“He Has Caused Us To Be Born Again”  

          Acts 5:27-29 ²⁷ And when they had brought them, they set them before the council. And the high priest questioned them, ²⁸ saying, “We strictly charged you not to teach in this name, yet here you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching, and you intend to bring this man’s blood upon us.” ²⁹ But Peter and the apostles answered, “We must obey God rather than men.

          Does history repeat it’s self? The world today wants us Christians to keep quiet, don’t pray in public, don’t teach prayer, don’t teach Christianity in the schools, and let’s take out any reference to God from our allegiances to our countries.  Yes, history repeats it’s self because battles are won but the war rages on retrying battle plans of the past.

          Where are you in the war?  Most church going people think they hold the position of being neutral.  The unfortunate truth is in this battle there is no neutral ground, you are either on the winning team or the losing team. So where do we fit in this war and what is the battle plan? 

          From the time after Christ died to the time after Christ disappeared from the grave, Peter and the apostles started out just sitting in the pews. They were all afraid to do anything, and they were confused, because their faith had just been shattered. The one they thought they could count on was painfully killed in front of their very eyes.  Their faith in the one they knew to be the savior of the world became weak as they forgot all the words they had heard from the mouth of the Christ.

          But Christ came back to renew their faith and to build upon it, to help them remember the words He used to prepare them for the next day.

          1 Peter 1:6–7        ⁶In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, ⁷so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.

          Our lives are the test of our faith.  We go through many things in our lives that we put ourselves through and others help put us through as well.  Ultimately it would be the decisions we make that define the test we force ourselves to live if not for Christ. 

          Christ makes the difference in our faith as He did for the apostles that day He appeared to them in the upper room.  Christ appears to us when we study His word, recognize the answers He gives to our prayer, and realize the immensity of His grace, and mercy Christ gave us on the cross.

          1 Peter 1:3–5        ³Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, ⁴to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, ⁵who by God’s power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.

          The apostle’s faith grew that day Christ first appeared after His death on the cross, so much that it was not a question of faith to stand before the leaders of the church and say, “We must obey God rather than men.”  Life on earth is so temporary, where life in the promised salvation is so permanent. The apostles finally figured that out. 

          Obeying men would not lead them to salvation, but obeying God’s gospel would.  Yes, like the apostles when Christ handed out His forgiveness, we were all reborn through the regeneration of the faith Christ brings to us through our baptism, which comes through the Holy Spirit and the very word of God.

          1 Peter 1:8–9        ⁸Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory, ⁹obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls.

          We might not see Jesus Christ in the flesh in this life, but because of the faith that Christ has built in each of us, we will see Him in the flesh in our salvation of eternal life.  We have the word of God, and that word gives us a picture of Christ, and that picture of Christ gives us the love of God through His grace and mercy.

          John 20:30–31 ³⁰Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; ³¹but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name. Amen.

“Fear Not, Stand Firm”

            1 Corinthians 15:1–2a ¹Now I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand, ²and by which you are being saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you

            “Christ Has Risen, He Has Risen Indeed.  Christ Has Risen, He Has Risen Indeed.”  Alleluia, Alleluia, Christ is Risen, 

            Just when you think the worst has happened, and everything you thought you could believe in is ripped away from you, a light shines in your darkness and your darkness is whisked away.

            John 20:1b Mary Magdalene came to the tomb early, while it was still dark,

            Early in the morning while the world was still covered in darkness, Mary Magdalene along with another Mary made her way to the tomb of Jesus.  The possible metaphor “while it was still dark,” might explain the troubled well being of the apostles, as well as the earliness of the day and the time of our risen Lord.  Still, in the dark, may also explain the condition of the world.  Both the world and the apostles were in the dark as they did not yet understand the scriptures they were supposed to know so well.  Was it just another crazy man that was nailed to the cross of a criminal?  Was this man who died in the frenzy of a crowd who shouted “Crucify him,” nothing more than a leader of the opposition that tried to bring down the Sanhedrin?  Or was the beginning of this first Easter day to hold something of proof to who this man really claimed to be, the King of the Jews, the Son of Man, and the Son of God?  Was He really the Christ, the Messiah, the Savior that the scripture foretold of?

            The apostles huddled in fear and confusion, their mood was darkened by the events of the day before, and their hopes were put out like a candle in the rain of Noah’s flood.  Where should they go, what should they do, what does life hold for them now.  Just when everything seemed to be overtaken by the dark, a knock on the door is heard and a voice of familiarity is heard, “They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid him.”  Could this day get any worse?  Apparently not, in fact the Son rises on the break of day and the darkness recedes away.

            Exodus 14:10—15:13 13And Moses said to the people, “Fear not, stand firm, and see the salvation of the Lord, which he will work for you today.

            The people were running for their lives, they knew the Egyptians were in pursuit and gaining on them.  Each adult looked back and wondered why they had ever agreed to this run of folly; was life as a slave to the Egyptians so bad?  What were they thinking?  God left them alone for 400 plus years, and now this Moses claims to be His messenger, and deliverer.  Anxiety was overtaking them, fear for their wives and children’s lives dashed through their minds and they’re all running towards a dead end and nowhere to escape.  And what now, Moses shouts “Fear not, stand firm” is this guy nuts?

