EASTER MESSAGE (Romans 1:1-6)

THE BEST PIZZA IN TOWN IS...

What is your favorite pizza place in the surrounding area? When are you going to tell Pastor Shawn about it?

I come from Chicago. Chicago is known for a number of things. A few of them being…really bad quarterbacks and really good pizza.

Chicago has good pizza. Just FYI, I think the only reason I got this job is because when I came to candidate for the position I brought a whole bunch of frozen Lou Malnati’s pizzas with me. I pretty much bribed my way into the job. (Search Team Evaluation Meeting - Well what do you think? Nothing really great about the guy…but the pizza! Ok…let’s see if he wants the job!)

Since arriving we have been on the hunt for some good pizza. We have found a number of good places in the surrounding area that are great…but we found one that is in town…you ready???

The best pizza in town is...

It is a little place called Coconut Kenny’s (Syros???)

There pizza is a little different. If you go there I personally think it is better to have one of there “specialty” pizzas…not just a cheese or pepperoni or a sausage.

Have you ever had there Big Kahuna? With a name like that you better step up to the plate and deliver.

Reminds me of a baseball player from back in the day that played for one of the baseball teams from Chicago. Frank Thomas (The Big Hurt). 6’ 5” - 275 pound BASEBALL Player - he could inflict some damage. He was something you had to deal with.

The Big Kahuna pizza is something you got to deal with. It will do some damage to your waist line.

The Big Kahuna is an idiom that means “an important person, a person who is in charge.”

It is an old Hawaiian term that some Native Hawaiians find offensive…but in this day of age everything is offensive to everyone. But never the less ,“The Big Kahuna” pizza at Coconut Kenny’s is their attempt to produce the biggest, most important, significant take on pizza..and it is delicious!

Classic Red Sauce, Pepperoni, Ham, Italian & Portuguese Sausage, Bacon, Red Onions, Mushrooms, Tomatoes, Green Onions & Black Olives. All this for $22.99. Some of you are cancelling Easter dinner plans now and considering getting take out tonight!

If Easter Sunday were a pizza…it would be “The Big Kahuna.” The truth of this day is something you got to deal with otherwise it will deal with you and it will do more than damage your waist line.

The truth of this day reveals the importance and centrality of Jesus of Nazareth. Christmas is AWESOME. Good Friday leaves us HORRIFIED and SHOCKED and IN REVERENTIAL AWE at the costly outcome of wages of sin, but EASTER IS THE BIG KAHUNA.

Resurrection Sunday is the magna cum laude (the highest achievement) of the work of Jesus Christ.

The resurrection of Jesus Christ reveals to us a person who really is in charge.

What is he in charge of? He is in charge (exercising authority over) sin and death.

So…we are all excited about pizza now…but let’t take a few minutes to consider something that is of utmost importance. And to do that let’s go to the Big Kahuna book of the New Testament…please open to Romans chapter 1 and let’s be filled with reverence and awe and wonder on this most sacred of mornings.

Romans 1:1–2 ESV

1 Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God, 2 which he promised beforehand through his prophets in the holy Scriptures,

Romans 1:3–4 ESV

3 concerning his Son, who was descended from David according to the flesh 4 and was declared to be the Son of God in power according to the Spirit of holiness by his resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord,

Romans 1:5–6 ESV

5 through whom we have received grace and apostleship to bring about the obedience of faith for the sake of his name among all the nations, 6 including you who are called to belong to Jesus Christ,

Textual Idea: The power of Jesus Christ is something you have to deal with.

I don’t want to call Jesus “the Big Kahuna,” that seems so offensive and belittling to him, but never-the-less the fact that Jesus rose from the dead is massive.

He demonstrated mastery over death! That means He is STILL ALIVE. Do you realize this? Have you considered the ramifications of this?

Romans 6:9 ESV

9 We know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him.

We should tremble at this reality.

We are talking about a man who was betrayed by His friends and beaten for crimes he didn’t commit and endured suffering on behalf of other people although no deceit was found in his mouth.

We are talking about a man who knew no sin, but became sin for us, that we might get the righteousness he worked 30+ years to attain.

This wasn’t a righteousness that took a week to earn, or a year, or a season of life…this was a...LIFETIME of PERFECT OBEDIENCE that culminated with His obedience to die on a cross.

