R693 What’s Next Pt.1

God has an encouraging word for you and me today through the Bible-based teaching of Dr. Wilton and a message called, What's Next?

Today, Dr. Don Wilton takes us to Luke chapter 19 as we dive into this scripture and understand, in many ways, what's next for us as individuals, as the body of Christ in our world. That's on the way as we study the word together, but we want you to know that we're connecting with you already on our website at www.tewonline.org. Wonderful resources, including a call for courage, that wonderful Michael Anthony book, and Be Salt and Light, a message from Dr. Wilton. Again, join us on our website throughout the week. www.tewonline.org is the place to hear all these resources, watch them on video as well, and sign up for the daily devotion from Dr. Don Wilton.

That's all on our website at www.tewonline.org. Now, today's message with Dr. Don Wilton. I wonder if you've ever asked the question, what's next? The reason I want to be here, my friends, is because the open tomb, the empty tomb, is what my Christian faith is all about.

In fact, I come to know Jesus by believing in my heart that God raised Jesus from the dead. Well, I don't know if you've ever asked the question, what's next, but I think we all ask those questions, don't we? People get married, they say, what's next? I've met men and women who make investments, who open businesses, and they say, what's next? The question that we are asking of ourselves now is, what's next?

I want to tell you something, my friends. It's not about equal giving. It's about equal sacrifice. I don't know that I've ever heard of anything more precious.

There are many things more precious. But that man, who is a member of this church, said, there's one thing I can do, Sam, when will be the most busiest time in the student center? Sam said, probably Sunday. He said, I'll be there the morning after the most busiest time. When our restrooms need the greatest attention, I am going to clean those toilet bowls and those restrooms every Monday.

That's what this man said. I began to pray about Palm Sunday. You know that we're preaching through Hebrews at the moment. I began to ask myself, Lord, do you want me to go back into Hebrews?

I began to feel impressed in my heart. Look to Jesus. You see, my friends, to the Lord Jesus Christ, there was no issue.

The issue had been settled. He is the Son of God. But what Jesus had to do was that he had to settle the question, what's next? I'm going to invite you to turn with me to Luke's gospel in chapter 19. Luke's gospel in chapter 19. I want to read to you what happened next in the life of our Lord Jesus as we look to the cross. Luke chapter 19 and verse 28. After Jesus had said this, he went on ahead going up to Jerusalem as he approached Bethpage and Bethany at the hill called the Mount of Olives.

Just watch me for a moment. If I was to be standing on the Mount of Olives right now facing you, literally the Mount of Olives looks down over the city of Jerusalem. If I was to stand where Jesus was standing, which is the same place where he ascended to go back to be with the Father in heaven, down in the bottom right hand corner would be the Garden of Gethsemane where our Lord would be standing and crying out to the Father which is in heaven saying, Lord, would you remove this cup from me?

Nevertheless, not my will but thine be done. Just beyond that is the Kidron Valley. Remember Jerusalem was not as big as it is today. We look across at the Golden Gate where I believe Jesus will come and will return with those of us who belong to him and that gate will be opened as he marches down the road toward Armageddon and then his thousand year reign upon this earth. And when Jesus stood on the Mount of Olives, he would have looked down over the city of David, the city of Jerusalem. Over on his left toward the middle, he would have seen the courts of Pontius Pilate.

He would have looked over further on his right, he would have seen a hill that had become known as Golgotha or the place of the skull. And Jesus knew that that would be where the Son of Man would lay down his life for those that he loved. And so we find here in Luke chapter 19 in verse 21, 29, as he approached Bethpage and Bethany at the hill called the Mount of Olives, he sent two of his disciples saying to them, go to the village 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. If anyone asks you why are you untying it, tell him the Lord needs it. Those who were sent ahead went and found it just as he had told them.

As they were untying the colt, its owners asked them, excuse me, why are you untying the colt? They replied, the Lord needs it. So they brought it to Jesus.

Through their cloaks on the colt, put Jesus on it. As he went along, people spread their cloaks on the road and 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. I tell you, he replied, if they keep quiet, the stones will cry out. As he approached Jerusalem and saw the city, Jesus wept over it and he said, if you, even you, had only known on this day what would bring you peace, but now it is hidden from your eyes. The days will come upon you when your enemies will build an embankment against you and encircle you and hem you in on every side.

They will dash you to the ground, you and the children without your walls. They will not leave one stone on another because you did not recognize the time of God's coming to you. Consider the Lord Jesus Christ up to this point. In chapter one, he had been born. In Luke chapter two, he had been presented in the temple. In chapter three, the Lord Jesus had been born. In chapter four, he had been tempted. In chapter five, he had called the disciples.

