Resurrection Roadshow
Easter 2007 - April 8, 2007
Pastor Paul W Newell

Scene: Various Antique Items on Display

I have to admit that I am not a fan of old stuff. I’ve done my share of furniture restoration. I’ve sanded, painted, polished and glued more than my share of broken down antique-y stuff back to life. I was even in the process of restoring an entire house when we moved from Lakeport to the Pass.

I’m not much of an antique kind of guy, but I do like to watch that PBS show that comes on every week. You know the one I’m talking about? ...

Antique Road Show. Those guys and gals have made a fortune telling other people if their stuff is worth a fortune! Not bad.

I wish I had the opportunity to go around telling people what they’re really worth; I mean what their stuff is worth.

I got to thinking about that this week as we were heading toward today and it dawned on me that that is exactly what you and I have the privilege of doing every moment of every day – we get to determine what people and things are worth!

You do it all the time; take this weekend for instance.

How many of you brought your kids to one of our Easter Egg Hunts yesterday. You decided that letting your kids have a great time was valuable. You took part of your day off to let your kids have fun finding and picking up eggs. And a whole bunch of those sitting around you thought you and your children were valuable enough that they prepared for over a month so you and your children could enjoy that Easter Egg Hunt! Great job, team!

Let me try another one. How many of you are planning a special dinner with family or friends for Easter? You’ve decided that those people who will sit with you today are valuable enough to have a special meal with them! Good choice!  [Now for the rest of you, I hear Taco Bell makes an awesome Easter Taco with meat and lettuce and even cheese...so invite a few friends and have a feast!)

OK, one final question about your weekend? How many of you decided to come to ChurchForFamily for Easter Worship? Raise your hands.
(I worry about the ones of you that didn’t raise your hands!)
All of you, all of us, we decided, we determined that worshipping as a family, in church on Easter morning was valuable. It is valuable.

Every day we get to decided, determine the value of people and things all around us. That first Easter was no different.

Easter...Resurrection Morning - Number One...

Easter showed the world what was truly valuable!

The Resurrection Showed...WHAT JESUS SAID WAS VALUABLE

One of the biggest questions of Jesus’ day is the same “biggie” today. Why should we listen to Jesus?

Why should we listen to Jesus? I mean there are lots of good teachers out there. There are lots of good books out there? Why Jesus? Why does what Jesus say have any more validity that what any other teacher or so called prophet have to say?

The answer is the resurrection. The resurrection of Jesus Christ on Easter Sunday proved that what Jesus said was valuable.

Let me explain it this way: Jesus said that things were going to happen – and they did. I don’t mean He just sort of figured out things, I mean that every time Jesus said something would happen it did – without exception. Jesus was 100% right on, on target, perfect, accurate with His predictions or prophesies.

The best illustration of that was Jesus’ own death. Almost from the beginning of His ministry on earth, Jesus began talking about how and why He would die. He talked about how He would be treated before His death, the method of his execution, how long He would be in the grave and when He would come out. Well over a year before His betrayal, crucifixion and resurrection Jesus told His followers exactly what would happen. Listen to these verses from Jesus’ life:

But the Jewish leaders demanded, “What are you doing? If God gave you authority to do this, show us a miraculous sign to prove it.” “All right,” Jesus replied. “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.”   John 2:18-19

But the Son of Man has come down from heaven. And as Moses lifted up the bronze snake on a pole in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, so that everyone who believes in him will have eternal life.   John 3:13-15

For as Jonah was in the belly of the great fish for three days and three nights, so will the Son of Man be in the heart of the earth for three days and three nights.   Matthew 12:40

From then on Jesus began to tell his disciples plainly that it was necessary for him to go to Jerusalem, and that he would suffer many terrible things at the hands of the elders, the leading priests, and the teachers of religious law. He would be killed, but on the third day he would be raised from the dead.  Matthew 16:21

After they gathered again in Galilee, Jesus told them, “The Son of Man is going to be betrayed into the hands of his enemies. He will be killed, but on the third day he will be raised from the dead.” And the disciples were filled with grief.  Matthew 17:22-23

As Jesus was going up to Jerusalem, he took the twelve disciples aside privately and told them what was going to happen to him. “Listen,” he said, “we’re going up to Jerusalem, where the Son of Man will be betrayed to the leading priests and the teachers of religious law. They will sentence him to die. Then they will hand him over to the Romans to be mocked, flogged with a whip, and crucified. But on the third day he will be raised from the dead.” Matthew 20:17-19

Jesus told His followers exactly how and when He would die. He even gave specifics about how other people would do it.

