SERMON INTRODUCTION – “A GREAT CLOUD OF WITNESSES”

So I was fertilizing my lawn a couple of weeks ago, using a rotary spreader, and when I reached the other side of the lawn, I turned around only to realize I could not see where I had been.  You are instructed to slightly overlap swaths to assure uniform coverage; otherwise you will end up with a striped lawn like I had the last time I fertilized my lawn.  Learning from my past mistake, this time I placed a marker where I ended on one side and proceeded to cross back to the other side, where I placed another marker.  I am hoping by navigating by these markers I will have a nice even green lawn.  Is this not a fact of life?  Navigating into the future is much more difficult and stressful when you can’t see or forget where you have been.  You might feel disoriented and at some point you may stop and ask yourself, how did I get here?  What direction am I heading?  Am I heading in the right direction?  In Scripture we read how God time and time again exhorted His people to look back, to remember how they got where they were, to remember how He kept His promises and to remember those who went before them who remained faithful to His call.  I believe recently you celebrated communion.  This is an act of remembrance our Lord Jesus commanded us to partake in as a reminder of His sacrifice for the atoning of our sins.  So it is not only good and helpful that we remember, it is commanded throughout all of Scripture.

ALDERSGATE DAY

Methodists take this Sunday in May to remember the founder of Methodism, John Wesley.  It was on May 24, 1738,  that he experienced assurance of his salvation.  Wesley had reluctantly attended a group meeting that evening on Aldersgate Street in London.  As he heard a reading from Martin Luther's Preface to the Epistle to the Romans, he felt his "heart strangely warmed."   Listen to what Wesley wrote in his journal

"while he was describing the change which God works in the heart through faith in Christ, I felt my heart strangely warmed. I felt I did trust in Christ, Christ alone for salvation; and an assurance was given me that He had taken away my sins, even mine, and saved me from the law of sin and death."

Long before this life changing experience, Wesley had been known for his methodical spiritual discipline.  He prayed, he fasted, he gave food to the poor, cared for the sick and even started a school in which he, with the help of a few other seminary classmates, paid the teacher’s salary out of his own pocket.  He was an ordained Anglican priest as was his father.  He sailed across the ocean to the new world on a mission trip.  But despite all his work, the peace and love of God eluded him.  It was upon his return to England that he received consolation from a friend

named Peter Bohler.  It was this friend that invited him to attend that infamous group meeting on Aldersgate Street.  

THE ROMAN ROAD TO GOOD NEWS

What was it about the message he heard that night that was so liberating you might ask?  John, along with his brother Charles Wesley were raised in a family of 19 children.  Their mother and father were responsible for their early instruction and it was here where he developed his methodical approach to discipleship.  Obedience to God’s law was essential to his salvation.  This was the message he learned and reinforced at church and later in his seminary training, but yet he could not feel God’s love.  He was tormented with the question, how good is good enough.  If he were to die in the tempests of a raging storm, such as he experienced in his crossing of the Atlantic, would he be saved from eternal separation from God?  No peace, no security…..but then he heard these words from Epistle of Romans:

“for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” –Rms 3:23

“For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” –Rms 6:23

“if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved.”  Rms 10:9,10

“13 For “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”  Rms. 10:13

His understanding of these passages revolutionized his preaching.  The Good News that salvation comes by faith in Christ alone, became the focal point of his preaching.  He preached with so much enthusiasm he was removed from the pulpits of the Anglican Church where services were to be conducted with order and with reverence.  So he preached the word outdoors in the open for which many, who could not afford the pew rental fees or for clothes of the correct attire for church attendance, enthusiastically received.  Thousands upon thousands were being converted.  John Wesley used his methodical approach to spiritual discipline to shepherd the new converts.  He trained lay preachers to go out and spread the word on horseback and to organize flocks over which they were to disciple.   Wesley would later send trained men to the new world to do the same.  Methodism played a great part in the development of our nation.  Other nations had tried forms of democracy, but nowhere did it flourish and have the success as it did in America.  A political thinker and historian, Alexis Tocqueville, from France was sent to America to discover the secret formula.  This was his conclusion.  He wrote:

“America is great because America is good.”  

