SERMON -- EASTER SUNDAY: A Sunday Nobody Will Ever Forget

12 April 2020

I.  Introduction

            -- turn in Bibles to Luke 24:1-8

24 On the first day of the week, very early in the morning, the women took the spices they had prepared and went to the tomb. 2 They found the stone rolled away from the tomb, 3 but when they entered, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. 4 While they were wondering about this, suddenly two men in clothes that gleamed like lightning stood beside them. 5 In their fright the women bowed down with their faces to the ground, but the men said to them, “Why do you look for the living among the dead? 6 He is not here; he has risen! Remember how he told you, while he was still with you in Galilee: 7 ‘The Son of Man must be delivered over to the hands of sinners, be crucified and on the third day be raised again.’ ” 8 Then they remembered his words.

            -- when I was in school, history class was different than it is for kids now -- for us, history meant memorizing the dates of important events -- of learning about the past by memorializing the dates and events through time that stood out as different or unique or significant

            -- we learned early on little sayings like, “in 1492, Columbus sailed the ocean blue,” as ways to know what had happened in the past -- we were told to remember July 4th, 1776 as the date the Declaration of Independence was signed -- April 12, 1861 -- the start of the Civil War -- October, 1929 -- when the stock market crashed, ushering in the Great Depression -- December 7th, 1941 -- Pearl Harbor -- the day that will live in infamy -- and November 22, 1963 -- the day John F. Kennedy was shot

            -- since then, I have lived through many other memorable events -- events that stand out to me to this day -- events that are written into the heartbeat of my life

            -- I know exactly where I was at on March 30, 1981, when I heard that Reagan was shot -- and on January 28, 1986, when I heard the space shuttle Challenger exploded -- and, of course, on September 11th, 2001, when the planes hit the World Trade Center and the Pentagon

            -- events like these -- days of significance such as these -- live on in our memories as reminders of our past -- as significant events in our history that have made us who we are today -- as individuals and as a people

            -- but out of all these dates that we remember and recognize as significant events, there is one day that stands above the all -- one date that echoes throughout eternity -- a Sunday that no one will ever forget

            -- not just a date memorialized in a dry and dusty history tome -- but the culmination of His story -- the first Easter morning

II. Scripture Lesson (Luke 24:1-8)

            -- this morning, as we gather in our homes to remember this special day, I wanted us to turn together to the gospel of Luke and look at Luke’s account of the resurrection of Christ on this Sunday that no one will ever forget

            -- so, if you have your Bibles with you, please look now at Luke 24:1, and let’s read that together

24:1 On the first day of the week, very early in the morning, the women took the spices they had prepared and went to the tomb.

            -- as we begin, let me give you the context of this passage to remind everyone of what has happened in the week leading up to this day that will never be forgotten

            -- it all began the previous Sunday -- Palm Sunday -- when Jesus rode into Jerusalem on the back of a donkey to the cheers of the people shouting, “Hosanna! Hosanna!  Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord” -- the people gathered to praise Him as their returning King -- and, as they laid their cloaks and palm branches in the street before Him, it seemed the time had come for His kingdom to be realized -- as we say in our prayers, “thy kingdom come, they will be done, on earth, as it is in heaven”

            -- but just a few days later, everything changed -- the chief priests and the Sanhedrin plotted against Jesus and sought some way to have Him arrested -- and they found a willing conspirator in Judas Iscariot -- who sold out Jesus for 30 pieces of silver

            -- it all came to a head on Thursday -- Jesus had gathered with His disciples in an upper room in Jerusalem -- they had shared the Passover meal together and Jesus had initiated a new sacrament by offering the bread and the wine as His body and blood -- He had washed the feet of His disciples -- He had shared with them again about His pending death

            -- eventually, they left the upper room and made their way to the Garden of Gethsemane, where Jesus prayed in anguish over the struggle He would soon face -- it was there He was arrested, after being betrayed by a kiss from one of His own disciples -- and it was there the rest fled in fear

            -- Jesus was carried to the home of the high priest and then to the temple -- where He was tried by Annas and Caiaphas -- condemned by the Sanhedrin for blasphemy -- and then turned over to the Roman Governor Pontius Pilate for judgment

            -- despite Pilate’s best attempts to release Jesus, the crowd and the Jewish leaders persisted in their charge against Him -- Jesus was condemned to death by crucifixion -- He was beaten and whipped by the Roman guards -- forced to carry His own cross to Golgotha -- where He was crucified and killed on Friday

            -- His body was claimed by Joseph of Arimathea, wrapped in cloths, and laid in a nearby tomb before the Sabbath began

            -- and while the disciples remained scattered and hid alone or in small groups from fear of the Jewish leaders on that Sabbath day, the chief priests and the Jewish leaders rejoiced that their plans had worked and Jesus was dead

