Participants: John Lomacang
Series Code: 17SCM
Program Code: 17SCM000017A
00:14 Welcome to 3ABN Spring Camp Meeting 2017,
00:19 Exposing the Counterfeit. 00:25 Hi, I'm Shelley Quinn. 00:26 And, boy, is it my privilege 00:28 to introduce our speaker for this hour. 00:31 But first I just want to welcome all of you 00:33 who are here tonight 00:35 and all who are watching by television 00:37 or on the radio. 00:38 I could say so many things about Pastor John Lomacang, 00:42 but I want to be respectful of his time, 00:44 so this is what I'll say, 00:45 he is an anointed minister of the gospel 00:48 and an anointed minister of music. 00:51 But he's my pastor, 00:53 and most of all he is a man of God. 00:56 He walks the talk. 00:58 Before he comes to present to us a wonderful topic, 01:03 "Can the Dead Speak to Us" will be his topic tonight. 01:08 Before he comes, however, 01:09 we've got Reggie and Ladye Love Smith 01:12 who are going to join us once again. 01:14 And they're going to be singing... 01:16 Oh, and Tim Parton on the piano. 01:18 And they will sing "Turn Your Eyes upon Jesus". 01:22 Thank you. 01:37 O soul, are you weary 01:41 And troubled? 01:45 No light in the darkness 01:50 You see? 01:54 There's light for a look at 01:59 The Savior 02:04 And life more abundant 02:09 And free 02:14 Turn your eyes 02:18 Upon Jesus 02:23 Look full in His 02:27 Wonderful face 02:33 And the things of earth 02:37 Will grow strangely dim 02:44 In the light of His glory 02:50 And grace 02:56 Turn your eyes 03:00 Upon Jesus 03:06 Look full in His 03:09 Wonderful face 03:16 And the things of earth 03:21 Will grow strangely dim 03:28 In the light 03:31 Of His glory and grace 03:38 And the things of earth 03:43 Will grow strangely dim 03:54 In the light 03:57 Of His glory 04:03 And grace 04:14 Amen. 04:21 Can we say amen again? Amen. 04:24 Thank you, Tim. 04:26 Thank you, Reggie, thank you, Ladye. 04:29 Let us turn our hearts to the Lord 04:32 tonight as we open His Word on a very potent topic, 04:36 Can the Dead Speak to Us? 04:39 Now I don't know what time it is 04:41 where you are but if it's late, don't die 04:45 because the Lord wants to speak to the living tonight. 04:47 Can we say amen? Amen. 04:49 Let us bow our heads. 04:52 Loving Father in heaven, 04:53 we thank You for the privilege of opening Your Word tonight. 04:56 We ask Word of God speak. 05:02 In Jesus' name we pray, amen. 05:07 This is a topic that has 05:12 eluded the minds of so many. 05:16 Yet, I could end this sermon with one simple answer. 05:19 Can the dead speak to us? And the answer is no. 05:23 And I can close with prayer. 05:25 But the confusion would not cease. 05:27 And so tonight we're going to let 05:28 the Word of God speak clearly. 05:31 And if you give me your ear, 05:35 I will let you hear 05:36 what the Word of God has to say. 05:39 The belief that we have a living soul 05:41 that keeps on going 05:45 after we have physically died 05:48 is a 6,000 year-old lie that refuses to die. 05:54 The only thing that keeps on living 05:55 is the lie not the soul. 06:00 But for whatever reason when that topic is discussed, 06:06 and I've spoken to people through the years about 06:09 what happens when we die. 06:13 We are not saying that we don't go to heaven, 06:17 we are saying that 06:18 we don't go to heaven immediately. 06:21 Amen. 06:23 But if you trace the origin of this continued lie, 06:26 you'll find clearly 06:28 that it was born in the Garden of Eden. 06:31 One of the oldest lies Satan ever told, 06:34 consider Genesis 3:4. 06:37 If you have your Bibles, you can turn there, 06:38 but if not it'll be on the screen. 06:42 "Then the serpent said to the woman, together 06:45 'You will not surely die.'" 06:48 As a result of that 6,000-year-old lie, 06:52 today people believe that their dead relatives 06:55 can still contact them. 06:57 Others believe that 06:59 their dead relatives are now their guardian angels. 07:02 I have a niece who said, 07:04 "Now I'm so glad my mother is watching over me." 07:06 I said, "No, your mother is not your guardian angel. 07:10 Your guardian angel is your guardian angel." 07:15 And I'm glad that our dead loved ones 07:17 are not in heaven watching us 07:18 because heaven really won't be heaven. 07:20 Come on, say amen. Amen! 07:21 If they see some of the things that we do 07:23 long after they're gone, they would say, 07:26 "Lord, could You send me back to earth 07:28 to straighten out my loved ones?" 07:31 Some even ask the dead for advice 07:33 and believe that the dead periodically visit. 07:36 I've heard that before. Even in my own church. 07:41 Not this one but in the Adventist church. 07:43 We have people that have become Adventists 07:46 and instead of letting the Bible 07:48 get rid of the fairy tales and the traditions 07:50 that were formerly believed 07:52 by their families or in their culture. 07:54 There are some cultures 07:55 that believe in ghosts and evil spirits. 07:59 And in the West Indian culture in Jamaica 08:01 they call that "Duppy". 08:04 There are some individuals that... 08:05 I remember one person said, 08:06 "When you come to visit me, knock on my door three times." 08:11 He was one of my elders. I said, "Elder, why?" 08:14 He said, "Because ghosts only knock twice." 08:18 So my wife and I visited him and we knocked twice. 08:25 And he said, "Who is it?" 08:26 I said, "It's the pastor, open the door." 08:28 He said, "Pastor, I told you to knock three times." 08:30 I said, "I'm going to do everything I can 08:31 to get rid of that Satanic lie." 08:33 What do you say? Amen! 08:36 Others talk openly to their dead 08:37 waiting for answers 08:39 as so many talk shows have said, 08:41 "From the other side". 08:43 There is another side, 08:45 but our loved ones are not there yet. 08:48 Some go to the cemetery and talk to the graves 08:51 as though they are being heard. 08:54 Some say they died and floated above their bodies 08:56 before returning. 08:58 And sometimes the devil uses children. 09:01 I've seen books written with children on the cover. 09:03 There was a little boy that 09:05 is the focal point of a book that was written. 09:08 And he said: "I died and went to heaven." 09:10 And he brought back a message. 