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Will We Be Married in Heaven Msg 5_21 - Pastor Chuck Swindoll Insight for Living · INSIGHT FOR LIVING: Biblical Wisdom For Everyday Living

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  Speaker 1: As you read through the Bible, you come to sections
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  Speaker 1: that belong together. Getting beyond the Old Testament, you come
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  Speaker 1: to the New. There are four books that revolve around
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  Speaker 1: the life and ministry of Jesus. They're called the Gospels.
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  Speaker 1: Though they cover the same era of time, the four
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  Speaker 1: writers of the Gospels, often referred to as the evangelists,
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  Speaker 1: look at the life and ministry of Jesus from different
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  Speaker 1: vantage points. Each one adding his own perspective. Then you
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  Speaker 1: get beyond the Gospels, you come to the book of history,
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  Speaker 1: which is the Acts of the Apostles. And that book
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  Speaker 1: takes up the story at the ending of the Gospels,
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  Speaker 1: as Jesus has ascended and has been seated by the Father,
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  Speaker 1: then the apostles carry out his work in the Acts
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  Speaker 1: of the Apostles. This is followed by the letters, commonly
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  Speaker 1: called the epistles in the Scriptures. And from Romans all
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  Speaker 1: the way to Jude, the next to last book of
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  Speaker 1: the Bible, these letters convey truth regarding living the Christian life.
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  Speaker 1: And then last, of course, is the great book of prophecy,
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  Speaker 1: the book of the Revelation. Learn to say it correctly.
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  Speaker 1: It's not revelations, plural. It's the revelation of Jesus Christ.
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  Speaker 1: His work in the lives of his own in the
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  Speaker 1: last days, bringing in the kingdom in the days of eternity.
• 2:06
  Speaker 1: We're in the gospel of Matthew chapter 22. This is
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  Speaker 1: my 70th message in Matthew. I remember when we were
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  Speaker 1: going through Job, those laughing were here during that time.
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  Speaker 1: The rest of them who heard have fled long since.
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  Speaker 1: Remember one child saying to his dad, how old was
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  Speaker 1: I when Pastor Chuck began the book of Job? Well,
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  Speaker 1: we've spent many more Sundays in the book of Matthew.
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  Speaker 1: You just cannot hurry your way through a gospel this significant.
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  Speaker 1: So we come to chapter 22. and I'll be reading
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  Speaker 1: verses 23 through 33 from the New Living Translation. Will
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  Speaker 1: you please stand for the reading of God's word? That
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  Speaker 1: same day, Jesus was approached by some Sadducees, religious leaders
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  Speaker 1: who say there is no resurrection from the dead. They
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  Speaker 1: posed this question. Teacher Moses said, if a man dies
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  Speaker 1: without children, his brother should marry the widow and have
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  Speaker 1: a child who will carry on the brother's name. Well,
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  Speaker 1: suppose there were seven brothers. The oldest one married and
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  Speaker 1: then died without children. So his brother married the widow.
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  Speaker 1: But the second brother also died. And the third brother
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  Speaker 1: married her. This continued with all seven of them. Last
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  Speaker 1: of all, the woman also died. So tell us, whose
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  Speaker 1: wife will she be in the resurrection? For all seven
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  Speaker 1: were married to her. Jesus replied, Your mistake is that
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  Speaker 1: you don't know the scriptures and you don't know the
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  Speaker 1: power of God. For when the dead rise, we will
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  Speaker 1: neither marry nor be given in marriage. In this respect,
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  Speaker 1: They will be like the angels in heaven. But now,
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  Speaker 1: as to whether there will be a resurrection of the dead,
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  Speaker 1: haven't you ever read about this in the scriptures? Long
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  Speaker 1: after Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob had died, God said, I
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  Speaker 1: am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and
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  Speaker 1: the God of Jacob. So he is the God of
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  Speaker 1: the living. not the dead. When the crowds heard him,
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  Speaker 1: they were astounded at his teaching. How great it would
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  Speaker 1: have been to have been on earth and to have
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  Speaker 1: seen the dialogue between Jesus and those who attempted to
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  Speaker 1: trap him, which was impossible. Please be seated. I am
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  Speaker 1: currently reading a fascinating book titled The Vanishing American Adult
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  Speaker 1: by Ben Sasse. Sasse is a senator in Nebraska. Though
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  Speaker 1: he is a politician, the book is not political. The
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  Speaker 1: book is a lamentation. He, like I and many of us,
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  Speaker 1: he's saddened that so many growing up in America, remain adolescent.
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  Speaker 1: Some still in their 30s are still living at home.
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  Speaker 1: Many who are already old enough to be adults do
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  Speaker 1: not know that they are adults and do not conduct
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  Speaker 1: themselves as adults. It's a vanishing group. As I read this, naturally,
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  Speaker 1: I do analogies in my mind with my world, which
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  Speaker 1: is not political. Mine is a world that deals with
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  Speaker 1: the church. So I've been thinking while reading about the vanishing,
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  Speaker 1: responsible believer. Easy to grow older in the church, but
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  Speaker 1: not grow up. and become adult in our relationship with
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  Speaker 1: God and with one another. Bow with me, please. We're grateful,
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  Speaker 1: our Father, for the pleasure of worship. We come to
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  Speaker 1: worship you as the king of our lives, as the
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  Speaker 1: Lord of our decisions, as the master of our walk
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  Speaker 1: on this earth. We want you to know, our Father,
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  Speaker 1: that our love for you is not partial. It is total.
