Latest / Bible stories / Jesus Overcomes the Grave _ Mark 16_1–8 _ He Got Up_

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Jesus Overcomes the Grave _ Mark 16_1–8 _ He Got Up_ · Bible stories

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Speaker 1: The obituary that was wrong, punchy, and provocative. In 1888,
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Speaker 1: a French newspaper made one of the most embarrassing mistakes
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Speaker 1: in journalism history. A man named Alfred Nobel woke up
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Speaker 1: one morning, picked up the newspaper, and read his own obituary.
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Speaker 1: The newspaper had confused him with his recently deceased brother
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Speaker 1: and printed the wrong name. But there it was in
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Speaker 1: black and white. The merchant of death is dead. That
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Speaker 1: is what they called him because he had invented dynamite.
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Speaker 1: Alfred Nobel sat there reading the world's verdict on his
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Speaker 1: life and he did not like what he saw. That
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Speaker 1: moment changed him so completely that he spent the rest
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Speaker 1: of his life and his entire fortune creating what we
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Speaker 1: now know as the Nobel Peace Prize, one of the
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Speaker 1: most prestigious honors in the world. One premature obituary changed
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Speaker 1: his entire legacy. But what happened in Mark 16 was
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Speaker 1: not a premature obituary, it was a permanent one. They
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Speaker 1: did not make a mistake. Jesus was really dead. The
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Speaker 1: crucifixion was real. The cross was real. The tomb was real.
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Speaker 1: The stone was real. The soldiers were real. And the
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Speaker 1: angel was real. But here is what the enemies of
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Speaker 1: Jesus did not account for. You cannot write the final
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Speaker 1: chapter on the author of life, Jesus Christ. They thought
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Speaker 1: it was over. The obituary was written, but on the
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Speaker 1: third day, Jesus got up with all power that shook
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Speaker 1: the earth rolled away the stone and left an angel
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Speaker 1: sitting on top of it like a footnote that said,
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Speaker 1: did you really think this was over? He got up
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Speaker 1: and rewrote every obituary ever written. They printed his obituary,
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Speaker 1: but they did not print the resurrection. Because when God
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Speaker 1: is writing, death never gets the last word. Therefore, Let's
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Speaker 1: step into Mark chapter 16 and walk through the moment
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Speaker 1: where death loss, the grave gave up and Jesus proved
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Speaker 1: once and for all he got up. Yes, yes, yes,
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Speaker 1: he got up. In a nutshell, that is what this
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Speaker 1: lesson summary is all about. If you don't get anything else, seriously, that,
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Speaker 1: in a nutshell, that is what this section in scripture
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Speaker 1: is talking about. He got up. Jesus overcomes the grave.
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Speaker 1: That's the lesson summary we're going to be looking at today.
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Speaker 1: Mark 16, verses 1 through 8. The big idea... is
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Speaker 1: the empty tomb demands our response it demands our response
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Speaker 1: and so again that's why i said this section is
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Speaker 1: talking about he got up he is alive that's his
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Speaker 1: resurrection verses one through eight and then further down because
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Speaker 1: remember context is king right he shows up those are
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Speaker 1: his resurrection appearances he appeared to over 500 people after
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Speaker 1: he got up, Mark 16, verses 9 through 18, and
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Speaker 1: then finally he went up, that's his ascension, Mark 16,
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Speaker 1: 19 through 20, and one day he's coming back again,
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Speaker 1: don't forget that, alright, anyway, alright, so our lesson summary,
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Speaker 1: Jesus overcomes the grave, last week we talked about the
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Speaker 1: gory details of him being crucified, ah, but this week,
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Speaker 1: He got up. He got up. He got up. So
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Speaker 1: the first piece that we're going to look at are
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Speaker 1: the acts of devotion versus one, two and three acts
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Speaker 1: of devotion. One, two and three. The role of these
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Speaker 1: women was very significant in a male dominated society. And ladies, unfortunately,
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Speaker 1: and I say that I emphasize that, unfortunately, unfortunately, Some
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Speaker 1: things never change. We actually still live in days like that.
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Speaker 1: But one day God is going to fix all this foolishness.
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Speaker 1: All right. So the role of these women was very
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Speaker 1: significant in a male dominated society. They were the same
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Speaker 1: women who witnessed the entire crucifixion. We saw that last week. Right.
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Speaker 1: Mark 1540. The first to come to the empty tomb.
