The Power Of Easter, Part 1

Today on Fellowship in the Word, Pastor Bill Gebhardt challenges you to become a fully functioning follower of Jesus Christ. I want you in your mind's eye right now just to think for a moment. When I say Jesus Christ, is there an image in your head of Jesus Christ?

And if there is, I'm here to tell you I'm almost sure it's wrong. We've done that ever since the Renaissance. We have this emasculated, sort of skinny, hair down to his shoulders, image of Christ. But we think about him as sort of this emaciated, sad character who has a real tender heart and is really meek, and that's Jesus. But that's not Jesus.

That's not at all Jesus Christ. Thank you for joining us today on this edition of Fellowship in the Word with Pastor Bill Gebhardt. Fellowship in the Word is the radio ministry of Fellowship Bible Church located in Metairie, Louisiana. Let's join Pastor Bill Gebhardt now as once again he shows us how God's Word meets our world. Happy Easter.

I would imagine that some of you are a little disappointed when you came today. You see, we didn't have any Easter egg hunts, and there was no Easter bunny in the lobby. And you know that's not funny because churches all over our country, including evangelical churches just like ours, for the last five years or so have been tirelessly advertising that. That if you would come to church, your kids could meet the Easter bunny on Easter Sunday. There could be an Easter egg hunt.

What amazes me about all this is that what is going on in their thinking to do such a thing? I could actually see that kind of reasoning in other Sundays. This is Easter.

This is the day that Jesus Christ was raised from the dead. Now, if that's not enough, you see, if you need marshmallow peeps, you know, if that's what you need to get people to come. Well, it's kind of sad. It amazes me that we would rather use the lore of the fertility goddess Astarte to try to pique people's interest in coming to church on Easter Sunday. Why do we do that? I think it's because we underestimate the power of Jesus Christ. We really underestimate him. I want you in your mind's eye right now just to think for a moment when I say Jesus Christ, is there an image in your head of Jesus Christ?

And if there is, I'm here to tell you I'm almost sure it's wrong. We've done that ever since the Renaissance. We have this emasculated sort of skinny, hair down to his shoulders image of Christ. In some of the paintings, he even has really light brown hair and blue eyes. He's Jewish.

He doesn't have blue eyes. But we think about him as sort of this sort of emaciated sad character who has a real tender heart and is really meek. And that's Jesus. But that's not Jesus. That's not at all Jesus Christ. He's powerful. Beyond measure, powerful. Easter Sunday commemorates his power.

That's what this is about. And so what I want to do this morning, I'm going to survey a book and just give you an idea that Jesus Christ, the things he did and the things he said are words and works of unparalleled power of what he does. Open your Bibles to Matthew chapter 4. Matthew chapter 4 and verse 10. Jesus is just beginning his ministry. He's been led by the Holy Spirit out into the wilderness.

There he is tempted by Satan himself. While he was in the wilderness, before the temptations, Jesus fasted for 40 days. Show of hands, how many of you have fasted for 40 days? 40 hours.

40 minutes. Jesus Christ fasted for 40 days and at the end of this all. Verse eight says again, the devil took him to a high mountain, showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. And he said, all these things I'll give to you if you'll bow down and worship me. And then Jesus spoke to him.

Imperative mood in the Greek. Go, Satan. He's talking to the devil. He said, go, Satan, for it is written, you shall worship the Lord your God and serve him only. And then the devil left him and behold, the angels came and began to minister to him. Go, Satan.

Who speaks like that? Name someone else that ever spoke like that to Satan himself. But Jesus. Go with me to Matthew five now. Verse 20. He is given the Sermon on the Mount. And he decides in the Sermon on the Mount that he's going to say something very important to these people. As he gets into the sermon in verse 20 of Chapter five, he says this.

He says. For I say to you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees. You don't have a chance at heaven.

Now, understand what he just said. The scribes and Pharisees are by a mile the most respected religious leaders of Israel. He said, unless your righteousness exceeds theirs, you don't have a chance.

Let me draw a parallel. If if the if the only Christianity that existed in the world was Catholicism. And somebody went to Rome to the Vatican and there's a huge crowd of people we speak into. And he starts out and he says this.

