It's an honor for me to be standing here before you today on this Palm Sunday. My name is Peter Chung. It's only at Berean I get called by my last name as well because people get confused with Pastor Peter, so it's Peter Chung. So my name is Peter Chung and like Pastor Peter mentioned, I'll be rejoining the staff next Sunday.

I was one of the pastors here until 2009 and as Pastor Peter mentioned, in 2009 my wife and I were sent out to Beijing, China to lead the team there. It was supposed to be a one-year chapter in Beijing that turned into a nine-year journey. In 2012, we were planning to be in China long-term as Berean's full-time missionaries, but in 2012 Compassion International recruited me to Korea to work as a vision trip leader and one of the main speakers for Compassion Sponsored Children and our global partner churches.

And I was working for Compassion in Korea for about five and a half years. My main job was to take people to the field, so basically it was my job to travel. I averaged about 56 flights a year, but whenever I flew, I visited children, families, and churches in the slums, fishing villages, dump sites, and rural hidden corners in various parts of the world.

And so on average, I spent about 100 days of the year with the poor. So we were supposed to be away from Berean for just one year, but somehow it turned into nine, and our family's back, and we're looking forward to this new chapter in ministry. I don't get nervous, but for some reason, first service, I was like super like nervous and tense.

I'm not nervous now, okay, but I think we're nervous and excited just to be back. Berean has changed a bit since we've been gone. Jeremy was in elementary school when we left, and I'm the one who started Berean So, students of the word, but now all the kids that are in there, most of them didn't exist when we were here.

There have been many changes, and at the same time, many things have remained the same. I was just kind of tickled the other day when I saw on the church's Facebook page that the Passion Week chart, I made that for the church in 2008. I was a little bit shocked that it's still being used.

The core values and the visions of the church and commitment to Christ and to his word have changed a little bit in the sense of it's gotten deeper, and so I'm so excited about that, and I'm excited to jump back in. So bear with us as we acclimate ourselves to living in the States, adjusting to this church and beginning this new chapter of our lives back at Berean.

I was at the cafe, and Jen and I said the most encouraging thing to me that I've heard all week. I told her, "I feel like a newcomer," and she's like, "I feel like a newcomer, too," and that was so encouraging for some reason. But we're looking forward to getting to know you and to doing life with you.

I'd like to start by reading our passage for today. Please turn in your Bibles to Luke 11. The passage is going to be up on the screen on the wall here, but I think it'll be helpful for you to have your Bibles open. I'll be reading from verses 9 to 13, so Luke 11, verses 9 to 13.

And I tell you, "Ask, and it will be given to you. Seek, and you will find. Knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds. And to the one who knocks, it will be opened. What father among you, if his son asks for a fish, will instead of a fish give him a serpent?

Or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? If you then who are evil know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him?" Let me pray for us briefly. Lord, this is your day, and we pray that your word would be honored.

Help us to understand your heart. Help us to understand your purposes in our lives, and help us to love Christ. And I pray that we would leave here understanding you a little bit more and resembling Jesus a little bit more. You are our audience, so would you receive our worship and our praise today?

In Jesus' name we pray. Today is Palm Sunday, the day in which we remember the Lord's triumphal entry into Jerusalem. As you guys know, Jesus enters Jerusalem on a donkey to shout of, "Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!

Hosanna in the highest!" And you're going to see that all over your, like, Facebooks and stuff today. Hosanna! Hosanna in the highest! It says in Matthew 21, verse 10, that the entire city was stirred up. Because they're saying, "Who is this?" And there was so much excitement in the crowd, the energy level was high, and everyone was waiting expectantly.

They were excited. But just a few days later, many in this crowd would be crying out, "Crucify Him! Crucify Him!" Why? Because, over the course of the next few days, Jesus would turn out to be a very different Messiah from the one people expected. You see, the Jews had been asking, they had been seeking, they had been beseeching the Lord of Heaven to come in power, to come in majesty, to come and restore.

They had been asking, they had been seeking, but they rejected the Son of David. Why? Maybe it's because Jesus loses it at the temple. He angrily overturns tables and disrupts business. He gets into heated debates with religious leaders, some of whom the people probably respect it. And Jesus, over the next few days, teaches and says things that no Messiah of their choosing would ever dare to say.

