Alive, Risen, Lord

If you have your Bibles with you today, turn with me to the Gospel of -- put a mark there ... THEN turn to and let's read two accounts in those gospels.

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Matthew 27:57–28:7 CSB

When it was evening, a rich man from Arimathea named Joseph came, who himself had also become a disciple of Jesus. He approached Pilate and asked for Jesus’s body. Then Pilate ordered that it be released. So Joseph took the body, wrapped it in clean, fine linen, and placed it in his new tomb, which he had cut into the rock. He left after rolling a great stone against the entrance of the tomb. Mary Magdalene and the other Mary were seated there, facing the tomb. The next day, which followed the preparation day, the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered before Pilate and said, “Sir, we remember that while this deceiver was still alive he said, ‘After three days I will rise again.’ So give orders that the tomb be made secure until the third day. Otherwise, his disciples may come, steal him, and tell the people, ‘He has been raised from the dead,’ and the last deception will be worse than the first.” “You have a guard of soldiers,” Pilate told them. “Go and make it as secure as you know how.” They went and secured the tomb by setting a seal on the stone and placing the guard. After the Sabbath, as the first day of the week was dawning, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to view the tomb. There was a violent earthquake, because an angel of the Lord descended from heaven and approached the tomb. He rolled back the stone and was sitting on it. His appearance was like lightning, and his clothing was as white as snow. The guards were so shaken by fear of him that they became like dead men. The angel told the women, “Don’t be afraid, because I know you are looking for Jesus who was crucified. He is not here. For 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 indeed he is going ahead of you to Galilee; you will see him there.’ Listen, I have told you.”

John 20:24–29 CSB

But Thomas (called “Twin”), one of the Twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. So the other disciples were telling him, “We’ve seen the Lord!” But he said to them, “If I don’t see the mark of the nails in his hands, put my finger into the mark of the nails, and put my hand into his side, I will never believe.” A week later his disciples were indoors again, and Thomas was with them. Even though the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.” Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here and look at my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Don’t be faithless, but believe.” Thomas responded to him, “My Lord and my God!” Jesus said, “Because you have seen me, you have believed. Blessed are those who have not seen and yet believe.”

Who is Jesus Christ?

I typed that in Google search and came up with over 400,000,000 results. That was too much, so I typed it in the BING search engine and came up with 198,000,000 results. That was more managable so after I got finished reading all of those, I was confused and didn’t have any time left to study for today, so I guess we will go home now and get something to eat.

Well, I’ll tell you what, if Jesus IS who some say he is, then we really SHOULD just dismiss go home and eat, and I’ll come back to the church building tomorrow and we’ll clean it out, board up the doors and windows and put the place up for sale.

If Jesus is who they say he is, then I should go back to Teaching Golf, or get a job playing music somewhere, or go into advertising or something. There’s nothing wrong with teaching golf, or playing music or anything else, but the point is that if Jesus is who some say he is, then I’m wasting my time in this profession and should go do something more worthwhile with my time and talents. If Jesus is who they say he is, then you are wasting a beautiful Spring morning here singing songs and listening to pretty platitudes.

Was Jesus a misunderstood man?

Was Jesus a liar? Was Jesus a Kook? A Lunatic? I don't think so

Some Say he was a Good Teacher. Was He a Good Teacher?

Well, you judge a teacher by what they teach. Yes, Jesus taught us to love, lay down our lives, to do unto others, to turn the other cheek. That is all good. But he also taught us that He was equal with God. He also taught that the only way to the Father, to Eternal Life, to hope and peace was through HIM ALONE.

So, if he isn’t God, if he doesn’t offer eternal life, if He is not the only way to God and Heaven, then he is NOT a good teacher … because that is what he taught, said, believed.

We have to decide who we believe Jesus to be.

Having watched “The Passion of the Christ” and having read the Biblical Accounts again several times this week, I was stricken by the different thoughts and desires of the main characters in this story …

Judas wanted him to be perhaps his ticket to money and notoriety

The disciples wanted him to be a new King as did many of his followers

Caiaphas wanted him to be quiet and stop causing a stir

Pilate wanted him to be someone else's problem

What do you want him to be?

Who do you want him to be?

Can I tell you what we need him to be today?

There are three words that are the REASON that I am Here today

These are the reasons that I committed my heart and life to Christ.

These are the reasons why I have committed my vocation and adult life to him

He is and was many things

He was a miraculously born baby

He is the Son of God

He was born in Bethlehem

He was raised in Nazareth

He was a carpenter’s son

He was oldest son to Mary and Joseph and thus head of the house after his Father died

He was a teacher

He was a miracle worker

He was revolutionary

But more than any of these things

I think these are three of the most significant things that we need him to be.

Who do we NEED Him to be?

