Monday, April 22, 2019

April 21-22, 2019 Pastor Timothy J. Spaude Text: Luke 24:1-12 (NIV 1984) THREE WORDS OF TRUTH He Has Risen!


EASTER

April 21-22, 2019

Pastor Timothy J. Spaude

Text: Luke 24:1-12 (NIV 1984)


THREE WORDS OF TRUTH

He Has Risen!



Luke 24:1-12 (NIV 1984)  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. 2They found the stone rolled away from the tomb, 3but when they entered, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. 4While they were wondering about this, suddenly two men in clothes that gleamed like lightning stood beside them. 5In 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? 6He 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 into the hands of sinful men, be crucified and on the third day be raised again.’” 8Then they remembered his words. 9When they came back from the tomb, they told all these things to the Eleven and to all the others. 10It was Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and the others with them who told this to the apostles. 11But they did not believe the women, because their words seemed to them like nonsense. 12Peter, however, got up and ran to the tomb. Bending over, he saw the strips of linen lying by themselves, and he went away, wondering to himself what had happened.”



          Christ is risen! He is risen indeed! Dear friends in Christ, Friday before the first service I was here at church just a little early to make sure all looked nice when a very nice lady came out of the bathroom. She was here quite early so I welcomed her and told her she had the pick of the seats. That’s when she said to me, “Thank you and I saw your dad.” Now of course I was a little puzzled because my dad has been in heaven for ten years now so I asked, “Really where?” He was getting out of the blue car. “Ah!” I said, “so you saw Pastor Waldschmidt!” As you can imagine I was just bursting with joy. I couldn’t wait to tell Pastor the good news that he had been mistaken for—my dad!” What I really can’t wait to do is tell you the good news of Easter with three words of truth. He has risen! Those of you who have been able to be here throughout the season of Lent and during Holy Week know that we have been following a series called Three Words of Truth. Each service has focused on three words of truth from the Passion History of Jesus that have given meaning and comfort to our lives. Today is no different. Three words of truth spoken by angels provide the Easter message in a nutshell: He has risen!

          I’m sure all of you saw an image of it and many of you watched it live on TV, the burning of the cathedral of Notre Dame. Not everyone cares about old buildings and cathedrals in the same way but can you imagine what that must have been like for those who do, for the people of Paris? As smoke filled the sky and word began to spread there must have been a collective, “No way! It can’t be!” And then when the truth became evident a sadness at the reality. The next day would be for them one of those “I just got punched in the gut” days. The news was devastating. So it must have been for the women on the way to Jesus’ tomb that first Easter morning. Everything had happened so fast. Jesus had come to Jerusalem and was welcomed in on Palm Sunday like a king! What joy and happiness there was for the followers of Jesus. The week had gone by as expected as they prepared to celebrate the Passover. On Thursday the women had heard that Jesus was observing the Passover with the disciples. The next thing they must have heard was that Jesus was arrested and crowd was gathering at the Roman governor’s palace and they were calling for Jesus to be killed. What! Wait! No way! This can’t be happening. But it was. So they followed Jesus as He carried His cross out of the city. They watched him nailed to the cross. They saw the cross hoisted in position. They heard the seven sayings. They saw Jesus die. In grief and shock they returned to their homes prevented by Sabbath day rules from getting Jesus’ body ready for burial. They would change that as soon as they could.

          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. 2They found the stone rolled away from the tomb, 3but when they entered, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus.” I’ve always imagined that as a quiet walk there. What do you talk about? Let’s just get this over with. But God had other plans. Jesus’ body was not there. You know how it goes. You come up with all the reasonable explanations that you can. His enemies had stolen the body. Maybe Joseph of Arimathea changed his mind about letting Jesus have his tomb and move it elsewhere. But there was no reasonable explanation. “While they were wondering about this, suddenly two men in clothes that gleamed like lightning stood beside them. 5In 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? 6He 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 into the hands of sinful men, be crucified and on the third day be raised again.’” 8Then they remembered his words.” Three words of truth. He has risen!

