Latest / CCC West Covina / Resurrection Sunday Message 2026
Transcript
- 0:00We certainly serve a a risen savior.
- 0:03And today I thought that what is the best way for me to reveal to
- 0:06you the resurrected one? How how can I best demonstrate
- 0:11to you who the Christ is helping you come to grips with the the
- 0:15beauty of the glorified Son of God.
- 0:20And so I thought that the best thing that I could do is take
- 0:23you to the book of the Bible that reveals him the best.
- 0:27Now, the Bible is all about the revelation of Christ, but the
- 0:30Book of Revelation is really the revelation of Jesus Christ.
- 0:35That's what it says in Revelation one verse #1 it says
- 0:39the revelation of Jesus Christ, the apocalypsis, the uncovering,
- 0:44the unveiling, the manifesting of Jesus Christ.
- 0:49There's no book in the Bible that better manifests the
- 0:53identity of the the Messiah than the Book of Revelation.
- 0:58It's the last book in, in your in your Bible, last book in the
- 1:02New Testament. But it reveals to us with great
- 1:06clarity in a very splendid way, in a very marvelous way, the
- 1:11character and nature of Jesus Christ.
- 1:16It is the revelation of Jesus Christ.
- 1:18The Book of Revelation is not about the end times.
- 1:21We have it all mixed up. We think, well, the Book of
- 1:23Revelation tells us all about the end, and it does.
- 1:27But the Book of Revelation is not about the end times.
- 1:30It's about Jesus Christ who is the one in charge of the end
- 1:35times. He's the one who controls
- 1:38everything. And we forget that when we read
- 1:41the Bible. That's why Christ condemned the
- 1:44Pharisees, because in Revelation, excuse me, John
- 1:47chapter 5 verse #39 he says you search the Scriptures for in
- 1:50them you think that you have eternal life, but you missed me.
- 1:55How can you read the Bible and miss me?
- 1:59Well, how can you be the read the Book of Revelation and miss
- 2:02Christ? Because everything about the
- 2:05Book of Revelation is the unmasking, the unveiling of the
- 2:09glory of the risen Christ. And he happens to be the one
- 2:13that controls the end. And so He's going to manifest
- 2:17that to us, but he does it because of who He is.
- 2:21And so when you read the Book of Revelation and you miss Jesus,
- 2:26then you didn't read it right? In fact, let me say it to you
- 2:29this way. If you want a blessing, if you
- 2:32want to be blessed today, you've come to the right place because
- 2:37we're going to unfold for you the right person.
- 2:41The Bible says in Revelation one verse #1 the revelation of Jesus
- 2:45Christ. And then it says to verse #3
- 2:48these words. Blessed is he who reads and
- 2:52those who hear the words of the prophecy and heed the things
- 2:56which are written in it, for the time is near.
- 3:03The blessing comes to those who hear about the revelation of
- 3:09Christ, those who read about the revelation of Christ, and those
- 3:15who obey the revelation of Jesus Christ.
- 3:19In fact, the book is bracketed by that exact same phrase in
- 3:25Revelation 21 because it all comes to those who hear and read
- 3:31and obey everything that Jesus Christ says because of who He
- 3:37is. So if you want your life to be
- 3:40blessed, spend your life reading and mastering the revelation of
- 3:47Jesus Christ, the Book of Revelation.
- 3:50And so I thought, if I could reveal to you the resurrected
- 3:54one, where would I go in the Bible to reveal him to you in
- 4:01the clearest possible manner? How is it I could convey to you
- 4:10the beauty of the resurrected Christ?
- 4:16We've been studying the Gospel of John and John presents to us
- 4:22Jesus. We've spent eight weeks in the
- 4:251st 5 verses that you might understand who Jesus is.
- 4:29So John's going to present to you Jesus Christ.
- 4:34Now Jesus is going to present to John himself.
- 4:43Jesus is going to appear to John on the island of Patmos.
- 4:50All of his apostle friends have died.
- 4:54They've all been martyred, but John is still living.
- 4:59He's probably in his 90s by now. He's on the island of Patmos.
- 5:04It's around 96 AD. And here he is isolated, all
- 5:12alone, and he has probably wondered what has happened to
- 5:18the return of the king. I mean, after all, he had spent
- 5:22time with the Messiah. He had understood the Messiah.
- 5:26He was an apostle of the Messiah.
