The Greatness of Jesus Christ: Part 6

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Well, we continue our series on the greatness of Jesus Christ. Today will be part six of this particular section that we've been looking at from verse 19 to verse 30.
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What I'd like to do is bring this to a conclusion today and to give application to it throughout the message.
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But also, God willing, we will begin another series from verse 31 to verse 46 next week as we will be looking at the four -fold witness of the testimony of Jesus Christ.
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So there's much here and still much for us to glean, but as you well know, when it comes to the greatness of the person of the
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Lord Jesus Christ, we can continue these parts up until the day we die and never scratch the surface because of His great person and His greatness of who
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He is and of Himself. And saying that, please bow with me as we seek our
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Lord in prayer within the remaining hour of this worship service as we go to God's Word and to hear from heaven.
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Let's pray. Our Father in heaven, we praise
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You, we thank You, we bless You. What a glorious privilege it is to come and to worship
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You, Lord. To hallow Your name, to hallow Your Father's name.
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Lord, that is our prayer. May Your name, may Your holy name be honored, exalted, magnified, glorified, sanctified because You are worthy.
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You are worthy of glory and honor. We ask,
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Lord, that we would exalt the name of the Lord Jesus Christ just the same because as Your Word says,
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Father, as the Father is glorified,
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Christ is glorified. As Christ is glorified, the Father is glorified. In the same way.
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Lord, we pray this morning that as Your Word goes forth, we pray that it goes forth in power and truth, that Jesus Christ, Your beloved
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Son, would have all the praise and the glory. Change our hearts, dear
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Lord. We ask this in Jesus' name. Amen. It was the late
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George Bernard Shaw that was so rightly observed that he says this, quote, the statistics on death are quite impressive.
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Quite impressive. One out of one people die. Pretty good statistics, isn't it?
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It's going to happen. It will happen. There's no escaping it. As the writer of Hebrews says in chapter 9, verse 27, and as it is appointed for men to die once, but after this to judgment, after this to judgment, after death.
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So those are two inescapable events that will take place in our lives. Appointed day to die and an appointment day with judgment.
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That's even more impressive, isn't it, what the writer of Hebrews says, because God Himself gives us the sobering warning that there is a full assurance, warning of a judgment to come after death.
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Now, in light of the certainty of death, you would think that everyone that lives would be very concerned to prepare for what is beyond.
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You would think that there would be preparation. But as we all well know too much that people do not even have their minds on this.
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And if they do, they suppress it and they block it out.
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Actually, during the fall time when pagans meet to celebrate
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Halloween, it's almost as if death is, they laugh at death.
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But death is nothing to be laughed at. It is to be taken very serious.
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Yet many people continue to live their lives as if nothing lies ahead of them by pushing it out of their minds and focusing on other things of this world as they think it would not matter whatsoever on the day of their death.
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The great evangelist George Whitefield said this, told of seeing some criminals in his day riding on a cart on the way to the gallows.
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And all that they were concerned about was about who would sit on the right side of the cart with no more concern than children today arguing about who gets to sit in the front seat of a car.
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It's been around a while, hasn't it? Well, in our text today, in John's Gospel, chapter 5,
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Jesus is replying to the unbelieving Jews as we've seen, who accused him not only of breaking the
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Sabbath day, but also claiming to be equal with God. Verse 18 says, therefore the
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Jews sought all the more to kill him because he not only broke the
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Sabbath, but also said that God was his father making himself equal with God.
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So Jesus does not back away from such astonishing claims in which he made.
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Rather, it's interesting to note, if you look in the text, that Jesus literally intensifies his claims all the more to be an equal with God.
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His claims all the more that he is equal with God the
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Father. It's really staggering claims that he makes, astonishing and staggering, but they're true.
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As we have been working our way through this amazing study of the greatness of Jesus Christ, we have been looking into detail of Jesus' claims to be equal with God the
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Father in every way. So, he claims to be equal with God in his nature.
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We looked at that in verse 17. He's equal with God in his works, which we have already seen,
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I'm sorry, in verse 18. He's equal with God in his love and knowledge, in verse 20.
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He is equal with God in his sovereign power, verse 21. He is equal with God in his judgment, verse 22.
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He's equal with God in honor and in worship, in verse 23. And no mere man, let me say this, no mere man or no created being could ever make these incredible and astonishing claims unless he was absolutely insane or he is truly
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God himself in flesh. And the latter is the truth.
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Jesus proves these claims. He proves them. So we looked at the proofs of them.
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To recap somewhat, his first proof is that he was equal with God, was in his perfect obedience to his
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Father, in verse 19. His second proof was his great works, in verse 20.
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His third proof was his power to give life, in verse 21. His fourth proof was that he was equal with God was that he has control over to judge all people, in verse 22 and verse 23.
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His fifth proof of being equal with God was his power over man's destiny.
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Over man's destiny. The power to save man from death to life.
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His sixth proof is that he was equal with God was his energy of life, his acidity.
