Participants: Pr. Kenneth Cox
Series Code: TOTE
Program Code: TOTE000025
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00:05 Can you build your faith on it?
00:08 The promises of God's Word are sure. 00:12 They do not fail. 00:16 This Book has stood the test of time. 00:39 For what earthly reason 00:43 would the Father 00:46 send down His Son 00:53 to suffer rejection 00:58 and pay for 01:00 crimes He had not done? 01:07 For what earthly reason 01:12 would the Father 01:14 let Him hang on the tree? 01:21 I wept 01:23 with the answer... 01:27 the one earthly reason 01:31 was me. 01:38 I was the 01:41 reason 01:48 the one 01:49 earthly reason. 01:58 I was the 02:00 guilty; 02:07 He was the 02:09 sacrifice. 02:16 I was the 02:19 taker; 02:25 He was 02:28 the giver. 02:35 Dying 02:37 while I go free... 02:42 the one earthly reason 02:47 was me. 02:52 The fairest of heaven 02:57 was summoned 02:59 from His throne in the sky 03:06 to pay for my purchase... 03:10 not even 03:13 the angels could die. 03:20 The only provision 03:25 for my pardon 03:27 was destined to be 03:34 that sweet Lamb of glory... 03:40 His only reason 03:44 was me. 03:52 I was the 03:54 reason... 04:00 the one earthly 04:03 earthly reason. 04:10 I was the 04:13 guilty; 04:19 He was the 04:22 sacrifice. 04:29 I was the 04:32 taker; 04:39 He was 04:41 the giver. 04:48 Dying 04:50 while I go free. 04:55 The one earthly reason, 05:01 God's only reason, 05:05 the one 05:08 earthly reason 05:12 was me. 05:22 Amen! 05:34 Heavenly Father, 05:39 there was no earthly reason 05:42 for You to send Your Son 05:46 except, Lord, that without Him we would be lost. 05:51 Lord, tonight 05:55 may we see clearly 05:57 that life is found only in Jesus Christ. 06:02 May we surrender our hearts, 06:05 may the Holy Spirit move in our lives, 06:10 and may each of us be drawn close to Jesus Christ. 06:15 For this we ask in Your name, Amen. 06:26 We find that today man is trying to find 06:29 life in many, many different places. 06:34 Just exactly where can I find eternal life? 06:39 We find that some people think that they can communicate 06:44 with the dead... that life is found there. 06:49 They look to those that have gone on before 06:54 hoping that some way some how 06:57 that they might communicate and talk with them. 07:01 But life is certainly not found in man. 07:06 Not going to find it in man. Man cannot offer it. 07:10 It is not to be found among mankind. 07:14 Man has looked for it down through the centuries 07:17 but it can't be found in humanity. 07:21 Says in Genesis 3:19: 07:37 So the Bible is very clear that you and I were taken from dust 07:42 and it says that we will return to dust. 07:46 And you have stood in funeral services 07:48 and you've heard the minister say the committal: 07:51 "dust to dust and ashes to ashes. " 07:53 We know that when a person dies they return back to the dust 07:58 or to the ashes. So life is not found in us. 08:03 Man does not have immortality. 08:07 It's not found there. 08:09 Tells us in Job 4 and verse 17: 08:12 "Can a mortal... " Can a what? 08:15 A mortal. Doesn't say immortal. 08:18 Mortal means what? 08:21 Mortal means subject to death. Yes. 08:33 No way. Man is dust and he returns back to the dust. 08:39 So all I'm trying to get across to you tonight 08:41 is life - eternal life - cannot be found in human beings. 08:47 Man has searched for it. 09:05 So it says clearly that only God 09:09 has immortality. 09:11 Now what I'm doing here tonight, folks, is I'm laying down 09:15 a basic principle of scripture. And if you get that real clear 09:20 in your mind, then a lot of the troubles that people have 09:24 will clear up. And so the principle that I'm trying to 09:28 lay down tonight is that God is the only One 09:31 that has immortality. 09:33 Man does not have immortality... man is mortal. 09:38 OK? That means he is subject to death. 09:41 Goes on and says: 09:54 Even though science 09:57 would like to give the idea that they can offer life 10:03 they have not been able to do it. 10:06 All you have to do is look around. Right now 10:10 almost in every large city in the United States 10:15 they now have places where you can go and be frozen. 10:22 Did you know that? 10:24 Yeah. People now think that when they die 10:27 they can take them and freeze them... 10:30 and keep them frozen until medical science 10:34 develops a cure for the problem that they had. 10:38 And then they will thaw them out and cure their problem. 