This is a rush transcript.

[00:00:01] Sticking with our Mother's Day theme, I thought we would talk about animal baby names, you know, if this kind of animal has a baby, what do you call it? Right. And so I went for the most authoritative source I could find. And I got this pop quiz of EE baby shower Gamescom right here. And let me ask you if if we call the baby a cub, what kind of animal is that?

[00:00:27] Well, you say bear, but how do you know it's not a lion or a tiger or a cheetah? See, look at these trick questions at a baby shower. What about if an animal has a calf? What kind of an animal would you say it is? What about an elephant? That's a little more exciting than a cat. How about a whale? Did you know that whales have calves? Do you know that dolphins have calves right now? Don't even get us started on. Well, what do you call a group of them when they move along? That's a whole nother quit right there, right. Not everyone is as simple as a chick. Well, we all know what a chick would be, right? Or a piglet. Well, that's pretty, pretty easy.

[00:01:07] What about a full. If I asked you what is a fool?

[00:01:11] Would you say horse or it could be a zebra. Or perhaps even a donkey. Good. John Chapter twelve. Verse twelve. And that's what we call a Segway, my friends. John Chapter twelve. Verse twelve. We are going to see the most important donkey in all of history, a colt, really a male child, a full less than a year old, a baby donkey that has been long prophesied about.

[00:01:40] And now we have Jesus writing in to Jerusalem here on a donkey. We have really what we know as the triumphal entry of Jesus into Jerusalem. What we traditionally the day we call Palm Sunday. So if you've been going to church, you're familiar with this day. And a lot of times we celebrate it right before Easter, the Sunday before Easter, because this is kicking off the last week of Jesus, his life. And so we're going through, John, 12:00 and we're only going to do four more sermons. We're gonna finish, John, 12:00, and then we're gonna take a break from the Gospel of John for for the summer. And John, now, even though he's only in Chapter 12 out of 21. He's now rampion into the last week of Jesus's life. And I think it's good that we're studying this on a day that's not Palm Sunday. So we can kind of get the big perspective, perspective on what this story is really all about, because everybody missed the point. And you'll see that when we read our texts. Look at John, chapter twelve, verse twelve, and we'll go to verse 19. That's our text for this morning. Please follow along with me as I read it says the next day. So this would be Sunday. Now, the next day, the large crowd that had come to the feast, the Passover feast. They heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem.

[00:03:00] So they took branches of palm trees and went out to meet him, crying out Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord, even the king of Israel. And Jesus found a young donkey and sat on it just as it is written.

[00:03:18] Fear not. Daughter of Zion, be old. Your king is coming. Sitting on a donkeys colt. Now his disciples, verse 16. His disciples did not understand these things at first. But when Jesus was glorified then they remember that these things had been written about him and had been done to him. The crowd that had been with him when he called Lazarus out of the tomb and raised him from the dead continue to bear witness. And the reason why the crowd went to meet him was that they heard he had done this sign. So the Pharisees said to one another. You see that you are gaining nothing. Look, the world has gone after him. And so here we see the story of Palm Sunday, Jesus riding in on a donkey and everybody's Krishna Hosanna. And they're laying down palm branches and they're acting like the king is finally here. Now, that's the story.

[00:04:18] And it's one of the most common stories in the gospel, it's told in all four gospels.

[00:04:23] So it's only a few things that are clearly articulated in Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. And this is one of them, which is the story of the triumphal entry. So if you could write down Matthew 21, that's another passage where you could read another telling of this same story. Mark eleven would be another place where you could read the same story. And then Luke, 19, a little bit into the chapter, starting in the 20s to the end of verse 38. It would talk about Jesus coming in and all three of them, all four of them highlight this need that. That there is to find this donkey, in fact, the synoptic gospels, that's what we call Matthew Mark Luke as they were written first. John comes later. They kind of all sound similar in a lot of ways. John sounds a little bit different. John's kind of adding perspective. And all of them make a big deal of Jesus even sending disciples to find this full of a donkey, this cult. This is brand new baby donkey. It has to be just so. And they make a big deal about them finding this donkey wheel. John, here. He doesn't make a big deal about finding the donkey. He makes a big deal about the response of the people. And John. And how he likes to use irony in his writing. He wants to make it clear that no one who was there on that day really understood the full significance of what was happening. He says, I was one of the disciples. I'm one of the real followers of Jesus Christ. We didn't fully get what was going on till later. We didn't connect this with the prophecies, with the Old Testament passages until later after Jesus was glorified. The crowd or the crowd? It seems like all pro Jesus here on Sunday. By Friday, the crowd of people in Jerusalem is going to be shouting, what, crucify him? They want to kill him. So, hey, the crowds just all excited. John seems to be pointing out because Lazarus was raised from the dead and that word is spreading like wildfire. Everybody's talking about Lazarus coming back from the dead. And that's why the crowds coming out. So they don't really even get it. They're just excited because of this miracle that has happened.

[00:06:30] And then the Pharisees, the enemies of Jesus, the guys who are plotting to put Jesus to death and to kill him here when they see all the crowd shouting, Hosanna, laying down the palm branches, welcoming Jesus to town like he's the king who has come to reign.

[00:06:47] They say, well, look, you're not doing anything. They start having a Pharisee fight. Look, you're you're not doing anything.

[00:06:53] Now, the whole look we lost the whole world now is following this guy. Little do they realize they're going to kill him by the end of the week. So nobody really understands what's happening at the moment that happens. This is one of the classic cases of missing the point of all time.