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  Speaker 1: And we gather today because we realize we cannot make
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  Speaker 1: it without you. If we could, we'd be home. We
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  Speaker 1: wouldn't give much thought to gatherings like this, but we
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  Speaker 1: need to be here. We love being with you and
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  Speaker 1: with one another. Find favor, Lord, in our presence before
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  Speaker 1: you in our act of worship. And now as we give,
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  Speaker 1: be honored in our giving, which is also a vital
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  Speaker 1: part of our worship. In the name of the one
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  Speaker 1: who is our King, our Master, and our Lord, we
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  Speaker 1: pray and we give. Everyone said, Amen. Most people I
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  Speaker 1: know are fascinated over the life after death issue. First
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  Speaker 1: of all, we're intrigued by death itself. When we are
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  Speaker 1: with one that we love and it has been a
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  Speaker 1: long life and those eyes are closed for the last time,
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  Speaker 1: we're there trying to imagine what it is that that
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  Speaker 1: person is now going through. As his own soul and
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  Speaker 1: spirit is removed from him invisibly and instantly and taken
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  Speaker 1: to be with the Lord. And the body remains for
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  Speaker 1: us to deal with this body with dignity and gratitude.
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  Speaker 1: Death is intriguing. It's a huge mystery. Since we've never
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  Speaker 1: been there, we've never talked to someone who has gone
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  Speaker 1: there and has returned from it, we can only imagine.
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  Speaker 1: And the imagination of people mixed with superstition is all
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  Speaker 1: over the page. I read this past week about one
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  Speaker 1: who truly believed that angels give guided tours of heaven
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  Speaker 1: to all people who enter. the portals of heaven. There
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  Speaker 1: are people who visit cemeteries to talk to gravestones. My
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  Speaker 1: mother led the lady across the street from us to Christ. Mrs.
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  Speaker 1: Roberts had married later in life and she dearly loved
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  Speaker 1: her husband. The two of them, Mr. and Mrs. Roberts,
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  Speaker 1: were delightful people. He suddenly was taken by a heart
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  Speaker 1: attack and she buried him and her heart was broken.
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  Speaker 1: My mother's heart went out to this lady across the
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  Speaker 1: street and she said to me one day, I'm going
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  Speaker 1: to take some lemonade and cookies and I'm going to
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  Speaker 1: talk to Mrs. Roberts. because I understand she's been regularly
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  Speaker 1: going to the cemetery and trying to connect with her husband.
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  Speaker 1: And I want to help her know what death is
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  Speaker 1: all about and what life is about beyond this life,
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  Speaker 1: as the Bible teaches. So pray for me. And I
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  Speaker 1: remember as a little boy praying for my mother, she
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  Speaker 1: walked across the street. She came back all smiles. The
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  Speaker 1: cookies were gone. I also noticed that. And the lemonade
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  Speaker 1: had been enjoyed. She had led Mrs. Roberts to Christ
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  Speaker 1: And Mrs. Roberts had from that moment on made her
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  Speaker 1: last visit to the cemetery. Well, maybe I shouldn't put
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  Speaker 1: it like that. She did return, but she returned to
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  Speaker 1: talk to people, other people at the cemetery who were
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  Speaker 1: trying to connect with the dead. And she regularly and faithfully,
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  Speaker 1: as far as I remember, almost to the last of
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  Speaker 1: her own life, she faithfully told others about Christ. As
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  Speaker 1: I say to folks, she's the only cemetery evangelist I
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  Speaker 1: had ever met. She regularly talked about Jesus with those
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  Speaker 1: who had gone with their hearts broken. Superstition has a
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  Speaker 1: field day with the whole subject of life after death.
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  Speaker 1: Did you know that the ancient Greeks often placed a
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  Speaker 1: coin in the mouth of the corpse to pay his
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  Speaker 1: fare across the the mystic river of death into the
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  Speaker 1: land of immortal life. Norsemen of old were often buried
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  Speaker 1: with their horse so that they might ride proudly through
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  Speaker 1: the gates of heaven and along the streets of gold
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  Speaker 1: on their horses. Eskimos in Greenland for years, when their
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  Speaker 1: children died, would often bury the child with the dog
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  Speaker 1: that the child had loved, so that the dog would
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  Speaker 1: help guide them through what they called death's cold wasteland.
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  Speaker 1: All of it's superstitious. None of it referred to in
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  Speaker 1: the scriptures, but all of it a matter of tradition
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  Speaker 1: that was believed by a number of people over the years,
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  Speaker 1: and I've hardly scratched the surface. The whole idea of
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  Speaker 1: being raised from the dead and changed so that our
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  Speaker 1: bodies live forever is intriguing to us because we are
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  Speaker 1: so riveted to this earth. Everything around us is based
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  Speaker 1: on life on this earth, of course, and we can
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  Speaker 1: hardly even imagine life beyond this earth. Eternity will not
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  Speaker 1: be like this earth at all. Life beyond the grave
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  Speaker 1: will not be like life before the grave. And when
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  Speaker 1: you attempt to study that subject, you're left to all
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  Speaker 1: kinds of human opinions and ideas, and as I stated earlier, superstition.
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  Speaker 1: One of the larger books in my library is a
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  Speaker 1: book titled simply Heaven by Randy Alcorn. Randy's a reliable author.
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  Speaker 1: He's written a 516-page book on that one subject and
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  Speaker 1: admitting all the way through it is not an exhaustive work.
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  Speaker 1: Much more could have been written because there is much
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  Speaker 1: to be learned from the scriptures. And the whole subject
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  Speaker 1: of reincarnation is adding to our confusions. Some believe that
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  Speaker 1: you don't really pass from this life, you return in
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  Speaker 1: another body, adding to the chaos of the subject. Scripture
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  Speaker 1: does not teach reincarnation. It teaches that we die once,
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  Speaker 1: and after death, we face the future. Judgment, time before
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  Speaker 1: the Lord where we give account of our deeds, Eternity
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  Speaker 1: in heaven with our Heavenly Father and His Son Jesus
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  Speaker 1: and with one another. Amazingly, in spite of all that's
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  Speaker 1: been written in the Bible, many people, I would even add,
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  Speaker 1: most people have real serious questions about the resurrection. Many
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  Speaker 1: do not believe we will be raised at all. We live,
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  Speaker 1: we die, and that's it. But that's not what scripture says.
