April 12, Easter Sunday

Lessons: Isaiah 25:6-9; Mark 16:1-8

Sermon Title: The Undefeated Champion

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INTRODUCTION

Mark E. Honstein, Chaplain Lutheran Good Samaritan Society Loveland, CO tells a wonderful story of Easter.

My family grew up in the Wyoming prairie, and on the long drive from church we would sing hymns to pass the time. Coming home from church one Easter Sunday, my parents asked us what hymns we wanted to sing.

"My little sister yelled, 'Gravy Rose!'

"We all looked at her and my Mom said that she didn't know that hymn.

"'Yes you do!' my little sister insisted. 'You all know it. We sang it this morning.'

"My sister began singing, 'Up from the gravy rose, with a mighty triumph for his toes...

  1. There is a bit of a misunderstanding here.

    1. The title needs a little clarification.

    2. Sister needs to hear something different.

  2. Is this true with us on an Easter Sunday morning.

    1. What would help us to better understand the meaning of Easter.

    2. It is so much more than an empty tomb.

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MAIN BODY:

  1. He will--He did--He will.

    1. On this mountain the LORD of hosts will make for all peoples.

      1. There are no exclusions.

        1. In Luke 2:10 (NRSVA): The angel said to the shepherds, "Do not be afraid; for see--I am bringing you good news of great joy for all the people.

        2. In Acts 10, Peter sees a vision of a sheet with all kinds of four-footed creatures, reptiles and birds of the air.

          1. He is told to kill and eat.

          2. He has never eaten anything unclean.

        3. God is attempting to help Peter understand that this is not about food but about his attitude towards the Gentiles.

          1. He is led to the house of the Roman Centurion Cornelius.

          2. there the Holy Spirit is poured out just as it was on the disciples on the day of Pentecost.

        4. It is for all people.

      2. Did Jesus open the gates for all people?

      3. Is there any question as to the answer to this question.

    2. A feast of rich food, a feast of well-aged wines, of rich food filled with marrow, of well-aged wines strained clear.

      1. There had been a famine, not of food, but of words of life.

        1. Amos 8:11 (NRSVA) is a striking example of famine.

          1. The time is surely coming, says the Lord GOD, when I will send a famine on the land; not a famine of bread, or a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the LORD.

Many years ago, when a famine was bringing misery in Russia, the writer Leo Tolstoy passed by a bridge in Moscow where many beggars gathered. They were on the verge of starvation and were asking for alms.

Seeing a beggar, Tolstoy searched in his pocket for a coin, but discovered that he had nothing with him, not even a copper coin.

Embarrassed, Tolstoy took the beggar's hands in his own and said, I am sorry, brother. Don't be angry with me. I have nothing with me today.

The thin face of the beggar became illuminated, and he said in reply, But you called me brother - that was a great gift, sir. (1)

          1. Words have the capacity to heal.

          2. In the time of Jesus there was a famine of hearing the words of the Lord.

        1. The famine has ended.

      1. Mark 12.37, The common people heard him gladly.

        1. They were amazed at his teaching.

        2. He taught them as one who had authority not as the scribes.

        3. He warned them to beware of the leven of the scribes and the Pharisees.

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      1. We are also promised a banquet.

Heaven Can't Wait (2)

An 85-year-old couple, having been married almost 60 years, died in a car crash. They had been in good health the last ten years, mainly due to her interest in health food and exercise.

When they reached the pearly gates, St. Peter took them to their mansion, which was decked out with a beautiful kitchen, master bath suite and Jacuzzi. As they "ooohed and aaahed," the old man asked Peter how much all this was going to cost.

"It's free," Peter replied, "this is Heaven."

Next, they went out back to see the championship golf course. They would have golfing privileges every day and each week the course changed to a new one representing the great golf courses on earth.

The old man asked, "What are the green fees?"

Peter's reply, "This is heaven, you play for free."

Next they went to the clubhouse and saw the lavish buffet lunch with the cuisines of the world laid out.

