CHRIST CREATIVE BAPTIST CHURCH
A SERMON PREACHED ON SUNDAY
APRIL 4, 1999
BY
THE REV. DR. GEORGE ST. ANTHONY FERGUSON, SR.
AUTHOR: Matthew
THEME: Jesus Christ the King
DATE: 65 AD
TEXT: Matthew 28:6
Death is the final event in human history. Death is the final thing that will occur to all who are alive. Death is the final occurrence that will happen in our lives. Have you ever attended a wake? Have you ever attended a funeral? If you have, then you know that when you go to a wake or funeral, you are seeing that person for the last time. You are seeing that person for the final time. You are seeing that person to see him or her no more. Death is the final thing that will happen to us all if Jesus continues to delay His coming. And one day the Son of God died on an old rugged Cross. One day the Son of Man died on an old rugged Cross. One day Jesus Christ died on an old rugged Cross. And Matthew wrote about the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus. So on this Easter Sunday, which I call Resurrection Sunday, the Lord told me to preach on the topic He Got Up With All Power In His Hands.
Our sermon lesson is found in the gospel of Matthew. In order to understand this story, you should know that Matthew wrote this gospel to a community of Jewish Christians. Matthew was a Jew. Matthew was a Certified Public Accountant. Matthew worked for the Roman Internal Revenue Service. Matthew was a tax collector. Matthew had entered into a contract with Rome to collect taxes from the Jews for a fee. He collected the taxes and charged a high commission. He was in a tax Mafia and he agreed to charge the same high prices as all the other tax collectors. Matthew and little Zacchaeus who Jesus saw up in a sycamore tree were in on the scam. So Matthew was filthy rich. The Jewish people felt that Jewish tax collectors were unredeemable sinners. Matthew was slick. Matthew was slippery. Matthew was sly. Matthew was a snake. Matthew was a crook. Matthew was just like us. But one day Jesus came to town and turned Matthew’s life upside down and right side up. Matthew became a disciple of Christ. And in his gospel, Matthew told us that Jesus is the King of the Jews. By the time we get to chapter 28, Matthew told us the genealogy of Jesus. Matthew told us the visit of the wise men to Jesus. Matthew told us the temptation of Jesus. Matthew told us the Sermon on the Mount by Jesus. Matthew told us the instruction for prayer by Jesus. Matthew told us Jesus healed the sick. Jesus raised the dead. Jesus opened blind eyes. Jesus instituted the Lord’s Supper. Jesus was betrayed by Judas. Jesus was slapped by the Jews. Jesus was spat on by the Jews. Jesus was turned over to the Romans by the Jews. Jesus was tried by Pilate. Jesus was sentenced to death by Pilate. Jesus was beaten with rods by the Romans. Jesus was whipped by the Romans. Jesus had a crown of thorns put on His head by the Romans. Jesus was crucified naked on the Cross by the Romans. With nails in His hands and feet, Jesus said Father forgive them for they know not what they do. As He hanged dying, darkness came on the face of the earth. The sun refused to shine. The sun pulled down the shades of glory and turned out the lights. When the sun went down, Jesus said My God, my God, why has thou forsaken me. He was carrying our sins on His body. When the sunlight came back, Jesus hanged His head in the locks of His shoulders and said Father into your hands I commit my spirit. With a loud voice Jesus said it is finished. He gave up the ghost and died. A Roman soldier lanced Him in the side to make sure he was dead and said surely this was the Son of God. Jesus died all alone. Judas had betrayed Him. Peter had denied Him. His disciples had left Him. The Jews had shouted crucify Him. Pilate had condemned Him. God the Father and God the Holy Ghost had turned their back on Him. Why? All this was done because Isaiah said He was wounded for our transgressions. He was bruised for our iniquities. The chastisement of our peace was upon Him. And by His stripes we are healed. He died for our sins. We should have been on that Cross. He died for us. And after He died, Joseph of Arimathaea and Nicedemius begged Pilate for His body. They gently took His body off the Cross, wrapped Him in clean linen and laid Him in Joseph’s new tomb. Joseph was a rich man so just as Isaiah prophesied, Jesus was buried with the rich. Joseph put a great stone to the door of the tomb and departed. The only ones who saw all of this were Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James and Joseph, Mary the mother of James and John, and Mary the mother of Jesus. All the men had run away. And because all of this happened during the Jewish Passover, His body was not prepared properly. The women decided that when Sunday morning came, they would come and properly prepare His body according to Jewish custom. And V1 says, “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 sepulcher.” My first point is this: No Matter what Do, You Need to Come to Jesus. Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Jesus came to the tomb to see Jesus. They came to wash His body for burial. They came to wrap His body with tender loving care. They came to anoint His body with anointing oil. They came to mourn over Him and commit His body to the ground properly. They were called the mourning women. They came to Jesus. And no matter what you have to do
COME TO JESUS JUST AS SOON AS YOU CAN
COME TO JESUS NO MATTER WHERE YOU HAVE TO GO
COME TO JESUS NO MATTER WHERE YOU FIND HIM
COME TO JESUS NO MATTER WHAT THE SITUATION
COME TO JESUS JUST AS YOU ARE
Come to Jesus, while you have time. Say amen, somebody. I’m talking about He Got Up With All Power In His Hands.
