What Is Worship? Most people really don’t know!

What Is Worship? Most people really don’t know!   By Kelly Durant 

John 4:19 “Sir,” the woman said, “I can see that you are a prophet. ²⁰ Our ancestors worshiped on this mountain, but you Jews claim that the place where we must worship is in Jerusalem.”²¹ “Woman,” Jesus replied, “believe me, a time is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. ²² You Samaritans worship what you do not know; we worship what we do know, for salvation is from the Jews. ²³ Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in the Spirit and in truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. ²⁴ God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in Spirit and in truth.”²⁵ The woman said, “I know that Messiah” (called Christ) “is coming. When he comes, he will explain everything to us.”²⁶ Then Jesus declared, “I, the one speaking to you—I am he.”

 2.   So many cultures worship God in so many different ways! How many of you have ever visited a mosque? Or a Hindu temple? One time I went to a meditation (Hindu) service in college and outside of the room it sounded like a factory with a lot of machinery inside. There was a low, rather loud, humming noise. When I went inside and saw everyone sitting in the lotus position they were calling on god as they are accustomed with a constant repeating of “Ommm”. With more than a hundred people sounding “Ommm” it was strange indeed! 

3.   As Christians we would never worship God in this manner and this way of worship seems very strange and pointless to us. Repeating the same thing over and over wears a hole in the psyche and makes what should be a pleasure, the worship of God, become a torture!  Matt 6:7 But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking.

   Despite Jesus words, however, there still exists in worship today, in the majority of Christian churches, a great collection of reading and response liturgy from prayer or hymn books. If done in the right spirit, these types of repetitions can be unifying. Repetition in itself is not bad, after all songs are repetitions, it had just not be in vain.   

   We often think it is easy to spot how we should not worship God but in actuality it is not that simple. If you had grown up in India, and all you ever experienced was the “om” type of humming worship, that would be normal to you! Being able to worship God as we do as Christians is a privilege! All other religions seem to appear as pointless after experiencing the Holy Spirit! Their sacrifices and worship ways lead to acute frustration; Sadly, they are not connected to the source, the unique God of love, & his son Jesus! 

4.   What we should explore is why Christians today have lost their ability to discern what true worship is and what it is not, since the modern Christian culture has rapidly changed its formats of worship while at the same time some have frozen worship into a methodological tradition, limited to an ancient style, one they define as worship.

 To know about how Jesus wanted worship, we must refer back to the verses of John; and first notice that Jesus points out that the Samaritans do not have the correct way of worshipping since God for them it was limited to worshipping at only one certain so-called holy place. The first erroneous idea is that worship is limited to a certain place.

5.   Furthermore, what this means is that all ideas of the worship of God in all cultures upon the arrival of Jesus became invalid, there no longer exists specific holy places or temples on earth where there is more of God’s power or energy. There are no specific formulas or rituals either, and neither Machu Pichu, nor Jerusalem will you get you more of God.  22 “You Samaritans worship what you do not know; we worship what we do know, for salvation is from the Jews”. Jesus also is confirming how the Jews were getting the salvation message through Him and He as well He is confirming the fact that the Samaritans and everyone else can also have it!

  Next Jesus points out in verse: 23 “Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in the Spirit and in truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. 24 God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in Spirit and in truth.”  Jesus established a new way, just gather anywhere in groups of 2, 3 or more!

 6.  So if Jesus makes it clear that we are to worship “in spirit and in truth” then we should do our homework on what “in spirit and in truth” fully mean, right?

  The word “Spirit” brings with it many connotations each slightly different within each culture. For example, when you say in English that something was spirited, this implies full of action, movement, and passion. I think a majority of us prefer to worship God this way, in action doing something to physically show our passion in the worship, singing, praying, playing the tambourine or maracas, and even dancing.

