Ain’t No Power Like Resurrection Power
Luke 24:1-12
I. INTRODUCTION
A. A day of good news
1. There seems to be plenty of bad news these days.
2. This is a day of Good News.
3. It is resurrection day.
4. Without the Resurrection of Jesus, there could be no Good News.
B. The events leading up to the cross and after…
1. The intimate gathering…the institution of the Lord’s Supper.
2. The betrayal by Judas…
3. The arrest in the garden…
4. The trial…the mockery…the beatings…the cross…His death.
5. The horror…the unimaginable sorrow.
6. The darkness of soul.
7. An event so awful God turned out the sun to keep the world from looking upon His beaten and battered Son.
C. Oh how bright everything had looked…
1. The triumphal entry just a week ago…
2. Throngs in the streets crying Hosanna in the Highest…
3. Seems like years ago now…
4. Now all is darkness…One day…two days…
Luke 24:1 - 12 (NKJV) 1Now on the first day of the week, very early in the morning, they, £and certain other women with them, came to the tomb bringing the spices which they had prepared. 2But they found the stone rolled away from the tomb. 3Then they went in and did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. 4And it happened, as they were £greatly perplexed about this, that behold, two men stood by them in shining garments. 5Then, as they were afraid and bowed their faces to the earth, they said to them, “Why do you seek the living among the dead? 6He is not here, but is risen! Remember how He spoke to you when He was still in Galilee, 7saying, ‘The Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third day rise again.’” 8And they remembered His words. 9Then they returned from the tomb and told all these things to the eleven and to all the rest. 10It was Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and the other women with them, who told these things to the apostles. 11And their words seemed to them like idle tales, and they did not believe them. 12But Peter arose and ran to the tomb; and stooping down, he saw the linen cloths £lying by themselves; and he departed, marveling to himself at what had happened.
D. Then came the morning, night turned into day…the stone was rolled away…hope rose with the dawn. Then came the morning…shadows vanished before the Son…death had lost and night had won…for morning had come.
E. He was Alive. He was Alive. Jesus Lives
1. The greatest Power in the Universe had been displayed.
2. The Power of the resurrection is threefold.
BODY
A. The Power of the Resurrection is ALMIGHTY POWER!
1. The stone had been rolled away…(Rolled away for our benefit) he still rolls the stone away!!! Whatever separates you from Him He will roll away!
2. The body of Christ was gone…funny how they never found it!
3. This was all orchestrated by the Almighty Power of God.
4. This is the age of power…
a. Automobiles going 200 MPH…Faster computers…microwave technology…nanotechnology…Aerospace breakthrus…trains that can go over 300 MPH…Nuclear Power both domestic and destructive…scientific and medical breakthroughs.
b. What power we can see in action today.
c. But there is no power in the universe that compares with Resurrection power!
d. The power to restore life…
e. The power to call Lazarus out of the grave.
f. What can science do in a cemetery?
5. In The Resurrection Power we see the awesome power of the Trinity displayed
a. The Power of the Son
John 10:17 - 18 (NKJV) 17“Therefore My Father loves Me, because I lay down My life that I may take it again. 18No one takes it from Me, but I lay it down of Myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This command I have received from My Father.”
b. The Power of the Father
Ephesians 1:19 - 20 (NKJV) 19and what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the working of His mighty power 20which He worked in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places,
c. The Power of the Holy Spirit
Romans 1:4 (NKJV) 4and declared to be the Son of God with power according to the Spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead.
B. The Power of the Resurrection is AMAZING POWER.
1. Here is the power needed to save a man’s soul!
2. Without resurrection Power, we would have no hope!
1 Corinthians 15:17 - 19 (NKJV) 17And if Christ is not risen, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins! 18Then also those who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. 19If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men the most pitiable.
3. The AMAZING POWER of Jesus…
a. His life: The perfection needed to save…If He had not had the power to become perfection for us…we could not have been saved.
b. His death: Had he not been obedient to the Cross, we could not have been saved.
c. His resurrection: The power needed for salvation.
Romans 6:5 - 8 (NKJV) 5For if we have been united together in the likeness of His death, certainly we also shall be in the likeness of His resurrection, 6knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin. 7For he who has died has been freed from sin. 8Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him,
4. “Why seek ye the living among the dead?”
a. Folks listen to me…we were once ALL Spiritually dead…we are born that way…
Ephesians 2:1 - 2 (NKJV) 1And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins, 2in which you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience,
b. All can come to Christ and be made alive!!!
c. No one is too far gone…
d. No one has sinned too many times…
e. No case is too difficult…
f. No heart is too hard…
Hebrews 7:25 (NKJV) 25Therefore He is also able to save to the uttermost those who come to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them.
g. It’s not a power you have ever experienced…
h. Ain’t no power like resurrection power.
i. Come to Jesus and experience this Amazing Power.
C. The Power of the Resurrection is AVAILABLE POWER.
1. Power is worthless unless it is available!!!
2. All the power in the world is no good unless we can use it!
3. For power to be beneficial two things have to happen…
a. It has to be harnessed…
b. It has to be transmitted…
4. How do we harness it?
John 1:12 (NKJV) 12But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name:
a. We receive The Lord Jesus Christ as our personal Savior.
5. Once we harness it…how do we transmit it???
b. Just like an electrical conduit…we allow Gods love to flow thru us…
6. Imagine God’s love to be a river…
a. Each believer is a dam…
b. We each have sluice gates that allow the love of God to flow thru us.
c. But…But…thru things like sin in our lives…lack of confession to God…a weak prayer life…the sluice gates become clogged or closed altogether.
d. The love of God still reaches us…it just can’t flow thru us!!!
e. That’s why so many Christian’s live defeated lives…
f. It’s up to us to keep the sluice gates open and functioning properly.
g. If we do then picture what happens…
1. The love of God not only reaches us…
2. But it flows thru us as well…
3. What happens when a dam is generating?
4. Massive amounts of power are being produce!
5. And that power is transmitted on down the line.
6. Blessing all that its connected to in the process.
7. That is what living the Christian life is all about…
8. It’s about transmitting God’s love THRU us and on to others…
9. IT’S NOT ABOUT US!!!!!
7. God has made Resurrection Power available to all of us…
8. Some of us have not even let that power get TO us…much less THRU us!
9. All we have to do is lay claim to that power in our lives today…
a. Are you dealing with temptation??? Clean out those sluice gates!
b. Are you dealing with depression??? Clean out those sluice gates!
c. Have you felt defeated??? Overwhelmed??? Clean out those sluice gates!!!
d. Resurrection Power makes it possible!
CONCLUSION
A. There are only two types of people here today…
1. There are those who are saved…and those who are not.
2. For those who are not I encourage you today…
a. Trust in the only one in the universe with the power to save your soul.
b. You’ve tried everything else and still you keep coming up short.
c. There is no real happiness in your life.
d. You know something is missing.
e. Don’t fail to come today because you fear you can’t live up to the Christian life.
f. Jesus provides the power to do that.
g. Let this Let this Almighty, Amazing, and Available power change your life.
3. For those who are saved today let me encourage you…
a. Clean out those sluice gates.
b. Allow God’s power to flow THRU you again like it once did.
c. I don’t know what happened…
d. But I do know this…you don’t feel as close to the Lord as you once did…
e. Something is different…
f. Maybe you have a grudge against a brother…
g. Maybe your prayer and devotional life has slipped…
h. Whatever it is…
i. God seems farther away…
j. Do you realize what has happened???
k. You have moved…
l. I encourage you today…come back.
