EASTER MORNING - John 20: 1-9

Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene went to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the entrance. So she came running to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one Jesus loved, and said, “They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we don’t know where they have put him!”

So Peter and the other disciple started for the tomb. Both were running, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first.

He bent over and looked in at the strips of linen lying there but did not go in. Then Simon Peter came along behind him and went straight into the tomb. He saw the strips of linen lying there, as well as the cloth that had been wrapped around Jesus’ head. The cloth was still lying in its place, separate from the linen.

Finally the other disciple, who had reached the tomb first, also went inside. He saw and believed. (They still did not understand from Scripture that Jesus had to rise from the dead.)

This morning we celebrate the most glorious event in history. We celebrate:

• our risen Lord and Christ.    

• our salvation.     

• forgiveness of sin. 

• victory over death.      

• the gift of eternal life. 

That’s just a few of the things we have to celebrate because Jesus rose from the grave.

No other religion or faith tradition believes this --- we all may have been created by the same God - but we DO NOT WORSHIP the same GOD regardless of what those who believe or push "interfaith dialogue."

We come this morning as did those who came to the tomb early that first Easter morning. We can only imagine the joy they felt as they learned of the resurrection of Christ from the grave. Not many hours before, they mourned the grisly death of Jesus. But their mourning turned to joy on that first Easter. 

If we look at the events of that first resurrection morning from all four gospel writers. 

• Matthew tells about the two Marys who came early in the morning to the tomb and saw the resurrected Jesus. 

• Mark adds that Salome was with the two Marys who came very early on that morning. 

• Luke tells of the visit of the women to the tomb that morning. 

• John tells of Mary’s visit and of the visit of Peter and John to the tomb.

In all of these accounts, the writers record that the first thing the visitors to the tomb saw was that the huge stone covering the entrance had been rolled away.

But what if the stone still covered the entrance to the tomb that morning. What if it had not been rolled away? How would these people have felt?

Well, they might have felt like Job after his family had been killed and all he owned had been destroyed. Job reacted like many of us would. He said:

“At least there is hope for a tree: If it is cut down, it will sprout again, and its new shoots will not fail. Its roots may grow old in the ground and its stump die in the soil, yet at the scent of water it will bud and put forth shoots like a plant.

But man dies and is laid low; he breathes his last and is no more. As water disappears from the sea or a riverbed becomes parched and dry, so man lies down and does not rise; till the heavens are no more, men will not awake or be roused from their sleep. Job 14: 7-12 (NIV)

Is that all there is? Is that all we have to look forward to? To lie down and rise no more? If it is, we could utter the words of Paul from 1 Corinthians 15: 19 (NIV): If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are to be pitied more than all men.

If that stone had not been rolled away, then those visitors to the tomb that morning would have been pretty miserable.

But we can praise God, the stone was not still in place. It was rolled away. 

But a question I ask today is “Why was the stone rolled away?” 

Well, now, that’s a pretty silly question you might say. The stone was rolled away because Jesus came out of the tomb. The stone was rolled away because He had risen.

But I don’t think that’s the reason the stone was rolled away. After all, look what happened later that same Sunday evening.

John 20: 19-20
On the evening of that first day of the week, when the disciples were together, with the doors locked for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!”After he said this, he showed them his hands and side. The disciples were overjoyed when they saw the Lord.

Jesus came into a room where the doors were shut and locked. Jesus just walked right on in. If He could do that, couldn’t he have come out of the tomb with the stone still in place?

You see, the stone was not rolled away for Him to come out. I can guarantee you that. Whatever the nature of His resurrected body, He needed no door. No wall could hold Him out. And no stone could hold him in. 

No, the stone was not rolled away for Him to come out. The stone was rolled away that morning so that the visitors to the tomb could go in. The open tomb was not the means of His exit, it was the means of their entrance.

The women went in and saw that Jesus was not there. Peter and John went in and saw the same. 

God rolled away the stone, not so Jesus could rise, but so we could know that He is risen. The open tomb makes it possible for us to go in, to see the discarded grave clothes, to see that He is not there.

That’s why the stone was rolled away. God came down and rolled the stone away so that we could look in. It was rolled away so that the empty tomb could be visible to all. The empty tomb is the greatest evidence of the resurrection of Jesus. Cynics and critics have tried to explain it away, but that empty tomb still stands as evidence to all that Jesus is not dead. He is alive today.

We can look inside the dark, scary tomb to see if Jesus is there. 

And hallelujah, He’s not. Christ is risen! (response: He is risen, indeed!) He’s alive. The empty tomb is impressive and unforgettable evidence that Jesus is alive!

