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What transforms a brutal execution into the ultimate good news that reshapes every life and every eternity? How can one man's death and resurrection guarantee forgiveness, right standing before God, and a body raised to endless life when culture insists the body is worthless?
📝 Study Notes, Scripture List, Transcript, and more: https://medicallake.church/sermons/the-best-news-ever
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📝 Study Notes, Scripture List, Transcript, and more: https://medicallake.church/sermons/the-best-news-ever
#mlcc #church #churchonline
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00:00As I mentioned, we celebrated Good Friday on Friday with other churches and had a great time.
00:08The pastor spoke about the suffering of Christ, the sacrifice on the cross. And, you know,
00:13we call it Good Friday, but when you think about it, I mean, good, it wasn't really good for Jesus,
00:19was it? I mean, we call it Good Friday. It wasn't really good. And we talk about the gospel as
00:25being
00:25good news, but here's Jesus suffering and dying a horrible, painful death on the cross.
00:34And that doesn't even sound like good news to me. So what makes this thing that we celebrate the
00:42death of a person on the cross, but of course he didn't stay dead. He rose again the third day.
00:47But why would we call this Good News? Why would we call it Good News? Well, the first reason we
00:54would
00:54call it Good News is the effect of that sacrifice for everyone who will believe. For those of us,
01:01we understand we are dead in our trespasses and sin, and our sins have alienated us from a holy God,
01:07and there was no way that we could make restitution or appeasement for our sins,
01:11but another took our place on the cross. That is good news. What we could not do, what we were
01:20ineffective to do, what was not possible for us to do, he did for us. The one who could appease
01:28the
01:29wrath of God and atone for our sins by his sacrifice, that is good news. You and I can stand
01:36before a
01:37holy God with his righteousness, where he says, enter into the presence of your Lord by the sacrifice of
01:46the Son. The prophet Isaiah described him, that suffering servant. Isaiah 53, surely he, this is
01:54Jesus, has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows, both physical and mental, yet we esteemed him,
02:03stricken, smitten by God and afflicted. In other words, we thought there was something wrong with him.
02:08We treated him like a criminal, but he was pierced for our transgressions. He was crushed for our
02:17iniquities. Listen to these pronouns, our transgressions, our iniquities. Upon him was a
02:24chastisement that brought us peace. And with his wounds, and it was interesting in the Hebrew,
02:30that's one wound, and that one wound was the cross. His wound, we are healed. Why did he come? All
02:39we
02:39like sheep have gone astray. We have turned everyone to his own way. That's all of us. None of us
02:44were
02:45going the right direction. We're all going the wrong way. Everyone to his own way, and the Lord has laid
02:53on him, that is the suffering Messiah, the iniquity, all of our sins were laid on him.
03:01We who are estranged from God, Jesus the Messiah, through his vicarious substitutionary sacrifice,
03:09makes peace now with God possible. Before enemies, reconcile to peace. That's the heart of the gospel
03:17message. That is good news. The innocent voluntarily dying for the guilty. That is good news. There's a
03:25second reason why it's good news. It is good news because the suffering servant who took our place
03:31appeasing the wrath of God against sin was raised from the dead after three days. So why is that
03:38important? It confirms the fact that the father accepted this sacrifice for sin, that the appeasement
03:45of his wrath against sin is now satisfied, and he raises Jesus from the dead to verify, I accept
03:51your sacrifice. So we can be guaranteed that if you believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, you will be
03:57saved. The father accepted this sacrifice.
04:05We're going to be in 1 Corinthians chapter 15, and immediately your mind goes, whoa, that's not a
04:09resurrection chapter. Well, it is actually. It's just not part of the gospel resurrection stories.
04:16We're going to be in 1 Corinthians chapter 15, and we're going to see here in this text this morning
04:20that the crucified and resurrected Messiah is the central message of the gospel, assuring believers
04:27of forgiveness of sins and their resurrection to life eternal someday. Wrapped up in these few verses.
04:37And when you think about the fact that one took our place on the cross and died for us,
04:42and that his sacrifice was accepted, and we know that all who believe on him will be saved,
04:47that is good news. That is good news. That we do not have to die and be separated forever for
04:54all
04:55of eternity away from the one who gave his son for us. That really is good news. The people of
05:03Corinth,
05:03the believers there, they're believers, but they had begun allowing the Greek philosophical system
05:11of their day to shape the way they were looking at the Bible, the message of the gospel, the good
05:16news.
05:17So this philosophical system of the Gentiles was shaping the way they were viewing, and they're not
05:23viewing the resurrection correctly, so Paul has to write them. He's got to give them some instructions
05:29about what this resurrection is all about. And if you're already there in 1 Corinthians 15,
05:33we're going to start reading in verse number 12. So this is God's word. We'll just open it up
05:37together and we want to look at it. He's got to teach them because of allowing these human
05:44traditions and human philosophies to come into their thinking has changed the way they looked
05:48at the resurrection. He needs to correct it. Look at verse number 12. Now, if Christ is proclaimed as
05:55raised from the dead, which he was, how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the
06:00dead?
