"He is Not Here" | Rev. Dr. Howard-John Wesley | Resurrection Service Sermon 2021

let me wish each and every one of you a joyous and a joyful happy easter sunday morning what a privilege and a pleasure it is for us to be able to gather in this way although all of us would want to be in church on easter heck even people who don't come to church come to church on easter my prayer is that you've been able to sense the intentionality of celebration that has preceded this preaching moment that we've tried to be very diligent and decisive about creating a space where we celebrate the joy of the resurrection of jesus christ with song and dance and instrument and now even the preached word anytime we worship god it is a good time to be thankful and to celebrate but i think you'd agree with me that even more so on this sunday morning when we proclaim a risen savior that we do it with joy that we do it with energy and passion and thanksgiving because we serve a risen savior won't you bow with me as we seek in search for the spirit of god to embrace and inform our celebration of the resurrection of jesus christ lord we give you thanks on this glorious easter sunday morning for one thing alone and above all else christ is risen that's enough oh god for our souls to sing and our minds to be merry and our lives to be filled with joy christ is risen lord i pray now that as we seek to search through the story of the savior and his resurrection that your spirit would speak to our hearts in the times in which we live in the name of our resurrected our risen our reigning and our returning redeemer jesus the christ we do pray amen as you know every gospel has an account of the resurrection of jesus christ on this easter sunday morning and this pandemic i would that you hear matthew's version if you journey with me to the last chapter of the gospel of matthew chapter 28 i'd like to read in your hearing beginning in verse number one out of the new revised standard version of god's word let's listen together for the word of god in matthew chapter 28 beginning in verse number one after the sabbath as the first day of the week was dawning mary magdalene and the other mary they went to see the tomb and suddenly there was a great earthquake for an angel of the lord descending from heaven came and rolled back the stone and sat on it his appearance was like lightning and his clothing white ass snow for fear of him the guards shook and they became like dead men but the angel said to the women do not be afraid i know that you are looking for jesus who was crucified he is not here for he has been raised as he said come see the place where he lay then go quickly and tell his disciples that he has been raised from the dead and indeed he is going ahead of you to galilee there you will see him this is my message for you so they left the tomb quickly with fear and great joy and ran to tell his disciples and suddenly jesus met them and said greetings and they came to him took hold of his feet and worshiped him then jesus said to them do not be afraid go and tell my brothers to go to galilee there they will see me allow me for emphasis sake to read the sixth and seventh verse one more time in your hearing he is not here for he has been raised as he said come see the place where he lay then go quickly and tell his disciples he has been raised from the dead on this easter sunday morning of 2021 allow me simply to put a title on this morning meditation he is not here he is not here i think it's safe to say that all of christianity hinges on the resurrection of jesus christ more than a pastor in the pulpit and a choir in the loft above a building with a steeple and a cross on top and even above the holy word of god all of our faith hinges on the resurrection of jesus christ as a matter of fact if you take paul and his word in romans chapter 10 the very first step of becoming a christian is to believe that jesus rose from the dead it is in romans chapter 10 that paul says to us for if we confess with our mouth the lord jesus and believe in our heart that god raised him from the dead then and only then are we saved it's not what church you go to it's not what preacher you follow it's not what scripture you quote it's not what him you sing that makes you a christian what makes you a christian is that in the depth of your heart there's the unshakeable belief that christ came christ was crucified and early on the first day of the week he rose from the dead it is the proclamation of that resurrection that makes christianity unique among all the world religions if you think about it just about all the world religions have some kind of ethical and moral code that sounds like the golden rule do unto others as you would have them do unto you just about every world religion has some form of sacred writings and scriptures that they read from just about every world religion has some form of prayer and meditation just about every world religion has some doctrine and thought about the afterlife just about every world religion has religious leaders and prophets that people follow and listen to but the one thing that distinguishes our faith from any other religion in the world is the belief that our savior died and rose again from the dead and we don't just share that blase hum we share that with joy and vigor because if there's any message worthy of celebrating there's any message that ought to put some joy in your heart if there's anything that ought to anchor your hope if there's anything that ought to encourage your faith and put clapping in your hands and singing in your song it is that christ has risen from the dead that message merits our soul's celebration the ironic thing is that although we celebrate easter with joy and vigor and celebration and enthusiasm the very first easter was anything but that sometimes i sit and wonder what the disciples and the followers of jesus must have felt when the sun began to dawn on that first sunday after the crucifixion of jesus on a friday imagine if you will being gathered in this place having just witnessed the tragic execution of a man you love and has sacrificed your whole life for to follow for three years imagine if you will being in jerusalem trying to go through the motions of passover