          Three words of truth gave these women the power to believe everything Jesus has said. Do you think they had a “duh” moment? You know one of those where you go, “What was I thinking? I should have known that!” It was true. They should have. Jesus had told them ahead of time everything that would happen. And it happened just like He said. He was delivered, crucified and raised back to life. Now can we really blame them? All of that would have been hard to believe. But He did it. He has risen. And since He did that they and we can believe everything Jesus says. When Jesus says, “Your sins are forgiven!” you can believe him even if you still feel guilty because He has risen. Whatever He says is true. When He says, “Whoever believes in me will live even though He dies,” and you are standing before the casket of your loved you can believe Him. It’s true. He has risen. When He says He is with us always no matter what we are going through to the end of the age you can believe Him. He has risen. And when He says He will come back for you, believe Him. He has risen.

          Those same three words of truth fill our lives with hope. The people who love the cathedral of Notre Dame hope it can be saved and restored. Will it? Structural analysis needs to be done. A billion dollars has been pledged—but not given. Time will tell. Hope built on Jesus is different. You know the help is coming. You just don’t know when. Peter would experience that on Easter.  “When they came back from the tomb, they told all these things to the Eleven and to all the others. 10It was Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and the others with them who told this to the apostles. 11But they did not believe the women, because their words seemed to them like nonsense. 12Peter, however, got up and ran to the tomb. Bending over, he saw the strips of linen lying by themselves, and he went away, wondering to himself what had happened.” Poor Peter. His last personal interaction with Jesus had been the eye contact in the courtyard after the third time Peter had with swears denied even knowing his good friend Jesus. If only, if only he could have another chance. Could it be true? He ran to find out. He hoped so. He didn’t see Jesus right then but he did later. He has risen. Jesus. I’m sure he was hoping to make amends for his denial. He got better than he was hoping for. Jesus picked Peter to work for Him. Can you relate? Ever said something you wish you hadn’t? Do you sometimes live in the world of shoulda, woulda, coulda, didn’t? He has risen. You have hope. The fix might not happen when you want it and how you want it but with Jesus it will happen. In the book of Revelation Jesus told us to look forward to this, “Behold, I am making everything new. Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true!” It is possible that you may have to live your whole life with some regrets over things you have said and done. You may have to live with the consequences of some sins you have committed. You may have to struggle with certain sinful desires until the day you die. But it will end. Jesus lives and when He comes again He will make you and everything new. I can guarantee it because of three words of truth that I’ve been bursting with joy to tell you. Christ is risen! He is risen indeed! Amen.

Monday, April 8, 2019

April 6-8, 2019 Pastor Timothy J. Spaude Text: Isaiah 43:16-21 “YOU AIN’T SEEN NOTHING YET!”


LENT 5

April 6-8, 2019

Pastor Timothy J. Spaude

Text: Isaiah 43:16-21



“YOU AIN’T SEEN NOTHING YET!”

1.     Dwell on God’s Promises not the past.

2.     Remember your purpose.



Isaiah 43:16-21 (EHV) “This is what the LORD says, who makes a road through the sea and a path through mighty waters, 17who brings out the chariot and the horses, the army and the strong warrior. They will all lie down together. They will not get up. They are extinguished. Like a wick they go out. 18Do not remember the former things. Do not keep thinking about ancient things. 19Watch, I am about to do a new thing. Now it will spring up. Don’t you know about it? Indeed I will make a road in the wilderness. In the wasteland I will make rivers. 20The wild animals, the jackals and ostriches, will honor me, because I am providing water in the wilderness, rivers in a parched wasteland, to provide water for my chosen people to drink. 21This people that I formed for myself will declare my praise.”