[00:07:10] And I want to make sure that we here today don't miss the point. What is the purpose of telling us how Jesus rides in and what are these palm branches about? Why are they shouting Hosanna! And why on a donkey? Now we're going to have to understand some of the things and we're going to have to even go to the Old Testament to see how it's set this up. Okay, so let's start with the palm branches. You can just write this down. If you got one of our note sheets and you're taking notes, you can just write this down. Palm branches had become a kingly symbol in the nation of Israel.

[00:07:44] And there if if we ever go to Israel and I'm hoping to plan dates for a Compass Bible Church, Huntington Beach trip to Israel, anybody want to go to Israel with our church? Start saving your money right now, my friends, because it ain't cheap to go to Israel. But it's worth it. All right. It's awesome to go there. And one of the things you'll realize if you ever go to Jerusalem, if you go to Israel is it's very much like California and that it's a desert that we're trying to make seem like an awesome place because it's on the coast.

[00:08:11] OK. And there's a lot of palm trees there. And so they've got palms. And so Palms was like a symbol had become if you study the history of the of the Jews, even the entire test amental period, you can see that the palm tree was something we started laying down for the king. Okay.

[00:08:28] But now there's too Old Testament passages. You need to know the first ones about Hosanna. And it's Psalm one hundred and eighteen versus twenty five and twenty six. Everybody, right that damn psalm. One hundred and eighteen versus twenty five to twenty six. That's what the people are shouting out. It's a clear reference. They're shouting out Hosanna! Which is a Hebrew word in the Old Testament was written in Hebrew. So grab your Bible and turn with me to Saul. One hundred and eighteen. And if you got one of our Bibles, it's page five hundred and twelve is is where we're going to. So everybody grab a Bible or maybe just tap a Bible if you've got it on your phone or your tablet there and get that Bible on over to Saul. One hundred and eighteen. And this is part of the. Hello. OK, so the Psalms are the songs of Israel. We're reading through the Psalms right now together as a church. Tomorrow we're gonna get to Psalm 37. One of the great psalms delight yourself in the Lord, for he will give you the desires of your heart. We're reading through it. And eventually we're going to get to someone 18, which is the end of the hello, Psalm 113 to 118 is this package of psalms called the Hillel. And it's something that would have been sung at some of these feast that they would do in Israel. So people would have been really familiar with this psalm. And this is why they're they're shouting out. So in verse twenty five of Psalm 118, when it says Save us, we pray, oh lord. In the Hebrew that would read like Hosanna. OK. Save us. We pray. Oh Lord. That's what Hosanna means. So let's make sure we all have a definition. Hosanna! Hosanna means to save us now. Or you could say give salvation now. If you pray. Hosanna! What? You're praying. Or maybe you've sung it before. In church. We want you to know what you're singing in church. A means give salvation now. You're asking God to do something. Is saving work right now. That's Hosanna. And that's what these people are crying out. Save us. We pray. Oh, Lord. Oh, Lord, we pray. Give us success. And then here's the other line that's quoted by the crowd. When Jesus is coming in. Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. We bless you from the House of the Lord. And they go even a step further to show that this blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord that had really taken on shape. By the time we get to Jesus day, the king of Israel, they add to it in our text, like the one who is going to come in. The name of the Lord is going to be the king of Israel, who comes in the line of David, who is really the whole nation comes from Father Abraham. So if you have this idea that the Bible is not one story, that it's not one big story, God's story of humanity, the story of history from beginning to end the Bible is the book of history is what it is. And if you think the Old Testament and the New Testament are saying two different things, you need to reread the Bible. You need to rethink it, because it's one big narrative. And the whole point of the Old Testament is to set up Jesus. And then the New Testament tells us both what happened with Jesus and even what is yet about to happen with Jesus Christ. And so here we have there's this expectation building throughout the Old Testament that someone is going to come to save us. He's going to come in the name of the Lord. He's going to be the king of Israel. This prophesied figure is going to come and the people now think they have found their man. I mean, if you can raise the dead, you could raise up all the great warriors in the history of Israel. And we could go fight the Romans and we could start taking over nations and we could become the great nation that we deserve to be. That's what they're thinking. I mean, when they're throwing down the branches and they're crying out Hosanna and they're saying, here's the king. They're thinking we need a new political leader right now.

[00:12:17] They're thinking we need a military victory right now. That's what they're thinking.

[00:12:21] Save us now. They're looking for Jesus to do something that was going to shake up the political landscape in their day. This guy can feed thousands by multiplying the food. This guy can yield all kinds of diseases. Now he's raising the dead. Hey, let's go unite behind this guy. He's going to form an army and we're going to start declaring our independence. That's what they think they're doing now. Not only do they quote Psalm 118, but John quotes Zacharias nine.

