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Palm Sunday
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Palm Sunday marks the triumphal entry of Jesus into Jerusalem one week before his resurrection. This was his last time coming into Jerusalem. It was the first day of Jesus's final week on earth.
Crowds gathered, waving palm branches and shouting "Hosanna." This word translates to mean "save us now." The people were chanting and waving palms because they believed Jesus was about to overthrow Roman oppression. But Jesus came to overthrow something much bigger—he came to overthrow sin, shame, and the separation from God.
If Jesus does not die, there is a disconnect between us and heaven. So the cross becomes a bridge that reconnects us back to him. He didn't just die for you. He died instead of you. He paid a price that he did not owe because we had a debt we could not pay.
Palms were a symbol of victory, triumph, celebration, peace, and promise fulfilled. In Roman culture, palms were like a Super Bowl trophy—a prize of immense significance. In Jewish culture, palms were a sign that God was moving.
To the enemy, it looked like they were simply honoring someone. But in their culture, they were signaling that God was getting ready to do something. This is important: every moment of your life sends a message.
They thought he was coming to overthrow Rome. They were still in bondage, yet they were already waving palms—symbols of victory, triumph, and celebration. This teaches an important principle: don't wait till the battle is over to shout. You've got to learn how to praise God right now. Don't wait till you get the degree, the job, or the house. Praise him for the victory that's still coming.
Victory is a great achievement. Triumph is having won a battle. These are not the same thing, but they work together. When he says, "I'm going to give you victory, I'mma cause you to triumph," he's saying: I've got the victory for you, and I've given you the power to triumph.
So even though they hadn't won yet, they were showing everyone that in the end, they would. Peace. Celebration. Promise fulfilled. God had made them some promises, and they were excited about what he was going to do.
Palm Sunday shows us the difference between praise and commitment. It shows the difference between you telling someone you're going to do something and actually doing it.
On Sunday they shouted "Hosanna." On Monday they still shouted "Hosanna." But by Friday, they were shouting "Crucify him." Be careful of people who wave palms but disappear when the pressure comes.
The difference between praise and commitment is simple: Can you trust me when you can't trace me? Anybody can praise him when they think they've got the victory. But can you stay committed when it feels like you're losing?
There are two types of praise. Some of you only shout when something is happening. But some have had to find another level of praise—a praise that says, "It feels like I'm losing. I don't see a way out. But I've discovered I'll bless the Lord anyhow."
Too many of our commitments are convenient. "I'll shout as long as I'm not in trouble. I'll pray as long as I'm not catching hell. I'll tithe as long as I've got overflow. I'll come to church as long as it doesn't rain or snow and I've got enough rest." Convenient commitment isn't commitment.
Palm Sunday proves that God doesn't always come the way we expect him. He was going to be a lion, but he came like a lamb. He was coming wearing a sword, but he came riding on a donkey. He was going to sit on a throne, but he was carrying a cross.
They expected him to come riding on a stallion with a sword. They were expecting a warrior, not a worshipper. God will often come low before he lifts you high.
Sometimes God shows up in a way you don't expect to see if you will stand on the word or get caught up in the representation. You can get so caught up on the representation that you're going to miss the blessing that's attached to it.
This is why you have friends now you never thought you would be friends with, and people you thought you'd be tight with, you don't even talk to. God sometimes uses people you didn't see coming to be a blessing to your life. Don't be so concerned about how God shows up that you miss what he's doing.
They were looking for the lion. He comes as a lamb. They were looking for a stallion. He's on a donkey. They were looking for a throne and a crown. He's carrying a cross.
Palm Sunday was a prophetic proof of a prophecy that was fulfilled 500 years later. Go to Zechariah 9:9:
"Behold, your king comes to you righteous and victorious, lowly and riding on a donkey."
This is critical. This is proof that God keeps his promises. Even if it takes time.
Just because it's taking time doesn't mean he's not going to come through. You might have thought you'd be doing something in your 30s, expected it in your 40s, and now you're in your 50s running out of time. But here's the truth: It's impossible to run out of time with the person who's standing outside of time.
We live in chronological order (Kronos), but God lives outside of time (Kairos). So while it feels like you're out of time, God is not. You might say, "I've been doing this so long. I ain't got but this much time left." But God doesn't need five years to do what he can do in two years. When scripture says he will redeem the time, that doesn't mean he's going to give you more time—it means he's going to do so much more with the time you've got left.
You thought you'd do it by spring, but he can do it this summer. You thought he'd do it last year, but he may do it this year. You still have time. Time for God to flip your finances. Time for God to heal your body. Time for God to turn your situation around. You got time.
