Stop Staring At That Stone

We've been in a series as a church called see King Jesus Our final installment of that series is happening right now, and I'm so glad that you're here for it I want you to turn in your Bible to John chapter 20 this is my favorite chapter of the personal experiences of people concerning the resurrection of Jesus Christ in the Bible and I'm gonna read to you from verses 1 & 2 then I'll drop down for time's sake and read verse 11 through 18 and The Lord has a word for you today. I pray that you will receive it in faith The Bible says in John chapter 20 verse 1 now on the first day of the week Mary Magdalene came to the tomb early while it was still dark and saw that the stone Had been taken away from the tomb So she ran and went to Simon Peter and the other disciple the one whom Jesus loved That's the guy who's writing this by the way Wow and Said to them they have taken the Lord out of the tomb and we do not know where they have laid him So Peter and John go and check it out. They run back home verse 11 but Mary Stood weeping outside the tomb and as she wept she stooped to look into the tomb and She saw two angels in white sitting where the body of Jesus had lain one at the head and one at the feet They said to her woman. Why are you weeping? She said to them they have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid him Having said this she turned around and saw Jesus standing, but she did not know that it was Jesus Jesus said to her woman. Why are you weeping? Whom are you seeking? Supposing him to be the gardener she said to him sir if you have carried him away Tell me where you laid him, and I'll take him away. I'll take care of this I see you men can't do anything right you can't guard it to him. Just let me deal with it Just show me where the mess is I'll clean it up But Jesus said to her Mary She turned and said to him in Aramaic Rabboni

Which means teacher? Jesus said to her do not cling to me for I have not yet ascended to the Father but go to my brothers Wouldn't that be something? You're one of the ones who just denied Jesus while he was on the cross, and he calls you his brother What a wonderful Savior what a merciful God what a patient and compassionate creator and Redeemer What a faithful friend don't don't cling to me But go tell my brothers. I am ascending to my father and your father to my God in your God Mary Magdalene went and announced to the disciples listen to this I have seen The Lord I feel like she said it with a little bit of a and you didn't kind of attitude behind it somebody say I Come on. Shout it like you're proud about it. I have seen the Lord She told them that I have seen the Lord and that he had said these things to her go back to verse 1 for just a Moment, I'll give you my title Now on the first day of the week Mary Magdalene came to the tomb early While it was still dark and saw that the stone had been taken away from the tomb The word of the Lord today. He told me to tell you Stop staring at that stone Stop tell your neighbor real quick stop it Tell him stop staring at that stone You've been focused on some of the wrong things you've been looking in some of the wrong places You've been fixated on some of the failures, but the Lord said today stop looking stop staring stop standing At that stone father. Thank you for your word preach it better than I can use my voice box I'm your vessel in Jesus name. Amen

You may be seated Stop staring at that stone One Of the things that is the most remarkable in this text is that Mary Magdalene who has a very Painful past is the very first person that Jesus the risen Christ reveals his power to Even more specifically We know from another scripture in Mark chapter 16 that Mary had been possessed of seven demons And Jesus had driven them out So we understand something about her pain when he was taken away, because he had done so much for her. What really got my attention about the text, as I read it to share with you today, is the contrast between the angel's response to the stone being rolled and Mary's response to the stone being rolled. Now, this is not Mary, the mother of Jesus. This is Mary from Magdala. She's not Mary Magdalene, like that's her last name. That's where she's from, like Jesus the Nazarene, Mary the Magdalene. So, this woman who had been possessed by seven devils has an encounter with two angels. Isn't God hilarious? I mean, what does she know about angels? She's lived a very, very difficult life, and she's been through a lot of things, and the Lord chooses to reveal his glory sometimes to the people who have suffered the most, to the people others are most skeptical of. When she went and told the disciples about Jesus' stone being rolled away, they didn't believe her at all. That's why they ran to check it out for themselves. They went back home, and she stood at the stone weeping. As she stands at the stone weeping, the angels from inside… Two angels who, by the way, the men did not see. I don't know what that means, that the woman saw them and the men didn't. I don't know if that means women have the ability to look for things a little more deeply than men. John saw a linen cloth, a face cloth. When I read it this time, I thought about how different people can be going through the same experience or looking at the same picture and have a completely different perspective on it. Isn't that true? When we say the stone is rolled away, even when I read that verse to you… The stone is rolled away. I heard a few people start to shout. For us, that has become the icon and the image of victory. The ultimate victory for the Christian is the fact that the stone

