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REGISTRATIONS ARE ON A FIRST COME, FIRST SERVE BASIS WITH ONLY 8 TEAMS ALLOWED TO PLAY.  YOUR REGISTRATION IS NOT FINAL UNTIL WE HAVE MONEY IN HAND.

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2023 SOFTBALL TOURNAMENT RULES

We wish to STRESS that this tournament is purely for recreation and enjoyment.  It was established to help raise money for the summer camps that the children and youth of First Baptist Church will be attending.  These rules are given only to preserve a fair, even, timely, and fun experience for all participants.  We appreciate you helping us keep it that way.

FIELDING

• NEW RULE FROM 2022: Each team shall field 6 men and 4 women. (5 & 4 will be allowed, but you cannot field with less than 4 women.)
• There are no stipulations as to what positions your team members can play.
• We also keep rosters “open” throughout the weekend.

 

BATTING

• NEW RULE FROM 2022: The batting order can fit your team’s needs based on personal with the following rule.
• You may bat everyone on your team as “extra hitters” if you choose to do so, even if they do not play the field
• You may bat up to 2 men back to back, but never 3 in a row. If you have a limited number of girls and want to bat 2-1-2-1-2-1 male to female that is fine.  If you have plenty of girls and want to keep a 1 to 1 alternation that is fine too.  You may also orchestrate a unique order so long as there are never more than 2 men batting back to back.  For example M-M-F-M-F-M would be allowed.
• Each batter will come to the plate with a count of 1-1 (1 ball, 1 strike).
• If a male batter has a female in the lineup behind him and earns a walk, he will automatically take 2^nd The female batter who follows will have the choice of automatically taking first base, or batting.  A male batter who has another male batter behind him only earns first base.
• If a female batter earns a walk, she will automatically take 1^st base, and the following male batter must bat.
• We have a very short field, so there will be a Homerun Limit of 1 per game (all additional homeruns post as outs)
• 2019 RULE CHANGE: All men/boys are required to use an ASA certified & stamped wooden softball bat. There are no bat restrictions for woman/girls.  We will be using a “Gold Dot” softball this year.  Two-piece wooden bats will NOT be allowed.  No ½ composite, no corndog style.  A 100% wooden bat only for men.
• The Home Run limit will be lifted for the 7^th
• Pinch runners are allowed under the following stipulations. No player currently in the batting order or field may pinch run, only a player from the bench.  The player who gets pinch run for must exit the game for at least 6 outs in the field and 1 at bat (1 time through the entire batting order).  We don’t allow courtesy runners.  I mean seriously, the fact that we’re all old and slow is part of the competition!

 

GAME LENGTH

• We will play a 7 run rule with runs accumulating each inning. For example if Team A only scores 3 runs in the first inning, they can still score 11 runs in the second inning, bringing their total to 14.
• Game length will be 1 hr. 15 min. or 7 innings. No new innings can be started after 70 min.
• All teams must be ready to play at their scheduled start time. If one team is missing players and cannot start on time, that team will automatically be the “visiting” team, will forfeit their first at bat, and the game clock will begin on schedule, with play starting when players arrive, and ending on schedule.
• If both teams are tied going into the last inning (of regulation or time limit) AND both have reached the maximum runs scored, the run rule will be removed for the final inning in order to establish a clear winner. If both teams are tied going into the last inning and have not reached the maximum runs scored limit, the game will end in a tie with the tie being broken in the following manner. The team scoring the most 1^st inning runs wins, if still tied, it will move to the 2^nd, then 3^rd  If a tie still remains the winning team will be decided by coin toss.
• Tie breakers for pool play are determined by head to head outcomes. If this still results in a 3 team tie in the pool, the tie breaker is determined by points.  The team which allowed the fewest points during their pool games will be awarded 1^st place in the pool.  The team which allowed the second fewest points will be awarded second place in the pool. If there is a tie on defensive points allowed, then we will move to offensive points.  With the team scoring the most offensive points winning.  If there is still a tie the Smashers are out and the other team advances.  Just kidding, there will be a coin toss. PLEASE NOTE THAT ONCE THE POOL PLAY IS FINISHED AND THE 4 BEST TEAMS ADVANCE, IT TURNS INTO A SINGLE ELIMINATION  (Think playoffs). 

 

COURTESY RULES

• This is a fun and family friendly atmosphere, so we ask all players and spectators to follow these guidelines. Blatant offenses are grounds to be removed from the park and/or tournament with a forfeiture of all fees paid.
• All umpires will be on a volunteer basis and will do the best they can, please do not harass them. (After each game the winning team is required to supply 2 umpires for the next game and the losing team is required to supply two score keepers.  1 for the book, 1 for the scoreboard.)
• This will be an alcohol free event
• PROFANITY WHILE PLAYING OR WATCHING WILL NOT BE TOLERATED This is a church hosted tournament
• In the event that weather cancels games, the first course of action will be to skip games 13-15 and simply let the 1^st place teams from each pool play 1 championship game. The second course of action will be to reschedule the tournament for a later date.

Download Here:

Bless The Lord, O My Soul
Psalms 103
April 11, 2021

Tonight we come to the Psalm that has likely inspired more hymns and Christian songs than any other (with the exception or perhaps Psalms 23)

As John MacArthur put it, this Psalm is “Pure Praise”

You note first of all the bookends of the Psalm.
It begins and ends the exact same way.
“Bless the LORD, O my soul,”

And with that we take note of the INWARD FOCUS of the Psalmist.

He doesn’t say, “Bless the LORD, O my mouth”

He is speaking of an internal reality.
“Bless the LORD, O my soul, And all that is within me, bless His holy name.”

Not “all that is from me”, but “all that is within me”

There is a notable inward focus.
And of course you know that true praise; pure praise must begin here.

A person may sing in hypocrisy when their soul does not agree,
But when the soul seeks to bless the Lord,
The lips will automatically follow.

 Worship of God begins in the heart, and then it moves to the lips.
• For Jesus taught us that “out of the overflow of the heart, the mouth speaks”

 David will not be like the heathen of Romans 1 who does “not honor [God] as God or give thanks”.
• He will not tolerate a stagnant soul or a distant mind.

 David would not be like 9 of the 10 lepers who upon finding cleansing from the Lord saw no need to come back and offer Him thanks.
• He would not fail to give God the blessing He deserves.

 We are mindful of Mary, breaking her vile and anointing Jesus’ feet all while carnal men scold her for the waste.
• Mary performed on that day the better gift.

 We think of Mary and Martha. Martha serving, but Mary seated at Jesus’ feet blessing Him, having taken the better part.

 We think of the woman at the Pharisees house, ignoring the scorn and wetting Jesus’ feet with her tears and wiping them with her hair while the Pharisee had neglected it all.

 We can hear Jesus speak to the woman at the well and tell her that the Father seeks those who “worship Him in spirit and in truth”.

 We remember the rebuke Jesus offered to the Pharisees because they “honor [God] with their lips but their hearts are far from Him”.

And there are many other examples that we might call our attention to tonight, but what you are reminded of is that
God seeks people who worship Him from the heart.

If the soul cares not to bless God
Then the words of the song are an empty performance.

Psalms 103 grasps that.

Psalms 103 is pure praise.
• There are no requests, no laments, no complaints
• There is no context or circumstances
• There is no danger, no victory, no pain, no confusion
• Just praise.

It is the heart of a believer who is called (above all else) to bless God.

And the Psalmist literally commands his own soul to “Hop to it”.

Notice his Personal Command.
“Bless the LORD, O my soul,”

He makes his soul do it.
He grabs the reigns and spurs his soul to do what it must.

Lack of emotion is no excuse for failing to bless God.
• “not feeling like it” is the epitome of immaturity.

Anyone who has matured into becoming an adult
Knows that life is full of obligations that you must perform
Whether you feel like it or not.

And I can assure you that none of your worldly obligations that you force yourself to accomplish are as important as this one.

Emotion is a great benefit to worship,
But emotion should never be allowed to drive the car.

Job comes to mind who had lost everything:
Job 1:21 “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, And naked I shall return there. The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away. Blessed be the name of the LORD.”

The Psalmist simply tells his soul, “Do it!”

But even if the command seems difficult, there is A BLUEPRINT for prodding the soul into worship.

And that is found in verse 2
“Bless the LORD, O my soul, And forget none of His benefits.”

I should remind you tonight that forgetting God’s benefits is a sin.

All throughout the Old Testament we see “hands-on” reminders
So that the people did not forget.

The most notable for me is Joshua’s rock pile.
• After the children of Israel crossed the Jordan on dry land,
• Joshua told them to gather 12 stones from the dry riverbed
• And pile them up on the shore.

Joshua 4:21-24 “He said to the sons of Israel, “When your children ask their fathers in time to come, saying, ‘What are these stones?’ then you shall inform your children, saying, ‘Israel crossed this Jordan on dry ground.’ “For the LORD your God dried up the waters of the Jordan before you until you had crossed, just as the LORD your God had done to the Red Sea, which He dried up before us until we had crossed; that all the peoples of the earth may know that the hand of the LORD is mighty, so that you may fear the LORD your God forever.”

Forgetting is a sin.
Those who have received the benefits of God must not forget them.

Deuteronomy 5:15 “You shall remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and the LORD your God brought you out of there by a mighty hand and by an outstretched arm; therefore the LORD your God commanded you to observe the sabbath day.”

Deuteronomy 8:2 “You shall remember all the way which the LORD your God has led you in the wilderness these forty years, that He might humble you, testing you, to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep His commandments or not.”

Deuteronomy 15:15 “You shall remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and the LORD your God redeemed you; therefore I command you this today.”

And yet perhaps the wildest period in the history of Israel
Was all brought on by forgetfulness.

Judges 2:10-12 “All that generation also were gathered to their fathers; and there arose another generation after them who did not know the LORD, nor yet the work which He had done for Israel. Then the sons of Israel did evil in the sight of the LORD and served the Baals, and they forsook the LORD, the God of their fathers, who had brought them out of the land of Egypt, and followed other gods from among the gods of the peoples who were around them, and bowed themselves down to them; thus they provoked the LORD to anger.”

Forgetting is a sin.
The Psalmist said, “forget none of His benefits”

Peggy would sing, “Count your blessings, name them one by one, and it will surprise you what the Lord has done.”

Get a pen and paper if you have to.
Contemplate them.

This is the secret to driving an apathetic soul to worship.
Look at what God has done and let that
Lead your soul into gratitude and blessing.

One other thing we would notice before we start working our way through this Psalm and that is the SELECT AUDIENCE.

Notice who the recipients of God’s many benefits are.

• (11) “For as high as the heavens are above the earth, So great is His lovingkindness toward those who fear Him.”

• (13) “Just as a father has compassion on his children, So the LORD has compassion on those who fear Him.”

• (17) “But the lovingkindness of the LORD is from everlasting to everlasting on those who fear Him,”

• (18) “To those who keep His covenant and remember His precepts to do them.”

This song is NOT FOR the unredeemed
Who abide in death, darkness, and ignorance.

This song is for those who have believed Him.
• Who have received His grace
• Who are seated at His table
• Who rest in His peace
• Who eat His manna
• Who drink water from His rock
• Who are redeemed

These are the most obligated to bless Him.

And if you find yourself stagnant in that command,
This Psalm will help you overcome your apathy.

It drives focus into your soul, reminding it to bless God.
(And why your lips should follow suit)

Let’s break this Psalm down into 4 points.
#1 DESCRIPTION OF GOD’S BENEFITS
Psalms 103:1-5

David was clear in his command to tell his soul
That it was time to bless God.

