SERMON: I Need a Hero (Easter)

I NEED A HERO

Easter Service -- 12 April 2009

 

I. Introduction

    -- turn in Bibles to Psalm 121

 

1. I lift up my eyes to the hills-- where does my help come from?

2. My help comes from the LORD, the Maker of heaven and earth.

3. He will not let your foot slip-- he who watches over you will not slumber;

4. indeed, he who watches over Israel will neither slumber nor sleep.

5. The LORD watches over you-- the LORD is your shade at your right hand;

6. the sun will not harm you by day, nor the moon by night.

7. The LORD will keep you from all harm-- he will watch over your life;

8. the LORD will watch over your coming and going both now and forevermore.

 

    -- the other night, we went out to see the new Disney animated feature, "Bolt" -- you know, in recent years I've seen a lot of animated movies, but I have to say, this is definitely one of the best

    -- just in case you aren't familiar with the story, the movie is about Bolt --a small white dog who has spent his entire life on the set of a tv series as a superhero -- because of that, Bolt believes that he really has super powers and that everything that happens in the tv show is real -- eventually, Bolt gets lost and ends up on the other side of the country -- he tries to make his way back to Hollywood with a cat and a hamster to rescue his owner, Penny, who he thinks has been kidnapped by an evil green-eyed man bent on destroying the world

    -- even though the whole movie was really good, there was one scene that was just unforgettable -- in this scene, Bolt has just come to the realization that he's not special -- that he doesn't have super powers -- and he's about to give up on his plans to travel back and find Penny again

    -- he's just sitting there dejected when his hamster friend, Rhino, comes up and tries to make him see that he is still a hero -- listen to this quote from the movie, "You can do it, Bolt -- you can do it -- because all over this planet there are animals who feel like they can't -- they need a hero, Bolt -- someone who, no matter what the odds, will do what's right -- they need a hero to tell them that sometimes the impossible can become possible -- if you are awesome"

 

    -- you know, that might have just been a cartoon movie, but greater truth has rarely been spoken -- we do need heroes -- psychologists tell us that we are all born with this innate desire -- this longing -- for a hero in our lives -- for someone we can look up to -- for someone who will stand up against impossible odds and win the day -- for someone who will stand up when all hope is lost and say, "It's o.k. -- I can get you out of this"

    -- if you just think about it, it's obvious -- I mean look at the tv shows and the movies that have been popular over the last 50 years -- Superman -- Batman -- Spiderman -- one of the hottest tv shows out right now is called "Heroes" -- and the 4th highest grossing film of all time was released last year -- Batman: The Dark Knight -- and that's not even mentioning the success of films like the X-Men and Iron-Man and others

    -- and not only do we need heroes -- we want heroes -- remember that Bonnie Tyler song from some years ago, "I Need a Hero"

"Where have all the good men gone and where are all the gods? -- Where's the great white Hercules to fight the rising odds? -- Isn't there a white knight upon a fiery steed? -- Late at night I toss and I turn and I dream of what I need

 

I need a hero -- I'm holding out for a hero till the end of the night -- He's gotta be strong and he's gotta be fast and gotta be fresh from the fight -- I need a hero -- I'm holding out for a hero till the morning light -- He's gotta be sure and he's gotta be soon and he's gotta be larger than life -- I need a hero"

 

    -- as Ray Cotton wrote, "We all want to look up to someone, somebody who models a lifestyle we admire... -- individuals who have risen above the circumstances of life to accomplish something significant" [Ray Cotton -- Where have all the heroes gone? http://www.leaderu.com/orgs/probe/docs/heroes.html]

 

    -- the question is, "Why?" -- why do we need heroes? -- why do we have this longing in our soul?