On the day that Jesus rose from the dead, Matthew said that there was a great earthquake. What could have caused this earthquake? What could have started this earthquake? What could have been the genesis of this earthquake? Well, all good scholars know that Jerusalem is built on an earthquake fault line but that was not the reason the earthquake occurred. V2 said, “And, behold, there was a great earthquake; for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and came and rolled back the stone from the door, and sat upon it.” My second point is this: If Your Life is Locked in a Tomb, an Angel Will Roll the Stone Away. Matthew said that the earthquake occurred because an angel of the Lord descended from heaven. Matthew said that the earthquake occurred because an angel of the Lord came and rolled the stone away and sat on it. He rolled the stone away. There’s nothing left but a hole in the ground. He rolled the stone away. But what you may not know is that before the angel rolled the stone away, the Holy Ghost had come down with all power in His hands and resurrected Jesus from the dead. Paul in Romans 1:4 said that God declared Jesus to be the Son of God with power, according to the Spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead. The writer of Hebrews 1:5 said that when Jesus was raised from the dead, God told Him Thou art my Son, this day have I begotten you and again, I will be to Him a Father, and He shall be to me a Son. Jesus in Matthew 28:18 told His disciples all power is given unto Me in heaven and in earth. Jesus got up, God raised Him up with all power in His hands. It was the power of the Holy Ghost that raised Jesus from the dead and it is the power of the Holy Ghost that caused us to be born again. It is the power of the Holy Ghost that makes us a disciple of Christ. It is the power of the Holy Ghost that helps us to live the Christian life. Jesus in Acts 1:8 said and you shall receive power after that the Holy Ghost has come upon you. And this angel came down to roll the stone away because the power of the Holy Ghost raised Jesus from the dead. This angel was a strong angel. This angel was a mighty angel. This angel was a powerful angel. This angel was from God. And His countenance was like lightning. His face was shining like lightning. His face was as bright as the morning star. And his raiment was as white as snow. His clothing was as clean as they come. His robe was as clear as a cloudless day. His face was bright and shining because He had just come from the presence of God. His robe was bright and white because He had just come from the Holy God. He was clean and holy. And whenever you have been in the presence of God your face will shine as bright as the noon day sun. When Moses came down from Mt. Sinai, his face was shining. When Jesus was on the Mount of Transfiguration, His face was shining. When the glory of God is on you, your face will shine. This angel was bright and holy. Aaron the High Priest wore a crown that said Holiness to the Lord. God said be ye holy for I am holy. And if you ever saw an angel, you would know that they are large. They are tall. They are powerful. They serve the Lord. They are ministering Spirit sent to minister to those of us who are born again. Now there are two kinds of angels. Angels of God and fallen angels. Angels of God or holy angels serve God and they minister to those of us who are born again and heirs of salvation. Fallen angels or demons serve the devil and they try to keep you from believing in Jesus, try to make you a weak Christian and tempt you to sin. For every one fallen angel trying to tempt you, there are two holy angels trying to keep you in the straight and narrow path. David said
THE LORD IS MY SHEPHERD I SHALL NOT WANT
YA THOUGH I WALK THROUGH THE VALLEY OF THE SHADOW OF DEATH…
Goodness and Mercy are two angels. You have guardian angels... Am I right about it? I’m preaching about He Got Up With All Power In His Hands.
