The notices for the coming week
are, God willing, as follows. Pastoral preach here next Lord's
Day at 10.30 and 2 o'clock. Also on Thursday evening at 7
o'clock. There will be no prayer meeting
on Tuesday this week. The collection taken on Friday
for the Oak Tree Home Trust amounted to £210. It was originally arranged for
Mrs. Field to be buried on the coming
Wednesday but the coroner said there needs to be an inquest
so it's been postponed and we'll have to wait for the arrangements
to be done until a death certificate has been issued. Let us commence our services
today by singing together hymn 485. The tune is Easter hymn
512. Christ the Lord is risen today,
sons of men and angels say. Raise your joys and triumphs
high, sing ye heavens and earth reply. Love's redeeming work
is done, fought the fight, the battle won. Lo, the sun's eclipse
is all, lo, he sets in blood, no more. Hymn 485, tune Easter
hymn 512. Christ the Lord is risen today, Sons of men and angels sing,
Raise your joys and triumphs high, Sing ye heavens and earth
rejoice, God's redeeming work is done,
O come, Thine avenger, come. Lord, how soft He lifts His arm, Now it's a time of no return. In the center of the city Christ
has done her gain so well, Yet in pain for which she cries, Christ the Lord, the Lamb of
God, is born in Bethlehem. How did I have so to say? Where
shall it lead me, mercy made? ♪ In the work Christ hath led ♪
♪ So in the age of death ♪ ♪ Day, night, and night give way ♪ Oh, say does that star-spangled
banner yet wave I'll be standing by your side
in this way. Give me, give me thy love, and
I'll never return. Let us read together from the
Holy Word of God in the Gospel according to Matthew, chapter
28. Matthew's Gospel, chapter 28. In the end of the Sabbath, as
it began to dawn toward the first day of the week, came Mary Magdalene
and the other Mary to see the sepulcher. And behold, there
was a great earthquake, for the angel of the Lord descended from
heaven and came and rolled back the stone from the door and sat
upon it. His countenance was like lightning,
and his raiment white as snow, and for fear of him the keepers
did shake and became as dead men. And the angel answered and
said unto the women, Fear not ye, for I know that ye seek Jesus
which was crucified. He is not here, for he is risen. As he said, Come, see the place
where the Lord lay. And go quickly and tell his disciples
that he is risen from the dead. And behold, he goeth before you
into Galilee. There shall ye see him. Lo, I
have told you.' And they departed quickly from the sepulchre with
fear and great joy, and did run to bring his disciples word.
And as they went to tell his disciples, behold, Jesus met
them, saying, All hail! And they came and held him by
the feet and worshipped him. Then said Jesus unto them, Be
not afraid, go tell my brethren that they go into Galilee and
there shall they see me. Now when they were going, behold,
some of the watch came into the city and showed unto the chief
priests all the things that were done. And when they were assembled
with the elders and had taken counsel, they gave large money
unto the soldiers saying say ye his disciples came by night
and stole him away while we slept and if this come to the governor's
ears we'll persuade him and secure you. So they took the money and
did as they were taught and this saying is commonly reported among
the Jews until this day. Then the eleven disciples went
away into Galilee into a mountain where Jesus had appointed them. And when they saw him, they worshipped
him, but some doubted. And Jesus came and spake unto
them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore and teach all
nations, baptising them in the name of the Father, and of the
Son, and of the Holy Ghost. teaching them to observe all
things whatsoever I have commanded you. And lo, I am with you always,
even unto the end of the world. Amen. May the Lord bless that
portion of his precious word and grant unto us a spirit of
real prayer. Almighty, most merciful and eternal
God of heaven, we do desire to bow before thy great majesty
and to call upon thy great and holy name. We do desire, as we've
read together in thy word, to worship thee, the Father, the
Son, and the Holy Ghost, that one blessed and all-glorious
God. And we pray that thou would lead
us into that profound mystery that is in the Godhead, the mystery
of the Trinity, that our eyes may be enlightened and opened,
that we may receive the Word and that we may lay hold of that
hope that is set before us in the Gospel. We pray that we may
be favoured this day to feel the divine anointing of the Holy
Ghost and the opening of the word of truth, and the opening
of our eyes and our ears and our understanding, that we might
understand the things of God, that we might understand the
ways of God, that we might understand the dealings of God with his
people, that we may have the witness of thy spirit with our
spirit, that we are the children of God. Oh, do hear us, Lord,
we humbly pray thee, and graciously bless us. For where the Spirit
of the Lord is, there is liberty, and we pray that we may know
that liberty today, and that light and life in our hearts,
and that warmth of love, and, O most blessed Spirit of truth,
we pray that thou wouldst give us the spirit of faith, that
faith that worketh by love, that faith that lays hold of Christ,
that faith that looks alone to Jesus. O Lord, grant us each
that faith, for without faith it is impossible to please God,
for he that cometh unto God must believe that he is, and that
he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him. We pray
that we may be favoured with the presence of our Eternal Father,
We read in the word that none come except the father draw.