So we see in the way Jesus' reception was over the course of the Passion Week, that there is often a world of a difference between who people think Jesus is and who He actually claims to be and who He is. There's a huge gap between what people desire from Jesus and what He desires to give.

So who is this Jesus, this Son of David? And what does it mean for you and me to have a relationship with Him? What does it mean for us when we say, "Jesus Messiah"? What does it mean to ask things in Jesus' name? What does it mean for us to pray in faith?

And I want us to think just through this together, what Jesus came to restore. I want us to think through that by first examining how He exhorts us to approach the God of heaven. So I'm going to be talking a little bit about our relationship to God the Father, what made that possible, and then I'll return back to the Triumphal Entry.

So in our passage today, Jesus finishes praying and the disciples come up to Him and ask Him to teach them how to pray. It might be helpful for you and me to remember that His disciples were Jewish men who were likely not unfamiliar with prayer. They probably grew up praying, watching and hearing others pray.

They grew up being taught the importance of prayer, and more than likely, they were praying men. But it's not too far a stretch to imagine that something about prayer was difficult for them. If I asked you guys all to raise your hand if prayer is difficult, I'm sure all of you would raise your hand, but we're not going to do that, okay?

Active participation, we won't do. Well, you're participating, but not raising your hand, all right? Yes. They didn't feel the intimacy with God that they sense Jesus had in His times of prayer. So if you look at Luke 11, verse 1, it reads, "They asked, 'Lord, teach us how to pray.'" Remember, these are praying men.

"Lord, teach us how to draw near to God." And what follows is Luke's account of what we know as the Lord's Prayer. And Jesus continues by exhorting them to persist in prayer. And He puts it in terms ordinary people, ordinary disciples, ordinary folks like you and me can understand.

First, between verses 5 through 8, if you have your Bibles open, you can look at that. He gives us the picture of a sleeping neighbor. You pester him long enough, out of sheer annoyance, that sleeping neighbor, simply because of your audacity to ask for bread at such an hour, will get out of bed and give you three loaves.

So even an agitated neighbor, if you pester him long enough, will give you what you need just to get you to stop that knocking. And Jesus says, "Persist in this way." So Jesus is putting prayer in terms that you and I can understand. And then following this, Jesus goes on to ask a rhetorical question.

Luke 11 and 11 reads, "What father among you," or as the NIV states, "Which of you fathers?" So He's going to go into how we are to draw near to God. And Jesus' point is this. The relationship you enjoy with God is unlike the one you have with your buddy next door.

God is not your next door neighbor. He is not just a good friend. He's your father. The one you are beseeching in prayer, He is the creator of the universe. He is the King of kings and the Lord of lords. But at the same time, He's your "appa," your daddy, your father.

So ask and seek. Because though He is the God of the universe, He is your father. Though He is the King of kings and Lord of lords, you have access to Him. Tim Keller, a couple months back, put this on his site. The only person who dares wake up a king at 3 a.m.

is his child. And that's the kind of access you and I have. The only person who dares wake up a king at 3 a.m. is a child. This is my 18th year of pastoral ministry. And in my 18 years of serving His church, there are a lot of things that I learned about my Heavenly Father.

First and foremost, I learned so much about God through His Word. That has been my primary source. God's Word has changed me, has healed me, has fixed me, and is continuing to transform me. And with His Word as the foundation of all of my ministry, over the last nine years, God has deepened my understanding of His Word by expanding my worldview.

Spending time in communities in various parts of the world, I have felt deeply His broken heart for the lost and the poor. Scripture says that God is close to the poor. And you learn a lot about God as you spend time with those He is near to. And my relationship with God through His Word, through my job, got even deeper once I became a father.

For many of you guys who don't know our family, Becky and I will be celebrating our 11th year – it goes fast – our 11th year anniversary later this week. But the first eight years of our marriage, God did not give us children. So we are 11 years in, and we are running around raising 35-month-old toddlers.

We are parents of a twin boy and a girl, and you can imagine how special they are to us because we waited for them. We prayed for them. We longed for them. And we are thankful for them. And one of the advantages of raising a twin boy and a girl is their development is at the same time.

