1 00:00:05,250 --> 00:00:08,820 We live in an information saturated society. 2 00:00:09,510 --> 00:00:13,800 Uh, there are an average of about 330 billion with a b 3 00:00:13,800 --> 00:00:15,420 email sent every single day. 4 00:00:15,930 --> 00:00:17,220 You're like, that's my inbox. 5 00:00:17,220 --> 00:00:19,020 I've got all 333 billion of them. 6 00:00:19,020 --> 00:00:21,930 Some of you have the badge that probably reads a number close to that 7 00:00:21,930 --> 00:00:23,100 sitting on your phones right now. 8 00:00:23,280 --> 00:00:26,370 And the rest of us, uh, Twitch because of that, because you 9 00:00:26,370 --> 00:00:27,960 don't clear out your, your emails. 10 00:00:28,590 --> 00:00:31,230 Three 30 billion emails every single day. 11 00:00:31,230 --> 00:00:31,995 2.5 12 00:00:31,995 --> 00:00:35,205 billion Facebook posts, 3.5 13 00:00:35,205 --> 00:00:43,860 billion Snapchat snaps, 24 billion text messages, 500 million tweets posted. 14 00:00:45,030 --> 00:00:46,140 That's a lot of information. 15 00:00:47,415 --> 00:00:49,905 Most of it totally pointless. 16 00:00:50,765 --> 00:00:52,865 Uh, most of it is, is completely meaningless. 17 00:00:53,585 --> 00:00:55,745 I wonder if you ever get information fatigue. 18 00:00:56,265 --> 00:00:56,385 I. 19 00:00:57,000 --> 00:00:59,879 Where you just feel like there's so much information bombarding 20 00:00:59,879 --> 00:01:03,030 you on a daily basis that you're sitting there thinking to yourself, 21 00:01:03,030 --> 00:01:04,650 man, I just, I, I'm done with it. 22 00:01:04,650 --> 00:01:05,880 I just wanna turn it all off. 23 00:01:07,679 --> 00:01:11,730 The danger in living in such an info heavy age is just that information 24 00:01:11,730 --> 00:01:16,410 fatigue that can cause us to miss the really important stuff that gets lost 25 00:01:16,410 --> 00:01:20,190 in, in all of the other 330 billion emails that get sent every day. 26 00:01:21,690 --> 00:01:23,670 Have you ever thrown out a check with the junk mail? 27 00:01:24,119 --> 00:01:25,919 Because you got it confused. 28 00:01:25,919 --> 00:01:28,679 There was just so much, and, and you, you ended up just tossing 29 00:01:28,679 --> 00:01:30,660 it all in the trash and later on you're going, wait, wait a minute. 30 00:01:30,660 --> 00:01:31,440 Where did that check go? 31 00:01:31,440 --> 00:01:33,869 And, and you realize, oh man, I, I, I threw something 32 00:01:33,869 --> 00:01:35,580 valuable out with the junk. 33 00:01:37,440 --> 00:01:40,770 Well, this morning I wanna suggest to you that you've got an opportunity 34 00:01:40,770 --> 00:01:43,065 to hear the most important information you will ever know. 35 00:01:44,934 --> 00:01:47,759 And, and, and I'm, I'm glad we're here this morning and, and I hope 36 00:01:47,759 --> 00:01:50,339 and pray that your devices, your phones, your things like that are, 37 00:01:50,339 --> 00:01:52,020 are, are silenced off, put away. 38 00:01:53,490 --> 00:01:57,450 Because this is information that that needs to not get lost amongst all 39 00:01:57,450 --> 00:01:58,710 of the other junk that's out there. 40 00:02:00,030 --> 00:02:04,080 It's not information that comes from, from my brain, my mind, my intellect. 41 00:02:04,080 --> 00:02:08,699 It's information that comes from God's word, and it is undoubtedly the most 42 00:02:08,820 --> 00:02:14,760 significant and important information you could ever, ever, ever know or hear. 43 00:02:16,710 --> 00:02:16,950 Church. 44 00:02:16,950 --> 00:02:18,359 I'm gonna ask you to do a job this morning. 45 00:02:19,530 --> 00:02:21,660 Your job this morning here is to listen. 46 00:02:22,650 --> 00:02:24,900 And to follow along and to track with the word of God. 47 00:02:24,960 --> 00:02:28,829 And in the end, to decide what are you gonna do about Jesus? 48 00:02:30,120 --> 00:02:31,530 What are you gonna do about Jesus? 49 00:02:32,970 --> 00:02:34,500 Some of you here have already made that decision. 50 00:02:34,500 --> 00:02:37,770 You've surrendered your life and faith and repentance to Jesus as your Lord 51 00:02:37,770 --> 00:02:41,055 and Savior, and you're here to, to celebrate your resurrected savior. 52 00:02:41,055 --> 00:02:43,770 And this morning can be an encouragement to you, I hope, and I pray. 53 00:02:43,770 --> 00:02:43,920 And. 54 00:02:44,565 --> 00:02:47,385 To go back over the, the, the crucial elements of our faith, 55 00:02:47,385 --> 00:02:50,835 the foundation of our faith, the very basis of why we gather. 56 00:02:50,835 --> 00:02:54,045 The thing that Paul said, if this isn't here, then we're just wasting our time. 57 00:02:54,885 --> 00:02:57,405 And so Christians this morning is, is for us to be encouraged 58 00:02:57,405 --> 00:03:00,765 as we look at this account from John's Gospel in John chapter 20. 59 00:03:01,995 --> 00:03:04,995 But I also wanna address you here this morning, who may only 60 00:03:04,995 --> 00:03:06,435 darken the doors twice a year. 61 00:03:07,260 --> 00:03:10,470 Maybe you're here because you've got a family member who invited you and you're 62 00:03:10,530 --> 00:03:12,180 kind enough that you didn't wanna say no. 63 00:03:12,180 --> 00:03:15,030 And so you're here, but you'd really rather be anywhere else. 64 00:03:16,290 --> 00:03:18,269 Maybe you're here this morning and, and you would say, man, 65 00:03:18,269 --> 00:03:20,130 I, I, I am not a, a Christian. 66 00:03:20,130 --> 00:03:23,850 I'm a Hindu, I'm a Muslim, I'm a Buddhist, I'm an atheist. 67 00:03:24,930 --> 00:03:29,609 I wanna suggest to you that this morning is for you as well, in, in fact, what you 68 00:03:29,609 --> 00:03:32,640 will hear this morning is more important than any other shred of information 69 00:03:32,640 --> 00:03:34,829 you have ever heard before, ever known. 70 00:03:35,970 --> 00:03:40,049 What you're gonna hear this morning is truth In contrast to the countless other 71 00:03:40,049 --> 00:03:42,989 books that are written out there that claim to have the corner on truth, the 72 00:03:42,989 --> 00:03:47,489 Bible truly does unapologetically have the corner on truth, and it's all based upon 73 00:03:47,489 --> 00:03:50,880 what we're gonna look at this morning, which is an empty tomb in arisen Savior. 74 00:03:51,600 --> 00:03:53,670 So take your Bibles and open up to John Chapter 20. 75 00:03:55,109 --> 00:03:55,950 John chapter 20. 76 00:03:57,029 --> 00:04:01,739 Here we come to the empty tomb, which is again the crux of Christianity. 77 00:04:01,770 --> 00:04:07,200 The, the cross is immensely significant, but without the empty 78 00:04:07,200 --> 00:04:09,150 tomb, the cross does nothing. 79 00:04:10,110 --> 00:04:14,160 The empty tomb is the validation of the payment made on the cross. 80 00:04:14,160 --> 00:04:18,420 The, the empty tomb is, is God's stamp on the receipt in your life, 81 00:04:18,420 --> 00:04:22,410 in my life, as Christians saying payment accepted credit applied. 82 00:04:23,474 --> 00:04:26,925 The empty tomb is the validation that says that Jesus was truly the sinless 83 00:04:26,925 --> 00:04:30,825 one, and death could not help hold him because the wages of sin is death. 84 00:04:30,825 --> 00:04:33,224 And if there is no sin, then death has no claim. 85 00:04:34,034 --> 00:04:37,395 And so we come to John's gospel in John chapter 20, and it says this in verse one. 86 00:04:37,395 --> 00:04:41,414 Now, on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene came to the tomb early while 87 00:04:41,414 --> 00:04:45,974 it was still dark and saw the stone had been taken away from the tomb. 88 00:04:46,575 --> 00:04:50,085 So the scene here is such that this is now Sunday morning. 89 00:04:50,085 --> 00:04:55,095 Jesus was crucified on a Friday night, the day of preparation, the day of preparation 90 00:04:55,095 --> 00:04:56,805 for the Sabbath, which was Saturday. 91 00:04:57,135 --> 00:05:00,825 And so all day Saturday, Jesus has laid in the tomb, wrapped in the 92 00:05:00,825 --> 00:05:05,235 burial cloths, prepared initially by Joseph Ofia and Nicodemus. 93 00:05:05,235 --> 00:05:07,755 You'll remember those were the two that took him down from the cross, 94 00:05:08,025 --> 00:05:12,705 wrapped him in the cloths in 75 pounds of spices as it records in John 19, 95 00:05:12,825 --> 00:05:17,805 and then they laid him in Joseph's tomb and rolled the stone across. 96 00:05:17,805 --> 00:05:23,055 Now the job of preparing him for Intunement intunement was not yet. 97 00:05:23,365 --> 00:05:24,055 Accomplished. 98 00:05:24,055 --> 00:05:27,715 And so that's why Mary and and Mark's gospel actually reports that it wasn't 99 00:05:27,715 --> 00:05:31,045 just Mary Magdalene, but it was also Mary, the mother of James and Ome. 100 00:05:31,795 --> 00:05:34,675 That's why they come to the tomb, bringing more spices. 