WAITING FOR JESUS

Easter Sunrise Service

27 March 2005


I. Introduction

-- turn in Bibles to John 14:1 -- "Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God ; trust also in me.

-- I want to share with you a story told by a pastor who had been very successful in his ministry -- his responsibilities as part of the church required him to travel all around the country -- usually on airplanes

-- one time, while he was on a long flight, the first warning of a problem came when the sign on the airplane flashed on reading "Fasten your seat belts." -- after a few minutes, the calm voice of the flight attendant came across the speakers and said, "We will not be serving beverages at this time as we are expecting a little turbulence -- Please be sure your seat belt is securely fastened."

-- As the pastor looked around the aircraft, it became obvious that many of the passengers were becoming apprehensive. -- a short while later, the flight attendant spoke through the speaker again -- "We are so sorry that we are unable to serve the meal at this time. The turbulence is still ahead of us."

-- And then the storm broke -- you could hear the thunder and the noise of the storm above the roar of the engines -- Lightning lit up the dark skies, and within moments that great plane was like a cork tossed around on a celestial ocean -- One moment the airplane was lifted on terrific currents of air; the next, it dropped as if it were about to crash.

-- The pastor confessed that he shared the discomfort and fear of those around him -- He said, "As I looked around the plane, I could see that nearly all the passengers were upset and alarmed -- Some were praying. -- The future seemed ominous and many were wondering if they would make it through the storm

-- And then, I suddenly saw a girl to whom the storm meant nothing -- She had tucked her feet beneath her as she sat on her seat and was reading a book -- Everything within her small world was calm and orderly -- Sometimes she closed her eyes, then she would open them and start reading again -- every now and then she would straighten her legs -- but worry and fear were not in her world

-- When the plane was being buffeted by the terrible storm -- when it lurched this way and that -- as it rose and fell with frightening severity -- when all the adults were scared half to death -- that marvelous child was completely composed and unafraid."

-- The minister could hardly believe his eyes -- never had he seen such peace in the midst of a storm -- when the plane landed and all the other passengers were rushing off into the airport, the pastor hung around to speak to the girl that he had watched for such a long time -- he commented about the terrifying storm and how the plane was being knocked about and how the flight was so rough and so dangerous -- and then he asked her why she didn't seem afraid -- the little girl replied, "Sir, my Dad is the pilot, and he is taking me home."

II. Scripture and Application

-- the little girl's heart was not troubled by the fury of the storm because she trusted that her father would see her safely home

-- in John 14:1 Jesus told the disciples who were gathered with Him in the upper room to not let their hearts be troubled -- that they should trust in Him

-- you see, Jesus knew what they didn't know -- He knew what was going to happen -- He knew that there was turbulence up ahead -- He knew that the faith of the disciples was going to be tested

-- He had told them many times before that He was going to be betrayed into the hands of the chief priests and that He would be killed and that on the third day He would be raised from the dead -- and now it was going to happen

-- and when it happened, the disciples were going to find themselves in the midst of a storm the likes of which they had never seen -- they had seen the arguments with the Pharisees -- the disagreements with the Sadduccees -- but those were just minor events -- through it all, the crowds had supported Jesus -- in fact, just four days prior the crowd had shouted praises as they had entered Jerusalem

-- but now, a storm was coming -- the crowd was going to turn against them all -- and they were going to be scattered and harassed and persecuted -- and Jesus would be gone

-- and so -- with a calm voice -- He spoke to them that night in the upper room and told them to not worry about anything they would face -- to not worry about the fury of the storm that was going to break around them -- but simply to trust in Him and He would see them through

-- look back at verse 1

1. "Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God ; trust also in me.

2. In my Father's house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you.

3. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am.

4. You know the way to the place where I am going."

-- in these verses Jesus continued to give His disciples the peace and the assurance they were going to need in the days ahead -- He told them that He was going to leave them -- He had to leave them -- in order to prepare a place for them in His Father's house

-- but, He promised, I will be back for you -- I am not going to leave you alone forever -- just trust in Me and I will bring you home -- He was wanting the disciples to react just like the little girl on the plane -- even though she was isolated from her father back in the cabin of the plane, she knew that he was making a way home for her through the midst of the storm

-- but then there was the ever practical Thomas -- verse 5

5. Thomas said to him, "Lord, we don't know where you are going, so how can we know the way?"

-- Thomas heard the warning of turbulence ahead and began to get scared -- he was apprehensive -- he was worried -- "we don't even know where you are going -- how can we know the way?" -- you kind of get the idea that Thomas wanted his own map so that if Jesus didn't come back, Thomas could get there on his own

-- I can sympathize with Thomas -- I'm kind of like that -- when I go somewhere, even if someone else is driving, I want to know where we are going -- I want to be sure that if something happens to the driver, I can get us there safely -- I can understand why Thomas cried out to Jesus, "what is the way?"