It's at the same level. And our love for them is the same because they appeared at once. And we don't have a firstborn – I mean, we do, it's usually pulled out first – but we don't have a firstborn or a youngest. So we love them equally, albeit a little bit differently depending on their need.

And as I have been interacting with them, caring for them, and investing in them, there are many things that I, an evil father, have learned about my Heavenly Father. And I'm just going to share two things about what I've learned about God the Father through my heart's transformation in front of my kids.

First, lesson one, fathers discipline their children in love. It says, "Though you are evil, you know how to give good things to your children." I am a sinful, fleshly, selfish human being, but I know how to give good things to my kids. And one of those good things is actually discipline.

Revelation 3.19, God says to His church, "Those whom I love I reprove and discipline, so be zealous and repent." Hebrews 12.6, "For the Lord disciplines the one He loves and chastises every son He receives." The Greek word for discipline is paidouo, if you want to spell it, it's P-A-I-D-E-U-W.

And when you say paidouo, there is both a positive and a negative feel for this word. There is a negative discipline given in response to behavior or attitude that needs correcting. But at the same time, there is a positive one, a discipline that is used for teaching, instruction, and training.

So nod your heads if you think discipline is a good thing, yeah? Discipline is good, right? A good father disciplines his children not because he hates them, but because he loves them. And we all know this. And we know it intuitively, even if our parents are imperfect. And as a child changes, the parent's discipline will change.

In Korean, we call a spanking, what do we call spanking in Korean? Oh yeah, you guys are passionate about this. Memme, right? I typed it out, it said meme, but it's like memme. So when the child is little, fathers will give memme to their children. But there comes an age where memme is no longer appropriate.

It'll only make it worse. If you give memme to a high school-aged boy, that's not going to be a good thing, right? So as a child changes, the discipline that the father takes with the child will also change and adjust. So as a child becomes an adult, the father's discipline may be more informed in the form of a counsel or advice.

So as a child changes, the father's change. My twins are almost three. Our son's name is Matthias, we call him Maddie. So the first, I vividly remember this, the first time I ever gave Maddie a memme, when he was just over a year old. So during dinner, he had the habit of throwing food down to the ground.

And we needed to fix this. So he would put some in his mouth, throw some on the ground, put some in his mouth, throw some on the ground, and that drove my wife nuts. So I said, "Maddie, no, no, no." He looked at me, he was like, "Hey, no, no, no." And then he threw more on the ground.

So I was like, "Uh-oh, okay. We got to do some advanced discipline." So I took a little ruler, and I took out his hand, and I whacked his hand. Immediately tears filled his eyes, and he started crying. I did not enjoy that. It was actually painful for me. He doesn't throw food on the ground anymore.

I didn't enjoy it, but I deemed it necessary at the time, so he got a little memme. Our daughter, Karis, had the same problem. But the thing with Karis was that memme at that time didn't work. When you memme Karis, she would be like, "Hehehe," which is super scary.

But worse than that, when we were looking, she would take a ruler and whack her dolls. "Memme, memme." And then if her brother came near her, she would go, "Memme, memme," and she would whack him on the head. So we're like, "Okay, this ruler doesn't work on my daughter." What we found out worked was isolating her on a timeout.

We put her in the room, and she would scream bloody murder. See, if we put Maddie in a room by himself, he would find something to do, play with his toes, play with the bars of the crib. But Karis would not like that. Two different kids, two different forms of discipline to fit each child.

We took no pleasure in disciplining our children, but at times, we deemed it necessary. I have not once been excited to put my child on a timeout or a memme or to take away a toy. And not once did I give my kids a memme without explaining why they're getting a memme.

So if I gave them a memme and said, "Guess why you got hit?" That's a weird fathering trait, right? We will always make it clear when our kids are being disciplined, because that's parenting common sense. No father will discipline his child and tell him to guess, and even bad fathers know not to do this.

So this is something that's very important to remember as you relate to the Lord. When our heavenly Father disciplines us because of our sin or our disobedience, I believe with all my heart that He will always make it clear why. If God the Father is disciplining us, He will always make it clear why.

