Excruciating Grace Hope Everlasting
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Excruciating Grace, Hope Everlasting
John 10:18
Good morning! Welcome again to The Baptist Fellowship! I am so glad that you chose to worship here on this Easter Morning. I am sorry it is cold out today! I put in an order for good warm spring weather, but the delivery was delayed!
I want to start out this morning for thanking all of you that helped in the Good Friday Service and especially the Easter Egg Hunt yesterday!! What a great success that was! A huge thank you to all who helped and to all who attended! I can’t wait to see what we do next year to top it!
I also want to stop and thank our musicians for being very willing to serve and for being patient with me as I know I have asked an awful lot of them over the past couple of weeks. I so appreciate their willingness to serve and stretch perhaps beyond their normal comfort zones to lead our church in worship during this special holiday season.
Each Easter, every Southern Baptist Church participates in a special offering. We have been talking about it for a several weeks now.
The Annie Armstrong Easter offering
is a collection that goes to the thousands of North American missionaries that we support. 100% of the funds collected go directly to the missionaries to meet their needs in the field.
Today is the day! We are finally going to collect the offering, and we are going to do it old school! We are actually going to pass the plates. So, I am going to ask my ushers to come forward, and Andre to ask a blessing upon the offering.
Andra – Offertory
Thank you Andra,
This Easter morning, I want to talk about Grace and Hope. I think these are two things that are in very short supply in today’s world. We could use more Grace and more Hope in our everyday lives. My plan is to have everyone here today understand where to go in order to find an unlimited supply of both!
Grace. Grace is God letting us have something that we do not deserve. That is what Easter is all about. God making it possible for us to have a relationship with Him even though we don’t deserve it! God choosing to look past our imperfections. Looking past our sin, our selfishness, and our pride… Because of what Jesus did for us. In order to do this God had to go through great suffering.
Hope. Hope is trusting in God, that what God did through His Son Jesus was enough, that the work of the cross and the finished work of the resurrection was enough to Save us! It is understanding that without God, we are hopeless… This morning I want us to try and Understand His Suffering. I want us to see the cost of the Grace, the Excruciating Grace that is offered to us. I want us to look at the Hope, The Hope Everlasting that is offered so freely. I want us to see how valuable that Grace, that Hope, truly is to us. I want us to see what it cost. I want us to understand that in this life, That Grace, that Hope is all that matters. Nothing else matters. In order to get this understanding I think we must first understand the suffering that surrounds the Easter Story.
The suffering, as we would describe it, begins with the Arrest and Trials that Jesus was forced to endure.
The Trial of Jesus Shows us God’s Purpose
The first question I think we need to answer is, “Who Killed Jesus?” Was it the Romans? Was it the Jews? Was it the liberals? Was it the Conservatives? Was it us?
The truth is, it was none of the above! Christ Gave up His life intentionally and voluntarily.
Look with me at
17 For this reason the Father loves me, because I lay down my life that I may take it up again.
18 No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again. This charge I have received from my Father.”
For this reason the Father loves me, because I lay down my life that I may take it up again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again. This charge I have received from my Father.”
It was Christ’s purpose for coming to Earth! To Die for Us.
Before the Trial ever started, Jesus Already knew the outcome. He was not surprised when he was arrested. He was not surprised when He was dragged into the court room. It was His plan!
What was His purpose?
John 12:47 -- “Now is my soul troubled. And what shall I say? ‘Father, save me from this hour’? But for this purpose I have come to this hour. Father, glorify your name.”
47 If anyone hears my words and does not keep them, I do not judge him; for I did not come to judge the world but to save the world.
His purpose for being born 33 years before in Bethlehem to the Virgin Mary was to bring Him to this moment, to this exact event!
Have you ever been in a trial? I know Bob Orleck has! I was in a custody hearing when I was about 7-8 years old. Court room drama is fascinating. There are so many court room movies and tv shows. Matlock and others. The People’s Court was one of the original reality TV shows! I cannot get that little jingle out of head and I Haven’t seen an episode in YEARS!
