The Boy Who Stayed Home

There are two kinds of “good” people in this world. There are people who are simply “good” (relative to others, of course. All people are sinners, and there are none that are truly good). These try to do what God requires of them. Then there are “goody-goods”. These are the ones who believe themselves better than everyone else, and never let anyone else forget it. Not really righteous, they are self-righteous. Jesus gives us a picture of their souls in the last half of the story of the Lost Son—Luke 15:25-32. Not all who break fellowship with God wander away. It’s possible to stay in God’s house, be a good person, even be a minister or missionary yet still be lost to God. “Good” people can be just as lost as the prodigals, and not even know it. The Pharisees and other “goody-goods” are just as lost as the people they criticize. At the end of the story of the Lost Son, Jesus adds the story of the older brother in verses 25-28 "Meanwhile, the older son was in the field. When he came near the house, he heard music and dancing. So he called one of the servants and asked him what was going on. 'Your brother has come,' he replied, 'and your father has killed the fattened calf because he has him back safe and sound.' "The older brother became angry and refused to go in.” How would you feel if you came home from work and heard a party going on in your house? When the older brother learned the reason for the celebration, he became angry. However, being a so-called “good” son, he didn’t complain. What is he upset about? It wasn’t his brother’s return. He was angry with his father. His father was treating his wayward brother as if he had done something great, even though all he had done was to just show up. In part, I agree with the older son. If you work hard, you should be rewarded. We should welcome the sinner, but do we have to give him the front row? People say, “Why are we so interested in getting new people in the church? They’ll just mess up what we’ve got! We’ve worked hard to be worthy of our place!” Without knowing it, we give the returning sinner the impression that he is not as welcome as those who have stayed. The older brother was right, but only half right. He was right in thinking that the father loved them. They are wrong about why. He thought his father loved him for his goodness. He did not realize that he didn’t have any goodness. His goodness was an illusion. He was just as lost as his brother. What’s wrong with the “good” son? He has three attitude problems Look closely verses 28-29. “So his father went out and pleaded with him. “But he answered his father, 'Look! All these years I've been slaving for you and never disobeyed your orders.” 1. In his relationship with God, he substitutes obedience for affection. Notice the good son’s choice of words. They tell us of his attitude “I slaved for you” “I was obedient”. Can you imagine if all you could say about your father was “I obeyed him”? What if all you could say about your wife only that she was obedient? Would you say only of your children that they minded you? Isn’t there a lot more to a relationship than being a slave? This boy had the mindset of a servant, not a son. He believed rewards and punishments were based on obedience. He deserved the fatted calf, not his brother, because he’d been “good”. God made us, not to obey, but to enjoy Him. Without love, obedience is useless. There was another problem with this boy. He had no interest in his father’s company. Listen to what he says next. 2. He substitutes friends for fellowship. “You never gave me even a young goat so I could celebrate with my friends.” When the lost son came home, there is no mention of inviting his friends. The whole point of the party was to rebuild the family and include the lost son. Can you imagine someone who wouldn’t go to a family reunion without having a friend along? What does it say of us when we can’t enjoy our family without having friends? People who don’t know God have no desire for His company. They substitute companionship with people for companionship with God. They’ll always spend time at a social, but not with God in prayer and the Word. This may explain why church socials are more popular than prayer meetings. Those who see God as a distant taskmaster do not seek His warmth and affection, but look for affection in others. Who wants to gets friendly with your judge? How can enjoy being with those that we fear? It is a subtle idolatry when we love our friends more than we love the Father; when fellowship becomes something that we have at the dinner table, and not on our knees, or when we measure our distance from God by our attendance in church rather than our enjoyment of prayer. If we do this, then we have wandered from the Father. We need to rebuild our relationship with Him, before we criticize another. We do not need to work harder for him. We need to enjoy Him more. 3. We substitute money and sex for love. In verse 30, we see a third problem with the older son’s attitude. He was more interested in material things than his Father’s love. As he complains about the younger son, he really reveals what is important to himself. 