The Destiny of a Donkey

0:26 Have your Bibles. Open it up to Matthew chapter 21. Matthew chapter 21. Matthew chapter 21. and this is Palm Sunday. It's called Palm Sunday. It is the week before Jesus is crucified,

0:47 and Matthew 21 sets the stage and tells us what happens during this time, beginning at verse one. Matthew chapter 21, beginning at verse one. It says, now when they drew near Jerusalem and came to Bethage at the Mount of Olives, then Jesus sent two disciples saying to them, go into the village opposite you and immediately you will find a donkey tied and a gulp colt with her. Loose them and bring them to me. And if anyone says anything to you, you shall say the Lord has need of them and immediately he will send them. All this was done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet saying, tell the daughter of Zion, behold, your king is coming to you lowly and sitting on a donkey, a colt, the foil of a donkey. So the disciples went and did as Jesus commanded them.

1:51 They brought the donkey and the colt, laid their clothes on them and set him on them. And a very great multitude spread their clothes on the road. Others cut down branches from the trees and spread them on the road. Then the multitudes who went before and those who followed cried out saying, Hosanna to the son of David. Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. Hosanna in the highest. And when he had come into Jerusalem, all the city was moved saying, who is this? So the multitude said, this is Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth of Galilee. Y'all see that? I want to talk about the destiny of a donkey. The destiny of a donkey. I started to call it the destiny of a jackass but I thought that might not be a good way to put it some of y'all might not get past that so it's the destiny of a donkey it is it is historically as I grew up in church it is the Sunday that we used to do this many years ago we stopped we used to pass out these palms and we stopped passing out palms for two reasons first of all we stopped passing out the palms because we had to clean up half of them out in the parking lot so we stopped buying them just to have to pick them up and put them in the trash. But secondly, in this story here, the people who laid the palms down worshipped him and one week later they said crucify him. I don't want to be in a crowd that one moment is praising him and the next moment is crucifying him.

3:44 Thank all 15 of y'all for that rousing information of that decision and that choice. And so Jesus is, in fact, been prophesied that he would come. And as a matter of fact, Zechariah, one of the Old Testament prophets, prophesied and said, you'll be able to tell the Messiah because when he comes, he will ride in on a donkey. It was the evidence if they had known their scriptures, they would have known that he was the Messiah. They would not have crucified him if they had known that he was the one who would be their deliverer. He would be the one who would be the deliverer of them, the Messiah, that that's who he is.

4:37 And so he is sent through a process. He's gone through this and they eventually crucify him. But I have found in this story, I want to talk to you for the few moments that I have and some insights that God has shown with me that I want to share with you today about this day, what it represents on this Sunday, what this Sunday represents, that this donkey and this cult will bring Jesus into Jerusalem and marching on their backs. They will put him up and elevate him on there and people will celebrate him and honor him. He is the Messiah. But I thought for a moment, why didn't they use a horse? I think, you know, I would use a horse. I come marching in on in the gallantry of a horse but there's a reason he didn't use a horse the prophecy didn't say a horse why because God says he comes lowly somebody say Jesus comes in lowly humble not in grandeur not in great fashion he it's him coming in on a Volkswagen not in a Rolls Royce that's put it in today's language vernacular He's lowly.

5:52 God is the God of the lowly. Y'all hear what I'm saying? He comes in in a lowly way, and he comes in with a donkey. And I thought I would even say about a donkey, why not a horse? He uses a donkey. You know why? Because a donkey is considered an unclean animal. Unclean, unclean. And whether you know it or not, you probably missed it. I should have told you at the outset, this donkey represents you. Thank you. Let me let that sink in for a moment. Go ahead, look at your neighbor and say, do I look like a jackass to you? Go ahead and ask her. perhaps not but what you do know is that somebody on your role has been like a donkey because they've been unclean y'all might not want to confess it you might not want to acknowledge it but at some season some portion some elements some times of your life you have said the wrong things, said the wrong things, did the wrong things, hung out with the wrong people, wanted the wrong stuff. But thank God, even though you've been an unclean person, we serve a God who has the capacity to take you and clean you up. Somebody say, he cleaned me up. That's what he wants you to know. He can use you for him to ride on you, to be elevated by you. Even though you have been unclean in your life, he's a God who can clean you up. Somebody high five your neighbor and say he cleaned me up. Go ahead, tell your neighbor. He fixed me up.

7:34 I shouldn't be here. He shouldn't be using me. I shouldn't be an instrument. I should have never been considered. He should have never chose me. But thanks be to God, he chose me in spite of myself, he chose me. In spite of my sin, in spite of my wrong, he picked me up out of my dirty mess and cleaned me up and used to me. Anybody here can, is there anybody here willing to admit that you were jacked the toe up from the floor?

8:08 A donkey was unclean. But it was also to its family, to whoever owned it, considered valuable. It was a mode of transportation. It was a mode of helping people get from one location to another.