And why is this important to remember? Because there are times where life is not fun. And things happen. And life hurts. And sometimes we feel like, "Is God punishing me for something?" You guys understand that sentiment? So if you cannot understand why something difficult is happening in your life, if you cannot understand the reason behind a struggle, God is not punishing you or disciplining you for something you've done wrong as a judgment.

John chapter 9, the disciples ask about a blind man, "Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?" And Jesus answered, "It was not that this man sinned or his parents, but that the works of God might be displayed in him." God never disciplines without explaining to His children why we're being disciplined, and this is something that I, as an evil father, have come to understand.

When life gets tough, we're not necessarily getting spiritual memmeh, but it's a different kind of discipline. Trials, hardships, and suffering, especially those you can't understand or explain, will always be for your good or for the good of His other children. Let me repeat that. Trials, hardships, suffering, especially those you can't understand or explain, will always be for your good or for good.

Hebrews 12, 11, "For the moment, all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it." Trials, hardships, and suffering will always be for good or for your good. So negative discipline is in response to a behavior that needs to be fixed.

Positive discipline comes in the form of instruction, teaching, or training. One of the things that we are working really hard right now to teach our kids is how to share. Yeah, you guys, you parents in here, that's not an easy thing, right? To teach them how to share. But this is another good thing that I, as an evil man, know how to give to my children.

In my visits to the poor, I have seen a lot of depressing and very painful things. And when we would go visit these communities, the compassion sponsors who would go with me, a lot of them would break down and cry because people should not be living like this. One older, he was in his early 70s, non-Christian sponsor actually said this, "Poverty is God's fault." And I could understand the logic because if God is all powerful, all knowing, and truly good, why do such horrible things happen?

Why is there so much injustice? Why does 40% of the world struggle just to eat once a day? I met a mother in Ethiopia who had nine children. Eight of them she buried before they turned five. And she blamed herself for each of their deaths. Why God, why? Why do you nothing?

Why do you not intervene? Is a cry in my heart. See, I trust in God's goodness, but there are oftentimes tension in my heart when I see things in this world that are unjust and painful to look at. So when that sponsor said, "Poverty is God's fault," God kind of gave me a quick insight, and I want to share that with you.

In order to teach our kids how to share, in the mornings when I have baby duty, I will pour milk into both their bottles, and I mean, I would give it to each of them, but sometimes I would give both of them to one kid. And I would say, "Here, Maddie, go share it with Charis," or, "Here, Charis, go give it to Maddie." And then they would run along and just, "Here," and just give it to, and I'll say, "Maddie, say thank you," or, "Charis, say thank you." Because we want to teach them how to share and how to give thanks.

Milk is easy because it's like an everyday thing for them. But you know what's hard? Caca. Cookies are hard. So I tried it with cookies. I gave Maddie two cookies, and I said, "Hey, you give one to Charis." And Charis is like, turned to Maddie and had her hands open, but Maddie ran away that way.

And homie's fast. He's like running, and I tried to get him, and I was like, "Hey," and then he went, boom, and he put both cookies in his mouth. You know who Charis looked at, screaming? She didn't look at Maddie when she was screaming. She looked at me, crying and screaming her head off.

Why? I caused this injustice. So she was screaming because I did nothing to stop Maddie from committing this horrible evil. She was wronged. What was rightfully hers is now in his stomach, so she's mad. And I didn't seem to care, and I let it happen. So what's a father to do?

Now as a father, I could intervene. Snatch the cookie from Maddie. No, time out. Memme. Snatch it away and give it to Charis. But see, I don't want my kids to learn how to share out of compulsion or fear of punishment. I want them to learn how to share from the heart.

So I will wait, even at the expense of the unfairness that one of the kids feels at the moment. You guys understand, right? God has given me wisdom to wait, but in their little minds, I did a wrong thing. A few months ago, I was sitting at the dining table.

Maddie was sitting next to me. I was over there in the corner playing with a doll. And Maddie said, "I want a tangerine." So I opened the refrigerator, peeled the tangerine, and I just gave it to him without thinking because I was writing an email on my phone. And then he took the tangerine, he split it in half, ran over to where Charis was, and gave her the other half, not because I told him to, because I wasn't paying attention because I was on my phone.