30 But when this son of yours who has squandered your property with prostitutes comes home, you kill the fattened calf for him!' Notice how he describes his brother, “This son of yours.” He can’t bring himself to call him “Brother” To him “brother” was something that should be earned. He has two complaints about his younger brother--(1). He wasted money. (2) He went out with prostitutes. Both are legitimate complaints, but are they really the worst sins the boy committed? What about breaking fellowship with his father? What about the hurt he caused his father? The only this brother can think about is money and sex! When we think about sins, we think about the four big ones—sex, violence, addiction, and greed. But these are not the worst sins people commit. Behind these sins is a greater one--breaking fellowship with the Father. No sin can be forgiven without restored fellowship. A person who is peaceful, faithful, cold sober, but doesn’t love God is harder to reach than the worst drunkard or a persistent adulterer. The younger son came home and mended his relationship with the father. The “good” son didn’t even know that it was broken. How does the father respond? First, He assures him of unfailing love. Look at verse 31 "'My son, 'the father said, 'you’re always with me, and everything I have is yours.” The father is a gentle with the “good” son as he is with the wild child. For the second time, the father goes out to meet a son. Then, when he finds him, he gives him a gentle reassurance that he is loved. “You are always with me” The father reminds him that the greatest gift he can give he has already given—himself. This boy has always been in the father’s house, and he has never understood the blessing of it. Second, he blesses him with unending riches. “All that I have is yours”. The older son didn’t have to wait to be given a fatted calf to feast with his friend. Any time, he could have had it for the asking. Anything he wanted, he could have received from the father. He didn’t have because he never asked. When we have the mindset of a servant, we don’t ask. God has promised to provide all our needs according to His riches in Christ Jesus, but He wants to be asked. “Good” people worry about money. They don’t believe that God gives money for free. If you want a calf, you have to earn it. But this isn’t so. You can’t earn God’s grace, any more than you can earn the stars in the sky or a morning breeze. Some things are too beautiful to precious to be earned, they can only be received as a gift. God’s grace is so wonderful that you can never earn it, no matter how hard you try. Third, he promises relationship and family. Verse 32 says “But we had to celebrate and be glad, because this brother of yours was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.'" “This brother of yours” Having a brother is more important than all the money in the world. Recovering a person you love is a cause to celebrate. It takes a tragedy to sometimes to help us realize the importance of loved ones. We go along with our daily worries and forget that the most precious thing in life--the relationships right before us. Then, when that relationship is broken, we see just how important it was. God wants your love more than your obedience. If he has your love, he will have your obedience. But you can have obedience without love--and that is a great tragedy. “My boy was dead, and now alive again. He was lost and now is found.” If only the older brother knew that these words applied to him as well. He was just as dead as the prodigal, and just as lost, too. He was dead to his Father’s love, even while he lived in his father’s house. He was lost to his father’s example, even while he was beside him. So are many of us. We are loved by our Father and never notice. We are surrounded by our God’s abundance, and yet starving to death. What do you have to do to go to heaven? Nothing. Jesus has already done it all. What do you have to prove to God? Nothing. God has already proved his love to you. He loves you, He rejoices in you. He is happy with you, because he has forgiven you. Don’t hold yourself away. Come and join the party!

The Boy Who Came Home

arisees. The Pharisees were students of the Bible, they just put the emphasis in the wrong place. They only saw God’s hatred of sin. They didn’t see His love of the sinner. That’s why they never understood Jesus. They could not love as more important than purity. They were appalled that He talked with sinners. Jesus knew their concerns. He just didn’t care. There are more important concerns than a good reputation. In reply, Jesus told them three stories. The first story was about a lost sheep. The shepherd abandoned ninety-nine other sheep, went out and found it. When he found it, he was overjoyed. He threw a party, and rejoiced with his friends. Then second story was about a lost coin. A woman swept her house, ignoring her other coins until she found that coin. When she found it, she was overjoyed. She threw a party, and called her friends. The third story was about a lost son. Do you notice a pattern here? A lost sheep, a lost coin, a lost son lost. In these three stories, Jesus is saying that God is seeking and saving the lost. This final story--the so-called “prodigal” son—is arguably the most famous parable ever told. It is the most perfect parable ever written. Its message applies equally to all people everywhere. It begins “A certain man has two sons.” Jesus didn’t give the man a name, but we all know who he is. He’s God. Jesus didn’t give these two sons names either, but every one of us is one of those two sons are. Each one of us is one of them. The first son--the prodigal--represents all the lost children of the world. The second son—the good son--represents all the good, moral, decent folk who feel they deserve special treatment because of their goodness. The Pharisees were represented by this latter son. The sinners Jesus befriended were the former. Which of the two are you? Today, we’re going to talk about the first son Next week, we’ll talk about the other. Every family has a wild child—one who didn’t want to be home, and would give anything to leave. For a wild child, home is a hard place to be. He grew up like a radish in a rose patch, sharing his house with the godlike father and a too-good brother. This wild child couldn’t live up to the standards of his father. When compared to