What’s Over Your Head Is Under His Feet!

What's Over Your Head Is Under His Feet!

A. Good morning and Happy Easter! Christ is risen and today we celebrate His victory over death, hell, and the grave. 1. Welcome to our wonderful church family and all our friends who chose to join us this morning. As a congregation, C.T. is moving into a fantastic future and we would love for you to join this exciting journey with us. 2. When we say, "We're on the move," we mean that literally as well as spiritually. If you've recently driven down Beltway 8 toward Summerwood, I'm sure you've seen our new building that we plan to occupy before the end of this year. 3. This beautiful structure between C.E. King and Garrett Road is situated in the most rapidly expanding area of our city, just a few minutes from here. 4. But without you, it means nothing. Your presence--not buildings or things--is most important. We want you to be part of what God is doing at C.T. 5. Our text today is from the Books of Ephesians and Matthew:

Text: Ephesians 1:15-23 (NKJV) - "Therefore I also, after I heard of your faith in the

Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints, [16] do not cease to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers [17] that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him, [18] the eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, [19] and what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the working of His mighty power [20] which He worked in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, [21] far above all principality and power and might and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in that which is to come.

[22] And He put all things under His feet, and gave Him to be head over all things to the church, [23] which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all."

Matthew 14:28-31 (NKJV) - "And Peter answered Him and said, "Lord, if it is You, command me to come to You on the water." [29] So He said, "Come." And when Peter had come down out of the boat, he walked on the water to go to Jesus. [30] But when he saw that the wind was boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink he cried out, saying, "Lord, save me!" [31] And immediately Jesus stretched out His hand and caught him, and said to him, "O you of little faith, why did you doubt?"

B. I realize that these verses are not what you would expect to hear on Easter Sunday, but on this beautiful morning, I feel led to begin here. 1. The resurrection of Jesus is the single most important event in the history of mankind. Think about it.....coming out of a grave is no easy task under the best of circumstances, especially if you're dead! 2. Joke: You'll Never Get Out of This Grave! A guy left a bar late one night and decided to take a shortcut through a graveyard. Since a funeral was scheduled for the next morning, the workers had dug a hole in the ground for the casket to be buried. In the darkness, the tipsy fellow walked right into the grave and fell in. He shouted for help, but no one could hear him. After repeatedly jumping to get out, he finally fell into a state of exhaustion and decided to sit in a corner of the grave until the workers arrived the next morning to get him out. While he was dozing, another tipsy fellow also decided to take a shortcut through the same graveyard and ended up in the same grave. After recovering from the fall, the second fellow assessed the situation and thought he might be able to jump high enough to grab the edge of the grave and pull himself out.

So the second fellow jumped unsuccessfully several times and was ready for another jump when the first guy, hidden in the opposite end, blearily exclaimed, "There's no need to try. You'll NEVER get out of this grave." But.....he did! 3. Three days after the most painful execution that ever existed, Jesus walked out of that tomb! 4. Talk about cruel and unusual punishment, Jesus was first betrayed by Judas and then arrested by the temple guards. After a trial by the Sanhedrin, they plucked His beard, beat Him severely, and then sent Him to Pilate. 5. After examining Him, Pilate sent Jesus to Herod, who questioned Him and then sent Him back to Pilate. His next beating was with a Cat-o'-ninetails, a cruel whipping contraption often with metal or pieces of bone woven into the leather thongs. In the hands of a skillful soldier, this instrument could rip the skin and flesh from the back and ribs of the one being punished. A crown of thorns was then hammered into His brow.

a. ("The Passion of the Christ" ) 6. Pilate then presented Christ to the people, thinking their lust for blood

had been satisfied. Instead, moved by the religious leaders who wanted Him dead, they cried, "Crucify Him! Crucify Him!" At that point, Pilate washed his hands, symbolically saying that he was removing himself from the matter, and sent Jesus to be crucified. 7. Christ was then forced to carry His own cross to the scene of the execution. We are told that every step He took left a footprint of blood. The road where He walked is still called the Via Dolorosa. Many times I have walked that crooked road that climbs toward Golgotha, thinking of what Jesus did for me!

a. (Scenes of the crucifixion: ) 8. At Golgotha, His feet and wrists were nailed to the cross. In that day, the

wrist was considered as part of the hand. Then with a thud, they thrust the cross into a hole in the ground.

9. To breathe, our Lord had to push Himself up against the nails in His feet, while pulling Himself up against the nails in His wrists. To exhale, He had to sink down on the cross. Weakened from the loss of blood, He finally cried, "IT IS FINISHED!" And that's how He died.

10. In the Jewish culture, a new day begins at 6 p.m. rather than midnight. Since the next day was the Sabbath, the Jewish Law would not allow a victim to remain on a cross or to be buried on the Sabbath. So, they broke the legs of the two thieves crucified with Jesus. This was done to hasten their death by making it impossible to push themselves up to breathe. But they discovered that Jesus was already dead.

11. Jesus died on Friday. Because 6 p.m. was rapidly approaching, His disciples buried Him in a borrowed tomb from Joseph of Arimathea. Their plans were to return on Sunday morning to anoint His body for burial.

12. The tomb was sealed by the Romans and soldiers stood guard until Sunday, the third day. For three days He remained in the tomb: Friday evening, all of Saturday, and a portion of Sunday. But when Sunday morning came, the tomb was empty! a. (Scene of the resurrection: ).

C. Since Jesus rose from the dead on the third day, I declare the resurrection of Jesus to be the most extraordinary event in all of history! 1. This statement is not meant to disregard the many accomplishments of men. To be sure, many significant discoveries have occurred that have forever changed the way we live. 2. In the field of geography, the discovery of America literally changed the world as it was perceived. This one event proved that the earth was round and not flat, which also changed our thinking about the universe and opened the door for trade and commerce between nations. 3. In the realm of physics, though it was not his intention, Isaac Newton changed the world with his discovery of the Law of Gravity. Understanding that the universe is governed by invisible laws, this was the first hint that other laws may exist.

4. Once the mind was expanded to the realization of other possibilities, men were no longer content to merely exist or take our world for granted. Thus began the search and discovery of other unexplored territory in the realm of physics that govern our world.

5. Next to be launched were feats of engineering, such as modern machinery, the Industrial Revolution, the wonder of the internal combustible engine, the automobile and the jet airplane.

6. Aided by the invention of the microscope, the discovery of the bacterial world opened the field of biology in ways never imagined. Horrific diseases that once decimated huge segments of the population could now be conquered. Life expectancy increased and child mortality rates improved.

7. With the invention of the computer, once again the world changed dramatically. What would we do without smart phones, the Internet, and the worldwide web? We now live in a world filled with marvels of technology our grandfathers never dreamed of.

8. These, and many other significant advances have forever changed the way we live. But none have come close to the importance of what happened on that Sunday morning 2,000 years ago! If you will allow it, the resurrection of Jesus can totally change your life!

D. In Paul's epistle to the Ephesians, his desire was for believers everywhere to understand the significance of the resurrection! 1. In particular, believers must be assured that the resurrection is more than an historical event. It's practical application and benefits can transform our daily lives! 2. Paul was so passionate about early believers knowing what Jesus' resurrection has achieved for them--and for us, he prayed that four things would happen. 3. First, he prayed that we could experience a revelation of what Christ accomplished for us in the resurrection. Though a scholar himself, Paul admits that he grapples with the inadequacies of language to convey

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