West Covington Baptist Church

Luke 19:28-40

One of the most familiar pictures on American TV screens is that of the president of the US walking across the South Lawn of the White House to board Marine One, his white topped VH-3D helicopter, for the quick trip out to Andrews Air Force Base to rendezvous with Air Force One, the flying White House. On board Air Force One, the president and his staff travel with all possible security precautions in place. The VC-25A, which shares the airframe of a Boeing 747 but little else, takes off with a quarter of a million pounds of thrust generated by 8 engines, which enable the plane to get airborne quickly when security concerns require it. The plane has a maximum speed of 630 knots-just 130 knots short of the speed of sound-and can travel 6800 miles without refueling. Air Force One also contains multiple electronic and material countermeasures to ward off an aerial attack. It doesn’t have the escape pod or parachutes imagined in the Harrison Ford movie. The jet’s huge slipstream would make those kinds of measures useless.

When Air Force One rolls to a stop on the tarmac at the local airport or airbase, there is no mistaking the famous blue paint scheme, the presidential seal and the distinctive UNITED STATES OF AMERICA lettering on the fuselage. Although the planes have changed, the look is nearly the same as it was when Jacqueline Kennedy had the scheme painted on the original Air Force One in the 1960’s. For five decades the image of an America president emerging from that famous plane has been a fixture in world events.

Today we look at the coming of the King of Kings into Jerusalem. He is not coming in a big jet with a lot of pomp and circumstance, his mode of transport is a mild mannered donkey, if you please Donkey One, instead of Air Force One.

I. There is a purpose for this trip. He came into Jerusalem for a reason. It was not a pleasure trip that day.

Rarely do our presidents take trips just for a quick outing. The planning that goes into a trip by the president is enormously detailed. It starts months in advance if possible. The Secret Service starts working with local law enforcement to get route laid out and security fixed. It takes time to get this set up. The president really can’t just take a day trip on the spur of the moment. He almost always has a real purpose for his trip. We do know that some unannounced trips are made, such as Bush’s trip to Iraq for Thanksgiving in 2003.

Jesus had a purpose for his trip into Jerusalem. He was not going into the city for a summit meeting with the Pharisees. They weren’t going to sit down for a powwow. Jesus was not coming into Jerusalem for a speech or a press conference. He wasn’t going to meet the press. There was no town hall meeting on the agenda.

Jesus came into Jerusalem unannounced but with purpose. Luke 18:31 records Jesus saying I have to go and die as the Scripture says. But, he promised that he would rise. His disciples, his “cabinet” if you please, don’t understand the purpose. He had a reason to go to Jerusalem.

II. Jesus uses an unusual means of royal transport. It carried a far more powerful message.

Emperors in the day would always enter a city with great pomp and circumstance. Elite troops would lead the way. The Emperor would be on a large warhorse or in an iron chariot. People would know that he was coming. And they would definitely know that he was the king. He was the one that they needed to honor if not worship.

Here the King of Kings comes into Jerusalem on a donkey. He does not have an army just a few men who have followed him. The donkey on which he rode was not even full grown. It was just a colt. Here the King of Kings comes in on four spindly legs, not the powerful hooves of a warhorse, or the mighty thrust of the engines of Air Force One.

But, the mode of transport was very important. It carried the strong Messianic claims of Jesus’  ministry. It echoes the message of Zechariah 9:9. Instead of a display of power, this king comes humbly riding on donkey. The religious elite certainly understood what Jesus was doing by arriving in the city this way, unannounced and unauthorized. Rather than joining the cheering supporters, they stage a protest. Eventually they will realize that this would be king’s security detail would be pretty weak, and they would make sure Jesus left the city on their terms, wanting him to stagger, not swagger carrying a symbol of defeat and death.

III. Now is the time to assess the preparation of our hearts for the coming king. His purpose reaches out to us.

We need to prepare not in the old sense of the coming Messiah, but in the eschatological sense of the return of the king. Are you ready to meet the king? This is by far the most important question we have to answer during this Easter season. We are called to be prepared for the coming king. We need to be ready for his return. We have no clue when that will be, but he will return. And when he returns it will be with a purpose. It will be to judge the living and the dead.

