Participants: Pr. Kenneth Cox
Series Code: GMTB
Program Code: GMTB000032
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00:18 Good evening and welcome to
00:20 Give Me The Bible with 00:22 Pastor Kenneth Cox. 00:23 Tonight we're coming to you live 00:25 from the 3ABN Worship Center 00:27 right here in Thompsonville, IL. 00:31 And we're so happy that you could join us 00:33 from all around the world 00:36 as you're watching 3ABN tonight, 00:39 maybe today in some parts of the world. 00:42 But wherever you are, we welcome you to this program. 00:45 We've been enjoying the music that we've had night by night. 00:49 The music has added so much. 00:52 And on this particular subject tonight - What is a Soul? - 00:57 it's a subject that really demands 01:02 some encouraging music, isn't it? 01:04 So we have some spirituals - a medley of spirituals - 01:08 to be brought to us by the Hinsdale Men's Chorus. 01:26 Joshua fit the battle of Jericho, 01:29 Jericho, Jericho. 01:32 Joshua fit the battle of Jericho... 01:34 and the walls came a tumbling down. 01:37 Joshua fit the battle of Jericho, 01:39 Jericho, Jericho. 01:42 Joshua fit the battle of Jericho... 01:44 and the walls came a tumbling down. 01:47 You may talk about your men of Gideon, 01:50 you can talk about the men of Saul, 01:53 But there's nothing like good old Joshua 01:56 and the Battle of Jericho. 01:58 Up to the walls of Jericho he marched with spear in hand. 02:04 "Go blow them ram horns, " Joshua cried, 02:07 "as the battle is in my hands. " 02:10 It's me, it's me, oh Lord, 02:13 standing in the need of prayer. 02:15 It's me, it's me, it's me, oh Lord, 02:18 standing in the need of prayer. 02:21 Not my brother, not my sister, but it's me, oh Lord, 02:24 standing in the need of prayer. 02:27 Not my brother, not my sister, but it's me, oh Lord, 02:30 standing in the need of prayer. 02:33 It's me, it's me, it's me, oh Lord, 02:36 standing in the need of prayer. 02:38 It's me, it's me, it's me, oh Lord, 02:41 standing in the need of prayer. 02:44 Not my father, not my mother, but it's me, oh Lord, 02:47 standing in the need of prayer. 02:50 Not my father, not my mother, but it's me, oh Lord, 02:53 standing in the need of prayer. 02:57 I got shoes, you got shoes, all God's children got shoes. 03:03 When I get to heaven gonna put on my shoes 03:06 I'm gonna walk all over God's heaven, 03:08 heaven, heaven, heaven, heaven, heaven. 03:12 Everybody talkin' bout heaven ain't goin' there: 03:15 heaven, heaven, heaven, heaven. 03:17 I'm gonna walk all over God's heaven. 03:20 I got a robe, you got a robe, 03:23 all of God's children got a robe. 03:26 When I get to heaven gonna put on my robe 03:29 I'm gonna shout all over God's heaven, 03:32 heaven, heaven. 03:34 Everybody talkin' bout heaven ain't goin' there: 03:38 heaven, heaven. 03:40 I'm gonna shout all over God's heaven. 03:43 Everybody talkin' about heaven ain't goin' there: 03:46 heaven, heaven. 03:49 I'm gonna shout all over 03:51 God's heaven. 03:55 Shout all over God's heaven! Yeah! 03:58 Amen. 04:02 Thank you! Thank you very much. 04:04 Enjoyed that tonight? That's great! 04:08 Appreciate that. All of us... 04:10 standin' in the need of prayer. 04:12 That we stand day by day 04:14 in need of prayer. 04:16 Very happy to welcome all of you here. 04:18 Appreciate you being here. 04:20 Those of you that are watching by television... 04:23 thank you. We're glad that you're back with us. 04:25 And if it's your first time, we hope it won't be your last. 04:28 That you'll continue to follow as we study God's Word together. 04:32 Also if you've been watching month by month 04:35 as we've gone through the different subjects, 04:37 we hope they've blessed you in a special way. 04:39 Those of you that have listened by radio 04:42 or watched by television many different places 04:45 around the world, thank you for your response. 04:47 Thank you for calling us, writing us. 04:50 We appreciate it very, very much. 04:53 This particular series this month 04:56 is entitled Life in the Son. 05:00 Life in Jesus Christ. What all is involved in that? 05:05 And tonight we're looking at a subject of What is a Soul? 05:10 Which is kind of a pivotal subject because it's very basic 05:15 to this whole concept of life in Christ. 05:18 And so we hope you'll follow carefully. 05:21 Our next presentation is entitled Life in Christ. 