He did it because that was just now a natural thing for him to do. And I was so excited. I was super happy. I was like, "Dude, I win! I did it! I succeeded as a dad!" See a lot of times, the discipline that God allows to take place in our lives, the positive kind when our lives are hard, is sometimes for the good of those around you.

And in His wisdom, God waits so that the body of Christ can often rejoice with those who rejoice, mourn with those who mourn, like we've been learning in Romans. Lesson one, fathers discipline their children in love. Second, fathers delight in their children and desire to give them the best of everything.

These are things that I, as an evil father, have come to learn. I love my kids. Can you tell? Yeah, I love them. They're objectively cute. Because I waited and prayed so long, eight years, for them, I enjoy spending time with them and I love watching them grow and change.

I love coming home and as soon as I walk in the door, my children run. They go, "Daddy, daddy!" And they run. And that's like my favorite part of the day. I don't care if they broke things, made a mess, or were bad babies that day. The best part of my day is when I go home and see my children, scoop them up, smother them with hugs and kisses, roll around.

I love hearing them laugh. I enjoy just watching them play. When music comes on, sometimes my daughter dances. It's the awkwardest, ugliest thing, but it's so cute. I love watching them do silly stuff, like put underwear on their head. The other day, Karis blew her nose by herself. I was super excited.

I was like, "Wow, baby! You blew your own nose! Nice!" And she beamed because she was like, "Oh, daddy was so proud." I love watching them do ordinary, silly, stupid things. Why? Because I love them and because they're mine. How much more does God enjoy watching us do silly and stupid and ordinary things and just beam at us?

I want to give them the best of everything. When I go to Target, I went yesterday, I brought back home a toy. I always visit the toy section because I want to give my kids stuff, but I do not because some toys they're not ready for. Some toys would be harmful for them.

I may get it for them later, but not now because they're too little. Scripture says, "What father among you, if a son asks for a fish, will instead of a fish give him a serpent, or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion?" A snake is not good for food.

It's dangerous. No father will give his child a scorpion for food or even for a pet. Even a bad father knows not to do this. Even a stupid father knows not to do this. So even selfish and stupid fathers desire to give their children good things. They want to give their children things that will benefit them.

Lesson one, fathers discipline their children in love. Two, fathers delight in their children and want to give them the best of everything. It says, "If you then being evil, I love my kids, but if you asked me, do I love my kids more than I love myself? I'd probably say no.

I mean if I had to defend my kids with my life or sacrifice my body for them, I'm pretty sure I would. But do I love Maddie and Karis more than I love me? I'd have a very hard time answering that because I love myself a lot. I'm selfish.

And there are times, even though I love my children, where my parenting is affected negatively because of my selfishness. When I haven't slept much and I'm tired and cranky and grumpy, my interaction with my kids might not be positive. When I'm under a lot of stress, I can be a bad dad.

When there are difficulties in my relationship with Rebecca, Becky, my kids will be affected. But even as a self-centered, selfish, weak, sinful father, I won't deliberately give my kids things that are harmful for them. Does it make sense? How many of you love your kids? You don't have to answer, but how many of you love your kids?

I know your love isn't perfect and it's a struggle, but you love your kids. I love my kids. But you know what radically changed in my relationship with God? When I came to the realization that God loves me more than I love my kids. God loves me with a fierce, intense, passionate love a whole lot more than I could ever love my kids.

God loves you more than you love your kids. And His love is perfect. He is never in a bad mood. He is never tired or sleep deprived. He is never in disagreement with Himself. So if you have been adopted into the family of God, your Abba Father loves you with a fierce intensity.

It's a relentless, passionate love. And He loves you so much more than you could ever love your kids. And I want that to sink in. Because if that does, the next time you pray Luke 11, "Our Father in Heaven," your heart will beat differently. Sunday worship will be special because it's time with Dad.

If you then being evil know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will God give the Holy Spirit to those who love Him or to those who ask Him? This is a slight tangential, but I feel worth bringing up. As I was preparing this sermon, there was a little bit of a tension in my heart.