06:02But if, but if there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised. If there's
06:07no such thing as a resurrection, then not even Christ has been raised. And if Christ has not been
06:11raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain. We preached a risen Savior and you
06:17believed in a risen Savior, then it would all be in vain. It'd be worthless. We, the people preaching,
06:23the apostles, we are even found to be misrepresenting God because we testified about
06:30God that he raised Christ, whom he did not raise. If it is true that the dead are not raised,
06:36you say we're making God a liar.
06:41For if the dead are not raised, not even Christ has been raised. And if Christ has not been raised,
06:46your faith is futile and you are still in your sins. And those who have fallen asleep,
06:52is a metaphor for death. Those who have died in Christ, believers who have died have perished.
06:59If in Christ, we have hope in this life only, we are of all people most to be pitied.
07:07And so the first question that pops in our mind is how could the Corinthians hold two opposite views
07:12of resurrection? They could say that Jesus rose from the dead, but they could say that there's no
07:17general resurrection. So only Jesus gets to rise from the dead. No one else gets to rise from the dead
07:22is what they're saying. How could they have two different opposite views of resurrection?
07:28We know that he is raised from the dead. It's written in a sense that it happened in the past
07:32with a continuing effect to the future. And they knew, the Corinthians knew that those people who
07:37saw the resurrection gave evidence and they were eyewitnesses to it. As a matter of fact,
07:42I'm going to read a section that we've read now three times today when I'm finished.
07:46So you know what that tells me? This is something we needed to hear.
07:50Matthew 28, eyewitnesses who viewed the resurrection. Now, after the Sabbath, toward the dawn of the first
07:56day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to see the tomb. They'd been placed in the
08:01tomb. It was the third day. And behold, there was a great earthquake for an angel of the Lord descended
08:07from heaven and came and rolled back the stone and sat on it. You can kind of picture it.
08:11Big old stone. He's sitting up on top. His appearance was like lightning. It was so bright,
08:15you had to cover your eyes and his clothing, white as snow. And for fear of him, the guards
08:21trembled and became like dead men. They passed out. They just passed out for fear. But the angel said
08:25to the women, do not be afraid for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. In other words,
08:31he was dead, but he's not here for he has risen. As he said, come see the place where he
08:37lay.
08:38Okay. And then if you were to look up here in the first part of 1 Corinthians 15, we also
08:42see
08:43eyewitnesses speaking that he was buried Jesus and that he was raised on the third day in accordance
08:48with the scriptures and that he appeared to Cephas. That's Peter. Then he had 10 to 12 to the other
08:53apostles. So he was viewed by Peter. He was viewed by the other apostles. Then he appeared to more than
08:58500 brothers at one time, most of whom are still alive. So if you were to, in that day, if
09:03you were to say,
09:03are you one of the 500? Yeah, I'm one of the 500. Did you see him? Yeah, I saw him.
09:08In fact, you could
09:08go back and verify that it was really true. In fact, the people reading it in that day, if it
09:13wasn't
09:13true, they could just go back and talk to one of the 500 and say, did he raise? No, he
09:16didn't really
09:16raise. This is good evidence that he rose with 500 people. 500 people. At one time, most of them are
09:24still alive, though some have fallen asleep, some have died. Then he appeared to James, then to all the
09:30apostles. These are eyewitnesses that he truly came out of the grave. He truly was alive.
09:35A.W. Tozer and Renewed by Day said, we understand and acknowledge that the resurrection has placed a
09:40glorious crown upon all of Christ's sufferings. He suffered on the cross, vicariously substitutionary,
09:49taking our sins upon himself. And the crown of that sacrifice is the resurrection, that he is alive.
09:58The Corinthians, they knew a person must believe in Jesus' resurrection or they can't be saved.
10:03They knew that. They knew that a person must believe that Jesus rose from the dead or you
10:07can't be saved. You can't just say, no, I don't believe Jesus rose from the dead. That's part of
10:11salvation. Paul told the Romans this, because if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord,
10:18you speak it out, Jesus is Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead,
10:22your heart is the center of everything you are, the very essence of who you are,
10:25from the very being of who you are, you cry out, yes, God raised him from the dead.
10:31You will be saved. For with the heart, one believes and is justified, justification by faith alone,
10:38not apart from works, and with a mouth, one confesses and is saved.
