Alright, so Luke 19 verse 13, the Bible reads and he called his 10 servants and delivered
them 10 pounds and said unto them, Occupy till I come.
The title of the sermon this morning is Occupy till I come.
Let's start with verse number one.
And Jesus entered and passed through Jericho.
And behold, there was a man named Zacchaeus, which was the chief among the publicans, and
he was rich.
Now you guys might remember just last week in the previous chapter, we had the young
rich ruler come to Jesus Christ.
And one thing that was preventing him from being a disciple of Christ was his riches.
So what's the sort of parallel that story with what we see here in Zacchaeus?
But what we see in Zacchaeus is that not only was he a publican, not only was he a government
worker extracting money like a tax collector, but it says here that he was a chief among
the publicans.
This guy wasn't just a publican, he was like a supervisor.
He had like a management position.
He had other publicans under him, you know, he was directing them into what to do.
So he had a higher position than the average publican.
Alright, and the Bible says he was very rich.
But verse number three, and he sought to see Jesus who he was.
So do you think this man knew of Jesus Christ?
Do you think he believed on Jesus Christ?
No.
This man was a non-believer, okay, but he's heard of Jesus, you know, the fame of Jesus
has gone throughout all Judea, people have been hearing about it.
He hears about Jesus.
And he goes, I want to know who this guy is, you know, I want to know who he is.
And it says in verse three, and could not for the press of so many people, the press,
you know, it's not not the press, as we know it today, like the, you know, the photographers
in the media, not that kind of press, but that's what they get the idea from, okay,
when we talk about the press is because usually you have, you know, the, all these, you know,
TV and, you know, media outlets, you know, trying to trying to get a story, you know,
about something, they call that the press, but it comes from the idea of there being
multitudes trying to hear what Jesus Christ has to say, you know, and it's described as
a press, because there's a there's a lot of people there, you know, it's a lot of people
pressing into Jesus Christ, but he struggles to see who Jesus Christ is, because not for
the press, because he was little of stature, and he was a short man, it was short, and
I take great comfort in knowing that there were short men in the Bible as well, right,
you know, I'm not very tall, I think I'm somewhere, you know, somewhere average, but you know,
on the shorter side of things, but this guy is very sure that he could not see Christ
because of the people.
And so how does he react?
I love what he does in verse number four, you know, he this this, even though he's rich,
he seems to be and we see that he is a humble man, he does have some humility in him, because
he says, and he ran before and climbed up into a sycamore tree, to see him, for he was
to pass that way.
So he climbs up the tree, he wants to just get a glimpse of Jesus, who's this Jesus that
I've been hearing about, right, he puts himself in a position where it's kind of embarrassing
that as a short man, you're going to climb up a tree to see Jesus Christ.
Verse number five, and when Jesus came to the place, he looked up, that's what I love
about it, you know, it's almost like Jesus just sees him up on the tree wanting to get
a glimpse of him, Jesus looks up to him and saw him and said at him, Zacchaeus, make haste
and come down, for today I must abide at thy house.
You know, Jesus says, look, Jesus Christ invites himself in, he says, you know, I must abide
at thy house, you know, and verse number six, and he made haste and came down and received
him joyfully.
I want you to get that picture in your head, Jesus says, Zacchaeus, let's, you know, get
your house ready, I'm coming to your house, Zacchaeus gets down, makes haste, gets things
ready and receives Christ with joy, joyfully, all right, and it's my belief, you might have
a different position here, that's okay, it's my belief that at this point, Zacchaeus received
Christ, not just physically in the house, but in his heart, that he had placed his faith
on Jesus Christ, because he does it with joy, you know, he's now, this is Jesus, I'm going
to receive this one, this is what I've been hearing about, now, you know, I'm going to
receive him not just into my house, but into my life, I'm going to place my faith on this
man, Jesus.
I believe this is the point that he was saved, all right, and because this isn't the only
time that Jesus Christ was received in other people's houses, in fact, we have a story
that we've gone through already, where Jesus Christ was received into a house of the chief
ruler of a synagogue, but they did not receive him with joy, they received him so they could
watch him, they received him so they could find some fault in him and accuse him of blasphemy
or accuse him of whatever and get rid of him, but we see with Zacchaeus, he receives him
with joy, he's thrilled at the fact that Jesus will be in his house.
