Turn in your Bibles if you would to Luke the 24th chapter, Luke the 24th chapter. I'd like to look at those first 12 verses this morning. I want to read this scripture and then I'm going to pray and ask God that he would speak to us. Luke 24 one, but on the first day of the week, at early dawn, they came to the tomb bringing the spices which they had prepared. And they found the stone rolled away from the tomb. But when they entered, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. While they were perplexed about this, behold, two men suddenly stood near them in dazzling clothing. And as the women were terrified and bowed their faces to the ground, the men said to them, why do you seek the living one among the dead? He's not here, but he is risen. Remember how he spoke to you while he was still in Galilee, saying the son of man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men and be crucified and on the third day rise again. and they remembered his words. And returned from the tomb and reported all these things to the 11 and to all the rest. Now there were Mary Magdalene and Joanna and Mary the mother of James, also the other women with them were telling these things to the apostles. These words appeared to them as nonsense, and they would not believe them. But Peter got up and ran to the tomb, stooping and looking in. He saw the linen wrappings only, and he went away to his home, marveling at what had happened. Heavenly Father, I pray that you would bring your word to life, to light in our hearts. It is alive, we recognize that. But we also recognize that we need your spirit to take that word, to work it in us, to help us to see the truth of it, and to enlighten our minds and our hearts to what you would have for us. Father, we recognize that this country is in a unique moment in time. And we are seeing many Christians waking up. We are seeing many turn to you and getting their lives right. And there's a greater awareness of our need for you. And we thank you for that. Father, there are many that are, as you know, that are trusting Christ as their Savior in these days. Thousands upon thousands have come to faith in Jesus, and we pray that today, through, as the churches across the world celebrate the resurrection of Jesus, and as the gospel, the good news goes forth, that you've sent your son with a purpose to redeem sinful man, and that through faith in him, we can be made right, that many will understand that and place their faith in Christ. I'd ask that through this moment in time as I preach and as people listen, that you will be working those things through your word and through your spirit. We pray for those that are experiencing great loss today, that you would encourage them. Those that are grieving, that you would especially be near to them and they would recognize that. Father, help our leaders, help our president, help those in authority over us. I pray that they would be seeking your wisdom and that you would freely give and direct them. May there be a great awakening in this land in these days, we pray in Jesus' name, amen. There was a man who loved the Savior and he was weeping. It was a bitter pill that he had swallowed, and it made him ashamed of himself. He couldn't believe what he had just done. The questions came to his heart, and he couldn't shake them. He couldn't forgive himself for the choice that he had made. It happened so fast. He didn't see it coming, and in a moment that he thought that he would love to get back, he betrayed his best friend, the one who he deeply loved. The tears fell. The grieving ensued. He couldn't shake it, and the memory of those eyes that met with his broke him like never before. He had followed Jesus for three years. His Lord knew him, and he knew him better than he knew himself. He had warned him about his vulnerability, but Peter set those words aside. And in his self-reliance said, it could never happen to me. But it did. And he wept. See, he was at a crossroads. His hope died in the pre-dawn of Friday morning, and it created a pandemic within him. Not only for him. But for the rest of the apostles as well, all those that followed Jesus were in the same boat. See this was the death of hope. Now we in our 21st century, we have the scripture before us, we know what happened on the third day when I got up this morning, I praised the Lord because of the resurrection of Jesus. We approached Good Friday, We walk with our Lord to the cross. We see him crucified there, knowing that on Sunday, we will say again and again, he's risen. We know that our Lord was three days in a tomb and that on the Lord's day, the greatest event in human history and the most critical in redemption of mankind would occur. What I'm saying is we know the rest of the story. We know what happened. The disciples initially did not. They felt the dread. They felt the awfulness of this moment. They felt this great loss. They'd been told about the resurrection, but it never registered in their minds. When Jesus was