Participants: Chris Holland
Series Code: IIWC
Program Code: IIWC201327
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00:11 >>Announcer: It has stood the test of time.
00:15 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! 00:39 >>Chris: Len and Nicole Clamp wanted the joy of raising a child. They were 00:43 given that opportunity when they became foster parents to little Grayson 00:47 when he was only 7 weeks old. They noticed something was different 00:52 about Grayson. After going through testing the doctors discovered that 00:56 Grayson was completely deaf. The Clamp's had Grayson for almost a year 01:03 and right after receiving the news of his impairment, they were 01:07 given the opportunity to adopt him. They decided that they could be the 01:14 best parents for Grayson and decided to adopt him They learned different 01:19 ways to communicate with him. Grayson's being deaf was caused by the fact 01:25 that he was born without the nerve that connects the ear to hearing center 01:29 of the brain. Because of this, cochlear implants were not possible and 01:34 wouldn't help. However, the doctors working with the Clamps proposed a 01:39 solution. The proposed an auditory brainstem implant, if approved 01:45 Grayson would be the first child to receive such an implant in the United 01:50 States. So, the doctors at the University of North Carolina Medical Center 01:54 mapped out a careful surgery. They then performed that surgery in 01:59 April of 2013. On May 21st they activated Grayson's device and in now what is 02:07 a very popular YouTube video Grayson heard his father's voice for the 02:14 very first time. The look of utter surprise on his face is priceless. He had 02:19 never actually heard before and now was hearing for the very first time. 02:27 Often when we learn new things we are greatly surprised. Sometimes that 02:31 is a welcome surprise and sometimes that surprise is almost too much and is 02:36 overwhelming. Over the last several weeks we have been studying the 02:39 question, is heaven for real? And our study has led us to look at what the 02:44 Bible says about what happens when you die. If you've missed the last two 02:51 weeks shows, you can go to our website w w w.itiswrittencanada.ca 02:55 or www.youtube.com/IIWCanada and there find the 03:06 archived programs. The conclusion of our study may have led to surprise 03:11 in many of our viewers. For some it might be a little shocking to realize 03:17 that when someone dies, the Bible says they are sleeping - in a totally 03:23 unconscious state awaiting the Lord's return. You know friends, when I began 03:30 studying the Bible and learned this for the very first time - I too was 03:35 shocked - so shocked that it made me angry. How could I have been taught 03:42 wrong for so long? But then I learned the origins of the idea of going 03:48 immediately to heaven or hell. In fact, the concept that the body and soul 03:54 exist apart from one another comes from Greek dualism, which was derived 03:59 from ancient Egyptian belief. Friend, we are concerned with what the 04:04 Bible teaches, not what Greek philosophy or Egyptian paganism teach. 04:15 We want the Word and only the Word. Today, we are going to take some time to 04:22 study some misunderstood texts in the Bible. 04:28 Often I'll have some people that say to me Pastor Chris, wait a 04:31 second, what about the thief on the cross? Didn't Jesus say to the thief on 04:36 the cross-'Today, you'll be with me in paradise?' You know, it's amazing to 04:41 me, there are over 1600 passages in the Bible about the soul.and not one 04:46 of them ever speaks of the 'immortal' soul. You see the Bible is very clear 04:52 when in says in Ecclesiastes 9:5, 05:01 In over 50 places the Bible says death is but a sleep. Unfortunately, 05:07 however, there are a number of people that want to throw out hundreds of 05:11 clear texts in the Bible about death, about the second coming of Christ 05:15 and about the resurrection and accept the Greek and Egyptian ideas about the 05:22 immortality of the soul. See, we miss a very important principle of 05:27 Bible study and that is we start with passages that are clear and then move to 05:34 passages that are more challenging. We cannot base our beliefs on one or 05:38 a few texts, but we must go by the preponderance of the evidence. So, what 05:46 about that thief on the cross? What happened that day? The closing chapters 05:51 of gospel of Matthew and the gospel of Luke tell the story of the final 05:56 moments of Jesus' life here on this earth. When Jesus was crucified, the 06:01 Bible records that He was crucified between two thieves. And these two 06:07 thieves were not the finest of fellows. Matthew 27:38-44 tells the story, 07:05 One nailed on either side of Christ. Both of them reviled - both of them 07:08 complained and insulted Jesus. But while those criminals hung next to 07:14 Jesus, something began to happen. One of them saw Jesus, a completely 07:20 innocent man dying on the cross yet He did not retaliate, nor complain.in 07:29 fact, He asked God to forgive them. Luke adds further insight into the 07:38 story and demonstrates that transformation in Luke 27:39-42, 08:21 That thief began to experience the transformation of his 08:24 heart. He looked at Jesus and saw that Jesus was the Messiah of the world. And 08:28 that thief cries out to Jesus, "Remember me when you come into Your 08:39 kingdom." 