is rolled away. To us, that represents power, that they can put him on the cross but they can't hold him, that they can betray him and mock him but they cannot take his true crown, that they can reject him but they cannot diminish his royalty. For us, the stone is rolled as a statement of power. For us, the stone is rolled as a statement of possibility. It makes us feel like anything can happen in our life. It makes us feel like maybe we're not stuck where we are forever. The stone is rolled. When I say the stone is rolled, you want to shout, because to us that's a statement of praise. The stone is rolled. We all, 2,000 years after the fact, start to praise God, because when we say the stone is rolled, it's a statement of praise. But when Mary said it, for her, it was a problem. It was a problem because the last time she saw Jesus, he was laying in a grave. She goes back to the place where she last saw him, and he is not there. The stone is rolled. So, when she says to Peter, the stone is rolled, it is no coincidence that she says it to Peter. Peter, we learn in the garden, has a sword, and she wants him to do something about this situation. Who took him? Go find him. Peter, the stone is rolled. Isn't it amazing how we say it as a praise and she saw it as a problem? Is that God's message to us that some of the things you see as a problem today will be a praise tomorrow? Don't get too discouraged about the job change. Some of the things that are a problem today might be a praise tomorrow. Don't be too upset about the breakup. Some of the things that are a problem today will be a praise tomorrow. You might be thanking God a few days from now about what he took away, because you might realize the first thing God does before he brings forth is take away. So, I need you to go ahead and do what we do by faith. We praise God today for the problem before we see the power break through. I'm getting ahead of myself. Let me slow this message down. Well, go ahead and tell somebody. Praise him anyway. See, I think what's amazing about Mary is that she went to the tomb even though there was nothing she could do about the situation. I think it's amazing about Mary that she went with her spices with the other women just to anoint the body of the one who had died and disappointed her. You judge her because she wept and did not believe in the resurrection. I celebrate her because she walked in the dark to the tomb while weeping. I think that's a faith worth emulating, when you can walk toward the tomb while weeping, when you can walk toward the tomb while weeping. When she gets to the tomb, she is met by a sight that to her is a problem, but to us

is a praise. The stone is rolled away. Tell three people, the stone is rolled away. Whether that's a problem or a praise, that depends on which way you look at it. Some of the ways we understand things on this side of the resurrection, they had to believe by faith on that side of the resurrection. Some of the things we know now as fact, we had to understand that they took by faith. Two people looking at the same picture from a completely different perspective. In fact, I want to show you a picture, a family picture, a family Easter picture that we never posted. Can I show you this? This is my favorite Furtick family Easter picture, but we never posted it, so I want to share it with you now. That's Graham, that's Abby, and that's Holly. Is it big enough that you can see it? Answer me. Is it big enough that you can see it? Why are y'all so quiet on Easter? Y'all act like y'all are scared that they might come crucify you on Easter if you shout. Nobody's coming in here to get you. Can you see the picture? Okay, I can make it bigger if you can. A little bit bigger. That's what God is saying about your dream too. A little bit bigger. That's what God is saying about your view of him. A little bit bigger. That's what God is saying about your praise too. A little bit bigger. You need it a little bit bigger?