In chapter six, he had taught about love and about fruit. In chapter seven, he had raised the widow's son. In chapter eight, he had calmed the storm. In chapter nine, he had fed the 5,000.

In chapter 10, he had been at the home of his dear friends, Mary and Martha. In chapter 11, he had instructed about how to pray. In chapter 12, he had interpreted the times. In chapter 13, he had wept for Jerusalem. In chapter 14, he had spoken about the cost of being a disciple.

In chapter 15, he had spoken in parables about sheep and coins and sons. In chapter 16, he had affirmed the absolute truth, absolute certainty of life after death. In chapter 17, he had spoken about the coming of the kingdom of God. And in chapter 18, I love this, he had said, suffer the little children to come under me and forbid them not, for such is the kingdom of God. What was next for the Lord Jesus? Let me submit to you, my friends, that he had settled the issue.

There was no question as far as he was concerned. He understood his message and his mission, but he had to, he had to give credence for all of his disciples, for people like you and me in the year 2000, for people like those of us who have just finished the building part, not the financial part, a building together in faith phase one. He was speaking to the hearts of businessmen who had become established in their work and were saying, what do I do next? Well, there were seven steps that Jesus took in the immediate what's next of his wonderful future. And I want to share these with you today. Number one, step number one, he gave clear instructions concerning the future.

Now, friends, I want you to watch this. Here's the Lord Jesus. He had been obedient to the Father. He had been willing to be reduced to a sperm and an egg. He had been willing to be forced down the birth canal of his mother.

He had been willing to be born in a lowly manger bed in Bethlehem. He had been willing to go through all the rigors and demands of approaching puberty. He had been willing to suffer all the mocking and the jeering. He had been willing to be tempted in more points, just as we are yet without sin. He had been willing to grow weary and get on a boat and go to the other side of the lake so that he could find some peace and rest. He had been willing to stand up and calm the sea. He had been willing to walk and talk and teach his disciples. And here he comes to the Mount of Olives, this place that stood as a testimony to Almighty God, the place from where our Savior would return to be with the Father, the same place where the angels would look into the faces of the disciples and say, don't stand gazing up, because the same one who has gone up is going to come back down again in person. He's going to receive you under himself.

What was next? Well, it began by the fact that Jesus gave clear instructions concerning the future. I want you to consider that with me in this passage.

Just think about it. Jesus gathers his disciples and he says, you see that village over there? It was very specific. He said, that village. I want you to go into that village. You're going to find a donkey there. Now, folks, let me just tell you, if you haven't been to the Middle East, donkeys are ad infinitum.

They are everywhere. And Jesus took the pain to even say what kind of donkey. This was a donkey that had never been ridden before. Now, folks, I have no way to know how you decide if a donkey has been ridden before or not.

I don't know. I guess you just get on it. You get on it, you'll become one of the paratroopers of the United States of America.

I mean, you'll be out of there in a heartbeat. Folks, if you haven't been around donkeys, I'm telling you, they can be mean things. Donkeys are mean, they are stubborn, they are strong and they can buck like a mule.

You cannot imagine. Here are these disciples. They are given clear and concise and specific instructions to go into this village. I wonder what the content of their conversation was. They must have muttered to themselves. Folks, after all, what did Jesus actually ask those disciples to do?

Anyone like to venture a guess? You know what he actually asked them to do? You got it. Go and steal a donkey. I didn't say that. Jesus said it. That wasn't their donkey. Now, folks, I have really struggled about this because Jesus gave the disciples instructions to go and steal a donkey. I can just imagine the disciples muttering to each other saying, you know, this is it.

I mean, we've done all kinds of things. Now he wants us to go find a donkey. There are hundreds of donkeys, but he told us it's a specific one. Not only that, it doesn't belong to us.

Do you know why I think Jesus told them to do that? Because he owns everything. Are you listening this morning? He owns the cattle on a thousand hills.

And I believe that when Jesus faced the what's next of his incredible obedience to the Father upon the cross, he demonstrated to us that everything that is out there, everything that has breath, everything that has been created, everything that is made, everything that has form, everything upon this earth belongs to him. Forgive the interruption. We'll be back with the rest of Dr. Wilton's message in just a moment. But Dr. Wilton wants me to remind you, we're here for you. We're connecting 24 hours on both our phone line and website. Our phone number is 866-899-WORD.

We suggest you jot it down. You never know when you might need a 2 a.m. friend. As Dr. Wilton would say, we all need 2 a.m. friends, and we'd be happy to pray with you and for you anytime at 866-899-WORD. That's 866-899-9673. But we're also connecting on our website.