How will we welcome the coming king? How are you going to welcome him? Will it be with open arms and joy because he is your Lord and Savior? Or will it be in fear and trembling because eternal damnation waits? The choice is yours.

There’s an old story of how on one of the pope’s visits to America. His motorcade ran into traffic coming from the airport. His limousine got separated from its escort, and the driver got lost. The pope told the driver to pull over. It had been years since he had driven a car, but they were lost anyway so what could it hurt? The pope pulled out onto the expressway and it felt so good to be driving again he forgot about the speedometer. Naturally he got pulled over. The officer came to the window, saw the pope grinning sheepishly. The officer turned on his heel and strode quickly back to the patrol car.

“I don’t know what we oughta do. That car up there belongs to someone big.” “Yeah,” said his partner. “Who is it? The Mayor?” “Bigger.” “Governor.” “Even bigger.”

“The President?” “No, this guy is even bigger than that.” “Who can be bigger than the president?” “I don’t know,” said the first officer, “but he has the pope for a driver.”

The king is coming. He may be quiet, he may be noisy. But, he is coming. He won’t need the pope to drive for him. He is not going to be riding on a donkey colt this time. He won’t even be riding in Air Force One. He will be coming on the clouds. Are you ready for the coming of the king?

John 13:31-35

Let’s re-imagine the days leading up to the death of Jesus. Let’s suggest just for a moment that Jesus did not intend to die-at least not yet.
What if, on this night, rather than gathering together his disciple to serve them and to say “goodbye,” Jesus had gathered them together to devise a plan and plot a route to escape to safety. Where could Jesus go without being killed for saying things like “Whoever has seen me has seen the Father.” Or “I and the Father are one.” Where could Jesus and his friends go while still telling people that he was the Savior and find a safe haven.
Some places are safer than others, not just for Jesus but for all of us. Some time ago University of South Carolina scientists gathered decades
of death related data to determine where people were most at risk of falling victim to an unforeseen trip to the afterlife. Their study didn’t track the likelihood of death by crucifixion. Rather the group created a county by county map of the US, measuring the risk of hazard-related deaths due to natural events such as floods earthquakes, or extreme weather. Some dubbed it the “Death Map.” For example, hazard mortality is most prominent in the South where scorching heat, hurricanes, tornadoes, and flooding along the Gulf Coast are a reality. Surprisingly, according to the research we should all consider moving to Southern California in order to avoid an untimely demise. Well, back to Jesus. Where should he go to hide out and avoid the persecution? Where would Jesus be least likely to die for doing his thing?

I. The first suggestion of a safe place could be Nazareth. Surely his hometown would be a safe place.

But, going home can be difficult. Just ask the small-town boy who has made it as a big-city lawyer or the little girl who has gone to college, earned a degree and has now seen as much of the world as Mom and Dad. When Dr. Smith heads home to New Hampshire, she is still little Sarah to some and when the father of five visits his folks back in Iowa, to Mom and Dad he’s just one of the boys. Many times when we go home, people around us struggle to see just who we’ve become because they are comfortable with who we used to be.
Jesus fought this. He had been home and proclaimed his role. But, his home town did not respond favorably. He was not received at all with love and acceptance. In fact, they took him out to the cliff to kill him.
Like many folks today who encounter Jesus, the folks in Nazareth didn’t want to deal with his claims that “this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.” They wanted the Jesus who was just a good boy all grown up; a good man who made his folks proud. Not a “miracle-working” Jesus or a “one-and-only Messiah” Jesus, but a hometown boy who lived an honorable life. That’s it. Anything else is uncomfortable. So that means that Nazareth would not be a safe place for Jesus.

II. Well, if Nazareth would not be safe, maybe Jesus could go to Caesarea Philippi and hide out.

CP was a place where worship of anything, done in any manner was fair game. There were no limits. Jesus surely would have been safe there. He would have been seen as just another crazy cult leader among many. He really could have blended into the culture and disappeared from danger.  But, I don’t know if you have noticed, those tolerant people who embrace the “all-roads-lead-to-the-same-God” mindset, and whose mantra is the virtue of tolerance, are often the same people who are extremely intolerant of those who claim exclusivity. And Christianity is indeed a very exclusive. Jesus himself said, “I am the way, the truth and the life, and no one comes to the Father but by me.” As a general rule people who have found a god they enjoy don’t like someone coming around and telling them they have it all wrong. This means Jesus would have had to change his message to some sort of “all kind of paths”message.
Caeserea-Philippi was not a safe place.