             While we are trapped in the dark by our decisions in life; God finds a way to get us through our dilemmas, our crises, and even our bad decisions.  Through prayer and request, faith and belief, God proves who He is and why He sent His Son.  All that we go through in life is taken care of in one occurrence on the cross, and another occurrence outside of the tomb.  Sometimes just reading the words we miss the tree covered by the forest.  Sometimes it takes time and patience, sometimes study and perseverance along with faith and belief and the willingness to listen and to look.  Mary didn’t listen or look until Jesus made Himself known to her when He said her name and got her attention.

            John 20:16 – 18 16Jesus said to her, “Mary.” She turned and said to him in Aramaic, “Rabboni!”   ¹⁷Jesus said to her, “Do not cling to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father; but go to my brothers and say to them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’” ¹⁸Mary Magdalene went and announced to the disciples, “I have seen the Lord”—and that he had said these things to her.

            He calls us by name to get our attention, maybe you do not hear because like Mary you are looking for the Christ in all the wrong places, and you do not listen to His voice, that is, His Holy Scriptures.  He has risen indeed, and calls you to be with Him in all eternity, of the life and relationship He has prepared for us here in His Kingdom on earth and His Kingdom in Heaven as well.  On earth we learn who He is through His Holy Word, and then through the community of Saints, The Church, that is, the Body of Christ He builds His relationship with us so we are all one with Him.

            Christ died for our sins, which is true, He rose to prove who He is, and to show us He succeeds in His plan to give us the gifts of grace, mercy, forgiveness, and everlasting life and relationship with Him our Savior.  This is the love of our God for us and a plan generated by Him to save all whom He loves. Amen.

            “Christ Has Risen, He Has Risen Indeed.  Christ Has Risen, He Has Risen Indeed.”  Alleluia, Alleluia, Christ is Risen, 

 

“CHRIST’S GREATER TRIUMPHANT ENTRY”

        Psalm 118:19–29      

²¹I thank you that you have answered me and have become my salvation.  ²²The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone.  ²³This is the Lord’s doing; it is marvelous in our eyes.  ²⁴This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.  ²⁵Save us, we pray, O Lord! O Lord, we pray, give us success!

          We call it the triumphant entry.  We stand on the side of the road waiting in anticipation for a sight of magnificence and a promise to be spectacular.  As we stand there we feed off the excitement of the crowd around us as they too are looking on in expectation eagerly waiting to see the phenomenon of what we all hope to see.  The people around you are laying their cloaks and others palm branches on the road to create a carpeted entryway for the procession coming their way.  Cheers go out, “Hosanna, Hosanna, Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!”  And then, you see the one who they called “Even the King of Israel.”

          If it were not for need for sensationalism we might actually be able to see reality.  If we didn’t expect to see everything instantaneously we might appreciate the time between the prayer and the answer.  As we stand still on the side of the road the crowd continues to cheer as we look on to what is supposed to be an amazing sight, think about it, we’re about to see the very son of God.  You watch, you stare, and then you wonder because what you see is someone who looks like anyone on the streets of the community you live in, and He is riding not on a great steed of kings, but a simple unadorned donkey.  And you ask, is this our Savior.  He looks so plain and unembellished to be a great King and Savior.  He certainly does not look like someone who can answer prayers or save us from those who threaten us. 

          A day of celebration and everyone cheers for the Savior King, the next day everyone cheered to crucify the very one they laid their cloaks and palm branches down for.  The same crowd that surrounded us the day before shouting Hosanna now shouts crucify Him.  It’s like worshipping God on Sunday praising Him and thanking Him and Monday through Saturday we ignore Him and live contrary to having any kind of relationship with Him.

          We pray “give us success!” and wonder if and when that might happen, and will it happen according to our specifications. 

          Psalm 118:19–29

²⁶Blessèd is he who comes in the name of the Lord!  We bless you from the house of the Lord.  ²⁷The Lord is God, and he has made his light to shine upon us.  Bind the festal sacrifice with cords, up to the horns of the altar!  ²⁸You are my God, and I will give thanks to you; you are my God; I will extol you.  ²⁹Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; for his steadfast love endures forever!

          Wednesday evening Anita and I were privilege to listen to a young girl sing God’s grace is enough.  A sweet innocence in her voice accentuated those words and brought them to light.  Why do I thank the Lord for all that He has done when sometimes it seemed He did not answer my prayers the way I wanted Him to?  God has given us success through His grace and mercy.

          Our prayers are answered through His grace and mercy.  Why are God’s grace and mercy enough?  God’s grace and mercy is God’s love for us that we should have everything that is good in our eternity.  I might suffer the consequences of sin in this life, whether they are my sins or someone else’s.  However, in our eternal relationship with God all things have been made good through our Lord Jesus Christ who paid for the ultimate consequence of our sins.  We look on as what appears to be a simple man riding on a donkey.  Christ also processed in another day so that we may witness a greater triumphant entry.  We might have thought riding on a donkey and not wearing the crown of a king to simple.  Now we see this simple man who processed now carrying a cross adorned with a crown of thorns.  And this entry holds more than the last.  Christ’s greater triumphant entry opens a greater gateway for all of us to follow Jesus through.  For Christ’s suffering and death on the cross He carried in this last procession is the gateway to the Father, everlasting life, and eternal relationship with the God who loves us to life.  Amen.

