Participants: Pr. Dwight Nelson
Series Code: NP
Program Code: NP011709
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00:27 In the sweet
00:31 By and by 00:35 We shall meet 00:37 On that beautiful shore 00:43 In the sweet 00:48 By and by 00:53 We shall meet 00:56 On that beautiful shore 01:02 We shall sing 01:04 On that beautiful shore 01:10 The melodious songs of the blessed 01:18 And our spirits 01:21 Shall sorrow no more 01:26 Not a sigh 01:29 For the blessing of rest 01:35 In the sweet 01:39 By and by 01:43 We shall meet 01:45 On that beautiful shore 01:51 In the sweet 01:56 By and by 02:01 We shall meet 02:04 On that beautiful shore 02:12 As the music keeps playing, 02:15 as we sing the rest of this song, 02:17 I invite those of you who'd like to come up to the front 02:21 and join us in our time of prayer. 02:41 To our bountiful Father above 02:49 We will offer 02:52 Our tribute of praise 02:57 For the glorious gift of His love 03:05 And the blessings 03:08 That hallow our days 03:13 In the sweet 03:17 By and by 03:21 We shall meet 03:23 On that beautiful shore 03:29 In the sweet 03:33 By and by 03:39 We shall meet 03:42 On that beautiful shore. 03:52 Till we see Him face to face, 03:56 let us keep praying even as we kneel now 03:59 and pray to our God. 04:01 Let us kneel together. 04:20 Oh, God, someday the sweet by and by, 04:23 but today with all creation wrapped in frigid white bath 04:28 in shining crystals, this Sabbath day. 04:32 We bow down before our Creator with grateful hearts, 04:36 hearts that too much of the time too timidly 04:39 declare our adoration and love for You 04:43 who have so extravagantly loved us first 04:46 and who died for us before we were ever us. 04:49 Blessed be the name of God for ever and ever. 04:55 Forgive us patient Savior, for allowing our faith 05:00 to be frozen bridled by the sophistication 05:04 and skepticism of our age, 05:06 thaw us with the glorious light that still streams from Calvary, 05:12 melt our stubborn pride, warm our cold affections 05:17 that we might yet learn to love one another 05:20 as You have loved us, 05:21 forgive us our trespasses 05:24 as we forgive those who have trespassed against us. 05:29 To, You Holy Father, we come as a people 05:31 on behalf of the nation that is our homeland. 05:35 It's true we are gathered in this sanctuary 05:37 as citizens from all the earth, 05:39 but it is also true that we have chosen 05:41 to make the United States our home 05:43 for this journey, for this time 05:47 and so today on the eve of this historic inauguration, 05:51 we are a united people 05:54 and celebrating the election 05:55 of a new young African-American President, 06:00 as Christian brothers and sisters, 06:02 we join with the nation in thanking, You oh, Lord, 06:05 for this glorious millstone on our long and painful road 06:09 to racial equality and justice for all. 06:13 We can only imagine what inspired flights of oratory, 06:17 Martin Luther King Junior 06:18 Would ascend were he alive today 06:21 to witness his dream nearing its fulfillment, 06:25 but we are not there yet, oh, God. 06:30 For as long as there is religious bigotry, 06:33 an ecclesiastical segregation and personal bias, 06:38 the love of Christ has yet to concur our collective hearts 06:42 and so may the election of our new president 06:44 become as it were an enabling precedent 06:48 for our own racial unity in Christ Jesus. 06:53 For our soon to be inaugurated President Barack Obama, 06:56 we pray two prayers. 06:58 First, we plea for him the gift of your righteous wisdom, 07:02 grant to him, oh God, 07:03 that in this time of dangerous opportunity we call crisis. 07:08 He might lead this nation in paths 07:10 that are right and just and good. 07:14 You have been a counselor to kings 07:16 and rulers throughout the centuries, 07:18 be one now for our president, too. 07:22 Secondly, we intercede our Father for His protection 07:26 and for the protection of his wife Michelle 07:29 and their daughters Malia and Sasha. 07:32 Dear God, be a protector from the lunacy of this age, 07:36 be their shield and buckler 07:38 so that they shall not be afraid for the terror by night 07:41 nor for the arrow that flieth by day 07:44 for You shall give Your angels charge over them 07:47 to keep them in all their ways. 07:50 We do not claim to know, oh God, 07:53 what lies before us as a nation, as a church, 07:56 as a people, but this much we do know, 08:00 Yea, though we walk through 08:01 the valley of the shadow of death, 08:04 we will fear no evil, for You're with us. 08:07 And for that alone, let alone a thousand reasons more, 08:11 we lift up our voices today in gratitude 08:13 and praise to the Christ to as our resurrection in our life. 08:18 We've not forgotten His promise 08:21 because I live, you shall live also. 08:24 And because He does, we can come 08:28 and we can go from your house this day 08:31 with your hope undiminished through Jesus Christ our Lord. 08:37 Amen. 08:54 Earlier this week, we took a video camera 08:57 to some different places around the campus 09:00 and asked students two questions. 09:03 The following are their responses. 09:13 A lot of happiness and joy, 09:16 a time where families and friends can be together 09:18 and be together for eternal life. 09:21 It means the end of pain and confusion. 09:25 I think it would be one of the events 09:27 that is going to have the most impact on all of us 09:30 'cause when Jesus comes back, 09:31 it's like the first thing happening. 09:33 So I imagine it as something you can't describe it. 09:36 It will be just be amazing, overwhelming 09:39 and seeing all these people, 09:40 you know, throughout history just resurrecting 09:42 will be so impressive. 09:45 Time to go home. 09:46 That's plainly simple, time to go home. 09:49 I think it's gonna be one of the coolest things 09:52 I'll ever see, of course. 09:54 I think it's gonna be like, 09:57 you see old beetles movies 09:58 where everyone's like screaming and crying 10:00 and jumping and they're so happy. 10:01 I think it's gonna be like ten times cooler than that. 10:04 And I can't wait to see like other Christians faces like-- 10:07 I don't know I just can't wait 10:08 to see the excitement and everything. 