The Living Hope: How the Resurrection Restores and Sends Us

[00:00:00] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_01]
[00:00:00] The Lord is risen. Amen. Good to see you all here for this sunrise service even though the sun has already come up and we had to move in here but it's good to have you all here and we praise the Lord for his salvation for us, for going to the cross, for enduring the cross so that he could pay for our sins since we
[00:00:31] eternal life and so we we praise him that the lord jesus is alive forever amen all right our call to worship this morning is from first corinthians 15 1-10 it's printed in the bulletin and on the on the screen as well moreover brethren i declare unto you the gospel which i preached
[00:01:10] Unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand.
[00:01:19] By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain.
[00:01:28] For I delivered unto you, first of all, that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the Scriptures,
[00:01:43] and that he was seen of Cephas, or of Peter, then of the twelve.
[00:01:48] After that he was seen of above five hundred brethren at once, of whom the greater part remain unto this present, but some are fallen asleep.
[00:02:00] After that, he was seen of James, then of all the apostles.
[00:02:06] And last of all, he was seen of me also as of one born out of due time.
[00:02:13] For I am the least of the apostles that am not meet to be called an apostle because I persecuted the church of God.
[00:02:25] But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace which was bestowed upon me was not in vain, but I labored more abundantly than they all.
[00:02:36] This is from the Apostle Paul and what the Lord had given to him of Christ's resurrection, since he was not a witness, but the Lord revealed this to him.
[00:02:49] Let's look to the Lord in prayer.
[00:02:50] oh Lord God we do thank you this Easter morning Lord that we are able to praise you in your power in your love for us and in your great mercy toward us Lord that you endured the cross that you scored it shame that you rose this
[00:03:14] morning almost 2,000 years ago and Lord that you proclaim victory over sin and over death and Lord we thank you for the scriptures Lord we thank you that there is so much evidence that is there that that that all of these things happen by
[00:03:37] so many eyewitnesses and Lord that that you call us to to believe in you to trust in you to follow you and to give our hearts to you and so lord we we again praise you for your
[00:03:53] resurrection that you that you the lord jesus are the risen lord and lord that as we believe in you that we will have the same life that you have and we will have the assurance that we will be with
[00:04:10] you forever and live with you forever forever worshiping you so Lord we ask that you would be with us now that you would open our hearts by the Holy Spirit and Lord that you would again teach us the gospel the good news of Jesus Christ
[00:04:28] for with without this day of the resurrection there is no good news but Lord we praise you that that you are alive and Lord that your good news applies to us we ask that you would be with us now we pray these things in your
[00:04:46] great name Lord Jesus as as well as the prayer that you taught your disciples saying our Father which art in heaven hallowed be thy name thy kingdom come thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven give us this day our daily bread
[00:05:07] and forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors and lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil for thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever amen our first hymn is Christ arose it's number 298 in the hymn

[00:05:28] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_00]
[00:05:28] book and will be on the screens as well let's stand and sing this together you

[00:07:52] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_01]
[00:07:52] may be seated our scripture this morning is from Mark 16 verses 1 through 20 also to just wanted to say I'm sure everybody's probably aware but in a celebrating the Lord's Supper it's going to be done at 1045 if you're able to
[00:08:14] stay for that that would be great but we do have breakfast after after this and and hope that you will stay for that also.
[00:08:25] So in Mark 16, 1 through 20, the title of the message is, He is risen, He is not here, in what the angel said to the women as they came to the tomb.
[00:08:41] So hear now the reading of God's Word.
[00:08:43] And when the Sabbath was passed, Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of James and Salome had brought sweet spices that they might come and anoint him.
[00:08:58] Very early in the morning, the first day of the week, they came to the sepulcher at the rising of the sun.
[00:09:05] And they said among themselves, Who shall roll us away the stone from the door of the sepulcher?
[00:09:13] And when they looked, they saw that the stone was rolled away, for it was very great.
[00:09:17] And entering into the sepulcher, they saw a young man sitting on the right side, clothed in a long white garment, and they were affrighted.
[00:09:28] And he saith unto them, Do not be affrighted.
