Pastor Wayne Cordeiro
March 24, 2002 - W0212

The announcement of a kingís arrival is traditionally a grand and majestic affair. Announcements would be made months, if not years in advance, and as the big day drew near everyone would prepareósweeping sidewalks, prettying storefronts and preparing the way of the king. As he approached, trumpeters would run ahead to announcing the arrival of the impressive entourage. The anticipation was enough to drive you wild!

Thatís what Palm Sunday is like. It was the day the announcement went forth proclaiming Jesusí arrival. Of course, the announcement was not very traditionalóJesus came ambling in on a humble donkey without much of an entourage aside from 12 scruffy-looking disciples. Yet He rode in through the gate of Jerusalem, the main entrance. Palm Sunday is our main entrance; our announcement that the King is coming. Letís remember the tremendous importance of this week in the history of our faith: an announcement of Jesusí arrival!

Letís take a look at that great announcement. In it weíll find that God used three things to announce the arrival of Our Savior, Jesus. This week, as we study this exciting announcement, letís ready our hearts to invite loved ones to come and see Jesus this Easter. Pray about extending the most eternal invitation you could ever offer so that they might make the most eternal decision they will ever make!

For the Announcement, God UsedÖ

1.      The Scriptures

ìAnd Jesus, finding a young donkey, sat on it; as it is written, ëFEAR NOT, DAUGHTER OF ZION; BEHOLD, YOUR KING IS COMING, SEATED ON A DONKEYíS COLTíî (John 12:14-15, Zech. 9:90, emphasis added).

The first announcement we receive is in the form of the fine pages of Godís Word. Before the first Palm Sunday ever took place, it had already been written about (in the book of Zechariah) that the king enter the city of Jerusalem mounted upon a donkeyís colt. God had announced this exciting event over 500 years before anything had taken place!

Scripture continues to be one of the ways God announces His presence in your life. Sometimes youíll be seated at service or doing devotions and youíll hear something that reveals His will in an area of your life. Maybe itís in the area of your marriage, raising your children, your attitude or thought life, even things of your past that need cleaning up. Whatever it is, Godís Word is called the ìLiving Wordî and has a lot to do with our lives today. ìAll Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man [or woman] of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good workî (2 Tim. 3:16-17).

Question 1: Have you recognized times when God has announced His entry into your life? Share one of those experiencesóa time when you recognized Godís will for your lifeówith your group.

The first way the Father announced the arrival of the Messiah was through Scripture. He continues to use this powerful source in our lives today. Another way He announces His entry is through aÖ

2.      Testimony of a Changed Life

ìThe great multitude of the Jews learned that He was there; and they cameÖthat they might also see Lazarus, whom He raised from the deadî (John 12:9).

The people had come not only to see Jesus, but to see Lazarus as well. They heard of a changed life. They wanted to see this man whose life was given back to him after it was snuffed out. Thatís a testimonyóa life changed and restored by Jesus.

There will be times when God will announce His entry into your life through a testimony. You hear someone share how Jesus changed him (or her) and gave his (or her) life back to them and youíll be touched. The power of a testimony is that you realize that if God can do that for him or her, He can do that for you. Thatís exactly what happened on Palm Sunday through the testimony of Lazarus.

Question 2: Has someoneís testimony touched you in such a way that drew you closer to God? Share briefly about this personís changed life.

Not only is the entry of the King announced through Living Word but also our changed lives. But what if your friends or relatives donít read the Bible or hear a testimony? Hereís the answer. Another powerful and profound way the announcement of the King was made was through:

3.      Multitudes with Palm Branches

ìOn the next day the great multitude who had come to the feast, when they heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem, took the branches of the palm trees, and went out to meet Him, and began to cry out, ëHosanna! BLESSED IS HE WHO COMES IN THE NAME OF THE LORD, even the King of Israel!íî (John 12:12-13).

The most profound herald announcing the entrance and the presence of the King was the people waving simple palm branches. Why? Because a single palm branch by itself may not get noticed or make a big impression, but the force of 8,000 palm branches certainly did.

