The Three Top Tips Toward Triumphant Debt Settlement Programs

1) Slow And Steady Wins The Race

Easy to get swept up in the excitement of settlement reduction, the momentum especially heightened among those borrowers formerly suffocating midst credit card debts bills and previously unawares that the debt settlement programs even existed, but you will need to keep a steady hand at the till when designing the budgetary predictions that shall, after all, be of paramount relevance to the culmination of any settlement plan. To a degree, the counselor working with your family should help point out recurring snags that most borrowers face – forgetting about the substantial jumps in utility payments around the colder seasons, for example – but the final responsibility will inevitably rest with the head of household most familiar with all of the hindrances toward consistent payments that tend to come up.

2) Make Certain You're The Only Client

It's become fairly well known that Consumer Credit Counseling companies regularly, as almost a tenet of their business plan, request fees from not only the debtors asking for help with their credit card bills but also the lenders themselves during the organization of a plan for compensation. Now that debt settlement programs have become increasingly viable (and have begun to slowly but surely eat away at the Consumer Credit Counseling companies' share of the debt relief market), some of the newer firms have begun to do the same. As you should automatically suspect, whenever the companies have two different masters, they'll have rather less motivation to craft the best possible settlement arrangement for the borrowers. Accordingly, you should be sure to force the issue during the initial consultation, and don't let the counselors weasel out of the question. The representatives of any forthright and upstanding debt settlement program will be more than happy to declare that their borrower clients would be the only source of corporate funding.

3) Remember That Debt Settlement Programs Are Only A Band-Aid

Even if you manage to qualify for one of the debt settlement programs – harder than one might think under the ever more stringent eligibility requirements regarding the disposable income following taxes and household deductions – and, more difficult yet, make your way through the program (which takes four or five years on average), a full compensation of all of your lenders hardly means that you should consider yourself out of the lion's den. Sad to say, a growing percentage of settlement customers, now that access to the programs have grown to encompass the whole of the American cultural and economic landscape, make their way to the end of the debt gauntlet only to turn around and slowly amass more unsecured burdens until they're in exactly the same problem as before they started working with the settlement firm.

Actually, to tell the truth, they'll be in a far more dire position, since their previous financial partnership with the settlement negotiation specialists will be dutifully recorded along with all other financial transactions upon the credit agency reports, and they'll subsequently find their chances for bankruptcy protection (and, accordingly, settlement agreements) all but extinguished as a result. Don't let the savings garnered through debt settlement programs go to your head nor spur easy and foolish use of whichever credit card accounts you attain following the remuneration of past bills. It's hard enough to budge lenders toward forgiveness of their rightfully owed claims the first time, but you'd best believe they'll hold on for dear life should you try again, no matter the cause.

 

Determined to Be Triumphant

All through the scriptures we read of people who were victorious, who fought the good fight, and went the distance to overcome and stand above their circumstances.  For some time now the Lord has been speaking to my spirit concerning what it means to be identified as an overcoming Christian.  What is an over comer?  I have determined to identify the condition and characteristics of a true Christ like nature within myself.  I am determined to be an over comer.  I am not a helpless victim of circumstance.  We have the power of creation and life at our beck and call.  We have all of the weapons of heaven at our disposal.  But, the only power that can make it work for us is faith and commitment to the principle that makes the power work. 

We must use the right tools to do the required task.  We must believe that God is, that he does exist, and that he rewards those who diligently and earnestly seek him.  Christians throughout the past centuries have been conditioned to believe their lot in life was to be accepted as being weak, defenseless, and continually persecuted for being who they were and standing up for their beliefs. It is usually accepted that when a person becomes a Christian that he or she is expected to stand in the precarious position of defending themselves from the ungodly, sinful world around them.   This is not possible without the life of Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit of Truth guiding, comforting, and teaching us.  Jesus Christ is our defense.   If we are in him, we cannot be defeated for the battle has already been won, but only in Christ Jesus. 

Rev. 2:7,  “To him that overcomes….”
Rev. 2:11, “He that overcomes….”
Rev. 2:17, “To him that overcomes….”
Rev. 2:26-28, “And he that overcomes….”
Rev. 3:5, “He that overcomes….”
Rev. 3:12,  “Him that overcomes….”
Rev. 3:21, “To him that overcomes….”

The promises that have been given to us of God were given to those of us who are willing to conquer, overcome, and stand victorious over the prevailing conditions around us.   The promises were not given to those who hide themselves away physically from the world of humanity, nor were they given to those who take on the role of being the victims of circumstance.  To overcome something requires there first be an obstacle to overcome.

Obstacles come in many forms.  It could be the guy who is physically attacking us or it could be the pressure of finances, a sick child, maybe a flat tire at the most inopportune time, or our transportation breaking down.  It could be the pain of a personal, devastating event that has left many emotional scars.  It could be the trauma of debilitating or terminal sickness, a bad marriage, a wrong decision, an accident, or rejection from a friend.   It could be spiritual and not physical, such as our faith being tested, or our purpose and our focus being challenged.   Each of us has sat in church gatherings that have tested the limits of our faith.  It is in the midst of humanity that we overcome and develop our senses to discern between good and evil.  It is in the midst of humanity that we have to face our worst enemies (not people), and overcome and let our light shine.

The objective of a true Christian is to face the opposition (not people), overcome the problem, and bring our spirit into subjection to the light of the truth as a testimony so that others may see and come to the knowledge of the truth.  It is the over comers, those who walk in the light and glorious gospel of the truth, who are the light, the children of day, a city setting upon a hill for others to come and share in the security it provides.

The action of overcoming requires an effort on our part and our participation.  We have to initiate the action within ourselves.  Our Father provided the power by which we are able to overcome.  The primary enemy that is to be defeated within us, is death, and we must believe (trust) that the weapons, the tools that he has provided for us are sufficient enough to do the job required of us.

 

Zech. 4:6,  “Then he answered and spoke unto me, saying, This is the word of the LORD to Zerubbabel, saying, Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, saith the LORD of hosts.”

Jesus did overcome death.  He destroyed it within Himself.  But, it is obvious that death is still working in the heart of man.  It does not take a genius to figure out that death is still present around us, for the evidence is clear.  The spirit of depression, aggression, anger, hatred, variance, lust, greed, looseness, domination, rebellion, witchcraft, homosexuality, pride, contention, fear, anxiety and such like continue to operate and even flourish in members of the body.  To pretend that these spirits are not present is ludicrous.  Until these spiritual conditions are overcome (defeated, conquered) within our own members by the Spirit of truth working within us and eradicated, death will still have power over the mortal man.

 

Jesus Christ did overcome and defeat the enemy – death.  Because he overcame, we too are able to face the enemy and overcome, but only by, through, and in him.  It is by his power alone that we can overcome.  The ‘He’ I am referring to, is not the man Jesus who walked upon the sea and lived two thousand years ago.  The Jesus I am referring too is the living Word of Truth, the life giving, quickening Spirit that moves and has its being within us working within us as the Spirit of Truth and Life.

