The purpose of this resource is to provide you with some sermons related to revival. If I asked you what are the core areas of preaching / teaching that provide an environment for revival what would you say? By revival I mean an extension of the kingdom of God on earth through God's people being revived. As a consequence of being revived a multitude of new people entering the kingdom of God.

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Core Teaching:

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Salvation through: 

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A) The cross (S1 THE MIRACLES OF THE CROSS, S2 FATHER FORGIVE THEM - A CRY FROM THE CROSS, S3 ISAIAH 53)

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B) The Resurrection. (S1 THE EMPTY TOMB AND THE STONE ROLLED AWAY, S2 TWO RESURRECTIONS, S3 CAUSE AND EFFECT)

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2) The Baptism in the Holy Spirit. (Please select / Resources tab Teaching on the Holy Spirit)

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C) Faith.

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D) The Authority of the Believer.

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E) The Passion of Christ- our inspiration.

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Over the next few months I will add additional teaching. The first series below covers the Cross of Christ. New section added: The Authority of the Believer a long way below.

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A) SERIES ON THE CROSS

SERMON 1: THE MIRACLES OF THE CROSS

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Today I have an unusual request. Please come and rob me. You see I have an abundance of golden truth and I’d like you to carry away as much as you can. My supply can never be emptied because God has supplied abundantly. No demon or devil can rob me of its power and when they are confronted with its truth they run away in abject fear. The enemy has a hold on people through sin and the cross is the most powerful weapon that breaks its grasp. I’m not afraid of mankind stealing it from me. In fact I welcome you to come and take as much as you can. I willingly give it to all who are hungry for its power. You too will find peace knowing that the cross has brought you victory over sin. This truth will better equip you to go forth and tell others about its power.

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Many people think the death of was a defeat. What power can there be in a God who has died on a cross? Perhaps you are one of them. Today I will explain how it was a great victory won for mankind over the power of sin. Miracles are supernatural things that give us faith in a supernatural God. The miracles that took place during and after Jesus’ crucifixion inspire us to believe for yet another great miracle- our own resurrection from the dead. The cross and the resurrection form the backbone of victory in a believer’s life.

The intended purpose of this sermon is to affirm the believer’s faith in the power of the cross and to bring those who haven’t understood it into a saving relationship with God.

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Let’s look at the miracles.

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Miracle 1

Even though it was day time Mark 15:13 says between 12.00 and 3 p.m. complete darkness hung over the land. The Father couldn’t look at the sin laid upon His Son- your sin, my sin and the sin of the world. In fact our sin was so black, it blackened out the sky. Many think they are only little sinners and so God wouldn’t be interested in them. Sin is sin and it separates you from a Holy God and if you die in your sin, one day He will come looking for you.

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Miracles 2 & 3

Graves were cracked open by a powerful earthquake. No doubt this was an expression of Father God’s grief over the death of His Son. But another miracle followed when some dead saints were resurrected from the dead and appeared in the city. (Matt 27:51-53) This was proof that the cross had released resurrection power. Although these people died physically and permanently some time later, it gives us hope in the truth of the resurrection when we too will receive a resurrected body like that of Jesus. One day all graves will be opened and everyone will receive one of two possible resurrections- a resurrection of life or a resurrection of condemnation. Which of the two resurrections have you chosen?

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Miracle 4

The High Priest was the only person who could enter the temple’s most holy place and then only once each year on the Day of Atonement. Before he entered a blood of a sacrifice was needed. The temple curtain was as thick as a man’s hand and it was a barrier between the Holy of Holies and the rest of the temple. It represented mankind’s sin which separated us from God’s Holy presence. After Christ’s death invisible hands ripped the temple curtain. It took a massive amount of force to tear it from top to bottom- a visual picture that salvation is from God towards man and not man towards God. The torn curtain represented Christ’s body on the cross. Many of the world religions would have us believe we can climb a ladder of good works to come before God. In reality, it is the other way around. No man can come before the Father unless through Jesus. For we who believe, the finished work of the cross meant that sin no longer separates us from the presence of God. We can enter His presence every day through Jesus our High Priest and not just on the Day of Atonement.

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Miracle 5

The centurion supervising Christ’s crucifixion witnessed these events. He drew only one possible conclusion- “Surely, this man was the Son of God. (Mark 15:39) He had executed many men by nailing them to a cross and had never said this about them. Jesus didn’t die like all the others. His death was singularly different as the man was singularly different from all other men. No one had ever died under the same miraculous circumstances. To claim that Jesus was just a man like you or me defies the facts of His death and the eye witness conclusion of the centurion.

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I wonder what the Centurion would have said if He had witnessed Jesus’ resurrection. Disbelieving Thomas saw Jesus alive after His death and his conclusion was “my Lord and my God.” (John 20:28) This was proof that Christ didn’t remain on the cross or in the grave. He rose three days after His death proving that He had defeated death- not just for Himself but for us all. As much as the cross brought victory over sin, the resurrection brought victory over death. His victory is our victory.

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Perhaps there are some here who have actually mocked the truth of the cross. I want you to know that you aren’t alone. While on the cross Jesus experienced the mocking of others at three important junctions.

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- Those who passed by mocked Him saying: “You are the Son of God, come down from the cross.” (Matt 27:37-40) Perhaps you are just passing by today and think nothing at the sight of the bloodied man on the cross.

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- Or are you like the Scribes and Pharisees who mocked Him saying “He saved others, Himself He cannot save.” Perhaps you are a wise and educated man like them and agree that He deserved to be mocked. What I’ve told you is actually the beginning of saving knowledge for both the educated and uneducated.