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Speaker 1: They were the first to hear that Jesus is alive.
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Speaker 1: First to see him alive in his resurrection appearances, as
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Speaker 1: I just mentioned. Right. As well as John 20 verses
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Speaker 1: 11 through 18 and the first to tell the good
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Speaker 1: news about his resurrection. However, they are going to the
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Speaker 1: tomb right here. And they're not going to the tomb
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Speaker 1: to see a risen savior. I want you to understand
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Speaker 1: where their mindset is at this point in the text.
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Speaker 1: They're not going there to see a risen savior since
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Speaker 1: they they thought he was dead. Right. They were going
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Speaker 1: there with the intent to honor his memory, not going
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Speaker 1: to see a miracle, but they wanted to honor his memory.
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Speaker 1: And so how did they do this? What are these
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Speaker 1: acts of devotion? First of all, and it's a lot
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Speaker 1: in here. But first of all, they went even when
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Speaker 1: it was not convenient. Notice what verse two says. And
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Speaker 1: very early in the morning. OK, that'll cut out a
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Speaker 1: whole bunch of folk right there. No, seriously. Seriously. No, no, no. Seriously.
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Speaker 1: Whether it's whether we you know, if we're talking about
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Speaker 1: weather or like if it's raining or if it's too
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Speaker 1: cold because because it's a whole lot of Christians. I
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Speaker 1: can't remember what pastor once said that Christians Christians come
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Speaker 1: to church with too many tools in their pockets. Right.
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Speaker 1: It's too cold. It's, you know, the service was too long, right?
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Speaker 1: It's just too much rain out there. I don't want
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Speaker 1: to drive. People will find so many different reasons not
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Speaker 1: to go and be and show their devotion towards the
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Speaker 1: Lord and worship him. But here in the text, they're
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Speaker 1: there very early in the morning. This is an indicator
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Speaker 1: of their eagerness to show their devotion to the Lord. Amazingly,
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Speaker 1: You know, the end of verse two, it tells us
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Speaker 1: they came to the tomb at the rising of the
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Speaker 1: sun only to discover the rising of the sun. OK, OK,
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Speaker 1: I know. All right. Let me say it again. I
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Speaker 1: know sometimes I don't make sense, but let me say it.
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Speaker 1: Maybe you'll catch it this time. They came to the
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Speaker 1: tomb at the rising of the sun, the S-U-N. All right,
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Speaker 1: now I have to spell it out, right? S-U-N. They
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Speaker 1: came at the rising of the S-U-N only to discover
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Speaker 1: the rising of the capital S-O-N. There it is. So
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Speaker 1: remember when he died, right? The sun refused to shine.
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Speaker 1: You know that old story. When he died, the sun
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Speaker 1: refused to shine. And the dead in Christ came out
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Speaker 1: of their graves and staged a protest march down the
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Speaker 1: streets of Jerusalem. He died. You remember when the old
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Speaker 1: preacher used to say that, right? Well, now this time
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Speaker 1: he got up. He got up at this point, I
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Speaker 1: should say. So remember, again, when he died, their sun
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Speaker 1: refused to shine. But now the S-U-N is up because
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Speaker 1: the capital S-O-N got up. So the point is, real
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Speaker 1: devotion does not wait for convenience or convenient times. It
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Speaker 1: shows up early or whenever, even when you do not
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Speaker 1: know what God is going to do. They had no
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Speaker 1: idea what what they were going to encounter when they
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Speaker 1: got there, but they had an agenda and it was
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Speaker 1: an agenda of devotion, showing their devotion towards our Lord,
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Speaker 1: even though they were thinking in their minds, he's dead.
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Speaker 1: So they went there even when it wasn't convenient. But
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Speaker 1: then secondly, another act of devotion, they went there in
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Speaker 1: spite of the costs. Notice what it says, they bought spices.
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Speaker 1: This was expensive. They purchased this with their own money.
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Speaker 1: These spices were costly, which was, again, an act of
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Speaker 1: personal sacrifice towards our Lord. Love always costs something, right?
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Speaker 1: The question is not whether you love Jesus. The question is,
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Speaker 1: what has your love for him actually cost you lately?