Verse number five, well actually, yeah, verse number five, I just read verse number six,
so just very quickly, like I'm saying, I think the receiving is a euphemism that he's received
him in faith, because many times in the Bible, when we talk about believing on Christ, putting
your faith on Christ, many times it is referred to as receiving him, okay, and I'll just give
you some examples of this, you know, the most popular one that I like to quote when we go
door to door sowing is Luke 1 12, but as many as received him, to them gave you power to
become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name, so it's parallel in those
that believe on him, with those that received him, alright, and we also, you know, there's
many references, I'll just read some to you, Luke 18 17, it says, verily I say unto you,
whosoever shall not receive the kingdom of God as a little child, shall in no wise enter
therein.
So then we have the idea of receiving Christ as receiving the kingdom of God, you know,
so as a little child, also in John 13 20, Jesus says, verily, verily I say unto you,
he that receiveth whomsoever I send receiveth me, and he that receiveth me receiveth him
that sends me, okay, so Jesus parallel in there placing your faith on him as receiving
him, you know, Acts 2 41 says, then they that gladly received his word were baptized, and
the same day they were added unto them about three thousand souls, so there we have, you
know, believing that this great multitude that believe on Christ, the Bible says they
received the word, you know, Acts 11 one, and the apostles and brethren that were in
Judea heard that the Gentiles had also received the word of God.
In First Corinthians 15 one, it says, Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which
I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand.
So believe in the gospel is also referred to as receiving the gospel, and just finally
in First Thessalonians 2 13, for this cause also we thank God without ceasing, because
when ye receive the word of God, which ye heard of us, ye receive that not as the word
of man, but as it is in truth, the word of God, which effectively worketh also in you
that believe.
So we see there again the believing is compared to receiving the word, all right.
So I just want to show you that it's my personal opinion, when he received him into his house,
he had believed on Christ, he had put his faith on Christ.
Let's keep reading verse number seven.
And when they saw it, they all murmured.
So they see that Jesus has come to the house of Zacchaeus, they murmured, saying that he
was gone to be a guest with a man that is a sinner.
Hey, yeah, Zacchaeus was a sinner, yes, he was a chief publican, you know, but, you know,
we see that he's received Christ.
And this is not the first time that Jesus is being accused of being around sinners.
But we know that Jesus came, you know, that he explained that, you know, it's the sick,
you know, that it's the sick that need the physician, you know.
And so what we see here then is that Zacchaeus is seeing himself as someone that needs the
physician, someone that needs the Saviour.
Can you guys just turn back to Luke five for a moment, Luke chapter five.
I just want to compare this to you where we saw this before in Luke five, keep your finger
there in Luke 19.
But in Luke five verse 30, Luke five verse 30, it says, so the same very similar thing
happens here.
This is when Matthew, the Apostle Matthew receives Jesus into his house, and he invites
his fellow publicans.
He invites his fellow workers.
It says, but their scribes and Pharisees murmured against his disciples saying, why do you eat
and drink Republicans and sinners?
And Jesus answered and said unto them, they that are whole need not a physician, but they
that are sick.
I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.
You see these publicans, they came to receive Christ.
Jesus says, hey, they recognize that the sinners in need for the physician, that they're in
need of healing.
And so we see the same thing then play out with Zacchaeus.
He's a publican, and he receives Christ.
And he's someone that everyone says this is a sinner.
Yeah, but he's willing to admit that.
He's willing to admit that he's a sinner.
Let's look at verse number eight back in Luke 19 verse eight, Luke 19 verse eight.
Now we don't really know what transpires too much in the conversation with Jesus and Zacchaeus.
But it says here in verse eight, and Zacchaeus stood and said unto the Lord, behold, Lord,
the half of my goods I give to the poor, say, look, God, I have too much, I'm very wealthy,
I'm going to take half of what I have and give it to the poor.
And if I have taken anything from any man by false accusation, I restore him fourfold.
So look, he's willing to admit that he's made false accusations.
He's willing to admit that he's cheated his fellow man, that he's taken more taxes than
what they were required to pay.
And so what do we see from Zacchaeus' heart?
We see that he recognises that he's a sinner.
He recognises that before Jesus Christ, you know.
And so when we see this, we see then in verse number nine, and Jesus said unto him, this
day is salvation, come to this house, for so much as he also is a son of Abraham, for
the Son of Man is come to seek and to save that which was lost.
So you might say, well, maybe this is a point that he got saved, maybe this is a point when
he realises, you know, that he's a sinner.
Yeah, you know, that's fine as well, you know, I can accept that, you know, and but we see
what Jesus Christ says, he says, you know, this day is salvation, come to his house.
