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The Sixteenth Sunday after Trinity.
The Collect.
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O
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LORD, we beseech thee, let thy continual pity cleanse and defend thy
Church; and, because it cannot continue in safety without thy succour, preserve
it evermore by thy help and goodness; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
11 And it came to pass the day after, that he went into a city
called Nain; and many of his disciples went with him, and much people. 12 Now when he came
nigh to the gate of the city, behold, there was a dead man carried out, the
only son of his mother, and she was a widow: and much people of the city was
with her. 13 And when the
Lord saw her, he had compassion on her, and said unto her, Weep not. 14 And he came and touched the bier: and
they that bare him stood still. And he said, Young
man, I say unto thee, Arise. 15 And he that was dead sat up, and began
to speak. And he delivered him to his mother. 16 And there came a fear on all: and they
glorified God, saying, That a great prophet is risen up among us; and, That God
hath visited his people. 17 And
this rumour of him went forth throughout all Judaea, and throughout all the
region round about. 18 And
the disciples of John shewed him of all these things. (Luke 7:11-18)
Death has forever been a
veil to mortal eyes beyond which we cannot see, but must, sooner or later, go.
There are two degrees of death – one spiritual, the other physical. It is
possible to be spiritually alive but physically dead; and it is also possible
to be physically alive and spiritually dead. It would be the greatest tragedy
in any person’s life to be both spiritually AND physically dead since there is
no remedy for spiritual death after the physical body has deceased. Christ had
the divine power to heal and make alive on BOTH sides of death. Jesus has just
come out from Capernaum where He healed the Centurion’s servant from what
seemed probable death, and He did so at a distance. Now He comes near to Nain
and is confronted once more with death that is not imminent but rather ‘post
mortem.’
You will recall three
instances of Jesus raising persons from the dead at various stages of time.
1
Your attention is invited to the precious little
twelve-year-old daughter of Jairus, the ruler of the
synagogue. She died and was restored to life
on her deathbed. My heart melts with love for that little girl and the Great
Savior who restored her to her grieving parents each time I read the narrative
from Luke 8.
2
On the present occasion of His trip to Nain, the Lord meets a
funeral procession of one who is
no longer on his deathbed, but on a bier being
transported to the grave in procession with his grieving mother and friends and
neighbors.
3 On a future occasion, on His Way to Jerusalem
to offer Himself up for our sins, Jesus restored
to life an older gentleman
who had already been buried for four days, Lazarus, the brother of Martha, at
Bethany.
The above examples should comfort us to know the element of time and
deterioration of the physical body is not an impediment to Christ in
resurrecting His own. Whether these mortal bodies lie in the grave four days,
or ten thousand years, He is able to raise us up at the appointed time and
restore our bodies to a perfect state.
Who are the dead? & Who are the living?
11 “And it came to pass the day after, that he went into a
city called Nain; and many of his disciples went with him, and much people.
12 Now when he came nigh to the gate of
the city, behold, there was a dead man carried out, the only son of his mother,
and she was a widow: and much people of the city was with her.”
The Dead
Those who
reject Christ as Lord and Savior. Those who have no forgiveness for their
sins…those for whom there has been no redemption for sins. That includes all
the world which dwells in utter darkness.
ALL
were dead in trespasses and sins before being made alive in Christ by the Holy
Spirit: “And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins;
2 Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world,
according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in
the children of disobedience.” (Eph 2:1-2)
The
dead hear not. Who stopped their ears? Not God. Not even Satan. They themselves
have chosen to be dumb to the reality of God.
The Living
This son of the widow is dead, but death cannot exist in the presence
of the Fountain of Life.
Jesus
knows the importance of a son or daughter to a widow. The boy is all his mother
has.
The widow made no
audible request of Christ, but Christ knew her abject sorrow and took
compassion on her as He always does with those who face calamity.
13 “And
when the Lord saw her, he had compassion on her, and said unto her, Weep not.”
Jesus never desires our sorrow, but our
joy in life. He neither wants us to ‘fear’ or to ‘weep’. “Fear not, I am with thee always, even unto the end of the
world.” Or “Hagar, why weepest thou?”
