Happy Easter! - West Oahu Christian Church

94-420 Farrington Highway
                                  Waipahu, HI 96797

Date 04/4/2021

                             Happy Easter!
                                 Easter Love

Easter Love is God’s Invitation to Unity
It was just before the Passover Feast…he now show them “the full extent of His
love.” (John 13:1)

                             Communion with Christ

Easter Love is God Paying Your Penalty
But God demonstrated his own love for us in that while we were still sinners,
Christ died for us. (Romans 5:8)

Two basic questions:
  1. Do you think that those who do moral wrongs ought to be punished?
  2. Have you done any moral wrongs?

 Why is Christ the only way? Because no one else has solved the problem of our
      moral guilt, and the judgement that deep down we know we deserve.

Easter Love is God’s Presence in Your Tomb
Because he himself suffered when he was tempter, he is able to help those who are
being tempted. (Hebrews 2:18)

The Tomb is that space between Death and Resurrection
  • Jesus understands you at your worst.
  • God is up to something,

                           In the Tomb of Christ…
                 God is NOWHERE → God is NOW HERE.

Easter Love is God Declaring Your Destiny
If we have been united with him in his death, we will certainly also be united with
him in his resurrection. (Romans 6:5)

God’s love gives us His voucher, stamped and impressed into History,
that those who trust in the full payment of Jesus Christ will also experience
resurrection from the dead to live eternally with Him.

   • Simon Greenleaf – Simon Greenleaf University School of Law
   • Frank Morrison – Who Moved the Stone?
   • Josh McDowell – Evidence that Demands a Verdict

             The devil, darkness, and death may swagger and boast,
                  the pangs of life will sting for a while longer,
            but don’t worry; the forces of evil are breathing their last.
                Not to worry … He’s risen! – Charles R. Swindoll

Easter Love

                                     Opening
He is Risen! He is Risen indeed!

Story:

                                    Transition
• Handouts

It’s during Easter weekend that we see ALL that God has done for us!
Praise, Passion, Power
Person of the Messiah, Suffering of the Messiah,

On Thursday Jesus washes his disciples feet and has a last supper to
commemorate the Passover
On Good Friday Jesus became the sacrificial lamb
Saturday is the Sabbath. A day of rest.
But on Sunday…Jesus rose from the dead!

God did everything to show us his Love!

                                       Body

Easter Love is God’s Invitation to Unity
John 13 Jesus set himself up as a servant to wash his disciples feet.
Why? To show them “the full extent of His love.”

Communion

Easter Love is God Paying Your Penalty
Don’t miss out on God’s Promise of Forgiveness!
Courtroom (1 Peter 3:18)
The love of God is manifested in action of paying the price!

The Question: you may have is, do I have to believe just like you is going to
heaven, (or conversely, going to hell?)

Maybe you’re watching and asking, What is Christianity about?
Do I believe? Do I not believer? To answer that we need to answer questions that
are even more basic… a question that is not about a belief system, but two very
basic questions all humans ask.

1, Do you think that those who do moral wrongs ought to be punished?
If you say, “Yes,” as most people will say, I would agree with you.

2. Have you done any moral wrongs?
Again, you’ll probably say, Yes. So have I.

So here we are…
We both agree that those who do wrong things or to be punished.
And we both agree that we have done wrong things.
We both agree that we deserve judgement and consequences.

So now you and I are standing before the judge, and the judge is about to lower his
gavel. And pronounce judgment and a sentence.
You and I are standing there. We both know we are guilty. We both know we
deserve The consequences he’s about to pronounce…

The judge takes a breath, and hesitates, and pauses.
    Then he looks at us a s says, “By the way… Are either of you guys interested
in a pardon?

Of course!

The Judge then takes off his robe, steps down off the bench, pays the penalty for
our moral wrongs.
Bible – Christ died for sis once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous to bring
you to God.

The reason Jesus is the only way is that no one else has solved the problem of our
moral guilt and the judgement that deep down we know we deserve.

Satisfaction of moral law through a payment and pardon from that punishment is
found ONLY in the message of Easter.

Easter Love In God paying your Penalty is not just another spiritual theory or
philosophical gymnastics to make us feel better about our guilt without providing
any real consolation before a righteous and holy God.

Easter Love is God’s Presence in Your Tomb
But God demonstrated his own love for us in that while we were still sinners,
Christ died for us. (Romans 5:8)

The Tomb is something we often overlook. But before rushing to resurrection and
new life, we should dwell in the Tomb for a bit.