“Not until I went into the churches of America and heard her pulpits aflame with righteousness did I understand the secret of her genius and power.  America is good and if it ever ceases to be good she will cease to be great.”

APPLICATION

So what are the markers we see as we look back to our founder this day?  Do you see the church heading in the right direction?  Are we on the right course?  Are you heading in the right direction? I see three markers:

1. If we want to experience the peace and love of God, we must confess with our mouths and believe in our hearts Jesus paid the debt of our sins and it is a gift of God.  Have you asked for and received this gift?  
2. Our acceptance of God is not based on our service.  We were created to serve others but His love is unconditional.  We show our love toward him and demonstrate our faith by serving others.
3. We should be deliberate in our spiritual growth and help disciple others.

John Wesley’s message and his work can be summed up in these verses from Paul’s letter to the Ephesians:

8 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, 9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast. 10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them. –Ephesians 2:8-10

A GREAT CLOUD OF WITNESSES (Conclusion)

Now, having shared the realism of God’s grace, I must also share with you God’s truth.  Having the peace of God does not guarantee you a life without conflict or turmoil.  In fact, the apostle Peter warns us that we can expect trials and persecution.  However, we can endure or overcome them with confidence when we look back on the faith of those who went before us.  In Hebrews chapter 11 we are given quite of list of heroes of faith.  And in chapter 12 we are encouraged to run the race that is set before us because we are told we are surrounded by a great cloud of witnesses.  That word “cloud” is the Greek word, nephos, which carries the meaning of the highest bleacher seats in a stadium; the cloud seats.  Imagine yourself on the field in Ohio Stadium.  You are surrounded by a 100,000 cheering fans.  All eyes are on you. The fight of faith is on! But if you’ll look up into the bleachers of Heaven for just a moment, you’ll see that they are stacked all the way to the “clouds” with people just like you!

Sermon Title:Today, If You Hear
His Voice

Sermon Text: Psalm 95,
Hebrews 3:12-15

INTRODUCTION TO MESSAGE

I don't know about you, but I enjoy the summertime. The warmer weather brings with it a flurry of outdoor activities; picnics, fireworks, county fairs and speaking of which, how about the food? It is also the time of year we enjoy fresh strawberries, watermelon, black berries, sweet corn and of course, ice cream, lots and lots of ice cream. 

Summer often affords time to get away from our mundane daily routines and go on vacation to explore new territory or to revisit some of our favorite destinations for a time of recreation or leisure. For me, I like to go to the Lake. Where I came from, the Lake meant Lake Erie. As a kid, my family and I would spend a week or two each summer camping at East Harbor State Park. As an adult, I would take my own family camping there and spend a day at Cedar Point. As much as an attraction as Cedar Point may be to many, for me, the main attraction was the Lake itself.....so grand, so majestic, so immense. It has always been a spiritual pilgrimage for me. Theologians describes this as “natural revelation.” God reveals Himself through His creation. Like we just heard in the Psalms, 95:3-5

3 For the Lord is a great God

And a great King above all gods

4 In whose hand are the depths of the earth

The peaks of the mountains are His also.

5 The sea is His, for it was He who made it.

And His hands formed the dry land. 6 come let us worship and bow down Let us kneel before the Lord or Maker 7 For He is our God And we are the people of is pasture and the sheep of His hand. Today, if you would hear His voice

You know, some say they can actually hear the Lake speaking to them. What does it say you might ask? Nothing, it only waves. (Yuk, yuk) Sorry there...just a little bit of my dry sense of humor there.

Another destination on my bucket list would be to visit the Holy Land. To walk where Jesus walked, to stand where He taught and healed the sick and made the blind to see. But do you know what place most people who have visited Israel tell me was their favorite? The Sea of Galilee. Jesus spent much of the time of His ministry in this region called Galilee. Located in the northern part is a beautiful lake called the Sea of Galilee also known as LakeTiberius, the Roman name, or the Lake of Gennesaret, named for the lush garden tropical area located on the west side of the lake. It has some similarities to Lake Erie. How about size? Would you guess the Sea of Galilee to be larger or smaller than Lake Erie? Actually, Lake Erie is 100 times larger in surface area than the Sea of Galilee. How about depth? This is where they are similar. Each is about 200 feet deep, that would be about 2 Marathon buildings deep. In fact, Lake Erie is the shallowest of all the Great Lakes and because it is so shallow, the volume of water is most susceptible to outside air pressure causing large waves to suddenly and oftentimes unexpectedly form causing distressing situations for smaller sized water vessels. When I last visited, it was a beautiful sunny day, a little windy, but many were enjoying a day at the beach. I heard on the radio the following day, 19 people had been rescued from the Lake that very day as a result of 4 separate incidents where vessels took on water and sank to the bottom of the lake.