10:45They had to believe in the resurrection to get saved. So it's not Christ's resurrection that the
10:49problem is, it's everyone else. Are they going to be raised too? Or just Jesus? Some of the church
10:56were saying, it's true, Jesus rose from the dead, but there's no further general resurrection. No one
11:01else is going to raise from the dead, just Jesus. He's the only one. But they understood, they
11:06misunderstood actually that a general resurrection, in other words, of all people being raised,
11:11was clearly taught in the Old Testament. It was something that they knew if you ever read the
11:15scriptures of the Old Testament, you would know that a general resurrection of all people
11:19was prophesied in the Old Testament. We go to the book of Job, one of the oldest books,
11:24one of the oldest books time-wise in the Bible, the book of Job. It's right around the patriarchal
11:29time of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Job 19 says this, Job is talking,
11:34for I know that my Redeemer lives, and at the last he will stand upon the earth. So the Redeemer
11:39will come
11:40to earth. Ah, sounds like the incarnation, right? God becomes man. And after my skin has thus been
11:47destroyed, in other words, I died, yet in my flesh I shall see God, whom I shall see for myself,
11:55and my
11:55eyes shall behold, and not another. My heart faints within me. He knew that he'd be raised from the dead
12:01someday, and he would stand before his Redeemer. And then Daniel, the prophet Daniel, said this,
12:05And many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some
12:11to
12:11shame and everlasting contempt. A general resurrection was taught throughout the Old Testament. People
12:16understood that. I mean, Mary and Martha understood that Lazarus one day would be raised from the dead.
12:21They just didn't understand that Jesus was going to do it right then. So why could they hold two separate
12:27thoughts in their mind? Okay, Jesus rose from the dead, but no one else gets to rise from the dead.
12:31How could they
12:31hold two separate thoughts in their mind? I'll tell you how they did it. It's because of the
12:36non-Christian philosophers of their age, their society, they taught that this body that you and
12:44I have, all of us, all of us have a body, this body that you and I have is a
12:48prison house of the soul.
12:50And the desire of all people is to throw off the prison house and to be disembodied spirits for all
12:56of eternity and leave the body somewhere else because the body is just not good.
13:02That's what the Greek philosophers taught the people. That's what they began thinking
13:06at Corinth. They knew Jesus rose from the dead, but they couldn't understand that other people
13:10were going to rise from the dead because who wants that body forever?
13:17For them, the body was not important. It didn't matter what you did with the body at this point
13:21because the body is going to be cast into the ground forever lost, disembodied spirit for all
13:26of eternity. I don't care about the body, so therefore I could do whatever I want in my body and
13:30it makes
13:31no difference whatsoever. And you say, did they live that way? Look at the book of Corinthians,
13:361 Corinthians. What you'll see for all throughout 1 Corinthians is sexual immorality. Yes, they
13:41abused their bodies. And sadly, some of the believers at Corinth believed this also. And so believing
13:49they participated in all these actions that Paul spoke against, the sexual immorality, they
13:55thought the body was not important, only the spirit. They let the culture shape their theology.
14:06Think about that. The culture says one thing, but the word of God says something completely
14:11different, but they let the culture shape their theology.
14:17We have to be careful not to let the culture shape our theology. We look out at the culture,
14:23they're telling us one thing. We open up the word of God, it says something completely different.
14:26And the culture wants you to believe that. As a matter of fact, it will shame you into trying
14:31to believe that. And the danger for us is to let the culture shape our theology. In other words,
14:36the culture says something. So we come to the Bible thinking what the culture says and try to find
14:40proof. Instead, we must let the theology of the Bible shape the help of society around us. We must
14:52take what the Bible says, apply it in our daily lives, living it out in front of everyone and let
14:58that shape society. Don't let society shape our theology. We have to understand your body, my body is
15:06important to God. It's important to God. And he will raise it from the dead one day. Some to everlasting
15:13life and some to everlasting contempt is what Daniel said. For God has created us a unity, a body, a
15:22soul,
15:22a spirit. He wants man to be like that. He doesn't want man to be disembodied spirits floating
15:29throughout all of eternity. He created us as a unity. And one day he will raise this body from the
15:34grave.
15:39See, the believer's resurrection, if you believe in Jesus Christ, the believer's resurrection is not
15:44possible if Jesus didn't rise from the dead. They are deeply connected together.
15:52If a person removes the resurrection of Jesus, there's nothing in which a person can rest their
15:56faith in because we have to believe that Jesus was raised from the dead and believe in our heart is
16:00what the scriptures say. See, a dead savior can impart no life for he would be dead still.
16:12If Jesus didn't rise from the dead as God had said he did, then they would be calling God a
16:17liar. Oh,
16:17God, that's not really true. You know, he kind of, God misspoke. Can you imagine even saying that? God
16:22misspoke. He didn't quite give you all the information. No, God said he raised him from the dead. So to
16:29say
16:29otherwise, we wouldn't be calling God a liar. If Jesus has not been raised, our faith is worthless
16:39and we are still under the condemnation of sin. It serves no purpose. Anything that our faith is
16:46worthless, it's in vain. We still have a sin problem, you and I, if Jesus didn't raise from the dead.
16:53We would still be in a state of condemnation. We came into this world in a state of condemnation
16:59as children of wrath. And we need to move from that state of condemnation to a state of blessedness,
17:06to a state of holiness and righteousness. It only comes by faith in Jesus Christ. It's a change of
17:11state. If you remain in that state and you die in that state, you will spend eternity separated from
17:17God in the lake of fire. That's the state we were born into. But we need to move from that
17:21state to
17:22a different state and that state of righteousness and holiness and blessedness and eternal life in
17:27Jesus. Romans 4 says this, Paul told the Romans, but for ours also, which is the end of a thought
17:36in verse number 23. Then he says, it will be counted to us who believe in him who raised from
17:43the dead,
17:43Jesus, our Lord, who was delivered up, crucified for our trespasses. In other words, our sins against
17:51God, he took on himself, delivered up and raised for our justification. You and I would never be
17:59in a right standing before God if he had never raised from the dead. We would never get justification.