David commanded his soul

And David told his soul to “forget none of His benefits.”

And then comes the checklist where David begins.
• As David seeks to motivate his soul to blessing he starts here in his contemplation of God.

(3-5) “Who pardons all your iniquities, Who heals all your diseases; Who redeems your life from the pit, Who crowns you with lovingkindness and compassion; Who satisfies your years with good things, So that your youth is renewed like the eagle.”

That is quite a tremendous list.
It is a reminder of the great benefits of God.

“who pardons all your iniquities”
• What if He didn’t?
• What if only pardoned most of your iniquities?
• What if pardoned none of your iniquities?

But God forgives them all.
• Every sin committed…
• Every hiccup of the heart…
• Every slipup of the will…
• Every blasphemous thought…
• Every immoral deed…

• No matter how big…
• No matter how gross…
• No matter how long you lived in it…

He forgives them all.

Think for a moment about that sin you committed that almost no one else knows about.
• Think about how embarrassing it would tonight is you were exposed here
before everyone.
• Think about then how terrible it would be for God to give you the punishment
you deserve for such a sin.

And then when you think about how He has forgiven you,
See if your soul is not a little more motivated to bless God.

“who heals all your diseases;”

The reference cannot be to physical healing here.
Why?
• Because clearly God does not.
• We live in bodies that are literally dying.
• Sooner or later this body gives it up, and instead of healing we get death.

But David clearly says “all your diseases”
It must be the spiritual sicknesses of sin that Isaiah speaks of.

It reminds us of Jesus statement, “It is not the healthy who need a physician, but the sick. I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.”

Jesus was clearly speaking there of sin as a sickness
(not sickness as a sin)

There is not a spiritual infirmity that God does not heal.

That means it’s not just that God forgives your sin,
But He also cures your evil flesh of the propensity to do it.
• Has not God changed your mind about sin?
• Has not God began His sanctifying work on you?
• Are you not recovering from your sinful ways?

We certainly praise Him for forgiving us of our sins,
But perhaps even more for saving us from them.

“Who redeems your life from the pit”
• Is it not a blessing that God has pulled you out of your filth?
• Is it not a blessing to note that He has redeemed your life?

We sing that song “O Lord My Rock And My Redeemer”

I love that 3rd verse:
“O Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer, Gracious Savior of my ruined life
My guilt and cross laid on Your shoulders, In my place You suffered bled and died
You rose, the grave and death are conquered, You broke my bonds of sin and shame
O Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer, May all my days bring glory to Your Name”
https://sovereigngracemusic.org/music/songs/o-lord-rock-redeemer/

• My life was ruined.
• I had ruined it.
• I had wasted the purpose for which I was created.

Have you ever broken the blade on your pocketknife?
• Every time I see one I ask, “Screwdriver or crowbar?”
• That’s typically how they are broken.

I was like that.
Created for one purpose,
But ruined by giving myself to the wrong purpose.
And yet, the Lord redeemed me.

Is your soul not moved to gratitude and blessing for such a deliverance?

“Who crowns you with lovingkindness and compassion”

It is the garland on your head.
• God calls you “His people”
• God made a covenant with you and put a ring on your finger.

And this while you were the vilest of prostitutes.
He chose you and redeemed you and married you and He is washing you.

Is there no gratitude for this?

“Who satisfies your years with good things, So that your youth is renewed like the eagle.”

Life is hard, and there is no denying that.
But how much harder would it be if God were not for you?
• What if “every good and perfect gift” did not come down from the Father of
lights?
• What if God did not “supply all your needs according to His glorious
riches in Christ Jesus”?

Can you not see the benefits that you live in every single day?

TURN TO: Ephesians 1
Do we need another lesson on the benefits of being “in Him”?

And notice how Paul begins there in verse 3
“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.”

Will your soul not bless God?
• Then remember His benefits.
• Read this list
• (Read Ephesians 1:3-14) (and you know it doesn’t actually stop there)

Can your soul not bless?
Can your soul not rejoice?

Just stop and ponder the overwhelming benefits
You have received, are receiving, and will receive from God.
It will cure a stagnant soul.

Description of God’s benefits
#2 DEGREE OF GOD’S MERCY
Psalms 103:6-14

The Psalmist begins with a sort of “flashback” scene.
He goes back to a day so awful it should make Israel sick.

It is the day of the golden calf.
(6-8) “The LORD performs righteous deeds And judgments for all who are oppressed. He made known His ways to Moses, His acts to the sons of Israel. The LORD is compassionate and gracious, Slow to anger and abounding in lovingkindness.”

• Remember when God delivered them from Egypt with a mighty hand?
• Remember when God led them to Sinai?
• Remember when they returned the favor by building a golden calf?
• Remember when God thought to destroy them?
• Remember when He did not?

In fact it was God who introduced Himself this way to Moses:
Exodus 34:6-7 “Then the LORD passed by in front of him and proclaimed, “The LORD, the LORD God, compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in lovingkindness and truth; who keeps lovingkindness for thousands, who forgives iniquity, transgression and sin; yet He will by no means leave the guilty unpunished, visiting the iniquity of fathers on the children and on the grandchildren to the third and fourth generations.”

(similar to what we read here in verse 8)

It was an unthinkable act of Mercy to forgive those people.

It is mercy like we cannot fathom,
And yet that is who God is and who God has been toward us.

(9-10) “He will not always strive with us, Nor will He keep His anger forever. He has not dealt with us according to our sins, Nor rewarded us according to our iniquities.”

Even before the great flood, God looked at a totally wicked world and still said:
Genesis 6:3 “Then the LORD said, “My Spirit shall not strive with man forever, because he also is flesh; nevertheless his days shall be one hundred and twenty years.”

And after the flood God promised again:
Genesis 8:20-21 “Then Noah built an altar to the LORD, and took of every clean animal and of every clean bird and offered burnt offerings on the altar. The LORD smelled the soothing aroma; and the LORD said to Himself, “I will never again curse the ground on account of man, for the intent of man’s heart is evil from his youth; and I will never again destroy every living thing, as I have done.”

Genesis 9:8-17 “Then God spoke to Noah and to his sons with him, saying, “Now behold, I Myself do establish My covenant with you, and with your descendants after you; and with every living creature that is with you, the birds, the cattle, and every beast of the earth with you; of all that comes out of the ark, even every beast of the earth. “I establish My covenant with you; and all flesh shall never again be cut off by the water of the flood, neither shall there again be a flood to destroy the earth.” God said, “This is the sign of the covenant which I am making between Me and you and every living creature that is with you, for all successive generations; I set My bow in the cloud, and it shall be for a sign of a covenant between Me and the earth. “It shall come about, when I bring a cloud over the earth, that the bow will be seen in the cloud, and I will remember My covenant, which is between Me and you and every living creature of all flesh; and never again shall the water become a flood to destroy all flesh. “When the bow is in the cloud, then I will look upon it, to remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is on the earth.” And God said to Noah, “This is the sign of the covenant which I have established between Me and all flesh that is on the earth.”

That is always fascinating to me.
If God had not made that promise, every time it rained all of humanity would be filled with fear.
• And yet God gave up His ace in the hole.
• He promised that He will never do that again.
• He does not treat man like man deserves.

He causes “His sun to rise” on the just and the unjust.
He “sends rain” on the righteous and wicked alike.

(10) “He has not dealt with us according to our sins, Nor rewarded us according to our iniquities.”

And this has been His track record.
• He told Adam and Eve that the when they touched that tree or ate that fruit they would die.
• And Adam did die but not for 100’s of years.

I’ve often told people that
The reason our doctrine on God is often so wrong
Is because our doctrine of man is equally wrong.

We think too highly of man and therefore we think way too lowly of God.

But if we were to see our sin for what it is
Then God’s mercy would shine ever brighter.

And if you want to seek to grasp the DEGREE of His mercy,
Listen to these next few verses.

(11-13) “For as high as the heavens are above the earth, So great is His lovingkindness toward those who fear Him. As far as the east is from the west, So far has He removed our transgressions from us. Just as a father has compassion on his children, So the LORD has compassion on those who fear Him.”

• How high exactly are the heavens above the earth?
• How far exactly is the east from the west?
• How much compassion does a father have on his children?

In the same way God’s mercy cannot be calculated.

I also love the song “Lord Have Mercy”
“O God, we come before Your throne And in our weakness we confess
We go astray and sin each day We cast ourselves upon Your grace
O Lord, have mercy on us Sinners in need of grace
Forgive us our transgressions
And lead us in Your righteous ways
God, lead us in Your righteous ways

The blood You shed has paid our debts Jesus, You’ve washed our sins away
We trust Your grace, believe by faith In You we have all righteousness
O Lord, You’ve shown us mercy Sinners are washed as saints
You’ve shown Your loving-kindness
Sons of disgrace are righteous made
Sons of disgrace are righteous made
https://sovereigngracemusic.org/music/songs/lord-have-mercy/

Can you ponder that?
That on the cross Jesus atoned for all the sin of all the elect for all time?

What mercy is that?
How much mercy does that take?

Do you understand that of all the things God does
He doesn’t do anything more than He forgives?

It is His most used declaration.

(14) “For He Himself knows our frame; He is mindful that we are but dust.”

• He knows us
• He knows everything about us
• He knows our desires
• He knows our lusts
• He knows our weaknesses
• He knows our propensities

We are so predictable and so faithfully sinful
And yet He continues to be merciful to us.

Can your soul not bless Him for that?

We remember that woman who was washing Jesus’ feet.
Luke 7:44-47 “Turning toward the woman, He said to Simon, “Do you see this woman? I entered your house; you gave Me no water for My feet, but she has wet My feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair. “You gave Me no kiss; but she, since the time I came in, has not ceased to kiss My feet. “You did not anoint My head with oil, but she anointed My feet with perfume. “For this reason I say to you, her sins, which are many, have been forgiven, for she loved much; but he who is forgiven little, loves little.”

The fact is that you have been forgiven much,
But a failure to grasp that produces a soul that doesn’t bless God.

So contemplate the degree of God’s mercy toward you.

Description of God’s Benefits Degree of God’s mercy
#3 DURATION OF GOD’S LOYALTY
Psalms 103:15-18

Here the Psalmist begins again talking about man.

(15-16) “As for man, his days are like grass; As a flower of the field, so he flourishes. When the wind has passed over it, it is no more, And its place acknowledges it no longer.”

• We think of the transient nature of man.
• We are temporary.
• James said we are “like a vapor”.

How insignificant must we appear to an eternal God?

Think about it.
• We came from dirt…
• We are a dime a dozen…
• We sin against Him continually…

And even when we are redeemed and confess Him as Lord,
It only lasts about a snap of the fingers.

What sort of benefit does God ever really receive from us?

Even after we’re saved, we’re like that friend who volunteers to help,
But who can only stay a few minutes.

THE POINT IS, our loyalty to God isn’t worth much.
• Even if we spent every moment of our entire existence in faithful service to
God, it just isn’t that long in the scope of eternity.

David said “When the wind has passed over it, it is no more, And its place acknowledges it no longer.”

Our loyalty just isn’t worth much.

But God on the other hand…

(17-18) “But the lovingkindness of the LORD is from everlasting to everlasting on those who fear Him, And His righteousness to children’s children, To those who keep His covenant And remember His precepts to do them.”

What is David’s point?

