Sermon Notes
Sermon: God’s Authority by Rev. Jessica Johnson
Date: April 14, 2019 Palm Sunday
Key Scripture Passages: Luke 19:37-40
Sermon Notes:
Palm Sunday
Read Luke 19:28-40 ESV.
The Triumphal Entry
28 And when he had said these things, he went on ahead, going up to Jerusalem. 29 When he drew near to Bethphage and Bethany, at the mount that is called Olivet, he sent two of the disciples, 30 saying, “Go into the village in front of you, where on entering you will find a colt tied, on which no one has ever yet sat. Untie it and bring it here. 31 If anyone asks you, ‘Why are you untying it?’ you shall say this: ‘The Lord has need of it.’” 32 So those who were sent went away and found it just as he had told them. 33 And as they were untying the colt, its owners said to them, “Why are you untying the colt?” 34 And they said, “The Lord has need of it.” 35 And they brought it to Jesus, and throwing their cloaks on the colt, they set Jesus on it. 36 And as he rode along, they spread their cloaks on the road. 37 As he was drawing near—already on the way down the Mount of Olives—the whole multitude of his disciples began to rejoice and praise God with a loud voice for all the mighty works that they had seen, 38 saying, “Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!” 39 And some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, rebuke your disciples.” 40 He answered, “I tell you, if these were silent, the very stones would cry out.”
When we typically think of Palm Sunday, we see Christ as a victor riding through the streets with crowds cheering him on and calling Him King. The Jews mistakenly sought an earthly king. However, what they did recognize was His authority. We have been studying various attributes of God, and this week concludes that series with a look at God’s authority. While the Jews may have only recognized His authority as a promising, possible earthly king, God’s authority actually expands much further than that.
God’s Authority
God is omnipotent which means all powerful. God has power, control, and authority over EVERYTHING. All of existence, not just this world, but everything that exists. God created the universe, including our world, and all that is in it. Isaiah 45:18-19 (ESV) states:
18 For thus says the Lord,
who created the heavens
(he is God!),
who formed the earth and made it
(he established it;
he did not create it empty,
he formed it to be inhabited!):
“I am the Lord, and there is no other.
19 I did not speak in secret,
in a land of darkness;
I did not say to the offspring of Jacob,
‘Seek me in vain.’
I the Lord speak the truth;
I declare what is right.
God is the source of all life, truth, knowledge, love…God is the source of everything. Without Him nothing can exist. We have all heard the saying, “The Lord giveth and the Lord can taketh away.” In Psalm 31:14-15 (ESV) states:
14 But I trust in you, O Lord;
I say, “You are my God.”
15 My times are in your hand;
rescue me from the hand of my enemies and from my persecutors!
The psalmist is basically acknowledging that God is in control and that his life is in God’s hands. He is trusting that God knows what is best for him and will take care of him.
Trusting God
We need to submit to God’s authority. Submission is often perceived as a bad thing, something that is unwillingly thrust upon us. However, we are commanded to submit to God. It is not a passive thing that is done to us. Rather, it is an active thing that we do; it is a voluntary choice. Now, there are consequences (positive or negative) to our choice. But to submit to God means that we willingly trust God with our life, our family, our friends, our everything.
We have all heard the phrase, “Let Go and Let God.” This phrase even popped into my head the other day as I was struggling with something. I just thought, “You know what, I am letting go of it and letting God deal with it.” However, if we take this type of thinking too seriously, we make the mistake the Jews did of limiting our understanding of God and our relationship with Him. The Jews wanted an earthly king to overthrow and free them from the Roman oppression. By letting go and letting God, we miss the mark; we are taking a passive approach. “Okay, God,” we say, “You are in control. You fix this.” Then, we sit back and wait for God to fix it or to make the decision for us. How many times do we wish God or even other people would just tell us what to do, so we didn’t have to make a tough choice? The problem is that we basically just stop trying and use God as a last resort. Or sometimes, we are using God’s authority as excuse of lazy spirituality. “Oh, He is going to do whatever He is going to do, and I have no say in the matter.”
