Recognizing the Moment

Hi, this is Pastor Daniel Bracken. You're listening to Kings Alaska Podcast. I hope the Word encourages you and you get a touch from God that brings transformation and equips you to experience life with people, power and purpose. Thank you for joining us. Enjoy the Word.

Go to mark, chapter 14. It's a very special day today, Palm Sunday. And I'm going to bring to you a Palm Sunday message in the series, how Jesus changed everything. Because when Jesus shows up, he changes everything. When God shows up, he changes everything.

In fact, there's nothing he can't change, nothing he can't do. He's able to free, able to heal, able to deliver, able to provide. And we've been preaching along those lines. We preached how Jesus healed everything. What a powerful message.

And how Jesus delivered. He delivers everyone. He'll deliver everything. Mark 5. And a powerful passage on the demonic and how the demonic can affect you even as a believer.

All of these messages in the series are available on YouTube, which is coming near 100,000 subscribers, for which we're very happy about, just so that we can reach more people. It's the main purpose of that. And this morning I'm going to preach recognizing the moment. There are moments that come that'll change everything. And if you don't recognize you're in one, you won't get the change.

Or you might get the results of lack of recognizing the moment. Very powerful passage of Scripture. Would you stand with me? We're going to start Mark 14. We're going to start from verse three, and we're going to look at the 24 hours of Palm Sunday, the evening before really the day.

And in Hebrew understanding, the day starts as the sun goes down the day before. So Sabbath is from sundown Friday night for the Jews to Saturday, Saturday, sunset. So at sunset, this takes place. Mark 14. And then we'll go into Luke 19, as Palm Sunday is what's called his triumphal entry into Jerusalem.

Reading from the new King James. If you're all there, say amen. Mark 14. It's on the screen. Verse three.

Here we go. And being in Bethany, at the house of Simon the Leper, as he sat at the table, a woman having an alabaster flask. Pardon me, a very costly oil of spikenard. And she broke the flask and poured it on his head. There were some who were indignant among themselves and said, why was this fragrant oil wasted?

Or it might have been sold for more than 300 denarii and given to the poor. And they criticized her sharply. But Jesus Said, let her alone. Why do you trouble her? She has done a good work for me.

For you. For you have the poor with you always. And whenever you wish, you may do them good. But me you do not have always. And she has done what she could.

Would you say that with me? She has done what she could. She's come beforehand to anoint my body for burial. Assuredly. I say to you, whenever this gospel is preached in the whole world, what this woman has done will also be told as a memorial for her.

And Judas Iscariot, one of the 12, went to the chief priest to betray him to them. When they heard it, they were glad and they promised to give him money. So he sought how he might conveniently betray him. Let's pray. Father, thank you so much.

Move in great power, Lord, this morning, on this Palm Sunday, as we look at this text, as we look at Luke 19 here in just a moment, may it bring great encouragement to your people, and I thank you for it. Jesus name. Amen. You may be seated. You look at who's in the room.

You see Simon the leper. I love how it says that. Simon the leper. Because he's not a leper anymore.

It's just how he was known. But he had been healed. Simon the leper is no longer a leper. You have Lazarus also in the room. You can look at a composite in the Gospels, the Gospels.

There's four of them. Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. But you look at this text in the. In. In other texts, you'll see that there's Lazarus in John 12:2.

He was raised from the dead. So here you have a leper who's been healed. You have a dead guy who's now alive all in the same room. You have the King of Kings, the Lord of Lords. He's there.

You have religious leaders. They're blind. You have Judas, who's about to betray Jesus. And you have Mary, who comes in this extravagant moment where she breaks what is known to be a year's worth of wages. An alabaster box.

She breaks it over the feet of Jesus, over his head. Pardon me. And it's really of quite a moment. Her act was prophetic. It was a prophetic act.

What do you mean, it was prophetic? Well, Jesus said, she's anointing me. Not to anoint is to pour forth or pour out over. She's anointing me for my burial now. They still don't understand what's happening.

They're a little dull. Like. Like I can be sometimes. Like. Like maybe you can be.

