©2005 Larry Huntsperger Peninsula Bible Fellowship

03-27-05

A View From The Hilltop

3/27/05 A View From The Hilltop

I was sitting in my office this past week,

holding a picture of my grandson, Matty,

praying for him,

and I got to thinking about why we love the people we love.

And I realized that this capacity to love

that God has woven into the deepest foundation of our souls

utterly defies all human logical reasoning processes.

Think for a minute

about the people in your world

that you love most deeply -

your marriage partner,

your children,

your grandchildren,

your closest, deepest friendships...

Now, why do you love them

as deeply as you do?

Is it because they are the most intelligent people you’ve ever known?

Is it because they are, by the standards of our society, the most attractive?

Is it because they have accomplished more than any other people you know,

or because they are more creative,

or because they are more successful than anyone else you know?

Is it because they brought home that report card

with all those A’s on it?

What is it, logically,

that has caused you to love them the way you do?

What justification can you offer

for the degree of importance and significance you have given them in your life?

Stupid question, huh?

You can’t get there that way, can you?

Because our ability to love,

our capacity to love another human being

does not operate on the kind of logical, rational life rules

that allow us to add 2+2 and arrive at 4.

In fact,

there is a major aspect of our ability to love

that even seems to operate exactly the opposite.

When we see suffering, or helplessness, or deep need in another person

it will frequently dramatically intensify our love for them.

If I look into the eyes of a child

and see pain, or loneliness, or fear

it will generate a love response within me

and motivate me to try to free them from that pain

as powerfully as anything I’ve ever experienced.

And my point here

is that our ability to love

is not simply a logical response to the behavior or performance of another human being.

We do not mentally line up the people in our lives

on the basis of those who have achieved the highest performance standard

and then allot our most intense love responses

to those who have achieved the highest standard.

Our ability to love

is most of all, I think,

our ability to respond to another human being at the spirit level of our being,

to gain some tiny glimpse

of their true value as a unique, eternal creation of God.

And here is one of the amazing truths about life -

when we look at the people in our lives

who hold the greatest value to us,

we allot that value

not on the basis of what they have done,

but rather on the basis of the depth of the love that exists between us and them.

And I bring all of this up

because it helps me to better understand

our God’s response to each of us.

He tells us that, when He created us,

He did so in His own image.

And when He says that,

He is talking most of all

about that capacity to love

that He has designed into each of us at the deepest level of our being.

When John was trying to communicate to us

the true nature of our Creator God

he said simply, (1JO 4:8) “The one who does not love does not know God, for God is love.”

Love is not just something God does,

it is at the very center of His nature,

His identity.

And as such,

it is what He has been seeking to communicate to us about Himself

most all.

As I sat there in my office this past week,

looking at that picture of my grandson,

overwhelmed with the depth of my love for him,

realizing that what I feel for him

has nothing whatsoever to do

with anything he has done,

or could do now,

or might do in the future,

but that it is simply because of who he is,

I suddenly gained a tiny glimpse

of the way it must be between God and me.

Nothing else makes any sense.

Nothing else could ever explain

why He’s done for me

what He’s done for me through Christ,

or what He does for me each day.

Of course I love the things my grandson does,

but I love them

because I love him,

and because I love him,

the things he does brings me joy,

and the things he suffers brings me pain.

And so it is with us and our Creator.

He does not love us because of what we do,

but because He loves us,

what we do brings Him joy,

or brings Him pain.

Well, this is Easter morning,

that one Sunday of the year

when we focus our attention in a special way

on the most critical event in all of history,

the event upon which all other Christian doctrines rest,

and the event that is the foundation for all true hope in life.

I was rummaging through a box in the basement this past week

and came across something I have not seen for 22 years.

It was the notes

that I preached from

the first Easter morning in Peninsula Bible Fellowship history.

I started reading through them

to see whether or not I’d changed much in the past 22 years.

But what I discovered

is that 22 years ago,

in fact 31 years ago

there were in place within me

some truths that have had a profound affect

on the way my life has developed ever since.

And so this morning

I am going to return to those same notes

and share with you those same truths I shared with this fellowship

in the Spring of 1983.

Though I had completely forgotten it until I read through those notes this past week,

on Easter morning in 1974

I stood on green, grassy hilltop

with a group of about 20 very young Christians

on the Carribean Island of Trinidad.

We were there for what was suppose to be a sunrise service,

a glorious celebration of the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

But the service started out sounding more like a memorial service

than a great celebration.

We tried to sing some of the Easter songs,

but the noises coming out of our mouths

sounded weak and pathetic.

The truth was that

at that point in all of our lives

none of us really understood

the significance of the truth we were there to celebrate.

After another few painful attempts at singing,

I finally opened up the New Testament

and began to teach about the resurrection

and as I was teaching,

for the first time I heard what I was saying

in a way that altered my life forever.

Before we close this morning

I’ll share with you what I heard.