So we pray that today as we gather round thy word, we may know those
divine drawings of a heavenly father. And that we may know
the sweetness and power of that precious word. Yea, I have loved
thee with an everlasting love. Therefore with loving kindness
have I drawn thee. Do be gracious unto us, O Lord,
we pray thee, and show us thy ways and teach us thy paths. And may we be favoured like those
dear disciples after the resurrection of Jesus when they were gathered
together, the doors being shut, and Jesus himself came and stood
in the midst of them and said, peace be unto you. O gracious
God, we pray. for that peace of God that passeth
all understanding, that it may keep our hearts and minds through
Jesus Christ our Lord. We do pray for a revelation of
Jesus Christ unto our souls. There may be one and another
here in the congregation today that desire, like that dear woman
of old, if I might but touch the hem of his garment, I should
be made whole. O that that wish, that desire
may be granted, we do humbly beseech thee, and that thou wast
blessed with faith and light and hope. We come together, O
Lord, on this Easter Sunday with that desire to render thanksgiving
and praise unto thee for the wonderful glory of the resurrection
of the dead, that wonderful reality, of Jesus, the Son of God, rising
from the grave and destroying death and swallowing up death
in victory. We think of the brethren in the
early church and they used to greet one another on thy holy
day. The Lord is risen indeed. Oh,
we do pray that thou wouldst grant us that we might know him
in the power of his resurrection. in the fellowship of his sufferings,
and be made conformable unto his death. Lord Jesus, we bow
in humble worship before thy glorious majesty. We thank thee
for the cross of Calvary, for the suffering Saviour. We thank
thee that thou didst bear the iniquity of thy people, and we
thank our Eternal Father who laid upon him the iniquity of
us all. We thank thee that he died for
our sins and rose again for our justification and is now bodily
ascended into heaven and sits at thy right hand. May we be
given to feel and to know, tis he instead of me is seen when
I approach to God. For Lord, we come as poor sinners.
We are the fallen sons and daughters of Adam. We're born in sin and
shaped in iniquity. and we are unrighteous altogether
and we desire, O Lord, a spirit of true confession. We confess
that we are not worthy of thy mercy or of thy goodness or of
thy favour. Our hope is built on nothing
less than Jesus' blood and righteousness. We cannot bring any righteousness
of our own, O Lord, but we plead that precious righteousness of
Jesus Christ and we plead that that precious blood that He has
shed, that cleanses from all sin. We thank Thee for the blood
of Christ. We thank Thee for a risen Saviour. We thank Thee that death has
been swallowed up in victory. O most gracious Lord, so be with
us today and grant us a spirit of true worship and grant that
the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God Our Father,
in the sacred fellowship of the Holy Spirit, may rest and abide
upon us for thy great name's sake. Lord, we do pray that thou
wouldst look upon us as a church, as a congregation. We have suffered
a great loss, O Lord, in the departure to glory of our late
beloved sister in Christ. And Lord, we're thankful that
we have that sweet hope of everlasting life through Jesus Christ, and
that we pray that they would remember the family, each one
of them at this time of great loss, and support and comfort
and help will undertake for them. Lord, we pray that they would
remember our brethren, the deacons, and give wisdom and grace and
help in all their responsibilities, and we pray that they would graciously Remember each one of our brethren
and sisters in church fellowship. Remember us with the favour that
thou bearest unto thy people. We do humbly pray thee, and knit
our hearts together in holy love, thanksgiving. Oh, do hear us,
Lord. We thank thee that there is a
family on earth whose father fills the throne, and we're thankful
that we do have a heavenly father. and we do know his eternal love
in our hearts, and we have known what it is to be drawn in loving
kindness unto Jesus Christ. And Lord, these are these wonderful
evidences of the life of God in our hearts. We pray for the
little ones and the children that they may be blessed of thee,
and that they may be taught of thee, that they may be guided
by thee, and that thou wouldst graciously guide and direct them
in all matters. Put thy holy fear in their hearts,
an unctuous light to all that's right, to bar to all that's wrong. Remember the dear young friends
and have mercy upon them, and bless them with light and understanding
in thy word, and bless them with living faith in Jesus Christ,
and bless them with that grace to follow Thee and to serve Thee
in their day and in their generation. Lord, we do pray that Thou in
Thy great mercy would remember the prodigals that have wandered
away from the house of God and cause them to return. Have mercy
upon them, O Lord, we pray Thee, for there's nothing too hard
for Thee, none are beyond the power of thine everlasting grace. Pray, most gracious Lord, that
the light and truth and power of the gospel may shine into
this village and the surrounding villages and hamlets, and that
we may also see the fulfilling of those wonderful promises.
I will bring thy sons from far and thy daughters from the ends
of the earth, and they shall come from the north and from
the south, from the east and from the west. Gracious God,
grant that we may see such a reviving and renewing among us here and
among the churches of God. May bear thine holy arm in the
gospel, gird on thy sword, O mighty prince, and ride prosperously.
