Gail Stathis

Praise God. I had a different word, at 6 o’clock this morning, the Lord changed it. I’ve been really troubled for a season now, about truth and facts. They may not always be the same. There was a woman with an issue of blood, the facts were that she had been bleeding for 12 years that was the fact. She was told it was incurable. She was an outcast. That was a fact. But hen Jesus, the truth maker came. Jesus who is truth, He spoke to the facts that the world saw and He made a statement for all of us, where we live by, and should, ‘I am greater than any fact you see at the moment, because I am always the truth.’
We can have challenging situations that we will see coming our way more and more. The world is just, ‘not nice.’ And as I watch the news as I’m sure you do, I don’t stay on there a lot, but every morning I want to learn what the condition of the world is today, so that I can ask the Lord how to pray for those situations. I am convinced, that the kingdoms of this world, will all fail. I am convinced – it’s what the Bible says. But there is a Kingdom that will be forever and ever and ever. And we must be able to separate the truth from facts.
Did you know that no word from God will ever fail? No word from God ever fails. If He speaks it, it’s true even if the facts say something different. For example, there was a young boy, his name was David, he came up against a giant named Goliath. The facts were that Goliath was an experienced warrior, he was bigger than David, he was more powerful, he’d been fighting a lot longer than David. The facts were that David could not defeat him. But the truth was, while Goliath relied on his strength, David was relying on our great and mighty God.
In the days ahead, we’re going to see a lot of facts. We’ve got to know the truth, to separate what God can do in a situation versus what the world says. Today is Palm Sunday. Maybe you came to church today, and oh, she’s going to or someone is going to preach all the story I hear all the time. I know this story. It’s pretty familiar, so we think we know all about it. So, perhaps you came to church today, with no anticipation, that your mind could be transformed today. That your lives could be changed and you could be made more like Jesus today. But the truth is, wherever Jesus is, there’s a miracle waiting to happen. Something that’s contrary to the facts you see.
I don’t know why we don’t see more healings. But the truth is, Jesus said, ‘I am the healer.’ The facts might be that the people are sick. But we keep speaking the truth to the truth speaker, and at just the right time, even after we have to go through some difficult things, truth will win. The truth of heaven will win. I believe today we need to look at the story, all morning, long I was looking at it asking the Lord, ‘Give me fresh eyes Lord.’ When you open your Bible, in Mark 11, there’s a heading above the story, and it says, ‘Triumphal entry.’ So, that gives you a picture of what you’re going to be reading in Mark 11.
Jesus is coming just a few miles from a little bitty town called, Bethany. It’s the story of His dramatic approach. But after today, and the end of the day, look at Mark 11:11, now this is a little later actually, “Jesus entered Jerusalem, and went into the temple complex. After looking around at everything, since it was already late, He went out to Bethany with the Twelve.” So, He rides into Jerusalem, Hosanna! Palm branches, people had been following Him from Bethany. It’s an amazing day, but it ends very quietly. It’s late, the day was a big day, so, He goes back to Bethany. I was thinking about this crowd that followed Him and that He met through the day. For those of you who preach, we often talk about the crowd and how fickle they were. But I was thinking about that this morning, I don’t want to add anything to the story that’s in the Bible, but we do know that when He was in Bethany, remember, He has healed Lazarus, Lazarus has come out of the grave, he’s been resurrected. People that believed, that had come to see miracles.
So, I wonder, perhaps we see two crowds, on Palm Sunday, because we know that there were some that followed Him from Bethany. These are people that knew Lazarus, knew Martha and Mary and they knew what Jesus had done. But it appears from the Scripture, once He got to Jerusalem, we meet the second crowd, they’re a little different. They’re excited about the day, they’d been influenced by their religion, they’re hoping for a Messiah, He has to come as they defined Him. I wonder if this second crowd is not the same crowd on Thursday night that were also saying “Crucify Him!” Because we know that there will be people around the cross, that have loved Him.
The Lord has called us to keep our eyes on Him. To not take our eyes off of Him, no matter what is going on around us. When we reach for the truth, when we pursue it, we will not be disappointed. But I am concerned that you and me, that we more often talk about the facts that we are living in the moment, rather than stopping and saying, ‘Father, God, what are You saying about this situation.’ I believe that God is calling us to be a people that don’t just want to know or hear facts anymore, but we want to be totally enveloped with the truth.
