R1112 The Hope of Easter, Pt.1

God has an encouraging word for you and me today, through the Bible-based teaching of Dr. Don Wilton, on this edition of The Encouraging Word. Oh, we are continuing to ride the wave of Easter. Easter Sunday was such a great celebration, and we continue now with more teaching from Dr. Don Wilton, well-known author, evangelist, seminary professor, and pastor, as today Dr. Don talks about the hope of Easter.

Over these next two days, we're going to be talking about this hope that not just we celebrate just a few days ago on Easter Sunday, but today we continue to see how it will change our life if we apply it to every single day of our life. Know that we're here for you connecting on our website right now at www.tewonline.org. That's www.tewonline.org, or you can call us anytime at 866-899-WORD.

That's 866-899-9673. And now, Dr. Don Wilton. Jesus is alive. Praise the Lord. What a wonderful, wonderful day to be together like this in the house of God. I want you to know that the Lord Jesus Christ has an encouraging word just for you today.

What a blessed truth. What an incredible truth to know that the Lord Jesus loves us. He loves you.

He loves you. And He sent His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, to die on a cross so that you and I might have life, we might have life, full and complete life, meaningful life, purposeful life. Did you know, my friends, that everywhere, all across the world, people are discovering the hope of Easter? Everywhere, people are discovering the hope of Easter.

It's an amazing world in which we live, isn't it? I don't have time to get into a lot of detail, but did you know that the Bible tells us that we are living in the last days? By the way, did you know that the Bible teaches us that when the Bible talks about God's truth, the truth is, according to God's word, that the last days are the time between the birth of Jesus, which we celebrate at Christmas time, and when Jesus comes back the second time to establish His kingdom, a time at which we're going to live with Him forever and forever and forever. Those are the last days. We're living in the last days. Do you know that the Lord Jesus could come back at any moment? In fact, the world is really beginning to look a lot more and more like the last days that the Bible describes for us.

And the world is in turmoil. But I've got some wonderful news today. You can discover the hope of Easter because the Bible tells us that in these last days that God will pour out His Spirit. You see, when Jesus rose from the dead, He appeared to over 500 and He showed people like you and me what we're going to look like after we die. He gave us a very clear picture of ourselves when we least of all can even begin to imagine what we're going to look like and what we're going to do, because most of us are convinced that when you die that you're dead. But the Bible tells us that not a single person who has ever died is dead. Discover the hope of Easter.

I've got some incredible news for you. Jesus ascended to be seated at the right hand of the Father. And when He departed, He sent Himself. He came back in the person of His Holy Spirit. We read about it in the Book of Acts and Chapter 2. We call that time Pentecost, when God by His Spirit came back to this earth. And the prophet Joel, who many years before the coming of Jesus, foretold of that time when during the last days that God Himself would be among us.

And He would be the one to help us to discover the real hope of Easter. I want to read this to you. I invite you to open your Bibles to the Book of Acts and Chapter 2.

The Book of Acts and Chapter 2. I'm going to read just a few verses for you today, but this is a marvelous story. You see, I want to invite you to discover the hope of Easter. I want you to know that even in this world in which we live, right there in the midst of those struggles that you're having in your marriage. I want you to know even right there in the middle of the disappointments that you're having, perhaps with your own children. I've got good news for you today.

This is God's encouraging word. I want you to know even in these last days where so many have lost their jobs. Where gas prices are going through the ceiling. Where there's real pain at the pump. Where we're living in political turmoil. When even our own Congress is divided one from the other. Where it's becoming increasingly so difficult to get a consensus of opinion. Where public opinion rules the streets of our society.

Where our democracy has caused us to actually believe that we are the only hope of our own selves. And yet God's word tells us otherwise, that we can look to him. Because Jesus came forth from the grave and he's alive.

That's the real hope of Easter. And in Acts Chapter 2, here this preacher Peter was trying to explain to a group of people what was going on. Because this incredible event took place. Jesus left and he ascended, was seated at the right hand of the Father. And then in Acts Chapter 2 and verse 1 following the Spirit of God came down and there were people there from every walk of life.

Can you imagine? I think there was a gathering of the United Nations organization. Our Bible tells us they came from everywhere if you read in verse 8 and following. They came from every nation from the ends of the world and all of a sudden God arrived. The Spirit of God came. And because the Spirit of God came, those who had a personal relationship with him. Who had already discovered the real hope of Easter. Began to speak in other tongues in the exact languages of those people who had come from other places. And all of these people who couldn't understand one another began to hear the hope of Easter in their own language.

They began to understand. You see, that's the hope of Easter. Because when Jesus hung upon the cross, he leveled the playing field. He doesn't have any color in his eyes. He has no consideration of culture or nationality. He doesn't look down and see male and female. He's told us there's neither male nor female.

There's neither bond nor free. They're not Jews and Gentiles. God is not impressed by the great divide which rips us apart. What he does is he comes because he's alive and he says, I love you. And when you trust me and you receive me into your heart and life, I'm going to level your playing field and I'm going to give you meaning because I am the one who will forgive you.

