Psalm 118: 19-29

Mark 11: 1-11

Here He comes!

Introduction
It seems these days, that many people are completely indifferent to those around them. They don’t know, and they don’t care. They don’t know who they are, and they don’t care who they are. 

We can see examples of indifference in our everyday lives. too.  People parking in a disabled space, someone not getting out of a seat in a bus for an infirm person and so on.
Indifference is a bad trait in anybody. It’s a bad attitude. If Scripture teaches us anything at all about life it teaches us that we are to be considerate of the people around us: at home, at work, at play, etc.
Rom. 12:10 "Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Honour one another above yourselves." Often, we are not quick to do that, but we should be. 
Indifference is bad when it is aimed at people. It’s worse when it is aimed at God.
Our text deals with the triumphal entry of Jesus into Jerusalem.  The words "triumphal entry" indicate a good response to Jesus, but it wasn’t always that way.
Most people respond to Christ in one of two ways:  A Casual attitude or a Committed action.  Later on, we’ll have a look at those attitudes.
 

Main Talk 1
CASUAL ATTITUDE
John 6:66 "From this time many of his disciples (followers) turned back and no longer followed him."

Some disciples stopped following Jesus because they didn’t like or want to receive His teaching. It’s easy to have an indifferent or casual attitude when you don’t like what is being taught.

A young minister thrilled his congregation with his first sermon.  But the next Sunday he preached the same message.

And the third Sunday he preached it again. Finally, one of the elders was getting concerned.

He went to the young minister and said, "That’s a great sermon you’ve been preaching, but don’t you have another sermon you could preach?"
The young minister replied, "I’ve got quite a few sermons, and as soon as you do something with the one I’ve been preaching, I’ll preach a new one!" (Brave fellow!)
John 14:23 Jesus said, "If anyone loves me, he will obey my teaching. My Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him."
Folks, a casual attitude isn't the Christian way. It is not condoned in Scripture nor by Jesus.
 

Talk 2

COMMITTED ACTION
Mark 11:2 Jesus said to his disciples, "Go to the village ahead of you, and just as you enter it, you will find a colt tied there….untie it and bring it here…."
Mark 11:4 "They went and found a colt outside in the street…" 
We realize that what Jesus commanded his disciples to do in regard to his triumphal entry was extremely simple, but still, they did what He said. 
It may have seemed a puzzling thing to do but the Disciples obeyed anyway.

Sometimes it’s is the so-called simple stuff that we fail to do. Simple to understand, but difficult to do.
John 13:34 Jesus said, "A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another."
Demonstrating love for one another sounds so simple, but it is sometimes hard to do. Especially, when we think in terms of loving people like Jesus loved them.

An experienced surgeon addressed a question to a young doctor assisting him during an operation.

"Young man," he asked, "Whom do you consider the most important person in this room?"
The young doctor groped for an answer. He thought of responding, "You are, Sir," but he couldn’t believe that his mentor would be that self-serving. Finally, thinking he would sound gracious, the intern replied, "Well, I suspect it would be the nurses who assist you in such an efficient manner." The surgeon shook his head. "No," he said, "The most important individual in this operating room is the patient."
One of the major things that Jesus has been trying to teach us in life is that the patient is most important. That hurting people are most important.    

That we should love them as He loved them. And we should not be casual about it. We should be committed to them with loving actions.
Casual attitude or committed action? Which characterizes your life in relation to Christ?

An adage says that "Church members may be divided into three classes: wishbones, jawbones, and backbones. The wishbones are always wishing and hoping that their church will somehow grow but without their effort. The jawbones talk a lot but do little. And the backbones do the work." 
Casual or committed? Which are you?   Amen.
 

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