10:42 And so you can actually pay to be frozen and kept that way. 10:49 Sorry... man is mortal, subject to death. 10:54 I can take you to the book store and I can show you 10:57 book after book that will tell you that there is life 11:01 after death. 11:04 The Bible does not teach that there is life after death. 11:10 Just does not do that, folks. 11:13 In fact, there's a place over here in Arizona 11:17 where they tell you that dying 11:20 is just the result of a wrong attitude 11:24 and that you can come to that particular place in Arizona. 11:28 And of course, you have to give them all your money. 11:31 And you live there at that place all your life. 11:36 And if you die well the problem was you just had the wrong 11:40 attitude, you know. But this is offered today, folks. 11:47 The Bible has this to say in Titus 3 verse 7: 12:05 Get it clear. The Bible doesn't say 12:06 eternal life now. It says "The hope of eternal life. " 12:11 OK? You need to get it clear. 12:13 It doesn't say that man now has eternal life. 12:17 It's the hope of eternal life. 12:20 Luke 2:23: "Who shall not receive 12:24 many times more in this present time. 12:27 And in the age to come... " What? 12:31 Yeah. "In the age to come eternal life. " 12:35 See, the Bible is very, very clear. 12:39 You and I don't have to be in any doubt about it. 12:41 In the age to come you and I can have eternal life 12:46 but right now we are mortal. 12:50 We're subject to death. That's what the scripture simply says 12:55 about us. 13:09 You're not going to find eternal life any other place. 13:14 There isn't such a thing as a fountain of youth. 13:19 There isn't a place where you can go in this world 13:22 and receive eternal life. 13:25 You will find it only in Jesus Christ. 13:38 "I... I am the resurrection and the life. " 13:44 You see, that's the reason when Jesus died, folks, 13:49 and He came forth from the grave 13:52 you find one statement in scripture after another 13:56 that validates the fact that He came forth from the grave. 14:00 He did not make it so there would be any doubt. 14:04 There were over 500 people that saw Him after 14:10 the resurrection. And He gave it with infallible proof 14:14 that He came forth from the grave. 14:16 I'm going to share just a few with you tonight 14:18 to show you that Jesus Christ 14:20 is the resurrection and the life. 14:23 These are proofs of His resurrection. 14:25 He appeared to Mary Magdalene. John 20 verse 10. 14:28 You remember that? Appeared to her. 14:31 Secondly, the other women. You remember it talks about 14:35 Salome and Mary and those? 14:37 The other women that came... He appeared to them 14:40 there in Matthew 28:8. 14:48 You remember that? They're on the road to Emmaus 14:51 and there He spoke to them, talked to them. All right. 14:55 Eleven disciples... He appeared to them after His resurrection. 15:00 These are people, folks, that He appeared to 15:03 and spoke to. Absolute proof of the resurrection. 15:07 Luke 24:33. 15:14 Second time He appeared to them. Thomas was not there. 15:17 Remember that? Appeared to them, spoke to them there 15:21 in John 20 verse 19. 15:26 Then He appeared again to them and Thomas was there. 15:29 You remember? And He said: "Come, Thomas, and put your 15:31 finger in the nail print, hand in my side. " 15:34 'Cause Thomas didn't want to believe. OK? 15:43 He appeared to them. 15:44 Appeared again to the disciples in Matthew 28;16. 15:48 Remember this one there on the Mt. of Olives? 15:58 All these are statements of proof that Jesus came forth 16:03 from the grave... that He IS the resurrection. 16:07 Therefore what I'm trying to say to you tonight: 16:09 if Christ is the resurrection - and He said 16:12 that He is the resurrection and the life - 16:14 then you and I if we're going to find life 16:17 on the other side of the grave 16:20 we're going to find it only in Jesus Christ. 16:24 We're not going to find it any other place. 16:42 Clear? 16:45 So dear friend, tonight 16:48 you don't have eternal life if you don't have Christ. 16:53 You see, if you don't have Jesus 16:57 you don't have anything 16:59 because you're going to die 17:02 and all the things you have are going to go to somebody else. 17:06 But if you've got Jesus you've got everything 17:10 because you've got life. 17:13 You're going to come out of the grave 17:15 as He came out of the grave. 17:17 So you and I will have that opportunity. 