Participants: John Lomacang
Series Code: ASHF
Program Code: ASHF000061
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00:20 Hello, friends, and welcome to another
00:22 Wednesday night Bible study here at A Sharper Focus. 00:25 Thank you so much for tuning into this study 00:27 as we begin a new series 00:30 on how to know the truth about the truth. 00:34 And we just peaked into the topic on death 00:38 and we're going to continue tonight 00:39 on that very important topic. 00:41 So what the Bible teaches can open our hearts and minds 00:44 to hear God's Word 00:46 and to clear up any misunderstanding 00:48 about what happens when a person dies, 00:51 how we are created, what do we possess, 00:54 what happens after the point of death, 00:57 do we have a soul, are we a soul, 00:59 is there a spirit that departs. 01:03 All those questions that do float around, 01:06 no pun intended, 01:07 is what we're going to talk about tonight. 01:09 So get your Bibles, 01:10 invite your friends and family members to sit down 01:13 for just about an hour with us as we go to God's Word. 01:17 Now as you have tuned in, 01:19 if you'd like to get a copy of the lesson, 01:21 go to this website, asf.3abn.org, 01:27 and download a copy of the lesson, 01:28 that's lesson number 19, 01:31 The Truth about Life and Death. 01:35 And as you get that, get your Bibles, 01:37 and you can follow along, 01:39 as we open the Word of the Lord together. 01:41 But before we do anything, 01:42 before we even have our opening song, 01:45 let's go to the Lord in prayer. 01:48 Our Heavenly Father, 01:49 we thank You for the opportunity 01:51 to study Your Word, 01:53 we thank You for Your Holy Spirit 01:54 who will teach us. 01:56 Father, we want to know the truth about the truth, 02:00 we know the truth is Jesus 02:02 but what has He said in His Word, 02:05 and so tonight, as we talk about this all important topic, 02:09 lead us, and guide us, and teach us. 02:11 We pray in Jesus' name. 02:14 Amen. 02:15 Now let's sing our theme song together, Victory in Jesus. 02:28 I heard an old, old story 02:32 How the Savior came from glory 02:36 How He gave His life on Calvary 02:39 To save a wretch like me 02:43 I heard about His groaning 02:47 Of His precious blood's atoning 02:51 Then I repented of my sins 02:54 And won the victory 02:58 O victory in Jesus 03:02 My Savior, forever 03:06 He sought me and bought me 03:10 With His redeeming blood 03:13 He loved me ere I knew Him 03:17 And all my love is due Him 03:21 He plunged me to victory 03:25 Beneath the cleansing flood 03:28 I heard about a mansion 03:32 He has built for me in glory 03:36 And I heard about the streets of gold 03:40 Beyond the crystal sea 03:44 About the angels singing 03:47 And the old redemption story 03:51 And some sweet day I'll sing up there 03:55 The song of victory 03:57 Key change. 03:59 O victory in Jesus 04:02 My Savior, forever 04:06 He sought me and bought me 04:10 With His redeeming blood 04:14 He loved me ere I knew Him 04:18 And all my love is due Him 04:21 He plunged me to victory 04:25 Beneath the cleansing flood 04:29 He plunged me to victory 04:33 Beneath the cleansing flood 04:39 Amen? 04:41 Amen. 04:42 You know, this topic, 04:43 The Truth about the Life and Death 04:45 is a really important topic. 04:47 I was thinking about when we sometimes meet people, 04:51 you never know 04:52 what people believe when you meet them. 04:53 We were sitting down on a plane, 04:57 and talking to a young man 04:59 as we were getting ready to take off in our flight, 05:02 and we bowed our heads to pray, 05:05 and my wife prayed, and when she opened her eyes, 05:09 she saw a young man next to her praying, and she said, 05:13 "I just prayed to the Lord to give us a safe flight", 05:16 and he said, "I just prayed to my ancestors 05:20 to give me a safe flight 05:22 but I also prayed to God, he said, 05:23 "I prayed to God and I prayed to my ancestors as well." 05:27 Who told him to tell my wife that. 05:29 And she then began to say, 05:32 "Well, why would you pray to your ancestors, 05:34 aren't they dead?" 05:36 And he said, "Yes, but we pray to our ancestors", 05:39 and then I took over, and I asked him a question, 05:41 I said, "Now when you are sleeping at night 05:44 and someone talks to you, can you hear them?" 05:47 He said, "No." 05:48 I said, "If you got a phone call 05:50 and while you were sleeping during the night, 05:52 and would you hear the phone ring?" 05:54 He said, "No." 05:56 I said, "If somebody had a conversation with you 05:57 while you were deep in sleep, could you hear them?" 06:00 He said, "No." 06:02 I said, "Well, neither can your ancestors 06:04 because they're dead. 06:06 If you can't hear them when you're sleeping, 06:08 they cannot hear them when they're dead." 06:11 But, you know, there's so much being said 06:12 about what happens when a person dies. 06:14 And it is not all the truth. 06:17 Even the media sometimes does the job and says, 06:20 well, you know, this very famous person 06:22 just died, and, you know, they're in heaven now, 06:25 they're on the streets of gold, either tap dancing, 06:28 or playing the piano, or they're singing, 06:30 or they're talking to the Lord. 06:33 And then sometimes you go to funerals 06:34 and the preacher would say, 06:36 "Well, our dearly departed loved one... 06:40 Dearly departed loved one is now looking down on us 06:43 and I'm sure they're glad you're all here today." 06:46 And then later on at the service, they'll say, 06:48 "Well, as you pass by 06:50 and give your last farewells..." 06:52 They'll point to the body there 06:54 and they'll say they're somewhere else. 06:56 So there's so much confusion 06:57 about what happens when a person dies. 06:59 Tonight, we're going to begin with the topic, 07:01 the truth about the truth, 07:03 how to know the truth, the truth about life and death. 07:07 Now, you know, when you talk about a topic like this, 07:09 the best place to begin is in the beginning. 07:12 In the where? Beginning. 07:14 In the beginning. 07:15 So let's begin with our first question tonight, 07:17 comes from the Book of Genesis. 07:20 And we'll begin by reading question number one, 07:24 which is what does the Bible teach about 07:27 the creation of man? 07:29 Once again, if you'd like a copy of this lesson, 07:31 go to this website, don't put www, put 07:35 asf.3abn.org. 07:42 What does the Bible teach about the creation of man? 07:47 Now the reason why we're going to Genesis 2:7 is, 07:50 death is creation in reverse. 07:54 As God gives life, then when a person dies, 07:58 life is no longer there. 08:00 So in order to understand clearly 08:02 what happens, what man possesses, 08:04 how God made us, let's begin with Genesis 2:7. 