Palm Sunday Contrasts

This is a revelation the Lord gave me during our Gathering on Palm Sunday, 2022. I hope it blesses you as it blessed me!

Message: You know, the Bible is a book of tremendous contrasts, especially since there are two sections: the Old Testament (the Old Covenant) and the New Testament (the New Covenant). What we see in the Old Testament is man trying to be righteous by keeping God's laws and regulations. But in the New Testament, we see God Himself coming and making a way so that we can stop striving and trying to be good in our own strength by miraculously changing us into what He is, and that's the righteousness of God, which gives us the power to do what God does.

It's no accident that we're focusing “The Gathering” today on worship and it's Palm Sunday because there's a tremendous contrast there. In the Old Testament, we see Adam and his wife. They were given just one commandment by The Lord, and they couldn't even keep that. Then we see them taking leaves from a tree and sewing them together to make coverings, garments to cover their nakedness, perhaps imagining that when The Lord showed up, He wouldn't see what they'd done.

But then, in the New Testament, we see the people also taking leaves from a tree, but in this case, they don't sew them together to try to cover themselves, instead, they take them and cast them down. Adam and his wife are such a powerful picture of us before Christ came into our life, trying to cover ourselves to make us look better, look more righteous, more holy, and more correct. But in the New Testament, Jesus made a way so that we don't have to try to cover ourselves anymore. We can take those excuses and cast them down.

I sense what we're celebrating here today is that we have joined throngs of others who have taken their cover-ups and cast them away, throwing them to the ground, so they can be, not under our feet, but under His, as He enters into that place where He fulfills all righteousness for all mankind, for the rest of eternity. The Lord can receive no greater worship than to be welcomed by those of us who willingly took the things we were previously hiding behind and cast them down to make a highway; make a pavement; make a place for his feet to walk as he enters into "Jerusalem," that place of peace. You know, Jerusalem is not supposed to be a physical place today, as much as it is a spiritual place. We’re viewing a great prophetic picture. The word “Jerusalem” means "City of Peace." Jerusalem is supposed to be our hearts, the place where The Prince of Peace enters and permanently dwells.

Prayer: "So, Lord, today we uncover our hearts: all the barriers, all the blockages, all the shields that we've put up to try to guard and protect our hearts, especially the lies and excuses we've used, we cast them down! Now, we welcome You to walk on them and enter in unhindered. Enter into our hearts, Lord, bringing who You are into us and making us your eternal abode. We tried to imitate you under the Old Covenant; we tried to be like you. But Lord, under the New Covenant, you make us like you. You called us and created us to be new creatures, part of a new creation, turning loose of our old DNA that we inherited from Adam and all his mistakes. But now, You made us brand new with a whole new lineage, with You Lord, as our Father; not Adam, and not even Abraham, but You as our Father!

So today, we just say to You, 'Hosanna! Hosanna! Blessed is He who comes to us (There's room today in this inn, Lord); Who comes to us in the Name of the Lord! Hosanna! Welcome, Lord, to this, Your abode!'

And we love You and we thank You and we praise You for a new life; for a new family; for a new existence; for a new destiny; Lord, for our new hope; for a new promise; for a new love! And today, Lord, we receive YOU, and we exalt and praise YOU! Lord, it's so fitting that today, Palm Sunday, we would choose and designate this gathering to focus on worship. We love You and we praise You. Thank You Jesus!"