- 5:30And then the Messiah dies and rises again.
- 5:35And then he spends 40 days with the other apostles listening to
- 5:41Jesus teach about the coming Kingdom.
- 5:43And when it's all said and done in Acts chapter one, they all
- 5:48ask, well, are you now going to restore the Kingdom to Israel?
- 5:51Is now the time we're we're awaiting your arrival for you to
- 5:56ascend the throne and rule as the king.
- 6:00And Jesus simply says, it's not, you know, the times of the
- 6:03epochs in which the Father is fixed by his own authority.
- 6:07It's not time. And yet you shall receive power
- 6:12when the Holy Spirit comes upon you, and you shall be my
- 6:16martyrs. And that's come true.
- 6:22They're all dead except for John.
- 6:27And so he's been wondering, it's been 60 years and Jesus hasn't
- 6:33returned. And and he preached all about
- 6:36the return of the King, his coming again, his imminent
- 6:41return. And yet it's been 60 years and
- 6:48John hasn't seen Christ since his ascension in the glory.
- 6:54But now all of a sudden, on the island of Patmos in the Aegean
- 6:58Sea, John all alone, the resurrected 1 is going to
- 7:06appear. He's going to come to John and
- 7:11express to John who he is because John's in need of
- 7:18encouragement. He's going to write to seven
- 7:21churches who are in desperate need of encouragement.
- 7:25They need comfort, they need hope, They need consolation.
- 7:29The, the earth, I mean, the church on the planet of that
- 7:32time was in shambles a lot like it is today.
- 7:36And there there was a call for the church to repent and turn
- 7:40back to their Messiah, turn back to their king.
- 7:46And the way he's going to do that is by giving the gospel.
- 7:53And here is the gospel. I was dead.
- 7:59I am alive forevermore. That that's the cornerstone of
- 8:04Christianity. I was dead.
- 8:09I am alive forevermore. The crucifixion and the
- 8:15resurrection is the gospel. In fact, Tim read it to you
- 8:22earlier in First Corinthians chapter 15 when it says, I make
- 8:27known to you, brethren, the gospel.
- 8:29What's the gospel I delivered to you as of first importance, what
- 8:34I also received that Christ died for our sins according to the
- 8:37Scriptures, and that he was buried and that he was raised on
- 8:40the third day according to the Scriptures.
- 8:44In other words, what scripture? Not the New Testament hadn't
- 8:50been written yet. So he's talking about the Old
- 8:54Testament scriptures. Christ died according to the Old
- 8:57Testament. Christ was raised according to
- 9:06the Old Testament. And so the gospel is this.
- 9:10Christ died and rose again. The gospel is the identity and
- 9:16the ministry and the victory of Christ.
- 9:22Christ the Messiah, that's his identity.
- 9:26The ministry is a crucifixion and resurrection, and the
- 9:30victory is that he reigns supreme forever and ever and is
- 9:34alive forever more. And so Christ is going to reveal
- 9:40himself to John and say, I was dead.
- 9:44I am alive forever more. It's it's just a marvelous
- 9:51passage. So if you got your Bible, turn
- 9:53with me to Revelation chapter 1. Revelation chapter 1.
- 10:06You need to understand that the gospel is not so much
- 10:17surrounding the miracles of Christ, and He did many
- 10:19miracles, nor was it around the ministry of Christ while he was
- 10:24on earth. It was all around the mission of
- 10:28Christ. He had a mission, die, be
- 10:34buried, rise again. And that's why Christ will say
- 10:41to him, I was dead. I am alive forever more.
- 10:46This is the encouragement to the churches.
- 10:50This is the comfort to the churches.
- 10:52This is, by the way, your only encouragement because it's an
- 10:56eternal encouragement. It's a long lasting consolation
- 11:04that Jesus Christ came, was killed, crucified, buried, and
- 11:15rose again. So John hears a voice, and upon
- 11:22hearing a voice on this island, I remember he's all alone.
- 11:27There's nobody to talk to, maybe.
- 11:29I'm sure he's had some conversations with himself.
- 11:32I'm sure he's had some conversations with the Lord.
- 11:36But he's on this island all by himself.
- 11:41There's nothing there. And all of a sudden he hears
- 11:45this voice. It's it's a voice that he's
- 11:51heard before. It's a very familiar voice to
- 11:56John, and it says in verse 12, Revelation 1.