The angel told the women fear not, for I know that you seek Jesus, who was crucified. V6 says, “He is not here; for He is risen, as He said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay.” My final point is this: Jesus is Not In the Tomb, He Is Risen. Now, you can go to Jerusalem and visit the tomb Jesus was buried in but He is not there. When the women and later the disciples came to the tomb all they saw was where the Lord use to lay. They saw the linen cloth they wrapped Him in but the body was gone. The linen cloth was hard like a cocoon but the body was not there. The linen cloth was in the shape of a body but the body had come through the cloth and was gone. The nuclear blast of the resurrection had solidified the linen cloth and all that was left was a shell in the form of a body with no body in it. Jesus resurrected physically from the dead in a glorified body. This was not a mental resurrection. This was not a psychological resurrection. This was not a philosophical resurrection. This was an actual physical resurrection. Paul said Jesus was seen of Peter then of the twelve. Paul said He was seen by over five hundred brothers at once. Paul said He was seen of James then of all the apostles. Paul said last of all He was seen of him as one born out of due time. Matthew 28:9 says His disciples held Him by the feet and worshipped Him. Jesus said handle me, for a spirit has not flesh and bone as you see me have. Jesus told doubting Thomas put your finger in my hand and my side and Thomas fell on his knees and said my Lord and my God. And I know you know about the resurrection. But for some of you, the only things you know about the church are Easter, Mother’s Day, and Christmas because those are the only days you come to church. I call you my EMC members: Easter, Mother’s Day, and Christmas. But there are some things about the resurrection that most of you may not know. So let me tell you the rest of the story. V4 said for fear of the angel, the keepers of the tomb did shake and become like dead men. The keepers of the tomb were the Roman soldiers assigned to guard the tomb. These guards were placed around the tomb by the Sadducees and Pharisees after Jesus was buried to make sure that the disciples of Christ would not steal His body. The Sadducees and Pharisees knew Jesus said He would rise from the dead after being in the tomb for three days and three nights. So the Jewish leaders asked Pilate if they could place guards around the tomb to prevent the disciples from stealing His body within three days and three nights. They felt that if they could lock his body in the tomb for three days and three nights, they would prove that Jesus was a fraud and a liar. They also knew that if His body was moved within three days and three nights, then they would not be able to keep the people from believing in Jesus. So they attached four strings across the stone. They put hot wax on the strings and put the seal of Caesar in the wax with the signet ring of Caesar. And they put Roman guards outside the tomb to keep everybody from tempering with it for three days and three nights. The Roman guards were not to leave their post or go to sleep until they were relieved. If they left their post or went to sleep, they would be put to death. And the Roman guards were under oath to Caesar to protect everything that belonged to Caesar. Anything with the seal of Caesar on it belonged to Caesar. For three days and three nights the tomb of Joseph belonged to Caesar. Jesus said render unto Caesar the things that be Caesar’s but render unto God the things that be God’s. This was a deep and serious matter. Anyone who tampered with the things that belonged to Caesar would be put to death. In order to keep Jesus in the tomb, the Jewish leaders put the strongest lock known to them on the tomb, the seal of Caesar. But when God comes on the scene, I don’t care what you do, God will do what He wants to do. The tomb belonged to Caesar but Jesus belonged to God. The strongest protection known to mankind is nothing but a wet paper bag when God comes on the scene. God the Holy Ghost came down and resurrected Jesus from the dead. When Jesus rose up from the dead, God caused the earth to quake. God caused the lightening to flash. God caused the rocks to split. God tore the veil of the Temple in two from the top to the bottom. How do I know that God tore the veil? If the earthquake had caused the tear, the veil would have torn from the bottom to the top. But because God tore the veil, the veil was torn from the top to the bottom. And God sent a powerful angel down to roll the stone away. By the way, the stone was not rolled away to let Jesus out. The stone was rolled away to let us in. In a glorified body, Jesus could walk right through the walls. But we needed to get in to see that He rose up from the dead within three days and three nights. And when Jesus got up, the power of the Holy Ghost was so strong that it knocked the Roman guards down on their backs. Matthew said the Roman guards shake and became as dead men. The Roman guards shake, rattled and rolled, and fell down like they were dead men. This was ironic. The Roman guards were alive but