SERMON: THE GREATEST STORY EVER TOLD

THE GREATEST STORY EVER TOLD
Easter Sunday -- 8 April 2007

[Note: This sermon was prepared with an entirely different style of presentation than I normally use. My intent here was to prepare a message for seekers -- for the unchurched and the marginal Christians who usually attend in greater numbers on Easter Sunday. As such, I wrote this sermon as a narrative story, hoping to engage these people and reach past the defenses they usually put up when I go up to preach. There's just something about a preacher standing behind a pulpit that makes a non-Christian uncomfortable and sends them seeking distractions elsewhere. Unfortunately, we had no outside visitors in either worship service, and only a handful of unchurched/marginal family members who showed up for the second worship service. However, on a brighter note, the four pre-teens in our first service all came forward to receive Christ, so that makes it all worth it!]

-- this morning, I want to do something a little different -- rather than preaching a traditional Easter message -- please sit back and listen as I share with you a little tale that has been called, "The Greatest Story Ever Told"

-- Once upon a time, in a land far, far away, there was a magical kingdom ruled by a benevolent King -- a place where evil was never known -- where there was only peace and love and perfection -- where storms were unknown and the light always shined
-- and in this kingdom, there was an enchanted garden -- the king had made it for his son's bride -- you see, in those days, kings still selected the bride for their sons -- and what a bride she was -- perfect in all her ways -- beautiful beyond compare -- pure and innocent in her heart -- the apple of his eye
-- during the cool of the day, the king would walk with his son's bride -- and they would enjoy each other's company as the king told her of the wedding to come -- of the great banquet that he had in store for her -- of the life she would live with them in the palace -- until that time, of couse, she had to stay in the garden, because there could be no whisper of impropriety between the bride and his son
-- the garden itself was filled with every flower imaginable -- roses and petunias and daffodils -- periwinkles and poppies and tulips, just to name a few -- with trees of every size and shape -- and above all, there were the animals -- big and small -- wide and tall -- mammals and birds and reptiles of all kinds lived in this garden with the bride in total peace -- the lions would lay down with the lambs -- and none who lived there even considered doing an act of violence
-- but the most remarkable thing about this garden was its centerpiece -- for you see, in the center of the garden the king had placed his wedding gift for the young couple -- off limits, of course, until the wedding -- but every day the bride wandered by just to sneak a peek and to dream of what would be

-- but outside the walls of the garden was a different place -- it was filled with darkness, and evil stalked the land -- rather than flowers, there were thorns -- rather than whispers of love, there were curses of hate -- rather than the promise of the future, there was hopelessness and despair
-- the ruler of the land outside the garden was wicked beyond belief -- he was cruel and merciless and hated all the things of life -- but he was not always that way -- once he too had lived in the magical kingdom with the good and wise king -- in fact, he was the king's right hand man -- his trusted confidant -- beautiful and talented beyond belief -- and he would charm the king's whole court with his beauty and with his songs
-- but over time, he became jealous of the king -- his pride got the best of him -- and asked himself, "Why shouldn't I be king instead?" -- so, he tried a coup -- he tried to overthrow the king -- he gathered some followers and attacked the king on his throne -- but the king's warriors fought back -- and won -- and cast the villian and all of his followers out into the darkness of the world outside the gates of the kingdom
-- hatred festered in his heart -- wicked schemes filled his mind -- plans to kill and steal and destroy were hatched -- he watched as the king walked in the garden with his son's bride -- he listened as they shared words of love and joy -- and the hatred in his heart grew deeper and deeper -- if he could not be king, then he would take away the very thing that made the king happy
-- a plan was hatched -- and he bided his time -- waiting and watching for the most opportune moment -- one day, he snuck in over the walls, disguised so none would recognize him -- he waited for the bride to come into the center of the garden, to look at the wedding gifts there -- and then he approached her, whispering poisoned lies and encouraging her to go ahead and take the gift -- it was going to be her's soon, anyway -- surely the king wouldn't mind -- it would make her royalty just like him
-- and the bride did just what the evil ruler suggested -- she took the gift and exchanged if for her innocence and purity -- as she took it, she realized it was a trap -- she had disobeyed the king, and in the process, had exchanged her loyalty to another -- her heart was broken -- and she fled in shame