Two groups of people came to mind, and it caused me to stop and pray. The first group is for those of you who have had objectively bad earthly fathers. And I want you to call your attention back to the beginning of verse 13, "If you then though you are evil." For you guys, first, don't allow your bitterness toward your earthly father keep you from opening up your heart to the Heavenly Father who loves you perfectly.

And second, remember, all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. There is need for Christ for all, and there is need of grace for all. The second group that I felt burdened for as I was preparing this sermon are the barren and the childless. "Oh yeah, Peter, great.

You waited eight years. God gave you kids. Nice to be you." There's a little bit of guilt and pain as I was preparing this because I felt like I'm almost gloating about being a dad. We were childless for most of our marriage, so I've been there. What I want to share with you who are waiting is this.

God hears you. He loves you. No prayer of yours falls on deaf ears. Where you are at, give Him glory. You know, something really challenged me within the last year as I was thinking through how to pray and encourage others who are waiting for children. You know, when you pray for a child, it's an earnest prayer.

It's a desperate prayer. Months and months of waiting and being disappointed. There's a sense of like, it's not even frustration because you can't control this. But you know what dawned on me? You know what's more of an earnest prayer? You know what's more of a prayer that can hit the heart of God?

It's a prayer of a child who doesn't have parents. So perhaps God is moving your heart to love on an adopted child as if he were your own flesh and blood. Do it if you can. God hears you. He loves you. He desires the wholeness and completeness of your family more than you do.

These are tangential, but I wanted to address that. And I tell you, ask and it will be given to you. Seek and you will find. Knock and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds. To the one who knocks it will be opened.

And what father among you, if his son asks for a fish, will instead of a fish give him a serpent? Or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him?

So what are we to be asking, seeking, and knocking for? Do you guys ever think about that? You know this verse, right? It's also in Matthew 6. Ask and you shall receive. Seek and you will find. Knock and the door will be opened. You've heard this before, but what is it that we're supposed to be asking, seeking, and knocking for?

Verse 13 gives you the answer. The Holy Spirit? That's weird. If we're asking God with all our hearts, seeking and knocking, he's going to give the Holy Spirit? And you guys remember, the disciples didn't have really a concept of who the Holy Spirit was. So this is kind of going to be weird for them.

But for you and I, as we look upon this passage, it makes sense. Because the greatest things that I can give to these kids that I love are not objects. The biggest blessings and gifts I can give to Maddie and Karis are not a house, money, or a good education, right?

If you're a parent, the best thing you can give to your kids are not physical, material things. No, the best thing I can give to my children is my heart. The best gift a father can give to his children is himself. And you guys all understand this. A young child might not understand this.

But as a child gets older, what happens? More than the stuff, more than the gifts, they grow to love the giver. I appreciate and understand my sinful father now more than I did when I was 15. When I was a kid, I appreciated or I didn't appreciate my father for what he could or he couldn't give me.

Now I appreciate my father and value him just because he's my father. And he's the reason we moved back. The best thing that God can give you and me is not health and wealth, comfort and riches, although so much of our prayer lives are just focused on that. The best thing that God can give you and me is a relationship with him.

Amen? But some of us who are spiritual toddlers, we still want the stuff. Some of us who are spiritually impetuous teens would prefer the health and the wealth and comfort and riches because daddy can buy it. Daddy can give it to us. How mature are you in your faith?

How do you gauge how mature you are in your faith? Answer this question honestly in your heart and you'll get your answer. Is your relationship with God a means or the goal? Is your relationship with God a means or the goal? Because the best thing that God can give to his people is not stuff.

It is a gift of Emmanuel. Amen? John 17 3, this is eternal life. It's not just about enjoying heaven on earth and then going to heaven and enjoying heavenly heaven. Okay? What is eternal life? That they may know you, the only true God in Jesus Christ whom you have sent.

If you say the thing about it, this gift, ask and you shall receive, seek and you shall find, knock and the door will be open and then the heavenly father will give you a Holy Spirit. This is strange stuff to the first century Jew. First of all, the disciples who asked Jesus to teach them how to pray at this time didn't have quite an understanding of who the Holy Spirit was.

Ask seek, knock and your father in heaven who is good, who is keeper of promises and covenants will give you the spirit. The first century Jew had a few things he prayed passionately about. He prayed passionately that the Messiah would come. Why did the first century Jew pray for the Messiah to come?