Let me begin … he is not Dead he is …

1. Alive

there are many dead religious leaders

there are many dead teachers

there are many dead kings

The pyramids of Egypt are famous because they contain the mummified bodies of ancient Egyptian kings.

Westminster Abbey in London is renowned, because in it rest the bodies of English nobles and notables.

Mohammed's tomb is noted for the stone coffin and the bones which it contains.

Arlington Cemetery in Washington, D.C., is revered, for it is the honored resting place of many outstanding Americans.

There is, however, all the difference in the world between the tomb of Christ and these places which we have just mentioned. They are famous and draw visitors from afar because of what they contain; while the Garden Tomb is famous because it is empty.

Why would you want to pray to a dead god?

What can a dead god do for you?

Why would you follow the teachings of a dead god?

But it is recorded in of Jesus...

Acts 1:3 CSB

After he had suffered, he also presented himself alive to them by many convincing proofs, appearing to them over a period of forty days and speaking about the kingdom of God.

There are 11 accounts of Christ Alive AFTER his Crucifixion

Because he is alive, I too can live forever

Revelation 1:17–18 CSB

When I saw him, I fell at his feet like a dead man. He laid his right hand on me and said, “Don’t be afraid. I am the First and the Last, and the Living One. I was dead, but look—I am alive forever and ever, and I hold the keys of death and Hades.

I am here today because Jesus Christ is ALIVE

Revelation 1:17b CSB

When I saw him, I fell at his feet like a dead man. He laid his right hand on me and said, “Don’t be afraid. I am the First and the Last,

Revelation 1:17b CSB

When I saw him, I fell at his feet like a dead man. He laid his right hand on me and said, “Don’t be afraid. I am the First and the Last,

Revelation 1:18 CSB

and the Living One. I was dead, but look—I am alive forever and ever, and I hold the keys of death and Hades.

Revelation 1:18 CSB

and the Living One. I was dead, but look—I am alive forever and ever, and I hold the keys of death and Hades.

"Do not be afraid. I am the First and the Last. 18 I am the Living One; I was dead, and behold I am alive for ever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and Hades.

I am here today because Jesus Christ is ALIVE

But the important thing is HOW he came to be Alive … he is

2. Risen

"He is Risen" is more than just saying that he is ALIVE.

It is important to know that in God the Father we have a God who is a living God; and to know that Christ is living as well.

However it is more important to know that we have a RISEN Savior in Christ Jesus.

If he is RISEN that means that he Died!

If he is Risen that means he Faced death, experienced death, and BEAT death

What other potential God and Savior has beaten death?

What other teacher has beaten death?

I don't want some new age teaching that tells me how to "use" lives, rebirths, and deaths to finally achieve what I want in life.

I want a Savior who

arranged afterlife,

banished bereavement,

crushed casualty,

defeated darkness, and

eliminated extinction.

Because HE is risen, you and I need not fear death

Because He is risen we can be risen as well

The same power that raised him from the dead is available for all who believe

It is …

A. Resurrection Power

Ephesians 1:19–20 CSB

and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to the mighty working of his strength. He exercised this power in Christ by raising him from the dead and seating him at his right hand in the heavens—

Do you understand the Power that is available to us and is FOR us because He is Risen?

That word in is the Greek word “Dunamis” = power, strength, ability

1. inherent power residing by virtue of its nature which a person exerts

2. power for miracles

3. moral power and excellence

4. power and influence belonging to riches and wealth

5. power and resources arising from numbers

6. power consisting in or resting on armies, forces, hosts

It was the

B. Same Power Exerted on Christ …

to resurrect him from the Dead.

1. The Resurrection of Christ is the greatest single action of God's Power ever wrought on Earth

Markus Barth said

“If we are silent about the resurrection we are silent about God.”

2. And this great power according to is FOR US WHO BELIEVE

3. Can you think for a moment about the Power necessary to simply resuscitate life … <"Paddles" "Clear">

But that is only effective in the first few seconds after death

4. JESUS WAS DEAD!

>His heart was NOT pumping blood

>His lungs were NOT pumping O2

>His Brain was NOT functioning, brain cells were dead

>His Body was STIFF

HE WAS DEAD!

5. We are not talking about CPR Power here – a soldier pierced his side and blood and water flowed out telling us that his heart had ruptured breaking the fluid sack around it

6. We are NOT talking about something that is HUMANLY possible to resurrect him it took

C. God's Power - "dunamis"

1.it STOPPED the Decay and Death

2. Restored freshness to his skin - He even looked different - people didn't recognize him right away. Perhaps 33 years of wrinkles and the scars of living were GONE and he had the skin of a newborn, better than "BO-Tox"

3. Brought his brain cells back to function without the loss of cells or function / intelligence

4. Softened his muscles, tendons, ligaments and joints, Rigor Mortis was banished

5. O2 came in CO2 went out

6. Blood pumped through the Body

HE WAS AND REMAINS ALIVE

7. Can you FATHOM the Power that was exerted on the forces of the Natural Process in order to make this happen?

But not only Human Life, but also Restored him to Supernatural Power and Authority at the Right Hand of the Father, because God’s power is a

D. Surpassing / Incomparable Power

1. "huperballo" - surpassing

2. def - "to throw over or beyond anything."