101 00:05:34,675 --> 00:05:35,635 They're there to finish the job. 102 00:05:36,585 --> 00:05:39,885 But it says, when Mary came to the tomb, she saw that the stone 103 00:05:40,094 --> 00:05:42,854 had been taken away from the tomb. 104 00:05:42,854 --> 00:05:48,224 So verse two, she ran and went to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one 105 00:05:48,224 --> 00:05:52,034 whom Jesus loved, and said to them, they've taken the Lord out of the tomb, 106 00:05:52,034 --> 00:05:53,835 and we don't know where they've laid him. 107 00:05:55,215 --> 00:05:58,275 So here you have Mary who sees the stone rolled away and sees 108 00:05:58,275 --> 00:06:01,724 enough inside the tomb to realize that the body's not there anymore. 109 00:06:01,740 --> 00:06:01,800 Her. 110 00:06:02,640 --> 00:06:07,590 And so she runs back to Simon Peter and to the disciple whom Jesus loved. 111 00:06:08,370 --> 00:06:09,930 That's John, that's our author. 112 00:06:10,440 --> 00:06:14,580 Uh, John referred to himself as the one whom Jesus loved, and, and, 113 00:06:14,580 --> 00:06:17,340 and that wasn't a measure of, of pride or arrogance on his part. 114 00:06:17,340 --> 00:06:20,490 That's John doing that because John was overwhelmed by the 115 00:06:20,490 --> 00:06:22,200 reality that Jesus would love him. 116 00:06:23,070 --> 00:06:25,380 And so John was saying, this is the most significant thing. 117 00:06:25,380 --> 00:06:28,920 The most important thing about me is the fact that Jesus loves me. 118 00:06:29,625 --> 00:06:32,114 And so when John wrote about himself in his gospel, he said, 119 00:06:32,114 --> 00:06:33,585 I'm the one whom Jesus loved. 120 00:06:34,304 --> 00:06:38,715 And so Mary runs to James to, to Peter rather, and to John, and 121 00:06:38,715 --> 00:06:40,125 she tells him what she thinks. 122 00:06:40,125 --> 00:06:42,585 At that point, they've taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we 123 00:06:42,585 --> 00:06:43,755 don't know where they've laid him. 124 00:06:44,849 --> 00:06:45,330 Verse three. 125 00:06:45,330 --> 00:06:48,240 So Peter went out with the other disciple that is with John, and 126 00:06:48,240 --> 00:06:51,659 they were going toward the tomb, both of them running together. 127 00:06:51,659 --> 00:06:56,159 Just picture this for a moment, if you will, Peter and John running through 128 00:06:56,159 --> 00:06:59,070 the streets of Jerusalem, trying to get outside the city to get to the 129 00:06:59,070 --> 00:07:00,960 garden where the tomb was nearby. 130 00:07:01,260 --> 00:07:03,390 Gha, where Jesus had been crucified. 131 00:07:04,260 --> 00:07:07,890 They're sprinting, they're running and, and John makes the subtle point here that 132 00:07:07,890 --> 00:07:09,810 he was a little bit faster than Peter was. 133 00:07:11,760 --> 00:07:15,239 He says they, they were running together, but the other disciple outran Peter, 134 00:07:16,739 --> 00:07:20,429 which I love that John writes that because John was writing his gospel, probably 135 00:07:20,429 --> 00:07:25,619 80 to 90 ad Peter's been dead for 20 years, so this is an extra shot at Peter. 136 00:07:25,890 --> 00:07:29,190 Like Peter's not even there to be able to defend himself with John at this point. 137 00:07:30,195 --> 00:07:32,820 John's like I was faster, just, just trust me. 138 00:07:32,820 --> 00:07:33,479 I was faster. 139 00:07:34,140 --> 00:07:38,190 Anyways, verse five, John gets there and it says, in stooping in to look. 140 00:07:38,250 --> 00:07:43,289 He saw the grave clothes, the linen claws lying there, but John did not go in. 141 00:07:43,770 --> 00:07:46,800 But here comes Peter, the, the disciple with the foot shaped mouth, the disciple 142 00:07:46,800 --> 00:07:50,130 who just acts before he thinks who chopped off mount his ear in the garden. 143 00:07:50,430 --> 00:07:52,860 And Peter just flies by John and goes in the tomb. 144 00:07:52,890 --> 00:07:56,880 'cause he wants to get a front row, first person, look at what is going on. 145 00:07:57,450 --> 00:07:59,430 And so Peter gets into the tomb and what does he find? 146 00:07:59,430 --> 00:08:00,570 He finds indeed, yes. 147 00:08:00,570 --> 00:08:02,070 The linen claws lying there. 148 00:08:02,370 --> 00:08:07,260 And also John notes the face cloth, which had been on Jesus' head, not 149 00:08:07,260 --> 00:08:11,880 lying with the other linen cloths, but folded up in a place by itself. 150 00:08:12,270 --> 00:08:15,240 Then the other disciple who had reached the tomb first John also 151 00:08:15,240 --> 00:08:20,310 went in and saw and believed for as yet they did not to this point. 152 00:08:20,310 --> 00:08:24,150 Before this, they did not understand the scripture that he must rise from the dead. 153 00:08:24,510 --> 00:08:27,105 Then the disciples, those two went back to their homes. 154 00:08:28,335 --> 00:08:31,545 I think John includes, our author, includes this note about the face cloth 155 00:08:31,545 --> 00:08:35,775 being folded up neatly there because he's showing us that there was at least 156 00:08:35,775 --> 00:08:39,674 some tangible evidence there to point to the reality of the resurrection. 157 00:08:40,575 --> 00:08:43,695 Because if these had just been grave robbers, if these had just been people 158 00:08:43,695 --> 00:08:47,775 nefariously acting to desecrate the body of Christ, th they're not gonna 159 00:08:47,775 --> 00:08:51,585 take the facecloth and fold it up neatly and set it to the side, they're 160 00:08:51,585 --> 00:08:54,525 gonna find the facecloth jumbled up with all the rest of the cloths. 161 00:08:55,230 --> 00:08:56,790 But John sees the face cloth. 162 00:08:56,790 --> 00:09:02,910 Peter sees the face cloth, and John at least believes three people 163 00:09:03,089 --> 00:09:07,920 in our text come to an empty tomb and all three of them have to do 164 00:09:07,920 --> 00:09:10,860 something with the empty tomb Church. 165 00:09:11,819 --> 00:09:17,189 All of us likewise have to come to an empty tomb this morning and decide 166 00:09:17,189 --> 00:09:19,500 what to do with the empty tomb. 167 00:09:19,770 --> 00:09:22,709 Point number one is just that this morning it's this, decide what to do. 168 00:09:23,819 --> 00:09:24,900 About an empty tomb. 169 00:09:26,939 --> 00:09:31,290 Mary and Peter and John, none of them went to the tomb expecting to find it empty. 170 00:09:32,010 --> 00:09:32,580 Why? 171 00:09:33,600 --> 00:09:36,030 Because dead people don't come back to life. 172 00:09:37,200 --> 00:09:38,040 It doesn't happen. 173 00:09:38,040 --> 00:09:42,750 If you go to a graveyard today, a cemetery today, you can stand there all day long. 174 00:09:42,750 --> 00:09:45,450 You're not gonna see anybody come up out of the ground. 175 00:09:46,680 --> 00:09:49,680 In fact, for the disciples, the only person they had known 176 00:09:49,680 --> 00:09:51,900 or seen come out of a tomb. 177 00:09:52,439 --> 00:09:55,890 Was Lazarus and he came outta the tomb because Jesus called him outta the tomb. 178 00:09:56,069 --> 00:09:58,140 Well, what do you do when Jesus is the one in the tomb? 179 00:09:59,760 --> 00:10:02,699 And so they're going there defeated, they're going there, broken, they're 180 00:10:02,699 --> 00:10:07,890 going there, realizing this is over, and, and we've lost all hope. 181 00:10:07,949 --> 00:10:11,459 And what they do is they come and they find instead an empty tomb. 182 00:10:13,620 --> 00:10:16,454 There are times that we will encounter evidence that forces us to act. 183 00:10:18,225 --> 00:10:20,415 Uh, back in California, my wife and I lived in a house that was built 184 00:10:20,415 --> 00:10:23,355 back in the, the seventies and, and, uh, it was one of those homes 185 00:10:23,355 --> 00:10:25,395 that you're like, I'm pretty sure there's lead paint and it's vested 186 00:10:25,395 --> 00:10:28,305 us in here, but it's something that's affordable and so we're gonna rent it. 187 00:10:30,615 --> 00:10:32,595 That house had a lot of water damage. 188 00:10:32,625 --> 00:10:35,325 Anywhere you looked, you'd look at the ceiling and, and you'd 189 00:10:35,325 --> 00:10:38,085 see that the brown discoloration on the ceiling or, or whatever. 190 00:10:38,085 --> 00:10:40,275 And, and, and there were a lot of them that we looked at and were 191 00:10:40,275 --> 00:10:42,585 like, that's probably been there for the last four or five decades. 192 00:10:42,585 --> 00:10:46,125 It's, it's easily seen four presidents since, uh, that that leak happened. 193 00:10:47,130 --> 00:10:49,560 But then there were other times, because it was an old house, we would 194 00:10:49,560 --> 00:10:53,280 be there and we would notice that there was new evidence of water damage. 195 00:10:54,060 --> 00:10:56,699 That is evidence that requires an action. 