God’s loyalty to you is going to last way longer
Than your loyalty to Him.

We often put it in our minds
That we have this long strenuous life of service to God.

I remember Jacob:
Genesis 47:8-9 “Pharaoh said to Jacob, “How many years have you lived?” So Jacob said to Pharaoh, “The years of my sojourning are one hundred and thirty; few and unpleasant have been the years of my life, nor have they attained the years that my fathers lived during the days of their sojourning.”

I think we can agree that most of Jacob’s hardship
Was brought on by his own decisions.

None the less, Jacob had a hard life on this earth.
• Threatened by his brother…
• Estranged from his parents…
• Deceived by his father-in-law…
• Betrayed by his sons…
• Forced to die in a foreign land…

It must have seemed like serving the Lord was a painful and difficult task.

And yet, anyone reading Jacob’s story
Knows without a doubt that it would have been way harder
For God to be loyal to Jacob than for Jacob to be loyal to God.

And that is true in your life too…
• How hard is your life of service to God?
• How costly is your loyalty?

Well I promise you there isn’t a second of any day during your existence
Where it is harder for you to be loyal to God
Than it is for God to be loyal to you.

And yet He never fails.

“the lovingkindess of the LORD is from everlasting to everlasting on those who fear Him,”
• He passes it on to their children.
• He keeps His promises to them…forever.

• Do you suppose that you deserve such loyalty?
• Do you suppose that you have never acted like Gomer and deserved to be sent away?
• Do you suppose yourself to have only been a faithful bride to Christ?

And yet, He has not sent you away.
He has kept His covenant.
He has maintained His loyalty.

Can your soul not bless your husband for that?

Description of God’s benefits Degree of God’s mercy Duration of God’s loyalty
#4 DOMINION OF GOD’S REIGN
Psalms 103:19-22

And just in case looking inwardly at all that God has done for you
Has not yet motivated you to bless Him.

Then lift up your eyes outwardly and see those who are blessing God.

(19-21) “The LORD has established His throne in the heavens, And His sovereignty rules over all. Bless the LORD, you His angels, Mighty in strength, who perform His word, Obeying the voice of His word! Bless the LORD, all you His hosts, You who serve Him, doing His will.”

Do you know who is blessing God?
• The angels
• The heavenly host
• They are blessing Him continually.

Have we not read about those 4 living creatures before the throne of God who “day and night do not cease to say, “HOLY, HOLY, HOLY, IS THE LORD GOD, THE ALMIGHTY, WHO WAS AND IS AND IS TO COME.”?

Can we really recognize that
The celestial beings see fit to bless God continually
And then think that we have no need of it?

Can we really think the angels are obliged to bless God
But we don’t need to?

It is no wonder David closes the way he began,
And this time includes all of creation.

(22) “Bless the LORD, all you works of His, In all places of His dominion; Bless the LORD, O my soul!”

We are all the beneficiaries of a wonderful God.
Bless Him!

So here’s your application
1. Grab your soul and recite to it the benefits of God until your soul cries back in gratitude and blessing for God.
2. Count your blessings until your heart is overflowing with a good theme.
3. Remember His benefits and respond to Him accordingly.

God most certainly deserves it.

And then when your soul is overwhelmed with joy,
Open your mouth and sing to the Lord.

That is the worship God is looking for and the worship He deserves.

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Proclaiming The Resurrection – Part 2
Luke 24:36-49
April 11, 2021

Last Sunday we began looking at this text here in Luke’s gospel.

Because it was Easter Sunday,
I was mostly compelled to drive home the point
That Easter is NOT a holiday.

The resurrection is not something
We just sing about and celebrate 1 Sunday a year.

The resurrection is THE REALITY IN WHICH ALL BELIEVERS NOW LIVE.

Paul said this:
Romans 6:4-11 “Therefore we have been buried with Him through baptism into death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life. For if we have become united with Him in the likeness of His death, certainly we shall also be in the likeness of His resurrection, knowing this, that our old self was crucified with Him, in order that our body of sin might be done away with, so that we would no longer be slaves to sin; for he who has died is freed from sin. Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him, knowing that Christ, having been raised from the dead, is never to die again; death no longer is master over Him. For the death that He died, He died to sin once for all; but the life that He lives, He lives to God. Even so consider yourselves to be dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus.”

Keeping with the concept of identification
• Paul reminds that just as we were crucified with Christ
• And even buried with Christ,
• Paul also notes that we have been raised with Him.

He says that now, having been raised with Christ,
We now “walk in newness of life”.

The ramifications are even seen:
“He died to sin once for all…Even so consider yourselves to be dead to sin”

Paul is talking about the Christian reality that
Through the resurrection of Christ
We have been SET FREE from the bondage of sin.

• While we do still live in the flesh…
• While we do still face the temptations of the enemy…
• While we do still fail at times and sin…
• It is still very important to understand that we do not have to.

Believers are free from sin.
We have new life in Christ.

This was Paul’s answer that depressing reality of Romans 7.

Remember the depressing Romans 7 mindset?
Romans 7:18-19 “For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh; for the willing is present in me, but the doing of the good is not. For the good that I want, I do not do, but I practice the very evil that I do not want.”

Paul would eventually cry out:
Romans 7:24 “Wretched man that I am! Who will set me free from the body of this death?”

Well the answer is Christ.
When we identify with Him we are crucified, buried, and raised with Him.

WE RECEIVE NEW LIFE.

Romans 8:1-4 “Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death. For what the Law could not do, weak as it was through the flesh, God did: sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and as an offering for sin, He condemned sin in the flesh, so that the requirement of the Law might be fulfilled in us, who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.”

This is the new resurrected life that believers now enjoy.
• We walk by the Spirit.
• We walk in the New Covenant.
• We are no longer slaves to sin.
• We are now free to choose righteousness.

THIS IS WONDERFUL NEWS FOR BELIEVERS.

We understood Jesus in the beatitudes about the realities of
Being “poor in spirit” and “mourning over sin.”

WE KNOW THAT GRIEF.

But now, through the power of the resurrection,
We have new life in Christ.

• We don’t have to do the things the world does.
• We don’t have to talk like they talk.
• We don’t have to think like they think.
• We don’t have to participate in what they participate in.

So to think the resurrection is just some holiday
You celebrate 1 day a year is to totally MISS THE POINT.

We live in the reality of the resurrection.
• Every time we resist temptation…
• Every time we put away sin…
• Every time we walk in righteousness…
• Every time old habits are broken…
• Every time old vices are laid aside…

It is all because Christ, through His resurrection, has set us free.

We live in that reality.
It is not a one-day-a-year holiday, it is our life.

We also know the resurrection is our DAILY HOPE

1 Peter 1:3-5 “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His great mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to obtain an inheritance which is imperishable and undefiled and will not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, who are protected by the power of God through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.”

Not only do we walk in the spiritual power of Christ’s resurrection,
But we also live with the hope of His bodily resurrection.

Jesus said:
John 14:19 “After a little while the world will no longer see Me, but you will see Me; because I live, you will live also.”

Paul said:
1 Corinthians 15:20-22 “But now Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who are asleep. For since by a man came death, by a man also came the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ all will be made alive.”

We don’t just hold out hope that our souls will live forever.
• Christ was raised in a physical body.
• Christ had a bodily resurrection.

THIS IS OUR HOPE TOO.
Peter called it a living hope.

That now, even while we live in this world of suffering,
We rejoice because we know that this life is NOT all there is.

There is another life awaiting us.
There is another body awaiting us.

Right now we grieve and groan and labor and toil and struggle
But it won’t always be this way.

• Our current struggle is producing an eternal weight of glory.
• There is coming a day when God will raise us from the dead as well.
• And we will, like Christ, receive a glorified body.
• And we will live in the body in glory with Christ forever.

The writer of Hebrews reminded us of that as well.
Hebrews 2:14-15 “Therefore, since the children share in flesh and blood, He Himself likewise also partook of the same, that through death He might render powerless him who had the power of death, that is, the devil, and might free those who through fear of death were subject to slavery all their lives.”

• For the believer there is no longer a “fear of death”.
• For the believer “death has no victory, it has no sting”.

• We are promised that as believers we only “pass through the valley of the SHADOW of death”

• That Jesus was dead, and is now alive and because He holds “the keys of death and of hades”, death has no power over us.

• We who believe in Him we will “live even if we die”.

• So much so that often times for the believer the Bible merely speaks of the death of a believer as one who has “fallen asleep”.

Death holds no power over us.
Christ died and was raised in a bodily resurrection and so will we.

THAT IS OUR DAILY HOPE.

• That is why we can forsake this world.
• That is why we can deny ourselves.
• That is why we can leave it all and follow Jesus.

We have hope of an inheritance that is waiting for us
Far better than anything here.

Easter is not a one-day-a-week holiday,
1. It is the reality in which we live
2. And it is our hope for eternity.

But that is still not all.
Easter is also THE MESSAGE we proclaim throughout the world.

And that is really the emphasis of the end of Luke’s gospel.
In fact, it is the emphasis at the end of all 4 gospel accounts.

They don’t all tell of the same incident.
• Mark, Luke and John speak about what took place Sunday night
• Matthew records a meeting that happened later in Galilee

But all of them end with the same admonition.
YOUR NEW PURPOSE IN LIFE IS TO PROCLAIM THE RESURRECTION

And for 2,000+ years this has been the passion of the church.
• Starting with the 11 apostles in the upper room,
• Trickling down through every believer,
• The calling has been to go into the world and proclaim the gospel.

The message that Jesus came, suffered, died, and rose from the dead.
The promise that all those who repent and believe in Him will be forgiven.

IT IS WHY WE ARE HERE.

I am often reminded (and even reproved) by
The final chapter in John’s gospel.

It is the story of Peter and his decision to return to fishing.
John 21:3 “Simon Peter said to them, “I am going fishing.” They said to him, “We will also come with you.” They went out and got into the boat; and that night they caught nothing.”

This WASN’T a vacation trip or a relaxing get-a-way,
Like we might say, “I’m going fishing this Saturday” or “I’m going to play golf next week.”

No, Peter was saying, “I’m going back to fishing”.

He was still a believer in Jesus.
But he was going to be a fisherman first.

Jesus confronted Peter and asked him 3 times if Peter loved Him.
And all 3 times after Peter acknowledged his love for Christ,
Jesus said basically the same thing.
• (21:15) “Tend My lambs”
• (21:16) “Shepherd My sheep”
• (21:17) “Tend My sheep”

Peter was no longer a fisherman, Peter was a shepherd.

That didn’t mean he never caught another fish in his life,
It simply speaks to who he now was.

Peter had it in his mind that
He was going to be a fisherman who believes in Jesus.

Jesus corrected the order of his thinking.
“No Peter, you’re gonna be a believer who may occasionally fish.”

It forces each of us to ask the question.
• “Who am I?”
• “What am I?”

And IF your answer is based on your worldly title or worldly occupation
YOU’RE MISSING THE MANDATE OF GOD ON YOUR LIFE.

You may very well have a career, but don’t let that title confuse you
As to who you are or what your primary mandate is.

We are followers of Christ.
• We have been bought with a price.
• We have been crucified with Christ and raised with Him.
• We have been placed under obligation to preach the gospel.

Whatever our worldly position we must remember that
First and foremost is our calling
To proclaim the risen Christ to the world.

That is the emphasis of these verses here in Luke’s gospel.
We looked at quite a bit of it last week,
But I want to continue looking at it this morning.