III. The truth is nowhere was safe for Jesus. Wherever he went he would face nothing but hostility.

Regardless of where he would go on a map, conflict with people who would refuse to confess him as Christ is inevitable. Then and now, there are those who want a human Jesus, not a divine Jesus. There are those who would rather have a Jesus made in their own image, a Jesus who allows them to keep worshipping their own gods. There are those who want a Jesus who’s just a good teacher of truth and not the ultimate embodiment of it.
There will always be those who’d rather kill Jesus and stay comfortable than bow to him and be transformed.
Jesus refused to take the safe way. This meant hiding out in some hazard free zone was out of the question. He went to the heart of the opposition Jerusalem.
It was there, on the cross, where the conflict between who Jesus claimed to be and who the world wanted him to be came to a head. It was there, as the world killed a man people thought was a lunatic and a liar, that Jesus initiated his reign as Lord, shedding blood for their sin and procuring their future in the Father’s family. And when those who killed him were confident they had proven him wrong, Jesus would quietly but confidently come back, assuring the world everything he had said was true.
We too must realize to stand for Christ means that there is no safe zone. We understand that truly presenting the gospel will very often find opposition. Many people don’t find an exclusive gospel appealing even in our day today. We live among a lot of CP people who want everything their own way. They want to determine what way they will use to get to heaven. But, the gospel is just as exclusive today as it was then. This is not a popular message. We will suffer opposition. And we must go into the heart of opposition. We must go to our Jerusalem. Jesus refused to take the safe way. We must not take it either.

In the forest fire, there is always one place where the fire cannot reach. It is the place where the fire has already burned itself out. Calvary is the place where the fire of God’s judgment against sin burned itself out completely. It is only there we are safe. We live in a world where we must not dwell in the safety of the cross, but must move into our Jerusalem.

Luke 15:1-2, 11-24

It used to be that when we did something stupid, such as walking into an apparently invisible plate-glass door or fall down the stairs, or back the car out of the garage while the door was still down, we would try and keep that to ourselves. No sense letting the neighbors know we are dopes, after all. But, with the advent of the Internet and the popularity of shows such America’s Funniest Home Videos people are now beginning to look at their gaffes as things to share with the whole world. We have bought into Andy Warhol’s “15 minutes of fame” idea, even if that fame comes from a 15 second clip on a video and shows us just before we head to the emergency room.

But, while most video-posting sites, such as You-Tube, carry a wide variety of content, there is one site that is totally devoted to the imperfect people in the world. It is called the “Fail Blog.” Think of it as a cross between AFV, Jay Leno’s “headlines” andCandid Camera all rolled into one. People post their own pictures and videos or upload goofy signs or sights they have seen for everyone else to view and comment on. You will see everything from a guy getting de-panted by a bull to sports mascots with big furry heads brawling on a football field. Over each picture or video, the site stamps the word “fail” in big bold letters. Kinda gives a new meaning to the concept of the “boob tube.”

Now to think that we humans are likely to wind up on the “Fail Blog” is not a surprise. I don’t understand why people would put some of the stuff out there that they do, but they do. It would be a surprise to think that God would show up on the “Fail Blog.” But, could it be that God indeed did flunk? Did he fail as our heavenly father? Let us take a look and see.

I. The Pharisees and scribes surely would have called the father in this familiar parable a failure. He really screwed up in several key areas.

His first failure is that he gives the inheritance to the son. What an upstart this son is. How dare he make such a demand? A good father honestly would have squashed such rebellion. The son was indeed rebelling within the family structure. A good father in the minds of the Jewish leaders would have crushed him quickly.

The father had been worse than insulted. The son was saying more than just “You are a lousy dad, and I want out.” He was telling his father that he considered him as good as dead. He was saying “I don’t care if your body is breathing, you are dead to me.” How often we do this to other people? We cut them off and treat them as if they are dead, even though their bodies are breathing.

What this son needed was a trip to the woodshed. He needed to be taken down a notch or two. My dad would have said, “He needed to be knocked off his high horse.”  He did not need the money but discipline. But the father gave him the money. That was his first failure.