-- when the king came to the garden, he couldn't find the bride -- he walked through the trees -- down the paths through the flowers that lined the way -- calling for her -- calling her name -- but she didn't answer -- finally, he caught a glimpse of her -- and he knew in an instant what had happened -- she had sold herself to another -- she had committed adultery and now belonged to the evil ruler -- and was no longer fit to be his son's bride
-- in sadness, he told her she had to go -- and she walked out of the garden never to return -- but as he watched her walk away, the heart of the king was broken -- justice had demanded that he do what he did -- the law demanded that she be punished for her crime -- but he swore to himself that he would rescue her from the grip of his enemy and make her worthy of his son once again

-- for years and years the bride lived in the dark world outside the garden -- things were hard there -- life was hard -- no longer were her days filled with love and joy and peace -- hatred and envy and strife became a way of life -- murder and evil stalked the land she now lived in -- wars and rumors of wars caught her attention -- but she couldn't leave -- she was trapped in bondage to the evil ruler -- and he continued to take from her the life of joy and love that she so desperately craved
-- there were times when she cried out with her heart to the king -- when she sought him and did everything she could think of to get back to the magical kingdom -- she thought that maybe if she was sorry enough for what she had done -- if she lived a good life and did more good things than bad -- then the king would take her back -- but, try as she might, she could never find her way back to the path that led to the garden
-- over time, she forgot why she was doing the things she was doing -- she even forgot what it was like to live in the garden -- it became a distant memory to her -- she forgot the feel of the dew under her feet -- the fragrance of the flowers -- the coolness of the trees -- she even forgot the sound of the king's voice -- of his sweet words of love -- of his promise that he would come and save her from her fate
-- oh, every now and then, she would spy a flower -- bravely splashing the darkness with color and with life -- every now and then she would watch a bird, flying freely over the canopy of the forest -- and her heart would leap -- and her mind would remember -- and she would hope -- for only the briefest of a moment -- that her prince would come -- that he would vanquish her captor and bring her home again -- and it would seem that she caught the king's voice on the wind -- but then the moment was gone -- and life went on -- and nothing ever changed

-- but the king never forgot -- he never forgot his son's bride -- he never forgot the love he had for her -- he sent messengers to the evil land -- to tell her that he still loved her and was coming for her -- that he would make a way for her to be reconciled to him and his son -- but these messengers were intercepted and killed by the enemy -- and their message died with them
-- the king wrote letters to her -- to remind her of his love -- to remind her of his promises -- some of these found their way to the bride -- but as time went on and her king did not come -- as the pages became yellow and brittle with age -- the bride began to doubt his words and tried to make the best of her life as it now was
-- finally, the king did the only thing he could do -- he sent the prince himself -- the king's only son -- the heir to the kingdom -- to wage war against the enemy on the enemy's own turf -- to destroy the power of this wicked ruler once and for all -- and to win back the heart of his bride
-- if the bride failed to listen to the messengers -- if she couldn't hear his words of love through his letters -- then maybe she would believe in his son when he came to claim his bride

-- the son was a daring young prince -- strong in character -- strong in life -- and while there was nothing about his appearance and bearing that would catch the world's attention -- no beauty or majesty -- when the prince passed through the gates to the kingdom of the evil ruler, everyone noticed his passing -- there was something about him that was different
-- and as he made his way through the darkness of the world, it seemed to brighten a little as he passed -- he did what he could to help those caught in the enemy's grasp -- he never failed to share a kind word with all those he met -- to feed those who were hungry -- to take care of those who were sick
-- you see, the prince brought something with him to this land that it was missing -- a pure and holy love -- and as he passed through the land, he shared with the people there the message and the promise of the magical kingdom -- of the garden of paradise that was there -- and he told them they could come and live there -- if they would just follow him