[00:09:31] Ye seek Jesus of Nazareth, which was crucified.
[00:09:36] He is risen. He is not here.
[00:09:39] Behold the place where they laid him.
[00:09:41] But go your way, tell his disciples and Peter that he goeth before you into Galilee, There shall ye see him as he said unto you.
[00:09:53] And they went out quickly and fled from the sepulcher, for they trembled and were amazed.
[00:09:59] Neither said they anything to any man, for they were afraid.
[00:10:05] Now when Jesus was risen early the first day of the week, he appeared first to Mary Magdalene, out of whom he had cast seven devils.
[00:10:14] and she went and told them that had been with him as they mourned and wept and they when they had heard that he was alive and had been seen of her believed not after that he appeared in another form unto two of them as they walked and they went into the country
[00:10:37] and they went and told it unto the residue or to the other disciples neither believed they them.
[00:10:47] Afterward, he appeared unto the eleven as they sat at meat and upbraided them with their unbelief and hardness of heart because they believed not them which had seen him after he was risen.
[00:11:07] And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature.
[00:11:12] He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved, but he that believeth not shall be damned.
[00:11:21] And these signs shall follow them that believe.
[00:11:24] In my name shall they cast out devils, they shall speak with new tongues, they shall take up serpents, and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them.
[00:11:35] And they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover.
[00:11:39] So then after the Lord had spoken unto them, he was received up into heaven and sat on the right hand of God.
[00:11:49] And they went forth and preached everywhere, the Lord working with them and confirming the word with signs following. Amen.
[00:12:00] And so we see these faithful women who were going to anoint the body of the Lord Jesus.
[00:12:15] their beloved Savior their beloved Lord they were going in mourning and in sadness they might have heard that Jesus saying that he was going to be killed at the hands of the chief priests and the elders and the third day he was going to
[00:12:35] rise again but they they they probably weren't thinking that they were caught in the moment of what was reality at the time and they were going in sadness and sorrow to the tomb but put yourself in their place if you can and imagine what
[00:12:59] you would what you would feel what you would think if the stone was rolled away well they might not be filled with joy yet there's more more surprise more of hey what's going on here something's not right but they weren't feeling sorrow at
[00:13:20] that moment and then to i mean because they were just discussing hey you know who who who's going to roll a stone away for us in their in their love and devotion for jesus to go into an anoint his
[00:13:36] body as was the custom and put myrrh and aloe and spices upon his body a hundred pounds had already been put on on friday when they buried him but in them going to do that they hadn't even thought
[00:13:51] who's gonna roll the stone away until they were on the way and it was like the Lord was answering them like I'm so glad you asked that because it's already been done in Matthew we hear that that an angel comes and takes it and rolled the
[00:14:08] stone away now in in my mind how I like to picture that I don't know that it happened this way an angel just took that stone and just slung it you know maybe he did maybe he rolled it away maybe he was more careful it doesn't really matter but it's it's
[00:14:22] a good mental image but as the women come to the tomb to see what was going on they came to the sepulcher you know i'm not saying you have to do this now try saying that three times fast you know
[00:14:38] that's only in the king james took me a long time to learn that word okay sepulcher all right so they come to the sepulcher and they see a young man sitting on the right side clothed in a long
[00:14:50] white garment. And they were scared. They were fearful. And what does that young man or this angel say to them? He says, do not be afraid. You seek Jesus of Nazareth who was crucified.
