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>> This morning, to come and assemble ourselves together, mingle our voices, and to sing praises and glorify thy holy name. We realize, oh God, that you hold the reign of power in thine hand. We realize that thou has revealed ourselves as ever-changing lives of men.

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We pray now, O God, if thou would teach our hearts and let us know that it is a reality in serving a true and a living God. We pray, O God, if thou would guide us over thy great people. We realize sometimes, O God, that we're weak, God Almighty.

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As we come to glorify thy name, we pray if thou would clean the thoughts of our hearts as we come. our minds, O God, by Thy Holy Spirit, deliver us from all insensitivity, from being satisfaction with ourselves, and from failure to see our needs for Thy grace. We call on Thy name.

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We realize that we're weak. Cannot do anything without thy aid. Someday, somehow, somehow, we may come to end of our journey. We pray that thy would be with us

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as we come to our last moment. It's another blessing that we ask in the name of thy father and thy son Jesus. [ Music ]

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♪ Let the song go 'round the earth ♪ ♪ Wherever sunshine shines ♪ ♪ Let the notes be ♪ ♪ Of holy birth ♪

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♪ On the grave road ♪ ♪ In the distant past ♪ ♪ This good life ♪ ♪ Let us all ♪

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♪ Go 'round the earth ♪ ♪ Rejected and ♪ ♪ In the ♪ ♪ Persecuted ♪

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♪ Unprosecuted ♪ ♪ Yet he is ♪ ♪ Lord of the ♪ ♪ On the sky ♪

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(dramatic music) [Music] [Music] [Music]

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[Music] [Music] Let the sun go round the earth, Let the stars shine bright,

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♪ Let the Lord be our holy light ♪ ♪ And grateful that our prayers have died ♪ ♪ Let us all around the earth ♪ ♪ The earth ♪

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♪ And the sun ♪ ♪ Go round the earth ♪ ♪ And the sun ♪ ♪ Go round the earth ♪

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♪ And the song of the free ♪ ♪ And the home of the brave ♪ ♪ Jailor, jailor ♪ [ Music ]

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>> -- in the back of your hemlocks. [ Music ] ♪ Hear ye my word, ye children ♪ ♪ I am thy God ♪

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♪ Blessed are they who walk ♪ ♪ With the word of the Lord ♪ ♪ Amen ♪ The earth is the Lord's, and the fullness they are of, the world, and they that dwell

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within. For he hath founded upon the seas, and established upon the floods. Who shall ascend unto the hills of the Lord? Or who shall stand in his holy place?

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He that hath clean hands and a pure heart, who hath not lifted up his soul unto vanity, nor sown deceitfully. he shall receive the blessing from the Lord and righteousness from God of his salvation. Lift up your heads, O ye gates, and be ye lift up, ye everlasting doors, and the King

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of glory shall come in. Who is this King of glory? The Lord strong and mighty, the Lord mighty in battle. ♪ I will keep thy word in my heart ♪

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♪ J.E. ♪ ♪ Thou be kind, Lord ♪ - Lift up your heads, O ye gates. Even lift them up, ye everlasting doors,

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and the King of Glory shall come in. - Who is this King of Glory? - The Lord of Hosts, he is the King of Glory. - But the hour cometh, and now is,

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when the true worshippers should worship the Father in spirit and in truth, for the Father seeketh such to worship him. - God is a spirit, and they that worship him

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must worship him in spirit and in truth. Surrender three and have the morning of your life. Thy Word is a lamp unto my feet. Thy Word is a lamp unto my feet.

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Thy Word is a lamp unto my feet. And a light unto my path. [choir singing] And now the scripture.

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Please let us note. the 11th chapter of Mark 1 through 11. Let us note this scripture very prayerfully. And when they came nigh to Jerusalem unto Berthephage and Bethany, at the mount of

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of Olive, he sendeth forth two of his disciples, and said unto them, Go ye away unto the village against you. And as soon as ye enter into it, ye shall find a coat tied. Whereon never man set. Loose him and bring him here. I beg your pardon and bring him. That's what it says. And if any man says unto you, why do ye this? Say ye that the Lord saith, the

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Lord has need of him. And straightway he will send him hither. And they went their way and bound the coat tied by the door without any place where two ways met. And they loosed him. And Satan of them that stood there said unto them, "What do ye loose the coat?"