196 00:10:58,140 --> 00:11:01,290 We're not gonna look at the, the new evidence of, of water damage and think 197 00:11:01,290 --> 00:11:03,180 to ourselves, oh, isn't that nice? 198 00:11:03,180 --> 00:11:05,640 Look, there's, there's a leak and move on with our life. 199 00:11:07,080 --> 00:11:10,170 There are things that we encounter in life that require us to do something 200 00:11:10,170 --> 00:11:13,110 with that, that information, that knowledge, that that evidence. 201 00:11:14,385 --> 00:11:16,695 And the cross and the empty tomb specifically. 202 00:11:16,695 --> 00:11:22,515 The empty tomb is something that requires us to do something with this evidence. 203 00:11:23,835 --> 00:11:26,175 I, I understand not everybody believes in the empty tomb. 204 00:11:26,175 --> 00:11:27,075 In fact, here's an atheist. 205 00:11:27,075 --> 00:11:30,075 I, I watched a YouTube video from this person earlier this week, and he 206 00:11:30,075 --> 00:11:35,685 said this, it, it stretches credulity the ability to believe, to believe 207 00:11:35,685 --> 00:11:38,685 that the most amazing miracle in history witnessed by hundreds would 208 00:11:38,685 --> 00:11:42,345 go completely unmentioned by all contemporary writers and leave no trace. 209 00:11:42,645 --> 00:11:47,265 In the historical record, outside the late biased secondhand accounts written 210 00:11:47,265 --> 00:11:52,335 by early Christians with a vested interest in promoting belief in Jesus' divinity. 211 00:11:52,875 --> 00:11:56,445 Okay, that statement reveals more about this man's worldview 212 00:11:56,445 --> 00:11:58,905 than it does provide a rational argument against the resurrection. 213 00:11:59,745 --> 00:12:04,335 He calls the accounts that we have late biased secondhand account. 214 00:12:04,635 --> 00:12:07,965 Uh, that would be these Matthew, mark, Luke, and John. 215 00:12:08,985 --> 00:12:12,824 There's strong evidence that these four gospels were all written before 216 00:12:12,824 --> 00:12:16,334 the end of the first century ad Jesus, we believe, was crucified 217 00:12:16,334 --> 00:12:17,895 somewhere between 30 and 33 ad. 218 00:12:18,584 --> 00:12:21,615 And so if you look at the dates on the screen, you'll see Matthew 50 to 219 00:12:21,615 --> 00:12:24,150 70, mark 50 to 70, Luke 60 to 62 in. 220 00:12:24,194 --> 00:12:28,395 In fact, we could even argue Mark earlier, because Mark has purportedly 221 00:12:28,545 --> 00:12:33,975 the, the, uh, the, the writer for Peter that when we read the gospel of Mark, 222 00:12:33,975 --> 00:12:37,155 we're actually reading Peter's account of what took place in Jesus' life. 223 00:12:37,545 --> 00:12:42,675 Well, Peter was martyred under the noonan persecution in the sixties ad so we 224 00:12:42,675 --> 00:12:44,954 can bump markup even earlier as well. 225 00:12:44,954 --> 00:12:51,104 So we're dealing with a, a matter of at most 20 to 30 years between the 226 00:12:51,104 --> 00:12:54,375 events of the cross and the empty tomb and the writing of these gospels. 227 00:12:54,380 --> 00:12:57,494 And, and that factors in for quite a few reasons. 228 00:12:57,494 --> 00:13:01,185 And one of the reasons being, uh, these were being produced and written 229 00:13:01,185 --> 00:13:04,334 during the time when there were plenty of eyewitnesses around that could 230 00:13:04,334 --> 00:13:05,805 have said, none of this happened. 231 00:13:08,040 --> 00:13:09,720 We're gonna get into more of that in just a moment. 232 00:13:09,720 --> 00:13:13,350 But besides these four gospels, we also have Paul's testimony in one 233 00:13:13,350 --> 00:13:17,190 Corinthians chapter 15, where he says, I delivered to you of first importance. 234 00:13:17,190 --> 00:13:21,930 What I also received, that Christ Jesus died on the cross for our sins in 235 00:13:21,930 --> 00:13:25,230 accordance with the scriptures that he was buried in accordance with the scriptures, 236 00:13:25,230 --> 00:13:27,840 and that he rose again three to days later in accordance with the scriptures. 237 00:13:28,080 --> 00:13:30,960 When Paul says, I delivered to you, that which I received, and then he 238 00:13:30,960 --> 00:13:33,510 quotes that it's likely an early. 239 00:13:33,630 --> 00:13:39,090 Church Creed dating from about one to five years post Resurrection, that Paul is 240 00:13:39,090 --> 00:13:43,290 delivering this C Credle statement in one Corinthians chapter 15, that includes the 241 00:13:43,470 --> 00:13:46,530 confession of the resurrection of Jesus. 242 00:13:48,930 --> 00:13:53,460 Even the critics that are not friends of Christianity will at least admit that 243 00:13:53,460 --> 00:13:55,920 Jesus Christ was a historical figure. 244 00:13:56,970 --> 00:14:00,810 There is no more, at least amongst most scholars that are credible today, 245 00:14:00,810 --> 00:14:04,020 there's no more denying, and I'm not just talking Christian scholars here. 246 00:14:04,020 --> 00:14:05,970 I'm talking those that are not believers as well. 247 00:14:06,480 --> 00:14:10,590 There there's really no denying anymore the historicity of the man, Jesus Christ. 248 00:14:11,160 --> 00:14:14,370 Here's Albert Schweitzer, a historical critic of the New Testament. 249 00:14:14,370 --> 00:14:15,990 He's not a friend of of Christ. 250 00:14:15,990 --> 00:14:17,400 He is not a follower of Jesus. 251 00:14:17,730 --> 00:14:20,250 He writes this, it must be admitted of Jesus. 252 00:14:20,610 --> 00:14:24,930 That there are few characters of antiquity about whom we possess so much 253 00:14:25,290 --> 00:14:31,020 indubitably, historical information of whom we have so many authentic discourses. 254 00:14:31,770 --> 00:14:31,949 Y'all. 255 00:14:31,949 --> 00:14:35,160 This is not a Christian writing this and he's saying of Jesus. 256 00:14:35,220 --> 00:14:39,120 He's one of the most well attested historical figures that has ever lived. 257 00:14:40,140 --> 00:14:42,540 Another man, also not a friend of Jesus, Bart Airman. 258 00:14:43,319 --> 00:14:49,439 Bart Airman says this, the claim that Jesus was made up falters on every ground. 259 00:14:50,849 --> 00:14:54,540 Listen, Bart Airman would love to be able to say to us, Jesus Christ was made up. 260 00:14:55,859 --> 00:14:58,199 And so these men are admitting the historicity of Jesus. 261 00:14:58,349 --> 00:15:00,989 Part of the reason for that is because there is sources. 262 00:15:00,989 --> 00:15:03,930 There are sources outside of the biblical accounts that point 263 00:15:03,930 --> 00:15:05,189 to the historicity of Jesus. 264 00:15:05,339 --> 00:15:09,270 Josephus was a Jewish historian and he was writing in the first 265 00:15:09,270 --> 00:15:13,979 Century ad and mentions Christ and the Crucifixion and Pontius Pilate. 266 00:15:15,660 --> 00:15:19,470 You've got, besides Joseph Josephus, you've got Pliny, the younger first 267 00:15:19,470 --> 00:15:23,189 century Roman politician, Pliny the younger references, Christ's 268 00:15:23,220 --> 00:15:26,010 followers worshiping him as a God. 269 00:15:27,510 --> 00:15:30,870 Besides Pliny, the younger, you've got Tacitus, again, a first century historian. 270 00:15:30,870 --> 00:15:32,189 This time a Roman historian. 271 00:15:32,550 --> 00:15:35,910 Tacitus refers also to Jesus's crucifixion. 272 00:15:37,020 --> 00:15:40,110 You've got a man named Thais who is a first century Greek historian. 273 00:15:40,650 --> 00:15:46,140 Dallas describes strange happenings in Judea on the date of Jesus's crucifixion. 274 00:15:46,710 --> 00:15:49,350 He was in the region of Judea and reports that there were strange 275 00:15:49,350 --> 00:15:52,860 events, strange happenings with the weather and the atmosphere. 276 00:15:53,070 --> 00:15:57,150 During Jesus' crucifixion, you have Lucian. 277 00:15:57,600 --> 00:15:59,610 Lucian was a second century Greek rhetorician. 278 00:15:59,610 --> 00:16:04,380 A satirist, and he says that Jesus died on the cross. 279 00:16:04,650 --> 00:16:06,960 And then you've got a man named Celsius who was a second 280 00:16:06,960 --> 00:16:08,310 century Greek philosopher. 281 00:16:08,610 --> 00:16:11,070 Who speaks of Jesus as a miracle worker. 282 00:16:12,270 --> 00:16:16,620 And so y'all, this is why it's, it doesn't hold water for you to sit 283 00:16:16,620 --> 00:16:19,470 here this morning and say, well, Jesus is just a fairytale character. 284 00:16:19,470 --> 00:16:20,430 He's made up. 285 00:16:21,120 --> 00:16:24,060 People don't believe that with any degree of academic integrity 286 00:16:24,060 --> 00:16:29,100 anymore, the testimony to the historicity of Jesus is well intact. 287 00:16:29,460 --> 00:16:31,590 The question simply becomes, what do we do with the empty tomb? 288 00:16:32,430 --> 00:16:35,100 And as Christians, maybe we need to ask it, do we need to fight this battle? 