Free to Live Life to the Full
Easter Sunday, 2009
As presented by Rev. Jonathan Mills, Pastor at Kanata Baptist Church.
Subject: Christ died to take away our sins and burdens—to give us
life! Lay down your burdens and start to live free in Him.
Outline:
Introduction
A) Resurrection:
Transforms the Cross from Defeat to Victory
B) The Story of David
McAllister
C) Forgiveness Is God's
Gift Through Christ!
How easy is it for
you to forgive others?
Receiving Christ's Forgiveness
Conclusion
Colossians 1:15-23
15 The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over
all creation. 16 For in him all things were created: things in heaven
and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or
rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for
him. 17 He is before all things, and in him all things hold together.
18 And he is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and
the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have
the supremacy. 19 For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in
him, 20 and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether
things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood,
shed on the cross.
21 Once you were alienated from God and were enemies
in your minds because of your evil behavior. 22 But now he has
reconciled you by Christ's physical body through death to present you
holy in his sight, without blemish and free from accusation— 23 if you
continue in your faith, established and firm, and do not move from the
hope held out in the gospel. This is the gospel that you heard and that
has been proclaimed to every creature under heaven, and of which I,
Paul, have become a servant.
1 Corinthians 15:1-11
The Resurrection of Christ
1 Now, brothers and sisters, I want to remind you of the gospel I
preached to you, which you received and on which you have taken your
stand. 2 By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I
preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain.
3 For what I received I passed on to you as of first
importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures,
4 that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to
the Scriptures, 5 and that he appeared to Cephas, and then to the
Twelve. 6 After that, he appeared to more than five hundred of the
brothers and sisters at the same time, most of whom are still living,
though some have fallen asleep. 7 Then he appeared to James, then to
all the apostles, 8 and last of all he appeared to me also, as to one
abnormally born.
9 For I am the least of the apostles and do not even
deserve to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of
God. 10 But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace to me was
not without effect. No, I worked harder than all of them—yet not I, but
the grace of God that was with me. 11 Whether, then, it is I or they,
this is what we preach, and this is what you believed.
Introduction
Perception Problem: Who Influenced Who?
Thomas Wheeler is a wealthy businessman—before his retirement, he
had worked his way up to CEO of the Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance
Company.
He tells the story of a time he and his wife were driving along an
interstate highway when he noticed that their car was low on gas. He
exited the highway as soon as he could in search of a gas station.
He found an old rundown station with just one gas pump. He asked
the lone attendant to fill the tank and check the oil; then went for a
little walk around the station to stretch his legs.
When he returned to the car, he noticed that his wife was engaged in an
animated conversation with the gas station attendant. The conversation
stopped as he paid the attendant. But as he was getting back into the
car, the attendant waved and said, “It was great talking to you.”
As they drove out of the station, Wheeler asked his wife if she
knew the man. She readily admitted she did. They had gone to high
school together and had dated steadily for about a year.
“Boy, were you lucky that I came along,” he said. “If you had married
him, you'd be the wife of a gas station attendant instead of the wife
of a chief executive officer.”
“My dear,” replied his wife, “if I had married him, he'd be the chief
executive officer and you'd be pumping gas.”
A) Resurrection:
Transforms the Cross from Defeat to Victory
I guess it all depends on how you look at it.
Some things in life are like that—one person can see it one way, while
another person sees it completely differently.
A Perspective on
the Cross: Humiliation and Defeat
As we walk through holy week, we can certainly see how people have
completely different perspectives on the cross.
Think of the way the people of the first century perceived the
cross: it was the Roman's punishment for any who resisted their
rule—a symbol of their relentless authority.
It represented their domination and power; and for those
who fell victim to the cross, it was a torturous death in abject
humiliation and defeat.
It is hard to imagine that the cross could be seen in any other light.
A Perspective on the Cross: Victory
But on Friday, Millions upon Millions of Christ's followers
around the world came to reflect quietly on the cross, because we see
it in a distinctly different light.