05:24 We're going to talk specifically about what that means 05:28 when it says that "If you have the Son, you have life. 05:31 If you don't have the Son, you don't have life. " 05:34 That's what we're going to be looking at. 05:35 And so we hope that you'll tune in again tomorrow 05:39 as we go into the next presentation. 05:41 But tonight, what you want to look at... look for 05:45 as we talk about What is a Soul? What makes up a soul? 05:51 You ever stop to think about it? 05:53 Where? How does it all come about? 05:56 We're going to go to the scripture and find out 05:58 just exactly what it says about a soul 06:02 and how that plays into the whole picture. 06:05 So we're happy that you're here. 06:07 Get out your Bible. Follow. 06:09 Very important that we see what God's Word says. 06:13 What says the Bible, the blessed Bible? 06:16 This my only question be. 06:20 The teachings of men so often mislead us. 06:24 What says the Bible to me? 06:26 That's what we want to find out. 06:28 So we hope you'll be blessed tonight as we talk about 06:31 What is a Soul? 06:32 The Hinsdale Men's Chorus are going to sing for us 06:36 a beautiful song entitled Precious Lord, Take My Hand. 06:55 Precious Lord, 06:58 take my hand. 07:01 Lead me on, 07:05 help me stand. 07:09 I am tired, 07:13 I am weak, 07:16 I am worn. 07:23 Through the storm, 07:27 through the night 07:31 lead me on 07:34 to the light. 07:38 Take my hand, 07:42 precious Lord, 07:47 lead me home. 08:12 Precious Lord, 08:15 take my hand. 08:18 Lead me on, 08:21 help me stand. 08:24 I am tired, 08:27 I am weak, 08:29 I am worn. 08:35 Through the storm, 08:38 through the night 08:40 lead me on 08:43 to the light. 08:46 Take my hand, 08:49 precious Lord, 08:52 lead me home. 09:04 When my way when my way 09:08 grows drear, when my way grows drear, 09:10 precious Lord precious Lord 09:13 linger near. 09:16 When my life when my life 09:19 when my life is gone... 09:25 almost gone. 09:27 Hear my cry, hear my cry, 09:30 hear my call. hear my call. 09:33 Hold my hand Hold my hand lest I fall. 09:38 Take my hand, take my hand, 09:41 precious Lord, 09:44 lead me home. 09:50 Precious Lod 09:53 take my hand. 09:55 Lead me on 09:58 help me stand. 10:01 I am tired, 10:03 I am weak, 10:06 I am worn. 10:11 Through the storm, 10:14 through the night 10:17 lead me on 10:20 to the light. 10:22 Take my hand, 10:25 precious Lord, 10:28 lead me home. 10:34 Take my hand, 10:43 precious Lord, 10:51 lead me 10:56 home. 11:04 Home. 11:32 Heavenly Father, tonight 11:35 we come to You, Lord, just opening our hearts. 11:41 Asking that the Holy Spirit may be present. 11:45 That each of us may be given clear understanding 11:50 of Your Word. 11:53 That our hearts may be soft. 11:56 They may be pliable. 11:59 That the Holy Spirit may be able to lead and guide and direct us. 12:05 Give us enlightenment, understanding... 12:09 that we might each one know how to walk with You 12:15 and follow You and to have a place in Your kingdom. 12:20 For this we ask in Christ's name, Amen. 12:30 What is a Soul? 12:33 A question that an individual 12:36 needs to be extremely clear on. 12:38 And so we're going to go right back to the 12:41 very first of scripture 12:43 because it defines and helps us understand 12:46 what a soul is. So we're going to go to 12:49 Genesis the second chapter and verse 7. 12:52 And it just simply says here: 13:04 So we're going to take this text and kind of break it down 13:07 step by step. It says here: 13:09 "The Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground. " 13:12 You see, God has the ability to make something 13:17 out of nothing. 13:19 In fact, the scripture says 13:21 that He can speak things into existence. 13:26 That He can simply speak it and that He has that ability. 13:29 But when it came to creating man 13:32 it simply says that He took some dust... 13:36 and from that dust He made man. 13:40 Brought him into existence. 13:43 The reason for that - and we'll find that out as we take a look 13:46 at scripture tonight - why He reached out 13:48 and took a handful of dust and created man. 13:53 But this is the way He made man. 13:55 And when it came to Eve, 13:57 we find that it says this: 14:25 So since Eve was taken from Adam - 14:29 Adam's rib - 14:31 then basically she falls into the same category as Adam. 14:37 And that is meaning that she came from the earth. 14:40 Because he came from the earth 14:42 and he was created from it, so she also come there. 14:45 So when it comes to this question of a person 14:49 and how they came into existence 14:51 both of them came out of dust. 14:55 This is the way they came into being. 