          Now for all you English grammarians out there let’s get this out of the way. I know. I know ain’t ain’t a word in proper English. But it is in American English and the well know phrase that serves as our theme so I’m going to keep using it! You ain’t seen nothing yet! That’s what God’s word urges us to hold on to and to help you remember that I want to show you something. This used to be one of my prize possessions. It represents and proclaims the high school state championship that my team won in 1984. As I said it used to be a prized possession. Now it is a work jacket. It is dirty. It has holes. And while I don’t totally agree, Chris says it smells and should go. I think not because I still like it—as a work jacket. What happened? Why don’t I care anymore? Well at the time in life when I first got this jacket that championship was important to me. So were my other sports trophies. But as I’ve gotten older I’ve gotten better trophies. A trophy wife, trophy children and you are my trophies. You matter to me. Old victories don’t. Something better does.

          In a similar but much more important way the Holy Spirit through the prophet Isaiah calls on all God’s people to dwell on God’s promises, not the past. He said, “This is what the LORD says, who makes a road through the sea and a path through mighty waters, 17who brings out the chariot and the horses, the army and the strong warrior. They will all lie down together. They will not get up. They are extinguished. Like a wick they go out.” Those of you who are in the Sunday morning Bible Class know exactly what this is talking about. It’s alluding to the time when God parted the Red Sea so the Israelites could walk through on dry ground and then when the Egyptian army pursued them God let the waters flow and they all drowned. Can you imagine what that must have been like to see? You are walking on what minutes ago was a muddy river bed covered over by water with walls of water on either side of you miraculously held at bay. Then when you are out and this fleet of that time’s tanks called chariots is bearing down on you and all of the sudden whoosh! The walls of water let loose and they are destroyed. There’s a trophy for you. That’s was worth remembering and talking about and even supposed to be talked about when the Passover was celebrated. And yet what did God say? “Do not remember the former things. Do not keep thinking about ancient things.”

          What gives? You ain’t seen nothing yet! God doesn’t want His people dwelling on the past. Even the dwelling on the past commanded in the Passover celebration was to help the people dwell on God’s promises. His promises of help and deliverance. So it was for the people of Isaiah’s time. “Watch, I am about to do a new thing. Now it will spring up. Don’t you know about it? Indeed I will make a road in the wilderness. In the wasteland I will make rivers. 20The wild animals, the jackals and ostriches, will honor me, because I am providing water in the wilderness, rivers in a parched wasteland, to provide water for my chosen people to drink.” “You ain’t  seen nothing yet!” God was saying. A little context. The people who were listening to Isaiah had heard that they and their families would be carried off to the far off land of Babylon. Their nation conquered. Many killed. This was because idol worship had become so common place the believers’ faith life was threatened. Yet not what they wanted to hear. You can see why they were longing for the good old days of God’s miraculous deliverance. God said, “Don’t dwell on the past! Dwell on my promises. I’m going to save you in a miraculous way too. When the people heard how God would provide life for them like making a barren desert a lush garden, they had something to look forward to. God would deliver them too. Dwell on the promises not on the past.

          Brothers and sisters, that’s a good message for us to take from here. Don’t dwell on the past because you ain’t seen nothing yet. Dwell on the promises of God’s deliverance. You see, at our time, what Isaiah proclaimed is history. It’s the past. God kept His promise. He rescued the people from Babylon. He brought them back to their land and even though it seemed lifeless then God gave them new life. And still they hadn’t seen anything yet. Because all of that was part of the bigger plan of salvation. They were brought back to the land because of God’s promise to send a Savior. And Jesus came as promised. His perfect life for sinners slain. He has given us new life. And although it almost sounds blasphemous to say when we think about what our Savior went through and the glory of His resurrection, dare I say it? You ain’t seen nothing yet! God has promised we will see greater things than parted Red Seas and Babylonian rescues. We will see greater things than Good Friday and Easter Sunday. That’s hard to say but true. We are going to see God face and face and He will dwell with us and we with Him in such a glory that we can only begin to imagine. Friends you ain’t seen nothing yet. So don’t dwell on the past, dwell on the Promise.

