Participants: Moncrief Michael, Pr. Ezra Mendinghall, Rodney A. Johnson, Willette Johnson (narrator)
Series Code: SF
Program Code: SF000028
|
01:56 My name is Gavriel. Gabrielle, Jibril, Gabriel.
02:04 The strength of God. 02:09 Journey with me to a time when the emergence 02:13 of government superpowers was not yet, 02:19 to a time before the great wars. 02:26 Before Napoleon and his unstoppable French military 02:30 scoured the face of Europe and Africa. 02:34 To a time before a nation under God declared 02:38 its independence with words and then with blood. 02:44 Won its freedom. 02:47 Before the monk named Luther defied a theocracy when 02:52 he tacked his 95 proofs to the doors of an establishment. 02:58 Before the bubonic plague claimed 03:01 one in every three people of Europe. 03:05 Before Christianity took its first fledgling steps 03:09 into a world that was determined to destroy it. 03:14 Before the apostles. Before the Christ. 03:23 Before Asians crossed the Bering Strait into America 03:27 and swapped their furs for feathers. 03:31 Before the Greeks and their many Gods. Before the Persians. 03:38 Long before the Egyptian Pharaoh Horus Netjeri-khet 03:43 raised the first pyramids atop the broken backs of his slaves 03:48 and his prisoners of war. 03:52 Before the Druids dragged bluestone monoliths 03:56 up the Avon River and made their henge of stone. 04:01 Before the Sumerians hung their famous gardens 04:04 and King Hammurabi formed the earliest constitution. 04:08 Before the first downpour in history 04:11 fell up on Noah's cypress ark. 04:14 Before Enoch walked with God. 04:17 Before Adam fell in love with Eve. 04:22 Even before the earth was just a black wet blotch in space. 04:31 Journey with me to a time 04:36 when there was war in heaven, 04:40 Michael and his angels fought against the Dragon, 04:43 and the Dragon fought and his angels and prevailed not, 04:49 neither was there place found anymore in heaven. 04:54 And the great Dragon was cast out 04:57 that old serpent called the devil and called Satan, 05:01 which deceiveth the entire world. 05:05 He was cast out into the earth, 05:09 and his angels were cast out with him. 05:18 My name is Gabriel, and this is your story. 05:32 The plan for our redemption was not an after thought. 05:37 God did not ordained that sin should exist, 05:41 but He foresaw its existence and made provision. 05:49 The question is often asked how did sin start 05:52 and who did it start with? 05:53 And the Bible is clear in Revelation, 05:56 the 12th chapter in verse 7. 05:59 It says words that shouldn't even make sense 06:01 to the humankind, for there there'd be war in heaven, 06:04 because that's what the word say, 06:06 there was war in heaven. 06:07 It's a declaration that there existed war in heaven. 06:10 Heaven is a place that should be far in a war 06:13 and there was war in heaven between Christ 06:15 and the devil himself named Lucifer at that time. 06:18 The way I pictured it is that 06:20 Lucifer was made-- created perfect. 06:23 And I think sometimes perfection can get to somebody. 06:28 And in that sense, his perfection, 06:30 his beauty, his ability, his wisdom, his power, 06:33 I think got to him because of one ingredient 06:36 that God gave that was really risking it 06:38 with any created being. 06:40 And that was the power to choose. 06:42 And somehow inside of this perfect creature 06:45 was found an element of self-focus. 06:48 And that in itself drove him, we don't know how long, 06:52 year after year, millennium after millennium. 06:55 Something caused him to think very highly of himself, 06:58 so much so until he thought 07:01 he could actually be God and take God's place. 07:04 In my mind, the only way a created being 07:07 can come to the conclusion that they're better 07:09 than their creator is they have to have 07:11 a creator that's very humble. 07:13 So I think God was so non-threatening 07:15 and so loving to His creatures until this created being 07:19 thought that he could be just as good as God. 07:22 And so there was war in heaven 07:24 because you can't have competing Godheads. 07:26 Or gods in heave, so one person had to go. 07:29 And so, Michael and his angels cast out the enemy 07:32 and he was cast down to this earth. 