Sunday October 16, 2016 “The Resurrection Restores, Revives and Remains” Mark 16: 1-20

The Women Walked By Faith & Went to the Tomb not Knowing All the Details

Mk 16: 1-3 ¹When the Sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices, so that they might go and anoint him. ²And very early on the first day of the week, when the sun had risen, they went to the tomb. ³And they were saying to one another, “Who will roll away the stone for us from the entrance of the tomb?”

When we feel God prompting us to do something we should: 

1. Go even though we are uncertain about all the details

• Consider how God called Abraham and the Israelites during the Exodus. Neither of them knew exactly where God was leading them, and had god showed them all the challenges and obstacles up front, they probably wouldn’t have stepped out and gone. But as god brings us through each challenge, we should grow in confidence that He will help us handle the next one. 

1. ask God to provide solutions to the “challenges” we must overcome
2. look to God to meet the needs we don’t have an answer for
3. trust God as we go to provide what we have not yet seen the provision for

Mk 16: 6- 8 The fact that the woman were  ^{6 “}alarmed”  and “fled from the tomb, for trembling and astonishment  had seized them, and they said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid.”

This reveals they:

1. had not expected Christ’s Resurrection
2. were exceedingly overjoyed when Christ was not in the tomb
3. were ready to be outstanding witnesses for Christ
4. did not know what to make of Christ not being in the tomb

Ans: 1 & 4

The Resurrected Jesus Reveals to Mary Magdalene that She Remains Free

Mk 16: 9 – 11 ⁹Now when he rose early on the first day of the week, he appeared first to Mary Magdalene, from whom he had cast out seven demons.

The 7 demons Jesus cast out of Mary Magdalene were part of a life style she did not want overcoming her again. 

A demon is…

a) something from our past that haunts us (metaphorically, yes. But that is not what the Bible is talking about.)

b) a fallen angel

c) a supernatural evil being

d) something that wants to control and influence us for evil.

Biblically speaking, the answer is b, c and d 

The Resurrection for Mary Magdalene Meant Jesus is Alive to Ensure She Remains Forever Free!

In the Bible Demons cause the following types of activities:

The Bible gives some examples of people possessed or influenced by demons. From these examples we can find some symptoms of demonic influence and gain insight as to how a demon possesses someone. Here are some of the biblical passages: Matthew 9:32-33; 12:22; 17:18; Mark 5:1-20; 7:26-30; Luke 4:33-36; Luke 22:3; Acts 16:16-18..

In some of these passages, the demon possession causes physical ailments, such as the … 

• inability to speak, epileptic symptoms, blindness,
• In other cases, it causes the individual to do evil, Judas being the main example.
• We manifestations of multiple personalities, when the demons take over control and speak through people, using their faculties
• a personality change such as depression or aggression, supernatural strength, immodesty, antisocial behavior, and perhaps the ability to share information that one has no natural way of knowing.
• Demonic possession does not necessarily have any great drama attached to it, like someone’s head spinning 360⁰. Mostly we see manifested a disobedient and a decadent lifestyle.
• In Acts 16:16-18, the spirit apparently gives a slave girl some ability to know things beyond her own learning.
• The demon-possessed man of the Gadarenes, who was possessed by a multitude of demons (Legion), had superhuman strength and lived naked among the tombstones.
• King Saul, after rebelling against the LORD, was troubled by an evil spirit (1 Samuel 16:14-15; 18:10-11; 19:9-10) with the apparent effect of a depressed mood and an increased desire to kill David.

The Resurrected Jesus Reveals to Mary Magdalene What The Disciples Would Not Believe or Accept

Mk 16: 9 – 11 ⁹Now when he rose early on the first day of the week, he appeared first to Mary Magdalene, from whom he had cast out seven demons. ¹⁰She went and told those who had been with him, as they mourned and wept. ¹¹But when they heard that he was alive and had been seen by her, they would not believe it.

