Mandatory Praise

Please turn your Bible to Luke chapter 19. We are going to continue our preaching through Luke. Luke chapter 19 the teaching will be on. Preaching will be on verses 37 to 40. But I will read from verse 28 for context when you have that please stand for the reading of God's Word.

Luke chapter 19 beginning in verse 28 and. And when he had said these things he went on ahead going up to Jerusalem. When he drew near to Bethphage and Bethany at the mount that is called Olivet He sent two of the disciples saying go into the village in front of you where on entering you will find a colt tied on Which no one has ever yet sat.

Untie it and bring it here if anyone asks you why are you untying it? You shall say this the Lord has need of it so those who were sent so those who were sent went away and found it just as he had told them and As they were untying the colt its owner said to them Why are you untying the colt and they said the Lord has need of it?

And they brought it to Jesus and throwing their cloaks on the road. She and throwing their cloaks cloaks on the colt they set Jesus on it and as he rode along they spread their cloaks on the road as He was drawing near already on the way down the Mount of Olives the whole multitude of his disciples began to rejoice and Praise God with a loud voice for all the mighty works that they had seen.

Saying blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord. Peace in heaven and glory in the highest and some of the Pharisees and the crowd said to him Teacher rebuke your disciples. He answered. I tell you if these were silent the very stones would cry out Amen.

You may be seated. Do you have any father we thank you for your word today? We need it. It directs us. We pray that it would direct us we pray that we would be receptive to it and that it would cause us to praise you for we know that If we were silent very stones would cry out Jesus name.

Amen. Well, I have good news for you today, I have very good news for you today that is that Jesus Christ is King He is King as reason for rejoicing. That is reason for praising last week. We looked at his Triumphal entry on the donkey how he is coming down from the Mount of Olives on the donkey.

He is still at this point. Entering into Jerusalem and this requires a response requires a response of praise. Now on one hand, this is a very good thing. This is a very good thing it is The message that you should be joyful that you have a reason for joy.

It's very good thing, but it comes with an obligation. It comes with a requirement to be joyful to praise the Lord. Those who would not praise the Lord as they ought to do are guilty for doing so those who do not Receive this message that should produce joy and are not joyful because of it are Evidencing they do not have a work of God in them that are evidencing that God's truth does not dwell in them and are instead not only not of the truth But our enemies of the truth.

They're not merely sticks in the mud that would Reject the importance of praise but rather they make themselves enemies of God. Perhaps as you look at your life today and you think about the past week and The days of your week and what they were filled with whether or not they were filled with joy sadness depression anxiety and you think about those times that truly had joy and What portion of that was there?

To what degree was the fact that Jesus is King? Being reflected in your life and the joy that should be reflected in your life. If you are a servant of Jesus Christ. If you are one who is under his kingship, then you are one who ought to be joyful.

You are one who ought to praise him and I want as you read this to be encouraged. Not only in the truth that should produce joy, but also in a recognition of the obligation to joy. So that as you go about your week and you see a lack of joy you would not just continue in it as though that is acceptable, but recognize it be able to address it and respond with joyfulness.

In a way the obligation itself is good news. Because the one who does not feel obligated is free to linger and sadness and grief and depression and anxiety. But the one who is obligated has the tools necessary to address it in themself looking and seeing Where they err and turning and praising the Lord as they ought.

Singing out blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord peace in heaven and glory in the highest. These are the words that are spoken here. Jesus is coming down the Mount of Olives. The whole multitude of his disciples is rejoicing.

Recall that Jesus has different circles of disciples. He has the inner most disciples. We think of Peter and John outside of that. He has the twelve disciples outside of that he sent out 70 others that we've read about in Luke chapter 10 and Then beyond that we have just the multitudes all the crowds that are following after him.

And so all the disciples are coming around and they are proclaiming that he is King. He is going to Jerusalem. He's going to sit on the throne of David. He is King over the people. Pharisees respond to this.

They want the disciples rebuked. This sounds too blasphemous to call him King. They know the implications. They know the implications for the secular world. This will raise the ire of Rome and then it will divide the people.