08:09 And the Bible says, 08:11 "And the Lord God formed man of the,..." What? 08:13 Dust. 08:15 "Dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils, 08:20 the breath of life, 08:21 and man became a living..." What? 08:23 Soul. 08:24 "A living soul." 08:25 Now the reason 08:27 why I used the King James Version on that text 08:29 to begin tonight is because the word "soul" 08:32 is the word that is often the confusion. 08:35 You know, people say, "Well, his soul has departed, 08:39 " or "his soul is in heaven now, 08:41 " or "man has an immortal soul." 08:44 But what I want you to see, 08:45 there is a combination in the scripture, 08:47 if you look at verse 2 again or verse 7 of Chapter 2, 08:51 you will see two things 08:53 that ultimately forms this living soul. 08:59 What was the first thing that God formed? 09:01 Somebody tell me. 09:03 What was the first thing according to the verse 09:04 that God formed? 09:06 Man. 09:08 Okay, and what did He do it from? 09:11 Dust. Dust. 09:12 Another word we could use for dust is dirt. 09:15 Okay? 09:16 God is so magnificently large, what seems like heavy material 09:21 it was is dust to God. 09:22 You know, the Bible... 09:24 You know, we always see in the funerals, 09:25 "From dust thou art unto dust thou shalt return." 09:29 First of all, the first thing you had, 09:30 let's look at this equation here, 09:32 first you had the dust of the ground. 09:35 So God formed man. 09:37 Man did not have a form, God formed man. 09:40 And if you look at the Genesis record, 09:42 it made it clear that God formed man, 09:45 God made man in His image. 09:49 So that's the formation of man but that was first the body. 09:52 Before there was any life, there was first a body, 09:56 there was first a what? 09:57 A body. A body. 09:58 So what happens when you go to a funeral 10:00 and you have a body? 10:01 Okay, but now let's look what else God did. 10:04 And then God, according to the verse, 10:06 "God breathed into man's nostrils the..." What? 10:10 "The breath of life." 10:12 So if you could think about it this way, 10:15 we don't have the breath of life. 10:16 We could breathe, you know, we inhale, we exhale, 10:19 but we don't have the breath of life. 10:21 So we couldn't breathe into a mound of clay 10:25 and give it life but God can. 10:28 So before man 10:31 came to life, he was just dust. 10:34 But when God breathed it into his nostrils, 10:36 that clay combined with the breath of God, 10:40 the life of God, man became... 10:44 Say that word, man became. 10:47 Now what you want to get here 10:48 is not man wasn't given a living soul, 10:51 man became a living soul, so the dust of the ground, 10:56 the body, plus the breath of life, 10:59 the spirit from God equals a living soul 11:02 or as some of the new translations say, 11:03 a living being. 11:05 So if you read the NIV, 11:07 if you read the New King James version, 11:09 if you read the Amplified Bible, 11:11 if you read the American Standard, 11:14 whatever translation you read, they all say living being, 11:18 the only one that says living soul 11:20 is the King James Version. 11:21 But there's no confusion there. 11:23 Let's see what man didn't have. 11:25 So get this, man wasn't given an immortal soul, 11:30 man became a living soul. 11:33 Now you may have thought I was going to say 11:35 man became an immortal soul. 11:37 No, man wasn't given an immortal soul, 11:40 man became a living soul. 11:42 Now the reason I say that is because... 11:44 If nothing survives death, 11:47 if there's nothing that continues on 11:49 after man dies, 11:51 then that mean there's nothing about man that's immortal. 11:53 Let's see what the Bible says. 11:55 Question number two. Question number two. 11:58 So what does the Bible teach about the creation of man? 12:01 Man became a living soul. 12:05 The answer is man became a living soul. 12:09 He wasn't given a living soul. 12:11 He became a living soul. 12:14 Now let's look at question number two. 12:16 When God created man, 12:18 did man possess an immortal soul? 12:22 Go to 1 Timothy 6:16, 12:25 1 Timothy 6:16. 12:30 We've got to get an answer to this 12:31 because this isn't straightforward 12:33 as this sometimes may seem. 12:36 For whatever reason, it just happens to... 12:38 It just happens to miss the attention 12:41 of those who read the Bible. 12:43 Because many churches teach that, 12:46 you know, "They're in heaven now looking down on us." 12:50 Other people say, 12:51 "Well, now my mom is my guardian angel." 12:54 Have you heard that one before? 12:56 I know, unfortunately, 12:59 not too long ago there was a young man that was killed 13:02 and his mother said, 13:03 "Well, the thing that gives me comfort now 13:05 is he's my guardian angel." 13:07 And then sometimes 13:08 a person may die in a car accident 13:10 and somebody will say, 13:11 "Well, you know, God needed an angel, 13:14 so He took your mother" or "He took your son." 13:16 And that kind of makes God like a hitman. 13:19 But God is not a hitman, 13:20 God doesn't kill people to populate heaven. 13:24 And that's an unfortunate rap that God gets. 13:27 So we want to make it clear how this all happens. 13:30 So let's go ahead and see what 1 Timothy 6:16 says. 13:34 1 Timothy Chapter 6. 13:36 When God created man, 13:37 did man possess an immortal soul? 13:39 1 Timothy 6:16 speaking about God, 13:44 it reads as follows, 13:45 "Who alone has..." 13:47 What is the next word? 13:49 Immortality. 13:50 "Immortality 13:52 dwelling in unapproachable light, 13:56 whom no man has seen or can see, 14:01 to whom the honor and everlasting power, " 14:06 and the next word is "amen." 14:08 Okay, now what I want to get here, 14:10 if you read the New King James Version, 14:12 you see it says, 14:13 "Who alone has immortality 14:14 dwelling in unapproachable light." 14:16 But the King James Version says, 14:18 "Dwelling in the light 14:19 which no man can approach unto." 14:22 Now this is really important 14:23 because I don't know how many years ago, 14:26 it's got to be... 14:27 Maybe about 20 years ago, all of a sudden, 14:29 there's this new phenomenon that came out, 14:31 people kept saying, 14:33 "You know, when I was on the operation table, 14:36 I was pronounced dead, and I went towards the light. 14:41 I saw this bright light, and it embraced me, 14:44 and I felt like I was in the presence of God." 14:49 They didn't see an image but they felt... 14:52 "You know, I felt this warm light 14:54 and I went toward this light." 14:56 And then there are some that said, 14:58 "You know, 14:59 I went toward the slide, and then I came back, 15:02 and next thing I knew, 15:04 I was awake on the operating table." 15:07 And so they call this the blank death experience. 15:11 What's that phrase there? What's the word? 15:13 Near death. Near death experience. 15:15 But I want you to notice something here. 15:17 Let me ask the question, who alone has immortality? 15:20 Somebody tell me. 15:21 God. God alone. 15:23 God alone. 