As you may be familiar with at least two similar incidents that happened on the Sea of Galilee as told in the Gospels. One incident appears in the Gospel of Mark, where he tells the story of Jesus traveling from village to village, teaching and healing many people. He then sends the disciples out two by two to minister. They come back to Jesus emotionally charged by their experience but physically exhausted. Now, Jesus, being fully God was at the same time fully human. He was must have been exhausted as well and sensing the weariness of the disciples, He said “Boys, its time for a vacation,” for the Scriptures tell us He sent the disciples off to a secluded place while he went off to pray. Now we know God doesn't take vacations or grow weary, but Jesus allowed himself to experience the weariness we feel as humans when we work tirelessly without adequate rest. But when they get to the other side, a mass of 5,000 people or more descend upon them and because it is late in the day and Jesus being filled with compassion, instructs the disciples to feed them. Does that ever happen to you.....you are trying to get ready to go on vacation at work and something unexpected pops up that needs to be dealt with before you leave? So they find a little boy with 2 fishes and 5 barley loaves and Jesus feeds everyone until they are all satisfied. By this time it is about 3 am and again they are instructed to get in there boat and cross over to the land of Gennersaret. Now here is where the similarity of the shallow depths, comes into play. The sea of Galilee sets about 700 feet below sea level and is surrounded by mountain ranges. The depressed area is usually very warm and humid, tropical, you might say. As the cool air rushing in from the Mediterranean Sea comes over the mountain tops and meets up with the warm tropical air of the Sea of Galilee, sudden pressure is created as the warm air cools and drops. This action, as I just described at Lake Erie, creates sudden and violent storms to erupt. This is just what happened as the disciples were making their way across the lake. They rowed with all their might but they were getting nowhere. Jesus saw them struggling from the land and began crossing over the lake on foot. I find it interesting that the Scriptures tell us He meant to pass them by but when Jesus saw how terrified they were, as if they had seen a ghost, He called out to them and told them to “Take courage, for it is I. Do not be afraid.” So He gets in the boat with them and the wind stops and and the sea suddenly becomes calm. Scripture tells us they were “utterly astonished.”

The other incident described in the Gospel of Luke tells us of a time Jesus was so exhausted or so at peace with himself He was actually sleeping in the boat when again, a violent storm came upon them as they were crossing over the lake to the other side. The waves were coming over the sides and begin to fill the boat. As the boat begins to sink the disciples decide to wake Jesus up. The ask Him if He even cares that they are about to die. Jesus gets up and rebukes the wind and the waves and immediately everything becomes calm. He asks the disciples, “Where is you faith?”

FIRST MESSAGE POINT: DRIFTING

Now I suppose you have heard many messages or contemporary Christian songs relating the storms of life to the scripture passages just mentioned, but what I would like to spend my time on is focusing on the danger of the calm rather than the storms. Yes, the calm....when you find yourself in your sweet spot. Everything is going your way. You have got the right spouse, a great family, you find yourself successful at work or in retirement and things could not be better. It is better at this point in time if you just “go with the flow.” Drifting.....going where the current takes you. The problem is, the current rarely takes you in the right or good direction. You might find yourself drifting....drifting from your faith, from your principles, maybe from your relationship or connection with God. This could be the calm BEFORE the storm. 

