Sheep in pasture

Sheep in pasture
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Saturday, April 26, 2014

“Hello My Name Is Yahweh Tsidqenu”

April 20, 2014
Stetson Memorial United Methodist Church
Sermon Series on “The Names of God”
Sermon 15 of series-
“The Sacred Names of God: Yahweh Tsidqenu”
Jeremiah 23:5-6 Gods Word Translation
Matthew 28:1-10 English Standard Version
Spangler, Ann (2008-09-09). Praying the Names of God: A Daily Guide



A reading from the Gospel of Matthew, chapter 28, verses 1-10. Listen to and for the Good News from God…
Let us pray…(Pray thanking God for Easter Sunday, for Illumination, the Spirit to work within us, the boldness to follow where the Spirit leads)

How many of you have ever had such good news that you just couldn’t contain it? I know I have. It seems as if I would explode if I didn’t share the news with someone…be it something about myself or someone else…I just can’t help but spread the news! How about if you had a great idea that would solve so many issues? It might be an easier way to do something or an idea that would help humanity…the possibilities are endless. There is no telling when we might have good news for some one. The only boundary that it may have is our own imagination. We might right now have some good news that needs to be shared. What’s stopping you?

          We have come to the end of our Lenten journey. We have visited the Upper Room and shared a meal and were given a new command from Christ…the command to love others not as we love ourselves but as Jesus loved and still loves us. We even sat at the foot of the cross and stood with those who stood by when Christ was put to death for all of humanity’s sake. But here…today…we celebrate Christ’s victory over death and joyfully…with enthusiasm…with all of our heart… can say “CHRIST IS RISEN”…YES HE IS RISEN INDEED! We can exclaim this because of what God has done…not what we have done.

Another name for God is Yahweh Tsidqenu (yah-WEH tsid-KAY-nu)…The Lord is our Righteousness. We are not righteous on our own but it is the Lord. And because of His great love for us…the work that was done on the Cross…we are made righteous! Because Christ Has Risen…HE has Risen INDEED! Righteousness isn’t a popular word in our culture. Yet righteousness is essential to our happiness because it involves being in right relationship or right standing with God. To be righteous is to conform to God’s character, fulfilling our responsibilities toward him and others. But even though this righteousness is vital, it’s impossible to achieve, no matter how much we long for it. It comes only as God’s gift through faith in his Son. In the Jeremiah from this morning, the prophet Jeremiah predicted the coming of a King who would be called the LORD Our Righteousness (yah-WEH tsid-KAY-nu). Jesus fulfilled this prophecy by restoring our relationship with God through his life, death, and resurrection.

          But is that the end of the story? Are we to just say our thank you’s and good bye’s to the Cross of Calvary? Or, is there something more? My answer is NO! This is not the end but only the beginning of the story, the beginning of the new life…the beginning of a new age. Christ went to the cross not just to save you and me but to save all of humanity and there is so many who need the hope and forgiveness of the cross I just can’t imagine Jesus wanting us to keep it for ourselves. God wants all of humanity to be saved and we are here to share the good news so that it is. That’s part of mine and your mission here…part of the purpose of why we were created…to love, to share, to be Christ for the world. You see I know this to be true…that God wants all of humanity to hear the message. When Jesus died on that Friday so long ago He didn’t just lay there with nothing to do until Sunday morning…Resurrection Day. On Holy Saturday He descended into Sheol and ministered to those who had died before His amazing love on Good Friday. God wanted even those who were already dead to have the chance for the redeeming grace found in Christ Jesus…

          There are so many in the world who feel that they have nothing but death ahead of them in life…they don’t know that there is victory over death in Christ and this victory is and will be ours through and by faith. We will all face death at some point in time…we will all experience the death of a loved one at some point on our journey of life and faith…we may even experience death to old things in our lives…death to things that just don’t “work for us anymore.” But, death is not the end…it is a beginning of another chapter in our lives that’s called eternity…death can make new things spring forth in our lives and the lives of others…

          You see…the old way of dealing with sin with animal sacrifices had to die in order for God to bring about a new life for His people. It wasn’t really working anyway. In order to spring forth with a new life that would make His people glad and rejoice in His salvation the sheet spread over the nations…over the people of God…needed to be removed. Death needed to be swallowed up forever…now we are not talking about the physical death but the death to the spirit that was present because of sin. Death, O death, where is thy sting?

          This promise was accomplished through the death and RESURRECTION of Christ that we heard about in the Gospel of Matthew I just read. Victory over sin and death…victory in Jesus! Even though Jesus had told the disciples He would be back…He would rise again after His death, they still didn’t understand until it was accomplished on the first Easter Sunday morn. Death, O death, where is thy sting?
          OK Pastor Ruth…how do you know these things are true? How can we know that Easter is true? Well let’s play some CSI and look at the facts of this case… (Who are you, who, who, who, who…Who are you, who, who, who, who…I really want to know…who are you, who, who, who, who?) Give us the facts…only the facts Pastor…

a.     Circumstantial evidence…empty tomb® The stone was rolled away. Now this was not just your every day typical stone but one that probably took a few men to put in place. They wanted to make sure that none of Jesus’ followers came and took the body and then claim that Jesus had risen from the dead like He said He would. When the women got to the tomb it was empty. The burial cloth that Jesus was wrapped in was sitting there with no body underneath. They looked and did not find Jesus there.
b.     Witness of God’s messenger (angel)…the witness of the Word®Angels were messengers from God. Some had good news like what was told to Mary the mother of Jesus and Joseph His father. And some were not such good news like the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah. Angels were frightening to us humans being all shiny…glowing with the Glory of God…so I don’t blame the solders being frightened. But the messenger of the Lord said Jesus had risen from the death and if that is God’s message then…
c.      Experience of the living Christ…he is to be seen in Galilee®the women saw Jesus. The angel told the women that they would see Jesus in Galilee…but even better than that. They saw Jesus on their way back to tell the disciples what the angel had told them. The best news ever was when Jesus was actually seen…in public none the less…by others. These “sightings”… did nothing but only confirm Jesus’ victory over sin and death. They say that seeing is believing and did they ever see. Death, O death, where is thy sting?

          Today, Easter Sunday, is not the end of the story. Without the Resurrection there is no hope for life beyond the grave, no assurance that God is on control, no guarantee that love is greater than hatred. We have the best news ever to share. There are those out there who haven’t heard the good news and it is our commission to share this news with all who will hear. Are there people in your lives or mine that need a little bit of good news? Are there those around us that are suffering with the penalty of sin that need to be freed from their oppressor? Are there people in our lives that are frozen in fear because of their uncertainty of their future of the future of their loved ones? Share the good news…shout it from the roof tops…give others a hope for the future. CHRIST IS RISEN! HE IS RISEN INDEED! Christ has conquered death for you and for me…for all of humanity! Yahweh Tsidqenu is the Lord of righteousness and it is through Him we receive the crown of glory…it is through Him that we are made clean…it is through Him that we are worthy…it is through the love that was shown on a dark Friday long ago that we are able to shout loud Alleluia’s. Alleluia He is Risen! He is Risen indeed!
Let us pray…
Father, We admit that we have sinned and fallen far short of your glory—of your purity, your justice, your integrity, your mercy, and your love. We have no right to stand in your presence, except by the grace of your Son through his offering of love on the cross. Thank you, God, for drawing us back when we were so far away. Help us to hunger and thirst for righteousness on this earth— that all men and women might return to you and give you glory through the love and power and mercy of your Son, Jesus Christ…


Amen

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