His second failure was to run to this disgrace of a son. The Pharisees would be thinking, “How dare this boy even show his face at home again?”

He had dishonored the name of the family. He had disgraced the father. And then for the father to run to him. It was considered the height of indignity for a man to run anywhere, for anything, especially for a family

patriarch. And here this father is running out to the one who had disgraced him. He should have just ignored him, or at least made him walk all the way. But, the father ran to the son.

The third failure and maybe the biggest failure of the father was to forgive this bum of a son. He restores this disgraceful, pig smelling son to full status as a son. He gave him no rebuke, no lecture. He did not give his son justice. He gave him grace. That indeed was a real failure by the father. He should have punished that rebellious son. Yeah this father belongs on “Fail Blog.”

II. Well, if all that is true, then the Pharisees would say that God has failed. He indeed belongs on “Fail Blog.”

He too has provided for rebellious children. Every person on earth has sunshine and rain. His blessings fall on the just and the unjust. He is giving to everyone. He doesn’t discriminate. He loves all of his creation. Those who most vehemently oppose him are loved and given blessings by God. Those who are most rebellious are provided for along with the faithful. I know it doesn’t make sense. These people need a trip to the woodshed spiritually speaking. But God loves and provides for them. Yeah that is real failure.

His second failure is that he took the first step to restore relationship with all the rebellious people. He didn’t wait until we came looking for him. He didn’t wait until we begged him for salvation. He didn’t make us struggle to find him. Through Jesus God took the first step to open the door to relationship. He did not wait for us to beg him, for us to find him in a spiritual game of hide and seek. He game to us to provide eternal life. He took the first step to restore relationships

The final failure is that God offers forgiveness. We deserve punishment. We deserve hell along with Satan and his demons. But, to those who return to him, he offers love, not rebuke, grace not justice. Indeed the Pharisees would see God as belonging on “Fail Blog.”

But, if that is failure by God, I for one am glad he failed. I’m glad he has given me grace and not justice. I am glad that he has loved me and not taken me to the woodshed. I deserve the woodshed. I deserve hell, but God has forgiven me and given me promise of heaven. I am glad that he did so, even if it means he failed.

Philip Yancey in his book, What’s So Amazing about Grace? tells the story about a conference on comparative religions held in Britain several decades ago. A group of theologians and other religious intellectuals were discussing whether any single belief was totally unique to Christianity. Different possibilities were put forth. Perhaps the Incarnation? No, other religions had stories of gods becoming human in form. Resurrection? No, other religions had stories of people returning for the dead. The debate continued for sometime time, when C.S. Lewis wandered into the room. When he learned what the discussion was about, he said, “Oh that’s easy. It’s grace.” And indeed that is the truth. The concept that God’s love comes to us free of charge, with no strings attached, opposes every bit of human logic. The Buddhists have the eightfold path to enlightenment, the Hindus have the concept of Karma, the Jews seek to adhere to the Torah and the Muslims have their code of law from the Koran. Each religion has its own way for people to earn divine approval. Only Christianity dares to declare God’s love unconditional-grace.

Did God Flunk? I would say unequivocally NO! But, only as we understand the message of grace can we see that. And only as we accept his grace can we have eternal life.

I Corinthians 10:1-13

Soon the West may face a massive shortage of skilled laborers. That is what makes the WorldSkills Competition so interesting. It is a competition, incidentally, in which the US mustered only two silver medals last year. WorldSkills? It’s basically blue-collar Olympics. In Calgary, 2009 the US medaled only in Welding and Auto repair. We seemed to be a lock in sheet metal fabrication but Chinese Taipei really brought it in.

WorldSkills 2011 is in London and our Pastry Cook team is vowing to bake up a gold. This is no joke. The biannual trade-athalon is actually a serious international showcase of skills on which our societies and civilizations depend.

In 1946, skilled laborers were in demand in Spain, but the labor pool was shallow. Jose Antonio Elola Olaso led a campaign convincing students and their parents, teachers and prospective employers that the path toward future opportunity ran through the trades. He created a skill competition featuring 4000 Spanish trade apprentices

That first even has now evolved into the international WorldSkills Competition held every two years Participating nations send their best and brightest 17-22 year olds to compete in a litany of “who-knew-that-was a sport?” event.

