Participants:
Series Code: IIW
Program Code: IIW019193S
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00:19 >>John Bradshaw: This is It Is Written.
00:21 I'm John Bradshaw. Thanks for joining me. 00:24 The late Charles Colson, 00:26 special counsel to US President Richard Nixon 00:29 during the Watergate scandal, 00:30 is probably best remembered 00:32 for his Christian conversion experience. 00:34 Took place during the time he stood for trial 00:36 for his role in the Watergate conspiracy. 00:38 In later years, he would point out 00:41 that what he and other Watergate defendants endured 00:44 as a result of their crimes 00:46 provided some of the very best evidence for the literal truth 00:50 of Jesus' resurrection from the dead. 00:53 The lesson of Watergate, Colson said, 00:55 is that a lie cannot live for long. 00:58 "Here were 10 of the most powerful men 01:01 in the United States," Colson said, 01:02 referring to the leading Watergate conspirators. 01:05 "With all that power we couldn't contain a lie for two weeks." 01:11 On that basis, Colson dismissed out of hand the theory 01:14 of certain ones that the accounts of Jesus' resurrection 01:16 were a conspiracy perpetuated by His disciples. 01:20 "Take it from one who was involved in conspiracy, 01:22 who saw the frailty of man firsthand," Colson declared. 01:26 "There is no way the 11 apostles, 01:29 who were with Jesus at the time of the Resurrection, 01:31 could ever have gone around for 40 years proclaiming 01:34 Jesus' resurrection unless it were true. 01:38 Had the New Testament account not been true, 01:40 he explained, "Peter would have been exactly like John Dean," 01:44 referring, of course, to the White House legal counsel 01:47 who blew the whistle on the Watergate coverup. 01:50 If the apostles' story about the Resurrection had begun 01:52 to unravel as the Watergate coverup did, 01:55 Colson maintained that, 01:57 like himself and his fellow Watergate defendants, 02:00 "the apostles would have sold out to save their skins." 02:05 Let's also try to keep in mind 02:06 that those Watergate conspirators, 02:07 who in fact were sentenced to prison like Mr. Colson, 02:11 served their prison time 02:12 in relatively comfortable surroundings. 02:15 Unlike the disciples of Jesus-- all but one of them died 02:18 a martyr's death on account of their witness for Christ-- 02:21 the Watergate defendants never even remotely confronted 02:24 the possibility of death for the conspiracy that they created. 02:28 That means the disciples of Jesus had every reason 02:31 to break down and admit the falsity 02:34 of the Resurrection story--if in fact the story was not true. 02:38 The point is if the Resurrection story is in fact a myth, 02:42 it's the strangest myth in the history of the human race. 02:47 Because if the Resurrection story is a lie, 02:49 it's the first time human beings have invented a lie 02:53 in order to get themselves killed. 02:56 People tell lies to get themselves out of trouble, 02:59 not to get themselves into it. 03:02 Now, some will always come back with the argument 03:03 that millions of people throughout the history 03:05 of the world have given their lives for something 03:07 that turned out to be not true, and that's correct. 03:11 But when they gave their lives for the lie, 03:14 they thought the lie was true. 03:16 They didn't know the lie was a lie. 03:18 Crusaders, terrorists, Nazis, Communists-- 03:22 millions have in fact given their lives 03:24 for a host of falsehoods. 03:26 Those who flew airplanes into the Twin Towers 03:28 of the World Trade Center on 9/11 certainly died 03:31 for a falsehood. 03:32 But again, they thought the falsehood was true 03:36 when they died for it. 03:37 They didn't know it was a falsehood at the time. 03:41 This is the bottom line with the Resurrection story: 03:43 If in fact it's not true, those who invented or just exaggerated 03:48 the story and went on to deceive millions 03:51 would have known the story was false 03:53 when they were faced with a martyr's death. 03:56 They would have died for a lie they knew was a lie. 04:01 And who would do such a thing? 04:04 As we continue our series, "Great Chapters of the Bible," 04:06 we're going to look at the literal truth 04:08 of Jesus' resurrection from the dead 04:10 and why it matters for our salvation. 04:14 The chapter our study will focus on is 1 Corinthians 15, 04:18 one of the most powerful discussions in all the Bible 04:22 on the subject of the Resurrection. 