Untitled Sermon (6)

Preparing for Easter

Prayer

Pastor Matt just wrapped up a amazing series that I found extremely challenging and changed the way I look at the way I approach people when trying to share the good word. He pointed out how we meld the old and new testiment and create stumbling blocks to people coming to Christ or may have contibuted some to walk away from Christ. With the best of intentions we try to communicate with those people and sometimes we must acknowledge we some times fall short. We have to make sure that we are not putting stumbling blocks in front of others.

But as we approach easter i think that we have to look at preparing ourselves for the event that in the Christian faith is the core or foundation of all christian faith. We are coming to the point in the calendar of the time when death and resurrection of Jesus Christ happened.

We as a community start to focus on the sacrifice and victory of Jesus Christ. We have all heard the statements, the things we say to each other as christians, that are associated with Easter. Through the blood of the Lamb, God so loved us that he sent his one and only son to be sacrified for our sins, the power of the cross and i am sure you can think of many more. Beautiful things to say to each other.

But I would like to challenge us on how we need to approach those statements and balance them against what we do because of them.

As people we are all guilty including myself of saying things at times because they are the right response to the time or who I am speaking too. Kind of just like when someone asks How is it going. I respond with really good or great. But i don’t actually think about the question before I answer. I don’t do a quick self annalization of what is the actual state of How is it going.

To be honest I am sure that most people asking the question are not wanting a full report on the state of Darren. Don’t get me wrong there are times when the person asking really wants to know the full report. Just like sometimes the things that are said around easter or anytime when we are Christian’s interacting with each other that those easter things to say have an major inpact on me.

This is the whole point of what the next two sunday’s messages are going to be. How do we prepare for the celebration of easter. How do we change the way we approach the things that Christ calls us to be because of what he did in those days a couple of thousand years ago.

So how do we prepare?

How do we take this event that had changed us forever. Truly the ressurection is the core of every journey of a person who declares that Jesus Christ is our Lord and Savior. To one that is never reduced to a no thought response at a certain time.

Listen if you are a person who is just asking what this church thing is about. I get it. This sounds like we still don’t know why or what we are doing. But the outcome of these discussions is why our lives are changed so drastically for the better.

Matthew stated

Matthew 16:25 “For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life because of me will find it.”

That is what we are all trying to do to have a life of meaning. A life that is worth living. I think Jesus also gave us a road map of how to have that life with his own life.

it was only 33 years long but it could be taken as the ultimite road map to a life that is worth living.

The reason for a meaningfull and joyful life is through not only what Jesus did for us but what we do in response to what Jesus did for us

John 10:10 “A thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I have come so that they may have life and have it in abundance.”

The life in abundance is the reason that Christ lived the way he did. I feel his life and teachings when followed are so that we could live a life that it is a life of pure joy. His life wss about living in a way that was never focused on himself only on teaching and living for others.

As believers we have experienced the transformative power of Jesus Christ.

I think we have all at times experienced this kind of life for a season. It was great and powerful. I know from my own experience it is not always and forever that way. Not that I am doing anything really bad but it changes. So that brings us to the first action for our preporation for Easter.

Examine your life, how does it compare to Christ’s example.

I am not saying that we could ever reach the perfection of Christ. But we should be trying to start to make changes in our life that of the things that keep us from being closer to that perfection.

Have we allowed the time, and the energy to be able to mature in our in our approach to life? Do we spend enough time with others that challenge us, do we actively seek out time with the word, Do we spend enough time in the day to hear from God so that he can direct us.

Is our day to day lives honestly where we would like it to be? What are we going to do to start moving towards change. We need to be honest with ourselves and in prayer asking God where we need change in our lives. What is keeping us from that abundant life.

I can hear it. But Darren you don’t know what my life is actually like. I am so busy and I give as much time as I can to my faith. Between work , family and church I am a capacity. Listen I am not judging where you are and what you have done everyday. I am saying that as we approach the time that we examine the events around Easter. I think it is a good time to take stock to see if you are where you want to be.

A moment of reflection with the Holy spirit could lead to one to a step towards change. Because if we want the abundant life that Christ promised with his sacrifice. It Does not mean a comfortable life. He calls us to change, the fact that he gave his life does mean we get to change once and were done. We are promised an abundant life but if we want this extraordinary life filled with the power of God! Our goal is to live a life worthy of the calling we have received.

Take time to be quiet and listen for what God is asking of you. Find out if you have anything that is keeping you from the life you want and needs to change

Romans 8:11 “And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead lives in you, then he who raised Christ from the dead will also bring your mortal bodies to life through his Spirit who lives in you.”

The Holy Spirit will bring you mortal bodies to life. Wow, Paul was letting the Romans know that through the Holy Spirit we can beat our Sinful nature to have a better life. We all could use this time to remember in a deeper way what this truely means for our life.

As we are exploring our own barriers to an abundant life. What else can we do some prep work on this week. I think that sometimes the Holy Spirit has a sense of humor. As I was prepping this week I was trying to figure out what barriers i have and a little voice said Let’s go over what are your reasons again for not doing everything you need to change.