15:25 No man has immortality, which means, 15:29 if man does not have immortality, 15:31 when man dies, what happens? 15:34 He dies. 15:36 You know, have you ever bought a car battery that's immortal? 15:41 No, now you have, 15:43 there are rechargeable batteries, 15:45 but there are no immortal car batteries. 15:47 When that battery dies, 15:49 you don't put it in another car for it to work. 15:51 Right? 15:53 In the very same way, when man dies, 15:55 he doesn't work in the different environment. 15:58 And that's the kind of teaching that happens nowadays as well, 16:01 and I don't want to be... 16:02 I don't want to sound like a broken record 16:04 but I want to make a point, 16:05 we think that they're in heaven now, 16:06 having a picnic with God or well... 16:10 And then we... and then... 16:12 I know some people that 16:13 one of the reasons we have in America, 16:15 we have something called Memorial Day. 16:18 And Memorial Day is a day that people remember people. 16:21 That's why it's called Memorial, 16:22 kind of memory. 16:24 And they have memorials. 16:25 And a lot of people visit the cemeteries. 16:28 I remember being in New York growing up, 16:30 and sometimes 16:31 we'd go to the cemetery on Memorial Day, 16:33 and we would put flowers on the cemetery... 16:37 on the grave. 16:38 And I didn't understand for years, 16:41 what that was all about 16:43 until I read the Bible years later and it says, 16:46 you know, his sons come to honor him 16:48 and he does not know it, 16:50 they have brought loaf and he does not perceive it. 16:52 And then I also saw this happen in New York, 16:55 some of the Asians would bring fruits, 16:57 they'd put fruits on the cemetery. 16:59 And I always wondered, 17:01 how long those fruits would be there 17:03 because I knew, I knew their dead loved ones 17:07 was not going to eat those fruits. 17:09 So I wondered if they were not there the next day, 17:12 chances are somebody knew that that's the place 17:15 they could find some food that night 17:17 and when got the fruit. 17:18 Because I want to make it very clear, 17:20 dead people don't eat anything. 17:23 All right? 17:24 So who only has immortality, put the answer to number two, 17:27 God only. 17:29 When God created man, 17:30 did man possessed an immortal soul? 17:32 No, only God. 17:34 Go now to question number three. 17:36 Very fascinating topic. 17:37 It's a topic... 17:39 Although we have 21 questions... 17:42 I think there's a game called 21 questions 17:44 but this is not a game. 17:46 Question number three, a very important question. 17:49 By the way, they all are important 17:51 because they unfold something more 17:53 about what the Bible teaches concerning death. 17:56 Question number three. 17:58 So I'm going to give a different tag to this, 18:01 since man is not immortal, 18:04 what classification does the Bible give to man? 18:08 Since man is not immortal, 18:10 what classification does the Bible give to man? 18:13 Job 4:17. 18:17 Now as you're turning to Job, what I want to make very clear, 18:22 do you think it's safe to get our answers from the Bible? 18:25 Come on, give me an amen if you think so. 18:26 Amen. 18:27 So why is it not... 18:30 Why is it not equally as important to just base 18:34 what we think on what other people say? 18:40 Why is it not important? 18:42 Okay, let me just ask, is it important to match 18:45 what the Bible says with what people teach? 18:48 Or which one supersedes which? 18:51 The Bible is superseding men 18:53 because the Bible is God's Word. 18:55 So since God is the Creator, He ought to be the only one 18:59 that knows best what happens to His creation 19:02 when death comes, right? 19:03 So let's look at Job 4:17. 19:06 Job is right before the big book of Psalms. 19:09 Okay, here's what the Bible says. 19:12 "Can a..." 19:14 Say the next word with me, 19:16 "can a mortal be more righteous than God? 19:20 Can a man be more pure than his maker?" 19:25 Now what keyword did we find in that passage? 19:27 Say it. Mortal. 19:29 Mortal. 19:30 God, immortal. Man, mortal. 19:34 So that right away, if somebody ever tries to tell you 19:36 that you're God, no, you're a mere mortal. 19:41 A mere mortal. 19:43 So the answer is, 19:44 what classification does the Bible give to man, 19:48 together, the answer is mortal. 19:51 We are mortals. 19:53 Now I want to just make it clear. 19:56 One day we will be immortal, but it's not when we die, 20:01 and it's not at the point of creation. 20:03 We don't have a body 20:05 that has this immortal facet to it. 20:08 And we'll discover why. 20:10 But we're laying the foundation. 20:12 You see, one of the things that... 20:14 One of the reasons 20:15 why we cannot wait for the Lord to come, 20:17 we live with a yearning, what word did I just use? 20:20 A yearning. A yearning. 20:22 One of the reasons why people say, 20:24 "I can't wait for Jesus to come." 20:26 Let me ask you a very... 20:28 I want you to think about this before you answer, 20:32 what is the mortality rate? 20:35 And I want you to give me a percentage. 20:36 What is the mortality rate? 20:38 Okay, in other words, what percentage of people die? 20:42 A hundred percent. 20:43 One hundred percent, okay. 20:45 So the mortality rate to this day is what? 20:48 One hundred percent. 20:49 Except for two characters in the Bible. 20:54 Enoch walked with God and was not, for God took him. 20:59 All right? Enoch didn't die. 21:01 Who's the other guy? 21:02 Elijah was swept away in a chariot of fire. 21:06 The only third one we know of is? 21:09 Who came forth? 21:11 Moses. 21:12 So we only have record of three. 21:15 The other record we have 21:17 is that the resurrection of Jesus, 21:18 those who came forth and were taken as 21:21 first fruits of those who had slept. 21:23 But outside of that, 21:25 we don't have records of people 21:26 just darting on their way to heaven every time they die. 21:29 Have no scriptural record of that at all. 21:31 So right now, 21:33 we've come up to a very significant conclusion. 21:35 That is this. 21:37 We are mortal, God is immortal, 21:40 man does not have an immortal soul, 21:43 man does not... 21:44 Man was not given a soul, man is a soul, 21:50 which means simply in the English language, 21:51 a living being. 21:53 Question number four. Question number four. 21:57 Because Paul the Apostle chimes in and hears... 22:00 Let me just lay some foundation, 22:02 you know, if you don't have something, 22:04 you yearn for it or you desire to have it, like children. 22:07 When November comes, what is children yearning for? 22:12 What mindset do they get? 22:14 They begin to get into the Christmas mindset. 22:17 They start yearning. 22:19 They start putting the list together. 22:20 They start saying, 22:22 "Mommy, Daddy, I want something." 22:24 And they wouldn't want it, if they already have it. 22:27 All right? 