The Message Left in the Tomb

Romans 4

INTRODUCTION

[On Feb. 27, 1991] In Iraq, it was the height of the first Gulf War.  A woman by the name of Ruth Dillow received the worst message that a mom could ever receive.  Her son, Clayton Carpenter, Private, First Class, had stepped on a land mine in the Persian Gulf and he was dead.  In the days following she grieved the loss of her son, and although people tried to console her, there just isn't any comfort that can assuage the grieving mom - no words that can be whispered.  Three days after receiving the message of the death of her son, the phone rang.  She picked up the phone, and on the other end of the line there was a voice that said, "Mom, it's me.  I'm alive."  She didn't believe it.  She thought it was some kind of a cruel joke and as he continued to speak, she recognized his voice.  Her son was alive!  She said she laughed, she cried, she rejoiced - what seemed like a hopeless situation was radically transformed into the greatest day of her life.  What a message she received this time!

Found in the tomb—No body, nobody!…but there were grave-clothes, a napkin, 75 lbs. of spices...& A SERMON?!  It wasn’t graffiti carved in the rock, but it surely was a great message, and anyone can find it there today.

        4 of the greatest words anywhere in the Bible – Mt. 28:6… “He is not here!”

The first Easter message was written all over the empty tomb…

1.    A Message of...Pardon. Rom 4:24-25

Romans 4:24-25

    …for us also, to whom it shall be imputed, if we believe on him that raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead; [25] Who was delivered for our offences, and was raised again for our justification.

        [This was proof that “the sacrifice was accepted”!]

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.

A.    The Message of Pardon in His…Death. “Father, forgive them”

But also…

B.    The Message of Pardon in His…Deliverance.

        Conquering death makes Him the only One ever to claim to be God and then prove it!  And so it is part of our salvation experience.
 

2.    A Message of…Peace. John 20:19-21

John 20:19-21

    Then the same day at evening, being the first day of the week, when the doors were shut where the disciples were assembled for fear of the Jews, came Jesus and stood in the midst, and saith unto them, Peace be unto you. [20] And when he had so said, he shewed unto them his hands and his side. Then were the disciples glad, when they saw the Lord. [21] Then said Jesus to them again, Peace be unto you: as my Father hath sent me, even so send I you.

A.    This Peace is a…Pronounced Peace. v 19

B.    This Peace is to be a…Published Peace. v 21

Illustration

The bathtub was invented in 1850 and the phone in 1875. In 1850, you could have sat in the tub without having the phone ring.

        The phone became an enemy to peace!

Illustration

Five great enemies to peace: greed, ambition, envy, anger, and pride. [in other words:  sin!] - Petrarch

Peace from Above

Whenever I am troubled, and lost in deep despair,

I bundle all my troubles up, and go to God in prayer,

I tell Him I am heart-sick , and lost and lonely too,

That I am deeply burdened, and don't know what to do.

But I know He stilled the tempest, and calmed the angry sea,

And I humbly ask if in His love, He'll do the same for me.

Then I just keep quiet, and think on thoughts of peace,

And as I abide in stillness, my restless murmurings cease.

-- Helen Steiner Rice

Peace is not the absence of trouble, but the presence of God.
-- J. Oswald Sanders
 

3.    A Message of…Purity. Rom 6:8-12 

Romans 6:8-12

    Now if we be dead with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with him: [9] Knowing that Christ being raised from the dead dieth no more; death hath no more dominion over him. [10] For in that he died, he died unto sin once: but in that he liveth, he liveth unto God. [11] Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord. [12] Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof.

A.    Purity by…Consideration. v 11 [“reckon”= account, mark it down, chalk it up!]

B.    Purity By…Command. v 12

The world needs to see purity in Christians.  And God is looking for it too, like He did last week at Communion.  So we must “examine ourselves”…put the divine stethoscope of God’s Word to our heart and see where we’re out of rhythm.

The Bread is unleavened, a reminder of Christ’s perfection in his human body, which went thru hell for us, and was nailed to His cross.

The Cup [fruit of the vine] is not wine, not fermented, which would ruin the picture of Christ’s sinlessness and pure blood as well.

        His blood must be pure to wash away our sins. 