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And they said unto them, even as Jesus had commanded. And they let them go. And they brought the coat to Jesus and casted their garments on him, and he sat upon him. And many spread their garments into the way.

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And others cut down branches of trees and stowed them in the way. And they that went before and they that followed cried, saying, "Hoseana, blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord. Blessed is the kingdom of our father David that cometh in the name of the Lord.

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Hosea in the highest, and Jesus entered into Jerusalem and into the temple. And when he had looked around about upon all things, and now the evening tide was calm, he went out unto Bethany with the 12.

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May God add a blessing to this reading. Let us all say amen. [Silence] May we now turn in our hymnals to hymn number 41 and if you would stand please we will sing the...

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[ Music ] ♪ To God be the glory ♪ ♪ Great things he hath done ♪ ♪ So love me, O world ♪

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♪ That he gave it his Son ♪ ♪ Who leadeth his life ♪ ♪ And art open for sin ♪ ♪ And open the life gate ♪

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♪ That all may go in ♪ ♪ Praise the Lord ♪ ♪ And hear his voice ♪ ♪ Spread your lights, make it on ♪

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♪ Let the people rejoice ♪ ♪ O come to the Father ♪ ♪ And to Jesus the Son ♪ ♪ And give Him the glory ♪

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♪ Great things He hath done ♪ ♪ O perfect redemption ♪ ♪ The purchase of blood ♪ ♪ To every believer ♪

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♪ The promise of God ♪ ♪ The palace of men who truly believes ♪ ♪ That moment from Jesus a pardon receives ♪ ♪ Praise the Lord ♪

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♪ Praise the Lord, let the earth hear his voice ♪ ♪ Praise the Lord ♪ ♪ Praise the Lord, let the people rejoice ♪ ♪ O come to the garden through Jesus the Son ♪

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♪ And give him the glory great things he hath done ♪ ♪ Great things he hath taught us ♪ ♪ Great things he hath borne ♪ ♪ And greater rejoicing through Jesus the Son ♪

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♪ What purer and higher and greater will be ♪ ♪ Oh, wonder or transport when Jesus we see ♪ ♪ Praise the Lord ♪ ♪ Praise the Lord ♪

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♪ And may I hear his voice ♪ ♪ Praise the Lord ♪ ♪ Praise the Lord ♪ ♪ And let the people rejoice ♪

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♪ Oh, come to the Father ♪ ♪ Through Jesus the Son ♪ ♪ Again in the glory ♪ ♪ And gains we have found ♪

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- Thank you, thank you. Let's all say amen. - Amen. - Praise the Lord. Let us pray.

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[Pause] Oh, the pure delight of a single hour that before thy throne I spend when I kneel in prayer

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And with thee, my God, I commune as friend with friend. Draw me nearer. Nearer to the cross where thou hast died. Draw me nearer.

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Nearer to thy precious bleeding side. Let the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart be acceptable in thy sight, O Lord, my strength and my Redeemer.

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Amen. If you listen to the reading of the scripture as selected from the gospel according to St. Mark, you will hear essentially the story of Palm Sunday.

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There are, however, some little nuances to the story that is interpreted by St. Luke. The gospel tradition or the Bible scholars would maintain that St. Mark wrote the earliest, probably wrote in a hurry before he was martyred. St. Matthew wrote, and then St. Luke wrote.

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there is a message in St. Luke's Gospel which I don't hear in any of the others. And I want to select just three verses that are part of this Palm Sunday story to read to you, and then we'll examine these stories, rather examine the story in these three verses and see what meaning, what message, if any, they have for us today.