I used to go fishing on the lake with my Father-in-law and I remember he had two anchors on board. He would tie on the lighter anchor with small claws when we were fishing for perch. The lighter anchor would just drag along the sand at the bottom of the lake allowing us to slowly drift, or troll as we had our lines he water. This gave us a greater opportunity to come upon a school of fish. While focusing on my line rather than the shoreline, I was oblivious to the fact that we were drifting. I remember on one occasion, my father-in-law said we had drifted over 5 miles. He had another heavier anchor with large claws. He would tie this anchor on to the line if the waves got too high and the current too strong. This anchor with its large claws was designed to hold fast to the rocks or dig into the sand and bury itself to keep us from drifting.

Hebrews 3:12

"Take care, brethren, that there not be in any one of you an evil,  unbelieving heart that FALLS AWAY from the living God."

Drifting is akin to falling away, which leads to, or exposes, an unbelieving heart. The word evil can be interpreted as corrupt....a corrupted heart is one that is no longer aligned with God's purposes and may lead to a hardened heart.

I tell you this because drifting can be dangerous. Have you ever witness a person who fell asleep on a raft? The gentle lapping of the waves against the raft is like a lullaby putting the person to sleep and in harms way. Before he become aware, the currents have taken him out to sea and suddenly he finds himself surrounded by sharks and the waves are increasing in size making it ever so more difficult to stay afloat.

SECOND MESSAGE POINT: DANGER

Hebrews 3:13

But encourage one another day after day, as long as it is still called "Today," so that none of you will be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin.

The author of Hebrews implores the Hebrew Christians living in and around Jerusalem to encourage one another.... watch out for each other....to yell out, “Hey you on the raft! Wake up!” Let your brother and sister in Christ know when you see them drifting. Let them know they are in danger while there is still time for the to turn back. “While it is still called today,” means while we are still in this age or “dispensation of grace.” God today deals with what separates us from Him, that is sin, by His good grace, favor we do not earn, through faith. Faith in Christ, that He shed His blood for you for the remission of your sins. When Jesus returns, it will be too late.

It is always the ones on the shore, the Christian friends closest to us that notice first when we are drifting. These Hebrews were once Jews that had converted to Christianity. While they were Jews, the occupying Roman government allowed them pretty much to govern themselves, as long as they paid their taxes and maintained the peace, but when Christianity turned the world upside down, they suddenly found themselves being persecuted. As a result, many were beginning to abandon their faith in Christ and turn back to their Judaism where ritualism and tradition helped made them feel safe and secure and free from persecution.

Notice in this verse a hardened heart is the result of the deceitfulness of sin.  We oftentimes try to justify our sin, or actions or lack of actions.  We call it cultural change or we use an 84 cent phrase like paradigm shift.  Sin is a slow fade, as we drift from our principles and Judeo-Christian values.  We see this not only in individuals but in our institutions, our government, and even our churches.  "Sin will take you father than you want to go, keep you longer than you want to stay and cost your more than you want to pay."  (Romans 2: 3-4)

THIRD MESSAGE POINT: DECISION

So I implore you, as well, encourage one another before it is too late. Will you hear the warning of your spouse, your children, your parents or your friends?

Hebrews 3:14-15

14 For we have become partakers of Christ, if we hold fast the beginning of our assurance firm until the end, 15 while it is said, 

"Today if you hear His voice, Do not harden your hearts, as when they provoked Me."