04:24 Paul starts this chapter by making it clear 04:26 just how important this topic is: 04:29 "Moreover, brethren, I declare to you the gospel 04:32 which I preached to you, which also you've received 04:35 and in which you stand, by which also you are saved, 04:39 if you hold fast that word which I preached to you-- 04:43 unless you believed in vain." 04:45 That's 1 Corinthians 15:1-2. 04:48 In other words, 04:49 Paul is saying that what he's about to share with them, 04:52 what they and he have believed already, 04:55 is the means of their salvation. 04:58 He then goes on to speak of the Old Testament foundation 05:00 for this New Testament truth, 05:03 and the reality of all the witnesses who can verify 05:06 the fact that Jesus did rise from the dead. 05:11 "For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: 05:15 that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, 05:19 and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day 05:22 according to the Scriptures, and that He was seen by Cephas"-- 05:26 that's Peter-- "then by the twelve. 05:29 After that He was seen by over five hundred brethren at once, 05:33 of whom the greater part remain to the present, 05:35 but some have fallen asleep. 05:38 After that He was seen by James, then by all the apostles. 05:43 Then last of all He was seen by me also, 05:46 as one born out of due time." 05:48 First Corinthians 15, verses 3-8. 05:51 It's important to notice that Paul doesn't make up 05:54 this doctrine of the Resurrection, 05:55 nor the doctrine of Jesus being sacrificed 05:58 for the sins of humanity. 05:59 It's the Old Testament scriptures that foretell 06:02 this decisive event in the sacred story. 06:05 The 53rd chapter of Isaiah 06:07 is one of the most powerful forecasts of the sufferings 06:10 of Christ and how He would die for the whole world. 06:14 "But He was wounded for our transgressions, 06:17 He was bruised for our iniquities; 06:20 the chastisement [of] our peace was upon Him, 06:22 and by His stripes we are healed. 06:26 All we like sheep have gone astray; 06:28 we have turned, every one, to his own way; 06:31 and the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all." 06:34 That's Isaiah 53:5-6. 06:37 The Old Testament even pinpoints the time 06:40 when Jesus would come to die. 06:43 The prophet Daniel gives this information 06:44 in chapter 9 of the book he wrote. 06:46 In fact, you can see it in Daniel 9:24-27. 06:50 And that's a fascinating study in itself. 06:53 Now, in a moment, even though the Bible is so plain on this, 06:56 there are many Christians and even church leaders 06:59 who don't believe in the Resurrection. 07:02 How could that be? I'll be right back. 07:05 ♪[Music]♪ 07:14 >>Announcer 1: Death is a coldhearted mystery 07:16 that can invade our lives without warning 07:18 and leave us with questions as big as the loss that we feel. 07:21 Today's free offer, "The Mystery of Death," 07:23 provides biblical answers for the questions that haunt 07:26 the topic of death. 07:27 What happens when we die? 07:29 Where does our soul go? Is there an afterlife? 07:32 To discover answers to these questions and many more, 07:34 call 800-253-3000. 07:37 Write to the address on your screen 07:39 or visit iiwoffer.com. 07:44 >>John Bradshaw: Thanks for joining me on It Is Written. 07:47 I'm John Bradshaw. 07:48 We're looking at 1 Corinthians 15 07:51 as part of our ongoing series, "Great Chapters of the Bible." 07:55 Paul is unequivocal in this chapter. 07:58 Jesus died, he says, and Jesus rose again. 08:03 In fact, when he summarized what the gospel was 08:05 at the start of the chapter, 08:07 he made clear that to him the Resurrection 08:10 is an integral part of the gospel. 08:12 No resurrection of Jesus? No gospel for the world. 08:16 And what gives him his confidence? 08:18 Not only does Paul point back to the Old Testament as the basis 08:21 for Jesus' mission to die for our sins and rise again; 08:25 he makes it clear that eyewitnesses can verify 08:28 the testimony that he's giving. 08:30 We saw how he reminds his readers that he himself 08:33 is one of those eyewitnesses, 08:35 a point the book of Acts records in its account 08:37 of Paul's conversion. 08:39 That's Acts 9:1-6. 08:42 In Paul's listing of the witnesses in 1 Corinthians 15, 08:45 we find an interesting note that isn't found anywhere else 08:49 in the New Testament, not even in the four Gospels. 08:52 We saw how Paul says that Jesus after His resurrection 08:55 "was seen by over five hundred brethren at once, 08:59 of whom the greater part remain to the present, 09:01 but some have fallen asleep." 09:04 That's verse 6. 09:05 Now, you won't find reference to this encounter anywhere else 09:09 in the Bible. 