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  Speaker 1: Listen to these words. The Lord himself will descend from
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  Speaker 1: heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel,
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  Speaker 1: with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ
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  Speaker 1: shall rise first. Then we who are alive and remain
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  Speaker 1: shall be caught up together with them in the clouds
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  Speaker 1: to meet the Lord in the air. And so shall
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  Speaker 1: we ever be with the Lord. And then that added
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  Speaker 1: word at 1 Thessalonians 4, verse 18, comfort one another
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  Speaker 1: with these words. Be comforted to know that those who
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  Speaker 1: have died will be raised. Those who have known and
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  Speaker 1: loved the Lord in life will not be forgotten. They
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  Speaker 1: will in fact be rewarded and will have an eternal
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  Speaker 1: kind of life that they will live face to face
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  Speaker 1: with Jesus, and with one another in a conscious, glorified state.
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  Speaker 1: Not only are there people today who do not believe that,
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  Speaker 1: there were people in Jesus' day who did not believe
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  Speaker 1: in a resurrection. In fact, there was a whole religious
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  Speaker 1: group who didn't believe in life after death. We meet
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  Speaker 1: up with them in verse 23 of Matthew chapter 22.
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  Speaker 1: I invite you to turn there with me. As I
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  Speaker 1: mentioned earlier in this series, Jesus is in his final
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  Speaker 1: week on earth before he is taken under arrest, declared guilty,
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  Speaker 1: not proven guilty, for he wasn't guilty. He goes through
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  Speaker 1: the mockery of six illegal trials. He is then tortured,
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  Speaker 1: nailed to a cross, and left to die. And he
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  Speaker 1: too would be resurrected three days later. But before I
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  Speaker 1: go there, let's go back to this final week. The
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  Speaker 1: Pharisees have tried again and again to stump him, to
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  Speaker 1: prove that he's not qualified to be who he claims
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  Speaker 1: to be, the Messiah. Each time they have been knocked
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  Speaker 1: back on their heels, each time they have simply gone
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  Speaker 1: away realizing that they were not able to make their point. Well,
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  Speaker 1: the Sadducees decide to give it a try. We meet
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  Speaker 1: them here in verse 23, the same day Jesus was
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  Speaker 1: approached by some Sadducees. And the writer adds, they are
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  Speaker 1: religious leaders who say there is no resurrection from the dead.
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  Speaker 1: There you have it. The Sadducees are smaller in number
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  Speaker 1: than the Pharisees. They were wealthy, sophisticated liberals of that day.
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  Speaker 1: Let me summarize. They rejected all things supernatural. Did not
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  Speaker 1: believe in angels, the existence of angels, or any supernatural spirits.
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  Speaker 1: They denied it all. They did not believe there was
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  Speaker 1: life beyond death. Therefore, there was no such thing as
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  Speaker 1: future judgment, future rewards, penalties, or punishment. No heaven, no hell.
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  Speaker 1: One man writes, they were mean-spirited, rude, arrogant, self-righteous, bigots.
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  Speaker 1: That's why they were sad, you see. Therefore, they come
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  Speaker 1: with a question. I couldn't pass it up. It's just
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  Speaker 1: laying right out there, and anybody with half a sense
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  Speaker 1: of humor would have seen it. So there it is. Now,
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  Speaker 1: they come with a question that like a word problem.
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  Speaker 1: Remember word problems when you were in school and you
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  Speaker 1: studied math and didn't you hate them? They always had,
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  Speaker 1: they're like a conundrum. A boy has a sack of
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  Speaker 1: five apples and he gets on the bus and And
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  Speaker 1: he sits down by his friend who has 18 apples.
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  Speaker 1: He gives him four of his 18 and the boy
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  Speaker 1: gives him three of his five apples. What color is
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  Speaker 1: the bus? That's the part of the word problem I
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  Speaker 1: could never figure out. It never asked the question you
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  Speaker 1: expected to ask. Now, these Sadducees think they are so smart,
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  Speaker 1: they're gonna stump the brightest mind of the centuries. How
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  Speaker 1: stupid of them to think they could do it. But
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  Speaker 1: of course, when you're arrogant, self-serving, rude and mean-spirited, and
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  Speaker 1: you have no place in your theology for the supernatural,
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  Speaker 1: you come at Jesus with this kind of question. Look
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  Speaker 1: at it. They say to Jesus, Moses said if a
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  Speaker 1: man dies without children, his brother should marry her the
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  Speaker 1: widow and have a child who will carry on the
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  Speaker 1: brother's name. But that's too simple. Let's make it complicated.
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  Speaker 1: Suppose there were seven brothers. The oldest one married and
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  Speaker 1: then died without children. So the next brother married her
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  Speaker 1: and died. There were no children. And the next brother
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  Speaker 1: married her and died without children. And it goes all
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  Speaker 1: the way down to the seventh of them, last of all,
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  Speaker 1: the woman also died. Which one will be her husband
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  Speaker 1: in heaven? Now, the thing that makes this so weird
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  Speaker 1: is that they don't believe in heaven. They don't believe
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  Speaker 1: in a resurrection. But they're asking him about this so-called
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  Speaker 1: life after death with their eyes rolling. thinking they could
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  Speaker 1: probably stump him if they add the number of brothers
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  Speaker 1: and they've got this woman who is finally the widow
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  Speaker 1: of all of these men and ultimately she goes to heaven.
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  Speaker 1: Who's going to be her husband there? For them to
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  Speaker 1: think they could stump Jesus, it just isn't enough to
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  Speaker 1: make you smile. It's kind of like my stepping in
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  Speaker 1: the ring with Mike Tyson or maybe playing a little
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  Speaker 1: hoop with LeBron James. Who am I kidding? I couldn't
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  Speaker 1: hold a candle to either one of them. They come arrogantly,
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  Speaker 1: but they look stupid. Jesus listened to the question, by
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  Speaker 1: the way. He knew where they were going. He was
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  Speaker 1: all ready with an answer, but he let them finish
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  Speaker 1: their question. And then he, what I would call, comes
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  Speaker 1: to terms with the whole issue with his opening comment.
