The Message of the Mothers

The expectation of many people who come to church on Mother’s Day is that they will hear a message for mothers.  While that may be true for next year, today I want to talk about the message of the mothers.

Many times, mothers are not out front, but in the background of their children’s lives.  Nevertheless, they are always trying to be helpful, trying to deliver a message. 

A little boy forgot his lines in a Sunday school presentation. His mother was in the front row to prompt him. She gestured and formed the words silently with her lips, but it did not help. Her son’s memory was blank. Finally, she leaned forward and whispered the cue, “I am the light of the world.” The child beamed and with great feeling and a loud clear voice said, “My mother is the light of the world.” - Bits and Pieces, 1989

These are the messages of mothers that most of us have heard:

Stamina:  “You’ll sit there until all that spinach is gone.”
Weather:  “Your room looks like a tornado went through it.”
Circle Of Life: “I brought you into this world, and I can take you out.”
Behavior Modification:  “Stop acting like your father!”
Anticipation:  “Just wait until we get home.”
Receiving:  “You are going to get it when you get home!”
Medical Science:  “If you don’t stop crossing your eyes, they are going to freeze that way.”
How To Become An Adult:  “If you don’t eat your vegetables, you’ll never grow up.”
Wisdom: “When you get to be my age, you’ll understand.”
Justice:  “One day you’ll have kids, and I hope they turn out just like you”

Jochebed, Mother of Moses

Exodus 2:5-10 (KJV)
⁵ And the daughter of Pharaoh came down to wash herself at the river; and her maidens walked along by the river’s side; and when she saw the ark among the flags, she sent her maid to fetch it.
⁶ And when she had opened it, she saw the child: and, behold, the babe wept. And she had compassion on him, and said, This is one of the Hebrews’ children.
⁷ Then said his sister to Pharaoh’s daughter, Shall I go and call to thee a nurse of the Hebrew women, that she may nurse the child for thee?
⁸ And Pharaoh’s daughter said to her, Go. And the maid went and called the child’s mother.
⁹ And Pharaoh’s daughter said unto her, Take this child away, and nurse it for me, and I will give thee thy wages. And the woman took the child, and nursed it.
¹⁰ And the child grew, and she brought him unto Pharaoh’s daughter, and he became her son. And she called his name Moses: and she said, Because I drew him out of the water.

The moment Pharaoh’s daughter found the baby Moses, he became the possession of the princess.  Jochebed, Moses’ mother, only received the child back as a trust.  She nursed him and cared for him on behalf of another.  The Moses she sent out on waters was not the same Moses she received back into her arms.  Nothing physical had changed, but a profound spiritual difference had transpired.  He left as a slave and came back as royalty.  He left under a curse and came back with a blessing.  He left a pauper and came back with untold wealth. 

Ephesians 2:12-13 (KJV)
¹² That at that time ye were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world:
¹³ But now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ.

The true mother understands that she hold more than a genetic replica of herself in her arms.  She holds a priceless treasure, a soul with ties to eternity, a heritage of God Himself.

Psalms 127:1-5 (KJV)
¹ Except the LORD build the house, they labour in vain that build it: except the LORD keep the city, the watchman waketh but in vain.
² It is vain for you to rise up early, to sit up late, to eat the bread of sorrows: for so he giveth his beloved sleep.
³ Lo, children are an heritage of the LORD: and the fruit of the womb is his reward.
⁴ As arrows are in the hand of a mighty man; so are children of the youth.
⁵ Happy is the man that hath his quiver full of them: they shall not be ashamed, but they shall speak with the enemies in the gate.

The message of Moses’ mother is “Watch over God’s child carefully.  He or she does not belong to you, but to another.”

Hannah, Mother of Samuel

1 Samuel 1:24-28 (KJV)
24 And when she had weaned him, she took him up with her, with three bullocks, and one ephah of flour, and a bottle of wine, and brought him unto the house of the LORD in Shiloh: and the child was young.
25 And they slew a bullock, and brought the child to Eli.
26 And she said, Oh my lord, as thy soul liveth, my lord, I am the woman that stood by thee here, praying unto the LORD.
27 For this child I prayed; and the LORD hath given me my petition which I asked of him:
28 Therefore also I have lent him to the LORD; as long as he liveth he shall be lent to the LORD. And he worshipped the LORD there.

A childless woman was considered a sure sign of God’s disfavor.  Hannah would not accept her barrenness as simply a necessary evil in life that she could do nothing about.  She was a godly woman and had a deep sense of spirituality.  By the pillar of the temple, she prayed this prayer:  1 Samuel 1:11 (KJV)

“11 And she vowed a vow, and said, O LORD of hosts, if thou wilt indeed look on the affliction of thine handmaid, and remember me, and not forget thine handmaid, but wilt give unto thine handmaid a man child, then I will give him unto the LORD all the days of his life.”

Two dedications marked the motherhood of Hannah.  First, she dedicated herself to the Lord; then, when Samuel came along, she dedicated him.  The first dedication had a huge impact on the second dedication.  Mothers who first dedicate themselves to God have no trouble dedicating their children.

Here’s what dedication means!

The message of Hannah is:  Watch over my own dedication to God because I have the greatest opportunity to influence my child for righteousness.

The Message of Eunice, Mother of Timothy

2 Timothy 1:2-5 (KJV)
2 To Timothy, my dearly beloved son: Grace, mercy, and peace, from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.
3 I thank God, whom I serve from my forefathers with pure conscience, that without ceasing I have remembrance of thee in my prayers night and day;
4 Greatly desiring to see thee, being mindful of thy tears, that I may be filled with joy;
5 When I call to remembrance the unfeigned faith that is in thee, which dwelt first in thy grandmother Lois, and thy mother Eunice; and I am persuaded that in thee also.

Eunice was the vital link between Lois, her mother, and Timothy, her son.  She did not lose the faith that she received from her mother, but she guarded it carefully and handed it down to the next generation.  Her mother’s dreams did not die with her.  She kept them alive so they would become part of her son’s life as well.

Jesus told the seventy missionaries that he sent out,

Matthew 10:6-8 (KJV)
6 But go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.
7 And as ye go, preach, saying, The kingdom of heaven is at hand.
8 Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out devils: freely ye have received, freely give.

The life of Eunice was blessed by what she had received.  She knew how to live.  She knew how to love.  She knew right from wrong.  She knew how to value the good things in life.  She knew that things didn’t just happen of their own accord.  She was given a good home; she was determined to proved a good home for her son.

The message of Eunice is, “Watch over the faith that was once delivered to the saints.  You have a Timothy who is watching your every move.  His faith will be real if your faith is real.  He will always have a role model if you will preserve the faith given to you.”

Jude 1:3 (KJV)
3 Beloved, when I gave all diligence to write unto you of the common salvation, it was needful for me to write unto you, and exhort you that ye should earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints.

The message of the Church, the mother of us all.