09:10 It's like that statement in the book of Hebrews about the time 09:12 when Moses "refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter." 09:16 You won't find that incident recounted 09:18 in the Old Testament story of Moses. 09:20 It's like the verse in Acts chapter 20, verse 35, 09:24 which quotes Jesus as saying, 09:26 "It's more blessed to give than to receive." 09:28 You won't find this saying of Jesus 09:30 in any of the Gospel accounts, but it clearly happened, 09:33 and it's quoted there in the book of Acts. 09:35 Now, this helps us understand that in order to understand 09:37 the full truth of the Bible, we have to consider everything 09:40 it includes regarding a subject or an historical event. 09:44 Obviously the story of the 500 seeing Jesus 09:46 after His resurrection is one of those examples. 09:49 It was a fact well-known to the apostles, 09:52 and the witnesses in question were obviously still alive, 09:54 many of them, 09:56 when Paul wrote this passage to the church at Corinth. 09:59 Paul continues in 1 Corinthians 15 to point out 10:02 that if Jesus didn't rise from the dead, 10:05 the faith of the Christian loses all meaning: 10:09 "Now if Christ is preached that He has been raised 10:12 from the dead, how do some of you say 10:15 that there is no resurrection of the dead? 10:18 But if there is no resurrection of the dead, 10:21 then Christ is not risen: 10:23 and if Christ is not risen, 10:26 then our preaching is vain and your faith is also vain. 10:31 For if the dead do not rise, then Christ is not risen. 10:36 And if Christ is not risen, your faith is futile; 10:40 you are still in your sins!" 10:43 That's verses 12-14 and 16 and 17. 10:46 In fact, he goes on to say in verse 19 10:48 in the King James Version, 10:50 "If in this life only we have hope in Christ, 10:53 we are of all men most miserable." 10:57 But a survey commissioned by the BBC in Great Britain, 11:01 a survey of Christians in Great Britain, 11:03 revealed that a quarter of British Christians don't believe 11:08 in the resurrection of Jesus. 11:10 The idea seems to go all the way up to the highest levels 11:14 of church leadership in Britain. 11:17 A senior church official acting as his denomination's ambassador 11:20 to the Vatican City has been quoted as saying 11:23 that the resurrection of Jesus shouldn't be seen 11:27 in physical terms, but as a spiritual reality. 11:32 He said the disciples only felt Jesus' presence after His death, 11:37 and that what we read in the Gospels 11:38 isn't an historical record as we would write history today. 11:42 In other words, the Bible clearly says it, 11:45 but you can reject it, if you wish. 11:47 In fact, he says you should reject it. 11:51 But in 1 Corinthians 15, Paul explains why the Resurrection 11:54 is essential to the Christian faith and why without it 11:58 the enemies of the gospel remain victorious. 12:02 He wrote, "For since by man came death, 12:05 by Man also came the resurrection of the dead. 12:09 For as in Adam all die, 12:11 even so in Christ all shall be made alive. 12:15 For He must reign till He has put all enemies under His feet. 12:20 The last enemy that will be destroyed is death." 12:24 Verses 21 and 22 and 25 and 26. 12:28 Here we find Paul taking up a theme he explains elsewhere 12:31 in his writings. 12:32 In chapter 5 of the book of Romans, 12:34 he speaks of how the first human being, Adam, 12:37 was the one who brought sin and death to the world, 12:40 and that as a result, Jesus has come to this world 12:43 to make available salvation and life everlasting. 12:46 In the book of Genesis, death was the first great enemy 12:49 presented to Adam and Eve. 12:51 This is why God forbade them to eat 12:53 of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. 12:56 The Genesis story tells us that "the Lord God commanded the man, 12:59 saying, 'Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat; 13:03 but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil 13:06 you shall not eat, 13:08 for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.'" 13:12 Genesis 2:17. 13:14 When Adam and Eve chose to disobey God and eat 13:16 of this fruit, it became important that the sin 13:19 they had committed not become immortalized. 13:23 It was for this reason that God said they couldn't stay 13:26 in the garden after the Fall, in case they should eat 13:28 of the fruit of the tree of life and make sin last forever. 13:34 Sin, in other words, must die. 13:38 And all who cling to sin, according to the Bible, 13:41 are destined to die along with it. 13:43 It's Romans 6:23 that says, "The wages of sin is death." 