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No claims of absolute originality are made for this material. As one man said, "I milk a lot of cows, but I churn my own butter." Please use these sermons as the Lord leads, but nothing on this site may be used for profit without my expressed, written permission!
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GOOD NEWS FROM A FAR COUNTRY Intro: Ill. Vladimir Lenin was a driving force behind the Communist
Revolution of 1917 and was the first dictator of the Soviet Union. He died in
1924 and his body is on public display. Periodically, those responsible for
Lenins body have to take him out of his glass case and wash the corpse with
chemicals and repair areas that have become damaged. Today, there is little
left of Lenin, most of what you see is wax and makeup. Some years ago, Dr. Adrian Rogers and his
wife Joyce were in Russia, and while they were there, they visited Lenins
Tomb. People are given strict instructions that they are not to speak a word as
they walked through the mausoleum. Dr. Rogers said that his wife Joyce, normally
follows all kinds of rules, but as they came to every guard, she said, My
Jesus is alive. To every single guard she said, My Jesus is alive. My Jesus
is alive. And not one of the guards made any remark back to her. She
knew that her Savior was not in a tomb and she wanted to share the good news! Proverbs 25:25 says, As
cold waters to a thirsty soul, so is good news from a far country.
Today, we have exciting news to share! Today, we celebrate the glorious news
that our Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ is not dead and lying in a grave. Today,
we celebrate the fact that He is risen from the dead and that the tomb He
occupied is empty! The exciting news that Jesus is alive is
news we need to hear and share again and again. It is news that should cause rejoicing.
We are here today because somewhere along the way we heard the glorious news
that Jesus is alive. That news gives us hope today. The hope of His
resurrection should fill our hearts with joy! Our Jesus is alive! Hallelujah! I would like for us to take some time this
morning to return to Jerusalem and look in on the events that took place early that
Sunday morning. I would like for us to hear the message of the resurrection as it
was shared by the angel of the Lord that came to the tomb of Jesus. At dawn on the first day of the week,
three days following the crucifixion of the Lord, some of the women who had
trusted Him, followed Him, supported Him, and had been faithful to Him all the
way to the cross, approached His grave to finish preparing His body for burial.
They came there that morning with spices
expecting to find the body of Christ still lying in a tomb with a stone rolled
over its mouth, and being guarded by Roman soldiers! They were in for the
surprise and shock of their lives. Rather than finding the dead body of Jesus,
they heard news that energized, and encouraged their hearts. They heard news
that shook the earth to its very foundations. They heard news that still
reverberates down the corridors of both time and eternity! As that little band of women approached
the tomb that day, the earth shook, an angel appeared, and he rolled away the
stone from the mouth of the tomb. The angel did not roll the stone away so that
Christ could come out; he did so that they could go in! That gleaming angel whose countenance was
like lightening, and whose clothes were as white as snow then sat upon the
stone which he had rolled away! The soldiers who were there to guard the tomb
were so shaken by what had happened and by the appearance of the angel that
they became as dead men! The women approached, and the angel
answered all the questions that filled their hearts before they had a chance to
say anything. That angel preached a powerful message that morning. I want to
share it with you today. He brought Good News From A Far Country. The facts
of the angels message are what I want to share with you today. I. v. 6 THE
COMFORT OF THIS
GOOD NEWS (Ill. This
message said
) A. Be
Calm - Having already experienced the events of the previous days,
these ladies were filled with fear and anxiety (Ill. The arrest, the
crucifixion and the burial; the fact that they had left all to follow Him).
Their hearts were already heavy and troubled over the death of their Lord. They
became even more troubled at the sights that met them as they approached the
tomb early that morning. The message of the resurrection is
stay calm; have faith; dont be troubled or anxious! (Ill. Jesus, Mary and
Martha John 11:20-26) We
can experience calm, peace, rest through any situations, and circumstances that
we face in life because of the resurrection! Why? The resurrection of the Lord
Jesus Christ from the dead proves that our God is sovereign and in absolute
control! If He can raise His Son from the dead, then there is nothing our God
cannot do! (Ill. Eph. 3:20; B. Be
Courageous - The message of the resurrection should give us courage! It should instill courage in our
hearts because death was defeated for all who believe in Jesus, It should give us courage because he
lives, and is seated at the right hand of God praying on our behalf, Heb. 13:5; Heb. 7:25! (Ill. The empty tomb inspires awesome courage
in those who experience its power! Ill. On May Day, 1990, a parade was taking
place in Moscows Red Square. All the official might of the Union of Soviet
Socialist Republics was on display that day. There was a huge procession of
tanks, missiles, troops, and salutes to the Communist party elite. Behind the
tanks surged a giant crowd of protesters, shouting up at Mikhail Gorbachev. Bread!...Freedom!...Truth! As the throng passed directly in
front of the Soviet leader standing in his place of honor, some Russian
Orthodox priests lifted a huge 8 foot tall crucifix into the air. The cross
emerged from the crowd. As it did, the figure of Jesus Christ obscured the
giant poster faces of Karl Marx, Friedrich Engels, and Vladimir Lenin that
provided the backdrop for Gorbachev's reviewing stand. Mikhail Sergeyevich! one
of the priests shouted, his deep voice cleaving the clamor of the protesters
and piercing straight toward the angry Soviet leader. Mikhail Sergeyevich! Christ is
risen!) C. Be
Confident - The command to fear not should fill our hearts
with confidence because Jesus always keeps His Word! His promises are real, and
certain. His words are true! We can count on Him. He will do what He says! Ill.