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- Physical death has many different forms and all men face one of them. At your impeding death, will you be like the man on the cross beside Jesus who mocked Him saying, “If you are the Christ, save Your-self and us.” (Luke 23:39) Mocking Him will only bring you the same fate as the criminal- eternal punishment and separation from God.

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And here you are listening to me today and I have shown you the Saviour hanging on the cross. What is your conclusion? Ignoring what He has done for you mocks His sacrifice just like those at His death. Perhaps you have used His name as a swear word and continue to mock Him even today. Even now the Holy Spirit is speaking to you and testifies about the truth you’ve just heard. Do you know there is only one unforgivable sin and that is blaspheming the Holy Spirit? (Luke 12:10) Does that make you feel comfortable because in your relief you say to yourself ‘I’ve never done that?’ If you refuse to accept Christ as your sin substitute you have just done it. The Holy Spirit testifies as to this truth. If you don’t believe Him, your lack of belief has just called Him a liar and that is the blasphemy that I refer to.  

But it doesn’t have to end that way.

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Miracle 6

Make no mistake that which is dead is dead and unless the Spirit of God reveals the truth to you and breathes new life upon your spirit, you will remain dead in your sin. The good news of the Gospel is that you can be born again. Just like Christ’s physical body was resurrected, your spirit which is dead to God through sin can be brought back to life. The ongoing miracle of someone being born again happens every day. Why not join them?

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I don’t want you to go away having missed the hour of your visitation. I ask you to appropriate the benefits of the cross and the resurrection and be saved from the wrath that comes upon the children of disobedience.

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Miracle 7 plus more

God the Father wants to affirm the truth of the cross and the resurrection of His Son. Signs and wonders will be seen today in support of the truth you have just heard. I invite those needing salvation or a miracle from God to come forward for prayer.

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SERIES ON THE RESURRECTION

SERMON 2: FATHER FORGIVE THEM- A CRY FROM THE CROSS

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Firstly, I’d like to speak to those who call themselves a Christian. When we read the Gospels it is evident throughout that Jesus was always about His Father’s business. Just as Jesus didn’t exist for Himself as a man, so the Church doesn’t exist for itself. The prayer of Jesus on the cross focused on the forgiveness of others and is a model for the New Testament Church. If people won’t hear about forgiveness in the Church then the Church needs to go to the people- to the slums and dens and dwelling places in all the cities of the world. A Church has no reason to justify its indefinite existence if it fails to achieve its primary mission of telling others about forgiveness and the pardon that Jesus won for them on the cross.

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Luke 2:41-49

41 His parents went to Jerusalem every year at the Feast of the Passover. 42 And when He was twelve years old, they went up to Jerusalem according to the custom of the feast. 43 When they had finished the days, as they returned, the Boy Jesus lingered behind in Jerusalem. And [l]Joseph and His mother did not know it; 44 but supposing Him to have been in the company, they went a day’s journey, and sought Him among their relatives and acquaintances. 45 So when they did not find Him, they returned to Jerusalem, seeking Him. 46 Now so it was that after three days they found Him in the temple, sitting in the midst of the teachers, both listening to them and asking them questions. 47 And all who heard Him were astonished at His understanding and answers. 48 So when they saw Him, they were amazed; and His mother said to Him, “Son, why have You done this to us? Look, Your father and I have sought You anxiously.”

49 And He said to them, “Why did you seek Me? Did you not know that I must be about My Father’s business?” 50 But they did not understand the statement which He spoke to them.

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Like Jesus we need to be about our Father’s business. We need to tell others about His cry on the cross “Father forgive them.” In Christianity, the living God Himself became the sacrifice to save others, yet other religions demand sacrifices from their devotees. It is a fair question to ask, is your God willing to sacrifice himself to save you?

 

To appreciate what God put has put into the bible it helps to place your-self in the same situation as those in the story. It’s amazing what insights can be learned. But even if you do this it is difficult to completely understand how Jesus felt during His torture and execution. Let’s try to look down from the cross and see what Jesus thought, saw and felt?

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They have just tortured you and nailed you to the cross and you see them looking up at you. What is your prayer? Jesus doesn’t cry out for Himself. Instead He cries out for the murderers that placed Him there. “Father forgive them” is His prayer. The mercy He was denied He now asks for those that hated him the most. While experiencing deep pain and suffering, Jesus reminds us not to allow despair to prevent us from approaching the mercy-seat of God for others. His entire life was baptised in prayer, He soaked Himself in it even when approaching the moment of His imminent death. He doesn’t say I forgive them- that is taken for granted- He seems to lose sight of the fact that any wrong was done to Himself- demonstrating a profound nobility of character. The religious rulers taunted Him saying “come down from the cross and we will believe in you.” He could have easily have escaped the torment of the cross, even now calling legions of angels to help him. Instead He focuses His prayer on the needs of others. This reveals how opposite the heart of God is when compared with the heart of man. The criminals beside Him blasphemed and mocked Him but His prayer was “Father forgive them.” His heart shows mercy when none was given.

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During His ministry, Jesus overcame those who hated Him by coming against them with an opposite Spirit. When others came at Him in hatred He would overcome with love and this pattern continued even while hanging on the cross. If you think God is unfeeling about your personal pain look at Jesus hanging there, suffering what you yourself deserved. Had He refused this death, the penalty for sin would have remained unpaid and you would be eternally separated you from God. Rather than recognise the wrong done to Him-self, He feels the sharp pain of the injustice done to His Father. Jesus believed this murderous assault was more hurtful to His Father than the pain of His own death. “Father forgive them” is His only anguish.