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The poem "Sunday Store" in St. Luke is in chapter 19 of that gospel. The verses we want to read are verses 35, 41, 42, 43. Verse 35, "And they brought him to Jesus, and they cast their garments upon him, and they set Jesus thereon.

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And as he went, they spread their clothes in the way. And when he was come near, he beheld the city and wept over it, saying, if thou hadst known, even thou at least in this thy day,

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the things which belong unto thy peace, but now they are hid from thy eyes. And this sermon topic subject for those who like those things and choose to remember them

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are hopes unrealized, possibilities unfulfilled. Hopes unrealized, possibilities unfulfilled. There's a very beautiful week, which began, let's say, last Monday, when Jesus called his disciples together

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and say, somewhere up in Galilee, we are going down to Jerusalem. And all of those prophecies that Isaiah and Jeremiah and the other prophets made regarding the Son of Man

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is about to be fulfilled. The Son of Man will be persecuted, spat upon, finally crucified. The disciples forgot that word that brought them on the journey. And the week is a very beautiful one, beginning with the healing of blind Bartimaeus, the

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The healing of the dead person, the telling of the story of the talents, the preaching of a very beautiful sermon in stewardship, and finally this march into Jerusalem. Next week is going to be not a bad week. It's called by some of the gospel writers,

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the week of public rejection, in which he will go to the temple and throw out the folks who are buying and selling, and then they will come to the realization,

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the Jews I mean, that it's better for Jesus to die, than for them to die. But in terms of what we're talking about this week, we wanna look at three things,

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And I want to invite you in a march. You know, we don't like marches and public protests, do we? Not except it's the bicentennial and get the blessings of City Hall.

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And then you get the UT band and get the jazz band from Ebenezer and get the Boy Scouts and everything is fine. But those are the kind of protests that lifts up the guts of human experience

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and points to the radical bestiality of human nature. We don't want to be a part of that, do we? But I wanted to walk along with Jesus. It's a very fascinating contrast that takes place this week.

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These people, for whatever reason, are convinced that he is the Messiah. And one would raise the question, if Jesus knew as much about human nature as he did,

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Why did he let them do to him what they did? As a matter of fact, we might hear from the scripture that he just about instigated it himself. He sent for the donkey.

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And they put the clothes on it. And Luke says, and he rode along. And that's the first thing that we want to talk about because there's a very fascinating

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thing going on here. Here are people throwing palm leaves and branches off the trees on the road, and some take off their clothes and throwing it out there.

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And the Jewish priest said to Jesus, stop them. This is sacrilegious. And Jesus said, I tell you, brothers, if these people would hold their peace,

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the very rocks would cry out. Amen. But having said that, Jesus paid these people no attention. Isn't that fascinating?

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His mind apparently was somewhere else. Have you ever taken the kind of ride like Jesus took in the preparatory years of your life, filled with dreams, high imagination, great hopes,

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lots of anticipation. Your life full of possibilities. Start off in their great dreams for how your life is going to affect and change the world.

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What kind of kids you're going to have. How you're going to raise them. What kind of job you want. How are the world going to be different because you are here?

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Your life is going to make a difference. Remember that day some 30 years before when a few old people who had come to the end of their way looked at that little baby and said,

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this boy is born for the fall and for the rise of men in Israel. How do you feel when one of the members of your congregation a young couple bring a baby in, and you know in your guts

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you have failed to bring in the kind of world that you hoped for when you were young. And you say to the youngsters, you must increase, but I must decrease.

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Maybe you'll have a better chance than I had. What was going on in the mind of Jesus as he rode on that donkey? And as you could look about them and see in Mark's gospel,

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somebody is asking, sorry, Matthew's gospel, who is this? And you could imagine people like Bartimaeus says, this is he who can make the blind see. And there are those who would say,

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this is he who has the possibilities of raising the dead, making the lame to walk, giving hope to the hopeless. and they're dancing around the man,

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and they are grateful for what he's doing, but Jesus Christ can see the hearts. And he's raising the question, is it really worth it? Is it really worth it?