There are obstacles that have to be overcome and conquer and the burden of responsibility to overcome these obstacles and enter into the presence of the Father rest squarely upon our shoulders as confessing Christians.  The truth, the power of the spirit of love, will not force himself upon anyone.  He gave us the weapons, the tools, to use to fight our battles, and defeat death and it is up to us to use them.  Jesus Christ is the way, the truth, and the life, the firstborn from the dead.  No one can come into the presence of life unless they go through the son.  Some of the conditions that were present in the early church are present today.  Unless we identify them and stand against them by the power of the Holy Ghost, we will always be bound to the conditions of humanity, under the dominion of death.
   
Rev. 3:20 “As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten be zealous therefore, and repent.   Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice and open the door, I will come in to him and will sup with him and he with me.”

Isn’t it strange that church gatherings provide us with some of our greatest spiritual challenges?  It is in the gatherings that we are beset by the false doctrines, the loud overbearing ministers, loose people, angry people, bitter, mad, confused people, new age people, and bold aggressive ignorant people.   It is in the midst of the church gatherings that we have to face those who come to rob, steal, kill and destroy.  It is in the midst of our church gatherings that the sheep are gathered, so why wouldn’t there be the wolves in sheep’s clothing present?  This is where the wolves come to feed also. 

Fascinating, isn’t it?  The very place that we go to feed the hungry, cover the naked, heal the sick, raise the dead, open the blind eyes, set the captives free, shelter the homeless, mend the broken hearted, help the widow and generally do the work of the ministry is the very place we have to confront and face our greatest enemy.  I have not been to very many meetings that did not have the spirit of the whore mongers, thief, and wolf in sheep’s clothing present in one form or another. 

I wonder what Jesus would have done about the deplorable situations we have to face in some of the church gatherings we attend?  I do not believe he ran away and hid, but instead he stood his ground and faced the opposition head on and overcame in all things.  Not only did he defeat the opposition, he did not think he was being cheated or robbed to lower himself and his position to become like as we were and walk among us in the bondage of death in order to over power the enemy of death.  He knew he had to submit to the condition of man in order to overcome it and give us the power to free ourselves from death’s hold over us.  He was not ashamed to love us and call us one of his own, even when we did not deserve him and were fighting against him within ourselves.

One part of the church body John was speaking to in Revelation was measuring itself and what it could do by its material wealth. Because they did not have material riches, they felt poor and could not see beyond their physical needs.  Another part had lost sight of their true purpose, which was to minister to the needs of the people, not the building.  They had lost sight of their first love. Another part thought they had everything they needed and had the reputation that they were alive but they were dead.  There were false prophets, persecution and rebellion in the midst of the early church body.  None of the instructions they were given instructed them to separate themselves from the people or run from the face of the enemy.  He instructed them to face the problem and to hold fast to their faith, keep their garments clean, and undefiled until he revealed himself in their midst, within them, and declared His glory.

In all of these examples the responsibility of overcoming was given to the individual. There has to be an inner resolve, a determination to repent and change direction.  We have to recognize the enemy, look him in the eye and put him under foot by focusing upon the power of God, the living Word, within us.

Rom. 2:10-11 “But glory, honor and peace to every man that works good, chiefly (most importantly) to the Jew and also to the Gentile:  For there is no respect of persons with God.”

I John 5:4-5 “For whatsoever is born of God overcomes the world: and this is the victory that overcomes the world, even our faith. Who is he that overcomes the world, but he that believes that Jesus is the Son of God?”

       
We overcome the world and bring it under subjection by the power of faith.  Our faith is the force that makes us whole or complete.  It is the power that processes us into higher realms of development. Faith results from hearing from our Father.  In order to hear we must be in communication with our Father and recognize that he is the source of our being and His anointed Word of Truth (Jesus) is the only way to enter into the essence of pure life.

Rom. 12:21, “Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good.” 

       
In order for the body to overcome anything, it must be able to receive its instruction or direction from a single source.  There is only one truth, one life, one way, one door, and one authority that provide this instruction.  Jesus Christ is the head and the body cannot enter into the presence of the Father without the leadership, or connection to the head.  Without the head, there is no direction, for there is no information getting to the body.  The body becomes confused and begins to go off in many different directions, having no cohesion, purpose or vision. 

There must be recognizable perimeters, boundaries, or rules, by which we are able to identify and recognize if we are to overcome or conquer the adversities.  There is a difference between a Christian, who is born from above and has dedicated their lives for the betterment and spiritual enlightenment of others, and a person who has not accepted the Spirit of the Lord into their lives.  Something happens when we turn our lives over to the Lord.  There is a definite change in character that separates a Christian from the children of the world. 

     

Just as good parents set the perimeters for the actions of their children and establish guidelines for the children’s actions, so does the Holy Spirit for those who have been born from above.  By the power of the Holy Spirit the church body creates an environment for growth, development and the maturing of its members.  The body provides structure, perimeters and protection.  The body receives its instructions from its head (leader, chief part, of most importance, first birthed). The body without a recognizable and declared head is headless and without direction, lost, confused and of no value. There has to be a unifying element or one central point from which instruction and guidance is received. Jesus Christ, alone, as the living Spirit of Truth, must be recognized as the only source from which we receive instruction.

Not everyone has been born from above and has the Spirit of God dwelling within them, for it is obvious that self-will and the spirit of the world still works within their members. As Christians we have to deal with two different types of people.  The first group is made up of the lost, confused, blind, maimed, sick, hurting, and even the rebellious that do not know any better and are in need of salvation.  The purpose of the church body is to minister to the needs of these people by the Spirit of Christ within us and bring them to a place of acceptance and deliverance from the power of death that holds them in its grip.

       

The next group is those who recognize no authority, except it be their own, whose primary purpose is to dominate and rule over the spiritual interest of others.  These types of people are present within almost every church body.  They are liberal with their thoughts, opinions and ideas, and have no compassion, tenderness or love for those they are ministering too.  Death is death, and if it is being spoken liberally and goes unchecked, then all who are under its influence are going to suffer from it.   Their sole purpose is to conquer, destroy and to be recognized as being important.  These are the wolves in sheep‘s clothing that mingle with the children of God.  I do not have to fellowship with the wolves in sheep’s clothing, nor do I have to accept them just because they call themselves members of the body and say they love me.  I have no guilt in declaring that they are not part of my body.  Paul said, mark those who cause division and have no part with them.  We were also instructed not to have fellowship with the works of darkness and workers of iniquity.  

       

Our job is to stand up and declare our Father’s glory by revealing His presence in our lives.  Love felt no hesitation in sending his only begotten son to bring an end to death and confusion.  Jesus Christ did not hesitate to identify the cause of death and establish a pathway of deliverance and protection for those who were truly hungry for righteousness and truth.  He came to destroy the enemy.  He did not at any time mince words and coddle the enemy he saw working in others, for the sake of not hurting their feelings.  Neither was Paul gentle with those who would cause division and confusion.       

Luke 12:32, “Fear not, little flock; for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom.”

Phil. 4:13, “I can do all things through Christ which strengthens me.”

