This passage of scripture is a familiar one to us. It is often preached out of on “Resurrection Day” in churches across the country. It is a passage that shows us the empty tomb and the frantic state of Mary Magdalene. Mary runs to find Peter and John; she tells them that the Lord has been taken away from the sepulcher. They both run to the tomb, but notice what the bible says in vs 5&6. Notice that John runs to the tomb, only to look in (vs 5) while Peter not only looks in the tomb but goes into the tomb (vs6). All John saw was the wadded up grave clothes, but Peter saw the folded napkin. In vs 8, we are told that John eventually goes in and also sees the napkin. But, what if he had just went a little farther the first time. Instead of having to be told of what was in the tomb, he would have seen it with his own eyes first. I began to think on this thought: How many areas of my life do I go so far in only to miss the blessing if I would have just went a little farther. Sometimes we do what we should, but we don’t go far enough. We need to go a little farther. With the Lord’s help this morning I want to look at a few areas in which we could go A Little Farther.
1) A LITTLE FARTHER IN MY PRAYER LIFE –(Matthew 26:39) The first area that came to mind was prayer. Do we go far enough in our prayer life or could we go a little farther? Over in Matthew 26, we find Jesus and his disciples in the garden of Gethsemane. The place our Lord went to with his disciples after the Lord’s supper and the place of his arrest. But notice what we find in vs 39, it says “…he went a little farther, and fell on his face, and prayed,…”. Jesus went as far as he could go in his prayer life. You can find account after account in the Bible where Jesus spent time in prayer. Even when staring death in the face, he prayed! He prayed so hard that the Bible tells us in Luke 23:43&44, “And there appeared an angel unto him from Heaven, strengthening him. And being in an agony he prayed more earnestly: and his sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling down to the ground.”. We don’t know how long he spent in prayer, but I believe he prayed so hard because he was praying for me. I believe he was praying for you, so he went farther. The disciples couldn’t go as far as he had to go, so Jesus went a little farther. If he went that far in prayer, I believe I can go a little farther in my prayer life. I can go a little farther in:
a) PRAYING FOR THE LOST – My loved ones, friends, co-workers and strangers alike need prayer. I need to pray that they may “…open their eyes, and to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins, and inheritance among them which are sanctified by faith that is in…” Jesus Christ (Acts 26:18)! Pray that they “…may know him, and the power of his resurrection…” (Philippians 3:10). We must go a little farther in our prayer for the lost so that God may five them just one more chance!
b) PRAYING FOR THE BRETHREN – Paul wrote in his letter the the church at Thessalonica, “Brethren, pray for us.” (I Thessalonians 5:25). We are to pray for one another! To help with burdens, trials, and situations…to help bear those burdens because we love one another. I can go a little farther.
Ephesians 6:18 says “Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints.”. We are also told to “Pray without ceasing.” in I Thessalonians 5:17. Could you go a little farther in your prayer life?
2) A LITTLE FARTHER IN MY CHRISTIAN WALK – If I go a little farther in my prayer life, then I can go a little farther in my Christian walk. By that I mean I can become the Christian I need to be, that I want to be and that God wants me to be. I can go a little farther in getting closer to Jesus. I want to be as close to Jesus as I can be for the closer to Jesus that I am, the more that the world sees Jesus in me! My life may be the only Bible that some people ever read. While thinking on this, I thought of our friend the Apostle John. As you know from the scriptures, John was part of the inner circle, the 3 closest disciples. But of those 3, John was the closest! That is why I find our text so amazing this morning; he knew the path that Jesus had to walk (Matthew 16:21) and John saw a lot of amazing things in his life:
- John was on the Mount of Transfiguration(Matthew 17:1-2)
- John was there when Jesus turned water to wine (John 2:1-11)
- John was there when Jesus fed over 5,000 (John 6:1-15)
- John was there when Jesus walked on the water (John 6:16-21)
- John was there when Lazarus was raised from the dead (John 11:38-44)
- John was there for the last supper and laid his head on the chest of Jesus (John 13:23; 20:20)
- John was there when Jesus went to pray (Matthew 26:36-46)
- John was there at the foot of the cross (John 19:26)
- John was there at the empty tomb (John 20:1-5)
- John was there when Jesus breathed on the disciples (John 20:19-22)
- John was there Jesus ascended (Acts 1:7-11)
- John saw the Revelation of Jesus Christ (Revelation 1:1)
Yet, even after seeing all these things, John still could have went a little farther. How far are you willing to go? John was willing to go pretty far in his walk with the Lord…but if I am to be honest with you, I can go a little farther. I want to go a little farther and be a little closer to Jesus!
