This morning, as we open
the Word of God together,
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I'd like to invite
you to turn in your Bibles
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to the scripture
reading for this morning
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in Matthew 28:6.
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Matthew 28:6.
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The Word of the
Lord reads as follows,
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and if we can
read this together,
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I'd surely appreciate that.
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Together, "He is not here
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for He is risen, as He said,
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'Come, see the place
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where the Lord lay.'"
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He is risen.
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Loving Father in heaven,
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we celebrate
with deep anticipation
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that our risen Lord
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will soon and very soon
become our returning Lord.
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This morning,
as the world pauses
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to contemplate sometimes
on a social and economic level
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what this time
of the year means,
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we pray that the Easter bunnies
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and the colored
eggs and the baskets
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and the Cadbury chocolates
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will not replace the empty tomb.
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This morning, guide
our hearts and minds away
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from the tradition to
the scriptural reality
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that Jesus is alive and well
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and the signs all around us.
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Peel back to remind us
that He is coming again.
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Now send Your Holy Spirit,
Lord, to awaken our hearts
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in the sense of not
only gaining knowledge
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but being filled with
a dedication to serve You
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as our soon-coming King.
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In Your precious name I pray.
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Amen.
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Traditionally,
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this week is
designated as Holy Week.
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And I emphasize
the word traditionally
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because the Bible does
not speak of a Holy Week.
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It speaks of a holy day.
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Remember the
Sabbath day to keep it holy.
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The Bible Sabbath
is from sunset Friday
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to sunset Saturday.
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Ironically though, this
is the only time of the year
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where tradition gives the
Sabbath its proper standing.
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Think about it,
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yesterday was
traditionally Good Friday,
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tomorrow
traditionally is Easter Sunday.
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We call it Resurrection Sunday
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because the word Easter comes
from that tradition of Ishtar,
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that Phoenician God.
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We believe in
the newness of life,
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but the newness of life comes
in the recognition of the power
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and the glory coming from
Jesus and not from tradition.
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And so the Bible collides
with tradition all year long,
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but to some degree,
this week is the only week
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where tradition has recognized
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that today is the day
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that Jesus
blessed, today is the day
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that Jesus
blessed from creation,
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today is the day
that Jesus is anticipating
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His resurrection on tomorrow.
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Today is the holy Sabbath day.
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But when you think that
your week has been tough,
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just remember the
week that Jesus had,
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the week that led
Him to be wrongly accused
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and then to be betrayed
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and then to be taken
to the courts of Pilate
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before the Jewish
Sanhedrin, the high priest,
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to be interrogated, to be led,
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to be scourged and
whipped with a cat o' nine tail
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where blood and His back being
ripped from the severe torture
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of the Roman guards
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and eventually to
be led to the cross
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where He paid the
price for our redemption.
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Before I even begin the message,
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I say this morning,
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"Thank the Lord
that He was willing
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to pay the price
for our redemption."
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We could not even
talk about Jesus today
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had He not paid the
price for our redemption.
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But the next time you
think that you had a tough week,
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remember the
week that Jesus had.
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It was not a tough
week, it was a criminal week,
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not enforced on Him
but because of love,
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He chose to walk our road
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that one day by faith
we will walk His road.
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He chose to wear our robe,
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to wear our robe that one day
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we might wear His robe.
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He chose to have our
thorns planted on His head
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that one day we might have
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the crown of glory
planted on our head.
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But this morning,
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cometh me to the
scene of a vicious crime,
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stand with me
at the intersection
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of what was and what will be.
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Pause for a moment
and inhale the scene,
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like blackened soot escaping
the mouth of an angry furnace.
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On that day of death,
finality of death paints
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the night air as Jesus
is laid, as it seem to be,
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in a tomb of great finality,
the stone is put in place.
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The Romans sealed the tomb.
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Jesus appears to be at His end.
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And then to
decide, listen carefully,
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and you'll hear the
cacophony of demons rejoicing.
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The restless
clamor of satanic praise
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collides with the discordant
racket of hell-born dissidents.
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Hell and its
minions are now rejoicing
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that it appears to them
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that they have
finally defeated Jesus.
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Satan waited 4,000
years for that moment.
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And it appears to the human eye
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that he had been successful.
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The orchestrator of this
symphony of death stands erect
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proudly leading
his rebellious minions
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in the chorus of
temporary praise.
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They are soon to be
reminded of their feeble efforts
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for it is true,
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it is true that you
cannot keep a good man down.
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Amen?
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You cannot keep a good man down.
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When Jesus
proclaimed it is finished,
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Satan knew that
what was finished
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was not Jesus but
the plan of salvation,
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what was finished was
not the reign of Jesus
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but the price He paid
to redeem everyone of us,
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and that is why
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they got together and
coalesced in the scheme
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to prevent Jesus
from coming forth,
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but I love the words
that history paints for us,
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"Christ did not
yield His life up
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until He had accomplished
the work which He came to do."
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And with the parting breath,
He exclaimed, "It is finished."
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The battle had been won.
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His right and His holy arm
had gotten Him the victory.
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And as conqueror...
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Listen carefully, as conqueror,
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He planted His banner
on the eternal heights.
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You see the cross,
the place of suffering,
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the place of torment,
the place of persecution
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was in fact, to heaven,
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a declaration of
the victory of Jesus.
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Somebody else ought to say amen.
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The cross was a declaration
of the victory of Jesus,
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but among the angels,
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was there no joy
among the angels,
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all heaven triumph
at the Savior's victory.
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Satan was defeated,
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and he knew that
his kingdom was lost.
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The chief priests and Pharisees
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accomplished their evil desires
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and the desires of their heart.
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But yet in the
recesses of their minds,
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hear me carefully,
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there was something
about the name Jesus
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that kept their
wicked hearts troubled.
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There was
something about the work
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that they had seen
in the life of Jesus
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that kept their
wicked hearts uneasy,
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and they devised a plan.
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Go to Matthew 27:62-64.
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Unable to
dismiss the possibility
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of His divinity,
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they devised a plan,
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they remember the
work that Jesus had done,
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the dead He had raised,
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the eyes He had opened,
the cripple He made to walk,
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the blind He made to see.
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And they thought if
He is possibly divine,
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let us devise a plan.
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The Bible says,
"On the next day,
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which followed the
Day of Preparation,
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the chief priests and
Pharisees gathered together
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to Pilate,
saying, 'Sir, we remember,
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while He was still
alive, how that deceiver said,
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'After three days I will rise.'
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" They continued,
"Therefore command
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that the tomb be made
secure until the third day
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lest His disciples come
by night and steal Him away
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and say to the people,
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'He has risen from the dead.'
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So the last deception
will be worse than the first."
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Do you know, if Jesus wanted to,
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He could have prevented Himself
from going in the tomb anyway?
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But He went into our tomb
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to pay for our redemption.
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And according to
the plan of salvation,
00:10:11.14\00:10:14.68
the cadence of our
redemption was set.
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These feeble men
thought they could keep Jesus
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from coming forth from the tomb.
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When they
thought about His life,
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the purity of His
life led them to question
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the permanence of His death.
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Let me say that
again, the purity of His life
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led them to question
the permanence of His death.
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You can almost hear the
Jewish contingency appealing
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their case to Pilate, "In
the event that He is the Christ,
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we need to make sure
that He does not come out."
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Can I jump ahead of myself?
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Thank the Lord He came out.
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Amen.
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Satan said, "Shut Him up."
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What he did not know,
in less than 72 hours,
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heaven would say, "Get Him up."
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There's a difference between
shut him up and get him up.
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But Pilate's hands were washed,
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but his heart was troubled.
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Look at Matthew 27:65-66,
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he tried to recuse
himself but he could not.
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Then, "Pilate said to
them, 'You have a guard,
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go your way,
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make it as
secure as you know how.'
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So they went and
made the tomb secure,
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sealing the stone
and setting the guard."
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The tomb was sealed
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and the Roman
guards manned their post,
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deceived by the darkness
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of their understanding,
the betrayers of Christ
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were willingly
ignorant of the fact
00:11:36.36\00:11:39.13
that by the death of Jesus,
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the plan of salvation
would be accomplished.
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Let me make that clear,
you see, from antiquity,
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from the day that
sin entered the world,
00:11:46.90\00:11:50.17
from the day that
Adam and Eve fell,
00:11:50.21\00:11:54.91
God assured mankind
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that He would not abandon us
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to the darkness of sin.
00:12:00.12\00:12:01.78
Amen? Amen.
00:12:01.82\00:12:03.25
He assured us that one day
00:12:03.28\00:12:06.69
He would come to conquer death
00:12:06.72\00:12:08.82
and once again open the gates
00:12:08.86\00:12:11.93
that we might have life
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and have it not only abundantly
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but have it eternally.
00:12:15.56\00:12:16.90
Look at the
promise in Genesis 3:15,
00:12:16.93\00:12:19.60
4,000 years earlier,
00:12:19.63\00:12:21.84
outside of the
gates of man's evictions,
00:12:21.87\00:12:24.11
Jesus declared
these words, Genesis 3:15,
00:12:24.14\00:12:28.31
and the Bible said,
00:12:28.34\00:12:30.78
"And I will put enmity
between you and the woman
00:12:30.81\00:12:33.72
and between your
seed and her Seed.
00:12:33.75\00:12:36.25
He shall bruise your head,
00:12:36.28\00:12:39.92
and you shall bruise His heel."
00:12:39.95\00:12:42.06
Now what is enmity?