09:12 He said God gave him a message 09:15 from the other side that we really don't die. 09:18 And the devil uses an innocent face of a child 09:22 to sometimes break down our resistance to lies. 09:26 But let me say this clearly and with a lot of love, 09:28 no matter where the lie come from, 09:30 no matter the age, it's still a lie. 09:33 Amen! 09:35 Some say they died, 09:37 went to heaven and returned with a message from God. 09:39 Some claim to have the ability 09:41 to conjure up the spirits of the dead. 09:46 Had church members that once said to me, 09:47 "We have a ghost that visits us on Sabbath 09:50 when we're having lunch." 09:53 And once again not here. Thank the Lord. 09:57 And they said, "Oh, it's a funny ghost. 09:59 It makes us laugh." 10:01 There was one family member that said, 10:02 "Dad, that's not funny!" 10:03 Oh, they said, 10:05 "It's a ghost that gives us jokes every time it shows up." 10:09 I said, "It's breaking down 10:10 your resistance to spiritualism." 10:14 And they said, "What should we do?" 10:16 And I told them what to do and praise the Lord, 10:18 it never continued that. 10:20 That never continued in their home. It ceased. 10:22 But there are those that embrace that, 10:24 and somehow cultural conditioning plays its role 10:28 in the idea that people continue to live 10:30 after they die. 10:31 Some say that they embrace their dead children 10:34 when they reappear. 10:36 A lady talked about the fact. 10:37 Matter of fact, I know someone that sent me a message 10:39 through Facebook. 10:41 She said she had a 45-minute talk with her mother. 10:44 I said, "Well, how did it go?" 10:46 She said, "It went really well." 10:47 Well, I said, "Well, that's good." 10:49 But then she told me her mother died. 10:50 I said, "That's not your mother." 10:51 And somebody said to me, 10:53 No, don't tell her that's not her mother. 10:54 You're going to offend her." 10:55 I said, "She'll be more offended 10:57 if that lie continues and one day 10:58 she has a face-to-face meeting with the devil." 11:00 Amen! 11:03 But, when you deal with topics that are so ingrained, 11:06 you've got to be truthful but you have to be loving. 11:12 You can't beat up the person that believes it. 11:14 You've got to beat up the devil that told it. 11:16 Come on, say amen. Amen! 11:18 Sometimes it's conveyed with such conviction 11:19 that one would believe it's based on scripture. 11:21 But tonight, praise the Lord. 11:23 Tonight, the Bible is going to expose 11:26 the counterfeit behind this teaching. 11:30 Only as we examine the Bible 11:33 can we conclude 11:35 what the teaching is about after we die. 11:37 What happens when we die? 11:39 Don't allow the talk shows to tell you. 11:43 Don't allow the movies to tell you. 11:47 Don't allow those in positions of power to tell you. 11:51 If it's not based on God's Word, 11:53 it is not a sure foundation. 11:55 Amen! 11:56 But since death is the opposite of life, 11:59 let's begin with the process. 12:01 Go to Genesis 2:7. 12:04 If there's anything that survives death, 12:06 the Bible will reveal it. 12:08 Amen. 12:09 Here's what the Bible says, Genesis 2:7. 12:12 And we go back to the beginning and the Bible says, 12:14 "And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, 12:19 and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life: 12:22 and man became a" what? 12:24 "Man became a living soul." 12:27 Now if you look at in various translations, 12:31 I'll share some of the other translations in just a moment. 12:34 But the Bible does not teach 12:36 that man was given a living soul, 12:39 the Bible teaches that man became a living soul. 12:44 Simply put, 12:47 when God formed man of the dust of the ground, 12:50 man was simply a pile of dust. 12:54 I have a good friend of mine that's a pathologist. 12:58 You know, they do autopsies when a person dies. 13:01 And he says, "When you read that text 13:04 that the Lord God formed man from the dust of the ground 13:06 and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life." 13:09 He said, "If you only understand 13:11 what's between the surface and the bone." 13:13 He said, "It is fascinating the layers 13:16 that God put in place. 13:18 The organism that continues to work 13:21 from the skin to the bone, even inside the bone." 13:24 He said, "God designed all that, 13:25 so it's not just flesh and breath." 13:30 But somehow from the Garden of Eden 13:34 when the devil said to Eve, "You will not surely die," 13:38 there are some of you sitting here tonight 13:40 that still believe that. 13:42 Let me test it. 13:43 How many of you would spend the night in a cemetery? 13:46 Raise your hands. 13:53 Maybe you didn't hear me. 13:59 I'm going to say, some of you say 14:00 "Not me, ain't no way." 14:04 Let me tell you, 14:06 the cemetery is the safest place 14:09 in New York City. 14:12 Amen? Amen. 14:13 You could put your wallet next to you. 14:17 You want to find some place safe in Chicago? 14:19 Go to the cemetery. 14:20 Everybody in there is already dead. 14:22 Amen somebody? Amen! 14:24 And they put up fences. 14:27 Nobody wants to go in and nobody coming out. 14:34 Now out here it's different. 14:35 You can walk up through the cemetery, 14:37 drive down the street and stop and read the cemetery stones. 14:40 But the reality is, somewhere deep inside of us, 14:43 and the movies have messed us up. 14:47 Some of us before we became a Christian 14:49 watched movies that we wish we never watched. 14:52 We had some friends visiting us from New York City, 14:54 I never forgot that. 14:56 We were living 14:57 I think on Angel Lane or over here, wherever it was. 15:00 And it was during camp meeting. 15:02 And they said, "Would you walk us to our car?" 15:06 I said, "Why?" They said, "It's dark outside." 15:11 I said, "What's outside?" 15:13 They said, "We don't know. 15:15 But could you walk us to our car?" 15:17 I said, "This is not New York." 15:19 He said, "That's not what I'm concerned 15:20 but I can't see what's outside." 15:22 "It's not what's happening outside, 15:24 it's what's happening inside." 15:26 The devil plants seeds in our mind 15:28 that germinate and they go on to make us fearful. 15:32 I'm not fearful of the dark any more. 15:33 Matter of fact, 15:35 when I first left New York City and moved, 15:36 we eventually moved to California, 15:38 when we began to live in Placerville 15:40 with the Heritage Singers. 15:41 My complaint was it was too dark to sleep. 15:45 But my wife can tell you now, 15:46 if the light on my phone lights up my room 15:48 it's too bright to sleep. 15:50 I like total darkness. Anybody else? 15:53 Got to be dark for me to sleep. 15:55 And my wife says, 15:56 "If you just close your eyes it'll be dark." 15:58 I said, "No, I know that 15:59 there's still a light on somewhere." 