but now being deathly afraid that the very same religious forces that killed your leader are now searching for you to do the same thing imagine if you will the disappointment and even the frustration of wondering how could it have ended like this was jesus really who we thought he was and who he claimed to be and if he were how could his story end like this how could the one who walked on water die on a cross how could the one who opened blinded eyes and cast out demons and healed crippled bodies find himself dying the death of a criminal on the cross no there was no joy there was no excitement there was no enthusiasm as the sun began to dawn on that first day of the week there was anger and frustration there is disappointment and depression and although every gospel writer begins the story of the resurrection by telling us it was dark that morning that darkness was not simply the absence of the sun it was the loss of hope it was the disappointment it was the anger it was the frustration you know what i think that's the same kind of darkness you feel when you've been exposed to another mass shooting this time in atlanta leaving a handful dead and georgia legislature rather than enacting gun reform moves quickly to pass voter suppression laws that look a lot like jim crow maybe that's the darkness you feel when trump insurrectionists can hijack the capital in washington d.c and not be arrested but a black woman who knocks on the door of the governor's office in georgia is quickly arrested and put in chains maybe that's the darkness we feel when we witness a 65 year old asian woman brutally beaten openly in the streets of new york by brandon elliott while bystanders closed the door and watched and did nothing maybe beloved that's the darkness we feel as we have to relive the murder and execution of george floyd by a defense team that would have you believe that floyd brought his death on himself and that derrick chauvin is not responsible for killing that black man right in front of our very eyes maybe just maybe that's the depression we feel when we realized that 53 years ago today martin luther king was assassinated in memphis tennessee and look how far we have not come maybe it's the darkness of a pandemic that escapes vaccination by its constant mutation taking more than half million lives in this country alone maybe just maybe that's the darkness of not being able to have proper funerals to say goodbye it's the darkness of not being able to be in the house of worship even on the lord's day on the sunday of resurrection there's a darkness that we face and it is not the darkness of the first day of the week it's a darkness that we deal with every day of the week come back if you will to that first dawning in that dark day on that first easter and the bible says it in the midst of this darkness and in the midst of this depression in the midst of the disappointment and the frustration and the anger god starts easter by sending an angel to a graveyard to meet some women who are making their way there the easter message begins with an angel who's been sent from the lord with a message for those who've been living in darkness you do know that angels are only dispatched when god has something to say and here this angel comes from heaven with a message the bible tells us in matthew that the women who are making their way there mary magdalene and the other mary that according to matthew they're not just going to anoint the body no matthew says they're going to see the tomb i don't want to get too deep and complicated on easter sunday morning but that verb c is theo rayo and it doesn't just mean to look at it means to understand it means to search out it means to investigate that these women have risen early on this sunday morning and they've gone to the tomb to search out to understand to investigate because in their mind god must be doing something god must have something to say i know it's been dark i know it's been rough i know it's been hard but we're going here because we just believe that god must have something to say in the midst of this situation we've come to understand god and beloved i want to share with you early on this easter sunday morning that in the midst of darkness in the midst of depression in the midst of disappointment in the midst of anger in the midst of frustration in the midst of all of that god always has something to say and one of the messages of easter is that we must learn to transition from asking the question why did this happen to me to the question what is god saying to me don't you miss this here it's how you mature in your walk when you stop being held up by wondering why and start asking what what is god saying to me what is the lord revealing to me about myself what am i learning about god and how god operates in the midst of this situation that angel shows up in that tomb yard in that graveyard by the tomb and he tells the women in verse 7 i've got a message for you the lord has sent me here with a message for you in the midst of your darkness and despair and depression god has a message and beloved the same way that message was what those women needed to hear on that morning i've come today to plagiarize the message of the angel and share with you the same good news listen at the message of god through the angel to those who are facing darkness the angel begins by saying he's not here he's not here he's not here i know you're looking for jesus and the reason you've come here is because this is where you last saw his dead body and you woke up this morning thinking that this morning would be like yesterday and the day before you thought today was going to be just like yesterday and that everything today would be what you experienced yesterday so you've come here believing that nothing has changed understand this beloved that the women according to the other gospels have gone to anoint the body of jesus and the reason they've got to come on this sunday is because if you remember when jesus died on friday mark the sun went down and there was not enough time for the final proper anointing of burial before the sabbath began at sundown on friday teach pastor wesley and because the sun went down on friday they could not do the final preparation of