Three Days
by Raymond Sloan
April 4, 2021 · Cornerstone Apostolic Church (Chattanooga, TN)
Kind: sermon
Scripture: John 2:11, John 2:12-17, John 2:18-22, Mark 15:29-32, Mark 16:1-4

Source: https://acts238.life/repository/sermons/raymond-sloan--three-days
Published by Acts 2:38 Life from the sermon transcript on that page.
Free to copy and share with attribution.

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would you pray with me right now together jesus we love you when we magnify your name we exalt you father lord we are thankful for our time together today thankful for what we have seen what we have heard what we have sung together thank you for our time in class this morning lord going to your word thank you for family and friends that have gathered here right now lord we go to your word on this very very special day i make myself available to you jesus one more time i need you lord i'm nothing without you all of my righteousnesses are as filthy rags i i must have you today let your word lord god let it have its work in my life in the name of jesus we pray in the name of jesus we pray hallelujah before you sit down would you just love him come on lift your hand to him i thank you lord for allowing me to be here today let the word work in my life today jesus i pray let the power of the word work in my heart today lord i pray hallelujah hallelujah praise god forever you may be seated in the presence of the lord and good people i thank you singers musicians thank you to our teachers our audio video staff everybody that's out in the parking lot to all of our workers hard volunteers thank you one more time for your dedication to the things of god amen i mean you know it takes people to make the church move people willing to give and to do and submit themselves to the things of god lord bless all of you i again i'm so thrilled that all of you have made it out today on this easter i am watching the clock in case you miss yours so i think the next two hours should be okay anybody listening all right jesus jesus the messiah salvation that had come unto the world a man called jesus had developed such controversy even in his day till today today 2021 there is much said concerning this man jesus there's a whole lot said about his love for his people there's a lot said about his desire to want to change the hearts and lives of mankind there's a lot being said about his wisdom that is beyond compare a lot said about how he could look death right in the face and death would have to simply back away there's a lot said about the one that could speak to the devil himself and the devil would have to scatter and run this man the miracle worker the perfect lamb of god would you say his name with me church jesus oh somebody needs to say it again jesus as we sit here in this room today we have gathered with the purpose of celebrating the most influential time of history a day that was centered around this man jesus we're all here in our sunday go to meeting best look at your neighbors they look good all the families that have gathered for fellowship and making of memories and pictures and so forth i rise to this podium today to spend a few moments telling you about who this really was i can only bring you to the stories and the accounts from the bible that we hold so dear to our hearts and lives the things that happened in the life of this man jesus that should cause every single one of us to rejoice and to be happy because he came to change the world the book of john in your bible the story that he wrote the the the testimony that he gave talks much about this man jesus and his gathering with his family and his friends much like we are here today gathered together but on one particular occasion john writes that there was a marriage happening a wedding was taking place family friends and neighbors had gathered in one place so that they could celebrate the commitment of these two this couple coming together i believe that the wedding was a happy time i believe that that the picture that we could see into that wedding even today looking back would be a picture of joy and happiness if you're married in this place today and you're happy shout amen some of y'all didn't say never mind never mind i'm trying to help you i'm trying to get you out of the doghouse anyway like like most weddings that i've been to in my lifetime there's a lot of laughter and joy going on there's a bunch of cousins and aunts and uncles and and neighbors and friends and and workers that work together there's a reunion of sorts on two different sides of the family they they've come together at a wedding and it is in that environment of this time of this family and friends that had gathered that jesus himself is standing in the crowd just like everyone else but mary his mother reaches out to him because there was a need that presented itself at this wedding there there was not sufficient supply for the festivities to continue therefore something happened the wedding planners dropped the ball somebody didn't order the right amount the budget didn't entertain the the multitudes of folk that came and noticed that jesus was simply in his fellowship mode he was there with his family friends loved ones they're all gathered having a good time all of a sudden in the midst of the family rejoicing together a need arises and the bible tells us in john the second chapter verse number 11 this beginning of miracles did jesus in cana of galilee and manifested forth his glory and his disciples believed on him see it was at this marriage this celebration that mary came and said they've run out of wine and jesus said what do i have to do with that whatever he tells you to do servants you do it it's going to be fine jesus simply turns get the water