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         Pastor Mike Mounts

He's Gone!

 

Online Video

 

Introduction

 

 In the movie, Back To The Future, starring Michale J. Fox and Christopher Lloyd, Dr. Brown (played by Christopher Lloyd) converts a DeLorean into a time machine. Marty McFly (played by Michael J. Fox) gets transported back in time to when his parents were in high school. Marty spends his time (back in time) trying to get his parents to fall in love at their Senior Prom, tryiong to avoid getting pounded by Biff Tanner, and trying to repair the DeLorean (so he can get back to the future). And all of this is accomplished in a two-hour movie!

 

 This morning, we're going to travel back into time 2,000 years. Now this isn't just any ordinary trip - the trip begins in heaven. And we don't have to drive a DeLorean eighty miles an hour to get there. Oh, and we're not going back to correct the future. God has handled it just fine!

 

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 As we enter heaven, such splendor and glory is reflected everywhere - as far as the eye can see. An angel greets us, and asks, "Who would you like to see?"

 "We would like to see the Son of God," we respond.

 "Oh, but He isn't here, He's gone," replies the angel.

 "But He's always been here; throughout eternity past."

 "I'm sorry," the angel replies, "He's gone."

 "But where could He be? Where did He go?"

 "He's gone to earth, conceived as a baby by the Holy Spirit, in the womb of a virgin named Mary. He's to be born in Bethlehem."

 

Let's listen to the following writers:

 

Therefore, when He came into the world, He said: "Sacrifice and offering You did not desire, But a body You have prepared for Me. In burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin You had no pleasure. Then I said, 'Behold, I have come - In the volume of the book it is written of Me - To do Your will, O God.'" (Heb. 10:5-7)

 

The apostle John wrote:

 

"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten son of the Father, full of grace and truth." (John 1:1-3, 14)

 

Listen as Matthew quotes from Isaiah 7:14:

 

   "Behold the virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel," which is translated, "God with us." (Matt. 1:23)

 

The Word, God Himself, the Creator of the universe, stepped out of eternity into time and space, and took upon Himself human flesh (apart from sin). That little baby lying in a manger is so much more than a sentimental scene at Christmas time; that little baby is "God with us" - God wrapped in human flesh. God visited planet earth to be the Savior of the world. Think of it!

 

The apostle Paul described it this way in 2 Corinthians 8:9:

 

For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that thought He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, that you through His poverty might become rich. (2 Cor. 8,9)

 

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So we have finally made our way to Bethlehem and have inquired where Jesus was born. Eventually we run into an innkeeper who informs us he had met Mary and Joseph right before the birth of their child. He heard they had named their baby, "Jesus."

   "But where is He?" we ask. "We can't wait to see Him."

   "He's gone," the innkeeper replies, "Folks say they left in a hurry, headed south toward Egypt. It's a good thing, too. Herod ordered all male babies to be killed, from 2 years old and under."

 

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 After some time, we finally decide to try Nazareth, the hometown of Mary and Joseph. Perhaps, at last, they have returned home. So we make our way into the region of Galilee, and the city of Nazareth. As we enter the city, we find the little home of Mary, Joseph and Jesus. Upon meeting Mary, we tell her we would like to see Jesus. "He's gone," is her reply.

"But why?"

"To begin His ministry."

"But where?"

"At the Jordan River, just north of the Dead Sea."

 

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 So we travel from Nazareth to the south end of the Jordan River, approximately 60 miles. Ultimately we reach the Jordan where several people have gathered. Perhaps they can tell us where Jesus is. So we ask, "Has Jesus been here?"

 "Yes, He came by while John the Baptist was preaching and baptizing. John said concerning this man called Jesus, "Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!' In fact, John even baptized Him. And when Jesus came up from the water, suddenly there was a voice from heaven saying 'This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.'"

 "But where is Jesus now?" we ask.

 "He's gone. For some unknown reason, He appeared to be going westward, toward the wilderness."

As we gaze toward the Judean wilderness, "It appears completely dead. Not only is the earth barren, but also the intense heat becomes hotter and more oppressive as the land drops below sea level. No sound is heard except that of the ever-present insects. The sun stands overhead; there is no shade. Nothing moves on the landscape. Such desolation and lonliness leave a man only with himself and the devil - or God." (Wheere Jesus Walked, William H. Stephens, Broadman Press, 1981, p. 46).

 

 We avoid the wilderness, but we continue our search for Jesus. As we pass from town to town we continue to hear that Jesus had been there. He must have survived the wilderness.

 

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 Several years have now passed since we first heard of His birth in Bethlehem. Now many are speaking of His going to Jerusalem. It's Passover week which all Jewish males are required to attend. Certainly Jesus will be there. But how will we be able to find Him among the crowd?

 

 As we draw nearer to Jerusalem, there's a stranger darkness over the land, and the earth begins to quake. After the darkness lifed and the earth ceased to quiver, we continue our journey toward Jerusalem.

 

 As we enter Jerusalem, there is chaos and confusion among the crowd. As we finally get an old street peddler's attention, we ask him, "Sir, have you seen Jesus?"

 "O yes," he responds.

 "Where is He?"

 "He's gone," the peddler replies.

 "Gone where?"

 "To Calvary, to be crucified."

 "But how could this be? The Creator? The God of this universe? The One John called the Lamb of God, Who takes away the sin of the world? How? Why?

 

 With saddened hearts and a lump in our throats, we begin to wind our way along the cobble-stoned streets of Jerusalem then outside the city of Calvary. We simply stand there in sheer silence. What a horrible place! It wreaks with the stench of death. This is where He died. The Place of the Skull. Golgotha. Calvary.