    -- well, it's pretty obvious if you just look around -- take for instance just the last 10 years -- in the last 10 years, it seems like our world has fallen apart -- in the last 10 years, we experienced terrorist attacks in our own cities -- against our own people -- we've seen the devastation of tsunamis and floods -- of earthquakes and mudslides and hurricanes -- we've seen our stock markets tumble -- and our economy crash -- and our politicians wring their hands with indecision -- and we've realized that there is nothing that we can do to save ourselves

    -- that's why we need a hero -- that's why we long for someone to swoop in and save the day -- I think that's one reason why President Obama was swept into office as he was -- I think he came on the scene as a fresh face -- as a new voice -- as the person we hoped who could save us from Iraq and Afghanistan and the economy -- he came on the scene as...a hero

    -- but, as talented as President Obama may be, he has one thing in common with all the other men and women we have labeled "heroes" over the years -- eventually, they fail -- eventually, they fall -- eventually, they let us down -- because they're only human

    -- that's why Brigadier General Joe Foss wrote that "America needs a new generation of heroes . . . people who are ruled by a conscience that doesn't take the Ten Commandments lightly -- people who have a fundamental reverence for their Creator, and a respect for the people and things He has created." -- people who don't rely on themselves but on the God who made them

 

    -- the writer of the Psalm that we read together also needed a hero -- most scholars assume that this Psalm was written by David -- either as he fled Saul and his army or as he fled Jerusalem after his son usurped the throne

    -- regardless, we know that David was surrounded by enemies -- he had little hope left of surviving, much less reclaiming the throne of Israel -- everywhere he looked, he saw danger and death and destruction

 

    -- look back at verse 1 and see what he wrote

 

 

1. I lift up my eyes to the hills-- where does my help come from?

 

    -- Corrie ten Boom once wrote, "Look around and be distressed -- Look within and be depressed -- Look at Jesus and be at rest"

    -- David looked around and was distressed -- he looked within himself and didn't see any hope there -- so he lifted his eyes to the hills -- he lifted his eyes to heaven -- looking for help from above

 

    -- verse 2

 

2. My help comes from the LORD, the Maker of heaven and earth.

 

-- David makes it clear here -- our help does not come from charismatic presidents or politicians -- it doesn't come from bank presidents or generals leading armies -- our help comes only from the Lord, from the maker of heaven and earth -- and that's true, whether we're talking about being surrounded with enemies or if we're talking about natural or economic disasters or if we're talking about the state of our soul -- our only hope is in God -- and our only hero must be God

 

    -- that's what this day is all about -- that's why we're gathered here this morning -- not because of Easter eggs or Easter bunnies -- and certainly not because of the tradition of Easter dinner with family and friends

    -- we're here because of a hero named Jesus -- a hero who came on the scene 2000 years ago when all hope was lost -- a hero who stood up against overwhelming odds to do the impossible -- to save our souls from eternal separation from God -- to win for us victory over sin and death

    -- you see, we look around us now and we think things are bad -- but really, they're not -- we've been through recessions and depressions before, and we've always come out -- we've persevered through natural disasters -- we've survived storms and floods and earthquakes -- and we've made our way through many wars and many attacks on our country and on our way of life -- things might look bad -- things might look hopeless -- but they're really not -- we're going to come out of this o.k., too

    -- but, there is one fight that no human has ever been able to win -- there is one opponent that no human has ever been able to take down -- and that's sin -- that's disobedience to God -- breaking His moral code -- doing what we shouldn't do -- missing God's mark

    -- it's a fight that we're all in -- it's a fight that we've all been fighting since we were born -- the Bible tells us in Romans 3:23 that all have sinned -- every single person -- every person in this room who is drawing a breath right now -- all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God

    -- and Romans 6:23 tells us that the punishment for sin is death -- not physical death -- but spiritual death -- that means separation from God for eternity -- separation from our loved ones for eternity -- that means eternal punishment for the wrong that we have done

    -- and even though we have tried ever since the Garden of Eden, no one has been able to defeat sin -- no one has been able to stand toe-to-toe with death -- every person who has tried has failed -- even the people that we call heroes