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Enmity is that discomfort,
00:12:43.46\00:12:45.96
when the heart is
being led into sin,
00:12:45.99\00:12:48.13
enmity is that discomfort
00:12:48.16\00:12:50.53
placed there by God to say,
"This is wrong, don't do it.
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This is the incorrect
direction, don't go there."
00:12:54.57\00:12:57.37
Enmity is the discomfort
between hell and heaven,
00:12:57.41\00:13:01.64
between darkness and
light, between error and good.
00:13:01.68\00:13:06.21
It is there placed by
God to keep us understanding
00:13:06.25\00:13:09.05
that there is a
way that seems right
00:13:09.08\00:13:11.19
but then there is
a way that is right.
00:13:11.22\00:13:15.52
John 10:18 makes it
very clear that Jesus says,
00:13:15.56\00:13:18.99
"No one can take
My life from Me."
00:13:19.03\00:13:21.03
He is the Lamb slain from
the foundation of the world.
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You see, His death was
not orchestrated by hell,
00:13:24.67\00:13:28.80
His death was
ordained by heaven.
00:13:28.84\00:13:30.91
I remember the
movie, I saw the Passion,
00:13:33.81\00:13:35.58
I saw that with
about 4,000, 5,000 pastors
00:13:35.61\00:13:38.61
at NRB a number of years ago.
00:13:38.65\00:13:41.12
And they
marveled at the brutality
00:13:41.15\00:13:43.15
of the whipping of
Jesus as Mel Gibson,
00:13:43.18\00:13:45.09
the producer had portrayed.
00:13:45.12\00:13:47.16
They made it look as though
00:13:47.19\00:13:48.72
Jesus died from
the whipping He took.
00:13:48.76\00:13:52.49
But He did not
die from the abuse,
00:13:52.53\00:13:54.93
He died because of sin,
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your sin and my sin.
00:13:58.53\00:14:00.74
He was wounded
for our transgression.
00:14:00.77\00:14:03.41
He was bruised for our iniquity.
00:14:03.44\00:14:06.68
It is so easy to put
it on the head of the Jews
00:14:06.71\00:14:08.74
and the Romans,
but He died for me.
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He died because of me.
00:14:11.21\00:14:12.81
He died because of
my sin and your sin.
00:14:12.85\00:14:16.05
He was the Lamb slain from
the foundation of the world.
00:14:16.08\00:14:19.39
In John 10:18, Jesus
says, "No one takes it from Me,"
00:14:19.42\00:14:23.39
that is My life,
00:14:23.43\00:14:25.23
"but I lay it down of Myself.
00:14:25.26\00:14:26.93
I have power to lay it down,
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and I have power
to take it again.
00:14:29.33\00:14:32.17
This command I have
received from My Father."
00:14:32.20\00:14:35.14
So when Jesus
00:14:35.17\00:14:36.50
decided to enter
the way of suffering...
00:14:36.54\00:14:40.01
My wife and I, not too long ago,
00:14:40.04\00:14:41.64
walked the Via Dolorosa,
00:14:41.68\00:14:43.61
there in the courts of
the walls of Jerusalem,
00:14:43.65\00:14:46.61
we walked the Via Dolorosa,
00:14:46.65\00:14:48.58
and we saw as it were
people carrying crosses,
00:14:48.62\00:14:50.89
but I thought to myself,
00:14:50.92\00:14:52.59
"They're carrying a wooden cross
00:14:52.62\00:14:55.52
but Jesus carried the cross
of the world on His shoulder."
00:14:55.56\00:15:00.73
The cross of every
suffering human being.
00:15:00.76\00:15:04.20
Wherever sin had abounded,
00:15:04.23\00:15:06.60
His grace much more abounded.
00:15:06.63\00:15:08.90
Jesus carried my
sin and your sin.
00:15:08.94\00:15:11.84
He carried sin that
was yet to be perpetrated,
00:15:11.87\00:15:15.34
and He carried sin that
was thousands of years old.
00:15:15.38\00:15:18.18
And He took it to the cross.
00:15:18.21\00:15:19.78
"I have power to lay it down,
00:15:19.81\00:15:22.92
and I have power
to take it again."
00:15:22.95\00:15:25.75
But the question I ask is
00:15:25.79\00:15:27.12
how can you take
life from one who is life?
00:15:27.16\00:15:31.73
We are told again in
John 1:4, "In Him was life,
00:15:31.76\00:15:34.60
and the life was
the light of men."
00:15:34.63\00:15:36.83
In Christ is life,
00:15:36.87\00:15:39.83
original,
un-borrowed, and un-derived.
00:15:39.87\00:15:45.74
Let me make it clear
00:15:45.77\00:15:47.24
for those of
you that are holding
00:15:47.28\00:15:48.61
your amens to the end.
00:15:48.64\00:15:50.15
Let me make it
clear, nobody created Jesus,
00:15:50.18\00:15:53.11
He is the
Creator. Come on, say amen.
00:15:53.15\00:15:55.45
Nobody decided to
give Him life, He is life.
00:15:55.48\00:15:59.55
So when this
superhuman came to the earth,
00:15:59.59\00:16:03.43
when this atomic beginning
of all existence decided
00:16:03.46\00:16:09.06
to tune His power
down to come down here.
00:16:09.10\00:16:13.44
Can you imagine
plugging a shaver
00:16:13.47\00:16:16.47
into an atomic power plant?
00:16:16.50\00:16:20.84
It'll fry not only
the shaver but you too.
00:16:20.88\00:16:24.08
All the power harbored
in Jesus could annihilate
00:16:24.11\00:16:28.28
the world had He
not tuned it down
00:16:28.32\00:16:30.92
when He touched this planet.
00:16:30.95\00:16:32.75
He came through
the delivery system
00:16:32.79\00:16:34.92
of a humble girl.
00:16:34.96\00:16:36.76
He tuned it way down so
that her flesh would not be
00:16:36.79\00:16:39.56
consumed by His divinity.
00:16:39.59\00:16:41.20
What a gift? Amen.
00:16:41.23\00:16:43.53
And even though He
looked to be a helpless babe,
00:16:43.57\00:16:45.43
He had the secret
service of the angels of heaven.
00:16:45.47\00:16:49.20
Somebody said they
didn't see how He came,
00:16:49.24\00:16:51.47
he came through the
backdoor of Jerusalem,
00:16:51.51\00:16:53.58
but He came so that
one day we could go through
00:16:53.61\00:16:55.24
the front door of
the New Jerusalem.
00:16:55.28\00:16:57.31
Amen.
00:16:57.35\00:16:59.01
This baby did not have
His beginning in Bethlehem,
00:16:59.05\00:17:03.89
He is from
everlasting to everlasting.
00:17:03.92\00:17:06.65
He was before the earth was.
00:17:06.69\00:17:08.69
He later on would say,
00:17:08.72\00:17:10.06
"Father, glorify
Me with the glory
00:17:10.09\00:17:11.59
that we had
before the world was."
00:17:11.63\00:17:14.70
And how I wish today, in
more churches and more pulpits,
00:17:14.73\00:17:17.80
the gospel of
the resurrected Lord
00:17:17.83\00:17:20.40
would be preached
and not tradition.
00:17:20.44\00:17:22.60
I believe that when the
power of Christ is proclaimed,
00:17:22.64\00:17:25.81
when the veracity of the
price He paid for our redemption
00:17:25.84\00:17:29.08
is accounted, we will understand
00:17:29.11\00:17:31.15
that everybody alive
00:17:31.18\00:17:35.25
has the freedom to
partake of eternal life
00:17:35.28\00:17:37.99
if they would
simply come to Jesus.
00:17:38.02\00:17:40.26
Amen.
00:17:40.29\00:17:41.62
It doesn't make sense.
00:17:41.66\00:17:43.32
In Christ was life un-borrowed,
00:17:43.36\00:17:47.00
original, and un-derived.
00:17:47.03\00:17:48.60
Didn't get it from anybody else,
00:17:48.63\00:17:51.43
He got it from Himself.
00:17:51.47\00:17:53.47
Jesus became what we was not.
00:17:53.50\00:17:55.57
Jesus became what He was not
00:17:55.60\00:17:57.97
so that one day we
could become what we are not.
00:17:58.01\00:18:01.21
The Apostle Paul says
in 2 Corinthians 5:21,
00:18:01.24\00:18:04.51
"He made Him who knew
no sin to be sin for us
00:18:04.55\00:18:07.58
that we might become
00:18:07.62\00:18:08.95
the
righteousness of God in Him."
00:18:08.98\00:18:10.75
Do you know...
00:18:10.79\00:18:12.65
Do you know that there
is no righteousness in us?
00:18:12.69\00:18:17.19
Yes.
00:18:17.23\00:18:18.56
Every good deed
portrayed in our lives
00:18:18.59\00:18:20.96
comes from the
presence of Christ
00:18:21.00\00:18:23.10
working through
a vessel of flesh.
00:18:23.13\00:18:25.80
There is no good in us.
00:18:25.83\00:18:28.10
The unfortunate thing
about this world is they say,
00:18:28.14\00:18:30.81
"Oh, you have a good heart."
00:18:30.84\00:18:32.17
There is no good heart.
00:18:32.21\00:18:34.81
As Jesus said to
the rich young ruler,
00:18:34.84\00:18:36.34
"There is none good but one."
00:18:36.38\00:18:39.61
There's no good in any of us.
