No Morning Was Ever Brighter, Part 1

Welcome to a very special edition of Insight for Living. From the beginning of the year until now, Chuck Swindoll has been teaching from the first book in the New Testament, The Gospel According to Matthew. And in light of the celebration ahead this weekend, we are setting our study in Matthew aside for just a couple of days in order to concentrate fully on the life, death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Our primary text for this time-sensitive study is Mark chapter 16, and Chuck titled his message, No Morning Was Ever Brighter. Down through the centuries, the church has declared this particular Sunday each year, whatever Sunday Easter falls on, as the day of resurrection.

It is the Christian's greatest day of the year, far more significant than any other day, and we'll learn why in a few moments. That's why we sing what we sing, and that's why we declare what we declare from this pulpit. Through the years, churches have participated in an Easter greeting that goes on to this day, and it's been going on for centuries, where the leader announces, He is risen, and the congregation responds, He is risen indeed.

Let's do that together, will you? Just stand, please, and let's make the statement before one another and the Lord. He is risen. He is risen. And He is risen. Thank you.

Please be seated. Woven through the fabric of the scriptures periodically are words from another language. They have been transliterated into English so that we can read them. We've heard one of those words repeated several times. We will hear it yet again in the song that follows this time of scripture reading and offering, and you will hear it, and I want you to know what it means. Hallel is the Hebrew word for praise.

Hallel. The word Yah, J-A-H, represents Yahweh, or we would say Jehovah. The Orthodox would say Adonai, but it is praise Yahweh, praise the Lord.

Every time you see that appear in scripture or in some biblical text, some book, some song, you'll know what that means, and it's rendered that way in both English and in Hebrew in the song we just heard. Praise the Lord. Now, you have your worship folder with you. I want you to place it at 1 Corinthians chapter 15. Leave it there, and then locate Mark chapter 16.

Okay? 1 Corinthians chapter 15. Put your worship folder there. We'll begin the message there and really stay in that chapter throughout our time in God's word, but I want to read for you the account. Every one of the Gospel writers includes a chapter focusing on the Resurrection.

Paul develops the theology of the Resurrection in the 15th of 1 Corinthians, but the historical account appears at the end of each of the four Gospels, Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. Today we're reading from the 16th of Mark. If you're not familiar with your Bible, it's the second book in the New Testament, the last chapter, verses 2 through 8. We love God's word, and we declare it without apology and with great delight and confidence, and because of our respect for the Scriptures, we have a long-standing tradition of standing when we read from the word of God.

May we do so now. From Mark chapter 16, I'll read from the new living translation, verses 2 through 8. Mark 16, beginning at verse 2. Very early on Sunday morning, just at sunrise, they went to the tomb on the way they were asking each other, who will roll away the stone for us from the entrance to the tomb? But as they arrived, as they arrived, they looked up and saw that the stone, which was very large, had already been rolled aside. When they entered the tomb, they saw a young man clothed in a white robe, sitting on the right side. The women were shocked, but the angels said, don't be alarmed that you are looking for Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He isn't here. He is risen from the dead. Look, this is where they laid his body. Now, go and tell his disciples, including Peter, that Jesus is going ahead of you to Galilee. You will see him there, just as he told you before he died.

The women fled from the tomb, trembling and bewildered, and they said nothing to anyone because they were too frightened. There's an interesting point of reference here in this reading that you might have missed. You may have forgotten that it was Peter who denied his Lord not once, but three times.

He's living in the remorse and the guilt of that. Isn't it gracious of this angel to make sure that they included Peter when they announced that the one who had been crucified was now raised? He wanted Peter to hear it. You may have been among those who have wandered away from the things you once held dear, and you come today maybe feeling a little strange, a little different because of the past. We want you to know that you were just as welcome as the one who would never miss a service at this church. If you are among the Peters, please know that you are welcome. I'm happy to announce to you and to all of us, the one who was raised puts his arms of grace around us saying, so glad you're among us.

Welcome back. O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave, O say can you see by the dawn's early light, What so proudly we hailed at the twilight's last gleaming? What so proudly we hailed at the twilight's last gleaming? What so proudly we hailed at the twilight's last gleaming?

O say can you see by the dawn's early light, What so proudly we hailed at the twilight's last gleaming? What so proudly we hailed at the twilight's last gleaming? What so proudly we hailed at the twilight's last gleaming?