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There He hangs perfectly innocent knowing that His own people condemned Him and the gentiles represented by Rome carried out the sentence. Consequently, the whole world stands guilty of His death by association either through the Jews or the gentiles. Even though He knew this, Jesus sought to excuse us before His Father on the basis of our ignorance. “Father they know not what they do.” Ignorance of the law isn’t a justifiable defence. And it wouldn’t have been if anyone other than God the Son pled it in our defence. God the Father says “very well my Son, I grant your request” and offers all mankind a pardon if they are willing to accept it. Please understand the importance of what I’m saying- your eternal destiny depends on it. The requirements of justice are such that the sentence must be carried out if the criminal refuses to be pardoned. Everyone refusing the pardon while alive on this earth will face a second death sentence. After you die physically you will be confined in a holding cell until the time the death sentence is to be carried out. This sentence is eternal separation from God also known as spiritual death.

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In 1829 two men, George Wilson and James Porter robbed a United States mail carrier. Both were subsequently captured and tried in a court of law. In May 1830 both men were found guilty of six charges, including robbery of the mail “and putting the life of the driver in jeopardy.” Both Wilson and Porter received their sentences: Execution by hanging, to be carried out on July 2.

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Porter was executed on schedule, but Wilson was not. Influential friends pleaded for mercy to the President of the United States, Andrew Jackson, on his behalf. President Jackson issued a formal pardon. Wilson would have to serve only a prison term of 20 years for his crimes. Incredibly, George Wilson refused the pardon!

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The U.S. Supreme Court determined, “The court cannot give the prisoner the benefit of the pardon, unless he claims the benefit of it…. It is a grant to him: it is his property; and he may accept it or not as he pleases.” Chief Justice John Marshall wrote, “A pardon is an act of grace, proceeding from the power entrusted with the execution of the laws…. (But) delivery is not completed without acceptance. It may then be rejected by the person to whom it is tendered, and…we have no power in a court to force it on him.”

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Because George Wilson rejected the pardon the sentence had to be carried out. The same principle applies to every person here today. Jesus Christ offers you a pardon for your sin, but unless you accept it, like George Wilson the sentence must be carried out, namely- eternal separation from God. The same principle applies in contract law. If there is no acceptance of the offer then there is no binding contract and the parties can’t benefit from it.

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The religious rulers looking up at Jesus certainly didn’t ask him to pray for them saying: “Intercede for us dying king!” He exercises His priestly office of intercession by praying for those undeserving of it. All of us included. Without Christ in you there is nothing good about you and even if everything is bad about you, see how it doesn’t stop Jesus from praying for you. He prays: “they know not what they do.” I want you to know that the King on the cross prayed for you then and even prays to His Father now. If you have never accepted His pardon you have heard the sentence that awaits you. So accept the pardon now and say this prayer.

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Jesus I ask you to be my Saviour believing that you have saved me from my sin. As my Lord, I ask You to have the first place in my life. I take myself off the throne of my life and place you on it. I believe that your Heavenly Father has raised you from the dead by the power of His Holy Spirit and believe the eye witness accounts of your disciples who saw You die on the cross and come back to life again. I thank you that my spirit that lives forever has been born again. When this shell of a body dies, my spirit will be able to return to you and live with you in eternity. I thank you Jesus.

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I hope you can glean some pearls from this sermon that you might find useful. What happens after I've preached this sermon and others like it, is to allow the Holy Spirit to minister to the people present in His way. All you personally need is an expectant heart. I invite people to come forward for prayer if they'd like it. The Holy Spirit falls on them and they are healed, speak in tongues and encounter His presence generally.

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SERIES ON THE CROSS

SERMON 3: Is 53

 

God has given us prophetic messages to encourage and warn us. When prophecy is fulfilled it gives us a confidence that we can rely on God’s promises. An atheist friend of mine set out to disprove the prophecies of the bible. When he studied the facts, they proved to be true and so he became a Christian. Isaiah 53 is an amazing chapter written approximately 740 years before the events took place. It describes the sacrifice of the Messiah who would be killed on a cross for mankind’s salvation. Israel was and still is a very proud nation. As God’s chosen people they would never think to treat their Messiah in such a despicable way as described by the prophet, yet it happened just as he said. Let’s look at the way in which the prophecies were fulfilled.

 

Who hath believed our report? And to whom is the arm of the LORD revealed?  

 

The Old Testament prophets must have felt so frustrated by Israel’s rejection of God’s prophetic messages about worshipping only the Living God. Perhaps modern day preachers could say the same thing. “And to whom is the arm of the Lord revealed?” was a desperate cry of the prophet’s heart. Israel’s spiritual leaders were so dull of hearing and for 420 years there was little revelation about God. Vision and prophecy had been sealed up until the appearance of the Messiah.

 

For he shall grow up before him as a tender plant, and as a root out of a dry ground: he hath no form nor comeliness; and when we shall see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him.  

 

Israel lived under the harsh yoke of Roman rule and the Messiah was born during a time of spiritual dryness. Israel expected a Messiah who would lead them in a war against Roman tyranny and restore their nation to its former glory. Instead He came as a baby- like a tender shoot from a dry ground through the miraculous virgin birth. It has been said that Jesus had the physical appearance of an ordinary man. There was nothing in His appearance that we should desire Him as this verse foretold. It was only when people looked into His eyes that they noticed any difference. He lived a sinless life and when people looked into His eyes they saw their own reflected sin. The beauty of Jesus was the internal beauty of His character and not in His external appearance. This internal beauty was also seen in the Garden of Eden.

