Luke 24:1-10

“But very early on Sunday morning the women went to the tomb, taking the spices they had prepared. ² They found that the stone had been rolled away from the entrance. ³ So they went in, but they didn’t find the body of the Lord Jesus.⁴ As they stood there puzzled, two men suddenly appeared to them, clothed in dazzling robes. ⁵ The women were terrified and bowed with their faces to the ground. Then the men asked, “Why are you looking among the dead for someone who is alive? ⁶ He isn’t here! He is risen from the dead! Remember what he told you back in Galilee,⁷ that the Son of Man must be betrayed into the hands of sinful men and be crucified, and that he would rise again on the third day.”⁸ Then they remembered that he had said this. ⁹ So they rushed back from the tomb to tell his eleven disciples—and everyone else—what had happened. ¹⁰ It was Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and several other women who told the apostles what had happened. ¹¹ But the story sounded like nonsense to the men, so they didn’t believe it. ¹² However, Peter jumped up and ran to the tomb to look. Stooping, he peered in and saw the empty linen wrappings; then he went home again, wondering what had happened.”

Last time we saw the women walked right past the power of God and missed it. How often does that happen in our lives where we miss the first miracle because we are so focused on the misery. Do you realize that the power of the resurrection means that God can remove your stones of doubt and despair? That He can roll away your regret and push aside your pain and replace it with peace. That He can fill you with healing and hope so that you can help others. Only God can bring ministry out of your mess, only He can bring purpose out of your pain. It’s here in the confusion and the chaos that God intersected their lives, sending messengers to minister to these messed up women. God responded first with:

• Reassurance Luke vs 4-6

When the Angels appeared, the women responded with reverent fear and bowed their faces to the ground. They were no longer living in the fear of their circumstances but in the fear of Christ. The truth is you will bow to fear, either wrong fear or reverent fear. It’s at this point that the Angels ask a question and make a statement. The question that they ask is this:“Why are you looking among the dead for someone who is alive?”I think we need to ask ourselves that same question today, why are we dwelling on death instead of living in the life. Is your life revolving around what is rotting or around the resurrection? Many of us are defined more by death than by deliverance. Look if you are saved then it’s time to stop living in the tomb and start living out the truth. Because it’s here in verse 6 that the Angels make a startling statement; “He isn’t here! He is risen from the dead!”You are not going to find life in the grave so stop dwelling in the place of death. Second God responded by:

• Reminded them of Truth Luke Vs 6-8

“Remember what he told you back in Galilee, that the Son of Man must be betrayed into the hands of sinful men and be crucified, and that he would rise again on the third day.”This is a call to remember because when it comes to God the Father we tend to be forgetful. Why do we need to be in the Word of God daily because we tend to forget what God has said. They needed the reminder because they had fallen into the trap of doing what they thought made sense instead of what the Savior had said. Have you fallen into the trap of trusting in your wisdom instead of God’s Word? Proverbs 14:12 says “There is a way that appears to be right, but in the end it leads to death.”Is Scripture your sounding board? Do you make decisions based on the Father or your feelings? Is it about His Will or your way? We need the daily reminder of His Word or we end up living in the lies. Thirdly God responded by:

• Redirecting their lives Luke Vs 9

These women showed up to serve the Savior with spices and left serving through their speech. It’s not about what you have its about who you have. Many of us are not serving today because we are so focused on what we don’t have instead of who we do have. In our own strength we have nothing, but in Him we have everything. Are you relying on the Redeemer or on self? It’s the difference between trying and trusting. One leads to resting the other to running around. When they tried to follow their plan of anointing a dead Jesus they had a major problem because there was no body to anoint. They were sincere in their service, but it wasn’t based on what God was doing it was based on what they could do. These women went from anointing the dead to announcing Good News to the living. God hasn’t called us to a ministry of covering up the stench of death, he has called us to the ministry of confronting the stench of sin with the gift of salvation. They went from sorrow to service. You were not saved to be stuck in a tomb sitting on the sidelines, you were saved to share the Good News of God. It was the truth of God’s Word that changed the direction of their lives, from death to life, from self to serving. It’s not about being in the Word it’s about the Word being in you. Are you letting the Word guide your way or are you trying to use the Word to get your way?