Sunday Service: 28/03/2021
Title of message: You are valued by God
Scripture: Mark 11:7-9
Delivered by: Pastor Mercy Richardson
“Then they brought the colt to Jesus and threw their clothes on it, and He sat on it. And many spread their clothes on the road, and others cut down leafy branches from the trees and spread them on the road. Then those who went before and those followed cried out, saying: “Hosanna” blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord.”
Today is Palm Sunday, exactly one week before Easter. Today commemorates Jesus’ triumphal entrance into Jerusalem. Our opening scripture tells us that Jesus rode on a donkey to Jerusalem. Why did Jesus chose to ride on a donkey instead of a horse? A horse is majestic, impressive and beautiful, but Jesus chose to be on a donkey. Why? You can look at it from any angle but it’s not very majestic by any standard. In fact donkeys are quite awkward, stubborn, and unintelligent animals. But somehow it was the right choice for Jesus. Why?
I believe Jesus did that to show us that, whatever He touches, He gives worth and dignity. No matter how ordinary, uneducated, unpopular, disabled, disfigured, untalented, or seemingly unimportant a person may be or feel – Jesus Christ values them and has a use for them.
Jesus our Lord uses ordinary people in order to accomplish extraordinary things. Look at His disciples. They were all ordinary people. As far as we know, none of them were of noble birth. None of them were what we might call a genius, or a scholar. We know the occupations of only five out of the twelve. Four were fishermen and one was a tax collector—and a tax collector in those days was a greedy money lender—not a respected government official. And with this group of ordinary men, Jesus Christ turned the world upside down! And Jesus has been using ordinary people ever since and doing mighty things with them. God doesn’t just work with geniuses. God will work with anybody who will give Him their heart.
Jesus has a divine purpose for all of us. We were all created with certain talents and abilities in order to be used by God to live abundant fulfilling lives of dignity and worth. In the eyes of God there is no such thing as an unimportant person.
No matter how the world views us—no matter how we view ourselves, God views us with eyes that see us as the most precious and valuable treasures in this entire universe. With this in mind—there is nothing that God cannot accomplish through any one of our lives!
How we view ourselves should not be a wall between us and God. We shouldn’t run from the purpose he has for us! Never answer God’s calling by saying: “I’m not talented, I’m not good enough, I can’t do anything.” Because the Christ Who made use of an unworthy animal such as a donkey can and will make much greater use of you or me.
Some of us have been told since childbirth that we will amount to nothing, we’ve been looked down on and rejected by people who were supposed to love us. We’ve been marginalized, sidelined, we’ve been told that we are ugly, too fat and other demeaning things. But God said in Jeremiah 31:3
“The Lord has appeared of old to me saying: “Yes, I have loved you with an everlasting love; therefore, with loving kindness I have drawn you.”
God’s love for you is forever. He loves you so much that He gave His life for you. So don’t let the laughter of the world stop you from becoming one of God’s beautiful shining lights! Don’t let anyone make you feel that you are nothing. The Christ Who lifted and made royal use on Palm Sunday of a mere donkey can make much higher use of you or me.
One thing I like about the Christian faith is that no matter who you are in the eyes of the world, no matter how low you may rank on society’s list of important and influential people, no matter the job you hold, no matter the amount of money you have in your wallet, no matter your looks, no matter how people may view you, you are just as important as anyone else as soon as you walk through the doors of the church!
The world may not know our names, but those of us who have accepted Jesus Christ as our Saviour, can dare to believe that our names are written in the Lamb’s Book of Life!
Today is Palm Sunday and the message from God to us is that: “The Lord who gave dignity and fame to a mere donkey will give meaning and honor to ordinary people like us!