Participants: Pr. John Lomacang
Series Code: ASHF
Program Code: ASHF000064
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00:22 Good evening, friends,
00:24 and welcome to another Wednesday Night 00:25 Bible Study here at A Sharper Focus 00:27 at the 3ABN Worship Center. 00:29 We have a wonderful group here tonight. 00:31 They want to welcome you all with a hearty amen. 00:33 Can we do that? Amen. 00:35 And we are saying welcome to you 00:37 from Southern Illinois. 00:39 You may be joining us from Africa, 00:41 from California if you are. 00:42 We have a regular viewer today, 00:43 I want to say hello to Andy Johnson 00:45 who views every week faithfully, 00:47 and we are so glad 00:48 that you take the time to tune in. 00:50 Others who have done so and send us emails, 00:53 thank you for those of you in Australia, 00:54 and wherever you may be joining us from, 00:56 get your Bibles, 00:57 sit down for the next hour with us 00:59 as we study a very important topic 01:01 "The Truth about the Resurrection." 01:03 A lot is being said about the resurrection 01:05 that is not true. 01:07 We need to set the record straight tonight. 01:08 So join us for a very thought provoking 01:11 and exhilarating spirit. 01:12 Let's study in God's Word tonight. 01:14 But before we do anything, 01:15 before we even sing our theme song, 01:16 let's pray together. 01:18 Our Heavenly Father, 01:19 we thank You for Your goodness to us, 01:21 for Your strength, for Your mercy. 01:23 We pray tonight, Lord, 01:24 as we open the Word that we will open our hearts. 01:27 Come and speak to us, 01:29 may Your Word become clearer to us than before 01:33 and made the connection that can only happen 01:36 through the work of Your Holy Spirit, 01:37 take place in our hearts and in our lives, 01:41 in Jesus' name we pray. 01:43 Amen. 01:44 Now before we sing our song. 01:45 If you like a copy of our lesson, 01:47 lesson number 20, 01:49 can you imagine we've done 20 lessons already, 01:52 but obviously we've been doing this more than 20 weeks, 01:55 go to this website asf.3abn.org 02:00 and download the lesson entitled 02:02 "The Truth about the Resurrection." 02:04 That is asf.3abn.org, 02:06 don't put www, download that and follow us along. 02:11 And if you want to record the program 02:13 to share with somebody, go ahead 02:14 and hit the record button right now. 02:16 But it's time for us to sing our theme song. 02:18 Are you ready to sing? 02:19 Are you ready to sing? Yes. 02:21 Let's sing our theme song together tonight 02:22 "Victory in Jesus." 02:31 I heard an old, old story 02:35 How the Savior came from glory 02:39 How He gave His life on Calvary 02:43 To save a wretch like me 02:46 I heard about His groaning 02:50 Of His precious blood's atoning 02:54 Then I repented of my sins 02:58 And won the victory 03:02 O victory in Jesus 03:05 My Savior, forever 03:09 He sought me and bought me 03:13 With His redeeming blood 03:17 He loved me ere I knew Him 03:20 And all my love is due Him 03:24 He plunged me to victory 03:28 Beneath the cleansing flood 03:32 I heard about a mansion 03:35 He has built for me in glory 03:39 And I heard about the streets of gold 03:43 Beyond the crystal sea 03:47 About the angels singing 03:51 And the old redemption story 03:55 And some sweet day I'll sing up there 03:58 The song of victory Key change. 04:02 O victory in Jesus 04:06 My Savior, forever 04:10 He sought me and bought me 04:13 With His redeeming blood 04:17 He loved me ere I knew Him 04:21 And all my love is due Him 04:25 He plunged me to victory 04:29 Beneath the cleansing flood 04:32 He plunged me to victory 04:36 Beneath the cleansing flood 04:42 Amen. 04:44 That is what the new life is all about, 04:47 being plunged beneath that cleansing flood. 04:51 If you haven't done so, 04:53 if you have not made that 04:54 wonderful commitment of baptism in Christ, 04:56 you're missing out on the greatest opportunity 04:58 to have a new life, a new walk, 05:00 a new vigor of following Jesus Christ 05:02 as your Lord and Savior. 05:04 Once again, if you've just tuned in 05:06 and you want a copy of the lesson, 05:07 the title tonight is 05:09 "The Truth about the Resurrection." 05:11 "The Truth about the Resurrection." 05:13 What does the Bible say about the resurrection? 05:16 If you'd like a copy of that lesson, 05:19 go to this website and download a copy 05:22 asf.3abn.org, 05:25 asf.3abn.org. 05:28 Now one of the reasons 05:29 I'm excited about this study tonight is, 05:31 you know, there's so much has said about the resurrection 05:33 that's not true. 05:35 Matter of fact, to be frank with you, 05:36 it's a lie. 05:37 Can I say the word lie? 05:39 If it's not the truth, it's what? 05:40 Lie. 05:42 It's not a misconception, 05:43 if you are a preacher 05:44 and you're reading the Word of God 05:46 and you're conveying something 05:47 that is not supported by God's Word, 05:49 it's not the truth. 05:51 And so much of what is said about the resurrection... 05:55 Matter of fact, let me even go a step further, 05:57 the resurrection is hardly talked about. 06:00 Have you noticed that? 06:01 It's dead right to heaven. 06:04 There is no resurrection 06:05 in the minds of so many people nowadays. 06:07 People die and go right to heaven. 06:11 There is a kind of an alternate route, 06:13 there is a direct route. 06:15 People don't wait for the coming of the Lord. 06:18 Preachers teach their people in heaven now, 06:20 they say that at funerals. 06:21 "My mom is in heaven now, 06:23 my family members in heaven now, 06:24 that kid that just got hit by the car, 06:26 he's in heaven now." 06:28 And the resurrection has somehow been deleted 06:31 from the pulpits of the world. 06:33 You don't really hear sermons about it. 06:34 Think about that. 06:36 When do you hear about the resurrection? 06:37 You really don't. 06:39 The only time you hear about the resurrection 06:40 is the resurrection of Jesus, and that's around Easter. 06:43 That's it. 06:44 But outside of that, 06:46 we don't talk about the resurrection of the saints. 06:48 I remember receiving a book a number of years ago from a... 06:51 I won't mention the denomination, 06:53 but I was really energetic and enthusiastic 06:55 when I was a young man, 06:57 I was kind of like a real New York. 07:03 You know what that means? 07:04 I was kind of like in your face. 07:05 I knew the truth, and I want you to know it now. 07:09 And I was kind of pushy 07:13 with communicating this to somebody years ago, 07:15 and I received a book from a pastor, 07:18 different denomination, and I was wondering, 07:20 you know, "Why don't you talk about the resurrection?" 07:23 And he said, "Well..." 07:25 In the book, it says, 07:27 "Well, the body goes to the grave, 07:29 but the soul goes to heaven, and at the coming of the Lord, 07:33 the soul comes back down to get the body, 07:37 and then the body gets the chance to go." 07:39 And I thought to myself, 07:40 "Well, then how they in heaven?" 07:42 "Well, their soul is in heaven." 07:45 So this sounds terrible. 07:48 The thought just came to me. 07:49 So I guess that's what you call a soul brother. 07:53 See, a soul man. 07:55 This idea that there's a soul in heaven. 07:57 And the Bible doesn't support that at all. 08:00 We've read the text. 08:01 Psalm 146:4, 08:03 "The dead praise not the Lord, 08:05 neither any that go down into silence." 