The Hope of our City

[0:00] Well, I want to start by asking you this morning, what are your hopes for your city? What would you like to see happen in your city that's not happening now? What are your hopes for Cape Town?

[0:12] Well, the Democratic Alliance, who as you probably know is in charge of the city of Cape Town, the management of our city, has published their hopes and their, well, they don't call it their hopes, they call it their goals, their five-year goals, what they want to achieve in their tenure running the city.

[0:31] And they've said that they want to reduce, actually eliminate load shedding. Wouldn't that be nice? To look at ways to eliminate load shedding in Cape Town. They want to drastically reduce crime, increase security.

[0:43] They want to improve public transport. They've seen that as a great need. And they want to provide affordable housing in Cape Town, where the housing market is so inaccessible to so many people, they want to provide a lot more affordable housing.

[0:57] You would agree with me, those are good goals, right? To have for a city. And if they got achieved, I think a lot of us would be quite happy. Whether they will be achieved or not remains to be seen.

[1:10] God would say, if those are your only hopes for your city, you are aiming far too low. You see, God wants us to hope for much more, for this world and our cities in it.

[1:24] God wants us to hope for a Cape Town that not only has no crime, but has no sin in people's hearts, which caused them to commit crimes. God wants you and me to hope for a Cape Town that not only has affordable housing, but has a beautiful, luxurious place for each person to live, and more than enough space for everyone.

[1:48] God wants us to hope for a city that doesn't only have enough electricity, but has enough of everything, where no one is in lack of anything, and everybody has all the resources they need to live a good and prosperous life.

[2:06] God wants you to set your hopes that high, and He wants you to hope for those things, because that's exactly what He's planned, and promised one day for all the cities of this world, that they will be like that.

[2:20] And if you read your Old Testament, you'll realize that was the hope that the people of Israel had. They set their hopes for their nation and their city, their capital city, Jerusalem, very high.

[2:32] And specifically in the city of Jerusalem is where the hopes of the people of God were gathered. Jerusalem, a special city in all the world and in history.

[2:47] Even today, it's still a center of controversy and attention in our world. But the reason Jerusalem is such an important city in the Bible, the main reason is that because of all the cities in the world, that special city, Jerusalem, is the place where God said He will kick off His project to fix all the cities in the world.

[3:13] And what I want us to do this morning is look at some of those prophecies, where God has communicated to us the place of the city of Jerusalem in His plans.

[3:25] Okay? So let's look at some of these prophecies. I'll put some of them up on the screen behind me. But there's a lot of prophecies about the hope of Jerusalem, and specifically about the time when God would come into the city of Jerusalem one day and start from there fixing the world.

[3:40] And that was the hope that the Israelites looked forward to. So here's one of them, Ezekiel. From Ezekiel 43. Now, you need to understand the big context of Ezekiel is that God has left Jerusalem.

[3:55] And because of the sin and the rebellion of the Israelites, He left Jerusalem, He left them to their own devices, and judged them through the exile, which you'll know about if you know.

[4:07] Some Old Testament history. But Ezekiel then gets a vision that God's going to come back. That after their time of discipline and the punishment and the exile, that God is going to return to Jerusalem.

[4:23] And listen to how it goes. Ezekiel 43, 1-2. He led me to the gate. This is Ezekiel getting this vision from God. The one that faces east. And I saw the glory of the God of Israel coming from the east.

[4:33] His voice sounded like the roar of a huge torrent, and the earth shone with His glory. And then from verse 4. The glory of the Lord entered the temple by way of the gate that faced east.

[4:45] Then the Spirit lifted me up and brought me to the inner court, and the glory of the Lord filled the temple. Okay, so Ezekiel gets this vision of the city that is so in need of restoration, in the middle of the world that is so in need of restoration.

[5:03] But he has this vision of God's presence coming back to it and filling the place. And then if you read the rest of Ezekiel, you'll realize what it's about, is everything in the city starts to work again.