Unless your righteousness exceeds that of the pope and the cardinals, you have no chance of going to heaven. How would people respond to that? You see, how would you respond to that? These people had to be saying, what?

How could that possibly be? Who talks like this? Well, we know that Jesus does. Chapter seven of Matthew. Verse 13. Here are two of the most politically incorrect verses in the entire Bible.

Americans wouldn't like this at all. Jesus says this. He said, enter through the narrow gate, for the gate is wide and the way is broad that leads to destruction. And there are many who enter through it for the gate is small and the way is narrow that leads to life.

And only a few find it. Wow. Who would say that? Who would speak those kind of words?

How unpopular they'd be in America. We're a pluralistic society. The average American says every road leads to God. It doesn't matter what you believe, everybody gets the go in the end.

Everybody's going. Jesus is speaking to Israel. He's not even including the Gentiles here. He said, you know what? Broad is the way that leads to destruction and almost everybody finds it. Narrow is the way that leads to life. See, who would say words like that?

You can see he's not trying to win friends and influence people at all. He's just speaking the truth because of who he is. Chapter eight, verse twenty three. It says when he got into the boat, his disciples followed him. And behold, there arose a great storm in the sea and the boat was being covered with waves. And Jesus is asleep in the hold. Now, please understand the context. These men are fishermen. They've been on the lake many times and in many storms and they've weathered them all. But this one's different.

It's worse. And they came to him and they woke him and they said, Save us, Lord. We're perishing. The other gospel count says, Lord, don't you care that we're perishing here? And he's asleep. And he said to them, Why are you afraid?

You men of little faith. Then he got up, he rebuked the winds in the sea and it became perfectly calm. Who does that? Who does that? Calm.

It's perfectly calm. Looks at them and said, Why are you of such little faith? Notice the men were amazed and they said, What kind of man is this that even the winds of the sea obey him? Who does that? Name anybody that can do that.

No one can do that. Jesus Christ does it. He just simply says, Be calm. He says to Satan, Go. He says to the religious leaders, You're not enough.

You're wrong. Notice, then it should go over to Chapter eight. Excuse me. Chapter eight. Twenty nine. Twenty eight.

Twenty nine. He says this. He says, When he came to the other side of the country of the Garadins, two men were demon possessed and they met him and they were coming out of the tombs and they were so extremely violent. No one could pass that way. These are two scary guys. They're demon possessed.

Everybody knew about him and everybody was terrified of him. Jesus apparently walks up and they cry out to him and they say, What business do we have with each other, son of God? Have you come here to torment us before our time? He's talking to demons. They said, Wait, why are you here already? Have you come to torment us now? These are demon possessed people and the demons are speaking to Jesus.

It's interesting. It says, Now there was a herd of many swine feeding at a distance from them, and the demons began to entreat them and said, If you're going to cast us out, send us into the herd of swine. And Jesus told them, Go. And they came out and they went into the swine.

The whole hoard of swine went down a steep bank and into the sea and perished in the waters. And the herdsman ran away and they went to the city and reported everything, including what had happened to the demoniacs. And the whole city gave a parade and said, Hallelujah, Jesus.

No. It's not what it says, says, Behold, the whole city came out to meet Jesus. And when they saw him, they implored him to leave their region. They all know who the demoniacs were. They were all terrified of them.

Why? Because Jesus is bad for business. These are smugglers. They smuggle pork into Israel.

That's how they make their living. Jesus took a whole herd of pigs, put them in a sea. Jesus is bad for business. I'll ignore his power. Never think about that because he's bad for business.

Some of us think that way. We do business in a certain way. I don't really want to line my life up with Jesus and be a follower of his.

I like to do business in the real world, the real world way, the way I like to do it. And so we never really bring Jesus in. Chapter nine. It says, Getting into the boat, Jesus crossed over the sea and came to his own city and they brought him a paralytic, sitting, lying on a bed and seeing their faith. Jesus said to the paralytic, Take courage, son. Your sins are forgiven. And some of the scribes to themselves said, This fellow blasphemes. And Jesus, knowing their thoughts, says, Why are you thinking evil in your hearts? Which is easier to say, Your sins are forgiven or to get up and walk? But so that you may know that the son of man has authority in Earth to forgive sins. And then he said to the paralytic, Get up your bed, take it up and go home. And he went up and he went home. And it says the crowd saw this and they were awestruck.