The song, “Jesus Take the Wheel”, by Carrie Underwood is a good example of “Let Go, Let God” type of thinking. The song is about being broken and turning to God for help. That is fine, but then it takes it too far in the lines about the mother driving the car and letting go of the wheel. This is where the analogy goes wrong. Yes, acknowledge that God is in control, that only He can make things right, and that we need Him and His guidance. However, that doesn’t mean we just stop driving the car in the middle of the highway and expect to get to our destination.
In the book, What’s Your God Language? by Dr. Myra Perrine, she addresses this slightly in chapter 4. In chapter 4, she tells a story about when she was a new Christian looking for an apartment. Myra asked a friend what should she do: just pray and wait for God to provide her an apartment or get out there and look for rentals. Should she let go and let God, because as we talked about earlier in the series, God is the ultimate provider? Her friend wisely answered, “‘The Lord can’t move a parked car, so just start looking and praying for a place at the same time; then see what He provides.’ After that he added, ‘Remember the Christian life is 100 percent God’s business and 100 percent our business, in other words God will do everything for us that we cannot do for ourselves, but He won’t do anything for us we can do for ourselves – or He would ultimately be spoiling and disempowering us, and we would never grow up.’” (Perrine, p. 99). We still have a role to play.
If we don’t take “Let Go, Let God” too seriously or too extreme, then our faith won’t grow stagnant. Rather, if we reclaim the idea inherent in it, then we can acknowledge that God is more powerful than we are and that He is in control. We still have a part to play in our spiritual journey, but we can trust that God has a plan for us that holds our best interests in mind. We can trust that God has everything under control. Even if other authority figures in our lives have failed us, God never will.
So, if you are gonna “Let Go, Let God”, then you need to:
As you go throughout this week and celebrate Christ’s Resurrection, I want you to ponder how God’s power and authority runs throughout the entire life, ministry, trial, crucifixion, and Resurrection of Christ. When God speaks, things happen. And when He is silent, God is still on the move. God’s authority is woven throughout everything.
Sermon: God’s Authority by Rev. Jessica Johnson
Date: April 14, 2019 Palm Sunday
Key Scripture Passages: Luke 19:37-40
Sermon Notes:
Palm Sunday
Read Luke 19:28-40 ESV.
The Triumphal Entry
28 And when he had said these things, he went on ahead, going up to Jerusalem. 29 When he drew near to Bethphage and Bethany, at the mount that is called Olivet, he sent two of the disciples, 30 saying, “Go into the village in front of you, where on entering you will find a colt tied, on which no one has ever yet sat. Untie it and bring it here. 31 If anyone asks you, ‘Why are you untying it?’ you shall say this: ‘The Lord has need of it.’” 32 So those who were sent went away and found it just as he had told them. 33 And as they were untying the colt, its owners said to them, “Why are you untying the colt?” 34 And they said, “The Lord has need of it.” 35 And they brought it to Jesus, and throwing their cloaks on the colt, they set Jesus on it. 36 And as he rode along, they spread their cloaks on the road. 37 As he was drawing near—already on the way down the Mount of Olives—the whole multitude of his disciples began to rejoice and praise God with a loud voice for all the mighty works that they had seen, 38 saying, “Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!” 39 And some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, rebuke your disciples.” 40 He answered, “I tell you, if these were silent, the very stones would cry out.”
When we typically think of Palm Sunday, we see Christ as a victor riding through the streets with crowds cheering him on and calling Him King. The Jews mistakenly sought an earthly king. However, what they did recognize was His authority. We have been studying various attributes of God, and this week concludes that series with a look at God’s authority. While the Jews may have only recognized His authority as a promising, possible earthly king, God’s authority actually expands much further than that.
God’s Authority
God is omnipotent which means all powerful. God has power, control, and authority over EVERYTHING. All of existence, not just this world, but everything that exists. God created the universe, including our world, and all that is in it. Isaiah 45:18-19 (ESV) states:
18 For thus says the Lord,
who created the heavens
(he is God!),
who formed the earth and made it
(he established it;
he did not create it empty,
he formed it to be inhabited!):
“I am the Lord, and there is no other.
19 I did not speak in secret,
in a land of darkness;
I did not say to the offspring of Jacob,
‘Seek me in vain.’
