The Empty Promises of Easter
Sermon • Submitted
0 ratings
· 11 viewsNotes
Transcript
:18Then answered the Jews and said unto him, What sign shewest thou unto us, seeing that thou doest these things? 19Jesus answered and said unto them, Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up. 20Then said the Jews, Forty and six years was this temple in building, and wilt thou rear it up in three days? 21But he spake of the temple of his body. 22When therefore he was risen from the dead, his disciples remembered that he had said this unto them; and they believed the scripture, and the word which Jesus had said.
01 April 18
The Life Church
#382
:18Then answered the Jews and said unto him, What sign shewest thou unto us, seeing that thou doest these things? 19Jesus answered and said unto them, Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up. 20Then said the Jews, Forty and six years was this temple in building, and wilt thou rear it up in three days? 21But he spake of the temple of his body. 22When therefore he was risen from the dead, his disciples remembered that he had said this unto them; and they believed the scripture, and the word which Jesus had said.
The Empty Promises of Easter
The Empty Promises of Easter
I heard the story of two brothers coloring eggs for Easter…
The older brother looks out of the corner of his eye and spots his
parents at an appropriate distance away and in a hushed tone tells
his little brother, “I’ll give you ten buck is you’ll let me smash three
eggs on your head!”
The little brother thought about it for a second and asked, you
promise?
Ya! Little brother grits his teeth, grabs the edge of the counter and says, ok, I’m ready.
says, ok, I’m ready.
1st egg smashes him right in the top of his head…
2nd egg smashes him in the exact same spot…
Little brothers cringing cringingly to the edge of the counter waiting
nothing happens…
He opens one eye and see his big brother calmly going about
his business dying eggs.
Arn’t you going to give me the third egg?
Nope, I’d owe you 10 buck then!
EMPTY PROMISES!
EMPTY PROMISES!
Life is full of them!
We are surrounding by marketing campaigns that suggest that if you just wear this or do that, that you will be rich, happy, famous and beautiful…
EMPTY PROMISES!
The government promises and fails to deliver…
Politicians promise one thing to get elected and do another once they are…
Bosses lead you on with vailed promises of raises or benefits that are somehow always just beyond your best performance…
EMPTY PROMISES!
Because of this constant barrage of empty promises we become cynical and begin to doubt all we’ve been told!
It’s to good to be true…
I’ll believe it when I see it…
That’ll be the day…
We live in a world of broken promises and unfulfilled expectations!
Ppl make commitments and don’t follow through…
We make plans and promises that we never intend to keep…
It’s no wonder that ppl look at the Word of God and wonder if it’s not just another round of empty promises!
It’s no wonder that ppl look at the Word of God and wonder if it’s not just another round of empty promises!
God is a healer?
It’s to good to be true…
God’s a provider?
I’ll believe it when I see it…
God will deliver me from my addiction?
That’ll be the day!
***************
More then 7,000 times God made promises to his ppl…
And today the vast majority of them have been fulfilled!
And the rest… well they are only a matter of time!
BUT there are some empty promises that I want to talk to you this morning…
Specifically about Easter!
The first empty promise of Easter is the cross…
If you could travel to the place of the crucifixion
You could climb the same hill…
Go to the spot where they hung Jesus on the Cross.
In your minds eye you possibly can see Him hanging
there.
The blood, the pain, the ripped flesh…
You could perhaps hear the cries of pain…
You could perhaps hear the cries of pain… the ring of the
The ring of the hammer as the drove nails home in his hands and his feet
hammer as the drove nails home in his hands and his feet
You may be able to hear the cries of the crowd “crucify him”
him” still as they watch in horror…
Why would any man be willing to do such a thing? Go through the pain?
Why would any man be willing to do such a thing? Go through the pain?
For the wages of sin is death…
He did it for the sin of man kind!
Why would Jesus do that?
Because of your sins!
Because of your sins!
Someone had to die! That is what sin cost!
He paid the price of death for you addictions!
Insecurities!
Lies!
Cheating!
One of the empty promises of Easter is that Jesus would die on a cross BUT he would not stay on the cross!!
The cross is empty today!
He paid the price so that you would not have to!
When he said the words “It is finished”, one translation says “the debt
When he said the words “It is finished”, one translation says “the debt
is paid!”
I can now leave an empty cross because I died for your sin!
for sin!
The second empty promise of Easter: Empty grave cloths!
I can imagine that those who loved Jesus was at an all time low that day…
Washing his broken body…
Wrapping it in the traditional way…
They still didn’t understand some of the promises.
It seemed at this point that they were all empty promises!
It was the end of an incredible 3 1/2 year journey!
Jesus was dead!
Nothing can be more damaging to your faith as when hope slips through your fingers!
We don’t know what happened on Saturday.
The rest were in hiding - but somehow John must have stuck pretty close.
close.
Because when Mary brought the news, John was out the door!
What John saw would change his whole perspective!
He didn’t just see an empty tomb…
But be say the grave cloths neatly folded were the body of Jesus was!
Jesus was!
Hope soared again!
Hope soared again!
If his body had been stole, the would not have unwrapped him!
All those promises and odd things Jesus said came home to him!
him!
:8Then went in also that other disciple, which came first to the sepulchre, and he saw, and believed.
If you are here and struggling with what you know and what you hope can be…
Jesus left empty clothing in that grave that day to remind His disciples of the promises he had spoke!
of the promises he had spoke!
Final empty promise: The Tomb!
The tomb of Jesus was and remains empty as a reminder of a life that outlasts the grave!
Life eternal!
Life everlasting!
An empty cross was just part of it!
Thankful for forgiveness of sins!
But it was more than about sin!
Thankful that he increases our faith…
But Easter is about living in victory!
We’ve to many ppl who claim some knowledge of God and even some relational understanding
But don’t life in victory!
Because he lives
I can live in newness of life!
Conclusion:
4 Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.
People are celebrating Easter today with egg hunts, candy and chocolate.
In many homes across the US there is the smell of hams cooking and the anticipation of a nice family dinner.
Easter is about living in victory!
If you are listening to me today and feel down or depressed
If you feel hopeless, I want to tell you that Jesus loves you!
And wants to give you peace!