Participants: Chris Holland
Series Code: IIWC
Program Code: IIWC201326
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00:11 >>Announcer: It has stood the test of time.
00:14 God's book, The Bible 00:18 Still relevant in today's complex world 00:24 It Is Written 00:26 Sharing messages of hope around the world! 00:38 >>Chris: Steven Sykes was born in 1914 in England. He is most well known for 00:43 his work as an artist, especially in the Gethsemane Chapel in the 00:47 Coventry Cathedral, also referred to as St. Michael's Cathedral in 00:52 West Midlands, England. During World War 2, Sykes joined the British army 00:58 where he worked in the camouflage unit. At a most critical junction in the 01:04 war, Sykes was commissioned to help camouflage the building of 01:10 a railway for the sea to Misheifa. How would he actually hide a railway? 01:16 Sykes devised a plan that was ingenious. Instead of camouflaging the actually 01:21 railway Sykes decided to build a false railway. The plan was outrageous. But 01:29 the commanding officer actually approved the idea. Sykes and his team 01:36 took left over wood, palm fronds and left over gas cans to form this false 01:42 railway and railhead. The rails, the buildings, tanks all were included in 01:49 this grand scheme. On November 22, 1941 the true test came and enemy 01:57 bombers flew overhead. And they actually bombed the false railway and 02:03 accessories. The team was there and set off flares to further the deception. 02:11 The other railway and railhead were built successfully. The entire 02:15 scheme was based on deception. 02:22 Deception, the art of deceiving, is often subtle. Could it be, that 02:28 Christianity over the centuries has been deceived into believing 02:32 one of the original lies of the devil. In Genesis 3:4-5 tells us, 03:06 It was a promise to become like God. And the devil made other promises that 03:11 were lies. Number one, even in disobedience she wouldn't die, number two 03:19 that her eyes would be opened, and ultimately that she would be like 03:24 God, knowing good and evil. One of the subtle lies of the devil was the 03:32 promise of immortality. However, the Bible is quite clear in ááá1 03:37 Timothy 6:16ááá, when referring to God says, "16 who alone has 03:44 immortality." God alone inherently possess' eternal life. Man must put 03:51 on eternal life as promised in 1 Corinthians 15:54, 04:14 Even when we receive the gift of immortality from the Lord, we will still be 04:20 ever dependent upon Him for life. Over the last several programs we have 04:25 been looking at heaven and asking the question, is heaven for real? Last week 04:31 we began a study on what happens when you die. If you missed last week's 04:37 program, you can go to our website w w w .itiswrittencanada.ca 04:40 or to our YouTube channel, youtube.com/IIWCanada and there you can watch it. In 04:56 a thorough study of the scriptures we discovered two very important things: 05:00 one, the Bible is clear that man doesn't have a soul - he is a soul. 05:10 Genesis 2:7, says 05:27 Or a living soul. Secondly, we saw over and over again that the Bible 05:32 refers to death as a sleep. In fact the Bible is quite clear that death 05:37 is like a sleep that lasts until Christ's second coming. The Bible mentions 05:43 death as a sleep more than 50 times. David in Psalms 13 verse 3, said these 05:57 words, 06:09 David believed death was a sleep. Peter, in His famous sermon after 06:14 Pentecost, speaking of David said these words in Acts 2:29, 06:44 David taught and believed that death was a sleep. Peter believed and taught 06:48 that death was a sleep. 06:53 What did Jesus teach about death? Jesus taught as well that death is a 06:58 sleep. You'll remember Jesus' friend Lazarus became sick and died. 07:03 Lazarus had been dead for four days and Jesus and His disciples were on 07:08 their way to Lazarus's home. As they were there Jesus said, in John 07:14 11:11-14, 07:49 The disciples thought if Jesus is going to wake Lazarus up out of sleep, 07:53 Lazarus must be doing pretty well because he's sleeping and he was well 07:58 again. I want you to notice how Jesus uses these words 08:02 interchangeably. First Jesus said Lazarus is sleeping. Then Jesus said 08:08 Lazarus is dead. So, in Jesus mind, death was but a sleep. Oh friend, the 08:15 idea that the soul lives on outside of the body is derived straight from 08:20 Greek dualism, which was inherited from Egyptian mystical religions. 