Latest / Fairview Presbyterian Church (PCA) Sermons / The Good News of the Missing Messiah (Mark 16:1-8)- Pastor Kenneth Collins Maple

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The Good News of the Missing Messiah (Mark 16:1-8)- Pastor Kenneth Collins Maple · Fairview Presbyterian Church (PCA) Sermons

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And today we go to the New Testament book of
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Mark. Mark is the second of the Gospels in the
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New Testament. And we're going to go to the back
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of the book because you always find the answers
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in the back of the book. Mark chapter 16 and
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we'll look at verses one through eight. As you
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do that, Just by way of introduction, as we go
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through this text, we should think about the
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evidences for the resurrection because there
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are a myriad of evidences for this. One of the
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evidences for the truthfulness of the resurrection
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is this right here. What we are doing right here,
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right now on the first day of the week, remembering
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the resurrection of Jesus, evidence of it that
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more than 2 ,000 years ago Jesus was raised and
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from then on Christians have met on the first
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day of the week for the Christian Sabbath. Friends
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today as I begin to read I want you to ponder
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a statement that I saw just this morning from
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a pastor named Samuel Lewis Johnson who said
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the resurrection is God's amen. To Christ, it
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is finished. Let's see this from Mark 16, one
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through eight. When the Sabbath was passed, Mary
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Magdalene, Mary the mother of James and Salome,
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bought spices so that they might go and anoint
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him. And very early on the first day of the week,
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when the sun had risen, they went to the tomb.
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And they were saying to one another, who will
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roll away the stone for us from the entrance
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of the tomb? And looking up, they saw that the
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stone had been rolled back. It was very large.
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And entering the tomb, they saw a young man sitting
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on the right side dressed in a white robe. And
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they were alarmed. And he said to them, do not
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be alarmed. You seek Jesus of Nazareth, who was
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crucified. He has risen. He is not here. See
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the place where they laid him. But go tell his
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disciples and Peter that he is going before you
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to Galilee. There you will see him just as he
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told you. And they went out and fled from the
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tomb for trembling and astonishment had seized
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them. And they said nothing to anyone for they
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were afraid. This is God's word. Let us pray.
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Father we give you thanks for your word, which
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is truth That it's a light to our path father
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and I pray that you would light the way through
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it Lord, we need your help We need the spirit's
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help and understanding what is here to see the
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truth of the resurrection and to give you praise
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And so would you guide us we pray in Christ's
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name. Amen. I Think that most of you if not all
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of you know the hymn, Amazing Grace. It's a special
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hymn, and within that hymn, there's this special
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line that says, I was lost, but now am found,
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was blind, but now I see. Some of you are getting
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ready to sing it. I'm sure this is evident as
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well, that you know that there's a connection
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with that song to the prodigal son of Luke chapter
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15. You remember the prodigal son? who demands
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his inheritance and he leaves his father and
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he goes to some distant land and he squanders
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his inheritance and he's living poorly and then
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he comes to his senses and says, you know, it
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was better back home. And so he heads back home
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and when he gets within viewing distance of his
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father, his father does something extraordinary.
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This dad runs to his son and he embraces him.
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And the son's been thinking, I'll just plead
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with my father that I can just be just a servant
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in his house. But the father will have none of
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that. Right. Why? Because he says, for this,
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my son was dead and is alive again. He was lost,
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but now he is found. That is a parable that is
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taught by Jesus. But have you ever thought About
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how that parable actually in a way Characterizes
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Jesus in Between his death and his resurrection
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most specifically on that first day when these
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women they come to the tomb They come to find
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Jesus, and he's not there It's the case of the
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missing Messiah if you will And many of us have
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heard this story this resurrection story over
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and over and over again But today I want to invite
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you to arrive at the tomb with the women. I want
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you to put your feet into their sandals and think,
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what would it have been like to get to the tomb
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and for Jesus to not be there? Friends, the fact
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that he is not there, this is the good news.
