With Christ at the Cross - Part 2 {Video}

With Christ at the Cross - Part 1 {Video}

The Resurrection and Fear of Death [Video]

I Don't Want to Be A Resurrection Day Fool!

Preached at Northwest Christian Church

David P. Kautt

Sunday Morning, April 24, 2011 (Resurrection Day)

1 Corinthians 1:18-31, “For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. For it is written:

“ I will destroy the wisdom of the wise,
And bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent.”

Where is the wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the disputer of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of this world? For since, in the wisdom of God, the world through wisdom did not know God, it pleased God through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe. For Jews request a sign, and Greeks seek after wisdom; but we preach Christ crucified, to the Jews a stumbling block and to the Greeks[b] foolishness, but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men. For you see your calling, brethren, that not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called. But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty; and the base things of the world and the things which are despised God has chosen, and the things which are not, to bring to nothing the things that are, that no flesh should glory in His presence. But of Him you are in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God—and righteousness and sanctification and redemption— that, as it is written, “He who glories, let him glory in the LORD.”

I don't want to be, or anyone I know and care about to be, an April fool!

For those of you who are our guests today, just so you know, the preacher hasn't lost his mind, nor did he fall asleep on March 31^st and not wake up until this morning. I know that today is not April the first, 'April Fool's Day' as we often call it. But listen, for those who have had the chance to take part in our Scripture study the past three weeks, they know, and my hope and prayer is that by the end of this day – you, our friends, our cherished guests – will know, that for some people, every day is 'April Fool's Day'! Yes, as we have observed from Psalm 14, Psalm 36, the Book of Proverbs, and yes, even from this text in 1 Corinthians 1, for those who are arrogant enough – wicked enough – perhaps, saddest of all, for those who are BLINDED enough to think, to believe, to claim to KNOW that “there is no God” (Psalm 13:1), for them every day is 'April Fool's Day'! Psalm 14:1 puts it like this: “The fool has said in his heart, 'there is no God!'”

Would you hold your place there in 1 Corinthians 1, find with me the next book in the New Testament, the one we call '2^nd Corinthians', and go to chapter 2:14-16. Let's read this passage.

2 Corinthians 2:14-16, “Now thanks be to God who always leads us in triumph in Christ, and through us diffuses the fragrance of His knowledge in every place. 15 For we are to God the fragrance of Christ among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing. 16 To the one we are the aroma of death leading to death, and to the other the aroma of life leading to life. And who is sufficient for these things?”

I told you a moment ago that I don't want to be an April Fool, I don't want to be someone, who when it comes around to Holy Week as we Christians call it, and to the Holiest of Days of that week – Good Friday and Resurrection Sunday – when April 22, 2011, Good Friday, arrives and when April 24, 2011, Resurrection Day arrives, I don't want to be counted among those who laugh and scoff and refuse to believe that a Jewish carpenter from Nazareth – one solitary life – nailed to the cross on a hill outside Jerusalem, that His death could accomplish anything for me! I don't want to be a April 22, Good Friday – hey, you know Friday means, don't you? It means payday! It means the weekend! It means party time, boogie time, hangover time! My friends, I don't want to be an April 22, Good Friday fool! Nor, do I want to be an April 24, Resurrection Day fool!

Sunday, you know what that is, don't you? That's Sleep-in Day! That's Go to the Lake Day! That's Make for the Mall or the Movies Day!

No, I don't want to be an April Fool! Nor do I want any of those who claim to wear the name 'Christian' to be April Fools! But, do you have any idea what I DO want to be? Do yo have any INKLING what God wants His people to be?

2 Corinthians 2:14 – I want to be, God has planned for His people to be, participants in His 'victory parade'! Most of us in the church, including this preacher, have been raised to believe that the Triumphal Entry at the beginning of Holy Week, is Jesus' victory parade!

Think again! According to passages like 1 Corinthians 15 – the great 'Resurrection Chapter' of the Bible as it is called – Jesus' victory parade, the anniversary of it, that is – begins – TODAY, on Resurrection Day! I want to be a PARTICIPANT in that joyful occasion! God intends for all who are His, through faith in Jesus Christ, to take part in the victory! “Thanks be to God! Praise be to God!” Paul exclaims. Why? Because He always – my, isn't that a powerful assertion? Paul's joyful declaration is: “I praise God because He ALWAYS leads us in triumph in Christ...” I don't want to be an April Fool, but April 24^th, Resurrection Day Victory Parade Participants! How about you?

But look, listen! That's not all God intends for you and me! Look! 2 Corinthians 2:15-16 – What else does God have in mind for us?

How many of you noticed the rough looking cross planted in the yard, right along the sidewalk? Most of you did... I hope many who have passed by that way the last few days have noticed it also! But listen, as you saw the cross out there in the yard, did you stop there for a moment and think about it? That cross, more accurately, what Jesus accomplished on Calvary's cross, to those who say, “It's Friday, boogie time, party time, 6-pack time!” to them it's foolishness. But, what is that cross, what is the empty tomb, the Risen Savior and Lord, to us who believe? It is God's power unto salvation! It is how God rolls us His 'sleeve' and bares the biggest, strongest muscle in the universe, to save you!

2 Corinthians 2:14-16 – The Cross of Christ, our crucified and Risen Savior, not only does God use these to make us Victory Parade Participants! Look again! He also uses these – Christ's death, and Christ resurrection – in our lives as perfume! Yes, I said, 'perfume'!

If the meaning, the importance of the Cross of Christ and the Resurrection of Christ, is active and at work in you and in me, then what? Then everywhere we go, people are going to 'smell us'! [sniff, sniff] “It's Friday! Party time – Friday!” [sniff, sniff] “Man, who are you?! What are you?! You smell like death!!”

I am, we are, the fragrance of Christ, the aroma of death, have you thought about how sad that is? We, whom God has called to Himself by the Good News of Christ's Death, Burial and Resurrection, we are the aroma of DEATH to those who have chosen the path of the April Fool! We are death's fragrance to those who are perishing!

But listen, think of this also: through Christ are you a Victory Parade Participant? Then, what? Then you also are the aroma of Christ, the smell of life, to those who are being saved!

