Title SlideMatthew 28:1-10
Easter Worship
April 12, 2009
BlankHave you ever had to endure a period of life where everything seemed to be going your way? I know, it’s hard to take while it’s happening, isn’t it? On the one hand, you’re thrilled with the way things are going, but at the same there’s a gnawing feeling inside of you . . . you know what I mean don’t you? Ultimately you say, “things have been really good, but you know, I’m waiting for the other shoe to drop.”
In other words, life can’t remain going great, something has to happen that’s negative. At least that’s the way most of us think.
Very simply, you know what it’s like when you’ve dusted and vacuumed, yet within a few days, the dust bunnies have returned.
It’s like what I’ve experienced the past 2 weeks, I’ve changed at least 8 light bulbs, one in just about every room . . . a bedroom, dining room, kitchen, bathroom, 3 in front of the house, of which 2 of the bulbs were shattered by wind.
It seems the good times just can’t last. We move from health to sickness to death. From madly in love to just co-existing or divorce. From happily employed to disgruntled to searching the want ads. Why do things seem to change for the worse and why do we have that expectation that this is normal? That the other shoe is going to drop at any time.
We even have to fight with our teeth – clean them, floss them, brush them, rinse them, do it today, then do it again and again, otherwise our teeth decay.
Our own bodies begin to experience more aches and pains. The energy that once allowed us to work 14 hour days isn’t there any more. Visits to doctors guide our calendar. We look at funeral announcements and discover the average age is our age. Life is sliding downward, and there’s no way to stop it.
Order to disorder.
Structure to chaos.
Life to death.
Ever since humanity fell into sin, this is simply the way it’s been and the crazy thing is . . . we know it.
So we write our wills and take out life insurance.
We lower our expectations.
We bury loved ones when they die, with no hope that we’ll see them again in this lifetime.
Life turns to death. And death is the end of the road. Period.
Which is precisely what the women expected and counted on when they trudged to the tomb not knowing it was going to be the first Easter celebration ever.
It had been a violent and cruel weekend. Death came crashing down on their hopes.
Life had been swallowed up in death. It was Sunday morning and time to try and smooth over the rough edges, calm some jagged nerves, grieve together. Go to the tomb . . . to weep, pray and remember. Lay some flowers besides the tomb, then walk back home, talk and cry, then figure out what’s next.
But what greets them! An angel!! Who reminds them Jesus is a man of His word.
Can you imagine the shock?
How would it be if you returned from the cemetery after burying a loved one. Your mind is numb with grief and uncertainty - “How could this be happening? What will we do? How will we go on? If only ...”
Then you step in the front door and there they are, sitting at the dining room table. They’re smiling and laughing and there’s a twinkle in their eye!
We can’t imagine it. It’s impossible!! Against all odds!!
So it was for the women as well. Impossible. Against all odds.
Angels. The stone rolled back. An empty tomb.
The irreversible trend to which we all have grown accustomed, the trend from life to death was reversed.
Jesus rose from the dead . . . spiritually and physically.
He was dead and now He’s alive. It was not a staged event. He was dead. The soldiers, who knew what dead was, said so.
Now - He is alive. The grave is empty.
The resurrection is a fact of history. The pressing question for today is SO WHAT!
So, what does it mean for you and me that Jesus rose from the dead?
We’re less than four months into a new year, with a new president. There are major, major issues which are pressing in our country . . .
The stock market has decreased in value by 35% since last April
The stock market is down. (Dow Jones - 4/11/08 = 12,325 --- 4/11/09 = 8,035)
Unemployment is up . . . 66% in the US in the past year and 88% in Indiana.
(United States — 5.1% to 8.5% = 66% Indiana — 5% to 9.4% = 88%(
The housing market is down and our homes have decreased in value
There are health care issues. Rising costs and lower coverages.
College costs are increasing.
There are pirates still patrolling and doing what pirates do.
This all sounds so terrible, and we can have a woe is me attitude and wait for the other shoe to drop, but it does not have to.
Matthew tells us what happened on that first Easter morning . . .
1 After the Sabbath, at dawn on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to look at the tomb. 2 There was a violent earthquake, for an angel of the Lord came down from heaven and, going to the tomb, rolled back the stone and sat on it. 3 His appearance was like lightning, and his clothes were white as snow. 4 The guards were so afraid of him that they shook and became like dead men.
5 The angel said to the women, "DO NOT BE AFRAID, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. 6 He is not here; he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay. 7 Then go quickly and tell his disciples: `He has risen from the dead and is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him.’ Now I have told you."
