Micah chapter 4. But in the last
days it shall come to pass that the mountain of the house of
the Lord shall be established in the top of the mountains.
And it shall be exalted above the hills, and the people shall
flow unto it. And many nations shall come and
say, come, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, and
to the house of the God of Jacob. And he will teach us of his ways,
and we will walk in his paths. For the law shall go forth of
Zion, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. And he shall
judge among many people, and rebuke strong nations afar off.
And they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears
into pruning hooks. Nation shall not lift up a sword
against nation, neither shall they learn war any more. But
they shall sit, every man, under his vine and under his fig tree,
and none shall make them afraid. For the mouth of the Lord of
hosts hath spoken it. For all people will walk, every
one, in the name of his God. And we will walk in the name
of the Lord our God for ever and ever. In that day, saith
the Lord, will I assemble her that halteth. and I will gather
her that is driven out, and her that I have afflicted, and I
will make her that halteth a remnant, and her that was cast off a strong
nation, and the Lord shall reign over them in Mount Zion from
henceforth even forever. And thou, O tower of the flock,
the stronghold of the daughter of Zion unto thee shall it come,
even the first dominion, the kingdom shall come to the daughter
of Jerusalem, Now why dost thou cry out aloud? Is there no king
in thee? Is thy counsellor perished? For
pangs have taken thee as a woman in travail, be it pain and labour
to bring forth, O daughter of Zion, like a woman in travail.
For now shalt thou go forth out of the city, and thou shalt dwell
in a field, and thou shalt go even to Babylon. There shalt
thou be delivered, there the Lord shall redeem thee from the
hand of thine enemies. Now also many nations are gathered
against thee, that say, Let her be defiled, and let her eye look
upon Zion. But they know not the thoughts
of the Lord, neither understand they his counsel. For he shall
gather them as sheaves into the floor. Arise and thresh, O daughter
of Zion, for I will make thine horn iron, and I will make thy
hoofs brass, and thou shalt be into pieces many people, and
I will consecrate their gain unto the Lord and their substance
unto the Lord of the whole earth. O Lord God Almighty, we thank
you again, Lord, for opening these doors this evening and
allowing us to gather together as a local body. Father, what
a great blessing it is. And where many of us, Lord, for
many years have been steeped in religion and we were blind
to the Lord Jesus Christ but now Lord you have had mercy upon
us and you have opened our eyes and you have given us an appetite
for the only righteousness found in the Lord Jesus Christ. Father
we thank you for giving us this great opportunity where we can
gather and assemble around your holy word And Father, we thank
you also for bringing us Brother Eric, our pastor. Lord, will
you remember him in mercy each day where he studies and prepares
for these messages. Lord, pour out your mercy and
grace upon him. Give him strength for his body
and courage and liberty for his soul, Lord. And also, when he
speaks to us, Lord, give him what he stands in need of, especially
this evening again, Lord. Each time is a new time. And
Father, remember him in mercy, and open our ears also, Lord,
and our hearts to receive what he hopes to declare. Father,
we thank you for your full and free salvation, for saving us
from the dominion of sin, from the darkness of the world and
religion, and you have turned us unto your beloved Son, the
Lord Jesus Christ, for we have anchored our faith. Father, remember
our loved ones, our children, our family, our neighbors, Lord
with you all things are possible and not one of your sheep shall
go lost. Father, will you have mercy upon them and give us opportunity,
Lord, that we may speak and glorify your great and holy name and
tell of what great things you have done for our souls. Father,
remember those that assemble here and are struggling in various
ways. We thank you, Lord, when you
give health and strength, but remember those, Lord, that are
struggling, perhaps in hidden ways that we are unaware. And
Lord, continue to watch over us as a local assembly. You know
perfectly what we stand in need of. Have mercy upon us for Jesus'
sake alone, amen. I would like to sing 103. Glory, glory, I'm forgiven, 103. Sorry, there it is. Glory, glory, I'm forgiven, all
my sins are washed away. Christ, by his great blood atonement,
all my sin has put away. Sin imputed to my Savior when
He died upon the tree. As the substitute for sinners,
God will not impute to me. Glory, glory, I'm accepted, robed
in Christ's own righteousness. I'm a child and heir of heaven,
saved by God's almighty grace. Christ's obedience to the Father
is imputed now to me. In God's sight I'm pure and holy,
He declares me so to be. Glory, glory, I'll not perish,
In Christ's hands I am secure. He who saved me sure will keep