When the apostle Paul, the human writer God's Spirit directed to write these passages in First and Second Corinthians, made his first visit to Corinth, nearly 2000 years ago , Acts 17 & 18 tell us that just prior to traveling to Corinth, Paul had spent some time in Athens. At that time, Athens was the capital, the fountain head of Ancient Greek culture and especially of Greek 'wisdom'. While in Athens, Acts 17 tells us that Paul “reasoned with those who happened to be in the marketplace each day.” (Acts 17:17b) Here he is, a Resurrection Day Victory Parade Participant, a 'jar of clay,' filled to the brim with 'perfume'. And what happens? What does Paul, the 'aroma of Christ dispenser', encounter? Listen to the way the historian, Luke, describes the situation:

Acts 17:18-21, 32-34: “Then certain Epicurean and Stoic philosophers encountered him. And some said, “What does this babbler want to say?” Others said, “He seems to be a proclaimer of foreign gods,” because he preached to them Jesus and the resurrection. And they took him and brought him to the Areopagus, saying, “May we know what this new doctrine is of which you speak? For you are bringing some strange things to our ears. Therefore we want to know what these things mean.” For all the Athenians and the foreigners who were there spent their time in nothing else but either to tell or to hear some new thing.

And when they heard of the resurrection of the dead, some mocked, while others said, “We will hear you again on this matter.” So Paul departed from among them. However, some men joined him and believed, among them Dionysius the Areopagite, a woman named Damaris, and others with them.”

When Paul came to Corinth for the very first time, even before he wrote these letters we call First and Second Corinthians, he knew! He knew what it mean to stink like death, and what it meant to smell as sweet and as beautiful as life! Because that is what happened to him in Athens! Some mocked, “tell us another joke, Paul! Come on, what do you men, this Jesus fellow rose from the dead? Awh, come one, you've gotta be kidding!” To those who were perishing, to the 'April Fools', he smelled like death! But listen, to Damaris and Dionysius, and to several others whose names we don't know, what was he? He was, like Mary's alabaster jar, pouring out a beautiful, life-giving fragrance that filled their hearts and changed their lives (compare John 12:1-8). Isn't that amazing? In His sovereign plan, by way of His incredible mercy and grace in Jesus Christ, showered down upon a man whose name used to be Saul of Tarsus, flowing over into a man who used to be a blasphemer himself; in His awesome, sovereign plan, God choose Saul – an April fool – renamed him Paul, and then used him to bring other April fools to the foot of the cross.
But listen – that's not the end of the story. No, it isn't! Rather, look one more time at 2 Corinthians 2:15-16. The text says, “for we are to God the fragrance of Christ among those who are being saved, and among those who are perishing. To the one we are the aroma, the stench, of death leading to death, and to the other the aroma, the beautiful perfume, of life leading to life.” Great verses. But, notice with me how they end. Paul concludes what he says here with a probing, penetrating question for all of us, here it is: “who is sufficient for these things?” In other words, who is able, who 'has what it takes' to do and be these things?
Who is sufficient, who has what it takes to be God's alabaster perfume jar? My friends, did you know that it is possible for jars of clay like us, God's dispensers of His aroma of life and death, to think and act like April fools? How so?
Go back to 1 Corinthians 1 with me, would you please?

1 Corinthians 1:26-31, “For you see your calling, brethren, that not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called. But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty; and the base things of the world and the things which are despised God has chosen, and the things which are not, to bring to nothing the things that are, that no flesh should glory in His presence. But of Him you are in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God—and righteousness and sanctification and redemption— that, as it is written, “He who glories, let him glory in the LORD.”

Who is sufficient? Who has what it takes to be dispenser of God's perfume? I know, I know, I do! I mean, look at my resume. Do you know where I went to school, and what degrees I have earned? “Not many wise according to the flesh... are called.” “Who is sufficient for these things?” I know, I know... He is – I mean look at his 'muscles' and the way he flexes them to get things done! “Not many mighty... are called!” “Who is sufficient for these things?” I know, I know... She is, she is! She's part of the 'upity family', grew up with all the posh and privileges that go with it! She is! She has what it takes to be God's perfume dispenser.
One more time – what does the text say? Miss Upity, is she, because she is Ms. Upity, sufficient for these things? “For you see brethren, that not many noble... are called...”
I know that likely no one would raise his hand and admit it, but, do you ever have the 'Ms. Upity' mindset? 'Yeah, yeah, God chose me, well, because of my social status'. How about the 'Mr. Muscles' mindset? 'God chose me because I can simply FLEX and others start moving!' Or, what about the 'Mr. or Ms. Brain', 'Mr. or Ms. Professor' mindset? 'God chose me because – well – because I have a P-h-D.!
One more time, let's ask ourselves the question Paul asks in 2 Corinthians 2, who really is sufficient, who truly does have what it takes to be God's 'perfume dispensers'?
I don't know if you have been able to follow my meandering train of thought, but to me, it is interesting and exceedingly powerful, gut-level stuff, to note that not only for the gospel, but also for those who are called of God to proclaim the gospel, to carry that saving message, it all begins and ends not with the wisdom of the wise not with the ability that men and women may think they have with their muscles or money, rather it all begins and ends, with the cross! With what April fools call foolish and weak!
Anybody know why that is? Anybody?
God chose a foolish, weak thing – His son dying – humiliated, rejected on a cross, and God chooses the weak, the foolish, the base, the despised, the nothings of this world, to belong to Him, and, to serve Him as grace dispensers – why? So that no flesh may glory before Him, so that He who boasts may boast (only) in the Lord...
I don't want to be an April fool! And, I pray, you don't either!
Rather, may the Lord help always to remember that... “or Him we are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us, our wisdom from God, our righteousness, sanctification and redemption...”

What Are You Going to Do with Jesus?

Preached at Northwest Christian Church

David P. Kautt

Sunday Morning, April 17, 2011

1 Corinthians 1:18-31, “For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. For it is written:

“ I will destroy the wisdom of the wise,
And bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent.”

Where is the wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the disputer of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of this world? For since, in the wisdom of God, the world through wisdom did not know God, it pleased God through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe. For Jews request a sign, and Greeks seek after wisdom; but we preach Christ crucified, to the Jews a stumbling block and to the Greeks foolishness, but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men. For you see your calling, brethren, that not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called. But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty; and the base things of the world and the things which are despised God has chosen, and the things which are not, to bring to nothing the things that are, that no flesh should glory in His presence. But of Him you are in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God—and righteousness and sanctification and redemption— that, as it is written, “He who glories, let him glory in the LORD.”

I don’t want to be, I don’t want you or anyone else I know and care about to be, an April fool! Have you had that thought on your minds the last several days?

Listen, my friends, as we live day-by-day, in a world where fools and foolishness seem to be the name of the game, and, as we who wear the name of Christ, who claim to belong to God through faith in His Son and who more and more are marginalized and even vilified in an increasingly hostile culture, to be or not to be an ‘April fool’ is a significant question indeed!