Don't miss this. If there is a God in the end, everyone will have to be justified before that God. Isn't that correct? God is the one who will judge. God is the one who will decide. It is only God that can forgive sins.

That's why the scribes were upset. And what did Jesus say? Your sins are forgiven.

I can forgive sins. You see who talks like that? Nobody talks like that. You don't talk like that.

I don't talk like that. Your sins are forgiven. I can forgive your sins. That's the power of Jesus Christ that he has and the things that he's able to accomplish. Chapter 10, verse 26. When you put these together, I hope you start seeing a different image of who Christ is. He says in verse 26, Therefore, do not fear them.

These are those persecuting them. He said, Do not fear them. There is nothing concealed that will not be revealed or hidden. It will not be known what I tell you in darkness.

Speak in the light and what you hear whispered in your ear, proclaim from the open housetops. Do not fear those who kill the body but are unable to kill the soul. Don't fear people that could kill you. But fear him who is able to destroy both the soul and the body in hell. Jesus is saying here, Don't fear them. Fear me. You want to fear someone, you fear me. I can take your life and your soul.

They can't do that. Who talks like that but Jesus Christ? You see who talks like that but him?

It's an amazing thing when you start thinking how he reveals his power like this over and over again. He says in verse 32, Everyone, he says, Therefore, everyone who confesses me before men, I will confess before my Father is heaven. But whoever denies me before men, I will deny him and my father is in heaven. He said, Do not think that I came to bring peace on the earth. I did not come to bring peace but a sword. For I came to set a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. He said, And a man's enemies will be members of his household. He who loves father and mother more than me is not worthy of me.

He who loves daughter more than me is not worthy of me. He who does not take his cross and follow after me, he's not worthy of me. Who speaks like that?

Who else would talk like that? He says, Look, on a certain level, I didn't come to bring peace. I brought a sword. I separate people. There are so many of you that know this. You've come to Jesus Christ and it's been a strain then in the relationship with your family or friends. There's a strain.

There's no other way to avoid it. And Jesus says, That's right, that's what I accomplish. He says, And don't tell me. Now think how politically incorrect this is. If you want to draw a crowd, this isn't exactly marshmallow peeps and chocolate bunnies. Jesus says, Look, if you love someone else more than you love me, you're not worthy of me.

Wow, that's a great way not to draw a crowd. But it's the truth. And it's the way Jesus speaks because of his power. I'll be the one who decides everything. That's the way this is going to operate.

That's the way this is going to work. Chapter 11. In verse 20, he's taken on the religious crowd. He's taken on demons. He's taken on nature. He's taken on disease. And now he takes on cities.

He's going to take on cities. It says in verse 20, he began to denounce the cities in which most of his miracles were done because they did not repent. He said, Woe to you, Corazon. Woe to you, Bethsaida. For if the miracles had occurred in Tyre and Sidon, which occurred in you, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes. Nevertheless, I say to you, to be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon in that day of judgment than for you. And he said in New Capernaum, he said, Will you not be you will not be exalted in heaven, will you? He says, You will descend into Hades. For if the miracles had occurred in Sodom, which had occurred in you, they would have repented to this day. Nevertheless, I say to you that it would be more tolerable for the land of Sodom in that day of judgment than for you. Notice the harshness of those words he's condemning whole cities.

No one talks like this. But Jesus Christ. Chapter 12, verse one. He said at that time, Jesus went through the grain fields on the Sabbath and his disciples became hungry and they began to pick the heads of the grain and eat them. But when the fairies saw this, they said to him, Look, your disciples do what is not lawful to do on the Sabbath. And he said to them, Have you not read what David did when he became hungry?

He and his companions, how he entered the house of God, the tabernacle at that time, and they ate, he said, the consecrated bread, which was not lawful for him to eat. Nor, he said, for those with him, but for the priest alone. Or have you not read, he said, in the law that the Sabbath that the priest in the temple break the Sabbath and are innocent. But I say to you that something greater than the temples here. He said, if you had known what this means, I he said, I desire compassion and not sacrifice.