13:49 And once the wicked are forever destroyed in the fires of hell, 13:53 the Bible tells us what will happen then: 13:56 "And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; 14:00 there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. 14:04 There shall be no more pain, 14:06 for the former things have passed away." 14:09 Revelation 21, verse 4. 14:12 That's what Paul means in 1 Corinthians 15 when he says, 14:15 "The last enemy that will be destroyed is death." 14:19 The resurrection of Jesus is the ultimate guarantee 14:22 that the final enemy, death, will one day cease to be. 14:28 That's why Paul describes Jesus as the firstfruits of those 14:31 who've fallen asleep. 14:33 But if Jesus hadn't been raised from the dead, 14:35 then this hope doesn't exist. 14:38 The first and final enemy of God's universe, death, 14:43 which the entrance of sin made inevitable, 14:45 would always be the persistent companion of God's children 14:50 if Jesus hadn't shown that it could be conquered. 14:53 Because in fact Jesus has achieved this conquest, 14:56 we can be certain that His victory over death 15:00 can be ours as well. 15:02 Now, was there ever a time that you wished 15:04 you could do something about your body? 15:06 Maybe you wished there was less of it. 15:08 You want to lose weight. 15:10 You might wish your hair was different--or that you had hair. 15:13 You might wish your back didn't ache, 15:15 or that you could walk again, 15:16 or that you didn't get migraines, 15:18 or that you could see better. 15:20 Well, if you've ever had a thought like that, 15:23 I've got good news for you. Paul offers us real hope. 15:27 I'll tell you more in just a moment. 15:28 ♪[Music]♪ 15:37 >>John: Thank you for remembering 15:38 that It Is Written exists 15:40 because of the kindness of people just like you. 15:43 To support this international life-changing ministry, 15:46 please call us now at 800-253-3000. 15:50 You can send your tax-deductible gift 15:52 to the address on your screen 15:53 or you can visit us online at itiswritten.com. 15:57 Thank you for your prayers and for your financial support. 16:00 Our number again is 800-253-3000. 16:04 Or you can visit us online at itiswritten.com. 16:08 >>John: It was like a ticking time bomb 16:10 just waiting to explode, and when it did, 16:13 a city was plunged into chaos; a town was completely destroyed. 16:18 More than 300 people were left dead 16:21 and thousands left homeless. 16:23 It remains one of the nation's least-known atrocities, 16:26 yet it was one of the most destructive race riots 16:29 in United States history. 16:31 Join It Is Written on location in Tulsa, Oklahoma, 16:35 for "Black Wall Street," as we look at the problem of evil. 16:41 We'll investigate the destruction of a community 16:43 and ask some searching questions. 16:46 How can this happen? 16:47 [Fire crackling] And who would do such a thing? 16:49 How do "good people" commit truly wicked acts? 16:53 "Black Wall Street" will take you there to the very streets 16:56 where evil reared its ugly head in a way not often seen. 17:00 Don't miss "Black Wall Street" on It Is Written TV. 17:08 >>John Bradshaw: Thanks for joining me today 17:10 on It Is Written. 17:11 First Corinthians chapter 15 is truly one of the great chapters 17:14 of the Bible. 17:16 And in 1 Corinthians chapter 15, 17:17 the writer, Paul, offers us great hope. 17:20 He tells us that Jesus has conquered grave and the death. 17:24 In fact, that through Jesus, death has been destroyed. 17:28 And he offers you and me real hope on a very practical, 17:32 tangible level. 17:33 If you've ever had a backache or a knee ache or a sore throat 17:36 or a headache or a sore shoulder 17:38 or a bad back or an accident of some kind, 17:41 and you've, you've felt less than satisfied 17:45 about your physical condition, 17:46 well, Paul offers us hope when he tells us 17:48 that our resurrected bodies will be different 17:51 from our present natural bodies. 17:54 And the reason for that is because they will be made 17:57 to last forever. 18:00 Starting in verse 40, he writes, 18:01 "There are also celestial bodies and terrestrial bodies; 18:05 but the glory of the celestial is one, 18:08 and the glory of the terrestrial is another. 18:11 The [terrestrial] body is sown in corruption, 18:13 it's raised in incorruption. 18:16 It is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory. 18:19 It is sown in weakness, it is raised in power. 18:23 It is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body. 18:28 There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body." 18:32 Verses 40, 42, 43, and 44. 