May it please Almighty God to
bless us together this morning as we meditate in His Holy Word. Let's turn to the Gospel of Luke,
chapter 24, and we'll read verses 6, 7 and 8. So the Gospel of
Luke, chapter 24, and reading verses 6, 7 and 8. He is not here. but is risen. Remember how He
spake unto you when He was yet in Galilee, saying, The Son of
Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified,
and the third day rise again. And they remembered his words. It is a great blessing for each
one of us if God enables us to remember his words. As we ponder such a statement
and realise that Jesus was reminding his disciples of
this great truth and yet they'd been with him for those years,
those three years and he'd spoken to them and we can read some
of the things which he had spoken and how clearly he spoke of his
death and of his resurrection and yet here we are with those
things occurring and they did not really remember, they did
not really appreciate until the Lord came and reminded them on
such an occasion as this. And so it's good for us today
that we are able, by God's grace, to remember the great truths
of the Word of God. how blessed we are to think that
we have the Bible. It's good sometimes just to remember
that as I said at Sunday School this morning, there was no Bible
years ago. And in fact, there was nothing
at all recorded until Moses wrote those first five books of the
Bible. So for all those years there
was no written word of God. And then of course after Moses
various other books were added until the Old Testament was complete,
which was completed some 400 years before Jesus was born. And then of course we have then
the New Testament, which God ordained for us. Therefore, we
have a wonderful account from Genesis to Revelation about the
grand and glorious plan of God, the plan of God for us as individuals,
the plan of God for mankind. It is a wonderful, wonderful
testimony and how encouraging we encouraged we should be as
we're able to read it. And so as we come to this day
today, which we remember as the day that the blessed and glorious
Saviour rose from the dead, it should be a wonderful encouragement
to us to know that it did occur, it's recorded, it was prophesied
and it was recorded in detail in the Gospels And also in the
epistles we have this wonderful record of the Lord Jesus Christ
and what he did and how relevant it is for you and me today. How easy it is for us to just
pass over it. But it's vital for our soul's
eternal good, eternal blessing. If it were not for the great
truth of the Gospel, if it were not for the life, the death,
the resurrection, the ascension, and the intercession of the Saviour,
you and I today would be without hope. Again, sometimes it's good
just to think, if none of these things were there, and yet we
as sinners stood guilty before a holy God, how desperate would
be our condition. Well, may we today praise God,
praise God from whom all blessings flow. And it is important for
us to praise the Father, to praise the Son and to praise the Holy
Spirit, because they are all involved in our salvation. They were all involved in eternity
past in planning this time this great deliverance for the church
of God they knew that man would fall and through that fall and
through then the sin atoning life and death of the Saviour
there is hope for sinful man so that we come today to that
position perhaps able to say my hope is built on nothing less
than Jesus' blood and righteousness. Perhaps we need to ask ourselves,
do we have a hope? Do you have a hope of eternal
life in glory? It's not something you should
just ignore. You may ask, why should I not
ignore it? because none of us know how long
we've got on this earth how important it is that each
one of us has the evidence that it is well with our soul and
if it's well with our soul it's because we have the knowledge
that our glorious Saviour died upon that cross at Calvary to
take away our sins How important that is. Do you think it's important? Do you know it's important? Do
you recognize the relevance of such truths to ourselves? Because these things are very
personal. Very personal. Real religion
is between your soul, my soul and God. Each one of us has to
stand before God. What a mercy it is then to have
this great evidence in our hearts that the Lord Jesus Christ came
into this world to save me, to deliver my soul from eternal
death, to give to me that glorious light of the Gospel, which shines
forth in the face of the life and death and resurrection of
our Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ. Well, we have here this statement
of the Saviour this morning. He is not here. No. He'd gone to look into the sepulchre
and they were told by those two shining ones, He's not here.