The Tomb is that space between Death and Resurrection

In death is the sense of lifelessness, nothingness – no pictures on the wall, no
ornaments, no decorative vase or flowers.

Garden Tomb – small room cut in the side of a hill. Nothing in it.
Joseph’s private tomb, not expecting a burial.
Not Pharoah’s tomb. Not Chinese emperor’s tomb
looks like it’s the end. Nothing is happening. No more chances.
The disciples’ hopes for a bright future for Israel was shattered.
This is what it looks like when your life collapses.
   • Your life’s work is destroyed.
   • Relationships have died.
   • Lost your job or business.
   • Mental strain and “all alone.”
   • This world seems hopeless
   • You sit down and say … “It’s over.”
   • Worst of all, People don’t understand your distress and pain.
Life has no more meaning or purpose, something to wake up for in the morning.
Why is the Tomb important?
Because in the Tomb Jesus is there.
BUT - The Tomb tells us that
   • Jesus understands you at your worst. Hebrews 2:18

Because he himself suffered when he was tempted, he is able to help those
        who are being tempted.
AND - The Tomb tells us that
    • God is up to something, like a butterfly in chrysalis form.
    • Kerwin Lum – When you’re down to nothing God is up to something.
It looks like nothing is happening, but God is preparing something!
It’s significant that the Tomb happened on the Sabbath.
The Sabbath is a day when God told the Jews to do no regular work.
No outward signs of activity, productivity, going for goals, success.
But even during the Sabbath day when all our work ceases,
        God is preparing things behind the scenes.
In your place of emptiness, when you say, “Where is God? God is NOWHERE.”
The Tomb provides a space that tells you that God is NOW HERE.
The Tomb tells us that is, just as God was silently working in Jesus in that space
between Death and Resurrection, He is working in YOU!

Easter Love is God Declaring Your Destiny
If we have been united with him in his death, we will certainly also be united with
him in his resurrection. (Romans 6:5)

Validation of Everything God promises!!!
The Resurrection makes sense of everything Jesus promised. They can now see
what Jesus was saying.
      Christ’s resurrection was the final piece of His work to complete.

The Resurrection of Christ is Proof positive that the Judge paid the penalty.
Proof positive that there is real forgiveness, and a big price was paid for it.
We see the receipt, the substantiation, the paper trail that proves the payment is
valid, not just empty promises by some smooth-talking salesman.

God’s love gives us His voucher, stamped and impressed in History, that those
who trust in the completed payment of Jesus Christ will also experience
resurrection from the dead to live eternally with Him.
On Easter Sunday God declares your eternal destiny.

The validation of Jesus’ resurrection is so powerful that it has continued to
convince people today!

By examining factors found in an enormous quantity of historical records such as
of eye-witness accounts, police records, Jewish historians, and hostile witnesses,
and the changed lives of the disciples…

   • Simon Greenleaf – spoke against the resurrection. One of his students
     asked if he had investigated the evidence surrounding the resurrection. He
     said no. It’s easy to say “no” to the resurrection if you haven’t investigated
     the evidence. When Greenleaf examined the evidence in accordance with
     the strictest legal standards, he ended up convinced that Jesus Christ was
     indeed raised from the dead and gave his life to Christ.
   • Frank Morrison – Who Moved the Stone
   • Josh McDowell – Evidence that Demands a Verdict

God’s purpose is not just to show you and me that God’s promises are true, but to
lead you to trust in Him.
Resurrection even is not a mere fact.
It is HOPE – we were buried with Him, we will be raised and united with Him!
When you trust in Him, He will not fail you.

 The devil, darkness, and death may swagger and boast, the pangs of life will sting
for a while longer, but don’t worry; the forces of evil are breathing their last. Not
to worry…He’s risen!
– Charles R. Swindoll

If you have not yet believed in Jesus, don't miss out on God’s Eternal Love and
Presence. Trust in Jesus today.
There is nothing in this world more significant to give your life to, no cause in this
life more meaningful and significant.
No other purpose is more eternal.
Every other cause, no matter how good, will fade – 100, 1000, million years from
now.
Living for Jesus is literally “Out of this world!”
Don’t miss out on making your life truly count!

                                    Conclusion

There is just one thing remaining…
When the Judge asks if any of us are interested in a pardon …

what will we say to Him?
Fall on your knees at the feet of the judge in gratefulness and say, “Yes!
Yes! I want the pardon that Jesus offers by paying for my moral guilt.”

Christ-followers are those who fall at Jesus’ feet in gratefulness, and say, Yes!

How about you?

(Prayer)