crucified, their hope died with him. Don't miss that. Don't miss that. Their hope was shattered on Friday when Jesus died. They couldn't believe it. Jesus told his disciples time and time again, and if you're a student of the word, as you read through the gospels, you see it, and you see it, and you see it, and you wonder, what's happened? Why can't they understand this? He said, I'm gonna die, I'm gonna be crucified. I'm gonna be handed over and placed on a cross and the third day rise again. In this gospel, the gospel of Luke, he says just that. Oops. Luke 18, 31 to 34. Then he took the 12 aside and said to them, behold, we're going up to Jerusalem. And all things which are written through the prophets about the Son of Man will be accomplished. For he will be handed over to the Gentiles and will be mocked and mistreated and spit upon. And after they have scourged him, they will kill him. And the third day he will rise again. As you and I read that, we well understand what Jesus is saying. It's not hidden. He's very clearly stated what lies ahead for him. He will be mocked, he will be mistreated, he will be spit upon. And after they've scourged him, they'll kill him. And on the third day, he will rise again. The disciples only heard he was going to die. That's as far as it got in their understanding. You know, this didn't fit their view of who Messiah would be. The Old Testament scriptures, though, they clearly portray the suffering servant, the death of the promised one. Isaiah 53, that chapter is one of those that proclaim it very clearly. They had seen him do the impossible, see? They'd seen Jesus do amazing things. He raised the dead back to life. He healed the sick. He restored sight to the blind. When his enemies tried to take him, he sidestepped them miraculously. They couldn't touch him. But dying and rising again was not a reality that they were willing to allow their minds to conceive. They didn't believe it. They didn't believe it, but they experienced it. Jesus was dead. On Friday, there was a cross that held him. He was on it for six hours of hell on earth. He breathed his last, and just to make sure he was dead, a Roman soldier thrusted a spear in our Lord's side to verify that he had died. On Friday, as soon as Jesus breathed his last, word of his death quickly got around. His body was removed from the cross and bombed, laid in a cold, dark tomb. Jesus was dead. The disciples could not yet see Sunday morning. When Jesus died, any flicker of hope that Peter had died also, as with the other disciples. These are men that gave up so much. They had, Peter said to him, Peter said in Matthew 19, 27, Peter said to Jesus, behold, we've left everything and followed you. What then will be there for us? You see, they were all in. They were all in, they were following the Lord, they left businesses, trade, employment, they left it all behind, they left their families, their standing in their communities, they left it all and they followed Jesus. Our Lord's death would hit Peter harder than any of the other disciples. His faith in Jesus excelled the others. He was one of the group of three that had a greater maturity and closeness to him. It was Peter, James, and John. And Peter's name in the scripture always comes up first. It was Peter, James, and John that went up to the Mount of Transfiguration. where our Lord was transfigured. His glory shone in a deeper way than they had ever witnessed. They saw his glory revealed and unveiled to them to a degree they'd never known. It was Peter who had walked on water. In the middle of the storm, he got out of the boat. It was Peter who asked, how many times should I forgive? It was Peter who answered the question for the ages posed by the master who asked, who do men say that I am? Simon Peter answered, Matthew 16. Peter answered, you are the Christ, the son of the living God. John's gospel in the sixth chapter, Jesus had been abandoned by many of his so-called followers. He then presented a question to the disciples asking if they wanted to go away also. Peter was the one who answered that question. Simon Peter answered John 6, 68 to 69, Lord, to whom shall we go? You have words of eternal life. We have believed and come to know that you are the Holy One of God. There was an amazing response to that question. Peter was the one who stood up, who gave that answer. When Jesus revealed that he was going to die, if you'll remember, one of the disciples pulled him aside, began to rebuke him. That was Peter. It was Peter, it was Peter that, Peter was the one who said in Matthew 19.27, behold, we have left everything and followed you. It was him that stood up there. Peter said this as well to the Lord Jesus, Matthew 26.33, even though all may fall away because of you, I will never fall away. He spoke of his own ability, and he said, Lord, the others might, but not me. He did, he did. Luke's gospel records a sobering moment in Peter's life. Luke 22, 61 to 62 says this, then the Lord turned and looked at