Looking into an ancient mirror. RUMC April 19, 2015 chapter 31

Looking into an ancient mirror.

RUMC April 19, 2015 chapter 31

 When I say, “The Book of Revelation,” this is what most of you see isn’t it? Your eyes glaze over and you feel like you are trying to read ancient Greek. It doesn’t have to be that way.

Let me take a poll.

•           How many of you read the last chapter of THE STORY this week?

•           Aside from THE STORY how many of you have ever read the book of Revelation. Well, that explains it! Most of us don’t understand it, because we don’t often read it.

 First, this morning, I want you to start with a fresh piece of paper.

Forget the idea that the Book of  Revelation has to be hard. It does not have to be a mystery. Much of what you have heard and read about it has been hyped to sell books or movies. The LEFT BEHIND series is a great example of poorly understanding the book of Revelation.

Then forget the scary stuff you have heard and seen. I am not saying that there is nothing scary in the book of Revelation, but most of the scary stuff you have heard was probably from “shock jock” preachers who would rather scare you than teach you. 

Is your slate clean? Is your mind ready for a new idea?

OK--- let’s start here. You all know Dr Seuss. He wrote a story called Yertle the turtle. Perhaps you know it, but I’ll summarize it for you.

•           Yertle sat on a rock and ruled over a pond. “King of all that I can see.”He said.

•           He decided the pond was too small of a kingdom so he stacked up 9 turtles and climbed on top them.

•           Though pleased with that increased view for a while, he soon wanted more.

•           He stacked 200 more turtles and sat on them. He was elated, but not satisfied.

•           Yertle tried one more time to make the stack taller it all fell over.

Dr Seuss tells it better, but what was that story about? Greed? Pride? Ego? The futility of grabbing for more and more? The fact that some people ate never satisfied?

Yes. Of course, we all agree that the story of Yertle the Turtle is about all of those things.

You might be surprised to know that Dr Seuss tells us that it was actually written about Adolph Hitler. OK I can see that. But do you have to know that to get the point?  NO. When I read Yertle the turtle 70 years after Hitler’s death I may not know that it was written about Hitler, but it still has the same message about  greed, pride, ego, futility and never being satisfied. It continues to have an important message even though the historical context has been lost.

•           The book of Revelation was written to Christians about 95 AD who lived under terrible persecution by the roman emperor. As we read it 2000 years later, even if we don’t know all that they suffered,  even if we don’t’ understand  all the details, there are still important messages for us.

Second, going back to the Yertle story would you worry about identifying what each of the turtles, or ponds stood for? This one stand for Poland, this one stands for France? Of course not! That is not at all the author’s intention or concern. We understand that Dr Seuss had a timeless message to convey and we would never pick it apart like that.

•           The book of Revelation was written with a timeless message for Christians in the first century AND the 21st Century. Yet people insist on picking it to pieces. They try to identify each beast with a political figure, each plague with a war, etc… and they completely miss the message of the book.

I am sorry if that is the way you were taught to read Revelation. Some pastors believe that is the correct way. I do not. A bunch of people have made a bunch of money reading it that way.  But most mainline pastors and Biblical scholars would never read it that way, and would never teach you to read it that way. They would teach you to look for the big themes and the timeless messages.

 So let’s take a quick look at the introduction which we read in worship today. The introduction does three things.

1.         It sets the scene by telling us that Jesus came in a vision. The first words are, “The revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show his servants what must soon take place;.”

2.         Second, It identifies the author of the book. It says, “he made it known by sending his angel to his servant John,  who testified to the word of God and to the testimony of Jesus Christ, even to all that he saw.”

3.         Finally, the introduction tells us that the revelation is to be given to the 7 churches that are in Asia.

If you cut through all the fancy language that is what the first chapter  says Jesus came with a vision for a man named John who wrote it down the 7 churches of Asia.

Let me quickly add, that I don’t recommend skipping the rest of the chapter.  It fleshes out the story with some beautiful images and poetic language.

 The 7 churches of Asia were located in what is modern day Turkey. John had be exiled to an island named Patmos just off the coast. These not special churches. Like every church in the world, they had some things that they did really well. Also like every church in the world, they each had some problems. I think that is why they are named, and described in chapters 2 and 3 of  Revelation.  I think it is to help us to find our place in the book. To realize that the book is for people like us. It is like looking into an ancient mirror. Now, understand, we probably won’t find one of these churches to be exactly like ours, but there are enough different kinds of people here that I’ll bet each and every one of us will feel like we are looking into the mirror at least once this morning.