00:18:39.65\00:18:41.52
My hope today lies in
the righteous character
00:18:41.55\00:18:44.65
of the risen Lord,
00:18:44.69\00:18:46.96
not in my ability to
follow a set of rules.
00:18:46.99\00:18:49.86
Even the rules would
lead me to a place of abandon,
00:18:49.89\00:18:54.10
frustration,
without the power of Christ
00:18:54.13\00:18:56.97
reigning in our
lives and in our hearts.
00:18:57.00\00:19:01.47
"He made Him who knew
no sin to become sin for us
00:19:01.50\00:19:04.84
that we might become
00:19:04.87\00:19:06.94
the
righteousness of God in Him."
00:19:06.98\00:19:11.11
Amen.
00:19:11.15\00:19:12.58
You got to
understand what that means.
00:19:12.61\00:19:14.55
That means you cannot
walk through the gates
00:19:14.58\00:19:17.35
of the New Jerusalem
saying, "I'll overcome one day."
00:19:17.39\00:19:21.69
We got to overcome down here.
00:19:21.72\00:19:23.86
We could overcome by
the blood of the Lamb,
00:19:23.89\00:19:25.89
by the word of our testimony,
but we overcome down here
00:19:25.93\00:19:29.50
before we get up there.
00:19:29.53\00:19:32.33
So this thing called
religion is not sufficient,
00:19:32.37\00:19:34.94
it's the Christianity of Christ,
00:19:34.97\00:19:36.94
it's the power resident in Him
00:19:36.97\00:19:39.91
that causes fallen humanity
00:19:39.94\00:19:42.38
to get up in
the morning and say,
00:19:42.41\00:19:43.81
"I am a son of God.
00:19:43.85\00:19:45.58
I am a child of the King."
00:19:45.61\00:19:47.45
Amen, somebody? Amen.
00:19:47.48\00:19:49.28
We've got hope
00:19:49.32\00:19:51.52
because He went into
the tomb and He came out.
00:19:51.55\00:19:54.36
You see, Satan
planned to bring Jesus down,
00:19:54.39\00:19:57.69
but heaven
planned to lift Him up.
00:19:57.73\00:19:59.93
And why?
00:19:59.96\00:20:01.30
John 12:32, notice
what the Bible says,
00:20:01.33\00:20:04.20
"And if I be
lifted up from the earth,
00:20:04.23\00:20:07.57
will draw all men unto Me."
00:20:07.60\00:20:10.97
By the way, do you know that
00:20:11.01\00:20:12.34
that's a fail-proof
evangelistic method?
00:20:12.37\00:20:14.94
If we would simply lift up
Jesus, let me say that again,
00:20:14.98\00:20:18.31
if we would
simply lift up Jesus,
00:20:18.35\00:20:20.72
more people will
see Him rather than us
00:20:20.75\00:20:25.02
if we would simply lift Him up.
00:20:25.05\00:20:27.19
In this fallen world,
people need to hear about hope,
00:20:27.22\00:20:31.19
people need to
know that there is hope
00:20:31.23\00:20:33.06
beyond the
failures of their lives.
00:20:33.09\00:20:35.60
People need to
know that there is hope
00:20:35.63\00:20:37.30
beyond the
destitution of their homes.
00:20:37.33\00:20:39.93
People need to know that
00:20:39.97\00:20:41.64
our failures are not
our permanent identity.
00:20:41.67\00:20:44.14
Come on, say amen. Amen.
00:20:44.17\00:20:46.07
We need to know
00:20:46.11\00:20:47.44
that, in Christ, our
past can be wiped away,
00:20:47.48\00:20:50.08
our present can be redeemed,
00:20:50.11\00:20:52.15
and our future can make sense.
00:20:52.18\00:20:55.62
We need to know
00:20:55.65\00:20:56.99
that when death says,
"This is your final breath."
00:20:57.02\00:21:00.36
God says, "No,
00:21:00.39\00:21:01.92
I will bring you forth
perfect from your dusty bed."
00:21:01.96\00:21:06.63
There's a day when everybody
who lived and died in Christ
00:21:06.66\00:21:09.80
will come forth in
the first resurrection.
00:21:09.83\00:21:12.50
Satan cannot
prevent the saints of God
00:21:12.53\00:21:15.14
from coming forth perfected.
00:21:15.17\00:21:18.97
That's what Jesus did for me.
00:21:19.01\00:21:20.61
That's what Jesus did for us.
00:21:20.64\00:21:22.08
That's what
Jesus did for my mother
00:21:22.11\00:21:23.88
and for my stepmother
00:21:23.91\00:21:25.25
and for my friends
that are dying in Christ.
00:21:25.28\00:21:28.28
Every one of us has a hope
00:21:28.32\00:21:29.88
beyond the dusty
beds of the grave.
00:21:29.92\00:21:32.79
So when you say goodbye to
me, please don't say, so long
00:21:32.82\00:21:35.46
'cause give me
time, I'll be out.
00:21:35.49\00:21:37.83
Amen somebody?
00:21:37.86\00:21:39.19
Amen.
00:21:39.23\00:21:41.76
"If I be lifted
up from the earth,
00:21:41.80\00:21:44.10
I will draw all
men unto Myself."
00:21:44.13\00:21:47.17
That's why today,
00:21:47.20\00:21:48.54
I remember the words
of Isaiah the Prophet,
00:21:48.57\00:21:50.17
Isaiah 53:5, who did He die for?
00:21:50.21\00:21:54.51
"But He was wounded
for our transgressions.
00:21:54.54\00:21:57.18
He was bruised
for our iniquities."
00:21:57.21\00:22:00.35
So when you get beside yourself
00:22:00.38\00:22:01.82
and start pointing
out other people's sin,
00:22:01.85\00:22:03.49
find yourself a mirror
and point out your own.
00:22:03.52\00:22:05.82
Amen.
00:22:05.85\00:22:07.26
"The chastisement of
our peace was upon Him,
00:22:07.29\00:22:09.46
and by His
stripes we are healed."
00:22:09.49\00:22:13.40
Amen.
00:22:13.43\00:22:14.76
You know what the
word healed means?
00:22:14.80\00:22:16.46
It doesn't just
mean the wound is closed.
00:22:16.50\00:22:20.70
It means there is no
wound that we can experience
00:22:20.74\00:22:24.74
that is permanent as eternity.
00:22:24.77\00:22:27.88
You see, in
eternity, the only one
00:22:27.91\00:22:29.61
that's going to bear
wound is Christ, not us.
00:22:29.64\00:22:32.95
There will be no signs of death.
00:22:32.98\00:22:36.65
There will be no
residual of the heartaches
00:22:36.69\00:22:40.59
that we bore in this life.
00:22:40.62\00:22:43.69
There will be no memory
00:22:43.73\00:22:45.36
of the disappointment we face.
00:22:45.39\00:22:47.93
I know you're stunned.
00:22:51.00\00:22:53.40
Silence is not a bad
thing if you're stunned.
00:22:53.44\00:22:56.91
There will be no more
records of murder, and crime,
00:22:56.94\00:23:00.44
and violence in
the New Jerusalem.
00:23:00.48\00:23:04.88
Healed
permanently, no reversal of sin,
00:23:04.91\00:23:08.42
it will not rise
up a second time.
00:23:08.45\00:23:10.79
"The chastisement of
our peace is upon Him,
00:23:16.12\00:23:19.86
and by His stripes..."
00:23:19.89\00:23:21.63
together, "we are healed."
00:23:21.66\00:23:26.40
Nobody could expunge
my record like Jesus.
00:23:26.43\00:23:29.77
Nobody could hit the
delete button like Jesus.
00:23:29.80\00:23:33.64
Nobody could say, "John,
from the time you were born
00:23:33.68\00:23:36.24
until this moment,
it's all forgotten.
00:23:36.28\00:23:38.61
It's all thrown away.
00:23:38.65\00:23:40.05
I've put it in the
vault of forgetfulness,
00:23:40.08\00:23:42.25
and I'm not even
going to open it.
00:23:42.28\00:23:43.62
I've lost the number."
00:23:43.65\00:23:47.36
How much He loves us?
00:23:47.39\00:23:48.79
But I must say,
00:23:51.79\00:23:53.13
His betrayers
would have been better
00:23:53.16\00:23:54.50
not to have been born.
00:23:54.53\00:23:57.03
Mark 14:21, the Bible says,
00:23:57.07\00:23:58.83
"Woe to the man by whom
the Son of Man is betrayed!"
00:23:58.87\00:24:02.10
You see, one of my
aims, I read this text,
00:24:02.14\00:24:04.87
and I know it refers to Judas,
00:24:04.91\00:24:06.78
but I've determined in my life
00:24:06.81\00:24:09.48
that I don't want to live a life
00:24:09.51\00:24:11.18
to betray the name of Jesus.
00:24:11.21\00:24:14.35
This betrayal is far greater
than just what Judas did.
00:24:14.38\00:24:17.05
"It would have
been good for that man
00:24:17.09\00:24:18.95
if he had never been born."
00:24:18.99\00:24:22.92
The newness of
the death of Jesus
00:24:22.96\00:24:24.59
was echoed and reechoed
00:24:24.63\00:24:26.29
through the limitless
regions of unfallen worlds.
00:24:26.33\00:24:29.70
The message the
Passover Lamb was slain,
00:24:29.73\00:24:32.33
the bread of life was broken,
00:24:32.37\00:24:34.20
the blood of the
covenant was poured out.
00:24:34.24\00:24:37.97
And at last...