Here we have the disciples on Sunday night
They are in a state of confusion and panic.
• We see words like (37) “startled and frightened”
• We see words like (38) “troubled” and “doubts”

John’s gospel told us that they are holed up in this room
With the door locked for fear of the Jews.

In their mind Jesus is dead and they are next.

In many ways they are all in agreement with that “Impotent Gospel” that Cleopas preached.
• To them, the life and message of Jesus now only represents wasted potential and boatloads of confusion.

And if you follow Luke’s theme it all centers around the fact that
They are unwilling to believe the Scriptures.

• They didn’t listen when Jesus said this would happen
• They hadn’t paid attention to the message of the Old Testament
• Like those two men on the road to Emmaus they were also “foolish men” and
“slow of heart to believe all that the prophets had spoken”

BUT ON THIS NIGHT JESUS WAS CHANGING THAT.
• They were no longer going to be men of confusion they were about to become men of conviction.
• They were no longer going to be fearful men locked in a room, they were going to be courageous men preaching openly in the temple.
• They were no longer going to be weak men unable to handle adversity, they were going to be powerful men who put on display the very power of God.

It was all about to change.
Jesus was taking these disciples (learners)
And He’s about to make the apostles (sent ones).

These 14 verses in Luke’s gospel make that point.
Jesus here gives these men what they need to be preachers of the gospel.

#1 SIMPLE EVIDENCE
Luke 24:37-43

• We saw this last time so there’s no need to spend a lot of time here again.
• But you again notice the obvious rebuke of the Lord as He instantly stood in their midst.

(38) “And He said to them, “Why are you troubled, and why do doubts arise in your hearts?”

• It was unwarranted anxiety
• It was baseless doubt

• They should’ve known better
• They should’ve expected this

Later Peter will give a similar admonition to suffering believers.
1 Peter 4:12 “Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal among you, which comes upon you for your testing, as though some strange thing were happening to you;”

• A believer may certainly grieve in the midst of suffering and persecution
• But they should never be surprised or confused by it.
• It is well-documented in Scripture that persecution awaits those who follow
Christ.

In that same way the disciples should not have been confused
Regarding the death and resurrection of Christ.

That message is seen throughout the Old Testament
And it was even personally proclaimed to them by Jesus Himself.
So the rebuke is because they didn’t listen.

Then Jesus gives them the simple evidence that they apparently needed.
• He shows them His hands,
• He shows them His feet,
• He asks them to touch Him.

And when that is not enough,
• He even eats a piece of fish in front of them to prove, He is alive.

The apostles needed this.
It was also necessary that they see Him because they would become the initial proclaimers of that truth to the world.

Now, it must be noted that WE DON’T have that.
• We believe the resurrection based on the Scriptures.
• We proclaim the resurrection without having actually seen Jesus alive.

And incidentally Jesus pronounced a SPECIAL BLESSING
On those who do believe without seeing.

• Apparently on this night Thomas wasn’t with the rest.
• He won’t see Jesus until Jesus appears a second time.
• And Thomas’s pessimism provokes Jesus to talk about the importance of
believing without seeing.

John 20:26-29 “After eight days His disciples were again inside, and Thomas with them. Jesus came, the doors having been shut, and stood in their midst and said, “Peace be with you.” Then He said to Thomas, “Reach here with your finger, and see My hands; and reach here your hand and put it into My side; and do not be unbelieving, but believing.” Thomas answered and said to Him, “My Lord and my God!” Jesus said to him, “Because you have seen Me, have you believed? Blessed are they who did not see, and yet believed.”

The blessing is ours when we believe without seeing.

But you see that Jesus still gave the disciples the simple evidence they needed.

We also saw last time the second thing the disciples needed.
#2 SCRIPTURAL INSIGHT
Luke 24:44-48

What a fascinating reality when Luke says (45) “Then He opened their minds to understand the Scriptures”

• We know that God’s word is spiritually appraised.
• We know that no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God.

And so we know that understanding Scripture has NEVER been a matter of intellectual capacity, but a matter of grace and revelation.

This was certainly the case for the disciples.

Acts 4:13 “Now as they observed the confidence of Peter and John and understood that they were uneducated and untrained men, they were amazed, and began to recognize them as having been with Jesus.”

What a marvelous reality that even the “uneducated” and “untrained” were graciously granted such insight from God that even the religious elite could not debate them.

Indeed Paul would say:
1 Corinthians 2:12-13 “Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, so that we may know the things freely given to us by God, which things we also speak, not in words taught by human wisdom, but in those taught by the Spirit, combining spiritual thoughts with spiritual words.”

What a great passage regarding Christian preaching.
• We take the things of the Spirit;
• The things God reveals to us in His word,
• And these are the things we preach!

We need that Scriptural understanding.
SO DID THE DISCIPLES.

And on this day, instantly, Christ imparted to them spiritual wisdom.
Starting that night, they would never read the Old Testament the same way again.

If you read the NASB this is actually an easy study because the NASB puts all Old Testament quotes in small caps when they show up in the New Testament.

But travel sometime through Acts and note all the Old Testament passages that the apostles preached.
• They love Psalms 2, Psalms 16, Psalms 110, and Psalms 118
• They preach Joel 2, Isaiah 53, and Jeremiah 31
• The writer of Hebrews is especially fond of his Old Testament as he faithfully shows us Jesus in all those passages.
• Read Galatians 3 and 4 and listen as Paul unpacks the entire Abraham story and shows you Christ in all that God did in Abraham’s life.
• Look at 1 Peter 3 and listen as Peter explains to you how Noah’s Ark is about Jesus.

They now saw the true subject of all Scripture and that is Jesus.
And instantly the gospel began to immerge in every page.

Jesus said when they rightly understood their Old Testament
The gospel would become clear all through it.

(46-47) “and He said to them, “Thus it is written, that the Christ would suffer and rise again from the dead the third day, and that repentance for forgiveness of sins would be proclaimed in His name to all the nations, beginning from Jerusalem.”

There is you a good checklist to look for as you read the Old Testament.
Jesus said these are things that are written in the Old Testament.

• “Christ would suffer”
• “and rise again from the dead the third day”
• “repentance for forgiveness of sins would be proclaimed in His name”
• “to all the nations, beginning from Jerusalem”

The disciples had not seen those things in their Old Testament before,
But now they would see them everywhere.

THEY NEEDED SCRIPTURAL INSIGHT
Because they were going out to preach the Scriptures.

And of course you need that too.
Even as this first generation of apostles would pass the torch on to the next generation the mandate was clear.

Listen to Paul instruct Timothy:
2 Timothy 4:1-2 “I solemnly charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by His appearing and His kingdom: preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort, with great patience and instruction.”

2 Timothy 3:16-17 “All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work.”

That is our mandate, to go out and preach the word.
• We now take the Old Testament which points to and proclaims Christ and we preach it.
• We now take the New Testament which clarifies the gospel and we preach it.

THIS IS THE CALLING.

What else in your life could have more importance
Than the proclamation of the gospel to another human being?

By comparison,
THERE IS NO OTHER JOB and THERE IS NO OTHER MESSAGE.

This is why they were here.
This is why you are here.

To proclaim that Jesus Christ died for sinners and was raised from the dead according to the Scriptures, and that through repentance and faith in Christ sinners can be forgiven.

So they needed Simple Evidence, They needed Scriptural Insight
#3 SUPERNATURAL POWER
Luke 24:49

This is a fascinating command from the Lord here.

There is no message more urgent for a lost and dying world
Than the message that Jesus Christ atoned for sinners
And conquered the grave.

THAT IS AS URGENT AS IT GETS.

So it is almost strange that following the mandate to preach
The first command of Jesus is to wait.

“And behold, I am sending forth the promise of My Father upon you; but you are to stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high.”

You of course know that Jesus is speaking of the Holy Spirit.
• He is the promise of the Father.
• If you go into Luke’s sequel (the book of Acts) you’ll read Peter’s sermon at Pentecost about this promise.

Peter will quote from Joel 2.
Joel 2:28-32 “It will come about after this That I will pour out My Spirit on all mankind; And your sons and daughters will prophesy, Your old men will dream dreams, Your young men will see visions. “Even on the male and female servants I will pour out My Spirit in those days. “I will display wonders in the sky and on the earth, Blood, fire and columns of smoke. “The sun will be turned into darkness And the moon into blood Before the great and awesome day of the LORD comes. “And it will come about that whoever calls on the name of the LORD Will be delivered;”

It was a remarkable promise.

If you ask: Was the Holy Spirit present in the Old Testament?
The answer is “Yes”.

No one was ever saved without the regeneration of the Holy Spirit,
And that includes even men like Abraham or Moses or Daniel.

The Holy Spirit awakened men, convicted men, drew men, saved men, enlightened men, and sanctified men.

You say, “Then what is the difference in the New Testament?”

The difference is that in the Old Testament
Only a few were recipients of the Spirit’s power.

• We read about how “The Spirit of the LORD came upon” Samson or Moses or David or someone else.

Remember the story about Moses in Numbers.
• In Numbers 11 Moses was overwhelmed with the burden of leadership and he
cried out to God.

God answered:
Numbers 11:16-17 “The LORD therefore said to Moses, “Gather for Me seventy men from the elders of Israel, whom you know to be the elders of the people and their officers and bring them to the tent of meeting, and let them take their stand there with you. “Then I will come down and speak with you there, and I will take of the Spirit who is upon you, and will put Him upon them; and they shall bear the burden of the people with you, so that you will not bear it all alone.”

So God did that very thing and those 70 men all prophesied once, but not again.

However there were 2 who continued to prophesy.
Numbers 11:26-29 “But two men had remained in the camp; the name of one was Eldad and the name of the other Medad. And the Spirit rested upon them (now they were among those who had been registered, but had not gone out to the tent), and they prophesied in the camp. So a young man ran and told Moses and said, “Eldad and Medad are prophesying in the camp.” Then Joshua the son of Nun, the attendant of Moses from his youth, said, “Moses, my lord, restrain them.” But Moses said to him, “Are you jealous for my sake? Would that all the LORD’S people were prophets, that the LORD would put His Spirit upon them!”

Moses looked for a day when the power of God’s Spirit for ministry
Would be upon every single believer.

• This was the promise Joel spoke of in Joel 2
• This was the promise Jesus spoke of Luke 24
• This was the promise Peter said was fulfilled in Acts 2.

THE SPIRIT CAME WITH POWER.

Years ago, I attended a conference in which R.C. Sproul spoke about the power of the Holy Spirit which came at Pentecost.

“We also know that in the Upper Room, Jesus gave His longest discourse on the Holy Spirit when He said that when He would leave, He would not leave us comfortless, but that He would send along with the Father the paraclete, or what the Old King James Version of the Bible translated as the Comforter. And there’s a little problem with that use of the term “Comforter” in translating the Greek parakletos because it goes back to earlier English, indeed Elizabethan English, when the English language was more closely informed by ancient Latin than it is today. And the translation “comforter” had its roots in the Latin cum forte. So what Jesus was saying when He was saying, “I’m going to send you a Comforter,” what the King James called the Comforter, was that He was saying I’m going to send you the One who will come with strength. You know, we say a person may have a particular strength and we call it his forte and the use of the term forte is familiar to those of you who are engaged in music. You know, that little “f” or the double “ff” stands for forte, it means you play it with strength and with power.
And so what Jesus was saying is, I’m not sending the Holy Spirit to dry your tears, to console you, to make you feel better after you’ve been beaten up by your adversaries, although He does that. Rather the promise of the coming Spirit was for power and for strength.”
https://www.gty.org/library/sermons-library/TM13-3/undervaluing-pentecost-rc-sproul

This is what Jesus is talking about here too.