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That he alone is the very source of life itself. We touched on that last
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Lord's Day because Jesus says, I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the
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Father but by me. John 10 .10 says, and once again
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Jesus is speaking, the thief comes not but to steal, to kill and destroy. But I am come that they may have life and that they may have it more abundantly.
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That life is a quality of life, not a quantity of, quality of life,
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I'm sorry, not the quality of life, but a quality of life. That is God's life. Zoe life.
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John 1 .4, in him was life and the life was the light of men.
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John 11 .25, Jesus says, I am the resurrection and the life.
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He that believes in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live.
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Now we come to verse 24, and I'd like to take it from verse 24 to verse 30, even though we have already looked at verse 24 and 25 and some of verse 26,
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I'm going to use this as an introduction into bringing us into the last three verses to verse 28 to 30, which is very critical.
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Because what is being said from verse 28 to verse 30 speaks of two resurrections.
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And the resurrection, if you back up somewhat in the verse 25 we'll be looking at, there's a present resurrection, a spiritual resurrection, then he speaks of a physical resurrection in the future.
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The spiritual resurrection is the present tense, when everyone who will hear the voice of the
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Son of God, they will pass from death to life. That is only to the believers, the spiritual resurrection that happens in the present.
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The non -believers obviously will not have that. So verse 25,
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Jesus says, truly, truly, or most assuredly, I say to you, and again meaning he is saying,
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I'm telling you something new. I'm telling you something new here is a revelation that he's going to tell us, and he's telling us to, he that has ears to hear, listen very carefully to what the
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Lord is saying here. The hour is coming, and now is, and when the dead will hear the voice of the
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Son of God, and those who hear will live, they will live. That's the spiritual resurrection.
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That spiritual resurrection is regeneration. Regeneration happens when the
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Spirit of the living God transforms the heart, transforms the soul, and they become a new creation.
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Paul said it in 1 Corinthians 5 .21.
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I'm thinking about that great verse, he that became sin, that we might be the righteousness of God.
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How can I forget 5 .17, therefore if anyone is in Christ, he's a new creation.
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He's a new creature. Old things are passed away, behold, all things have become new.
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So there's a transformation, right? It's important to study the
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Word of God. We all know this, but what really matters is the transformation.
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The transformation. And we must know God's Word in order for that to happen.
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I like what R .C. Sproul says here, even though it cannot jump the mind, it must process through the mind to the heart.
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So there is a renewing of our mind, but it is really, the heart is the aim.
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The heart. And that's what we want to look at in this powerful text today.
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It's in our hearts. Jesus said this, the hour is coming and now is when the dead will hear the voice of the
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Son of God and those who hear will live. They will live.
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In this text, Jesus is speaking to those who will receive regeneration, spiritual life, newness of life.
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That newness of life, as you well know, is everything to enter into the kingdom of God.
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Jesus told Nicodemus, a very religious man, you must be born again.
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You must be born from above. That is our message to a world that's dying.
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Repent, believe the gospel, repent, turn from your sins, repent, change your ways, but you must be born again.
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Must have newness of life. And the key phrase that how we know this is spiritual life that Jesus is speaking of before he gets to the physical resurrection is this is and now is
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Jesus was calling people to spiritual life before the cross, before his death, before his resurrection, before Pentecost.
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He called people to newness of life, to new life. Isn't this interesting?
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It's like these folks, as we read in the stories of the gospel, when
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Jesus does these miracles and brings newness of life to many of them, they knew nothing of the cross.
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They knew nothing of his resurrection to come. We are blessed and we see all this revelation as we look back.
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But during that time period, in Jesus' day, they did not know what was to come of him dying on a cross and dying for the sins of his people and then being buried and then rising again from the dead.
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But what does he call people to do? To believe in him, right? To believe in him, why?
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Because he is the resurrection and the life. And even now, when we do call, when
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God calls us to believe in him, we have all that revelation to look at.
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How could Jesus do this? He went to the cross.
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But before his glorious resurrection, and this is the key, folks, before his cross, before his resurrection, before all that great necessary demonstration of what he was to do in the will of God to take it to the cross in which it was ordained before the foundation of the world, he called people to himself.
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Isn't that the key? To believe who he is. Even before those great events.
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Why? Why does he call people to himself? Because he is the life. He is the resurrection and the life.
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Now look at verse 26, for as the father has life in himself, so he has granted the son to have life in himself.
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Now we come to verse 27, and look at what verse 27 says, and he has given him authority to execute judgment also.
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Why? Because he is the son of man.
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We're going to look at that briefly. He is the son of man. See, this is the seventh proof here.
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The seventh proof is that Jesus was equal with God in his power to execute judgment.
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To execute judgment. He has the power, the authority to execute judgment, and we will see later on, his judgment is just.
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His judgment is righteous. Nothing unfair at the judgment bar of God.
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Jesus Christ is very God of very God, but he's also very man of very man.