We have seen some very high-profile cases on TV in our lifetimes. OJ Simpson, Scott Peterson, Martha Stuart, Michael Jackson… None hold a candle to the circus Christ was up against. His trial was a total sham. Jesus was rushed thru 6 trials in about 12 hours. He had 3 religious and 3 Roman Trials in a 12 hour period! It is obvious that he did not have an American Defense attorney. If He had, he would be out on bond somewhere and on His 100th continuance!
But no, not under Jewish and Roman Law. He was first tried by Annas who was a Key religious leader, then by Caiaphas who was the high Priest. The Religious Supreme court, or the Sanhedrin, had their chance.
Then He was then sent to Pilate, the Governor of Judea… Who then sent Him to Herod, the Governor of Galilee…. Who then sent Him back to Pilate again! All in a 12 hour period.
He was was secretly arrested at night because of his popularity. And after 6 trials, they had nothing they could pin against Him. All charges were made up, all witnesses were fake and lied, witnesses contradicted themselves. They could not find a single reason to convict Him. But they really really wanted Jesus Gone.
Jesus challenged the status quo. He showed that religion is the true sham. A bunch of made up rules to make you feel like you were better than others, and perhaps God would pay some attention, if you kept a list of (do’s) and (don’t)’s. As long as you were a good person, God would look on you as better than someone else. If you were born to a particular race, or in a particular place, God will look on you with favor. Jesus turned all that upside down and it made them so mad! Jesus threatened their power structure!
So, Finally they made ONE accusation that was true! They said “He claims to be the Son of God!”
59 Now the chief priests and the whole council were seeking false testimony against Jesus that they might put him to death,
60 but they found none, though many false witnesses came forward. At last two came forward
61 and said, “This man said, ‘I am able to destroy the temple of God, and to rebuild it in three days.’ ”
62 And the high priest stood up and said, “Have you no answer to make? What is it that these men testify against you?”
63 But Jesus remained silent. And the high priest said to him, “I adjure you by the living God, tell us if you are the Christ, the Son of God.”
64 Jesus said to him, “You have said so. But I tell you, from now on you will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of Power and coming on the clouds of heaven.”
65 Then the high priest tore his robes and said, “He has uttered blasphemy. What further witnesses do we need? You have now heard his blasphemy.
66 What is your judgment?” They answered, “He deserves death.”
67 Then they spit in his face and struck him. And some slapped him,
68 saying, “Prophesy to us, you Christ! Who is it that struck you?”
Now the chief priests and the whole council were seeking false testimony against Jesus that they might put him to death, but they found none, though many false witnesses came forward. At last two came forward and said, “This man said, ‘I am able to destroy the temple of God, and to rebuild it in three days.’ ” And the high priest stood up and said, “Have you no answer to make? What is it that these men testify against you?” But Jesus remained silent. And the high priest said to him, “I adjure you by the living God, tell us if you are the Christ, the Son of God.” Jesus said to him, “You have said so. But I tell you, from now on you will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of Power and coming on the clouds of heaven.” Then the high priest tore his robes and said, “He has uttered blasphemy. What further witnesses do we need? You have now heard his blasphemy. What is your judgment?” They answered, “He deserves death.” Then they spit in his face and struck him. And some slapped him, saying, “Prophesy to us, you Christ! Who is it that struck you?”
Think about it! Jesus never claimed to be Just a good teacher! He never claimed to be a prophet. He never claimed to be a moral leader. He never claimed to be a man of God. He claimed to be God! Let me say that again! HE CLAIMED TO BE GOD!
I like to think of myself as good man as compared to many other men that I have met in my lifetime. I teach the truth. I think I am a good teacher, not a great teacher, but a good teacher.
What if I were to say I’m God? Would that change how you felt about me? (Jehovah witnesses’ argument goes out the window right here in this passage by the way! Of course, Jesus said he was God, the leaders of the day would not have crucified him for just being a good man or a good teacher, but for blasphemy…)
If you ever meet anyone who claims to be God you have 3 choices… You must either believe that he is an Idiot, someone with Diminished capacity. Mentally unstable. The Guy in funny farm who thinks he is Napoleon.