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  Speaker 1: It's in verse 29. Look for yourself. You are deceived,
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  Speaker 1: or your Bible may read, you err. This New Living
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  Speaker 1: translation renders it, your mistake is that. Then he goes
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  Speaker 1: on to tell them, the word is planao, P-L-A-N-A-O. We
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  Speaker 1: get a word planet from it. It's the idea of wandering,
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  Speaker 1: going astray, getting off course. You've gotten way off course.
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  Speaker 1: You're out to lunch, we would paraphrase it, because you
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  Speaker 1: do not know the scriptures and you do not know
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  Speaker 1: the power of God. I'll give you a little tip
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  Speaker 1: here that might help you in your own walk. This
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  Speaker 1: is a verse worth memorizing. This, in summary, explains why
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  Speaker 1: most people are confused spiritually. That's it, in a nutshell.
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  Speaker 1: It's not meant to be insulting. It's meant to be informing.
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  Speaker 1: The fact is, Sadducees, you don't know what you're talking about.
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  Speaker 1: You don't know what the Scriptures teach. Furthermore, you don't
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  Speaker 1: know anything about the power of God. I'll add this
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  Speaker 1: little sidebar before I go further. If you want to
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  Speaker 1: trace areas of chaos in your own walk, you can
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  Speaker 1: trace the chaos back to one of these two reasons,
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  Speaker 1: maybe both. Either you got off course, away from what
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  Speaker 1: Scripture teaches, Which is easy to do if you don't
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  Speaker 1: know the scriptures. Or you were not aware of the
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  Speaker 1: doctrines that relate to the power of God. A knowledge
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  Speaker 1: of the truths of God mixed with a knowledge of
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  Speaker 1: the word of God. Let's put it this way. They
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  Speaker 1: didn't know the word of God and they didn't know
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  Speaker 1: the God of the word. When you are in that
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  Speaker 1: no man's land, hear me, you are at the mercy
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  Speaker 1: of anyone who comes knocking at your door or leaning
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  Speaker 1: across your desk at the office or some neighbor, well-meaning
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  Speaker 1: neighbor who says, I've got a real insight regarding life
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  Speaker 1: as it ought to be considered. and they offer you
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  Speaker 1: some thoughts regarding new age or the whole movement of
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  Speaker 1: whatever may be the latest fad. If you do not
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  Speaker 1: know the scriptures and you're not plugged into the power
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  Speaker 1: of God, you are at the mercy of that individual.
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  Speaker 1: But I'll tell you, if you know both, you are
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  Speaker 1: calm and deliberate in your response. You are discerning and
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  Speaker 1: able to see through it all. and able to give
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  Speaker 1: an answer that makes sense, as Jesus does. Now, let's
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  Speaker 1: look at his careful explanation. Look for yourself. By the way,
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  Speaker 1: he reverses the order for some reason when he answers
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  Speaker 1: the question. He first answers the power of God issue,
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  Speaker 1: and then he turns to the scripture issue. Regarding the
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  Speaker 1: power of God, look at what he says. Verse 30.
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  Speaker 1: Let's take our time. When the dead rise, they will
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  Speaker 1: neither marry nor be given in marriage. In this respect,
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  Speaker 1: they will be like the angels in heaven. Look at
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  Speaker 1: the verse. If you were sitting at your kitchen table
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  Speaker 1: or in your study at your desk, you'd be able
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  Speaker 1: to take that verse apart and make three significant statements
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  Speaker 1: about it. Because that's what Jesus does. He's addressing the
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  Speaker 1: power of God. Please observe first how much he believes
• 27:35
  Speaker 1: in the resurrection. Not if the dead will be raised,
• 27:40
  Speaker 1: but when the dead rise. We stop right here and
• 27:46
  Speaker 1: assure you. When your loved one who has known the
• 27:50
  Speaker 1: Lord Jesus through life passes from this life to the next,
• 27:55
  Speaker 1: you can be sure that that body will be raised
• 27:59
  Speaker 1: from the dead. God will see to it. The body
• 28:03
  Speaker 1: will never be lost, overlooked, or abandoned. Jesus says, when
• 28:10
  Speaker 1: the dead rise. So he believes clearly in a resurrection.
• 28:15
  Speaker 1: They did not. Didn't hold him back because he knew
• 28:19
  Speaker 1: what the truth was theologically. When the dead rise, that's first.
• 28:26
  Speaker 1: when the dead rise. Second, please notice what he says
• 28:32
  Speaker 1: about marriage. They will neither marry nor be given in marriage.
• 28:41
  Speaker 1: So in eternity future, there will not be wedding ceremonies.
• 28:47
  Speaker 1: There will not be dads giving daughters away. there will
• 28:53
  Speaker 1: not be the familiarity related to the marriage life on
• 28:58
  Speaker 1: this earth. Now, this is a good place for me
• 29:01
  Speaker 1: to pause and extend this reminder. You must discipline yourself
• 29:08
  Speaker 1: to think outside the terms of the familiar. What's familiar
• 29:14
  Speaker 1: to all of us is life on this earth. We,
• 29:20
  Speaker 1: to the best of our ability, pretty well understand what
• 29:23
  Speaker 1: life is about. We're familiar with weddings. We're familiar with
• 29:30
  Speaker 1: people falling in love. We're familiar with dads who go
• 29:34
  Speaker 1: through giving away daughters and moms who are at the wedding.
• 29:38
  Speaker 1: We're familiar with that scene. That's very earthly. Has nothing
• 29:43
  Speaker 1: to do with eternity. Okay? When you're thinking about life
• 29:48
  Speaker 1: after this life, you must remove from your mind and
• 29:53
  Speaker 1: discipline yourself to think outside the realm of the familiars.
• 29:59
  Speaker 1: as you focus on the unfamiliar. Okay? So let's let
• 30:04
  Speaker 1: Jesus' words stand. They will neither marry nor be given
• 30:12
  Speaker 1: in marriage. Now, let's get very practical. You mean I
• 30:20
  Speaker 1: won't know my wife in heaven? Doesn't say that. You
• 30:25
  Speaker 1: mean you won't be close to your spouse? If you're
• 30:29
  Speaker 1: married on earth, you won't be close. It doesn't say that.