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That's what basically he's saying here. He just told us in verse 25, when the dead will hear the voice of the
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Son of God, the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who will hear will live.
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Again, spiritual life, regeneration. Ephesians 2 verse 1, and you who were dead in trespasses and sins.
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Verse 5, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ, by grace you have been saved.
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Verse 6, and raised us up together and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus.
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Verse 7, gives us the purpose to this great act of regeneration that leads to our transformation.
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He says this, that in the ages to come, he might show the exceeding riches of his grace and his kindness toward us in Christ Jesus, to God be the glory.
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You notice that? It's all that in the act of regeneration that he comes and regenerates us, and it's nothing of ourselves.
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It is by grace, it is by God's unmerited favor. God showed us grace, it's not anything we can earn, it's not anything we can do.
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He does it by his grace, his mercy, his kindness, his compassion, and he says that, that in the ages to come, that he might show the exceeding riches of his grace and his kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.
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We're so undeserving of this. Who do we think we are? We're nothing.
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We were dead in our sins, a dead man can't will to be saved, can he? A dead man can't get up, you go to a funeral, you could take pins and needles and stick that dead man and say, hey, come out, can't you feel this?
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Can't you see? No, he's dead. He can't do nothing. Isn't that a great miracle?
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How God in our deadness and our deadness to the life of God that we're dead in our sins, that he supernaturally raises us up to newness of life.
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It's an incredible miracle. Again, verse 27, he has given him authority, power to execute judgment also because he is the son of man.
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There it is, son of man. You know as well as I do, Jesus Christ is the son of man as the scripture proclaims, as well as he's the son of God.
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Yet, as a man he lived, as of sons of men, yet he was without sin.
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He lived a perfect life and pleased the Father in every way.
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He walked through life as a man, bearing all the weight, the pressures of shame, trials, temptations, sufferings, death, joys and victories.
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He knows every facet, every fiber. Folks, this should encourage us.
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He knows every pain that you're going through today. He knows every hardship that you're going.
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He knows your motives. He searches the reins of your heart. He knows human suffering.
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He knows human life like no one else does. And he cares.
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And he loves us. Isaiah 53 .3, one of my favorite scriptures from Isaiah.
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He is despised and rejected by men. A man of sorrows, acquainted with grief, and we hid.
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Listen to that. We hid. It makes me think, as it were, our faces from him, just like Adam and Eve, hiding from God in the garden when sin came into this world through disobedience.
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Trying to hide from God. Trying to cover up their nakedness with fig leaves. Trying to hide and run from God.
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That's what people are doing today. They're trying to cloak themselves and hide from God. But God sees through us.
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God sees everything. He sees the intent motives of our heart. All is bare before him and naked before him.
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In which we will give an account. That's what the writer of Hebrews says. But yes, we're trying to hide ourselves from God.
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Cover up our nakedness as our parents, our early parents did.
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He was despised and we did not esteem him. We did not esteem him.
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And all that, God still reaches out in his great love and mercy and comes to us in Jesus Christ.
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Jesus Christ is able to execute perfect judgment because he is the righteous one.
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And for this reason, God the Father has given him the right and the authority to judge all men.
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So proof number eight is that Jesus Christ was equal with God, was that his claim was to be the
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Son of Man. The Son of Man. This was Jesus' favorite description of himself, the
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Son of Man. Now we come to the final and last proof that Jesus was equal with God, the
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Father was. And this is incredible. But it's amazing and it's true.
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And it's staggering to our mind that he has this much power. But Jesus said this in Matthew 28, all power, all authority is given to me in heaven and earth.
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That he has the power to resurrect all men from the grave, to resurrect all men from the grave.
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Now I want you to listen to me closely here. This means that he will, in the future, resurrect everyone, everyone that has ever lived from the time of Adam to present and even after we are dead and gone,
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God willing, whenever he comes back to this earth again in his second coming, that he will resurrect everyone that will live before after us.
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In other words, everyone that will live on this earth, incredibly and amazingly, will be resurrected.
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Folks, this leaves us spellbound in all of the greatness of Jesus Christ that he will do this.
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And many times I think so many thousands of people that died in the wars, drowned at sea, their bodies at the bottom of the ocean and skeleton remains and even turns to dust and almost a fragment to almost nothing.
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People cremated, I think about people that, a lot of people are cremated, they scatter their ashes out of planes and boats and their ashes are scattered into just tiny little micro fragments.
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And you think about this, it's all over the earth. And God has the power to bring that up again.
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And I want you to think about this. I remember hearing A .W. Tozer on this that God has all power, not some power.
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In other words, his power is unlimited. And for God to speak something into existence, this is beyond us because we have limitations of creature beings that we only could go so far, but to God to speak something like speak to the dust or speak to nothing and it all comes together as matter comes together and all the peoples that died on the face of this earth, however they died and their remains is all over and is scattered on the entire earth that God all he has to do or Christ has to do is speak the word and it all comes together.
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Folks is that staggering? It should be and it puts us in awe of the greatness of Jesus Christ because when he says all authority is given unto me, all power, that means all power.