08:27 Friend, I would much rather learn about death from Jesus and His word, 08:31 the Bible, than learn about death from Egyptian or Babylonian or Greek 08:35 philosophy. I'd much rather learn about death from Jesus. As we 08:41 continue the story, Jesus went to the grave of Lazarus. Along the way He 08:47 stopped at the home of Mary and Martha. These two sisters, the sisters of 08:52 Lazarus, were crying. They'd lost their brother Martha, in her distress 08:58 in John 11:21 tells Jesus, 09:12 And Jesus reassures Martha with these words of John 11:23, 09:25 Martha learned directly from Jesus. Martha learned from the Bible. How did 09:30 she answer about her brother's death? In verse 24 she replies, 09:47 Martha did not speak of Lazarus being in heaven. She did not speak of the 09:53 joyful bliss he was experiencing. She looked forward to the last day 09:59 when Jesus would raise Lazarus from the dead. The Jesus responds with these 10:05 powerful words, 10:23 Jesus reassured Martha, that death is temporary. It is a temporary pause. 10:30 It is a sleep that Jesus will wake us from and we will live again. Jesus was 10:36 clear with Martha that even death cannot snatch away our assurance of 10:41 eternal life. Martha knew her brother would rise. But, she knew that he was 10:48 going to rise in the resurrection at the last day. Martha learned her 10:54 religion directly from Jesus. She didn't say, 'Oh, Jesus, my brother is 11:00 up in heaven. Oh, Jesus, my brother is looking down at me now. Jesus, I'm not 11:04 going to worry about his death.' She said 'Jesus, I know my brother's going to 11:11 rise again at the last day. She believed that Lazarus was sleeping until 11:19 the day that Jesus Christ would come and raise him from the dead. That my 11:25 friends is what the Bible teaches. Jesus holds the keys to the tomb. He is 11:31 the only one who can hit resume from that temporary pause. Jesus knew that He 11:40 would go into the grave, but He would come out. Death cannot hold Him. And 11:45 He assured Martha if the tomb couldn't hold Him, it certainly will not be able 11:51 to hold your brother. 11:55 Then Jesus did something amazing. As a testimony that He could raise the 12:00 dead, as a testimony that millions will be raised when He comes again, as a 12:05 testimony that the grave can't hold those people who have dedicated their 12:09 life to Him, He said, "I'll raise Lazarus from the dead." So with that 12:15 Jesus went to Lazarus' tomb. Lazarus had been dead for four days and 12:20 listen to the Bible in John 11:38-43, 12:49 This leaves little doubt my friends, Lazarus was dead. Martha was concerned 12:54 that he was already decomposing and there would be a smell. But 12:59 reading on in the text, 13:49 Jesus said, 'Lazarus, come forth'.And Lazarus came out of the tomb. He came 13:55 out. Jesus saw him there. And as Jesus saw Lazarus coming out of the tomb, 14:00 all the people that gathered around were absolutely stunned because 14:04 Jesus Christ had raised Lazarus from the dead Let's be very clear today, 14:09 if Jesus raised Lazarus, He can raise your husband, your wife, your son or 14:18 daughter, brother or sister, aunt or uncle - Jesus will raise those 14:26 committed to Him from the dead. Are you feeling alone? Is there 14:32 disappointment in your soul? You retired and your wife died suddenly. You're 14:39 lonely. You're alone. You lost that little child and you long to hold him or 14:46 her in your arms again. Jesus Christ raised Lazarus from the dead. He 14:51 can raise that loved one. Death is not the end. When we die, we rest; we 14:59 sleep until Jesus calls us forth. 