18:35 Now, I do need to point out that while our resurrected body 18:38 is described as spiritual, 18:41 this doesn't mean it's not also physical. 18:44 Jesus made this plain when He appeared to His disciples 18:47 in His resurrected body in the upper room, 18:50 and He said to them, 18:51 "Behold my hands and my feet, that it is I myself. 18:56 Handle me and see, for a spirit does not have flesh and bones 19:00 as you see I have." 19:01 Luke 24:39. 19:03 First Corinthians 15 just has to be included in any list 19:07 of the great chapters of the Bible. 19:09 It tells us there is hope beyond the grave. 19:11 It tells us Jesus conquered sin and death. 19:14 It tells us we have so much to look forward to. 19:18 And as the apostle concludes the chapter, 19:20 he draws back the curtain of the future 19:23 and tells us how this final victory over death 19:26 on the part of God's redeemed saints will occur 19:29 when Jesus comes back to the earth at His Second Coming. 19:34 "Behold, I tell you a mystery: We shall not all sleep, 19:39 but we shall all be changed--in a moment, 19:43 in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. 19:46 For the trumpet will sound, 19:48 and the dead will be raised incorruptible, 19:51 and we shall be changed. 19:53 For this corruptible must put on incorruption, 19:55 and this mortal must put on immortality. 19:59 So when this corruptible has put on incorruption, 20:02 and this mortal has put on immortality, 20:05 then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written: 20:08 'Death is swallowed up in victory.' 20:11 'O Death, where is your sting? 20:13 O Hades'"--that's the grave-- "'where is your victory?' 20:18 But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory 20:21 through our Lord Jesus Christ." 20:23 Verses 51-55 and 57. 20:26 Here Paul gives us a picture of the Second Coming of Jesus. 20:30 He's clear that some people will be alive when Jesus returns, 20:33 which is why he says, "We shall not all sleep." 20:37 But he's equally clear that both the Christians who are raised 20:41 from the dead and those who are taken to heaven 20:44 without seeing death will have new bodies. 20:47 In 1 Thessalonians, 20:49 Paul describes this breathtaking event in similar language: 20:52 "For the Lord Himself shall descend from heaven 20:55 with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, 20:58 and with the trump of God: 21:00 and the dead in Christ shall rise first: 21:03 then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up 21:06 together with them in the clouds, 21:07 to meet the Lord in the air: 21:10 and so shall we ever be with the Lord. 21:14 Wherefore comfort one another with these words." 21:16 First Thessalonians 4:16-18. 21:19 ♪[Soft music]♪ What a remarkable promise. 21:23 Death isn't the end because Jesus died and rose again. 21:28 Everyone who believes in Him and trusts in Him 21:32 and claims His power and His presence in their life 21:35 will one day rise again. 21:39 As Jesus was about to perform what might even be 21:41 His greatest miracle, 21:43 raising His friend Lazarus from the dead, 21:46 He spoke to Martha, the sister of Lazarus, and He said this: 21:50 "'Your brother will rise again.' Martha said to Him, 21:53 'I know that he will rise again in the resurrection 21:56 at the last day.' 21:57 Jesus said to her, 21:59 'I am the resurrection and the life. 22:02 He who believes in me, though he may die, he shall live. 22:08 And whoever lives and believes in me shall never die.'" 22:12 John 11:23-26. 22:15 This was a theme Jesus reiterated again and again 22:18 during His ministry. 22:20 Earlier in the Gospel of John, 22:21 Jesus said in John 5, starting in verse 28, 22:25 "Do not marvel at this; 22:27 for the hour is coming in which all who are in the graves 22:29 will hear His voice and come forth--those who have done good, 22:34 to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil, 22:38 to the resurrection of condemnation." 22:41 Death is the one human circumstance 22:44 that not one of us can do anything about. 22:48 Although people are trying. 22:50 There are agencies that believe cryonics is the best hope 22:53 that we have of living forever. 22:54 Cryonics involves freezing people in liquid nitrogen 22:57 in the hope that one day science will have advanced 22:59 to the place where frozen people can be thawed out and revived. 