Life-Joy-BEAUTY THROUGH THE RESURRECTION

Steven White

White Flag - Easter 2017 • Sermon • Submitted 8 years ago

Resurrection

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The resurrection of Jesus offers to us Life-Joy-Beauty

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Hello and happy Easter or as we say Resurrection Day!!!!

I am so glad to see you and for those of you visiting we are so glad to have you with us this morning!

Today is my favorite holiday! I get excited, wake up early, heart is pumping. Today is special!

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Many people around the U.S. today are celebrating this day with chocolate, bunnies, colored eggs, and my favorite Peeps. Easter baskets are being passed out to children filled with goodies. Families will gather around a table enjoying ham and other Easter favorites.

But what does it mean? What is so special about this Day?

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John 20:1–29 NLT

Early on Sunday morning, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene came to the tomb and found that the stone had been rolled away from the entrance. She ran and found Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one whom Jesus loved. She said, “They have taken the Lord’s body out of the tomb, and we don’t know where they have put him!” Peter and the other disciple started out for the tomb. They were both running, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. He stooped and looked in and saw the linen wrappings lying there, but he didn’t go in. Then Simon Peter arrived and went inside. He also noticed the linen wrappings lying there, while the cloth that had covered Jesus’ head was folded up and lying apart from the other wrappings. Then the disciple who had reached the tomb first also went in, and he saw and believed—for until then they still hadn’t understood the Scriptures that said Jesus must rise from the dead. Then they went home. Mary was standing outside the tomb crying, and as she wept, she stooped and looked in. She saw two white-robed angels, one sitting at the head and the other at the foot of the place where the body of Jesus had been lying. “Dear woman, why are you crying?” the angels asked her. “Because they have taken away my Lord,” she replied, “and I don’t know where they have put him.” She turned to leave and saw someone standing there. It was Jesus, but she didn’t recognize him. “Dear woman, why are you crying?” Jesus asked her. “Who are you looking for?” She thought he was the gardener. “Sir,” she said, “if you have taken him away, tell me where you have put him, and I will go and get him.” “Mary!” Jesus said. She turned to him and cried out, “Rabboni!” (which is Hebrew for “Teacher”). “Don’t cling to me,” Jesus said, “for I haven’t yet ascended to the Father. But go find my brothers and tell them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’ ” Mary Magdalene found the disciples and told them, “I have seen the Lord!” Then she gave them his message. That Sunday evening the disciples were meeting behind locked doors because they were afraid of the Jewish leaders. Suddenly, Jesus was standing there among them! “Peace be with you,” he said. As he spoke, he showed them the wounds in his hands and his side. They were filled with joy when they saw the Lord! Again he said, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I am sending you.” Then he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive anyone’s sins, they are forgiven. If you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven.” One of the twelve disciples, Thomas (nicknamed the Twin), was not with the others when Jesus came. They told him, “We have seen the Lord!” But he replied, “I won’t believe it unless I see the nail wounds in his hands, put my fingers into them, and place my hand into the wound in his side.” Eight days later the disciples were together again, and this time Thomas was with them. The doors were locked; but suddenly, as before, Jesus was standing among them. “Peace be with you,” he said. Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here, and look at my hands. Put your hand into the wound in my side. Don’t be faithless any longer. Believe!” “My Lord and my God!” Thomas exclaimed. Then Jesus told him, “You believe because you have seen me. Blessed are those who believe without seeing me.”

Ok- let me deal with the proof of the resurrection first!

The tomb was empty and there was no body.

This is important- all the Jewish leaders and the Romans had to do to stop this chaos that was caused by the news was to show a body.

2. Jesus appeard to over 100 people on multiple occasions after his death.

No phantom or ghost here. Over a hundred different people saw him and touch him at different times.

3. All the original disciples but John who saw Jesus after the resurrection were killed for spreading the news that Jesus had rose from the dead and has been proven to be Lord over all.

Even John was beaten, and placed in boiling tar to try and get him to recant.

No one dies for a lie.

There are hundreds of others points that can be used to prove the resurrection but these three should be enough.

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Ok, ok, we get it. Jesus died and rose from the dead. It sounds crazy, but I get it.