10:10 The beginning and the end, really, 10:12 I mean it's the end of everything bad, 10:14 the beginning of everything good. 10:16 The resurrection means 10:19 I guess getting a piece of my heart back 10:23 and I think for everyone, 10:25 you know, when you lose someone, you lose a part of your heart 10:28 and being able to see those people again, 10:31 I think that's gonna be the most amazing feeling. 10:35 Symbolizes, you know, the end of time 10:39 and pretty much, it's excitement to me 10:43 even though it may not look like 10:45 excitement on the camera but... 10:47 The time when we get to see Jesus for the first time 10:49 and go home to live with Him 10:51 in heaven forever and see our loved ones again. 10:54 I'm finally going home. 11:03 That's a long list of people so I guess I'll just say God. 11:06 Definitely I'm looking forward to see my mom's dad. 11:10 He died before I was born about six months, so... 11:15 Definitely my uncle, my mom's brother, 11:17 he died over a year-and-a-half ago 11:19 and we're really, really close to him 11:21 and it was very, very hard for me to see him go. 11:22 So I'm definitely looking forward to see him the most. 11:25 I'm looking forward to meeting Caleb 11:27 because that's my name. 11:30 All my family members who were not Christians before, 11:37 but by the grace of God they died believing, 11:41 they died as believers. 11:42 I'm looking forward to see them. 11:44 Well, my uncle's actually he was pretty big in my life 11:47 and he died pretty young when I was so young too 11:50 and I'd like to see him again. 11:52 If I would have to say Queen Esther 11:55 because since I was young, I'd always read her story 11:58 and I was really touched by it and I really admire her for, 12:01 you know, everything she did for her people 12:04 and being so brave. 12:05 I'm looking forward to seeing my sister Kristy 12:07 who died when she was four-and-a-half 12:09 and I was six, so I'm looking forward 12:10 to getting to know her 12:12 and be able to see her grow up in heaven. 12:18 So who are you looking forward to seeing? 12:22 Do you have somebody? 12:25 If I can be as personal as the people 12:27 on the screen right now, 12:31 I need to tell you about a man 12:37 that I loved with all my heart. 12:44 He was strong, he was wise, 12:51 he was good, he was very loving. 12:57 As far as I was concerned then 12:59 and as far as I'm concerned now, 13:00 he was a greatest dad who ever lived. 13:05 He died at the age of 75. 13:09 Too young. Too soon. 13:14 There was stuff I still needed to tell him. 13:23 There were things he still needed to teach me. 13:29 But here comes the really personal part now. 13:35 I'm gonna put his picture on the screen in a moment. 13:39 My dad was cremated. 13:42 The picture you're gonna see is at the memorial service 13:47 when with my mother and my brother 13:51 and my sister we wept. 13:55 We surrounded the picture by flowers 13:56 that's what the reason. 13:57 We put it on the screen for you now. 14:00 And as that picture goes up, 14:03 I need to ask you a question, you tell me. 14:10 Is my dad in heaven? 14:15 Is my dad in hell? 14:20 Is my dad in purgatory right now? 14:26 Nearly every Christian Church that I know teaches 14:29 that he right now is in one of those three places. 14:32 So where is my dad right now? 14:41 Once upon a long ago time, Jesus told us the answer 14:46 and for the life of me. 14:48 I can't figure out why we never got it. 14:53 Let's pray. Oh, God, we got to get it. 14:58 We must know the truth. 15:05 So listening to Jesus, 15:09 teach us we pray in His name. 15:12 Amen. 15:14 Open your Bible with me, please, 15:16 to that great story. The Gospel of Saint John. 15:19 Forgot your Bible? You didn't bring a Bible? 15:21 Grab the pew Bible right in front of you 15:22 because this is one story you have got to track. 15:26 Open your Bible to John Chapter 11. 15:32 I'm gonna read an old story with you. 15:35 How can we never saw this before? 15:38 Why didn't we get it? John Chapter 11. 15:42 The pew Bible, if that's what you grabbed, 15:43 it's page 723 in your pew Bible. 15:45 Let's take just a moment, reflect together. 15:48 Great, great, great story. All right, John Chapter 11. 15:52 I'm in the New King James Version. 15:54 That would be the version of your pew Bible 15:58 that would be what's on the screen. 15:59 Let's go, John 11:1. 16:01 "Now a certain man was sick, Lazarus of Bethany, 16:07 that's the town of Mary and her sister Martha." 16:09 And here's a little parenthetical insertion. 16:11 Verse 2, "It was that Mary by the way 16:13 who anointed the Lord with fragrant oil 16:15 and wiped His feet with her hair, 16:16 whose brother Lazarus was sick. 16:19 Therefore--" Verse 3. 16:20 "The sisters sent to Jesus saying, 16:22 'Lord, behold, he whom You love is sick.'" 16:28 Verse 5, look at that. 16:30 "Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister 16:32 that would be Mary and Lazarus." 16:36 I need to hit the pause button here 16:37 and I wish you would lock those words 16:38 in your heart right now. 16:40 The one you love Jesus is sick. 16:43 You know, why I need to lock on to that? 16:45 Because the people Jesus loves, 16:47 the ones Jesus love do get sick, 16:50 and they do die. 16:52 I need you to remember that. Should the day coming? 16:55 That tiny little medical examining room 16:57 when the doctor walks back in with his grave look on his face 17:00 and he announces to you, you have cancer. 17:04 Listen, it doesn't matter the name of the disease 17:06 or its severity. You're sick. 17:12 What's to remember in that one line 17:14 that the sister sent to Jesus? 17:15 Is not the sick part though. Forget the sick part. 17:18 Remember the love part. The one you love is sick. 17:25 Which means that if you're sick right now, 17:28 you maybe dying right now. 17:31 You need to know that you are just 17:33 as loved by Jesus as was Lazarus. 17:39 Verse 6, "So, when Jesus heard that Lazarus was sick, 17:45 He stayed two more days in the place where He was." 17:49 And the disciples are flabbergasted. 17:51 I mean, our dear, Lord, and Master God bless him. 17:54 He is a strange fellow, isn't he? 17:57 I mean, here is His very dear friend Lazarus 17:59 definitely sick and Jesus hangs around for another two days. 18:02 What's up with that? 18:05 How hard it is for us mortals to learn the lesson 18:08 that the ways of God are not the ways of man or a woman? 