07:35 Of course, in Hebrew, the Bible says they cast out 07:37 the (speaking in Hebrew) or out of darkness. 07:39 So whatever happened, he arrived here somehow. 07:42 But at any rate, he's here, he's causing problems, 07:45 and the controversy continues, 07:47 because good has to confront evil 07:51 and that controversy continues even to today. 07:59 So then here we are, we got a new heaven 08:02 that God has created and Jesus had to spoke 08:04 and He came into existence, but the controversy continues 08:08 and God has enough faith in His ability to redeem 08:12 mankind until He allows mankind to be exposed to this power, 08:18 only in spot in the garden. 08:20 But that creature comes and he tempts Adam and Eve, 08:22 starting with Eve and Adam deliberately 08:24 with his eyes wide open chose to sin which makes his fall, 08:28 his problem worse than his wife's. 08:31 But in essence, they fall. 08:32 They fall because they say "yes" 08:34 to a concept that was really ridiculous. 08:37 The devil offered them what they already had. 08:39 He said if you would just eat of this, you'll become like God. 08:43 Well, of course Genesis said they were made 08:45 an image of God in the first chapter. 08:47 It says that they actually in the image of God already, 08:50 so there they are in a lost condition, 08:53 there should be no hope, there is no excuse really, 08:55 even though they tried the blame different things, 08:58 but there they are caught with the cookie crumbs 09:00 around their mouth and they knew they had the cookies, 09:02 so now they're caught and they're standing there 09:06 and the only thing Jesus can think to do is to redeem them, 09:10 because He's got a heart. 09:11 He wanted to redeem His lost children. 09:14 What Jesus Christ does, he becomes a priest for them 09:18 and He offers two lambs, sacrifices, 09:21 so they might have covering, which is the whole plan 09:25 of salvation wrapped up in His initial act. 09:28 Right at the beginning of sin, He brings the solution. 09:31 He's forecasting His own death, 09:33 He's talking of His commitment to redeem mankind 09:37 even with His own blood, because it's only about 09:39 the blood of Jesus that we make it. 09:47 So that's why John 3:16 means so much to all of us. 09:51 For God so loved the world, 09:52 that He gave his only begotten son, 09:55 that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, 09:57 but have ever lasting life. 09:58 Because in that verse, it says He didn't come 10:00 to condemn us and every human being 10:02 ought to shout when they hear those words. 10:04 Because it's not even His desire to condemn us 10:07 when we condemn ourselves by our actions. 10:09 He doesn't even ratify the position we've taken. 10:11 He simply comes to restore and redeem 10:13 and to bless and to put back into full fellowship with Him 10:17 that which was separated by sin. 10:23 The promise had been given even from the Garden of Eden 10:26 that Christ would come, so that He might crush 10:29 the head of the serpent 10:30 and be heard Himself and then redeem us. 10:35 To be the mother of Christ, Mary must have been 10:37 some kind woman to give birth to the Messiah. 10:41 But God is showing us that He can take each experience, 10:45 He can take a person from nothingness 10:48 and use them to His glory, 10:50 so He gave this teenager this baby by a miracle. 10:56 The Holy Spirit covered her and so Jesus Christ was born 10:59 and He is a one of a kind, the unique one, 11:03 the firstborn, He is truly a firstborn son to all humanity. 11:08 All that night when there was no room in the inn, 11:11 I tell you, I'm glad that somebody made room for Him. 11:15 And Jesus Christ was born, as my brother would say, 11:18 "In the face of the Billy goat." 11:20 I don't even know if a Billy goat was in that limestone cave. 11:23 But He was born in the face of some kind of animal in there. 11:26 There He was, put in a trough where animals feed 11:29 and Jesus the Messiah came all the way from glory 11:33 as a baby to confront the devil 11:36 in the controversies in full blown. 11:39 I would think that Christ should've come on a white horse 11:43 as a grown man to deal with the devil, 11:45 but He came as a babe to show God's power 11:47 to handle anything that the devil can throw 11:50 at any of us at any stage of life. 11:57 As the people on the plains caught sight of Jesus, 12:00 they ran to meet Him. 12:03 It was an object lesson of redemption. 