          And remember your purpose. You see God has a reason for telling His people things ahead of time. Here it is. “This people that I formed for myself will declare my praise.” What God was expecting to happen with the people of Isaiah’s time is the same thing He was expecting when He delivered Israel and brought them through the Red Sea. Praise. Grateful praise. God had formed them and shaped their lives for that very purpose. They would rejoice in what God had done for them and realize they ain’t seen nothing yet and the would lead to people who  praised God by giving Him the credit. It would lead to a people who felt privileged to be called His people and let is show in speech and actions. Now those who are in the Sunday morning class know how the people back in Moses’ time responded. How about the people in Isaiah’s time? Here are the next three verses of Isaiah 43. “Yet you have not called upon Me, O Jacob, you have not wearied yourselves for Me, O Israel. 23You have not brought Me sheep for burnt offerings, nor honored Me with your sacrifices. I have not burdened you with grain offerings nor wearied you with demands for incense. 24You have not bought any fragrant calamus for Me, or lavished on Me the fat of your sacrifices. But you have burdened Me with your sins and wearied Me with your offenses.” Sounds like they forgot their purpose.

          But you won’t. Brothers and sisters, you ain’t seen nothing yet. You can look at the history of what God has done to save you eternally. I also ask you to look into your past. Think of all the things that caused you to worry. All the problems you have had that seemed like they would break you. All the problems and struggles and unfair happenings. Now give glory to God. He has brought you safely through all of them. Whether you can pinpoint the actual reason or not He has worked all of them for the good. And with every time you responded with a failure of faith or a weeping and gnashing of teeth He has swooped in with the sweetness of forgiveness won by Jesus and remembered your sins no more. Now, forget about it. Don’t dwell on the past. Dwell on God’s promise. You ain’t seen nothing yet. God’s best for you is yet to come. And may the next three verses of your life read: “You keep calling on me in time of trouble, O Jacobi! You weary yourselves for Me, so busy and careful with the work I gave you to do! You bring offerings of thankfulness and honor Me with your daily lives as living sacrifices. You do your best and offer your best. And rightly so because you are the people I formed for myself to declare my praise and just wait until heaven. You ain’t seen nothing yet. Amen.

Thursday, April 4, 2019

April 3, 2019 Pastor Timothy J. Spaude Text: John 18:33-40 WHAT IS TRUTH?


MIDWEEK LENTEN 5

April 3, 2019

Pastor Timothy J. Spaude

Text: John 18:33-40



WHAT IS TRUTH?

1.     The truth is Jesus is not who people want Him to be.

2.     The truth is Jesus is who people need Him to be.



John 18:33-40 (EHV)  Pilate went back into the Praetorium and summoned Jesus. He asked him, “Are you the King of the Jews?” 34Jesus answered, “Are you saying this on your own, or did others tell you about me?” 35Pilate answered, “Am I a Jew? Your own people and chief priests handed you over to me. What have you done?” 36Jesus replied, “My kingdom is not of this world. If my kingdom were of this world, my servants would fight so that I would not be handed over to the Jews. But now my kingdom is not from here.” 37“You are a king then?” Pilate asked. Jesus answered, “I am, as you say, a king. For this reason I was born, and for this reason I came into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to my voice.” 38“What is truth?” Pilate said to him. After he said this, he went out again to the Jews and told them, “I find no basis for a charge against him. 39But you have a custom that I release one prisoner to you at the Passover. So do you want me to release the King of the Jews for you?” 40Then they shouted back, “Not this man, but Barabbas!” (Now Barabbas was a rebel.)”



          Our three words of truth meditation today ironically is about truth. It’s the three words Pilate spoke as he cross examined Jesus. “What is truth?” Pilate asked. How do you think he asked that question? When you are reading dialogue in any work you have to try to figure out how a person said something because how they say it is oftentimes just as important as what they say. Was it an innocent “What is truth?” A cynical “What is truth?” A don’t bother to answer “What is truth?” It’s hard to say. These days we struggle with figuring out the truth. News reporting which used to have some standard of objectivity does not seem to any more. We are used to fake news, slanted news, getting only parts of the story reported and the all time favorite, “It must be true. I read it on the internet!” What is truth indeed! Maybe Pilate was in a situation just like us.