If you would like to follow along you can find the 7 letters starting on page 245 of your pew bible.

 The First church is Ephesus. They sound like a pretty solid church. They work hard, they are patient, they do not tolerate evil doers, they are discerning, they have even faced persecution. But in the vision Jesus says “I have this against you, that you have abandoned the love you had a first.”

They abandoned the love they had at first.  We all know people who start out on fire, and quickly peter out. One of two things happens, they burn out, or they get bored. That was the problem at Ephesus. They had lost their passion, lost their hope, lost their excitement, lost their joy in serving God. They Got burned out.

There are  Christians who start out with great intentions, but they just work themselves to a frazzle.  They get to where they are over responsible, over worked and overwhelmed. 

Do we know anyone like that?

 The second letter is to the church in Smyrna. Smyrna is a town of 100,000 people about 35 miles from Ephesus. Jesus tells them, “Do not fear.” “Do not be afraid.” In the last days of the 1st Century there was plenty to fear from roman persecution.

What do we have to fear today? (I have to admit this is one where I see myself) We “what if” ourselves to death. What if I can’t pay that bill? What if they don’t like me? What if the car breaks down?  We can drive ourselves nuts.

In the church, it goes more like this… I hear people ask What if we don’t have any kids? What if this big giver moves? What if no one comes? What if we need that mission money ourselves?  What if?  What if? What if?  It is not the real live monsters that scare us, it is the “what ifs.”

Do we know anyone like that?

 The third church is Pergamum. It is only 45 miles from Smyrna. Again, it has good things going for it. It has good worship, they don’t waver even in hard times. Jesus says, however, “my problem with you is that you have some with you who hold to the teachings of Balaam.” For them all of life was a compromise.

Everyone else is eating idol meat; I’ll just eat a little.

Everyone else is going to the pagan temple and having a good time I’ll just go once this week.

I’ll cheat just a little bit.

I’ll just listen to the gossip, I won’t add to it.

I’ll go to church on Sunday, but the rest of the week I’ll do what I want.

Let me tell you, either you live for Jesus or you don’t. There is no middle ground. There is no compromise. But that doesn’t stop people from trying. 

Do we know anyone like that?

 The 4th church is Thy-a-tri-a. This was the birthplace of Lydia the seller of purple. Jesus affirms them for their work, their love, their faith, their service and their endurance. But he calls them out for tolerating a woman named Jezebel who was leading the people into sin.

Jezebel should not to be confused with the Old Testament woman by the same name,. This woman was teaching that anything goes. She went one step future than compromise to say everything is OK, Jesus says he gave her a chance to repent but she refused.  From her perspective she had nothing to repent for.

Let me tell you being a Christian better change your behavior. There are thou shalts, and thou shalt nots. 

Some do not see it that way.  They just don’t see what being a Christian has to do with the way they live.  As long as they believe their behavior is unimportant. Just looking at their lives, their decisions, their habits, you would never know they were Christian.

Do we know anyone like that?

 The 5th church is the church in Sardis which was known for its manufacture of carpet, wool an cloth. Jesus says, “You have a reputation of being alive, but you are dead.”

These are the people who go through the actions.  They look good on the outside, but on the inside they are empty.  They live like robots doing all the right things, but without any heart.

They go to church, they give, they serve, they help, they talk the right talk; but there is just nothing inside.  Nothing.  They are just empty. Empty like an old tin can.

Do we know anyone like that?

 The 6th church is the church at Philadelphia. Strangely it gets by without any criticism at all.  Jesus says, “ Because you have kept my word of patient endurance, I will keep you from the hour of trial that is coming on the whole world to test the inhabitants of the earth.” So we’ll move on.

 Finally there is  Laodicea… the one that you read in THE STORY this week. Do you remember what Laodicea’s problem was? . They are accused of being “neither hot nor cold.” These are the apathetic pew warmers.  No matter what you do they sit there like a bump on a log.  No movement, no emotion, no commitment.  They just don’t care.  And Jesus says he wants to vomit them out because they are neither hot nor cold. They are apathetic.