Can y'all make it a little bit bigger? Well, let me break it down for you. In this picture, Abby is crying, Graham is confused, Holly is happy. What's happening in this picture that Graham is confused, Abby is crying, and Holly is happy? Let me show you the picture that happened 30 minutes before that. Abby is crying, of course. She's crying about a bunny. That's right. This picture was taken at the Elevation Church staff event called The Hop. At The Hop, somebody thought it'd be a wonderful idea if they had a drawing and some kid, some blessed staff kid, got to take home a live bunny as a pet. As a blessing to all of our staff, we wanted to send one of their kids home with a bunny. That's called pastoral care, discernment. Anyway, that's Abby holding the bunny that she had the opportunity to win as her name was entered in the drawing. So she thought. Show them the earlier picture. She didn't win. So this is Abby not winning. This is Abby weeping. This is Graham. See, Graham's verse in this passage is John 20, verse 13. Graham is saying in this picture, Woman, why are you weeping? Put the picture back up. So Graham is why. Abby is weeping, and Holly… What is Holly smiling about? We've wondered this for 11 years, but I solved the mystery.

Last night I said, Why were you smiling while your daughter was crying? She said, Because I knew she wasn't going to win, because I did not put her name in the hat for the bunny, because I knew that I would be the one changing the paper for the bunny. Abby is finding out with the rest of you why her mom is happy while she is weeping. So we have one person praising, we have one person in pain, and we have one person perplexed. Put the picture back up one more time. Which one are you? One is happy. Holly is happy. She rigged this whole thing. She's the most devious pastor's wife in all of history. Y'all think she's sweet, and she is, but she's also strategic. She said, I rigged this bunny thing. You weren't going to ever get a bunny. Abby is brokenhearted about the bunny that she was never going to get. Graham is saying what Jesus said. Woman, why are you weeping? I don't know where Elijah is. He's probably feeding the bunny some peanut M&Ms, trying to get them to choke on a peanut allergy, or maybe feeding them a peat, trying to see if they're cannibal. Elijah isn't pictured, but Holly is happy. He's weeping, and Graham is wondering why. Because of a bunny. Now she's four years old. So, why is she crying over a bunny? Crying over something she didn't really lose. She never had it to begin with. So now bridge with me. Mary said, they have taken my Lord away.

He's the only one who really saw me for what I could be. He's the only one that saw past the demons that were running my life by default and drove them out. He is the only one who had the power to see the Mary beneath the misery. He is the only one who ever spoke to my issue and showed me my identity, and he's gone. I don't know what to do about the fact that he's gone, but I am going to this tomb. If it's the last thing I do, I'm going to see to it that he has a proper burial. They didn't get to bury him right. He died so late in the day they had to lay him to rest in a tomb that was nearby. They didn't even get to anoint his body right. I'm at least going to finish the job. I can't bring him back. I can't understand. I can't stop crying. I can't explain it. I can't make sense of it. I can't redeem it in this moment, but I'm going to do what I'm able to do." She gets to the stone, and it's rolled. Are you serious? The angels are rejoicing, because to them the stone rolled means risen, but to her the stone rolled means robbed. I came to say they were looking at the same stone. They were looking at the exact same stone. The angels said, "'Risen,' and Mary said, "'Robbed.'" Do you know there are people in here today who are looking at their life and feeling like they're robbed, that God has left them, that my joy is gone, my peace is gone, my life is over, it's all done for me, it's gone, and I'm here at church, and I'm dressed up in church, but I feel like I'm robbed down on the inside, and there's somebody else sitting in this same church with the worst situation, and because he is risen they have a perspective to know…

Watch this. Sometimes it is not what you are looking at. It is what you believe about what you are looking at that determines how you feel when you see it. Look at it differently. If you look at the stone being rolled as the evidence that someone came and stole the body, you will weep. If you look at the stone being rolled away as the evidence that his presence could not be contained in a borrowed grave, it will cause you to rejoice. So I came to say today, change your angle. Change the angle you are looking at your life. The resurrection is more than just a cute cliché. When we say the stone is rolled, we are not simply saying that God can do a miracle. We are not simply saying that God can do great things. We are not simply saying that God can do the impossible. We are saying that, but we are also saying that there is no situation in your life, no heartbreak in your life, no disease in your life, no Devil in your life, no possession, no power, no scheme, no curse. There is nothing too big for our God. I want the whole church to praise him right now. I mean every single person in this church to praise him right now. The angel said, Risen. Mary said, Rah. I want you to look at the problem that's in your life right now. Is it really a problem, or is it a platform? Is it really a problem, or is it an opportunity for God to show you what he alone can do? Mary is at the tomb, and she is staring at the stone. The thing we wonder about Mary at this point is, how could somebody drive seven Devils out of you and you not recognize them when you saw them? How could somebody do something so profound for you and you be blind to beholding them?