I cannot read anywhere in the scriptures where we are to stand by and wait for God to make the changes or submit to the conditions that hold us in bondage.  Every successful man or woman of God, stood up, stepped out in faith, and boldly claimed their place in history.  They confronted the situation and overcame the obstacles by taking authority over them through their faith in the power of God.

Rom. 8:36-39, “As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.  Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us.  For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

Acts 1:8, “But you shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and you shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.”

Paul was confident in his relationship with our Father.  He knew and accepted the power that was bestowed upon him through his faith in Jesus Christ.  Nothing was going to separate him from the Love of God.  Neither will it us, if we hold fast our faith and reach up and grab hold of the power that comes with the presence of the Holy Spirit within our lives.

Rom. 15:13,  “Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that you may abound in hope, through the power of the Holy Spirit.”

1 Cor. 2:4, “And my speech and my preaching was not with enticing words of man's wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power:”

1 Cor. 15:43  “It is sown in dishonor; it is raised in glory: it is sown in weakness; it is raised in power:”

2 Tim. 1:7 “For God has not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.”

3 John 1:2 “Beloved, I wish above all things that thou may prosper and be in health, even as thy soul prosper.”

We need to be Triumphant...

Everyday we are on a battle.

We battle for every desires of pleasures of this life.

We battle for every wicked thing and we need to be triumphant. God also wants us to win. We are designed to be triumphant and God had given us everything we want to achieve this victory.

Paul says we are always in fighting. In Greek it is called machē (makh’-ay)From G3164; a battle, that is, (figuratively) controversy: – fighting, strive, striving. 2Co 7:5  For, when we were come into Macedonia, our flesh had no rest, but we were troubled on every side; without were fightings, within were fears.
Examples of the things we battle as Christians are earthly pleasures, James 4:1  Where do all the fights and quarrels among you come from? They come from your desires for pleasure, which are constantly fighting within you.

Peter says we are all strangers of this world and we don’t have to be strongly attached into bodily pleasures which are all always at war against the spirituality of our being. 1Pe 2:11  I appeal to you, my friends, as strangers and refugees in this world! Do not give in to bodily passions, which are always at war against the soul.

Our battle is one of a kind. It is not one of a physical entity like many people have. Eph 6:12  For we are not fighting against human beings but against the wicked spiritual forces in the heavenly world, the rulers, authorities, and cosmic powers of this dark age.

Our battle is more on the spiritual side and our enemy is the enemy of God, thedevil. In order to win the war, we need to know the enemy first. The devil is a very persevering enemy. It won’t stop until we loose the battle. It is like a roaring lion waiting always for its prey. The lion only looks for its victim when it is hungry, but when it does it will never stop until he devours its victims.

1Pe 5:8  Be alert, be on watch! Your enemy, the Devil, roams around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour. The devil’s thinking is the same with the hungry lion. It will never stop until it achieve its purpose, and that is, to win many people and make them turn away from God.

Since this is the case for all servants of God, we are always running now in the risk of danger – every day, every hour and every minute. If we will not be aware and be watchful every time, then we give opportunity for the devil to work on us. 1Co 15:30  And as for us—why would we run the risk of danger every hour?

There are many advices in the Bible that tells us how to be triumphant in this life.
Another thing is to never let our guards down. Since we know that the devilwon’t stop, we defeat evil with good. The best thing to conquer evil is to do good things. This means we have to do good things all the time. Making ourselves busy with contemplating in the words of God, praying and sharing the words of God are examples of doing good things, that is, doing the will of God and obeying His commandments.

  Do not let evil defeat you; instead, conquer evil with good.

“An idle mind is the playground of Evil.”

 Rom 12:21

We must not let our minds and spirit pre-occupied by nothing. If we let ourselves doing nothing, then we give opportunity for the devil to attend to us.

Paul says we have to run a good race. We have to finish the race. An athlete does all things to win in his sports and no one ever wins if he doesn’t train, discipline himself and finish the tasks ahead of him. 2Ti 4:7  I have done my best in the race, I have run the full distance, and I have kept the faith. 2Ti 4:8  And now there is waiting for me the victory prize of being put right with God, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give me on that Day—and not only to me, but to all those who wait with love for him to appear.

Indeed, we have to do our very best. If we are willing to succeed and win the battle, we have to keep the faith and be determined to perform well at every moment of our lives.

How Triumphant Is the Triumphant Christ?

How Triumphant Is the Triumphant Christ? Part 1

Matthew 21:1-9
Revelation 5:9, 11-13

Matthew 21:1-9 "As they approached Jerusalem and came to Bethphage on the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two disciples, saying to them, "Go to the village ahead of you, and at once you will find a donkey tied there, with her colt by her. Untie them and bring them to me. If anyone says anything to you, tell him that the Lord needs them, and he will send them right away." This took place to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet: "Say to the Daughter of Zion, 'See, your king comes to you, gentle and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.'" The disciples went and did as Jesus had instructed them. They brought the donkey and the colt, placed their cloaks on them, and Jesus sat on them. A very large crowd spread their cloaks on the road, while others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. The crowds 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!"

Jesus is not what he appears to be.

Jesus is not what he appears to be. In today's gospel lesson, usually read on Palm Sunday, Jesus appears to be a triumphant King. But what kind of triumphant King is he? Jesus appears, as a successor to Israel's King David, to be on the verge of grasping all the strings of earthly power. The people will follow him and he will, inevitably, be victorious over the legions of Rome. He is the triumphant King that everybody wants, that the Israelites wanted, that we want. We understand this kind of King and this kind of power. But Jesus is not what he appears to be.

Five days passed. For the King who was to die, who was apparently traveling a road from victory to defeat, they were agonizing days of spiritual combat, struggle with the principalities and powers, misunderstood teaching, preaching on judgment, denial, betrayal, and the unfolding of an evil plot that eventually would cost Jesus his life. And there he was, looking to all the world like the worst possible kind of loser. Spit upon. Flogged. Crowned with thorns. Abandoned even by God, it seemed. And crucified. Not even his best friends believed in him anymore. Hiding out in dark rooms, the apostles knew that his defeat, and thus their defeat, was absolute. But, once again, Jesus was not what he appeared to be.

The world, and all whose souls were bound to the world, saw crucifixion as utter defeat. Even the principalities and powers of darkness were also utterly convinced that Jesus was finished. Satan had already begun its demented victory celebration. This was the "final solution" to the problem of justice and love. Crucifixion was checkmate on the King of Glory. And that's exactly how it felt to Peter, Andrew, James and John. They were huddled together for fear. There was no other move. End of game. End of story. End of life. But, in the twist to undo all twists of fate, the crucified and dead Jesus was not what he appeared to be.
History is not what it seems to be.

A Triumphant Christ appears to the seven churches of Asia.

Seventy or so years later, the Christians in the seven churches of Asia had been checked. Defeat was absolute. There was no play to be played. End of game. End of story. End of life. As satan saw the defeat of Jesus, so Rome saw the defeat of the fledgling Christian Churches who were the recipients of the letter we call Revelation. As the apostles saw themselves as utterly defeated, the churches of Asia saw themselves as lost beyond redemption. But, once again, God had a hidden move, another resurrection encounter, an appearance of the Risen Christ to the seven churches of Asia. The letter we call Revelation was not what it appeared to be. To all appearances, it was just words, strange words at that, but in reality Revelation was the perfect vehicle, like a Hummer Stretch Limo, to transport the Risen Lord to persecuted Christians. Satan, by way of the power of Rome to slaughter Christians, thought once again that it had the final solution. All satan really had was another defeat at the hands of the ultimately triumphant Christ.

