There's a lot of you guys today.
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Happy Sabbath! Okay!
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Now I have a
question for all of you.
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How many of you have ever been
teased or made fun of before?
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Yeah, a lot of us, huh?
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Sometimes that
just happens too much.
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How do you guys
feel when that happens?
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Bad? Yeah. I know
it's not fun at all.
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You begin to feel
bad, and begin to feel like
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nothing's going right. Right?
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Have you ever wondered,
you know, what you should do
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in that situation?
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Do you usually feel like
you're ready to go and help out
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and be nice to that
person who's making fun of you?
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Yeah, you don't feel
very nice towards that person.
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However, today I have two
easy steps that you can follow
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in order to help yourself
out whenever you get into
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a hard problem like this. Okay?
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So naturally, when
somebody's making fun of you,
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what's the first thing
that you usually want to do?
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Is it, do you want to be
nice to that person? Yes.
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Do you want to be
nice to that person?
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How about deep inside?
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Do you feel nice
towards that person? No!
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You usually don't feel very
nice towards that person at all.
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Sometimes you might have like
an instinct, Well, you know,
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if he's not going to be
nice to me, I'm not going
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to be nice to him.
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And if she's not going to
treat me nice, I'm not going
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to treat her nice.
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If she's not going to share
with me, I won't share with her.
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And a lot of times
that so easy to do.
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So the first thing that we
have to do though is we need to
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realize that sometimes we might
be reflecting God not the way
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that we want to reflect
Him, simply because we're angry.
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Here, I want you to
listen to this quick verse.
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It's in Proverbs 10:32, and
it says: The Godly speak words
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that are helpful, but the wicked
speak only what is corrupt.
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So, obviously, we want to
bite our tongue, first of all.
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Because we know that
when we're angry we might say
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something that we're
going to be sorry about later.
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So, naturally, when somebody
is teasing us, or being not nice
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to us, we have to realize
that we need to bite our tongue.
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And what do you think the second
thing is that we need to do?
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Anybody have any guesses?
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Yeah, what's your guess?
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Walk away. Do you have a guess?
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Yes, try to calm yourself down.
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Right! So we want to calm
our self down, and then we want
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to find out what God says.
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Okay? We want to look in
the word and see, What does God
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have to say about this?
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Okay, so are you ready?
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Who can tell me
what the two steps are?
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Alright. Go ahead.
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Calm down and bite your tongue.
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Bite me, yeah. Calm
down, bite your tongue,
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and figure out
what God has to say.
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So, are you guys
ready to try this out?
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Okay, now I've asked
Pastor Luke to come on up
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here and help us out. Okay?
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Now picture me. I'm Mr.
Natural, and I'm walking up,
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and I'm all
good, and I'm all nice.
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And here comes Pastor
Luke, and he's a real bully,
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and he doesn't
like me that much.
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So guess what's
going to happen right now?
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He's going to start teasing me.
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Greg, you're a real jerk.
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And this story's dumb. Ha ha ha!
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Guess how I'm feeling toward
Pastor Luke right now? Ha ha!
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Do I feel like I want
to go, pat him on the back,
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and give him some jelly beans?
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Nooo! Nooo! I don't feel
very nice towards Pastor Luke
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right now, so what am I
going to do first of all?
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Bite my tongue? Cause I
don't want to go up and say,
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Hey, Pastor Luke,
you're a jerk face, too,
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cause that's not going to get
him to be very nice to me back,
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is it? It's probably
going to be something that
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I'm sorry towards later.
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And what's the
second thing I want to do?
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Yes, now I'm calmed down,
and then what do I want to do?
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I want to see what God says.
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And, naturally, when we looked
right here, it said that we
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want to speak
words that are kind.
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We don't want to heave
more gasoline onto the fire
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and get
something much worse going.
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And so when we think about it;
when we follow these two steps,
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anytime we're feeling
bad, or some body's teasing us,
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and making fun of us, all we
need to do is bite our tongue
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and think about what
God wants to do to us.
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So naturally I'm going to bite
my tongue, and I'm going to say
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that God wants me to be nice
to Pastor Luke, even though he's
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not being nice to me.
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I'm going to love my
neighbor as I love myself.
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Alright, thanks you guys.
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You can go back to your seats.
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My faith has found a resting
place, not in devise nor creed;
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I trust the ever-living One,
His wounds for me shall plead.
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I need no other
argument, I need no other plea,
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it is enough that Jesus
died, and rose again for me.
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Enough for me that Jesus saves,
this ends my fear and doubt;
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a sinful soul I come to
Him, He'll never cast me out.
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I need no other
argument, I need no other plea,
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it is enough that Jesus
died, and rose again for me.
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My great physician heals the
sick, the lost He came to save;
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for me His precious blood He
shed, for me His life He gave.
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I need no other
argument, I need no other plea,
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it is enough that Jesus
died, and rose again for me.
00:11:52.86\00:12:04.76
Amen! Happy Sabbath!
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It's good to be in
the Lord's house on His
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blessed Sabbath day.
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I feel very blessed to have such
an incredible church family.
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You look great today.
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I'm so glad our
college young people are home.
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Let's welcome them home.
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Give them a hand.
We're glad you guys are here.
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There's Ryan over there.
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And over here: thank you
Tom, Kim, David and Matthew.
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That was a beautiful
and reverent song. Amen!
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You know, Jesus is alive! Amen!
00:12:56.49\00:13:01.24
I got on a plane
Sunday and I flew to Denver;
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never been to Denver.