Do we know anyone like that?

 I Now I know I flew through those pretty quickly, but chances are one of them pricked you as it went by. Burned out, Fearful, Compromise, No limits, Empty, Apathetic.  I can look across the congregation not just sitting here but the whole congregation and see people suffering from every one of these. We are really no different than any of those 7 churches of Asia.  So if it were up to us there would be no hope at all.

But I want to tell you today the book of Revelation has an answer to that. 

It says it’s not about you. It is not about me.  It is not about us!

And it is a good thing because As burned out, and fearful, and compromising, and sinful, and empty and apathetic as we are. It is a good thing  the kingdom of God does not depend on us. 

We serve that which is greater. We worship that which is greater.

God is greater than our weakness.

God is greater than our burn out 

God is greater than our fear,

God is greater than our compromising,

God is greater than our sin,

God is greater than our emptiness

 and God is greater than our apathy  And that is exactly What the book of revelation wants us to know. Listen to the passage immediately after the letters to the 7 churches.

 After this I looked, and there in heaven a door stood open! And the first voice, which I had heard speaking to me like a trumpet, said, “Come up here,”  At once I was in the spirit, and there in heaven stood a throne, with one seated on the throne! And the one seated there looks like jasper and carnelian, and around the throne is a rainbow that looks like an emerald.  Around the throne are twenty-four thrones, and seated on the thrones are twenty-four elders, dressed in white robes, with golden crowns on their heads.  Coming from the throne are flashes of lightning, and rumblings and peals of thunder, and in front of the throne burn seven flaming torches, which are the seven spirits of God;  and in front of the throne there is something like a sea of glass, like crystal.

Around the throne, and on each side of the throne, are four living creatures, full of eyes in front and behind:  the first living creature like a lion, the second living creature like an ox, the third living creature with a face like a human face, and the fourth living creature like a flying eagle.  And the four living creatures, each of them with six wings, are full of eyes all around and inside. Day and night without ceasing they sing,

“Holy, holy, holy,

the Lord God the Almighty,

    who was and is and is to come.”

In the end it is not about you and me.  In the end it is not about what we are or what we do. In the end it is not about our brokenness, but about God’s greatness.  It is about spending our lives worshipping God.  It is about giving our lives, in all our brokenness, in all our imperfection in all of our hurts and in all of our failures to God in worship.

It is about standing before the throne and singing to the one who is Holy, Holy Holy the Lord God the Almighty,  who was and is and is to come.”

Let’s sing

HOLY HOLY HOLY

The Power of the Cross RUMC 4/12/15

The Power of the Cross

RUMC 4/12/15

Confirmation Sunday

(Confirmands), what would you ask for if you found a genie-in-a-bottle and were granted three wishes that were bound to come true? If you could have three wishes fulfilled, what would you ask for?

Have you heard the story of a young man who found a genie-in-a-bottle? This guy was walking down the beach and came across an old bottle. He picked it up, pulled out the cork, and out popped a genie.

The genie said, "Thank you for freeing me from the bottle. In return I will grant you three wishes."

•        The man said, "Great! I’ve always dreamed of this, and I know exactly what I want. First, I want one billion dollars in a Swiss bank account." Poof! There was a flash of light and a piece of paper with account numbers appeared in his hand.

•        He continued, "Next, I want a brand new red Ferrari right here." Poof! There was a flash of light and a bright red brand-new Ferrari appeared right next to him.

•        He continued, "Finally, I want to be irresistible any women." Poof! There was a flash of light and he turned into a box of chocolates. 

As Christians, we know that there are no genies to grant our wishes, and prayer doesn’t work like a magic lamp.

I kind of wish (the spiritual life) (Confirmation) was like a magic lamp, though.

•        I want to be filled with the power of the Holy Spirit. “Poof!” and I have my own little Pentecost, with the Holy Spirit filling me full to overflowing.

•        I want deep faith. “Poof!” I have the faith of Abraham.

•        I want spiritual courage. “Poof!” I have the courage of St. Peter.

•        I want spiritual understanding. “Poof!” I have the understanding of the great Apostle Paul.

I wish it worked that way, but it doesn’t.

In chapter 30 of THE STORY, we read the story of the later part of Paul’s life. We read about his second and third missionary journeys and we read from Ephesians, which is one of the prison epistles, and I Timothy, a pastoral epistle.