So we know this was the day that he got saved.
At what point exactly is questionable, but the reason I want to bring this to your attention
is because this is a story once again, that your works salvationists, that your false,
you know, preachers, that your false apostles, your false teachers that want to tell you,
you know, you're saved by works or by good works, they're going to turn to this passage
and say to you, look, Zacchaeus, look at him, you know, he's given money to the poor, you
know, he's repented from his sins, you know, he's going to take, you know, full fold of
what he took and give it back to those that he made false accusations against.
That's how he got saved, they'll say, that he turned from his sins, you know, but is
that what's playing out here?
Now we saw originally he already received Christ joyfully into his house, all right,
and we see here is that he recognises, yeah, I'm a sinner, you know, he's able to do that.
Now let me say, for those that think he got saved because he gave half of his wealth to
the poor, or he's willing to do it because he, you know, he obviously hasn't had time
to do it just yet, you know, he's willing to turn from his sins, you know, maybe he
hasn't done it yet, but he's willing to do it.
Well then why did Jesus just in the previous chapter say to the young rich ruler to sell
all that he had, not half of what he had, all of what he had, so that he would be in
the kingdom of God?
I'll tell you the difference between these two men is that Zacchaeus was willing to admit
that he had cheated man, he was willing to admit he had made mistakes, all right.
That's what brought him to salvation.
He realised he needed the physician, he realised he needed the saviour, whereas a young rich
ruler, you know, would not, you know the fact, he says, look, I've kept all the commandments
from my youth up, you know, this was a man that was not willing to recognise himself
as a sinner, he thought he was self-righteous, and that's why Jesus had to show him, hey,
sell all that you have.
You know, Jesus does not tell Zacchaeus, sell half of what you've got.
It's Zacchaeus once he realises, man, I've done wrong, you know, once he's received Christ
joyfully, then out of that heart, he realises, I better try to make things right, okay.
Not that's what makes him, that's what got him saved.
That's just a natural outpouring, you know, when you're saved, and you have the Holy Ghost
in you, when you realise you're a sinner, you know, and you have that new man in you,
you're more likely to say, God, you know what, I want to walk in your ways, you know what,
God, I want to clean up my life, God, I want to be more holy.
But this is once you are saved, because you have now the Holy Ghost indwelling you, you've
been born again, you have that new man in you.
So please, don't be misled by those that say, well, he got saved because he did good works,
because he repented from his sins.
Then why did the young rich ruler have to sell everything then?
Because the difference is one man, Zacchaeus, admitted he's a sinner.
You need to admit that in order to be saved, you need to admit that to acknowledge you
need a saviour, whereas the young rich ruler did not need a saviour in his eyes, because
he was fully righteous.
He had kept all the commandments of God as far as he was concerned.
Let's keep reading, verse number 11.
And as they heard these things, he added and spake a parable, because he was nigh to Jerusalem.
So he was near Jerusalem.
And because they thought that the King of God should immediately appear.
So this is the last time Jesus goes into Jerusalem.
And we know why he's going, he's going to pay for our sins.
We know he's going to be that lamb slain from the foundation of the world.
We know he's there to shed his blood so we can be forgiven and cleanse from all our unrighteousness.
But he's going into Jerusalem and there are many thinking he's going to establish that
millennial kingdom.
He's going to establish a physical kingdom of God right now as he comes closer.
And so Jesus gives this parable to explain what's going on.
Verse number 12.
And he said, therefore, a certain nobleman went into a far country to receive for himself
a kingdom and to return.
So in this parable, the nobleman is Jesus Christ, okay?
So he's saying here in verse number 12, that before he establishes his kingdom, he first
needs to go into a far country.
He needs to go away.
And we know what that means.
We know that he, after he died, he was resurrected and he's on the right, you know, sits at the
right hand side of the Father.
And he's going to that far country representing heaven for, to receive for himself a kingdom
and to return.
So first he's got to go to heaven, receive the kingdom, and then return.
All right, the millennial, the physical millennial kingdom, and then to return.
Now I just want to read to you very quickly from John 18 verse 36.
Jesus answered, my kingdom is not of this world.
If my kingdom were of this world, then would my servants fight that I should not be delivered
to the Jews.
But now is my kingdom not from hence.
Hey, my kingdom is not from here, okay?
But we know that his kingdom for the thousand years will be established on this earth.
But it's not from this earth.