Because of the resurrection, you and I have life—a new life now as a believer in Christ and a future in heaven in the presence of Almighty God that will never end.

Listen to what a change that realization made in Job’s life. Here’s what he said just a little while after he faced all the calamities in his life.

Job 19:25-26 (NIV)
25 I know that my Redeemer lives, and that in the end he will stand upon the earth.
26 And after my skin has been destroyed, yet in my flesh I will see God; 
27 I myself will see him with my own eyes—I, and not another. How my heart yearns within me!

The resurrection caused those who visited the tomb that morning to run and tell the rest of Jesus’ followers about it. How should the resurrection affect us? 

It was following the resurrection and disciples were still somewhat scattered about Jerusalem and the surrounding villages. John finds Peter and runs up to him. Excitedly he says, "Peter, Peter! I've got some good news and some bad news."

Peter takes ahold of John and calms him down. "Take it easy, John. What is it? What's the good news?"

John says, "The good news is Christ is risen." Peter says, "That's great! But, what's the bad news?"

John, looking around, says, "He's really steamed about last Friday." 

Jesus accomplished His purpose and brought salvation to the world. It was following the resurrection and disciples were still somewhat scattered about Jerusalem and the surrounding villages. John finds Peter and runs up to him. Excitedly he says, "Peter, Peter! I've got some good news and some bad news."

Peter takes ahold of John and calms him down. "Take it easy, John. What is it? What's the good news?"

John says, "The good news is Christ is risen." Peter says, "That's great! But, what's the bad news?"

John, looking around, says, "He's really steamed about last Friday." 

The greatest responsive interaction in Christian history: He is Risen. He is Risen indeed!


Please don’t faint when you hear me say, "for we Christians, for those of us with resurrection faith, the good news is that we can share the joy of our faith with others, every day of our lives."

He is risen! (He is risen, indeed). Every day of our lives we should say it, shout it, sing it, maybe even live it.

Every day we should be able to stand up and sing the words to a familiar old hymn.

Living He Loved Me, Dying He Saved Me, Buried He Carried My Sins Far Away. Rising He Justified, Freely Forever. One Day He’s Coming. O Glorious Day.

Jesus Lives!

Amen.

MAKER OF HEAVEN and EARTH - Part 4

Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honor and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created. Revelation 4: 11

The word “evolution” is often in the news. Recently the Georgia state school superintendent proposed taking the word “evolution” out the biology curriculum.

That’s not as radical as it might sound since schools would still be required to teach evolution; they just wouldn’t use the word. Former President Jimmy Carter weighed in with his opposition to the proposal. He said he was embarrassed by the proposal, which he called an attempt to censor and distort the education of Georgia students. High school graduates would face a serious handicap and Georgia schools would face “nationwide ridicule.”

Of course newspapers and every progressive thinker across the nation covered the controversy and suggested the world would end due to bigotry and narrow minds.

Please note this important point: This is not actually a dispute about evolution - it’s only about the word “evolution.” The powers-that-be are so frightened by any challenge to the status quo that they have kittens if anyone dares to suggest anything else. It’s not enough that evolution is taught; the word itself must be used. They defend their turf with what might be called religious fervor.

Of course you and I know we are not some casual and meaningless product of evolution. Each of us is the result of a thought of God.

In a related story, World magazine recently named Phillip Johnson, law professor at the University of California, as its “Daniel of the Year” for his work challenging the Darwinist empire that dominates American culture.

In 1991 he sparked enormous controversy by publishing “Darwin on Trial,” (published by InterVarsity Press). Taking Darwinists on in their own terms, he concluded that the arguments they put forward lacked sufficient evidence to back up their sweeping conclusions as science fact but rather science suppositions.

In the years since then he continued his attack on Darwinism through a steady stream of articles, books, speeches, debates, and other public appearances. He notes that many Christian leaders think the creation-evolution debate doesn’t really matter.

But they are wrong—and not just wrong, but terribly misguided. He says, “The fundamental question is whether God is real or imaginary.”

Additionally he writes, “The entire way of thinking that underlies Darwinian evolution assumes that God is out of the picture.”  He goes on to say that his greatest frustration comes not from dealing with the secular scientists (who are mostly, but not entirely, hostile to his arguments), but from Christian leaders who believe evolution and the Christian faith are ultimately compatible.

Imagine that: The more frustrating thing for this defender of the faith has been the Christian leaders, pastors, and Christian college and seminary professors. And there the problem is not just convincing them that the theory is wrong, but that it makes a difference. That it’s important whether it’s right or wrong.