But what does it mean?

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What does the resurrection mean?

Romans 8:5–17 NLT

Those who are dominated by the sinful nature think about sinful things, but those who are controlled by the Holy Spirit think about things that please the Spirit. So letting your sinful nature control your mind leads to death. But letting the Spirit control your mind leads to life and peace. For the sinful nature is always hostile to God. It never did obey God’s laws, and it never will. That’s why those who are still under the control of their sinful nature can never please God. But you are not controlled by your sinful nature. You are controlled by the Spirit if you have the Spirit of God living in you. (And remember that those who do not have the Spirit of Christ living in them do not belong to him at all.) And Christ lives within you, so even though your body will die because of sin, the Spirit gives you life because you have been made right with God. The Spirit of God, who raised Jesus from the dead, lives in you. And just as God raised Christ Jesus from the dead, he will give life to your mortal bodies by this same Spirit living within you. Therefore, dear brothers and sisters, you have no obligation to do what your sinful nature urges you to do. For if you live by its dictates, you will die. But if through the power of the Spirit you put to death the deeds of your sinful nature, you will live. For all who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God. So you have not received a spirit that makes you fearful slaves. Instead, you received God’s Spirit when he adopted you as his own children. Now we call him, “Abba, Father.” For his Spirit joins with our spirit to affirm that we are God’s children. And since we are his children, we are his heirs. In fact, together with Christ we are heirs of God’s glory. But if we are to share his glory, we must also share his suffering.

Let me give you the three Hopes of the resurrection.

I. THE RESURRECTION OF JESUS MEANS LIFE

A new resurrected life right now!

Romans 8:11 NLT

The Spirit of God, who raised Jesus from the dead, lives in you. And just as God raised Christ Jesus from the dead, he will give life to your mortal bodies by this same Spirit living within you.

No longer enslaved to sin, I am free and empowered to live for God!

2 Corinthians 5:17 NLT

This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!

I no longer must I be an addict, I no longer must I be controlled by my hurts, hang ups and habits. I no longer have to live in anger, and unforgiveness.

I am Free! You can be free!

It also means a promise of physical resurrected life when Jesus returns.

1 Corinthians 15:20–26 NLT

But in fact, Christ has been raised from the dead. He is the first of a great harvest of all who have died. So you see, just as death came into the world through a man, now the resurrection from the dead has begun through another man. Just as everyone dies because we all belong to Adam, everyone who belongs to Christ will be given new life. But there is an order to this resurrection: Christ was raised as the first of the harvest; then all who belong to Christ will be raised when he comes back. After that the end will come, when he will turn the Kingdom over to God the Father, having destroyed every ruler and authority and power. For Christ must reign until he humbles all his enemies beneath his feet. And the last enemy to be destroyed is death.

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II. THE RESURRECTION OF JESUS MEANS JOY

Filled with the Spirit of God, reconciled to God, I can now call him daddy.

Romans 8:15–16 NLT

So you have not received a spirit that makes you fearful slaves. Instead, you received God’s Spirit when he adopted you as his own children. Now we call him, “Abba, Father.” For his Spirit joins with our spirit to affirm that we are God’s children.

(You get to be a son or daughter of the God who breathed the stars. God is no longer distant he is now Daddy!)

No longer a slave to the fear of death. I can live life to the fullest. I can celebrate the lives of those I have lost (mom and dad, brothers).

1 Corinthians 15:26 NLT

And the last enemy to be destroyed is death.

It means there is a final and complete joy when all tears will be wiped away.

Revelation 21:4 NLT

He will wipe every tear from their eyes, and there will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain. All these things are gone forever.”

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This brings me to my final and last point.

III. THE RESURRECTION OF JESUS MEANS BEAUTY

No longer must I spread death. No longer must I spread death. But like an artist I can paint vivid colors on the canvas of life.

I can spread the healing power of Jesus to the hurting, I can spread the love of God to the broken, I can give to the needy. I can pull pieces of the world to come into this world.

Oh and then there is the beauty of the world to come!