The source of his kingdom is not earthly.
Okay, we live in a corrupted, sin-cursed world.
That's not going to be, his kingdom is not going to be built on this sin-cursed world,
okay?
His kingdom, the reason it's called the kingdom of heaven is because the source of it is heavenly,
okay?
He comes back and he takes over the kingdoms of this world.
He's bringing in a new kingdom.
He's bringing his heavenly kingdom, which is from above, all right?
But first he needs to go above.
First he has to go to heaven, you know, to bring that kingdom in, all right?
So the points that Jesus is bringing here is that the physical kingdom will not appear
immediately.
He has to first go away, then come back, all right?
Verse number 13.
So we continue the parable, and he called his ten servants and delivered them ten pounds
and said unto them, occupy till I come.
So he gets ten servants, he gives them ten pounds there.
So each servant receives one pound each.
Each servant receives equal amounts as the other.
No one gets any preference there in this parable, all right?
Everyone gets one pound each.
Verse number 14.
So now we have another group of people in this parable.
But his citizens hated him, hated the nobleman, and sent a message after him saying, we will
not have this man to reign over us.
So okay, now you understand the parable, no man represents Jesus.
The servants represent the believers, okay?
We've been instructed to occupy till he comes.
And then you have another group of citizens that hate Jesus Christ.
These would be the non-believers, all right, the non-believers.
Let's keep reading in verse number 15.
And it came to pass that when he was returned, having received the kingdom, then he commanded
these servants to be called unto him to whom he had given the money, that he might know
how much every man had gained by trading.
What does this tell us?
When Jesus comes back to rapture us, and so shall we ever be with the Lord, he's going
to inquire of us, what have we done with the pound that he gave us?
So let's just get straight into what has God given to us?
You might say, well, you know, we all have different talents, we have different skills.
You know, some of us can preach, some of us can't, you know.
But no, there was an equal pound given to everybody, there was an equal measure given
to everybody.
And the only thing that is equal amongst all of us is our salvation.
The only thing that's equal amongst us is the knowledge of the Gospel that can be equally
shared.
And the only thing that's equal amongst all of us is that we've all been given the Ministry
of Reconciliation.
We've all been tasked with getting out there and getting the Gospel to this lost and dying
world, to our friends, to our families, to our neighbours, to our community.
We've all been given the same task.
We've all been given that same pound as to what we're going to do with it, all right?
Let's keep reading in verse number 16.
So Jesus wants to know, all right, he's going to ask you, what have you done with the pound
that I've given you when he comes back?
Verse number 16, then came the first saying, Lord, thy pound have gained 10 pounds.
So the pounds in the story is money, you know, it's probably silver or something like that.
But he says, look, I've invested this one pound, and I've gained 10.
You know, we see there's an investment taking place here.
He didn't, you know, waste it.
You know, he's so fit to let that pound work.
And now he has 10 pounds, he's gained 10.
So he had one, now he's got 11 pounds altogether.
And verse number 17, and he said unto him, well, thou good servant, because thou has
been faithful in a very little, have thou authority over 10 cities.
What?
All right?
God gives us something very little, something very small.
Preach the gospel, get the gospel out there.
And the more you invest in that, the greater your reward will be.
And we know that his millennial kingdom is going to come.
It's gonna it's all the kingdoms of this earth, all the towns, all the cities, you know, it's
the Sunshine Coast, whatever, will all be under the authority of Jesus Christ.
And based on what we've done for him, based on how we've invested that gospel, that gospel
message will determine what kind of positions we receive in the millennium.
There are going to be some of you, I hope so, that will have authority over 10 cities,
be given a great honor, you know.
Let's keep reading in verse number 18.
And the second came saying, Lord, thy pound have gained five pounds.
So this man also invested into it, but he only got half of the return.
Okay, does Jesus chastise him?
Does Jesus attack him?
Well, you only five?
This other one got 10.
Why couldn't you get 10 or more than that?
You know, why did you?
No, that's not how Jesus reacts.
Let's keep reading verse number 19.
And he said likewise to him.
So likewise, you've been a good servant, you know, like he said to the to the other one.
Be thou also over five cities.
You see that?
Jesus just wants us to take our pound.
He just wants us to take that gospel and do something with it.
Some will do more, you know, as some will, some, you know, some people are involved in
full time ministry.
Some people are missionaries, and every day they're preaching the gospel, they're getting
hundreds, thousands of people saved, you know.
You might say, I can't do that.
