EASTER
April 24/25, 2011
Pastor Timothy J. Spaude
Text: Job 19:25-27

“I KNOW THAT MY REDEEMER LIVES!”
1. What comfort this sweet sentence gives.
2. He lives to bless me with His love.
3. He lives to silence all my fears.
4. He lives and I shall conquer death.

Job 19:25-27 (NIV) “I know that my Redeemer lives, and that in the end he will stand upon the earth. 26 And after my skin has been destroyed, yet in my flesh I will see God; 27 I myself will see him with my own eyes—I, and not another. How my heart yearns within me!”

The Old Testament Book of Job is a wonderful gift from God. We don’t know when Job lived but we can all relate to what Job went through, just not to his extreme. Job was a believer in the one true Savior God of the Bible. He had been given many physical blessings, great wealth in property and herds and servants. He had been blessed with a large family. But then the Devil put him through some trials and hardships. He lost his wealth. All his children were killed in a storm. His health went bad. He endured the finger pointing from some of his best friends who questioned what sin he had done to be punished so. What was he hiding? Job endured the spiritual rollercoaster of confident trust in God, to clinging to Him for dear life, to hurt, anger and questioning of God’s love and goodness, fairness and justice.
What was it that gave Job hope through his trials? Jesus did. His Redeemer. Listen to his words again. “I know that my Redeemer lives, and that in the end he will stand upon the earth. 26 And after my skin has been destroyed, yet in my flesh I will see God; 27 I myself will see him with my own eyes—I, and not another. How my heart yearns within me!” In the midst of loss, hurt, lack of understanding, sorrow, anger, guilt that the Lord Jesus lives provided hope and confidence.
And it still does today. Job’s Holy Spirit inspired words served as inspiration for a hymn writer named Samuel Medley to write in the late 1700’s what has become a favorite Easter hymn aptly named “I know that my Redeemer lives.” In every line of each verse, every line but two, the word “lives” appears. Jesus Lives! Today we’ll use this favorite hymn to guide our celebration of Jesus’ resurrection and the confidence and hope for whatever we are going through in life it gives us. Let’s sing the first two verses as printed.

What comfort this sweet sentence gives.

I know that my Redeemer lives
What comfort this sweet sentence gives.
He lives, He lives, who once was dead;
He lives, my ever-living Head.

He lives triumphant from the grave;
He lives eternally to save.
He lives all-glorious in the sky;
He lives exalted there on high.

Have you ever heard the term “comfort foods?” Do you have one? Comfort foods is a term used to describe a favorite food that provides some kind of emotional boost. It might be your mom’s homemade chicken noodle soup, or meatloaf, even something as simple as a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. That fact that there are even such things as comfort foods stands as testimony that people need comforting. What is that you need comforting from? Are you lonely? Hurt? Feel rejected? Jesus lives. You heard in our Scripture readings about some women who needed comforting. The last time they saw Jesus he was dead. And if you can think about the last time you were at a funeral you know that there is something very final about death. But not with Jesus. The women came to the tomb and found that Jesus wasn’t dead anymore. He lives. God let Job see that too when he needed comforting. The hymn writer points out some reasons why this is so comforting. He uses these words to describe the living Jesus: triumphant, all-glorious and exalted. He reminds us that Jesus is in control. He knows what you need comfort for. He is there for you. What is it that you need comfort for? What is bothering you? Tsunamis and earthquakes? World unrest and fighting in Libya and elsewhere? Political divisiveness? Something more personal? Jesus lives. Go to Him and know that He is there for you. Let’s now sing the next two verses of our hymn.

Part 2: He lives to bless me with His Love.

He lives to bless me with His love.
He lives to plead for me above.
He lives my hungry soul to feed.
He lives to help in time of need.

He lives to grant me rich supply;
He lives to guide me with His eye.
He lives to comfort me when faint;
He lives to hear my soul’s complaint.

He lives to bless me with His love. When Job went through his trials he experienced loss of blessings. He lost camels and sheep and oxen. His children died before he did. He lost his good health. Would it ever get any better? Would his hurt go away? I know that my Redeemer lives. Resurrection faith. Faith that clings to a living Jesus who does live to bless us because He loves us. Our hymn writer reminded us of just some areas. He pleads for us above. Oh what a blessing that is. Can you imagine being treated as your sins deserve? But you aren’t. Why not? Only because of Jesus. As the one who was punished for your sins and my sins He pleads for us. He points to His payment for sin in our place so no punishment is necessary. He feeds our hungry souls with His word giving us hope for our hurts. He helps us in time of need. He listens and cares when no one else does. All these and many more. You can list some of them if you want but let’s go on now with the next two verses.