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There's Peter up front, lining the folks up. Let's move on down to Jerusalem, everybody. Okay, one, two, three, start the band, start the choir, sing the song, Hosanna.

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Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. And 48 hours later, he'll say, I don't know the man. John, who probably he loved Jesus so much, led the bridle on the young colt on which nobody ever sat,

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made sure that the country boy wouldn't fall off. Hold on, good Jesus. I'll help protect you, Jesus. He ran up leaving his clothes naked.

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And he wrote along. Are you writing along? Are you retrospecting over your life? See all the hopes that you had for your existence

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and your being, the honors and the accolades that have come to you in your time. And yet, all of that, as a hymn said some places, just like dried up leaves, because you know deep inside you have not achieved what you

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should have achieved. How deep is your commitment to the Lord Jesus Christ? Looking back over your life, how deep has been your commitment? If I should ask the question, how many of you have been blessed by God?

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Oh, I don't know. hands would go up. And we'd even go so far as to say, "I admit, Brother Grant, I've been unworthy of all the good things that God has done to me."

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It's not because I've been so good, but, "Oh, how I love Jesus! He first loved me and blessed me, but what have we given in return? So very little." So he rode along, thinking,

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Rode along speculating, rode along evaluating, rode along asking, what's up front for me, will it make a difference? Because beyond the singing you see, and beyond the shouting you see, And beyond the celebration you see lies feeble hearts,

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wavering minds, fickle, fickle, fickle, fickle wheels that are blown by every wind of doctrine. Change, change, change. But he wrote along, ride on, Jesus.

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Not because of what man can do. Ride on, Jesus, in spite of what man is going to do to you. Ride on, Jesus, because you're God. Ride on, Jesus, God in the flesh.

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Come in spite of man. Come in spite of rejection. Come in spite of hatred. Come in spite of violence.

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Come in spite of jealousy. Come in spite of pride. Ride on, Jesus. Ride into our lives, Jesus.

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Take over, Jesus. We can't guarantee we're going to own you, Jesus. We can't guarantee we're going to stand up, Jesus, but ride on anyhow.

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And maybe there'll be a witness. I don't know. And then it came along. Verse 41 says, "And he saw the city."

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Oh, my Lord, I wish you could get into that verse. Jesus saw the city. Can you imagine riding over Olivet, getting to the top of the mountain,

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and seeing the whole city out there before you? Jerusalem set on a hill. And the psalm of a saint would say, I will lift up mine eyes onto the hills,

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from whence cometh my help. On the outside, it seemed so beautiful, flashing whitewash in the sun, bright-colored apparel, of the priests on the upper crust, but beneath the surface, madness, insanity, greed, lust, murder.

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Jerusalem? Jerusalem or Austin? Austin? Austin or Ebenezer? Ebenezer? Ebenezer or the steward board, or the choir, or the deacon board, or the trustees, or the members in the pew, these people

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draw near to me with their lips. But their hearts are far from me, sayeth the scripture. They're put on a good show, well-dressed on the outside, but they've never committed themselves.

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You will not come to me, saith Jesus, that you can have life. life. Politicians, can they save a world? Can they save a country? Can they save a county? Can they save a person? You know the answer is no. Politicians play the game of politics, The game of self-interest.

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The game of you owe me a favor, I owe you a favor. The game of one hand wash the other. The game of expediency. The game of public honoring.

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The game of wanting to be respected and elevated. Wanting to be glorified. Politics can't save us. in the city, politics in the church, politics in the race, Jesus saw the city and cried

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over it. Cried not for the outside show, but for the inner reality. Because at the very heart of the nation, at the very heart of the city, at the very heart of people, there's faithlessness and hopelessness and all the things that make for the calamities

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that are coming on our world. And so he wept. The next point that I really like so much, that Luke is the only one that captures, neither Matthew, Mark, or John considers it. Even amidst his tears, Jesus will say, "You didn't recognize me when I came. You didn't recognize the wonderful things

