Easter Sunday Sermon 4/4/21 16 Minutes
Notes
Transcript
Mark 16:1-8
Mark 16:1-8
This morning I'll be reading Mark chapter 16 verses 1 through 8.
And I'll be reading from the Holman Christian Standard Bible.
Mark 16:1-8
How many times have we read this story? This is a story that should be familiar with everyone sitting here today,,, if you are a Christian. As I read this passage of scripture this morning,,, be aware of the presence,,, and,,, guidance,,, of the Holy Spirit as I read.
Mark 16:1–8 (HCSB)
1 When the Sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices, so they could go and anoint Him. 2 Very early in the morning, on the first day of the week, they went to the tomb at sunrise. 3 They were saying to one another, “Who will roll away the stone from the entrance to the tomb for us?” 4 Looking up, they observed that the stone—which was very large—had been rolled away. 5 When they entered the tomb, they saw a young man dressed in a long white robe sitting on the right side; they were amazed and alarmed. 6 “Don’t be alarmed,” he told them. “You are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who was crucified. He has been resurrected! He is not here! See the place where they put Him. 7 But go, tell His disciples and Peter, ‘He is going ahead of you to Galilee; you will see Him there just as He told you.’ ” 8 So they went out and started running from the tomb, because trembling and astonishment overwhelmed them. And they said nothing to anyone, since they were afraid.
God bless the reading and the hearing of your word this morning.
Let us pray:
Dear Lord,,, as we begin this morning,,, with everyone here today and all that are listening and watching by video,,, we ask that you open our ears to hear and our hearts and minds to receive the message that you have for us today,,, In Jesus' name I pray,,, Amen.
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What a wonderful morning we are having!
I can't even begin to explain the wonderful feeling that I have this morning since we are able to worship together on this Easter morning.
I remember last year telling everyone,,, not to worry,,, just because we aren't able to worship inside the sanctuary,,, we are still able to worship.
We are the church!
When we leave from this building,,, the church should be seen shining out of each one of us.
This virus can not stop us from worship!
All of these words are true,,, but,,, in the days after,,, the long weeks and months that we went thru,,, and to a certain extent,,, are still going thru,,, we began to realize,,, that worshipping "together",,, inside these four walls,,, is important!
And because of that,,, this worship service is very important for us today.
I know that some of you will not feel safe getting out yet,,, and we will continue with our video post,,, even after we get things back to normal,,, or whatever our new normal will be.
But this morning is special because it gives us a special day to celebrate the resurrection of Jesus.
This should be something that we remember every day,,, of course,,, but today is the day set aside for us to come together in celebration of all that He has done for us.
As we look at these verses this morning,,, remember what I said at the beginning,,, about being aware and guided,,, by the Holy Spirit,,, as we see how they can help us in our walk with God this week.
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Verses 1 through 3 say: 1 When the Sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices, so they could go and anoint Him. 2 Very early in the morning, on the first day of the week, they went to the tomb at sunrise. 3 They were saying to one another, “Who will roll away the stone from the entrance to the tomb for us?”
Have you ever read these verses of scripture and wondered why they went to the trouble of going to the tomb when they knew that the stone was blocking their entrance?
This stone would have been too heavy for them to move without help,,, but they felt like it was something that they had to do.
In their minds,,, this stone was keeping them from Jesus.
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Verses 4 through 7 say: 4 Looking up, they observed that the stone—which was very large—had been rolled away. 5 When they entered the tomb, they saw a young man dressed in a long white robe sitting on the right side; they were amazed and alarmed. 6 “Don’t be alarmed,” he told them. “You are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who was crucified. He has been resurrected! He is not here! See the place where they put Him. 7 But go, tell His disciples and Peter, ‘He is going ahead of you to Galilee; you will see Him there just as He told you.’ ”
When the women get to the tomb,,, they find the stone rolled away.
They enter and hear the words from the angel telling them to go and tell the others that Jesus has arose,,, and is going ahead of them into Galilee.
Notice the words,,, "just as He told you".
It always amazes me that the only ones that thought about the promise that Jesus made about His resurrection,,, were the people that were against Him the most.