the body friday night to saturday night is sabbath no one is allowed to work sunday morning is the very first opportunity that these women have to come and anoint the body and they are coming to anointed as a sign that the burial is done that the body is dead that the funeral is over that the life of jesus has come to an end they have come seeking closure and the end of the situation they've come to lay all this jesus stuff to rest beloved i'll suggest to you that there is a certain peace that is found in finally bringing an end to something that there is peace found in finally giving up and letting it die there's a peace that can be found in no longer struggling and fighting and arguing but just taking your hands off of it and say so be it there's a peace that is found in giving up there's a piece found in hitting send on the resignation letter there's a piece found in filing the paperwork and saying you can have it all there's a certain peace that can be found in just letting it die and that's why these women have come to just say it's finally over and when the angel meets them and the very first word out of his mouth is he's not here he's letting them know you can't put finality on this watch this cause it ain't over yet i know you've come ready to quit and throw in the towel and give up and walk away but you showed up today for god to tell you something and that is that this ain't over yet i don't know i don't know i don't know who i got to preach this to on easter sunday morning but i feel in my spirit that god wants someone to know it ain't going to end like this this is not how it is over this is not the final chapter this is not the last word this is not over yet it's not done it's just intermission i remember i remember condell i took my boys to broadway once and we were there watching this broadway show it's the very first time they've been to broadway and in the middle of the performance something happened that that confused them you see in the middle of the performance the actors went off stage in the middle of the performance the lights went down in the middle of performance the curtain was closed and when the lights came back up the actors were off stage the curtain was closed and cooper got up and said i guess it's time to go i said son no it's not time to go he said dad the actors are off the stage the light went down the curtain has been closed the show must be over i said son it's not over it's only intermission he didn't know what intermission was i had to break it down in five-year-old language so that's what i said intermission is when they close the curtain so they can change the scene for the grand finale that that's all intermission is it's when the actors get off the stage the lights go down and the curtain is drawn so someone on the other side can set the stage for the finale somebody this easter sunday morning i just want you to know yes some folk have left the stage and yes it's getting a little bit dark and yes you can't see what's happening but god is behind the scene setting the stage for the grand finale he's not here god is doing something it's not over yet the lord is still working some things out they show up and the angel says he's not here but watch what else the angel tells them that i want to pass on to you he is risen he is risen now if you didn't even think amen if you didn't even want to shout a man right here you need to check your baptisology you need to check your christianity he is risen one of the reasons i read out of the new revised standard version this morning is because it's more accurate to the greek in the greek it's not the active voice but the passive voice don't you get lost in that here's how it should really read not he is risen he has been risen that that god did something in jesus when god resurrected him from the dead he didn't do it by himself god did it for him let me pause right there because someone you say man that's your life story that you know god has done some things for you that you never could have done for and by yourself is there anybody on easter sunday who knows god has done some things for me that i could never have done he has been risen that god has resurrected christ from the dead death could not stop god here's your easter sunday shout he's not here god is still working things out he is risen and nothing can stop god i know this can be too simple for a shout but if god could defeat death what in the world can stop god from whatever god wants to do in your life i want you to think about that for a moment if god could raise jesus from the dead what in the world could stop god from doing whatever god has planned to do in your life i came by to declare today we serve a god who cannot be stopped who cannot be interfered with who cannot be deterred god will do whatever god wants to do i i was uh watching espn the other day and one of the things that always comes up mark now that we're in nba season are these frivolous debates about who the greatest basketball player of all time is that there are a lot of different uh opinions on who the greatest basketball player is some will rightfully argue that it is bill russell bill russell has 11 championship rings with the boston celtics clearly he was the best there's some that would argue no it has it has to be magic johnson because of what magic johnson did for the league with showtime there are some who would argue no it is the black mamba kobe bryant god rest his soul because of his scoring ability some would argue that it's lebron james look at how many finals he's going to and look at how many rings he has and look at how dominant a player he is and allow me to suggest to you that i understand the bill russell i understand the magic johnson i understand the kobe bryant i understand the lebron james but i am from the south side of chicago and allow me to declare without fear of contradiction that all those other opinions are wrong that the only greatest of all time was not bill russell it was not kobe bryant it was not magic johnson and it ain't lebron james i'm sorry i know you can disagree but you'll still be wrong the only greatest player of all times is number 23 michael jordan i now ain't talking about him off the court i'm talking about on the court on