12:06 The divine one from the Father's glory 12:09 stooping to save the lost. 12:14 Many want to ask the question 12:16 about the missing years of Jesus' life 12:17 and what happened as He grew up. 12:19 We've got some years of that life in the scriptures, 12:22 but it's enough said to let us know 12:25 that He was a normal young man, 12:27 He grew up and we don't know what age 12:30 He was in the carpenter shop with Joseph, 12:33 but He surely was there and there are some traditions 12:36 that was handed down by the Jews They said 12:39 that when He was a little boy in the carpenter shop 12:41 working with his dad, that they had a reputation 12:44 of making such fine yokes until Jesus 12:48 was known as a yoke maker and at times 12:50 when the individuals wanted a yoke made for their ox. 12:53 They would bring it to the carpenter shop 12:56 and you had to bring the ox more than one time, 12:58 because the yoke had to be tailor-made 13:00 in order to fit the ox's shoulders, 13:02 so it would not dig into their flesh, 13:04 so the yoke had to be easy. 13:05 The yoke had to be comfortable, 13:07 the yoke had to be tailor-made 13:08 and they said Jesus was the best yoke maker. 13:11 So when you got problems, remember Jesus is a yoke maker, 13:13 because He is the one that does a fine job. 13:19 When Jesus walked the earth, He walked as a man for sure, 13:23 but He walked to show us what the father's like, 13:26 so in all His actions, we can see this is what God is like. 13:30 And any time you see Jesus confronting a problem, 13:32 even supernatural problems, you see Him stepping up 13:36 using the same power that's available to us, 13:38 because He did not use any power that is not available to us, 13:41 otherwise the devil could've accused Him of overreaching. 13:53 This story just stands out in my mind 13:55 that actually depicts Christ for who He is. 13:59 I can't help to go to the one that everybody 14:01 talks about and that's this woman called Mary. 14:05 Caught in the act of adultery, brought to Jesus, 14:08 who is the judge of the universe, 14:09 was pure in every way. 14:11 So they bring this lady, they drag her before Jesus 14:14 and I can just picture her being kind of half clad 14:16 and caught in the act and maybe covered in a bed sheet. 14:19 And she's brought to Jesus and thrown at His feet 14:21 and they ask Him, "Moses' law says 14:25 that this woman ought to be stoned. 14:27 Now what do you say?" 14:30 And Jesus just simply starts writing in the dust 14:33 and from the oldest to the youngest, 14:35 they kind of drifted off the scene 14:37 and Jesus simply said, "Well, let the one 14:40 that's without sin cast the first stone." 14:43 And all of a sudden, the stones started 14:45 hitting the pavement as they walk away. 14:47 And then Jesus says to her and He is messiah, 14:51 He is king, He's the lord of lords, 14:52 He simply says to her, "Woman, where are your accusers?" 14:57 Now she finally lifts her head from the pavement 14:59 and she looks in His eyes and all she sees is love. 15:03 Not love to take something from her, 15:05 but love to give her something. 15:07 She saw mercy and kindness. 15:09 She saw something she probably never seen before 15:11 in the eyes of a priest or anybody else. 15:14 She sees the eyes of God. 15:26 So that scene often crosses my mind. 15:28 And then another that kind of stands out 15:30 in my thinking is when he walked on the sea that evening 15:34 and he had sent his disciples on and he came across the sea 15:37 and met them in the middle of a storm. 15:40 Now some say and I believe it 15:42 that the concept of the Jewish thought 15:44 and people of that day was that Baal owned the winds 15:48 and the rains and the mountain, that they actually a idol, 15:51 a false God of the Israelites. 15:53 The false gods of the pagans was the one 15:55 that ruled the storm and so now Jesus is venturing 15:58 across the water and he's venturing into Baal's territory. 16:03 So now Jesus has a confrontation, 16:05 a great controversy is being fulfilled again. 