Seeing & Believing

Introduction: He is Risen! Today, we celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ, the event that changed everything

The last couple of weeks we have been talking about vision, and we will continue to do so.

God has given me a clear vision for us as His church

God would have us to grow His church by making disciples among young people. Youth, young adults, and young families.

He would have us to plant new churches, both in our own community and in other places

God continues to confirm this through prayer, through conversations with others

pastors and leaders in our community

state and association leaders

potential partners in Idaho, like our friend Jason you heard from last week

God is steering our ship in a different direction. He is calling us to changes that will require us to give generously, go regularly, and pray without ceasing.

We are going to have to change if we want to follow where Jesus is leading us.

It’s a funny thing, though, that sometimes it is hard to walk forward, even when the vision is clear

Sometimes, it is easy to look at the things God is calling us to, and say, “that’s too big”.

Instead of trusting God and marching onward, we get caught looking around at the crashing waves

Change is a defining characteristic of what it means to follow Jesus, and yet we find it uncomfortable

And yet, we are here today to celebrate change! We are celebrating the day that changed everything forever.

Open with me, if you will, to Mark 16. We are going to be in Mark 16 this morning, starting in verse 1, and as we do so, I would invite you, if you are able, to stand with me in honor of the reading of God’s Word:

Text:Mark 16:1-14

Mark 16:1–14 NASB95

When the Sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, and Salome, bought spices, so that they might come and anoint Him. Very early on the first day of the week, they came to the tomb when the sun had risen. They were saying to one another, “Who will roll away the stone for us from the entrance of the tomb?” Looking up, they saw that the stone had been rolled away, although it was extremely large. Entering the tomb, they saw a young man sitting at the right, wearing a white robe; and they were amazed. And he said to them, “Do not be amazed; you are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who has been crucified. He has risen; He is not here; behold, here is the place where they laid Him. “But go, tell His disciples and Peter, ‘He is going ahead of you to Galilee; there you will see Him, just as He told you.’ ” They went out and fled from the tomb, for trembling and astonishment had gripped them; and they said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid. Now after He had risen early on the first day of the week, He first appeared to Mary Magdalene, from whom He had cast out seven demons. She went and reported to those who had been with Him, while they were mourning and weeping. When they heard that He was alive and had been seen by her, they refused to believe it. After that, He appeared in a different form to two of them while they were walking along on their way to the country. They went away and reported it to the others, but they did not believe them either. Afterward He appeared to the eleven themselves as they were reclining at the table; and He reproached them for their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they had not believed those who had seen Him after He had risen.

WOULD YOU PRAY WITH ME?

If you’ve got your listening guide, you may want to go ahead and get that out.

One of the things that I love about the Word of God is that it is always new

You can read the same passages over and over again, and yet each time that you read them, you see something new

As we grow and face different chapters and challenges in life, we see new significance and applications from the same passage, and the resurrection is no exception.

The Lord is calling us to engage in making disciples like we never have before.

It is going to take an enduring obedience from us-the road won’t be easy or short

It is going to take tremendous amount of faith, as we move forward without all the answers

Following Jesus isn’t easy, but our experience in following Him is contingent on our willingness to faithfully follow where He would lead.

Let’s look at verses 1-3

Mark 16:1–3 NASB95

When the Sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, and Salome, bought spices, so that they might come and anoint Him. Very early on the first day of the week, they came to the tomb when the sun had risen. They were saying to one another, “Who will roll away the stone for us from the entrance of the tomb?”

In this passage, we see a tremendous amount of faith in these women

Where are the men in the midst of this situation? Hiding!

What we see from these women is diligent perseverance in faith. Their love for Jesus drove them to action

Verse 1 says they went when the Sabbath was over…so Saturday night, as soon as they could (urgency)

Verse 2 says that they went to Jesus early in the morning-As soon as they could!

Verse 3 tells us that they didn’t have what they needed, but they knew what they had to do, and so they were literally walking in faith.

And so the first thing I would have you write on your listening guide is this:

Faithful obedience means taking action that requires God to move

It means giving sacrificially

Costly spices, late nights, early mornings, personal risk (arrest)

It means acting with urgency

delayed obedience is disobedience- When you know what you are supposed to do, do it!

