It's been 2000 years since
the glorious light of the cross
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illuminated a world veiled in
darkness and confusion about the
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character of God. And
still today the greatest need of
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mankind is a revelation of God's
love as revealed in the life of
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Christ. Amazing Facts presents
the everlasting Gospel with
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Pastor Doug Batchelor coming
to you each week from Sacramento
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Central Church in sunny
California. Discover hidden
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treasures in God's word today.
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I predict that in the last few
years of this world's history
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a debate that is going to come
more and more to the forefront
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is the debate regarding
evolution and creation.
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And it's becoming more intense
right now. You can see that
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there is an
increasing effort on the part of
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some to try to day don't
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even to question it anymore.
Science has proven unequivocally
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that evolution is true and at
the same time you're finding the
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mounting evidence among the
logic of the Christian science
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community that you cannot have
all the organization and design
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in the world today without
intelligence. I see it moving
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more and more towards a
fever pitch. I like to sometimes
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pretend that I can venture
into these things and understand
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these thoughts and I always come
back to asking the question,
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Well assuming that you're not
all a figment of my imagination
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and that means that you're here
and I think I'm here. So we're
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here. Where did we come from?
You don't get something from
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nothing and that's the title for
the message today. How can you
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get something from nothing? All
of the organization and design
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and things that we see in the
world today are evidence that
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there is an intelligent
God. Where did it all come from?
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How did it appear? You know
I was reading this week and I
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learned about something I had
never had heard about before.
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Have you heard about the
God particle? The God particle.
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Well as I was reading this
article it was telling me that
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I was really wondering
where I've been. There is a
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contraption that is being built
in Europe. It's about 300 feet
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underneath the ground
under a French town Cressay
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on the border of
France and Switzerland.
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This
multibillion dollar scientific
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experiment is called the
large Hadron Collider. Now they
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used to have one in Texas
and I don't remember what the
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dimensions were but it was
a tunnel over a mile around.
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Well this one they're building,
I think they must have used the
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same boring equipment they used
on the Chunnel that they built
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across the English channel.
France held on to one of those
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and they built a tunnel 17 miles
around. Some parts of it are 300
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feet underground. And
it's filled with these very
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sophisticated electronic
components and powerful magnets.
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Matter of fact one of the
magnets they said is so powerful
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that you'd better not have a
hammer in your hand when they
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turn that thing on because if
you're in the way it'll go right
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through you on its way to
the magnet. It's one of the most
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powerful magnets in the world
that they've built. The idea of
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this contraption with the tunnel
As a matter of fact we've got a
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picture here on the screen next.
It shows the underground under
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the town. This is a 17-mile-long
tunnel. They've got stations
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all along the way and they take
elevators down there. They're
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going to shoot particles
approximately the speed of light
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from opposite directions and
collide them. That's where they
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get the name the Hedron collider
and they're believing that when
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they collide these particles
fast enough they're going to get
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something called the Higgs Boson
That's the name that they gave
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to this affect that they
believe that they can create
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matter from nothing, new matter.
Now that's a lot of money to
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spend on a theory. They won't
even tell you exactly how much
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they've spent but it's billions.
Fortunately it's not all U.S.
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money but some of it came out of
your pockets. The international
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science team, call this big
science. It's a big scientific
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experiment for the world. Matter
of fact, by the time I read the
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article they were saying anytime
while we're sitting here they're
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going to blast the thing. I
don't know. It might blow the
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world up and end all our
problems. They don't know what
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it's going to do. But they're
theorizing that they're going to
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get matter created from
this, well they call it the god
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particle. Now the reason they
gave it the name they gave it
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is because they're trying to
find a way to explain how do you
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get something from nothing. When
creationists begin to debate
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with evolutionists and they talk
about all of the organization
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and design and material and
intelligence and systems that
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are in the creation, where
do you get it? They're trying to
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now say there's this particle
that is going to form. How come
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we've not been able to produce
one iota of life in a test tube?
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Now having said that, I'm really
introducing a bigger subject.
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Most of us believe that we exist
You probably believe that you
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exist and I trust you believe
I exist. Now there are some who
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have a theory that everything
around you is just a figment of
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your imagination. You're living
in sort of a reality that you
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created but most of us realize
that you're just as real to you
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as I am to me. We exist. There's
this world. When you realize
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that you should also be wise
enough to realize you weren't
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always here. If I were to
ask you how far back can you
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remember? Do many of you have
memories of four years old and
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earlier? The older you get the
less you remember of those days.
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Anyone from three? You still
remember something when you're
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three years old? How about two.
That starts getting hard, two
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years old. Anyone one?
Some of you imagine you remember
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something when you're one and
they say that if they hypnotize
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you they can put you in
your natal memories when you're
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inside mommy's tummy. I don't
know what you'd be remembering
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at that time. So you know
you didn't always know anything.
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Then it should also be painfully
plain to you that you will not
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always be here in this
body anyway. Life is temporary.
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We're just here for a little
while. We've got to make the
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most of our time to evaluate
what the real priorities are.
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People are typically afraid of
dying. We're tormented through
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life with fear of death.
I'd like to address that.
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Hebrews chapter 2 verses 14
and Inasmuch then as children
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having partaken of the flesh and
blood... humans have flesh and
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blood; we're mortal...
he, Jesus, likewise shared
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in the same... he
took a mortal body,
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that through
death he might destroy
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him who had the power of
death, that is the devil,
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now catch this, and
release those who through
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fear of death were all their
lifetime subject to bondage.
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Many people live their lives
fearing death. They don't enjoy
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their life because they're
always worried about death.
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Some people have anxiety attacks
They panic, they're afraid to
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leave their house, something
bad might happen. I just heard a
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fleeting report on the news so
I don't have all the details but
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some lady was so panicked she
didn't leave her bathroom for
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two years. Some of you heard
about that? People live in fear.
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Paul tells us here in Hebrews
that the devil keeps people
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living in fear of death. Well
Jesus does not want you to live
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that kind of way. Jesus, in his
death and resurrection, provided
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a way for us to not be in
bondage to fear. Now normally
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when we think about death it's
pretty ominous because for us
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death, you turn into nothing.
And if you ask a lot of people
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on the street which we did back
in 1999 when we were in New York
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City. We took a camera and went
around the streets and we asked
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people what they
thought happened when you died.
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And it was kind of disturbing
how many people said well you
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just turn into nothing. You just
turn back into dust. And that's
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it and you don't know anything
anymore. In the back of our
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minds I think a lot of people
worry about that and we wonder
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can God make something from
nothing again because really
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that's what a resurrection is.
Well I'd like to talk about that
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theme a little bit in the Bible.
First of all, I want to remind
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you, you don't need to be
afraid of death. Jesus said in
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Matthew 10:28: Do not fear those
who kill the body but cannot
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kill the soul. There's something
to you more than your body
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that's growing old. Our minds
get feeble. There's something
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that can last forever. Jesus
said, rather fear him who is
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able to destroy both soul
and body in hell, hell being the
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grave. There is eternal life and
there is eternal death and we
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have a choice to make that
will have eternal consequences.
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Now today we're going to
talk a little bit about the
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resurrection of Jesus because I
think there's more good theology
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in the resurrection of Jesus
that affects every part of our
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life than we may consider.
Jesus performed about four
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resurrections in his ministry.
Now there may have been more.
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There are four that are really
sited. Each one is followed by
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one of greater intensity.
Let's look at them briefly.
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One of the first
resurrections that's recorded
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is the resurrection of Jairus'
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daughter. You find this in Mark
chapter 5 verse 41. This little
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girl was sick. Jesus was
summoned by the father: Please
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come and help my daughter,
she's at the point of death.
