Sermon for 04/16/06

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Sermon for 04/16/06
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Easter Service
Hope… because you can’t keep a God-man down

Grace to you and peace from God our Father, and our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, AMEN

Main Theme: It’s true: nothing can keep a God-man down, if that God-man is Jesus. Not even death can keep a God-man down! And that gives us hope! On this very morning, Mary discovered a living hope in the risen Christ that demonstrates 1) God can overcome any powers over my past, 2) God will be present with me every day, and 3) God has a future for me – to be with Him for ever! That living hope is like an anchor for the soul, firm and secure!

1) THE MESSAGE! Having finished up a business trip, a man flew to Florida, where he planned to meet his wife for a vacation. Arriving one day ahead of his wife, he decided to write her a quick email. But when he wrote out her email address, he missed a letter and it got sent instead to a grieving elderly widow. Her husband, a preacher, had died only the day before, and when she read the email, she screamed and fell to the floor dead. When her family found her, they had only to look at the monitor to understood why. The message said, “Dearest wife, Just got checked in. Everything prepared for your arrival tomorrow. Your loving husband. PS – Sure is hot down here!”

2) HOPE FROM THE OTHER SIDE OF DEATH! Can you imagine anything more powerful than a message from the other side of death? I want to repeat that question: Can you imagine anything more powerful than a message from the other side of death? Well, guess what: Easter is exactly that and more! No, it’s not an email message,it’s a living message! And it’s not from a man, but from God! And thankfully it’s not from hell, but from heaven. And the message from the other side of death is good news! News sent to give us HOPE! Today on Easter Sunday, we celebrate the fact that the stone that was meant to seal the life and love of God in a tomb has been rolled away, and our hopes are alive in the resurrection of Jesus!

3) DARKNESS! Notice, as the story unfolds this morning, it does not start in the light of day! It was still dark when Mary Magdalene began her journey to Jesus’ tomb. In the dark it’s hard to see, nothing is clear, and the shadows and unknown bring us anxiety and fear. Mary had known a lot of darkness in her life! She was not your typical traditional religious woman. Her world had been filled with harsh and cruel disappointments. They say the powers of darkness had found a place in her soul to reside, and she had a scarlet reputation. Humanity used her, abused her, and dashed whatever hope she had ever had against the rocks of a broken world. Mary, like many of us, began her journey in darkness.

4) AN ANCHOR OF HOPE! Until of course, that one amazing day when she met Jesus! He knew her, but did not hate her for who she was. He added no more shame upon her heavy heart. Instead, he presented her with a new presence, one that proved more powerful than the dark spirits that kept her soul bound in the chains of sin. Jesus saw into her very soul with loving eyes, and cast those evil powers out. He had done something for her that no one else had ever done- gave her hope! For the first time in her memory she had this hope as an anchor for her soul, firm and secure. This “anchor” for her soul gave her divine strength and allowed her to rise each day to face the uncertainties of a broken world without fear. And no one loved Jesus more, the giver and anchor of her hope, than Mary did!

5) NOT AFRAID! Then 3 days ago, that “anchor of hope” appeared to break, and while her love for Jesus remained, she walked alone again in darkness! It was not just the sky that was dark, but her soul. With Jesus dead, there was nothing now to hold onto! The dark was around her, and within her! Who here today does not know what it is like to sense such darkness? And yet, that’s where the Easter story starts – where it’s needed most: in the darkness of life. Easter finds us living in a world that is not always safe or satisfying. Easter finds us in a world where the love of family and friends can fall apart – proving us to be frail and weak. Easter finds us living in a world where people we love leave us far too soon! The Good news… is that Easter is not afraid to enter such a dark world. In fact, the love of God is a deep, deep love that is not afraid to seek us out in the darkness!

6) HE COMES! Friends, if you have ever struggled to see life clearly, or had to walk in fearful anxiety through the darkness, then you can relate to Mary’s condition! But then, into this sad and despairing darkness, truth dawned in a way it had never done before! The voice of Easter penetrated the darkness, as Jesus, fully risen, came to her! The loving presence she thought had departed forever, had returned – more glorious and powerful than ever before! …and what changed Mary’s life forever, can also change ours. To all who have tried to recognize God’s presence through our tears and trials, through our fears and frustrations… Jesus comes! He comes because it true… you can’t keep a God-man down! He comes because He truly WAS the Son of God, and has the power to subdue the darkness. He comes as a living hope for all people! Talk about some Good News!

