The Resurrection: This Changes Everything

<body topmargin=0 leftmargin=0 marginheight=0 marginwidth=0> <table cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 border=0><tr> <td valign="top" colspan=2 height=50 BGCOLOR="#333366" TEXT="#080000"> <div> <B>The Resurrection: This Changes Everything</B></div> <div> </div> </td> </tr><tr> <td valign="top" width=165 BGCOLOR="#CCCC99" TEXT="#080000"> <div> <B> <TABLE BORDER="0" CELLPADDING="2" CELLSPACING="1" WIDTH="132" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#C0C0C0" BORDERCOLORDARK="#808080" FRAME="VOID" RULES="NONE" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" > <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 35 ><NOBR><div> <A HREF="id450.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Baptism: Going Public With Your Faith"><U><B><IMG SRC="007151d0.gif" border=0 width="21" height="29" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></U></A></div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP><NOBR><div> <A HREF="id448.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="From the Crowd To The Core"><U><B><IMG SRC="008151d0.gif" border=0 width="21" height="29" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></U></A></div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="20"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="35" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="20" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP><NOBR><div> <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="29" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" WIDTH="13"></div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP><NOBR><div> <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="29" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" WIDTH="27"></div> </NOBR></tD> </tR> </TABLE></B></div> <div> Previous/Next Sermon</div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="index.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="www.stanbaker.org"><U><B>Home</B></U></A></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="id2.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Biblical and Theological Studies"><U><B>Biblical and Theological Studies</B></U></A></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="id3.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Church Ministry"><U><B>Church Ministry</B></U></A></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="id15.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Sermon Notes"><U>Sermon Notes</U></A></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="id4.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Links"><U><B>Links</B></U></A></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="id5.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Personal"><U><B>Personal</B></U></A></div> <bR> <div> www.stanbaker.org</div> <div> <A HREF="mailto:stan@stanbaker.org" TARGET="_top" TITLE="mailto:stan@stanbaker.org"><U>stan@stanbaker.org</U></A></div> </td> <td valign="top" height=430 BGCOLOR="#FFFFFF" TEXT="#080000"> <div> <B>"The Resurrection: This Changes Everything" </B></div> <div> <B>Berean Bible Church, April 11, 2004 (Resurrection Sunday)</B></div> <bR> <div>      Thomas Edison's manufacturing facilities in West Orange, N. J., were heavily damaged by fire one night in December, 1914. Edison lost almost $1 million worth of equipment and the record of much of his work. The next morning, walking about the charred embers of his hopes and dreams, the 67-year-old inventor said: "There is value in disaster. All our mistakes are burned up. Now we can start anew." (Alan Loy McGinnis, <I>The Power of Optimism</I>). With the death and the resurrection of Jesus, all our mistakes and sins can be burned up, and we can start life anew.</div> <div>      We can identify with consistent failure, and we can identify with Peter. Peter had offered a public promise of faithfulness (John 13:37, "I will lay down my life for you"), and then experienced a public display of failure, when he denied three times that he even knew Jesus let alone that he was one of his followers (<A HREF="http://www.biblegateway.com/bible?passage=John+18:27" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.biblegateway.com/bible?passag"><U>John 18:27</U></A>). He of all people must have felt the worst because of the death of Jesus. He had failed Jesus, with Jesus' full knowledge of it before he died. He had much to lose if Jesus stayed dead, because he would never have the opportunity to make things right with Jesus. And he had much to gain, if the resurrection was true. Because it was, Peter's life changed.</div> <div> <I>     </I><A HREF="http://www.biblegateway.com/bible?passage=John+21" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.biblegateway.com/bible?passag"><U>John 21</U></A> has  the story of Peter's renewal as a person and as a servant of Jesus. Here are four lessons about life after failure, because of the resurrection of Jesus.</div> <bR> <div> <B>Jesus, in his resurrection, offers:</B></div> <div> <B>I. Forgiveness following failure (</B><A HREF="http://www.biblegateway.com/bible?passage=John+21:15-19" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.biblegateway.com/bible?passag"><U><B>John 21:15-19</B></U></A><B>).</B></div> <div>      Jesus' three-fold inquiry about Peter's love was in response to Peter's three denials of Jesus at the crucifixion. No doubt Peter had repented, and Jesus let him know he was forgiven. "The last time Peter stood over a <I>charcoal</I> fire, he denied Jesus (<A HREF="http://www.biblegateway.com/bible?passage=John+18:18" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.biblegateway.com/bible?passag"><U>18:18</U></A>). Now Jesus makes him stand over another <I>charcoal</I> fire (<A HREF="http://www.biblegateway.com/bible?passage=John+21:9" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.biblegateway.com/bible?passag"><U>21:9</U></A>) and with it, review old memories and remove them" (<I>John</I>, NIV Application Commentary, Burge, 596).</div> <div>      Jesus is willing to allow you to start fresh with him today. He died to pay the penalty for your sin, and his resurrection proves his power to forgive and give new life.