[00:12:51] That's your other little dash there. You've got to understand this passage. Zacharias nine versus nine and 10. OK. And this is what the gospel writers. This is the understanding the disciples came to. Of what was happening. So now we're going to the the minor prophets. Zach Ariah, Chapter nine. Turn there with me. This is page seven hundred and ninety seven. If you got one of our Bibles now, you might not know where Zach Ariah is because he's one of the minor prophets, Sky and some of you might still have some of these pages in your Bible stuck together because people don't really talk about the minor prophets anymore. They're the clean pages of the Bible. Not a lot of highlighter. Not a lot of underlining going on there. Right. Well, we're really weird here at CompassHB HPN. If you're just getting to know us, you'll figure this out soon enough that we get excited about things in the Bible. Things that other people seem to overlook, things like the minor prophets. And so what we do for fun is every summer some people go on vacation. Some people hit up the beach. What we do is we study the minor prophets when summer time comes. I don't hear you cheering. What's going on? OK. Few people are excited, right? Maybe you've never even read the minor prophets. Well, this is our commitment. Our goal is to preach through the minor prophets because I've been going to church all my life and I've never heard anybody preach through the minor prophets. And so we're gonna do it here at this church. And last summer, we just started it off with a softball, with an easy one. What one did we do last summer? Was anybody. Jonah, you people know that when it's a whale of a tails, we just started out with that one. Right? Whales have calves. Just remember that we started out with that one. Now we're gonna do two this summer. We're going for it. We're gonna try to do hope zya this summer. And we're gonna try to do the Book of Mayhem this summer. All right. So we're gonna preach through some minor profits. Now, if you don't know anything about Zachariah, Zekeria is the second most quoted book out, the Old Testament in the New Testament. And the only reason they're called minor prophets is they're not as big as the major prophets who wrote more. Now, the most quoted book in the New Testament is The Book of Isaiah. Actually, OK, but I think Zacharias is the second most quoted book. So if you don't know Zacharias, that's really unfortunate because the New Testament writers seem to know Zekeria kind of expected people to understand Zekeria. And really, there's a lot of things in Zech Ariah that have not yet happened. They still have prophecies that have not yet been fulfilled. Like the Book of Revelation, things that are still future, even from our perspective. So let's dove in into two verses. One of them that's quoted in our text. This is Zekeria. Chapter nine, verse nine. And this is how prophecy in the Old Testament works. Let's let's look at this for a minute. Rejoice greatly. O Daughter of Zion, Zion. Sometimes the name for God's city. The City on a hill, Jerusalem shout aloud. Oh, daughter of Jerusalem.

[00:15:47] Behold, your king is coming to you so you can see what the people are so excited. They've had this prophecy of a king coming righteous. Sounds like the kind of king we need a righteous king and having salvation. Is he? Yes. I want a king who can save me.

[00:16:03] And here's a little bit different picture for a king, though. He's humble and he's mounted on a donkey. In fact, it's on a colt. It's just the foot. It's just a baby of a donkey. And then it rolls right into this. In verse ten, I will cut off the chariot from Ephraim and then for Israel, the war horse from Jerusalem, and the battle bow shall be cut off. And he this king in a time where Israel is not going to be strong. This king is going to come and he's going to speak peace to the nations. And he this king will rule.

[00:16:34] His rule shall be from sea to sea and from the river to the ends of the earth.

[00:16:41] So here we see how Old Testament prophecy works. We got a king who's coming and he's riding in humble on a donkey. And his kingdom is going to go from sea to shall we at shining sea here, right from the river, which I think is a reference to the river Euphrates where God created the world there and where we would consider the Garden of Eden to be right there in the river Euphrates. And it's going to go his kingdom is going to go from where God created all the way to the ends of the Earth. We're talking about a literal kingdom on our planet that covers the entire globe. That's the prophecy. And so what I want you to see is how Old Testament prophecy works. Because the people of Israel at the time, Jesus, is riding in on the donkey. They miss the points of point about one. Let's put it down like this. Don't miss the point of why Jesus is coming. Let's try not to miss the point. It's gonna be harder than you might think. But let's try not to miss the point. So the first warning is don't miss the point of why Jesus is coming. The disciples missed it. The crowd missed it. The Pharisees missed it. Let's try to make sure that we don't miss it. And part of the reason that they missed the point was they didn't fully understand prophecy and how it works. Even perhaps the guys who wrote the prophecies, these Old Testament prophets like Zekeria, even they might not understand fully how it was going to work, that there was going to be two different comings of Jesus Christ, two different appearances of the king of the God who would become man. So I've drawn for you my little prophecy drawing here. And I wrote it on your notes with Sharpie. Like if we were at a restaurant right now, I'd be grabbing your napkin and I'd be pulling out a Sharpie and I'd be drawn these two mountains here. If you were in my office, we'd be right on the legal pad. OK, so let's just up. We got up here on the screen. Let's make this guy over here, Zekeria. We'll just call him Z for now. OK, here's Zach Ariah and he's looking into the future and he sees a king on a donkey. Well, that's gonna be Jesus on the first coming. We believe here that would be number one on top of the first mountain, the smaller mountain there. And then he also sees that this king has a kingdom from sea to sea, from the river Euphrates to the ends of the earth. So that would be what we would consider the second coming now from our friend Zacharias perspective. It might just be one mountain range out there. That's all Jesus coming. And he doesn't see that there's this big valley between these two appearances of Jesus Christ. So if you've never seen prophecy this way, there's a lot of examples about this. I mean, we could change the zie to an eye for Isaiah or Micah. Five two is a great example of this, where the prophet is seeing Jesus coming in the future. But what maybe even the prophet doesn't understand is that we're talking about two different appearances of Christ. And so you can see people are rejoicing. The king is coming. He's humble and mounted on a donkey. Well, that's the first time that Jesus comes and not blink there at the bottom. That's Zekeria nine nine there, OK. And then in the very next verse, we've got a king. Speaking peace. He's uniting all of the nations in one kingdom that extends over the ends of the Earth. Well, that's got to be chapter nine. Verse 10 is talking about that. And what's a mystery in the Old Testament that should now be revealed to us in the New Testament is that these are not happening at the same place at the same time? Well, maybe it is the same place, Jerusalem, but it's now we realize at least two thousand years apart is where this is taking place. So what they didn't see come in in between the first coming of Jesus and the second coming of Jesus. This little arrow out to the side is us. Were the big surprise. A bunch of Gentiles worshiping the Messiah in this church page that now has gone on for two thousand years. That's what the prophets didn't see come in. That's what the people of Israel didn't see. Come in. Why? When you're studying Zacharias nine and you're looking at verse nine and you roll into verse 10, why would you think of those as thousands of years separating two different appearances of Jesus Christ? Well, the answer is you wouldn't say. That's why they missed the point. They missed the point because they didn't. They were looking for the king to establish his reign right here, right now. Give us the victory is what they were thinking. They weren't thinking that he's coming in one time, humble on a donkey to die for our sins and to offer himself as a sacrifice. And the next time he's riding in high and mighty to judge and to establish his kingdom, they didn't see it like that. And that's the way that we need to make sure that we see it so that we don't miss the point. OK. So this song, nine, 10. I mean, Zech Orion nine 10. Look at Zech Orion nine 10 with me again. And look at the part where it says his rule shall be from sea to sea and from the river to the ends of the earth. That's actually a quote for Psalm 72 eight, if you want to write that down. So, Zachariah, even when he's prophesying, he's quoting a song that's already been written. And that psalm, if you ever study Psalm 72, it's the end of the second book of Psalms and it's all about a king that is coming. So there's this prophecy that's building and gaining steam. It's in the Psalms. Now, Zacharias talking about it, that a king is going to reign over the entire world as we know it, a reign one nation that spans our entire globe. That is the prophecy here. And that prophecy has not even yet come to pass. And so it's quite possible that we still sitting here this morning might miss the point of the prophecy just as much as the people did when they were shouting Hosanna! OK, so point number two is you need to make sure you pay attention to who Jesus is riding in on, OK? Or there's been great debate since the first service. Some of us are really wondering, is it A, who Jesus is riding? Is it a what Jesus is riding? I mean, when you're talking to a donkey, is it a who or a what? You might think it's a what. But then when the donkey starts talking back to you, you might think it's a who. I don't know. But either way, we want to notice that first time when Jesus shows up, he comes riding in on a donkey. Now, when you're a king, how you make your entrance, how you ride in as trusty steed that you come in on, that's like us having different pairs of shoes for different occasions. It's accessorizing is what it is, my friends. So no king rides in on some kind of animal that doesn't represent something about that king. So when the king, when the Lord of Heaven and Earth rides in on a donkey, he's trying to make a point.