the moral perfection of his brother, he always came up short. All that goodness and morality must have been like a suffocating blanket. He wanted to cut loose and be himself, but when he did, he was never accepted. Almost every family has a wild child. When you love them, they feel suffocated. Rules are a like a prison to them. When you care for them, they take it as an insult. No one seems to understand or appreciate the way they feel. Sometimes, when we see wild children, we want to excuse their behavior. There are all kinds of excuses we offer for a wild child. But the truth is, no matter what the cause, wild children suffer most in life. The world is not kind to wild children. It does not conform to our whims--we must conform to it. This wild child wanted to bust out of his home and go into the world. .He no longer thought he needed his parents. Whenever possible he tore at the connecting bonds that he held him to the family. Jesus doesn’t dwell on this part of his nature. It isn’t important to him. Jesus doesn’t care about the past of people—only their potential. Every one of us has a rebel inside. I visited my doctor one day. He’s a middle-successful professional. He had just grown a goatee, and I asked him why he grew it. He smiled and said “Because my parents hate it!” Here he was, in his fifties, and he was still a rebel. God knows our rebel thoughts--and He loves us anyway. That is why we call can identify with this prodigal. Traditionally in the Catholic church, the story of the Prodigal Son is read on the second Sunday of Lent. It is a time for remembering that we are all prodigals. In the Eastern Orthodox church, it is also read during their Lenten season. At that time, the congregation sings a song of confession. “I have recklessly forgotten Your glory, O Father;And among sinners I have scattered the riches which You gave to me.And now I cry to You as the Prodigal:I have sinned before You, O merciful Father;Receive me as a penitent and make me as one of Your hired servants.” We are not only rebels, but God encourages us to be rebels—or at least to acknowledge our rebelliousnes. We shouldn’t be surprised when we find a rebel inside us all. We are all prodigals at heart. So when the wild child came to the father, the father knew it was coming. The boy said “Give me my portion of the estate now.” In those days, when the father died, the children divided up the estate. The older boy got the most, the younger boy got the least. Even the least was still a hefty portion. To receive it early was irresponsible, like giving a baby a machine gun. He had no idea how to use it responsibly. It was also an insult to his father. For him, taking his portion meant taking it from his father. His father could not use it any more. He was also declaring himself independent of his father. Taking his portion was to make him independent of his father’s house. The son was declaring that the father was essentially dead to him. How great is the father’s love--that he would give his son what he wants! It must have been the hardest thing the father ever did. Most parents, fearing that their son would squander it, would not give it. But this father knew his son would squander it. He also knew that it was the only way of curing his son’s rebelliousness. If it took half of his estate to teach his son a lesson, he was willing to do it. God gives us our freedom not because we deserve it, but because He believes in the power of His own love. Why do you think God lets us fall into sin? Because He believes that no matter what we do, we may still be redeemed through His love. For some people, sin is the only thing that will cause them to appreciate righteousness. What God cannot accomplish by His presence, he accomplishes by his absence. He lets them go, to gain them again. So it was with this father. Once out of the house, this son goes crazy. He goes to a far county and blows the whole wad in short order on foolishness. What were the consequences of his sin? if it weren’t for the famine in the land, the boy might have gone on living in that far off country, running wild and eventually wound up dead. Some people live as wild children all their lives. They go broke. They go to jail. They get divorced, or pregnant. They lose their jobs. Circumstances force them to their knees. God’s blessing was with this boy, and He did not allow him to live wild for long. He suffered and starved until he came to his senses. Have you come to your senses yet--or are you still running from God? Members of A. A. call “bottoming out”. Things got so bad that he was forced to confront the truth. He was better off in his father’s house. Even the servants in his Father’s house had a better life than he. This boy wanted to go home, but he didn’t know how. When he took that inheritance, he declared his father dead to him. As far as he was concerned, he had no father. As far as he knew, his father had no son. The young man hit upon a plan. He’d go back and apologize. He wouldn’t ask his father to take him back as a son. He’d ask to be a servant to his father. As the boy trudged over the barren hills towards his father’s house, he imagined what he would say. He would say “I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me like one of your hired men.” The father would be stern. He didn’t deserve is, but maybe his father would have mercy. Mercy is always unfair. This boy never knew or understood his father. He didn’t know that every night, that father sat on the porch and looked down the road, yearning to see his son again. I lost count of how many times I have seen parents sitting by the door, hoping for the return of their prodigal son or daughter. Still, the love of our parents is nothing compared to God’s love. He bled for your redemption. He cried over