            -- and, I’m sure, Satan and his demons rejoiced along with them -- for, you see, their evil plan had worked -- Jesus was dead -- the Messiah lay in a grave, never to be heard from again -- His voice, stilled -- his followers, silenced -- His movement, ended -- God’s plans, thwarted -- that was Saturday

            -- But then Sunday dawned…

            -- which brings us to the beginning of this chapter -- Luke tells us here in verse 1 that the same women who were with Jesus at the crucifixion on Friday have now come to His tomb very early on Sunday morning -- they couldn’t come to the tomb before, because it was the Sabbath and work was forbidden on the Sabbath -- but now it’s Sunday -- the first day of the week --and they have come at the dawning of the day to anoint Jesus’ body for final burial with spices and aromatic herbs

            -- but I believe they’ve come for more than that, as any of us who has ever lost a loved one understands

            -- when someone first passes away -- especially after an untimely and tragic death, such as Jesus’ -- there is a period of unbelief -- a period when it just doesn’t seem real -- it just doesn’t seem possible

            -- there’s a period when your mind just can’t accept that someone is truly gone and won’t be coming back -- that’s where the women were as the sun rose on that Sunday morning -- that’s why they’ve come to the tomb

            -- it’s been three days now since Jesus was laid in the tomb by Joseph of Arimathea -- and it’s starting to become real to them -- Jesus is dead -- He’s not coming back -- and now it’s time to move on -- to do what tradition requires -- to prepare His body for burial

            -- verse 2-8

2 They found the stone rolled away from the tomb, 3 but when they entered, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. 4 While they were wondering about this, suddenly two men in clothes that gleamed like lightning stood beside them. 5 In their fright the women bowed down with their faces to the ground, but the men said to them, “Why do you look for the living among the dead? 6 He is not here; he has risen! Remember how he told you, while he was still with you in Galilee: 7 ‘The Son of Man must be delivered over to the hands of sinners, be crucified and on the third day be raised again.’ ” 8 Then they remembered his words.

            -- when the women arrive at the tomb, nothing is as they expected -- the guards are gone -- the stone is rolled away from the entrance -- and the body that they had seen laid there just two days before is missing

            -- this ordinary Sunday is starting out a lot different from what they expected -- they had come to a tomb to anoint a body for final burial, just as they must have done many times before in the past for family and friends -- this was part of their culture -- this was part of their tradition

            -- they knew what they were going to find when they got there -- they knew what they were going to have to do -- they had steeled themselves for this moment -- but now they’ve gotten there, and things aren’t like they should be -- nothing is like they expected

            -- so, the women are standing there in disbelief, wondering what could have happened to Jesus’ body -- wondering what it all meant -- when all of a sudden, two men in clothes so white they gleamed like lightning appeared beside them -- Matthew and John tell us in their accounts that these were angels who appeared to the women that morning

            -- one of the angels spoke to the women -- “Why do you look for the living among the dead? -- He is not here -- He has risen! -- do you not remember the words that He spoke to you? -- do you not remember what He said? -- He told you this would happen”

            -- and, with those words, everything changed

            -- a Sunday that began as a day as just another ordinary day -- a day to mourn and prepare Jesus’ body for final burial became a day that nobody would ever forget -- because with the sunrise on that first Easter morning, the women at the tomb -- along with all of creation -- both the natural and the supernatural worlds -- remembered the words of Jesus

            -- they remembered His promise to rise again on the third day

            -- and they realized that there wasn’t any grave that was going to be able to hold Jesus’ body down -- there wasn’t any grave that was going to bind our Savior God -- there wasn’t any grave that was going to keep Jesus away from us or us away from Him

            -- No, for the first time since the fall of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden -- out of all the Sundays that had ever happened in the world before -- this Sunday was a day that nobody would ever forget -- because Jesus wasn’t dead -- He was risen

            -- He had defeated the grave -- He had defeated sin and death -- He had risen again, just as He had said, and He had won the victory for all

            -- the curse that fell on the earth as a consequence of Adam and Eve’s sin was no more -- the sting of sin and death were lifted forever -- the veil was torn and we were reconciled with the Father -- and eternal life was within our grasp

            -- no longer would the grave be a final resting place -- for because of Jesus -- because of Easter -- no grave was ever going to be able to hold us down again

            -- just as He rose from the dead on that Sunday that no one will ever forget, so we too will rise from the grave to eternal life in Him -- Amen and Amen

III.  An Easter Nobody Will Ever Forget

            -- this morning we find ourselves celebrating Easter on another Sunday that no one in our lifetimes will ever forget

            -- because of Covid-19 -- because of the coronavirus -- we have been told to not gather together -- to stay at home -- to self-isolate -- to avoid public gatherings and to wear face masks and to continually wash our hands to prevent infection -- to “flatten the curve” as we’ve heard over and over these past several weeks

            -- but when we were asked to cancel Easter services, either by the Government or by our denominational leaders, there was consternation and confusion and concern