He's risen. He's risen. And then they are
reminded, remember how he spake unto you when he was yet in Galilee. Well, the Lord spoke. The Lord still speaks to his
people today. Again, that's so relevant, isn't
it? For you and me to be able to
look into our hearts, and find now the evidence of God speaking
personally to us. God has an ordained time and
an ordained way to come into the hearts of his people, to
realise the truth that the hymn writer when he said, the appointed
time rolls on apace, not to propose, but call by grace. Well, has that time rolled on
in your life and my life? So that we do have the evidence
that our great and glorious God has looked down upon us so wonderful,
as single individuals. He's come to us. He's found us. Found us. Just like he found
Jacob so many years ago. He found him in a waste-howling
wilderness. This world is, to the people
of God, a waste-howling wilderness. Well, my friends, has God found
us? Has he found you? Has he found
me? And have we the evidence of it? Therefore, in our hearts, when
God comes and speaks into our hearts, you know, we don't forget. Many things in our lives we forget. Many things are not relevant. But the Word of God to our souls
is so necessary and so important and so wonderful to think that
nonetheless an Almighty God looks down upon unworthy sinners of
the earth and speaks to our soul so that we have the evidence
of eternal life may we each, every one of us
know it and if you don't know it pray earnestly for it pray
earnestly for it and indeed give God no rest until he's shown
to you that you are also amongst those whom he has loved with
everlasting love, and with loving kindness has drawn us to himself. It's his loving kindness. We
don't deserve it. We can't point and say, well,
I deserve God to look upon me, because none of us do. None of
us do. We've offended God. We've disobeyed
God. All mankind has. right from the
day in Eden when Adam and Eve offended God by disobeying His
commands. And you and I today have followed
in that pattern, followed their footsteps. They needed a Saviour,
we need a Saviour. And so, what a mercy to have
such a statement before us in this account. He is not here,
He's risen. The Word of God is fulfilled. That should be an encouragement
to us to believe that God's Word is true. It's not just a figment
of our imagination. It's not just a book of fairy
tales like some people say. It is the very Word of God. It is. the truth of God and how
wonderful to think that we today have it here before us. He is not here, he is risen.
Remember how he spake unto you when he was yet in Galilee saying,
the Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men
and be crucified and the third day rise again. This was the
divine plan of Almighty God. Yes, and it had been agreed in
eternity past by the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit that
this would come to pass. So we can think of that great
truth in John 3.16, for God so loved the world, God the Father,
that he sent his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth
in him should not perish but have eternal life. So today, as you and I think
on that great truth, have we believed on the Lord Jesus Christ
as our Saviour? There's only one person that
knows whether that's true or not and that's you or me before
God and the reality is that you and I must know that before we
die it's not something which is irrelevant it's something
which is very relevant What a blessing to think that we today are able
to gather together to hear the Word of God preached, the great
and glorious truths that it contains. You know, the Apostle Paul knew
the great blessing, didn't he, of salvation. You remember, he
tells us a number of times in his testimonies which he spoke
of in the epistles, but also when he was before Agrippa and
before the king, he spoke very clearly of his conversion. Didn't have any doubt about it.
He knew What God had done for him and what a wonderful? Thing
it is to believe that and to know the truth of it when therefore
he was able to write with great confidence through the Spirit
of God the great truths of the scripture and in the 15th chapter
of the first epistle of the Corinthians that we read about this great
truth and wonderful it is to realise how very, very relevant
it is. He tells us from verse 11 perhaps, Therefore, whether it
were I or they, so we preach, and so ye believed. You see the pattern? The preaching
of the Gospel, is to natural man foolishness but to those
who believe it is the power of God the power of God therefore
he says whether it were I or they so we preach and so ye believed
now if Christ be preached that he rose from the dead, how say
some among you that there is no resurrection of the dead? It's very important that you
and I believe in the resurrection. But if there be no resurrection
of the dead, then is Christ not risen? And if Christ be not risen,
then is our preaching vain? And your faith is also vain. So if Christ wasn't risen, there'd
be no point in me preaching here today. There'd be no point in
you believing. And therefore, if Christ be not
risen, then is our preaching vain, and your faith is also
vain. Yea, and we have found false
witnesses of God, because we have testified of God, that he
raised up Christ, whom he raised not up. If so be the dead rise
not. For if the dead rise not, then
is not Christ raised. And if Christ be not raised,
your faith is vain, you are yet in your sins. Then they also
which are fallen asleep in Christ are perished. If in this life
only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable,
but now Is Christ risen from the dead and become the first