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While Jesus is on the way
his progress is slowed by the
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crowds. He stops and heals
this woman who's bleeding for 12
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years. On the way messengers
come from the house of Jairus
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and they say don't trouble the
master anymore. You're little
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girl has died. It's hopeless now
because you know who can make
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something from nothing and once
you die and the cells begin to
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deteriorate there's no way to
reanimate them. Now Jesus said
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to the father, Do not fear, only
believe. So they went to the
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house. The mourners had already
been gathered. It must have been
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quite a journey to get there
because it was enough time for
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them to summon the local
mourners and they're beginning
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their mournful tunes on
their lutes and instruments and
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wailing and Jesus evicts them
all from the house. He takes the
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father, mother, Peter, James
and John, and they go into the
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little room where the little
girl is and he takes the child
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by the hand; this is where our
verse picks up, Mark 5:41: And
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he said to her, Talitha Cumi,
which is translated, Little girl
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I say arise. He uses basically
the same words that a parent
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uses for their daughter
when they're getting her up for
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school. Little girl, wake up,
time for school. And immediately
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the girl arose and walked for
she was 12 years of age and they
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were overcome with great
amazement. You know, when I was
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studying some of the information
this week about this great
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collider that they're building
there in France underground
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something else came out in
one of the articles that the big
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bang, you've heard of the
big bang, they're talking about
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creation and these things wasn't
really a bang. Now these are
00:12:49.65\00:12:54.03
these scientists that are
saying this, the evolutionary
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scientists. They are saying
it was more like a sound, a hum,
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that creation was caused by
sound waves but they don't know
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where did the sound waves
come from. Now sound waves that
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travel faster than the speed
of sound somehow initiated this
00:13:08.16\00:13:12.48
creation. But I seized on that
and I thought well that's very
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interesting. It says in my Bible
and God said. Now they haven't
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got a recording of what those
sound waves sounded like but I'm
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thinking well they might have
something here and they just
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don't know it. Sometimes science
gets awful close but they just
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hate to admit the Bible. It
struck me for years, I'm getting
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a little off track but not
totally, I thought it was really
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amazing. I went to public school
and they taught dinosaurs and
00:13:40.17\00:13:44.13
the evolution and of course we
believe there were dinosaurs but
00:13:44.17\00:13:47.79
they said the dinosaurs slowly
died out over millions of years
00:13:47.82\00:13:51.41
as other creatures evolved
and replaced them. Well then I
00:13:51.44\00:13:55.04
remember when I started to
travel I saw evidence of a flood
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all over the world. I'll
never forget, I still was not a
00:13:58.55\00:14:02.39
Christian, but living with my
uncle in New Mexico, 7000 feet
00:14:02.43\00:14:06.84
up above sea level there were
sea shells everywhere and I said
00:14:06.88\00:14:10.10
boy there must have been a lot
of water all over the world at
00:14:10.14\00:14:13.33
some point. Then I started
reading more and more of the
00:14:13.36\00:14:16.53
scientific evidence was saying
well evidently the dinosaurs
00:14:16.57\00:14:20.08
didn't die slowly. They
all died suddenly in some great
00:14:20.12\00:14:23.56
cataclysmic event. And they say
evidently an asteroid struck the
00:14:23.60\00:14:29.39
ocean and caused a massive
global flood and I went bingo.
00:14:29.42\00:14:33.25
Massive global flood. They won't
say Noah, that is a dirty word.
00:14:33.29\00:14:38.56
They'll say asteroid but they
can't refute the evidence that
00:14:38.59\00:14:42.75
there was some kind of a global
flood. That's how you get all
00:14:42.78\00:14:46.67
these fossils. Anyway they won't
say the word of God created,
00:14:46.70\00:14:51.50
they say sound waves. And then
their saying that light somehow
00:14:51.54\00:14:56.31
collided and life came
from the sound waves and the
00:14:56.34\00:15:00.04
colliding light beams and the
particles in the light, the god
00:15:00.08\00:15:04.45
particles. Well you know the
Bible says God said let there
00:15:04.48\00:15:09.97
be light. Well, the wisdom
of men is foolishness to God.
00:15:10.01\00:15:14.78
That's what the Bible says.
Anyway so this girl dies, Jesus
00:15:14.82\00:15:18.65
speaks, she's reanimated,
she comes back to life. Now you
00:15:18.69\00:15:22.47
notice in the sequence of
miracles before the miracle of
00:15:22.50\00:15:25.75
Jesus' resurrection in the
sequence of resurrections, this
00:15:25.78\00:15:29.27
girl had only been dead a matter
of minutes and she's raised.
00:15:29.30\00:15:33.05
Next you get to a resurrection
that was a matter of hours.
00:15:33.09\00:15:37.19
It's the young man of Nain. His
mother was a widow, he was her
00:15:37.22\00:15:41.29
only son, this funeral
procession was coming out of the
00:15:41.32\00:15:45.02
city, this was her only means of
support, her only relative, she
00:15:45.06\00:15:48.28
was going to lose her property
now, had no means of sustenance
00:15:48.31\00:15:51.74
and it just broke the Lord's
heart. So as they were making
00:15:51.78\00:15:54.69
their way out of the city Jesus
stops the funeral procession.
00:15:54.72\00:15:59.42
Luke 7 verse 14: Then he came
and he touched the open coffin
00:15:59.45\00:16:05.14
and those who carried it stood
still. And he said, Young man I
00:16:05.18\00:16:09.37
say to you arise. That sounds a
little bit like what he said to
00:16:09.40\00:16:13.56
the girl. Young man I say to
you arise. So he who was dead
00:16:13.59\00:16:17.32
sat up and began to speak and he
presented him to his mother and
00:16:17.36\00:16:21.63
fear came upon all and they
glorified God saying a great
00:16:21.66\00:16:24.67
prophet has risen among us and
God has visited his people. They
00:16:24.71\00:16:28.31
were right. Jesus was God.
He had visited their people.
00:16:28.34\00:16:31.68
Now you go from that experience
where he had been dead a few
00:16:31.72\00:16:35.55
hours because they had already
embalmed him and you get to the
00:16:35.59\00:16:39.16
next resurrection which is John
chapter 11. What's that story?
00:16:39.20\00:16:44.28
Lazarus. How long had he
been dead? A few days. So you're
00:16:44.32\00:16:49.53
going from a few minutes to a
few hours to a few days. And of
00:16:49.57\00:16:54.05
course he comes to the tomb.
He tells Martha and Mary to have
00:16:54.08\00:16:57.93
faith. He says roll away
the stone. They said Lord by now
00:16:57.97\00:17:01.92
he smells bad because he's
already begun to decompose.
00:17:01.95\00:17:05.83
The cells are broken down. How
can you reanimate something when
00:17:05.87\00:17:09.45
it's already beginning to rot.
Forgive me for being so graphic.
00:17:09.49\00:17:13.97
But you know every now and then
I'll hear stories and they'll
00:17:14.01\00:17:18.46
say there was a resurrection,
modern day resurrection.
00:17:18.49\00:17:21.14
We heard about over in the
mission field, a child had died,
00:17:21.18\00:17:24.85
this person had died, the
missionary was there, they
00:17:24.88\00:17:26.74
prayed and they came back to
life and I said praise the Lord.
00:17:26.78\00:17:29.49
But in the back of my mind
I always think, ah I wonder if
00:17:29.53\00:17:32.17
they were really dead. Come on.
Have you ever had those thoughts
00:17:32.21\00:17:35.39
before? Maybe they just thought
they were dead. I mean we've all
00:17:35.43\00:17:39.27
heard stories about people who
the coroner says yeah they've
00:17:39.30\00:17:41.99
died and they take them off to
the morgue and they're getting
00:17:42.03\00:17:45.01
ready to do the autopsy and they
sit up. Scared the poor guy half
00:17:45.04\00:17:47.99
to death. And they find out
no they weren't really dead.
00:17:48.02\00:17:51.73
Did you know Robert E. Lee's
mother died before he was born?
00:17:51.76\00:17:57.24
That's right. Read history. She
had a terrible fever. She died.
00:17:57.27\00:18:01.90
They were having the funeral.
Had her stretched out. She sat
00:18:01.93\00:18:05.88
up. She lived long enough to
give birth to him then. But they
00:18:05.91\00:18:09.83
thought she was dead. Her
breathing was so shallow, no
00:18:09.86\00:18:12.51
motion, lifeless, looked like
she was blue. So when you hear
00:18:12.55\00:18:17.33
these stories about
resurrections, I do believe
00:18:17.36\00:18:19.94
God can raise the dead,
don't misunderstand. But I think
00:18:19.98\00:18:23.94
sometimes we don't know. It's
like the story of Eutychus in
00:18:23.98\00:18:27.87
the Bible. The jury's still out.