18:14 How often you and I are utterly convinced 18:18 we know the best course of action for God 18:21 to take for our nation, for our families, 18:24 our friends, ourselves? 18:27 But to our great chagrin and sorrow, 18:28 he doesn't take that action. 18:29 We cry, why, why, why, why? What's going on? 18:33 So we weep our salty tears into those soggy midnight pillows. 18:40 I need to lay a word of comfort on your heart right now. 18:42 It's from the classic 18:43 on the life of Jesus, the Desire of Ages. 18:45 Put it on the screen for you. 18:47 Isn't this something? Read it there. 18:49 "God never leads His children otherwise 18:53 than they would choose to be led, 18:55 if they could see the end from the beginning 18:58 and discern the glory of the purpose they are fulfilling." 19:02 Is that so? Is a another a word, lift your heart? 19:06 Look at this same book, 19:07 "To all who are reaching out 19:09 to feel the guiding hand of God." 19:11 Get this. 19:12 "The moment of greatest, greatest discouragement 19:16 is the time when divine help is nearest. 19:18 They will look back with thankfulness 19:20 upon the darkest part of their way." 19:24 And so it was, ladies and gentlemen, 19:27 the two long days dragged by 19:30 and then after the two days are over, 19:31 Jesus turns to His 12 friends and He says, 19:33 "Hey, guys, what you say if we go to Bethany?" 19:37 Please. Verse 11. 19:41 "These things He said, and after that 19:43 He said to His disciples, 'Our friend Lazarus sleeps, 19:48 but I go that I may wake him up.' 19:50 Then His disciples said, 'Lord, if he sleeps he'll get well.'" 19:54 I mean, you can hear the wise disciples clucking 19:56 and saying all over again, he just doesn't get it. 20:01 If you're sick, you got to sleep. 20:04 And by the way these are not med-school graduates either. 20:06 They did not know that just this last week out of Chicago, 20:09 a new study was released that discovered 20:13 that if you want to lick the virus of the common cold, 20:15 get this, hang on to it, 20:17 you've got to sleep eight hours or more. 20:19 Anything under eight and you're three times as likely 20:22 to get infected with that cold. 20:25 Which means the whole university is sick. 20:29 Nobody around here sleeps eight hours. 20:31 I know. Yours truly included. 20:35 They didn't know the studies. 20:36 They just know that if you're sick, 20:38 you got to sleep to get better. 20:41 Lazarus is sick. 20:42 Jesus, please come on, let the man rest. 20:45 We get up verse 13. 20:47 "However, Jesus spoke of his death, 20:51 but they thought that He was speaking 20:52 about taking rest in sleep. 20:54 And so then, Jesus said to them plainly, 20:56 'Lazarus--'" Listen to me, guys. 20:58 "Lazarus is dead." 21:03 Apparently, for the incarnated Creator 21:08 and Savior of the world death is a sleep. 21:15 That point is so critical. 21:16 I wish you'd grab your study guide right now 21:17 and scribble it down before we forget it. 21:19 Go into that worship bulletin, 21:20 blow all the outdoor off a bit and let's go. 21:24 If you didn't get a study guide, 21:25 oh, you got to get this one. 21:26 Hold your hand up. 21:28 They're gonna be coming right by you, 21:29 our friendly ushers, hold your hand up. 21:30 I want to make sure that everybody here 21:31 gets a study guide in the overflow room as well, 21:34 and while they're doing that, 21:35 we are so glad to have those of you 21:36 who're joining us on television right now. 21:39 You can get the same study guide. 21:40 Let me take you to our website www.pmchurch.tv. 21:45 You see there on your screen. 21:46 We're looking for the little mini series. 21:48 It's only three parts longer. This is part two. 21:51 Title of the series, "The Truth About Death." 21:54 Last week was the "Fork-Tongued Beast." 21:58 Today is the "Unmade Bed." 22:00 And don't you miss the final piece next week? 22:03 "The Midnight Blitz." 22:05 All right, but you're looking for the Unmade Bed, 22:07 and it says study guide there, click on the study guide, 22:09 you'll find it and you'll join us. 22:11 All right, while it's still fresh in our minds, 22:13 write it down. 22:14 Number one, right there at the top of the study guide. 22:15 "For the Creator and Savior of this world, 22:18 death is a sleep." 22:19 Write in all those words. Death is a sleep. 22:25 I realize that there aren't a whole lot of people 22:26 around these days that have discovered the truth 22:28 that Jesus has just plainly declared to His followers. 22:33 How we missed it? I don't know. 22:34 Well, actually I do know. 22:35 And I'm gonna share that story with you in just a moment. 22:39 But clearly, would you jot this down? 22:40 "Jesus taught that when you die, you don't go to heaven, 22:46 you don't go to hell, you go to sleep." 22:50 Keep writing. These are His words. 22:52 "Lazarus is asleep. He is dead." 23:00 Now come on, pastor, did Jesus tell story 23:03 once upon a time about a poor man who goes to heaven 23:05 and the rich man who goes down to hell? 23:08 Well, you are right. Absolutely right. 23:10 We need to take a look at that. 23:11 So put a little marker there in John 11 23:13 'cause we're coming back to John 11. 23:15 Just go back one gospel. To the Gospel of Luke. 23:19 Just go back to Luke. We'll take a look at this story. 23:22 Fascinating story. Luke Chapter 16. 23:25 This would be what page? 23:27 This would be page 705 in your pew Bible. 23:31 Luke Chapter 16. You got to read letter Bible. 23:34 This is all read because Jesus is telling the story. 23:37 Luke 16:19. All right. 23:42 It's a great story. Luke 16:19, here we go. 23:46 "There was a certain rich man who was clothed in purple 23:50 and fine linen and fared sumptuously every day. 23:55 But there was, verse 20, 23:57 "A certain beggar named Lazarus." 24:00 Not the same Lazarus, all right? Same name. 24:03 "Named Lazarus full of sores, who was laid at his gate, 24:07 desiring to be fed with the crumbs 24:08 which fell from the rich man's table. 24:10 Moreover the dogs came and licked his sores. 24:16 So it was--" Jesus is telling the story, says verse 22. 24:19 "That the beggar died 24:20 and was carried by the angels to Abraham's bosom. 24:23 The rich man also died and was buried. 