Misplaced religious desires

This is a very special time of the year for every Christian.  We are called to remember all that Jesus has done for us that we can walk in forgiveness, love and power.   We worship the living Christ who conquered sin, death, hell and Satan.  I am so thankful for all that Jesus has done for me and His everlasting love.  This next Sunday we celebrate Palm Sunday which is traditionally is the day that Jesus rode a donkey into Jerusalem being praised and worshiped.  This event starts what is now called Passion Week.  Within this story it points out a dynamic that is often still present within the hearts of people.  That is a misplaced religious desire that many people have of God.  First lets review the story of Palm Sunday.  Jesus has been heading for Jerusalem for some time now.  Jesus knew exactly what events were going to take place and in fact He tried to communicate some of that to the disciples but they did not understand it well at all.  This story was prophesied  in Zechariah 9:9 and Psalm 118:26.  Jesus was entering Jerusalem as the King of the Jews.  This is where the story gets interesting in that the people did embrace Jesus as their King but the religious leaders did not accept Jesus as King.  The other aspect of this story is that the people were looking for a king that would remove the bondage of the Roman empire.  Now the religious leaders wanted to be released from that as well but only if they could hold on to their power and Jesus threatened their power among the people.  Jesus came as their spiritual king to deliver them from their sins.  It will not be until Jesus comes the second time that He will also be the political king.  The misplace religious desires is seen on Sunday that there was great worship but when it was seen that Jesus was not going to deliver them from Roman empire that on Friday many from the same crowd was calling for Him to be crucified.  The reason for this is seen in the lack of understanding the scriptures and the purpose of the coming of the Messiah.
Now to the present day application of misplaced religious desires.  There are many clever false teachings on a variety of topics that teach us what we want to hear rather then to teach us a balanced approach to the whole teachings of the scriptures.  When this happens we place our hope in a particular teaching rather then in the God on which that teaching ought to be based.  Lets take a misplaced religious desire  for healing.  I believe that Jesus is our Healer.  I believe there is provision for healing in the atonement of Jesus Christ.  I believe that faith is always involved in the process of healing.  I believe we ought to anoint and pray for the sick.  Saying that we must be careful we are not putting our trust in a method or anointing oil or in a particular person who has been used in the gift of healing in the past or in making any agreements with God to secure a healing.  If my confidence of being healed is any of these things and not in God alone then when God delays or allows something to happen that is not acceptable to us then we get mad at God.  We can easily become like the crowd on the day of Palm Sunday that we are worshiping God and by Friday we are calling Him all kinds of names and want nothing to do with Him.  I have seen this in the area of healing but misplaced religious desires can arise in any area of our spiritual walk.  The cure is to trust Jesus regardless of the outcome.  To have the attitude of the prophet Habakkuk.  "Though the fig tree does not bud and there are no grapes on the vines, though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food, though there are no sheep in the pen and no cattle in the stable, yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will be joyful I God my Savior.  The Sovereign Lord is my strength; he makes my feet like the feet of a deer, he enable me to go on the heights."  Habakkuk 3:17-19
May we keep our eyes on Jesus the author and perfecter of our faith.  May you trust Jesus even when you do not know what to do.

Pastor John