Power of the Resurrection
Monday, April 12th, 2010What makes Easter Sunday so good? Today started for all of us, like any other day of the year. The sun rose in the East and tonight it will set again in the west.
We are in this beautiful auditorium worshipping God like we were last Sunday at this time and we will be in here again next Sunday at the same time.
Let me share with you what makes this day good and can make every other day in your life good for the rest of this year and the rest of your life.
Jesus Christ is no longer in the tomb. He has risen from the dead. He not only sits at the right hand of His Father in heaven but the bible tells us that by the power of the Holy Spirit, He can live in your heart today. He can be the source of your gladness, not your bank account, not your health or your wealth. He can make your days glad when you have the day off or when you report to work at 8:00 in the morning. Jesus shows us how to live above our circumstances and live victorious lives for Him.
Here’s the goal Jesus has for you today on this Easter Sunday from Mark 16:1-14:
► Fulfill the Potential God Has for You in This Life and the One to Come.
Imagine the fear these ladies must have felt upon seeing the angel. But what grace that the first words from his lips are words of peace. Yet, this is how the Lord always deals with His people.
It is very appropriate that His resurrection should be accompanied with a message of peace. Because after 2,000 years, His resurrection from the dead is still bringing that same message of peace to the hearts of all who believe in Him!
You know, its those last 2 words in verse 8 that'll make tears come to your eyes, whether you want them to or not: "And Peter." (Go tell all of the disciples, "AND PETER")
Why didn't the Lord single out John, the beloved disciple or Thomas? Why didn't He give special attention to the doubter?
Why did He single out Peter from all the others? Because Peter was guilty of a sin that was so serious that he PROBABLY wondered if he was even in good standing with the Lord.
Peter had denied Christ! And Jesus Himself had solemnly warned His disciples; "Whosoever shall deny Me before men, him will I also deny before my Father which is in Heaven."
Suppose YOU had been Peter? How would you have felt if you had denied the Lord? (Like Peter had).
Could Peter ever forget? No, sir; NEVER. Peter could never forget his past sins and neither can you or I. But the bible says when we confess our sins God is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. And then the Bible says God removes our sins as far as the East is from the West.
You see, the risen Lord, with 2 little words, could do away with all of Peter's fears & heartbreaks & regrets. Peter had sinned; sure he had, but the Lord had sent him a message, a special message to let him know that Peter was still His & that Peter was still the object of His tender love.
I want to assure you on this Easter Sunday morning today, that you have sinned, sure you have, but the Lord has sent me as His special messenger with a very special message for you to let you know that you are still the object of His tender love.
Do you want a special blessing this Easter Sunday? Then take your pen & just under Peter's name in that 7th verse, write your name.
Notice just a few of the areas of life where Jesus' resurrection gives peace:
► Jesus' resurrection gives comfort in this life.
The women’s fright was calmed by words of reassurance: “Don’t be alarmed.” The angel knew whom they were seeking. These were Galilean women, and the mention of Jesus of Nazareth struck a familiar note in their memories. The angel then spoke the revelatory word “He has risen!” and invited them to see the evidence of the empty tomb. An empty tomb, however, only invites the question What happened to the body of Jesus?
There needed to be a word from God to interpret the meaning of the empty tomb, and the angel was God’s gracious provision. The explanation is Resurrection! Across the centuries many other explanations have been proposed: the body of Jesus was stolen; the women came to the wrong tomb; Jesus did not actually die on the cross but walked out of the tomb; etc.
Some of them have had success with skeptics. But the only adequate explanation is still what the angel said to the women who were at the tomb on the first Easter morning: “He has risen!”
► Jesus’ resurrection gives comfort in death.
Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live. “And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die. Do you believe this?”
John 11:25-26
The first funeral I ever preached was for my grandmother. She was a dear soul, precious in every way. When she died I cried. When she died I suffered. But when she died she also was comforted. How? Because she died in peace. She had laid in a nursing home for three years after her stroke. We don’t know how much she knew of our presence in her room or even if she knew we were there.
But she’s at peace now because her faith was in the resurrection of Jesus Christ. She knew that the resurrection we celebrate today was not the last one for all time and eternity but it was only the beginning. And one day, all of the graves are going to open up and the bible says, the dead in Christ will rise first, then those of us who remain will be called up n the air to meet with Jesus and all of our departed loved ones in the Lord.