And then that perfect obedience of Christ was EXCHANGED FOR THE PUNISHMENT THAT OUR SINS DESERVED.

It was a torturous abandonment. He was literally stripped, mocked, beaten and crowned with thorns while the crowds were screaming for a public hanging…in front of his mother and brothers and followers.

In a society that is salivating for justice to prevail…we must realize that that Jesus life and death is a big deal. And not just His life and death but His resurrection. We have to deal with this historical fact.

Easter Sunday is Resurrection Sunday. Jesus was laid in a borrowed tomb…but was raised up after three days. Peter says in his first sermon...

Acts 2:24 ESV

24 God raised him up, loosing the pangs of death, because it was not possible for him to be held by it.

It wasn’t possible for death to hold Him down!

If death doesn’t have dominion over him…then HE must have dominion over death.

ALL OF THIS TO SAY…anyone who exists as an historical person that walked on this earth and laid down His life and demonstrates power over the ONE thing that we have all, to some degree or another, have lived in fear of all of the days of our lives ..that is Death, that person is someone you have to deal with.

Textual Idea: The power of Jesus Christ is something you have to deal with.

Big Deal…Jesus has power…why should I care? You should care because of what Jesus is capable of doing with that power.

Question: What does Jesus do with His power?

Answer: Jesus sets the standard by which we will be judged before God Almighty.

Whoa…that is powerful. He is the standard that we must live up to...He is the bar! (There is no grading on a curve). Jesus was perfect and He told His followers that if they want to be accepted by God Almighty…they had to be perfect. Do you realize that Jesus actually said...

Have you ever read Matthew 5:48 and thought how in the world can I do that?

Matthew 5:48 ESV

48 You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.

Ha ha! Ya right…there is no way. That is is a big problem. Scripture teaches that there is...

Romans 3:10–12 ESV

10 as it is written: “None is righteous, no, not one; 11 no one understands; no one seeks for God. 12 All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one.”

If God Almighty demands perfection and He is also observant off all of our actions and thoughts and even our motivations…it is evident REAL FAST that we FAIL the test.

And God’s Word teaches that...

Acts 17:31 ESV

31 because he has fixed a day on which he will judge the world in righteousness by a man whom he has appointed; and of this he has given assurance to all by raising him from the dead.”

Question: What does Jesus do with His power?

He has the power to render an accurate judgement that will send you to an eternal conscience punishment in hell.

Or

He has the power to represent you with His perfection to His Father and share His power with you so that you can actually live a brand new life!

This is a big deal. The fact that you are here this morning and hearing this message is very Good News for you. This is the best gift you could have ever wanted in your Easter basket.

Let’s look what God’s Word is saying to us today.

This Good News is being proclaimed. (v 1)

Romans 1:1 ESV

1 Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God,

Who was Paul? Well, Paul used to be Saul, but everything about this man changed when He met the Resurrected Christ on a dusty Damascus road.

He was a big important guy in the 1st century. He once carried letters of authority to persecute the followers of Jesus, but He met the Resurrected Jesus and stopped being a religious person and became an apostle, which is a person who is sent with message and he is the one writing this down for you to read. He went from zigging to zagging.

Look at the text…Paul was “set apart” for the “gospel of God.”

Paul had been dispatched to announce the “gospel.”

The Gospel is the heralding or announcing of “Good News.” Back in Paul’s day when a military battle was one…the winning army would send out someone to announce the victory. (No cell phones then).

Well, God had won a victory against His foe and “the gospel” is the announcement of His victory.

Which begs the question…who was He against?

According to 1 John 3:8, who and what did Jesus come to destroy?

Well who is opposed to God and His plans? - the Devil

1 John 3:8 ESV

8 Whoever makes a practice of sinning is of the devil, for the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil.

and we are like… “Ya…Devil take that...” God won…We are the champions.

Pump the breaks…because I only showed you the second half of that verse…look at the first half.

1 John 3:8 ESV

8 Whoever makes a practice of sinning is of the devil, for the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil.

And we are like…wait a minute…I’m guilty…I struggle with sin…and we put two a two together and read verses like Colossians 1:21, and Romans 5:10 that tell us we are literally, “enemies” of God.” We realize we might be in trouble…because the Gospel is the Good News of God’s victory over those who stood in opposition to Him…and we just read that we, in our sin, are in opposition to Him, we are His enemies…and He has defeated/destroyed us with the resurrection of Jesus and all of a sudden we realize...yup…the resurrection of Jesus is something I have to deal with.

