The Greatest Day Ever!
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Introduction:
Today as believers - we celebrate one of the greatest days that there is --- the day that Christ rose from the grave! We started the service off with Rise Again, then we sang together, Christ The Lord Is Risen Today, and then we followed that with Alleluia! Alleluia! Then three in a roll - He Lives, I Live, He Is Lord. Then the choir sang a beautiful praise - Oh Praise The Name. Today as we gather in this place - we celebrate the FACT that Christ indeed rose from the dead. All over the world there are people celebrating this amazing day.
This morning I want to challenge all of us to understand and grasp that Jesus did in fact rise from grave. He is alive today and one day, a day unknown to us, He will come again and rapture the church. Jesus born to us a virgin; live a sinless life on this earth; died a cruel death on a cross to pay for my sin; and now resurrected --- alive and waiting to return and rapture the church! Truly amazing to think about!!!
What if, this were the last Easter every celebrated? In other words what if - Jesus chose a day this next year to return? Would you be okay? You see for the believers here we are okay with Jesus’ return. It is going to be an amazing day - a day when we begin a journey with Christ that is never ending.
In we are going to see 5 reasons that this day that we celebrate as Easter is the greatest day ever!
The Miracle
The Miracle
After the Sabbath, at dawn on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to look at the tomb.
There was a violent earthquake, for an angel of the Lord came down from heaven and, going to the tomb, rolled back the stone and sat on it.
His appearance was like lightning, and his clothes were white as snow.
The guards were so afraid of him that they shook and became like dead men.
I believe it is important this morning for us to realize the miracle here and the purpose of the miracle. Many think that the stone was rolled away to let Jesus out. But we know better, this happened so that those around could see that Jesus had risen.
We know from studies that the opening for the borrowed tomb was nearly big enough to walk through without stooping. That being the case it would take a stone 5 to 6 feet in diameter to cover it. On top of that the stone was rolled into a groove that rolled to the deepest point - covering the tomb. We’re told that a large round stone about a foot thick was placed in the track when the tomb was built and blocked the large stone to keep the entrance open. After the Lord was placed in the tomb the block was removed allowing the stone to be rolled down the incline and dropped into the indentation to cover the opening and lock the stone in place.
We’re told that a large round stone about a foot thick was placed in the track when the tomb was built and blocked to keep the entrance open.
After the Lord was placed in the tomb the block was removed allowing the stone to be rolled down the incline and dropped into the indentation to cover the opening and lock the stone in place.
It would have taken several men a considerable amount of time to dislodge the stone and open the tomb. Have you ever decided that you would like a stone placed in your yard for decorations or maybe as a stone of remembrance? Many, many years ago, when I was a young man - we took our youth from FBC Lockney to camp at Silvercliff, Colorado. The place comes by its name very honestly - as the backdrop to the whole camp is a huge mountain that shines in the sun like silver. Beside the huge mountain there were chunks of this mountain that had fallen off over the years. Well Friday was coming and an idea hits me! We need to take a piece of this mountain home with us - “a rock of remembrance” one might say. Well I believe in the saying - good big or go home - so here we go trying to hoist this small boulder into the back of the trailer. It was maybe 3’ in diameter. After lots of sweat and cuts and smashed fingers we were able to move in about two feet - 1 foot to the trailer and 1 foot up into the trailer. As we are driving home - one of the students ask me where I was putting the stone. I told them in the youth room - to which they reminded me that it was upstairs. 34 years later - guess where that stone still sits - upstairs in the youth room at FBC Lockney - people to this day who have come after me - wonder how did this rock get there?
This morning we need to understand that God moved that stone so that those around could see and begin to understand that Jesus had indeed risen. It was one of those miracles to allow people to see the truth revealed.
The Message
The Message
The angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified.
So instead, the earthquake happened and the stone was moved so that those around could see and begin to understand that Jesus had indeed risen.
Matthew 28:
He is not here; he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay.
Then go quickly and tell his disciples: ‘He has risen from the dead and is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him.’ Now I have told you.”
Matthew
Listen to the words of the angel...
Do not be afraid
I know you are looking for Jesus
He is not here - He has risen - JUST AS HE SAID
See where he lay
Go tell the disciples that He has risen - there you will see Him.
Jesus was risen from the dead and the disciples needed to be told of this thing. Today the message is the same, we need to let those around us know that ...
they don’t have to be afraid - the angel’s message was don’t be afraid. Today we should be helping people come to Christ, making that road to Him smooth as possible. Jesus desires to have a relationship with you - there is no reason to be afraid.
but they can find Jesus.
You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.
they can trust in the things Christ says - he said He would rise from the dead - it should not shock us that he did, it should not bewilders us, this is the Son of God that we are talking about! We trust certain things and then tend to question others. For example...
We trust in His love for us - but we question the reality of the resurrection.