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They have a
subway in that airport.
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It's pretty remarkable.
00:13:08.57\00:13:10.11
And when I got to the
baggage claim my Mom and Dad
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picked me up, and my
Mom and Dad looked very sad.
00:13:14.46\00:13:17.32
My Dad's older brother had died;
a long journey with prostate
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cancer. He was 78.
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Thank you for those of you who
had prayed for me and my family.
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Many of you know
my parents very well,
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over the years here together,
the meetings that he has held.
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You know that my Dad has
spent his entire life with my
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Mom serving the Lord
all over the world preaching
00:13:39.68\00:13:46.33
the second coming of Jesus.
00:13:46.36\00:13:49.19
He has traveled his life with
a tremendous amount of strength.
00:13:49.22\00:13:59.02
And I watched, as a boy, my dad
officiate his mother's funeral,
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and His father's funeral.
00:14:04.36\00:14:06.45
And now my Dad's approaching
75, and he was going to be
00:14:06.48\00:14:12.45
officiating with
the Catholic priests.
00:14:12.48\00:14:14.83
Because many of my family
are from the Catholic Church.
00:14:14.86\00:14:18.30
And, of course, my Dad had come
from the Catholic Church over to
00:14:18.33\00:14:23.73
this country as a new born
Seventh-day Adventist Christian.
00:14:23.76\00:14:28.06
So we go to the chapel,
the mortuary there in Denver,
00:14:28.09\00:14:35.02
and there's my Uncle in
the casket ravaged with what
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cancer does to
everyone at the end;
00:14:40.25\00:14:42.73
not looking like anything I
remembered him looking like.
00:14:42.76\00:14:46.98
The priest got up and, you know,
they have a very specific way
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that they do services.
00:14:52.24\00:14:54.17
And he stepped aside
and asked my dad to come up.
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And I wasn't really prepared
for what was going to happen.
00:14:57.09\00:15:01.08
He went to the
rostrum he began to sob.
00:15:01.11\00:15:07.53
If you've ever seen a
middle eastern man sob,
00:15:07.56\00:15:14.10
it's, well if you
see any man sob it's...
00:15:14.13\00:15:20.05
I had never seen my Dad
cry in 45 years of my life.
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And he gathered himself. and
I'm sitting next to my nephew,
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And I'm sitting next to my
nephew, and then my mother,
00:15:31.18\00:15:35.95
and my Aunt. My brother's
sitting right in front of me.
00:15:35.98\00:15:38.82
And I'm on the edge of my pew.
00:15:38.85\00:15:41.06
And I'm leaning like this, and
my Mom said I had this furrowed
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brow, because
something immediately
00:15:46.41\00:15:49.42
happened inside of me.
00:15:49.45\00:15:50.65
I said to myself, That's
my Dad, but that's not my Dad.
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That's a Dad I have never known.
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And as he collected
himself he opened up the Bible,
00:16:02.81\00:16:08.96
and he said, Jesus is
alive, and He's coming back.
00:16:08.99\00:16:18.74
And all of a sudden he became
the pastor that I did know.
00:16:18.77\00:16:25.15
And he began to
talk about the good news:
00:16:25.18\00:16:29.70
that Jesus lived, and
died, and rose from the dead.
00:16:29.73\00:16:36.49
And now He lives to make
intercession for you and me.
00:16:36.52\00:16:41.53
And that death was not the
final journey for God's people.
00:16:41.56\00:16:48.44
And then all of a
sudden he began to cry again.
00:16:48.47\00:16:55.00
And what happened there
I still have not sorted out
00:16:55.03\00:17:01.01
in my own mind as a son.
00:17:01.04\00:17:03.08
But his entire, I
can't even call it a homily,
00:17:03.12\00:17:10.27
because it wasn't that.
00:17:10.31\00:17:11.34
The entire thing
was him grieving openly,
00:17:11.37\00:17:17.14
and without shame.
00:17:17.17\00:17:18.68
He would gather himself
and reach out to the family,
00:17:18.72\00:17:25.10
and speak to them
in their native tongue,
00:17:25.13\00:17:28.33
the Assyrian tongue,
and they would begin to sob.
00:17:28.37\00:17:33.47
So he went from his
own grief to their grief,
00:17:33.50\00:17:38.57
and then he would
pull back and be a
00:17:38.61\00:17:41.88
shepherd for his family.
00:17:41.91\00:17:44.79
And he did that in rotation.
00:17:44.82\00:17:47.62
And I saw him
cycle this four times.
00:17:47.66\00:17:53.35
Personal grief, the individual
grief of the extended family,
00:17:53.38\00:18:00.34
the close family, and then
pull back and claim the promises
00:18:00.38\00:18:07.30
of God: I will come again
and receive you unto Myself,
00:18:07.34\00:18:13.32
that where I
am, you may be also.
00:18:13.35\00:18:17.34
It was the most amazing thing
I had ever seen in my life.
00:18:17.38\00:18:23.61
And I'll be thinking
about this for years.
00:18:26.22\00:18:28.79
I told my Dad when I
come back I'm going to
00:18:28.83\00:18:31.36
write him something.
00:18:31.40\00:18:32.70
I don't even know
what I'm going to write.
00:18:32.73\00:18:35.01
But I told him, You know, for
all the passion you passed on
00:18:35.05\00:18:39.86
to me, you went somewhere
that I have never been.
00:18:39.89\00:18:43.62
When I think about God's people
and their role with each other,
00:18:46.59\00:18:50.90
it's that level of honesty
that the church was intended
00:18:50.93\00:18:57.35
to bring to one another.