It means stepping out to do what we can’t

there is no plan B- “If God doesn’t show up, we’re toast”

Will require money, skills, time, energy, and people we don’t have

Let’s look at the next few verses. Verse 4:

Mark 16:4–6 NASB95

Looking up, they saw that the stone had been rolled away, although it was extremely large. Entering the tomb, they saw a young man sitting at the right, wearing a white robe; and they were amazed. And he said to them, “Do not be amazed; you are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who has been crucified. He has risen; He is not here; behold, here is the place where they laid Him.

Have you ever wondered why the stone was rolled away?

Jesus could have risen and left the tomb without moving it (He later walks into locked rooms)

The stone was moved for our benefit

They couldn’t move it! (it glorifies God by revealing His power)

It allowed them to see with there own eyes that Jesus wasn’t there!

The angelic witness testifies to the truth that they were witnessing. (SEE FOR YOURSELVES)

This leads us to our next point to remember, that

Those that act in faith will see the power of God

One of the coolest things I’ve been a part of in ministry is this youth building we’re about to break ground on

somebody said in the meeting where we voted to go forward “let’s step out and do it, if God’s in it, He will provide”

We’ve raised more than 44,000 dollars in the midst of a pandemic!

As cool as that is, what more might God do through us if we are willing to step out in faith!

We serve a risen Savior! We serve the One who was raised from the dead.

Has anybody else done that? Not only was He raised from the dead, He ascended into heaven!

Why do we hope to live forever? Why is our hope in the Kingdom of God? Because Jesus said it, and He’s the only One that has ever beaten death!

Those women got to see God move in tremendous power. They saw, with their own eyes, the angelic messenger and the empty tomb. But as amazing as these women were, I want you to see something. Look at verses 7-8

Mark 16:7–8 NASB95

“But go, tell His disciples and Peter, ‘He is going ahead of you to Galilee; there you will see Him, just as He told you.’ ” They went out and fled from the tomb, for trembling and astonishment had gripped them; and they said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid.

These women had just seen the most amazing thing that would ever happen

It is only through Jesus Christ that we can know freedom from our sins

They were given a message to share

They were told to tell what they saw,

to remind the disciples of Christ’s promise to rise (especially Peter, the denier)

to give them marching orders

We don’t know what would have happened, because they didn’t do it!

We know that the disciples were told later, and we’ll get to that in a moment, but who knows how sharing this message might have changed things.

And this points us to the next thing I would have you write down, that

Sometimes your obedience is the contingency of someone else obeying

God might be calling you to go, but you’re afraid or you can’t afford it, so you disobey

What if God is calling on someone else to pay your way, but they can’t because you don’t?

We see this over and over in Scripture:

We see it when Elijah crosses the desert and the widow is there to provide for him.

We see it as the disciples go to the man who gave them the colt Jesus rode into Jerusalem

We see it when Abraham’s servant finds Isaac’s wife because she obeyed the Lord and gave him water

What is God calling you to that someone else is waiting for you to obey.

Let’s look at the last section quickly, verse 9

Mark 16:9–14 NASB95

Now after He had risen early on the first day of the week, He first appeared to Mary Magdalene, from whom He had cast out seven demons. She went and reported to those who had been with Him, while they were mourning and weeping. When they heard that He was alive and had been seen by her, they refused to believe it. After that, He appeared in a different form to two of them while they were walking along on their way to the country. They went away and reported it to the others, but they did not believe them either. Afterward He appeared to the eleven themselves as they were reclining at the table; and He reproached them for their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they had not believed those who had seen Him after He had risen.

The disciples heard the message, but they refused to believe. Jesus had revealed Himself to others, but they wouldn’t listen to them.

We need to see that Jesus sent those who had seen Him as witnesses and ambassadors to His followers, but His followers wouldn’t listen

If we’re not careful, we can be just like them

And Jesus’ rebuke of them brings us our final point this morning, that:

Not believing those that Jesus sends to you is not believing Him

The message of Christ’s resurrection is the greatest news that this world has ever known

Jesus will change your life, and He wants to change the lives of others through you

The work that Jesus has called us to is clear and is before us;

He is still the best news ever

He has called us to do things that only He can do

Will we be those that step out in faith, or will be the ones still waiting at the table when Jesus comes again

Pray