• 30:33
  Speaker 1: This is talking about the act of marriage and giving
• 30:37
  Speaker 1: people into the commitment of marriage. I mentioned earlier Randy
• 30:43
  Speaker 1: Alcorn's book. Let me quote from what he's written. Perhaps
• 30:46
  Speaker 1: he makes it clearer than I could. And by the way,
• 30:50
  Speaker 1: remember in the vows that you take when you're married,
• 30:53
  Speaker 1: till death do us part? At death, there's a parting.
• 31:00
  Speaker 1: obviously a parting on this earth, and there is a
• 31:02
  Speaker 1: different kind of relationship when we step into eternity. Now Alcorn,
• 31:07
  Speaker 1: I quote, Earthly marriage is a shadow, an echo of
• 31:13
  Speaker 1: the true and ultimate marriage, a perfect marriage with Christ.
• 31:20
  Speaker 1: Once that ultimate marriage begins, all the human marriages that
• 31:26
  Speaker 1: pointed to it will have served their noble purpose and
• 31:32
  Speaker 1: will be assimilated into the one great marriage they foreshadowed.
• 31:40
  Speaker 1: The purpose of marriage on earth is not to replace heaven,
• 31:45
  Speaker 1: but to prepare us for it. Then he gives his
• 31:50
  Speaker 1: own personal illustration. He names his wife, says, she's my
• 31:56
  Speaker 1: best friend. my closest sister in Christ. Will we become
• 32:02
  Speaker 1: distant in heaven? Of course not. We'll become closer, I'm convinced.
• 32:10
  Speaker 1: The joys of marriage will be far greater because of
• 32:14
  Speaker 1: the character and love of our bridegroom, Christ. On earth,
• 32:20
  Speaker 1: the closer we draw to him, the closer we draw
• 32:23
  Speaker 1: to each other, surely the same will be true in heaven.
• 32:28
  Speaker 1: Jesus said the institution of human marriage would end, having
• 32:34
  Speaker 1: fulfilled its purpose, but he never hinted that deep relationships
• 32:41
  Speaker 1: between married people would end. So understand, we could take
• 32:48
  Speaker 1: it for what it says. Be careful when you do
• 32:50
  Speaker 1: that not to add to it. Put some restraint on
• 32:56
  Speaker 1: your imagination. Let's let it say what it says. The
• 33:02
  Speaker 1: dead will rise. So resurrection is a sure thing. We
• 33:09
  Speaker 1: will not be marrying or giving in marriage. So that's
• 33:13
  Speaker 1: also a fact. Look at the third part of the verse.
• 33:19
  Speaker 1: They will be like the angels in heaven. Maybe you've
• 33:23
  Speaker 1: never done this. but I suggest that you make a
• 33:26
  Speaker 1: study of the angels. You will learn much about your
• 33:31
  Speaker 1: eternal state when you study about the angels. I'll give
• 33:36
  Speaker 1: you a quick little glimpse. Angels worship. We will worship.
• 33:43
  Speaker 1: They exalt their Lord God, our creator. We will do
• 33:46
  Speaker 1: the same. However, they do not engage in sexual relations.
• 33:51
  Speaker 1: We will not. They do not reproduce, nor will we
• 33:55
  Speaker 1: in heaven. They do not give birth, nor will we.
• 34:02
  Speaker 1: Angels are sinless, deathless, and ageless. The same will be
• 34:09
  Speaker 1: true of us. They delight in the will and presence
• 34:14
  Speaker 1: of their creator. So will we. These are the benefits
• 34:20
  Speaker 1: of thinking theologically. He says you will be as the
• 34:25
  Speaker 1: angels in heaven when you read that. Set your mind
• 34:29
  Speaker 1: free to go to the scriptures and study what the
• 34:34
  Speaker 1: Bible says about angels and you'll be free from superstition
• 34:40
  Speaker 1: and theological error. Now make one more statement here before
• 34:46
  Speaker 1: I move on. Ignorance is not bliss. All my life
• 34:51
  Speaker 1: I've heard, well, ignorance is bliss. Nothing blissful about ignorance.
• 34:58
  Speaker 1: Ignorance about slavery kept people enslaved. Ignorance about God keeps
• 35:06
  Speaker 1: people atheistic. Ignorance about Christ causes most people not to
• 35:13
  Speaker 1: understand the love of God and the offer that he
• 35:16
  Speaker 1: makes possible through his son, through himself. at the cross.
• 35:21
  Speaker 1: Ignorance is not bliss. Ignorance is chaotic. So your goal
• 35:28
  Speaker 1: as a believer is to be informed. That's why you
• 35:33
  Speaker 1: will often choose to attend a class where good information
• 35:37
  Speaker 1: is given that prepares you with knowledge that replaces long-time suspicion,
• 35:46
  Speaker 1: long-time ignorance. I wrote a book on grace years ago,
• 35:52
  Speaker 1: and I don't know how many people have written me.
• 35:55
  Speaker 1: I didn't know what the response would be, but I've
• 35:57
  Speaker 1: had so many. I would say now hundreds, maybe even
• 36:01
  Speaker 1: thousands say to me, I had no idea what grace
• 36:05
  Speaker 1: was all about until I read this. And you know what?
• 36:08
  Speaker 1: All I did was pull from the scriptures what it
• 36:12
  Speaker 1: says about grace and help people see in writing that
• 36:17
  Speaker 1: what that subject is all about, how to live in grace,
• 36:20
  Speaker 1: how to extend grace, how to treat people in grace.
• 36:25
  Speaker 1: The same is true here. So don't let yourself, when
• 36:29
  Speaker 1: death gets near, to be caught up in a lot
• 36:32
  Speaker 1: of fear, a lot of worry, a lot of anxiety
• 36:37
  Speaker 1: about what's it going to be like, like the comedian
• 36:41
  Speaker 1: who said, I'm not afraid of it. I just don't
• 36:44
  Speaker 1: want to be there when it happens. Well, when you're informed,
• 36:47
  Speaker 1: you want to be there when it happens. My granddad
• 36:51
  Speaker 1: used to say, I don't want to be taken up
• 36:53
  Speaker 1: to be with the Lord when I'm alive. I want
• 36:55
  Speaker 1: to go through the whole process of death. I want
• 36:59
  Speaker 1: to see how all of that is going to work
• 37:02
  Speaker 1: and come together in such a beautiful way. The Lord
• 37:05
  Speaker 1: did not make you then wonder what he's going to
• 37:07
  Speaker 1: do with you when you're no longer on this earth.
