Joe Galbraith was an American Economist and one day. He said to his housekeeper, Emily Emily. I want you to hold the phone for one hour, no, phone calls because I want to take a nap. So away went Joe, Galbraith he let down and took a nap anyway. 10 minutes into his nap. What do you think started to happen? Ring ring, ring ring. Hello. Hi. It's Lyndon Johnson. I'd like to speak to mr. Galbraith please. Oh hello. Mr. President I'm sorry but mr. Galbraith is taking a nap, right?
Right now and now well, wake him up there. No, I'm sorry, mr. President I work for him. Not you and apparently as soon as the phone call ended mr. Lyndon Johnson said that woman is remarkable. Bring it to the White House. I wanted to work for me. You see my dear friends loyalty is very hard to find, isn't it? But I believe there is one person in the Bible, who is more loyal to the Lord Jesus Christ than anyone else. In fact, I'm going to raise the bar.
I believe this person. And is the most godly woman who ever lived. Who am I talking about? Mary Magdalene, you see, Mary had one motivation, one in a compulsion, she wanted to be near the Lord. This is a woman who before she met the Lord Jesus Christ. She was very lost. The Bible is so descriptive. It says that she didn't just have one demon, not two, but seven, demons occupied This Woman's life and somewhere in her past she'd opened up Herself up to the kingdoms of darkness.
When she met Lord, Jesus Christ, the light of the world cast those demons out of her and made into one of the most godliest Saints in history. My dear friend, that is the beautiful message of the Gospel. That's why it's good news because it doesn't matter how you started in life. Doesn't matter what your background is, doesn't matter what your pedigree is, it doesn't matter how much you have messed up. The main thing is this, how will
you finish? And everyone who comes to the Lord Jesus Christ, As a promise of a beautiful ending, because Christ changes all and gives, every single person who comes to him a fresh start a fresh beginning and a hope beyond the grave. So why was Mary so loyal will, because those who've been forgiven, much, love much. And the day that she met the Lord, Jesus Christ is the day that Mary's agenda died. She surrendered all to Christ.
She was sold out. It's almost as if she gave Christ a blank check and said fill it in Lord. I'm told. Only your's, I'll do whatever you say she funded Christ's Ministry, she called him Lord, and she followed him all the way from the northern town of magdala all the way to the south of Jerusalem everywhere. Jesus went Mary went to. She even followed him to the Cross when all of the disciples scattered except for one, when all the disciples forsook the Lord, Jesus Christ on the cross,
Mary stood there. Mary stayed, she saw the Lord, Jesus Christ, being mocked being scorned. She stood in the crowd. Christ had Nails driven through his hands and his feet. She saw the spear in his side. She saw the spit on his face that blood running down his brown. She saw Christ suffer the most agonizing death. Why? Because love endures all things. Here's a question for you. Have you ever heard people say? God is against women. The Bible looks down on women and sees women as inferior to
men. Let me prove to you why that is total nonsense. When Jesus Christ did the most colossal event in history. What did the most important thing to mankind? When you Rose himself back from the dead? Who did he appear to? He appeared to Loyal Mary. And when he was doing that, when he spoke to Mary first, he was making a very bold statement to the whole of the world. He was saying even though this culture right now sees a woman's testimony as invalid.
I am telling you all that a woman's testimony is valid. It is credible and women and men. And that's why I've appeared to Mary Magdalene the Bible says, now when she had said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there and did not know that. It was Jesus. Jesus said to her woman, why are you weeping whom are you seeking? She supposing him to be the gardener said to him, sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have laid him and I
will take him away now. Perhaps I'm reading too much into this, but you not find it fascinating, that Mary mistook the Lord Jesus. Christ for a gardener? Why did she not think he was a soldier? An Undertaker, a farmer fisherman? Why did Mary Think Jesus was a gardener what could it be this
many many years ago? A man Adam stood in a garden and threw that one man's Rebellion. He brought into the world sin suffering pain and destruction but here we have another atom the last Adam the won't be another the Lord Jesus Christ. Again stands in a garden but this time he brings hope restoration Life and renewal, that's why I think Mary mistook Jesus for being a gardener. I don't know what's going on in
your life right now. Perhaps at the moment, you're feeling the blessing of the Lord and, you know, in a real Joy, a real great period of life. But perhaps, you're not perhaps right now, you are in the darkest period of your life. You feel alone, you feel broken. You feel like you've been left. All I want to remind you when we are going through our darkest trials, when like Mary, our eyes are filled with tears. Tears. And we feel so alone.