They know the religious implications that this means that he is the Son of God and They find that too Intolerable a theory even though they are supposed to be waiting for Messiah when the Messiah has finally come.

They do not want him so they reject that.

Praise.

Now why is it important to have a king? It's important to have a king because. The king gives peace. King conquers enemies. The king gives peace. Who are the enemies that we might think of here? Well, no doubt many of these people are anticipating that the enemy is Rome.

That Rome will be defeated. And that when Rome is defeated. Then the people of Israel will be able to live in peace not having to deal with Rome. Well, the reality is that Israel crumbles long before Rome ends up crumbling centuries later.

So this is not ultimately the peace that Christ is giving. This is not ultimately the Conquering that Christ is given giving. I think we can have our eyes open somewhat if we turn to.

Psalm.

118 if you look at Psalm 118 verse 26 being the verse that is quoted in this passage. Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. We bless you from the house of the Lord. We can see what kind of things Ought to come in mind when we hear this psalm.

First of all, I'll note that in verse 26. It says blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord? People have made this very explicit rather than just saying blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord?

They say blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord. This is not a king that is just coming in his own name either. This is a king coming in the name of the Lord. All the other kings come for themselves.

They live for themselves and they die by themselves. But Jesus comes in the name of the Lord and he will live forever. This is a psalm that describes people calling out in distress. In verse 5 it says out of my distress.

I called on the Lord the Lord answered me and set me free. So it's a psalm where the psalmist is calling out to the Lord asking for salvation. Speaks of the salvation in the verse immediately before the one that is quoted in verse 25.

It says save us. We pray. Oh Lord. Oh Lord. We pray give us success. Okay, so the people are calling out for some kind of Success some kind of salvation. And what is it from if you look at verses 17 and 18?

I shall not die, but I shall live and recount the deeds of the Lord. The Lord has disciplined me severely. But he has not given me over to death. Now anyone could look at this and say that this is talking about a particular battle and David or however the psalmist is is being saved away from his enemies and he's being spared from death on this particular occasion.

Yet.

Looking from the new testament knowing that this applies to Jesus Christ knowing that it applies to all those who are in Jesus Christ. What's this speak of other than the resurrection? God has saved the son from death raising him from the dead when Jesus Called out that the cup be taken from him He still had to undergo the wrath of God yet Ultimately that cup was taken from him.

He does not suffer the wrath of God forever. He is raised from the dead. He is alive today. And so it is with us that we have been given new life and on that final day After we die should the Lord tarry.

We will be raised from the dead if we are found in Christ Jesus if we have trusted in him for salvation and so having Trusted in him for salvation. We are saved from death. What is the enemy? That is spoken of here that is implied in the idea of the king saving them.

The ultimate enemy is death. Death the ultimate enemy is the power that the accuser has. To point at man and his sin and say this one ought to die. Christ Jesus having suffered the penalty on the cross has taken that away so that we can be free.

So that we can be free of sin and so that we can have eternal life. He has defeated death itself. And he has given us peace. There are several kinds of peace you can consider with the lord. There's the peace that we ought to have with the lord ourselves as individuals.

And then there's also peace that extends beyond that all of creation is in a way at war with god we have by By adam's sin adam, not just being a representative for humanity. But in a second way being a representative for all the earth him being over the earth Has brought all of the earth into sin.

Now the earth wouldn't Be accounted of guilt the same way that we are accounted of guilt. But the effects of sin because adam was over the world all the all the world Suffers from sin. There's there's destruction.

There are all kinds of uh calamitous weather patterns that we have to endure. There's all kinds of death in the world. And before adam's sin there was no death in the world that includes animal death animals even die because of the sin of mankind.

But god has given peace Not just between him and us but him And the rest of the world so that when it is restored there would be no more death at all. And then on top of that it speaks of peace in heaven.

Now this is a surprising statement peace in heaven consider the words of job.

Uh.

In job.