You cannot partake and should not unless you have that same purity…not that you are sinless, but that you are covered by that sinless blood!

        Christians aren’t sinless, but we SHOULD sin LESS!  It’s all about desire.  True repentance is not perfection, but turning from sin and doing our best to head in God’s direction.  We shouldn’t partake of the Lord’s Table w/ known sin in our life, nor w/ the knowledge that we intend to continue in any sin…not the least of which is a sin of omission…failing to follow God’s command to have a church and to be faithful in attendance.  Any of our “Easter Attenders” are welcome all year long!

So, before partaking of the LORD’S SUPPER…

Consider I Cor. 11

²⁶For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do show the Lord’s death till he come. ²⁷Wherefore whosoever shall eat this bread, and drink this cup of the Lord, unworthily, shall be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord. ²⁸But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of that bread, and drink of that cup. ²⁹For he that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh damnation to himself, not discerning the Lord’s body. ³⁰For this cause many are weak and sickly among you, and many sleep. ³¹For if we would judge ourselves, we should not be judged.

4.    A Message of…Power. Eph 1:19-20 

Eph. 1:19-20

    And what is the exceeding greatness of his power to us-ward who believe, according to the working of his mighty power, [20] Which he wrought in Christ, when he raised him from the dead, and set him at his own right hand in the heavenly places,

A.    This is a…Surpassing Power.  v 19

B.    This is a…Seated Power.   v 20

Illustration
The renowned conductor Reichel was leading a great orchestra and choir in the final rehearsal of “The Messiah.”  They had come to that point where the soprano soloist takes up the refrain, "I know that my Redeemer liveth." With the chorus quiet, her elegant voice rang out. It was marked by perfect technique in breathing and enunciation. She sang with near musical perfection.

As the final note faded into silence, the entire orchestra expected to see the conductor's nod of approval. But instead, he stepped down from the podium and made his way to the singer. With a look of concern, he said, "My daughter, you do not really know that your Redeemer lives, do you?" "Why, yes," she blushingly replied. "Then sing it!" cried Reichel. "Tell it to me so that I will know, and all who hear you will know that you know the joy and power of it!" Turning to the orchestra, he motioned to begin again. This time the soloist sang the truth as she knew it in her own soul. Those listening wept under the powerful witness.

5.    A Message of…Position. Eph 2:4-6 

Eph. 2:4-6

    But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, [5] Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;) [6] And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus:

A.    We have a…Resurrected Position. v 6 a
B.    We have a…Royal Position. v 6 b
 

Illustration
A little boy wanted to get into the king’s garden to see the lovely flowers. A guard stopped him … but the prince saw this and thought the little boy was cute so he approached him and showed him around the garden. In a few minutes the King came out to the garden and the prince introduced the little boy to the king.

Later the boy was escorted back to the gate and the guard took him outside. The guard wanted to make sure the boy knew how he got to see the king and asked if he knew who had taken him into the garden. He said no and the guard explained that it was the prince.

        The little boy had a privileged position for a brief moment because of the King.  We have a most privileged position for eternity because of our King, who is the King of Kings and LORD of Lords.

There is a message in the tomb.  Have you received it?

Ill.--During the Battle of Waterloo, a messenger stood on top of a great cathedral in London. He was like a man who stands on an aircraft carrier, and holds signal flags. The whole city of London was anxious to know how things were going. All were wondering if their Duke of Wellington could defeat their enemy, the mighty Napoleon. The messenger stood on that cathedral watching for signals from the battlefield relaying news. When he received a message he waved his signal flags in code to give the people of London a report on the battle. He received news and began waving his flags. When the people of London looked up they could barely see through the fog. The message they were able to see was, "Wellington defeated." They could not believe it. Their hearts sank. But then there was a break in the fog and they saw the rest of the message which said, "Wellington defeated Napoleon." The entire nation of England rejoiced.

When Jesus died the message that came to the disciples’ heart was, "Jesus defeated." But 3 days later, the fog cleared, and the full message they received was, "Jesus defeated Satan."

The message of Easter:  You can’t keep a God-Man down!  Now how about you?

Pardon/Peace/Purity/Power/Position…

…Can Satan keep you down in your seat, or will you now receive the pardon?