00:18:57.39\00:18:58.95
We grieve, the person next
to us grieves, but we always
00:18:58.98\00:19:08.80
fall back to God's Word.
00:19:08.83\00:19:11.08
Jesus is alive! That's
the bottom line for us.
00:19:11.11\00:19:19.49
No matter how
bad you're hurting;
00:19:19.52\00:19:22.32
our God lives and reigns.
00:19:22.36\00:19:28.58
So I'm flying back and
very anxious to get home,
00:19:28.61\00:19:35.61
kinda surreal, flying
over the Grand Canyon.
00:19:35.64\00:19:39.06
It's like I'm leaving this
incredible abyss of sadness,
00:19:39.09\00:19:44.56
but there's always
been hope in that abyss.
00:19:44.59\00:19:47.61
It's like when I'm
taking off from the ground.
00:19:47.65\00:19:50.63
I'm heading to the sky.
00:19:50.67\00:19:52.32
I'm looking up at heaven.
00:19:52.36\00:19:53.95
I'm looking down
at the Grand Canyon.
00:19:53.98\00:19:56.61
I'm missing my family.
00:19:56.65\00:19:58.30
And I'm saying how
blessed I am that I can go
00:19:58.33\00:20:03.97
home to my Sweetie
Pie. and I've got one.
00:20:04.00\00:20:06.94
And I've got one;
twenty-three years worth of it.
00:20:06.97\00:20:12.10
And I have three
semi-normal children.
00:20:12.13\00:20:19.02
You know, it's a miracle, when
you think about what Pastor Dan
00:20:19.05\00:20:24.76
is about, and I love them.
00:20:24.80\00:20:28.43
And like your children,
every one is different.
00:20:28.46\00:20:32.80
And I have a 170 pound dog.
00:20:32.83\00:20:37.64
And my home is
full of life right now.
00:20:40.33\00:20:43.26
But I'm sitting there and
I'm thinking about this Sabbath,
00:20:46.67\00:20:49.89
and I start to think
about the apostle Paul.
00:20:49.92\00:20:52.85
You know, when he said
in the Bible, I die daily?
00:20:52.88\00:20:57.30
He was talking
about the old man of sin.
00:20:57.34\00:20:59.82
I'm also thinking that
every moment of every day,
00:20:59.86\00:21:04.44
you and I are dying
slowly, no matter how much life
00:21:04.47\00:21:11.70
is going on around us.
00:21:11.73\00:21:13.46
And yet Jesus is alive.
00:21:16.99\00:21:19.23
What would you do if you did
not believe that Jesus is alive?
00:21:23.28\00:21:35.63
What would you do
with your life right now?
00:21:35.67\00:21:39.97
What if the Lord had taken your
weak faith and had turned it
00:21:42.55\00:21:47.55
into more than belief,
but something that you knew
00:21:47.58\00:21:54.12
to be the gospel truth for you?
00:21:54.16\00:21:57.28
You might not have all the
scientific facts of a historical
00:21:57.32\00:22:02.90
Jesus, but God had taken your
little faith and had multiplied
00:22:02.93\00:22:08.48
it like the loaves and fishes,
and all of a sudden you know.
00:22:08.51\00:22:13.73
It went beyond belief.
00:22:13.77\00:22:15.11
You know that Jesus is alive.
00:22:15.14\00:22:17.95
What if you didn't have that?
00:22:17.98\00:22:20.76
You've got nothing!
00:22:24.57\00:22:25.97
You have absolutely nothing.
00:22:26.00\00:22:30.52
And I need to
sit down and shut up.
00:22:30.55\00:22:35.22
I want to think about, I
want you to think about every
00:22:38.62\00:22:41.24
day you go to work.
00:22:41.27\00:22:42.30
What would that mean, if
you didn't know that your Jesus
00:22:42.33\00:22:47.77
lives, and not just
lives, but lives for you?
00:22:47.80\00:22:53.16
What would work be like?
00:22:53.20\00:22:55.25
I mean just think about marriage
for a second, just a second.
00:22:58.46\00:23:02.58
If your marriage did not
have some greater purpose,
00:23:05.13\00:23:09.33
than this doing
what men and women do.
00:23:12.87\00:23:15.50
And that your life
together, as difficult as it is
00:23:18.43\00:23:23.41
to be married and stay married,
if somehow in your marriage
00:23:23.44\00:23:29.90
that both of you did not
know that Jesus is alive,
00:23:29.93\00:23:34.43
and He came to help the two
of you become more than you ever
00:23:34.46\00:23:40.01
were when you
stood and took your vows.
00:23:40.05\00:23:43.43
Because most of
us were absolutely
00:23:43.46\00:23:48.35
clueless when we did that.
00:23:48.38\00:23:50.75
But God knew that, and the
good news is that while we were
00:23:50.78\00:23:56.27
making those
vows, Jesus was alive.
00:23:56.30\00:23:59.18
How about if your
marriage fell apart,
00:24:05.19\00:24:09.08
and you went through
divorce, maybe more than once?
00:24:09.11\00:24:16.24
What would you do if you
didn't know that not only Jesus
00:24:16.27\00:24:26.98
was alive, and would come
with His own hands and help you
00:24:27.01\00:24:30.31
pick up the pieces, and
put your life back together,
00:24:30.35\00:24:33.58
but He would give you a mission,
and a purpose, and rebuild you
00:24:33.61\00:24:38.87
from the inside out?