Today, if you hear his voice....that phrase is repeated 3 times in this context, first in verse 7, here in verse 15 and in the next chapter, verse 7. Each of these verses are the same quote from Psalm chapter 95 and is in reference to the Hebrew children wandering in the wilderness. The Palestinian Hebrews would be very familiar with this story. They have passed down through the generations how God had declared them His people and promised them a land of rest, a land of Milk and Honey. He invited them to enter into His rest if they would only trust Him. But as the story goes, not longer after God rescued them from the Egyptian solders at the Red Sea, they soon began murmuring and complaining against Moses for they had no water or no food and they began looking back to Egypt where they may have been enslaved by cruel taskmasters but at least they had food to eat and water to drink. At one point a rebellion was forming and some were in favor of choosing new leadership that would lead them back to Egypt and captivity. God instructed Moses to strike a rock twice with his rod and in doing so, water gushed out of the rock to quench the thirst of the rebellious, unbelieving, stiff necked people. God then feeds them with bread from heaven, mana, but not long after that they were again murmuring against Moses and his brother Aaron, the designated priest, that they were tired of this mana. The wanted meat and more water to drink. Moses was told to speak to the rock but in his haste and anger with the people, he struck it twice as before. Water once again came forth but God had now pronounced judgment upon, not only the people, but Moses himself for having an unbelieving heart. The Promise Land was no longer available to them and the entire generation died in the wilderness. As a consequent of their unbelief, they never got to enter into God's rest. This is what the author of the letter to the Hebrews is reminding them. “Today, if you hear His voice” …..you must act. Recognizing danger requires a decision. What will you do? We all, and I mean all have seasons in our lives where we begin to drift. Will you recognize it? Will you decide to act? If you choose to do nothing and continue to drift, eventually a storm in life will come upon you. Now what will you do? Will you try to row your way out of it like the disciples tried on the Sea of Galilee only to waste time and much energy? Or maybe you will just throw the light anchor overboard....do just enough work to slow down your drift... give more money to church, start making church attendance more frequent, performs acts of kindness once a week or do a better job of controlling your temper. Maybe you should try tying on the heavy anchor for starters. This is my anchor (hold up my Bible)! It is fastened to the Rock! The Rock of My Salvation. From this Book I get my worldview and things become more clear. The wind ceases and the waves begin to calm. Even and strong anchor will not guarantee the wind and the waves will not return. That is when I look to my Savior, who is in the boat with me. I don't have to wake Him up though. Psalm 121 says, “From where shall my help come? My help comes from the Lord, Who made heaven and earth. He will not allow your foot to slip; He who keeps you will not slumber. Behold, He who keeps Israel will neither slumber nor sleep.”....I have to wake my self up to realize the wind and waves still know His name. Be assured of this one thing, the anchor will hold. We need to hold fast. Again, times in this passage the Hebrews are exhorted to hold fast to their faith, verse 6, verse 14 and chapter 4, verse 14. They, we are encouraged to hold fast to our faith so that we may enter into God's rest.

APPLICATION

Perhaps you have never known that kind of faith and consequently not experienced God's rest or His peace. Maybe that is because He has never been in your boat. Maybe, “TODAY, IF YOU HEAR HIS VOICE,” you will look out over the tempestuous sea and not only see, but hear His voice as He calls out to you as he did the disciples, “Take courage. It is I. Do not be afraid.” So the question you are left with today is the same question Jesus asked, “Where is your faith.” TODAY, IF YOU HEAR HIS VOICE.... choose to be a disciple of Christ. It is easy as ABC. A...Admit you fall short of God's glory (perfectionism)...that you are a sinner and need of a Savior. B...Believe Jesus was God who came to earth to rescue you...that He died on the cross shedding His blood for the remission of your sins and that He rose again to conquer death and finally, C... Connect with Christ, start a personal relationship with Him and grow in your faith to love and disciple others.

EASTER MESSAGE
April 1, 2018

INTRODUCTION

It is the Easter season and you may expect to read about the Good News, of the risen Christ and what His resurrection means to the Christian faith, but what if I were to tell you this piece is about “Fake News?” I know, I know, fake news is a topic that has been discussed ad nauseam. But fake news or falsehoods have been around since the beginning of time.....literally....since the beginning of time. You may recall the story of the fall (Genesis 3):

He (Satan, disguised as a serpent) said to the woman, “Did God actually say, 'You shall not eat of any tree in the garden'?” And the woman said to the serpent, “We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden, but God said, 'You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the midst of the garden, neither shall you touch it, lest you die.” But the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die. For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave to her husband who was with her, and he ate. Then the eyes of both were opened and they knew that they were naked. And the sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loincloths.

This is an example of Fake News. A fact is taken (You will surely die) and distorted with partial truth with intent to deceive or mislead. You will not die, is a lie or at best a partial truth for when Adam and Eve took a bite of the forbidden fruit, they did not die immediately, but immediately they began dying, for they certainly did die later. It was also true that their eyes were opened, and they became like God in the sense that they came to know good and evil (they were naked), but they did not become like God in that He is immortal, eternal, omnipresent (everywhere), omniscient (all knowing) and omnipotent (all important).