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And when Jesus says I am the resurrection and the life, that means he is the very source of life itself.
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It's awesome, isn't it? Now we're going to look at this in respects of this resurrection.
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Note, there's several facts I want to first bring to your attention from these verses from verse 28 to verse 30.
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Let me read them. Do not marvel at this for the hour is coming in which all, all who are in the graves or the tombs will hear his voice and Jesus says and come forth.
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Those who have done good to the resurrection of life and those who have done evil to the resurrection of condemnation.
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I can of myself do nothing as I hear I judge and my judgment is righteous because I do not seek my own will but the will of the father who sent me.
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Now in verse 28 and verse 29, there are several facts concerning this awesome power, this awesome authority in which
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Jesus is to resurrect all people that ever lived, that have lived and that will ever live past, present and to the future will be resurrected.
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The first fact is number one, it is by the all powerful voice of the word of God.
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Jesus Christ is that word. He is the word of God. The power of Christ that shall resurrect all that are in the graves.
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The second is all that are in the graves will come forth, shall be resurrected, not a single one will be left out who lived on the earth.
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All will be resurrected. They shall come forth. It's going to happen.
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It's going to happen. Third, and it is our great hope.
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Third, the third fact is Jesus says the hour is coming, the hour is coming.
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This is a very important phrase. Folks, we've got to remember this is, Jesus is not referring to a 60 minutes, a 60 minute time frame.
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What he's referring to is an epic event that will take place when he calls by his voice and his power all out of the graves.
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That will take place in God's good time. Now let me put a parenthesis and a question here.
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When will this happen? Well, let's take the word of God exactly the way it is and add nothing to it and subtract something from it as so many people do today and try to read their own opinions into it in which leads to false teaching.
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When will this happen? We do not know. We don't know when this is going to happen.
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So many people put dates and times and they've proved to be false teachers. But Jesus said this in Matthew 24, 36, and listen very carefully.
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If anyone comes to you and says they got the day and the hour all figured out, they are false teachers.
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I don't care how smart and intelligent they may come across. They are not smart.
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They prove themselves to be fools. Jesus Christ himself, folks, said this.
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Matthew 24, 36 says, but of that day and hour, no one knows.
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This is the Lord Jesus Christ. No one knows, not even the angels of heaven.
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That's humbling. Not even the angels of heaven, but my
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Father only. Now, when Jesus said this, does
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Jesus know? That's a good question. He knows now because he's at the right hand of the
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Father. He's ascended on high. But at this time, as he was the Son of Man on this earth, he said, my
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Father only. But he knows because he's at the right hand of the
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Father. But as the Son of Man, he chose in limitations in that sense of knowledge of the coming.
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But the Father, my Father only, Jesus says. What really matters and what
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I'm getting to is this. What really matters is this. Is that we are to be ready and be prepared when he does come.
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Because scripture is very clear. When he does come, no one's going to expect him. As a thief in the night.
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Amen. I remember years ago, I don't know if you've ever been robbed.
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We were robbed and I mean, our whole home, this is back when I was an early teen, teenager, probably 13, 14 years old, and my dad had all these guns, collections, kind of like my brother
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Ben, all these collections of guns and rifles, and I mean very expensive ones.
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And someone must have heard somehow that he had these. And my mom and I went to town,
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I never will forget it. And we, of course, we lived out in the rural part of the country, we felt that it was safe.
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We went to town for a couple hours, came back, our entire house was ransacked.
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We walked in, the first thing I thought of, my dad was in a big hurry, he might have came in and got in a hurry and flipped some things over and stuff, but we got to looking through the whole house, everything was flipped upside down.
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And I almost felt like there was an invasion, you know, it just didn't feel like home anymore. Someone was in this house, and then we saw one rifle that was dropped and we noticed the back sliding door was busted open, the dog was, we had a pet bull, his name was
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Bruno, he was underneath the coke machine, a coke machine my dad had, and he was trembling. So he probably got abused.
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And the door was broken open, and to make a long story short, the thief didn't tell us when he was coming.
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The thief didn't say, okay, I'm going to send you an invitation, I'm coming on this day. The thief came unexpectedly.
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And scripture says that when Christ comes back, he's coming unexpectedly. No one, a lot of people's going to be caught off guard, and especially these people making these dates, that he's going to be coming back on this day or this hour.
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Not so. Only Jesus says, but of that day and hour, no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, but my
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Father only. Fourth fact is that Jesus says that, do not marvel at this, for an hour, an hour, not sixty minutes now, an epic event is coming in which all who are in the graves will hear his voice.
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They will hear his voice, and he will come, and will come forth. The bodies will come forth.
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Now as Jesus did with the spiritual resurrection in verse 25, Jesus said, of the hour, the epic event, not sixty minutes, but of the physical resurrection is coming, the resurrection is coming, the resurrection of all who are in the graves, the tombs, is still in the future.