Or, believe that He is a con-man, someone who is a rip off artist. A Swindler. Someone who pretends in such a way as to take advantage of you.
Or, believe He is telling the truth. Do you believe that Jesus was telling the truth? If that is the case you have to worship and obey him! There really isn’t another logical choice to make!
You already believe something about Jesus. WHAT is it that you believe? Is He a liar? A Lunatic? Or The Lord? Is he a Deceiver? Is He Deluded? Or is He Deity?
Jesus claimed He is God, the Savior of the world. His words, not mine! That is why He allowed Himself to be put on trial. Obviously as God, He could have prevented His own trial, but His purpose was to save the world. Philippians 2:6-11 in The New Living Translation reads like this:
6 Though he was God, he did not think of equality with God as something to cling to.
7 Instead, he gave up his divine privileges; he took the humble position of a slave and was born as a human being. When he appeared in human form,
8 he humbled himself in obedience to God and died a criminal’s death on a cross.
9 Therefore, God elevated him to the place of highest honor and gave him the name above all other names,
10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
11 and every tongue declare that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
Though he was God, he did not think of equality with God as something to cling to. Instead, he gave up his divine privileges; he took the humble position of a slave and was born as a human being. When he appeared in human form, he humbled himself in obedience to God and died a criminal’s death on a cross. Therefore, God elevated him to the place of highest honor and gave him the name above all other names, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue declare that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. NLT
Listen, everyone will bow down. Everyone, everywhere. In heaven and even in Hell! One day everyone will acknowledge Jesus for who He is! All the arrogant and foolish denial will end. Everyone who has ever rejected Christ will be forced to bow down to Him and acknowledge that He is God. I have heard so many people in my lifetime claim that Jesus was a fairy tale, that we do not have an accurate recording of His words, that He was not really God, but just a good man or teacher... Let me tell you something. There is coming a day when every single one of those people will be forced to admit that they were wrong and suffer the consequences of their poor choices.
Every nationality, every age, every culture, every person of every religion… Every politician, every rock star, every professor, every athlete Will bow at the feet of Jesus Christ, the King of Kings, the Lord of Lords.
The question is not, “Will you acknowledge Jesus as Lord?” but “When…” Will you acknowledge Him now in Love? or later in regret and judgment? Can I make a suggestion? Can I?
DO IT TODAY!
Jesus thought of you above all else – so He sacrificed Himself for you. Now he wants you to put Him above all else in your life!
The Death of Jesus shows us God’s Passion
His death demonstrates how much God loves you! It reveals the length God was willing to go to save you!
After the trials – Jesus was sentenced to be killed by crucifixion. The most brutal form of capital Punishment ever conceived. First He was subjected to physical. and emotional abuse. After He endured the 12 hours of grueling questioning and trials, He was blindfolded and beaten. “Who hit you Jesus? Then He was Mocked and ridiculed. A Crown of thorns was pressed down upon His head and his beard was yanked out by the handfuls.
Then He was sentenced to be scourged by a soldier with a Cat of Nine Tails. This incredibly cruel torture device was made up of 9 leather straps in the rope. Braided into the straps were sharp bones to cut the flesh and lumps of lead to bruise the underlying tissue, to “tenderize” the flesh so that the lashes that followed would remove the flesh. Jesus received 40 stripes or lashes. Men often died from the blood loss of being scourged. He was then forced to carry His heavy cross up the hill to where he was to be crucified.
He was then crucified. If you attended our Good Friday service, I described in detail as per a medical Doctor what a crucifixion was like. Jesus had his arms pulled out of joint. Most who were crucified suffered a death by suffocation. The soldiers would often break the legs of the criminals to speed the death along.
Not Jesus. Jesus gave up His life, no one took it! The soldiers were surprised to see Jesus die when He did, much before those who are crucified usually did. Instead of breaking his legs, they speared his side to make sure he was dead.
Why did God allow this?
6 For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly.
7 For one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die—
8 but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. For one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die— but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
Jesus died because He loves you. He said, “I love you this much!” So much it hurts!
