{"id":1470,"date":"2021-03-28T10:00:13","date_gmt":"2021-03-28T17:00:13","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.livingwordpetaluma.com\/blog\/?p=1470"},"modified":"2021-04-01T18:43:48","modified_gmt":"2021-04-02T01:43:48","slug":"palm-sunday-2021","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.livingwordpetaluma.com\/blog\/2021\/03\/28\/palm-sunday-2021\/","title":{"rendered":"Palm Sunday 2021"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<figure class=\"wp-block-audio\"><audio controls src=\"http:\/\/www.livingwordpetaluma.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/Palm-Sunday-03-28-21.mp3\"><\/audio><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Palm Sunday<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>March 28, 2021<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Philippians 2:5-11<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Strive to Have a Palm Sunday Attitude!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus:&nbsp; Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness.&nbsp; And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death\u2014even death on a cross!&nbsp; Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.&nbsp; (NIV1984)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Today as we gather together in God\u2019s Name, we automatically have a very good idea concerning the central focus of our worship service.&nbsp; Today we celebrate Palm Sunday.&nbsp; Today we remember and rejoice as Jesus triumphantly enters into the City of Jerusalem amidst shouts of, <em>\u201cHosanna!&nbsp; Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!&nbsp; Hosanna in the highest!\u201d<\/em>&nbsp; Today we gladly follow the prophet Zechariah\u2019s encouragement to <em>\u201cRejoice greatly\u201d<\/em>&nbsp; because with the eyes of faith we can see the fulfillment of Zechariah\u2019s words, <em>\u201cSee, your king comes to you, righteous and having salvation, gentle and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey\u201d<\/em> (Zechariah 9:9).&nbsp; Today we wish that we could have been among the crowds of people cutting down palm branches, singing songs of praise and placing our cloaks along the road Jesus was riding on.&nbsp; Today our souls are filled with joy and excitement\u2014 in preparation for what we will see and hear during the rest of Holy Week.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>With the joy and the excitement of Palm Sunday so clearly portrayed in both our Old Testament Lesson for today (Zechariah 9:9, 10) as well as in our Gospel Lesson for this morning (Mark 11:1-10) were you a little bit surprised that I chose our Epistle Lesson as our sermon text for Palm Sunday?&nbsp; If so, let me help you see why I did this.&nbsp; As I was preparing for today, my goal was to take the joy of our Old Testament Lesson plus the excitement of our Gospel Lesson and dovetail them with the encouragement that Paul proclaims to us in this portion of his letter to the Philippian Christians, <em>\u201cYour attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus.\u201d<\/em>&nbsp; With that goal in mind, let\u2019s study this text under the theme:&nbsp; <strong><em>Strive to Have a Palm Sunday Attitude!<\/em><\/strong>&nbsp; Striving to have a Palm Sunday attitude will lead us to three things.&nbsp; First, it will lead us to have a heart that is filled with humility.&nbsp; Then, it will lead us to live a life that is motivated by loyalty.&nbsp; Finally, it will lead us to keep our eyes focused on victory.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>\u201cYour attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus.\u201d<\/em>&nbsp; As we apply those words to ourselves on this glorious Palm Sunday we ask:&nbsp; How does that encouragement lead us to have a heart that is filled with humility?&nbsp; Paul answers that question in a very powerful way when he points us to the example of Jesus Christ Himself.&nbsp; Paul says concerning Jesus, <em>\u201cWho, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Does it get any clearer than this, my friends?&nbsp; Jesus <strong>is <\/strong><em>\u201cin very nature God\u201d<\/em>!&nbsp; In other words, Jesus <strong>is <\/strong>God\u2014 with all of the characteristics and all of the attributes of the one and only living God!&nbsp; Jesus deserved to receive all the praise and all the honor and all the glory that the people showered upon Him as He triumphantly rode into the City of Jerusalem so many years ago\u2014 and He still deserves to receive <strong>our <\/strong>praise and <strong>our <\/strong>honor and <strong>our <\/strong>glory today!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>And yet, even though Jesus <strong>is<\/strong> <em>\u201cin very nature God\u201d<\/em> Paul goes onto reveal to us that Jesus <em>\u201cdid not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness.\u201d<\/em>&nbsp; What does this mean?&nbsp; It means that Jesus did not consider His <em>\u201cequality with God\u201d<\/em> as something He had to \u201chold on to at all costs.\u201d&nbsp; He was willing to \u201clet go\u201d of His <em>\u201cequality\u201d<\/em> with God and be born into this world as the true Son of Man, as our true flesh-and-blood Brother.&nbsp; These words describe what is known as Jesus\u2019 State of Humiliation.