Unlimited Grace

Bryan Chapell: But Jesus, you come and absorb my sin, absorb my guilt, absorb the blow of a fallen world and a just God and he says, you invite me in and I take all the hurt and all the hopelessness and I give you this promise, you shall be with me in glory.

[00:00:29] [--Guest (Male)--] So glad you joined us for today's Unlimited Grace, the audio broadcast ministry of Pastor and author Bryan Chapell.

[00:00:37] [--Guest (Male)--] In today's episode, Pastor Brian shares a lesson from First Timothy chapter 3. Dr. Chapell investigates the great mystery of Jesus that though he was fully God, he would come to Earth and become flesh on our behalf.

[00:00:52] [--Guest (Male)--] You can find this lesson and many others when you visit unlimitedgrace.com. And while you're there, look for Pastor Brian's book, The Multi-Generational Church Crisis. This compelling book asks the question of the church, what could be accomplished in the name of Christ, if we could better understand each other?

[00:01:11] [--Guest (Male)--] Let's hear now from Dr. Bryan Chapell, as he shares the lesson, A Great Mystery.

[00:01:27] [--Bryan Chapell--] One of the great Easter gifts ever given to the church was just given about a month ago. The gift was not accompanied by candles on a cake, but there were candles flickering in one of the most sacred sites in Israel.

[00:01:51] After centuries of candles burning and incense burning in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, that church, which marks the place where Jesus was buried, determined that it was time to do some renovation on the marble shrine that is over the cave, one of the traditional places where Jesus was buried. The shrine that after centuries of not being touched, was being threatened with toppling.

[00:02:25] And so the various church groups that share the care of that shrine, which is made of marble and rises as this great edifice within the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, went through months and months of renovation, which was just completed last month in preparation for this Easter.

[00:02:45] One of the important steps was to open the tomb itself of Jesus. That was not in the original plans. But the experts who were doing the renovation said that if that inner tomb was not open, perhaps water would creep in that would undermine the entire marble edifice. And so, ultimately, they determined to open the tomb of Jesus, which had not been open for over half a millennia.

[00:03:16] First, they took off the marble slab that covered the tomb. It was already cracked and they feared it would break, but they did move it without breaking, only to discover that there was another marble slab made of rose white marble that had the sign of the cross etched within. They took off the rose white marble, only to discover there was another slab of stone that had mortar on it from the Fourth Century where Constantine first ordered that the church be built.

[00:03:56] Then they took off that stone. Opened the grave. It was empty. No. It was empty! He was not there. What we discerned was the message of the angel so long ago, why do you search for the living among the dead? He is not here. He is risen as he said. He is risen. Christ is risen. He is risen indeed. So, what?

[00:04:39] If it's just memorial. If it's just history that a portion of the world's religions celebrate, so what? The early church wanted us to know, so what? When it sang the hymn of this Easter and then passed it along to us in the writings of the Apostle Paul.

[00:05:01] What are we to discern by that empty grave? But great is the mystery of godliness. How is it revealed in the life of Jesus? He was manifested in the flesh. Jesus became apparent in flesh, but the mystery of that is that this is godliness that is manifested in the flesh. He was God and yet he became incarnate, made in flesh, came as we are.

[00:05:34] The Pastor Kent Hughes explains it this way, our God stood at the rim of the universe and dove headlong past a billion stars through the Milky Way into the womb of the Virgin Mary, and swam there and grew there until he came manifested in the flesh for us.

[00:06:05] It is the great mystery of godliness, that though he was by very nature God, he did not consider equality with God something to be held, but made himself nothing and came in human form, taking the nature of a servant, becoming obedient unto death, even death on a cross. That mystery of godliness is that though he was God, he would become flesh for us.

[00:06:32] It's an expression of not just wonderful love, but a very unique grace. The claim of Christianity, different from the other religions of the world, not that we somehow could work our way up to God, but that God would come down and take on our humanity to come to us.

[00:06:51] It is the essence of our faith to say, so great was his love, that he who knew the limitations of our bodies and our minds and our hearts would not say, listen, if you will just perform enough, if you will just get righteous enough, if you will just enter the right state of consciousness, you can get to me. He said, you in your humanity could never reach to the holiness of heaven, so I come to you.

[00:07:19] And it is the marvel of the mystery of godliness that he was manifested in the flesh. But more than that, he was vindicated by the Spirit. I mean, after all, there are people who would still say, God made man. Well, wonderful myth that you believe. Is there anything that vindicates that truth? Said the early truth, said the early church, he was vindicated.

[00:07:49] That claim of godliness in Christ was vindicated by the Spirit. Hard word for us, what does it mean to be vindicated? To be proven true, to be proven right. If you get the ticket for running the red light, you may say, it wasn't red. It was yellow. The policeman who wrote the ticket may say, it was red.

[00:08:15] But if the traffic camera proves it was yellow, you are vindicated. You are proven right, and the claim of the scriptures about this Jesus is that he was God made manifest in the flesh. He was God incarnate. What, what vindicates that truth? Proves it's true. The Spirit that first planted the life of Jesus in the womb of the Virgin Mary.

