if you harden your heart, that's why Jesus wept. Some people are close enough to feel him, but not yielded enough to obey him. And I wonder on this Palm Sunday, if you'd stand with me. I wonder on this Palm Sunday if Jesus were to ride into this auditorium, and he's here. He's here. Would he be smiling over our surrender, or would he be weeping over our resistance? Would he say, "Their heart is mine." Or would he say, "They still won't let me in." Palm Sunday is not just a celebration. It's a visitation. It's when the king comes. And a visitation always demands a response. I wonder, would there be some folks that would step out of your seat and make your way to this altar? You'd say, "God, I'm not just here to applaud you. I'm here to let you rule in my life. I'm here to surrender. I'm here to lay down my will. I'm here to let you have your way in my life." Brothers and sisters, the king is here today. Why don't you respond to him?