A silversmith named Paul Revere, and a friend of his named William Dawes, found out about a mission the British troops had, to steal the guns and gun powder from the Americans living in Lexington and Concord.
They decided to act quickly.
We are told by some historians that at 10:00 at night, Revere and his friend got their horses and started off to Lexington. They wanted to warn the people that the British were on their way.
Paul Revere is credited for those famous words, “The British are coming! The British are coming!”
Some historians say that is not an accurate account. They say that as Revere and Dawes were traveling to warn the people, the British soldiers caught them and quickly arrested them.
However, while they were being arrested, a man named Dr. Samuel Prescott got past the British soldiers. Prescott got to Concord, and the townspeople were ready for the attack.
These historians say that Samuel Prescott was the hero, but everybody has always given Paul Revere the credit for his midnight ride.
WHAT CAUSED THE CONFUSION?
The historians say that the reason Paul Revere receives the credit for delivering this life saving message, was because of a poem written by a man named Henry Wadsworth Longfellow called, “The Midnight Cry of Paul Revere”.
Longfellow named Paul Revere as the man who warned the people of Concord that the British were coming. So, even today many believe that Paul Revere is the main hero.
We probably never will know who REALLY delivered that very important message.
Every day our mailmen or mail lady delivers all kinds of messages to us daily THROUGH THE MAIL.
But the most important message that has ever been delivered is the message of the resurrection.
Did you know the most important message that has ever been delivered to mankind was delivered by a woman named Mary Magdalene.
WHO WAS MARY MAGDALENE?
Mary was a Jewish woman from the fishing town Magdala on the western shore of the Sea of Galilee.
Also did you know her name is mentioned 12 times in the Gospels, more than most of the apostles?
But God chose her to be the first person to report that Jesus was ALIVE!
Look at Matthew 28:1-6 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 sepulchre. 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.
This is the most important message that has ever been delivered to mankind. “HE IS NOT HERE: FOR HE IS RISEN…”
This was not a long message, only eight words, but it is the most important message that has ever been delivered by anyone!!!
Never has so much depended on this one solitary message that, CHRIST AROSE FROM THE GRAVE AND IS NO LONGER THERE.
WHY IS THIS THE MOST IMPORTANT MESSAGE THAT HAS EVER BEEN DELIVERED?
Paul gives us the answer to that question?
Look at 1 Corinthians 15:14-20 And if Christ be not risen, then is our preaching vain, and your faith is also vain. Yea, and we are found false witnesses of God; because we have testified of God that he raised up Christ: whom he raised not up, if so be that the dead rise not. For if the dead rise not, then is not Christ raised: And if Christ be not raised, your faith is vain; ye are yet in your sins. Then they also which are fallen asleep in Christ are perished. If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable. But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that slept.
Illus: A house painter in Columbia, S.C. spent two weeks painting a house why a family was on a two weeks' vacation.
• He finally got through with the paint job in almost two weeks and was looking forward to receiving a paycheck.
• When the family got home, they were pleased with the good he had done but there was one problem. He painted the house the wrong color and had to paint it all over again.
I mention that to mention this as a pastor for many decades:
• I as a pastor with many other pastors have spent many hours in sermon preparation but IF CHRIST BE NOT RISEN ALL THOSE THOUSANDS OF HOURS WERE WASTED!!!!
• And IF CHRIST BE NOT RISEN, I AM A FALSE PROPHET.
• And IF CHRIST BE NOT RISEN every one of us who put our faith in Christ our FAITH IS IN VAIN.
• And IF CHRIST BE NOT RISEN our loved ones who have died putting their FAITH IN CHRIST ARE ALL PERISHED.
• And IF CHRIST BE NOT RISEN the apostle Paul says in verse 14, “And if Christ be not risen, then is our preaching vain…”
• And IF CHRIST BE NOT RISEN the Bible that we read and put our trust in is not worth the paper it is written on.
• And IF CHRIST BE NOT RISEN every dollar and penny, we placed in the offering plate was no more than a waste.
• And IF CHRIST BE NOT RISEN all these church buildings that have been built around the world is no more than a waste of time and money.
• And IF CHRIST BE NOT RISEN it is important because salvation by Grace depends upon the resurrection of Christ. If grace is going to be granted, then the ONE who grants it must be alive to grant it.