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We are still awaiting his coming, his second coming. And it's interesting too, if you study in scriptures when
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Christ is in his first coming, no one expected his first coming, did they?
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They really didn't. If there were any that were suspecting his first coming, they knew it from the scriptures, but they did not know, oh wow.
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It was just a handful that knew some of the prophecies that he would be born in Bethlehem.
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But when he came and entered into the world, he came to be born, not in a king's palace, but he came in a poor, stinky animal stable, in the poorest of the poor conditions, where there was manure and a feeding trough as his cradle.
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This was the king of kings and the lord of lords to come be born in that environment? A lot did not understand or even look at it, that this is the
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Messiah? As it will be, as it was in the first coming, he's going to unexpectedly come like a thief in the night at his second coming.
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At that time, when he does come, the Bible says the righteous dead now in heaven, that is with the
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Lord, in 1 Corinthians 5, 6 and 8, and of the wicked, the unrighteous dead, who are now at this moment in Hades, in hell, darkness, weeping, gnashing of teeth, as Luke 16 speaks of, will be given resurrected bodies fit for all eternity.
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Now, I want to make this very clear. Let me explain a little bit here, because I used to think, when
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I had a hard time putting this together, how is this all going to happen? But I'm going to try to make it as simple as possible for us all to understand what and how this is all going on.
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The Bible says, absent from the body, present with the Lord. Those who die in the
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Lord, the believers. So all those who are in heaven will receive a glorified body.
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Keep in mind that the unrighteous, the wicked, will not receive a glorified body.
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Yet they will have a risen body that will be fit for all eternity to suffer in the torments of hell.
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That is the wicked. The righteous, the believers, will have a body that will be glorified for eternal bliss in heaven.
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The righteous, a glorified body to worship, to love, to serve God for all eternity.
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The wicked, a body to suffer eternal torment in the lake of fire for all eternity. Now, keep in mind, the wicked right now are in hell, weeping and gnashing of teeth, in eternal torment, but it's almost like a jail cell.
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They will be taken out of the jail cell and stand at the
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Great White Throne Judgment before the Judge of Judges and the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords and Jesus will judge them and sentence them, kind of like the prison in our language, to the lake of fire for all eternity.
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This will be at the final resurrection, the second death. This is when
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Christ comes back at His second coming, His glorious second coming, which we anticipate with glory.
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As believers, this is our blessed hope, when He will make all things right, because wickedness and evil and sin and the curse and all that will be put underfoot.
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His glorious second coming with the sound, at the sound, of the last trumpet.
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Turn with me to 1 Corinthians 15. I want you to see this. There's much to be said about this, but time only permits me to go to a few verses.
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So, I've chosen just a few, but 1 Corinthians 15 is really important and we're going to go to 1
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Thessalonians chapter 4. The 1 Corinthians chapter 15 says this, and let me read just 8 verses.
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From verse 50, let me begin with verse 50.
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This whole chapter is about resurrection, right? It's the resurrection chapter. Paul speaks of Christ, His resurrection.
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And His resurrection is our hope. The last enemy will be destroyed, His death. He speaks about an
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Adam, and Adam all die, and Christ all shall be made alive. Then He speaks about the effects of denying the resurrection, which is severe.
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And then He speaks about the glorious body of the resurrection. But I just want to bring to your attention of the last portion here, from verse 50 to verse 58, of our final victory.
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This is the final victory, folks. This is what we anticipate. Listen to verse 50.
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Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does corruption inherit incorruption.
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And notice what He says in verse 51. Behold, what a revelation that Paul received here.
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I tell you a mystery. I tell you a mystery, something that was hidden from the ages. We shall not all sleep.
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In other words, this is not it. This is not the end of it. But we shall all be changed.
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This is talking about at the great resurrection, when Jesus Christ comes back. And notice in verse 52.
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In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye. Notice what
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He says. At the last trumpet. There's a series of trumpets, folks.
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But this is going to take place at the last trumpet. I believe, if I'm not mistaken, in Revelation it speaks of seven trumpets.
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The last trumpet. Usually, seven is a day of completion.
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Perfection. On that seventh sound of the trumpet, there's going to be a finality.
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For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.
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A lot of people say, oh, Rapture takes place. Pop! Here I am. I'm gone. It's not going to be like that.
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What He's talking about is, at the moment in the twinkling of an eye, notice in the last portion of it, we shall be changed.
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The change will take place. Blink your eye. That's how fast that change will take place. Can God do that?
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Yes, He can. Nothing's too hard for God. Notice what
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He says in verse 53. For this corruptible must put on incorruption. This mortal must put on immortality.
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So when this corruptible has put on incorruption, and this mortal has put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written.
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Death is swallowed up in victory. Oh, death, where is your sting? Oh, Hades, where is your victory?
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And that word Hades means the grave there. Where's your victory? Don't you love it?
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Death is swallowed up in victory. Only Jesus Christ can swallow up death.
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He defeated death. He said, I have the keys. I'm Him that lives forevermore and I have the keys of death.