This week, as we mark another anniversary of the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus, where will we stand in respect to those monumental events? Among the soldiers carrying out gruesome orders, perhaps with a bit of disdain for this stupid Jew who actually thought He could do battle with the Roman empire and win?! Among the Jewish leaders, laughing triumphantly, scoffing arrogantly, daring God to rescue Him, if He really is His Son?! Among the passers-by, caught up in this scene of great human agony and yet, perhaps also caught up in the tide of opposition, the swirling tsunami of scorn and hatred toward the Man on the middle cross? Among the frightened and confused friends and followers of the One over Whose head are the words, “This is Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews”?! Though we will not fully arrive there today in our study, the Lord-willing, that’s where we will end up next Lord’s Day, on Resurrection Day. Where do we stand, where do YOU stand, where do I stand as far as Jesus is concerned? To put it simply, and straightforwardly, our eternal destiny - not just our momentary ‘happiness’ or our ‘success in life’ – but our ETERNAL DESTINY hinges upon that question, “where do you stand with respect to Jesus? What will you do with Jesus?”

April fools, August fools, November fools, as the passages in the psalms that we looked at previously indicated to us, sadly, but truly, they are all the same!! They reject God! Through the pride of their countenance, they will not seek after God! In fact, all their thoughts are, ‘There is no God!’ (Psalm 10:4, 14:1) Flattering themselves in their own eyes, mouthing words of iniquity, and deceit, devising mischief upon their beds, refusing to abhor evil, CEASING TO BE WISE, and do good, rejecting the fear of God, who do they do? Where do they stand on ‘Good Friday’ and ‘Resurrection Day’? Psalm 36:1-4 indicates that they transgress against God; that’s what they do! And their place, the spot where they stand this week, is that place in that dark and distant place where those who have rejected God stand. The ‘April fool’ - is that an appropriate description for anybody you know? Is it a name that fits you or me?

The ‘April fool’ – the first thing I believe, the first sad and tragic thing we learn about him or her is that he rejects God! And, then, as you would expect, if he continues in that path of folly, where those who lack real understanding walk, where those who have turned aside to corruption have turned (see Psalm 14:2-3), if he continues in that foolish way, where do his feet take him next? 1 Corinthians 2:14. Take a look at what the Word of God says about the April fool’s next destination.

1 Corinthians 2:14, “But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.”

Speaking to us from the larger context of the passage we read at the outset this morning, the apostle Paul, our Divinely-inspired teacher, instructs us to this effect: the April fool, if he continues on the path of rejecting God, refusing to fear Him, turning aside to prideful thoughts like, ‘I know as much as He does! I don’t need !’ – the apostle Paul informs us that if the April fools continues on the path that he – Paul the apostle – once traveled, when he was known by the name ‘Saul of Tarsus’; if our foolish friend or loved one stays the course and continues to steer his feet into that path – where does he end up next? What does he do next? 1 Corinthians 2:14 – Looking at the things of God (the Bible, and the Cross, etc.), trying to wrap his mind around these things, he simply will not, cannot do it! The ‘April fool’, the ‘natural man’ as Paul describes him, he “does not receive”, he does not take, welcome or accept the things of God, these things. Why? Because as far as he’s concerned what are they? They are “foolishness to him” and he is unable to know or understand them, since he lack the spiritual discernment necessary – required – to grasp them!

Do you know anybody who fits into that category? It’s a sad state in which to be located! For instead of allowing the Holy Spirit to teach him, instead of receiving the marvelous gift of the mind of Christ, formed and fashioned in all who believe His Word and make it their Daily Bread, the natural man, the ‘April fool’ is satisfied with his own ‘wisdom’, which really is foolishness as far as God is concerned.

I don’t want to be an April fool, do you?! I don’t want anybody I know and care about to be one either, do you?! Yet, sadly and very, very tragically, some are, some, apparently, want to be…

So, what’s their final destination? If the ‘April fool’ continues on the path of rejecting God and rejecting and refusing the things of God, where will he ultimately end up?

1 Corinthians 1 – We read it earlier; would you come back to it with me now, please?

1 Corinthians 1:18-25, “For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. For it is written: “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent.” Where is the wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the disputer of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of this world? For since, in the wisdom of God, the world through wisdom did not know God, it pleased God through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe. For Jews request a sign, and Greeks seek after wisdom; but we preach Christ crucified, to the Jews a stumbling block and to the Greeks foolishness, but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men.”

You see it, don’t you? The very sad and tragic truth that details the ultimate end of the April fool is this, if he continues to reject God – “I don’t need Him! I know as much as He does!” – if he refuses the things of God – “this doesn’t make sense to me! I mean, it’s stupid!” – thinking that his wisdom, his HUMAN wisdom, is superior to God’s ‘wisdom’, then, where will he end up, ultimately? What will be the last things and WORST thing he will choose to do? He will choose to reject the MESSAGE, the saving message about the Savior who came to be his from-God gift of wisdom, righteousness, sanctification and redemption (see 1 Corinthians 1:30-31), and in doing so, he will lose, for eternity, his only hope of salvation and deliverance. He will perish in an eternal hell!

My friends, my dear friends, do you see it? Do you see and perceive the sad and desperate situation of those who choose man’s ‘wisdom’, man’s folly in place of God’s wisdom and saving power? As I told you when we began this series of messages a few weeks ago, our target, our ultimate aim in this series is to take our stand at the foot of the cross. April fools can become heaven's servants, vessels of honor in the hands of God, if they will bow down at the foot of the cross. But, how? How is an April fool to get there? Ultimately, he or she gets there, as Paul says here in 1 Corinthians 1, by faith. By trusting in the One whose cross-centered salvation message is God's means to transform April fools...

Yes, ultimately, the gospel of Christ is God's power to save everyone who believes! But, how does someone who has been walking this foolish way turn from it? And, for our sakes, perhaps, how are we to avoid being April fools?

Would you go with me to the epitome of Old Testament wisdom books, the book of Proverbs.

Proverbs 4:14-27, “Enter not into the path of the wicked, and go not in the way of evil men. Avoid it, pass not by it, turn from it, and pass away. For they sleep not, except they have done mischief; and their sleep is taken away, unless they cause some to fall. For they eat the bread of wickedness, and drink the wine of violence. But the path of the just is as the shining light, that shineth more and more unto the perfect day. The way of the wicked is as darkness: they know not at what they stumble. My son, attend to my words; incline thine ear unto my sayings. Let them not depart from thine eyes; keep them in the midst of thine heart. For they are life unto those that find them, and health to all their flesh. Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life. Put away from thee a froward mouth, and perverse lips put far from thee. Let thine eyes look right on, and let thine eyelids look straight before thee. Ponder the path of thy feet, and let all thy ways be established. Turn not to the right hand nor to the left: remove thy foot from evil.”