fell down like dead men but Jesus who was a dead man got up alive when the power of the Holy Ghost came down. He’s alive and He’s alive forever more. And Matthew 27:52-53 says that when Jesus rose up from the dead, the graves were opened and many bodies of the saints that slept were raised up. You see the power and glory of the Holy Ghost was so great on Jesus that it overflowed on other graves in the area and raised the body of those recently buried. Good God almighty. In other words, the Shekina Glory of the Holy Ghost was so great in the grave of Jesus that other dead folks got up. He led captivity captives and gave gifts to men. What a mighty God we serve. Matthew said that the dead saints came out of the graves after His resurrection. Matthew said they went into the holy city of Jerusalem. Matthew said they appeared unto many. Listen! A Christian never dies. A Christian only goes to sleep waiting to be awaken in the resurrection. Paul said behold I show you a mystery. We shall not all sleep but we shall all be changed in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump. Paul said for the Lord Himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God; and the died in Christ shall rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so shall we ever to be with the Lord. We’ll be caught up, way up, in the middle of the air. God is not the God of the dead. He is the God of the living. Job said yet in my flesh shall I see God. Job said I’ll wait till my change come. And if you think the Jewish leaders were happy with the resurrection, think again. The Jewish leaders realized that they were unable to prevent the resurrection. So they had to invent a lie. If you think religious leaders will not lie, think again. These religious leaders had totally out of touch with God and were doing that Satan told them to do. Satan is the father of all lies. Matthew 28:11-15 tells us that the Jewish religious leaders bribed the Roman guards. The Roman guards came to the Jewish leaders and told them all that had happen. They told them about the earthquake. They told them about the flash of light. They told them about the angel rolling the stone away. They showed them their bumps and bruises. They showed them their torn uniforms. And when the Sanhedran Council assembled and heard what had happened, they gave the Roman guards much money to buy their silence. They did not want the common people to know that they were wrong about Jesus. They did not want the common people to know that they had crucified the Jewish Messiah. They did not want the common people to know that they were outside the will of God. So they lied about what happened. They paid the guards off and told them not to tell anyone what really happened. They told them if anybody asks you what happened, tell them His disciples came at night and stole His body while they were asleep. But the question is this, “If they were asleep, how did they see the disciples take the body of Jesus out of the tomb?” And if they were asleep, then they should have been killed according to Roman Rules. But knowing the law, the Jewish leaders told the Roman guards, if this matter concerning your sleeping comes up to the governor, Pontious Pilate, then we will persuade him and secure you. In other words, we’ll grease the skids with Pilate, pay him off and get you off the hook. We’ll tell Pilate you were not asleep but we told you to lie. What a wicked web we weave when we practice to deceive. So the Jewish leaders took the Temple money and gave it to the guards. The guards did as they were told and do you know that this lie still is the common explanation given by the Jews concerning the body of Jesus. It was common in Matthew’s day and it is common in our day. Well, as I head to my seat, I want you to know that I see you in your new clothes but you ought to praise Him. He is the only historical figure who is still alive. Listen! Moses lived, he died and was buried. End of story. Buddha lived, he died and was buried. End of story. Mohammed lived, he died and was buried. End of story. Jesus lived, he died and was buried. But that is not the end of the story. He got up... He is not in the grave, He is risen. He is not in the ground, He is risen. He is not in the tomb, He is risen. He is not here, He is risen. The song says He is Lord, He is Lord, He is risen from the dead… He arose… And I don’t know about you, but I’m gonna praise Him. I’ll praise Him in the morning. Praise Him in the noonday. Praise Him in the midnight hour. Praise God... Did He wake you up this morning and started you on your way. Did He put food on your table… Jesus is bread in a starving land. He’s water in a thirsty land. He’s a rock in a weary land. On Christ the solid rock… Jesus said I AM the bread of life. I AM the river of living waters. I AM the light of the world. I AM the resurrection and the life. He that believes in Me, though he were dead, yet shall he live. Jesus said I AM alpha and omega… And I have one question, “Will Jesus raise you up from the dead or will He leave you in the ground?” The doors of the church are now open.
© 1998 drsax989238@msn.com
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