They're a little dull of what's taking place. They didn't have a framework for the suffering servant of Isaiah 53 and that he would be crucified. He would die, pierced for our transgressions, wounded for our iniquity. The chastisement that brought us peace would be upon him. They didn't know.

And he's. He's playing this out. Now. There's a weak point before he's crucified at Passover, just before the Passover, just before verse nine of Mark 14. Assuredly, I say to you, whenever this gospel is preached.

In the whole world, what this woman has done will also be told as a memorial for her. So the gospel goes around the world. He's prophesying that, that, that's. That that's going to happen. Gospel means good news.

When the good news of my death, my resurrection, redemption for mankind, the fulfillment of the messianic hope. When the good news is shared, this story will be told every single time. And you got to ask, why is that as a memorial? I mean, what are memorials for? How many?

Ever been to the Lincoln Memorial? Powerful. It's emblazoned with scripture all over the thing. It's. It's amazing.

Memorials talk about what God has done or talk about an event. It could be a memorial to people. Memorial to an event. It can be a memorial, in this case, of her pouring out a year's worth of wages. So it's in today's.

Today's money, it would be 50. Anywhere between 30 to $70,000, they say. And she pours it out. Wow. The second thing you'll notice in the text is this.

Judas decides to betray Christ. And the reason he decided to betray Christ is he's a thief. He's. He's a thief. And if you look at some of the other gospel writers, you see that he impacted them.

He had influence over those who were around. And others are like, yeah, yeah. How come? What, he wasn't concerned about the poor. He's concerned about the money he could get.

He was a thief. His love for money was greater than his love for Jesus, and it led him to betray the Lord. If you have any love for anything that's more than your love for God, you will one day backslide and yield to that thing. And I've seen it over and over and over. And he said, well, that's a little extra.

I think you're exaggerating a little bit. Anybody that's lived for any length of time serving God with all your Heart. You will see people come and you will see people go. And then you have to ask, well, what caused them to go? Now, sometimes there's good reasons to leave things.

Other times, people. There's no good reason to leave. The Lord, people will always let you down. But the Lord. The Lord is good.

The Lord is kind. Lord is merciful and long suffering and patient. And even when you don't understand his leadership, he's going to bring you. He's going to bring you to a place of understanding, even if it's after you're dead. And then you'll know all things, even as you were fully known.

I settled it. God is good. So I don't understand all of the things that he does and why he does them. I trust his sovereignty, but at the same time, don't take his sovereignty for inaction. Don't take his sovereignty for inaction.

Judas backslid. Judas turn. I don't know. I don't know what he was thinking in his mind. I've preached on it other times, but I think he's offended.

I think he had a love for money. And I've just seen people turn their backs from God for money. Certainly I've had people say, you know, pray for me to get a job. They come in here, they come in, they get their lives, they get born again, they give their hearts to Jesus. And if you haven't done that, I'm gonna give you an opportunity by the end of the service.

And then they start working and they start serving and they start tithing. And soon they're getting promoted and they're getting elevated and God raises them up. And then before you know it, they have a. And this has happened. They have a business idea, they start a business, the business flourishes, and they start making lots of money.

Now, I've seen this over and over and over. And then what they do is they say, you know what? I can't come Sunday anymore because I've just got this contract and I need to work Sunday. And so they work Sunday. Now they're working seven days a week.

And they used to come Wednesday that aren't coming Wednesday anymore. Then they'll periodically show up. And then over time, what you find is that they get. They just get bamboozled by greedy. And I've had people say, well, I'm gonna.

I'm gonna make all this money so I can build a building. I'm gonna pay the building offer. I'm gonna do this thing. But you know what happens if you lose? The Lord as the centerpiece of your life and seeking first his kingdom and his righteousness.

And you have a love for something that's greater than. Greater than that. You're gonna be in big trouble. And that's what happens to Judas. His love for money was more than his love for God.

Go to Luke 19.

Now, this takes place. That takes place the evening before his triumphal entry. And so Luke 19. I'm going to pick it up in verse 28.

When he had said this, he went on ahead, going to Jerusalem. Verse 29. And it came to pass when he drew near Beth Page of Bethany at the mountain called Olivet, that he sent two of his disciples. So he's entering into. It's called the triumphal entry into Jerusalem.