00:24:38.90\00:24:40.41
What would you do without that?
00:24:40.44\00:24:42.66
The fact that Jesus is alive
is the single most spectacular
00:24:47.55\00:24:53.74
truth that
Seventh-day Adventists have!
00:24:53.78\00:24:56.91
And sometimes we get a little
lost along the way about what's
00:24:56.95\00:25:03.04
really important
for us to believe.
00:25:03.08\00:25:07.30
Let's take a look
at 1 Corinthians 15.
00:25:07.33\00:25:11.52
Turn quick; I'm warming up.
00:25:11.56\00:25:14.18
1 Corinthians 15, I'm
going to start reading 12,
00:25:14.22\00:25:18.78
New Living Translation.
It says: But tell me this,
00:25:18.81\00:25:22.47
since we've preached that
Christ rose from the dead,
00:25:22.50\00:25:26.09
why are some of you saying that
there's no resurrection from the
00:25:26.12\00:25:29.05
dead. For if there's no
resurrection of the dead,
00:25:29.09\00:25:32.80
then Christ has
not been raised either.
00:25:32.84\00:25:37.14
And if Christ was
not raised from the dead,
00:25:37.18\00:25:41.45
then all the sermons ever
preached, including this one,
00:25:41.48\00:25:48.79
is useless. Man I'd hate to
think of twenty-two years of
00:25:48.83\00:25:56.28
sermons useless. Now I
came from a human standpoint,
00:25:56.31\00:26:00.48
and maybe some of you
have thought that some,
00:26:00.51\00:26:04.13
and maybe many are useless.
00:26:04.16\00:26:06.09
But you'd be amazed what God
can do with a useless sermon,
00:26:06.13\00:26:10.23
because He's alive.
00:26:10.26\00:26:11.77
So here he says, you know,
everything that I'm trying to do
00:26:11.80\00:26:17.66
as a preacher would be useless.
00:26:17.70\00:26:19.71
And we apostles, you
know what we'd be doing?
00:26:19.75\00:26:23.01
We'd be lying about God.
00:26:23.05\00:26:24.42
For we have said that God
raised Christ from the grave,
00:26:24.45\00:26:30.11
but that can't be true
if there's no resurrection
00:26:30.14\00:26:33.63
from the dead. If there's
no resurrection from the dead,
00:26:33.66\00:26:38.82
your faith is useless.
00:26:38.86\00:26:43.19
What would you do without faith?
00:26:43.22\00:26:47.25
I mean I'm trying to
think of my life without
00:26:51.66\00:26:55.71
Jesus in the picture.
00:26:55.74\00:26:57.01
You know, we might as
well just lie down and die,
00:26:57.04\00:27:02.10
and put an end to
this tragedy of life.
00:27:02.13\00:27:07.26
Or if you look later in the
chapter, in verse 32, he says,
00:27:07.29\00:27:13.36
Well, we might as well drink
and be merry, and get drunk,
00:27:13.39\00:27:19.43
because we're going to die.
00:27:19.46\00:27:21.26
If Jesus is not
alive, take your pick:
00:27:21.29\00:27:27.25
Roll over and die, party all
you can, and then die from that.
00:27:27.28\00:27:31.97
Now he says here the
apostles would be lying.
00:27:34.81\00:27:39.81
They'd be lying about
God, verse 15, For we have said
00:27:39.84\00:27:48.06
God raised
Christ from the grave.
00:27:48.09\00:27:49.61
But that can't be true.
00:27:49.64\00:27:50.93
If there's no resurrection,
then Christ has not been raised.
00:27:50.97\00:27:54.47
And if Christ is not raised,
then your faith is useless.
00:27:54.51\00:27:59.21
Verse 18. In that case all who
have died believing in Christ
00:27:59.25\00:28:04.25
have died, and they're dead,
and they ain't coming back.
00:28:04.29\00:28:09.26
They've perished. It's over.
00:28:09.29\00:28:11.18
What would you do with
all of the people you love
00:28:13.61\00:28:16.47
who have died if you didn't know
in your heart Jesus was alive?
00:28:16.50\00:28:21.91
There is no more for you.
00:28:21.94\00:28:26.91
There is no other
journey to be experienced.
00:28:30.26\00:28:33.32
They died,
they're dead, it's over.
00:28:34.53\00:28:38.92
You know, people make fun
of believing in something.
00:28:41.28\00:28:47.96
But it's everything to
me, especially as I start
00:28:52.63\00:28:58.55
to get older and older.
00:28:58.59\00:29:00.69
But I was thinking about
our college young people,
00:29:04.41\00:29:07.83
and I was thinking
about those in high school,
00:29:07.86\00:29:11.21
and I was thinking about
those in elementary school,
00:29:11.25\00:29:13.98
and I was thinking about
the babies down in Cradle Roll.
00:29:14.02\00:29:17.20
And, you know, what do they
really have to look forward to?
00:29:17.24\00:29:20.39
Huh? Really? I mean, I
can go back and say, you know,
00:29:20.42\00:29:27.87
basically, you're going to go
through, in essence, this, this,
00:29:27.91\00:29:34.32
that, a little bit of this,
a little bit of that, you know?
00:29:34.35\00:29:40.73
You might
accomplish this, you know.
00:29:40.76\00:29:43.91
You might make a
name for yourself.
00:29:43.94\00:29:47.02
But in the end you're
going to turn out just like me.
00:29:47.05\00:29:51.86
How wonderful would that be?
00:29:51.90\00:29:53.15
Unless Jesus is alive.