[5:13] Everything in the city starts to work like it should. And it finally is the city that it always should have been. Okay, so that's what Ezekiel shows us. But the important thing is the difference that the presence of God makes to the city.

[5:27] And when the presence of God comes back to Jerusalem, that is the only way it can be fixed. That is the only way that the disorder can be fixed, and order can be restored to that city and this world.

[5:44] It kind of reminds me of high school, when the teacher left the classroom. Maybe they had some kind of admin thing to do at the office.

[5:55] And from the moment, from the second the teacher leaves the classroom, I wonder if you can relate with this in your school days, or if you're still at school. From the second the teacher leaves the classroom, the chaos starts to increase.

[6:09] Right? Slowly, but surely. The longer the teacher is gone, the louder it gets. And the more chaos happens. No matter how much the nerdy girl in the corner who just wants to do her work tells everyone, just shh, just get back to work.

[6:23] It doesn't work. Okay? The chaos just keeps rising. Nothing until the point. The only thing that's going to solve that is the presence of the teacher coming back into the classroom with wrath on their face.

[6:35] Right? Now that, the presence of the teacher, is what is needed to restore order to the classroom. In the same way, our world is like that. God, when He steps back and says, you want to run the world? Fine.

[6:45] I'll leave you to your own devices. See how you do. Chaos rises. Crime. Selfishness. Pride. All the things that are now so part of our world that we take them for granted.

[6:57] But the Bible has this vision of the return of God's presence back to this world where things will start to be restored and the chaos will be undone. That's the vision that Ezekiel has.

[7:12] But then Zechariah has another vision of the same thing, but in a different perspective. Because Zechariah sees the coming of God. He's given this vision of God. But the coming of God is in the coming of a king, a particular human king into this city, but a special king, unlike the world has ever seen before, who will come to Jerusalem and from there rule the nations.

[7:33] So Zechariah 9, 9-10 says, Rejoice greatly, daughter Zion. Shout in triumph, daughter Jerusalem. Look, your king is coming to you. He is righteous and victorious, humble and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.

[7:47] I will cut off the chariot from Ephraim and the horse from Jerusalem. The bow of war will be removed and he will proclaim peace to the nations. His dominion will extend from sea to sea, from the Euphrates River to the ends of the earth.

[8:03] Okay, so it's interesting. The word Jerusalem means city of peace, which is ironic given the news when you look at Jerusalem today. But one of the key things about Jerusalem is that this is where the king, who will be able to bring true peace, unlike any other king in the world has done, he will come into the city and from there he will start to establish a reign of true peace, where all war will be done away with.

[8:32] That's the vision Zechariah has. And that is what Israel were looking forward to.

[8:43] That is what they were hoping for. That was the hopes of their city, right? When all that God promised starts to be fulfilled, all of that will start to happen when these prophecies are fulfilled.

[8:57] When these prophecies happen, then God's restoration plan for the world kicks off. And the result, Isaiah tells us, listen, it's the passage that Rowan read for us earlier, and it's a beautiful passage telling us the result of God's restoration, his arrival in Jerusalem.

[9:15] It says this, Isaiah 35 verse 1, the wilderness and the dry land will be glad. The desert will rejoice and blossom like a wildflower. So the broken world that is in lack, the wilderness and the dry places in the desert are seen to be the ones that recognize the coming of God to restore the things.

[9:34] And they're glad and they blossom like a wildflower. It's a beautiful picture. And then there will be the defeat of all evil and injustice. Later on, verse 3 to 6 of Isaiah 35, strengthen the weak hands, steady the shaking knees.

[9:47] You know, all those people who are just overwhelmed by the troubles of life and are weak and sick. Say to the cowardly, be strong, do not fear, here is your God.

[10:00] All of the people who suffer the injustices and the evil of our world, vengeance is coming. God's retribution is coming. He will save you.

