I gotta let you all know today, He is risen!
Ah, you were ready for me, okay, good. Whenever
coming to Easter and you're always wondering
how in the world are you gonna start off an Easter
sermon? Well, I figured hey, let's just make
sure we cover cover everything So I figured we're
gonna go ahead and just read through the whole
Bible Okay, it's only 72 hours to read from cover
to cover So we should probably get started in
the beginning God. Oh, I think somebody might
need a bathroom break. Okay, did you know? that
a Lutheran pastor actually had the record for
the longest speech in Guinness for about a year.
Zach Zender out in Florida. He actually made
a 53 -hour sermon to raise $90 ,000 for his church.
He was in the records for about a year. He actually
took it from a guy who had it at 48 hours, and
then that guy a year later took it back with
60 hours. And then neither of them have it now.
Apparently some guy in Nepal got it with a 90
-hour speech. So, if I go over by a minute or
two, I'm sure you can forgive me. But one of
the things that we see here is that today, as
we recognize the resurrection, it is more than
just one person coming back to life. It is the
culmination of a gigantic story. What story is
that? The story of humanity. It is meant to be
the core focus of who we are and what we say
and do, because it is the core event of so many
things that have led up to that. So, all jokes
aside, I do want to bring up Adam and Eve. You
see, Adam and Eve, they were put into this perfect,
beautiful place, and they were given all of this
place to not only care for, but also to eat almost
anything that they wanted. And one of the things
that's interesting about what is described here
is to realize that this is so different. from
what people oftentimes see as all of the earliest
religions that we would see. Instead of having
a belief where they would worship the earth around
us, instead they were the ones who were meant
to care for and give oversight over the earth.
Instead of being ones who were meant to worship
the animal kingdom, they were meant to have oversight
and to care for the animals. It was only later
down the line that we end up seeing people go
into in such an odd, different direction. But
as we see this, is that this oversight, this
understanding of what's happening, is that they
still lost sight of who they were. Now, we're
not talking about how maybe they were like, five
trees in the garden and then there's like one
that they're like you can't have this one it's
like Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday well it's
Friday we might as well have this forbidden tree
we're talking about the whole land the whole
area however many trees and bushes and crops
and everything else that they can have anything
they want and there's just this one one tree
the whole place you know how that is The one
thing that you really, really want and that you
know you're not supposed to have it, you're on
the cholesterol meds and you're like, yeah, but
that steak looks amazing. And you're struggling
with your blood sugar, but you're like, they
brought chocolate from Germany, oh my word, what
am I going to do? It's always the one thing that
you can't have, and yet that becomes the thing
that we want. And what's funny with this is that
then as the serpent comes along and is saying,
Are you sure God said not to eat of this tree?
And this is always interesting. Whenever there's
something we want, and we're not allowed to have,
don't we turn it into such a bigger deal in our
minds? Because it's not just, oh, we can't eat
it. You can't even touch it. Come on, it's not
what God said. But that's the thing about this
feeling, and is that this feeling that no matter
what, pushes them to wish that they were the
ones making the decisions. And so they do and
decide that they are the ones who want to be
like God's. So Eve and Adam together end up deciding
to go a different direction. And God says that
you must be cast out of the garden. You are no
longer able to have the eternal life that I had
planned for you in this perfect, beautiful place.
But notice... that at the very end, there is
going to be one who will put sin and death underneath
his heel. There is still a promise. God could
have just wiped him out, but he didn't. He still
gave them the opportunity to know him and to
still have a chance to repent. Now, you would
think that... Adam and Eve already have it figured
out. They will make sure that all of their kids
from then on never make the same mistakes that
they did, right? Wrong. And what we know is that
while later down the line people did know who
Yahweh was, you end up seeing so many people,
I mean Cain and all of his descendants and the
like, that decide they're going to go off in
all of these other directions. Until eventually,
there is now, from the line of Seth, Abraham.
And Abraham's children become the nation of Israel.
And they end up getting stuck over in Egypt in
this indentured servitude that they cannot leave.
And people argue all the time, well was it slavery?
Was it not? Whatever it was, they didn't want
to stay. And they were being forced to do so.
Until God made a way. And they left. And they
crossed the sea. And they were able to get to
the promised land. Not in two years. but in 40,
because they still didn't want to listen. And
when they're there, what ends up happening? Israel
cannot help but fall into the same idols that
all the other nations were into. Israel still
ended up falling into the same pits. See, they
were meant to push out all the other nations
that were worshipping the other gods. And why
is that? Because, in so doing, they were trying
to avoid everything they did. See, it wasn't
just the fact that these other nations were worshipping
other gods, which is bad enough already, but
it's all the things that came with it. The fact
that their sacrifices were not just of animals.
The fact that they did not only want their spouse,
and they wanted everyone else's as well. The
fact that they didn't care whether they represented
anything better other than what they could have
at that point. And Israel was supposed to push
them out and instead they acted like them. But
even more than that, they weren't satisfied with
the way God had made things. They wanted a king.
They wanted someone like all the other nations
had. They wanted someone who was tall and loud
and forceful. They wanted someone that everyone
would just stand up and take notice of because
they were afraid. They were afraid in that land.
And so even though they had God speaking through
His prophet and that they could worship Him with
the priest, they still wanted a king. And what
ends up happening is that God says, fine, have
one, but you're going to regret it. And that's
the thing about King Saul, is that King Saul
ends up going there and he's basically all the
things that they wanted. He is loud, he is tall,
he is proud, he is forceful, and then he ends
up taking the prophet and the priest role for
himself, not being satisfied with just being
a king. And that's the funny thing, when we ask
for things, sometimes we get exactly what we
want. And that's the hard part about this, is
that instead, God has to give them something
better. Saul loses the throne, and David has
to come and take it. And that's the thing about
David. David was not perfect by any means. David
made some really dumb mistakes. But why was David
different? Because David was humble. before God.
