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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