In this sermon, the preacher emphasizes the power of the resurrection of Jesus Christ. He describes how Jesus conquered death and the forces of darkness, emerging victorious with the keys of death in his hands. The preacher also highlights the importance of living by faith and trusting in God's word, even in difficult circumstances. He shares a story of a wealthy woman who became a missionary among the Zulu people and faced extreme hardship, but remained faithful to God's calling. Overall, the sermon encourages listeners to trust in the resurrection power of Jesus and to keep God's word regardless of their circumstances.

The text leads us to Mark, we find in the Gospel according to Mark, verse 16. Now when the Sabbath was passed, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James and Salome bought spices that they might come and anoint him. Very early in the morning, on the first day of the week, they came to the tomb when the sun had risen. And when they heard that he was alive in the tomb, they said to him, I think I have read the wrong text, I need another Bible. But it doesn't matter, these women got up very early. To anoint the body of the Lord Jesus according to the Jewish custom. On the first day of the week. It was Sunday morning, they had gone on Saturday to go and buy the oils and spices necessary to embalm him. For they kept the Jewish Sabbath which ended approximately five or so in the afternoon of Saturday. Because on the Sabbath you were not permitted to travel, you were to be there on the Sabbath, stay there. The distance you were allowed to cover on the Sabbath was really very short, like from here to my house, you couldn't make a long journey on the Sabbath. But you do get those that stick, they say, very closely to the real Sabbath but they travel long distances which shows that they still don't keep to what it actually said about Sabbath. You couldn't travel and do work on a Sabbath, you had to rest. So these women on the Sabbath, they had been keeping the Sabbath, but the moment it ended they went to buy the embalming things. Then early the next morning, on the way they discussed among each other, now who's going to roll away the stone for us? They said, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, panel. At that time, they would use what they called, a sepulcher which was a hole. almost like a digging or a cave. In the side if you look at this wall and you see that door, they would make a special place inside and they would lay the body there. I remember a certain man who had huge boulders. One day he came back home at night and he was drunk. When he got home to the first boulder, it looked like a rondolla or a hut. You see, when you intoxicate it, you don't see properly. Smacking his fist on this big boulder, which he thought was his home, he said, open up woman, open up. He thought his wife would open up. She didn't. She wasn't there. It was a rock. Now, in this dispensation of which we're reading here, it was traditional that you would have a sepulcher and you could put quite a few bodies there too. They showed us the side of a huge boulder, a rocky surface. There in Jerusalem, and they showed us the crack from the top to the bottom. They said, that's when there was that earthquake and the rocks shattered. Now, they didn't have doors. Now, it wasn't just a round stone, which they would block the entrance to the sepulcher with, but it was a huge stone between three to five tons, which had been masoned. The stone mason would make it round so that they could roll this heavy object to close. And they would roll it to the entrance. It was a huge stone. Now, when the women got there, and before they arrived, they had been chatting among each other and said, asked each other, who will roll away the stone for us? They were anxious. Oh, anxiety. Worries. Worries and anxieties. How people carry them. One is worried about their children, another is worried about their husband, or their work situation, or their health. And there are so many worries that people carry. And that is sinful, for we are told to cast all our burdens and roll them onto him. Yes, there are genuine concerns, but you need to take it and bring it to the Lord. Had we been anxious about this auditorium, because in reality it does cost millions and millions of francs, you just try and finance one beam and you will see how expensive it is. And some businesses said, unless you pay up full, we will not send it. And it is not just thousands. I am speaking in the millions. Calculate if you can, the cement and all the other things. Just this carpet. And these are the things that you find here. Just contemplate on what expense it would be. Even the cost of this building, we could have gone through great anxiety about it, but the Lord undertook and he has provided so abundantly. It is a shame on you if you do not take your cares. Like the Lord said, take your cares and anxieties. And the Lord says, come to me with it. A person might say, if I think of old age, who will care for me? How will I survive? Some of these women, like Mary, were at the cross when Jesus was crucified. They saw it all. They saw him whipped, beaten, nailed with the crown of thorns in his head. And all of that as he was crucified, they witnessed it. And one could ask from some of the sons of Rev. Molefe, who have studied psychology, isn't it damaging when a person is over anxious and when they take every bit of anxiety, doesn't it cause a nervous breakdown eventually? And so these women made the mistake of being anxious about what would happen at the tomb of Jesus. And it was a great mistake. Now why do I say that? Because our Lord had already said beforehand, I will rise on the third day. They shouldn't have worried about this and be anxious about it. Haven't they got ears to hear? Didn't they hear what Jesus told them? And he didn't tell them once. Over and over again. Jesus had said, the Son of Man is going to suffer and die, but I will rise again on the third day. He said, I will destroy this temple and rise it up on the third day. These were wonderful women and they loved Jesus. Yet that doesn't exonerate them in this disobedience and this not being attentive to what Jesus had plainly