17:20 All right. Listen as it continues on: 17:33 Now it's true: you and I need to spend time in the Book. 17:39 This is how you come to know Jesus Christ. 17:42 Do you understand me? 17:44 But dear friend, let me tell you something: 17:47 don't read the book and not get acquainted with Jesus. 17:53 Because it says: "This is life eternal, to... " What? 17:57 "to know You. " 18:00 You see, eternal life is in Christ 18:03 and you and I must know Him. 18:05 As an individual we must know Him as our Savior. 18:08 It's not... You can't have an arms-off experience with 18:12 Jesus Christ. It's got to be something that is in your heart 18:16 and in your soul. 18:18 It's got to be something that you experience. 18:21 You take somebody who has experienced it 18:25 and they may not be able to explain it to you. 18:28 But I can tell you one thing: they know it. 18:32 There's no question about that. 18:35 God is a great God, and the Lord Jesus Christ 18:41 comes into your heart and gives you eternal life. 18:46 I guarantee you... you know it. 18:48 No question about it. All right... let's go on. 18:55 You don't have it. You're mortal... right? 18:58 So how am I going to receive eternal life tonight? 19:03 Well the Bible tells you this is how you receive it. 19:18 Is that clear? 19:20 Dear friends, if you didn't read any other text but that one, 19:25 that's clear enough. 19:27 It says: "If you do not have the Son, you don't have... " 19:31 "life. " 19:33 Now I hope you'll fasten that in your mind 19:35 because I'm coming to something. 19:37 I'm coming to a point in just a little bit 19:39 and if you don't have that fastened in your mind 19:42 then you may have trouble. But if you'll fasten it clearly 19:45 in your mind that if you don't have the Son 19:48 you do not have life. 19:51 If you get that real clear, then the point we're coming to 19:54 won't be a problem with you. OK... 19:59 If he doesn't have life, the wrath of God abides on him. 20:10 That person that believes in Jesus Christ 20:13 has everlasting life. That's a promise 20:17 that God gives to you. 20:20 OK? So we find that eternal life 20:23 is found only in Jesus Christ. 20:26 Now the question is: how do I keep it? 20:31 It's a gift. That's what it tells me: it's a gift. 20:34 It's given to us. That what it says in Romans the 5th chapter 20:38 verse 17 that it is a gift. 20:40 So it's a gift given to me... but how do I keep it? 20:45 Do you know how to keep it? 20:48 'Cause I run onto people that lose it. 20:51 Well let's see how you keep it. 21:05 OK, how do I keep it? 21:07 Fight the good fight of faith. 21:09 That's how you keep it. 21:11 I've got to look and I've got to read the Word of God 21:14 and I've got to walk by faith. I've got to believe. 21:18 As Jesus said: "Blessed is he 21:22 who doesn't see and believes. " 21:26 You see, I've got to walk by faith. 21:30 The Christian experience is a walk by faith. 21:33 That's the difference. You see, animals... 21:35 animals live by scent. 21:39 OK? That's how they exist is by what they smell. 21:43 Sinners... sinners... they live by reason. 21:50 That's how sinners live. 21:53 Christians live by faith. 21:57 Great, great difference. 22:00 Great difference! 22:02 And if I'm going to lay hold of eternal life 22:04 I do that by faith. 22:08 That means that by faith 22:12 I put Jesus Christ above everything else. 22:19 I must... Listen carefully 'cause the scripture's going to 22:22 tell you... I must put my priorities right. 23:06 How do you keep it? 23:09 I keep it by making sure my priorities are right. 23:15 That's what Jesus was taking about 23:17 when He talked about the man that went out and bought 23:20 the piece of land. He talked about the man that 23:22 sold everything he had for the pearl of great price. 23:26 I have to place it in the right priority 23:29 and reach out and hang onto it... 23:31 and hang onto it for all I'm worth by faith. 23:36 THEN you keep eternal life. 23:40 That's what He's telling us. 23:42 All right. Now we come to the point that 23:46 many people don't understand: what is the penalty for sin? 23:53 What is the penalty for sin? 23:56 That's what we have to establish 23:58 because this is the area that many people do not understand. 24:19 Sin brings forth what? Death. 24:23 The penalty for sin is death. 24:29 That's what the scripture tells us: 24:31 that death came into the world by sin. 24:43 OK, through one man sin entered the world 24:46 and death through sin. 24:50 And thus death spread to all men because all sinned. 