• 37:10
  Speaker 1: He has a perfect plan. Perfect plan. And he gives
• 37:15
  Speaker 1: us a little hint of what life will be like
• 37:18
  Speaker 1: as he says we will be as the angels in heaven.
• 37:21
  Speaker 1: Now he goes even further and he addresses the scriptures.
• 37:26
  Speaker 1: Look at this. He's talking to people who think they
• 37:28
  Speaker 1: are so sharp in the scriptures. The problem with the Sadducees,
• 37:33
  Speaker 1: they based everything on just what the first five books
• 37:37
  Speaker 1: of the Bible taught called the Pentateuch or the law.
• 37:41
  Speaker 1: I think it's genius of Jesus to quote from the law.
• 37:45
  Speaker 1: and use a verse from the very passages that they
• 37:48
  Speaker 1: would be familiar with to put the quietus on their argument.
• 37:55
  Speaker 1: Look at what he says. He says, but now as
• 38:00
  Speaker 1: to whether there will be resurrection of the dead, haven't
• 38:04
  Speaker 1: you ever read about this in the scriptures, which is
• 38:07
  Speaker 1: a rather open-faced slam against them, these people who thought
• 38:12
  Speaker 1: they were walking Bibles? Haven't you ever read in the scriptures?
• 38:17
  Speaker 1: Long after Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob had died, God said,
• 38:22
  Speaker 1: I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac,
• 38:26
  Speaker 1: and the God of Jacob. Emphasis on the I am.
• 38:31
  Speaker 1: I am the I am of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
• 38:36
  Speaker 1: What makes it interesting is all three of them have
• 38:39
  Speaker 1: long been dead. But in Exodus 3 and verse 6,
• 38:44
  Speaker 1: where that verse is found, Jesus quotes from it. He says,
• 38:50
  Speaker 1: God is the God of the living, not the God
• 38:52
  Speaker 1: of the dead. If there were no resurrection, what is
• 38:55
  Speaker 1: he doing talking about being the God of Abraham, Isaac,
• 39:00
  Speaker 1: and Jacob? And they're standing there with their mouths open,
• 39:05
  Speaker 1: wondering what they ought to say in response, so they
• 39:08
  Speaker 1: say nothing. See that little blank space at the end
• 39:11
  Speaker 1: of verse 32? That represents their brain at this point.
• 39:18
  Speaker 1: They don't know what to say. He's got them. But
• 39:23
  Speaker 1: he doesn't flaunt it. He just leaves it. See, when
• 39:27
  Speaker 1: you know what you're talking about, to those who don't
• 39:32
  Speaker 1: know the scriptures, you don't have to scream and shout
• 39:35
  Speaker 1: and yell and insult and go through all of that.
• 39:40
  Speaker 1: The Bible speaks for itself. Jesus, drawing from Exodus 3-6,
• 39:48
  Speaker 1: makes the statement, Statement that had been made to Moses.
• 39:52
  Speaker 1: And he says he's the God of the living, not
• 39:55
  Speaker 1: of the dead. Look at the response of the crowd.
• 40:00
  Speaker 1: When the crowd heard him, they were astounded at the teaching.
• 40:07
  Speaker 1: By the way, I've looked through this 22nd chapter, and
• 40:11
  Speaker 1: I've got three verses that I've marked with an arrow.
• 40:15
  Speaker 1: Each is a response to Jesus' answer. Verse 22. Look
• 40:22
  Speaker 1: at what the Pharisees and the Herodians responded. His reply
• 40:27
  Speaker 1: amazed them and they went away. No argument. There's no
• 40:33
  Speaker 1: room for argument. He answered them in their silence. The
• 40:38
  Speaker 1: one we just saw, verse 33. When the crowds heard him,
• 40:43
  Speaker 1: they were astounded at his teaching. No argument. No pushback.
• 40:49
  Speaker 1: Just astonishment. And look at verse 46. No one could
• 40:55
  Speaker 1: answer him. And after that, no one dared to ask
• 40:58
  Speaker 1: him any more questions. I can't speak for you, but
• 41:03
  Speaker 1: I've had the privilege in my student days of sitting
• 41:07
  Speaker 1: in classrooms that were taught by very competent professors. Very
• 41:13
  Speaker 1: reliable individuals who knew their subject. And as is often
• 41:20
  Speaker 1: true in a class like this, I'm referring to my
• 41:22
  Speaker 1: years at Dallas Seminary, there will always be a few
• 41:25
  Speaker 1: students who think they've come today to stump the professor.
• 41:30
  Speaker 1: And they give it a try. And they ask a question,
• 41:35
  Speaker 1: and the prof, who has probably had 15 other students
• 41:40
  Speaker 1: just like him or her, answer the same question years past,
• 41:45
  Speaker 1: will sit and listen and let the student share with
• 41:49
  Speaker 1: him some of his intelligence that he can't afford to lose,
• 41:54
  Speaker 1: but he lets him go ahead and run off at
• 41:57
  Speaker 1: the mouth. And when he finishes, the prof, just like
• 42:01
  Speaker 1: a surgeon, just surgically takes the issue apart. And I
• 42:08
  Speaker 1: remember sitting and thinking the best response to this is silence.