Jesus Christ is stood there all along, even though like Mary, we can't see him, he's never left us, you'll never leave us, he'll never forsake us. So today, or tomorrow when you feel like you're struggling, don't miss the Lord, like Mary. Make sure you open your eyes and see he's here, he's holding my hand, and he will not let go, he will guide me through this difficulty, okay? If you writing down notes, write
this down, Mary has muscles. Weiss we see Mary Magdalene prepared to flex her muscles, the Lord Jesus Christ. The first time is here where she thought that Jesus Christ was the gardener and she said to this Gardener tell me where you have laid the body and I will take him away. So here is this little woman who just wants to make sure that Jesus has the correct burial, the right environment, the right spices and she is prepared to carry a grown man from one side
of the cemetery to the other. Now I know what you're thinking, you're saying Joe we don't. Know how big Mary Magdalene was and you're right. We don't know how big she was but there's one thing I do know. There are very few women. There are very few men who could carry a grown man from one side of a graveyard to the other but Mary was prepared to do it. Why? Because love bears, all things.
Now, what I'm about to say next, some of you are going to say speak for yourself, Joe, but I personally believe that Mary Magdalene was more dedicated to what she thought was a dead. Jesus Christ. Then? What? Many Christians including myself? No to be the Risen Lord, she would do anything for what she thought.
Was just a dead body and yet we know that Jesus Christ is risen from the grave and when he says obey me worship me spend time with me. We so often neglect our duties for the Risen Lord, but the second time we see Mary prepared to flex her muscles is in John chapter 20, verse 17. It says Jesus said to her, do not cling to me for I have not yet. Yet ascended to my father. Did you catch that? Because Mary is holding on to the Lord. Jesus Christ.
So tightly because she's thinking in her mind, I can't let you go. I've been separated from you once I can't lose you again. What does the Lord Jesus Christ have to do? He has to say, stop. Clinging to me. I wonder now. Could Christ Jesus say that you could. He say you're holding onto me too tight. Stop clinging to me like Jacob. Remember, Jacob, wrestled.
God he said, I will not let go of you until you bless me and so God had to physically wrestle him off, Jacob does God have to do that to you to wrestle you off him, because you're so close. You're so tight in communion with him? Or does God, have to wrestle as off other things? Does God have to tell us to stop clinging to other sins to other Idols in our life. Because so very often we'd rather choose Darkness over
light. If we're honest with ourselves, we've all cling to That which we shouldn't. But I do believe that, every true Christian should know. Something of how Mary Magdalene felt that day. We've all sort of had that prayer time where God has been so close to us. That it's almost as if, if we reached our handout, we could touch God himself because he's been so near and we cry out. So in that moment, Lord don't leave me, don't go, I don't send me back to the world and all my
problems. I just want to be near to you. I just want to be close to you, perhaps at times. We've listened to Sermon always watched a message online and it's almost been as if God himself as pin due to that seat and the preacher. Speaking knows every single thing about you and it's not because there's anything special about the preacher his because the holy spirit is dealing with you in that moment. And you're thinking in that very moment, I don't want this message to end.
I don't want this sermon to end because God is speaking right now. If we've not known this for a long time, or if we've never known it, like, Mary will need to rise. Early to find the Lord when she went to that tomb that day, she went in the Fourth Watch, which is between 3 a.m. and 6 a.m. she Rose early to find the Lord God. And you and I need to go back to basics and meet with the Lord. God first thing in the morning in prayer and studying the word,
a dear brother. An elder of the church, I used to attend a man called Alan, why he used to preach beautiful sermons and I remember, once he said instead of singing the hymn take time to be holy, we're going to sing that hymn. We're going to sing it a little differently. Let's change the words to take time to Behold Him. My dear brother, my dear sister. We all need to take time to behold the Lord Jesus Christ because the world does rush on. Hey, now there's one thing I can guarantee to you.
There's one thing I can promise to every Christian is watching this video right now and it's this. I promise you that you're glad that Mary Magdalene did not find what she was looking for. For that day in the garden, that Mary did not find a dead body. She found the Risen Lord. Here is this woman who came to the Lord. Jesus Christ with package with problems, even demons and Christ. Transformed her life and made, it's one of the most beautiful trophies of Grace.
Why did he do that? Because Christ always cleans the fish that he catches. Have you come to the Lord? Jesus Christ. Have you let his Blood Washed she White. And snow that blood that was shed on the cross, cleans us, washes us, and gives us A New Hope and New, Start A New Beginning, can you like Mary Magdalene? Say that Jesus is my Lord and not just any Lord, he's the Risen Lord. How surrender all to him? Here is my blank check, Lord, Jesus Christ, and just fill it in.
Do what you want with my life because it belongs to you, are you prepared to obey this Lord? And even though at times you have desires and things that you want to do, you say I lay them all. Down because Jesus Christ is worthy of following and I will follow you wherever you will go. If the answer is no, you know what, I'm going to say to you, come to Christ and watch him transform your life.
Like he transformed that loyal woman Mary magdalene's life and if the answer is yes stay with him. Stay loyal, stay close to the Lord, Jesus Christ, because it's not about how you start that matters. What really matters is how the UN Perhaps, right now, you're the person I was talking about earlier and you're going through a really dark trial. If that's you, please watch this video. I think it might just help, and if you haven't yet subscribed, please do consider subscribing.
I'd be so grateful to see you again on this channel. God bless you all, and thank you for watching.