   All of us are aware that there are many denominations to choose from in our preference of Christian worship. There are many styles of music, many types of meetings, some ultra-formal and serious, some, where anything goes, and some are loud, while others are quiet and calm. Some churches include their leaders to preach and lead, while others don’t allow anyone up front. Programs within the Christian world are very diverse. So how do we know what the best way is? 

7.   Should people of today choose a church to worship in by emotions, by how big it is, by how modern it is, or by how it makes them feel? Impressions and feelings in humans however, are often mis-lead. So many times scandals have happened when people have put their trust in the wrong charismatic pastors, or the wrong denomination or sect, and they have ended up manipulated, fleeced of their possessions, and confused. 

  Just because a church affirms, “Only we have the real truth and the spirit”, does not meant they really do have it! The fruits of the spirit to prove that, but you have to investigate them. So each person must be careful and prayerful to choose to worship only with people that are the close to being “in spirit and in truth”! With false churches the climate is you are to focus worship on their church, doctrine, and notoriety, and the focus is not on God and Jesus, principally.  Have you ever noticed that? These churches make some people feel good in mass, but our feelings often deceive us.

8.   Jesus makes it clear 24 God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in Him in Spirit and in truth. To worship means to show worthiness to honor or reverence a supreme power. So how do we do it in spirit? Spirit is (Gk.word: pneuma) or the life force of God, the breath of God, a vapor or burning of His pure and Holy-ness. In spirit would imply being within the nature of the spirit, or essence of God. More properly defined this would mean within His spirit of pure love, since God’s spirit manifests itself to people by tangible expressions of love and he expects us to love in word and in deed as well. Worship today is diverse and so is God’s creation. What many people miss but we get is that worship is shown principally by service to God and others! 

9.  Any spirit of worship expression is valid as long as it is done for the purpose of exalting love to God. It should not be calling attention to yourself for vain glory! We should refrain from criticisms when we observe something new, different, or unfamiliar to us in worship as long as we know the purpose of it is for praising and honoring God. Never should anything be done to show off one’s own talent; all things are for God’s glory!

   Observing the nature of God in the different types of races of people and geography, it is very obvious God is not limited by any rigid unchanging worship demand. Worship in the O.T. included the sacrifice of one’s most prized farm animals. Today it should include not just singing a song or praying, but a life of service in love to others in need. Jesus spent time with His Father, then He went into the towns to heal and teach and do good works. He loved! Worship is a creative expression of love for God and others! 

10.  I personally am very thankful for the Salvation Army’s ample acceptance of diverse forms of worship. In the EBC we experienced sacred dance, responsive readings, incense, and every kind of music you can think of. We were taught to embrace the old and the new and this is not such a hard thing for a young officer to do, but it is a big problem with some. Many Corps people want things done in the same old way, in a rut.

   Speaking of different worship expressions, I have even cried hearing a slow moving worship song sang by a frail Soldier Korean lady and I didn’t even understand a word! It was her love, her sincerity, her dedication that was communicated to me by the spirit. She was not by running all over the stage, not yelling at the top of her voice, but God was there in that frail sweet voice and you knew it! Respect, worship has many forms!

   The sad thing is most people won’t join in the worship if it’s different!  Most people are inflexible and rigid and instead of appreciating and worshipping with something different from their liking, they reject and complain. Criticizing worship means the opposite of worship! Will Jesus bless those who reject joining in? Ask yourself, have I ever complained when I should have been worshipping? Jesus praises were a different style!

11.  But “the spirit” is something that you must bring to the church when we meet and you can bring it only when you have spent time with God worshipping Him already in your private life! You are to come as a candle and as a lit one to share the light!

   Let’s see what the spirit isn’t. Worship, for one, is not the disapproval of your brothers, the pastors, or of the denomination when it is not to your preference. People often make the mistake of exposing their emptiness and predispositions. For example, how many of you have heard someone say, “Oh, I didn’t feel the spirit here today; The spirit’s is not in the Salvation Army church; the pastors don’t have the Holy Ghost power because they don’t yell and make people fall over!” Have you heard comments like these? So, the question is, is the worship of God limited by either your or my feelings, expectations, cultural predispositions, judgments or ideas of what the church is supposed to do? No!

