Easter 2008 Risen Indeed
“Risen Indeed”—Invitation to Celebration
[Easter 2008]
I begin this morning by making one simple assertion—
That if there is any Sunday in which we should ‘celebrate’ . . . it is Easter Sunday! Amen?!
Today, we are going to “celebrate!” I’m going to provide you with a hand-out that will provide you my outline and the Scriptures that go with them. I have drawn from numerous translations—mostly for the sake of clarity and understandability. [Pray “ . . .”]
Luke 24:33-34 So they rose up that very hour and returned to Jerusalem, and found the eleven and those who were with them gathered together, saying, “The Lord is risen indeed, and has appeared to Simon!”
Reading these verses, I was struck by the word “indeed.” It’s easy to just fly past that word and miss it’s significance. Three translations do an excellent job of capturing the amazing proclamation given here:
- [NIV] “It is true! The Lord has risen and has appeared to Simon.”
- [NLT] “The Lord has really risen! He appeared to Peter.”
- [Message] “It’s really happened! The Master has been raised up—Simon saw him!”
Because Christ is “Risen Indeed” . . . We Can Celebrate:
1. We Can Celebrate Our Victory Over Sin And Satan [®Read John 19:28-30]
In John 19:30 Jesus is hanging on the cross...some 6 hours have passed. At noon a great darkness descends. 3 hours later, at 3 p.m., having suffered the agonies of hell...Jesus cries out
“TETELESTAI”—“IT IS FINISHED!”
What was finished? Payment for every sin you & I have ever committed (“tetelestai” = Paid-in-Full!”)
Some 750 years earlier, the great Prophet Isaiah saw down the corridors of time witnessing this moment:
- Isaiah 53:4-6 Surely He has borne our griefs And carried our sorrows; Yet we esteemed Him stricken, Smitten by God, and afflicted. But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; The chastisement for our peace was upon Him, And by His stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; We have turned, every one, to his own way; And the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all. [New King James Version]
That’s what the cross was all about! All our sins...transferred on to Christ as our sin-bearer/substitute. And after saying “It is finished,” Jesus bowed his head and gave up His spirit. Our sin debt—“paid-in-full!”
But how do we know that Jesus' death on a cross has once & for all “paid in full” for our sins? I mean, thousands were crucified in those days? What was unique about this one single cross? Very Simply—
HE IS RISEN and HE IS RISEN INDEED!!!
In Acts 2:32 the Apostle Peter reiterates, in no uncertain terms, that Christ is “Risen Indeed” by saying:
“God has raised this Jesus to life, and we are all witnesses of the fact.”
*** “The Resurrection is God's “Amen” to Jesus' cry--It Is Finished!”
®Let’s look at Col. 2:13-15 [3 verses that tie Our Victory over Sin and Satan together] “ . . .”
***How many of you are familiar with the hymn “IT IS WELL WITH MY SOUL?” 2nd v is commentary:
“My sin—O the joy of this glorious thought—
My sin, not in part, but the whole . . .
IS NAILED TO THE CROSS, AND I BEAR IT NO MORE;
PRAISE THE LORD, PRAISE THE LORD, O MY SOUL!
And as for Satan & our victory thru our Lord Jesus Christ . . .
Can't you see Satan with devilish glee as they drove the nails into the body of the Lord . . .—
“I've Won! And now they are all Mine! Mine is the kingdom, the power, and the glory! All Mine!”
But . . .
“THE LORD IS RISEN and HE IS RISEN INDEED!”
***I like the way Pastor Jess Moody articulated it:
“The Devil laughed when our Lord went to the cross . . .
then wept when he discovered why Jesus went there.”
Victory over Sin! Victory over Satan! Simply because—Christ is “Risen Indeed!”
Because Christ is “Risen Indeed” . . . We Can Celebrate:
2. We Can Celebrate Our Victory Over Death And the Grave
I want to speak you in personal terms: In just the past few weeks, 2 of our members have lost loved ones.
In the past decade I have lost both my parents—praise God they were saved. But it was back in October of 1984 where I really came to grips with death—and how I came to view it not as ‘defeat’ and ‘the end,’ but in terms of “victory” and the doorway to a whole “new beginning.”
It was October 1984 that I got the call from my Mom—“Steve, Granddad died. We just got the word.” To those of you visiting…I was very close to my Grandfather…Anyway, when I arrived in Tucson my Mother told me that my Grandfather had requested that I preach his funeral. I said I would (but didn't know if I could). And so the day before the funeral, I went to the funeral home alone (to grieve alone). I knew the truth of 2 Cor. 5:8—“to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord.” But as I looked at my Grandfather laying in a casket—well, I opened my Bible to John 11:25f and read these words of my Savior
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.