The ultimately triumphant Christ. He is revealed to us in Revelation in a power and a glory unmatched in the rest of the New Testament. Who is Jesus? Listen:
Revelation 1:5: Jesus is...the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth.
Revelation 3:14: Jesus is...the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the ruler of God's creation.
Revelation 5:9: Speaking of Jesus…You are worthy to take the scroll and to open its seals, because you were slain, and with your blood you purchased men for God from every tribe and language and people and nation.

Revelation 5:11-13: Then I looked and heard the voice of many angels, numbering thousands upon thousands, and ten thousand times ten thousand. They encircled the throne and the living creatures and the elders. In a loud voice they sang: "Worthy is the Lamb, who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and praise!" Then I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and on the sea, and all that is in them, singing: "To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be praise and honor and glory and power, for ever and ever!" The four living creatures said, "Amen," and the elders fell down and worshiped."

Nowhere in the scriptures do you find a more lofty image of God, nor a more triumphant vision of Jesus. He is an unconquerable Lord. He is not only undefeated, He is undefeatable. He will accomplish exactly what He sets out to accomplish. If Jesus intends it, He does it. No force on heaven nor on Earth will stand in the way of the Jesus portrayed in Revelation. Not only death, not only hatred and greed and every form of immorality, not only sin and despair fall to his mighty sword, but also all the principalities and powers of darkness. Acknowledged, they appear to be victorious. But things are not as they appear to be.

Acknowledged, Jesus looks to be defeated. But Jesus is not what he appears to be. Acknowledged, you could at any moment be martyred, but your life situation is not what it appears to be. Is there a way for you to see that what appears to be happening in your life is not all that is happening? And members and friends and visitors to the First Baptist Church of Springfield, look around you. How do things appear to you? How are you doing? How is the world doing? How is the church doing? Is there any sin, condemnation, danger, despair, hopelessness, sickness, fear, loneliness, hatred, violence, darkness, death, evil? Life is not what it appears to be. Jesus will not lose. He will not lose anything he sets out to save. We will return to this point in a few minutes and again next week.

Luther & Calvin reject Revelation

I promised you that we would come back to the Protestant Reformers today, notably Martin Luther and John Calvin. To them, the spiritual situation of humanity under the sway of the Roman Catholic Church appeared to be hopeless. Martin Luther personally felt lost. He tried every spiritual technique in the monastic repertoire to make himself worthy of salvation. He tried self-deprivation and self-flagellation. He tried obedience. He tried intellectual achievement and disciplined devotion. Nothing made him feel worthy. He could find no way to cross the gap between his sinfulness and God's holiness. In the form of indulgences, the church Luther served sold salvation to the people. Luther found that way repugnant, but a better way eluded him. Darkness threatened to utterly consume Martin Luther. And then, by the mercy of God, his desperate search through the scriptures brought him face to face with:

Romans 1:17: For in the gospel a righteousness from God is revealed, a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: "The righteous will live by faith."

There is nothing any of us can do to earn righteousness, Luther finally understood. And this revelation lifted a dark cloud from his life and became the doctrinal cornerstone of the Protestant reformation. "Righteousness is by faith from first to last..." Those words of Paul are the scriptural ground for the Doctrine of Justification by grace through faith. John Calvin, who is the theological great grandfather of Baptists, also grounded his wing of the Protestant Reformation in the Doctrine of Justification by Grace through Faith. And Calvin and Luther did not like the book of Revelation. They also did not like the book of James, for essentially the same reasons. Luther and Calvin were a long ways from being fundamentalists. And they were definitely not Biblical literalists. They not only felt free to reject entire books of the Bible, they were honest enough to tell everyone about it.

Martin Luther and John Calvin, our spiritual ancestors, rejected the book of Revelation because they believed its teachings violated the Doctrine of Justification by Grace through Faith, which, please remember, was not only an intellectual construct to Luther and Calvin. To both men it was also a belief that had saved them from the pits of certain damnation. However, in rejecting Revelation I believe they made a very bad mistake. And I hope I can show you why.

First we must understand their position. Revelation has numerous passages, intense and agonizing passages, which seem to contradict the Doctrine of Justification by Grace through Faith by making it extremely clear that every human being will be judged by their works. And that judgment will be harsh and decisive. Listen:
Revelation 20:12-14 And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Another book was opened, which is the book of life. The dead were judged according to what they had done as recorded in the books. The sea gave up the dead that were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead that were in them, and each person was judged according to what he had done.
Everyone is judged by what they have done. That is what Revelation says over and over again. It is a horrifying fate. And just in case anyone thinks they are going to escape this judgment, Rev. 21:8 gives a list of the sins that could cause any one of us to be excluded from the book of life:

But the cowardly, the unbelieving, the vile, the murderers, the sexually immoral, those who practice magic arts, the idolaters and all liars--their place will be in the fiery lake of burning sulfur.

Somewhere in that list, I fear, we can all find ourselves. Cowardly. Idolaters. Liars. As human beings our sins are legion but they are also finite. But the punishment in store for us is infinite. Infinite punishment for finite wrongdoing. This is what Revelation says again and again. Each will be judged by what he has done.
Revelation proclaims radical accountability. Nothing we do or say or fail to do or say will pass unnoticed. Before the judgment seat of Christ we will undergo a scorching review of our lives. American Christians will be asked, I believe, not only about our personal sins. We will also be required to defend the destruction of the environment brought about by our greedy consumption; the creation of a permanent class of homeless and poor Americans; unending wars that make no one safe; our toleration of domestic violence against women and children--you add your passionate concerns to this list. The Jesus who gave us fair warning in Matthew 25 that we will be judged by our service to the hungry and the thirsty and the naked and the prisoner and the sick will not be patient with our failure. No excuses will be accepted. Each will be judged by what he has done.

Do you want to be judged by what you have done? Martin Luther and John Calvin wanted nothing to do with such a theology. Is it any wonder that they, and scores of other theologians and pastors and teachers and Christians century after century, have relegated Revelation to the backwaters of the Christian life?

The theological error of those who reject Revelation

But they have, I believe, made a fundamental error caused by a misunderstanding of how John presents his theology. Let me remind you of what I said just before I turned this sermon in the direction of Protestant Reformers, John Calvin and Martin Luther.

“And members and friends and visitors to the First Baptist Church of Springfield, look around you. How do things appear to you? How are you doing? How is the world doing? How is the church doing? Is there any sin, condemnation, danger, despair, hopelessness, sickness, fear, loneliness, hatred, violence, darkness, death, evil? Life is not what it appears to be. Jesus will not lose. He will not lose anything He sets out to save.” 
 

“Jesus will not lose. He will not lose anything He sets out to save.”