[00:08:49] That's a miracle. Of course, of course the world does not accept that. Does not say it's possible. And so that early work of the Spirit was confirmed again and again in the life of Christ while he was here on Earth. There was that moment that he was baptized by John the Baptist. And in that baptism, the Spirit descending on Jesus like a dove and a voice from heaven saying, this is my son in whom I am well pleased.

[00:09:18] The testimony of the Spirit of Jesus meeting the purpose for which God sent him. After all, what would it mean for a father to say, I am well pleased in this my son? It would mean that he had fulfilled his purpose for which he had been sent. What was that purpose? The scriptures tell us it was to fulfill all righteousness.

[00:09:45] He was to come in human flesh with human weakness of of body and yet to live perfectly. Why? When that Jesus ascended to heaven, he said, I will send my Spirit to minister to you and promised at the same time, greater would be the one that's in us than the spirit of temptation and compulsion and addiction and other people's expectations that are in the world.

[00:10:16] That we are freed, that tomorrow does not have to be like yesterday, that real change is possible, hope is possible. This Jesus who was raised from the dead also provided the Spirit so that the same Spirit that gave new life to his mortal body, is giving strength to ours, to our will, to our strength, to our resolve so that God is saying to us, not only am I telling you what is good and sweet as a path for life, I will help you live it.

[00:10:46] We are freed from slavery, and we are freed ultimately by the same Spirit from the fear of death itself. So that when we struggle with disease and pain and grief, we say, this is real, but it is not the final chapter.

[00:11:09] [--Guest (Male)--] You're listening to Unlimited Grace, the audio broadcast ministry of Pastor and author Bryan Chapell.

[00:11:18] [--Guest (Male)--] It may seem hard for younger Christians to believe, but people over 50 were raised during an era when 90% of Americans identified as Christian. These older believers were once part of a majority group that understood the mission of the church was to take control of our culture, to halt its evils.

[00:11:38] [--Guest (Male)--] At the same time, Christians under 50 have lived their entire lives perceiving themselves as a minority that needs to make credible their faith to a secular, pluralistic culture. These distinct experiences and perceptions have a profound impact on the priorities different generations have for church ministry. It's no wonder that younger and older believers don't always see eye to eye.

[00:12:07] [--Guest (Male)--] In his new book, The Multi-Generational Church Crisis, Dr. Bryan Chapell asks the question, what could be accomplished in the name of Christ, if we could better understand each other? This practical and hopeful book is backed by thorough research, revealing how to open the lines of communication, appreciate the experiences that shaped each generation in your church, and unite in one mission to impact your community and the world.

[00:12:39] [--Guest (Male)--] You can request your copy of The Multi-Generational Church Crisis when you donate online at unlimitedgrace.com or by calling 844-41-GRACE. That's 844-414-7223.

[00:12:59] [--Guest (Male)--] And now, more from Bryan Chapell on today's Unlimited Grace.

[00:13:13] [--Bryan Chapell--] As believers, what it means is that we have promises first as individuals. Yes, my guilt can be removed, but that is not the end of the story. We have been promised that because the death penalty for Christ has been broken, since we're united to him, that death penalty has been broken for us as well.

[00:13:36] Yes, there's physical passing away, but the promise of the scriptures are even as he was taken up into glory, so shall we be. What does that mean for us as individuals? What does it mean for Brad and for Sandy, whose video we saw and for whom we now pray? Or or if not somebody at that stage of life, somebody at the earliest stage of life like Jet Tanis for whom we pray now.

[00:14:04] For Aaron for whom we pray now, for Mickey for whom we pray now, for loved ones in your own hearts and minds as we pray now. I I think of the reality for my own heart and life, as I've tried to be honest with you in the past to talk about my brother who's in prison, a older man now with a eight-year-old mind, to believe that we are healed not just from guilt, but that ultimately we are promised death itself shall not intrude into our ultimate reality.

[00:14:35] But we are made right, not just spiritually, but physically, ultimately, God redeeming soul and body as well. So that I think of my brother, who I have never known to have a mature thought to say, he will be with me in heaven and he will be whole. Forgiven of his sin, made right in body, right in mind, and I rejoice that even in his, in his childlike way he has affirmed faith in Jesus Christ.

[00:15:05] He has invited this Jesus into the box of his own cell in prison and said, you are mine, Jesus, and Jesus says, now you are mine. Now and forever, and he will be whole and right. I think for those of us who struggle with, with parents or grandparents who who have Alzheimer's or dementia issues.

[00:15:25] I I think of parents already who have given birth to children who struggle physically or or mentally, and to say, this is not the final chapter. We are freed from this sense of fear that this is always the story. No, it is not. I have been freed not just from guilt, from the power of death. Earth's evil shall be broken. We will be made right with him.

[00:15:49] And the way in which this happens is we invite this same Jesus into the box of our lives, our hearts, our world and I say, Jesus, I can't make this right. I can't make myself righteous before you. I can't make my body right. But Jesus, you come and absorb my sin, absorb my guilt, absorb the blow of a fallen world and a just God and he says, you invite me in and I take all the hurt and all the hopelessness and I give you this promise, you shall be with me in glory.