08:06 Psalm 115:17, all those text there, 08:10 "The dead do not praise the Lord, 08:11 neither any that go down into silence." 08:13 And so what we're going to do tonight 08:15 is we are going to go through as many questions as we can. 08:17 We've got 21. 08:18 How many did I say? Twenty-one. 08:21 We've got 21 powerful questions tonight. 08:23 And we're going to go through them together 08:25 methodically, 08:26 beginning with the most important death 08:30 and resurrection of all time. 08:32 And who would that be? 08:33 Somebody tell me? Jesus. 08:34 Okay, let's go to Matthew. 08:36 Sorry, let's go to question number one 08:38 for tonight, 08:39 question number one. 08:41 What message was delivered to Pilate 08:45 about the death of Jesus? 08:47 What message was delivered to Pilate 08:50 about the death of Jesus? 08:53 Let's go to Matthew 27:63. 08:58 The message delivered to Pilate about the death of Jesus 09:00 was a message 09:01 that was communicated to the disciples. 09:04 And it's obvious that this was heard 09:06 by more than just the disciples. 09:09 Where are you? Have you turned to Matthew? 09:11 You guys are fast. 09:12 I didn't hear any pages turning. 09:14 You guys are ahead of me. 09:15 Okay, I'm going there. 09:18 I'm almost there. 09:21 By the way, my wife gave me a good dinner tonight. 09:24 I'm between digestion and preaching. 09:26 So pray for me. It's really good. 09:28 I'm enjoying it all the way through the study. 09:31 But if you look at Matthew Chapter 27, 09:37 I want to look at a couple of things, 09:38 and I want to start with the key verse 09:42 Matthew 27:63. 09:44 And the question is 09:45 what message was delivered to Pilate 09:47 after the death of Jesus? 09:48 Let's go and look at the verse right before verse 63. 09:53 Let's go to verse 62, "On the next day, 09:59 which followed the Day of Preparation..." 10:01 Now let me let me ask a question. 10:03 What is the day that follows a Day of Preparation? 10:06 The Sabbath. 10:07 So now this incident that's going to be revealed 10:11 in the very next verse is happening on the Sabbath. 10:14 Let's go ahead and find out. 10:16 And it says in verse 62, "On the next day, 10:18 which followed the Day of Preparation, 10:20 the chief priests and Pharisees gathered together to Pilate." 10:26 That's shameful. They should be in church. 10:28 What do you think? 10:29 They go on pandering with the Roman officials. 10:33 And why they're doing that, 10:34 they are upset about the death of Jesus. 10:36 They're not upset that He died, 10:39 but they are upset that He even claimed to be Lord. 10:42 Notice what they said. 10:43 Here's where we find our answer, 10:44 saying, "Sir, remember, 10:48 while He was saying sir, we remember..." 10:52 That's right. 10:54 Let me have it on the screen here. 10:55 Thank you, honey. 10:56 "Sir, we remember, while He was still alive, 10:58 how that," what? 11:00 "Deceiver said, 'after three days I will,' 11:03 do what? 11:04 'I will rise.' " 11:06 Now the reason I want to begin with this. 11:07 First of all, I'm not going to pay 11:08 a whole lot of attention to the fact that 11:10 they call Jesus a deceiver. 11:11 They're going to have to answer for that. 11:13 I'm not going to give them any... 11:14 Because the Bible says they will see Him, 11:16 He made an appointment with them, 11:17 when they accused Him, and they said, 11:19 "We adjure You, are You the Son of God?" 11:21 He said, "I am. 11:22 And you will see Me come in the clouds of heaven, 11:25 sitting on the right hand of the Father." 11:26 So there is an appointment to those, for those, 11:29 who persecuted Him, who crucified Him, 11:32 and called Him a deceiver. 11:33 But the point is this, get this, did Jesus die? 11:37 Yes or no? Yes. 11:38 Of course, He did. 11:39 Now the reason I'm beginning with this. 11:43 Who is more worthy to die 11:46 and go right to heaven than Jesus? 11:49 Come on, somebody tell me? 11:50 Who? Nobody. 11:52 But did He go? 11:55 Not when He died. 11:57 He went how many days later? 11:59 After His resurrection, He said to Mary, 12:02 "I haven't gone yet." 12:04 But if there's anyone worthy of going to heaven 12:07 right away after His death, it's who? 12:09 Jesus. 12:10 But notice what the text says. 12:12 Even those who didn't like Him remembered what He said. 12:15 Even those who didn't support Him, 12:17 those who didn't even accept His messiahship, 12:19 knew what He said. 12:21 And He said what? 12:22 "After three days," what? 12:24 "I will rise." 12:26 Which means where was He? 12:27 He was in the grave. 12:29 So here's my point. 12:31 I want to begin tonight by saying this clearly. 12:33 If there is anyone on this earth 12:34 or in any universe that's more worthy to die 12:39 and go right to heaven than Jesus, 12:40 you let us know who that is. 12:42 And then that person 12:43 will instantly become our Savior. 12:46 Amen? Amen. 12:48 You guys don't want to buy into that. 12:50 Why is that answer 12:52 not even something worth of being answered to? 12:54 Because there is no one worthy. 12:56 They said to Him, 12:57 "You are worthy, You alone are worthy." 13:00 But Jesus as worthy as He is did not die 13:04 and go right to heaven. 13:05 Some people try to teach that, 13:07 but matter of fact, they don't even teach that. 13:09 Some people teach that Jesus died 13:12 and went to this spirit prison under earth 13:14 trying to convert people 13:15 that were way back in the time of the flood. 13:17 They don't even teach that Jesus died 13:19 and went to heaven. 13:20 The fact of the matter is Jesus didn't say, 13:21 "I was going to die and go to heaven." 13:23 He said, and we'll find out in just a moment 13:26 about this entire exchange. 13:27 So what question was delivered to Pilate 13:29 after the death of Jesus? 13:31 Write it down. "I will rise." 13:34 Write that down. 13:36 He will rise, after three days, He will rise. 13:41 That was the message delivered to Pilate. 13:43 So even His accusers knew that He was in the tomb. 13:47 Matter of fact, their actions prove that 13:50 they knew where He was 13:51 because they got soldiers together 13:53 to do what? 13:55 Who remembers? 13:56 Okay, say it loudly. Secure the tomb. 13:58 They tried to block the tomb. 14:00 Can you imagine how feeble that must've been? 14:03 I mean, it's like ants trying to keep a car 14:05 from going forward. 14:06 Think about that. 14:08 "Come on, we need more ants, 14:09 he's about to press the gas pedal." 14:11 I mean, really, I'm trying to not be cynical, 14:13 but you cannot stop divinity from doing 14:15 what divinity wants to do. 14:17 Amen? Amen. 14:18 So here they are, they get the tomb secured, 14:20 they try to get as many soldiers 14:22 as they could about 100. 14:24 And all that took was one angel to descend 14:26 and knock them all out, sleeping pill. 14:28 Instantly, that thunderous approach of that angel 14:31 floored them the brightness of His glory just, 14:34 they were like dead men. 14:36 And the point of the matter is 14:38 when the time came for Jesus to come out, 14:40 He came out. What do you say? 14:42 Amen. 14:43 So put it down, they said, 14:45 "After three days, I will rise." 14:47 Now let's go to the next question. 14:50 I'm going to try to cover as many as I can tonight 14:52 because I got 21. 14:54 Wow! 14:55 That's great. 