It’s one thing to plan your own death and do it yourself, but tell me, what are the odd, what are the chances that Jesus could have planned His death and then got everyone to cooperate with all of the details – let alone figure out that three days after he was pronounced dead by Roman killing experts that He would walk out of a grave?

The resurrection proves once and for all that what Jesus said was valuable.

Here’s the point: YOU CAN TAKE JESUS AT HIS WORD.

If Jesus was right about the resurrection then He was right about everything else He ever said. He was 100% right. Which means...

...when Jesus said “whoever believes in him will not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16), He was 100% accurate.

...when Jesus said “Accept my teachings and learn from me, because I am gentle and humble in spirit, and you will find rest for your lives. The teaching that I ask you to accept is easy; the load I give you to carry is light.” (Matthew 11:29-30), He was telling the truth.

...when Jesus said, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry again. Whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.” (John 6:35), what He was offering is guaranteed!

The Resurrection proves that what Jesus said was valuable. You can count on Him to do what He says.

No other “religious leader” who ever walked this earth can claim 100% accuracy on what he said. No other “religious leader” can claim the miraculous power that Jesus demonstrated. And no other “religious leader” rose from the dead after predicting it perfectly. No religious leader rose from the dead, period.

The resurrection is the ultimate proof of what is ultimately valuable – Jesus and His sacrifice for you!
But that’s not all that the resurrection proved valuable,

The Resurrection Showed...WHAT JESUS BOUGHT WAS VALUABLE

Those Road Shows we watch on TV, they’re not just about knowing what’s valuable, but you can see it in their eyes...I know what they’re thinking...
Shoot, get me out of here and get me somewhere I can sell this thing...it’s valuable, I can get a lot for this thing. But...and this is important...do you notice that they always give what they call the “appraised value”? That little phrase, “Appraised Value” is their hedge. They don’t know how much that stuff is really worth, but because it’s only worth what someone is willing to pay for it.

Something is only valuable if it’s worth something to someone. It’s called perceived value.

See this ring? I bet if you took it to the right jeweler, you might get maybe a hundred bucks worth of gold out of it, and that diamond in the middle, honestly, it’s not that big. It’s not worth much to a lot of people, but to me it’s priceless. Terrie gave it to me and it is worth more than any of you could ever afford to pay for it. It’s beyond price.

Guess, what, the Resurrection proves that something is priceless – that something is you! That something is me.

What’s something worth? It’s worth whatever someone is willing to pay for it and the ultimate price was paid for you and me. Listen to this verse...
God is so rich in kindness and grace that he purchased our freedom with the blood of his Son [Jesus] and forgave our sins.  Ephesians 1:7

The Resurrection was the end of the deal that purchased our freedom from the penalty of our sins.

The Bible tells us that we’ve earned death, separation from God. It’s a no brainer that we don’t deserve God’s heaven or anything else from God. Left to ourselves we sin, we do wrong things. The Bible tells us the wages, the earnings of sin is death, separation from God (Romans 6:23). You and I are stuck with the ultimate tab, the ultimate bill that must be paid.

We did the crimes and we should have to do the time, but this is where God stepped in and bought us.

God paid the price, the debt that we deserved. He paid that price by coming to earth, taking on a physical form in Jesus Christ, dying on a cross, spending three dead days in a damp, dark tomb and then coming back to life to prove that He had the power over both sin and death.

That’s quite a price for you and me. The ultimate price for the ultimate people He loves – us!

For God so loved the world that He gave... (John 3:16)

The resurrection showed that you and I are valuable to God.

Men are valuable to God. Women are valuable to God. Children are valuable to God. The best you can do in this life will not make you more valuable to God than the worst you could think of. The resurrection proves it.

But God is being patient with you. He does not want anyone to be lost, but he wants all people to change their hearts and lives.  2 Peter 3:9
Prostitutes, rough fishermen, doctors, political activists, traitors, mothers, fathers, little children, and young adults – God believes they are all valuable and so are you!

The resurrection proves you are valuable.

One more thing...The Resurrection showed that WHERE JESUS WENT was valuable.

Just before His death Jesus told His disciples...

“Don’t let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God, and trust also in me. There is more than enough room in my Father’s home. If this were not so, would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you? When everything is ready, I will come and get you, so that you will always be with me where I am. And you know the way to where I am going.” ...Jesus told him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me.” John 14:1-6

Jesus didn’t just rise from the dead; He went back to His home in heaven to prepare a place for you and me.

I love the way the angel said it in Acts chapter one...

