[Overhead Outline]
Get The Story Straight!
Matthew 28:10 - 15
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Sometimes, It's not easy to get the story straight.
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1. Satan Used The Greatest Event In Human History To Get The Story Messed Up!
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The disciples came at night and stole the body while you slept!
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2. Satan Is Still Twisting The Story Today!
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A. God has forsaken you.
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B. Your past is not forgiven and you will never be free.
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Abram became Abraham, the father of many nations.
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Jacob became Israel, the prince with God.
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Peter became Peter the "rock"
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Saul became Paul the Apostle
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3. Let's Get The Story Straight Today!
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A Every sinner is told he is beyond salvation, but that is not straight!
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B. Some of you are letting Satan give you a pack of lies:
Psalm 27:5; Deuteronomy 33:27; Psalm 37:25; Matthew 16: 27
Conclusion:
The Devil tried to mess the story up - but it didn't work!
Don't listen to him today!
Jesus Is ALIVE and ready to help you!
[Pastor’s Preaching Outline follows]
Get The Story Straight!
Matthew 28:10 - 15
Matthew 28:10 - 15 Then Jesus said to them, "Do not be afraid. Go and tell My brethren to go to Galilee, and there they will see Me."
11 Now while they were going, behold, some of the guard came into the city and reported to the chief priests all the things that had happened.
12 When they had assembled with the elders and consulted together, they gave a large sum of money to the soldiers,
13 saying, "Tell them, 'His disciples came at night and stole Him away while we slept.'
14 "And if this comes to the governor's ears, we will appease him and make you secure."
15 So they took the money and did as they were instructed; and this saying is commonly reported among the Jews until this day.
Introduction:
It's not easy to get the story straight.
Most of you have had incidents in your life where people have told stories about you that were not accurate or straight. Sometimes by mistake - sometimes it was planned.
Sometimes you might have heard a story about someone and wondered if it was the truth or straight?
Sometimes we have a difficult time keeping the story straight even when our intentions are good and we are trying to explain, even in formal circumstances: like explaining an automobile accident on an insurance claim report. You would think we would be able then to get the story straight.
EXAMPLES:
- The guy was all over the road, I had to swerve a number of times before I hit him!
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- In my attempt to kill a fly I drove into the telephone pole. (That's over kill!)
- I told the policeman that I was not injured but upon moving my hat I found that I had a fractured skull! (Leave your hat on!)
- I pulled away from the side of the road, glanced at my mother-in-law in the other seat and headed over the embankment.
- The telephone pole was approaching fast, I was attempting to swerve out of it's way when it struck the front of my car. (I've seen those galloping telephone poles, haven't you?)
It's hard to get the story straight!
Some don't have the story straight about Jesus, The Word of God, eternity, forgiveness of sins, heaven, hell, or some other Biblical truth.
1. Satan Used The Greatest Event In Human History To Get The Story Messed Up!
A. He used the religious leaders and the soldiers in the text to attempt
to bring confusion to a wonderful happening.
B. The guards came to the chief priest and told them the news: The
tomb is empty, the stone is rolled away, and the body is gone!
C. The chief priest decided to fix it. They created a story and said to
thesoldiers, we are going to pay you to tell this story:
“The disciples came at night and stole the body while you slept!”
1) Problems with this story:
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- The disciples were following afar off - they were cowards
- The guards/soldiers sleeping? They would have been slain!
- You may have to tell this "story" to the governor, Pilate!
2. Satan Is Still Twisting The Story Today!
A. Satan tells Troubled believers that God has forsaken them.
1. Those who are having difficult, and troubled times are told they should give up because God has!
2. Those who are weak are told they are without strength and that they will never make it!
a) Why is this happening to me?
b) What did I do to deserve this trouble?
B. Every shame-filled, guilt ridded believer is told by Satan that his
past is not forgiven and he will never be free.
1. You can't be forgiven for that!
2. There's too much baggage in you past!
3. It's a generational curse! It will never go away!
C. Don't listen to the Devil's lies and be stuck in you past! When you
get the story straight you'll learn that God is in the business of
redeeming our past so that we can have a wonderful future:
- He took Abram who failed to trust God and lied about Sarai being his wife, and he turned him into Abraham, the father of many nations.
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- He transformed the life of a man named Jacob (deceiver, supplanter, manipulator) and after a wrestling match with God at Bethel he was transformed to Israel, the prince with God.
- Peter denied the Lord Jesus three times before the young maiden, declaring "I don't know who He is." But the angel at the tomb told the women to go and get the disciples and Peter and let him know that there is hope for him. Peter the "rock" filled with the Holy Spirit gave his life for the Gospel.
- Saul dedicated his life to destroying Christians in the early church, but on his way to Damascus he became Paul the Apostle who wrote most of the New Testament and established churches all over Asia Minor.
3. Let's Get The Story Straight Today!
A. Every sinner is told he is beyond salvation, but that is not straight!
1) Satan has told some of you today that you are beyond hope.
2) The preacher just doesn't know what you have done. He
doesn't know your dark side. There's no hope for you!
3) You need to get the story straight.
-- In John Chapter 4 a little woman came out to the well to draw water in the middle of the afternoon.
-- She didn't come in the morning in the cool of the day like the other women because she was unworthy to be with them.
-- She was a dark, sinful, low class woman. She was an adulteress. She had fallen so low in her guilt and shame that she had allowed men to use her.
-- She had had five husbands and was living with another man. Even the disciples wondered why Jesus was talking to this woman. But Jesus forgave her!
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4) You are not without hope!
5) Jesus can touch you today.
B. Some of you are letting Satan give you a pack of lies:
1) Others have seen you wrestling with you problems and
sorrows and they think you are about to give in to Satan's lies:
You need to tell them, "Don't run for the telephone yet for I heard the Psalmist say:
Psalm 27:5 For in the time of trouble he shall hide me in his pavilion: in the secret of his tabernacle shall he hide me; he shall set me up upon a rock.
Somebody saw your enemies surrounding you and thought you were down and defeated for good but tell them you heard God say:
Deuteronomy 33:27 The eternal God is thy refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms: and he shall thrust out the enemy from before thee; and shall say, Destroy them.
Others at work have seen you being misused, discriminated against, and pushed aside for promotion. Tell them God says:
Psalm 37:25 I have been young, and now am old; yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging bread.
Others have seen you labor for God and no one has even noticed. Not the teacher, church members, or even the pastor. But tell them God said:
Matthew 16: 27 For the Son of man shall come in the glory of his Father with his angels; and then He shall reward every man according to his works.
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Conclusion:
1) When we get the story straight we remember that we serve a God who
can take our:
- Misfortunes and turn them into grand opportunities...
- Minutes of pain and turn them into hours of joy...
- Days of agony and turn them into years of ecstasy...
- Weeping eyes and turn them into warm smiles....
- Sadness and turn it into gladness...
- Setbacks and turn them into step-ups...
2) The Devil tried to mess the story up - but it didn't work!
3) Don't listen to him today!
4) Jesus Is ALIVE and ready to help you!
Up from the grave He arose,
With a mighty triumph over His foes,
He arose a victor from the dark domain.
And He lives forever with the saints to reign!
He AROSE, He AROSE
Hallelujah He AROSE!