22:29 Paul the Apostle, 22:30 Paul the Apostle also sets it up this way, 22:32 he says, 22:33 "There's something that 22:35 we groan for, we yearn for, 22:39 and the reason why we yearn for it 22:41 is because we don't have it." 22:43 All right. 22:45 What did Paul the Apostle describe 22:47 as man's constant yearning? 22:49 2 Corinthians 5:4. 22:54 2 Corinthians 5:4. 22:57 Matter of fact, you're turning there, 22:58 let me go ahead and turn there 23:00 because I may want to add more than just one verse to that, 23:03 even though I suggested verse 4. 23:07 All right? 23:08 Okay, here we are. 23:10 2 Corinthians 5:4, 23:12 he says, 23:15 "For we 23:17 who are in this tent..." 23:21 Now what's another word for tent in this verse? 23:23 Body. 23:26 Body, thank you there. 23:27 Body. 23:28 If you're in a tent, he calls it there a tent, 23:32 "We who are in this tent groan, being burdened, 23:37 not because we want to be unclothed, 23:41 but further clothed." 23:44 And you'll find out in just a moment what he means 23:46 because he's still in this term back, clothed, unclothed, 23:50 not clothed, further clothed. 23:52 I'm going to go ahead and tell you what he means 23:54 because this is a text that if you take it by itself 23:57 and just didn't add anything more to it, 23:59 you may come to the conclusion that Paul is saying, 24:01 "Well, do I want to be in this body? 24:03 Do I want to be out of this body?" 24:05 What's the deal here? 24:06 But he goes on to make his point very clear. 24:09 He says, "Not because we want to be unclothed, 24:12 but further closed, that," what is the next word? 24:17 "That mortality maybe swallowed up by..." What? 24:20 Life. "Life." 24:22 Now I'm going to jump ahead of the game 24:23 and come back to that. 24:25 Could I do that? 24:26 I'm going to jump way ahead 24:27 and I'm going to go to a passage 24:29 that does not appear on our syllabus 24:31 and it's not there intentionally 24:33 because it's dealing 24:34 with the topic of the resurrection. 24:37 But I have to dive all the way down there 24:39 so that you can understand what Paul means 24:41 when he says that 24:43 "Mortality maybe swallowed up by life." 24:48 So let me ask you the two words, 24:50 he's looking forward to life, right? 24:53 But he wants mortality to be swallowed up by life. 24:57 So let's get this now. 24:58 Life, this is life, this is mortality, 25:02 life comes along and swallows mortality. 25:07 So what no longer exists? 25:09 Somebody tell me. 25:12 You can say it. 25:13 If life swallows up mortality, what's left? 25:17 Life. 25:18 Life. 25:20 What's not left? 25:22 Mortality. 25:23 Mortality gets swallowed up with something else. 25:26 So mortality in other words is replaced. 25:30 Okay, now go to 1 Corinthians Chapter 15. 25:33 Mortality is replaced 25:35 and the reason I ask you for the word... 25:37 What does the word tent mean 25:39 is because the entire chapter of 1 Corinthians 15 25:44 deals with this tent and deals with the very thing 25:49 that's going to swallow up morality. 25:52 Now I'm going to jump to these last verses, 25:54 and let's go ahead and look at 1 Corinthians Chapter 15, 25:58 and let's go ahead and go down to... 26:03 verse 53. 26:05 I want to leave some of the other for later on 26:08 because after we understand 26:10 what happens when a person dies, 26:12 then we are going to deal 26:13 with why there needs to be a resurrection. 26:16 All right? 26:17 But verse 53 of 1 Corinthians Chapter 15, 26:21 "But for this corruptible must put on incorruption, 26:25 and this, " say it with me, "mortal must put on..." What? 26:30 "Immortality." 26:33 "So when this corruptible has put on incorruption 26:38 and this mortal has put on immortality, 26:43 then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, 26:47 Death is..." What? 26:49 Swallowed. 26:50 "Swallowed up in..." What? 26:53 "Victory." 26:55 Now if you remember now, 26:56 you got to get your hats on now, 26:57 you got your hats on? 26:59 When we read 2 Corinthians 5:4, 27:02 there are two other words that are there, 27:03 not only is mortality 27:06 but Paul uses the word "swallowed" 27:08 in both of these verses. 27:10 Mortality swallowed up by a life and here, 27:15 death swallowed up by victory. 27:18 Okay, we got to get something here. 27:20 Are you ready? This is huge. 27:22 Call your friends, this is huge. 27:25 Are you ready? 27:26 Now mortality is compared to death. 27:30 Because mortality 27:32 is going to be swallowed up by life 27:34 and death is going to be swallowed up by victory. 27:38 Did you get that? 27:40 So mortality is equated to death. 27:45 If you're mortal, you're going to die. 27:48 Can I get an amen? Amen. 27:50 Everybody that's mortal has died. 27:52 Okay, we're still alive, 27:55 but if you're more than 120 years old, 27:57 I don't know of anybody... 27:58 If there's somebody older than 120 watching this program, 28:01 please, let me know. 28:03 I don't want to offend anybody. 28:05 But chances are in a 120 years, 28:07 almost everybody on this planet, 28:09 if the Lord doesn't come, will be dead. 28:11 That's a fact. 28:14 So what has happened, the reason why they're dead 28:15 is because 28:16 the only thing that mortality can give you is death. 28:21 But when life comes, victory comes. 28:23 Amen? 28:25 So what kind of life do you get? 28:27 What kind of life do you get? 28:30 Say it, Dan. 28:32 You get eternal life. 28:34 John 3:16, come on, let's say it together, 28:36 "For God so loved the world, 28:39 that He gave His only begotten Son, 28:42 that whosoever believeth in Him shall not perish, 28:46 but have everlasting life." 28:50 So therefore, if death is swallowed up by victory, 28:55 then mortality is swallowed up by everlasting life 28:59 not just life because if it was just swallowed up by life, 29:02 it'd be the very same thing 29:03 because we all have life right now. 29:04 Right? 29:06 But what kind of life do we have right now? 29:07 We have mortal life. 29:08 But what kind of life did Paul say 29:10 we're going to have in 1 Corinthians 15:53-54? 29:14 What kind of life are we going to have? 29:16 Immortal life. 29:19 Amen? Amen. 29:20 We don't have it yet. 29:22 And when are we going to have it? 29:23 Now let's go back to verse 52, 29:25 matter of fact, go to verse 51. 29:28 I know you're going to remember this 29:29 when I come back 29:30 but I need to go over this pavement twice, 29:33 need to go over this pavement twice. 29:35 Verse 51 of 1 Corinthians Chapter 15, 29:38 "Behold, I show you or tell you a mystery, 29:41 we shall not all sleep, but we shall all be..." What? 29:44 "Changed." 29:45 We're going to change from what? 29:47 Verse 52. 29:48 When are we going to change is the first question. 29:50 "In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the..." What? 29:55 "At the last trump or last trumpet, 29:59 for the trumpet will sound 30:01 and the dead will be raised incorruptible, 30:05 and we shall be..." What? 30:06 "Changed." 