"The Two Most Profound Cries in History..."

 

 

I want to begin with a rhetorical question... think about it but don't answer out aloud... keep it to yourself.

 

What would you say are the two greatest (most profound) cries ever heard in the history of mankind??

 

□ It wasn't Paul Revere's "The British are coming!"?

 

□ It wasn't Julius Caesar's "Veni, Vidi, Vici"... "I came, I saw, I conquered"?

 

□ It wasn't Archimedes', "Eureka!" when he made an important scientific discovery when he hopped into his bath?

 

□ It wasn't Neil Armstrong's, "That's one small step for man. One giant leap for mankind," when he stepped onto the moon's surface.

 

□ It wasn't the jubilant cry by millions of people on May 8th 1945... "The war is over!"?

 

The two cries I am talking about... are more like pronouncements... or proclamations!

 

Both are found in the Bible... the Word of God.

 

Both cries that I am referring to are related to the same event in history and involve the same person.

 

And most importantly, our eternal destiny is linked to our acceptance or our rejection of these two proclamations.

 

In fact the Gospel "which is the power of God unto salvation" is based on the words of these two declarations...

 

So what two cries... what two pronouncements am I referring to?

 

■ The first cry...

were in fact the very last words spoken by Jesus from the Cross just before He died... ☆ John 19:30.

 

"It... is... finished!"

 

And...

 

■ The second cry... which came three days later...

were the words shouted by the excited disciples when they discovered that Jesus's tomb was empty...           ☆ Luke 24:6.

 

"He... is... risen!"

 

That is what Easter is really about... not hot cross buns, not bunny rabbits, not chocolate eggs and not a four day long weekend holiday.

 

I believe that...

• The two greatest cries made in the whole history of mankind are...

"It is finished!" and "He is risen!"

 

I believe that...

• The two greatest events in the history of mankind are the Crucifixion of Christ and the Resurrection of Christ.

 

I believe that...

• The greatest person that ever lived is Jesus Christ the Son of God.

 

■■ Jesus' words... "It is finished!" was the greatest victory cry ever spoken... shouted out...

 

It was not a cry of relief saying...

"Thank goodness it's all over."

 

"It is finished!" was a cry stating, that Jesus had completed His Father's mission...

"I have done what My Father God sent me to do!"

 

Jesus died an agonising death on a cruel barbaric cross, but it was something that He had to do... it was something He had to go through on behalf of the whole of mankind.

 

☆ Luke 22:22...

"... truly the Son of man goes, as it was determined..."

 

☆ Isaiah 53:10...

"Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise Him (Jesus); He has put Him to grief: when You shall make His soul an offering for sin..."

 

☆ Isaiah 53:5...

"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."

 

☆ 1 Corinthians 15:3...

"For I (Paul) delivered unto you first of all that which I also received (Gospel), how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures."

 

Jesus came specifically to this sin sodden world to save mankind from their sins and to restore him back into fellowship and relationship with God.

 

Jesus came to seek and to save the lost, the least, the last and the lowest.

He came to call sinners to repentance.

 

At the beginning of Creation, the first man Adam, who was created in the image of God, was placed in a perfect environment (Garden of Eden) and had perfect unbroken fellowship with God, Who was the perfect Father.

 

He could eat of every fruit tree in the Garden of Eden, but was commanded of God, not to eat of the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil.

 

If he did, he would surely die.

 

Adam and Eve were deceived and tricked by Satan to eat of the forbidden fruit.

 

The consequence of this disobedience to God, called sin, was physical and spiritual death. Adam's sin DNA (sin nature) was passed onto all of mankind... no one excepted...

 

Thanks to Adam, all of creation became subject to death and corruption.

 

☆ Romans 5:12...

"Wherefore, as by one man (Adam) sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned."

 

☆ Romans 3:23...

"For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God."

 

☆ Romans 6:23...

"For the wages of sin is death... "

 

Jesus came into the world to undo "the sin mess" that Adam brought upon all of mankind.