Peter. This is when our Lord's trial's going on. Peter is outside near a fire. He's denied the Lord. The Lord turned and looked at Peter, and Peter remembered the word of the Lord, how he had told him before the rooster crows today, you will deny me three times. And he went out and wept bitterly. He denied Jesus. Not just once, not just twice, but three times. In that early dawn on Friday, it was a rooster crowing that triggered the memory of what Jesus said. Now for three days, Peter has lived with this utter failure. I believe the death of Jesus struck a deeper dread in Peter than the rest. Hope died in him. Hope died on Friday for all the disciples as well. They're now cowering in fear for their lives. See, if their leader, the one who they have identified with, the one who they've ministered with, the one who they have publicly stood with, if he could be killed, they very well could be killed as well. For them, their hope died. To this point. It's a pretty sobering story we're telling on Easter Sunday. But as you know, there is more to the story because he is risen. We have just seen the death of hope. I want you to see something else at this point. And this is the reason we gather on Sunday mornings. There is the reality of hope. It's incredible. It came on the Lord's day, there was a report of an empty tomb. Again, Luke 24 one, on the first day of the week at early dawn, they came to the tomb bringing the spices which they had prepared. And they found the stone rolled away from the tomb. When they entered, they did not find the body of our Lord Jesus. While they were perplexed about this, behold, two men suddenly stood near them in dazzling clothing. In verse six, they said this, he's not here, he is risen. Amen, he is risen indeed. Remember, they said how he spoke to you while he was still in Galilee. Well, they doubted it. It's worth noting, you need to understand this, that the first skeptics of the resurrection of Jesus Christ were the disciples themselves. Note Mark 16 11, when they heard that he was alive and had been seen by her, they refused to believe it. Disciples could not believe it. In Mark 24 11, these words appeared to them as nonsense and they would not believe them. Thomas didn't believe it. He went so far as to say, unless I can see him and touch him, I will not believe. As much as they might have wanted it to be so, they couldn't bring themselves to believe it. But things were happening fast. The way, it was something, the way the women spoke and the conviction they had on their minds and on their faces caused Peter to run up and get up and run and see. Verse 12, Peter got up and ran to the tomb. He had to know it, he had to see it. Well, the reality of hope, they doubted it, and then they couldn't deny it. They couldn't deny it. It was the third day. Remember that. Jesus said on the third day, he would rise again. He did. He's risen. I want to tell you guys, I miss the church full so we can have this interaction, but we've got a bit of it going on. I appreciate that. So over a period of 40 days, Jesus appeared in various settings to the disciples, not just to them, but he revealed himself to over 500 at one time. The resurrection chapter, 1 Corinthians 15 says this in verse six, after that he appeared to more than 500 brethren at one time. It was undeniable. It was a fact that would not change. We celebrate that fact today. We gather on Sunday mornings with Christians all over the world, the Lord's Day, the day we remembered that he left the tomb empty. Well, if they wanted to dismiss this as a rumor, a hallucination, or any other such thing, to have 500 people see him at once could not be dismissed. Someone has said facts are stubborn things. And Jesus began and revealed himself time and time again. Acts 1-3, I love how Luke says this. To these he also presented himself alive after suffering, suffering by many convincing proofs, appearing to them over a period of 40 days and speaking of things concerning the kingdom of God. That's what he did. Many days he continued and continued to show himself. The Apostle John speaks of this this way. 1 John 1.1, what was from the beginning, what we have heard, what we have seen with our eyes, what we have looked at and touched with our hands concerning the word of life. They saw Jesus. They touched him. They ate with him. They saw him alive. This reminds me of something. I remember the first time I held one of my grandchildren. It was one thing to see the pictures or the videos, but it was another to touch them. When I touched them, what a moment that was. To hold them, you could feel the life within them. And for the Apostle Peter, This started to stir him and the others. They couldn't deny it. And Jesus knew what was going on in this man's heart and was concerned specifically for him. The word from heaven to the women at the tomb delivered by an angel in the gospel of Mark is this. Go tell the disciples, Mark 16, seven, and Peter, note that. Go tell the disciples and Peter. He's