Sermon #40 Luke
Sermons
Title: A
BLESSED INTRUSION
Text: Luke
7:11-17
Subject: The Resurrection of the Widow’s Son
Date: Sunday
Morning – November 5, 2000
Tape # W-8b
Readings: Isaiah 52:13-53:12
Introduction:
On three separate occasions our Lord Jesus raised people
from the dead by his great omnipotence and grace. In John 11, he raised Lazarus
from the dead, one who had been dead for four days. In the eighth chapter of
Luke’s gospel, our Savior raised the ruler’s daughter to life. But the first
display of our Savior’s power over death is found in our text (Luke 7:11-17).
We have before us a scene of great sorrow. As our Lord
Jesus, his disciples, and the crowds following him came to the city of Nain,
they ran into a funeral procession. A widow was taking her only son to the
cemetery. Watch what happened when the Son of God came upon this scene of woe.
(Luke 7:11-17)
"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."
The title of my message is A Blessed Intrusion.
Our Lord Jesus stepped into the life of this widow at the time of her greatest
sorrow. He intruded when no stranger ought to intrude. He stopped what no one
ought to stop. He interrupted a funeral.
Oh, how
I pray that the Son of God will make such an intrusion here today! Some of you
are like this widow’s son, dead in trespasses and in sins. You are being
carried swiftly to your grave by the gaieties, glamour, and glitter of the
world. Your parents weep and mourn for your souls; but you are dead. – You are
totally unaware, without feeling. Oh, may it please the Lord God our Savior, to
step into the affairs of your life today, stop your funeral procession, and
raise the dead by the power of his omnipotent grace!
Proposition: Whenever the Son of God intrudes into the
lives of men and women in this world, those who experience his intrusion, bow
before him in reverent fear and glorify God.
Divisions: I want you to see four
things plainly set before us by the Spirit of God in this blessed story.
Without question, our Lord'’ miracles display the fact of his eternal Godhead
and omnipotent power; but they are intended to do much more than that. Our
Lord’s miracles are all designed to be pictures of his grace and salvation
freely bestowed upon and wrought in chosen sinners by his omnipotent grace.
This story of the funeral in Nain is designed to display…
1.
The Consequences of Our Sin
2.
The Compassion of Our Savior
3.
The Character of Our
Sovereign
4.
The Conditions of Our
Salvation
I.
First, the scene before us displays most vividly the consequences of our sin.
“The wages of sin is
death.” – And everything preceding death in this world is but the
forerunner of it.
All funerals are sad; but here is a picture of sadness
without any mixture of pleasure. Here is a widow, burying her young son, who is
her only son. Everything in the picture, until the Lord Jesus steps in, is
misery, sorrow, grief, and woe.
That is exactly the case with us. The corruption, depravity
and sin of race is evident because ours is a race of sick, dying, sorrowful
men. We live in a world of sickness and sorrow, drudgery and death, wickedness
and woe, misery and motality, because we live in a world of sin.
Sin is the root and fountain of all this sorrow. Were it
not for sin, the world would be free of tears and cares. Were it not for sin,
there would be no sickness, no doctors, no hospitals, no courts, no prisons, no
broken homes, no shattered lives, no morticians, no funerals, no cemeteries.
But, that is the way things are in a world of sin. That is
the present state of things. It cannot be altered. What a thief, what a
nuisance, what a great murderer sin is!
(Romans 5:12)
"Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into
the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all
have sinned."
But, blessed be God, things change
when Christ comes!
A.
When the Lord Jesus steps into a sinners world of
woe, all that was misery before is seen to be mercy.
B.
When the Lord Jesus Christ comes again, he will make
all things new, and remove from his creation all the evil consequences of sin.
(Revelation 21:1-7) "And I saw a new heaven and a new earth:
for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no
more sea. [2] And I John saw the holy
city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride
adorned for her husband. [3] And I
heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with
them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God. [4] And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there
shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any
more pain: for the former things are passed away. [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."
II. Second, this is a beautiful display of the compassion of our Savior.
(Luke 7:13) "And when the Lord saw her, he had compassion on her,
and said unto her, Weep not."
Oh, how deep is the compassion of our Savior’s heart! None
of us has yet begun to imagine how tender and compassionate our Lord Jesus is!
He truly is One “touched with the
feelings of our infirmities.”
·
Beholding the City – “Jerusalem!
Jerusalem!”
·
At The Tomb of Lazarus
Here our Lord Jesus meets the mournful procession. As he
observes what has happened and is happening, his heart is moved toward this
poor, poor woman. He does not wait for someone to ask for help. He just steps
in in sovereign mercy, and says to the woman, “Weep not!”
Perhaps those two words sounded strange to this woman,
perhaps even cruel. Certainly, no one in the procession understood them. But,
when the Lord Jesus says, “Weep not,”
he takes away the cause of weeping!
A.
There is no friend or comforter to be compared with
Christ.
In all our days of darkness, he is our Light. He is yet the
Sun of Righteousness.
B.
The Son of God never changes.
(Hebrews 13:8) "Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to
day, and for ever."
He cannot fail. He cannot disappoint. He cannot change. He
who made the mourning widow’s heart leap for joy will yet turn your sorrow into
laughter and your mourning into a song. He is a Friend who sticks closer than a
brother. He lives to heal broken hearts, to mend broken lives, and wipe away
all tears from our eyes. AND HE WILL!
III.
Third, this story sets before us the
character of our Sovereign.