But it was the last 4 words of verse 26—a question—that I felt the Lord was somehow confronting me with . . .
“Do you believe this?”
I debated within myself for a moment . . . I remember affirming my faith—“Yes, Lord. I DO believe this!
I then turned to 1 Cor.15 [the ‘Resurrection’ chapter—58 verses of some of the greatest truths found within the Bible]. It was at that moment, as I stood alone . . . with the body of my Grandfather the words of 1 Cor. 15 just exploded in my heart—the whole chapter contains dynamite, but as I stood staring at my Grandfather’s dead body—vv. 50-57—that just gripped and took hold of me:
1 Corinthians 15:50-57 What I am saying, dear brothers and sisters, is that our physical bodies cannot inherit the Kingdom of God. These dying bodies cannot inherit what will last forever. But let me reveal to you a wonderful secret: We will not all die, but we will all be transformed! It will happen in a moment, in the blink of an eye, when the last trumpet is blown. For when the trumpet sounds, those who have died will be raised to live forever. And we who are living will also be transformed. For our dying bodies must be transformed into bodies that will never die; our mortal bodies must be transformed into immortal bodies. Then, when our dying bodies have been transformed into bodies that will never die, this Scripture will be fulfilled: “Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?” For sin is the sting that results in death, and the law gives sin its power. But thank God! He gives us victory over sin and death through our Lord Jesus Christ. [New Living Translation]
Because Christ is “Risen and He is Risen INDEED” We Can Celebrate!
1. We can celebrate our Victory over Sin and Satan
2. We can celebrate our Victory over Death and the Grave.
And 3rdly . . .
Because Christ is “Risen Indeed” . . . We Can Celebrate:
Because Christ is “Risen Indeed” . . . We Can Celebrate:
3. We Can Celebrate Our Victory Over Hopelessness and Despair
1 Peter 1:3-5 All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. It is by his great mercy that we have been born again, because God raised Jesus Christ from the dead. Now we live with great expectation, and we have a priceless inheritance—an inheritance that is kept in heaven for you, pure and undefiled, beyond the reach of change and decay. And through your faith, God is protecting you by his power until you receive this salvation, which is ready to be revealed on the last day for all to see. [New Living Translation]
***A story that really makes the point.
Tony Campolo, a white guy in a predominately black church in West Philadelphia (Mt. Carmel Baptist Ch) had a special ‘Good Friday’ service. Seven men had been invited to preach back-to-back. Campolo writes—
“When it was my turn to preach, I rolled into high gear, and I want to tell you, I was good! The more I preached, the more the people turned on . . .and the more they turned on, the better I got.”
[Campolo said—“I got so good that I wanted to take notes on me!”].
He then shared how at the end of his message, the congregation broke loose with hallelujahs & cries of joy. He then writes—“I sat down next to my pastor and he looked at me with a smile. He reached down with his hand, squeezed my knee and said—“You did all right, boy!” (I must admit I hate it when he calls me boy!) I turned to him & asked, “Pastor, are you going to be able to top that?” The old man smiled at me and said: “SON, YOU JUST SIT BACK, CAUSE THIS OLD MAN’S GONNA DO YOU IN!”
[I didn’t figure that anybody could have done me in that day... But the old guy got up, and I have to admit, He Did Me In. The amazing thing was that he did it with the use of just one line. For an hour & a half he stood that crowd on its ear with just one line. That line was—“ITS FRIDAY, BUT SUNDAY’S COMIN!”
One of the deacons yelled, “Preach, brother, Preach!” It was all the encouragement that he needed. He came on louder & said—“It was Friday & Mary was cryin’ her eyes out. The disciples were running in every direction, like sheep without a shepherd...BUT THAT WAS FRIDAY, AND SUNDAY’S COMIN!”
[People were getting excited & waving arms— “Keep going, Pastor. Keep going!”]
“It was Friday. The cynics were lookin’ at the world and saying—“As things have been so they shall be. You can’t change anything in this world; you can’t change anything.” But those cynics didn’t know that. . .
IT WAS ONLY FRIDAY. . . SUNDAY’S COMIN’!
“It was Friday! And on Friday, those forces that oppress the poor & make the poor to suffer were in control,
BUT THAT WAS FRIDAY! SUNDAY’S COMIN’!”