Remember Paul preached too long,
00:18:27.91\00:18:31.22
Eutychus fell out the window
and Paul said don't fear, his
00:18:31.25\00:18:34.48
life is still in him. He took
him up. You wonder if he was
00:18:34.52\00:18:38.18
just knocked out. Paul healed
him from a concussion or if he
00:18:38.21\00:18:42.18
was raised from the dead. I
believe he was raised, the Bible
00:18:42.21\00:18:46.03
says. What about when Paul was
stoned. Sometime I wonder maybe
00:18:46.06\00:18:49.85
he was dead and God raised
him and nobody knows. Paul was
00:18:49.88\00:18:53.90
stoned. They thought he was
dead and he got up and went on
00:18:53.94\00:18:57.13
preaching. You wonder if God
just said they think you're dead
00:18:57.16\00:18:59.65
maybe you are dead but I'm
not done with you so I'm raising
00:18:59.68\00:19:03.68
you up. I mean, these things
go through my mind. But when the
00:19:03.71\00:19:10.50
cells begin to die? And you've
probably heard about suspended
00:19:10.54\00:19:17.29
animation. They have some
creatures, generally reptiles
00:19:17.33\00:19:19.41
and there are some turtles and
frogs which are amphibians that
00:19:19.44\00:19:25.30
it appears they totally freeze.
Like the common American garter
00:19:25.33\00:19:29.54
snake. I've seen them before
where they're caught by a frost,
00:19:29.57\00:19:33.55
they're out in the open and
their body is just covered with
00:19:33.58\00:19:37.15
ice and then it thaws out
and they begin to move again.
00:19:37.18\00:19:41.85
Some reptiles are totally frozen
and the come back to life.
00:19:41.89\00:19:45.40
There are insects and other
creatures that it seems like
00:19:45.43\00:19:48.10
they're totally frozen. Well
they've done some experiments
00:19:48.13\00:19:51.50
and they find out their not
really technically, clinically
00:19:51.53\00:19:54.83
frozen because their bodies have
in their cells the equivalent of
00:19:54.87\00:19:59.42
antifreeze that really prevents
the cell from freezing. They've
00:19:59.45\00:20:02.75
got frost all over their body,
they seem like they're as hard
00:20:02.78\00:20:07.12
as a rock but their not really
frozen. The cells haven't died.
00:20:07.15\00:20:10.58
They're just suspended. They've
got this built-in antifreeze.
00:20:10.61\00:20:13.90
How many of you know what I'm
talking about? So they've never
00:20:13.93\00:20:16.55
really figured out a way to
truly freeze them because when
00:20:16.58\00:20:19.16
the cell wall freezes it
crystallizes and it kills it.
00:20:19.20\00:20:23.03
Lazarus was dead. The cells were
beginning to disintegrate and
00:20:23.07\00:20:30.14
when he was raised Jesus may as
well have started with a rock.
00:20:30.18\00:20:36.13
It would have been just as much
a miracle if Jesus had taken a
00:20:36.17\00:20:41.07
log and turned it into Lazarus.
He was dead. He completely
00:20:41.10\00:20:45.55
created new life in those cells.
That was a miracle. Now you
00:20:45.59\00:20:50.01
notice what's happening. Each
miracle is getting to be more
00:20:50.05\00:20:54.37
profound than the one before.
Each resurrection is getting
00:20:54.41\00:20:59.02
greater than the one before.
You know Jesus told us to raise
00:20:59.06\00:21:05.74
others? Yeah. He told us to
raise the dead. I've wondered
00:21:05.78\00:21:10.50
about this sometimes. You know
I've done a lot of funerals.
00:21:10.53\00:21:16.70
I guess I can say this now but
if one of our older saints goes
00:21:16.74\00:21:20.88
to sleep I say bless their heart
I wouldn't want to bring them
00:21:20.91\00:21:24.59
back. Because the next thing
they're aware of is the new body
00:21:24.62\00:21:29.62
and the resurrection. Wouldn't
that be a dirty trick. Yeah. But
00:21:29.66\00:21:33.17
you know sometimes there's these
tragedies where a person appears
00:21:33.21\00:21:36.69
to die prematurely and their
family needs them so much and
00:21:36.72\00:21:40.90
I think Lord my heart breaks
and I think Lord are you wanting
00:21:40.94\00:21:45.08
me... How would I know if
I'm supposed to say what the
00:21:45.12\00:21:47.39
apostles said, Come forth, or
something. Of course, I've never
00:21:47.42\00:21:50.92
done it. That'd be terribly
embarrassing. It would be great
00:21:50.96\00:21:54.39
if you did it and it worked. But
if you said come forth, nothing
00:21:54.42\00:21:58.48
happens you just say well
folks I tried. You don't know.
00:21:58.90\00:22:02.66
I mean I believe the word of God
so I sometimes wonder. Do you
00:22:02.69\00:22:06.53
think pastor's crazy now? Have
you ever been at a funeral and
00:22:06.57\00:22:10.79
wondered. Now I mean, I believe
what I read in the Bible. Jesus
00:22:10.83\00:22:15.53
said, Heal the sick, cleanse the
lepers, raise the dead, cast out
00:22:15.57\00:22:20.06
demons. Freely you've received,
freely give. A lot of scholars
00:22:20.10\00:22:23.50
sort of spiritualize this and
raise those who are spiritually
00:22:23.53\00:22:27.50
dead. But no, the disciples were
raising the dead weren't they?
00:22:27.54\00:22:31.31
I think we may see more of this
in the last days as God pours
00:22:31.34\00:22:35.08
out his Spirit. So now
we're going to move on to Jesus'
00:22:35.11\00:22:38.92
resurrection. I remember reading
where Dwight Moody, when he was
00:22:38.95\00:22:44.68
a young minister, he
was suddenly invited to do a
00:22:44.71\00:22:48.40
funeral. He had no preparation.
He was actually a layman who was
00:22:48.43\00:22:51.33
kind of called into the ministry
So he began to read through the
00:22:51.37\00:22:54.23
Bible to try and found where
Jesus had a funeral sermon.
00:22:54.27\00:22:57.61
He wanted to do Jesus' funeral
sermons but you realize every
00:22:57.64\00:23:01.59
funeral Jesus went to he sort
of messed it up; he raised them.
00:23:01.63\00:23:05.54
Death could not exist in
his presence including his own
00:23:05.58\00:23:09.97
funeral. So before I get to
that though I want to establish
00:23:10.01\00:23:16.63
something that is difficult.
When Jesus died was he really
00:23:16.66\00:23:22.20
dead? You know some say think
about this. Was Jesus God the
00:23:22.24\00:23:29.78
Son? Can God die. If Jesus
is divine, can divinity die?
00:23:29.82\00:23:35.14
That's so hard for us to
comprehend. Let me just read
00:23:35.17\00:23:40.43
what the Bible says and you just
I hope will trust what the word
00:23:40.46\00:23:45.97
says. Romans 5 verses 6 to 8.
For when we were still without
00:23:46.01\00:23:51.54
strength in due time Christ died
for the ungodly. For scarcely
00:23:51.58\00:23:55.99
for a righteous man will one
die, yet perhaps for a good man
00:23:56.03\00:23:59.95
some would even dare to die but
God demonstrates his own love
00:23:59.98\00:24:05.74
towards us in that while we were
still sinners Christ died for us
00:24:05.77\00:24:11.50
It's plain, he died. And you
know there are scores of verses
00:24:11.53\00:24:14.87
I could read that say the same
thing. I Thessalonians 5:9and 10
00:24:14.91\00:24:18.95
For God did not appoint us
to wrath but to obtain salvation
00:24:18.98\00:24:22.99
through our Lord Jesus Christ
who died for us. For whether we
00:24:23.03\00:24:28.18
wake or sleep we should live
together with him. Some will say
00:24:28.21\00:24:32.27
when Jesus died on the cross
he didn't really die. There's a
00:24:32.30\00:24:36.17
couple of theories. One is he
swooned. That's kind of the old
00:24:36.21\00:24:40.26
word that they used, passed out.
He was in some suspended state.
00:24:40.29\00:24:44.30
That you know when he was
on the cross and they gave him
00:24:44.34\00:24:47.97
something to drink, it wasn't
sour wine or vinegar or gall.
00:24:48.01\00:24:52.08
It was actually a narcotic that
put him in a coma, death-like
00:24:52.12\00:24:55.60
state. This is a theory that has
been around for years and that
00:24:55.64\00:24:59.08
when the soldiers took him down
he wasn't really dead. They put
00:24:59.12\00:25:02.53
him in the tomb, the disciples
snuck in, they revived him
00:25:02.56\00:25:05.64
and it's no miracle, it wasn't
a resurrection. Jesus never
00:25:05.68\00:25:09.95
really actually died. How many
of you have heard this before?