For those who trust the Lord Jesus, the cross is the most significant
and crucial event in all of human history. The cross represents
Gods intervention into our world—a world gone horribly wrong—in order
to provide a way for all people to be drawn into a relationship
with Him through faith. The cross is God's decisive and purposeful act
which has made a way for us to receive forgiveness.
Rather than defeat, the cross has become the symbol of victory!
Victory over death, hell, the grave—and most importantly—victory over
sin.
The First
Resurrection: Grief Turns to Joy
Those are two very different views. How did the cross change from being
a symbol of humiliation and defeat – into the symbol of victory, love
... and divine grace and mercy?
The answer to that is: “The Resurrection.” On that first Easter
morning, the tragedy of the cross was irrevocably transformed by the
triumph of the resurrection.
Here is how Luke records the events of that first Easter morning.
Luke 24:1-6 On the first day of the week, very early in the
morning, the women took the spices they had prepared and went to the
tomb. 2 They found the stone rolled away from the tomb, 3 but when they
entered, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus.
4 While they were wondering about this, suddenly two men in
clothes that gleamed like lightning stood beside them. 5 In their
fright the women bowed down with their faces to the ground, but the men
said to them, “Why do you look for the living among the dead? 6 He is
not here; he has risen!”
In that instant—everything changed! Their Lord and Master, who had
suffered and died, was now alive again! It would take some time for the
reality to sink in, but their tears turned to rejoicing—and their
sadness to shouts of joy!
Just as he had told his disciples earlier;
John 16:20 Very truly I tell you, you will weep and mourn ... You will
grieve, but your grief will turn to joy.
And that is exactly what happened!
Jesus did not come to die. He came to die … and rise again!
And today we gather to celebrate the wonder of what God has done for us
through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
Reconciliation and
Forgiveness
And what is it that God has done? Our scripture lesson this morning
describes the resulting status of believers following Christ's death on
the cross: [Col. 1:21-23]
Col 1:21-23 Once you were alienated from God and were enemies in
your minds because of your evil behavior. But now he has reconciled you
by Christ's physical body through death to present you holy in his
sight, without blemish and free from accusation—if you continue in your
faith, established and firm, and do not move from the hope held out in
the gospel.
Through the cross, we are reconciled to God.
This verse tells us that we are alienated from God because of our evil
behavior. We were sinful people—cut off from a perfect, holy God.
But Christ's death on the cross reconciled us to God, presenting us
holy and pure in his sight without blemish and free from accusation.
That means—because of the sacrifice Christ made on the cross—we can be
completely and totally forgiven. Forgiven, and reconciled with God.
A Sunday School teacher had just concluded her lesson and wanted
to make sure she had made her point. She said, “Can anyone tell me what
you must do before you can obtain forgiveness of sin?”
There was a short pause and then, from the back of the room, a small
boy spoke up. “Sin,” he said.2
All of us have the “sin” part covered. We all fall short of the glory
and perfection of God.
It's the forgiveness and reconciliation part that we need help with …
and that's exactly what Christ did for us on the cross.
1 John 1:9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will
forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.
If we confess our sin to God – turn our back on our past (or repent) –
then Jesus Christ forgives us, wiping away every sin – and he draws us
into a new, life giving, relationship with God through faith.
B) The Story of
David McAllister
I'd like to share with you a story about forgiveness and reconciliation
– it's the true story of David McAllister.3
McAllister is Fired – Abducts Chris Carrier
David McAllister was a bit of a drifter—moving from place to
place looking for work.
In 1974 McAllister was in the Miami area where he managed to land a
good job. He was hired by a man named Hugh Carrier to look after Mr.
Carrier's uncle who had just suffered a debilitating stroke. It was a
promising start, but things didn't work out. McAllister wasn't
cut out for this kind of work, and Carrier fired him.