            -- some congregations readily complied, not necessarily because the Government told them to do so, but out of caution and out of a desire to not spread the virus to anyone else, especially to those more susceptible -- looking at this as obeying Jesus’ command to love our neighbors as ourselves and to care for the lesser among us

            -- Other congregations have been defiant, arguing their right to gather together, especially on this most holy of days -- regardless of the cost

            -- but the thing is -- it doesn’t matter whether we gather together face-to-face or whether we worship apart or even over the internet -- it changes nothing about this day of what this day means

            -- from the moment Jesus rose from the dead on that first Easter morning -- from the moment that He shattered the chains of sin and death and led the captives free -- everything changed

            -- for those who believed -- for those who put their faith and trust in the risen Savior -- for those who repented of their sins and trusted in the atoning death of Jesus on the cross and His resurrection victory -- Sundays would never be the same again -- instead of just being the day after the Sabbath, Sundays became the Day of the Lord -- Sundays became a celebration of the resurrection

            -- and it doesn’t matter who you are -- or where you are -- whether you’re alone or whether you’re in a crowd -- it doesn’t change the fact that Jesus rose from the dead on this day, reconciling us to the Father and offering us forgiveness for ours sins and freedom from death forever

            -- I want to share with you a short poem that Kristi Bothur wrote about this particular Easter Sunday and the coronavirus that really speaks to the point I’m trying to make

            -- it is called, “How the Virus Stole Easter,” and it’s in the style of “How the Grinch Stole Christmas” by Dr. Seuss

HOW THE VIRUS STOLE EASTER

(From: https://www.thissideofheavenblog.com/blog/)

Twas late in '19 when the virus began,

Bringing chaos and fear to all people, each land.

People were sick, hospitals full,

Doctors overwhelmed, no one in school.

As winter gave way to the promise of spring,

The virus raged on, touching peasant and king.

People hid in their homes from the enemy unseen.

They YouTubed and Zoomed, social-distanced, and cleaned.

April approached and churches were closed.

"There won't be an Easter," the world supposed.

"There won't be church services, and egg hunts are out.

No reason for new dresses when we can't go about."

Holy Week started, as bleak as the rest.

The world was focused on masks and on tests.

"Easter can't happen this year," they proclaimed.

"Online and at home, it just won't be the same."

Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, the days came and went.

The virus pressed on; it just would not relent.

The world woke Sunday and nothing had changed.

The virus still menaced, the people, estranged.

"Pooh pooh to the saints," the world was grumbling.

"They're finding out now that no Easter is coming.

"They're just waking up! I know what they'll do!

Their mouths will hang open a minute or two,

And then all the saints will all cry boo-hoo.

"That noise," said the world, "would be something to hear."

So it paused and the world put a hand to its ear.

And it did hear a sound coming through all the skies.

It started down low, then it started to rise.

But the sound wasn't depressed.

Why, this sound was triumphant!

It couldn't be so!

But it grew with abundance!

The world stared around, popping its eyes.

Then it shook! What it saw was a shocking surprise!

Each saint in each nation, the tall and the small,

Was celebrating Jesus in spite of it all!

It hadn't stopped Easter from coming! It came!

Somehow or other, it came just the same!

And the world with its life

quite stuck in quarantine

Stood puzzling and puzzling.

"Just how can it be?"

"It came without bonnets, it came without bunnies,

It came without egg hunts, cantatas, or money."

Then the world thought of something it hadn't before.

"Maybe Easter," it thought, "doesn't come from a store.

Maybe Easter, perhaps, means a little bit more."

And what happened then?

Well....the story's not done.

What will YOU do?

Will you share with that one

Or two or more people needing hope in this night?

Will you share of the source of your life in this fight?

The churches are empty - but so is the tomb,

And Jesus is Victor over death, doom, and gloom.

So this year at Easter, let this be our prayer,

As the virus still rages all around, everywhere.

May the world see hope when it looks at God's people.

May the world see the Church is not a building or steeple.

May the world find Faith in Jesus' death and resurrection,

May the world find Joy in a time of dejection.

May 2020 be known as the year of survival,

But not only that -

Let it start a revival.

(Copyright 2020 Kristi Bothur, This Side of Heaven Blog. Permission is granted to send this to others, with attribution, but not for commercial purposes.)

            -- what a great reminder that Easter is not about celebrating a day on a calendar, but celebrating the Savior -- Easter is about remembering Jesus’ atoning death on the cross -- remembering the empty tomb -- and remembering the new life we have in Him

            -- So, this morning, wherever you are -- take heart -- may this Sunday may be a day that you will never forget because it is an Easter that you celebrated in a way you never intended -- sometimes we have to set aside our traditions and move outside what is comfortable to us in order to find Jesus in a real and personal way once again

            -- so, remember what this day is all about -- remember the sacrifice Jesus made for us and the victory He won with the cross and the empty tomb

            -- and look at this particular Sunday and our not being able to meet together as a church family as normal as a sacrifice you are making -- an offering you are giving to God as a way of ministering and protecting those among us who need it most

            -- no, this day may not be a day of hidden eggs and Easter bunnies -- of cantatas or family gatherings, but it is still Easter -- it is still the Lord’s Day -- it is still Resurrection Sunday -- and, no matter where we are, we are still Easter people

            -- so, with that, let us close in prayer and rejoice this day in our risen Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ!