  When I hear people say they cannot feel the spirit, I want to ask them then, what is wrong with you? How can you deny that if 99% seemed to “feel” the spirit just fine the problem then must be with you and not with those around you. Criticism of worship to me shows immaturity, inadaptability, and a person’s dry-ness. Instead of contributing to the spirit, like bringing a happy heart, these kinds of words put the fire out! 

  I think a person would be embarrassed for lacking oil in their lamp thinking it is everyone else that has no oil in theirs. Each one of us must get the spirit oil first. We must pray, read God’s word, and get filled with the oil of the spirit and then bring that here and set others on fire with the oil and passion you share!  When you give of your spirit, then you receive back of God’s spirit, right?  

 12.  We are examining spirit and truth. Let’s look at truth because we do not want to end up false like these people in Isaiah 29:13 Wherefore the Lord said, Forasmuch as this people draw near me with their mouth, and with their lips do honour me, but have removed their heart far from me, and their fear toward me is taught by the precept of men.

   We all know what truth is, it is the evidence and proof positive of what’s real, factual or authentic. The truth is always pure and unadulterated. To worship in truth implies you are worshipping with a pure heart just to exalt God alone. No other motive! 

   Only you and God know the truth for you coming to worship Him in the church. People who worship by appearances do this so their peers will accept them thinking they need to appear religious. Some people worship God in the church because they, in the end, desire favors or benefits from the church. Some try to worship, even though they know in their heart they don’t feel it, hoping it will appease God enough to exempt them from His anger and punishments on them. I don’t know the truth of who is sincere and who is not, but God does. Ask yourself, is my worship done in truth & pureness of heart? 

13.  When we recall the very first worship of God we see the clear picture of one who worshipped in truth, Abel, and one who did not worship in truth, Cain. God accepted the sacrifice of Abel, why? Because it was authentic, and in truth, that Able with love gave to God what sacrifice He desired, a gift with a sincere pure heart full of honor and respect. The truth about Cain is he was giving to God but being false about it. He was worshipping but with an attitude of resentment, only fulfilling a duty. He really didn’t want to worship so he just gave what he wanted to, not what God requested. So when God wanted him to go and come back and try again with his worship & sacrifice, he did not humble and submit himself. Instead he exploded in rage and killed his brother! This still keeps happening in the church; true worshippers catch the rage of the false ones! 

  The danger to all of us is that the false is the aggressive enemy of the truth! Sincere truthful worshipping Christians will always have for their enemies the false Christians that will try to kill them with their hateful words, overtly or covertly. Jesus addressing the hypocrites says this… John 8:44 Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.

14. So those in the truth are with God. Truthful ones do not lie, hate, kill, or attack others unjustly. Truth is central to the holiness of God. And everyone hates false-ness, even the false people dislike the other false people! Ever notice that?

   In the end worship amongst Christians can never be put in a box to appease a certain denominational format, formula, or a traditional habitual copy of a centuries old idea. Worship is done best, however, when it includes the basics of prayer, the reading of God’s word, and the singing of praises or hymns. And everyone appreciates special presentations but these require work and practice, which is a sacrifice. When was the last time you sacrificed yourself in preparation of worship and praise?

  How is your worship of God in the end? Are you bringing a joyful spirit full of love to God and others? Are you serving others knowing that God counts that as obedience which is worship as well? And your truthfulness?  The more truth you see about the evil in your own life, the closer you are to God. Truth begins at home. It is that simple! 

  Worship is what our spirits long for, to connect with God, our Father, our Creator whom we know has true pure love for us, so do it real, “in spirit and in truth”!  Let’s pray…

The Church: Attack or Retreat?

The Church: Attack or Retreat?  Lessons from the Past   Kelly Durant Re 4-19-26

Matthew 16:18 And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.   