No one knows for certain what was going on in McAllister's mind in the
coming weeks—but what he was about to do shocked a whole community. On
Dec 20, McAllister parked his car not far from the Carrier home and
waited Hugh Carrier's 10-year-old son, Chris, who was walking home from
school. He convinced the young boy that he was a friend of the
family and asked him to help him with directions. The boy got into his
car and they drove off together.
Before long, they were alone in a remote place in the Everglades.
McAllister's rage suddenly erupted and he pulled out an ice pick and
stabbed the 10-year-old boy several times in the chest. Then, he made
him get out of the car, put a gun to his head and shot him at point
blank range, leaving his body lying at the side of the road.
McAllister's Visitor: Detective Scherer
That was 1974.
22 years later, McAllister was 77 years old, and his health was
failing. Blind and frail, he sat alone in the Greynold Park manor
nursing home. No friends came to call—no family visited him.
He was dying, and he was utterly alone.
Then one day he was surprised by an unexpected visitor. The man's name
was Scherer. It took him a minute, but McAllister finally realized who
it was. Scherer was the detective who had originally investigated the
Carrier abduction—McAllister had been his prime suspect. But he could
not gather sufficient evidence to convict him of the crime.
Scherer was now retired. He happened to be in the nursing home that day
visiting someone else, when he recognized McAllister's name—so he
dropped in to speak to him. He explained to him that the statute of
limitations had run out on the crime—but it would give the family some
peace if he would come clean. Eventually, David McAllister confessed to
abducting, stabbing and shooting the young Chris Carrier.
Scherer called the family.
McAllister's Visitor: Chris Carrier
A few days later, McAllister had another visitor. It was Chris Carrier.
How he survived the ordeal in the Everglades 22 years earlier, is best
described as a miracle. He had been stabbed multiple times—shot in the
head at point blank range—and left at the side of the road, unconscious
and exposed in the everglades for 6 days. The bullet that passed
through his head left him blind in one eye—but miraculously, he lived.
Now the 32-year-old Carrier stood next to the bedside of his assailant.
When he realized who it was, McAllister began to cry. For 22 years he
had carried the heavy burden of this violent act on an innocent boy. He
said he was sorry for what he had done.
Chris Carrier tells the story this way; “I told him that I
forgave him and all there was between us now was a newfound
friendship. I also told him that I had a relationship with Jesus
Christ and that I wanted our friendship to extend beyond this life.
“I [also] tried to do what it says in 1 Peter 4--give him an account
for the hope in my life. I let him know he had not robbed me of
anything and he did not need to carry around a load of guilt. I had
graduated from high school, college and seminary, was married and had
two daughters and loved my life.”4
McAllister gave his heart to the Lord Jesus—and he experienced
forgiveness … for everything. Not just what he had done to Chris, but
all the things he had done … all of the sins of his life were wiped
away.
Chris Carrier visited David McAllister as often as he could. He read
the Bible to him, and they prayed together. He was the last person to
visit him on the day that he died on September 26, 1996.
Carrier's Choice: Victim or One Who has Received Blessings?
Chris Carrier would later say; “This experience left me with a choice:
Do I look at myself as a victim of a tragic set of circumstances that
has left me physically scarred and emotionally changed, or do I look at
myself as the receiver of blessings beyond belief? I should have been
killed by David McAllister when he stabbed me many times with an ice
pick. I should have been killed when I was shot in the head at
point-blank range. If I was not killed immediately, I should have bled
to death in the six days I lay there. It was December. I had no
shelter. The elements could have killed me, if not the wild animals in
the area.
“I choose to consider myself the receiver of miracles and
blessings. By the grace of God, David McAllister failed, but
Christ died on the cross and was victorious for all time. Because of
that victory, I can forgive.”5
C) Forgiveness Is God's Gift Through Christ!
This true story of Chris Carrier and David McAllister seems
almost beyond comprehension. How could someone who had been so
violently assaulted forgive his attacker?