 

God placed our first parents in a Garden of Delight and made them His under-rulers. The tree of life was in the midst of the garden represented the Messiah who was to come. However there was another tree called the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. God commanded our first parents not to eat from this tree. It was a reminder to them that God was sovereign. Mankind could eat from any other tree including the tree of life. The choice of the two trees was before them, but mankind rebelled against God’s commandment and ate from the forbidden tree. Why did they choose so badly? The tree of the knowledge of good and evil was a beautiful tree. It appealed to Eve’s sense of beauty and she ate from it to be wise. Adam also ate from it wanting to rule his own life instead of God. The tree of life had no appeal of external beauty to be desired, just like the picture of the Messiah who had no form or comeliness in His physical appearance.

 

God had warned our first parents that if they ate from the tree of knowledge of good and evil, they would face a two-fold death. Spiritual death came upon them immediately. No longer did they have a face to face relationship with their creator and they died physically many years later. The Messiah would eventually come to make new birth possible for the spirit of man that was dead because of sin.

 

If mankind had eaten from the tree of life after eating from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, they would have become eternal criminals- living forever in exile from God’s presence. So God placed a flaming sword around the tree to prevent this from happening. God’s heart has always been to bring reconciliation with His rebellious children. This took place when God the Son came into the world to pay the penalty for mankind’s rebellion.

 

The Messiah’s beauty is an internal beauty of the Spirit just like the life giving juices of the tree of life and not in any external beauty. When the Messiah came to His own people, they didn’t recognise Him missing their time for Godly visitation.

 

He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, we esteemed him not.  

 

They were expecting a Messiah who would lead them in battle, not a man who preached love your enemies and do good to those who spitefully use you. Surely the real Messiah would include the moral rulers the Pharisees and the ruling class of the Sadducees as His disciples and not the common sinners that He had chosen. The Messiah was well acquainted with grief when He was betrayed by one of his closest friends; condemned by his people although innocent; forsaken by his disciples and governorship.

 

Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.

 

Have you ever wondered what it would take for God to forgive sin? You might say God is God so He can do anything He likes. If God’s character is perfectly just, then perfect justice demands a punishment for breaking the Law. God can’t act in a different way to His character. Adam and Eve committed the sin of high treason and the penalty for that has always been death. How could God forgive mankind and yet at the same time be perfectly just? The death penalty must be applied to pay for their sin. In this we see the need for blood sacrifice for the forgiveness of sin and it needed to be perfect.

 

Many saw mother Taresa as a selfless human being. Would she have been an appropriate sacrifice? Unfortunately, the best of mankind will never do because all have sinned in some way including mother Teresa. Sin came into the world through one man therefore it is only just that by One man it could be removed. It demanded the perfect sacrifice of a sinless person. Only God Himself could be that sacrifice in the form of Jesus- the sinless Lamb of God.

 

Would your god be prepared to punish himself for the wrongs you have committed? Our Messiah carried our griefs of sin and sorrow. The punishment we deserved was placed on Him. During His life, He did many things to prove that He was God. He lived a sinless life, healed all that came to Him, cast out demons, had power over the weather and even raised people from the dead. You would expect people to highly esteem Him, yet the extent of their gratitude was to murder Him on a cross.

 

As you can see God doesn’t forgive sin easily. It took the highest price that heaven could pay. This is in stark contrast to His trusted friend who betrayed Him for less than the price of a common slave. But it didn’t end on the cross. As hard as it was for Father God to place our punishment on His innocent Son, it was pre-planned in eternity that Jesus would be raised from the dead. The cross was just the beginning. In the same way that God raised up His own Son, His adopted sons and daughters will also receive a resurrected body on the last day.

 

But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.  

 

Some people interpret this verse to mean His stripes healed us from physical infirmity. The cross was about punishment for sin and about healing reconciliation with God. If we have been reconciled with God then this opens the door for physical healing, but isn’t necessarily the release of it. If anything it is resurrection life that brought about our physical healing. I don’t want to rob anyone of their faith and if they believe contrary to me then God bless them.   

 

The feeling of guilt about our sin removes our peace. The chastisement of our peace was placed on Jesus the Lamb of God and so He became our peace with God. Not by anything that we have done, but rather His sacrifice on our behalf.

 

All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.

 

He took everyone’s iniquity no one is excluded. People from every tribe, language and nation can receive God’s forgiveness. Sin had no claim on Jesus personally, but our sin was laid upon Him like a heavy blanket or cloak. Our sin literally blocked out the sun for three hours from 12 – 3 p.m. in the afternoon and our Heavenly Father couldn’t look upon His Son.

 

He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he not his

 

At His trial the Jews brought many accusations against Him, why didn’t Jesus open His mouth to defend Himself? The Governor Pontius Pilate wanted to free Him and thought he had found a way out. It was His custom to release a prisoner at that time of year, so he brought out Barabbas a notorious criminal- surely the people would want to free Jesus instead. But no, the crowd stirred up by the religious rulers called for the release of Barabbas. In this we see the reason why Jesus was silent.

 

Jesus took the place of Barabbas who should have been executed. You can remove Barabbas and put yourself there because Barabbas was symbolic of you and me. Jesus knew that we are all guilty of breaking God’s law and because He took our place He had no defence. No defence meant that He had to be silent. I’ve seen sheep going to the slaughter and they don’t fight even though they somehow know what is going to happen. This was the fulfilment of the prophetic picture of Jesus going to the cross in Is 53.

 

He was taken from prison and from judgement: and who shall declare his generation? : for the transgression of my people was he stricken.  

