• We can remember the day we got married
In all fairness, some of us men do forget our anniversary, which is not a good thing to do!
Illus: One woman who knew her husband who could not remember what day they got married and as a result often forgot their anniversary, decided she would play a joke on him.
He woke up one morning rubbing his eyes and staggered to the breakfast table in his pajama’s and wearing his house coat. With his head buried in his hands, his cheerful wife comes bouncing into the dinning room with a smile and a plate full of pancakes and said, “Do you know what day it is?”
When she said this, he sat up, trying to remember what day it was. With a phony smile on his face, he said, “How could I ever forget?”
He got dressed and hurried out of the house, and all day at the office he was thinking “Is this our anniversary?” He finally decided that it had to be their anniversary.
On the way home he bought two nice steaks, a beautiful fur coat and a dozen red roses. He walked into the house, gave his wife a big smile, and gave her the two steaks to celebrate the occasion and a beautiful fur coat. Then he pulled a dozen red roses from behind his back and gave her a big kiss.
After the kiss, she looked him in the eyes and said, “I am so glad you did not forget. This is the best GROUND HOG DAY I have ever had!”
There are some days we can forget and there are some days we had better not forget!
• We can remember when our children were born
• Some can remember the day and the place they were when they heard that president John F. Kennedy was assassinated.
• Some can remember the day and the place they were when they heard that Elvis Presley died.
There are days in our life when PEOPLE and EVENTS are so important to us that those days stand out above all the rest, and we will never forget them.
But the day WHEN THE LORD CAME TO US, is one of the most significant days of our life.
I have a problem with people who say, “I gave my heart to the Lord and I know I am saved but I can not remember a time in my life when I really came to know the Lord!” Listen, you might not know the:
• The month of the year
• The day of the week
• The time it took place
But something as significant as receiving the Lord Jesus and becoming born-again is something you will not forget.
And like so many of you, I can remember very well the time in my life that the Lord Jesus CAME UNTO ME and saved me. When he came to me I was in bad shape. I was like:
• The sinful woman at Jacob’s well
• The blind man at the Temple
• The poor beggar in Jericho
• The rich man, Zacchaeus, who was in a tree
I was as lost and helpless as they were, but today I am saved.
We can best see our situation as we look at the scriptures and see when the Lord came to the City of Nain, where the widow lived whose son had died.
As we look at her life, I want to show you three things that happened to her as Christ came to her. These same three things apply to our life also. Notice-
I. HE CAME AT A TIME OF DEATH
Look at verse 12, we read, “Now when he came nigh to the gate of the city, behold, there was a dead man carried out, the only son of his mother, and she was a widow: and much people of the city was with her.”
The city of Nain was known for it’s beauty. In fact, the word “Nain” means “beautiful”. It was a place where folks would want to take their vacation. This is the city the Lord came to.
In every city we go to, we always find that they have funeral homes and cemeteries, regardless of how beautiful their city might be.
And when the Lord arrived in Nain, the first thing he saw was a funeral procession. This was a beautiful city but there was no beauty in Nain that day. When the Lord arrived that day it was all bad news.
We can not help but feel that this man who had died was well liked by the citizens of Nain. The Bible says, “…and much people of the city was with her.”
Sometimes you can judge people’s esteem for a man by the size of his funeral. Not always, but many times!
Illus: Dr. Odell Belger was called upon by the local funeral home to do a charity funeral. It was to be a graveside funeral of a father who had died. When the time came, he arrived and the hearse came in behind him. In a few moments, one car pulled up and four people got out and came and sat under the tent. When the time came, the funeral director gave the nod for Dr. Belger to start. He could not say anything about the deceased because he did not know him personally. He preached a simple little sermon from God’s Word to comfort the family who did not seem like they needed any comforting. But he noticed not one tear was shed during the eulogy. He closed in prayer and shook their hands. They immediately got in their car and left. Dr. Belger went to the funeral director and said, “I was going to visit them in their home to see if they were all right this evening, but they would not give me their address.” The funeral director said to him, “They would not give us their address either because they are afraid we will send the bill to them.”
Many times a funeral service can tell us a great deal about the way a person lived their life. This man who had died must have been loved by many because the Bible says that when Christ came to Nain, He saw the funeral procession and, “…much people of the city was with her.”
As was the custom in that day, the people of the city had stopped what they were doing and had joined the funeral procession as it made its way through town.
• The mother would have been in front.
• She would have been followed by those who carried the open coffin, which contained the body of her son.
• Behind them would have been those who were mourning the son’s death.
• Those bringing up the rear would have been the town’s folk who followed out of respect for the dead.
• Some may have been friends and relatives; others may have been paid to come and help mourn the death of the boy.
Look at verse 13, we read, “And when the Lord saw her, he had compassion on her, and said unto her, Weep not.”
A great crowd of mourners are making their way through the gates of the city, to a little cemetery where he is to be buried, because they loved this woman and her son. But listen, no one in that crowd had any more compassion for her than the Lord Jesus did. He walked up to her and said, “Weep Not.”
WHY WERE THEY CRYING? May I suggest that they were crying for THREE reasons.
1. THEY WERE CRYING FOR THIS WIDOW WHO HAD LOST HER ONLY SON
2. THEY WERE CRYING FOR THIS YOUNG MAN WHO HAD LOST HIS LIFE
Here is a young man:
• He might have had hopes of marriage and of fathering children, but now he is dead.
• He might have had plans of going into business to support himself and his widowed mother, but now he is dead.
• Here is a young man whose eyes that had been bright with the gleam of youth, are now dulled by death.
• Here is a man whose mind had been filled with dreams, but now it is stilled by the cold embrace of death.
• Here is a young man whose voice that filled the air with laughter has now been silenced by death.