&nbsp; While Jesus was <strong>always <\/strong>true God during His life here on this earth (think of all the miracles He performed!), He willing set aside the full use of His divine power, majesty and glory so that He could serve us in all humility!&nbsp; As the Lord explained to His disciples, <em>\u201cThe Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many\u201d<\/em> (Matthew 20:28).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>As Christians it\u2019s very important for us to take the humility that Jesus revealed when He was born in a manger in Bethlehem, the humility He revealed as He rode into Jerusalem on a donkey and let it fill our own hearts with humility.&nbsp; Why?&nbsp; Pride.&nbsp; Pride is one of the most powerful and one of the most deadly <em>\u201cflaming arrows\u201d<\/em> (Ephesians 6:16) that Satan uses against us.&nbsp; Think about it.&nbsp; It is so very easy for us to look at all the horrible ungodly things that people are doing and promoting today and think to ourselves, \u201cI am so glad that I would never do something like that!\u201d&nbsp; It is so very easy for us to look at a fellow Christian who is struggling with questions or doubts or weaknesses and say to ourselves, \u201cI am so glad that my faith is so much stronger than theirs!\u201d&nbsp; Striving to have a Palm Sunday attitude leads us to have a heart that is filled with so much humility that we take to heart what the good Lord says to us through His servant Peter, <em>\u201cEach one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God\u2019s grace in its various forms\u201d<\/em> (1 Peter 4:10).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>\u201cYour attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus.\u201d<\/em>&nbsp; That encouragement not only leads us to strive for a Palm Sunday attitude by having a heart that is filled with humility, but those words lead us to strive to have a Palm Sunday attitude that leads us to live a life that is motivated by loyalty.&nbsp; Paul highlights how Jesus\u2019 life was motivated by loyalty when he writes in our text, <em>\u201cAnd being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death\u2014 even death on a cross!\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Jesus\u2019 entire life was motivated by His loyalty to His heavenly Father and to the Father\u2019s Plan of Salvation for this world.&nbsp; It was Jesus\u2019 loyalty to His Father and to His Father\u2019s Plan that led Him to leave His home in heaven and be born of a woman.&nbsp; It was Jesus\u2019 loyalty to His Father and to His Father\u2019s Plan that led Him to live an absolutely perfect life\u2014 in our place.&nbsp; It was Jesus\u2019 loyalty to His Father and to His Father\u2019s Plan that led Him to confront and to conquer every temptation that Satan threw at Him.&nbsp; It was Jesus\u2019 loyalty to His Father and to His Father\u2019s Plan that led Jesus to clearly and faithfully proclaim God\u2019s Truth to everyone He met.&nbsp; It was Jesus\u2019 loyalty to His Father and to His Father\u2019s Plan that led Jesus to be <em>\u201cobedient to death\u2014 even death on a cross!\u201d<\/em>&nbsp; Yes, my friends, it was Jesus\u2019 loyalty to His Father and to His Father\u2019s Plan that led Him to understand that this (Pointing to the cross) was the <strong>only <\/strong>way for Him to save us from our own sin!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>As we strive to have a Palm Sunday attitude, my friends, Jesus\u2019 loyalty to His Father and Jesus\u2019 loyalty to the Father\u2019s Plan for our salvation now leads us to live a life that is motivated by loyalty to Jesus!&nbsp; What does this mean?&nbsp; Living a life that is motivated by loyalty to Jesus means that we always put Jesus <strong>first <\/strong>in our heart and in our life.&nbsp; It means that we <strong>never <\/strong>allow anyone or anything to become more important to us than our Savior.&nbsp; Living a life that is motivated by loyalty to Jesus means that we make it clear to the people around us that Jesus is the <strong>only <\/strong>way to eternal life in heaven.&nbsp; We <strong>never g<\/strong>ive <strong>anyone <\/strong>the impression that there is even the <strong>possibility <\/strong>that there is some other way to be saved\u2014 whether it is by doing good works or by trusting in someone other than Jesus.&nbsp; Living a life that is motivated by loyalty to Jesus means that we <strong>always <\/strong>stand <strong>firmly <\/strong>on the foundation of God\u2019s holy inspired Word.&nbsp; We <strong>never <\/strong>allow <strong>anyone <\/strong>to maintain that the Bible is just another book or that the Bible\u2019s teachings need to change in order to keep up with our ever-changing times.&nbsp; Yes, my friends, living a life that is motivated by loyalty to Jesus means that we will remain loyal to our Lord and we will remain loyal to His Word\u2014 no matter what other people might say and no matter how anyone else might react.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>\u201cYour attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus.\u201d<\/em>&nbsp; The final point we want to emphasize is that striving to have a Palm Sunday attitude will lead us to keep our eyes focused on victory!&nbsp; Paul concludes our text by saying to us, <em>\u201cTherefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on the earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This portion of our text summarizes what is known as Jesus\u2019 State of Exaltation.