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| Rev. Brian Wilkie |
By Rev.
Brian Wilkie
Pastor of St. Andrew's Christian Community
Rockland, Ontario
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PODCAST LINK to CFRA
broadcast - Sunday, May 1st, 2016:
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Broadcast Notes:
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Welcome to Good News In the Morning
a program of words and music bringing a Christian message of hope and
encouragement to those who are looking for an intelligent, meaningful and
spirited approach to faith and to life.
This Program is sponsored by Good News
Christian Ministries, P.O. Box Rideau Ferry, Ontario. The postal code is K0G
1W0.
I'm your host today Brian Wilke of St.
Andrew's Christian Church in Rockland. As always I want to start by thanking
you our listeners. We're so grateful for your encouragement and support. Today,
in particular, we have in mind an anonymous donor who has supported the cost of
this broadcast today but doesn't wish to be acknowledged on the air.
You too can support our program
financially by visiting our website or there on the website you can also find
materials to encourage and support you in your Christian walk. If you miss an
episode of the show you can go to the website and download the podcast MP3 of
our broadcast. Details can be found on the website which is http://www.GoodNewsChristianMinistries.CA
Resurrection!
Today, I want to share with you the
message of the Easter season and, in fact, the message of the entire gospel:
The resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. It such good news and it is the
reason we celebrate not only at Easter, but week after week, day after day,
year after year. This account of the meaning of Christ's Resurrection from the
dead is taken from one of the very first Evangelistic sermons. It's recorded in
the book of The Acts of the Apostles and I'm reading from chapter 2 verse 22 to
41 where Peter is preaching to people who have gathered on the day of
Pentecost. Hearing an uproar in the place where the disciples are staying,
they've gathered around and they hear this message from Peter:
(Acts 2:22–41) 22 “Men of Israel, listen to this: Jesus of
Nazareth was a man accredited by God to you by miracles, wonders and signs,
which God did among you through him, as you yourselves know. 23 This
man was handed over to you by God’s set purpose and foreknowledge; and you,
with the help of wicked men, put him to death by nailing him to the cross. 24
But 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. 25 David
said about him:
“ ‘I saw the Lord always before me.
Because he is at my right hand,
I will not be shaken.
26 Therefore my heart is glad and
my tongue rejoices;
my body also will live in hope,
27 because you will not abandon me
to the grave,
nor will you let your Holy One see decay.
28You have made known to me the
paths of life;
you will fill me with joy in your presence.’
29 “Brothers, I can tell you
confidently that the patriarch David died and was buried, and his tomb is here
to this day. 30 But he was a prophet and knew that God had promised
him on oath that he would place one of his descendants on his throne. 31 Seeing
what was ahead, he spoke of the resurrection of the Christ, that he was not
abandoned to the grave, nor did his body see decay. 32 God has
raised this Jesus to life, and we are all witnesses of the fact. 33 Exalted
to the right hand of God, he has received from the Father the promised Holy
Spirit and has poured out what you now see and hear. 34 For David
did not ascend to heaven, and yet he said,
“ ‘The Lord said to my Lord:
“Sit at my right hand
35 until I make your enemies
a footstool for your feet.” ’
36 “Therefore let all Israel be
assured of this: God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and
Christ.”
37 When the people heard this, they
were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles, “Brothers, what
shall we do?”
38 Peter replied, “Repent and be
baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of
your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. 39 The
promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off—for all whom
the Lord our God will call.”
40 With many other words he warned
them; and he pleaded with them, “Save yourselves from this corrupt generation.”
41 Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand
were added to their number that day.
This is a wonderful proclamation, an
early account of the disciples’ firm understanding that Jesus’ resurrection
from the dead didn't just mean life for them or for him. it meant life for all
who would receive Jesus Christ. We will take a deeper look at what this means
in a few moments but first I'd like to hear a traditional and glorious Easter
Hymn, Jesus Christ is Risen Today. It is from a recording by the Golden Hymns
of Praise. Would you listen to it with me?
