SPECIAL DAYS: Third Sunday of Easter

LESSONS: Acts 9.1-20; John 21.1-19, (NRSVA)

SERMON TITLE: Verifiably True! (Before and After)

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INTRODUCTION:

  1. The title of this sermon reflects my original intention.
    1. I wanted to concentrate on the appearances of Jesus after the resurrection so that there would have no room for doubt as to what took place and the impact that Jesus had on the lives of the people who lived conterminous with him.
    2. He did rise from the dead.
    3. His resurrection is fundamental to Christianity.
      1. This is why Paul writes the way he does in 1 Corinthians 15.
      2. Especially in 1 Corinthians 15.13-19, 30-32.


        3. 13If there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ has not been raised; 14and if Christ has not been raised, then our proclamation has been in vain and your faith has been in vain. 15We are even found to be misrepresenting God, because we testified of God that he raised Christ--whom he did not raise if it is true that the dead are not raised. 16For if the dead are not raised, then Christ has not been raised. 17If Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins. 18Then those also who have died in Christ have perished. 19If for this life only we have hoped in Christ, we are of all people most to be pitied...30And why are we putting ourselves in danger every hour? 31I die every day! That is as certain, brothers and sisters, as my boasting of you--a boast that I make in Christ Jesus our Lord. 32If with merely human hopes I fought with wild animals at Ephesus, what would I have gained by it? If the dead are not raised, "Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die."

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    4. My intention was to give Paul a polygraph test to prove his reliability and the truthfulness of his preaching.


      5. ILLUSTRATION: What is a polygraph test? (1)

      Polygraph testing involves measuring physiological responses from an individual while that individual answers a series of from 8 to 12 questions.

      Those questions are reviewed with the subject of the test, prior to the beginning of the test.

      In practice, virtually all polygraph instruments used for psychophysiological credibility assessment record measures from at least three physiological systems that are controlled by the autonomic nervous system.

      Recordings are usually made of palmar sweating (also known as the galvanic skin or electrodermal response), relative blood pressure (obtained from an inflated cuff on the upper arm), and respiration (obtained from volumetric sensors placed around the chest and/or abdomen).

      Many instruments will also provide a measure of peripheral blood flow (usually obtained from a photoelectric plethysmograph placed on one of the fingers).
       

    5. At the same time, would it hurt us to also take a polygraph test to indicate what it is that we believe and how it impacts on our lives.
  2. In meditation on the lessons for today there is another thought that intrudes and demands attention.

MAIN BODY:

  1. You could rename this sermon Before and After.


    2. ILLUSTRATION:

    An atheist was spending a quiet day fishing when suddenly his boat was attacked by the Loch Ness monster.

    In one easy flip, the beast tossed him and his boat high into the air. Then it opened its mouth to swallow both.

    As the man sailed head over heels, he cried out, "Oh, my God! Help me!"

    At once, the ferocious attack scene froze in place.

    As the atheist hung in mid-air, a booming voice came down from the clouds, "I thought you didn't believe in me!"

    "Come on, God, give me a break!!" the man pleaded. "Two minutes ago I didn't believe in the Loch Ness monster either!" (2)

      1. Before the atheist does not believe in God.
      2. After, there is no question of what the individual believes.
        1. The circumstances may be extraordinary.
        2. There is little doubt as to the results.
  2. Apply this principle to the Apostle Paul
    1. Paul's before is found in Acts 9:1-20 (NRSVA)
      1. In verses 1 and 2 he is like the atheist.

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        2. 11Meanwhile Saul, still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest 2and asked him for letters to the synagogues at Damascus, so that if he found any who belonged to the Way, men or women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem.

        1. Paul believes in God.
        2. He does not believe in Jesus Christ.
        3. His disbelief allows him to threaten, to imprison, and even to harbor thoughts of murder.
      2. Then in verses 3-20, the motivation for change takes place.


        3. 3Now as he was going along and approaching Damascus, suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him. 4He fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to him, "Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?" 5He asked, "Who are you, Lord?" The reply came, "I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. 6But get up and enter the city, and you will be told what you are to do." 7The men who were traveling with him stood speechless because they heard the voice but saw no one. 8Saul got up from the ground, and though his eyes were open, he could see nothing; so they led him by the hand and brought him into Damascus. 9For three days he was without sight, and neither ate nor drank.

        1. Saul is blind.
        2. He is helpless.
        3. He is confused and bewildered.
        4. For three days he has time to ponder, to think about his experience.
      3. Then there is a disciple named Ananias, who through a vision receives instructions to go to Saul with understanding and healing.