You see the most important message that has ever been delivered is the message that Mary Magdalene delivered, HE IS NOT HERE, HE IS RISEN!!!
• The message of the resurrection is the foundation on which Christianity is built.
• Had He not risen from the grave Christianity would not exist.
• The resurrection of Jesus Christ is the very heart of Christianity.
But Paul triumphantly declares in verse 20, “BUT NOW IS CHRIST RISEN FROM THE DEAD...”
But there is another reason that this is the most important message that has ever been delivered.
Again, I remind you that the message of the resurrection is the most important message that has ever been delivered to mankind.
What kind of message was it?
Let’s look at the Word of God to see what kind of message it was.
I. IT WAS A MESSAGE OF DEITY
Something we Christians have always taken for granted as we talked to sinners, we take it for granted that they understood that Jesus was the son of Mary and Joseph, but more important, that He is the DIVINE SON OF GOD.
However, this is something we can no longer take for granted.
Why?
Because two things have caused the general public to turn away from the deity of Christ.
Many do not believe in the deity of Christ because of…
(1) PRESENT-DAY TECHNOLOGY.
Technology makes it possible to spread the gospel around the world via radio, television, the printed page, and computer connections.
However, this same technology makes it possible for Satan to spread his damnable teachings around the world, and that is exactly what he is doing.
If you find that hard to believe, all you have to do is listen to some of the things that are being taught and preached.
Illus: Many television and radio preachers are like politicians. Before they ever preach, they want to take a poll to see what the people want to hear. Once they determine what they want to hear, they proceed to preach precisely what they want to hear.
Illus: Larry King asked Joel Osteen who has the largest church in the United States on national television was asked is Christ the only way to heaven and he said, I HAD RATHER NOT SAY LARRY!
Make no mistake about it; these false teachers have begun to change many people’s theology through their use of these powerful tools that modern technology has put at their disposal.
There is another reason to be concerned about the teaching of THE DEITY OF CHRIST.
(2) MANY DO NOT BELIEVE IN THE DEITY OF CHRIST BECAUSE…
Many churches have ceased to evangelize their neighborhoods for Christ.
While they no longer make the effort to spread the PURE BIBLICAL DOCTRINES, the cults are doubling their efforts to spread their FALSE DOCTRINES.
Many people in America grew up believing in the deity of Christ, but later renounced their belief in Christ and joined a cult that teaches Christ is no more than an ordinary man.
Let me give you an example.
Illus: The Islamic religion, that requires that a person denounce the deity of Christ, is sweeping across America.
• We once poured millions of dollars into missionary efforts in Islamic countries to spread the gospel of Christ.
• Today the Islamic countries are pouring billions of dollars into America to convert Americans to this damnable false teaching of Islam.
We can no longer take it for granted that the majority of Americans believe in THE DEITY OF CHRIST!
Illus: Many were shocked at the television documentary, September 1995, which reported that New Orleans led the nation in number of murders committed for that year. The city officials decided the best way to eliminate the problem was to buy the pot-bellied Buddha statues and place them in strategic places around the city so the murderers could pray to them.
They felt that they then would not commit murder.
Listen, they can place Buddha idols on every corner, but the murder will continue.
Why?
Praying to a piece of wood, metal, or clay does not phase a murderer. They can pray to an idol five times a day, but it will do them no good.
There is ample proof of this.
Illus: Look at the record of the countries where the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob is not recognized. These are classified as “third world” countries. They have:
• Violence in the streets of their cities that is equal to a war zone.
• Mass starvation.
This is not because they do not pray. The problem is they pray to dead gods. A dead god cannot HEAR or HELP anyone.
Only when people believe in and pray to the living God will their prayers be answered - not until then!
The Bible clearly declares, 1 Timothy 2:5, “For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus.”
The Bible teaches explicitly that the only way we can get to God is through His precious, divine Son.
Illus: Notice, even though Mary, the mother of Jesus, was a virtuous and chosen woman, the Bible does not say she is the mediator between God and man.
God does not want us to wonder about how to get to God.
His Word, the Bible, says, “For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus.”
Why is Jesus that special person?
Because Jesus is more than a man. Jesus is the DIVINE SON OF GOD!
Does the Bible teach that?