every blow that life that has struck against you in your foolishness. He felt your hunger along with you. He never stopped loving you—and never will. As the boy trudged up to the gate of his father’s house he practiced his little speech. But he never got to deliver it. From a long way off, his father saw him. I would imagine that he smelled him a long way before he saw him—this ragamuffin son, covered with pig slop and the sweat of the road, too caked with filth to be known by any other way. His father knew his scent as a sweet aroma. And he ran to meet him. In oriental cultures, the way one walks determines ones’ social status. Kings don’t walk--they’re carried. Common men walk fast,. Slaves run. In this parable, the old man gets off the porch, and bolts out like and Olympic sprinter. The boy doesn’t say a word before his father scoops him up into his arms. He covers him with kisses and tears. The boy tries to get out his speech, but his father stops him. “My son was dead and is alive again. He is lost and now is found. Quick, give him a bath. Bring him a new robe and put it one him. Give him some shoes, and slay the fatted calf. We’re going to have a party!” And before the boys astonished eyes, the old man takes him back, not as a servant, but as a full-fledged son. Now, what is the moral of the story? Simply this—Jesus is for sinners. Their return is His greatest joy. He wants to see them back in his arms. The Pharisees never got that. They still thought God cared more about morality than about blood. But in truth, anyone who is God’s children, no matter what they have done, God still loves them. It isn’t the good children but the wild children that God loves the most. He loves us—rebel heart and all. Christ loves us sinners. He died for us wild children. And He loves you, too.

The Good Samaritan

Christianity starts with a new birth. It continues forever as a new life. New life begins immediately after the new birth, subverting and supplanting the old life until the new life is the only life when the last vestiges of this life fall away. If the new life does not replace the old life, then we have reason to question whether the new birth was really a new birth. Without the new life, the new birth is a false labor pain. The difference between birth pangs and a kidney stone is what comes out at the end. The trouble with us is that we keep thinking new life must be like old life. The old life was guided by rules. Our natural sinful natures were only kept in check by a long list of rules, beginning but not limited to the Ten Commandments. New life is not governed by rules but relationships--especially our relationship with God. The difference between a rule-oriented old life and the relationship-oriented new is like the relationship between spending time doing our taxes and spending time romancing our wives. So how does Jesus describe this new life to others—especially those who live in a rule-oriented uptight world dominated by Pharisees? Jesus explains it by a “living” form of communication—stories. Jesus used parables—a Greek word which means “to lay beside for comparison” to convey his meaning. Parables do not tell us how we should live. Instead, they are moral tales which tell us why we live in the new life. Let’s start with one we know—The Good Samaritan. Luke:25-30 On one occasion an expert in the law stood up to test Jesus. "Teacher," he asked, "what must I do to inherit eternal life?" "What is written in the Law?" he replied. "How do you read it?" He answered: "'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind'; and, 'Love your neighbor as yourself.'" "You have answered correctly," Jesus replied. "Do this and you will live." But he wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus, "And who is my neighbor?":25-29 This expert in the Law is an expert on the old life. He doesn’t even know what eternal life is. He thinks new life is an extension of the old one. He therefore assumes that something he does, some behavior based on Old Testament principles—will cause him to please God and he will be granted an external extension of life as he knows it. The Old Testament doesn’t actually teach that the laws make us holy, or give us eternal life. That was a mistake they made. To the man’s credit, he had actually memorized that the Old Testament. He knew what it did say. He knew that the whole of the Law was summarized in two key passages. The first was Deuteronomy 6:5 “You will love the Lord with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and all your mind.” Every good Jew recited this every day. The second was Leviticus 19:18 "'Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against one of your people, but love your neighbor as yourself.”The first part usually was ignored, but the loving your neighbor part had been taken out of context and used as a guide. He knew the verses. He memorized the verses. He just didn’t get the verses. We know this because of what he said next. “Who is my neighbor?” This is an attempt to justify himself. Here’s a secret that everyone who ever worked with the law knows--laws are full of loopholes. If we define “neighbor” as everyone in the whole world, then we had better be nice to everyone. But if we can narrowly define neighbor to mean only some people, we can get by with being nasty to some, and still feel justified. If my definition of “neighbor” is only the guy who lives beside me, or the guy on my pew, then I am free from the burden of caring for the fellow on the next block. I can go even further. Any special privilege that I seek for myself will probably fall on them as well. So if I fight with my country to annex a bit of another country, am I not killing others to love my “neighbor”? If we steal the fortune from a rich man and give to people