[00:16:26] I'm not saying that takes away all hurt. We're human. And so we we fear suffering. Yes, surely. We we fear fear pain. Yes, surely. But the final foe is no longer got power in my life or yours. Death has been conquered, and we shall be made right with our God and that is the promise that we say not just to one another, but to a world.

[00:16:52] Tim Keller, the New York City pastor, says this: Easter is about more than spiritual healing. After all, that could just be a trick of the mind. To those who care about disease and death and suffering, Easter reveals the promise of God. It's his intention to make things right physically, as well as spiritually. To skeptics who say religion is just escapism from real-world pain, injustice, our answer is, Easter.

[00:17:32] He has a plan to set things right. Everything will be different. And the evidence of that is this Jesus was not just vindicated by the Spirit, but seen by the angels, as though heaven itself is intruding into our earthly reality. That that heaven's realities for which we pray, right? Lord, do your will on Earth as it is in heaven. That that is the ultimate game plan.

[00:18:04] That God is saying, though the evil may seem so strong, God's the ruler yet, and Earth and heaven shall be made one. And even as God has ruled in heaven, so shall he maintain his Earth, our bodies made whole, our world made home, injustice set aside. All that God is doing as a promise of Easter.

[00:18:31] Ultimately, this is not just the mystery of an amazing life. It is the mystery of an amazing grace that is too big, too important to be a closely held secret. How can I be helped? I invite this Jesus into the box of my world and believe that he has taken my sin upon himself, the wrath of God upon himself, and therefore I have a future hope and future power unlike anyone else.

[00:19:02] And to believe that does not make you strange or weird or odd. This has been believed on in the world. And the way in which it is believed on in the world is calling us to to embrace again the wonder of this Easter. I have hope again. Doesn't mean life isn't hard sometimes.

[00:19:27] But the evil of my sin or the evil of my world is not the final chapter. I had the privilege for about three decades of ministering in the same town that I went to high school, which how do I say this to you, is occasionally uncomfortable when you have to be a preacher in the place that you also went to high school.

[00:19:52] It also means that those to whom I preached and ministered over time began to have children at the same time I do. And I think of one particular man, a high school friend of mine, it was odd that we were friends. He was a football hero, I was a debate nerd. And and still we got along. I was a believer. He was not. And he lived as a football hero who was not a believer.

[00:20:20] As we began having children in the same town, our kids began to go to the same schools. His only son, my oldest son, began kindergarten at the same time. And after that, all the parallels broke apart because my son was healthy and whole and in kindergarten his son was diagnosed with a progressive brain tumor.

[00:20:50] By the time my son and my friend's son were in grade school, Robbie, his son, could no longer walk. By the time our sons were in junior high, Robbie began to be incoherent in speech. And by the time our sons were in high school, Robbie could no longer see.

[00:21:18] Until the day my son called his mother and said, Mom, today there has been a miracle. Robbie can run, and Robbie can talk, and Robbie can see again. Because today he went to be with Jesus.

[00:21:45] I hope you don't mind my telling you, I feared to see Robbie's father after that. The man of such power and strength and in his youth waywardness, who had actually listened to this preacher talk about the grace of God. And now I'm going to comfort him as as one talking about the scriptures in the time of his great grief.

[00:22:07] And I I feared to knock on the door and to talk to my friend. But when he opened the door, and I think he saw my fear as well as my grief. He said, Brian, don't you grieve for me. This is the greatest day of my life. I know that my son, who has been suffering for years, is with Jesus, and he is whole and he is good, and his mom and I have hope and blessing like we would never have had apart from Jesus Christ.

[00:22:44] How does he have that? But he believes that the sins of a past were put upon Jesus. He believes that this same Jesus rose from the dead and was taken up into glory, not just as an escape, but as prayer and preparation for his people. It is what we are told in the scriptures, right? He is at the right hand of God interceding for us.

[00:23:07] And when you pray for a friend, when you pray for a family member, when you pray for those who are hurting, do you recognize Jesus is praying for you too? And he's praying for them too. And at the same moment, he is preparing a place for you and for them so that at that great reunion, when Jesus comes and we are reunited with loved ones, it will be better than anything we have ever known and better than anything they have ever known.

[00:23:35] And we will sing, glory be to God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit for he gave his son and took my sin and prepared a place for me and until that day he prays for me, so that all is working together for a greater good and an eternal purpose and this is proclaimed among the nations, believed in the world because he was taken into glory. It is our Easter hope, Christ is risen. He is risen indeed. Hallelujah. Amen.

[00:24:16] [--Guest (Male)--] That's Pastor Brian Chapell, and you've been listening to Unlimited Grace. If this message has been an encouragement to you, you can find a collection of more valuable resources at unlimitedgrace.com. When you visit, you will find today's message and many others from Pastor Brian.

[00:24:35] [--Guest (Male)--] Please be sure to join us next time as once again we endeavor to put Christ at the center of our efforts so that lives might be transformed by his unlimited grace. This ministry is brought to you by Unlimited Grace Media and continues to be made possible with your generous financial support.