[10:11] Then the eyes of the blind will be open and the ears of the deaf unstopped. Then the lame will leap like a deer and the tongue of the mute will sing for joy. For water will gush in the wilderness and the streams in the desert.

[10:22] I want you to see that the Old Testament prophets time and time again hold out and God through them reveals His plans for the world where things will be fixed.

[10:33] I know it seems so impossible to imagine, but it's here over and over again. And finally, because of God's return and His establishment of this plan to restore all things, this will be the result.

[10:47] Isaiah 35 verse 10. The redeemed of the Lord will return and come to Zion with singing, crowned with unending joy. Joy and gladness will overtake them and sorrow and sighing will flee.

[11:05] Don't you want to be overtaken by joy and gladness? It's such a great picture, isn't it? Joy and gladness overtaking you like you can't outrun it.

[11:17] I mean, at the moment, it seems like joy and gladness is always trying to play catch up, but it never quite reaches us. Am I right? You know, no matter how much we pursue joy and gladness, there's always something to spoil it in this life.

[11:33] There's always loss. There's always sickness. There's always some aspect of brokenness that'll spoil it and make it temporary, whatever joy we have. But here, the vision is when joy and gladness just overtakes us.

[11:46] We can't escape it. And all sorrow and sighing will flee away. Isn't that what we all long for? No matter who you are, no matter what religion you hold to, no matter what your upbringing or your experience or beliefs, don't you just long for sorrow and sighing to be gone?

[12:01] Because deep down inside all of us, we know that it's not how it's supposed to be. And God didn't make us to live a short life of pain and sorrow and sighing.

[12:13] And that's why he tells us he's got a plan for it all to flee away. And that was the hope of Jerusalem. That's a big hope, right? That's far bigger than no load shedding and affordable housing.

[12:27] The hope of Jerusalem was that. But it was all pinned on the arrival of a king. That was what's going to kick it off. When this king that the prophet spoke of arrives in Jerusalem, then the whole thing starts.

[12:42] And that is what the Jews are still looking for. And many Christians are still waiting for the fulfillment of these prophecies that we've read, Ezekiel, Zechariah, Isaiah, when the presence of God comes into Jerusalem to begin this great restoration.

[12:56] So many people are looking today to the city of Jerusalem, waiting for that to happen. The Jews and many Christians supporting the Jews to make sure that they still have a claim over the city of Jerusalem from the Palestinians.

[13:11] It's, you know, modern contemporary politics is still around and based on these hopes for Jerusalem. The interesting thing that we need to realize this morning as we come to Mark chapter 11 and what so many people miss, but what Mark clearly shows us is that these prophecies that I've read for you have already been fulfilled 2,000 years ago when Jesus entered Jerusalem, but in a way that nobody expected.

[13:47] And because it was in a way that nobody expected, so many people missed it and still do today. But we need to understand why this is so significant. So if you turn with me to Mark 11, if you're not there yet, turn to Mark 11, and I want to show you some very important details that Mark includes as he's writing this, and he knows the hopes of Jerusalem, the hopes of Israel, and he wants to show us how what's happening here, so ordinary it seems, is actually fulfilling thousands of years of epic prophecy.

[14:22] And yet it doesn't look like it. But I want you to look at some of the details in Mark. So Mark 10, 49, this is actually before Mark 11, it was last week's passage, but there was a little detail that as I was reading it, it struck me.

[14:39] And I said, why does Mark include that? So look at 10, 49. Remember Bartimaeus, the blind guy on the road to Jerusalem in Jericho that Jesus healed last week if you were here?

[14:50] Well, this is what happened. Mark 10, 49, Jesus stopped and said, call him. So they, the people, called the blind man and said to him, have courage, get up, he's calling you.

[15:00] He threw off his coat, jumped up and came to Jesus, and Jesus healed him of his blindness. But why include that? Why include what the people told him? Mark doesn't have a lot of parchment to write on. Why include details that seem so unnecessary?

