A Happy Easter to everyone!! Christ has risen!!Well I am on my own at my parent's house as they have gone off to their church so I have been left cooking the lunch. But I had a quick thought. I have said before that I will re-publish teaching of Dr Ern Baxter if it seems appropriate and to me Easter Sunday is THE occasion to re-publish this extremely key teaching on Resurrection. The sermon was called, "The Neglect of Resurrection". Here it is in four parts and some summary quotes:
Part 1 - "The Introduction".
"God has not given up on the world, God will not give up on the world and God ultimately intends to have a new heaven and a new earth where indwelleth righteousness and I am with Him!".
Part 2 - "The Scholars Neglect Resurrection".
"Those Christians who consider only Christ’s death are death-orientated. They never get past the Cross. These dear people have been dying daily for 50 years and they look like it – you wish they’d get it over with ... Cross-orientated people are sad people".
A quote from I. Howard Marshall:
"According to the theology expressed in the Acts of the Apostles the fundamental place in salvation history is to be assigned to the Resurrection of Jesus Christ”
Part 3 - "The Serious Neglect".
A quote from Dietrich Bonhoeffer:
"Only the Risen One makes possible the Presence of the Living Person".
A quote from Richard Gaffin:
"Christianity, at least the Christianity of the New Testament, is a religion of Resurrection".
A quote from George Elton Ladd:
"It is clear that not the life of Jesus, not His teaching, not even His sacrificial death was the central emphasis in the earliest Christian proclamation. It was the Resurrection of Christ".
Ern Baxter himself: "I don't sing "Jesus keep me near the Cross!". I sing, "I see Jesus crowned with glory and honour!"
Part 4 - "Conclusions".
"I love His life. I love Him more every time I read the Gospels. He challenges my own humanity - but I don't live there. I come to his vicarious death and I mourn at His agony and I am influenced by His passion but I don't live there".
"But the baptism of the Holy Ghost is your enablement to reign".
"I receive the Holy Spirit and the Holy Spirit enables me to see Him and what He is doing now".
So there we have it.
Why did I say, "He has risen to reign?". Once again there is amazing symmetry between what Pete is writing on his blog and what I am writing. That isn't by design. I only checked his blog half-way through mine. But Ern Baxter's vision is so important to us both! Pete wrote:
I originally went to Pete's blog to get the words of the famous Issac Watts hymn, "Jesus shall reign where'er the sun". It expresses the reign of Christ more ably than I ever could ... and it was a pre-1970's Dales hymn! Imagine that! Note the extra verses that you won't find in many modern abberational hymn books. They are in italics. This is the cry of my heart on this glorious Easter morning:
1. Jesus shall reign where’er the sun
Doth his successive journeys run;
His kingdom stretch from shore to shore,
Till moons shall wax and wane no more.
Doth his successive journeys run;
His kingdom stretch from shore to shore,
Till moons shall wax and wane no more.
2. Behold the islands with their kings,
And Europe her best tribute brings;
From north to south the princes meet,
To pay their homage at His feet.
And Europe her best tribute brings;
From north to south the princes meet,
To pay their homage at His feet.
3. There Persia, glorious to behold,
There India shines in eastern gold;
And barb’rous nations at His word
Submit, and bow, and own their Lord.
There India shines in eastern gold;
And barb’rous nations at His word
Submit, and bow, and own their Lord.
4. For Him shall endless prayer be made,
And praises throng to crown His head;
His Name like sweet perfume shall rise
With every morning sacrifice.
And praises throng to crown His head;
His Name like sweet perfume shall rise
With every morning sacrifice.
5. People and realms of every tongue
Dwell on His love with sweetest song;
And infant voices shall proclaim
Their early blessings on His Name.
Dwell on His love with sweetest song;
And infant voices shall proclaim
Their early blessings on His Name.
6. Blessings abound wherever He reigns;
The prisoner leaps to lose his chains;
The weary find eternal rest,
And all the sons of want are blessed.
The prisoner leaps to lose his chains;
The weary find eternal rest,
And all the sons of want are blessed.
7. Where He displays His healing power,
Death and the curse are known no more:
In Him the tribes of Adam boast
More blessings than their father lost.
Death and the curse are known no more:
In Him the tribes of Adam boast
More blessings than their father lost.
8. Let every creature rise and bring
Peculiar honours to our King;
Angels descend with songs again,
And earth repeat the loud amen!
Peculiar honours to our King;
Angels descend with songs again,
And earth repeat the loud amen!
Jesus Christ is risen today! Hallelujah!
8 comments:
Why didn't you accompany your parents to church? Yet again we see an insight into the state of your walk. When will you overcome your pride and humble yourself?
For goodness sake you don't ever take a day off your negativity do you? Wouldn't it be nice to stop your "discerning" for once and enter into the joy of Resurrection morning!? As you know very well if you are who we think you are, he didn't go because he was told by the leadership of that church he wouldn't be welcome there! And as yet nothing has been heard to the contrary!
Give it a rest anonymous and start examining the plank in your own eye.
Happy Easter anon!! May you actually experience the joy of resurrection life this year and begin practicing what you preach ... may the love of God overwhealm you and flood you until you become a changed man! :)
hee hee I just remember that quote you put on your group blog one - the one from William Haslam in the Cornish Revival. Didn't it talk about the people who most objected to noise generally had nothing to be noisy about. They showed far greater excitement in their criticism of excitement, than excitement in the gospel. Yet when they had true excitement, they made more noise than the others.
Maybe this anonymous bloke actually needs some revival power!
Dear anonymous
I think we accept that there are many things on this blog that you do not agree with and you are entitled to your opinion. However, there is no place in scripture permits you (or any of us) to engage in personal attacks.
It was our dear Lord Himself that told us "Judge not, that you be not judged. For with that judgement you judge, you will be judged and with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you." (Matt 7v1-2).
These are serious words. And I encourage you to guard your heart lest you stumble in this area.
Of course we are to exercise discernment, and it would be entirely appropriate if you were to raise serious theological points, that could be discussed on this blog in a spirit of love and mutual edification. However, the comments that are being raised are not edifying at present. It is sad because we could do each other good in the Lord.
On the matter of Dan not being at church with his parents, it is not for us to judge him. It has been mentioned by Scott above that there are issues that prevent him from going to his parent's church. And perhaps there was not the opportunity for him to go somewhere else. Perhaps he wanted to serve his parents by cooking for them. But there can be little doubt that he has spent time in the presence of his Lord this morning because the Lord has laid these things on Dan's heart for him to share.
I happen to know that Dan is passionate to see God's glory and hungry for more of Him and to see revival come to our land. We should encourage him greatly.
I, personally, thank you Dan for this inspiring Easter post.
Agreed Peter. And I think that should end the matter. Let's not allow some nasty, vindictive words to take away from the power of this Easter reflection! I for one am stirred that Christ is reigning on high. Wow!
"The ability to see faults is a cheap and common gift" - Gene Edwards as quoted by Terry Virgo last Brighton. I agree. Except in this case there don't seem to be any faults to see, merely speculation! So quit it!
How much better to be an encourager than a fault-seer.
Amen Luke!
Legalists ... go home. Or away. Or just anywhere apart from here!
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