► Jesus’ resurrection gives comfort in eternity.
“Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me. In My Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also.”
John 14:1-3
A pastor found a branch of a thorn tree twisted around so that it resembled a crown of thorns. Thinking it looked like a symbol of the crucifixion, he placed it on the altar in his chapel on Good Friday. Early on Easter morning he remembered what he had done. Feeling it was not appropriate for Easter Sunday, he hurried into the church to clear it away before the congregation came. But when he went into the church, he found the thorn branches blossoming with beautiful roses.
–James S. Hewett, Illustrations Unlimited (Wheaton: Tyndale House Publishers, Inc, 1988) pp. 164-165.
There had to be the thorns in order to have the blooms. There at be the cross in order to have the empty tomb.
“We live and die. Christ died and lives!”
John Stott
– John Stott in Authentic Christianity. Christianity Today, Vol. 41, no. 4.
Don’t Lose the Potential God Has for You in This Life and the One to Come.
The confrontation with the angel proved to be too much for the women. They fled “trembling and amazed.” It was a natural and to-be-expected reaction. Wouldn’t you tremble and be amazed both at the same time if you encountered an angel?
Only Mark tells us, “They said nothing to anyone,” which probably means that they were so frightened and confused that they were at first silent. But after they had collected their wits, they did a lot of talking (cf. Matt 28:8; Luke 24:9).
There are two ways in which to look at our world. One way is the wrong way and it is through the filter of our eyes.
It is to focus on the wars and violence, the immorality, the pain and death. From such a point of view, Easter seems a fairy-tale or a myth or a contradiction to ultimate reality.
But there is another way to look at the world. It is the right way and is through the filter of God’s eyes.
If I take Easter as the starting point, then I find power in God.
This, perhaps, explains the change in the disciples’ perspective as they sat in locked rooms discussing the incomprehensible events of Easter Sunday. In one sense, nothing had changed: Rome still occupied Palestine, the religious authorities still conspired against them, death and evil still reigned outside. Gradually, however, the shock of recognition gave way to a long, slow undertow of joy.
(Copyright (c) 1995 Christianity Today, Inc./CHRISTIANITY TODAY Magazines)
From the wrong perspective,
► From our perspective, we have no hope.
Maybe that is your situation as you sit here this morning. You walked in here with no hope and no confidence in the future.
God sometimes leads us into difficult situations for our good and His glory. Do you believe that? Maybe not, but keep it in mind as you think about the account of Jesus calming the storm.
He had put His disciples “in harm’s way,” so to speak. Jesus instructed them to go to the other side of the lake. Did He know there was a storm coming? Of course He did. Jesus can use a storm to teach.
The disciples’ reaction was normal. They despaired. “We’re going to drown!” they cried. Sometimes the storms of life fill us with despair as well.
It was then that Jesus demonstrated His power. In Mark it is recorded that He said, “Quiet! Be still!” And it was (Mark 4:39). He has the power to calm the storms.
But from the right perspective,
► From God’s perspective, we have strength.
► From God’s perspective, we have access to Him.
Imagine if you will, a prison cell block. Let’s say that there is a huge power failure and the generator fails to backup the power to the cell doors to this prison and all of a sudden 100 prison cell doors open. What do you think those prisoners will do?
People live every day in bondage to sin, they’re trapped, they regret most of their decisions that got them there and the Lord Jesus Christ opens the gate to His kingdom and bids them to come in. But they don’t. They’re afraid of what people might think. They don’t know what to do. And Jesus says just come to me and I will give you rest.
That is where the real power in Christ can be found.
Fulfill the Potential God Has for You in This Life and the One to Come.
Mary carried out the command of the angel given in 16:7. She found the disciples in a state of mourning (v. 10). While the people of Jerusalem were celebrating the Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread, the disciples were weeping, but not for long. Her witness to them was that Jesus was alive, and she knew it to be so because she had seen him. A resurrection is no ordinary event! But Jesus had tried to tell them. He promised them that He would be back.
And just as Jesus promised to return on that resurrection morning, and then fulfilled it supernaturally, one day, possibly soon, Jesus is going to make good and another promise He made to us. Jesus promised to come back for us before the end of the world.