00:29:53.18\00:29:59.68
What do the young people have
to look forward to when they
00:29:59.71\00:30:05.51
look at you and me?
00:30:05.54\00:30:06.79
Oh, great! You can look
old fashioned like Pastor Dan
00:30:06.82\00:30:14.64
who used to think he was hip.
00:30:14.67\00:30:16.51
And I'm going to turn
out with a stomach, balding.
00:30:16.54\00:30:22.76
I'm going to get old, and
every time I open my mouth
00:30:22.79\00:30:28.83
I'm saying the same
things over and over;
00:30:28.86\00:30:30.80
just a variation on a theme.
00:30:30.83\00:30:32.57
What do your young people, our
children, have to look forward
00:30:32.60\00:30:38.80
to when they look at you?
00:30:38.83\00:30:40.66
I'll tell you what.
00:30:40.69\00:30:42.13
The transforming love and power
of God, who takes older people
00:30:42.16\00:30:48.25
like us, and continues to
make us into something more
00:30:48.28\00:30:53.80
than we could ever be.
00:30:53.83\00:30:55.70
The greatest thing our
children can see is that we are
00:30:55.73\00:31:00.19
constantly changing and growing.
00:31:00.22\00:31:03.80
And only a Savior
that is alive can do that.
00:31:03.83\00:31:10.00
Otherwise I've already reached
my peak and I'm heading down.
00:31:10.03\00:31:15.10
And our young people
say, Yeah, it's really true.
00:31:15.13\00:31:18.36
Life does not begin
at 40, it starts to end.
00:31:18.39\00:31:22.98
But in Christ our best
years are always ahead of us,
00:31:23.01\00:31:29.83
not behind us. The
best is yet to come.
00:31:29.86\00:31:35.64
My tomorrow, because Jesus
lives, is better than today.
00:31:35.67\00:31:42.38
That's what we
tell our young people.
00:31:42.41\00:31:47.88
The longer you live with
Jesus the better life becomes.
00:31:47.91\00:31:56.84
Every day with
Jesus, what does it say?
00:31:56.87\00:32:02.03
Sweeter than the day before.
00:32:02.06\00:32:05.55
It's true. But
then we come to this.
00:32:05.58\00:32:11.44
It says, If we have hope
in Christ only for just...
00:32:11.47\00:32:18.32
Let me read this again.
00:32:18.35\00:32:19.96
And if we have hope in
Christ only for this life,
00:32:19.99\00:32:23.98
this life only, then
we are the most miserable
00:32:24.01\00:32:29.90
people on the planet.
00:32:29.93\00:32:32.71
If this is not
true, we are the most,
00:32:32.74\00:32:40.83
the Bible
actually says to be pitied.
00:32:40.86\00:32:42.57
Because, you think about this,
for some of us this spiritual
00:32:48.70\00:32:54.58
journey as a family of
faith, this community of faith,
00:32:54.61\00:32:59.09
how important
it is to our lives.
00:32:59.12\00:33:02.84
How we come together
so diverse, so different,
00:33:02.87\00:33:08.58
so weird, and God in His mercy
calls us together to become one.
00:33:08.61\00:33:17.45
And we find a way to
cover the generations,
00:33:17.48\00:33:20.90
to cover the
genders, all of this stuff.
00:33:20.93\00:33:24.49
If we have done this
only for this moment in time,
00:33:27.81\00:33:33.52
it is the biggest sham of all.
00:33:33.55\00:33:40.90
My question this morning...
00:33:47.77\00:33:49.26
Hey, it's only ten till twelve.
00:33:50.93\00:33:52.38
Yes, we're rolling!
00:33:52.41\00:33:54.46
Yes, because I have
something else I want to say.
00:33:54.49\00:33:57.85
The great news about Jesus is
that He has put His definitive
00:33:57.88\00:34:07.41
mark on your heart.
00:34:07.44\00:34:11.40
And if He hasn't this morning,
and you haven't opened up
00:34:11.43\00:34:14.17
the door, please do it now.
00:34:14.20\00:34:16.53
When Jesus was at
the cross He said,
00:34:16.56\00:34:23.83
I am going to
trade places with you.
00:34:23.86\00:34:26.99
I'll be you, so you can be Me,
when I come out of the grave.
00:34:27.02\00:34:35.56
I'll take this so
you can have that.
00:34:35.59\00:34:40.72
That's a, that's a, I've said
it before, it's a sweet deal.
00:34:40.75\00:34:48.03
Don't you want that?
00:34:48.06\00:34:51.26
I mean, is there anything better
going on for you like tonight?
00:34:51.29\00:34:57.31
A vacation that
might come, some big event,
00:34:57.34\00:35:03.73
something that gives
you a little bit of a buzz?
00:35:03.76\00:35:06.49
Is there anything better going
on for you now than being able
00:35:06.76\00:35:13.46
to experience that
Jesus took you to Calvary,
00:35:13.49\00:35:17.49
and He wants to trade
that for what He looked like
00:35:17.52\00:35:22.39
coming out of the grave.
00:35:22.42\00:35:23.90
What could be better?
00:35:23.93\00:35:29.24
You know it says here, and I
put it on the sign out there,
00:35:29.27\00:35:35.71
The Last Enemy. Many of
us would think that's Satan.
00:35:35.74\00:35:39.36
What is the finally enemy?
00:35:39.39\00:35:41.12
What is the last enemy?
