God is not done with his work when we first believe and are saved. He intends day by day to make us into what we already are in Christ.     We tend to say that because a person has natural ability, he will make a good Christian. It is not a matter of our equipment, but a matter of our poverty; not of what we bring with us, but of what God puts into us; - Oswald Chambers     We have been talking about growth for the past several Sundays. And when we think of Growth we often skip to looking at the final product and forget the work and commitment it takes to get there.   I can think of people that I have spoken with in ministry that can relate to my experience with the garden. You grew, and now all you see are weeds……..     It’s not the Garden, it’s the Gardner 1 Corinthians 1:26-31 New International Version (NIV) ²⁶ Brothers and sisters, think of what you were when you were called. Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth.   ²⁷ But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong.   ²⁸ God chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things—and the things that are not—to nullify the things that are,   ²⁹ so that no one may boast before him. ³⁰ It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God—that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption.   ³¹ Therefore, as it is written: “Let the one who boasts boast in the Lord.”^[a]   In 1 Corinthians 1:26-31 it’s great to see that our Gardner, Jesus Christ, never changes. In fact, there is nothing Good in me but Jesus. He is our Righteousness, Holiness and Redemption.     When things begin to go wrong in my Christian life, the weeds begin to grow, my passions and desires begin to fade. The first part of seeing growth again is realizing it is me, not anyone or anything else.   I was told by a wise man a long time ago….. never allow anyone or anything to come between you and your relationship with the Lord. And if you do, don’t blame the church, the person, nor the situation, look only to you for the blame.     NOTHING should get in the way of your relationship with God.     It’s not the Garden, it’s what you allow inside the Garden     For if you and I are not careful, we will allow things in our lives that will lead to the demise of our walk with the Lord.   1 Peter 2:1-3 Therefore, rid yourselves of all malice and all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and slander of every kind. ² Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation, ³ now that you have tasted that the Lord is good.     Every person that truly believes in Christ is increasingly transformed into his likeness. When we begin to see the things that are hindering our garden from growing, and THEN we are willing to remove that which is hindering it.     The problem is the flesh likes these things. And when the ground is tilled for Godly growth, the enemy loves to sneak in some devilish seed to hinder the growth. WE MUST KICK IT OUT.       It’s not the Garden, it’s the results we really want.       Our spiritual life is no different than the Garden. When you don’t work your garden, the results are not good.     All of us want the fruits and vegetables out of the garden, and all of us say we want to GROW spiritually, but we must learn to crave the things of God.   Once we taste and see the results we cannot get enough. You will be willing to do whatever it takes to produce THAT type of fruit.     Growing in your salvation is when you taste something that you know is good, you bend your wills and desires to make sure that you get the results Christ desires.       It’s a craving that comes and we love and we want more of it. And when we experience it, the more we receive, the more that we grow. The deeper we go the more fruits come out.