O say can you see by the dawn's early light, What so proudly we hailed at the twilight's last gleaming? What so proudly we hailed at the twilight's last gleaming? What so proudly we hailed at the twilight's last gleaming? What so proudly we hailed at the twilight's last gleaming? What so proudly we hailed at the twilight's last gleaming? What so proudly we hailed at the twilight's last gleaming? What so proudly we hailed at the twilight's last gleaming? What so proudly we hailed at the twilight's last gleaming? What so proudly we hailed at the twilight's last gleaming?

What so proudly we hailed at the twilight's last gleaming? So what's the big deal? You haven't heard this story all your life.

You're not familiar with it. In fact, when we were getting ready to build this new building that became our worship center, our sanctuary, we decided it would be a good idea to find out what our neighborhood knew about Christ, for example. So some of our older adults and younger alike went down to the mall, which had just been established, just been built, and they went around with a clipboard and they asked the question, who is Jesus Christ?

When they told me what they were going to do, my first response was, what? Everybody knows. As a matter of fact, most didn't. One person said when he was asked the question, is this a trick question? What can be tricky about who is Jesus Christ?

Another one said to his buddy, can you help me out here? So maybe you don't know, Christ the Lord has risen today, hallelujah, hallelujah. You know, we have been singing that for 275, well, we haven't, but the church has been singing that for 275 years. Charles Wesley wrote it way back then. I'm sure he had no idea that it would be sung decades and decades beyond his own life and death. And there it is. So why? I mean, our moms and dads sang it in their era, and our grandchildren will sing it when they are adults and they gather for worship. But if you come to church only once a year and Easter is your Sunday, you probably are wondering about now, is that the only song they know? What's the big deal?

Well, let's ask around. We don't have a clipboard, we won't go to the mall, but we'll ask a guy named Paul, not first century Paul, but one of our own contemporaries, a golfer, who by this time had reached the zenith of his career. He in fact had become by then the number two money winning golfer on the tour, Paul Azinger.

I heard Paul tell his story in a gathering a number of years ago. And he was by then a man of enormous celebrity, incredibly gifted and able to carry his own in whatever may have been the particular course. But he began to feel pain in his shoulder. He told us about it as he gave us his story and he couldn't get past it. In fact, it affected his swing and he finally realized that he needed to see a physician. When he did, his life would never be the same. He heard the words of bone lymphoma, big words for cancer. He said to us in our smaller gathering, much smaller than this, after I heard the physician say that my first reaction after I left his office was to go directly to the men's room and throw up.

My whole world capsized. He was on a roll. He was moving ahead, family was doing well. He was known all through that sport and other people who were fans knew the name Paul Azinger.

In fact, Paul knew the song. Christ the Lord is risen today. Hallelujah. Sons of men and angels say hallelujah. Raise your voice with triumphs high. Hallelujah. Sing your heavens and earth reply. Hallelujah. And he sang that song as he had never sung it before because now he realized because Christ was raised having trusted in Christ, he too, regardless of what happens with his cancer, he too will be raised and made like Christ. That's what Paul Azinger would say.

You may not have heard the word lymphoma connected to your name or your body yet, but imagine what it will be like if, in fact, it happens that you and I, standing before our physician, hear the word lymphoma, your bone cancer. Paul says when all of that began to land on him, he really could think about life and a whole new set of priorities. And he realized what the chaplain had said in the previous tour now made sense. He had said, we think we are in the land of the living, going to the land of the dying.

We are, in fact, in the land of the dying, headed for the land of the living. If you don't know the song and if you don't know the one about whom the song speaks, you haven't looked at it like that. Well, Paul isn't the only one. Let's visit with a couple. Scott and Janet Willis.

You don't know them. They lived back then in the city of Chicago. Matter of fact, Scott was a part-time minister in South Side Chicago. His wife, Janet, was busy with her nine children. Homeschooling the six who were still at home. All the mothers sighed together.

Imagine that. But that drew them so close together. Peter had just been born. He was only six weeks old. But the others, well, three of them were old enough to have left the nest.

She still had six at home. Listen to their ages. Ben, age 13. Joe, 11. Sam, 9. Hank, 7. Elizabeth, 3.

And I mentioned earlier little Peter, only six weeks old. They knew the Lord and they loved the Lord. One weekend they decided to visit one of the adult kids that had moved out of the house on his own. So they were on a stretch of the road just to the west of Milwaukee on their way up to his home. When all of a sudden a large piece of metal tumbled out of the truck in front of them. Bounced along and of all things got wedged beneath their car and pierced the gasoline tank. And poof, the entire van in which they were riding was engulfed in flames. Janet and Scott were thrown out on fire. One of the six children thrown out as well. As they lay there trying to put the fire out on their own clothing. All five of the children in the van were entombed in flames and died. In that awful moment the next day the one who was thrown out of the van with the two of them also died. Six out of six suddenly gone.