At first I thought it was because of Mary's tears that she could not see Jesus, which may have contributed to the fact that she couldn't see him. Our pain has a way of blocking our perspective. see the truth through your tears." See, if the Enemy gets you so discouraged that you believe this is all it's ever going to be, you'll never see what God is doing, because you can't see the truth through your tears. I thought that when the Scripture said that she did not recognize Jesus, she did not know it was him, that maybe she was blinded by her own tears. I thought, how many of us are. How many of us cannot see him through our sorrow even though he is designated by Isaiah as the man of sorrows? I thought about how sometimes in our life we trust our tears more than we trust what God tells us. We will allow the Enemy to get us in a position, whether through depression or isolation or our sin or our addiction, that we cannot see the truth of who God is through our tears. That was a contributing factor for sure. But I also noticed in verse 1 it said that Mary went to the tomb early in the morning while it was still dark. That helped me to realize a second reason she couldn't see him exactly is that she was in transition. It's difficult to see God through tears, and it's difficult to see God in transition. It's easy to see God when everything in your life looks like you expected it to look. It was easy for her to receive Jesus as a teacher as long as she could see the one who was teaching, but now he's risen. While him being risen will later be a reason for her to praise him, right now it's a problem, because she can't see him through her tears, and she can't see him in the transition. The way the Jewish people marked time was very different than the way we mark time. See, we typically take a clock and tell the calendar when to begin a new day. The Jewish people marked the day not by a clock but from sun down to sun down. Now, you have to think about Jesus' death. He died on Friday. He stayed dead until Sunday, but he was only there 36 hours. How do we say it's three days when it was only 36 hours? Because there were a few hours between when Jesus was crucified and when the sun went down. That counted as a full day. There was silent Saturday when the women prepared the spices and made their plans. We're going to the tomb. Even though we're sad, we're going to the tomb. Even though we don't know what comes next, we're going to the tomb. Then, of course, there was Sunday when Jesus got up, but notice what he did. He got up while it was still dark. What that speaks to me is God is moving before I know that he is. God does stuff in the dark. God does stuff in places that are unseen

by you. God does things in places that are unrecognized by you. God does things in transition. How many are going through a transition right now in your life and you feel like it's hard for you to recognize God? Come on. Nod at me. Wave a pinky. Throw a shoe. Do something. Going through a transition right now. It's not exactly night. It's not exactly day. It's the third day, but it's still early. I'm in progress in this place in my life, and I have tears, and I have transition. The Bible says that while she was looking into the tomb… Not for Jesus but for a corpse. See, Mary was not looking for what Jesus was. She was looking for what Jesus had been. She was looking for what he had been. She watched him die on the cross. She watched him be buried in the grave. Some of the reason we don't see Jesus is because of our tears, and some of the reason we don't see Jesus is because of our transition. Some of the reason we don't see Jesus is because we are trapped. We are trapped in the last way we saw him. We are trapped. We don't think he's moving because he's not moving like he used to. We don't think he's present because we don't feel him like we used to. We don't think he's guiding us because we're not going where we thought we would go, and so Mary, while stooping to look into the tomb, sees two angels where the body of Jesus had been, one at the feet, one at the head, and nothing in between. I love it, because it's a reversal of the cross. Jesus died between two thieves. When he was raised, his body had been between two angels. He's changing places. He's not gone, but he's changed places. God has not left your life. God has not left your family. God has not left your situation. God has not left you alone. God has not left you helpless. God has not left you without a… comforter. He's just changing places. You're staring at a stone wondering, where did he go? But you should be staring at a stone asking, where is he at? Because the Bible says… I love the Word of God. I love the Word of God. I read the Word of God. It speaks to me. The Word of God gets down in my spirit, and it reminds me that sometimes I am looking in the wrong place for the right person. I have the right person but the wrong place, because you're looking for Jesus behind a stone. So, the man says, Why are you weeping? And she says, I don't know where they have laid him. I want to take that apart for a moment. Verse 13. I don't know where they have laid him. Help me to say it like I saw it, Lord. There are two things that are keeping Mary from seeing Jesus that might be keeping you. I don't know if you've felt lately like God isn't with you. I

