The Risen Savior

The risen Savior

Easter 2019

Luke 24:1-12

Prayer-

Father, on this day of celebration, I am praying that we not forget what you have done for us. May we not miss your resurrection as a way for each of us to experience our own resurrection and freedom from sin and from death. Today would you speak to each of us in a way that would draw us closer to yourself and energize our souls that we not forget our kingdom responsibility and our kingdom mindset as a believer. In Jesus name. Amen.

Introduction-

This morning we celebrate! He has risen indeed!

We celebrate that we have a God that cares enough for each one of us to go to the cross, endure the suffering, and was resurrected by our heavenly Father that we might experience eternal life.

No other religions serve a risen savior.

Only Christians-Christ like believers that follow the footsteps of Jesus Christ have the assurance of heaven because of what Christ did for us.

It is inclusive and exclusive. Inclusive that all are invited to the savior, exclusive in the fact that only those that have asked Him into their lives as savior will be redeemed and forgiven.

I love my District Superintendent Kerry Willis. He wrote an article for Holiness Today a few years ago and I want to reference a portion of it.

He is my pastor. He is the pastor to your pastor and gives me encouragement to be the encourager. He is the one that understands the toughness of the Job.

No one understood what Jesus went through for each of us.

No one understands the job of a pastor if you have never done it.

No one understands what it is like to be a single mother unless they are one.

It is the reason that the Son of the living God came to this earth to experience what it was like to be man yet God- that is more than my brain can comprehend.

But He did it without sin and He redeemed mankind.

The article pastor Kerry wrote was entitled “yet.”

He asked the question to the reader Have you reached yet yet?

Just like Jesus in the garden of Gethsemane, His blood sweating intense prayer ended “Not my will, but your will be done!”

There has to be a point of surrender that your will bow to the will of Jesus to experience the resurrection power of Jesus Christ for your life.

At some point you will have to turn your sinful life over to Jesus the sinless one to be able to receive what the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus was meant to do for your life.

Scripture- Luke 24:1-12 Read from the Bible

The road to the resurrection-

The road to the resurrection started with a God that cared enough for us to come to this wicked world and want to redeem us. (Christmas) (Birth of our savior)

To prophecy ahead of time so that there would be a recorded account of what was to happen and what it would mean to mankind. (witnesses)

To read of the passion He had that lead to his death burial, and resurrection.

Those that did everything they could to get him to the cross, to kill him.

To later find out it was His plan all around. They didn’t kill him, He gave His life.

The devil surely would not have put him to death if he knew that the death and resurrection would bring eternal life to those that accepted him as their sacrifice for their sins.

He thought death was the end of Jesus and that death would be an end to you and I.

Jesus said that the last enemy you and I will face is death. But because of my crucifixion and resurrection, I have defeated that foe in your life.

He went to the cross alone so that you will never have to die alone.

He says that He will hold your hand.

I believe that we do not die alone. I believe He is there with us.

(7) “The Son of man must be delivered over to the hands of sinners, be crucified and on the third day be raised again.”

They found the stone rolled away.

The women had come to the tomb and then realized that they might not get in until they got there and found it open.

They had expected a body they would perfume and spice to get ready for burial.

They went in and found the tomb empty.

Two men in clothes that gleamed like lightning stood beside them.

“Why do you look for the living among the dead?”

“He is not here: he is risen!”

“Remember how he told you, while he was still with you in Galilee.”