289 00:16:35,100 --> 00:16:35,700 Is it worth it? 290 00:16:35,700 --> 00:16:36,180 And I would say. 291 00:16:36,480 --> 00:16:38,970 The apostle Paul would say 100% yes. 292 00:16:39,810 --> 00:16:43,500 He writes this in one Corinthians 15 verses 12 all the way through 19. 293 00:16:43,860 --> 00:16:44,670 Uh, 12 through 15. 294 00:16:44,670 --> 00:16:47,550 First, he says, now, if Christ is proclaimed as raised from the dead, 295 00:16:47,580 --> 00:16:50,130 how can some of you say There's no resurrection of the dead? 296 00:16:50,520 --> 00:16:53,130 But if there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ 297 00:16:53,130 --> 00:16:56,220 has been raised in Our preaching is vain and your faith is vain. 298 00:16:56,640 --> 00:17:00,600 We are even found to be misrepresenting God because we testified about God, that 299 00:17:00,600 --> 00:17:02,970 he raised Christ whom he did not raise. 300 00:17:02,970 --> 00:17:04,920 If it is true that the dead are not raised. 301 00:17:05,579 --> 00:17:09,180 For if the dead are not raised, not even Christ has been raised. 302 00:17:09,240 --> 00:17:10,500 And here's the kicker. 303 00:17:10,800 --> 00:17:13,980 If Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile. 304 00:17:14,010 --> 00:17:16,770 You're wasting your time and you're still in your sins. 305 00:17:17,280 --> 00:17:19,710 And those who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. 306 00:17:20,130 --> 00:17:25,589 If in Christ we have hope in this life, only we of all people are most 307 00:17:25,589 --> 00:17:31,470 to be pitied, do we have to hold fast to the resurrection of Jesus? 308 00:17:31,470 --> 00:17:32,850 100%, absolutely. 309 00:17:32,910 --> 00:17:33,600 Yes. 310 00:17:33,975 --> 00:17:37,035 It is a non-negotiable for us to look at the empty tomb and come to terms with it. 311 00:17:38,925 --> 00:17:40,755 But maybe you're there this morning, you're saying, I, 312 00:17:40,755 --> 00:17:42,435 I do pity you Christians. 313 00:17:43,575 --> 00:17:45,795 Maybe you look at us and you shake your heads that we would believe 314 00:17:45,795 --> 00:17:47,985 and, and, and believe and hold fast to a book that's equally as 315 00:17:47,985 --> 00:17:50,235 old and outdated as these beliefs. 316 00:17:50,235 --> 00:17:53,025 You wonder why we would choose to give up Sunday mornings and adhere to a set of 317 00:17:53,025 --> 00:17:56,175 morals that the rest of the world looks at as outdated, that the world would 318 00:17:56,175 --> 00:17:58,305 say we've evolved beyond those things. 319 00:17:59,025 --> 00:18:02,010 If that's you this morning, I, I just invite you to just track with me. 320 00:18:02,430 --> 00:18:03,660 Just track with me for just a moment. 321 00:18:04,620 --> 00:18:08,100 And Christians, let's remember why the empty tomb is, is 322 00:18:08,160 --> 00:18:09,510 reliable and trustworthy. 323 00:18:09,720 --> 00:18:13,080 There, there are some realities that virtually, again, all scholars 324 00:18:13,080 --> 00:18:17,010 will hold fast to a man named Gary Habermas is one of the leading 325 00:18:17,010 --> 00:18:18,450 scholars on the resurrection. 326 00:18:18,600 --> 00:18:25,170 He examined 1400 critical scholars, again, not 1400 pastors, not 1400, 327 00:18:25,380 --> 00:18:26,805 uh, little old ladies from church. 328 00:18:27,480 --> 00:18:29,460 1400 critical scholars. 329 00:18:29,490 --> 00:18:33,090 He consulted and came up with a a list of facts that are agreed 330 00:18:33,090 --> 00:18:35,520 upon by these 1400 scholars. 331 00:18:35,550 --> 00:18:35,850 Okay? 332 00:18:36,179 --> 00:18:38,250 Number one, Jesus died by crucifixion. 333 00:18:39,120 --> 00:18:40,860 Scholars will admit and agree with that. 334 00:18:40,889 --> 00:18:41,970 They'll look back to TAUs. 335 00:18:41,970 --> 00:18:44,730 They'll look back to Josephus, and they'll acknowledge, yes, okay. 336 00:18:44,730 --> 00:18:47,610 Jesus Christ was a historical figure that was indeed crucified. 337 00:18:48,030 --> 00:18:50,909 Number two, that he was buried in a tomb following his death. 338 00:18:51,690 --> 00:18:53,610 That's referenced again by Josephus. 339 00:18:54,030 --> 00:18:57,330 Number three, that that tomb, that Jesus was buried and was indeed discovered 340 00:18:57,330 --> 00:18:59,280 to be empty shortly after his burial. 341 00:19:00,120 --> 00:19:02,370 That's a, a fact that is known and admitted because 342 00:19:02,370 --> 00:19:03,660 the body was never produced. 343 00:19:03,660 --> 00:19:06,000 Whether you wanna believe in this or not, you have to come to terms 344 00:19:06,000 --> 00:19:09,540 with the fact that nobody has ever said, here's the body of Jesus. 345 00:19:10,710 --> 00:19:14,880 Number four, his followers had experiences that they believed were 346 00:19:14,880 --> 00:19:17,040 appearances of the resurrected Jesus. 347 00:19:17,670 --> 00:19:21,270 That there are people that say, we saw Jesus risen from the dead. 348 00:19:21,300 --> 00:19:23,220 Scholars will agree that his followers. 349 00:19:23,639 --> 00:19:27,840 Purported and admitted and said they saw Jesus resurrected from the dead. 350 00:19:28,590 --> 00:19:31,290 They may not believe that they did see them, but they believe that his 351 00:19:31,290 --> 00:19:33,330 followers purported that they saw them. 352 00:19:34,440 --> 00:19:38,010 Number five, these lives of these disciples, these followers were radically 353 00:19:38,010 --> 00:19:40,230 transformed due to these circumstances. 354 00:19:41,040 --> 00:19:46,200 In fact, many of his original followers died for their eyewitness claims of 355 00:19:46,200 --> 00:19:47,850 having seen the resurrected Christ. 356 00:19:48,510 --> 00:19:50,790 And you may say, okay, but there are plenty of people who 357 00:19:50,790 --> 00:19:53,250 are religious fanatics that will die for their faith today. 358 00:19:53,595 --> 00:19:54,165 True. 359 00:19:54,285 --> 00:19:56,505 They will die for what they have been taught, die for what they 360 00:19:56,505 --> 00:20:00,315 believe, but they're not dying for their eyewitness accounts. 361 00:20:00,375 --> 00:20:01,755 And that separates things. 362 00:20:03,375 --> 00:20:07,395 When the sword is put to the neck and said, recant, and you know that 363 00:20:07,395 --> 00:20:10,425 what you're promoting is alive, eventually you're gonna tap out. 364 00:20:11,655 --> 00:20:15,495 They died horrific deaths, many of them for their accounts of having 365 00:20:15,495 --> 00:20:16,665 seen the resurrected, correct. 366 00:20:16,995 --> 00:20:17,385 Six. 367 00:20:17,385 --> 00:20:21,135 The resurrection emerged very early in church history as a tenet of Christianity. 368 00:20:21,915 --> 00:20:24,075 In fact it, it emerged concurrent with the church. 369 00:20:24,524 --> 00:20:26,625 You read the book of Acts, and the Book of Acts is all about the 370 00:20:26,625 --> 00:20:29,895 witnesses that went out and they were witnessing to the resurrected Christ. 371 00:20:30,705 --> 00:20:33,825 And so there wasn't a gap between the founding of the church and when the 372 00:20:33,825 --> 00:20:35,655 resurrection emerged as a core doctrine. 373 00:20:36,945 --> 00:20:39,585 Seventh, the launch point for the message of the resurrection 374 00:20:39,585 --> 00:20:43,290 of Jesus was Jerusalem, where all of these things took place. 375 00:20:44,475 --> 00:20:48,615 If you're gonna launch a religion based on a fact that you know is 376 00:20:48,615 --> 00:20:52,754 not true, why launch it in the place that's teaming with eyewitnesses? 377 00:20:53,745 --> 00:20:56,925 And so the fact that they launched from Jerusalem, where plenty of people 378 00:20:56,925 --> 00:20:59,715 could have said, this is the tomb roll, the stone, there's the body. 379 00:21:00,585 --> 00:21:04,335 Or it could have said this didn't happen, and yet it launches from 380 00:21:04,335 --> 00:21:06,585 Jerusalem and explodes on the scene. 381 00:21:06,855 --> 00:21:11,205 Eighth, the disciples shifted their day of worship away from the Sabbath. 382 00:21:11,565 --> 00:21:12,765 These are Jews, right? 383 00:21:12,765 --> 00:21:13,905 The Old Testament command. 384 00:21:14,085 --> 00:21:16,635 Honor the Sabbath, keep the Sabbath holy. 385 00:21:17,055 --> 00:21:21,375 What would cause them to shift the Sabbath from Saturday to now celebrating 386 00:21:21,375 --> 00:21:25,425 it on Sunday, other than they were remembering the day that Christ rose 387 00:21:25,425 --> 00:21:26,775 from the dead and walked out the grave. 388 00:21:27,525 --> 00:21:31,665 Ninth, Jesus brother James, his own brother, his half brother 389 00:21:31,665 --> 00:21:36,405 James, went from a skeptic, one who rejected Christ to a disciple after 390 00:21:36,405 --> 00:21:38,115 he believed and saw the risen Jesus. 