 

☆ Romans 5:18

"Therefore as by the offence of one (Adam)  judgement came upon all men to condemnation; even so by the righteousness of one (Jesus) the free gift came upon all men unto justification of life."

 

Put simply...

 

☆ Romans 6:23...

"... the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord."

 

This was all part of God's redemption plan.

 

Jesus had to shed His precious life blood to cleanse all mankind's sin... past, present and future... once and for all.

 

Jesus, the Lamb of God was the perfect sacrifice... In fact Jesus was the only sacrifice God could accept.

 

That is why Jesus was able to cry out aloud...

"It is finished!"

 

This was sweet VICTORY!

"Jesus for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame..." ☆ Hebrews 12:2.

 

Jesus had fulfilled the work... He had completed His mission that His Father sent Him to do.

 

♡  What does this "It is finished!" all mean for you and me?

 

Much for all those who place their complete faith in Jesus and His finished work on the Cross!

 

• Old Testament "way" was done away with, New Testament way was in.

 

• Salvation is by God's grace alone not by keeping the Law or doing good works.

 

• We are redeemed back to God... by the blood of Christ... we belong back to God.

 

• Blood of Christ was shed for the forgiveness and cleansing of all sins... we have been given a clean slate.

 

• Fellowship with and access to God was restored.

 

• A unity was established... no more "separation" between Jew and Gentile or any other people group for that matter... ☆ Ephesians 2:11-19...

 

• Dominion and power of sin, death and Satan was destroyed by the work of the Cross.

 

• We now have a righteousness by faith in Christ.

 

• We are a new creation in Christ... "It's no longer I that live"...

 

• We have been translated from the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of light.

 

• For all those who believe in Jesus, accept Jesus, confess Jesus and receive Jesus as their Saviour and Lord are saved... and have eternal life.

 

The cry... "It is finished!" ???

 

Jesus has made for us "the way" back to God... and has completely set us free from the curse of sin, of death, of sickness and the Devil.

 

The moment Jesus died an something amazing happened...

 

☆ Matthew 27:51...

"And, behold, the veil of the temple was torn in two from the top to the bottom; and the earth did quake, and the rocks rent."

 

The veil in the temple was made of very thick material and had a drop of 20 meters.

It separated the Holy Place where the high priest worked... from the Holy of Holies.

 

Behind this veil was the Mercy Seat which sat upon the Ark of the Covenant and represented the presence of God.

 

Only the High Priest could enter this Holy of Holies... just once a year and only after his own rigorous cleansing.

 

This veil, this separation, was ripped in two from top to bottom.

 

Man did not do this!

 

It would have been impossible for him to have done so.

But God did!!

And it took place right at the moment Jesus cried out, "It is finished!" and died.

 

God showed through this amazing physical act... that every man and woman now could have unlimited access to Him... the blood of Christ had removed man's sin once and for all... and sin no longer separates man from God.

 

■■ Three days, after Christ died on the Cross and was buried in a tomb... another cry was heard... "He is risen!"

 

☆ 1 Corinthians 15:4...

"And... He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the scriptures."

 

The fact that Jesus had risen from the dead... the fact that Jesus had been resurrected... was proof positive that the redemption work He came to do was indeed complete!

 

Jesus' resurrection proved that every single sin... past, present and future... had been atoned for... once and for all.

 

Jesus had to be resurrected, otherwise His death on the Cross would have been all for nothing.

 

♡  So... what does the fact that "He is risen!" mean for you and me?

 

Again... much for those who put their complete faith in Jesus' finished work on the Cross and His glorious resurrection!

 

• The one thing mankind fears the most, Jesus has won the victory over...

 

 Jesus conquered death... Jesus defeated death... Jesus overcame death...

 

☆ John 11:25-26...

"Jesus said... I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believes in Me, though he were dead, yet shall he live:

And whosoever lives and believes in me shall never die."

 

The empty tomb proved that Jesus is the Resurrection and the Life.

 

☆ Revelation 1:18...

"I am He that lives, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death."

 

• Death is no longer to be feared...

 

☆ 1 Corinthians 15:55-57...

"O death, where is your sting?

