Title: Expecting God (1)
Series: Because He Lives
Author: Jeff Strite
Text: Matthew 21:1-19
I've been told that when people come to God -- they have certain expectations. They have certain opinions of what they think God should DO for them. They visualize a God who is going to do what they want done.
ILLUS: A woman named Donna had a conversation with her 4-year-old niece. The little girl's mother was pregnant and Donna asked her niece: "So, what do you want, a baby brother or a baby sister?" The niece looked up at her and said: "Aunt Donna, sometimes you just gots to take what God gives ya." (Donna Patton, Hillsboro, OH. Christian Reader, "Lite Fare.") In other words, Aunt Donna thought her niece would have expectations of what God would do for her. A baby brother or sister. But this little girl trusted God and figured that God knew better than she did what was best for her.
In our text this morning, we read about Jesus' triumphal entry into Jerusalem. The crowds excitedly line the streets of the city because their long-expected Messiah/King had come and they were electrified.
Now, I did some background study on this issue. I wanted to know WHY the Jews would have expected a Messiah King who give them safety and security - and I found that God's prophets kept beating on that topic like a drumbeat.
- Jeremiah 23:5-7 (for example) wrote: "Behold, the days are coming, declares the LORD, when I will raise up for David a righteous Branch, and he shall reign as king and deal wisely, and shall execute justice and righteousness in the land. In his days Judah will be saved, and Israel will dwell securely. And this is the name by which he will be called: 'The LORD is our righteousness.'"
- Zechariah 6:12-13 echoes that promise: 'Thus says the LORD of hosts, "Behold, the man whose name is the Branch: for he shall branch out from his place, and he shall build the temple of the LORD. It is he who shall build the temple of the LORD and shall bear royal ...
Series: Because He Lives
Author: Jeff Strite
Text: Matthew 21:1-19
I've been told that when people come to God -- they have certain expectations. They have certain opinions of what they think God should DO for them. They visualize a God who is going to do what they want done.
ILLUS: A woman named Donna had a conversation with her 4-year-old niece. The little girl's mother was pregnant and Donna asked her niece: "So, what do you want, a baby brother or a baby sister?" The niece looked up at her and said: "Aunt Donna, sometimes you just gots to take what God gives ya." (Donna Patton, Hillsboro, OH. Christian Reader, "Lite Fare.") In other words, Aunt Donna thought her niece would have expectations of what God would do for her. A baby brother or sister. But this little girl trusted God and figured that God knew better than she did what was best for her.
In our text this morning, we read about Jesus' triumphal entry into Jerusalem. The crowds excitedly line the streets of the city because their long-expected Messiah/King had come and they were electrified.
Now, I did some background study on this issue. I wanted to know WHY the Jews would have expected a Messiah King who give them safety and security - and I found that God's prophets kept beating on that topic like a drumbeat.
- Jeremiah 23:5-7 (for example) wrote: "Behold, the days are coming, declares the LORD, when I will raise up for David a righteous Branch, and he shall reign as king and deal wisely, and shall execute justice and righteousness in the land. In his days Judah will be saved, and Israel will dwell securely. And this is the name by which he will be called: 'The LORD is our righteousness.'"
- Zechariah 6:12-13 echoes that promise: 'Thus says the LORD of hosts, "Behold, the man whose name is the Branch: for he shall branch out from his place, and he shall build the temple of the LORD. It is he who shall build the temple of the LORD and shall bear royal ...
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