Lemme help you with this on Sunday. He's welcomed into the city as a hero. By Friday, he's dead on a Roman cross. And it all fell apart so fast. But Jesus knew. Jesus knew. He set his face to go to Jerusalem. Jesus knew for over a year there'd been this, this rumbling. There'd been controversy, there'd been conflict with the authorities. They were looking for ways to kill him. They were trying to trap him. They were trying to trick him. And every time they came at him, he hit him with a left. He hit him with a right. He was too smart for him. He was too fast for him. But Jesus knew where this thing was going. He knew he had to go to Jerusalem. He knew that that was the plan. That was the whole point. That was the whole reason he came. He had to go to Jerusalem. He had to die on the cross. He had to be resurrected. That's the whole point. So he knew. He set his face. Even when his closest friends were saying, oh no, no, no, no, no, no. You don't need to go to Jerusalem. We can, we can make this thing happen right here. Jesus knew. He said, get behind me, Satan. You're trying to tempt me. You're trying to get me off track. I gotta go to Jerusalem. I gotta do this. This is the plan. This is the whole reason I came. And so as we enter into this season of Lent, I wanna remind you of a few things. I wanna give you three thoughts as we go into this season of Lent. Here's the first thing. You need to know this. Jesus is on a mission. He's on a mission. He's got a plan. He's got a purpose. He's not just flying by the seat of his pants. He's not just reacting to what's happening. He's moving intentionally. He's moving strategically. He's on a mission. And he invites us to be on mission with him. We get to be a part of what he's doing. That's pretty cool. That's pretty exciting. But here's the thing about being on mission. It requires focus. It requires commitment. It requires sacrifice. It requires us to say no to some things so we can say yes to the right things. It requires us to prioritize what matters most. It requires us to lay aside distractions. It requires us to stay the course even when it's hard. That's what it means to be on a mission. And Jesus is on a mission. And he invites us to be on mission with him. Here's the second thing I want you to see. Jesus is not surprised by what's happening. He's not caught off guard. He's not like, oh my gosh, I didn't see that coming. He knew. He knew the plan. He knew the purpose. He knew what he was walking into. He knew it wasn't gonna be easy. He knew it was gonna be difficult. He knew it was gonna be painful. He knew it was gonna cost him everything. But he wasn't surprised. He wasn't caught off guard. And here's the thing. He doesn't want us to be surprised either. He wants us to know that life is hard. He wants us to know that there's gonna be challenges. He wants us to know that there's gonna be pain. He wants us to know that there's gonna be suffering. But he also wants us to know that he's with us. He wants us to know that he's gonna get us through it. He wants us to know that he's gonna give us the strength we need. He wants us to know that he's gonna give us the hope we need. He's not surprised by what's happening. And he doesn't want us to be either. And then here's the third thing. Jesus is not defeated by what's happening. He's not overwhelmed. He's not discouraged. He's not giving up. He's not throwing in the towel. He's not saying, oh well, I guess that's it. It was a good run while it lasted. No, he's not defeated. He's determined. He's resolute. He's focused. He's committed. He's gonna see this thing through. He's gonna finish the race. He's gonna complete the mission. He's not defeated. And here's the thing. He doesn't want us to be either. He doesn't want us to be overwhelmed. He doesn't want us to be discouraged. He doesn't want us to give up. He wants us to be strong. He wants us to be courageous. He wants us to be faithful. He wants us to keep going. He wants us to finish the race. He wants us to complete the mission. So as we enter into this season of Lent, I want you to remember these three things. Jesus is on a mission. Jesus is not surprised. And Jesus is not defeated. And if we can grab a hold of those three things, I think it'll help us as we walk through this season. I think it'll help us as we prepare our hearts for Easter. I think it'll help us as we reflect on the sacrifice of Jesus. I think it'll help us as we celebrate the resurrection of Jesus. I think it'll help us. So let's remember those three things. Jesus is on a mission. Jesus is not surprised. And Jesus is not defeated. Let's pray. Father, we thank you for this time. We thank you for this opportunity to just stop and reflect. We thank you for the example of Jesus. We thank you for his mission. We thank you for his focus. We thank you for his commitment. We thank you for his sacrifice. We thank you for his resurrection. We thank you for his victory. We thank you for his love. We thank you for his grace. We thank you for his mercy. We thank you for his forgiveness. We thank you for his strength. We thank you for his hope. We thank you for his peace. We thank you for his joy. We thank you for his life. We thank you for everything. We love you. We praise you. We worship you. We adore you. We give you all the glory. We give you all the honor. We give you all the praise. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. I wanna read you a quick little poem as we go. It's called no scars. Men would not turn to God if they had never a need. They seek not a balm for bruises if they never had a wound. Would you be spared from the smiting? Would you be kept from the heat? Then why do you come to the master and ask him to let you sleep? Would you have others share your trouble? Would you have others bear your load? Then walk you down to the garden path with none to lift your load? Would you be built without a hammer? Would you be gold without a fire? Then would you be kept from the battle and not know the strain? So go ahead and thank him for the valleys. Thank him for the thorns. Thank him for the bruises. Thank him for the scars. Cause when I get to heaven, I'm not gonna be ashamed to show him my scars. Cause I'm gonna say, Father, I'm here because of Jesus. I'm here because of the blood of Jesus. I'm here because of the grace of Jesus. I'm here because of the mercy of Jesus. I'm here because of the love of Jesus. I'm here because of the sacrifice of Jesus. I'm here because of the resurrection of Jesus. I'm here because of the victory of Jesus. I'm here because of the strength of Jesus. I'm here because of the hope of Jesus. I'm here because of the peace of Jesus. I'm here because of the joy of Jesus. I'm here because of the life of Jesus. I'm here because of Jesus. And so what I'm telling you now as we head into this season of lead, what I'm telling you now is we head into this season of Lent, what I'm telling you now is I'm telling you now is I'm telling you now is get ready. Get ready. Get ready to do some business with God. Get ready to do some work with God. Get ready for God to do some work in you. Get ready for God to do some things that you never thought possible. Get ready for God to move in your life. Get ready for God to change your life. Get ready for God to transform your life. Get ready for God to give you a new life. Get ready for God to give you a new hope. Get ready for God to give you a new joy. Get ready for God to give you a new peace. Get ready for God to give you a new strength. Get ready for God to give you a new courage. Get ready for God to give you a new faith. Get ready for God to give you a new love. Get ready for God to give you a new life. Get ready. Get ready. Get ready. Cause God's about to do some stuff. And it's gonna be amazing. And it's gonna be powerful. And it's gonna be life changing. And it's gonna be worth it. So get ready. Get ready. Get ready. And I wanna be able to stand with that old man that could stand with me and say the same, no matter what I faced, no matter what challenges in front of me, I can stand with that old man and say, my Jesus has never failed me. He has never done me wrong. That's my king. That's who saved me. That's my Jesus. And so what I'm telling you now as we head into this season of lead, what I'm telling you now is we head into this season of Lent, what I'm telling you now is I'm telling you now is I'm telling you now is get ready.