going on ahead of you to Galilee, there you'll see him, just as he told you. You tell the disciples, you tell Peter. But it is that Peter is sort of set apart. He's feeling it, God knows it. He's betrayed the Lord. The last time he saw him, their eyes met, and that was a moment when Jesus had betrayed him and denied, excuse me, denied him. Not betrayed him, but denied him. So Jesus, I want you to know, is concerned for every one of us, every follower of the Lord, those who have made regrettable choices. He desires to restore you today. He's concerned for each of us. That is what he did for Peter. John's gospel reveals that Jesus personally met with Peter and the others, cooked some fish for them on that shore. That's in John 21. And what happened there was a full restoration of Peter. He asked him three questions and allowed him to confess three times of his love for his master, his love for Jesus, thus restoring him fully. Our Lord desires to restore to fellowship believers who have stepped away, believers who have sinned, believers who have made terrible choices, believers who are doing things and have done things that they know are apart from his desired will. And if you're in that boat today, he would meet you. If you would come to your senses, confess your sin to him, he will be there waiting with arms wide open to restore you and to take you back in. That's the grace of our Lord. That's the love of our God, and I love him for that. He will say, welcome home, my child. Well, we have the reality of hope. We had the death of hope, we have the reality of hope, and now we have the influence of hope in Peter. In Peter, it was stunning what happens to this man. Some have doubted the resurrection. But if you watch the lives of those who followed the Lord Jesus, what happened right after the cross, what happened after the resurrection, and in Acts 2, when the Spirit of God indwells them, you can't explain it in any other way than the fact that he is risen. It is stunning, stunning what took place over the next 40 days in Peter's life and the rest of the apostles. And it's unexplainable apart from the resurrection. Jesus personally came to Peter and with a surge of hope that changed this man and the history of the world forever. In Acts 2, our Lord's followers had gathered together, they had prayed, they were filled with the Holy Spirit in one man. One man who had once denied knowing Christ stands up before a massive crowd and begins to preach. Some 40 some days earlier, Peter couldn't say to a servant girl in the middle of the night in the early dawn that he knew Jesus. He denied him, but here's what happens. Peter gets up. And there are 3,000 souls that are saved in this moment in time as Peter preaches the gospel. I believe he's before a crowd of over 10,000. Peter stands up. It says in Acts 2.14, but Peter, taking his stand with the 11, raised his voice and declared to them, and he begins to preach. It is absolutely stunning, those first two words of that 14th verse. But Peter, there he is, restored, renewed. The Lord says, go, you've got ministry to do. I'm alive. My power is in you. My spirit is in you. You go, and Peter goes. And he proclaims, he stands up, and he preaches. It's amazing what happens here. Jesus had restored him. There's hope in this man. He's changed and the history of the world is changed forever because of this message and because of this man. Massive crowd, he proclaims. He preached quite a message. It wasn't a feel-good, pat you on the back, sorry you've made mistakes, but you're really good before God in and of yourselves. What you have is amazing. He's fortunate to have you. No, it was this. Listen to these words. This man, speaking of Jesus, and Peter's preaching this, delivered over by the predetermined plan and foreknowledge of God, listen to what it says, Acts 2.23. You nailed to a cross by the hands of godless men and put him to death. He's saying to his audience, Jesus was the one that you put to death. He lays it right in their lap. They're responsible. And he goes further. He says this, and this lays right into this whole thought of a resurrection Sunday. Verse 24 of Acts 2. God raised him up again, putting an end to the agony of death. Listen, since it was impossible for him to be held in his power. Peter preached the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. At the end of the sermon, he calls them to faith in Christ. He says, be saved from this crooked and perverse generation. Be saved. Trust Christ. Move your faith there. His message was so powerful. 