When God Rolls the Stone Away
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Mark 16: 1-7.
There is nothing in Scripture that should give us more joy and excitement then the Resurrection of our Savior.
The resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead is as much a part of the Gospel message as His sacrificial death on the cross (1 Cor. 15:1–8).
The Resurrection proves that Jesus Christ is what He claimed to be,
the very Son of God (Rom. 1:4).
The Resurrection proves that Jesus’s Words were true
He had told His disciples that He would be raised from the dead, (Mark 9:9–10, 31; 10:34).
Warren W. Wiersbe, The Bible Exposition Commentary, (Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1996), 1:166.
Why did Christ have to rise again?
Well, He was delivered up for our offences.
He took the charge.
He took the punsihment
Romans 4:25 (KJV 1900)
Who was delivered for our offences,
and was raised again for our justification.
Christ died for us.
He took our sin upon Himself and bore the ultimate wrath of God toward sin, upon His own body.
But A dead Saviour can save absolutely no body.
He was raised from the dead for our justification.
Christ had to be raised from the dead so we could be justified, vindicated, rescued, redeemed, pardoned, forgiven.
He was raised for our justification.
Praise His Holy Name.
Now Lets look at our passage,
on this the first day of the week, two women went to the place were they had laid their Lord.
Why did they go?
They had to finish what Joseph and Nicodemus had started 3 days earlier.
There was only one problem, there was a large obstacle in their way.
They wanted to get to Jesus, but they had to get the stone out of the way.
What they did not know was that God had already rolled the stone away.
And, behold, there was a great earthquake: for the angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and came and rolled back the stone from the door, and sat upon it. His countenance was like lightning, and his raiment white as snow: And for fear of him the keepers did shake, and became as dead men.
these woman were about to realize their obstacle had been removed,
And just as He did for these women, God has removed the obstacle that is in your way.
When you have lost all hope
When you realize your need for the savior,
No need to hesitate
come to God,
He has removed the obstacle that stands between you and Jesus.
I want us to see three things that God removes from our text this morning, and with the Lord’s blessing and help I would like to preach on the thought, “When God Rolls the Stone Away”
Pray
Read verses 1-4
He Removes the Heavy Stone of Burdens
He Removes the Heavy Stone of Burdens
Just like these women that went to the tomb that morning, I believe there are some here this morning that are carrying around some heavy burdens and dont even realize it..
These ladies first had to deal with...
The Burden of Works
The Burden of Works
And when the sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, and Salome, had bought sweet spices, that they might come and anoint him.
These ladies had most likely spent all day on Friday gathering what was needed to finish what Jospeh and Nicodemus had started on Thursday.
Not only that they had to now carry all this to the tomb
And then when they got there they knew that they would have to remove the stone that was between them and their Lord.
Too many people today are carrying around the burden of work and dont even realize it.
You are so busy doing for the Lord,
thinking that your good, will out weigh your bad,
you dont even realize that Christ has already done all the work for you.
For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast.
Who hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began,
But after that the kindness and love of God our Saviour toward man appeared, Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost;
you do nothing to earn your salvation.
Its all because of our Savior Jesus Christ.
Jesus saith unto them, My meat is to do the will of him that sent me, and to finish his work.
I have glorified thee on the earth: I have finished the work which thou gavest me to do.
When Jesus therefore had received the vinegar, he said, It is finished: and he bowed his head, and gave up the ghost.
These ladies in our text were busy with work, because they thought they had to do something for Christ.
You are here today busy doing this or that because you think you have to do something to earn your way Christ.
Christ has already finished the work.
All you have to do is open your eyes and see that the stone of burdened work has been removed.
He has removed the stone of work
Next burden He has removed is..
The Burden of Worry
The Burden of Worry
v.3
These ladies not only had a heavy burden of work on them, they also had a heavy burden of worry.
verse 3 tells us that they had no clue who was going to roll the stone away.
Im sure this was causing some distress and maybe heartache.
I mean heres Mary Magdaline, the one that Jesus had cast out seven devils.
She wanted to see here Lord one last time. She wanted him to have a proper burial.
She was concerned that she would not be able to do this.
There are some of you here this morning that are carrying around a heavy burden of worry
some of You are unsure where your next electric payment is going to come from
some of You are unsure about your future,
where you are going to go to college or unsure if your marriage will work
Hey, can I tell you What our Lord says about that...
Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.
In that same chapter does He not tell us that the birds are supplied and the fields are clothed
Why do think that your heavenly father will not take care of you?
