Private Prayers and Easter Expectations, Easter message
Eric A. Snyder, Minister, Farwell Church of Christ
March 31, 2002
We all have private prayers and regrets about our lives. We look back on a certain incident when we in our human nature did the wrong thing. And it eats away at our soul. Your private prayer might be from a day or two ago or your occasion of regret may have taken place many years ago. But we all have them; times in our lives where the Spirit of God called us to act one way but we chose something else. And we know we can never take it back but the situation has left those involved hurting. That one moment of poor decision making left you feeling horrible, perhaps it even hurt someone you love, and you feel like you let God down. So you find yourself living each day into the next trying to make some semblance of what should have been. You, like the characters today find yourself saying: ”If I could turn back time”.
What is your private prayer? “Is it; Lord, I have not been the best friend I could be, I knew she needed my help, Lord I even knew that I had the what they needed, but I was selfish, I wanted to do what I wanted to do. I could have done something, but now it’s too late. The friendship has been broken. Oh Lord if I could go back and live it all over again.
Or it might be “Lord, I know I do the wrong thing most of the time, but I can’t help it, my father did it, my grandfather too, God I know I’m not the best example to those around my but God If I could go back.
Your prayer might be different. It could be “dear God, know I don’t say much to you or read your Bible but I did something last week that is really bothering me. You see my family, I love them but these long hours have really been pulling me away from my responsibilities as a parent and spouse. God my kids are growing up without me. My spouse seems distant God, If I could just make this right somehow. I know the relationship between you and me is not as good as it used to be and that’s what worries me more. Last week I found something in my son’s room. I know I’m not the greatest parent but I can’t bear the thought of my child growing up without knowing their eternal father. If I could just turn back the clock to when they were young I would have raised these kids differently.
The characters that we’re looking at today all had regrets because of their fear, because of their doubt, and because of their disloyalty. They felt like they had let Jesus down.
The interesting thing is that Jesus had told them that he was going to come back to life 3 days after his death. There was no secret code for his resurrection. In one text the authorities had the tomb sealed to stop any rumors of resurrection, because they had heard Jesus say that he would come back to life 3 days after his death.
The interesting thing is that on Easter morning no one expected a risen Lord. Everyone expected something different.
Women who came to the tome came with spices and funeral things. They came to care for the corpse. It was no secret that they came expecting to find the dead body of their friend.
Even today there are some that come expecting to find something predictable and routine. Have you come in today to wonder and find out about where Jesus is in your life or have you come expecting a funeral for a great person?
Easter does not turn back time. What it does do is demonstrate that Jesus transcends time and we can come today and make those decisions differently.
So the women went to tell the disciples about what they had seen and the Bible says that some didn’t believe the women but went to look anyway.
When most of the followers came they came expecting to find an empty grave. But they also expected to find some evidence of what had happened to the body.
And maybe you came today expecting to hear evidence that would convince the judge and jury about the reality of Jesus life, lordship, and love. But explanations won’t cut it for you until you have met the person of Jesus. I think that’s one reason Peter ran to the tomb. Maybe he could find Jesus.
The Bible says Peter ran as fast as he could, wanting to find Jesus, there was a faction that expected to find Jesus. What did they expect to see when they found Jesus? What would you expect?
One follower said I won’t believe it’s him until I see the wounds. But I imagine there were a lot of people who expected to see a magic show. People who expected that the spear mark would be gone the nail prints would disappear, that Jesus would not only come back but also that the marks from the abuse would be gone.
They expected to find everything the way it was before. They expected to find the damage reversed. They thought that he had turned back time.
But Jesus doesn’t roll back the hands of time. He does however do the next best thing; he provides an opportunity to make it right.
Our text today is
Mark 14:72 immediately the rooster crowed the second time. Then Peter remembered the word Jesus had spoken to him: "Before the rooster crows twice you will disown me three times." And he broke down and wept.
John 21:17 The third time he said to him, "Simon son of John, do you love me?" Peter was hurt because Jesus asked him the third time; "Do you love me?" He said, "Lord, you know all things; you know that I love you." Jesus said, "Feed my sheep.
You don’t have to roll back the clock to get right with Jesus; you just have to be willing to make it right now.
Wherever you’re at, whatever you have done. Peter was a man who was very close to Jesus. Joseph was a closet disciple, even one of the roman soldiers said,
“truly this was the Son of God”
The simple fact is if Jesus had just died he would not have completed the picture of what God wanted to do in the world. We are told that all things are reconciled to God through Jesus Christ. So if you want to have a relationship with God you must go through Jesus.
That’s why the resurrection is so important. What kind of relationship are you going to have with someone who has passed away? The answer is not much of one. If Jesus just died took our sins then the purpose of coming together is to remember the sacrifice. But there is nothing personal to it.
I hope you didn’t just come today to remember a sacrifice I hope you have come to connect with the one that death could not keep. When Jesus came back to life he literally beat death and sin and hell.