told them. One day ago, ten years, twenty years, how can you possibly forget what he told you? And if he told you once, it's enough. That suffices. Only once in the Bible it is said, you must be born again. But everybody preaches about it. But only said once. He said, I will rise again on the third day. He said, I will destroy this temple and rise it up on the third day. He said, I will destroy this temple and rise it up on the third day. The Lord spoke to me. That's how we can live in disobedience. God spoke. Didn't you hear it? Didn't you testify that God spoke to you? You were so confident about what God had told you. Woe to you if you do not keep what he has plainly said to you. They were anxious and very worried. I don't know whether their blood pressure went up. Wondering who will roll the stone away for us. That shouldn't have troubled them. For Jesus had said, I will rise on the third day. So it should have been that they would rather have got up very early to go there to see the fulfillment of what Jesus had said. They were worried also that it was guarded by Roman soldiers and had a seal that no one was allowed to break. A Roman seal. But I am thankful that nevertheless they continued. They were the weaker vessels. Maybe God is more gentle on this with women. But for men to be anxious like this, they need a whipping. A whipping. You find many men who send their wives to church. They say, it's alright for you wife and the children to go to church. I'm going to go and visit my pals or continue with my work. Or to go and booze. That is the wrong thing. A man needs to be a man. He should be the head of the home. And if things go wrong in your family, then you as a husband, you need to look at yourself. What does it help if you say to your wife and children, alright, I'll even drive you to church. Then you drop them off and you go to your pals and you drink alcohol with them and then you go and fetch your wife and them. No wonder that things are like they are in your family. The Bible says if a wife has a question, she should ask her husband. Now are you the type of husband that can answer her questions? Can you teach her from the Bible? Are you one who is able to instruct your family? That's God's standard for believers. You shouldn't be telling people, go and ask my wife what's to be done. You should be the head of the home. It should be that she is free and confident in you to come and ask you if there's a problem. If it's not the case, then you should remove your trousers and put on a skirt. Ask your wife to give her her clothing and she can wear the men's clothing, yours. It is the failure of a man. Or it is the responsibility of a husband to sanctify his wife. I remember how as she was passing away, she called us and said, the king is coming to fetch me. I can see him now. And our tears of grief as she passed away were changed into tears of joy. I remember crying tears of thankfulness to God. How would I feel if she said, here is Satan. Satan fetching me. How terrible I would have to feel, not having fulfilled my responsibility, not having pointed her to heaven and sanctified and being busy with that. I know there are different cultures. We are of different cultures. Like yesterday, you saw some of the expressions of Zulu joy. But it doesn't matter what culture you belong to. The Bible demands that whatever culture, you have to keep his word. You need to be obedient to his word. Whether you're a black person, whether you're a white person, colored, Indian, it doesn't matter who you are. You need to fully take his word and be obedient to it. This was the sin of these three women. God had spoken to them. They had deaf ears. When they heard it in the past, they must have forgotten it. Maybe what they had gone through the last few hours, or during the night, or the day before, went too deep. And they forgot about it. And Jesus' death was too real to them, that he could rise out of the grave. It doesn't matter how difficult your situation is. It doesn't matter through what hardship you go. You cannot... Never excuse yourself, for you must keep the word of God. Don't say, my circumstances are absolutely unique, with a wife like this, or children like this, I can't keep his word. No, you are to keep his word, even if they don't. He said he would rise. Even if there are Roman soldiers stopping anything from happening at the grave, and there is a Roman seal that cannot be broken, but Jesus has spoken. A certain woman from Scandinavia, who was very wealthy, came here to Guazulu among the Zulu people to be a missionary, to bring the gospel. And then living among the Zulus, being a missionary to them, she almost died of starvation. And she jumped to the conclusion, when you work amongst the Zulus, you can't live by faith. Impossible, you'll starve. And she went back to Scandinavia, and went to the bank, where she had lots of money. If I would have been God, I would have starved her sooner. You don't do such a foolish thing and say you live by faith, and you put your money away. So this woman on the way asked, where are the Roman soldiers? Not there. And the stone is rolled away. What's happened? It hadn't yet dawned on them that it had been fulfilled, what Jesus had said about the third day. They went into the tomb, and there they saw a man clothed in shining white. It was an angel. And he said to them, women, why do you seek among the dead the one who is alive? He has done what he said. It has been fulfilled that he would rise again. The women were frightened. They were told to go and tell the disciples, but they were scared. What an amazing gospel. We have a living Jesus, the resurrected one, who has arisen out of the grave. He has risen out of the grave. He has risen out of the grave. He has risen out of the grave. He has risen out of the grave. He has risen out of the grave. He has risen out of the grave. He has risen out of the grave. He has risen out of the grave. He has risen out of the grave. He has risen out of the grave. He has risen out of the grave. He has risen out of the grave. He has risen out of the grave. He has risen out of the grave. He has risen out of the grave. He has risen out of the grave. He has risen out of the grave. He has