We do humbly beseech thee, and let thine arrows be sharp in
the hearts of the king's enemies, that the people may fall under
thee. And, O Lord, we do pray. Lord, remember all in the midst
of the journey of life, bearing the heat and the burden of the
day. Remember them with the favour that thou bearest unto thy people,
and visit them with thy great salvation. And, O Lord, we do
pray for grace and wisdom and help to be given to parents,
that they may bring up their children in the nurture and admonition
of the Lord. Lord, we do pray that thou would
deliver us from the temptations of Satan, whether he comes as
an angel of light to deceive or whether he comes as a roaring
lion to devour. We pray to be delivered from
his power and from his influence. We pray, most gracious Lord,
that thou would lift up that glorious standard of Christ against
Satan to destroy him and his works. for he hath destroyed
the works of the devil. And we thank thee that he reigns
victorious. We thank thee for those lovely
words of grace, hallelujah, for the Lord God omnipotent reigneth. And oh Lord, we do pray that
thou would remember those of us in the evening time of life's
journey and graciously bless us and prepare us for that great
change which must come. Gracious Lord, hear us, we pray
thee. Guide us by thy counsel and teach
us thy truth and make us more spiritually minded and set our
affections on things above and not on things of the earth. And,
O Lord, we do pray thou would remember all thy servants as
they labour in word and doctrine upon the walls of Zion today,
that thou would set them free, that thou would set them at liberty,
that thou wouldst grant mighty signs and wonders to follow the
preaching of the word. O Lord, thou art able to do abundantly
more than we can even ask or think. Lord, we do pray that
thou wouldst abundantly bless the provision of thy house, satisfy
her poor with bread. We do pray that thou wouldst
graciously yet send true labourers into the harvest. Send forth
thy servants to preach the everlasting gospel and grant that gracious
determination to know nothing among men save Jesus Christ and
him crucified. Lord, we do pray that thou in
thy great mercy would remember those that labour in other countries. We think of the Mombasa mission
and thy servant there, supply their needs and help him to soldier
on and continue that work, that work of faith and labor of love. And we pray that thou would remember
the Savannah Education Trust and that great work that they've
been enabled to do in Ghana. Lord, do abundantly bless that
provision that has been given. that may redound to the glory
of thy great name. And, O Lord, we do pray and always
remember Ian Sattler and his great work he does for the Free
Grace Evangelistic Association. Lord, help him and undertake
for him and supply all his many returning needs. We pray that
thou would remember our nation that thou would give wisdom to
our leaders and guidance and direction to them that rule over
us and that we may live a quiet and a peaceable life. Remember
our King and bless our King with that rich grace that is in Christ
Jesus. We think of the King and the
Princess of Wales at this time in great affliction and we lovingly
commend them to thee and to the word of thy grace which is able
to build them up and to prepare them for that great change that
must come. Lord, bless all the royal household
we do humbly beseech thee. We thank thee for every mercy
of thy kind providence and all thy goodness that has passed
before us in the way. We thank thee for the glories
of Christ and that fullness of grace that is in him. And Lord,
one greatly feels to need him. come and touch one's lips with
a live coal from off the heavenly altar. Make up in giving where
we do so fail in asking, as we ask for Jesus Christ's sake.
Amen. Let us now sing together hymn
number 490, At the tune is Monkland, 482. Jesus, our triumphant head, risen
victorious from the dead, to the realms of glory gone, to
ascend his rightful throne. Hymn 490, tune Monkland, 482. Jesus, Lord, at Thy birth We
sing Thy praise forevermore ♪ And the rounds of Oriole ♪ ♪
Blessed be the time of joy ♪ ♪ Here at the land of the free ♪ ♪ Evermore with pride and praise
♪ ♪ Each prize for evermore will shine ♪ ♪ Hail to you, hail to thee, our Alma Mater ♪ ♪ I love thee ♪ ♪ Even in the greatest
need ♪ ♪ I will trust thee to the end ♪ ♪ I will trust thee
to the end ♪ In the night, and at night, and
all the days, they have sung to me O'er the ramparts we watched,
were so gallantly streaming? And the rocket's red glare, the
bombs bursting in air, Gave proof through the night that our flag
was still there, O come, O come, O come, O come,
O come, O come, May nature be kind to us. Greatly feeling to need the Lord's
gracious help, I direct your attention to the chapter that
we read, the 28th chapter of the Gospel
according to Matthew, and we'll read verses 5, 6, and 7 for our
text. Matthew chapter 28, reading verses
5, 6, and 7. And the angel answered and said
unto the women, Fear not ye, for I know that ye seek Jesus
which was crucified. He is not here, he is risen. As he said, come, see the place
where the Lord lay, and go quickly and tell his disciples that he
is risen from the dead. And behold, he gave before you
into Galilee. There shall you see him. Lo, I have told you. How graciously the Lord deals
with these dear women that came to the sepulchre. We notice in
the first verse in the end of the Sabbath as it began to dawn
toward the first day of the week and Mary Magdalene and the other
Mary to see the sepulchre and behold there was a great earthquake
the gospel according to Mark it says that as these women came
to the sepulchre there was a great stone that was across the front
of the sepulchre and they said who shall roll us away the stone
you know it's it it's an interesting point now these ladies were walking
by faith they were walking by faith And it didn't stop them
going to the sepulchre. They didn't sit at home and say,
well, there's a great stone rolled away and it's also dangerous
and there are soldiers, etc. They went. They were removed
by love. They rested on the Sabbath day.
