LUKE 24: 1-8 "WE RISE!"

Luke 24:1–8 (CSB): 1 On the first day of the week, very early in the morning, they came to the tomb, bringing the spices they had prepared. 2 They found the stone rolled away from the tomb. 3 They went in but did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. 4 While they were perplexed about this, suddenly two men stood by them in dazzling clothes. 5 So the women were terrified and bowed down to the ground.

“Why are you looking for the living among the dead?” asked the men. 6 “He is not here, but he has risen! Remember how he spoke to you when he was still in Galilee, 7 saying, ‘It is necessary that the Son of Man be betrayed into the hands of sinful men, be crucified, and rise on the third day’?” 8 And they remembered his words.

BIG IDEA: WE RISE BECAUSE HE IS RISEN!

AN OLDER - SEASONED PASTOR FINISHED HIS SERMON, AND AFTER THE SERVICE, WHILE GREETING THOSE IN ATTENDANCE, A YOUNG MAN APPROACHED HIM AND ASKED, “WHY DO YOU ALWAYS FOCUS UPON JESUS DYING AND BEING RAISED ON THE THIRD DAY?” HAVEN’T WE HEARD THAT ENOUGH?

WELL, SAID THE PASTOR, LET ME ASK YOU A QUESTION: WHY DO BASKETBALL TEAMS MAKE BASKETS? WHY DO FOOTBALL TEAMS MAKE TOUCHDOWNS? WHY DO BASEBALL PLAYERS MAKE RUNS?

WE CONSISTENTLY CELEBRATE THE FACT THAT HE DIED AND WAS RAISED, BECAUSE THAT’S HOW WE WIN! WE RISE, BECAUSE HE HAS RISEN…

AWWW, NOW AS CELEBRATORY AS THAT ILLUSTRATION IS, I REALIZE THAT EVERYONE HERE IS NOT THERE…

IN FACT, MANY OF US ARE SEARCHING - SEEKING - LONGING…

THERE IS A THIRST; A HUNGER EVEN… FOR MORE! WE SEE OUR LIVES…WE KNOW OUR EXPERIENCES…AND WE BELIEVE THERE TO BE MORE…BUT, IT IS OUR NATURE TO LOOK IN PLACES THAT WE SIMPLY SHOULD NOT, TO TRY TO FILL THIS VOID…THIS LONGING!

MANY HAVE NOT FOUND WHAT WE’RE LOOKING FOR, BECAUSE WE’VE LOOKED FOR LOVE IN ALL THE WRONG PLACES…(I KNOW, THAT WAS CHEESY)...

BUT WHAT IS NOT CHEESY IS JESUS!

JESUS CAME TO FILL THAT LONGING.

TO ANSWER THAT SEARCH.

TO RENEW OUR HOPE…JESUS SAYS OF HIMSELF: I have come so that they may have life and have it in abundance.

IN OUR PASSAGE…THOSE WHO LOVED CHRIST, AND SAW HIM DIE ON THAT OLD RUGGED CROSS, WERE AT A LOSS…THEIR HOPE WAS GONE.

THEIR RABBI - TEACHER - PROPHET WAS NOW DEAD...

HE TOLD THEM HE HAD TO DIE, AND THAT THAT WOULD NOT BE THE END…BUT WHEN WE’RE FILLED WITH GRIEF AND REGRET, WE HAVE A TENDENCY TO FORGET PROMISES...

THEY SIMPLY FORGOT!

PERHAPS THAT’S WHERE YOU FIND YOURSELF TODAY - YOU’VE FORGOTTEN THE TRUTHS THAT YOU ONCE HEARD...

YOU FORGOT 16 For God loved the world in this way: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.

YOU FORGOT: 8 But God proves his own love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

AWWWW, SINCE THEY FORGOT, THEY’RE LOOKING - SEARCHING!

WATCH THIS: THEY’VE COME TO DO WHAT THEY KNOW (PREPARE JESUS’ DEAD BODY FOR BURIAL) - BUT SOON REALIZE THAT JESUS HAS DONE WHAT HE SAID HE WOULD DO!

1 On the first day of the week, very early in the morning, they came to the tomb, bringing the spices they had prepared. 2 They found the stone rolled away from the tomb. 3 They went in but did not find the body of the Lord Jesus.

BELOVED, WE RISE WHEN WE

SEE THE EMPTY TOMB!

AS CONFUSING AND PERPLEXING AS THIS MOMENT WAS, THIS MOMENT WAS NECESSARY TO BUILD THEIR FAITH (AND OURS).

THERE WAS NO STONE - NO BODY! AND YET, UNTIL THE ANGEL SPOKE, THEY WERE STILL CONFUSED...

HERE IT IS: BELIEF IS HARD!

WITH THE FACTS BEORE THEM, THEY COULD NOT COMPUTE!

THIS IS WHEN THE LORD SPEAKS TO OUR HEARTS: WHY ARE YOU LOOKING FOR THE LIVING AMONG THE DEAD? - HE IS NOT HERE, BUT HE HAS RISEN! REMEMBER HOW HE SPOKE TO YOU WHEN HE WAS STILL IN GALILEE, SAYING, “IT IS NECESSARY THAT THE SON OF MAN BE BETRAYED INTO THE HANDS OF SINFUL MEN, BE CRUCIFIED, AND RISE ON THE THIRD DAY?”

