A Round of Applause, Rev. Dr. Howard-John Wesley

0:00 To all my Alpha Street family and our online worshipers, let me begin by thanking God for the moment of Selah that I've just come out of. I am so grateful for your prayers and support that have allowed me for almost the last three months to spend some time in rest, reflection, prayer, and renewal. It's amazing how God has a way of preparing us for things coming that we could not have even seen. And as we now are faced with this pandemic of COVID-19, I'm grateful to God to enter this moment refreshed and renewed. And again, I thank you and want you to know that I'm excited to be back with you over these next weeks and months to share with you the word of God as God has pressed upon my heart that we might continue to grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Secondly, I want to thank you all for your concerns. There have been many concerns from members about us being in the sanctuary and broadcasting.

0:56 I want to let you know that I have been intimately involved in conversations with our governor and his representatives and they deemed the work that we do essential during this pandemic. We are allowed to be in the sanctuary to record and I want to thank God for all our audio visual and media team. We do want to let you know that we are abiding by all social distancing guidelines trying to create a safe environment. But it's important for me that you remember the sanctuary and that wherever you may be across the world wide web, we invite you to enter this space of holiness that together we might receive the word of God and look forward to the day that we're allowed to be back in this place. Boy, that's going to be some kind of worship when we get back in this sanctuary. But until then, why don't you bow with me in prayer as we get ready to receive a word from the Lord on today. God, we thank you for your word, which is a lamp unto our feet and a light unto our path. Pray that you will bless the hearing, the receiving, the doing, and the living out of your word, that we may be faithful witnesses of your love and your light in these dark times.

2:03 In the name of Jesus, the incarnate word, we do pray. Amen. As many of you all know, this weekend we celebrate Palm Sunday. Palm Sunday is the beginning of Holy Week, which is arguably the most reverential time in the life of a believer. If you've ever journeyed in Holy Week, you know that intimately we follow the footsteps of Jesus in the last seven days of his life as he makes his way towards the cross of Calvary, where he will die on behalf of our sins to pay atonement for our sin debt, that on next Sunday we would celebrate with joy and with a sense of appreciation, the sacrifice of Jesus and his victory and his resurrection as we proclaim next Sunday that he is alive forevermore. Indeed, everything Jesus does in his lifetime is instructional to us as disciples from the moment he was born to his engagement with the Pharisees to his preaching in the synagogues to his calling of his disciples.

3:07 But there's something about these last seven days that give us concentrated and concrete lessons of discipleship. And that journey begins with what we celebrate this weekend, Palm Sunday. Jesus' triumphant entry into Jerusalem. Now, if you spent any amount of time in church, if you were paying attention in Sunday school, you already know something about Palm Sunday. You know that Jesus rides a colt and a donkey into the city. You know that a crowd has gathered together. They're pulling palm branches down and laying their coats and clothing on the ground as Jesus marches in and rides in on this donkey. And all of a sudden this crowd begins to cry out, Hosanna, blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. The account of that is given to us in all four Gospels.

4:03 You can read about it in Matthew 21. You can read about it in Mark 11. You can read about it in John 12. But today for our lesson, I want to read it to you from the Gospel of Luke, chapter 19, beginning in verse 28. This morning I'm reading out of the New International Version, praying that you can keep along with whatever Bible God has blessed you with today. Luke chapter 19, beginning in verse 28. After Jesus had said this, he went on ahead going up to Jerusalem. And 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, go 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.

4:56 If anyone asks you why you are untying it, say the Lord needs it. Those who were sent ahead went and found it just as Jesus had told them. And as they were untying the coat, its owners asked them, why are you untying the coat? They replied, the Lord needs it. They brought it to Jesus, threw their coats on the coat and put Jesus on it. And as he went along, people spread their cloaks on the road. When he came near the place where the road goes down, the Mount of Olives, the whole crowd of disciples began joyfully to praise God in loud voices for all the miracles they had seen. Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord. Peace in heaven and glory in the highest. Some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to Jesus, Teacher, rebuke your disciples.

5:50 I tell you, he replied, If they keep quiet, the stones will cry out. Today, as we meditate on the word of God and enter into this season of Holy Week, I want to preach and talk to you about a round of applause. A round of applause. Beloved, I believe within each and every human heart, whether it's spoken aloud or whether it remains hidden and quiet, that within every human heart, there's a deep desire to be appreciated. There's a desire to be affirmed. There's a desire to be recognized and respected for what you've done in life. If the truth be told, all of us need safe spaces and places where we can be acknowledged and appreciated, where we can be respected, that within all of us there's a desire at some moment in life for someone to pat us on the back and say good job, for someone to acknowledge the work we've done, for someone to applaud us.