2. Many times we have heard jokes about St. Peter being at the gate of heaven asking questions of those that arrive in order to be allowed into heaven. The premise of these jokes is that Peter decides who gets in and who doesn’t because he holds the keys to heaven and hell. This is a false idea that has been coined for a long time.  All we need to do is look at Revelation to know that it is Jesus who holds the keys of heaven and hell. Revelation 1:18 I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death. He also says he gives eternal life in John 10:28. 

The verse of today is quite a loaded verse. I could focus in on Peter, or I could focus in on the rock, or what is the church. Or I could highlight how heaven prevails against hell or I could focus in on the gates of hell. Let’s focus first on the gates of hell but just to clear a few things up, Jesus is the rock (the cornerstone as described in Romans 9:31-33) and it is Jesus who has the keys to heaven and hell, not Peter. Keys to the kingdom implies authority over the spirit realm.

3. In verse 19 Jesus gave to Peter authority to bring into God’s kingdom souls, to preach and win converts forever, but he was not given authority over who governs the eternal death in hell of souls, or who has eternal life. Peter is not heaven and hell’s gate keeper, Jesus is!

 Matt 16:19 And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. Everyone, through Jesus, has a freewill control, and the binding up of sin, and the practice of living heavenly is what matters here as it is setting a constant for a continuum in the next existence.

4. Peter, and every Christian, has some measure of control over their future in heaven, so that if you bind your sins and live holy on earth, you retain that eternally in heaven. Or if loose and free yourself from sins, when you die, you keep that state of freedom forever. Your role in helping another do the same is your part of bringing on the kingdom of heaven.  Basically, it is Revelation 22:11 He that is unjust, let him be unjust still: and he which is filthy, let him be filthy still: and he that is righteous, let him be righteous still: and he that is holy, let him be holy still.

Peter’s nickname was Petras; he was as stubborn as a rock at times but also one who learned his lessons. He had just affirmed that Jesus is the Christ. Jesus with a play of words then makes it clear that God’s people would have a rock foundation for the church, and symbolically Jesus was referred to Himself. Jesus is the rock, the cornerstone. Peter is a rock, but not “the” rock.

5. Jesus example of how the church should be governed was of one in that is in action, one that goes on the attack. In other words hell would be shaking in their boots from all the souls being won for God because of the blitz tactics of the disciples travelling from town to town preaching the “good news” and then escaping on to preach some more somewhere else. 

The idea that Jesus had was that hell would be shaking scared of the Christians message being preached in the world to the lost souls who would gladly accept God’s kingdom over the gates of hell but instead today we have many churches shaking scared feeling they are under attack.  They have their doors closed tight not letting in any new members for fear that Satan is going to corrupt them! Christians afraid of the world are happy just to be inside their comfortable rooms on Sunday but the church is not intended to be a barricade of defense; the church must be a front line of offensive in the battle front! Peter won 5,000 souls, not in a building, but out in the city!

6. Now I want to bring in some geographical information to supplement the historical cultural context of this profound statement from our Lord Jesus that “the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.” To understand this better, return to verse 13 When Jesus came into the coasts of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, saying, Whom do men say that I the Son of man am?

7. Where was Jesus preaching? At Caesarea Philippi. When we were in the area of Caesarea Philippi in Israel we went just a couple of miles outside the city to an area called the Grotto of Pan. It is an opening to a cave that had the official name of “The Gates of Hell.”  Beginning in the 3rd century B.C., human sacrifices, in particular young virgins, were cast into the cave as offerings to the Greek god Pan.  The victims were thrown into the cave and they would fall into a drop off inside where they would die crashing on the rocks below inside and then their blood would flow out in the river stream in front. Horrible the practices of these people, right?