391 00:21:40,020 --> 00:21:43,649 And then finally, Paul, the Apostle Paul was converted after 392 00:21:43,649 --> 00:21:48,180 an experience in which he reported having seen the resurrected Jesus. 393 00:21:49,710 --> 00:21:53,700 These are are facts that scholars will agree upon. 394 00:21:54,960 --> 00:21:56,700 The question is, what do we do with them? 395 00:21:56,909 --> 00:21:58,080 What's the conclusion? 396 00:21:58,320 --> 00:22:00,090 How do we interpret the evidence? 397 00:22:01,395 --> 00:22:03,465 And so this morning, I wanna suggest to you to decide what 398 00:22:03,465 --> 00:22:04,515 to do about the empty tomb. 399 00:22:04,515 --> 00:22:07,155 And the thing that I believe makes the most sense is that 400 00:22:07,155 --> 00:22:11,385 the tomb was empty because Jesus walked out never to enter again. 401 00:22:14,145 --> 00:22:16,095 And if you say, well, that's preposterous. 402 00:22:16,095 --> 00:22:18,555 Nobody rises from the dead, I would give that to you. 403 00:22:18,555 --> 00:22:26,355 But nobody is like Jesus, the God man, perfectly sinless, died on the 404 00:22:26,355 --> 00:22:28,305 cross for your sins and rose again. 405 00:22:29,235 --> 00:22:33,285 From the gray, there's other things that we could look at, like 406 00:22:33,285 --> 00:22:34,845 the rapid growth of the church. 407 00:22:35,115 --> 00:22:39,015 It begins with a, a small band of uneducated men and women and begins 408 00:22:39,015 --> 00:22:43,155 to explode so much so that it draws the ire and the persecution from Rome. 409 00:22:44,385 --> 00:22:48,585 Or how about the fact that if this was an invented story, as we've seen 410 00:22:48,585 --> 00:22:52,995 in John's gospel, the first people to the tomb were a group of women. 411 00:22:54,795 --> 00:22:59,595 And in this time, the testimony of women was not admissible in the courts. 412 00:23:00,645 --> 00:23:02,505 And so if you're inventing something, you're not gonna 413 00:23:02,505 --> 00:23:04,995 invent something where the first eyewitnesses are a group of women. 414 00:23:05,955 --> 00:23:09,345 You're gonna have the, the, the, the men show up because their 415 00:23:09,345 --> 00:23:10,965 witnesses gonna hold more weight. 416 00:23:11,535 --> 00:23:17,445 Or how do we deal with the fact that Peter goes from denying Jesus three times in 417 00:23:17,445 --> 00:23:19,875 that courtyard outside of Caiaphas home? 418 00:23:20,340 --> 00:23:23,970 To standing up in front of the Jews in Acts chapter two saying this, Jesus, you 419 00:23:23,970 --> 00:23:26,700 crucified by the hands of lawless men. 420 00:23:27,180 --> 00:23:28,110 Repent and believe in him. 421 00:23:30,600 --> 00:23:31,980 How do we account from why? 422 00:23:32,685 --> 00:23:36,930 Why Saul of Tarsus would go from persecuting and killing Christians to 423 00:23:36,930 --> 00:23:38,700 planting churches and discipling them? 424 00:23:40,170 --> 00:23:44,550 Something significant happened with the empty tomb, and the evidence 425 00:23:44,550 --> 00:23:47,640 stacks up in favor of the fact that Jesus walked out never to enter again. 426 00:23:48,705 --> 00:23:52,695 And so this morning I wanna invite you to decide what to do about the empty tomb. 427 00:23:52,695 --> 00:23:56,895 The resurrection is not a myth, but reliable, historical, verifiable fact. 428 00:23:58,605 --> 00:24:01,965 Peter and John go away believing, but what about Mary? 429 00:24:02,505 --> 00:24:04,005 Pick back up in the text in verse 11. 430 00:24:04,965 --> 00:24:10,035 Verse 11 says, but Mary stood weeping outside the tomb, and as she wept, she 431 00:24:10,035 --> 00:24:13,245 stooped and looked into the tomb and she saw two angels in white sitting 432 00:24:13,245 --> 00:24:16,785 where the body of Jesus had laid one at the head and one at the feet. 433 00:24:17,400 --> 00:24:19,260 And they said to her woman, why are you weeping? 434 00:24:20,160 --> 00:24:24,180 And she said to them, they have taken away my Lord, and I don't 435 00:24:24,180 --> 00:24:25,110 know where they've laid him. 436 00:24:25,980 --> 00:24:29,340 Having said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing, but she 437 00:24:29,340 --> 00:24:31,050 did not know that it was Jesus. 438 00:24:31,560 --> 00:24:33,390 Jesus said to her woman, why are you weeping? 439 00:24:33,390 --> 00:24:34,620 Whom are you seeking? 440 00:24:35,220 --> 00:24:36,510 Supposing him to be the gardener? 441 00:24:36,510 --> 00:24:39,360 She said to him, sir, if you've carried him away, tell me where you've laid 442 00:24:39,360 --> 00:24:41,610 him, and I will come and take him away. 443 00:24:43,080 --> 00:24:45,540 I love that John includes this for us. 444 00:24:48,825 --> 00:24:50,805 God is a patient God. 445 00:24:52,935 --> 00:24:57,255 Not everybody is like Peter and John when it comes to the gospel, when 446 00:24:57,255 --> 00:25:00,045 it comes to God, when it comes to Christianity, when it comes to Jesus. 447 00:25:01,365 --> 00:25:07,365 There are plenty of people just like Mary, plenty of people who struggle to 448 00:25:07,365 --> 00:25:12,075 wrap their minds around and believe in the empty tomb, in the resurrected Jesus. 449 00:25:13,365 --> 00:25:15,435 And so I love that John puts this here. 450 00:25:15,435 --> 00:25:15,495 I. 451 00:25:16,860 --> 00:25:18,750 Because Mary comes and, and she's weeping. 452 00:25:18,750 --> 00:25:24,420 She's been crying probably since she ran back to get Peter and John, and now she 453 00:25:24,420 --> 00:25:27,810 comes back, 'cause Peter and John have already left and she makes her way back 454 00:25:28,140 --> 00:25:30,120 and she stoops and looks inside the tomb. 455 00:25:30,120 --> 00:25:32,160 And there's these two angels that are there. 456 00:25:32,790 --> 00:25:36,990 And notice in the text that they're there for Mary, because they weren't 457 00:25:36,990 --> 00:25:40,980 there for Peter and John, they're there for Mary to meet her, inner 458 00:25:40,980 --> 00:25:42,360 her sorrow, to meet her in her grief. 459 00:25:42,360 --> 00:25:44,129 And they say, why are you weeping? 460 00:25:45,855 --> 00:25:48,915 And Mary says, they've taken away my Lord and I don't know where they've laid him. 461 00:25:49,785 --> 00:25:53,571 Same message that she told to Peter and John, a, a, a. 462 00:25:53,576 --> 00:25:56,415 And then she turns around and there's a man that's standing 463 00:25:56,415 --> 00:25:59,895 there and it's Jesus, John tells us, but she doesn't recognize him. 464 00:26:01,425 --> 00:26:02,925 There could be a couple reasons for that. 465 00:26:03,689 --> 00:26:06,720 If Mary had gone down into the tomb at this point, she would've been 466 00:26:06,959 --> 00:26:08,909 below the the level of the ground. 467 00:26:08,909 --> 00:26:11,580 So looking back out from the tomb, she would've been looking up. 468 00:26:11,610 --> 00:26:14,250 And so perhaps she would've only seen Jesus from the 469 00:26:14,250 --> 00:26:15,990 chest down at at this point. 470 00:26:15,990 --> 00:26:17,129 That's a possibility. 471 00:26:17,820 --> 00:26:21,449 Otherwise, if she hasn't gone into the tomb, she's bleary-eyed from 472 00:26:21,449 --> 00:26:25,860 weeping over the fact that Jesus has been stolen, that the body is gone. 473 00:26:25,860 --> 00:26:27,990 Her beloved rabbi, her beloved teacher. 474 00:26:29,340 --> 00:26:30,870 She doesn't know where they've taken the body. 475 00:26:31,440 --> 00:26:33,750 And so maybe perhaps she's so bleary eyed, she can't make 476 00:26:33,750 --> 00:26:35,310 out who it is standing there. 477 00:26:35,460 --> 00:26:41,040 And I would suggest to you third, she wasn't expecting to see him in her eyes. 478 00:26:41,040 --> 00:26:42,540 In her mind, Jesus is dead. 479 00:26:45,060 --> 00:26:48,450 And so she meets Jesus and, and what I love here is that Jesus doesn't 480 00:26:48,450 --> 00:26:50,940 look at Mary and say, Mary, why can't you be like Peter and John? 481 00:26:53,190 --> 00:26:56,100 Jesus doesn't look at Mary and be like, Mary, why are you so dense? 482 00:26:59,190 --> 00:27:03,090 Jesus looks at Mary and lovingly, patiently, he says, 483 00:27:03,090 --> 00:27:04,230 woman, why are you weeping? 484 00:27:05,280 --> 00:27:06,360 Whom are you seeking? 485 00:27:08,730 --> 00:27:09,300 Question. 486 00:27:09,300 --> 00:27:12,360 Did Jesus know why she was crying and who she was seeking? 487 00:27:13,530 --> 00:27:14,520 Absolutely he did. 488 00:27:16,110 --> 00:27:20,610 But in his patience, in his love, Jesus is meeting Mary where she's at, and he's 489 00:27:20,610 --> 00:27:24,240 drawing her patiently into the realization of who it is that stands in front of her. 490 00:27:25,830 --> 00:27:26,130 Church. 491 00:27:26,130 --> 00:27:27,720 God does that with us. 492 00:27:28,830 --> 00:27:30,870 God delights to do that with the unbeliever. 