-- so Jesus replied in verse 6, "I am the way -- I am the way and the truth and the life -- no one comes to the Father except through me" -- in other words, don't worry, Thomas -- you don't have to know how to get there -- you just need to know that I am fully capable of getting you there -- I am the way -- you just have to trust in me

-- in verse 29, Jesus sums up His reason for telling the disciples about His death and resurrection -- He was telling them so they might believe -- so that when they were in the midst of the storm, that they might look past the storm -- past the lightning -- past the thunder -- to the sunlight on the other side

-- He wanted them to know beforehand that the cross did not mean the end -- that the tomb did not mean the final resting place -- that home was waiting on the other side

III. The Resurrection

-- on the Friday and the Saturday following the Last Supper, the disciples were in the middle of a major storm -- the Bible says they huddled together in the upper room praying -- not for the resurrection of Jesus -- but for their own survival

-- Jesus -- the one they followed -- the one they thought was the Messiah -- was dead -- He had been betrayed into the hands of the temple guards by one of their own -- and He had been beaten and whipped and finally died a cruel death on a Roman cross

-- when they rode into Jerusalem with Jesus on Palm Sunday, they had thought that He was going to restore the kingdom of Israel at that time -- they had thought that He was going to destroy the Romans who occupied their city and restore the worship of God -- but now He was dead -- and they really didn't understand all His words about being the Way and preparing a place for them

-- with the death of Jesus, their lives had changed forever -- Jerusalem -- the city that was so familiar to them was now foreign -- the people that they once called brothers now looked at them as strangers -- death waited at every door

-- they didn't know if the next knock on the door would bring the temple guards or another frightened follower seeking respite from a cruel dark world

-- for them, nothing would ever be the same -- all their dreams, their hopes, their desires -- were crushed when Jesus was crucified -- and for the past three days, it had been the same

-- the storm was all around them -- they were being buffetted back and forth -- and they didn't know if the sun would ever shine again

-- the only ones who dared to venture forth were the women -- the silent followers of Jesus who could come and go hidden in their dark robes and tunics -- the second class citizens who were regarded with little account and who passed by the temple guards with no notice

-- the Bible tells us that three of these women left the upper room and went to the garden tomb on Sunday morning to finish annointing the body of Christ with oils and fragrant spices -- and when they got there, they found something they didn't expect -- they found an empty tomb -- Christ was not there -- He had risen, just as He said He would

-- later that day, Jesus appeared to His disciples in the upper room and spoke words of peace to them -- He reminded them of what He had told them and strengthened their wavering faith -- in the midst of the storm they had begun to doubt -- but now that they had seen Him, they trusted Him completely and would never doubt again

-- He told them in John 20:29, "Because you have seen me, you have believed -- blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed."


-- we are gathered here this morning because we have believed even though we have not seen -- we trust in the words of Jesus -- we trust that He is the way and the truth and the life and that He will return for us just as He said

-- we are here because we know that He will see us through the storms -- we know that storms don't last

-- over the past few days we've been hit hard with major thunderstorms -- rain and lightning and thunder -- but they didn't last -- they went on past -- there was sunshine on the other side

-- and we know that there have been times in our lives when we've been faced with some pretty serious storms -- storms of sickness -- storms of death -- storms of accidents -- loss of jobs -- loss of homes -- financial problems -- but, we've always made it through

-- we know that there will be storms ahead -- storms are part of life -- you may be going through a storm right now -- Jesus didn't tell us that He would take the storms away -- He just tells us to trust in Him and that He will make a way for us through the storm

-- because of the empty cross and the empty tomb, we can face the storms of life with peace and assurance -- just like that little girl on the plane -- just like the disciples on Easter -- because we trust that Jesus is making a place for us and He is going to get us safely home

-- let us pray