 

After His death Jesus spent three days and nights in hell. In that sense He was cut off from the land of the living. There is some scriptural support to believe that Jesus preached to the Old Testament saints. The name Hell means holding place and if more than just a parable, the story of Lazarus and the rich man describes hell as divided in two sections- holding the just and the unjust. The Old Testament Saints didn’t have a free ticket into heaven and still needed to believe on their Messiah. After preaching to them Jesus took those who believed into the paradise of heaven leading captivity captive. Jesus walked up to the devil and ripped the keys of death and hell from his hands and the devil fled to the deepest recesses of hell in fear and humiliation. His ultimate demise will take place when hell is thrown into the lake of fire along with all those who have refused to accept the sacrifice of Jesus. It’s a good one to miss, Make sure you miss it by calling Jesus Lord of your life and the removal of all other gods.

 

And he made his grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death; because he had done no violence, was any deceit in his

 

The rich man Joseph of Arimathea took the body of Jesus down from the cross and placed it in his own tomb. In this way Jesus made His grave with the rich again fulfilling the prophecy of Is 53. 

 

Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise him; he hath put him to grief: when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the LORD shall prosper in his hand.  

 

The Living God didn’t delight in the pain of His suffering Son. In fact He turned His face away as He couldn’t look upon it. In this instance He delighted not in the suffering, but in knowing that what His Son suffered would be the seed of reconciliation with His many adopted Sons and daughters.

 

He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied: by his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many; for he shall bear their iniquities.

 

The penalty for your sin was poured out upon the soul of Jesus and God the Father was satisfied. The penalty was paid. The last words of Jesus on the cross were “it is finished.” This meant no further punishment was necessary. It would be unjust for the criminal to be punished twice for the same offence. Therefore those who accept Jesus as dying in their place, no longer need to fear any further punishment. He suffered it for them making full restitution and satisfying the righteous requirements of the Law. The same thing can’t be said if you refuse to accept His payment. You have no remedy for your sin which clings to you. If God didn’t spare His own Son in payment for sin what will happen to those refusing His payment? The picture of Jesus hanging on the cross is a grim reminder to you that there is a day of reckoning coming when you will make payment for your unbelief. If the criminal refuses the pardon then the sentence for the crime must be carried out. There is no salvation apart from faith in the work of Jesus on Calvary!

 

Therefore will I divide him a portion with the great, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong; because he hath poured out his soul unto death: and he was numbered with the transgressors; and he bare the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.

 

Pilate was afraid to execute Jesus, but when they said He claimed to be the Son of God, Pilate became more afraid. He probably thought, ‘this is the Son of God and they want me to execute Him.’ Pilate had good cause to be afraid because it was true. Calvary might have been a fearful sight, but an even more fearful sight awaits those who refuse to accept its benefits. Jesus was numbered with the transgressors when two criminals were executed beside Him. When you look at the scene of Calvary and the three crosses you can see the destiny of all mankind. One criminal continued in his blasphemy of Jesus and refused to accept salvation. The other criminal also blasphemed Jesus, but had a change of mind and called Him Lord. One criminal went into eternal torment and the other into everlasting life. Which criminal’s destiny have you chosen? Be like the criminal that changed his mind, if you have never called Jesus your Lord- do it now. Have a change of heart and enter into everlasting life.

 

God validates who He is through prophecy. The Old Testament is full of directive prophecy where God explains what will happen in the future. Only God as the source could do that. Mankind doesn’t have that capacity within his own resources. It is only a characteristic of the Living God.

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B) SERIES ON THE RESURRECTION

SERMON 1: THE EMPTY TOMB AND THE STONE ROLLED AWAY

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The purpose of this sermon is to provide believers and unbelievers with evidence about the truth of the resurrection. The empty tomb forms part of this essential doctrine. If Jesus could rise from the dead it gives us confidence in the possibility of our own resurrection. The great weight of the stone sealing the tomb reminds us about the heaviness of our own sin. But the stone was rolled away and it means sin is no longer a barrier to our own resurrection, providing we believe in the finished work of Jesus. His death on the cross brought us victory over sin and the resurrection brought us victory over death. At the end of this sermon I will give unbelievers the opportunity to become believers and the opportunity to receive a resurrection like Jesus.

 

After dying on the cross, Jesus’ body was placed on a cold stone slab in a tomb cut from solid rock. It boasted that there is no escape and it would keep Him there. Three days later some of eye witness returned and found the stone rolled away. Where was the body of Jesus and what was could this mean?

 

Two women disciples of Jesus return to the tomb with spices to preserve His dead body. The stone sealing the tomb weighed over two tonnes and they wondered who would help them move it. Instead, they found it already rolled away. Our stony heart of sin will place us all in the finality of the grave. Can anyone roll it away and resurrect us back to life? The empty tomb of Jesus is a reminder that death He has defeated and that we can have a resurrection like His. “This is a faithful saying: For if we died with Him, We shall also be live with Him; if we endure, we shall also reign with Him; if we deny Him, He also will also deny us. If we are faithless, He remains faithful; He cannot deny Himself.” (2 Tim 2:11-13)

 

Mary Magdalene runs to tell Peter and John what she has seen. She didn’t believe that Jesus had risen from the dead because she tells them: “They have taken away the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid Him.”  Jesus had told them that He would rise from the dead, but Mary’s grief overshadowed the truth and she found it impossible to believe. All of us are just like Mary before resurrection light illuminates our understanding. The other disciples were no different. They didn’t come to the tomb on resurrection morning with garlands to hang around the neck of their victorious Saviour. They had no sense of expectation that death could be defeated and no faith that Jesus meant what He said. To them His death seemed like a final defeat. He raised people from the dead in His ministry but it seemed too difficult to believe that He could rise after His own death. No one had ever done that before.

