The Empty Tomb and how it affects me today
Pastor Glenn Newton
April 3, 2005
Text: Philippians 3:10-14
10 I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, 11 and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead.
PHP 3:12 Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. 13 Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, 14 I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.
Romans 6: 5-8 “If we have been united with him like this in his death, we will certainly also be united with him in his resurrection. 6 For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin-- 7 because anyone who has died has been freed from sin.
RO 6:8 Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him.
I’ve read stories about men who have fought together in battle, literally saved each other’s lives many times, who now years later, still have a bond, a friendship that endures the test of time. How many of our vets this morning, men or women could attest to this being true? Something happens to us and others when we share common hardships, common suffering… we seem to have a stronger understanding, a stronger fellowship with one another than can otherwise be reached.
I believe it was this kind of Bond that the apostle Paul is writing about in his letter to the Philippians… listen to Paul’s desire to be bound to Christ through this kind of kinship….
10 I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, 11 and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead.
This morning I want to talk to you about the reality of the Empty Tomb, and what it means for you and I today, in our everyday life. When you come to the Word, don’t you want to know how God’s Word is relevant to your life, right now?
What I want you to know today is that His Word is always relevant, it always has meaning for your life, as time passes it doesn’t lose one speck of meaning and power for our lives today… Why is that do you know? Because God’s Word is alive… God’s Word is truth and will be truth for all time, it will never pass away…. It’s alive because He’s alive… you can trust it, you can know it will always be right.
So how does the empty tomb of over 2,000 years ago affect my life today?
This morning I want to share a couple of words that describe how the empty tomb brings new life, new hope into our life, even today.
The first word that comes to my mind is this word that the Apostle Paul uses, Power. “10 I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection”
Let me ask you a question…. What is more powerful than resurrection power? I mean if you can take something that is dead and bring it back to life… is there anything more powerful than that? I can’t really think of anything.
Do you realize that if you’re a Christian this morning that you have experienced resurrection power? The Bible teaches us that before knowing Christ as your personal savior, while you were still living in sin, you were dead spiritually. The wages of sin is death, right? So a person who is knowingly living in a lifestyle of sin is going to reap the consequences of that life… death, for all eternity. And this is where all of us have been at some point in our life… dead in our sins…. Lost in our transgressions…. But then something awesome happened.
Easter morning came for us. Because Christ arose from His grave, He know raises us from our grave of sin, when we come to Him and ask Him for forgiveness and we put our faith in Him, He gives us new life, a new power to live…. Resurrection power.
My friends that’s something to get excited about!
This power is not just like a battery operated power that will run out!
This power is not like the kind of power that you get when you eat a good meal.
This power is not the kind of power that you buy from your electric company every month.
This power doesn’t run out when your money runs out! The meter man can turn it off.
This power doesn’t come and go with your emotions. Depression can’t run it off.
This resurrection power is what God has given you through Jesus Christ His Son, who lives in you by His spirit… and this power is given to you so that you can have victory in your life… in every area of your life…. I said Victory. The Kind of Victory that doesn’t go away. Victory power is what I’m talking about. Victory power that enables you to live above the circumstances that you might be facing.
How does this affect my everyday life you ask?
At your job - When the living Christ lives in you - He will affect how you work, He will affect how you interact with your co-workers, He will affect how you feel about your boss. Jesus Christ will give you the power to love the unlovable. Resurrection power, how it helps you, is it helps you to live your life like Christ, with His Love, with His compassion, with His viewpoint….
An example - When that person comes to you and is mean and miserable, and says mean things to you or about someone else… instead of reacting to them…. Jesus helps you see them from His perspective… as a hurting, sin sick person who needs Him.
Friends, something powerful happens when all the sudden you begin to see people like Christ sees them. Your able to get away from what I call the Jr. High Pettiness, the nit picking that goes on with so many adults everyday. You are able to see past their words and actions and God can give you the power to see their heart. It will change the way you live, and how you react to these folks… you can react out of love, instead of hurt.
This same power will transform your family relationships. When you can start to see and treat people like Christ would in your families… it will transform your family life. Let me remind you this morning of what the Fruit of the Spirit is…. And for those of you who are new Christians… what this means is this….. As you live with the Holy Spirit in your heart, as you walk in step, or in obedience to the Holy Spirit, He will produce this fruit in your life.. And it will transform you…. Listen.
GAL 5:22 But the fruit of the spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. 24 Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires. 25 Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.
Let me ask you will these things help you in your everyday life… and if you have been a Christian for long…. You need to asking the question, are these fruit developing in my life?
Love - are you loving… not just towards those who love you back…. Are you loving your enemies? Is God giving you the ability to love those around you that seem unlovable? He will put those folks in your life… He wants you to love others, regardless of their response back to you. How do you define love? To prefer the other above yourself. Isn’t that what Jesus did on the Cross? The spirit filled life will be marked by Love.
Joy - As the Spirit of God works in you, Joy will become a real part of your life. Joy, not because all your problems have disappeared all the sudden… but Joy because of who lives in you… to be honest, this seems to be missing in to many Christians… don’t let the worries and the troubles of the world steal your Joy Christians.
Peace - Ask one of our New Christians about this new Peace that comes from knowing Christ…. There is a peace knowing my relationship with God is where it needs to be… That peace can get me through anything. Do you have this peace that comes from Walking in the Spirit?
Patience - His spirit will produce in us what we seemingly couldn’t produce on our own. The Holy Spirit will produce patience in you as you learn to trust in God and His timing.
Kindness - Have you known some really unkind people in your life? I have too… Mean people are a hurting bunch of people… God does not want His people to be unkind, rude, or any of those kind of things…. The Holy Spirit will produce Kindness and Goodness in your life, as you walk with Him in obedience.
GAL 5:22 But the fruit of the spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness and self-control.
Faithfulness, gentleness and self-control… these finish out the list, and everyone of them are important, and they are marks of the Spirit filled believer.
The reason I shared those with you because they demonstrate the second word I wanted to share with you that describes how the Empty Tomb has an impact on our everyday life… Actually it’s a phrase…. We Are Not Alone.
Say that with me this morning… I’m not alone. Do you believe that? There’s times when we feel lonely, there’s times when we are by ourselves…. But the reality of the empty tomb is that you are not alone… The Living God is with you through the Holy Spirit… Learn to lean on Him… Learn to fellowship with God through the Spirit…. You won’t be disappointed.
As a Christian, you have what no one else has in this life….. Resurrection Power that enables you to live a Holy Life, a life for God…. And you also have the reassurance that You are not Alone… the Holy Spirit dwells in you… and He is busy producing life changing fruit, characteristics that will help you live a life for God.
Do you have this Power today? Have you been resurrected from death to Life? You can call on the name of the Lord.. And He will hear you, He will forgive you of your sins and He will offer you New Life, a resurrected life through His Spirit.
Today can be your day to Find the risen Savior, Jesus Christ… will come and meet Him today? Are you living In His Power today… you can… as you live in obedience to His Word.