who are poor like us, then am I not loving my neighbor? We can excuse all kinds of criminal behavior by saying we love our neighbor. In reply Jesus said: "A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he fell into the hands of robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead. The road from Jerusalem to Jericho was called the “red road” because of all the banditry on the road. Anyone who stopped on that road to help another was putting his life in danger. A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. So too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. Priests and Levites were the religious people of their day. They traveled this road often, usually hurrying home from work in Jerusalem, or back home afterwards. On the campus of Union Seminary in Richmond, a student conducted an experiment. He hired an actor to portray a sick, homeless man, with a critical problem. He positioned himself on the sidewalk going to the seminary between classes. Very few students stopped. Some ever stepped over the man in a hurry to get to class. But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him. He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, took him to an inn and took care of him. The next day he took out two silver coins and gave them to the innkeeper. 'Look after him,' he said, 'and when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have.' Samaritans were half-breed Jews who worshipped in a semi-pagan way. The Jews despised them above all other people. There is only one inn on the road, and it would have been filled with Jewish people who would also despise the Samaritan. "Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?" The expert in the law replied, h"The one who had mercy on him."Jesus told him, "Go and do likewise." 30-37 We can recast this story in our time. Let Jerusalem to Jericho be a street in downtown Charlotte or the sleazy side of Lancaster or Kershaw. Let Priests and Levites be ministers, deacons, or choir directors. Let the Samaritan be a Muslim, or a gay man, or a black man—whatever. The result is still the same. It all makes sense. The Bible chooses its words carefully. Leviticus does not say love your fellow man. He says love your neighbor—the person you encounter along the way. He or she might be near you. He or she might be someone far away with whom you just happen to have heard. A neighbor can be in Africa, if we know them or of them. But if we see a person bleeding on the road, they are our neighbor, for sure. “Love your neighbor as yourself” is not a rule. This teacher of the Law thought loving was something you had to try to do. Love is a characteristic of the new life—a fruit of the spirit. We seek out opportunities to help. If we have not really been born again, then we will not experience His compassion, nor share that compassion with others. Jesus gave us this extreme example to remind us of what a new life in Jesus is like. I do not tell you to love your neighbor as yourself. I only tell you that it is a trait of the born again. If you do not have that desire, then telling you won’t help. You need to be born again. But if you have that desire to be good Samaritans, then I offer three words of advice. ---First, you can never give to a person without taking something away. The Good Samaritan helped a man who was helpless by the road. This was good and appropriate. But suppose the man was not helpless. Suppose the man had only been slightly injured? Then the Good Samaritan’s actions would have taken away from him as much as he gave. He would have taken away his independence and self respect. The next week, when the Samaritan returned, he might find the same man lying in the road, looking for a free ride to the inn. We must have compassion, but if we help those who don’t need our help, we cripple them. We make them unable in the end to fend for themselves. We would have done them evil instead of good. ---Second, don’t be afraid to rest. Even Jesus when could not help everyone at all times. He had to get away sometimes. Trust God to show you what you can do and feel no guilt about the rest. Buddhists tell stories about people of unusual compassion—Bodhsivatas. One such story tells of a monk so selfless that, when he saw a sick, hungry tiger on the road, he lay down beside it so the tiger could eat him. It was a great act of compassion. The problem was, he could only do it once and in the end, the only one happy he did it was the tiger. ---First, don’t be afraid to be taken occasionally. There are many unscrupulous people in the world who will take advantage. You can’t stop them. You want to weed them out, but you never will completely. Remember that there is no sin in being fooled, but there is sin in letting a legitimate need that we can meet go unmet. John tells us I John 3:17 “If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him?” This church has proven itself to be compassionate. Of all the things a church may be known for, that is the one that pleases me the most, because it reflects the quality of the new life in the community. I pray that we will continue to look for ways to express that compassion, as we have in food drives and relays for life, and in so many other ways. Let’s carry that same spirit over into our personal witness as well. That person who you see behind the drug store counter is your neighbor. They may be lost without Christ. That person you stand behind in the line at the fast food restaurant is your neighbor. I wonder how their marriage is doing? That teacher who gives you a hard time is your neighbor, too. Let’s not bear a grudge. We are all on the same ball of dirt together, and our lives affect everyone on it. But if you are born again, you know all that. Just walk in the Spirit that you already know.