 

Death’s contract was very legal boasting that it would destroy Him. It was signed in the blood of Christ, delivered by the Jews, executed by the Romans and the tomb was sealed in a contract which said death couldn’t be defeated. It was thought to be a sure thing and mankind thought it to be unbreakable.  The tomb designed to keep Jesus in, was also heavily guarded to keep others out. The tomb shouted ‘this is no place for the living! I will send your invitation and collect you soon enough.’ We can truly thank the Romans and the Jews for guarding the tomb. Had they been really clever and left it unguarded they could have claimed His Disciples had stolen the body. Perhaps the Jews planned to show His rotting corpse three days after His death to prove that He was a fraud and a liar. They couldn’t guard the tomb forever and only needed three days to produce His dead body to prove Him false. They didn’t do it because Jesus had defeated death and had risen from the dead. By guarding the tomb they inadvertently added support for the factual truth of the resurrection. In their own cleverness they were no match for the wisdom and power of God.

 

The stone sealing the tomb was huge and weighed about two tonnes. It represented the great weight of mankind’s doubt and sin. It called to Jesus and said to Him, ‘You can’t move this.’ Not only was it sealed, it was also heavily guarded by the representatives of power to make absolutely sure that death had conquered and that none could escape. The religious rulers of the time had their own guard and were supported by the authority and might of Rome. We need to make no mistake about this. Death’s house was firmly locked and secured so that no man could rob it. And the women, mark you, turn up at the tomb before the men and say what every person in the world would like to say. ‘Who will roll away this stone of death for us- this stone of our unbelief and sin?’  But the stone was rolled away. Jesus wasn’t in the tomb. It was empty and He had risen from the dead and He is Lord.

 

One day we will all face the opening of the tomb of death and pass through it just as Jesus did. We all arrive at the dark and daunting entry point of eternity and death forces us to walk through it. But what do we see? Both the saved and the unsaved come to the same crisis point. One sees resurrection light and the other darkness where the hungry, gaping jaws of death open wide to swallow the godless into an endless eternity. I invite you to visit the tomb of Jesus and notice that the stone has been rolled away; then that it is empty. The prison house of death is open for all those who believe and they can now say: I KNOW MY REDEEMER LIVES. The children of God will pass through death, but the empty tomb of Jesus serves as a reminder that they shall never be trapped by it. Sadly the unbelieving can’t say the same thing.

 

In Greek mythology they put coins on the eyes of the dead to pay the ferryboat man as he crossed the river Styx taking the dead into Hades. But for the Christian there is no such price to pay. The shed blood of Jesus is full payment not for entry into Hades, but into heavens’ open gates. His blood discharged our debt of obligation and no payment on our part is necessary. Now take a quick look at your own grave and what do you see? They have laid your cold lifeless body or your ashes in the grave, but where are you? Where is your eternal spirit? Are you in the torment of hell which will one day be thrown into the burning lake of fire? Or have you associated yourself with the victory of Christ’s resurrection and are in paradise? Paradise can be yours. Simply believe that God the Father raised His Son Jesus Christ from the dead by the power of the Holy Spirit.

 

The empty tomb said ‘death has been effectively and permanently put away.’ Not our physical death because as Rom 3:23 says the wages of sin is death. Our physical tent must be destroyed so that our spiritual inner man can go to his heavenly home. Physical death is the curtain to a new and better world for the Christian. I see death as the entrance to the tomb of Jesus. It is a black curtain that we all must face, but passing through it, death ceases and the resurrection light of Christ’s victory welcomes us into our new heavenly home. Some who have died in Christ and have been sent back to us for a short while before their permanent exit, have described it as joy unspeakable. Jesus also suffered our spiritual death. He went to hell on our behalf separated from His Father for three days and nights in payment of our debt.

 

The stone rolled away is like a boundary stone between the living and the dead and one cannot cross to the other. On one side is eternal life and on the other everlasting torment. Where is this boundary stone set in your life? What does it signify to you? This stone could roll either to the left or to the right. Does it release you from the prison of death, or seal your eternal doom? I see large buildings often demolished by wrecking balls swinging from cranes. This is a picture of the stone rolled away. It swung and broke down the fortress of death and Hades, not leaving a single stone upon another that can hold the true believer in Christ. His victory is our victory. “Because I live,” said He “you shall live also.” (John 14:19)

 

There is a game called Jenga which uses sticks to form of a tower of blocks. Each person must take one stick in turn without making the tower collapse. The person who takes the stick that makes the tower fall is the loser. Death played this game against Jesus and lost. The resurrection is to death that last stick that makes the tower fall. Death pulled on that stick and it tumbled down in defeat. The believer’s strong consolation is that we don’t seek, or pray to a dead Christ or a buried Saviour. “But the angel answered and said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified.” (Mat 28:5) To fear and have doubt about what happens after death now that Jesus has risen is an inconsistent thing in the believer’s life.

 

The empty tomb represents every person’s destiny. On the last day not one single body will be left in any resting place of all mankind. John 5:28 states “All that are in the graves shall hear His voice and come forth.” Those refusing the saving grace of Jesus Christ will face a white throne judgement of Him who is judge of all things. And what is your plea to Him? Will it be your own self-righteousness, or the very righteousness of Christ stamped upon your immortal soul? His perfection is the only pass mark for entry into eternity. Look at your soul is it perfect? If the answer is no, then the very flames of the lake of fire have been stirred up to greet you in a godless eternity. Your immortal soul won’t be destroyed, but it will face an endless torment. Do you really want to choose that kind of destiny?

 

Those rejecting Christ will be forced to stand not before the meek and mild baby Jesus, nor the bloodied man that hung on the cross, but the King with a sword in His hand. The trumpet call will sound and those who rejected Him will be forced to stand before Him. There will be no more opportunities of mercy given. The time will have run out and the doors of hope firmly shut. Death can’t make any improvement to a man’s character. Perhaps you may feel that you have both good and bad within you or any mix in between. In the resurrection of the righteous, there is none with mingled character of good and bad. As I said before nothing less than perfection is required to be able to stand before Him who is perfection. His stamp of righteousness must be upon your brow- the seal of the approval of His Holy Spirit which is received when we believe in the resurrected Christ.