14:57 Okay? 14:59 Let's look at the next one. 15:02 How did Jesus encourage 15:05 the disciples about the fate of their Lord? 15:08 How did Jesus encourage the disciples 15:11 about the fate of their Lord? 15:13 He had to give them encouraging words 15:14 because they knew, matter of fact, 15:16 before He was arrested, He let them know, 15:18 "This is the hour 15:19 that I've come into the world for." 15:21 And there were instances 15:22 where they tried to arrest Jesus, 15:24 and He passed right through the midst of them, 15:25 He was at the edge of a cliff, He disappeared, 15:27 the time for His betrayal, 15:30 when that time came Jesus did not try to get away 15:34 because His hour had come. 15:35 But what did He say? 15:37 Go to Mark 9:31, 15:39 Mark 9:31. 15:43 Okay. 15:45 Mark 9:31, and here it is on the screen, right? 15:49 The answer. 15:50 Speaking of Jesus, 15:52 "For He taught His disciples and said to them, 15:55 'The Son of Man is being," what? 15:57 "Betrayed into the hands of men, 16:00 and they will do," what? 16:01 "Kill him.' " That means I'm going to die. 16:03 "And after He is killed, He will rise," when? 16:08 "The third day.' " 16:10 He will rise when? 16:11 The third day. 16:13 Now what I want you to get here in these two scriptures 16:17 that we just read, 16:19 there is a controversy brewing in the world. 16:22 Some people said Jesus was not supposed to rise 16:25 until after three days. 16:27 But in the words of Jesus, 16:29 He said, "I will rise," the when? 16:30 "The third day." 16:32 There are some churches that believe that 16:34 if Jesus was in the tomb for 72 hours complete, 16:38 then He really was in the tomb for three days. 16:40 But He Jesus Himself says, He will rise the, what day? 16:44 The third day. 16:46 And when you follow the whole inclusive 16:47 reckoning of the Bible, 16:49 any part of that day is including the day. 16:52 The fact of the matter is whether you say 16:54 He rose after the third day. 16:56 If He rose after the third day, what day would He have risen? 17:00 Come on say? The what? 17:02 Four. Four. 17:04 So the Bible didn't say He would rise the fourth day, 17:06 He would rise the third day. 17:07 So He couldn't be in the tomb 72 hours and 1 second. 17:13 Because that would have been the what? 17:14 Fourth day. 17:16 He rose what day? 17:17 The third day. 17:19 So let's put this down, 17:20 what did Jesus encourage His disciples... 17:22 How did He encourage them about the fate of their Lord? 17:24 He said, "He will rise," what? 17:27 "The third day." 17:28 So far we've seen two texts 17:30 directly relating to the Lord Himself, 17:32 He will rise, He will rise. 17:35 He was in the tomb, and the tomb was secured. 17:39 As a matter of fact, go with me to the Book of Luke. 17:41 What book did I say? 17:43 Let's go and just settle something very quickly here. 17:47 The Book of Luke, Luke Chapter 23, all right? 17:52 We talked about the preparation. 17:54 Luke Chapter 23. 17:57 And we're going to go ahead and look 18:00 at verse 52. 18:05 This will serve a good purpose for an upcoming study 18:08 about Luke 23:52. 18:11 And this is talking about Joseph, 18:14 all right? 18:17 Verse 52 of Luke 23, 18:19 "This man went to Pilate 18:20 and asked for the body of Jesus. 18:22 Then he took it down, wrapped it in linen, 18:24 and laid it in a tomb that was hewn out of rock, 18:27 where no one had ever lain before. 18:31 That day was the," what day? 18:33 "The Preparation, 18:35 and the Sabbath drew on or the Sabbath drew near." 18:38 So the day that Jesus 18:39 was taken off the cross was what day? 18:41 Preparation day. 18:42 And what was going to come next? 18:44 The Sabbath. 18:45 All right, let's go on. 18:46 "And the women," verse 55, 18:49 "who had come with Him from Galilee followed after, 18:53 and they observed the tomb and how His body was laid. 18:57 Then they returned," that is they returned home, 19:00 "and prepared spices in fragrant oils. 19:03 And they rested on the," what day? 19:05 "Sabbath according to the," what? 19:06 "Commandment." 19:08 So you have the Preparation day, 19:09 you have the Sabbath, 19:10 and they rested on the Sabbath according to what commandment? 19:12 Somebody tell me which commandment? 19:13 The fourth. 19:15 That's the one that says, 19:16 "Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy, 19:17 don't do any work, rest on that particular day." 19:19 Now let's look at the third one. 19:21 Luke 24:1, 19:22 "Now on the first day of the week." 19:24 What day of the week? 19:25 Say it together. 19:27 "First day of the week, very early in the morning." 19:32 "Very early in the morning, 19:34 they, and certain other women with them, 19:36 came to the tomb bringing the spices, 19:39 which they had prepared. 19:41 But they found the stone rolled away from the tomb, 19:44 and they went in 19:45 and did not find the body of the Lord Jesus." 19:48 So what day did He rise? 19:51 The third day. 19:52 What time of day? 19:54 Early in the morning. 19:55 Let's go ahead and get this together. 19:56 You see, we count time quite differently 19:58 than they do back than they did back then. 20:01 The first thing they had 20:03 or the most reliable thing they had was the sundial. 20:06 Matter of fact, have you heard of... 20:10 In England, by the way, there is the zero hour. 20:15 I don't know 20:16 if it's all the universal time zone is UTC. 20:18 And what's it called? 20:22 Okay, Greenwich Time. 20:24 And when we went to England a few years ago, 20:26 we stood on that. 20:28 We stood right on that, 20:29 and we watched as the sun moved. 20:32 And as the sun moved, the time continued to advance. 20:36 And I'm amazed how they find a spot on the ground 20:39 that is strategically located so accurately 20:42 that as the sun is moving, 20:44 you can look down at your watch, 20:45 and it's accurate. 20:47 They kept time by the movement of the sun. 20:50 Now we have 24 hour day, 20:51 but in fact, it's really 23 hours 20:53 and 56 minutes. 20:55 That's why we get a leap year every now and then 20:56 to make up the time. 20:58 However when the sun set, a new day began, 21:02 when the sun set, the day that you were in ended. 21:06 That's why was called sunset. 21:08 And so when midnight came 21:10 that was the middle of the night, 21:12 the night didn't begin at midnight, 21:13 like we say nowadays at midnight, 21:15 we say happy new year. 21:16 Well, that's about six hours old by then. 21:19 So what happens now, 21:21 they had eight watches in the day, 21:23 each watch was three hours long in the Bible. 21:26 So when you read things like, 21:27 it was the fourth watch of the day, 21:29 it was the third watch of the day, 21:30 it was the first watch of the day. 21:32 For example, when the day of Pentecost came, 21:35 and the disciples began to speak in tongues, 21:38 somebody thought they were drunk, 21:39 but they said, 21:40 it's only the third hour of the day. 21:42 The third hour of the day, which means from 6:00 to 9:00 21:44 so it's about 9 o'clock in the morning 21:46 too early for anybody to be drunk, 21:48 but it was the Holy Spirit. 21:49 So if you look at the Bible, you begin to calculate. 21:51 So now when did Jesus rise? 21:54 He rose very early in the morning. 21:57 That mean as the sun was rising, 21:59 some of the other writers say, 22:00 John says, as the sun began to dawn. 22:03 So He didn't wait till like noon to get up, 22:07 He got up early in the morning. 22:09 Jesus is an early riser. 