Keion Henderson - Untying The Knot

I want to talk about «Untie the Knot.» You may be seated in the presence of the Lord. Untying the knot. The phrase «tying the knot» is not strange to anyone in the room; it’s associated with marriage, right? Somebody’s getting married, and what are they saying? They’re tying the knot. It comes from about 7,000 years ago in Celtic history, where the man and the woman would be standing at the presumed altar, and the priest or preacher would lay cloth over the hands of the intended and tie it, signifying that what God has put together, let no man put asunder. In other words, if God tied it, then that settles it. Now, if anybody in here is honest, you know it’s a lot easier to tie a knot than it is to untie one. I mean, I know I’ve got some hood people online and in the room who have ever tied your shoe so tight that you had to use your teeth. Come on! I know you want to pretend like you’ve got hygiene and all that, and that’s fine, but has anyone ever had to use your teeth to untie the strings around the waistband of a pair of jogging pants or shorts? Because it doesn’t matter what kind of knot it is— whether it’s a reef knot, a sheet bend knot, or a figure-eight knot— it’s a lot easier to tie them than to release them. They’re easier to make than they are to break. So when I said the name of the sermon was «Untie,» not everybody figured that this was something you could do, but this one has tension. This knot has been stretched by the tension of your experiences and your life. Had we always been pressing toward the mark for the prize of the upward call, it would be easy. But some of us have been pulling back. Some of us have been straying far from God, and the truth is that God is never lost. If there is any distance between you and Him, we created it. The Bible lets us know that God is omnipresent; He is everywhere at the same time. When the Bible says that God is everywhere at the same time, it doesn’t just mean that He’s in Florida and California; it means that He’s in 1947. Now you understand what I’m saying: He’s in 1931 now, but He’s also in 2027 now. He occupies all space and time simultaneously, which means He’s on Earth, but He’s also on Saturn. He’s also on the Moon, and as hot as the sun is, He’s there too. In fact, the S-O-N shines a light brighter than the S-U-N. He’s everywhere at the same time. Now, just oppose that to Matthew 21, the subject matter of our conversation today, which is such a powerful depiction of Christ treated as exquisite art on a canvas. The only time you ever hear anybody talk about the triumphant entry of Jesus into Jerusalem is on Palm Sunday. I guarantee you that a majority of us have never heard this text except for the Sunday before Easter, which starts what we Christians call the Passion Week or the seven days leading to the end of Jesus' ministry. The last seven days on Earth before He ascends to be with the Father. This story that we’re reading today is amazing because it starts out a 33-year journey that begins with Jesus inside His mother but finishes with Jesus beside His Father. All right? It starts in the womb of His mother, but by the time it’s over, He’s sitting at the right hand of the Father. In this text, we see a schizophrenic perspective about Jesus because right now they’re saying «Hosanna! Hosanna in the highest!» Seven days later, they said, «Crucify Him!» Don’t be surprised when the people who used to praise you are the ones that cause your next pain. In fact, you can’t be hurt by somebody who isn’t close, and you can’t be disappointed by somebody whom you did not trust. So, in order for this to work, it has to be inflicted by someone who used to say, «Hosanna.» Jesus is walking up this path on His way to what is called the Via Dolorosa, Golgotha, the place of the skull—Calvary’s rugged cross— the place where He would die on the cross and give His life as a ransom for those of us who are sinners, which is everybody in the room. Because the Bible says all have sinned and come short of the glory of God, but the wages of sin is death. Are you with me today? But the gift of God is eternal life. So, there are three main offices of God: Prophet, Priest, and King. He is the only one that embodies all three. Let me give you an example: Isaiah, who is the one who wrote one of our favorite scriptures, Isaiah 54:17, «No weapon formed against us shall prosper,» is a prophet. This means something spoken ahead of time. Isaiah was the one that prophesied the birth of the Messiah, but he was only a prophet. I don’t say it with any disrespect, but when he died, we did not lose a king; we did not lose a priest; we only lost a prophet. Conversely, Aaron, who was the brother of Moses, was the first person who instituted the priesthood of Israel and became the high priest. He was the only one who could go behind the Holy of Holies without dying. He was, in fact, a high priest, but when he died, we did not lose a prophet; nor did we…