Easter is such an awesome time of the year. We celebrate the fact that Jesus defeated death and rose from the dead. We hang out with family, which means that there is a lot of cooking and preparation that goes in to that. We have to make sure that the family looks good and matching for all the pictures that we will take. All while maintaining the other responsibilities of life. It often will leave someone feeling tired and weak.   Well put yourself in the shoes of the disciples and the followers of Jesus. Their King had just been brutally executed. The man that had been their biggest influence for the past several years was now gone. They had celebrated his triumphant entry, less than a week later watch his body be crushed and bruised on the cross, took him to a borrowed tomb, 3 days later found the tomb empty, and now they are locked in a room scared for their lives.   Moments and weeks like these leave us feeling exhausted and weak. But what happened to the excitement from a week ago? Easter, He is Risen, He is Alive, you know all the enthusiasm that came with Easter. The sad news is that some of us this week are locked in a room scared for our life, weak Christians just one week since the Greatest news ever told, He is Alive. We are a lot like the first disciples……   John 20:19–25 (NKJV) ¹⁹ Then, the same day at evening, being the first day of the week, when the doors were shut where the disciples were assembled, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in the midst, and said to them, “Peace be with you.” ²⁰ When He had said this, He showed them His hands and His side. Then the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord. ²¹ So Jesus said to them again, “Peace to you! As the Father has sent Me, I also send you.” ²² And when He had said this, He breathed on them, and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. ²³ If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.” ²⁴ Now Thomas, called the Twin, one of the twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. ²⁵ The other disciples therefore said to him, “We have seen the Lord.” So he said to them, “Unless I see in His hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and put my hand into His side, I will not believe.”   Our text of John gives us a quick glimpse back to Easter and Christ’s resurrection. The disciples are huddled in fear behind a locked door when Jesus appears to them, and when he does - he not only reveals his resurrection, he breathes an outpouring of the Holy Spirit upon them. Now, for some reason… Thomas was absent from the disciples. He didn’t get to see Jesus that night. Now the other disciples are sharing the wonderful news with him… “We have seen the Lord!” But what proof do they bring? Only their words. Thomas’ response is “Not gonna believe it till I see it.” This catches us up with the heart of today’s lesson. One week after Easter, the very same room where Jesus appeared before… Eleven disciples sit in excitement……..And Thomas… probably sitting with his arms crossed, legs crossed, and pouting.   You know that look your kids give you when you didn’t let them win…..   As Christians I’m sure we all can relate to Thomas at some point in our life. We feel like we pulled the short straw and that life just isn’t fair.   Weirsbe says, No sin is worse than the sin of self-pity because it removes God from the throne of our lives replacing Him with our own self-interest. It causes us to open our mouths only to complain, and we simply become spiritual sponges- always absorbing, never giving, and never being satisfied. And there is nothing lovely or generous about our lives.   This part of our human nature reminds me of a story I once heard of a man out on a glorious nature walk next to some beautiful cliffs and caverns. The walk, however, quickly turned cruel when the man… walking too close to the edge found himself tumbling down the side of one of the cliffs. Luckily, he managed to grab hold of a small tree growing out of the side of the cliff. Unluckily, it was too steep to climb up or down, he was far too high to jump, and he knew he was likely the only person for miles.   Having nothing to lose, he began to shout “Help. Is anybody out there? HELP!”   After a short while he heard a response, “This is God. I am here. Let go of that branch and I will catch you.”   The man contemplated this, and responded, “God… don’t you have a rope or a ladder?” God replied, “Put your faith in me. Let go of that branch and I will catch you.”   The man contemplated yet again, and after a long pause he shouted, “Is anyone else there?”   Luckily for Thomas and for us, that is not the end of the text. Thomas is not left sitting there doubting. Often times God shows us when we finally have “nothing to lose” when we finally surrender.   Weakness Turns to Redemption   John 20:26–29 (NKJV) ²⁶ And after eight days His disciples were again inside, and Thomas with them. Jesus came, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst, and said, “Peace to you!” ²⁷ Then He said to Thomas, “Reach your finger here, and look at My hands; and reach your hand here, and put it into My side. Do not be unbelieving, but believing.” ²⁸ And Thomas answered and said to Him, “My Lord and my God!” ²⁹ Jesus said to him, “Thomas, because you have seen Me, you have believed. Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”   Jesus knew he doubted. Jesus knew he had been excluded from the special revelation the night he appeared to the other eleven. Jesus even knew what that whole last week must have been like for Thomas.   Just think about what Thomas must have been dealing with.  Thomas, the one left out, spent that entire week wrestling alone with his doubts.   He could have rebuked them for their unfaithfulness and spinelessness the previous weekend, but He did not^[1] Jesus does not lecture him, chastise him, or discipline him for doubting, instead Jesus wished him peace, and in his mercy, he gives Thomas what he needed to move beyond his doubt.   Jesus simply came to Thomas. He met Thomas right where he was at, and he promises to meet you this morning right where you are at. But he also promises not to leave you the same way you came.   No one has ever met Jesus and stayed the same.       Redemption Turns to Delight   John 20:27 (NKJV) ²⁷ Then He said to Thomas, “Reach your finger here, and look at My hands; and reach your hand here, and put it into My side. Do not be unbelieving, but believing.”   Notice Thomas’s needs were met down to the letter of what he was asking for. When you really desire to know Christ on a deeper level, he will give you exactly what you need to dive deep.   Notice He has not had a conversation with Jesus about what all he needs, Jesus knows your every thought, need, and desire. And when it comes to your relationship with Him he has every resource available to help you move towards delight.   But the wounds meant more than identification; they also were evidence that the price for salvation had been paid and man indeed could have “peace with God.”   The basis for all our peace is found in the person and work of Jesus Christ. He died for us, He arose from the dead in victory, and now He lives for us.   In our fears, we cannot lock Him out! He comes to us in grace and reassures us through His Word. “Faithful are the wounds of a friend” (Prov. 27:6).^[2]   These words ring clear this morning as we sit one week removed from Easter, all the hype is gone, all the emotions are gone, and we are left with these words, “Do not be unbelieving but believing.”   Once we believe …   Delight Turns to Declaration   John 20:28–29 (NKJV) ²⁸ And Thomas answered and said to Him, “My Lord and my God!” ²⁹ Jesus said to him, “Thomas, because you have seen Me, you have believed. Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”   I want you to go back to the day that Jesus set you free……. Can you go there…… The day that you surrendered control and asked Jesus to be the Lord and Boss of your life?   Thomas had been hurt, confused, because he didn’t know but Jesus was able to turn all his issues into Delight. We all have issues, this morning God wants to do a work in you.   When Jesus saw that the disciples’ fear had now turned to joy, He commissioned them: “As My Father has sent Me, even so send I you” (John 20:21). Keep in mind that the original disciples were not the only ones present; others, were also in the room.   You see, you can’t give someone what you don’t have.   John 20:21 (NKJV) ²¹ So Jesus said to them again, “Peace to you! As the Father has sent Me, I also send you.”   It must have given the men great joy to realize that, in spite of their many failures, their Lord was entrusting them with His Word and His work. They had forsaken Him and fled, but now He was sending them out to represent Him. Peter had denied Him three times; and yet in a few days, Peter would preach the Word (and accuse the Jews of denying Him—Acts 3:13–14!) and thousands would be saved^[3]   The good news is that it’s one week after Easter and many of you are feeling weak, but you can trade that weakness in for dominance over every situation.   He is Alive, Risen, and He has enabled us with His Spirit to be able to be more than conquers. When you get a hold of that you will want to shout it from the rooftops, declaring Jesus is Lord.   ^[1] Wiersbe, W. W. (1996). The Bible exposition commentary (Vol. 1, p. 392). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books. ^[2] Wiersbe, W. W. (1996). The Bible exposition commentary (Vol. 1, p. 392). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books. ^[3] Wiersbe, W. W. (1996). The Bible exposition commentary (Vol. 1, pp. 392–393). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.