One more time; “Jesus will not lose. He will not lose anything He sets out to save.”
Nowhere in all the New Testament is there a greater assurance of salvation than we find in Revelation. Jesus does not lose. The ultimately triumphant Christ sets out to save the Christians in the seven churches of Asia and, by the power of the Lamb of God, they are saved. The ultimately triumphant Christ sets out to save Martin Luther and John Calvin and, by the power of the Lamb of God, they are saved. The ultimately triumphant Christ sets out to save you and me and, by the power of the Lamb of God, we are saved. The Jesus of Revelation does not lose.

Certainly, Calvin and Luther and you and I are accountable before the judgment seat of Christ, for what we do. And, whatever we do, Jesus has us covered.

Is there a contradiction here? On the one hand we hear that it is all up to us, what we do. On the other hand we hear that it is all up to Jesus, what He has done on the cross. On the one hand we are overwhelmed with fear because we cannot be good enough. On the other hand we are overwhelmed with hope because, praise be to God, Jesus is good enough. John says it both ways. John believes that he can have his cake and eat it too. How does he manage this culinary miracle?

John is not a systematic theologian. Rather he is a dialectical theologian. That means that he presents in Revelation different and contrasting and seemingly conflicting images of God and we discover the truth by holding those various images in dynamic tension. John doesn't give us dogma and doctrine. Like Baptists, John of Patmos could never have written a creed. He gives us word pictures, visions, colorful snapshots of reality. It is like the old story of blind men exploring an elephant. One touches the trunk, another the tusk, another a leg and another an ear. Only when they put together their experiences do they come up with anything like an adequate concept of an elephant.

If this seems confusing, well, that is because it is confusing. Hoping to make the matter clearer, my intention is to return to the difference between systematic and dialectical theology at the beginning of next week’s sermon. For the moment, please believe me when I say that Revelation and its major themes cannot be understood without at least an elementary grasp of how John does dialectical, not systematic, theology. For today I am going to bring this sermon to a close by introducing an example of why it is so important for us to understand how John speaks. Failure to read Revelation as dialectical theology leads to outrageous beliefs about Jesus and tragic conclusions as to what it means to follow Jesus. You will find these tragedies born out in most popular books and preaching on Revelation.

Jesus--The Prince of Peace or the Warring Christ?

Who is Jesus? Jesus is the Prince of Peace. Jesus is the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world. In the battle between good and evil, what are the weapons of Jesus? The weapons of Jesus are sacrificial love and the Word of God. What do Christians do? They follow this way of sacrificial love and they speak this Word of power. Like Jesus, Christians fight by speaking the word of truth and sacrificing their lives. Yes, there are two times in Revelation, 2:16 and 19:11, that refer to Jesus making war. But the way one “makes war” is crucial. How does Jesus make war on sin, for example? How do we make war on injustice? The answer is right there in chapter 19. Jesus kills his enemies with a two-edged sword coming from his mouth. That is certainly a symbol of power but it is not a symbol of violence. We are familiar with this symbol. Ephesians 6:17 says that the sword of the spirit is the Word of God. Hebrews 4:12 proclaims that the Word of God is sharper than any double edged sword. What are the weapons of Jesus in the battle between good and evil? Sacrificial love and the Word of God. What weapons are Christians to use in the battle between good and evil? Sacrificial love and the Word of God. “By far the most frequent image of Jesus in Revelation is the ‘Lamb’ who ‘conquers’ not by killing but by nonviolently giving His life.” (G. McLeod Bryan, “The Baptist Peacemaker,” Winter, 2005, p. 6)

However, contrast this image of Jesus as the Lamb of God with the images of a violent Jesus in most contemporary Christian literature and preaching on Revelation. For example, there is the War-Lord-Jesus in the all-time best selling Christian novel series, Left Behind, by Tim Le Haye and Jerry Jenkins. These books are very popular and they are very wrong, 100% wrong, in portraying Jesus as a Warring Christ. On page after page, the authors of Left Behind portray Christians as “the army of heaven” attacking the enemies of God and shedding blood. Wrong. Christians oppose evil by identifying with the already shed blood of Jesus who was crucified. The popular interpreters of Revelation, LeHaye and Jenkins, and Hal Lindsey, and many others, are just as wrong about who Jesus will be as everyone was wrong about Jesus the day He rode a donkey into Jerusalem. The people wanted a violent Messiah in the first century to destroy the evil nation of Rome. Le Haye and Jenkins believe we will have a violent Messiah in the future, probably our immediate future, to destroy all the evil non-Christina nations. Totally wrong. Jesus is not a Warrior King. Jesus, in Revelation, comes to save the peoples and the nations, all of them. Jesus does not lose. Jesus, who is the same yesterday, today and forever, is and will be nothing like they want Him to be.
Conclusion: What to do with the violent images?

While we are singing our closing hymn, I would like you to think about its message. Is it a call to violence, a call to arms and swords and bombs and whatever violent forces are necessary to defeat evil? Or can the hymn be heard as a call to spiritual warfare against evil and injustice using the weapons of self-sacrifice and the Word of God? Should we X out of our religious tradition all references to war and violence and fighting and battles and conquering? Or would it be the better strategy to accept the fact that we are fighting a war, a war that can only be won with the right weapons, the Word and the sacrificial love of Jesus? Let us close our service with the singing of “Onward Christian Soldiers.”
Revelation unfolds.

How Triumphant Is the Triumphant Christ? Part 2

John 3:16-17
Revelation 1:7
Isaiah 25:6-8

John 3: 16-17--For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God sent the Son into the world, not to condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through him. 

Introduction and Review

There is no doubt. God intends the salvation of the world. How successful will Jesus be in accomplishing what God intends? Do you recall what I said last Sunday about what Revelation says about the success rate of Jesus?

“Jesus will not lose. He will not lose anything He sets out to save.”

Nowhere in all the New Testament is there a greater assurance of salvation than we find in many verses from Revelation. Jesus does not lose. The ultimately triumphant Christ sets out to save the Christians in the seven churches of Asia and, by the power of the Lamb of God, they are saved. The ultimately triumphant Christ sets out to save all the peoples and all the nations. If the ultimately triumphant Christ intends the salvation of all the nations and peoples of the Earth, who does Jesus in fact save?

There are at least five passages in Revelation that suggest that Jesus who cannot lose does in fact save all the peoples and nations. Theologically this is called Universal Salvation. These verses in Revelation are part of a wide stream of at least 29 other scripture lessons in the rest of the Bible that lean heavily in the same direction.

However, I also told you something else that Revelation says about Jesus:
“Revelation has numerous passages, especially Revelation 20:13-14, intense and agonizing passages, which make it terribly clear that every human being will be judged by their works. And that judgment will be harsh and decisive. Before the judgment seat of Christ few will be adjudged righteous enough to escape their doom ”…in the fiery lake of burning sulfur. “

In texts such as this in Revelation, and in many other scripture lessons from the rest of the Bible, radical accountability is taught. Only some will be saved. Theologically, this is called Limited Salvation—entrance into heaven is limited. In Revelation the limit is defined by what you do. In Romans the limit is defined by what you believe. Nowhere in the New Testament will you find less assurance of salvation than you find in some texts in Revelation. Everyone, before the judgment seat of Christ, is…shaking in their boots.
Limited Salvation or Universal Salvation? What do you believe? How important is this question to you?