00:24:38.01\00:24:39.47
at last, Jesus is at rest,
00:24:39.51\00:24:43.75
the long day of shame
and torture has ended.
00:24:43.78\00:24:47.12
Finally, Jesus is freed
from the persecuting hands
00:24:47.15\00:24:51.39
of the Roman government
00:24:51.42\00:24:53.86
and from the
recalcitrant rejection
00:24:53.89\00:24:56.36
of the pharisaical
Jews, scribes, and Pharisees,
00:24:56.39\00:25:00.23
finally, the long day of
shame and torture has ended.
00:25:00.26\00:25:03.73
The trailing rays
of the setting sun
00:25:03.77\00:25:05.67
bow their head on the
horizon as Jesus is shut up
00:25:05.70\00:25:09.00
in Joseph's tomb where
never a man laid before.
00:25:09.04\00:25:14.24
Finally, the
crowd has dispersed.
00:25:14.28\00:25:16.28
The Son of God
00:25:16.31\00:25:17.65
lays in the tranquility
of a perfect setting.
00:25:17.68\00:25:20.92
His work completed,
His hands folded in peace.
00:25:20.95\00:25:25.79
And Jesus, also even
in the hours of His death,
00:25:25.82\00:25:28.92
rested through the
sacred hours of the Sabbath.
00:25:28.96\00:25:32.26
Come on, say amen. Amen.
00:25:32.29\00:25:34.46
Because He told a
woman, concerning the woman
00:25:34.50\00:25:36.87
that followed Jesus, the
Bible says in Luke 23:56,
00:25:36.90\00:25:41.10
"Then they returned
00:25:41.14\00:25:42.47
and prepared
spices and fragrant oils.
00:25:42.50\00:25:44.87
And they rested on the Sabbath
according to the commandment."
00:25:44.91\00:25:49.74
Why did they do that?
00:25:49.78\00:25:51.58
Because Jesus did
it. Why did Jesus do it?
00:25:51.61\00:25:54.25
Because He
commanded for them to do it.
00:25:54.28\00:25:55.92
You see, it's so good to know
00:25:55.95\00:25:57.29
that when you live
the Christian life,
00:25:57.32\00:25:58.65
you live a life in
harmony with what Jesus did.
00:25:58.69\00:26:01.76
If you have any
question about anything you do,
00:26:01.79\00:26:04.89
you'll never be lost
if you do what Jesus did.
00:26:04.93\00:26:09.33
Do it because He did it.
00:26:09.36\00:26:12.63
Jesus did what He
asked His followers to do.
00:26:12.67\00:26:16.81
"If you love me," come
on," keep My commandments.
00:26:16.84\00:26:21.31
And My
commandments are not burdensome,
00:26:21.34\00:26:22.81
the Sabbath is not
just for the Jews."
00:26:22.84\00:26:24.25
It was not nailed to the cross.
00:26:24.28\00:26:25.61
It's not a long
forgotten thing of the past,
00:26:25.65\00:26:28.38
but it is the
cadence of the perfection
00:26:28.42\00:26:30.59
of the government of God,
a reminder that we can pause
00:26:30.62\00:26:33.79
from our labors and
rest in the secure reflection
00:26:33.82\00:26:37.89
of what it means to
spend time with our God,
00:26:37.93\00:26:40.10
not a minute, not an
hour, but an entire day.
00:26:40.13\00:26:44.07
How much does
our world need rest?
00:26:44.10\00:26:45.83
Come on.
00:26:45.87\00:26:47.20
How much does this
fast-paced society,
00:26:47.24\00:26:50.84
even in the context
00:26:50.87\00:26:52.37
of the Greenfields
of Southern Illinois
00:26:52.41\00:26:54.88
and the mellowing
hills of Thompsonville?
00:26:54.91\00:26:58.91
If you could call them that.
00:26:58.95\00:27:01.75
Every one of us needs rest.
00:27:01.78\00:27:03.92
And the Lord knew that,
so He gave us the Sabbath.
00:27:03.95\00:27:07.02
"The Sabbath was made for
man, not man for the Sabbath."
00:27:07.06\00:27:09.72
Mark 2:27 and 28,
00:27:09.76\00:27:11.69
"Therefore the Son of Man
is Lord also of the Sabbath."
00:27:11.73\00:27:15.40
Gave them a gift, whenever
the Sabbath comes around,
00:27:15.43\00:27:18.43
my body says, "John,
even you could rest."
00:27:18.47\00:27:20.60
Amen, pastor?
00:27:20.64\00:27:22.10
Even pastors could rest.
00:27:22.14\00:27:25.11
I heard a pastor one day say...
00:27:25.14\00:27:26.47
I forgot the television program,
00:27:26.51\00:27:28.14
I don't want to label
anything insignificantly,
00:27:28.18\00:27:30.78
could have been ignorance,
but somebody once said,
00:27:30.81\00:27:32.78
I heard a pastor say, "Well,
the Sabbath really can't be
00:27:32.81\00:27:35.38
a day of rest
because we work so hard.
00:27:35.42\00:27:37.19
God doesn't want
us to keep the Sabbath
00:27:37.22\00:27:38.59
because the Sabbath is the
day that I work the hardest."
00:27:38.62\00:27:41.59
If you call preaching work,
00:27:41.62\00:27:44.83
then you don't
know what work is.
00:27:44.86\00:27:46.93
It's a joy to preach
the message about Jesus.
00:27:46.96\00:27:50.27
This ain't work.
00:27:50.30\00:27:52.17
To get paid for
this is a privilege.
00:27:52.20\00:27:55.37
This ain't work, this is a joy.
00:27:55.40\00:27:59.84
The only thing I
want to get paid for...
00:27:59.87\00:28:03.78
Well, I can't even
ask for pay for that
00:28:03.81\00:28:05.15
'cause I can't even buy that.
00:28:05.18\00:28:09.72
Everything that I
receive from the Lord is a gift
00:28:09.75\00:28:14.69
of His almighty grace.
00:28:14.72\00:28:17.06
So when I walk through
00:28:17.09\00:28:18.43
the gates into
the New Jerusalem,
00:28:18.46\00:28:20.06
I'm not going to ask,
"How much this costs?"
00:28:20.10\00:28:23.23
because the lamb will be
standing before us to remind us
00:28:23.26\00:28:27.94
through the
ceaseless ages of eternity
00:28:27.97\00:28:31.31
the price of our redemption.
00:28:31.34\00:28:34.88
But I got to change the scene,
00:28:34.91\00:28:36.28
what a difference a
day makes, 24 little hours,
00:28:36.31\00:28:39.61
I got to borrow the
phrase from that old song
00:28:39.65\00:28:41.78
"What a Difference a
Day Makes", 24 little hours.
00:28:41.82\00:28:45.75
You see, it's amazing
00:28:45.79\00:28:47.12
how the rising sun
chases away darkness.
00:28:47.16\00:28:49.56
All of a sudden,
00:28:49.59\00:28:51.13
the Jewish leaders remember
the declaration of divinity.
00:28:51.16\00:28:54.40
What did Jesus say
in John 2:18 and 19?
00:28:54.43\00:28:57.97
When the Jews asked
Jesus, "What sign do You show us
00:28:58.00\00:29:01.27
since You do these things?"
00:29:01.30\00:29:02.74
And Jesus
answered and said to them,
00:29:02.77\00:29:05.11
"Destroy this temple,
00:29:05.14\00:29:06.71
and in three days,
I will raise it up."
00:29:06.74\00:29:10.38
Well, let me make the point,
00:29:10.41\00:29:11.75
the day to raise
it up finally arrived.
00:29:11.78\00:29:14.42
The day to raise up that holy,
00:29:14.45\00:29:17.72
perfect temple finally arrives.
00:29:17.75\00:29:21.76
And they could
not comprehend it.
00:29:21.79\00:29:24.66
They were
interrogating the Life Giver,
00:29:24.69\00:29:27.90
and they could not comprehend
that the very one that came
00:29:27.93\00:29:31.57
to save them was the very
one that they had rejected.
00:29:31.60\00:29:35.00
Well, I love these words,
"The night of the first day
00:29:35.04\00:29:37.11
of the week had
worn slowly away.
00:29:37.14\00:29:39.17
The darkest hour, just
before daybreak, had come.
00:29:39.21\00:29:42.84
Christ, still a
prisoner in His narrow tomb.
00:29:42.88\00:29:47.02
The great stone
was in its place."
00:29:47.05\00:29:49.22
I'm reading from
the book Desire of Ages,
00:29:49.25\00:29:51.69
where the Library of
Congress, hear me carefully,
00:29:51.72\00:29:54.82
the Library of Congress
has categorized this book
00:29:54.86\00:29:59.19
as the best book ever written
about the life of Christ.
00:29:59.23\00:30:04.60
You didn't just
say amen, did you?
00:30:04.63\00:30:06.37
Amen. Amen.
00:30:06.40\00:30:08.40
If the Library of
Congress, a secular institution,
00:30:08.44\00:30:11.51
can recognize the
veracity and the beauty
00:30:11.54\00:30:15.04
of the
inspiration, why should we not?
00:30:15.08\00:30:17.51
Amen.
00:30:17.55\00:30:18.88
I echo the words again,
00:30:18.91\00:30:20.25
the great stone
was in its place.
00:30:20.28\00:30:22.15
The Roman seal was unbroken.
00:30:22.18\00:30:23.75
The Roman guards
were keeping their watch.