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And hell, the sting of death is sin. Isn't that the truth?
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That's what stings us. It makes me think of a bee. A wasp. All of us have been stung by a wasp, haven't we?
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A bee, some sort of matter. Hurts. It hurts. It stings. Those little insects, it makes me think that God made those creatures.
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Sometimes I think, why, Lord, do you make those creatures? I think it's to remind us of the sting of death. Because usually everybody gets stung one time or another in life.
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And that sting at the present moment may hurt, but take away the stinger. That's what
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Jesus did. He took the stinger out of the death.
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It's not going to hurt. And the strength of sin is the law. But thanks be to God.
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Don't you love that? But thanks be to God who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
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Where does the victory come from? The Lord Jesus Christ. He himself is the resurrection and the life.
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And then Paul leaves it with a benediction on this last of this portion of this chapter.
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Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast. In other words, be steadfast, be immovable, always abounding in the work of the
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Lord. In other words, until he comes again, be abounding in the work of God. Whatever God has called you and I to do, do it with all of our might and heart.
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Works matters. Knowing that your labor is not in vain in the
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Lord. You know why he says that? Because we're going to all be judged according to our works.
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That's why he says that. That's important. So, that's an important chapter and verses to look at.
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Let's jump with me, turn with me to another great text found in 1 Thessalonians chapter 4.
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I'd like to tie this in here to 1 Corinthians 15 what
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I just read because it goes hand in glove about the resurrection.
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Let me just pick up verse 13. And by the way, if you read this whole chapter, I think it's very interesting.
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From verse 1 to verse 8 what does he speak about?
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Living holy. Living a sanctified life. Our personal holiness.
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We should be obsessed with sanctification. For God, verse 7
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For God did not call us in cleanness but in holiness. Notice that's the way we are to walk and to live as we do all that we do and we're called to until Christ comes back is to live holy lives.
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Sanctification. Then in verse 9 to 12 he talks about brotherly and orderly a brotherly orderly life.
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Brotherly love. Loving one another. Notice verse 11 that you also aspire to lead a quiet life to mind your own business and to work with your own hands as we command you.
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Work is important. And then he says this that you may walk properly toward those who are outside.
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That's talking about the unbelievers. That you may lack nothing.
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In other words, your life is an open Bible. You are an open testament. You are an open Bible. And by the way, your life preaches more than what
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I'm preaching now. Your life and my life Monday through Saturday preaches more than any sermon.
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You are an open Bible to people to read. Verse 13
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But I do not want you to be ignorant brethren concerning those who have fallen asleep.
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Those who have died basically. I love the way he uses asleep because what he's saying is when he said the death it's not a finality.
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Well that's why he says asleep. They're going to wake up. There's going to be a resurrection.
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Jesus is going to wake them up. That's like when Paul says wake up you sleeper.
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Wake up! And Christ will give you life. Have fallen asleep.
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Least you sorrow as others who have no hope. But we don't sorrow like the world sorrows when people die.
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Right? Because we know especially to the believer precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of the saints.
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They're ushered into glory. We tell little
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Felicity and Claire it's just goodbye for now. It's not a final goodbye.
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We're going to see them again if they're in the Lord. Verse 14 If we believe that Jesus died there it is.
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That's the bedrock of the resurrection. Jesus Christ's resurrection rose again and even so God will bring with him those who sleep in Jesus.
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And listen what he says here. For this we say to you by the word of the Lord that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the
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Lord will by no means precede those who are asleep. For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a shout with the voice of the archangel.
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Notice what he says. With the trumpet of God. I really believe. Check me with this
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Bereans. That the trumpet of God. He's talking about what he said in 1 Corinthians chapter 15 at the last trumpet.
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And the dead in Christ will rise first. Why would there be three different comings?
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There's only two comings. The first coming of Christ is advent and his second coming is consummation.
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That's it. People want to cause some kind of confusion about having three comings but there's only two comings.
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The dead in Christ will rise first. The voice of the archangel with the trumpet of God.
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Then we who are alive and remain shall be called up together with them in the clouds to meet the
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Lord in the air and thus shall we always be with the Lord. Therefore comfort one another with these words.
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These words are to be not to be debated theologically. They're to be words of comfort to us.
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Words of comfort. Now let me continue to read because there is a there's a line here and we don't deny a rapture.
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We believe in a rapture but a finality rapture but we're not going to get into the time frames because the
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Lord has that all fixed. But notice what he says here in chapter 5.
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The letter continues but listen what Paul says. But concerning the time to the seasons brethren you have no need that I should write to you.
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In other words you know it. You know what's going on in this world. About the times and the seasons for you yourselves know perfectly that the day of the
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Lord so comes as a thief of the night which we talked about. For when they say peace and safety we hear this today then sudden destruction comes upon them as labor pains upon as labor pains upon a pregnant woman and they shall not escape.
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But you brethren are not in darkness so that this day judgment day should overtake you as a thief.