30:07 Now let me also add something here, 30:09 incorruptible, and death, and mortality are brothers. 30:14 Sorry, corruptible, corruptible, mortality, 30:19 and death are brothers. 30:20 I just said incorruptible, right? 30:22 Corruptible, mortality, and death are brothers. 30:26 Let me go ahead and add this together. 30:29 What does corruptible mean? 30:31 That means we get to a peak in life 30:33 and then we start dying. 30:35 Life is like a cycle, it's like a wave, a sine wave. 30:39 But it doesn't keep growing like this, 30:41 it just goes like this, 30:43 and then it starts going like this. 30:45 In other words, we all have a peak in the world 30:48 at some point in our lives, 30:50 and then we all start heading down the sliding board, 30:52 and at the end of the siding board, 30:53 there's a big old hole, six feet deep. 30:56 It's called a grave. 30:58 Grave. 30:59 And we don't know when that's going to be 31:01 because we don't know when our death date is, 31:03 you know, like my good friend Richard Ofield, 31:05 He says, "I know when I'm going to die, 2000... 31:10 I can't see the last two numbers." 31:12 We're all going to die. 31:14 We're all going to die. It's a sad, sad truth. 31:18 That's why we all need Jesus, right? 31:19 Amen. 31:21 Because He said, Paul... 31:22 I mean, Peter said, 31:23 he is not willing that any should perish, and John, 31:28 "Whosoever believeth in Him should not perish." 31:31 He is not willing for us to perish 31:32 and John said, "If you believe in Him, 31:34 you won't perish. 31:36 You'll go from mortal..." To what? 31:38 "Immortal, from corruptible to..." What? 31:41 "Incorruptible," which means... 31:43 What does corruptible mean? 31:44 Well, you know what corruptible means. 31:45 There was a time I didn't need contact lenses 31:48 but I need it now, why? 31:50 Because my eyes are corruptible. 31:52 That means they're getting bad. 31:56 And I'll leave it right there. 31:58 Every one of us has something that reminds us 32:01 that the grave is closer. 32:02 You know, what they say in life, 32:04 you know, when you're a teenager, 32:06 you think that you've got all the gusto, 32:08 you've about to rear up, and everything is ahead of you. 32:11 When you hit 20, you're even more excited. 32:14 When you hit 30, 32:15 you start diving in your career. 32:17 When you hit 40, 32:18 you are spending money like a nut. 32:21 When you hit... 32:22 You get into your 50s you start slowing down 32:24 because you realize you have so much possessions. 32:26 They say, "When you hit 60s 32:27 you start thinking about a giving step away." 32:30 And if by God's chance you make 70, 32:31 you start thinking of your legacy, 32:33 what am I going to leave behind. 32:35 If you make it pass that, to God be the glory 32:37 because He says man's life span is what? 32:39 Threescore and 10. 32:42 It's amazing how that works. 32:44 We've got this up and down cycle. 32:46 For people that don't want to believe that, 32:48 they all face a midlife crisis. 32:50 That's the fact. 32:52 They don't want to go down that road. 32:53 So you have some guys that are getting to the point 32:55 where they realize, "I'm at the top of my..." 32:57 "I'm way past my peak and I'm on my way down 33:00 but I don't want to look like it." 33:02 So they go out, you know, way before, 33:05 way past their youthful years and they start dressing like 33:07 they're young men. 33:08 Yeah. 33:10 They start hanging around with way young people 33:11 than they should be hanging around 33:13 and start doing things that their bodies cannot handle. 33:15 That's a midlife crisis. 33:17 We've got to come to the realization 33:18 that if you want life, 33:20 you've got to get eternal life from Jesus. 33:21 Amen? Amen. 33:23 It doesn't come from us, it comes from the Lord. 33:26 Now so let's go back to question number four, 33:29 what did Paul the Apostle describe 33:30 as man's constant yearning? 33:32 His constant yearning is that 33:34 mortality may be swallowed up by life. 33:38 His constant yearning is to be immortal. 33:42 To be immortal. 33:44 People are... 33:46 One person, I remember one person said that... 33:54 Asked the question whether or not 33:56 he would like to live forever 33:58 and he said, 33:59 "Only if all my friends could also live forever 34:03 because," he said, "If I am the only one 34:05 that can live forever, 34:07 I'll be watching people die my whole life." 34:12 But the beauty of heaven is we're going to all have 34:14 eternal life together. 34:16 Amen? Amen. 34:17 But if you're faithful, if you're faithful, 34:20 one day this mortal body 34:22 will be replaced with one that's perfect, 34:24 no more signs of death. 34:27 Would not be able to be corruptible, 34:29 in other words, hair won't be falling out, turning gray, 34:32 our joints won't be hurting, our back won't be aching. 34:35 When I was a young man, nothing hurt. 34:38 Now everything hurts. 34:39 We all know what we're talking about, right? 34:41 But, you know, sometimes we get in denial, 34:43 we say, "Well, I just twisted my knee." 34:45 That's a good excuse, but one day you discover, 34:48 you twist your knee all the time 34:49 because it's always hurting. 34:51 That's the fact of the matter is the death... 34:53 The death knell is getting a lot closer. 34:55 So let's all make sure that if you start feeling pain 34:58 that shouldn't be there, 34:59 you better become acquainted with Jesus. 35:01 That's your only hope. Amen. 35:03 But even the young 35:05 because you can never tell when that day will come. 35:07 Okay, now question number five. 35:09 Question number five. 35:11 What reward will the Lord give to the righteous 35:14 when He returns? 35:16 What reward will the Lord give to the righteous 35:19 when He returns? 35:20 Romans 2:7. 35:22 You know, we don't often see this verse. 35:24 It's a powerful verse, 35:26 nestled away in the Book of Romans. 35:28 We don't often turn to Romans to look for eternal life. 35:32 That is... 35:33 But there's a beautiful passage here 35:35 that I want to introduce you to, 35:36 if you haven't found it before. 35:38 Romans Chapter 2 35:39 and we're going to look together 35:41 at verse 7. 35:43 Romans 2:7. 35:45 And I want to kind of go back and start with verse 4 35:49 because if you start with verse 7, 35:51 you kind of don't get the context. 35:53 We want to get the context, right? 35:55 Okay, let's look at verse 4. 36:02 "Or do you despise the riches of his goodness, 36:05 forbearance, and long suffering, 36:07 not knowing that the goodness of God 36:09 lead you to do..." What? 36:11 "To repentance. 