Still Amazing! (Luke 24.1-12)
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Transcript
But on the first day of the week, at early dawn, they came to the tomb, taking the spices that they had prepared.
They found the stone rolled away from the tomb,
but when they went in, they did not find the body.
While they were perplexed about this, suddenly two men in dazzling clothes stood beside them.
The women were terrified and bowed their faces to the ground, but the men said to them, “Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here, but has risen.
Remember how he told you, while he was still in Galilee,
that the Son of Man must be handed over to sinners, and be crucified, and on the third day rise again.”
Then they remembered his words,
and returning from the tomb, they told all this to the eleven and to all the rest.
Now it was Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and the other women with them who told this to the apostles.
But these words seemed to them an idle tale, and they did not believe them.
But Peter got up and ran to the tomb; stooping and looking in, he saw the linen cloths by themselves; then he went home, amazed at what had happened.
Intro:
Freedom........
......have you ever thought about the magnitude of your “Support Systems” ?
(pause)
meaning.....
......have you ever looked at what is supporting you and said,
WOW!
(pause)
And over the years……..
………I have had the opportunity to watch your lives supported in extraordinary ways!
(pause)
But that doesn’t mean that I have seen everything.........
………..and some of you may even be questioning the level of your suppotters
(pause)
But the one thing that I do know.......
.......is that because you showed up here today suggests that,
“SOMEONE........or SOMETHING......
.......IS SUPPORTING YOU!”
(pause)
And on this Resurrection Sunday in year 2022..........
When I consider all that Jesus Christ means to my life........
“I’m Still Amazed!”
(pause and expound)
Because.......
......in our best moments of supporting the people we love in our lives
(slight pause)
......we may give a lot!
(slight pause)
But when we think about what Jesus Christ means to our lives........
....God doesn’t just give “a lot”.........God gives us “Everything!”
(pause)
And support looks different..........
.........when you give “Everything!”
(pause)
Freedom.......
I don’t know if you realized this......
.......but I was unaware of the incredible amount of support that buildings and bridges received from what began as “The Roman Arch”
I pretty much took them for granted whenever I would see them.....
.......but now that I understand better
........everytime I see a Roman Arch on a structure I will immediately recognize its level of support!
And.......
......what I discovered is that the Central Feature of an arch is the Keystone.....
....or the wedge-shaped stone at the very top of the arch.
It’s the last stone placed during construction and it locks all the other stones of the arch into position.
The keystone bears almost no weight, but is the center of redirecting the weight of the structure down and outwards.
(pause)
And as I thought about this redirecting of the weight in order to keep buildings from collapsing......
.......I could not help but to give God glory
.........for all of the weight that gets “RE-Directed” in my life that keeps me from collapsing!
(pause)
1) I came to preach to some folk who are “STILL AMAZED” at how God keeps Re-Directing the weight!
2) I came to preach to some folk who didn’t know how it was happening, but you knew somebody had to be giving everything.........
........because the only way you don’t collapse under the weight that you been under
.......is if there is some MAJOR SUPPORT somewhere Redirecting some stuff!
(pause and expound on “giving Everything!”)
Look at it now.....
But on the first day of the week, at early dawn, they came to the tomb, taking the spices that they had prepared.
According to Luke’s Gospel......
Early on Sunday as the Sun begin stepping into the morning....
.....there are some women who are already up,and walking towards the tomb where they laid Jesus.
(pause)
And......
....as Mary Magdalene, Joanna, mary the mother of Jesus, and other women are approaching the tomb they are carrying perfumed ointment that fills the air with an aroma that is intended for the body of a King, a Son, and a Teacher....
(pause)
Look at it....
They found the stone rolled away from the tomb,
but when they went in, they did not find the body.
Luke says.....
When these 5 or more women arrive at Jesus’s tomb they discover that the stone has been rolled away.......
.........and not only that but the body that they were prepared to properly care for according to Jewish custom is missing from the tomb.
(pause)
And so.....
......it is in these two verses that we find the first areas of “Amazement” in this text.
(pause)
Because while Luke leaves us clueless to their conversation as they are walking to the tomb.....
Mark’s Gospel shares with us that these women are talking amongst themselves and trying to consider..........
“How are we going to move this stone out of the way in order to get to Jesus?”
(pause)
But when they finally arrive......
.....the stone that they would not have been able to move
.....is laying over on the ground completely out of the way.
(pause)
And before we just casually skip past these clues of support........
.......that appear in the lives of these women
........clothed in an action that I like to call “everything”
(pause)
Can we just talk about the fact of how.........
God is “Working”..........
......while we are “Wondering”
Because if we just tell the truth.....
Sometimes we walk up on stuff in our lives......
