RESURRECTION
(Too Late is never Too Late)
TEXT - John 11:25 Jesus told her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Those who believe in me, even though they die like everyone else, will live again.
INTRODUCTION
Today is Resurrection Sunday; it is a day of tremendous hope and victory for every person.
Today God says to us, “Your too late is not too late for me.”
The Psalmist put into these words - Psalm 30:5 Weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning.
The fact that Jesus rose again means for each of us that there is life after death. Many people shun that TRUTH. But if that was the case then why, when a tragedy strikes in life do we fight on. Because God has put in a human spirit the TRUTH that too late is not too late for Him.
Illust - Right now in Nth Queensland, people’s lives, homes, business have been totally wiped out by Cyclone Larry. Yet people are cleaning up and going again. Why? Built into the human spirit by God is the TRUTH that somehow and in someway, it can all rise again, it can be resurrected.
At the Good Friday Community Service, Peter Overton in his message said, “Good Friday represents the worse man could do.” Well I am here to tell you that today, “Resurrection Sunday represents the best God can do!”
If in some area of your life, you are facing a Good Friday situation - all appears lost, doomed and defeated. Then Resurrection Sunday, Jesus rising again, is a message of hope, light and victory for you. It maybe Friday, but Sunday’s on the way.
PLAY CD - Carman “Sunday’s on the Way”
Jesus said, “Those who believe in me - I am the resurrection and the life – though they die …. will live again.”
Friend, I want to inform you today that Jesus was not only talking about eternity and heaven, He talking about life right here and now.
The context of this statement was to Mary, whose brother had died. She had faith to believe that her brother would rise again on the Resurrection Day, in the future, but Jesus needed her to have faith to make the day they were living NOW – Resurrection Day. Jesus was not just giving her hope in regards to eternity for her brother, but for that situation right there and then.
Today, I want to look at the three resurrections that occurred in Jesus’ ministry and relate them to three areas of life we will all face at sometime and that God can bring resurrection to them.
1. RESURRECTION OF JAIRUS DAUGHTER - RETURNING THE VISION
Luke 8:40-56
Any parent here knows and understands what Jairus is going through. Contained in the life of his little girl were dreams and visions. Maybe Jairus had a vision of his daughter growing up into a beautiful young woman, vision of the wedding day, vision of holding his grandchildren. So many visions and dreams and they are lying cold on his daughter’s bed. As life is draining from her body, life drains from those visions.
All of us have and will experience similar situations. The life source of our visions maybe contained in many different things - Finances, relationships with other people, church life, job security etc.
But let me take the example of our children. They are not maybe dying of a physical disease. But what about attitude disease, you struggle to communicate with them, you see them wandering down the wrong path of life. Your vision for them is dying.
I love reading the Jesus story of the Prodigal Son, there is so much imagery and underlining truth. Here is a father seeing his son, leave home and its values and beliefs and begin a life of waste. If this was in our modern setting, he would have got messages about his son’s condition. All the father’s visions for his son were dying. But I love this, when the son came home, the father saw him a far off. Why? He was looking for his son on the horizon. Why? He had a belief in a resurrection – too late is not too late for God.
Whatever is the life source of your visions and dreams? If today, it lies cold, all possibilities are gone. The word of the Lord to you today is - “Don’t be afraid. Just trust me (only believe), and it will be all right.”
Jesus has a totally different perspective on the situation. To the people as He arrived at the house, the girl was dead, to Jesus she was sleeping. To see resurrection of our vision we need to change our perspective or what the life source of our vision is. We have to move the vision of our vision from our earthly source to a heavenly source.
For the disciples, they are visions and dreams that had, as their life source Jesus – the prophet, the teacher. Listen to the words of two of them on the Emmaus Road, when the resurrected Jesus asks them, “What things have been happening?”
“The things that happened to Jesus, the man from Nazareth,” they said. “He was a prophet who did wonderful miracles. He was a mighty teacher, highly regarded by both God and all the people. 20 But our leading priests and other religious leaders arrested him and handed him over to be condemned to death, and they crucified him. 21 We had thought (had dreams and visions that) he was the Messiah who had come to rescue Israel. That all happened three days ago. Luke 24:19-21
Then Jesus explains to them all the prophecies and stays for tea with them and the Bible says. “As they sat down to eat, he took a small loaf of bread, asked God’s blessing on it, broke it, then gave it to them. 31 Suddenly, their eyes were opened, and they recognized him.”
Luke 24:30-31
What did they see? No longer the man from Nazareth who died on Good Friday, but the Son of God risen on Resurrection Sunday. Their vision now had a new life source.
Resurrection Sunday says that God can return your vision and dreams.
2. RESURRECTION OF THE NAIN’S WIDOW’S ONLY SON - REGAINING YOUR
FUTURE
Luke 7:11-17
For the woman in this story her husband had already died and now her only son is dead. It means here future is very grim in deed. For in those days, women had no other means of support expect through the male members of the family and for this woman both of them were now dead. And with the passing of your only son, came also the passing of any viable future. She would have had nothing.
