“Who Will Do the Work?” By Brother Kenneth Ray March 28th,
2010 Today is
Palm Sunday, when Jesus entered into the city of As we look at the scene unfold in front of us, we find Jesus coming into the city on a colt. Many spread palm leaves and garments down like a red carpet in front of Him. Palm Sunday was the beginning of the end of Christ’s ministry. Why was He here? First, we should look at what Jesus was here to do. Matthew 1:21 …He shall save His people from their sins. The reason that Christ came was, and still is, to be the Savior of people from the power of sin. John 1:29 …the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sins of the world. This is not the usual Palm Sunday message. Who will do the work? Jesus came to do a work, but He also left a work for the rest of us. As we look at the Palm Sunday story, what part in the story are you playing? Are you one of the ones chanting “Hosanna?” Are you one of the Pharisees, saying, tell them to shut up, basically? Are you one of the people laying down palm leaves or garments? Matthew 15:8 …their heart is far from me. A lot of these people that were saying, “Hosanna” on Palm Sunday, were saying, “Crucify Him!” less than a week later. If your heart isn’t praising God, then your mouth won’t either. We should be living out loud, not just talking about it. I’ve been told my whole life that hard work is good for you, and that hard work pays off. That’s true. You may be thinking, “What can I do? I can’t do some great thing; I’m just able to do a little.” I’m not talking about someone who isn’t willing, but someone who may not be able to run as fast or as hard as someone else. If you are willing, God will use you. Just as the physical body is made of many parts, each of which is important, so too is the body of Christ, the church. Your little part, when it is added, may be small in size, but not in impact. Who will put in the effort to make the path that leads someone to open the door, instead of just letting Jesus knock on the other side? Jesus needs to do less knocking and more supping. I don’t mean to be religious, or artificial, or superficial. Be sincere in what you do. In
Mark
Chapter 5:, Jesus cast many demons out of a man, and then the man asked to
follow Jesus, but Jesus said no. Mark
5:19 Go home to thy friends, and
tell them how great things the Lord has done for thee… Are
you and I spreading this Word all over the world. Remember that there were twelve disciples
(followers) who became twelve Apostles (leaders). This is not Sunday work. Sunday is a day of rest and worship. We go back to battle; we go back to
work. If you have the ability to do
much, then you have great responsibilities.
To whom much is given, much is required.
If you let yourself off the hook, Jesus doesn’t pay unemployment benefits. Let me say that another way: There are no benefits to being unemployed in
Jesus. Work is not as hard when many people do it. Numbers
11:14-17 …that thou bear not
thyself alone. There are a lot of things that I don’t like to do. For example, I don’t like ironing clothes, but I like the result; I like the way my clothes look when they are ironed. John
13:12-17 …know ye what I have done
unto you?... Jesus said, “If ye know these things, happy are ye if ye do them.” It isn’t enough to know, or even to talk about, we have to do these things. Sermon notes by Pete Shepherd |
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