22:10 Anybody else is an early riser here? 22:13 Jesus got up early in the morning, 22:15 He had work to do. 22:16 Thereby, when we get to the topic 22:17 about the work day, 22:19 Jesus recognized the first day of the week to be a work day, 22:21 "No sense sleeping in, I have work to do." 22:24 That is to finish the plan of redemption. 22:25 Amen? That was extra credit. 22:27 Let's go to number three now. 22:29 Question number three, question number three. 22:32 What did Isaiah the prophet teach about the resurrection? 22:36 What did Isaiah the prophet teach about the resurrection? 22:38 What you're going to find 22:39 as we go through this study is this, 22:41 you're going to find that the Bible is replete. 22:44 That mean, it is filled 22:47 with the teaching of the resurrection. 22:49 It's not something that should be omitted 22:51 from any Christian, any Christian church, 22:54 any Christian pulpit 22:55 because it's a very valuable and viable teaching, 22:59 it's a necessary teaching. 23:01 Matter of fact, without the resurrection, 23:03 we're in trouble. 23:04 If we die without the resurrection, 23:06 life's out, right? 23:08 Permanently, lives are out. 23:10 But what did Isaiah teach? 23:12 Isaiah 26, together to verse 19. 23:15 Isaiah 26. 23:17 What did Isaiah the prophet teach about the resurrection? 23:19 And by the way, 23:20 he's not only teaching about the resurrection, 23:22 but he knows that he's going to eventually die. 23:24 So he's not saying, 23:26 "I'm going to die and go to heaven." 23:27 You're not going to see that theme in the Bible 23:30 any prophet, any apostle, any disciple saying that. 23:34 He is not saying, 23:35 "I'm going to die and go to heaven." 23:37 Notice, what he says. 23:38 Isaiah 26:19, and the Bible says, 23:42 "Your dead shall live." 23:45 That's what Isaiah is saying. 23:46 "Together with," what dead body? 23:48 Whose dead body? Read it. 23:50 "My dead body they shall rise." 23:54 Notice how he said. 23:55 "Together they shall rise. 23:57 Awake and sing, you who dwell in the dust, 24:00 for your dew is like the dew of herbs, 24:03 and the earth shall, " what? 24:06 "Cast out the dead." 24:09 The earth will cast out the dead. 24:11 If you look at that, 24:12 when the earth is casting out the dead, 24:14 what is that called? 24:15 The resurrection. 24:17 The earth is casting out the dead. 24:18 In other words, time to get up, 24:20 time to get out of that dusty grave. 24:23 But what I want you to get here, 24:25 Isaiah not only talked about the resurrection, 24:27 not only talked about the fact 24:28 that he will be in the resurrection, 24:29 but he says, 24:31 "When your family members wake up, I'm going to wake up." 24:34 He used the word together. 24:35 What word did I just say? Together. 24:37 So you find that there is no preeminent resurrection, 24:41 there's nobody going ahead than anybody else. 24:44 There's nobody up there now hanging out saying, 24:47 "Man, I wonder how long it's going to be 24:49 before my friend gets up here." 24:50 No. 24:52 Outside of the ones that Bible talks about, 24:53 and we know who those are, there's nobody going to heaven, 24:55 people not on their way there now, 24:57 people not popping up every second of the day 25:00 flying off to heaven. 25:01 There's a resurrection. 25:02 There's a what? Resurrection. 25:04 That's why we have that. 25:06 So put the answer down. 25:07 What did Isaiah the prophet teach about the resurrection? 25:09 "We will rise together. 25:11 We will rise together, together with my dead body 25:15 they shall rise." 25:17 We will all rise together. 25:21 That's really important. 25:23 It's just... 25:24 When I was finishing up this lesson today, 25:27 I was sitting there, and I was saying, "Thank You, God. 25:30 Thank You, Lord, for the truth of Your Word. 25:33 Thank You that we don't have to guess. 25:35 Thank You that Your Word is clear." 25:38 Can I get an amen? Amen. 25:40 I mean, God's Word is clear. 25:42 It just frustrates me somehow 25:45 that people are so unwilling to tell the truth 25:50 which just really frustrates me. 25:52 I asked a television station, 25:54 who wants to invite me on to be a part of their panel. 25:58 They said, "Sure. We'll let you to come on." 26:01 Then I got a reply, it said, 26:03 "No. Well, not at this time." 26:04 And I know why 26:05 because they want to keep telling lies, 26:07 see, I tell the truth. 26:08 I make all the other guys 26:10 that want to tell a lie look bad. 26:11 I am a champion of the truth. 26:13 Can I get an amen from anybody here? 26:15 We have to stop telling, 26:17 we have to stop getting to the place 26:19 where we tolerate a lie. 26:20 Amen. 26:22 Matter of fact, the reason 26:23 why people are going to be lost, 26:24 is they are being lied to. 26:26 And it's a travesty 26:27 when Christianity embraces a lie, 26:31 and when they refuse to have that lie reversed. 26:35 It's sad. 26:36 But there're television stations 26:37 all over the nation, turn to any one of them, 26:40 they'll praise you all the way to death, 26:42 they'll praise you to destruction, 26:44 they refuse to tell the truth. 26:45 That's why this station, 3ABN, tells the truth. 26:49 What do we say? 26:50 You want to find the truth? 26:52 Get your family to tune in here. 26:53 We will not sell you a lie. 26:55 No lies for sale on this network. 26:57 Amen for that. 26:58 Okay, let me get off my soapbox and get back to the lesson. 27:01 Question number four. 27:03 So Isaiah says, 27:04 "We're going to rise, they're going to rise, 27:07 we are going to rise together, 27:10 nobody going ahead than anybody else." 27:11 Matter fact, 27:13 while you're going to question four, 27:14 go with me to Hebrews. 27:15 What book did I say? 27:17 Now we're going to go there in just a moment. 27:19 Matter of fact, you know what? 27:20 Let me wait 27:22 because it's just two more questions down. 27:23 Let me wait, I could give you the other component to that. 27:25 Let's go to question number four. 27:27 I'm glad you guys are really quick 27:28 to turn your pages. 27:30 Question number four. 27:32 How long did Job say 27:35 the dead would remain in their graves? 27:39 How long did Job say 27:40 the dead would remain in their graves? 27:43 Okay. 27:44 And Job 14:12 is where we find the answer, 27:47 Job 14:12. 27:50 Okay? 27:52 How long did he say we'll be there? 27:54 Oh, man, I tell you the Bible is clear. 27:58 Be careful don't play with it. 27:59 It's clear. 28:01 Job 14 beginning with verse 12. 28:03 Matter of fact, don't have a ton of Job 28:06 in my lesson tonight. 28:08 So I want to add a couple more components, 28:10 just for the benefit of those 28:11 who didn't get a chance 28:12 to tune in for the last lesson, okay? 28:17 Here it is, Job Chapter 14. 28:21 Okay, I'm right there. 28:24 Okay, here it is. I see it. 28:27 Okay, Job 14:12. 28:29 I want to go ahead and read from verse 10, 28:33 from verse 10, 28:35 and we'll pull our answer out when we get to verse 12. 28:36 You got that? 28:38 Job Chapter 14 beginning with verse 10. 28:40 That the Bible says, "But man dies and is," what? 28:45 "Laid away." 28:46 That's what we do when we go to the cemetery, 28:47 they lower them down. 28:49 "Indeed he breathes his last," and look at the next question, 28:53 "Where is he?" 28:55 Very important question. 28:57 "As water disappears from the sea, 29:00 and a river becomes parched and dries up, " 29:05 here's the answer to the question, 29:06 how long did Job say 29:07 the dead would remain in their graves? 29:09 Here's the answer. 