• 42:14
  Speaker 1: Just be quiet. Now, normally a student like that won't
• 42:20
  Speaker 1: be quiet. Well, what are you going to do with
• 42:22
  Speaker 1: verse so-and-so and so-and-so? I'm thinking, you idiot. You keep
• 42:26
  Speaker 1: this up. He's going to saw you off that limb
• 42:29
  Speaker 1: with a hard set of facts. You'd be wise not
• 42:32
  Speaker 1: to say anything else. Why? Because that man or that
• 42:37
  Speaker 1: woman knows what they're talking about. Jesus knew where they
• 42:44
  Speaker 1: were going and what they were trying to do, and
• 42:45
  Speaker 1: he simply gave them the facts. And you know what
• 42:49
  Speaker 1: else he left us? He left us a pretty good
• 42:52
  Speaker 1: guideline for our lives. Let me show you why I
• 42:55
  Speaker 1: say that. Go back to verse 29. Let's see how
• 42:59
  Speaker 1: this affects us today. I want to talk about the
• 43:03
  Speaker 1: two major flaws in the lives of most Christians. Here
• 43:09
  Speaker 1: we go. Verse 29. The first mistake is He said, no,
• 43:17
  Speaker 1: we're not real well versed in the scriptures. We don't
• 43:21
  Speaker 1: know the scriptures. Do you? Can you defend your case
• 43:29
  Speaker 1: from the scriptures regarding resurrection and life after death? Can
• 43:35
  Speaker 1: you show from the scriptures that we will literally see
• 43:41
  Speaker 1: Christ face to face, have a relationship with him? Could
• 43:47
  Speaker 1: you describe the crowns that will be ours, that will
• 43:50
  Speaker 1: be granted as rewards for life lived on earth? Do
• 43:53
  Speaker 1: you know the scriptures on the crowns? Do you know
• 43:58
  Speaker 1: what the Bible teaches about eternal hell? By the way,
• 44:02
  Speaker 1: it teaches more about that than about heaven. Are you
• 44:06
  Speaker 1: aware of the biblical teaching? I know you know what
• 44:11
  Speaker 1: your friend says. I don't care what your friend says.
• 44:16
  Speaker 1: I care what the book says. When the Bible states it,
• 44:21
  Speaker 1: you're on solid ground because God never lies to his own. Now,
• 44:29
  Speaker 1: where am I going with this? Not simply to rebuke
• 44:33
  Speaker 1: or reprove us, but to encourage you to begin a
• 44:38
  Speaker 1: program of Bible study. We live in a day when
• 44:42
  Speaker 1: there's so much available for this. You can go online.
• 44:48
  Speaker 1: You can tune into many a broadcast that teaches the Bible.
• 44:53
  Speaker 1: You can get into a program that's a home Bible study.
• 44:59
  Speaker 1: And as a group, you can learn together. You can
• 45:02
  Speaker 1: take a short course at most Bible colleges or seminaries
• 45:06
  Speaker 1: where you can do your own study. And I'll tell
• 45:09
  Speaker 1: you this, it won't cost you a thing, except the
• 45:11
  Speaker 1: price of a book. I wrote a book called Searching
• 45:14
  Speaker 1: the Scriptures. I never talk about my stuff, but I
• 45:17
  Speaker 1: do it here because it's appropriate. You get that book
• 45:20
  Speaker 1: and you sit down at your table with that book
• 45:23
  Speaker 1: on one side and your Bible on the other. You
• 45:25
  Speaker 1: can do your own Bible study. You'll learn how to
• 45:29
  Speaker 1: observe the Scriptures, interpret the Scriptures, compare Scripture with Scripture,
• 45:34
  Speaker 1: and apply Scriptures. You can do it. You can do it.
• 45:40
  Speaker 1: And I'll tell you what else. It will equip you
• 45:43
  Speaker 1: and take away your uncertainty regarding life. You will no
• 45:49
  Speaker 1: longer be confused about suffering. You'll learn why we suffer.
• 45:56
  Speaker 1: You'll learn what it means to remain stable in the
• 46:02
  Speaker 1: midst of storm. You'll learn how you can live a
• 46:06
  Speaker 1: life without fear. I mean, you can't beat that. Begin
• 46:10
  Speaker 1: your own study searching the scriptures on your own. I
• 46:17
  Speaker 1: would say this, start with a reading program. You don't
• 46:20
  Speaker 1: have to get a book. Start on your own. You've
• 46:23
  Speaker 1: got 66 books right here. Begin in Genesis. Begin in
• 46:28
  Speaker 1: the Psalms. Start in Proverbs. Take one of the letters
• 46:32
  Speaker 1: of Paul. On your own, you read 30 minutes a day,
• 46:38
  Speaker 1: sit down with your Bible open, TV off in a
• 46:43
  Speaker 1: place where you won't be interrupted and pour over what
• 46:48
  Speaker 1: you're reading. Read aloud. Read repeatedly. Read thoughtfully. And I'll
• 46:56
  Speaker 1: tell you the crowning part. Begin a scripture memory program.
• 47:01
  Speaker 1: Jesus said the word memorized. He quotes directly from Exodus 3,
• 47:05
  Speaker 1: 6 and in other places. He's not walking around with scrolls.
• 47:09
  Speaker 1: He's got it memorized. The Navigators is a great program
• 47:13
  Speaker 1: to begin with. Connect with them and they'll help you
• 47:16
  Speaker 1: know how to get underway in your own scripture memory program.
• 47:19
  Speaker 1: It's the method I use. And I still employ the
• 47:23
  Speaker 1: same principles as I did when I first became acquainted
• 47:27
  Speaker 1: with it. You become a student of the memorized word,
• 47:33
  Speaker 1: trust me, you will begin to really know your Bible.
• 47:38
  Speaker 1: It will give you a confidence boost that you've never
• 47:41
  Speaker 1: had before. You won't have to rely on what I'm teaching.
• 47:46
  Speaker 1: You'll pull it out for yourself. Now, when you're involved
• 47:50
  Speaker 1: in worship like this, it'll only verify what you're digging
• 47:53
  Speaker 1: out on your own. So let me encourage you to
• 47:57
  Speaker 1: begin your own study of God's Word. I know you've
• 48:02
  Speaker 1: heard this. You've heard it since we've started as a church.
