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[0:00] I tell you really now about one of the most dramatic events in all of human history really isn't it truly it was the pivotal moment in all of time he is risen indeed we're going to go to Matthew 28 as we come to read the account one of the accounts of our Lord's raising from the dead and the discovery of that in Matthew 28 from verse 1 it reads 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 the two Marys going to the sepulchre the tomb and it says 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 his face was like lightning and his raiment white as snow and for fear of him the keepers did shake and became as dead men of course we had the Roman guards there it says they were quaking and shaking they became like dead men verse 5 it reads and the angel answered and said unto the women fear not for I know that you seek Jesus which was crucified he is not here for he is risen as he said come see the place where the Lord lay and go quickly and tell his disciples that he is risen from the dead and behold he goeth before you into Galilee there shall you see him lo I have told you and they departed quickly from the sepulchre with fear and great joy and did run to bring his disciples word and as they went to tell his disciples behold Jesus met them saying all hail and they came and held him by the feet and worshipped him and worshipped him then said Jesus unto them be not afraid go tell my brethren that they go into Galilee and there shall they see me let's go back to verse 5 it reads and the angel answered and said unto the women fear not fear not ye for I know that ye seek Jesus which was crucified the angel said ye seek Jesus they were looking for him at the tomb it's kind of ironic they were looking for the prince of life among the dead he wasn't there as Luke puts it in his account Luke 24 verse 5 through 6 and as they were afraid and bowed down their faces to the earth they said unto them why seek ye the living among the dead he is not here but is risen so the risen Christ is the risen Christ is the risen Christ is the one they sought and we see the response to this fact of his rising the risen Christ brings a sense of fear verse 8 they the Marys departed quickly from the sepulchre with fear with fear and great joy and did run to bring his disciples word so they knew fear these ones these Marys they knew fear here this was a fearful thing now I know we were talking with someone yesterday who talked about shying away from the fearful things of the Bible that you know they tried to avoid the scary bits of the Bible but I want to tell you this is a good kind of fear amen it's a good kind of fear to be fearful

[4:03] in this regard I fear that we would do well to have to know consider the awe of it the awesomeness of it the shock factor the wonder of it the almighty death defying power of God wow that's fearful isn't it bringing life out of death that's a fearful thing during the French Revolution someone went to a bishop and said the Christian religion what is it it would be easy to start a religion like that oh yes said the bishop one would only have to get crucified and rise again the third day now this is awesome isn't it it's amazing the fact of the resurrection the fact of the cross it's awe-inspiring the act of the awesome God who we know and there's a healthy fear a healthy sense of fear we would do well to have the fear of God that would be a good fear to have the sense of wonderment and amazement the excitement the glory of it the wonder of it truly verse 8 says there was both fear and also it says there was great joy great joy not just joy but great joy great joy and gladness the world experienced this kind of joy at his birth

[5:24] Matthew 2 verse 10 and Luke 2 verse 10 when they saw the star they rejoiced with exceeding great joy and the angel said unto them fear not for behold I bring you good tidings of great joy which shall be to all people so this truth of his coming evokes great joy in you and me that know him and when the Mary's came to the tomb they found it empty they were coming gloom and downheartedness this was to anoint the body to apply the spices and such they were expecting to find a dead corpse there but it was not there he was not there they came in gloom and downheartedness but they left with a spring in their step and beaming faces they had great joy great joy there was this was great news and it still is isn't it isn't it today great news great joy the empty tomb was caused for joy joy their beloved lord was alive again he is not here for he is risen come see the place where the lord lay and go quickly and tell his disciples that he has risen from the dead and behold he goeth before you into galilee there shall you see him and so on notice verse 7 it says go and tell go and tell this news that we hear we want to tell others about that's evangelism that's telling this message it's sharing it it's too good to keep to ourselves about 1930 there was a communist leader who journeyed from

[7:13] Moscow to Kiev his mission was to address this huge assembly here in Kiev and his subject was atheism this great communist leader great as the world would reckon and so for a solid hour he aimed his heavy artillery at Christianity hurling argument and ridicule and at last he was finished he thought he gave a glorious discourse about atheism and he viewed what seemed to be the smouldering ashes of men's faith and he asked the crowd are there any questions and a solitary man arose and asked permission to speak he mounted the platform and moved close to the communist and the audience was breathlessly silent as the man surveyed them first to the right then to the left and at last he shouts at the ancient orthodox greeting Christ is risen and the vast assembly arose as one man in response and it came crashing like the sound of a mighty avalanche he is risen indeed you know the atheism the lecture about atheism didn't convince the crowd because they had knowledge of

