The Easter event had many players in various scenes as they unfolded over three days, and all of the roles but One, can be played by us.

 First scene was Judas who loved a deal. He had already followed his heart, a kiss of betrayal a small price to pay for a bigger bank account.

Caiaphas appeared but had religious considerations and didn’t want to lose the respect of his community.

 Next was Pilate who knew that Jesus was innocent but was too afraid to stand with Him. How many years did we do that? He asked the question that all the other actors were to answer. “Pilate said to them, “What then shall I do with Jesus who is called Christ?” Mat 27:22 

Peter is there too. Peter who had spent so much time with Jesus the perfect man, but who denied he even knew Him, as he stood by the evening fire. Fortunately, Jesus new Peter and us better than we know ourselves. The rooster crowed over Peter’s feelings of failure but all of us need to feel like that, before we feel the need for a Saviour.

The crowd gathering in Pilate’s courtyard, started shouting their decision. “Crucify Him”!

 Next came Barabbas. He was offstage in a jail waiting for his execution. His name means “Son of an earthly father” and he was a murderer.  In the jail he heard cheering out on the streets and heard footsteps coming his way. The door was opened, and the jailer said “The crowd has decided to kill Jesus Christ instead of you!  You are free to go. He also represents us - sons and daughter of earthy fathers, set free by the only Son of the Heavenly Father.

 Next the soldiers at the cross. They took Jesus robes off Him, now covered with blood and hung him naked on the cross. As Jesus hung in shame, they divided His righteous robes among themselves. The crucifiers like ourselves, can walk away wearing the holy garments of Jesus.

 Of course, Jesus was on the cross. He began His lonely journey in the garden where He went with His twelve disciples. There in Gethsemane, He went a little further with just three men. But only two disciples followed him to Gabbatha and only John is standing at Golgotha near the cross. Finally, Jesus is on the cross alone for no one else could share His pain.  He was very alone, then absolutely alone, as He realised that even God had forsaken him. “And at the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying “MY GOD, MY GOD, WHY HAVE YOU FORSAKEN ME? “Mark 15:34 

He was alienated and abandoned by His Father as He became sin.  The One who is holy and “of purer eyes than to behold evil,” turned away from Sin of the world, including yours and mine.

 In the penultimate scene there is the penitent thief about to receive the punishment he is due for sin in this life.  Through simple faith in Jesus’ kingship, he is offered eternal life in the next.  Before he had a chance to attend church, give an offering, learn some verses, or do one kind thing, he was offered glory and splendour that Caiaphas and Pilate for all their trying, would never know. Jesus’ offers forgiveness and eternal life is not based on performance or knowledge but faith in Him.  The thief’s story is one that ends well, and we can choose whether we will be him in the play.

 At the end of three days “the play” moves to the final scene. The tomb is opened, Jesus is alive and none of the old actors are there.  Instead, three women come to find the tomb filled with angels instead of the body of their Friend. This is our great hope and what sets Jesus apart from every special person in world history. Mohammed, Buddha, Swamis and Lamas have come and gone but Jesus is still alive.

Do you believe on Jesus this morning? Believing is not hard, for God planned something that would make it easy to believe - the resurrection. The resurrection is the greatest proof that Jesus is the sinless Son of God. Death could not hold Him, and He rose a victor, over death, hell and the grave.  This hope for all men, is what transformed the first disciples into a band of champions. They risked it all to tell the world the message of His love. Strangely they faced rejection and even the stake but continued to love their persecutors. As the centuries past, they exchanged horses for cars and worship styles changed and got louder. Today believers will tell the Easter story a thousand different ways, but it will always have the same message of hope, which is, Jesus Christ died for sinners and that every person gets to choose which person in “the play” they want to be.  Jesus has chosen the part of Saviour, but thief is still available. Be humble and choose that part.