[00:15:09] he is risen he is not here says behold the place where he laid now the great thing in the the harmony of the Gospels is that even though that they might have a different number you know one gospel writer has one one has two one has young
[00:15:31] men one has angels okay there were two angels okay just at at the end of it that is what happened and each gospel writer chose to include either one or two that really doesn't matter because they all say the same thing for what
[00:15:49] these angels say and this ain't this angel who was speaking tells them but go your way tell his disciples and Peter that he goeth before you into Galilee there ye shall see him as he said unto you now they're actually going to see him before Galilee
[00:16:12] but Galilee is is where in Matthew 28 mentioned here in Mark 2 is is is where Jesus gave them the great commission this is probably where there were 500 people at once who heard him that is probably
[00:16:31] one of the greatest arguments in the validity and the certainty that the resurrection happened do you know how hard it is to get 500 people to tell the same thing that they saw jesus that he was
[00:16:44] alive i mean that should show us that should show the world if nothing else that christ is alive but it's a great fact that is there and that is that was confirmed and so why do
[00:17:02] you think that the angel said tell his disciples and Peter what's the last thing that Peter was recorded as doing denying Jesus at his trial on Friday early Friday morning Jesus says before the rooster crows you will deny me three
[00:17:25] times and then in Luke we have when that rooster crows Jesus turns and looks right at Peter I mean that's why I said tell Peter because he wanted them to let Peter know that there was forgiveness that they're there there could be
[00:17:50] forgiveness if there was repentance and that the Lord still loved Peter I mean because Jesus tells him before he denies him he says in Luke he says Satan has asked to sift you as wheat what does that mean means that that the devil was
[00:18:09] asking the Lord to take Peters heart like jello and do whatever he wanted to so that Peter would deny him but Jesus says but I have prayed for you and when you come back to me, you will lead your brothers in declaring Christ's resurrection. I mean,
[00:18:33] beautiful picture of redemption. It is never too late to be saved. It is never too, I mean, it is never too late for someone to come. But once this life is over, it is too late.
[00:18:48] This is why we preach the resurrection. This is why we proclaim the good news.
[00:18:54] then in verse 8 says and when they went out they fled from the sepulcher for they trembled and were amazed neither said they anything to any man for they were afraid now what we know from the other Gospels and even from later in
[00:19:11] chapter 16 that might be how they felt at first and then they reconsidered and went and told the disciples just shows how scared they were for what was happening but Matthew gives us some insight into this so in Matthew 28 8
[00:19:31] through 10 says they the women departed quickly from the sepulcher with fear and with great joy and did run to bring his disciples word and as they went to tell his disciples behold Jesus met them saying all hail and they came and held
[00:19:49] him by the feet and worshiped him then said jesus unto them do not be afraid go tell my brethren that they go into galilee and there shall they see me so jesus is directly telling them to do
[00:20:04] it and we know from all all the accounts even from later here in mark that they obeyed that and they went and they told the disciples that's not to say that the disciples believed it at first
[00:20:15] either no one expected for Jesus to rise from the dead even though he had clearly told them even though you hear that every Sunday it still could be a struggle in the human heart but this is why we are here this is why we are
[00:20:35] proclaiming the truth and the truth of the Scriptures that he is alive that Jesus wants to be your Lord he wants to save you and take your sin away and to give you eternal life so that as he is alive now you can be alive with him forever let's move on
[00:20:59] here to uh mark 16 verse 9 so this is kind of where mark gives the conclusion for his gospel he kind of ties everything together and he he wraps it up and he actually quotes the other
[00:21:17] what he doesn't quote he says what happened in the other gospel accounts as well so it's a very beautiful thing in verse 9 now when jesus had risen early the first day of the week he appeared
[00:21:31] first to mary magdalene out of whom he had cast seven devils so she had been possessed with seven demons and he cast them out and she was was one of his most faithful followers of this group of women
[00:21:47] because of how he had delivered her and redeemed her.
[00:21:52] And she's like, I am going to live for him because of what he has done for me.
[00:21:56] A great example to all of us in faithfully following Christ.
[00:22:04] And she went and told them that had been with him as they mourned and wept.
[00:22:08] And we see this in John 20.
[00:22:10] John only mentions Mary, even though it's a group of women that went.
[00:22:15] And Mary sees the stone rolled away and she bolts.
[00:22:18] and goes and tells the disciples.
[00:22:22] And then Peter and John run to the tomb and see that it is empty.
[00:22:28] Peter's scratching his head thinking, well, not quite sure what happened.
[00:22:31] Says John saw and believed, even though he didn't know how all the details work together.
[00:22:38] And then of course, Jesus appears to them on Sunday night after on the resurrection Sunday.
[00:22:47] All right, verse 11.
[00:22:48] and they, when they had heard that he was alive and had been seen of her, believed not.