You have to understand a couple of things to understand chapter 30.

FIRST, you have to understand that the beginning of the chapter is the lower story of Paul’s later career. Paul grew up in Tarsus, 350 miles from Jerusalem. He was about 10 years younger than Jesus was, so Paul was just coming into adulthood when Jesus was killed. He was not a disciple or even a follower. Chances are that Paul never met Jesus before the crucifixion. If he had, he would have been among those who were arguing with him and looking for a way to destroy him. In fact, the first we hear of Saul, soon to become Paul, was when he held the coats for the stoning of the disciple Stephen. In Philippians, another prison epistle, Paul writes, I was “circumcised on the eighth day, a member of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew born of Hebrews; as to the law, a Pharisee; as to zeal, a persecutor of the church; as to righteousness under the law, blameless.”

That is the lower story. The upper story is that God was working in this Hebrew of Hebrews, the Pharisee of Pharisees, and the persecutor of persecutors, to make his the greatest evangelist of all time. You all know the story of Saul, which was Paul’s birth name, being struck down blind on the road to Jerusalem and meeting Jesus. Therefore, as we read about his life and ministry, the one who started out persecuting Jesus became the greatest evangelist ever, certainly at least on a par with Billy Graham. The upper story vision is one of Paul, traveling across the entire known world proclaiming the gospel of Jesus Christ. Going from region to region and preaching the good news of salvation.

This greatest evangelist is the one who starts this Ephesians passage saying, “Although I am the very least of all the saints.” // “Although I am the very least of all the saints, this grace was given to me to bring to the Gentiles the news of the boundless riches of Christ, and to make everyone see what is the plan of the mystery hidden for ages in God who created all things” And that is how Paul spent his life, bringing good news to the Gentiles- people like us who were not of Hebrew descent.

The second thing you have to understand is that Paul’s preaching got him in trouble. The story is laid out clearly in Chapter 30 of THE STORY so I am not going to retell it in detail, but, suffice it to say that the Jews and their leaders we very unhappy with Paul’s preaching and church planting. They imprisoned him. They beat him. They threatened him. They tried everything they could, but still Paul preached the good news of the gospel of Jesus Christ until he was arrested in Jerusalem. The commotion caught the attention of the roman governor, who had power of life and death, and sent him to Rome appeal to the Emperor himself. The amazing story of the journey is found in chapter 30, but eventually we follow Paul to Rome where he was under house arrest for 2 years and then beaded about 60 AD.

It is during this imprisonment that Paul wrote the letter to the Ephesians that we have before us today. That explains why Paul writes, “ I pray therefore that you may not lose heart over my sufferings for you; they are your glory.”   His suffering is his imprisonment for the faith. Even though he was not in a prison cell, he was still chained with a guard babysitting him 24 hours a day. He was still a prisoner, and he knew that his day of execution would be coming sooner or later.

Those are the two things you need to know to understand this beautiful passage.

•        Paul was the Apostle to the Gentiles- essentially to the entire world.

•        Now he sits in prison awaiting execution. When he writes these words.

“I pray that, according to the riches of his glory, he may grant that you may be strengthened in your inner being with power through his Spirit, and that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith, as you are being rooted and grounded in love. I pray that you may have the power to comprehend, with all the saints, what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, so that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.”

Along with Paul, this is my prayer for all of us. (But especially those of you being confirmed today.)  “That you would be strengthened in your inner being with the power of the Holy Spirit.”

I pray for your inner being-- not just what we see on the outside. But that the power of the Holy Spirit would grab hold of your innermost parts: your thinking and decision-making; your inner will and your desires; your emotions both positive and negative; your needs, your hopes, your dreams, and every single part of the person you are. I pray that the sum total of everything that makes you who you are, would find its strength in the power of the Holy Spirit, which is the source of all life.

The Christian life is more than belonging to a church or coming to church. Church membership or attendance is just the entryway. Being an inactive member, is like saying you live in a house, but never going any further than the foyer. It is like saying you are an athlete because you attended a basketball game once. It is like settling for the smell of the buffet and never taking a plate of food.

My first prayer for you is that the Holy Spirit would grab hold you. Not just grab you by the collar, but would reach into your life and grab hold of that which makes you, you!