493 00:27:31,620 --> 00:27:34,200 God delights to be patient with each and every one of us. 494 00:27:34,200 --> 00:27:37,470 And if we are honest with ourselves, every single person in this room, 495 00:27:37,470 --> 00:27:41,070 whether you've been a believer for decades or you have never thought about 496 00:27:41,070 --> 00:27:44,580 becoming a Christian, you have been a recipient and a beneficiary of the 497 00:27:44,580 --> 00:27:50,730 patience of a loving and kind God, and that patience is there for a purpose. 498 00:27:51,090 --> 00:27:53,670 Second point this morning, along those lines is that realize the 499 00:27:53,670 --> 00:27:55,379 purpose of God's patience towards you. 500 00:27:57,150 --> 00:27:59,670 Realize the purpose of God's patience towards you. 501 00:28:01,830 --> 00:28:06,750 Mary's weeping, she's doubtful, she's skeptical, she's in fact unbelieving 502 00:28:06,750 --> 00:28:10,860 at this point, and Jesus is so tender and patient with his interaction 503 00:28:10,860 --> 00:28:13,080 with her woman, why are you weeping? 504 00:28:13,680 --> 00:28:14,580 Whom are you seeking? 505 00:28:17,129 --> 00:28:20,400 If you're a parent, you can appreciate patience, right? 506 00:28:22,560 --> 00:28:25,230 If you're a child, you should appreciate patience. 507 00:28:28,050 --> 00:28:30,330 No matter where you are this morning, Christian or not. 508 00:28:30,390 --> 00:28:33,450 Again, you have benefited from the patience of God more than you know, 509 00:28:35,580 --> 00:28:38,220 your unbelief, your sin, your doubt. 510 00:28:38,220 --> 00:28:43,500 All of this God has overlooked to this point in time being patient with you 511 00:28:43,500 --> 00:28:48,450 to bring you to this moment, to bring you here this morning to ask yourself, 512 00:28:48,450 --> 00:28:50,220 what are you going to do with Jesus? 513 00:28:52,815 --> 00:28:54,285 Christian this morning. 514 00:28:54,285 --> 00:29:00,195 God's patience is meant to lead you into a deeper devotion to him, to be reminded 515 00:29:00,195 --> 00:29:01,785 that he's still patient with our doubts. 516 00:29:01,785 --> 00:29:03,165 He's still patient with our fears. 517 00:29:03,165 --> 00:29:04,785 He's still patient with our anxieties. 518 00:29:05,025 --> 00:29:08,895 He's still patient with us as we sin and, and just like the father in 519 00:29:08,895 --> 00:29:12,705 the garden when Adam had sinned, was walking in the garden and called out. 520 00:29:12,705 --> 00:29:14,235 Adam, where are you? 521 00:29:16,215 --> 00:29:18,255 Did God know where Adam was in that moment? 522 00:29:19,215 --> 00:29:19,605 Yeah. 523 00:29:20,415 --> 00:29:21,285 But what was he doing? 524 00:29:21,285 --> 00:29:24,255 He was beckoning Adam out into the place that Adam needed to 525 00:29:24,255 --> 00:29:28,485 be, which is into confession, into the light, into repentance. 526 00:29:29,805 --> 00:29:31,005 And God patiently does that. 527 00:29:31,005 --> 00:29:35,835 Still today with us, Christians patiently beckons us into repentance. 528 00:29:35,835 --> 00:29:39,105 Beck beckons us into a deeper love, a deeper devotion to him. 529 00:29:40,125 --> 00:29:42,735 And so as Christians, we can appreciate the patience of the Lord. 530 00:29:42,735 --> 00:29:45,195 But if you're here this morning and you are not a Christian, I want to talk to 531 00:29:45,195 --> 00:29:48,225 you again specifically about this idea. 532 00:29:49,530 --> 00:29:53,429 That God has been patient with you to this point in time, and he's been patient with 533 00:29:53,429 --> 00:29:55,230 you to this point in time for a purpose. 534 00:29:57,480 --> 00:29:58,860 Romans chapter two, verse four. 535 00:29:58,860 --> 00:30:00,870 Paul says this of God. 536 00:30:01,770 --> 00:30:05,909 Paul says, do you presume upon the riches of his kindness and his forbearance 537 00:30:05,909 --> 00:30:10,980 and his patience, not knowing that that kindness, God's kindness is 538 00:30:10,980 --> 00:30:13,800 meant to lead you to repentance? 539 00:30:16,139 --> 00:30:20,010 Or Peter says in second Peter chapter three, verse nine, this, he says, the 540 00:30:20,010 --> 00:30:21,990 Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise. 541 00:30:21,990 --> 00:30:23,550 That is his promise to return. 542 00:30:24,149 --> 00:30:27,120 The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but 543 00:30:27,120 --> 00:30:31,860 is patient towards you, not wishing that any should re should perish. 544 00:30:31,860 --> 00:30:37,229 Notice that and read that again, that God does not wish that any should perish. 545 00:30:37,229 --> 00:30:39,510 So if you were here this morning as somebody who would say, I'm not a 546 00:30:39,510 --> 00:30:43,590 Christian, God does not want you to leave this morning in that same position. 547 00:30:44,715 --> 00:30:48,075 That the desire of God this morning for you and his patience to this point in 548 00:30:48,075 --> 00:30:51,945 your life has been fully met and fully intended to bring you today to the point 549 00:30:51,945 --> 00:30:55,785 of repenting from your sins and putting your trust in Jesus so that you will leave 550 00:30:55,785 --> 00:30:58,605 this morning as one that will not perish. 551 00:31:00,945 --> 00:31:04,515 He does not wish that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance. 552 00:31:06,195 --> 00:31:08,805 If you're here this morning and you would say, I, I'm, I'm not a Christian. 553 00:31:09,765 --> 00:31:13,245 God has been patient with you to bring you to this moment today. 554 00:31:14,490 --> 00:31:19,560 To decide today what to do about Jesus, what to do with the empty 555 00:31:19,560 --> 00:31:22,050 tomb, and what to do with God's patience for you this morning. 556 00:31:24,090 --> 00:31:25,889 There is no straddling the fence. 557 00:31:27,000 --> 00:31:28,139 There's no kicking a can. 558 00:31:28,139 --> 00:31:30,720 Further down a road, you may not live to fully walk. 559 00:31:32,520 --> 00:31:35,550 There's no neutral when it comes to the God of Christianity. 560 00:31:35,550 --> 00:31:39,389 In Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior, there is either 561 00:31:39,389 --> 00:31:41,190 surrender or there's animosity. 562 00:31:42,675 --> 00:31:45,584 And this morning, the message for you is that Jesus Christ died on 563 00:31:45,584 --> 00:31:48,824 the cross for your sins so that you can be forgiven by a holy God. 564 00:31:48,854 --> 00:31:53,834 And he's risen from the dead this morning so that you can live with him forever. 565 00:31:55,304 --> 00:31:57,645 And so I'm asking you this morning, and I don't know who you are, but I 566 00:31:57,645 --> 00:32:00,074 trust in a room like this that there are those in this room who have not 567 00:32:00,074 --> 00:32:01,455 yet surrendered their lives to Christ. 568 00:32:01,455 --> 00:32:04,304 I'm asking you this morning, will you realize that the patience 569 00:32:04,304 --> 00:32:06,405 of God has brought you here this morning to do just that? 570 00:32:08,235 --> 00:32:09,135 To believe in Jesus. 571 00:32:10,875 --> 00:32:11,385 You say, what all? 572 00:32:11,385 --> 00:32:12,345 What else do I have to do? 573 00:32:13,784 --> 00:32:15,225 What, what do I have to bring to the table? 574 00:32:16,125 --> 00:32:16,544 Nothing. 575 00:32:18,675 --> 00:32:23,355 You have to believe that Jesus Christ, 2000 years ago, died on the cross 576 00:32:23,355 --> 00:32:28,784 for your sins so that your payment has been paid by him so that God 577 00:32:28,784 --> 00:32:33,735 could declare you righteous with his righteousness so that you no, no, no 578 00:32:33,735 --> 00:32:35,925 longer are are guilty for your sins. 579 00:32:36,764 --> 00:32:38,895 That 2000 years ago, Jesus died on the cross for your sin so 580 00:32:38,895 --> 00:32:41,504 that you can be forgiven and that he rose again from the dead. 581 00:32:41,504 --> 00:32:45,014 What we celebrate this morning so that you will one day also 582 00:32:45,014 --> 00:32:46,905 rise to live with him forever. 583 00:32:48,524 --> 00:32:50,534 That's what his patience is calling you to this morning. 584 00:32:52,304 --> 00:32:55,784 But the danger is, and I have to do the full diligence here to to remind you 585 00:32:56,564 --> 00:33:01,034 that his patience is not an unending patience, and his patience may run out. 586 00:33:02,550 --> 00:33:06,000 In Romans two, five, right after saying that his patience is meant to lead you 587 00:33:06,000 --> 00:33:10,620 to repentance, Paul said this, but if you have a hard and imp penitent, a heart be 588 00:33:10,620 --> 00:33:15,690 warned for, you are storing up wrath for yourself on the day of wrath when God's 589 00:33:15,690 --> 00:33:17,220 righteous judgment will be revealed. 