Behold Your King

 

This message was preached by  Colin Dcruz via zoom at Word Of Grace Church on  March 21st,2021. for the audio please click here.   For the worship please click here

Next Sunday is Easter. A week before the resurrection, Jesus entered Jerusalem sitting on a donkey. This account is mentioned in all four Gospels. Let's read this account from the Gospel of Matthew.

 Matthew 21:1-11

This event was prophesied by Zechariah 500 years before Jesus was born (Zechariah 9:9). Today I would like to share what I got from this prophetic word that God gave Zechariah.

 So, the scripture for today's message is: -

 Matthew 21:5 NKJV

“Tell the daughter of Zion, ‘Behold, your King is coming to you, Lowly, and sitting on a donkey, A colt, the foal of a donkey.’ ”

 Today's message, in short, is answers to the following three questions.

1. Who was coming? Our King.

2. Where was He coming? To us.

3. How was He coming? Lowly.

 

1.     Jesus is our King.

 Matthew 21:5a NKJV

“Tell the daughter of Zion, ‘Behold, your King

 Revelation 17:14 NIV

They will wage war against the Lamb, but the Lamb will triumph over them because he is Lord of Lords and King of kings—and with him will be his called, chosen and faithful followers.”

 Jesus is King. He is King of kings.

 Matthew 28:18 NIV

Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.

 So, Jesus is King. But is He your King?

 When we gave our life to Jesus, we became part of the kingdom of Jesus and Jesus became our King.

 Colossians 1:13 NIV

For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves,

So, if you are born again you are part of God's kingdom and Jesus is your king.

If you are not born again yet, give your life to Jesus today and be part of His kingdom.

 When you are part of a kingdom, you obey the king of that kingdom. Are you obeying your king? Do you speak and do things that pleases Him?  Do you seek to accomplish your will, or you look for the will of Jesus in everything?

 You will obey God, if you love Him.

 John 14:23 NIV

Jesus replied, “Anyone who loves me will obey my teaching.

 Of course, we obey Jesus because we love Him. But we also know that He is omniscient – He knows everything. He knows what is best for us. His instructions are to bless us, and not to harm us.

 Even though you are in His kingdom it is possible that you are not regarding Jesus as your king.

 Is Jesus your King in every area of your life? Is Jesus your king in every moment of your life? Or is He your King only on Sundays or only during church meetings?

 Would you regard Jesus as your king every moment of your life?

Would you commit to living a life that pleases your King?

 

2. Jesus came to us.

Matthew 21:5 NKJV

“Tell the daughter of Zion, ‘Behold, your King is coming to you,

 Daughter of Zion means people of Jerusalem. Although the 'you' in this verse is referring to the people of Jerusalem city during Jesus time in the immediate fulfilment of prophecy, God is also speaking to us the people of New Jerusalem (Revelation 3:12) through this verse.

 The coming of Jesus to Jerusalem was the beginning of events that would lead to His crucifixion for our sins. So, when Jesus was coming to Jerusalem riding on a donkey, He was coming to us. To save us.

 So, Jesus came to us. We were not the first to go to Him. He came to us first.

 Hebrews 12:2b NIV

For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

 He was looking forward to the joy of having us when he travelled towards cross and endured the cross. His eyes were on us when He went through all the pain.

 If we generalise what Jesus did on the cross, then we fail to see how personal this great sacrifice was for each one of us. What do I mean? Each one of us should see it as the great sacrifice Jesus did for us personally. We should see it this way - ‘His eyes were on me when endured the cross. He was looking forward to joy of having me when endured the cross’.

Isaiah 53:4-5 NIV

4 Surely he took up our pain and bore our suffering, yet we considered him punished by God, stricken by him, and afflicted.

5 But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed.

 This is how we should personalise this scripture.

 Isaiah 53:4-5 NIV

4a Surely Jesus took up my pain and bore my suffering,

5 He was pierced for my transgressions, he was crushed for my iniquities; the punishment that brought my peace was on him, and by his wounds I was healed.

 So, be thankful always that Jesus came to you and saved you.

 His eyes were upon each one of us when He came to cross. His eyes are still upon us and His eyes will always be upon us.

Where are your eyes?

 Matthew 21:5a NKJV

“Tell the daughter of Zion, ‘Behold, your King is coming to you

 Many of us are distracted by our worries and pleasures of the world. We should be fixing our eyes on Jesus throwing off all distractions.

 Hebrews 12:1-2a NLT

1Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us. 2We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith.

 How to behold our king Jesus?

We behold Jesus by taking away our focus from distractions and focusing on Jesus our destination, by focusing on who Jesus is in the scriptures, by focusing on His great love for us, by relying on Him for everything,  by giving our attention to Him, by thinking about Him, by seeking Him, His presence & His will and by fellowshipping with His Spirit.

When we gave our life to Jesus, when we became born again, Holy Spirit - the Spirit of Jesus took a permanent residence in us. He now dwells inside of us (1 Corinthians 3:16).

 Does this mean that we are fellowshipping with Holy Spirit? No.

Holy Spirit is not just a power. He is God Himself – third person of the trinity. Yes, He is a person. He comforts us (John 14:16), teaches us (Luke 12:12), helps us (Romans 8:26), guides us (Romans 8:14) and talks to us (Acts 13:2). He has emotions. He is grieved when we live a sinful life (Ephesians 4:30). He loves us (Romans 15:30) and He fellowships with us (2 Corinthians 13:14). He loves to have fellowships with us. In fact, He longs for our attention and looks forward to the fellowship with us.

James 4:5 NKJV

Or do you think that the Scripture says in vain, “The Spirit who dwells in us yearns jealously”?

 Today, would you commit to give more of our focus and attention to Jesus.

 

3. Jesus came lowly.

 Matthew 21:5 NKJV

“Tell the daughter of Zion, ‘Behold, your King is coming to you, Lowly, and sitting on a donkey, A colt, the foal of a donkey.’ ”

 Jesus came to Jerusalem lowly like He came to earth. He chose not to take any other majestic, rich and comfortable mode of transportation to come to Jerusalem. He didn't come in the richness and majesty of a king.

 He didn't come to earth with His divine powers. He rather made himself nothing by taking the nature of a servant.

 Philippians 2:6-8 NIV

Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death— even death on a cross!

 Jesus gave up His equality with God for us. He gave up His divine majestic glory for us. He gave up His life for us on the cross. Would you be able to give up some things for serving Jesus and for His kingdom?

 2 Corinthians 5:15 NIV

And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again.

 Matthew 16:24 NIV

Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.

 Are you ready to forsake some of the worldly pleasures and comfort to serve Jesus?

  Jesus came to earth to save us. He was beaten by his creation and mocked by his creation. More than physical pain it was emotional pain. He took all that for each one of us. His eyes were on you when he came to cross. His eyes are upon you. He longs to have your presence, he longs to have your attention. Draw  near Him and He will draw near you. Take one step towards him and he will take hundred steps towards you. He loves you and he wants to have you, he wants to have more and more of you.

   Word of Grace is an Evangelical (Born Again),  Spirit-filled (Charismatic), Reformed, English speaking church in Pune that upholds the Bible as God's inspired Word for life. We are a church community that has people from every part of India and parts of the world. We are here to put the Great Command and the Great Commission into practice by equipping and releasing every member into works of service.  Word of Grace is a part of a wider international family of Churches called RegionsBeyond.To know more about us please log onto www.wordofgracechurch.org.