Jesus appears to Mary Magdalene, as she

1. was delivered from 7 demons
2. may have been concerned about her future state of deliverance
3. may have remembered what Christ said, but couldn’t comprehend what it meant
4. now seeing Him, knows her healing is real and will remain permanent!

The Resurrection means Peter is Restored To Fellowship Forever

Christ Calls Peter to Present Himself Back to God – Mk 16:5-7

Mk 16: 5- 7 5And entering the tomb, they saw a young man sitting on the right side, dressed in a white robe, and they were alarmed. 6And he said to them, “Do not be alarmed. You seek Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He has risen; he is not here. See the place where they laid him.

The reason Peter is mentioned by name is verse 7 “But go, tell his disciples and Peter that he [Christ] is going before you to Galilee. There you will see him, just as he told you.” is because

1. Peter was the perfect disciple – an example all others always should follow

• No! Jesus rebuked Peter, said, “Get thee behind me Satan,” when Peter was trying to convince Christ not to go to Jerusalem to die.

       2.  Peter had denied Christ and was going to get a good scolding from Jesus

       3.  Peter had denied Christ and may no longer have considered himself a disciple

• In Mk 16:10 we see the Disciples “mourned and wept.” Peter probably was mourning and weeping over his failure as much as Christ’s death, which all the Disciples thought was the death of the great dream of seeing God continue to touch the world through the amazing life of Christ.  They did to see that this was an incredible new beginning of people who have complete forgives being able to enter into fellowship with God through Christ that results in an amazing partnership, so that we become the Body of Christ and God’s word gets spread through millions, if not billions of people.

      4.  Peter had denied Christ and was in need of restoration that would resurrect his discipleship.

The just (justified) shall live by FAITH MARK 16:11-14 

The Disciples did not believe

• The first women to know were too afraid to witness or tell anyone
• Mary Magdalene in vs. 10-11 ¹⁰She went and told those who had been with him, as they mourned and wept. ¹¹But when they heard that he was alive and had been seen by her, they would not believe it.
• The 2 Disciples whom Jesus revealed Himself to in Mk 16: 11-12 were not believed either.
• The Resurrection was imminent – perhaps they’d expected to see Jesus again in the afterlife when they too died. But they did not expect to see Christ any time soon – certainly not in 3 days.  Even today the church has a difficult time accepting the literal words of Christ and The Bible.
• In Mk 16:10 we see the Disciples “mourned and wept.”

Jesus rebuked them for their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they had not believed those who saw him after he had risen.

Habakkuk 2:4 The just/righteous meaning the justified and those who receive Christ’s righteousness will live by faith in that Heavenly, Divine transaction.

The Three Legged Stool of Understanding Mark 16:11-14

Jesus Appears to Two Disciples Who Were Not Believed – Mk 16: 12-13 12After these things he appeared in another form to two of them, as they were walking into the country. 13And they went back and told the rest, but they did not believe them.

Here’s How Christ Breaks Through To Us by Sitting Us On A 3-Legged Stool of Understanding: 

The 3-D Leader explains that people often must hear new information 3 different times, from 3 different perspectives before they accept it and are able to understand enough about it to act on it appropriately.  The process is:

• The 1st time people hear new information they disbelieve it, and want to challenge it, and may even feel offended by it and attack (insult) the messenger. They feel tricked, like you sat them on a stool with only 1 leg, and you purposely set them or made them fall. So they are angry at a) the stool, b) the person who sat them on the stool, c) the stool manufacturer, d) Someone tells us about Jesus – and we first are skeptical.
• The 2nd time they hear that information, they attack it – the information, and not so much the messenger. They snatch the paper from your hand, and say, “i’m going to examine this and research and you’ll see that this information is wrong.
• At stage 2 people may open a bible to see if what you are saying is true.
• Note that when they do their own research with an open mind, they are building the 3rd leg of the stool themselves.
• The 3rd time they hear this new information, it is actionable for them, and they can use it as if they are sitting on a fully functioning 3-leg stool that is operational.