 

Years I spent in vanity and pride,

Caring not my Lord was crucified,

Knowing not it was for me He died On Calvary.

 

By God's Word at last my sin I learned;

Then I trembled at the law I'd spurned,

Till my guilty soul imploring turned to Calvary

 

Now I've given to Jesus everything;

Now I gladly own Him as my King;

Now my ruptured soul can only sing of Calvary.

 

O the love that drew salvation's plan!

O the grace that brought it down to man!

O the mighty gulf that God did span At Calvary.

 

Mercy there was great and grace was free.

Pardon, there was multiplied to me.

There my burdened soul found liberty

-At Calvary.

(At Calvary, Words by William R. Newell, 1895.

Music by Daniel B. Towner, 1895)

 

 We notice a lone centurion coming toward us. With all the events of the day, we fear for our lives. But we must ask him, "Excuse us sir, have you seen Jesus?"

 

 "Jesus, you say? Jesus? I've seen many crucifixions in my day, and they've all been the same - until today. Instead of cursing His enemies, He uttered words of forgiveness. Instead of thinking of Himself, He spoke words of comfort and hope even to one of the victims crucified with Him. He expressed words of love and care to His mother. Surely you must be aware of the heavy darkness, the earthquake, and the rocks splitting open. And He uttered those words, 'My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?' I heard His final words, and I saw Him breathe his final breath. Truly, this was the Son of God. Certainly this was a righteous Man."

 

 We can't hold back the tears. With out hearts filled with emotion, we finally blurt out the question, "But where is He? What have you done with Him?"

 

 As the centurion bows his head, he struggles with the words, "He's Gone. He's Gone."

 

 "But where is He? Do you know where He is?"

 

 "He's gone." said the centurion. "A man by the name of Joseph from Arimathea requested the body of Jesus. Because Jesus died so quickly (only six hours which is so unusual in crucifixion), Pilate summoned me to make sure that He was truly dead.  I gave word to Pilate, 'Yes, Jesus is dead,' Pilate then granted the body to Joseph. Joseph took Him down from the cross, wrapped Him in fine linen, and laid Jesus in a brand new tomb, in which no one had yet been placed; and he rolled a large stone against the door of the tomb. See, it's right there. Word has it that while Jesus was still alive, He said, 'After three days I will rise again.' The religious leaders are afraid that His disciples will come by night and stead His body. So they have secured and sealed the stone and set the guard."

 

 Because our journey has been so long and difficult, and because tomorrow is the Sabbath, we'll wait to get an early start Sunday morning, to make one last trip to the garden - to at least see the tomb.

 

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It's Sunday morning. We wake early to make our final trip to the garden tomb. As we near the tomb, we realize that the stone has been rolled away! But where is Jesus? Where have they taken Him? Suddenly, two men in shining garments appear to us, and because of fear we bow our faces to the earth. Then they say to us, "Why do you seek the living among the dead? He is risen! He is not here!" He's gone!

 

Christ the Lord is risen today, Alleluia!

Sons of men and angels say, Alleluia!

Raise your joys and triumph high, Alleluia!

Sing, ye heavens, and earth reply, Alleluia!

 

Lives again our glorious Kind, Alleluia!

Where, O death, is now thy sting? Alleluia!

Dying once, He all doth save, Alleluia!

Where thy victory, O grave? Alleluia!

 

Love's redeeming work is done, Alleluia!

Fought the fight, the battle won, Alleluia!

Death in vain forbids Him rise, Alleluia!

Christ has opened paradise, Alleluia!

 

Sing we to our God above, Alleluia!

Praise eternal as His love, Alleluia!

Praise Him, all ye heavenly host, Alleluia!

Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. Alleluia!

(Words by Charles Wesley, 1739.

Arr. from Lyra Davidica, London, 1708

 

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 Forty days later, He ascended back to heaven. He ascended back to heaven. He's gone. But His work continues to this very day through His Church and by the Holy Spirit. But there is coming a day:

 

[When] the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord. (1 Thess. 4:16-17)

 

 There will come a day when the Lord shall come with ten thousands of His saints. He ill come not as a humble babe in a manger, or the lowly Nazarene, nor to die again on an old rugged cross; but He will have on His robe and on His thigh a name written:

 

KING OF KINGS

AND LORD OF LORDS

     (Rev. 19:16)

 

For it is written:

 

"As I live says the LORD,

Every knew shall bow to Me,

And every tongue shall confess to God."

               (Rom. 14:11)

 

Will you bow and humble yourself before Him while you have the opportunity?

 Will you trust Him and confess Him as Savior and Lord of your life, right now, while you still have the opportunity?

 If not now, there will come a day when you will fall to your knees, bow before Him, and confess Him as Lord; but it will be too late.

 Then you will be gone; gone into a Christless eternity.

 Gone - forever separated from the very One Who loved you and gave His life for you.

 Gone - to never hear and see God's people worship again.

 Gone - to never hear another message from God's Holy Word.

 Gone - to never hear the sweet voice of His Holy Spirit.

 Gone - forever gone to where there is weeping and wailing and gnashing of teeth, and where the fire is never quenched.

 Gone - wishing it were just a dream.

 Gone - to never have this opportunity again.

 

This message was "inspired" by the song entitled He's Gone, recorded back in the 1970's by the Regeneration Singers. Pastor Mike Mounts preached this sermon on March 27, 2016 in the morning service to the congregation of the Harrison Free Will Baptist Church. All scripture quotations, unless otherwise noted, are from the New King James Version.