16:03 That's how it messes with your mind. 16:05 There's a light somewhere 16:06 so I put a towel over the top of the phone 16:10 'cause it's charging at night, it blinks intermittently. 16:13 She says, "Honey, really if you just close your eyes." 16:15 I said, "Honey, there's a light on in this room, I know it." 16:21 But it's not the dark that we need to be afraid of. 16:24 It is the lie sown in our lives 16:28 through the decades in some cases 16:30 40, 50 years some people still have that seed in them 16:34 that keeps them fearful. 16:36 The body is formed from the dust of the ground. 16:39 And when God completed the construction of man, 16:43 He breathed into man's nostrils the breath of life, 16:46 and then man became a living soul. 16:50 And so the fact of the matter is until God breathed into man, 16:54 this is huge. 16:55 Until God breathed into man, man was not alive. 17:00 Now the sad reality of this, 17:01 and I'm going to read a text here in Ecclesiastes. 17:04 The sad reality 17:06 is if this next text is ever used to believe 17:11 that we go to heaven when we die, 17:13 then we have a serious problem. 17:15 Let's look at Ecclesiastes 12:7. 17:17 Look at life in reverse. Life in reverse. 17:22 Solomon says, 17:24 "Then shall the dust return to the" what? 17:27 "Earth as it was: 17:31 and the spirit shall return unto God" 17:33 who did what? 17:34 "Who gave it." 17:36 So some people say, 17:37 "There it is, the spirit goes back to God." 17:39 But now here's the problem, 17:40 if they say that the spirit that goes back to God is a man, 17:44 if they say the spirit that goes back to God is a man, 17:47 then they are saying that man came from heaven, 17:50 came down to earth, got in the body, 17:52 brought the body back to life, and when the body dies, 17:55 he gets out of the body, and goes back to heaven. 17:58 Man did not originate in heaven. 18:00 Amen somebody? Amen! 18:02 God formed him from the dust of the ground 18:05 and then breathed into his nostrils 18:07 the breath of life. 18:09 It is not the man that goes back, 18:11 it is the breath of life. 18:13 I was going to bring a bulb with me. 18:16 But most of you know what a bulb looks like. 18:21 If you turn your lamp off, 18:25 where does the light go? 18:29 I want to tell, the light doesn't go anywhere. 18:31 It just stops illuminating. It ceases to function. 18:38 It doesn't go back to the power plant. 18:42 There ain't no lights hanging out 18:43 somewhere in Thompsonville 18:44 waiting to leave and come back to my house. 18:47 It is the filament inside the bulb 18:50 and the gas in the bulb with the filament 18:52 that causes it to illuminate. 18:54 If the filament breaks, the gas is going to do nothing, 18:57 the gas doesn't go anywhere. 18:59 When we die there's nothing hanging out saying, 19:01 "I can't wait to leave." 19:04 But somehow some people believe that. 19:06 One scientist said they weighed the body of a dead person 19:09 after they died and they noticed 19:10 it was a few grams lighter. 19:12 "Ah, evidence, he's in heaven." 19:19 But according to the Bible, I said according to the Bible 19:22 God makes it clear what is in that brings man from death, 19:29 from a comatose state to life. 19:31 Look at Job 27:3. 19:33 Here's what the Bible teaches. 19:37 "All the while my breath is in me, 19:41 and the spirit of God is" where? 19:43 "In my nostrils." 19:46 How did the Spirit of God... 19:48 And if you look at the word there in Hebrew, 19:50 it is the breath, the life giving force of God 19:53 is in my nostrils. 19:55 How did that happen? 19:56 God put it there when He created Adam. 19:58 And by the way, we don't have that. 20:01 If a person's life is slipping away, 20:02 we can give them mouth-to-mouth or nose-to-mouth resuscitation. 20:05 We can blow, but our breath does not have life in it. 20:10 Only the breath of God. Amen somebody? 20:13 Amen! 20:14 "In Him was life, and that life was the light of man." 20:18 And the Apostle Paul says, "Only God has immortality." 20:22 We are not naturally mortal by nature. 20:25 And that's good. 20:27 I was listening to a case one day 20:29 about a lady who killed another man's wife. 20:32 And in court after the case was decided 20:36 that this lady was going to face the electric chair, 20:39 the husband of the wife who was killed, the judge said, 20:42 "Do you have any last words to say?" 20:45 And the man said, "I cannot wait till she dies, 20:49 so that she can go to heaven. 20:50 And my wife is waiting to pay her back." 21:01 I'm not even laughing. 21:03 You know why? Because that's a sad reality. 21:05 That's what people believe. 21:07 I read the story when I was living in California 21:09 about a man who was an immigrant, 21:12 a farm worker. 21:13 And they were so poor, five family members, 21:16 that this man killed his family starting with his grandmother, 21:21 killed his wife and his three children, 21:24 and he wrote a note. 21:26 He said, "We are too poor, we cannot live, 21:28 we cannot afford to live. 21:30 But at least now we are in a better place." 21:33 That's what that belief has done. 21:35 That's the belief behind terrorism. 21:38 They believe they're going to die 21:39 and there are some kind of pleasure 21:43 waiting for them in heaven. 21:44 Let me tell you something. 21:45 You don't kill somebody 21:47 and go to heaven and have pleasure. 21:48 Amen somebody? Amen! 21:50 Matter of fact, when you kill somebody, 21:51 there's a judgment, you don't even escape judgment. 21:52 There's a day coming that every one of us 21:54 has to give an account for what we've done in this life. 21:59 But now listen to Genesis 2:7, in the New King James Version. 22:05 "And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, 22:08 and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, 22:11 and man became a living being." 22:15 A living being, a total individual. 22:17 If I stop breathing, I'm dead. 22:21 Death is not the continuance of life in another location. 22:25 Death does not change your address. 22:33 If the bulb dies in your lamp, 22:34 do you sell it for somebody else 22:35 to put it in their lamp? 22:37 I mean, think about it. 22:40 Death is the end of life, 22:43 not the continuance of life somewhere else. 22:46 Man became a living being and Adam understood that. 22:50 If you go back to Genesis 3:19, Adam understood his fate. 22:54 Adam had no preconceived idea that he was going to die 22:58 and go right back to heaven because Adam knew 23:00 he did not come from heaven. 23:01 The Lord made it very clear in Genesis 3:19, 23:04 God revealed to Adam his fate. 23:06 It's clear. 