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This was a sermon that I preached when a good friend invited me to do so at the
Power of Love Church in Hua Hin, Thailand. Do visit if you're ever in that area!
Bible Reading:
Thank you for your invitation to visit your church
and to offer me this opportunity to preach.
Our reading today from the Bible is from John Chapter
20. I am reading from the New International
Version (NIV).
Verse 1 Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary
Magdalene went to the tomb and saw
that the stone had been removed from the entrance.
Verse 11 Now Mary stood outside the tomb crying. As she wept, she bent over
to look into the tomb...
Verse 14 to 16 … she turned around and saw Jesus standing there,but she did not realize that
it was Jesus.
He asked her, “Woman, why are
you crying? Who is it you are looking
for?”
Thinking
he was the gardener, she said, “Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me
where you have put him, and I will get him.”
16 Jesus said to her, “Mary.”
She
turned toward him and cried out in Aramaic, “Rabboni!” (which means “Teacher”).
Introduction
The scene is familiar to us – Jesus
had died on the cross and three days later he had arisen from the dead. But for the first century Christians
who still did not understand what had happened, the empty tomb had caused fear,
anxiety and confusion. Not only was their beloved leader and
teacher dead, his body had apparently been stolen.
Jesus frequently asks us sharp questions
that reveal the truth in our hearts:
“Mary”, He asked, “why are
you crying? “Who
is it you are looking for?”.
“Why are you crying?” meaning why are you sad, worried or anxious?.
“Who is it you are looking for?” meaning “Who do you look for when you are sad, worried or anxious?”
“Why are you crying?” meaning why are you sad, worried or anxious?.
“Who is it you are looking for?” meaning “Who do you look for when you are sad, worried or anxious?”
This
is the same question Jesus asks us in our own times of sadness, worry and
anxiety:
Why
are you sad, worried or anxious? Is it Jesus whom you turn to or someone or something else for help?
We can learn from the Temptation of Christ
When
we are in a stressful situation, Satan tempts us to turn away from God to other
substitutes. We
can learn lessons from how he tempted Jesus in the desert.
In
the first temptation, Satan asked Jesus to turn stone into bread because Jesus
was hungry. This
temptation is for us to turn to physical comfort in times of need.
Food
is a common example. There
is nothing wrong with food and I look forward to having much good Thai food while I am here! But there
are people who eat not because they are hungry but to soothe their worries. Food
has become their idol, their ‘god’ in times of stress and anxiety.
In
the second temptation, Satan offers to Jesus power over many cities of the
world. This
is not hard to understand In
times of trouble, we look to people with human power or authority to protect
us. This
can happen at the work place, at home or even in the church.
In
the third temptation, Satan tempts Jesus to believe that by his actions, He
could control God. In
Singapore where I come from, many believe that if we study hard, if we obey all
the rules, especially government rules, we
will be blessed by God because we are good. Even
Christian students and their parent believe that if they study hard, God
must bless them with good marks, then good jobs and a good, trouble free life.
I
remember when I was 16 years old and taking an important exam in school, I prayed
“God, I have worked hard so you must give me all ‘A’s in my exam subjects”. God answered
me with another question – “Why do you need ‘A’s when you have Me?”. He would
not let me control Him.
He also didn't always give me good marks. In fact
from then on, there would always be one or two subjects in my exams that did
not get good marks. God
wanted me to learn that it is not the good marks but Him that I needed in life.
The Power of Love
Let us
return to Jesus’ questions to Mary:
“Why are
your crying?”
“Who are
you looking for?”
Based on
what reasons is Jesus able to promise us that He is the answer to all the
problems in our lives?
Based on
the fact that He loved us, He suffered for us and died for our sins.
Based on
the fact that His death has removed all barriers between us and God.
He speaks gently but the fact is He has returned victorious over death and sin; and God has placed everything under Him (see 1 Corinthians 15: 21 - 28).
Church,
when I asked God what message He has for you -
He asked
me to remind you of the name of your church: The Power of Love Church
Because - There is Power in Love!
It is not
people with guns or money or earthly authority that have power.
It is
God’s love that has the true Power to change this world.
As it is written in Romans 8: 37- 39:
37 No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. 38 For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither
angels nor demons, neither
the present nor the future, nor any powers, 39 neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be
able to separate us from the love of God(CF) that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
But Jesus not only showed us the amazing, infinite
power of the love of God
He also showed us an example of how to live a
powerful life of love through humility and service to others. At the last supper with His disciples, Jesus washed
their feet. This was a task that we would expect a servant to
do. Jesus willingly washed his disciples feet and said “ I have
set you an example that you should do as I have done for you.” (John13:15)
As it is also written in 1 John 3: 16 – 18
16 This is how we know what love is: Jesus
Christ laid down his life for us. And we
ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters. 17 If anyone has material possessions and sees a brother or
sister in need but has
no pity on them, how can
the love of God be in that person? 18 Dear
children, let us not love with words or speech but with
actions and in truth.
Church,
God says “You have chosen well the name of your church”. There
is power in His Love to change this world. And
so I encourage you, go and live your life for Christ in this world.
Amen
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| Photo with family & church leaders after sermon |