fruits of them that slept? Well, the apostle was a true
believer. He'd been caught up into the
third heaven to view the Saviour. And the wonderful blessing it
was, all the apostles viewed the Saviour and the Apostle Paul
as an Apostle, viewed the Saviour in that wonderful revelation. And therefore we see how relevant
these great truths are How important they are for you and me today. What a wonderful blessing it
is, therefore, to have the Gospel and to realise these great truths. The Son of Man must be delivered
into the hands of sinful men and be crucified and the third
day rise again. And so this was fulfilled. Why was it necessary? Why was
all this necessary? Because mankind could not save
ourselves. We have all offended God. We've all sinned. And it's not, you see, you might
think, well, I'm not a great sinner. Many people today, if
they ask, are you a sinner, they'll say, yeah, but I'm not a great
sinner. I've just done one or two things wrong. But one sin
condemns us to the eternal wrath of God. And every one of us needs
to be freed from that condemnation which says, the soul that sinneth,
it shall die. Oh, my friends, the word of God
is true. It's not just there as an interesting
account. It relates to the souls of mankind. And how important for us today
to realize that, to realize it has a word direct to your heart
and to my heart. And therefore may we be concerned
to know that we are sinners. We are condemned as a sinner. There's no point in thinking,
well, I'm not a very big sinner. Every sin has to be paid for. It's a debt that we have. And you and I today need to know
that debt of our sin has been paid and you and I cannot pay
it ourselves we cannot pay it ourselves we might perhaps think
well I'll turn over a new leaf and I won't do this and I won't
say that well when the Holy Spirit convinces us you and I will know
that our very thoughts are sinful and our very thoughts condemn
us And therefore we cannot have any wrong thought without being
a sinner. So very, very simply, we are
condemned. We are condemned. And we need
to be delivered from that condemnation. That means we need to have our
sins removed, our sins taken away. And you and I cannot do
it. But there is one who can. And there is one who has paid
the price to take away our sins. And that one is the blessed Lord
Jesus Christ. God himself. It's a mystery which
is so great that your mind and my mind cannot absorb the greatness
of it. Because the Word of God tells
us that there is God the Father, and there is God the Son, and
there is God the Holy Spirit. Three people, three in one, united
together, and they're all joined together in the work of your
salvation and my salvation. The great God, the almighty God,
join together in that work of salvation for your soul and my
soul. All my friends, what does it
mean to us today? Do you praise God for it? Do
you bless God for it? Have you the evidence from the
Holy Spirit that it is true in your life and that you are amongst
those for whom the glorious Saviour did die, He gave His life. That
was the price that the Father required, that His Son, the co-equal
God, would be willing to give His
life That was the price the Father required. The Lord Jesus Christ
gave His life and the evidence of that life being given was
signified through His shed blood. He shed blood of His life upon
that cross at Calvary. He satisfied the demands of His
Father and was able to conclude on that cross at Calvary with
those final words, it is finished. He had done what was required
by his father in order that we as unworthy sinners could be
delivered from that condemnation, the soul that sinneth, it shall
die. The thinking of Christ Jesus,
God himself, looked upon us utterly unworthy sinners and should love
us so much that he was willing to stand in our place and bear
the punishment due to us, bear the punishment instead. Oh, what a wonderful, wonderful
saviour we have, do we not? Do we rejoice in it? I hope we
do. I hope we can praise God for
it. Towards the end of this 24th
chapter, we read, And he said unto them, These are the words
which I spake unto you while I was yet with you, that all
things must be fulfilled which were written in the law of Moses
and in the prophets and in the Psalms concerning me." A great
truth of Scripture. They all had to be fulfilled. Then opened he their understanding
that they might understand the Scriptures. And this is what
he opened up to their understanding. Thus it is written, and thus
it behoved Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead the third
day and that repentance and remission of sins, that means forgiveness,
and remission of sins should be preached in his name among
all nations beginning at Jerusalem and ye are witnesses of these
things. Well, they were witnesses, but
this was the gospel spelt out very very simply in those days
and recorded very wonderfully and various gloriously we can
rejoice therefore in these great and wonderful truths. What a great blessing it is that
we today have his word to be able to read together and the
Lord tells us in the 10th chapter of John about He's the Good Shepherd. He has a flock of sheep. Those
flock of sheep are representative of the Church of God. He has
the whole Church of God, His flock. How wonderful it is if
it has a gracious and wonderful application to you and me today. And so the Apostle John writes
and he says, Therefore doth my father love me because I lay
down my life that I might take it again. He laid it down. He laid it down on the third
day. He took it again. He took his life. He rose from
the dead a conqueror. No man taketh it from me. But
I lay it down in myself. I have power to lay it down.