00:25:09.99\00:25:14.23
Any of you ever hear Pastor J.
Vernon McGee. He's been around
00:25:14.27\00:25:17.75
for years, he has actually
passed away a few years ago but
00:25:17.79\00:25:21.20
his ministry has been around for
years. It's called Through the
00:25:21.24\00:25:23.24
Bible. I enjoy listening
to Pastor McGee. He has a very
00:25:23.27\00:25:26.16
distinctive deep southern drawl
even though he preached in L.A.
00:25:26.20\00:25:29.86
for years he was from the south
and you could always hear Pastor
00:25:29.90\00:25:33.77
J. Vernon McGee talk in his very
deep... Those who listen know
00:25:33.80\00:25:37.27
what I'm talking about. But he's
a pretty good scholar. Someone
00:25:37.31\00:25:40.54
wrote J. Vernon McGee one time
and said our preacher said on
00:25:40.57\00:25:43.77
Easter Jesus just passed out
on the cross and the disciples
00:25:43.80\00:25:46.93
nursed him back to health. What
do you think? Pastor McGee said,
00:25:46.96\00:25:51.45
Dear Sister: Beat your preacher
with a leather whip with 39
00:25:51.49\00:25:55.63
heavy strokes, nail him to a
cross, hang him in the sun for
00:25:55.67\00:26:00.05
six hours, run a spear through
his heart, embalm him head to
00:26:00.08\00:26:03.78
foot, put him in an airless
tomb for three days and let's
00:26:03.82\00:26:08.48
see what happens. (Laughter)
Well that kind of says it all
00:26:08.52\00:26:15.55
doesn't it. The idea that Jesus
just passed out. It says he
00:26:15.59\00:26:22.55
actually had a napkin around his
head, he was in an airless tomb,
00:26:22.58\00:26:26.69
they pierced his heart, all his
blood ran out. He wasn't just
00:26:26.73\00:26:31.30
fainted. Then others say well
he did die but because he's God,
00:26:31.33\00:26:35.87
God can't die, he was always
conscious through the whole
00:26:35.90\00:26:39.66
experience. And you've probably
heard this. Matter of fact it's
00:26:39.69\00:26:43.52
repeated in the Apostles Creed.
Jesus actually had an out of
00:26:43.56\00:26:47.48
body experience when he died
on the cross. Most of this comes
00:26:47.52\00:26:51.06
from one verse I'm about to
read. They say when Jesus died
00:26:51.09\00:26:54.58
he wasn't really dead but he
just went into another state and
00:26:54.61\00:26:58.07
he began to preach to lost souls
in hell to give them another
00:26:58.11\00:27:02.10
chance. Have you heard this
before? Well first of all there
00:27:02.14\00:27:05.43
are serious problems with the
idea that after a person dies
00:27:05.47\00:27:08.60
and they get their punishment,
that God is going to give them
00:27:08.63\00:27:12.44
another chance. The Bible is
clear that it's appointed unto
00:27:12.48\00:27:15.82
man once to die, after this
the judgment. Nowhere in the
00:27:15.86\00:27:19.13
Bible does it say after you die
instead of being judged based
00:27:19.17\00:27:22.77
upon your works you're going to
be judged or rewarded based upon
00:27:22.81\00:27:26.63
did Jesus come to you in your
after-life and then you accepted
00:27:26.67\00:27:30.16
him or by virtue of someone
praying in your behalf or doing
00:27:30.19\00:27:33.43
something in this life that's
going to give you merit to save
00:27:33.46\00:27:37.33
you. Once you are dead that is
it. You take to your grave your
00:27:37.37\00:27:40.74
destiny. Every man will be
rewarded according to his words.
00:27:40.78\00:27:44.10
Not according to the works of
your family, not according to a
00:27:44.14\00:27:47.43
second chance. So there
are really problems with this
00:27:47.47\00:27:51.19
theology. But this is the verse
that that theory comes from.
00:27:51.22\00:27:56.81
I Peter chapter 3 verse 18: For
Christ also suffered once for
00:27:56.85\00:28:01.54
sins, the just for the unjust.
That he might bring us to God
00:28:01.57\00:28:06.59
being put to death in the flesh
but made alive by the Spirit,
00:28:06.62\00:28:11.63
capital S, by whom he went
and preached unto the spirits in
00:28:11.66\00:28:16.24
prison who formerly were
disobedient when once the divine
00:28:16.27\00:28:20.78
longsuffering waited in the days
of Noah while the ark was being
00:28:20.81\00:28:24.41
prepared wherein few, that is
eight, souls were saved through
00:28:24.45\00:28:28.29
water. So they say ah here it
is. Jesus died and then through
00:28:28.32\00:28:31.61
the Spirit he went and preached
to the spirits who were in
00:28:31.65\00:28:34.72
prison and so folks say will
it sounds to me like after Jesus
00:28:34.75\00:28:37.99
died he didn't just stay on the
cross. He went into some other
00:28:38.02\00:28:41.22
state and he went down to
spirits who were in prison.
00:28:41.26\00:28:43.51
Evidently those were disobedient
back in the days of Noah. Folks
00:28:43.54\00:28:46.36
who died from the flood maybe
didn't get to hear the gospel.
00:28:46.40\00:28:50.32
He went back to give them
another chance. Have you heard
00:28:50.35\00:28:54.48
this? Yeah, it's out there.
Yeah That's not what it means.
00:28:54.51\00:28:59.31
Let me tell you what this
is saying. By which Spirit he
00:28:59.34\00:29:03.17
preached to the spirits in
prison. The emphasis here isn't
00:29:03.21\00:29:06.97
that Jesus, it's that the Spirit
went and preached to those who
00:29:07.00\00:29:11.00
were in prison back in the days
of Noah. Now if you take your
00:29:11.04\00:29:15.84
Bible and you turn to Genesis
chapter 6 verse 3, let me find
00:29:15.87\00:29:20.51
that real quick. You remember
this verse. This is exactly what
00:29:20.55\00:29:25.44
Peter's talking about. And the
Lord said, My Spirit will not
00:29:25.47\00:29:29.78
always strive with man forever.
In other words, it was through
00:29:29.82\00:29:34.29
the same Spirit, Peter's saying,
that raised Christ that God
00:29:34.32\00:29:38.76
preached to those spirits,
meaning people, who were in
00:29:38.80\00:29:42.71
prison by sin back in the days
of Noah. That's all he's talking
00:29:42.74\00:29:47.29
about. He's using that metaphor
of people who were in prison by
00:29:47.32\00:29:51.58
sin. My Spirit will not always
strive with man forever. He is
00:29:51.62\00:29:55.25
indeed flesh. Yet his days
will be 120 years. So from that
00:29:55.29\00:29:58.85
point in a special through the
ministry and the witness of Noah
00:29:58.88\00:30:01.98
God preached, Christ preached
through the Holy Spirit to those
00:30:02.02\00:30:05.08
people back then. It's a
reference to the Spirit, the
00:30:05.11\00:30:07.43
same Spirit that raised Jesus
is the same Spirit that preached
00:30:07.46\00:30:10.67
to those who were in prison
by sin back in the days of the
00:30:10.71\00:30:13.76
flood and those who didn't
listen then perished and those
00:30:13.80\00:30:17.51
who don't listen now perish.
That's the emphasis there.
00:30:17.55\00:30:21.57
So when it talks about the
altered state, did he have an
00:30:21.60\00:30:25.55
out-of-body experience? No. What
was Jesus thinking while he was
00:30:25.59\00:30:29.31
on the cross. Where was he,
where did he go, what was he
00:30:29.35\00:30:32.69
doing? He didn't go anywhere.
How do you know that? He said
00:30:32.73\00:30:36.25
when Mary went to worship him,
Do not cling to me for I have
00:30:36.28\00:30:40.38
not yet ascended to my Father.
That's the first place I'd go.
00:30:40.42\00:30:45.37
I'd go to my Father. He hadn't
gone anywhere. Now you and I,
00:30:45.41\00:30:49.40
we struggle with this, but think
about it. What is the penalty
00:30:49.44\00:30:53.40
for sin? The penalty for
sin is death. Did Jesus take our
00:30:53.44\00:30:58.64
penalty on the cross. He did.