And then early in the morning, as it began to get light, they
made their way to the sepulchre. Who shall roll us away the stone?
but we notice here and behold there was a great earthquake.
There was an earthquake when Jesus died and there was an earthquake
when Jesus rose from the dead. There was a great earthquake
for the angel of the Lord descended from heaven and came and rolled
back the stone from the door and sat upon it. And it says
here, and for fear of him the keepers Did shake and became
as dead men. What tremendous things happened.
But although there are all these different little things that
happened that surrounded the resurrection of Jesus Christ
and the death of Jesus Christ. You know, we mustn't lose sight
of who Jesus Christ is. Because central to hold of this
narrative is the glorious person. of Jesus, the Son of God. And
central to the hope of every Christian is Jesus, the Son of
God and what he has done and what he has accomplished. And,
you know, these women, they came to anoint his body and to embalm
it in spices. And it was a work and labour
of love that they were going to do. And that's what they desired
to do. The disciples, no doubt including
these women, had heard the Lord Jesus say that he would be taken
by the hands of wicked men and he would be crucified and on
the third day he would rise again. He told them all these things. they couldn't receive what he
said and there's no doubt these women they went to anoint to
embalm his body the body of the Lord Jesus Christ and the Lord met them there we read the countenance of the
angel was like lightning and his raiment white as snow and
for fear of him the keepers did shake and became his dead men But the angel speaks to these
women. You know, the Lord Jesus Christ,
their great king, head, and savior, had just been crucified. It was
a dangerous place, especially for those that followed Christ.
And yet how these women moved by faith to go to the sepulcher. And it says here, And the angel answered
and said unto the women, Fear not ye, for I know that ye seek
Jesus which was crucified. He is not here. He is not here. We've just sung two hymns on
the resurrection of Christ. What a wonderful thing it was.
The Apostle, I think we looked at it on Friday, in the Corinthians,
he speaks there for how wonderful it was, the resurrection of Christ
and what it all meant. The Apostle in the Epistle to
the Romans, he said he rose again for our justification. Now that
word justification is a very big word, isn't it? What does
it mean? It means to be justified, but
what does it mean to be justified? It means to be declared without
sin. You know, we all have sinned
and come short of the glory of God, but it is to be declared,
to be without sin. And how can that be? Through
the precious blood and righteousness of Jesus Christ. the apostles in the acts of the
apostles, be it known unto you therefore, men and brethren,
that through this man, that is the man Christ Jesus, through
this man is preached unto you the forgiveness of sins. David, the sweet psalmist of
Israel, he says himself, doesn't he, but there is forgiveness
with thee. And it's through that forgiveness
that is in Jesus Christ that a sinner is declared to be without
sin, to be justified. Paul, he says in his epistle
to the Romans that therefore being justified by faith we have
peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. So what happened
when Jesus died and suffered and bled? What was accomplished? What was fulfilled? Last Tuesday we spoke on the
Garden of Gethsemane and what was done in the Garden of Gethsemane.
Why was it that the Lord Jesus Christ was in such agony? It says, doesn't it, in Luke
22, and he being in an agony, sweat as it were great drops
of blood falling down to the ground. Why? Why was the Lord
Jesus in such agony? because his eternal father, he
took the sin of the church and he laid it on Christ. He was made sin for us. That
is what happened in Gethsemane. Now the apostle in one of the
epistles, he says he took our sins and he nailed them to his
cross. So he took our sins in the garden of Gethsemane and
then he nailed them to the cross of Calvary. He was crucified
because He was our sin-bearer. He'd bear our sins on the cross. That was why He Himself did no
sin. He Himself was pure and holy. That is why He suffered and bled
and died. Because He was made sin for us.
Our sins were laid on Christ. My sins, not in part but the
whole, were laid on Him there. And this is how a sinner is declared
justified, because Jesus, the holy, the pure and the spotless
Jesus, and that's a very important doctrine, that Jesus is the holy
one of Israel, that Jesus is that holy thing that was born
of the Virgin Mary, And it says clearly he was a holy thing. That the Son of God assumed human
nature and became bone of our bone and flesh of our flesh. And the reason, the purpose,
he was made of a woman and made under the law that he might redeem
them that are under the law. And this is what he was fulfilling
and accomplishing. the redemption of his people,
the deliverance of his people. But where it says he rose again
for our justification, in the Hebrews it speaks of Christ coming
the second time without sin unto salvation, in the ninth chapter. It speaks there also as it is
appointed unto men once to die, but after death the judgment. And then he says, so Christ was
once offered to bear the sins of many. And unto them that look
for him, now my beloved friends, are you, am I, these are important
words, are we looking for something? Unto them that look for him shall
he appear without sin. I've often told you, reading
the Puritan Thomas Goodwin, and on that where it says without
sin he made this comment there is your justification child of
God he took our sins he nailed them to his cross he paid the
redemption price then he rose from the grave on
the behalf of his people so he entered into death on behalf
of his people and he rose from the grave I have power to lay
my life down I have power to take it again. This commandment
have I received of my Father, and unto them that look for him
shall he appear the second time." That's speaking of the second
coming of Christ. We've been looking this week
at the first coming of Christ, but here it speaks of the second
coming of Christ. But it's an important point that's
being made there. When he comes a second time,
it's without sin. What does it mean? Because we
know he did no sin. It means that those sins that
were laid upon him in the Garden of Gethsemane and that he nailed
to his cross, that he has offered a perfect atonement unto his
father that has released the church from all the charges of
the law and from the curse. You can only be released in the
finished work of Jesus Christ. in that precious Saviour that
loved me and gave Himself for me. He gave Himself for us and unto
them that look for Him. Are you, am I, looking for Him?