 

On the last day books will be opened and those whose names are not found in the book of life will be thrown into the lake of fire. It isn’t a cheerful thought and not a destiny that anyone should desire. And what is this lake of fire like? Truly we don’t really know other than it is described as eternal torment. What I do know is that is an eternity absolutely without God. We know that God is light and that in Him there is no darkness. So what could the absence of God be like? No God no light, no warmth, unable to see any loved ones other than hear their screams. It is a darkness you can feel. No warmth absolute cold. Liquid nitrogen is used to burn off warts with extreme cold, but even that doesn’t come close to the lake of liquid fire bringing eternal torment to those who don’t have Jesus. It is a cold that burns and torments the soul for the rest of eternity. I remind you about what it says in John 3:36 “He who has the Son has life and he who has not the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on Him.”

 

Resurrection life is the exact opposite to the spiritual death I’ve just described. I find it painful to discuss the harsh reality of a Godless eternity. I’d rather think about what the resurrection of the righteous will be like. Resurrection life when properly understood means happiness; power; activity; privilege; capacity; in fact it is a term so comprehensive that I should need no small amount of time to explain its’ merits. Resurrection life is not existence merely, but existence in energy, honour, peace, blessedness and perfection- or simply put- living in Christ.

 

What will be your eternal destiny? Make your decision now about the resurrection. The resurrection is true therefore we can be assured that the blood of Jesus Christ has the ability to set us free from our sins. When the single angel rolled away the stone, he sat upon it all very relaxed as if to say, ‘surprise, surprise. Why do you seek the living among the dead?’ The death of Jesus on the cross says it is finished and the price has been paid for your sin. Death boasted it would destroy Him and the grave boasted that it would contain Him, but the power His resurrection defeated them both. The empty tomb shouts He has risen; the victory over death has been won- it couldn’t hold Him and in Him death cannot hold us.’ Christ crucified reminds us of His payment. Christ glorified reminds us of His victory. His victory is our victory as we abide in Him.

 

CHARLES HADDON SPURGEON SAYS “The doctrine of the resurrection ought to be preached much more commonly than it is as vital to the gospel.” “The doctrine of the resurrection in the early church was the main battle-axe and weapon of war of the preacher… if we would honour Christ Jesus the Risen One, we must give prominence to this truth.” People speak of the resurrection of the dead as a marvel, but many resurrections take place every day as the spirits of dead men become born again. We are drifting along the river of time nearer and nearer to the ocean of eternity. So I ask you again. What resurrection have you chosen?

 

The empty tomb of Jesus gives mankind a confidence that death has been defeated. If you aren’t a Christian my prayer is that the reality of resurrection life will become yours today. I give you that opportunity.

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SERIES ON THE RESURRECTION

SERMON 2: TWO RESURRECTIONS

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“Do not marvel at this; for the hour is coming in which all who are in the graves will hear His voice 29 and come forth—those who have done good, to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil, to the resurrection of condemnation. (John 5:28-29) The purpose of Christ’s first coming was to save us from our sin. His final coming will be to collect us, the removal of everything that brings offense and the establishment of His eternal kingdom.

 

What happens after He collects you will depend on your belief about the truth of His resurrection. There are only two types of resurrection: one is to everlasting life and the other is to shame and everlasting contempt. The final day of earth’s history known as the Great Day of the Lord approaches faster than you think. Escape His judgement now and you won’t face it on that final day. If you have chosen the resurrection of the righteous, your vile body will be changed into a glorified one like that of Jesus. Words escape me to describe the eternal suffering of those who must face the resurrection of condemnation. What resurrection have you chosen? It isn’t too late to choose, but time is running out.

 

The purpose of this sermon is to offer you a choice about the type of resurrection you will receive.

 

Our body is a temporary tent and home for our eternal spirit. Death returns our body to the dust of the ground from which it was made. Our spirit can only go to one of two places, either to be with Jesus, or imprisoned in the holding cells of Hell. On the final day of earth’s history the spirit of every person will be reunited with a body that will live in either paradise or torment. What will be your destiny?

 

“For our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform the body of our humble state into conformity with the body of His glory, by the exertion of the power that He has even to subject all things to Himself.” (Phil 3:20-21) On this earth our body is corruptible and subject to decay, gradually becoming weak through old age yielding to the blows of death. If not cremated, it becomes the food of worms. It is a morose thought, however in the resurrection the Christian will receive a new incorruptible body, unaffected by any disease, decay or decline, never again to yield to the force of death throughout all eternity. For the immortal spirit it shall be the immortal companion. No graves will be seen in heaven, there will be no need for them since Jesus has permanently defeated death for those willing to believe.

 

Jesus is the standard of man in glory and our present earthly body humiliated by sin will be conformed to the same form as His glorious body. It will happen in a moment, in the blink of an eye, at the last trumpet sound when the dead in Christ shall be raised first. “Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is.” (1 John 3:2) In the resurrection of the just, the dead shall be raised incorruptible and shall be as God intended us to be- His eternal sons. We will be sinless, painless, and unable to die as Jesus Christ has defeated death for us. We will be shining like Jesus at His transfiguration on the Mount of Olives. We will no longer be wearing the filthy rags of our own unrighteousness, humiliation and sin. They will be removed and replaced with the robes of His righteousness, so white, the likes of which no launder on could accomplish. “Our body will be raised a spiritual body and joined with our eternal spirit, adapted to the noblest portion of our nature, suitable for our new grace given life in the dwelling place of heaven.” One day, our dead bodies will be planted in the ground like a seed and on resurrection morning our spiritual body will be changed beyond the beauty of anything grown- our human imagination can’t fathom the miraculous change. When looking at nature as a parallel for the resurrection, it is impossible to find an accurate one. Such is the grandeur of the power of God in the resurrection. 