00:30:23.79\00:30:28.59
But they were unseen watchers.
00:30:28.62\00:30:31.19
Hosts of evil angels
were gathered about the place.
00:30:31.23\00:30:34.73
Had it been possible,
the prince of darkness
00:30:34.76\00:30:38.77
with his apostate army
would have kept forever sealed
00:30:38.80\00:30:43.71
the tomb that
held the Son of God.
00:30:43.74\00:30:47.88
But I want to say
this, even in death,
00:30:47.91\00:30:50.78
Jesus had secret
service protection.
00:30:50.81\00:30:55.15
Continuing in
that very famous book,
00:30:55.18\00:30:57.25
"A heavenly host
surrounded the sepulcher."
00:30:57.29\00:31:00.32
Evil angels on one side,
holy angels on the other,
00:31:00.36\00:31:04.83
waiting for the moment
00:31:04.86\00:31:06.59
to call the Prince
of Life back to life.
00:31:06.63\00:31:12.70
"A heavenly host
surrounded the sepulcher.
00:31:12.73\00:31:14.84
Angels that excel in
strength were guarding the tomb
00:31:14.87\00:31:18.04
and waiting to
welcome the Prince of Life."
00:31:18.07\00:31:22.18
Can you see it?
00:31:22.21\00:31:24.01
If the eyes can be
peeled back to see what happens
00:31:24.05\00:31:27.62
in the spiritual realm,
you can see angels even now
00:31:27.65\00:31:32.02
in this room keeping
watch over the people of God,
00:31:32.05\00:31:34.79
for the Word of God
says, "The angel of the Lord
00:31:34.82\00:31:38.13
encampeth around about those
00:31:38.16\00:31:39.93
that fear Him and deliver them."
00:31:39.96\00:31:41.80
I believe that.
00:31:41.83\00:31:43.53
I've been in situations
where there's no explanation
00:31:43.57\00:31:45.77
why I'm still alive.
00:31:45.80\00:31:47.64
I've been on planes,
Shelley, I've been on planes,
00:31:47.67\00:31:50.37
Pastor CA, where I
know that had it not been
00:31:50.41\00:31:53.34
for the protecting hand of God,
00:31:53.38\00:31:54.84
it wasn't the skill of the pilot
00:31:54.88\00:31:56.81
but the grace of God.
00:31:56.85\00:31:59.58
I've been in cars, in places,
00:31:59.61\00:32:01.65
my life should
have been snatched away,
00:32:01.68\00:32:03.49
the streets of New York,
00:32:03.52\00:32:04.85
and I know that it
was not my skillful choice
00:32:04.89\00:32:06.65
of the street I went down,
00:32:06.69\00:32:08.29
but it was the protecting
hand of the holy angels.
00:32:08.32\00:32:11.63
I perpetrated sin in my life
that I know nobody could have
00:32:11.66\00:32:15.80
delivered me from but
the holy angels of God.
00:32:15.83\00:32:20.90
So this morning, I speak
not of what may be speculated,
00:32:20.94\00:32:25.44
but I speak of
my own experience.
00:32:25.47\00:32:27.38
That's why the
Bible says they overcame
00:32:27.41\00:32:29.44
by the word of their testimony.
00:32:29.48\00:32:31.31
Can I testify today?
00:32:31.35\00:32:34.02
I serve a God who
knows how to deliver,
00:32:34.05\00:32:36.38
but the God who
knows how to deliver
00:32:36.42\00:32:39.52
was about to be
delivered Himself.
00:32:39.55\00:32:41.79
The angels of God were waiting
to give the declaring call,
00:32:41.82\00:32:46.96
"Son of Man, come forth,"
00:32:47.00\00:32:48.73
but then all of a sudden,
in the kingdom of heaven,
00:32:48.76\00:32:51.77
operation
countdown is initiated,
00:32:51.80\00:32:54.80
like an
enthusiastic football announcer,
00:32:54.84\00:32:57.27
heaven sounds the two-minute
warning, stick with me,
00:32:57.31\00:33:01.28
in just two more minutes,
00:33:01.31\00:33:02.64
the King of glory will
be declared victorious.
00:33:02.68\00:33:04.85
Stay with me, in
just two more minutes,
00:33:04.88\00:33:07.08
the chains of death
will be forever broken,
00:33:07.12\00:33:09.65
in just two more minutes,
00:33:09.68\00:33:11.85
the risen
Savior will sing again.
00:33:11.89\00:33:13.72
And what do you say? Amen.
00:33:13.76\00:33:15.46
Heaven was in cadence
with the plan of salvation.
00:33:15.49\00:33:21.50
In just two more
minutes, the hour of darkness
00:33:21.53\00:33:23.37
will be replaced
with the hour of light,
00:33:23.40\00:33:25.23
bowed heads will
be forever raised,
00:33:25.27\00:33:27.37
sadness will
give way to exultation
00:33:27.40\00:33:30.07
and dormant graves
will be ripped open
00:33:30.11\00:33:33.38
never to be inhabited again.
00:33:33.41\00:33:37.01
But I continue
in my favorite book
00:33:37.05\00:33:39.35
outside of the Bible.
00:33:39.38\00:33:41.15
Clothed with
the splendor of God,
00:33:41.18\00:33:44.55
this angel left
the heavenly courts.
00:33:44.59\00:33:47.32
The bright beams of
God's glory went before Him
00:33:47.36\00:33:49.82
and illuminated His pathway.
00:33:49.86\00:33:52.73
Let me tell you the way
that God showed it to me,
00:33:52.76\00:33:54.96
like a Polish stealth bomber,
00:33:55.00\00:33:57.47
Gabriel positions
his majestic frame
00:33:57.50\00:34:00.04
on the launching
pad of the holy city.
00:34:00.07\00:34:03.87
He then leans forward
00:34:03.91\00:34:05.27
and catapults himself
into heaven's rescue mission.
00:34:05.31\00:34:08.84
He tucks his wings
close to his perfect frame
00:34:08.88\00:34:11.15
to minimize the
turbulence, and all of a sudden,
00:34:11.18\00:34:13.72
the planets move out of
the way for God is sending
00:34:13.75\00:34:17.42
the Angel Gabriel
to remove the stone
00:34:17.45\00:34:20.39
that our risen
Savior may come forth.
00:34:20.42\00:34:22.42
Amen.
00:34:22.46\00:34:25.19
The Bible says in
Matthew 28, look with it,
00:34:25.23\00:34:27.20
look there with
me, Matthew 28:2-4.
00:34:27.23\00:34:30.37
You guys are team for me.
00:34:30.40\00:34:34.04
Look at Matthew
28:2-4, look at this,
00:34:34.07\00:34:36.91
how the Bible describes
00:34:36.94\00:34:38.27
the beauty of this resurrection.
00:34:38.31\00:34:40.58
The Bible says, "And
behold, there was a..."
00:34:40.61\00:34:43.75
What? "Great earthquake."
00:34:43.78\00:34:46.25
I believe that
was the turbulence
00:34:46.28\00:34:49.08
of the angel of God
breaking the sound barrier.
00:34:49.12\00:34:55.22
I've heard fighter jets pass
over the airport in St. Louis,
00:34:55.26\00:34:59.03
and you see them,
then you hear them.
00:34:59.06\00:35:01.83
I believe that was the
angel leaving in his wake,
00:35:01.86\00:35:04.33
a signature
that "I'm on my way."
00:35:04.37\00:35:06.84
And I could imagine in
the tomb, the Lord said,
00:35:06.87\00:35:09.14
"I hear him coming."
00:35:09.17\00:35:13.58
I apologize for my imagination,
00:35:13.61\00:35:16.81
but I believe that even
in His death, He was dead,
00:35:16.85\00:35:22.38
He died in humanity,
but you can't kill divinity.
00:35:22.42\00:35:29.06
"There was a great
earthquake for an angel of Lord
00:35:29.09\00:35:31.46
descended from heaven and came
00:35:31.49\00:35:33.33
and rolled back the stone
from the door and sat on it."
00:35:33.36\00:35:39.93
I don't know how
you could miss that?
00:35:39.97\00:35:43.41
How you could get so
comfortable to fall asleep
00:35:43.44\00:35:45.51
on the angel sat on it.
00:35:45.54\00:35:49.01
The angel sat on it.
00:35:49.04\00:35:53.35
The Angel Gabriel rolled away
the stone as it was a pebble,
00:35:53.38\00:35:58.42
and he sat on it.
00:35:58.45\00:36:01.62
He said, "I need a place to sit.
00:36:01.66\00:36:04.36
Let me just sit on the stone
00:36:04.39\00:36:07.10
that held my
Lord on the inside."
00:36:07.13\00:36:09.13
He sat on it.
00:36:09.16\00:36:10.77
That's a whole sermon
right there, he sat on it.
00:36:10.80\00:36:14.04
Amen?
00:36:14.07\00:36:15.40
You see, it took
all the Roman guards
00:36:15.44\00:36:17.41
with all the grub
they had for the morning
00:36:17.44\00:36:19.67
to put that in
place, and Gabriel said,
00:36:19.71\00:36:22.21
"Excuse me," and he sat on it.
00:36:22.24\00:36:28.32
The Bible describes,
00:36:28.35\00:36:29.68
"His countenance
was like lightning
00:36:29.72\00:36:31.75
and his clothing
as white as snow.
00:36:31.79\00:36:33.79
And the guards
shook for fear of him
00:36:33.82\00:36:36.93
and became like dead men."
