"Inside the Fire" Palm Sunday 4.13.03 -Morgan Young
I don't know about you, but I notice that when I physically get to certain places, I can feel all-too-real emotions inside me. Like there was a time in 7th grade when my Social Studies teacher asked me and a couple of my cohorts to go to the principal's office.
I can tell you that when I set foot inside that office, I had an undeniable feeling in my gut. When I worked for a consumer finance company, I'd often attend court. For the longest time, even though I was the prosecutor, when I walked into the courtroom, I would feel a very real tension in my gut.
How about you? Any places stir your emotions? Dentist office? Attorney office? IRS office?
There are certain places we go where we have a good idea of what can happen to us once we get there. Certain places stir real emotions in our gut because of the reality we know we're going to face.
Today is Palm Sunday. Today is the day Jesus of Nazareth rode into Jerusalem; a place where he KNEW what would happen to Him once He got there.
At that time, Jerusalem was a city of 50,000 people, but because of the Jewish holiday, Passover, there were probably more like 150,000 people in Jerusalem. On Palm Sunday, Jesus embarked on the first day of the last week of His earthly life.
(video setup)
So we can get a sense of the emotion and reality that must have been in Jesus' gut; so we can understand the truth lurking under everything that happened in the week following Palm Sunday, I want to show you a video.
It's a description of Jesus' last stand from the viewpoint of a medical doctor.
(video clip)
I didn't show that to be shocking or extreme. I showed it to remind us that at the end of the week, Jesus wasn't going to the principal's office, or to an IRS audit. We need to understand that on Palm Sunday, Jesus had "walked into the room" if you will, in which He was to be crucified.
Let's go to the primary scene of Palm Sunday where Jesus enters Jerusalem riding on a donkey. Matthew 21:8-9 says,
"A very large crowd spread their cloaks on the road, while others cut branches from the (palm) trees and spread them on the road. The crowd that went ahead of Him and those that followed shouted,
'Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!'" (play with thisaudience participation)
The people were super psyched up; there was a serious "buzz" in seeing him enter Jerusalem on a donkey. For one, many of the people had seem Him raise Lazarus from the grave just a few days before.
And for another, this Palm Sunday scene was fulfilling Jewish prophesy. Check out this Old Testament text from Zechariah 9:9-10 written about 500 years before Palm Sunday.
"Rejoice greatly, O Daughter of Zion! Shout, Daughter of Jerusalem! See, your king comes to you, righteous and having salvation, gentle and riding on a donkey, ; I will take away the chariots from Ephraim and the war-horses from Jerusalem, and the battle bow will be broken. He will proclaim peace to the nations. His rule will extend from sea to sea and from the River to the ends of the earth."
Alright. Understand at this time the Jews were under rule of the mighty Roman war machine. And they had heard this verse talking about this King taking away chariots and war-horses, battle bows being broken and having a kingly rule to the ends of the earth. Hearing these verses and after seeing Jesus raise a dead man from a grave;
These cats are thinking Jesus is one bad dude who is going to break the Roman stronghold and setup some kind of Jew rule thing to the ends of the earth.
So right from the get go, as Jesus rides into Jerusalem, with people waving palm branches that represent victory, there's a misunderstanding of Jesus. The people, even the disciples think He's gonna rule on earth much like they're seeing the Romans rule; they're thinking of what they know a king is, which is a strong man who rules armies, conquers oppressors and all that stuff we're watching on CNN right now.
And as He rides in on a donkey, as people are yelling & celebrating Him; He very well could have had that all-too-real twinge in His gut, because he knew the truth of how the week was going to end. He knew the rule He would have would be an eternal spiritual rule, not a traditional army earthly rule.
In the week that begins with Palm Sunday, we see some of Jesus' most extreme emotional displays. And when you factor in what we heard in the video, and that Jesus KNEW that, is it any wonder, we see his emotion this week?