Maybe you are here this morning asking, “Why did Jesus have to die?”
Let me explain. All have sinned. We have all fallen short of God’s perfect standard required for a relationship with Him. With our sin on our record, we simply cannot exist where He exist. Justice demands payment! We owe “wages” for our sins. We all deserve to die for every single sin we will or ever will commit. Paul wrote in Romans that the wages or the required payment for sin was death. Somebody had to pay for your sins! You or someone else! The Good news, or the (gospel), is that everything you’ve ever done wrong is bought and Paid For!
Right before Jesus died, He shouted in a loud voice, “IT IS FINISHED! What is finished? The Payment is finished!
7 In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace,
7 In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace,
In other words, “Christ sacrificed his life’s blood to set us free, which means that our sins are now forgiven. Christ did this because of God’s amazing grace.”
If there’d been another way, surely God wouldn’t have suffered in the way that He did. Friend, there’s no other way for you to go to heaven! If you’ve never accepted God’s free gift of salvation, you need to do so now. You need to prayer like this…
“Thank you Jesus for dying for all my sins. I am sorry for them. Please forgive me. Thank you for saving me. From today forward I will follow you and worship you.”
Did you know that God planned your salvation before you needed it!
He tells us in
10 Everything belongs to God, and all things were created by his power. So God did the right thing when he made Jesus perfect by suffering, as Jesus led many of God’s children to be saved and to share in his glory.
“Everything belongs to God, and all things were created by his power. So God did the right thing when he made Jesus perfect through suffering, as Jesus led many of God’s children to be saved and to share in His glory.” (CEV)
God was in control the whole time. He could have stopped The Trials, the crucifixion, the torture, any of it at any time! But He didn’t. Because of His love for us. He did it all for our benefit! He wanted to save us and allow us to share His glory in heaven!
Not, Finally, The reason we are here today. Easter!
The Resurrection of Jesus show us God’s Power
The Easter story does not end at the cross. After Jesus had died, they buried him in a tomb, a reusable cave, covered with a huge stone. The bad guys went back to Pilate and said, “He claimed that He would rise again. Now we know that won’t happen but just in case….” And Pilate put an entire unit of Soldiers to guard the tomb!
Jesus is the only person in history whose grave was guarded to keep him from coming out!
3 He presented himself alive to them after his suffering by many proofs, appearing to them during forty days and speaking about the kingdom of God.
tells us;
He presented himself alive to them after his suffering by many proofs, appearing to them during forty days and speaking about the kingdom of God.
When Jesus was hanging on the cross, leaders mocked “If you are really God, come down!” Jesus had something much cooler planned.
4 and who through the Spirit of holiness was appointed the Son of God in power by his resurrection from the dead: Jesus Christ our Lord.
and who through the Spirit of holiness was appointed the Son of God in power by his resurrection from the dead: Jesus Christ our Lord. (NIV)
Come down from the cross? And not finish the job? Leave the people I love to be lost and cursed by sin and death? No thanks, I think I will wait a few days and conquer death and Hell too while I am at it! And HE did!
So how should we respond to His death?
I ought to love Christ
with all my heart. Even if God never did anything else for me ever, he deserves my total devotion.
I ought to hate sin
. It was my sin and yours that nailed Jesus to the cross, how can I laugh at sin on TV or in movies? The cross shows how serious sin really is. It is no laughing matter.
I ought to tell others
. If someone died for you – wouldn’t you want to know about it? That should be our motive behind everything we do here at The Baptist Fellowship; To reach one more person for Christ. The typical Vermont resident sits at home on weekends totally unaware of what God has done for him or her. If that person lives and dies without knowing Christ, then for that person, Jesus’ death was a waste! The Lord is not willing that any should perish. We must care because God cares. Everybody needs Jesus
We have a wonderful message. Wonderful Good News. We have Hope Everlasting. We have Excruciating Grace available to us. What are you going to do about it? Are you going to accept that Grace and place your Hope in Him? Will you choose to become a follower of Jesus Christ? Are you going to become a true disciple of Jesus Christ and help spread the message of the Good News throughout your community? What choice will you make today?