Give you real purpose and write your name in the Lamb's Book of Life. And so we read in verse 22, Peter said, Men of Israel, listen to this, Jesus of Nazareth was a man accredited by God to you by miracles, by wonders and by signs which God did among you through him as you yourselves know. This man, the Lord Jesus, was handed over to you by God, set purpose and foreknowledge. And you, with the help of wicked men, put Jesus to death by nailing him to the cross. But God raised Jesus from the dead, freeing him from the agony of death because it was impossible for death to keep its hold on him. Let's go down to verse 31, seeing what was ahead, he spoke of the resurrection of Christ, that he was not abandoned to the grave, nor did his body see decay. God has raised this Jesus to life. And we are all witnesses to that fact, exalted to the right hand of God, he has received from the Father the promised Holy Spirit.

He has now poured out for what you now see and hear. I want to explain what is happening in your heart right now. You are sensing something. You're feeling something, aren't you?

There's a connection. All of a sudden, God has your attention. I want to explain what's happening to you. The Spirit of God is speaking to you.

That is the most precious thing in all the world. God is speaking to you, my friend. This is God's time for you. He's knocking at your heart's door. You're not listening today by accident.

God purposed that to happen because he loves you. You are discovering the hope of Easter all over the world. There are people looking for hope. People everywhere. People want to know. People want to have purpose.

People want more to life than what this life gives. Because so much of what we do in life has a moment of joy. It's like a great ballgame. I love to go to a great ballgame, don't you?

But I go to a great ballgame, and I get into that stand, and I cheer on my team, and I enjoy being with my friends. But by the next morning, it's gone. It's just momentary. It's temporary.

It comes, and then it just goes. And the hope of Easter is lasting. And what Peter is saying is that you can discover the hope of Easter.

And the hope of Easter, according to what God's word tells us, this is truth. I'm privileged today, my dear friend, to present to you absolute truth. I'm not telling you something that a politician had to say. I'm not telling you something that a preacher had to say.

I'm not telling you something that Aristotle had to say. I'm not sharing something with you other than God's truth. This is God's word. I'm sharing God's truth with you because you and I are living in a searching world, aren't we? Men, women, boys and girls, and the hope of Easter, according to what God's word says, means four things. Number one, it means that the Lord Jesus Christ has paid the price for our sin. That's the hope of Easter. The Bible says that all of us have sinned and come short of the glory of God.

I wrote in my letter to you this morning that you can read after lunch today. I said these words. One of the things that I love about First Baptist Church, and I trust this is true of all congregations who love the Lord Jesus, that the only difference between the best of us in here and the worst of them out there is the grace of God. Amen? You see, the hope of Easter means that Jesus Christ paid the price for my sin. I'm a sinner. I was born in sin. The Bible says that I was conceived in sin. I'm a sinner by nature and I'm a sinner by choice. In fact, the Bible says that because of the sin of Adam, all people have sinned and come short of the glory of God. And because of my sin and your sin, we can have no fellowship with a holy and a righteous God.

There is no way. I cannot give enough money. I cannot do enough works. I cannot go on enough mission trips. I cannot take care of enough Haitians. I cannot build enough orphanages.

I cannot dig enough wells for people to drink. I cannot issue enough Bibles. I cannot tend church enough. I cannot preach enough. I cannot do anything enough excepting.

Give my heart and life to Jesus because he's the only one who can remove the barrier of sin from my life which separates me from God. That's why Jesus died. What powerful teaching you have been listening to, Dr. Don Wilton.

Don't go away. We'll be back with more of this great teaching in just a moment. But when we think about that concept of the word barrier, is there a barrier between you and God today? One of our joys personally and corporately as a team at The Encouraging Word is praying for God to break down some strongholds, to give you a breakthrough in your life. Our prayer ministry is available 24 hours a day.

You can type it in. We'll meet you keyboard to keyboard on our website at www.tewonline.org. That's www.tewonline.org. But in this particular day and age, we have discovered that sometimes the most powerful opportunity we have is to go a little old school, pick up the phone and have a conversation on our prayer line at 866-899-WORD.

That's 866-899-9673. Not only to talk and pray together but also connect with resources that will help you deepen your faith, grow your faith, and perhaps understand Easter in a fresh, new way. There are more details on our website www.tewonline.org.

That's www.tewonline.org. Now back to today's great teaching with Dr. Don Wilton. That's the hope of Easter because God by His power raised Jesus from the dead. Jesus Christ paid the price for my sin. But you know, my dear friends, the hope of Easter means, number two, that the Lord Jesus paid the price for our death problem. Not just for my sin problem but for my death, for our death problem. We've got a problem with death. Death is all around us. I'm sad to tell you that.

In fact, it's not a happy subject. Some of my best friends in all the world died when I was a senior in high school. I had a best friend in all the world, Graham Clark. He and I used to race motor cars together, and we used to do all kinds of things together. He was absolutely my best friend, Graham Clark. When I was a senior in high school, I mean, we did everything together. And I went off to the army, and I was in another country as a tank commander, and I was far away. And suddenly I got called into headquarters, and the sergeant major and the commanding officer were there. And they told me that my best friend had died, and there was nothing I could do. I remember how sad I was. I've never forgotten him.