We believe in His faithfulness - but can’t understand how the stone was moved.
We love the forgiveness that He provides - but we struggle with people witnessing Him alive after his death
Today you can trust in Christ and know that everything He says - will come to be!
The message this morning is simple - Christ came into this world by means of a virgin, He lived a life that is beyond perfect, He taught and loved people, He was crucified and He died for the sins of the world, then in 3 days He rose from the dead - completely amazing! Now one day He will return and He will take all those who have trusted in Him with Him. Would you hear the message - He has risen - He is alive today!
The Manifestation
The Manifestation
Matthew 28:
So the women hurried away from the tomb, afraid yet filled with joy, and ran to tell his disciples.
Suddenly Jesus met them. “Greetings,” he said. They came to him, clasped his feet and worshiped him.
Then Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid. Go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee; there they will see me.”
Matthew 28:
I love this - Christ made himself known to these women and what do they do? He says - Hello - the response of the women is that they come to Him, fall to His feet, and they worship Him!
Now listen to Luke’s account of the same event and how the men responded...
When they came back from the tomb, they told all these things to the Eleven and to all the others.
It was Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and the others with them who told this to the apostles.
But they did not believe the women, because their words seemed to them like nonsense.
Luke
The difference is huge - the women worshipped Him - and the men thought it to be some nonsense! I wonder today as we sit and we attempt to engage in the worship of our Savior - do more of us desire to
fall to our faces and worship Him or
do we simply check it off of our list of to dos and write it off as nonsense
now before this upsets you - let me ask you what consumes your mind as we worship
are you thoughts completely on all that Christ has done and is doing in your life
are you still hung up on one of the songs that Clifford sang that did not please you
are you sitting here wondering what you will have for lunch
maybe you are concerned about the time more than you are concerned about the message
are we here this morning to WORSHIP THE ONE TRUE GOD or is this simply some nonsense that you go through every week to make people think you are the christian you are supposed to be.
Jesus died from you - He then rose from the dead - He appeared to many, many people --- is that deserving of our worship / or is it simply nonsense?
The Misinformation
The Misinformation
Matthew
While the women were on their way, some of the guards went into the city and reported to the chief priests everything that had happened. When the chief priests had met with the elders and devised a plan, they gave the soldiers a large sum of money,
Matthew 28:
telling them, “You are to say, ‘His disciples came during the night and stole him away while we were asleep.’ If this report gets to the governor, we will satisfy him and keep you out of trouble.”
Matthew 28:
So the soldiers took the money and did as they were instructed. And this story has been widely circulated among the Jews to this very day.
So here is what is going on at this point. You have a group of women working their way through the city, looking for the disciples the good news that Jesus was alive. On the other side you have the religious leaders devising a plan to cover up the resurrection. It seems as though anytime you are devising a plan and you give someone large amounts of money - it usually makes for a crooked scheme and that is exactly what has happened.
So what do we do today with the information that we have and with our understanding of all that Christ did for us. Well you would think it would be simple - that we as believers would make every aspect of Christ known - His Birth; His life; His death; His resurrection; and His return --- but we all have choice that we will make.
Some will believe - and as a result make the news known to every one we possibly can.
Others will choose to deny the truth - they will either deny that any of it ever happened or like many they will try and explain the impossibilities of it all. What this group forgets is that nothing is impossible for God.
Today if you are here and you have been searching for answers and you are checking out this whole Jesus approach - could I be one to tell you that while it might be difficult to process - it absolutely happened just as the scripture talks about. Don’t allow someone to confuse you with lies or cover ups created by the world that we live in. CHRIST WAS BORN FOR YOU; HE DIED FOR YOU; HE ROSE AND CONQUERED DEATH FOR US; AND ONE DAY HE WILL RETURN AND RAPTURE ALL THOSE WHO BELIEVE!
The Mandate
The Mandate
Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go.
Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted.
Matthew 28:
When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted.
Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.
Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,
and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”
We need to see that the call of God on our lives as believers is to reach the world with the Gospel. It is not the job of anyone other than those who have trusted Christ as their Lord and Savior!
It started with the 11 who met with Jesus on the mountain side. And it has been handed down from them to those of us who have come after them. In verse 18 the words are - Therefore go and make disciples of all nations! It is a mandate from the Lord that has been handed down to you and to me. Far too many take the words of Jesus as a suggestion --- but it is so much more than that.
As believer it is a(n)
obligation / order / directive / command - to share the news of Jesus with the world around us
for way too long we have neglected our responsibility as individuals and as the church.
We sometimes neglect - thinking little or no harm done - but in reality what we share and who we proclaim will determine the course of eternity for many. The mandate is clear and I have tried to make that clear as well. We have our purpose - it is this - Very Simply…Love Works; Love God, Love People, Make Disciples.
We will each choose to fulfill the mandate for our lives --- or ignore it and hope everything works out in the end!