00:35:41.15\00:35:44.31
It's death. Verse 26
says, first verse 25 it says,
00:35:46.04\00:35:56.11
Christ must reign
until He humbles all His
00:35:56.14\00:35:59.24
enemies beneath His feet.
00:35:59.27\00:36:01.18
Did you get that? Christ
must reign until He humbles all
00:36:01.21\00:36:07.97
His enemies beneath His feet.
00:36:08.00\00:36:10.28
That includes Satan, who
loves to harass you and me.
00:36:10.31\00:36:16.11
But it's in the next verse where
he says, And the last enemy
00:36:18.46\00:36:22.27
to be destroyed
is death. That's it.
00:36:22.30\00:36:30.18
When you accept Jesus, the Holy
Spirit takes your weak faith,
00:36:30.21\00:36:39.85
and begins to do
amazing things in your heart.
00:36:39.88\00:36:44.54
And you begin to cross
over from death to life.
00:36:44.57\00:36:47.68
The Bible is very clear
that when Jesus is brought in,
00:36:47.71\00:36:52.29
darkness leaves
and light appears.
00:36:52.32\00:36:55.15
The very first thing when
the world was created, He said,
00:36:55.18\00:37:01.42
Let there be light.
00:37:01.45\00:37:05.18
And when you're
dead there is no light.
00:37:05.21\00:37:08.94
So when He comes into
your heart, as broken as it is,
00:37:08.97\00:37:14.87
as scarred as it is, He brings
the light and begins to make
00:37:14.90\00:37:21.60
you a new
creation, a new creature.
00:37:21.63\00:37:26.01
And we begin to pass
from death to where? to life.
00:37:26.04\00:37:33.75
We begin the transition that
will be sealed when the final
00:37:33.78\00:37:40.50
enemy is finally killed;
and that is death itself.
00:37:40.53\00:37:44.50
We get to enter
into it right now,
00:37:44.53\00:37:47.03
right here, on this
Sabbath; a day that was made for
00:37:47.06\00:37:53.35
re-creation and healing.
00:37:53.38\00:37:55.13
If Christ abides in your heart,
as wicked as our hearts are,
00:37:55.16\00:38:04.05
and how clueless we are about
our own heart, He will come in
00:38:04.08\00:38:08.87
and bring the light.
00:38:08.90\00:38:10.55
And death begins its
final exit that will be
00:38:10.58\00:38:17.29
completed when Jesus comes.
00:38:17.32\00:38:21.13
I want you, in your mind to
think, What is your future going
00:38:21.16\00:38:30.41
to be like without a living
Savior abiding in your heart?
00:38:30.44\00:38:35.71
What will happen to you?
00:38:35.74\00:38:39.87
How can you live with yourself?
00:38:39.90\00:38:45.32
How can you ever
find an identity?
00:38:45.35\00:38:52.50
I have the young people here.
00:38:52.53\00:38:54.31
I might as well just say to
the older people, If you were to
00:38:54.34\00:38:59.21
say, Okay, what is my
strength barometer internally?
00:38:59.24\00:39:04.12
Now my muscles
are starting to sag,
00:39:04.15\00:39:08.32
everything's starting to sag.
00:39:08.35\00:39:10.77
I'm on the treadmill though.
00:39:10.80\00:39:15.66
But I can tell you that
Jesus has taken my lostness,
00:39:15.69\00:39:24.37
and I'm getting
stronger in here.
00:39:24.40\00:39:27.17
The body might be
going to seed, but my heart
00:39:27.20\00:39:31.91
is getting stronger.
00:39:31.94\00:39:33.27
Everybody needs an identity.
00:39:33.30\00:39:37.77
All our young people, they're
not really sure who they are.
00:39:37.80\00:39:42.95
And many of us grow
up and we tell them,
00:39:42.98\00:39:45.86
when they look at
us, the same thing.
00:39:45.89\00:39:48.82
But when Jesus is
there we know who we are,
00:39:53.23\00:39:58.51
we know who we belong to,
and we know who belongs to us.
00:39:58.54\00:40:04.49
What happens on the inside
is that you can stand still,
00:40:04.52\00:40:10.96
and all hell can break
loose, and you will not go down.
00:40:10.99\00:40:18.50
There can be chaos all around
you, problems all around you,
00:40:18.53\00:40:25.23
problems can be coming at you.
00:40:25.26\00:40:27.35
You're having to go through
this storm, whatever it is,
00:40:27.38\00:40:31.94
but when your identity is
rooted in Jesus, who is alive,
00:40:31.97\00:40:39.50
you can stand tall even
though you feel very small.
00:40:39.53\00:40:47.95
You know, I really
want Jesus to come.
00:40:53.41\00:41:02.85
This is one of these kinds of
sermons that you just don't end,
00:41:05.54\00:41:08.57
you know? You know, I was
thinking, I was trying to get a
00:41:08.60\00:41:14.07
visual in my mind for this
Sabbath, and I was thinking
00:41:14.10\00:41:17.33
about Jesus in the grave.
00:41:17.36\00:41:18.79
And, you know, we have
been talking in previous sermons
00:41:18.82\00:41:21.79
that as the final weekend
came, the passion weekend,
00:41:21.82\00:41:25.34
and all the demons,
we knew they're not,
00:41:25.37\00:41:29.10
and we know they're not in Rome,
00:41:29.13\00:41:30.36
and they weren't in Macedonia,
and they weren't here or there.
00:41:30.39\00:41:33.13
They weren't up in Galilee.
00:41:33.16\00:41:34.85
They were all in Jerusalem.
