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.
“The best day you’ll ever spend in sin will be the 1st day”
Heb. 11 talks about the pleasures of sin “for a season”
But Jesus gives a miraculous joy that never ends. He gives us His best from the start, and somehow, miraculously makes the joy grow and get even better!
"God did the same thing with the earth in Genesis that He did with Jesus on the Cross, He separated the light from the darkness"
He loves to take a crusifixion in your life bring a resurresction!
What I have found is "we all want a tomb with a view but none of us wnat the cross in order to get there."
"In Christ the Cross always ends in a celebration" Only Jesus can do this!
?We serve a risen Lord that specializes in filling emptiness!
If you’re not experiencing intimacy w/ Jesus on a daily basis…it may be that, though you feel empty…you’re not empty enough! Make room for Jesus by taking some irons out of the fire and making Him a priority!
II.) An Empty Cross vs.6
I’ve never appreciated the crucifix hanging on a mirror, gold chain or a hospital wall. Jesus isn’t there anymore!
The cross is empty…and yet it is full! Full of God’s Promises!
?THE EMPTY Cross Tells me that I Can BE Forgiven of ALL my SIN...
?The Cross was a Cruel place of Death... (Illustrate how He was nailed to the cross and how He died)
Jesus was Beaten...Broken...Bruised... HE TOOK it all on himself – that we might not have to!
In vs.6 Jesus showed that THE WAY TO GO UP IS DOWN.
“When I couldn’t go where He was, He came to me”. He came down to my level when I couldn’t get up to His!
?The Empty Cross – Tells me that I can be free from my past and still Have a Great life in & Through Jesus
? Don't hang your troubles on yourself, hang them on the cross
?When you need to know God loves you look at the cross.
The Cross is the place where he died – but today, it is empty. Empty of Jesus body, but full – full of God’s promises. Full of hope – for you and me. The promise of the empty cross is that you and I stand forgiven. Because it was on that cross that Jesus shed His Blood and paid the price for our sins.
No matter what your circumstances, you can know Jesus loves you because He proved it on the Cross.
Romans 5:8 (KJV) 8 But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
III.) A Tomb with a view vs. 8-9
A Empty Tomb
Jesus showed that THE WAY TO LIVE IS TO DIE.
Without The Empty Tomb – There is No SAVIOR - No Salvation...Hope...Nothing is Sure...
You have to run on EMPTY....
The fact of the empty tomb is the truth of the resurrection of Jesus and the promise to every one of us that we too will be raised to eternal life. To those who know Jesus as their Lord and Savior, death has lost its sting – it is no longer something to be feared. What fear is there when we have the promise that one day we will live forever with Him in Heaven?
The world gives us promises full of emptiness: God gives us emptiness full of promise!
Millions and millions of christians are celebrating Easter right now around the word, but alot of them including some of you have become numb to the story of easter! after all this time you have missed something very important about the resurrection and that is.
You have missed that you are a part of the resurrection. The death and resurrection of Jesus didn't just prove that there was life after death. The resurrection proves you can have life after death, that there's life beyond your grave.
One day your heart will stop beating and that will be the end of life here as you know it and your body, but it will not be the end of you. you will spend etirnity some where. heaven/hell
Jesus made this amazing promise in John 11:25-26 (KJV) 25 Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: 26 And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Believest thou this?
That's some promise! Jesus proved He could do it when He resurrected Himself. Otherwise there would be no reason to beleive it. If jesus had not died on the cross and been resurrected 2000 yrs. ago we would have zero chances to get to heaven-no hope of eternal life.
The bible says: (1 Corinthians 6:14) "By His power God raised the Lord from the dead, and he will raise us also"
That is a truth you can hang your hat on my friend! So, what turns this promise from black and white to a living color picture?
We plug into the resurrection power.... God's power..... we all have things we want and need to change but we can't on our own. So stop trying to change yourself. You don't need a class, you don't need a self help book, you don't need a new relationship, and you don't need more money
You need Jesus!
To make this promise a living color picture, you trust in Him, repent of your sin, and confess Him as Lord of your life - He to will raise you from the dead and the grave and you too will have a "Tomb with a view"
CLOSING
For more from Pastor Tim go to www.thebridgechurch.us