36:12 But in accordance with your hardness 36:14 and your impenitent heart, 36:17 you are treasuring up for yourselves wrath, 36:20 in the day of wrath and revelation 36:23 of the righteous judgment of God." 36:25 He's saying, 36:26 "If you're not getting your act together, 36:28 then you've got a bad future ahead of you." 36:31 Now notice what he says, 36:33 this is where the rewards come in, 36:35 "Who will render to each one according to his deeds." 36:39 Now here's where our answer comes in. 36:41 Once again, the question, what reward will Lord 36:42 give to the righteous when He returns? 36:45 Here it is, on the screen, it says, 36:47 "Eternal life to those who by..." What? 36:51 By patient... 36:52 "By patient continuance in doing good, " 36:57 notice what they are seeking for, 36:58 you got to get... 36:59 They see for three things, they seek for what? 37:02 "Glory," what else? 37:04 "Honor," and what else? 37:05 "Immortality." 37:06 That's beautiful. 37:08 Now if they had it, they wouldn't seek for it. 37:12 Now why do they seek for glory? 37:14 Because when we are forgiven, we get justification. 37:17 As we grow as Christians, we get sanctification. 37:21 But when we are made perfect, we get glorification. 37:24 So they are seeking for it because they don't have it. 37:28 Now why are they seeking for honor? 37:31 Wow. 37:32 You may... 37:34 Well, why are they seeking for honor? 37:36 Some people will say, "Well, you know, 37:37 you go to court and say Your Honor." 37:39 That's not the honor that they are seeking for. 37:42 Or when somebody maybe honored for a good deed, 37:44 that's not the honor Paul is talking about. 37:47 Okay, we now, we know what the glory is, right? 37:49 That's glorification. 37:51 We know what the immortality is but why the honor? 37:53 Go once again, back with me to 1 Corinthians Chapter 15. 37:57 And here's the answer to number five, 37:59 what reward will the Lord give to the righteous 38:01 when He returns, 38:02 the answer we're looking for is immortality. 38:04 Because that's what they're seeking, 38:06 they are seeking immortality. 38:09 When He returns, that's exactly what He's going to give. 38:12 And what you want to get is the context. 38:14 What you want to get is the context. 38:17 And it says in verse 6, "Who will render 38:20 to each one according to his deeds." 38:22 Now I told you to go to 1 Corinthians 15, didn't I? 38:25 Hold it there, 38:26 put a piece of paper right there, 38:28 but I want to break this down in context 38:29 because, you know what, 38:31 it says, "Who will render to each one 38:33 according to his deeds." 38:35 We want to first get that answer. 38:36 All right? 38:38 Go to Revelation Chapter 22. 38:40 Because the question is... 38:41 And I want to make it clear, I want this topic to be 38:43 abundantly clear. 38:45 Some people may get you to believe 38:47 that you get your reward when you die. 38:49 No, your reward is set but you don't get it yet. 38:53 Right? 38:55 Your reward is set, 38:56 it's determined but you don't get it yet. 38:58 When do you get it? 39:00 All right, when do you get it, Revelation Chapter 22. 39:04 Okay. 39:06 And we're going to look together at verse 12. 39:10 All right? 39:13 It's so wonderful 39:15 when you can connect the scriptures together. 39:17 Revelation 22: 12, the Bible says, 39:20 "And, behold, I am coming..." 39:21 How? 39:22 "Quickly, and my reward is..." Where? 39:25 "With me to give to everyone according to his..." What? 39:29 "Work." 39:30 So when do we get that? 39:31 When He what? 39:33 When He comes. 39:34 The second coming of Christ is when the rewards are given out. 39:37 So if you look back at Romans 2, verse... 39:39 down to verse 7, eternal life to those... 39:44 Well, verse 6, "Who will render to each one 39:46 according to his deeds." 39:48 You want to ask the question, 39:49 when does that reward get given out? 39:52 When He comes. Why? 39:54 This is powerful, 39:55 because His reward is not given to you when you die 39:58 but His reward is with him. 40:00 His reward is with him. 40:03 So if somebody is coming to your house to bring a gift, 40:06 the reward is with them. 40:09 You get the reward when they arrive. 40:12 We get the reward when Jesus arrives. 40:15 What am I saying, 40:17 we don't get immortality until He arrives, 40:20 that's why that trumpet is going to sound. 40:22 That's why the trumpet sounds, the trumpet sounds His return, 40:26 all right? 40:27 Now 1 Corinthians 15, 40:29 I told you we're going to find out 40:31 about this honor thing. 40:32 In that we are going to find out? 40:35 Yes. 40:36 Okay. 40:38 Just want to make sure you with me. 40:40 1 Corinthians 15. 40:42 And we're going to look at... 40:49 Okay, here it is. 40:51 1 Corinthians 15. 40:53 Let's go ahead and look at these different kinds of bodies 40:57 the two bodies, this is such a wonderful thing. 41:00 Okay. 41:02 Let's go... 41:03 Okay, verse 42. 41:09 And this is where you see the combination, 41:11 you're going to see... 41:13 Now look up at me real quickly, look up, look up 41:15 because you're reading ahead, 41:16 you're going to see glory, and you're going to see honor, 41:19 all right? 41:20 Let's look at this. 41:21 Verse 42 is where we're going to start. 41:23 "So also in the resurrection of the dead..." 41:26 In the what? 41:27 "In the resurrection of the dead. 41:30 The body is sown in corruption, it is raised..." 41:33 In what? 41:34 "In corruption, it is sown in..." 41:37 Next word, 41:39 "dishonor, it is raised..." In what? 41:42 "Glory, it is sown..." In what? 41:44 "Weakness, it is raised..." In what? 41:46 "Power." 41:47 So Paul is saying this glory and honor are synonymous 41:53 because right now it is sown in dishonor. 41:55 Now let's go ahead and put this together. 41:57 I want to try to get this clear without messing up. 41:59 Right now we are corruptible, right now we are mortal, 42:04 right now we have dishonor. 42:09 This is not as anybody would say... 42:14 Well, let me just put this together, 42:15 as somebody would say, 42:17 "I did not accept Jesus just to stay this way, 42:21 this is not, this should not be the end of the story, 42:25 there's got to be something better that's coming." 42:27 So Paul is in essence saying, here the verse we just read, 42:30 "It is sown in dishonor." 42:32 What is the sowing mean? 42:33 That's just the way our bodies are. 42:35 Sown means that's how it begins. 42:38 But when it's all over that is in the resurrection, 42:41 when we are given the new body, it is going to be what? 42:44 Glorious. 42:46 And we'll find out in just a moment 42:47 what that all means, all right? 42:49 Okay, now let's go back to question number six. 42:52 So the answer that you put for question number five, 42:55 what reward will the Lord give to the righteous 42:59 when He returns? 43:00 And He'll give them what? 43:01 Immortality. 43:03 Well, we spent some time. 43:05 And now let's go to question six now, 43:06 here it is. 43:08 Question number six. 43:12 What happens to a man at the time of his death? 