The Resurrection
The Story – week 27
I want to start off today with some powerful words that Paul put to paper 2000 years ago NOT ONLY for a bunch of believers who were living in the city of Corinth – BUT ALSO for you and I who are sitting in this room today.
AND – let’s stand together as I read those words.
NOW – standing as we read Scripture is something that we every now and then at Maple Grove… BECAUSE – these words are NOT just random thoughts put on paper… they are the very words of God.
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
QUESTION – what is ‘the’ most important thing…
THAT JESUS – lived, died and rose again
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) LEFT - all the glories of heaven, put on human flesh and entered human history…
UNDERSTAND… 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.
AND LISTEN - God’s passion was unleashed in all of it’s fullness through Jesus’ death, burial and resurrection… and it changed everything!
MAPLE GROVE…
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 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.
They were looking for Jesus was who crucified and buried…
BUT UNDERSTAND – from the very moment the Roman soldier pounded the first nail into the flesh of God on that Friday morning… 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…”
YOU KNOW – I am convinced that Jesus may want to say the same thing to some people in this very room… ‘don’t be alarmed – don’t live in fear – it is going to be okay… I have risen! I am alive! And my DRB (death, burial and resurrection) changes everything!
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 1:4
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 – that many in this room have surrendered their lives to and have gathered in this place to honor this morning (8/18/13) - is not just a prophet, a great teacher or a really nice guy – No, Jesus is God!
• He is the Alpha and the Omega…
• He is the Son of God
• He is the everlasting Father
• He is the bread of life
• He is the living water
• He is the wonderful counselor
• He is the prince of peace
• He is the Lion of Judah
• He is the matchless king
• He is the great high priest
• He is the sinners friend
• The Kings of King & Lord of Lords..
• He is the way, the truth and the life!!!
He is huge
He is holy
He is mighty
He is God
He 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)
YES - His Resurrection… is a big deal. A Huge deal…
The ultimate game changer…
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. Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ are lost. If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are to be pitied more than all men.
But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep. For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man. For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive
– 1 Cor 15:17-22
YES – Jesus’ DBR changed EVERYTHING 2000 years ago, and it is God’s intention that it continues to change everything even today, even for you and me…
“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
MAPLE GROVE TODAY – we are in chapter 27 of The Story…
AND MAN – I gotta tell you that ever since we hit chapter 24 of The Story back on July 28th… ‘No Ordinary Man’ - a conversation that I called “who do you say that I am…” EACH WEEK HAS – in such a mind blowing and life-changing way reminded and re-enforced in my the centrality of Christ.
There has never been and there never will be anyone like HIM!
There has never been a teacher like Jesus
There has never been a king like Jesus
There has never been a man like Jesus
No one has did the things that He has done
No one has ever spoke words like he has spoken
AND – I got to tell you that today’s reminder and re-enforcement could not have come at a better time for me…
AS – most of you know my mom ‘Ruth Lydia Malone’ went home to be with the Lord in her sleep early this past Wednesday.
AND – all I can say, is what awesome timing from God that I have the honor and privilege of talking about His Resurrection today…
AN – historical event that has the potential to change EVERYTHING…
Our past, Our present, Our future….
AND – oh yeah, we best bring the Corn flakes with this one.
I. 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 – I only knew then, what I know now.
IF – I could 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
A) 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 that Saturday after the crucifixion. 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 what you are thinking… I - take great pleasure in telling you that you are wrong! Because the DBR of Jesus changes everything!
I MEAN – how awesome it must be, to no longer have the past – control us, limit us, disable us… define us…
Just ask Peter… IMAGINE - how Peter felt when heard these words from the 2 woman who just burst into the room, out of breath from running their mini 5k from the empty 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.’ Mk 16:7
YEAH – be sure to let Peter know that he gets another chance, that with Jesus 3 strikes… does not mean you are out, as long as you still want to swing the bat.
UNDERSTAND – Jesus’ DBR resurrection changes everything.
IT - changes our past.
IT - removes the stain,
IT - covers our shame,
IT - forgives our sin…
ON THE CROSS – Jesus cried out ‘It Is Finished…’ (paid in full)
Never Never Never forget as we talked about last week, that…
God put the wrong on him who never did anything wrong, so we could be put right with God. – 2 Corinthians 5:21 (msg)
THAT GOD – placed our sins on His son and punished them there. SO THAT – He could pour out His sin-hating wrath on His Son and pour out His soul saving love on us…
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….”
UNDERSTAND - though guilt is an important stop on the journey, it is never intended to be our final destination.
Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus… - Romans 8:1
How do we get ‘in’ Christ?
Believe – Repent – Confess – Baptism
(Acts 2:38, 16:31; Romans 6:3, 10:10)
B) By Freeing Us From The Prison 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? 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 is imprisoned by the past).
BOTTOM LONE - 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.
I MEAN – we saw this way back in Chapter 3 of The Story with a guy named Joseph.
BOTTOM LINE – today, 8/18/13 God says…
Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. – Colossians 3:13
II. It Changes Our Present
QUESTION – is there anything you would like to change about your present? Do you think it’s possible to be different? To see the changes you have longed for, for years to become reality? Is change possible? Is change something we expect, even in the church?