2 John 1:1-6 (KJV)
¹ The elder unto the elect lady and her children, whom I love in the truth; and not I only, but also all they that have known the truth;
² For the truth’s sake, which dwelleth in us, and shall be with us for ever.
³ Grace be with you, mercy, and peace, from God the Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of the Father, in truth and love.
⁴ I rejoiced greatly that I found of thy children walking in truth, as we have received a commandment from the Father.
⁵ And now I beseech thee, lady, not as though I wrote a new commandment unto thee, but that which we had from the beginning, that we love one another.
⁶ And this is love, that we walk after his commandments. This is the commandment, That, as ye have heard from the beginning, ye should walk in it.

The church has a message for all her children.

First, to the unborn children, you may not be born again as of this date, but I love you.  I want to bring you to birth.  I want to present you to your Father and say, Look at this miracle, the miracle of the new birth!

Second, to the children who walk faithfully, carry the name, enjoy the heritage, resemble the likeness, manifest the nature and share the hope of heaven—I love you!  Stay close, pray without ceasing, live joyously, worship exuberantly and trust without reservation! 

Galatians 6:8-9 (KJV)
⁸ For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting.
⁹ And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.

Last, to the children who have lost their way, I love you!  I grieve over the empty chair at my table.  I hurt when I call your name and hear no answer in return.  You are always on my mind.  You cannot forget me and I will not forget you.  There is a unique shape in my heart that no one fits except you.

You are my lost coin and I sweep and search the house for you.

You are my lost sheep and I leave the ninety and nine in the fold to go looking for you.

You are my prodigal and I stand at my post peering into the dark horizon hoping, wishing, thinking and knowing that you will eventually come to yourself and make your way back to the father’s house.

Mother Church’s message for you is, Come home, come home…all ye who are weary come home!

The Truth Shall Make You Free

John 8:31-36 (KJV)
³¹ Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed;
³² And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.
³³ They answered him, We be Abraham’s seed, and were never in bondage to any man: how sayest thou, Ye shall be made free?
³⁴ Jesus answered them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whosoever committeth sin is the servant of sin.
³⁵ And the servant abideth not in the house for ever: but the Son abideth ever.
³⁶ If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed.

With a wing spread at seven feet, brown feathers and white crown glistening in the sun, razor sharp talons extended to catch its prey, the majestic eagle soars nearly a mile above the ground.  He roams the skies freely, from Florida to Newfoundland, from the Baja California to the mountain ranges in Alaska.  A symbol of freedom to Americans, he never appreciates his own freedom until he becomes caught in the trapper’s snare.

How does it happen?  Circling in the high wind currents, his telescopic vision spies a carcass below, but he doesn’t suspect that it was strategically placed there by the enemy to allure him to the ground.  He lands on the prey, begins to feast, and folds his wings.  At that precise moment, an electronically triggered net springs out of the ground, instantly ensnaring both him and his prey.  From the vast, almost limitless skies to the confines of a three foot cage, it is stunning how quickly freedom vanishes.  And yes, you can trap an eagle.

Freedom is a funny thing.  You don’t know you have it until you don’t have it.  It’s hard to measure when it stands all by itself.  It needs a reference point, a baseline, a context to give it definition and form. 

The earliest immigrants to the new world came in search of freedom because they knew what life was like without it.  They endured two months on a stormy North Atlantic to get here.  The Mayflower was hit with many strong storms and cross-winds, and the ship was so badly shaken that she became very leaky, with water dripping and falling down upon the passengers that were living between the decks.  It was said that the storms were sometimes bad enough that the crew had to take down the sails, and just let the storm blow the ship wherever it wanted.  During one of these bad storms, one of the main beams of the Mayflower bowed and cracked, and some of the crewmembers and passengers were afraid that the ship would not make it.  There was nothing to do but stay on board.  Eventually, it limped into the harbor at Plymouth Rock. 

Israel found itself in Egypt.

Exodus 1:8-14 (KJV)
⁸ Now there arose up a new king over Egypt, which knew not Joseph.
⁹ And he said unto his people, Behold, the people of the children of Israel are more and mightier than we:
¹⁰ Come on, let us deal wisely with them; lest they multiply, and it come to pass, that, when there falleth out any war, they join also unto our enemies, and fight against us, and so get them up out of the land.
¹¹ Therefore they did set over them taskmasters to afflict them with their burdens. And they built for Pharaoh treasure cities, Pithom and Raamses.
¹² But the more they afflicted them, the more they multiplied and grew. And they were grieved because of the children of Israel.
¹³ And the Egyptians made the children of Israel to serve with rigour:
¹⁴ And they made their lives bitter with hard bondage, in morter, and in brick, and in all manner of service in the field: all their service, wherein they made them serve, was with rigour.

Exodus 2:23-25 (KJV)
²³ And it came to pass in process of time, that the king of Egypt died: and the children of Israel sighed by reason of the bondage, and they cried, and their cry came up unto God by reason of the bondage.
²⁴ And God heard their groaning, and God remembered his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob.
²⁵ And God looked upon the children of Israel, and God had respect unto them.

Israel went to Egypt to be saved; over time, they were nearly lost as a nation.

Provision turned into oppression.

Safety became slavery.

Security began to look more like incarceration.

Many people do not appreciate freedom because it cost them nothing.

Israel’s original freedom cost nothing; at the depths of their slavery, they realized their loss.

But, for every Pharaoh, God has a Moses.

God does not intend for His people to live enslaved to another people and another king.

Regardless of the intensity of the suffering, God will always devise a plan to bring deliverance.

Exodus 12:41-42 (KJV)
⁴¹ And it came to pass at the end of the four hundred and thirty years, even the selfsame day it came to pass, that all the hosts of the LORD went out from the land of Egypt.
⁴² It is a night to be much observed unto the LORD for bringing them out from the land of Egypt: this is that night of the LORD to be observed of all the children of Israel in their generations.

One would think that Israel would never again allow themselves to sink into bondage.

Tyrants cannot afford free people to exist.

It is said that eternal vigilance is the price of freedom.

Its only security is the willingness to guard it.

Israel was not willing to take care of its freedom.

First came the Assyrians.

Then came the Babylonians.

2 Kings 24:10-20 (KJV)
¹⁰ At that time the servants of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came up against Jerusalem, and the city was besieged.
¹¹ And Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came against the city, and his servants did besiege it.
¹² And Jehoiachin the king of Judah went out to the king of Babylon, he, and his mother, and his servants, and his princes, and his officers: and the king of Babylon took him in the eighth year of his reign.
¹³ And he carried out thence all the treasures of the house of the LORD, and the treasures of the king’s house, and cut in pieces all the vessels of gold which Solomon king of Israel had made in the temple of the LORD, as the LORD had said.
¹⁴ And he carried away all Jerusalem, and all the princes, and all the mighty men of valour, even ten thousand captives, and all the craftsmen and smiths: none remained, save the poorest sort of the people of the land.
¹⁵ And he carried away Jehoiachin to Babylon, and the king’s mother, and the king’s wives, and his officers, and the mighty of the land, those carried he into captivity from Jerusalem to Babylon.
¹⁶ And all the men of might, even seven thousand, and craftsmen and smiths a thousand, all that were strong and apt for war, even them the king of Babylon brought captive to Babylon.