&nbsp; Jesus\u2019 State of Exaltation began when the living Christ descended into hell to proclaim His victory over Satan.&nbsp; Jesus\u2019 State of Exaltation will continue all the way through His return to this earth as the Judge of the living and the dead and into eternity!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Jesus\u2019 State of Exaltation is the natural outcome of both His humility and His loyalty.&nbsp; Having reached His goal of paying for all the sins of all mankind, having remained loyal to His Father and to His Father\u2019s Plan of Salvation for this world, the heavenly Father <em>\u201cexalted\u201d<\/em> His Son to the <em>\u201chighest place\u201d<\/em> and rightfully <em>\u201cgave him the name that is above every name\u201d<\/em>!&nbsp; Once again sitting at His Father\u2019s right hand\u2014 as the Victor over sin, death and the devil\u2014 there is no name more important, there is no name honored more highly than the name\u2014 Jesus!&nbsp; You and I, of course, understand this perfectly and agree with this wholeheartedly.&nbsp; By the grace and power of God we boldly stand alongside the apostle Peter and say concerning Jesus, <em>\u201cSalvation is found in no one else, for there is no name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved\u201d<\/em> (Acts 4:12).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Because of the honor and the glory that Jesus rightfully deserves to receive as the Victor, we gladly and willing say \u201cAmen!\u201d to what Paul reveals to us with the words, <em>\u201cAt the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Right now in heaven above all the saints and all the angels are bowing before Jesus and confessing His name as they worship and praise Him.&nbsp; Right now here on earth all those who have been brought to faith in Jesus as their Savior willingly bow before Him and boldly confess His name as we worship and praise Him.&nbsp; And one day when Jesus returns to this earth in all of His power, majesty and glory, <strong>everyone <\/strong>\u2014 even those who rejected Him, even Satan and all his demons\u2014 <strong>everyone <\/strong>will have no choice but to bow before Jesus and confess that Jesus is Lord!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>As we strive to have a Palm Sunday attitude Jesus\u2019 victory is what leads us to keep our eyes focused on the victory that Jesus Himself has promised to us!&nbsp; Think about it.&nbsp; Jesus\u2019 victory guarantees to us that the difficulties and the hardships, the persecutions and the temptations, the pains and the sorrows that we encounter and endure as we journey through this world are only temporary!&nbsp; That\u2019s why Paul was able to assure the Christians in Rome and why Paul is able to assure us, <em>\u201cI consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us\u201d<\/em> (Romans 8:18).&nbsp; When we keep our eyes focused on the cross (Pointing to the cross) and remember what Jesus did <strong>for <\/strong>us, then we will always be able to keep our eyes focused on the victory that Jesus has waiting <strong>for <\/strong>us!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>\u201cYour attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus.\u201d<\/em>&nbsp; As we take that encouragement to heart on this glorious Palm Sunday, I pray that we will indeed strive to have a Palm Sunday attitude\u2014 an attitude that leads us to have a heart that is filled with humility, an attitude that leads us to live a life that is motivated by loyalty, an attitude that leads us to keep our eyes focused on victory!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>To God be the glory!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Amen<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Palm Sunday March 28, 2021 Philippians 2:5-11 Strive to Have a Palm Sunday Attitude! Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus:&nbsp; Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness.&nbsp; And being found [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[24],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1470","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-worship-service-podcast"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.livingwordpetaluma.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1470","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.livingwordpetaluma.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.livingwordpetaluma.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.livingwordpetaluma.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.livingwordpetaluma.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1470"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"http:\/\/www.livingwordpetaluma.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1470\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1473,"href":"http:\/\/www.livingwordpetaluma.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1470\/revisions\/1473"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.livingwordpetaluma.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1470"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.livingwordpetaluma.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1470"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.livingwordpetaluma.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1470"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}