[8:19] Christ is risen Christ is risen indeed so this news is for telling this whole world needs this message this gospel this good news message it's the news the glad news of great joy the gospel glad news he is risen that's glad news for our soul it's joyful news for our world this is a joy that overcomes all fear and doubt and despair he is risen indeed indeed so the risen Christ he brings joy joy to share and we have glad tidings tidings of great joy this world needs to hear them brothers and sisters this world needs to hear this message and you're the ones your lips will tell them think of it joyless ones need the saviour Christless ones need his touch sin burdened ones need the burden bearer friends Christ is risen indeed and there's great joy there's great joy as they came there as we read how there was great joy when they came and left that empty tomb there is great joy there is great joy for the great sinner saved and transformed by his work and in verse 9 it says the Lord Jesus met them what a meeting what an encounter verse 9

[9:42] Matthew 28 verse 9 and as they the Mary's went to tell his disciples behold Jesus met them saying all hail and they came and held him by the feet and worshipped him the sadden heart can find comfort in Christ the grieving one can know an assurance a joy unspeakable and full of glory the risen Christ brings peace we see this fear this great joy thirdly we see this peace this peace here we could do with some peace in our world couldn't we there's a lot of talk about the opposite but we could do with some peace not only in our world but in our soul in all the turmoil and restlessness that comes as life throws curveballs he speaks peace he still speaks peace if we both hear him he still speaks peace to our soul to the ones in conflict and fretting and busyness torn people the risen Christ the risen Lord comes and he gets our attention all hail which means really peace to you he's essentially saying peace it's got the sense of rejoice this word hail it's got a sense of rejoice of gladness of praise it's got the sense of continuous joy of constant rejoicing there's that meaning that you could unpack from this all hail there's peace here he extends peace and comfort in Christ and as God's people you that have trusted Christ as your Lord and Saviour you have peace the world might be busy and chaotic and life could be tough and difficult but yet you have peace amen don't you believe that you have peace

[11:33] God says you have it you have peace and there is peace and comfort in Christ and one day ultimately it says that peace will be all prevailing and ever widespread globally and it says Revelation 21 4 of that ultimate peace when the prince of peace comes it says and God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes and there shall be no more death neither sorrow nor crying neither shall there be any more pain for the former things are passed away we can't really consider that that is going to be a reality it will be a day coming when there will be no more tears no more sorrow crying pain death what an assurance you can have of that peace and you can know that heaven sent peace in your heart and soul in the here and now you don't have to wait until the here after you can have it here and now by faith and so it tells us the God of hope in Romans 15 13 now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing don't you love that the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing that you may abound in hope through the power of the Holy Ghost there's so much there isn't there really just that verse really he still speaks peace the Prince of Peace he is the source of it he's the promise of it he's the giver of it peace provided the Prince of Peace he offers these terms of peace we have to accept these terms of unconditional surrender unconditional surrender when there's a war they sit the parties down and one party has got to sign terms of unconditional surrender friends we're at war with God but he wants to give peace we must surrender surrender let go of your striving your self effort simply trust simply believe simply receive from his hand there is peace peace is possible and it's from the risen Christ he's the one who offers it there's peace peace to the storm tossed to the overwhelmed peace to the oppressed!

[14:10] and tormented peace to the confused and harassed the risen Christ he extends peace to man and he speaks peace to us all so we've seen the response here of the risen Christ we've seen for some there was a sense of fear there was great joy there was one who extends and speaks peace at his presence his presence is peace what will our response be what will your response be to the risen Christ today he brings fear joy peace again in verse 9 we read that they worshipped him that's the ultimate response isn't it where they saw him Jesus met them he says all hail he says peace and they came and worshipped him will you worship him friends today will you worship will you bow down at his feet will you humble yourself and receive him

[15:13] I urge you to that today friends there's no telling how long until your knee shall bow and your tongue confess let it be now let it be today let it be this side of your mortality I urge you today I urge you today make personal peace with God make a personal decision to know him to trust him to meet with the risen Christ and I urge you you that believe to be a Christian living victoriously the resurrection is victory it's a promise of victory and as a believer the fact of the Lord Jesus risen from the dead it gives you and me that wonderful assurance that we can live life victoriously because the victory has been won it is finished he said everything was done for your victory in Revelation 1 18 it tells of the risen one I am he that liveth and was dead and behold I am alive forevermore amen and have the keys of hell and of death there's a great victory you can live victoriously you can be a victorious