I don't want to be an April fool. So, what am I to do to carry that out in my life?

Number one, I must avoid the path of the wicked. Those who food and drink, and even sleep, is all about wickedness, those who could influence me to join them in that foolish way, I must avoid, I must turn away from their path!

Secondly, I must attend to wisdom's instruction! Using a military metaphor, when it comes to this Book's instruction, when it comes to God teaching you His wisdom, you don't want to be A-W-O-L! Pay attention, be in ATTENDANCE, when God calls His 'class' to order!

By the way, that 'class room' of Divine instruction is located anywhere God is and anywhere you are, and this Book is the 'curriculum'.

Thirdly, aim – take careful aim – at another path, a different path to which the Lord is pointing you, the path of the righteous, that path, verse 18 tells us, that is like the shining sun, growing brighter, brighter BRIGHTER, unto the perfect day! Yes, be careful of your eyes (verse 25), your ears (verse 20), your feet (verse 26) and most of all, your heart (verse 23) – why?

Number four, so that you can keep away - I mean, far, far away - from your mouth and your lips the deceitful things, the perverse things, the evil things that are on the lips and in the mouths of April fools!

Yes, wisdom – God's wisdom – and His power to give you light, and health and LIFE – real, eternal life – is to be found here, in His Book, and there, in His Son!

I don't want to be an April fool! And thank God, by His infinite mercy and grace in Christ, I won't be! Instead, my prayer, my aim, is higher ground. “The path of the righteous that is like the shining sun; shining ever brighter unto the perfect day”, that day when I see my Savior face-to-face...

Shall we pray?

“Father in heaven, I thank You that You made a way for April fools to be rescued. You have set forth another path for them to walk; a path to which Jesus has called all who belong to Him; the path of taking up our own crosses, humbling ourselves before Him, denying ourselves and following Him. O Father, I pray, that beginning today, there will be many more, because of this hour of worship, and this series of messages, that will choose to walk in the path of the righteous. And that they will know – that we will know - that increasing brightness of the S-O-N of God in our lives. And God, I pray, that as a result, then who see His light giving light and life to us, that they would be called to turn away from the April fool pathway, to Jesus Who gave His life for them. Father we ask that You would answer this prayer, in a mighty way, even in our midst, beginning today. In Jesus' name, Amen.”

April Fools and the Resurrection

Image credit

Preached at Northwest Christian Church

David P. Kautt

Sunday Morning, April 10, 2011

Psalm 14:1-7, “The fool has said in his heart, “There is no God.” They are corrupt, they have done abominable works, there is none who does good. The LORD looks down from heaven upon the children of men, to see if there are any who understand, who seek God. They have all turned aside, they have together become corrupt; there is none who does good, no, not one. Have all the workers of iniquity no knowledge, who eat up my people as they eat bread, and do not call on the LORD? There they are in great fear, for God is with the generation of the righteous. You shame the counsel of the poor, but the LORD is his refuge. Oh, that the salvation of Israel would come out of Zion! When the LORD brings back the captivity of His people, let Jacob rejoice and Israel be glad.

Psalm 36:1-12, “An oracle within my heart concerning the transgression of the wicked: there is no fear of God before his eyes. For he flatters himself in his own eyes, when he finds out his iniquity and when he hates. The words of his mouth are wickedness and deceit; he has ceased to be wise and to do good. He devises wickedness on his bed; he sets himself in a way that is not good; he does not abhor evil. Your mercy, O LORD, is in the heavens; Your faithfulness reaches to the clouds. Your righteousness is like the great mountains; Your judgments are a great deep; O LORD, You preserve man and beast. How precious is Your lovingkindness, O God! Therefore the children of men put their trust under the shadow of Your wings. They are abundantly satisfied with the fullness of Your house, and You give them drink from the river of Your pleasures. For with You is the fountain of life; in Your light we see light. Oh, continue Your lovingkindness to those who know You, and Your righteousness to the upright in heart. Let not the foot of pride come against me, and let not the hand of the wicked drive me away. There the workers of iniquity have fallen; they have been cast down and are not able to rise.

1 Corinthians 1:18-25, “For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. For it is written: “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent.” Where is the wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the disputer of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of this world? For since, in the wisdom of God, the world through wisdom did not know God, it pleased God through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe. For Jews request a sign, and Greeks seek after wisdom; but we preach Christ crucified, to the Jews a stumbling block and to the Greeks foolishness, but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men.”

I don’t want to be, nor do I want you or anyone else I know and care about to be an April fool!


This month, ‘Resurrection Month’ as we Christians call it, this month, the month of April, the month in which we mark those most holy of holy days – Good Friday and Resurrection Sunday – instead of it being marking by an increase in wisdom, instead of being set off as a month where people like you and me are being challenged and encouraged to choose wisely, in the direction of the cross, the empty tomb and the Risen Savior; I don’t know about you, but it seems to me that this month seems to be a month full of great foolishness!


I don’t want to be, I don’t want you to be an ‘April fool’!


Now, maybe you’re asking, maybe you’re wondering, ‘An April fool? What’s the big deal about being, playing the part of an ‘April fool’?’


Did you catch it as we read from the three different passages of Scripture a moment ago? I don’t want to be, I don’t want you or anyone else I care about to be an ‘April fool’ – why? Psalm 14:1: Because the fool, he is, as some have described him, the ‘practical atheist’. He is the one who, from what his own limited, finite, here and now perspective can come up with, says to himself, ‘It just makes sense, doesn’t it? Doesn’t it? There is no God!’


I don’t want you to be, I don’t want to be an April fool because from the perspective of God’s Word, ultimately the fool rejects God, and according to the passage we read in 1 Corinthians 1, he also rejects – the fool also deems as the utmost in foolishness – God’s foolishness, what God has done in Christ on the cross! I don’t want to be, nor do I want you to be, an April fool! Because fools ultimately reject God and His gift of salvation in Jesus Christ!


But, listen, before we move on in our thinking, allow me to ask you to consider this one thing: how is it that a fool - an April, September, November or February fool – gets to be a fool? How is it that he or she ends up that way?


I wish I had a way of displaying for you all three passages of Scripture we read at the beginning, because, in reality, the message, the answer to my ‘how is it…?’ question from all three passages is the same. The answer to my ‘how is it that a fool gets to be a fool?’ question is that he or she gets that way by way of a downward and, I would suggest, deliberate process that leads – inevitably – to the rejection of God and of Christ and His saving work at Calvary.