15:05 Friends, I also would like to point out from this story that if what a lot 15:11 of people believe was true that we go straight to heaven or straight to 15:15 hell.well.you think that Lazarus would have had a lot more to say than he 15:24 did. Think about for a moment, if it were true that we went straight to 15:28 heaven or hell, Lazarus would have been up in heaven for four days. Now, 15:34 if I were up in heaven four days, and the Lord would have said, 'Chris, 15:38 come forth!' I would have said, "Lord, you called the wrong name. I'm up 15:45 here in heaven now and I'm not coming back." If Lazarus really had been in 15:50 heaven for four days, he would have told the Lord, 'Lord, I'm not coming 15:54 back. Lord, I want to stay up here in the glory land and eat the fruit of the 15:59 Tree of Life. I just can't return. Lord, I want to stay with the fellowship 16:03 of the angels.' If anybody could have written a best seller it would have been 16:11 Lazarus and his tale of the afterlife. But there was nothing not one 16:19 mention of what heaven was like. He didn't share any stories of a near death 16:24 experience. Nothing. Absolutely nothing. Why didn't he share any 16:30 stories? I'll tell you why. It's because he was sleeping, because he 16:37 didn't know anything because the Bible says in Ecclesiastes 9:5, 16:51 The resurrection of Lazarus is proof that Jesus" Christ will someday 16:58 resurrect "our believing loved ones, too. Death is simply a sleep until Jesus 17:05 comes again. The grave could not hold Lazarus and the grave cannot hold your 17:12 believing loved ones. And most of all, you need not fear death because the 17:19 grave cannot hold you. The Bible goes on to say in Job 14:21, 17:43 Friends, Lazarus didn't know the pain of his sisters and his friends, 17:46 because he was sleeping. The reality is that when we die those events on 17:55 earth that continue on are unknown to us. 18:02 Now some people will say to me, but I like to think of Mamma up there looking 18:08 down at me. I like to think of Daddy looking down at me. I like to 18:12 think dead loved ones who are looking down on me. While I understand you, 18:18 let's think through this further. Think it through all the way. Here's a 18:24 young boy playing with his friends, and the baseball is knocked over his head. 18:29 It's going out into the road. He runs after it. Then screech.the tires on 18:35 the car, he's hit. He's knocked down. He's a paraplegic and who lies in 18:41 pain for the rest of his life. If what some want to believe were true, Mamma 18:47 will be looking on her son lying in pain for the rest of his life. Would she be 18:54 happy up in heaven if she did that? Or maybe that soldier who gets caught 18:58 behind enemy lines. He's captured. They gouge out his eyes. They torture him 19:04 mercilessly. If what some believed is true, Daddy would be watching all 19:11 that. Is that what the Bible teaches? Isn't God's way so much better? The 19:19 Christian father doesn't see his son who has gone astray addicted to drugs 19:24 shooting things in his veins in some back alley Those who have died in 19:28 Christ are protected from all of that. Jesus' way is so much better than man's 19:33 way. We die. There is no suffering. No pain. We rest. We sleep and are 19:42 protected from the pain of life that continues around us. We sleep from all the 19:49 agony and disappointment. We sleep. There is no passage of time. It is 19:55 like a mere moment. There is no consciousness of the time. We are unconscious 20:00 to everything. The next thing we know is Jesus Christ coming for us.Death 20:07 is a state of perfect rest or sleep until the resurrection when Christ 20:13 wakes you up and says, now all the sorrow is over, now all the pain is over. 20:19 He does not allow a mother to see her daughter in a car wreck. He does not 20:24 allow a father to see his son dying of some terrible disease in some hospital. 