            -- let us pray

SERMON: BECOMING AN OLIVE TREE

I.  Introduction

            -- turn in Bibles to Psalm 52:7-9

7 “Here now is the man

    who did not make God his stronghold

but trusted in his great wealth

    and grew strong by destroying others!”

8 But I am like an olive tree

    flourishing in the house of God;

I trust in God’s unfailing love

    for ever and ever.

9 For what you have done I will always praise you

    in the presence of your faithful people.

And I will hope in your name,

    for your name is good.

            -- I don’t know if you remember the Veggie Tales cartoon shows or not, but back in the day, I used to really enjoy them -- even before we adopted Brooke, Kim and I would watch these shows -- they were really cutting edge for their time and always had a great message related to God’s word and God’s ways

            -- one of the shows I really liked was the story of Madame Blueberry, who lived in her spacious home, surrounded by her many items of luxury -- but, the thing was, she still was not happy -- she was not content with what she had, but continually compared her belongings and her state of life to those around her

            -- one day, a “Stuff Mart” opens up down the road from her house, and at the prompting of the store’s marketers, she rushes in and begins to buy all that they have -- as her cart fills up with item after item, she reflects on all that she now has and thinks, “This will make me happy”

            -- while all this is going on, Madame Blueberry meets two little children who teach her a valuable lesson -- the first is a little girl who is homeless and living on the street -- it’s her birthday, and all she can afford is a piece of apple pie and oatmeal for her birthday meal, but she is happy with what she has been given

            -- the next is a little boy who thinks he just has to have the newest toy model train in order to be happy and content -- but, his father says they can’t afford that, and gives him just a ball instead -- the little boy doesn’t sulk or throw a tantrum, and after a moment, we see him happily playing with the ball, grateful for what he has been given

            -- seeing them, Madame Blueberry realizes that happiness and contentment don’t come from having more and more things -- but from recognizing God’s grace in giving us what we have -- however, just as she’s coming to this realization, the Stuff Mart workers are delivering all the things she bought to her treehouse, which becomes overloaded and crashes, destroying her home and all that she has just purchased

            -- she is taken in by the little boy and the little girl’s family, and even though she has nothing left to her name, she finally finds the peace and contentment she had been seeking all along

            -- I thought about Madame Blueberry as I went into the stores in town this week and as I saw the pictures being shared on the internet of empty store shelves and of people hoarding hand sanitizer and toilet paper and other items because of the coronavirus scare -- seriously, who needs hundreds of rolls of toilet paper at home to prepare for the coronavirus? -- and what effect is their hoarding going to have on others?

            -- a friend of ours -- a single mother with two kids -- was planning on going to Walmart today to buy the groceries and supplies she needs for the next month -- she always does this when she gets her money on the 15th -- but, now, she’s going to find the shelves bare and basic necessities gone, all because people were thinking of themselves and not others

            -- I think it’s prudent to prepare for an emergency -- the Bible tells us that -- in Proverbs 30:25, it says, “Ants are creatures of little strength, yet they store up their food in the summer” -- the implication is that we are to work diligently -- to consider the future and to store up our food in the summer for the hard times to come

            -- however, at the same time, the Bible warns in the parable of the rich fool from Luke 12:16-21 that we are not to hoard riches or put our trust and hope in them -- to be greedy in this way keeps us from hearing the needs of those around us and shows a lack of trust in our God who provides

            -- Ephesians 4:28 emphasizes the need to share what we have with those in need -- it says that we “must work, doing something useful with [our] own hands, that [we] may have something to share with those in need.”

            -- so, there is fine balance between being prepared for what might come and sharing our resources with others in need versus being greedy and hoarding riches to the point where our trust is only in our riches and our goal is only to provide for ourselves and not for others

II.  Scripture Lesson (Psalm 52:7-9)

            -- with that in mind, I was led to this passage from Psalm 52 this morning -- it is a reminder to us of what’s important in times like this -- of Who we should be putting our hope and trust in during times of trial and danger

            -- these verses come from a psalm David wrote during the time when King Saul was hunting him in order to take his life -- David had fled from Saul and had gone to the town of Nob, a town populated by the priests of God -- he sought refuge there and went to the priest Ahimelech, asking for food and resources for himself and his men

            -- the priest didn’t have much to offer -- in fact, all he had to give the men to eat was the consecrated bread from the altar, but he gave what he had to David

            -- all this was witnessed by Doeg the Edomite, who reported back to Saul what he had seen -- when Saul learned that the priests and the inhabitants of Nob had helped David, he lost his temper and ordered everyone in the town killed

            -- this Psalm is David’s indictment of Doeg’s evil actions that led to the slaughter and an expression of faith that shows a better way to live

            -- so, we’re going to look at the last three verses in this Psalm and see what we can learn about how to approach times of danger and times when we need help because of emergencies

            -- if you would, join me again in Psalm 52:7

7 “Here now is the man

    who did not make God his stronghold

but trusted in his great wealth

    and grew strong by destroying others!”