The message for this nation today is that freedom is not a guaranteed absolute. 

For every freedom we enjoy, there is a sinister force seeking to destroy it.

When one freedom is lost, other freedoms will follow.

When we lose one freedom for the “greater good,” we stand to lose all freedom for the good of one:  the tyrant.

I am thankful for the Bill of Rights; but not everyone wants us to keep them.

There are movements afoot to undermine, steal and destroy every one of them.

We could discuss these events for hours today and only scratch the surface.

Political freedom means nothing in eternity.  Spiritual freedom means everything.

But there is also a message for the church today.

There is a message for the individual believer.

Freedom comes down to one question:  Who will control me?

What does the scripture mean when is says we are “free?”  

John 8:32 And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.

This sounds wonderful, but what does it mean?

Does the average Christian know what he or she is free from?

The Freedom of the Cross

The truth shall make you free.  We are free from The law of Moses.  (Ceremonial law).

Hebrews 10:1-4 (KJV)
¹ For the law having a shadow of good things to come, and not the very image of the things, can never with those sacrifices which they offered year by year continually make the comers thereunto perfect.
² For then would they not have ceased to be offered? because that the worshippers once purged should have had no more conscience of sins.
³ But in those sacrifices there is a remembrance again made of sins every year.
⁴ For it is not possible that the blood of bulls and of goats should take away sins.

Hebrews 10:14-18 (KJV)
¹⁴ For by one offering he hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified.
¹⁵ Whereof the Holy Ghost also is a witness to us: for after that he had said before,
¹⁶ This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, saith the Lord, I will put my laws into their hearts, and in their minds will I write them;
¹⁷ And their sins and iniquities will I remember no more.
¹⁸ Now where remission of these is, there is no more offering for sin.

The truth shall make you free.  We are free from the law of sin.

Romans 8:2-4 (KJV)
² For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death.
³ For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh:
⁴ That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.

You may ask, What practical value does that have?  What does it mean to me?

It means that you are not under the power of sin any longer. 

Before Jesus Christ came into your life, you had no choice. 

You were under the law and power of sin. 

You lived according to the whims and desires of the flesh.

You lusted, you coveted, you hated, you cheated, you swore, you hurt, you fought—because you had no power to do otherwise.

When Jesus came in through the Holy Spirit, he broke the chains that made you live a sinful life.

² For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death.

Do you know what it’s like to be free from alcohol and drugs?

Do you know what it’s like to walk away from an immoral lifestyle?

There are testimonies all around you in this congregation of these chains being broken!

This is what Jesus came to do!

18 The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised,

The truth shall make you free.  We are free from the law of fear.

Romans 8:15 (KJV)
¹⁵ For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father.

2 Timothy 1:7 (KJV)
⁷ For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.

Fear (deilia) = dread, a sense of impending disaster, convinced that all is lost and out of control.

Why is deliverance from fear so important? 

Because fear sets you up for a tyrant to take control of your life!

Bad health.  No insurance.  No job.  High debt.  Family problems.  Car problems.  House needing repair.  These are the circumstances that seem unmanageable

But the devil is a loan shark.  His loan to get you out of trouble leads to greater trouble.

Drugs are not your answer.  Prescription drugs are not your answer.  Alcohol is not your answer.

Jumping out of and into another relationship is not your answer.

Jesus in your answer!

Power (dunamis) = might, strength, ability.

Acts 1:8 (KJV)
⁸ But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.

The truth shall make you free.  We are free from condemnation.

Romans 8:1 (KJV)
¹ There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.

In this life, we are never free from condemnation.

Once you mess up, the devil tattoos you with the mark of sin.

If you have been in trouble with the law, you have a record that follows you everywhere.

It shows up in your job interviews and resumes. 

It becomes the topic of conversation with your spouse and relatives.

But, it is time that you realize the full extent of your freedom.

God has expunged your record!

Romans 8:31-34 (KJV)
³¹ What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us?
³² He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things?
³³ Who shall lay any thing to the charge of God’s elect? It is God that justifieth.
³⁴ Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us.

Anyone who condemns a Spirit-filled child of God is condemning Christ Himself!

Isaiah 53:5-6 (KJV)
⁵ But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.
⁶ All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.

The truth shall make you free.  We are free from the power of other people.

One of the worst forms of mental, emotional and psychological slavery today is being under the power of other people.  There are those who would never have done the things they have done if it had not been for the influence of evil persons in their lives.

Maybe you fell under their spell.  Maybe they made you obligated to them in some way.  Maybe you feel like you cannot exist without them in your life.

Paul said in 1 Cor. 9:19 For though I be free from all men, yet have I made myself servant unto all, that I might gain the more.

I believe that God wants to deliver you out of any alliance that is going to destroy you.

Psalms 40:1-3 (KJV)
¹ I waited patiently for the LORD; and he inclined unto me, and heard my cry.
² He brought me up also out of an horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock, and established my goings.
³ And he hath put a new song in my mouth, even praise unto our God: many shall see it, and fear, and shall trust in the LORD.

Today can become your day of spiritual independence!  You have one Lord and Master:  The Lord Jesus Christ!

The truth shall make you free.  It is time to stand up for truth!

To the church:  We have been delivered from false doctrine.

We have been delivered from formalism, easy believism and powerless religion.

But we must remember that tyrants never give up.

Their lust for power and control drives them to kill, steal and destroy.

If Americans are urged to wave the red, white and blue flag, then Spirit-filled Christians need to wave the banner of the red blood of Jesus, the white linen of holiness and the blue field of eternal, timeless values of the Bible!

Galatians 5:1 (KJV)
¹ Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage.

We didn’t have to pay a penny to get this freedom; we will have to pay everything to keep it.

Patrick Henry’s famous speech went this way:

It is in vain, sir, to extenuate the matter. Gentlemen may cry, Peace, Peace— but there is no peace. The war is actually begun! The next gale that sweeps from the north will bring to our ears the clash of resounding arms! Our brethren are already in the field! Why stand we here idle? What is it that gentlemen wish? What would they have? Is life so dear, or peace so sweet, as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery? Forbid it, Almighty God! I know not what course others may take; but as for me, give me liberty or give me death

The truth shall make you free!

The Hiding Place

Psalms 119:11 (KJV) 

¹¹ Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee.

The Hiding Place is the true story of the Ten Boom family who, during the Nazi occupation of The Netherlands, upon seeing what was happening to their Jewish neighbors and friends, asked themselves this age old question “If not us,…who; if not now,…when?” They answered it, ultimately at great cost.

The Ten Booms were devoutly Christian and lived a simple life. The patriarch of the family worked and lived in a watch shop that had been in his family for a century.  When the Nazis occupied their country, they saw the treatment given to their fellow Dutch citizens of the Jewish faith. Corrie, at the age of fifty, together with other members of her family, became active in the Dutch underground.

