(Sermon by Pastor Michael D. Schultz 04/15/07)

INTRODUCTION:

Whenever we summarize the life of Jesus, we run the risk of unintentionally inserting gaps that don’t actually exist.  Whether it’s in the summary of the creed or the account of the gospels, it’s pretty standard to speak about how Christ was born, lived, died, rose, and returned to heaven.  Oftentimes the next statement turns out to be, “…and one day he will return to take his people home.”  But that leaves a large gap.  What about now?  Is Jesus coasting in neutral till the trumpet sounds and he appears?  Of course not…

…But you can get that false impression as you think about the book of Acts.  Jesus has returned to heaven, now here’s the story of how things went after that.  Instead of thinking only that Acts is the account of the early Christian Church, it would be more accurate to regard the events of Luke’s second book as more of what was in his first.  What happened here in the lives of the apostles and in the church was what the living Jesus was doing in his world.  What’s happening in our lives this week and in our church is what Jesus is doing in his world.  There’s never been any kind of gap.

What’s Jesus Up To Now?

After his ascension and before his final return?  He is on the job.  He is at work.  He is making things happen in Georgia in the very  same way that he was making things happen in Jerusalem. 

Let me tell you about one of the toughest things there is in preaching.  It’s not sermon writing.  It’s not memorizing.  It’s not getting better at delivery.  It’s assigning guilt – mine to me and yours to you – every week.  Preachers find no thrill in doing it and people take no joy from hearing it.  The Jewish leaders in Jerusalem were mad about it.  Charged with murdering Jesus, they railed at the apostles: “You are determined to make us guilty of this man’s blood.”  Every time a message goes out from the pulpit, the judge of all mankind is at his bench and he’s asking, “How do you plead?”  Every hand is supposed to be raised in shame and every person without excuse is supposed to enter the plea, “Guilty as charged.”  Couldn’t we try something else for a change?

No, we can’t... We’re guilty as charged and guilty as sin, and there’s nothing good about it.  By our corruption and with our insubordination, we crucified Christ.  It’s tough to say and it’s tough to swallow.  So what does it say that God reversed that and raised Christ to life?  We were wrong, wickedly wrong, but God is good, astoundingly good.  He let our wickedness serve his purposes of destroying Christ as our substitute and ridding the earth of our guilt.  The assigning of guilt is no fun, but Jesus being alive is God’s way of saying, “The removal of guilt is all done.”

God lays that out before us – our guilt, Jesus’ sacrifice for it, and Jesus’ subsequent return to life – to give us what are (next to Jesus himself) his very best gifts: a changed mind and a cancelled debt.  “My sin is no small thing.  With my sin I ditched and disowned and did away with Jesus, but God brought him back.  I would have gone to hell to pay for my sin forever and never come back, but instead of sending me away, God sent my sin away and it’s never coming back.”  Jesus’ heart beating again and his lungs breathing again and his voice speaking again all deliver one tremendous gift: your sin and guilt jettisoned out to Jupiter.

What’s Jesus up to now?  He is activating Christian preaching.  By being alive he makes the message work.  Every time you have to raise your hand for guilty as charged, the living Jesus puts it back down and says, “Not any more.  I’m alive again and you’re forgiven.”  Every time you have to squirm in your chair because what you’re hearing is convicting, the living Jesus says, “Relax and rest easy.  I’m alive again and you’re in the clear.”  Every time guilt is assigned and you hate yourself for it because you realize what your sinful behavior has been saying to God, the living Jesus says, “Stop hating yourself.  I’m alive again and my Father will never stop loving the people he has pardoned.”

Listen to what those apostles were preaching after God busted them out of prison.  Listen to what the living Jesus tells you about this life you now have.  The Holy Spirit lives inside you and he’s telling you that it’s true.  You have it good.  Exhausted?  Frustrated?  Confused?  Maybe.  But forgiven?  Loved?  Embraced by Christ?  Absolutely!  Don’t walk away without believing that.

Go through the doors and greet what awaits you with the confidence that’s expressed in the closing of so many of our worship service prayers, that Jesus is our Savior, who lives and reigns with the Father and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.  What’s Jesus up to now?  Alive and in charge, he is advancing Christian preaching, advancing it through you.

What do you see when you go out those doors?  Any intimidating obstacles that might prevent you from being Jesus’ mouthpiece?  Jesus sends an angel from heaven to unlock prison doors and get his apostles back out on the street and back in the temple teaching.  There’s not a lock in the world that can stop Jesus from getting the word out.  He’s advancing Christian preaching and he’ll do it through you.

“But in certain settings you can actually get in trouble for talking about Christ, can’t you!"  Jesus gives boldness and courage that leave his people saying, “We must obey God rather than men.”  There’s not a gag order in the world that can stop Jesus from getting the word out.  He’s advancing Christian preaching and he’ll do it through you.

“But some people are dead set opposed to the message about Christ.  They’re not going to listen!”  Jesus supports his messengers as they take the message to hostile forces, as when Peter spoke in a winsome way to those who had jailed him and said, “The God of our fathers [yours and mine] raised Jesus from the dead.”  There’s not a single enemy or a million who can stop Jesus from getting the word out.  He’s advancing Christian preaching and he’ll do it through you.

Jesus Christ is alive and well, all-powerful, all-knowing, present everywhere.  He is on task, telling you the truth that your sin has been sent away and turning you – believe that he’s doing this – turning you into an ever bolder witness for him.  Wherever it is you have to go, the living Jesus goes with you.  Whatever it is that you have to do, the living Jesus will do it through you.  Hold on to that good news and I promise you that, seven days from now, there’ll be more where that came from.  I’ll see you then.

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