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For if they arrive to find Jesus, Wrapped up
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by Joseph of Arimathea, just like he was. If
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they arrive to find Jesus laying there in the
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tomb, heart not beating, lungs not moving air,
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then this whole thing that we're doing right
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here, right now is false. Without the resurrection,
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this is all a lie. The apostle Paul said it like
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this, if Jesus is still in the tomb, our preaching
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and your faith is in vain. But no, friends, he
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who is dead is now alive. And has there ever
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been a better time to not find someone where
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you thought they would be? No. This is, as some
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have said, this is the fulcrum. the hinge of
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redemptive history. It all hangs in the balance
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on the resurrection. And that's what I want us
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to see today mostly from verse six. We're gonna
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hang out in verse six almost the whole time here
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because the angel makes five statements within
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this text to explain the resurrection to these
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women. And so let's look at the first one there.
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He said to them, do not be alarmed. Now, why
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would they be alarmed? Havina, you had an angel
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appear to you recently, right? They're alarmed
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because there's an angel there instead of Jesus.
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It's an unexpected sight for them. It's an unexpected
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scene. You see, they were going there intent
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on anointing the body of Jesus. The death, the
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burial had happened too quickly. They didn't
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have time. to get the spices applied to him.
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And so the text says that they go there for this
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very purpose. They really thought Jesus was going
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to be in the tomb. It seems that Jesus' own words
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had not fully sunk in for his disciples, even
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though Jesus said in John 2, destroy this temple
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and in three days I will raise it up. But we
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even see this not just with the women, we see
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this with the men as well. John and Peter, they
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arrive at the tomb in John 20, and it says they
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did not understand the scripture that Jesus must
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rise from the dead. They didn't fully get it.
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And yet, because the text says scripture there
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in John 20, we might be asking ourselves, what
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scripture? Is there an Old Testament text that
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talks about the resurrection of Jesus? The points
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ahead to that, absolutely there is. Resurrection
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is not just a New Testament idea. The Old Testament
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is looking forward to that. Consider Psalm 16,
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verse 10. It says, you will not abandon my soul
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to Sheol or let your Holy One's seed decay. The
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word Sheol there communicates the grave. It communicates
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death. You will not leave me there, it says.
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But then you might say, well, How do I know that
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this is talking about the resurrection of Jesus?
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You know, because if you read Acts chapter two,
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you see that Peter uses it as a proof text within
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his sermon to talk about the resurrection of
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Jesus. Peter does that. Paul does that. We do
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see this in the Old Testament, such that... We
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may land where Job does. Job at one point asks
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a question, if a man dies, will he rise again?
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And the answer is obviously yes. The answer is
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yes, Jesus has risen. And these women, they get
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there and they're like, what's going on? Do not
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be alarmed though, the angel says. There is an
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element to fear here. Do not be alarmed. Do not
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fear. We actually see this quite often with angels
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appearing to people. It all happens throughout
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scripture. It happens when Gabriel appears to
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Mary. It happens when the angels appear to the
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shepherds. It's a signal. This do not be alarmed
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is a signal that something critically important
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is happening, right? So what is happening? Let's
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look at statement number two you seek Jesus of
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Nazareth who was crucified It's been said by
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many There is no Easter Sunday without Good Friday,
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right? In order to get the resurrection we have
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to go through the crucifixion and the crucifixion
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is where we see God's love for us most vividly
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consider Romans Five, eight. He shows his love
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for us and that while we are yet sinners, Christ
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died for us. The cross, since I've quoted from
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Romans, from Paul, the cross is Paul's central
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theme when he preaches and when he teaches. Paul
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never gets too far away from the cross. And the
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reason for that is because Scripture never gets
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too far away from the cross, right? Just as we
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see resurrection in the Old Testament, we do
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see the crucifixion in the Old Testament. Dalton's
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already quoted from Isaiah 53. He was pierced
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for our transgressions. He was crushed for our
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sins. The chastisement that brought us peace
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was upon him and by his wounds. We are healed.
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And so Paul and the other writers of Scripture,
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Never get too far away from the cross, for the
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cross is where we see the story of redemption
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happening. It's there in Psalm 22, the very words
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that Jesus quotes on the cross, my God, my God,
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why have you forsaken me? It's Jesus telling
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his disciples over and over again that he would
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be crucified and that he would rise again on
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the third day. And yet when we think about the
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cross, it's difficult, isn't it? For on one hand,
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it's the instrument that God uses to sacrifice
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his one and only begotten son, and so we love
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that, we appreciate that, but we also hate that
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our Savior had to go to the cross. Our hearts
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ache even thinking about that. But friends, as
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Vance Havner says, a crossless Christ would mean
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no more. than a Christless cross, it must go
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through the cross in order to get this statement
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number three. Still in verse six, he has risen.
