Pastor Wayne Cordeiro
April 20, 2014 - W1416

Happy Resurrection Day! Around the world many people will be celebrating Easter in many different ways. But, so many of these people still miss the true meaning of Easter.

There are many epitaphs written on people’s tombstones. Some are serious and others are rather humorous. But I often wonder what would be the epitaph on the tomb of Jesus? We find that His epitaph is not written on His tombstone but was actually spoken by the voices of angels. Early in the morning, two women came to where Jesus’ body had been left and two angels appeared to them “And the angel answered and said unto the women, ‘Fear not: for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. He is not here: for He is risen, just as He said.’” (Matthew 28:5-6)

1) Fear Not

The most important event in the world is that of Jesus’ resurrection. In fact Paul once wrote that if Jesus did not rise then our faith is futile and we are still in our sins. So you won’t find a tomb that says, “Here lies Jesus Christ”. If Christ’s bones lay decaying somewhere in a grave then our world would still be living in a hopeless estate. But because of the resurrection, the tragedy of the crucifixion has been turned into triumph.

Too often at Easter we focus our attention on the cross and the sacrifice Jesus made for our redemption, but after His crucifixion, He appeared to over 500 people at the same time. So today instead of concentrating on the words before the cross, we are going to talk about the words that the risen Christ spoke after the cross, because after His resurrection, He appeared to His disciples. In Acts chapter1: 3 it says that “He presented himself – alive” with many proofs that He spoke about over a period of 40 days. And we find in 1 Corinthians 13 that it says “He presented Himself to over 500 brethren and some of these are still alive.” So those who were still alive could actually certify that Jesus did in truth rise from the dead. In fact after His resurrection, He spoke to two by the tomb, He walked and talked with men on the road to Emmaus, He met the disciples by the lakeside, He met them in the upper room, on a hilltop. He shared meals with them, He walked with them, He met with those who were afraid and those who were hopeful, those who were doubtful and even those who were confident. He came to ordinary people just like you and me. We will read over and over again two words and those words are “Fear Not”.

These are two words the world certainly needs to hear. Throughout scriptures Jesus tells His disciples, “Go, and I will be with you.” He constantly tells them “Fear Not” because He will be with them throughout the ages. Today this world is filled with fear, all kinds of fear, and we all struggle with it. Fear is everywhere in our job or in the economy, fear of things that will happen or explode. Fear is everywhere.

Do you remember how in scripture we read about Jesus being with His disciples in a closed room and it says here:

“ … Jesus, Himself stood in the midst of them and said to them, ‘Peace to you’. But they were terrified and frightened, and supposed they had seen a spirit. And He said to them, ‘Why are you troubled? And why do doubts arise in your hearts?’” (Luke 24:36-38)

The disciples must have been terrified. So Jesus spoke to them and said, “Peace to you”. And in the actual language this phrase was written in, it means more that your normal greeting or shalom, it actually means to come together. They were so fearful that they probably scattered throughout the room trying to hide, so Jesus was trying to calm them down and bring them back together. Jesus quoted an ancient Prophet Zechariah who wrote “And they will strike down the shepherd and the sheep will be scattered” and Jesus continued, “but I will go before you after I have been raised. I will go before you into Galilee.” After He got them back together again, He said “Fear not. Why does fear reign in your heart?” And over and over again He tells them to “Fear not”.

He is alive and He will never leave you nor forsake you. If you walk through the valley of a shadow. He will walk with you. If you are going through a troubled marriage, He is closer than you think and if you have questions, He will answer them.

David Livingstone was a medical missionary to Africa many years ago. He once spoke at a University and as he arose he bore the marks of his African struggles. Over thirty occasions his body was racked with sickness, his arm lay limp from an attack from an African lion which he nearly escaped with his life. Then he asked the students, “Would you like me to tell you what kept me going on through all my struggles?” He then said it was Jesus, and he quoted Matthew 28:20:

“… lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” (Matthew 28:20)

Then David Livingstone continued saying, “I staked everything of my life on these words and He has never failed me.” In the midst of all the disasters and our doubts, He is as relevant today as He was back then. He will walk with us through those narrow passageways, straits, or trails, He will be with us throughout the ages.

Now sometimes I do wish that instead of walking me through these places that He will just fly me above them “like a bridge over troubled waters”, but Jesus says “No, I am not going to fly you over. I am going to drag you right through it, but I will be with you. Fear not, I will never let go of your hands. Then when you have gone through it there will be character depth developed in you. I wish there was an easier way, but I promise you, I will walk with you. I am more concerned about your character than I am of your comfort”. Whatever you are going through right now, Jesus is closer than you think. Just listen to His voice and He will guide you and walk you through it.

