(A sermon by Pastor Tommy L. Davis, New Jerusalem Missionary Baptist Church, Motts, Alabama)
Text: Mark 16:1-4
1 And when the sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, and Salome, had bought sweet spices, that they might come and anoint him.
2 And very early in the morning the first day of the week, they came unto the sepulchre at the rising of the sun.
3 And they said among themselves, Who shall roll us away the stone from the door of the sepulchre?
4 And when they looked, they saw that the stone was rolled away: for it was very great.
Subject: DON’T LET THE STONE STOP YOU
My Brothers and Sisters we greet you on this Easter Sunday in the year of our Lord 2004. This is the day that the Lord has made; a day that has been set aside annually to acknowledge and celebrate the death and resurrection of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
But as we celebrate on THIS Easter Sunday, I want you to know and understand that Easter is not all about the Easter bunny, hippity hopping along and bringing chocolate eggs for you to forget about your New Year’s resolution diet and get your eat on.
v Easter is not about hiding Spring colored eggs over every inch of a yard or field, for little children to lose their minds trying to find them.
v Easter is not about buying a brand new Easter suit, a new Easter dress, a new Easter hat, or some new Easter shoes.
v Easter is not about the Easter madness sale at Sears or the Easter white sale at J.C. Penney.
v Let the truth be told, Easter is not even about a certain day and a certain time of the year.
On the contrary, Easter, or should I say, Resurrection Day, should be celebrated every day, not just on Easter Sunday morning as designated on our man-made calendar.
v Easter should be celebrated every morning we open up our eyes and can still see the beauty and glory of the day.
v Easter should be celebrated every time we see our children running and playing in the house or in the yard.
v Easter should be celebrated every time you look at your pay check and realize that you’ve gotten another pay raise on your job.
v Easter should be celebrated every time you pass by an accident on the road, realizing that it could have been you.
v Easter should be celebrated every time one of our loved ones has transitioned from this life to eternal rest.
For Christ died that we might have grace and mercy everlasting. Not a once a year grace. Not a some time grace. But a grace that’s 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 52 weeks a year, every single year for the rest of eternity.
Yes, my brothers and sisters, we are to celebrate Jesus, because what he did for us, is unlike anything that anyone else will ever do for us in our lives. Yes, there may come a time when someone may give up their life to save yours. I know there are some parents who would give up their own lives to save the life of one of their children, but that saving power is just a physical thing. All you can do is save the physical body. And even in that instance of physical saving, there’s no guarantee that your child will live beyond the very next moment. They are still, at some point, subject to a physical death.
But thank GOD for a man named Jesus, who gave up His life that we might be able to live life and live it more abundantly. He gave up His life – He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquity, the chastisement of peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we are healed. Yeah, Yeah, we are healed from the sickness of sin. Healed from eternal damnation. Healed from a carnal existence. He gave up His life that we are no longer condemned to die, but grace and mercy has been extended by the Almighty God, by El-Elohim-Israel, by El-Shadai, by Jehovah-jireh, Jehovah-rophe, Jehovah-shalom, Jehovah-nissi, Jehovah-shammah, and Jehovan-tsidkenu. What He did for us, no one else will ever be able do! So there is a greater significance and greater benefits involved when we look at Him giving up His life for ours.
My brothers and sisters, the Bible tells us that:
v after Jesus had his hands and feet nailed viciously to that old wooden cross;
v after Jesus had asked GOD to forgive us, knowing that we must have been crazy and incognizant of what WE – and I say we because every time we sin, we become a part of those that crucified Christ – so what we were doing to the Son of the Most High God;
v after Jesus had told the thief on the cross next to him that he would see paradise on THAT day;
v after Jesus told John behold your mother, and Mary, behold your son;
v after He had cried out in agony and pain, “Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?” which is to say, “My God, My God, Why hast thou forsaken me?”;
v after he yelled “It is finished” and hung His noble head, giving up the very life that He held in His own hands;
v after they had pieced Him in his side with a spear to verify that He was truly dead;
The Bible tells us that a man by the name of Joseph who hailed from a place called Aramithea, asked the Roman governor, Pilot, if he could take the body of our Lord Jesus and put it in a tomb that he had reserved for his own burial. After receiving permission, the body of Jesus was removed from the cross and placed into that borrowed tomb.
But how many of you know this morning that the enemy is never secure in his victory over you. The enemy is never comfortable in his feeling that he has defeated you. The enemy never knows whether to believe that you’ve been defeated or whether to think that you’re going to rise back up in spite of his oppressing you. That’s why he keeps coming back to attack you over and over again. But tell your neighbor, “Neighbor, that’s another sermon; you’ll have to come back to catch that one.”