O grave, where is your victory?

The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law.

But thanks be to God, which gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ."

 

• All sins (past, present, future) have been atoned for once and for all... we have been given a completely clean slate in life...

 

• We are resurrected to living a new life... we become a new creation in Christ Jesus... old things pass away, behold all things become new... we have a brand new beginning...

☆ 2 Corinthians  5:17...

 

• Jesus is the Resurrection and the Life... we too will one day be resurrected... ☆ John 11:25-26...

 

• When Jesus comes to Rapture His Church to Heaven just before the Great Tribulation... the dead in Christ will be resurrected first... then we who are alive will be translated to Heaven. ☆ 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17.

 

• We have a new hope...

 

• We have a new home in heaven...

 

• One day we will receive a new incorruptible, immortal body... ☆ 1 Corinthians 15:53... We are going to have the greatest "makeover" yet.

 

• We have eternal life!

 

Reader... listener... listen carefully...

 

The two most important... most significant events in the whole of human history that affects you and I... indeed affects every person... are that...

 

• Christ died for our sins... and...

• Christ rose again from the dead...

 

And... our acceptance or rejection of them will determine our Eternal destiny...

 

■ Our acceptance will save us for Heaven... our rejection of them will condemn us to Hell.

 

Have you accepted Jesus and what He did for you on the Cross... or... have you rejected Him?

 

Have you accepted God's grace or rejected it?

 

Have you accepted God's mercy and forgiveness or rejected it?

 

Have you accepted God's salvation or rejected it?

 

The Bible tells us very plainly...

 

☆ John 3:17-18...

"For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through Him might be saved. He that believes on Jesus is not condemned: but he that believes not is condemned already, because he has not believed in the Name of the only begotten Son of God."

 

Note that... God does not condemn us... God is not a condemning God.

We condemn ourselves to Hell by not believing.

 

To believe in Jesus or not to believe in Jesus?

That is the question.

 

To believe in Jesus and accept Jesus is the answer!

 

☆ Hebrews 9:27...

"... it is appointed for every person once to die, but after this the judgement."

 

What will your answer be when you stand before God and He asks you "What did you do with My Son Jesus Who gave His life for you?"

 

☆ 1 John 5:12-13...

"He that has the Son has life; and he that has not the Son of God has not life.

These things have I (John) written to you that believe on the Name of the Son of God; that you may know that you have eternal life, and that you may believe on the name of the Son of God."

 

Do you have the Son or not have the Son?

Do you believe on the Name of the Son of God?

Do you know if you have eternal life?

Are you going to Heaven when you die?

 

We are presented with another sobering thought in...

 

☆ Hebrews 10:31...

"It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God."

 

What excuse will you give God for not accepting His amazing Grace? For rejecting His Son Jesus?

 

You and I have an important choice to make?

Don't put off to tomorrow what you can do today.

Tomorrow might never come

 

☆ 2 Corinthians 6:2...

"... behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation."

 

"It is finished!" Jesus died for you... for me.

 

"He is risen!" Jesus was resurrected for you... for me.

 

What I am going to do I have only done once before... that is to invite everyone to say the sinners prayer for salvation.

I believe the Lord wants me to do the same again this morning...

 

And today being Easter Sunday... where we celebrate that Jesus is risen from the dead... what better time and place to give your life to Jesus and begin a brand new life as Christian.

 

If we can all say it... repeat after me...

 

Dear Lord Jesus / I know that I am a sinner / and I ask for Your forgiveness / I believe You died for my sins / and rose again from the dead / I turn from my sins / and invite You to come into my heart and life. / I want to trust and follow You / as my Lord and Saviour / Take complete control of my life / and help me to walk in Your footsteps daily / by the power of the Holy Spirit / Amen!

 

If you believe with all your heart that Jesus died for your sins on the Cross and that He rose again from the dead... you are saved... and you are about to start an incredible journey as a Christian. 

 

☆ Romans 10:9...

"That if you shall confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus, and shall believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you shall be saved."

 

Hallelujah!

 

 

Selah!