There is a lot more on the line than whether or not your team wins six consecutive games in the March Madness tournament and gets to cut down the nets while listening to, “One Shining Moment.”

So let’s pay close attention to the text.

This Good News is being proclaimed. (v 1)

This Good News is rooted in history. (vs 2-3)

Romans 1:2–3 ESV

2 which he promised beforehand through his prophets in the holy Scriptures, 3 concerning his Son, who was descended from David according to the flesh

The Good News of God’s victory isn’t a fairy tale. Yes, this was a victory that was promised from long ago, but it wasn’t in a galaxy far far away. It was here on this planet.

Ever since Adam and Eve believed the words of the crafty serpent instead of the trustworthy words of their maker concerning matters of life and death…we have been in major trouble with our Maker.

But look at this verse…it says, the Good New of God was, “promised beforehand through the prophets in the holy Scriptures.”

And so starting in Genesis…immediately following the fall of mankind we get the first Promise of God to redeem and reclaim His beloved image bearing creations from the mess that they made.

Genesis 3:15 NIV

15 And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel.”

This is a promise from God that He would eventually send someone that would come from the very line of Eve who would come and DESTROY the works of the devil. Yes…this Promised one to come would have His heel struck…(That hurts right???)…but although this Promised one would have His heel struck…He would CRUSH the head of His opposition.

This is real life. This really happened. The death of Jesus on the cross was the historical head crushing blow to Satan.

Look at the text…it says this promise of Genesis 3:15 is “concerning his Son, who was descended from David according to the flesh.”

What assurance does Matthew 1 and Luke 3 give us in order to help us realize that Jesus was an actual historical person and not just a fairy tale?

Our culture is obsessed with tracing our linage right? We want to find out “who we are” or “where we came from.” Do you know that the lineage of Jesus was traced right back to King David in the Gospel of Matthew. We don’t even need to send a DNA sample to ancestry.com! It has already been traced for us!

Matthew 1:1 ESV

1 The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham.

It is all traced back for us…Jesus was the true KING that the OT pointed to. The whole Bible finds its fulfillment in Jesus.

Look at this…ALL of this…all the prophets of Holy Scripture are pointing to the pinnacle of God’s special revelation of Jesus.

John 5:46 - Moses wrote of me. Luke 24:44 - All the Scriptures point to me.

Sally Lloyd Jones - EVERY STORY WHISPERS HIS NAME

What does Sally Lloyd Jones, (Author of The Jesus Story Book Bible) mean when she says, “Every story whispers His name.”

I think it is a universal desire in people to be part of something bigger than themselves. Well this Gospel that we are talking about today is an invitation to a cosmic, universal…unfolding of ultimate reality.

This Good News is rooted in history. (vs 2-3)

This Good News has the power to change our lives. (v. 4)

Romans 1:4 ESV

4 and was declared to be the Son of God in power according to the Spirit of holiness by his resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord,

I don’t care who you are…this message is relevant. Some of you might have come here determined not to listen…but this message is for you. Who among us doesn’t struggle at least in part with the concept of our own mortality?

Be honest. If the last year taught us anything, it taught us that this world is not the way it used to be or the way we would like it it to be and it’s definitely not the way it was intended to be by God in the beginning.

This past year has been some heavy sledding, but I want to point your eyes back to the text. Because in a 1st century world that was certainly not the way it used to be, or the way Jesus would have liked it to have been…he began a journey toward Golgotha in order to correct the course of fallen and broken humanity in order to bring us all back to a right relationship with God…to bring about God’s initial intentions. And Jesus accomplished this through His death and resurrection. It was a long hard road for sure.

Look at the text. “Jesus was declared the Son of God in/with power.” Jesus was “invested with power.” Well that sounds good. But the text goes on to say, “according to the Spirit of holiness.” Well, that sounds even better! To be invested with power according to the Spirit of holiness (whatever that means) sounds pretty cool. Like if someone comes up to you and asks, “Hey…um…would you like to be invested with power according to the Spirit of Holiness?” You should say, “Ya.”

But the text goes on to say this being “invested with power according to the Spirit of holiness” was made possible by something. What thing?