24:25 And being in torments in Hades or hell, 24:29 he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham afar off, 24:33 and Lazarus in his bosom. 24:35 And then he cried out verse 24 and said, 24:36 hey, 'Father Abraham, have mercy on me, 24:39 and send Lazarus that he may dip 24:41 the tip of his finger in the water and cool my tongue, 24:44 for I am tormented in this flame.'" 24:49 Hey, well, that seems pretty clear to me. 24:51 While one went to heaven, 24:52 the other one went to hell at death. 24:56 Well, if the point of Jesus parable is to present 25:01 the literal truths of heaven and hell and death, 25:04 then, ladies and gentlemen, 25:05 we have some very major dilemmas 25:07 that we're gonna have to deal with. 25:08 Jot them down. 25:09 Dilemma number one, Heaven is Abraham's bosom. 25:15 Now look, he may have a soft bosom, 25:17 but I sure hope heaven 25:19 is more than lying on that fleshy pillow. 25:23 Do you think anybody believed heaven is Abraham's bosom? 25:29 All right, number two. Write it down. 25:32 Heaven and hell, if he's telling the truth, 25:35 heaven and hell are within shouting distance. 25:38 Hey, yo, it's hot down here. Anybody got water up there? 25:43 Does anybody believe that? 25:45 No. Nobody in the universe believes that. 25:48 And number three, relief in hell is a single. 25:51 I just need one drop, just one drop. 25:54 A single drop of water, please. 25:56 Does anybody believed that was Jesus point? 25:58 Of course not. This is a parable. 26:00 A story crafted to drive home a single point. 26:04 You don't make a parable ever walk on all force. 26:06 What's the point? What's the point? 26:07 Ah, right it down. 26:09 Jesus parable of the rich man and Lazarus 26:12 is not the truth about death, 26:13 but rather the truth about life. 26:16 Our response to opportunity and privilege here 26:20 will determine our destiny there. 26:23 That's the point. 26:25 In fact Abraham makes the point in Jesus' parable. 26:27 Look at verse 25. 26:29 "But Abraham said to the rich man, verse 25. 26:31 "Son, remember that in your lifetime 26:34 you received your good things, 26:36 and likewise Lazarus evil things, 26:38 but now he is comforted and you're tormented. 26:40 You got what you live for." 26:43 That's the point. Hey, well, then listen, listen. 26:45 Will you send Lazarus to my living brothers? 26:47 I don't want them ending up down here and this stuff 26:50 and Abraham response the punch line. 26:52 Verse 31, "But Abraham said to the rich man, 26:55 'If they do not hear Moses and the prophets, 26:59 neither will they be persuaded 27:01 though one rise from the dead." 27:03 If you don't believe the written word, 27:07 you'll never believe the truth about death. 27:09 You have to go by the book what is written is the truth. 27:16 Lazarus is asleep. He is dead. 27:24 Yes, but come on, Dwight? 27:25 Didn't Jesus promised the thief on the cross 27:29 that the two of them that Good Friday afternoon 27:30 at the end of the day the two of them 27:32 will be in paradise together? 27:35 Well, that's an interesting one. 27:36 Yeah, let's take a look at that. 27:37 Good for you. 27:39 Since we're in Luke, let's just go over to Luke 23. 27:43 This is the crucifixion chapter in the Gospel of Luke. 27:46 Let's check it out. 27:48 Luke 23, that would be drop down to verse 39. 27:55 Verse 39. 27:56 "Then one of the criminals, these are the two thieves 27:58 who were hanged on either 28:00 and crucified in either side of Jesus, 28:02 then one of the criminals who were hanged 28:04 blasphemed Jesus saying, 'If you are the Christ? 28:07 Save yourself and us!'" 28:09 But the other thief, answering, rebuked him, saying, 28:13 "Do you not even fear God, 28:15 seeing you are under the same condemnation? 28:17 And indeed we justly, 28:18 for we receive the due reward of our deeds, 28:20 but this Man has done nothing wrong." 28:24 And then the thief verse 42 said to Jesus, 28:26 "Lord, remember me 28:28 when You come into Your kingdom." 28:30 And Jesus said to him, 28:33 "Assuredly, I say to you, 28:36 today you will be with Me in Paradise." 28:42 I told you, there it is. 28:44 They both went to paradise that day. 28:47 Ooh, not so quick. Not so fast, my friend. 28:50 And what are we gonna do? 28:51 What are we gonna do with what Jesus said to Mary 28:53 on resurrection Sunday morning? 28:56 We're gonna have to deal with this. 28:58 Let's go to John 20. 29:00 Let's just take a look what did Jesus say. 29:01 You remember Mary is sobbing in the garden 29:03 because the tomb is empty. 29:04 She doesn't know where they've taken body of Jesus. 29:07 You remember that she's sobbing in the garden? 29:09 There's nobody there. 29:11 And then Jesus comes up behind her. 29:14 Oh, I love this moment. 29:15 This is John 20:15, page 731. 29:23 Jesus comes up behind her and He said to her, 29:25 "Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you seeking? 29:29 'And She, supposing him to be the gardener, 29:31 said to him, oh Sir, if you have carried him away, 29:34 tell me where You have laid him, 29:35 and I will take him away 29:37 and Jesus said to her, 'Mary!'" 29:39 And just like, I tell you what 29:42 when you hear Jesus called you name one day, 29:44 you will recognize that voice 29:45 and it will be the way your name should be called 29:49 and when He said "Mary." 29:52 She hurls around and she turned to him 29:55 and she said, "Rabboni! Which is to say teacher." 29:58 And Jesus said oh, verse 17. 30:00 "Do not cling to me, 30:01 for I have not yet ascended to my Father. 30:07 But go to my brothers and say to them, 30:09 'I am ascending to my Father and your Father, 30:10 and to my God and your God.'" 30:12 Would you jot that down, please? 30:13 Get it in your study guide. 30:14 Jesus tells Mary Sunday morning. 30:16 I have not yet ascended to my Father, 30:19 who by the way lives in paradise. 30:20 Paradise is the home of God. 30:22 I haven't been there yet. 30:23 Which means that either Jesus is lying to the thief 30:26 or He's lying to Mary? 30:28 To which one is He lying? 30:32 To which one is He lying? 30:34 Oh, that's an untenable position to put you and me 30:36 who love and adore and worship Jesus. 30:38 There has to be some sort of discrepancy here 30:41 to figure this one out and there is. 30:43 Let me give you a little lesson from history. 