But look, God just wants you to invest it.
He just wants you to grow it.
Just do something with what he's given you.
And he'll reward you.
God wants to, Jesus Christ wants to reward us, all right.
But look what happens here in verse number 20.
And another came saying, Lord, behold, here is thy pound, which I have kept laid up in
a napkin.
So this person, instead of investing the pound, he just puts it into a napkin.
He's afraid to lose it.
He just puts it in a napkin, puts it away.
Verse 21, why?
For I fear thee, because thou art an austere man, austere just means strict or harsh.
A harsh man, a strict man, thou takest thou takest up, that thou layest not down, and
reapest that thou didst not sow.
And he said unto him, out of thine own mouth will I judge thee, thou wicked servant.
Wicked servant.
Listen, we've been given such a great honour with the gospel.
If we just hide it away, we don't tell anyone.
We don't preach the gospel to anyone in our lives.
If we just hide it, God says you're a wicked servant.
How could you bear seeing souls go to hell?
You know, your own family, your own friends, your own community go to hell.
You don't even tell them about the good news.
I've left it with you so you can invest it.
And he wants to reward us as well.
It's not empty works, serving Christ is not empty.
There's great rewards to be had.
This man is seen as a wicked servant, because he did not invest a pound at all.
Verse 23, he says, wherefore then gave us not thou money into the bank, that at my coming
I might have required mine own with usury.
Look, you could have just put it into the bank.
At least that way there would have been some interest on it.
Okay, and I liken that to someone that, you know, may not be in a position to preach the
gospel maybe weekly.
Like for example, some mothers have little children, maybe multiple little children,
and it's not really practical to go out and do that work on a regular basis.
But what you should do is give it to another so they can invest that, so they can go and
see souls saved.
And a great example, you know, my own wife for example, she's not really in a position
where she can actively get out there because of the number of kids that we have.
She takes care of the kids so I can go out.
Alright, the other thing is, she's raising a new generation that knows the Bible well,
you know, so that hopefully, you know, we'll have multiple soul winners.
Now there's an investment in other people sometimes.
You know, if we ever have a missionary that we support, that would be us like taking that
pound and put it into the bank.
You know, so that way it can be invested and it can grow, you know.
So we can partake in it, we can still grow in it, even if we're not necessarily being
out there, but we can invest in other people, encourage other people, pray for other people
so they can be out there preaching the gospel, alright.
But notice the greater rewards are for those that actually did it themselves, that went
and invested it themselves and gained much in return.
Verse number 25, sorry, verse number 24, and he said unto them that stood by, take from
him the pound and give it to him that have ten pounds, okay.
And they said unto him, Lord, he have ten pounds, for I say unto you that unto everyone
which, I'm sorry, that unto, let me start again, for I say unto you that unto everyone
which have shall be given and from him that have not, even that he have shall be taken
away from him.
Now don't think that means this man's lost his salvation or anything like that, okay.
It's just that this man has suffered loss.
The one that didn't invest his pound, he has suffered loss, you know.
Whatever reward, you know, could have been given to him, has been taken from him and
given to another, given to those that show themselves faithful to God.
And I'll just read to you, actually keep your finger there, turn to 1 Corinthians, turn
to 1 Corinthians chapter three, 1 Corinthians chapter three.
And already, you know, we've gone through Corinthians in the past, but I'd just like
to read this again.
1 Corinthians chapter three verse 14, 1 Corinthians chapter three verse 14, the Bible says, if
any man's work abide, which he have built thereupon, he shall receive a reward.
So this is what we're seeing play out in this parable, okay.
Those that have invested in the pound that God has given us, you know, will receive a
reward.
But then in verse 15, it says, if any man's work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss,
but he himself shall be saved, yet so as by fire.
You see, God has great wealth, great rewards that he wants to give each one of us, okay.
Now you can be saved and never do anything for the Lord.
You can take that pound, put it in a napkin, put it away and not share it, not invest in
it, whatever.
You know, you'll still be saved, but the Bible says you're going to suffer loss, okay.
What you could have earned will be lost to you, okay.
And what we see in this parable, that what you could have earned is actually taken and
given to others, others that were faithful.
This tells me that Jesus wants to reward us.
Jesus wants, he's got all this wealth, he's got this inheritance, all these rewards, all
this authority, and he's just wanting to dish it out to us.
He wants to give it away.
He's not trying to keep it all for himself.
He wants to share it with his servants, you know, and that's what we are right now.