18:06It's proof that the sacrifice was accepted by the Father. There is no salvation apart from the death
18:14and resurrection of Jesus Christ. I don't care how hard you try to earn it, you cannot. I don't care
18:20how hard you think, I'll attend church and I'll pray and I may even actually give money.
18:29We can't do enough to earn our salvation. It's not possible. If it was possible for you and I to
18:36earn our salvation, let me ask you one simple question. Then why did Christ have to die?
18:46Acts 4 says, and there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given
18:53among men by which we must be saved. His sacrifice appeased the wrath of God and atoned for guilt
19:00and the resurrection is the evidence that the Father has accepted the sacrifice of the Son.
19:06The writer of Hebrews says, but as it is, he has appeared once for all at the end of the
19:11ages to
19:12put away sin. How? By the sacrifice of himself. Now, he's taken, believer, your sins, my sins.
19:21The psalmist says he has buried them in the depths of the sea, removed them as far as the east
19:26and the
19:27west. And part of the new covenant is this blessing. I will remember their sins no more.
19:34I will not hold them into their account any longer.
19:40And he says, if a person believed in Jesus and they died, then they perished. Then they just perished.
19:47Some would think, well, there's annihilation. No, that's not. Perished never means annihilation.
19:52It has an understanding of a ruin as far as the purpose for which a person or thing was created.
20:05A person in Christ was born again and became a new creation, in a sense created, what?
20:12For everlasting life. That's the purpose of it.
20:17They will never perish. No.
20:20They will reach exactly what God intended for the believer.
20:24He will raise that body one day from the grave, united together with our soul and spirit,
20:28and forever we will worship him in heaven.
20:35That's great.
20:37Is that just for this life? No, it's for the life to come, isn't it?
20:42As a matter of fact, he said, believers over the centuries have endured and suffered much for Christ.
20:46And if he were not alive, all of that would be in vain.
20:50The most pitied we would be.
20:53The people who live for the pleasures of this world would be right.
20:57And the sacrifices of Christians throughout the ages would be nothing more than a cruel joke.
21:04If it wasn't for the next life as well.
21:08Richard Pratt said,
21:09In the early church, however, believers sacrificed a great deal to follow Christ.
21:14They lost families, friends, jobs, homes, and even their lives.
21:19Thus, Paul could say that Christians would deserve great pity if their hope for resurrection proved to be false.
21:25If there's no life after death, if there's no eternity with the Father.
21:30Not only would they receive no benefit from their religion,
21:32but they would also forfeit the pleasures their brief lives on earth offered.
21:37Is it just for this life? No, it's for the life to come.
21:40And that's really what it's for.
21:42And if we thought we were most to be pitied if it's just for this life,
21:45only no, it's for eternal life.
21:48With no future life, suffering for the cause of Christ would be pitiful.
21:52To endure suffering for a false cause would be pathetic.
21:56It's not a false cause.
21:59Jesus led the way in his resurrection for all of us who will follow after him.
22:05Look in verse number 20.
22:07We'll read to the middle of the paragraph.
22:10But in fact, Christ has been raised from the dead.
22:14Just a reassurance for them.
22:16And then we're told,
22:19Remember, falling asleep is a metaphor for death.
22:22The firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.
22:25For as by a man came death, Adam,
22:29by a man has come also the resurrection of the dead, Jesus.
22:33For as in Adam all die,
22:36so also in Christ shall all be made alive.
22:39But each in his own order,
22:41Christ the firstfruits,
22:43he led the way.
22:44Then at his coming,
22:45those who belong to Christ,
22:46everyone who believes in Jesus Christ.
22:48Then comes the end.
22:49After this comes the end.
22:51When he delivers the kingdom to God the Father,
22:53after destroying every rule and every authority and power.
22:58All authority is given to me in heaven and earth,
23:00is what Dennis read.
23:02For he must reign until he has put all his enemies underneath his feet.
23:07And what is the greatest in the last enemy?
23:10The last enemy to be destroyed is death.
23:14It's death.
23:18He's the firstfruits.
23:19What are the firstfruits?
23:20The firstfruits are basically this.
23:21I'm not a farmer.
23:23I don't grow.
23:23In fact, I don't grow things well at all.
23:25They seem to die for me.
23:26Not really good at that.
23:27But a farmer understands that when the crops first come up,
23:31those are the firstfruits.
23:33And the Jews were then commanded to take the firstfruits that they have
23:36and go into the temple.
23:37There's a couple of sacrifices they had to do.
23:39And they would offer these firstfruits to God and say,
23:42thank you, God, for the harvest that is yet to come.
