The Resurrection Changes Everything!
Easter 2012
I want to start off today with some powerful words that Paul put to paper 2000 years ago for a bunch of believers who were living in the city of Corinth.
AND – let’s stand together as I read those words.
NOW – standing as we read Scripture is something that we do almost every week at Maple Grove… BECAUSE
Now, brothers, I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you, which you received and on which you have taken your stand. By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain.
For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Peter, and then to the Twelve.
After that, he appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers at the same time, most of whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep. Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles, and last of all he appeared to me also, as to one abnormally born.
– 1 Corinthians 15:1-8
Prayer
Two thousand years ago, God the Son (the alpha and omega… the beginning and the end… the prince of peace, the everlasting Father, the Mighty God) 2000 years ago Jesus LEFT - all the glories of heaven, put on human flesh (accepting it’s limitations) and entered human history… OR – should I say, entered HIS STORY…
UNDERSTAND - all of human history, every bit of it is REALLY ‘His’ Story. IN – the beginning God CREATED everything. AND SINCE – the dawn of creation the overriding theme of human History has been God’s passionate pursuit of a prodigal people. HAS BEEN – the story of a loving God doing whatever it takes (and I mean, absolutely whatever it takes… God so loved the world…) to bring people back to Himself.
That’s why Easter is the focal point of all history – because Jesus Christ (Our Savior King) is the center point of all human history I MEAN - think about it all time revolves around Jesus.
LISTEN – every time you date a check, every time create an event on your goggle calendar… every time this unbelieving world puts a date on a news paper (like the New York Times or Wall Street Journal) or a magazine cover (like People or Time) they are (whether they realize it or not, whether they admit it or not) bearing witness to the truth that Jesus lived, Jesus died and Jesus rose again…
YOU SEE – our world no matter how hard it tries, no matter how creative or hostile it gets, just cannot get away from JESUS. That’s why 2000 years later over 2 billion people all around the world are celebrating His Resurrection this weekend.
NOW MY GOAL – Easter 2012, is for this to be the most powerful and impacting Easter any of us have ever experienced in our lives. AND – the way I intend on making this goal a reality is by encouraging everyone in this room (that’s you and that’s me) to both understand and embrace the greatest truth in the universe… that, The Resurrection Changes Everything!
For those who have lost hope
For those who have lost heart
For those who has put their dreams on a shelf
For those who are disqualifying themselves
For those who don’t have it all together
The Resurrection changes Everything!
For the tired and broken
For the hungry and the thirsty
The lost and the found
The Resurrection changes Everything!
UNDERSTAND
YOU are NOT here by accident
In these sacred moments
YOU’VE been INVITED to ENCOUNTER
The risen Savior
The One who died and rose again
The Resurrection changes Everything!
QUESTION
Do YOU believe that?
Do YOU believe that ‘The Resurrection Changes Everything?
Would you like to believe it?
On a Sunday morning 2000 years ago a couple of ladies got up early before the sun had even risen in the sky… QUESTION… what are they doing up so early? What was it that drove them from their beds before dawn, and put them on a dark up hill climb, to a tomb.
UNDERSTAND - the thing that drove them, was their love for and devotion to Jesus… YOU SEE -- someone had to prepare His body for burial and no one else had volunteered; Peter didn’t, James didn’t, neither did John -- So it was up to these 2 faithful followers, 2 women who had never left the side of Jesus, 2 woman who were with Him until the very end -- it was up to them to do it, and they did..
NOW - the task they were going to perform was a somber task, a difficult task... They would be the ones, who would wipe the blood from His brow, His legs, and from His sides, They would be the ones, to clean the blood from the body of Jesus... they would be the ones, to remove the blood that had matted in his beard, They would be the last ones, to touch his face and close His eyes… OR – so they thought…
BECAUSE when they arrived to the place where Jesus was buried, they found the stone rolled away… they went inside and found the tomb empty… WELL - almost empty because, there was a young man in a white robe sitting down.
“Don’t be alarmed,” he said. “You are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who was crucified. He has risen! He is not here. See the place where they laid him. 7 But go, tell his disciples and Peter, ‘He is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him, just as he told you.’” - Mark 16:6,7
THEY – were looking for Jesus who was crucified. Jesus who was:
• Arrested, bound
• Beaten, bruised, battered
• Mocked, insulted, punched
• beard ripped out by the handful
• whipped by a Roman scourge… full of lead and broken pieces of pottery.