They would prefer to think, ‘Well, it’s just one of those things that scientists argue about and we’ll leave that to the biologists to sort out as best they can.’ Whereas what is really at stake is not just the first chapter of Genesis, but the whole Bible from beginning to end, the first word to last … (All quotes taken from the World magazine weblog).

Professor Johnson is right on all points. What should we learn from this ongoing controversy?

First, Evolution versus Creation is actually a clash of competing worldviews, not science versus religion. The debate is not about dinosaurs and DNA. It is really a debate between competing worldviews.

Evolution at its heart views the world through a lens that is entirely naturalistic. It proposes to explain the entire universe without reference to God. As Johnson says, the evolutionist assumes that God is out of the picture. Either he doesn’t exist or he doesn’t matter. To say it that way means that this controversy is somewhat more important than finding the precise location of Noah’s Ark or explaining the fossil layers in the Grand Canyon.

Evangelical theologian Al Mohler offers this explanation: For over a hundred years, the dominant scientific establishment has been moving toward an enforced orthodoxy of naturalism, materialism, and secularism.

According to this worldview, the universe is a closed box that can be understood only on its own terms—with everything inside the box explained only by other matter and processes within the same box. The box itself is explained as a cosmic accident, and naturalistic science allows no place for a designer or a design in the entire cosmos.

Evolution as a worldview leaves God out. Either he doesn’t matter or he doesn’t exist. That’s why compromise positions such as theistic evolution never work. They attempt to join two things—creation and evolution—that are fundamentally incompatible. Everything starts with the God who created us. Start anywhere else and you will be perpetually confused.

Second, the Christian worldview rests upon the truth that God created all things.  “We created god in our own image and likeness!” Comedian George Carlin said that, and he’s right but not in the way he meant it. We didn’t “create” God, but we do explain (“create”) a god just like us, and that’s the basic problem of the human race. We can’t explain God using just human understanding.

It’s why the Apostle’s Creed puts the doctrine of creation in the second line. The Christian worldview stands directly opposite from the evolutionary worldview.

The biblical writers repeatedly ascribed all of creation to the work of God: “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth” (Genesis 1: 1). “By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God’s command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible” (Hebrews 11: 3).

Genesis 1 tells us something important about how God created. Genesis says several times, “And God said.” First there was God’s creative word. He spoke, and light appeared. Then the waters were separated. Then there was dry ground. Then vegetation. Then the sun, moon and stars were formed. Then came the fish and the birds. Then the land animals. And finally, Adam and Eve.

Eight times the phrase is repeated in Genesis 1—"And God said.”

He spoke and light shined through the darkness. He spoke and the waters receded from the earth. He spoke and dry land appeared. He spoke and vegetation appeared. He spoke and the sun filled the sky by day and millions of stars twinkled by night. He spoke and the sea teemed with fish and birds began to fly. He spoke and cattle grazed, squirrels gathered hickory nuts, otters frolicked in the streams, and the kangaroo began hopping across the outback.

Finally, he spoke again and created Adam. He breathed into him the breath of life and Adam became a living soul. When Adam got lonely, God took a rib from his side and created Eve. Thus did the human race began.

Note that creation comes first, then redemption.

In heaven as we read the scriptures we see that the 24 elders around God’s Throne first worship God because he is the Creator. Then they worship Christ because he is the Redeemer. If we lose the doctrine of creation, we will eventually lose the doctrine of redemption. Many church members and churches seem to have missed this fact.

Genesis 1-2 tells us where we came from. Genesis 3 explains how sin entered the human race and why we need a Savior. Take away the factual reality of the first three chapters of the Bible and the rest cannot be trusted.

That’s what Phillip Johnson meant when he said what is at stake is not just the first chapters of Genesis, but every word of the Bible, from the first to the last. No wonder the elders first praise God for his work in creation. Without creation there would be no redemption, no Christ dying on the cross, no forgiveness for our sins, no heaven, and no hope of eternal life. If we lose the doctrine of creation, we will eventually lose the doctrine of redemption.

3) You will never properly understand the universe until you know the God who created it. If you leave God out, you’ve missed the fundamental truth about the universe! That means that in order to understand human origins and the true history of the universe, we must begin-not with the vain speculations of science-but with God’s understanding as he has revealed it to us in His Word.

Take away the factual reality of the first three chapters of the Bible and the rest cannot be trusted. We have to start with God. That’s why the Apostles’ Creed begins with this phrase: “I believe in God the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth.”

When we put God at the center of all things, then everything else finds its proper place. “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is insight.” (Proverbs 9:10).

This touches on the need for a Christian education. No one can know the universe and the answers to the great questions of life without also knowing God. There are three questions a Christian Worldview must answer:

Where did I come from?       Why am I here?                     Where am I going?