20:29 Jesus' way is so much better. He lets us sleep until the storm is over. 20:36 He lets us sleep until the heartache and sorrow of earth is over. Friends, 20:43 David described when he would receive his new body, in Psalm 17:15, 21:03 When will he awake at the last trumpet of God. Paul describes when that day 21:12 will be in 2 Timothy 4:7-8, 21:46 Friend, we don't have to fear death. It is a temporary pause in life. 21:51 Jesus promise in Revelation 22:12, 22:08 That reward isn't at death.it is when he comes again. Next week we will 22:16 continue this study and look at some misunderstandings on this 22:20 issue. We will study the thief on the cross, Samuel, other Bible texts 22:26 and look at near death experiences. But today, I'm thankful, that in 22:34 death we don't experience the sorrows of life. I'm thankful that the friends 22:40 I've had that died of cancer no longer suffer but they are sleeping, 22:44 resting until the glorious day of the resurrection that Jesus comes. Your 22:52 loved ones aren't suffering, they sleep awaiting the return of 22:57 Jesus. I'm thankful that death is not the end. You can see that husband that 23:06 died. You can see that wife that died. You can see that son that died. 23:11 Christ is going to come again. They'll be a glorious resurrection 23:16 morning and they will be raised from the dead, if they've been believers and 23:23 followers of Jesus, with immortal bodies. 23:30 We who are alive will receive the immortal bodies and caught up 23:35 together with them to meet Christ in the air. Death is but a sleep the Bible 23:40 writers teach that Jesus will wake us from when He comes again. Wouldn't it 23:48 be a tragedy if your mother were therelooking for you and you weren't 23:53 there? Wouldn't it be a tragedy if your brother were therelooking for you 23:59 and you weren't there? Wouldn't it be a tragedy if your son, your daughter 24:05 were there looking for you and you weren't there-lost for all eternity? But, 24:12 the greatest tragedy would be if Jesus were looking for you and you weren't 24:20 there? Where's John? Where's Mary? Where's Tim Oh friend, He wants to 24:27 save you. He wants you to be in His kingdom forever. They'll be an emptiness in 24:34 His heart if you're not there in heaven with Him. One day soon Christ will 24:41 come. The sky will be illuminated with the glory of God. The earth will 24:46 shake. The graves will be open. Death will be defeated forever. God 24:51 will give us immortal bodies and we'll ascend through the sky. And Jesus 24:57 is looking for you. The gleams of the golden morning will come. Don't 25:03 miss it. Don't sell out cheap. Do you want to be there? Why not pray now 25:12 and say, "Jesus, I want to be there. If I die before you come, Lord, I want to 25:20 rest in the security of knowing that the grave will be opened. I want the 25:25 next voice I hear to be Jesus' voice. I want the next scene to be picture 25:31 of Jesus' face. Lord, I want to be reunited with my family and friends. I 25:38 want to see Jesus." Why not think about that scene when He comes and give 25:48 your heart to Him and life to Him right now. 25:56 Dear Lord, we give our lives to you right now. We want to be raised from the 26:01 dead. We want to be transformed with immortal bodies when you come 26:04 again. Today in this decision, we rest securely, knowing, with 26:10 the assurance that you are coming again to take us home. We pray this in 26:14 Jesus' name, amen. 26:34 The subject of heaven, and especially, the subject of what happens when you die, 26:38 is an important topic in the Bible. Sometimes it requires even additional 26:45 reading and resources and study. I'd like to offer to you today the Discover 26:50 Bible series. The Discover Bible series guides will help you to further your 26:56 relationship with Jesus. I also want to encourage you to go to our website, 27:01 www.itiswrittencanada.ca, and there you can find additional resources for 27:11 study on this topic and many others. You can also go to our youtube channel, 27:14 youtube.com/iiwcanada, and watch a number of programs that will help you develop 27:24 your spiritual life and your relationship with Jesus. If you would like 27:30 to receive those Discover guides, here's the information that you need. 28:09 I hope you enjoyed today's program. Heaven is a real place that Jesus wants to 28:14 take us that we can spend eternity with him. Please join us for next week's 28:19 program. Until then, remember, it is written, "Man shall not live by 28:25 bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God." 28:33 $$$$$$ |
Revised 2015-02-05