7) POWERS OVER OUR PAST! So let’s explore this “Good News” that changed Mary’s life… and that changes ours! What does it tell us? First, 1) GOD CAN OVERCOME ANY POWERS OVER MY PAST! If you have any doubts about the reality of non-godly powers taking over control of your life – ask any person in a 12 step program. Addictions are petrifying – because no matter how much you want to change your life, you keep being drawn into the same trap of drinking or gambling or overeating… and it’s hard to admit you have no control! Too many of us here have experienced or are experiencing the effect of various powers over our past!

8) DEMONS! Whatever powers once invaded and possessed Mary’s soul – she was totally imprisoned by them. Luke introduces this to us when he writes in Chapter 8 (verse 2) “…and also some women who had been cured of evil spirits and diseases: Mary (called Magdalene) from whom seven demons had come out;…” Those demons were not named – but perhaps they could have been anger, jealousy, pride, self-hatred, shame, depression, addictions, or a host of other powers that keep us in darkness; fearful and insecure. Whatever her demons were, they became oppressive, controlling, defining who she was! They were powers bigger than her own will power! Her demons ruled over her past.

9) DEMONS THAT DOMINATE! I suspect some of you are presently struggling with your own set of “powers over your past.” Perhaps you were physically, emotionally, or sexually abused as a child – and this demon, or the obsessive desire to forget your past, continues to subconsciously or consciously dominate your life! Or perhaps your demon is a particular haunting sin that you can’t believe could ever be forgiven. But it’s controlling you; tethering you down from becoming the person you long to be. Or worse yet, preventing you from becoming the person GOD longs for you to be. Demons that dominate your life are NOT God’s will!

10) POSSIBLE! Even children know what it means to long to be “something more.” A group of six-year-old kids were asked to write a prayer. Little Arthur stared, fidgeted, and finally wrote: "Dear God, please help me to be the person my dog thinks I am." Another teacher asked her class what each wanted to become when they grew up "President," "a fireman," "a teacher." One by one they answered until it became Billy’s time. The teacher asked, "Billy, what do you want to be when you grow up?" "Possible," Billy responded. "Possible?" asked the teacher. "Yes," Billy said, "my mom is always telling me I’m impossible. When I grow up I want to become POSSIBLE." Mary Magdalene wanted to be “possible”. And Jesus, spoke into her life, with power, and gave her hope! He looked her in the eyes, confronted the powers that bound her, and set her free! Easter declares that can Jesus can do the same for you and me! Set us free! We are given the empowering hope that says we can be “possible!”

11) …THINKS YOU ARE! Sociologists today have put into words a theory (that perhaps humanity has subconsciously known all along), that goes like this: you become what the most important person in your life (wife, father, boss, parent, etc…) thinks you are. If our parents told us we were worthless and a looser – we usually meet that expectation. But if our parents believed we were “possible” – that we were special and gifted and could become whatever God meant us to be – then we are set free from those negative and worldly powers that would keep us down. We become what the most important person in our life thinks we are.

12) HOW WOULD YOUR LIFE CHANGE? Now think about this: How would your life change if you really believed the Bible’s astounding words about God’s love for you? How would your life change if you looked in the mirror and saw what God sees? A miracle! A one-of-a-kind creation – special and treasured by the Father! Worthy of His divine love! Worth dying for on the cross! Christ rose again that you may be set free from the powers over your past! You do not have to be “defined” by failures or bound up by your past! Jesus is the living hope that can set you free! Why? Because “you cannot keep a God-man down!” How would your life change if you believed that God can overcome any power over our past!

13) PRESENT! Next, the Good News that changed Mary’s life… and now changes ours, reveals that 2) GOD WILL BE PRESENT WITH ME… EACH AND EVERY DAY! Let’s face it; the deepest comfort in life is not in “material” comforts but in meaningful companionship. What comforts us most is to know that we’re not alone. The great news of Easter is that God can be present with us…each and every day! Augustine once said, “You ascended before our eyes. We turned to grieve only to find you in our hearts.” Jesus is the only friend who NEVER leaves us – He’s always present - in here! In our hearts!