One day while I was in prayer,  I saw a picture of the Lord sitting on the well.  When I got closer to it, I noticed it was dry, filled with rubble and rubbish.  That was not part of the familiar picture so when I asked Him I felt He said “The only time people throw rubbish into a well is when it’s empty.  When they come to a well expecting to find water and find that it never delivered, what it promised. No one rubbishes the church when it full of Living Water. People don’t come to find rules they don’t turn up hoping to get ten things to do before God will meet them; they come to find life giving, pure rivers of love, flowing into their heart. Every local church is a well of living water, where any sinner or Samaritan can come in their shame and rejection and meet the Lord.  He sits enthroned on the well.  The well was the throne of grace, were she came find mercy and help in her time of need.  We are to be a place where they can come thirsty and go away satisfied by Living Water.

Friend, all over the world I hear the sound of the wells filling up.  Are you ready for thirsty visitors?

This week a house in our town had all the windows broken by thugs and when our pastor heard of it, he took the opportunity to send some of our young people around to clean up the mess. The woman was blessed and thankful.

The apostle Paul also could see great opportunities hidden in the midst of great opposition and difficulties. “For a great and effective door has opened to me, and there are many adversaries” (1Corintians 16:9) We are tempted to think that if something is a God opportunity it will be easy.  Great people see a great opportunity, not because it will be plain sailing but because they have a plain word from God.  Caleb who was old but not withered said “Yes, there are giants in the land but we are not grasshoppers and God is bigger than any giant-sized adversary.  Paul could see trouble on both sides of the door but what we saw even clearer were opportunities to serve people and to serve God.  Before Paul was a great apostle, he had become a great servant.  Jesus modelled for us serving our way to greatness.  Mark 10:43   All human beings are wired for greatness. Most of us know inside us that our life was never meant to be ordinary.  Greatness is found in serving God and people. Kingdom people think about how they can serve, where they can serve and when they can serve. The greatness of serving is that it is the best way to enter doors of opportunity.  It is not always easy to serve your neighbours but when we did, our neighbours got saved.   Years ago I worked for the city council, I shared my hope in Jesus with one of the people there with no effect. One day I took the door of opportunity that opened for me to help them with a practical problem at their house, the next Sunday they were at church.

Friend, if you wondering where your next great door of opportunity is, look for some people to serve and do it even if is difficult. Great people find great opportunities and by the way, you will be great!

Jesus told a story of the king who was travelling into a far-off country. He gathered his three servants and distributed to them talents of gold. To the first man he gave five talents, to the next two, and then one.   Just one talent was worth about twenty years of wages. Two of them went and traded with them and doubled their talents and the master was very pleased and gave them an even greater opportunity.

But one took his gift and buried it to keep it safe and when he gave an account to the master, he was in trouble. Perhaps he was lazy or offended that he was given the least amount. Perhaps he was a socialist and could not celebrate his masters increasing wealth but out of his own mouth, he gives us his excuse. “ And I was afraid, and went and hid your talent in the ground. Look, there you have what is yours”( Mat 25:25)   He was too scared to have a go. He thought if I do something with the talent, it might not work. He played it too safe.  We get the idea that if the servant had of come to the boss and said “Sorry Master, I invested your talents but it didn’t work and I lost it," the king would still have been happy.  The bottom line of this parable is: one thing the King can't stand is someone doing nothing with what they’ve been given.  Even the master took a risk by giving his talents to others.

Friend, the worst thing you can do is nothing. The greatest danger in life is not a failure but faithlessness.  You cannot change the talent or gift you have been given but you can increase it by using it. What gift, talent, passion, idea or desire from God have you hidden in the ground?  It’s not too late to dig it up and take a risk.

