Repeat Performance

Homiletical Idea: A major aspect of our duty to God is to offer Him praise and thanksgiving for the mighty work He has done in redeeming us from the penalty of our sins which is death. If we refuse, God will raise up others who will praise Him; even if He has to empower the rocks to do it. When we rightly praise God we will become part of a group of people who are true to Him in every way.

Whose Line Is It Anyway?

I can recall way back when I was in the 5^th grade. I went to a little elementary school in Stony Point, NC. At this point in my life I liked school quite a bit. I was getting good grades and my teacher liked me. I remember being asked, along with another student, to be the M.C. of the annual Christmas play. I was excited and nervous all in the same bundle of energy. We would take time out of class several times a week to go over the play. My partner and I were always joking around and not taking things as seriously as we should have. The teacher tried to get us focused and tried to encourage us to commit our lines to memory but we basically ignored her pleas.

Finally, the big night came. The school gymnasium was packed with students, faculty and parents. I can remember being scared out of my mind as I looked out over the crowd. I even went to my teacher and told her I was not sure that could recall my lines. She looked at me with a loving smile and said, "That is why I wanted you to take it seriously when we practiced. Now go do your best." I went back to my position and I kept reading over and over my lines. I thought if I could just focus on one section at a time I could maybe remember it for the moment and then go back when I was off stage and study the next portion.

When we got started with the play my plan was working pretty well. We made it through the first couple of scenes without any problems. But then it happened. My worst fear was realized. As I stood there in front of several hundred people it came time for me to say my part and I had a total brain melt-down. No matter what I thought about I could not recall my lines. I stared blankly at my stage partner but he too was totally lost. In complete embarrassment I had to walk over to the side of the stage and get my script. I picked it up, read the part, laid it down, and walked back and said my part. When I began to talk it jogged my partner's memory so that he could say his lines. I could have died. If only I had put forth the effort to learn my part. But I was too busy doing what I thought was best and I missed the joy of being prepared and finding success in my endeavor.

That night there were two groups present. There was the group who knew their lines and had no trouble doing their part, and then there was me and my friend who did not take it seriously and thought it best to do our way. Obviously, those of us in the second group had it all wrong.

Christian Parallel

When I think back on this story it makes me think very strongly about our Christian duty as it relates to praising God. Have you ever noticed that some people are very uncomfortable with the term "Christian duty?" When some people hear it they begin to see visions of people trying to earn their salvation. Nothing could be farther from the truth.

There is a huge difference between doing things with the thought that we can somehow earn our salvation, and doing things because we are motivated by an intense desire to express our love for Jesus. When we learn to love Jesus we will be driven by a sense of wanting to please Him and to do things that we know will bring Him joy. I see this beautiful thought expressed in Christ's words from John 14:15 when He said that it should be love that motivates us to keep His commandments.

Transition to the Text

While Christ was here on this earth, there were two groups that existed around Him. One group was those who wanted earnestly for Jesus to be the Messiah that generations had longed for. This group was excited about Jesus' ministry and the many miracles that He performed. They just knew that Jesus had come to free them from Roman oppression and that He would soon assert Himself as the true King of the Jews.

Although many followed after Jesus, we all know there was another group that was not so happy with the fervor that surrounded Jesus. The Jewish leadership found their lives of arrogance and self-righteousness repeatedly at the focal point of Jesus' stinging rebukes. In fact, Jesus referred to them as "hypocrites" more than 16 times. Let's look at a passage that demonstrates this polarization of the people.

**Read Luke 19:30, 38**

In this first part of our passage we clearly see the first group that I mentioned just a few minutes ago. We see those who are elated that Jesus was among them. They were so excited that they laid down their clothing so that the colt was not even walking on the ground. Their actions were done to welcome what they thought was the king to rid them of Roman oppression. The Scripture said they began to praise Jesus because of all the miracles that He had worked among them.

But not everyone was happy were they? No, almost like clockwork we see the other group emerge as usual.

**Read Luke 19:39, 40**

Fulfillment of Prophecy

The Pharisees came to Jesus and told Him to rebuke His disciples. But Christ knew that the prophecy from Zechariah 9:9 must be fulfilled that says, "Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout in triumph, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your king is coming to you; He is just and endowed with salvation, Humble, and mounted on a donkey, Even on a colt, the foal of a donkey." In fact Christ tells the Pharisees that if these people did not cry out to celebrate Him as their King then the rocks would be given voices to do that very thing.