Here’s How Christ Breaks Through To Us by Sitting Us On A 3-Legged Stool of Understanding:  

The process is:

• Someone tells us about Jesus, and we disbelieve it. We get resentful and attack and insult the messenger.   We may call the one who witnesses to us, “Preacher Man” or “Holy Roller,” or “Rev” etc…
• The 2nd time we hear about Christ, we may open up and ask questions. We may go home and read our Bibles for the first time in years. We examine religious information to see if it is right or wrong.
• Note that when they do their own research with an open mind, we are seeking Christ which builds the 3rd leg of the stool upon which we can sit.
• As we call out to Christ, he shows up, and enters into our hearts and we become believers and fully functioning Disciples of Christ, who operate from a 3-leg stool of understanding.

 Unbelief limits us living for god    Mark 16:33  

Mk 16: 14 Afterward he appeared to the eleven themselves as they were reclining at table, and he rebuked them for their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they had not believed those who saw him after he had risen.

The resurrection results in these signs in our lives –  Mk 16:17-18

The Resurrection 17And these signs will accompany those who believe: in my name they will cast out demons; they will speak in new tongues; 18they will pick up serpents with their hands; and if they drink any deadly poison, it will not hurt them; they will lay their hands on the sick, and they will recover.”

Does our theology include and is our relationship with God such that we …

• first we must believe, then we will experience the signs.

• cast out demons;
• they will pick up serpents with their hands; (Acts 28:3 – 6 we see Paul survive a viper bite.)
• if they drink any deadly poison, it will not hurt them;
• they will lay their hands on the sick, and they will recover.” (In Acts 28 we also see God use Paul to heal many people.)

Mark 16:15

15And he said to them, “GO into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation”.

All the World is 

1. where we play
2. where we shop
3. where we work
4. where we travel

THE GREAT COMMISSION IS THE MINISTRY OF RECONCILIATION   

Mark 16:16 Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved,  but whoever does not believe will be condemned.

Mark 16:19 means  

1. A church ritual of baptism will save us
2. Titus 3: 5 he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit,
3. John 16:8 – the work of the Holy Spirit is to convict us to confess our sin, so we can receive and have imputed to us the righteousness of Christ, without which we are condemned.
4. John 3:18 (ESV) Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.

Mk 16: 19 We must be initiated into discipleship through the purifying influence of the Holy Spirit that baptizes us by working in our hearts and minds so we appropriate and are immersed in first the Gospel and then all of God’s Word 

Mark 16:19-20

So then after the Lord had spoken unto them, he was received up into heaven, and sat on the Right hand of God. – The esteemed and exalted position of honor and power in the throne room of heaven, from where the universe is ordered and ruled.  (Ephesians 1:20-22)

Ephesians 1: 17 – 17that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him, 18having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, 19and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to the working of his great might 20that he worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places, 21far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come. 22And he put all things under his feet and gave him as head over all things to the church, 23which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all.

Mark 16: 20 says Christ with us to spread the Gospel to see others reconciled to Him.  2 Cor 5:18: All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation SLIDE:  THE GREAT COMMISSION IS THE MINISTRY OF RECONCILIATION   

What Should We Do with This Information?

 Mark 16:1-20 teaches us

• walking by faith means moving forward even when we don’t know who will roll away the stone
• to keep walking in the way of our deliverance, so we remain free from demonic influence as did Mary Magdalene. No leisurely careless and sinful living, so the demons return to an unguarded unrighteous house and make things 7 times worse. (Matt 12:44 & Luke 11:25)
• to overcome the unbelief for which Jesus rebuked the disciples. Ask God to work in us to continually cure any hardening in our heart that will cause unbelief.
• that we need to keep learning and continually getting up if we fall down, so like Peter, our worst failure is not the final chapter of our lives. Keep in mind that the Bible books of 1 Peter & 2nd Peter are the final chapters of Peter’s life – not his 3 time denial of Christ.

To view the recorded service on YouTube, go to:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cvZg4Ie0Q3I