[15:14] This detail that they said, have courage, get up. Well, it's not because it's unnecessary. Listen to what Isaiah said would happen when God arrived. Isaiah 35, 3-4.

[15:25] Strengthen the weak hands. Steady the shaking knees. Say to the cowardly, be strong. Do not fear. Here is your God.

[15:36] Vengeance is coming. And then, verse 5, the eyes of the blind will be opened. You see, this is written centuries before Jesus came, and Mark wants to point out that it's being fulfilled in the arrival of Jesus to Jerusalem.

[15:52] Another detail. Mark 11, verse 1. When they approached Jerusalem at Bethphage and Bethany near the Mount of Olives. Okay, Mark, why tell us that?

[16:03] Why tell us, why give us a geography lesson? Okay, we don't, where's Bethphage, Bethany? Why do we need to know this? Just tell us what we need to know. Well, if you took a map of ancient Israel, ancient Jerusalem, what you'll see is Bethphage is the most easterly, Bethany is the next, and then Mount of Olives, is the way that you would approach Jerusalem if you were coming from the east.

[16:29] And Mark makes the point of telling us that was the direction of Jesus' approach. Why? Listen again to Ezekiel 43, verse 2. And I saw the glory of God, of the God of Israel, coming from the east.

[16:44] Verse 4. The glory of the Lord entered the temple by way of the gate that faced east. So the expectation of the Israelites was that God, when He came back to His city, was going to come from the east.

[16:59] And earlier in Ezekiel, He actually specifies from the Mount of Olives. Do you see how all of these details that Mark records are actually showing us that these ancient prophecies are being fulfilled?

[17:11] And He has to include these details because it doesn't look like they're being fulfilled. Are you convinced yet? Well, if you're not convinced, this is going to do it.

[17:22] Mark 11, 2. He told His disciples, Go into the village ahead of you. As soon as you enter it, you will find a colt tied there on which no one has ever sat.

[17:34] Untie it and bring it to me. And then verse 7. They brought the donkey to Jesus and threw their clothes on it and He sat on it. A colt which was a donkey.

[17:46] Why? Zechariah 9, verse 9. Rejoice greatly, daughter Zion. Shout in triumph, daughter Jerusalem. Look, your King is coming to you.

[17:58] He is righteous and victorious, humble and riding on a donkey. On a colt, the foal of a donkey. Do you see that the point of this passage is here, the reason this passage is here, is to tell us that all of these hopes for a restored creation, all of the things, all of Israel's hopes throughout the ages were fulfilled when Jesus entered Jerusalem.

[18:29] All of these prophecies were fulfilled. The hopes of the city of Jerusalem and all other cities. And yet, it looks very different to how anybody expected. You know, what would you expect in an ancient city when a king arrived?

[18:42] Well, we actually know 300 years before this, Alexander the Great arrived in Jerusalem. He wasn't even an Israelite. He was a Greek, a Gentile. But they welcomed him with fanfare and all of the city officials and the high priests put on their best outfits and welcomed this king into the city because that's what you do for a king.

[19:03] And you have great feasts and you would expect when the king that has been prophesied for the Israelites in the line of David for centuries comes into the city, you'd expect an official welcome.

[19:17] Everybody puts on their best clothes. They have feasts and then he goes to the palace and he begins his rule. And in Mark, that's kind of what you expect. If you don't know what's going to happen, as you read from verse 1 to 11 of chapter 11, there's this buildup of expectation.

[19:38] So, they're approaching Jerusalem. A whole lot of crowds are gathering because it's pilgrimage in the time of the Passover so there's a whole lot of people coming from the rest of the country into Jerusalem. And then Jesus finds a donkey and then you think, oh, Zechariah.

[19:53] And then he makes sure that he can sit on it and people start to realize what's happening and they put their cloaks down and they give him the red carpet treatment and they start singing great songs of praise and he approaches the city gates and it's this big buildup.

[20:09] But then the moment he crosses the threshold into Jerusalem and at this point you're going, what's going to happen? What's going to happen? If you understand the whole context, this is what happens.