The Apostle’s Creed answers those questions and more: “God the Father Almighty, maker of heaven and earth.” Amen.

WHACKY NEWS UPDATE.

From the "I always thought there was something strange about that guy:"

Ted Cruz is a Dominionist!

Ted Cruz's Father Suggested His Son Is 'Anointed' to Bring About 'End Time Transfer of Wealth'

http://www.alternet.org/speakeasy/brucewilson/ted-cruzs-father-suggested-his-son-anointed-bring-about-end-time-transfer

In a sermon last year at an Irving, Texas, megachurch that helped elect Ted Cruz to the United States Senate, Cruz' father Rafael Cruz indicated that his son was among the evangelical Christians who are anointed as "kings" to take control of all sectors of society, an agenda commonly referred to as the "Seven Mountains" mandate, and "bring the spoils of war to the priests", thus helping to bring about a prophesied "great transfer of wealth", from the "wicked" to righteous gentile believers. link to video of Rafael Cruz describing the "great transfer of wealth" and the role of anointed "kings" in various sectors of society, including government, who are to "bring the spoils of war to the priests".

Read the article link above for more.

Here's a quick info section for you:

A WORKING DEFINITION of DOMINIONISM

The belief that we (mankind) have a mandate to build the “kingdom of God” on earth, restoring paradise, by progressively and supernaturally transforming ourselves and all societal institutions, through subduing and ruling the earth by whatever means possible, including using technology, science and psycho-social engineering; and then and only then will a “Christ” manifest his presence on earth.

Al Dager in his book VENGEANCE IS OURS: The Church In Dominion (Sword 1990) lists two further definitions of Dominionism:

A basic premise of dominion theology is that when Adam sinned, not only did man lose dominion over the earth, but God also lost control of the earth to Satan. Since that time, some say, God has been on the outside looking in, searching for a “covenant people” who will be His “extension” or “expression” in the earth to take dominion back from Satan. According to the dominionist interpretation, this is the meaning of the Great Commission.

Some teach that this is to be accomplished through certain “overcomers” who, by yielding themselves to the authority of latter-day apostles and prophets, will take control of the kingdoms of this world. These kingdoms are defined as the various social institutions, such as the “kingdom” of education, the “kingdom” of science, the “kingdom” of the arts, and so on. Most especially there is the “kingdom” of politics and government. (Dager, p. 44)

THE DOMINION MANDATE

Dominion theology is predicated upon three basic beliefs:

1) Satan usurped man’s dominion over the earth through the temptation of Adam and Eve;

2) The Church is God’s instrument to take dominion back from Satan;

3) Jesus cannot or will not return until the Church has taken dominion by gaining control of the earth’s government and social institutions. (Dager, p. 87)

• The Dominionist theologians teach that this “kingdom” is a literal, physical, tangible kingdom here and now. They say it is not just a spiritual kingdom, nor one that is only fulfilled in the future. This “new type of kingdom” is described as:

“a real kingdom. The ancient kingdom of the Israelites was definitely a real kingdom, wasn’t it? It had real kings, real subjects, and real laws. Its domain encompasses the entire earth, even though most of the earth’s population are not citizens of this kingdom.” (Bercot, p. 15)

http://apprising.org/2011/01/26/what-is-dominionism/ 

Do you hear the "cuckoo, cuckoo, cuckoo" birds?

I BELIEVE IN GOD THE FATHER ALMIGHTY

All week long I’ve been thinking about the phrase “Father Almighty” and trying to decide what it really means. It’s a fascinating question because the Apostles’ Creed seems to get to the entire nature of God into just two words—"Father Almighty.”

The builders of the Creed were telling us that if we comprehend the meaning of those two words, we will know who God is. The challenge is made greater because the phrase “Father Almighty” combines two words that don’t normally go together.

Father goes in one direction, and Almighty goes in another. One of the common Greek words for Father is Abba, a very intimate term that means something like, “Dear father” or “Papa.” We would use the word “Daddy” today.

The word “Almighty” in the Old Testament translates the Hebrew word shaddai, as in El Shaddai, “Almighty God.” That name for God first appears in Genesis 17 when God informs Abram (who is 99 years old) that a year later, his wife Sarai (her name was later changed to Sarah) will give birth to a son.

The very thought seems so absurd that Abram (whose name God changed to Abraham—"Father of Many Nations”) laughed out loud. The Lord guaranteed the promise with his name—El Shaddai, the Lord Almighty. If we go all the way to the last book of the Bible, we find the name “Almighty” appearing several times.