43:16 And the word man, it's talking about mankind, 43:18 it's not a gender 43:20 but a mankind, that is humanity. 43:22 What happens to humanity at the time of death? 43:25 And we're going to turn to Ecclesiastes 12:7. 43:30 I want to go ahead and deal with a difficult passage, 43:33 Ecclesiastes 12:7. 43:36 I sat down with the pastor, one time, 43:38 and he prided himself in pulling out the text that, 43:44 "If you leave them by themselves, 43:45 they could build a whole new doctrine." 43:47 But thank the Lord 43:49 there are 66 books in the Bible, right? 43:51 Right, Dan? Not just one. 43:52 So we're going to build the foundation. 43:54 If you left it all by itself, you may say, 43:57 "Ha! Gotcha." 44:00 But no, it's not by itself. 44:02 All right? 44:04 Where did I say to turn to? Ecclesiastes. 44:05 I knew it. 44:06 So why am I in the Book of Psalms? 44:08 Here I am. 44:10 Okay, here we go. 44:11 Okay, here, Ecclesiastes 12. 44:13 What? Ecclesiastes 12:7. 44:15 What happens to man at the time of death? 44:18 Ecclesiastes 12:7, the Bible says, 44:21 "Then the dust will return to the earth 44:27 as it was, 44:28 and the spirit will return to," who? 44:31 "God who gave it. 44:34 Okay, now where does the dust go? 44:38 What is the dust? 44:41 Okay, I just heard somebody say, 44:43 the dust is our... 44:44 Body. The body. 44:45 So the body goes, back to what? 44:47 Back to the earth. 44:48 Thus you get that phrase from dust thou art 44:52 unto dust thou shall return. 44:56 This is really powerful 44:57 because if you don't put this together, 45:00 you get a distorted understanding 45:02 where we end up. 45:05 Then the dust will, what's the next word? 45:09 Then the dust will, what's the next word? 45:11 Say return with me everybody, return. 45:13 So okay, the dust is going back to where it came from. 45:19 Now let's go to the rest of it now, 45:21 "It's going back to the earth, 45:24 and the spirit will return..." 45:27 You see the word in this verse twice return, return, 45:31 the spirit returns to God the dust returns to the earth. 45:35 Now before I give you the rest of this, 45:37 I want you write this down. 45:39 What happens to man at the time of death? 45:41 Dust goes to the earth, spirit returns, 45:44 dust returns, spirit returns. 45:47 So now what we have is 45:48 a reversing of creation process, right, 45:51 because the dust came from the ground 45:53 but where did the spirit come from? 45:55 God. 45:57 Okay, okay. 45:58 How did it come from God? 46:01 He breathed it. 46:02 He breathed it. Say it again, Glenn. 46:04 He did... 46:06 He breathed it. He breathed it. 46:07 Now this is why this is so vitally important. 46:10 If the spirit here represented man, 46:14 then man would be going back to where he came from. 46:19 This is really huge, 46:21 this would be teaching that man came from heaven, 46:24 so man is going back to heaven 46:26 but it didn't say man it said spirit, all right? 46:31 Now let's get this clearly, 46:33 we talked about in the beginning, the dust, 46:36 plus the breath of life equals a living being, 46:39 a living soul. 46:41 So now when you separate them, is there anything living? 46:43 Yes or no? No. 46:45 No, nothing's living. 46:46 There is no living human being that's existing now. 46:50 But we must answer the question. 46:52 What actually went back? 46:54 Let's go ahead and go to Psalms 146. 46:58 Psalms 146. 47:03 Spirit goes back to God, dust goes back to the earth. 47:08 We've got the separation of life. 47:10 Okay, Psalms 146. 47:14 And we're going to look again. 47:16 We're going to make the Bible teach us, all right? 47:20 Okay. Okay. 47:22 Now this passage is going to give us clarification, 47:27 this passage is going to give us clarification. 47:29 This passage is now going to add 47:32 what Ecclesiastes 12:7 did not add. 47:38 This passage is now going to give us some specifics. 47:41 All right, let's go now and see what it says, 47:45 "His spirit departs..." 47:48 verse 4, "His spirit departs." 47:51 All right? 47:53 But where does he go? 47:55 He returns to his earth, 47:58 he all of a sudden a gender is now included, he. 48:02 Why he 48:03 because Adam was the first one that God created. 48:05 When Adam died, where did Adam go back to? 48:08 Adam returned to, what? 48:10 His earth. 48:12 Adam didn't return to heaven 48:13 because Adam didn't come from heaven. 48:17 Is it clear? 48:18 Adam returned to the earth. 48:21 How did Ecclesiastes said, "He went back to dust." 48:25 That's what the word corruptible mean 48:28 in 1 Corinthians 15. 48:30 That's why when Jesus 48:32 was in the grave for only three days, 48:34 the Bible says, 48:35 "His father did not allow Him to seek corruption." 48:40 He didn't start to decay 48:42 so when the body goes back to the earth, 48:44 one thing, "His spirit departs, 48:46 He returns to His earth in that very day," His what, 48:50 "His plans perish." 48:52 Which means now what's not functioning? 48:55 If his plans perish, what's not functioning? 48:57 I'm pointing at it, somebody tell me, 48:59 what's not functioning? 49:01 His brain is not functioning. 49:02 If his plans stop when he dies, 49:05 then his brain is ceasing to function. 49:08 The only way his plans will continue 49:10 is if there's somebody to carry out those plans, 49:12 right? 49:14 But now we got to answer the question. 49:15 The word spirit came up twice, 49:19 the word spirit came up twice, 49:21 and we got to find out what that is. 49:23 Okay, now let's go to one more passage. 49:26 Go to question number seven, question number seven. 49:32 And we're going to find out what this spirit is all about. 49:34 So far, we've discovered that man returns to the earth. 49:38 And what does that mean? 49:39 He goes back to dust. 49:40 But both times we found out that this spirit departs, 49:44 the spirit not only departs, the spirit returns to God. 49:48 If it returns to God, 49:49 whatever returns to me, came from me, am I right? 49:54 So if it returns to me, I am the source of it 49:58 that's where it came from. 50:00 If it returns to me, it came from me. 50:04 Okay, I just want to make it clear. 50:06 Now how does the Bible describe the spirit that returns to God, 50:11 Job 27:3. 50:14 And by the way, 50:15 this one is best described in the King James Version. 50:19 This one is best described in the King James Version. 50:23 The New King James does a good job, 50:25 but it uses the word, it uses the same word twice. 50:28 When, in fact, 50:30 it's a slight difference in the Hebrew. 50:32 Here we go. 50:34 Let's read this together, "All the while my," what? 50:38 "Breath is in me, 50:40 and the Spirit of God is," where? 50:42 "In my nostrils." 50:44 Now in the New King James Version, it says, 50:47 "And the breath of God is in my nostrils." 50:49 Well, the breath of God, and the Spirit of God 50:51 are the same thing, 50:54 are the same thing. 