Die to Live

Mark 11:7-11

Then they brought the donkey to Jesus and threw their robes on it, and He sat on it.

Many people spread their robes on the road, and others spread leafy branches cut from the fields.

Then those who went ahead and those who followed kept shouting: Hosanna! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!

Blessed is the coming kingdom of our father David! Hosanna in the highest heaven!

And He went into Jerusalem and into the temple complex. After looking around at everything, since it was already late, He went out to Bethany with the Twelve.

This could change the way you look at Christianity

This is an announcement of the Messiah

It went directly to the Temple

Showing he was king lord and messiah over the temple

The next day

He acted out what God would eventually do

He was not cleansing the temple as we traditionally believe

But He was acting out destruction not cleansing

We prefer cleansing over destruction

But to God destruction is cleansing

We’ve modernized His movement so much we forgot

That one day there would be destruction

He had the right to do what He did

Because He was saying He was Messiah

He said

He would raise it up again

Heaven and earth will be destroyed but we will get a new heaven and a new earth

God is in the process now of destroying religion and rebuilding it

He comes in and surprises them –

At first they are saying hosanna – hosanna

He will free us

Amen

He will free us from all our worldly enemies

But He surprises them

He comes to free us from all our worldliness

They believe He was come to be King over the earthly kingdom

Prove to the world that they were right

Religion likes exclusiveness

Calvinism is the dominant foundation of religion today

It is an exclusive theory

Is says this:

There are some people God has chosen to live forever and there are some He has chosen to burn in hell

All men are predestined

When they evangelize – they are looking for the predestined ones

The others don’t matter – they will be eternally in hell

They rule major religion today

And guess what?

They are all chosen – of course

And exclusiveness

And we are looking for others that are it too

Makes us feel exclusive

Because if you try to get a Calvinist to pray

They believe everything is already chosen

It is all fate

The Sovereign will of God

Then all murder –etc is God’s will

We know that is not true

So God does not do what He always wants to have done

Because it is dependent on man following through

That is why time is like it is – God waits – for those who will

The religious leaders at that time

All thought they were it – they were exclusive –

and that Jesus was coming to prove them right

He said this temple will fall and be raised up in 3 days

He took down one and raised up another

God’s plan is bigger than us – or any one or any group

He comes in and reverses the roles

They were expecting Him to burst into the temple and speak on the tyranny of Rome

And how they should rise up against their enemies

But instead He said YOU have made my Fathers house a den of thieves

Call them the robbers not us

Something is wrong here

They felt He was accusing them

He reversed the roles

We today are caught in a role reversal

At that time  they fought it

Because they did not want to here the truth

They thought they had it

They were the good guys

But the King came and said

You are the problem

And He did it in the temple so there was no missing it

He reversed it

They are not the problem

They don’t belong to me

How can those who do not belong to God be a problem to God?

It’s my people that are the problem

They claim they are mine

They make high claims

But they don’t live right  

He shocks them

And if Jesus were to walk in her today

What would you expect Him to say?

O you guys are great

Thanks for taking a few days a year to visit my temple

And get together with my people

Thanks for giving so much to the kingdom – please stop – you are giving

Way too much of your time and energy to the kingdom

Why don’t you take a break – maybe go on vacation

Ill shake the money tree for you –

No

Instead – just as He said then

It would be repeated –

My house has become a den of thieves and robbers

You rob me of what is mine

If nothing else

We rob each other of faith

Some of you

Being so excited

Tell another Christian of your excitement

And they will proceed to rob you

Our churches are filled with people who

Listen to those outside – ‘who tell us the presence of God don’t exist

The Power of God don’t exist

We cannot listen to those who would rob us blind

We would be just like them ---

Place yourself in their position

Jesus came and they were like wow

He is great – He is come to free us

Yea – His first few sermons were great

But what is this He is doing now?