The bible tells us that Jewish leaders went to Pilot and requested that a huge stone and armed guards be placed in front of the tomb so that no one would be able to steal the body and claim that Christ was alive.
And under these orders, the Roman army ensured that a huge stone was rolled in front of the tomb in such a manner that it sealed its entrance, that no one could enter or exit. They used a huge stone, an enormous boulder, a great big rock to seal the tomb of Jesus, the Christ.
My brothers and sisters this stone is just one of many stones that appear in the Bible, and as we exegete this passage we must understand that the stone of itself represents a burden. Yes, Jesus had died and his death was a burden upon all of those that loved Him. But to add fuel to the fire, they added the burden of a stone. IF there was any hope in him overcoming the burden of death, then it was diminished with the thought of there being no escape beyond the burden of the stone.
You see, my brothers and sisters, symbolically, the stone is a burden that can not be easily moved. The Romans used a huge stone because they knew that there were not enough people who could move it without causing a lot of commotion and being noticed. Have I got a witness?
And right now in here today, there are some of us that are weighed down by the stone that has been cast upon us. Some of us are bearing the stone of financial difficulty. Some of us are bearing the stone of depression. Some of us are bearing the stone of guilt. Some of us are bearing the stone of a broken heart. Some of us are bearing the stone of ill health. Some of us are bearing the stone of a broken marriage, a broken family, or just being spiritually, morally, mentally, and physically BROKE. Being broke is a heavy burden. Can I get a witness?
Proverb 27:3 tells us that a stone is heavy. And this stone that’s weighing down on us is huge; it’s enormous, and if it’s ever removed from us everybody would take notice, because there would be a significant change in us. Because with this heavy stone on our back, we can sometimes be unbearable to deal with. As a matter of fact, sometimes life, even for us who are rooted in the Word, seems like it’s just too much for us to even bear. And that’s just how the enemy wants you to feel. But tell your neighbor: DON’T LET THE STONE STOP YOU.
Isaiah 8:14 says that a stone can be a stone of stumbling. In other words, a stone can trip you up. You may think you’re doing okay. You may think that you’ve got it going on. You may think that you’re walking the straight and the narrow. You may even think that you are so close to Christ that nothing can get next you. But then, all of a sudden, you trip because the devil has put a well placed stone of stumbling in your path. But I want you to know that if you trip, don’t fret, just try to catch your balance and keep on keeping on. If you trip, don’t give up on what you set out to accomplish. And even if you stumble and fall, get back up on your feet, dust yourself off, straighten out your clothes and your walk, BUT DON’T LET THE STONE STOP YOU.
Zechariah 12:3 tells us that stones are burdensome. They are not meant to be easy. They are not meant to accommodate your lifestyle. They are not meant to fit into YOUR scheme of things. They are not meant to bring efficiency to your life. But they are meant to alter the way you do things. They are meant to alter the way you see things. They are meant to get in your way, to hinder you, and even stop you from accomplishing anything that GOD wants you to do. They are burdensome. Have I got a witness?
And yet, God gives us a way out of no way. Because I can hear the Psalmist say in Psalm 55:22, to Cast thy burden upon the Lord and He shall sustain thee. If there’s anybody hear today who knows that GOD can, and that GOD will sustain you, you ought to tell your neighbor “GIVE your burdens to the LORD and DON’T LET THE STONE STOP YOU.”
Let me move on. My brothers and sisters, stones are designed to break you. Stones are immovable and capable of breaking most substances. Matthew 21:44 goes as far as saying that “whosoever shall fall on this stone shall be broken.” That’s because stones are hard and difficult to overcome. They can hurt and may even kill you if you are hit by one. That’s why stoning was the most common form of carrying out a sentence on someone who had been condemned to death.
Stones can kill you. If you don’t believe me, just ask a little shepherd boy named David. The Bible tells us that David used 3 smooth stones to slay a Philistine giant called Goliath. Everyone in the army of Israel was afraid of this giant. Everyone was overcome by his size and his ferociousness. And yet with three smooth stones, David overcame this great big giant, causing him to fall to his death. And they were small stones. So imagine what a great big stone can do to you. My brothers and sisters, don’t be mistaken, stones can kill you.
In our text, it is assumingly with this huge stone amassed in front of the tomb of Jesus Christ, that Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of Jesus, and Salome began their journey to the tomb to anoint the body on Sunday morning. We know it was Sunday morning because the Bible says that it was the first day of the week. The first day of the week followed the Jewish Sabbath which, during these times of antiquity, fell on Saturday.