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You are the sons of light and the sons of the day. We are not of the night nor of the darkness therefore let us not sleep as others do but let us watch and be sober for those who sleep sleep at night and those who get drunk are drunk at night.
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And let us who are of the day be sober putting on the breastplate of faith and love and as a helmet the hope of salvation.
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And notice what he says here for God did not appoint us to wrath God did not appoint us to wrath but to obtain salvation through our
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Lord Jesus Christ who died for us and whether we wake or sleep whether we live together with him therefore comfort each other and edify one another just as you are also are doing.
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That's what these verses are for is for edification. Now the final resurrection will usher believers into the glories of heaven for the believer eternal bliss bring the unbelievers to endless sufferings of eternal judgment in the lake of fire.
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Sobering truth isn't it? But it's going to happen. In verse 29 Jesus says and they come forth those who have done good to the resurrection of life and those who have done evil to the resurrection of condemnation.
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Now what is he saying? At the final judgment day there are two not three but two eternal destinies.
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Why did I say three? You'll see in just a minute. Eternal life or eternal condemnation.
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That's it. Nothing in between. Jesus says that both those who did good and those who did evil will be raised by the way and I want to tell you why
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I said not three. Right here. There's nothing in the word of God that backs up or teaches that the wicked will be annihilated.
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Nothing. I thank God I got a son -in -law and a deacon here in this church that believes right along with me and brother
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Keith as well that we do not believe in annihilation. That's a damnable doctrine folks and it's being taught in the churches today.
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If annihilation was true it would take evangelism out. I'm telling you why have any need for the gospel really?
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Why warn people from hell? Right? They will be raised people will be raised for judgment and then go away into eternal punishment as Matthew 25 46 says but the righteous into eternal life.
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That's the Bible. So if eternal life is forever then eternal punishment is forever.
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Next is that we see that the basis for judgment will be a person's deeds.
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A person's works. Good deeds or evil deeds. Now, don't misunderstand me here.
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Let me make this crystal clear. This is very prominent in the
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Roman Catholic churches. The characterizing believers as those who did the good deeds outweighs the bad deeds.
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The unbelievers as those who committed the evil deeds. Jesus is not saying here and he's not teaching that salvation is by works.
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He's not saying that. We know that throughout his ministry the Lord Jesus Christ taught clearly that salvation is the work of God.
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He said this in John 6 29 that you believe in him whom he has sent.
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It is the work of God. Yet the Bible does teach concerning good works in its proper context is that it is the validation of salvation.
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It is the evidence of our salvation. Read the book of James. This is so important.
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Works don't save us but we're saved unto good works. It is the validation.
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Good works are simply the evidence of salvation. And those who believe in the
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Son of God will as a result do good deeds. It's that simple. So it's
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I'll give you a chapter and verse. John 3 21 Jesus himself. Listen to what he says.
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But he who does does the truth comes to the light.
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That his deeds may be clearly seen made evident that they have been done or wrought in God.
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That's Christ. That's the fruit. Our actions speak louder than our words.
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See our actions the way we behave, the way we talk is what we talked about in Sunday school today.
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Every careless word, every idle word will be given account on the day of judgment. Our words, our actions, our deeds, our motives folks will even be judged at the judgment seat.
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Now there is going to be a judgment to our works as believers but it's not a judgment to condemnation.
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Ephesians 2 10 For we are his workmanship created in Christ Jesus for good works which
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God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them. Again, good works cannot produce salvation but are evidence of the result of God empowered fruits wrought by the
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Holy Spirit which God prepared beforehand. In other words, like salvation believers sanctification and good works are ordained before time began.
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Ephesians 1 4 Just as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world that we should be holy and without blame before him in love.
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Every time I read that I get convicted because I know I have not been without blame. And I know
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I have not always been as holy as I should be holy but I desire holiness and I desire to be holy more than anything else in my personal walk with the
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Lord. And that on the contrary those who reject Jesus Christ will be characterized by evil deeds.
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Now let me give you a quote by John Calvin from his institutes here. Former Calvin says this when he commented on John 5 29 and by the way he's speaking to a lot of people at that time the
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Roman Catholic Church. He says for without the pardon which
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God grants to those who believe in him there never was a man in the world of whom we could say that he has lived well.
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Nor is there even a single work that will be reckoned all together good unless God pardons the sins which belong to it for all are imperfect and corrupted.
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Can I get amen? We all fall short we have all sinned.
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Now in his day Calvin goes on to refute Roman Catholic error in which gain in which we gain in other words eternal life through merits or good deeds.
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This is what Calvin continues to say. Indeed we do not deny that the faith which justifies us is accompanied by the earnest desire to live well and righteously.
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But we only maintain that our confidence cannot rest on anything else than the mercy of God alone.
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Isn't that wonderful? That's our confidence. God alone in his mercy.
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Amen. Well very quickly I got to get through this because my time is literally gone.
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The judgment will be just because he does not seek his own will. He does the will of the one that sent him in verse 30.