Palm Sunday reveals the kind of power Jesus has. It wasn't forceful—it was submitted. It wasn't political—it was purposeful. It wasn't temporal—it was transformational.
The Bible is very political. The New Testament is very political. They thought when Jesus came, he would not only save them but would change politics and policies. But he didn't show up in political power. He showed up purposeful.
They thought they were getting a warrior. They expected a powerful figure—someone 6'4", 230 pounds, built like the rock, ready to pull out a sword. He showed up frail, with hair like wool, on a little donkey, waving. He didn't need to be forceful when he submitted.
The sword of submission is the one the church is scared of. You might tolerate someone cussing in church before you tolerate being told to be submitted. But submission looks weak to a person who doesn't understand purpose.
He didn't show up with temporary power. He showed up with transformation power. Palm Sunday proves Jesus didn't come to take sides. He came to take over.
It shows that God is still a promisekeeper. He's still a promisekeeper.
It also shows us that your purpose won't always look how people expect. You might have been told your whole life that you're going to be something specific, but God might use you in a completely different way. The purpose might not require the stage people expected, but the impact can be just as powerful.
Your calling might not look how you imagined. You might be doing the work in ways people don't recognize as significant. But that doesn't make it any less important. You don't have to look like them, move like them, or act like them to still be used by God.
Jesus didn't need to show up with displays of force. Real power is found in humility. If you were Jesus, you would have arrived on a white stallion with security detail—like the president. But Jesus showed up differently. You don't have to put on when you know your mission.
An older preacher told me this week, "Boy, I'm so proud of you. But what I'm most proud of is your wings are in the sky, but your feet are on the ground." That means you're flying high while staying grounded. Walk in humility. Walk in humility. Walk in humility.
Our grandmothers understood something we've lost in the church. They would say, "If it had not been for the Lord who was on my side." They gave credit where credit was due. They didn't say, "Look what I did." They recognized God's hand. Not only does real power come from humility, but praise is easy while faithfulness is rare.
I love our worship department at Rock City. But I would much rather have faithfulness than perfect praise. We shouldn't get addicted to applause. We should be anchored in our assignment.
In Matthew 21, Jesus approaches Jerusalem. The scripture says: "As they approached Jerusalem and came to Bethpage, on the mount of olives, Jesus sent two disciples saying, 'Go to the village ahead of you, and at once you will find a donkey tied there with her colt next to her.'"
Jesus is entering Jerusalem not for a coronation, but for a confrontation. The people wanted a king of comfort. Jesus came as a king of calling. Be careful when you want Jesus for what he gives you, but reject him for what he requires from you.
Throughout the Bible, animals represent physical traits. Donkeys are unpredictable and stubborn—like us. Donkeys were often used to carry baggage and people—like us. Jesus tells the disciples: "When you get there, you're going to find something that's stubborn, used to being used. But I need to free you."
Notice something critical: the mother donkey won't be alone. "Her baby going to be right there with her." Jesus says, "I need you to untie not just her. I need you to untie them. Because if I heal her without healing her baby, it's going to be a generational curse." I'm not just going to free the donkey. I'm going to free the next generation.
Some of you want to come out just for yourself. But God, if you do nothing else, don't just bring me out. Break everything off my babies.
Jesus says, "Go to the village ahead of you at once." Every word matters. This detail is critical. There were probably many donkeys tied in the village, but Jesus specifies this particular one. Some of you keep missing your moment because you keep trying to interpret an order.
Imagine a mayor telling his chief, "Put a roadblock on each street to make sure everybody gets home safely." But the chief overcomplicates it and creates roadblocks everywhere. The mayor didn't ask for your opinion—he gave you an order. Some of you keep missing your breakthrough because you keep trying to interpret an order instead of following it.
You say, "Love your enemies. But I don't like this one because they hurt me more." No. You don't get to pick and make God's order mean what you want it to mean. "Be kind to those who despitefully use you. Give and it shall come back to you. Seek ye first the kingdom." He didn't say go to church. He said seek the kingdom first—so you can make sure God is actually in that church.
Jesus says, "Find the donkey. Untie it. And then bring it to me." To untie is to deliver. But here's what most people do—they deliver and leave. Jesus says, "Bring it to me. Because what's the use of being delivered if you ain't whole? I'm not delivering you so you can carry stuff for other people. I'm delivering you because I'm about to use you."
You better not die letting everybody use you but God.
God still chooses to ride what others would reject. People look at Jesus on a donkey confused: "You're the Lord. You should have something better than that." But the donkey was a carrier but not the main character. Nobody showed up to see the donkey, but the donkey still had destiny.
Some of us are going to miss destiny because we're too desperate to be seen.
The real assignment is to carry his presence into places it hasn't been. What does that mean? The blessing isn't in being seen. The blessing is in being used. That's heavy.