These ladies began to walk to the tomb, unbeknownst to them how they would be able to remove the stone and anoint the body of Jesus. Remember, this was large stone. The three of them together would not be able to remove it. It was a burdensome stone. If they were to give it their all, they would still be unable to roll the stone away. It was a difficult stone and yet despite the difficulty that faced them, they began their journey toward the stone.
My brothers and sisters it would have been easy for these women to not even begin their journey, knowing that this huge stone was standing in their way, and yet they went on anyhow. Oh can’t you hear them talking as they walked along the way, Who is going to move the stone out of our way?
My brothers and sisters, on this Resurrection Sunday morning, I want to encourage you to be more like these women of faith. They knew that this stone was blocking their destination, and yet, they would not let the stone stop them. Have I got a witness?
When you find yourselves climbing up the rough side of the mountain - bills are many, but dollars are few – don’t let the stone stop you!
When your name is scandalized and dragged through the miry clay don’t let the stone stop you!
When you come across someone who knows not the LORD, and their heart is cold, stony, and impenetrable, keep on giving them LOVE anyhow, and don’t let the stone stop you.
When your health is failing you and you’re lying on your bed of affliction, you ought to look up to the hills from whence cometh your help, and don’t let the stone stop you.
When you don’t know how you’re going to finish your education because you don’t have the necessary funds, don’t let the stone stop you.
You see the devil wants the stone to stop you today.
v The devil wants the stone to stop your marriage from working.
v The devil wants the stone to stop your financial blessing.
v The devil wants the stone to stop you from knowing God’s plan for your life, that can be found in His Word.
v The devil wants your family to fail.
v The devil wants you job to be a burden to you.
v The devil wants to stop you from getting your education.
v The devil wants to stop you from being a success, that way, you can’t help nobody else.
v The devil wants to stop you from worshipping and praising GOD.
But if there are any saints in this place, who are willing, to help bear the infirmities of the weak, you ought to tell your neighbor: “NEIGHBOR, DON’T LET THE STONE STOP YOU.”
You see, I don’t know about you, Church, but I know a stone, that’s on my side. My stone is bigger than any stone that the devil can throw my way. My stone is bigger than any stumbling block that the devil can lay down before me. My stone is just like a mountain; and I can hide behind my mountain of a stone when the going gets a little rough; yes, I can! Because I heard, I heard, I heard, I heard, Jesus say to Peter, on THIS ROCK or as some version say, on THIS STONE, I will build my church and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. Have I got a witness in here?
I heard, I heard a songwriters say: In times like these, we need a savior; in times like these, we need an anchor; be very sure, be very sure, your anchor holds and grips the solid rock. This rock is Jesus. Yes he’s the one, this Rock is Jesus, the only Son. Be very sure. Be very sure. Your anchor holds and grips the solid rock.
Is there anybody here that knows today that they’re anchored in the ROCK of AGES? He’s a rock, that’s been around since the beginning of time. For I can hear John, calling Him the Word and saying, In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. Ain’t the Lord alright?
The last thing that I need to let you know this morning, is that if you keep your hands firmly attached to the gospel plough, if you stay anchored in the LORD of LORDS and the KING of KINGS, and don’t turn back from the almighty GOD, there’s another kind of stone that John says in the book of Revelation, will be our inheritance.
In Revelation 2:17 – I can hear John saying “He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the hidden manna, and will give him a white stone, and in the stone a new name written, which no man knoweth saving he that receiveth it.” Oh Lord!
I’m glad this morning, that if I can make it into the kingdom of God; if you can make it into His presence, He’s got a new name waiting inside a white stone. I don’t know about you, but I want my white stone with my new name in it. You see my name down here on earth has been criticized, it’s been scandalized, it’s been victimized, and it’s sho’ ‘nuf been ostracized. But when heaven and earth passes away, and I’m standing on the Word of God, I’ll have my new name, and nobody, nobody, nobody will be able to talk about me any more. No body will be able to curse my name any more. Nobody will be able to use my name in vain.
And don’t get jealous of me, GOD has enough white stones to go around for everyone.
That’s why, Jesus died until the blood, came streaming down.
v He died, until the sun, the stars, and the moon refused to shine.
v He died, until the earth began to rock and reel.
v He died, until the veil of the temple was torn in two.
But the Bible tells me early, one Sunday morning, as Mary Magdalene, Mary His mother, and Salome, went to the tomb, the stone had already been rolled away. Have I got a witness?
And an angel sitting on top of that big stone told them, WHY SEEK YE THE LIVING AMONG THE DEAD. It was early, one Sunday morning, before the break of day, JESUS ROSE WITH ALL POWER, ALL POWER, ALL POWER IN HIS HANDS. He’s got power to roll your stone away. He’s got power to pick you up, turn you around, place your feet on solid ground.
Do you know Him? Have you tried Him?
