Participants: Pr. Dwight K. Nelson
Series Code: NP
Program Code: NP040707
|
01:27 Christ is alive!
01:30 Let Christians sing 01:33 His cross stands empty to the sky 01:40 Let streets and homes with praises ring 01:47 His love in death 01:49 Shall never die 01:55 Christ is alive! 01:58 No longer bound 02:02 To distant years in Palestine 02:08 He comes to claim the here and now 02:15 And conquer 02:17 Every place and time 02:24 In every insult, rift and war 02:30 Where color, scorn or wealth divide 02:37 He suffers still, yet loves the more 02:44 And lives, though ever crucified 03:08 Christ is alive! 03:11 Ascended Lord 03:15 He rules the world His Father made 03:22 Till, in the end, His love adored 03:30 Shall be to all on earth 03:36 Displayed. 03:42 Please be seated. 03:44 It is true, isn't it? 03:46 That Christ stands today, alive and well, amen. 03:54 And not only does He rule world that His father made. 03:58 But we come today, 03:59 because we have invited Him to rule us, 04:02 to be Lord of our hearts. 04:05 Sing with us today, Lord Reign in me. 04:16 Over all the earth 04:19 You reign on high 04:21 Every mountain stream 04:23 Every sunset sky 04:26 But my one request 04:28 Lord, my only aim 04:31 Is that You'd reign in me again 04:35 Lord, reign in me 04:37 Reign in your pow'r 04:40 Over all my dreams 04:42 In my darkest hour 04:44 You are the Lord 04:47 Of all I am 04:50 So won't you reign in me again 05:03 Over every thought 05:06 Over every word 05:08 May my life reflect 05:10 The beauty of my Lord 05:12 'Cause you mean more to me 05:15 Than any earthly thing 05:18 So won't you reign in me again 05:22 Lord, reign in me 05:25 Reign in your pow'r 05:27 Over all my dreams 05:29 In my darkest hour 05:32 You are the Lord 05:34 Of all I am 05:37 So won't you reign in me again 05:41 Lord, reign in me 05:43 Reign in your pow'r 05:46 Over all my dreams 05:48 In my darkest hour 05:50 You are the Lord 05:53 Of all I am 05:56 So won't you reign in me again. 06:29 The Book of Hebrews Chapter 6, says that we have a hope 06:36 and this hope is in an anchor for our souls, amen. 06:41 This hope is only to be found in one place, 06:44 in the risen Lord, in Christ alone. 07:22 In Christ alone my hope is found 07:28 He is my light, my strength, my song 07:35 This Cornerstone, this solid ground 07:42 Firm through the fiercest drought and storm 07:48 What heights of love 07:51 What depths of peace 07:54 When fears are stilled 07:58 When strivings cease 08:01 My Comforter, my all in all 08:08 Here in the love of Christ 08:12 I stand 08:18 In Christ alone 08:21 Who took on flesh 08:25 Fullness of God in helpless Babe 08:30 This gift of love and righteousness 08:37 Scorned by the ones He came to save 08:43 Till on that cross as Jesus died 08:49 The wrath of God was satisfied 08:56 For ev'ry sin on Him was laid 09:03 Here in the death of Christ 09:07 I live 09:12 There in the ground 09:15 His body lay 09:19 Light of the world by darkness slain 09:25 Then bursting forth in glorious day 09:32 Up from the grave He rose again 09:38 And as He stands in victory 09:44 Sin's curse has lost its grip on me 09:50 For I am His and He is mine 09:57 Bought with the precious blood of Christ 10:27 No guilt in life, no fear in death 10:34 This is the pow'r of Christ in me 10:40 From life's first cry to final breath 10:46 Jesus commands my destiny 10:52 No pow'r of hell, no scheme of man 10:59 Can ever pluck me from His hand 11:05 Till He returns and calls me home, 11:12 Here in the power of Christ 11:15 I'll stand. 