We're servants, okay, we're told to occupy till he comes.
And while we occupy, we take the position of servants.
It's just like when Jesus came the first time, he came as that lamb, he came as that servant,
but we know when Christ returns, he comes to rule and reign with a rod of iron, hey,
and he wants to give us authority.
He says, when you come back, no longer does he want us to be seen as servants, but as
people of authority, as people with great riches, people with great rewards, all right.
Christ wants to give that to us.
They are, I don't want it.
Yes, you do.
All right.
At that time, at that time, you'll be like, I wish I did more for Christ.
I wish I invested more heavily into his kingdom.
Let's keep reading.
Verse number 27.
So this is the other group now, but those mine enemies, which would not that I should
reign over them, bring hither and slay them before me.
So we do see that he is an austere man, he is a strict, a harsh man, this nobleman.
Those that did not want him to rule over them, he says, I'm going to slay them.
You know, they're going to be destroyed.
And we know, of course, at the rapture, when we caught up to be with Christ, and he gives
out his rewards, we know at the same time for the last three and a half years or so
roughly, you know, he's going to be slain, those that don't want him to rule and reign.
Eventually, you know, he's going to come back on his white horse as well and slay the Antichrist
and the armies of the Antichrist.
But, you know, Christ is strict, okay, he is harsh, he is austere, but he wants to be
that way to the non-believers, to those that reject him, but to his servants, he wants
to reward us, okay?
We want to make sure we're servants, we want to make sure we occupy till he comes.
You know, God has left us here to occupy, he's left us here to do his business, to do
his work.
All right?
And it's all going to be worth it in the end.
It's all going to be worth it in the end.
Let's keep reading verse number 28.
So the colts is just another way of saying of a horse, but we know this is also a donkey.
This is an ass that is to be found.
And this is a donkey that Jesus would ride into Jerusalem.
But it's interesting that it's a donkey that a man has never sat on.
This is not a creature that's ever been broken to the will of man, okay?
If you guys know anything about horses, you know, they don't like humans on their backs,
all right?
It's not something that's within, that's natural.
It's something that needs to be broken into them.
You've got to break the will of the horse.
So then eventually that would allow people to sit on its back.
All right?
Verse 31, let's keep reading.
And as they were loosing the colts, the owners thereof said unto them, Why loose ye the colts?
And they said, The Lord hath need of him.
So I've always found this a bit of an interesting story.
They come, they find the donkey, they start to loose it, you know, it's almost like, it's
almost like they're stealing the animal, right?
But you know, the owners see it and it's like, what are you doing?
Why are you listening?
And they just say, look, the Lord has need of him, the Lord hath need of him.
It's like, that answer seems to satisfy the owners, all right?
I mean, what I mean, the Bible doesn't really say, well, I take, I believe these are believers.
These are people that already know of Jesus Christ.
When they say the Lord needs him, it's like, oh yeah, Jesus needs him, all right, you know,
the Lord can take him.
And I think, if you can keep your finger there, turn to Zechariah, Zechariah chapter nine
verse nine, Zechariah chapter nine, verse nine.
And on Wednesday, we heard a great sermon from brother Matt about the gospel in Zechariah.
But it's not only the gospel that's there, there's so much there about Christ.
And in Zechariah nine, nine, have a look at this, Zechariah nine, verse nine, Zechariah
nine, verse nine, it says, rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion, shout, O daughter of Jerusalem,
behold, thy king cometh unto thee.
Who's coming to Jerusalem?
It's the king.
It says he is just and having salvation lowly, what does lowly mean?
Humble.
He comes in humility and riding upon an ass and upon a colt, the foal of an ass, okay.
So we see, I believe that these owners know this prophecy.
They've read Zechariah nine, nine, and now the king's here, the king's going to Jerusalem
and he's going on that ass.
This is the one he needs.
Take it.
I fully believe that's what they believe because as we keep reading back in Luke, so notice
that in Zechariah nine, nine, it says, thy king cometh unto thee, but it says he comes
lowly.
And, you know, normally if you're riding an ass, it's a small horse, it's not very powerful.
That's a picture of humility of Christ coming to Jerusalem, but we know when he comes back
to establish his kingdom, he comes right on a white horse and he comes to make war, okay.
A different style of coming to Jerusalem, right, what we read in Revelation 19.
But he comes lowly, he comes in humility, he comes on that ass.
