Easter

Happy Sunday and happy Easter. He has risen. I hope that today is a great day for you. It was 1970 something.

I guess I was around 13 and I thought that I would try smoking a cigarette. I called my best friend to discuss the situation. And after a brief conversation, I heard a voice. What's this about cigarettes?

A deep voice. It was my friend's father. He was on the other line. And I was scared to death.

If I had been a smoker, I suppose I would have needed a cigarette to calm me down. I hung the phone up and decided to be a non-smoker. He scared me to death. Have you ever heard a voice that you were not expecting to hear?

This week, I've looked for instances in scripture where a voice from heaven was heard. Do you remember when Jesus was baptized by John? God spoke from heaven that day and said, "This is my son, the beloved with whom I am well pleased." Another occasion you may recall is when Saul was converted to Christianity.

He was on the way to Damascus when he heard saw a a bright light that blinded him. And he heard a voice from heaven saying, "Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?" Saul questioned the voice and was told, "I am Jesus whom you are persecuting. Get up and enter the city, and you will be told what to do."

In reading the Easter story, I found an occasion where I believe a voice from heaven spoke once again. Let me read from Mark chapter 15. I begin at verse 42. When evening had come and since it was the day of preparation, that is the day before the Sabbath, Joseph of Arythea, a respected member of the council who was also himself waiting expectantly for the kingdom of God, went boldly to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus.

Then Pilate wondered if he were already dead. In summoning the centurion, he asked him whether he had been dead for some time. When he learned from the centurion that Jesus was dead, he granted the body to Joseph. And then Joseph bought a linen cloth, taking down the body, wrapped it in the linen cloth, and laid it in a tomb that had been heuned out of rock.

And then there was a stone rolled against the door of the tomb. That was on Friday. Jesus was dead, wrapped in a burial cloth in a tomb sealed by a giant stone. We're going to read about what happens next Sunday morning.

I'll again read from Mark's version, this time chapter 16. When the Sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene and Mary, the mother of James and Salomi, brought spices so that they might go and anoint Jesus's body. Very early on the first day of the week, when the sun had risen, they went to the tomb. They had been saying to one another, "Who will roll away the stone for us from the entrance to the tomb?"

And when they looked up, they saw that the stone, which was very large, had already been rolled away. As they entered the tomb, they saw a young man dressed in a white robe sitting on the right side, and they were alarmed. This now was an angel in human form. He said to them, "Do not be alarmed.

You are looking for Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He has been raised. He is not here." Although it is not written, I'm convinced there had to be a voice.

God Almighty had to speak to Jesus from the throne to the tomb. And I'm convinced that God the Father said something along these lines, "Get up. Get up. Get up."

Now, that's exciting to me. And what's really exciting is the voice is still here. It reverberates through all time and space. God still calls us to get up in our trials and tribulations.

You've heard the voice, haven't you? You've heard the voice of the Holy Spirit comforting you in sorrow and telling you to get up. The voice of God calls to us in our sin and in our apathy and tells us to get up, to get up. All sorts of messages come from the throne.

My neighbor of 15 years in Indiana was a fine man. He's in heaven now. His attire was bib overalls 90% of the time. He was a faithful church member and he wasn't one to be in the front of people.

He was always in the background. I I never called on him to pray. He never taught a class. He never sang a song that I know of.

He was quiet in his faith. One day, Charlie came to see me and he wanted to tell me a story. It was 1974 and Charlie was to have yet another surgery for bladder cancer. He was nervous and not sure if he would even survive the surgery.

The prognosis wasn't the best. Charlie was on his tractor discing a field that was very close to the church that I pastored for 15 wonderful years. He told me that as he sat on the tractor, an angel came and sat on the tractor fender right beside him. According to Charlie, all the angel did was ride.

There was no voice. The angel remained silent. However, to Charlie, it was loud and clear. He was encouraged.

He lived another 40 years after that day. I've never heard a voice from heaven with my ears. Yet today, I can hear the voice of God saying, "Get up. Get up."

Today, I want you to hear his voice. Have you been through some situations that have you down? Get up. Let me read to you these words from Romans 8:11.

There we are told, "The spirit of God who raised Jesus from the dead lives in you. And just as God raised Jesus Christ from the dead, he will give life to your mortal bodies by the same spirit living within you. Listen to the voice of God. He is risen.

Get up. Pray with me. Father, thank you for this day, this wonderful day. Let us celebrate a risen Savior.

Not only this Easter Sunday morning, but every day as you continue to change the world. Bless each one and each situation. I don't know what's going on in everybody's life. You do.

And you can get them up. Let us hear your voice in Jesus name. Amen. God bless.

Thanks for joining me today. Happy Easter.