[00:23:51] And we've got to make sure we don't miss the point guy. The donkey to the Jewish people would have been considered in on clean animal and unclean animal. It was not the animal of a king. And so for the king to ride in, even Zacharias says it right here, it shows his humility.

[00:24:11] This is something that should overwhelm us, especially those of us now who know the full story of who Jesus is and why he came to Earth. That that king, the Lord of all creation, the one who controls the world that we're living in.

[00:24:27] He would come in humble on a donkey, on a baby donkey. See, that should cause us to think a little bit. Turn to Philippians, chapter two with me. Let's go back to the New Testament here and let's think. I mean, let's say it's all about you. Let's say you're the Lord of Heaven and earth.

[00:24:44] Let's say you create the world and you write the story and it's all to show us your glory. How would you write the script? What would you make the story about?

[00:24:55] Well, this is really interesting how Jesus writes his story. Cause Jesus, when he comes into his city to save his people, he comes in on a donkey, a symbol of humility. And it says here that we should have that same mindset. Look at Philippians, chapter two, verse five. This is a great passage to describe for us the humility of Jesus. Look what it says. Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who though he was in the form of God, OK? He's in an eternal relationship with God, the father and the son. Perfectly fellowshipping there for all of eternity, although he's in the form of God.

[00:25:37] He did not count equality with God, a thing to be grasped. But he emptied himself by taking the form of a servant, a slave, and being born in the likeness of men and being found in human form. He humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death, on a cross. One of the things I'm really concerned that you might go home with today is chronological snobbery.

[00:26:05] Have you ever heard that phrase before? C.S. Lewis penned that. And it's a great phrase and it's something we're all tempted to be is chronologies snobs, sky. If you want to write that down, that's a good take home right there. I am a chronologies snob or I may be afflicted with chronological snobbery. And what that means, quite simply, is that you think you're better than other people because you came after they did. Okay. Now I'm here to tell you, I think this is the natural disposition of our hearts that we think we're smarter than other people because they didn't have iPhones. You know what I mean? Some people might even think they're smarter than us because they have the Apple Watch and we don't. And therefore, they're smarter. Right. I mean, that's just kind of naturally how we think. I see a little bit of this chronological snobbery in my son, Tyler, who's 10 years old. All right. And he is a cute little boy. And I love him. But if we're gonna get honest here among our family, he has a chronological snob. That's what he is. Right. And he says, we're having this debate. Maybe you're having this debate at your house. It's raging across America. What is the right age to get a cell phone? Have you been engaged in this discussion? What is the right age to get a cell phone? And my son, he's 10 years old and he's starting to think maybe that's about the right time. And so he brings this up every once in a while to me. In fact, he told me yesterday, while we were having lunch together, that he could name a hundred kids his age who have a cell phone right now. Right. And I explained to him that I didn't even have a cell phone until I got married to his mom when I was 22 years old. And he's looking at this as a 10 year old. That seems pretty old to him. And I said and my cell phone, it flipped open and it just made phone calls and text messages. That was it. And you can see his little mind exploding into a million pieces. In fact, Tyler, when I was your age, there was no such thing as the Internet. What how can these things be? He's thinking to himself. Right. And he says to me, he looks right at me. Cute little expression on his face. And he says, well, we're just more advanced now. So he says. And then he brings up one of his favorite examples to bring up is that I didn't learn math like he did because in Common Core, we learn math a certain way where there's a number line. And you don't even know what a number line is. Right.