24:56 Because Adam sinned 24:59 death passed upon the whole human race. 25:04 OK? Death means what? 25:11 Death means what? 25:16 Death means that life ceases, doesn't it? 25:22 It does not means this, friends: 25:24 it doesn't mean that you change existence. 25:30 See, that's what some people think. 25:32 They think when you die all you do is change existence. 25:35 No, that isn't what the Bible says. 25:38 Death means the end of life... 25:44 ceases. 25:46 Now there's a special death 25:49 that you and I as Christians do not want to have happen. 25:54 The Bible is very clear on that 25:56 because righteous and un- righteous both die, don't they? 26:02 Yes. 26:04 OK. But watch carefully. It tells us: 26:21 See, eternal life is "in Christ Jesus. " 26:25 "He that hath the Son hath life. " 26:29 That's the way it happens; that's the way it takes place. 26:33 Death brings about the end of life. 26:59 Now are you getting clear. 27:01 You see, righteous and unrighteous both die 27:05 the first death but only the wicked 27:10 will die the second death. 27:13 See, you have eternal life in Christ Jesus. 27:17 Jesus said: "Even though a man may die yet he shall live. " 27:22 Just as He died 27:24 and came forth from the grave 27:25 so the righteous will die and will go in the grave 27:28 but they will come out. 27:31 They will be resurrected. They have life in Christ Jesus. 27:35 But the wicked the Bible says very clearly 27:38 will be resurrected but they will die the second death. 27:44 FROM THAT there is no return. 27:49 And dear friends, it is not... it is not 27:54 a place where the devil 27:59 is going to stoke the fires of hell for eternity. 28:03 It is not that. 28:04 Death means the ceasing of life. 28:09 Comes to an end. 28:11 Does not continue on. 28:30 You see, there's a resurrection of the just AND the unjust 28:34 and they come forth from the grave. 28:37 There's just a great difference in the two. 28:40 Those that are righteous, those that are just, 28:43 they have eternal life. 28:47 The Bible says that they are "changed 28:51 in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, 28:55 at the last trump, 28:56 for this mortal must put on immortality. " 29:01 And so as the righteous come forth from that grave 29:05 they have life eternal. Immortality! 29:10 The wicked? NO! 29:13 No. 29:16 They come forth from the grave to die the second death... 29:22 and from that there is no return. 29:28 Let me take a moment on this. 29:32 I hope you'll understand something. 29:36 Do you understand what you're worth tonight? 29:39 Do you understand what you're worth? 29:42 Do you understand tonight that there is not another 29:47 individual anywhere in the entire universe 29:52 that's exactly like you? 29:55 Do you understand me? 29:57 That's what makes you of supreme value. 30:02 You see, if that was not the case 30:05 then when sin came into the world 30:08 God could have just wiped it all out and started over. 30:13 But the fact is: there is not another person like you 30:18 anywhere in the vast universe of God. 30:22 That's what makes you of supreme value. 30:26 That's why Jesus Christ would have come and He would have 30:30 died if it had only been you. 30:35 Now, that's also why 30:40 if you're lost, 30:43 if you are involved in the second death, 30:47 how terrible that is. 30:50 I mean, you will never be... 30:53 That'll be the end. There'll never throughout eternity 30:56 be an individual like you 30:58 if you're lost - gone - for eternity. 31:03 How terrible! Never would there be another person like you. 31:11 That's why the Lord Jesus Christ said: "Listen, I'll come 31:16 to this old planet and I'll die for you... 31:21 die just for you... 31:23 that you might have eternal life. " 31:27 That's what He did for you and for me. 31:44 No more. All the way down through the corridors of time 31:50 never, never again will the wicked be. 32:23 They're going to perish. 32:25 They will be no more... never again. 32:36 Are you beginning to understand? 32:39 See, that's what's going to happen: 32:41 the wicked just aren't going to be any more. 32:43 They're going to be destroyed and they will be no more. 32:48 Never again. 33:09 Says the wicked will be like brute beasts. 