[20:19] Verse 11. He went into Jerusalem and into the temple. Okay, it's being fulfilled. All the things that the Old Testament said about the Lord's presence returning to the temple.

[20:33] After looking around at everything, since it was already late, he went out to Bethany with the twelve. What? What about all these prophecies?

[20:44] He literally comes in, has a quick look around, then goes home. Out to Bethany again. That's it. What an anticlimax. It's like one of the most profound anticlimaxes in the Bible.

[20:59] It reminds me of New Year, actually, when we stayed up. We stayed up for New Year 2022, but we stayed at home. There was nothing much going on, so we just decided to have a New Year celebration at home and it goes to midnight.

[21:12] Three, two, one. Happy New Year! And then Gina and I looked at each other and we're like, you know, bedtime. You know, we're tired. It was a bit of an anticlimax. It is, like every New Year is a bit of an anticlimax, isn't it?

[21:26] You have this great buildup and then you shout Happy New Year and it's just the same as yesterday. It's just another day. And that's kind of, like, the feeling here.

[21:37] There's this great buildup and there's this anticlimax. And the reason we know, if we know what's happened in Mark so far, we know why there's no reception for Jesus. We know why there's no great welcoming of the king because he's going into enemy territory, actually.

[21:56] He's entering a city that is hostile to him and is going to kill him and is already planning to kill him. We know this and he knows it and he's told his disciples already. That's why they're so hesitant to go.

[22:07] That's why they're following behind, Mark tells us, and they're kind of hesitant to, even though Jesus is heading for Jerusalem, they're afraid and they're going, why are you going there of all places?

[22:19] Because this is not a king entering his city in celebration. This is a fugitive king entering enemy territory. And yet Mark is showing us that this is the fulfillment of all these prophecies of a victorious king entering to expand and establish his kingdom.

[22:40] So which is it? Is it what the prophecies say? Or is it what we read in Mark? Is it this victorious king entering a city to establish his rule and kick off God's restoration project?

[22:53] Or is it a fugitive king entering a city that's going to kill him? The point that Mark's trying to make is that it's both. In fact, it has to be both. See, Jesus knew what was going to happen to him.

[23:08] He knew he was going to be arrested and killed. And yet he also makes sure people know that he's coming to fulfill these prophecies. He made sure that he got the donkey and he sat on it. He made sure that the people could see he's fulfilling the prophecy of Zechariah.

[23:21] And yet he knows it's definitely not going to go the way that people expect it. And the point, therefore, is that him dying, him going to Jerusalem deliberately to die at the hands of the Jews and the Romans is actually the only way all of these Old Testament prophecies of God fixing the world can ever happen.

[23:47] That's the point. And it gets us to the heart of the gospel and what Jesus went to do in Jerusalem. That him going into enemy territory, being arrested, being spat on, being beaten, and being crucified, is the way that all of these Old Testament prophecies are going to be fulfilled.

[24:09] And there's a very good reason why. Because we learned earlier in Ezekiel that in order to really fix the world, we need God's presence.

[24:19] Like the teacher coming into the classroom is the only way the chaos will be undone, right? God coming into his world and his presence really being here is the only way that this world can be fixed and Cape Town can be fixed and any other city in the world can be fixed.

[24:37] Because God's presence will purge this world of everything that is wrong with it. Because God's presence is pure and good and holy and it is the center of all order and everything that is good and how the world is supposed to work comes from God's presence.

[24:53] And so only when that presence rests upon this world and is here will everything wrong be purged and will sorrow and sighing flee away and will we be overtaken with joy.

[25:08] But God's presence does that because it is holy which consumes all that is not holy. That is the thing about the presence of God, the holiness of God is that the holiness of God consumes everything around it that is not holy.

[25:22] Which means that the same thing that is going to fix this world one day will also destroy all that is evil and sinful and impure. And that is also what the prophets tell us.