During worship today, our brother Darius started worshiping so deeply that I couldn't tell where the singing was coming from. He was so caught up in worshiping that the need to be seen didn't matter. God was using him more powerfully than he could have imagined.
You'll be surprised how much stuff I do I don't post. You'll be surprised how many places I show up that you'll never hear about. Because everything ain't to be seen. I do stuff not to be seen because I know God is going to get the glory.
Let me give you a simple framework:
Purpose over looks. Surrender over status. Posture over power. Faithfulness over fame. Faithfulness over fame. Faithfulness over fame.
This is why the donkey was selected. It ain't enough for you to look functional. You're going to have to actually be functional this year.
In Matthew 21:18, as Jesus was entering Jerusalem, he was hungry. He noticed a fig tree beside the road and went over to see if it had any figs, but there were only leaves. Then he said to it, "May you never bear fruit again." Immediately the fig tree withered.
The disciples were amazed and asked, "How did the fig tree wither so quickly?" Jesus told them, "I tell you the truth. If you have faith and don't doubt, you can do things like this and much more."
You need to understand the whole context. We say in church, "I need this job. I'm going to say to this mountain, 'Be moved.'" But the context of that statement came from a curse. Jesus wasn't telling the mountain to move so they could walk there. He was trying to show the mountain who had authority.
God has expectations of you. God expects you to produce.
Jesus is hungry in verse 18. He sees a tree that has leaves but no fruit, and he is so offended that this tree is fronting that he curses it. A fig tree will never have leaves without fruit. So instead of being real about being in a season where you don't have anything, you'd rather front and be fake.
I don't want to be at a church where I have to look at everybody and say, "Well, I'm blessed and highly favored." I want to be in an environment where I can say, "Today, I just ain't got it. Today, I'm not feeling my best." Changes in your life will always be proportional to your knowledge.
Jesus is leaving Bethany—the house of affliction—headed to Jerusalem, the holy city. He's in the midst of transition. He gets hungry in the middle of his transition. He looks at this tree and says, "Give me something."
The leaves are a profession. Leaves equal profession. The leaves speak for the tree. If this tree had no leaves, Jesus probably would have blessed it. He would have said, "Father, I speak fruit over this tree." And fruit probably would have sprouted out. But it missed its blessing by fronting.
I walked up to someone and said, "Hey, how you doing?" They said, "Man, everything's all right with you? Oh, I'm good, man. I'm out here getting it." About a month and a half later, they told me what they were actually going through. I said, "I can't help now." They said, "Why?" I said, "Because I've already helped somebody else. I just met somebody who was hiring at the city. I put another brother who was struggling in a group text with them, and he got the job. So next time, don't front for people who can actually fix stuff."
If you tell me a lie, I have to bless the lie. But if you tell me the truth, I may have the ability to fix your solution.
When I ask how you're doing, don't just say, "I'm good." Tell me the truth. "I'm struggling. I got a headache. Almost shot somebody Tuesday. Almost cut somebody Wednesday. Almost quit all my jobs Thursday. Got ready to leave the kids at their grandmama's house. Friday went missing. Didn't even shower this morning." Well, number one, let's get you a shower. Number two, let's get you some McDonald's. Number three, let's find you a vacation. Because if you keep telling the lie, you may miss what could save you.
Profession attracts attention. Profession attracts inspection.
Remember in American Gangster when Frank Lucas became a boss? Nobody knew the detective had him at the bottom of the organization. He walked past everybody, and they shook his hand. Then he got that chinchilla coat with a chinchilla hat. But soon as he got home, what did he do? He threw it in the fire. Because profession attracts inspection. Keep campaigning, and you're gonna get elected. You don't have to always show what you got. Sometimes you can move in silence. God will always inspect what men celebrate.
That's why I've been on my face so much lately. That's why I've been trying to get my life into such a rhythm. What's the rhythm? What time do you wake up? What time do you pray? What time do you eat lunch? What time do you work? What time does your phone go on no notification? What time do you stop? What's the rhythm of your life? God will always inspect what people celebrate.
Leaves look like success. Fruit feeds people. Leaves are image driven. Fruit is impact driven. Leaves are easy to grow. Fruit are costly to produce.
In this season of your life, don't just look like it, be it. Stop spending all your time trying to fix an image that ain't impactful. If you're going to bear fruit, it's going to cost you something.
Jesus cursed the fig tree because it was not fulfilling its purpose. God will cancel what you keep pretending is fruitful. He'll cancel it. He'll cancel it. He'll cancel it. I'm starving because you won't be what I created you to be.