33:13 They'll be destroyed... they'll be no more. 33:18 That's what God says is going to happen to them. 33:21 So what I'm trying to tell you tonight, dear friends, 33:25 is you can have life. 33:27 God offers you life. 33:30 All you've got to do is accept Jesus Christ 33:33 and give your heart to Him. 33:35 Surrender your life to Him... 33:37 He'll give you eternal life. 33:49 How thoroughly is He going to do His job? 33:57 Never throughout the ceaseless ages of eternity 34:01 will sin ever come again. 34:05 "Affliction shall not rise a second time. " 34:09 Glory, hallelujah! It'll be an end of it. 34:13 There will be no more. 34:15 Never all the way down through the ceaseless ages 34:19 of time will sin ever raise its ugly head again. 34:23 Be no more. 34:26 That God offers to you and to me. 34:30 How could this be, folks? 34:34 Now you think about it: how could this be? 34:39 If there was a place called hell 34:42 where the wicked burn for eternity, 34:49 how could this text be? 34:53 There would be a constant sight, a constant reminder, 34:57 of what sin was. 35:00 No... not what the scripture says. 35:04 What is going to happen? Is there a hell? 35:06 Yes, there's a hell. 35:09 You and I have a hell to shun and a heaven to win. 35:12 Oh yes, there's punishment... 35:14 but let's see what the scripture says. 35:26 This is referring to the wicked. 35:33 Have you ever seen a stubble field on fire? 35:37 Do you know what I'm talking about? 35:39 I grew up in Oklahoma. 35:42 The western part of Oklahoma has huge, huge wheat fields. 35:47 Wheat fields so big that you can't see across them, OK? 35:52 And they come in there the latter part of May, 35:55 first of June and they cut that wheat 35:57 and they leave about that much stubble sticking up. 36:01 And then it begins to dry. 36:05 By the time you get August that stubble is golden brown. 36:12 There is no moisture in it at all. 36:15 And you let it get on fire and I will tell you 36:19 you haven't seen a fire till you've seen a stubble field 36:22 on fire. I mean, it'll roll across that field. 36:25 You can hear the roar of the fire for miles away 36:29 as it burns across that field. 36:31 And when it's through, there is absolutely nothing left. 36:36 That's what it's talking about when it says the wicked 36:39 will be like stubble that is fully burned... fully dried. 37:01 What? You see folks, that text didn't say 37:06 "the fire shall burn them. " 37:09 It says: "it shall burn them up. " 37:13 Don't miss that little word up. 37:22 So it says the wicked are going to be burned. 37:24 They're going to be burned up. 37:26 It will leave them neither root nor branch. 37:30 How thoroughly does it do its work? 37:44 So it says the wicked are going to be burned up. 37:47 They're going to be turned into ashes. 37:52 It speaks of the wicked as stubble. 37:56 Do you know what the scripture speaks of the righteous as? 38:01 Hmmm? 38:03 It talks about the wicked as stubble. 38:06 What does it speak of the righteous? 38:10 What does it call them? 38:12 Well it refers to the righteous as gold. 38:17 The Bible talks about them as gold. 38:20 Fire burns up stubble. 38:25 Fire does what to gold? 38:27 Refines it... purifies it. 38:30 See? Marvelous what it does! 38:34 It's marvelous what God does. The righteous... they're gold. 38:39 Refines, purifies them. 38:41 But the wicked? They are stubble. 38:45 They will be no more. 38:47 Some people say: "Well Brother Cox, 38:50 when you die, you know, well your soul... 38:52 it goes off some other place. " 38:55 Do you know what a soul is? 38:57 Let me clarify what a soul is. 39:00 The Bible says that you are a soul. 39:03 OK? What makes a soul? 39:07 The Bible says it takes the body 39:10 and the breath of life to make a soul. 39:13 That's why it refers to you as souls. It even refers 39:16 to the fish in the sea as a soul. OK? 39:21 Cause it has a body, has the breath of life. 39:24 OK? So you are a soul. 39:28 When a person dies 39:30 the body goes back to the ground the scripture says. 39:33 It says the spirit - which is the breath of life - 39:36 goes back to God. 39:40 On the resurrection morning... 39:42 on the resurrection morning God's going to form the body 39:46 again and the breath of life will enter it 39:50 and that person will be a living soul. 39:53 That's what it says. 39:55 That's why this text says this: 40:15 Yes, destroy the person. That means they will be no more. 40:21 That will forever be the end of them. 40:25 Says that the fire will burn them... burn them up. 40:29 They will be no more. 40:41 Now I run onto people that have trouble here 40:45 'cause it says - speaking of the wicked - 40:47 that they're going to go into what? Everlasting punishment. 