That's T-E-W online dot O-R-G. That's T-E-W online dot O-R-G. You'll find great resources. It's also a place to sign up for the daily devotion from Dr. Wilton. And that same address, T-E-W online dot O-R-G, is Dr. Wilton's email address. He would love to hear from you. He'd love to pray for you. You can write him simply don at T-E-W online dot O-R-G. Again, let us know how God is working in your life and email Dr. Wilton Don, D-O-N, at T-E-W online dot O-R-G. Now back to today's great teaching with Dr. Don Wilton. I had one person come to me some years ago and say to me, Pastor, I just cannot believe that we are expected to give 10% as a tithe to our church, minimally.

It's a minimal mark. I remember looking at him and saying to him, listen, brother, do you believe God owns everything or don't you? I'd rather have 90% that I know is in the hands of God, that is mine, quote unquote, than 100% that is in my hands that is not in the hands of God. Jesus looked upon these disciples. He said, go and get the donkey. And you know, because the Lord Jesus loves us so much, he even gave them away out. He said, now look, somebody is going to say to you, excuse me, why are you stealing my donkey?

You just tell them you're going to give it to the Lord. Now, again, here are the disciples saying, excuse me? I mean, this is invoking poor old Moses in the middle of the desert. Moses goes to God and says to him, you know Pharaoh's a tough man. He's kept our children of Israel in bondage for over 400 years.

He's going to kill me. Who do I say sent me? Well, God did it right back there in the book of Genesis. He said, just go and tell him I am sent you, that's all. The Lord looked with compassion upon his disciples. Folks, there's something here about faith.

There's something here about trust. There's something here about saying, Lord, we don't know what is next, but you're giving us instructions, and when God gives us instructions, they are clear and concise. I believe that over three years ago, God spoke to this congregation about what we were to do when we build together in faith, and we went together to try to do together what we believe God put in our hearts by faith.

We're just beginning to see what is happening. Our job now is to do what God is telling us, and you might say to me, pastor, what's next? What's next is that we listen to what God is saying because he's giving instructions by faith. Number two, number two, he waited while his instructions were being carried out. Now, I love this part here, folks, because the Bible says that when Jesus told them what to do, nothing actually happened excepting the fact that they went to do what God told them to do.

Did you notice that? I don't think that these kind of spiritual pregnant pauses where you're waiting for some birth to happen where there is a great expectation that it's filled with nothingness, but I do believe that the Lord Jesus Christ in his infinite mercy sits upon his throne, and he waits. The reason why he waits, my friends, is because he watches his children as they carry out his instructions. By the way, do you feel sometimes as though you're in limbo? Have you ever felt like, well, you just wait, and there's maybe God's given you instructions, and he's waiting for you to carry them out.

I don't know how many times I meet people who will come and say something like, you know, I just can't seem to get going on this thing. Well, maybe the Lord has spoken to my heart. What I need to be saying to my brothers and sisters in Christ is number one, has God given you instructions?

Number two, have you carried them out? Because if you haven't, God is going to sit there and wait. By the way, is it possible for the Lord to put you and me on hold? Folks, I believe there are churches all over America that have been put on hold. They're in a holding pattern. They filled, the congregation is filled with people who say, we know what God wants, we know what God has said, but we're not willing to do it. God says, that's okay, I'll just put you on hold. Have you met a businessman who says, listen, I've got all of this, I've been able to do all of this, but all of a sudden, I've just hit a holding pattern?

Well, maybe the Lord's just put you on hold because he's waiting. You see, the third step cannot take place until the second step has been fulfilled. Step number three, I love this, he mounted his horse.

Any questions? By the way, if you're trying to figure this out from a theological perspective, is it possible that Jesus could have entered Jerusalem by some other means? Could he have walked? He'd done it many times before. Could he have come in from the opposite direction? He might have preferred to have come from the Sea of Galilee, not from the Mount of Olives.

I mean, to go through the Kidron Valley was quite an experience. But evidently, this was God's means of transportation. This is the way that God was going to work.

These were the instructions. It's not about what somebody else is doing. Or let's look at this church over here and see what works for them.

What God does is that you and I live in a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, and he is speaking to our hearts. He mounted his horse. Here comes that donkey. Now, folks, I don't know what happened there because not a whole lot's been said about that. Brandon, maybe you could come up with a good sermon for our junior high kids.

They will love that. You can entitle your message, What Happened When Jesus Mounted His Donkey? That's a good one. Write it down, brother.

Write it down. I don't know what happened, folks. Remember, this was an untamed donkey. I don't know.

There's nothing said. Would you not have supposed when Jesus got on the back of that donkey that it went and turned into a bucking bronc? I mean, this way and that way, donkeys are stubborn. Folks, I'm telling you, they can put their nose down. I mean, they can just stick their feet right in that ground and say, I'm not going anywhere, and some of you ladies look at me and say, You kidding me? I know that.