Every promise He has made is a promise He can and will keep. ·
He will meet
your needs, Matt. 6:25-34; Phil.
4:19. ·
He will keep
you safe,
·
He will
provide you a home in Heaven, ·
He will
return for you one day, ·
He will walk with you every step of the way,
Matt. 28:20, Heb. 13:5. ·
He will keep
you close and clean, ·
The
resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ gives us a lively
hope, (Ill. As Vice President, George Bush
represented the U.S. at the funeral of former Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev.
Bush was deeply moved by a silent protest carried out by Brezhnev's widow. She
stood motionless by the coffin until seconds before it was closed. Then, just
as the soldiers touched the lid, Brezhnev's wife performed an act of great
courage and hope, a gesture that must surely rank as one of the most profound
acts of civil disobedience ever committed: She reached down and made the sign
of the cross on her husband's chest. There in the citadel of secular, atheistic
power, the wife of the man who had run it all hoped that her husband was wrong.
She hoped that there was another life, and that that life was best represented
by Jesus who died on the cross, and that the same Jesus might yet have mercy on
her husband.) II. v.
6 THE CHALLENGE OF THIS
GOOD NEWS A. A
Challenge To Examine Come and see the place where the Lord lay
- It is an invitation to examine the claim of the resurrected Lord. His body
which had been previously placed inside the tomb by Joseph and Nicodemus no
longer lies where they had placed it. It could not have been stolen away
because Roman guards sealed the tomb. The empty tomb is a powerful argument! It is interesting to know that no
search was ever made of his body though the officials would claim that it had
been stolen, Matt. 28:11-15.
There were never any arrests made of any of the disciples though one would
think that they would have been the likely suspects, Matt. 28:13. If we examine the claims of the
resurrection, and they have been examined by the greatest of minds for 2,000
years, there is no other explanation but that Jesus did just as He had promised,
(Ill. You may
have never heard of Sir Lionel Luckhoo. But if you open the Guinness Book of
Records youll discover he is listed as the most successful trial lawyer ever -
he had successfully defended 245 murder cases in a row! To give you an idea how good that is,
Perry Mason was a TV show about an unbelievably good lawyer. The producers had
him lose a case after 70 successful ones, because they didnt think anyone
would find him credible. Yet despite his fame, success, and wealth
he felt empty inside. The older he got the more meaningless life appeared. Then
at 63 he turned his analytical skills to the claim that Jesus rose from the
dead. He found that the message of Jesus resurrection satisfied his personal
needs and his intellectual questioning. I have spent more than forty-two years as a defense
trial lawyer in many parts of the world. he later wrote. I say
unequivocally the evidence for the resurrection of Jesus Christ is so
overwhelming that it compels acceptance by proof which leaves absolutely no
room for doubt!) B. A
Challenge To Experience - The message of the angel who rolled the stone
away is also an invitation to experience. The word see means to
know. Jesus not only wants you to believe in the resurrection of
Christ, but He wants you to know Him, to experience Him in a personal way! A recent survey shows that nearly
80% of Americans say that they believe in the resurrection of Christ, but that
does not mean that 80% know Him. The resurrected Christ wants you to know Him! It
is not enough to just know the facts, you must know the Lord! (Ill. We live in a generation marked by
knowledge. Think about the CD and DVD and Internet. Knowledge is increasing at
an astonishing rate. Some scientists say that our knowledge is doubling every
six months. Yet, while men learn more and more, they are steadily moving
farther away from the Lord. In 1948, General Omar Bradley said, We
have grasped the mystery of the atom, and rejected the Sermon on the Mount...
With the monstrous weapons man already has, humanity is in danger of being
trapped in this world by moral adolescents. Our knowledge of science has
already outstripped our capacity to control it. We have too many men of
science, too few of God. Mankind has accumulated so much
advanced knowledge that the simple story of the crucifixion and the
resurrection seems too simple and old-fashioned. But, that is the only message
that will save the lost soul, Rom.
1:16; Acts 4:12; 16:31. Have you met the risen Lord? Have
you invited the risen Lord to live inside you, and to deliver you from
spiritual death? If your knowledge of Jesus begins with a baby in a manger and
ends with something about a bunny and an egg, then you need to know that there
is more to the story than that.) (Ill. Why were the cross and the resurrection
necessary? Ill. Rom. 5:1-10; 4:25.
The same message of invitation extended by the angel still stands today. The
Lord died for you and He rose again for you! If you will come to Him, He will
save you too! When He does, you can experience the
power of His resurrection, Phil. 3:10.
