"BEYOND THE CROSS"

April 9, 2020  ~  Beyond the Cross   Colossians 1:24-27

Good Morning! Who now rejoice in my sufferings for you, and fill up that which isbehind of the afflictions of Christ in my flesh for his body's sake, which is the church: 25Whereof I am made a minister, according to the dispensation of God which is given to me for you, to fulfill the word of God; 26Even the mystery which hath been hid from ages and from generations, but now is made manifest to his saints: 27To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory: “Is there anything beyond the cross?” A Sunday School Teacher asked her class to write one sentence each on "What Easter Means to me." One pupil wrote: "Egg salad sandwiches for the next two weeks!" As a child, I might have said something very similar to that. But now that I am an adult, Easter means something very different to me. It means the restoration of hope. Someone has said, “We can live forty days without food, eight days without water, four minutes without air, but only a few seconds without hope.” Speaking of the role of hope in our lives, Thornton Wilde said, “Despair all too readily embraces the ills it foresees; hope is an energy that arouses the mind to explore every possibility to combat them.” The people who were a part of the first Easter knew all about the need for hope in order to be able to continue on. They had knelt there at the foot of the cross watching the one who carried all their hopes and dreams die. They had listened as He said, “Father, into your hands, I commend my spirit”, and then, they saw Him bow His head for the last time. Their guts had wrenched as the Roman soldier plunged the spear into his side removing all doubt that Jesus was really dead. They followed those who carried Him to the tomb, and when they heard the resounding sound of the rock that sealed the tomb, they knew that their hope was dead – sealed in the tomb with the one that they thought was their Savior. They knew what it was like to be hopeless. Some of you know that same feeling of hopelessness. When you look at your marriage, you see only despair. When you think about your children – whether they are still young or full grown, you wonder what kind of a future there is for them. When you consider your life and the mistakes that you have made, you are tempted to give up hope that anyone could ever love you, forgive you and make something good out of your life. This morning, my goal for us is that we will experience that same restoration of hope that those first century Christians experienced when they came to the tomb and heard the words, “[Jesus] is not here; He is risen just as He said.” They discovered that there is hope beyond the cross. What you are going through or whatever you have done does not need to destroy you and steal your hope. You can hope again. Beyond the cross, hope endures even through suffering. One of the things that threaten to steal your hope is suffering. Suffering has been a part of what it means to be human ever since sin entered into the world. And even though, Jesus paid for our sins on the cross with His own blood, still, suffering is present with us and will be, until this world is a part of history. You can let suffering steal your hope, or you can hold onto that hope by concentrating on some of the positive things that can come out of suffering.  COVID19 and its results will not steal my hope; that blessed hope that Jesus paid for with His life! Regardless of what may come, His mercy, His Mission, His purpose will always provide hope in the midst of turmoil and chaos!  With gratitude, I claim His promises and I fully intend to “Hang-on,” and keep claiming victory through SAVIOR, JESUS CHRIST!!  Stay Strong, Stay Focused…Remember, THE BEST IS YET TO BE!