When VICTOR SERIBRIAKOFF was 15, his teacher told him he would never finish school and that he should drop out and learn a trade. Victor took the advice and for the next 17 years, he made his living doing variety of odd jobs. He had been told he was a ‘dunce’ and for 17 years, he acted like one.

When he was 32, an amazing transformation took place. An evaluation revealed that he was actually a genius with an IQ of 161. (Over 120 is a genius) Guess what? That’s right; he started acting like a genius. Since that time, he has written books, secured a number of patents, and become a successful businessman. Perhaps the most significant event for the former drop out was his election as chairman of the International Mensa Society. The Mensa society has only one membership qualification - an IQ of over 140.

When he was in school, that teacher grabbed hold of him and held him underwater, drowning him in embarrassment and hopelessness. At the age of 32, something else grabbed him and completely changed his life. It changed the way he acted, the way he worked, the way he thought of himself, and the way others thought of him. He was transformed from the inside out.

My first prayer for you is “That you would be strengthened in your inner being with the power of the Holy Spirit.”

Completely converted on the inside, and transformed from the inside out. A new person in Jesus.

 My second prayer for you is that “Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith, as you are being rooted and grounded in love.”

This is different from the first prayer because it is for the way we act. The first prayer is that you would be different because of the power of the Holy Spirit; this one is that you will act different because of the love of Jesus.

Being a member of the church is not just about our insides, it is about what we do on the outside.

Tony Campolo, in his book The Kingdom of God is a Party, told how, upon arrival in Honolulu, he accidently found himself in a bad part of town at 3:30 in the morning. He went in to a bar for a snack and found himself surrounded by eight or nine prostitutes who had just gotten off work for the night. He heard one remark that tomorrow was her birthday and learned that she had never had a birthday party in her whole life.

Campolo’s heart was touched. He decided to throw her a surprise party. The next night, he decorated the bar with the help of the bartender, who happily chipped in the cake. The next day, the stunned girl was deeply touched when the whole bar sang happy birthday to her. Campolo offered to say a prayer for the woman before the stunned crowd, and after the prayer, the bartender remarked, “Hey! You never told me you were a preacher. What kind of church do you belong to?” Campolo replied, “I belong to a church that throws birthday parties for prostitutes at 3:30 in the morning.” The bartender then sneered, “No you don’t. There’s no church in the world like that. If there was, I would join it.”

My prayer is that you would become the kind of church members that would throw a birthday party for a prostitute at 3:30 in the morning.

My prayer is that you love so much that you would make us become the kind of church that reaches out to those who are least expecting it. My prayer is that Jesus would so fill your hearts that you give a hand up to those whom we think might be least deserving. My prayer is that you would love so deeply that you can’t walk by and leave a child crying, or a teenager thinking of suicide, or anyone feeling unloved.

My second prayer for you is that “Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith, as you are being rooted and grounded in love.”

 Finally, I pray that you “have the power to comprehend, with all the saints, what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, so that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.” 

That you have the power… this is not a power that comes from within you, but from the spirit of God himself, to comprehend the vastness of God’s love. The immensity of God’s love. The unimaginable greatness of God’s love.

Think about the vastness of our universe. (Be careful not to blow you’re mind) Space is so “hugantic” that light that left the farthest edges of the galaxy 14 trillion years ago, has been traveling (well) at the speed of light all that time, and still has not reached earth. And we don’t know how long it will take to get here. It might only be 1/10th of the way!

Does that make you feel small? It makes me feel tiny!

But think about this God’s love is even greater than that.

 My prayer for you is that you will have the power to comprehend the heights of God’s great love in Jesus Christ. Higher than the furthest reaches of our universe.

 My prayer for you is that you will have the opportunity to plumb the deepest depths of God’s great love. Deeper than the deepest ocean.

   My prayer for you is that you know the breadth and the length of God’s love from the farthest reaches of the east to the farthest reaches of the west.

 Then and only then- when you begin to see the breadth and length and height and depth, of God’s great love in Jesus Christ will you begin to understand the power of the cross.

(Edie gave me this cross a couple of years ago. It sits right next to my chair and often when I am praying I pick it up as a reminder of what Jesus did for me. As a reminder of the tremendous power of the cross. As a reminder of the breadth, and length, and height, and depth, of God’s great love in Jesus Christ for me. This morning I will be giving you a similar cross. Keep it close. Cling to it. Cradle it in your hand, as a reminder of the Christ that lives in your heart.)