(The music played on the program was
not this hymn but “Breathing Life” by Salvador)
As I think about the resurrection what
I want to communicate is certainly gratitude. Gratitude for what God has done
for us - for me, for you, for the world through raising Jesus Christ from the
dead. Jesus Christ was sent to Earth, the Eternal God in human flesh and he
lived and taught so that we would know how to live and so that we would
understand the love of God for us. He healed and showed God's great compassion
in all that he did, and when he went to the Cross he declared that he was
laying down his life as a ransom for many. He offered his life for our lives.
He offered to take the burden of sin upon himself so that we would not be
bearing it. He was raised by the Father to new and eternal life, and he has
offered us the promise of that same resurrected life through him.
God has met
our need and our need is undeniable. You may have some aspect of that need
present in your life right now. You may be aware of it. You may be struggling
with things that are just not right in your life. We can always .point to
circumstances outside ourselves that are difficult and trying, but the things
that really get to us are the internal struggles; what we Christians call the
struggle with sin. It might be a struggle with attitudes and moods,rage and
temper. Ways of responding to the world that you wish you could overcome. You
wish you weren't overwhelmed sometimes by strong feelings that cause you to act
in ways in which you didn't want to act. Sometimes it's not a strong feeling of
that nature but more of an appetite - something that you wish you had more
control over because you seem to be driven to consume something. You may find
issues within relationships - ways of responding to people, ways of responding
to yourself and some internal struggles that come because of fears or doubts in
relationships with others; Or words that are spoken that can't be taken back.
Or neglect of another that you regret. There are things in our lives that
aren't leading us to more life, that aren't leaving us to a greater goodness.
There are things in our lives leading to destruction of our relationships and
of ourselves and I'm sure that we've all tried to find help. Many of us have
tried to help ourselves in many ways. We've tried to make resolutions, we tried
to develop new habits, we tried to receive motivation from speakers and even
from the scriptures.
There's a comic that I found
entertaining about the self-help efforts that people make. It was a customer in
a bookstore and he asked one of the clerks where the self-help section was. The
clerk responded by saying, “I don't think you quite get the concept.” Yes there
are many people who write books telling us how we can help ourselves, and we're
glad we have their help but very often those books leave us just desiring are
our Salvation more ,because we are not finding the answers we need.
So we come upon the Gospel of Jesus
Christ and we encounter the power of the Resurrection we encounter a change
made in the world that's not made by human effort but made by the power of God.
Even as a religious event, do you think the resurrection of Jesus Christ
happened because the disciples prayed the right prayers? Because the disciples
had amazing faith? Do you think that by eloquent prayers or by strong
conviction they raised Jesus from the dead?
Instead the disciples were scattered,
they were denying Jesus. If they were crying out anything, they were crying out
that prayer which we have cried out so many times in our need, “Why, Lord,
Why?” Now that’s a good prayer. To go to God in your need and even to simply
cry out the word, “Why?” is a good prayer but it's not that which led to Jesus
Christ being raised. God did not raise Jesus Christ because He thought the
disciples had worked hard enough to deserve it, or because he got the idea
because somebody with a long prayer twisted his arm into doing it. God, out of
his goodness, exercised his power when we were powerless; when we were
helpless.
The disciples are a good example of us
in the midst of the need of the world. Jesus Christ dies on the cross and they
don't respond with faith, they respond with fear they respond with denial. They
respond by hiding and shrinking away, but God did not shrink away from our
need. God had the will, God had the courage, God had the strength, God has the
power to raise Jesus Christ from the dead and set Jesus at his right hand, and
to set the disciples right again.
Even Paul the Apostle makes it a very
clear point that the gospel is not about eloquent words or a message that
somehow just stirs the soul in its own power. I hope I'm not a motivational
speaker, that I speak to you and somehow or other by saying the right words I
will make a psychological impact and simply make a human difference in your
life. Instead what I hope is that the word of the Gospel as it reaches your
heart will be used by the power of God to bring new life into your it your
heart, to bring new life and new power, new Strength against sin, and peace and
forgiveness and joy, since it's not a matter of our goodness or our strength or
our power.
We can Rejoice especially if we are
religious people, especially if we are doubtful people, especially if we are
people who lack in Hope. Because it's not by your hope that you'll be saved.
It's not by your willpower, it's not by your religiousness. God came to save
people who had wandered away from Him, people who were lost to him, people who
couldn't find him.