don't know if you've been feeling abandoned by God or if you've been doing pretty good, but there will be a season in your life where you will need Jesus, and you will not see him, and you will pray, God, forgive me. The Enemy will be telling you he can't forgive you for that. There will be a season in your life where you'll be saying, God, help me. The Enemy will be telling you you are beyond help. When you get to that season where you cannot see him, remember these two things about Mary. It wasn't just the tears. It wasn't just the transition. It wasn't just that she was trapped. It was this. They laid him. Two assumptions she's making here that are about to be proven incorrect. One is they moved him. Jesus said, Nobody has the power to take my life from me. I lay it down. So, there is no they in the world that is stronger than God. There is no they in the world. I speak this word to somebody who's dealing with rejection. I speak this word to somebody who's dealing with shame. I speak this word. I break the power of they off of your life, because it is not they that moved him. Well, that's the first assumption, that she said they. But the second one is a little less evident. She said, I want to see where they laid him. I can't get off of that point. They… Jesus is the one who got up, and she's giving them the credit for moving him. He's the one who… Stop giving the Enemy credit for stuff God is doing. Is this a good Easter message? Stop giving the Enemy credit. Jesus got up. Nobody moved him. He moved himself. Nobody held him. He stayed there as long as he wanted to. So, she said, where have they laid him? Look at the next verse. Verse 14. Having said this, she did something so simple. She turned around and saw Jesus standing, but she didn't know it was Jesus. Why didn't she know it was Jesus? Her tears, her transition. Why didn't she know it was Jesus? Was he wearing a disguise? Why didn't she know? Did Jesus change all of a sudden? Did he have an S on his chest for Savior now that he's up from the grave and he used to look like a carpenter? Why didn't she know it was Jesus? Having said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing. Go back to verse 13. She said, Show me where they laid him. But when she saw him, he wasn't lying. He was standing. So, I came to announce on Easter Sunday he wasn't lying. When he said, I'm going to the cross, he wasn't lying. When he said, they're going to mock me and put a crown of thorns on my head, he wasn't lying. When he told them I'm going to be in the ground three days, he wasn't lying. When he told them after three days I will rebuild this temple and rise from the dead, he wasn't lying. When he said,

I'm going to take the keys of death and hell and the grave, he wasn't lying. When he said, I have all power and authority… He wasn't lying when he said I'm the king of kings and the Lord of lords He wasn't lying when he said I'll provide all your needs He wasn't lying when he said I am God. I am the way the truth and the life He wasn't lying He was standing and he's still standing and so am I So I celebrate Easter That I celebrate the king Who didn't stay in the grave An angel at his feet and an angel at his head But step away from that stone He didn't stay dead He got up He got up He's standing He's standing Stand up on your feet and celebrate the king Who stands at the center of the throne I see King Jesus Standing at the center of the throne looking like a lamb that has been slain High five everybody you can reach and say I'm standing with him I'm standing with him. I'm standing with him. He cast seven devils out of me I'm standing with him. I've been staring at a stone But I'm turning to the Savior God said Stop staring at that stone. It's turn around time. It's turn around time It's turn around time