3. THEY WERE CRYING FOR THEMSELVES
All funerals remind us that death is a bridge we all have to cross. Death has been part of the human experience ever since man sinned against God in the Garden of Eden. Ever since Adam chose to go his way instead of God’s way, death has stalked and claimed life after life. What happened at Nain is what has been happening to men since the dawn of time.
But there is more here than just the physical death of a mother’s only son in this bible passage! I think this man’s physical death, is a picture of what spiritual death is all about.
In Genesis 2:17 we read, “But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.”
In this verse, God told Adam that the day he ate of the forbidden fruit, would be the day he died. But, did Adam die that day?
• Well, physically he did not die, for he lived hundreds of more years.
• But, spiritually, he died the very day he ate of that fruit.
You see, the Bible tells us in Rom. 6:23, that “The wages of sin is death….” This verse does not only refer to the death of this body, but it refers to the eternal destiny of the lost soul in Hell! There is a sense in which men can be dead now, even though they are alive physically.
Look at Eph. 2:1, we read, “And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins.”
This verse of scripture teaches us that horrible truth. But this young man illustrates it!
• That young man was there physically, but he could not hear the cries of his mother.
• He was there, but the mourning and the grieving did not affect him.
• He was headed to a cemetery and they were going to place his body in the cold earth, but he neither knew it nor cared about it.
• He was dead, and the things of earth, the things associated with life, had no affect on him whatsoever.
• He was there, but he was oblivious to life; and he was beyond the touch of those who loved him still. His was a hopeless situation!
What a picture of the lost man or woman! Physically they are alive and well. They can see, hear, think, move, speak and go about their lives. But, they are dead spiritually.
• They cannot see, hear or feel God’s presence.
• They are dead to His Word and to His moving and working in the world.
• They are unmoved by the cross and the empty tomb.
• They are unaffected by the good gifts and great blessings of a holy God.
That is the way it is for everyone who does not know Jesus Christ as their personal Savior today!
Jesus came to this town at a time of death and it was at a time of death that the Lord comes to us.
We see HE CAME AT A TIME OF DEATH and -
II. HE CAME AT A TIME OF DESPERATION
Look at verse 12, we read, “Now when he came nigh to the gate of the city, behold, there was a dead man carried out, the only son of his mother, and she was a widow: and much people of the city was with her.”
You will notice the wording of the text: the dead man was, “… the only son of his mother, and she was a widow.”
• Here is a woman who has already felt the icy hand of death as it took her husband from her life.
• Now, her precious son has been taken away by death as well.
But, there is more here than just the death of a beloved son. THIS POOR WOMAN HAS NO ONE LEFT TO CARE FOR HER IN HER OLD AGE.
In that day, there was no welfare or assistance available to widows like her. It was up to a woman’s children, especially her sons, to see that she was cared for in her declining years. But, she has no one left! She is all alone, helpless and caught in a desperate condition. She has nothing to look forward to except poverty and despair.
She is at the mercy of other people’s kindness. She has nowhere to go and nowhere to turn. She finds herself trapped in a helpless condition.
• Just as this dead son is a picture of the lost person and their dead condition.
• This poor widow woman is a picture of that lost individual who is helplessly trapped in the bondage of their sins.
That is just what sin is: it is bondage! MY FRIEND THAT IS A DESPERATE PLACE TO BE!
But, it was at that place that every child of God found themselves at one point in their life! It was a time of utter desperation when Jesus came to us!
We see HE CAME AT A TIME OF DEATH, HE CAME AT A TIME OF DESPERATION and -
III. HE CAME AT A TIME OF DELIVERANCE
Look at verses 13-17, we read, “And when the Lord saw her, he had compassion on her, and said unto her, Weep not. And he came and touched the bier: and they that bare him stood still. And he said, Young man, I say unto thee, Arise. And he that was dead sat up, and began to speak. And he delivered him to his mother. And there came a fear on all: and they glorified God, saying, That a great prophet is risen up among us; and, That God hath visited his people. And this rumour of him went forth throughout all Judaea, and throughout all the region round about.”
The story does not end with a dead son and a desperate mother!
As that little group of mourners were making their way out of town to go to that cemetery, they met another group of people who were making their way into that town. Look at the contrast of these two.
• The first group was led by a sobbing mother.
• The second group was led by a Sovereign Master.
• Two Sons met – One was the son of a man, and he was dead. The other was the Son of God and He was and is the Prince of Life, John 11:25-26.
• Two Enemies met – The first enemy was death. He had invaded and devastated this little family. The other was Life. When He came, He defeated death and drove him away!
Conclusion:
When the Lord arrived in Nain, the Bible tells us what took place. Look at verses 13-15, we read, “And when the Lord saw her, he had compassion on her, and said unto her, Weep not. And he came and touched the bier: and they that bare him stood still. And he said, Young man, I say unto thee, Arise. And he that was dead sat up, and began to speak. And he delivered him to his mother.”
The Sovereign Lord spoke life to a slain lad! After calming the mother, Jesus merely speaks to the dead boy and he immediately shows two clear signs of life.
• He sat up
• He spoke
Illus: We are told that before they embalm a dead person, it is not unusual to have the muscles in the deceased cause the body parts to move. It has even been reported that it is not uncommon for a dead man to sit up. But, for a dead man to start talking, was a clear sign that he was no longer dead!
The Lord came to this dead man, “And he came and touched the bier: and they that bare him stood still. And he said, Young man, I say unto thee, Arise.”
Do you remember the day Jesus came to you? It was one of those special days in our life that we can never forget.
We see -
I. HE CAME AT A TIME OF DEATH
II. HE CAME AT A TIME OF DESPERATION
III. HE CAME AT A TIME OF DELIVERANCE