So I have a question: Who's starving in your life because you won't become what God created you to be? You got the bag. You got the expensive bag. You got the big Bible. You got the jewelry. You got the tennis shoes. But who's actually being fruitful?
Everyone preaches about Christ the deliverer. I'm trying to show you that Christ was also a destroyer. If you have faith and don't doubt—if you embrace the kingdom life and don't doubt God—you not only do minor feats, but you also triumph over huge obstacles.
Jesus cursed the fig tree because it was not fulfilling its purpose. God will cancel what you keep pretending is fruitful. This is critical. I'm starving because you won't be what I created you to be. So ask yourself: Who's starving in your life because you won't become what God created you to be?
You may have external markers of success—the expensive bag, the big Bible, the jewelry, the tennis shoes—but who's actually being fruitful? Everyone preaches about Christ the deliverer, but Christ was also a destroyer. The disciples were amazed when they saw the fig tree wither so quickly and asked how it happened so fast.
Jesus told them: "If you have faith and don't doubt, if you embrace the kingdom life and don't doubt God, you not only do minor feats like this, but also triumph over huge obstacles."
To operate in this kind of faith, God shows us three essential things in this text:
Jesus said, "You can pray for anything, and if you have faith, you will receive it."
I want to be honest with you: I am done faking. I am done praying one way, living another way, and giving in a certain way just to be timid about asking God for what I actually want. I want it all—not just material things, but I want fruit, not just fans. I want purpose over popularity. I want favor with God over likes from people. I want to be used even when I'm overlooked. I want legacy, impact, and proof that I was here.
I don't want 200,000 people saying I'm the best pastor in the world while everybody's life is torn up. I want fruit. I want people to say to me, "Man, I just thank you for what you did in my daughter's life, what you did in my father's life, what you did in our family's life." That's fruit.
Purpose over popularity. Favor with God over likes from people. Legacy, impact, and proof that I was here.
I want to give you this prophetic statement before you leave: Whatever is tied is about to be untied. Your gifts are being untied. Your mind is being untied. Your resources are being untied. Your future is being untied.
I decree and declare that a blessed life has your name on it. Favor, joy, grace, and peace over your life. If God be for you, who can be against you? You were born an original and you shall not live like a copy.
You have an unction from the Holy Spirit within you that will reveal, teach, and show you all things pertaining to your life that you need in this season. You are who the Bible says you are. You can do what the Bible says you can do. You can have what the Bible says you can have.
You walk by faith and not by sight. God is your provider. He is your financial advisor. He is your chief investor. And the deposit he makes into your heart will bear much fruit in this earth. What God has for you will come to pass.
No weapon formed against you shall prosper, and every tongue that rises up against you shall be silenced. Your critics will be proven wrong. Evil people shall not oppress you, thwart your purpose, or delay your destiny.
Divine relationships, blessed alliances, strategic partnerships, and creative collaborations for mutual blessing and increase are about to overwhelm your life. Your bank account will overflow with a burning passion to give.
Those who bless you will be blessed; those who curse you will be cursed, for as the seed of Abraham in Christ, you are heir to the promise. Your children's children shall be free from every generational cycle and curse that is negative.
Your body is healed by the finished work of the cross. Your mind is whole. Your dreams are flourishing. Ideas are overwhelming you. Your creativity is going to another level.
As we prepare for resurrection weekend, I want you to know what you're walking into. It ain't just Easter Sunday. Technically, I don't even believe in Easter—that's a pagan holiday with bunnies and eggs. I say Easter because it's culturally friendly, but at the heart, we're celebrating Resurrection Sunday.
If he got up, you can get up too. I believe that with all of my heart.
I would love for you not to come by yourself next weekend. Bring your family. Bring a friend. Don't ride by yourself—that's a sin. Put three people in the car with you and tell them, "No, you're coming to church with me this week. It's not about clothes; it's about souls."
If you want to put on your Sunday's best, do it. If you want to throw on jeans and a t-shirt, that's fine too. I told the team this morning they're wearing denim and white so nobody feels pressured to buy anything new. It's not about us. It's about Jesus.
You may be here and you don't know Jesus. Falling in love with him is the best thing I've ever done in my whole life. I made many decisions that have been a blessing, but only one decision has outright blessed my life—giving my life to Jesus.
If you want to give your life to him right now, you don't have to come to the front. Just say this prayer from where you are: "Lord, come into my heart. Make me over again. I confess with my mouth. I believe with my heart you were raised from the dead with all power in your hand. And right now by faith I am saved."
That's all it took. Next Sunday service starts at 11:00 a.m. at the BJCC. Get there early and get a good seat. We're going to have a good time. God, I pray right now—your will, nothing more, nothing less, nothing else—in Jesus's name. Amen.
