Lift Up Your Heads, Because Your Redemption Draws Near! (Hix)

Two guys on the street corner and one man asks the other man, "How was church last Sunday?" The other man said, "I don’t know - I was kind of bored. I think I slept through half the sermon." The first man looked shocked and said, "How could you do that - you’re the pastor?"

Luke 7:11-15-Now it happened, the day after, that He went into a city called Nain; and many of His disciples went with Him, and a large crowd.

And when He came near the gate of the city, behold, a dead man was being carried out, the only son of his mother; and she was a widow. And a large crowd from the city was with her. When the Lord saw her, He had compassion on her and said to her, “Do not weep.” Then He came and touched the open coffin, and those who carried him stood still. And He said, “Young man, I say to you, arise.”

So he who was dead sat up and began to speak. And He presented him to his mother.

Nain-No where else in the Bible do we ever hear of this city, so what can that tell us?

It doesn’t matter where your from, whether you live in big city or in a small town, God is concerned about you!!

Whether you’re a big fish in a little pond, or a little fish in a big pond, God cares about you!!

The Only Son Of His Mother; And She Was A Widow-Luke paints with just a few words this bleak description of the events that is unfolding before us!!

Let me tell you something….God knows every detail of your life, all of your past, all of your present, and all of your future!!!

Large Crowd-There was a large crowd with Him and there was a large crowd with her, but even in a large crowd you can feel all alone!!!

When The Lord Saw Her-They are going to bury her son, her only son and guess who is coming down the street? Jesus!!

Now some people would call that coincidence, and some people would call that luck, but I would call that divine intervention, I would call that providence!!!

If it had been a few minutes later that Jesus passed by, they would have already been laying him in a tomb, if it had been a few minutes early that Jesus passed by they still would have been home preparing the body for burial!

Think about all the times in your life that things have intersected just at the right time, fell into place just at the right time. (Spouse, job, house, a doctor’s diagnosis) do you think that was luck? Was it coincidence? Or was it Divine intervention!!

God has His eyes on you!! No matter what your going thru, no matter who you are, no matter what you have done, no matter how bad you have been….God wants to intervene in your life!!!

He has compassion on you, He has compassion on what you are going thru, He has compassion on what you are dealing with!!

Do Not Weep-God wants to turn your weeping into rejoicing!

God is the only one who can turn a funeral into a festival!!

God is the only one who can take something dead and give it life!!

Whether it be a marriage, a career, or a persons on feelings of emptiness (They feel dead inside)!!

Those Who Carried Him Stood Still-Oh, that we would stand still for a minute and realize what God is doing around us, how He touching lives, how He is changing lives!

Oh, that we would stand still for a minute and see how God can use us!!!

And He Said, “Young Man, I Say To You, Arise.”

You notice who Jesus is speaking too? The young man who is dead!!

One day when I was dead in my sins, He spoke to me! Thank You, Lord!!

So He Who Was Dead Sat Up And Began To Speak.

What do you think he talked about? The weather, sports, politics?

And He Presented Him To His Mother-I wonder how many children will be given back to their mothers in heaven and how many mothers will be given back to her children!

We have something happen in our world that lot of people do, when someone is dies in a car crash, the family puts up a cross or a marker showing that a person died at that place, I wonder if every time that mother and son came by that place that they meet Jesus at, I wonder if they didn’t shout a little bit, because for the rest of their life it would be a special place.

It was not place where someone was dead, but it was a reminder of place where someone was alive!!