The fact is, God hates falsehoods. Proverbs 6 tells us God hates seven things:

There are six things that the Lord hates, seven that are an abomination to him: haughty eyes, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked plans, feet that make haste to run to evil, a false witness who breathes out lies, and one who sows discord among brothers.

Take notice, three or almost half of the things God hates deal with falsehoods.

Wikipedia defines fake news this way:

Fake news is a type of yellow journalism or propaganda that consists of deliberate misinformation or hoaxes spread via traditional print and broadcast news media or online social media. Fake news is written and published with the intent to mislead in order to damage an agency, entity, or person, and/or fabricated headlines to increase readership, online sharing, and internet click revenue.

It seems as if every report must now be “Fact-Checked.” The trouble for the average consumer, is so much of the so called 'Fake News' has enough partial truths presented masked with a political or personal bias to where it is hard to distinguish fact from fiction. The mainstream media sources have been so politicized that professional journalism has succumbed to political propaganda. News reporters have become political pundits that feel the need to offer their opinion rather than just present the facts from a neutral perspective. Promoting a certain ideology is more expedient than presenting facts. But why you may ask? What is the motive for this? Throughout history, mankind acting in the flesh has been interested in the three P's: Power, Position and Prestige. We will come back to that but let me say first.....

Let us look at the Scriptures of Jesus's last days here on earth; when God's News, the Good News over came Fake News.

BACKGROUND

There were primarily three regions Jesus ministered to; Galilee (where Jesus was raised), Judea (were Jesus was born and where the Jerusalem Temple was located, and Samaria (a region where Jews despised its inhabitants and avoided). During His three years of ministry, Jesus traveled throughout these three regions preaching the Good News....that God loved them and wanted to have a relationship with them. This was the consistent and constant message of Christ's servant, the late Billy Graham who recently passed from this world to the Kingdom of Heaven. As a sign of His incarnation, that He was the Son of God, that while He was fully man, He was fully God, He healed the sick, made the blind to see, the lamb to walk and cast out demons and because of these very actions, we are told in the Gospel of John, great division arose among the people in Judea. You see it is in Judea where the most powerful, most prestigious and highest officials of the Jewish faith resided. (Power, Position, Prestige). The religious leaders received many reports, and in some cases were witness to, the great signs and wonders Jesus performed, but refuted them in order to maintain their positions. So they spread false reports about Him and tried their best to ensnare Him with His own words, that they might bring charges against Him that they might arrest Him and kill Him. They even accused Him of possessing a demon as a way to explain away the signs. Look with me in John 10:19-21 (ESV)

There was again a division among the Jews because of these words. Many of them said, “He has a demon, and is insane; why listen to him?” Others said, “These are not words of on who is oppressed by a demon. Can a demon open the eyes of the blind?”

Look further as we read in John 11:47-53 (ESV)

So the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered the council and said, “What are we to do? For this man performs many signs. If we let him go on like this, everyone will believe in him, and the Romans will come and take away both our places and our nations.” But one of them, Caiaphas, who was high priest that year, said to them, “You know nothing at all. Nor do you understand that it is better for you that one man should die for the people, not that the whole nation should perish.” He did not say this of his own accord, but being high priest that year he prophesied that Jesus would die for the nation, and not for the nation only, but also to gather into one the children of God who are scattered abroad. So from that day on the made plans to put him to death.

So they set out to arrest Jesus, but He would not be taken until it was His time. In John 12:23 Jesus tells His disciples “The hour has not come for the Son of Man to be glorified.” We read in the Bible where He miraculously slipped away from the religious leader's grasp many times. God's sacrificial Lamb that would cover the sins of the entire world would not be given up until the designated moment in time that aligned with the faith of the very religious leaders who sought to kill him, for it was soon to be the celebration of the Passover. This was the moment in time where God's people were rescued from Egyptian slavery by the blood of a sacrificial lamb spread over their door post. This was a sign for this very moment in time when Jesus, the Lamb of God, would shed His blood to cover our sins and save us from the bondage of sin and death.

THE PASSION OF CHRIST

Jesus was aware of the division among the people and shortly before making His triumphal entry into Jerusalem, we read this in Matthew 16: 13-17 (ESV)

Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” And they said, “Some say John the Baptist, others say Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” Simon Peter replied, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” And Jesus answered him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven.