14:57 And so when you take a look at the composition of man - 15:03 and I always hate to do this - 15:05 because when you take a look at the composition of man... 15:09 there's not a lot there. 15:12 Uh, you can take a look at this here. 15:15 These are the elements, composition of man. 15:18 You can see 65% of us is oxygen. 15:21 In other words, we're just a big bunch of hot air! 15:25 That's... that's really the truth of it. 15:27 In fact, as you go through, you have... 15:30 Yeah, there's 18% carbon. 15:32 But then 10% of it's hydrogen. 15:35 And then 3% is nitrogen. 15:37 And then you have some calcium and some phosphorus 15:40 and some trace minerals. 15:42 Really, when you break it down, 15:44 most of us are just air. 15:46 That's what we are. 15:47 But God had the ability to take and make man of that. 15:53 So it says that when He formed man 15:56 He took the dust of the ground 15:58 and brought man into existence. 16:02 OK. So this is where we come from. 16:04 There's no use going out trying to think that we came 16:09 from some other place. The scripture is very clear 16:11 that we came from the dust of the ground. 16:14 All right. Let's go back to that text. 16:27 So it says He breathed into man 16:30 the breath of life 16:33 and he became a living being. 16:35 So we find that the scripture tells us that this word breath - 16:40 the Hebrew word for that is Nishmat - 16:43 and that word means breath, 16:46 wind, breeze, spirit. 16:49 All those are words that it's used for. 16:52 And so when it says that He breathed into man 16:55 He breathed into him the breath of life. 17:00 Now understand... that is not talking about oxygen. 17:07 OK? 17:08 We get the idea He breathed into him the breath of life 17:11 that God just gave him some oxygen. No! 17:14 Listen to this: 17:22 So it's talking about the spirit of God 17:25 or the breath of life that's there. 17:27 You see, in the delivery room 17:31 when that baby is born 17:34 if that baby does not breathe, 17:38 if the breath of life does not take place there, 17:42 the doctors could pump oxygen into that baby all day long... 17:46 it still wouldn't live. 17:48 So when we're talking about the breath of life 17:51 we're talking about more than oxygen. 17:54 It's the breath of life. 17:56 It's God's ability to give life. 18:00 That He can speak and breathe into that person 18:05 the breath of life. "And they become a living being" 18:10 is what the scripture says. 18:12 So you have man. 18:15 God created him out of the dust of the ground. 18:18 And there... there Adam lay. 18:22 Had eyes... but they didn't see. 18:27 Had ears... but they couldn't hear. 18:31 Had a heart... but it didn't beat. 18:35 But God breathed into him the breath of life 18:41 and all of a sudden that heart started beating. 18:45 And now he could see. And now he could hear. 18:49 Scripture says with that things changed. 19:01 So what I'm trying to tell you is this is more 19:05 than just oxygen. It's the breath of life that God gives. 19:10 Now going back to that text again, it says: 19:20 I much prefer the old King James version here 19:24 because it says "and man became a living soul. " 19:29 That's what it says. 19:31 Now if you followed what we've talked about here step by step, 19:34 you found out that there are certain things that are 19:37 involved here. The body: God formed it. 19:41 And then He put the breath of life in it 19:43 and he became a living being. 19:46 That's what the scripture says. 19:48 The scripture does not say this, folks... 19:52 get it clear... it does not say 19:54 that God had a body and here He had the breath of life 20:00 and here He had a soul 20:02 and He put the three together. 20:04 Does not say that. 20:06 It says that He had a body 20:09 and He put the breath of life in that body 20:12 and it became a living soul. 20:16 OK? Great, great difference. 20:18 So when we're defining a soul, 20:21 a soul is made up of a body and a breath of life. 20:25 That's what makes a soul. 20:27 In other words, you are a soul 20:31 because you have a body, you have the breath of life. 20:36 Therefore you are a living soul. 20:39 That's what makes a soul. 20:42 That's very, very important. 20:44 You see, because you are a soul, 20:48 listen carefully... 20:51 You see, when you're born 20:56 and which each person is born on this old earth 21:02 you are not just something that's here. 21:07 Person that's born and that's all... 21:09 I don't care where you are. 21:11 I don't care if you're born in the farthest parts 21:15 of uninhabited world... 