His resurrection. Jesus defeated death! (Let that sink in…sounds like a fairy tale…it’s not).

The resurrection from the dead was the first important step in his journey to being the firstborn from among the dead and to ultimately reverse all that had gone wrong in God’s creation. His first resurrected step out of the tomb was the start of the path that we can walk down as we His redeemed people follow Him back to the glorious life of living in the presence of God.

The resurrection of Jesus Christ, followed by His ascension and coronation as King as He sat down at the right hand of God…granted Him the power and authority to pour out His resurrection power and authority into our lives through the Holy Spirit.

Peter says,

1 Peter 1:3 ESV

3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,

By an act of God’s sheer mercy we can be born again! We can be invested with a whole new power to live a whole new life and this is only made possible because Jesus was crucified on our behalf, buried on our behalf and raised on our behalf.

The resurrection of Jesus Christ authenticates all His claims to deity. He really was Who He said He was…

The resurrection of Jesus Christ is like railroad switch…it sets us on a whole new course of life. It’s the beginning of a long journey home.

How is the resurrection of Jesus Christ like a railroad switch?

Paul says to the Romans:

Romans 6:4 ESV

4 We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.

Romans 8:11 ESV

11 If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you.

You can be NEW...

Our whole society is obsessed with bunnies and flowers and a whole host of other things to celebrate spring and newness of life this time of year, but what good is new life if you eventually die? The only thing that really matters is if you can be born again in such a way that even though you die…you live.

That’s exactly what Jesus claimed to offer people...

John 6:47 ESV

47 Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes has eternal life.

John 11:25 ESV

25 Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live,

These are outrageous claims if Jesus body is still in the tomb.

The Apostle Paul tells us if Jesus is still in the tomb…then we are to be pitied more than all men and we are still need to pay for our sins and our faith is futile.

The resurrection of Jesus is a BIG DEAL that we have to deal with.

C.S. Lewis in Mere Christianity

“A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic—on a level with the man who says he is a poached egg—or else he would be the Devil of Hell. You must make your choice. Either this man was, and is, the Son of God: or else a madman or something worse.”

This leads us to the very last point of the message.

This Good News is for you, but you must respond (vs. 5-6)

Romans 1:5–6 ESV

5 through whom we have received grace and apostleship to bring about the obedience of faith for the sake of his name among all the nations, 6 including you who are called to belong to Jesus Christ,

This Good News is for you! You must respond to what you have heard. There is no option not to respond. Your indifference is a response…and it is a rejection of the Good News. It is essentially saying, ‘Thanks, but no thanks.” I will pay the price myself…and indeed you will…and although you try your hardest…you will come up short. There will be a shortage of funds on your end.

The resurrection of Jesus Christ is a “big deal” that must be dealt with. Have you? If not your indifference is a response!

But the price has all ready been paid for sin. It was paid in full by the body and blood of Jesus Christ and the payment was accepted by God the Father as He rose Him up out of the grave. Do not reject this message. This message is coming to you who are hearing this…you are called to belong to Jesus Christ!

The proper response to the Gospel or “Good News” is faith…that is you simply believe it. You receive it. You trust it alone to take care of your sin problem. Not part of you sin problem…but all of your sin.

“Well, Jesus what you did on the cross was pretty good, looked pretty tough but I think that I need to contribute a little bit here. What if I promised to walk old ladies across the street or never ever cheat on a test or go to church more often?”

No...

If you are hearing this message…God is calling you to belong to Him…what that means is God is calling you to let Jesus Christ and His death on the cross be your only source of mediation between God and His unsurpassed holiness and you and your absolute inability to be holy by your on efforts.

You need an go between. You need someone that can stand between you and your wretchedness and God and His holiness.

Jesus said,

John 5:24 ESV

24 Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life.

So trust Him…follow Him! Follow Him as He has already taken that first resurrected step into newness of life and follow Him as you cross over from death to life and…when death comes knocking on the door of your life…like it does to all of us…and your body is laid in a tomb…your grave, like the grave of Jesus will be nothing but an empty space…because you will be resurrected with power just like Jesus.

Don’t spit in the face of the mercy that is being offered to you on this most glorious of days otherwise the debt you own to God for your sin will be multiplied.

This is a message you must deal with.

Will you spit in the face of the mercy that is being offered to you or will you gladly receive it this most glorious of days?