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Speaker 1: It's easy to say you love Jesus. But what did
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Speaker 1: what did it cost you this week? For example, think
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Speaker 1: about that. What did it cost you this week? Did
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Speaker 1: you give when it was tight? Show up for someone
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Speaker 1: even when you were tired or stand up for him
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Speaker 1: even when it was uncomfortable. So they went in spite
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Speaker 1: of the inconvenience. They went in spite of the costs.
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Speaker 1: But finally, this one right here. will take a whole
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Speaker 1: bunch of Christians out, Christian folk out. A whole bunch
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Speaker 1: of them. They went in spite of the conditions. His
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Speaker 1: body has been in the tomb for about a day
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Speaker 1: and a half. In other words, his body smells. The stench.
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Speaker 1: True love for Jesus keeps showing up even when a
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Speaker 1: situation looks bad, smells bad, and makes no sense for
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Speaker 1: us to even be there. For example, you keep trusting
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Speaker 1: God at that job that is not going your way.
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Speaker 1: Because real love for Jesus does not quit just because
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Speaker 1: things look dead. Love will prompt you to do some
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Speaker 1: unusual things even when it appears to be useless. So
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Speaker 1: why are these verses so important, these first three verses,
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Speaker 1: of the fact that it demonstrates, no doubt, it's proof
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Speaker 1: that he got up, right? Two of these women were
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Speaker 1: at the cross when he died, back in the previous chapter,
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Speaker 1: verse 40, and saw where our Lord was buried, verse 47.
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Speaker 1: This means when the Sabbath was over, these women knew
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Speaker 1: exactly where he was buried. So these women show us
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Speaker 1: real devotion does not need a miracle to motivate it.
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Speaker 1: Real devotion. Here it is. Let me show it to you.
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Speaker 1: Real devotion does not need a miracle to motivate it.
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Speaker 1: They were devoted before they saw anything. They were faithful
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Speaker 1: before they knew the outcome. The life giver king does
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Speaker 1: not need your conditions. He's not looking for your conditions.
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Speaker 1: He needs your commitment. Are you only devoted to Jesus
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Speaker 1: when things are going well? In other words, are you
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Speaker 1: fair weather Christian? Are you only going to show up
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Speaker 1: when the weather is nice or if it's too cold,
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Speaker 1: you ain't coming? As I mentioned earlier. Are you only
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Speaker 1: going to be devoted to Jesus when things are going well?
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Speaker 1: Are you willing to show up with your spices even
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Speaker 1: when hope seems dead? What is your motivation for serving
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Speaker 1: the Lord? To what extreme lengths do you go to
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Speaker 1: express your love? So those are acts of devotion. Acts
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Speaker 1: of devotion. But then, not only do we have acts
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Speaker 1: of devotion, we have alarming discoveries. Verses four through six.
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Speaker 1: First of all, we see this supernatural removal. Now, listen,
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Speaker 1: we know the story. You read it. Hopefully you have.
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Speaker 1: As the women made their way to the tomb. There
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Speaker 1: were two potential barriers in their way. Again, this is
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Speaker 1: where you have to read all the different gospel writers
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Speaker 1: who will help us to fill in the blanks of
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Speaker 1: things that we may not know. You've got to read
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Speaker 1: and make sure. And the way that you can do
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Speaker 1: that is use any kind of book. It doesn't have
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Speaker 1: to be this one. I'm trying to find my camera here.
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Speaker 1: This is called Harmony of the Gospels. If you're looking
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Speaker 1: for the author there, it's George Knight. Harmony of the Gospels,
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Speaker 1: George Knight. Or... The budget, I understand because it's tight.
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Speaker 1: You can always just Google Harmony of the Gospels and
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Speaker 1: you can find a Harmony of the Gospels. And what
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Speaker 1: it does is it lays out wherever Mark, for example,
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Speaker 1: this section of Mark, Mark 1 through 8, it'll give
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Speaker 1: you the parallel accounts that are connected to Mark 1
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Speaker 1: of 16 verses 1 through 8. If John recorded this,
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Speaker 1: if Matthew recorded it, if Luke recorded it, it'll show you.
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Speaker 1: these different parallels, and it helps to read In other words,
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Speaker 1: what we talk about here is it helps to read
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Speaker 1: the context. So next, we have the alarming discovery. So
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Speaker 1: as the women made their way to the tomb, there
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Speaker 1: were two potential barriers in their way. It was unknown
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Speaker 1: to them. First of all, it was a stone. Now,
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Speaker 1: they knew about the stone, yes, because they mentioned it.