21:19 I don't care who you are... 21:22 when you're born, you are special. 21:28 Put it down! You are a special creation. 21:32 God said here: 21:43 He said "Before you ever came into existence 21:46 I knew you. " 21:49 Before you ever came into existence God knew you. 21:56 He knew who you were, and He knows you each one. 22:00 And the scripture even says that He is so mighty 22:03 and so absolutely beyond human understanding 22:07 that He knows every hair in your head. 22:09 That you are special. Listen... 22:13 listen as David... David talks about... 22:16 about this. Listen to what David said: 22:39 Saying: "You saw me before I ever existed. 22:45 Before I even came into existence. " 22:56 He said: "Before I ever was born You knew who I was. " 23:00 And so every last one of you 23:02 if you're here tonight, 23:04 if you're watching by television, 23:06 if you're listening by radio, 23:08 I don't care where you are in the world 23:11 God knows you and you are special. 23:18 Now listen to me because it says this: 23:32 Knows every person... where they were born. 23:36 So each one of you is totally and completely unique. 23:42 There is not another person like you 23:46 anywhere in the universe. 23:49 There never will be. 23:52 You are special. 23:56 And because you are unique, 23:59 because there's not another person like you, 24:02 the Lord Jesus Christ said 24:06 "I'll come and I'll pay 24:09 the price for you. " 24:12 You see, you're a soul, 24:15 and as a soul you have certain qualifications. 24:19 Your DNA is like nobody else's. 24:24 The genetic make-up of you 24:28 is totally and completely different 24:31 than anybody else. 24:34 You're unique. 24:37 You're intelligent. 24:39 You're special. 24:42 Therefore, you are worth saving. 24:46 And Christ said: "I would die 24:49 if there was only one of you. " 24:55 That's a soul. 24:57 You're a soul because you've got a body 25:01 and because you have the breath of life 25:03 and you have a totally unique genetic make-up 25:08 that's different than anybody else. 25:10 That makes you a soul. 25:13 OK. Because you are a soul 25:17 and because God in His love and in His wisdom 25:23 and in His kindness 25:25 reached out and created man 25:28 and gave to man the right 25:32 to say "yes" or to say "no. " 25:38 God gave you that right. 25:41 And man rebelled against God. 25:46 And when man rebelled against God, 25:50 then death came in... 25:55 because life is found in God. 26:00 If you forsake God, 26:03 you forsake life, folks. 26:06 That's where life is found: it's found in Him. 26:09 So since death came in 26:11 what you have is creation in reverse. 26:17 That's simply what you have is creation in reverse. 26:22 And the scripture describes it that way... 26:24 that this is creation in reverse. 26:40 And you and I have stood at funeral services 26:45 and we've heard the minister say those words. 26:48 "Ashes to ashes, dust to dust. " 26:52 We return back to the dust: creation in reverse. 26:57 So our bodies go back to the earth 27:02 from which it was taken. 27:04 Fortunately, it says: 27:19 What happens to us. 27:21 God takes away the breath of life... 27:25 we die. 27:27 You see, you're sitting there tonight 27:30 or you're watching on television tonight 27:32 and you're breathing. 27:35 But you're breathing because God has permitted it. 27:41 Because with the stroke of His hand 27:45 He can stop you from breathing. 27:48 We breathe because He gives us that opportunity. 27:52 In Ecclesiastes it gives some counsel to old people 27:57 particularly. It says: 28:03 See... 28:24 You see, the breath of life... 28:26 and this again, folks, as I said this is more than oxygen... 28:30 when that person dies, 28:32 that breath of life goes back to God. 28:36 He gave it in the beginning and it goes back to Him. 28:41 Now don't misunderstand. That doesn't mean that 28:44 it's something that looks like you and looks like me 28:47 that has intelligence. That isn't what it means. 28:50 It means it is God's ability to give life... 28:55 that went back to Him. 28:57 So it goes back to God who gave it. 29:01 Creation in reverse. 29:04 That's simply what it is. 29:20 You see, we have this strange idea 29:25 that when people die they don't die. 29:29 We get this idea. 29:33 When you go to cross the road 29:36 which way do you look first? 