**Several of the Illustrations in this sermon came from an illustration search on Sermon Central.
INTRODUCTION:
A Sunday School teacher asked her class on the Sunday before Easter if they knew what happened on Easter and why it was so important. One little girl spoke up saying: "Easter is when the whole family gets together, and you eat turkey and sing about the pilgrims and all that." "No, that’s not it," said the teacher.
"I know what Easter is," a second student responded. "Easter is when you get a tree and decorate it and give gifts to everybody and sing lots of songs." "Nope, that’s not it either," replied the teacher.
Finally a third student spoke up, "Easter is when Jesus was killed, and put in a tomb and left for three days." "Ah, thank goodness somebody knows" the teacher thought to herself.
But then the student went on: "Then everybody gathers at the tomb and waits to see if Jesus comes out, and if he sees his shadow he has to go back inside and we have six more weeks of winter."
Some of us have some weird ideas about Easter.
YES! JESUS IS HERE TODAY!!
We’re here today because what happened over 2000 years ago matters today!
We can be sure that God is in this place BECAUSE His Son was raised from the dead over 2000 years ago!
-How many have plans today, after church?
-Maybe a nice Easter dinner with family?
-Maybe the park, or some other outing?
-Some will be watching “March Madness!”
-If this were next Sunday I know what some of you
couch potatoes would to be doing . . .
Martinsville – the next NASCAR Race!
-And then comes Monday . . .
-Back at work . . .
-Back to School . . .
-Life goes on as usual!
-Another Easter will have come and gone.
ILLUSTRATION:
Alexander the Great was one of the greatest military leaders in all of recorded history. During the brief years of his rule his army swept through most of the known world, conquering all in its path. Even the mighty Persian Empire proved to be helpless before him.
As his army marched through Persia the soldiers went into the villages & cities, taking whatever they wanted. In the capitol, they entered the palace of Darius, & one soldier found an attractive leather bag. He looked inside & there were the crown jewels of Persia.
But being ignorant of the value of precious stones, the soldier looked at them for a moment & decided that they were simply worthless, shiny rocks. So he dumped them out, but kept the leather bag. He was seen time & time again, carrying his prized find, a leather bag, & boasting of the attractive container in which he carried his food.
We smile at a story like that, don’t we?
But I wonder how often in life do we hang on to worthless bags & throw away precious jewels?
I want to show you something this morning that is PRICELESS! . . . the precious gift that God has given us.
So, my goal this morning is to tell you in as plain a language as I can what this whole Christ Event . . . Life . . . Death . . . and Resurrection . . . is all about . . .
I want to help you answer the question:
“What’s In It For Me?”
I. Because of Sin, I Cannot Get to God!
(Romans 3:23) “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”
-Because of sin in our lives there is no way for us to get to God.
-We cannot be a good enough Dad, Mom,
neighbor, co-worker.
-You can be an excellent citizen and miss
heaven.
-You can spend your life doing nothing but
good for others and still miss heaven.
-We all fall short of the glory of God.
-It’s not that God hates us
and . . . He doesn’t!
-He loves us!
-But, because He is just, and holy, He
can’t just turn His Head to the sin
in our lives.
-No matter how good we are, the sin, as little or
much as it may be, condemns us to an eternity
away from God.
READ ROMANS 6:23a
-Man, in his sinfulness, CANNOT come into the
presence of God . . . who is Holy.
1 SAMUEL 6 . . .
-50,070 men from the land of the Bethshemeth
struck down . . . dead . . . by God
-These are the same guys who just praised God for
the return of the Ark of the Covenant
-WHY?
-In their arrogance, they looked into the Ark of the
Covenant . . . came into the presence of God in
their sin.
-The Ark represented the presence of God, and
no man . . . then, OR NOW, OR FOR ETERNITY
can come into the presence of this Holy God
in his sinfulness!
Thank God Romans 6:23 doesn’t end with the condemnation!
This is where Easter fits folks! Now we’re starting to see . . .
“What’s In It For Me?”
ILLUSTRATION: You may remember years ago a TV show that was geared to teach our children . . . and maybe some of us parents what a "conjunction" is in the English grammar. The goal was called "SchoolHouse Rock." Remember? In it they sang a little tune . . . "Conjunction Junction . . . what your function? In Romans 6:23 we see one of those conjunctions. Thank God for this conjunction! It gives us hope of everlasting life! Now, that’s a function!!
READ ROMANS 6:23b, 5:8
(Romans 6:23) For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
(Romans 5:8) But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.
II. God made a Way for Me Through His Son!
ILLUSTRATION:
Max Lucado, in his book, “Six Hours One Friday,” tells the story of a missionary in Brazil who discovered a tribe of Indians in a remote part of the jungle. They lived near a large river. The tribe was in need of medical attention. A contagious disease was ravaging the population. People were dying daily.
A hospital was not too terribly far away — across the river, but the Indians would not cross it because they believed the river was inhabited by evil spirits. And to enter its water would mean certain death.
The missionary explained how he had crossed the river & was unharmed. But they were not impressed. He then took them to the bank & placed his hand in the water. They still wouldn’t go in. He walked into the water up to his waist & splashed water on his face. It didn’t matter. They were still afraid to enter the river.
Finally, he dove into the river, swam beneath the surface until he emerged on the other side. He raised a triumphant fist into the air. He had entered the water & escaped. It was then that the Indians broke into a cheer & followed him across.
-We saw that in Romans 3:26 . . . “that He might
be the Just and the Justifier.
-When we stand at judgment . . . what are we
going to say when God asks us how we can
justify ourselves?
-There is NO OTHER WAY to heaven!