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Speaker 1: We'll talk about that in just a second. They didn't
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Speaker 1: know about the soldiers, remember? There were soldiers that were
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Speaker 1: posted there. However, God took care of that by way
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Speaker 1: of an earthquake that scared them away. The stone was...
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Speaker 1: was large, round, shaped to fit, similar to what you
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Speaker 1: saw in the introduction, right? Shaped to fit into a
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Speaker 1: sloping groove, dug just in front of the tomb, making
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Speaker 1: it very difficult to move. Women more than likely could
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Speaker 1: not move it. That's why when they were on their
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Speaker 1: way and asking that question, who's going to move the stone?
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Speaker 1: They needed men. Well, where were the men? They were
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Speaker 1: hiding behind closed doors. So on their way to the tomb,
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Speaker 1: They knew Joseph had secured it. Mark 15, 46. The
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Speaker 1: women were trying to figure out who is going to
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Speaker 1: roll that stone away. While the women repeatedly and this
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Speaker 1: is actually the tense of that particular scene. verb there
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Speaker 1: is it's in other words they were repeating that phrase
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Speaker 1: i should say they were trying to figure out who
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Speaker 1: was going to move the stone god had already worked
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Speaker 1: this thing out matthew 28 verses 2 through 4 in
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Speaker 1: other words why are you trying to figure it out
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Speaker 1: god has already worked it out so the stone was
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Speaker 1: removed by an angel to show proof that he got
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Speaker 1: up How often, and here's the point, how often is
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Speaker 1: it that we've set out expecting trouble, Vance Havner actually
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Speaker 1: said this, how often have we set out expecting trouble
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Speaker 1: and dreading the difficulty ahead to find out upon arrival
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Speaker 1: Arrival that God had already rolled our stones, our barriers,
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Speaker 1: the bad doctor's report or whatever the case may be.
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Speaker 1: He's already worked this thing out. He's already rolled it away.
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Speaker 1: What stone lies ahead of you? You are wondering how
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Speaker 1: you will get it rolled away. You lie awake all
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Speaker 1: night making plans to remove tomorrow's obstacles. And how often
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Speaker 1: have you reached the place of appointed to find that
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Speaker 1: God has anticipated your dilemma? He's already there. fixed it
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Speaker 1: he's already worked it out the songwriter was right here
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Speaker 1: it is have you any rivers that seem uncrossable have
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Speaker 1: you any mountains that you cannot tunnel through god specializes
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Speaker 1: in things that seem impossible and he can do what
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Speaker 1: no other power holy ghost power can do so remember
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Speaker 1: the stone was removed not to let christ out no
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Speaker 1: no but rather to let the women in to see
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Speaker 1: he got up. So that was the first alarming discovery,
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Speaker 1: the supernatural removal. But then there's a supernatural revelation. When
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Speaker 1: the women entered the tomb, they saw the evidence, the resurrection.
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Speaker 1: So they saw he's not there. They also heard the
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Speaker 1: evidence that Christ has risen from the dead from the angel. Luke,
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Speaker 1: now here's some people get caught up in discrepancies. So
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Speaker 1: let me see if I can clear up this so-called discrepancy.
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Speaker 1: There are no discrepancies in scripture, period. God does not
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Speaker 1: contradict himself. You have to understand that the gospel writers
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Speaker 1: were writing to a particular audience for a particular purpose.
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Speaker 1: Each one had a different audience and each one had
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Speaker 1: a different purpose. What was the purpose of the overall
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Speaker 1: book of Matthew? Matthew's king, you know that. If you
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Speaker 1: go to my church, you know. What was the purpose
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Speaker 1: of Luke? Luke's great physician. What was the purpose of Mark?
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Speaker 1: Mark's suffering soldier. And then what was the purpose of John?
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Speaker 1: John's word made flesh. So now that we know these things.
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Speaker 1: There are no discrepancies in scripture. That's the point I'm
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Speaker 1: trying to make. So they saw the evidence. He's not there.
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Speaker 1: Now they're getting ready to hear the evidence. They're getting
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Speaker 1: this supernatural revelation that Christ has risen from the dead.
