He...is...risen!!!

Turn in your Bibles to Luke 24. The resurrection story is capture in three words, "He Is Risen". Christianity rises or falls on the resurrection story. If Christ did not rise from the dead, our faith is a colossal hoax, an absolute fraud. If Jesus did not rise from the dead, our songs and our sermons are delusional. If he did not rise from the dead, our Cathedrals of worship are monuments to a corpse. From the Word of God today, I'm going to present to you absolute proof that Jesus Christ rose from the dead just as he said. This is the case for the resurrection. The best news the world has ever heard came out of a cemetery, "He is risen!!! He is alive"!!!

Read with me Luke 24:1-9: "Now on the first day of the week very early in the morning, they and certain other women with them came to the tomb, bringing the spices which they had prepared. But they found the stone rolled away from the tomb. Then they went in and did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. And it happened, as they were greatly perplexed about this: that behold, two men stood by them in shining garments. Then as they were afraid and bowed their faces to the earth, they said to them, 'why do you seek the living among the dead? He is not here but is risen. Remember how he spoke to you when he was still in Galilee, saying, "The Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men and be crucified, and the third day rise again".' and they remembered his words. Then they returned from the tomb and told all these things to the eleven and to all the rest".

Father God, we've come to the house of the Lord today to celebrate the victory over death, hell, and the grave given to us by the resurrection of Jesus Christ. May we hear it as believers? May America hear it and receive it? May the world recognize it: that there is no other deliverer other than the Nazarene, the son of the living God? In his name, do we preach this word. And all of God's children said, praise the Lord.

Here's the resurrection story. Late Thursday night 2,000 years ago, following the Passover meal with his 12 disciples, Jesus of Nazareth was praying in the Garden of Gethsemane just outside the Eastern walls of Jerusalem. His disciples slept as sweat drops of crimson blood begin to drip from his brow. In agony, he cried: Father, if it's possible, let this pass from me. God sent the fed ex back to Jesus, and said, it's not possible. From the foundations of the earth, you were destined to die, at which point Jesus said: not my will but thine be done. All real Christian living begins with the crucifixion of your will and the birth of Christ' will. The destiny of Jesus was the cross. He was the Lamb of God slain.

John the Revelator says, "From the foundations of the earth," meaning before Genesis 1:1 was ever written. He went to his disciples, who were sleeping, and he looked at them, and said: could you not watch with me one hour? The point is the New Testament church was sleeping while Jesus was going through the greatest crisis of his life. I think right now perhaps the New Testament church in America is sleeping while America is going through the greatest moral crisis of its existence.

Suddenly through the olive trees, they are seeing the flaming torches of 500 Roman soldiers coming toward Jesus Christ from the Antonian Fortress. They surround the Lord of glory. And the leader says: we seek Jesus of Nazareth. Jesus answered in three words: I am he. And they fell to the ground like dead men. Jesus said: no man takes my life: I lay it down. Rome could not convict him. The cross could not conquer him. The grave could not contain him. Satan could not defeat him. Why? Because he was, and he is, and always will be the king of all kings and the Lord of all Lord, the conqueror of death, hell and the grave! Give him praise in the house of God!

Look at this scene. Jesus Christ said: all power is given to me in heaven and in earth. Jesus is standing. Roman soldiers, who were celebrated for their cruelty and their vicious capacity to butcher people, are on the ground trembling like children in absolute fear but totally powerless. He was, he (Jesus), was and is the mighty conqueror. Judas betrayed Jesus with a kiss: Judas, the deceiver: Judas, the devil's advocate: Judas, who cherished money more than his relationship with the master. Peter slashed off the ear of a Roman soldier. Jesus is taken to Pilate and they tried him. He washed his hands, and said: I find no fault in this man.