23:46The harvest was future for them.
23:47Because the ground is just sprouted up.
23:49And the firstfruits are just coming up.
23:52So they would produce the firstfruits.
23:53And they would say, thank you, God,
23:55because we know there is a great harvest coming afterwards.
23:58That's the firstfruits.
24:00Firstfruits were the pledge of a future harvest.
24:04It's coming.
24:05It's not yet.
24:06But it's coming.
24:09Jesus' resurrection is the pledge of a future harvest of those believers
24:14who will be resurrected one day.
24:15Because he came out of the grave,
24:17you and I are going to come out of the grave too.
24:20Because he was resurrected,
24:21we're going to be resurrected.
24:22He led the way for us.
24:24He went first as a firstfruits,
24:25saying a great harvest is following.
24:27And if you believe in Jesus Christ today,
24:29you are part of that harvest.
24:31If you do not know him,
24:37if you do not know him,
24:42there is no hope.
24:49Adam,
24:49our forefather,
24:51he brought sin into the human race.
24:56And sin brought death along with it.
24:59Death was not there in the garden in the beginning.
25:02It was not there.
25:02But God told him,
25:04the day you eat of the tree,
25:05you shall surely die.
25:06And death entered in.
25:08On that act of disobedience by the one man,
25:10Adam,
25:11sin entered in.
25:12And death came along with sin.
25:14And so as you know,
25:15all of us here today,
25:17our physical bodies,
25:19if Jesus doesn't come back
25:20and harvest the church away,
25:22all of our physical bodies
25:23are going to go into the ground one day.
25:25One day to be resurrected,
25:26yeah,
25:26but death is still going to come.
25:31Because sin is in the world.
25:35Romans 5,
25:36Paul says,
25:38death brought,
25:40death was,
25:41sin brought death into the world.
25:42And Romans 5 says,
25:43therefore,
25:44just as sin came into the world
25:45through one man,
25:46that's Adam,
25:46and death through sin.
25:48And so death spread to all men
25:49because all sinned.
25:51Wouldn't it be great
25:51if there had been no sin?
25:53We would live in a perfect environment
25:55and a perfect paradise forever.
25:56But sin entered in.
25:58And with that came death.
25:59And you and I have seen it ever since.
26:03Adam's choice to disobey God
26:06affected all.
26:08And Jesus' obedience to God
26:10affects all who will believe.
26:12Everyone who believe
26:12will be affected by that.
26:15Back again to Romans 5,
26:17but the free gift,
26:18that's eternal life.
26:19It's not like the trespass,
26:20not like the sin.
26:22For if many died
26:23through one man's trespass,
26:25Adam's sin,
26:26much more have the grace of God
26:28and the free gift,
26:29that's eternal life.
26:30By the grace of that one man,
26:32Jesus Christ abounded for many.
26:33Did you notice how grace
26:34was in there a couple of times?
26:37God's unmerited favor
26:38has been given to us.
26:40It's not like you and I
26:41are such great people
26:41that God said,
26:42oh yeah,
26:42I gotta save them.
26:43No.
26:44No.
26:45It's called grace.
26:47It's unmerited favor.
26:49It's unearned.
26:50We cannot do anything
26:51to achieve it.
26:52It's grace.
26:56And we hear and see in the text
26:57that after the resurrection,
26:59Jesus ascended into heaven
27:01and he's now reigning
27:02on his throne in heaven.
27:03In fact,
27:04the text says he must reign.
27:06It's a divine imperative.
27:07He must reign.
27:09Psalm 110 says,
27:11the Lord said to my Lord,
27:12sit at my right hand
27:13until I make your enemies
27:14your footstool.
27:16Sit here.
27:18Wait.
27:19Jesus reigns now
27:20in the hearts of his people.
27:22Jesus will come back
27:23to the earth
27:23and reign from David's throne
27:24out of Jerusalem
27:25for a thousand years.
27:26And then when that is finished,
27:28he will reign for all of eternity.
27:32In the revelation,
27:33we read this.
27:34No longer will there be
27:35anything accursed
27:36in the new paradise.
27:39But the throne of God
27:40and of the Lamb,
27:41throne is a place of authority,
27:43but the throne of God
27:44and of the Lamb
27:44will be in it
27:45and his servants
27:46will worship him.
27:47He will reign forever.
27:50And everything opposed
27:51to Christ
27:52and his kingdom
27:53will be abolished
27:54and everything
27:55will be subject to him.
27:58And after this,
28:00after this,
28:01in the end,
28:03it will be like the beginning.
28:06No sin.
28:08And God will reign supreme.
28:11From one garden
28:12to another garden,
28:13from Genesis
28:14to the revelation,
28:16when it's all said and done.
28:20Revelation 21.
28:22He will wipe away
28:24every tear
28:25from their eyes.
28:27You and I have cried
28:29a lot of tears.
28:32We've cried a lot of tears.
28:35And death
28:36shall be
28:36no more.
28:38It's been cast
28:39into the lake of fire.