Jesus's response to the confusion can be found in John 8:31-32 (ESV)

So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed him, “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set your free. (Biblical worldview)

He gathered with his disciples in an upper room to celebrate the Passover feast and foretold of His betrayal and death. They proceeded to the Garden of Gethsemane to pray where we read Judas led a cohort of Roman soldiers and Temple officials to arrest Jesus. Yet we are told that if the time had not been right, they would not be permitted to lay a hand on Him, for a Legion of angels would come to Christ's rescue if He so inquired, but Jesus was obedient until death in that the time had come for Him to be delivered up as the sacrificial lamb.

Jesus is led to the Sanhedrin, an illegally convened court where Jesus would be tried in secret of the night. Many false witnesses are brought forward, but evidently none of the false accusations stuck until later when two more came forward to testify that they had heard Jesus say He was going to destroy the temple of God. Lets look at that incident as it is recorded in John 2:19 (ESV)

So the Jews said to him, “What sign do you show us for doing these things?” Jesus answered them, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.” The Jews then said, “It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and will you raise it up in three days?” But he was speaking about the temple of his body.

 Apparently, even the religious leaders knew this was “fake news” as Mark 14 tells us their testimonies were inconsistent, so they wanted to cut to the chase and demanded that Jesus speak clearly, under oath they had reminded, whether He was indeed the Messiah, the Son of God to which Jesus replied:

Matthew 26: 64-66 (ESV)

Jesus said to him, “You have said so. But I tell you, from now on you will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of Power and coming on the clouds of heaven.” Then the high priest tore his robes and said, “He has uttered blasphemy. What further witness do we need? You have now heard his blasphemy. What is your judgment?” They answered, “He deserves death.”

Knowing they could not carrying out the sentence of death while under Roman rule, they would have to take Him to the Roman governor of Judea, Pontius Pilate. Luke 23 tells us that when they brought Jesus before Pilate they accused Him of misleading the nation and forbidding them to pay taxes to Caesar and saying that He Himself is Christ , a King. FAKE NEWS! Who really were the ones misleading the nation? Was it not the religious leaders? Jesus never forbade Jews to pay taxes, in fact He told them to render onto Caesar the things that are Caesars. Did He claim to be the King of the Jews? He said He was the Son of Man, a reference to prophecy in the book of Daniel to the Messiah. Face to face with Jesus, Pilate ask if the fake news was true...are you a King, to which Jesus replies, “Are you saying this on your own initiative, or did others tell you about me?” In other words, “Tell me Pilate, do you too believe in Fake News?” Pilate emphatically responds by clarifying that he is not a Jew but pointing out the fact that the religious leaders of His own nation, the Jews, had turned Him over to him and therefore ask Jesus what had He done. Jesus answered:

John 18:36-37 (ESV)

Jesus answered, “My kingdom is not of this world. If my kingdom were of this world, my servants would have been fighting, that I might not be delivered over to the Jews. But my kingdom is not from the world.” Then Pilate said to him, “So you are a king?” Jesus answered, “You say that I am a king. For this purpose I was born and for this purpose I have come into the world – to bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth listens to my voice.

to which Pilate said to Him, “What is truth?”

And there it is....the crux of division. How do we know what is true? Jesus knew it would take miracles for most to believe He truly was the Son of God, but yet not even the raising of the dead, as He did just days before in the raising of Lazarus, did the most religious believe in Him. It would not only take a miracle but would have to align with prophesy of the coming Messiah. Jesus foretold of His death and resurrection but yet no one understood it, not even His disciples as we are told in John 2:22 until after they witnessed His resurrection. I will have to admit, that has always troubled me. It seems so clear now with hindsight what Jesus was foretelling, that I wonder why the disciples weren't camping out over night in front of the tomb in their lawn chairs with their popcorn waiting for the sunrise. Never-the-less, the resurrection took place to demonstrate to all the world, Jesus was who He said He was, The Son of God, The Son of Man, The Messiah, Emmanuel, that is God with us...that He came to atone for our sins, that the whole world would know that their sins could be forgiven and have eternal life with God, the Father.