The Ten Boom family understood that Jews were being targeted for deportation and death.  They had a false wall constructed in the author’s bedroom, thereby creating a secret room. There, they would hide the terrified Jews who were staying with them, in the event of a Nazi raid upon their home.

Eventually someone reported them to the Nazis, and the Ten Booms were arrested and their home raided and torn apart by the Gestapo.  The police searched the shop for the Jews they believed to be hiding there. At the time of the raid, the Ten Boom home was filled to capacity with Jews in hiding. So well concealed was the hidden room that had been created by the erection of the false wall that these poor, terrified Jews managed to escape detection.  Why would they do this?  The intrinsic value of these persecuted people warranted hiding them, even at great personal risk.

The Heart

This morning, I want to talk about another hiding place, one that predated Nazi Germany and lives after it to this day.

David said, “Thy word have I hid in mine heart…”

Not on my library shelf.  Not in my strong box or safe.  Not in my study books.  Not in my childhood memories.  Not in my head.  My heart.  Not in my church building.  I need to create a hiding place in my heart.

The most amazing place ever created is the human heart.

The heart thinks, for the bible says the Word discerns the thoughts and intents of the heart. 

The heart reasons, for Jesus asked “Why reason these things in your heart?”

The heart understands, because Jesus stated that the Jews should understand with their heart.

The heart believes, for Paul said to believe in your heart that God raised Jesus up from the dead.

The heart wills, purposes and determines, for believers bonded to Christ with purpose of heart.

The heart is the seat of conscience, because our hearts condemn us.

The heart is the seat of emotion, for God said “And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart.”

The heart.  The heart.  The heart!  The heart is your hiding place.  But, you say, Not my heart!  My heart cannot receive it.  You don’t understand, preacher.  My heart cannot be trusted.

Yes!  Your heart!  The heart—for all of its treachery, its vacillation, its mystery—is the place to invest and hide the Word of God.

Matthew 13:44 (KJV)
⁴⁴ Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto treasure hid in a field; the which when a man hath found, he hideth, and for joy thereof goeth and selleth all that he hath, and buyeth that field.

Your heart is your field.

Dr. Frank Crane wrote:  “The human heart is a wide moor under a dull sky, with voices of invisible birds calling in the distance.

The human heart is a lonely lane in the evening, and two lovers are walking down it, whispering and lingering.

The human heart is an undiscovered country; men and women are forever perishing as they explore its wilds.

The human heart is an egg; and out of it are hatched this world and heaven and hell.

The human heart is a tangled forest wherein no man knows his way.

The human heart is a garden, wherein grow weeds of memory and blooms of hope, and the snow falls at last and covers all.

The human heart is a meadow full of fireflies, a summer western sky of shimmering distant lightnings, a shore set round with flashing lighthouses, far-away voices calling that we cannot understand.

The human heart is a band playing in a park at a distance; we see crowds listening, but we catch but fragments of the music now and again, and cannot make out the tune.

The human heart is a great city, teeming with myriad people, full of business and mighty doings, and we wander its crowded streets unutterably alone; we do not know what it is all about.

The human heart to youth is a fairy-land of adventure, to old age it is a sitting room where one knows his way in the dark.

The human heart is a cup of love, where some find life and zest, and some drunkenness and death.

The human heart is the throne of God, the council-chamber of the devil, the dwelling of angels, the vile heath of witches’ Sabbaths, the nursery of sweet children, the blood-spattered scene of nameless tragedies.

Listen! You will hear mothers’ lullibies, madmen’s shrieks, love-croonings, cries of agonized terror, hymns of Christ, the roaring of lynch mobs, the kisses of lovers, the curses of pirates.

Bend close! You will smell the lily fragrance of love, the stench of lust, now odors as exquisite as the very spirit of violets, and now such nauseous repulsions as words cannot tell.

…the dark spot in the lighted room of knowledge, the unknown quantity, the X in the universal problem.”

The Word of God.

The Hiding Place is the heart.  But the question now is what is to be hidden in your heart?  If your heart is your field, and your field is so mixed up, so desperate, so troubled, why should you hide something valuable in it?

You feel used up.  You feel depleted.  You feel that you have nothing to give to anyone, least of all, God. 

I have never seen a day in which people feel so battered, so beaten up, so wasted as they do today.  Drugs have made a mess of people.  Alcohol has destroyed so many lives.  Crazy, turbulent relationships have so damaged the heart, mind, body and soul of people that they cannot think straight. 

Someone here today is in a desolated condition.  You don’t even feel anger anymore.  You are hollow, numb, a shell of a person, a dead corpse walking around in the land of the living.

What value could you possibly have for God?  Why should you even make an effort?

Let me tell you something.  It’s not your heart that adds value to God—it’s what you have hidden in your heart!  It’s not the field—it’s the treasure in the field. 

Jeremiah 15:16 Thy words were found, and I did eat them; and thy word was unto me the joy and rejoicing of mine heart: for I am called by thy name, O LORD God of hosts.

How could the heart of a diseased leper attract the mercy and grace of God?

Ask the unnamed leper of Mark 1:40-42  ^“And there came a leper to him, beseeching him, and kneeling down to him, and saying unto him, If thou wilt, thou canst make me clean. ⁴¹ And Jesus, moved with compassion, put forth his hand, and touched him, and saith unto him, I will; be thou clean. ⁴² And as soon as he had spoken, immediately the leprosy departed from him, and he was cleansed.

What could the heart of a cheap prostitute have to draw the attention and love of God?

Ask Mary Magdalene!  Mark 16:9 Now when Jesus was risen early the first day of the week, he appeared first to Mary Magdalene, out of whom he had cast seven devils.

“Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee.”

Ask Zacchaeus.  Ask Matthew.  Ask blind Bartimaeus.  Ask Simon Peter.  Ask Saul of Tarsus.

Every one of them experienced a heart transplant, a transformation that happens when the Word of God is preached.

Here is a combination you need to try.  Your heart plus the Word of God.

Whatever condition your heart is in today, the entrance of the Word of God will make all the difference!

Jeremiah 20:9 But his word was in mine heart as a burning fire shut up in my bones, and I was weary with forbearing, and I could not stay.

What is the Word of God?

It is this Bible I hold in my hands.  This Bible is the revelation of the Mind of Christ.  It is the lamp for my feet and the light for my path.

What is the Word of God.

It is the preaching that you are hearing right now.  Do you know that power is being dispersed right now with the preaching of the Word?

Acts 10:44 While Peter yet spake these words, the Holy Ghost fell on all them which heard the word.

1 Corinthians 1:18 For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God.

1 Corinthians 1:21 For after that in the wisdom of God the world by wisdom knew not God, it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe.

It is critical for you to understand the power and potential of the Word of God in your life!

Hebrews 4:12  For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.

Hebrews 11:3 Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear.

Isaiah 55:10-11 For as the rain cometh down, and the snow from heaven, and returneth not thither, but watereth the earth, and maketh it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower, and bread to the eater: ¹¹ So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it.