me, By God's grace I shall endure. This is not a vain presumption,
I just take him at his word. Christ has sworn they shall not
perish, who believe on me their Lord. Thank you. Alright brethren, let's be turning
to John chapter 20. John 20. This chapter declares
to us the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. And it's
seen through the eyes of his disciples. And there's some blessed
insights into the grace and love of our Savior witnessed with
regards to Mary Magdalene. Especially, that's what we'll
be looking at the first 17 verses tonight. And we'll be looking
at the Lord's resurrection through the eyes of Mary Magdalene. Now, after the Sabbath was ended,
It was now the first day of the week, which is Sunday, and Mary
Magdalene goes to the sepulcher. She has some spices that she
wants to anoint the Lord's body with, and she goes to the sepulcher,
because she saw them. The other gospels say that she
saw where they lay his body, where Nicodemus and Joseph had
laid his body. And so we read in verses one
and two, The first day of the week cometh Mary Magdalene early,
when it was yet dark, unto the sepulchre, and seeth the stone
taken away from the sepulchre. Then she runneth and cometh to
Simon Peter and to the other disciple, whom Jesus loved, and
saith unto them, They have taken away the Lord out of the sepulchre,
and we know not where they have laid him. So Mary's first assessment
of what she saw wasn't that her Lord had risen from the dead,
but that someone had taken his body away. And so Peter and John,
they run to the tomb and they give it an inspection. And it
says down in verse five, John stooping down, looking in, he
got there first, saw the linen clothes lying. Yet went he not
in? Then cometh Simon Peter following
him, and went into the supplicar, and seeth the linen clothes lie,
and the napkin that was about his head, not lying with the
linen clothes, but wrapped together in a place by itself. So the
significance of these clothes lying or remaining there and
how they were laid, what it indicates to us is that no one took the
body of Christ. Had they taken the dead body
of Christ, they would have taken it in the wrapped linen, the
linen that he was wrapped in. They wouldn't have removed those
things, and they certainly wouldn't have folded them up nicely and
set them gently in the places where they were. They would have
been taken out with his body. Verse eight. Then went in also
that other disciple, which came first to the sepulcher, and he
saw and believed. Now it doesn't tell us what John
believed, but likely what he believed is what Mary Magdalene
said. They've taken the body of our
Lord, because of what it says in the next verse, 9. For as
yet they knew not the scripture, that he must rise again from
the dead, Then the disciples went away again unto their own
home, which in the scriptures, that typically is not a good
thing. That's usually a sign of unbelief when Israel would
scatter and go back to their own tents. There was division
or unbelief in what they did. But a miracle happened here. Christ was risen from the dead. And Matthew tells us that the
Jews were worried about this. They were worried that the disciples
were going to come and take the body. And so they had secured
a watch of soldiers, four soldiers, that they could put there at
the tomb and they put the stone there and they sealed the stone
securing it so that it was known that the Romans were watching
this thing and no one was going to come and steal the body because
the Roman soldiers would be put to death. So they weren't going
to sell it for money or anything like that because they would
lose their lives. But as we begin our study, I
want to give you first three things, just to begin, first
three things about the resurrection of Christ from the dead that
are a great encouragement to us, that we should hear and understand
about the resurrection of Christ. It's not just a doctrine. It's not just a belief. It has
vast implications for us and what it means. And Christ rising
from the dead, it speaks of the glory of our God and what He's
done for His people. So first, His resurrection confirms
everything that Christ said. claiming to be the Son of God,
claiming to be sent of the Father to save his people from their
sins. Everything he said about going
to Jerusalem, being betrayed by the Jews and killed by the
Jews, and rising again, the Jews tearing down the temple and him
building it again, everything he claimed means that it's true. It's true. He is who he said
that he is. In Romans chapter 1 verse 3 and
4, it says, Concerning his son Jesus Christ our Lord, which
was made of the seed of David according to the flesh, and declared
to be the Son of God with power according to the spirit of holiness
by the resurrection from the dead. The resurrection of Christ
declares with power that he is the Son of God. This is the promised
seed. This is the seed of David. He
is exactly who he said he was. This is the one whom the prophets
and the scriptures spoke of concerning him, that he should come. And
he fulfilled all the scriptures, just like God said he would.