>3. ILL - Bounce a Ball, Baseball, Basketball, Soccer ball, then SUPERBALL - The first time I bounced a Superball I had NEVER seen anything like that Before!

4. The Great Power FOR US has been thrown out past anything you have seen, known, heard of, experienced, called great, or powerful, or you have ever produced

Because he has risen death is NOT the end

Where has death invaded your life?

Bring it to the Risen one

Has your Hope died? He is Risen

Has your Marriage died? He is Risen

Has your Patience died? He is Risen

Has your Fire died? He is Risen

Has your Love for Life died? He is Risen

Let's stop making excuses in order to accept death, bring it to the Risen One

Even Death isn't death for those who have believed

John 11:25–26 CSB

Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me, even if he dies, will live. Everyone who lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?”

Luke 20:37–38 CSB

Moses even indicated in the passage about the burning bush that the dead are raised, where he calls the Lord the God of Abraham and the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob. He is not the God of the dead but of the living, because all are living to him.”

A man named Brown was hanged in Philadelphia many years ago. In ten minutes after he was legally dead he was resting on a table in the physiological laboratory. Around the table were three of the most famous physiologists of the scientific world. Could motion and life be restored to that inanimate body? Science waited anxiously for an answer to the question.

A sharp wire, charged with electricity, was applied to the various nerve centers of the body and brain. Brown raised first his right hand and then his left. His head moved. His mouth twitched in a convulsive grin. The cords of his neck swelled and the mouth opened as if he would complete his unfinished sentence on the scaffold. The hands drew up and then extended. Unceasingly the electric wire prodded center after center in the nervous organism. At a fresh touch from the plying needle the body sat upright. There seemed to be breath, for the respiratory organs were agitated. Would he walk? Would he talk?

Science was anxious; another stroke and it had found the secret of life. But placed on the floor, the body fell over limp-dead. Science had demonstrated wonders, but had failed to raise the dead.

Satan counterfeits life but Christ has Real Life

When the Garden Tomb was discovered in 1885, the godly General Gordon was convinced that this was the place where the body of Jesus had lain. There is a traditional tomb inside the wall of modern Jerusalem, but no certainty attaches to the site.

The Garden Tomb, hidden for centuries, was covered with rubbish twenty feet high. When they first cleared the spot, with great caution they gathered all the dust and debris within the tomb and carefully shipped it to the Scientific Association of Great Britain. Every part of it was analyzed, but there was no trace of human remains. If this is the real tomb of Christ, then Jesus was the first to be laid there and he was also the last.

1 Corinthians 15:20 CSB

But as it is, Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.

1 Corinthians 15:14–20 CSB

and if Christ has not been raised, then our proclamation is in vain, and so is your faith. Moreover, we are found to be false witnesses about God, because we have testified wrongly about God that he raised up Christ—whom he did not raise up, if in fact the dead are not raised. For if the dead are not raised, not even Christ has been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is worthless; you are still in your sins. Those, then, who have fallen asleep in Christ have also perished. If we have put our hope in Christ for this life only, we should be pitied more than anyone. But as it is, Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.

F. B. Meyer's explanation of in reminding us, "On the day that Jesus rose, the first-fruit sheaf of the barley harvest was being waved by the high priest in the temple, as the representative of the myriads that stood stacked amid the stubble of the fields. It was the specimen sheaf-representative, pattern, and pledge of all the rest.

So though they didn’t realize it, as the priests were waving the firstfruits in the temple, promising a bigger harvest of grain,

Jesus was himself the firstfruit for all of us who follow him and will also be resurrected to life in Christ

He is Alive, He is Risen, and people today he is …

3. Lord

We need him to be Lord

Don't get me wrong, God did a wonderful thing when he created us. He created us as the highest order of his creation. We are fearfully and wonderfully made.

There is no animal that is like man

There is no heavenly body that is like man

But, God did NOT make a mistake when he made us needful of him

He made us need him because he wanted us to choose him because He desired a relationship with us that was different than all of the rest of his creation.

He loves even the tiniest sparrow, and he cares for all of his creation …

… but he DIED for Mankind.

He loves man and he made us to need him.

It is NOT a weakness for you to need him to be Lord it is just a reality.