And I have power to take it again. This commandment have I received
of my Father. Well, it's great truth, isn't
it? It's a holy truth. It's a wonderful
truth. And it's a truth that you and
I need faith to believe, because without faith it is impossible
to please God. And yet God graciously and wonderfully
gives faith. What a mercy it is if we are
the recipients of that faith of God. Yes, it is a wonderful,
wonderful blessing to realise that we have such a kind and
gracious God who tells us this Through the Apostle when he wrote
to the Ephesians for by grace Remember what that means? The
unmerited favor of God you and I don't deserve any favor But for by grace Are you saying? through faith God gives his faith,
you see, and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God. Well, this morning, I wonder
if you and I can look into our hearts and praise God. for his gift of faith to believe
on the Lord Jesus Christ. He tells us the apostle when
he spoke to the Philippian Jaina, believe on the Lord Jesus Christ
and thou shalt be saved. The only one who can redeem our
soul, the only one who can come and favour us and bless us. Indeed what a great and glorious
blessing to know these truths and to realise as the Apostle
again tells us when he wrote to the Romans in regard to being
a conqueror and he tells us, nay in all these things, well
he says, for we those who are redeemed, those who are under
no condemnation. Now in all these things we are
more than conquerors through Him that loved us. And the Apostle concludes the
eighth chapter with that wonderfully full and glorious statement. He says, for I am persuaded. What a mercy when the Holy Spirit,
like he did Paul, persuade you and me of these great truths,
that they have a personal application to our souls. It's the last thing
the devil wants you to do, to be persuaded. He'll try and produce
all reasons why you should never believe. You're not worthy. You can't believe. Well, my friends,
you and I should quote the scriptures to the devil. What he tells us,
the Holy Spirit tells us here, for I am persuaded that neither
death nor life nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor
things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth,
nor any other creature shall be able to separate us from the
love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. It's good, isn't
it, to have a comprehensive statement like that. Because if God has
loved us, if God has shown to you and me his love in revealing
himself to us as our great and glorious Saviour, that love will
never be revoked. He loves to the end. Oh my friends,
how wonderful it is. The Gospel is complete. The Gospel
is wonderful. And so, how great it is to be
able to read such words as that and to bless God for it. And
so, here we have this great statement. Well, He came to the disciples
and He spoke, or the angel spoke and said, Behold. And then He
spoke, the Saviour spoke, He said, Behold. my hands and my
feet, that it is I myself. Handle me and see, for a spirit
hath not flesh and blood, sorry, flesh and bones, as ye see me
have. Well, this morning, on this resurrection
day, have we received that grace?
That favour. Unworthy as we are to believe
that the Lord Jesus Christ came into the world, just like the
Apostle Paul said. He came into the world. For what
reason? To save sinners. The Apostle then adds, of whom
I am chief. When God convicts of sin, he
doesn't convict us of just a little. My friends, he brings it to bear
that you and I come. It may not be immediately, it
may be over time, as God reveals more and more of our sins to
us as you and I stand before God just like the Apostle Paul
came to the conclusion of whom I am chief and it's a blessing
when the Holy Spirit works in our souls to show that we indeed
are a great sinner and a blessing when the Holy Spirit convinces
us just like the Apostle Paul we're the chief sinner We have
no excuse. We've sinned against light and
knowledge. We've turned our back upon God. We've turned our back upon his
gracious commands. We've said, I will not have this
man to rule over me. I will not follow a despised
and crucified man. Well, what a blessing it is when
all the barriers, all the objections are broken down and taken away. And what's the effect? It gives us a humble submission
to take up our cross. The apostle says, in one place,
daily, and to follow Him. It's good when the Holy Spirit
shows to us what a debt we owe because of that debt that Christ
has paid on our behalf, on our behalf,
what a mercy it is. You know the Apostle Peter knew
so well, didn't he, the depth and the blessing and the favour
of these things. And he tells us in the first
chapter of the first epistle, third verse, blessed be the God
and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his
abundant mercy have agreat our sin, the mercy of God is greater. which according to his abundant
mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection
of Jesus Christ from the dead to an inheritance incorruptible
and undefiled that fadeth not away reserved in heaven for you
who are kept by the power of God through faith, unto salvation,
ready to be revealed in the last time. That's a very comprehensive
statement, isn't it? You can read it, the first chapter,
the first few verses, in the first epistle of Peter. How wonderful
it is to realise, therefore, that this gospel is so complete. And it reaches out to the worst
of sinners. Therefore, it encompasses all
who come unto Him, who come unto Him confessing their sins and
pleading for mercy. He does not send us away. He looks upon us in love to our
souls. What a Saviour we have. What
a great Saviour. And therefore, on a day like
today, when we can commemorate that glorious day of the Resurrection,
The work of redemption had been completed and now he rose from
the dead a conqueror over sin, death, hell and the grave. And
remember as I already said, we are more than conquerors through
him. Well may we thank God and praise
him that we're able to rejoice in a the resurrection of our
Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ. And as we think of these great
words that we've read together today, to bless God for them,
to recognise the truth. He is not here, but is risen. Remember how he spake unto you. And that's good for you and me. If God has spoken to our hearts,
it's always good to remember Remember, remember, the Son of
Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men and be crucified
and the third day rise again. And they remembered his words. Well, this morning, may we remember
the glorious words of the gospel and rejoice in our Savior, the
Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.