11:36 This is my desire 11:42 To honor You 11:49 Lord, with all my heart 11:53 I worship You 12:02 All that is within me 12:08 I give You praise 12:15 All that I adore 12:19 Is in You 12:28 Lord, I give you my heart 12:32 I give you my soul 12:37 I live for You alone 12:41 Every breath that I take 12:45 Ev'ry moment I'm awake 12:50 Lord, have Your way in me 13:00 This is my desire 13:06 To honor You 13:13 Lord, with all my heart 13:17 I worship You 13:25 All I have within me 13:31 I give You praise 13:38 All that I adore 13:43 Is in You 13:51 Lord, I give You my heart 13:55 I give You my soul 14:00 I live for You alone 14:04 Ev'ry breath that I take 14:08 Ev'ry moment I'm awake 14:13 Lord, have Your way in me 14:17 Lord, I give You my heart 14:21 I give You my soul 14:25 I live for You alone 14:30 Ev'ry breath that I take 14:33 Ev'ry moment I'm awake 14:38 Lord, have Your way in me. 15:14 Let us kneel together as we pray. 15:32 Dear God, we come into Your presence 15:34 this morning. 15:35 It's so mindful on this weekend of Your passion, 15:39 how much You love us. 15:41 You have heard our hearts respond, 15:43 and that we want to give You every part of our lives. 15:47 And, God, we realize this week 15:48 that, even though we sing those words, 15:51 and they're fresh on our lips and we've just heard them sung 15:54 that we haven't always lived our lives that way. 15:57 And this passion weekend reminds us 15:59 that in the very movement that we acknowledge our sin, 16:03 there stands the Cross of Calvary 16:06 that demonstrates Your mercy to us, 16:08 and that You made it possible for everything 16:11 to be brand new in our lives. 16:13 Oh, God, this morning we say that we need that saving grace. 16:17 We need that mercy that will set us free. 16:21 We don't pray to a God who is dead. 16:23 We pray to God who is alive 16:25 and that makes all the difference 16:27 in the way that we choose to live our lives. 16:29 Every movement, every breath that we take, 16:32 it is because we serve a Risen Savior, 16:35 so we ask that Your aliveness be a reality 16:40 in each one of our lives. 16:42 And this morning, 16:43 there are those who have asked us 16:44 to remember them in prayer. 16:46 With them, we ask, 16:47 just as You did in that garden 16:49 not our will, but yours be done. 16:52 And, God, there may an area in our lives this morning 16:54 that we need to bring to You 16:56 and utter those same words that You did in Gethsemane. 17:00 So we pause right now to bring before You 17:03 the very thing that wrenches our hearts, 17:05 even the very thing that right now brings us joy 17:08 and we long for more. 17:10 God, we ask for Your will to be done. 17:25 Dear God, through our continued worship, 17:27 whether be through silence or through speaking, 17:30 through a act of hope in You and Your resurrection. 17:35 We ask that You will transform each one of us 17:37 in whatever way we need to be changed, 17:40 and it is because of the Cross of Calvary 17:42 and that resurrection that we know 17:45 that death no longer has the victory, 17:47 whether it be death to our physical bodies 17:50 or death to sin. 17:52 Please come and reign in our lives, 17:55 speak to us through Pastor Dwight's words 17:57 this morning, and may we indeed gain the victory 18:00 because we come to put our hope and our trust in Jesus 18:04 in whose name we pray this morning, amen. 20:27 Hallelujah and amen. 20:28 And so today, 20:30 in our 9th Annual Easter Procession of Hope, 20:33 we gather to not only testify to that hope 20:37 that we have in Christ resurrection. 20:40 But in a poignant way to remember these who... 20:47 are enshrined in the depths of our hearts. 20:50 So these ever the last 12 months at Andrew's 20:54 and in the Pioneer Memorial Church 20:56 have fallen to the sleep of death. 21:00 And as we have done in the past, 21:02 if there is somebody that you remember today 21:04 and you're saying, "Oh, I didn't bring a flower." 21:06 You don't need to worry about that, 21:08 we have the flowers here. 21:09 If there is somebody that you wished to remember today, 21:12 and testify in the process 21:14 to your hope in the living Christ 21:16 by placing that flower at the foot of the cross. 21:19 I wish you come forward 21:20 as my wife Karen and I read these names to you, 21:24 they are in the shrine of our hearts 21:28 as we look for the soon return of Christ. 