-- his passing did not go unnoticed, though -- the evil ruler heard of his good works -- of his words of love -- of his promise of a new life in a better place -- of his quest to bring his bride home again
-- so the evil ruler hatched an evil plan -- he laid a trap for the noble prince -- having him betrayed by one of his closest followers and turned over to the authorities -- the evil ruler bound him with chains -- he beat and whipped him and punished him severely for daring to speak life and love into the kingdom
-- and finally, when his body could bear no more, the evil ruler had the noble prince bound to a tree -- to die a slow and painful death in the presence of his very own bride
-- but there was one thing the evil ruler didn't count upon -- the power of love was greater than any power the evil ruler possessed -- and while he hung there -- nailed to that tree and suffering the most painful death imaginable -- the young prince looked down on his bride -- and said those words that penetrated her very heart -- "I love you -- I love you and I want you to know that death is not the end for a love as great as ours -- trust me -- believe in me -- and we will be together forever" -- and then he died

-- the evil ruler rejoiced at the death of his enemy -- the threat to his kingdom was gone -- the threat to take the prince's bride from him was gone -- he watched as the prince's body was buried in a cold dark tomb -- and as the stone rolled over the opening, he left to celebrate his victory
-- but, as I said, the power of love is the greatest force known to man -- known to this universe -- known to all creation -- it was love that had caused the king to create that garden for the bride -- it was love that had sent the prince to rescue her when she was in bondage to the evil ruler -- and it was love that reached across the veil of death -- reviving the prince and restoring him to full health -- causing his lungs to breathe again and his heart to beat again and for his body to rise in newness of life
-- three days after his death, as his bride made her way to the tomb to visit the body of her prince, she found the stone rolled away and the rays of the morning sun illuminating an empty tomb -- and as she turned to face the sun -- not sure of what had happened -- she saw him standing there -- full of life and full of love -- with his hand outstretched to her -- beckoning her to come
-- and off they went together -- hand in hand -- to the glorious land -- to the magical kingdom and the enchanted garden -- to live together forever in paradise -- the prince and his bride -- the king and his son
-- The End

-- as I told you in the beginning, this is the greatest story ever told -- for it is not a fairy tale -- it is not a story invented to capture the imaginations of our children -- it is a true story -- and it is a story that you are in the middle of
-- you see, this is the story about us -- the Bible tells us that we are the bride -- we were created to be the bride of Christ -- to marry Him and to spend eternity with Him in His palace
-- but we have this problem -- we are not pure and spotless brides -- we are born in sin and filled with sin -- as the Bible says in Romans 3:23, "all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God"
-- we can't live with God as His bride if we are not holy and pure -- and there is nothing we can do to make ourselves worthy for Him -- we can't do enough good things to make up for the sins in our lives -- we can't be good enough -- we can't be holy enough -- we can't go to church enough -- to make ourselves sinless again
-- the Bible tells us that we are in bondage to sin -- held captive by sin and by death and by the evil one -- and the only way that we can be made clean again -- the only way that our chains can be broken and we can become the true bride of Christ again -- is for our sins to be totally erased and for our sin debt to be paid in full
-- you see, when you sin against God -- when you break His law -- you have to be punished -- you have to pay the price -- but the price of sin is death -- and a dead bride cannot marry a king
-- so God sent Jesus to earth to pay the price of our sins for us -- to take our punishment Himself -- to bear all of our sins and to pay the price on the cross of Calvary so that we might not die but live forever
-- as it says in John 3:16, "For God so loved the world, He gave His only begotten son, that whosoever believeth in him shall not perish, but shall have eternal life"
-- God sent Jesus to rescue us from the evil one -- to rescue us from our sin and from the penalty of death -- and so Jesus died on the cross in our place
-- but, on the third day, He rose again to prove that He had conquered sin and death and to prove that He had won for us eternal life
-- and if we want to live with Him -- if we want to leave this dark, fallen world that we are in and go to be with Him in His glorious kingdom, then all we have to do is believe and trust in Him
-- to believe that Jesus is God -- to believe that He died on the cross for our sins and rose on the third day -- to believe that He has forgiven us for our sins through His very own blood -- and to ask Him to forgive us for our sins and to give us eternal life
-- as it says in Romans 10:9-10, "if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. -- For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved."

-- I'm going to close now in prayer -- and I want to invite you to respond to God's word as you feel led -- as the last hymn is played, the altar is open -- and anyone who wishes to come can come and I'll be glad to pray with you
-- if you don't want to come -- if you don't feel ready yet -- if you still have questions or you just want to talk -- let me know after the service -- or give me a call or drop me an e-mail -- my contact information is on the back -- and I'd be more than happy to meet with you anytime
-- let's pray