If you are a member of our church then you are one of 8,000 New Hope members. We can all wave our palm branches by inviting our friends. We can all be part of the multitude that says, ìHosanna, blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord.î This is the announcement that had the most impact and one we can all be a part of. We are the multitudes. Lives will be impacted and our communitiesófriends and family members, coworkers and fellow studentsóif every single one of us heralds the announcement of Jesus.

The reason we have a strength in numbers is that not everyone is gifted with an evangelist style like Billy Graham ñ where one speaks to many. And not everyone is comfortable sharing their testimony ñ one on one. But we can all proclaim the Kingís arrivalñmany on oneñand ìgang up.î That way someone will be invited by four, five or six different people. And with each invitation, the chances of them finally saying ìYesî increases dramatically. And, can you imagine, that if they say ìYesî to come to Easter service, they may just say ìYesî to Jesus! Letís do it!

So hereís the plan. This week we are going to give you three palm branches to wave. Please use all  three to bring your friends and family to celebrate Easter with us. Here they are:

                         I.      INVITATION CARDS

We passed out invitation cards this Palm Sunday for you to hand to your family and friends. If you need some, please pick some up at our Ministry Center. Itís a quiet way to announce the King. You donít have to say anything but if anyone asks what this is all about, just say, ìYour Father wants to see you.î

What if they refuse your invitation? Yes, that can happen. I remember feeling like a failure when someone rejected my invitation. But God spoke to my heart and reminded me that failure is not when no one responds, failure is when you never give them anything to respond to. ìBut how can people call for help if they donít know who to trust? And how can they know who to trust if they havenít heard of the One who can be trusted? And how can they hear if nobody tells them?î (Ro. 10:14 Message).

Remember that you have the Answer (Jesus). Donít be a person who has a palm branch but just sticks it in your pocket. Our role is not to get them there. Our role is just to wave the palm branch in a way that they will understand. So the first palm branch is extend an invitation card.

Question 3: Recall your own experience about being invited to know Jesus. Was it through an invitation?

Question 4: Imagine what your life would be like if no one took the time to invite you. How would your life be different today?

The first palm branch to wave this week is an invitation card. The second is:

                      II.      INVITATION BY E-MAIL

We must use whatever we have and redeem it, even technology. You can invite people through an invitation e-mail. It utilizes the best flash video technology partnered with an invitation from Pastor Wayne Cordeiro and a preview of the exciting services at Stan Sheriff Sports Arena at the University of Hawaii.

Last year it was sent out to 12,000 people. This year our goal is to reach 20,000 friends and family members. Letís flood the world wide web with something uplifting and God-honoring!

To find our e-mail invitations log on to www.eNewhope.org and there will be a nifty link. Itís really well done so be sure to click on and see it for yourself. Youíll like it so much youíll want to send it out to all your friends and family just to say ìHappy Easter!î

The third palm branch we have to wave throughout this week to announce the coming King is...

                   III.      INVITATION BY ASKING

Itís almost too simple but still so effective: Just ask! How many of Jesusí disciples came because of an invitation? Every single one of them. A statistic from George Barna, a top researcher and Christian commentator, says that 25% of the people he polled said they would come to church if invited. That means one out of every four of our friends would come to church if we simply asked. Just ask!

Invite your own family, your friends, even that neighbor with the loud dog. Donít forget that although itís Spring Break you can still e-mail or call your fellow students or your teacher too. Letís make Palm Sunday what itís supposed to be and herald the announcement of the King as loud and hard as we can. Youíve officially been recruited to be a part of the multitude, now wave those palm branches!

Question 5: Who is God prompting you to invite this Easter? Make a list of three people (better yet, try for five!) you commit to invite this week:

1.      _______________________________

2.      _______________________________

3.      _______________________________

Closing

This week letís unite as a church to bring our loved ones to Jesus. Our pastors have issued a call to all small groups to spend this weekís study on praying for Easter. This is one of two great celebrations in the life of the church (the other is Christmas) and we are so excited for what the Lord is about to do right in our midst.

Join us in praying for the harvest and all who will be coming. Donít forget that you play a vital role in impacting eternity so be sure to invite EVERYONE! And let them know, ìThe King is coming! Our King is coming! The King of Kings is HERE!î