A number of years ago, I was preaching in a village in Vanuatu when a witch doctor came to announce curses upon those gathered. He came with words because beings in the spirit realm are released by words. Satan seems to need a person or people, to invoke the words of a curse upon people before evil spirits are able to work their evil. For this reason, the heathen king Balak invited Balaam the prophet to curse Israel. (Numbers 22. 15)  The principle holds true in Gods kingdom too, so when we agree with God words in prayer, Gods Spirit is able to move!  Words are an instrument of the spirit realm and both the kingdom of God and the kingdom of darkness are released through words. The words of the apostles or prophets reached into the unseen realm, binding evil or releasing the miracles of God.  Israel shouted the words of faith at Jericho and the Spirit was released to move.  The words we speak today can bring Gods “planned tomorrow” toward us. Words of unbelief can frustrate and even deny the good plans of God for our life.

Friend, How much of what God planned to bring into our lives, has been bound up in the heavens by the words we have said or not said.  Ezekiel had to speak to the bones before the Spirit could move.   So I prophesied as I was commanded; and as I prophesied, there was a noise, and suddenly a rattling; and the bones came together, bone to bone.   (Eze 37:7) Somebody has to declare what God wants to do in your life. It probably needs to be you! Start prophesying now.

Has anyone noticed how many rainbows there are around these days? We have rainbow footpaths, office windows, pedestrian crossings, buses and toys. So many that I thought people must be either reading their Bible or totally forgetting the meaning of the rainbow. I decided to print my own tee-shirt to explain.

This morning I climbed the steps to enter our city council gym and was greeted by an archway of balloons arranged in rainbow-order. I thought “I wonder who is telling them to promote pride week and whose rates are paying for it? That got me thinking. Why pride?

Pride is something we feel when a child or adult has achieved something notable or has demonstrated character in the face of difficulty.

The other use of the word pride is in the context of lack of humility and rebellion and the first instance of this type of pride was a long time ago. Lucifer was the most decorated created being in heaven. He wore beautiful garments, which glistened with jewels of every colour of the rainbow.

“You were in Eden, the garden of God; Every precious stone was your covering: The sardius, topaz, and diamond, Beryl, onyx, and jasper, Sapphire, turquoise, and emerald with gold... "You were the anointed cherub who covers; I established you; You were on the holy mountain of God; You walked back and forth in the midst of fiery stones. You were perfect in your ways from the day you were created, till iniquity was found in you” (Eze 28:13-1)

Sadly, as Lucifer led the parade in worship to God, he began to think that the worship should belong to him. Iniquity and pride entered his heart, and he was cast from heaven to become Satan, the hater of mankind and God.

Pride in this context of arrogance and rebellion has never benefitted anyone. As Kevin Conner said "If pride can turn and archangel into a devil, what can it do to us"?

Has pride ever helped a couple resolve their issues? Has pride ever helped a broken relationship be restored? Has pride ever helped reconcile a son to his parents or enabled them to confess their faults? Never. God took pairs of males and females into the ark for the good of the planet. Homosexual pairs animal or human would be non-regenerating and an evolutionist might say, a threat to the survival of the species. Not much to celebrate there either.

Why would we be proud of pride? We don't celebrate “lust week” for adulterers, or “greed week” for thieves and gangsters, so why would we celebrate pride week for those caught in homosexuality? It makes no sense.

Why would the U.N. and government promote and celebrate a lifestyle that on their own admission and figures, has a far worse suicide and mental health outcomes than the general population? Canadian figures put suicide risk at fourteens time higher for LGBTQ people. That is not fair on our young people.

Of course, homosexual people look for acceptance and they should find acceptance from us all, for every human being is infected with the same disqualifying sin. Gay or straight, black and white. Whether we live in Remuera or Manurewa, are atheist or religious, sin affects us all differently but affect us all, it does.

Some of my friends have gay children. We love and accept them because they too are us. All of us must find our way back to God through the same narrow gate, Jesus Christ.

Israel Folau was given a hard time for saying that homosexuals will go to hell. But maybe he and everyone else missed the point. It is not just homosexuals that will be excluded from heaven (Hell) but every person that hasn't asked found forgiveness from God, though a personal faith in Jesus Christ. This includes rugby boards, politicians, presidents and preachers. In short, no one will live with God unless they are humble enough to acknowledge their imperfection and need for God's forgiveness. And humble enough to accept the only salvation that God has provided (at great cost to himself), the cleansing blood of his Son.