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The Greek word here is hegerthe. He has risen.
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And you might look at this and you might look
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at scripture and you say, how was he raised?
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Who raised Jesus from the dead? Was it God, the
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father? The answer to that is yes. Galatians
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chapter one, verse one says God, the father who
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raised him from the dead. So God did it. But
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at other times, like in John 10, verse 18, we
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see I have authority to lay it down and authority
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to take it up again, which means it sounds like
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Jesus can raise himself. But then there's also
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the Spirit, not to be forgotten, Romans 8 verse
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11, the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the
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dead. And so who raised Jesus? Was it the Father?
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Was it the Son? Was it the Holy Spirit? The answer
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is clearly, yes. The entire Trinity is involved
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in the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ.
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This is the Trinity's miracle. And isn't there
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also then a parallel to our salvation? The entire
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Trinity, the entire Godhead is involved in your
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salvation. This is put too simply, but maybe
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we can remember it. The Father elects, the Son
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atones, and the Spirit regenerates. Yes, the
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entire Godhead, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit,
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all involved in saving you. And so Jesus is raised.
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Look at statement number four. The angel says,
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he is not here. He's not here. Why? Because tombs
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are for the dead and Jesus is alive. Jesus has
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no need for the tomb anymore. He's not going
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back inside there. It's very much what like Luke
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24, five says, why do you seek the living among
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the dead? And it's at this point for these women
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and it's this point as we see in other Gospels
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for the disciples that the light bulb goes on.
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And some of them remember what Jesus said, that
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he must rise on the third day. It's like they've
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forgotten what he taught. But friends, don't
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ever forget the resurrection. Don't ever forget
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the resurrection. It seems that we preach and
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teach a lot on the cross, as we should. But how
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many sermons do we hear on the resurrection?
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The resurrection is not for one Sunday out of
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the year. The resurrection is for every single
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day. Don't ever forget the resurrection. He's
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not here. It almost sounds like an answering
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machine message to a landline. He's not here
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right now. Please leave a message. But the problem
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with that is Jesus isn't going to come back to
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get the message because as I said, Jesus has
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no use for the tomb anymore. And this is the
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unique claim of the Christian faith. Val Grieve
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in a wonderful book on the resurrection says,
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Christianity is the only world religion based
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on the resurrection of its founder. What that
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means, if I can put it differently, Every other
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world religion founder is dead. Not Jesus. Only
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Jesus lives. And the very fact that body is not
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there in the tomb, as I said, is evidence of
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the resurrection. Let's consider for a minute
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other evidences for the resurrection. People
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like to discredit the resurrection. They don't
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believe that it's true. But think about the church
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for a minute. Would we have a church that is
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going all across the globe if this were a lie?
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Would these disciples have continued to carry
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on the message of Jesus Christ if this were a
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lie? I don't think so. And think about those
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disciples. Not only do they carry on the message,
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the gospel, they all suffer for it, right? Every...
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One of the disciples suffers for the sake of
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the gospel. They are martyred. John is exiled
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to the island of Patmos. Would they have done
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this for a lie? I think not. They would not have
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died for something they knew was false, right?
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And what scripture shows us is that there are
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hundreds of witnesses to the resurrection of
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Jesus, too. Additionally, it's often said, that
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the very fact that the women are the ones who
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communicate this, who are there at the tomb,
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is evidence of the resurrection. For we know
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this in ancient times about the testimony of
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women, that it was usually discredited, right?
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And so if you were going to make up a lie, would
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you make up the lie from the mouths of women?
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Of course not. But God's word is true. And the
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women were the ones at the tomb. Friends, this
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is not stuff you would make up. It sounds foolish,
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but instead it is true. R. Kent Hughes says then,
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if you ever meet somebody who says, I don't believe
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in the resurrection, you should ask them, then
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where in the world is the body of Jesus? I could
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tell you where the body of Jesus is. He is alive,
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he is risen, he was risen from the grave, he
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ascended, and he is at the right hand of the
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Father, promising to come back, interceding for
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all of you in prayer. Yes, Jesus is with the
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Father. And yes, Jesus is coming back. But I
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don't want you to take my word for it. I want
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you to see it for yourself. Look in statement
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number five. The angel says, see the place where
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they laid him. In effect, hey, see it for yourself.