[00:28:41] He just thinks what I think. What you think what we're all naturally prone to think is that all those stupid people in the past.

[00:28:50] That's what we're prone to think. And look how much better we have it now. All look at Israel. I think he's come into rain. They think he's coming due to rule. They're going to overthrow the Romans.

[00:29:01] Are those Israelites? Couldn't they see he was coming to die? Couldn't they see he was coming for a greater salvation, the salvation of their souls? No, they didn't see it. And you wouldn't have seen it either, you chronological snob, right? I mean, this is overwhelming humility. Who expects the God, the king, who is someday going to reign from sea to sea?

[00:29:26] He is going to have a kingdom over the whole earth. In fact, he's been reigning over the whole earth the whole time from his throne in heaven above the world came to existence at the words of his mouth. He holds the universe. It went right where it is by the power of his words. Who would expect that level of humility for the creator to become the creation for the King to come in on a donkey?

[00:29:52] Nobody would see that coming. This is humility that blows the mind away. You're the Lord of Heaven and earth, and you're going to ride into town on a donkey. You're going to die for the creatures that you created. Are you kidding me? Like, how does that make sense?

[00:30:14] Do we all think we're somebody when really we're nobody? And the truth is that the one who is somebody became nobody for us. We think way too highly of ourselves and not nearly high enough of Jesus Christ. His humility that he would come riding in on a donkey. I mean, what is Jesus thinking when they're shouting Hosanna and laying down the palm branches and thinking he's the king? And then just a few days later, Jesus knows they're going to be shouting crucify him to kill him. What level of humility is this? So we need to elevate. We need to lift high Jesus for his humility. Let's get that down next to donkey. You need to lift Jesus high for his humility. So when you see Jesus that picture of him riding in on a donkey, what kind of a king rides in on a donkey? I mean, a conquering hero. This is called the triumphant entry. So we can understand now why Jesus came and he didn't come in all of his glory. He came in his humility. What kind of a god is humble? Who would see that coming? I don't think you would be that kind of a god. I wouldn't be that kind of a guy. What kind of a god wants to lower himself lower than his own creatures? That's the kind of God we've got. That's Jesus Christ. And Jesus Christ. I mean, he gets to command everyone.

[00:31:41] I mean, he is he is the Lord. He demands that you worship him. He commands you to repent of your sin and live for him. But what's amazing is the God who reigns in heaven above. He doesn't just command and demand. He comes down and he invites is what he does. And Jesus invites every single person. He says, come to me. This is the this is a quote from Jesus Christ, where he says, come to me, all of you who are weak and heavy laden. Hey, are you weak?

[00:32:11] Do you have burdens?

[00:32:13] Is life hard for you? Are you trying to do what is right? Are you trying to be that that good guy, that that good mom to your kids? And it's hard to do what is right day after day. It's hard to be good. Like, that's a real burden to try to be right by yourself in and of your own strength to try to do what is good or or to live up to God's standard, to be perfect as to as he is perfect, to be holy as he is or anybody else finding life to be this big burden that can weigh you down, especially if you're trying by yourself to live righteous man. What a burden you have just put on your back and years, the God of heaven and earth. And he's not a harsh taskmaster saying you better bear that burden. No, he's humbling himself and he's coming down and he's picking up your burden and he's putting the cross on his own back and he's suffering for your sin. He's dying the death that you deserve to die. He's signing up to take your place.

[00:33:09] That's the kind of God you got. And he says, hey, are you burdened here? Are you weak? He says, hey, come to me, cause I'm gentle and lowly of heart. That's how Jesus describes himself. Gentle and lowly of heart when he sees the crowded Jerusalem and he knows they don't understand it and he knows they're missing the point. He says, I wish like a mother hen. You want to talk about a Mother's Day analogy? Here's Jesus getting Mother's Day like a mother hen. I wanted to grab you like little chicks and put you under my wings. That's what Jesus says to the people who are going to kill him. To the people who shout Crucify. And he died in the worst way that humans have ever figured out. For anybody to die, crucifixion on a cross is like torture and execution all rolled into one bloody package. And he does that and he says to you today, is life too hard for you? Are you having a hard time making it by yourself? You've got a burden on your back. Hey, I'm gentle and I'm lonely. Come to me and I will give you what is he promised us. I will give you what rasti promises.

[00:34:15] My yoke. I'm not going to be this harsh tax master, I'm not going to put this big burden around your neck. My Yoki says is easy. Why? Because he bears the burden for us. Do you think way too highly of ourselves and we don't have enough humility going around and yet Jesus the one who is high and lifted up? The one who deserves all praise and is gonna get all of the glory? He shows us what humility is when he puts us as more important than himself. And it says in Philippians two five, you need to have the same mindset.

[00:34:49] And you come right in and high and mighty, expecting everybody to appreciate you, or do you come in on a donkey? How do you ride into the. The scene? Do we show our Christians today known for their humility? Is that how people would think of us? Would they think of us as accurate representations of Jesus? When he came in here in humility, when he came representing the love of God to extend the grace and mercy of God to sinners like us?

[00:35:16] Is that the impression that people are getting? Do they see we have the same mind as Jesus? I'd rather think more highly of others than myself. And we need to think higher of the humility of Jesus. But let me tell you that when Jesus comes riding in again and the second part of the prophecy in Zech, Orion nine is fulfilled. He's not going to come riding in on a donkey next time anybody know where he comes riding in on. Next time it's a white horse. Let's get that down for our second little dash here. He comes in next time on a white horse. I mean, now you're thinking a kingly picture, in fact. Turn with me to Revelation, Chapter 19, everybody. If you've never read this about Jesus, you gotta see this revelation 19, verse eleven.