We are aware of the benefits of the Holy Spirit.
• We know that He sanctifies
• We know that He convicts
• We know that He guides
• We know that He glorifies Jesus

And all of those are important.

But the emphasis here from Jesus is that
The disciples dare not begin their ministry
Without the power that the Holy Spirit provides.

And in all honesty,
This is perhaps the main reason why so many people who claim to be believers never share the gospel.
• It could be that they aren’t really believers at all…
• It could be that since they are not believers they do not have the Holy Spirit…
• They do not have power.

The only other option or explanation would be blatant disobedience.
• The only other option is that they are a believer,
• And they do have the Holy Spirit,
• But they just refuse to obey the Lord.

But the point to be made here is simply this.
THERE IS POWER FOR THE MANDATE

• Christ has chosen to entrust His gospel, not to the angelic realm, but to the
human realm.
• Angels aren’t called to preach the gospel; that is a job for the church.
• But Christ did not leave them powerless.

He sent supernatural equipping to accomplish that goal.
He sent His Spirit.

Not just upon a select few of called men and women,
But upon all saved men and women.

Every believer now has the Spirit of God
And THE NECESSARY POWER to preach the gospel.

Paul said:
2 Corinthians 10:3-4 “For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh, for the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but divinely powerful for the destruction of fortresses.”

He’s NOT talking about miracle working power,
• Not all believers have that.
• I would argue that only the apostles had that.

He is talking about the power it takes to proclaim the gospel.
He is talking about the courage and confidence and conviction needed.

AND THESE MEN NEEDED THAT POWER.
On this day they were anxious, terrified, confused men
Locked in a room out of fear of the Jews.

But after the Spirit would come, they would break out of that room.
• They would take up residence in the temple
• And they would proclaim the gospel from the rooftops.

They became men of confidence and courage and conviction.
And the difference was the Spirit of God.

They needed Simple Evidence, Scriptural Insight, and Supernatural Power
AND JESUS GAVE IT ALL TO THEM.

What I want to remind you of is that
Christ has given those things to you as well.

• The Evidence they received has been declared to you also.
• The Scripture they understood has been enlightened to you also.
• The Spirit they received has been imparted to you also.

And the mandate that were given has been given to you as well.

Go forth and preach the gospel.
Acts 1:8 “but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth.”

• Peter preached that gospel in Jerusalem.
• His preaching also reached Judea.
• When persecution broke out it was Philip who took the gospel to Samaria.
• Paul took the gospel to Asia minor, to Rome, and even to Spain.

But none of them carried it to “the remotest part of the earth.”

The church is still doing that to this day.
And you are to be a part of that.

TAKE THE GOSPEL TO THE WORLD.
Preach Jesus crucified and raised from the dead.

• It is the message you are entrusted with
• It is the message you are enlightened to
• It is the message you are equipped to preach

Go preach it!

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Proclaiming The Resurrection
Luke 24:36-49
April 4, 2021

This morning we return again to Luke’s gospel.
It is certainly BENEFICIAL TIMING on our part that on this special day
We also happen to be studying Luke’s account of the resurrection.

If you have been with us the past few weeks,
We have been looking at the resurrection.

• All 4 gospel writers give their version of the event.
• Yet, as we have said, THEY ALL HAVE ONE GLARING OMISSION.
• None of them reveal the resurrection itself; none of them actually saw it.
• Instead they all, as inspired by the Holy Spirit, share the details of the story that they saw as the most compelling evidences that Jesus was raised.

• Matthew was mesmerized by the guards
• Mark loved the eye witness testimony of the women
• John was convinced by the arrangement of the death rags in the tomb

But Luke included none of those things.
• Nothing about the guards
• Nothing about sealing the stone
• Nothing about the guards seeing an angel
• Nothing about the guards abandoning their post
• Nothing about the women actually seeing Jesus
• Nothing about Mary supposing Him to be the gardener
• Nothing about the significance of the grave clothes

Luke omits all of that.
Luke’s glaring evidence of the resurrection is completely different.

Luke’s gospel drives home this one undeniable point:
WE BELIEVE JESUS ROSE FROM THE DEAD
BECAUSE THE SCRIPTURE SAYS HE DID.

It started with those women who went early Sunday to the tomb and found it empty.
• They were perplexed, and had no thought of a resurrection
• An angel appeared and mildly rebuked them for not remembering the words of Jesus.
• The women then ran to the 11 and told them, but their message was considered as nonsense.

We then saw 2 men leaving Jerusalem and taking the 7 mile trip to Emmaus.
• They were sad as they discussed the wasted ministry of Jesus.
• Jesus appeared to them (they didn’t recognize Him)
• Cleopas shared what we called “The Impotent Gospel”
• Jesus rebuked them for not believing the Old Testament prophets regarding the death and resurrection of the Christ.

All were in despair because they had not believed the Scripture
All were rebuked because they had not believed the Scripture

And we have said repeatedly that
The greatest evidence that we can give men
Regarding the resurrection is the testimony of God.

• There is forensic proof that Jesus died and rose again.
• There is historical proof that Jesus died and rose again.
• There is circumstantial proof that Jesus died and rose again

And all of those things are good and important,
And we certainly don’t deny them.

BUT weightier than any eye witness testimony is the testimony of God.
Weightier than any forensic evidence is the proclamation of God.

We believe Jesus rose from the dead because the Scripture says He did.
And this is has been Luke’s point over the last few weeks.

This morning we move forward, and we come to the end of Luke’s gospel.

• Every gospel writer included the cross
• Every gospel writer included the burial
• Every gospel writer included the resurrection
• And every gospel writer included the commission that followed

Each gospel writer understood that the truth of the resurrection
Is truth that must be proclaimed.

So they all end with the commission of Jesus
To go forth and proclaim this truth.

The most famous is found in Matthew’s gospel
Matthew 28:16-20 “But the eleven disciples proceeded to Galilee, to the mountain which Jesus had designated. When they saw Him, they worshiped Him; but some were doubtful. And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”

You are likely familiar with what has been called “The Great Commission”

The text we study this morning in Luke’s gospel is a different occasion.
• Matthew’s comes later in Galilee.
• Luke and John speak of this meeting in Jerusalem.

But even as they speak of different occasions,
The consistency is that they all immediately
Run from the resurrection to the commissioning of Jesus
To go and proclaim the resurrection to the world.

None of the gospel accounts end with the resurrection.
They all end with a commissioning of Jesus to proclaim the resurrection.

So allow me to make one obvious point this morning.
EASTER IS NOT A HOLIDAY

The Resurrection is not just a date on a calendar once a year
Like we might celebrate “Labor Day” or “Memorial Day”

EASTER IS MUCH BIGGER.

• We live in the reality of the resurrection every single day.
• And we proclaim the message of the resurrection throughout the world.

If Easter for you is a one day a year holiday where you go to church
Or sing “Because He Lives” then you have horribly missed the point.

The entire life of a Christian centers around and focuses on
The fact that Christ conquered death.

This isn’t a holiday,
• It is our life!
• It is our hope!
• It is our message to the world!

Luke 24:36-49 emphasizes that.
• The first 35 verses of Luke 24 focused on the fact that Jesus rose from the dead.
• In verse 36 Luke begins his transition to show us that this is the message that Christ intended to be preached to the nations.

Here we see that Jesus is commissioning the 11
To go into the world and proclaim that He is alive.

And in order for them to do that, there were 3 things they needed.
(We’ll touch them all this morning, but we’ll likely have to work on it some more next week)

#1 SIMPLE PROOF
Luke 24:36-43

Now, if you’ve been with us the last 3 weeks you know that
We’ve jumped up and down on the table and emphasized that the reason we believe in the resurrection is because the Bible says He rose.

• We’ve talked about how Luke purposely omitted eye-witness testimony.
• We’ve talked about how Luke ignored forensic evidence.
• Luke deferred everything to the Scriptures.

And then we get to these 8 verses
That are absolutely chalked full of forensic proof.

Jesus is there in front of them.
• He is speaking, they are hearing Him.
• He is standing, they are seeing Him.
• He asks them to touch Him.
• He eats fish in front of them.

That is all very “hands on” type stuff.
• These are forensic proofs.
• They all deal with the human senses.
• Sight, Sound, Touch.

And so immediately we back up a little and say,
“But I thought Luke’s point was that
This type of evidence wasn’t necessary.”

For us, it’s not.
But for the apostles it was necessary.

They HAD to see Him.
One of the pre-requisites for being an apostle
Was that you had to be an eye-witness of the resurrected Lord.

1 Corinthians 15:3-8 “For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, and that He appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. After that He appeared to more than five hundred brethren at one time, most of whom remain until now, but some have fallen asleep; then He appeared to James, then to all the apostles; and last of all, as to one untimely born, He appeared to me also.”

There you have Paul sort of blending the two together.
• Christ did rise according to the Scriptures.
• And Paul said that he and the other apostles are eye-witnesses of it.

Peter said the same when talking to Cornelius
Acts 10:39-43 “We are witnesses of all the things He did both in the land of the Jews and in Jerusalem. They also put Him to death by hanging Him on a cross. “God raised Him up on the third day and granted that He become visible, not to all the people, but to witnesses who were chosen beforehand by God, that is, to us who ate and drank with Him after He arose from the dead. “And He ordered us to preach to the people, and solemnly to testify that this is the One who has been appointed by God as Judge of the living and the dead. “Of Him all the prophets bear witness that through His name everyone who believes in Him receives forgiveness of sins.”

You see it again.
The Scripture said it, and we are witnesses that the Scripture is true.

Now we understand the apostle’s ministry better.
• They DID NOT preach solely on their experiences.
• They preached the Scripture, but their experience was used to verify that what the Scripture promised was true.

It was important that these men see Jesus and this evidence.

And so Luke includes it here.

These men needed simple evidence.
(36-38) “While they were telling these things, He Himself stood in their midst and said to them, “Peace be to you.” But they were startled and frightened and thought that they were seeing a spirit. And He said to them, “Why are you troubled, and why do doubts arise in your hearts?”

So if you are following along.
• Jesus vanished from before those men at the table in Emmaus
• Those men took the 7 mile run back to Jerusalem in the dark.
• They are in the process of telling their story.

And BOOM!
“He Himself stood in their midst and said to them, “Peace be to you.”

• On one hand it was a normal Jewish greeting.
• On the other it was an important reminder.

But the reaction was not surprising.
“But they were startled and frightened and thought that they were seeing a spirit.”

• IT WASN’T THAT Jesus looked like a ghost.
• NOR WAS IT that He was glowing like when He was transfigured.

The reason they were startled is because they thought He was dead.

Remember later when God breaks Peter out of prison?
Acts 12:13-16 “When he knocked at the door of the gate, a servant-girl named Rhoda came to answer. When she recognized Peter’s voice, because of her joy she did not open the gate, but ran in and announced that Peter was standing in front of the gate. They said to her, “You are out of your mind!” But she kept insisting that it was so. They kept saying, “It is his angel.” But Peter continued knocking; and when they had opened the door, they saw him and were amazed.”

The disciples are shocked for the same reason.
They thought Jesus was dead, He should not be standing there.

Furthermore, according to John’s gospel, He walked right through the wall.
John 20:19 “So when it was evening on that day, the first day of the week, and when the doors were shut where the disciples were, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in their midst and said to them, “Peace be with you.”