- 12:00Then I turned to see the voice that was speaking with me, and
- 12:06having turned, I saw 7 golden lampstands.
- 12:11Lampstands are the churches. If you read on the Book of
- 12:13Revelation, it'll tell you that the lampstands are the churches
- 12:16because he's going to write the seven churches.
- 12:20And in the middle of the lampstands I saw one like a Son
- 12:24of Man. It speaks to the centrality of
- 12:28the Messiah. He is a central figure of the
- 12:32church. He is in the central aspect of
- 12:37the seven lampstands. And if the church doesn't see
- 12:41Christ as a central figure for everything, the church has lost
- 12:46its mission. So he emphasizes the centrality
- 12:51of the Messiah, one, like I said, a man clothed in a robe,
- 12:56reaching to the feet and girded across his chest with a golden
- 13:02sash. He emphasized the priority of
- 13:06the Messiah because the golden sash in the robe speak of the
- 13:13kingly priestly robes, meaning that this king priest is in
- 13:20intercession for his churches. He lives to make intercession
- 13:25for us. Hebrew 7 tells us this is his
- 13:28priority. And then it says his head and
- 13:32his hair were white like wool, like snow.
- 13:36It speaks of his purity. His eyes were like a flame of
- 13:40fire, and his feet were like burnish bronze when it has been
- 13:44made to glow in a furnace which speaks of his scrutiny.
- 13:51And his voice was like the sound of many waters.
- 13:56In his right hand he yelled 7 stars, and out of his mouth came
- 14:01a sharp 2 edged sword which speaks of his authority.
- 14:06And his face was like the sun shining in its strength that
- 14:14speaks of His glory. And then verse 17, when I saw
- 14:20him, I fell at his feet like a dead man.
- 14:29Wait a minute, hasn't John seen the resurrected Christ before?
- 14:35Yeah, he saw the resurrected glorified Christ.
- 14:43He was face to face with him. He ate with him.
- 14:45He spent 40 days with him. He has seen the glorified,
- 14:51resurrected Christ before. But remember, and this is very,
- 14:58very important, that Mary in the Garden did not recognize the
- 15:04resurrected, glorified Christ. The two men on the road to
- 15:09Emmaus, they did not recognize the glorified, resurrected
- 15:14Christ, only until He revealed Himself, only until He unveiled
- 15:23himself, only until he uncovered Himself so they could see who He
- 15:28really is. This is so important.
- 15:33Why? Because you see, Second
- 15:35Corinthians 44 tells us that Satan has blinded the mind of
- 15:39the unbeliever, so he does not see the light of the gospel or
- 15:46the glory of the Christ. Satan doesn't want you to see
- 15:55what John sees because you see, once you see what John sees, you
- 16:02fall on your face like a dead man.
- 16:07Ezekiel did. Isaiah did.
- 16:11Manoa did. Just read those who encountered
- 16:15the glorified living Christ in the Old Testament, they fell
- 16:21down before Him like dead men on the Mount of Transfiguration
- 16:26when Christ unzipped his flesh. You see, the reason people
- 16:30didn't fall down every time they saw Christ is because all that
- 16:33glory was encased in flesh. That's why when He would walk
- 16:40down the street, people didn't know who He was.
- 16:43They didn't recognize Him, but when he unzipped his flesh on
- 16:48the Mount of Transfiguration, Peter, James, and John would
- 16:51fall down once again before the glorified Christ.
- 16:57All of his brilliance, all of his splendor, all of His
- 17:00Majesty, all of his royalty. You see, we live in a day of
- 17:06artificial Christianity. Churches are filled with
- 17:11artificial people who think they're Christians.
- 17:17Very few churches have authentic Christians.
- 17:21Most are filled with artificial Christians.
- 17:26And what is the difference between an artificial Christian
- 17:28and an authentic Christian? The artificial Christian does
- 17:35not fall on his face like a dead man.
- 17:39The authentic Christian does because he sees his sinfulness
- 17:49in light of God's holiness, and he cannot stand in his presence.
- 17:57I ask you today, are you an artificial Christian or are you
- 18:01an authentic Christian? We have watered down the gospel
- 18:07so much that anybody and everybody can accept it.
- 18:15That's what artificial Christians do.
- 18:18They water it down so much that anybody and everybody just jumps
- 18:22on the Jesus bandwagon. But when you authentically
- 18:25portray the Christ for who He really is, then those who have
- 18:30been called by Him will fall down before Him in fear and
- 18:36repentance, because all they see is their sin.