•        We are people of the empty cross.

•        Be changed by the power of the cross.

•        Live by the power of the cross.

•        Know the power of the cross.

•        Cling to the cross and be “filled with all the fullness of God.”

AMEN

Living Hope RUMC Easter 2015

Living Hope

RUMC Easter 2015

The sun rose, but it was still dark.

It was the darkest 39 hours in history.

It was the worst 2 ½ days of their lives.

It started in the Garden of Gethsemane when Jesus asked them to stay and pray. They fell asleep. After all, it was late, and they had just finished the big Passover meal, but Jesus was obviously disappointed. That, however, would not be the last time for that.

Looking back, they wondered, if they had stayed awake, maybe they would have heard the mob coming to arrest him. But then, what could they have done to stop them? And strangely enough, Jesus seemed to be expecting them.

Perhaps if they had stopped Judas… but who would have expected one of his closest disciples to betray him? They all felt betrayed.

Oh, how they wish they had not abandoned him. Peter was the only one who followed Jesus after the arrest. Of course that ended badly too. Denial, denial, denial.

Denial, however, was not the worst of it… It got darker and darker.

The darkness closed in as they spit, and mocked, and whipped, and falsely accused him.

They paraded him before the governor.

They pressed for his execution, and justice was betrayed.

Mocking, spitting, more mocking, more whipping. The contempt. The hatred. The inhumanity of it all.

The crucifixion, the blood, the pain. The scorn. The loathing. The brutality of it all.

Then death, and despair, and darkness.

Then the deepest, darkest 39 hours in history.

Finally, the sun rose, but it was still dark.

They trudged to the tomb, burdened with spices. Burdened with grief. Burdened with guilt.

·        We can all understand the burden the disciples shared on Good Friday, and Saturday can’t we?

·         We all understand the brokenness of dreams-shattered, hopes-dashed, and plans-crushed.

·        We all know what failure feels like.

·        We all know what loneliness feels like.

·        We all know what betrayal feels like.

·        We know hopelessness and depression.

·        We know the agony of addiction.

·        We know the anguish of desperate medical situations and the stench of death that lingers in our nostrils.

·        We know the gloom of joblessness and financial trouble.

·        We know all too well the brokenness of family relationships: children and parents, brothers and sisters at odds with one another.

·        We have all seen the hurt and brokenness in our own community as neighbors and friends find themselves on opposite sides of the school issue, and say terrible things to one another.

·        We see the brokenness in our world as nations and peoples, and religions rise up against one another.

·        Whether it is in our own soul and mind, our families, our community or our world; I can say confidently and with absolute assurance, that every one of us knows the darkness of what the Bible describes as our sinful condition, or our sinful world. It is through the darkness of that sinful and broken world that the disciples trudged to the tomb that day.

That’s when things turned around.

For the women the light and the hope suddenly pierced through the darkness with just three words.

Those words, “He is risen.”

With those three words, “He is risen,” shadows were dispelled, and life was filled with light.

With just three words, “He is risen,” the sun rose on the disciples, the light shone, and nothing was the same.

In just three words, “He is risen,” history was changed.

In just three words, “He is risen,” our lives were changed even 2000 years later.

Our Scripture reading this morning explains why those three words make all the difference for us. “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! By his great mercy he has given us a NEW BIRTH into a LIVING HOPE through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that is IMPERISHABLE, UNDEFILED, AND UNFADING, kept in heaven for you, who are being protected by the power of God through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.” [1]

In this passage Peter is answering the question what difference does Easter make? His answer, “it makes all the difference in the world.”

First, the resurrection makes all the difference because we are given NEW BIRTH. Peter writes, “By his great mercy he has given us a NEW BIRTH.”

Like Nicodemus, we have to ask, what sense does “NEW BIRTH” make? We have to ask, “How do we do that? What do we have to do to get NEW BIRTH in Jesus Christ?” The problem is, like Nicoedemus, we are thinking about it backwards. 

Let’s start with Jesus Resurrection. Did Jesus cause his resurrection? No, he could not because he was dead. The resurrection of Christ on Easter was wholly and completely by the power of God. It was only by the gracious power of the father that Jesus was raised from the grave.