8 So the women hurried away from the tomb, afraid yet filled with joy, and ran to tell his disciples. 9 Suddenly Jesus met them. "Greetings," he said. They came to him, clasped his feet and worshiped him. 10 Then Jesus said to them, "DO NOT BE AFRAID. Go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee; there they will see me."
When you think about it, what were the first words the angels said after Jesus rose from the dead? “Don’t be afraid!”
What were the first words Jesus said after he rose from the dead? “Don’t be afraid!” “Don’t be afraid!” Friends, that’s the message of Easter. And 2,000 years later it’s still relevant.
You see, we call fear by many names. We call it worry, tension, anxiety, and stress. One study looked at 500 different people and discovered 7,000 different fears – an average of 14 different fears per person. Fear is such a key issue in our lives.
When we can really, really trust Jesus is who He says He is, when we believe that His resurrection is really real, when we place our lives in His hands . . . He promises us that He will not fail us, He will not forsake us, He will not abandon us, He will be with us, stay with us, hang out with us, He won’t jump ship when the storm gets to fierce, because you see, He has the power to silence the storm . . . So, Jesus comes to you and says to you, “DO NOT BE AFRAID!”
. . . but do you really trust Jesus is who He says He is?
Fear’s contagious. It’s limiting, paralyzing, and draining. But let me tell you Slidesomething, God doesn’t want you to be afraid. In Ephesians 3:12, Paul wrote, “In Christ we can come before God with freedom and without fear. We can do this through faith in Christ.”
Do you understand what Paul’s getting at? This is part of the SO WHAT. . .
When we believe in Jesus, because we’ve placed our faith in Him, we freely come to God and we can do it without fear. Why? Very simply, because God loves you. Strangely, it’s that simple, but so difficult, because we don’t want to give in to our wants and desires and accept what God wants and desires for us.
John wrote, “Where God’s love is, there is no fear because God’s perfect love drives out fear” (1 John 4:18). The Bible says the opposite of love is fear, and the opposite of fear is love. Love and fear can’t operate together. When love comes in the front door of your life, fear goes out the back door. Love is the antidote to fear.
We were created so God can love us and we can love Him. He knows everything about us. And He wants us to know Him, experience Him and enjoy Him. God sent Jesus into this world to show us how to love, how to give, how to serve and ultimately how to die, as He died on the cross for you and me, and He rose again.
By rising from the dead, Jesus gives us hope that death is not the end of the road. We just don’t live our lives for nothing and die, get buried and that’s it. There is hope that we will have life everlasting with God and we will celebrate that eternity and we will look to a future where there is no more pain, no more suffering, no more tears, no more hunger. We will see our loved ones who have gone before us and we will hang out at the great banquet with all the other saints in the kingdom having a great party because of what Jesus did for us. Jesus gives us perfect love.
But that is not all He did for us. You see, when we believe in Jesus we have the opportunity to turn over a new leaf, so that we don’t have to anticipate that old ugly shoe dropping again. You see, Jesus offers us new life, He wants us to embrace the power and strength of life change, life transformation that can only happen when we believe in Jesus. We can call on the One, the Creator of the universe who redeems us and forgives us and gives us His grace so we can live an abundant life, a life filled with the hope of Jesus.
To receive it we must ask. Have you asked? Maybe it’s been a long time since you’ve asked God for anything, but make today a new beginning and ask for His strength and power, His grace and hope, His joy and love.
You see, Jesus came into this world leaving the perfect place, heaven, and that by the way is our final destination when we have trust and faith in Jesus, but until we get there, Jesus wants us to live the great abundant life, and the only way we can do it, is to revel in His love.
Who else would leave the absolutely perfect relationship of love, joy and peace to come into the world for you?
Who else would endure ridicule, ostracism, rejection, slander, malice and gossip, even to the point of beatings which ultimately end in the pain of the cross . . . for you?
Who else would love you that much, that they would die for you?
Only Jesus would . . . only Jesus would.
You see, only God can love us as much as we really need. We were created just so He can love us. He knows everything about us and He’s madly in love with us and wants only the best for us, but we must trust His plan and not ours.
Without the resurrection, what hope do we have for the future, but with the resurrection, we trust and believe that the ravages of death have been destroyed.
So, what is Easter all about? It’s God’s way of telling you and I that just when we think that other shoe is going to drop, there is One who is stronger, smarter, and all sufficient who will walk our journey with us. Life will have it’s issues and troubles, but God promises you, you do not have to walk it alone. He will journey with you.
He will be your leader and forgiver, your Savior and Lord. He loves you so much, He died for you, but death did not keep Him. He also rose from the dead, and He lives on, and my dear friends, that gives me hope. . . hope in today and hope for a great tomorrow.
