Happy Easter-- HE IS RISEN!

The resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead really is the cornerstone of the Christian Faith. Christianity stands or falls on the reality of the resurrection. I find it hard to believe there are so-called theologians who deny the resurrection, but still hold to some semblance of the Christian faith.

Paul was not that stupid, He said that if Christ did not rise from the dead, our faith is worthless (1Cor.15: 12-19). In other words, Paul was saying if Christ did not rise, he wouldn’t be a Christian.

When you think about Christianity at its core what is it really? We preach Christ crucified to expiate sin and take away the wrath of God. We teach about the forgiveness of sin and the new life in Christ. We speak of the empowering of the Holy Spirit, but for what? So you have your sins forgiven, So you have eternal life? Big deal what now? What is the Christian faith really about? Those things I just mentioned are but tools or things that open up a great pathway but to what for what?

The Christian life goes back to the beginning. God created all of life in the Universe. The final act of Creation was Man. Why? God made all of the Universe just to have a relationship with man. In Genesis we find in the very first chapter that it was Man whom God breathed a breath of life into. Why?

I believe in Genesis 3 we find our answer. This answer for me seems to unlock the rest of the scripture. In fact, for all of our relationships in life, marriage, business, with kids it seems this transcends all areas of life.

We find Adam and Eve hiding in the bushes afraid of God who is in the cool of the evening walking in the garden. God is walking in the garden with the new creation. Only they are hiding form him because they have sinned.

The Bible teaches us that Man was created for a relationship with God. God designed man to be a being that the very nature and presence of God can be felt and experienced and enjoyed. Sinned has severed the ability of Man to relate to God it has separated us from God and his desire to have a relationship with him.

God sent Jesus to repair the breach and provide a solution that would bless God allowing him to once again have the capability of relating with and to mankind.

Because Jesus died and rose again from the dead we are able to now have that walk with God. This is the core of why we exist. If you understand this the rest of life here on Earth will be so blessed. We are created to walk with God. Not run from him, or Run at him, or Run over him. We were created to walk with him.

Now studying the word “walk” in the Bible we discovered it is everywhere. God gives the Jews and us many verses that describe our relationship to God as a walk with him. There are some other prepositions that indicate how we are supposed to walk with God.

Genesis 17:1 And when Abram was ninety years old and nine, the LORD appeared to Abram, and said unto him, I [am] the Almighty God; walk before me, and be thou perfect.

Dt. 5:33 Ye shall walk in all the ways which the LORD your God hath commanded you, that ye may live, and [that it may be] well with you, and [that] ye may prolong [your] days in the land which ye shall possess.

Dt 13:4 Ye shall walk after the LORD your God, and fear him, and keep his commandments, and obey his voice, and ye shall serve him, and cleave unto him.

Ps 84:11 For the LORD God [is] a sun and shield: the LORD will give grace and glory: no good [thing] will he withhold from them that walk uprightly.

Ps 119:45 And I will walk at liberty: for I seek thy precepts.


Those not walking with the Lord

Ps 82:5 They know not, neither will they understand; they walk on in darkness: all the foundations of the earth are out of course.

How do we walk with the Lord? It begins with waiting on the Lord and sitting reading his word and praying.
Is 40:31 But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew [their] strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; [and] they shall walk, and not faint.

Walk in Love:
And walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us, and hath given himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet smelling savor. Eph 5:2
The Bible says God is Love in order to walk in God the bible tells us to walk in Love. Ehe 5:2 Walk in love as Christ gave us an example. When we walk in love for others helping them that is the same as God walking with us helping us and loving us.

