EASTER
April 1, 2018
David Simpson, Lanier Christian Church
HE WILL
John 20:25; 1 Thessalonians 5:23-25; 1 Corinthians 6:14
It’s ironic that this year Easter falls on April Fools day. Have you ever fallen for an April Fools joke or prank? I know as a kid there was always some classmate pulling a prank on someone, with the rest of us in on it and watching that poor soul make a fool of themselves by believing the prank. Well, there have been some rather dubious April Fools Day pranks on a national scale. Maybe you even fell for one of these April fool’s day hoaxes:
On April 1, 1996, The Taco Bell Corporation took out a full-page ad that appeared in six major newspapers announcing it had bought the Liberty Bell and was renaming it the Taco Liberty Bell. Hundreds of outraged citizens called the National Historic Park in Philadelphia where the bell was housed to express their anger. Their nerves were only calmed when Taco Bell revealed, a few hours later, that it was all a practical joke. The best line of the day came when White House press secretary Mike McCurry was asked about the sale. Thinking on his feet, he responded that the Lincoln Memorial had also been sold. It would now be known, he said, as the Ford Lincoln Mercury Memorial.
On April 1, 1998, Burger King published a full page advertisement in USA Today announcing the introduction of a new item to their menu: a "Left-Handed Whopper…" specially designed for the 32 million left-handed Americans. According to the advertisement, the new whopper included the same ingredients as the original Whopper (lettuce, tomato, hamburger patty, etc.), but all the condiments were rotated 180 degrees for the benefit of their left-handed customers. The following day Burger King issued a follow-up release revealing that although the Left-Handed Whopper was a hoax, thousands of customers had gone into restaurants to request the new sandwich. Simultaneously, according to the press release, "many others requested their own 'right handed' version." (Both stories from: Hoaxes.org – The Top 100 April Fool’s Day Hoaxes of All Time)
People are still falling for hoaxes every day due to the power of the internet and social media, like Facebook. Fake news stories appear quite often and mislead a lot of people. It causes many today to say “I’ll believe it when I see it.”
Such skepticism is not new. In fact, there is a well-known disciple of Jesus who was quite skeptical about the news that Jesus had conquered death and come back to life. Because of his skepticism, we call him “doubting Thomas.” Thomas did not want to be called a fool. He did not want to be pranked. When told about the resurrection of Jesus, he said these famous words, as recorded in John 20:25 -
So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord!” But he said to them, “Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe.” John 20:25
“I will not believe,” said Thomas. He did not want to be fooled. I can relate to Thomas. I don’t like to be fooled either. I am very skeptical about anything that sounds too good to be true. At a local restaurant that my family frequents I was recently charged $1.07 for my takeout order. I said, “that can’t be right.” But the manager said, “No, that’s right. Thank you for eating with us.” Doubt filled my mind. This can’t be happening. Does that describe you? We are often guilty of saying: “I will not believe.”
Oh, we don’t often admit to others our doubts, but the “I will not believe” slogan often appears in our thoughts and actions.
We say: “God answers prayer,” but we work behind the scenes acting as if the answer to our prayer depends on us, not on Him. When we do that, we are basically saying: “I will not believe.”
We say: “God provides for my every need,” but we work very hard at making sure that God only steps in when we can’t provide for whatever we think our needs are. When we do that, we are saying: “I will not believe.”
We say: “My faith conquers my fear,” but often we cling to our worries and fears rather than release them to God. When we do that, we are saying: “I will not believe.”
We say: “Thy will be done,” but for many “doing it my way” seems to be more the truth about how we really conduct our lives. When we do that, we are saying: “I will not believe.”
We sing: “I’ll fly away, O glory; When I die, Hallelujah by and by; I’ll fly away,” but do we really anticipate our heavenly home, or do we mainly postpone any talk about eternal things? Because we refuse to learn more about the truth of our heavenly home to come, we are often guilty of saying: “I will not believe.”
We say every Easter: “After I die, I will live again because of Jesus and be freed from the pains and brokenness of this life!” but our daily lives reflect more of an attachment to this earth than a longing for our eternal home. When that happens we are basically saying: “I will not believe.”
And then there are those seasons of life, where in our pain or in our sin with stubbornness and pride, we simply say to God: “I will not believe.”
But, I’m hear to remind all of us on this Easter Sunday that belief in the risen Lord is at the heart of all that we are as Christians. We cannot be casually observers. We cannot be nominal believers. We cannot be sincere admirers. We cannot be troubled by doubt.