The next thing that happened was the following day, Monday. It was the clearing of the Temple that Mark talked about last week. Again, this is one of Jesus' MOST EXTREME physical & emotional displays. God's temple had basically become the "World Trade Center" of its day. It was money being changed, sacrificial animals being sold all for profitit was a veritable greed-fest.
And Jesus pretty much goes "postal." Here's the text in Matthew 21:12-13 ()
"Jesus entered the temple area and drove out all who were buying and selling there. He overturned the tables of the money changers and the benches of those selling doves. 'It is written,' He said to them, 'My house will be called a house of prayer, but you are making it a den of robbers.'"
Don't make the mistake of thinking this was a little old country church sized temple! Check out this current day view of where the temple was. ( picture on ppt)
Now here's a picture of what it looked like "back in the day" when Jesus went postal. The big spacious yard areas were where the money changing happened; that was acres and acres of space. (little dots are people)
Tuesday He taught to large numbers of people in parables. He warned the people about the Pharisees. He predicted the destruction of Herod's Temple and told about things to come including His own death; and even though He told them of his death, they still didn't understand it.
We assume Wednesday, was a day of rest, as the Gospels record nothing that Jesus did that day. But this was the day Judas Iscariot went to the chief priests () and made the deal to betray Jesus. Matthew 26:15 says, "So they counted out for him thirty pieces of silver coins."
That was equivalent to 120 denarii (form of currency). One denarii was about one day's wages, so they paid him roughly the equivalent of 4 months salary at the time, in exchange for turning Jesus in.
Thursday was Passover, or the Passover Feast; it was the most important Jewish holiday. Passover celebrates God delivering the Jewish people out of slavery in Egypt (Moses etc) and establishing Israel as a nation. The Last Supper, which happened on Thurs. was Jesus and the disciples Passover feast.
And the last supper was the first communion. During the meal Jesus "took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, 'This is my body given for you; do this in remembrance of Me.' And in the same way, after the supper, He took the cup saying, 'This cup is the new covenant (promise) in my blood, which is poured out for you.'" (Luke 22:19-20)
Communion is our re-enacting of Jesus' Passover feast that took place on Thursday,() the day before He was crucified. The bread & the grape juice reminds us of His body and blood that were sacrificed for all of us. It's a reminder for us to reflect on what the doctor described in the video; it's a reminder for us not to get too comfortable and take for granted what Jesus went through for us.
After their Passover meal, (Last Supper), they went to the Mount of Olives. And here again, we see the extreme emotion of Jesus. Like Mark said last week, as Jesus prayed about His own crucifixion only hours away, he sweated blood. The medical term is hematidrosis---it's the actually mingling of blood with sweat that occurs in rare cases, where people undergo extreme anguish or strain.
After that, Jesus was arrested in the Garden, taken away to be jailed, then hurried through a sham of a trial, then crucified. ()
Following Jesus being dragged away, still Thurs. night., we catch up with what we saw in the drama; which was the story of Peter denying Jesus.
(read account from The Message pg 175)
We could say that it got too hot inside the fire for Peter. That in the end, when he followed Jesus too closely, things got too hot. It got to a point where it might cost him his life. So Peter backed off.
Peter's story of following close to the fire is metaphor that applies to us too. As you and I choose to follow Jesus, it's inevitable, just a matter of time, before we feel things heating up.
Throughout the Bible we see the word "fire" used for judging and testing, and we see that fire is used to refine us & to cleanse us.
I want to use the phrase "inside the fire" as meaning "in a relationship with Christ that you're actively pursuing." (elaborate)
And I want the phrase "outside the fire" to mean either:
a) You're not in a relationship with Christ
b) You're in a relationship w/Christ but somewhat like Peter, you've backed away & aren't actively pursuing Jesus relationally.
I believe that all humans want to be included. We want to be inside the fire. In general, we don't want to be on the outside of anything really. If there's a circle, we want to be in it.