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Speaker 1: Luke 24, 3-4 and John 20, 12. mentioned two angels
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Speaker 1: this is what people get confused they mentioned two angels
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Speaker 1: why for the purpose of establishing two valid witnesses that's
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Speaker 1: based on deuteronomy 17 6 however matthew 28 5 and
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Speaker 1: mark mentioned one angel which was probably more than likely,
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Speaker 1: scholars all agree, they did this because they focused on
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Speaker 1: the spokesman of the two angels, there it is. So
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Speaker 1: also notice that the angel helps to calm and assure
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Speaker 1: the women who were alarmed. Well, the word that was
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Speaker 1: used there is affrighten, affrighten in verse six, affrighten. The
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Speaker 1: word affrighten used here in verse six is the same
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Speaker 1: word used in Mark 14.33 that described the agony our
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Speaker 1: Lord experienced in the Garden of Gethsemane. One of the
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Speaker 1: many attributes of angels is to make significant announcements about
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Speaker 1: Of good news. Luke 1. 26-38. The announcement Gabriel made
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Speaker 1: to the Virgin Mary. That you will bear a child.
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Speaker 1: Without a man. This is a supernatural occurrence. Yes. So
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Speaker 1: he made this announcement. So here an angel is making
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Speaker 1: an announcement of good news to these women. That he
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Speaker 1: did what? You ought to know by now. He got up.
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Speaker 1: He got up. He's alive. He's not here. He is
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Speaker 1: risen just like he, by the way, said he would.
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Speaker 1: As a reminder, if you go back to Mark 8,
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Speaker 1: verse 31, Mark 8, 31, he said, I'm going to
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Speaker 1: get up. I'm going to get up. And so they
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Speaker 1: have this supernatural revelation. But then the angel tells them,
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Speaker 1: he says, in a nutshell, OK, you saw the evidence.
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Speaker 1: You're hearing the evidence. Now you need to go and
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Speaker 1: tell somebody else. about this evidence they saw it they
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Speaker 1: heard it now they need to report it they need
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Speaker 1: to proclaim that god got up they need to proclaim
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Speaker 1: that he got up so Notice what he says there,
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Speaker 1: which is very important for Sunday school teachers. Please don't
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Speaker 1: miss this in verse 7. This is extremely important. Don't
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Speaker 1: skip over this. This is just my advice to you, okay?
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Speaker 1: Notice what he says. Go and tell the disciples... And Peter,
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Speaker 1: did you see that? Go and tell the disciples and
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Speaker 1: tell Peter. Keep in mind, this is a special moment
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Speaker 1: for God. First of all, to use these marginalized women
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Speaker 1: to go and tell these men who, by the way.
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Speaker 1: According to Jewish and Roman law, oftentimes the testimony of
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Speaker 1: a woman is not even acknowledged. But the angel says
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Speaker 1: he commissions them. Go and tell the disciples who deserted
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Speaker 1: him and Peter who denied him right that he got up.
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Speaker 1: The good news is this, the assurance that Christ would
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Speaker 1: never deny or desert any of his own disciples. So
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Speaker 1: he's including not only the disciples, but he's including Peter
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Speaker 1: who has messed up, denied him, remember, three times. And
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Speaker 1: Peter is feeling bad about this. And Peter feels like, man,
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Speaker 1: I failed the master. He is in a bad position,
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Speaker 1: but yet he God sends some good news to not
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Speaker 1: just Peter but to all his disciples that the resurrection
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Speaker 1: is good news here it is even for people who
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Speaker 1: fail there it is so again they saw the evidence
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Speaker 1: heard the evidence and reported the evidence Today, you know,
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Speaker 1: there's a saying that we have, if you see something, right?
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Speaker 1: Y'all know that. Say something, right? If you see something,
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Speaker 1: say something. Well, since we have seen what the Lord
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Speaker 1: has done in our lives, beloved, somebody in our inner circle,
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Speaker 1: somebody needs to hear. You need to proclaim, let the
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Speaker 1: world know that he lives. Let the world know that
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Speaker 1: Christ died for their sins and he rose again. And
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Speaker 1: he lives, he lives, he lives today. So he tells them,
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Speaker 1: go and proclaim it. But he didn't stop there. He says,
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Speaker 1: so that they would see him for themselves. Now remember,
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Speaker 1: later on, okay, I'm jumping ahead of myself. Later on,
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Speaker 1: they're not going to listen to these women. Again, a
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Speaker 1: woman's testimony, it didn't mean anything to men in that day.
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Speaker 1: But Jesus says, yeah, ladies, you saw it. You heard it.