    -- and we know this, deep in our hearts -- that's why we long for a hero in our lives -- for someone who can stand up against sin and win -- for someone who can get in the ring with death and take him down once and for all

    -- and since no one down here could fill those shoes -- since no one down here could be the hero that mankind needed -- God stepped in and became the hero for us

    -- the most familiar verse in the Bible -- John 3:16 -- puts it this way -- "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him shall not perish but have eternal life -- for God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world -- but to save the world through Him"

    -- do you know what that means? -- that means that God sent Jesus to earth to be our Hero -- to be that person that Rhino was talking about in the movie "Bolt" -- to be that awesome person who always did what was right -- who always reminded us that with God, all things are possible -- even living a sinless life and dying on the cross in our place to pay the penalty for our sin -- so that our sins would be forgiven and we would become righteous and holy and live forever with God in Heaven

    -- that's what happened on the cross when Jesus died -- and that's why He rose from the dead on the third day -- today -- Easter morning -- to prove that He had done all that He had said He would do -- to prove that He had won the victory over both sin and death -- to show us that we, too, would be resurrected and live with Him forever if we just believed in Him -- if we just trusted Him to be our Hero for life

 

    -- you know, every other hero will eventually let you down -- every other hero will eventually stumble and fall -- every great man and woman that we looked up to all had character flaws -- all failed to live the perfect life -- all of them failed to meet God's perfect standard

    -- but Jesus is not like them -- Jesus will never let you down because Jesus is the Hero that we have been longing for in our hearts from the moment we took our first breath -- Jesus is the only hero who can truly save us from ourselves -- but, we have to let Him

    -- you see, John 3:16 says that God "gave" us His Son -- Jesus was a gift -- and gifts have to be received -- they have to be accepted -- even the gift of a Hero -- in a minute, I'm going to give you the opportunity to do just that

    -- but first, let me tell you a story -- back during the Vietnam War, our troops liberated a POW camp where the North Vietnamese had kept some of our military men who had been captured during the war -- the men who liberated that camp went in and unlocked the doors to the cells where these POWs were being kept -- but several of the POWs refused to come out of their cells -- they had lived so long in captivity that they couldn't accept the gift of freedom when it was offered -- they couldn't be free until they received the gift that was being offered to them

    -- a lot of us have lived for a long time in captivity to sin and death -- we've put on a brave face -- we've convinced the world that we've got it all figured out -- but we know, in our heart of hearts, that we're not free -- we know that we need a Hero -- we know that we need a Savior -- we know that we need someone who will come and break the chains of sin and death and set us free and make us right with God again

    -- Jesus is that someone -- Jesus already paid the price for your sins on the cross -- He died the Hero's death for you -- and He broke the chains of sin and death when He rose from the dead on Easter morning -- now, He's offering that gift to you -- and all you have to do is receive it

    -- we're going to close in prayer right now -- and with every head bowed -- every eye closed -- I'm going to lead us in the prayer that will receive that gift from God -- in the prayer that will help us to choose life through our Hero Jesus

    -- if you've never received Jesus as your Lord and Savior before -- if you've never trusted in Him as your Hero -- as the one who paid the price for your sins and who offers to forgive you for all the wrong that you have done -- then I want to invite you to pray this prayer with me right now -- it's not so much the words that are important as the fact that you are putting your faith and trust in Jesus as your Hero and your Lord and your Savior

    -- if you have already received Jesus -- if you already trust Him in this way -- then pray this prayer with me as a rededication of your life -- as an affirmation of what you believe

 

    -- after I close in prayer, as the last hymn is played, I want to encourage you to respond to God's word as you feel led

    -- if you have made a decision to receive Christ this morning, then I want to encourage you to come forward and make a public declaration of that fact

    -- maybe you feel called to be baptized -- if so, then I would invite you to come forward during the last hymn as well

    -- whatever it is that God is calling you to do, please don't leave here until you respond to His word

    -- let's pray