SEEING IN THIS INSTANCE LED TO BELIEVING!

FREIND, WHAT WE ARE ABLE TO DO WITH AND HOW WE RESPOND TO “THAT EMPTY TOMB” WILL MAKE THE DIFFERENCE IN OUR ETERNAL DESTINY!

SEEING THE EMPTY TOMB MUST LEAD US TO BELIEVING THAT JESUS IS RISEN!

ALLOW ME TO ADD PARENTHETICALLY THAT MANY OF US NEED TO PEAK BEYOND THE EMPTY TOMB TO THE EMPTINESS OF OUR SOUL…WE ACTUALLY FIND OUR FREEDOM IN THIS EMPTY TOMB…

JESUS’ RESURRECTED BODY FILLS THE EMPTINESS OF OUR SOULS...

ALL THAT WE DO TO FALSELY FILL, JESUS FULLY FILLS....

Holding on to the Awe

Awesome stuff never satisfies. Nothing in the entire physical, created world can give rest, peace, identity, meaning, purpose, or lasting contentment to your awe-craving heart. Looking to stuff to satisfy this internal desire is an act of personal spiritual futility. It just won’t work. You would have as much success as you would if you were trying to bail water out of a boat with a strainer.

The things of this world just weren’t designed to do what you’re asking them to do. Still, we all try every day, and when we do, we have a problem much bigger and deeper than a stuff problem. We have an awe problem.

Taken from Awe: Why it Matters to Everything We Think, Say, and Do by Paul David Tripp,

NOT ONLY SEE THE EMPTY TOMB, BUT SECOND:

BELIEVE THE WORD OF THE LORD!

THERE COMES A POINT IN LIFE WHEN WE’VE GOT TO TAKE GOD AT HIS WORD...

FRIENDS, WE’RE LOOKING IN ALL THE WRONG PLACES - EXPERIMENTING WITH THE LATEST DISCOVERIES - TRYING TO FIT SQUARES INTO CIRCLES...ALL BECAUSE WE RESIST BELIEVING THE VERY WORD OF GOD!

WITH ALL OF THE SUBSTITUTES OUT THERE THAT WE SEEK LIFE AND PURPOSE FROM, I ASK YOU, “WHY ARE YOU LOOKING FOR THE LIVING AMONG THE DEAD?”

BELIEVE THE WORD OF THE LORD.

BELIEVE THAT GOD LOVES YOU.

BELIEVE THAT CHRIST DIED FOR YOU.

BELIEVE THAT HIS SPIRIT STRENGTHENS YOU.

BELIEVE THAT HIS CHURCH IS FOR YOU.

BELIEVE.

THE SISTERS IN OUR PASSAGE FORGOT, BUT SOON REMEMBERED...

SOMETIMES WE JUST NEED A NUDGE...

COME ON HELP ME PREACH THIS - NUDGE YOUR NEIGHBOR AND SAY, “GOD LOVES YOU!”

Christian Standard Bible (Chapter 24)

6 “He is not here, but he has risen! Remember how he spoke to you when he was still in Galilee, 7 saying, ‘It is necessary that the Son of Man be betrayed into the hands of sinful men, be crucified, and rise on the third day’?” 8 And they remembered his words.

HE HAD TO GO.

HE HAD TO SUFFER.

HE HAD TO DIE.

BELIEVE THE WORD OF THE LORD...

HIS CRUCIFIXION EXPERIENCE WAS BOTH TO FULFILL THE PROPHECY AND TO FULFILL THE PROMISE - A PROMISE OF GOD’S LOVE - A PROMISE OF GOD’S PROVISIONS...

SEE THE EMPTY TOMB.

BELIEVE THE WORD OF THE LORD.

Christian Standard Bible (Chapter 24)

9 Returning from the tomb, they reported all these things to the Eleven and to all the rest.

TELL OTHERS WHAT YOU EXPERIENCED.

WE CANNOT RECEIVE THIS WONDERFUL GIFT OF SALVATION - OF DELIVERANCE - OF PURPOSE - AND NOT TELL OTHERS...

IF JESUS’ PRESENCE IN YOUR LIFE HAS DONE ANYTHING, YOU ARE DUTY-BOUND TO TELL THE WORLD!!

THESE WOMEN WERE THE FIRST PROCLAIMERS OF THE RISEN LORD...

THESE WOMEN WERE THE FIRST PEOPLE TO SAY, “HE IS RISEN AS HE SAID HE WOULD!”

THESE WOMEN HAD THE COURAGE TO TELL THE WORLD THAT JESUS DIED - DIDN’T HE DIE! HE DIED UNTIL THE SUN REFUSED TO SHINE. HE DIED UNTIL THE SOLDIER CRIED OUT SURELY, THIS MUST BE THE SON OF GOD…BUT EARLY…EARLY SUNDAY MORNING, HE GOT UP WITH ALL POWER...

POWER TO TRANSFORM YOUR LIFE...

POWER TO SAVE YOUR LONELY SOUL...

POWER TO GIVE YOU PURPOSE...

POWER TO GIVE YOU GRACE FOR YOUR GUILT.

PEACE FOR YOUR PAIN.

JOY FOR YOUR JOURNEY.

AND MERCY FOR YOUR MISERY...

POWER...

BELOVED, THERE IS AN EXPECTATION FROM GOD THAT HIS PEOPLE TELL OTHERS WHAT HE HAS DONE...