I am like, No I don’t like that. Usually that is because some of my excuses are to make room for what I like. I am so busy. Really how much time do you spend watching TV? said that small voice.

1 Samuel 12:21 “Don’t turn away to follow worthless idols that can’t profit or rescue you; they are worthless.”

I know that is old testament but every time I think of wasting time because of what i want, this verse pops up in my head. Samual was warning the Israelites after they had received the king they asked for. I relate because I ask to be entertained mindlessly.

I think this is also where we need some assistance from the Holy Spirit to show us where we have put our energy and focus on ourselves. Even work or some of the other things that take up large portions of our day.

What time could we change by looking at what we spend our time doing. Is it eating up time and keeping you from the changes you need to work towards. Is God apart of what you are doing that is taking up your time. Do we always look for how this is serving others or is it serving you.

Christ was always focused on others needs. He was teaching, healing and loving all around him.

As part of Easter prep we should take a look at how our time is being used. Are we filling our day with stuff that feeds our wants or are we looking for how our time can be used to serve.

Galatians 5:16 “So I say, let the Holy Spirit guide your lives. Then you won’t be doing what your sinful nature craves.”

I know this seems like I am asking for you to prep for the worst test ever, but the life we seek sometimes comes with change and change can mean looking at things that we don’t want to look at. The only time I feel totally in an abundant life is if I am serving others. Total focused on loving them then all of the other less then abundant life goes completely away.

While we have the Holy Spirit on turned up on high. Lets prep by asking Him who we need to love. Who do we need to love on, not because they are great to be around but completely the opposite. Now come on I know there is somebody that just rubs you the wrong way. and after this sermon it maybe me. We have a tendency to think that loving others is the person we don’t know that needs serving out there. But we also need to work our way into loving the ones in our bubble. Maybe we wish they wern’t in our buble.

John 13:1–2“Before the Passover Festival, Jesus knew that his hour had come to depart from this world to the Father. Having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end. Now when it was time for supper, the devil had already put it into the heart of Judas, Simon Iscariot’s son, to betray him.”

I think again Jesus life is showing us that he loved his desciples including the one that was going to betray him to pain then death.

We need to work towards the same capacity as Jesus. We need to ask which of our brothers and sisters we need to love even when they have betrayed us. Sometimes I have struggled with this and the betrayal was not to the level of Judas. Christ calls us to be in each other lives not just to smile at each other because we are in the same building.

This is one of own stumbling blocks that we need the Holy Spirit guide us on. We will require his strength in us because relationships are part of what Christ calls us to in the abundant life.

I hope I have given you a few things to work on as we prepare for Easter coming. You might say some homework. I am going to be looking at some of the ways that we can practically look at to help us step towards preparing for the continuing change that we are called to make.

Most of the things we talked about today are going to take time to even hear where we are called to change. But I hope we agree that calling ourselves followers of Jesus Christ is to be actively changeing. Christ promised us a joyful life but not a easy life. whether we are facing troubles or hardships we still have the power to have an extraordinary life.

This is what he promised and this is what we are to be sharing with the world and world even if it sounds like we don’t have it worked out. I promise it is better than the life i had before.

Church we need ot continue to open to change what we can, be it inperfectly. But we must change and be open about how we are trying to change. We need to be examples not of perfection or outworldly perfect looking.

But be every striving for to be a little bit better everyday. It is so much more of a life than what we gave up to follow Christ. We can start to have or regain that abundant life that makes the world wonder what we know that is different. We cannot be stagnant or content with our lives. We back slip so easily and the world is waiting to point to that as a reason to reject Christ. We have learned that we cqn sometimes do that to others by what we say. Now let’s work towards changing ourselves openly to show others to point to us as ones that are living a better life even if it is not perfect or easy.

This list is by no means a total list of the prep work that we require but it is a good start, Once we get the door open to hearing from the Spirit the flood gates may open for all of us. These are very internal things to focus on as we work toward some clarity on what we are change. Remember the it maybe internal but it leads to change which is external.

As you hear from Holy Spirit on the changes that ne wants. Write them down put them to memory cause i am hoping to have more action items to which will leads us to preparing for Easter next week.

I have one practical prep item to do this week for Easter. It is one of the things Christ did to prepare us for the time between then and him returning. It is communion Ha you thought I forgot. If you have given your life to Christ as our lord and savior you are welcome to join us in communion. Pod instructions.

As we take communion this week I would invite you as we take it. Pleae look on it as what Christ is saying as he shared with the disciples.

He took the bread blessed ut and broke it and gave it to his disciples and said take this and eat it as for this is my body. Please before we take it please remind yourself of how the broken the body was of Jesus. Picture it, the disciples did not realized exactly at the time what was to come but we do. Thank you Lord. Let eat the bread.

He took the cup of wine and gave thanks to God for it.He gave it to them and said, Each of you drink from it, for this is my blood, which confirms the covenant between God and his people, It is poured out as a sacrifice to forgive the sins of many, Please take a moment and understand we are the many he was referring to and memory of the last supper was for all of those who weren’t there. Thank you Lord, Let us drink.

Closing prayer