00:41:34.88\00:41:36.01
So we're talking 1/3 of
the angels, and Satan himself,
00:41:36.04\00:41:39.13
and they've all converged.
00:41:39.16\00:41:40.49
And last week we talked about
how they all were in a room
00:41:40.52\00:41:43.82
about this size, the
upper room, about a 20' x 20'.
00:41:43.85\00:41:48.60
That's where they are.
00:41:48.64\00:41:50.19
And you've got
all the demons there.
00:41:50.61\00:41:53.49
And yet Jesus was
there and He was alive.
00:41:53.52\00:41:58.00
I started to think
about Jesus in the grave.
00:41:58.03\00:42:02.09
I want you to think of
all the people you love
00:42:02.12\00:42:05.61
who are in the grave,
who are here no longer.
00:42:05.64\00:42:11.01
And I was trying to
picture Jesus is in there,
00:42:11.04\00:42:14.56
and Sunday morning is coming,
and God knows that if Jesus
00:42:14.59\00:42:22.25
stays in there
there's nothing for us.
00:42:22.28\00:42:27.06
And, you see, the Bible says
God is love, and if God is love
00:42:27.09\00:42:32.76
then He's going to make us live.
00:42:32.79\00:42:36.42
He wants us to live.
00:42:36.45\00:42:40.53
You can't love
somebody and want them to die
00:42:40.56\00:42:43.77
and never have hope.
00:42:43.80\00:42:46.56
So I'm picturing, you've got
these Roman blokes, you know,
00:42:46.59\00:42:55.49
got the little swords, and their
armor, and they've got maybe a
00:42:55.52\00:43:00.91
fancy shield with a logo,
and they've got a sticker;
00:43:00.94\00:43:06.25
put their favorite
stickers on their shield.
00:43:06.28\00:43:08.97
They're standing there.
00:43:09.00\00:43:11.04
There's a seal on the tomb.
00:43:11.07\00:43:13.88
Pilot put his ring in.
00:43:13.91\00:43:16.39
Pshew! Then, if you read
Ellen White, it says, you know,
00:43:16.42\00:43:24.21
all these angels are
there; all these dark angels.
00:43:24.24\00:43:27.38
She also says that if
Satan could have had his way,
00:43:27.41\00:43:32.42
he would have done something
with the actual body of Jesus.
00:43:32.45\00:43:36.01
But we won't go into that.
00:43:36.04\00:43:37.53
But there were also
angels on the outer loop,
00:43:37.56\00:43:41.03
just making sure. But you
have to think 1/3 of the angels,
00:43:41.06\00:43:45.45
and it's all going
to come down to this:
00:43:45.48\00:43:47.02
Is Jesus going to stay
dead, or is He going to live?
00:43:47.05\00:43:50.36
It's the
ultimate drama, isn't it?
00:43:50.39\00:43:53.04
Is He going to stay in the
grave, or is He going to live?
00:43:53.07\00:43:56.81
If He stays in the
grave we're finished.
00:43:59.64\00:44:03.14
Let's go eat, drink, and
be merry; tomorrow we die.
00:44:03.17\00:44:07.47
You know, let's just roll
over now and put an end to it.
00:44:07.50\00:44:11.25
Well, God sent
one angel, one angel,
00:44:11.28\00:44:23.95
and He said, Go get My Son.
00:44:23.98\00:44:28.10
But that's what Jesus
is going to do for everyone
00:44:32.85\00:44:36.71
that you have lost.
00:44:36.74\00:44:38.28
God's going to say,
Son, go get My children,
00:44:38.31\00:44:43.93
and do for them
what I did for You.
00:44:43.96\00:44:49.37
And I'm just thinking how
Gabriel came like this thunder
00:44:49.40\00:44:56.65
bolt, whoooo, and here's
Satan puffing up his chest.
00:44:56.68\00:45:02.43
He had a few steroids.
00:45:02.46\00:45:06.28
He's going to try
to take this blow.
00:45:06.31\00:45:09.06
All of the angels are huddled.
00:45:09.09\00:45:10.76
It's like this big rat pack,
and they're standing there.
00:45:10.79\00:45:15.57
One angel from God, and
he's bringing God's power,
00:45:15.60\00:45:21.44
and the closer he
gets, they're going to try
00:45:21.47\00:45:25.94
to play chicken with him.
00:45:25.97\00:45:28.22
And closer, and
closer, and closer.
00:45:28.25\00:45:32.01
What happens to them?
00:45:32.04\00:45:34.41
Well, it's interesting
that Bible says that the men
00:45:35.84\00:45:39.66
very quickly bailed.
00:45:39.69\00:45:41.80
They fell down as if they
were alive? they were dead.
00:45:41.83\00:45:47.19
Those who try to keep
God away from doing His work
00:45:47.22\00:45:53.18
to bring us back to life,
they are the ones that die,
00:45:53.21\00:45:57.48
not God's people. The
closer He gets, the angels,
00:45:59.52\00:46:05.31
the demons start to scatter.
00:46:05.34\00:46:07.57
And all of a sudden
Satan is there by himself;
00:46:07.94\00:46:11.65
gonna try to handle this.
00:46:11.68\00:46:12.75
Because you see this guy that's
coming used to be second to him.
00:46:12.78\00:46:16.81
But can he stop,
can he stop Gabriel?
00:46:20.68\00:46:24.08
And as Gabriel comes
close, Satan turns into a
00:46:26.05\00:46:32.34
bat and flies away.
00:46:32.37\00:46:33.84
I don't know! We don't
know how Satan disappears.