The desire of Christ is always for our
extreme joy in Him. And Christ knows there is no real joy, or life, apart from
that which He offers.
He sends
no one to Hell. The lost, due to their rejection of Him, send themselves to
Hell.
14 “And he came and touched the bier: and they that bare him
stood still. When God is at work, we had best stand still and see the marvelous
works that His hands perform. Stillness is a vanishing quality in a world bent
on technology and pragmaticism. As God said to Job in Job 37:14 “Hearken
unto this, O Job: stand still, and consider the wondrous works of God”
Or Psalms 46:10 – “Be still,
and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted
in the earth.”
So those
who bore the body remained motionless while God worked.
“And he said, Young man, I say unto thee, Arise.”
Though
the ears of the Rabbi’s maiden were closed in the lock of death, the young girl
heard the voice of Christ. Though Lazarus lay long dead in a stone cold tomb,
the voice of Christ, his friend, penetrated the bars of death and were heard in
newness of life. So with this young man.
“And
he that was dead sat up, and began to speak. And he delivered him to his
mother.”
Was dead!
No longer dead because he had heard and responded to the voice of
Christ. He sat up and began to speak. Once you have heard the voice of Christ
whisper in your ear a personal message, you cannot fail to speak out. You do
not keep it a secret.
Have you heard that voice?
Has your dead ears responded in life?
When were you dead, and have you been called to life?
Have you listened?
Did you respond by unashamedly speaking out?
We were ALL dead prior to responding in faith to the grace of Christ.
All lost. All dead.
Howe many
are righteous?
10 As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one: 11 There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh
after God. 12 They are all gone out of the way, they
are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one.”
“For
all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; (
Romans 3:23)
ALL?
Does that include you and me?
Yes, ALL!
What is the condemnation to those who sin, such as you and I have?
20 “For
when ye were the servants of sin, ye were free from righteousness. 21 What fruit had ye then in those things whereof ye are now
ashamed? for the end of those things is death. 22 But now being made free from sin, and become servants to God, ye
have your fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting life. 23 For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal
life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
What remedy is there for all of us who are born under the
condemnation of sin?
Rom10: 8 But what saith it? The word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth, and
in thy heart: that is, the word of faith, which we preach; 9 That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and
shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt
be saved. 10 For with the heart man believeth unto
righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. 11 For the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall not be
ashamed. (Romans 6)
Christ is the great Creator and Giver of Life. Death will not exist in
His presence. So we must insure our salvation that we may be present with him.
How?
Know the wages of sin is death
.
Admit we are dreadful sinners and cannot save ourselves through any
good works
.
Repent of our sins and turn away from the desires of the flesh.
Receive Christ as you Lord and Savior – not simply Savior, but Lord of
your life as well.
How many of
us present today have taken a ‘dry’ shower, or a ‘dry’ swim, or walked in a
‘dry’ rain?
Is it possible to
get into the water, or to come into contact with a fountain of water, and
remain dry?
There is a River
of Life which makes all alive who bathe therein and drink from its fountain:
John 4: 13 “Jesus answered and said unto her, Whosoever
drinketh of this water shall thirst again: 14 But whosoever drinketh of
the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall
give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.”
When we are IN Christ, all our sins are
covered by His blood. When we are IN the River of Life, we are wet with that
water of life all over. We are baptized in newness of
life.
Your eternal destiny depends upon which choice you make at the
crossroads of life – will you be fearful and unbelieving? Or will you partake
of the Tree of Life and Fountain of Living Waters?
Rev
21: 5 ”And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold,
I make all things new. And he said unto me, Write: for these words are true and
faithful. 6 And he said unto me, It is done. I am
Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give unto him that is athirst
of the fountain of the water of life freely. 7 He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his
God, and he shall be my son. 8 But
the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and
whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their
part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second
death.”
Simple decision – John 3:15 “That
whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life.”
Have you, too, believed unto salvation?
For he saith, I have heard thee in a time accepted, and in the day of
salvation have I succoured thee: behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now
is the day of salvation. (2 Cor 6:2)