00:36:36.96\00:36:42.03
And I go back to
my favorite book,
00:36:42.06\00:36:46.30
"As He comes
forth in majestic glory,
00:36:46.33\00:36:50.31
the angels bow low in
adoration before the Redeemer
00:36:50.34\00:36:53.98
and welcome Him
with songs of praise."
00:36:54.01\00:36:56.21
But what about
the Roman soldiers?
00:36:56.24\00:36:57.95
"Brave soldiers that
never had been afraid
00:36:57.98\00:37:00.52
of human power
are now as captives
00:37:00.55\00:37:02.82
taken without sword or spear.
00:37:02.85\00:37:05.55
The face they look upon
00:37:05.59\00:37:06.92
is not the face
of a mortal warrior.
00:37:06.96\00:37:08.86
It is the face of the
mightiest of the Lord's hosts.
00:37:08.89\00:37:13.06
This messenger is he
who fills the position
00:37:13.09\00:37:16.30
from which Satan fell."
00:37:16.33\00:37:18.03
And I give the name, Gabriel.
00:37:18.07\00:37:20.57
"It is he who on
the hills of Bethlehem
00:37:20.60\00:37:23.30
proclaimed Christ's
birth to the lowly shepherds."
00:37:23.34\00:37:26.24
It is he who showed up at
Mary's apartment and said...
00:37:26.27\00:37:31.98
"Blessed.
00:37:32.01\00:37:34.05
Hail, you're
about to have a baby."
00:37:34.08\00:37:37.72
The earth
trembles at his approach,
00:37:37.75\00:37:40.16
the hosts of darkness flee,
and as he rolls away the stone,
00:37:40.19\00:37:44.49
heaven seems to
come down to the earth.
00:37:44.53\00:37:47.90
The soldiers see him removing
the stone as he would a pebble
00:37:47.93\00:37:54.54
and hears him say,
"Son of God, come forth,
00:37:54.57\00:37:58.44
Thy Father called Thee."
00:37:58.47\00:38:01.64
And Jesus comes
forward with the words,
00:38:01.68\00:38:04.11
"I am the
resurrection and the life."
00:38:04.15\00:38:07.12
Amen.
00:38:07.15\00:38:09.48
"And I can proclaim it today,
00:38:09.52\00:38:12.45
I am the
resurrection and the life."
00:38:12.49\00:38:16.69
And Desire of Ages
said, "At the death of Jesus,
00:38:16.73\00:38:18.96
the soldiers had beheld
the earth wrapped in darkness
00:38:18.99\00:38:21.70
at midday, but
at the resurrection,
00:38:21.73\00:38:24.07
they saw the brightness
00:38:24.10\00:38:25.43
of the angel
illuminating the night
00:38:25.47\00:38:28.10
and heard the
inhabitants of heaven
00:38:28.14\00:38:29.74
singing with joy and triumph."
00:38:29.77\00:38:33.68
What did Jesus say?
00:38:33.71\00:38:35.18
"I am He who lives
and was dead and behold,
00:38:35.21\00:38:37.55
I am alive forevermore."
00:38:37.58\00:38:39.51
And they heard a
jingling when Jesus came out,
00:38:39.55\00:38:42.12
and then He said,
00:38:42.15\00:38:43.49
"I've got the keys
of hell and the grave."
00:38:43.52\00:38:47.69
And they said, "He
went in there empty handed.
00:38:47.72\00:38:49.42
What is that is in His hand?"
00:38:49.46\00:38:51.06
He's got the key that everyone
00:38:51.09\00:38:52.93
who is laying in the graves
in Jesus will come out one day,
00:38:52.96\00:38:56.73
the keys of death and the grave.
00:38:56.77\00:39:00.57
To God be the glory.
00:39:00.60\00:39:04.91
Suddenly, the scene changes,
00:39:04.94\00:39:07.44
the Roman guards
don't remember Jesus,
00:39:07.48\00:39:10.38
they now behold
when Jesus showed up,
00:39:10.41\00:39:12.71
circumstances suddenly changed.
00:39:12.75\00:39:15.15
At the resurrection of
Jesus, everything changes.
00:39:15.18\00:39:18.92
You see, the child
you've been agonizing over
00:39:18.95\00:39:20.99
suddenly accepts Jesus,
00:39:21.02\00:39:23.02
the message you've been
studying suddenly makes sense,
00:39:23.06\00:39:25.99
the truth that you questioned
suddenly becomes clear,
00:39:26.03\00:39:29.26
the prayer that you've been
praying suddenly gets answered.
00:39:29.30\00:39:32.10
When Jesus shows up,
things change suddenly.
00:39:32.13\00:39:35.60
Can I get an amen?
00:39:35.64\00:39:37.41
The freedom
you've been searching for
00:39:37.44\00:39:38.87
suddenly comes your way,
00:39:38.91\00:39:40.31
the fear that shackled
you suddenly leaves your mind,
00:39:40.34\00:39:43.14
the burden that
you've been carrying
00:39:43.18\00:39:45.08
suddenly is lifted from you,
00:39:45.11\00:39:47.42
the storms that
have been battering you
00:39:47.45\00:39:49.85
suddenly pass over,
00:39:49.88\00:39:51.52
and the Jesus that
you thought you knew
00:39:51.55\00:39:54.26
suddenly becomes real.
00:39:54.29\00:39:56.73
That's what
happened when Jesus shows up.
00:39:56.76\00:39:58.53
And the reason for
this sudden change is this,
00:39:58.56\00:40:01.00
Jesus is not the I
was, He is the great I AM.
00:40:01.03\00:40:04.13
Amen.
00:40:04.17\00:40:06.40
"I am the alpha and the omega,
00:40:06.43\00:40:09.14
the beginning and the
end, the first and the last,
00:40:09.17\00:40:13.61
who is and who was
and who is to come,
00:40:13.64\00:40:17.25
the Almighty."
00:40:17.28\00:40:18.88
Amen.
00:40:18.91\00:40:20.42
We proclaim this message
00:40:20.45\00:40:22.88
not with timidity
but with assurance,
00:40:22.92\00:40:25.15
with blessed assurance.
00:40:25.19\00:40:27.26
And I pray this morning
that the death of Jesus Christ,
00:40:27.29\00:40:30.06
the knowledge
of His resurrection
00:40:30.09\00:40:31.83
does not become a ho-hum,
00:40:31.86\00:40:34.16
"let me yawn my way
through it" message,
00:40:34.20\00:40:36.87
but a "Thank You, Jesus
that even though the present
00:40:36.90\00:40:41.37
seems to be a moment of delay,
the promises of God are sure,
00:40:41.40\00:40:46.61
as sure as the tomb is
empty, Jesus is coming again."
00:40:46.64\00:40:51.08
Amen.
00:40:51.11\00:40:52.45
We were in Jerusalem there,
00:40:52.48\00:40:53.82
and we went to one
of the garden tombs.
00:40:53.85\00:40:55.72
They say that there are
five in the Middle East.
00:40:55.75\00:40:58.69
They say that there
are five, Matthew, five.
00:40:58.72\00:41:01.72
And the guy that was
giving us the tour, he said,
00:41:01.76\00:41:03.59
"Now there are five places that
have been presently designated
00:41:03.63\00:41:07.40
as the place
where Jesus rose from."
00:41:07.43\00:41:09.53
He said, "But I
think the truth about this
00:41:09.56\00:41:11.40
is He's risen
from the sixth place."
00:41:11.43\00:41:14.94
'Cause we really don't
know where He rose from.
00:41:14.97\00:41:17.34
He says, "So here's the point,
00:41:17.37\00:41:18.71
we're not concerned
about where He rose from,
00:41:18.74\00:41:20.71
we're glad that He rose."
00:41:20.74\00:41:22.08
Amen.
00:41:22.11\00:41:24.98
And we went in the
tomb, and they said,
00:41:25.01\00:41:26.51
"That's where
his body was laid."
00:41:26.55\00:41:27.88
But then again,
about a mile and half away,
00:41:27.92\00:41:30.09
somebody said
the same thing there,
00:41:30.12\00:41:31.79
and about two miles away,
they said the something there.
00:41:31.82\00:41:33.72
The fact of the
matter is they couldn't find
00:41:33.76\00:41:35.56
any one of these tombs
with the body of Jesus in it.
00:41:35.59\00:41:40.13
And here we are today
in 2018 AD, Anno Domini,
00:41:40.16\00:41:43.30
in the year of our
Lord, which means atheist,
00:41:43.33\00:41:45.83
agnostic,
believer or non-believer
00:41:45.87\00:41:48.54
must operate under the auspices
that we live in the reality
00:41:48.57\00:41:53.91
that the entire world is labeled
00:41:53.94\00:41:56.71
in the year of our Lord.
00:41:56.75\00:42:01.15
Not a dead Lord, not a Lord
that is hewn out of stone or
00:42:01.18\00:42:05.49
molded out of
melted gold and silver
00:42:05.52\00:42:08.22
but a Lord that liveth
and reigneth and behold
00:42:08.26\00:42:10.73
He's alive forevermore.
00:42:10.76\00:42:15.40
"Christ came forth
from the tomb glorified.
00:42:15.43\00:42:18.70
And the Roman guards beheld Him.
00:42:18.73\00:42:20.10
Their eyes were
riveted upon His face,
00:42:20.14\00:42:22.70
whom they had so
recently mocked and derided.
00:42:22.74\00:42:25.24
Can you imagine how they felt?