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Speaker 1: I want you to report this evidence, but tell them,
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Speaker 1: my disciples and Peter, to go and see for themselves
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Speaker 1: in Galilee. Well, why meet him in Galilee? Because he
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Speaker 1: wanted to meet his disciples and the community of believers
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Speaker 1: to give them his last instructions to start a Gentile mission.
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Speaker 1: This also refers to Jesus' promise back in Mark 14, 28,
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Speaker 1: as well as Matthew 26, 32. Yeah, Matthew 26, 32.
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Speaker 1: He says, but after I have been raised, I will
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Speaker 1: go ahead of you to Galilee. Jesus promised that after
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Speaker 1: his resurrection, that he would go there before Galilee. They
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Speaker 1: did and would meet them there. So again, this is
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Speaker 1: what I mentioned earlier where he met over 500 people.
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Speaker 1: These are his resurrection appearances proving that he got up.
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Speaker 1: The mentioning of the 500 plus people, 1 Corinthians 15,
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Speaker 1: 3 through 8. 1 Corinthians 15, 3 through 8. This
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Speaker 1: demonstrates an overwhelming, again, proof that he got up and
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Speaker 1: is faithful to what he said. He would keep every
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Speaker 1: promise to them and to us just as he told them.
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Speaker 1: So here it is. God completes his plans for the
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Speaker 1: church despite human failure. The point is, this is not
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Speaker 1: just about hearing about Jesus. Yeah, I heard from my mama.
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Speaker 1: I heard from my daddy. I heard about Jesus from
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Speaker 1: my friends. But it is about encountering him for yourself. Yes,
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Speaker 1: your mama was saved. Your daddy got saved. Your brothers,
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Speaker 1: they got saved. Your friends got saved. But you got
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Speaker 1: to go to him. That's it. You got to go
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Speaker 1: to him. For yourself, you cannot live off of somebody
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Speaker 1: else's testimony about Jesus. You have to meet him for yourself.
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Speaker 1: So God keeps showing up in the most impossible moments
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Speaker 1: with the most impossible news. What impossible situation in your
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Speaker 1: life are you still trying to solve instead of trusting
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Speaker 1: the God who already conquered death? Finally, the last thing
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Speaker 1: that we see here is we see abrupt departure and
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Speaker 1: abrupt departure. That's verse eight. So in this abrupt departure,
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Speaker 1: they were paralyzed with fear, first of all. I mean,
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Speaker 1: before they came to the tomb, for that matter, they
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Speaker 1: were kind of fearful. They were anxious. Initially, in verse 8,
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Speaker 1: the women fled and said nothing after hearing what the
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Speaker 1: angel told them to do. Notice what Mark says. They
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Speaker 1: said nothing to anyone because of the continuing excitement causing
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Speaker 1: their bodies to tremble. The reaction of the women at
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Speaker 1: the empty tomb, as described in the Gospel of Mark,
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Speaker 1: highlights a profound psychological state known as ecstasis. Yes, the
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Speaker 1: Greek root word for ecstasy. Sound familiar, right? It describes
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Speaker 1: a moment of being besides oneself where the magnitude of
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Speaker 1: the event is so great that the human senses temporarily
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Speaker 1: short circuit. Let me say it another way. You came
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Speaker 1: into a situation way down, expecting the worst, as I
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Speaker 1: said before, and then God moved in in a way
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Speaker 1: you did not expect, period. You didn't see it coming.
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Speaker 1: Instead of walking away calm, you walked away overwhelmed. You
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Speaker 1: walked away, your heart was racing. Your mind was trying
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Speaker 1: to catch up with what just go. You knew God
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Speaker 1: did this. You knew God did something, but you could
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Speaker 1: not fully explain it. That's exactly where the women are.
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Speaker 1: So let me make it plain. You make a plan.
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Speaker 1: A few weeks ago, maybe you were sitting at the
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Speaker 1: doctor's office and he gave you a bad health report.
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Speaker 1: But after more testing, a few weeks later, the doctor
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Speaker 1: calls you back into the office and says, you know what?
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Speaker 1: I can't explain these results. They don't make sense. They
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Speaker 1: don't make sense at all from a human perspective, from
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Speaker 1: a doctor perspective. I just don't know what happened. Your
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Speaker 1: cancer is gone. That is what happens when God steps in.