It is the mystery of His resurrected body.
(A body we will have one day since we will be made like Him)

His body looked human.
• Mary thought He was the gardener.
• The men on the Emmaus road thought he was an ordinary traveler.
• In a minute He’ll eat fish.

Yet,
• He could vanish from sight and reappear somewhere else.
• He could walk through a wall.

It’s a bit of a mystery to us.
But you understand why they were startled, at least initially.

But, as we have noted, Jesus has taken issue with the fact
That His followers have thus far failed to believe the Scriptures,
And He addresses that again.

(38) “And He said to them, “Why are you troubled, and why do doubts arise in your hearts?”

“troubled” is TARASSO
It means “to agitate or be anxious or restless”

In Acts 17:3 it is translated “stirred up”

“doubts” is DIALOGISMOS
It means “to have inward reasoning; a dialogue in your own mind”

They were stirred up, they were confused,
They were inwardly arguing with themselves.

They are a group with no stability, no foundation, and no certainty.

And again that all stems from their failure to understand and believe
What the Scriptures had taught.

They also hadn’t believed the eye witnesses that said they saw Jesus.
• They hadn’t believed the women.
• They apparently weren’t believing the men from Emmaus

Mark 16:9-14 “[Now after He had risen early on the first day of the week, He first appeared to Mary Magdalene, from whom He had cast out seven demons. She went and reported to those who had been with Him, while they were mourning and weeping. When they heard that He was alive and had been seen by her, they refused to believe it. After that, He appeared in a different form to two of them while they were walking along on their way to the country. They went away and reported it to the others, but they did not believe them either. Afterward He appeared to the eleven themselves as they were reclining at the table; and He reproached them for their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they had not believed those who had seen Him after He had risen.”

So these men were full of doubt and fear and anxiety
And Jesus shows up in the middle and rebukes them for it.

And He offers them the physical evidence that they apparently needed.

(39-40) “See My hands and My feet, that it is I Myself; touch Me and see, for a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have.” And when He had said this, He showed them His hands and His feet.”

This is the first time He made this offer.
• Remember, in John’s gospel, He’ll make the same offer later to Thomas.

But Jesus is giving them that forensic simple evidence
That they would need.

But, as you will notice, initially it is still not enough.
(We’ve said that, if you won’t believe the Scriptures…)
(41) “While they still could not believe it because of their joy and amazement…”

These guys are all over the place.
• 5 minutes ago the resurrection was impossible,
• And now it’s too good to be true.

If nothing else learn here that the story of the resurrection
Was NOT some story concocted by the disciples.

• They didn’t make this up.
• In fact, for the longest time they wouldn’t even believe it.

The only reason they went and preached that Jesus rose from the dead
Is because Jesus had appeared to them and convinced them He did.

And here He gives them even more proof.
“He said to them, “Have you anything here to eat? They gave Him a piece of broiled fish; and He took it and ate it before them.”

IT IS SIMPLE EVIDENCE.
Jesus is alive!

And this is going to change everything.

LAST WEEK we saw that “Impotent Gospel” of Cleopas.
We heard what he preached when he thought Jesus was dead.

1) Cleopas called Jesus a prophet because that’s the best thing you can say about a dead man, but the apostles aren’t going to preach about Jesus being a prophet.
The apostles are going to preach about Him being the Messiah, the anointed King, the very Son of God.

Romans 1:4 “[He] was declared the Son of God with power by the resurrection from the dead, according to the Spirit of holiness, Jesus Christ our Lord,”

2) Cleopas on that road preached that Jesus is dead, but the apostles aren’t going to preach that.
The apostles will go to the world and proclaim that Jesus is alive!

3) Cleopas lamented the cross as a great failure,
The apostles, through the lens of the resurrection, will preach the cross as the glory of God!

Galatians 6:14 “But may it never be that I would boast, except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.”

4) Cleopas preached that they were in despair because Jesus failed to bring the redemption they were hoping for.
But the apostles will go out and preach that redemption is now available because Jesus is alive!

Acts 5:30-31 “The God of our fathers raised up Jesus, whom you had put to death by hanging Him on a cross. “He is the one whom God exalted to His right hand as a Prince and a Savior, to grant repentance to Israel, and forgiveness of sins.”

5) Cleopas thought those women were crazy who said Jesus was alive.
But the apostles will take that message to the world and never back down from it, even when faced with persecution and death.

The resurrection changed everything.
JESUS IS ALIVE!

And Jesus just proved it to the disciples
With the simple evidence they needed.
But that wasn’t all they needed.

Simple Evidence
#2 SCRIPTURAL INSIGHT
Luke 24:44-48

Here again Luke is returning to point.
How important it is to believe what the Scripture says
About the resurrection of Jesus.

And look at how thorough the message is.

(44) “Now He said to them, “These are My words which I spoke to you while I was still with you, that all things which are written about Me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled.”

Did you catch all the places where the resurrection was spoken of?

By Jesus – “These are My words”
Luke 9:22 “saying, “The Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed and be raised up on the third day.”

By Moses – “written about Me in the Law of Moses”
Deuteronomy 18:15 “The LORD your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your countrymen, you shall listen to him.”

By the Prophets – “and the Prophets”
Isaiah 53:9 “His grave was assigned with wicked men, Yet He was with a rich man in His death, Because He had done no violence, Nor was there any deceit in His mouth.”

By the Poets – “and the Psalms”
Psalms 16:10 “For You will not abandon my soul to Sheol; Nor will You allow Your Holy One to undergo decay.”

According to Jesus the entire Old Testament was about Him.

John 5:39 “You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; it is these that testify about Me;”

The entire OT is about His birth, His power, His life, His preaching, His suffering, His death, His resurrection, and His reign.

It was all about Him and the disciples had missed it all.

So:
(45) “Then He opened their minds to understand the Scriptures,”

What a moment for them!
• All of a sudden they could read the Old Testament and Jesus was obvious.
• Whereas they hadn’t seen Him before, they most definitely see Him now.

And the New Testament is filled with the things they learned.
• They read about Noah’s ark and saw Jesus.
• They read about Abraham’s ram and saw Jesus.
• They read about the Passover Lamb and saw Jesus.
• They saw the manna fall from heaven and they saw Jesus.
• They saw water from the rock and they saw Jesus.
• They saw the serpent lifted up in the wilderness and they saw Jesus.
• They read the Psalms and it was all about Jesus.
• They read the prophets and Jesus was the subject.

He was everywhere.
And now they could see Him.
It was a great moment!

And I KNOW IT WAS, AS DO YOU, because in many ways that is what God does for us when we are saved and indwelt with the Holy Spirit.

1 Corinthians 2:14-16 “But a natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually appraised. But he who is spiritual appraises all things, yet he himself is appraised by no one. For WHO HAS KNOWN THE MIND OF THE LORD, THAT HE WILL INSTRUCT HIM? But we have the mind of Christ.”

• That DOESN’T MEAN that nothing in the Bible is ever confusing or that we
don’t have to study and seek God to understand; certainly we do.

• But it DOES MEAN that now our minds are also opened by the Spirit of God to
see that it is all about Him.

The disciples had not been able to see
That the Scriptures all pointed to Jesus
And therefore they were not able to go out and preach.

But on this day Jesus “opened their minds to understand the Scriptures”
And that had to happen.

(47-48) “And He said to them, “Thus it is written, that the Christ would suffer and rise again from the dead the third day, and that repentance for forgiveness of sins would be proclaimed in His name to all the nations, beginning from Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things.”

When Jesus opened their minds to understand the Scriptures,
What were the main points they were supposed to see?

The PARTICULARS of the gospel.
The suffering, death, and resurrection of Christ.

• That Jesus, the sinless Son of God, came to this earth and lived among men.
• He suffered (as Isaiah said) partly to become a merciful High Priest
• But also to bear the judgment for the sinners He came to save.

2 Corinthians 5:21 “He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.”

Jesus died
• Because “the wages of sin is death”.
• Because God promised Adam and Eve if they sinned they would die.
• Because the Law said “the soul that sins will die”
• Because “without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness”.

But God raised Him from the dead.
• It proved He was sinless
• It proved He was righteous
• It proved that His sacrifice on our behalf was accepted by God.

God saw our sin and accepted His life as payment.

That is the overwhelming message of the Old Testament.
• Everywhere you look you see redemption.
• Everywhere you look you see grace.
• Everywhere you look you see atonement.

And it all points to Christ.
The disciples could now see the particulars of the gospel
Throughout the Old Testament.

They also saw THE PROMISE OF THE GOSPEL
“that repentance for forgiveness of sins would be proclaimed”

The gospel promises forgiveness.
The gospel promises that sinful men, regardless of how bad they are, can be forgiven before God.
• If they repent of their sins.
• If they turn from their wicked ways.

The disciples could now see that God was in the process of saving sinners through Jesus, by granting them repentance.

But more than any of that, the disciples could now see THE PERSON OF THE GOSPEL
“forgiveness of sins would be proclaimed in His name”

Forgiveness would now be available only because
Jesus had come and suffered God’s wrath.

And so now, anyone who repents of their sins
And trusts in the atoning work of Jesus
Will be forgiven and declared righteous in the sight of God.

The gospel is all about the person and work of Jesus
And the disciples could now see that.

But they also saw THE PEOPLE OF THE GOSPEL
“forgiveness of sins would be proclaimed in His name to all the nations, beginning from Jerusalem.”

Earlier in His ministry Jesus sent out the 12 and told them to only go “to the lost sheep of the house of Israel”.

But now, He reveals that God’s salvation is for the whole world.

Isaiah 49:6 “He says, “It is too small a thing that You should be My Servant To raise up the tribes of Jacob and to restore the preserved ones of Israel; I will also make You a light of the nations So that My salvation may reach to the end of the earth.”

Even Gentiles could be saved by repenting and trusting in Jesus.

And Jesus revealed THE PREACHERS OF THE GOSPEL
“You are witnesses of these things.”

He told the disciples to go and proclaim to the world
This message of salvation.
And that is what they did.

Listen to just part of one sermon from Peter.
Acts 3:17-26 “And now, brethren, I know that you acted in ignorance, just as your rulers did also. “But the things which God announced beforehand by the mouth of all the prophets, that His Christ would suffer, He has thus fulfilled. “Therefore repent and return, so that your sins may be wiped away, in order that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord; and that He may send Jesus, the Christ appointed for you, whom heaven must receive until the period of restoration of all things about which God spoke by the mouth of His holy prophets from ancient time. “Moses said, ‘THE LORD GOD WILL RAISE UP FOR YOU A PROPHET LIKE ME FROM YOUR BRETHREN; TO HIM YOU SHALL GIVE HEED to everything He says to you. ‘And it will be that every soul that does not heed that prophet shall be utterly destroyed from among the people.’ “And likewise, all the prophets who have spoken, from Samuel and his successors onward, also announced these days. “It is you who are the sons of the prophets and of the covenant which God made with your fathers, saying to Abraham, ‘AND IN YOUR SEED ALL THE FAMILIES OF THE EARTH SHALL BE BLESSED.’ “For you first, God raised up His Servant and sent Him to bless you by turning every one of you from your wicked ways.”

They went out and preached exactly what Jesus said.
• They preached Jesus crucified and raised from the dead
• They preached it from the Old Testament
• And they offered forgiveness to anyone who would repent and call on His name.

THAT CALLING BECAME THEIR LIFE.

DO YOU SEE THAT
The resurrection was far bigger than just some one-day event?