21:34 We had two deaths, right after Easter, 21:37 this last year. 21:39 I shall read both their names to you, 21:41 Sammy Joseph a student here in Andrew University, 21:47 and on May 6th 2006, Alfred W. Bower. 21:55 May 12, 2006, M. Wesley Schultz. 22:03 May 18, 2006, 22:06 John A. Kealer. 22:11 May 23, 2006, Wilburn H. Shaw. 22:18 June 17, 2006, John R. Duckworth. 22:25 July 15, 2006, Robert S. Bishop. 22:32 July 21, 2006 Exhilda Mwinga. 22:39 July 27, 2006, John V. Langue. 22:47 September 22, 2006, Binnoni B. Oliver. 22:55 September 26, 2006, 22:59 Herbert W. Helm. 23:03 October 5, 2006, Lola N. Smith. 23:11 October 12, 2006, Bethel E. Habernet. 23:18 October 13, 2006, Paul M. Matacio. 23:26 October 16, 2006, 23:29 Maxin S. Matacio. 23:35 October 22, 2006, 23:38 Merlin C. Poole. 23:44 October 31, 2006, 23:47 Helen H. Haze. 23:52 November 6, 2006, 23:57 Ernamay Cook. 24:00 November 17, 2006, 24:04 Ben Nutt. 24:08 November 18, 2006, 24:11 Kirsten M. Holman. 24:17 November 21, 2006, 24:20 Vinita M. Alexander 24:26 January 16, 2007, 24:29 James L. Morris. 24:34 January 23, 2007, 24:38 Cathleen J. Fiwash 24:43 February 20, 2007, 24:47 Herlod L. Olers 24:52 March 21, 2007, 24:56 Peal Lloyd Pelton. 26:44 Christ the Lord is risen today 26:49 Alleluia! 26:54 Sons of men and angels say 26:58 Alleluia! 27:03 Raise your joys and triumphs high 27:08 Alleluia! 27:13 Sing, ye heavens, and earth, reply 27:17 Alleluia! 27:24 Lives again our glorious King 27:29 Alleluia! 27:34 Where, O death, is now thy sting 27:38 Alleluia! 27:43 Once He died our souls to save 27:49 Alleluia! 27:54 Where's thy victory boasting grave? 27:59 Alleluia! 28:05 Love's redeeming work is done 28:10 Alleluia! 28:15 Fought the fight, the battle won 28:21 Alleluia! 28:26 Death in vain forbids Him rise 28:31 Alleluia! 28:37 Christ hath opened Paradise 28:42 Alleluia! 29:16 Soar we then where Christ has led 29:21 Alleluia! 29:26 Following our exalted Head 29:31 Alleluia! 29:36 Made like Him, like Him we rise 29:41 Alleluia! 29:46 Ours the cross, the grave, the skies 29:52 Alleluia! 30:04 Holy Christ, it is in that hope that we claim the Cross, 30:06 the grave and the skies. 30:11 It doesn't take death away, we are still here, 30:17 bring us a word about death we pray 30:21 and may it be a word of hope in Your name, amen. 30:27 Be seated please. 30:36 Have you ever wondered? 30:39 Ever wondered what death taste like? 30:45 How does death taste? 30:48 Was it, Ernest Hemingway, 30:51 who described the, the feeling of death 30:53 as an inner cord snapping inside your chest 30:58 and a sudden taste of metallic upon your tongue. 31:03 What does death taste like? 31:08 Miriam Stone she's a young coed at Colombia University, 31:13 student like many of you. 31:17 She has written a nationally acclaimed book, 31:22 tale of her book, At the End of Words: 31:26 A Daughter's Memoir. 31:28 It's a collection of her journal entries 31:30 and poems that she composed during the year 31:35 in which her mother died of breast cancer. 31:39 And so in the book, there is a tumbling of emotion, 31:42 the sorrow, and the anger, 31:44 and the guilt, and teenage grief. 31:48 I want to share with you, 31:50 just a line from one of those journal entries 31:52 and then a stanza from her poem she composed. 31:55 First the journal, Miriam, 31:57 this is when she's visiting her prospective university 32:00 turns out as Colombia. 32:01 This weekend, some of you are here visiting our campus 32:05 on a campus tour. 32:06 "This weekend we take a campus tour. 32:09 Just Mom, Dad, a tour guide, a wheelchair, and me. 32:16 I clumsily push her along the brick walkways 32:18 and uneven sidewalks in the freezing gray air. 32:21 She is wearing her huge fur coat, 32:23 her tiny head protruding like a turtle's, 32:26 her hands placed pleasantly on her lap 32:28 as she nods approvingly at the size of the dorm rooms, 32:31 the dark wood dining hall, the cavernous library. 32:34 "And the flight home is so short." 32:36 She smiles. 