It is a powerful testimony to the power of forgiveness!
But not only was Chris able to forgive – but remarkably – he was able
to reach out to McAllister in friendship …
It's hard for us to imagine how that could be possible under those
circumstances.
“By the grace of God” he said, “Christ died on the cross and was
victorious for all time. Because of that victory, I can forgive.”
Do You Find It Easy to Forgive? Most Say No
How easy is
it for you to forgive others?
Negotiating the terms of forgiveness is really hard—both for the one
who needs to seek forgiveness, as well as the one who is in the
position to forgive.
I came across a web site called “JoeApology.com” It's a web site where
anyone can anonymously apologize for … anything—just to get things off
their chest. It's an interesting look into the human psyche.
Reading few some of them, there was something I noticed: A lot of the
apologies start out well, but quickly turn to self-justification.
Here's one from the web site …
To a taxi driver;
“I'm sorry I presumably ruined your day by being a [difficult customer]
because you wouldn't let me use my credit card. But it's a recession.
You do the math. And I was late to a job interview....”
Not much of an apology there.
Swallowing our pride, and offering a sincere apology to someone
can be a bitter pill indeed. Forgiving others is harder! Even if we've
received an apology, it is hard to forgive the offense and move on.
Forgiving Before The Person Apologizes?
But what about forgiving others before they apologize? What about
offering the gift of forgiveness – not because a person deserves to be
forgiven, but simply because you choose to forgive?
This is exactly what Jesus Christ has done.
Romans 5:6-8 You see, at just the right time, when we were still
powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. 7 Very rarely will anyone die
for a righteous person, though for a good person someone might possibly
dare to die. 8 But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While
we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
Christ's death on the cross is the embodiment of love—because he died
for us – to pay the price for our sin, so that we might be forgiven. It
was the decisive act of God to make a way for us--
1 John 4:10 This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us
and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.
Receiving Christ's
Forgiveness
Do you know what it means to experience that forgiveness?
I hope that you do. I pray that you do … and if you haven't yet …
that you will.
But you don't have to be a murderer or hardened criminal to qualify for
the forgiveness that Christ offers through his sacrifice on the cross.
What Chris Carrier did for David McAllister is a small reflection of
what Jesus Christ has done for the whole world through his sacrifice on
the cross.
He died for you. He died for me. He gave his life so that we can
be reconciled to God—and experience a life free from the guilt and
burden of our sin—a life that is rich and full and joyful – a life that
never ends.
This is what Jesus Christ gives to all who trust him.
John 11:25-26 Jesus said “I am the resurrection and the life.
Anyone who believes in me will live, even though they die; and whoever
lives by believing in me will never die.”
Conclusion
I remember well the day when I heard a man talk about the need to
respond to Christ's offer of forgiveness—I was overwhelmed at once by
two things: first was a sense of responsibility for all the sins of my
past. They came flooding into my mind; my selfishness, my
insensitivity, my apathy toward the poor, my pride, my preoccupation
with self, the many careless words I had said that hurt others, my
struggle with lust, my disregard for God and his call to follow … I
just didn't have any excuses any more.
And at the same time, I was overwhelmed by the grace and love of God
offered to me through the sacrifice of Christ on the cross. Even as I
felt the full burden of my sin—God had already provided the solution
for sin, and offered forgiveness for every offense.
I turned my back on my former life. I said I was sorry. And I began
a life of faith in Jesus Christ. That was the day this scripture
was true in my experience
“... he has reconciled you by Christ's physical body through
death to present you holy in his sight, without blemish and free from
accusation …”
For everyone who has experienced the peace and joy of
redemption—you understand what I'm talking about. And today, I invite
you to continue to revel in the wonder of the resurrection!
And, for anyone who is here today, who has not yet made that step of
faith … why not today?
Accept the forgiveness that Christ offers. What is keeping you from
confessing your sin … and receiving new life through the power of God!
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