29:11 "So man lies down..." 29:12 Verse 12 on the screen. 29:14 "So man lies down and," what? 29:17 "Does not rise." 29:19 That word, he's not coming on the resurrection yet, 29:21 how long he's going to be there? 29:22 Together, "Till the heavens are no more. 29:26 They will not awake nor be," what? 29:29 "Roused from their sleep." 29:32 Till how long? 29:34 Till the heavens be no more. 29:36 And what that means is as David the psalmist says, 29:38 "When the Lord comes..." 29:39 Well, Peter says, 29:41 "The heavens will pass away with a great noise, 29:44 and the elements will melt with fervent heat." 29:47 So until that happens 29:49 they are going to remain in their graves. 29:50 "The heavens are going to depart as a scroll 29:53 when it is rolled together," Revelation Chapter 6. 29:55 Why is that going to happen? 29:56 Here two reasons, I believe. 29:58 One, to prepare the way for Jesus' descent, 30:02 and to prepare the way for our ascent. 30:06 You guys need some caffeine. 30:07 We don't believe in it, but you need some right now. 30:10 Amen everybody. Amen. 30:11 To prepare the way for the coming of the Lord, 30:13 and to prepare the way for our departure. 30:17 The Lord is opening up the skies, 30:19 He is making an exit for the saints. 30:23 Now you know we're not going to be going through clouds, 30:26 He's going to clear the skies, ain't that wonderful? 30:29 "The heavens will depart as a scroll," the Bible said, 30:32 "when it is rolled it together." 30:35 The King is making an entrance to come to take us home, 30:41 and He's making an exit 30:43 so that we can go back with Him. 30:44 Praise God for that. 30:45 But how long are they going to be there? 30:47 "Till the heavens," are what? 30:49 "Are no more." 30:51 So if you want to find out how long, 30:56 it's going to be 30:57 before the resurrection takes place. 30:59 Let me give you the encouraging word. 31:01 It is going to happen when Jesus returns, not before. 31:06 I think we're clear already, 31:08 but we have still 17 more questions 31:12 so that we can see that the Bible talks about 31:14 the resurrection in various ways. 31:16 What's the answer? 31:18 Did you write it down? 31:19 Till the heavens are no more. 31:21 That's the answer. 31:22 Till the heavens are no more. 31:25 Now number five, number five. 31:28 Here it is. 31:29 What does the Bible teach 31:31 is the hope of the faithful that died? 31:35 What does the Bible teach 31:37 is the hope of the faithful that died? 31:39 We've got a hope, but what is it? 31:42 What is it? 31:43 Here it is. 31:44 Let's go to the Book of Hebrews Chapter 11. 31:46 I was turning there earlier. 31:48 But let's go ahead and turn there now 31:50 but some of you already there. 31:54 If you're watching, 31:55 you can turn there before I get there. 31:58 But I only ask that you wait till I get there. 32:00 This is the faith chapter. 32:03 This is the faith chapter. 32:06 And we mentioned a moment ago 32:08 in the Book of Isaiah that he said together. 32:10 Isaiah and those who have died, 32:13 the loved ones of those who have died 32:15 will all rise how? 32:17 Together. 32:18 And here's the reason why. 32:20 I want to go and read verse 40 in Hebrews Chapter 11. 32:24 This is the reason. 32:26 Verse 39 and 40. 32:28 This is the reason 32:29 why they're going to rise together. 32:31 You said that. I did. 32:32 The answer is verse 35, 32:34 but I want to read 39 and 40 first, 32:36 then hit you with verse 35. 32:39 Usually, I don't know where I am 32:40 but on this one I do. 32:42 Here we are verse 39, 32:43 speaking about all the faithful, 32:45 it says, "And all these, having obtained 32:48 a good testimony through faith," 32:50 what does it say next? 32:51 "Did not receive the promise, 32:55 did not receive the promise." 32:58 So these died in faith, but did they get the promise? 33:02 No. Why not? 33:04 Look at verse 40. 33:06 "God having provided something better for us, " 33:10 this is beautiful, 33:12 "that they should not be made perfect apart from us." 33:17 So let me see if you're really thinking, 33:20 "When will we all be made perfect?" 33:26 I heard the word. 33:27 Can I hear the word together? Together. 33:30 Can we say it together? Together. 33:32 That's the whole point. 33:33 When will we be made perfect? 33:34 Say it again? Together. 33:36 They will not be made perfect apart from us. 33:39 We will not be made perfect apart from them. 33:42 Is it simple? He's fair. 33:44 It's really simple. 33:45 Not only is it simple, 33:47 but we serve a God that is fair. 33:51 Now let me just pause for a brief moment 33:53 and go to verse 35 to get the answer. 33:56 What does the Bible teaches 33:57 the hope of the faithful that died? 33:59 Look at verse 35. 34:01 This is important. 34:03 It says, "Women received 34:04 their dead raised to life again." 34:06 Verse 35, here it is. 34:09 "Women received their dead raised to life again." 34:12 What woman did? 34:13 Somebody tell me? 34:15 What are their names? 34:16 Mary and Martha. 34:18 Who was raised to life? Lazarus. 34:20 Let's go on to the next one. 34:22 "Others were," what? 34:23 "Tortured, not accepting deliverance, 34:27 that they might obtain a," what? 34:30 "Better resurrection." 34:32 Is that clear? 34:33 Really clear. 34:35 What are they looking forward to? 34:36 Now some Christians... 34:38 Let me just tell a story about a man down in San Jose, 34:40 California. 34:41 My wife and I live in California 34:43 when we heard this tragic story. 34:45 It's a family of five, 34:47 a man and his wife living with his mother-in-law, 34:52 two children, 34:54 and they were very, very poor, very, very poor. 34:57 They could hardly make ends meet. 35:00 Well, it's a sad but true story. 35:04 He killed all his family members. 35:06 Wrote a note, and then he took his own life. 35:08 And he said, 35:10 "At least we are all in a better place now." 35:14 Believing that somehow 35:16 by killing everybody in his home, 35:20 and then taking his life, 35:21 he now escapes the poverty, 35:23 he escapes poverty, 35:24 but that's not the way that we make it to the kingdom. 35:28 Unfortunately, there's so many that say, 35:30 "Well, what would I rather happen? 35:32 What would I rather be? 35:33 Now if it was possible for us to die, 35:36 if the Bible taught that we can die 35:39 and go to heaven tomorrow... 35:44 How many want to go? 35:47 I know, now we don't want to kill ourselves. 35:49 That's not what I'm suggesting. 35:50 But wouldn't you like to be in heaven tomorrow? 35:52 Somebody tell me amen? 35:54 I'd sure love to be there. 35:55 I mean, why be down here for another tax season. 35:58 Why be down here for another cold winter. 36:01 When I'm talking about taking your life, 36:02 but man, that would be beautiful. 36:04 If something happened, I say, 36:07 "Don't worry about it, I'll be okay." 36:09 There will be no Christians afraid of flying on airplanes, 36:12 there will be no Christians afraid of ships, 36:14 there will be no Christians afraid of anything 36:15 because they know that, 36:17 "Hey, I'll be in heaven if anything happens, 36:18 I'll be there right away." 36:19 But the fact of the matter is when you close your eyes 36:25 between the time you close your eyes 36:28 and the resurrection is going to be 36:29 in the twinkling of an eye, 36:31 you're not going to even know how much time has passed. 36:34 So Adam is not down there saying, 36:36 "Man, it's been like 4,000, 36:40 no, 5,000, 36:43 Adam's not down there clicking off a calendar. 