6:58 We see it in every human life. At some moment in life, every one of us wants to walk into a room and have people stand up and clap and applaud our presence to know that we truly matter, that they recognize the hard work we've given, the sacrifices we've made, what we've done for them. All of us want a moment of gratitude and thanksgiving when we know that we've merited it. We see it with children as they desire stickers of affirmation on their homework. We see it in the lives of teenagers as they search for affirmation from their friends to fit in, to be popular, to be accepted. And even as adults, whether you speak it or not, All of us desire that at some time, at some place, someone will do something to acknowledge the work that we've done.

7:54 All of us want to be acknowledged and appreciated. Man, that's what I miss so much about my children being little. Y'all pray for me, I got teenage boys. But what I miss most are those moments when they were five and three, and I would walk in the house from a long day at work, and it didn't matter what work had been like. There was just something about walking in that room and seeing my children jump up and run to me and holler, Daddy, Daddy, Daddy, that made me feel appreciated. All of us want to be appreciated. And it is that human desire to be appreciated that makes the entry of Jesus into Jerusalem something that is worthy of our attention. Stay with me for a little bit. Let me teach a little Bible. By the time we get to Luke chapter 19, by the time we get to Jesus entering into Jerusalem, by all public accounts, Jesus' ministry has been a failure.

9:01 He's been isolated in Galilee, an economically depressed region, I'm sorry, a ghetto. He's been rejected by people because he was born to a teenage mother under some shady circumstances and he's come from Nazareth and can't nothing good come out of Nazareth. The Pharisees have discredited him. At least twice a mob has formed that wants to kill him because his teachings are unpopular. His followers at most were about 5,000 who then dropped down to 100 when they found out he didn't have any more bread and fish to give him. His disciples are a ragtag group of a bunch of nobodies and even they don't understand who he is. By all intense purposes, Jesus' ministry has been a failure. No matter how many miracles he's performed, Jesus never made the 40 under 40 in Jerusalem.

10:05 His Instagram page was never verified. He was never on the cover of religion today. He wasn't invited to preach at Woman Thou Art Loosed. His podcast never got more than 100 followers. And no book he wrote ever made it on the bestseller list. Jesus has been a failure. And now this man, who has been a failure for most of his ministry, enters into Jerusalem and everything has changed. He is the man of the hour. A crowd has gathered. That crowd is celebrating him and acknowledging him. They're applauding him. He is the man of the hour. He's the host of the Passover parade. He is the VIP. This crowd is gathered together and they are crying out, Hosanna, blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.

11:05 This man who's been a failure is now getting a round of applause. And you know what Jesus does? He says nothing. He ignores it. It's almost as if this crowd doesn't matter. They're giving him a round of applause, and Jesus keeps on stepping as if it ought to be ignored. Now, beloved, I got to tell you something. This is what makes Jesus a whole lot better than me and a whole lot better than you. Because if my ministry had been a failure like that, if people had failed to appreciate who I was, if nobody had acknowledged me up to this moment, if people had tried to kill me and now I'm coming into Jerusalem and they're applauding me, y'all, I'm telling you, this would have gone down a whole different way.

12:05 I would have stopped the parade. I would have pulled out my phone. We're going to take a selfie. I'm going to sign some autographs. I'm going to get Matthew to record it. I'm going to put it on Instagram Live. Everybody's going to know that this moment has come. And yet here is Jesus. in the midst of a round of applause, and he ignores it.

12:30 What is it about applause that Jesus is teaching us? What is it about seeking affirmation and acknowledgement and recognition and respect from people that we learn from Jesus as Jesus basically ignores this round of applause.

12:56 Well, one of the first things I think we learn, and I hope you can see very clearly, is that maybe, just maybe, Jesus is teaching us that the affirmation of people can never affirm the calling of God. Let me say that again. The affirmation and the applause of people can never truly affirm or acknowledge the call of God on your life. Jesus acts as if their presence and their praise does not matter because he knows that this crowd can never truly affirm what God has already called him to do, which is to sacrifice his life on Calvary's cross. The fact that people like it, the fact that people clap for it, the fact that people approve it does not mean God has ordained it. Oh, we, let me say that again. The fact that people clap for it, the fact that they approve it, the fact that they applaud it does not mean that God has ordained it.

