and they remembered his words,
Luke 24, eight. In verses one through seven,
we saw and see how blind and how forgetful, how slow to believe
we are. Not they are, we are. When it
comes to the gospel, it's not that way with a lot of things.
We'll believe some things, we'll swallow hook, line, and sinker,
not just at the drop of a hat, but the gospel. As the Lord said to his disciples
later in this chapter in verse 25, then he said unto them, O
fools and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken.
And notice how this corresponds with what the angel said to these
ladies who came to the sepulcher with the spices, slow of heart
to believe, they said to them, remember what he said to you?
Remember what he said to you, how that he told you that this
would happen? And they were much perplexed, and they reminded, the angels
reminded these ladies what he had said, and we saw how that
at least three times in the scripture, that are recorded in scripture,
Instances and words of our Lord that are not recorded in the
scripture. We know that from the scripture but at least three
times and probably four because these ladies were told to and
they were either they were President one of the other three times
and it just doesn't say that or this was a fourth time and
I'm sure there were many times there were several times That
the Lord says this he teaches us the same things over and over
doesn't he? That's what we need He told all of his disciples,
he told these ladies what must happen. And then the Lord says
there in verse 25, think about this, not only are you slow to
believe what I told you, but what I told you was what the
prophets wrote. You're slow to believe all that
the prophets wrote. So it wasn't just that they forgot
what he told them, but also what the Bible says. What he told
them was just, the Bible concerning him. Now, I've told you before what slow
of heart means. It's not flattering to us. You
can look it up, not flattering. It's not a nice word to use unless
God uses it. Now, this is hard for us to believe
too, isn't it? Think about this. It's hard for
us to believe how hard it is for us to believe. Isn't it? It's just hard to believe
that we're that slow. We see it in them, we see it
in them. He told them exactly what was
gonna happen. And it wasn't just common things that might've just
happened accidentally, it was monumental things, things that
just don't happen every day. And then they happened and they
didn't see it. They were involved, they lived it and didn't believe
it, didn't understand it. We can see it in them, but we
can't see it in ourselves, do we? It's right here in the word
of God, what he said. He reminded them four times now.
How many times has he reminded us over the years of the truth
of his gospel? And you walk away from it for
just a few, like just a week, and you've already forgotten
it, haven't you? Me too. And look, the Bible doesn't say
that much. It doesn't say that many things.
It just says the same thing a lot of times in a lot of ways. So it's not difficult for us
to remember. It's not difficult. They remembered. You know why? Because they were reminded. They
didn't just remember on their own. Turn with me to 2 Peter
1. 2nd Peter chapter 1 Verse 12 And you tell you look at what
he's talking about just kind of glance over What he's talking
about in the first part of this chapter now the knowledge of
our Lord Jesus Christ verse 8 and But he that neglecteth these
things is blind, can't see afar off. They don't give attendance to
the purging of sin. It's not interesting to them,
the idea that God would purge us from our sin. And then verse
12. Wherefore, I will not be negligent
to put you always in remembrance of these things. It would be
negligent of me not to remind you over and over again, though
you know them, These ladies knew it, he told them, they knew. But when they were living it,
when they were experiencing it, and you're established in the
present truth, I know you know the gospel. There's some things
you can just know and then just move on. Then there's the gospel,
who when Paul knew it, said that I may know it, that I may know
him. I want to know him. When you
know the gospel, you just want to know the gospel. Yay, and
I think it meet, I think it appropriate as long as I'm in this tabernacle,
in this body, as long as I'm alive to stir you up by putting
you in remembrance, knowing that shortly I must put off this,
my tabernacle. I'm not going to be here long,
but as long as I am. I'm gonna tell you the same thing I told
you last time I talked to you. Even as our Lord Jesus Christ
has showed me, moreover, I will endeavor that you may be able
after my deceased to have those things always in remembrance.