"How much to eat?" asked the old man.

"Don't you understand yet? This is heaven, it is free!" Peter replied.

"Well, where are the low fat and low cholesterol foods?" the old man asked timidly.

"That's the best part...you can eat as much as you like of whatever you like and you never get fat and you never get sick. This is Heaven."

The old man looked at his wife and said, "You and your bran muffins. I could have been here ten years ago!"

      1. Well, that's not exactly how it is, but it does give us a picture of heaven.

        1. Matthew 8:11 (NRSVA) Jesus is speaking about the faith of a centurion.

11I tell you, many will come from east and west and will eat with Abraham and Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven,

        1. Luke 14:15 (NRSVA) Jesus has been invited to dinner at the home of a Pharisee.

          1. He is observing the way the guests pick the places of honor.

          2. He suggests taking a lower place instead.

          3. One of the dinner guests responds:

15One of the dinner guests, on hearing this, said to him, "Blessed is anyone who will eat bread in the kingdom of God!"

        1. In Revelation 19:9 (NRSVA) there is an invitation given by an angel:

          1. "Write this: Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb."

          2. And he said to me, "These are true words of God."

      1. Did Jesus provide for a feast?

        1. Yes he did.

        2. Is there any question about this.

  1. He will--He did--He will.

    1. And he will destroy on this mountain

      1. The shroud that is cast over all peoples.

        1. The shroud is the veil of hard-heartedness.

        2. Paul writes in 2 Corinthians 3:7-18 (NRSVA):

12Since, then, we have such a hope, we act with great boldness, 13not like Moses, who put a veil over his face to keep the people of Israel from gazing at the end of the glory that was being set aside. 14But their minds were hardened. Indeed, to this very day, when they hear the reading of the old covenant, that same veil is still there, since only in Christ is it set aside. 15Indeed, to this very day whenever Moses is read, a veil lies over their minds; 16but when one turns to the Lord, the veil is removed. 17Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. 18And all of us, with unveiled faces, seeing the glory of the Lord as though reflected in a mirror, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another; for this comes from the Lord, the Spirit.

        1. Here is freedom.

      1. The sheet that is spread over all nations.

        1. The sheet is the burial cloth.

        2. It is the folded cloth that covered Jesus face that he left behind in the tomb.

    1. He will swallow up death forever.

      1. This illusion to swallowing is spoken of in Hebrews 2:9 (NRSVA)

9but we do see Jesus, who for a little while was made lower than the angels, now crowned with glory and honor because of the suffering of death, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone.

      1. The amazing words of 1 Corinthians 15:54-57 (NRSVA) are such a comfort and source of joy.

54When this perishable body puts on imperishability, and this mortal body puts on immortality, then the saying that is written will be fulfilled:

"Death has been swallowed up in victory."

55 "Where, O death, is your victory?

Where, O death, is your sting?"

56The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. 57But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

    1. He did, didn't he?

    2. And he will!

      1. We live in the time in between.

      2. The end is in sight.

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  1. He will--He did--He will.

    1. Then the Lord GOD will wipe away the tears from all faces

      1. Read Revelation 21:1-4 (NRSVA)

1Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. 2And I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. 3And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, "See, the home of God is among mortals. He will dwell with them; they will be his peoples, and God himself will be with them; 4 he will wipe every tear from their eyes. Death will be no more; mourning and crying and pain will be no more, for the first things have passed away."

      1. The tears are taken away.

      2. The disgrace of his people he will take away from all the earth.

    1. For the LORD has spoken.

      1. Samuel Medley, a Baptist Minister in the City of Liverpool, England (1738-99)

I know that my Redeemer lives!
What comfort this sweet sentence gives!
He lives, he lives, who once was dead;
He lives, my everliving head!

He lives to silence all my fears;
He lives to wipe away my tears;
He lives to calm my troubled heart;
He lives all blessings to impart.

    1. He will, He has, and he will!

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  1. We will.