Do you have those longing desires after Christ? Do you long to
lay hold of Christ? Do you long to touch the hem
of His garment? Do you long that he might speak
to your hearts just like the Lord speaks to these dear women
at the sepulchre? Fear not, for I know that ye
seek Jesus which was crucified. Are we seeking Jesus which was
crucified? We need to define these things
because some would speak of these words in what you might say a
universal way and say, well, you're all going to heaven if
you're in Christ, but it's unto them that look for us. If we
are truly born again of the Holy Spirit, if we have the work of
the Holy Ghost in our hearts, if we feel and know ourselves
to be a sinner, to be lost and undone, and we long to know that
way of salvation, seek in Jesus. seeking Jesus. You know, when
the disciples met in the early church for the first few centuries,
they met on the Lord's Day, just as we do, and when they met they
used to greet each other, the Lord is risen indeed, the Lord
is risen indeed. That's how they greeted each
other on the first day of the week, because this is why we
keep The Sunday, which is the first day of the week, the Jews
always kept the Sabbath day, which was the seventh day of
the week. It's our Saturday. But the reason that the Christian
church keeps the first day of the week is because Christ himself
rose from the dead on the first day of the week. And that's why
we keep the first day of the week. As opposed to the Sabbath
under the law, we keep a Christian Sabbath and it reflects that
Christ is risen indeed and that our hope is built on nothing
less than Jesus' blood and righteousness. And the angel answered and said
unto the women, fear not ye, for I know that ye seek Jesus
which was crucified. What would be said of you and
me? Are you seeking Jesus which was crucified? It's a wonderful
fear not. As I've already mentioned that
these women were surrounded with things that perplexed them. With
things that had happened. You think of those two disciples
on the road to Emmaus and they walked and were sad. And they,
not knowing who he was, they said to Christ how that He'd
been taken by the hands of wicked men and He was crucified. He
was crucified. They walked and were sad. And
all these things going on. This was their Lord and Master.
This was their Saviour, their Redeemer. And they were seeking
Him. Are you seeking Him? You think
of those lovely words of our Lord Jesus Christ. ask and you
shall receive, seek and you shall find, knock and it shall be opened
unto you. Ask and you shall receive. You
know that is a quotation from the Lord Jesus Christ in the
11th chapter of the Gospel according to Luke when he was teaching
his disciples to pray. and he was teaching them about
importunity in prayer. In verse 6 he says, for a friend
of mine is in his journey, has come to me, and I have nothing
to set before him. And he from within shall answer
and say, trouble me not, the door is now shut and my children
are with me in bed. I cannot rise and give thee.
I say unto you, though he will not rise and give him, because
he is his friend, yet because of his impunity he will rise
and give him as many as he needed. And I say unto you, see Christ
says, and I say unto you, ask and it shall be given you, seek
and you shall find, knock and it shall be opened unto you.
For everyone that asketh receiveth, and he that seeketh findeth,
and to him that knocketh it shall be opened. Notice what it says
there. It's a very positive statement. It's a very certain statement.
For everyone that asketh receiveth and he that seeketh findeth and
him that notheth shall be opened. The Lord has promised to seeking
souls that he will appear to them, that he will have mercy
upon them. Now he uses an illustration here.
If a son shall ask bread of Any of you that is a father, will
he give him a stone? If he asked a fish, will he for
a fish give him a serpent? Or if he asked an egg, will he
offer him a scorpion? Of course he wouldn't. If ye
then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children,
how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to
them that ask Him? You know, friends, the vital
thing of real religion, it is that we should have the Holy
Spirit. That the Holy Spirit enters the heart, quickens the
soul. Jesus himself said, you must
be born again, except a man be born of water under the Spirit,
he cannot enter the kingdom of heaven. Have you been born again? Do you have the Holy Ghost? But
here, what we've just read together, in there, He says that he will
give the Holy Spirit to him that asketh him. And then those precious
words ask. You cannot have a better gift.
You cannot have a more important gift. You cannot have a more
precious gift than the Holy Ghost. Because it's the Holy Ghost that
quickens a soul. It's the Holy Ghost that dwells
in the heart of every true believer. It's the Holy Ghost that gives
faith and light and hope. It's the divine work of God the
Holy Ghost. And the angel answered and said
unto the women, Fear not ye, for I know that ye seek Jesus
which was crucified. He is not here. He is risen. As he said, Come, see the place. where the Lord lay. Come, see
the place where the Lord lay. See the empty tomb. See that
death could not hold him. It says in the Acts of the Apostles,
in the preaching of the Apostles, that it was not possible that
death could hold him. It wasn't possible, why? Because
he's the Holy One of Israel. He himself did no sin. He suffered
and bled and died as a substitute of his people. on their behalf,
in their room, in their place and in their stead. He is not here. What a blessed
thing. He is not here. He's no longer
in death. He's no longer bound in death.
