Sermon Central
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Before The Rocks Cry Out
Contributed by Norman Lawrence on Jun 6, 2003 (message contributor)
Summary: This message was first preached on Palm Sunday, 1995, and a stone was used during the message on which the following words were written: “Keep Praising The Lord, and I’ll Stay Quiet”.
This message was first preached on Palm Sunday, 1995, and a stone was used during the message on which the following words were written: “Keep Praising The Lord, and I’ll Stay Quiet”.
This portion of scripture gives the beautiful account of the triumphal entry of Christ into Jerusalem as the prophet Zechariah prophesied about many years before...
Deliverance day for the Jews had finally arrived, (or so they thought)
Their King and deliverer was riding in to take His crown and set up His kingdom...
They would overlook the lowly colt he rode for now...
The Roman Yoke would soon be broken, and God’s Kingdom would be set up on earth...
Finally, they’d be in charge...
Excitement charged the air around them as all their dreams and aspirations began to look like they would soon come true...
The Great Conqueror was in their midst, but they didn’t realize that his conquest had to be in the Spirit Realm, before He could set up His earthly Kingdom one day...
He came riding on a lowly colt that day, but one day He’ll return on a white horse arrayed in power and majesty and glory, and all eyes will behold Him...
He will rule with a rod of iron for 1,000 years on this earth with justice, truth, and righteousness...
If ever there was a Praise service, this was it...
As the procession moved on, and the crowd grew, the disciples, inspired by an enthusiasm which was caught up and prolonged by the multitude began singing loud praises to God...
The whole city is moved as Jesus of Nazareth makes His soul-stirring entry through the gates...
We notice first of all that
II. THE PEOPLE HAD A REASON TO PRAISE
They were praising Christ because they believed He had come to free them from Roman Oppression and rule...
All their burdens, shame, reproach and misery was on the shoulders of the man on the colt...
We know that for anyone to really praise the Lord, there first of all must be a reason...
These people really believed they had a reason to praise...
Jesus was not misled or deceived by the shouts of the people...
He knew they were praising Him for many different reasons, and in a few days, the very same ones would scream even in a louder crescendo to Crucify Him!
Hardly anyone had the right reason to praise Him...
They were mainly looking at what was in it for them...
But Christ didn’t stop them, and as a matter of fact, He accepted their praises as we see in vs. 40..
Do we today have a reason to Praise God?
These were praising because of their hopes of escaping the physical bondage they were in...
But we have been given spiritual freedom from Satan’s oppressive rule in our minds and spirits...
John 8:36 If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed.
If anyone ever had a reason to praise God it’s the Saints of today, and especially those of us who have been blessed to live in America!
Heb 13:15 By him therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to his name.
Why should we praise Him?
A few reasons are:
We’ve been redeemed, set free, made to be joint-heirs with Christ, more than conquerors, a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a peculiar people, called out of darkness into his marvelous light, justified, sanctified, filled with the Holy Spirit, and are headed to Heaven to live with Christ for eternity
Do we have a reason to praise God?
May Christ ever be welcome to ride in through the gates of this house, and hear the Praises of His people...
Sometimes, we need to recognized our blessings we do have, especially in America:
"Count your blessings!" That is excellent counsel, but sometimes we have to recognize them first!
A man who owned a small estate wished to sell it. Sending for a real estate agent, he asked him to write an advertisement describing the house and land.
When the ad was ready, the agent took it to the owner and read it to him. "Read that again," said the owner. The agent read the description of the estate once more. "I don’t think I will sell after all," said the owner. "I have been looking for an estate like that all my life, and I did not know that I owned it!"
Count your blessings -- yes, but start by asking God to open your eyes to see your possessions in Christ. Begin by recognizing all that you have in Christ. That will change your entire perspective and enable you to praise God for what you have.
