A Very Different Easter

Scripture

28 “Don’t be afraid of those who want to kill your body; they cannot touch your soul. Fear only God, who can destroy both soul and body in hell.  29What is the price of two sparrows—one copper coin? But not a single sparrow can fall to the ground without your Father knowing it. 30And the very hairs on your head are all numbered. 31So don’t be afraid; you are more valuable to God than a whole flock of sparrows. 32 “Everyone who acknowledges me publicly here on earth, I will also acknowledge before my Father in heaven. 33But everyone who denies me here on earth, I will also deny before my Father in heaven.  Matthew 10:28-32

Observation

Jesus was sending his 12 disciples out to announce the Kingdom was near with signs, wonders, and casting out demons. This was no covert operation. This was a spiritual battle for souls that would draw lots of attention both from those who were seeking and those who wished to stop them. Jesus wasn’t trying to make a pitch or sell them on the good life. No, He made it quite clear that to be disciple of Christ meant that what He went through they would go through. There was no room for posturing, posing, or popularity in this call.  Only those willing to lose it all could actually follow through with what Jesus was calling them to. This was a fearful thing to be sure. Jesus puts their present fears of the rejection of man in to perspective with their eternal placement in either Heaven or Hell. In other words, no matter how bad it gets here on earth following Jesus, it’s much better than spending eternity without Him! “38If you refuse to take up your cross and follow me, you are not worthy of being mine. 39If you cling to your life, you will lose it; but if you give up your life for me, you will find it.” (Mt. 10:38-39)

Application

This past Easter was very different from Easter’s past. It’s the Super Bowl weekend for pastors. It’s the time of year when many people who would not normally come to church give it a try. It’s normally when I would preach a very “seeker friendly” message. This year was different. I preached on Heaven and Hell. It wasn’t a hell fire and brim stone scare them into Heaven sermon, but it was very clear that there was no skipping the reality of Hell to just focus on Heaven.  There was no skipping the sacrifice of Good Friday on The Cross, the overcoming of Hell on Silent Saturday, and the victorious Resurrection of Easter Sunday. I apologized for how, at times, out of fear, I’ve not been clear about the reality of Hell.  I even had a God Story from Joseph about an open vision God had given him about Hell. God didn’t show him this out of cruelty but kindness to show him exactly what He had died to save Joseph from. This all led up to the salvation call which is an opportunity for those who didn’t know Jesus as their Lord and Savior to pull the red cord on the parachute and repent and acknowledge their need of Him. In the past I would have everyone bow their heads, keep their eyes closed and secretly lift their hands while no one was looking. This was a very different Easter. I actually quoted these verses above and invited anyone who had prayed that salvation prayer for the first time or the first time in a long time to boldly raise their hands with everyone’s eyes wide open. I had been convicted not only about soft-selling Hell but also setting the wrong expectations for discipleship. Jesus was very clear in this passage about how following Jesus was going to require everything. So, how could I justify teaching new believers that our faith is something to be kept quiet, covert, and private? Wasn’t I just setting them up for a transaction instead of transformation? Wasn’t one of the reasons I wanted them to keep their eyes closed was so that I could get an ego boost for how many more hands went up? Yet, we ended up with was so much better!  Not just converts, but disciples. Our YES Team connected personally with each one who boldly raised their hands. This wasn’t something to be ashamed of but rather celebrated. Each person received a Bible, journal, 21 Day study of what it means to follow Jesus and a hand written letter from me. How much more likely are these new believers to tell they friends and family about what they did if they already told everybody in the room that they gave their lives to Jesus?  What’s even more interesting is that 75% of those who responded were young adults who were unchurched and didn’t know that the “normal” salvation call was supposed to be covert. All it took was me getting past my fear of man to invite others to do the same.

Prayer

Lord, I pray for the 14 souls who came to You this past weekend and the 6 from Palm Sunday. I pray that the seed of faith would find root in You as our leaders follow up with them and walk them to maturity in You.  What a privilege You’ve given us to make disciples as we model what discipleship actually looks like. There’s a boldness being released in Your “last days” church and I pray that I would continue to follow Your lead and lay my life down rather than looking for the comfortable way through. I pray for many, many more to come to know You as their Lord and Savior!