"And Death Shall Have No Dominion"

"Now, brothers, I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you, which you received and on which you have taken your stand. By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain. For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Peter, and then to the Twelve. After that, he appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers at the same time, most of whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep. Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles, and last of all he appeared to me also, as to one abnormally born. . . 1 Cor 15:1-8 " Are you a Christian? If you are, are, are you a Christmas Christian or an Easter Christian? Easter is the most important day of the Christian calendar. But it is only the second most important day (or less) on the secular calendar. The most important day is Christmas, not Easter. The birth of Christ has eclipsed the death and resurrection of Christ for a lot of reasons. Christmas has a baby in it. The central symbol of Christmas is a cradle. The central symbol of Easter is a cross, a bloody and horrible form of execution. Christmas is about “peace on earth, goodwill to men.” But peace can only come at the price of the cross. Without Easter, Christmas is an empty promise. A lot of people claim Christianity, but leave out the Cross. They are “halfway” Christians, because they believe in Jesus--just not all the way. They believe part, but not all. They trust in part, but not all. The harder parts of the story are simply ignored. When Paul wrote I Corinthians 15, he was writing to a church which had already started declining from full acceptance of the Gospel to partial acceptance. Christ was a moral principle to them, not a life-giving Savior. We know this from verses 15:12: "If it is preached that Christ has been raised from the dead, how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? " I find it incredible that there were Christians at Corinth who were Christians yet did not believe in the resurrection of the dead. An interview with them would go like this: Are you a Christian? “Yes, of course.” Do you believe that Christ rose from the dead? “Yes, of course.” Do you believe that you will be resurrected from the dead? “No. I believe this life is all there is.” It is easy to imagine a person who believes in the resurrection, and not in Jesus. It is harder to imagine one who believes in Jesus’ resurrection, but not in his own. If there is no resurrection from the dead, then what does it matter how we believe? We will all end up in the same place! Why does the Christian have any advantage over the atheist? If we are only here to enjoy this brief life, so we may as well do as we like. In the news this week there was a man who stole a Canadian fighter plane and flew it over the United States. When he was caught and captured, he told authorities that he had planned to commit suicide. He was going to give his life for a thrill ride on a fighter plane. If there is no resurrection, then what is fundamentally wrong with that? Why not trade your life for a ridiculous thrill? Why not spend this life anyway we wish? Churches are full of halfway Christians. They live a life of moral justification based on the teachings of Jesus. As far as any supernatural force that might give them a new life, they are comfortable being two millennia away from it. The resurrection of Jesus makes no difference in His life, only his teachings. Are you different because you believe in Christ’s resurrection? Or are you practicing public Christianity and practical atheism, as if this world were all that mattered? A recent poll showed there is a falling away of religion in America. We ought not be surprised by this. We know that many who attend church do not experiencing a single direct result of their faith. Religion is a moral guide, not a living reality. Paul believes it makes a difference whether we believe in the Resurrection or not. For that reason he offers a series of proofs in How do we know if the resurrection is true? Paul offers the following proof—a series of eyewitnesses accounts. Ø He appeared to Peter. Ø Jesus appeared the other disciples. Ø He appeared to five hundred people at once. Ø Finally, as an ultimate proof, “He appeared to me, also” Why does Paul’s witness carry more weight than Peter’s? Peter wasn’t there. Those five hundred people weren’t there, either. But they knew Paul. He visited them, and he will visit them again. His life is the ultimate proof. Paul had everything going for him—position, education, family. Yet he gave it all up to become an itinerant preacher. The harder things got for him, the more he preached. He actually felt grateful to suffer for Christ, because he would also be included in Christ’s reward. Paul was the “real deal.” The secret of his life-changing faith was the resurrection of Christ. The Apostle Paul is no longer with us, but there are others who offer the same kind testimony. Read the books of Billy Graham, Mother Theresa, or Brother Andrew. Read about Richard Wurmbrandt, a Ukrainian pastor tortured for Christ. Read about White House aide Charles Colson, or novelist Anne Rice, who have been transformed by the resurrection. They have all been transformed by a personal encounter with a real resurrected Lord. These people can attest to the fact that Christ’s