If Jesus didn't really die when
00:30:58.67\00:31:03.02
he was on the cross then did he
really take our penalty? Do the
00:31:03.05\00:31:07.36
wicked know anything, do
the righteous know anything when
00:31:07.39\00:31:10.28
they die? Do the dead
know something while they're in
00:31:10.32\00:31:13.14
death? The living know they'll
die but the Bible says the dead
00:31:13.18\00:31:17.11
know not anything. In that
very day they die their thoughts
00:31:17.14\00:31:20.37
perish. Do not put your trust
in princes or the son of man in
00:31:20.40\00:31:24.21
whom there is no help. His
breath goes forth. He dies and
00:31:24.25\00:31:27.44
that very day his thoughts
perish. So the dead don't know
00:31:27.47\00:31:30.79
anything. So Christ took the
penalty of the lost and he died
00:31:30.82\00:31:34.07
for our sins. He was unconscious
while he was in the tomb. He was
00:31:34.11\00:31:39.30
not there with a reading
lamp catching up on his reading.
00:31:39.33\00:31:42.49
He wasn't out meandering
through the spirit world
00:31:42.53\00:31:46.10
preaching to people as an
itinerant spiritual evangelist.
00:31:46.14\00:31:51.35
He died. He slept through the
Sabbath. Christ rested even in
00:31:51.39\00:31:56.42
death from his work of saving
men. That's wonderful when you
00:31:56.45\00:32:01.41
think about it. Christ even
kept the Sabbath in his death.
00:32:01.45\00:32:05.44
And then he told them he would
rise the third day. He had said
00:32:05.47\00:32:09.43
this numberless times in
the New Testament. Mark 8:31: He
00:32:09.46\00:32:14.79
began to teach them that the Son
of Man must suffer many things
00:32:14.82\00:32:17.62
and be rejected by the elders
and the chief priests and the
00:32:17.65\00:32:21.34
scribes and be killed and after
three days rise again. He spoke
00:32:21.37\00:32:25.02
this word openly. It was no
secret that Jesus said that he
00:32:25.05\00:32:29.11
was going to rise again. He
told the disciples this on many
00:32:29.14\00:32:33.29
occasions. So not only did
the Old Testament prophecies say
00:32:33.32\00:32:37.86
this as Luke mentions, Jesus
told the disciples this that he
00:32:37.89\00:32:41.94
was going to really die and he
would rise. Could he have faked
00:32:41.98\00:32:45.72
this, could he have set it up?
Could he have talked the Romans
00:32:45.75\00:32:49.91
into crucifying him and hoped
that this whole trick or ruse
00:32:49.94\00:32:54.08
would pass off. You could never
fabricate something like that.
00:32:54.11\00:32:59.17
And then of course the good news
After the three days in the tomb
00:32:59.21\00:33:04.23
and it was over the period of
really touching on three days,
00:33:04.27\00:33:10.36
part of Friday, all of Sabbath,
part of Sunday, he rose.
00:33:10.40\00:33:15.31
And then you read in Mark
chapter 16 verse 9 that Jesus
00:33:15.34\00:33:20.18
rose. When he rose early in the
morning on the first day of the
00:33:20.22\00:33:24.74
week he appeared first to Mary
Magdalene out of whom he had
00:33:24.77\00:33:30.44
cast seven devils. Now how did
Jesus rise? Who raised Jesus?
00:33:30.48\00:33:36.39
You know the Bible says that
he raised himself. I'm sure the
00:33:36.42\00:33:41.44
Father cooperated. But read
this. John 10:17. Are you making
00:33:41.47\00:33:46.59
notes? You can look it up if you
have your Bible. John 10 verses
00:33:46.62\00:33:51.71
17 and 18: Therefore my Father
loves me because I lay down
00:33:51.74\00:33:56.21
my life that I might take it
again. No one takes it from me.
00:33:56.25\00:34:00.75
But I lay it down of myself. I
have power to lay it down and I
00:34:00.79\00:34:04.84
have power to take it again.
This command I have received
00:34:04.88\00:34:08.44
from my Father. Now that's
another thing that causes a
00:34:08.47\00:34:11.96
mystery for people. How could
Jesus who is unconscious have
00:34:12.00\00:34:15.45
power to raise himself up. You'd
think he'd need to at least be
00:34:15.49\00:34:19.11
standing there outside your body
and shaking yourself. Okay, wake
00:34:19.14\00:34:22.73
up. How do you lay down your
life and raise it up. Here's my
00:34:22.76\00:34:25.77
theory. There's power in
the word. There's creative power
00:34:25.80\00:34:29.12
in the word. Heaven and earth
will pass away but the word of
00:34:29.15\00:34:32.43
God does not pass away.
When Jesus told the daughter of
00:34:32.47\00:34:35.52
Jairus get up she got up. When
he told the young man of Nain
00:34:35.55\00:34:39.76
get up, he got up. When he told
Lazarus come forth, Lazarus came
00:34:39.79\00:34:43.97
forth right. So whenever the
word of God says something is
00:34:44.00\00:34:47.63
going to happen it happened.
When Jesus said I will rise the
00:34:47.67\00:34:51.26
third day, that was the
same word that raised him up.
00:34:51.30\00:34:53.41
The power of his word. Oh sure
it was suspended but his word
00:34:53.44\00:34:58.06
doesn't pass away. It's
fulfilled right on time.
00:34:58.09\00:35:00.98
Now you might say well there's
a theory that he was buried in a
00:35:01.01\00:35:07.05
borrowed tomb, we're not
sure exactly where it was and
00:35:07.08\00:35:09.47
supposedly the disciples came
and stole the body and said that
00:35:09.50\00:35:13.77
he rose. How can you really know
that Jesus rose? How do you know
00:35:13.80\00:35:18.04
anything? What evidence do
you have? You've got first-hand
00:35:18.07\00:35:21.99
evidence of your senses. If you
were not there 2000 years ago to
00:35:22.02\00:35:25.16
see him rise and you don't have
that first-hand evidence, what
00:35:25.19\00:35:28.91
evidence do you have. You've got
to have the evidence of others.
00:35:28.94\00:35:32.75
Does that make sense? Is there
evidence of others that Jesus
00:35:32.79\00:35:37.30
rose? Well let's look at some of
the witnesses. First of all we
00:35:37.33\00:35:41.81
just read about Mary. What
witnesses do we have that Jesus
00:35:41.84\00:35:46.27
rose? Mary was there first at
the tomb. Then that same day on
00:35:46.30\00:35:50.70
the road to Emmaus. Two
disciples were walking with him.
00:35:50.73\00:35:54.11
They didn't know that it
was him. Maybe his shroud was
00:35:54.15\00:35:57.46
covering his head or he shielded
them from recognizing him but
00:35:57.49\00:36:01.25
before the meal was over in the
town of Emmaus they recognized
00:36:01.29\00:36:04.68
him and they said Lord, it's
you. They ran back up to the
00:36:04.72\00:36:07.91
upper room to tell the other
disciples. So he appeared to the
00:36:07.95\00:36:11.33
two on the road to Emmaus. And
their testimony is, The Lord is
00:36:11.37\00:36:14.95
risen indeed and has appeared to
Simon. That's an important verse
00:36:14.99\00:36:19.05
by the way. That's Luke 24:34.
Not only did he appear to Mary
00:36:19.09\00:36:22.59
he appeared to the two on
the road to Emmaus, one of them
00:36:22.62\00:36:26.56
their name was Cleopus, but
they said before that day was
00:36:26.60\00:36:30.80
over he evidently had appeared
to Peter, Simon Peter. That's
00:36:30.83\00:36:34.07
why they said, he did appear
to Simon. He's not making up
00:36:34.11\00:36:37.84
stories. It's true because we
saw him also. There's no record
00:36:37.87\00:36:41.13
in the Bible of Jesus appearing
to Simon. I have a feeling it
00:36:41.17\00:36:43.99
was a personal thing because
remember Peter had denied him
00:36:44.02\00:36:47.62
three times. So they said the
Lord has risen and he did appear
00:36:47.65\00:36:51.81
to Simon. Then you go to the
upper room and in the upper room
00:36:51.85\00:36:55.70
he appeared to not only the
12 that were gathered there but
00:36:55.73\00:36:59.80
there were others with them.
Then you've got the 12 apostles.
00:36:59.83\00:37:04.74
He appeared to them on numerous
occasions and he said I'm alive.