There's no pastor that doesn't desire that. May long after I'm
gone, the gospel be proclaimed from this pulpit. To you, if
you're still here, to your children, if they're still here, to your
grandchildren, may God speak to them from here. For we have not followed cunningly
devised fables. What is he talking about? What
is he remembering? What is he reminding them of? When we made
known unto you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ,
but were eyewitnesses of his majesty. His power, his coming,
his majesty. For he received from God the
father honoring glory when there came such a voice to him from
the excellent glory. This is my beloved son in whom
I'm well pleased. We were there, Simon said, when
God spoke from heaven and said, here's my son. And this voice,
which came from heaven, we heard when we were with him in the
Holy Mount, on the Mount of Transfiguration. We also, though, have a more
sure word of prophecy even than that, even than our own eyes.
We have the gospel, we have the word of God. Where until you
do well, that you take heed, when I remind you, remember. When these ladies were reminded,
they remembered. where unto you do well, as unto
a light that shineth in a dark place. Isn't that a beautiful
picture? Darkness is a terrible thing,
isn't it? Cold, without direction, blind. And then the light comes
on. And that's how you're to hear
the God, looking for the light, listening for the light, Christ,
the light of the world. There's no light without him.
And look, how long are you gonna do that? How long do you need
to be reminded? Until the day dawn and the day
star arise in your hearts. Paul said it this way at another
place, until Christ be formed in you. He said, I'm jealous
over you until Christ be formed in you. Knowing this first, that no scripture,
no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation,
we just say what God said. For the prophecy came not in
old time by the will of man, but holy men of God spake as
they were moved by the Holy Ghost. That's what we're reminding you
of, what God said. We have this more sure word of
prophecy. And Simon said, I think it's
the right thing to do, as long as I'm here, to just keep telling
you what you know. though you know them. The reminding
is important, but this also. Think about this, to be reminded
of something inherent in that very language is the fact that
it is something you already know. I don't want to tell you anything
new this morning. God forbid that I tell you something new. The gospel is not new. As Simon
said there, though you already know them, you know what I'm
going to say. It's not new to you. The gospel
is not new and it's not new to you. Preaching the gospel is
not coming up with some new thing to say, though as much as some
seem to think that's what it is. And that's not new either. Man's
desire and bent toward wanting to come up with something new,
something spectacular. Look what I found, look what
the Lord showed me. Yeah, he showed me what he showed
Moses by his grace. In Acts 17, jot this down, we
won't look at it this morning. Acts 17, 16 through 21. When Paul was, he entered a place
that was very superstitious and there was a lot of philosophers,
you know, and wise men. And it says that all their business
all the time was just to come up with some new thing to think
about. That's not new either. This is
one of the signs that somebody's an imposter. They come up with
new stuff. Christ is not enough, that's
why they do that. It's that simple. The reason you need to come up
with something new is because Christ is not enough to you.
Don't listen to him. So these angels just reminded
them of what he said. That's what I do. That's all
I do. It's what God's preachers, all
of them do. And it's pretty much all we do.
And there's nothing as believers that we need Nothing. The gospel's not a new
message. There are no new revelations.
And yet, it's never old, is it? It's never old. Listen to Lamentations
321. This I recall to my mind, therefore
have I hope. Now think about what he said,
what Jeremiah's saying here. This I recall to my mind. What is that? Remembering. That's
what we're talking about. This I recall to my mind and
therefore have I hope. Boy, what in the world is he
gonna say next? It is of the Lord's mercies that we are not
consumed. Don't forget that. Don't forget
that. It's not because you did what
you were supposed to do today or tomorrow or ever have or ever
will. It's of the Lord's mercies. Because his compassions fail
not. I hope I can recall that to my
mind every day. His compassions fail not. I fail, but not his compassion,
not his love. They are new every morning. And do you remember what he said
next? Great is thy faithfulness. New every morning. That's true,
isn't it? The oldest thing there is is
the newest thing there is. Matthew 26, 7, 73, and after
a while came unto him they that stood by and they said to Peter,
surely thou art one of them. You know what passage this is.