00:46:33.87\00:46:38.26
But he did the
quickest disappearing act ever.
00:46:38.29\00:46:41.26
Because he couldn't handle
the heat of God's holiness
00:46:41.29\00:46:49.02
when He calls
people from the grave.
00:46:49.05\00:46:51.91
Nothing can stop it.
00:46:51.94\00:46:53.58
I just wonder if, I just wonder
what it will be like when Jesus
00:46:57.78\00:47:04.69
comes and this text, the
final enemy will be destroyed?
00:47:04.72\00:47:08.72
And he comes for the people
you love, and if you don't live
00:47:08.75\00:47:14.32
through the next decade, isn't
it wonderful to know that you're
00:47:14.36\00:47:19.89
just going to have
a temporary time out?
00:47:19.93\00:47:22.80
That you're gonna kinda go
onto this transitional silence?
00:47:22.84\00:47:28.12
You're not going to
think, feel, nothing.
00:47:28.16\00:47:32.10
You'll just be in
this quiet; a nap.
00:47:32.13\00:47:37.31
I love naps. I love naps.
00:47:37.35\00:47:39.96
I hope I get one today. Ha ha!
00:47:39.99\00:47:43.80
You know how great it is to
take a nap when you're tired?
00:47:43.83\00:47:49.66
You know when we get
older, and we go through a lot,
00:47:49.69\00:47:52.08
we get tired.
It's time to lay down.
00:47:52.11\00:47:54.62
We get to take a nap.
00:47:54.66\00:47:56.02
And when the nap is
over the alarm will ring.
00:47:56.05\00:47:58.88
We're going to hear
some sweet music coming out
00:47:58.91\00:48:01.70
of that alarm clock.
00:48:01.74\00:48:02.77
It's going to be that trumpet.
00:48:02.80\00:48:06.78
And then we're going to
hear the voice of God saying,
00:48:06.81\00:48:09.68
Now Dan, wake up from your nap.
00:48:09.72\00:48:13.22
It's time to wake up.
00:48:13.25\00:48:15.46
And I will come back
to life, and so will you,
00:48:20.58\00:48:23.22
if we're not
alive when Jesus comes.
00:48:23.26\00:48:25.72
Because the final enemy
would have been destroyed.
00:48:25.75\00:48:30.52
Jesus is alive! Amen!
00:48:30.56\00:48:34.24
He's alive in my heart.
00:48:34.28\00:48:37.93
Whatever you have gone through
in your life; it doesn't matter
00:48:42.02\00:48:47.37
how bad you have messed up.
00:48:47.41\00:48:49.30
You have a Savior who offers
freedom and forgiveness for you.
00:48:49.33\00:48:56.06
It's almost as if we fail more.
00:48:58.64\00:49:01.83
He is called to us
in even a deeper way.
00:49:01.86\00:49:07.25
Jesus said, I came for
those who are really sick.
00:49:07.28\00:49:11.70
Well, hey, that's us.
00:49:11.74\00:49:16.98
And He takes the sick
and the broken hearted
00:49:17.02\00:49:20.21
and He heals them.
00:49:20.25\00:49:21.32
I want you to know by faith.
00:49:21.35\00:49:24.81
I believe, and I
know Jesus is alive.
00:49:24.84\00:49:30.72
And I know that as I
speak my last few words,
00:49:30.75\00:49:36.23
that I am crossing
over from darkness to light,
00:49:36.27\00:49:41.72
from death to eternal life.
00:49:41.75\00:49:46.37
Pastor Hawker, will you come up
and lead us in a joyful prayer?
00:49:46.40\00:49:54.43
Because Jesus is alive.
00:49:56.04\00:49:58.77
Let us pray. Dear kind heavenly
Father, we are humbled by the
00:50:02.32\00:50:11.65
fact that You loved us first.
00:50:11.69\00:50:13.69
We are humbled by the
incomprehensible thought
00:50:15.98\00:50:22.58
that that love is so great that
You would send Your only Son
00:50:22.61\00:50:29.05
to suffer, die, and be raised
from the dead, that we might
00:50:29.08\00:50:35.48
have eternal life.
00:50:35.52\00:50:37.42
And because Jesus
lives, we will live with You
00:50:37.45\00:50:46.52
when Jesus comes again.
00:50:46.55\00:50:48.04
Father, we pray for the strength
and the patience that we need
00:50:48.07\00:50:56.46
to maintain that faith in the
midst of Satan and his demons
00:50:56.50\00:51:04.85
every day effort
to weaken our faith.
00:51:04.89\00:51:11.93
But You have given us this hope
of life through the death and
00:51:14.88\00:51:21.52
resurrection of Your Son
Jesus Christ who overcame and
00:51:21.56\00:51:24.78
conquered sin and death.
00:51:24.82\00:51:27.32
So Father, we should be joyful,
and we want to be joyful.
00:51:27.36\00:51:32.46
Because we are Your people.
00:51:32.50\00:51:34.71
You have chosen us, and for
that we are extremely grateful.
00:51:34.74\00:51:40.89
Now Father, I pray that You
take everyone home safely today
00:51:40.92\00:51:46.05
from this place where You
have been that they may continue
00:51:46.08\00:51:50.59
to be with You, and continue
to delight in this Sabbath
00:51:50.62\00:51:55.10
that You have given us.
00:51:55.13\00:51:56.35
These and all things we humbly
pray in the name of our Lord
00:51:56.38\00:52:00.66
and Savior Jesus Christ, Amen.
00:52:00.69\00:52:03.54