The Greatness and Awesome Glory of Jesus

Introduction
Trish and I like to sleep with our bedroom window open. The frogs have been belting it out.  They say that cats have nine lives but frogs croak every night. 
There was a great loss in the entertainment world. The man who wrote the song, Hokey Pokey died. What was really horrible is that they had trouble keeping the body in the casket. 
They’d put his left leg in and…well you get the picture.
Joseph of Arimathea was a very wealthy Pharisee, a member of the council, and a secret follower of Jesus. It was Joseph who went to Pilate and asked for Jesus’ body after the crucifixion. And it was Joseph who supplied the tomb for Jesus’ burial.

Well, it seems that someone pulled him aside and said, "Joseph, that was such beautiful, costly, hand-hewn tomb. Why on earth did you give it to someone else to be buried in?"

Joseph just smiled. "Why not? He only needed it for the weekend."
 “God raised him from the dead, freeing him from the agony of death, because it was impossible for death to keep its hold on him.” Acts 2:24
CHRIST HAS RISEN!
HE HAS RISEN INDEED!
This sermon is the first is a series entitled: “The Great and Awesome Glory of Jesus.”

Because of the greatness and awesome glory of Jesus He rose from the dead He forced open a door that had never been opened before since the first man died. 

As C.S. Lewis writes in his book Miracles “What the apostles thought they had seen was,…the first movement of a great wheel beginning to turn in the direction opposite to that which all men hitherto had observed.” 

We could study and dissect if you wish the resurrection event itself but the event itself was not what those first men and women celebrated. They did not glory in these exact details. In fact the event only served to mark the beginning of a new era, a new Kingdom.

Do we not yet dare to believe that in the year 2007, in Abbotsford B.C. on your street, in your family revolutionary life-change is possible for those we love and the neighbors beside us that are yet caught in self-destructive and stubborn cycles of sin?

Is there not power in the name of Jesus today?

Listen to Colossians 1:16-20 “For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him. 17He is before all things, and in him all things hold together. 18And he is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy. 19For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, 20and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross.”

Paul says in Philippians 3:10 “I want to know Christ and the power of the resurrection.”

The resurrection of Jesus from the dead was the initial surge of power opening up the way for resurrection power and life to reside in the hearts of all who believe in Jesus Christ.

This is why Paul prays what he prays for the Ephesian church in Ephesians 1:18-20 and this is my prayer for us. Ephesians 1:18-20: “I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, 19and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is like the working of his mighty strength, 20which he exerted in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms,”

I do not bring you this morning to an historical event. This may be traditional on Easter morning but it is not life-transforming. 

I would like you to meet Jesus raised from the dead. I bring you to the person of Jesus Christ.
You see sometime we can be like Martha in John 11. Her brother Lazarus had died and she said to Jesus in verse 21 “Lord, if only you had been here, my brother would not have died. But I know that even now God will give you whatever you ask."23Jesus said to her, "Your brother will rise again." 
Now catch this: 24Martha answered, "I know he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day."  She was thinking of the resurrection as an event. In the last day the power of God will be active and at work. 25Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; 26and whoever lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?"
Philippians 3:7-9 “But whatever was to my profit I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. 8What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ 9and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ—the righteousness that comes from God and is by faith.” 

Any of you older people, more than forty-five years old, can probably remember where they were when they first heard of President Kennedy’s assassination in 1963.
British novelist David Lodge, in the introduction to one of his books, tells where he was--in a theater watching the performance of a satirical revue he had helped write. In one sketch, a character demonstrated his nonchalance in an interview by holding a transistor radio to his ear. The actor playing the part always tuned in to a real broadcast. Suddenly came the announcement that President Kennedy had been shot. The actor quickly switched it off, but it was too late. Reality had interrupted stage comedy.

Humans prefer to be deceived and lied to rather than told the truth. T.S. Elliot said it best, “humans cannot bear too much reality.” When it comes to reality we must make sure we get it right at Easter because our whole future is at stake.

Often we do not want reality to interrupt our lives.

How do we treat a deceased love one?

We talk about them. We think often about them. We read what they have written and cling to pictures and memories we have of them.

We do not expect them to speak to us, to comfort us, to take personal interest in us. We do not expect to experience the warmth of their presence, the strength of their intellect, the benefits of their inherent gifts, abilities, and strengths.

Do we treat Jesus this way? We talk about Him, think about Him, read about Him but do we expect to experience Him today?

According to Philippians 3 what does faith in Jesus Christ, who is alive, look like?

It is considering everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus our Lord.

You would think, with the amount of time, energy, and effort we put into knowing Jesus, that we do not, in all reality, knowing Jesus is possible.

And efforts made to know Him are a loss compared to investment in earthly things around us that we can see, taste, and touch.

But as someone has said: “Truth is tough. It will not break, like a bubble, at a touch. Nay, you may kick it about all day, and it will be round and full at evening.”

The truth, the reality: Jesus Christ is alive!

Luke 24:36-44, “While they were still talking about this, Jesus himself stood among them and said to them, "Peace be with you." They were startled and frightened, thinking they saw a ghost. 38He said to them, "Why are you troubled, and why do doubts rise in your minds? 39Look at my hands and my feet. It is I myself! Touch me and see; a ghost does not have flesh and bones, as you see I have." When he had said this, he showed them his hands and feet. 41And while they still did not believe it because of joy and amazement, he asked them, "Do you have anything here to eat?" 42They gave him a piece of broiled fish, 43and he took it and ate it in their presence. He said to them, "This is what I told you while I was still with you: Everything must be fulfilled that is written about me in the Law of Moses, the Prophets and the Psalms."

Conclusion

Jesus is the Shepherd and Overseer of our souls. Jesus is our Advocate. Jesus is our Judge. Jesus is the True Vine.  Jesus is the Living Water  Jesus is the Prince of Peace, Wonderful Counselor, Everlasting Father 

Lets say that you decide to go and see the president of the U.S. You come to the White House and are met by the first of many secretaries. You assure the secretary that yes, yes you know the president. The secretary will not let you in.

But if the president comes out of his office and says to the secretary, I know him or I know her. You will get in to see him. 
John 14:23 " Jesus replied, "If anyone loves me, he will obey my teaching. My Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him.”
We must embrace again all that it entails to have a relationship with Jesus our Savior and Lord. We place Him as the center of our lives. We obey Him. We follow Him. We enter into His will for our lives.

When we come to stand before our Father and Jesus Christ we will be ushered into their presence because they know us.

Have you embraced the person of Jesus Christ, the resurrection and the life?

The resurrection of Jesus that we celebrate on Easter is not merely an event to take hold of and agree on intellectually it is rather much more in the realm of experience as we embrace our risen Savior and Lord and come to know the greatness and awesome glory of Jesus.