It is like rolling shows from the Food Network, DIY Network, Lifetime and Discovery Channel all into one weeklong competition.

Imagine the Hair Styling competition and yes it exists.

“Okay contestants. You have 20 minutes to accomplish the following: Give a tantrumming toddler a haircut, recommend product to the soccer mom with split ends, perm Granma for bingo night and buzz-cut this platoon of soldiers.”

As Christians we don’t have to face our skills competition, thank goodness. But, just like the competitors in these events we have to develop some necessary skills for life. Today I want us to look at one of them, the overcoming of temptation.

I. Temptation is totally unoriginal. There is really nothing new under the sun in the area of temptation. The same stuff Israel faced is ours today.

Satan is boringly predictable in trying to make us fall into sin. There is nothing new in the history of temptations. He uses the same old stuff that he has used from the beginning of time. John sums this fact up in his letter. He says that the temptations of life are desires of the flesh, desires of the eyes and pride in our riches.

These are the same ones that he has used from the beginning of time. Adam fell to the desires of his eyes. David fell to the desires of the flesh. Satan attacked Jesus with all three.

The problem is that although these are not new attacks, they work. And the saying is “If it ain’t broke don’t fix it.” We fall to all of these temptations, new or not.

II. The problem for us is not that we are tempted, but that we choose to sin. The temptations are the same but we choose to yield to those temptations. We choose sin.

The offer of sin and the acceptance of the sin are two different things. It is not a sin to be tempted. But choosing sin is different.

There is a difference in feeling hungry (temptation) and eating the forbidden fruit (sin.) Difference between yawning (temptation) and sleeping (sin.) It is different to be called by the telemarketer (temptation) and ordering the item (sin.)

We choose to say yes and choose to yield to the temptation. Sin is never forced on us. We make the choice to sin. We decide to accept the offer of sin. We choose to eat, buy etc. In the Chronicles of Narnia Edmund is offered Turkish Delights by the White Witch if he will bring the other three members of his family to her. He could have said no, but he chose to yield and gave them away.

We decide to accept the offer of sin.

III. So we need to develop that skill of temptation resistance. We are told of ways throughout Scripture to overcome.

First we are told that we are not alone. Paul tells us that in the middle of temptation God is with us. He is there in the battle. He is not sitting back in his recliner with the remote clicking from one person to the next to see how we are doing. He doesn’t get bored with our channel and move on to someone else. He meets temptation with us, fighting alongside of us. We don’t face temptation by ourselves

God also limits our temptation. Many people have used this verse to say that God will not put more suffering on us than we can bear, but that is not Paul’s meaning. Paul is saying that with God we can overcome temptation, nothing other than that. God knows what we can endure. He understands our limits. There is never a no-win situation. There is always a way to say “no”. Sin is always a choice. That means the “devil made me do it” is garbage theology. Sure, he tempts you. But he can’t tempt you so much that you are “made” to sin. It is always a choice.

And God provides the way to resist. That gut check of conviction reminding us of what is right and wrong. Natural consequences to be avoided. Memory of the pain of our past failures. Accountability through seeking help. Memorized
Scripture to combat temptation.  Prayer.  These are all ways God have given to us to overcome temptation. We don’t have to sin.

Seldom are any of us tempted by the blatantly bad things of this world. No it’s those evil things that masquerade as good that cause us the most difficulty. Philip Dormer Stanhope, Fourth Earl of Chesterfield, wrote back in the 1700’s, “Vice, in its true light is so deformed that it shocks us at first sight and would hardly ever seduce us, if it did not at first wear the mask of some virtue. That process by which we turn vice into virtue in our mind is called rationalization. “I’m not committing adultery; I’m just finding the love I need.” “I’m not acting unethically when I cheat my customers; I’m just following the laws of the marketplace.” And on we can go.

We need the skill of resisting temptation. It is not one of the WorldSkills competitions, but in the battle of spiritual war. We need it.