“It was Friday, and Pilate thought he had washed his hands of a lot of trouble. The Pharisees were struttin’ around, laughin’ and pokin’ each other in the ribs. They thought they were back in charge of things...but they didn’t know that IT WAS ONLY FRIDAY . . .
SUNDAY’S COMIN’!”
[Campolo said he kept working that phrase a half hour, hour, an hour and a half. Over & over he came at us:
IT’S FRIDAY, BUT SUNDAY’S COMIN’ . . . IT’S FRIDAY, BUT SUNDAY’S COMIN’!”
[Campolo concluded the story by saying]—
“By the time he had come to the end, I was exhausted. At the end of his message my Pastor yelled at the top of his lungs—“IT’S FRIDAY!!!”
[and all 500 members of the church yelled back with one accord . . .]
BUT SUNDAY’S COMIN’!”
Folks, We have every reason to Celebrate! Because Christ is “Risen and He is Risen Indeed” . . .
1. We Can Celebrate our Victory over Sin and Satan
2. We can Celebrate our Victory over Death and the Grave
3. We can Celebrate our Victory over Hopelessness and Despair
And those of you going through hard times, grievous days and long/lonely nights. Always remember this:
It may be ‘Friday’ . . .
But Sunday’s Comin’!”
“Risen Indeed”—Invitation to Celebration
Luke 24:33-34 So they rose up that very hour and returned to Jerusalem, and found the eleven and those who were with them gathered together, saying, “The Lord is risen indeed, and has appeared to Simon!”
[NIV] “It is true! The Lord has risen and has appeared to Simon.”
[NLT] “The Lord has really risen! He appeared to Peter.”
[Message] “It’s really happened! The Master has been raised up—Simon saw him!”
Because Christ is “Risen Indeed” . . . We Can Celebrate:
1. Our Victory Over Sin And Satan
John 19:28-30 After this, Jesus, knowing that all things were now accomplished, that the Scripture might be fulfilled, said, “I thirst!” Now a vessel full of sour wine was sitting there; and they filled a sponge with sour wine, put it on hyssop, and put it to His mouth. So when Jesus had received the sour wine, He said, “It Is Finished!” And bowing His head, He gave up His spirit. [New King James Version]
Isaiah 53:4-6 Surely He has borne our griefs And carried our sorrows; Yet we esteemed Him stricken, Smitten by God, and afflicted. But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; The chastisement for our peace was upon Him, And by His stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; We have turned, every one, to his own way; And the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all. [New King James Version]
Acts 2:32 God has raised this Jesus to life, and we are all witnesses of the fact. [NIV]
Colossians 2:13-15 You were dead because of your sins and because your sinful nature was not yet cut away. Then God made you alive with Christ, for he forgave all our sins. He canceled the record of the charges against us and took it away by nailing it to the cross. In this way, he disarmed the spiritual rulers and authorities. He shamed them publicly by his victory over them on the cross. [New Living Translation]
Because Christ is “Risen Indeed” . . . We Can Celebrate:
2. Our Victory Over Death And the Grave
John 11:25-26 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?” [NKJV]
1 Corinthians 15:50-57 What I am saying, dear brothers and sisters, is that our physical bodies cannot inherit the Kingdom of God. These dying bodies cannot inherit what will last forever. But let me reveal to you a wonderful secret: We will not all die, but we will all be transformed! It will happen in a moment, in the blink of an eye, when the last trumpet is blown. For when the trumpet sounds, those who have died will be raised to live forever. And we who are living will also be transformed. For our dying bodies must be transformed into bodies that will never die; our mortal bodies must be transformed into immortal bodies. Then, when our dying bodies have been transformed into bodies that will never die, this Scripture will be fulfilled: “Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?” For sin is the sting that results in death, and the law gives sin its power. But thank God! He gives us victory over sin and death through our Lord Jesus Christ. [New Living Translation]
Because Christ is “Risen Indeed” . . . We Can Celebrate:
3. Our Victory Over Hopelessness and Despair
1 Peter 1:3-5 All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. It is by his great mercy that we have been born again, because God raised Jesus Christ from the dead. Now we live with great expectation, and we have a priceless inheritance—an inheritance that is kept in heaven for you, pure and undefiled, beyond the reach of change and decay. And through your faith, God is protecting you by his power until you receive this salvation, which is ready to be revealed on the last day for all to see.
[New Living Translation]