16:07 The enemy of God in His church is trying to wipe out 16:11 the 12 leaders of the church and Jesus is coming along 16:15 and Jesus simply walks on and because wants Peter wants 16:19 to join him on the water and he does. 16:21 And by faith, he gets out of the boat. 16:23 He has a whole lot of faith, but he joins Jesus 16:25 and Jesus just takes him up and then he walks with Him. 16:28 That may say something to a lot of us 16:29 that we can walk with Jesus and we can walk above the storm. 16:32 We can, we can even walk in an impossible situation. 16:36 I don't know how much buoyancy 16:37 you can have in your feet not to sink in water, 16:40 but there must be something that God would give us 16:43 that would give us the capacity 16:45 to walk along the top of the storm and not sink. 16:50 And Jesus simply spoke to Baal, that's me talking, 16:53 to Baal, the false God, he said, 16:55 "Hush. Stop your noise. Peace," and all of a sudden, 17:00 there's peace and they arrive back in the boat. 17:03 Poor peter, yeah, he fell, 17:05 but I have to give him credit for getting out on the water. 17:07 And he joins Jesus and he joins him in the boat as well, 17:11 so he's safe again. 17:13 So God's able to keep his children safe, 17:14 he'll let you come out and venture 17:16 in miraculous territory with him. 17:18 If you just keep your eyes on him, you'll be all right. 17:20 But to show that he has power over nature, 17:23 power over any idol god, and he's able to speak peace 17:27 in any turmoil in your life, I like a God like that. 17:31 I want to walk with him, in fact, 17:33 whether it means on sand or water, 17:34 I just want to keep my hand in God's hand. 17:55 So I see Him as a forgiving God, a storm-calming God, 18:00 a God that can get us safely in the boat 18:02 to get to the other side, and one other thing is what 18:05 impressed me so much is that the fact 18:06 that he would put his hands on lepers, the symbol of sin. 18:10 The highest form of contamination you can get, 18:13 but Jesus got so much life and so much cleanliness, 18:16 so much purity in his touch, 18:18 He can extend it to somebody else. 18:20 So when a leper got cleaned, 18:21 I know a sinner could be set free. 18:23 When a leper got cleaned, 18:24 I just think he might have some mercy on me. 18:27 If a man whose fingers are falling off 18:29 and nose has disappeared, 18:31 ears are falling off with him 18:32 and you can smell him before he comes 18:34 and he's a walking dead man, 18:35 in fact, his family has already had his funeral 18:38 when he was banished to be with the other lepers. 18:42 When all that's done and you know life is over 18:44 and there is no hope and here comes Jesus 18:46 in your hopeless situation 18:48 and he just simply does not stand back 18:52 and speak cleansing and speak healing. 18:55 He takes the time to put his hands on the untouchable. 18:59 He takes His time to put his pure hand 19:02 on that which is the filthiest 19:04 in the minds of the Jewish priests 19:06 and he touches and everything changes. 19:24 Another occasion in Jesus' life when we see Him 19:27 working on behalf of humankind, 19:30 we all know that a messenger came to Jesus, 19:33 the man was concerned about his daughter. 19:34 She was at the point of death. 19:37 In fact, she was dying when he left, 19:39 but once he got to Jesus asking Jesus to come 19:42 and take care of his daughter and to heal her, 19:44 he was assuming that Jesus must get there 19:46 before she die in order to make a difference. 19:48 But, you know, on the way, he got delayed 19:50 and on the way an old lady who had been sick for 12 years. 19:53 She had been sick as long as the little girl had been alive 19:57 and she stole the blessings, some say. 19:59 She's touched the hem of Jesus' garment and was made whole, 20:03 but Jesus was not rushing, it did not appear. 20:11 Can you imagine parents were concerned about their daughter? 20:14 Now she's gone and still Jesus wants to see her 20:17 and they don't see any hope now, she's gone. 20:19 If he had got there early, 20:21 maybe there would have been a whole another scenario. 20:24 But she's surely dead. They see it and they know it. 20:28 And Jesus just simply walks over to her, 20:31 calls her by her nickname that her parents used, 20:34 and I wish I knew what that was, 20:36 but he called her a precious name 20:38 that she had often heard by her parents. 