40:52 OK... but the righteous into eternal life. 40:57 Now folks, the problem here is this word punishment. 41:02 You see, what I run onto people is they try to take this word 41:07 and apply it the wrong way. 41:09 You see, the punishment is eternal. 41:16 When the wicked are destroyed they're never never coming back. 41:21 The punishment is eternal. Are you with me? 41:26 That's why it says they're going to go into everlasting 41:28 punishment. Means they are destroyed. 41:30 Never throughout eternity will they ever come back. 41:33 Please do not take that word "everlasting" 41:36 and apply it to punishing. 41:39 The punishment is eternal not the punishing. 41:45 And that's where people get it all mixed up. 41:48 They take it and apply it to punishing rather than 41:50 punishment. And the Bible gives you a very very clear example 41:56 so that you don't have to be in any doubt about it at all. 41:59 OK. Remember a city by the name of Sodom and Gomorrah? 42:06 Wicked... so wicked 42:12 that God said: "I have to destroy it. " 42:18 And so God sent some angels. 42:22 Do you remember those angels had to take Lot and his two 42:26 daughters and wife and lead them out of Sodom and Gomorrah 42:30 by their hands, and then Lot's wife didn't even make it then. 42:35 OK? Would you like to see what the scripture says about this? 42:40 Watch... 'cause it's making a comparison: 43:08 Sodom and Gomorrah suffered the vengeance of eternal fire. 43:11 Are Sodom and Gomorrah burning today? 43:14 No! No. Do you know where they are? 43:20 Oh, they're under about 3 feet of water 43:24 in the lower end of the Dead Sea. 43:26 Certainly not burning today. 43:28 But the punishment was eternal... not the punishing. 43:34 Are you with me? 43:36 See, the Bible makes that very, very clear. 43:39 Punishment? Yes... that's eternal. 43:43 The punishing is not. 43:45 So the wicked will receive punishment 43:49 but God is not, folks... God is not a God of - 43:55 how should I say? - vengeance 43:58 in the sense that He's not a sadist. 44:01 He's not interested in punishing people. 44:05 That's not God's way. 44:12 When will it take place? 44:14 Well let's see. The scripture makes it very 44:16 clear when it's going to take place. 44:35 Doesn't say wrath now... it says "wrath to come. " 44:40 Get it clear... it's not happening now. 44:43 When people die they don't go to hell. 44:48 That does not happen; they DO NOT go to hell. 44:51 They are asleep, and the wrath to come 44:55 is when they will face it... not now. 45:10 When is it? End of this age. 45:14 That's when that's going to happen... not now 45:16 but at the end of the age is when it will take place. 45:22 This subject, folks, is important because 45:29 you misunderstand the character of God 45:32 if you don't understand it right. 45:34 Very very hard to love a God 45:39 who is not merciful. 45:45 You take... If you put somebody in hell, 45:49 if you say when they die they go to hell, 45:54 people that died 6,000 years ago 45:57 they've been burning in hell for 6,000 years? 46:00 They get 6,000 years more punishment than people today? 46:04 No. You see, God's not that way. 46:08 God is just; God is kind... longsuffering. 46:13 Oh, don't misunderstand me. 46:15 Sure there's punishment 46:18 but He's a God of mercy. God loves you, 46:22 cares about you. 46:44 All right now. The scripture is just as clear as can be. 46:49 "The wicked are reserved for the day of doom; 46:51 they shall be brought out on the day of wrath. " 47:00 That's what the wicked are going to receive... all of that: 47:13 Hmmm. 47:15 "A vigil kept over the tomb. " 47:20 Waiting for the day of resurrection. 47:27 If you don't know Jesus Christ, 47:29 if you don't know Him as your personal Savior, 47:32 the Bible says you have an angel. 47:36 It says that that angel keeps record... 47:41 keeps record of all the things we do. 47:45 If you know Jesus Christ and you die, 47:51 then that angel will be there to welcome you 47:55 when the resurrection takes place. 47:58 If you don't know Jesus Christ, 48:01 that angel keeps a vigil over the tomb 48:04 so that on the resurrection of the wicked 48:08 they will come forth to receive their punishment. 48:15 To receive their punishment. 48:50 So the Bible says the wicked are going to die. 48:53 Clods of the earth will be sweet to them. 48:55 They'll be there. But on that day 48:58 when God calls all the people forth from the grave 49:03 judgment will take place. 