So, it’s kind of a hard question we have to ask ourselves, because it requires action on our parts. We live in a strange world, because it’s affected by social media today, where we don’t even know what is true facts and what is false facts. And I think that is why the Lord is troubling me more and more, about, the facts are there, you may not know if they are true or false, but the truth of God remains, it is always true, “You’ve got to fix your focus on Me!’ I like to tease Pastor Brian, if you’ve seen his new profile photo on Facebook, I think it’s Facebook, right?  I saw that photo, I said, ‘Who is that person?’ Ah, you too! ‘It’s me, it looks like me!’ I said, ‘No it doesn’t, the cheeks are fatter’. It’s AI, I think you used AI, he did one of those things, photoshopping. It doesn’t look like Brian! But he is saying, ‘It is me.’
So, you know what, I can also make myself look 35 years younger too. All that to say, what we see online today, and what we often hear from one another, has been adjusted by social media, by the news, by the thoughts of others, and that’s why we need the body of Christ, where Christ is the head, speaking truth to us. What is God saying? The facts are what they are, but truth is rapped up in a God, who is able to do the impossible. If He said it, it settles it.
So, Isaiah 55: 11, “So is My Word that goes out from My mouth: It will not return to Me empty,
but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.” Two things in this passage, God’s Word will not return to Him empty or void and number two, it will accomplish what He wants it to accomplish.
Mark 10: 27, “Jesus looked at them and said, ‘With man this is impossible, but not with God; all things are possible with God.’”
John 8: 32, “Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” We live in a world where increasingly divine truth is being rejected. Where the things of this world are made champions as opposed to the things of eternity. The truth is, only truth, only real truth, flows from God Himself. Facts can change. The fact is right now, Mr. Mitsokakis is our prime minister, but that might not be the facts 20 years from now. That’s a fact at the moment, but facts can change. Truth, truth, Hallelujah, is that which is in line with the will, the character and the being of God.
The very nature of God is truth. Now, I know this may seem like a different sermon for you from me, why am I preaching that today? Because, I begin to think about Jesus, riding into Jerusalem. They were waiting for a King, that was the fact. Jesus, when He begins His journey from Bethany, He knows what’s going to happen at the end of the week and He was willing to do it. He was willing to follow that path, because the truth of heaven, was more important than the facts the world was wanting.
Israel wanted a King to defeat the Romans. What do you want today? What do you think you need today to have a better life? To have a life of more joy perhaps, or more money. I don’t know, what would you like today? At the end of your life, will it matter? What will really matter? Jesus knew that His journey to the end of this week, would bring the truth of the only thing that really matters. When everything else fails, the love of God will not.
John 18: 37,38, “You are a king, then!” said Pilate. Jesus answered, “You say that I am a king. In fact, the reason I was born and came into the world is to testify to the truth. Everyone on the side of truth listens to Me. What is truth? retorted Pilate. With this he went out again to the Jews gathered there and said, “I find no basis for a charge against him.” Pilate was looking truth in the face. I don’t know what Pilate’s voice sounded like, maybe He was scoffing, making fun of Jesus, I don’t know, the Bible does not actually describe. But we know he asked this question.
Jesus came into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday, to die, be resurrected and live for truth forever. We live in an age, we live in a time, where many people are thinking and speaking like Pilate. What is truth? Why bother with the truth when I know the facts. Truth is what I make it to be. I hear that a lot. My truth is my truth, your truth is your truth. We live in an age where people don’t want to agree on what truth really is. And that’s why the Lord is calling us this morning to decide if the whole world turns against you, that I have made eternal truth, and my eyes are there, my life is there, I give my all for Him.
Jesus was truth in the flesh. He is supreme above all, and we are being called to live in a place, where none of these things, none of the arguments of the world, they don’t move us, for I know the truth, and He set me free. We are assigned at a most unusual time to be alive. What is marriage? What’s a man and a woman? A most unusual time, and it could be in the days ahead that people will come against you if you say there is only one truth. There are many facts, but there is only one truth. Your truth is not His truth, if it doesn’t agree with heaven, Amen.
