{"id":193,"date":"2013-01-13T22:20:20","date_gmt":"2013-01-13T21:20:20","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/pbthomas.com\/blog\/?p=193"},"modified":"2013-01-13T22:20:20","modified_gmt":"2013-01-13T21:20:20","slug":"welcoming-the-saviour-mark-11","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/pbthomas.com\/blog\/?p=193","title":{"rendered":"Welcoming the Saviour Mark 11"},"content":{"rendered":"

Indifference! In today\u2019s world that is the most common response when we tell people the gospel of Jesus Christ. Indifference. Occasionally irritation or annoyance. But not usually opposition, just apathy.
\nHow different it was when Jesus arrived in Jerusalem.
\n8 Many people spread their cloaks on the road, while others spread branches they had cut in the fields. 9 Those who went ahead and those who followed shouted, \u201cHosanna!\u201d \u201cBlessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!\u201d 10\u201cBlessed is the coming kingdom of our father David!\u201d \u201cHosanna in the highest!\u201d
\n\u201cHosanna!\u201d \u201cLord, save us!\u201d Those crowds welcomed Jesus as the Messiah, the Saviour, the Prince of Peace. Why is it that today the response is so indifferent, so lukewarm. Why are people today so slow to welcome the Saviour? THREE reasons:
\nPeople think they have NO NEED OF A SAVIOUR
\nThe Jews in first century Palestine knew they needed a Saviour. It wasn\u2019t just that they had been looking forward for centuries to the arrival of the Messiah who would arrive in Jerusalem at Passover time, not as every other pilgrim would, walking, but instead riding, and not on a horse but on a donkey. But at that time the whole Jewish nation was groaning under the oppression of the Roman occupation. The Jews were waiting for God to liberate His people.
\nAnd it is the case that poor and oppressed and marginalised people in every age have recognised their need of a Saviour, somebody to set them free. That is why the gospel is so well received in many parts of the world today. I heard recently that of the 1.4 billion people in China, the estimated number of Christians in China is 75 million. The gospel is indeed good news for the poor. Jesus brings freedom! But so many people think they are free, when they are only really free to stay lost and in the dark.
\nFor many people in England in the 21st century, their lives are easy and comfortable. They don\u2019t recognise that they need a Saviour. They don\u2019t see that they are caught in the web of sin. Many people can\u2019t imagine life getting any better. Many others aren\u2019t prepared to give up all they\u2019ve got for something they don\u2019t think they need. Who needs a Saviour anyway?!
\nMany people don\u2019t see what they are missing out on. Life in all its fullness. Joy, peace, a relationship with the God who created us and who loves us more than we can possibly imagine. But then if all the gospel offered was a better life, a more fulfilled life, a more peaceful life, then maybe we shouldn\u2019t urge people to follow Jesus. But in fact Jesus is not just some optional extra for life.
\nWhat we need to remind people about is the one thing which people who feel they have no need of a Saviour prefer not to think about, the one certain thing in life they are not prepared for. Death. Three score years and then what?? People may think they are doing alright in this world \u2013 but what about the next? Heaven may only be for people who believe there is a heaven \u2013 but if you don\u2019t believe in anything, what then? \u201cI don\u2019t believe in hell\u201d may be the most common excuse but it will not be an acceptable excuse before the Judgment throne of God. We ALL need saving, everybody needs a Saviour, if only from the appalling arrogance which says, \u201cI am good enough as I am. I don\u2019t need saving.\u201d We all need a Saviour and Jesus Christ is the Saviour we should all be welcoming.
\nActs 17 30 In the past God overlooked such ignorance, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent. 31 For he has set a day when he will judge the world with justice by the man he has appointed. He has given proof of this to all men by raising him from the dead.\u201d
\nHosanna! Lord, save us!
\nSecond reason people are so slow to welcome the Saviour today is this.
\nPeople think that NO SAVIOUR CAN HELP
\nSome think that because they are convinced that there is no such thing as God, GOD DOESN\u2019T EXIST
\nThroughout the whole history of humanity the question has always been, \u201cWhich god is the greatest?\u201d \u201cWhich God should I follow?\u201d It was only really during the 20th century that a new question emerged, \u201cDoes God exist at all?\u201d That question arose partly from the horrors of two world wars, but it was really promoted by the secular agenda of the media, in particular television. In fact, most people don\u2019t actually stop and think about the question, \u201cDoes God exist?\u201d The media has done such a good job of creating the impression that there is no God that most people just assume that is the case. For most people, it doesn\u2019t FEEL as if God exists, so they never actually think about the question.
\nOf course, a statement like \u201cGod doesn\u2019t exist\u201d doesn\u2019t have any validity. Without first searching every corner of the universe, you cannot assert that a particular thing does not exist. A person can say, \u201cIf God does exist, I haven\u2019t seen any evidence which convinces me yet.\u201d \u201cIf God does exist, I haven\u2019t met Him yet.\u201d But saying that \u201cGod doesn\u2019t exist\u201d as if it was mathematically or scientifically provable is as meaningless as somebody saying \u201cAustralia doesn\u2019t exist\u201d just because they haven\u2019t been there and they don\u2019t believe the people who say they have.
\nWhat many folk are actually saying is that they haven\u2019t seen any evidence that God is real. They haven\u2019t seen God\u2019s hand in creation. They haven\u2019t seen any signs of God at work in the lives of Christians or in churches. They don\u2019t hear God\u2019s voice in His word the Bible. So such people reckon that God isn\u2019t there, that God doesn\u2019t exist, and they don\u2019t recognise the difficulties which that view generates.
\nMany people think that God doesn\u2019t exist but others think that even if He does exist GOD JUST DOESN\u2019T CARE. They see the news of natural disasters and wars and appalling crimes and abuses and ask why doesn\u2019t God stop such tragedies? We need to point them to the God who DOES care \u2013 that\u2019s why Jesus went to Jerusalem to die to bring the world back to God!
\nSome people think that even if there is a God and He does care about the world, God doesn\u2019t care about ME. My problems are too big. Nothing can change anything. Many people are gripped by despair and hopelessness. We need to tell everybody that there are no hopeless cases! NOBODY is beyond redemption! Jesus brings hope to a hopeless world. Hope for a transformed life now and hope for eternity. Not just pie in the sky when you die but cake on your plate while you wait! Hosanna! Lord save us!
\nThere are so many people who think they don\u2019t need a Saviour. So many who think God doesn\u2019t exist or that God has given up on the world and God has given up on them. No wonder they don\u2019t rush to welcome Jesus the Saviour. But then also there is a third reason.
\nCHRISTIANS NEED TO WELCOME THE SAVIOUR!
\nJesus didn\u2019t just show up in Jerusalem on that donkey by Himself. He had hundreds, if not thousands of supporters with Him! And it was those followers who drew the attention of the crowds in Jerusalem to Jesus. The other Gospels make this clear.
\nMatthew 21 9 The crowds that went ahead of him and those that followed shouted, \u201cHosanna to the Son of David!\u201d \u201cBlessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!\u201d\u201cHosanna in the highest!\u201d
\n10 When Jesus entered Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred and asked, \u201cWho is this?\u201d 11 The crowds answered, \u201cThis is Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth in Galilee.\u201d
\nJesus\u2019s arrival made an impact on the whole of Jerusalem and this was due to the crowds going in front of him and behind him shouting and cheering.
\nJohn 1217 Now the crowd that was with him when he called Lazarus from the tomb and raised him from the dead continued to spread the word. 18 Many people, because they had heard that he had given this miraculous sign, went out to meet him. 19 So the Pharisees said to one another, \u201cSee, this is getting us nowhere. Look how the whole world has gone after him!\u201d
\nPeople came out from Jerusalem to meet Jesus because the news that Jesus had raised Lazarus back to life had gone before him. So much so that the Pharisees said, \u201cthe whole world has gone after him!\u201d
\nLuke 19 37 When he came near the place where the road goes down the Mount of Olives, the whole crowd of disciples began joyfully to praise God in loud voices for all the miracles they had seen:
\n38\u201cBlessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord!\u201d\u201cPeace in heaven and glory in the highest!\u201d <\/p>\n