            -- Doeg was not an Israelite -- he was from the country of Edom, which bordered Israel to the east, adjacent to the Jordan River -- he had found wealth and power in Saul’s kingdom, rising to a place of honor -- he was the chief herdsman for Saul and had grown rich financially, but not rich morally or spiritually

            -- earlier in this Psalm, David said that Doeg was an evil man and that God would eventually bring him down to everlasting ruin because of what he had done to the people of Nob and to God’s priests

            -- here in verse 7 we see the root of Doeg’s problem -- he didn’t put his faith and trust in God -- instead, he trusted in his great wealth and grew strong by destroying others -- it was all about what he could gain for himself -- and he didn’t mind stepping on the toes of others or hurting them if it meant that he could get ahead

            -- that is the picture of so many people in our country today -- that is what was revealed by the extreme hoarding that we saw going on this week as the coronavirus was declared a national emergency -- it shows the state of their heart -- it shows that a lot of people only trust in what they have and what they own and their sole goal is to take care of themselves, even if others get hurt in the process

            -- but this is not what the Bible teaches -- the entire Bible emphasizes our need for community -- our need for each other -- in the Old Testament, God raised up the nation of Israel to be His example to the world of a people who put their hope and trust in Him and who took care of each other’s needs -- and in the New Testament, we see in the church believers coming together as one -- bearing each other’s burdens and sharing their resources with each other so that everyone has what they need

            -- we were just talking about this in our Bible study in 1 Corinthians this week in our discussion of spiritual gifts and how everyone is to use their spiritual gifts to help build up the church and not hoard them for their own personal use

            -- it is a dramatic contrast to Doeg and people like him that accumulate great wealth and hoard it for their own use -- trusting in their own strength and their own riches rather than God -- even to the point of destroying others in the process of gaining riches and power -- this is not the way we are supposed to live -- so, how should we live instead?

            -- verse 8

8 But I am like an olive tree

    flourishing in the house of God;

I trust in God’s unfailing love

    for ever and ever.

            -- David says here that he is like an olive tree, flourishing in the house of God -- other translations say that David is like a green olive tree

            -- the olive tree is a symbol of life in the Bible -- though not very tall or stately, they were very long-lived, even up to a thousand years old -- they were dependable and were one of the most important trees in ancient Israel -- the olives were a source of food for the people, and they could depend on the olives to produce consistently because its roots ran deep and found water even during times of drought -- the olives could be pressed to make oil, which was used in lamps to bring light to home and families throughout the region

            -- so, the olive tree came to be known as a symbol of God and of those who knew and trusted in God -- the oil was used to anoint people for ministry and represented the very presence of the Holy Spirit in that person’s life -- and, of course, we know the olive branch as a symbol of peace -- a symbol of hope -- even in times of trial and trouble

            -- David says here that he is a green olive tree -- he is alive and has found life in the house of God -- by trusting in God’s unfailing love, David is alive and secure forever -- he has nothing to fear -- he has no need to worry or to hoard resources for the future, because God will always provide what is needed

            -- verse 9

9 For what you have done I will always praise you

    in the presence of your faithful people.

And I will hope in your name,

    for your name is good.

            -- rather than praising and trusting in riches, David says that he will praise God forever -- his hope and his trust are in God and God alone

            -- it’s curious that our money has the phrase, “In God we trust,” written on it -- whoever had that phrase included on our currency was trying to make the same point that David is making in this Psalm -- money is not our God -- it is a tool -- it is a resource -- that God has given us

            -- but money cannot save -- money is not something to trust in -- we saw that over the last couple of weeks as the stock market fell significantly -- you can’t depend on money -- it does not deserve our trust or our hope or our praise

            -- instead, it is God that we trust -- and, every time we make a purchase, we should see that phrase and remember that and praise God for the resources He has given and for the opportunity to use those resources wisely

            -- David did not trust in wealth or in power -- instead, his trust was in the Lord, and he praised God forever for what God had done in his life -- for God’s providence and protection in times of need and in times of danger -- David had seen God provide and protect many times in the past, and praised God for His hand in David’s life

            -- remembering God’s mighty work in the past gave David hope for the future -- he says here that he will hope in the Lord’s name -- in other words, because he has seen God move in his life in the past, he can trust and believe that God will do so again -- not because of David -- not because of anything David had done -- but simply because the name of God was good -- and God would take care of His people

            -- David’s life was an example of praise and trust in God rather than in wealth or power

III.  Closing

            -- what do we do when times are bad? -- where do we put our hope and faith and trust?

