He Rolled The Stone Away
Intro: The New Followers and Women Disciples
- The New Followers
- The Women Disciples
- (delivered from Seven Demons)
- (James the younger and Joseph)
- two others–James,
- James Son of Zebedee, and James the son of Alphaeus.
- Salome (either the wife of Zebedee or another single, unmarried woman).
- Joanna.
- Mary’s Sister.
- Mary and Martha.
- Others still. Maybe Peter’s Wife?
The Question:
- Why was this the question? Our culture, our patterns, our expectations
- Why wasn’t the question “Why did Jesus have to die?”
I. He Rolls Away Our Fears & Anxieties
- To understand how fear manifests in our lives, we need to know what theses 9 core fears are:
- Fear of being evil or defective
- Fear of being unworthy of love
- Fear of being unvalued
- Fear of being without identity
- Fear of being useless or incompetent
- Fear of being without support or guidance
- Fear of being deprived or trapped in pain
- Fear of being harmed or controlled by others
- Fear of loss of connection, of fragmentation
- Fear can often lead to anxiety.
- Anxiety is the act of using our imagination to envision a future that may never come to pass.
- It is extimated that 33% of people. That’s 1 in every 3 struggle with anxiety. 18% of people are diagnosed every year in North America with an Anxiety Disorder.
- The Woman are paralyzed with fear and choose to not obey
- The problem with fear is it always leads to sin.
- The only way to stop this is to conquer our fears. God tells us 365x in the Scriptures to not give into fear.
- But there is only one way to conquer our fears…
- Mary Magdalene Encounters Jesus in the Garden.
- We have to encounter Jesus. We do this through faith. We have to believe that He is real, that He exists and he rewards those who earnestly seek Him. (Hebrews 11:6)
- He restored peace
II. He Rolls Away our Pain, Griefs & Sorrows
- Defense mechanisms
- Denial
- Minimizing
- Blaming oneself, others or God
- Over-spiritualizing
- Rationalizing
- Intellectualizing
- Distracting
- Becoming Hostile
- Medicating
III. He Rolls Away our Doubts & Uncertainties
- Jesus had warned them 3 times that he would die and be raised to life after 3 days
- And Despite seeing 3 other people raised from the dead,
- A widows Son (Luke 7)
- Jarius’ Daughter (Mark 5)
- Lazarus of Bethany (John 11)
- How often do we doubt the ones Jesus sends to us so that we are ready to encounter Him?
IV. He Rolls Away Sin, and Death
- Included in this is sickness, and brokenness.
- He made a way for us to be righteous, holy, and have His redemptive Love.
- The 9 core fears lead to these 9 kinds of deadly sin:1.Resentful, Bitterness, Hatred2.Pride3.Deceit4.Envy5.Greed (Avarice)6.Anxiety7.Gluttony8.Lust9.Sloth
So What?
- Jesus died for all of us, not just our sins.
- BUT He had to take our place indeath so that sin would no longer separate us from the Abundant Everlasting Life found only in relationship with God.
- When He died and resurrected:
- the Stone was rolled away that separated us from Life
- the power of sin & death was broken
- He made a way to give us peace with God and in our inner beings.
Now What?
What stone do you need Jesus to roll away?
- Fear & Anxiety
- Sorrows, Pain, or Grief
- Doubts about Jesus (God), yourself, others?
- Uncertainties about your relationships, your purpose or the future?
- Sin, Brokenness & Death
Discipling Conversation Opportunities
- If this connected with you… then let’s Journey Farther this week.
- Make an appointment with Drew and/or LeeAnn.
- “I need help conquering a fear or anxiety.”
- “I need to confess something I am struggling with and ask for someone to walk with me in it.”
- “I need to receive forgiveness or forgive someone.”