List some blessings Jesus gives you.

Part 3: He lives to silence all my fears.

He lives to silence all my fears.
He lives to wipe away my tears,
He lives to calm my troubled heart.
He lives all blessings to impart.

He lives, my kind wise heav’nly friend;
He lives and loves me to the end.
He lives, and while He lives I’ll sing;
He lives my Prophet, Priest, and King.

Fears and tears. They are a part of life living in a sin messed up world. Job experienced them. As messenger after messenger came to him with bad news of what had happened to this flock and what had happened to this herd he must have been afraid of what the next one would say. And when the next one came with the news that his sons and daughters had all perished, then the tears. We face situations like that. What will the doctor say, what will the tests reveal? I’m sure you’ve had one of those runs in life where you find yourself thinking, “Now what? What next? In a society that has no respect for authority police officers must fear what kind of reception they will get when they come to help. Their spouses can hate answering the phone when they are off to work. Fears and tears. But I know that my Redeemer lives. He silences my fears because He is ruling things for me and He will only allow in His wisdom what He can easily prevent with His power. Let me say that again, He will only allow in His wisdom what He can easily prevent in His power. He wipes away my tears with His gentle assurance that He is in control. He calms our troubled heart by letting us see that by His death and resurrection that God really does know what He is doing and He will keep His promise to work all things for good. The love our kind and wise heavenly friend has for us will not end. Is there something that is causing you to be sad or afraid today? Take it to Jesus who lives for you. Let’s sing now the last two verses of this great Easter Hymn.
What makes you sad or afraid?

Part 4: He lives and I shall conquer death.

He lives and grants me daily breath
He lives and I shall conquer death.
He lives my mansion to prepare.
He lives to bring me safely there.
He lives, all glory to his name! He lives, my Jesus, still the same.
Oh, the sweet joy this sentence gives, “I know that my Redeemer lives!”

Did you hear about it in the news yesterday? Buried treasure. It seems a man was turning over dirt in his backyard in Austria and uncovered a treasure trove of rings and necklaces and other valuable jewelry from over 600 years ago. That’s quite a find. Buried treasure. Did you know that that’s what we could call the bones, the remains of every believer in Jesus Christ who has died? It doesn’t matter if those remains were buried in a casket or cremated or if the body was never found. It’s buried treasure. How you ask? I’ll let brother Job answer that again. “I know that my Redeemer lives, and that in the end he will stand upon the earth. 26 And after my skin has been destroyed, yet in my flesh I will see God; 27 I myself will see him with my own eyes—I, and not another. How my heart yearns within me!” Job knew his Redeemer Jesus lived and that the day would come when Jesus will stand on the earth. He identifies it as the end. We usually call it Judgment Day. Job looked ahead to that time and the Holy Spirit let him know that he too would be standing there to see his God with his own eyes. Even after his body had been decayed. How could this be? Buried treasure. It started with Jesus. Jesus died on the cross because He wants people with Him forever. He wants them living with Him body and soul in joy and happiness. Sin made that impossible. It is impossible for sinful people to live with God. Sin causes death. So Jesus died to pay for sin. Yours and mine and everybody’s! When Jesus was buried He was the treasure because of what happened that first Easter. Jesus rose again. Death couldn’t hold Him. He defeated death by being punished for all sins. He didn’t just beat death for Himself. He did it for everybody. And God has declared that everyone who believes in this Jesus will be saved. That means that just like Jesus rose from the dead to live again, every believer in Jesus will rise to live again too. They will nto go to the Hell they deserve but to a perfect and happy life with Jesus. They will see Him with their own eyes. So when Job died his body became buried treasure. When I die my body will become buried treasure. If there is one less person at your Easter feast today because he or she died and he or she was a believer in Jesus you have buried treasure. You will see them again with your own eyes because of Jesus. We will conquer death.
All because He lives. Samuel Medley the hymn writer stopped at 8 verses. Obviously he could have kept going. My Redeemer lives. If there is anyone here who doesn’t know Jesus as My Redeemer, please speak with me after the service. I’d love to tell you more. For “I know that my Redeemer lives, and that in the end he will stand upon the earth. 26 And after my skin has been destroyed, yet in my flesh I will see God; 27 I myself will see him with my own eyes—I, and not another. How my heart yearns within me!” Yours can too. Amen!