32:37 "You'll be able to come back for weekends, if you want." 32:41 As Dad struggles to put the wheelchair 32:43 in the trunk of a cab, 32:45 I stand on the sidewalk to take one last look, 32:47 of what will become her university. 32:51 I feel her gaze on me through the window. 32:54 She never should have traveled with us. 32:56 She is way too weak. 32:57 But she had insisted on coming in her quiet, 33:00 unquestionable way. 33:02 I turn back toward the street and catch her eye. 33:06 I haven't been accepted to school yet. 33:09 She hasn't announced her death yet. 33:12 But in that glance is our first goodbye. 33:20 Miriam Stone wrote a poem entitled Blueprint. 33:23 She treats her mother's life like a piece of architecture. 33:27 Let me share a line or two. 33:29 "Stories like loose nails jut out from your structures." 33:31 She's talking about her mom, stories of Mom's past. 33:34 French rock stars, hippie boyfriends, 33:36 the Beatles in Paris. 33:37 St. John's in the '60s: Homer and Aristotle, 33:40 an anorexic roommate, the Maryland air. 33:43 Now I hoard your stories, 33:45 scavenge for your words like water. 33:47 I want the glue that holds you together. 33:49 I need the architecture, the angles of your inside. 33:53 I want to ask: what does love smell like, 33:56 what color sky makes your skin melt, 33:59 what does death taste like, and are you afraid?" 34:05 What does death taste like? And are you afraid? 34:17 But we see Jesus, 34:20 who has made a little lower than the angels. 34:23 "For the suffering of death crown, 34:25 will glory and honor that He by the grace of God, 34:28 might taste death for everyone." 34:35 What does death taste like? 34:40 I have here in the pulpit with me. 34:43 A latest issue of Newsweek Magazine... 34:49 cover story, "Voices of the fallen: 34:51 the Iraq War in the words of America's dead." 34:56 It's enough to make a parent dissolve in tears, 34:59 if you have a child in Iraq. 35:04 We learned about some of this, 35:06 when our son-in-law Andrew deployed to Iraq, 35:08 at the beginning of February as a medic 35:09 with the US Army Rangers. 35:11 Christy told us about 35:13 what the soldiers are required to do. 35:14 They're required to sit down with the spouse, 35:16 they're required to sit down with their family 35:18 and have to plan it all out. 35:20 Plan your funeral, were do you want to be buried. 35:25 Who do you want there to notify your surviving spouse 35:29 in the event of your death? 35:31 Christy and Andrew sat on that tiny little living room sofa, 35:36 and had to fill out the answers. 35:40 What I didn't know, I picked up from reading this, 35:46 read it at the bottom of the stairs 35:47 as soon as I picked it up one night late, 35:50 after coming home. 35:51 And I just tell you the tears just well up. 35:55 What I didn't know apparently is that the soldiers 35:58 before they deploy 35:59 or once they moved into their combat zone are, 36:03 it is suggested to them 36:04 that they write a letter to the family 36:08 that will be given to the family 36:09 only in the eventuality of death. 36:13 Newsweek has taken, borrowed from some families 36:16 these precious last words of men, 36:19 young men who are now dead. 36:22 And they've reproduced the letters 36:23 so that you have it in the paper, 36:24 and you have it in the handwriting 36:26 and what does death tastes like before you even die? 36:32 Listen to this. 36:34 This from Lance Corporal, Lance Graham 36:35 from San Antonio, Texas, 26 years old, 36:37 at six feet five and 240 pounds. 36:40 His father said, "He made other people feel safe, 36:42 just by looking at him." 36:45 He died on May 7th 2005, as a marine near Haditha Dam 36:49 when a pair of suicide bombers hit his convoy. 36:52 And then his parents got this letter. 36:55 "Well, if you're reading this, I guess, 36:59 I guess this deployment was a one way trip. 37:06 "I just have a few things to ask. 37:07 Please don't be mad at the Marine Corps. 37:09 It was my choice to join and come here. 37:11 I honestly believe this is what I was meant to do. 37:14 And another thing. 