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A BEAUTIFUL DAY! MATTHEW 28:1-9 APRIL 16, 2006
Early on Sunday morning, as the new day was dawning, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went out to see the tomb. 2 Suddenly there was a great earthquake, because an angel of the Lord came down from heaven and rolled aside the stone and sat on it. 3 His face shone like lightning, and his clothing was as white as snow. 4 The guards shook with fear when they saw him, and they fell into a dead faint. 5 Then the angel spoke to the women. “Don’t be afraid!” he said. “I know you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. 6 He isn’t here! He has been raised from the dead, just as he said would happen. Come, see where his body was lying. 7 And now, go quickly and tell his disciples he has been raised from the dead, and he is going ahead of you to Galilee. You will see him there. Remember, I have told you.” 8 The women ran quickly from the tomb. They were very frightened but also filled with great joy, and they rushed to find the disciples to give them the angel’s message. 9 And as they went, Jesus met them. “Greetings!” he said. And they ran to him, held his feet, and worshiped him.
INTRODUCTION Most of us have those times when we would just like to get up and start life all over again - a fresh, clean slate. Unfortunately, life doesn't work that way... or does it? When Jesus rose from the dead on resurrection Sunday, some amazing things were made possible for us... if we would accept his rightful place in our lives. Who knows, maybe this Easter Sunday could be a "beautiful day" for you?!
A BEAUTIFUL DAY IS ONE THAT BEGINS WITH… 1- PURPOSE- why bother getting out of bed? Why try to do the right thing? What is the point of it all? Ecclesiastes 1:14-15- Everything under the sun is meaningless, like chasing the wind. What is wrong cannot be righted. What is missing cannot be recovered. 7:15- In this meaningless life, I have seen everything, including the fact that some good people die young and some wicked people live on and on. I am sure that the two Mary’s had moments that morning when they wondered, “What’s the point?” Now that their Jesus was gone, what would they do? What value and purpose did life hold with him out of the picture? At the moment, their purpose was simply to do what they knew needed done. Mark’s gospel tells us that the night before, they had bought spices to prepare the body of Jesus; now, they go to the tomb of Jesus to mourn and prepare him for burial. This is what mourners did, so they did what they were supposed to do.
In our darkest moments, we need to simply keep doing what we know needs to be done- to do what we know is right, even though there may not be any joy in it. There are some moments when our purpose is to simply carry on. But the reward in doing so for the two Mary’s was overwhelming. Because they did not totally despair- because they did not give up- resurrection Sunday brought purpose. A- Our purpose in life is to know, worship, and enjoy God- to love him with all our soul, mind, body, and strength. B- The prophets tell us that we are to care for others- as does the whole of the NT. C- The purpose of life is to prepare us for heaven. 1 Peter 2:11- Dear brothers and sisters, you are foreigners and aliens here.
2- HOPE & ANTICIPATION- ever gone to a special event? Party? Vacation trip? You wake up in the morning and… you know something is coming!!
Sometimes all we anticipate is something negative. We dread what is to come. I’m sure the two Mary’s felt that way as they new day dawned. But they were in for a surprise! Initially their only anticipation was grief… but Jesus met them in their grief and brought hope (elaborate).
1 Tim 4:10- our hope is in the living God, who is the Savior of all people, and particularly of those who believe.
Hebrews 10:23- Without wavering, let us hold tightly to the hope we say we have, for God can be trusted to keep his promise.
Hebrews 11:1- What is faith? It is the confident assurance that what we hope for is going to happen. It is the evidence of things we cannot yet see.
2 Cor 3:18- as the Spirit of the Lord works within us, we become more and more like him and reflect his glory even more.
3- SOMEONE TO SHARE IT WITH- I like golf… but I don’t like to golf alone. Sometimes the only thing that can make an experience better is to be able to share it with someone and know they have the same joy that you do.
When they went to the tomb, at least the two Marys were together. They were together in their grief, together in their task. But in their discovery, they were also together in their joy and celebration.
There can be no more lonely feeling than believing that no one understands or cares about what we are struggling with. No one can relate. Sometimes, people don’t want to… at other times, they simply are not able to. But God can. The most beautiful company they experienced comes in verse 9, when Jesus greets them.
John 14:16-21- I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor, who will never leave you. He is the Holy Spirit, who leads into all truth. The world at large cannot receive him, because it isn’t looking for him and doesn’t recognize him. But you do, because he lives with you now and later will be in you. No, I will not abandon you as orphans—I will come to you. In just a little while the world will not see me again, but you will. For I will live again, and you will, too. When I am raised to life again, you will know that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you. Those who obey my commandments are the ones who love me. And because they love me, my Father will love them, and I will love them. And I will reveal myself to each one of them.”
Do you ever envision Him greeting you each morning? (Greet someone as if Jesus was greeting them) This doesn’t necessarily mean that we audibly hear Him. This doesn’t even always mean we are aware of His presence. But we can know the promise that He is there. We can pour out our anger to Him as well as our joy… our fears as well as our praise… our doubts as well as our requests. Jesus has promised to never leave us… the question is, do we take Him at his word?
4- A FRESH START- many cannot experience the present and can’t even begin to think about the future because they are buried in the past. Sometimes we have messed things up so badly, we can’t begin to believe that we can move on to something better… but that simply is not true. There may be consequences of our choices up to this point that cannot be reversed- but God offers a clean slate in our relationship with Him (elaborate).
2 Cor 5:17-18- those who become Christians become new persons. They are not the same anymore, for the old life is gone. A new life has begun! All this newness of life is from God, who brought us back to himself through what Christ did.
1 Cor 11:25- he took the cup of wine after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant between God and you, sealed by the shedding of my blood.
Romans 5:11- now we can rejoice in our wonderful new relationship with God—all because of what our Lord Jesus Christ has done for us in making us friends of God.
WRAP UP… What do you need to know on this ‘beautiful day?’ What promise do you need to receive from God today? - purpose - hope - someone to love and care for you - a fresh start
How do you receive it? (give invitation to repent, and surrender to Christ) |