This large cave that was the center of pagan worship in the region and Pan, the half-man half-goat god of fright and he was honored in this Satanic manner. He was often depicted playing the flute.  In English we get the word "panic" from pan, and of course taking the life of innocent ones does invoke fear and panic! This town just down the road was known as Panias in antiquity but the name changed in the Arabic language to its modern-day name of Banias. 

8. Now that I described the area for you, and the customary horrible practices of the people of that region, do you see why Jesus chose the words “Gates of Hell?” He may have been preaching to his disciples very close to that cave, just right outside the city even speaking at the very moment they were practicing their horrific satanic rituals! 

The gates of hell are open wide as Jesus stated before, yet narrow is the path that leads to eternal life. If we do not take seriously the destruction of people’s bodies and souls from the demonic erroneous customs of their worship, then we will never appreciate what salvation, and eternal life, truly means. Jesus gave his disciples, and that applies to all his followers, authority to “storm the forts of darkness and bring them down.” (as in the hymn we sing in the Salvation Army)

9. It is our task as Christians to expose the evil in the community and those who bring the gates of hell to us and our children! Those who steal and commit fraud, that do  crime in gangs, those who practice witchcraft, or sell drugs, or porn, or pimping prostitutes (child-trafficking), these followers of Satan should be angry at us because we are exposing them and preaching Jesus converting the souls of their victims! We must keep on with our prayer marches and evangelism, it is our job! We must keep the attack up! The gates of hell should be trembling! 

10. The way this spiritual war works is that either the good is on the attack and winning, or the evil is carrying out the attacks and defeating the good. One is on the offensive, and the other is on the defensive. It is our job to be on the offensive. Sadly, we have seen this country fall into a state of remission; Christians are being corralled into their churches and told to practice their own faith privately without bothering anyone else. Christians as well are made fun of by the media as ignorant radicals! The lies, deceptions, and attacks on Christians are at an all-time high by the liberal press, the liberal colleges, and the liberal government who protects people practicing extreme perversion.  

I do not want us to ever be guilty of hiding our faith, of knowing to do good but then be sinning by not doing it! More than ever we must be prepared with an answer to reply to whoever attacks us over our faith.

11. Jesus knew that no one could win a defensive war! When the Jews mixed with the Romans in pre-Jesus time in Israel, they later started taking over to the point that the Jews responded defensively too late. They could not do an offensive attack so they closed their selves in in Jerusalem and they barely survived for 2 years until finally the Romans broke in and killed most of them and destroyed the Great Temple that Herod built. Solomon’s temple was destroyed several centuries earlier and now for a second time they lose their magnificent temple.

12. Do you recall how Jesus said that no one stone would be left? Matthew 24:2 And Jesus said unto them, See ye not all these things? verily I say unto you, “There shall not be left here one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down”. That prophecy happened in 70 AD. That was when all of Jerusalem was burned to the ground by the Romans and the Jews in Israel were scattered all over every continent. This was the great “diaspora” or the dispersing of the Jews throughout all the continents. Only loose stones are there today.

13.But a few Jews and their families escaped in the region and they fled to a high plateau fortress constructed by Herod called Masada and barricaded their selves inside. This was easy to do because there was only one way up and that was by a winding stairway about 20 stories high. How many of you know this story as told by Josephus the historian?

14. Then what happened? Again the Roman pride could not permit any one to rebel and get away with it so Flavius Silva marched from Rome with a regiment of men they and camped out for 3 years at the bottom of the cliff while his army built a ramp and a tower in order to invade the city in 70 AD. The people survived on pigeons and stored grains but when they knew the Romans would come they took a drastic decision the night before the invasion was sure to happen. 

The Jewish people had no escape and rather than allowing the children to be slaves, see the women be raped and killed, and the men die by the Roman swords, they all took an oath, as an act of heroism to kill their own selves! There was a mass suicide of 960 people. 

15. This tragedy in history in 73 AD proves a point, that if the enemy can surround you and you cannot fight back, then you might end up with no options like the ones in Masada. This is a sad lesson in history and we, as a Christian church, must keep the offensive going. We need leaders, men and women with conviction to always be ready to defend our faith in Jesus.