Yes, it teaches that from cover to cover.
Let us look at some scriptures to see the deity of Christ.
We see first...
(1) THE FATHER AFFIRMED IT FROM HEAVEN.
Look at Matthew 3:17. We read, “And lo a voice from heaven, saying, this is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.”
Illus: Through the ages there have been men who would stand before the crowds and tell them they were the Messiah, the Son of God.
Some of the listeners, out of sheer ignorance, accepted what they said as truth.
Listen, God did not want us wondering if Christ WAS or WAS NOT the divine Son of God.
God, the Father, at the Lord’s baptism, said from heaven, “This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.”
This verse of scripture tells us three important things.
1) Notice, it says... - “MY...SON.” This point to the deity of Christ.
2) This point to the love within the Godhead. - “WELL PLEASED.”
The Bible tells us that THE FATHER AFFIRMED IT FROM HEAVEN.
Also, when it comes to the deity of Christ, notice...
(2) THE DEMONS ACKNOWLEDGED IT FROM HELL.
Look at Mark 3:11. We read, “And unclean spirits, when they saw him, fell down before him, and cried, saying, Thou art the Son of God.”
In this scripture we see the Lord as He encountered evil spirits.
Some have the mistaken idea that God and the devil is an almost even match when it comes to power and might.
I can assure you that if you believe that, you do not know the God of this Bible.
Look at this verse. It teaches us two things.
The evil spirits were subject to Jesus.
Notice, when the Lord approached them, the Bible says they “FELL DOWN BEFORE HIM...”
When the Lord came in his direction, THE DEMONS FELL DOWN BEFORE HIM.
Did you know that the Bible says one day EVERY KNEE SHALL BOW!
Today they may:
o Reject Him.
o Ignore Him.
o Snub Him.
o Curse Him.
But, one day they are going to BOW TO HIM!
Also notice, the evil spirits acknowledged who Jesus was.
The crowd was pressing to touch Him, but the evil spirits saw Him and bowed down before Him. It was not because they desired to worship Him. It was because:
They recognized HIS DEITY. They bowed before Him.
The second reason is...
(2) Because of fear.
• They were afraid He would cast them out and send them to hell before the end time.
• We live in an age today when people do not want to hear about hell.
• Nevertheless, hell is real, hell is hot, and hell is eternal.
The demons did not want to go to that dreadful place. They were afraid and pleaded with Jesus not to send them there yet.
THE DEMONS ACKNOWLEDGED THE DEITY OF CHRIST.
Also.
(3) THE DISCIPLES CONFESSED IT IN FAITH.
Look at Matthew 16:16. We read, “And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.”
• Jesus knew that GOD, THE FATHER, knew He was His divine Son.
• Also, He knew that the DEMONS knew who He was, but He wanted to make sure the DISCIPLES knew who He was.
He asked them one day, (Matt. 16:13b), “Whom do men say that I the Son of man am?”
This is one of the most important questions that a person can be asked.
That is, people cannot be saved if they do not know that Christ is the divine Son of God.
Illus: If Christ were not the divine Son of God, when He died on the cross, He did not die for our sins, He died for His own.
Had He not been the Son of God, He would have been in need of a Savior just as we are in need of a Savior.
Notice, Christ first asked, “...WHOM DO MEN SAY THAT I...AM?”
It is important to us that we know what others think of Christ because we know they cannot be saved if they do not believe in the deity of Christ.
Also, notice that Christ also wanted to know WHO HIS DISCIPLES THOUGHT HE WAS.
You see, the whole world can believe in the deity of Christ, but if we do not believe, we cannot be saved!
Peter knew exactly what the Lord was driving at and he said, “Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.”
Over and over again the disciples CONFESSED THAT CHRIST WAS THE SON OF GOD.
Illus: Remember the time when the disciples were on that ship with the Lord and the Lord calmed the storm?
In Matthew 14:33, they confessed, “...Of a truth thou art the Son of God.”
THE DISCIPLES CONFESSED IT!
(4) THE CENTURION AVOWED IT IN FEAR.
Look at Matthew 27:54. We read, “Now when the centurion, and they that were with him, watching Jesus, saw the earthquake, and those things that were done, they feared greatly, saying, truly this was the Son of God.”