Easter is not some holiday to celebrate once a year.

• Easter is the message of the Law
• Easter is the message of the Prophets
• Easter is the message of the Psalms
• Easter was the message of Jesus
• Easter became the message of the Apostles and thus the New Testament.

That means that Easter is now our message…every day!

We are called to go and proclaim to men what every page of the Bible teaches:
• That Jesus suffered and died for sinners;
• That God raised Him from the dead;
• And that salvation is available to all those who repent and trust in Him.

Easter started for these men here in this upper room,
But Easter never ended.

This Sunday in the upper room started off a string of Sunday gatherings
THAT HAS NEVER STOPPED.

This message revealed in the upper room
Became the daily message of the apostles in the world.

• Do you see how big the resurrection is?
• Do you see how big Easter is?

Do not let this be some “once a year” holiday for you.

What happened here is to be the consuming truth of your life.
After you hear this message there should be no other message.

This is the universal message of the Bible.
And when the disciples saw that, they never discussed anything else.

They needed simple evidence They needed scriptural insight
#3 SUPERNATURAL POWER
Luke 24:49

I just want to introduce this one,
We’ll talk about all of this more next week.

But here Jesus told them not to go without the power of the Holy Spirit.

Because
• It is the Spirit who convicts men of sin.
• It is the Spirit who guides into the truth.
• It is the Spirit who glorifies Jesus.

• It is the Spirit who gives courage
• It is the Spirit who gives wisdom
• It is the Spirit who provides sanctification

If these men were to be witnesses for Jesus they had to have Him.
And so do you.

As I said, we’ll talk more about this next week.

But this morning I simply want to drive into your mind
That we don’t just gather to celebrate Easter once a year,
We proclaim it every day and everywhere.

That was the point.
Don’t try to be a spectator in the pew, be a preacher in the world.

• The resurrection demands proclamation,
• Every gospel writer understood that.
• I hope you understand it as well.

Download Here:

A Prayer Of The Afflicted
Psalms 102
March 28, 2021

It’s not hard to title this Psalm, since the Bible does it for us.

Actually the Bible gives a longer title:
“A Prayer of the Afflicted when he is faint and pours out his complaint before the LORD.”

That speaks a mouthful regarding the content of this Psalm.
It is no doubt one that has been easily related to
And sung countless times by those who suffer.

Suffering is a subject in which we find much material in Scripture.

• We see many who suffer
• We see promises of suffering
• We see responses to suffering
• We see reasons for suffering

The Scripture also gives us many purposes for why God allows suffering.

PUNISHMENT is certainly one.
• The book of Judges shows this repeatedly, that God’s people would slip into idolatry and God would bring upon them a foreign nation to punish them for their sin.
• Even the Exile of Israel to Babylon was a form of punishment for Israel’s sin against God and her idolatry.
• We understand that in life.

DISCIPLINE / SANCTIFICATION is clearly a purpose for suffering.

Hebrews 12:5-6 “and you have forgotten the exhortation which is addressed to you as sons, “MY SON, DO NOT REGARD LIGHTLY THE DISCIPLINE OF THE LORD, NOR FAINT WHEN YOU ARE REPROVED BY HIM; FOR THOSE WHOM THE LORD LOVES HE DISCIPLINES, AND HE SCOURGES EVERY SON WHOM HE RECEIVES.”

• One of the ways that God cleanses or sanctifies His children is through the furnace of affliction.
• God uses suffering as a way of conforming us into His righteous image.

ENDURANCE is another.

James 1:2-4 “Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. And let endurance have its perfect result, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.”

• Endurance is a necessary attribute for living the Christian life, and the simple fact is that you cannot learn endurance in a weekend course.
• It takes a while.
• It requires the child of God to be put in a difficult situation for an extended period of time simply to learn how to endure.

SYMPATHY is certainly a purpose for suffering.

• We are called to weep with those who weep or mourn with those who mourn.
• We are called to pray for prisoners like we are prisoners with them.
• We understand that nothing teaches us sympathy and compassion for the suffering of another like our own suffering.

There are many purposes and reasons
For which God allows or even causes His children to suffer.

The one we examine tonight is:
TO BENEFIT OTHERS

Namely that our suffering, and the way God helps us in the midst of it,
Can be used for the benefit of others.

Consider for a moment:
1 Peter 5:6-11 “Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you at the proper time, casting all your anxiety on Him, because He cares for you. Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. But resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same experiences of suffering are being accomplished by your brethren who are in the world. After you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace, who called you to His eternal glory in Christ, will Himself perfect, confirm, strengthen and establish you. To Him be dominion forever and ever. Amen.”

Peter there speaks of a people who are suffering at the hands of Satan.
• That prowling lion is attacking them.
• God is allowing it
• They are called to endure and resist
• They are promised that an end to it will come

But notice the simple encouragement that is given in verse 9
“But resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same experiences of suffering are being accomplished by your brethren who are in the world.”

• Now, Peter is NOT SAYING, “Keep your chin up, you’re not the only one who is suffering.”
• He DOESN’T SAY, “the same experience of suffering are being experienced by your brethren who are in the world.”

Peter says that those experiences of suffering “are being accomplished”
The Greek word for “accomplished” is EPITELEO

You recognize TELEO since it is the word Christ used on the cross
When He said, “It is finished”
Christ said it was finished or completed or accomplished.

Peter uses the same, only he uses an intensified form of the word
When he says EPITELEO.

Peter says in your suffering, look around,
Brothers and sisters around the world completing their suffering. They are accomplishing God’s purposes. They are graduating.

Or we might consider Paul’s language when he said, “In all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him whom loved us.” (Romans 8:37)

And so we see that
• All of the suffering of other believers…
• And the completion of that suffering…
• Is a great encouragement to those who currently suffer.

Consider what James said:
James 5:10-11 “As an example, brethren, of suffering and patience, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord. We count those blessed who endured. You have heard of the endurance of Job and have seen the outcome of the Lord’s dealings, that the Lord is full of compassion and is merciful.”

James does the same thing as Peter.
In your suffering he tells you to look at the suffering of those who have gone before you.
• Look at how they endured…
• Look at the end result of their suffering…
• You will find encouragement from their story.

Or consider Paul:
2 Corinthians 1:6-7 “But if we are afflicted, it is for your comfort and salvation; or if we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which is effective in the patient enduring of the same sufferings which we also suffer; and our hope for you is firmly grounded, knowing that as you are sharers of our sufferings, so also you are sharers of our comfort.”

• Paul said that our suffering is for your benefit.
• Paul even said, “for your comfort and salvation”
• It is remarkable that our suffering could be used to such great extents.

It appears that this is the mentality learned by our Psalmist in Psalms 102.

Just as he has gained encouragement
From the way God has delivered others in their suffering,
He knows God will use his story to encourage future generations.

It is perhaps the noblest purpose of suffering.

To suffer and to do so in order that you might encourage others
And to be used of God for the benefit of others and for His glory.

That is a Christ-like mindset in suffering.

NOW, a good mindset doesn’t change the pain of suffering,
And it doesn’t change a desire for relief.

And you will see all of that here in our Psalmist.

So let’s work through this Psalm tonight
As we see this sufferer who “is faint”
And who is pouring out “his complaint”.

I would say that while “complaint” has almost an entirely negative connotation in our language, I’m not sure this Psalmist is speaking negatively.

The word can also simply speak of “one who is consumed in thought.”

For instance:
Elijah used it in his mocking of Baal at Mt. Carmel.
1 Kings 18:27 “It came about at noon, that Elijah mocked them and said, “Call out with a loud voice, for he is a god; either he is occupied or gone aside, or is on a journey, or perhaps he is asleep and needs to be awakened.”

There the same word is translated “occupied”
One who is too mentally distracted to listen to your complaint.

The Psalmist isn’t so much complaining about God as he is consumed with his suffering.
• He can’t talk about anything else…
• He can’t focus on anything else…
• His mind is overcome with this one issue…

And in that great turmoil, he lends us a great perspective.
Let’s work our way through this Psalm.
3 Points

#1 THE PAIN OF HIS SUFFERING
Psalms 102:1-11

Very simply, you need to gain some perspective
As to how badly our Psalmist is suffering.

There are 5 sub points here that will help us understand the degree of his suffering.
1) URGENCY (1-2)

“Hear my prayer, O LORD! And let my cry for help come to You. Do not hide Your face from me in the day of my distress; Incline Your ear to me; In the day when I call answer me quickly.”

Those verses speak to us of a man who is out of time.

Maybe when we FIRST ENTER suffering we may have the mentality that:
• “I can endure this…”
• “This is for my good so let it be…”

If this Psalmist at one point had that mentality, it is gone now.
• Now, he wants relief.
• Now, he wants it over.

Polite requests have turned into pointed statements.
• “Hear my prayer”
• “Do not hide Your face from me”
• “Incline Your ear to Me”
• “answer me quickly”

It feels a little like the urgency of the message Jesus received from Martha and Mary stating, “He whom You love is sick.” (John 11:3)

It’s time for You to come and come now.
There is urgency in the Psalm.

2) FASTING (3-4)

“For my days have been consumed in smoke, And my bones have been scorched like a hearth. My heart has been smitten like grass and has withered away, Indeed, I forget to eat my bread.”

There is turmoil in his innermost being.
He speaks of the point of his “bones” and the pain of his “heart”

That is poetic language to illustrate the depth of his sorrow.
• If someone says, “I hurt in my heart for them”
• Or, “I could feel it in my bones”

That is language that speaks of a deeper pain.

Certainly that is the pain of the Psalmist
And in response he says, “I forget to eat my bread.”

It is a naturally induced fast.
• Fasting is anytime the spiritual takes precedent over the physical.
• When you are so consumed with a spiritual issue that to stop and eat just doesn’t make sense.
• In fact, often times a person may not even be hungry in their fasting.

An intentional fast may be a time when you purposely put aside the physical for the sake of the spiritual. In that time, you might actually be hungry, but you intentionally push that aside for the sake of the spiritual cause.

But a natural one; it may not even be a choice.

This Psalmist is suffering so greatly and so deeply
That he has even lost his appetite.

3) SLEEPLESSNESS (5-7)

“Because of the loudness of my groaning My bones cling to my flesh. I resemble a pelican of the wilderness; I have become like an owl of the waste places. I lie awake, I have become like a lonely bird on a housetop.”

Certainly you see that sleep has fled from his eyes.
It’s not just bad sleep, but no sleep.
He can’t escape it.

But it is also a great loneliness.
He compares himself to 3 birds here.
• “a pelican in the wilderness”
• “an owl of the waste places”
• “a lonely bird on a housetop”

He is alone and he cannot escape his pain even through sleep.
(no friends, no family, no comfort, no sleep)
NO RELIEF

4) TEARS (8-9)

“My enemies have reproached me all day long; Those who deride me have used my name as a curse. For I have eaten ashes like bread And mingled my drink with weeping”

In his pain, instead of comfort, our Psalmist found scorn and reproach.

It is hard not to think of Job here
• Whose on wife told him to “curse God and die”;
• Whose own friends came only to accuse him of wickedness.
• No one helped and no one cared.
• He sat on the ash heap in repentance hoping to find relief from his predicament,
• But all he found was ridicule and shame.

And his tears have been many.

5) DESPAIR (10-11)

“Because of Your indignation and Your wrath, For You have lifted me up and cast me away. My days are like a lengthened shadow, And I wither away like grass.”

