Gtcotr/ss042119
Today
is the day in history that Jesus walked out of that garden tomb alive and
victorious over sin, death, hell and the grave! Happy Resurrection Day! He left
us with only one set of marching orders. He said all power had now been given unto
Him in heaven and in earth, therefore, “Go and tell
everyone the Good News.” Jesus is alive! Our orders are simple – more
than just modeling a set of laws and restrictions:
We must introduce people to the person of Jesus Christ and not just
the practice of Christianity.
Have
you ever noticed how many people are fascinated with imaginary superheroes?
This is a phenomenon in every nation in each generation. All the world wants a
hero … someone with special powers, noble and pure, who can defeat the bad guys
and right the wrongs in the world.
There’s:
Superman; Spiderman; Antman; Wonder Woman; Captain Marvel; Captain America;
Flash Gordon; the Incredible Hulk; Super Girl; He-Man; Thor; Poseidon; the X-Men;
the Fantastic Four; the Six Million Dollar Man; Iron Man; Batman; the Green
Hornet; the Tick; Black Lightening; Black Panther; the Invisible Man; the
Highlander; Tarzan; Guardians of the Galaxy; Chuck; Captain Underpants; Danger
Mouse; Mighty Mouse; the Power Rangers; Optimus Prime; the good witch Wanda; Dr
Strange; Dr Frankenstein; Dr Who; Mr Spock and even the great Captain Kirk, and
dozens of others. All of them fantasies, imaginary heroes, dreamed up by the
most creative minds in the world, yet, not one of them, and not even all of
them collectively if they were real, could hope to hold a candle to my Redeemer,
Jesus. He is the One and the Only True Superhero in the world.
Jesus
knows the thoughts of every person in the world; He is never wrong; He knows
the number of the hairs on your head; He calls you by name; He is omnipotent,
omniscient, omnipresent, and omni-everything; without Him there is no Light;
without Him there is no Life; without Him there is no Love; He is the Alpha and
the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End, and the Author
and the Finisher; there is no other name given under heaven by which men must
be saved except the name of Jesus. He is the King of Kings and the Lord of
Lords; the Lion and the Lamb; the Creator of the universe and the Sustainer of
all life; He spoke and the worlds were framed from things which didn’t even
exist; He is Healer, Redeemer, Deliverer, Lord, Savior, Prince of Peace, Mighty
God, Everlasting Father, and Friend; He was, He is, and He is to come; And, He
wants to live in your heart! Are you
getting the picture?
·
He
walks on water …
·
He
commands the wind and the waves
·
He
can take one boy’s lunch and multiply it to feed 15,000 people.
·
He
walks right through walls and locked doors.
·
He
commands fish to swim wherever He wants.
·
He
can cast legions of demons out of person with just one word.
·
He
rides on the clouds.
·
He
is the son of God.
He
allowed Himself to be suspended between heaven and earth on a wooden cross, outside
of the City of Jerusalem. And for 6 hours He drew all of the sins of mankind,
past, present and future, to Himself, and then He willed Himself to die and He
buried those sins in His own grave.
He
emptied Himself of mortal life and entered into the chambers of sin-filled
death. He went alone for only He could pay your eternal debt.
He
stood face to face with Lucifer in the bowels of the earth and at the end of
the day, He defeated Lucifer, that old serpent, which is the devil, and took
the keys of death and hell from him and made a show of him openly.
He
is Jesus of Nazareth! He is the Christ. He is the Son of Almighty God, Creator
of the universe and everything therein. He is immortal, eternal, everlasting!
His eyes are like a flame of fire and out of His mouth goes a sharp two-edged
sword. Demons tremble at His name. His voice is like thunder. He is just and
kind, tried and true, strong and mighty and He is worthy of all our praise.
There really should
be a movie
… He is the ultimate Superhero with miraculous super powers. But the Good News
is … there’s a book … it’s called the Bible, and it’s awesome! Read and rejoice
…
All
that being said, let me tell you one of the coolest things about my Jesus … It’s The
Resurrection!
On
the third day after laying His own life down to destroy sin, He took His life
back up again and was raised from the dead. His Spirit and Soul re-entered His
earthly body, He came back to life and He walked out of that tomb victorious
and alive forevermore. If that same Spirit that raised Christ from the dead
dwells in you, it will make you immortal as well. For this reason:
We must introduce people to the person of Jesus Christ and not just to
the practice of Christianity.
Today
we celebrate the resurrection of our Lord and Savior, Jesus the Christ. It was
on this day in history that Jesus walked out of the Garden Tomb alive and Lord
over all. Let’s read that account:
Matthew 28 NKJV
1 ¶ 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.”
We
all have a Galilee. The Galilee is not a place on the map so much as it is a
place in the heart. The Galilee was the place where it all began for Jesus and
His disciples. The Galilee was a familiar place, the most familiar places in
their lives were there.
·
Jerusalem
was such a place of tension and contention.
o
Always
an argument waiting to happen
o
People
trying to trick Him
·
Samaria
was filled with bitterness and resentment.
o
The
Samaritans believe they are the only ones
o
They
are just better than everybody else
·
Jericho
and the Judean desert held memories of temptations and sadness.
o
The
young rich ruler on the road to Jericho refused to follow Jesus
o
The
devil tried every trick in the book including the false word
·
Nazareth
refused Him honor and respect …
o
No
prophet is without honor
o
Family
divisions – brothers who didn’t believe
·
Bethlehem
denied Jesus a safe and warm place to be born.
o
Mary
was forced to deliver Jesus in a stable
o
Herod
slaughtered the children trying to kill the Christ
·
But
the Galilee …
o
It
was the first place of calling into the ministry
o
It
was where the disciples saw their first miracles
o
They
witnessed Jesus walk on water
o
They
were saved from the storms of life
o
It’s
where Jesus multiplied the fish and loaves and the disciples fed the multitudes
o
The
Galilee was where they first fell in love with Jesus
We
all have that place … that first love place. When the disciples felt they had
lost everything, like they had lost their way, their direction in life, their
first love … Jesus knew they just needed to go back to where it all began and
see Him still there – not just as teacher but as the resurrected Christ.
Where
did you first fall in love with Jesus? The resurrected Christ wants to meet you there again.
Will you go? Get out of the business, the temptations, the confusion, and go
see Jesus in your Galilee.
We
must introduce people to the person of Jesus Christ and not just to the
practice of Christianity.