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that done you, or done among you. But if even right this minute, if even today, day you would recognize there'd be hope for you. Isn't that a great word? It's never too late in your old age to come on in. It's never too late Jerusalem, after two or three or four years from now, maybe too late. In the case of Jerusalem it was

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too late, but in the case of Austin and in the case of Ebenezer and in the case of my life and in the case of your life it's not too late. The past doesn't matter. The letting of blood doesn't matter. The lying doesn't matter. The cheating doesn't matter. The hatred doesn't matter. But come together right now. You still

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got a chance says Luke. Inspire yourself. If you open up yourself, Christ can you can come right in and do his thing and your life can be transformed. If you're willing,

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are you willing? Nobody says Paul. knows what they can be. What they can become. Unto the lord touches

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eyes have not seen, neither have ears heard, neither has it entered the heart of any person to understand the good things that God has in store for those who love him. That's a hard word, good things, because somebody says that the blood of the Saints is the fertilizer of the Christian Church and during World

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War II, one of the great martyrs said, "When Jesus Christ calls somebody, he bids that person come and die." But we have learned in our own experience that those of us who have opted for life found death anyway, didn't we?

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Didn't we? We'll take just a little bit of religion, just enough to guarantee the material things, but we won't give nothing back. And as the years have sped along, who lost?

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Who pray and have no feeling in their prayers? Who come to church but can't feel the reality of God? who look back over their lives and see hopes unrealized and dreams unfulfilled.

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Hear the words of that wonderful prophet of the black community, James Weldon Johnson, tracing the years of the history of the black community and finally rising in crescendo and saying,

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God of our weary years, God of our silent tears, Thou who hast brought us thus far on the way, Thou who hast by Thy might led us into the light, keep us forever in the path, we pray.

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Lest our feet stray from the places, O God, where we met Thee. Lest our hearts, drunk with the wine of the world, we forget Thee.

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Have you ever known a moment when God was absent from your life, just a moment? Yes, you have. And some of us were glad, because at that first moment,

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when we feel that God was looking, oh, the ecstasy of the freedom, oh, the sense of joy. I can do my thing. I can live my life the way I want.

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I can eat any apple of any tree in anybody's garden. Isn't that the story of Adam? Isn't that where it all started? Isn't that so in your life?

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And for a while you skated along so wonderfully, gloriously free, pridefully free, happily free. And then you realize before too late, or maybe after too late, I wandered far away from God.

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The path of sin so long I've tried. I'm tired of sin. I'm weary, Lord. But do you want to come home?

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Do you really want to come home? Do you really want to get back where, as in Matthew's gospel, Jesus said, I want to gather you under my wings like a hen gather her chicks.

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As Isaiah puts it, underneath are the everlasting arms. And I'm kept up and supported by the hands of God. The good things that God promised. Yes, it means you have to say goodbye to the world.

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Yes, it means you have to turn your back on the world. Yes, it means that the things that used to satisfy you don't satisfy anymore. Yes, it means you have to change your friends.

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Yes, it means you have to change your values. Yes, it means you have to change your lifestyle. Yes, it means you have to give up death, but you find life and peace and love.

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and love and joy. And Jesus himself said, oh, in the world, I know you'll have tribulation. Who likes a Christian anyway?

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If you're very much loved, watch it. Who really likes a Christian who stands for principles? Who really like a Christian who worships publicly and praises God wherever he goes?

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Who likes a Christian who speak the truth whenever it needs to be spoken? Who likes a Christian who'll stand alone like the fool on the hill, sees the sun going down

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and the eyes in his head, sees the world spinning? Who likes a Christian? But if you come to the Lord, all your dreams can be fulfilled.

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If you come to the Lord, all your potentials can be realized. It's an old song in the church that I think the Hawkins singers made so famous.

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Oh, happy day that fixed my choice on thee, my savior and my God. Well, may my glowing heart rejoice until its rapture is all abroad.

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'Tis done, 'tis done, 'tis done. The great transaction is done. I am my Lord's and he is mine. He drew me and I followed on, charmed to confess his love

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divine. Happy day, happy day, happy day that washed my sins away. It's not too late, brothers. It's not too late, sisters.