I the Lord speak the truth;
I declare what is right.
God is the source of all life, truth, knowledge, love…God is the source of everything. Without Him nothing can exist. We have all heard the saying, “The Lord giveth and the Lord can taketh away.” In Psalm 31:14-15 (ESV) states:
14 But I trust in you, O Lord;
I say, “You are my God.”
15 My times are in your hand;
rescue me from the hand of my enemies and from my persecutors!
The psalmist is basically acknowledging that God is in control and that his life is in God’s hands. He is trusting that God knows what is best for him and will take care of him.
Trusting God
We need to submit to God’s authority. Submission is often perceived as a bad thing, something that is unwillingly thrust upon us. However, we are commanded to submit to God. It is not a passive thing that is done to us. Rather, it is an active thing that we do; it is a voluntary choice. Now, there are consequences (positive or negative) to our choice. But to submit to God means that we willingly trust God with our life, our family, our friends, our everything.
We have all heard the phrase, “Let Go and Let God.” This phrase even popped into my head the other day as I was struggling with something. I just thought, “You know what, I am letting go of it and letting God deal with it.” However, if we take this type of thinking too seriously, we make the mistake the Jews did of limiting our understanding of God and our relationship with Him. The Jews wanted an earthly king to overthrow and free them from the Roman oppression. By letting go and letting God, we miss the mark; we are taking a passive approach. “Okay, God,” we say, “You are in control. You fix this.” Then, we sit back and wait for God to fix it or to make the decision for us. How many times do we wish God or even other people would just tell us what to do, so we didn’t have to make a tough choice? The problem is that we basically just stop trying and use God as a last resort. Or sometimes, we are using God’s authority as excuse of lazy spirituality. “Oh, He is going to do whatever He is going to do, and I have no say in the matter.”
The song, “Jesus Take the Wheel”, by Carrie Underwood is a good example of “Let Go, Let God” type of thinking. The song is about being broken and turning to God for help. That is fine, but then it takes it too far in the lines about the mother driving the car and letting go of the wheel. This is where the analogy goes wrong. Yes, acknowledge that God is in control, that only He can make things right, and that we need Him and His guidance. However, that doesn’t mean we just stop driving the car in the middle of the highway and expect to get to our destination.
In the book, What’s Your God Language? by Dr. Myra Perrine, she addresses this slightly in chapter 4. In chapter 4, she tells a story about when she was a new Christian looking for an apartment. Myra asked a friend what should she do: just pray and wait for God to provide her an apartment or get out there and look for rentals. Should she let go and let God, because as we talked about earlier in the series, God is the ultimate provider? Her friend wisely answered, “‘The Lord can’t move a parked car, so just start looking and praying for a place at the same time; then see what He provides.’ After that he added, ‘Remember the Christian life is 100 percent God’s business and 100 percent our business, in other words God will do everything for us that we cannot do for ourselves, but He won’t do anything for us we can do for ourselves – or He would ultimately be spoiling and disempowering us, and we would never grow up.’” (Perrine, p. 99). We still have a role to play.
If we don’t take “Let Go, Let God” too seriously or too extreme, then our faith won’t grow stagnant. Rather, if we reclaim the idea inherent in it, then we can acknowledge that God is more powerful than we are and that He is in control. We still have a part to play in our spiritual journey, but we can trust that God has a plan for us that holds our best interests in mind. We can trust that God has everything under control. Even if other authority figures in our lives have failed us, God never will.
So, if you are gonna “Let Go, Let God”, then you need to:
- “Let Go” of all of your plans, selfish ambitions, and the idea that we can save ourselves or transform ourselves into being more Christlike.
- “Let God” into our hearts and minds, freely submitting to His will and direction for our lives. God loves you, wants the best for you, and will never fail you. Acknowledge that God is all powerful and has authority over all existence. Only He can restore and fix what He has made, and God has such plans for you!
As you go throughout this week and celebrate Christ’s Resurrection, I want you to ponder how God’s power and authority runs throughout the entire life, ministry, trial, crucifixion, and Resurrection of Christ. When God speaks, things happen. And when He is silent, God is still on the move. God’s authority is woven throughout everything.
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