23:08 Notice what the Bible says, 23:10 "In the sweat of your face you shall eat bread..." 23:15 And follow carefully. 23:16 "Till you return to the ground." 23:20 How clear? 23:22 "For out of it you were taken, for dust you are, 23:25 and to dust you shall return." 23:29 It's that clear? 23:30 You don't return to heaven 23:32 because you didn't come from heaven. 23:34 We went to... 23:37 Utah. What's that major city in Utah? 23:40 Salt Lake City, Utah. 23:41 My wife and I went a few years ago, 23:43 and we walked around in the Mormon temple. 23:45 And we saw some beautiful paintings, 23:47 some beautiful art work. 23:49 And one was called the cycle of a life, 23:53 where they showed a picture of a man 23:56 in heaven in spirit form. 24:00 And they showed a body on earth that was not alive yet. 24:04 And if you follow the cycle of life 24:06 they say that this man that existed in spirit form 24:09 was sent down to earth to inhabit his body 24:12 that was in physical form. 24:15 And he brought that body to life. 24:17 And they say the spirit and the body look identical. 24:20 And if he did not, so to speak, learn the lesson in this life, 24:25 then he had another cycle to go. 24:28 We were in India and went to the Hindu temples, 24:32 and we saw there's a certain word, 24:35 that if you keep saying it, and saying it, and saying it 24:37 and you repeat it enough times before you die 24:40 you get a chance to come back. 24:43 A mantra. 24:45 But it's all based on the same lie 24:47 that "Ye shall not surely die," said another way, 24:51 "You'll die but not surely." 24:57 David the Psalmist makes it very clear. 25:00 Psalms 146:4. 25:06 David said, "His breath goeth forth, 25:11 he returneth to his" what? 25:13 "His earth, in that very day" what happens to his thoughts? 25:16 "His thoughts perish." 25:18 That's a good thing because can you imagine? 25:21 If people died and they thought about you after they died. 25:25 There's some people that say, "I can't wait. 25:28 My uncle's going to get you for what you did to him." 25:30 We say, "How's that going to happen?" 25:32 "He may be dead, 25:33 but he didn't forget what you did." 25:37 Really? 25:39 In that very day his thoughts what? 25:42 Perish. No more thoughts after that. 25:47 I had an experience with my dad. 25:50 He was from Barbados. He's resting now. 25:53 And I was going through a difficulty financially once 25:56 and I called him, I said, 25:57 "Papa, I need X amount of dollars." 26:00 And he said, "No." 26:02 Now I was raised with the word no. 26:04 Everything I asked for, "No." 26:06 But I tried it again and he still said, "No." 26:09 So I asked his wife and she gave me the money. 26:15 And when she died he said, 26:16 "Don't forget you owe me a thousand dollars." 26:18 I said, "No I don't. I owe her." 26:23 And I said, "All debts are cancelled at death." 26:26 Amen. 26:28 I got a call from Fingerhut one day. 26:34 They said, "We're calling to speak to Rosie," 26:36 that's my mother's name. 26:38 I said, "I'm her son. She's not here right now." 26:42 They said, "She has a debt, an outstanding debt 26:44 that we are making an attempt to collect. 26:47 Can you put her on the phone?" 26:49 I said, "I would love to but she's in the cemetery 26:52 in St. Thomas in the Virgin Islands." 26:54 They said, "Sir, can we please speak to her?" 27:02 I said, "If you think I'm going to make up a lie 27:05 like that to prevent my mother from paying a bill, 27:09 then you don't know me." 27:11 And I hung up the phone. 27:12 They never called back. 27:13 I guess they never got a call from her. 27:19 When we die... 27:21 Amen somebody? 27:22 Our thoughts do not continue going on. 27:26 As a matter of fact, when the ark floated 27:30 only eight people made it on the ark. 27:33 Everybody that was outside of the ark did not make it. 27:35 Genesis 7:15. 27:38 Notice what the Bible says, 27:42 "And they went unto the ark of Noah, 27:44 two by two of all flesh 27:48 in which is the breath of life." 27:51 But look at verse 23 of Genesis 7. 27:54 What happened to those that did not go into the ark? 27:57 The Bible says, "So He destroyed 27:59 all living things which were on the face of the ground, 28:04 both man and cattle, 28:07 creeping things and bird of the air. 28:11 They were destroyed from the earth, 28:13 only Noah and those who were with him 28:17 in the ark remained alive." 28:21 So if you didn't make it in the ark, 28:23 you didn't make it through the flood. 28:25 There were no people, there were no souls 28:26 outside of the flood still swimming around 28:29 after the flood had subsided. 28:32 Only those in the ark of safety continued to live. 28:36 And that's why the word at the very end, 28:38 the last two words, remained alive. 28:40 Say that with me. 28:41 Remained alive. Remained alive. 28:44 Which means if you were not on the ark, 28:46 you did not remain alive. 28:48 You were dead. 28:50 Luke 17:27 say it this way. Look at that. 28:55 The Bible says, "They ate, they drank, they married wives, 29:01 they were given in marriage, 29:02 until the day that Noah entered the ark, 29:05 and the flood came and did" what? 29:08 "Destroyed them all." 29:11 Not only were the wicked destroyed in Noah's day, 29:14 the Bible reiterates that there is no such thing 29:18 as a soul that survives death. 29:22 Now I'm going to give to you a scripture 29:24 that you may not have read before, 29:26 'Cause you know we know those verses. 29:27 But let's go to a Bible verse you may not have read before 29:30 on this particular topic. 29:31 And you know, by the way, 29:33 this is a topic that from Genesis 29:34 all the way to Revelation 29:36 is extremely clear in the Bible. 29:37 Joshua... 29:39 My wife and I are reading the Bible together 29:41 and we are now in the Book of Joshua. 29:43 Oh no, Judges now, we just finished Joshua 29:45 a few weeks ago, we're in Judges now. 29:47 When you read your Bible, let me just say this, 29:49 when you read your Bible, 29:51 no matter how long it takes you... 29:53 There are some people that read their Bible 29:54 through in a year. 29:55 I can't do that 'cause I'm a gleaner. 29:58 Which means I've got to stop and get something out of it. 30:00 Amen, Brenda? Amen! 30:01 Got to get something out of it. 30:03 There are some people that read through the Bible 30:04 like they're in a hurry. 30:05 I read through my Bible in a year. 30:07 What did you learn? It went by in a blur. 30:10 My wife and I took seven years to read the Bible 30:12 through in one year. 30:18 But we learned something. 