• 48:05
  Speaker 1: Your tendency is to think, you know, I'm I can't
• 48:10
  Speaker 1: remember how many times you've said this. Well, how many
• 48:12
  Speaker 1: times have you done it? What are you doing about it?
• 48:19
  Speaker 1: You don't learn to drive a car by reading. You
• 48:23
  Speaker 1: learn by doing it, being trained in it, putting it
• 48:27
  Speaker 1: into action. That's all part of learning the script. Now,
• 48:32
  Speaker 1: here's the second. Second factor is not knowing the power
• 48:37
  Speaker 1: of God. Many of you are more familiar with the
• 48:42
  Speaker 1: power of our government than you are with the power
• 48:45
  Speaker 1: of God, which ain't much power, by the way, I
• 48:48
  Speaker 1: might add. You're familiar with the power of those people
• 48:52
  Speaker 1: that are in authority over you, maybe your boss or
• 48:56
  Speaker 1: those who have a responsible position. How about the power
• 49:00
  Speaker 1: of God? I'm talking about a life of faith that
• 49:05
  Speaker 1: begins with prayer. I'm talking about beginning every day coming
• 49:11
  Speaker 1: before the Lord with simple words like, Here I am, Lord,
• 49:17
  Speaker 1: facing this day. I've got some things that I'm going
• 49:21
  Speaker 1: to have to deal with that won't be easy. Go
• 49:23
  Speaker 1: before me. Help me through them. I'm going to lay
• 49:28
  Speaker 1: all of this in front of you, Lord, and I'm
• 49:29
  Speaker 1: going to trust you. I want to see your power
• 49:33
  Speaker 1: go to work in my life. I want you to
• 49:36
  Speaker 1: work this out because frankly, it's beyond me to do it.
• 49:40
  Speaker 1: The power of God. Confident prayer. Can I mention one
• 49:46
  Speaker 1: other discipline and then I'm through. Begin your own journal.
• 49:53
  Speaker 1: I'm not talking about a diary. Your own private journal.
• 50:00
  Speaker 1: You're not writing down all the stuff you're doing 10 o'clock, 1130, 134.
• 50:03
  Speaker 1: That's a diary. A journal, you write down what God
• 50:10
  Speaker 1: is showing you, what you were learning. And then you're
• 50:15
  Speaker 1: able to look back over the previous weeks and see
• 50:19
  Speaker 1: how God worked, and it strengthens you. As you record
• 50:24
  Speaker 1: this today, you were in church, and you listened to this,
• 50:29
  Speaker 1: and you were encouraged to begin to make notations about
• 50:35
  Speaker 1: God's hand in your life. And you record how he
• 50:38
  Speaker 1: worked this out. Or maybe the struggle you're going through.
• 50:42
  Speaker 1: And you're trusting him, so you write your prayer in
• 50:45
  Speaker 1: your journal. What a great way to build into your
• 50:51
  Speaker 1: life with your own fingers. Thoughts disentangle themselves over the
• 50:57
  Speaker 1: lips and through the fingertips. Thoughts disentangle themselves over the
• 51:02
  Speaker 1: lips and through the fingertips. Write it out. Think it through.
• 51:11
  Speaker 1: Pray over it. Trust God. I want you to bow
• 51:17
  Speaker 1: your heads with me, please. You've listened so well. I
• 51:20
  Speaker 1: want you to continue to for just a few more moments.
• 51:25
  Speaker 1: Are you absolutely certain that you know the Lord? Maybe
• 51:29
  Speaker 1: you don't know the scriptures because you really don't know Christ.
• 51:35
  Speaker 1: I mean, you know of him. You know about him,
• 51:38
  Speaker 1: but you and he are not really on speaking terms.
• 51:44
  Speaker 1: And you'd love to be. You'd love to have a
• 51:47
  Speaker 1: relationship with God that's meaningful and personal and really transforming.
• 51:56
  Speaker 1: And that's possible. It begins with simple words like a prayer. Lord,
• 52:06
  Speaker 1: I'm Coming before you today to admit that things have
• 52:15
  Speaker 1: not been right between you and me. I'm lost. I've
• 52:22
  Speaker 1: been going my own way long enough. I wanted to stop.
• 52:29
  Speaker 1: I'd love to know your book and I'd love to
• 52:31
  Speaker 1: know your power. But first, I want to know Jesus.
• 52:39
  Speaker 1: I invite him to come and take residence in my
• 52:42
  Speaker 1: life and become for me my own Savior and Master,
• 52:49
  Speaker 1: my guide. Thank you, Lord, for coming into my life.
• 52:59
  Speaker 1: We would love to help you in this journey, but
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  Speaker 1: we can't if you don't ask. So please ask. Or
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  Speaker 1: maybe you'd just rather write us. Do that. Let us
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  Speaker 1: help you begin to know Christ, to know the scriptures,
• 53:18
  Speaker 1: the power of God. Thank you, Father, for the hope
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  Speaker 1: that there is in this life. That not even death
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  Speaker 1: is enough to derail us and depress us. For there
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  Speaker 1: is hope beyond the grave through Christ. Help all of
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  Speaker 1: us today to realize the value of knowing the scriptures
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  Speaker 1: and being plugged into the power of our God. Make
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  Speaker 1: that a reality, Lord, and begin today. Give us an
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  Speaker 1: intense dissatisfaction with where we are that we might turn
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  Speaker 1: our lives over to you. May we have the discipline
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  Speaker 1: to follow through on these challenges. Which we have heard
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  Speaker 1: this day. Now Father dismiss us with the encouragement. That
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  Speaker 1: only you can bring. Through Christ our Savior we pray.
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  Speaker 1: Everyone said. Amen. Amen.
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  Speaker 2: The preceding message. Will we be married in heaven? Was
• 54:35
  Speaker 2: copyrighted in 2017 and 2021. And the sound recording was
• 54:37
  Speaker 2: copyrighted in 2021. by Charles R.
• 54:42
  Speaker 1: Swindoll, Inc.
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  Speaker 2: All rights are reserved worldwide. Duplication of copyrighted material for
• 54:48
  Speaker 2: commercial use is strictly prohibited.