36:46 He's resting, waiting for the Lord to come. 36:49 Didn't we read that? 36:51 They returned to their dust. 36:52 From dust they are to dust they return. 36:55 Okay, now so what is the answer? 36:57 What did they look forward to? 36:58 What was their hope? 37:01 The last two words, a what? 37:03 Better resurrection. 37:04 Now is there a better resurrection? 37:07 Yes. 37:08 How many resurrections are there? 37:11 You guys could say something. 37:12 How many resurrections are there? 37:14 Two. Two. 37:15 Which one is better? 37:16 One or two? 37:18 The first one is the best one. 37:19 We'll see that in just a moment. 37:21 So they didn't want to come forth 37:22 in the wrong resurrection, 37:23 they want to come forth in the right resurrection. 37:26 And the reason 37:27 why this point is very important is, 37:29 only as you come forth in the correct resurrection, 37:32 do you then next change your address 37:35 and your final destination is heaven. 37:37 But if you come forth in the wrong one, 37:40 you make a left. 37:43 That's right, all the goats are on the left. 37:47 We don't want to be in the second resurrection. 37:49 If anything happens and the world lasts much longer 37:52 than we hope it would, 37:53 we all want to be in the first resurrection. 37:55 They wanted a better resurrection. 37:57 They don't want a better funeral. 37:59 You know, I've seen some expensive funerals. 38:01 Have any of you seen expensive funerals? 38:03 I've seen cars on the highway sometimes. 38:06 You know, there are some states 38:08 where you pull over like in Florida, 38:09 they are respectful. 38:11 Here lot of times they pull over. 38:13 But in some states, man, 38:14 they're like cutting in between the cars, 38:16 trying to get around, 38:17 I don't want to mention any cities. 38:20 But it's not always respectful. 38:23 I've seen some places 38:25 where the traffic could even be coming this way 38:27 and people going the opposite direction 38:28 just pull over out of respect. 38:30 And it could be, you think yourself, 38:32 you sit and you count 21, 22, 23. 38:35 Have you ever done that before? 38:36 I've done that. 38:38 "Man, 40 cars!" 38:39 And then you say to yourself, 38:41 "Who was that person that died?" 38:43 'Cause you usually gauge their importance 38:45 by how many cars there are, right? 38:48 That's a better funeral. 38:49 I want a better resurrection. 38:51 Come on, can you say amen to that? 38:52 'Cause you could go in a gold casket, 38:55 somebody got buried once, I know of a famous singer, 38:58 got buried in a clear casket. 39:00 He wanted people to see him, 39:02 they held his casket up on a lift 39:04 so everybody could see him in his casket. 39:07 Some rich man once got buried, 39:09 his car got lowered in the grave, 39:11 he wasn't going anywhere. 39:13 But those are the things, 39:15 they want to show off in their burial. 39:17 We're all going to show off in the resurrection, right? 39:20 See, I always like that story Danny tells about his uncle 39:24 that before he passed away, he said, "When I die, 39:26 I want you to bury me in my pajamas." 39:31 Ain't that good? 39:32 'Cause what's he is going to do till the Lord comes? 39:35 He's going to be sleeping. 39:36 And everybody said at the funeral. 39:37 "What's uncle..." 39:39 And I forget his name. 39:40 "What he's doing in his pajamas?" 39:41 He said, "Sending a clear message. 39:43 I don't need a suit..." 39:44 Some people go and spend a lot of money on a suit, 39:47 get them really nice suite. 39:48 Man, that suit could be for somebody. 39:51 Now I know out of respect, we do all these things. 39:53 And I'm not saying to be disrespectful, but let's think. 39:56 We've got to focus more on preparing our hearts 39:59 for the better resurrection 40:01 than a boastful, flamboyant funeral. 40:05 We were just in Africa, not too long ago, 40:06 and they said that usually when people die, 40:09 people spend tons of money on funerals. 40:12 Matter of fact, funeral last for days 40:15 and no matter how poor they are, 40:18 thousands and thousands of dollars 40:20 are spent on funerals. 40:21 And you know what? 40:23 Anybody who wants to come to the funeral 40:24 can come and eat. 40:25 They feed people for days, people they don't know. 40:29 It's a custom. 40:31 That's what you call a better funeral. 40:32 But we all want a better resurrection, 40:34 what do you say? 40:35 That's what they focused on. 40:36 That was their hope. 40:38 If you don't have hope, 40:39 make sure that you make the decision 40:41 that if you were to die before the Lord comes, 40:43 that everything 40:44 between you and the Lord is right, 40:45 so you will come forth in a better resurrection. 40:48 Look at the next one, number six, number six. 40:51 We're moving pretty good. 40:53 We're not going to get to 21 tonight. 40:54 I could look at that and tell you right now. 40:57 Number 26, why were the Jewish leaders 40:59 upset with the apostles' preaching? 41:03 Why were the Jewish leaders upset 41:06 with the apostles' preaching? 41:08 Acts Chapter 4, Acts Chapter 4. 41:11 You know I've discovered, 41:12 I'm right now finishing up a book and pray 41:15 that the Lord will give me strength 41:16 to finish this up, it's called Sunday Mask. 41:19 This is going to be the most thought provoking book 41:24 on the movement of Sunday 41:25 that you have read in recent memory. 41:28 I mean, it's the subject of 30 years of research, 41:32 it's hard hitting, it is not cutting corners, 41:34 you know why? 41:35 I believe we're too close to the end to cut corners 41:37 and dilute the truth. 41:40 I believe we need to tell the truth. 41:41 There're people that need to know the truth, 41:43 people that need to know. 41:44 And the reason I'm saying 41:46 that is because any time you tell the truth, 41:47 somebody's going to get upset. 41:48 The Jewish leaders were upset 41:50 because of the apostles' preaching, 41:51 why were they upset? 41:53 Look at Acts 4:2, Acts 4:2. 41:58 And the Bible didn't just say they were upset, 42:00 but the Bible says, "Being greatly," what? 42:03 Disturbed that they taught the people 42:06 and preached in Jesus the resurrection," what? 42:10 "From the dead." 42:12 They didn't like it. 42:14 Matter of fact, 42:15 1 Corinthians Chapter 15 was written by the Apostle Paul 42:18 to address the issue that the resurrection 42:21 was not passed. 42:22 There was a big argument, 42:24 some said the resurrection had already happened. 42:25 The reason being 42:27 because many rose from the dead 42:28 when Jesus died, 42:30 and those who were firstfruits of those 42:32 who had been in the grave. 42:34 But people thought that was it. 42:36 But they said, "No, no, no, no, no. 42:37 That was just the firstfruits, Jesus rose, 42:40 that's just the firstfruits, 42:41 there's going to be another resurrection coming." 42:44 But the Pharisees and Sadducees were upset 42:47 that the apostles preached in Jesus, 42:50 the resurrection from the dead. 42:52 Now what gives Jesus the power 42:57 to bring anybody forth from the grave? 43:00 There's a text in the Bible that I want you to repeat. 43:03 Jesus said, "I am the..." 43:09 The resurrection. 43:10 "I am the resurrection, and the life." 43:14 Yes, He is the way, the truth and the life, 43:16 but He is the, what also? 43:17 Resurrection. 43:19 So what gives Him the power? 43:20 He has the power. 