Chapter 25 verse 2. It says dominion and fear are with god. He makes peace in his high heaven. God has all dominion not just on earth, but even in heaven. You might wonder why is it that you would need peace in heaven?

Is there a war going on in heaven? There is actually a war going on in heaven. The bible speaks of satan as the prince of the power of the air. It describes angelic armies at war with each other and so what god Accomplishes in jesus christ is not just peace with mankind.

It's not just peace with other Created things on this earth, but ultimately there's a peace in heaven. This peace comes in two ways. One. Those who enter into his kingdom and are part of it Get to enjoy his peace and for the rest he destroys them.

He has guaranteed the destruction of all his enemies through the death burial and resurrection of jesus christ. God has accomplished this in him. And so it is not merely peace on earth But a peace in heaven.

Now perhaps this calls to mind something earlier from luke. If you remember luke chapter 2 verse 14 a passage that's read every year in late december Speaks of the angels in heaven calling down a myriad of angels calling down Peace on earth.

What is happening here? There's a myriad of disciples gathered around from earth calling up to heaven peace in heaven. Isn't this a wonderful picture from luke 2 all the way here to the end of luke 19?

You see a calling down of peace on earth an announcement that peace on earth is coming and then an announcement from earth Back to heaven that peace on in heaven is coming and is coming through jesus christ who is king Not just of earth.

But he is king of heaven and earth he rules over all things. Now this is a This is a greater rain than even the rain that adam Had even greater than the rain that uh, he had held out for him. Jesus christ Not only rules over the earth.

You know, like it says in psalm 8 that what is man? You've made him a little lower than the angels you've put All these things under him. So here's here's created adam. He's over the globe. He has the potential to reign over the earth as this great king.

What is jesus accomplishing? Not only is he the second adam the way the bible describes Reigning over the earth like adam did but he is the second adam who goes beyond that reigning over heaven as well.

He is accomplishing Something greater. There's not just the victory that gives him a dominion over the earth, but it gives them a dominion over heaven. The bible speaks of him being exalted. It speaks of him uniting heaven and earth together in that exaltation.

If I can read just a couple of passages that speak to that ephesians chapter one verse nine says He has set forth in christ his purpose As a plan for the fullness of time to unite all things in him things in heaven and things on earth.

Christ Sent to unite not just the things on earth. But to unite heaven and earth together to give peace between heaven and earth and within heaven and earth. It says in colossians 1 Colossians containing many of the same teachings as ephesians, but in different words.

Says for in him all the fullness of god was pleased to dwell. This is talking about jesus, of course. And through him to reconcile to himself all things whether on earth or in heaven making peace by the blood of his cross.

He is making peace. Not just with individuals. He is making peace with everything in heaven and on earth. Now some of that peace is by conquering so that his enemies would be destroyed and they would no longer threaten that peace.

But.

He is bringing together peace so that there would be no more war so that all things would be reconciled. So that all things would be united in him. In that final day, we will understand how every last thing is united in him.

This does not merely refer to.

A.

Harmony between things as they exist. It also refers to that that reconciliation of all things. Everything that's purpose is now turned either against the lord or in some way. That's not clearly for the lord.

You will see how all things are working together for good all things are working together for the glory of the sun. There are a lot of things today where you would look at it and you would say I have no idea What purpose this would have for jesus christ in his kingdom?

Maybe it has some purpose, but I don't know what it is on that day when he brings all things together every last thing. Everything that exists every step in history that has taken place. It will be shown how it comes together to glorify jesus christ and we Who have trusted in him?

Being found in him meaning him as our representative just as adam was for us before him as our representative us being in him. We will be able to enjoy that glory with him him being exalted and so he is not just exalted over the heavens By himself.

But the bible says that we are seated in the heavenly places with him. Bible says that we will one day judge angels. It is not merely that he Has been made a little while lower than the angels is taken up above the angels having been glorified that way, but we Having been found in him Who were made a little lower than the angels are like him a little while Lower than the angels as it says in hebrews 2 so that we are raised up Seated with him in the heavenly places and on that final day will reign in a manifest way and we will enjoy Heights that adam did not have we will enjoy not just a Sinless creation where everything is at some kind of peace.