00:42:25.27\00:42:29.54
In this glorified
being, they beheld
00:42:29.58\00:42:31.88
the prisoner whom they
had seen in the judgment hall,
00:42:31.91\00:42:34.42
the one for whom they had
plaited a crown of thorns.
00:42:34.45\00:42:37.92
This was the One who had stood
00:42:37.95\00:42:40.02
unresisting
before Pilate and Herod,
00:42:40.06\00:42:43.32
His form lacerated
by the cruel scourge.
00:42:43.36\00:42:46.39
This was He who had
been nailed to the cross,
00:42:46.43\00:42:49.86
at whom the priests and rulers,
00:42:49.90\00:42:51.53
full of self-satisfaction,
had wagged their heads, saying,
00:42:51.57\00:42:55.10
'He saved others,
Himself, He cannot save.'
00:42:55.14\00:42:58.61
This was He who had been
laid in Joseph's new tomb.
00:42:58.64\00:43:02.44
The decree of heaven
had loosed the captive.'
00:43:02.48\00:43:05.08
And I love this,
00:43:05.11\00:43:06.45
'Mountains piled upon
mountains over the sepulcher
00:43:06.48\00:43:10.72
could not have prevented
Him from coming forth.'
00:43:10.75\00:43:15.62
" Get another
mountain, that's not big enough.
00:43:15.66\00:43:17.26
Get Mount Vesuvius,
that ain't going to work,
00:43:17.29\00:43:19.33
get Mount Everest,
that ain't going to work,
00:43:19.36\00:43:21.20
get Mount Kilimanjaro,
00:43:21.23\00:43:22.63
even the Mariana's
Trench turned upside down,
00:43:22.66\00:43:26.40
put on the tomb of
Jesus, could not keep Him in.
00:43:26.43\00:43:29.20
Amen.
00:43:29.24\00:43:31.37
Excuse me if I'm a
little enthusiastic today.
00:43:31.41\00:43:36.14
The angel's
message revives the hope
00:43:36.18\00:43:39.31
in the followers of Jesus,
00:43:39.35\00:43:40.95
Matthew 28:5 and 6,
00:43:40.98\00:43:43.18
"The angel answered
and said to the women,"
00:43:43.22\00:43:45.55
the faithful woman who in
His hour of greatest trial
00:43:45.59\00:43:50.23
didn't run like the men did.
00:43:50.26\00:43:52.26
Amen, ladies?
00:43:52.29\00:43:55.03
These women were not
hiding for fear of their lives.
00:43:55.06\00:43:58.47
The women were hanging around,
they stayed in the garden tomb.
00:43:58.50\00:44:02.17
They sat there in
patient expectation
00:44:02.20\00:44:05.07
that the promise
He made was sure,
00:44:05.11\00:44:07.84
and I could imagine if they had
an iWatch or an Android watch,
00:44:07.88\00:44:10.48
they might have said,
00:44:10.51\00:44:11.85
"The world's
got 15 more seconds.
00:44:11.88\00:44:15.98
He's coming out."
00:44:16.02\00:44:17.35
He didn't come
out after 72 hours,
00:44:17.39\00:44:20.36
He didn't come
out the fourth day,
00:44:20.39\00:44:22.42
He come out
within the third day.
00:44:22.46\00:44:25.23
There's some people that
argue over, "Was it 72 days?
00:44:25.26\00:44:28.36
Was it
Wednesday? Was it Thursday?
00:44:28.40\00:44:30.63
Did He go in on
Friday and come out Saturday?
00:44:30.67\00:44:32.90
How is it possible to have
00:44:32.93\00:44:34.57
72 hours from Friday to Sunday?"
00:44:34.60\00:44:37.01
You could argue
with the chronology,
00:44:37.04\00:44:38.57
I'm glad of the Christology.
00:44:38.61\00:44:41.24
He's not there.
00:44:41.28\00:44:43.45
You want to figure
out when He came out,
00:44:43.48\00:44:45.15
one disciple said,
"While it was yet dark."
00:44:45.18\00:44:47.28
The other one said, "At
the breaking of the day."
00:44:47.32\00:44:49.05
But all of them
said, "He ain't there."
00:44:49.08\00:44:52.22
Amen. Amen.
00:44:52.25\00:44:55.42
And the Christian
church today says to the world,
00:44:55.46\00:44:58.13
"He ain't there."
00:44:58.16\00:45:00.60
"Where is your Lord?"
00:45:00.63\00:45:02.03
"He ain't there."
00:45:02.06\00:45:03.73
There ain't no place on earth
that you can point to the tomb,
00:45:03.77\00:45:06.37
you can find Muhammad's tomb,
00:45:06.40\00:45:08.14
you can find Buddha's tomb,
00:45:08.17\00:45:09.70
you can find the great tombs
of all the leaders of the past,
00:45:09.74\00:45:12.47
but there's no tomb
with the name Jesus on it.
00:45:12.51\00:45:17.91
You know why?
00:45:17.95\00:45:19.98
The angel said to the woman,
00:45:20.02\00:45:21.68
"Do not be afraid,
for I know who you seek,
00:45:21.72\00:45:24.09
Jesus whom was crucified.
00:45:24.12\00:45:25.52
He is not here,
00:45:25.55\00:45:27.92
for He is risen," as He said.
00:45:27.96\00:45:29.39
"Come, see the place
where the Lord laid.'
00:45:29.42\00:45:32.89
" You see He's not there, why?
00:45:32.93\00:45:34.40
Because the rose of
Sharon would bloom again,
00:45:34.43\00:45:36.87
the bright and
morning star would rise again,
00:45:36.90\00:45:39.37
the light of the
world would shine again,
00:45:39.40\00:45:41.90
the oil of
gladness would flow again,
00:45:41.94\00:45:44.34
the lion of the tribe
of Judah will roar again.
00:45:44.37\00:45:49.81
The author of salvation would
00:45:49.84\00:45:51.18
become the
finisher of our faith,
00:45:51.21\00:45:53.48
the Mighty God would
become the everlasting Father,
00:45:53.52\00:45:56.38
and the alpha
would become the omega.
00:45:56.42\00:45:59.65
The Apostle Paul left us
00:45:59.69\00:46:01.49
this record of the
evidence of His divinity,
00:46:01.52\00:46:04.86
Lamb of God would
become the eternal high priest.
00:46:04.89\00:46:07.36
And today, you
may ask the question,
00:46:07.40\00:46:09.50
"Then where is He?"
00:46:09.53\00:46:11.70
Listen to the
words of the Apostle Paul
00:46:11.73\00:46:13.90
in Hebrews 7:25,
00:46:13.94\00:46:16.44
"When your day is going dark
and your hope is growing dim,
00:46:16.47\00:46:19.71
remember these words,
00:46:19.74\00:46:21.08
therefore He is also able
to save to the uttermost."
00:46:21.11\00:46:24.65
To the what church?
00:46:24.68\00:46:26.31
To the uttermost.
00:46:26.35\00:46:27.68
We used to say in
New York, Pastor CA,
00:46:27.72\00:46:29.05
from the
gutter-most to the uttermost.
00:46:29.08\00:46:31.05
"He is able to
save to the uttermost
00:46:31.09\00:46:33.82
those who come
to God through Him
00:46:33.86\00:46:37.13
seeing that He always lives,"
00:46:37.16\00:46:41.06
hallelujah,
00:46:41.10\00:46:43.30
"to make intercession for them."
00:46:43.33\00:46:45.57
Jesus was arrested so
that we could be set free.
00:46:45.60\00:46:49.20
On that note alone, you
ought to say hallelujah.
00:46:49.24\00:46:51.41
He was arrested that
we could be set free.
00:46:51.44\00:46:53.07
He was declared guilty so that
we could be declared innocent.
00:46:53.11\00:46:55.91
He was condemned so
that we could be pardoned.
00:46:55.94\00:46:57.98
He walked our road so that
one day we can walk His road.
00:46:58.01\00:47:01.45
He wore our thorns so that
00:47:01.48\00:47:02.82
one day we could wear His crown.
00:47:02.85\00:47:04.32
He suffered the shame of death
00:47:04.35\00:47:05.95
that one day we could
share the glory of life.
00:47:05.99\00:47:08.39
Jesus rose to
take His rightful place
00:47:08.42\00:47:11.26
as a high priest in the kingdom
00:47:11.29\00:47:13.46
so that one day we
will be able to sit with Him
00:47:13.50\00:47:18.83
in a place that
we have no right to.
00:47:18.87\00:47:21.84
Amen.
00:47:21.87\00:47:24.37
I don't have any
right to sit with Jesus,
00:47:24.41\00:47:27.38
but because of His
blood and His salvation,
00:47:27.41\00:47:29.78
because of His forgiveness...
00:47:29.81\00:47:31.21
Somebody was asked the question,
00:47:31.25\00:47:32.58
"What are the
steps of salvation?"
00:47:32.61\00:47:34.45
If you confess your sins,
00:47:34.48\00:47:35.82
He's faithful and just
to forgive you of your sins
00:47:35.85\00:47:38.22
and cleanse you
from all unrighteousness.
00:47:38.25\00:47:41.09
What are the steps of salvation?
00:47:41.12\00:47:42.89
Repent and be baptized that
your sins may be blotted out.
00:47:42.92\00:47:46.59
What are the steps of salvation?
00:47:46.63\00:47:48.33
Repent and be converted.
00:47:48.36\00:47:50.47
Amen.