The chief priest and Pharisees went to Pilate to discuss Jesus' promise,,, and we have their words in Matthew 27:63: "Sir, we remember that while this deceiver was still alive He said, After three days I will rise again.'
They acted like they didn't believe Jesus' words,,, but they remembered them better than the disciples.
We see the women's response in the next verse.
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Verse 8 says: 8 So they went out and started running from the tomb, because trembling and astonishment overwhelmed them. And they said nothing to anyone, since they were afraid.
The women were so amazed at these words.
It was more than they could comprehend.
Of course we know that they regained their composure as they went back because they told the disciples what they had found.
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Remember at the beginning I told you to be aware of the presence and guidance of the Holy Spirit as I read these verses?
When I began my sermon preparation earlier in the week,,, the stone being rolled away was brought to my attention.
I am always amazed that you can read something so many times,,, be familiar with the story,,, and think that you know everything there is to know,,, but then see something that you haven't seen before,,, when you read it again.
That's why the Bible is called "The Living Word of God"!
Through the help of the Holy Spirit,,, God will make things available to you at different times,,, as you need them,,, or,,, you are ready for them.
That's why discussion is so beneficial during Bible study because God reveals different things to us at different times,,, as we have need of them,,, different teachings,,, all from the same scripture.
But what came to my attention was the way that the women's prayers were answered as they got close enough to see the tomb.
While they were walking to the tomb,,, they were discussing who would roll the stone away since it was obviously too heavy for them to move.
But as we have already seen,,, the stone was rolled away for them.
So they were worried about something,,, that God has already taken care of!
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As we go about our life today,,, how many times do we spend countless hours worrying about things that we either can't control,,, or God has already began to work on the solution?
When I was younger,,, any time that I was worried about things,,, I would pray about it,,, but it seemed like there wasn't an answer most of the time.
Even after I rededicated my life,,, I would begin to worry,,, and I would tell myself,,, "don't do that,,, give this problem to the Lord,,, and I would pray.
Still it seemed like I would not get an answer.
As slow as I am,,, and I've told this part before,,, it took me a long time to realize that I wasn't giving God a chance to do anything before I was taking care of the problem myself.
Even after I seen what God could accomplish while I was in the hospital,,, in recovery from my accident,,, and during all of my surgeries afterward,,, it wasn't until I finally accepted the call to preach that I really began to see how God can answer prayer.
And an answer to prayer,,, depends on our relationship with the Lord.
Now when I say that,,, don't think that I'm telling you that once your relationship is right with God then you can pray for anything that you want and God will give it to you!
No!
Instead,,, when our relationship is right with God,,, when we pray,,, we understand that God is in control and "He" will do what's right,,, even if it's something that we don't understand.
We also have the understanding that we ask for things more in line with what we need to make things better for His kingdom.
We don't let worldly things bother us as much.
Our wants change,,, they become more in tune with what God really thinks that we need,,, instead of what "we" want.
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But,,, going back to the women and their discussion,,, we see that God has answered their prayer in a way that they never imagined.
So many times we are praying about something and we just don't see how things will work out and we want to give up.
Well,,, maybe we can remember this scripture and the fact that the women were not sure how the stone would be moved,,, but they were still stepping out in faith,,, even though they couldn't see the answer yet.
They are on their way to the tomb talking about a problem that God has already fixed.
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As you've heard many times before,,, the stone wasn't rolled away so that Jesus could get out,,, it was rolled away so that we could see that Jesus' body wasn't there.
Because of this answer,,, the problem that the women thought they had,,, was already taken care of
Just because we don't get the answer we want through our prayer,,, or can't see an answer yet,,, that doesn't mean that God isn't working on it,,, or,,, already taken care of it!
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Another thing,,, the women had the right attitude for prayer to be answered.
It was their relationship that they had with Jesus that made them continue on in their journey to the tomb,,, even though they couldn't see who would help them roll away the stone.
If our relationship is right with God,,, we will continue on,,, even when we can't see,,, or understand.
And that was why the stone was rolled away,,, it was rolled away,,, to help us see!
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