Untied and qualified for service
This is a summary of the Preaching on Palm Sunday the 20th March 2016 by Pastor Fleury Ndongozi at Impact Center-Örebro
Main Scripture: Luke 19:28-40
28 When He had said this, He went on
ahead, going up to Jerusalem. 29 And it came to pass, when He
drew near to Bethphage[c] and Bethany, at the mountain called
Olivet, that He sent two of His disciples, 30 saying,
“Go into the village opposite you, where as you enter you will find a
colt tied, on which no one has ever sat. Loose it and bring it here. 31 And
if anyone asks you, ‘Why are you loosing it?’ thus you shall say to him,
‘Because the Lord has need of it.’”
As we are preparing to celebrate the Passover and especially this week before
Easter, called Holy Week by some people, I've been looking at the differents events that happened before the crucifixion of our Lord and saviour Jesus Christ. It is good to remind ourselves about these events, but our mind must be aware that the story doesn’t end in the death and burial of Jesus but this was the beginning of the end. Jesus resurrected and it was the end of death in our lives. It was the beginning of a new life together with Christ.
In the passage we
just read above, we see Jesus preparing his entrance in Jerusalem. Many events
happened on that day and the day before and after this day. We do remember the
Palm Sunday as a day where people put their clothes and palm leaves to welcome
Jesus in Jerusalem as the King. But one thing captured my attention and that
will be the subject of my preaching today and we are going to look at this text
with the eyes of the Passover celebration.
Jesus told his
disciple to Go
into the village opposite them, where they will find a tied colt, on which no one has ever sat. He asked them to Loose
it and bring it to Him. And if anyone asked them why they were loosing it, they shall answer: ‘Because the Lord
has need of it.’”
Luke 19:30-31
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1.This colt was tied and couldn’t move as it wanted. It was under the authority
of another master who made it to do what he wanted. This colt was obliged to
stay where the master wanted and go where the master told it to go. This colt
couldn’t dream that something good could ever come out of it and that the only
thing it needed to do was to obey. This colt couldn’t
dream bigger, neither see further than where it was tied.
This colt is an
image of you and I and it represents what we used to be before Christ came into our lives. All of us, we used
to be "tied" somewhere and couldn’t see further than where we were. Some of us are still tied in some areas of their lives and many people around us are still tied by the bondage of sin and the enemy is taking advantage of them. They can't see what the Lord has for them.
The good news is that Jesus knew the circumstances of this little colt as He does with our own lives. He knows all the things we might going threw and He wants us to "Passover" with Him into a better life and fellowship with Him.
2. No one has ever sat
on this colt
This is a detail
that only Dr Luke and Mark (Mark 11:1-11) talk about. It is not found in
Matthew (21:1-11) and John (12:12-19). We don’t know why no one ever sat on
this poor colt. But this detail is very important to understand.
Maybe the colt was
still young and no one had ever sat on it. Maybe this colt was so stubborn and untamable
that no one ever wants to have something to do with it. This colt was totally
undesired. It was alone and
lonely.
This colt reminds
us about how at times we can feel undesired, unaccepted and lonely. Though we
may have people around us but we still feel lonely and rejected because we are maybe untamable, stubborn or unpleasant in the eyes of many.
This colt had no
value in the eyes of people because it wasn’t fulfilling its purpose and doing
the job it was supposed to do. That's what happens in life:
some people will always judge us by how useful we are to them and to their
needs. Some people will always ask us to be productive and not being a burden to
them. Once they don’t see any profit in you, they will let you down.
But I thank God for
Jesus, because He is a friend and a help who is always there for us. Even
though the whole world is against us, He will always be with us. He promised us
in Mathew 28:20 that He will be with us even to the end of the age. He will never forsake us nor abandon us.
Psalms 27:10 says that “When
my father and my mother forsake me, then the LORD will take me up.”
Isaiah
49:15 ”Can a woman forget her nursing child, that she
should not have compassion on the son of her womb? yea, they may forget, yet
will I not forget you”
Isaiah 62: 4 says "No longer will they call you Deserted,or name
your land Desolate.But you will be called Hephzibah,(Hephzibah means my delight is in her
) and your land Beulah (Beulah
means married);for the Lord will take
delight in you,and your land will be married.
3. Jesus asked them to loose the colt.
This was the image of the
plan of salvation of God through Christ Jesus: To set the captives free and to
bring freedom to the prisoners.
Jesus proclaimed his mission by confirming that the passage of
Isaiah 61 is fulfilled in Him: “The Spirit of the Lord is on me,
because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to
proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set
the oppressed free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.” Luke 4: 18-19
The Passover Lamb came to set us free from all kinds of bondage.
As the disciples loosed the colt from where it was tied, so it is with the work
of the cross in our lives. We are loosed from all powers, principalities that
had dominions on us. We are loosed from every captivity and we are free in Him.
Everything is accomplished through Him. Our freedom is found in Him. We can now
see beyond our feelings and sight. We don’t work anymore by sight but we work
by faith.
In Luke 13:10-13 Jesus Heals a Crippled Woman on the Sabbath day and told her "woman thou art loosed"
All the years this woman spent suffering because of the evil
spirit took an end as Jesus set her free and loosed her. The years the colt
spent tied came to an end through the power of Jesus.
It is only the cross of Jesus that can set us free from all bondage and slavery.
4. Jesus told the disciples to Bring the colt to Him
Jesus wanted
the colt to be brought where he was. He wanted to give it a value and make it to enter into the purpose why it was created. Jesus wanted the colt to get its value and be functional and fruitful. He wanted the colt to forget all the years of suffering and to
enjoy the precious time with the master because Christ was doing something new. Jesus
wanted to wipe away all the tears from its heart and to write a new story with
this colt. That's what happened with this colt. Its story was changed and it will no longer be remembered as the colt that no one had ever sat
on, but from that day on, it would be remembered as the colt that carried the King of glory into
Jerusalem. This colt used to be lonely, but not anymore. It is honored,
respected and accepted.
When Christ sets us free, He wants us to come closer to Him and
to Do not remember the former things, Nor consider the things
of old, He is doing a new thing (Isaiah 43:18-19)
Jesus qualified valued and qualified this colt for service as He does with us when we come to Him
5. The Lord has need of you
Just as that donkey
was set apart to be ridden by Jesus (Luke 19:29-35), we are also sanctified to
be used by the Holy Spirit. We are meant to be tools in the hand of God for use
in transforming the earth. We are called to serve and we have to know that the world will change through us.
1 Peter 2:9 says "But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light"
While he was leaving the disciples after his resurrection, Jesus said he needed them to be witnesses for him (Acts 1:8). To show the world through words and deeds that they are his disciples, to represent him, be his mouth and hands, live his life.
The church of Jesus (those who have been set apart) must be functional spiritually, socially and physically. As Jesus needed this colt to make his entry in Jerusalem, He also needs His bride to make His entrance in people's life.
Conclusion:
To conclude my message today, I just want us to take this event that preceded the entrance of Jesus in Jerusalem as a reminder for us to be functional again because Christ has laid in us many gifts to be used to bring people to Christ. My prayer today is that God may revive and stir up the gifts we have received so that we can be his witnesses here on earth. Remember. like this little colt, you are untied and qualified for service. Let no one and nothing hinders you to fulfill God's purpose for your life.
Stay blessed and rapturable!
Fleury
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