Take a look with me, will you? Psalm 14 – go back to that passage. This passage that begins with that startling verse, “the fool has said in his heart, ‘there is no God!’” along with Psalm 36, sets out for us the step-by-step, downward spiral into utter foolishness and the rejection of God. Take a look, where does it all begin?


Verses 2 and following of Psalm 14. Here’s the Lord, looking down from heaven upon the children of men, verses one and following of Psalm 36, here’s the psalmist speaking ultimately as God’s Holy Spirit give him utterance, writing for us an oracle, a divinely-inspired message of insight regarding the wicked and their transgression against God, and what do we see, what do we read? God looks down, and from that lofty, holy, and I would suggest to you, DISTANT vantage point, at least as far as God, rejecting fools are concerned, He sees people turning aside into corruption, He observes people, folks like you and me, working iniquity, failing to do good, using their mouths as tools of wickedness and deceit and actually plotting wickedness on their beds, because that’s what they love! How did they get that way? How? Beloved, I have to warn you ahead of time, because it’s painful to see, painful and perhaps, even convicting to talk about! But, we must! We must talk about it!


If I may, I’d like to examine this process, working backwards from where it ends up. And, hopefully, allow all of us to see how someone arrives at the rejection of God and Christ position. An ‘April fool’ doesn’t get that way overnight! Rather, he gets that way, number one, because he lacks or refuses to pursue understanding. Psalm 14:2 – David, the psalmist, writes, “the Lord looks down from heaven upon the children of men…” And, the question in God’s mind is, “are there any folks down there, among those whose declaration of faith is: ‘there is no God!’ are there any among them who have understanding? Any who are seeking Me?” And, sadly, the answer of course, is, ‘No, there are not any!’


They get that way, the ‘practical atheist’ way, because they lack understanding: ‘How is it that a man, not the Divine, only-begotten Son of God, but a man, dying such a horrible, and really, such a humiliating death, on a cross, do anything to deal with my sins and take away my guilt?”


To those who lack understanding, the understanding supplied and provided for in this Book, it doesn’t make sense! And, so they don’t seek God. They get that way, the ‘April fool’ way, because they lack understanding. Now, before I move on, allow me to remind you of something, maybe of a couple of somethings. Number one, the disciples – Jesus’ closest friends and followers – you know it, don’t you? You’ve read and studied it and before, haven’t you? Jesus’ disciples in the Upper Room, in the Garden of Gethsemane, in the courtyard of the high priest’s home, at the Cross, and even at the door of Jesus’ tomb, how does Scripture depict and describe them? Did they have it all figured out? No! They didn’t have a clue! Until Jesus appeared in their midst, held out his nail-pierced hands and pointed out His wounded side, and instructed them with the words, “Here, look here! This is what all this means! This is what all this has been about!” The disciples, just like the folks the psalmist mentions in our text, they lacked understanding. And fear, doubt, even despair gripped them! You know something else? The same is true for us! It is! Unless and until God sends someone using this Word of His to give light to our eyes, we are on that path toward becoming April fools!


Lacking understanding, fools fail to – refuse to – seek God. But, understanding, insight, perception, is not the first step down this woeful path! No, look! There’s a step or two prior to the step of lacking understanding, and what are those steps? First of all, there is the step, the sad step I would simply call ‘ignorance’. Psalm 14:4, notice the powerful, and, as I suggested earlier, the painful question the psalmist asks there: “have all the workers of iniquity no knowledge? … They are eating my people like folks eat bread… They are failing to, perhaps, refusing to, call on the Lord…” Why? Because they lack knowledge! Because they are ignorant!


One of the saddest, most distressing conversations I’ve ever had, in 30 years in the ministry, is one I had about 10 years ago, with a father, a dad, who like me, had a son about 10 years old at the time. I had been around this man and his son several times. And, I was watching, as I’m sure he was watching, his son growing up on him. And the two of us got to talking about all of that, and about our hopes and desires for our children. Then, this dad made this interesting, and, as I said, from my perspective, very sad and distressing announcement to me. He said, “yeah, my wife and me, we’ve decided not to try to teach or guide our son about our religion, our faith; you know, about the Bible and God and Jesus, because we didn’t want to sway him or make up his mind for him. So, instead, we’ve decided to let him choose his own path and make up his own mind on these matters!” It hurts me to tell you that 10 years later, that decision on the part of that man and his wife is killing them, because of where their son has gone with his life! Ignorance - The fool who says, ‘there is no God!’ The fool, who in this young man’s case, has turned away from seeking God and calling on God, and instead, turned aside to drugs and alcohol and sexual promiscuity, he ended up that way, in part at least, because of ignorance! His parents didn’t teach him the truth! They just let him go his own way! You know why I think that is? Psalm 36:1-4 – Step number one down the April fool pathway. That young man has ended up in that terrible place of degradation – I believe – in part at least, because of his parents failed to do, refused to do, ceased doing the truly wise thing: they didn’t teach their son to fear God! And so, the awful, painful reality is that their son is living his life as if he thinks and believes that the God of the Bible and the gospel message of the Cross of Christ is foolishness!

Psalm 14:2-6, Psalm 36:10-12, and 1 Corinthians 1:18-25 – These verses, in a way, to me, these verses are some of the saddest verses in all of the Bible. They are! Because they contrast God’s distance from those who reject Him and God’s intimacy with those who call on Him, who trust in Him, and because they describe the outcome of those two very divergent paths in words like these: “Oh, continue Your lovingkindness to those who know You, and Your righteousness to the upright in heart. Let not the foot of pride come against me, and let not the hand of the wicked drive me away. There the workers of iniquity have fallen; they have been cast down and are not able to rise.” And, from 1 Corinthians 1:18: “for the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved” – it is what? Our power at work? Our goodness and ability and intellect at work? No! Rather, the text says that if there is to be any gloating or glorying, it won’t be us doing it in ourselves! Rather, God gets the glory and praise. Why? Because we are being saved through that seemingly foolish and weak method – the cross – and the Good News preaching of what Jesus did for us there, by way of God’s power!

I don’t want to be an April fool! I don’t want you or you or you to be an April fool! I don’t want my friend’s son to continue to be an April fool! No! Rather, my prayer is that right there, at the cross of Christ, and at His empty tomb – empty, not because someone stole His body, but empty by that same POWER of God to make His Son alive again, never to die again! My prayer is that God’s power and grace in Christ will continue to rescue perishing fools like you and me and him! Let’s pray!