But I’ll tell you right now

that there is a shift that must take place in the life of every believer

before the truth of the resurrection

can have the transforming power

that God intends for it to have.

It is the shift from being just a doctrinal belief

into becoming a living reality in our lives.

There is a beautiful illustration of this transition

given to us in Luke 24:13-35.

We have visited this passage at times on past Easters,

but I want to take us back to it again this morning

because it allows us to see so clearly

both what God seeks to do in us

and how He goes about accomplishing it.

This account takes place three days following the crucifixion of Christ, and it begins,

LUK 24:13-17 And behold, two of them were going that very day to a village named Emmaus, which was about seven miles from Jerusalem. And they were talking with each other about all these things which had taken place. While they were talking and discussing, Jesus Himself approached and began traveling with them. But their eyes were prevented from recognizing Him. And He said to them, "What are these words that you are exchanging with one another as you are walking?" And they stood still, looking sad.

And that right there

is the perfect illustration

of the way many of us spend much of our Christian lives.

Look at what these two men had.

They had the Old Testament prophets

who had told clearly of the death and the resurrection of Christ.

Does that seem too hard,

too confusing?

Well then, during the preceding 4 years,

they had literally lived the Gospels,

and they had heard Christ Himself

prophesying His resurrection from the dead

and the hope it would bring to all mankind.

Does even that seem to hard for them to figure out?

Well, then, here they were, at that very instant

standing in the presence of Christ Himself.

And yet, we are told

that they “stood still and looked sad”.

Why?

Because they were looking at their Christian lives

not through God’s eyes,

not from God’s point of view,

but through man’s eyes,

through their own human point of view.

And the result...they stood still and looked sad.

And that’s exactly what happens to every one us

when we look at our lives

from our own human point of view.

Eventually life becomes a heavy burden,

a deep disappointment,

and we feel as if we are going nowhere,

and we hurt deep inside.

There is no doubt -

these two men were a mess.

They were confused,

they were frightened,

and they were disappointed.

They’d lost their purpose,

their direction,

and their hope.

And here is the amazing thing -

the one thing they needed

to restore their hope,

to dispel their fear,

and to renew their purpose and their direction

was the one thing they already possessed,

but could not see.

They needed to see

that Christ Himself was right there with them.

Until they saw Him

life was a pain-filled tragedy.

Once they saw Him

life was filled with hope,

founded on victory.

Have you noticed

that God is forever making impossible requests of His children?

He says, “My children, I want you to live morally pure

in the middle of a morally bankrupt society.”

And on our own that’s impossible.

He says to those of you who are parents,

“I want you to put together a family unit

in which each of you learn how to love,

and support one another.”

And on our own,

given the forces that seek to destroy the family in our culture,

that’s impossible.

He says to our teenagers,

“I want you to live with unshakeable values and convictions

when all the rest of your friends

just do whatever they see being done on TV.”

And on our own

it’s impossible.

God is forever making demands on us

that, on our own, are utterly impossible for us to fulfill.

And left to ourselves

eventually we too will reach the place

where we simply stand still

and look sad.

And at those times

when we feel helpless

and so very inadequate for the life we’ve been called to live,

what we need

is the same thing those two men needed on that dusty road 2000 years ago.

We need to see Christ Himself

standing there with us,

not to condemn us,

or ridicule us,

but rather to do in us,

and through us

what we cannot do ourselves.

The account of these two men then continues.

LUK 24:18-24 One of them, named Cleopas, answered and said to Him, "Are You the only one visiting Jerusalem and unaware of the things which have happened here in these days?" And He said to them, "What things?" And they said to Him, "The things about Jesus the Nazarene, who was a prophet mighty in deed and word in the sight of God and all the people, and how the chief priests and our rulers delivered Him to the sentence of death, and crucified Him. But we were hoping that it was He who was going to redeem Israel. Indeed, besides all this, it is the third day since these things happened. But also some women among us amazed us. When they were at the tomb early in the morning, and did not find His body, they came, saying that they had also seen a vision of angels who said that He was alive. Some of those who were with us went to the tomb and found it just exactly as the women also had said; but Him they did not see."

OK, these two state their position clearly,

and in the process they boldly confirm their loyalty to Christ,

and their longing for Him.

So why didn’t Christ open their eyes to Himself right then?

I think He didn’t

because their was a vital truth He wanted them to discover,

a truth that would become the foundation for every positive thing

the Church of Jesus Christ has accomplished

for the past 2000 years.

Listen to what happens next.

LUK 24:25-35 And He said to them, "O foolish men and slow of heart to believe in all that the prophets have spoken! Was it not necessary for the Christ to suffer these things and to enter into His glory?" Then beginning with Moses and with all the prophets, He explained to them the things concerning Himself in all the Scriptures.