37:17 Another thing, I ask is that at my funeral 37:19 the Marine Corps hymn and amazing facts 37:22 be played with the bagpipes. 37:25 Nothing sounds better than them, 37:27 than bagpipes the playing Amazing Grace. 37:30 I know that I haven't been the best son, brother, 37:32 friend, or boyfriend and I'm sorry 37:34 and if you can find it in your heart to forgive me, 37:37 this is really hard writing this, 37:39 there's so much I want to say, and I'm at a loss of words. 37:48 Hi, Mom, Dad, Brittney, Jeremy and Bailey, 37:51 if you're getting this letter, 37:53 then I'm sure you've already heard. 37:56 I'm so sorry." 37:58 Nineteen year old kid, apologizing for his death, 38:04 and what it will do to his family. 38:07 Lance Corporal, Anthony Butterfield, 38:09 Clovis, California, 38:10 "Enlisted straight out of high school. 38:11 One of four Marines killed 38:13 when a suicide bomber set off a propane truck 38:14 in Rawah on July 29, 2006." 38:18 Let's read one more, just, 38:20 this is a three page letter all spread out in Newsweek. 38:24 This is written by Corporal Steven Gill, 38:26 Round Rock, Texas, 24. 38:28 "He once aspired to be a minister, 38:31 but after September 11 38:33 he wanted only to join the Marines. 38:34 He arrived in Iraq on his first tour of duty in March 38:37 and on July 21 38:39 he was killed by an IED near the village of Zaidan, 38:42 southeast of Fallujah." 38:45 "Dear, Mom, Dad and James. 38:48 If you're reading this, you will know 38:52 that I'm no longer here with you all. 38:59 I've been brought up in a loving Christian family, 39:00 that I thank God for everyday. 39:02 I was taught to fear and love God, 39:03 and to rejoice in the knowledge that his son, 39:05 pay from all of my horrible sins 39:08 that I have committed in my 24 years 39:10 on this great planet up until this time, 39:12 I've lead an adventurous life 39:13 that's hasn't been perfect for the anger and tears 39:16 that have been caused and shed on my behalf. 39:19 I ask for all of you forgiveness. 39:22 Know that, I wish I could have done better, 39:24 but I have cherished all my time with you all." 39:28 And then one by one, he speaks to his family. 39:33 What does death tastes like before you even die? 39:38 There's only one verse in all of Holy Scriptures 39:40 that speaks of the taste of death. 39:43 And I want to turn there with you, 39:44 on this Easter weekend. 39:46 Open your Bible please 39:47 to the Book of Hebrews Chapter 2, 39:51 just one verse in all the Bible. 39:54 If you didn't bring a Bible, 39:55 you got to see this for yourself, 39:56 grab that pew Bible that's right in front of you. 39:58 It's a same translation, 40:00 I'm using the New King James Version. 40:02 It's page 804, in your pew Bible, 40:05 Hebrews 2:9, 40:11 Hebrews 2:9, "But we see Jesus, 40:18 who was made a little lower than the angels, 40:21 for the suffering of death crowned with glory and honor, 40:24 that He, by the grace of God, 40:26 might taste death for everyone." 40:30 Did you hear that ladies and gentlemen? 40:32 He came to this planet, one reason, 40:33 to taste death for the entire human race. 40:38 And what did death taste like to Him? 40:40 After all does say, "He tasted, He tasted death." 40:45 What did it taste like? 40:46 Was it is Hemingway's described the snapping of a cord 40:49 inside his chest and then the sudden metallic... 40:55 on the edge of his tongue. 41:00 You know, when you and I go to the passion as we will, 41:01 this weekend or week, 41:02 we're watching movie on the crucifixion, 41:04 now we see some great art work 41:06 depicting that moment of Christ death. 41:09 It is only natural for us to, 41:13 the taste, taste of death, 41:14 I mean that's pretty obvious, isn't it? 41:15 What do you think death tasted like to Jesus? 41:18 And what do we conclude? 41:19 Immediately we conclude, 41:20 well, you know, surely it tasted like, 41:22 this dry cotton rubbing on a swollen tongue 41:25 inside a parched mouth, after all he's pleading, 41:27 "I'm thirsty, I'm thirsty." 