Millersport Covenant Church Sermon Podcasts Pastor Steve Bush and others

1 Peter 2:9-10 says: "But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a dedicated nation, God’s own purchased, special people, that you may set forth the wonderful deeds and display the virtues and perfections of Him Who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light. Once you were not a people at all, but now you are God’s people; once you were unpitied, but now you are pitied and have received mercy." (AMPC) Not only pitied. Not only cleansed. Not only redeemed. Not only forgiven. But adopted--made royal heirs of the King of kings and likewise a holy nation and beloved family of priests. You may have never considered yourself as a priest but Peter's words indicate that's what God's children are. The Latin word for priest is pontifex. Translated, that means: Bridge-builder! Yes--we who are born anew in Christ are called to be royal bridge-builders. Christ, our High Priest, the Chief Pontifex, the Supreme Bridge-builder, has built a bridge from God to us. In turn, He allows us to eagerly participate and joyfully serve in His royal bridge-building to others whom He's calling to Himself. What a privilege! And what a joy!

Jeremiah 29:4-7 are the words of God's prophet to the people of Judah, exiled to Babylon: “Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, to all the exiles whom I have sent into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon: Build houses and live in them; plant gardens and eat their produce. Take wives and have sons and daughters; take wives for your sons, and give your daughters in marriage, that they may bear sons and daughters; multiply there, and do not decrease. But seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the LORD on its behalf, for in its welfare you will find your welfare." (ESV) The word, welfare in the text above is better translated, Shalom. Besides describing welfare and peace, Shalom includes wholeness, wellness, security, tranquility, prosperity, harmony, and rest. It's a word chock full of richness and Jesus, the Prince of Shalom, would have us pursue it and exude it in our everyday lives. His sacrifice on the cross, after all, purchased Shalom between us and God (cf Col.1:20). Quoting Psalm 34, Peter exhorts us: "Whoever would love life and see good days must keep their tongue from evil and their lips from deceitful speech. They must turn from evil and do good; they must seek peace (Shalom) and pursue it." (1 Peter 3:10-11, NIV) Jesus said on the Sermon on the Mount, "Blessed are the peacemakers (the Shalom-makers) for they shall be called the children of God." Has a nice ring to it--doesn't it?!

Psalm 19 speaks to what theologians refer to as general revelation and special revelation as it describes what God has made and likewise authored. General Revelation refers to God's visible handiwork as seen in His creation, His Devine fingerprints upon all He's made--from galaxies and supernovas to molecular structures and nuclear physics. Special Revelation is God's direct communication with people, through dreams and visions, miracles, prophets, personal visitations, and especially through His written Word. While we can't look up at an eclipse or constellation and know that murder and adultery are sinful in God's eyes, His revealed Word leaves no doubt. Hebrews 1:1-4 speaks to God’s grandest reveal of all: "In the past God spoke to our ancestors through the prophets at many times and in various ways, but in these last days He has spoken to us by His Son, whom He appointed heir of all things, and through whom also He made the universe. The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of His being, sustaining all things by His powerful word. After He had provided purification for sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven. So He became as much superior to the angels as the name He has inherited is superior to theirs." (NIV) So God's Epic Revelation is His very own Son, Jesus Christ, our Savior and our Lord...

In Luke 16:19-31, Jesus peels back the veil of what happens when people die. Some believe His story to merely be a parable; others do not. But Jesus told it and we needn't second guess its validity. God's Word supersedes all our cultural beliefs, superstitions, and sensational tales--both for this life as well as the life to come. Jesus' story is about a poor beggar named Lazarus, hungry and afflicted with sores. It also features a man of great means, which upon his front gate the destitute Lazarus is laid. Then both men die. Lazarus goes to Paradise while the rich man is sent across the chasm to Hades. The story juxtaposes eternal agony with eternal ecstasy. It's cryptic beyond the pale! The Great News is that Jesus has made THE WAY for us to be with Him forever in Paradise. He not only died for our sins that would've sent us to hell, but rose from the dead to affirm His atoning sacrifice. Quoting David in Psalm 32, Paul writes in Romans 4:7-8: "Blessed are they whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered. Blessed is the man whose sin the Lord will never count against him.” (NIV) Yes indeed, those in Christ have been BLESSED beyond measure and that means BLESSED forevermore!

The Scriptures give us a few glimpses into heavenly scenes from guys like Isaiah and Ezekiel, not to mention from the Apostle John in the book of Revelation. While these visions are extraordinary as they describe angelic beings and heavenly creatures that make naked baby angels seem cartoonish, their commonality are descriptions of the majestic glory of being in the holy presence of Almighty God! The sights and sounds of celestial songs and thunderous prophetic declarations leave no doubt that this is a PLACE made by God, for God, for His honor and His glory! The eyewitnesses who chronicled what they saw make God's already amazing grace seem all the more amazing! Why? Because He's made a way for us to be there with Him some day! That WAY has been made by Jesus! John 14:6 says: "Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me." (NIV) But will we be reunited with our dearest Loved Ones & Friends who died in Christ? Rest assured-absolutely! But far exceeding this will be the euphoric, unimaginable bliss of being ushered into the majestic, glorious, and holy presence of Almighty God! And there will be no better place in all the universe to be than THERE!

In writing to the church in Corinth where some began to doubt the resurrection of Jesus (not to mention their own) the Apostle Paul pens the following in 1 Corinthians 15:17-20: "And if Christ has not been raised, then your faith is useless and you are still guilty of your sins. In that case, all who have died believing in Christ are lost! And if our hope in Christ is only for this life, we are more to be pitied than anyone in the world. But in fact, Christ has been raised from the dead. He is the first of a great harvest of all who have died." (NLT) Saul of Tarsus, before he became Paul, was a rising star among the Jews. He viciously sought to snuff out the followers of Jesus and became famous for doing so. Then one day on the way to do more of the same he encountered the risen Christ personally. He was blinded so he could see! From then on his message of Jesus was no longer bad news, it was GOOD NEWS! And of course he'd lose his life for proclaiming it. Along with Paul's treatise on resurrection in the 58 verses of 1 Corinthians 15, we have four Gospel accounts that affirm Jesus’ rising from the dead along with numerous Scriptures in the NT and Old. The preponderance of evidence is overwhelming. But until hearts encounter our Lord personally, all this may be hard to embrace. But to those who doubt, disbelieve, or curiously ponder, pray for the gift of faith, for eyes to see, for a heart to understand. Pray until you can peer inside that vacated grave and see it empty as it truly is. The ramifications of our Lord's empty tomb are both transformational and eternal...