Easter Sunday Sermon — Sermon by Rev. Dr. Craig Stephans

let us

pray lord I pray that you grant us

knowledge of your will through all

spiritual wisdom and

understanding and by the Holy Spirit

grant us knowledge of you oh God even

today let us know you more and be

transformed into your image and likeness

through Jesus Christ in whose name we

pray amen please be seated

it is wonderful to be in the presence of

the Lord this

morning and to know that he's here and

ministering to

us the gospel lesson this morning from

Luke the story of the women going to the

tomb and finding not what they

anticipated reminded me of a story of my

own dad who lived in Odessa Texas and

while we were living in Charleston South

Carolina he was coming to visit us and

he was flying from Midland to Charleston

and of course you have to go through

either Dallas or Houston he went through

Dallas and he arranged the flights so he

could fly Southwest from Midland to

Dallas and then since Southwest didn't

fly to Charleston he had to fly Delta so

he arranged it all himself with plenty

of time between the flights and he flew

into Love Field in Dallas via Southwest

got off the plane to check the logs find

out what gate his Delta flight to

Charleston was in and there was no

mention of Delta anywhere at Love Field

and he looked around bewildered

eventually he asked someone "Where is

Delta where's the Delta information?"

And he found out that Delta was not

there delta was at the Dallas Fort Worth

airport and he had about an hour to get

there and make his flight which by the

grace of God he did but I imagine his

dumbfoundedness and perplexity was

similar to some extent like the ladies

when they went to the tomb and found it

empty they were perplexed luke tells us

in his very subtle

tone a major theme of scripture and

especially the resurrection is that the

reality of God's kingdom the reality of

Jesus Christ crucified and risen from

the dead and at the right hand of the

father blows away our expectations and

our perspective in this world and it's

demonstrated by the story of these

ladies who were faithful and devoted

followers of Jesus some even before he

began his ministry and then by the

apostles and those other disciples who

were with them they didn't imagine or

expect that Jesus's body would not be in

that tomb and stay in that tomb even

though he had told them several

times and so they when they find it

empty they're perplexed and then the

angels appear to them and they're

frightened i want to read some of that

gospel passage again from Luke 24

beginning in verse one luke tells us

that on that first day of the week at

early dawn they went to the tomb taking

the spices they had prepared they had

spent the Sabbath day preparing spices

in devotion to Jesus but anticipating

applying those spices to his dead body

and seeing him no more alive in this

world and they found the stone rolled

away from the tomb and when they went in

they did not find the body of the Lord

Jesus while they were perplexed about

this behold two men stood by them in

dazzling apparel and as they were

frightened and bowed their faces to the

ground the men said to them "Why do you

seek the dead among the living he is not

here but is risen remember how he told

you while he was still in Galilee that

the Son of Man must be delivered into

the hands of sinful men and be crucified

and on the third day rise?" And they

remembered his words

suddenly the reality of the kingdom of

heaven and its king confronted the

worldly perspective and blew it

away can the dead rise and live again

can heavenly angels in dazzling apparel

and color and glory appear and speak to

people the Christian story and our faith

gives a resounding yes and much more

than that

are you living according to that reality

of the kingdom of heaven and the king of

kings who reigns

forever or are you living according to

the reality of just this world what we

see and feel and

touch for all of us there is a reality

that we have not yet seen or even

accurately imagined that is going to

blow us away when we encounter it

wherever we are in our journey of faith

as Christians or considering

Christianity or exploring the reality of

the kingdom of heaven and the glory of

God and what he has prepared for us is

going to blow us away it is so much more

beyond what we can

imagine in fact the apostle Paul who

knew as much as anyone probably about

that

kingdom writes this about the reality of

it he says in 1 Corinthians

1 Corinthians 1:8

1:8 about the rulers of his time he

says,"None of the rulers of this age

understood this for if they had they

would not have crucified the Lord of

glory but as it is written what no eye

has seen nor ear heard nor the heart of

man imagined what God has prepared for

those who love him even those who love

him have loved him for many years and

pursued and sought him and been devoted

to him haven't imagined the glory and

the goodness of what God has prepared

for his

people paul goes on to say that these

things God has revealed to us through

his spirit

the Christian life is a constant growth

of revelation through the Holy Spirit of

the kingdom of God of the of the truth

and person of Jesus and all that he has

done and is doing and we have the

scriptures we have the testimony of

faithful Christians through history and

the presence of God himself and the Holy

Spirit with us

but we have not yet begun to glimpse the

true glory of God and the kingdom of

heaven and the power of the resurrection

of

Jesus that isn't just some historical

event although it is that but is a

present reality for us who believe and

are saved and are being saved to the

uttermost

the angels at the tomb refer Jes refer

the women who were there who are

perplexed and now frightened to the very

words of Jesus

himself that he shared with them several

times in the midst of his ministry and