Revelation 1: 8 is a typical example: “‘I am the Alpha and the Omega,’ says the Lord God, ‘who is, and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty.’”

So you have two words put together in the Apostles’ Creed that summarize who God is—one is intimate and personal, the other speaks of his unlimited power. To call him “Daddy,” means that he is a personal God who cares about me and you. To call him “Almighty” means that he is able to do whatever needs to be done. There are no limits with him.

If you know me well, the issue of “father,” to me can be a difficult one. I never really knew my father well, only the broken down man who had suffered malaria and other weird diseases, as well as the horrors of fighting the Japanese in New Guinea and the Philippines  in World War 2. By the time I knew him he was a broken down alcoholic with lung cancer. I only have a few memories of him.

As a foster child I had a couple of “foster fathers” but none really seemed to be anything special in the way they treated me at least. It’s made it tough to be a dad myself and not knowing how best to just be there for Chylle sometimes.

But I’ve seen a lot of dads in action that I think are great so I’m still a dad in progress, with a teenager. I know that God as a father to me means that I know He will always love me, no matter what I do as long as I’m believing in Him and His Son.

I think I am on good biblical footing this morning if I say that parents stand in the place of God for their children. Parents are not God, but we learn something about God (for better or for worse) from our parents and our children.

When the disciples asked Jesus to teach them to pray, he told them to start their prayers this way, “Our Father in heaven.” Jesus himself compared earthly fathers with our Heavenly Father. 

“Which of you, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!” (Matthew 7: 9-11).

It is a father’s joy and his duty and his honor to give to his children what they truly need. Fathers give good gifts to their children. I try to do that for Chylle and all the children I interact with.

But I am sinner, and my father was a sinner. I am not perfect, my father was not perfect. There is only one perfect Father—our Father in heaven. He will do all that an earthly father will do—and much more besides.

Let me offer one other passage for us to consider. This one comes from Malachi 1: 6 where God declares, “‘A son honors his father, and a servant his master. If I am a father, where is the honor due me? If I am a master, where is the respect due me?’ says the Lord Almighty.”

This is one of the few places in the Bible where you find God as Father and God as Almighty in the same verse. Let me put these two concepts together so we can see them clearly: He is Almighty: He can do anything he wants to do. He is our Father: He will do what is necessary for our well-being. He is Almighty: He can! He is our Father: He will!

To call him the Father Almighty means that we can trust him in every circumstance because he will do whatever needs to be done to take care of us. Romans 8: 31-32 expresses this truth beautifully: 

“What, then, shall we say in response to this? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?”

What is the limit of the “all things” in verse 32? Answer: There is no limit.

Whatever we truly need, our Father will make sure that we have it because he is the “Father Almighty.” His name is El Shaddai—Almighty God.

Let me read Isaiah 40 and the wonderful promise that comes at the end of the chapter. As I read it, I want you to notice that the promise of strength for the weary is based squarely on who God is:

“Do you not know? Have you not heard? The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary, and his understanding no one can fathom. He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.”                                                                                         (Isaiah 40: 28-31).

I love those two questions at the beginning: “Do you not know? Have you not heard?” Isaiah is asking, “Don’t you know your own God?” I know who he is: He’s the Father Almighty. That’s the God I believe in.

When you know the Father Almighty, you have strength and courage to face the worst life can throw your way. You all know my health concerns and how difficult it is some days just to walk with my neuropathy, and all the medications and side effects I experience. Some of you here face some of the same issues. But I tell you this not to cry but to continue to celebrate my life.

God is in control, God is in charge of how everything turns out, God makes no mistakes, And God has our best interest at heart. I know cause He told me so … I will win no matter what happens to me.

I love being able to say this sentence: “I win no matter what.” Only a man who believes in the “Father Almighty” can talk like that.

There is another way to put it together:

Father means he is the God who cares for me.

Almighty means he can do whatever needs to be done for me.

This week as I thought about all this, I began to work on completing this sentence:

If I truly believed in God the Father Almighty, I would __________________.

How would you fill in that blank? I think I know my answer.

I would trust him more and I would complain less.

I would smile more and frown less.

I would stop trying to play God and I would let God be God in my life.

I would be quicker to forgive and slower to get angry.

I would risk more because I am secure in his love.

I would be quicker to share Christ and less worried about what others think of me.

I would say “Your will be done” and I would mean it because my Father is not my enemy.

I would pray more and pout less.

I would enjoy what I already have, knowing that if I truly needed something else, my Father in heaven would give it to me.

Do you not know? Have you not heard? This is our God—the Father Almighty. Put your trust in him. Amen.