Limited or Universal Salvation? A Time When it Matters

It is extremely important to me when I am leading a funeral, especially when the funeral is for someone who is not an adult or who has not led a good life or who has not professed and lived faith in Jesus. Imagine that you are attending the funeral of your Uncle Peter. Uncle Peter was married for forty-two years to your Aunt Samantha. Aunt Samantha is a fundamentalist and when it came to religious matters she was very hard on Uncle Peter, who stridently refused to go to worship with her at that church he called, “hateful.” Imagine the funeral for Uncle Peter at Aunt Samantha’s “hateful” church. The tremors from the Pastor’s words of condemnation feel like an earthquake. Finally Aunt Samantha has Uncle Peter where she wants him. In the center of the aisle. Too bad that he had to be rolled there, that he would not go there on his knees while he was alive. Too bad his fate is now sealed for eternity. Aunt Samantha’s fire and brimstone pastor knows how to talk about hell. And that is exactly where you are headed, he tells his captive audience, if you don’t believe what we believe at Aunt Samantha’s church. This is Limited Salvation in an extreme form. Heaven is for the select elect who believe what they believe at Aunt Samantha’s church. Universal Salvation, on the other hand, asks you to believe that putting up with Aunt Samantha for forty-two years earned Uncle Peter a good shot at heaven. Humor aside, it would be more accurate to say that Universal Salvation asks you to at least consider the possibility that the victory of the ultimately triumphant Christ includes Uncle Peter, because that is the way Jesus wants it.

Whenever I write a funeral service I have to decide whether to lean in the general direction of Limited Salvation or the general direction of Universal Salvation. For example, I would like to share with you a few paragraphs from a service I wrote about twenty years ago. Keep in mind, please, this common formulation of the doctrine of Limited Salvation: “Only those who are converted and confess faith in Jesus as Savior and Lord of their lives are saved and go to heaven.” Therefore, those who are excluded from heaven have been said, by various theologians, churches and Christians, to include:

1. All babies, infants and children who die outside of Baptism
2. Everyone who has heard of Jesus and rejected him, including non-believers and believers from other religions, no matter what they have done with their lives.
3. Everyone who has never heard of Jesus.

When I am was the one who was called upon to lead the funeral service for Krystyna, a beautiful two month old who died from Sudden Infant Death Syndrome, there was no way, despite the leanings of some conservatives in my church, that my words would lean in the direction of Limited Salvation. Rather, the unlimited love of God, and the power of the Ultimately Triumphant Christ who never loses, inspire words like these:

Krystyna’s Story

“The depth of our grief at the death of Krystyna is matched only by the breadth of our speculations and explanations as to all the hows and whys and reasons and purposes and meanings of this tragedy.

How did she die?
Why did she die?
What went wrong?
What did I do wrong?
What could I have done right?
Why did God let it happen?

Many of the answers we have heard and, let us be honest, many of the answers that have come into our minds and poured forth from our lips, are thoughtless speculation or cheap theology. Some of our answers do contain a grain of truth but let us all humbly confess that we all know almost nothing. All of our explanations in the face of such a tragedy are at best incomplete.

But something must be said, and so I wish to offer you a few things that I believe to be true.
A poet wrote, "No little child has ever come from God and stayed a brief while, returning again to the Father, without making glad the home, and leaving behind some trace of heaven. The family would count themselves poorer without those cunning caresses, that soft touch, that sudden smile. This short visit was not an incident. It was a benediction."

In the fourth chapter of II Kings is recorded a heart rending story of a woman whose only son died while sitting upon her lap. Her first action was to go to see God's prophet, Elisha. The first question he asked her was, "Is it well with the child?" He wanted her to focus attention on the child.

Though that is not our only concern, it ought to be our first concern. So much of our sorrow at a time of death is self pity. All of our thoughts turn inward. We find it almost impossible to think of anything but our own grief.
Is it well with Krystyna? Jesus, taking a small child in his arms, said, "Of such is the Kingdom of Heaven." Those words ring true to us. There is much else that we are uncertain about but we know that she possessed a little bit of heaven. We know that the child's new world is better than this earth, for it is a home of pure goodness and love. It is safe, lasting, secure and removed from peril. “

Caring for Krystyna’s family and the church family and leading her funeral was one of the most painful experiences of my life. It was not a time to speculate on the limits of the capacity of Jesus to save. Rather, it was a time to believe in the desire and ability of Jesus to save.

And, if Krystyna possessed a little bit of heaven, then so did Issac, born into a community where all adults practiced Judaism; and so did Abraham, born into a tribe where all adults practiced Islam, and so did Arzme, born into a native village isolated from anything western, including missionaries, in the depths of the Amazon jungle.

Dialectical Images o f Judgment and Mercy

We continue our study of Revelation and within that study we continue to find support for both ultimate judgment and ultimate mercy.
John of Patmos was given a vision from God. To receive this vision from him you have to see it in its entirety. You can’t just focus on fragments and verses.

For example, you find in Revelation parallel images of God's judgement and God’s mercy.
It is as if Heaven were upheld on two columns, judgment and mercy. It is John's way to take everything to its extreme. God's judgment is absolute. And God's mercy is absolute. One moment John is painting a terrifying picture of judgment that confronts all of us with our sin, including those Christians in the seven churches of Asia who might be looking for an easier way out than dying. Why do you think John included liars in his list of damnable sins? He was telling the Christians that they must not lie even if it cost them their lives. But the next moment, John is painting a picture of a mercy and a forgiveness that covers every sin and extends to everyone. Just as many liberal Christians do not like John's descriptions of judgment and hell, so many conservative Christians do not like what he says about mercy and heaven.

But a fact is a fact. In Revelation, John's Christ cannot be defeated. He is absolutely and infinitely triumphant. He cannot lose. Listen:

Revelation 1:7 Look, Jesus is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see him, even those who pierced him; and all the peoples of the earth will mourn because of him. So shall it be! Amen. (See also Revelation 5:13 and 22:2)

Revelation 22:3: No longer will there be any curse. The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in the city, and his servants will serve him.

What does that mean, “No longer will there be any curse?” The curse refers to the curse of Adam by which sin entered the world. No more curse. No more sin leading to death.

There is someone out there who believes that Jesus cannot save them, that their life situation is so difficult, or their sin so grave, that there can be no salvation for them. Someone in this congregation is frightened by a decision you have made. It seems to be unredeemable. The book of Revelation says that your sin is already covered. Your life is already in God's hands. You have nothing to fear. And, if only you would believe this good news, you would have peace.

And, someone out there thinks they do not have to worry about God's judgment. Someone is living comfortably and securely in their own goodness, unconscious of how the sin of their lives impacts others. Someone else has confessed faith in Jesus and thinks they can therefore continue to behave badly. The book of Revelation says that you will stand accountable before the judgment seat of Christ and your life will be seen for exactly what it is. It would be far better for you were you to see the truth now.

