It was many years after that resurrection morning
that the Apostle John was all by himself on an
island in the Mediterranean called Patmos. He
had served his Lord Jesus Christ faithfully for
now some 60 years after he had last seen Christ.
The emperor Domitian was intent upon snuffing
out Christianity in the Roman Empire. And in
order to try to achieve that end, he sent the
last of the apostles, John, in exile to an island.
And there it was on a Sunday, on a Lord's Day,
that John was meditating upon these things. And
suddenly he heard a voice. It sounded like a
trumpet to him. He turned around to see who it
was that was speaking. And there he saw the most
majestic person he had ever seen. And this person
said to him, Do not be afraid. I am the first
and the last, and the living one. He had not
recognized the visage of his Savior, so majestic,
so changed with Jesus as he appeared to him on
that island. But Jesus identified himself quickly
as the one who was dead. but who was now alive
forevermore. John may have been meditating upon
the despair that he had experienced with the
disciples those three days after the crucifixion.
Recently I was reading a book entitled Across
China by Peter Jenkins. Maybe some of you have
read it. Jenkins recounts the story in the book
of a young man whose name was Chris. Chris was
in his mid -twenties, five foot ten inches tall,
handsome, sandy, blonde hair, intelligent, muscular.
He was a mountain climber. His father was a teacher
at MIT. But Chris wanted to be a mountain climber
and so he got practice doing that and was excellent.
In fact, he was a guide. He was so good. On one
occasion, a man from Seattle by the name of Jim,
who was an attorney in his mid -40s, wanted to
go on an expedition. And in order to give him
some experience, he paired up with Chris for
a journey up Mount McKinley in Alaska. The two
of them went alone. They took along about 200
pounds of equipment and food, placed it on a
plastic sled in between the two of them, and
then began going up the side of the mountain
that way with a rope 10 feet long on the front
of the sled attached to Chris as he led the way,
and a rope 10 feet long on the back of the sled
attached to Jim as he followed. As they approached
a particular pass, they were crossing a glacier.
And those who do this sort of thing know that
one of the dangers of a glacier is a crevasse,
a place where the ice has split. But often that
crevasse is hidden because snow has blown over
it. Well, they could see many of the crevasses
because the snow was dipped where they were.
Jim later couldn't remember exactly what happened
but suddenly Chris disappeared in front of him
and the first thing he knew he was being pulled
down. Chris had slipped into a crevasse that
was entirely hidden. It was three feet wide at
the top and then it narrowed down to 18 inches
at the bottom 25 feet down. Chris fell head first.
And on top of him came the 200 -pound sled, and
after that came Jim. As soon as he could regain
his senses, Jim took off the snowshoes he was
wearing as best he could in 18 inches of space
where he was wedged. Chris was able to talk to
him, but he couldn't see Chris's head, couldn't
see his upper torso, only his legs. were visible
and the sled and all the material scattered around
them in that narrow crevasse. Jim quickly realized
that his left arm was useless. It was broken.
His shoulder was broken. He had only one good
arm. He reached over to try to pull up Chris
and could not even begin to budge him. And so
he took a rope out of the pack. that he was carrying
and tied it to Chris. And then he began to climb
up the side of the crevasse. It took him an hour
to get to the top. Once up there, he began to
try to pull straight up, to try to lift Chris
out of the point where he was wedged helplessly
in the bottom. He couldn't budge him. He climbed
back down into the crevasse. Did everything that
he knew over a period of some six or eight hours
to try to free his friend who was still lucid,
who could talk to him. But nothing could free
him from where he had been smashed into the bottom
of the crevasse. Later, Jim wrote in his diary
that it was about 9 .30 that night that he and
Chris both realized the inevitable. That Chris
was hopelessly trapped, head first, at the bottom
of that crevasse. And Jim was now too exhausted
to help him. And only with great exertion was
he able once more to climb to the top of the
crevasse himself. And he laid there, totally
drained of his strength. It was about three hours
before Chris, at the bottom of the crevasse,
finally died. Can you imagine the despair and
the horror that that young man must have faced?
as he died there upside down, trapped in the
bottom of an ice crevasse where he is entombed
still today. Talk about hopelessness. It must
have been something like that the night after
the crucifixion. Most of the disciples had either
run or watched from afar. John was close enough
that he was at the cross with Mary. And she understood
what Simeon had meant when they dedicated Jesus
and he told her that a sword would pierce her
own soul. For as she watched her firstborn, being
crucified, there was a sword of pain. and agony
in her heart. And finally, he died. It was Nicodemus
and Joseph of Arimathea who came later, having
received permission to take the body of Jesus
down from the cross. Often the bodies were allowed
to hang there for days, as a reminder to everyone
what these criminals had done. But in this case,
the Passover was upon them. And the Jews wanted
the bodies down too. So these two men who had
been secret followers of Jesus took his body
down and they put it into the tomb of Joseph
of Arimathea. And there they rolled the stone
shut. What hopelessness and despair there must
have been in the hearts of the disciples. How
empty they must have felt. They had come to believe
in Jesus of Nazareth. They actually believed
that he was going to bring the kingdom. They
had given up years of their lives. They had set
aside their livelihoods. Some were fishermen,
others were tax collectors or other occupations.
But they laid all of that aside to follow him.