It's when Simon denied the Lord and they began to accuse him. You're one of them. You're one
of his disciples. Thy speech betrayeth thee. Then began he
to curse and to swear, saying, I know not the man. And immediately
the cock crew. And Peter remembered the word
of Jesus, which said unto him before the cock crow, thou shalt
deny me thrice. And he went out and wept bitterly. He remembered. John 14, 25, these things have
I spoken unto you being yet present with you. But the comforter,
which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name,
he shall teach you all things and bring all things to your
remembrance." It's not just me reminding you, it's the Spirit
of God. That's what he does. Bring all
the things that the Lord did. and all the things that he said,
much of which are not written in this book, but these are written
why? That you might believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God
and that believing you might have life through his name and
the Holy Spirit reminds you of all those things. Whatsoever
I have said unto you, the words of our Savior, The Holy Ghost
brings them to remembrance. First Corinthians 11, 23, for
I have received of the Lord that which also I delivered unto you
that the Lord Jesus, the same night in which he was betrayed,
took bread. And when he had given thanks,
he break it and said, take, eat. This is my body, which is broken
for you. This do. to remember me in remembrance
of me. You see what an important word
that is? To remember, to be reminded and remember him. In all of these
cases, what are we remembering? Him and what he said and what
he did. After the same manner also took
he the cup. when he had supped, saying, this
cup is the new covenant in my blood. This do as oft as you
drink it in remembrance of me. For as often as you eat this
bread and drink this cup, you do show the Lord's death till
he comes. And that's what we remember,
Christ crucified. Now think with me about that
for a minute. Our Lord Jesus Christ instituted
two ordinances, only two, only two, in the church for our day. This is relevant to us today. We're gonna observe by his grace
one of them tonight. And we might very soon be observing
one or the other one, the other one. But there's just two, baptism
and the Lord's table. The one is a confession of Christ
and Him crucified. The other is a remembrance of
Christ and Him crucified. It doesn't get any simpler than
that now. And both of them are so simple. There you stand, confessing
before all who are interested, all who will come to witness
it, that you stand But by the grace of God, you are dead to
sin and alive unto God through our Lord Jesus Christ. You're
picturing his death and burial and resurrection and what that
means to you, how that applies to you, what he did for you. You're also dead and yet alive
in Christ Jesus. To walk in newness of life and
you're confessing that he is the only reason for that. He
is your salvation and your life before God. And the table is
a constant reminder and celebration of that exact same thing. His body, his blood, his body,
God in human flesh, it behooved him to be made like unto his
brethren. And his precious blood shed The only thing that can
wash us from our sins is the precious blood of Christ. And
what are we to do in remembrance? Think about this. What is it
that properly and effectively calls to our mind what we need
to recall to our mind? He said, you remember, and here's
what you do to remember. What are we constantly to be
mindful of according to him? Are we to stand and recite what
we consider to be the vital doctrines of scripture? Let's remember
what we believe by me reciting these doctrines, you know, as
I understand them. Well, that might be good. That's
not what he said to do. Maybe I will all stand up and
give a testimony and a pledge of our allegiance to him. Nope,
that's not it. Maybe some elaborate ritual.
I'll perform some strange ritual up here and I'll drape things
over things and I'll pour things into things. And we'll have some
supernatural weird transformation of things into other things.
Nope, that's not it. It's a simple breaking of bread,
a pouring of wine, commemorating Christ and what he did for me,
and we are to partake of that. We are to take that into ourselves,
knowing that he is our life as we take food into our body, what?
To live, but not just to live, but because we love it, we enjoy
it. It's one of our favorite, it's
our favorite thing. And knowing that Christ, spiritually
speaking, is all of that and more. And we remember, we remember,
do that, he said, and remember how gracious he is to always
bring us back. And I hope that my messages are
that. But if they're not, he reminds me, that's what your
message is. That's the perfect gospel message,
the broken bread and the poured wine. That's the perfect gospel. You can't remember any more effectively
or clearly the Lord Jesus and what he did for you any other
way. That's what he instituted. Of course he ordained the preaching
of the gospel too, but I hope that my messages are that clear
and that simple every time. It's him and what he did. Remember, What a coincidence
that we happen to be studying right now also in Revelation
two and verse four, where he said, nevertheless, I have somewhat
against thee to the church of Ephesus, because thou hast left
thy first love. I have a problem with you and
here's what it is. And the next word is what? Remember. What a coincidence. Remember
therefore From whence thou art fallen and repent and do the
first words Or else I will come unto thee quickly, and we'll
remove that candlestick You've tasted that the Lord is
gracious He's not saying there. You don't love me. He's saying
you've left your first love You've tasted that the Lord is gracious. Now remember how gracious he
is. You know how you'll do that?