3) A LITTLE FARTHER IN MY SERVICE – You may think that service and a Christian walk are the same, but they are different. For if I go a little farther in my Christian walk, then my service to the Lord goes farther. The closer I get to God, the more I want to serve him. I dare say that we all could go a little farther in our service to God. You see, God didn’t save us to leave us be or for us to sit idle. God wants us to serve him, not because we have to, but because we want to. Because we get to, because he loved us enough to die for us and the least we can do is serve him. What areas of service can I go a little farther in?
a) CHURCH SERVICE – Let’s start with church service. Could you go a little farther in what you do for the Lord in this place? The truth is that the church is always in need of people. But, I can’t or I don’t know how always arises…but your greatest ability is your availability. All you need to do is be willing to serve and the Lord will take care of the rest. The church always needs Sunday School teachers, children’s church and nursery workers, VBS workers, grounds keepers, food cookers and servers, dishwashers and cleaners, choir members, offering takers, door greeters and prayer warriors. Could you go a little farther in your service to the Lord and step into one of these roles?
b) MY WITNESS – What about my witness? Could I go a little farther in my witness for the Lord? Notice what Jesus said to his disciples in Matthew 9:37-38, “…The harvest truly is plenteous, but the laborers are few; Pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he will send forth laborers into his harvest.”. Here’s the kicker…If I live my life the way I should and close to God the way I want and need to, then my witness becomes evident. It all get’s back to our life being the only Bible that some people read. Because the closer I get, the more the world will see Jesus in me, then the more they will want to know about him and what he has done in my life. That is why Jesus said “Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hid. Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house. Let your light so shine before me, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.”, Matthew 5:14-16. I can go a little farther in my witness, my loved ones eternity just may depend on it!
4) A LITTLE FARTHER IN MY WORSHIP – Lastly, I can go a little farther in my worship. One of my favorite psalms is Psalm 63. Notice what it says in the first 8 verses, “O God, thou art my God; early will I seek thee: my soul thirsteth for thee, my flesh longeth for thee in a dry and thirsty land, where no water is; To see thy power and thy glory, so as I have seen thee in the sanctuary. Because thy lovingkindness is better than life, my lips shall praise thee. Thus will I bless thee while I live: I will lift up my hands in thy name. My soul shall be satisfied as with marrow and fatness; and my mouth shall praise thee with joyful lips: When I remember thee upon my bed, and meditate on thee in the night watches. Because thou hast been my help, therefore in the shadow of thy wings will I rejoice. My soul followeth hard after thee: thy right hand upholdeth me.”. You know, God has been good to me. He has given me so much in my life. He has given me a beautiful loving wife, four daughters I love with all my heart, loving God-fearing parents, loving in-laws, a good home, a good job, clothes on my back, shoes on my feet, and plenty of food to eat. He’s called me to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ and I try to do so unashamedly! I serve a risen savior! You know, I’ve got a lot to be thankful for today. He’s been so very good to me and my worship of him should reflect that. What has God done for you this morning? Could you go a little farther in praising him for his goodness and his mercy and his grace? God’s mercies are everything He has given us that we don’t deserve: eternal salvation, eternal grace, the Holy Spirit, everlasting peace, eternal joy, comfort, strength, wisdom, hope, patience, kindness, honor, glory, righteousness, security, eternal life, forgiveness, reconciliation, justification, sanctification, freedom, intercession and much more. The knowledge and understanding of these incredible gifts motivate us to pour forth praise and thanksgiving. That is worship! Too many times we come to church and just go through the motions. Today of all days we should be excited about what God has done for us! We are told in Psalm 100:4, “Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name.”. Today I have come to worship a risen savior that gave his life for me on Calvary and then rose up on the third day, ascended and is now at the right hand of the father! That ought to make you want to shout! How could you go a little farther in your worship this morning?