We do not worship a dead Christ. We worship a living Christ who
has the power of everlasting life. I give unto my sheep eternal
life. And that is what is found in
Christ. I am the way, the truth, and the life. No man cometh unto
the Father but by me. The way, the truth, and the life. It's the life of his children.
It's in him that we find life. It says in John chapter three,
he that hath the Son hath life. He that hath not the Son of God
hath not life. And that life that he gives to
his children is eternal life. It's eternal life. If we have the Holy Spirit dwelling
in our hearts, if the Holy Spirit has quickened our soul into life,
if he has convinced us of our sin, if he has raised us to a
hope in Jesus Christ, then there's that lovely word
in the Philippians, he that hath begun a good work in you shall
perform it unto the day of Jesus Christ. That's to the second
coming of Christ. He that hath begun a good work
in you shall perform it unto the day of Jesus Christ. And
he has also said, I will never leave thee nor forsake thee.
I will never leave thee nor forsake thee. He's begun that good work
in the heart. And these words are suited to
the Lord's living family that know what it is to have many
temptations and many trials and many fears. And these words are
purposely spoken. He is not here. He has risen.
You see, fear not, for I know that you seek Jesus which was
crucified. He is not here. You won't find
him in the grave. Hallelujah, you won't find him
in the grave. Why? Because he's risen. He swallowed
up death in victory. As the apostle says in the Hebrews,
he hath destroyed death, and him that hath the power of death,
that is the devil. And this is what we see in a
risen Christ. We see victory. In actual fact,
friends, up until the resurrection of Christ, we see him in his
humiliation. When he humbled himself and became
obedient unto death, even the death of the cross, we see him
in his humiliation. But in his resurrection from
the grave, we see the commencement of his exaltation, his exaltation. See, he made himself of no reputation. He took upon in the form of a
servant, was made in the likeness of men, and being found in fashion
as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient unto death,
even the death of the cross. Now what is it? Wherefore God
also hath highly exalted him. That word highly means super
exalted him, highly exalted him. You know, this high exaltation
of our Lord Jesus Christ and the commencement of it was as
he rose from the dead and in Paul's epistle to the Ephesians
he speaks of that risen Saviour and of his exaltation and now
at the right hand of the Father. In chapter 1 of the first epistle
of the epistle to the Ephesians and from verse 17 he says that
the God of our Lord Jesus Christ the father of glory may give
unto you and my beloved friends this is what we need these seeking
souls this is what they feel to need may give unto you the
spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him oh my
dear beloved friends this is the one thing needful it's the
knowledge of Christ This is exactly what Paul means when in the Philippians
he says that I may know him in the power. He didn't just want
to know about the Lord Jesus Christ but I might know him in
the power of his resurrection. How many of us here have come
to chapel this morning and that is your prayer that you might
know him in the power of his resurrection. You might feel
that power in your own heart. he gives us power to believe
and as it says there in the Ephesians that the father of glory may
give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge
of him the eyes of your understanding being enlightened that you might
know what is the hope of his calling and what the riches of
the glory of his inheritance in the saints and what is the
exceeding greatness of his power to us ward who believe according
to the working of his mighty power which he wrought in Christ
when he raised him from the dead and set him at his own right
hand in the heavenly places, far above all principality and
power and might and dominion and every name that is named,
not only in this world, but also in that which is to come. And
hath put all things under his feet and gave him to be the head
over all things to the church, which is his body. the fullness of him that filleth
all in all. You know, again and again, in
the word of God, the apostle, especially Paul, he speaks of
the exaltation of Christ. My mind just goes to the first
chapter of the Hebrews and how he immediately sets before The
Hebrews the glorious person of the Son of God manifest in the
flesh Says it God who at sundry times and in divers manners spake
in time past Unto the fathers by the prophets hath in these
last days Spoken unto us by his son whom he hath appointed heir
of all things by whom also he made the world who be in the
brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person,
and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had
by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the
majesty on high, being made so much better than the angels,
as he hath obtained a more excellent name than they. You see, in the
Hebrews, it speaks, the Apostle speaks
in that way. So he starts off saying, it's
Christ that is speaking, that he's the eternal son of God.