And it is one of the most profound passages of scripture. And nearly every Palm Sunday I mention it because it is. Just moves me so much. Sends two of his disciples to go into the village opposite you. And as you enter it, you will find a cult.

It's a donkey on which no one has ever sat. Loose it and bring it here. And if anyone asks you, verse 31, why are you losing it? Thus you should say to him, because the Lord has need of it. Would you say that the Lord has need of it?

The. The. The miracle of the donkey. This donkey miracle is profound. The Lord has come on.

Say the Lord has need of it.

Because donkeys are. Did you know they're used for watchdogs? They're used for protections. Anybody ever seen a donkey protect that which it cares about? They are the most wild, crazy animals.

They can beat up. They can beat up lions, Donkeys. Donkeys can beat up mountain lions. Donkeys. Donkeys are like seriously vicious animals.

If you make them mad, they bite, they kick. And so the Lord has them go. It was born for a purpose. The donkey was born for a purpose. What's the purpose?

To untie the cold was a messianic sign. If you go to Zachariah, chapter nine, verse nine, it's 500 years before Jesus came. 500 years. I'm a read it to you. Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion.

Shout, O daughter of Jerusalem. Behold, your king is coming to you. He is just having salvation. Lowly riding with on a donkey. A call, a foal of a donkey.

Wow. There's another messianic scripture that includes a donkey. In Genesis chapter 49, Jacob is seeing the Messiah's day. And I'll read it to you. The scepter shall not Depart Judah, Genesis 49, 10.

Nor Lawgiver from between his feet. Until Shiloh comes. What is Shiloh? It's not. Not talking about a place.

It's talking about a person. Until the. It's talking about the Messiah. Till he comes. It goes on to say in Genesis, chapter 49, verse 11, binding his donkey to the vine and his donkey's colt to the choice vine.

He washes garments with wine and his clothes with the blood of the grapes. It's just profound that Jesus has a word of knowledge is what happens. There's going to be a donkey. You're going to find the donkey, go get the donkey. And if they ask you, say, the Lord has needed it.

Bump your neighbor. Not that they're a donkey. Or the King James Version. And say, the Lord has a need of you. Come on, go ahead and say it.

The Lord has. The Lord has need of you. The donkey was created for a purpose, as were you. And it's amazing that Jesus brings peace to an unbroken donkey, kind of getting the application. But my God, if he can tame a donkey, he can tame you.

He can help you. He could set you free from being a donkey.

Let's go on and read verse 37.

Lord has need of it. All right.

Oh, we should back up just a little bit. Verse 35. They. They brought him to Jesus. Jesus threw their clothes on the cult, and they set Jesus on him.

You know, today it's like a king would ride on a white stallion. Back then, kings rode on. On beasts of burden like that, not. Not horses. Like we would think about it throughout the Old Testament, you'll see that different times.

Verse 36. And as he went, they spread their clothes on the road. This is a picture of acknowledging his kingship, an acknowledgment of even him being the Messiah. Verse 37. Now, as He.

As he was drawing near the descent of Mount Olive, the whole multitudes, say multitudes, because there's thousands of people.

Multitude of their disciples began to rejoice and praise God with a loud voice. What kind of a voice? A loud voice for the mighty works they had seen, saying, blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord. Peace in heaven and glory the highest.

Some of the disciples. Verse 39. Some of the Pharisees, pardon me. Called from the crowd and said, teacher, rebuke your disciples. But he answered and said to them, I tell you that if they should keep silent, the stones would immediately cry out, I'm going to keep reading.

Verse 41. As he drew near, the city, wept over it, saying, if you had known, even you, especially this, your day, the Things that make your peace, but now they're hidden from your eyes. For the days will come upon you. Verse 43.

When your enemies will build an embankment around you and surround you and close in on you in every side. Verse 44. And level you and your children within you. The ground not leave one stone upon the other. Because you did not know the time of your visitation.

He went into the temple and he began to drive out all those who bought and sold. Saying them is written, my house is a house of prayer, but you've made it the den of thieves.

Jesus brings peace to this donkey. He begins to ride in. And you see a picture of what worship should be. Worship is in a few people up front who've practiced very hard singing with all their heart. And we get to watch them.