3,000 souls came to faith in that day. And the church was born. Church went on and turned the world upside down. How can this be? What happened? Peter was restored by a Savior who died, rose again, never to die again. He's risen. The church took off because you cannot harness hope. You can't stop it. Jesus is alive forevermore, and so is hope. Our Lord's resurrection validates his mission and ministry. Remember, he came to seek and to save the lost. He didn't come to be served, but to serve and give his life a ransom for many, for you and I. He today, has a heart to draw and bring others to himself. He wants to save. We have a savior who can give life because he's overcome death and is alive today. Hope is alive. It was alive in Peter. It was alive in the disciples, alive in the church. This is the influence of hope and it is alive in us. I wanna ask this question. Is this hope in you? Do you understand that you have missed the mark? You've fallen short. God has a high level of what he wants from you, it's declared in his word. We are not to lie, we are not to steal, we are not to covet. We all have. So we're all in the same boat, we've all fallen short. We are all sinners and we are in need of a savior. God did something about this. He did. He sent someone to take your place and my place. Jesus himself bore our sin on the cross. He paid the penalty for my sin. Jesus didn't come to condemn us. We're condemned by our actions. Our sin condemns us. He came to save. That's what he came for. He sent his son to take our sins punishment. He went to the cross for you, rose again for you, offers you salvation. As clear and easily as I can say this, I want to say it from Romans 10, 13. Whoever will call on the name of the Lord will be saved. That's an open invitation to anyone. Not everyone will take that. Most will say no. But I want you to know that thousands upon thousands have been saying yes. Thousands today will put their faith in Jesus Christ and be saved. Whoever will call on the name of the Lord will be saved. It's an open invitation. If you cry out to him, I'm a sinner. I can't be what I'm supposed to be. I fall short. My sin has condemned me. I'm asking you to save me from the wages of my sin. You know what God will do according to this verse? The Lord, whoever calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. That's a promise. So I'm asking, is this hope in you? Is this hope in you? Don't let it pass you by. I wanna say there's an urgency to the gospel. Don't let it pass you by. You don't know what lies before you. You have this moment in time. That's why the scripture says, today's the day of salvation. Move from where you're at to faith in Christ. He will save you and that, the power of the resurrection will change you. You'll be made a new creation. You'll be forgiven. You'll be granted a citizenship in heaven. We urge you to trust him now. Others are, will you be one of them? Brothers and sisters, I wanna finish today by saying this. His life, the resurrection life is in us and it's impacting the world. I can look back at my family's history when my grandfathers came to Christ and how that impacted our family, changed the direction and blessed. The resurrection, the resurrection of Jesus Christ is writing a history through his people, you and I. It's a world that needs to hear of the hope that's in you. Coronavirus has shut down the entire world. But Jesus is alive. He's conquered death, Satan, and hell. He's alive and will one day come together up all his followers onto himself. I say this, brothers, sisters, rejoice, praise his glorious name. What a great hope we have in Christ, the living Savior. It's described very well what we have in Christ in 1 Corinthians 15, 57. But thanks be to God who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. I believe we have this moment in time. We as believers operate from a position of victory. Yeah, there's chaos around the world. The devil's deceiving many, but I want you to know our Lord lives. And he is granted that we are more than conquerors. We have victory with room to spare. That's a great position. It sums up very well what we have in Christ and who we are in Christ. I want to say to my brothers and sisters, go. He's writing the story of redemption. And part of that is he's working that through us. He is alive and he's able to meet every challenge we have, every care we have, every concern we have. Because he's alive, he's on the throne. He can meet that. My final thought to you is this. The empty tomb validates our Lord's life and ministry and eclipses any pandemic we could ever face. Let's pray. Loving Father, I thank you for the message of Easter, for the resurrection of our Lord. Thank you for the hope we have. Thank you that because he lives, we live also. We are thankful for his life in us and the power through the Holy Spirit to witness of him, to share to a world that desperately needs to know of the hope we have in Christ and the courage that he gives us. Thank you that you know everything about us. You know all our concerns, all our fears, and you desire to meet us there. Father, I want to thank you, too, for those who have heard the word today. I pray that there are many that might put their faith in Jesus Christ. Whoever will call on the name of the Lord will be saved. Thank you for the simplicity of the gospel. Thank you for what Jesus did. We praise your name that he is risen. In Christ's name we pray, amen.