A Transformed Life: Christ's Resurrection Power at Work

Preached at Northwest Christian Church

David P. Kautt

Sunday Morning, April 11, 2010

1 John 1:1- 4 – “That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, concerning the Word of life— the life was manifested, and we have seen, and bear witness, and declare to you that eternal life which was with the Father and was manifested to us— that which we have seen and heard we declare to you, that you also may have fellowship with us; and truly our fellowship is with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ. And these things we write to you that your joy may be full.”

What is the biggest – we might even say – what is the best evidence of the resurrection of Jesus Christ?

Last Lord’s Day – what a special day we enjoyed, didn’t we, my friends, as we celebrated not only the empty tomb, the stone rolled away from the door, and the grave clothes that had been wrapped around the lifeless body of Jesus lying there in that empty tomb – but, more significantly, as we celebrated the Risen Savior, our Risen Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, Resurrection Day – last Lord’s day – our focus was on a Person, the risen One, Who is our joy, our hope and our peace…

Today, however, is not Sunday, April 4^th – Resurrection Day. But today is Sunday, April 11^th, one week AFTER Resurrection Day – and the question of the hour, the important matter to be examined and explored is: what difference does it make that the tomb is empty? What difference does it make that the tomb is empty? What difference does it make that the stone has been rolled away from that tomb’s door? What difference does it make – in you and me – that Jesus Christ is alive?

I asked a question a moment ago that I want us to find an answer for, as we study the Scriptures today. The question is: What is the biggest, or best, evidence of the Resurrection of Jesus Christ? You know, Beloved, there is a lot of evidence for the Resurrection of Jesus – for example, there is an otherwise immovable stone – moved, and there is an empty tomb, a tomb, by the way, that not only had once housed the lifeless form of our Lord, but also a tomb that had been marked and identified both by Jesus’ friends – those who assisted in burying Him, but also marked and identified by His enemies – the Jews, and the Romans. And, there is the testimony – the eye, ear and even hand witness testimony of man, many people who saw, heard, ate with, and even touched Jesus, alive after His crucifixion. Good evidence, wouldn’t you say, that He really did conquer death? But listen, we are not there yet… we’ve still got a ways to go on this trek toward finding out what the biggest and best evidence of the Resurrection of Jesus Christ really is. But let’s not give up on our quest – let’s press on till we find out, shall we?

This morning, I’d like to initiate a new study with you – one that I believe will prove to be not only fascinating, but extremely helpful in our walk with Christ. I’m talking about a look at the words, the Holy Spirit inspired teaching, of the one who was known as the Beloved Disciple – the disciple whom Jesus loved – the Apostle John, as recorded here in his first letter.

The Apostle John – and his divinely-supplied insight and instruction for us through this letter – how much do you know about him, and about what the Holy Spirit has to say to us through him?

First, some basic facts that you can verify at places like Matthew 4:18-22 – the Apostle John, he wasn’t always Jesus apostolic representative. In fact, he grew up in and around a Galilean village by the name of Caperneum, in the home of a man named Zebedee (his father), and had at least one brother, who also became a disciple and apostle of Jesus – a fellow named James. He knew a lot about fishing, for fish, that is – until one day, our Savior called him and his brother AWAY from the fish and the fishing, away from their father and family business – in order to set out to catch men, to fish for men, you remember the account, don’t you?

But is that all there is to see and know about his man? Zebedee’s son, James’ brother, a fisherman from Caperneum? Actually, there’s more – quite a bit more – to learn about him, as we sort of lay the ground work for our study of his letter, the one we call, ‘First John’. For example, did you know that he is called – he is referred to – in Scripture at least 5 times as Jesus’ ‘beloved disciple’, or ‘the disciple whom Jesus loved’, the one who leaned on Jesus’ breast in the Upper Room?

All that to say, as our text, 1 John 1:1 – 4, makes clear – that John was a witness, an eye, ear, yes, even a hand witness to the life, the death, and, most of all, a witness to the Resurrection of Jesus Christ. As he indicates in our study text, “…the Word of Life” – that’s one of his characteristic titles for the Lord Jesus. Verses one and two, he says, “the Word of life was manifested [He appeared] and we have seen and bear witness, and declare to you that eternal life which was with the Father and was manifested to us…”

John, the apostle – what do you know about him? What is there to find out about this man? He was a fisherman from Caperneum and he came to be – was called by Jesus to learn HOW to be a fisher-for-men. He was an eye-witness, and, I believe, therefore a credible source of information about the life of Jesus Christ. And, yes, as we stated, he is identified as Jesus’ beloved disciple. All of that paints all-in-all a favorable, if not rather rosy picture, of this man. But, did you know that there’s more? That there is more to learn about this son of Zebedee than what we have seen so far?

One of the things that makes me believe that what I hold in my hand, right here [the Bible] is not simply the product of the minds of men, a merely human document. But, rather a word – a revelation from God – an unveiling of His mind and His will, and yes, even of His viewpoint and insight into things as they really are. One of the things that I believe confirms that this is God’s Book, not man’s book, is that it is always so honest, so gut-level, so painfully, honest in it’s presentation of people as they really are!

Guess what? The same is true of the Apostle John – the same is true of the disciple whom Jesus loved… Mark 3:13 – 19. It is the record of Jesus calling to Himself 12 men, whom He “appointed… that they might be with Him, and that He might send them out to preach and to minister in His name…” Take a look at the list there, next to Simon, the one we usually refer to as Peter, and James, his brother – notice who is listed third: John, James’ brother and Zebedee’s son. But then, take a little longer look. What else does the 17^th verse tell us about John and his brother James? Jesus calls them, He nicknames them “Boanerges” – the “Sons of Thunder”.

The “Sons of Thunder”. What could that title possibly mean? What does it tell us about John and his brother?

Well, hold your place there, and go with me to Luke 9:51 – 56:

Now it came to pass, when the time had come for Him to be received up, that He steadfastly set His face to go to Jerusalem, and sent messengers before His face. And as they went, they entered a village of the Samaritans, to prepare for Him. But they did not receive Him, because His face was set for the journey to Jerusalem. And when His disciples James and John saw this, they said, “Lord, do You want us to command fire to come down from heaven and consume them, just as Elijah did?” But He turned and rebuked them, and said, “You do not know what manner of spirit you are of. For the Son of Man did not come to destroy men’s lives but to save them.” And they went to another village.

Why would Jesus nick-name a man named John – whose name, by the way, means “the Lord is gracious” – why would Jesus call him a “Son of Thunder’? “The Son of Man came not to destroy men’s lives, but to save them…” But John, and his brother James – it seems that, at least at that moment - they were intent on calling down fire from heaven to wipe the unbelievers off the map!

A vindictive – we might even say, a hateful spirit – is that the John you know anything about?