41:32 Coagulated blood, and crusty bruised, 41:35 and swollen lips. 41:36 You ever taste blood? Of course you have. 41:38 You've tasted your own blood. What does blood taste like? 41:43 The taste of sweat salt, like sand in his puffy eyes, 41:46 trickling down his cheeks to his torn lips, 41:49 stinging the swollen tongue 41:51 that tries to lick the salt away 41:52 from the open cuts and bruises around his mouth. 41:54 Whatever death tasted like, 41:56 it must have been wretched to Christ. 42:01 That's how we conclude, stand before the cross. 42:05 But that's just if, there are too many of us. 42:07 For too long, we have defined Christ taste of death 42:10 as what happened at Calvary. 42:13 And you know what? We're 12 hours too late. 42:15 Twelve hours late. 42:19 Because the taste of death, 42:21 for the human race did not come at the cross, 42:23 it came in a garden. 42:26 The Passion of the Christ had it absolutely right. 42:29 The struggle between the son and the serpent 42:32 is most intense in that blue shadowed movement 42:37 in Gethsemane Garden. 42:39 Desire of Ages by the way concurs, 42:41 I'll put the words on the screen for you, 42:42 look at this. 42:43 "All heaven and the unfallen worlds 42:45 had been witnesses to the controversy. 42:48 With what interest, intense interest 42:50 did they follow the closing scenes of the conflict. 42:52 They beheld the Saviour enter the garden of Gethsemane, 42:54 His soul bowed down 42:56 with the horror of a great darkness. 42:57 They heard His bitter cry, 'Father, if it be possible, 43:00 let this cup pass from Me. 43:01 As the Father's presence was withdrawn, 43:03 they see Him sorrowful." 43:05 Now notice this, catch this. 43:06 "They see him sorrowful with a bitterness 43:09 of sorrow exceeding." 43:11 Do you see that word? 43:12 "Exceeding that of the last great struggle 43:15 with death on the cross." 43:16 Calvary was exceeded, was exceeded 43:21 by the sorrow that wrecked his heart 43:24 in that shadowed midnight garden. 43:27 They see it. 43:28 Now read on, "The bloody sweat was forced 43:30 from His pores, fell in drops to the ground. 43:32 Thrice the prayer for deliverance 43:34 was wrung from His lips. 43:35 Finally heaven could no longer endure the sight, 43:37 and a messenger of comfort was sent to the Son of God." 43:42 Only Dr. Luke, thank God for all four gospels. 43:46 Only Dr. Luke notes two details 43:50 that are essential for conclusion, 43:52 we must make about Gethsemane. 43:53 Detail number one, He sweat great drops of blood, 43:56 He sweat blood. 43:57 Physicians will tell us 43:59 there is documented the human agony 44:01 that expresses itself from blood. 44:04 And detail number two, only Luke tells us, 44:07 that an angel, had to be the angel Gabriel, 44:11 don't you suppose? 44:12 An angel shook materializes at that movement. 44:15 You know why? 44:17 Here's Luke's point, unsubtle point, 44:19 Jesus is dying, He is dying in Gethsemane. 44:24 In fact, if that angel had not come, 44:26 He would have died in that darkness. 44:29 Desire of Ages concurs with Luke's implied conclusion. 44:33 Look at Desire of Ages. 44:34 There's a moment of supreme anguish. 44:36 Look how it's described, put it on the screen for you. 44:38 "He will save man and woman at any cost to Himself. 44:42 He accepts His baptism of blood, 44:44 that through him perishing millions 44:45 may gain everlasting life. 44:47 Having made the decision... 44:48 Note this, "He fell dying to the ground." 44:51 He was dying. 44:54 He would have expired in that garden, 44:57 had not that angel appeared and said, "No, no, no, no. 45:02 Not yet." 45:06 "He fell dying to the ground 45:07 from which he had partially risen." 45:08 Now notice this, "He had borne 45:10 that which no human being could ever bear, for He had..." 45:14 We just read the words, 45:16 "For He had tasted the suffering of death 45:19 for every man and woman." 45:20 Where did He taste it? In Gethsemane, in Gethsemane. 