    1. It will be said on that day,

      1. Lo, this is our God; we have waited for him, so that he might save us.

      2. This is the LORD for whom we have waited; let us be glad and rejoice in his salvation.

    2. We have a Messiah who is the undefeated Champion of the World.

There's a story told about Muhammad Ali, the former heavyweight boxing champion. He's the one who used to say simply, "I am the greatest." He truly considered himself above the normal threats of daily life as, for instance, gravity.

One day he was on an air flight when the passengers were told to fasten their seat belts. Seeing that Ali hadn't done so, one of the stewardesses asked him to fasten his belt.

Ali replied, "Superman don't need no seat belt.

To which the stewardess responded, "And Superman don't need no plane either."

    1. The Concept of Messiah in Islam by Sayyid Muhammad Rizvi (3)

      1. Muslims believe that Muhammad was the last prophet and messenger of God. Muslims also believe that God will grant total and comprehensive victory to Islam over other religions. The holy Qur'ãn talks about this promise in three different verses.

      2. When and how will this promise of God be fulfilled?

        1. According to the unanimously accepted saying of the Prophet Muhammad, God will bring about a saviour before the end of time to establish the global domination of Islam over all religions.

        2. In other words, the saviour will establish the Kingdom of God on this earth. In Islamic traditions, that saviour is known by the name of "al-Mahdi".

      3. Islam is waiting for a savior.

      4. Jesus Christ is only a prophet in a long line of prophets of whom Mohammed is the last.

    2. Judaism 101 (4) is looking for Moshiach: The Messiah

I believe with perfect faith in the coming of the moshiach, and though he may tarry, still I await him every day. Principle 12 of Rambam's 13 Principles of Faith

      1. The Messianic Idea in Judaism

      2. Belief in the eventual coming of the moshiach is a basic and fundamental part of traditional Judaism. It is part of Rambam's 13 Principles of Faith, the minimum requirements of Jewish belief.

      3. In the Shemoneh Esrei prayer, recited three times daily, we pray for all of the elements of the coming of the moshiach: ingathering of the exiles; restoration of the religious courts of justice; an end of wickedness, sin and heresy; reward to the righteous; rebuilding of Jerusalem; restoration of the line of King David; and restoration of Temple service.

      4. The Jews are still looking for a messiah.

    1. We have a Messiah!

      1. Jesus the Christ is the Messiah.

      2. This is confirmed for us by his death and resurrection.

      3. So we rejoice and celebrate.

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CONCLUSION:

  1. Because Jesus Christ is the undefeated Champion of the World we can be Champions.

    1. A son and his father were walking in the mountains. Suddenly, his son falls, hurts himself and screams: "AAAhhhhhhhhhhh!!!"

To his surprise, he hears the voice repeating, somewhere in the mountain: "AAAhhhhhhhhhhh!!!"

Curious, he yells: "Who are you?"

He receives the answer: "Who are you?"

Angered at the response, he screams: "Coward!"

He receives the answer: "Coward!"

He looks to his father and asks: "What's going on?"

The father smiles and says: "My son, pay attention."

And then he screams to the mountain: "I admire you!"

The voice answers: "I admire you!"

Again the man screams: "You are a champion!"

The voice answers: "You are a champion!"

    1. The boy is surprised, but does not understand.

    2. Then the father explains: "People call this ECHO, but really this is LIFE.

    3. It gives you back everything you say or do.

  1. Life is more than an echo.

    1. Our life is a demonstration of our belief in the resurrection and our relationship with the Resurrected One.

    2. This relationship applies to everything, in all aspects of life

    3. Jesus Christ has so much to offer you and me.

    4. He will give you back everything you have given to it and so much more.

Amen!

1. Ronald E. Vallet, Stepping Stones of the Steward (Grand Rapids, Mich.: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1989), 129.

2. Beliefnet Religious Jokes [BeliefnetReligiousJokes@partner.beliefnet.com]

3. Retrieved from: http://www.ummah.net/khoei/mahdi.htm

4. Retrieved from: http://www.jewfaq.org/moshiach.htm

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