The centurion most likely had seen many executed in like fashion many times, but when Christ died on that cross and the earth began to shake, he knew Christ was no ordinary man!
The Bible says, he avowed, “...Truly this was the Son of God.”
(5) THE SINNERS BELIEVE IT UNTO SALVATION.
Look at John 20:31. We read, “But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name.”
As you hear people talk, some would have us believe we are saved through some “set formula,” by saying just the right words.
Illus: In fact, one professing Christian had doubts about his salvation because he was not sure he had said the right words.
Listen, we are not saved by our saying of a combination of magic words.
We are saved because:
• We recognize we are lost,
• We cannot save ourselves,
• And realizing Jesus is the divine Son of God Who saves all who call upon Him SHALL BE SAVED. We are the SINNERS and He is the SAVIOR.
Acts 4:12 says, “Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.”
How frail we mortals are!
Illus: A germ that is so small that we cannot see it with the naked eye can knock the biggest man down and destroy him in a short period of time.
We mortals never know when our lives are going to be snatched from us.
However, when the Lord speaks of His life on earth, He said in John 10:18, "No man taketh it from me, but I lay it down of myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again."
What a powerful statement the Lord Jesus made.
WHY DID HE MAKE SUCH A STATEMENT?
Because He wanted us to know that he is LIKE US, but yet He is NOT LIKE US.
He was 100% man like we are, but also He is 100% God.
He is the only person who ever walked on this earth that can say about His life, “…I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again.”
Illus: We have no choice about death. There is coming a day in our life no doctor nor can no medication save us we are going to die.
But Jesus is not like us, HE IS THE SAVIOR OF THE WORLD AND HE WILLING LAYED HIS LIFE DOWN FOR OUR SALVATION.
The message of Easter is one of DEITY!
But also-
II. IT WAS A MESSAGE OF DEFEAT
We are very familiar with defeat.
We see it and talk about it practically every day of our lives.
• In the sports world, we sometimes hear about a football team who might run up a ridiculous score against the opposing team. And when a team does that, we say in amazement “That was some defeat!”
• In the political world, we sometimes hear about a presidential candidate winning almost all the states in his bid for the presidency. And we again speak in reference to the loosing candidate, we say, “What an overwhelming defeat!”
But listen, THE GREATEST OF ALL DEFEATS took place on a little hill in Jerusalem called Golgotha.
This was the greatest defeat that has ever occurred on the face of the earth.
WHY DO WE SAY IT WAS THE GREATEST DEFEAT?
• When a political leader is defeated, it may affect our economy and morals for decades, but we generally survive.
• When a football team is defeated, it really does not affect us that much. Emotionally we are disappointed, but in a few hours we get over it.
But listen, the defeat that Christ had over Satan on Calvary, affects every man and woman who has ever lived on the face of the earth for eternity!
We are ETERNAL BEINGS!!!!
REMEMBER HOW THIS DEFEAT OCCURRED?
In the beginning, it looked like the Lord was defeated.
He cried from that Cross, “It is finished!”
• When his mockers heard this, they thought that he was admitting defeat.
• No doubt the demons in hell were rejoicing, thinking he was admitting defeat.
• But that is not what He was admitting. He was acknowledging that every prophecy that concerned Him was finished.
• He was acknowledging that He had paid the price for the sins of mankind. It was finished, HE HAD DEFEATED SATAN ON THE CROSS.
There was nothing else to be done for lost mankind to be redeemed! NOT A THING!
Look at Hebrews 2:14. We read, "…That through death he might DESTROY him that had the power of death, that is, the devil."
Look at the word “Destroy”, this is the Greek word katargeo,(kat-arg-eh'-o) which means to render inoperative, to nullify, to make idle or ineffective, to render as impotent, as though no longer existing.
Never has a DEFEAT meant SO MUCH too SO MANY!
The message of the resurrection is a message of:
I.DEITY
II.DEFEAT
But also-
III. IT WAS A MESSAGE OF DESTINY
After He died on the cross and was buried, the biggest lie that has ever been told was told!
Illus: We categorize lies into small lies, big lies, whoppers, white lie, and black lies, but when they lied about the resurrection, this was the biggest lie that has ever been told.
WHAT WAS THE LIE?
While Jesus was alive, he had predicted that he would rise from the dead.