30:19 Now we're going through it again, 30:21 and I found a scripture that I didn't see 30:22 last time around. 30:23 Joshua 11:11. Notice what the Bible says. 30:26 Joshua 11:11. 30:31 And they smote..." 30:32 This is King James Version. 30:34 "And they smote all the souls that were therein 30:39 with the edge of the sword" doing what? 30:42 "Utterly destroying them: 30:45 there was not any left to breathe: 30:49 and he burned Hazor with fire." 30:51 They stopped breathing, all the souls were destroyed. 30:54 Not a single soul was left. 30:57 So this idea that we have souls that wait to be released 31:01 to go on living is not a supported belief 31:04 by the scriptures. 31:06 It doesn't exist. 31:07 Matter of fact, Ezekiel 18:4 makes it even clear. 31:09 Look at Ezekiel 18:4. 31:14 The Bible says, "Behold, all souls are mine. 31:17 The soul of the father as well as the soul of the son is mine. 31:23 The soul who sins shall" what? "Shall die." 31:27 Now there's a text in Matthew... 31:29 This is not in my notes, 31:31 so you're not going to get a slide. 31:33 But I'm going to go there very quickly 31:34 and read this one to you. 31:37 It's okay to add extra verses. Is that right? 31:39 Amen! 31:41 Let's look at one in the Bible. Here it is. 31:43 Matthew 10:28. 31:45 I'm going to read a scripture to you 31:46 that a lot of people read to support the idea 31:47 that souls don't die. 31:49 But when they read the scripture 31:51 the only reason they come to that conclusion 31:53 is because they don't read the scripture. 31:57 Follow me. 31:59 Matthew 10:28, "And do not fear those 32:05 who kill the body, but cannot kill the soul." 32:08 They stop right there and say, "See there?" 32:11 But if you keep reading you'll see that the soul 32:13 is not an immortal entity. 32:16 "But rather fear him 32:19 who is able to destroy both soul 32:23 and body in hell." 32:26 Now Pastor, how do you get away from that one?" 32:29 Easy. 32:32 That is the very belief 32:35 that encouraged Christians to be martyrs. 32:38 Because they knew that all that man could do to them 32:41 is kill the body. 32:43 But they will come forth in the first resurrection. 32:45 Come on say amen. Amen! 32:47 Only God can keep you from coming forth 32:52 in the first resurrection. 32:58 But if the first death 33:02 eliminated any possibility of living again, 33:04 then the Bible would talk about that. 33:06 But I'm going to get further in the message 33:07 and talk about how we come forth. 33:10 But the soul is not immortal, because if the soul is immortal 33:13 the word immortal means cannot die. 33:16 But there's nothing we have that cannot die. 33:19 Men could kill our bodies but they cannot... 33:22 And the word there soul means the living being. 33:25 They cannot take, they cannot wipe you out. 33:30 Whether you die in a car accident, 33:32 whether you die in a plane accident. 33:37 Can I get little gruesome? 33:38 Whether a shark has you for dinner. 33:42 No matter how you go out, Jesus can bring you back in. 33:46 Amen! Amen? 33:47 Amen! 33:50 So it's not how you die. 33:52 When you read Hebrews 11, the Bible says, 33:55 "That those who chose not to be delivered 33:59 did not give their life for a good funeral. 34:02 They sought a better resurrection." 34:07 A better resurrection. 34:08 You can bury somebody in a golden casket. 34:11 It will not guarantee the first resurrection. 34:14 Amen! 34:15 And you can bury somebody in a plastic bag, 34:17 it will not prevent the first resurrection. 34:20 When we were in Dubai a few years ago, 34:22 and we were surrounded by opulent wealth. 34:26 But they humbled me 34:27 when I was amazed by a 7 star hotel, 34:30 24 carat gold around the frames and on the pieces in the rooms. 34:35 And by the way we didn't stay there 34:36 just for the record. 34:39 And they showed the pictures of the sheiks 34:41 and the men that have this opulent massive wealth. 34:45 And I said, "Well, what happened when they die?" 34:47 They said, "Oh, no matter how much money they have 34:49 when they die, we wrap them in a shroud, 34:52 take them to the desert, dig a hole, drop them in. 34:55 And the only thing we say is, 34:57 "See ya, wouldn't want to be ya." 35:00 No, I kind of changed that a little bit. 35:03 'Cause I doubt they talk that way in Dubai. 35:07 But they said, "In a few days we don't even know 35:09 what happened to them 35:10 because the sand covers them over." 35:12 Their wealth does not even buy them an opulent funeral. 35:17 They just cover them over 35:19 because they realize, that's it. 35:22 No matter how wealthy you are, 35:24 your money can't do anything for you right now. 35:26 Amen. 35:29 The soul that sins it will die. 35:32 Ecclesiastes 9:10. Go there with me. 35:35 Go there with me. 35:39 The Bible says, "Whatever your hand 35:41 finds to do, do it with your might." 35:43 In other words do it energetically. 35:45 And here is why? 35:46 "For there is no work or device or knowledge 35:50 or wisdom in the grave..." 35:52 And get these last three words, four words. 35:56 "Where you are going?" 35:59 Is that clear? 36:02 So if somebody says, "Where are you going?" 36:04 Read this text. "In the grave." 36:06 What does the text say? "In the grave." 36:10 When I was in New York recently, 36:13 my sister works for the Fire Department 36:14 in New York, and she was there for 9/11. 36:16 And she spent 90 days just collecting body parts. 36:22 She said they found the head of the chaplain 36:26 of New York City. 36:27 That when the buildings came down, 36:29 his body was obliterated. 36:31 Pieces of fingers, arms, limbs that are separated. 36:35 They spent 90 days and she said to me, 36:38 "I can quit now on insanity and get a full salary 36:43 because of all the things I've seen 36:45 over the last few years." 36:51 And so I said, "Now where have all these people been buried?" 36:55 She said, "There is no more place 36:56 in New York to bury anybody." 36:59 Unless you had a pre-purchased plot, 37:02 there's no space in New York to bury anybody." 37:06 So said, "Where did they bury them? 37:08 "In New Jersey." 37:11 Do you realize that 37:13 if the Lord doesn't return in the next 100 years 37:17 we won't have any place to be buried. 37:23 No amens required. 37:29 That alone ought to tell you that we ain't going to heaven. 37:34 We need a place to be buried. 37:38 And there we stay until Jesus comes again. 37:42 Amen somebody? Amen! 37:43 That's why when I hear pastor say, 37:45 "Well, we're having a home-going sermon 37:46 or a home-going service. You ain't going home. 37:50 You sure ain't going back to your house. 