[25:35] So our passage from Isaiah again it talks of the way that God has made into the new Jerusalem but which is representative of the restored creation and it says this Isaiah 35 verse 8 A road will be there and a way and it will be called the holy way the unclean will not travel on it.

[26:00] The unclean will not travel on it will not have a place in the restored world which makes sense right? Because it's not going to be restored if it's just full of unrestored people and sinners then it's just going to be like this world again.

[26:17] The unclean will not travel on it. Right at the end of your Bible you can turn there if you want or just listen Revelation the last page of your Bible when we also have another vision of the the new Jerusalem which is symbolic of the new creation it says this Revelation 21 verse 27 Nothing unclean will ever enter it nor anyone who does what is detestable or false but only those written in the Lamb's book of life.

[26:46] Okay? So for the world to be fixed for Jerusalem to have the hope they've been looking forward to nothing impure or unclean can enter it and God's holy presence that will come to restore it will destroy everything that doesn't belong there including the people who are sinful.

[27:09] Okay? Now we go back to Jerusalem and Jesus entering Jerusalem and do you start to see why him entering into enemy territory is the only way these prophecies can be fulfilled? he has told us in the very previous chapter chapter 10 verse 45 he has told us why he's entering Jerusalem even though his disciples are telling him no don't go there he says the son of man has not come to be served but to serve and give his life as a ransom for many a payment for sin a payment for the sins of his people so that they can be part of the fixed world and that is why there's one more beautiful detail in Isaiah 35 that I want you to see after it says the unclean will not travel on this road into the restored world it then goes on to say who will return to the city and it doesn't say those who have never sinned those who are pure from sin it says verse 10 of Isaiah 35 the redeemed of the Lord will return not the perfect not those who have managed to keep all of God's laws in their life but the redeemed the ransomed it's the same word the ransomed of the Lord those whose sins have been paid for because of what

[28:30] Jesus did in Jerusalem and that's why what he did in Jerusalem was necessary to fulfill all the hopes of Jerusalem and the hopes of every city in the world to have any true peace to truly have cities without crime to have life to have prosperity to have plenty to have justice to have joy overtake us and to have sorrow flee away Jesus had to go to Jerusalem into enemy territory and he had to die as a ransom for his people so ironically him going into Jerusalem into hostility was actually the very thing that was going to fulfill their hopes and they didn't see it and that's the sad thing the sad thing of this story is that he enters Jerusalem to fulfill all its hopes to save it and it doesn't realize it the city does not welcome him in fact in Luke's account of this entry this entry of Jesus into Jerusalem is one of the few events of the gospel that is recorded in all four of the gospel accounts because it's that important and in Luke's account

[29:41] Jesus is actually crying he's weeping as he enters it tells us as he is on the donkey and he looks to Jerusalem as he's approaching and all the people are singing and they're waving their branches and it's happy Luke zooms in on Jesus and it shows us that he's crying because he realizes Jerusalem hasn't seen what's coming they they haven't seen that their salvation has arrived the salvation they've been waiting for and still wait for today in 2022 I think that's that's indicative of so many people not just Jews in Jerusalem but everybody is frantically searching for life and happiness and restoration and joy and they don't realize that the one person who can fulfill all of that has already come and they missed him that's the sad thing they didn't see when Jesus arrived to bring them all that they could ever hope for but some did that's another thing we need to pick up in the story before we finish some did realize that those with him that were outside those with him on the pilgrimage to Jerusalem who had seen and experienced what Jesus had done this is what they did and his disciples