The Word of God will change your life!  The Word of God will raise the dead to life; make wise the simple; and bring peace to the troubled. 

Psalms 19:7-10 The law of the LORD is perfect, converting the soul: the testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple.
⁸ The statutes of the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart: the commandment of the LORD is pure, enlightening the eyes.
⁹ The fear of the LORD is clean, enduring for ever: the judgments of the LORD are true and righteous altogether.
¹⁰ More to be desired are they than gold, yea, than much fine gold: sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb.

The Hiding

Now we come to the action of hiding.

How do you hide the Word of God in your heart?

First, understand that you have some enemies that don’t want this to happen.

Matthew 13:18-23 Hear ye therefore the parable of the sower.
¹⁹ When any one heareth the word of the kingdom, and understandeth it not, then cometh the wicked one, and catcheth away that which was sown in his heart. This is he which received seed by the way side.
²⁰ But he that received the seed into stony places, the same is he that heareth the word, and anon with joy receiveth it;
²¹ Yet hath he not root in himself, but dureth for a while: for when tribulation or persecution ariseth because of the word, by and by he is offended.
²² He also that received seed among the thorns is he that heareth the word; and the care of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, choke the word, and he becometh unfruitful.
²³ But he that received seed into the good ground is he that heareth the word, and understandeth it; which also beareth fruit, and bringeth forth, some an hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.

Jeremiah.  You have some work to do.

Jeremiah 1:9-10 Then the LORD put forth his hand, and touched my mouth. And the LORD said unto me, Behold, I have put my words in thy mouth.
¹⁰ See, I have this day set thee over the nations and over the kingdoms, to root out, and to pull down, and to destroy, and to throw down, to build, and to plant.

You need the courage to repent.  You need to go after the wrong things you have allowed to establish themselves in your heart.

You need to cut out a cancerous tumor.  You need to amputate a diseased limb.  You need to crucify a terminal attitude.

I taught Wednesday night about the fact that Jesus submitted to the authority of the Father.  He prayed at Gethsemane, “If it be thy will, let this cup pass from me.  Nevertheless, not my will but thine be done.”

Whatever you have to remove to make room for the treasure of the Word of God will be worth it a million times over.

2 Corinthians 4:16-18 For which cause we faint not; but though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day.
¹⁷ For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory;
¹⁸ While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal.

My Heart is Broken

Pastor, I can’t hide anything in my heart.  Can God do anything for a broken heart?

You know your heart is broken.  You know the Word of God is what you need.  But how do you make it happen?

Isaiah 61:1 The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me; because the LORD hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound;

This very scripture was repeated by Jesus to describe his ministry in the world.  He is here for the purpose of binding up broken hearts.  He will repair, heal and restore your wounded heart for the purpose of fully receiving the Word of God.

Luke 7:37-50 And, behold, a woman in the city, which was a sinner, when she knew that Jesus sat at meat in the Pharisee’s house, brought an alabaster box of ointment,
³⁸ And stood at his feet behind him weeping, and began to wash his feet with tears, and did wipe them with the hairs of her head, and kissed his feet, and anointed them with the ointment.
³⁹ Now when the Pharisee which had bidden him saw it, he spake within himself, saying, This man, if he were a prophet, would have known who and what manner of woman this is that toucheth him: for she is a sinner.
⁴⁰ And Jesus answering said unto him, Simon, I have somewhat to say unto thee. And he saith, Master, say on.
⁴¹ There was a certain creditor which had two debtors: the one owed five hundred pence, and the other fifty.
⁴² And when they had nothing to pay, he frankly forgave them both. Tell me therefore, which of them will love him most?
⁴³ Simon answered and said, I suppose that he, to whom he forgave most. And he said unto him, Thou hast rightly judged.
⁴⁴ And he turned to the woman, and said unto Simon, Seest thou this woman? I entered into thine house, thou gavest me no water for my feet: but she hath washed my feet with tears, and wiped them with the hairs of her head.
⁴⁵ Thou gavest me no kiss: but this woman since the time I came in hath not ceased to kiss my feet.
⁴⁶ My head with oil thou didst not anoint: but this woman hath anointed my feet with ointment.
⁴⁷ Wherefore I say unto thee, Her sins, which are many, are forgiven; for she loved much: but to whom little is forgiven, the same loveth little.
⁴⁸ And he said unto her, Thy sins are forgiven.
⁴⁹ And they that sat at meat with him began to say within themselves, Who is this that forgiveth sins also?
⁵⁰ And he said to the woman, Thy faith hath saved thee; go in peace. 

How Much Do You Weigh?

Daniel 5:22-29 (KJV)
²² And thou his son, O Belshazzar, hast not humbled thine heart, though thou knewest all this;
²³ But hast lifted up thyself against the Lord of heaven; and they have brought the vessels of his house before thee, and thou, and thy lords, thy wives, and thy concubines, have drunk wine in them; and thou hast praised the gods of silver, and gold, of brass, iron, wood, and stone, which see not, nor hear, nor know: and the God in whose hand thy breath is, and whose are all thy ways, hast thou not glorified:
²⁴ Then was the part of the hand sent from him; and this writing was written.
²⁵ And this is the writing that was written, MENE, MENE, TEKEL, UPHARSIN.
²⁶ This is the interpretation of the thing: MENE; God hath numbered thy kingdom, and finished it.
²⁷ TEKEL; Thou art weighed in the balances, and art found wanting.
²⁸ PERES; Thy kingdom is divided, and given to the Medes and Persians.
²⁹ Then commanded Belshazzar, and they clothed Daniel with scarlet, and put a chain of gold about his neck, and made a proclamation concerning him, that he should be the third ruler in the kingdom.

Nebuchaddnezzar ruled over Babylon and was largely responsible for making it one of the most powerful empires in history. He surrounded the city by two great walls. The outside wall was actually three smaller walls, the two at 21 feet thick and the third 9 feet. Around the outside walls were security towers and in front of it lay a trench.  Archaeologists have discovered that in his city the streets were laid out in straight lines that intersect approximately at right angles.

The most famous street was the “Processional Way” which ran along the eastern side of the southern palace, through the Ishtar gate and outside the inner town to a special festival house situated to the north. The way was lined with figures of some 120 lions, the symbol of Ishtar in molded glazed bricks.  The ancient historian, Herodotus, said that Babylon “surpasses in splendor any city of the known world.”

Belshazzar, the son of  Nebuchaddnazzar, rode atop this empire after his father died.  His pomp and arrogance surpassed even that of his father.

Daniel 5:1-6 (KJV)
¹ Belshazzar the king made a great feast to a thousand of his lords, and drank wine before the thousand.
² Belshazzar, whiles he tasted the wine, commanded to bring the golden and silver vessels which his father Nebuchadnezzar had taken out of the temple which was in Jerusalem; that the king, and his princes, his wives, and his concubines, might drink therein.
³ Then they brought the golden vessels that were taken out of the temple of the house of God which was at Jerusalem; and the king, and his princes, his wives, and his concubines, drank in them.
⁴ They drank wine, and praised the gods of gold, and of silver, of brass, of iron, of wood, and of stone.
⁵ In the same hour came forth fingers of a man’s hand, and wrote over against the candlestick upon the plaister of the wall of the king’s palace: and the king saw the part of the hand that wrote.
⁶ Then the king’s countenance was changed, and his thoughts troubled him, so that the joints of his loins were loosed, and his knees smote one against another.