He is turning against US –

We are not the enemy

Its those who are not with us that are the problem

We better get rid of this guy

This message He is preaching will only hurt us

We are no different – we hate to be told that we are the problem

If you ever done any counseling you will understand

Problems always involve 2 people

And as soon as you get to telling the problem –

O BOY –

When you tell him his problem I’m ok with that

But start telling me mine and

WATCH OUT

I’ll turn on you so fast –

You won’t know what happened

Things changed

 from Hosanna to crucifixion

They didn’t like what Jesus had to say

They were saying

“He made us the bad guys”

And He was right

They were bad

They sought a way to kill him

And we are the same

If we were there

We too would be plotting his demise

One day we are crowing Him messiah

The next day giving Him a crown of thorns

So here is Jesus

standing before Pilate

A condemned man

But he knew one thing

He knew that everything is about to change

He took on role reversal

And soon

Things would be reversed once again

But this time

For eternity  

He knew what He was about to endure is temporary

But what He was accomplishing would change things forever

It was permanent

We need to understand this role reversal

What we are going through today is only temporary

And soon we will be on the receiving side of all the blessings

God has for us – for all eternity

That’s how God did it

Those judging me now – will soon be judged forever

The roles will be reversed

Everything in the Bible shows role reversal – its all going to reverse

The criminal was soon to be the judge forever

And the judge will be the condemned

The dead will live again

Those who try and save their life will loose it

Everything is going to reverse

We make the same mistake

If you want to be great (forever)

Be a servant now

Root problem – we want it all now

Popular, loved, accepted, self esteem, all now

But if we have it now

We loose it forever

Even Jesus didn’t take it all now

He came and took on the form of a servant

He understood – role reversal

We must follow that pattern now

He was obedient

So he would be worshipped forever

If we go through role reversal now

We will have what we desire forever

What we want here – we sacrifice for eternity

Want to be exalted

Humble yourself

But we want to rule now

So we not rule later

Want to be first

Be last now

Need a major move of God

And it requires us to put God first

The problem is we are first

Want to be someone in eternity

Die to self now

Want to be debt free in the kingdom

Forgive everyone their debts

Forgive those that trespassed against us

Luke 12:16-19

Then He told them a parable: "A rich man's land was very productive.

He thought to himself, 'What should I do, since I don't have anywhere to store my crops?

I will do this,' he said. 'I'll tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and store all my grain and my goods there.

Then I'll say to myself, "You have many goods stored up for many years. Take it easy; eat, drink, and enjoy yourself."'

OOPS – he missed the role reversal –

Remember the rich man and lazarus-

Luke 16:25 

"But Abraham said to him, 'Son, remember that during your lifetime you had everything you wanted, and Lazarus had nothing. So now he is here being comforted, and you are in anguish.

What is the lesson there?

you had it easy in this life and he had it tough

Now look –

You got it tough and he got it easy

If you choose

Its your choice

to take life easy now

You will not find it easy in eternity

We must be willing to be obedient

Sacrifice – take persecution -

And do all that God has left us here to do

We can’t take life easy and accomplish what God wants us to do

You took it easy when Peter was crucified upside down

You took it easy when my servants suffered and died in the Sudan

Forever is a long time folks

This man made a mistake

He thought he was going to take it easy

But his soul was required of Him

We are to work now

And retire later

The meek shall inherit the world

Not the manipulators

The meek are those that accept the role God has given us in this life

Bible says

Moses was meek

Why?

Because he didn’t really want to be the deliver  - but he accepted the role and embraced it

Moses knew about role reversal

Moses was blessed

When Jesus went to the mount of transfiguration

now and for all eternity

We may not like what God has told us to do

We have to stop playing dumb

We know

We just don’t like what we are hearing

The proud will be brought low

And the humble will be raised up

Board President or custodian

It really doesn’t matter if

you are not following the pattern

That God has laid out for your life

Don’t love the world

Become a stranger in this world

Take persecution

Don’t try and be popular

Be willing to be not liked or even loved here

My life is to sacrifice for the cause of Christ

To raise a standard

And speak the truth

Like saying

We are the robbers

It’s not what people wanted to hear

So they reversed their role and crucified the king

And they may do it to you too

But that is our calling

Buy now pay later-

That is Christianity

Whatever we desire to have here in this life

We will pay for in the life to come

It’s not so sovereign that you cant choose not to do it

Come tomorrow – you may forget this message

And try to be liked by the world around you

Not very many are willing to be hated for the cause of Christ

But God is looking for a people

who will be willing to stand out from the crowd

and be different

Because time is closing in on us

Church,

God is dealing with us first

Before he can deal with the rebellious nation around us