[16:23] Christian in your life and that's not negating that you'll still have battles it's even more so that you can have victory in those battles there was a Muslim who became a Christian in Africa and someone asked this man why have you become a Christian and he said well it's like this suppose you were going down a road and the road forked into two directions and you didn't know which way to go and there in the fork of the road were two men one dead and one alive which one would you ask which way to go and he chose the one who's alive amen because he's no dead prophet he's alive and he's coming again this is no dead prophet this is a living saviour and he's coming again and he's the one who has the keys of hell and of death he is the mighty conqueror he is the victorious almighty God he is the victor over the last enemy death he is triumphant he has conquered death that's the resurrection he's conquered it he's smashed it he's pulverised it he's stomped it that death is vanquished through his rising again and you can be a victorious Christian because of his victory over death think of the victory you can have and walk in daily the victory that we can know in our daily lives

[17:46] Romans 8 talks about if the spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his spirit that dwelleth in you it's saying here that God's spirit dwells in you that believe this is the same spirit that raised up Jesus from the dead that's a wonderful promise isn't it to think of that and so I urge you be a Christian living victoriously and secondly I urge you to be a Christian living expectantly expectantly 1 Corinthians 15 we read of Christ risen from the dead he's become the first fruits of them that slept he's the first one in this occasion of the resurrection and it says since by man came death by man came also the resurrection of the dead we see in Christ the resurrection of the dead it says in Adam all die even so in Christ shall all be made alive but every man in his own order

[18:53] Christ the first fruits the first one afterwards they that are Christ at his coming so Christ's raising is a foretaste of our rising our resurrection at his coming the fact that our Lord Christ rose again victorious over death gives us an everlasting hope because our Lord has died and risen again we have his assurance his promise that we likewise shall rise and our loved ones that are saved will have recreated bodies and be made alive again so there's a wonderful expectancy you can have because this is all promised to you as we read in Acts 24 15 it tells there shall be a resurrection of the dead both of the just and unjust and we have hope towards God it says this word hope is a confident expectance a confident assurance further we read 1 Peter 1 3 blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead it's saying we should bless our God for his abundant mercy he's begotten us again we're born again we've given new life we're given a new creation and we've got a lively hope a living hope an everlasting hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead we've got an ever living hope that goes beyond the grave this hope it's not a short momentary hopefulness it's an everlasting confident expectation it's an eternal hope it's an everlasting confidence and we that have been born again can know that wonderful hope a preacher said this on Christ's resurrection the authenticity of the Bible stands or falls the Old Testament predicted it

[20:50] Christ witnessed it the disciples testified concerning it Paul the Apostle preached it Christ's resurrection is the infallible proof of his deity his Godhead it proves him to be the son of God it proves all the claims he made concerning himself it shows that God accepted him and his work and Christ's resurrection is that ground of our standing the certainty of our state it gives the assurance of eternal life it shows the believer is fully justified it gives the saints an accepted intercessor it secures the resurrection of those who put their faith in the Lord Jesus Christ where do you stand in relation to the risen Lord do you know him and the power of his resurrection you can do you can most certainly can do right here in Adelaide South Australia you can have that assurance that he's promised so many hundreds and hundreds of years ago that's written here in black and white and red in your Bible friends you can know him and the power of his resurrection and being a powerful

[22:01] Christian comes from being united with him let me quote another writer there's no middle ground with Christ's resurrection you cannot call him a great teacher and avoid what he taught that he was the only way of salvation he's either who he says he is or a madman what decision will you make your eternal destination hinges on how you answer that question we are all going to be dead it is a fact you will die in a sense you may be dead now the Bible says apart from relationship with Jesus Christ you are dead in your sins you're really only alive when you've experienced God's forgiveness when you're alive in God you can really live now of course we know unless Christ comes and takes us we will all go in the grave for some they'll be risen they'll be raised while alive but who's to know who will have that otherwise assuredly we're all going to end up buried somehow in the dust and so yet to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord there's no soul sleep as some falsely teach when you die you go immediately to be with the Lord if you're saved and then later your body catches up with the rest of you that's with him but so one day you'll have a new body you'll be risen it tells how we buried with him in baptism as that picture of his work of the cross and you're risen with him it says through the faith of the operation of God who raised him from the dead so there's a wonderful sense where we risen with him so we've got that wonderful assurance of his promise that victory that expectancy and we've got a reason for hope as well and Peter talks about a hope that's within us you've actually got a hope that's inside of you it tells in 1 Peter 3 15