• Large chunks of his flesh ripped out
They were looking for Jesus who was…
• Stripped naked
• Nailed to a blood stained cross
• Crucified
• Suspended between heaven and earth for 6 hours
• Who bowed his head at 3 pm and returned to the Father (It is finished, Father into your hands I commit my spirit)
They were looking for Jesus was who crucified and buried… BUT – that was Friday… UNDERSTAND – from the very moment the Roman soldier pounded the first nail into the flesh of God Sunday was coming. AND - on Sunday morning Jesus with GREAT POWER burst forth from grave…
The tomb is empty. Jesus is Alive! The enemy has been defeated… NO - death could not hold Him down!
“Don’t be alarmed,” he said. “You are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who was crucified. He has risen! He is not here…”
NOW – throughout His ministry Jesus said that this (that what happened on that first Easter weekend – the betrayal/the arrest/the denials/the crucifixion/His death/ and His resurrection) were going to happen.
WHEN – Jesus came into Jerusalem to begin his ministry (after over turning tables – and driving the money changers out of the Temple) He said, “Destroy this Temple, and I will raise it up in three days…” (John 2:19).
HE SAID – (in Matthew 12:40, to some religious leaders who were challenging him after He had cast out a demon) as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of a huge fish, so the Son of Man will be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.
AND JESUS – said to His guys as He prepared to go to Jerusalem for the last time in (Matthew 16:21) that - he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things at the hands of the elders, chief priests and teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life.
UNDERSTAND – from the beginning to the end of His ministry Jesus said that He would – suffer, die and rise again … AND HE ALSO SAID – that His resurrection would be irrefutable proof that he was exactly who he said he was… God in the flesh. The bread of life. The light of the world. The Great I Am. The Savior King. The Christ. The Messiah.
CHECK OUT – these words from the pen of Paul to the church in Rome… He was declared to be God's Son with great power by rising from the dead. Romans 1:1-4
LOOK UP…
Jesus’ Resurrection is meant to remove any doubts whatsoever as to who Jesus is. UNDERSTAND - the Jesus that we; Love, Follow, Serve, Sing to and worship… THE JESUS – we gathered in this place to honor this morning (4/8/12) - is not just a prophet, a great teacher or a really nice guy – No, Jesus is God!
Jesus - is the Alpha and the Omega… the beginning and the end.
He is Creator of all that we see
He is holy, mighty, all-powerful, all-knowing
HE always has been and He always will be
He is the Kings of King & Lord of Lords..
He is before all things, over all things and He holds all things together…
AND LISTEN - Jesus if holds all things together… that means HE can both hold and put our lives back together…
Jesus is huge… holy… mighty… is God… AND - Jesus is Alive!!!
(My Savior loves, My Savior lives – My Savior always there for me… My God He was, My God He is, My God He’s always gonna be)
YEAH… on a Sunday morning 2,000 years ago Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior… BURST - froth from the grave… AND – His victory over death… IS – the centerpiece of human history, AND - the cornerstone, the very foundation of the church.
WHEN PETER – stood before thousands of men and women on the day of Pentecost. When he preached the gospel message for the very first time… He spoke of the resurrection of Christ.
"Men of Israel, listen to this: Jesus of Nazareth was a man accredited by God to you by miracles, wonders and signs, which God did among you through him, as you yourselves know. This man was handed over to you by God's set purpose and foreknowledge; and you, with the help of wicked men, put him to death by nailing him to the cross. But God raised him from the dead, freeing him from the agony of death, because it was impossible for death to keep its hold on him…. - Acts 2:22-24
UNDERSTAND – as the church is born and explodes in the book of Acts the resurrection of Jesus is the fuel that drives the message… WHEN – Paul took the news of Christ to the entire gentile world, WHEN – he spoke on Mars Hill in Athens… WHEN - he wrote to the churches in Corinth, Galatia, Ephesus, Colosse, Philippi & Thessalonica… WHEN – he penned his letter to Timothy… Paul spoke of the resurrection of Christ…
BOTTOM LINE - His Resurrection… is a big deal. A Huge deal… IN FACT – Paul put it like this in 1 Corinthians 15
If Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins. 18 Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ are lost. 19 If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are to be pitied more than all men.