I live with one of them. Folks, has it ever occurred to you that here comes this donkey that has never been broken and nobody's ever ridden it, stolen from under the nose of their masters, given an explanation that doesn't make any sense, harnessed by two men who probably had more questions than answers. They come and deliver the donkey to the Lord Jesus Christ.

He gets on it. Well, I've tried to think about that, folks. I'm just going to say to you, it occurred to me, it doesn't matter what kind of donkey or horse or stallion that might have been. If even the winds and the waves would obey his voice, how much a donkey. I don't think that donkey had any choice. I don't even think the donkey could comprehend this.

He couldn't even understand it. But when the Son of God walked up to him, he just simply stood there as Jesus Christ, the one who was bound for the cross mounted the donkey and that donkey walked meek and mild right into the heart of Pontius Pilate. After all, this was our savior who stood on the bow of the boat in the midst of the turmoil and the torment amongst the fearing disciples and held up his hand and he said, peace be still to the extent that even the winds and the waves obeyed his voice. Who is this God whom we serve? Who is this God?

Why are we building together in faith? What is the cross? What is the cross? And so this is Palm Sunday. And so this is Palm Sunday. Yet another holiday. Yet another excuse.

Yet another moment in time that we should pass over with our lofty idealism and our apathetic self contentment. And yet here we find the Lord Jesus Christ standing on the Mount of Olives, mounted on the back of a donkey. Number four. Number four, he expected and accepted their praise. You'll note here in these verses, God begins to speak to our hearts from verse 35 and following.

As he went along, they spread their cloaks. When he came near to the place, the whole crowd of disciples began joyfully to praise God in loud voices. Tell you, I love the praise and worship here at First Baptist Church. We've got three unique worship services. At 8.15, our classic service, and God is just pouring out his Spirit upon us. Again this morning, we had a lady give her life to Christ and a man come and join this church. We have our impact service at 9.35, which is a contemporized service with a praise team. And God is just pouring out his Spirit. This morning, again, we had people joining the church and making professions of faith. And we have this wonderful service, live television broadcast called our celebration service and the sanctuary choir and orchestra. But I'm going to say to you, my beloved friends, if there is any time in the history of First Baptist Church that we need to let our praise and worship rise up like a cacophony of praise and worship into the presence of the Lord Jesus Christ, it is today, it is today, we need to worship God in the beauty of his holiness because he has given us everything that we've got, everything that we've got.

Indeed, it all comes from God. You've been listening to Dr. Don Wilton, our teacher here on The Encouraging Word, as he's been preaching from Luke chapter 19. We'll dive back into this session with more of what's next tomorrow on The Encouraging Word. But right now, as Dr. Wilton has left the pulpit and steps into the studio, I pray you'd open your heart to what he wants to share next. Are you ready to give your heart and life to the Lord Jesus Christ? Why don't you pray this prayer with me right now? Dear God, I know that I'm a sinner and I know that Jesus died for me on the cross. Today, I repent of my sin and by faith, I receive you into my heart. In Jesus' name. My friend, I welcome you today into the family of God.

This is exciting news. If you just prayed along with Dr. Wilton moments ago to give your life to Jesus Christ or rededicate your life to Christ, we would love to celebrate with you, to pray for you, and also help you in the next. Dr. Wilton has wonderful resources he wants you to have absolutely free. If you'll pick up the phone and call us at 866-899-WORD. Again, these resources will help you take the next steps and grow in your faith, grow deeper roots to kind of establish you in your faith and allow your branches to bear even more fruit. All you need to do is call us at 866-899-WORD.

That's 866-899-9673 or meet us on our website at TEWOnline.org. As a matter of fact, while you're there, you'll find great resources like this. No one is born courageous, but everyone hopes to have courage when the time comes. This month, for your gift of $25 or more to the encouraging word, you will receive Be Salt and Light, a powerful two-message series by Dr. Wilton that includes a Christian's response to a nation in crisis and a Christian response to a personal attack. Plus, you will receive A Call for Courage, a soul-stirring book that will help motivate you into action. Both of these ministry resources will help you know why you should respond and how to respond when under attack. Remember, God has not given us the spirit of fear.

You can stand up. Call us at 866-899-WORD. That's 866-899-9673 and request to be salt and light in the bonus book, A Call for Courage today. Thank you for listening, and thank you for supporting the encouraging word. Now is the time to spread the gospel. Tomorrow we'll be back with part two of What's Next with Dr. Don Wilton here on the encouraging word. I also want to say thank you before we go for all of you who have prayerfully and financially been supporting the ministry of the encouraging word. God has wonderful new opportunities for us as the resources are made available to go even further with this biblically based teaching. If you'd like to know more, visit our website at www.tewonline.org and thank you for your prayerful and financial support of the encouraging word.