37:53 So they try to dress it up 37:55 where we're having a home-going service." 37:57 The home-going idea is not supported by scripture 38:02 except you believe what Job says 38:04 "The grave is my house." 38:07 That's the only home that we're going to be in 38:09 until Jesus comes back. 38:10 Amen? Amen! 38:12 Look at Psalm 115:17. 38:15 I'm teaching tonight. 38:17 I'm not preaching, I'm teaching, is that okay? 38:20 I want to teach, the Word of God is important 38:22 because people believe 38:23 that family members reunite in heaven. 38:25 People believe that people up in heaven 38:27 are having praise services. 38:28 They say that when Michael... You know what also? 38:31 In the world, no matter how you live, 38:33 you're going to go to heaven anyhow. 38:36 Michael Jackson they say is in heaven. 38:37 I don't know where he is. I'm not the judge. 38:41 They say the Rat Pack. Anybody know who that is? 38:44 Sammy Davis? 38:46 Well, you know, who I mean. Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis. 38:50 Is that the other one? 38:51 Well, whatever you know who I mean. 38:54 Frank Sinatra. 38:55 They say the Rat Pack are in heaven. 38:57 They say Liberace is in heaven playing his piano. 39:00 My question is how did his piano get there? 39:09 That's why we've got to let the Bible speak for itself. 39:11 Can I get an amen? Amen! 39:14 Look at Psalm 115:17. 39:15 The Bible says, 39:17 "The dead do not praise the Lord." 39:19 The dead do not praise the Lord. 39:21 So while you're alive 39:23 you get a chance to praise the Lord. 39:25 Praise the Lord. Amen! 39:26 But the dead don't praise the Lord, 39:28 nor any who go down into silence, 39:32 not up into praise. 39:35 But now let me go ahead 39:37 and share an amazing concept with you. 39:40 If our thoughts perish when we die, 39:44 is it safe to say 39:45 that the brain also ceases to function? 39:47 Yes or no? Yes. 39:48 Okay. Now it's going to get deeper. 39:51 If the brain... 39:53 If people can be declared brain dead 39:56 while their heart is still beating, 40:00 are they still thinking 40:02 long after the heart stops beating? 40:07 That was deep, wasn't it? Yes. 40:10 If the heart is still beating 40:12 and they are declared brain dead, 40:15 meaning they ain't thinking diddly. 40:21 If the brain is dead 40:23 while their heart is still beating, 40:25 wouldn't it be safe to say that 40:27 when the heart stops 40:29 the brain also ceases to function? 40:34 Ecclesiastes 9:5-6. 40:37 That's why God teaches the following, 40:40 "For the living know that they will die, 40:44 but the dead know nothing. 40:47 And they have no more reward, 40:49 for the memory of them is forgotten." 40:51 It doesn't mean you forgot them, 40:52 it means the memory ceases to function. 40:55 "Also their love, their hatred, 40:57 and their envy have now perished, 41:01 nevermore..." 41:02 Say nevermore. Nevermore. 41:03 "Nevermore will they have a share 41:06 in anything done under the sun." 41:08 So the next time you have a dinner, 41:10 don't set a plate. 41:13 People do that. 41:15 Don't set a plate for your loved ones. 41:17 Don't throw salt over your shoulder. 41:23 And don't fall for the idea 41:24 that they're trying to send you a signal 41:25 'cause the clock is at 7:30. 41:29 This is what we are being bombarded with. 41:32 This is what the media wants you to believe. 41:34 Look for the signs. 41:35 If you can look for the signs, 41:37 you'll find that they're trying to communicate somehow. 41:38 No, they ain't communicating. 41:40 You know who's trying to communicate? 41:41 The devil is trying to communicate. 41:45 That's why the Bible uses the word in the Old Testament 41:47 "familiar spirits". 41:49 Somebody said, "But it looked just like mama." 41:51 Well, how long has the devil been around? 41:53 Don't you think he could take a picture of your mama 41:54 and re-duplicate it? 41:57 "But she said something only I knew." 42:00 He also has a tape recorder. 42:03 So don't be amazed that you heard something 42:06 that only you and your mama know. 42:10 The devil knows more about 42:11 some of us than we know about ourselves. 42:13 That's why the Lord made it very clear in John 11. 42:16 Come on, go quickly now. 42:18 John 11:14, verse 11-14. 42:21 Jesus said, speaking to Martha, speaking to His disciples, 42:25 "These things He said..." 42:27 Verse 11 of John 11. 42:29 "And after that He said to them, 42:31 'Our friend Lazarus sleeps, 42:33 but I go that I may wake him up.' 42:36 Then His disciples said, 42:38 'Lord, if he sleeps he will get well.'" 42:41 However, verse 13," Jesus spoke of His death, 42:44 but they thought that He was speaking 42:46 about taking rest in sleep. 42:48 Then Jesus said plainly to them together 42:52 "Lazarus is dead." 42:54 I was talking to a pastor once, and he got upset. 42:56 He said, "Do you believe in soul sleep?" 43:00 I said, "No, I believe in death." 43:08 This is not my topic, 43:09 but I want to add one more thing. 43:11 They said, "You don't believe in hell either." 43:12 I said, "No, we believe in a hotter hell than you do." 43:17 Amen? Amen! 43:18 'Cause there ain't nobody in the rotisserie forever. 43:21 When they burn up they are... 43:26 Amen somebody? Amen! 43:28 Then he give me that topic so I can't preach that one. 43:32 But the clarity of what happened 43:33 when Lazarus died was understood 43:35 by Mary and Martha. 43:36 Look at verse 23-24. 43:38 "Jesus said to her, 'Your brother will rise again.' 43:41 Martha said to Him..." 43:42 I like this "I know that he will rise again..." 43:46 When did she say, 43:47 "In the resurrection at the last day." 43:51 Clearly. 43:52 Let's look at the resurrections, 43:53 it's John 5:28-29. 43:55 By the way, 43:57 this is the teaching that has been deleted 44:01 from Christianity. 44:02 Deleted. Deleted. 44:05 They don't talk about it. 44:07 Death is somehow an alternate route 44:09 they don't talk about the resurrection. 44:12 I had a Baptist manual once, 44:13 or a Baptist pamphlet that said, 44:15 "Yeah, they'll be resurrected 44:16 so the body can be connected back 44:18 with the spirit. 44:19 The spirit comes down, goes back in the body, 44:21 and takes the body back up." 44:22 That's the only kind of resurrection 44:24 that is even surfacing to some degree. 44:26 But here's what the Bible says, John 5:28 and 29. 44:30 The Bible says, "Do not marvel at this, 44:31 for the hour is coming in which all..." 44:34 How many? 44:35 "All who are in the graves 44:37 will hear His voice and come forth. 