29:39 To the right or to the left? 29:42 Hmmm? 29:44 A bunch of you don't even know, do you? 29:48 OK. You all look to the left 29:51 because that's the way the traffic is coming from. 29:53 See. But if you do any traveling 29:59 you'd better be very careful 30:01 because I have almost got it 30:04 several times because looking to the left 30:06 and boy, there it came by me, you know. 30:10 So you've got to watch where you are. See? 30:13 But let's say I'm not watching where I'm going. 30:15 I step out in the street... 30:18 a car hits me. 30:20 Knocks me down. Knocks me unconscious. 30:25 OK? 30:26 Do I know anything? 30:28 No, I'm unconscious. I don't know a thing. 30:32 They call the ambulance. 30:35 Ambulance picks me up; they rush me to the hospital. 30:37 They roll me into the operating room. 30:40 And the doctor examines me 30:41 and he says: "this man's hurt internally. 30:44 We're going to have to operate on him. " 30:46 And so they call the anesthetist. 30:48 The anesthetist comes and begins to give me the 30:51 anesthetic and puts me to sleep. Do I know anything? 30:54 No I don't. I'm asleep. 30:57 And the doctor comes in and begins the operation 31:00 and while he's operating on me 31:03 uh, my ticker quits beating 31:07 and I die... and now I know everything. 31:14 Huh? No! 31:16 No. It just simply says that when a person dies 31:20 the body goes back to the dust. 31:23 The breath goes back to God who gave it 31:26 and life ceases. 31:28 I just had an operation here a month or so ago. 31:31 Wasn't a serious one, but anyhow they put me to sleep. 31:35 Man, I can remember I was laying there in the operating room 31:39 and they said: "Uh, we're going to give you some stuff 31:42 to put you to sleep. " That's the last I remember. 31:45 I mean I was gone and I didn't remember a thing after that 31:49 until I woke up several hours later. 31:51 OK. It just puts you to sleep; you don't know anything. 31:55 Same thing is when a person dies. 31:58 And folks say: "Well, what... what happened to the soul? 32:02 Where did the soul go? " 32:04 Well, let's see if we can try to help you understand 32:07 where the soul goes or what happens to the soul. 32:10 We live in an age of computers. 32:12 We all use them, and if you don't use them 32:16 well you may be better off... but I don't know. 32:19 Anyhow, we'll just call the computer here... 32:22 We'll say that it's a body 32:24 because you have a... you have a keyboard, 32:27 you have a screen, you have some microchips. 32:31 You have different things all made up of the body. 32:34 See, that's what it is. 32:35 But it won't do one lousy thing for you. 32:39 I mean it's just there; that's all. 32:43 But then you take that computer 32:45 and you give it some electricity 32:51 You plug it in, and all of a sudden it comes to life. 32:57 See? 32:59 Begins to do things. 33:01 And so you have a body. 33:03 Give it electricity and it comes to life. 33:06 We can call that the breath of life. 33:09 And all of a sudden that computer comes to life 33:12 and you can put information in it. 33:15 So you type and put information in it. 33:19 Not only can you put information in it 33:21 you can ask it to give you that information back... 33:25 and you can ask for it to even give that information 33:27 back to you in different ways. 33:30 And it'll use that information and turn it around 33:33 and change it and do all kinds of things for you. 33:36 Operates that. You can enter all that information. 33:42 You unplug it. 33:45 What happens? 33:48 You unplug it and it won't do a thing for you. 33:54 You take away the electricity or the breath of life 33:58 and it's dead. 34:01 Let me ask you a question. 34:04 It's dead. Is the information gone? 34:11 Huh? No. 34:13 You can plug it back in again 34:17 and all that information is there. 34:19 So with us. 34:24 The body goes back to the dust, 34:27 the breath goes back to God who gave it 34:30 and basically just doesn't exist... 34:34 until the body is formed again 34:39 and the breath of life enters that person. 34:44 And all of a sudden all that comes back... 34:48 comes back again. That becomes a living soul. 34:54 That is simply what the scripture tells us happens... 34:57 takes place in our lives and all. 35:00 Umm... you know, if we don't understand that, folks, 35:05 we get some very, very strange ideas. 35:09 I had a... I have a friend who 35:12 when her girl was about... oh, I don't know, she was 35:15 probably four, five years old... 35:19 she took her out to the cemetery to put some flowers 35:22 on her aunt's grave. 35:24 They got out to the cemetery 35:26 and they took the flowers they had bought 35:28 and they laid them on the grave there. 