</div> <bR> <div> <B>II. A commission carry out his work (</B><A HREF="http://www.biblegateway.com/bible?passage=John+21:6-11" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.biblegateway.com/bible?passag"><U><B>John 21:6-11</B></U></A><B>, </B><A HREF="http://www.biblegateway.com/bible?passage=John+21:15-19" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.biblegateway.com/bible?passag"><U><B>15-19</B></U></A><B>).</B></div> <div>      Recall that in <A HREF="http://www.biblegateway.com/bible?passage=Luke+5:1-11" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.biblegateway.com/bible?passag"><U>Luke 5:1-11</U></A>, Jesus helped his disciples catch a lot of fish and then said, "From now on, you'll be fishing for people." The fishing miracle here is reminder of their call to be "fishers of men." After his resurrection, Jesus regularly said, "Now that you have seen me, go and tell someone else." In John 10:14-16, Jesus said, "I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me - just as the Father knows me and I know the Father - and I lay down my life for the sheep. I have other sheep that are not of this sheep pen. I must bring them also. They too will listen to my voice, and there shall be one flock and one shepherd." Jesus asks Peter to "take care of his sheep," the people of Jesus. Even after Peter had failed so miserably, Jesus was asking him and the other disciples to go and do his work.</div> <div>      If he is still in the grave, the story is over and we should get on with our lives apart from Christ. But since he is alive, it is worth pursuing his work with all of your energy.</div> <bR> <div> <B>III. A promise of Jesus' power for his work (</B><A HREF="http://www.biblegateway.com/bible?passage=John+21:6-11" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.biblegateway.com/bible?passag"><U><B>John 21:6-11</B></U></A><B>).</B></div> <div>      In this fishing miracle, throwing out the nets was like a Hail Mary pass. They were saying, "You don't catch fish like that. What does he know? But he is the Lord, so we better do what he says." This was an example of Jesus power, and he applies his power, not to fishing, but to reaching people and changing lives. Jesus wanted them also to recall also the miracle of feeding the multitudes with bread and fish (<A HREF="http://www.biblegateway.com/bible?passage=John+6:1-15" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.biblegateway.com/bible?passag"><U>John 6:1-15</U></A>). Jesus was communicating his power that was available for them to carry out the work he commissioned them to do.</div> <div>      The greatest miracle is the miracle of a changed life. He changes us, then uses us to share the message of change. Peter would not have been so used by God had he kept denying to people that he knew Jesus! A change had to occur in his life for him to be effective! Peter needed his failure to humble him, and cause him to rely more fully on the grace and power of God. </div> <div>      In an episode of "The X-Files," a traveling preacher had a son who was performing miracles. But some of the people he touched were dying (turns out they were being murdered by someone else), but the son was reluctant to keep going on stage. So his father said to him, "I'm a preacher, son, but all the preaching in the world couldn't compare to one small miracle" (2/22/98 Fox TV). But in reality, God uses the proclamation of the message of Jesus to bring about the greatest miracle - a life that his changed by the grace of Jesus Christ. You can experience a changed life, and God can use you to share the message that will change the lives of others.</div> <bR> <div> <B>IV. A call to be a </B><I><B>focused</B></I><B> follower of Jesus (</B><A HREF="http://www.biblegateway.com/bible?passage=John+21:18-23" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.biblegateway.com/bible?passag"><U><B>John 21:18-23</B></U></A><B>).</B></div> <div>      Peter and John evidently had some kind of rivalry going on. Peter wondered if John's service to Christ would be as faithful and glorious as his own. We spend a lot of time we spend worrying about what other people are doing. You will be held accountable for you. Help others, encourage, get help from others, but stay focused on following Jesus. How focused are you as a follower of Jesus?</div> <bR> <div> <I>     </I>Tony Perkins of the Family Research Council recently wrote, "In the weeks leading up to its release, critics called "The Passion of the Christ" anti-Semitic and said it would spawn violence and ruthless attacks. Some police departments even went so far as to send their hate-crime units to view the movie as preparation. Well, there have been no reported attacks on Jewish people or anyone else, for that matter. In fact, there have been numerous reports that the movie has had the opposite affect. A neo-Nazi confessed to two decade-old bombings in Norway after watching the death of Jesus in "The Passion." Here in the states, a man in Arizona walked up to police and confessed to a half-dozen burglaries after watching the movie, and, in Florida, a fugitive from a bank robbery that happened two years ago turned himself in to police after watching Gibson's film. And now, in Texas, a man has confessed to killing his girlfriend - after the death had been ruled a suicide - saying he had been moved by his experience viewing "The Passion." This stunning turnabout gives a whole new meaning to a movie being rated "R": Warning, this movie may cause you to repent."</div> <div>      My friends, you can bring all of your sins before Jesus, and because he died for you and lives again, he can completely forgive you. He lets your past sins go, so you can carry out his work, depend on his power, and live life a focused follower of his.</div> <bR> <div> <B>Questions For Thought and Discussion:</B></div> <div> 1. Are there some failures in your life you are still trying to cover up from God? What is keeping you from confessing and coming clean with him about it? Do you need to come clean with other people as well?</div> <bR> <div> 2. If God could use Peter in his service, in a powerful way, don't you think he can use you, in spite of your failures? To what extent are you pursuing the work God has for you? Do you know what that work is? If not, what will you do to find out?</div> <bR> <div> 3.Discuss your level of focus as a follower of Jesus. Do you spend a lot of time worried about what others are or are not doing? Whose approval are you seeking?</div> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> copyright, 2004, Stanley Baker</div> <div> www.stanbaker.org</div> </td> </tr></table></body>