The same gracious is true in the NEW BIRTH.

Let’s look at it this way. Who is responsible for our first birth? What exactly did you do to be born the first time? I’ve always thought it a little odd that we get presents on our birthdays because we don’t have anything to do with our birth. Beyond showing up, we don’t cause it, we can’t control it, we can’t speed it up or slow it down. Birth is completely and totally a gift that is given us by our parents and the forces of nature.

The NEW BIRTH is the same way. It is not something that we do. It is not something we earn. It is not something we can speed up or slow down. What God does for us in Easter is completely and totally a gift from the almighty creator of the universe and Jesus Christ, his son, the redeemer of the world.

So first, to understand what difference Easter makes, we have to understand that it is not what we do that makes Easter, Easter. It is what God does. The gift of Christ’s resurrection is to us a gift of life itself, which we call NEW BIRTH.

Going on, Peter writes, “By his great mercy he has given us a new birth into a LIVING HOPE.”

On December 17, 1927, a US Submarine was patrolling off the Atlantic Coast when it accidentally collided with a Coast Guard Cutter. The submarine was so severely damaged that it sank and came to rest on the floor of the Atlantic about 100 feet down. A rescue ship was dispatched to the scene of the collision and immediately divers were sent to investigate. The first diver to go down was a Commander Ellsberg, who came up reporting the submarine was on her keel with a large hole in her side ... and no sign of life. The next morning, however, two more divers went down again to survey the situation, and as they did, they heard tapings coming from inside the damaged vessel. The tapping turned out to be in Morse code. From the signals, the divers learned that there were six men who survived the crash. The last message they tapped out in Morse code was: "Is there hope? Please hurry, please!"

Many people today are asking the question, “Is there hope? And if there is, please hurry.”

Iffy hope is dead hope. Wishy-washy hope is dead hope. Hope when all is just dandy is a dead hope.

LIVING HOPE is not just wishing for something to be true.

LIVING HOPE It is not just hoping for the best.

LIVING HOPE is the certainty that we are alive in God by the gift of New Birth in Christ.

Let me come at it from this side: If I asked you, "How do you know that you were born?" what would you answer? You would answer, "Because I'm alive! I exist. I'm here." And that's right. That is all the answer needed.

You would not answer, "I know I was born because I've got a birth certificate at home." Or, "I know I was born because I did some historical research at a hospital and found a document with a little footprint on it that matches the curly lines on the bottom of my foot." Or, "I have signed affidavits from the doctor and nurses that my mother gave birth."

You would simply say, "I know I was born because I am alive." To quote the great naval philosopher, Popeye, “I am what I am.”

Now suppose I asked you how do you know that you are born again? How do you know that you have a relationship with Jesus? You wouldn’t cite the date you were saved. You wouldn’t pull out your membership card.

No, you would answer, “I know I have new life because I am alive to God. I once had no spiritual life and now I am alive spiritually. Once my heart was dead, now it is alive with love. Once I was dead inside, now I am alive in God. The proof that I was born again… is my life today! I know him. I love him. I trust him. I follow him. I hope in him. My life is in him.” That is LIVING HOPE.

Not an empty hope, but a hope that is alive in our relationship with God.

LIVING HOPE is alive even if the world around us is dead.

Hope is not even real hope until it shines in the midst of our darkest hopelessness. GK Chesterton said, “it is only after hanging on for ten minutes after all is hopeless, that hope begins to dawn.” 

LIVING HOPE is hope that continues to hope especially in the darkness.

LIVING HOPE is for those who hung on to hope through the capture and mock trial, through the spitting and mocking, through the whipping and beating, through the crucifixion and scorn, through the blood and the guts, through the dying and the death, through the burying and the dark nights of Friday and Saturday. It is in the midst of that hopelessness that the light of LIVING HOPE shines. “The people who sat in darkness have seen a great light. Those who lived in the land of deep darkness on them a light has shined.” [2]

·        Easter does not mean that there is no darkness. It means that in Christ there is LIVING HOPE that we are no longer trapped in the dark tomb.

·        Easter is not for people who have hope already. It is for those whom LIVING HOPE is their only hope.

·         Easter is not for people who have never sinned. It is for those of us who know that our only hope to break the power of sin, is to place our LIVING HOPE in Christ

It is exactly for people like us that Jesus was raised.