            -- do we worry just about ourselves? -- do we hoard resources and put our trust in them so that we will survive, even if others suffer?

            -- or do we trust in God and put our hope and faith in Him, even though we do not know the end of the story?

           

            -- I want to close by sharing with you a story from Jeremy Begbie about a worship service he attended in a poor South African township many years ago.  Jeremy writes:

            “I was told, immediately before the service, that a house around the corner had just been burned to the ground because the man who lived there was a suspected thief. A week before that, a tornado had cut through the township, ripping apart fifty homes; five people had been killed. And then I was told that the very night before, a gang hounded down a fourteen-year-old, a member of the church's Sunday school, and stabbed him to death.

            “The pastor began his opening prayer: "Lord, you are the Creator and the Sovereign, but why did the wind come like a snake and tear our roofs off? Why did a mob cut short the life of one of our own children, when he had everything to live for? Over and over again, Lord, we are in the midst of death."

            “As he spoke, the congregation responded with a dreadful sighing and groaning. And then, once he finished his prayer, very slowly, the whole congregation began to sing, at first very quietly, then louder. They sang and they sang, song after song of praise—praise to a God who in Jesus had plunged into the very worst to give us a promise of an ending beyond all imagining. The singing gave the congregation a foretaste of the end.                

            “Christian hope isn't about looking around at the state of things now and trying to imagine where it's all going. It's not about trying to calculate the future from the present. It's about breathing now the fresh air of the ending, tasting the spices and sipping the wine of the feast to come.” [Source: Dallas Willard, editor, A Place for Truth (InterVarsity Press, 2010)]

            -- hope comes when we trust in a God who loved us so much that He sent His Son to die for us on the cross of Calvary -- hope comes when we trust in a God who knows our future, even if we have worries and doubts -- hope comes when we trust in God to provide for us, whether in this life or the next -- hope comes when we trust in God enough to praise Him, even in the storm

            -- I like what Saint Francis of Sales wrote: 

            “Do not look forward to the changes and chances of this life in fear; rather look to them with full hope that, as they arise, God, whose you are, will deliver you out of them.

            “He is your Keeper. He has kept you hitherto. Hold fast to his dear hand, and he will lead you safely through all things; and, when you cannot stand, he will bear you in his arms.

            “Do not look forward to what may happen tomorrow. Our Father will either shield you from suffering, or he will give you strength to bear it.”

            -- and, with that, we will close in prayer, choosing to trust in God and put our hope in Him rather than wealth or power or even hoards of toilet paper

            -- let us pray

SERMON: SEEKING GOD’S FACE

I.  Introduction

            -- turn in Bibles to 2 Chronicles 7:13

13 “When I shut up the heavens so that there is no rain, or command locusts to devour the land or send a plague among my people, 14 if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land.

            -- in his book, The Light and the Glory, Peter Marshall noted that when planes fly leave America on a transatlantic flight, the navigator plots the planes projected course and makes a neat dot with a circle around it on the map -- he labels that point PNR -- the point of no return

            -- for you see, once that point is passed, it would take more fuel than the plane has to turn around and go back to its point of departure -- there’s no way for the plane to go home again

            -- this morning, like so many other churches in our community and in our nation, we gather in a sanctuary that is mostly empty -- we gather in a denomination that is torn and divided and losing members -- we gather in a nation that is rapidly turning from our moral and ethical foundations -- we gather in a world where plague and pestilence -- crime and violence and war -- are now the norm

            -- but still, we gather together in a place that has not reached PNR -- for with our God, there is always hope -- hope for renewal -- hope for restoration -- hope for revival

            -- if -- if we will only remember our God and seek His face again

            -- last week, I shared with you a word from God that I had received in response to my prayers for this church -- that revival and restoration of this church and of this nation would only come in response to our seeking God again -- to making Him the center of our worship, our praise, our lives

            -- and then we turned together and studied the transfiguration of Jesus -- and noted how the chosen three disciples -- Peter, James, and John -- were given a glimpse of Jesus in His glory to encourage them -- to revive their hearts -- to allow them to see what they were ultimately striving to achieve -- we talked about how knowing what it is that we are hoping and longing for gives us the strength and determination to keep on striving until the very end

            -- if we are going to survive -- if we are going to restore and revive this church and our community and our nation -- then we have to make a stand -- we have to choose to seek the face of God and prioritize God in our lives

            -- so, I wanted us to spend some time this morning looking at what it means to seek God by looking at one of the greatest promises given by God to His people -- 2 Chronicles 7:13-14

II.  Context of 2 Chronicles 7:13-14

            -- before we turn to the scriptures again to look at these verses, let me give you the context so you can better understand where the nation of Israel was at the time God spoke these words

            -- as you probably remember, God had rescued the nation of Israel from slavery in Egypt -- He had brought them through the Red Sea and the wilderness and into the Promised Land -- a journey of over 40 years brought about by their own sin