But then in the second chapter he says, building on what he
said, that Jesus is the eternal son of the eternal father, he's
now exalted in heaven, he says, therefore we ought to give the
more earnest heed to the things which we have heard. Oh my beloved
friends, each one of you. May we give more earnest heed
unto the things which we have heard, lest at any time we should
let them slip. For if the word spoken by angels
was steadfast, that's the giving of the law of course, and every
transgression and disobedience received a just recompense of
reward, this is how we see that the gospel is a higher law than
the law of the Ten Commandments. How shall we escape if we neglect
so great salvation which at the first began to be spoken by the
Lord and was confirmed unto us by them that heard him. God also
bearing their witness both with signs and wonders and with divers
miracles and gifts of the Holy Ghost according to his will. You see, we ought to give them
more earnest heed. Why? Well, we're going to die. Every one of us here in this
chapel, every human being on earth is going to die. And we're
clearly told in Holy Scripture, the wages of sin is death. The
wages of sin is death. That's why we're going to die,
because we're all sinners. We all have sinned and come short
of the glory of God. The wise woman of Tekoa, when
she came in before King David, for we must needs die and be
as water spilt upon the ground that cannot be gathered again.
See he goes on here in the Hebrews and he says in the fourth chapter
let us therefore fear lest a promise being left us of entering into
the rest his rest any of you should seem to come short of
it For unto us was the gospel preached as well as unto them,
but the word preached did not profit them, not being mixed
with faith in them that heard it. See, for we which have believed
enter into rest. That is the rest of faith. Resting
on the blood of Christ that cleanses from all sin. Resting on the
righteousness of Christ which clothes a poor sinner to stand
in the presence of God. Resting alone. on what Jesus
Christ himself has done. Not by works of righteousness
that I have done, but according to his abundant mercy. Sinner,
are you resting on Christ alone? Are you resting on the finished
work of Jesus Christ? Let us therefore fear, lest a
promise be left us of entering into his rest. Any of you should
seem to come short of it. And then he says in verse 11,
Let us labour therefore to enter into that rest, lest any man
fall after the same example of unbelief. He's referring to the
children of Israel that died in the wilderness. A whole generation
died in the wilderness because of unbelief. What a terrible
thing to be left in unbelief. Not to believe the solemn warnings
of God. not to believe that you're a
sinner, not to believe that you're lost and ruined in the fall,
not to believe that Jesus Christ himself alone is able to save
and deliver you, not to believe that the blood of Jesus Christ
God's Son cleanses from all sin, not to believe that he has risen
from the dead and is now ascended into glory and sitting at the
right hand of the Father. Let us labour therefore to enter
into that rest, lest any man fall after the same example of
unbelief. He continues and he speaks of
an exalted Saviour here in verse 14 of Hebrews chapter 4, seeing
then that we have a great High Priest that is passed into the
heavens, Jesus the Son of God. Let us hold fast our profession,
let us hold one of the watchwords of the epistles of the Hebrews,
to hold fast. Many of them were ready to give
up, ready to turn back. He says, let us hold fast our
profession. For we have not an high priest
which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities,
but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin. This glorious, precious Redeemer,
He was tempted in all points like as we are. yet without sin. I love the way the hymn writer
puts it. I've got a feeling it's Joseph Hartym, isn't it? Touched
with the sympathy with it, he knows our feeble frame. He knows
what sore temptations mean, for he has felt the same. And here in the last verse of
Hebrews 4, he says, Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of
grace that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time
of need. May you as a poor guilty sinner
be enabled to come boldly unto Jesus Christ and to lay hold
of that hope that is set before us in the gospel, that hope of
eternal life that hope of eternal salvation, that hope of eternal
redemption, which hope we have as an anchor for the soul, both
sure and steadfast. It says here in the sixth chapter
of the Hebrews. in verse 17, wherein God, willing
more abundantly to show unto the heirs of promise the immutability
of his counsel, confirmed it by an oath, that by two immutable
things, in that in which it was impossible for God to lie, we
might have a strong consolation, who have fled for refuge, to
lay hold upon the hope set before us. Which hope we had, as an
anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast, which entereth
into that within the veil, whither the forerunner is for us entered,
even Jesus, made in high priest for ever after the order of Melchizedek. It goes on in chapter 7 and it
says in verse 24, But this man, because he continueth ever, hath
an unchangeable priesthood. Wherefore he is able to save
them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever
liveth to make intercession for them. For such an high priest
became us, who is holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners,
made higher than the heavens, who needeth not daily as those
high priests to offer up sacrifice first for his own sins and then
for the people's. For this he did once when he
offered up himself, For the law maketh men high priests which
have infirmity, but the word of the oath which was since the
law maketh the son who is consecrated for evermore. And the angel answered
and said unto the women, Fear not ye, for I know that ye seek
Jesus which was crucified. He is not here, he is risen,
as he said, Come. see the place where the Lord
lay and go quickly and go quickly for he is risen
as he said come see the place where the Lord lay go quickly
and tell his disciples that he is risen from the dead and behold
he goeth before you into Galilee there shall you see him lo I
have told you You see, the just shall live by his faith. I go before you, he says, into
Galilee. And he told them before his sufferings
that he would meet them in Galilee. And here he confirms it unto
these women. Go quickly and tell his disciples
that he is risen from the dead. And behold, he go before you
into Galilee. There shall you see him. Lo,
I have told you. There's a place appointed where
the Lord is going to meet with you. There's a place where the Lord
is going to meet with you. I'm going to go quickly and tell
his disciples. Firstly, that he's risen from
the dead. Secondly, that he was going before
them into Galilee. There shall you see him. Lo,
I have told you." The Lord sometimes speaks a word of direction into
the hearts of his people and he directs them to a certain
place. We've read recently, not here,
I did when I was at Matfield of the disciples when they were
sent to to get the ass the young ass
and the lord he said to them he told them exactly what was
going to happen and when you get there the owner will say
but what do you say the lord has needed him you see it was
a divine direction and the lord through his word gives divine
directions unto his people commit thy way unto the lord trust also
in him and he will bring it to pass these words of direction
that the Lord has given you. He will do it. But the posture
and the spirit of the true seeker after Christ is that they're
seeking and they keep seeking, they keep watching, they keep
waiting. Are you seeking? Are you watching? Are you waiting?