Do a quick 360 right there in your And do what Mary did and turn around Turn around I serve a God who can turn a grave into a garden I Five your neighbors say stop staring at that stone That stone can't save you that stone can't stop God that divorce can't stop God that Depression can't stop God that mental illness can't stop God that chronic fatigue can't stop God That shame can't stop God So I'm doing what Mary did I'm turning away from the stone and I'm turning to the Savior Because I've been staring at the wrong stone Matthew 21 says this Jesus said to them Jesus said to them have you not read in the Scriptures the stone that the builders Rejected has become the cornerstone This was the Lord's doing Jesus said they didn't move my body. I did they didn't roll that stone I did they didn't do it. I did God did that This What's the Lord's doing and it is marvelous in our eyes? you got a stone and a Savior a stone and a Savior a stone and a Savior and I see you Doing what Mary did today and stop staring At that stone when she turned to face Jesus The stone was behind her I came to tell you put it behind you

What you did what they said what you didn't get what it was what it could have been Put it behind you and Like Mary today There's somebody who's saying Bye-bye stone Hello Jesus What blew my mind and I gotta show you this I gotta show you this I studied all week you think I'm not gonna show You this I don't even like to read and I studied all week you think I'm not gonna show you this She did not know that it was Jesus But verse 15, Jesus said to her, same thing the angel said, Woman, why are you weeping? The same thing that Graham's face said in the picture, Woman, why are you weeping? The same thing God is asking you today, why are you weeping when he won? But see, God can still be winning while you're weeping. The two are not mutually exclusive. And through her tears, she looks at someone she doesn't even recognize. She thought he was a gardener and she was kind of right. John chapter 19, verse 41 says this. Now in the place where he was crucified, there was a garden. And in the garden, a new tomb in which no one had yet been laid. But he wasn't lying there anymore, was he? And the focus is always either the grave or the garden, the stone or the Savior, the impossible situation that you're facing or the one who does the impossible. Does a rolled stone mean you got robbed or does it mean that he has risen? So she still can't see him. It takes time sometimes. Sometimes even people who God has really touched say, I just don't see you right now. And that's all right, because watch this. Jesus said, whom are you seeking? And we know the irony of this, that she is seeking Jesus, but Jesus is seeking her. She doesn't know where to look, but he knows where to find her. God knows where to find you. God knows what you've been into. God knows what you've been up to. God knows what you've been on about. God knows where you've been off track. God knows where you've wasted time. God knows where you said it wrong, did it wrong, got it wrong, and keep going back, but watch this. She says, sir, is some gardener messing with me? I'm trying to grieve, and this gardener is bothering me. Was it you? Did you move him? If you've carried him away,

just tell me where you've laid him. I'll take him away. Of course, she can't really do that, but she's just trying anything. Then Jesus said, Mary. Then she turned and said, Rabboni. When she turned from the tomb, she saw the teacher. But I thought she already turned in verse 14. The first time. Go back. She turned around and saw Jesus standing, but she didn't know it was Jesus. She turned back to the tomb, and Jesus was close enough for her to touch. I want to tell you today he's close enough for you to touch, but you have to turn around and stop staring at that stone. Your tears are not telling you the truth. When she said, Rabboni, she clinged to his feet for a minute, and he said, You can't cling to me. I have a job for you to do. I need you to go tell those boys… By the way, because Jesus is trolling, he's like, Call them my brothers. You have to really let them know how graceful I am, even though I could call them something else right about now. Make sure you let them know I called them my bros. She takes off running, but in order for her to carry out her assignment, she had to stop staring at the stone. She had to watch this. She had to pivot from her past. She had to turn around and put the past behind her. All seven Devils are gone now, and there are two angels in this tomb, and there is a Savior who loves you. Let's take a minute on this resurrection Sunday and let the Enemy know, I'm coming out of this tomb. I'm stepping away from this stone. My tomorrow is not in this tomb. My tomorrow can't fit in this tomb. Come on, throw up your hand like this and wave real quick and say, Bye-bye stone. Come on, say, Bye-bye shame. Say, Goodbye fear. Goodbye grief. Goodbye bondage. Can we take four minutes and say together… as a church goodbye yesterday