Then, there’s Mark 9:38 – 41. Talk about painfully-honest camera angles – take a look at this side of the beloved disciple.

Mark 9:38-41 – “Now John answered Him, saying, “Teacher, we saw someone who does not follow us casting out demons in Your name, and we forbade him because he does not follow us.” But Jesus said, “Do not forbid him, for no one who works a miracle in My name can soon afterward speak evil of Me. For he who is not against us is on our side. For whoever gives you a cup of water to drink in My name, because you belong to Christ, assuredly, I say to you, he will by no means lose his reward.

Do you see what’s going on here? It stings a little to think about it – John’s viewpoint was, “This fellow’s not following us, so therefore he’s in competition with us. So let’s set him straight, let’s tell him to join us or to keep his mouth shut.” But, what was Jesus’ viewpoint? “If he is not against us, he is on our side…!”

Vindictiveness, sectarianism – What was underneath these aspects of John’s life that we’d rather not know about? Mark 10:35 – 45 – Read it with me, if you would:

Then James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came to Him, saying, “Teacher, we want You to do for us whatever we ask.” And He said to them, “What do you want Me to do for you?”
They said to Him, “Grant us that we may sit, one on Your right hand and the other on Your left, in Your glory.” But Jesus said to them, “You do not know what you ask. Are you able to drink the cup that I drink, and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with?” They said to Him, “We are able.” So Jesus said to them, “You will indeed drink the cup that I drink, and with the baptism I am baptized with you will be baptized; but to sit on My right hand and on My left is not Mine to give, but it is for those for whom it is prepared.” And when the ten heard it, they began to be greatly displeased with James and John. But Jesus called them to Himself and said to them, “You know that those who are considered rulers over the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them. Yet it shall not be so among you; but whoever desires to become great among you shall be your servant. And whoever of you desires to be first shall be slave of all. For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.”

Mark 10 – this passage, set off – book-ended – by Jesus’ third prediction of His death and resurrection and by His compassionate, servant-like ministry to a blind man named Bartimaeus – this passage marked off by these two other passages – what does it do? It tells us – it shows us in living color – what Jesus was all about: His passion, His mission and – and what John and his brother, and really, what all the rest of Jesus’ disciples were all about! He had come to serve and to give His life as a ransom for many, but they wanted only to be first in line!

Now fast forward the tape only about a week to John chapters 19 and 20, and keep in mind – don’t forget about our leading question: what is the biggest and best evidence of the Resurrection of Jesus Christ? John chapter 19 – the record of the crucifixion, suffering, and death of Jesus. We know where Jesus is – right where He said He would be – “lifted up” on a cross that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish but have everlasting life – serving and giving His life as a ransom for many! We know where Jesus was, but where was John?

John 19:25-27 – “Now there stood by the cross of Jesus His mother, and His mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. When Jesus therefore saw His mother, and the disciple whom He loved standing by, He said to His mother, “Woman, behold your son!” Then He said to the disciple, “Behold your mother!” And from that hour that disciple took her to his own home.

The beloved disciple – the one through whom we find out about Jesus’ tender regard for His mother, the one through whom we learn about the piercing of Jesus’ side and the blood and water that poured forth from the wound, the one through whom we heard Jesus’ triumphant shout, “It is finished”, where is he? Where is John at this crucial hour? He is at the cross, he is there next to his dying Master and Friends – end of the story? This one who had previously been driven by self-seeking ambition, watches his Friend lay down His life for others! This one who had been so filled with hate that he asked to call down fire from heaven – where is he? He is there, at the foot of One whose overwhelming love drove Him to die for His enemies! Is this the end of John’s story?

You know it – or, you should know it, my Loved Ones. Just as we marked last Lord’s day, the fact that Good Friday is not the end of Jesus’ ‘story’ – so this scene of death and grief is not the end of John’s story either! John chapters 20 and 21 – we don’t have time to read the entirety of both of these important chapters, but allow me to read these few verses:

John 20:1 – 10 – “Now the first day of the week Mary Magdalene went to the tomb early, while it was still dark, and saw that the stone had been taken away from the tomb. Then she ran and came to Simon Peter, and to the other disciple, whom Jesus loved, and said to them, “They have taken away the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid Him.”
Peter therefore went out, and the other disciple, and were going to the tomb. So they both ran together, and the other disciple outran Peter and came to the tomb first. And he, stooping down and looking in, saw the linen cloths lying there; yet he did not go in. Then Simon Peter came, following him, and went into the tomb; and he saw the linen cloths lying there, and the handkerchief that had been around His head, not lying with the linen cloths, but folded together in a place by itself. Then the other disciple, who came to the tomb first, went in also; and he saw and believed. For as yet they did not know the Scripture, that He must rise again from the dead. Then the disciples went away again to their own homes.

Where was John on Good Friday? He was at the foot of the cross. And, where was he on the first day of the week – Sunday morning? He and Peter were having a foot race to see who could get to Jesus’ tomb first. He was at the empty tomb - once again, I ask: “end of story?” No, listen, my friends – what we have at these two crucial events is the turning point, the life-changing moment in the man Jesus called “the disciple I love…”

We’re nearly out of time, so let me wrap it up this way, and come around once more to our leading question: what is the biggest and best evidence for Jesus’ resurrection? A stone rolled away? An empty tomb? Grave clothes left, but no body, no corpse found? No! The biggest, and I dare say, best evidence for the Resurrection of Jesus is a life – a life driven by vindictive zeal, a sectarian spirit, and even hatred – a self-centered life, changed 180 degrees, to a life passionately propelled by the fact that “I say Him – the Living One! My Lord, and my God!”

I’ve got a question for you to consider as we close. If you were arrested, for being a follower of Jesus, what would the evidence, the evidence of your life, determine as to whether you are guilty, or not guilty?

How do you know, how do I know that Jesus lives?

We know it, or should know it, and other ought to be able to see it – we know it because He lives, His life-altering, eternity changing, resurrection power LIVES within our hearts!

Peace in the Risen Christ

Preached at Northwest Christian Church

David P. Kautt

Resurrection Morning Worship Service, April 4, 2010.