......and we have NO.......IDEA how it’s gonna work out!
(pause)
Freedom........
Have you ever walked up on something in your life without a FULL PLAN?
(longer pause)
And.......
Can we just examine the fact that.............
........God gives us the type of support that suggests
.......I’m not just going to do “a lot”
But......
......I’m going to use “Everything I need to use”
........to move your stones out of the way.
(slight pause)
So that when you show up...........
............you show up saying,
“God, I’m amazed!”
………..because you ain’t experienced this level of support until you have walked into something that’s already done and all you did was show up!
(pause and expound)
And……
Here’s what’s so powerful about these women showing up to this tomb.......
Because what they found.........
......was that the stone had been moved out of the way.
(slight pause)
But what they did not find.........
.......was the body of Jesus
(pause)
In other words.......
They found what they did not expect........
.....and they did not find what they did expect!
(pause)
And the bible says in verse 4.......
..........that this has left them AMAZED!
Look at it....
While they were perplexed about this, suddenly two men in dazzling clothes stood beside them.
According to the text.......
These women are “at a loss about all of this”...........
.......and they’re left there standing in amazement!
(pause)
Because......
They had not expected to find an empty tomb.....
Has someone stolen the body of Jesus.....
........all kinds of questions are running through their minds.
(pause)
And according to the text......
......right in the middle of their amazement.....
.......their experience begins to cresendo to another level of amazement when two angels that have been standing there the whole time just seem to show up out of nowhere!
(pause)
Luke’s words......
.....are intentional to describe that they are men....
......but then he says,
what they were wearing was “Dazzling.”
(pause)
And.....
I’ve never been in a tomb.......
.....but I would imagine that if we were to walk inside of a tomb it would be consumed with darkness...
(pause)
Luke says.......
.......even in a dark tomb
.......there was a light that was shining in darkness!
(pause)
There’s so much I could talk about right here......
But what stands out most to me is the fact that.....
....these two men that appeared to these women in this dark tomb
......are identified as ordinary men
But......
........are covered with an angelic anointing
(pause)
And Freedom.......
......I believe that we ought not get so desensitized to the anointing showing up!!
(pause)
Some might call me Old School......
.....but I don’t ever want to get to the point
.....where God can’t amaze me with somebody that’s ordinary
......and at the same time covered with an Annointing!
(pause)
And the bible says.......
......that these men who appeared
......stood out in this empty tomb!
(pause)
Look at it now.....
The women were terrified and bowed their faces to the ground, but the men said to them, “Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here, but has risen.
......As the women in the text are bowing in Amazement these angels have a question........
“Why are you seeking (the one) who is living...
....among the dead?”
(pause)
And what strikes me as extraordinary right here is that.......
.....these angels are “AMAZED” at the AMAZEMENT of these women!
(pause)
The angels basically said.....
“Why are you looking for Jesus in a dead place?”
(slight pause)
And in my spiritual imagination.....
I hear them asking,
Why are you expecting Jesus to be here …………..this morning?
Yall should have came here Friday night, or sometime on Saturday....
But........
.......TODAY is SUNDAY!!!
Don’t you know where HE is!!!
(pause)
And....
....some of us are looking for Jesus to be in places that we think are in control of everything......
.......and that’s where we have lost our amazement
We have left our Amazement in dead places!
(pause)
But.......
......the problem with that is when Jesus shows up somewhere in a dead place
.......that tries to control God’s POWER
.......Jesus BREAKS OUT!
(pause)
And.......
.....I don’t know who I’m preaching to
....and I don’t know what you think is in control of your life
(pause)
But Jesus told the disciples in John 14.13
I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son.
And in my spiritual imagination....
I see these angels trying to figure out......
.....the level of expectation of these women who are standing at this tomb....
(pause)
Because in their minds.........
(watch this)
......your EXPECTATION is in the WRONG place!
Addictions amaze you
Failure amazes you
What you lost amazes you
What you can’t handle amazes you
Sickness amazes you
(slight pause)
But somewhere........
.....standing there next to you is an anointed voice speaking back to you saying,
“Raise your EXPECTATION!”
(pause and expound)
But Pastor......
......you don’t know where I’m standing
.....you don’t know what I’m looking at.
(pause)
Watch this.....
Because these women at the tomb are probably thinking the same thing right about now......
Until.....
....these angels said to them......
“He is not here......
......but has been Raised!
(pause)
If He was still in here.........
......in this tomb
.....than you would have a reason to lower your expectation!
.....you could give authority and control back to all of those things
......that show up in your life that you don’t like
(slight pause)
But.........
.....because “He” is not here
.......stop giving control to a dead place!
and…
…….stop giving more power than is deserved to an empty tomb!