30:46 Jot it down when Luke wrote his Gospel, 30:48 there was no commas or word divisions. 30:52 In fact the comma wasn't introduced 30:53 scribble this in your margin, until 1490. 30:58 The original Greek manuscripts 31:00 had neither punctuation nor word divisions. 31:02 They were just one long line of letters. 31:04 So that if we could recreate an English sentence 31:06 to look like Luke's Greek, it would look like this. 31:09 We'll put it on the screen, that's it. 31:11 Now you're gonna have to sit there 31:13 and look at that for a while. 31:14 Figure out, are there divisions here? 31:16 Should there be any punctuation here? 31:17 That's the way it was-- That's the way Luke wrote. 31:21 Now once they introduced the comma, you can understand. 31:24 Translators would have to decide 31:26 where are we gonna put the comma? 31:28 Now here's the one way, we'll put it on the screen. 31:31 Assuredly I say to you, 31:33 today you will be with Me in paradise." 31:37 You could do it in another way. 31:38 Assuredly I say to you today, 31:40 you will be with me in paradise." 31:43 How? You see the placement of a single comma 31:45 makes all the difference in the world. 31:47 In fact, let's put another sentence up. 31:49 Women, without her, man is a beast! 31:54 Or Women, without her man, is a beast! 31:59 Come on, girls. 32:01 Where do we put that comma? 32:03 Because it's either telling the truth about you 32:05 or about your man. 32:08 The placement of a comma 32:09 makes all the difference in the world. 32:11 Do you get the point? Of course, you do. 32:14 Where do we put the comma? 32:17 Or where we're gonna put it in this sentence? 32:20 What we have to do is we have to take Jesus word for it. 32:22 Jesus said I have not yet ascended to my father. 32:25 Jesus said, Lazarus is asleep, he's dead. 32:28 Do you know what that means? 32:29 That means the Jesus and the thief 32:31 and Lazarus didn't go to heaven. 32:35 They didn't. They went to sleep. 32:37 In fact, would you jot this down, please? 32:39 Based on Jesus' statements 32:41 in John 11:11 and John 20:17. 32:43 The comma in Luke 23:43 must come after, after "today." 32:49 So how would it read? Put it on the screen. 32:52 "Assuredly, I say to you today, 32:55 you will be with me in paradise." 32:57 Well, hey pastor, then how did the Kings James translate? 33:00 It gets so fowled up that they put the comma 33:02 in the wrong place and every translation 33:04 following has copied the King James. 33:07 Oh, now the story and now, 33:10 by the way the crowning work 33:13 and my friends Samuele Bacchiocchi 33:15 who die at the Sabbath before Christmas. 33:19 I hold it right here on my hands. 33:22 Last conversation I had with Sam 33:23 just a few days before he died. 33:25 Sam was just-- By the way, a church history professor 33:28 and theologian here at Andrews University. 33:30 He's a writer. 33:33 I told Sam I was working on this series 33:36 "The Truth About Death" 33:37 and he had given me the book this summer. 33:38 I said, "Sam, I'm gonna be quoting from that book." 33:41 Because I tell you what. 33:44 This book, popular believes are they biblical. 33:47 His chapters on death contained 33:49 the most scholarly examination of the subject 33:52 I have ever read. 33:56 So how do we get into this mess? 33:58 Let me quote a few lines from Sam's book. 34:02 He tells a story about Socrates. 34:03 You remember who Socrates was? Where was Socrates from? 34:05 From Greece, all right. 34:07 So it tells a story about the philosophers Socrates 34:09 who went down to Egypt to study 34:12 the Egyptian teaching of the immortality, 34:13 pagan teaching the immortality of the soul. 34:16 He went back to Athens 34:19 and you remember the story of Socrates. 34:20 Eventually he was executed, 34:21 had to drink the cup of hemlock, you remember that? 34:24 Why? Because he was poisoning the Athens youth, 34:26 the young man leading them to reject gods 34:28 and turn toward atheism. 34:31 Plato his dear disciple 34:35 wrote up what Socrates taught. 34:37 Plato describes the last conversation 34:40 Socrates ever has alive 34:42 and he spends the day before drinking the hemlock, 34:44 discussing the nature of the human being, 34:47 the soul and death and immortality. 34:52 Now I'm gonna let Sam pick it up right there. 34:54 You have in your study guide. 34:55 He's describing that dialogue. 34:57 In the dialogue, on the day of his execution, 35:00 Socrates repeatedly declares death to be-- 35:03 Now these are words from Plato's according to Socrates. 35:05 "The death is the separation of the soul from the body 35:09 in which it is encased." 35:10 Socrates goes on. 35:11 "The soul whose inseparable attribute is life 35:14 will never admit to life's opposite, death. 35:18 Thus the soul is shown to be immortal, 35:21 and since immortal indestructible." 35:24 Socrates concluded death is merely 35:26 the separation of soul and body."' 35:29 And that, ladies and gentlemen, is where it all came from. 35:34 The pagan philosophers Socrates and Plato 35:37 introduced the concept of immortal soul 35:39 into Hellenistic philosophy 35:41 and then the concept was introduced 35:43 in the Hellenistic Judaism through the-- Just pardon me. 35:46 Through the philosopher, Philo Judaeus 35:48 and later injected into Christianity through Tertullian, 35:51 Origin, Augustine Thomas Aquinas. 35:55 But not once is the concept of immortal soul 36:00 taught in the Holy Scriptures of the Jews 36:02 or the New Testament of Christianity, not once. 36:05 In fact, you remember from last week, 36:07 the Fork-Tongued Beast. 36:10 And by the way, if you didn't get last week, 36:11 you need that piece to set this one up. 36:13 You can download the podcast from here. 36:15 You remember last week we noted that the words 36:17 soul and spirit are used over 1,700 times in the Bible 36:21 and not a single instance is the additive 36:25 immortal attached to either word. 36:29 In fact, it comes as surprise to some people. 36:34 But that teaching gets traced all the way back 36:39 to the garden and the fork-tongued serpent 36:42 who said, hey, you're not gonna die. 36:44 When you die? You're not really dying. 