14) NEVER ALONE! Jesus told us in John 14 (18-20) “I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. Before long the world will not see me anymore, but you will see me. Because I live, you also will live. On that day you will realize that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you.” Then several verse later… (verse 23) “Jesus replied, ‘If anyone loves me he will obey my teaching. My Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him.” Wow! Jesus, residing in us, always with us, always loving us, guiding us, forgiving and cleansing us! Never alone! And this - a gift from the living hope that always comes because “you cannot keep a God-man down!” You will never ever be alone again!

15) DEATH! Friends, does it get any better than this? Actually yes! Because let’s not forget the third part of the Good News that changed Mary life and that changes ours: 3) GOD HAS A FUTURE FOR ME… TO BE WITH HIM FOREVER! This addresses the greatest darkness in our life: death! When Kipling wrote “The Jungle Book”, he introduced us to Mowgli, the man cub. And Mowgli asks the animals what’s the most feared thing in the jungle. He’s told that when two animals meet on a narrow path, one must step aside and let the other pass. The animal that steps aside for no one would then be the most feared. Mowgli wants to know what kind of animal would that be? One tells him it’s an elephant. Another tells him it’s a lion. Finally the wise old owl exclaims, “The most feared thing in the jungle is death. It steps aside for no one.”

16) DEATH STEPS ASIDE FOR NO ONE! It’s true: death appears to step aside for no one! It doesn’t matter how physically strong, financially rich, fantastically popular, or overwhelmingly powerful you are – there will be a day when you will breathe no more! The bible tells us that no one is exempt from death: Hebrews 9 (verse 27) “Just as man is destined to die once, and after that to face judgment.” Or there’s Ecclesiastes 7 (vs. 2) “…for death is the destiny of every man”. Nope; death steps aside for no one!

17) STEP ASIDE! Unless of course, that “one” is the Son of God! Death was not the destiny of Jesus Christ, and since He WAS God in the flesh, death had to step aside for him! Like a coward steps aside for a brave person, death cowered in the presence of the power of Christ! Paul told the Romans (6:9) “For we know that since Christ was raised from the dead, he cannot die again; death no longer has mastery over him.” And as the dawn of Easter comes, we discover that even death cannot keep a God-man down! And if you truly trust in Him, there’s nothing that can keep you down either! Even death! It has to step aside for Christ’s own!

18) POSSUMS! Anyone know much about possums? I was surprised to read this week that possums are actually smart animals. You wouldn’t think so because you hardly ever see one except when it’s dead on the road. That’s why this joke is told: “why did the chicken cross the road? To prove to the possum that it could be done!” But… possums, it turns out, are smarter than we think. Did you know that possums won’t enter a hole if there’s just one set of tracks going into it. They know there’s something in there. But if there are two sets of tracks, the possum will enter and not be afraid.

19) TRACKS LEADING OUT! Likewise, the message of Easter declares that we can enter the grave - we don’t have to fear death - because there are tracks leading out of the tomb. Paul sees where Jesus walked back out, unaffected by death, and declares (1^st Corinthians 15:54-57) “...Death has been swallowed up in victory! Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting? The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ!” This is the message that we need to hear this Easter! Jesus, our living hope, is risen! And the death that cannot keep a God-man down, cannot keep a child of the God-man down either! There are tracks leading out of the tomb!

20) A PLAN! And finally, this Good News that changed Mary life… and that changes ours – it also tells us this: 4) GOD HAS A PLAN FOR MY LIFE NOW! Mary received from the risen Christ, what we have also received – Purpose! Meaning! It’s not about being given a “ticket to heaven”, and then being left behind to “twiddle your thumbs” for decades until the divine train comes! The dawn of Easter gives us the light to see what we are supposed to do today, and every day! It is such a blessing to be a child of God and awake each morning with a plan! When Christ lives in our hearts, He leads us to understand that we have a mission: to grow in God’s Grace. He designed a plan by which you can become more and more Christ-like every day!

21) NEW PURPOSE! The living hope, Jesus Christ, wants to totally transform your heart and your life and give you a new purpose! Which is? 1) To love God, in everything you say and do - which is worship; 2) to love and serve each other, which is ministry; 3) to reach out to the lost, which is sharing your faith, also called evangelism; 4) to welcome and assimilate others into the family of God, which is fellowship; and 5) to biblically teach one another, which is discipleship. This is your new purpose!