That is the abundant life Jesus referred to in John 10:10.) III. v. 7
THE COMMANDS OF THIS
GOOD NEWS (Ill. The
message of Easter is a message filled with commands! Once we have experienced
the resurrection! Once we have come, and once we have seen...we are commanded
to go and tell. Sadly, the great themes of our Lords death and resurrection
have ceased to touch our hearts!) (Ill. British
minister W.E. Sangster contracted an incurable disease that slowly caused his
muscles to waste away; his voice to fail and his throat to become unable to
swallow. He continued in ministry, right up until the point where his voice had
gone and he could barely hold a pen. On Easter morning, just a few weeks before
he died, he wrote in a letter to his daughter: It is terrible to wake up Easter
morning and have no voice with which to shout He is risen! - but it would be
still more terrible to have a voice and not want to shout.) A. A
Command To Depart - The angelic message is an imperative message. It
calls for action, for engagement on our part. The angel says to the
ladies...... Go! Are we living as though our Lord is risen
and living within our hearts? Are we sharing the message that He
lives with others? We are not to linger near the tomb, but we are to
take the good news that it is empty and that Jesus lives into the entire world. The
message of the resurrection calls us to action! It calls us to engage in the
work of the risen Lord!) B. A
Command To Deliver - go quickly, and tell
The word quickly
means without delay! These
women were commanded to go with a sense of urgency spreading the good news that
Jesus Christ was risen from the dead! The message of the tomb is still the
message for this hour, Come, see
.go quickly and tell. The
message that we have been given is an urgent message. It is an urgent message
because... 1. People Are Dying - Thousands die daily
without knowing the risen Lord. It is imperative; it is urgent that we reach
them with the news of the resurrection! It is urgent that they know that he
lives so that they may live also! (Ill. Birth
Rate: There are 128.9 million births per year. Every second of every
day 4 babies are born into this world. Every single one of those babies comes
into this world a lost sinner in need of a Savior, Rom. 3:23; Psa. 58:3; Rom. 5:12. Death
Rate: Every year 57.9 million people die in this world. That is 2
people every second of every day. 110 each minute; 6,619 every hour and 158,857
every day slide off into death. By the time I finish preaching this message
some 4,800 people will die. Most of them will die and go to Hell. They need to
hear the Gospel, Rom. 10:14, 17.
They need to hear today, 2. People Are
Deceived - Many are deceived, and worship gods that do not exist. They have
been blinded by Satan, 2 Cor. 4:4.
The only hope they have is hearing the good news of the death, burial and
resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ, Every body of every deceased leader and
founder of every major religion in this world is in a tomb somewhere. But, you
can search every tomb in Israel and you will never find the bones or the dust
of the Lord Jesus. (Ill. I was just
there, and He is gone!) We know our Lord lives. It is our
duty to take the gospel to those without the living God, 3. People Are
Despondent Go quickly and tell His disciples - The disciples were
despondent after the days of Christ. They hid behind locked doors in fear! It
was imperative that the message be shared with them so that they might be
stirred from their despondency! The Lord lives! He promised it! He fulfilled it!
It has happened just as he said! People who do
not know the Lord have no hope and they need to hear the Gospel of salvation
through the grace of God and the blood of Jesus. The Gospel is a message that
brings hope to all who hear it and receive it by faith, (Ill. The thief on the
cross, IV. v. 7-8
THE CONFIDENCE OF THIS GOOD NEWS (Ill. Those
who will hear the angels invitation; those who will come and see and then go
and tell; have some wonderful promises given to them.) A. The
Lord Precedes Them he goeth before you - We can spread
the news of the risen Lord because he precedes us! Because He walks before us,
and guides us, and instructs us, and lives in us, we can accomplish great
things through Him, Phil 4:13; John
14:12! He is working ahead of us, preparing the way and preparing
people to hear what we have to say about Him! He is with us
no matter the circumstance, Matt.
28:18-20! Hallelujah, we do not minister alone, or within our own
power. He goes with us and He enables us to do all His will! B. The
Lord Presents Himself To Them there shall ye see him Oh, they
ran to spread the news, but they also ran to see Him, v. 9! It wasnt long until they ran right into Him! One day we shall see the risen Lord
face to face! We serve Him with gladness and joy today because we know that we
will see Him in His glory some day. (Ill. In Conc: As cold waters to a thirsty soul, so is good news from a far country.
The greatest news I ever heard was the exciting news that God loved me; Jesus
died for me; and that He rose again and would save me if I came to Him. Have you experienced the good news from
that empty tomb 2,000 years ago? Is Jesus your Savior today? Are you ready to
meet him? Does the risen Lord live in your heart? You can be saved today! If He
is calling you to come to Him, you need to come to Him today. If you are saved, ask yourself this
question, Am I living like I believe in the resurrection? How long has
it been since you thanked Him for being alive in Heaven and in you?
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Copyright 2003 by Alan Carr |