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Speaker 1: He will take you from sorrow to shock all in
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Speaker 1: one moment. Fear had the first word in their in
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Speaker 1: their lives, in the lives of these women. But it
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Speaker 1: did not get the last word because God will flip
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Speaker 1: the script in your situation and turn your trembling into
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Speaker 1: a testimony. So they departed. They were paralyzed in fear,
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Speaker 1: but I'm glad I'm so glad the Holy Spirit showed
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Speaker 1: this to me. I'm like, Lord, man, Mark left this
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Speaker 1: right there in verse eight. And I get it again.
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Speaker 1: He's writing to a particular audience for a particular person.
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Speaker 1: I purpose rather. I get it. But there is one
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Speaker 1: more piece here. This is the last piece and I'm done.
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Speaker 1: They were propelled by faith to tell the story. Thank
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Speaker 1: God in verse 8, verse 8 did not, it's not
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Speaker 1: the end of the story. There is an abrupt departure, yes,
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Speaker 1: in verse 8. But in Luke, that's why I said
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Speaker 1: you got to read other gospels. Luke 24, 9 through
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Speaker 1: 12 tells us the women told the disciples. They had
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Speaker 1: time to reflect, right? on the fact that Jesus indeed
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Speaker 1: got up and their fear gave way to faith and joy.
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Speaker 1: Matthew 28, 8. Fear had the first word, but faith
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Speaker 1: had the final one. They obeyed before they had it
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Speaker 1: all figured out. And since the empty tomb demands a response,
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Speaker 1: we don't need our fear to be fully resolved before
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Speaker 1: we take the next step. We just need to move
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Speaker 1: in obedience by faith. Listen, faith is not waiting until
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Speaker 1: you are no longer afraid. Faith is moving while your
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Speaker 1: knees are still shaking. There it is. Faith is opening
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Speaker 1: your mouth when your voice is still trembling. Faith is
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Speaker 1: stepping out when you do not have all the answers,
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Speaker 1: but you know Jesus does. So let me ask you
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Speaker 1: a question. What is God telling you to do right
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Speaker 1: now that you fear that fear has been holding you hostage?
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Speaker 1: What door has God opened that you are too scared
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Speaker 1: to walk through? What testimony has God given you? that
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Speaker 1: you kept that you keep sitting on because here's the
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Speaker 1: truth your breakthrough is on the other side of your
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Speaker 1: obedience so start walking by faith and let the world
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Speaker 1: know he lives Let him know he lives. And let
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Speaker 1: me close with this as a last thing as my
30:00
Speaker 1: voice is almost gone. But I'm sorry, I just get
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Speaker 1: a little excited. I know this is a lesson summary.
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Speaker 1: A man was behind on his rent. Life had hit
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Speaker 1: him hard, lost his job. Bills were piling up, trying
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Speaker 1: to hold it all together. One day he came home
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Speaker 1: and found an eviction notice on his door. Big red letters,
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Speaker 1: final notice. He stood there staring at it. Felt like
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Speaker 1: everything was over. No more chances. No more time. Just done.
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Speaker 1: But what he did not know is somebody had already
30:34
Speaker 1: stepped in on his behalf. While he was trying to
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Speaker 1: figure it out, a family member had gone to the
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Speaker 1: office and paid the bill in full. Every dollar, they
30:46
Speaker 1: cleared the account. So the next morning, the landlord came back,
30:51
Speaker 1: looked at the door and took the notice down. Why?
30:55
Speaker 1: Because what looked final had already been handled. Now, here
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Speaker 1: here's the shout for us. This is what happened on
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Speaker 1: Sunday on that Sunday morning when those women went to
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Speaker 1: the tomb. The cross looked like the final notice. The
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Speaker 1: tomb looked like it was over. Hell thought it had won.
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Speaker 1: But early Sunday morning, God stepped in. And even though
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Speaker 1: we owed a debt we could not pay, he paid
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Speaker 1: a debt that he did not owe. And he took
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Speaker 1: the final notice down. And here's the question. Why are
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Speaker 1: you still living like you have been evicted when Jesus
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Speaker 1: already paid it all? All to him I owe. Sin
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Speaker 1: had left a crimson stain, but he washed it. He
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Speaker 1: took the sign down. He washed me whiter than snow.
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Speaker 1: You're not condemned, saints. You're not cast out. You're not
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Speaker 1: finished because he got up. Your story is not over.
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Speaker 1: To God be the glory. Saints, bless your hearts.