That's not worship. Worship, according to Romans 12 is a reasonable act of service. The word is luteo in that text. It's a reasonable act of service. Worship is.

Is your life. It's more than a song. But when. When music is sung, worship onto the Lord. It is.

It is loud, it's expressive. And so oftentimes I think we lose that. We do we. How's your praise doing? How's your worship doing?

Or do you just watch the anointed minister Toby and crew? Are you singing? When. When it's time to sing and worship. We don't just do it because it's a performance.

Not a performance. It's not. Verse 39 is a picture of religion. It's a picture of. Of the flesh.

It's a picture of people who don't like when you're allowed and. And when you sing exuberantly. The picture of religion. Verse 39. Tell your disciples to be quiet.

Is anybody ever been silenced by somebody? I remember years ago I was worshiping at a conservative church and I'm not against God's church. His bride, he. It's his bride and he's going to deal with his church and help his church. The gates of hell will not prevail.

But I went to this sort of conservative church and I lifted my hands and I was getting touched by God during worship. And there wasn't a bunch of hand lifters in that place. Listen, you can lift your hands. You don't have to lift your hands. You want to stick your hands in the pocket or you want to hold the baby, it doesn't matter.

It doesn't matter. But it should come from all your heart. And while I was doing that, I'm tapped on the shoulder by an usher.

And I. I look and he says, yeah, you're really bothering people. I'm like, okay. He said, you know, I can see you're worshiping. Go back with the sound guy. He worships like, you just stand back there with the sound guy.

So I went back with the sound guy, Daniel, and we worshiped God with all our heart. And I thought, that is so strange.

I mean, it was like a mortuary. It was like a morgue. This is not the mortuary. This is not a morgue. This is a place of life, a place of freedom, a place of hope.

A place where it's okay to lift your voice and thank him. Worship him. Shoot, you can even run around the building if you want to. It's a little cold out there. But.

Religion tries to stop genuine worship. Don't get stuck. Don't become a Pharisee. Don't get stuck. Worship God with all your heart, with all your mind, with all your soul and all your.

Your strength.

Don't be intimidated by the person on the right and the left of you. And I. Let me just say then, if you get so exuberant that you're louder than the platform and you're making a scene, then you're probably out of order. Now, we have had some folks that have come, I'm sure no one like that here this morning that are like, I don't know what, looky, looky, sugar cookie type spirit. Does anybody know what I'm talking about?

Only two or three people know what I'm talking about. They're so exuberant that everybody's looking like, what's the next thing they're going to do? I walked into this church, this guy was going crazy. I mean, just all this just crazy dance, and everybody's just kind of like, chilling. But he was wild, I thought.

I kind of like that guy. I walked up next to him, and I'll never forget what happened. He stops and looks at me and says, word. I'm like, word, man.

But it draw the. It drew the attention away from Jesus. And people were like, you know, that that's. That. That's when things are out of order.

But I. But I don't want you to become a Pharisee. I don't want you to become somebody who's afraid of lift. Come on, lift your voice, right? It's Palm Sunday.

Come on, lift your voice and thank him all across this place. Can't hear you. I think he could do a little bit better. All right, this side is clearly winning. Let's try it again.

Not that it's a competition, but just forget about your neighbor for a second. Think about where you came from. Think about what God's done for you. He set you free. He healed you, delivered you.

He set you apart. He filled you with his spirit. Come on, somebody. Give God the praise.

Amen. Jesus says that even the rocks will cry out if I tell them to be quiet. And he weeps over Jerusalem. In the text, he weeps over Jerusalem. And for.

For the longest time, I mean, for half of my saved life, I did not understand this. But as I began to study years ago, it was illuminated. To me is a nation. The nation of Israel had missed its moment. He said, what do you mean?

The nation of Israel misses moment? If you go to the Book of Daniel. And again, this is. If you've been here for any length of time. I've.

I've been preaching Palm Sunday messages for 19 years. So this is about the 19th time I've said that. In Daniel, chapter nine, it is very profound, prophetic word. In verse 25, it says, and know this. From the issuing of the decree to restore, to rebuild Jerusalem until the anointed One, the ruler, comes, there will be seven sevens.

