March 31, 2024
Morning Service

Through the Passion Week services, we experienced a roller coaster ride of emotions.  On Friday we hit rock bottom as we watched Jesus give up His life’s breath and die upon the cross. We watched as Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus took His body and laid Him in a tomb.  In that moment, it seemed all was lost.  The disciples had scattered and Peter had denied even knowing Him three times.  You could only imagine the thoughts running through their minds during the Sabbath. How could this happen?  Was it all true or had we believed in a lie?  Are we in danger also?  Where do we go from here?  It must have seemed hopeless to them in that moment of confusion and turmoil.  Let me tell you a fact that we can all stand firmly upon.  Without Jesus it is true there is no hope, BUT with Jesus hope does not disappoint but is always alive as we now see the proof of that.

 Mat 28:1-10 Now after the Sabbath, as the first day of the week began to dawn, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary came to see the tomb.  (2)  And behold, there was a great earthquake; for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and came and rolled back the stone from the door, and sat on it.  (3)  His countenance was like lightning, and his clothing as white as snow.  (4)  And the guards shook for fear of him, and became like dead men.  (5)  But the angel answered and said to the women, "Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified.  (6)  He is not here; for He is risen, as He said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay.  (7)  And go quickly and tell His disciples that He is risen from the dead, and indeed He is going before you into Galilee; there you will see Him. Behold, I have told you."  (8)  So they went out quickly from the tomb with fear and great joy, and ran to bring His disciples word.  (9)  And as they went to tell His disciples, behold, Jesus met them, saying, "Rejoice!" So they came and held Him by the feet and worshiped Him.  (10)  Then Jesus said to them, "Do not be afraid. Go and tell My brethren to go to Galilee, and there they will see Me."

            “He is not here for He is risen as He said!”  (change the cloth)

            This undisputable fact changes everything!  Jesus died upon the cross but the tomb could not hold Him; He rose again proving that He has defeated sin and death for us.  He again proved His word to be true as He predicted all of this before it ever happened.  Because that tomb is empty, we have hope, hope that everything that He said is true and we are not only forgiven of our sins, but have the hope of eternal life through Him.  Paul wrote of this hope to the Romans.

 

Rom 5:5-11 Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us.  (6)  For when we were still without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly.  (7)  For scarcely for a righteous man will one die; yet perhaps for a good man someone would even dare to die.  (8)  But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.  (9)  Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him.  (10)  For if when we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life.  (11)  And not only that, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received the reconciliation.

            Let’s back up a little so we can grasp this fully in our heart and mind.  The last thing Jesus cried upon the cross is “It is finished.”  What was finished, his life?  No, His rescue mission to save you!  You see Jesus’ entire life was designed as a way to save us from our sins.  We can’t do it as sin is part of us all and that sin separates us from God.  If we remain in our sins then when we die, we will face the judgment of God as He condemn us telling us “depart from Me, I never knew you.”  We rightfully deserve to be separated from God because we all are guilty as charged; we have all sinned (Rom. 3:23).  We are helpless to remove sin from our own life so in essence we are hopeless and will face God’s wrath.  BUT that is where we come to the realization that if I can’t do this on my own I need help.  I need a Savior; enter Jesus.  Notice verse 6; “When we were without strength in due time Christ died for the ungodly.”  At that moment of being helpless and hopeless Christ steps forward for us.  Notice also that God did not require us to clean up our act before He offered us the gift of salvation.  Verse 8; “But God demonstrates His love towards us, in that while we were still sinners Christ died for us.”  Notice the reason Jesus did this as He explained it to the disciples in the gospel of John:

 

 

Joh 15:13 Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one's life for his friends.

            That is exactly what Jesus did for us.  He demonstrates (shows/proves) His love to us by completing His mission to attain our salvation. His mission was planned from the beginning of time and took action when He was born of a virgin in a manger in Bethlehem.  He lived a perfect, sinless life sharing the love of His Father with everyone; a life that did not deserve or receive judgement.  He willingly entered into all that He endured this week knowing each part was vital to the success of the mission.  He was betrayed by His friends, condemned to death, delivered to His enemies who mocked Him, scourged Him, spit upon Him, and nailed Him to a cross.  He was born to die.  This was His rescue mission, to save us from our sins.  He was born to die for you.  What motivated Him to suffer so greatly and give up His life?  Why would He do this?

 

 Joh 3:16-17 For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.  (17)  For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.

            God loves us so much, He was willing to take our sins upon Himself and pay the debt we owed and could never pay.  The wages of sin is death (Rom. 6:23) and Jesus paid our price.  We deserve to die upon the cross and pay for our sins, but Jesus took our place.  This is called Substitutionary Atonement.  We are made perfect by Him. We are bought with a price and that price was the lifeblood of Jesus. His entire life was a rescue mission to save us from our own sins and reconcile our broken relationship with the Father.  He did this because He loves us plain and simple.  He proved it upon the cross “laying down His life for His friends” (us).  Through His death we now have an avenue to reconcile ourselves with God giving us hope of a brighter future. 

How do I do that?

It is almost too simple.  You must Hear the gospel message (as you just did), you must Receive it for yourself, and then Repent of your sins.  In receiving and repenting you make a decision to follow Jesus and He promises to forgive you of all your sins. Upon confessing Him as Lord and believing within your heart that He is the Son of God, you WILL BE SAVED! (Rom. 10:9) Next, as we saw today, you obediently will move into the waters of baptism to wash away those sins and to die to yourself to arise to “walk in the newness of life.” (Rom. 6:4) You get to start over and do it with the help of the Holy Spirit that will enter into you to guide, protect and empower you to be an overcomer.  Just as Jesus rose from the grave to live forever, so do you rising from those waters as this seals you as belonging to God and you too, with His Spirit within you, will live forever missing the wrath you deserved.  The rest of your life will be a journey to meet this One who saved you face to face.  Paul challenges us to grasp the value of our salvation and allow it to change who we are and what we do.

 

1Co 6:20For you were bought at a price; therefore, glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God's.

            You cannot “earn” your salvation, but you glorify God with your life “because of your salvation.”

            What are we to do with all this?  It is up to you.  Things can continue just as they are for you on cruise control OR you can begin to seek a closer walk with this Jesus who loves you and watch your life change for the better.  All of your problems don’t go away, but He walks with you, He will use you to help others, give you a purpose for living and no matter how hard the struggle gets you KNOW in the end we win!  Jesus is our Living Hope!  He is Risen!

 

Heavenly Father, this is all so overwhelming that You have orchestrated this plan to rescue us from our sins.  Thank You for loving us so much!  Help us to now use this gift wisely and follow You faithfully until we see Jesus face to face.