doing miracles and teaching and even

raising the dead that the son of man

would suffer and

die and that on the third day he would

rise

again whether they didn't understand or

they didn't believe him they now

realize it's true and they remembered

what he said and that revelation of the

reality of his

resurrection transformed their lives it

makes them different people and then

following his ascension and on Pentecost

they receive the Holy

Spirit and are filled with the power of

that same resurrection

these ladies they had followed Jesus

they'd been devoted to him caring for

him serving him and the disciples they

had proven their courageous faith even

the courage to stay at the crucifixion

to follow him to the tomb to see where

he's laid and then to go to that tomb to

anoint his body with spices knowing that

there were Roman soldiers assigned who

would no doubt harass them and make

their way

hard but they were still blown away by

the reality of the risen Christ and the

glory of these angels

when they heard the tale told by these

ladies these

eyewitnesses these ladies that they

would know and

trust the other apostles and the other

disciples considered them hysterical

considered the tale of what they had

seen and heard to be just fantastic just

an idol tale and they didn't

believe it shows the contrast of the

kingdom of heaven and what God has done

in Jesus and what he does among us

through the Holy Spirit through the body

of Christ and his angels it continues to

be in sharp contrast and conflict with

this world and what we see and feel and

touch that it is still hard to believe

and to live according to this

overwhelming reality of God's kingdom

it's a theme of scripture definitely the

book of Revelation is a revelation of

this kingdom's reality and that it will

last forever and that the king of kings

Jesus will reign

forever god is saying this is the

reality this is the truth despite at the

time the empire of

Rome when you look around today is what

you see all you think there is or is

what you see and experience in this

world so overwhelming that you can't get

beyond it to the reality of God's

kingdom is the cacophony of this world

so loud that you can't listen for the

voice of God saying "Jesus is alive he

is risen he reigns forever and he's

present with through the Holy Spirit and

he is returning are the anxieties of

this

life so overwhelming that you can't

experience that peace of Christ and the

peace of his kingdom that is there for

us can you believe in the risen Jesus

can you believe in the presence of

heavenly angels and their glory

can you believe that Jesus came and died

for your sins and rose again so that you

might have victory over sin and death

and the grave and that you might live

forever with the father the son and the

holy spirit in heaven a heavenly

paradise that is beyond what we could

even imagine do you live in the reality

of this risen Lord and this

kingdom that will surpass and outlast

everything we

see do you live in that reality of

eternal life and eternal consequences

for our faith or lack of faith in this

world the reality of heaven and hell are

going to blow people away

it will confront and dissolve all the

false images the delusions that we have

our pride our

vanity it will all come crashing

down if we don't tune in to the kingdom

of heaven and if we don't make it our

passion and our goal to seek first the

kingdom of heaven to seek the

righteousness of heaven and to seek the

king of heaven continually to know him

and to live in the light of his kingdom

and

reality this is a time this is a day for

believers to seek first the kingdom of

God and his righteousness this is a time

for us as we celebrate the risen Lord to

keep our eyes on

him and to seek that risen life and to

let the things of this world the

anxieties the temptations the pressure

the lies and delusions just dissolve

away because there is so much more to

Jesus there is so much more than to the

kingdom than we have experienced

not too long ago well a couple years ago

I was over at Foxy Locky and it was

during one of the times probably between

SCAD classes because it was packed with

SCAD students and as I walked across the

little lobby there I saw a young woman

with a Citadel sweatshirt on and I went

to the Citadel and I just walked by her

and said "Hey that's where I went." And

she said "Well that's where my dad

went." And I thought to

myself I thought to myself well her dad

must be

old to have a daughter in college and

then it dawned on me wait a minute I

have a daughter in

college and I was confronted with that

reality that wait a minute I'm old and

so I asked well when did your dad

graduate and she said 1991 and I said

well that's where when I graduate and

she said that he was he was in my

company and the Citadel is divided up

into companies and I said well that was

my company and you know so she told me

her dad's name and we were really good

friends we were good friends and

together all four years at the Citadel

and a super wonderful man whom I would

consider a good friend but I realized I

hadn't seen him or spoken to him since

about 30 years prior to that

conversation and you know then again I

was confronted with the reality of it's

been a while since I

graduated and I'm older than I had

imagined but it also confronted me with

this reality that that is true beyond

just that relationship i have people

whom I would consider really good

friends people that I have loved in my

life and are some of my favorite people

that I have not seen or had a

conversation with in 20 or 30 years

this past December I had a conversation

about an hour long on the phone

reconnecting with a a man a good friend

that I'd spent about three weeks three

weeks with on a missionary trip during

college and I hadn't spoken to him in 30

years and I would have said "Oh I love

this man he's a good friend of mine."