HEY – do you want to know what I think? I think that maybe some people in this room have pretty much giving up on this idea of change… of becoming the person you long to be?
“I never overcome: my fear – my doubts – that sinful habit – my insecurity… I’ll never become who God wants me to be…”
AND LISTEN – if you are or have ever felt those thoughts… I have great news Jesus’ DBR changes everything! AND – it changes our present FIRST…
A) 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
B) 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
UNDERSTAND – if we are a Jesus follower, we ARE a new creation… we just need to begin living out that reality!
CHECK THIS OUT – 600 years before Jesus the prophet Ezekiel talked about this newness and the power to make it reality.
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 36:26,27
We just need to cooperate more with the spirit and new heart that is in us… We don’t create the river, we just jump into it and let in carry us to who are meant to be…
C) 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
BECAUSE – of Jesus’ DBR:
We are…
And we have been created anew to…
AND – basically this new purpose is to be…
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
III. It Changes Our Future
The first Easter was so good because that Saturday had been so bad.
UNDERSTAND – on Saturday the disciples didn’t think they had much of a future… INSTEAD – they were in meltdown mode. They were hiding in any available corner of the city in Jerusalem, for fear of a cross that might have their name of it… That Saturday they had no courage, they had no hope.
I MEAN – none of His disciples were asking, “so, what are you going to say when you see Him tomorrow.” No one was doing the math… “well, He said he would be killed and rise again in three days… okay, Friday is day one, today is day two….you know fellows I think we need to get up early tomorrow...”
BUT – no one connected the dots. Saturday has no hope or courage about the future…. Optimism has caught the last train to the coast.
AND WHEN – Sunday comes those who go to the tomb are not going there to talk with Him, but to embalm Him… I MEAN – carry spices to anoint His body does not look anything like an Easter parade of a victory march… YEAH – it may have been Sunday but they were in a Saturday state of mind about their future…
Do you ever feel like your world when comes to hope and courage for the future - is stuck on Saturday?
BUT THEN – if you do put your hope in something or someone… THEY let you down or worse yet they die.
UNDERSTAND – death is the ultimate slap in the face. It’s the ultimate kick in the pants…
I MEAN – you do the best you can.
YOU – pay your dues.
YOU – make a contribution to the world.
YOU – do your best to make something of your life.
YOU – try to the stay healthy…
YOU – try to eat right… to live.
BUT – no one outlives death. In the end we die.
The heart stops, the lungs expire…
Everybody dies…
AND – there is something about that that just sends us into a Saturday state of mind. You’ve been there. AND IF – you haven’t, one day you will be driving past a cementary or standing in a grave yard and it will dawn on you…
“I can’t outrun this… I can’t out bargain this…. THIS – is where I am headed to...”
LISTEN – I believe that if we do not have an answer to the grave… we are stuck in a Saturday state of mind for our entire life…
SURE – we may have our moments… BUT – we are stuck on Saturday…
AND THAT
AND THAT
AND THAT… is why we sooo love His Resurrection…
UNDERSTAND – because of Jesus’ DBR every human being has been given the promise that ‘in Christ’ death is not a dead end. Instead it is simply an exit ramp from this life to the next life – to the best life!
Jesus told her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Anyone who believes in me will live, even after dying. 26 Everyone who lives in me and believes in me will never ever die. Do you believe this, Martha?” - John 11:25,26
So you see, just as death came into the world through a man, now the resurrection from the dead has begun through another man. 22 Just as everyone dies because we all belong to Adam, everyone who belongs to Christ will be given new life…. Our earthly bodies are planted in the ground when we die, but they will be raised to live forever. 43 Our bodies are buried in brokenness, but they will be raised in glory. They are buried in weakness, but they will be raised in strength.
44 They are buried as natural human bodies, but they will be raised as spiritual bodies. For just as there are natural bodies, there are also spiritual bodies…54 Then, when our dying bodies have been transformed into bodies that will never die, this Scripture will be fulfilled:
“Death is swallowed up in victory.
55 O death, where is your victory?
O death, where is your sting?”
56 For sin is the sting that results in death, and the law gives sin its power. 57 But thank God! He gives us victory over sin and death through our Lord Jesus Christ.
58 So, my dear brothers and sisters, be strong and immovable. Always work enthusiastically for the Lord, for you know that nothing you do for the Lord is ever useless. - I Corinthians 15:21-58
Our future is secure, guaranteed, coming soon, and it is going to blow our minds in the most wonderful and glorious ways. Yes, Jesus has moved the entire world to Sunday!!!
I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us. – Romans 8:18
Amen! Amen! Amen!
Unbelievable!
THIS – was a really rough week for me… It was tough having my mom leave this earthly live on Wednesday… BUT – though it was and is tough Jesus’ DBR changes everything!
13 Brothers and sisters, we do not want you to be uninformed about those who sleep in death, so that you do not grieve like the rest of mankind, who have no hope. 14 For we believe that Jesus died and rose again, and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him. 15 According to the Lord’s word, we tell you that we who are still alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep. 16 For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. 17 After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever. 18 Therefore encourage one another with these words.
– 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18
Now – let me tell you why I passed out forks…
My mom made the best pumpkin pie!
LISTEN
Because of the Great I AM we need to save our forks - the best is yet to come!!!!!!!