It is exactly for people like us that LIVING HOPE comes to shine in our darkness.

And finally, Peter writes that living hope is forever. Nothing will ever put out living hope. Peter writes that it is IMPERISHABLE, UNDEFILED, AND UNFADING

                                                       i.      Living hope is IMPERISHABLE hope. The Greek word here means that it is --un-ravaged by any invading army. It is unconquerable. Living hope cannot be defeated by any darkness in life. The Resurrection of Jesus is evidence that living hope cannot even be defeated by death itself.

                                                     ii.      Living hope is UN-DEFILABLE. The Greek word here is the opposite of polluted. Our living hope is not tainted with any impurity. It is elemental, not watered down by human effort, or luck, or expected relief. It is pure hope as pure as the light that conquered the darkness of the tomb.

                                                  iii.      Living hope is UNFADING. Everything of this earth fades. Flowers fade from brilliant colors to brown. Sunsets fade from bright orange and reds to blackness. Life fades from living to dying. But Easter hope -- Living hope--never fades. It does not wear out, it does not dim down, it does not get thin, or old, or weak. Living hope never fades.

Living hope is forever hope.

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! By his great mercy he has given us a NEW BIRTH into a LIVING HOPE through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that is IMPERISHABLE, UNDEFILED, AND UNFADING, kept in heaven for you, who are being protected by the power of God through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.” [3]

Those words come from Peter, who was a long ways from perfect.

·        Peter knew the brokenness of dreams-shattered, hopes-dashed, and plans-crushed.

·        Peter knew what failure feels like. (Oh boy did he!)

·        Peter knew what loneliness feels like.

·        Peter knew what betrayal feels like.

·        Peter knew hopelessness and depression.

·        Peter had seen the dark side of life. In fact not only had he seen it, he had lived it.

Let me tell you, none of that mattered any more.

None of that mattered because Peter was no longer defined by brokenness, failure, loneliness, betrayal, hopelessness, and depression.

Peter was no longer defined by the standards of this world.

Peter was no longer defined by the measures of this life.

Peter was no longer defined by what he had been or what he had done.

Standing at the door of the empty tomb completely redefined who Peter was.

Standing at the door of the empty tomb completely transformed Peter’s life.

Standing at the door of the empty tomb completely revolutionized the way Peter saw and experienced life and the world around him.

Standing at the door of the empty tomb completely recreated the person Peter would be for the rest of his days. He was a new man, given NEW BIRTH INTO A FOREVER LIVING HOPE by his encounter with the resurrected and living Christ.

Today, we come to the tomb.

We have dragged our sorry selves out of bed.

·        Trudged through the brokenness ,

o   the failure

o   the loneliness

o   and the betrayal

·        We have come with the hopelessness and depression.

o   The agony of addiction.

o    the anguish illness and the stench of death

·        We bring the gloom of joblessness and financial trouble.

o   the brokenness of family relationships,  our community and our world

We could just stay here. We might get stuck here. We could stand here and get stuck in the mud. Stuck in the pains and gloom of this world. Stuck in the same old sinful lives we have been living all along. Stuck in the darkness.

But it is terrible to be stuck in the darkness. Research subjects, isolated in pitch dark bunkers experience delusions, paranoia, and panic within just a few hours. Eventually they close their eyes and give up on light or life ever again seeing.

There are people who spend their whole lives stuck in dark and give up on ever seeing light or life. Stuck in the darkness that consumes all of their energy and time. There are people who spend their whole lives stuck in a dark tomb, surrounded by the stench of death and despair. There are people who spend their whole lives trapped in sin. There are people who get used to the dark, thinking that it is normal. So they close their eyes and resign themselves to the darkness.

The sad thing is they never realize that the stone has already been rolled aside and the light of Easter is streaming in on them.

Don’t get stuck there.

Don’t get stuck here.

You’ve come this far. Don’t stop short of the joy of Easter.

You’ve ventured through the darkness of your life

You are only one heartbeat, one breath, one step short of Easter joy.

Just 3 words short of Easter Joy

Take that step into an Easter life …One step.  Just three words …Those 3 words?… He is Risen.

OK four words… He is risen Alleluia.

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[1] ! Peter 1:3-5 NRSV

[2] Is 9:2

[3] ! Peter 1:3-5 NRSV