[00:22:54] And we see this in almost all the gospel accounts that at first, that the men did not believe the women.
[00:23:01] They're just overcome with grief.
[00:23:05] They should have listened.
[00:23:08] After that, he appeared in another form unto two of them as they walked and went into the country.
[00:23:15] I'm sure Pastor Joseph, he is preaching on Luke 24, so he'll probably pick up on this He's preaching the whole chapter, but this is talking about the two people on the road to Emmaus.
[00:23:27] Could be two men, could have been a husband and a wife.
[00:23:29] We know that one of them was Cleopas, and so it could be his wife Mary who is mentioned in these accounts being at the cross, going to the tomb.
[00:23:40] And so Jesus masked himself.
[00:23:44] It says here he had a different form, But in Luke, it says he kept them from seeing him, from realizing that it was him.
[00:23:52] And so he acts like a stranger to Jerusalem.
[00:23:56] He asked, he says, hey, what are you guys talking about?
[00:24:01] And they're like, haven't you been around?
[00:24:04] There's been all kind of things happening.
[00:24:05] They're like, what things?
[00:24:07] They go through and they say, we had thought that Jesus was going to be the Messiah, but we don't know now.
[00:24:14] It says, and even three days after his death, we hear some reports that he was risen, but we still don't know that.
[00:24:23] And then it says, Jesus, he rebuked them gently, said, how slow of heart you are to believe all the things the Scriptures say about me, or about the Christ.
[00:24:36] And he opened the Scriptures to them and shared all this, and they were like, wow, this is great, we want more.
[00:24:42] So they asked him to stay for supper.
[00:24:45] He acted like he was going to keep going.
[00:24:48] And so they went in, and they led him as the guest to bless the bread and to break it.
[00:24:54] And then he took the film off of their eyes so they could see him.
[00:25:00] And then he disappeared.
[00:25:02] And then those two people ran back to Jerusalem to tell the disciples and said, The Lord is risen indeed, which is where we get those saying, The Lord is risen, the Lord is risen indeed.
[00:25:16] And so that's kind of that story there.
[00:25:21] Verse 13, And they went and told it unto the residue, that's just such a weird word, to the rest of the disciples.
[00:25:29] Neither believed them they.
[00:25:31] Afterwards, and like right after that, he appeared unto the eleven.
[00:25:35] Jesus appeared to the eleven disciples there.
[00:25:38] Now it says 12 in 1 Corinthians, and that's because the man who replaced Judas, Iscariot, he would have been present there at that time. So he appears to the leaven as they sat at meat and he upbraided them or gently chided them for their unbelief and their hardness of
[00:26:00] heart because they believed not them which had seen him after he was risen. And he said unto them, go ye into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. This is the great
[00:26:12] commission that we have from Matthew 28. He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved, but he that believeth not shall be damned. Salvation is by faith alone. Yes, we are baptized as we believe or as children are brought for baptism by their believing parents.
[00:26:34] So baptism doesn't save, it is faith alone in Christ alone. And these signs shall follow them that believe in my name shall they cast out devils shall they speak with new tongues they shall take
[00:26:47] up serpents and if they drink any any deadly thing it shall not hurt them they shall lay hands on the sick and they shall recover now i don't have time to really get into all this but just to mention
[00:27:00] it because i don't want you to go picking up snakes thinking it's fine okay that there are some christian brothers and sisters who to try to do this as part of their worship you know even
[00:27:10] the lord as he went to the highest part of the temple the lord jesus when satan was tempting him and and the devil's quoting scripture says throw yourself off for your angels the angels will catch
[00:27:24] you and he says do not test the lord your god it's kind of the same thing with snakes but we know that paul and axe he was getting wood because they had been shipwrecked everybody's wet so they're
[00:27:34] the the natives are helping them to build fires so he's bringing a thing of wood and a viper comes out that would that bit him and normally a man would fall down dead but paul didn't this was
[00:27:47] was uh how you know part of showing how this was true here says if they drink any deadly thing it shall not hurt them now there's nothing in scripture that readily confirms that there are stories outside of the bible that some of the apostles were made to drink poison and they didn't
[00:28:05] die don't know for sure we have no reason to doubt that this would be true being a part of scripture says they shall cast out devils cast out demons in the name of jesus only the name of jesus that
[00:28:21] has power over the devil and of demons they shall speak in new tongues this is one of the gifts of the holy spirit not all christians have it not all churches do it there's there's there's some
[00:28:35] that there are some believers and and teachers and scholars who think well this ended when the book of acts ended i don't necessarily think so i've been prayed over in tongues it's a it's kind of a
[00:28:47] terrifying and joyful thing at the same time but these were signs of the holy spirit working for all these things they shall lay hands on the sick and they shall recover we can pray for each other
[00:29:05] and pray in faith, and the Lord can heal if it is His will.