Eph 5:8 For ye were sometimes darkness, but now [are ye] light in the Lord: walk as children of light:

Col 1:10 That ye might walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing, being fruitful in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God;

There are two legs there with one being walking in love being fruitful in every good work the second leg is increasing in the knowledge of God. The two go together. You can’t walk without the other. Many Christians are stuck in their faith having great knowledge but no love and the are not practicing the walk. They just have knowledge and are standing firm on that but their Christian life is boring and stale and lame. The other leg is those Christians that shun the knowledge of God not having time for that and they are just all about ministry. Doing and going everywhere to all the meetings never learning only acting. They are lame as well and there is no depth to their faith. There is a third aspect to this dynamic of a spiritual walk. Many young Christians are pushed into Christian service with the two legs yet they never do the Isaiah 40:31 learning to get an equilibrium from the Lord. You wait on the Lord reading the Bible and praying and you gain balance in your life. This lack of balance in a young Christian’s life causes the early burnout or just a lack of endurance and disorientation as to the direction the Lord is leading. So many followers of Christ are following a dynamic pastor and don’t really get a balance in the Lord. Walking takes two legs but also a balanced mind and a strong body to hold you upright. Just having one or not all of the aspects of spiritual walking will make your Christian experience Lame and ineffective. You will hunger for direction and vision. You press on in service blindly asking God to help you but you just need to stop and wait and read and pray. A good walk with God takes time to cultivate. Babies don’t just get up one day and stroll around the neighborhood. They take months grabbing on to things to pull themselves up and strengthen their muscles with exercise.

The physics of walking seems quite easy for those of us who have been walking all our lives. But it is really a complicated thing. If only one foot moves you can’t walk anywhere you just go in circles. If your brain has no equilibrium you will fall down. The physical walk is a learned experience that over time becomes second nature.

I see today the resurrection of Jesus is key to understanding this walk. There is a passage in Luke chapter 24 where we find some keys. Beginning with verse 13 down to verse 32 let’s read.

Jesus enters a conversation two men are having about Jesus himself. Notice Jesus walked with them. God wants relationship and talking and dialogue. He didn’t just appear and say, “Hi It’s me Jesus back from the dead.” No Jesus toyed with them and asked them questions. Then he sought to grow their faith. Verse 25 Jesus begins at Moses and all the prophets he expounds on the scriptures.

It is as if the God of the Universe who created everything just for a relationship with man was picking up where he left off. You see back in the garden of Eden God came to the garden one evening for a stroll with Adam and Eve. He was enjoying the creation and time walking with Adam. He is looking for Adam, “Where are you?” That walk was postponed. Now the Lord had desired this kind of intimate walk with mankind for thousands of years. The sacrificial thing and religion didn’t work and the walk was always marred in some way. Now Jesus fixes all that and as soon as he is resurrected from the dead what is the first activity that is recorded about him doing. He seeks a couple of believers out and goes for a walk with them. Do you see that is what God wants from us just a simple walk of faith in communion with him.

Their hearts burned within them for the things of God and they were now full of faith to tell the disciples. They went 7 miles and then ran back to Jerusalem to tell the disciples. Sadly in Mark 16:12,13 tells us the disciples didn’t believe them either.

There were 40 days of appearances and over 500 people at one time saw Jesus alive and well. He was dead and came back to life. This fact alone is the basis of Christianity so that mankind can have a walk with God.

So many people see religion as a means to an end. To get all they can get by trying to appease some god and make him happy so that they receive a blessing. The God of the Bible knows our hearts and he isn’t fooled by us. He wants a real relationship with us praying and reading our Bible. To not pray or read is like trying to walk without equilibrium.

Maybe sometimes our Christian lives can get confusing and crazy because we have no equilibrium for the things of God. Our heads spin in unbelief and we then stop walking because we are not reading our Bible and praying. Not just to do those things as an end in themselves. We do those things to really relate to the Creator of the Universe on a personal level. He doesn’t want our phony religious actions. He just, like the guys on the road walking, wants to join us in conversation and activity. I pray we will seek to do that this week as we celebrate the Resurrected Lord may we just have a simple walk with him. We walk in love with God and in love with others praying and reading our Bibles learning more about God.

Amen