We Serve A LIVING SAVIOR!

(Mark 16:1-6 NIV)  When the Sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Solome bought spices so that they might go to anoint Jesus’ body.  Very early on the first day of the week, just after sunrise, they were on their way to the tomb…  As they entered the tomb, they saw a young man dressed in a white robe sitting on the right side, and they were alarmed.  “Don’t be alarmed,” he said.  “You are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who was crucified.  He has risen!  He is not here.”

This morning we continue our “Passion Week” mini-series.  I thought I was only going to teach on this topic last week, but I could not close out the series with Jesus still on the cross.  So let’s continue the story this morning.

Jesus died a brutal death on the cross for all humanity.  The Jews did not kill Him, the Father sacrificed His Son and the Son freely gave His life for our sin.  After Jesus’ death, they took the body down from the cross, wrapped it in linen cloth, together with spices, and placed it in a borrowed tomb.  Joseph of Arimathea (the owner of the tomb) and Nicodemus prepared the body.  The two men placed Jesus’ body in the tomb and left.  The Romans sealed the tomb with the largest stone they could find and they placed armed guards to protect the tomb.  But all the security in the world could not have kept Jesus in that tomb.

Early on Sunday morning the the women went looking for Jesus’ body, but they did not find it.  The body was not there because Jesus had risen from the dead!  This is what we celebrated yesterday.  Resurrection Sunday is about the empty tomb that became the Good News of the gospel for all eternity.  That empty tomb gives Christians all over the world the spring in our step.  That empty tomb is the fuel in our fire, the air in our lungs, and the wind beneath our wings! Without the empty tomb there is no Christianity.  Without the empty tomb we have no hope.  Without the empty tomb our message is just a story.  Paul said it this way, “And if Christ wasn’t raised to life, our message is worthless, and so is your faith” (I Cor 15:14 CEV).

The resurrection of Jesus from the dead is the single most important event in history.  The resurrection of Jesus is what separates us from every other world religion.  We don’t serve an idol.  We don’t serve a man.  We don’t serve a dead God.  We serve a Living Savior – Jesus is His name!  Over the nearly 2,000 years since many have tried to discredit and discount the validity of Jesus’ Resurrection.  As one of my mentors, Dr. Charlie Dean Parmer put it, “The most telling affirmation of the validity of His literal Resurrection was and is the dramatic change that it produced in the lives of those followers.  From the weak, wavering, faltering, denying group of fishermen, tax collectors, etc.; the twelve plus the others became the most zealous, faithful, dynamic group who ever lived.  They literally became burning evangels for the cause of Christ; and they totally turned the world upside-down for Him over the next 71 plus years.  They were condemned, threatened, imprisoned, beaten, and commanded to be silent; but they just got right back out on the streets and just started preaching Jesus again – alive by Promise, dead by Purpose, Resurrected by Power, and reigning for our good Measure and Pleasure!”

So what does this mean to you today? A few things:

1.  Jesus conquered death.  

a.  Jesus’ victory over death liberates you from the power and fear of death.  Jesus took the sting out of death and robbed the grave of its victory (1 Cor 15:55).

b.  You don’t have to be afraid of dying.  If you are Born-Again, you are dead in Christ and you have done all the dying you are going to do.

c.  If you are Born-Again, then when you die you don’t actually die.  Dying for you is simply “moving day”.  You will be translated from earth to glory, time to eternity, and mortal to immortality.

2.  Christianity is the only religion with a Living Savior.  

a.  Mohammed, Buddha, Ghandi, etc. all died and remained dead.

b.  To be a Christian you must have a personal encounter with Christ.  Since He is still alive, you get to meet Him.

c.  You can be a Muslim without ever meeting Mohammed, you can be a Buddhist without ever meeting Buddha, but if you are going to be a Christian you have to meet Christ for yourself!

3.  Your Living Savior gives you a living hope.   

a.  The fact that Jesus is still alive enables you to have a LIVING HOPE in the midst of a dying and decaying world.

b.  When people look at you today, when they talk to you on the phone, when they come by your house or your office, do they see that living hope?  Can they hear it in your voice?  Can they see it in your face?  Can they tell by the way you live your life?  If not, it is time to make some changes.

c.  The fact that Jesus conquered satan, sin, hell and the grave for you should translate into an undeniable, unquenchable, inexhaustible, and (to the world) unexplainable LIVING HOPE!  Live your life in a way that proves you serve a LIVING SAVIOR… JESUS IS HIS NAME!

Closing Confession:  Father, I thank You for sending Jesus to die so I could live.  Jesus was the only sinless human to ever walk the planet.  Jesus lived a sinless life and He was later convicted and killed, not because of anything that He did, but because of what I did.  Jesus died for me.  After three nights and three days You raised Jesus from the dead with all power in His hand.  You made Jesus Lord in heaven, in the earth, and under the earth.  I now live FOR Him, IN Him, WITH Him, and THROUGH Him.  Jesus’ victory over death means that death has no victory over me.  I am dead to self, alive to Christ, and I will live forever in You and with You.  I love you with all my heart and I serve You all my days.  I serve a living Savior… Jesus is His name, and this living Savior is my Lord, my rock, my fortress, and my redeemer.  I know my Savior lives.  How do I know Father?  Because He lives IN me.  I will be His legs to walk, His mouth to talk, and His body to operate through today.  I have a living hope that permeates through me every day, in every way.  I declare this by faith.  In Jesus’ name.  Amen.
This is Today’s Word!  Apply it and Prosper.