- 18:42Now note this, it says, when I saw him, I fell on his feet like
- 18:48a dead man, and he placed his right hand on me, saying, John,
- 18:57do not be afraid. You see John was afraid.
- 19:05See. Wait a minute.
- 19:07How can John be afraid of the of the Christ that he ministered
- 19:12with and served with and loved the disciple whom Jesus loved?
- 19:17Why would John be afraid? Because fear is what marks
- 19:21authentic Christianity. Fearlessness marks artificial
- 19:29Christianity. You need to understand this.
- 19:36It's only the believer who fears the Christ.
- 19:38The unbeliever does not. Romans 3 go from Psalm 14.
- 19:43There is No Fear of God before their eyes.
- 19:47That's the unbeliever. They don't fear God.
- 19:49The fearless, the unbeliever will one day become fearful
- 19:56because it's a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the
- 19:58living God. But the fearful, the authentic,
- 20:05they are the ones who become fearless because they receive a
- 20:09touch. From the Messiah who says do not
- 20:15be afraid. Psalm 130 verse #4 There is
- 20:21forgiveness with thee that thou mayest be feared.
- 20:25Never forget that verse. There is forgiveness with thee
- 20:28that thou mayest be feared. Only the forgiven live in fear.
- 20:32The unforgiven do not live in fear.
- 20:35They live a fearless life, but one day they will fall into the
- 20:40hands of the living God, and it's fearful to fall into those
- 20:45hands. So here is John, who hasn't seen
- 20:51the glorified, risen Christ in 60 years.
- 20:56He's going to unveil himself, the revelation of Jesus Christ
- 21:00in all of his glory and all of his scrutiny and all of his
- 21:03purity and all of his beauty and all of his royalty and all of
- 21:06his priority and all of his centrality.
- 21:10He's going to present himself to John, for John has already
- 21:15presented him to us and John one one to five.
- 21:18And now Jesus is going to present himself to John in
- 21:21verses Revelation 1, verses 17 and 18.
- 21:27This is what he says. I am the 1st and the last and
- 21:33the living one that was dead. And behold, I am alive
- 21:39forevermore and I have the keys of death and Hades.
- 21:48This is the way Christ presents himself to John.
- 21:52This is how Christ unveils himself to John.
- 21:58This is how Christ wants to be unveiled to you.
- 22:02This is how you need to see the resurrected Christ.
- 22:07I am the 1st and the last the living one.
- 22:15This speaks of his eternality and his eternality is
- 22:20unfathomable. First of all, he says I am that
- 22:27very familiar phrase that John would know in the original Texas
- 22:32a go a me, which is the Greek translation of the name of God
- 22:36in the Old Testament, Exodus chapter 3.
- 22:38I am that I am. It's the name of God as
- 22:43deliverer, as Redeemer. It's his memorial name.
- 22:48And John had heard him say several times, I am the door.
- 22:52I am the Good Shepherd. I am the way, the truth, and the
- 22:55life. I am the light of the world.
- 22:58I am the bread of life before Abraham was.
- 23:03I am a go a me and every Jew knew what he meant.
- 23:08That's what he picked up stones to to stone him.
- 23:10They thought he blasphemed the name of God when Christ did
- 23:16before Caiaphas. Caiaphas said, tell me, tell me
- 23:20now, are you the Christ? Are you the Messiah?
- 23:23Are you the Son of God? Christ said simply, I am, and
- 23:33the high priest tore his robes thinking that Christ had
- 23:37blasphemed God, but he didn't because he is God, He said in
- 23:45John 8 verse 24. Unless you believe that I am,
- 23:52you will die in your sins. You must believe that I am the
- 24:00God who spoke to Moses from the burning Bush.
- 24:04You must believe in my memorial name.
- 24:08I am a deliverer, A Redeemer, and I am is the only Redeemer,
- 24:14the only Savior, the only deliverer that there ever is.
- 24:20Unless you believe that He is exactly who he says He is, you
- 24:26will die in your sins. That's so important to to
- 24:32understand what Christ is trying to convey to John.
- 24:40He says John, I ego a me I, I am, you know me, so I am.
- 24:47I am your God, your deliverer. I am the eternal God.
- 24:54I am the first and the last. What a great title for God.