How do you go on? It's almost more than we can fathom. Losing one would be difficult enough, or two. But to lose six all at one time. How could Scott and Janet go beyond that tragic moment?

They know the song. Raise your joys and triumph high. Sing ye heavens and earth reply, Hallelujah! Praise the Lord. Even in this, not if you don't know the Lord.

At that moment you think about a number of tragic things you can do with your own life. Interestingly, following our first of three morning services today, a lady came over whom I'd never met and she said, Interesting, you mentioned the Willis family, we are very good friends, and their walk with the Lord has not in any way decreased. Matter of fact, matter of fact, within a matter of a few weeks as they had grieved and buried the six, Scott put his blistered hand on Janet's shoulder and said, This is what we've been prepared for, Janet. God's mysterious plan is unfolding. Our faith is anchored in Christ. Remarkable, huh?

Amazing. Because Christ has triumphed over the grave, we know that we who love him will also triumph beyond whatever may be the means of taking us from here to the life beyond. Those words sound to some of you incredible.

How could anybody respond like that? It's one thing to have lymphoma on one's shoulder and to get through that. Today, Paul A. Zinger is very much alive, doing well, thank the Lord, and the Willis is going on with their life.

Matter of fact, let me say one more thing. Just this past week, I was at a memorial service for a longtime friend. Cynthia and I have known the Haughton family since back in 1959. We knew Billy, a fellow Marine, and ministered to the family at his death, and now his wife, Betty, who lived on beyond his years, recently died an 83-year-old mother of four adult daughters and 17 grandchildren, all of whom were there at the graveside.

Not one of them feeling hopeless, all of them reminding one another, and me as well, there is a life beyond this one. I brought with me a copy of this wonderful brochure that was handed out, picture of Betty on the front, and a picture of 17 grandchildren. There they are, that old litter right there surrounding Betty.

Betty and her 17 at Possum Kingdom Lake, July 4, 2010. Ah, they loved their grandmother. I looked into their faces, I talked with most of them, I didn't hear wailing and blaming and bitterness. I heard, huh, what a privilege to have had a grandmother like that, or a mother like that.

Her faith was so strong that it just, it just poured over into the lives of those, count them, 17 grandchildren. They know the song. They sing it in full volume. Lives again our glorious king, hallelujah, where oh death is now thy sting, hallelujah. Dying once, he all doth save, hallelujah, where oh, where is thy victory, oh grave, hallelujah.

It's time to give him praise. It isn't what we would have planned or expected or had wanted, but when God has his way, you turn to what has anchored your soul in life. That's why we gather, that's why we celebrate, that's why the day is significant. Death has no sting because of the miracle Jesus performed. And though we grieve the loss of those we love, Easter guarantees that our future is secure. You're listening to Insight for Living.

Chuck Swindoll titled this message, No Mourning Was Ever Brighter. And to learn more about this ministry, please visit us online at insightworld.org. You'll be pleased to know that the complete uninterrupted version of this one-hour sermon has been recorded and is available for you today. In fact, the audio file includes the majestic music performed by the Stonebriar Community Church Choir and Orchestra.

And you can purchase a copy by visiting insight.org slash store. And then a reminder that we placed our study in the book of Matthew on pause in order to concentrate on the Easter celebration. On Monday, we'll resume our study in Matthew chapter 7 where we find Jesus' Sermon on the Mount. There's still time to request a copy of Chuck's classic book about this portion of scripture. It's called Simple Faith.

To purchase a copy, give us a phone call. If you're listening in the US, dial 1-800-772-8888 or go directly to insight.org slash store. You often hear me say that Insight for Living Ministries is a nonprofit organization made possible not by the purchase of books and other study tools, but through the voluntary gifts of grateful friends. When you give a donation above and beyond the cost of resources, your gift is channeled directly into supplying this daily program so people here at home and around the world will know the power of simple faith. And we have ample evidence through thousands of phone calls, letters, emails, and comments that your gifts are truly making a difference. To help us continue providing these daily programs, you can give a voluntary donation by calling us. If you're listening in the United States, dial 1-800-772-8888 or give online at insight.org. Tomorrow Chuck Swindoll continues his Easter message titled No Morning Was Ever Brighter. Listen Thursday to Insight for Living. The preceding message, No Morning Was Ever Brighter, was copyrighted in 2014, and the sound recording was copyrighted in 2015 by Charles R. Swindoll, Inc. All rights are reserved worldwide. Duplication of copyrighted material for commercial use is strictly prohibited.