Take no worry of the future, God has it all under control.
and then there are some of You who are unsure about eternity
Jesus said, John3 16-18
For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.
Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also. And whither I go ye know, and the way ye know. Thomas saith unto him, Lord, we know not whither thou goest; and how can we know the way? Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.
Why are you still carrying the heavy burden of worry, God has already removed the stone.
God has removed the Heavy Stone of Burden
He Removes the Hopeless Stone of Circumstances
He Removes the Hopeless Stone of Circumstances
Read vs 5-6
The Hopeless Circumstance of Doubt
The Hopeless Circumstance of Doubt
Luke 24:4 (KJV 1900)
And it came to pass, as they were much perplexed thereabout,...
Could you imagine walking up to the garden that morning, expecting to have to find someone to help you move the stone,
but instead finding that someone may have stolen your Lord’s body.
And they say unto her, Woman, why weepest thou? She saith unto them, Because they have taken away my Lord, and I know not where they have laid him.
These women were in doubt
they were in doubt about where Jesus was
They were in doubt about what to do
They were in doubt about maybe where to go
That is like some of you here this morning
The lost sinner is hopeless without Christ.
You are full of doubt,about where Jesus is.
You are full of doubt about what to do
You are full of doubt about where you will go when you die.
Hey can I tell you.
Jesus is here this morning, He is alive he is alive
You just have to accept Him
You can have assurity of eternity with God this very morning,
How do I know this?
Because when you meet the Master, Hallaujiah, the doubt is gone
Jesus saith unto her, Mary. She turned herself, and saith unto him, Rabboni; which is to say, Master.
Maybe you are here this morning doubting how much God loves you
But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.
For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.
Thats how much God loves you.
He sent his only begotten son.
That word begotten is very unique, it means only, none other, only one of.
God sent His only, begotten Son
not just for the world
but for you.
He did not come to judge you
He came to save you
Why are you still doubting God’s love for you?
Maybe you are doubting how much God cares for you
Jesus says;
Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.
Peter says, 1Pet 5 7
Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you.
God cares so much for you, that he did what no other father has done or ever will do,
He sacrificed his son for the enemy (which is you)
He sacrificed his son so His enemy could go free
that is you
You say God does not care for you..?!
open your eyes and see that God has removed the the stone of hopeless doubt.
He has also removed
The Hopeless Circumstance of Death
The Hopeless Circumstance of Death
v.6
Luke 24:5–8 (KJV 1900)
And as they were afraid, and bowed down their faces to the earth, they said unto them, Why seek ye the living among the dead?
He is not here, but is risen: remember how he spake unto you when he was yet in Galilee, Saying, The Son of man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third day rise again. And they remembered his words,
These woman did not come expecting to find a living body.
They came to anoint a dead one.
Even though they had seen and heard of the Resurrection of Lazarus
they still did not expect to find Jesus alive because who but Jesus can raise the dead?
As far as they knew death ment death.
They had seen him die
They had heard him cry
They had possibly even seen his body removed from the cross and laid in the tomb.
He was dead
But when they got there, their hopeless sighs, turned to hallelujah cries.
If you are here today and have never recieved Christ as your savior, you are dead you are breathing physically but you are a dead man spiritually. Eph 2 1-2
Ephesians 2:1–2 (KJV 1900)
And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins; Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience:
Without Christ, you are hopeless because you are already dead.
But God has removed the stone of death.
Knowing that Christ being raised from the dead dieth no more; death hath no more dominion over him.
But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you.
God has open the door to new life, all you have to do is walk through it.
I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture.
What is stopping you from coming to Christ?
God has removed the heavy stone of burdens
he has removed the hopeless stone of circumstances
Maybe what is stopping you is the stone of horrible failures
Well...
He Removes the Horrible Stone of Failure
He Removes the Horrible Stone of Failure
Read v.7
We all have failed.
At some point in our lives we may have been called a failure.
Some of you in here may even believe that you are a failure
You may have failed in life
You may be a failure to someone
but we all have failed God.
There was one man that walked with Jesus that failed big.
Let’s look at Peters failure to see how God has removed the stone of Horrible Failure
The Sinner’s Failure Cannot be Hidden from the Look of the Sovereign
The Sinner’s Failure Cannot be Hidden from the Look of the Sovereign
Neither is there any creature that is not manifest in his sight: but all things are naked and opened unto the eyes of him with whom we have to do.