Let me elaborate on this idea by reading an excerpt from the Sacred Romance, written by John Eldredge. (pg. 180-181)/
One of the coolest things about what Jesus did the week of Palm Sunday, was that he made a place for EVERYONE. It doesn't matter how crowded in gets in God's cafeteria, each one of walks in to check it out, and Jesus looks at us, points and says, "Hey! Over here!" pointing to an empty seat at the cool table.
The events that started with Palm Sunday all happened so Jesus could save a place for us at the cool table. With His own body & blood, He paid for our seat.
Before I even was a Christ follower, it was too hot for me; part of me wanted to be on the inside of the fire with Jesus, part of me wanted that acceptance. But another part of me didn't want to be associated with Christians. Part of me thought if my friends saw me as a Christian, they'd see me as weaker, or as a hypocrite, or some crazy extreme right-wing political nut. For a while part of becoming a Christ follower to me, felt too hot.
And a strange thing happens to us after we've accepted the seat Jesus saved for us (after we've come into a relationship with Jesus). And it's what happened to Peter. Events happen and we pull away from the fire of Jesus.
This is how this works: The amazing part of "amazing grace" is that God offers us a seat inside the fire just as we are; that's amazing. BUT, after we're in a relationship with Him, many of the things in us that are NOT-so-amazing, are still here. And taking a seat next to Jesus will surely heat up the impurities in our life, if you will.
This is what it look like "inside the fire":
If our marriage isn't healthy, or we're not doing our part in our marriage; the fire will bring this to the surface.
If we hang out with people that have a negative affect on how we live our lives; the fire will bring this to the surface.
If our tongue says things that aren't honoring, that are uncool; the fire will bring this to the surface.
If we have habits or lifestyle issues that aren't good for our body; the fire will bring this to the surface.
If our finances aren't honoring God; the fire will bring this to the surface.
If we're not engaging in growing in our relationship with Christ; the fire will bring this to the surface.
When there are things in our life that aren't lined up with how God outlined it in His Word, there is a gnawing in us; that's the fire of the Holy Spirit leading us to deal with that issue.
Where are you today?; As you sit here in the quiet of this room, what do feel God heating up in your life? Is it something external, like a relationship, or a responsibility?
Is it something internal, like an attitude, or a unwilling or stubborn spirit?
If you're a Christ follower, count on this: There will be gnawings. There will be things in your life that are heated up because Jesus wants us to grow through them to be the men and women He wants us to be.
Here's one example of what living outside the fire looks like:
You come to church for a while. You come into a relationship with Christ. Then one day "poof," (God heats it up) you realize your marriage isn't quite all it should be.
("respectfully"I've seen this happen)
You sporadically pray about it. You tell a few friends about it. Maybe you read a book about it. But you never really actively engage in getting help from more mature Christ followers. You don't come to the Gathering and pursue worship with your spouse. Neither of you make a serious effort at reading God's Word. You don't make an appointment with a Christian counselor. You don't really get active in dealing with your marriage much more than "polite complaining" about it.
Then after a couple years like this, your marriage is really not much better than the first day you stepped into a church. And you finally say, "You know what? This God thing doesn't really work. My life isn't much different than it used to be." And after a while, you're out of the church. After a while you're outside the fire. And when you distance yourself from the fire, the gnawing gets less and less, until you can get back to how life used to be. (pause)
The Garth Brook's lyrics from earlier said,
Standing outside the fire,
life is not tried,
It is merely survived
If you're standing outside the fire.
Friends; Jesus didn't endure the cross so that our lives could merely be "survived", so that marriages and men & women would just survive be status quo. And the way we grow through the hot-button issues in our life, is by embracing them & embracing God; staying inside the fire.
Finances is another hotbed issue in the lives of Christ followers. For Sandra & I it was one of the last strongholds. For years I thought, "Man, I volunteer out the wazoo in that placethat's my sacrifice." And I thought, "Hey, we don't that much to give anyway."
