A Tomb With A View

A Tomb With A View

John 20:1-31 The Story

Philippians 2:5-11 The Text

With Pastor Timothy Porter

The first Easter @ the bridge church

**Video** from the garden to the cross**

Introduction:

Jeremey Ill.

Truly, the greatest symbol of new life is found in an empty tomb!

Romans 8:11 "But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you."

You know I love suprises, I love them because you never know what to expect, and with suprises come imagination, and the Imagination is a Wonderful thing... Out of it we get –

A FAIRY that leaves money under a pillow for Teeth... A FAT Man in a red suit w/ a long white beard that delivers gifts... A RABBIT that lays colorful Eggs with sweet goodies in them ... but all of this it’s all empty celebration.

I promise You don’t need a bunny or some colorful eggs to excite my imagination about Easter. Easter stands alone on it’s own w/out any help! Our empty celebration is found in the empty tomb! Easter is not a special occassion - it's a way of life!

This morning I want preach on this subject "A Tomb With A View!"

There are 3 Empty Promises We Can Celebrate this Easter: and they are found in the book of Philippians 2:5-11

I.} An Empty Life vs.7

In this vs. Jesus showed that THE WAY TO BE FULL IS TO BE EMPTY.

[tell that to my gas tank!]

?Real "fulfill"ment comes when we’re empty of our own desires and make Jesus our heart’s desire!

Jesus’ Last Words before His Death were: "IT IS FINISHED"

?What does this Mean? It means, Fulfillment! That Everything that needed to be Done was DONE!

That Jesus has Literally Emptied Himself of Everything he had to offer you, That We might Live LIFE ABUNDANTLY!

He Poured it all out – that it might be found within us! His Tomb had a view!

? When you Watch how Jesus Lived – you Know that His life was Consumed for people like you and me – You & ME – and that He emptied Himself of all other things.

He Stepped Into Humanity at its Worst – Offered his Very Best!

?EMPTIED HIMSELF of ALL LIFE –To FILL Ours With HIS

? If you are not experiencing God’s presence in your life, it may be that you’re not “empty” enough!

? We serve a Lord that specializes in filling emptiness!

In creation He flung the universe into an expanse of emptiness / He hung the stars upon nothing (He turned nothing into something, then hung it on nothing!)

Jn. 6 — Empty Stomachs (feeding the 5,000 plus)

His disciples said how are we going to this

4 plans offered:

1.) The Disciples said, let’s just get rid of the problem…tell them to go away

Jesus said, that’s not it, they’ll faint on the way home…they’re running on empty.

2.) Phillip said, let’s raise the money. He did some figuring and found it would take 200 days’ wages to buy enough bread. (money’s not the solution to every problem…it can’t buy everything! Money can buy a House/not a home; bed/good night’s sleep; medicine/health; beautiful church bldg./holy spirit and the power of God!)

3.) Andrew found little boy w/ small lunch, and said, it’s not much, but it’s a start!

4.) Jesus had the true solution as he took the little boy’s lunch and demonstrated that little is much when God is in it!

In all 4 gospels, Jesus gave thanks prior to even breaking the bread…showing the multitudes that only God can fill their emptiness!

Are you empty today! We serve a Lord that specializes in filling emptiness! The Tomb was empty but so full at the same time.

?In John 2 He filled some empty water pots…at a wedding feast, a village event that the whole city came out for in those days. There was a festive mood until the unthinkable happened: the host ran out of wine and the people began to scurry about, whispering about the problem, until the whole crowd knew and the host was embarrassed!

The Lord let them scramble for a while before bringing the solution…He allowed them to feel their emptiness/inadequacy…He waited until they ran out of options, and then He took empty waterpots, filled them w/ water, and then worked the miracle!

And the joy that the world has to offer is just temporary…it always runs out, the result is always a void left over…emptiness. But the joy of the Lord is ever new and ever satisfying!

The world offers you its best at first…until you get hooked, and then it’s all downhill from there.