00:37:04.78\00:37:09.65
He ate in front of them, ate
honey comb and he ate fish and
00:37:09.69\00:37:13.23
you've got the testimony of all
of those men. Now granted some
00:37:13.27\00:37:17.05
of them were fishermen and
fishermen sometimes tell stories
00:37:17.08\00:37:20.83
but one of them was an
accountant and they're very
00:37:20.87\00:37:22.86
precise, right? Matthew. Matter
of fact, their details are more
00:37:22.89\00:37:28.58
precise than you usually want
them. There were shepherds and
00:37:28.62\00:37:34.23
scribes and all kinds of people.
They all bore testimony together
00:37:34.27\00:37:37.02
that he was alive. He appeared
to them again by the sea.
00:37:37.06\00:37:40.95
You remember when Peter
was fishing with part of the
00:37:40.98\00:37:44.81
apostles and he appeared to
them and he had conversations
00:37:44.84\00:37:47.32
with them. Matter of fact, over
a period of 40 days he appeared
00:37:47.36\00:37:50.10
to many of them on many
occasions before he ascended
00:37:50.14\00:37:53.64
to heaven. At one point he
appeared to 500 of them at one
00:37:53.67\00:37:58.28
time. Now you might think well
there's one or two people in
00:37:58.32\00:38:01.58
history and they're a little
cracked or their delusional.
00:38:01.62\00:38:04.81
They thought they saw him but
they had a vision. Well here you
00:38:04.85\00:38:08.34
get 500 seeing him. I
Corinthians 15. I'm not
00:38:08.38\00:38:11.06
reading you all these references
because there's not time for
00:38:11.10\00:38:14.73
that. I Corinthians 15 verse 6:
After that he was seen by over
00:38:14.77\00:38:18.56
500 brethren at once of whom the
greater part of them remain to
00:38:18.59\00:38:22.79
the present day, but some have
fallen asleep. After that he was
00:38:22.82\00:38:26.98
seen by James, now it's
mentioned here with a comma,
00:38:27.02\00:38:31.00
meaning that it's separate. This
is James his brother who is not
00:38:31.03\00:38:34.18
one of the 12 apostles. He
appeared to him. Then by all of
00:38:34.21\00:38:38.70
the apostles. Then last of all
he was seen by me also as one
00:38:38.74\00:38:43.17
born out of due time. Now who
wrote that? Paul. So not only
00:38:43.20\00:38:48.68
did he appear to 500 disciples
but then he appears to Saul who
00:38:48.71\00:38:54.39
is also known as Paul. He sees
Jesus alive. But that's not the
00:38:54.42\00:39:00.00
last one. You go to the book
of Revelation and who appears to
00:39:00.03\00:39:04.59
John, the last of the apostles
in the waning days of his life.
00:39:04.63\00:39:08.99
Jesus reveals himself to him and
he ends the book by saying I am
00:39:09.03\00:39:13.40
He that lives. I was dead but
I'm alive forever more. Even so
00:39:13.44\00:39:17.78
come Lord Jesus. So if
you're not going to believe this
00:39:17.82\00:39:22.67
testimony... Let me just get you
to think about something. If you
00:39:22.71\00:39:27.45
believe in ancient history,
there's a lot of things we take
00:39:27.49\00:39:30.87
for granted about ancient
history like the existence of
00:39:30.90\00:39:34.22
Julius Caesar, Alexander the
Great, Nebuchadnezzar, Hammurabi
00:39:34.25\00:39:39.67
the various pharaohs. You go
through the different records of
00:39:39.70\00:39:45.09
history and you know
there are more witnesses to the
00:39:45.12\00:39:47.24
resurrection of Jesus than all
these other famous characters of
00:39:47.28\00:39:50.66
ancient history and yet nobody
ever questions did Alexander the
00:39:50.69\00:39:54.03
Great really live. There
are not as many writings about
00:39:54.07\00:39:58.07
Alexander as there are about
Jesus and his resurrection.
00:39:58.11\00:40:02.08
So what testimony would
you accept? You've got the
00:40:02.12\00:40:07.07
testimony of history and
would you be willing to die for
00:40:07.10\00:40:11.07
something that... If you made
up a story of the resurrection
00:40:11.11\00:40:14.34
would you be willing to die
for a big fabrication that you
00:40:14.37\00:40:17.72
created? Were the apostles
willing to die believing that
00:40:17.75\00:40:21.03
Jesus had risen? Many of them
did. They laid down their lives.
00:40:21.07\00:40:24.88
They were tortured. That's why
Paul says We have seen with our
00:40:24.92\00:40:28.15
eyes, we have handled the Word
of Life, we bear witness that
00:40:28.18\00:40:31.69
what we've seen is true. They're
using the strongest, most
00:40:31.72\00:40:35.42
emphatic language that they
can find that Jesus really rose.
00:40:35.46\00:40:39.12
Now I read this just
last week but there's lots of
00:40:39.16\00:40:45.06
extra biblical testimony besides
what you find in the Bible and
00:40:45.10\00:40:49.50
I quote Flavius Josephus. This
is in his book The Antiquities
00:40:49.53\00:40:53.90
of the Jews. He was a
contemporary of Christ.
00:40:53.94\00:40:57.01
He toured with the Romans. He
was spared after the destruction
00:40:57.04\00:40:59.88
of Jerusalem. He wrote the
history of the Jewish people.
00:40:59.92\00:41:03.11
He was a scholar. Now there was
about this time Jesus, a wise
00:41:03.14\00:41:07.34
man if it be lawful to call
him a man. Don't forget this was
00:41:07.38\00:41:11.65
written by a Jew who was not
a Christian. By the way, you can
00:41:11.68\00:41:15.98
be a Jew and a Christian but
Josephus made no profession of
00:41:16.02\00:41:19.95
being a Christian, sounds like
he believed. There was about
00:41:19.99\00:41:23.88
this time Jesus, a wise man, if
it be lawful to call him a man,
00:41:23.92\00:41:27.42
for he was a doer of wonderful
works, a teacher of such men as
00:41:27.45\00:41:30.92
received the truth with
pleasure. He drew over to
00:41:30.96\00:41:33.76
himself many of the Jews and
many of the Gentiles. He was the
00:41:33.80\00:41:37.34
Christ. And when pilot, at
the suggestion of principal men
00:41:37.37\00:41:41.13
among us, had condemned him to
the cross, those who loved him
00:41:41.16\00:41:44.92
at the first did not forsake him
for he appeared to them alive
00:41:44.95\00:41:48.68
again the third day as the
divine prophets had foretold
00:41:48.71\00:41:53.22
These and 10,000 other wonderful
things concerning him and the
00:41:53.26\00:41:57.03
tribe of Christians so named
from him are not extinct at this
00:41:57.07\00:42:01.95
day. So what testimony will you
believe? You know I think one
00:42:01.99\00:42:05.93
reason that it's so hard for us
to believe in the resurrection
00:42:05.96\00:42:10.72
is because in our modern world
today... You might say I believe
00:42:10.75\00:42:14.27
in the resurrection, Doug. I
don't really have a problem with
00:42:14.31\00:42:18.54
this. But I think we're scared
of death. You don't need to
00:42:18.57\00:42:22.77
be because Jesus can
make something out of nothing.
00:42:22.81\00:42:26.36
That's the wonderful thing.
You know, one of the things that
00:42:26.40\00:42:28.08
gives me comfort is I
can't explain how you can have a
00:42:28.12\00:42:32.03
seed that is thousands of years
old that can germinate after
00:42:32.07\00:42:37.27
being basically dead in every
sense of the word. You've heard
00:42:37.30\00:42:41.99
some of these stories of ancient
seeds. They found these ancient
00:42:42.03\00:42:46.68
lotus seeds in a bog in Japan,
some extinct lotus flower.
00:42:46.72\00:42:50.72
They were 3000 years old and
they carefully extracted them
00:42:50.76\00:42:53.99
and dried them out and wondered
what if, you think they could
00:42:54.02\00:42:57.33
still be viable. If we plant
them could they live. How can
00:42:57.37\00:43:00.37
you get a flower out of
something that had been dormant?
00:43:00.40\00:43:03.29
It's not been eating. How could
it stay alive? It's not been
00:43:03.32\00:43:06.87
doing anything for 3000 years.
What do you think? They put it
00:43:06.91\00:43:10.71
in the ground and they sprouted.
You've heard of Howard Carter
00:43:10.75\00:43:15.09
who examined the tomb of King
Tutankhamun. They found a pot
00:43:15.12\00:43:19.24
that had some old Egyptian
beans in it over 2000 years old,
00:43:19.27\00:43:23.54
pretty close to 3000 there too.