45:25 What does death taste like? 45:26 It tastes like Gethsemane, that's what it tastes like. 45:30 Read it again, Hebrews 2:9, "But we see Jesus, 45:35 was made a little lower than the angels, 45:37 for the suffering of death crowned with glory and honor, 45:40 that He, by the grace of God 45:41 might taste death for everyone." 45:44 As a message renders this, "In that death, by God's grace, 45:48 he fully experience death in every person's place." 45:54 Why? We look at the next verse. 45:57 Look at verse 14, I like the NIV on the screen there, 45:59 "So that by his death..." Why did He die? 46:02 "So that by his death he might destroy him 46:04 who holds the power of death, 46:05 that is, the devil and free those who all their lives 46:08 were held in slavery by their fear of death." 46:12 Remember that little Miriam Stone, 46:15 coed at Columbia University, how did she put it? 46:17 "What does death taste like, and are you afraid?" 46:22 Are you? Are you? 46:28 I got to tell you, I am not a real love story man. 46:37 When I was a kid in college, 46:38 Erich Segal came out with his book, 46:40 "Love Story", and I did read that, 46:41 it's a bit sappy but it got me to cry. 46:45 I don't read love stories. 46:47 And then years later halfway through ministry, 46:50 a friend of mine told me about Sheldon Van Auken's book, 46:53 "A Severe Mercy." 46:55 We were taking a summer doctoral class together, 46:57 and so I immediately went out and bought the book 46:59 and read it in just a few days and oh my. 47:03 It is a true story. It is a classic, love story. 47:07 Two kids born with silver spoons in their mouths, 47:10 both of them going to an Ivy League College, 47:12 they fall in love, madly in love, 47:13 really two pagans in love with love, 47:17 they are in love with love, and in love with life. 47:20 They marry, and went for graduate school 47:23 they decide to cross the ocean eastward to England, 47:27 and they enrolled at Oxford University, 47:29 and as fate would have it, 47:31 they meet a professor named Lewis, C. S. Lewis, 47:37 who befriend this two American pagans. 47:39 And through his long friendship, 47:41 eventually leads them 47:42 to embrace Jesus Christ as their Savior. 47:51 Sheldon and Davy, because that was her name. 47:55 They return to the States for a career 47:57 as an English professor. 47:59 He teaches in a private college in Virginia. 48:03 Whereupon though, yep, 48:06 though deeply in love with Christ and with each other 48:09 Davy contracted a mysterious disease. 48:14 And the rest of the story, I tell you the truth 48:17 is the gut wrenching love story, 48:20 of a love cling to in the face of death. 48:26 Until you come to that final moment, 48:28 I'm sorry to break it to you, she dies. 48:32 They come to that final moment, in that silent hospital room. 48:36 And I tell you what? 48:38 The reader has been so drawn into the circle of their love 48:41 that the pain is almost palpable. 48:45 Van Auken writes his friend Lewis back in England, 48:50 with the heartbreaking news of Davy's death 48:52 and his subsequent struggle with God 48:54 and suffering and thoughts of suicide. 48:56 Lewis, the first letter back from Lewis contains the phrase 49:01 that became the title of this award winning book. 49:05 C.S. Lewis writes, of a Severe Mercy. 49:10 And I'm not going to quote Lewis, 49:12 I want to quote Sheldon Van Auken 49:14 and put it on the screen for you. 49:16 "It was death, Davy's death that was the severe mercy. 49:20 There is no doubt at all that Lewis is saying precisely that. 49:23 That death, so full of suffering for us both, 49:26 suffering that still overwhelmed my life, 49:28 was yet a severe mercy. 49:32 A mercy as severe as death, 49:34 a severity as merciful as love." 49:38 Did you catch that? 49:40 "A mercy as severe as death, 49:42 a severity as merciful as love." 49:46 Because ladies and gentlemen, 49:48 that is the truth about death, is it not in Christ. 49:52 Death will always come to us, always as a severe mercy. 