Joy, hope – and now, Resurrection word number three: peace. Peace. I pointed out in the early morning service that the word “Rejoice!” was the first word Jesus spoke to anyone, following His resurrection. He spoke it, as we discovered, to the women who came to the tomb to embalm His body! In this text, however, the Apostle John focuses his attention – switches on his 'microphone' to record a different word coming from Jesus' lips. A word He uttered at least 3 times – the word 'peace'. Now that word, 'peace' or 'Shalom' as the Jews would have said it, was the sort of their normal way of greeting each other. Kind of like our 'Hello.” But, here in these verses we read, there seems to be something more to Jesus' use of this word than simply a greeting. First of all, notice the element of fear at work in the hearts of Jesus' disciples. Verse 19 – they had fastened their door shut, they were afraid the Jewish leaders might come after them, seeing that the dead body of their prized prisoner was missing. The disciples were fearful, and they needed something, someONE to calm them. Jesus was that someone with the word they needed to hear – Shalom – “peace be to you!” The same someone, by the way, with the same simple, yet powerful word, as when they had been in the storm out on the Galilean Sea – 'Peace'. It's surely a timely word, a needed word, when you're afraid. But, the scene is different now, wouldn't you say? The One Who had been telling them all along about Calvary, and a tomb, and a rising from the dead – the One Who had let them in on all of this while ou in the boat – all of the things He had predicted and come true. Thus what He had said about Himself, about His identity must be true, too! But, what does all of this mean?

Peace... Writing several years later, what we know now as his first letter, the Apostle Peter explained it this way. He said that peace, soundness, wholeness, and the tranquility of heart that goes with all of that, is to be found, not in a greeting, but in a person. In a relationship with the Living One. 1 Peter 5:14 - “Peace to all of you, who are in Christ Jesus!”

In other words, peace - not simply the absence of conflict - but peace in this deepest and fullest of senses begins with what we might call a vertical dimension. It begins by being in a right relationship with God through Jesus Christ. Peace, do you know that peace?

Now, maybe you're wondering, “What does Jesus Christ have to do with my being at peace with God?” My friends, He has everything to do with it! Everything – the Apostle Paul declares in Ephesians 2:14, that Jesus IS our peace! And that is true – verse 16 – Paul says, because Jesus Christ has reconciled us, made peace with God for us, through His death on the Cross! In other words, Jesus Christ is not merely our peace Negotiator, He is our peace Offering. Or, as the Apostle John drives home in his first letter, Jesus' death on the cross, His propitiating death and cleansing, shed blood makes it impossible for us to have what we CANNOT have otherwise – fellowship with God!

Maybe you've never looked at it this way before, but listen, Jesus' words to the repentant thief - the one who, as he hung on a cross next to Jesus, asked Him to remember him when He entered into His kingdom – what did Jesus say to this man? Do you remember? He said, “Truly, assuredly, today you will be with Me in paradise...” How could Jesus make such a statement, such a promise? He could make a promise like that because He, the One hanging from the cross in the middle, came to make a way for repentant thieves, and humble prostitutes and brokenhearted liars and adulterers – and homosexuals – and, yes Jesus came to make a way for even church members – to be forgiven! He is our peace vertically! He is the One who endured God's righteous wrath and judgment against us and against our sins – upon Himself! He is our peace!

Oh, but there's more! I can't tell you how many times, as a minister I have had people tell me the sad and painful stories of their lives with their families – broken marriages due to jealousy and selfishness and infidelity; children abused, neglected, sometimes even abandoned all together; brothers and sisters at war with each other; long-held grudges and bitterness over past sins and failures - where's the peace in all of this? To put it bluntly, there isn't any – at least, not if He is absent!

I'm not sure why Jesus said, “Peace to you” each time He suddenly showed up in the disciples' midst those first few hours and days following His resurrection. Perhaps one reason was to bring some wholeness and even some tranquility to the disciples' relationships – who knows? Maybe these men in that brief period between Jesus' death and the confirmation that He really was alive again – who knows? Maybe they were blaming themselves – perhaps even blaming each other for the sad outcome of it all. But, then suddenly, unexpectedly He shows up among them and says, “Peace!”

Ever have any arguments under your roof? You say you had one on your way here this morning? Doesn't make for a very good mood with which to worship, does it? “Shalom,” Jesus says, “Peace to you!” You see, not only is Jesus our peace, our peace maker – our peace-making sacrifice – vertically, He also came – look at the direction toward which His arms were out stretched. Jesus also came to be our peace horizontally – on a person-to-person, husband-to-wife, parent-to-child, brother-to-sister, basis! Do you need His peace in this way, in your life? Many do. How about you?

Finally, maybe you're like everyone else in this room – you have 10 fingers and 10 toes, 2 eyes, 2 ears and one nose. But, what you don't have is what you yearn for the most: peace within, internal harmony, peace of mind. Did you notice the signboard message out on the lawn? There are two restaurants back over this way, they're advertising to provide you with that peace of mind. “Come on in, we'll show you a good time! Have a few cold ones, watch the Big Screen, sing along with the live band – we'll get you there!” That's quite a promise, if you asked me... Do you believe them? From what I can tell, a lot of folks do! But, do you?

Are you fearful? Fear has a powerful way of robbing one's peace, doesn't it? The disciples of Jesus were fearful – so afraid in fact, that they locked the doors. Oh, but Jesus, the Peace Makers, He didn't need a key! He could walk through walls! More to the point, He could breathe His Spirit of peace upon someone, and he or she would become willing to stare down even the fiercest enemy!

Do you have doubts? Questions? Uncertainties? Ever heard of Thomas, before – doubting Thomas? What was Jesus' initial exhortation to this fellow who as wavering between faith and un-belief? “Peace to you!” The word peace is a Resurrection word, too. Do you see it? Because doubters like Thomas, and like you and me, need it – need the certainty that the Living One offers, here (hands), here (side) and here (in the Bible).

Peace – Hope – Joy. 3 powerful Resurrection words found and summed up, not in anything Hank's or Hooter's offers, but in Jesus – in Jesus! But, why is that so? JOY – HOPE – PEACE. Those powerful Resurrection words are powerful – why? Because of these Good Friday words:

“Father, forgive them... for they know not what they do...” “Assuredly, this day you will be with Me in paradise...” “Eloi, Eloi, Laman Sabbachthani – My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?” and, “It – is – finished!”

If you want joy, real joy, wonderful joy, let Jesus come into your heart.. If you want hope, living hope, certain hope, let Jesus come into your heart. If you want peace, true peace, lasting peace, let Jesus come into your heart...

All hope, all peace, all joy was gone – GONE! Until Easter's dawn. But we are free, FREE, because God's love found a way!

Psalm 30:4-5, 11-12 - “Sing praise to the LORD, you saints of His, and give thanks at the remembrance of His holy name. For His anger is but for a moment, His favor is for life; weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning. You have turned for me my mourning into dancing; You have put off my sackcloth and clothed me with gladness, to the end that my glory may sing praise to You and not be silent. O LORD my God, I will give thanks to You forever.”