Mark 10: 32, “They were on their way up to Jerusalem, with Jesus leading the way, and the disciples were astonished, while those who followed were afraid. Again, He took the Twelve aside and told them what was going to happen to Him.” 2000 years ago they were going up to Jerusalem and I wonder if the disciples were afraid and I’ll tell you why.
Mark 10: 33,34, “We are going up to Jerusalem,” He said, “and the Son of Man will be delivered over to the chief priests and the teachers of the law. They will condemn Him to death and will hand Him over to the Gentiles, who will mock Him and spit on Him, flog Him and kill Him. Three days later He will rise.” Look what Jesus has just told them. In your paper Bible, you will find just a little bit after that, they’ve just heard what’s going to happen to Jesus, and James and John, ‘Hey, when you go to heaven, can I sit on the right or the left.’ It amazes me, Jesus has just told them, ‘I’m going to die, they’re going to destroy my body’, but James and John, ‘Hey, can we have great seats in heaven?’ And Jesus replies, “Whoever wants to be first must be a slave, a servant, of all.” Because Jesus says about Himself in Mark 10: 45, “For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” He is our example.
The truth is, when Jesus came into Jerusalem, this day 2000 years ago, He was coming to serve us with love. The greatest love the world would ever know, I’m going to be honest, if you’re like me, I fail a lot of times at this, but it doesn’t mean I don’t keep trying. For many people, they preach this, it’s just a wonderful sermon, Jesus is coming in, the crowds are happy. But 24 hours later, Jesus is going to clear out the temple. His house is not full of the truth of pouring love of God. It was full of money making for the moment.
We often, try to define Jesus, how we want Him to look. The same Jesus that rode into Jerusalem today, is the same One, 24 hours later that will come in and out of anger clean out His house. But too often we like Him better on the donkey. Too many people want Jesus to be nice and kind, and riding gently into Jerusalem and everybody worshipping Him. But Jesus let His disciples know. ‘This time when we go to Jerusalem, it’s going to be different.’ I imagine the disciples wanted to ride in, you know, they still thought that He was going to come in and overthrow the Roman government. They were looking for that. But Jesus said, ‘You’re not going to go get a horse. I’m not coming in as a triumphal warrior as the world describes. Go get a colt, a little donkey and bring it back to Me.’
He’s going to ride into Jerusalem on a donkey? I don’t like that picture of Jesus, the disciples probably thought. Maybe the one looked at the other one and said, ‘At least it’s a new donkey.’ That’s what it says, it’s never been ridden. We like to define the facts our way. By the way any of you who have been around a farm or ranch, you’re not going to just hop on a donkey and ride one that’s never been ridden before. No, no, no. But see they wanted to figure it out their way, they wanted their facts.
There are just six verses in that Mark 11. It’s very similar instructions here, that He will give to get ready for the Last Supper. Today, ‘Go get me a donkey.’ On Thursday, ‘Go to this house and prepare it.’ I love it. They just went to somebody and said, ‘The truth is Jesus needs your donkey.’ They brought the colt to Jesus; they threw their cloaks on it and He sat on it. It seemed perfectly natural; we’re just doing what Jesus asked.
You see, the truth is you may not always see what Jesus asks. I like to fix everything quickly. I want it fixed. But sometimes the truth is, the Lord is working on a much bigger picture than we realize. When they brought Him that colt, He wasn’t working on the picture of becoming an earthly King. But He was building the picture, that we would know the King of the universe.
I think about that little donkey today. Did you know He is Lord of creation? The winds and the waves obey Him. So, I don’t think He had any difficulty just getting up on that donkey’s back, because that donkey knew He was its creator.
The truth is, today, whatever we go through, whatever facts we hear in the world, even when people say I don’t want your truth, Victor, Cielo, Brian. When people say I don’t want your truth, if we have our minds and hearts fixed on the Lord, then we will know when all of this goes away, we will be living in a Kingdom where the lion lies down with the lamb. We are going into a new heaven and a new earth, but so often we embrace the facts of here and now, and we get hurt and we get discouraged.
But the Lord has created a place for us, where there will be no more crying, no more death, no more sorrow, no more lies, no more murders, no AI, where the truth is, if we just lift our eyes to Jesus, we would have the strength to walk whatever is coming our way, walk with victory, because we know, everything here, this too shall pass. This too shall pass. That’s a truth. He came to Jerusalem today, to win the victory of eternal truth.