20:40 It was easy stepping in and doing the father role, 20:43 maybe stepping in letting her, 20:44 "I know what's going on around here. 20:46 I know you, sugar, personally. I know your nickname." 20:48 And He simply says, "Daughter arise," 20:52 and she just sat up. 20:54 I mean, it wasn't a second command, 20:56 it wasn't a third command. 20:58 He just says it one time 21:00 and life came back into this dead girl 21:04 simply because the giver of life beckoned her. 21:08 And so she sits up and he tells, 21:10 "Just give her something to eat. 21:12 Because now she's gonna live. She needs fuel." 21:14 Can you imagine those parents? 21:16 Can you just kind of figure out what may have happened 21:20 in their hearts when their greatest prize had disappeared 21:25 and now she's given back and then better than before. 21:34 Christ says, "No man cometh unto the Father, but by me." 21:41 He alone is the way by which we may have access to God. 21:46 His time had come. He would go to the cross for us. 22:27 I had the privilege of going to the Garden of Gethsemane 22:30 and looking through the fence at the trees, 22:33 trying to imagine where Jesus knelt the night 22:36 before His crucifixion and my imagination was running with me. 22:40 You know, what was the night like? 22:42 I just had to go to scripture to find out. 22:44 So Jesus is in the garden and He's already gone 22:48 through the Lord's supper with His disciples, 22:50 He's already washed their feet and made them clean, 22:52 and He walks out there and He's pictured 22:55 as if as he walked toward the garden of Gethsemane 22:59 He got weaker and weaker 23:00 till He got to the place where He would pray 23:03 and He threw Himself on the ground 23:06 and begged God to let this cup pass. 23:08 If it were not for the scene at Gethsemane, 23:12 we would not have the window into Jesus' humanity 23:15 that He provided for us that night. 23:17 Because when He said, "Let this cup pass," 23:20 He's talking human now. 23:21 He's not talking as God, He's actually saying, 23:26 "Is there some other kind of way?" 23:28 But he never says he's not going forward. 23:31 He simply says, "If there's another way, I'll take it. 23:35 If there's not, and so let it be. 23:38 Whatever you say, thy will be done." 23:40 What he sees and we should see 23:42 that there is not other way for us to be saved 23:46 without him going through in sacrificing all. 23:49 That scene clarifies that there are no other options, 23:53 because the only other option is to wipe us all out 23:54 and start over again or to fail 23:57 and Jesus wasn't willing to do that. 23:58 So he's willing to go all the way, 24:01 no matter how bad it tastes, 24:03 so he drank the cup and it is pictured by 24:06 In Desire of Ages that Gabriel comes. 24:24 Imagine an otherwise lovely evening. 24:28 The cherub of crickets, the blinking of fireflies 24:33 entertaining the night. Gethsemane. 24:38 Was there ever a more suspenseful 24:41 and sullen place in all of human history? 24:44 Not even at Calvary was the earth in greater peril, 24:48 for here we find the creator, 24:51 the master, upon his knees, 24:54 supplicating strength to go through with the plan, 24:58 while I, Gabriel, leading legions of battle-hungry angels 25:04 await the command, the nod of his royal head, nay, 25:08 the mere batting of an eyelash permitting us 25:11 to sweep through the halls of earth 25:13 and bring it down--bring it all crashing down. 25:19 It would only require one of us. 25:33 But instead, he prays for strength, 25:37 for endurance, and with each passing heartbeat, 25:43 the cross draws ever closer. 25:57 He should have died in that spot where he was praying. 26:00 Any time blood leaks from the tissues of a person's face, 26:05 that's a medical condition that calls for death. 26:07 But, you see, Jesus can't die 26:10 because he must be sacrificed at 3 p.m. on Friday on time, 26:16 because the Passover lamb dies at that hour. 26:19 So that condition should have taken his life, 26:22 but the angel Gabriel came and sustained him 26:25 and cradled him in his arms 26:28 and rejuvenated him enough to go to the cross to die. 26:31 So he gets up and he's getting ready 26:34 to leave the garden and who comes? 26:37 But the crowd, the rabble, the stick bearing, 26:41 sword wielding madmen from Jerusalem. 