resurrection produces our resurrection also. His resurrection is the key to our rescue and revival. Jesus brings about our rescue. We are not really free, but prisoners. The same inevitable fate awaits us all. We must all bow to hunger, thirst, loss, aging, and death. But the resurrection of Jesus in us changes that. His death rescues us from death. Imagine you have cancer. The doctor tells you the kind of cancer you have is incurable. Then the next day you read where a man had been cured of the very kind of cancer you have. Wouldn’t you go to any length to find our how he was cured, and get your hands on the same treatment? Well then, what’s the difference? We have been told that death is inevitable. Then we read in the Bible that one man rose from the dead. Should we not go to any length to find out how he did it, and see out that same power for ourselves? Jesus holds the key to revival. If we may be rescued from death, isn’t it possible that we can be rescued from regret, hopelessness, grief, or depression? If we may be rescued from death, then anything is possible Jesus has the cure for death, then He must hold the key to everything else. All the other inevitable consequences in life also fall before the empty tomb. We can escape regret. We can escape aging—spiritual aging, at least. Like Nicodemus, we can be born again. We escape grief, depression, addictions, illness, loneliness, hopelessness, and fear. As Paul wrote in Romans 8:11: "And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit, who lives in you. So if the resurrection is true, then the rest must be possible. Paul describes the mystery of the resurrection this way in verses 51-57: Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed— in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. For the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality. When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: "Death has been swallowed up in victory." "Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?" The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. So, are we Christmas Christians or Easter Christians? To we believe that Jesus was a great moral teacher only, or do we believe he is the one who broke the bonds of death, and set us free from the fear of it? Do we believe that we may leave regret cut ourselves free from depression and the despair? As the Dylan Thomas expressed it: “And death shall have no dominion. Dead mean naked they shall be one With the man in the wind and the west moon; When their bones are picked clean and the clean bones gone, They shall have stars at elbow and foot; Though they go mad they shall be sane, Though they sink through the sea they shall rise again; Though lovers be lost love shall not; And death shall have no dominion.” Because of Easter, death shall have no dominion over us. We are free to be born again through the power of the resurrection.

The Four Gates

Jesus arrived in Bethany on the east slope of the Mount of Olives, across the valley from Jerusalem. As he looked at Jerusalem from the east, there were four gates before him. These four gates stood in almost a direct line. First, there was the Eastern Gate of the city, which led directly into the temple and the court of the Gentiles. Then there is the Beautiful, or Kosher Gate, which lead to the court of the Jews. Then there is the door of the temple itself, the Holy Place where prayers for the nation are offered. Finally there is the mysterious inner door of the Temple, the entrance of the Holy of Holies itself. These four gates were all that stood between Jesus and the leadership of the Jews. If Jesus had dared to enter those four gates with an army of people at his back, it is doubtful that Rome itself could have prevented his coronation. The Eastern Gate The Eastern Gate is in the outer wall of the city. It is the nearest gate to the temple, opening directly into the outer courts of the temple. As Jesus descended the slopes of Mount of Olives headed for the eastern gate, he passed the tombs of Haggai and Zachariah. These prophets both predicted that when the Lord Messiah came he would first come into his temple. All along that road are graves, some of them going back to New Testament times, where the Jews have been buried to welcome the Messiah. It was believed that when the Messiah would set foot on the Mount of Olives and head for Jerusalem that the graves of the saints would open up and the dead would live again. Jesus descended through this field of graves, but the time was not yet for them to open. As he went down the slope, he stopped a moment to rest on a rock about halfway down, he looked up at the city, and began to cry, "O Jerusalem, Jerusalem! How often would I have gathered you into my bosom, and you would not!" The Jewish leaders though he was was coming to Jerusalem to dominate. He was not. This was the weeping of a lover. Still further down the slope, and he passed through an olive orchard. the Place of Gethsemane. It was a place where he often came to pray, but today he had other business. He would return to that spot in four days, for his final temptations. The Beautiful Gate A few feet inside that eastern Gate was the Kosher or Beautiful Gate. It separated the court of the Jews from the court of the Gentiles. Anyone could go in the eastern gate; only the Jews could come in the Beautiful