[00:36:00] Man, I hope that we understand that Jesus is not a baby in a manger or a man on a cross. Not anymore. Not right now. Right now, he is a resurrected, glorified Lord of heaven and earth. Seated at the right hand of God. And he is going to enter history. Our story that he's writing, he's gonna enter again. And next time he's going to come in writing on a white horse, not a donkey, down the Mount of Olives. Know a white horse riding out of heaven. All right. And not enough people today have seen this picture of Jesus Christ in all of his unveiled glory. And this is what it's like when he comes again. This is his second coming. We could be closer to than his first coming. This is something that could happen in our lifetime. Let me read it for you. Here, Revelation, Chapter 19, verse eleven that I saw heaven opened. And we all look at this. Get this in your mind's eye. A white horse and the one sitting on it is called faithful and true. And in righteousness. Here he comes, the king and righteousness. But this time he's not bring it salvation. No, he judges and makes war.

[00:37:13] His eyes are like a flame of fire and on his head or many diadema. And he has a name written that no one knows but himself. He is clothed in a robe, dipped in blood in the name by which he is called is the word of God. And the armies of heaven arrayed in fine linen, white and pure, were following him on white horses. And from his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations. And he will rule them with a rod of iron. He will tread the wine press of the fury of the wrath of God, the Almighty, and on his robe and on his thigh. He has a name written King of Kings and Lord of Lords.

[00:37:58] And we're worried about what's going on with Trump and Hillary. No, seriously. Do you realize how ridiculous it is?

[00:38:08] How many Christians in this nation right now are afraid about who is going to be our next president? When the king of Kings and Lord of Lords is going to ride down on a white horse?

[00:38:25] Jesus has a kind of power that doesn't need to be voted on. He doesn't get his power from the people. He has the power. He's the king right now, reigning in heaven.

[00:38:39] I was really disappointed this week, I got to be honest with you, I was really disappointed because there were Christian men that I would look up to, people that I would have respected as teachers of the word of God. And when the Indiana primaries happened on Tuesday and Ted Cruz dropped out of the race and it looked like Trump is going to be the Republican nominee, there were a lot of Christians who had some very interesting things to say. It was almost like the sovereignty of God. And his masterful plan for the universe surely hasn't prepared for the anomaly that is Donald Trump. That's basically what people were saying. I mean, it's like now the world's out of control. I mean, now now. I mean, who are why? What's going to happen to America? I mean, who are we even gonna gonna vote for? I mean, the level of the lack of confidence that God has a plan and that he's on the throne and he's doing exactly what he wants to do. I mean, the weakness of the faith among American Christians was at an all time high this week, and it was embarrassing to be a Christian and to see the way that people responded.

[00:39:42] Could you describe Christian people as a people who think that they have a king who is coming back any day to reign from sea to shining sea? Have you met those Christian people? I would like to see more of them. People who live like there is a king who reigns and he's coming back any day now to make things right. And every time I hear a loud noise, I look up and I'm looking at the clouds and I'm just ready for any moment for this guy to come riding in. Because one thing I know is that Jesus wins and he's coming back and I'm ready. Have you met those kind of people? Because we need a lot more of them in America. I'll tell you right now, you want to talk about missing the point, people of Israel. Yeah, they miss the point of why Jesus came the first time the church in America is missing. The point of why Jesus is coming the second time. Big time, isn't it? I mean, if you go to the church, how long you got to go to churches around here? So they're going to start telling you, hey, everybody, watch out, Jesus is coming back to judge and make war. How many churches you've got to go to before you're going to hear that? How many times you got to go to a church before you're going to hear that?

[00:40:48] It's not OK.

[00:40:50] Are we known in the church today? Are we known for our just rock bottom humility and our intense warnings that Jesus is coming to judge? Are we living like we're Bittu between the two mountains, the two cumming's of Jesus Christ, like he came to save you. And he's coming back to judge you. And you better get saved right now because you don't want to meet the judges that what we're known for or are we known for our bad movies and our obnoxious T-shirts? I mean, what are Christians known for? Huh? We're not known for what we should be known for. We're not really representing Jesus for who he really is, riding down on a white horse. And look who's coming behind him. Did you notice this? I mean, can we once and for all throw away the chubby cherubs and the harps and let's get an army on white horses with swords because that's who's up and haven't getting ready right now.

[00:41:39] One world government. This is what it's gonna look like. Jesus Christ. Raining from the river to the ends of the earth. And if you're not on his side, he will wipe you out. Have a nice day. That's our message. That's our message.

[00:41:57] We used to understand this. We used to say you need to turn. Or you're going to what? And here's the thing. A lot of people started saying this. And they started saying it on the street corners. And they started shouting it. And they did it with No. Of the first coming with no humility.

[00:42:12] They did it with no love. And they rubbed people the wrong way. They came in way over the top.

[00:42:17] They acted like you're going to be judged. But I'm not. They acted like somehow we were separated from other people, like we're better than other people. And so the street preaching crowd, that crew, the Turner burn mentality. See, now it's become a caricature in our culture. Now it's like these unloving, harsh judgment. We think we're better than you people and we're coming after you. And so now nobody wants to be attached to that stigma of somebody who's going to tell you that judgment is coming. Like, who wants to be that bad guy that Turner burned? Crazy sign guy. Nobody wants to be him. And so it's like we stop saying Turner burn when that's our message. Like he's coming on a white horse and he's got a sword and the robe is dipped in blood and there's going to be a whole lot of blood and it's not going to be his this time.

[00:43:02] Like, that's the message.