26:46 They come to take a man that's non-threatening. 26:49 They come to arrest somebody 26:51 that they had seen in the temple, 26:53 they could have taken easily. 26:55 But somehow they're being led by a disciple. 27:00 I said, "A disciple?" 27:02 A church member, a follower of Jesus, 27:05 somebody who had walked in Jesus' shadow for 3 years. 27:09 He had seen the sick raise up. 27:12 You see, Judas simply thinks that he knows 27:15 how to box Jesus in to make him fight to become king. 27:19 And Jesus simply said, "Friend." 27:21 I mean, that is not the word you want to come up-- 27:24 most of us would come up with when being betrayed, 27:26 but Jesus said, "Friend, do you betray me with a kiss?" 27:45 So he finally gets almost to Calvary 27:47 dragging across with 300 pound hard wood implement, 27:51 just a crosspiece, some say. 27:53 But he's walking and everybody is watching and he falls. 27:58 Because now Jesus who has been restored in strength 28:01 and just to make it that far, now needs help. 28:05 "I'm another human being just to make it to be sacrificed." 28:25 And so Simon of Cyrene, who seems to look at Jesus 28:30 and have compassion in his eyes 28:32 and so the soldiers look and see this compassion, 28:34 so they grab him and say, "You carry the cross then, 28:38 since you look like you got sympathy. You carry it." 28:42 But he carried the cross all the way to Calvary. 28:45 Jesus of sin, hauled it to a place that is called Golgotha. 28:49 Which is a hill, they call the hill of the skull, 28:52 because it actually looks like the skull of a man's head 28:56 and there are sockets as if there's missing eyes 29:00 and so he's placed on that hill 29:02 which is a common place for crucifixion. 29:04 The Carthaginians had fine-tuned the act of crucifying somebody. 29:10 The idea was so scientifically worked out 29:13 until a person could stay on the cross dying 29:16 for 48 to 72 hours just standing there at the cross. 29:19 The whole idea was to drag it out as long as they could. 29:23 So there were masses at crucifixion. 29:25 They knew where to place the nails, 29:27 to not cut a vital organ so the person would bleed to death, 29:30 they knew how to fold the feet and pin them to the cross. 29:33 I mean, it was a science. 29:35 They knew how to twist the body so the human being 29:37 on the cross would have to pull up on the nails in order 29:40 to breathe because their lungs would fill with water 29:43 and they would sound like the bellows of a blacksmith 29:46 trying to just suck oxygen in and so the person 29:50 is not supposed to be able to get past a quick death, 29:55 because it was not designed to die quick. 29:58 But Jesus was on the timeframe. Jesus had to die at 3 o'clock. 30:02 And it had to be clear that nobody could take his life. 30:04 So there he is placed on the ground, 30:06 he's pinned down by Roman soldiers, 30:09 I can't imagine what it's like to have nails 30:11 driven through your hands and hear the hammer ring. 30:14 And Jesus was jarred into the ground 30:16 and he's there and people walked by 30:19 and they rail on him or they shout out obscene things to him. 30:25 You know, "You saved others, save yourself." 30:28 Yeah, he saved others, but he couldn't save himself 30:30 or saving them would've been impossible. 30:33 So he's on the cross, he can't save himself, 30:35 would not save himself, had too much love 30:37 to come down from the cross. 30:39 Yes, he could've called 10,000 angels, 30:41 we've all heard that story, but he does not 30:43 because he's a lamb of God slain 30:46 from the foundation of the earth 30:47 and he's attempting to wash away our sins 30:50 and to die the second death for all sinners 30:54 and so he's on the cross 30:56 and the hour's ticking toward 3 p.m. 31:01 And the priest is gathering with his knife to slay the lamb. 33:43 And at that very hour when the lamb 33:45 was supposed to be slain, 33:47 the Earth has already gotten dark, 33:48 the Father is as close as He can behind the clouds 33:51 because He's so concerned. 