Our Lord Jesus stepped in and took over! O blessed
intrusion! There are those who say, “God is a gentleman. He never comes in
uninvited.” But those who talk such nonsense are as ignorant as they are
blasphemous. Thank God, he never waits for permission to intervene. When God
comes to save, he comes in sovereign mercy.
(Ezekiel 16:6) "And when I passed by thee, and saw thee
polluted in thine own blood, I said unto thee when thou wast in thy blood, Live; yea, I said unto thee when thou wast in thy blood, Live."
(Ezekiel 16:8) "Now when I passed by thee, and looked
upon thee, behold, thy time was the
time of love; and I spread my skirt over thee, and covered thy nakedness: yea,
I sware unto thee, and entered into a covenant with thee, saith the Lord GOD,
and thou becamest mine."
(Romans 10:20) "But Esaias is very bold, and saith, I
was found of them that sought me not; I was made manifest unto them that asked
not after me."
IV.
Fourth, this event was brought to
pass by God’s wise, adorable, and good providence specifically to show us the
conditions of our salvation.
Many, these days, object to our constant assertion that the
grace of God is absolute and unconditional. I have thought about that a good
bit. Perhaps, I should be more accommodating in my language. So, I have decided
today to talk about the conditions which must be met before any sinner can be
saved. There are three of them.
A.
The Will of God
No sinner will ever be saved except God wills it. Your will
is totally insignificant. Only the will of God matters.
(John 1:11-13) "He came unto his own, and his own
received him not. [12] But as many as
received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name: [13] Which were born, not of blood, nor
of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God."
(Romans 9:11-18)
"(For the
children being not yet born, neither having done any good or evil, that the
purpose of God according to election might stand, not of works, but of him that
calleth;) [12] It was said unto her,
The elder shall serve the younger. [13] As
it is written, Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated. [14] What shall we say then? Is
there unrighteousness with God? God forbid. [15] For he saith to Moses, I will have mercy on whom I will have
mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion. [16] So then it is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God
that showeth mercy. [17] For the
scripture saith unto Pharaoh, Even for this same purpose have I raised thee up,
that I might show my power in thee, and that my name might be declared
throughout all the earth. [18] Therefore
hath he mercy on whom he will have mercy,
and whom he will he hardeneth."
(John 5:21) "For as the Father raiseth up the dead, and quickeneth them; even so the Son quickeneth whom he
will."
B. The Word of God
(Luke 7:14) "And he came and touched the bier: and they that bare him stood still. And he said, Young man,
I say unto thee, Arise."
(Romans 10:17)
"So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God."
(James 1:18) "Of his own will begat he us with the word of truth,
that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures."
(1 Peter 1:23-25)
"Being born again, not of corruptible
seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for
ever. [24] For all flesh is as grass, and all the glory of man as
the flower of grass. The grass withereth, and the flower thereof falleth away: [25] But the word of the Lord endureth
for ever. And this is the word which by the gospel is preached unto you."
C. The Work of God
(1 Corinthians 1:30-31) "But of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who
of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and
redemption: [31] That, according as
it is written, He that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord."
1.
A Work of Redemption
(Galatians 3:13)
"Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of
the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a
tree."
(1 Peter 1:18-20) "Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not
redeemed with corruptible things, as silver
and gold, from your vain conversation received
by tradition from your fathers; [19] But
with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without
spot: [20] Who verily was
foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last
times for you."
2.
A Work of Regeneration
(John 5:25) "Verily, verily, I say unto you, The hour is coming,
and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God: and they that
hear shall live."
3.
A Work of Resurrection
(John 5:28-29)
"Marvel not at this: for the hour is
coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice, [29] And shall come forth; they that
have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil,
unto the resurrection of damnation."
Application:
As the Lord Jesus came to Nain, I pray that he will come to
you this day, in saving power and grace. As he spoke life to the dead that day
in Nain, may he speak life to your soul today. As he touched the bier and
raised the dead in Nain, oh, may he be pleased to touch the lives of some here
this day, for the glory of God.
"The Touch of the Master's Hand"
'Twas battered and
scarred, and the auctioneer
Thought it scarcely worth
his while
To waste much time on the
old violin,
But held it up with a smile.
"What am I bidden, good
folks," he cried,
"Who'll start the
bidding for me?"
"A dollar, a
dollar;" then, "Two! Only two?
Two dollars and who'll make
it three?
Three dollars, once; three
dollars, twice;
Going for three--" But
no,
From the room, far back, a
gray-haired man
Came forward and picked up
the bow;
Then, wiping the dust from
the old violin,
And tightening the loose
strings,
He played a melody pure and
sweet
As a caroling angel sings.
The music ceased, and the
auctioneer,
With a voice that was quiet
and low,
Said, "What am I bid
for the old violin?"
And he held it up with the
bow.
"A thousand dollars,
and who'll make it two?
Two thousand! And who'll
make it three?
Three thousand, once, three
thousand twice,
And going, and gone,"
said he.
The people cheered, but some
of them cried,
"We do not quite
understand
What changed its
worth." Swift came the reply:
"The touch of a
master's hand."
And many a man with life out
of tune,
And battered and scarred
with sin,
Is auctioned cheap to the
thoughtless crowd,
Much like the old violin.
Ruined and running from God
he goes,
In madness, to hell,
headlong!
He is "going"
once, and "going" twice,
He's "going" and
almost "gone."
But the Master comes, and
the foolish crowd
Never can quite understand
The worth of a soul and the
change that's wrought
By the touch of the Master's
hand.