pots fill them up take it give it to the man who's in charge and you all know the story you've heard it the best was kept until last this where the bible declares that the followers of jesus at this celebration begin to believe this man has a power just by a spoken word he didn't travail over the water parts he didn't jump up and down spin around spit dirt he simply said put it there now take it there and it was so the story begins at a wedding everybody can see what's happening in that particular setting oh this is so important it was in that setting that people began to follow after this man jesus nobody could have guessed what was about to transpire from that moment forward to say that miracles happened was it was a challenge to say at that point but their eyes began to be open to the ability and the capability of what jesus could do i've come to declare to somebody today on an easter afternoon in chattanooga i've come to tell you if you ever get jesus close to you wherever you are in the midst of your family in the midst of your job at your home on your workplace in your school in the middle of a grocery store if it's ever you and jesus you better believe you've got the multitude on your side as we begin to look at john here we noticed that in john 2 and 12 after this he went down to capernaum he his mother brethren disciples they continued there not many days and the jews passover was at hand jesus went up to jerusalem everybody say jerusalem and found in the temple everybody say the church those that sold oxen and sheep and doves and the changes of money sitting and when he had made a scourge of small cords he drove them all out of the temple the sheep the oxen poured out the changers money over through the tables verse 16. he said unto them that soul doves take these things hints make not my father's house don't make the church a house of merchandise but verse 17 his disciples remembered that it was written the zeal of thine house has eaten me up he goes a short journey to another city that leads him into jerusalem y'all stay with a preacher a moment and in that custom of the day was to celebrate passover but they had turned the church house into a place of negotiations they had turned the place that should have been a place for the spirit of god to move they had made it to somewhere to exchange it to buy and to sell it had become a store for those interested there ain't nothing up here today for sale jesus stands in this dirty nasty messed up temple he had made him a whip he had beaten down and gotten rid of all those that were doing things they should not have been doing and now he's standing there his disciples gather around chicken feathers or dove feathers all over the place there's all kind of moose stuff on the ground and stuff on the ground and it's jesus standing there animals are running and panic the cages are turned upside down it's pure pandemonium jesus drops the whip that he made he looks around at the jews and then they notice what happened and they're trying to make sense of the church it is in total chaos because jesus came into the temple john 2 chapter 2 verse 18 then answered the jews and said unto him what signs show us thou unto us seeing thou doest these things hear this jesus answered and said unto them destroy this temple and in three days i will raise it up then said to jews 46 years was this temple in building and wilt thou rear it up in three days but verse 21 he spake of the temple of his body when therefore he was risen from the dead his disciples remembered that he had said unto them and they believed the scripture and the word which jesus had said notice this show a sign something they were looking for they were searching for what is the meaning of you throwing all of this out what is the meaning of you standing in the temple and talking about you bring it to the ground i'll bring it up in three days it took 46 years to put this temple here there's no way you're going to talk about destroying all the marble all of the stone work all the fancy footwork that they did to get it to look like this and you have the audacity with the smoke in the air and all the stuff flying around and the junk on the ground to look us in the eye and say but i'll raise it up in three days you need to understand something what the lord jesus himself was doing is they had put their confidence and their trust in a religion instead of a relationship therefore he declared what you consider to be your negotiations in the business of the hour i don't want that no board well that you need to understand you're going to bring his body to the ground but in three days it's going to come up alive and well i don't care what goes on in the church house what we've got to understand on an easter sunday is the lord jesus christ can bring it up even if it's dead hang on to me for a moment what a way to start your preaching ministry this is how we began at the wedding pick it up put it there put it there take it there now he comes in and then he says hey destroy it three days bring it up they're all going what in the world is happening here this guy makes no sense but this guy's authority and power cause us to believe in him here we are today a wedding it starts then a trip into the temple turning it upside down and then a declaration of destruction and raising in three days the writer john clarifies in the statement and he simply says but he spake the temple of his body jesus was speaking about his physical body the followers no doubt still questioned and wondered and only time would reveal what he was specifically speaking about tying passed jesus traveled to many places y'all hang on to me for a moment longer in all of the places where jesus went all of the cities all this all the communities