That's 49 and 62, seven sets 434. It will be rebuilt in the streets and a trench in times of trouble, 62 sevens. And the anointed One will be cut off and will have nothing. The people of their ruler will come to destroy the city in the sanctuary. The end will come like a flood.

War will continue to the end. The desolations have been decreed. That chapter is so profound because we have the Dead Sea scroll. So nobody got in there and just like changed it to try to make it match. We have the Book of Daniel from prior to when Jesus was born from the Dead Sea Scrolls.

So you look at the Book of Daniel and you look at this. From the issuing of the decree to restore and rebuild Jerusalem. Well, what is that talking about? It's talking about when Israel is brought into captivity in Babylon. And so there's an issue that's decreed in the Book of Nehemiah.

Now we know when that year was. We have historical proof of when that year was. So it's like starting a time. It's like starting a stopwatch. The moment it's issued in the Book of Nehemiah.

It's like a start, a start of a stopwatch. And you count all the years off. And you know what it brings you to? It brings you to April 6, 32 AD. What's so significant about that.

Well, it's the day, the day that Jesus rode in on a donkey and he weeps because they did not know the day of visitation. What day of visitation, the moment where Jesus would reveal himself as the Messiah. And he weeps. And then he doesn't just weep. He, he.

They literally missed their day of visitation. So I mean, that's why he's weeping. But he doesn't just weep. They're rejecting of Jesus. By rejecting him, they chosen judgment.

Let me tell you that in the hand of the Gospel is both judgment and blessing. New Testament Jesus sends him in to the cities that he would then go. You see in Luke 10 and different places since you go to the house, if they don't receive you, then shake the dust off your feet. I'm paraphrasing. And leave for to be worse for them than Sodom and Gomorrah on the day of judgment.

So he's saying, because they reject you, because they reject the truth of my word, because they reject me as the Messiah, Jesus, Mashiach, the Holy One, the Anointed one, because they reject me, then judgment will come upon them. This is what, this is what Jesus is talking about. By rejecting Jesus, they basically chose judgment. I mean, that's intense. Five questions I see to ask you on this Palm Sunday.

The first one is in relation to the Book of Mark, chapter 14. Will we be extravagant givers out of the love for Jesus so the gospel can go forth? People stepped up at the school and do we have a, do we have a video of that? Do we have that school video? Put a thumbs up so I, you know, I want you to see this.

I've got a recap. I want you to just see this for a moment. Go ahead, let it roll. Knock the lights, please. Welcome to King's Christian School, Alaska's Rooted and Rising Gala.

King's Christian School is more than just a school. It's a vibrant beacon of faith based education, academic excellence and leadership development. And when you teach kids not just the ABCs, not just reading, not just science, but you teach them about the foundations of our world, of our history, of our spirituality, you really get them to understand that individuals are not the top of the food chain. That's our Lord. That's our God.

That's Jesus.

I have the distinct honor of presenting a formal citation from the members of the 34th Alaska State Legislature honoring King's Christian School, Alaska, your excellence here will multiply. Other parents will look at your excellence and they'll begin to demand it for their kids. I Want to thank you for your vision, thank you for investing in Alaska's future, and thank you for helping chart a new course for the next generation. Thank you for all you do. Thank you for your generosity, your faith, your commitment to Alaska's next generation.

God bless all of you. God bless you all and I hope you have a wonderful evening.

Wow. Why would, why would we do that? Because it's important. And people responded because they believe that education is important. They're tired of sending their kids to public education where morals are completely messed up.

And so they're responding. Because of people's generosity, we're able to move that, that, that, that school forward.

And for those of you that want to participate in that, you certainly can. Will you be extravagant givers out of your love for Jesus so the gospel can go forth? We're going to receive an offering here in a little minute and we do that on Easter at the Easter time. I'm not going to take this kind of time on Easter Sunday to emphasize it, but I'm, I am going to do it now because it's important. And we'll see a video from Dr.

Here in a moment. Or will we be like Judas? Will we, will we overcome our own self centeredness? Oh my gosh. Am I the only one that battles with self centeredness?

I don't think so. It's our part of our fallen human nature. Just so oftentimes we look, think about doing something and think, well, what's in it for me? It's the second thing I see. Judas was in it for himself.