Luke 2:8-14

John 16:33

Luke 2:8-14

John 3:16-18

Matthew 1:18-23

Romans 15:13

We have now entered the time of year that every child wishes would happen every month, the time we celebrate Christmas. Children get excited at the coming of this season and often we might feel a bit of a charge ourselves as we experience their amazement. I have often said that Christmas is truly for the children. By this I have meant that the gifts and those trappings are enjoyed far more by the children than most adults. The chores we adults go through to provide for them are often the things that rob us from the real meaning ourselves. We have a difficult time during this season finding a sense of what Christmas is all about. Over the next few weeks I want to draw our attention to aspect of the meaning of Christmas. Today, I want us to examine the impact Christmas has on the hope of the world.

We hope the weather will be good for our family vacation. We hope that our favorite team will win the Super Bowl. We hope that we get just what we want for Christmas. The reality is that life often doesn’t turn out like we want it too. When life is disappointing, our optimism is replaced with feelings of discouragement, despair and hopelessness. It was into just this kind of world that Jesus came. And He brought real hope.

I. The world is growing weary. So many people are reaching a point when they have had all they can take. They are just so tired of all the stuff that is taking place in society today.

I believe that people are really growing weary of all the immorality. I know that we are so aware of the stuff that fills our media today. The producers of this stuff are convinced that they know what all the people want to have coming into their homes. So our TV programs are filled with double entendre and other suggestive material. Things that our parents would never have let us see are the mainstay today. But, people are beginning to grow tired of it. It is building slowly, but it is happening. The success of more family friendly movies reflects some of this tiredness. Immorality will not be eliminated permanently, but people are getting tired.

People are getting weary of all the shootings. As I watch the news of the killings that happen constantly in Cincinnati, I see more people calling out for an end to them. They see life being destroyed and feel it has to end. We see people killing more and more people, even kids killing kids. We are at a time when people are weary.

People are weary of life in general. They are struggling with all the things that are thrown at them. Unemployment, recession, and all that comes with the falling society drags us down into a feeling of hopelessness.

II. The world is seeking for that sense of hope. People want to be able to live with the ability to look forward positively

A weary world soon becomes filled with hopelessness. Hopelessness the despair you fell when you have abandoned hope of comfort and success. It is that feeling that conditions will never improve. There are statements like “Things will never get better.” “I will never be happy again.” “I will never get over what happened.” “There is no point in trying anymore.” “Everything is going downhill.”

The problem is that people search for hope in all the wrong places. They are looking for hope in some relationships. They search for hope in possessions and stuff. They search for hope in religion in general. But, they don’t find real hope. They don’t find any way to get through their difficult times.

III. The reason they don’t find a way to get through the difficult times is that true hope can be found only in Jesus Christ. The message of Christmas is that in Jesus hope has come.

Max Lucado says, “hope is not what you’d expect; it is what you would never dream. It is a wild improbable tale with a pinch-me-I is dreaming ending. Hope is not a granted wish or a favor performed. No it is a dependence on a God who loves to surprise us out of our socks and be there in the flesh to see our reaction.” We have a genuine love that leads us to depend on the one who can lead through the tough times. Maybe hope isn’t something we do, but something we receive, like grace. If faith is what we give to God and hope is what he gives to us, then we have that dynamic of relationship. Hebrews 11:1 tells us that “Faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.” Note the paradox; try applying assurance to something that your five senses cannot detect. It’s a challenge. The plus side is that hope, through Christ, is available to you no matter what you see, hear or feel. It is above your circumstances.

That is why Paul prays that the hope of God will fill us so that we abound in that hope.

As Vice President, George Bush represented the US at the funeral of former Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev. Bush was deeply moved by a silent protest carried out by Brezhnev’s widow. She stood emotionless by the coffin until seconds before it was closed. Then just as the soldiers touched the lid, Brezhnev’s wife performed an act of great courage and hope a gesture that must surely rank as one of the most profound acts of civil disobedience ever committed. She reached down and made the sign of the cross on her husband’s chest. There in the citadel of secular, atheistic power, the wife of the man who had run it all hoped that her husband was wrong. She hoped that there was another life, and that that life was best represented by Jesus who died on the cross and that the same Jesus might yet have mercy on her husband.

This is the message of Christmas. Jesus came into a world filled with hopelessness and brought hope. That hope is available to you as well as to all people. Have you taken hold on the hope of Christ?