The Power of Defeat

The power of Defeat!

This morning we have gathered to recognize Easter Sunday. What makes this holiday so important? What gives this holiday its meaning? We have a reason for being here so early in the morning. Most of us if not all of us know the story behind what we are celebrating today. Read Matthew 28:1-10. Jesus defeated death. Death could not hold Him. That is why we are here. We are so competent and knowledgeable of Christ and what He has done for us that at times we miss the true power of what He has accomplished and done for us. We are accustomed to it. We hear it all the time. Actually to an extent we seem to be hardened to it. It is a glorious day to be alive and remembering our Savior and what He has done for us. It is a day to smile and rejoice for our King. I think we as Christians often overlook the power of what happened that very day.

Matthew 28:1–10 ESV

1 Now after the Sabbath, toward the dawn of the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to see the tomb. 2 And behold, there was a great earthquake, for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven and came and rolled back the stone and sat on it. 3 His appearance was like lightning, and his clothing white as snow. 4 And for fear of him the guards trembled and became like dead men. 5 But the angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. 6 He is not here, for he has risen, as he said. Come, see the place where he lay. 7 Then go quickly and tell his disciples that he has risen from the dead, and behold, he is going before you to Galilee; there you will see him. See, I have told you.” 8 So they departed quickly from the tomb with fear and great joy, and ran to tell his disciples. 9 And behold, Jesus met them and said, “Greetings!” And they came up and took hold of his feet and worshiped him. 10 Then Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid; go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee, and there they will see me.”

Death

Death of Christ is where the power of defeat begins.

According to google: Death - the permanent ending of vital processes in a cell or tissue; the ceasing of existence.

One word I want to highlight: the word permanent

Definition of permanent is to last or remain unchanged indefinitely

It will never change again

It will always be the same

Christ is dead. He will never come back. It is permanent. That is how this world works and it will always be the same.

Wrong

Isn’t the same

Christ is not the same.

Does not abide by earthly binds

He is not tethered to this earth

Christ performed miracles that no one else could.

Just the touch of the hem of His garment could heal.

He could heal the blind, make the lame to walk

Christ was different

The power he held while He was alive was shown to others.

This power he had shown was just a fraction of the power he would show after His death.

The resurrection

28:1-4

The resurrection of Christ was known before it happened. So much that there were guards at the tomb to make sure no one could come steal the body.

The power of the resurrection. The true power of what is going on.

The guards didn’t even try to fight. The pure power caused them to run away.

Jesus didn’t need shocked back to life

Jesus didn’t need someone to bring Him back to life

He did it on His own.

He conquered death.

He defeated the permanency of death.

In Revelation 1:18 it says I have the keys of Hell and Death.

Jesus took those keys.

Jesus is in command.

Jesus has the authority to make the FINAL decision

Do you see the power? The power of what it took to conquer death. This is what makes the Christian faith separate from any other. Every other religion has a God figure who has died and to this day you can visit their grave. The grave of Jesus is nowhere to be found. We don’t have to worry about death. Christ holds the keys. Our Savior is not in His grave. He is out and reigning on High on the right hand of God.

DEATH the one thing on earth that nobody can stop. The one thing on earth that is the inevitable end to life that nobody can stop. It can not be done by anybody other than God himself. The power it takes to conquer the inevitable cessation of something is amazing. This is the greatest miracle. The miracle that gave everybody on this earth the ability to have eternal life in Christ.

That is what makes this holiday important. The God who created us gave us the ability to be redeemed so that we could spend eternity with Him.

We should be rejoicing this morning. We shouldn’t be able to contain the excitement and gratefulness for Christ and the sacrifice He made. He conquered death so that we wouldn’t have to. We should be so adamant about letting the world know about our RISEN Savior! He is Alive! He is the King of Kings! He is the Lord of Lords! He is our Friend! He is God. The God who loves us so much that He sent His son to die for us! We should be excited just as Mary Magdalene and the other Mary were! We should be running to share the good news with others with haste. The biggest miracle of all time has happened. God the Son was killed but is still Alive. The power of God is unlimited. Our love for God should be unlimited. It is time for the body of Christ to regain focus on the power of what God did for us a little over 2000 years ago. It is time for the body of Christ to gain the excitement that both Mary’s had. They were so excited they couldn’t wait to let the others know. They had to tell someone. There is a world waiting for the good news. Trying to fill it with everything but the truth. Folks it's time to get excited. It's time to get focused. Life isn't about our job, it's not about school, it's not about hobbies and pastimes. Life is about glorifying the Creator of the universe and letting the world know about Him. It isn’t we need to proclaim the gospel to the world but a we want to and now is the time! It is time to proclaim the gospel to the world. The time is now. It is not tomorrow.

The power of the resurrection of Jesus Christ should not be something we take lightly. The power of the resurrection needs to be something that stays with us every day, something that gives us excitement to share the gospel and let the power of God change the hearts of those around us. The power of the defeat of sin and death gave everybody in this world the ability to have eternal life we just have to believe.

Just because death was conquered by Christ doesn’t mean everybody is just automatically free from the hold of death. God doesn’t make us choose to believe in Him He gives us the option between Him or an eternity in a devil’s hell. He holds the keys and for those who do not believe and accept Him as their savior he can unlock the gates and send them through to an eternal death. But the gift is there. Christ didn’t die and rise again for nothing. He is waiting today. Waiting for his lost children to come to Him to admit they believe in Him and confess that He is Lord.

Romans 3:23

John 14:6

John 3:16-17