35:29 And they were just standing there, and this little girl... 35:32 the process, the thoughts 35:34 were turning. And she kind of 35:36 tuggin' on her mother's dress 35:37 and she said: "Is Aunt Polly in there? " 35:40 And the mother said: "Oh, no, no, no. " 35:42 She said: "Aunt Polly's not there; she's up in heaven. " 35:46 The little girl thought about that a little bit 35:49 and she tugged on her dress and she said: 35:51 "Why are we putting the flowers here? " 35:54 And of course, that really kind of threw the mother. 35:59 And she said: "Well, uh, Aunt Polly's body is there, 36:03 but she's up in heaven. " 36:04 The little girl thought about that a little bit, and she said: 36:07 "Aunt Polly's up in heaven running around without a body? " 36:11 You know, it just... We get ourselves into all kinds of 36:15 trouble when we don't take the scripture for just exactly 36:19 what it says. 36:21 One of the great illustrations that are given in the Bible 36:24 that makes this completely clear concerning what happens 36:29 when Jesus comes back is found in Ezekiel the 37th chapter. 36:34 A chapter that... there's a song written about it 36:37 called "Then bones, them bones, them dry bones. " 36:41 You remember that song? 36:43 OK. I want you to listen to what it says about it. 36:46 It says: 36:57 So here the prophet Ezekiel is out in this valley 37:00 and it's full of bones. Listen: 37:18 That means they had been there a long, long time. 37:22 Laying there in the sun. Bleached, dry bones. 37:28 And God asked Ezekiel 37:32 a very, very important question: 37:43 Can these dry bones live? 37:53 Said: "Is it possible that these dry bones 37:57 could come back to life? " 38:07 "Prophesy to these bones" 38:24 He's telling them: "Breath's going to enter into you 38:27 and you shall live. " 38:41 Said: "I'm going to cause you to live... " - these dry bones. 38:45 Let's watch what happens: 39:01 You remember the song? 39:04 All of a sudden there was a rattling and a shaking, 39:09 and it says that the "leg bone came to the knee bone, 39:14 the knee bone to the leg bone and the hip bone... " 39:17 You know how the song goes, OK. 39:19 The bones came together "bone to his bone. " 39:23 There they lay: skeletons. 39:26 All right? 39:40 All of a sudden those skeletons took on form. 39:46 There they lay. 39:48 They had eyes... but they didn't see. 39:54 They had ears... but they didn't hear. 39:59 They had a heart... but it didn't beat. 40:03 There was no breath in them. 40:07 OK? 40:25 "Come, Spirit... breath of life... 40:31 breathe upon these slain that they may live. " 40:35 The breath of life coming in, entering into them, 40:41 and thus it says: 40:54 The breath of life entered into them 40:59 and they came back to life. 41:00 They became, folks, a living soul. 41:05 "They stood upon their feet an exceeding great army. " 41:25 Are you getting the picture? 41:28 Are you seeing what God is saying that's involved here? 41:32 That He is the one that gives life. 41:35 And that person lives because of Christ 41:39 and what He's able to do because He's the Creator. 41:42 Because He's God! 41:43 Not... not within ourselves. 41:48 Nowhere... nowhere in this book 41:51 does it say that you have an immortal soul. 41:56 It doesn't say that, folks. 41:58 It says: "The soul that sins 42:01 shall die. " 42:04 Our hope is not in ourselves. 42:07 Our hope is not in what we are! 42:10 Our hope is in Christ. 42:12 That's the One that has the life. 42:14 And so I must look to Him. 42:16 I must trust Him; I must have faith in Him 42:19 because He's the One that can give life. 42:37 When is He going to raise him up? 42:40 "The last day. " Doesn't say that when you die 42:44 all of a sudden you're going to be raised up. 42:47 It says that when you die 42:49 "He will raise you up in the last day. " 42:53 Watch, He says this over and over in the scripture. 42:55 I'm not talking about one place. Look at this: 43:06 See? Making it clear that's when it's going to happen... 43:10 not now. Those people who in faith - 43:13 the faith of Jesus Christ - believe in Him... 43:17 who have died, and they died in the faith, 43:21 those are the people in the last day that are going to come out 43:24 just like those dry bones. 43:25 They're going to come out of the grave. 43:27 They're going to live, 43:28 and they're going to be given life. 43:31 "And this mortal shall put on immortality. " 43:36 That will be given to them. 43:38 In fact, when Lazarus had died 43:42 and Jesus went to the home, 43:46 as He was getting close to the home 43:48 Martha heard that He was coming and she went out to meet Him. 43:52 And when she got there to where Jesus was, she said: 43:56 "If You would have just come 43:58 when we sent You the letter... 