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Check it out. And we know that these women knew
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where Jesus was laid because Mark 15 47 says
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Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Jesus saw
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where he was laid. And now they see that it's
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empty, that the body is gone. Well, a lot of
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people here have said, well, clearly the body
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of Jesus was stolen. That's not the testimony
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of scripture. For Matthew chapter 27 verse 62
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and on says this, the next day, that is after
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the day of preparation, the chief priests and
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the Pharisees gathered before Pilate and said,
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sir, we remember how that imposter said while
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he was still alive, after three days I will rise.
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Therefore, order the tomb to be made secure until
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the third day. Lest his disciples go and steal
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him away and tell the people he has risen from
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the dead. And the last fraud will be worse than
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the first. Pilate said to them, you have a guard
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of soldiers. Go make it as secure as you can.
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So they went and made the tomb secure by sealing
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the stone and setting a guard. And so you see.
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They gave their whole effort to making that tomb
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secure. Friends, this is not, this is not a theft.
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This is a miracle. And what it does is it confirms
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everything that scripture has told us. I wanna
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take you to one more spot as I begin to wrap
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up. It's 1 Corinthians chapter 15. If ever anybody
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says to you, hey, where do I learn about the
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resurrection? What's the resurrection chapter?
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It's 1 Corinthians 15, beginning in verse 17
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through 22. And it reads, and if Christ has not
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been raised, your faith is futile, and you are
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still in your sins, then those also, who have
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fallen asleep in Christ have perished. If in
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Christ we have hope in this life only, we are
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of all people the most to be pitied. But in fact,
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Christ has been raised from the dead, the first
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fruits of those who have fallen asleep. For as
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by a man came death, by a man has come also the
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resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all
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die, so also in Christ shall all be made. But
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friends, that little prepositional phrase there
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in Christ is of critical importance. Today, if
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you are hearing this and you are not in Christ,
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meaning you do not believe that Jesus is the
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crucified and risen Son of God and Savior of
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the world, if you are not united to him by faith,
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then the benefits of his life And His death and
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His resurrection are not yours. 1 Corinthians
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15 clearly says, if you do not believe in Jesus,
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you are still in your sin and you are unforgiven.
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Just like Amazing Grace says, then, I once was
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lost. If you are not in Christ today, you are
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still lost. And friends, if I can, by way of
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illustration, to hammer this home. Many of you
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know that for many summers, I worked for a Christian
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camp. I wasn't a counselor. I was mostly the
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maintenance man. I cut the grass and cleaned
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the toilets. One of the things that those who
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were not counselors had to do was look out for
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the safety of campers. And one of the things
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we were very careful about was making sure that
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campers were not lost. And so we would run drills
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upon drills to make sure that there were no lost
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campers. And the drill went like this, that somebody
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would take a mallet and we had this huge bell
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in the camp and we would hit the bell to signal
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lost camper. In my time there, we never lost
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a camper, but we ran many drills. Friends, this
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is not a drill. This is not a drill. God's gospel.
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is gracious and it's free to all who would believe
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in him. And so what's the condition for salvation?
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It's belief. If you don't know what to make of
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Jesus, check it out for yourself. See the evidence
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for yourself. Just like those women were invited,
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see the place where he was laid. Look into the
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scriptures. Ask good questions of Christians.
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Pray to God and ask for the gift of faith. Do
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not remain lost. Do not remain dead in your trespasses.
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Friends, Jesus was raised. He's not in the tomb
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any longer. He ascended to the Father, and by
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God's grace, eternity with God is yours in Christ
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Jesus. If I can, again, return to Amazing Grace,
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that last verse. When we've been there 10 ,000
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years, bright shining as the sun, we've no less
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days to sing God's praise than when we'd first
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begun. Christ said in John 14, I go to make a
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place for you, an eternal home, a place free
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from sin. And therefore our hope is not in this
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life alone. Our hope is in eternal life in Christ
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Jesus. and it's made possible by the resurrection.
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Let us pray.