But an even greater peace than the one you would have found in the garden of eden. This is what Jesus christ has accomplished. And if you think about this in the context of this passage, which is about the disciples praising about those others opposing praise.

What is it that angels? Are particularly tasked to do. They do a number of things. We see that they are ministering spirits sent out for the sake of serving the elect. But one of the scenes that you see repeatedly through scripture is angels singing.

They are given voices to sing and to praise the lord and so now As you saw in luke 2 the angels singing down from heaven peace on earth and now the people singing up to heaven peace in heaven. Anticipating mankind's own exaltation with christ in christ being glorified with him.

Provided we suffer with him as it says in romans 8. What are we given we are given a song we are given a voice to praise in even a greater way Than the angels can praise. The angels can praise god as being great.

They can praise him as being just they can even Praise him as being merciful, but they cannot praise him as being merciful the way that we can praise him as being merciful. We can praise him as being merciful as those who do not just know propositionally Propositionally his mercy propositionally meaning, you know as a stated fact that you can say is true.

But you've never actually experienced it. We can say it as ones who experientially know it is true that he is merciful having experienced his mercy. Having been saved from the depths of despair. This is something that uh, peter says the angels long to look into.

But they are not capable of looking into. And so as the people respond to the angel song saying peace in heaven. It anticipates something wonderful that people have been given a song greater than the angel song the mighty magnificent angelic beings whose Are more wonderful than we can Understand perhaps even than we can comprehend when we go there and learn more about them.

Maybe there's more than we will be able to understand and yet we have been given something that they cannot understand. We have been given something that they do not Know experientially we have been given salvation.

So when it says here. That they Praise god with a loud voice for all the mighty works that they have seen. What is the mighty work that they have seen other than the salvation declared? In psalm 118 salvation from sin.

Salvation eternal life. And anticipation of that glorious existence with jesus christ. Now no doubt on their minds are the various kinds of uh miracles that they have seen they've seen Blind received back their sight the deaf here again demons being cast out.

They've seen other miracles like jesus having walked on water the feeding of the 5000. Now you could read this passage and you could say well, I didn't see any of those things. I don't have nearly as much reason to praise.

As they have reason to praise. No, you have the same reasons to praise that they do. Jesus is your king as well. The great salvation that he has provided to them. He has provided to you. In fact, I would argue that you have a greater reason to praise than even these original people did.

It says that they praise him for the mighty works. What does jesus say greater works than these will you do? If salvation is the greatest work then how much salvation have you seen? They had the privilege of seeing a multitude.

Enter into this kingdom, you know those that would live much longer than this. They would see the the spread of the kingdom Throughout judaea and beginning to enter gentile regions. You have seen salvation that far extends that you have seen salvation go to countries to continents far beyond anything that they had experienced and you are seeing that at an Exponential rate at a greater rate Than they were seeing it.

So it might be easy to look at this through the lens of a natural man thinking of this in Physical or natural terms and material terms that the great works are primarily those miracles and you haven't seen them.

A lot of people go around idolatrously longing for these things thinking that that is where the real experience of god is. If I can just Experience some kind of miracle if I lived back then well boy, then i'd have real faith.

Now you have seen a greater miracle you have experienced a greater miracle If you have trusted in jesus christ. If you have not trusted in jesus christ I would urge you today to trust in him the the kind of praising that you see here.

You cannot have. You might have moments of of happiness or feelings of peace. But you will not have the true joy that man can only have when he is no longer at war with his maker. You cannot have the joy that is found through trusting in jesus christ for the forgiveness of sins because it's only then that you would have True peace true peace on earth that extends to a peace in heaven.

And so he. So they praise him for all these mighty works. And it is not just a truth that Naturally results in praise. It is a truth that obligates us to praise. It is a duty. This is a duty to praise him and not just praise him.