13:56 And you've got to be careful of making the approval of people synonymous with the calling of God. They're not the same. And that's a word because we live in a world that is shaped by the dynamics of social media. And social media is creating and shaping a generation of people who are addicted to the affirmation and the applause of a crowd. Go on, teach Pastor Wesley. Social media is like any tool. It can be used constructively and it can be used destructively. And the truth of the matter is that there are two detrimental effects of social media that the child of God needs to be aware of. Number one is that the world of social media always has us chasing celebrity. Social media has offered instantaneous and unmerited celebrity status.

15:03 You can be a celebrity without an ounce of talent. You can be well-known without achieving anything. You can have thousands of followers having never made a positive contribution to society. And as a result, there are those who are always seeking after that celebrity status, chasing down followers, doing whatever it takes to get likes and retweets. That vaunted and valued blue checkmark next to your name, chasing celebrity. The second detrimental effect of social media is not only this constant chasing of celebrity, but this continual comparison.

15:45 Social media puts you in a realm where you're always looking at the snapshot of someone else's life and comparing yourself to it. Look how many followers he has. Look how many likes she got. Look how many retweets they have. Look at the reposts. And whether it's subconsciously or consciously, social media creates an environment where we're always comparing our lives to the lives of someone else. And the Word of God reminds us that it is unwise to compare yourself to someone else. Can I teach you why? Here it is. Because on social media, they have this unique tool, Mark, called filters. Now, if you've never known what a filter is, What a filter is, it's exactly what it sounds like. It filters and makes things look better. Filters make someone look prettier than they really are.

16:41 Filters hide a whole lot of flaws. Filters make something glamorous that really may have been ugly. And so here you are looking at a filtered picture and comparing your life to it, and I came by to tell you to be careful of comparing your life to someone's filtered appearance. of the day everybody got some ugly everybody's got some struggle everybody's got some things that they're not proud of and you cannot compare yourself to a filtered picture and a filtered image and a filtered portrait and a filtered life that doesn't bear the real reality of the uglies that they deal with but because of social media we chase celebrity and we're in comparison And as a result, we've created a generation that is addicted to human approval.

17:32 Always going onto your page. Who commented? Who retweeted? Who liked? Who followed? Who posted? And I believe the message of this Palm Sunday that we learn from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ is that every now and then you've got to make a decision. between chasing after the approval of people and being committed to the call of God on your life because there will be some moments when the call of God on your life is absolutely contradictory to what the crowd appreciates and applauds. There'll be some moments when you've got to choose between what God has called me to do and what the crowd expects me to do. And I believe, beloved, that human applause and approval is the enemy's greatest tool to pull you away from what God has called and created you to do.

18:29 Let me say that again. Searching after applause and approval is the enemy's greatest way to pull you away from what God has called and created you to do. Let me teach a little Bible to you right here. When Jesus enters Jerusalem, you know what that crowd is crying out. They're crying out, Hosanna. And for those of you all that have studied the word of God, you already know that Hosanna is not a title. It's not a noun. It's not a name. Hosanna is a verb. It's an interjection. Terry, what Hosanna literally means is save us. So when Jesus enters Jerusalem, the crowd's not lifting up his name. They're asking him to do something. They're saying, Jesus, save us. And biblically, the cry Hosanna is a cry of the people of God to be saved from the political oppression of the Roman government.

19:30 So when Jesus enters Jerusalem, this crowd is saying, Jesus, save us from Rome. But Jesus has not come to deliver them from Rome. He's come to deliver them from sin. And the only way to acknowledge Hosanna is to abandon what God has called him to do to die on the cross. So when the crowd hollers, Hosanna, Jesus got a decision to make. Do I stay committed to what God has called me to do or do I yield to the crowd and give them what they want me to do? Beloved, I came by to tell you that every now and then what the crowd wants from you is not what God called you to be. and that one of the quickest ways for the enemy to pull you outside of God's ordained plan for your life is to tempt you with a taste of human approval because once you begin searching after human approval, you become addicted to it and you will abandon what God has called you to do because you believe if people applaud it, if people like it, if people follow, if people clap, then it must be what God wants from me.

20:44 I believe that the reason Jesus can ignore the cry and applaud of the people is because he spent enough time with God alone to know what God wants from him. This is no confused Jesus. This is a Jesus who spent 40 days in the wilderness with God and knows what God wants from him. This is a Jesus who ran away from crowds to go up to a mountain to be alone with God. He knows what God wants from him. This is a Jesus who was at the Jordan River and saw the Spirit of the Lord descend. He knows what God wants. This is a Jesus who stood in the temple and said, The Spirit of the Lord is on me, for I know what God has called me to do. And I came by to tell you, the more time you spend alone with God, the less you'll seek after human approval. The more time you spend on your knees the less you'll be tempted by human claps and affirmation.