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        4. 1010Now there was a disciple in Damascus named Ananias. The Lord said to him in a vision, "Ananias." He answered, "Here I am, Lord." 11The Lord said to him, "Get up and go to the street called Straight, and at the house of Judas look for a man of Tarsus named Saul. At this moment he is praying, 12and he has seen in a vision a man named Ananias come in and lay his hands on him so that he might regain his sight." 13But Ananias answered, "Lord, I have heard from many about this man, how much evil he has done to your saints in Jerusalem; 14and here he has authority from the chief priests to bind all who invoke your name." 15But the Lord said to him, "Go, for he is an instrument whom I have chosen to bring my name before Gentiles and kings and before the people of Israel; 16I myself will show him how much he must suffer for the sake of my name." 17So Ananias went and entered the house. He laid his hands on Saul and said, "Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus, who appeared to you on your way here, has sent me so that you may regain your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit."

18And immediately something like scales fell from his eyes, and his sight was restored. Then he got up and was baptized, 19and after taking some food, he regained his strength. For several days he was with the disciples in Damascus, 20and immediately he began to proclaim Jesus in the synagogues, saying, "He is the Son of God."

    1. The life of Saul, now Paul after this is remarkable in his willingness to teach and preach and to endure the severe hardships that will come to him.
    2. You can read his personal testimony in 1 Corinthians 15:3-10, (NRSVA)
      1. He writes of the appearances of Jesus to the disciples.

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        2. 33For I handed on to you as of first importance what I in turn had received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the scriptures, 4and that he was buried, and that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the scriptures, 5and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. 6Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers and sisters at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have died. 7Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles.

      2. Then he writes of Jesus appearance to him.


        3. 8Last of all, as to one untimely born, he appeared also to me. 9For I am the least of the apostles, unfit to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. 10But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me has not been in vain. On the contrary, I worked harder than any of them--though it was not I, but the grace of God that is with me.

  1. If you could give the Apostle Paul a polygraph test, you would discover that he is fully and firmly convinced of the reality and the benefits of Jesus resurrection.
  2. The same could be said for Peter in Peter's encounter with Jesus on the shore of Galilee.
    1. You see Peter before
    2. You see Peter after.

CONCLUSION:

  1. So, now where do we find ourselves?
    1. We have a before
    2. We have an after
  2. So let me wind up this sermon with two illustrations with two serious suggestions.
    1. The first one comes from Grant McDonald, Pastor, Church of Christ, L'Etete, New Brunswick, Canada(3)

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        He calls it "But-First" Syndrome.

        YOU know. It's when you decide to do the laundry.

        So you start down the stairs with the laundry, but then see the newspapers on the table. okay, you'll do the laundry.

        BUT FIRST you decide to put the newspapers away. So on your way in to put the newspapers away, you notice the mail on the table. okay, you'll put the newspapers away.

        BUT FIRST you'll pay that bill that needs to be paid. So you look for the checkbook. Oops ... there's the baby's bottle from yesterday on the floor. okay, you'll pay the bill.

        BUT FIRST you need to put the bottle in the sink. You head for the kitchen. Darn it, there's the remote for the TV. What's it doing here? Okay, you'll put the bottle in the sink.

        BUT FIRST you need to put the remote away. Head for the TV room. Aaagh! Stepped on the cat. Cat needs to be fed. Okay, you'll put the remote away.

        BUT FIRST you need to feed the cat ...

        So, here's what happens at the end of the day .... laundry not done, newspapers on the floor, bottle on the table, bills unpaid, checkbook still lost, cat ate the remote control .... And, when you try to figure out how come nothing got done all day, you are baffled because ... you KNOW you were BUSY ALL DAY!!

      1. That's the "BUT-FIRST" Syndrome.
      2. That is one kind of Before and After

        The second one is a story about a king much beloved by his subjects.

        3. He ruled a little kingdom tucked away in a corner of Europe.

        One day an army came and overran the castle, making off with half the treasury.

        The king decided he had to increase taxes to make up for his losses, and called in one of his wise counselors to ask how to tell the people the news without inciting a revolt.

        The wise counselors suggested the king explain the theft as a tragedy for the entire kingdom and appeal to their spirit of sacrifice and support for the kingdom.

        The king did exactly that, and the people responded.

        Actually, the king had to do it twice after a second invasion took more of the treasury.

        But apart from some grumbling, the people responded in heroic fashion.

        But then the neighboring army raided the kingdom a third time, and this time they took all the king's food and all the queen's jewels. "What can I do this time?" the king cried.

      3. The wise courtier hesitated and then said, "I think it's time for your highness to put the water back in the moat."
      4. This is another kind of Before and After.
  3. Its time to?
    1. Based on the lessons of today's sermon you provide the answer to this question.
    2. In answering, remember your before and your after.1. Taken from The Polygraph Place, at http://www.polygraphplace.com/docs/information.shtml#polygraph

      2. Quoted in Homiletics, June 3, 2001, Concierge God, Used with permission

      3. Grant McDonald, Pastor, Church of Christ, L'Etete, New Brunswick, Canada, graceland.gentle.org. Quoted in Homiletics, April 22, 2001, Sweaty Feet. Used with permission.

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