In 1 Corinthians chapter 15, the chapter explaining the fact of Christ's resurrection, we are told that He appeared onto more than 500 brethren at one time. Yet despite so many eye witness accounts, many still question today our faith in Jesus Christ by denying His resurrection. How can that be so? Again it comes back to fake news. Look with me Matthew 28:11-15 (ESV)

While they were going, behold, some of the guard went into the city and told the chief priests all that had taken place. And when they assembled with the elders and taken counsel, they gave a sufficient sum of money to the soldiers and said, “Tell people, 'His disciples came by night and stole him away while were asleep.' And if this comes to the governor's ears, we will satisfy him and keep you out of trouble.” So they took the money and did as they were directed. And this story has been spread among the Jews to this day.

Headlines the day of the resurrection may have looked like this: “TAKEN: ZEALOTS STEAL BODY TO CORROBORATE HOAX” But we know the headline should read: “HE IS RISEN” to which some say today is fake news. But for the believer, the headline remains: “HE IS RISEN INDEED”

APPLICATION

If you are a believer, a Christ follower, then you need not fear that your faith may be undermined by fake news. Remember, Jesus said to the Jews who had believed him, “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”

Remember at the beginning when I cited the 3 P's as motives for spreading fake news: Power, Position and Prestige? We saw that with the religious leaders who chose the 3 P's over recognizing the Messiah. When you come to believe that Christ died for your sins and you put your trust in what He did for you by dying on the cross, you immediately are filled with power from on high called the Holy Spirit. Your position has changed from condemned to justified and you now have prestige in that you become a child of God.

Maybe you have been challenged with authenticity of the Bible. Stories like Jonah and the great fish, or Noah and the Ark may seem too spectacular to have actually taken place. But Jesus actually referred to Jonah when He foretold of His resurrection.

Matthew 12:40 (ESV)

For just as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.

Jesus foretold of His return by comparing it to the days of Noah.

Matthew 24:37-39 (ESV)

For as were the days of Noah, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day when Noah entered the ark, and the were unaware until the flood came and swept them all away, so will be the coming of the Son of Man.

It all comes back to the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

1 Corinthians 15:12-14 (ESV)

Now if Christ is proclaimed as raised from the dead, how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? But if there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain.

Tell me, who would endure the trial and sufferings, even onto death as did Jesus's followers to propagate a hoax? The resurrection of Christ changed their lives as it continues to change lives today.

We can trust in the accuracy of the Bible, the Word of God. John chapter one begins with identifying Christ as the Word....one with God and who is God through which all things are created from the beginning of time.

Christ's body was not taken! Christ COULD not be taken! His life was not taken! CHRIST GAVE HIS LIFE FREELY.

John 10:18 (ESV)

No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again. This charge I have received from my Father.

If you are a believer, you can take courage in this statement from Jesus:

John 10:25-30 (ESV)

Jesus answered them, “I told you, and you do not believe. The works that I do in my Father's name bear witness about me, but you do not believe because you are not among my sheep. My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father's hand. I and the Father are one.”

BECAUSE JESUS WAS NOT TAKEN....YOU CAN NOT BE TAKEN!!!! (at least not by Satan)

But if you are a believer, a Christ follower and alive the day Christ returns, YOU WILL BE TAKEN. Look at 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 (ESV)

But we do not want you to be uninformed brothers, about those who are asleep, that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope. For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep. For this we declare to you by a word from the Lord, that we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord. Therefore encourage on another with these words.

Let me tell you what else has been taken! Your SINS, your MISDEEDS, your GOOD INTENTIONS GONE BAD, your GUILT, your FEARS, your ADDICTIONS!!!! Jesus said:

Matthew 11:28-30 (ESV)

Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.

Psalm 103:11-13 (ESV)

For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his steadfast love toward those who fear him; as far as the east is from the west, so far does he remove our transgressions from us. As a father shows compassion to his children, so the Lord shows compassion to those who fear him.

John 3:16 (ESV)

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.

AND THIS, MY FRIENDS, IS THE GOOD NEWS! THE GOOD NEWS OF JESUS CHRIST THAT OVERCAME THE FAKE NEWS!!!! AMEN AND AMEN