Second, his resurrection confirms the Father's approval of the
Son's redemptive work. Acts 17.31. Acts 17.31. Here Paul is speaking to the
Greeks on Mars Hill, the philosophers. Actually, we'll read verse 30
and 31. And the times of this ignorance
God winked at. but now commandeth all men everywhere
to repent." And he's talking about repent of your vain religious
works that you think is your righteousness and salvation,
be turned from those things because they cannot save you. they're
not the truth, they're not righteousness, be turned, repent of those things,
because he hath appointed a day in the which he will judge the
world in righteousness by that man whom he hath ordained, whereof
he hath given assurance unto all men to know who this ordained
man is, in that he hath raised him from the dead. And so this is good news to us,
because it says that the Father is well-pleased in the work of
the Son. And if He's well-pleased in the work of the Son, then
He's well-pleased with us who believe the Son. Because it means
that God has accepted, received the sacrifice of His Son to put
away the sins of you that believe Him. so that you will not come
into the judgment and wrath of Almighty God because you have
been made righteous by Christ. All your sins are put away. Third,
His resurrection assures every believer of their own resurrection. You have eternal life in Christ. John 11.25 Jesus here is speaking unto Martha
concerning her son Lazarus, and he says about the resurrection,
he says to Martha, I am, verse 25, I am the resurrection and
the life. He that believeth in me, though
he were dead, yet shall he live. We live now through faith in
the Lord Jesus Christ, believing him. Believing Him, we live now
and we shall be raised again from the dead." John 6, 40, our
Lord said, this is the will of Him that sent me, that everyone
which seeth the Son and believeth on Him may have everlasting life. And I will raise Him up at the
last day. And so the resurrection of the
Lord Jesus Christ confirms to you personally, whose hope is
in Christ, who trusts Christ for all your righteousness, it
confirms to you that you shall be raised from the dead. He hath
gained the victory over death. Now, all your enemies want to
destroy this truth. They profess not to believe it. They say they don't believe it.
But they want to destroy this because if they can destroy the
resurrection of Christ and convince you that it never happened, it
makes our preaching vain. It's useless. It makes your faith
vain. It's useless. It leaves you in
your sins. It leaves those that have died
and gone before yet dead. yet dead, and it leaves us most
miserable of all men if this is the only place that we have
hope in Christ. Because for Christ's sake we
are persecuted, we are troubled, we go through difficulties and
hardships for Christ's sake. And so we're, of all men, most
miserable. And you can read that in 1 Corinthians
15 from verse 12 down through 22. But men deny it because they
know that there is coming a judgment in which they shall stand before
holy God and be judged for their sins and their deeds done in
the flesh, their wicked works. Paul said in Acts 24, 15, there
shall be a resurrection of the dead, both of the just and unjust. All shall stand before the throne
of God. But this chapter isn't simply
about the doctrine of resurrection, but the joy and the gladness
of the saints who saw the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ. They
saw their Lord, they saw their Savior risen from the dead and
it filled their hearts, it flooded their hearts overwhelmingly with
joy and gladness and rejoicing. And so in our text, I want to
look at four observations with Mary, because she's a beautiful
type of the Bride of Christ. and she's given faith to see
in darkness what Christ has accomplished. We identify with her sorrow and
her longing and weeping for Christ. And when she does finally see
Him, she's overflowed with joy. She is overwhelmed with joy at
seeing her Lord and finally being in the presence of her Lord.
and our Lord sends her on an errand, just as he does his church.