00:47:50.50\00:47:52.97
And when you walk with the
Lord in the light of His Word,
00:47:53.00\00:47:57.87
what a glory He sheds
on His way, what He says,
00:47:57.91\00:48:01.91
we will do, where He
sends, we will go, never fear,
00:48:01.94\00:48:06.08
only trust and obey.
00:48:06.11\00:48:10.39
And I close with
the words of Dr. Luke.
00:48:10.42\00:48:13.15
Xenia, come.
00:48:13.19\00:48:14.66
I close with the
words of Dr. Luke,
00:48:14.69\00:48:18.16
"For the rightful place
that Jesus has now taken,
00:48:18.19\00:48:21.96
" in Luke 1:32-33,
00:48:22.00\00:48:25.67
"He will be great and will be
called the Son of the Highest,
00:48:25.70\00:48:31.77
and the Lord God will give Him
00:48:31.81\00:48:34.68
the throne of His father David."
00:48:34.71\00:48:37.55
Stop for a
moment, his father David?
00:48:37.58\00:48:41.25
This sinful man, this
recalcitrant adulterer,
00:48:41.28\00:48:46.32
this man who turned his
back on the obedience of God,
00:48:46.35\00:48:49.36
the love of God,
the love of Christ,
00:48:49.39\00:48:52.26
the love for the sinner,
00:48:52.29\00:48:53.63
He expunges the past
00:48:53.66\00:48:55.96
and sets us up as His lineage.
00:48:56.00\00:49:01.44
By grace, we can
walk through the door,
00:49:01.47\00:49:03.37
and He can call us His children,
00:49:03.41\00:49:06.37
and we can call Him our Father.
00:49:06.41\00:49:10.55
The throne of His father David,
00:49:10.58\00:49:13.11
and He will reign over
the house of Jacob forever,
00:49:13.15\00:49:16.58
and of His kingdom,
there will be no end.
00:49:16.62\00:49:22.19
Amen.
00:49:22.22\00:49:25.53
Because He lives,
I can face tomorrow.
00:49:25.56\00:49:31.37
Because He lives,
00:49:31.40\00:49:33.94
all fear is gone.
00:49:33.97\00:49:38.44
Because He holds my future,
00:49:38.47\00:49:41.18
life is worth
living because He lives.
00:49:41.21\00:49:45.65
Because He lives,
00:49:45.68\00:49:48.75
my mother is waiting for the day
00:49:48.78\00:49:50.35
when she hears the voice,
"Come forth from your grave."
00:49:50.39\00:49:55.52
Because He lives,
00:49:55.56\00:49:58.03
you can fall to your
knees and ask for forgiveness,
00:49:58.06\00:50:00.40
and He'll hear from His kingdom,
00:50:00.43\00:50:02.30
He'll lean His ear to your voice
00:50:02.33\00:50:03.90
and extend to you
the pardoning grace
00:50:03.93\00:50:06.43
that will immediately
bring you into the adoption
00:50:06.47\00:50:09.60
of a son or daughter
of the Most High God.
00:50:09.64\00:50:12.17
Because He lives,
there is no darkness
00:50:12.21\00:50:15.64
that he cannot
remove from your life.
00:50:15.68\00:50:19.38
Because He lives,
00:50:19.41\00:50:22.75
He will come again
to take us to our home
00:50:22.78\00:50:28.76
that is being
prepared even as we sit.
00:50:28.79\00:50:34.93
Why do you seek the
living among the dead?
00:50:34.96\00:50:38.10
He's not here for He is risen.
00:50:38.13\00:50:41.87
I want to invite you to
stand with me to sing this song
00:50:41.90\00:50:43.81
Because He Lives.
00:50:43.84\00:50:45.17
He is not here, but He is risen.
00:50:45.21\00:50:49.24
He's not here, but He is risen.
00:50:49.28\00:50:52.61
We serve a risen Savior.
00:50:52.65\00:50:55.08
And because He
lives, because He lives,
00:50:55.12\00:50:59.39
we can face tomorrow.
00:50:59.42\00:51:00.76
God sent His Son
00:51:07.93\00:51:13.20
They called Him Jesus
00:51:13.23\00:51:18.57
He came to love
00:51:18.61\00:51:23.91
Heal and forgive
00:51:23.95\00:51:29.52
He lived and died
00:51:29.55\00:51:34.72
To buy my pardon
00:51:34.76\00:51:40.20
An empty grave is there to prove
00:51:40.23\00:51:46.47
My Savior lives Together.
00:51:46.50\00:51:52.04
Because He lives,
00:51:52.07\00:51:57.35
I can face tomorrow
00:51:57.38\00:52:01.45
Because He lives...
00:52:01.48\00:52:02.98
Because He lives
00:52:03.02\00:52:08.22
all fear is gone
00:52:08.26\00:52:13.53
Because I know
00:52:13.56\00:52:19.23
He holds the future
00:52:19.27\00:52:24.61
And life is worth the living
00:52:24.64\00:52:29.68
Just because He lives
00:52:29.71\00:52:36.58
How sweet to hold
00:52:36.62\00:52:41.72
A newborn baby
00:52:41.76\00:52:47.80
And feel the pride
00:52:47.83\00:52:53.47
And joy He gives
00:52:53.50\00:52:58.91
But greater still
00:52:58.94\00:53:04.11
The calm assurance
00:53:04.15\00:53:09.75
This child can
face uncertain days
00:53:09.78\00:53:16.06
Because He lives
00:53:16.09\00:53:19.09
Raise that chorus.
00:53:19.13\00:53:21.30
Because He lives
00:53:21.33\00:53:26.57
I can face tomorrow
00:53:26.60\00:53:32.01
Because He lives
00:53:32.04\00:53:37.38
All fear is gone
00:53:37.41\00:53:42.85
Because I know
00:53:42.88\00:53:48.82
He holds the future
00:53:48.86\00:53:54.16
And life is
worth the living just
00:53:54.20\00:54:00.67
Because He lives
00:54:00.70\00:54:06.78
Our Father in heaven...
00:54:06.81\00:54:10.71
Our Father in heaven...
00:54:10.75\00:54:13.72
Lord, this old, old story...
00:54:13.75\00:54:19.55
continues to be the hope
00:54:19.59\00:54:23.12
of the new day that is coming,
00:54:23.16\00:54:27.70
often repeated, the
death, the trial, the scourging,
00:54:27.73\00:54:34.64
the accusations,
the betrayal of Jesus,
00:54:34.67\00:54:39.17
this often repeated story
sometimes brings to our mind...
00:54:39.21\00:54:43.35
I've heard that story before,
00:54:46.25\00:54:50.59
but I just say, Lord Jesus,
00:54:50.62\00:54:51.99
I pray that the
story of our redemption
00:54:52.02\00:54:53.89
will never be an old story,
00:54:53.92\00:54:57.26
will never be a
byproduct of religious jargon,
00:54:57.29\00:55:01.10
will never be a
story that collects dust
00:55:01.13\00:55:05.43
but will forever remain new
in our souls, in our hearts,
00:55:05.47\00:55:09.47
in our minds, in our spirit,
will forever be the place
00:55:09.50\00:55:14.48
where we clutch onto
the anchor of our salvation.
00:55:14.51\00:55:18.65
His name is Jesus.
00:55:18.68\00:55:21.78
We thank You, Lord,
that there is no place
00:55:21.82\00:55:26.29
where Your DNA can be found,
00:55:26.32\00:55:27.79
there is not place
where empty clothes
00:55:27.82\00:55:30.69
still mark the
spot that you once laid.
00:55:30.73\00:55:34.80
So we glory not in the cross,
00:55:34.83\00:55:37.13
we glory in the empty tomb,
00:55:37.17\00:55:40.24
we glory in the promise
00:55:40.27\00:55:42.40
that You have said
You will come again
00:55:42.44\00:55:45.01
to receive us unto Yourself.
00:55:45.04\00:55:48.28
And so, Lord Jesus,
we pray that, today,
00:55:48.31\00:55:51.21
the hope has been
revived in our hearts,
00:55:51.25\00:55:53.82
renewed in our spirit,
00:55:53.85\00:55:57.85
that we have
once reclaimed again
00:55:57.89\00:56:00.49
the very anchor of
our name, Adventists,
00:56:00.52\00:56:03.99
looking forward to the
Second Coming of Jesus.
00:56:04.03\00:56:08.90
So when we leave this place,
00:56:08.93\00:56:10.27
Father, may we
proclaim it by the life we live,
00:56:10.30\00:56:12.93
by the words we convey,
00:56:12.97\00:56:14.90
by the embrace we communicate,
00:56:14.94\00:56:17.77
may we live this story
00:56:17.81\00:56:20.64
over and over until
00:56:20.68\00:56:24.11
our faith is made sight.
00:56:24.15\00:56:27.98
And so, Lord Jesus, we hold
on to that promise You've made.
00:56:28.02\00:56:31.75
And one day, we believe
00:56:31.79\00:56:34.16
that the heavens
will depart as a scroll
00:56:34.19\00:56:36.79
and the voice of the
Life Giver will call us
00:56:36.83\00:56:40.36
to our eternal home.
00:56:40.40\00:56:42.40
We thank You,
00:56:42.43\00:56:43.77
we praise You,
and we give You glory
00:56:43.80\00:56:47.44
in Your holy and precious name.
00:56:47.47\00:56:51.37
And all of God's people said...
00:56:51.41\00:56:53.58
Amen.
00:56:53.61\00:56:55.24