[00:43:04] Jesus is coming back and it's rated R, it's graphic. It's violent. That's the message of revelation. Who?

[00:43:10] Who are we telling? Who are we warning? Hey, you better flee from the wrath to come. Hey, it's not OK for you to keep live in the way that you're living. See who is saying that, too? And we're coming alongside of him. We're not just saying it from up on top and we're looking down at that. No, we're right there with them. We're saying, hey, I get it banned. I'm a sinner. I was born into sin. I get it now. I get what you're doing with your lifestyle. And if Jesus hadn't saved me, if I didn't understand why he came the first time to die for my sins and to rise again, man, I would be right there with you the rest of America. I'll be right there with you. I mean, do we all understand how a democratic system works? OK. Why is Trump winning stuff? Why is Hillary winning stuff? Is that because of them? It's because people are voting for them.

[00:44:01] We are reaping what we sow here in America. We are getting what we deserve. This is what our fellow Americans want to happen. And if you think you're better than the.

[00:44:14] You're wrong. There, but for the grace of God, go I. These are fellow Americans.

[00:44:25] And we need to come alongside of them and we need to, in humility, say, hey, I understand what you're thinking. I used to think that same way. But then I understood why Jesus came.

[00:44:37] And he came to save me from my sense, he came to make me a new person, and he's going to come back and he's going to make everything right.

[00:44:46] And he's going to rain. And let me just tell you, friend, if you're not on Jesus his side when he comes back, it's going to be terrible. The worst place to be you want to talk about the wrong side of history. Be against Jesus Christ when he comes back. Don't be one of his worshipers.

[00:45:05] Don't Balvenie to him. Don't confess him as your Lord. Keep live in the way that you think you should live. Vote for yourself and don't give Jesus the authority he should have as Lord of your life. And you tell me how that works out for you.

[00:45:19] That's come. And it's terrible.

[00:45:22] And so we need to be a turn or burn church here at CompassHB, HB turn or burn with a smile. Hey, Huntington Beach, Jesus is coming to judge and he's going to wipe everybody out. Here's some free ice cream. I mean, that's who we are. OK. What we need right now in the church is not a bunch of feel good services. What we need is some minor profits. That's what we need right now in the church. You know, these people were they were gifts of love that God sent to his people to warn them, hey, if you don't stop, judgment is coming. If you don't turn from your sin, judgment is coming in. Here's what judgment looks like. A white horse riding out of heaven named Jesus Christ. King of Kings. Lord of Lords. Notice it doesn't even say president of presidents because in the history of the world, president is kind of a weak kind of a ruler. You have to get your power from the people. How about getting it from birth? How about just having the right to the power? How about it's just inherent in who you are? That's Jesus Christ doesn't need your approval. He's comin back. No votes required. Jesus is going to be king.

[00:46:31] That's the future history of America. And every other nation. He's going to rain Esaw.

[00:46:37] So why are we so worried? Why are we so freaked out about what men are doing when I go into Starbucks? Just here's a glimpse into my brain when I go into Starbucks. And The New York Times has their latest headline about Trump or Hillary and how the country is spiraling out of control. I just want to get my Sharpie out and cross it out and say the king is coming soon. That's the headline. It should be the headline every day.

[00:47:01] I mean, this whole Trump and Hillary thing is not as significant as the fact that the king of Kings and Lord of Lords is coming to judge not just America, but the entire world, from sea to shining sea.

[00:47:16] And you better make sure you're on the side of King Jesus. You better make sure that you've bowed the knee. And let me just tell you, you will bow out your knee to Jesus Christ. You will submit to him as Lord.

[00:47:29] Right now, he's inviting you gently with humility. Later, everybody's gone about every single living thing. Go to Philippians chapter to see how the story ends. Yes, he came in humility. Yes, he came on a donkey and he came to die for us.

[00:47:52] And personally, if I had to pick which one I prefer, you know, the first coming of Jesus or the second coming of Jesus, the first coming sounds a lot nicer to me. I don't know how you guys feel about it, but as a sinner, this judgment stuff kind of concerns me a little bit. Right. I mean, I like the idea of it coming in humility. I love the fact that he died for me. But I don't know Jesus if I can't acknowledge that he's also coming to judge. And it says because Jesus was obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross Philippians to nine. Therefore, God is highly exalted here. OK. Here's what God thinks about it.

[00:48:28] He's lifted him up and bestowed on him the name that is above every name so that the name of Jesus, every knee should bar. Check out where these knees are in heaven. Knees are gonna to bow on earth where he establishes his kingdom. Needs are gone about. And under the earth. What are we referring to there? Talking about the place of the dead. Talking about where people who don't believe in Jesus go when they die.

[00:48:50] Even there, they're going about the knee and every tongue is going to confess that Jesus Christ is. What does it say there?

[00:48:59] He's the boss. He's the master.

[00:49:02] He is the one who calls the shots. And that will be to the glory of God, the father. So you need to elevate your view of Jesus mighty power. That's our point, along with the white horse here. And one of the things that is a distinctive here at our church that we have on the back of our bulletin that we want to do is we want to have a high view of Jesus Christ. We love him in his humility. We love the fact that he would humble himself to die for centers like us, to give us the grace of God, to give us mercy. So we don't get judged, but we get salvation instead. We praise him for that. But we will also acknowledge here at this church that Jesus Christ is Lord, that he is coming back to judge, that he will reign. And if you don't like it, you're going to have to deal with it anyway because you will battle the need one place or another to Jesus Christ. Anybody want to say amen to that? OK, so how are we going to spread the word?