So first, reading again in John 20 verse 1. Let's read John 20
verse 1. The first day of the week cometh
Mary Magdalene early when it was yet dark. unto the sepulcher,
and seeth the stone taken away from the sepulcher." So when
it was yet dark, now darkness is a description that we're familiar
with because it describes what we are in Adam. It describes
our nature, it describes our understanding of the true and
living God in Adam's nature, in this flesh, without the Spirit
of God, All we know, all we see is darkness. We don't know anything
about the true and living God. We were dead in trespasses and
sins. We didn't know how to worship
God. We didn't know how to approach unto God. We didn't know how
to please Him. we are unable to work a righteousness
to save ourselves. We tried by the law. We tried
by the rudiments and the elements of the world. That means all
the different various forms of idolatry and pagan religion and
other forms of religion, false religions, all. We tried to come
to God doing this thing and that thing or the other thing for
our righteousness and it did nothing for us in reconciling
us to God. We tried to come in the works
of the flesh and the will of the flesh and all of it fell
dead. Worthless, vain works. And so
man was shut up in darkness. Going along the road that man
travels on is a broad road that leadeth to death and destruction. But this is what we see here
with Mary. This is what's pictured here
with Mary. She's on her way to a grave. And it's just like all of us
in the deadness of our flesh. We're on our way to an early
grave in utter darkness. And here she approaches unto
the sepulcher in darkness. But though it's dark, she seeth
something. She see it that the stone is
taken away from the supplicant. How can she see it when darkness
is over the land? Well, it's the first day of the
week and Christ is risen from the dead, having accomplished
our redemption, having obtained eternal life for his people,
having given his people life. And so having the life of Christ,
a picture of the faith which he works in his child, we see,
though it's dark, we see what Christ has accomplished in overcoming
death. Through his sacrifice and through
his resurrection, he has overcome all our enemies. When Christ
Jesus rose from the dead, we're told that the veil which was
in the temple and separated the people from the holiest of holies,
which only the high priests could go into, that veil was rent asunder,
torn in two, opening the way for the common people, us, to
go into the presence of Holy God and be received and accepted
of Him through the blood of Christ. Because He went through that
veil. He died and He went before us and rose again and made a
way for us to enter into Heaven before our God, before the throne
of God accepted of Him. The law is satisfied. Christ
is our righteousness. He's fulfilled all righteousness. He's satisfied our sin debts
with holy God. When he died, his bride was with
him, so that we're dead to the law, and we're delivered from
sin and the punishment of it. That law of Moses, which was
written on tablets of stone, is pictured in that stone which
covered the mouth of the sepulcher. The Law of Moses, which was written
on tablets of stone, is picturing that stone which laid in front
of the sepulcher. and held those that were dead
fast in it. The law demands death for the
sinner. The law demands our death because
we cannot keep the law. We cannot make a righteousness
for ourselves. And so that stone must lay upon
the grave because those who break the law of Moses must die. and
die eternally, never to rise again. But when Christ died as
the surety and the sacrifice of his people, he took that stone
and rolled it away from the mouth of the grave, overcoming death,
overcoming the grave, having satisfied the law perfectly. so that the law has nothing more
to say to him and has nothing more to say to his bride who
was with him when he died and rose again. I cannot hold his
people in that grave any longer. The curse is put away. It's been
satisfied. Christ has delivered us from
the hands of the justice of God. so that now we live. We live
and are delivered from death. His people shall never die. He says that. Those who believe
in me shall never die. When we close our eyes, we shall
open our eyes. We shall awake immediately in
his presence. Death is but the porch that leadeth
to the home and will be in the presence of our God. Paul said
it this way in Galatians chapter 2. Let's go to Galatians 2 and
verse 19. 19 through 21 says, for I through
the law am dead to the law that I might live unto God. How so? How are we going to live unto
God? I am crucified with Christ. That's how. That's how I'm dead
to the law, and that's how I live unto God, through Christ. Nevertheless,
I live, yet not I, but Christ liveth in me. And the life which
I now live in the flesh, I live by the faith of the Son of God
who loved me, and gave himself for me. I do not frustrate the
grace of God, for if righteousness come by the law, then Christ
is dead in vain. But the life of Christ has given
us life. He's rolled away that stone of
the law. He's put it away so that the
grave is empty. When He rose, we rose with Him. And He brings life to all His
sheep in the appointed hour of His grace when He sends His Holy
Spirit to seek us out, to find us, to bring us under the sound
of the gospel, to open our ear, to hear the gospel, to hear what
Christ has done. And He fills our hearts with
faith to believe that He is the Christ and that He has accomplished
my redemption. He is my salvation. And we're
given life by the Spirit. And when we are given life by
the Spirit, we see through the darkness, through the dimness
and darkness of this flesh, yet we know by faith Christ has overcome
death. He has redeemed me. He's accomplished
my salvation. He's rolled the stone away and
the grave is empty. And as he is risen, I am risen
with him. And so we see, we see by faith
that stone is rolled from the sepulcher. We see what Christ
has accomplished in himself. Second, in John 20, let's read
verses 11 through 14. But Mary stood without at the
sepulchre weeping. Now this is after John and Peter
have left. They've gone back to their homes.