            -- and even though God finally brought the nation into the Promised Land -- even though He gave them victory after victory and established them in the land He had promised to Abraham, the people continued to follow their own paths and turn away from God and from His chosen leaders -- they continued to turn to idols and to worship idols in the high places -- they continued to sin and disobey God in all their ways

            -- as the Book of Judges says, “Everyone did what was right in their own eyes” -- in other words, they did what they wanted to do -- they justified their sins -- and so, God allowed them to realize the consequences of their actions so they would seek Him again -- He would raise up a judge to lead them back to Him again -- and they would return for a time, but then stray again -- this went on again and again and again

            -- finally, the people clamored for a king so they could be like the other nations around them -- and God gave them what they wanted and appointed Saul as their first king -- Saul was not a good king -- he burdened the people with taxes -- he led them into war -- he caused strife and division and continued to lead the nation into sin and idolatry

            -- so, God finally anointed a man after His own heart to be their leader -- David was raised up to be king -- uniting the nation and strengthening the borders and leading the people to seek God’s face so that revival and restoration of the nation was realized

            -- there was one more thing David longed to do -- and that was to build a permanent temple for the Lord in Jerusalem -- but God would not allow him to do so because David was a warrior -- instead, the privilege of building the temple passed to David’s son, Solomon, who would follow him as the next king of Israel

            -- as 2 Chronicles 7 opens, we see the temple has been completed -- the people have dedicated it and sanctified it to the Lord -- and the Shekinah glory of the Lord has fallen on the temple, filling it with His presence -- revival was finally realized -- God had returned to Israel

            -- after the dedication of the temple, the Lord appeared to Solomon at night and gave him the promise that we read here in 2 Chronicles 7:13-14 -- the promise that He would always hear and forgive and restore if the people would return to Him and seek His face

III.  Scripture Lesson (2 Chronicles 7:13-14)

            -- let’s look at these verses together now and see what we can learn from them about restoring our land by seeking God’s face as the Israelites did in the days of Solomon

            -- look at verse 13

13 “When I shut up the heavens so that there is no rain, or command locusts to devour the land or send a plague among my people,

            -- a couple of years ago, I made the decision to quit watching and reading the news -- I was getting overwhelmed with the negative information that was constantly coming my way -- I still like to watch the local news, mostly to get the weather -- but I try to stay away from the national and international news

            -- However, I do still read the major headlines on a news aggregator from time to time just to keep somewhat current -- to know what is going on -- I just don’t go from site to site reading the stories or watching the news on Fox News or CNN any longer -- I don’t immerse myself in the news as I used to

            -- so, as I was preparing for this message, I turned to a site to see the headlines -- and it looked like someone had just printed this very verse on the screen

            -- I saw headlines about natural disasters -- floods in the southeast -- drought in other parts of the world -- crippling winter storms

            -- I saw headlines about locusts, of all things -- massive swarms of locusts in Africa and the Middle East and even the border of China

            -- but the major story, of course, was that of the coronavirus -- a modern-day plague that is sweeping across the globe with unknown consequences

            -- if you ever doubted whether God still speaks today -- if you ever doubted whether He moves and acts in our day to get our attention and to draw us back to Him -- all you have to do is look at the headlines

            -- here in verse 13, the Lord tells Solomon that there will come a time when the heavens will be shut up and drought will happen -- when natural disasters will come -- there will be a time when locusts come to devour the land -- there will be a time when plague and pestilence and disease comes among the people of God

            -- God doesn’t say, “if” -- He says, “when” -- these things are going to happen -- these things are happening -- and the Bible makes it clear that God allows these events to occur when the people have turned away from Him -- when they have chosen to follow their own path and not His

            -- now don’t leave here and go out and tell everyone that I said the coronavirus is God’s judgment on the world -- that’s not what I’m saying -- what I am saying is that God allows us to suffer the consequences of turning away from Him -- and that the Bible says that some of the consequences of doing so include drought and plague and pestilence

            -- but God allows this to happen as part of His prevenient grace -- it is not a punishment -- it is not God’s wrath -- but God’s grace that uses people and places and things such as these -- to get our attention -- to call us back to Him -- to remind us of our need for a Savior in our lives

            -- so, God tells Solomon here that these things are going to happen and then He tells Solomon what the people should do in response

            -- verse 14

14 if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land.