Her morning and sadness would not only have been for her son, whom I am sure she loved very deeply being her only son, but also because once this funeral day was over and the crowds were gone. She will be all alone with nothing and no future.
For this widow of Nain, her future required that her only son remain alive. What is it for us today? What do we require to remain alive for our future to exist? If that thing was taken from you, if that thing was to die and your future was to vanish, then you will need to know and understand the significance of Resurrection Sunday. It means it is not too late.
David in the OT had his future prophesied over him. You are going to be the next king. Yet time and time again in his life, that future seemed dead and buried. Yet David was able to write these words. My future is in your hands. …. Psalm 31:15
I think it is symbolically significant that in this resurrection of the widow’s son, it says that Jesus ‘touched’ the coffin and the people remarked, “We have seen the hand of God at work today.”
Our future is not in the hands of whatever we think it is in the hands of - government policy, Grade 12 Scores for Uni., buying a house etc.
Our future is in the hands of Jesus. Those things may die, fail to eventuate, not come up to standard. “I may not know what the future holds but I know who holds the future”
Isaiah 53:1-3 Who has believed our report? And to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed? For He shall grow up before Him as a tender plant, And as a root out of dry ground.
To whom has the arm/hand of the Lord been revealed? Then the writer gives an illustration in response. He (speaking of Jesus) grew up …. as a tender plant …. as a root out of dry ground.
Question? How well does a plant grow in dry ground? One translation uses the term sterile ground – ground with no life giving properties. Answer – not very well of at all.
Jesus, as our example, grew up into his future not because he had the right society soil, education environment, cultural conditions. But because the arm of the Lord, the hand of God was upon his life.
There is wonderful and powerful story in Jeremiah 18:1-6 The LORD gave another message to Jeremiah. He said, 2 “Go down to the shop where clay pots and jars are made. I will speak to you while you are there.” 3 So I did as he told me and found the potter working at his wheel. 4 But the jar he was making did not turn out as he had hoped, so the potter squashed the jar into a lump of clay and started again.
5 Then the LORD gave me this message: 6 “O Israel, can I not do to you as this potter has done to his clay? As the clay is in the potter’s hand, so are you in my hand.
If you future right now appears totally messed up and it is not turning out like you thought, it is Resurrection Sunday, which means, if you put your whole life in God’s hands, He can start again and remake / regain your future.
3. RESURRECTION OF LAZARUS - RESTORING FAITH
John 11:1-44
Jesus heard Mary and Martha’s request / prayer for Him to come. But He did not answer them as they wanted or in their time frame. Every had God do that to your prayers?
What is the issue here? FAITH Because Jesus did not answer the prayers like they thought He would or should. Faith is now lost. Listen to the statements through out this story.
“Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. – Martha
“Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.” – Mary
Why couldn’t he keep Lazarus from dying?” – the mourners.
And then Jesus has he stands before the tomb prayers these words - but I said it out loud for the sake of all these people standing here, so they will believe you sent me.”
Faith stands not on answered prayers but on announced Words. Jesus said - “I AM the resurrection and the life. Those who believe in me, even though they die … will live again.”
Jesus may not have come through like we would like Him too, but He still is the I AM…..
Your family member may not have been healed and died but Jesus is still I AM
The bill is over due and God did come through with the finance but Jesus is still I AM
The person is still getting on your nerves, God has not changed them but Jesus is still I AM.
Hebrews 11:1, 6 Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. ……. without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.
Faith is the substance of hope, the evidence of the unseen. The substance of the Christian life, the evidence of the Christian walk is faith. So much of how God wants us to live as believers in the arena of hope and the field of the unseen. God want us to believe that HE IS, not in what we seen and have.
You may have lost your faith today. God did not come through like you wanted. Well maybe your faith was not founded right. It was based on what God could DO for you, rather than what God wants to BE to you. He says - I AM the resurrection and the life, believe that no matter what.
Resurrection Sunday tells us that we must still trust Him, believe in Him have faith in Him.
CONCLUSION
But someone here might say - Pastor, My life is too messed up. God can not do anything with me.
Pastor, I my life is too far gone. I have been living like this for too long. God can not change me.
Pastor, It is too late for me. God can not save me.
Friend today, On Good Friday there hung with Jesus a thief. A messed up life. In the last moments of life. Many would have said of that man, “It is too late for him!”
But as that thief hung along side Jesus and with one of his final breathes he said, “Jesus remember me when you come into your Kingdom”
I want you to notice a word in that sentence - when. He did not say if you come into your kingdom but when. That thief expressed faith in the resurrection – that his too late was not too late for God.
Jesus response was to him and to all of us today - I assure you, today you will be with me in paradise.
Resurrection Sunday is our assurance that ‘Our too late is not too late for God.”