36:46 You just go on. 36:50 But what really surprises people, 36:52 is when they discover that the Bible actually 36:54 carefully teaches that the soul can die. 36:57 Hold on. Jot this down, will you? 36:58 Jot this down. 37:00 Nephesh, you see that in the study guide, Nephesh, 37:03 which is Hebrew for soul appears 754 times in the Old Testament 37:06 and is rendered in 45 different ways, 37:08 but not a single instance is it ever declared "immortal." 37:12 The Bible teaches if the soul dies-- Keep your pen moving. 37:15 Let's take a look at some of these. 37:16 There's a whole string of these Ezekiel 18:20, 37:19 "The soul Nephesh who sins shall die." 37:23 Does it what? It dies. The soul dies. 37:26 Here's is another one. Numbers 23:10. 37:28 This is a prayer. Let me-- Now the English says let me. 37:31 The Hebrew read let my soul, let "my soul" die 37:36 the death of the righteous and let my end be like his." 37:39 Here's another one, Numbers 35:30. 37:41 Whoever kills a person-- Now in English it's person, 37:44 but the Hebrews it's Nephesh. 37:45 Whoever kills a soul shall be put to death. 37:48 Reading Samuele Bacchiocchi too conclude. Jot it down. 37:51 "The fate of the soul is linked to fate of the body. 37:54 The destruction of the body is seen 37:57 as the destruction of the soul." 38:00 Ladies and gentlemen, apparently 38:03 Jesus knew what He was talking about, 38:05 when He taught that death is a sleep. 38:07 In fact, as the pre-incarnate Christ, 38:10 that's what He taught from Genesis 38:12 all the way through the Malachi. 38:13 Let me run some text by. 38:15 Lazarus is asleep, he said. 38:17 Lazarus is asleep. 38:20 Can you show that in the Old Testament? 38:23 Some scholars believe that the Book Job 38:25 is the oldest of the Old Testament books, 38:27 older predates Genesis, same author as Genesis. 38:30 But in Job 7:21, jot this down. 38:32 For now I shall sleep where? 38:35 I shall sleep where? In my bed, what does it say? 38:37 "I sleep in the dust and now I shall sleep in the dust 38:40 and thou shall seek me in the morning, but I shall not be." 38:43 By the way, take a look at those verses 38:45 in parenthesis sometime later. 38:46 That's a stoning of Stephen, Acts 7:60. 38:48 He's being stone to death 38:49 and then it says in the New Testament 38:52 and he fell asleep. 38:53 I'm telling you, it's that way all the way through. 38:55 Here's another one just like Jesus taught it. 38:57 Here's another one, Deuteronomy 31:16, 39:00 "And the Lord said to Moses, 'Behold, you are about to sleep 39:03 with your fathers."' 39:05 2 Peter 3:4 says they slept with their fathers. 39:08 Death is a sleep. 39:09 All go to sleep. All who die go to sleep, 39:12 Jesus taught that. The Bible teaches it. 39:14 Here's another one. Ecclesiastics 9:5. 39:16 "For the living know that they will die, 39:19 but the dead know how much?" 39:21 Say it that loud to me. The dead know how much? 39:23 Zero, naught, nothing. The dead know nothing. 39:27 Talking about death as a sleep. 39:30 I mean, has it happened to you? 39:31 Has this-- Come on, be honest. 39:32 Has it ever happened to you? 39:33 You come home so weary and specked 39:38 that when you crawl on the bed 39:39 before your head even hits the pillow. 39:42 You ever had those times? Now we have this in English. 39:44 I don't know what it is in Portuguese. 39:46 I don't know what it is in Chinese. 39:48 We say it in English. You are dead to the world. 39:52 Do you have that in your language? 39:54 You're dead to the world. What's the mean? 39:56 Gone, the next thing you here is that-- Kill it. 40:03 The alarm clock going off.>> 40:06 No concept of the passage at times. 40:08 Nothing, I was dead to the world. 40:12 The dead know not a nothing, zero. 40:19 They're asleep that's why. 40:21 Because you see the Bible truth about death 40:23 is that when you die, you don't go to heaven, 40:26 you don't go to hell, you go sleep, you go to sleep. 40:31 That's what Jesus taught. 40:32 By the way, that's what Peter taught. 40:35 Oh, take a look at this. 40:36 This is Pentecost. This is the mighty Pentecost sermon. 40:37 Look at this. Acts 2:29 and 34. 40:40 If you asses 24, clause it out and put 34. 40:43 It supposed to say 34. Acts 2:29 and 34. 40:46 This is Peter preaching and he say, 40:47 "Hey, let me speak freely to you of the patriarch David, 40:51 that he is both dead and buried, and his tomb is with us today. 40:55 For the David did not ascend, 40:59 woe he did not ascend into the heavens."' 41:03 Could it be clearer than that? 41:05 When you die, you don't go to heaven, you don't go to hell. 41:07 You go to sleep. You didn't go to heaven. 41:11 You have the authority of scripture. 41:16 Even the great King David sleeps in the grave 41:18 over and over the Bible truth is repeated death 41:20 you say sleep, but you know what? Come on. 41:22 Just put that down for a minute. 41:25 Think with me. 41:26 This has to be the most philosophical satisfying 41:30 and reassuring truth about death that their possibly can be. 41:35 If I were A God of love, I would do it this way. 41:40 I mean, you think about. 41:41 Just think what kind of a God 41:44 would take people to heaven after death 41:46 and then let them observe the wretched headache 41:49 of their surviving families back on earth 41:51 enduring since their death. 41:54 Do you think heaven would be heaven to a mother 41:58 who watches her family go through hell after she dies? 42:02 There would heaven at all. 42:09 The truth about death that Jesus teaches, 42:11 that the Bible teaches is the only true 42:14 that is utterly faithful to God's relentless love 42:17 for all of His earth children. 42:19 Good and bad, doesn't matter. 42:21 This is what happens. 42:22 You go to sleep, it will be just like that, just like that. 42:29 But wait a minute. Why? You know, what you're doing? 42:33 You're taking my mother out of heaven 42:36 and you're putting your back in a whole in the ground 42:39 that's what you're doing. 42:40 No, no, no, my friend, 42:42 that's not what the Bible is doing. 42:44 Do you know what the Bible is doing? 42:45 The Bible is taking your mother 42:47 and putting her in the arms of Jesus, asleep. 42:54 You don't this very well, but your happiest days 42:58 when you were embraced in the arms of your mother, 43:03 you were at peace, you were secure. 43:07 Nothing mattered. Her arms were around you. 43:10 That is the truth about death. 