That was many years ago. Death is all around us. Death is a great perplexion. I mean, what can I say to you about death? How do you describe it? See, death is so final.

It's something where we're, you know, we're all headed. You know, Elizabeth Taylor died. Did you know that? She did. She was the queen of the screen. Queen of marriage, too. She was an expert. By the way, I would have loved to have met Richard Burton.

I mean, that guy, he was kind of like a man's man. Did you know that he's dead? Death is, it's a mystery, and it's a puzzle, and it's perplexing, and we try to explain it to our children, and it's kind of dark. And the hope of Easter. When you discover the hope of Easter, watch this, folks. This is what this day is all about. I just, I love this.

I just couldn't wait to tell you this. The hope of Easter means that Jesus Christ paid the price for my death problem. He took the problem of death away from me. Because he conquered death. That little word, by the way, that Peter uses means that he literally obliterated death.

He removed it. He made it possible for me to stand here and tell you that there's not a single person who has ever died that is dead. Oh, and that's such a powerful and encouraging truth about the fact that life goes on.

You are an eternal creation of God. And that could also be frightening if you don't know what it's like to be secure in your faith. To know beyond a shadow of a doubt that you would see Jesus.

If he would return in the skies today, or the whole world would be wiped out, or maybe just you and I lose our own lives today. Are you confident that you know Jesus Christ? As we've been talking about this and teaching it, you need to know we're available to speak with you and pray with you anytime. 24 hours a day at 866-899-WORD. Feel free to call us 866-899-9673.

But perhaps the call that you need to make is not one you need a phone for. Open your heart now as Dr. Don shares with you about what could be the most important choice of your life. Are you ready to give your heart and life to the Lord Jesus Christ?

I'm so happy to hear that. Why don't you pray this prayer with me today? Dear God, I know that you love me very, very much. And I know that the Lord Jesus Christ came and died on a cross so that I might be forgiven of my sin. Today, I repent of my sin.

I confess my sin to you. And I invite you to come into my heart and into my life by faith. In Jesus' name I pray. If you prayed that prayer, let me be the first one to welcome you to the family of God.

This is wonderful. I hope that you know how much I'm going to be praying for you and how very important this is for me. Call us so that we can talk to you and connect you in the right place so you can begin this wonderful journey.

And in just a moment, I'm going to come back with a final word. If you just gave your life to Jesus Christ, praying with Dr. Wilton, or rededicated your life, we are so excited for you. Dr. Wilton wants to pray for you and he wants you to have some free resources we have available right now if you'll just call us. 866-899-WORD is the phone number. That's 866-899-9673. We would love to get these resources in your hands right away. You can even contact us keyboard to keyboard on our website at www.tewonline.org.

That's tewonline.org, the place you'll discover great resources like this. Hello, everybody. You know, my friends know me as Don Wilton, pastor, friend, neighbor, dad, husband, grandpa. But I'm going to tell you people all around the world just like you know and identify Dr. Billy Graham as that man that God used to reach so many people around the world for the Lord Jesus Christ. I had the privilege of knowing Mr. Graham in a very personal and intimate way, both as his friend and as his pastor. In fact, for many years, I drove up to his home in Montreat, North Carolina, and visited with him every Saturday. Just like friends do everywhere, we sat together and ate together, walked, talked. We discussed politics, friends, places, people. We laughed our heads off.

We did everything one could possibly imagine. That's why I wrote this wonderful book, Saturdays with Billy. It's all about a personal relationship. I hope and pray that Saturdays with Billy will be a blessing to you, will inspire you, and will encourage your heart, just as Mr. Graham encouraged my heart and changed my life. God bless you, my friends. Just one of many great books from Dr. Don Wilton. One of them called See You at the Finish Line is a wonderful gift to give to someone graduating high school or college. It's all about literally beginning with the end in mind, powerful teaching from Dr. Don.

Again, you'll find it on our website, tewonline.org. It's called See You at the Finish Line. Before we get away, closing thoughts from our pastor and chief encourager, Dr. Don Wilton. You know, these are such special times together. I'm so grateful, my friends, that we can worship together like this through the encouraging word broadcast ministry and you're such a vital part of all that God's doing and I just love you and I want you to know that. You know, this ministry goes on 24 hours round the clock all the time. We want to be involved in your life and we want to continue to pray for you.

You can call us at any time. You can partner with us all the time through prayer and through your giving. We know that you are 100% engaged as we are in sharing God's truth with our searching world.

That's what this is all about. We need Jesus, don't we? And God is doing a great work and I love you today. Thank God for you. Pray for you.

God bless you. Our time's gone for today, but we're staying connected on our website at tewonline.org. The hope continues. The hope of Easter, as a matter of fact, even though we celebrated Easter last Sunday, we continue to see how God is using the truth of Easter to make a powerful impact in our lives every moment of every day. Again, we'd love to connect with you on our website, tewonline.org. That's tewonline.org.