The same way these ladies did. They were reminded by the preaching
of the gospel. All those angels did was just
say, here's what he said. That's what all of God's messengers
do. That's what the word angel means, messenger. They say, remember
what he said. Unto you that believe he's precious
Remember how precious And look at verse 9 in our text
and returned from the sepulcher and told He told they told they told what
they knew all these things unto the 11 and all the rest and And
it was Mary Magdalene and Joanna and Mary the mother of James
and other women that were with them which told these things
unto the apostles. This group of women told the
apostles of God something that they didn't know. The Lord blesses the least likely
to see, to understand, to know, to feel, and to tell Things that
are precious and vital. A son or daughter might be the
bearer of gospel truth to a father or mother in God's purpose. A student might teach the teacher. A fool might just tell somebody
who is wise in the things of this world something they don't
know. And those who are smart now,
don't trust your wits. Those who are teachers, always
be ready to be taught. Trust the Lord. To believe these
women would not have been to trust them, would it? The disciples had heard the Lord
say exactly the same things that these women had heard him say.
All they're saying is what he said is the truth. So to believe these women would
have just been to trust the Lord, not the women. The women were
just saying that what he said would happen had happened. That's
what God's messengers do. They didn't have anything to
add. We all have this treasure in
earthen vessels. Don't despise the vessel and
miss the treasure. Don't focus on the vessel. To
a child, the package might be more interesting than the gift.
Have you ever seen that happen? They play with the box you put
it in. That tells how good you are at picking out gifts. No,
but you know what I'm talking about, don't you? Let's not be
children in that. Don't trust the gift. Don't trust
the vessel. Don't be interested in the vessel
so much. Don't focus on the vessel. The vessel's not important. That's
the whole point of this, but God uses. the vessels that aren't
important, the weak, the foolish, the base, the things that are
not, and some miss the treasure out of contempt for the vessel. These women weren't apostles,
but they had something that the apostles needed to hear. It's not unlike our Lord to arrange it that way. The truth
is the truth. God used a donkey one time to
tell the truth. And if he can use me, he can
use anybody. And that's the truth. Not everyone is called to preach
from a pulpit, but if you know the Lord, you can tell these
things. Those two words are in our text.
They told these things, the things that the Lord had said, and we
know to be true. That's what they told. What were
these things? What the Lord had told them.
The gospel. If you've experienced the gospel,
you're a witness of Christ. Be a witness for Christ. Let me say that again. If you
know the gospel, you're a witness of Christ. Be a witness for Christ. Whenever and wherever the Lord
gives you ability, authority, and opportunity, tell these things
to whoever will listen. But look at verse 11, and their
words seem to them as idle tales, and they believe them not. You
know, those women couldn't do anything about that, but the
Lord could. And in His time, He did. They
didn't go on in their unbelief, did they, the 11? But the women couldn't do, they
couldn't make them believe. They could not make them believe.
And I'll tell you this, we can't make the Lord do what we want
Him to do. Those men that love that man
stricken with the palsy, I thought about him this week
because I know some people that are like that spiritually. They couldn't make the Lord do
anything for him, but I'll tell you what they did do. They broke
through the roof and they lowered him down right in front of him
to find out whether he would or not. May God give us grace to do that Plain Obvious obvious every reason
to believe and yet they believe not Every reason to believe Could
they be believers Believe not It says they believe not does
that mean they're unbelievers You know the answer to that don't
you if you are one could they be believers and yet believe
not oh, yeah, oh Yeah Mark 435 through 41. How is it that you
have no faith? How is it that you have no faith?
My flesh, here's how it is. Here's how it is. How can you
be a believer and an unbeliever? My flesh has no faith. And it's not gonna. It's not
ever gonna believe. My nature, my old nature is never
gonna believe God. It's always gonna question. It's
always gonna despise. It's always gonna neglect. It's
always gonna reject. Just like it always has. As a believer, Paul said in Romans
7, 18, I know that in me that is in my flesh dwelleth no good
thing. For to will is present with me.
I wish it wasn't like that. By the grace of God, I do. But
how to perform that which is good, I find not. It's not within me to keep God's
law. It's not within me to be perfect
and holy and sinless. which is what his law demands.