the court michael jordan is the greatest on the court michael jordan can't be beat how do i know michael's greatest here it is here's why i argue michael jordan is the greatest because michael jordan went to six nba finals and he never lost one and i suggest to you that you cannot be the greatest if you've ever lost in the championship you cannot be the greatest if you stepped up to the greatest battle and you fell short i'm sorry lebron you've lost too many times but if you get michael on the court michael never lost in the nba championship in order to be the greatest you can never take a loss let me tell you about our god let me tell you how our god has never lost the battle how he's never lost the case how he even defeated death that's why greater is he that is in me than he that is in the world that's why all things will work together for my good because what can stop god he is not here he's working some things out he is risen god cannot be stopped oh but i like the third thing the angel says watch it and hear the attitude he hear the attitude of the angel he's not here he's risen as he said uh uh you should not be surprised that he's risen because that's what he told you he was going to do and if you took him at his word you would not be surprised by what you just found matter of fact it is this issue of taking god at his word that we read mark's version of the resurrection mark shows us that jesus comes to the disciples and he's disappointed in them they don't believe he's been resurrected and jesus is upset why is he upset because he says i told you i was going to be resurrected how can you doubt when you know what i've told you beloved here's some good news in this pandemic easter that we celebrate you can take god at his word that if god promised it god will perform it i wish i had somebody who knows that god will do what god said he's going to do god is not a man or a woman that he should lie nor the son of man that he should have to repent that whatever god has declared that is what it's going to be i i need a witness right now who knows that it did work together for your good i need someone who knows the weeping only endured for a night i need someone who can declare that the weapon was formed but it did not prosper is there anybody who knows you can take god at his word ah he's not here he's risen as he said and in every dark moment of your life there's a voice asking you but what did god say i know what the doctor said but what did god say i know what your mother said about you but but what did god say i know how bad it looks but what did god say i know how much it hurts but what did god say i know it's breaking you down but what did god say he's not here he's risen as he said but then watch this this gets deep and the angel says now come see where jesus used to lay come look at what used to be but ain't no more come look at what has been changed let me pause right here pull over but i'm gonna keep the engine running and i'll suggest to you that somebody your life is like that tomb because your life bears witness to what used to be so somebody you ought to invite some folk into your life on easter and tell them let me show you what used to be let me show you what used to be broken let me show you what used to be lost let me show you what used to be sick let me show you what used to be addicted let me show you what used to be broken let me show you what used to be and see what is right now this angel invites them to come see and this gets a little deep but y'all the angel has come to move the stone the stone is moved and jesus is already gone the stone was not moved to let jesus out the stone was moved so the women could see in don't you miss this of the stone was not moved to let jesus out the stone was moved because whenever god goes to work there must be a witness so the angel invites these two women to be witnesses of the empty tomb now i don't want to get too deep on easter sunday but know this then matthew writing to a jewish audience is intentional about naming two women mary magdalene and the other mary supposedly the sister of lazarus those two mary's have shown up matthew is intentional about two the reason is according to deuteronomy chapter 19 it takes two witnesses to verify the accuracy and truth of a detail don't miss this deuteronomy 19 and 15 it takes two witnesses to verify the accuracy and truth of any detail in jewish court someone could not be convicted unless there were two witnesses pop quiz how many witnesses does it take to verify truth in jewish court two two women have shown up here's the problem deuteronomy 19 says two witnesses but the talmud t-a-l-m-u-d which is commentary written by pharisees on the law says that women could not be witnesses don't miss us the talmud which is what the pharisees wrote after the law to give commentary on the law the pharisees said that women could not be witnesses as a matter of fact in the third chapter of sanhedrin in the talmud it distinctly says a witness cannot be a woman sanhedrin the same counsel that convicted jesus that same group said women could not be witnesses and yet the resurrection is witnessed by two women god puts the witness of the resurrection into women even though pharisee law said women cannot be witnesses okay okay you might you might be a little slow i'm gonna help wake you up uh god put the witness of the resurrection into women even though men said women can't be witnesses can't say third time's charm god breaks human law to do and fulfill his will and say that i don't care what men have said i'm going to show you something i came by to declare that we serve a god who breaks human law we serve a god who violates proper protocol we serve a god who does not follow standard operating procedure we serve a god who does not care about stereotypes and statistics that our god will break human law to fulfill his will there's somebody watching this easter sunday morning you ought to be raising your hand because if anybody is a living witness that god will break protocol it ought to be you you know protocol says nobody from your background should be living like you do protocol says no one with your broken family should be married until happily ever after protocol says you didn't have the