08:41 How then does Jesus respond? Luke 27:43, 08:57 And it is here that we have a misunderstood text What is this text really 09:03 all about? Is Jesus saying to that thief, 'I say to you today, this day that 09:08 I've got the crown of thorns on my head, this day that I've got the 09:12 nails in my hands, this day that I'm dying on the cross, this day that it 09:16 doesn't look like I can save anybody, I say to you today, this very day, you 09:21 will be with Me in Paradise.' Or is it possible that there is a 09:25 different meaning to the text? You see, it all depends on where you put 09:30 that comma. If you put that comma before the word 'today' the text seems to 09:36 read, 'Assuredly I say to you, today you'll be with Me in Paradise.' It seems 09:42 to say that Jesus was assuring the thief he would be in Paradise with 09:47 Him that very day. But, let's put the comma after 'today' and look at the 09:53 difference of the meaning. "Assuredly, I say to you today,' In other words 09:58 this day I'm hanging on the cross, this day with nails through My hands. 10:04 I'm making this statement to you today, "you will be with Me in Paradise.'" in 10:09 the future. Somebody says, 'Well, Pastor Chris, when were the commas put in 10:15 there?' The commas were not put in in the original text when it was written 10:24 in the first century. The commas were put in 1300 years later during the 10:31 Middle Ages. 10:35 Somebody says, 'Pastor Chris, how do you know where to put the 10:39 comma?'You know where to put the comma because of the fact that the Bible 10:46 has to harmonize. The Bible can't be broken. If the commas weren't in the 10:50 original text, if the commas weren't put in there for 1300 years later 10:56 and if indeed the Bible is very clear in telling us that death is but a sleep, 11:00 then you put the commas exactly in harmony with the rest of the Bible. You 11:06 do not throw out the clear teaching of the Bible on the subject of death and 11:10 sleep and accept an Egyptian idea on the immortality of the soul 11:15 based on one comma that's put in there 1300 year after the Bible was 11:20 written. Now, there's another reason why you know that comma has to be 11:26 after the word 'today' and not before. And that is, how could Christ promise 11:34 the thief that he would be with Him in Paradise that day if Jesus Himself never 11:41 went to Paradise that day? Some say - what are you talking about Jesus not 11:48 going there? The Bible tells us that Jesus died on the Preparation Day 11:54 -Friday - many of us know that as Good Friday. The next day was the Sabbath; 12:01 Jesus slept and rested in the tomb on the Sabbath. The next day, Sunday, the 12:11 first day, Easter Sunday as recognized by many that Jesus rose from the dead. 12:19 Do you remember the story of resurrection day? Mary went to the tomb to embalm 12:23 His body;she didn't know He had risen from the dead. There through her 12:28 teary eyes she saw the empty tomb. Then she saw someone she thought was 12:37 the gardener. But it wasn't the gardener. It was Jesus. Listen to the 12:42 story unfold in John 20:15-17, 13:24 Friends, did you here those words - He hadn't yet ascended to heaven. It 13:29 was Sunday. If He hadn't ascended to the Father on Sunday, how could He have 13:37 said to the thief on Friday that they would be together in a place that 13:41 He did not yet go until Sunday? Because He wasn't telling the thief on 13:49 Friday that they were going to go there together. You see, it is 13:55 that comma that makes the difference Because Jesus was saying, 'I say unto 14:01 you today, this day that I'm dying on the cross, this day with blood 14:07 running down my head. I'm promising you today, you will be with Me in 14:12 Paradise when I come again to resurrect the dead.' A simple comma makes all the 14:18 difference in the world. I am thankful that Jesus' Word makes it plain, 14:27 aren't you? Jesus' Word makes it so plain. He was saying to the thief, 'you 14:31 don't need to fear death and the reason you don't need to fear death is 14:36 because through My death on the cross, you can have eternal life.' 14:49 Wherever you are today, you need not fear death. Christ speaks to you 14:55 today. Because of His death on the cross you can have eternal life. Because 15:01 of His death on the cross, your sins can be forgiven. Because of what He did. 1 15:08 Corinthians 15:55 says, 15:25 There is victory in Jesus over death, victory in Jesus over the grave. The 15:31 tomb is empty of Christ and our tomb can be opened up emptied when Jesus 15:38 Christ returns.The same Christ that ascended will descend. The same Christ 15:47 that went is going to return. This is the lesson of the thief on the cross 15:52 that we will rest in the grave with the assurance that Jesus Christ will 16:04 come again to wake us up and take us home. Some will ask further questions 16:10 about the prophet Samuel. Doesn't the Bible say that he came back to life 16:19 visited as a disembodied spirit? 