          And yet there is truth. Absolute truth. It’s found in the Bible. The first truth we need to get through our thick skulls is that Jesus is not who people want Him to be. If you think about it, the arrest and trial of Jesus before the Jewish religious leaders and Pilate was not so much about what Jesus did but about who Jesus was. If you recall the High Priest had tried using false witnesses to accuse Jesus of something worthy of death but it didn’t work. They couldn’t agree. Finally in frustration the High Priest spit out, “I charge you under oath by the living God, tell us if you are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” To which Jesus replied with the truth. “Yes, it is as you say.” Now that was all the religious leaders needed to hear. Since they didn’t believe Jesus, they accused him of blasphemy, worthy of death.

          But that would not cut it with the Roman governor, Pilate. They changed the accusation to something that would catch his attention. Jesus is claiming to be a king. By Roman law that was worthy of death. But Pilate has a problem. Jesus doesn’t look like a king. He doesn’t act like someone leading a rebellion. He is bruised, battered and bound, yet quiet, peaceful and respectful. “You are a king, then?” asked Pilate. Really?

          Now Pilate and Jesus’ accusers had this in common: Jesus wasn’t who they expected Him to be and Jesus wasn’t who they wanted him to be. It would have been an easy call for Pilate if Jesus really was trying to be an earthly king. Sentence him to death and be done with it. Pilate had likely done that before. If only Jesus really were an earthly king. And that’s what the Jewish people wanted Jesus to be too. Do you remember how they reacted when he fed the 5000? They tried to make him king. Free food for all. While Jesus did many miracles to prove He is the Son of God when prompted to he refused. He wasn’t sent to be a miracle worker. Jesus was not who people wanted Him to be.

          And we need to hear that truth too. Sometimes we want Jesus to be what He is not. Pastors want a Jesus who will make all the members come worship every weekend and give generously. Teachers want a Jesus who will make students obedient and faithful at their work and all parents understanding. Parents want a Jesus who will make their kids stop fighting and complaining and be kind, compliant and grateful instead. People want Jesus to be their financial planner, dietician, a social activist who makes sure only good laws get passed. People want Jesus to be someone who in love never calls any lifestyle wrong or sinful and so none of you should either. What is truth? First, Jesus is not who people want Him to be.

          For while Jesus has the power to melt away belly fat and change our financial fortunes in a blink of an eye, while Jesus has the power to heal every disease and give us back our dead that’s not what we need. What we and all people need is a Savior from sin. And that is exactly who Jesus is. “Jesus replied, “My kingdom is not of this world. If my kingdom were of this world, my servants would fight so that I would not be handed over to the Jews. But now my kingdom is not from here.” 37“You are a king then?” Pilate asked. Jesus answered, “I am, as you say, a king. For this reason I was born, and for this reason I came into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to my voice.”

          Jesus told the truth. He is a king, but not of a puny earthly kingdom. He came to testify to the truths that people needed to hear.  What truth? That the wages of sin is death and since all have sinned all deserve to be separated from God and His goodness forever in Hell. That God is holy and just and sin must be paid for in full. That for this reason Jesus came into the world so that as the one and only God man He is the substitute for the world. That His perfect life is credited to all who believe. That His death did in fact pay the penalty price for all sinners. The truth is Jesus did not come to make people behave better or stop them from sinning. He warned Judas. He warned Peter. He didn’t stop either of them. But He did give His life for them He did pay for their sins He warned them not to do. He did that for you and me too. The truth is Jesus is exactly who people need Him to be—who we need Him to be, the Savior from sin.

          This part of God’s word ends sadly. Jesus spoke the truth that everyone who belongs to the truth listens to Him. And then this. “After he said this, he went out again to the Jews and told them, “I find no basis for a charge against him. 39But you have a custom that I release one prisoner to you at the Passover. So do you want me to release the King of the Jews for you?” 40Then they shouted back, “Not this man, but Barabbas!” These people rejected Jesus and chose a criminal because Jesus was not who they wanted him to be. They didn’t belong to the truth. But you do. Don’t get tricked into wanting any other Jesus than the one you need. The Savior from sin. Amen.