23:03 Mmm, no. 23:06 Scientists are discussing switching out aging body parts 23:10 with newer, younger parts so that you might be able 23:12 to stay at, say, 30 years of age. 23:15 Hmm, no again. No way. 23:19 Another thing that's being proposed 23:20 is that your brain could be uploaded to "the cloud," 23:23 and then you could download it into an android body. 23:27 So they're saying that you could download your brain 23:29 into an android, a robot, basically, maybe in India, 23:32 and then you could visit the Taj Mahal 23:34 without going to India. 23:36 And when are these things likely to happen? 23:37 They say maybe 30 or 40 years from now. 23:41 Again, hmm, no. 23:45 The good news is God has a better plan. 23:47 But the old saying is that 23:49 "there are two things that you can't avoid: death and taxes." 23:53 The gospel of Jesus Christ is unique. 23:56 Jesus offers you an end to the tragedy of death, 23:58 once and for all, 24:00 when Jesus returns and establishes His eternal kingdom. 24:04 "In Christ," Paul says in 1 Corinthians 15:22, 24:08 "all shall be made alive." 24:11 We're all too familiar with the pain caused by death. 24:14 The resurrection we read about in 1 Corinthians 15 24:17 is the hope of the believer in Jesus. 24:21 When we farewell a loved one, 24:23 receive the tragic news that death has taken away 24:25 another friend, another family member, another child, 24:29 another parent, another grandparent, 24:32 no promise shines so brightly as the New Testament assurance 24:35 that "the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised 24:37 incorruptible, and we shall be changed." 24:42 As Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 15:57, 24:45 "Thanks be to God, who gives us the victory 24:49 through our Lord Jesus Christ." 24:52 Friend, let me ask you: Do you have that hope? 24:56 Jesus offers the hope of eternal life, 24:58 the hope of the resurrection to everyone who will receive. 25:03 That hope can be yours today-- 25:05 the hope of a tomorrow, the hope of a future, 25:09 the hope of a life beyond this life, 25:12 the hope of being in a place where there's no more sin 25:16 and no death, not ever again. 25:19 And that hope becomes yours 25:22 when you accept it by faith in Jesus. 25:26 Can you accept that hope now? 25:28 Jesus offers it to you now. 25:31 And it's yours the moment you open your heart and say, 25:34 "Thank you, Jesus, I believe it's mine." 25:38 >>Announcer 1: Death is a coldhearted mystery 25:41 that can invade our lives without warning 25:42 and leave us with questions as big as the loss that we feel. 25:46 Today's free offer, "The Mystery of Death," 25:48 provides biblical answers for the questions that haunt 25:50 the topic of death. 25:52 What happens when we die? 25:53 Where does our soul go? Is there an afterlife? 25:56 To discover answers to these questions and many more, 25:59 call 800-253-3000. 26:02 Write to the address on your screen 26:03 or visit iiwoffer.com. 26:09 ♪[Upbeat music]♪ 26:11 >>Announcer 2: Planning for your financial future 26:13 is a vital aspect of Christian stewardship. 26:17 For this reason, It Is Written is pleased to offer 26:19 free planned giving 26:21 and estate services. 26:22 For information on how we can help you, 26:25 please call 800-992-2219. 26:30 Call today, 26:30 or visit our website, hislegacy.com. 26:34 Call 800-992-2219. 26:39 >>John Bradshaw: Let's pray together now. 26:41 Our Father in heaven, we thank You today 26:43 for the hope of the resurrection. 26:45 A hope that is real, not imaginary, 26:47 not a myth, but real. 26:51 One day a real Jesus will come back to this real earth, 26:54 and the dead in Christ shall rise. 26:57 And the dead and the living at the time 27:00 will all be caught up together in the clouds 27:02 to meet Jesus in the air. 27:03 We'll always be with You. 27:05 We'll never age, we'll never get sick, 27:09 and we'll never die because death will have been destroyed, 27:12 thanks to Jesus. 27:14 We thank You today for the gospel. 27:16 Friend, do you have that hope? 27:18 If you don't, would you invite Jesus to give you that hope now? 27:21 Would you believe it is yours? Will you claim it as yours? 27:24 Would you say in your heart, 27:26 "Jesus, I accept You as my Lord and Savior. 27:29 Heavenly Father, I believe in, and I, 27:31 I gladly accept the hope of the resurrection"? 27:34 Lord, we look forward to it, and we pray with John, 27:37 who wrote Revelation, "Even so, come, Lord Jesus." 27:41 In Jesus' name we pray. 27:43 Amen. 27:45 Thanks so much for joining me. 27:46 I'm looking forward to seeing you again next time. 27:48 Until then, remember: 27:50 "It is written, 'Man shall not live by bread alone, 27:55 but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.'" 28:00 ♪[Theme music]♪ |
Revised 2022-04-25