But Mary stood without at the sepulchre weeping. And as she
wept, she stooped down and looked into the sepulchre, and seeth
two angels in white sitting, the one at the head and the other
at the feet, where the body of Jesus had lain. And they say
unto her, Woman, why weepest thou? She saith unto them, Because
they have taken away my Lord, and I know not where they have
laid him. And when she had thus said, she turned herself back,
and saw Jesus standing, and knew not that it was Jesus. So Mary is sore distressed because
someone has taken the body of her Lord, and she feels I get
it. She feels like she could just
process her pain. She's got these spices. Her heart's
broken. They've crucified her Lord. They
took him from her. And now he's dead and laid in
a tomb. And she just wants to just take
this time to minister to the body of Christ with these spices.
And it would just be good. Can I just do this? It's just
cruel that they would take away the body of Christ. That's how
she sees it. She weeps. She's weeping. And she can't go home. She doesn't
know what to do. And she's just heartbroken, and
it's really moving. If you can picture her standing
there, how troubled she is, and just so sorrowful and weeping. And though Peter and John were
there, and they thoroughly checked in the sepulcher and looked around
and made sure, nope, there's nobody in this sepulcher. They found them not, yet it says,
as she wept in verse 11, She stooped down and looked into
the sepulcher. And all I can think of, that's
hope. That's hope. And that's the grace
that our God fills the hearts of his people with. When it is dark, when we don't
see what we would see, and we're troubled and sorrowful and weeping,
the Lord gives his children hope. who like Abraham, against hope,
believed in hope. And the scriptures tell us, hope
maketh not ashamed. You that hope in Christ, you'll
not be ashamed, because the love of God is shed abroad in our
hearts. Through that hope, the love of God is shed abroad in
our hearts by the Holy Ghost, which is given unto us. Through that hope, which is wrought
in us because there's darkness around because our enemies are
without and within because we are troubled and weeping and
sorrowful and would just long to see a sight of our savior
long to see our lord we would long to see him and
look to him and see him again and yet hope maketh not ashamed
we hope for Christ's return. And we're filled with the love
of God in our hearts. And when that love fills our
hearts, it reminds us of what our Lord does for us. Love beareth
all things, love believeth all things, love hopeth all things,
endureth all things, and love never faileth. And love never
failed Mary. Love didn't fail Mary. She was
ministered to by angels who confirmed what she needed to hear. They
asked her, why weepest thou? Why weepest thou? The body of
Christ isn't here. And what does that mean? If the
body of Christ is not in the grave, that means your body's
not in the grave. Just as he's risen, you're risen. Just as he is with God, you shall
be with him and in glory. When your eyes close, you shall
awake and be with the Lord in glory. You're delivered from
death and the grave too, so be joyful. Don't be sorrowful. And
this is the word which the Lord ministers to our hearts when
we are in sorrow, when we are troubled, when we are afraid. The Lord brings that hope to
us that whatever is going on, whatever loss we suffer, They
can never take from us Christ. They can never take from us that
inheritance. You have the hope of the saints. Eternal life with your Lord. In fact, Christ was actually
much nearer than she even knew. She turned herself back in verse
14 and saw Jesus standing and knew not that it was Jesus. And
our Lord does minister to us many times in many ways that
we don't even know. I'm sure of it. because he's