• The Psalmist fancies himself under God’s “indignation”
• And under God’s “wrath”
• He feels as though God has “cast [him] away”

And he says, “My days are like a lengthened shadow”

You know that “late in the day even a short man casts a long shadow.”
The Psalmist is saying, “I’m at the end”

He is finished and about to depart.
“I wither away like grass”

And we simply read all that, and listen to his painful lament
To get a handle on THE DEGREE OF HIS SUFFERING.

IT IS BAD.

The Pain of His Suffering
#2 THE PURPOSE OF HIS SUFFERING
Psalms 102:12-22

This is where great perspective begins to emerge.
The Psalmist here begins to unload some tremendous wisdom regarding the purposes behind his suffering.

He just stated in verse 11 that “I wither away like grass.”
• That is a picture of how transient he is.
• His life is temporary.
• He said in verse 3 “my days are consumed in smoke”

He won’t be here long.
It reminds of James telling us that our days are simply “a vapor”

We are temporary at best.

However, in verse 12 the Psalmist focus shifts to God.
(12) “But You, O LORD, abide forever, and Your name to all generations.”

That is to say, “While I am temporary and transient like smoke or grass, You are eternal.”

He is recognizing something about God.
• In my suffering, I cannot see the purpose, because I am limited to such a small view.
• But You are eternal. You see the end-game.
• You see beyond this moment into the far-reaching purposes of how my suffering will be used.

That is great perspective.

Often times I remind people that it is not often that
We receive our “Ah-ha!” moment in this life.

That is to say, very few people are ever allowed to see
The full purposes behind their suffering.

(Joseph got to see it – “God sent me here to save you”)

But think about Job, he was never told.
And most of the time neither are we.

But I also remind people that if you trust the goodness of God
• Then you should know that someday we will be with the Lord.
• On that day, we will know fully as we are fully known.
• On that day we will understand why God allowed our suffering and we will
undoubtedly say, “That was brilliant!”

We will thank God for what He accomplished through our suffering.

The Psalmist is walking in that kind of faith here.
He knows God sees all and knows all.

He also knows that God is always compassionate
• And that He never causes us to suffer for no purpose
• Or for one second longer than is necessary.

He knows God immediately comes to the aid of His suffering children
When the purpose is complete.

(13-14) “You will arise and have compassion on Zion; For it is time to be gracious to her, For the appointed time has come. Surely Your servants find pleasure in her stones And feel pity for her dust.”

Compassion is coming
Grace is coming

And he even sees a day when God’s servants will “find pleasure in her stones and feel pity for her dust.”

That is to say that in the midst of the rubble they will be comforted.

The Psalmist knows it is coming.

And he knows that this suffering and ultimate deliverance will be for the glory of God.
(15) “So the nations will fear the name of the LORD and all the kings of the earth Your glory.”

This deliverance from suffering will be a way
In which God glorifies Himself in the midst of the world.

We think about times like the Exodus here.
• 400 years of slavery
• Children of Israel crying out
• And when God saw fit to deliver and comfort His people, He did so to His own
glory.

The Psalmist knows that too.

So there is some really good perspective here even though he is suffering so intensely.
1. He knows that his suffering is not wasted
2. He knows there is a purpose even if he can’t see it
3. He knows that it will come to an end because God is compassionate
4. He knows that when it ends God will be glorified in the world.

Those are really good perspectives from a man
Who is suffering so badly that he can’t eat or sleep.

I suppose a good question would be:
WHY DOES HE KNOW THAT?

(16-17) “For the LORD has built up Zion; He has appeared in His glory. He has regarded the prayer of the destitute And has not despised their prayer.”

Notice the verb tense.
Because that is what God “has” done in the past.

His suffering is not the first case of suffering.
There have been many who have come before him.

And even though he is in pain
He can see how it worked out for those who were before him.

• That God “built up” what He afflicted
• That God “appeared in His glory”
• That God “regarded the prayer of the destitute”
• That God “has not despised their prayer”

The Psalmist’s confidence
Rests upon God’s track record with past sufferers.

He is doing exactly what Peter said.
1 Peter 5:9 “But resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same experiences of suffering are being accomplished by your brethren who are in the world.”

So he is taking Peter’s advice.
He is being encouraged by the way
Previous generations found grace in their suffering.

And here is where he takes his own suffering to a whole new level.
He realizes that God may be doing the same thing through him
For those who will come after him.

(18) “This will be written for the generation to come, That a people yet to be created may praise the LORD.”

• His own story
• His own pain
• His own deliverance (which he has yet to see)
• Will be for “the generation to come”

They will be inspired by the way God cares for him.

Have you ever considered your suffering in such a light?
• That perhaps God is allowing you to walk through a trial that will someday be used to strengthen and encourage, possibly even save your grandchildren?

Listen to the Psalmist:
(19-22) “For He looked down from His holy height; From heaven the LORD gazed upon the earth, To hear the groaning of the prisoner, To set free those who were doomed to death, That men may tell of the name of the LORD in Zion And His praise in Jerusalem, When the peoples are gathered together, And the kingdoms, to serve the LORD.”

The Psalmist is talking about God as the Savior.
• The God who looked down upon the earth
• The God who heard the groaning of the prisoner
• The God who desired to set free those doomed to death
• The God who sought to save so that men may glorify Him

And part of the process to bring that about is your current suffering.
What if God is using your current suffering for the salvation of someone 100’s of years from now?

• Has anyone in here ever been inspired by the sufferings of Paul?
• How about the suffering of Cory Ten Boom?
• How about the suffering of Lottie Moon?
• How about the suffering of Jim Elliot?
• How about the suffering of Horatio Spafford?

Was their suffering wasted?
No, God has used it for decades, even after they are gone.

That is pretty remarkable perspective from the Psalmist.
That the eternal God who sees the end, is using your suffering (which is terrible) in ways that you couldn’t even imagine.

The Psalmist sees even that purpose in his suffering.

One more point
The Pain of His Suffering; The Purpose of His Suffering
#3 THE PROMISE OF HIS SUFFERING
Psalms 102:23-28

Again the Psalmist tells us how hard this is.
(23-24) “He has weakened my strength in the way; He has shortened my days. I say, “O my God, do not take me away in the midst of my days, Your years are throughout all generations.”

His perspective is not because this is easy.
He is suffering.

BUT GOD IS ABOUT TO GIVE HIM A GREAT PROMISE.

NOW THERE IS SOMETHING AT THIS POINT THAT I MUST SHOW YOU.

I must show you THE IDENTITY OF THE PSALMIST.

You say, “His name isn’t given.”

True, it’s not given here,
But it is revealed to us in the New Testament.

TURN TO: HEBREWS 1:8-12
• Hebrews 1 is a conglomeration of Old Testament passages meant to show that Jesus is greater than the angels.

Now look at verse 8,
“But of the Son He says,”

So can we recognize that the following verses are verses that God the Father spoke about God the Son?

Of course we can. “But of the Son he says…”

Now, verses 8-9 are a quotation of Psalms 45-6-7,
But look down to verse 10.

Hebrews 1:10-12 “And, “YOU, LORD, IN THE BEGINNING LAID THE FOUNDATION OF THE EARTH, AND THE HEAVENS ARE THE WORKS OF YOUR HANDS; THEY WILL PERISH, BUT YOU REMAIN; AND THEY ALL WILL BECOME OLD LIKE A GARMENT, AND LIKE A MANTLE YOU WILL ROLL THEM UP; LIKE A GARMENT THEY WILL ALSO BE CHANGED. BUT YOU ARE THE SAME, AND YOUR YEARS WILL NOT COME TO AN END.”

You notice “And”
Which means this is another passage that
God the Father spoke about God the Son.

You should recognize it because it is a direct quote of Psalms 102:25-27.
• That means that actually Psalms 102:25-27 is God’s answer to the Psalmist.
• Verses 25-27 are God the Father speaking to God the Son.

That makes Jesus the author of the Psalm
And verses 25-27 God’s answer to Him.

And so we have Jesus in this Psalm suffering so badly that

He is crying out with urgency:

Matthew 27:46 “About the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, “ELI, ELI, LAMA SABACHTHANI?” that is, “MY GOD, MY GOD, WHY HAVE YOU FORSAKEN ME?”

He is suffering to such a degree that
• His days are consumed in smoke,
• His bones are scorched
• His heart has been smitten like grass
• He has forgotten to eat His bread.

John 4:31-32 “Meanwhile the disciples were urging Him, saying, “Rabbi, eat.” But He said to them, “I have food to eat that you do not know about.”

His is suffering sleeplessness and solidarity as He is alone in this world.
Luke 5:16 “But Jesus Himself would often slip away to the wilderness and pray.”

Luke 6:12 “It was at this time that He went off to the mountain to pray, and He spent the whole night in prayer to God.”

Or we talk about His tears and reproach.
Hebrews 5:7 “In the days of His flesh, He offered up both prayers and supplications with loud crying and tears to the One able to save Him from death, and He was heard because of His piety.”

We could even mention His despair as He bore God’s indignation and God’s wrath.

(10) “Because of Your indignation and Your wrath, For You have lifted me up and cast me away.”

Do you not see the cross there?

And yet, in His suffering
He maintained the perspective of the purpose behind it.
He knew His suffering
Was for the salvation of those who come later.

Look again
(18-22) “This will be written for the generation to come, That a people yet to be created may praise the LORD. For He looked down from His holy height; From heaven the LORD gazed upon the earth, To hear the groaning of the prisoner, To set free those who were doomed to death, That men may tell of the name of the LORD in Zion And His praise in Jerusalem, When the peoples are gathered together, And the kingdoms, to serve the LORD.”

Jesus knew that.
Listen to Him preach:

Luke 4:17-21 “And the book of the prophet Isaiah was handed to Him. And He opened the book and found the place where it was written, “THE SPIRIT OF THE LORD IS UPON ME, BECAUSE HE ANOINTED ME TO PREACH THE GOSPEL TO THE POOR. HE HAS SENT ME TO PROCLAIM RELEASE TO THE CAPTIVES, AND RECOVERY OF SIGHT TO THE BLIND, TO SET FREE THOSE WHO ARE OPPRESSED, TO PROCLAIM THE FAVORABLE YEAR OF THE LORD.” And He closed the book, gave it back to the attendant and sat down; and the eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on Him. And He began to say to them, “Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.”

He knew why He was suffering.

And He knew the promises of His suffering.
Because God answered Him in verses 25-27.

“Of old You founded the earth, And the heavens are the work of Your hands. “Even they will perish, but You endure; And all of them will wear out like a garment; Like clothing You will change them and they will be changed. “But You are the same, And Your years will not come to an end.”

God told Him that He would endure.
God answered that He would be the same.

Look at that:
(27) “But You are the same, And Your years will not come to an end.”

The writer of Hebrews knew that, for he wrote:
Hebrews 13:8 “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.”

And the ultimate promise to Christ:
(28) “The children of Your servants will continue, And their descendants will be established before You.”

Isaiah 53:10 “But the LORD was pleased To crush Him, putting Him to grief; If He would render Himself as a guilt offering, He will see His offspring, He will prolong His days, And the good pleasure of the LORD will prosper in His hand.”

Through His suffering He will save His children.

Psalms 102 is a glorious promise
Of the victorious suffering of Christ
And what God accomplished through His suffering.

For us it becomes a tremendous promise,
• Not only of the sufferings of Christ,
• But that God doesn’t waste our suffering either.

He uses every ounce of it for His glory
And even for the salvation and encouragement of future generations.