The Salvation Army started out as a movement taking the church preaching and literature to the streets seeking to save men’s souls. The offensive method worked! The movement preaching near the bars and brothels grew so fast that it is amazing to consider TSA can be found in most all US cities and in most major cities around the world only 160 years later.

16. The challenge today for each of us is how ‘attacking’ are you? Do others who are unjust and sinful feel intimidated when you are around? Do others know you will speak up and attack the modern day gates of hell?  It takes conviction and courage, but when we are reminded of all of Satan’s works, how horribly he loves to destroy lives, then you get the conviction to preach His love and salvation like never before.

When a person visits a SA rehab or shelter, as many of you have, you get reminded of how sin destroys people’s lives, you see 30 year olds appear as 60, you see how people lose all to an addiction, a vice, or a sin. That may not be the case for everyone as some people are victims of circumstances beyond their control but to see others suffering does make you wake up. You can see where Satan has attacked and won a victory. It makes you sad, mad, and convicted. 

17. And in many other countries (as here!) the child sex slave trade is alive and real for millions, so the destruction of innocent people in reality continues, but just in a different way from how the Greeks and Romans did it. The SA is active there helping many to escape.

Are you going to stand up for your faith no matter what? If you look closely at the lives of the faithless you will see they always leave behind a trail of pain and destruction. Our mission is to save others from their own destructive selves and from others who like Satan, try to control and manipulate and own souls for their own selfish gain. We, God’s called ones, free people to live heavenly lives.

Come now and pray for someone you know is oppressed. Pray to become solid like the rock. Pray to go on the attack and never let yourself be on the defensive. The more holiness you have the more power from God. When someone makes fun of your Christian faith and attacks you, do what Jesus did to the hypocrites, he attacked them back! Our faith is worth defending! When you compare our church with so many others like I have seen lately, we live a very blessed life!

Easter: The Uncomfortable Reality!

 

Easter: The Uncomfortable Reality!           By Kelly Durant     

 

Mark 16: 14 Later He appeared to the eleven as they sat at the table; and He rebuked their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they did not believe those who had seen Him after He had risen. 15 And He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. 16 He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned.

 

2. How many of you have seen the classic movie “Risen”? I thought it was extremely well portrayed with much detail as it was in Jesus’ day. It was about the story of the resurrection from the point of view of a Roman Soldier that was sent to investigate what happened at the tomb. Try to rent it or see it, it is well worth it! 

 

My favorite part was when the Roman Soldier found the ropes that sealed the rock frayed from being burst open. This Roman knew what a cut rope would look like, but ropes burst apart? I am sure many people in Jerusalem experienced revelations that caused them to believe in the resurrection as in the story of this soldier! 

The truth is no one will respect or follow a leader once they are dead if they were an oppressor, liar, or a con. However, Jesus’ teachings still rule over thousands of millions even today because He was pure love and truth! 

 

When an evil person dies, as in the case of King Herod, the whole town celebrated! When Jesus died, many mourned but few, we observe by scripture, really expected Him to rise up out of the tomb. The first Easter, His resurrection, transformed humanity into a celebrated victory over death! But the first Easter did not exactly start out as a celebrated moment though.

 

3. Let’s go more into depth of the verses today. It says in Mark, “He rebuked their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they did not believe those who had seen Him after He had risen”. I don’t know how you feel after getting rebuked for doing something wrong, but personally I feel embarrassed and humiliated! I would not feel too festive and happy. We celebrate Jesus’ resurrection today but the first encounter with Him made everyone feel afraid and ashamed of themselves for not believing Him.

 

Imagine witnessing a person die in such a horrific manner as Jesus did, and fearing the Sanhedrin might come to arrest and kill you now, but then you see the crucified Son of Man walking around with holes in their hands and feet, I think it would make any one of us so scared we would faint. It is like when you see a ghost, you feel mortified because you know it is a creature with supernatural power. Jesus showing himself to be supernaturally alive contradicted what is understood concerning reality, logic, and the physically possible!

