Wednesday, April 03, 2013

Jesus Is Out, And He’s After You


The absolute best sermon I have heard this year on the Easter Resurrection of our Lord Jesus was from Pastor Bryan Wolfmueller at Hope Lutheran Church out in Aurora, CO. The sermon is titled “Jesus is Out, and He’s After You” and it needs to be heard.

A portion of the text:

What do you do with a man who won’t stay dead? Perhaps the better question is: What does a man who can’t stay dead do with us? This, dear friends, is the questions that will define our life and death. And the answer is: this Man loves you. He forgives you. He befriends you, and speaks kindly to you.
 
Because this Jesus who is dead and raised, this Jesus who is after you is after you with His resurrection. Pursuing you with His life. Chasing you down with His forgiveness. Coming to you with His truth, tearing away the delusions and the lies and comforting you with His love and promises, giving you His life.

This Jesus is after you with the gifts of the cross, seeking you like a Good Shepherd who leaves His flock to find the wandering sheep, and finding it lifts it, lifts you, on His shoulders and carries you to safety. Seeking you to save you, to deliver you, to rescue you, to bring you to His eternal dwelling where the angels are rejoicing without end.

Now, it is also true that the devil is after you, tempting and troubling you. But dear saints, what of it? Jesus has stomped the devil under His feet. He descended into hell and preached a sermon to the devil, a sermon of victory. He is risen, broken free from the devil’s grasp, and made a public spectacle of the devil in His cross and tomb. Jesus is the stronger One, who has taken the cords that the devil used to tie you up, that is, the fear of death, and unwrapped you and bound up the devil, and looted His house, the grave.

Pastor Wolfmueller gives us the Jesus that Scripture reveals. A Jesus that does what He says He will do. A Jesus that is just as active in going out and rescuing His flock as He was two thousand years ago. A Jesus that will use what ever Means of Grace that He wants to do His gracious work.

Pastor Wolfmueller does not give us a passive Jesus who sits off to the side waiting for us to make a decision to accept Him into our hearts. Pastor Wolfmueller rightly preaches to us a Jesus who runs the verbs; an active Savior that still rescues those He calls His children... the Jesus of Scripture!

Pastor Wolfmueller's Easter sermon this year might just be my favorite Easter sermon ever, it's that good and you should read or listen to it. Read the sermon here or listen to it here in iTunes.