Further Explanation

We can clearly see the two groups that I spoke of earlier. We have those who welcome Jesus with open arms and shout, "Hosanna to the Lord", and then we see those whose hearts seem to course with vinegar instead of blood. We have those who attempt to embrace Christ and we see those who seemed to be nauseated by the very presence of Christ.

If I had to choose I would want to be a part of the first group who heralded Christ as their king, but each group there that day was misguided. The first group desperately wanted a king again. They longed to be free from the Romans. They longed to have glory restored to Israel. We see more a sense of national pride than we do a true desire to repent and follow a servant-king. The problem is that what they really needed was a Savior to rescue them from their sin. They needed to embrace Jesus as their king but not in the political sense. They needed Him to be the King of their lives and if they would accept Him as King of their lives they would be numbered among those who will live with Him eternally as the King of the universe.

Worlds Apart but Not That Far

We see Christ's sadness at this picture of two equally misguided groups.

**Read Luke 19:41:-44**

His heart mourns over what could have been. He wishes that they had fully understood the message that He had brought them; the message of repentance and self-sacrifice, the message of truly living godly lives in the presence of their redeemer God. They needed a king, but not a political one at this point. They needed a king to reign over their hearts and their lives.

The Pharisees make up the second group who totally missed their calling. They had the awesome and wonderful privilege of being the handlers of truth among God's people. But instead of rightly dividing the word of truth, they buried the truth of God in their own maligned view of Scripture and prophecy. Jesus accused them in Matthew 15:3 of transgressing the commandment of God for the sake of their traditions. Sadly, this was all too true in most of what the Jewish leadership did from day to day.

Repeat Performance

Each group that day, while doing totally different things, was wrong in a sense. They both missed the golden opportunity to truly perform their duty to the Lord. They both were lamented by their Savior King as He viewed the scene before Him. And I wonder how many of us cause the heart of Christ to break today because we too have not taken up our duties as we should have. I am not talking about just serving in the church. Should we work within God's church as He calls us to do so? Sure we should, but the deeper question that must be asked is, "Are we living out the mission that God has given us as His last-day people?" Do we take seriously the message that God has given the Seventh-day Adventist church and do we live our lives to daily praise the Lord and do His will?

• If we live our lives in such a way then we will have many things for which we can praise the Lord. We will not need a national holiday to cause us to pause and give thanks to our Lord Jesus Christ.

• If we are connected to the throne of grace by daily earnest prayer then our lives will reflect that in a tangible way.

• If we truly die daily to Christ then we will experience spiritual renewal in a way that we never have before.

Shortness of Time

Friends, time is too short for us to have a repeat performance of our story in Luke 19. Time is too short for us spend our lives worrying over petty things that have no eternal value. Time is too short for us to not be about our Father's business. We are told in Revelation 12:12 that the Devil is angry with God's people because he knows that he has only a short time. Friends the same is true for us. We too have only a short amount of time on this earth. We are told that the average lifespan for an American male is 73. Adventists who embrace the health message and God's principles for a healthy life can possibly expect another 7 years on average beyond that. But even if we make it to 100 it is a very short amount of time compared to either eternity with or away from God.

The Third Group

It is my sincere prayer today friends that each one of us will consider this story throughout this next week. I pray that each of us will consider becoming a part of the third group that we have not talked too much about. We have hinted around the edges but we have not fully delineated a third such group.

I think this third group is the one that Christ wished He had seen that day as He approached Jerusalem. Christ longed then and He longs now to have a people who would turn from their evil, selfish ways, and be willing to follow Him in all truth.

• He wanted then and He wants today men and women who will not be bought or sold.

• He wants people who in their inmost souls are true and honest.

• He wants people who are not afraid to call sin by its right name

• He wants a people whose consciences are true to the duty He would have them do.

• Friends, Jesus wants men and women who will stand with Him even if the heavens fall.

Which group will you choose to be in today? Will you be numbered with those who want to follow Jesus but you insist that it be on your terms or will you be with the group that values the letter of the law more than surrendering your life to God?

I pray that each of us will choose to among the third group:

1. That group that will not be bought or sold.

2. That will praise God daily.

3. That will live in an atmosphere of prayer.

4. That will stand by Christ though the heavens fall.

**Appeal and Testimonies**