28:40It is no more.
28:42There is no more death.
28:44Neither shall there be mourning.
28:45No reason to cry anymore
28:47or mourn
28:48for a loss.
28:49Nor cry,
28:50nor pain.
28:51Oh,
28:52that day when there will be
28:52no more pain
28:53in these bodies,
28:54right?
28:55No more pain.
28:57For the former things,
28:59those things that Adam
29:00brought into this world
29:01have passed away.
29:02And the new things
29:03that Jesus brings
29:04into this world
29:05are there.
29:07Since Christ rose
29:09from the grave,
29:09death has been conquered.
29:11It's been conquered.
29:14That which people feared
29:16all of their life,
29:18its teeth
29:19have been removed,
29:20defanged.
29:22And the writer of Hebrews
29:24talks about this fear
29:25that we had of death
29:26all of our lives.
29:28Hebrews 2 says,
29:29Since therefore the children
29:30share in flesh and blood,
29:32he himself likewise,
29:33Jesus partook of the same.
29:34In other words,
29:35he became man,
29:36partook of the same things,
29:37that through death,
29:38he died on the cross,
29:39he might destroy the one
29:41who has the power of death.
29:42That is the devil.
29:44And deliver that,
29:45set free,
29:46all of those who,
29:47through fear of death,
29:49were subject to lifelong
29:51slavery.
29:52It enslaves our thinking,
29:54death does.
29:55People fear death.
29:59Anonymous writer said,
30:01Death is disturbing,
30:02so we do our best
30:04to literally bury it.
30:06We don't want to see it,
30:07not even at a graveside,
30:09but is denial really
30:11the best way to deal
30:12with this reality?
30:15Let me ask you,
30:16do you fear death today?
30:18If you were to die today,
30:20do you know where you will go?
30:23Yes,
30:23your body will be placed
30:24on the ground
30:24for a period of time,
30:25but your soul and your spirit
30:26will either go into the underworld,
30:28into hell,
30:29or go into the presence
30:30of God forever.
30:30Do you fear death?
30:32Or does death no longer
30:33have a sting for you?
30:37There are no longer
30:38any reasons to fear death
30:40at all,
30:41a believer.
30:43No reasons to fear death.
30:46Roxanne Hall
30:47tells the story
30:48of Terry Fulham
30:49who is a preacher.
30:50He's preaching
30:50a message on the radio.
30:53He was talking about his dad.
30:55His dad had enjoyed
30:56really good health.
30:56He was older.
30:58I can't remember
30:58how old he was,
30:59but he was mostly
31:00his life,
31:00good health.
31:01But one Sunday morning,
31:03as they were getting ready
31:03to go to church,
31:04the dad said,
31:05you know,
31:06I really don't think
31:07I can go today.
31:09I don't feel well enough.
31:12And Terry goes,
31:13my dad's never said that.
31:15Dad never misses church.
31:17He always goes to church.
31:18He would never say
31:19I need to stay home.
31:22Later that afternoon,
31:24he was taken to the hospital
31:25where he was diagnosed
31:27that he had
31:28seriously stage four
31:30bone cancer.
31:32He actually had only
31:34two weeks to live.
31:36In his last hours,
31:37his family gathered around him.
31:39You've probably been
31:40in a situation like that.
31:42Gathered around a person.
31:46They knew he didn't
31:47have much time.
31:48At one point,
31:49he had lapsed into a coma
31:50and then he just kind of
31:51woke up like everything
31:52was okay.
31:52And I've seen that happen
31:53before in the hospital too
31:54is they kind of go
31:55into a coma
31:55and then they come up
31:56like nothing has ever happened.
31:57They just start talking.
31:59So he was talking
31:59as clearly as he could
32:00and he spoke to each
32:01family member
32:02and he said wonderful
32:04endearing things
32:05to each family member
32:07and you can imagine
32:08by that time
32:08the room was awash
32:10with tears.
32:11You can imagine
32:11every one of them
32:12as he was talking
32:13to them.
32:15They had managed
32:16to hold it back
32:17up to that point
32:17but they just couldn't
32:18any longer.
32:21And then he smiled
32:22at them
32:24and he said
32:26if you could see
32:27what I am seeing
32:28if you could hear
32:29what I am hearing
32:30you would not
32:31weep for me.
32:34And it seemed
32:35that he marshaled
32:36all of his strength
32:37and his weakened body
32:38and he sat up
32:39and said
32:40rejoice for me
32:41this is my
32:42coronation day
32:43and he fell back
32:45on his pillow
32:45and died.
32:51And when he opened
32:52his eyes
32:53he was in front
32:54of his king
32:55King Jesus.
32:57There is no fear
32:58in death.
33:00It's like going
33:00into a strange house
33:01and not knowing
33:02what's on the other
33:03side of it
33:03and increases
33:04anxiety with us.
33:05I don't know
33:05what's on the other
33:06side.
33:06Well let me tell you
33:07what's on the other
33:07side.
33:07Jesus came out
33:09from the other
33:09side.