And now he is dead and in a tomb. And they and
some of the other followers are huddled in fear,
in despair and hopelessness. A couple of days
later, on the first day of the week, two of them
had left Jerusalem early and were walking toward
their home. And they said to a stranger who happened
to accompany them on part of the journey to their
homes, we had hoped that it was He who would
bring the kingdom to Israel. You see, in the
way they said that, we had hoped, but now they
were without hope. Back in Jerusalem, as the
morning began to dawn on that first day of the
week, some of the women were bringing spices
to finish the burial of Jesus of Nazareth. When
they got to the tomb, they found that it was
disturbed. And they received, some of them, announcement
from angels. He is not here. He has risen from
the dead. And one of them, Mary, who lingered
behind for a while, actually heard his voice
and turned and saw him and touched him. And suddenly,
the despair and the hopelessness turned to great
joy and celebration. as it slowly began to dawn
upon them that in fact He was risen from the
dead. And joy filled their hearts and joy changed
their lives as they understood and realized that
this One that they had loved and known in the
flesh and who had died was now alive as He said
Himself forevermore. And they ate with Him, and
they met with Him, and they conversed with Him
on numerous occasions over the next 40 days or
so, until that day that they met with Him on
the Mount of Olives. And while He was speaking
to them, He was taken up out of their sight into
heaven. And they became flaming evangelists of
this message. of the risen Christ as the Holy
Spirit came upon them and filled their lives.
We live in a world that is in despair. It is
hopelessly trapped in a crevasse of sin and wickedness
and rebellion against God. And because of that
crevasse, there's absolutely no hope for the
world. And those who are in the world are without
God and without hope. We live in the most technological
society in the history of the world. We can pretty
much do what we want to do and go where we want
to go. We have time in our hands. We can fulfill
most of the pleasures that we desire. Isn't it
amazing that in a world like ours, suicide is
one of the leading killers of our young people?
They choose to end their own lives. Isn't it
amazing? That those companies that manufacture
drugs that deal with depression can hardly keep
up with their business. We live in a despairing
world because it is a world without any hope.
One of the great men of this century was Winston
Churchill. Near his death, Winston Churchill,
the former Prime Minister of England, had these
words to say, I am an old man. I have lived a
long time. I have never seen days like these.
I am tired of it all. I see no hope for the future.
Our problems are beyond us. The French philosopher
and novelist Jean -Paul Sauterre said, man can
count on no one but himself. He is alone, abandoned
on earth in the midst of his infinite responsibilities,
without hope, with no other aim than the one
he sets for himself, with no other destiny than
the one he forges for himself on this earth.
Ladies and gentlemen, you and I who have faith
in Jesus Christ are a people distinct in this
world. Because we have come on this morning to
celebrate hope that lives in our hearts. We are
distinct because we live in a world that is without
hope because it is without God. But in His grace
and goodness, God has revealed Himself to us
and has opened our hearts to see the truth that
is in Jesus Christ. And many of us have come
to the place where we have placed our personal
faith in Jesus Christ. And receiving Him as our
Lord, we are walking with Him. We are a people
distinct in this world because we are a people
of a living hope. May I remind you of Peter's
words, blessed be the God and Father of our Lord
Jesus Christ, who according to his great mercy
has caused us to be born again to a living hope
through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from
the dead. It is possible for you and me to pass
through trials in this life in which we may even
come to the point of despair. Circumstances may
fall into our lives in which we feel trapped
and we feel hopeless. But let us remember that
those feelings are lies. That in Jesus Christ
there is a living and eternal and assure hope.
If you as a child of God have come to this service
this morning, on this Easter morning, and you
feel a certain despair and a certain hopelessness
that has attached itself to your life because
of your circumstances, whatever they be, let
me tell you that your feelings are lying to you.
That on this Easter Sunday there is greater hope
than you can possibly absorb. if your faith is
in Christ. There is a hope that will lift you
from the circumstances and the despair that you
may feel inside now, and which will set you on
a solid plane, a solid path for the rest of your
life. The secret to knowing and experiencing
and feeling that hope is yielding to the lordship
of Jesus Christ in your life today. Today. It
may be that you have come to this service as
a religious person who's never placed personal
faith in Jesus Christ. You've grown up in our
culture with the story of Good Friday and Easter
and you know something about it, but there hasn't
been that personal relationship with God established
in your life. A relationship that is established
by faith. Would you do that today? By turning
from your sins and to the Savior? and say to
Him who died for you and rose again, Jesus Christ,
living one, living God, come into my life and
deliver me from my sin and from my despair and
my hopelessness and fill me with your salvation
and your hope. Oh friend, He will do that. And
He will impart to you a living hope. a living
hope that is reserved in heaven for you, and
which nothing can ever take away. Let's pray
together. Our heads bowed, our eyes closed. In
a moment we're going to sing again of the joy
of the resurrection, but before we sing, in just
a moment, Has the Spirit of God on this Easter
Sunday done something in your heart? Perhaps
there's someone here who would say, today on
this Easter of 1991, I am trusting Jesus Christ
as my Savior. I have known about Him before,
but today I'm trusting Him. And I am inviting
Him. I am receiving Him into my life as my Lord
and my Savior as an act of faith. If that is
your choice and your decision today, would you
indicate that by your uplifted hand just where
you're seated? Let that be an act of faith on
your part by the uplifted hand saying today I
am trusting Him as my Lord. I want His living
hope. What about those who are here, who have
trusted Him but who have been living in despair?
Would you say to Him, Lord Jesus, be my hope
today? I feel hopeless. I feel trapped. I feel
like I can't get out of this crevasse into which
I've fallen. But I know that You have conquered
even death. that you are my hope. And I reestablish
your right to rule in my life. And I yield myself
afresh on this Easter to your Lordship in my
life. If that is your decision, would you raise
your hand and say that to Him? God bless you.
Anyone else? Yes, I want Jesus to be the Lord
of my life. risen from the dead, let him live
his life in me. Father, thank you for the truth
of the resurrection. And may this glorious truth
lift our hearts. And as we depart from here in
a few moments, may it lift us in praise and worship
to you, so that as we go out from here, we go
out with Jesus as the Lord of our lives. In His
name we pray, Amen.