- 25:03Go back to the book of Isaiah and you can read through the
- 25:05book of Isaiah over and over to it.
- 25:06God says I in the 1st and I in the last.
- 25:09There is no other God beside me. I'm it.
- 25:15There's nothing before me because I'm first.
- 25:18There's nothing after me because I'm last.
- 25:21He would say the same thing in Revelation One verse #8 when he
- 25:24says I am the Alpha and the Omega, the 1st letter and the
- 25:28last letter of the Greek alphabet.
- 25:30I am before anything ever spoken.
- 25:32I am after everything that is spoken.
- 25:37There is no word before me. There is no word after me.
- 25:40I always get the last word because I always have the first
- 25:43word at the end. Revelation 22, verse #13 He says
- 25:49these words. I am the alpha and the Omega,
- 25:52the 1st and the last, the beginning and the end.
- 25:55There's no better way to say it. Before anything I am.
- 26:02After everything I am. Here's the great thing about
- 26:07that. At your conception, He is there.
- 26:16At the conception of your life, he is there.
- 26:18At the duration of your life, he is there.
- 26:20At the consummation of your life, He is there.
- 26:24Because he's everywhere. He's the eternal God.
- 26:29He exists outside the realm of time.
- 26:32We don't understand that. That's because he's eternal, the
- 26:36eternality of God. He reaches out and he touches
- 26:43John. Every believer who fears him
- 26:50understands the touch of the living God, the comfort that
- 26:56comes from the living God. And he says I am the 1st and the
- 27:04last, the living one. The title for God in the Old
- 27:10Testament, Psalm 42 my, my heart thirst for the living God.
- 27:15Psalm 82, my I sing for joy to the living God.
- 27:20Peter said, thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.
- 27:23The church is the pillar and foundation of the living God.
- 27:27I am the living God and I'm alive for evermore.
- 27:32John, I live and only the living God can give life to lifeless
- 27:43people, and the unbeliever is the lifeless person.
- 27:49And so Christ comes to John and John's afraid because of what he
- 27:55sees, the voice he hears. And Christ says, don't be
- 28:04afraid. John, this is my unfathomable
- 28:10eternality. Here you are on this island all
- 28:14by yourself. You think I haven't been here?
- 28:18Oh no, I've been here. I'm everywhere.
- 28:23And I want to assure you that I am the 1st and the last.
- 28:26I am the living God. I want you to understand my
- 28:30eternality because you need to infuse encouragement into the
- 28:35suffering churches. That's why.
- 28:37To the Church of Smyrna, who was the crushed church, he said in
- 28:41Revelation 2 verse #8 I am the 1st and the last who was dead
- 28:50and has come to life. Because you see, for the
- 28:54persecuted church, they need to know that the first and the
- 29:00last, the beginning and the end, the Alpha and the Omega, the
- 29:04eternal God who died and rose again, is there for them.
- 29:11That's their only encouragement. That's their hope, and that's
- 29:17our hope. So the Bible says I am.
- 29:24I am the 1st and the last. I am the living 1 and I was
- 29:37dead. How does the living one die?
- 29:44In a moment I'll tell you. Let's pray.
- 29:46Father, thank you for today. Thank you, Father, for the
- 29:49opportunity we have to study your word, the revelation of
- 29:53Jesus Christ, the unveiling of the of glorified risen Christ.
- 29:57What a joy, what a pleasure, What an opportunity for us to be
- 30:03able to sit back, read, hear and then responsible enough to obey
- 30:09the words of the one who said, I am the 1st and the last, the
- 30:18living one. Do not be afraid John.
- 30:22He reached out and he touched him.
- 30:25Those here Lord, in need of your touch today, we pray that they
- 30:31would hear and obey the word of the living God in Jesus name,
- 30:37Amen. The glorified risen Christ says
- 30:41to John, you don't need to be afraid John, I am the 1st and
- 30:45the last. I am the living one.
- 30:48Listen to what the Psalmist said in Psalm 90 verses 1 and 2.
- 30:52Lord, you have been our dwelling place in all generations.
- 30:59How? How can God be the dwelling
- 31:01place for every generation unless he is the 1st and the
- 31:08last? The I am the living God, the
- 31:12eternal God who exists outside the realm of time.
- 31:19But you have been our dwelling place in every generation before
- 31:23the mountains were born or you gave birth to the earth and the
- 31:28world. So you are the Alpha and the
- 31:32Omega. You are the 1st and the last
- 31:35because you existed before the earth existed.