33:11And he says
33:11if you believe
33:12in me
33:13you will not
33:13remain
33:14you will not
33:16remain dead
33:17you will be alive
33:18forevermore.
33:20The church
33:21father Tertullian
33:22speaking about
33:23Christians
33:23he said
33:24our people
33:25die well
33:29for all of us
33:30who believe
33:31in the Lord
33:31Jesus Christ
33:32we know
33:32that death
33:33has been
33:33conquered
33:35we will
33:35never die
33:36yes our bodies
33:37may go in the
33:38ground
33:38but we will
33:39never be
33:39separated
33:40death is a
33:40separation
33:41we will never
33:41be separated
33:42from God
33:42forever
33:43we will be
33:44united together
33:45with him
33:47it's been
33:47conquered
33:48in fact
33:48at the end
33:48of this chapter
33:4915
33:49which we're
33:50not going
33:50to get to
33:50but let me
33:51read you to
33:51what it says
33:52after all of
33:53this stuff
33:53about the
33:53resurrection
33:54and the
33:54resurrection
33:54body
33:55and the
33:55catching away
33:56and all of
33:56that stuff
33:57he concludes
33:58at the end
33:58of chapter
33:5815
33:59with this
33:59when the
34:00perishable
34:01puts on
34:02the
34:02imperishable
34:03and the
34:04moral
34:04puts on
34:05immortality
34:06then shall
34:06come to
34:07pass the
34:07saying that
34:08is written
34:08death is
34:09swallowed up
34:10in victory
34:10oh death
34:12where is
34:12your victory
34:13oh death
34:14where is
34:14your sting
34:15it's rhetorical
34:15there is
34:16no
34:17there's no
34:18victory for
34:18death now
34:20there's no
34:20sting for the
34:21believer of
34:22death
34:22the sting
34:23of death
34:23is sin
34:23and the
34:24power of
34:24sin is
34:25the law
34:25but thanks
34:26be to
34:26God
34:26who gave
34:27us a
34:27victory
34:28through
34:28our
34:28Lord
34:28Jesus
34:28Christ
34:29how
34:29because
34:29he died
34:30for our
34:30sins
34:31and rose
34:31again
34:31on the
34:31third
34:32day
34:35Wayne
34:35Lamb
34:36in a hundred
34:36meditations
34:37on hope
34:37he said
34:38in the
34:38midst of a
34:39storm
34:39a little
34:40bird was
34:40clinging
34:41to a
34:41limb
34:41of a
34:42tree
34:42seemingly
34:43calm
34:43and unafraid
34:45as the
34:45wind tore
34:46at the
34:46limbs of
34:47the tree
34:47the bird
34:47continued
34:48to look
34:48the storm
34:49in the
34:49face
34:49as if
34:50to say
34:50shake
34:51me
34:51off
34:52I
34:52still
34:53have
34:53wings
34:55because of
34:56Christ's
34:57resurrection
34:57each
34:57Christian
34:58can look
34:58the
34:58experience
34:59of
34:59death
34:59in the
35:00face
35:00and
35:00confidently
35:01say
35:01shake
35:02me
35:02off
35:02I
35:03still
35:03have
35:03wings
35:04I'll
35:04live
35:05anyway
35:05death
35:07no longer
35:08holds
35:08us
35:08in
35:09fear
35:12the
35:13church
35:13Augustine
35:14wrote
35:14the
35:15end
35:16of
35:16life
35:16puts
35:16the
35:17longest
35:17life
35:18on
35:18a
35:18par
35:18with
35:19the
35:19shortest
35:19death
35:20becomes
35:21evil
35:21only
35:22by
35:22the
35:22retribution
35:23which
35:23follows
35:24it
35:24they
35:25then
35:25who
35:26are
35:26destined
35:26to
35:27die
35:27need
35:27not
35:27inquire
35:28about
35:28what
35:29death
35:29they
35:29are
35:29to
35:30die
35:30but
35:31into
35:31what
35:31place
35:32death
35:33will
35:33usher
35:34them
35:37to
35:38know
35:38Jesus
35:38is
35:39to
35:39know
35:39life
35:41not
35:41to
35:42know
35:42Jesus
35:42is
35:42to
35:42only
35:43know
35:43death
35:43and
35:44the
35:44fear
35:44of
35:44death
35:46let
35:46me
35:46ask
35:47you
35:47have
35:47you
35:47believed
35:48today
35:48on
35:48the
35:48name
35:48of
35:49the
35:49Lord
35:49Jesus
35:49Christ
35:50have
35:50you
35:50believed
35:51in
35:51your
35:51heart
35:51that
35:51God
35:51has
35:52raised
35:52him
35:52from
35:52the
35:53dead
35:53have
35:53you
35:53confessed
35:54with
35:54your
35:54mouth
35:54that
35:54Jesus
35:55is