Gate. By passing through the Eastern Gate He fulfilled the ancient prophecy. The Lord had come into his temple. The people shouted and cheered. They laid down their coats and palm branches and cried out "Hosanna" which means "Save us!" They wanted him to go on. He went in to the court of the Gentiles. This was the place where everyone congregated. Jew or Gentile. Most Jews would pass through this court quickly and get to the really important gate- -the Beautiful Gate. Behind the Beautiful Gate were only Jews, and only those Jews who were considered worthy. Women were not permitted, neither were any but the holiest. If Jesus was Messiah he would come to the Jews. When Jesus arrived at the Beautiful gate he did a strange thing. He looked around, and went back. One gate was enough for today, he had fulfilled the prophecy, and went back to Bethany. The next morning Jesus arrived again in the outer courts of the temple. This time, he did not enter the Eastern gate, but through the southern gate, where most of the Jews and the Gentiles entered. When he walked through that massive archway, he was confronted with a huge marketplace, right on the temple grounds Jesus ran furiously among the tables, overturning the merchants and scourging them The next day he returned to the Beautiful Gate. He went to discuss the law with the Rabbis. They tried, to make him say something that would get him in trouble with the Jews or the Romans. They showed him a coin with Caesar's picture on it which the Jews didn't use in that place because it bore the image of a man who was worshipped as a God, and said is it lawful to pay taxes with these. Jesus' reply was classic. Give to Caesar the things that are Caesar's but give to God the things that are Gods. They questioned him about the law, claiming that he had offended it. He replied that the law was to love God with all your heart, mind, soul and strength, and to love your neighbor as yourself. They accused him of offending against Abraham and Jesus replied, "Before Abraham was "I Am" In that, he claimed to be God. Before they could stone him, he went back to Bethany. The Nicanor Gate Next was the door of the temple, the Nicanor Gate. It was the building which contained the holy place and the Holy of Holies. The priests alone went into the holy place to offer the incense offerings, which were the prayers of the all of Israel before God. All Jesus had to do to declare himself Messiah was to lead the people right into that holy place, and the Holy of Holies. If he emerged from those hidden rooms unscathed, then the whole nation would acknowledge him as their king. He never crossed those two gates, at least the way they thought he would. But, in a sense, he not only crossed the gates, but tore them off their hinges! Before a priest went into the holy place, two things must be done. First he must be washed, no one should come before God's presence unclean. Then he must offer up sacrifices. Blood sacrifices were required. In the holy place there was bread and there was light. Before Jesus enters the next gate, he and his disciples were washed. It was Jesus who washed them, by washing their feet. When was Jesus washed? He had been washed two days before, by a woman at Bethany, who loved him so much that she washed his feet with expensive perfume and tears, and dried them with her hair. He offered up the paschal sacrifice, the passover lamb and said to them, "This is my Body, this is my Blood". Thus prepared, he entered into the holy place of prayer. Down in the garden of Gethsemane he knelt and prayed. There, He offered up a prayer for his people, just as the priests in the temple were offering up their prayers for Israel. While he was there, pandemonium broke loose. From everywhere, his enemies poured out of their secret hiding places, led by one of his own disciples. Jesus was taken to the high priest's house and put on trial. The Holy of Holies The fourth gate was to the Holy of Holies. It wasn't a gate but a huge curtain. Behind that curtain only the High Priest could enter once a year, to offer up sacrifices before God as an atonement for sin. Jesus entered into that fouth gate on the cross. It was the Holy of Holies- -that place where only the High Priest can go. There he offered up the perfect sacrifice of all time, the only sacrifice that you and I ever needed for our sins, the sacrifice of the Cross. The earthly temple meant nothing to Jesus. It was just a pile of rock. Had he stormed those four gates, they would have worshipped him as Messiah, but they would not be changed. When his disciples commented on the magnificence of the temple, He said, "Tear down this temple, and I will rebuild it in three days". He was referring to his body, not brick. Jesus came not to enter the gates, but to open those gates, so that poor, lame, the blind, the retarded, the sinsick, the unclean could find themselves again in the presence of God. It is recorded that when Jesus died on the cross, inside the temple the huge curtain was torn from its rings and ripped down the middle. And for the first time since the foundation of the temple, the Holy of Holies was exposed to the world and anyone can go in.God has opened the Holy of Holies to you. He has bought out access into the presence of God with his blood. Now, everyone who can see it can cry, "Praise God, the Messiah has come.