20 But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. 21 For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man. 22 For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive
– 1 Cor 15:17-22
LISTEN – the resurrection changed EVERYTHING 2000 years ago, and it is God’s intention that it continues to change everything today…
“The resurrection of Jesus must be experienced as more than a past historical event. Otherwise it is robbed of it’s impact on the present.” – H.A. Williams.
UNDERSTAND – like Paul we too can… know Christ and the power of his resurrection – Phil 3:10… AND – like Peter we can receive mercy and experience new birth and living hope... Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead… - 1 Peter 1:3
The resurrection changes EVERYTHING!
NOW – maybe you’re thinking…
Okay, I get it… It can see that the resurrection changed things 2000 years ago. I get that it…
• Changed the disciples from frighten men to BOLD followers
• Changed the way people worshipped and approached God (from law to grace, from Saturday to Sunday)
BUT – I don’t know can it really still change things 2000 years later? I MEAN – it‘s a pretty bold statement to say that the resurrection changes EVERYTHING!
Yeah it is… I get that. BUT – do want to know what the crazy things is - It’s true!
THIS WEEK – as I tried to put my thoughts onto paper. I got to thinking about how today is the 33rd time I have celebrated Easter as a Jesus follower and the 19th time I have stood before a group of people on Easter Sunday talking about The Resurrection.
SO – in other words the story is not new to me. I have heard it and talked about it a bunch of times. NOW – if you know me, you know that I struggle every week putting together a message… because it’s a big deal to me to stand before a group of people and speak about and for God. I don’t take it lightly. AND – this week was no exception (I Mean – I got up at 4 am Friday and 3 am Yesterday to try to get this together).
ON FRIDAY – a friend popped into my office and asked how it was going. I told him that I was getting there. And He mentioned how Easter must put extra pressure on me… I told Him it does, but it’s a great topic and Jesus has already done all the heavy lifting.
NO – I can’t create a sunrise or sunset, but I can point to it and say… ‘Hey Check this out, isn’t it awesome!
So this morning I just intend on pointing… “hey, checkout what Jesus did 2000 years ago on a blood stained cross and empty tomb! Isn’t it awesome!”
Jesus lived
Jesus died
Jesus rose again
AND – His resurrection changes EVERYTHING!
Tim/Laurie – it really does. I MEAN – can you think of anything else that has the power to change our past, our present and our future?
SO – as we continue for a few more minutes talking about a very familiar story, it is my hope and God’s desire that on Easter 2012 each of us will not only believe BUT fully embrace the truth that The Resurrection changes everything!
Corn flakes
The Resurrection Changes Our Past
QUESTION – have you ever wished you could change something in your past? I MEAN – is there something in your past that you wish you could delete, undo or erase? “MAN – I wish that didn’t happen to me, I wish I never did that. If only I knew what I know now. If only turn back the clock, take back those words, if only I didn’t go there or do that. If only I could get another chance.”
The truth is that many times the past – disables us, controls us, depresses us, imprisons us, limits us and at times even defines us. BUT – the good news is that the resurrection has the power to change our past… IN @ least 2 ways… FIRST
By Freeing Us From The Pain Regret
NOW – if there was anyone who understood the pain of regret it was Peter.
I MEAN – imagine, what he felt like all day on Saturday. IMAGINE – what He felt like when he woke up early Sunday morning.
• Devastated
• Ashamed
• Eaten up by guilt
• Drowning in regret
Ever been there? Are you there even now?
YES – may people live in the prison of regret, trapped by past mistakes. PERHAPS - this morning you feel like Humpty Dumpty, “Nothing could ever put me back together again.” “I’ve done too much, gone too far… my sins and mistakes are too deep… AND – if that is how you are thinking… I - take great pleasure in telling you that you are wrong! Because the resurrection changes everything!
Just ask Peter… I MEAN – imagine how Peter felt when heard these words from the 2 woman who just burst into the room, out of breathe from running from the tomb
But go, tell his disciples and Peter, ‘He is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him, just as he told you.’
LOOK UP – the resurrection changes everything. It changes our past. It removes the stain, covers our shame, forgives our sin… On the cross Jesus cried out ‘It Is Finished’ (paid in full). Never Never Never forget that Jesus paid a debt He did not owe because we owed a debt we could not pay!