Are you longing for something to be done? Has the Lord given
you a promise? something to be done and a place
that you must be where the Lord has appointed they wouldn't meet
him anywhere else it was where the Lord had said he would be
and that is where they would meet him and it's recorded in
John how that Lord went and met with them there and what rejoicing
there was when the Lord had quietened their fears you see And it says here, verse 16, then
the eleven disciples went away into Galilee, into a mountain
where Jesus had appointed them. And when they saw him, they worshipped
him. But some doubted. Some doubted. You know, in Mark, chapter 16,
I believe it is, it speaks of this meeting. And how that the
Lord Jesus, He upbraided them for their unbelief. It says in Mark 16 verse 14,
Afterward he appeared unto the eleven as they sat at me, and
upbraided them with their unbelief and hardness of heart, because
they believed not them which had seen him after he was risen. And he said unto them, Go ye
into all the world, Notice he's speaking to these same disciples
who were unbelieving, who were very fearful, who were very doubtful. These are the men that he sent
to preach the everlasting gospel. They weren't perfect men. They
weren't holy men. They were disciples of our Lord
Jesus Christ and they had like passions as we have. You see,
He said unto them, Go ye into all the world and preach the
gospel to every creature. He that believeth and is baptized
shall be saved. He that believeth not shall be
damned. And these signs shall follow them that believe. In
my name shall they cast out devils. They shall speak with new tongues.
You see, what the Lord had set before them and appointed for
them, Then the eleven disciples went away into Galilee, unto
a mountain where Jesus had appointed them. And when they saw him,
they worshipped him, but some doubted. And Jesus came and spake
unto them these wonderful words of grace. They've been very special
to me, these words. All power is given unto me in
heaven and in earth. Not some power, all power. Alleluia, for the Lord God omnipotent
reigneth. the Father has put all things
into the hand of his Son and he reigns omnipotent. He has
power to save, he has power to redeem, he has power to deliver. It doesn't matter what troubles
and what trials and what perplexities and what sorrows and what losses
and what crosses you may carry, Christ is able to help you. And
the way, my beloved friends, that we're to go forward is looking
unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy
that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame
thereof, and is now set down at the right hand of the majesty
on high. Now, Jesus came and spoke unto
them saying, all power. It's that word, isn't there,
that what things are impossible with man, are possible with God. You may have those difficult
things, you may have those perplexing things, but what things are impossible
with man, are possible with God. The cause that is too hard for
thee, bring it unto me. That's what we read in the Word
of God. It's the Lord speaking to his
people, the cause that is too hard for thee, bring it unto
me. Why? because all power is given unto
me in heaven and in earth. The hymn writer says, doesn't
he, with heaven and earth at his command, he waits to answer
prayer. Go ye therefore and teach all
nations, baptising them in the name of the Father and of the
Son and of the Holy Ghost, teaching them to observe all things whatsoever
I have commanded you. And lo, I am with you always,
even unto the end of the world, Amen. And the angel answered
and said unto the women, Fear not ye, for I know that ye seek
Jesus which was crucified. He is not here, he is risen.
As he said, Come, see the place where the Lord lay, and go quickly
and tell his disciples that he is risen from the dead. And behold,
he goeth before you into Galilee. There shall you see him. Lo,
I have told May the Lord add his blessing. Let us now sing together hymn
number 144. The tune is Hampstead, 340. Jesus,
my all, to heaven is gone. He whom I fix my hopes upon,
his track I see, and I'll pursue the narrow way till him I view. Hymn 144, tune Hampstead 340.
♪ It's not my fault you can't be
strong ♪ ♪ It's not my fault you can't be strong ♪ ♪ It's
not my fault you can't be strong ♪ All those tears you had to pay
to live on you. O come, let us adore Him, O come,
let us adore Him, It is the way I know and sought. Joyful, yet not. I pray my Father,
long that day, Because I ♪ Speak thou of sin ♪ ♪ One more ointment ♪ ♪ Rains it down ♪
♪ Ice it once more ♪ Today you make my heart my Savior's
slave. I'll be there soon. But when I come and confess them,
shall take me to the altar. Nothing but Him I need and need,
Nothing but love shall I wish me. Then will I tell to Jesus Christ
All that in Savior I have found I'm going to learn it even now
And take it home one day, too Now, may the grace of our Lord
Jesus Christ, the love of God the Father, the sacred fellowship
of the Holy Spirit, rest and abide with us each. Amen.