But even as they do here to praise him loudly. You know, how often do we when we are singing, uh praise just quietly enough so that we're not heard now there was a time when I thought that that might be appropriate because Well, I didn't want to show off.

I don't want to show off to people when i'm singing, you know the bible says that when you pray don't don't uh. Do it loudly for others to hear. When you give don't blow a trumpet and say maybe I want to praise just so that no one else hears me.

Uh.

But in colossians and ephesians, what does it say that we should? Instruct one another speaking to them in hymns songs and spiritual songs aren't singing from a new testament perspective. It's not exclusively to god.

It is actually to each other and depending on how you look at it I would say it's even primarily to each other. It is about god. It is about his glory. But it is primarily intended as an encouragement to each other.

So you ought to sing loudly, you know if you have voices. Saying the opposite here, right the pharisees saying don't sing. How much more encouraging is it when you sing loudly and you know how it is? In your experience when you come to church and you hear others singing loudly.

It's a lot easier for you to sing loudly when everyone's being real quiet. Well, you don't want to stand out. You don't want to sing loudly. Sing loudly and god has given us a day on which to praise him.

He's given us the lord's day. This is a day that we ought to be glad. This is a day when we are especially to give ourselves to his praise. Many people do not even those who would identify as christians treat this as a very optional day when they're feeling like it.

There is a duty to praise if you do not praise the rocks. Will cry out if you do not praise him. Think about which sides you are aligning with here. Are you aligning with the disciples? Are you aligning with the enemies of the disciples when you treat the praise of god as something that is optional?

I would argue you are not aligning with the disciples when you do that so these pharisees rebuke. Uh, these pharisees rebuke the disciples and they tell jesus get them to stop jesus responds. That if they are silent the very stones would cry out.

What is it? They are so upset about oh He is being called lord. He is being called the messiah is being called king as I said, they understand the implications of what this means for. For civil leaders that the civil leaders will not be happy with this.

But also it has implications for the religious leaders. Religious leaders will lose their control. They will not be happy with this either. If he is king in either sense people will not be happy. Yet this is the same confession that peter made earlier that jesus is the son of god.

That jesus is the king. And so if jesus if peter made that confession. That you are christ the christ son of the living god. And jesus has affirmed him in that how much more should he continually affirming this multitude that is praising him.

There are going to be all kinds of people who would tell you not to praise the lord now it's rare that that happens in the actual setting of church. But it does happen in the actual setting of church.

You can think about some of the ways that that happens. Uh one is oftentimes Parents out of a wrong understanding of baptist theology will discourage their children from praying or singing right because they Think that well prayer is something that you that's only accepted if there's a mediator.

And if the child is not yet at an age where they really understand they haven't been saved and they don't have a mediator. Now all of all of creation ought to praise the lord. So you want to encourage your children to sing and not.

Um.

And to even pray. Now there are other ways. I'm the last time I preached this passage. I have actually preached on this passage before. It's in 2020 if anybody remembers what was happening then. A lot of the nation's focus was on the fact that california had outlawed singing now.

They didn't talk much about this but the singing was outlawed particularly in buildings we were meeting outside at the time. But that wasn't the law that applied to our county. In our county they had forbidden singing period even outside so I had the Great privilege something.

I'll always remember of preaching this passage. The stones would cry out if we did not sing to be able to sing. Confidently to the lord on that day when the world is telling us do not praise. There are other priorities that are more important than the kingship of jesus christ.

And so you ought not to praise him, but we must praise him. Now the other ways that you will experience. Uh discouragement is typically in more casual settings. Right, not necessarily in the formal praise of god.

But just as you go about your day and you will feel it internally that if you were to give thanks to god about something in the workplace. If you were to speak saying the name of god as the lord wills if you were to speak of the kingship of christ in a political discussion.

Something like that to make an observation about who really is king. Uh, these are things. That would incur some level of ire from your interlocutors right from those that you would discuss with. And so what is our tendency?

Our tendency is to not give christ praise to not say his name, but rather to. To keep it on the down low. Rather let the stones do it. Let somebody else do this. Uh, there will be other times for that now.

