Christians Should Go On Parade!

Christians Should Go On Parade!                        Kelly Durant  11-13-16

Matthew 21:8 And a very great multitude spread their clothes on the road; others cut down branches from the trees and spread them on the road. 9 Then the multitudes who went before and those who followed cried out, saying:

“Hosanna to the Son of David!

‘Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!’[e]

Hosanna in the highest!”

2. Today we will march in a parade! How many churches do you know that march in parades? I can’t name any! So why do we do it? Why does the Salvation Army seek to get involved in parades and why is it a part of our history?

It all began with the idea of the ‘open air’ service! William Booth had it right, he interpreted well what Jesus commanded. Luke 14:23 Then the master said to the servant, ‘Go out into the highways and hedges, and compel them to come in, that my house may be filled. You’ve got to “go” to the streets!

The idea of marching in the streets with bands playing, and preaching on the street corners on a soap box, was to bring the church to the streets. The Salvation Army began as a church marching and preaching in the streets and in most countries this practice still continues! What a great tradition! What a way to bring others to Jesus!

3. When we think of copying Jesus style, we can recall that He preached more in the ‘open air’ setting than in the temples. He taught by the seaside, he taught on the hillsides, and he travelled to reach the people in the streets of all the different towns. He did not expect for people to come to where He planned to stay put, He took the message to the streets!

Jesus was always on the move and He would get a crowd no matter where he went. Sometimes the crowds came due to the miracles, but many times the crowds came because they just wanted to hear Him tell them about the Kingdom of God.

The best way of spreading the gospel is with a crowd of people. So how are we going to get a crowd? Sometime the best way is to just go where the crowds are, like crowds that are already in great numbers such as in parades.

4. When we reflect on the verses of today, Jesus is marching through a crowd gathered in a line in the streets, and it is basically a parade made up of Him and His disciples! He was an extraordinary phenomenon! He was being honored as the Son of David, or the Messiah, and that was a historical event that was for once in all of time!

9 Then the multitudes who went before and those who followed cried out, saying:

“Hosanna to the Son of David!

‘Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!’[e]

Hosanna in the highest!”

The interesting thing was Jesus had enough humility to not be bothered by large crowds, all the crowds during His whole ministry were people who were gathering to witness the power and love of God through Him. We should love crowds because in them are people who will witness the love of God and be touched. Not everyone is touched but quite a few are!

 5. The example Jesus left was that of God’s message getting out to the streets. All religious movements that have followed His example have done so in obedience and in history we see that God’s blessings does come to them.

The churches that have obeyed this method of going to the streets have a record of winning many souls. The Catholic church in the Americas is active in many parades. In Bolivia you can observe that the catholic Church just joined in on the Native Festivals and mixed in the religious statues with the other pagan worship. At least the people could observe and wonder what the man on the cross was all about! The message needs to get out somehow especially with people who never read a Bible.

We can conclude, however, that the dimensioned churches, being the dead and stagnant ones, are those who over confidently expect the people to just come to them. This is arrogance and not God’s way. So how did the disciples do it?

6. Remember the day of Pentecost? The fist disciples with the power of the Holy Spirit did not go out looking for a temple where to preach! They stepped right out of their upper room doors to preach right there in the streets of Jerusalem.

Sharing Jesus has always been about us, the believers, being a spectacle for the world to see. As someone once said, “Set yourself on fire for God and the world will come out to see you burn!” The fire is the passion and the holy Spirit in us shining through our eyes and beaming through our smiles.

A true Christian longs for the precious moments for when they can shine the light of Jesus into the dark cruel world. You need to ask yourself, do I long to be a witness for Jesus? If not, you had better repent because God can’t stand the lukewarm!

7. If any of you are going into the public setting and you are not ready to love on the people, it would be better you stay home. The world has several million too many a Christian that has a frowny face and indifferent eyes! Some whole congregations are lifeless and indifferent like that. I wonder sometimes why some people claim to be Christian when there is little evidence of it on their face, in their witness, or in their deeds of love. Psalm 19:8

The statutes of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart: the commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes.

Some people would rather sit on their couch at home than go out and march in a parade for Jesus but, what a shameful witness! What a lack of love for Jesus and a love for the lost!

Thank God for the Salvation Army and for all Christians who take advantage of every opportunity to be a witness for Jesus, whether it be in a parade, or if it be a witness one on one with a friend. Let’s get out there with our bands playing Christian songs and us smiling and waving! Let’s take the gospel to the streets as Jesus did! The thrill you will get is that of the Holy Spirit power flowing through you! Come experience the love today!