44:39 Those who have done good, to the "what? 44:42 "Resurrection of life, and those who have done evil, 44:45 to the resurrection of" what? 44:46 "Condemnation." 44:48 There are only two resurrections. 44:49 The dead will be 44:51 in one resurrection or the other. 44:53 Each resurrection has a different destination. 45:00 The wages of sin is death 45:02 but the gift of God is eternal life. 45:04 Now follow carefully. 45:06 If the wages of sin is death, who receives the wages of sin? 45:11 The righteous or the wicked? The wicked. 45:13 Who receives the gift of life which is eternal life? 45:15 The righteous or the wicked? The righteous. 45:17 So how can the wicked 45:18 who don't receive eternal life live eternally? 45:22 Doesn't make sense. 45:24 The wages of sin is still death. 45:26 Amen somebody? Amen! 45:27 Revelation 20:6, 45:29 The Bible talks about the resurrection. 45:31 If you die before Jesus comes, 45:32 this is the resurrection you want to be in. 45:35 Amen. 45:37 "Blessed and holy is he who has part 45:38 in the first resurrection. 45:40 Over such the second death has no power, 45:42 but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, 45:45 and shall reign with Him" how long? 45:47 "A thousand years." 45:49 The second death does not affect the Christian 45:54 but the first death affects everybody. 45:56 Everybody dies. Everything dies. 46:00 There's nothing that has natural immortality. 46:03 Everything dies. 46:06 But only those 46:07 that are raised in the first resurrection 46:10 doesn't die a second time. 46:11 So here's the formula, 46:13 born once without Jesus, die twice. 46:18 Born twice with Jesus, die once. 46:22 Amen. 46:23 Remember that formula. 46:25 Jesus said in John 11:25-26, 46:28 he made it very clear 46:29 about the blessing of the resurrection, 46:31 He says, and this another one I have to clear up. 46:33 "Jesus said to Martha, 46:35 'I am the resurrection and the life. 46:37 He who believes in Me, 46:39 though he may die, he shall live. 46:43 And whoever lives and believes in me shall never die. 46:47 Do you believe this?" Now what was He talking about? 46:50 Now you all know, you're theological. 46:53 Jesus meant that if you, now, get it, 46:56 He already said 46:57 "Whoever lives and believes in Me, 46:59 though he were dead yet shall he live." 47:03 But if you live and believe in Me, 47:05 you shall never die." 47:06 What did He mean? 47:07 He means the second death because everybody is affected. 47:12 Even Jesus Himself 47:17 was dead for three days. 47:20 Everybody is affected by the first death. 47:22 Let's look at the second death. 47:23 What happens at the second death? 47:25 Matter of fact, what happens at the first resurrection? 47:31 1 Corinthians 15:51-55. 47:34 Go there with me. 47:36 The fact of the matter is the righteous 47:37 will never die the second death. 47:39 Here it is. 47:41 Speaking about the coming of the Lord, 47:43 "Behold, I tell you a mystery: We shall not all sleep, 47:46 but we shall all be changed." 47:48 Every time I read that, 47:49 I remember seeing that sign on a mother's room. 47:53 You'll get that on Tuesday. 47:56 In one of the churches on the mother's room 47:58 where they change babies, 47:59 we shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed." 48:06 You are alive. 48:09 "When will we be changed in a moment, 48:14 in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. 48:17 For the trumpet will sound, 48:18 and the dead will be raised incorruptible. 48:23 And we shall be changed 48:25 for this corruptible must put on incorruption. 48:28 This mortal must put on immortality. 48:33 So when this corruptible has put on incorruption, 48:35 and this mortal has put on immortal, 48:39 then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written: 48:42 'Death is swallowed up in victory.' 48:44 'O Death, where is your sting? 48:46 O grave or Hades, where is your victory." 48:48 Amen somebody? Amen! 48:49 But now here's the point. 48:51 We've got to be changed before we go to heaven. 48:54 You're not going to go in the condition 48:55 you went into the grave. 48:56 Look at Job 14:14. 48:59 He made it very clear. 49:00 Job knew this is Old Testament and New Testament. 49:03 Paul says, "We will be changed from mortal to immortal, 49:06 from corruptible to incorruptible." 49:08 Notice what Job says in Job 14:14. 49:10 He says, 49:11 "If a man die, shall he live again?" 49:15 And notice this, 49:16 "All the days of my appointed time 49:19 I will wait together till my change comes." 49:25 I'm waiting for my change. 49:26 Let me say this, 49:27 even if you live till Jesus comes 49:29 you've got to be changed. 49:30 Come on, somebody. Amen! 49:32 This hair that turns gray, 49:34 these limbs that hurt for no apparent reason 49:36 will not be taken into the kingdom. 49:38 What do you say? 49:39 We will all be changed. 49:41 The Bible says, "He will change our corruptible bodies 49:44 that it may be fashioned like unto His glorious body." 49:49 So here's the point. 49:50 If you haven't gotten to the first resurrection, 49:53 if Jesus has not returned, you have not been changed. 49:56 If you have not been changed, 49:58 you cannot die and go to heaven. 50:00 Mortal man cannot exist 50:02 in the presence of an immortal God. 50:04 Our God is a consuming fire. 50:10 Look at Job 14:10. 50:14 We cannot go to heaven until we are changed. 50:17 "But man dies and is laid away, 50:19 the Bible says, indeed he breathes his last..." 50:23 And look at the next three words. 50:25 "Where is he?" 50:27 Instead of us saying let the Bible speak. 50:30 "As water disappears from the sea, 50:33 and a river becomes parched and dries up. 50:36 So man lies down and together does not rise. 50:40 Till the heavens are no more. 50:42 They shall not awake 50:44 nor be roused from their sleep." 50:45 And Job says, 50:46 "Oh, that You would hide me in the grave, 50:48 that You would conceal me until Your wrath is past. 50:52 That You would appoint me a set time..." 50:54 And do what? "Remember me!" 50:56 Now I'm going to say it very quickly. 50:57 What Job asked is the same thing 51:00 the thief on the cross asked. 51:03 The reason why we believe 51:05 that he went to paradise right away 51:07 is because we don't read the verse before that. 51:10 Look at what the thief asked. 51:11 Luke 23:42. 51:14 The thief said, "Then he said to Jesus, 51:17 'Lord, remember me 51:20 when You come into Your kingdom." 