This is when Daniel was called for and gave the interpretation of the handwriting on the wall.

I want to focus on the word, TEKEL.  It meant “tried in the balances and found wanting.”  In other words, imagine a huge set of scales, large enough to hold the entire city of Babylon, with all of its gold, silver and precious stones on one side, and the favor of the Almighty God on the other.  The scale dipped sharply to the side of God.  Everything Babylon consisted of was not enough to outweigh God’s power and might.  That very night in which Belshazzar saw the handwriting on the wall, Babylon fell.  He lost his power, his kingdom and his life when it fell. 

Daniel 5:30-31  In that night was Belshazzar the king of the Chaldeans slain. And Darius the Median took the kingdom, being about threescore and two years old.

What did God weigh in the balance?  He didn’t weigh the great walls.  He didn’t weigh the wide streets.  He didn’t weigh the magnificent Ishtar Gate.  He didn’t weigh the Hanging Gardens which were considered one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World.  Not the king’s treasure house, not the standing armies, not the wealth of the famed merchants that lined the broad boulevards. 

God weighed none of these outward trappings that impressed the world and established Babylon as the greatest city and greatest empire of the day.  God weighed something far more valuable. 

Weighed in the Balance

Scales, or balances, were ancient ways to account for money.  Merchants weighed all the gold or silver used as currency to conduct business.  Since there was no uniformity among coins of the realm, it was necessary to weigh them to ensure that the right amount was transacted. 

Weighed in the balance and found wanting simply meant that the amount you were paying for an item or a commodity was not enough.  You short-changed the merchant or the person with whom you were doing business.

When this visual is projected into the twenty-first century culture—and to us, personally—it becomes something of a great concern.  It tells the story of the true value of your life.  Just as Belshazzar, many people look at the wrong things as their valuables.  I could go down the litany of the things we treasure—house, car, clothes, bank accounts, good looks, etc.—but these things do not tip the scale.  In fact, when we pay attention to these things in trying to better our lives, we actually do the opposite.  The more you accumulate, the less value you have.  The more you are worth in this life, chances are the more worthless you are in the life to come.  Jesus said,

¹⁹ Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal:  ²⁰ But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal:  For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.  Matthew 6:19-21.

Whether you know it or not, you are on God’s scales.  He is not looking for the pound or two that you gained this morning when you stepped on the scales.  He is not counting calories or fat grams.  His scales are finely tuned to weigh commodities unseen by the naked eye.  God weighs attitude, humility, gratitude, obedience to His will, and faith in his being. 

Have you ever been in a situation where you were at the checkout desk and didn’t have enough money?  Or you forgot your checkbook?  Or the magnetic stripe on your credit or debit card didn’t work?  How about when the ATM keeps your card?  It’s so embarrassing and frustrating.  You can’t understand it.  Then, when you investigate the reason why you were rejected, you discover that it’s true.  Something went wrong in your check register.  You thought you had more money than you really had.

God’s Accounting

But, you say, this isn’t going to happen with God.  “God knows my heart.  He knows that I love Him.  He wouldn’t let anything happen to me.”

My friend, why do you think we have something called a Bible?  If God didn’t mean anything He wrote, why did He write it? Why would God go to the trouble of telling us exactly what he requires of us, and then say that it doesn’t really matter.

Why do we think that our value system trumps God’s system in critical matters of going to heaven and living with Him throughout all eternity?

Let me read a parable of Jesus to you.

Matthew 22:2-14
² The kingdom of heaven is like unto a certain king, which made a marriage for his son,
³ And sent forth his servants to call them that were bidden to the wedding: and they would not come.
⁴ Again, he sent forth other servants, saying, Tell them which are bidden, Behold, I have prepared my dinner: my oxen and my fatlings are killed, and all things are ready: come unto the marriage.
⁵ But they made light of it, and went their ways, one to his farm, another to his merchandise:
⁶ And the remnant took his servants, and entreated them spitefully, and slew them.
⁷ But when the king heard thereof, he was wroth: and he sent forth his armies, and destroyed those murderers, and burned up their city.
⁸ Then saith he to his servants, The wedding is ready, but they which were bidden were not worthy.
⁹ Go ye therefore into the highways, and as many as ye shall find, bid to the marriage.
¹⁰ So those servants went out into the highways, and gathered together all as many as they found, both bad and good: and the wedding was furnished with guests.
¹¹ And when the king came in to see the guests, he saw there a man which had not on a wedding garment:
¹² And he saith unto him, Friend, how camest thou in hither not having a wedding garment? And he was speechless.
¹³ Then said the king to the servants, Bind him hand and foot, and take him away, and cast him into outer darkness; there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
¹⁴ For many are called, but few are chosen.

Paul wrote to the Romans:

Romans 16:25-27 (KJV)
²⁵ Now to him that is of power to stablish you according to my gospel, and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery, which was kept secret since the world began,
²⁶ But now is made manifest, and by the scriptures of the prophets, according to the commandment of the everlasting God, made known to all nations for the obedience of faith:
²⁷ To God only wise, be glory through Jesus Christ for ever. Amen.

Taking Inventory

So, let’s take inventory. What kind of car do you have?  (How much is it worth in heaven’s currency?)  What valuable collection do you have?  House? Clothes? Gadgets?  Business equipment?

So far, we’ve concentrated on stuff, material possessions.

But there are intangibles that we place a great deal of value upon.

Good looks.  Good health.  Good mind.

Ever heard of these magazines?  Cosmopolitan; Vogue; Redbook; Iron Man; Good Housekeeping; House and Gardens; Architectural Digest; Car & Driver; Motor Trend; Health & Fitness; Sports Illustrated; Time; Newsweek; Atlantic; Harper’s; Forbes; Fortune; Popular Science; and on and on.  A huge industry exists based on the cravings of the mind of man. 

• Education.  We deem education the most valuable thing we could obtain in this life.
• Relationships.  Life is all about relationships, but we end up abusing and misusing most of them.
• Associations with people.  Know the right people because this is the ticket to success.
• Reputation.  Manage your reputation, not necessarily according to truth but perception.

Some of you could tell me in great detail about taking care of finger nails.  You could go on and on about dogs and cats, cars and trucks, boats and bikes, knives and guns, basketball, baseball, football, shoes, clothes and recipes.

You could take hours telling me about vitamins, minerals, organic health foods, lawn care, house décor, color schemes, stock market, politics, ad infinitum.

But, in God’s accounting system, these things carry no weight.  God is not impressed.

You can live in the temporary world if you want to.  But I’ve got some sad news for you.  The things that you may be spending all your money, time and energy on will be utterly and totally lost in the end.