Apparently it is all too easy for Christians who do not wish to see this second pillar of John's theology to ignore all of the passages that point towards absolute mercy. The evangelical writer of one commentary on Revelation, R. H. Mounce, manages that neat trick by simply deciding, arbitrarily, to take all the passages about absolute judgment literally and all the passages about absolute mercy as symbolic poetry. However, not only does that do great disservice to the text and its author, it also denies the critical fact that Christians in the seven churches of Asia who faced martyrdom needed to hear both messages, and to hear them in exactly the extreme form in which John presented them. In order to be faithful, even on to death, they had to be brutally reminded that they would be held accountable by Jesus for their actions. And they had to be assured that their salvation was absolutely certain because it did not rest on anything they did but only on Jesus.
For those of you who are not convinced that John intended to paint pictures of, absolute mercy, you might want to do some further Bible study. You may be surprised by how much better you understand Revelation after reading Isaiah. Listen to Isaiah’s description of the last days and the inclusion of all peoples:

Isaiah 25:6-8: On this mountain the LORD Almighty will prepare a feast of rich food for all peoples, a banquet of aged wine--the best of meats and the finest of wines. On this mountain he will destroy the shroud that enfolds all peoples, the sheet that covers all nations; he will swallow up death forever. The Sovereign LORD will wipe away the tears from all faces; he will remove the disgrace of his people from all the earth. The LORD has spoken.

The God of Isaiah and the Jesus of Revelation intend to bring salvation to all nations and peoples. They will not be defeated. John's people in the Seven Churches of Asia do not need a God who is only partially accomplishes His plans. The only Jesus who will do is an ultimately triumphant Christ.

On the one hand, utter, absolute and devastating judgment, everyone accountable for what they have done—no one certain of their salvation. That is one theological pillar of John's letter to the seven Churches of Asia. Many people, including the protestant reformers, Luther and Calvin, and including most progressive Christians, reject Revelation because of its intense emphasis on judgment.

However, they have forgotten that Revelation also proclaims an ultimately triumphant mercy, a love that will not quit and that can not be defeated, with salvation extended to all. That is the second theological pillar of John's letter to the seven churches of Asia. Many Christians find such a possibility scandalous. And so they retreat from the radical love of John's God and miss one of the most important messages in all of scripture.
Judgment or mercy?
Works or faith?
"Wrong", John says in Revelation. It is:
Judgment and mercy
Works and faith

Both pillars are critical in John's construction of a new heaven and a new earth. Hold judgment and mercy in an appropriate tension and you will begin to understand the truth.

Lean to far one way and you get a picture of a vindictive God who is powerless to accomplish His entire plan and so inflicts infinite punishment on people for finite sins. John's God is not frustrated in his desire to save the entire creation. God does what God intends to do. Jesus saves what Jesus sets out to save. “For God so loved the world…”

Lean too far the other way and suddenly you have many paths to God. You don’t take Jesus seriously, and Jesus is the most serious thing God has ever done. In Revelation there is only one path and only one savior, the ultimately triumphant Christ. If anyone is saved it is because of Jesus, no other. You must make your decision for Him.

So, when these two pillars stand side by side each holding its fair share of the weight of truth, what is the truth? The truth I believe—Jesus, and no other, is your savior. Jesus, and no other, is our Lord. Believe in Him. Obey Him. Trust Him always in all ways.

And everybody else? All the peoples? All the nations? I hope it is obvious by now that they are in God’s hands. The babies born outside Baptism? The natives who have never heard the name Jesus? The Jews? The Muslims? They are in God’s hands. They are not in my tiny hands or your limited loving hands. They are not even in the closed hands of the religious extremists of the Christian far right who write books about violent Christians and a war mad Jesus and who worship a mean god who is so small He could fit through the eye of a needle. The whole world is in God’s hands and God’s hands are big and they are open and they are power and they are love.

That is how, I believe, John teaches us about God. It was how he taught the second century Christians. Before you judge his method as inadequate, remember that he was writing to congregations of martyrs. It was no time for soft-spoken language. John told it the way it was. And you know something, with the world the way it is, and our lives the way they are, that is the way we need to hear God's word too.

Jesus is the ultimately triumphant Lord. He wipes every tear from every eye. He defeats every power of darkness. Our salvation is assured by the price he paid on the cross.

And, their will be hell to pay if we do not also pay the price. We will stand before the judgment seat of Christ and will be judged for what we have done. It is required of us that we say, “yes,” to Jesus, and that we follow Him all the way to eternity. I believe that is John's message. I believe that message. And when the day comes that I can believe it with all my heart, I will do anything for Jesus. It is unlikely that He will need me to die for Him. In this world of ours, truly living for Him will be strain enough.

May the Revelation of John continue to get so under our skins that the ultimately triumphant Christ is absolutely and undefeatably and unalterably the Lord and Savior of our lives. If it is not so, I strongly suggest that you make it so. The time is short!
Revelation unfolds.

 

(A) Introduction.
 Christ's triumphant entry into Jerusalem is recorded by all four gospel writers. It was the only occasion that Jesus enlisted the support of the crowd for his Messianic role. There is no doubt that the event was something Jesus planned. I will try to explain why Jesus stage-managed this celebratory ride into Jerusalem and then describe the differing reactions to it.

(B) The purpose of the triumphant entry into Jerusalem.
 

(1) Jesus was forcing the issue.

 
(a) Unlike the spontaneous decision of the crowd to make Jesus King after the feeding of the five thousand the triumphant entry was something Jesus planned. It did not just happen. Jesus was not a victim of popular enthusiasm. He had arranged for his disciples to pick up a donkey and its foal from a sympathiser. Jesus even gave the owner of the animals a password by which the disciples identified themselves: "The Lord needs them." Mt21v3.
(b) The very public proclamation of Jesus as King of Israel guaranteed his death. He could have remained hidden for years in Galilee or in the desert. If Jesus had remained content to be an obscure rabbi with a revolutionary message he could have avoided the cross. But he was more than that! He was great David's greater son. But he was more than even that. Jesus was the Saviour of the world! By riding into Jerusalem as the King of Peace Christ was courageously bringing matters to a head. He was precipitating a crisis, the outcome of which was inevitable and in the will and purpose of his father in heaven.
(c) Jesus was working to God's timetable. He forced the hand of his enemies. Jesus was going to die at Passover - the ultimate Passover lamb slain for us - to bring deliverance - to set us free - to bring us to the Promised Land.
There remain times that God forces the issue. Many years ago my brother Paul was at Pioneer Camp. His tent leader, Paul Roe, asked my brother directly: "Are you saved?" This question marked a turning point in Paul's life. The Holy Spirit used it to bring him to Jesus for salvation and eternal life.

(2) Jesus was presenting himself as Messiah.

(a) Jesus knew that Zechariah9v8to13 was a messianic prophecy and he deliberately acted out the passage: See, your King comes to you, righteous and having salvation, gentle and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey. Zech9v9. The donkey ride into Jerusalem was a dramatic, visual, emphatic statement that Jesus was Messiah - the King of Israel.