And let's keep reading, go back to Luke chapter 19 verse 35, Luke 19 verse 35, it says, and
they brought him to Jesus, they brought the ass, the donkey to Jesus, and they cast their
garments upon the colts and they set Jesus thereon.
So, you know, I believe this is a miracle because no man has ever sat on this horse
and now Jesus is sitting there and it's all good, all right.
It's like even the donkey, even though the ass knows, this is the king.
This is my mission, this is why I'm here, you know, it's a great thing.
Let's keep reading verse number 36.
And as he went, they spread their clothes in the way, and when he was come nigh, even
now at the descent of the Mount of Olives, the whole multitude of disciples began to
rejoice and praise God with a loud voice for all the mighty works that they had seen,
saying, look at this, what are they saying, saying, blessed be the king that cometh in
the name of the Lord, peace in heaven and glory in the highest.
What do the disciples see when they see Jesus coming?
They see the king, they glorify the king.
This tells me again, these guys know Zechariah 9, they know this has been fulfilled, you
know, in the prophecies there, they're calling him the king.
The shadow of joy.
Verse 39, and some of the Pharisees from among the multitude said unto him, master, rebuke
thy disciples.
Hey, tell your disciples they're wrong, tell them to shut up.
You know, as far as the Pharisees were concerned, this is not the king, you know, this is not
the promised one, this one doesn't bring salvation.
You know, and how does Jesus respond in verse 40?
And he answered and said unto them, I tell you that if these should hold their peace,
the stones would immediately cry out.
Okay, so the Pharisees are non-believers, you know, and Jesus says, look, even if they
stop the stones will cry out, because why, it's a fulfillment of prophecy, it's a fulfillment
of Zechariah 9, you know, and this is an important moment in history, you know, a very important
moment of history, Jesus making his final entrance into Jerusalem, within the week,
he would be crucified on the cross, you know, let's keep reading verse number 43, 41, sorry.
And when he was come near, he beheld the city and wept over it.
So he sees Jerusalem now, he starts to weep saying, if thou hadst known even thou, at
least in this, in this thy day, the things which belong unto thy peace, says, look, if
you knew who this is, this is the Prince of Peace, this is the one that can come and bring
you peace, if you just knew it, you know, this is why he's weeping, it says, but now
they're hid from thine eyes, you know, it's not only that you've rejected it, it's not
only that you don't want to know about it, now it's been hid from your eyes, and what
this is, this is the reprobate doctrine, you know, there are some here at this point in
time in Jerusalem, where God's been like, you know what, you've rejected my son long
enough, and now I'm going to hide it from your eyes, okay, there are people that cannot
be saved, all right, and this is a great example of it, it's not just that they're blind, it's
not just that they're refusing, God himself has hid it from their eyes, all right, verse
43, for the day shall come upon thee, that thine enemies shall cast a trench about thee,
and compress thee about, and keep thee on every side, and shall lay thee even with the
ground of thy children within thee, and they shall not leave in thee one stone upon another,
because thou knewest not the time of thy visitation.
What Jesus Christ is speaking about here is making a prophecy of 70 AD, when the Romans
would come and destroy Jerusalem, when the temple will be burnt up and there will be
not one stone left upon another, you know, so we see as Christ comes, we see Old Testament
prophecy being fulfilled, but as Christ comes in, he's making new prophecy, you know, historical
fact of what happened to Jerusalem, let's keep reading, verse 45, and he went into the
temple and began, and began to cast out them that sowed therein, and them that bought,
saying unto them, it is written, my house is the house of prayer, but ye have made it
a den of thieves, this is known as the second cleansing of the temple, you might not be
aware of this, but Jesus Christ twice came into the temple and chased out the money makers,
twice, okay, this is just before his crucifixion, this is toward the end of his ministry, but
it also happened at the very beginning of his ministry, alright, now just to prove that
to you, go to John chapter 2, because a lot of people don't know this, so I thought I'd
better share this with you, go to John chapter 2, John chapter 2 verse 13, and the fact that
we're just in John chapter 2 should immediately tell you this is the beginning of his ministry,
it's only chapter 2 into John, alright, John chapter 2 verse 13, the Bible reads, and the
Jews Passover was at hand, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem, and found, so this is not
him coming on an ass, this is not coming on a donkey, this just goes into Jerusalem to
partake of the Passover, verse 14, and he found in the temple those that sowed oxen
and sheep and doves, and the changes of money sitting, and when he had made a scourge of
small cords, he drove them all out of the temple, and the sheep and the oxen, and poured
out the changes money, and overthrew the tables, and said unto them that sowed doves, take
these things hence, make not my father's house, and house of merchandise.