51:23 Job said, "Appoint me a set time 51:25 and remember me." 51:27 The thief said, "Remember me when You come." 51:30 And the fact of the matter 51:32 is Jesus did not go to heaven that day. 51:33 He went three days later. 51:37 If you read both verses, it's cleared up. 51:39 What about the fate of David the apostle? 51:41 David the patriarch that is, Acts 2:29 and 34. 51:46 The fate of David was made clear. 51:47 You see the Old Testament 51:48 and the New Testament jive together. 51:50 Praise God for that. 51:52 "Men and brethren, 51:53 let me speak freely of you 51:57 or to you of the patriarch David..." 52:02 Speak on. 52:04 "That he is both dead and" what? 52:06 "Buried. 52:08 And his tomb is with us unto this day." 52:13 If you stop there you say, "Well, where is his tomb? 52:15 I'd like to go visit David." 52:16 But verse 34 says, 52:18 "For David did not ascend into heaven." 52:23 He did not ascend into the heavens. 52:25 So where is David? 52:27 He's waiting for the resurrection morning. 52:28 Can we say amen to that? Amen! 52:30 You see, the reality is, and let me reiterate this. 52:32 I said this earlier but it fits right here. 52:35 We are not saying 52:36 that we're not going to go to heaven. 52:37 I don't know why people hear that. 52:40 So they say, "Are you saying my mother's not in heaven?" 52:42 No, I'm saying, "She didn't go yet." 52:46 Right? Right. 52:48 I'm not saying she's not there. Saying she didn't go yet. 52:51 God's got a good plan, 52:52 I'm going to go when my mother goes. 52:54 Come on. Amen! 52:55 I'm going to go when my friends that are sleeping in Jesus... 52:58 We're going to go together. Amen. 53:00 Ain't nobody up in heaven having dinner. 53:04 Nobody moved into their mansions yet. 53:06 I don't know if Elijah lives in a mansion. 53:08 I don't know if Enoch lives in a mansion. 53:11 I don't know where Moses lives. 53:13 But we're going to all have a celebration together. 53:16 Read 1 Corinthians 15. 53:18 Don't go there now but read the whole chapter. 53:20 It's all about the resurrection. 53:22 It's all about what happens after you die. 53:24 The beauty of it is the Lord is going to come back. 53:26 Nobody outside of these three individuals mentioned 53:29 and the 24 elders have met Jesus yet. 53:33 We're all waiting for that grand reunion. 53:35 It's like the camp meeting 53:37 that will outlast all camp meetings. 53:40 Amen! 53:42 You want to talk about being happy? 53:44 Some of you that have never said amen 53:45 will finally say it. 53:48 I guarantee you that. 53:50 Some people said saying amen is cultural. 53:51 No, that's going to be dispelled in heaven. 53:55 Some of you have never said praise the Lord. 53:56 You will when you get there. 53:58 Somebody's going to shout. 54:00 I will be one, I guarantee you. 54:01 I remember years ago, 54:03 Doug doesn't always sing 54:05 but I'm going to try to get him to sing one day. 54:07 He likes to sing 54:08 but he's very nervous to do it publicly. 54:10 But he said, I said, Doug said, 54:11 "John, when I get to heaven it'll be easy to find me." 54:15 I call him Doug 'cause we're good friends. 54:17 I said, "How?" 54:18 He said, "I'll be the only one singing 54:20 throughout eternity." 54:25 But here is the grand reunion, now are you ready for it? 54:28 1 Thessalonians 4:15-18. 54:32 We're going to meet Him together. 54:34 Praise the Lord. Let's go quickly. 54:37 "For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, 54:40 that we who are alive and remain 54:42 until the coming of the Lord 54:43 will by no means precede those who are asleep. 54:47 For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven 54:50 with the shout, with the voice of an archangel, 54:53 and with the trumpet of God. 54:54 And the dead in Christ will rise" when? 54:56 "First. 54:57 Then we who are alive and remain 55:01 shall be caught up" how? 55:03 "Together." Mama resurrected. 55:05 My other mother resurrected. My friends resurrected. 55:08 And then we say, "You ready to go?" 55:10 "I'm ready. You ready? Let's go." 55:11 Caught up how? Together. 55:13 To do what? To meet the Lord in the air. 55:17 We haven't met Him yet. 55:19 And nobody who has died has met Him. 55:24 Let the Bible speak. 55:25 "To meet the Lord in the air. 55:27 And thus we shall always be with the Lord. 55:29 Therefore" do what? 55:31 "Together comfort one another with these words." 55:34 That's why I end 55:35 with the most beautiful promise of Jesus, 55:37 John 14:3. 55:39 He says, "I will come again." 55:42 Come on, say amen somebody. Amen! 55:44 For what? 55:46 "And receive you to Myself, that where I am, 55:50 there you may be also." 55:52 You see, friends, 55:53 the dead can't speak to us but the Word of God can. 55:56 Come on. Amen! 55:58 Dear friend, we laid to rest a few years ago, 56:01 he was a member of another denomination. 56:04 Never forgot him. 56:06 He was a pilot, 56:07 professional pilot for a commercial airline 56:09 many years ago. 56:10 He would always sit in our Sabbath School class 56:11 right upstairs. 56:13 Always tell us his pilot stories. 56:15 I said, "Did you fly a Cessna?" "No, commercial plane." 56:18 He told me all of his years of experience. 56:20 And he was so excited about Jesus, 56:23 he gave me a picture of the resurrection of Jesus, 56:25 the cross of Christ, and a poem, 56:27 and a little pendant that had a cross. 56:28 And he said, "Pastor, hold on to that." 56:31 And one day he missed it 56:32 so much he said, "Pastor, I need it back." 56:34 We were at prayer meeting. 56:35 I said, "I'll give it back to you next week." 56:37 I said, "Bud, here it is." 56:39 He came to my office after prayer meeting 56:41 and he said, "Oh, I'm waiting... 56:42 I've been waiting for that. 56:44 I want to put that on my wall when I go home." 56:46 He drove down the driveway 56:48 to exit Angel Lane and he died right there. 56:52 When he left my office 56:54 he said, "Pastor, I'll see you on Sabbath," 56:58 because of the promise of Jesus, 57:01 we're going to spend Sabbath together in heaven 57:02 with my good friend Bud. 57:04 You see, friends, Bud is not there now. 57:06 If we let the Word of God speak, 57:08 the promise of Jesus will always be our security. 57:12 Not some alternate route. Let the Word of God speak. 57:16 We will see Jesus. 57:17 We will be raised, but the fact of the matter 57:19 is according to the authority of God's Word 57:22 the dead cannot speak to us but the Word of God can. 57:26 What do you say? Amen! 57:27 Thank the Lord for His Word. 57:28 Hold on to that until Jesus comes again. 57:31 Let us pray. |
Revised 2023-05-02