Parade or Protest Palms or Picket Signs Crown Him or Crucify Him Hail Him or Nail Him Cheers and Tears Luke 19:28-45 Luke 19:28: After Jesus had said this, he went on ahead, going up to Jerusalem. As he approached Bethphage and Bethany at the hill called the Mount of Olives, he sent two of his disciples, saying to them, “Go to the village ahead of you, and as you enter it, you will find a colt tied there, which no one has ever ridden. Untie it and bring it here. If anyone ask you, ‘why are you untying it?’ tell him, ‘the Lord needs it.’” THE CHEERS OF THE CROWD Everyone loves a parade.

1. PAST: Jesus entered Jerusalem as a humble King

“Shout, daughter of Jerusalem! See your King comes to you, righteous and having salvation, gentle and riding on a donkey.” (Zechariah 9:9)

2. FUTURE: He will enter Jerusalem as a conquering King

“I saw heaven standing open and there before me was a white horse, whose rider is called Faithful and True...He is dressed in a robe dipped in blood, and his name is the Word of God.” (Revelation 19:11, 13) “On that day his feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, east of Jerusalem, and the Mount of Olives will be split in two from east to west…The Lord will be King over the whole earth. On that day there will be one Lord, and his name the only name.” (Zechariah 14:4,9) Learn the lesson of the donkey. “God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong–so that no one could boast before Him.” (I Corinthians 1:27)

1. THE TEARS OF THE KING

Jesus was weeping–at His own parade! Why did Jesus cry that day?

1. Jesus wept because of superficial belief

Today, Jesus must certainly weep when He sees the shallow level of commitment in our lives.

2. Jesus wept because of spiritual blindness