(slight pause)
.....YOUR expectation
.....has been RAISED!
(pause)
And the reason.....
......our expectation gets too low
....is because we become so focused on our “NOW”
(slight pause)
......that we lose sight of the fact that our “NOW” .......
......is not able to completely contain our “NEXT!”
Our Now holds moments……
……..but Our Next holds lifetimes!
(pause and expound on Jesus being relevant from that cross……to this year 2022)
And this is where I see these angels
........RAISING the Expectation of these women
(pause)
Resurrection will do that!
......when death seems to be in control
.......Resurrection says,
Get ready to “BE AMAZED”
Because.....
I’m getting ready to.......
“Bring it back to life!”
(pause)
Everybody thought it was too late for me to be God in your life.........
But they don’t know your God!
........your God has Resurrecting POWER!!!
(pause)
Look at it now......
Remember how he told you, while he was still in Galilee,
that the Son of Man must be handed over to sinners, and be crucified, and on the third day rise again.”
The angels said.........
What did God say?
What is the truth that God spoke into your life?
(pause)
In other words......
You.....DO NOT......
.......have to accept what you see, and the way you see it
You just got to.......
.....accept what you see
......the way God sees it!
(pause and expound)
.....when you step into your tomblike experiences
.....ask yourself the question,
“How does God see this?”
(pause)
And in verse 7 I hear these angels saying......
Jesus explained how God sees it,
......when he talked about how he was going to die on a Cross
......and then how he would get up from the dead on the third day!
(pause)
And the bible says in verse 8.......
“And they remembered His words”
(pause)
In other words.....
A memory showed up in their minds.......
(slight pause)
And sometimes Freedom.....
When life is happening so fast........
We need a MEMORY to show up holding “Everything God is Supporting!”
(pause and expound)
And the bible says in verses 9 and 10........
This group of “AMAZED” women went back and told the rest of the disciples how Jesus was not in the tomb.......
.......and how the angels had reminded them of the Words of Jesus.
(pause)
And in verse 11 the text says....
But these words seemed to them an idle tale, and they did not believe them.
The bible says......
When these women showed up with this “AMAZING” story..........
.....when they told the rest of the disciples
(pause)
The disciples said..........
“This sounds like....
.........Nonsense!”
(slight pause)
.........when they heard something that was AMAZING
.......they called it NONSENSE!!!
(pause)
And because it sounded like NONSENSE to them......
.......the bible says,
.....that they chose NOT to believe!
(pause)
And I don’t know if you have ever had.....
.....an AMAZING TESTIMONY
....but nobody believed you
(pause)
But watch this.......
Because I believe that
“NONSENSE.........
......is good Miracle Making Material!”
[Optional Barrel - Cousin Lonnie being discharged healthy/healed on the same day he was supposed to have surgery]
(pause)
And I don’t know about you........
But my whole life has been full of what folk would call.....
“NONSENSE!”
(pause)
And the whole time they’re screaming.......
“NONSENSE”
(pause)
I’m shouting back............
“I’m STILL AMAZED!”
Because God keeps throwing everything I need……….
……to keep me from collapsing!
(pause)
Here it is! (Come on Rod and DJ)
But Peter got up and ran to the tomb; stooping and looking in, he saw the linen cloths by themselves; then he went home, amazed at what had happened.
The bible says.........
Out of everybody!
(pause)
The only one who got up was..............
(pause)
Good old.........
......Water walking Peter!
.......Ear cutting off Peter!
.......3 time denying Peter!
(slight pause)
..........that Peter
…………..in my spiritual imagination said,
“I can’t help it!”
“......I’m too curious to just sit here”
........I got to get up and go see for myself!!!
(pause)
And as Peter gets to this tomb.........
......I don’t care what nobody say
......all I can hear Peter saying with tears in his eyes is,
“I’m STill AMAZED!”
(pause)
And I wonder if there’s anybody in this place that feels like Peter.........
........because even after you denied
........and even after you were delivered
(slight pause)
.......even after all of your miracles
........even after all of your mistakes
(slight pause)
.......and even after all of your success
..........even after all of your shortcomings
(slight pause)
.........just like those Roman “ARCHES”
.......instead of collapsing under the weight!
.....The Chief Cornerstone
Redirects the weight that we can’t handle……….
(pause)
God is still opening doors for us!
God is still healing us!
God is still delivering us!
God is still sustaining us!
God is still SUPPORTING us!
(pause)
Is there anybody in here.........
.......that’s
“STILL AMAZED!”
Yea.............
........Friday he stayed there
........Saturday he stayed there
But......
.......Early Sunday Morning........
(pause)
....and I’m STILL AMAZED!