590 00:33:17,430 --> 00:33:20,490 There's a day coming when God's righteous judgment will be revealed 591 00:33:21,000 --> 00:33:23,790 against the lost, and if you have not bowed the knee at that point 592 00:33:23,790 --> 00:33:27,030 it will be too late and in second. 593 00:33:27,030 --> 00:33:29,130 Peter three verse 10, right after saying that God does not wish 594 00:33:29,130 --> 00:33:31,170 that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. 595 00:33:31,680 --> 00:33:35,130 He talks about this same day, he says, but the day of the Lord will come and it will 596 00:33:35,130 --> 00:33:38,910 come like a thief, and the heavens will pass away with a roar, and the heavenly 597 00:33:38,910 --> 00:33:40,380 bodies will be burned up and dissolved. 598 00:33:40,380 --> 00:33:42,570 And the earth and the works done on will be exposed. 599 00:33:42,570 --> 00:33:46,260 So what that means is today is the day of salvation. 600 00:33:47,370 --> 00:33:49,680 Not tomorrow, not when you're older. 601 00:33:50,250 --> 00:33:53,460 Not next time, not next Easter today. 602 00:33:54,420 --> 00:33:56,370 Today is the day to do business with God. 603 00:33:56,370 --> 00:33:59,220 Today is the day to have this transaction between you and God. 604 00:33:59,580 --> 00:34:03,180 As you sit here this morning, if you are not a follower of Jesus, can I tell you, 605 00:34:03,330 --> 00:34:07,770 you are here this morning not to be in the cross hairs of his wrath, but to be in the 606 00:34:07,770 --> 00:34:09,480 cross hairs of his grace and his mercy. 607 00:34:09,480 --> 00:34:12,870 By hearing that you can repent from your sins and trust Jesus and have all of your 608 00:34:12,870 --> 00:34:17,940 sins forgiven, past, present, and future, and you can leave this morning, know that 609 00:34:17,940 --> 00:34:20,010 you will rise again to live with Jesus. 610 00:34:21,810 --> 00:34:24,929 And that that is the offer here this morning by God for you and 611 00:34:24,929 --> 00:34:29,399 his patience has brought you to this point for that purpose. 612 00:34:30,810 --> 00:34:35,399 Charles Spurgeon, an old pastor, said this, no one in hell can say, 613 00:34:35,399 --> 00:34:38,190 I came to Christ and he rejected me. 614 00:34:39,569 --> 00:34:42,149 Come to Christ this morning today. 615 00:34:43,409 --> 00:34:44,520 Make it today. 616 00:34:45,810 --> 00:34:47,069 Stop saying it's gonna be later. 617 00:34:48,690 --> 00:34:53,760 Stop coming up with the excuses as to why not surrender to Christ 618 00:34:53,760 --> 00:34:57,210 today, be reconciled to God today. 619 00:34:57,630 --> 00:35:00,510 I love his patience towards Mary because he's been patient 620 00:35:00,510 --> 00:35:01,860 like that towards all of us. 621 00:35:02,280 --> 00:35:03,000 Look at verse 16. 622 00:35:03,000 --> 00:35:07,320 Look, Jesus said to her, Mary, and she turned and said to him, an 623 00:35:07,320 --> 00:35:09,900 Aramaic rabbi, which means teacher. 624 00:35:10,650 --> 00:35:13,710 And Jesus said to her, do not clinging to me for I have not yet ascended 625 00:35:13,710 --> 00:35:15,480 to the Father, but go to my what? 626 00:35:15,480 --> 00:35:16,350 What's the next word there? 627 00:35:16,350 --> 00:35:16,770 Go to my. 628 00:35:17,850 --> 00:35:20,460 My brothers, who are the brothers? 629 00:35:21,240 --> 00:35:22,620 They're the ones that abandoned him. 630 00:35:23,700 --> 00:35:25,500 They're the ones that weren't there at the cross. 631 00:35:26,610 --> 00:35:28,560 This is Peter, who denied him three times. 632 00:35:29,280 --> 00:35:30,690 Talk about a patient, God. 633 00:35:30,690 --> 00:35:32,070 He says, go to my brothers. 634 00:35:33,030 --> 00:35:35,970 Go to my brothers and tell them I'm ascending. 635 00:35:35,970 --> 00:35:37,920 My father, your fa and your Father. 636 00:35:37,920 --> 00:35:39,600 To my God and your God. 637 00:35:40,050 --> 00:35:43,860 And Mary Magdalene went and announced to the disciples, I've seen the Lord, and 638 00:35:43,860 --> 00:35:45,240 that he had said these things to her. 639 00:35:46,965 --> 00:35:49,995 I love how Jesus reveals himself to Mary. 640 00:35:50,775 --> 00:35:53,265 It's different, the road to AMAs. 641 00:35:53,325 --> 00:35:56,925 Jesus encounters the two disciples and they don't know who he is, right? 642 00:35:56,985 --> 00:35:58,845 He walks up to them, why so glum chums. 643 00:35:59,235 --> 00:36:02,745 And they're going, don't you know Jesus, that Jesus was crucified? 644 00:36:02,745 --> 00:36:03,795 Don't you get that? 645 00:36:04,305 --> 00:36:06,825 And Jesus launches into one of the greatest sermons ever preached, where 646 00:36:06,825 --> 00:36:09,555 he goes through the whole Old Testament, says, look at all the things that 647 00:36:09,585 --> 00:36:11,775 that prophesied about my crucifixion. 648 00:36:11,775 --> 00:36:14,565 And that's how he reveals himself to those two on the road to Emmaus. 649 00:36:15,075 --> 00:36:16,455 But what does he do for Mary? 650 00:36:17,654 --> 00:36:19,365 He speaks her name, 651 00:36:21,794 --> 00:36:22,335 y'all. 652 00:36:22,395 --> 00:36:24,825 The God of Christianity is a personal God. 653 00:36:26,685 --> 00:36:30,015 The God of Christianity is a God who knows every name in this room. 654 00:36:32,805 --> 00:36:36,105 The God of Christianity is Jesus who looks at Mary, one 655 00:36:36,105 --> 00:36:37,754 of his most devoted followers. 656 00:36:39,225 --> 00:36:42,345 Jesus had earlier cast out seven demons from Mary. 657 00:36:43,545 --> 00:36:45,855 And she had pledged her life to follow Jesus. 658 00:36:45,855 --> 00:36:48,945 From that point forward, she was at the cross as Jesus hung dying, 659 00:36:49,695 --> 00:36:51,675 and here she is in the garden tomb. 660 00:36:51,885 --> 00:36:57,465 She doesn't recognize him, and Jesus in love and compassion moves towards 661 00:36:57,465 --> 00:37:01,365 her and speaks her name and it's hearing that name, a name that she 662 00:37:01,365 --> 00:37:04,815 had heard him speak time and time and time before that the light bulb goes 663 00:37:04,815 --> 00:37:07,545 off from Mary and she knows who he is. 664 00:37:08,985 --> 00:37:09,405 Mary. 665 00:37:11,445 --> 00:37:19,995 And she turns and she says, rabbi, teacher, Lord, the gospel of John says 666 00:37:20,145 --> 00:37:25,605 in in John chapter 10, verse four, Jesus says that when he is brought 667 00:37:25,605 --> 00:37:27,225 out his own, he goes before him. 668 00:37:27,405 --> 00:37:29,505 And the she follow him for they know his voice. 669 00:37:29,505 --> 00:37:30,555 And here we see that with Mary. 670 00:37:30,825 --> 00:37:31,605 He knows. 671 00:37:31,605 --> 00:37:35,385 She knows his voice, but right before that it says they know his voice 672 00:37:35,385 --> 00:37:38,595 because he calls his own sheep by name. 673 00:37:39,360 --> 00:37:42,030 And that's what Jesus does here with Mary and in church. 674 00:37:42,120 --> 00:37:43,470 Here's what I wanna encourage you with. 675 00:37:43,530 --> 00:37:48,510 If you're in Christ, you have responded because God has called you by name. 676 00:37:48,570 --> 00:37:51,390 And if you're here this morning and you're not in Christ, I wanna let 677 00:37:51,390 --> 00:37:55,440 you know this morning that God is beckoning you this morning by name. 678 00:37:55,530 --> 00:37:56,910 I may not know your name. 679 00:37:56,955 --> 00:37:59,625 But the God of this universe knows your name. 680 00:37:59,745 --> 00:38:03,075 Jesus knows your name, and he wants to make sure that your name 681 00:38:03,134 --> 00:38:06,225 is gonna be in the Lamb's book of life before all is said and done. 682 00:38:06,225 --> 00:38:08,745 And I want you to know this morning that you can guarantee that that's 683 00:38:08,745 --> 00:38:11,145 reality before you walk out those doors. 684 00:38:11,924 --> 00:38:13,185 Third and final point this morning is this. 685 00:38:13,185 --> 00:38:16,365 Don't leave without your name in the Lamb's book of life. 686 00:38:17,085 --> 00:38:18,884 Don't leave without your name. 687 00:38:18,884 --> 00:38:23,654 In the Lamb's book of life, there was a song back in the nineties. 688 00:38:25,049 --> 00:38:27,600 Uh, that was super popular. 689 00:38:27,600 --> 00:38:31,379 I used to sing it in the church, and, and I think the, the intention is there. 690 00:38:31,379 --> 00:38:32,580 I think it goes a little bit too far. 691 00:38:32,580 --> 00:38:36,240 The, the line of the song that the chorus was like this. 692 00:38:36,629 --> 00:38:37,500 I'm not gonna sing it for you. 693 00:38:37,890 --> 00:38:40,109 Uh, crucified, laid behind a stone. 694 00:38:40,680 --> 00:38:46,439 You lived to die, rejected and alone like a rose trampled on the ground. 695 00:38:46,649 --> 00:38:48,810 You took the fall and thought of me. 696 00:38:48,810 --> 00:38:49,710 What's the next two lines? 