all the little roads and the big city roads wherever he would go the bible declares matthew mark luke and john that jesus would go and he would compel people he would say follow me follow after me what i'm telling you refers to heaven it doesn't refer to what's here on earth but what has been loosed loose there is here what has been loosed here is there and we need to understand something this is not the end of it all the temple and the tabernacle that had its place and its purpose and you better understand why it was there but he told us very specifically today i have come to fulfill the law i've come to put it into practice what's been talked about from the prophetic from years and generations gone by and the bible says that his disciples began to follow after him they begin to thirst for him the religious leaders of the day hear this they got tired and fed up with this jesus only group they got tired and fed up to what jesus was doing and it was that sanhedrin the same religious court that said we're going to put a stop for this guy he is messing up everything he's taking money out of our pockets he's destroying things and everywhere he's going he's preaching this is the kingdom of heaven love one another have a relationship with god let the spirit of god work in you they didn't comprehend it because it was so new but i've come on an easter sunday afternoon to declare to somebody in my generation what jesus was establishing at that moment not one not two but three days he would put it into its proper perspective and on that third day morning the courts had condemned him he was beaten beyond recognition he was slapped he was humiliated before the followers they spit on him they made fun of him they placed a massive crown of thorns on his head to mock him they tore his clothes they gambled for his garment they nailed him to a cross nearly killing him they put him up and high and then finally after the whipping post and everything else transpired he finally said it is finished in all and all of the heavens and the earth begin to rumble what was so precious to them in the temple began to tear from top to bottom that veil tore went by the wayside mark writes it this way in chapter 15 verse 29 y'all stay with me it's easter and they that passed by railed on him wagging their heads saying huh thou that destroyest the temple and buildest it in three days save thyself come down from the cross likewise also the chief priest mocking said among themselves with the scribes he saved others himself he cannot save let christ the king of israel descend now from the cross that we may see and believe and they that were crucified with him reviled him jesus had made so many declarations while walking in shoe leather on planet earth but here he hangs now offended between heaven and earth hanging on a cross that appeared everything he had said was a lie and deception and there was no way that anything could happen now because jesus was dead no breath no blood no life the claims that he made were so astounding yet he was not referring to the brick the mortar and the stone no friend he was referring to his body and every one of them that mocked him that made fun of him jesus had a plan mark the 16th chapter the first verse and when the sabbath was passed mary magdalene and mary the mother of james and so solomon solomon excuse me had brought sweet spices that they might come and anoint him and very verse two and very early in the morning the first day of the week they came unto the sepulcher the rising of the sun and they said among themselves who shall roll us away the stone from the door the sepulcher and when they looked they saw that the stone was rolled away for it was very great what jesus has said unto them i repeat to you on this sunday afternoon what jesus had told them in one two and three days i'm gonna bring it back up but when i bring it back up it's gonna be glorified when i get it out of the tomb it's gonna be so magnificent what jesus was referring to when he began his ministry some three plus years before this point as jesus was telling them everything you have done here to this point has been wrapped around this temple but you need to understand something i've come to fulfill the work of the temple and i've come to declare put me in the ground let me be dead let me go into the tomb because the day that you do i'll overcome death hell and the grave i'll stand above it and i'll declare whosoever will let them come unto me and i will give them rest i'll pour out my spirit upon them they will speak with new tongues as the spirit of god gives the utterance they will walk in newness of life they'll become a new creature in christ jesus why because on the third day my friend he arose from the grave he arose from the grave yes yes stand with me everybody please as we are gathered here on this easter sunday i've come to remind every one of us that jesus can change everything oh on that third day morning the ladies headed to the tomb sweet spices in their hand ready to perform what they were required to do mary i don't know what we're gonna do i heard that they put a a guard i heard they had a couple of guards big ones because they were afraid somebody was gonna come in and steal the body how are we going to get in to the tomb of the aramaic and how we going to get in all they did was quickly get him off the cross at that dark moment when they took him down they wrapped him quickly and in cl and cloth and they laid him in the tomb roll a stone over we'll have to get back to him because we're coming to the feast and nobody can touch that nobody can get close to it yet and so now it's time mary martha what we're gonna do we're gonna go we're gonna pour the spices on him because after the third day the