- 31:39But he says this even from everlasting to everlasting.
- 31:45You are God. The psalmist knew.
- 31:49The psalmist knew about the eternality of of the living God,
- 31:55that he exists in all realms of life in every generation,
- 32:01because that's who He is. He, He's never not present, He's
- 32:09never not there. He is the God who is always
- 32:11there. He's never the God who is
- 32:14absent. He is the living God who is the
- 32:19great I am, who is the 1st and the last.
- 32:24He is the living one. And yet he tells John and I was
- 32:31dead. How does the living one die?
- 32:35How can the living God die? Well, he can't unless he wraps
- 32:45himself in flesh. The Bible tells us in Hebrews
- 32:50chapter chapter 5 that God has prepared a body for him and he
- 32:58had to die first. Peter 3 verse #18 says it this
- 33:04way. The Christ also died for sins
- 33:07once for all, just once doesn't die over and over and over again
- 33:16every time we take communion. We're not celebrating Christ's
- 33:19death again and again and again that he's dying again.
- 33:22No, we are celebrating the fact that He once died.
- 33:28That sacrifice was once for all the just which He is, for the
- 33:36unjust which we are, so that He might bring us to God.
- 33:42Christ, that I'm the way, the truth and the life.
- 33:45No man comes unto the Father but by me.
- 33:50Now listen, everybody in the room gets to God.
- 33:53Everybody in the world gets to God, but she only come to the
- 33:58Father through the Son. If you get to God, you're in
- 34:04trouble, but if you come to the Father, you'll live with him
- 34:08forever in eternity. But in order for us to have a
- 34:14mediator, there's one mediator between God and man.
- 34:17It's the man Christ Jesus. He had to become a man.
- 34:24He had to be born to die. So let me help you understand
- 34:30death because I'm afraid that we live in a in a, in a day and age
- 34:33where people don't get what death is.
- 34:37All death is is a separation. I just death the paper.
- 34:52I separated the paper. That's all death is.
- 34:58It is a separation. So let me explain it to you.
- 35:02When you were born, you were born dead.
- 35:07So wait a minute. I was kicking and screaming and
- 35:09crying and and begging for something to eat and my mom and
- 35:12dad were trying to calm me down. I was way alive.
- 35:16Oh no, no, you were dead. You were dead spiritually
- 35:20because you were born dead in your trespasses and sin, but yet
- 35:26you were alive. So how can you be dead and
- 35:29alive? Because your body, your soul, is
- 35:36separated from the eternal God. You're in enmity with God.
- 35:44You're not a friend of God, you're a friend of the world.
- 35:48You've been taken captive by Satan to do his will, so
- 35:52therefore you are separated from God.
- 35:54You are death to God, both your physical body and your soul.
- 36:05Before you physically die, in other words, before your body
- 36:10and soul are separated when you stop breathing.
- 36:14OK, you must rectify the fact that you're eternally dead,
- 36:22spiritually dead, because the Bible speaks of death in three
- 36:25ways, a physical death, a spiritual death, and eternal
- 36:28death. So because you are born
- 36:32spiritually dead before you are physically dead, you must
- 36:38rectify your spiritual life or you will be eternally dead.
- 36:42That is, your body and soul will be separated from God forever
- 36:45and ever and ever. When you die, your body decays.
- 36:55We experience that now we're getting older.
- 36:59Now that I'm older, I don't say people are old anymore.
- 37:01I just say they're getting older, right?
- 37:04You know, because, because, because old is, is is very
- 37:10relative, but older is subjective, right?
- 37:15So, so as we get older, as we age, we, we begin to break down.
- 37:20We're not what we used to be. The wrinkles get longer, the
- 37:27crevices get deeper, the flab is flabbier because we're decaying.
- 37:36And finally, one day the body just dies.
- 37:38It it perishes, but the soul is on, right?
- 37:45So physical death is a separation of body from soul,
- 37:49absent from the body, present with the Lord.
- 37:54It's the point that a man wants to die.
- 37:56After that, the judgement. So everybody dies and everybody
- 38:04lives forever, either with God or without God.
- 38:10So the Bible speaks of spiritual death.
- 38:13When you're born physically, you are spiritually dead.