He was handed over to die because of our sins, and he was raised to life to make us right with God. – Romans 4:25
SEVERAL – years ago (on a Good Friday), I remember kneeling before the cross, confessing my sins… and nailing a red ribbon to the cross… IT – was a really powerful moment for me…
AND - I looked up… and with my eyes closed I visualized Jesus beaten, bruised, bleeding, crucified… looking down at me… AND – I almost heard Him say to me, “Steve, let it go… you’re free, I did not go through this for you to still feel guilty….”
QUESTION - are you still punishing yourself for your past? UNDERSTAND - Jesus Christ was hung on the cross so you could stop hanging yourself on the cross.
Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus… - Romans 8:1
AND – let me let you in on a little secret… THE MORE – you let Jesus take care of your regret & guilt… THE EASIER – it’s gets for…the resurrection to free us from the pain of resentment.
By Freeing Us From The Pain Of Resentment
Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.
– Colossians 3:13
LISTEN – everybody in this room, has been hurt by other people. IN FACT - you’ve probably been hurt a lot.. Sometimes intentionally, sometimes unintentionally. AND [Tim, Laurie…] – you need to understand that what you do with that hurt will determine whether you live freely or whether you live in prison.
QUESTION – what have you not gotten over?
• Is there an abusive relationship in your past? ONE – where you were abused; physically, emotionally or even sexually?
• Is there the rejection of a parent in your past? I MEAN – they just made you feel worthless, like you could never do anything right?
• Is there the pain of a failed marriage in your past…a broken friendship
WHAT IS IT - that you have not gotten over? WHAT IS IT - that even as I bring up the topic of resentment… THE – fires of bitterness and the flames of hurt are re-kindled.? UNDERSTAND - resentment cannot change the past, it can’t correct the problem, it doesn't change the person, it doesn't even hurt that person, it only hurts you. Makes you miserable (YOU SEE – most of the time they’re going along their merry way, having fun, enjoying life, getting on with the future. And you’re the one who’s stuck in the past).
LISTEN - Jesus Christ wants to rescue you from the pain of resentment so that you can get on with your life. AND – not only does Jesus want to save you free from resentment… HE – shows you how to do it… HE – shows you, that you just need to release them…
WHEN - they nailed his hands and feet to the cross Jesus said, “Father, forgive them they do not know what they are doing…”
AND GUYS – that is true… A LOT - of times the people who hurt you don’t really know what they are doing… TO: you, themselves and their relationship with God.
TODAY – Easter 2012, God says - “Don’t think about the past. Don’t dwell on it. Let it go. Give up your grudges, let me handle them – SO I can do a new thing in your life..”
Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.
– Colossians 3:13
It Changes Our Present
QUESTION – is there anything you would like to change about your present?
By Filling Us With A New Power
I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, 19 and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is like the working of his mighty strength, 20 which he exerted in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, 21 far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every title that can be given, not only in the present age but also in the one to come. – Eph 1:18-21
By Making Us A New Person
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! – 2 Corinthians 5:17
I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse you from all your impurities and from all your idols. 26 I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. 27 And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws. – Ezekiel 36:25-27
By Giving A New Purpose
For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago. – Ephesians 2:10
You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. 16 In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.
– Matthew 5:14-16
It Changes Our Future
I tell you this, brothers and sisters: Flesh and blood cannot have a part in the kingdom of God. Something that will ruin cannot have a part in something that never ruins.51 But look! I tell you this secret: We will not all sleep in death, but we will all be changed.52 It will take only a second—as quickly as an eye blinks—when the last trumpet sounds. The trumpet will sound, and those who have died will be raised to live forever, and we will all be changed.
53 This body that can be destroyed must clothe itself with something that can never be destroyed. And this body that dies must clothe itself with something that can never die. 54 So this body that can be destroyed will clothe itself with that which can never be destroyed, and this body that dies will clothe itself with that which can never die.
When this happens, this Scripture will be made true:
"Death is destroyed forever in victory." 55 "Death, where is your victory? Death, where is your pain?"
56 Death's power to hurt is sin, and the power of sin is the law. 57 But we thank God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
58 So my dear brothers and sisters, stand strong. Do not let anything move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your work in the Lord is never wasted.
AS – we conclude our time today… I want you to know that God brought you here this morning… You’re not here by accident. You may think you’re here because your spouse made you, or a friend invited you or because Easter weekend and it’s the thing to do…
NO - you’re not here by accident. God brought you here because He wants you to know that the resurrection changes everything.