35:55Lord
35:55have
35:56you
35:56believed
35:56on
35:56him
35:57for
35:57salvation
35:59the
35:59Bible
36:00commands
36:00all
36:00of
36:01us
36:04change
36:04our
36:05way
36:05of
36:05thinking
36:05in
36:06other
36:06words
36:06we
36:06have
36:06thought
36:06well
36:07I
36:07can
36:07earn
36:07my
36:07way
36:08of
36:08salvation
36:08I
36:08can
36:08earn
36:09it
36:09all
36:09no
36:10change
36:10the
36:10way
36:10you're
36:10thinking
36:11about
36:11salvation
36:11and
36:12realize
36:12you
36:13can't
36:13do
36:13it
36:14only
36:15Jesus
36:15can
36:15save
36:16you
36:16repent
36:17think
36:17differently
36:18believe
36:19that
36:19Jesus
36:19died
36:20for
36:20your
36:20sins
36:20was
36:21buried
36:21rose
36:22again
36:22the
36:22third
36:22day
36:22according
36:23to
36:23the
36:23scriptures
36:26are
36:27you
36:27saved
36:28today
36:30do
36:30you
36:30know
36:31that
36:32if
36:32you
36:32were
36:32to
36:32die
36:33today
36:33you
36:34would
36:34open
36:34your
36:35eyes
36:35in
36:35heaven
36:37do
36:37you
36:37have
36:37that
36:38assurance
36:39if
36:39you're
36:39not
36:40sure
36:40you
36:40I
36:40said
36:41I
36:41really
36:41don't
36:41know
36:41I
36:42I'm
36:42not
36:42quite
36:42sure
36:42please
36:43do
36:43not
36:44leave
36:44today
36:44without
36:44coming
36:45to
36:45see
36:45me
36:45or
36:46one
36:46of
36:46the
36:46other
36:46elders
36:47we
36:48will
36:48be
36:48happy
36:48to
36:48show
36:49you
36:49the
36:49scriptures
36:49what
36:50it
36:50means
36:50to
36:50be
36:50born
36:50again
36:53let
36:53me
36:53just
36:54ask
36:55if
36:55you
36:55never
36:56have
37:02father
37:02thank
37:02you
37:04you
37:05have
37:05been
37:05so
37:05good
37:05to
37:06us
37:07in
37:07our
37:07greatest
37:08need
37:08that
37:08was
37:09a need
37:09of
37:09forgiveness
37:10a need
37:11of
37:11righteousness
37:12a need
37:13of
37:13peace
37:13holiness
37:16in
37:17our
37:17greatest
37:17need
37:18you
37:18sent
37:18your
37:18son
37:18into
37:19the
37:19world
37:19you
37:20God
37:20came
37:21to
37:21us
37:22the
37:23son
37:23of
37:23God
37:23became
37:24flesh
37:24and
37:25dwelt
37:25among
37:25us
37:26we
37:27have
37:27seen
37:27his
37:27glory
37:28glory
37:28of
37:28the
37:28only
37:29of
37:29the
37:29father
37:29full
37:30of
37:30grace
37:30and
37:30truth
37:32you
37:33sent
37:33your
37:33son
37:33for
37:34us
37:34and
37:35you
37:35placed
37:36our
37:36sins
37:37on
37:37him
37:38that
37:39day
37:39on
37:39the
37:40cross
37:41so
37:42that
37:42by
37:42his
37:42sacrifice
37:43he
37:43could
37:43appease
37:44your
37:44wrath
37:44justice
37:45must
37:46be
37:46meted
37:47out
37:47and
37:48I
37:48am
37:48so
37:48glad
37:49that
37:49the
37:49justice
37:49did
37:49not
37:50fall
37:50on
37:50me
37:50because
37:50I
37:51could
37:51never
37:52have
37:52appeased
37:53you
37:54but
37:54in
37:55him
37:55and
37:55on
37:55him
37:56your
37:56justice
37:57was
37:57meted
37:57out
37:59his
38:00sacrifice
38:00appeased
38:01your
38:02wrath
38:02and
38:02atoned
38:03for
38:03our
38:03sins
38:04and
38:05then
38:05you
38:05verified
38:06that
38:06the
38:06sacrifice
38:07was
38:07acceptable
38:07by
38:08raising
38:08him
38:08from
38:08the
38:08dead
38:09on
38:09the
38:09third
38:09day
38:10and
38:11promising
38:11that
38:11all
38:12who
38:12believe
38:12in
38:13him
38:13will
38:13like
38:14him
38:14be
38:14resurrected
38:15for
38:16eternity
38:16to praise
38:18and
38:18worship
38:18you
38:19a place
38:20where
38:20there
38:20will
38:21be
38:21no
38:21more
38:21death
38:22and
38:22there
38:22be
38:22no
38:22more
38:23crying
38:23and
38:23there
38:23be
38:23no
38:24more
38:24mourning
38:24for
38:25everything
38:26has
38:26passed
38:26away
38:27and
38:27everything
38:27has
38:27become
38:28new
38:29thank
38:30you
38:30father
38:31for
38:31what
38:31you
38:31have
38:32done
38:32in
38:33Jesus
38:33name
38:33amen
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