And I realized I mean he had been

through having two children he has he's

a grandfather again he's old and

uh and it confronted me with another

reality that we can do the same to

Jesus oh I believe in Jesus i love him i

know

him and we can fall

into this comfort zone of complacency in

our relationship with Jesus and think

that we know him really well that we're

really following him and we're good

friends with him and we're seeking him

to realize boy I haven't had an

intimate relation or an intimate

conversation and experience with

Jesus in

years and that is a reality that I think

we need to examine in our lives are we

growing in our knowledge and awareness

of Jesus or have we just cruised in

complacency and not grown not learn more

about him not let him learn more about

us

some of us know him pretty well and have

been Christians for a long time but for

all of us there is so much more to know

of this risen Lord there is so much

goodness and

love and mystery and excitement and joy

in Jesus and in his kingdom than we have

even glimpsed or had a touch of the

experience

so I want to encourage you no matter

where you are in your relationship with

the Lord renew your passion for seeking

him and his kingdom and his

righteousness because it is worth it

just like these women when they come to

the tomb and they're overwhelmed by the

angels there is nothing else that

matters at that time except that Jesus

is

alive and we see it as the other

apostles and disciples learn that he's

alive he becomes all that matters to

them when Jesus appears to the two

disciples on the road to Emmas later in

Luke's gospel in chapter 24 he comes

alongside him and they he doesn't reveal

his identity to him he just asks him

"What are you talking about?" And they

say "Oh about Jesus of Nazareth he was a

prophet he did miracles we had hoped

that he was the Messiah but he was

crucified." And so so now we're leaving

that behind and going on with our lives

and Jesus I think gently confronts and

rebukes them he said to them "Oh foolish

ones and slow of heart to believe all

that the prophets have

spoken was it not necessary that the

Christ should suffer these things and

enter into his glory?" And beginning

with Moses and all the prophets he

interpreted to them in all the

scriptures the things concerning himself

and later they would testify that their

hearts burned within them during that

conversation and then when Jesus broke

bread with them they realized it was the

risen

Lord but I would imagine that for each

one of us Jesus might give a gentle

rebuke oh foolish one and slow of heart

to believe all that has been written and

spoken of in the scriptures oh foolish

one and slow of heart to believe the

testimonies of Christians sharing about

me oh foolish one slow of heart to seek

me to believe that I'm present with you

that I love you that I move and act in

your life

oh foolish ones and slow of heart to

believe that I have gone before you to

prepare a place in a paradise that is so

good that is so wonderful and so

fulfilling that if you could grasp it it

would be all that you focused on in this

life with the exception of bringing many

people with

you later when Jesus does appear to the

other disciples he comes into the room

in Luke 30 Luke 24:36 and they're

Luke 24:36

talking about all of these things these

two disciples have come back peter has

seen the Lord and Jesus comes to them

and he says "Peace to you." And he comes

to give us peace even in the midst of

his gentle rebukes he gives us peace not

condemnation not

punishment but peace always and as he

gives them peace they're startled

they're frightened they don't know what

they see and Jesus again gives them a

gentle rebuke why are you troubled and

why do doubts arise in your hearts to

these his friends why are you troubled

why do doubts arise in your heart here I

am see me touch me

he might say something like that to each

of us in our anxiety and our fear and

our busyiness in our wonder of what will

come maybe even in our grief of what has

been what we've lost what we've suffered

the trials that we've been through or

are in or may experience he might say

"Why are you troubled why do doubts

arise in your heart see I am here i was

dead and I behold I am alive see I am

the living one i've overcome all of your

sin i've overcome everything that you

could suffer i've been through it like

Father Brian preached on Saturday

morning if you're going through hell

he's been there if you're in darkness

he's been there if you're in trials he's

been through them all why are you

troubled why do doubts arise in your

heart this

Jesus died on the cross out of love for

you and to be with you forever and he

has risen from the dead he is exalted at

God's right hand and he is preparing a

place for you that where he is you might

be forever and that place is beyond what

we could imagine what we could ask for

it is

better and that kingdom Jesus said is

present

here through his Holy Spirit through his

presence the kingdom is here he is

here to minister to us now and

today if you seek him if you ask for him

if you listen for him he will grant you

knowledge of himself and the experience

of his presence

i'm going to close with what Paul wrote

to the church in Colossians in light of

these

truths he said in chapter 3:1 "If you

then have been raised with Christ seek

the things that are above where Christ

is seated at the right hand of God set

your minds on things that are above not

things that are on earth for you have

died and your life is hidden with Christ

in God when Christ who is your life

appears then you also will appear with

him in glory glory beyond what we could

ever imagine glory that is so

good i encourage you set your mind on

that glory set your mind on the person

of Christ and seek him with all of your

heart invite the Holy Spirit to come

into your life and make him known to

you amen