(b) Jesus made no effort to stop the crowd acclaiming him. His supporter's cries were entirely appropriate:
"Hosanna to the Son of David. Mt21v9.
"Hosanna in the highest!" Mk11v10
Hosanna means: save now. The excited throng was shouting out the equivalent of our, 'God save the king.'
The entry of the Son of Man into the holy city was a cause for celebration both on earth and in heaven:
"Peace in heaven and glory in the highest." Lk19v38.
"Blessed is the coming kingdom of our father David!" Mk11v10.
When the Pharisees told Jesus to shut his disciples up he replied: "I tell you if they keep quiet, the stones will cry out." Lk19v40.
The triumphant entry is the surest of indications that Jesus was not just a rabbi or a prophet. The Jews would never have engineered his death for being a radical, maverick rabbi. The people were correct in all they called him. But he was more than even they realised - the radiance of God's glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. Heb1v3.
Let us never forget how great he is. Jesus is the supreme head of the universal church. He has no rivals - Mary, the saints or a living charismatic leader whether it be the Pope or a forceful puritan pastor. We cannot exalt Christ enough!

Jesus the name high over all,
In hell, or earth, or sky
Angels and men before it fall,
And devils fear and fly.

(3) Jesus was indicating the nature of his kingdom.

(a) It is established and extended by peaceful means. Rejoice greatly, O Daughter of Zion! ..... See your king comes to you righteous and having salvation gentle and riding on a donkey. Zech9v9.
These are wonderful words. Jesus did not ride into Jerusalem on a horse as a warrior king but he entered on a donkey, in gentleness and peace to give salvation. Today - 2000 years later - he comes quietly and gently to sinful men - rebellious, alienated men and women - the depraved and degenerate - and offers salvation and peace with God. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. John3v17.
Consider how Jesus dealt with Zacchaeus, the little tax collector, stooge of the occupying power, the Romans. Most religious Jews condemned Zacchaeus. Jesus invited himself to tea! What did Jesus say to the people who muttered: "He has gone to be the guest of a sinner."? Lk19v7 He said "Today salvation has come to this house, because this man, too, is a son of Abraham. For the Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost." Lk19v9and10.
On Sept 10th 2005 Songs of Praise came from the north coast of Scotland. Mark Macdonald was for many years a hopeless alcoholic. Eventually he foreswore alcohol and dried out. However, it left a great void in his life. An old friend and a true friend visited him and prayed with him. He left a Gideon's Bible for Mark to read. Mark thought the Bible was for softies and put it in a draw - out of sight but not quite out of mind - for from time to time he read it. One day he read the words of Jesus: "Come unto me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls." Mt11v28and29. Jesus did not condemn Mark but in gentleness and humility invited him to come and find rest. Mark did and the void was filled. It has remained filled! He is happy; folk call him the singing postman. Mark concluded his testimony by saying that it was marvellous to have Jesus in his life.

(b) Christ's kingdom is universal in extent. The Pharisees said with some despair and a lot of contempt: "Look how the whole world has gone after him." v19. These words were prophetic! The whole world has gone after Jesus. This is something Zechariah forecast: His rule will extend from sea to sea and from the River (Euphrates) to the ends of the earth. Zech9v10.
There is nowhere on earth where there are not Christians. My friend Pastor John Skull told me when we were last out walking together that even in North Africa, after many, many fruitless years, men and women are being converted to Christianity. Praise God.

(c) It is a violently opposed kingdom. It is incredible that a Saviour who comes gently and riding on a donkey should be opposed with such violence. The opponents of Christianity use the very methods renounced by Jesus - coercion, force, discrimination, ostracism, imprisonment and murder. Such was the chief priests' and Pharisees' hatred of Jesus that they planned to kill Lazarus as well as the Master.
This violent opposition to Christ's kingdom was forecast: "Remember the words I spoke to you: 'No servant is greater than his master.' If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also." John15v20. Jesus also said: "Do you think I came to bring peace on earth? No I tell you but division." Lk12v51.
In Evangelicals Now for September 2005 trouble for the church was reported for Belarus, China, India, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Nagorno-Karabakt, Pakistan and Paraguay. I was particularly distressed to read how Hindu fundamentalists use the anti-conversion laws to harass Christian evangelists.

(C) Reactions to Christ's entry into Jerusalem.

 

(1) Enthusiasm.
Two groups joined together to wave palm branches in the air and shout hosannas. One party accompanied Jesus from Bethany and had witnessed the raising of Lazarus and the other came out from Jerusalem to meet him. The latter consisted of many pilgrims who had arrived in Jerusalem to celebrate Passover and amongst them were doubtless numerous Galileans.
The joyous enthusiasm of the crowd was good! The clothes strewn in the way, the waving palm branches and shouts of acclamation were no more than Jesus deserved. He was God's anointed, the King of Israel, the righteous one and blessed Saviour of the World.
Nonetheless true followers are those who remain true in times of disappointment and defeat. When Jesus was arrested where were his rapturous disciples then? All forsook him and fled. A football club always has plenty of fans when it is successful. Many drop away in the lean times. But there are some who don't and they are known as die hard supporters. Those are the sort the church needs! I am afraid that there are so called believers - generally found in the larger fellowships - who are little more than good time Christians.

(2) Misunderstanding.
Most of the crowd shouting, "Hosanna", were acclaiming Jesus as conqueror. Many people were waving palm branches and quoting from Psalm 118: "Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord." v13. This is what happened at the Feast of Tabernacles when the Jews remembered their deliverance from Syrian tyranny at the hand of Simon Maccabaeus a great Jewish hero. The multitude longed for another mighty warrior to deliver them from the Roman yoke. They anticipated that Jesus would use his awesome power to drive the Roman legions from the holy land. None of them, including the 12 disciples, expected the Messiah to save them from their worst enemy - sin.
People still expect Jesus to do things he never promised to do. They hope for deliverance from: a failed marriage, a dead end job, a friendless existence, low spirits, a sensitive disposition, the poverty trap, a dying church and their aches and pains. Jesus came to save us from sin and its consequences, to reconcile us to God, to confer on us new status as children of God, to impart his Spirit and to give us eternal life. This is a treasure trove of riches.

(3) Dismay
Jesus' enemies were dismayed by his popular support. His modern opponents are frustrated and angry at the continued growth of the church. In spite of every spiteful, malicious and mendacious attack the number of Christians will carry on increasing.
Jesus said to Peter: And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church and the gates of Hades will not overcome it. Mt16v18. The strange expression 'gates of Hades' probably means the power of death. The gates of Hades, like some prison door, keep the dead locked in - they cannot be breached.
Jesus broke free and overcame death. Peter said on the Day of Pentecost: "But God raised him from the dead, freeing him from the agony of death, because it was impossible for death to keep its hold on him." Acts2v24. Jesus threw down the gates of Hades and defeated death. So death has no power to destroy the church - neither the fear of it nor the fact of it. Jesus gained the victory over death and so will all who believe in him.

Because he lives I can face tomorrow
Because he lives all fear is gone;
Because I know He holds the future,
And life is worth the living
Just because He lives.