He was self centered. He was in it for himself. And will you be open to God's plan for, for your life or you remain like a wild donkey?

God has a plan for you. He has a plan. Will you be open to allowing God to use that plan in your life to bring about his prophetic promises for you? That donkey was born for one purpose. And so were you.

To worship God, to love God. I like saying this way. Somebody said, what's your life all about? Loving God and delivering men. That's what my life's all about.

That is what I'm called to do. I'm called to love God with all my heart, with all my mind, soul and strength. And I'm called to set people free with the glorious news of Jesus, the truth of his word, to make disciples, to impact the earth with all that's within me. He owns everything. He purchased me, he bought me.

Romans 12. Again, the reasonable act of understanding all that he's done is to Be a living sacrifice for him. So literally every. Everything belongs to him. Forget about the 10%.

We want you to be a good steward. But understand that even as the donkey was born to fulfill Zachariah 9, you have a purpose. If you haven't been to the discover track, please go because that'll help you find your place here to serve. If you haven't found a place yet, next thing I see is how, how well will we praise the Lord? I, I gave you a little push, but how well will you praise the Lord?

Or will you be so self consumed or doom scrolling on your phone and not really paying attention and not really worshiping? And again, worship is more than just a beautiful team that have practiced and worked so hard up here to lead us. It just comes from your heart. It's a, it's an attitude of oh my gosh, I love you. I'll.

I just, I worship you. The you're the greatest Lord and it's unashamed, unashamedly lifting your voice. If you feel like you want to do it that way, you don't have to try to be somebody else. Please don't be you, but don't let anybody silence you. Don't let religion shut you up.

I, I had a horrible experience, but it was good in the end. I was worshiping with all my heart and just felt like I was just going to explode in a thousand pieces all over the sanctuary. Newly saved, loving God, he had set me free. I wasn't tormented anymore. And sitting there and lady next to me and says, well, you're on fire.

I said, praise God. He's so good. Then she leans over, elderly lady pats me on the, on the leg and says, well, you're in the honeymoon stage. I'm like, the honeymoon stage? She says, yeah, it'll pass and then you'll just learn to walk with the Lord.

I thought, oh, I sat there like, what does that even mean? And I looked at her miserable husband and I realized, oh, I don't think I want that right there. Before I met Pastor Karen, the honeymoon doesn't ever have to end in your marriage and it doesn't ever have to end with God. You can love God and be on fire. Come on.

You remember we used to race home and read the book of Leviticus. You're like, I just can't wait. How well do you praise praise the Lord. Lastly, will we be sensitive to divine moments? There are divine moments.

I believe we're in one of them right now. We are. We're going to see this Building paid off. How's that going to happen? I have no idea.

We're in negotiations for re. Refinancing the property and we'll see if the Lord leads us that way. God is going to do and has done amazing things here at Kings and, and you know how he does it? He does it through people like us. And there's moments that come in your life and you don't want to miss them.

If you really understand what took place in this divine moments. Jesus weeps over the city, Saw their judgment. Verse 43. Listen to this. His words were fulfilled.

Not one stone on top of another. It really, it's a picture of denominationalism. They'll. They'll build an embankment around you. That's what denominations try to do.

Just kind of. There's. There can be a death in denominations and there's some good denominations too, but they're fulfilled here. When the Roman general Titus brought his armies and there's this prolonged siege, he prophesies, because you rejected me on this day, this moment, this day of visitation, he prophesies verse 43, what's going to take place? You did not know the time of your visitation and exactly what he prophesied takes place.

I think it's some 70 years afterwards. They burned the temple. The gold of the temple's treasury ran into the cracks of the stone. This is history. You can go read about it.

The gold of the temple melted during the fire. It went in between the stones and then against Titus's decree, they pried up all the stones and got the gold out. And not one stone in the temple was left. Judgment came upon Jerusalem, came upon the temple, came upon Jews because they rejected Jesus.

Well, I hope you were encouraged by God's word. Thank you again for listening to Kings Alaska podcast cast. God bless you. For more great content, go to kcalaska. Com and may God's face shine upon you and give you peace.