44:00 If You had just come at that time, 44:02 Lazarus would not have died. 44:05 If You had just come. " 44:06 And Jesus said to her: 44:09 "Martha, Lazarus will live again. " 44:13 And I want you to listen to her answer: 44:22 When? 44:23 Now folks, there is nothing wrong with her theology. 44:27 I mean, she knows what the scripture says. 44:30 She said: "I know that Lazarus is going to rise 44:33 in the last day. " There's nothing wrong with her theology. 44:37 You know where here problem was? 44:41 Jesus was trying to tell her: "Listen, Martha, 44:45 I am the resurrection and the life. " 44:49 I'm the One that has that power. 44:51 That lies within Me 44:53 to speak and to bring that person to life. 44:57 "I am the resurrection and the life. " 45:09 Even though that person may die, he shall live. 45:14 Because He is the One that has life. 45:18 It's found only in Christ. 45:21 Nobody else. 45:22 And so tonight, a soul 45:27 is made up of a body and the breath of life. 45:33 God gives that to you, friends. 45:37 That's given to you by Him. 45:40 He has every right to take it. 45:45 You see, you can abuse it. 45:48 You can take it yourself. 45:52 Some people do. 45:56 Or you can die at the hand of somebody else. 46:01 That happens. 46:04 But God is the One who holds the breath of life 46:10 in His hands. 46:12 You have something that makes that absolutely sure 46:16 for you and for me. 46:19 Paul... Paul gives a defense for this. 46:23 And dear friends, on that everything rests. 46:47 He's saying if Christ didn't come out of the grave, 46:51 if He wasn't resurrected, 46:53 then you and I don't have any hope 46:58 because it rests in Christ. 47:02 That's what we have: hope in Him for what He has done. 47:05 That He came, He lived, He died, 47:07 and He rose again! 47:10 And as He told them... He said: "I lay down My life 47:14 and I am able to take it again. " 47:20 Because He is God. 47:24 He has life. 47:28 Listen as Paul goes on: 47:37 See if there's no resurrection, 47:40 if Christ didn't come out of the grave, 47:41 then all those that have died in faith down through the centuries 47:46 have perished. 47:48 But no... No! There is absolute proof 47:53 that He came out of the grave. 47:58 The Word of God states it. 48:00 Folks, it doesn't just state it. It gives you example 48:03 or case after case after case 48:06 where people saw Him after the resurrection. 48:10 That He was alive. 48:12 Hope that you and I have in Jesus Christ. 48:16 That's what is given to us. 48:27 If all that we have is hope in Christ 48:32 and the death and the resurrection of Christ 48:37 didn't happen, 48:39 we don't have anything. 48:43 See? But unfortunately man sinned 48:49 and death passed on the whole human race. 48:56 And you and I as souls 49:01 can die. 49:05 We lost it. 49:06 We can perish. 49:09 But fortunately, Jesus came and said 49:14 "I will redeem. " 49:17 "I will redeem man back. " 49:20 "I will give him life again, 49:24 and even though you may die 49:28 yet you shall live. " 49:32 And so you and I have that hope. 49:35 I don't have to fear. 49:38 I don't have to fear what the future holds. 49:42 I can rest in absolute assurance 49:45 that on that resurrection morning when Jesus comes - 49:49 and it says He's going to come with a shout, 49:52 with the voice of the archangel and the trump of God - 49:56 and it says all those who have died in Christ 50:00 shall come forth. 50:02 They'll come up out of the grave. 50:05 Why? 50:06 Because He has life and has given them the breath of life 50:12 and they have become living souls. 50:16 But the marvelous thing about that, folks, is 50:19 no death. 50:23 They come forth out of that grave immortal. 50:27 "This mortal shall put on immortality. " 50:33 Never again down through the ceaseless ages of eternity 50:37 will we ever face the question of death again. 50:41 That will be put out of existence. 50:45 Will be no more because Christ is the lifegiver. 50:59 Oh dear friends... absolutely so vital, so important 51:03 that you and I have Jesus Christ 51:07 because He is the One that has life. 51:13 Nobody else can offer that to you. 51:17 Only Jesus Christ. 51:20 He is the One. He has the power 51:24 to bring people into existence. 