- 38:18Therefore, we preach the gospel so people can be reconciled to
- 38:23God. Second of these five talks about
- 38:26how we're ambassadors for Christ and we're ministers of
- 38:28reconciliation. We want to reconcile people to
- 38:31God. They're they're enmity with God.
- 38:33So let's reconcile them to God. Let's preach the gospel.
- 38:36Let's show them who Christ is so that they don't die physically
- 38:43in a spiritually dead state. And so when you die physically,
- 38:52if you know the Lord, your spirit goes to heaven.
- 38:57If you don't know the Lord, it goes to Hades, the place of the
- 39:02dead. We'll look at that in a moment.
- 39:07So Christ in order to be separated, separated from what
- 39:16flesh get to be put to death in the flesh, but alive. 1st 318
- 39:22tells us in the Spirit. You see, He had to die
- 39:26physically. Somebody had to die in your
- 39:29place. The wages of sin is what death
- 39:32someone's got to die. Now you can die and pay for your
- 39:37own sins, but you'll pay eternally in hell.
- 39:41Or you can accept what Christ did on the cross, who died in
- 39:44your place, and spend eternity with Christ.
- 39:49He became our substitute. He died in our place, so he had
- 39:55to. We know he died.
- 39:56John 19 tells us that they stuck a spear in his side and out came
- 39:59water. They didn't break his legs
- 40:01because he was already dead. Breaking the legs of the
- 40:04crucified One would only hurry up to death and they had to get
- 40:07him off the cross before evening came.
- 40:11You know he was dead. But first beat of 318 says he
- 40:15was alive in the spirit. We know that because.
- 40:20After the resurrection, what did he do first?
- 40:21Peter 3/19. He went down to Hades and made a
- 40:24public proclamation to the spirits that are imprisoned in
- 40:28the place of the dead, those that were held captive there
- 40:32since the days of Noah, because they had no idea that Christ had
- 40:39died and rose again because he was alive in the spirit.
- 40:44He went down and made a public proclamation as a victorious 1
- 40:50because he is the ultimate victor.
- 40:54And then he bodily rose from the dead on day #3 You see, I was
- 41:03dead, John, you know, when I died.
- 41:06I died for you, John. I died for you.
- 41:11I was separated from the body. I was I.
- 41:14I came in encased in flesh. It was a body that was prepared
- 41:18for me. All the days are written for me
- 41:20in the scroll of my Father in heaven.
- 41:23I came to do the will of my Father in heaven.
- 41:24I came to die, John. I came to die for you.
- 41:27This is his unimaginable humility, from his unfathomable
- 41:35eternality to his unimaginable humility that the King of Glory
- 41:41would encase himself in flesh so that he could die for your sins
- 41:46and for mine. That's amazing, Flippin tells
- 41:51us. He became obedient unto death,
- 41:55even the death on a tree on the cross.
- 42:01I was dead, They says this. Behold, stand amazed.
- 42:09I'm alive forevermore. Hebrews 7 says he lives an
- 42:16indestructible life. The Bible says over in first
- 42:21Timothy chapter one verse #17 Now to the king, immortal,
- 42:26invisible, the only God be honor and glory forever and ever, the
- 42:34eternal immortal God, the imperishable God, the
- 42:39incorruptible God, the non decaying God is alive forever
- 42:44more. Second dividy one verse #10
- 42:48Jesus Christ has abolished death, has abolished death, and
- 42:54brought life and immortality to light through the gospel.
- 43:01Christ has abolished death. In other words, he's he's
- 43:03rendered death inoperable. It doesn't mean that death has
- 43:06disappeared, because people still die.
- 43:10People still are physically separated from their spirit when
- 43:14they give up this life, this physical life.
- 43:19But it means that he is rendered death inoperative in the life of
- 43:25the believer, so that we no longer fear death.
- 43:30Here is John on the Isle of Patmos, all by himself, all
- 43:33alone, knowing he's going to die.
- 43:36All of his friends have died. He's next.
- 43:41He said no when and Christ says I I I'm alive for forevermore.
- 43:47John, I want you to stand that my eternality is unimaginable.
- 43:54I want you to understand that or should be unfathomable,
- 43:58fathomable and my humility is unimaginable, but my immortality
- 44:04is undeniable. I live forever, John, because I
- 44:09live John 14 you too shall live because He is the God who gives
- 44:15life. He is the living God who grants
- 44:19man not just eternal life, but quality of life.