21:46 The more you know God is content with you the less you'll be concerned with whether people like you are not. The strongest people in the kingdom of God are the ones who are convicted and compelled to be what God has called them to be and they will not sacrifice it for anything or anyone else. And maybe, just maybe, God has put us in a time of social distancing for just that reason, to spend some time alone with God that when we come out of this thing, you will be more committed to what God wants for you than what people have ever acknowledged or affirm, is that working your life?

22:32 Can I tell you why I think Jesus ignores this crowd? You're going to like this one. Jesus ignores the crowd because this is not the crowd that's been following him all the way from Galilee. Read your Bible. You'll be a better Christian. This crowd showed up for Passover. They were already in the city, and they heard the rumoring of Jesus, and they showed up, and the Gospel of John says, watch this, They showed up because they had heard about Lazarus. Jesus had just raised Lazarus from the dead, and the crowd comes because they want to see this man that raised folk from the dead. This is not the crowd that's been listening to his sermon on the mount. These are not the disciples who heard him battle with the Pharisees. This is not the crowd that's been with him from Jump Street in day one. These are some Johnny-come-latelys. Jesus ignores them to teach us a very valuable lesson. be careful of seeking acceptance and approval from folk who don't even know you.

23:34 Folk who don't know anything about what God's doing in your life. People who've not been with you through the thick and the thin. I don't know who I came to preach this to, but I want somebody to hear me. Followers ain't friends. Likes are not from folk who love you. Plaques do not confirm the purpose of God in your life. Being verified doesn't mean you're anointed. How dare you compromise the call of God to seek the approval of folk who don't even know you? This crowd that's clapping for Jesus, they are so confused. Watch this. This same crowd that claps on Palm Sunday. Five days from now, some of the same jokers are going to be in another crowd outside of Pilate's house. And the same crowd that clapped for Jesus, Pilate gives them an option to save Jesus' life.

24:32 And not once, but twice, they betray Jesus. Pilate says, who do you want me to free, Jesus or Barabbas? And the same jokers who clapped on Sunday chose Barabbas over Jesus. Pilate says, what do you want me to do with Jesus? Let him go or kill him. and the same crowd that clapped for Jesus on Sunday said, crucify him.

24:59 Can I tell you why you should not search for the approval of crowd? Because folk will flip on you. The same folk who say they got your back will abandon you. The same people who you compromise the call of God for to please, they will abandon you when you need it most. but the God we serve, oh, I feel like preaching now, the God we serve will never leave you nor forsake you. He will never abandon you. And you've got to make a decision to be committed to the call of God above the approval of people because people will flip on you. So Jesus says nothing. As a matter of fact, in Matthew, Mark, and John, he doesn't acknowledge the crowd. The only time Jesus acknowledges the crowd is in the Gospel of Luke, which we read this morning.

25:56 In the Gospel of Luke, it goes down a little bit differently than Matthew, Mark, and John. In the Gospel of Luke, the crowd is crying out and the Pharisees come to Jesus and they say Jesus tell them to be quiet tell them to take it down a notch you know what they said they say what you hear in church all the time it really don't take yeah you fill in the blank all of that it don't take all of that Jesus tell them to shut up you know what Jesus says that famous quote he says if I tell them to be quiet the rocks will cry out in Luke Jesus actually commends the crowd who applauded him. Now, what you ought to be asking right there, why you ought to be asking right there is why come? Why come Jesus applauds the crowd in Luke, but in Matthew, Mark, and John, Jesus says nothing?

26:50 I'm so glad to be back. Let's teach Bible, y'all. Why does Jesus applaud the crowd in Luke, but ignores them in Matthew, Mark, and John? Listen, if you got someone in your house and they got COVID, reach out and touch them and say, Baby, that's a good question. Why does Jesus applaud the crowd in Luke but ignores them in every other gospel? It's real simple. In every other gospel, the crowd is crying Hosanna as a way of asking Jesus for what they want. But when you read Luke, when you go home and read it, oh, you're at home already. When you read it at home, verse 37 says that this crowd was not just praising Jesus, but they were glorifying God for everything they had already seen. Hang out right there. In Matthew, in Mark, in John, the praise is simply to Jesus. But in Luke, the crowd is praising Jesus, but they're giving glory to God.