Preacher and author, Timothy Keller has said: If Jesus rose from the dead, then you have to accept all that he said; if he didn't rise from the dead, then why worry about any of what he said? The issue on which everything hangs is not whether or not you like his teaching but whether or not he rose from the dead.
On this Easter Sunday, I want to challenge you to lay aside your unbelief, to stop being a casual Christian, to resist being a secret admirer, to quit being a doubting Thomas and to instead, with great faith, seize hold of the truth of the living Lord! Let go of every wavering doubt and commit to total belief.
After Thomas saw the living Lord, he was never the same again. He and the other disciples lived the rest of their lives, to their very deaths proclaiming him as Lord and Savior and earnestly pleading with others to believe and follow Him.
I want you to know today that for all of our “I will not’s” there is an overwhelming “He will” that comes from Jesus!
For those of you who think, “I will not ever be able to move past my sins; I am marked for life…” I want you to listen to the “I will” truth that Jesus offers….
1 John 1:9 (NIV)
If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.
He WILL forgive our sins if we release them to him.
For those of you that are a doubting Thomas and think you have faced an insurmountable obstacle, and stubbornly say: “I will not be able to move forward,” then I want you to hear this truth about our wonderful Lord:
…being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus. – Philippians 1:6
He WILL continue working in our lives even through our time of doubting when we say: “I will not.”
On this very Easter Sunday there are still those who are filled with doubt about resurrection hope, of life beyond the grave. Some think it is just wishful thinking to believe in heaven and new life. Such doubters are saying: “I will not believe,” but Jesus is saying to those who DO believe:
“I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; - John 11:35
And equally powerful are the words of 1 Corinthians 6:14 where Paul says: By his power God raised the Lord from the dead, and he will raise us also.
When Thomas, the doubting disciple of Jesus, expressed his lack of faith, he had not seen Jesus. The other disciples had seen the risen Lord. So, Jesus makes a special appearance to Thomas. Here is what happened….
26 A week later his disciples were in the house again, and Thomas was with them. Though the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!”27 Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe.”
28 Thomas said to him, “My Lord and my God!”
29 Then Jesus told him, “Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”
The one who wrote these words was an eyewitness to these events, John, the youngest of the disciples. I’m sure you could have heard a pin drop that day. The others had seen Jesus alive again, but not Thomas. So, Jesus walks straight up to Thomas – the “I will not” disciple – and says “Put your finger here…see my hands…reach out your hand and put it into my side…stop doubting Thomas and believe.” In the original Greek it actually reads: “Stop becoming unbelieving and get on with becoming believing.”
It doesn’t say that Thomas fell to his knees, but I can imagine that he did and with great humility expressed his belief by saying: “My Lord and my God.”
Perhaps there is someone here today who simply needs to hear those words from Jesus. “Stop doubting and believe.” Enough of saying, “I will not believe.” Stop becoming unbelieving and get on with becoming believing. Life is short. Don’t delay! To those who WILL believe today, I want you to know that Jesus had you on his mind when he said: “Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”
That’s us! Jesus is speaking to us when he confronted Thomas. “Blessed are those who have not seen…that’s you and me…and yet have believed.” That blessing has continued down through the ages to this very day.
But there is another aspect of belief that is part of the story of Jesus. He is coming again. He WILL return to take His children home. Again some say: “I will not believe.” This is beyond the realm of possibility, but I want you to listen carefully to the “He will” of Jesus.
Paul wrote these powerful words concerning the return of our Lord as recorded in 1 Thessalonians 5:23-25 (NIV)
23 May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. 24 The one who calls you is faithful, and he will do it.
He will do it! He will follow through. He will deliver on every recorded promise.
To those who say: I will not! …Jesus says He will!
He will hear every prayer.
He will respond to every need.
He will forgive every sin.
He will offer his loving grace to every soul.
He will strengthen every weakness.
He will overcome the evil one.
He will defeat the power of death.
He will restore every broken part of every life in the heaven he promised.
He will return to the earth he created and once and for all cast out the devil and restore the earth to the garden he planned all along as a home for those who believe.
He will!
So, today, we have a choice. We can resist the truth of Jesus and hold on to our “I will not believe” stubbornness or we can humbly fall at the feet of Jesus and say: “My Lord and my God.”
The choice is yours. A magnificent future awaits for those who choose Jesus. Because the restored life that Jesus experience will be the restored life that we in Christ will one day experience.
1 Corinthians 6:14 - By his power God raised the Lord from the dead, and he will raise us also.
I believe in the risen Lord and I believe that He will do all that he said he will do. Won’t you believe today?