33:53 Any father having to witness the death 33:55 of His child would rather say, 33:58 "Take my life and let my child live." 34:01 But here He is, the Father has to hold in check all the angels 34:06 and He holds on to them tight preventing 34:09 whoever might intervene to save His child 34:11 and Jesus feels on the cross abandoned by God. 34:16 He actually says, "Father, why hast thou forsaken me? 34:20 Everybody else has, but why you, Lord?" 34:23 But he understands and he gives up his life 34:27 after asking for forgiveness for our sins. 34:30 He dies on the cross at 3 p.m. Why did he die please tell me 34:34 Why did he die? 34:40 Did he die because of something he had done 34:47 Or because they didn't know he was God's son? 34:54 I don't understand tell me why did he die 35:08 What did he do please tell me 35:14 What did he do? 35:20 They say he helped the sick, made blind eyes see again 35:27 Is that a crime is that what caused his pain 35:35 I don't understand it. 35:39 Tell me why did he die 35:45 I saw the crown he wore 35:52 I touched the cross he bore 35:58 A king shall never feel such agony 36:11 His Father never came 36:18 Although he called his name 36:24 This ruler died alone 36:30 upon a tree 36:40 Why did he die please tell me 36:46 Why did he die 36:50 I just can't comprehend 36:56 why his perfect life had to end 37:06 It just isn't fair. 37:10 Tell me why did he die 37:37 Three days had passed and the body of the Savior 37:41 lay in the darkness of a stone sepulcher. 37:46 Outside, human guards stood 37:48 watch over the massive stone door, while inside, 37:53 the Lord was watched by nonhuman guards 37:56 who lurk in dark places and slither in and out 38:01 of the evil crevices of mankind. 38:04 Is he alive? I don't know. He's still dead. 38:23 Jesus' body was in enshrouded in white. His face covered. 38:30 He was dead and all the present parties 38:34 wished it to remain that way. 38:40 Yet even then, somewhere near the center of the galaxy, 38:46 a bright blur shot through the heavens. 38:51 It was Gabriel and his countenance blazed with fury. 38:56 He bolted past the stars of Orion 39:00 and spiraled upward toward a yellow sun at the far edge. 39:05 Pluto whipped by and Neptune and Saturn. 39:10 The blur straightened and screamed to the left 39:14 around the Sun cutting into the orbit of Jupiter. 39:19 Faster than light, he hung left at Mars, 39:23 braked and careened toward the fateful blue planet Earth. 39:28 As he approached, the planet began to shake. 39:32 He blazed bright red when he entered the atmosphere 39:36 and as he turned east, other angels swooped up to join him. 39:42 The earth shook so violently that graves 39:46 broke open and buildings reeled. 39:50 Over Jerusalem, he dived, detouring the Mount of Olives 39:55 through the Garden of Gethsemane. 39:57 A brief twist north and there he stood 40:01 before Jesus' tomb in midair. 40:05 His face shining with the brightness of lightening, 40:09 his white eyes blazing with the awful majesty of Heaven. 40:14 Both men and demon fell to the earth in terror. 40:21 The angel laid hold of that massive bolder 40:24 covering the tomb and tossed it aside. 40:28 Light flooded the cave, sending Satan 40:31 and his host fleeing in terror. 40:35 Gabriel unsheathed his sword and lifted it toward him. 40:42 "Jesus, thou son of God, thy Father calleth thee." 40:52 Life rushed into the Savior's body 40:56 and in a flash, he was immortal. 40:59 He leapt up, not as a peasant, 41:02 but as ruler and creator of the universe. 41:09 Gabriel bowed low, "Oh, death, where is thy sting? 41:17 Pray, where is thy victory? 41:21 He's not dead, he's alive. 41:28 He's alive. 41:34 He's alive." 41:54 So there's Christ resting in the grave 41:56 and he's completely dead. 42:00 There's no thoughts going on, 42:01 there's no visit in hell, there's noting else. 42:03 He's just sleeping, he's just resting, 42:04 keeping the Sabbath and then on Sunday morning, 42:08 the first work day of the week. 42:11 Jesus doesn't stay dead any longer than he has to. 42:14 So as the darker portion of Sunday disappears 42:18 and the lighter portion is coming on, 42:20 Jesus come forth from the grave and of course the Bible says 42:23 his Father called him-- St. Gabriel to get him 42:26 and Jesus as an obedience, he hears the voice of God 42:31 in his state of death until he gets up, 42:35 because his Father calls him, because no one takes his life, 42:38 he gives his life and he takes it back again. 