27:48 And Jesus says, listen, the reason I can't tell them to shut up is because if I tell them, the rocks will cry out because can't nothing stop God being glorified. God will be glorified. As we compare Matthew, Mark, and John versus Luke, we see a Jesus who in Matthew, Mark, and John says nothing to the crowd, but a Jesus who in Luke applauds them because they're not just praising him, they're giving God glory. So here's the lesson. Jesus says, listen, I can accept it as long as you don't limit it to me, that whatever you've seen me do, whatever you applaud in me, I need to make certain that it doesn't stop with me, but that it gives God glory. That I didn't come here just to be patted on the back. I didn't come here just to get approval and applause. I came here that my life might bear glory to the God who empowered me.

28:47 Jesus lives out what he teaches in Matthew chapter 5. Let your light so shine that men and women may see your good work, but give glory to God. So I came about to ask you a question today. Does your life bear glory to God? Or do you live your life in a way where as long as you are praised, that's all that matters? Is there anything about how you live that lets someone see the God who reigns over you? Or do you simply stop when they pat you on the back? Is there anything on your page that gives glory to God? Or is your page all about getting you followers? Is God glorified through your posts? How can God be glorified through vulgar posts?

29:44 What makes someone give God glory by you twerking and putting it on IG Live? What about your page makes people recognize God ought to be glorified? Or are you simply looking for your own praise? I know I done messed you up. You're mad at me. You want to click off, but you're stuck now. Holy Ghost, don't let him turn me off. Listen, the last thing I want to share with you is that Jesus says this crowd is glorifying God for everything they had seen. not for what they wanted God to do, but what they'd already seen God do. And beloved, when there's a moment in your life and it doesn't seem like God is doing what you want God to do, that your prayers aren't being answered with an immediate yes, that the virus isn't passing over the way we thought it would, that it seems as if God isn't doing what you want and ask God to do, here's what I challenge you to do.

30:41 remember what you've already seen God do. I come to tell you that no matter what the last few weeks have brought, your memory ought to be full of some things you've seen God do. You've seen God answer prayer. You've seen God heal. You've seen God make a way. You've seen God heal and open up doors in your life. Every now and then you need to remember what you've already seen God do. like many of you then this COVID epidemic when I'm stuck at home with the kids we've been on Netflix oh Jesus I have seen everything on Netflix I love self-made but I refuse to watch Tiger King I just refuse on general black principle anyway uh so we've been watching all these movies on Netflix and the other day we decided we're gonna go on Disney Prime so I got the boys down we went on Disney Prime and here's what we decided to do. We're going to watch all the Marvel movies in the sequence in which they're supposed to be watched. Iron Man, Thor, The Incredible Hulk, we've watched all of them. We've watched them all. Now we've seen them all before, seen each and every one, seen all 20 plus of them, but we're watching them all again.

31:53 And without a shadow of a doubt, every time we re-watched what we've already seen, we saw something new in it that we had missed the first time. Don't you miss this, we've been re-watching what we've already seen. But every time we re-watch it, we see something that we missed that connected us to the next movie. We've watched them all before, but when we re-watch what we've already seen, there's always something we missed that made us shout a little bit more because it's something that connected to the next movie we're gonna watch. When you re-watch what you've already seen God do, I guarantee you'll see something that you may have missed. You'll see something that God is yet worthy to be praised for. you'll see that God did more than you thought God did, that God moved in ways you didn't even appreciate, that God's been better than you gave God credit for. Every now and then you've just got to remember what you've already seen. And we give God glory because he's been better than we appreciated.

32:52 Listen, don't search after human approval, but be content knowing that you're walking in the purpose of God. on next weekend when we gather we're going to pick up and celebrate the resurrection of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ in a message called Alive Forevermore we're going right into the heart of the book of Revelation when Jesus is resurrected and tells all that around him I am he that was dead but I'm alive forevermore I can't wait for Easter on next Sunday we're going to meet you right here at 8 a.m. and again at 10 a.m. and I want you to log on with us as we share the resurrection and we share in communion. Here's what I'm going to ask you to do. Communion is not about the simple elements. You can use whatever you have at home. I know you got some crackers. I pray you got some bread. I hope you got some juice.

33:44 I know some of y'all got some wine. But anyway, let's just use what we've got and together we will break bread in our time of communion on next Sunday. This is Pastor Wesley. I love you with the love of Jesus. Can't wait to get back next week.