In John 2:19, He dared his enemies when He said, "Destroy this temple, and I will raise it again in three days."
Youtube – Dallas Holm & Praise - Rise Again
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Feb 23, 2020
Many times, Jesus told his disciples that he would be killed by the leaders in Jerusalem, but He would be raised to life on the third day.
The leaders who killed Jesus were aware of this prediction that he would rise from the dead. Although they did not believe it, they wanted to make sure that it would not happen.
WHAT DID THEY DO?
They set a guard around the tomb.
Look at Matthew 27:62-66. We read, “Now the next day, that followed the day of the preparation, the chief priests and Pharisees came together unto Pilate, Saying, Sir, we remember that that deceiver said, while he was yet alive, after three days I will rise again. Command therefore that the sepulchre be made sure until the third day, lest his disciples come by night, and steal him away, and say unto the people, He is risen from the dead: so the last error shall be worse than the first. Pilate said unto them, Ye have a watch: go your way, make it as sure as ye can. So they went, and made the sepulchre sure, sealing the stone, and setting a watch.”
They knew that the Lord had predicted His resurrection, and they wanted to make sure that those predictions did not come true. So the order was given for the tomb to be made secured.
Pilate said unto them, “Ye have a watch: go your way, MAKE IT AS SURE AS YE CAN. So they went, and made the sepulchre sure, sealing the stone, and setting a watch.”
They made the tomb secure by putting a seal on the stone, and posting the guard.
WHAT KIND OF SEAL WAS IT?
There were two kinds of seals
(1) While some Jerusalem tombs from the late Second Temple period boasted round (disk-shaped) rolling stones.
(2) It was more common to seal tombs with cork-shaped stones. The archaeological evidence suggests that the tomb of Jesus—the unused tomb of Joseph of Arimathea—would have been sealed with a cork-shaped stone.
DID THE PLANS OF THE CHIEF PRIESTS AND PHARISEES SUCCEED?
No! Despite their all their efforts, JESUS ROSE FROM THE DEAD.
The Jews that lied said that His disciples stole His body.
When they told this lie, they told the biggest lie that had ever been told.
WHY WAS THIS THE BIGGEST LIE THAT HAS EVER BEEN TOLD?
Because the resurrection of Christ is the greatest thing in the history of mankind. When someone tells a lie about the greatest thing that has ever occurred, it makes the lie the greatest lie.
The message of Easter is a MESSAGE OF DESTINY.
HE DID RISE FROM THE GRAVE and He said to all that believe in Him, "…Because I live, ye shall live also."
Conclusion:
There is nothing on this earth that affects us like the resurrection of Christ. ABSOLUTELY NOTHING!
For example:
(1) The resurrection proves that Jesus Christ is God.
Look at Romans 1:4. Speaking of Christ, it says, “And declared to be the Son of God with power…”
(2) Our salvation depends on our faith in the resurrection of Jesus Christ.
Look at Romans 10:9, “That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.”
This means that you cannot be a Christian unless you believe in the resurrection of Jesus Christ.
This tells us that even if some people are in churches, if they reject the resurrection of Jesus Christ, they are not Christians.
(3) The resurrection of Jesus Christ demonstrates to us that all the teachings of Jesus Christ are true.
Everything Jesus taught was true, including his great promise in John 6:40, “And this is the will of him that sent me, that everyone which seeth the Son, and believeth on him, may have everlasting life: and I will raise him up at the last day.”
Jesus' teachings concerning His person, His work, heaven, hell, and the future judgment are all true.
(4) Our own resurrection depends completely on the resurrection of Jesus Christ.
Look at 1 Thessalonians 4:14, "For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him."
(5) The power for our present Christian life is the power of his resurrection.
We read about this in Romans 6:4, “Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.”
People often ask, "How can we live this Christian life?" We can live it by the same power that raised Jesus Christ from the dead.
The Bible says, “…that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.”
WHAT IS EASTER?
I. IT WAS A MESSAGE OF DEITY
II. IT WAS A MESSAGE OF DEFEAT
III. IT WAS A MESSAGE OF DESTINY
When the Lord was here on earth, HE SAID HE WOULD RISE AGAIN…AND HE DID IT!!!
He said if we come to Him for salvation WHAT HE DID HE FOR HIMSELF HE WILL DO FOR US!!!