22) GOD PROVIDES! Sadly today, our suicide rate is going through the ceiling as people walk in darkness, without hope, and without purpose or meaning. But the despair that causes people to give up, is cast aside because of what God provides! Through the Easter event you discover that God has made you special, designed a plan for your life, and equips you with spiritual gifts and resources to accomplish the life-giving purpose that comes with the hope of Easter! And what is so cool, is that while our mission seems to be challenging and sometimes a bit overwhelming, we discover that it is ONLY through the love, grace, and power of Jesus Christ (residing in our hearts) that we can live according to His will! He provides everything we need!

23) A MESSAGE OF HOPE! Friends, I doubt that any of us have ever gotten an email from a dead relative! The idea may be intriguing, because… it’s hard to imagine anything more powerful than a message from the other side of death! But today we did get one! A message from the other side of death! And it’s good news! No, it’s not an email, it’s a living message! And it’s not from a man, but from God! And thankfully it’s not from hell, but from heaven. And it was sent to give to us hope! That hope rests on the truth that you cannot keep a God-man down! What a great message of hope: Jesus, who died on the cross, has risen again!

24) HE HAS RISEN! And because he has risen, we now know: 1) GOD CAN OVERCOME ANY POWERS OVER YOUR PAST! 2) GOD WILL BE PRESENT WITH YOU… EACH AND EVERY DAY! 3) GOD HAS A FUTURE FOR YOU… TO BE WITH HIM FOREVER! And 4) GOD HAS A PLAN FOR YOUR LIFE NOW! Today, the living hope, Jesus Christ, comes to you as an anchor for your soul, firm and secure. This anchor for your soul provides divine strength and allows you to rise each day to boldly face the uncertainties of a broken world - without fear, and with purpose! You are not alone and never will be! Hope lives within you! Why? Because you cannot keep a God-man down! For He has risen! (He has risen indeed!)

Praise God!

AMEN

Sermon/Confessional Prayer:

Dear Heavenly Father, we confess that sometimes we act and live as people with very little hope. We get discouraged easily, and at times fear the darkness around us. We forget that we are the people of Easter. We forget that you are the living message of hope come to live within us. Forgive us, and set us free from the worldly powers that try to rule over our lives. As the living hope in our hearts free us from being defined by our failures, or ruled by our past. Teach us to die and rise again daily through you!

Lord, forgive us when we feel alone – when we forget you dwell with our very hearts! Forgive us when we fear the future, or the inevitability of our deaths! Help us to believe that not even death can keep us down. And forgive us not filling our day with actions and words according to your divine purpose for our lives. Teach us to worship you daily, minister to one another in love, share the good news, embrace one another in fellowship, and grow in your loving grace through the gift of discipleship!

And now Lord, although you know us better than we know ourselves, listen as we share in a moment of silence, those other parts of our lives that need to be forgiven, washed clean, healed, and recommitted to you! (made anew.)

(Silence)

Lord, we praise you for becoming the living message of hope by which we anchor our lives. Do not let us leave today without first transforming, changing, and empowering us. Teach us to reflect your awesome love and share your life-giving hope with the world! In Jesus Name We Pray. AMEN

Assurance of Forgiveness:

Friends, listen to the good news: The Lord, who died and rose again to bring you the precious gift of hope and new life, …that Lord has mercifully heard your confession and eagerly forgives you all your sins. Go and remember: just as you cannot keep a God-man down - neither can the world keep a child of the God-man down either! As the people of Easter, live a fearless life, filled with hope, and with Christ living in your hearts! AMEN

Opening prayer:

Dear Heavenly Father, we enter this place praising you for the empty tomb! We come celebrating your victory over sin, Satan, and death! And most of all we come to give you thanks for the gift of hope that your sacrificial and unconditional love reflected on the cross! Because you were raised again, we come as people of hope - bringing our brokenness and sins, assured that you will wash them away. Because hope lies in the empty tomb, we bring our wounded hearts and bodies, confident that you can bring us healing and new life! Because of your victory over death, our new gift of hope inspires us to bring our worries, confusion, and indecision to you, assured that you will pour your wisdom down upon us, guiding and directing our paths! On this day, we, who would be lost in darkness, have discovered your great light! Our faith is deeper, and our purpose in life is clearer when embraced in your arms. So open our hearts, minds, and souls to your Holy Spirit, and fill us so much with the precious gift of Easter hope - that we are transformed! …transformed to reflect your love to a broken world. So hear our praise, receive our prayers, and be blessed by our worship – for on this day everything we do is done to bring you glory! In Jesus Name We Pray! AMEN

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