But our finances kept getting "heated up." It seemed like the issue of money and giving a 10% tithe kept coming back in our faces. And we finally just said,
"OK, this doesn't make any financial sense, but God says this is the way it's supposed to be, so let's just try it!" Under my breath I probably thought, "Then I can say 'I told you so' when this doesn't work!"
But somehow it worked. And it's been better financially for us ever since that day. Instead of continuing to ignore it; we stayed inside the fire & said, "OK God, we're giving you a shot in this area."
Just for the record, tithing, giving back 10% to God, out of the 100% He gives us is not Oakbrook's idea. It's God's. (Malachi 3:10, 1 Corinthians 16:2) It's very sad; but I have seen people walk out those doors because it was easier than leaning into Jesus, easier than staying inside the fire in the area of finances.
I've talked about marriage & money just now, but you can pretty much take any struggle you may have this morning & insert into those kind of scenarios.
When Jesus heats up impurities in our life, if we don't lean into the fire, if we don't engage with Jesus in doing what He wants in our life; if we don't engage, if we don't stay in the fire, we end up blaming.
We'll blame the church, we'll say, "All that church is about is my money."
We'll blame other Christ followers, "Look, I wouldn't be where I am if you guys would have ministered to me more!"
We'll blame the church, blame friends and blame each other; And then we're stuck with the same old problem we had before plus now; fractured relationships.
The truth is, when we follow Jesus, He's going to heat things up in our life; make no mistake about it. And He heats them up so things in our life will get dealt with!
Think back to the video for a second. Jesus didn't go through with that so that you and I can sweep things under the rug. (repeat) When Jesus held a seat for You, and invited you into his eternal family, He didn't get up and walk out of the cafeteria (reference to excerpt from Sacred Romance earlier in message) when you sat down.
When He heats up areas in our life, He's right there beside us, with His arm around us and He's committed to us every day of our life; committed to helping us overcome the sin, the habits, and the non-God-honoring stuff in our lives. He promises to be with us inside the fire, and He'll keep it from getting too hot.
Our life with Christ is not a sprint. It's a relational marathon. I can't tell you how much better my life is today than it was yesterday . But I do know that 15 years ago, I was outside the fire. I was in a divorce I didn't know how I was going to survive. I struggled to find significance in my profession, in my life. Most of my life seemed like it wasn't working.
Today, well I'm NOT perfect (don't tell my wife!). But I love my wife, my children and love almost everything about them. I work in a church as a minister, ME?! and I love it. I've still got impurities and stuff in my life that God continues to heat up;
but now, after living inside the fire, day in & day out, weak in & week out, year in & year out; I can humbly & thankfully admit that today; most of my life is working pretty darn well.
The difference between then and now, is all about living inside the fire. My response to tough situations or gnawings now is pretty simplistic. It's leaning into God and asking what He wants me to do.
Friends, life working is about living inside the fire;
living inside the fire by staying active in our relationship with Christ;
living inside the fire by taking in Sun morning and Gathering services week in and weekout;
living inside the fire staying connected with healthy growing Christ followers;
living inside the fire by reaching out to our friends who don't know Christ yet
living inside the fire and working on whatever Christ is telling us needs attention: a marriage, finances, children, ministry, whatever he heats up, stay inside the fire of it.
Sarah is going to worship for us now. She won't be just "singing a song." She'll be worshiping, which means simply singing a song from her heart to God.
It's a song that celebrates being inside the fire. It expresses being thankful that life will never be the same again because of what Jesus did for us during the week that started with Palm Sunday.
If God's Spirit has pricked your heart this morning and you've felt the conviction to draw closer, to get back inside the fire, prayerfully commit that to God during this song.
If you want to close you eyes & worship God yourself during this time, that's fine. Be open to how the Spirit may lead you as Sarah worships.
Song: "I Will Never Be (the same again)"
closeoutprayout