42:41 But when he gets up from that grave, 42:43 from that slab, he walks out of that tomb 42:46 and the devil himself must be nearby, 42:49 because Jesus takes from him 42:51 the keys of death, hell, and the grave. 42:53 Figuratively, he takes and conquers all those things 42:56 and he comes out of the grave and he comes out victorious, 43:00 but he also know if he's be accepted by his Father 43:02 when he gets to heaven. 43:03 So when he comes forth from the grave, 43:05 he does not go to heaven on Friday, 43:07 he does not go on Saturday, 43:09 he comes on Sunday and Mary grabs him by his feet 43:13 and he says to her, "Don't keep holding on to me, 43:17 I must listen to my Father." 43:19 He needs to go and see 43:21 if his sacrifice was accepted by the Father. 43:24 I don't think he was worried about it too much. 43:26 I think he had enough faith to know what was gonna happen, 43:28 but he had to go and see. 43:30 And so I see Jesus going back to heaven 43:33 and when he gets closer to the gates 43:34 and now here my imagination is running again, 43:38 the angels sing, "Lift up your heads, 43:39 Oh you gates, and be you lifted up you everlasting doors" 43:43 and the gates saw joy. 43:45 Jesus walks in and he's totally accepted by his Father 43:48 and the sacrifice is complete and everybody's excited, 43:53 people on earth don't even know what's happening. 43:56 They don't even know that they're being redeemed 43:58 because there's some dead folk that came out the grave 44:00 and they'll testify, but Jesus in glory 44:03 being accepted by his Father 44:04 and I wish that every human being would understand 44:08 that Christ' death made it possible for us 44:11 to enter glory by faith with him 44:15 and hear the same song sung when we arrive. 55:11 If any of us fall asleep with a hope 55:13 and assurance of salvation, 55:15 we can simply rest in unconscious state 55:19 only to have our eyes open to see Jesus 55:23 come in the clouds of glory with myriads of angels 55:25 and all that day when the earth is in turmoil, 55:29 but our eyes are focused on our Savior. 55:31 And we're caught up and meet Him in the air. 55:34 I don't know how you get to fly without a spacesuit 55:37 and all the rest, but when Jesus beckons us, 55:40 we don't come up higher 55:41 or the dead in Christ will rise first. 55:44 And there are no more precious words 55:46 in scripture in 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17. 55:49 It says, "The Lord Himself shall descend 55:52 from heaven with a shout, 55:53 with the voice of the archangel, with the trumpet of God, 55:56 and the dead in Christ shall rise first. 55:58 Then we which are alive, 55:59 that remain shall be called up to meet Him in the air." 56:02 And it says, "So shall we always be with the Lord." 56:05 We shall be with the Lord forever. What a day. 56:08 When Jesus comes, all our troubles will be over. 56:11 When Jesus comes, there are no more 56:14 frowns to ever be expressed. 56:16 There are no more harsh words ever to be said 56:19 and no more tears to fall. 56:21 There's no more rejection. 56:23 There's no more fatherless children. 56:25 There's no more single parents. 56:27 There's no more sadness and sorrow. 56:30 No more hunger. No more thirst. 56:33 We'd live forever with Him in mansions in glory, 56:37 but more than anything to be His children 56:39 and to live and rule and reign with Him 56:42 throughout the ages of eternity. 56:45 My appeal to you is you can accept Jesus Christ 56:48 as your Lord and Savior, make your calling 56:51 and let's ensure make heaven your home, 56:55 don't let anybody fool you into thinking 56:58 that there's some other way to get to glory 57:00 other than through this man called Jesus 57:02 who's nothing but a loving compassionate Savior. 57:06 A forgiver of sinners and He lives to forgive us. 57:10 So accept Jesus Christ as your all in all. 57:12 Let Him put His mighty arms around you 57:15 and keep you safe until we reach heaven's shore 57:19 and spend an eternity with Him. 57:21 So be strong in the Lord, live for Him. 57:23 Celebrate the fact that He has died to save us. 57:27 John 3:16 is where we're reading again, 57:30 "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, 57:34 that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish 57:37 but have everlasting life." 57:39 Thank God for the gift of Jesus the Christ. |
Revised 2014-12-17