8:30 It was valuable. And God wants you to know this donkey represents you. Go ahead, look at your neighbor, say, you a donkey. nobody else might not think you're valuable but God thinks you're valuable to his kingdom you have value to God are y'all I did I did I did I pull out my point too soon that that's my celebration point that you're valuable that you're the donkey I probably should have should have played it out for a little while before I told you that this donkey represents you that God considers you, yeah, you know, you're unclean, you're unvaluable. And the other thing about a donkey is when a family owned a donkey, the donkey learned how to be attached to its owner. Y'all keep on missing these great spots.

9:26 You're attached to whoever owns you. I don't know who owns you. I know who owns me. And I'm attached to him. I need him. I gotta have him. I love him. I'm persuaded by him. I'm convicted by him. I follow him. I obey him. I serve him. Y'all ain't hear what I'm saying today. Somebody say, I'm attached to my owner. But then it says something else that I just need. I'm almost finished. Short message today. Short message. it says right here in the text that it's a let me read it to you it says go into town look at verse 2 it says you will find a donkey tied and a cult with her y'all see that right there um Thank you.

10:28 yeah let me see hold on let me make sure i got this right uh i caught with a year um look slide down to verse verse five verse five tell the daughter of zion verse five tell the daughter of zion behold your king is coming to you lowly and sitting on a donkey a colt the foil of a donkey. Okay, get this. Somebody gonna shout. Somebody gonna shout on this right here, Sylvester. Somebody might jump up and run around the building on this one right here.

11:06 A donkey is not in the family of a horse. It's his own breed. The donkeys are his own breed. But a colt is in the horse family. The cult is a male, a young male. donkey.

11:31 Okay, y'all with me so far? A young male donkey. How come this ain't coming out like it came out at 8 o'clock this morning? It ran so smoothly at 8 o'clock, now I'm struggling. I got to remember what I want to say about this point, but here's the point I'm trying to make, is that I wanted to know what's the significance of a foil of a cult. And here's what I discovered, that the foil is the son or grandson of a colt, of a donkey, of a donkey. The colt is a, what was I just saying right here just now? A child. Yeah, it's a son or a grandson or a child, amen. Here's what I'm, oh, here, yeah, here's what I'm going to say right here. Here's what the good news is.

12:27 God can use the donkey and God can use the hawk. But guess what? God's also going to use the foil. Y'all missed a great spot. Here's what I'm trying to prophesy to somebody here today. That God's going to use your children, your sons and your daughters. What's up, Michelle? How you doing, baby? So glad to see you. somebody said God is going to use your children your sons your daughters God's going to open up doors and take them to places that they never dreamed or imagined God's going to anoint them empower them and use them I've been trying to talk about this because I look at my own life and I look at my own six kids all of them are doing tremendous and significant things my kids my kids my kids my kids my kids have gone places and doing things and achieving things and God's opening up doors and blessing them. I'm coming to prophesy to somebody here today who has lost hope in your children, who think your kids will never become anything or do anything. I'm trying to tell you God has already laid it aside a destiny, the destiny for your children, the destiny for your sons and your daughters, a destiny for them. They might not look like much now, but God has something in store for them.

13:46 Yeah, I got six kids. They all done well. This is my son, Jimmy, right here. Jimmy, Jimmy, Jimmy. Stand up, take a breath. Turn around, let everybody see what you look like. This is Jimmy, Jimmy. Jimmy is the, if he had been the first child, there would be no other children if he had been the first child. Jimmy is the young man growing up that could never take no for an answer. Jimmy is the one who could never do exactly what we asked him to do. Jimmy is the one who never could in the course of growing up take no for an answer. That's Jimmy. That's Jimmy. That's Jimmy. That's Jimmy. And we had to learn how to deal with his persistence.

14:31 We had to try to develop the persistence while we dealt with his rebellion. It's tough sometimes. But that persistence that we've been able to develop has led him to a place where God has opened up doors for him and is using him in significant ways. Somebody say significant ways.

14:52 My wife and I were in Florida this week for this conference. And when we got coming back on American Airlines from the conference, my wife leans over to me in my seat and says, I want to see if we can find Jimmy's movie. My son Jimmy has a movie that they play. You can watch it on American Airlines. yeah yeah yeah if you if you ever get on American Airlines go to the documentary section and look up comeback kid that's the name of comeback kids it's a it's a documentary about Thomas G. Pullen Middle School right up the street here, their basketball team, and look at the credits. It says directed by Jimmy Jenkins. Go here, somebody.

15:52 That's my foil right there. That's my son right there. That's my... Yeah, he's doing great things. Yesterday, or sometime this week, he was traveling to Clinton, South Carolina. Hallelujah!

16:27 Yeah, she's from, that's sedaterous. She's from South Carolina. She's from that area. That's where my parents grew up, in Clinton, South Carolina. And he posted a picture, Clinton, South Carolina. Welcome to Clinton. You know, the welcome sign, welcome to Clinton, South Carolina. He posted it. What you doing in Clinton, man? That's where me and my siblings used to go every summer, down to Clinton. That's where my parents grew up at. Clinton, South Carolina. What are you doing down there, Jimmy? What are you doing down there? You down there where my granddad's house is? He said, oh, I've been hired by the United Way to do a video and a movie down there for Clinton, South Carolina. Y'all ain't got it. Y'all don't hear it.