43:22 As He said to His disciples, "I have gotten this, 43:26 I have my power to lay down My life, 43:31 and I've got power to take it again." 43:33 Don't worry about it. 43:34 And when you read Revelation, the beauty is 43:36 Jesus has the keys to death and the grave. 43:39 Hallelujah for that. 43:41 My mothers that are resting, 43:42 my friends that are in the graves, 43:43 they're not locked in there forever, 43:45 as long as they know Jesus, they are coming forth, 43:47 and they're not going to look like 43:48 they did the way they went down there. 43:50 No more signs of death, no more signs of sin, 43:53 no more signs of ailments, no more... 43:56 No more disease. 43:58 They're going to be perfect. 43:59 We'll find out if we move on. 44:02 So here's the answer. 44:03 Why were the Jewish leaders upset 44:04 with the apostles' preaching? 44:06 Because they preached 44:07 about the resurrection from the dead. 44:09 And today, I tell you, 44:11 as ardent and as excited as I am, 44:13 I need to notch it back a few because I'm so excited, 44:16 I'm talking like a New Yorker, and I'm here in the Midwest, 44:18 I got to slow down 44:20 so that people may be able to understand it. 44:23 But this is a... 44:26 This is a vital topic. 44:28 It's very important to teach it so that people can say, 44:31 "You know, Pastor, that's right. 44:34 I'm no longer upset about the fact 44:38 that I have loved ones that have been laid to rest 44:40 because I know there's a resurrection coming." 44:43 And tonight, you can encourage yourself that mom, and brother, 44:46 and sister, and uncle, and aunt, 44:48 and cousin or friends that died in an accident 44:50 are not in heaven having fun without you. 44:53 We're going to all be up there 44:54 and rejoice together with the Lord. 44:55 Amen? Amen. 44:57 So let's not make this thing 44:58 seem like there's some kind of... 45:00 You're not missing out on anything. 45:01 Remember Hebrews 11:40, 45:03 "They will not be made perfect apart from us." 45:06 God's got something better planned, 45:08 and that's why He's preparing the wedding, 45:11 He's preparing the banquet, 45:13 He's preparing the reception for us. 45:15 And He says in John 14:1-3, 45:18 "If I go away, I will come again 45:20 and receive you to Myself 45:23 that where I am presently there you may be also." 45:28 He's coming again to receive us. 45:30 He's not saying, 45:32 "I'll see you when you get there." 45:33 He said, "I'm coming again to do," what? 45:34 "Receive you? 45:36 Amen for that? 45:37 God's Word is clear. 45:39 Question number seven, question number seven. 45:41 What did Jesus teach concerning the resurrection? 45:45 What did Jesus teach... 45:47 One thing you'll find as you study this text, 45:51 you'll find that Jesus does not conflict with Isaiah, 45:54 or Job, or Paul, 45:56 or the apostles or the prophets, 45:58 they all are on the same page. 46:01 They all on the same page, 46:03 they all work for the same Lord, 46:05 there is no conflict. 46:06 John 5:28 and 29. 46:09 You guys are fast tonight. 46:10 You already there. 46:12 You guys got away from me. 46:14 You guys sitting there... 46:15 Maybe those of you are at home, 46:17 while I'm talking 100 miles an hour, 46:19 you're already in the passage. 46:21 What did Jesus teach concerning the resurrection? 46:23 Here it is on the screen. 46:25 Jesus said, "Do not marvel at this, 46:28 for the hour is," what? 46:30 "Coming in which all who are," where? 46:33 "In the graves will," what? 46:35 "Hear his voice and," do what? 46:37 "Come forth. 46:39 Those who have done good to the resurrection of life, 46:44 those who have done evil, 46:45 to the resurrection of condemnation." 46:48 Now which one is better? Somebody tell me? 46:50 The resurrection of life. 46:52 That's the one that the faithful 46:54 saints look forward to. 46:55 They wanted a better resurrection, 46:57 the resurrection of life. 46:58 So the Bible teaches how many resurrections? 47:01 Two. 47:02 Resurrection of life, resurrection of condemnation. 47:07 So what did Jesus teach concerning the resurrection? 47:11 The answer is there are two resurrections, 47:14 there are two resurrections. 47:16 And you'll find out that 47:18 they both don't happen at the same time, 47:20 they both do not happen at the same time, 47:24 all right? 47:26 Now let's go to 1 Corinthians 47:30 Chapter 15. 47:32 And the question we're going to lead into that with is this. 47:36 Why is the resurrection necessary? 47:40 Why is the resurrection 47:42 necessary to prepare us for heaven? 47:46 That's a question that hasn't really been asked before. 47:49 Why is the resurrection necessary 47:51 to prepare us for heaven? 47:54 Now let me tell you 47:55 as you turn to 1 Corinthians 15:51. 47:58 Unless the resurrection happens, 48:00 you can't go to heaven. 48:02 What word that I just used? 48:04 You can't go. 48:06 Because there's something 48:08 that happens in the resurrection 48:09 that is necessary to prepare us for heaven, 48:14 it happens only then. 48:16 Let me ask another question. 48:17 Can you get on an airplane without a ticket? 48:19 Yes or no? No. 48:20 Okay. 48:22 So there's something that happens, 48:23 there's something that's necessary, 48:25 and you know they are standing at the door checking, 48:29 "Boarding pass please?" 48:30 And then even after you get on the plane... 48:32 I was on a plane, once somebody said, 48:34 "If your final destination is not Toledo, Ohio, 48:37 this is the good time to get off the plane. 48:39 Check your ticket." 48:41 Because somehow, you know, mistakes happen, humanity. 48:43 But there'll be no mistake when Jesus comes. 48:46 Absolutely, none. 48:47 So why is the resurrection necessary 48:49 to prepare us for heaven? 48:50 Very short, I'm not going to read all them together 48:52 because we normally read all seven or eight verses. 48:55 But here's the reason why, 48:56 "Behold, I tell you a mystery. 48:58 We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be," what? 49:02 "Changed." 49:03 Why is the resurrection necessary 49:05 to prepare us for heaven? 49:06 What do we need? 49:08 We've got to be changed. 49:10 We've got to be what? Say it again? 49:11 Changed. 49:13 You can't go the way you are, 49:14 we can't go to heaven with this nature, 49:20 we can't go to heaven with this mortal body, 49:24 we cannot go the way we are. 49:27 Matter of fact, Jesus after His resurrection 49:31 was prepared to go to heaven 49:34 because when He rose, there was a difference 49:37 than when He went into the tomb. 49:39 He was raised... 49:45 I'll wait till I get to the text and tell you. 49:48 When Jesus rose, was He immortal? 49:50 Yes or no? 49:53 Guys, don't even think long on that one? 49:55 Was He immortal? Yes or no? 49:56 Yes. 49:58 When He rose, was He immortal? 50:00 Yes. Yes. 50:02 That shouldn't even be a whisper. 50:04 'Cause if He weren't, we are in trouble. 50:07 Because we are going to be... 50:09 Well, I'm running ahead of myself. 50:10 Let's stop here and just make a point here. 50:13 The reason why the resurrection is necessary 50:15 because it is in the resurrection 50:16 that we are changed. 50:19 We are going to be changed. 50:21 Now, to build on that, look at the next question, 50:25 question number nine. 50:26 So you want to answer question number eight, 50:29 why is the resurrection necessary? 50:31 We shall all be changed or write it this way, 50:35 we must all be changed. 