 

So, to prove it is Himself, risen, Jesus appears out of nowhere to sit down at the table with them to talk. In another instance, He also ate fish with them on the beach. He took time with them but despite being undeniably in this world, they doubted in the beginning. Jesus does not like to see people afraid and doubtful and many times he repeated to all who saw Him the word, ‘peace’! For the doubters and unrepentant Jesus’ presence brings fear, but for those who love Him His presence brings peace! John 14:27 “Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid”. 

 

4. To illustrate it was not such a celebrative moment at first, recall that the disciples when they first saw Jesus, they were full of fear. Jesus had told them all several times that He would be killed and then come back, but it almost seems as if none of them really believed Him. Mark 8:31 “And He began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things, and be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again”.

 

Imagine seeing all the miracles the disciples had seen and then still not believing that He had resurrected! Remember these are dedicated followers that had given up everything to follow Jesus, they had no hopes to go back to their old life, and they saw dozens and dozens of miracles and yet they still doubted?!

 

It just goes to show how we cannot depend on all those who say they have experienced Jesus’ power to remain totally faithful and doubtless through every moment of their lives. Even the most dedicated have their weak moments but the comfort is that Jesus will still love you and receive you even though He may have to rebuke you and correct your lack of faith.

 

5. So, take it to heart, if Jesus rebuked the disciples who were in it all the way until their own martyrdom, how much more you and I should expect to get rebuked by Jesus for our lack of faith, unbelief, and obedience! John 5:21 For as the Father raises the dead and gives life to them, even so the Son gives life to whom He will.

 

Our world today is the same as it was in Jesus’ time, there is a vast majority that will not even believe though there is proof that one was raised from the dead. And then there is also a large group that will not believe because they have not personally seen it. Both are hopeless doubters choosing death over life because they love darkness rather than light.

So, what are we left to work with? 

 

Christians or believers that believe… but have doubts! But the hope is they will come around to have real faith and trust and obedience to what Jesus taught because the Holy Spirit will convict them.

 

6.  Easter then, in many ways, is an uncomfortable rebuke to the world! It is a mortal blow to Satan and his followers who can no longer reap dead men’s souls when those souls have been cleansed in the redeeming blood of Jesus! Jesus’ resurrection stripped away Satan’s power of maintaining a death over humans; that is if that person is repentant, believes, and obeys Jesus. For a Christian, there is no second death, but not so for unbelievers.

 

Easter, being a supernatural event, puts to the test every human mind and heart. A test usually provokes fear but after passing it, relief and peace come. It is amazing to me how many people in this life chose foolishly what they will believe in, thinking they will never answer for their actions. Read the Proverbs, they teach much about fools who refuse to fear and honor God, and their own destruction comes by their own wrong and bad choices. Easter is a reminder that Jesus rebuked the doubting followers! 

 

Year after year during these special moments of celebration we must face the fact that some of our Christian brothers are not living pure repented lives displaying that they truly fear God, believe His word, and obey. Once you realize Jesus is alive and present in the here and now through the Holy Spirit speaking in your mind, it will make you be afraid as the 11 disciples at first were to witness Jesus in front of you!

 

7. The most foolish thing one can do in life is to doubt something that gives you a win, win, situation such as is the case in believing in the resurrection of Jesus. If you and I simply accept and believe, then we can be sure that we are saved by faith: saved meaning saved from the judgement for the wrongs we have done (forgiven) and also saved from a second death (spiritual one) and be resurrected. Romans 10: 9 that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.

