As the these survivors walked in this morning, I was reminded of a wonderful promise given by the Lord concerning a day of restoration. Rev 21:4 And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away. Rev 21:5 And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And he said unto me, Write: for these words are true and faithful. Without the resurrection, this promise lays flat and will remain unfulfilled. There will be no more disease, sorrows or tears of pain. The resurrections puts all of this things in their proper place as defeated. Until that day, we are reminded of the implications and promises due to the resurrection. “Preachers and believers therefore have a hard lot if in this life only they have hope in Christ. Better to be anything than a Christian under these terms! It is a gross absurdity in a Christian to admit the supposition of no resurrection or future state. It would leave no hope beyond this world, and would frequently make his condition the worst in the world.” Matthew Henry
You might be here today and you might have not been to church in a while. Your days of worshipping together with the church have been few and far between, but God wants to speak to you. There could have been a million things to go wrong that kept you from coming to the church today, but God saw fit to protect your days in order to bring you under the instruction and truth of His word, my friend, His words are not to be taken lightly.
Turn with me in your Bibles to the book of Acts, the history of the apostles, Acts chapter 2. All over the world today, people will be remembering that Jesus is alive. Even though this is a day which we have set aside to celebrate the resurrection, every single day of our lives should be filled with the reality that Jesus defeated the grave. A good rule of thumb for a believer, preach the gospel to yourself daily. Get up in the morning and reflect on this truth, “Christ is Risen, He is Risen Indeed.”
There will be churches and meetings this morning that will re-tale the history of what happened on the resurrection morning. The events leading up to that moment, when the empty tomb would be discovered, have been events that shook the very core of those that believed and trusted in Jesus as Messiah. Jesus three days before, they saw their Lord beaten to a place of unrecognition, they saw Him spit upon, bruised, crowned with thorns, punished like a common criminal. They saw their Lord pierced with a spear and it felt as if their hopes were pierced as well. They dropped the Lord placed Him in the tomb of a rich man, as according to prophecy. But on That early resurrection morning, the women made their way to the tomb that they would find empty. Luk_24:5 And as they were afraid, and bowed down their faces to the earth, they said unto them, Why seek ye the living among the dead? Jesus overcome death, and revealed His risen nature to the disciples until He ascended to the father. Jesus had given the disciples a promise, that the Holy Spirit will come upon them, but He first must go to the Father. Joh 16:7 Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you.
As we have been walking through the gospel of John on Sunday mornings, we have encountered some truths about the work of the Holy Spirit. He is our helper, our comforter, He will point to the work and person of Jesus and He will convict the world of sin. Jesus made these predictions about the Holy Spirit and later the disciples waited patiently in an upper room on the day of Pentecost. I could spent our time laying our valid arguments for the historical resurrection of Jesus. We can lay out valid points that place Jesus’ resurrection as the most pivotal point in human history, but unless the Holy Spirit is alive and working in your, there is no application to the history. Jesus rose from the dead so that you could live eternally with Him as a worshipper. The work of the Holy Sprit in ones life, takes us to the truth of the resurrection. Even though we couldn’t be there to witness it, the Holy Spirit grants us the certainty that He is alive. Death and darkness, get you packing,
“Nothing now to man is lacking,
All your triumphs now are ended,
And what Adam marred, is mended.”
- Henry Vaughan
- Miracles Point to the Risen Lord: Act 2:22 Ye men of Israel, hear these words; Jesus of Nazareth, a man approved of God among you by miracles and wonders and signs, which God did by him in the midst of you, as ye yourselves also know:
Act 2:23 Him, being delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, ye have taken, and by wicked hands have crucified and slain:
- The disciples gathered together awaiting the promise of the Lord Jesus. Jesus had shown Himself to the disciples, proving that He was indeed alive and it totally changed their way of thinking. Jesus furthered the promise to them by saying, “ Act 1:8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth." And on this point, the resurrection provided the fuel and the energy to “go.” All of the miracles we see in the scriptures concerning Jesus, the walking on the water, the raising of Lazarus, the feeding of the multitudes, the healing of blinded eyes and deaf ears, all making an impact at the resurrection.
- The disciples were gathered in one place on the day of Pentecost, awaiting the promises of their risen Lord. Expecting the Lord to bring about His work. After the promise of the Holy Spirit, those gathered in that room and began to speak in other tongues. These, other tongues acted as a sign to unbelievers and to those awaiting, that what they encountered was real. Peter began to preach: He reminded them that in the last days, God will pour out His spirit upon all flesh. There will be prophecy and visions given. Peter builds up the argument to say this, Act 2:21 And it shall come to pass that everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.'
- Peter continues His sermon, God showed you mighty works through Jesus, and sinful humankind killed Him. Remember, This death was not a surprise, it didn’t catch God looking away or by surprise, it was the Lord’s plan to crush the Son. Isa 53:9 And he made his grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death; because he had done no violence, neither was any deceit in his mouth.
aAll the miracles point to the resurrection.
Act 2:24 Whom God hath raised up, having loosed the pains of death: because it was not possible that he should be holden of it.
- It was an impossibility for Jesus to stay in the grave. I want you to think with me. If the wages of sin is death and death, spiritually, and physically, is separation from God almighty, then what happened to Jesus when He was crucified with the stench of my sin on Him. He experienced eternal separation from God and yet overcome it. I cant get my little brain around such an intense concept. Kinh David forshadowed this event and Peter draws from the well of the Psalms: Psalm chapter 16 to be exact.
Act 2:25 For David speaketh concerning him, I foresaw the Lord always before my face, for he is on my right hand, that I should not be moved:
Act 2:26 Therefore did my heart rejoice, and my tongue was glad; moreover also my flesh shall rest in hope:
Act 2:27 Because thou wilt not leave my soul in hell, neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption.
Act 2:28 Thou hast made known to me the ways of life; thou shalt make me full of joy with thy countenance.
Act 2:29 Men and brethren, let me freely speak unto you of the patriarch David, that he is both dead and buried, and his sepulchre is with us unto this day.
- Once Peter utilizes the words of David to point to the messiah, he reminds them that David is dead and gone. David cant do anything else in this life because he is in the grave. Pointing to the prophecies concerning the Christ…
Act 2:30 Therefore being a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him, that of the fruit of his loins, according to the flesh, he would raise up Christ to sit on his throne;
- Because there would always be one from the line of David to rule, David believed this prophecy would come to a close once Messiah was on earth. Peter continues to preach…
Act 2:31 He seeing this before spake of the resurrection of Christ, that his soul was not left in hell, neither his flesh did see corruption.
Act 2:32 This Jesus hath God raised up, whereof we all are witnesses.
Act 2:33 Therefore being by the right hand of God exalted, and having received of the Father the promise of the Holy Ghost, he hath shed forth this, which ye now see and hear.
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