16:25 Again, friends, we have seen the evidence for the Bible telling us that 16:32 death is like a sleep. But there is a story. Let's go and see what the Bible 16:44 actually says. In 1 Samuel 28:7-15 tell that story. 18:41 I would like for us to take notice of several important points in this 18:45 passage. First Saul is acting in direct disobedience to God. 18:53 Deuteronomy 18:10-14 forbids the consulting of a medium, 19:50 Friends, God calls the art of witchcraft or attempting to call up the 19:54 dead an abomination - why? Because it is in direct contradiction to His Word. 20:04 Secondly, in 1 Samuel 28:14 the Bible says that Saul perceived that it was 20:10 Samuel, but could it have really been Samuel? Of course not.Ecclesiastes 20:18 9:5 says 20:33 Friends, this was a witch who was using the art deception and mystical 20:39 practices. The Bible says that Satan in 2 Corinthians 11:14, 21:02 Friends, this wasn't Samuel, but some demonic being impersonating Samuel 21:09 in order to deceive Saul further. The dead are simply sleeping waiting 21:16 for Jesus to return. Samuel was resting in his grave and couldn't be 21:21 awaked by anyone other than Jesus. Friends that Bible is very plain that 21:28 the dead are sleeping awaiting the return of Jesus. Some will say that 21:33 Paul advocates people going straight to heaven in 2 Corinthians 5:6-8. 21:45 But what does it really say? 22:06 Friend is Paul advocating and existence apart from the body. No, he is 22:11 stating what the Bible clearly teaches. Friends while in these mortal 22:16 bodies, we are absent for the Lord. When is that we come to be present with 22:22 the Lord? Paul is clear in 1 Corinthians 15:51-52, 22:47 It is at the last trumpet that we are raised incorruptible and are 22:54 present with the Lord. Again Paul is clear in 2 Timothy 4:8, 23:17 When are we present with God and receive that crown of righteousness? It is 23:21 after the second coming of Jesus. Until that time, we rest in the grave waiting 23:28 for that return of Jesus. 23:33 I know some have claimed to have Near Death Experiences, where they 23:38 have claimed to have gone to heaven and visited loved ones.now, I want to 23:43 be very careful not to offend anyone, but friends we must concern ourselves 23:49 with what the Bible says not emotion or feelings or perceived feelings. 23:58 Several scientists believe that these near death experiences can by 24:01 explained physically. Neuroscientist Dean Mobbs says, 24:20 In addition a 2005 study found that out-of-body experiences can be 24:25 artificially triggered by stimulating the right temporoparietal junction 24:33 in the brain, suggesting that confusion regarding sensory information can 24:38 radically alter how one experiences one's body. But friends, science 24:45 doesn't have the best answer, the Bible has best and only answer to these 24:52 questions. The Bible records at least 9 resurrections - in not one 25:01 of these cases is there a recorded story of the afterlife. The Bible is 25:10 clear, over and over again that when we die, we sleep awaiting the resurrection 25:17 of Jesus. There is no consciousness, no recognition of time. It 25:23 will be like one of those nights, where you lay your head on the pillow and 25:29 seemingly just as you close your eyes, your alarm goes off moments 25:36 later - but 8 hours had passed. We will fall asleep and the next moment 25:48 we who have fallen asleep in Jesus will awake to that last trumpet. So 25:56 there needs to be no fear of death. No fear of what happens when we die. As we 26:02 give our hearts and lives to Jesus, we are secure in Him and never have to 26:10 fear. Revelation 1:18 promises, 26:39 Friends, Jesus defeated death and He is coming again to destroy death and 26:45 sin. In the kingdom of Heaven we will live with Him forever. Don't you 26:52 want to place yourself fully in the trust of His arms? Why not decide to 27:01 follow Him fully today? 27:10 Lord, we we give ourselves fully to you today. Take care of us and remember 27:15 us, we pray, in Jesus' name, amen. 27:24 The subject of heaven, and especially, the subject of death and what happens 27:28 after you die, can be a confusing subject. I want to offer to you today the 27:32 Signs of the Times special edition on death. Here's the information you need 27:38 to get today's offer. 28:21 I hope you enjoyed today's program. Please join us again next week. Until 28:25 then, remember, it is written, "Man shall not live by bread alone, but 28:32 by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God." 28:38 $$$$$$$ |
Revised 2015-02-05