How often do we see when leaders are willing
to apologize or to admit when they did wrong?
And that was the thing about David. He was different
from Saul. He was the one who was willing to
repent and to say, I am a sinner. But you see,
the line of David would not stop there. It would
end up continuing forth. and we end up seeing
an interesting legacy to come. You see, turns
out that many of David's descendants would end
up going off in their own direction as well.
You see, the kings that would come forth, they
did much of the same. They left up high places.
They let people worship whatever they wanted
to in their area as long as they just recognized
their authority. They continued to go off and
enslave peoples or take as many wives or concubines
as they wished. They continued to participate
in all the wars and the battles that everyone
else had. They acted just like everyone else.
And so God had to teach them a lesson. You know
how it is like whenever you realize that it's
your own kid doing something. You know, if like
this, if somebody else's kid, alright, you know,
punches somebody in the arm, and it's just sort
of like, oh, you know, kids will be kids. But
then you see your kid do something, you're like,
get over here, I've got to teach you something,
alright. It is okay in your mind somebody else
does it, because that's somebody else's problem.
But when it's your kid, and you're like, you're
going to be better than this, don't make me look
bad. Could you imagine that in God's eyes? You're
my people. You're supposed to be different. But
you're not. So he lets them be pulled out into
exile. Judah, the last two of the twelve tribes
remaining, because the other ten went off in
their own direction for quite some time, they
ended up going into Babylon and they had two
things that were in front of them that looked
really easy. One was that many of them just wanted
to pretend... This is only going to last for
a little bit. Just a few years. We'll get through
it. Okay? And then we'll be right back. It won't
be that big of a deal. And the prophets like
to be able to say that, the false prophets. But
God said no. 70 years. And then there were some
that could find it easy to just be like Babylon.
Let's just fit in, eat what they eat, do what
they do, worship what they worship. And God's
saying, no, you're supposed to still be my people
no matter where you are. And even as Ezekiel
is over there having his dream, and God is saying,
you may be away, but I'm here too, and I'm still
your God. And so after 70 years, God still brings
them home. Each story, we mess up, and God is
still showing there's a future, there's a hope.
When will it finally be fulfilled? And then we
finally get to see it in Jesus. And we just had
this last week to realize that as much as Jesus
came into Jerusalem being celebrated as the King,
is that the very people who should have known
Him the best were the ones who sacrificed Him
to the Romans and let Him be put on a cross.
But that's not where He stays. Rumor has it,
that he is alive. And what do Peter and John
do? And they end up racing off. And this is how
you know that John is the one who wrote this
one. Because it's not Peter and John went. It's
Peter and the disciple whom Jesus loved. And,
you know, which, you know, I mean, hey, if I
were there too, I'd say the same thing. But more
than that is, don't you just love the fact that
John gets there first? And it's like, well, Peter
did go in there, but... the disciple Jesus loved
the one who got there first said blah blah blah
and I'm like John you are so petty I love it
it's hilarious but the thing about this though
is that we rush over those parts because the
good news is what they found what they didn't
find was Jesus in that tomb what they did find
is what Mary saw and isn't it amazing Mary doesn't
recognize him at first Was it because He was
perfectly healed? Was it because He was displaying
a glory that He hadn't before? Or was it because
she wasn't expecting to see Him alive? Whatever
it may have been, He says, Mary, and then she
sees it. Time and time again in these stories,
there is something else that God has in mind
that He wants to provide for each and every person.
And that as He has risen, His Spirit is now with
us. Because that's the thing, it's now a different
story. It's a story where God is with us at all
times. Do you realize what a big deal that is?
It doesn't matter where you go. It doesn't matter
where you've been. It doesn't matter what your
struggle may be. It doesn't matter what others
may do to you. You always have God right there
with you to lead and to guide. And that really
does come down to the core of today, is to ask
you, which path do you choose? Which path to
choose in so many different options that are
there in the world? The world continues to want
to try to paint things as this or that. These
are your only two. This is all that you have
in front of you. Either ignore God and live however
way you wish, or be completely domineering and
judgmental. Either go back to what everybody
else has said makes the most sense, or ignore
everything that God is trying to say to you because
it's just too hard. The choices that are there
are not God's choices. because the only choice
that God has ever provided is through His Son.
The only choice comes from sacrifice. The only
choice comes from grace and mercy. The only choice
comes from the love of God for sinful human beings
like us. The choice is not something we can come
up with. And if you've got a great idea in your
head, I promise you it's wrong. Because the one
idea is the one didn't come from us. It's the
one that only God could have seen since the time
before Adam and Eve, throughout all the times
of Israel, and into the time when His Son came
and gave His life. And He knew that as much as
the people had hurt His Son and killed Him, that
there was life on the other side. And that with
that life would come forgiveness. And so that
is what I offer to you today. My hope and prayer
is that today, your only hope and trust is in
the resurrection of Jesus. Because as much as
people might want to say it's a story, the reality
of it is the only place where we have life everlasting.
And with that, each and every day that God's
Spirit is there to lead and to guide you. So
wherever you may have been, Whatever your story
may have been up to this point, the story now
belongs to Jesus and you get to be the character
that Jesus loves. Thanks be to God.