[00:29:13] The Lord still does do that.
[00:29:16] Verse 20, and they went forth and preached everywhere, the Lord working with them and confirming the word with signs following, amen.
[00:29:26] And so in taking all of this and of like, you know, like what do we do when we leave here?
[00:29:34] Are we just happy because He has risen?
[00:29:35] yes absolutely but also more in what he told his disciples that we are to believe and to trust in him with all of our heart mind soul and strength and that that it is that we are not to give into
[00:29:53] doubt we are to proclaim his his resurrection as he says in verse 15 go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. It means we are to always be ready. We're to always be looking.
[00:30:08] We're always be filled with that hope. And even when we're going through trying times, we can still have the hope of Christ within us to give us joy, even in the midst of difficulty, because
[00:30:20] the Lord will deliver. He will deliver from situations, but he would deliver us from sin and from death ultimately.
[00:30:29] In verse 20, where it says, they went forth and preached everywhere, the Lord working with them, confirming the word with signs following.
[00:30:38] To say that we are followers of Jesus Christ means that we witness for him, means that we testify of what he has done for us.
[00:30:52] This is to be a life altering and life changing thing.
[00:30:56] It means that everything we do is done through the truth that Christ has saved us and of sharing that and of living for Christ.
[00:31:06] Because when we die, when that moment comes, you won't be able to take anything with you that you have, nothing.
[00:31:12] Everything that you hold important today in the sense of worldly things will not matter.
[00:31:18] And it is only what we have done for Christ and for the gospel and for the kingdom of God that will last.
[00:31:24] so therefore when we leave here we need to be so invested in Christ that it transforms us and changes how we live we should be a hundred percent vested and even more because it is to dictate everything with our life is because of
[00:31:45] his goodness and grace that he gave to us that we do not deserve that is the love of god for you and that's why he wants us to come to him so come and give your heart to christ
[00:32:03] if you already know him grab on to him in the eternal life that he has given to you and live solely for him let's look to the lord in prayer oh father lord we do thank you for sending the lord
[00:32:20] jesus sending your only son to become like us to become man to be human and yet very god so that he could die in our place he could be perfect in going to the cross and take our sin upon himself
[00:32:37] and lord thank you that he has risen victoriously and lord that he wants to be the king of our lives and the king of our hearts and for us to live totally for him so lord please work by your
[00:32:55] holy spirit within us to share this good news that you have given to us that people might come to christ and be saved and lord that our lives will look like and reveal and show that we belong
[00:33:11] to the Lord Jesus Christ.
[00:33:14] It's in his great name that we pray.
[00:33:17] Amen.
[00:33:19] We can stand and sing our final hymn, Because He Lives, number 292, and it'll be on the screen.
[00:33:25] So let's stand together.

[00:33:48] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_00]
[00:33:48] The Lord's benediction,

[00:37:08] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_01]
[00:37:08] and then afterwards we'll have prayer for the food.
[00:37:13] And now, may the risen Christ be with you and be in you and live through you.
[00:37:22] may you bring glory and honor and praise to him forever and ever in the name of the Father the Son and the Holy Spirit amen and Lord Jesus we do thank you for our time we ask that you will bless this food that you will bless our fellowship
[00:37:37] and and Lord that that you will give us the joy of the resurrection in all that we do and we ask these things in Jesus name Amen Amen.
[00:37:47] All right, so thank you very much.
[00:37:48] God bless you.