When He is Lord, obedience is the critical decision for us

Our only hope for success in life and peace in death is for Jesus to be Lord

C. S. Lewis came to the conclusion that Jesus cannot be just a good teacher, or a good man, or one of many possible ways to that we can choose in life.

Why? Because of who he claimed to be. He claimed to be equal with God. He said, "I and the Father are One". He said, "he who has seen me has seen the Father."

He said, "I am the way, the truth, and the life, no one comes to the Father except through me."

So, says Lewis, that only leaves us with 3 choices. He must then be either Liar, Lunatic or Lord

Caiaphas claimed him to be a blasphemous Liar

Herod thought he was just a lunatic

Pilate struggled not knowing what to think.

His wife told him that Jesus was an innocent man and he should leave him alone, but Pilate wanted him to be someone else's problem, he wanted to be neutral but you cannot be indifferent with regards to Jesus. Indifference is denial when it comes to Jesus

Who do you believe Jesus to be?

Is he a liar? Is he a lunatic, a misguided crazy man? Or, will you not only believe him to be, but also Receive him to be Lord? We cannot respond with indifference if He is Lord.

If He is Lord that Means he is King.

If he is King that means his Word is True and Must be Obeyed

If his Word is True, then it tells me that the Lord of lords and the King of kings is COMING

Are you Ready?

The King is Coming

The King Is Coming

The King is Coming are you ready?

He is

A - Almighty God; All Together Righteous;

B - Beautiful Savior; you Must Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ

The King is Coming

C - Commander of the Army of the Lord, Confess Your Sin; Consecrate Yourself;

D - Darling of Heaven; Deed Holder of Earth; Dispenser of mercy or judgment (the choice is yours)

The King is Coming

E - Elohim, El-Shaddai, El-Olam; Emancipator of Sin's Slaves

F - Fall at his Feet or Fear his Fire

G - Gloriously Appearing as Giver of Grace or Global Conqueror

H - Heaven's Harbinger of Hope,

I - Image of the Almighty, Icon of Forgiveness, Immanuel God with Us

J - Jerusalem's Savior, Judah's Lion

K - The Kinetic Energy of the Universe, Kingdom's King of kings,

L - Lord of lords, the Lamb of God,

M - Morning Star, Mighty God,

The King Is Coming

N - Nativity's Child of Bethlehem, Name above all Names, Nature's Creator

O -Omniscient, Omnipresent, Omnipotent, Only Begotten of God

P - Prince of Peace, Perfect in Purpose, Paragon of Obedience

The King is Coming

Q - Quest completed, Qualified to take the Throne, The Quintessential Truth

R - Rose of Sharon, Rock of Ages, Ruler of Heaven and Earth

S - Salvation in his Hand, Sanctuary of Believers, and the Scoffer's Nightmare

The King is Coming

T - Trumpets will sound, Tried and True, Trustworthy, Triumphant One

U - Unabated, Unapologetically with mercy in one hand and judgment in the other

V - Victorious and Valiant, vessel of grace, Vigorous, Vicarious, Vindicator

The King is Coming

W - White Horse Rider, War Wagon Leading, Wielding the Truth, Wisdom of the Ages

X - X-raying the heart of man, the X-intercept where Time meets eternity (look it up!)

The King is Coming

Y - Yet for Now there is still time, Yahweh continues to call you to himself

Z - Zealous for your Soul, Zion's Champion, The Zenith of all of History

That is Jesus

He is our KING

The King is Coming

Are you Ready?

Salvation is available to me because he is Lord

Peace reigns when he is Lord

Because Jesus is Lord, we have the right to become the children of God as we believe in him and make him Lord

Because he is Risen, death will not conquer me but just be a passageway into life that is really life

Because he is Alive, I too will live, even though I die

I've seen the majestic brilliant sun rise in glory pushing its way above the colorful rough God-cut walls of the Grand Canyon.

I've seen that same sun lay down to rest beyond the depths of the Mediterranean Sea’s waves.

I've seen the Eagle Soar over the brightest blue sky.

I've seen snow covered alps fill the horizon and the ice-covered jagged endless peaks of Greenland nearly reach the sky.

I’ve seen Eiffel Tower, and the Colosseum, Classic Paintings and Statues. But when that snow and ice have melted and filled the seas, and Towers and buildings crumble, when the Sun and the Moon no longer shine and the stars that light the night go out,

I will still be alive.

I will be in God's Presence, because

Jesus is Alive, Risen, and Lord!

The Empty Tomb had a message for the disciples and it does for us.

It says to science and philosophy, "Explain this event."

It says to history, "Repeat this event."

It says to time, “try to Blot out this event."

It says to faith, "Believe this event."

Of Christ it says "Embrace Him …

He is Alive!

He is Risen!

He is Lord!”

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