He said, you would not have condemned the innocent. And then this statement, the son of man is the Lord of the Sabbath. Don't tell me about the Sabbath. I created the Sabbath. I'm the Lord of the Sabbath. I created the Sabbath for man so that man wouldn't have to work seven days a week.

And you ruined it. You added all these nonsensical laws onto the Sabbath and made it a religious activity. He said, I am Lord of the Sabbath, not I know a better way about the Sabbath. The Sabbath is mine. I'm the one, he said, who created this.

Chapter 13. And verse 37. Jesus is explaining a parable and what's what he says. He said, the one who sows the good seed is the son of man, and the field is the world. And he says, and as for the good seed, these are the sons of the kingdom and the tears of the sons of the evil one. And the enemy who sowed them is the devil. And the harvest is the end of the age.

And the reapers are angels. So just as the tears are gathered up and burned with fire, so shall it be at the end of the age. The son of man will send forth his angels. They will gather out of his kingdom, all stumbling blocks and those who commit lawlessness and will throw them into the furnace of fire. And in that place, there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Then the righteous, he said, will shine forth as a son in the kingdom of their father. He who has ears to hear you listen to this. He's talking about hell.

Just straight up. He said, that's exactly what's going to happen. They'll send forth his angels, they'll gather out his kingdom, all the stumbling blocks and those who commit lawlessness and will throw them into the furnace of fire. Who can speak like that?

You see, who talks this way? Jesus. His words just constantly reveal his incredible power that he has. Chapter 14. Verse 22. Immediately, he made the disciples get into the boat and go ahead of him to the other side, and he sent the crowds away. And after he sent the crowds away, he went up to the mountain by himself to pray.

And when it was evening, he was there alone. But the boat was already a long distance from land, battered by waves. For the wind was contrary. Again, they're on a storm on the Sea of Galilee. And in the fourth watch, the middle of the night, he came to them walking on the sea. And when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were terrified and they said, it's a ghost. And they cried out in fear.

And he immediately spoke to them. Take courage. His eye.

Don't be afraid. Now, why did Jesus do this? He's showing off, right? He just wants to show off. How many of you can walk on water?

None of us. Now he's not showing off. He's trying to teach them and us something. They're in a terrible storm and they're afraid. So Jesus walks right on top of the storm on the water. Now, notice they don't even recognize him because all they're concerned about is the storm.

They think he might be a ghost. But notice what he said. Take courage at his eye. Do not be afraid. I can't tell you how many times in the gospels Jesus tells all of us, fear not. Take courage. Fear not. Take courage.

And you know why? Because living on a cursed planet as sinful people, we go through a lot of stuff. And we see the circumstances. And when the circumstances are bad enough, when the storm is difficult enough, you and I have this tendency to punt away our faith. And we panic and we're afraid and we're anxious. And Jesus says, look, I've got to teach you a lesson. Whenever there are storms raging about you, don't look at the storm. Look at me.

I'm standing right here on the water. You see, don't let the circumstances change your life. He's trying to teach a lesson. When you relate to me in a right way, he's telling us there's no reason to fear anything. He already told us, don't fear those who could kill you. Fear me. See, do not fear.

I've overcome everything. You've been listening to Pastor Bill Gebhardt on the Radio Ministry of Fellowship in the Word. If you ever miss one of our broadcasts or maybe you would just like to listen to the message one more time, remember that you can go to a great website called oneplace.com. That's oneplace.com, and you can listen to Fellowship in the Word online.

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That's fbcnola.org. At our website, you will find hundreds of Pastor Bill's sermons. You can browse through our sermon archives to find the sermon series you are looking for, or you can search by title. Once you find the message you are looking for, you can listen online, or if you prefer, you can download the sermon and listen at your own convenience. And remember, you can do all of this absolutely free of charge. Once again, our website is fbcnola.org. For Pastor Bill Gebhardt, I'm Jason Gebhardt, thanking you for listening to Fellowship in the Word.