Certainly there are. There are appropriate ways of going about giving christ praise strategically you even see paul do that when he decides before various councils to do things like saying that he's representing the pharisees and to couch things in a particular way or when he's at the areopagus to Talk about uh to put things in light of their the pagans own poets sayings, etc.

There are strategic ways of presenting things, but they must still be presented christ must still be praised.

Now.

If you uh Read this and it says I tell you if these were silent the very stones would cry out the idea that comes to mind. Is that all of creation is designed to give god praise to show his glory? And so if We do not sing then By hyperbole or maybe even literal reality the rocks will sing instead.

I believe however In addition to intending that jesus is making an additional allusion to the old testament. That means that there's a uh, Uh second meaning going on here, you know, there's a double meaning in habakkuk 2 11.

I'll read a couple verses before that. Woe to him who gets evil gain for his house to set his nest on high to be safe from the reach of harm. You have devised shame for your house by cutting off many peoples.

You have forfeited your life. This is talking about the chaldeans the babylonians uh, this is Speaking of their evil and cutting off uh israel from the praise of god, remember they have taken judah and they have exiled judah away from The temple so that they are not capable of praising the lord.

Okay so that's verses 9 10 then habakkuk 2 11 says. After having says you have cut off many peoples for the stone will cry out from the wall and the beam from the woodwork respond. So why did why are the stones crying out in that context?

They're not crying out giving an alternative praise. It's not okay because god's people can't praise. The stones are going to praise what's going on there. Because god's people have been cut off from praise.

The stones will cry out for judgment. Creation all the world looking at you. Cry out for judgment against you. This is what it's like for those who would not support the praise of the lord, but would.

Maybe out of some kind of supposed Good intentions to keep the peace and things like that. Uh discourage the praise of the lord. It's that all of the world is looking all of creation is watching on you calling out for god to end The evil thing that you are doing.

The rocks cry out from the walls. When the praise of god is discouraged and say in this in this one who is ending the praise of others. So jesus in saying this is offering a double meaning on one hand.

He's saying that praise is inevitable. All of creation will praise the lord. All creation will recognize me as king. In addition, he is spelling out the judgment of those Who would object to that praise that they are like the nation of babylon who cut off the people of israel from the praise of god.

They will experience the same judgment that babylon has experienced. So this is a very serious thing before us because they are not. Three options. There's not neutrality in the middle of praising god and rejecting his praise.

Rather, there are only two options. We are either those who praise the lord or we are. Those who sit by and even by our own silence discourage the praise of the lord. So what ought we to do? First of all, we ought to be joyful.

This demands joy now. It's often taught and this is true. That because the fruit of the spirit is joy and we ought always to have the fruit of the spirit and the bible also talks about right grieving and right sorrow.

That you can be joyful. Even when you are sorrowful now, that is that is very true. But a lot of times people will take that to excuse all kinds of sorrow and grief and think they can go about their day.

Pretty mopey go about their life pretty mopey and claim that they have the joy of the lord. Because joy isn't always, you know outer happiness, right? That is an excuse. Most of the christian life should look joyful and the way that you would typically think about the word is joyful.

Yes, sometimes there will be times when grief and sorrow are called for and joy will not look the same way. But most of the time it does and so if you look at your life If you look at your week and you see the great portions of it are not joyful.

Remember christ is king. This is reason for joy. Not only Have the angels called down peace on earth. But you are able to call up peace in heaven that god has set you in the high places. With jesus christ and that will one day be fully manifest and he has put given you a place even above the angels.

So that you will one day judge them be joyful. When you see when you see undue sadness in yourself when you see Anxiety do not excuse it rather rebuke it in yourself. See it and reject it and say that this is not how one should act who lives under An even greater stage of the reign of jesus christ and even these people did who are just watching him enter the kingdom.

Give thanks to the lord not just on your own. But publicly you see in the psalms statement that David will give thanks in the great assembly before other people. He will give thanks now not just in the great assembly.