 

“AND THE WILL OF GOD?”

            Epistle: Romans 8:1–4 ¹There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. ²For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death. ³For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do. By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh, ⁴in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.

            Law is a good thing, without law we would be ruled through bedlam and chaos.  Some might think that if we did not have law we would have complete freedom.  The problem with that thought is answered in our history.  The many civilizations that did not have God’s law, and were indeed bred from chaos still had a form of law.  Each tribal leader throughout our history led through their personal desires.  Now that could be bad or it could be good depending on the tribal leader.  A lot of times life in these chaos ruled times existed somewhere between good and bad, a lot of times it was bad, and sometimes it was very bad.  The strange thing about being ruled by chaos and desires was that it was never completely good.  Even for the tribal leader who ruled by their desires it was never good because there was always another leader in wait for the time they could murder the one in charge and take over the tribe for themselves.  You see, there was always law because God wrote it on our hearts and minds.

            Jeremiah 31:33 ³³ But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the Lord: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they shall be my people.

            Hebrews 8:10  ¹⁰  For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the Lord:  I will put my laws into their minds, and write them on their hearts,  and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.

            Hebrews 10:16  ¹⁶ “This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, declares the Lord:  I will put my laws on their hearts, and write them on their minds,”

            When God is speaking of the flesh He is speaking of not only the sins that involve the flesh He is also speaking of any and all sinful desires.  Sins of the flesh is another way of saying sins of selfish desires.  There are many things in life that we desire and sometimes they might not appear to us as sin.  We can take something that would normally not be sin and turn it to sin through our sinful desires.  Drinking alcohol is not a sin but drinking too much alcohol is.  Being rich is not a sin, but the obsession of being rich is.  Eating is not a sin but when it turns to gluttony then it becomes sin.  Having knowledge is not a sin but thinking we could be equal to God because we have the knowledge of all good and evil is sin.  Having flesh is not sin, and partaking of God’s design of sensuality with your husband or wife is not a sin but taking our sensuality out of what God has designed is sin.  Being God’s creation is not a sin, but going against the design of God’s creation is. 

            Genesis 1:27 ²⁷So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.

            Isaiah 40:7 ⁷The grass withers, the flower fades when the breath of the Lord blows on it; surely the people are grass.

            Matthew 19:4 ⁴He answered, “Have you not read that he who created them from the beginning made them male and female,

            Ephesians 2:10 ¹⁰For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.

            God’s law was made to raise us up to be His people, so therefore the law is good for Jew, Greek, and all nations under the sun.  But we are nothing more than children in that our desires take over our thoughts and we rebel against God’s law.  Now here is the problem, without discerning the consequences of our actions we rebel through mindlessness not considering whether or not what we are about to do is against God’s will for us. We are prisoners of our desires, captive to our flesh, and incarcerated by our sin.

            Epistle: Romans 8:9–11 ⁹You, however, are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if in fact the Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him. ¹⁰But if Christ is in you, although the body is dead because of sin, the Spirit is life because of righteousness. ¹¹If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you.

            Although the body is dead because of sin, we are also reborn of the Spirit through Christ Jesus our appointed Savior from God.  We have the law which helps curtail our sinful nature though not good enough to give us entry into eternal life.  God gives us grace and mercy through His only begotten Son who fulfills the law because we can’t. 

            Now fulfilling the law is really two parts.  The first part of fulfilling the law was to give what the law demands of all sinners and that is the punishment of eternal death.  Christ through His love for the Father and for us chose to suffer this death and defeated Satan and this death forever and ever.

            Revelation 12:7-11 Satan Thrown Down to Earth

⁷ Now war arose in heaven, Michael and his angels fighting against the dragon. And the dragon and his angels fought back, ⁸ but he was defeated, and there was no longer any place for them in heaven. ⁹ And the great dragon was thrown down, that ancient serpent, who is called the devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world—he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him. ¹⁰ And I heard a loud voice in heaven, saying, “Now the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God and the authority of his Christ have come, for the accuser of our brothers has been thrown down, who accuses them day and night before our God. ¹¹ And they have conquered him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, for they loved not their lives even unto death.

            The second part of fulfilling the law is that the law was designed to be followed perfectly and therefore gives all of God’s children eternal life.  But the children cannot follow the law perfectly.  So it is that Christ came and took upon Himself the sins of the world forgiving us our sin that all believers in Christ could have eternal life.

            God through Christ did what the law, weakened by our flesh/desire, could not do.  The law could not complete and fulfill the will of our God.  And, what is the will of God?  His great and awesome will is to give us the gifts of grace, mercy, forgiveness and everlasting love, life and relationship with Him.  Amen.