“After saying this, he was taken up into a cloud while they were watching, and they could no longer see him. As they strained to see him rising into heaven, two white-robed men suddenly stood among them. “Men of Galilee,” they said, “why are you standing here staring into heaven? Jesus has been taken from you into heaven, but someday he will return from heaven in the same way you saw him go!”    Acts 1:8-11

After the resurrection Jesus spent forty days with His followers showing them that He was alive again. Then he took them to the garden where He had prayed the night before He was crucified, and after encouraging them and giving them parting instructions, He simply went up to heaven!
I’m sure everyone just sort of stood there staring at the clouds...not knowing what to do right then. That’s when Jesus sent a couple of angels to sort of wake them up...hey, you guys, He’s gone – but he’s coming back again! He told you back in John chapter fourteen, remember?!

You know some places are valuable, special to some people and others just sort of pass them by.

This past week Terrie and I and the four Newells took a short road trip up the coast to Heart Castle. Now, none of the kids had ever been to Hearst Castle or up 101 before so this was pretty much all new to them. Terrie and I had traveled this way before. We drove Highway 101 on our honeymoon. I’m not sure we had been back that way since. Anyway, after a while everywhere we looked Terrie and I saw places we had stopped twenty-six years ago. There was Madonna Inn were we spent a night. A state part where we had hiked and taken our picture by a waterfall. There was the restaurant where someone paid for our dinner when they found out we were newlyweds. And then there was Solvang.
Terrie and I saw a lot of things that were valuable to us, but the kids...their reaction was pretty much like this...

...So?...

Take our picture at Pea Soup Andersons? Are you joking?

What’s with Solvang anyway?

Madonna Inn? Do they serve food there? In that case, let’s go!

Cambria? Who cares?

None of that was valuable to them. It meant something to Terrie and I because we had been there before and we had memories. The kids didn’t. They wanted to make their own memories.

Places are valuable either because of what we remember or because of who we’re looking forward to seeing.

Heaven is valuable because that’s where Jesus is and that’s where our new home is going to be!

This earth isn’t the end of it all – there’s more after this life and we get to look forward to something a lot greater, grander than Heart Castle and a twenty-dollar bus ride up a hill.

Want to have some fun? Read the last two chapters in the Bible. They will tell you a little bit about heaven and what Jesus has gone to prepare for you and me.

The resurrection proves that there is more to life than just this life.

The resurrection proves that Jesus has the power over death and one of the days He’s going to show us by resurrection us, those who have accepted His valuable gift of eternal life.

The resurrection is valuable because it shows that what Jesus said is valuable – 100% truth.

The resurrection is valuable because it shows that you and I are valuable. Jesus died and rose from the grave to purchase our freedom from sin and to give us His eternal life.

And the resurrection is valuable because it shows there is more to life than this life – where Jesus went is valuable. We get to enjoy this life with Jesus in our lives, and with others who are following Him. Then, when this is all over, we get to spend eternity with Jesus Christ.

That’s valuable. Nothing is more valuable that what the resurrection proved.

Remember earlier when I showed you where Jesus predicted His own death? Well, I stopped too soon, there were more words from Jesus that you and I need to know there. Jesus was talking about the value of giving up His life for others. Nothing was more valuable to Jesus than you. He gave His life to prove that.

Some though, didn’t think like Jesus. One of Jesus’ own followers, Simon Peter, didn’t think we were all that valuable. Simon rebuked Jesus. Told him not to talk about dying or being crucified. But here’s what Jesus said...

“If any of you wants to be my follower, you must turn from your selfish ways, take up your cross, and follow me. If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake, you will save it. And what do you benefit if you gain the whole world but lose your own soul? Is anything worth more than your soul?  Matthew 16:24-26

Jesus wanted Simon Peter to know – and He wants you and I to know as well – that nothing is as important as giving your life to Jesus Christ. You can gain everything in this world and still have nothing that counts for eternity.

The Resurrection Proves that Committing Your Life to Jesus Christ is the MOST VALUABLE THING YOU CAN DO in this lifetime!

I told you that Terrie, the kids, and I visited HearstCastle this week. The tour guide told us that the entire cost of HeartCastle was less than one year’s earnings for William Randolph Heart. Compared to all of his wealth, that castle on top of San Simeon Mountain cost no more than a nice car would cost you or me today. Hearst was one of the richest men to ever live.

But...when he died, guess what? None of what he had counted for eternity. The only thing that mattered when he stood before God was what he did with Jesus’ offer of forgiveness and eternal life.

I don’t know if WR Hearst was a Christ follower or not, the story of his life gives no evidence that he was. What I do know is that you and I still have the opportunity to make sure that we invest ourselves is what is valuable.

What Jesus tells us is valuable. Are you living by what He says?

Who Jesus died for – others are valuable. Are you treating others like God’s priceless possessions?

Where Jesus is, that’s valuable. Are you living with eternity, heaven in mind?

And committing your life to what Jesus knew was most valuable – that’s valuable!

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