degree but you get the job anyway is there anybody here who knows god breaks protocol he's he's not here he's working behind the scenes he's risen nothing can stop our god as he said take god at his word come see the place where the lord lay and watch god break protocol and here is the final message of the angel now go and tell the disciples what you saw watch what the angel says listen listen i i've shown you something and there are some other people who need to know what you've seen uh peter is hiding and he needs to know christ has risen james and john are afraid and they need to know that christ is risen mary you've got what peter needs you've got the testimony that james needs you've seen what john needs to know beloved i can't tell you we have what the world needs we know what the world needs to know we've seen what the world needs to see that our savior is risen and maybe just maybe the challenge the assignment for believers today is to leave this easter the same way the women left the tomb with joy and fear to go and tell the world that christ has risen from the dead that's your assignment that's your responsibility that's your homework to tell the world about a risen savior i got to go happy easter to you but let me tell you how it plays out these women are running from the tomb to go tell the disciples that christ has risen and the bible says that on their way jesus showed up while they're being obedient jesus shows up they only see christ because they've chosen to be obedient that when you commit yourself to obeying the commandment of god christ will show up in your life and watch what happens jesus shows up and he says to them don't be afraid go tell the disciples i've risen hold on hold up the angel told the women don't be afraid christ is risen go tell the disciples they go to fulfill it and on their way jesus shows up and says don't be afraid i'm risen go tell the disciples okay you miss some child one time uh the angel tells women don't be afraid christ is risen go tell the disciples they say cool we bout it they go to tell the disciples and on their way jesus shows up and jesus says don't be afraid i have risen go tell the disciples you you still look slow the angel tells women don't be afraid christ is risen go tell the disciples the women say cool we bout it they're on their way and jesus shows up and tells them the exact same thing rick i had to wonder why does the g why does jesus show up and tell them the same thing even though they had already received it from the angel and were on their way to fulfill it they hadn't paused they hadn't doubted it they hadn't questioned they were only why does jesus show up and tell them the same thing i finally figured it out in my mind jesus shows up and tells him the same thing because it's not about the assignment it's about the encounter they had seen the empty tomb but the empty tomb is not witness of the resurrection it's a sign of it and so christ encounters them so that when they get to the disciples they don't just say we have saw an empty tomb no now they can say we've seen jesus for ourselves because the true witness of believers is not just about signs it's about the encounter with christ who met us on the road who spoke to our lives who touched us and we know he's alive that these marys can declare we know he lives because we've seen him we've touched him that that's that's what that hymn writer wrote when he put pen to paper and began to write the words i serve a risen savior he's in the world today i know that he is living no matter what others say i see his hand of mercy i hear his voice of cheer and just the time i need him he's always near he lives he lives christ jesus lives today he walks with me and talks with me a long life's narrow way how do i know he lives because he lives in me let me close by reminding you of my freshman year in college my freshman year in college i had a roommate named mike and next door to us was a brother on a tennis scholarship named trevor trevor was a funny dude trevor half arabian half italian just a funny dude funny dude i loved trevor he was a great guy and i remember one day having conversation with trevor i decided i wanted to try to minister about jesus to him i began telling trevor about jesus and about the love of god trevor was an atheist and angie he asked me some questions that i could not answer he said how would i hear all of that but this is what i want to know can i see god and i thought about it for a moment i said no you can't really see god he said can i touch jesus i said no i i guess you can't really touch jesus and that's what he said if i can't see it and i can't touch it then it must not be real that thing messed me up that messed me up i had gone to sunday school i graduated from sunday school and i didn't know how to answer that question that if you can't see it and can't touch it it must not be real i was messed up by that thing and then the lord had a breakthrough one day trevor came knocking on the door i was one of the only freshmen to have a car i told y'all my dad bought me a car took my car to college trevor came knocking on the door he said howard i need you to take me to the emergency room i said trevor what's wrong he says i got a toothache and my gum is swollen and and it hurts really bad i got a toothache and i need you to take me to the emergency room howard please take me because of my toothache and the holy ghost showed up yes she did let me tell you what the holy ghost said uh trevor before i take you i got a question uh can i see your toothache george said no no i guess you can't see it i said can i touch your toothache he said no no i guess you can't touch it so trevor if i can't see the toothache and i can't touch the toothache how do i know you really have a toothache he says you gotta take my word cause i feel it and i said that's how i know my jesus lives that's how i know my god is real i don't see god and i can't touch christ but i feel him and i know he's real he's risen he's not here he's risen as he said come see the place where the lord lay and now let us go tell the rest of the world that our savior lives you

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Length: 45min 33sec (2733 seconds)

Published: Sun Apr 04 2021