49:58 Won't it? 50:01 I've sat by the bed of a suffering child of God, 50:06 and so have you. 50:08 I know you have. 50:10 And there was no question in my mind, 50:11 I have watched death up close for a few years in my life now. 50:16 There was no question in my mind, and I am certain 50:18 there was no question in your mind either, 50:21 that for that child of God death finally came 50:24 as a bestowal mercy. 50:27 Didn't it? 50:29 Yeah, 50:33 not death itself, she is still our enemy death is. 50:37 But the sleep of death... 50:42 A sweet release, 50:45 a quiet repose, a gift of mercy. 50:51 A mercy as severe as death, a severity as merciful as love. 50:55 Death and mercy for some I understand this, 50:57 for some perhaps death and mercy, 51:00 but let's be honest, for most of us, 51:02 most of the time death and mercy, 51:05 it seems sacrilegious to speak of them in the same breath. 51:11 For most of us, most deaths are severe. 51:15 No warning, no goodbye, 51:22 no tender kisses. 51:25 No nothing, just gone. 51:30 How dare we speak of death and mercy 51:33 in the same breath for those deaths? 51:37 The answer is, we can only do so in Christ. 51:45 A severe mercy, 51:48 for what death could be more severe than Calvary's. 51:53 And what resurrection could be more mercy than His. 51:58 A Severe Mercy, Severe because it means goodbye. 52:05 And mercy, because it doesn't mean for ever. 52:10 A severe mercy, 52:13 with Christ, is the reason this Easter, 52:19 we still have hope. 52:26 Let us pray. 52:29 Oh God... 52:35 and when I come to die, oh, when I come to die. 52:42 And when I come to die please, please, please... 52:51 Give me Jesus. 53:36 In the morning, when I rise 53:42 In the morning, when I rise 53:47 In the morning, when I rise 53:52 Give me Jesus 53:58 Give me Jesus 54:03 Give me Jesus 54:08 You may have all this world 54:14 Give me Jesus 54:20 Dark midnight was my cry 54:26 Dark midnight was my cry 54:31 Dark midnight was my cry 54:36 Give me Jesus 54:42 Give me Jesus 54:47 Give me Jesus 54:53 You may have all this world 54:59 Give me Jesus 55:07 Just about the break of day 55:12 Just about the break of day 55:18 Just about the break of day 55:24 Give me Jesus 55:30 Give me Jesus 55:35 Give me Jesus 55:41 You may have all this world 55:47 Give me Jesus 55:55 Oh, when I come to die 56:01 Oh, when I come to die 56:07 Oh, when I come to die 56:13 Give me Jesus 56:19 Give me Jesus 56:26 Give me Jesus 56:32 You may have all this world 56:39 Give me Jesus. 56:51 And now, may the God of hope fill you with all joy 56:54 and peace and believing, that you may abound in hope 56:58 by the power of the Holy Spirit, 57:02 through Jesus Christ, our Lord, amen. 57:07 Let me take one more moment of your time, 57:09 to let you know that one of the blessings I receive 57:11 from this telecast is being in touch with viewers like you 57:14 all across Michiana, and our nation, 57:16 and literally the world. 57:18 I'm humbled and honored 57:19 with your sharing the journey with us. 57:21 Sometimes it's a Bible question. 57:22 Other times it's an observation or suggestion 57:24 and sometimes just a note to share a prayer 57:26 or a prayer request. 57:28 I'd love to hear from you, 57:29 and it's so easy to be in touch, 57:31 just go to our Pioneer Memorial Church website. 57:33 www.pmchurch.tv and click on contact. 57:38 And then the word pastor, 57:39 and then jot down the message you wish to send. 57:42 If you have a prayer request, 57:43 click on those words or call our toll-free number: 57:46 1-877-HIS-WILL and I promise you, 57:50 that our prayer partners will lift your personal need to God, 57:53 because nobody should have to journey alone. 57:55 Not only do we have Jesus, but we also have each other. 57:58 So, write me, won't you, at www.pmchurch.tv. 58:03 In the mean time we have God who is mercy 58:05 continually runs after us, 58:07 be with you 24/7 every step of the way. 58:11 I'll see you again right here, next time. |
Revised 2016-03-28