Easter Sunrise – April 20, 2014 – Pastor Free Theme: The Christian’s Greatest Treasure 1. The Victory He Won 2. The Gates He Opened Ps. 118:15-24 Shouts of joy and victory resound in the tents of the righteous: The LORDs right hand has done mighty things! The LORDs right hand is lifted high; the LORDs right hand has done mighty things! I will not die but live, and will proclaim what the LORD has done. The LORD has chastened me severely, but he has not given me over to death. Open for me the gates of righteousness; I will enter and give thanks to the LORD. This is the gate of the LORD through which the righteous may enter. I will give you thanks, for you answered me; you have become my salvation. The stone the builders rejected has become the capstone; the LORD has done this, and it is marvelous in our eyes. This is the day the LORD has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it. One man’s junk is another man’s treasure. Watch a husband and wife clean. What the husband wants to toss the wife wants to keep, What the wife sees as junk the husband sees as valuable. That’s the way it is with Jesus. To the Jewish leaders, Jesus was expendable. He was an irritant and a threat to the Jewish nation. Even the high priest said it would be better for one man to die for the nation. So through a sham trial and pressure on Pilate they were able to execute Him. But to us Jesus is the greatest treasure. The psalmist captures the thought of junk and treasure about Jesus when he wrote, “The stone the builders rejected has become the capstone.” The capstone is either the stone that supports an arch up or it’s the cornerstone which lines up the entire building. Jesus quoted this passage about Himself. The Jewish leaders rejected Him, tossed him aside as a useless damaged stone or brick. But He’s the most valuable, the capstone. He’s our greatest treasure. Two reasons; He won the victory and He opened the gates. Jesus is our greatest treasure because He won the victory, “The Lord’s right hand has done mighty things. The Lord right hand is lifted high. The Lord’s right hand has done mighty things.” The Lord’s right hand is lifted high which means what - victory. Picture that high school wrestler, involved in an exciting match. He gets an elbow to the nose, blood spurts out. Cotton is shoved up the nostril so the match can continue. He catches a knee in the lip and it swells. But he wins. After the match the referee lifts his hands in victory. He looks like he lost, but he won. That’s Jesus. His right hand has done might things. The right hand is a picture of power. It reminds us of the power Jesus used to win the victory for us. Jesus was involved in an epic battle. He fought the devil for one prize, our soul, our eternal future. As Jesus engaged the devil in that battle, he was bloodied. The flogging ripped His back to shreds. The beating messed Him up bad. The crown of thorns sent blood running down His face. The nails did the same to His hands and feet. Jesus died. He looked like the loser. But Jesus knew what the ultimate result would be. Through the Psalmist He said, “I will not die, but live, and will proclaim what the Lord has done. The Lord has chastened me severely but He has not given me over to death.” Yes, Jesus died. The point Jesus is making that He was pierced for our sins. He offered His life as a ransom for our sins. He died to pay for our sins. But God didn’t give him over to death for good. He rose from the dead. His resurrection means that Jesus won. He may have looked like the loser but Jesus won. God the Father lifts His hand in victory. Jesus won. Sin could not pin him in death. Death could not contain Him. And remember Jesus was fighting that battle for us. Jesus was fighting to free us from sins curse of eternal hell. He was fighting to free us from death so that it would not hold us forever. He was fighting for us. When that battle ended Jesus called out it is finished. And many thought for Him it was finished. It was finished as they lay him in the tomb and rolled the rock in front to seal him in. He was finished But what happened three days later. Jesus rose from the dead. God holds up Jesus’ right hand in victory. Jesus won the battle, He erased our sins that separate us eternally from God in hell. He set us free from death that would have kept us from rising to live to live with Jesus in heaven. Jesus victory is really our victory. He was fighting for us. And thanks to be God because He gives us the victory over all our spiritual enemies through Jesus Christ our Lord. Don’t discard Jesus after this week. Don’t leave here and say cool, Jesus won a wonderful victory. Don’t toss Jesus away until Christmas. He is our greatest treasure. He won the greatest victory for you, It was for you, not for Him. It was so you could be free of sins curse, so you could rise from the dead, so that you could live in heaven. Jesus is our greatest treasure. Let Him know that. Let the world know that you as you worship Him who won this stunning victory for you. Jesus is our greatest treasure. He won the victory for us. He’s also our greatest treasure because of the gates that He’s opened for us, “Open for me the gates of righteousness; I will enter and give thanks to the Lord. This is the gate of the Lord through which the righteous may enter.” Did you ever see one of those VIP rooms in a swank restaurant or a Platinum Card holders room at the airport. You maybe get a glimpse in when they open the door for someone. You wonder what it must be like in there, the people, the food, how fancy the room must be. That’s what Jesus has prepared for the righteous, a very special and eternal home. It’s only for the righteous,. And you know what that is right – that’s you and me, that’s anyone who believes in Jesus as their Savior. On our own, we’re not even close to being righteous, Righteous means right with God, acceptable to God, perfect. Our sins, the sinful nature with which we’re born and the sin that oozes out of our heart each day makes us unfit to be a part of God’s family. It keeps us out of that special eternal home. In fact our sins send us to another special eternal home, hell. But when we come to faith in Jesus, we become righteous. Jesus’ perfect obedience to all God’s laws are credited to us. The elimination of sins, forgiveness, is given, given free of charge to those who believe in Jesus. As a result of our faith in Jesus you and I have become righteous, absolutely perfect in God’s sight. And what did Jesus do for the righteous – by eliminating sin, by walking out of death He opened the door to the best VIP room there could ever be, heaven. Think about it – VIP rooms are open only to a select few. Only a select few can enter heaven, the righteous, those who believe in Jesus. Jesus stands at the door and won’t allow anyone else to enter. That means the devil can’t enter so we’ll never be tempted to sin. That means disease can’t enter to mar our eternal existence. That means death can’t enter to end our stay in heaven. Our existence once we enter the gates of righteousness will be forever and it will be perfect. Think about it – VIP rooms that are fancy. What about the glory of heaven once you pass through the gates. We can’t begin to fathom what it’s going to be like in heaven. John helps us get an idea of how luxurious it will be, ”The wall of the city was made of jasper, the city of pure gold, the foundations were decorated with every kind of precious stone. The twelve gates were twelve pearls, each gate made of a single pearl. The street of the city was of pure gold, like transparent glass.” The beauty that awaits us behind those gates for righteousness is indescribable. Think about it – in VIP rooms are the crème’ de le crème’ of society. In heaven you know who’s going to be there. As Job said, “In the end I will see Him with my own eyes – I, and not another. How my heart yearns within me.” Who’s going to welcome us, who’s going to visit with us, who’s going to be with us in heaven – Jesus, the ruler of the heavens and the earth, my Savior. And the Jewish leaders tossed Jesus aside as worthless, an irritant. See Him as He is. Love Him for what He is. Jesus is our greatest treasure. Treat Him as such. Hold on to Him every day of your life. Worship Him every chance you get. Then the victory He won will be ours. And when we die, we’ll do just as he did. We’ll pass through death and enter the gates of righteousness. We’ll go to heaven where we will live in glory forever.
Posted on: Wed, 23 Apr 2014 17:56:18 +0000
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