[24:04] Peter writes but sanctify regard the Lord as holy in your hearts it says be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear Christ's resurrection is that foretaste of our own at his second coming the dead will rise everyone will rise but there's only two categories the saints and the wicked John 5 our Lord says marvel not the hour is coming he says and the which all that are in the grave shall hear his voice and shall come forth it says they that have done good unto the resurrection of life they that have done evil unto the resurrection of damnation so your decision now seals your fate then resurrection isn't limited to the distant future the moment you commit yourself to Christ you become truly alive eternal life begins now it's it's a wonderful concept isn't it to think that you have eternal life now that believe you have it it's his promise this is the record

[25:15] God has given past tense given it to you you have it as a possession you that believe in the name of the son of God eternal life can begin at the very moment and it does begin at the very moment you trust him and we can be thankful for that great hope the hope that we have the resurrection hope is something we can know and we're actually in these verses here in John 20 where the disciple Thomas was there as he had to catch up the others had already had an encounter Thomas was he wasn't in church he missed out so don't miss church you'll be like Thomas but Thomas missed out he wasn't at the meeting the previous meeting but he came to the second meeting and Thomas was there he doubted the doors were shut and suddenly Christ appears and stands in the mist he says peace be unto you and then said he to Thomas reach here thy finger and behold thy my hands and reach here thy hand and thrust it into my side be not faithless but believing

[26:17] Thomas had said I'm not going to believe unless I put my finger in his side unless I touch him and the Lord challenges him he says come on then Thomas reach your finger here behold my hands see the hole in my hands reach into my side see the wound in my side be not faithless but believing and don't you just love this response of Thomas Thomas answered unto him and said my Lord and my God my Lord and my God now that discounts all the false cults that would deny the deity of Christ that would downgrade Christ as to some good prophet merely that no he is my Lord and my God and we can confess that like Thomas did Jesus saith unto him Thomas because they have seen me they have believed blessed are they that's you and me that have not seen and yet have believed we can't see the risen Christ today but we can know him amen you can know him yes you can everyone here can know him you may not see him not yet but you can know him but you can know him just as truly as

[27:30] Thomas believed you can believe and blessed are they that have not seen and yet have believed so friends we think of the risen Christ he's risen he's alive he's living in hearts by faith and this same glorious power that raised him from the dead the same glorious power the power of his resurrection is working in you and me Paul tells we can know him the risen Lord we can know the power of his resurrection and such think of that and it's the same spirit that raised Christ from the dead has the residence of your heart he's dwelling there by faith the same power that raised Christ from the dead is dwelling in you the power of the gospel the power of

[28:33] God the power of God unto salvation it talks about the power of God that keeps you is such such a powerful factor isn't it the risen Lord our risen saviour the power of his resurrection we can know that today we might have a sense of fear of great joy we might have this expectancy to know the power of his resurrection believers should live victoriously to know the victory of the cross the victory of the resurrection death is vanquished believers should live expectantly because one day we will all be raised at his coming the dead in Christ shall rise first we here alive and remain shall be caught up and everyone's going to get a new body one way or the other and I'm looking forward to it too so we can live expectantly and friends we can live hopefully because this is a hope and it's a confident hope an expectation and he says go and tell that's what he says it's incumbent on you and me to go and tell this is good news it's too good to not share

[29:54] I urge you to know that and it's powerful the power of the resurrection the same power is in you so know his power the power to live your life for him the power of God unto salvation that's the gospel he died was buried rose again and he's coming again the gospel is the same power the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believes and we are kept by the power of God so there's a piece there that wow it's his work from beginning to end isn't it he does the full bit the full the full amount of your saving is fully in his hands so trust him simply trust that trust him let's pray Lord we thank you for your grace that gives us such wondrous things Lord for the tremendous awesome fearful thing of an empty tomb of a risen saviour this great joy and Lord we want to go tell like you tell us to help us to do that

[31:08]  Lord fill us with your spirit the same power that raised Christ from the dead and give us that same victory glory in our daily walk we'll pray for anyone here present yet to say Jesus Christ is Lord that today might be the day they'll just say that Jesus Christ is Lord my Lord my Lord we praise you Lord in Jesus name amen