Because the Messiah would come to deliver the people of Israel from their oppressors. The Jew would pray for the Messiah to come in might, in power to restore and liberate Israel and to return Israel's wealth, their fame and their land. This was promised to Abraham's descendants by God the father.

Messiah come because we're sick of these pagan oppressors. Give us back our wealth, our land and our fame. If I were a first century Jew at first hearing on this Holy Spirit, I would say no thanks. I want the wealth. I want the fame. I want the land. I don't want to have these pagan Romans scoffing at me, making me carry his armor for a mile.

I want relief. I want what you promised to our forefathers. So many first century Jews, for many first century Jews, a covenant relationship with God was a means, not a goal. Matthew 21.9, "And the crowds that went before him and that followed him were shouting, 'Hosanna to the son of David.

Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. Hosanna in the highest.' The crowd shouted, 'Hosanna in the highest. Hosanna in the highest.'" But what does that mean? The word Hosanna comes from the combination of two Hebrew words, yasha, which means deliver or save. If you're taking notes, Y-A-S-H-A, deliver or save, yasha.

And then, Anna, like Anna, the name, beg or beseech. Yasha, deliver, save. Anna, we beg you, we beseech you, we implore you. And the word Hosanna is found only once in the Old Testament. Psalm 118, verses 25 to 26, it reads, "Save us, we pray. O Lord, O Lord, we pray.

Give us success. Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. We bless you in the house of the Lord. We bless you from the house of the Lord." Over time, in Israel, Hosanna started becoming a declaration of praise, like, "Hooray! Hooray! Hooray! Manseh! Yoo-hoo!" That's what it became.

But the meaning is, "Save us! We beg you." So the crowds literally were shouting, "I beg you to save! Please deliver us!" They were crying for salvation. But over the course of the Passion Week, over the next few days, they stopped shouting this. And by Friday, their shouts turned into, "Crucify him." Why?

Because this Son of David wasn't delivering what they wanted to receive. On this Palm Sunday, do you shout, "Hosanna to the King of Kings! Glory in the highest!" You're going to sing that after this. We're going to sing. That's all. But why do you shout, "Hosanna"? What do you desire to be saved from?

"Hosanna! We beseech you to save and deliver us!" What is it that you desire to be saved from? Because many in today's church want to be saved from comfort or discomfort. They want to be saved from anxiety. They want to be saved from boredom. More and fewer people desire to be saved from their sins and restored to the Creator.

You are the God who saves us, worthy of all our praises. We will sing that. What are you singing? Salvation from your discomfort, anxiety, and boredom? Or are you singing with a desire to be restored to your Maker? You are the God who saves us, worthy of all our praises.

"Hosanna!" Is He worthy of praise only when your life is good? What is the significance of remembering this Passion Week? What is the significance of remembering the Passion Week? It's to remember the means by which our adoption into the family of God came. To remember the means by which our sonship and our access came.

The means by which the gift of eternal life came. Eternal life for you and me came at a cost. Jesus' life, sacrificial death, and resurrection have given us access to this good, good Father. Remember Tim Keller's quote? "The only person who dares to wake up a king at 3 a.m.

for a glass of water is his child." He has that kind of access. So is Christ your Lord and Savior? If Christ is your Lord and Savior, you have been adopted into God's family. Hallelujah! And you have a good Father. And this Father loves you perfectly. This Father loves you passionately.

He loves you sacrificially. He loves you more than you could ever love anybody else. So when you cry out, "Hosanna, come have your way among us," may that praise and that prayer just be, "God, I just want you. I don't want anything else. I just want you." I would like to close with a passage for us to read.

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places. Even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him, in love he predestined us for adoption through Jesus Christ, whom we remember this week.

According to the purpose of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the beloved. Today's Palm Sunday. This week is Passion Week. May this week and the events this week cause you to reflect on the love of our heavenly Father and on the love that he has for us.

That while we were yet hostile, rebellious, sinful, selfish men and women, Christ died for us to restore us to the Father, because that is the best thing he could ever give. May you remember Christ this week. May you remember that you're God, that your Daddy loves you, and he loves you passionately.

Amen? Let's pray.