gracious and loves us and is very kind. Now third, from the
reactions of his disciples, we are given here an understanding
of how glorious, how joyful, how overwhelming that day shall
be for you that believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and look for
his coming. That shall be a gloriously joyful
day. Just looking at their reactions,
how it was for Mary, and we'll see, not tonight, but how it
was for the disciples, the other disciples, They are overwhelmed. Their hearts are flooded with
joy. They're joyful. Look at verse
15 and 16. Jesus saith unto her, Woman,
why weepest thou? Whom seekest thou? She, supposing
him to be the gardener, saith unto him, Sir, if thou have borne
him hence from here, tell me where thou hast laid him, and
I will take him away. Jesus saith unto her, Mary, She
turned herself, and saith unto him, Rabboni, which is to say,
Master. Now when Christ spoke her name,
Mary, she turned, and was given sight to see her Lord, and she
rejoiced to see him. When he calls your name, We're
turned. When he says our name, we're
turned. And we rejoice to see our Savior. And her first words
were rabboni, which is to say master, and that's the plural. That's a word, because you're
wondering, why don't they just say rabbi? But it's because it's
plural. It's the plural form. And it's
the only time that that's ever used here in the scripture. And at this point, it's a confession
of his deity. It's a confession of his deeds.
It's like when Thomas saw him and realized Christ is risen
from the grave, he said, he said, my Lord and my God. And she's
confessing here, you're my God. We see the Godhead bodily, the
fullness of the Godhead bodily in the Lord Jesus Christ. And so when he calls us by name,
we hear his voice and we are turned from whatever is troubling
us, whether it's the first time and we're dead in trespasses
and sins and made alive, or He calls us when we're sorrowful
and fearful and afraid and looking where we ought not to look, looking
in the grave when Christ is not in the grave. And He turns us
to behold and to look to Him. He said, my sheep hear my voice,
and I know them, and they follow me, and I give unto them eternal
life, and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them
out of my hand. And so through the preaching
of the gospel and the regeneration of the spirit, his children are
given life. and through the comfort of the
Scriptures and through the comfort of the Gospel and the Spirit
laying them to our hearts, we are given life and hope and hear
the Lord Jesus Christ. And it's because His gift of
life is to all who believe Him. He ministers that life. He ministers
His grace. He ministers His love and fellowship
to your hearts. and you shall be raised from
the dead. You'll see Christ, just like she saw Christ here
and was overwhelmed, you too that believe on Him will close
your eyes in death, in sorrow, and open them in the presence
of your Lord. And there you'll dwell in His
presence forevermore. Just think how joyful Mary was. Think how joyful the disciples
were when they saw him again. And that same joy, if you can
enter into what, how overwhelmed they were. And every time the
Lord overwhelms you in answering prayer and revealing himself
to you and how amazed you are, how amazed you stand that God
should take thought of you. And when you open your eyes in
His presence, you'll know, my God has done this for me, for
me. And all that time that we've
looked through a glass darkly and saw things dimly, yet hoped
and hoped that when we were sorrowful and saw things without the clarity
that we wanted to see, yet in that day, there will be no blemish,
nothing blocking our view of Christ. and it'll be a great
and joyful day. Job said it this way in Job 19.25-27. He said, I know that my Redeemer
liveth, and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth.