The first words after the cross is “Fear not”. The second word is “You can believe”.

2) You Can Believe

The Bible says that He has given faith to every man, woman, girl and boy. Some of you are probably saying, “But, I have doubts”. You know that God is real, but you still have doubts. But don’t fear because you are in good company. Remember Thomas the doubter? The disciples were all saying Jesus is alive, but Thomas said he doubted it. Thomas wasn’t with the disciples the first time Jesus appeared, but He was there the second time. But he had to see it and feel it to believe just like it says here in scripture:

“…Jesus came, the doors having been shut, and He stood in their midst and said ‘Peace be with you.’ Then He said to Thomas, ‘Reach here with your finger and see My hands; and do not be unbelieving, but believing.’ Thomas answered and said to Him, ‘My Lord and my God!’ Jesus said to him. ‘because you have seen Me. have you believed? Blessed are they who did not see and yet believed.’” (John 20:26-29)

Jesus came through the walls of that locked up room. He didn’t need to come in through the doors. I’ll tell you if Jesus came through these walls right now He would capture our attention. If you want to know God, then take a look at Jesus Christ. He is all God in bodily form. Remember Jesus is not a human who is divine, but He is divinely human. Now Thomas believed in God but he had many doubts. But he still gave his all for God. There are many people today who are just like Thomas, but they won’t even give God the time of day, they won’t believe in Jesus. It says in these last days there will be many scorners and scoffers, they won’t even come to the feet of Jesus, because they don’t want anyone to mess with their lives. The Bible says that these people won’t even allow the light to come into their hearts because they want to continue to live in their darkness because their deeds are evil. But Thomas was not like them. He had doubts, but he was not a scoffer and neither are you because you are here in church especially if you come with an open heart. Even though you may come with doubts, just don’t let doubts grow roots in your soul. Doubts are a normal trait in life, but God wants to remove those doubts and increase your faith. See, what did Jesus do to Thomas? He didn’t rebuke him, he simply showed him that He is alive. He let him feel his wounds. And Thomas’ response was quick with exclaiming, “My Lord, my God!” It says that Thomas became a great evangelist even as far as India. And what Jesus offered to Thomas He also offers to you. Come see because once you see the Savior, your doubts will no longer control your life. So don’t let your doubts hold you hostage.

Imagine the Universe with the trillions of stars and planets; millions of suns and light years between planets. How vast is that universe and Jesus is the creator of all that. He controls all the planets, the stars and earth. Do you realize that the moon is distanced 238,000 miles away and if it was any closer earth would be inundated with tidal waves and earthquakes and it would even affect the gravity? But because God is in control of all the universe we can be sure that everything will be in order. There are many who want proof that God controls all the universe, but you can’t put God into a mathematical equation. But when you put all your faith in Him it generates a better life and a deep trust in God’s word. Trust spawns trust, faith spawns faith. The Bible says that without faith it is impossible to please God. But those who come to Him and believe that He is God will reap a reward. You can believe. He has put eternity in the heart of all men because God designed us this way.

Recalling the story about Thomas, Jesus said “Blessed are those who did not see but still believe.” So you see there is a special blessing to those, like us, who did not see or feel all that Thomas did, but who still believe. He has put in all our hearts a strong faith to believe even if we didn’t get a chance to see as Thomas did and there is that special blessing. Each of us have to make that decision on our own, we have to keep that appointment with God to respond to Him.

There’s a story about a little girl who had a mother who believed but the father was an atheist. Mom would take her to Sunday School, but dad just scoffed at it. When she turned 8 she started getting sick and found out she had leukemia. She asked the dad what should she do, should she believe or not because she was about to die. You see, each one of us will come to that point where we have to decide whether to receive or reject. Psalm 14 says “Only a fool says in his heart that there is no God”. But God will show you who He is and it is up to you to believe in Him or reject Him. This is what Easter is all about; it’s a new beginning. We will have doubts, but fear not, allow him to reveal Himself to you. Do you know Christ? Can you feel Him in your heart? Can you respond to Jesus? Can you receive Jesus in your heart today? You can. You just have to believe. Just remember that when Jesus died on that cross our debts are “paid in full”. You can believe. Will you?

Study Suggestions

What kind of doubts do you have?

What causes the fear in your heart preventing you to believe?

What will help you believe?

If you do believe, how did God reveal Himself to you?