49:05 And then it says the wicked will be destroyed. 49:09 It says this earth will burn. All the wicked 49:14 will be burned up in it. 49:17 Now let me explain something. 49:19 God takes no pleasure whatsoever in the punishment of the wicked. 49:24 That is contrary to the nature of God, friends. 49:30 And if you've been one of these people that down through the 49:32 years have never been able to put together how a God 49:37 could punish people through the ceaseless ages of eternity, 49:40 I hope tonight you're seeing that that is NOT how God is. 49:46 That God loves you; He cares for you. 49:48 He doesn't want you lost. 49:50 He takes no pleasure whatsoever 49:53 in the punishment of the wicked. 50:12 That's what God has pleasure in. 50:14 Turn from your way and live. 50:18 Do you understand that? 50:20 The Bible calls that conversion. 50:23 You with me? You understand conversion? 50:27 I think I told you one night what conversion is. 50:30 That's right. I'm going to hell, I'm going to hell, 50:35 I'm going to hell, I'm going to hell. 50:37 Turn around: I'm going to heaven, I'm going to heaven. 50:40 That's conversion: turn around and LIVE! 50:43 Amen! That's what God offers to you. 50:45 I don't have to be lost. 50:48 That's what God has pleasure in. 50:50 That's what He wants... He wants you saved! 50:53 Wants you in the kingdom of heaven. 51:04 So tonight God is just simply offering to you 51:09 life in Christ Jesus. 51:12 I want you to think with me a little bit. 51:16 What's the penalty for sin? 51:19 Are you clear on that tonight? 51:21 The penalty for sin is death. 51:25 Did Jesus pay that penalty for you? 51:28 Yes! Huh? Yes. Are all of you clear on that? Yes. 51:32 That Jesus paid the penalty for you. 51:34 Praise the Lord! Amen! Paid the penalty. 51:39 OK, now think with me. 51:41 If the penalty for sin was to go to hell and burn in hell 51:47 for eternity, then Jesus didn't pay it. 51:52 Are you with me? Yes! 51:55 See, any time you do that 51:58 you just move Jesus out of the picture. 52:01 No. He paid it... the penalty was death. 52:04 He died... understand me tonight... 52:07 Jesus died like the sinner died. 52:12 That's why He cried out: "My God, My God, 52:15 why hast Thou forsaken Me? " 52:17 Because He died as the sinner. 52:19 He didn't die as you and I as a Christian might die 52:23 and have hope. He died understanding 52:26 that He was paying the price for sin. 52:29 He paid that price... a horrible price. 52:32 He paid for your sins and mine. 52:37 You and I... we can die by faith. 52:41 And even though I may die yet I still can live 52:48 because of what Jesus Christ has done for you and me. 53:00 And don't let people mix you up on that. 53:04 The opposite of life is death. 53:07 Death is not life. OK? 53:19 OK, that's simply the way it is. 53:22 Now let me ask you a question: 53:28 What do I have to do to have eternal life? 53:32 What do I have to do to have eternal life? 53:38 I have to accept Jesus Christ as my personal Savior. 53:42 Life is in Him. That's how I receive eternal life. 53:47 I don't know if you put it all together. 53:51 You see, dear friend, you've got to have Christ 53:55 to receive life. 53:57 You can't get 54:00 eternal life in hell. 54:05 Did you just follow me? 54:06 Only way you can get eternal life is in Christ. 54:09 You can't get eternal life in hell. 54:12 It's impossible. 54:15 The end of life... the wicked are going to die 54:20 and they're going to die the second death 54:23 and that will be the end of them. They'll be no more. 54:27 But to you and to me we have a promise of life. 54:32 Life in Christ Jesus... 54:36 that's what He offers to us. 54:38 And so tonight I hope that you 54:42 by faith will just simply reach out, 54:46 accept Jesus Christ into you heart as your Savior 54:49 and find life in Him. Because He wants to give 54:52 life to you in a very very definite and special way. 54:58 If you reject 55:04 God's final call to you, 55:11 you'll have no chance 55:15 your footsteps 55:18 to retrace. 55:23 All hope will then be gone 55:29 and doom you'll face. 55:36 O heed His call... 55:42 God's final call. 55:51 Let's bow our heads for a word of prayer. 55:53 Heavenly Father, we thank you 55:56 for all that You have done for each of us. 56:00 Wonderful hope that we have in Christ our Lord 56:03 to know that in Christ Jesus we can have life eternal. 56:07 May each one of us claim that today by faith. |
Revised 2014-12-17