(ACTS 4:12) "there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved."
III. I Have to Make This Gift Mine!
-This is not a broad sweeping agreement that just happens to fall your way when you leave this world.
-We must accept Jesus as Lord, and make Him our God!
(ROMANS 10:9) "if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved;
-It’s not enough to believe that Jesus is the Son of God and that He died on the cross!
-Even the devil himself believes that!
-You must make it personal!
-Your spouse, parent, friend, neighbor, or anyone
else cannot make this decision for you.
IV. Our HOPE Is In the RESURRECTION of Christ!
“What’s In It For Me?”
(1 CORINTHIANS 15:3-4) For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures.
-Paul tells us that the most important thing he has
delivered is:
1. What he has received
(Note: it’s personal)
2. That Christ died for our sins
3. That He was buried
4. And, that he was raised from the dead
-It is in the resurrection that we find our hope of everlasting life!
(1 CORINTHIANS 15:20-23) But now Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who are asleep. For since by a man came death, by a man also came the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ all will be made alive. But each in his own order: Christ the first fruits, after that those who are Christ’s at His coming,
ILLUSTRATION:
The Call to Worship had just been pronounced starting the Easter Sunday Morning service in an East Texas church. The choir started its processional, singing "Up from the Grave He Arose" as they marched in perfect step down the center aisle to the front of the church.
The last lady was wearing shoes with very slender heels. Without a thought for her fancy heels, she marched toward the grating that covered that hot air register in the middle of the aisle.
Suddenly the heel of one shoe sank into the hole in the register grate. In a flash she realized her predicament. Not wishing to hold up the whole processional, without missing a step, she slipped her foot out of her shoe and continued marching down the aisle. There wasn’t a hitch.
The processional moved with clock-like precision. The first man after her spotted the situation and without losing a step, reached down and pulled up her shoe, but the entire grate came with it!
Surprised, but still singing, the man kept on going down the aisle, holding in his hand the grate with the shoe attached. Everything still moved like clockwork. Still in tune and still in step, the next man in line stepped into the open register and disappeared from sight.
The service took on a special meaning that Sunday, for just as the choir ended with "Allelujah! Christ arose!" a voice was heard under the church shouting..."I hope all of you are out of the way ’cause I’m coming out now!"
The little girl closest to the aisle shouted, "Come on, Jesus! We’ll stay out of the way."
ILLUSTRATION:
Little Philip, born with Down’s syndrome, attended a third-grade Sunday School class with several eight-year-old boys and girls. Typical of that age, the children did not readily accept Philip with his differences, according to an article in leadership magazine. But because of a creative teacher, they began to care about Philip and accept him as part of the group, though not fully.
The Sunday after Easter the teacher brought Leggs pantyhose containers, the kind that look like large eggs. Each receiving one, the children were told to go outside on that lovely spring day, find some symbol for new life, and put it in the egg-like container. Back in the classroom, they would share their new-life symbols, opening the containers one by one in surprise fashion. After running about the church property in wild confusion, the students returned to the classroom and placed the containers on the table.
Surrounded by the children, the teacher began to open them one by one. After each one, whether a flower, butterfly, or leaf, the class would ooh and ahh. Then one was opened, revealing nothing inside. The children exclaimed, “That’s stupid. That’s not fair. Somebody didn’t do their assignment.”
Philip spoke up, “That’s mine.”
“Philip, you don’t ever do things right!” the student retorted. “There’s nothing there!”
I did so do it,” Philip insisted. “I did do it. It’s empty. The tomb was empty!”
Silence followed.
From then on Philip became a full member of the class.
He died not long afterward from an infection most normal children would have shrugged off.
At the funeral this class of eight-year-olds marched up to the altar not with flowers, but with their Sunday school teacher, each to lay on it an empty pantyhose egg.
CONCLUSION
This past week Stephanie came in for Easter break from college in Tennessee and I took her and Makenzie to see a movie that just came out . . . “Horton Hears a Who.” GREAT DR. SUESS MOVIE! Horton is an elephant that hears the mayor of Whosville, who lives on a speck, which is his world, as it floats by Horton’s ear. The rest of the movie is about Horton trying to prove to everybody in his world that Whosville exists.
The movie actually plays on what I would consider characteristics of an elephant . . . which made me think, as I was preparing for this sermon this morning of something I read some time ago . . .
Have you ever wondered how a circus keeps such a powerful animal under control? The elephant is one of the most powerful creatures in the world!
It all begins with that elephant when it is a baby packaderm (elephant). The circus trainer accomplishes this by tying one leg of the baby elephant to a tent stake, driven deep into the ground. At first, it pulls and tugs, and does all in it’s might to get away. Finally, the elephant come to grips with the fact that it can’t break the rope or get away.
As the elephant gets older, even through it’s size and strength has increased immeasurably, it still thinks it can’t break away.
With all it’s power it could easily pull the stake up, and if need be, take the tent and all with it!
But, it won’t . . . Because it never gets beyond the mindset that it can’t break loose.
God, as done everything He needed to do for you to break loose of the bondage of sin . . .
Sin . . . The very thing that keeps you from a relationship with Him . . . and gives you no hope of getting to heaven.
“What’s In It For You?”
Isn’t it time to pull the stake up?
Somehow we convince ourselves that the stake of sin has been driven so far into the ground that we could never remove it . . . and, we’d be right! WE CAN’T!
We don’t have to! God did that for us when He sent His Son to die on a cross and raised Him from the dead 3 days later!
Our part? . . . Receive the Gift!!
THAT’S WHAT’S IN IT FOR YOU!!