Romans 5:6 You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly.7 Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die.8 But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.9 Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God’s wrath through him! 10 For if, when we were God’s enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life!
That’s what Easter is all about, It’s about connecting with Jesus, it’s about getting the life right with him.
Occasionally I hear people say, It would have been easier to believe if I had live back in the day when Jesus walked on the earth and water. What we fail to realize is that of all the people who had the benefit of believing not one understood the spiritual meaning of Jesus death and not one person expected to find him alive on Sunday morning.
But because he rose and because of his promise to stay with us always we can now have a close relationship with Jesus.
Easter is about reconciliation, It’s why Jesus hung around and made breakfast for his disciples, it’s why he appeared to Mary first, it’s why he was seen by a crowd of 500, and why he said to Thomas put your finger here. Easter is about restoring you from your regrets.
Even the apostle Paul said if Christ was not raised from the dead then our lived are lived vain. We go from one shallow experience to another leaving empty and jaded.
But then Paul says Thank you Lord for the second chance we have to get it right.
Peter was left with a hole in his heart and bitterness on his lips and the bible tells us at the report that Jesus was alive Peter ran. He had spent the weekend with is private prayers waiting, wanting a chance to make it right. When he catches up with Jesus, Jesus asks him “do you love me?”
If you have spent some time sharing private prayers, if your plea has been to turn back time. If you have been waiting for a second chance to find the way. The question Jesus has for you is the same question he asks Peter? Do you love me?
We can love him because he loved us first; He loves us to the extent that he was willing to lay down his life for our sake. And because of his resurrection the relationship does stop at the grave.
So today even if you have come to remember you should know that what Jesus really wants is a chance to restore. This morning you can give all your anxiety to him. You can cast all your cares on Him because he cares about you.
Your prayer may have started simple. There is a process to reconciliation. Just the same way you need to go through a process to heal your relationships with family or friends, you need to work out the process of your relationship with Jesus.
Acceptance
Perhaps you have found yourself searching for meaning. Days might just seem to melt together and you’ve been asking some tough questions. Maybe your foundation of faith has been shaken and your world has shattered, and at the end of the day you are left to pick up the broke bits of your life.
Maybe you’ve prayed the prayer in moments of pure desperation or perhaps you asked for it in a second of sheer exhaustion or depression.
But you’ve been searching wondering and waiting for God to reveal himself to you.
You wake up everyday wanting, hungering for something more meaningful and lasting. Knowing that nothing else will leave your fingerprints on the world other that knowing God.
So you broke down and said the prayer. It sounded like this. Lord I don’t know if you are listening. But if you are I really need you. Lord I have never had a really strong faith I don’t go to church much. I say I worship you in my own way but God. Between you and me, I have never really tried to find you.
So God if you are there I know that I need something and nothing else has worked. God I help me to believe.
The promise of God is this he says those who seek me will find me when they seek me with all of their heart. What a great promise to know that if you seek God wholeheartedly and honestly you will find him.
Acknowledgment
The next step in Making that relationship right is to acknowledge the things you do believe.
Your prayer might be God I’m just learning a lot about you and I really believe you are helping me along but Here is what I need more help with.
God I have some legitimate questions that I need answered. But I want to be a honest with you as I can be.
God I know you are there and I know you love me.
Admittance
Admittance is the 3rd part of restoring your relationship with God
This is the part where you are willing to tell people that you know Jesus
It’s what Peter had to grow into. It’s not only confessing that Jesus is the Son of God and that you want to make a spiritual commitment to Him it’s also being willing to be recognized as one of his followers.
It’s why Peter was so upset when He realized that his commitment had not carried over to his association.
Now some may make excuses and say well Peter feared for his life. But those who come this far are reminded that we should not be afraid of those who can destroy the body but we should be afraid of the one who destroys the soul.
Jesus’ words are clear and simple He says if you tell other people about who I am to you, I’ll tell my father who you are to me.
Adherence
But the final step goes beyond a one-time confession and immersion. Becoming a follower means that those private prayer those requests for second chances can be fulfilled if you chose Christ.
It is a life of self denial. Imposing the will of Jesus for my life. It’s about living everyday under the cross of Christ.
Because of Jesus Sacrifice we have a personal relationship with God. The key to that second chance is that the second time around Jesus lives in your heart.
We all have those moments when we wish we could turn back time and do something better with the life entrusted to us.
Let me ask you this if you let this invitation go by where will you be when your next moment of regret comes. Will you come back for Christmas and wish you could live something over again?
Will a month Go by and you will look back on this day and remember Jesus was asking me to get real with him, and will you regret not making that decision?
When will your next moment of regret be. Will it be because you didn’t come? Or will it be because you didn’t stay? Will it be because you didn’t give? But if you don’t know Jesus personally I can promise you that there will be a day of regret somewhere in your future.
And when the end id over it will be to late for second chances it will be too late to turn back time, and find the way.