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Jesus says I can of myself do nothing as I hear I judge my judgment is righteous because I do not seek my own will but the will of the father who sent me.
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The judgment of Christ will be a just righteous judgment. He judges precisely as he hears exactly as God wills.
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He hears and does the will of God perfectly therefore he will hear God and execute God's judgment exactly as he wills because he is the righteous one.
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Only men who have lived godly and righteous lives will take part in the resurrection of eternal life.
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There will be many, sad to say, tragically will come forth in the resurrection of damnation, condemnation.
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This is serious folks. This is found in Revelation 20.
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Go with me to Revelation 20. This is the great white throne judgment.
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Before I came to the Lord Jesus Christ this part of my testimony I read this this is a terrible place really to read but I was
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I was so interested in reading through Revelation I did not understand one thing all the way through this wonderful book until I got to chapter 20 and then
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God woke me up. And I got to this section here and I literally fell down on my knees and I was crying out to God because I knew
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I fit this category. Then I saw a great white throne judgment verse great white throne verse 11 and him who sat on it from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away and there was found no place for them.
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And I saw the dead small and great standing before God and the books were opened.
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There's a lot of books books plural. Another book was open which is the book of life.
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The dead and the dead were judged according to their works by the things which were written in the books.
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Verse 13 the sea gave up the dead who were in it and death and Hades were delivered up the dead delivered up the dead who were in them.
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It's like God pulls everybody out of hell out of jail to be sentenced to the lake of fire.
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They were judged each one according to their works. Each one I heard
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Ravenhill Leonard Ravenhill preach on this the great white throne judgment. He says how long would this take?
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He said it doesn't matter. There's all eternity for God to judge each and every one billions of people.
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Then death and Hades were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death and anyone not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.
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Powerful folks. The second death the second death.
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Look at verse 8 chapter 21 right over.
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But the cowardly the unbelieving abominable murderers sexually immoral sorcerers idolaters all liars shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone which is the second death.
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The second death. Solemn and serious warning folks that the bible even tells us what kinds of people that will be going there.
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The outcast from the new heaven and new earth right into the lake of fire. Look at verse 6 in chapter 20.
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Blessed and holy is he who has part in the first resurrection. Over such the second death has no power but they shall be priest of God and of Christ and shall reign with him a thousand years.
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Those are who die those are those who die in the Lord. Blessed glorious privilege and enter into the kingdom of heaven.
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The first death is physical the second death is spiritual. The eternal lake of fire the final eternal hell.
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Jesus said come unto me all you labor and heavy laden and I'll give you rest. We are to come to the
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Lord Jesus Christ because he's the one that defeated death, hell and the grave. Let me give you a story.
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A man once came to D .L. Moody the famous evangelist back in his day said that he was worried because he didn't feel saved.
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He didn't feel saved. Pastor Moody said was
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Noah safe in the ark? That's what he asked him. Was Noah safe in the ark?
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He said certainly he was. Then Moody asked another question
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I'm sorry. The man replied well what made him safe?
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He was in the ark. Was it his feeling?
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Was it his feeling saved? Made him saved?
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He was in the ark. And beloved let me say this. What really matters with just us here speaking about this that all importance is are you in Christ?
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That's what matters. That's all that's going to matter when we breathe our last breath.
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You see our salvation doesn't rest in our feelings but in Christ alone. If we're in him we're secure, we're safe, we're protected from the coming storm judgment that is coming on this wicked world.
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Our feelings come later. They rest on the absolute truthfulness of God's promises in Jesus.
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It's all by faith. Faith always precedes the feelings. The truth is but more than anything else is an invitation and a call here to hear the words of Jesus Christ and believe in him.
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Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God. Have you put your complete trust and faith in him?
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That's all that's going to matter. May we rest in that. As John 20, 31 says, but these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the
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Christ the Son of God. And notice what he says, not only that you may believe but that by believing presently, continually you may have life in his name.
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Let's pray. Father we thank you so much Lord for your word today.
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We thank you for the exhortation, we thank you for the warnings. May we receive the warnings as we receive the exhortation.
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Thank you Father for your son, the Lord Jesus Christ that has given us life and more abundantly eternal life.
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The great gift of Christ himself. We thank you Lord. We thank you that by believing in your word, by believing in who you are and your perfect person, your works and all that you accomplished on the cross has purchased our salvation.
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Lord we cannot thank you enough for this. As you said Lord, he who believes in the
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Son has everlasting life and he who does not believe the Son shall not see life.
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But the wrath of God abides on him. Oh Lord, I pray that if anyone here has not believed in you, may this be the day of visitation for them.
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Today is the day of salvation. And as many as received him, to them he gave the right the privilege to become children of God, even to them who believe in his name.
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We thank you Lord for these great promises. They are precious to us. Thank you
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Father. We give you all power, glory and honor. And we thank you
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Lord that salvation does not depend on us. It's all of the Lord. And we ask these things in Jesus name.