            -- when drought and plague and pestilence come -- when violence and war result from man’s sinful nature -- when immorality and disobedience to God’s laws are the norm -- then it is a signal for God’s people to return to Him and to seek his face so that God might hear our prayers and forgive our sins and heal our land

            -- there are a few things here I want you to see this morning

            -- first, notice that the call to return is to God’s people -- to those who are called by His name

            -- revival and restoration of our homes and our churches and our land begin with God’s people -- it doesn’t begin in Atlanta -- it doesn’t begin in Washington -- it doesn’t begin in Hollywood -- it begins when God’s people cry out to Him and seek His face

            -- the Bible speaks of sacred assemblies -- of times when God’s people would gather together to seek God’s face and to repent of their sins and the sins of the nation and to ask for forgiveness and healing and restoration

            -- we need a sacred assembly in our country again -- but it can start with just one heart -- with just one church

            -- a couple of years ago, I told you about a revival that began at Asbury College in Wilmore, Kentucky -- the students there were having their regular morning chapel service -- but instead of preaching, the leader that morning gave his testimony and encouraged the students to come forward and talk about their own Christian experiences

            -- one student came -- and then another and another -- the entire altar filled up -- and students began to confess their sins and offer forgiveness to others for wrongs that had been done and offer their lives back to God

            -- this wasn’t a normal chapel service -- everyone could sense that -- everyone knew that God was truly there

            -- the service was supposed to last 50 minutes -- instead, it went on non-stop for 185 hours -- 24 hours a day -- as students and faculty poured into the chapel and turned back to God with their whole hearts

            -- by that summer, the revival had spread to more than 130 other colleges and seminaries and scores of churches -- there were reports of revivals occurring from New York to California and even as far away as South America

            -- and it all began with one person giving his testimony and repenting of his sins

            -- revival and restoration of this nation can begin here -- with you and with me

            -- notice what else God tells Solomon here -- when the consequences of their sins and the nations sins are seen, then God’s people -- those who are called by His name -- are to humble themselves -- to pray -- to seek His face -- and to turn from their wicked ways -- in order to bring about healing and restoration and revival

            -- four things:

            -- humble themselves -- to remember there is a God and we are not Him -- to realize that we are not in charge -- that we are under God -- that we need Him for everything for He is our all in all -- it is God who gives us the very breath that is in our bodies -- it is God who gives us all that we are and all that we have -- to humble yourself means that you take yourself off the throne, and put God back where He deserves to be

            -- to pray -- to pray bold prayers of forgiveness and restoration -- to pray God’s presence and healing in our lives and in our land -- this is more than just praying the Lord’s prayer once a day -- more than just saying a blessing before a meal -- this is continually prayer for God to move and act in our lives and in our nation -- this is a prayer for God’s presence to come and fill us as He filled the temple in Solomon’s day -- this is a prayer for God’s presence to permeate this land and to restore the decay we have allowed to happen

            -- to seek God’s face

            -- you hear a lot about “seeker-friendly” churches -- and, when you hear that, what they mean is churches that are friendly to unbelievers who are searching for God -- who are feeling a call to come to Jesus

            -- but when the Bible speaks of seeking God’s face, it does not mean the same thing -- over 90% of the references to seeking God in the Bible are not directed towards unbelievers, but believers -- the Bible constantly urges us to seek God’s face

            -- to seek God’s face as we are told here means that we draw our lives into alignment with God and His will and His ways -- it literally means to seek God’s presence -- as John Piper wrote, to be before the face of God is to be in His presence

            -- to seek God’s face means we set our hearts and our minds on Him constantly

            -- you seek God with your mind:  What you read -- the information you take in -- your thoughts -- your meditations

            -- you seek God with your heart and soul:  that means prayer, relationship, time with God

            -- you seek God with your strength:  that means obedience to God’s holy commands; living in righteousness; holiness of life

            -- and, finally, after we humbles ourselves and pray and seek God’s face, we are told to turn from our wicked ways so that God will hear us from heaven

            -- to turn from our wicked ways means we repent -- we turn around -- we begin following Him rather than following the ways of the world

            -- repentance always leads to obedience to God’s commands -- there are only two ways to go in this world -- you can either go with God or you can go away from God -- repentance is a choice to follow Him

            -- and, if we do these four things, God promises to hear us from heaven -- to forgive our sins and to heal our land -- to bring revival and renewal and restoration to our homes and our churches and our country

            -- notice that God doesn’t promise to send rain in a time of drought or to remove the locusts or the plagues -- we still may suffer from the consequences of our sins and actions -- but He does promise healing -- healing of hearts -- healing of minds -- healing of souls -- healing of the spiritual condition of the nation

            -- we need a revival -- that word literally means to come to life again -- we need restoration and healing in our land -- we need God back on the throne in America again

            -- and it all begins with us -- revival doesn’t begin on the steps of the capitol building -- it beings in our hearts as we cry out to God and humble ourselves and pray and seek His face and turn from our wicked ways -- as we do that, healing will begin and will spread like a wildfire

            -- it will go from person to person -- from home to home -- from heart to heart -- until our church is revived and the pews are filled again -- until our nation is revived and we have exalted God in our land again

            -- I truly believe God is calling us today -- I truly believe we are not passed the PNR -- the point of no return -- I truly believe there is hope and healing for this church and this nation

            -- but, it has to start somewhere -- and that somewhere is you -- and me

            -- let’s pray