And they approached the village where they were going, and He acted as though He were going farther. But they urged Him, saying, "Stay with us, for it is getting toward evening, and the day is now nearly over." So He went in to stay with them. When He had reclined at the table with them, He took the bread and blessed it, and breaking it, He began giving it to them. Then their eyes were opened and they recognized Him; and He vanished from their sight. They said to one another, "Were not our hearts burning within us while He was speaking to us on the road, while He was explaining the Scriptures to us?" And they got up that very hour and returned to Jerusalem, and found gathered together the eleven and those who were with them, saying, "The Lord has really risen and has appeared to Simon." They began to relate their experiences on the road and how He was recognized by them in the breaking of the bread.

And it is that one statement, "Were not our hearts burning within us while He was speaking to us on the road, while He was explaining the Scriptures to us?",

that I believe was at the heart of what He wanted them to see.

He knew, of course,

that His resurrection

would be the single most crucial doctrine in all of Christianity.

It is His resurrection that proves

that He is not just a great prophet,

but that He is in fact, God in human form.

It is the resurrection

that proves His offering for our sins has been accepted by the Father

and our debt is indeed paid in full.

It is the resurrection

that gives His people the great hope of His return -

and His ultimate victory over all evil,

all corruption.

It is His resurrection

that gives us the hope of a redeemed life here and now.

 ROM 8:11 But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you.

But Jesus also knew

that He could not physically remain on this earth

to prove to each new generation of Christians

the truth of His resurrection.

And what He wanted these men

and, through them, all of us to know

is that His written Word,

when used in our lives by His Spirit,

has the power to prove to all those who will listen

the truth, the absolute certainty of the bodily resurrection of Jesus Christ.

They would not always have His physical body with them,

but they would always have His Word,

and that was all they would need

to convince the world of the truth of the living Christ.

The effect on these two men was dramatic.

They no longer stood still

and looked sad.

Rather, they headed back to town in the middle of the night

and began telling their world

that Jesus was ALIVE!

And when we have our eyes opened to the same truth,

that the living Christ is right here with us

in the middle of whatever we are in the middle of,

the effect on us is the same.

We, too, can face our world,

no matter what it may contain,

with the courage and confidence

that only the presence of Christ with us, in us can give.

If we took the time this morning

we could walk through every major Christian doctrine

and discover that everyone of them depends upon the resurrection of Christ.

We’re not going to do that,

but I do want to touch on just one more before we end

because it is this one

that I first saw so clearly

on that Trinidadian hilltop so many years ago.

It’s found in Hebrews 2:14-15 where it says,

Therefore, since the children share in flesh and blood, He Himself likewise also partook of the same, that through death He might render powerless him who had the power of death, that is, the devil, and might free those who through fear of death were subject to slavery all their lives.

In that passage

the author of Hebrews tells us

that through Christ’s death and resurrection

we are freed from that slavery that comes to every human being

as a result of the fear of death that is within us.

And some of you who just heard me say that

are thinking to yourselves,

“No, I don’t think so.

I don’t live in fear of death.

I’m 19 years old, or 26, or 31.

I have years and years before I’ll die.

I can see how some really old guy, like Larry, might worry about it,

but not me.”

But that is not what the author is talking about.

What he’s saying is that

without the resurrection of Christ

we are all forced to think in terms of 70 or 80 years.

And that is slavery!

If all I have is 80 years,

and I have to get everything I’m going to get here and now,

it means I must play by the world’s rules,

taking what I want,

clinging to what I can get,

crushing whoever I need to crush to get it.

But do you know what the resurrection of Jesus Christ does for us?

It frees us forever from the slavery that comes with a 70 year mentality.

It lifts us up,

out of the jungle that is this world,

high above this point in time to a grassy hilltop.

And from that hilltop

we can see ourselves beyond this week,

beyond this year,

beyond our own death

to see two things with remarkable clarity,

two things that have the ability to free us for a whole new way of life.

First, we see that ultimately

all the scales are balanced.

And the way God balances the scales

is unlike anything we’ll ever see in this life.

Paul puts it this way.

2CO 4:17 For momentary, light affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison...

When my righteous choices here and now

cause me to loose by the world’s standards,

or when they cause me to hurt,

no matter how intense that pain may seem now,

it is only a momentary light affliction

when compared with the eternal wight of glory that is to follow.

And second,

through the resurrection of Jesus Christ

I am able to see myself a hundred years from now

and discover that the death of this body is not an end,

it is simply one more incident in my life that has no end.

It’s a rather big incident, to be sure,

but it is still just an incident.

And it was this truth most of all

that formed the foundation for the tremendous power that existed within the New Testament church.

When confronted with the reality of the risen Christ,

they suddenly realized

that they, just like their Lord,

would never die!

They, just like Christ,

would simply exchange an old body for a new one.

And the result was the discovery

that I am truly free,

free to be all that I can possibly be as God’s child,

and to invest myself

and my life

in a value system and an approach to life

that this world may laugh at,

because my vision of the future

does not stop at 70 years,

but it goes on to 700 years, and 7000, and 70,000

all because the resurrection of Christ has shown me my own future.

That is what I shared with you

on Easter morning 1983,

and it is exactly the same message I want to share with you 22 years later.