697 00:38:49,710 --> 00:38:50,819 Those of you es Christians. 698 00:38:51,720 --> 00:38:53,189 Above all, above all. 699 00:38:53,384 --> 00:38:54,765 Eh, wrong. 700 00:38:56,430 --> 00:38:59,384 The, the reason why that goes too far is that Jesus wasn't on the 701 00:38:59,384 --> 00:39:04,395 cross thinking of us above all, but it doesn't mean that he was on the 702 00:39:04,395 --> 00:39:06,315 cross not thinking of us at all. 703 00:39:08,714 --> 00:39:11,714 Hebrew says that Jesus despised the shame and endured the cross for 704 00:39:11,714 --> 00:39:13,424 the joy that was set before him. 705 00:39:14,235 --> 00:39:17,625 Isaiah says in Isaiah 53 that part of the joy that was set before him 706 00:39:17,625 --> 00:39:21,465 was his knowledge that he would make many to be accounted righteous. 707 00:39:21,465 --> 00:39:24,525 In other words, part of the joy of the cross was Jesus, knowing that 708 00:39:24,525 --> 00:39:27,855 you would be forgiven because of the work that he was doing on the cross. 709 00:39:27,855 --> 00:39:30,765 So he wasn't thinking of you above all, but it doesn't mean that he 710 00:39:30,765 --> 00:39:31,819 wasn't thinking of you at all. 711 00:39:32,920 --> 00:39:33,460 He was. 712 00:39:34,995 --> 00:39:38,265 And this morning I'm telling you that he's here becking you, calling 713 00:39:38,265 --> 00:39:40,785 you by your name to follow him. 714 00:39:41,085 --> 00:39:42,135 John ten three. 715 00:39:42,135 --> 00:39:46,245 Again, the sheep hear his voice and he calls his own sheep by name. 716 00:39:46,455 --> 00:39:51,945 Jesus died for Mary Magdalene and for Peter, and for John, and for Philip, 717 00:39:52,005 --> 00:39:56,775 and for James, and for Paul, and for Timothy, and for you and for me. 718 00:40:00,015 --> 00:40:01,305 We have a God who knows us so well. 719 00:40:01,305 --> 00:40:02,835 He knows the number of hairs on our head. 720 00:40:02,835 --> 00:40:04,605 That's Luke 12 seven. 721 00:40:05,715 --> 00:40:07,575 God knows the number of hairs on your head. 722 00:40:08,175 --> 00:40:10,005 It's easier math for some than others. 723 00:40:11,355 --> 00:40:11,955 It's not fair. 724 00:40:11,955 --> 00:40:13,065 I apologize for that. 725 00:40:15,885 --> 00:40:18,585 He not only knows that he knows the number of days that we're gonna live. 726 00:40:19,125 --> 00:40:21,105 Psalm 1 39 verse 16. 727 00:40:22,425 --> 00:40:23,895 Psalm 1 39 verse 16. 728 00:40:23,895 --> 00:40:26,115 It says, God knows the number of days you are gonna live. 729 00:40:26,325 --> 00:40:28,515 Let me just be honest with us and blunt with us. 730 00:40:28,605 --> 00:40:30,075 Krishna doesn't know you. 731 00:40:31,095 --> 00:40:32,445 Buddha doesn't know you. 732 00:40:33,315 --> 00:40:34,965 Muhammad doesn't know you. 733 00:40:36,015 --> 00:40:37,455 Allah doesn't know you. 734 00:40:38,205 --> 00:40:41,745 Your favorite YouTube atheist doesn't know you, but the God of the 735 00:40:41,745 --> 00:40:44,325 known universe knows you by name. 736 00:40:45,045 --> 00:40:46,035 He created you. 737 00:40:47,010 --> 00:40:51,570 And this morning he's beckoning you personally and calling you this 738 00:40:51,570 --> 00:40:53,910 morning to come to faith in Jesus. 739 00:40:53,910 --> 00:40:58,680 Listen, y'all, my call may be general, but God's call is personal. 740 00:40:58,710 --> 00:41:02,520 He's calling you to leave off sin and shame, and guilt, and the 741 00:41:02,520 --> 00:41:06,660 futility of pursuing satisfaction in this world and come to find peace. 742 00:41:06,975 --> 00:41:11,055 And forgiveness and hope and true satisfaction in the only place that it 743 00:41:11,055 --> 00:41:15,315 can be found, and that is in surrender to Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior. 744 00:41:15,345 --> 00:41:16,845 And the offer is there this morning. 745 00:41:16,845 --> 00:41:20,505 It's open, it's free, it's yours if you'll repent from your sins 746 00:41:20,685 --> 00:41:22,275 and put your trust in Jesus. 747 00:41:22,590 --> 00:41:22,880 Amen. 748 00:41:24,975 --> 00:41:30,675 Jesus wants you to leave knowing your name is in the book of life and not 749 00:41:30,675 --> 00:41:31,725 gonna be in the book of judgment. 750 00:41:34,395 --> 00:41:36,645 Undoubtedly, the Bible tells me. 751 00:41:36,645 --> 00:41:40,755 So he wants you to deal with the empty tomb. 752 00:41:40,755 --> 00:41:44,385 He wants you to realize the purpose of his patience, and he wants you to do all 753 00:41:44,385 --> 00:41:47,955 of that and come to the realization that if you repent from your sins and put 754 00:41:47,955 --> 00:41:51,765 your trust in Jesus, then you will know him as your personal Lord and Savior. 755 00:41:51,795 --> 00:41:54,435 And in the end, your name will be in the Book of life. 756 00:41:57,195 --> 00:41:58,665 And we know that from scripture. 757 00:41:58,665 --> 00:42:00,975 It's the book of life that will be the arbiter. 758 00:42:02,535 --> 00:42:07,815 Between an eternity with the Lord or an eternity in hell in the 759 00:42:07,815 --> 00:42:09,404 presence of his wrath and judgment. 760 00:42:11,415 --> 00:42:14,504 And rather than sitting here going, well, that doesn't seem like a kind God. 761 00:42:14,504 --> 00:42:18,075 I want you to see the kindness of God is that the offer is free to anyone and 762 00:42:18,075 --> 00:42:20,384 everyone to say, come believe in Jesus. 763 00:42:20,384 --> 00:42:22,484 Repent from your sins and put your, your trust in him. 764 00:42:22,754 --> 00:42:26,055 The only thing keeping you from heaven this morning is you 765 00:42:28,964 --> 00:42:30,225 and I just want why. 766 00:42:32,130 --> 00:42:32,850 For what? 767 00:42:34,830 --> 00:42:37,950 We have a resurrected savior who loved you to the point of dying on the cross for 768 00:42:37,950 --> 00:42:40,410 your sins, and he has risen from the dead. 769 00:42:40,410 --> 00:42:43,230 The body's not there for 2000 years. 770 00:42:43,230 --> 00:42:45,870 Plenty of people who hate God have been looking for the body of Jesus. 771 00:42:45,870 --> 00:42:46,200 Guess what? 772 00:42:46,200 --> 00:42:47,700 They found nothing. 773 00:42:49,920 --> 00:42:50,790 'cause he's not there. 774 00:42:50,790 --> 00:42:52,980 Why do you look for the, the living among the dead? 775 00:42:53,970 --> 00:42:56,100 He has risen just as he told you. 776 00:42:57,720 --> 00:43:00,149 And so if you're here this morning and you have not come to Christ, if 777 00:43:00,149 --> 00:43:03,569 you have not done that, why not today 778 00:43:05,910 --> 00:43:08,850 after the service and I'm about to wrap up here, I'll be in the back 779 00:43:08,850 --> 00:43:10,230 and Pastor Rod will be in the back. 780 00:43:10,444 --> 00:43:14,520 I, I, if you wanna do business with Jesus, come find one of us. 781 00:43:16,325 --> 00:43:20,399 I, I will gladly stop whatever I'm doing and have that conversation with you. 782 00:43:21,285 --> 00:43:23,205 Because this is the most important information. 783 00:43:23,234 --> 00:43:28,259 Uh, you're about to step in tomorrow, again to all 330 billion emails and 24 784 00:43:28,259 --> 00:43:33,345 billion texts, and, and you're about to step into all the noise of the world. 785 00:43:34,845 --> 00:43:38,234 And this will be a blip on the radar unless today becomes that day, today 786 00:43:38,234 --> 00:43:41,685 becomes that day where you become born again because you repent from 787 00:43:41,685 --> 00:43:44,535 your sins and you put your trust in Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior. 788 00:43:44,654 --> 00:43:45,855 And so I'm pleading with you. 789 00:43:45,855 --> 00:43:46,995 I'm beckoning you today. 790 00:43:49,080 --> 00:43:50,340 Be reconciled to God, 791 00:43:53,160 --> 00:43:54,210 be reconciled to God. 792 00:43:54,720 --> 00:43:58,320 He delights to save, and he says in His word, today is the day of salvation. 793 00:43:58,440 --> 00:44:01,170 And I fully believe that today is the day of salvation. 794 00:44:01,170 --> 00:44:05,640 By the nature of the fact that you're here today, God has put you in the path 795 00:44:05,640 --> 00:44:07,080 of the gospel to repent and believe. 796 00:44:08,760 --> 00:44:10,710 And so lay aside whatever your objection is 797 00:44:12,750 --> 00:44:13,680 and be born again today. 798 00:44:15,120 --> 00:44:17,160 The only thing keeping you from heaven this morning is you. 799 00:44:19,710 --> 00:44:23,730 For those that are saved, those that are in Christ, this is 800 00:44:24,090 --> 00:44:25,470 the greatest news that we know. 801 00:44:26,730 --> 00:44:30,900 This is still the greatest information we could ever hear, and it's the 802 00:44:30,900 --> 00:44:32,250 information that he has risen. 803 00:44:34,740 --> 00:44:35,520 He has risen deed. 804 00:44:36,510 --> 00:44:37,710 Will you stand with me as I pray?