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Mankind constantly seeks to discover a machine of continuous motion powered by a source of energy that never runs out. After the resurrection we will be powered by what mankind desired most on earth. In Christ we have the eternal source of life giving power that sustains us in an endless eternity of delight. I want you to understand in your spirit the power of this resurrection. My imagination is unable to give you a clear picture in words to describe your transformation on resurrection morning. “For this corruptible must put on incorruption and this mortal must put on immortality.” (1 Cor 15:53) The trials of this earth grow strangely dim and pale into insignificance in the pleasure of an eternity with Jesus. When Christ raises the dead, it will be as a Saviour, to subject all things to Him-self. (Phil 3:21) Nothing in the way of salvation is impossible to Him. We need to be mindful of this fact for bringing our unsaved friends and relatives to Jesus.

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“Now use your imagination and look down into your own loathsome tomb of this earth, and, if you can endure it, gaze upon the putrid, decaying mess that once housed your spirit and yes, even this is to be transformed into Christ’s likeness. He, who formed each atom from nothing, can gather each particle again from confusion. What a work this is and what a Saviour we have who is capable of even this. The trumpet call shall fetch them back from the dust with which they have been mingled, and dust to dust and bone to bone shall be rebuilt and refashioned on resurrection morning.”

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It is impossible to describe the full benefits of the first resurrection. Many of those who haven’t chosen them are likely to become upset with. We live in an age where people become offended if the pampering and comfort of this world are disturbed by the images of the second resurrection. Many prefer us to keep them to ourselves. Yet they would be equally offended by Christians not throwing life vests to drowning people. On judgement day I’d rather people say he made me feel uncomfortable rather than why didn’t he throw me the life vest.

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The second resurrection brings an eternity without Christ and is simply the reverse image of the first. There will be endless pain and suffering- a complete absence of light that makes it so cold that it burns the tormented spirits of those locked in that eternal prison. I urge you to escape from it today. Don’t rebel against God’s authority. Don’t reject such a great salvation. There will be a dreadful time of realisation for every person confined in hell. They must stand before the One they rejected and give an account for their unbelief and sin. Judgement comes quickly as they are cast away from His presence into the lake of fire and eternal torment.

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Every person needs to take in this terrifying truth. Heb 10:31 says: “It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.” There will be no resistance to the resurrection. Even if you didn’t believe in it, the irresistible power of God will draw you before the judgement seat of Christ. If the Hitler’s, the Pol Pot’s and other despots and terrorists of the world haven’t accepted Christ as Lord and Saviour, they will now face Him as Judge and “vengeance is mine, I will repay says the Lord.” (Rom 12:19) But the same will also happen to the smaller despots of this world who have placed themselves on the throne of their life and removed Jesus from it. Oh little despots- like Hitler you will have no other defence before God. If you rejected God’s rule over your life and made yourself king, you too will face the same judgement. Strong angelic arms will force you into the presence of the Saviour you rejected who will then become your Judge. If you will not believe God’s clearly declared truth, you must be left to give an account for your unbelief before God. Those who remain unbelieving perish in their sin, condemned by the truth they wilfully rejected.

 

Death is the last exploration point of human experience. It intersects this life and the next- “let us meet it not only with a calm spirit in the face of a difficult situation, but with expectation. Resurrection life is on the other side of that curtain of death. For why should we sorrow over those who have gone to glory and have inherited immortality? What is there, after all, to weep about concerning those who have passed into glory and are with their Lord? Let us in the next place cheer our hearts in the prospect of our own departure when He will present us with a crown of His glory.”

 

After the cross, Jesus spent three days and nights in hell, walked up to the devil, and grabbed the keys of hell and death from his hands saying: ‘these belong to me.’ Humiliated, the devil retreated to the deepest part of hell to hide his shame. Jesus says: “I am He who lives, and was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore. Amen. And I have the keys of Hades and of Death. (Rev 1:18) Then He rose from the dead and ascended to the right hand of God the Father “having disarmed principalities and powers, He made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them in it.” (Col 2:15) The enemy is disarmed and at our mercy when we are sure of our authority won by the power of the resurrection.

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Matt 28:18 “All power has been given to me in heaven and on earth.” Jesus Christ has the power of: self-existence, the power of creation, the power of sustaining that which is made, the power of fashioning and destroying, the power of opening and shutting, of overthrowing or establishing, of killing and making alive, the power to pardon and to condemn, to give and to withhold, to decree and to fulfil, to be “head over all things to His church,”– all this is invested in Jesus Christ our Lord. This is the power of the resurrection. Today I ask you to place Jesus on the throne of your life and to remove yourself from it, along with all other gods. You must make Him number 1 and submit your life to His governing authority if you want take part in the resurrection of the righteous. You must believe with your heart that God the Father has raised His Son Jesus Christ from the dead, by the power of the Holy Spirit and confess Him with your mouth as Lord.

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Say this prayer after me.

It seems some of you need to taste and see that God is good. Perhaps you have come here today and always wondered about the truth of the resurrection? Perhaps you need some proof that Jesus Christ is alive. Today you will see the power of the resurrected Christ because I am certain that Jesus Christ is not only alive, but His Heavenly Father is willing to affirm the truth of His resurrection power with signs and wonders following the preaching of His word.

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