A Posture That Is Productive
Scripture Reading: Matthew 21:1-11; Mark 11:1-11; Luke 19:28-44; John 12:12-19
Is there anything that you’re going through or facing in your life today that you’re so clear that God’s presence and help is with you and assisting you? And yet at the same time still have this sense that things are not coming to the completion of the desired goal that you would have hoped would come as fast as you would like them to come about? And because of this do you become weary and sometimes doubt comes, and even tempted to say “I was wrong to believe it could ever come to be?” These types of situations happens to all of us. I know it does with me.
A posture that is productive
Psalm 118:25-26 “O Lord, save us; O Lord, grant us success. Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord. From the house of the Lord we bless you.” John 12:13 “Hosanna! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord! Blessed is the King of Israel!”
- As the people were declaring this Psalm, this was their hope. This event was not long after Lazarus was raised from the dead. The people had all the evidence from all that they have heard and seen for themselves that Jesus is the Messiah. There was this great moment where they began praising Him as they moved towards the city gates. But they did not know that what they where hoping for wasn’t going to happen yet. Still there was hope in their hearts.
- All of us are waiting and facing situations that is taking longer to coming about than we anticipated. Somehow we know we are moving with the King as they did that first Palm Sunday. And you and I have seen God’s grace with us but things hasn’t all happened or come to being completed yet.
The people went out to meet Him. (v. 13)
1. They lifted their voice in praise. John 12:13 “Hosanna! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord! Blessed is the King of Israel!” The people at that time praised Jesus beyond the present facts.
- First fact: there was a deepening in the oppression in their location. They, the Jews were not in control of their land but the Romans were in control. They where oppressed by the Romans and this oppression intensified during the Passover season.
- They lifted their voice in praise of a King who will break the oppression when at the very moment the number of Roman soldiers coming into town was increasing. Still they shouted out in praise.
- Second fact: they knew (aware) of the conspiracy of a plan by the Pharisees that will lead to Jesus’ death. There was the scornful attitudes of those opposed to Jesus.
- Similar to our own personal lives where we begin to move toward God and are excited about what He is going to do with His power in our lives or in the lives of others especially of those we love, and in situations we face but instead of the establishing of full victory there comes an increasing of oppression and mocking of Satan, our adversary. Still they lifted up their voice in praise.
2. They trusted God before the promise is realized.
- Psalm 118:25-26 “O Lord, save us; O Lord, grant us success. Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord. From the house of the Lord we bless you.” (John 12:13 “Hosanna! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord! Blessed is the King of Israel!”)
- Zechariah 9:9 “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, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.” (John 12:15 “Do not be afraid, O Daughter of Zion; see, your king is coming, seated on a donkey’s colt.”
- The people who were praising the Lord with one text of scripture did not recognize that another passage of scripture was being fulfilled at the same time.
- How many of us ever faced situations and trials and as we face the trial we found a promise of God from His Word and embraced the promised? As we moved towards the realization of that promise sometimes slow and sometimes fast, but often times very slow, we wonder if it will ever come to where the trials are gone and the promise we embraced is realized. Nevertheless we held on to the promise of God. We trusted God before the promise is perfected in our lives. And in the waiting, in the trusting and after the victory is realized we then see all the other things God did.