43:14 You don't go to heaven, you don't go to hell, 43:19 you go to sleep. 43:21 You know nothing. You just go to sleep. 43:27 I know what you're saying. 43:28 You're saying, oh, come on. Do I? Please. 43:29 I mean, what is the matter? 43:30 You go to heaven, you need to die, you go to sleep. 43:31 You're gonna get there, 43:33 it's gonna seem like an incidence either way. 43:34 You're right, my friend. 43:35 But I will tell you why it matters. 43:36 Don't you dare miss part three in this little three patter. 43:39 The mid night blitz. Guess what? 43:41 That serpent in the garden, 43:43 we have yet to hear the last from him. 43:46 This is the crucial piece that tells you why 43:50 God is so urgent that you get the truth about death. 43:55 Don't miss next week. Don't miss it. 43:58 But anyway, you know, what the good news 43:59 about death is not that it's sleep. 44:01 Write this down. 44:02 The good news about death is 44:03 that it is asleep from which God will awaken us. 44:06 Write that down. Put it on the screen, please. 44:08 It is a sleep from which God will awaken us. 44:19 I love this text Daniel 12:2 rather just fill it. 44:23 And many of-- This is when Christ returns. 44:25 "And many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth 44:28 shall awake, some to everlasting life 44:31 and some to shame and everlasting contempt." 44:33 One more text before we wrap the story, 44:36 1 Thessalonians 4:15-18. 44:39 This is one of the pinnacles of hope 44:41 in the whole scriptures. 44:42 Jot it down. 44:43 For this we say to you the mighty Apostle Paul 44:46 by the word of the Lord we're telling you this 44:48 that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord, 44:53 will by know means precede those who are asleep. 44:56 Where did you get this word, Paul, you just told us? 44:58 I go it from the Lord. 44:59 What did the Lord teach? Lazarus is asleep. 45:01 He's dead. Death is asleep. 45:03 Well, do I? Why do we wake up? 45:06 Ah, here it comes. "For the Lord Himself." 45:08 When Christ returns, 45:09 "The Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, 45:13 with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet of God. 45:15 And the dead in Christ will rise first. 45:18 Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up 45:21 together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, 45:23 and thus so we shall always be with the Lord." 45:25 No wonder, Paul. Puts the punch line. 45:28 "Therefore comfort one another with these words." 45:35 Samuele Bacchiocchi is absolutely right. 45:37 Listen, listen, listen. 45:39 The hope of the Christian is not the immortality of the soul. 45:46 It is the resurrection of the body. 45:51 Soul is an immortal. Never was taught once. 45:55 It's the resurrection. That's our hope. 46:00 And so it was four days too late that 46:04 Jesus in His twelve striding in the Bethany 46:07 and the word slips to the house of grief Martha hears. 46:14 Go back, let's finish this story. 46:15 Martha hears that Jesus is in town. 46:17 A little late, a little late, but he is here at least. 46:23 Martha hears verse 20, 46:26 "Then Martha, as soon as she heard 46:28 the Jesus was coming to the edge of the village there 46:30 she went and met him, but Mary was still sitting in the house. 46:33 Now Martha said to Jesus, oh, Lord, if you had been here, 46:37 my brother would not have died." 46:39 How many people? 46:40 How many funerals have I conducted for a baby, 46:42 a tiny little casket for a baby? 46:44 A casket for a six-year-old about this big, 46:47 a casket for a teenage about this big, 46:49 a casket for young adult, a casket for an adult, 46:52 a casket for a senior citizen. 46:53 How many funerals have I been were the words 46:56 have tastily been wept out. 46:58 Oh, God, if only You would been here. 47:00 My husband would have not have died. 47:01 My child would not have died. 47:03 My mother would not have died. 47:04 She's only saying whatever human heart cries out. 47:08 At the moment of partying, 47:10 oh, God, where were You when we need You? 47:15 Oh, Jesus, if you would have been here, 47:16 my brother would not have died, 47:17 but even now she goes on verse 22. 47:19 Even now I know that whatever You ask of God, 47:22 God will give You. 47:23 And Jesus said to Martha, 47:24 "Your brother will rise again." 47:26 And Martha said to him, "Oh, I know that 47:28 he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day." 47:31 And then comes these words and they're immortal now. 47:34 Verse 25 and Jesus said to her. 47:36 "I am the resurrection and the life." 47:40 Martha, look at me, look at me. 47:41 "I, I am the resurrection in the life. 47:44 He who believes in me, though he may die, he shall live." 47:48 And whoever lives and believes in me will never die. 47:52 Do you believe this? 47:54 Do you believe this? 48:00 Do you think that the insanity 48:02 and up sanity of death makes God happy? 48:05 Well, serves him right. 48:09 Can you imagine that? 48:11 Do you know what happens if the heart of God 48:12 when death stocks another of his children. 48:16 Look at verse 35, the shortest verse 48:18 in all the Bible two words, write them down. 48:20 Jesus wept. That's what happens. God weeps. 48:25 I was listening just a few days ago of the young husband 48:28 who lost his wife just like that, gone, 48:31 leaving two little children. 48:33 I mean, his home late at night and his heart two years later, 48:39 two years later, a still broken in a thousand shorts. 48:45 Jesus weeps with those who weep. 48:49 Some of you're still weeping right now. 48:50 You can't get over the death that astound 48:54 your hope and your dream and your love Jesus weeps. 48:59 He weeps. 49:05 Verse 38. 49:12 William Blake-- Let me share this with you by the way. 49:15 The great poet William Blake 49:17 went to literature of the university. Look at this. 49:19 William Blake put it this way. 49:21 "Till our grief is fled and gone, 49:25 He doth sit by us and moan." 49:31 You beg God weeps with you. 49:33 It was never to been this way, never, never, never, 49:38 but he's making the best of what he can until he writes, 49:45 finish to the story of rebellion. 