risen out of the grave. He has risen out of the grave. But we have got a grave where the bones still are there. Just a madman can say such stupidity, such nonsense. That is our strength. He is not in there. He has risen. And he did not get out of the tomb and through the stone there, so that he could get out. The stone was rolled away simply so that you and I could know that he was no longer there. That is why that young man, that angel said, look here, this is where he lay. See the shrouds, the cloths. Let me draw towards the clothes. Regarding his clothing. He weighed a hundred pounds. He weighed a hundred pounds. Now, Joseph of Arimathea and his friend had arranged that Jesus could be buried in his sepulchre. And they also arranged the shrouds and the embalming myrrh. And it was said that the shrouds would be put into this myrrh. So it would be so heavy, it was over a hundred pounds, so heavy was it like plaster of Paris, you could say. Tightly wrapped, all of him, his body, arms, legs, knees, feet, right up to the head. Then they would use another one to, often embalming his face, would wrap his face with the shrouds. So, in other words, so that we'll understand that his body was full of plaster of Paris. In Jerusalem it's very hot. It's also a very dry heat. You can go into a shower and the next person can go in immediately after you and it's already dried up. We swam in the Dead Sea and we thought, well, we'll get out and then go and change. Before we even got back into our clothing from our costumes, we were totally dry. And so you'd find that the embalming things that they used and that myrrh would dry. Some had said his body would be stolen. When Peter and John ran to discover for themselves and to look for themselves, John outran him being the younger, but Peter didn't stop running, he ran right into the tomb. And Peter was fully satisfied that he had risen and proclaimed he is alive. Now, you couldn't just get out of these heavy embalmed cloths. You would find that a person was tightly wrapped in them. It was like being in a cocoon. It was like being in a cocoon. And so though that was true for a normal corpse and think of the head, you can't just get yourself out of it. Normally, if you wanted to remove those embalmed shrouds, you'd have to cut it open with scissors. But when Peter stood there, he saw that the garments, these cloths and these embalmed cloths were totally untouched. No scissor or knife had cut them. So he said he's alive and he has not been stolen. And the butterfly flew out of its cocoon. Those burial clothes were there as a testimony that Jesus had risen. And that's why today on this Resurrection Sunday we proclaim he is alive, he's risen. He didn't rise like a human being in weakness, but he rose in majestic conquering strength. The same Jesus, the resurrected Jesus could stand on the mountain later on and say, all authority has been given to me in heaven and on earth. There were times when Jesus was with his disciples after his resurrection, even eating with them. And then he said, we will meet on the mountain at Galilee. And Jesus revealed himself and they fell down and worshipped him there. But some doubted. It is a painful thing to find Christians who love the Lord but they live in doubt. Now, these disciples didn't doubt that it was Jesus. Like it says, some of them doubted. That wasn't the cause of their doubt. But Jesus, knowing the thoughts of man from afar hit the nail on the head. For instance, if you think of the time when he was in a home and there was a meal and that woman came and at his feet she sat as she washed his feet with her tears and wiped the tears away with her hands. When Simon and them looked at the scene, they said in their hearts, doesn't he even realize who he is dealing with here, that she is a whore, that she is filthy, that she is so promiscuous? Jesus then said to Simon, Look, you complain about this woman and you criticize her but you haven't even washed my feet since I've come. But she hasn't stopped washing them with her tears. And why was it like that? It was because she was forgiven much, she loved much. This is the last point. Anybody still doubting in our midst? Do you still doubt the one who was dead and that he is alive? And that all power has been given to him? Or do you still say, well, I've got such a hardened wife or such a hard husband, they will never become a Christian. Are you still doubting in that way? Maybe your neighbor's child is just impossible. You think, well, Jesus can't change this child. You think, well, Jesus can't change this child. And do you doubt that he, the risen one, has been given all power? For all authority has been given to him. Whether you live in America or Europe or Scandinavia, wherever you come from, he has all power. You can say, I've given my life a dozen times to Jesus. He can't set me free. I can't get victory over this. Even if you lie on your knees, confess your sin of unbelief. And don't pray for yourself. Go into a room and say, I pray to the Lord that he will forgive me. The Bible says, pray for each other. You can't even get rid of your sin and then you want to pray for yourself. Go to someone who's got divine authority to pray with you and to loosen you from those chains of hell. You doubt that Jesus can change your child and its rebellion. Shame on you if you doubt him, this living Jesus. Is Jesus the almighty one in your life? The one you've got hold of? Has all power been given to him? In heaven and on earth? If not, and if your life doesn't testify of it, you've got the wrong Jesus. You've got the wrong Jesus. Do you understand? Let's pray. Thank you that you arose just as you said you would. Lord Jesus, no wonder that they could believe that you had indeed risen with the embalmed clothing there lying neatly and that the soldiers should run away in terror. Hear your people. Lord, hear your people. As your people go home, Lord, grant that they would go home with you, the one who is the resurrected one, the one who is alive forevermore, and that they would be more than conquerors in you. That it would be evident and real to others as they look at your people that they say, Jesus is alive, he has risen, and I can see it in them. Amen.