law will not permit us to touch him and by then he will stink swell and the animals will be pawing at the stone to get into him so the law will permit us this one last opportunity what they got there and that day what they saw was an empty tomb yes they did what are we going to do now they've moved the body they've come in and they've they're trying their best to stop this jesus i come today on a sunday in 2021 to let anybody who will hear the preacher what he has done for us is he has brought hope into this room because in three days when he rose from the grave he allowed himself to be glorified to teach to instruct and he told them on that moment go and do go and be go and become do what you do anybody in this place ever had a face to face contact with the lord jesus christ and live to tell about it yes i have see i know when he changed my life as a young boy at a junior high youth camp at an altar he filled me with the holy ghost i didn't walk the same i didn't talk the same and from that point till today i still love jesus he still surprises me every day he still wraps his loving arms around me all the time i can call on him early morning late at night or at noon and he begins to work in my life i can pray a prayer of faith over somebody in the healing virtue of the blood of jesus will work why because on that third day morning he rose from the grave and he conquered anything that would try to stop him i've come today to ask somebody on an easter would you simply come to an altar and say lord i want to know more about you i want my life to be changed too i want to know the power of a resurrected savior i want to know the power of the risen jesus i want to know what the spirit of god can do in my life i'm so tired of the weariness i'm tired of the hopelessness oh i'm weary of the helplessness but today on an easter what a great day to fall in love with jesus i'm going to ask the church to pray with me right now every hand in the air every voice loud as you can jesus we've come to love you on easter jesus we've come to bless your name on the third day you overcame you overcame come on that's right is there a worshiper in the house that's thankful that you know the name of jesus is there a worshiper in the house that will say because of what you have done i am different my life is changed this altar is open right now for anybody that will come on an easter and just lift your hands to the lord and ask for him to do the work in your life that only he can do that's right is there anyone else come on this altar is for you today this altar's for you today come on prayer works friend jesus paid the price he told them bring it to the ground and i'll bring it back up i know it took you 46 years but i've come to tell you on the third day i can bring it up i'll show you oh that's right come on it's time to pray in the church today if you're online find you a place to pray come on bend your knee to the lord lift your hands to the lord open your mouth and bless his name allah i love you jesus i believe in you jesus i thank you lord for the work that you did on calvary i'm so thankful thankful for the blood so glad that you came out of the grave i'm so thankful lord that you saved me changed me made me a new creature i'm indebted to you jesus hallelujah hallelujah i love you lord come on pray church lift your voice to him i thank you i believe in you i believe in you would you reach over and pray for somebody close by you come on can you find somebody close by just pray for them oh god honor my friend bless my neighbor bless my family speak to them come on reach over pray for someone jesus you're a good god jesus you're holy thank you for the work that you have done jesus jesus jesus come on that's right pray come on let faith grow right now jesus i believe jesus i believe jesus i believe in you you can do the work lord yes you can you can forgive me of my sins yes you can you can wash me wider than snow yes you can there's an empty tomb to prove it lord jesus yes there is hallelujah hallelujah hallelujah yes yes yes yes yes jesus hallelujah hallelujah holy is the lord somebody close by you push their hand to heaven right now together we're going to pray lord thank you for the work at calvary and for what you did thank you for what you continue to do you forgive us you wash us you cleanse us when we turn lord and walk after you when we repent of our sins and we make an about face and we decide lord and make that choice to come after you we can begin lord god to pray and trust and believe that you'll forgive us as our hearts broken lord tears stream down our face because of the the sorrow we feel lord god because of what we've done you're washing and cleansing us and lord we can be baptized in water in the only saving name of jesus no sins can be remitted lord we can breathe a fresh breath there as the shame and the sin lord is removed and then you will fill us with your wonderful gift of the holy ghost and we will know we will speak in tongues as the spirit gives utterance the working and the completion of the spirit in us god will be evident and will ever be changed because of what you did you have conquered the grave you have conquered hell you have conquered the grace we have come today lord god to love you fall in love with you and to live for you all the days of our life bless my neighbor my friend my family member honor them lord help them lord let them find you today this be a day of choice the name of jesus the name of jesus the name of jesus mighty god mighty god holy holy great is your faithfulness oh i'm so glad the spirit of the lord is real anybody here thankful give him praise right now lord we thank you come on give him praise for what he's done yes he rose from the grave alive and well