49:51 Verse 38, and Jesus again groaning in Himself, 49:56 came to the tomb. 49:57 It was a cave, and a stone lay against it. 49:59 Jesus said, "Take away the stone, move it. 50:02 Martha, the sister of him 50:03 who was dead came running up there and said, Lord, 50:05 by this time there is a stench, 50:06 please he has been there four days." 50:09 You can't take the stone away. 50:10 Jesus looked that, "Didn't I tell you-- 50:12 Didn't I tell you that if you believed, 50:15 God's glory would be shown. 50:17 Take the stone away." 50:20 And then he lifts up his eyes to heaven 50:22 and where is this in verse 41 50:23 and Jesus lifted up His eyes and he said, 50:25 "Father, I thank You that You have heard Me." 50:28 And I know that You always hear Me, 50:29 but because of the people 50:31 who are standing by I said this, 50:33 that they may believe that You sent Me." 50:35 And now when He said these things, 50:37 He cried out with a loud voice, 50:39 in the Greek ias Megala phone 50:42 from whence comes our word megaphone 50:44 "Lazarus, come out!" 50:48 Just like that he yells at the tomb. 50:53 Mesmerized, the crowd, frozen, 50:58 stairs at that gaping hole 51:04 and suddenly stepping into the shaft of sunlight 51:07 that falls on the floor of the tomb, 51:10 there was a mummy wrapped 51:17 in exciding. 51:20 And verse 44, 51:21 "And he who had died came out bound 51:24 hand and foot with grave clothes, 51:26 and his face was wrapped with a cloth 51:29 and Jesus said to them, 51:30 'Loose him, and let him go.'" 51:34 Oh, death, loose her. 51:37 Oh, grave, let him grow. 51:42 I am the resurrection in the life. 51:46 He who believes in Me, 51:49 though he dies, yet shall he live. 51:52 She who believes in me even though she dies. 52:00 Yet shall she lives. 52:02 You see, ladies and gentlemen, it's true. 52:04 If you have Jesus-- 52:07 This is it, if you have Jesus, 52:09 you will have all you will ever need 52:13 to wake up one day from the sleep of death. 52:18 You just need Jesus. That's it. That's it. 52:25 Brennan Manning in his wonderful book "Lion and Lamb." 52:29 He tells a touching story of an old man dying 52:32 when the priest came to visit him, 52:35 he noticed an empty chair at the bed side 52:38 of the dying man and he said, 52:39 oh, you just had a visit, huh? 52:42 Oh, no. The old man said no. 52:47 You see, pastor, I-- 52:49 Some years ago, I was having a hard time praying at all 52:53 and a friend of mine. 52:54 I was sharing this with my friend and he said to me, 52:56 you know, you need to do, 52:57 you need to imagine that Jesus is right there. 52:59 Why don't you put a chair in the room whenever you pray 53:02 and pretend that you're talking to Him right there? 53:06 And so the old man told his pastor. 53:09 I've been praying like that ever since 53:11 and I've never had a problem again. 53:17 Some days later, 53:19 the daughter of the old man came to inform 53:23 the pastor at the parsonage 53:24 that her father had just died. 53:27 And she said, you know, because you seem so contend. 53:29 I left him alone for few hours 53:31 and when I came back, he was dead. 53:35 But you said, you know, there was something strange 53:40 because when I came back, 53:44 his head was not on the bed, 53:49 his head was on the chair. 53:54 I am the resurrection in the life. 53:58 He who believes in me yet sure he live. 54:05 She who lives and believes will never die. 54:11 Do you believe this? 54:13 Do you believe this? 54:18 Ever since we're saying that last week, 54:21 I have been singing it, 54:23 just singing that stanza over and over again. 54:27 Oh, when I come to die. Oh, when I come to die. 54:33 Oh, when I come to die. How is it go? 54:36 Give me, Jesus. Just give me, Jesus. 54:39 I want to sing with you. 54:40 I just want to sing. No organ, no nothing. 54:44 Just stand with me, will you? 54:45 Let's just sing now. 54:46 Oh, when I come to die Oh, when I come to die 54:53 Oh, when I come to die 54:58 Oh, when I come to die 55:03 Oh, when I come to die 55:08 Give me Jesus 55:13 Give me Jesus 55:19 Give me Jesus 55:25 You can have all this world 55:32 Give me Jesus 55:40 That's all we pray for Father, 55:41 just give us Jesus. 55:43 He's our resurrection, he's our life, 55:46 gives us Jesus 55:47 when we come to die, just give us Jesus. 55:58 And now may the God 55:59 who gave us Jesus in the beginning 56:03 and the Christ who came 56:05 to shatter the bonds of the tomb 56:09 and the Holy Spirit who will keep us singing, 56:12 give me Jesus. 56:13 Be with you and me in the unsheltered journey before us. 56:19 Amen. 56:36 It's been a pleasure to be able to worship with you today. 56:38 I hope that the spirit of Jesus has blessed your time 56:41 with us right here in the Pioneer Memorial Church 56:43 and the Campus of Andrews University. 56:44 Do you know that around the world 56:46 people join us every week for this hour worship? 56:48 We're always looking as a consequence 56:50 for new ways to bridge, 56:52 somehow to connect with these people 56:54 who come here to worship view the telecast. 56:57 One of the areas that is quickly growing for us is our website. 57:00 We have more than 1,40,000 visitors last year. 57:04 It's an incredible opportunity 57:06 that God is given us to expand His kingdom. 57:09 If you'd like to help partner with us 57:11 as we seek to spread the everlasting gospel, 57:13 I'd love to have you call our toll free number. 57:16 We got very friendly operator standing by. 57:19 Here's a number 877-His-Will, 57:21 877 and then the two words-His-Will. 57:24 One of the operators will be happy to give you the details 57:27 of how you can partner with this global ministry. 57:30 If you prefer listen, you can do it all online. 57:32 Go to website, please www.pmchurch.tv 57:36 and beyond it to have a privilege of partnering with you 57:39 as we seek to spread the truth about God for this generation. 57:43 We are living in urgent times not more than ever. 57:47 We've got to go to the world 57:49 for the good news entrusted to us. 57:51 So once again here's that toll free number 57:53 877-His-Will. 57:55 Thank you in advance for your generosity 57:58 that blesses me and you grow this ministry 58:01 and pray that the spirit of Christ 58:03 will abide with you every step of the way 58:05 and I hope you come back again next time right here 58:08 as we continue our worship journey together. |
Revised 2014-12-17