God came to save people, and we see him
healing people who doubted. We see him being worshiped by people who have
turned from questions and uncertainty by the power of his resurrection. Thomas
was changed from someone who wouldn't believe to someone who rejoiced and
worshiped the Lord.
God came to save you. Antagonistic?
Irreligious? Sinful? Such were the people he called. Yes some of the people he
called were religious people. Simon the Zealot believed in the in the divine
right of Israel to rule itself, but Matthew the tax collector had given up on
Israel and had turned to become a person who helped the Romans gather taxes
from from his conquered Countryman. There were some who were found by Jesus in
the midst of prayer and others who were found just in the everyday work of
Life: fishing at their boats. collecting their taxes. doing their daily rounds.
God came to save a wide variety of
people and I think we can find ourselves in the pages of scripture.
This is good news for us and I want to
speak more about it, but I do want to have you listen to another song that
speaks about Jesus breathing life into creation, into the world around us. and
new life into us through his grace.
This is Breathing Life by Salvador.
(Jesus Christ is Risen Today was the
hymn that actually played at this point in the Broadcast)
If God can raise Jesus from death, and
take that battered, pierced, flogged, crucified body which lay in the grave for
three days, and bring him back to life, if he can give him life that is beyond
even this earthly life, then surely he can help you. Have you been battered in
this world? Have you been hard pressed and gone through great difficulty? Have
you endured ‘the arrows and slings of outrageous fortune?’
Have you gone through the mill and
found yourself wondering if Jesus can help you?
Well this is a story, but not a story that is just intended to make you feel better so you can try harder. This is the testimony of what God does - still does - to bring the faithless to faith, to bring bad people to goodness, to bring people, who just can't try any harder, into the grace and rest and peace of his new life. Yes, we ask. There's a part that we play - We allow God to do his transforming work in us - but it's not our asking that changes us, it's God responding. It's the life of Jesus within us.
You know this broadcast today is
possible because Jesus changes lives. Jesus changed my life! That's why I'm
here giving this message today. And there's an unbroken chain of Jesus’
salvation that has led to this program, this moment in which you're hearing
this message today. He saved me, He’s saved those who founded this program and
those who support this program. He saved the people who shared the gospel with
us, and that stretches back in an unbroken chain of Salvation back to that
first Easter morning: Miracle after Miracle of transformed lives. The testimony
of Believers that God changed them has led to people receiving and accepting
the opportunity to let Jesus change them and so it goes on.
This story can continue today as people
hearing this word turn to God and ask. They ask, “Lord let the power which
raised Jesus from Death make me new. Jesus save me, forgive me! and raise me to
New Life!”
He is calling you to follow him in his
eternal Grace.
Let's pray together.
Lord, if we already have received you, we pray right now for others who
are listening to this message that they might ask you; Whether they asked doubtfully,
or with strong conviction, that you would respond by your Holy Spirit, to do
the work which they cannot do. Bring them to New Life and salvation, deliver
them from sin and bring them forgiveness. Lord we pray with those who are now
praying that you would come to them that you would hear their prayer, not
because they pray loudly, but because you listen so well! You love to save
people! We thank you for this in Jesus’ name, Amen
Well, listeners, once again I want to
thank you for your encouragement and support. We do thank you because you keep
us on the air week by week and we encourage you to support our ministry
prayerfully and financially. If you would like to make a donation you can
either make a check payable to Good News Christian Ministries and send it to
post office Box 184 Rideau Ferry, Ontario K0G 1W0, and we’ll be happy to send
you a tax receipt at income tax time. Or again, you can visit our website and
make a donation through the donation buttons there.
Please be sure to Worship in a church
where the gospel is soundly proclaimed and lived out with compassion, integrity
and resolve.
Now to conclude our program I'd like to
have you listen to the song called the Easter Song that is sung by Glad,
although it was originally written by Keith Green. It's from Glad’s album
Acapella Project.
I do pray that the Lord will hold your
heart and you would know Jesus personally and profoundly. May the Holy Spirit
reside deep within your heart and may Our Heavenly Father surround you with his
constant, abiding and accompanying Love!
Rev. Brian Wilkie
St.
Andrew's Christian Community, Rockland,
Ontario
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To listen to the
above broadcast, click on the following link:
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