2 Peter 3:10 But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up.

Babylon the Great

Revelation 18:1-2 (KJV)
¹ And after these things I saw another angel come down from heaven, having great power; and the earth was lightened with his glory.
² And he cried mightily with a strong voice, saying, Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, and is become the habitation of devils, and the hold of every foul spirit, and a cage of every unclean and hateful bird.

Revelation 18:9-19 (KJV)
⁹ And the kings of the earth, who have committed fornication and lived deliciously with her, shall bewail her, and lament for her, when they shall see the smoke of her burning,
¹⁰ Standing afar off for the fear of her torment, saying, Alas, alas, that great city Babylon, that mighty city! for in one hour is thy judgment come.
¹¹ And the merchants of the earth shall weep and mourn over her; for no man buyeth their merchandise any more:
¹² The merchandise of gold, and silver, and precious stones, and of pearls, and fine linen, and purple, and silk, and scarlet, and all thyine wood, and all manner vessels of ivory, and all manner vessels of most precious wood, and of brass, and iron, and marble,
¹³ And cinnamon, and odours, and ointments, and frankincense, and wine, and oil, and fine flour, and wheat, and beasts, and sheep, and horses, and chariots, and slaves, and souls of men.
¹⁴ And the fruits that thy soul lusted after are departed from thee, and all things which were dainty and goodly are departed from thee, and thou shalt find them no more at all.
¹⁵ The merchants of these things, which were made rich by her, shall stand afar off for the fear of her torment, weeping and wailing,
¹⁶ And saying, Alas, alas, that great city, that was clothed in fine linen, and purple, and scarlet, and decked with gold, and precious stones, and pearls!
¹⁷ For in one hour so great riches is come to nought. And every shipmaster, and all the company in ships, and sailors, and as many as trade by sea, stood afar off,
¹⁸ And cried when they saw the smoke of her burning, saying, What city is like unto this great city!
¹⁹ And they cast dust on their heads, and cried, weeping and wailing, saying, Alas, alas, that great city, wherein were made rich all that had ships in the sea by reason of her costliness! for in one hour is she made desolate.

I am proclaiming to you today that you need to start looking at life through the eyes of God.

The Bible warns us of the placing a high value on earthly things.  ¹⁵ I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot.
¹⁶ So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth.
¹⁷ Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked:
¹⁸ I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see. Revelation 3:14-18 (KJV)

What does God say you need?

• Faith.  “For without faith, it is impossible to please God.”
• Belief.  “He that cometh to God must believe that He is…”
• Salvation:  “Except a man is born of the water and the Spirit, he cannot enter into…”
• The Name of Jesus:  “Neither is there salvation in any other, for there is none other name…”
• The Spirit of God:  But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his. Romans 8:9 (KJV)
• Holiness:  “Holiness without which no man shall see the Lord.”
• Truth:  24 God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.

In fact, it is all summed up in the word, TRUTH!

When you are weighed, it is truth that counts.

Jesus said, “Ye shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free.”

There is freedom in truth.  Freedom from peer pressure.  Freedom from society’s expectations.  Freedom from the flesh.  Freedom from the rat race of life.

But let me also introduce you to another thought:  Truth is also binding.

Listen carefully.

You are responsible for the truth you know.  From this point on, you cannot claim ignorance.  Your life is forever changed.  Your eternity is forever changed.  You have now come into the receipt of a treasure, a fortune, an eternal value that you cannot disown.

You may say, but I don’t believe it.  I believe it, but I don’t live it.  I’m only here because someone made me come.  This is not my choice.

It really doesn’t matter what reasoning you use to arrive at your present conclusion.  The fact is that you know something that will lead you to eternal life.  In this life, getting money is not everything; your temporal success also depends on how you spend the money you have.

Do you know that 70% of people who win the lottery are broke within three years?

What you have is one thing; what you do with what you have is entirely different.

Matthew 25:23-30 (KJV)
²³ His lord said unto him, Well done, good and faithful servant; thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord.
²⁴ Then he which had received the one talent came and said, Lord, I knew thee that thou art an hard man, reaping where thou hast not sown, and gathering where thou hast not strawed:
²⁵ And I was afraid, and went and hid thy talent in the earth: lo, there thou hast that is thine.
²⁶ His lord answered and said unto him, Thou wicked and slothful servant, thou knewest that I reap where I sowed not, and gather where I have not strawed:
²⁷ Thou oughtest therefore to have put my money to the exchangers, and then at my coming I should have received mine own with usury.
²⁸ Take therefore the talent from him, and give it unto him which hath ten talents.

²⁹ For unto every one that hath shall be given, and he shall have abundance: but from him that hath not shall be taken away even that which he hath.³⁰ And cast ye the unprofitable servant into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

The Three Days That Changed the World.

No man ever impacted the world like the one called the Lord Jesus Christ.  He was unique in every way we could possibly understand.

The prophets saw him rise up out of the distant future.  His lineage stretched out all the way back to God Himself.  Never a man spake like this man.  For his word was with power.  He healed the sick.  He fed 5000 with 5 loaves and 2 fish.  He spoke and the wind and waves obeyed his voice.  He opened blind eyes, unstopped deaf ears, restored lame legs and cleansed the lepers.  He did so many miracles that it was said that if everything he did was written, the world could not contain the volumes.

But these weren’t even the most important things.  He was God manifest in the flesh.  “In the beginning was the word, and the word was with God and the word was God.”  “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us.” 

So how is it that this man of all men, this God-man, this miracle-worker, found himself standing in Pilate’s judgment hall, in custody of the Romans, facing a capital sentence? 

How is it that despite everything He did to bring healing, peace, love and forgiveness to a hurting world that He ended up treated like a common criminal, a vile piece of flesh worthy of the worst form of punishment known to man?

Day One:

It began early, possibly around 6:30 am. 

Then led they Jesus from Caiaphas unto the hall of judgment: and it was early; and they themselves went not into the judgment hall, lest they should be defiled; but that they might eat the passover.

They beat his back until the blood ran freely.  They pushed a crown of thorns into his brow.  Next came the purple robe, the slapping, the mockery and then the presentation of Him to the crowd. 

The crowd screamed, “Crucify Him; Crucify Him!”  Pilate hesitated, saying, “I find no fault in Him.”  But in the end, the crowd won out.  The cowardly Pilate, thinking about his political fortunes, caved in.

At about 9 o’clock Friday morning, the parade began from Pilate’s judgment hall to Golgatha.  The weakened Jesus carried his heavy cross.  They reached the crest of the hill.  The soldiers threw Jesus down on the splintered wood and pounded the nails into his hands and feet.   You know the heartbreaking story.  They dropped the cross into the ground.  Jesus hung there for hours as the life slowly ebbed out of Him.

About 12 Noon, something strange happened.  The sun, normally bright in the sky at this time of year, lost its intensity.  Darkness covered the Jerusalem sky.  Three more hours passed while he agonized on the tree.