[31:03] Mark 11 from verse 7 they brought the donkey to Jesus and threw their clothes on it and he sat on it many people spread their clothes on the road and others spread leafy branches cut from the fields those who went ahead and those who followed shouted 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 so you've got some people who do realize and they're shouting Hosanna it's a important word Christians have just kind of they throw it into their songs like we're gonna sing now but we need to understand what that word means it's a Hebrew word that means save us now save us now and it's what they sang in Psalm 118 when the victorious king entered his city the people of the city would see their victory at hand surrounded by enemies they would see the victorious king and they would sing Hosanna save us now our salvation has come the king is here to save us and then what they do they take their cloaks off their clothes and they lay it on the road would you do that if you saw a donkey a guy riding on a donkey on a muddy road would you take your clothes off and put it down on the road boys and girls would you would you do that with your new school uniform that you just got why did these people do that why did they put their clothes in the road well you see to put your cloak down on the ground before someone before king was understood in that culture as a way that you show your public allegiance to this king it happened actually in

[32:48] Israel's history where when there was a rival king and if you wanted to show which king you supported you would go to that king and you would take your cloak and lay it down at his feet that was a it was a public sign of allegiance even if it cost you for following that king that's what was happening that's what these people were doing they were recognizing this is the one who's going to save us and fulfill all our hopes and then they were taking their valuable clothes and they were laying it down at his feet to show them that we are pinning all our hopes for happiness and restoration and the fulfillment of our dreams on you that's what it actually means to follow Jesus not just to say I'm a Christian to fill it out in some form and to come to church once a week it actually means to live a life where all of your hopes for restoration and everything that you want is pinned on Jesus that's what these people were doing they were spreading their cloaks out for the king but that was outside inside

[33:52] Jerusalem was silence and hostility and in the coming weeks we'll see we'll be inside Jerusalem for the rest of Mark and we'll see this hostility that faces Jesus but Jerusalem then is the world today you see Jesus has come to fulfill all the hopes of humanity he's been announced by God through the prophets and through signs and wonders as the only one who can fulfill everything we want for our cities and our world and our lives but so many people have failed to see that so I guess the first question I gotta ask you is have you seen that have you realized that about Jesus he's it's not you know he's not the one who's just come to pay for your sins so you can go to heaven one day Jesus is the one who has come to fulfill all that you ever hoped for in this world and all that you hope for day in and day out only he can fulfill it and

[34:52] God has said that and then if you do realize that question is have you laid down your cloak in front of him as your king have you publicly aligned yourself with him and pinned all your hopes on him no matter what the cost and I'm not talking just about singing songs on Sunday and you know showing people around you look I worship Jesus as well I'm talking about at work telling your work colleagues I'm a servant of Jesus I he's my king he's risen from the dead he's coming back and he is the one that all my hopes are pinned on at school making sure that your school colleagues know that you follow Jesus that he is your king that you've laid your cloak down for him that you've publicly aligned yourself with him not privately but publicly because only then will the people around you and the people in this world see who the king really is when they see that he's the king of your life and the king of that person's life and the king of that Christian's life they start to realize he's the king of everything and so have you laid your cloak down for the king if you haven't if you haven't yet if you haven't publicly aligned yourself to him and pinned your hopes on him and realized he's the only one then you need to understand what he did in

[36:14] Jerusalem we'll see that in the coming weeks ultimately Easter this year we're going to look at Mark's account of him dying on the cross and rising again but you need to understand because of what Jesus did in Jerusalem he is the only one who can ransom you and qualify you for the restored world that God is planning and the good news is it's not too late even if you are one of those in Jerusalem hostile to this king it's not too late to change sides and to lay your cloak down and to sing with the rest of us Hosanna save us now let's pray yes Lord we thank you Lord God for having a plan for this world and that we can be reminded of that when we open scripture and it's just throughout the Old Testament is you tell us what this plan is that you have for this world Lord we thank you for fulfilling and beginning your project to restore all things when Jesus entered into

[37:21] Jerusalem we thank you that he went we thank you Lord Jesus that you went facing what you knew was coming hostility arrest and death because you knew that this was the only way for our hopes to be fulfilled and for us to be included in the new creation and we pray Lord that you would help us to lay our cloaks down at your feet and swear allegiance to you once more so that the people around us would know it and that they would see you as the true king in Jesus name we pray amen