50:56 So how did the Spirit of God get in my nostrils, 50:59 someone tell me? 51:02 He breathed it there, right? 51:05 Like some parents, I've seen some parents do this 51:07 and it's kind of a grose illustration, 51:08 but I think it fits right here, 51:11 I've seen a mother do this. 51:14 Sometimes the baby is having a hard time breathing, 51:16 and the mother will put her hand on her mouth 51:19 over the baby's nose and try to gentle breaths 51:23 in the nostrils of the baby to help the baby breathe, 51:25 maybe to clear up something 51:27 that may be obstructing the passageways. 51:31 But the mother could never give a life to the baby. 51:34 When you go back to Genesis 2:7, 51:37 and then you compare Genesis 2:7 to Job 27:3, 51:40 you find, "Okay, I get it now." 51:43 Man was just a pile of dust until God breathed into him. 51:47 Now when that breath that when man is dead, 51:51 that breath is no longer functioning 51:54 and it returns to who? 51:55 To God. 51:56 That's where it came from. 51:58 What does that mean? 51:59 God is the only source of life, right? 52:04 Didn't John say that in John chapter? 52:05 In Him was life... 52:07 "In Him is life, unborrowed, underived." 52:12 He doesn't borrow that life from anybody else, okay? 52:15 So now let's answer the question. 52:17 Onto question number seven. 52:18 How does the Bible describe the spirit that returns to God? 52:22 It is the breath of life, the breath of life. 52:27 When man doesn't have the breath of life, 52:30 what condition is he in? 52:32 It starts with the letter D, ends with letter D. 52:35 What is it? Dead. 52:38 And I've heard people say in a very kind of, 52:40 matter of fact, way, "He is dead as a doornail." 52:45 That means last hit on the head, 52:47 dead as a doornail, 52:48 doornails doesn't move because it's a doornail. 52:53 When you drive it in, right, Mike? 52:55 It's going to stay there 52:56 because it's dead as a doornail. 52:58 When a person dies... 53:03 We are as dead as a doornail 53:05 until the Life Giver comes back. 53:07 Amen. 53:10 There's no party going on anywhere, 53:14 the party's over, 53:16 there is no people not down looking at their watch, 53:20 "Man, I wonder, 53:21 how long it's going to be before He gets back, 53:22 I'm kind of hot down here." 53:25 There's no burning hell. 53:26 We can even talk about that. 53:28 There's no body in heaven wondering, 53:31 looking down at his daughter or mother 53:33 looking down at her son, and I'm so glad for that. 53:36 I'm so glad there's no divine periscope 53:39 that people are looking up from the grave, 53:41 there's no divine telescope 53:43 that people looking down from heaven 53:44 but that's what people teach in society. 53:48 You know, how awful it would be. 53:49 Let me go and put a scenario together. 53:51 You know, how awful it would be 53:52 if a mom and her daughter are on their way home 53:57 and a car accident occurs, 54:00 and the mother dies, and the daughter lives 54:02 and somebody says, somebody says, 54:07 "Your mother is looking down on you now. 54:10 And the reason why your mother is in heaven is 54:13 because God needed an angel, so God took your mother." 54:17 Would that young girl love God? 54:21 If God steps in the midst of the joy 54:23 of a young girl's life and snatches her mother away, 54:27 that's just like kind of robbing a soul. 54:29 One of the reasons why he became an atheist. 54:33 It's because he believes God to be an unjust tyrant, 54:38 one that tortures babies as his father taught him, 54:40 one that tortures babies 54:42 throughout the ceaseless ages of eternity, 54:45 one that snatches families apart, 54:47 rips the child out of the arms of the mother, 54:50 rips the mother out of the arms of the child 54:52 and that's an unfortunate thing. 54:54 But no, the beauty of the story is when death comes, 54:56 we are all sleeping, waiting for Jesus to come. 54:58 Amen? Amen. 55:00 Let's go ahead and get the facts 55:01 about this Genesis 7:22, 55:04 which leads us to question number eight. 55:06 I think that's about maybe 55:07 what we're going to get tonight. 55:08 Question number eight, 55:10 how does the Bible describe those 55:11 that perished in the flood? 55:13 Just to make it clear, 55:14 you know, when you read the Bible, 55:16 the Bible is a book that would not leave you confused, 55:19 it always clears up the confusion. 55:22 Genesis 7, let's go there very quickly 55:25 and verse 22. 55:27 Genesis 7, and what verse, 22. 55:31 Let's look at that. Here it is. 55:33 Genesis 7:22. 55:35 And the answer is... 55:38 And it says, "All in whose nostrils..." 55:44 I left that slide out. 55:45 "All in whose nostrils 55:48 was the breath of the, spirit of life 55:53 all that was on the dry land..." 55:55 They did what? 55:57 "They died." 55:58 So now where was the breath of life very quickly? 56:02 Where was the breath of life? 56:04 In their nostrils. 56:05 So now you get it. 56:07 So when we read Ecclesiastes 2:7, 56:10 Psalms 146:4, Job 27:3, 56:14 it all lead to Genesis 7:22. 56:16 Everyone that died, it says, 56:19 "In whose nostrils 56:21 was the breath of the spirit of life, 56:24 all that was on the dry land died," why? 56:27 Because the breath of life was no longer there. 56:31 Thus you get the word was, 56:34 all in whose nostrils was. 56:37 That means it's no longer there. 56:38 Amen? 56:40 That's what happened in the flood. 56:41 Anybody who was outside the ark, 56:43 did not survive the flood 56:46 because the breath of life 56:47 was taken from them, they all died. 56:49 And how did they die? 56:51 Somebody tell me, how did they die? 56:53 How did they die? 56:54 If they died in the flood, how did they die? 56:56 They drowned. 56:57 That's the unfortunate demise of the Antediluvians. 57:01 So here, I want to summarize, 57:02 so I don't run away from myself. 57:04 What we learned tonight is simply this. 57:07 When God created man, 57:09 God formed him from the dust of the ground, 57:12 God breathed into his nostrils, the breath of life, 57:15 and then man came to life. 57:17 The other thing we discovered 57:18 is man was not given an immortal soul, 57:22 man was given, man became a living soul, 57:26 the only one that has immortality is God. 57:29 But we also discovered in the Bible 1 Corinthians 15 57:33 that one day this mortal will put on, what? 57:37 Immortality. 57:38 One day we will all be mortal but when does it happen? 57:41 At the last trumpet, the trumpet will sound, 57:45 and then the changes are going to take place 57:47 from mortal to immortal. 57:49 So, my friends, the most important thing is 57:52 that you know the Lord. 57:54 If you know the Lord, 57:55 you will know the truth about the truth, 57:57 and the truth will never discourage you, 57:59 so continue studying 58:00 and it will become a Sharper Focus. 58:03 God bless you. 58:04 Let us pray. |
Revised 2018-11-26