51:27 He has the power to speak, to breathe 51:33 on that person and they will come to life. 51:39 Jesus offers that to you and to me. 51:43 And thus it says: 51:54 Breathe on me, oh breath of God. 52:02 Breathe on me, breath of God, 52:09 till I am wholly Thine. 52:15 Until this earthly part 52:20 of me 52:23 glows with Thy fire 52:28 divine. 52:34 Let us pray. 52:36 Father in Heaven, 52:37 tonight we see 52:41 that we are just dust. 52:46 That our make-up is so 52:52 small, so minute, 52:54 that the only way 52:58 we have any substance is in You. 53:04 Because without You, we're like the grass. 53:08 We vanish away; we are no more. 53:14 That we have nothing... 53:16 except in Christ Jesus we have life. 53:21 And Lord, we thank you. 53:24 We thank you that You loved us enough 53:28 to come to this old earth 53:31 and to give us life. 53:34 That in You we can live and have our being. 53:40 And tonight, those of you who are watching by television 53:44 or listening by radio or here in the audience tonight, 53:48 if you don't know Jesus Christ 53:52 as your personal Savior, 53:54 that you've never reached out 53:57 and accepted Him 53:58 and given you heart to Him and received from Him 54:03 the gift of life, 54:05 that even though you may die yet you shall live, 54:08 tonight I'd like to invite you - 54:11 invite you just by faith - 54:14 to reach out and say: "I'd like to accept Christ 54:19 as my Savior, give my heart to Him. " 54:22 Because, dear friend, there's nobody else 54:26 like you in all the universe. 54:30 You are unique; you're special. 54:34 You're worth saving. 54:36 So tonight, won't you just reach out and accept Him 54:40 and give your heart to Him 54:43 and say "Yes, Lord, I want to accept You 54:46 as my personal Savior. " 54:48 Heavenly Father, 54:50 bless each one here tonight 54:52 that by faith they may reach out. 54:57 Take hold of the promises of Your Word. 55:01 Claim them, and accept You into their heart 55:05 as their personal Savior 55:07 that they may have life. 55:10 For these things we thank you 55:13 in Christ's name, Amen. 55:16 Remember, our next presentation is entitled 55:21 Life in Christ. 55:24 We've talked about what's a soul, 55:27 and now tomorrow we're going to take a look at 55:29 how all that comes together 55:31 and what the scripture promises you 55:33 as life in Jesus Christ. 55:36 So we appreciate each one of you being here. 55:39 We appreciate you tuning in 55:40 by radio or watching on television. 55:43 We hope that all of you are blessed. 55:45 Have a great day. 55:46 God bless you. 55:47 We'll look forward to seeing you next presentation. 55:52 You can find them everywhere. 55:54 In every city, town, out-of-the-way place. 55:58 In some areas, they're more plentiful than gas stations. 56:02 Small and large. Modern, old-fashioned. 56:05 Millions of them exist all over the world. 56:08 We're talking about churches, of course. 56:11 Houses of worship. 56:12 They stand as a testament to the hunger for truth 56:15 that's built into the heart of every man, woman, and child. 56:20 But truth cannot be found in a building. 56:23 In fact, churches are homes to millions 56:26 who still don't know Jesus. 56:29 And that means they don't know the truth. 56:32 In John 17:17 56:35 Jesus prayed to His Father asking that His followers 56:39 not be taken out of the world 56:41 but that the Father protect them and sanctify them 56:44 by the truth. 56:46 Then Jesus said: "Your Word is truth. " 56:50 Think about it. 56:52 "Your Word is truth. " 56:54 But friends, just reading the Bible is not enough. 56:57 Knowing the truth without a relationship 57:00 is like an empty church building 57:02 without people to give it life. 57:05 It's knowledge of God's law 57:07 without power to live up to it. 57:09 To be a true Christian 57:11 we must have a relationship with the author of truth. 57:15 By beholding the One to whom the Bible points 57:19 we are changed into His likeness. 57:21 In John 14:6 Jesus says: 57:25 "I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life. 57:29 No one comes to the Father except through Me. " 57:32 That's why we're doing this series: 57:34 so you can develop a wonderful relationship 57:37 with the author of truth, Jesus Christ. 57:41 With your help, we can bring the truth to the world. 57:45 Please consider what you can do 57:47 for those who still don't know about Jesus. 57:49 As the Holy Spirit impresses, 57:51 you may send your tax-deductible gifts to: 58:05 Thank you for helping us to bring the Blessed Hope 58:08 to millions all around the world. |
Revised 2014-12-17