They put them in some fertile
00:43:23.58\00:43:28.02
ground with some moisture and
some sunlight and they sprouted.
00:43:28.05\00:43:32.46
What keeps that essence of life
in those seeds? I don't know.
00:43:32.49\00:43:36.39
It's a mystery. But God can make
something out of nothing and
00:43:36.43\00:43:41.49
he doesn't need a particle
collider to do it. Let me give
00:43:41.52\00:43:45.86
you a kernel of truth. John 12,
this is what Jesus said about
00:43:45.90\00:43:50.50
this: Most assuredly I say
to you, unless a grain of wheat
00:43:50.54\00:43:55.08
fall into the ground and dies,
it remains alone. But if it dies
00:43:55.11\00:44:00.00
it produces much grain. He who
loves his life will lose it and
00:44:00.04\00:44:04.89
he who hates his life in
this world will keep it for life
00:44:04.93\00:44:08.38
eternal. What is Jesus saying
here? Well for one thing we must
00:44:08.42\00:44:12.78
become nothing and die if
we're going to become something.
00:44:12.81\00:44:16.73
Martin Luther put it this
way. God creates from nothing so
00:44:16.76\00:44:20.67
until we become nothing he
can make nothing of us. The Lord
00:44:20.70\00:44:24.57
doesn't need to start
with material and transform it.
00:44:24.61\00:44:28.27
Man knows how to manipulate
life. We can take cells from one
00:44:28.31\00:44:31.65
person and inject them into
another person and have sort of
00:44:31.68\00:44:36.01
a symbiotic or surrogate,
that's the word I'm looking for,
00:44:36.05\00:44:40.72
surrogate birth. We can clone
and slice and splice the genes
00:44:40.75\00:44:44.50
and take what God's already
created. We're taking life he's
00:44:44.53\00:44:48.42
already got and you know try to
cross pollinate and cross breed
00:44:48.45\00:44:52.10
and do things with that. We can
manipulate it, but we can't take
00:44:52.14\00:44:56.08
nothing and make a cell of life.
We can't take nothing and make a
00:44:56.11\00:45:00.01
man. I don't know how he does
it but I believe he can do it
00:45:00.05\00:45:03.61
because you look around you and
all you see in the world today
00:45:03.64\00:45:07.16
is evidence God can make
something out of nothing.
00:45:07.20\00:45:11.02
Again, Paul talking about the
seed principle. I Corinthians 15
00:45:11.06\00:45:17.14
verse 36. Foolish ones. What you
sow is not made alive unless it
00:45:17.17\00:45:22.23
dies. And what do you sow. You
do not sow that body that shall
00:45:22.26\00:45:27.33
be... In other words, if I
want to get a banana, you do not
00:45:27.37\00:45:32.16
plant a banana. Try it. You're
not going to get a banana tree
00:45:32.19\00:45:36.40
from planting a banana. It's
sown as something else but grows
00:45:36.43\00:45:40.46
into a banana. If you want a
pine tree, you don't stick the
00:45:40.49\00:45:43.79
tree in the ground. You've
got to take the seed of the tree
00:45:43.83\00:45:48.39
and put it in the ground. You
don't sow that body that shall
00:45:48.43\00:45:52.01
be mere grain, perhaps wheat or
some other grain, but God gives
00:45:52.05\00:45:56.21
it a body as he pleases and to
each seed its own body. He was
00:45:56.24\00:46:00.37
using these metaphors
from nature to try and help us
00:46:00.40\00:46:04.71
understand that God can
take nothing and make something.
00:46:04.75\00:46:08.91
When you're resurrected, what
does God use to resurrect you?
00:46:08.95\00:46:13.90
You know I read that in Japan
in the 1600s there was a great
00:46:13.94\00:46:18.86
persecution of Christians.
Thousands were killed.
00:46:18.89\00:46:20.84
The Japanese knew the Christians
believed in the resurrection and
00:46:20.87\00:46:25.17
they said well what we'll do is
we're going to bury their bodies
00:46:25.21\00:46:28.57
in one place and we're going to
bury their heads somewhere else
00:46:28.61\00:46:32.47
so they can be raised. So is
God going to come down and go Oh
00:46:32.50\00:46:37.29
where are the parts. I can't
do this. Is God reassembling the
00:46:37.32\00:46:42.07
old parts. The wife of the
president in South America...
00:46:42.11\00:46:50.02
Ok what was her name? That
famous wife of the president in
00:46:50.06\00:46:57.94
South America,
Argentina. (Audience responds)
00:46:57.98\00:47:02.43
Eva Peron, Eva that's it. He
had her embalmed, very expensive
00:47:02.47\00:47:06.08
best in the world, and they say
to this very day her body looks
00:47:06.12\00:47:10.06
just like the day they laid her
in the grave. And you think the
00:47:10.09\00:47:12.96
Lord's going to come along and
see her, assuming she's saved,
00:47:12.99\00:47:15.53
and say Ah thanks. This is a lot
easier to do a resurrection like
00:47:15.56\00:47:18.06
like this. I really appreciate
that. Who is it? Is it Lenin
00:47:18.09\00:47:23.13
that they've frozen? Yeah.
They got him frozen there in Red
00:47:23.16\00:47:27.42
Square. I appreciate the help
guys. If you freeze them it's
00:47:27.45\00:47:31.68
easier for me. Others are
saying I want to be buried
00:47:31.71\00:47:35.73
cryogenically, frozen, preserved
Just give the Lord a little help
00:47:35.77\00:47:39.57
because you've heard this, right
It doesn't make any difference
00:47:39.61\00:47:43.12
because none of the body you're
wearing now goes to heaven, none
00:47:43.15\00:47:46.63
of it, not one brain cell.
Who you are he saves somehow. He
00:47:46.67\00:47:50.44
backs up the hard drive. I don't
know how he does it, but he
00:47:50.48\00:47:54.43
saves who you are. God knows
who you are and he makes a new
00:47:54.47\00:47:58.42
creature. That's why the Bible
says all things are new. Old
00:47:58.46\00:48:02.08
things are passed away, all
things are made new. This is
00:48:02.12\00:48:08.74
good news. John 11 verse 25,
Jesus said to Martha, I am the
00:48:08.77\00:48:14.15
resurrection and the life. He
who believes in me though he may
00:48:14.19\00:48:19.19
die, yet he shall live. And
whoever lives and believes in me
00:48:19.22\00:48:24.26
will never die. Now wait a
second here. If we are living
00:48:24.29\00:48:29.26
now and believing in him he said
we will never die. Do Christians
00:48:29.29\00:48:34.55
die or do they go to sleep?
According to the Bible they go
00:48:34.58\00:48:38.32
to sleep. You don't have to
worry about dying. You're just
00:48:38.35\00:48:42.02
wondering when your change will
be, when you're going to get the
00:48:42.05\00:48:45.87
new body. Those who are alive
when Christ comes, it says in a
00:48:45.90\00:48:48.99
moment, in the twinkling of an
eye, they are changed. I know it
00:48:49.02\00:48:51.56
sounds like a funeral service
but I'm getting into things I
00:48:51.59\00:48:54.76
never get a chance to get into
at a funeral service. We'll be
00:48:54.79\00:48:57.70
changed when the Lord comes down
and what's change? This mortal
00:48:57.74\00:49:00.58
puts on incorruption. This body
is dying, it's going to die,
00:49:00.61\00:49:03.77
just accept it. We're all
terminal in that respect but you
00:49:03.81\00:49:06.84
don't need to be afraid because
the resurrection of Jesus
00:49:06.87\00:49:09.83
proves... He was dead three days
... that God can make something
00:49:09.87\00:49:13.00
out of nothing. Because Christ
went into the grave with a
00:49:13.04\00:49:17.38
mortal body like you and I have
but he came out with a glorified
00:49:17.41\00:49:20.62
body. Isn't that what the Bible
tells us. And that's the kind of
00:49:20.65\00:49:25.12
bodies we're going to have. So.
I still can't prove it to you
00:49:25.15\00:49:28.82
scientifically, but I think
there's a lot of evidence in the
00:49:28.86\00:49:32.04
world out there that God does
know how to make something out
00:49:32.08\00:49:35.53
of nothing. And that's hope for
you and me because when we come
00:49:35.56\00:49:38.98
to the Lord we are nothing.