That's the beginning of his ministry, he does it once, he comes now at the end of his ministry,
he does it again, okay, these guys have not learnt, these guys are back to making money,
back to buying and selling in the temple of God, in the house of God, and that's a big
no no, alright, I mean, in the New Testament, the house of God is the local church, alright,
and in this church, we are never going to sell things, okay, I'm never going to have,
you know, a collection of books for sale, or collection of DVDs for sale, or anything
like that, okay, it's never going to happen, because the house of God is not a house of
merchandise, okay, it's a house to come and worship God, alright, it's a house of prayer,
and you know, it's a big mistake that a lot of churches make, you know, a lot of Baptist
churches, a lot of independent Baptist churches, you know, they have the right intentions,
you know, they want to have material for their church members, they want to have Bibles,
they want to have, you know, whatever books and whatever things they think might help
them in their spiritual growth, they have the right intentions, but you know what, guys,
the word of God comes first, it doesn't matter of your intentions, alright, you can have
the best intentions, but you can still be disobeying the word of God, you know, so you
know, I just want to be, just tell you, let you guys know, I never want you selling anything
within the church, alright, it's no, you know, it's not a place of business, or of selling
merchandise, and by the way, these guys, they were just selling oxen and doves, they
were selling animals for the sacrifice, which in the Bible was fine, you could do that,
but we see that they were going straight into the temple and doing it, okay, no, it's fine
to do it, but not in the temple, okay, so you know, they were changing money in the
temple, so no, you know, we will not allow that within our church as well, let's go back
to Luke 19, verse 47, we're almost done now, and it says here in verse 47,
So we see these rulers, the scribes, the priests, they want to kill Jesus Christ, they want
to wipe him out, you know, he's making them look bad, but they don't know how to do it,
they don't know how to come to him, because there's multiple people hearing him, attentive,
loving what they're hearing, okay, and so, you know, these are people like in the parable,
they would not have the king to rule over them, alright, so just in conclusion, guys,
I hope that's been an interesting chapter for you, and I just, I really want you to
think about what are you going to do with the pound that God has given you, what are
you going to do with the gospel message that God has given to you, you know, how are you
going to invest it, you know, we've got weekly soul winning in the church, you know, if you
can be part of that, I strongly encourage you to be part of that, but that's not the
only way to invest your pound, you know, we've all got family, we've all got friends that
are unsaved, you know, another way is by talking to them, by sharing the gospel to them, invest
in it in that way, you know, or like I said, if you just physically can't, you know, maybe
you've got little children or a number of them or maybe you're sick and whatever, maybe
you've got a problem, you know, how are you helping others to get out there, you know,
how are you investing that pound into the bank, so the bank can make interest for you,
you know, how are you enabling others to get out there and do the gospel preaching, you
know, making sure that there's some return of investment, because guys, I would be really
embarrassed for God to come, because you know, as a pastor, I'm also required to give an
account for my church, you know, I'd be really embarrassed if God said to me, you had a wicked
servant in your church, say, what do you mean, Lord, you know, they hid the pound, they put
in the napkin, they put it away, and they did nothing with it, you know, I'd be I'd
be embarrassed to face that with Christ, you know, this is why, you know, a lot of all
the preaching, I mean, I can't help it, every chapter is about sovereignty, every time I
can't help it, but this is why, you know, I don't really stop necessarily and just preach
one sermon on preaching the gospel, I don't need to, you know, but this is why I filter
it in pretty much every sermon, the importance of it, the importance of it is because if
you're not doing it, if you're not investing that pound, I want to make you uncomfortable,
you know, I want to give you some guilt, you know, I want to compel you to get out there
and do something with a pound that Jesus Christ has given you, hey, first of all, because
I'm the pastor, and I've got to give an account for you.
But most of all, because you have to stand before Christ one day, and your works are
going to be tried, you know, and I don't want you to stand there embarrassed that everything
you've done was a waste, everything you've done was was burnt up, I want you to be left
with something.
So God can say, Jesus Christ can say to you, you know, that good and faithful servant,
you know, and he's not asking us to do much, and just invest in the bank, if you want,
just get something out of it, just do something with what God has given you, you know, and
Christ wants to reward us openly, you know, he wants to reward us.
And you know, he's a great God, he wants us to participate in the inheritance that he
has.
All right, let's pray.