And though after my skin worms destroy this body, yet in my
flesh shall I see God, whom I shall see for myself, and mine eyes
shall behold and not another, though my reins be consumed within
me. And through the prophet Isaiah,
he said, he said, thy dead men shall live together, with my
dead body shall they arise. Awake and sing ye that dwell
in dust, for thy dew is as the dew of herbs, and the earth shall
cast out her dead. So it'll be a great and joyful
day, brethren. Now fourth and final. Verse 17,
Jesus saith unto her, touch me not, for I am not yet ascended
to my father. But go to my brethren and say
unto them, I ascend unto my father and your father, and to my God
and your God. So I just want to clarify something,
because when you read that, you're wondering why doesn't Christ
want her to touch him? Why did he say this? Well, it's
not that he's saying to Mary, you can't touch me. What he's
saying is, there's going to be time enough for that, Mary. I
ascend. I haven't yet ascended to the
Father. I'm here. I'll be here for a while. But I have an errand for you.
Go to my brethren and tell them. Say unto them, I ascend unto
my Father and your Father and to my God and your God. Tell
them the good news, Mary, that I am risen, that I've been raised
from the dead, that I'm here. and I go before them into Jerusalem. So what we see in this is that we're
sent now by our Lord to go and to declare this good news to
our brethren, to seek out the lost sheep, to tell them that
Christ has raised from the dead, that everything he said he came
to do, he accomplished. Tell them what he said he came
to do, and tell them what he has done for you. Tell them that
he is risen. And the Spirit comes and gives
life to whom He will. And they hear that word and they
believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. And they'll come out and then
they'll be joyful with you at the resurrection of the Lord
Jesus Christ. When they too shall close their
eyes in death and open them in the presence of our God. And
so that's a joyful day. And that's the viewpoint that
they have of His resurrection. So I pray the Lord bless that
to your hearts, brethren. Our gracious Lord, we thank you
for your grace. We thank you, Lord, for giving us eyes to see through
the eyes of Mary. Lord, we see how sorrowful she
was. We see, Lord, how troubled she
was, and yet you didn't leave her in that sorrow. Lord, you
blessed her heart. You showed her, yourself, that
you were risen from the dead, and what joy filled her heart
then, Lord. We thank you for this grace.
We thank you, Lord, for your spirit that opens our eyes and
makes us to see what you have accomplished, what you accomplished
for all your people and what you've accomplished for us personally,
Lord. We thank you for your grace that
saves sinners, a sinner like me, Lord, We thank you for that. And Lord, we ask that you would
be merciful to your people. That you would bring this joy
and flood their hearts with it, Lord. And show us Christ our
Savior. We would see Jesus, the risen
Savior, our Lord, our all. Our all. Lord, we thank you.
And Lord, we pray for our brethren who are sick and unable to be
with us. We pray that you would heal them. We pray for Our brethren
that come here regularly and we pray for our visitors that
you continue to bless your people, that you open our eyes and our
hearts and our ears to hear, to see, to believe the Lord Jesus
Christ and open our mouths to confess him, that Jesus Christ
is Lord and has been raised from the dead. And Lord, help us to
confess him to others. We pray, Lord, that if it please
you, you would bless us with a building, that you would draw
your people to that place and that you would help us to be
able to set it up and provide for a place where your gospel
is preached freely, continuously, from the pulpit. Lord, it's in
Christ's name we pray and give thanks. Amen. I'd like to sing a new hymn tonight.
You have it under your clear cover. Jesus, the Haven of Rest. I sow and set X, I was out on
life's sea, so burdened with sin and distress. Till He called me from death
and gave me new life, And I entered the haven of rest. He anchored my soul in the haven
of rest, I'll sail the wide seas no more. The tempest may sweep,
or the wild stormy deep, in Jesus I'm safe evermore. How precious the thought that
we have this sweet rest, like John the Beloved and blessed. On Jesus' strong arm, where no
tempest can harm, Secure in the haven of rest. He anchored my soul in the haven
of rest, I'll sail the wide seas no more. Tempest may sweep o'er the wild
stormy deep, In Jesus I'm safe evermore. The song of my soul
since the Lord made me whole Has been the old story so blessed. Of Jesus, who'll save whosoever
he will, A home and a haven of rest. He anchored my soul in
a haven of rest, I'll sail the wide seas no more. The tempest may sweep, or the
wild stormy deep, In Jesus I'm safe evermore. Thank you so much.