17:20 The boy got a job. Come on, somebody say it. The boy making money. Come on, somebody help. I'm so proud of him. And I want somebody in here to know that you've lost hope in your child. You've lost hope in your children. You've lost hope in your grandchildren. But I come to make an announcement. God has a destiny for your donkeys. He's got a destiny for your coach. He's got a destiny for your kids and your grandkids. Go ahead, tell somebody, God's got a destiny for my kids. I'm not going to lose hope. Matter of fact, here's what I want to say to y'all. The same anointing that God has put on our life, it's going to drip, drip, drop, drop on you. Amen.

18:17 I want you to have hope in your kids. I want the kids in this church to know right now you have a destiny. You can't do anything about it. No need are you resisting it. No need are you fighting it. We have already prayed for the wrong people to get out of your life that ain't supposed to be there. We've already prayed that the demons that are assigned to you are bound and rebuked, you have a destiny. You've got an anointing, you've got an assignment, you've got a job, you've got a career, you've got a future, you've got a destiny. Well, pastor, when I look at my kids now, and I look at my grandkids, they jacked up, they tore up, they messed up. Let me read a verse to you. Jesus says, look at verse 2.

19:22 Y'all still with me? Y'all still got your Bibles open? go into the village opposite you and immediately you will find a donkey tied and a colt with her. Loose them. That's the first thing I need you to know about them. God's about to loose them. Whatever that's got them bound up, whatever they got strung up in, I'm praying right now that God looses them. Break the chains of drugs. Break the chains of immorality. Break the chains of low self-esteem. lose them. God's going to loose them. God's going to loose them. Where the kids at? Where the kids? Where the children at? Stand up. Where they at? I just want y'all to know y'all about to get loose. Y'all about to get loose. Ain't nothing you can do about it. You can't avoid it.

20:16 You can't escape it. You can't run away from it. You've got a future. You've got a destiny. You have an assignment. You have a gift. You've got a call from God. Lose them. Lose them, Heavenly Father. Lose them from the wrong relationships. Lose them from drugs. Lose them from low self-esteem. Lose them from suicidal thoughts. Lose them in Jesus' name. Thank you. Jesus said, loose them and bring them to me.

20:52 That's why you're here. We're trying to bring you to Jesus. Amen. We're bringing y'all to stop resisting it. Stop fighting it. Just come on and get engaged. Come on. Y'all look at one of them. Y'all look at them. Tell them you're about to be brought. You're about to come here. You're about to be brought to Jesus. Thank you. And you know why? You know why you're about to be loose and brought? Because in verse number three, I'm glad you asked the question. Somebody said, please tell me. If anyone says anything to you, you shall say, the Lord has need of them. God needs you. God's anointing you. God's gifting you.

21:46 He needs you. Hey, go! How you doing? He needs you all. Oh, he needs you. Every hour, he needs you.

22:08 Oh, bless me now, my Savior. We come. to to thee. Come on, somebody say, he needs you. He needs you. He needs you.

22:37 Y'all can sit down. I'm sorry. I might have y'all stand up for the rest of this sermon if I don't tell y'all to sit down there. So I want... I'm closing. I'm finished. It's a short sermon today. This is a short, short sermon today. he needs your kids. For the kingdom to go on, he needs your kids.

23:02 He needs to use them. He needs for them to be the instruments that are going to make a difference for his kingdom. And I'm proud we got young people here sold out for Jesus at the First Baptist Church. Somebody help me thank God for these young kids that are sold out for Jesus. They're reading scriptures. They're singing. They're ushering. That's a word I made up, ushering. They're ushering. They're teachers. They are qualified. We got young people who are altar counselor qualified. They're leading.

23:54 They're in Bible study. Yeah. In a couple weeks, we're going to move our Sunday school with the kids from the building here down to this community life building so we can have more room for our children. And by the way, while I'm on this point, let me just say this. I'm so grateful for these kids being involved. And let me thank the parents because guess what? The kids can't get nowhere if their parents don't drive them to get there. So that helped me thank the Lord for the parents and the grandparents who get their kids to where they need to be so they can become what God wants them to become. Now here's what I think of it.

24:49 When I look at this story in Matthew 21. I thought when I mentioned that God would use the foil of a cult, I thought somebody would run around the building. I thought I was going to have to tell the ushers to block the doors because people were going to be so excited they were going to run. But y'all didn't run.

25:13 It's okay. It's all right. But maybe y'all will run on this one right here. if God could map out a future for a donkey, what might he do for you? Somebody say, if he can use a donkey, he can use me. If he can set aside a destiny for a donkey, he can set aside a future for me. Go ahead, tell your neighbor, I got a future. Go ahead, tell him, I might not be much, might not look like much, but I got a future. Go ahead, tell him, I might not be much, you might not consider me anything at all, but you have a future. Hallelujah. That's the greatest thing you can do is know that God has a future for you.

26:08 I know you messed up. I know you did wrong things. I know you went to the wrong places. I know you hung out about the wrong people, but it's okay. We serve a God that gives you another chance. Jesus Christ died on the cross so you and I could be forgiven of our sins. And when you surrender your life to him and your heart to him, he changes your life.