 

What have you got to lose by proclaiming Jesus as risen except losing a dozen worthless prideful friends who are materialistic atheistic self-lovers? Start talking about Jesus to everyone you know for a week and see how many still keep you as a friend! They will be a good friend indeed if they are brave enough to allow your light of Jesus to shine in their darkened heart. I lost a few dozen so called friends at age 21 when I got on fire for God, yet I have gained thousands of trustworthy loving Christian friends in dozens of cities in return! You, here, are my friends that I never would have met if I had not taken the path of proclaiming Jesus risen!

 

The resurrection is real as 2.3 billion Christians proclaim today! However, if one were to entertain an idea that it were not real, we would be as Paul states in I Cor 15: 16 “For if the dead do not rise, then Christ is not risen. 17 And if Christ is not risen, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins! 18 Then also those who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. 19 If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men the most pitiable.” But I KNOW we will not be disappointed! He will make us rise up as He did!

 

8. You and I have full trust that these ancient records in the Bible are truth and come from God’s anointed; that Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John and all the 11, plus the hundreds of other men and women, had a supernatural experience witnessing Jesus’ presence in His resurrected body. This is an experience you and I have not personally had but choosing to believe their story will unexplainably fill your spirit full of hope, peace, and a sense of eternity. When you believe, you inherently know it is truth and you will even die for it!

 

I also trust the testimonies of the millions of Christians that have lived before me sincerely having convictions of the truth of Jesus resurrection. If His resurrection was not something real, then what miserable lives Christians have lived being tortured, martyred, and humiliated by most every evil government that has ever existed! And remember how Jesus even showed himself to doubting Thomas.

 

Here is a personal belief, I think that people who ask God if Jesus is really who He says He is or not, that God reveals His truth to them. Jesus in a dream revealed to me I had a mission to stop being who I was and to go into the world and save souls. And I obeyed the call! I have been reading testimonies from Christian news sources that many Muslims are getting revelations that Jesus is the Son of God. Jesus is here, now awakening!

 

9. Now back to our verses of today. Did you catch how Jesus rebuked the 11 for not believing (vs14) “those who had seen Him after He had risen”. Who is He referring to? That was Mary & the disciples! Jesus showed his resurrected body first to her. What does that mean? It means He trusted her to be the witness to all the others and it seems they thought that she was just a woman being emotional and delusional.  

 

So, Mary was in essence being praised while they were being rebuked. The pride of man is an evil thing. Then the next uncomfortable part is vs 15. And He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature”. This verse, in my opinion, has been one of the least obeyed verses in the Bible. Very few Christians dedicate their lives to travel in all the world just to preach Jesus. Thank God every first disciple obeyed! Soon afterwards every believer obeyed and went out preaching Jesus after gaining power from the Holy Ghost as we read in Acts 1. 

 

Conclusively then, doubting the resurrection and not recognizing the first Easter as a reality will get you a rebuke from Jesus! Not listening to those who make you uncomfortable with the good news will get you a rebuke from Jesus! But being spiritually uncomfortable is the way God gets you and me to move out into action! Conviction is what changes you and me!

 

10. And the final inconvenient uncomfortable reality is vs.16 “He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned.” How clear is that? If you believe that Jesus lives, you will live as well! If not, you will be condemned to let nature’s death take its course; it’s as simple as that. 

 

And the Baptism of the Holy Spirit is a must! John states in Matthew 3:11 I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance, but He who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. 

Do you feel uncomfortable at Easter? Let Jesus peace come in!

The fire of God is what purifies our hearts and minds of all sin. It brings on the full repentance bringing us into holiness, obedience, and most importantly, living our lives motivated by God’s love! The Salvation Army’s mission statement makes it clear; we are “motivated by the love of God!” 

 

Today, if believing that Jesus is as alive as He was over 2,000 years ago has not penetrated your doubtful heart, come and pray to accept Him in your heart and then Romans 10:9-10 will be a reality for you. You will be saved and resurrected when He returns. John 6:40 And this is the will of Him who sent Me, that everyone who sees the Son and believes in Him may have everlasting life; and I will raise him up at the last day.” Pray!