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
  1. To understand how fear manifests in our lives, we need to know what theses  9 core fears are:
    1. Fear of being evil or defective
    2. Fear of being unworthy of love
    3. Fear of being unvalued
    4. Fear of being without identity
    5. Fear of being useless or incompetent
    6. Fear of being without support or guidance
    7. Fear of being deprived or trapped in pain
    8. Fear of being harmed or controlled by others
    9. Fear of loss of connection, of fragmentation
  2. 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.
  3. The Woman are paralyzed with fear and choose to not obey
    1. The problem with fear is it always leads to sin.
    2. The only way to stop this is to conquer our fears. God tells us 365x in the Scriptures to not give into fear.
    3. But there is only one way to conquer our fears…
  4. Mary Magdalene Encounters Jesus in the Garden.
    1. 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)
    2. He restored peace
II. He Rolls Away our Pain, Griefs & Sorrows
  1. Defense mechanisms
    • Denial
    • Minimizing
    • Blaming oneself, others or God
    • Over-spiritualizing
    • Rationalizing
    • Intellectualizing
    • Distracting
    • Becoming Hostile
    • Medicating
III. He Rolls Away our Doubts & Uncertainties
  1. Jesus had warned them 3 times that he would die and be raised to life after 3 days
  2. And Despite seeing 3 other people raised from the dead,
    • A widows Son (Luke 7)
    • Jarius’ Daughter (Mark 5)
    • Lazarus of Bethany (John 11)
  3. 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, Hatred
    2.Pride
    3.Deceit
    4.Envy
    5.Greed (Avarice)
    6.Anxiety
    7.Gluttony
    8.Lust
    9.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.
    1. “I need help conquering a fear or anxiety.”
    2. “I need to confess something I am struggling with and ask for someone to walk with me in it.”
    3. “I need to receive forgiveness or forgive someone.”

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