Romans 8:19–22 NLT

For all creation is waiting eagerly for that future day when God will reveal who his children really are. Against its will, all creation was subjected to God’s curse. But with eager hope, the creation looks forward to the day when it will join God’s children in glorious freedom from death and decay. For we know that all creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time.

Creation is eagerly waiting for the resurrection of humanity so it too can be freed from death and decay.

And what is to come is beyond beautiful!

Revelation 21:1–7 NLT

Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the old heaven and the old earth had disappeared. And the sea was also gone. And I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven like a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. I heard a loud shout from the throne, saying, “Look, God’s home is now among his people! He will live with them, and they will be his people. God himself will be with them. He will wipe every tear from their eyes, and there will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain. All these things are gone forever.” And the one sitting on the throne said, “Look, I am making everything new!” And then he said to me, “Write this down, for what I tell you is trustworthy and true.” And he also said, “It is finished! I am the Alpha and the Omega—the Beginning and the End. To all who are thirsty I will give freely from the springs of the water of life. All who are victorious will inherit all these blessings, and I will be their God, and they will be my children.

Revelation 22:1–5 NLT

Then the angel showed me a river with the water of life, clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb. It flowed down the center of the main street. On each side of the river grew a tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, with a fresh crop each month. The leaves were used for medicine to heal the nations. No longer will there be a curse upon anything. For the throne of God and of the Lamb will be there, and his servants will worship him. And they will see his face, and his name will be written on their foreheads. And there will be no night there—no need for lamps or sun—for the Lord God will shine on them. And they will reign forever and ever.

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Heaven and Earth colliding into one.

No wars, no sickness, no death, no injustice, only Life- Joy- and Beauty!

(My hope – Baseball with Dad, mom and brothers. Brand new earth, no pain, no death, no fear. The love of God flooding over the earth.)

The resurrection of Jesus means that God has won the victory over sin and death for us!

The resurrection means Life – Joy- Beauty has broken into this world!

The resurrection means Life-Joy – Beauty will one day overtake all of the world.

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I want to end by reading a portion of a very old ancient sermon: written sometime before 407 AD.

The Lord is risen. He is risen indeed! If there are devout and God-loving people here, let them enjoy this beautiful, radiant festival. If there are prudent servants, enter joyously into the Lord’s joy. Whoever may be spent from fasting, enjoy now your reward. Whoever has toiled from the first hour, receive today your just settlement. If any came after the third hour, celebrate gratefully. If any of you arrived after the sixth, have no misgivings, you have lost nothing. If some have been as late as the ninth, come forward, do not be at a loss. If any of you have arrived only at the eleventh hour, do not be dismayed for being late.

The Master is gracious; He accepts the last even as the first; He gives rest to those of the eleventh as well as to those who have labored from the first; He is lenient with the last while looking after the first; to the one He gives, to the other He gives freely; He accepts the labors and welcomes the effort; honors the deed, but commends the intent. So, all of you, enter into the joy of our Lord: first and second, share the bounty. Rich and poor alike, celebrate together. Sober or heedless, honor the day. Those who fasted, and those who did not, rejoice today. The table is full, everyone fare sumptuously. The calf is fatted; no one go away hungry. Everyone, savor the banquet of faith; relish the riches of His goodness.

No one need lament poverty, for the kingdom is seen as universal. No one need grieve over sins; forgiveness has dawned from the tomb. No one need fear death; the Savior's death has freed us from it. While its captive He stifled it. He despoiled Death as He descended into it; it was angered when it tasted His flesh. Foreseeing this, Isaiah proclaimed: "Death," he said, "was angered when he met You below." It was angered because it was abolished It was angered because it was mocked It was angered because it was slain. It was angered because it was shackled. It received a body and encountered God. It took earth and came face-to-face with heaven. It took what it saw and fell by what it could not see. Death, where is your sting? Death, where is your victory? Christ is risen death is overthrown. Christ is risen and demons have fallen. Christ is risen and angels rejoice. Christ is risen and life rules. Christ is risen and not one dead remains in the tomb. For Christ, having risen from the dead, has become the firstfruits of those that slept. To Him be the glory and the dominion, forever. Amen.

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