[00:49:56] How are we going to be the modern day prophets preparing for the coming of Jesus Christ? Because in Sunday the New Testament will be another Old Testament, my friends. OK. Some day when Jesus comes back saying it's going to usher in a whole new era, we believe that he's going to reign on Earth, a real kingdom for a thousand years.

[00:50:17] That's what I believe that the Bible says. And when that happens, man, are we going to be foolish people who didn't understand what was going on and missed the point of our life? Or are we gonna be people who can represent the humility and the power of Jesus that he loves you and wants to save you?

[00:50:36] But make no mistake, he is coming to judge you. And you got to decide what you're gonna do with Jesus today. Now in the day of Salvation. Now, while there's time, because there's coming a day where it's gonna be too late to call on him for mercy, so cry out for it.

[00:50:52] Now, are we going to be those prophets?

[00:50:55] Because it's really sad when Jesus talks about his coming back. When you see Jesus when he was here the first time, he gives little glimpses, little hints that he knows about the second time. Sometimes he just preaches on it, but sometimes he just drops little lines. Like one thing he says in Matthew 24 twelve is he says, as lawlessness increases, as sin increases, the love of many will grow. What does he say?

[00:51:20] Oh, it's going to grow cold.

[00:51:22] Man, what I saw in response to the current political scene here in America this week from many Christians was some cold, cold love, didn't even look like love at all, just looked like we're better than you and haha America and you're going to get what you what you deserve. I hope nobody here is thinking that. I hope that's not going to be our tone here at this church. I hope that again. It was great to have a group of people here on the National Day of Prayer interceding for our country and confessing America's sins as our sins.

[00:51:57] I hope that's how we will think about that.

[00:52:00] We will that we will love people, that our love will not grow cold. But look at Luke, chapter 18, verse eight. I've mentioned this before, but just turn there with me because I want you to see this. This verse. And it's as something that Jesus says. That to me is super sad. It's heartbreaking. It gives you a glimpse. What must it be like to be Jesus when you're so misunderstood by even your own disciples, not to mention your enemies, not to mention the crowd, but even your own disciples don't fully understand what's going on. Even people go into church right now in America. Do they really even know who Jesus is, not just in his first coming, but in his second coming as King and Jesus? You get a sense of how misunderstood he is by man and how lonely maybe he feels when he says this at the end of Luke 18, verse eight. It's a story he tells to encourage us to keep on praying and to not lose heart. Something Christians aren't exactly known for these days is there being prayer warriors, their persistence in prayer, praying for hours at a time, something we're not really known for these days. And he's encouraging us to keep on praying.

[00:53:04] And he says this. Nevertheless, Luke, at the end, Diversey Nevertheless, when the son of man comes and the son of Man is a title that Jesus like to use for himself. And Daniel, 714, it talks about, you'll see the son of man coming on the clouds like this is the one who's gonna come on the clouds and every eye is going to see him. The whole world is going to see him coming on the clouds.

[00:53:25] And it says the whole world will mourn when they see him coming because they will know they're about to be judged.

[00:53:32] And he says, When I come in all of my glory on the day of judgment, when the son of man really comes at the end. And now there's been so many prophecies, so many warnings when I really come at the end. He says when the son of man comes, will he find faith on earth? Will there even be anybody still believing in me? Well, I still even have any disciples really out there when I come to judge at the end, even though it's been so prophesied and so well documented. And anybody who reads the Bible, even the Old Testament, you know, the king is coming and he's going to reign.

[00:54:09] When the king actually comes, will there be anybody there? To put up on bridges, you see Jesus here, see his heart. He wants to know, will you believe in me to the end? That's what he's asking.

[00:54:23] Are you going to be one of the few who still have faith that a king is coming when the world seems out of control? Will you be one of the few who will trust Jesus as America loses their mind? Will you say no? I know he's coming. My king is coming and I say Hosanna. I say Jesus come and save us. Now I want to be one of the people. And I hope you do too. I want to be one of the people, one of the few that he's going to find. Who have faith on Earth when he comes. Anybody want to say amen to that? I'm faith till my end. I don't know if I'm going to be alive when he comes back, but I'm going to have faith till my end. I want to be one of the few. I want to be here for Jesus believing in him. I want to make sure I don't miss the point of why Jesus is coming back. And I pray that you won't miss the point either. Guy, we come to you and we pray that you will make it clear to us your sovereign plan that we can see through the prophets, that we can see through Jesus riding in on a donkey. And God, we praise you for sending your son in such humility and with such love to come and to save us from our sins. God, I pray that everybody here would know. And then everyone who calls himself a Christian in our nation would know that Jesus is coming back. And when he comes back, he's riding on a white horse and he's going to judge and make war. And I pray that that will be okay with us. God, I pray that we will submit ourselves to the fact that Jesus is the king of kings and the Lord of Lords, and let that give us great confidence right now in America that no matter what may seem to happen in our nation, we know the one who is going to rule the nations. And we are confident that his return is coming and that he is coming soon. God. And so I pray that you would make us here at this church, modern day prophets, that we would be like Zekeria, that we could represent both the humility of Jesus, that he's willing to take the heavy load of sin and bear it for us, but also the judgment of Jesus that he's going to come back and he will make things right and let us hold high. That name of Jesus, just as you do, and let many people here in Huntington Beach and all around us, our friends, our family members are coworkers, our neighbors. Let the people who know was know who Jesus really is because we carry his name like a banner and we want everybody to know that Jesus loves you and you better flee from his wrath before he calms God. Make us those people here at CompassHB Bible Church in Huntington Beach use us to exalt the name of Jesus Christ, just like you have got. We pray this in Jesus name aimer.