Look with me at that passage of scripture. Let's read together
Romans chapter seven, verse 21. I want you to see, I want you to see that passage
and go a little bit into chapter eight in order to see the context of
it. Romans 7, 21, listen to this, or look at it with me. I find then a law. And this is him sort of concluding
what he's been talking about all through chapter seven, that
my old nature is wretched and vile, but by God's grace, I love his
law. I desire to honor him. But look
at verse 21 again. I find then a law that when I
would do good, evil is present with me. Do you find it that
way too? For I delight in the law of God after the inward man. We don't despise the law. We
know the law can't save us, because we have no power to live up to
it. We have no power to keep it. We have no ability. But we
love the law. It's just simply an expression
of God's holiness, his will. I love the law of God after the
inward man, but I see another law in my memory. I see something
in me that doesn't love the law. Warring against the law of my
mind and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin. There is a
sense in which we're still slaves to sin. We've been set free now
by Christ. We're not ruled by sin anymore. He said, sin shall not have dominion
over you, but we can't break free from it completely. That's
the sense in which we're still captive to the law of sin which
is in my members. And then he said this, oh, wretched
man that I am, who shall save me from the body of this death? I thank God through Jesus Christ,
our Lord. So then with the mind, I myself
serve the law of God, but with the flesh, the law of
sin. There is therefore now no condemnation
to them which are in Christ Jesus. You see the context of that?
I'm a mess. I'm still full of sin and I can't
do anything about it. I'm captive. But here's my salvation. Through
Jesus Christ our Lord, I'm saved. And since I'm in Christ, there's
no condemnation. God does not condemn me. to them
who walk not after the flesh, but after the spirit. The flesh
is still in me. The flesh still affects everything
I do, but I don't follow the flesh. I don't serve the flesh. For the law of the spirit of
life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and
death. For what the law could not do,
and that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own
son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, condemned
sin in the flesh. I'm a wretch, oh wretched man
that I am, but everything's okay because God sent his son to do
what I couldn't do and to pay for what I did then. That's clear,
isn't it? It sounds kind of like, you know,
the law of the spirit of life in Christ Jesus, have made me
free. That sounds like somebody that's saved, wouldn't you say? And yet he said, oh, wretched
man, wretched man that I am. And then, In verse 12, let's look at verse
12 of our text. Then arose Peter and ran unto
the sepulcher, and stooping down, he beheld
the linen clothes laid by themselves and departed, wondering in himself
at that which was come to pass. So here, Simon These ladies,
the other disciples, the ones who walked on the road to Emmaus
later in chapter 24, none of them understood. Though the Lord
had told them plainly what was going to happen, they didn't
understand. The Spirit in the flesh, and this goes back to
Romans 7 where we read there, Christ has made me free from
the law of sin and death, and yet I'm a wretch. I'm full of
unbelief, I can't do what I want to do. I can't honor him like
I want to. The spirit and the flesh are
in continual conflict. On the one hand, they saw that
empty tomb and they're thinking, well, you know, they remembered
what the Lord said. You don't forget that he said
it. Because they were reminded, right?
They remembered, but they were still confused about it. They
were told. This is what happened. Here's
what he said, and here's what we're looking at. Simon had seen the Lord raise
a dead little girl from the dead. Remember that? Peter, James,
and John went in there with him to the chamber where that little
girl lay dead. And they saw him take hold of
her hand and say, daughter, I say unto thee arise. And she did.
And he said, go get her something to eat. And they were standing
there watching that. And they knew what the Lord had
said. And now his tomb is empty. And he's still, he's wondering,
what's going on? On the one hand, I know what
he said, but on the other hand, dead people don't come to life. It's like Simon walking on the
water. On the one hand, there's the
Lord and I'm walking on water, but on the other hand, I can't
walk on water. And when he began to realize
that, he began to sink. It's the spirit and the flesh,
and then there's faith. Nothing is impossible, if you
can just believe. Isn't that what he said to that
man that had the son that was throwing himself in the fire?
He said, can you believe? If you can just believe, all
things are possible to you. It's obvious what had happened,
and yet we need God to give us faith to believe. Oh, we need
that. I wanna read you a familiar passage
of scripture again in closing, because it is seeing scripture
in light of other scripture, isn't it? It's seeing this Mark
9, 17 through 24. I want us to look at it again.