We are poor and wretched and
00:49:39.01\00:49:42.83
miserable and blind and naked
and we're helpless and when we
00:49:42.86\00:49:47.30
realize our nothingness, that's
when he can recreate us. The
00:49:47.33\00:49:51.73
resurrection of Jesus is
inexorably linked to living a
00:49:51.76\00:49:58.24
new life. The victory that you
and I have as new creatures with
00:49:58.27\00:50:02.91
new hearts... The idea of
him giving you a new heart. The
00:50:02.95\00:50:07.05
resurrection is evidence that
there's a new birth that happens
00:50:07.09\00:50:10.85
inside of you, a glorious new
heart, a new spirit. The most
00:50:10.89\00:50:14.01
important thing that you could
grasp from the resurrection is
00:50:14.04\00:50:16.65
God can make something out of
nothing. He can take our stony
00:50:16.68\00:50:19.99
hearts, take them out and
recreate a new heart within us.
00:50:20.03\00:50:24.27
All of this is very real. He
really does give you a new heart
00:50:24.30\00:50:29.10
And also we don't need to be
afraid of death. It's like that
00:50:29.13\00:50:33.31
hymn that we sing, Nothing in
my hand I bring, simply to the
00:50:33.34\00:50:38.50
cross I cling. You know Sir
Walter Raleigh is an interesting
00:50:38.54\00:50:42.80
character from history, very
colorful character from history.
00:50:42.83\00:50:46.64
He was sort of a favorite of
Queen Elizabeth for many years
00:50:46.68\00:50:50.54
but eventually she passed away
and he fell out of favor and the
00:50:50.57\00:50:54.50
next ruler put him in the Tower
of London, threatened to buy his
00:50:54.54\00:50:58.44
position and influence.
They finally consigned him to be
00:50:58.47\00:51:01.91
executed. Most people don't know
not only was he an explorer and
00:51:01.95\00:51:05.36
a sailor and a soldier, he
was a poet. While he was waiting
00:51:05.39\00:51:09.14
there in the Tower of London
for his execution he wrote these
00:51:09.18\00:51:14.25
words. Even such is time that
takes in trust our youth, our
00:51:14.28\00:51:19.73
joys and all we have and pays
us with age and dust who in the
00:51:19.77\00:51:24.72
dark and silent grave when we
have wandered all our days, shut
00:51:24.75\00:51:29.68
up the story of our days. But
from the earth, this grave, this
00:51:29.71\00:51:34.61
dust my God shall raise me
up I trust. He died. He wasn't
00:51:34.64\00:51:40.60
afraid believing in the
resurrection. Socrates oh 400
00:51:40.64\00:51:46.52
years before Christ died was
told he needed to drink hemlock.
00:51:46.56\00:51:51.78
Basically he was given the death
sentence and he said I'll drink
00:51:51.82\00:51:55.76
the hemlock rather than have you
execute me. Then after he drank
00:51:55.80\00:51:59.71
it as he was waiting for
the poison to take effect his
00:51:59.74\00:52:02.85
disciples around him were saying
will we live again? He said, I
00:52:02.89\00:52:06.58
don't know, maybe. How sad to
have that kind of an outlook on
00:52:06.62\00:52:10.28
life. When the pagans were
buried there in the catacombs
00:52:10.31\00:52:14.49
underneath Rome. You can
see some of the pagan graves and
00:52:14.53\00:52:18.46
they're etched good bye
for eternity, good bye forever,
00:52:18.50\00:52:22.30
but in the Christian catacombs
that you find around Rome it
00:52:22.33\00:52:26.75
says good night until morning.
Good bye until tomorrow. There's
00:52:26.78\00:52:31.16
hope. This is what Jesus
offers us. You need to be free.
00:52:31.20\00:52:34.05
We don't need to be held in
bondage to death because God can
00:52:34.09\00:52:36.96
make something out of nothing.
We're surrounded with evidence
00:52:37.00\00:52:40.15
of his creative power all around
us. The resurrection reminds us
00:52:40.19\00:52:43.43
of that and that's good news. I
thought it would be good for us
00:52:43.47\00:52:46.61
appropriate for us to just sing
an anthem of praise in closing
00:52:46.65\00:52:51.00
our service today. It's 166 in
your hymnals. Christ the Lord Is
00:52:51.04\00:52:56.25
Risen Today. I'd like for you to
sing with enthusiasm and energy
00:52:56.28\00:53:01.46
this good news. Let's
stand together as we sing.
00:53:01.50\00:53:03.65
¤ ¤
00:53:03.81\00:53:35.78
Christ the Lord is
risen today. Al-le-lu-ia!
00:53:35.81\00:53:44.84
Sons of men and
angels say, Al-le-lu-ia!
00:53:44.88\00:53:53.84
Raise your joys and
triumphs high. Al-le-lu-ia!
00:53:53.87\00:54:02.95
Sing, ye heavens, and
earth reply, Al-le-lu-ia!
00:54:02.99\00:54:11.85
Lives again our
glorious King, Al-le-lu-ia!
00:54:11.89\00:54:20.61
Where, O death, is now
thy sting? Al-le-lu-ia!
00:54:20.65\00:54:29.16
Once He died, our
souls to save, Al-le-lu-ia!
00:54:29.20\00:54:37.65
Where's thy victory,
boasting grave? Al-le-lu-ia!
00:54:37.68\00:54:47.14
Love's redeeming
work is done, Al-le-lu-ia!
00:54:47.17\00:54:56.07
Fought the fight, the
battle won Al-le-lu-ia!
00:54:56.11\00:55:04.81
Death in vain forbids
Him rise, Al-le-lu-ia!
00:55:04.85\00:55:14.08
Christ hath opened
Paradise, Al-le-lu-ia!
00:55:14.11\00:55:23.27
Soar we then where
Christ has led, Al-le-lu-ia!
00:55:23.31\00:55:32.07
Following our
exalted Head, Al-le-lu-ia!
00:55:32.10\00:55:40.66
Made like Him, like
Him we rise, Al-le-lu-ia!
00:55:40.69\00:55:49.07
Ours the cross, the
grave, the skies, Al-le-lu-ia!
00:55:49.10\00:56:00.77
How many of you believe the
Lord can make something out of
00:56:00.80\00:56:05.35
nothing? (Amen) That gives you
and me hope, right? He can take
00:56:05.39\00:56:09.48
us and realizing that we've
got these stony hearts, he can
00:56:09.52\00:56:13.61
give us new hearts, new spirits,
new minds. He can recreate us
00:56:13.65\00:56:17.71
and the resurrection is a
memorial of that. Let's pray.
00:56:17.75\00:56:22.21
Father in heaven, we are
thankful for the good news that
00:56:22.24\00:56:26.52
Jesus is alive right now,
at the right hand of your very
00:56:26.56\00:56:30.41
presence, there interceding
in our behalf in the heavenly
00:56:30.45\00:56:34.23
temple. That he is there and he
hears our prayers, that we can
00:56:34.26\00:56:39.21
have our petitions answered
in his living name. Lord we pray
00:56:39.25\00:56:44.43
that each of us can be recreated
by faith in this truth that you
00:56:44.47\00:56:48.98
can make something from nothing,
that your word has creative
00:56:49.02\00:56:53.75
power and that it can animate
new life into that which is dead
00:56:53.78\00:56:58.61
and it can reanimate our hearts
and minds. Bless us Lord that we
00:56:58.65\00:57:03.37
might be mobilized by this truth
We also pray that we can all
00:57:03.40\00:57:07.80
believe that eternal life, this
gift, is given now and we can
00:57:07.84\00:57:11.69
embrace it now and take it on
from this point through eternity
00:57:11.73\00:57:15.53
Bless each person. We pray your
blessing on this church and the
00:57:15.57\00:57:19.34
families represented here
and ask you go with us from this
00:57:19.38\00:57:22.20
place through the Sabbath
day and the week before us.
00:57:22.24\00:57:25.03
In Jesus' name. Amen.
00:57:25.07\00:57:28.46
Thank you for joining us for
this broadcast. If you've missed
00:57:28.49\00:57:31.21
any of our Amazing Facts
programs visit our web site
00:57:31.24\00:57:34.27
at AmazingFacts.org. There
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00:57:34.30\00:57:37.32
our television and radio
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00:57:37.36\00:57:40.64
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00:57:43.92\00:57:46.97
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00:57:47.01\00:57:49.72
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00:57:49.76\00:57:52.40
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00:57:52.43\00:57:55.55
many
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00:57:55.59\00:57:58.24