For mine eyes are upon all their ways: they are not hid from my face, neither is their iniquity hid from mine eyes.
Peters failure was noticed by the Savior before it happened
Peters failure was noticed by the Savior before it happened
God knows what sin you are going to do before you do it.
And he said, I tell thee, Peter, the cock shall not crow this day, before that thou shalt thrice deny that thou knowest me.
Peter rejected this claim from the savior, Mark 14:31, but he should have known that Jesus already knew what he was going to do.
To many times we think, Oh, nobody’s looking. It does not matter. no body will know.
Hey, friend the Psalmist says, If I make my bed in hell thou art with me
God knows even when no one else does becasue.....
Peters Failure was noticed by the Savior When it happened
Peters Failure was noticed by the Savior When it happened
It does not matter where you are or how hard you are trying to cover up your sin, God sees it.
And Peter said, Man, I know not what thou sayest. And immediately, while he yet spake, the cock crew. And the Lord turned, and looked upon Peter. And Peter remembered the word of the Lord, how he had said unto him, Before the cock crow, thou shalt deny me thrice.
God knows
If we have forgotten the name of our God, Or stretched out our hands to a strange god; Shall not God search this out? For he knoweth the secrets of the heart.
O God, thou knowest my foolishness; And my sins are not hid from thee.
For mine eyes are upon all their ways: they are not hid from my face, neither is their iniquity hid from mine eyes.
God knows what you have done and what you are thinking of doing. Regardless of how hard you try you have failed God and he has seen it.
The Sinner’s Failure Cannot Hinder the Love of the Savior
The Sinner’s Failure Cannot Hinder the Love of the Savior
As far as Peter knew, his days being used by God were over. He had failed God so bad that he knew for sure that if he was sinking and Jesus would not pull him up this time.
Because...
Peter’s Failure was No Misdemeanor to the Sovereign
Peter’s Failure was No Misdemeanor to the Sovereign
But whosoever shall deny me before men, him will I also deny before my Father which is in heaven.
Not only did he deny the Lord he broke the commandment of false witness.
“Thou shalt not bear false witness”
But Peter said unto him, Although all shall be offended, yet will not I.
But he spake the more vehemently, If I should die with thee, I will not deny thee in any wise. Likewise also said they all.
Peter had not only denied his Lord and Savior before men, He had broken one of the top ten commandments. For sure his time serving God was over.
There may be some here this morning, maybe you feel you have failed God so bad that he is done with you.
The only person that has failed God so bad that He wont use again are those that dont come to him for forgiveness.
Judas, I do believe would have been forgiven by Christ, if he would have only came back to Him and said, Father forgive me!
Maybe there are some here this morning that have never come to Christ for salvation, but you know that you have messed up so bad, there is no way God would ever save you.
All I know is, if He can save a murder on the way to kill and capture those that claimed His name (Paul), if He can save a thief that stole from the very people that he was part of, (Matthew), If He can save a fighting, loud mouth, rebellious, drunk, hormonger, (Me), He can save you!
You say how do you know this preacher?
Simple…Because
Peter’s Failure Was No Match for the Savior
Peter’s Failure Was No Match for the Savior
But go your way, tell his disciples and Peter that he goeth before you into Galilee: there shall ye see him, as he said unto you.
Just when Peter thought he was through. Just when he thought for sure God was done using him, Mary returns with a message just for Peter.
God still loved him
God still wanted him
God was still going to use him to unlock the kingdom
Peter was going to be used in a mighty way.
If you are here this moring and feel as if God is done with you becasue of a failure, may I remind you,
Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ:
God is not done with you.
If he has saved you, he will use you. You may have to go through a season of chastisement, but He will perform His work in you until the day of Jesus Christ.
If you have never been born again, God loves you so much that He sent His only begotten Son for you so that you might live.
His will is that none should perish but that all shall come to repentance.
Peter’s failure would have been his distruction if he would have not called out to the Lord that day on the sea.
Peters failure would have been his destruction if he would have rejected Mary’s message and simply refused to believe.
Peters failure would have been his destruction if he would have not repented and came as fast as he could when he saw the Lord standing on the shore.
Sinner friend, just because you have failed does not mean that God is done with you. Pastor Mike Renfrow preached a message one time entitled Failure is not Final.
What truth there is in that.
Your failure is not your final
God loves you more than you or I can understand.
Wont you come this morning and ask for His forgiveness.
If you are saved and have failed, God can restore you
If you are lost, your sin is no match for the Love of God!
Wont you come as Maddie plays.