We just looked at it a few Sundays ago, I think. But in light of
what we're talking about this morning, and look at it with
me, Mark 9, 17. Because we're remembering, we
need to remember this, don't we? Mark 9, 17, and what a beautiful
passage of scripture. Mark 9, 17, and one of the multitude
answered and said, Master, I have brought unto thee my son, which
hath a dumb spirit. And wheresoever he taketh him,
he teareth him, and he foameth, and gnasheth with his teeth,
and paneth away. Then I spake to thy disciples
that they should cast him out, and they could not. And he answered
him and saith, O faithless generation, how long shall I be with you?
How long shall I suffer you? Bring him unto me. Oh, that's what I want to do.
It's hopeless? Bring Him to me. There's nothing
anybody can do? Bring Him to me. Oh, may we do
that with all of our hearts, with every prayer we have in
our bodies, in our minds and hearts and voice. And they brought
Him unto Him, and when He saw Him, straightway the Spirit tear
Him, and He fell on the ground and walled, foaming. And He asked
His Father, how long is it ago? since this came unto him. And
he said of a child, and you know, I don't know what to say about
why the Lord asked him that, except just to say this, this
wasn't just business with the Lord. The Lord doesn't just do
business. He loved this man. He loved this child. He was interested,
wasn't he? He talked to him about it. How
long has it been like this? He knew the answer to that. But
he spoke with it. He does that with us too, doesn't
he? He takes an interest in what matters to us. And oft times it hath cast him
into the fire and into the waters to destroy him. But if thou canst
do anything, have compassion on us and help us. And notice
again, I pointed this out a few weeks ago, He said, if you can
do anything, and look what the Lord said, if you can believe,
that's the question. It's not a question of what he
can do and can't do. He can save everybody if he wants
to, anybody and everybody. But can you believe? And remember
when we talked about can these bones live? The only one that
can answer the question, can you believe, is the one who gives
faith. That's why Ezekiel said, Lord,
thou knowest. If I say they can live and you
leave them alone, they can't live. If I say they can't live,
you can give them life and I'm wrong then too. You're the only
one that can answer it. And I wanna know, don't you?
I wanna know if these bones can live. So I'm gonna say, Lord,
you know. I know that if you will, they
can. Can you believe? All things are
possible to him that believeth. And straightway the father of
the child cried out and said with tears, Lord, I believe,
help. May we never say I believe without
saying help because you know you need help. You know you don't
believe without his help, without him giving you faith. Help thou
mine unbelief. Now think about what he said.
He said, Lord, I believe, help me because I don't believe. That's
what he said, isn't it? What is unbelief? It's not believing. Help me. There is a me that believes. And there's a me that don't.
There's a me that don't. That's what Paul said there in
Romans 7 and 8. And that's because of the body
of this death, Paul called it. We live in the body and this
flesh. That's why they couldn't, they were confused. They didn't
understand. We need the Lord to turn the light on. We need
him to give us faith. We need him to do what he did
later in the chapter. And we may look at that. We're
gonna look at it soon. He opened their understanding
that they might understand. We won't look at this morning,
but we'll look at that soon. He was wondering in himself at
that, which, how could he wonder? It was obvious, wasn't it? Hmm. He said, who shall save me from
the body? Now Paul was saved. He just said
there in Romans 8 too, the law of the spirit of life in Christ
Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death for
what the law could not do. I'm free because God sent his
son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin and condemned
my sin in his flesh. that the righteousness of the
law might be fulfilled in us who walk not after the spirit
flesh, but after the spirit. In us, we, us, the righteousness
of God. He's calling himself a believer.
He's calling himself a saved man. That sounds like a saved
man, doesn't it? But just a few verses before,
he's saying, who's gonna save me? And then he answered his own
question. And this is the answer to our question if we ask that.
Who's gonna save us? Who's gonna save me? Lord, help
me. I don't believe. I believe, but I don't believe. Help. I thank God through Jesus
Christ, our Lord. When Paul said Christ is all,
And in all, he wasn't exaggerating, was he? He's everything we need. Let's pray.