- 44:25Hebrews chapter 2 says. Therefore, since the children
- 44:29share in flesh and blood, he himself likewise also partook of
- 44:32the same, that through death He might render powerless him who
- 44:36had the power of death, that is, the devil, and might free those
- 44:40who through fear of death were subject to slavery all their
- 44:43lives. You see, what Christ did was
- 44:46fear. Fear the authentic Christian
- 44:50from the fear of death. The artificial Christian fears
- 44:54death. The authentic Christian does not
- 44:58fear death because you see, you abolish death.
- 45:02And when you believe in the eternal God, the living God, the
- 45:061st and the last, the great I am, you no longer fear death
- 45:09because he's the living God. Death is the doorway to the
- 45:13entrance to eternity to be with the living God.
- 45:18That's how you know an authentic Christian from an artificial
- 45:21Christian. Artificial people fear death.
- 45:26Authentic Christians have No Fear of death.
- 45:30None. How about you?
- 45:33You fear death. Ask yourself if you're an
- 45:36artificial Christian just plain at Christianity, or you truly
- 45:41know the living, resurrected Christ.
- 45:46This is how Christ reveals himself to John.
- 45:48This is the encouragement he's going to give to the churches.
- 45:52I want you to tell them of my eternality, tell them of my
- 45:56humility, tell them of my immortality, and then tell them
- 46:01one last thing. Tell them of my absolute
- 46:04authority that I have the keys to death and Hades.
- 46:12That's how I conclusive I have absolute authority.
- 46:19Complete sovereignty. Keys give you access.
- 46:24You can't get into the building unless you have a key.
- 46:29You can break in, but you can't actually enter in without keys.
- 46:34Can't drive your car without a key.
- 46:36You can't get in your house without a key.
- 46:39You can't get in your lock box without a key.
- 46:41Keys give you access. Keys give you authority.
- 46:45If I have my keys, guess who's driving my car?
- 46:48Not you, Me, because I have the keys.
- 46:52I have authority, I have access. You don't.
- 46:55Christ says I have the keys to death and Hades.
- 47:00In other words, I am in complete and total control of every
- 47:05single person and every single thing on earth.
- 47:09Death is the condition, Hades is the place.
- 47:15Christ says in Deuteronomy 32 verse #39 I am God, there is
- 47:24none else. I alone put to death.
- 47:32I give life. There's nothing more clear than
- 47:38that. If you want to know why people
- 47:41die, answer God. I put to death.
- 47:49It pleased the Lord to crush his Son.
- 47:52Isaiah 53 verse #10 Who killed Christ?
- 47:56The Jews, the Romans, the Gentiles.
- 47:59God killed his son. I hold the keys.
- 48:06Christ says to death in Hades. Your destination, John, is in my
- 48:11hands. It's in my hands, John, as you
- 48:16sit in the Isle of Patmos, all by your little lonesome, all by
- 48:19yourself, and you think that I'm not coming again, let me reveal
- 48:24to you who I am and then all the events that I will enact to show
- 48:29you I'm coming again. But know this, that you're in my
- 48:32hand, John, because I hold the keys to death in Hades.
- 48:35I'm in charge of who lives and who dies.
- 48:39I'm in charge of who dies, when they die, where they die, and
- 48:43how they die. That's hard for some people to
- 48:47grasp, but that is our God. He's in complete and total
- 48:56control. But if you confess with your
- 48:59mouth, Jesus says Lord, and believe in your heart, that God
- 49:05raised him from the dead, you will be saved with the mouth.
- 49:10Man confesses unto salvation with the heart.
- 49:15Man believes under righteousness.
- 49:20The blessing comes to you today because of the revelation of
- 49:24Jesus Christ. The blessing comes to you today
- 49:28because you're here to read and to hear.
- 49:35And now, in order to enact the blessing, you must obey.
- 49:41You must heed the words of this book, and that is the blessing
- 49:50that the resurrected 1 revealed to you in the Book of Revelation
- 49:54grants to all those who put their faith and trust in the
- 49:57living God. Let me pray with you.
- 50:00Father, thank you for today, for truly Lord, you are a great God
- 50:06and you alone are worthy of praise.
- 50:08And we glorify your precious name, knowing that one day
- 50:12you're going to come again. Until that day, may we be found
- 50:16faithful in our service of the King.
- 50:20May we glorify your precious name.
- 50:22In Jesus name we pray, Amen.