MESSAGE BY WARD PIMLEY
Jesus said to him, “Thomas, because you have seen Me, you have believed. Blessed [are] those who have not seen and [yet] have believed.” And truly Jesus did many other signs in the presence of His disciples, which are not written in this book; but these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His name. – John 20:29-31 (NKJV)
HAPPY EASTER! OUR CHRIST IS RISEN! HE IS RISEN, INDEED!
IN THE EARLY MORNING HOURS TODAY, throughout the Christian world, Catholics, Protestants, and Evangelicals raised their voices in song and praise, proclaiming the resurrected life of their Savior, Jesus Christ, the Lord, who was and is the long-awaited Jewish Messiah.
While those of us who know the Lord praise His name and revel in the sheer joy that He exists and rose from the grave, sadly, most people in the world do not know Him.
Yes, many have heard of Him, but they don’t know Him. Sadly also, many have not heard of Him or have heard a false message about Him. As well, many have heard a false message about who we are – His followers.
The Jews do not believe He was the Messiah because He did not fulfill the Old Testament prophecies that spoke of His Second Advent. His coming this time was His First Advent, and they missed the message.
The Muslims do not believe He was the risen Christ because they do not accept our God. Mormons believe He was human. Jehovah’s Witnesses and Seventh Day Adventists all skirt around the Scripture, preaching a slightly different text that magnifies doctrinal errors.
Pagans abound around the world. Some of them follow Buddha or Confucius, some worship nature, some worship wealth and property, some worship political or economic power, some worship their accomplishments and possessions, and some worship themselves.
Today marks the Second Most Important Day in the Christian calendar, greater even than Christmas and second only to Pentecost, which marks the sending of the Holy Spirit, yet most of those who observe today as something special …
- gathered Easter eggs,
- opened packages of chocolate bunnies,
- slept in late, or
- played golf.
What most of them missed was church.
SADLY STILL, many, if not most, of those who trouped off to Easter church services today will not return to church until late December, when they’ll dutifully repeat the process, family in tow, for candlelight services and Christmas carols.
In both cases, tomorrow will be just another day in their 70- to 80-year romp through life, a largely meaningless journey without goal or purpose. The day after Easter is as barren for them as is the day after Christmas. The lights are put away; the gift wrappings are tossed; the sweaters are returned for designer jeans.
Fortunately for them and for the world, not everyone acts that way.
Recently, a friend said that without Jesus Christ in her life, her life was meaningless. I feel the same way. If we just exist, we both asked, what’s the point of it?
Are we nothing more than a chance coupling of random acts morphing and evolving over billions of years until we pop out of our mother’s wombs with these amazing bodies and minds – as just the result of a multitude of fortuitous transformations – without any design or purpose?
And if we do have a purpose, if, indeed, there is Intelligent Design behind all of this, then Who Is It and What Could That Mean for Our Lives?
The Bible – God’s Holy Word – tells us that God created the magnificence of nature and the universe to demonstrate His glory, [In the beginning, GOD], that we can’t help but marvel at even the sliver of understanding we have of the world we inhabit. … and that’s before we engage with the nano-world of items unseen and unknown without the latest most sophisticated magnifiers.
BUT JOY UPON JOY, all is not lost. God exists, He sent His Son to redeem us, His Son defeated death and Satan’s rebellion on this morning more than two millennia ago, and we are here this day to praise His name and give Him thanks.
Amen!!
The Rev. Franklin Graham said in his most recent Easter Message:
“Christ came for a purpose , and that was to save us from our sins. Jesus Christ came on a rescue mission to take our sins and to shed His blood, to die on the cross. He was buried for our sins. And on the third day, God raised His Son to life. And if you’re willing to accept this truth and surrender your life to the Lord, He will change you, cleanse you, forgive you, and give you a new beginning.”
Surely, we can appreciate the great sacrifice our Lord made to redeem us, to reclaim fellowship with His image creation, His imago dei. We can appreciate it far more readily than we can understand it.
There is so much about the Godly message of life and sin and redemption and forgiveness and salvation and sanctification and eternal life in Paradise — Heaven — that we cannot understand … yet God says we don’t have to understand it, we just need to trust Him, to believe in Him, and to let Him carry us along to glory with Him.
That’s what the Easter Message means, that God is victorious. That Satan was defeated, that life beats death, and that resurrection beats the cross.
SO, WHERE ARE YOU on this Easter Sunday, this glorious day of spring and new beginnings? Not where are you in your bodies – we’re all here in physical space, going through our daily paces. But where are you in your spiritual journey, in your walk with the living God?
Are you a drifter, occasionally dropping by to check the box that says you were in church, or are you a true believer, one who deeply and personally knows and loves the Lord Jesus Christ for who He is – the one who sacrificed all to save us from the peril we deserve and to ensure that we receive the gift of life none of us deserves – an eternity with God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit – three Persons, one God.
If you have never taken the time or had the opportunity to confess your sins to Almighty God, who is waiting patiently for your confession and is eager to forgive, this is the time to change that. If you have made that confession, then this is the time to renew your commitment to the living Lord.
God told us in 2 Chronicles 7:14 NKJV, “If My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land.”
Pray with me, would you, as we invoke the name of Jesus to cover our sins and redeem our souls:
Almighty God, maker of Heaven and Earth, I confess that I’m a sinner in need of salvation and your saving grace. I believe that Jesus Christ died on the cross for my sin, that He was resurrected from the grave, the first fruits of those who will join Him in Paradise, and that He loves me enough to forgive me, to pardon my sins, and to restore my fellowship with Him, both in this life as well as the life to come. O Lord, please accept my soul. Save even me. We ask this humbly in His precious name. AMEN
If you prayed that prayer for the first time and meant every word of it, then welcome into God’s Kingdom! If you prayed it before and simply recommitted your life to the Lord, then let’s resolve to be Jesus to those we meet along the way. Let’s let the eternal light shine through our actions and our words for His glory, and may we be counted among those who are ambassadors for Christ, even in our daily lives.
Today marks Easter Sunday 2024. Christ is Risen, and that glorious event changes everything – our lives were given meaning. For that, we worship Him, and we praise Him every day.
Christ is Risen! He is risen, indeed!
AMEN and AMEN
PRAYER AND BENEDICTION
WE THANK YOU, LORD, for Easter Sunday, the Resurrection of the Savior, and our redemption from sin.
Now, may …
The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit [be] with you all. [2 Corinthians 13:14 (NKJV)]
AMEN
Ward's Words | BY WARD PIMLEY 