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It's not too late, Hector Grant. It's not too late, trustees. It's not too late, deacons. It's not too late, choir.

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It's not too late, young people, to open up, swing wide the doors. Let Jesus ride in. Let him come into your heart.

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Let him change your life. And the world will see the difference. And you'll know the difference. And you'll walk right, even if you walk alone.

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But you won't be alone, because God will be with you. And he said, I'll be with you even forevermore. How many of you hopes have been realized in your life? Mighty few, I think.

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Your successes have been a few. Some have sat back on their successes, not realizing how much more they can accomplish. What about your possibilities for becoming,

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for changing the quality of life in your home, in your family, for changing the quality of life in your community of which you're a part, for setting an example for the young folks who grow up to respect a new generation

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of Christians who will protect them and stand by them. You can't do it alone. The opposition is too great. Your passions are too strong.

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Your emotions take over your body too many times. The greed for material things can't be too strong. The greed for love, the greed for pride, to be respected, to be accepted in the community,

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to have people say good things about you, These are not enough. What we need is a revolution. What we need is a conversion.

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And on Palm Sunday, as Jesus rides through Ebenezer, as he rides through Austin, as he rides through the North American continent, as he rides through the world, he's still saying, behold, I stand at the door and knock.

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Will you open to him? Will you come in? Are you ready for a change? Do you want to live?

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Do you want the rest of your life to be glorious? If you can, turn to the Lord, and the miracle will happen. You will be a new person. You will be a child of God.

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And the creator of the world himself will be your father and your God. As the choir sings, we're going to give you an invitation. You may have been a member of this church for 50 years,

00:46:02.380 - 00:46:13.520

but feel a change and want to publicly witness to it. You may be a young person who never gave your heart to the Lord, but you want to say publicly, something happened, I'm touched,

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I want to turn around and serve Jesus. You may be a visitor this morning who has never really confessed Christ openly. If you feel the word stirring in your heart,

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if you feel the voice of Jesus saying, if you let this hour pass, you may not have another chance, Come on this morning, let's pray for you. Let's talk it over and let God come alive in your life.

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Won't you do that now? Won't you do that now? If there is one, won't you come and join us? If there's one, come and join us.

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If you want to publicly confess and let the lord help you. I know he will. Is there one this morning?

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♪ On a hill far away ♪ ♪ Stood an old rugged cross ♪ ♪ The emblem of suffering and shame ♪ ♪ Of grief and shame ♪

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♪ And I love that old cross ♪ ♪ Where the dearest and best ♪ ♪ For a well of lost sinners was made ♪ ♪ So I'll cherish thee all again ♪

00:48:35.720 - 00:49:09.040

♪ Oh, it will be ♪ ♪ Till my throne is at last my lay down ♪ ♪ I will cling to the old bouquet ♪ ♪ For I am the queen of the world ♪

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♪ The day our rocket was ♪ ♪ On its way to someday ♪ ♪ Homeward bound ♪ ♪ Oh, that old ♪

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♪ The rugged cross ♪ ♪ So despised ♪ ♪ By the world ♪ ♪ Has a wondrous ♪

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♪ Attraction ♪ ♪ For me ♪ ♪ ♪ Lord, the dear Lamb of God ♪

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♪ Let His glory abound ♪ ♪ To bear His own glory ♪ ♪ To no calorie ♪ ♪ So I'll cherish thee all again ♪

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♪ All years ♪ ♪ Till my troth is at last I lay down ♪ ♪ I will cling to thee, O God ♪ ♪ Give all I am ♪

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♪ And it's changed its own name ♪ ♪ All the world ♪ - Amen. Lord bless you and keep you.

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Please be guided by the announcements, especially the one that requests that you return at 7 p.m. for the recital by the choir. And now the blessings of God the Father Almighty, the Son and the Holy Spirit be with you and

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abide with you now and forever. Amen. [ Music ] [ Silence ]

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[ Silence ]