50:39 Okay, the next one, number nine. 50:44 This is the most we've covered in years, ain't it right? 50:47 You know, I'm trying not to let this lesson last, 50:50 you know, forever. 50:52 I want to get to this, this is so good. 50:54 You know while I have dinner, and I'm all energetic. 50:57 Thank my wife for all my energy. 50:59 Good food tonight. 51:01 How quickly does the Bible teach the change will be? 51:05 How quickly does the Bible teach the change will be? 51:08 How quickly? How quickly? 51:10 1 Corinthians 15:52. 51:12 We are already there, we're already there, right? 51:15 Let's see what the Bible says. 51:18 Since we're already there, 51:19 no sense in holding it up too long. 51:21 All right? 51:22 Let's read this one together. Are we ready? 51:24 Here we go. 51:25 "In a moment, 51:27 in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. 51:31 For the trumpet will sound, 51:34 and the dead will be raised incorruptible," 51:38 and together, "and we shall be changed." 51:42 Notice how verse 51 and verse 52 51:45 both end with change. 51:47 There's got to be a change before we go anywhere, right? 51:52 Not only are we justified, 51:55 not only are we being sanctified, 51:56 one day we're going to be glorified. 51:59 You see the Lord was glorified, we're not glorified yet, 52:02 we're being sanctified. 52:03 Jesus was glorified. 52:09 But we have not been glorified yet. 52:10 That glorification 52:12 is the perfection of our character. 52:14 The removal of anything mortal, 52:17 the removal of anything that can decay 52:19 or become corrupted that has not happened yet 52:23 'cause we are all still praying every day for the Lord 52:26 to deliver us when we are tempted. 52:28 Amen? 52:29 That's the struggle down here. 52:31 We've got this mortal body. 52:32 We can't wait one day, as Paul says, 52:35 "Till mortality is swallowed up by life." 52:39 That was in our last study. 52:41 If you missed that one, 52:42 you can go to the same website 52:43 and download the lesson prior to this lesson number 19. 52:46 Okay, now that we've got to number 9, 52:48 let's turn to page number two 52:50 or turn yours or flip it over and let's look at number 10. 52:54 This is a record. 52:55 Ten questions in one night. 52:58 It's amazing, right? 52:59 Right, Jennifer? It's amazing. 53:01 We got 10 questions going here tonight. 53:03 Let's look at question number 10. 53:06 Just so we can balance the picture up 53:07 because a lot of people will say, 53:09 "Well, you know, you reading 53:10 a lot of New Testament passages." 53:12 Let's go ahead and peek into the Old Testament. 53:14 Here it is. 53:15 What evidence does the Old Testament present 53:17 to support this teaching? 53:18 In other words, to support what teaching? 53:20 The teaching of the change. 53:23 I don't have a whole lot of space 53:24 to put all the evidences there, 53:26 but what evidence does the Old Testament present 53:28 to support this teaching, the teaching of the change? 53:31 We're going back to the book of what? 53:33 Job. Here we are. 53:35 Back to Job Chapter 14. 53:39 That's right. 53:41 Job is right before the big Book of Psalm. 53:44 Okay. 53:48 Job Chapter 14. 53:50 Okay. 53:52 What evidence do we have? 53:53 Job 14:14. 53:56 Right along, right along, right down the pipe. 54:00 Here we are. 54:01 He says, "If a man dies, 54:04 shall he live again?" 54:07 That's a big... 54:08 "All the days of my hard service 54:11 I will wait, till my," 54:14 say it together, 54:15 "till my change comes. 54:18 Till my what comes?" Change. 54:21 Job knew about the change, Paul knew about the change, 54:25 and Jesus was changed 54:28 at His resurrection. 54:31 Once He survived the tomb, He came forth to die no more. 54:37 That's why Revelation says, I mean, Hebrew says, 54:40 "He ever liveth to make intercession for us, right?" 54:43 He, how long does he live, He ever liveth, 54:45 He is continually alive, 54:48 and he will be alive for evermore. 54:50 "I have the keys of death and... 54:52 I was dead, but behold, I am alive for ever more." 54:56 Praise God for that. 54:57 All right, so the answer to question number 10 is 54:59 what evidence does the Old Testament present 55:01 to support this teaching? 55:04 We have to wait till our change comes. 55:06 We have to do what? Wait. 55:08 You gonna labor really hard, like Job said, 55:10 "I'm going to work really hard, I'm going to labor really hard, 55:14 yeah, I'll die, I'll live again. 55:15 But, man, until then, I'm going to labor hard, 55:18 life is going to be tough 55:19 because I'm waiting for my change to come." 55:22 When our change comes as one songwriter says, 55:26 "When all our labors and trials are over, 55:29 then I am safe on that beautiful shore, 55:32 just to be near my dear Lord I adore, 55:37 will through the ages be," what? 55:39 "Glory for me." 55:42 Don't you see it now? 55:43 "All that will be glory for me." 55:46 I'm going to stop singing right now. 55:48 But I could tell you that's a beautiful thought. 55:51 Brothers and sisters, we've got hope, 55:53 not because of how thing are now 55:55 but because how the Lord is, 55:56 in fact, in charge of how things will be. 55:59 Now let's try to get one more in there. 56:01 If we do... 56:02 If not, we'll begin where we end this week. 56:03 But let's look at question number 11. 56:05 In what way does the Bible teach 56:07 we will be changed? 56:09 Very quickly, Philippians Chapter 3, 56:12 Philippians 3:20-21. 56:15 I'm taken for granted that those of you 56:17 on the screen are turning there. 56:18 Here it is. 56:19 Just for the benefit of time, 56:21 we'll begin with this one on the next study. 56:22 But here it is. 56:23 Philippians 3:20 and 21, the Bible says, 56:26 "For our citizenship is," where? 56:29 "Our citizenship is in heaven, 56:31 from which we also eagerly wait for the Savior, 56:35 the Lord Jesus Christ, 56:37 who will transform our lowly body 56:39 that it may be conformed to His glorious body, 56:44 according to the working," where? 56:46 "By which He is able even 56:48 to subdue all things to Himself. 56:51 Now I want to just say something very quickly. 56:52 We didn't put that on the screen, 56:54 we'll do that next week. 56:55 But let me tell you why I want to give you 56:57 this to kind of leave with this thought. 57:00 What is in heaven? 57:02 Say that. Come on, what it is in heaven? 57:04 Citizenship. 57:05 Our citizenship, not our citizens. 57:08 Our citizenship is there. 57:09 One day the citizen going to be there. 57:11 Come on, amen to that? 57:12 Where is your citizenship tonight? 57:14 Is your citizenship in heaven? 57:16 Is your citizenship in heaven? 57:17 We are citizens of what? 57:20 Of what? 57:22 Come on, say it. Of what? 57:24 Heaven. We are a holy nation. 57:26 We are a royal priesthood. 57:28 One day we will be living in a holy nation. 57:31 We will be with the Royal Priest Himself, 57:34 the Lord Jesus Christ. 57:36 But we are a holy nation now. 57:38 We are a royal priesthood, but our citizenship is there. 57:43 We are citizens and that's why Abraham said, 57:46 "I am a stranger." 57:48 He was looking for the city who had foundations, 57:50 whose builder and maker is God. 57:52 So, friends, we encourage you keep studying God's Word, 57:55 and make sure that your citizenship is there. 57:57 If it doesn't make sense, 57:59 keep on looking, keep on searching, 58:00 one day it will come into A Sharper Focus. |
Revised 2019-01-28