So, while doing my leg press, I thought “Why should we be celebrating pride week in a government run gym? Soon our primary schools will be full of rainbows. What to do? I know, I'll wear my rainbow bow tee-shirt to the gym next week.” Then I thought “This only happens because everyone is too afraid to speak up. I should say something today,” So I went to the gym instructor and asked “What is the meaning of these rainbow-coloured balloons? Who told you to display them?”

He said “I went overseas to bury my mother and got stuck over there with a lockdown. My staff put them up to celebrate my return to work”. :)

Oh well there is still way too many rainbows with the wrong meaning out there!

As the famine began to grip the land of  Israel,  Abraham took his 60-year-old wife and travelled south to Egypt.  Abram was not wrong for being concerned about feeding his family, but Abram was wrong in thinking God would not provide for his needs in the place where God called him to live. After all, God called Abram to Canaan, not to Egypt. We can be in the centre of the will of God and still have troubles and testing. The walk of faith is about learning to give the Word of God authority in our lives; more authority than what we see or feel.  James 1:2-4

In Egypt, Pharaoh noticed her and took her into his house. Jewish legend says that in comparison to Sarai, all other women looked like monkeys; she was even more beautiful than Eve.  As people get older they are attracted to people of a similar age, so perhaps Pharaoh was quite old.  Either way, Sarah was beautiful. Abraham asked Sarai to lie to protect his own life a number of times on this trip and his wife ended up in the harem of a foreign ruler.  By offering his “sister” he was able to receive favour and riches.

Abram showed little character at this stage in his life and like us found it hard not to let the world affect his faith in God’s word.  God moved to get both Abram’s wife back home and Abram’s life back on track.  God brought Abram back to the land he should never have left and continued the story, apparently before Abram ever repented.  He plagued the house of Pharaoh and brought Abram back to the house of God. There Abram did what he should have done at the start; called upon the name of the Lord.

Friend, have struggled a bit lately, have you wobbled in your faith or even crashed and burned? Abrahams big failings were not too great for God to work around. Thank God it’s not three strikes and you’re out. Our forgiving Father is helping us learn faith and He is not put off by our weakness or failure.  Move out; move back toward God and call upon His name. Your faith may fail, your character may fail your may feel that you have failed Him, but our Father will never fail you.

The old potter stood up from his wheel with a satisfied smile. He had made many vessels before but every one that he made, was something special. He lifted it onto the wooden shelf and closed the door of the drying cupboard. It would be hidden away for a while, but he knows the shelf will protect it from damage while it hardens. Shutting it up in the dark cupboard will also make sure that it doesn’t dry out to too quickly and crack later in the fire.
Sometimes after we have felt the great Potters hands around us, we seem to be put aside on the shelf and left to dry out. Just when we feel ready for promotion in the kingdom, it seems we’re overlooked by those who should be looking over us. But God is just drying us out, allowing us to harden up so we are able to take knocks without losing shape. And if we crack now, we will never pass the test of fire.
But there is a greater reason that God hides us away and we are feel hidden from sight. It enables us to realize where our life is really found. God’s word tells us that our life is hidden with Christ in God. ”For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God” (Col 3:2). This refers to the life we gain, from the true source of Life.
So while we are hidden, we are meant to find something else that is hidden too - our life that is in Christ! Our life is not found in a position, or being popular or centre stage. It’s not in being a friend of the pastor, or even from connection with others in the Church, but in Jesus.

Friend, it’s good to be integrated and its good to busy in the “Church” but if we don’t work out where our life is, we will get discouraged or disillusioned while serving. When believers don’t find their life is in Christ, they burn out or drop out. If they go to another church, they still won’t find what they are looking for, because they are looking for Life in all the wrong places. Maybe Lockdown is a gift of time when we can find afresh, our Life, that is hidden in Him.