They welcomed Jesus in Jerusalem because of the crowds of disciples praising God for all the miracles they had seen. And after Jesus had died and been raised from the dead and ascended into heaven it was the disciples who led people to welcome the Saviour. It was the joy and enthusiasm and commitment and sacrifice of the first Christians which led first thousands and over the centuries millions to put their trust in Jesus. And it is that passion which Christians have for following Jesus which draws others to follow Him still today. We can\u2019t prove to anybody that God exists, but we can show the difference Jesus makes in our lives and tell other what Jesus can do for them too! So many people outside think that church is boring or irrelevant. We have to show them the opposite is the case!<\/p>\n

Psalm 107 says this. 2Let the redeemed of the LORD say so \u2014 those he redeemed from the hand of the foe, 3those he gathered from the lands, from east and west, from north and south.
\nThis little light of mine. I\u2019ve got to let it shine! This new year we will have all kinds of opportunities for outreach and evangelism. Our task is simple. For people who think their lives are fine and they have no need of a Saviour, we need to point them to eternity and help them to see that everybody needs saving! For people who think that God doesn\u2019t exist, we need to show them that God is real and that God loves them and that God will help them! And the very best way we can do that is by letting ourselves get excited about our Saviour and everything He has done for us, the way those crowds were excited as they welcomed Jesus into Jerusalem. We need to ask God to set our hearts on fire with love and praise and passion for our Saviour!
\nThe world around is indifferent to Jesus. But Christians too need to beware of indifference. Of apathy. Of lukewarm superficial religiosity. If Christians aren\u2019t seen to be welcoming Jesus, why should anybody else?? At a pop concert it is the fan club who fight for the best seats and cheer the loudest. At a football match it is the supporters club who cheer the most, even at the away games and when the rain is pouring down. At political rallies it is the party members who urge the crowds to cheer the speaker. As Christians I am sure we could allow ourselves to get more excited about Jesus, excited like pop fans or football fans, \u201cfanatics\u201d as they are. A fanatic is only somebody who loves Jesus more than you do! We need to be passionate about welcoming the Saviour. Hosanna! Lord, Save us!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Indifference! In today\u2019s world that is the most common response when we tell people the gospel of Jesus Christ. Indifference. Occasionally irritation or annoyance.…<\/span><\/p>\n

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