Finally, it was all over.  Many other details fill in the gaps of the story, but the overarching question is why.  Why did this happen?  Why did it happen to the only perfect man who ever lived?

He didn’t go there for himself.  He went there for someone else.  He went there for me.  He went there for you.  He went there so he could taste of suffering and death in our place.

Hebrews 4:15 (KJV) For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.

He knew of the pain and suffering in your life.

Many of you are in Day One.

        Abused, rejected, hurting, humiliated.

        Denied justice, surrounded by enemies, falsely accused.

        Beaten, hungry, lonely, scared.

        Abandoned, powerless, stunned.

Here is a Christ you can believe in, because he knows exactly what you are going through!

A boy was having difficulty living the Christian life! He went to his pastor who told him to go see a painting. The caretaker at the gallery took him to a large room where the painting adorned an entire wall.

The young man was repulsed at what he saw!

It was a painting of Christ on the cross! But the perspective from which the artist painted it was off balance.

It looked grotesque.

The caretaker said, “Son, you need to get closer.” The young man came closer.

“Son, you need to get lower.”

The young man got lower.

“No, closer and lower.”

Before the young man knew what was happening- - he was kneeling at the foot of the cross!

And when he looked up- - he understood the entire painting!

Until you are willing to take your place at the foot of the

cross- - the Christian life will never make sense to you either!

Day Two

Matthew 27:62-66 (KJV)
62 Now the next day, that followed the day of the preparation, the chief priests and Pharisees came together unto Pilate,
63 Saying, Sir, we remember that that deceiver said, while he was yet alive, After three days I will rise again.
64 Command therefore that the sepulchre be made sure until the third day, lest his disciples come by night, and steal him away, and say unto the people, He is risen from the dead: so the last error shall be worse than the first.
65 Pilate said unto them, Ye have a watch: go your way, make it as sure as ye can.
66 So they went, and made the sepulchre sure, sealing the stone, and setting a watch.

If day one was a day of crucifixion and death, day two was a day of living with personal tragedy.

Jesus was the hope of the world.  Now he is dead and buried. 

The disciples were overwhelmed with grief and loss, but added to their sorrow was that they were confused.  They seemed like dupes for believing in Jesus as the Jewish Messiah.

I read recently that most people live on Saturday, Day Two.  It is the no-name day between Good Friday and Resurrection Sunday.  Nothing happens on Saturday.  It’s the hurry up and wait day.

You’ve tried to believe but it looks like you were let down.  You’ve tried to change, but it just hasn’t worked for you.  Many sitting here today can relate to the Saturday between.  You started out with high hopes, but it all came to nothing.  It’s over now, and they tell you you’re going to have to adjust.  But, after what’s happened, how can you go on? 

You’re devastated.  You’re disillusioned.  You’re numb.  Let me intrude on your thoughts long enough to tell you something…the middle ground between two points on the spectrum will not last forever.  Just because you can’t see the end, don’t think it’s all over.

“Weeping endureth for the night, but joy cometh in the morning.”

Yes, Jesus lies in the tomb today, but don’t think that everything is lost.  You don’t know what he is doing.  The body was dead, but the executioners did not kill the Spirit of God that inhabited the body of Jesus.  The Spirit of God was poised, ready to return to that body and bring it back to life.

They did not lay Jesus in that tomb without a promise of the resurrection. 

Mark 8:31 (KJV)
31 And he began to teach them, that the Son of man must suffer many things, and be rejected of the elders, and of the chief priests, and scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again.

Hold on, my friend!  You have a promise that God will make good.  Something is in the works for you, if you will just hold on.  You may see death, but there’s life in that tomb.  Everything may look monotonously the same, but there’s an earthquake under the ground just waiting for heaven’s signal!  God has angels on assignment who are about ready to show up!

Day Three

The pre-dawn hours of Easter Sunday saw a stir on the path to the Garden Tomb.  They had no idea of the power and the glory they were about to experience.

Matthew 28:1-7 (KJV) In the end of the sabbath, as it began to dawn toward the first day of the week, came Mary Magdalene and the other Mary to see the sepulchre.
2 And, behold, there was a great earthquake: for the angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and came and rolled back the stone from the door, and sat upon it.
3 His countenance was like lightning, and his raiment white as snow:
4 And for fear of him the keepers did shake, and became as dead men.
5 And the angel answered and said unto the women, Fear not ye: for I know that ye seek Jesus, which was crucified.
6 He is not here: for he is risen, as he said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay. 7 And go quickly, and tell his disciples that he is risen from the dead; and, behold, he goeth before you into Galilee; there shall ye see him: lo, I have told you.

Mission accomplished.  The price had been paid.  The Lamb had been sacrificed.  Sinless blood had been shed.  Everything Jesus came to do to bring us forgiveness and remission of sins was done. And now, something was unleashed that would never again be assaulted by death, hell and the grave.

Much later, Jesus told John in Revelation 1:17-18
18 I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death.

The resurrection was the triumphant blow against the kingdom of Satan.  Martin Luther said, “If you are seeking proof of the resurrection, you need look no farther than the brand new leaf that the branch brings forth in the springtime.”

The Apostle Paul put it like this:  Death has been swallowed up in victory!”  I like that.  It not only tells the truth, it does it with an attitude! 

In a very real sense, all of us mirror these three days that changed the world.  Some of you are here today staggering from the tragedy of your life. Some of you are just trying to cope with things, but you’re numb.  Maybe you’re bitter, angry, resentful. But there are many of you who have had a giant stone rolled away from your entombment. You and Jesus issued a surprise to Satan as he prematurely danced on your grave.  “Death has been swallowed up in victory!”

If you are here today wondering what you are going to do about your misery and suffering, let me tell you need to do.  You need to rip day one off the calendar.  You need to rip day two off the calendar.  You need to put a big red circle around day three to signify your triumph! 

Here is what these three days mean to you:  In the words of Paul:

1 Corinthians 15:3-4 (KJV) For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures;
4 And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures:

Acts 2:37-38 (KJV)
37 Now when they heard this, they were pricked in their heart, and said unto Peter and to the rest of the apostles, Men and brethren, what shall we do?
38 Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.

Day One:  Crucifixion.  You need to repent of your sins.

Day Two:  Burial.  Be baptized in the Name of Jesus.

Day Three:  Receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.

Until you do these things, the resurrection is only a story. 

Leonard Sweet writes:  “Today, “death is dead.” These words are spoken by Lazarus in a play written by Eugene O’Neill called “Lazarus Laughed.” Lazarus is facing Caligula, the Roman emperor. But instead of begging for mercy, Lazarus laughs. And the chorus shouts, “Laugh! Laugh! Fear is no more! Death is dead!”

Did you hear it? “Death is dead.” Whatever is killing you right now, whatever grave clothes have trapped and wrapped themselves around you like a python, whatever straightjackets you find yourself in, you can escape. You can walk into the light and experience the miracle of life. “Death is dead.” And because “death is dead,” there is a new world of new possibilities for all of humanity.”