WEBVTT 1 00:00:00.720 --> 00:00:06.559 Thank you for the inspiration of holy ghosts in our mets Jesus name. Everybody 2 00:00:06.559 --> 00:00:11.640 said, Amen, Amen, I want to talk to you about the resurrection 3 00:00:11.759 --> 00:00:16.920 today. That's a novel idea. You know, we don't. We don't 4 00:00:16.960 --> 00:00:20.679 go by you know, we're non denominational. You know, we don't. 5 00:00:21.199 --> 00:00:25.519 We don't have anybody at a headquarters somewhere telling us what to preach on. 6 00:00:26.440 --> 00:00:29.920 And you know, Bethel doesn't tell us what to preach on, and Harvest 7 00:00:29.920 --> 00:00:33.439 Strock doesn't tell us what to preach on. So you know, sometimes we 8 00:00:33.520 --> 00:00:39.600 don't preach on the right thing. It seems that way, right Like on 9 00:00:39.679 --> 00:00:44.640 Mother's Day, we might preach on something very unique and different, so we 10 00:00:44.759 --> 00:00:49.880 hug the moms and then preach on what we want to. So you never 11 00:00:49.920 --> 00:00:54.560 know what's going to happen here. But today Resurrection Sunday, I do want 12 00:00:54.600 --> 00:01:02.600 to touch on some stuff about the resurrection, so and I know the Holy 13 00:01:02.640 --> 00:01:06.640 spirits in it. So we're here to celebrate the resurrection. But we're in 14 00:01:06.680 --> 00:01:12.480 this region, like the left coast of America is uh, you know, 15 00:01:12.519 --> 00:01:17.319 we are the most unchurched. We're in the most unchurched region in the nation. 16 00:01:17.680 --> 00:01:23.359 We tie with some place in Vermont or Maryland or some place. We 17 00:01:23.400 --> 00:01:27.519 have about nine or ten percent of the population goes to church on a given 18 00:01:27.560 --> 00:01:36.120 Sunday. That includes Crystal Lovers, no, probably, but that includes the 19 00:01:36.159 --> 00:01:42.719 Mormons, the JW's, the Catholics, the Charismatics, that includes everybody, 20 00:01:42.879 --> 00:01:47.480 you know, about nine or ten percent of the population. So, you 21 00:01:47.519 --> 00:01:53.239 know, and then we have statistical you know, statistics say we have a 22 00:01:53.280 --> 00:01:59.280 lot more who believe in Jesus. We may have up to thirty percent of 23 00:01:59.319 --> 00:02:06.280 the population and king Peers that believes in Jesus and even calls themselves Christians, 24 00:02:07.760 --> 00:02:15.759 but they don't mingle with darkened the door of actively fellowship with the Congregation of 25 00:02:15.800 --> 00:02:19.439 Believers, and so you know, what's up with that? I don't know. 26 00:02:19.599 --> 00:02:22.919 But let's just talk about the resurrection, because maybe that's a part of 27 00:02:22.919 --> 00:02:30.560 it. Maybe maybe we're not totally convinced, maybe we're partially convinced. Maybe 28 00:02:30.599 --> 00:02:37.479 we've got a fire insurance policy, you know. So I had the boat 29 00:02:37.520 --> 00:02:39.879 repaired the other day and the guy that came, he's a pretty cool guy, 30 00:02:40.919 --> 00:02:47.520 and he told me he was a Catholic. Might be watching today. 31 00:02:47.840 --> 00:02:51.199 He told him me he was a Catholic, but he was also a Christian, 32 00:02:51.520 --> 00:02:54.360 and I said that's cool. And he had a living faith and I 33 00:02:54.400 --> 00:02:58.240 thought that was really cool the more we talked, But at one point in 34 00:02:58.240 --> 00:03:04.319 the conversation he said, yeah, I love all religions. And then you 35 00:03:04.360 --> 00:03:07.199 know, my eyes got a little wider. Oh, you know, I 36 00:03:07.199 --> 00:03:12.719 didn't know what she was going to drop next. But you know, there 37 00:03:12.759 --> 00:03:19.240 can be some of that that goes on where we've got a reverence, an 38 00:03:19.280 --> 00:03:24.840 honor, a respect or a love for all religious expressions. And part of 39 00:03:24.840 --> 00:03:30.400 it could be we just don't understand the power of the resurrection, like how 40 00:03:30.439 --> 00:03:39.199 the Resurrection marks Christianity. It marks this movement so powerfully that there's really nothing 41 00:03:39.240 --> 00:03:45.759 that can compare to it, and nothing that has a seal on it like 42 00:03:45.840 --> 00:03:51.280 the Resurrection puts a seal on Christianity and an expression of faith in Christ. 43 00:03:51.879 --> 00:03:57.719 Nothing else. And admittedly we have to we really have to say this about 44 00:03:57.759 --> 00:04:04.120 the resurrection. If the Resurrection didn't happen, then we are we could have 45 00:04:04.120 --> 00:04:06.759 been pulling weeds this morning, or am on the lawn or fishing or something. 46 00:04:06.800 --> 00:04:11.759 I mean, if the Resurrection didn't happen, then what are we doing? 47 00:04:11.879 --> 00:04:16.240 Right? You got the most expensive muffin you've ever had. If the 48 00:04:16.279 --> 00:04:24.120 resurrection happened, you got a bargain muffin and you're in the most blessed place 49 00:04:24.199 --> 00:04:28.720 you could be on a Sunday morning. But if the resurrection didn't happen, 50 00:04:29.800 --> 00:04:32.639 you just shaved, put on your colonne, brust your teeth for nothing, 51 00:04:33.360 --> 00:04:35.720 and you're just wasting your time on a side. Well, you've got a 52 00:04:35.759 --> 00:04:39.680 good fraternity here. I mean, it's cool. You know that we've kind 53 00:04:39.680 --> 00:04:43.800 of sworn to not violate each other too much. That's cool, and we'll 54 00:04:43.839 --> 00:04:46.079 kind of be, you know, quasi friends, and we've got a fraternity 55 00:04:46.079 --> 00:04:50.000 here. Elks Club, you know, you know, whatever it is. 56 00:04:50.319 --> 00:04:55.680 However, the dues here are higher than the Elks Club ten percent of your 57 00:04:55.680 --> 00:04:59.040 income. It's that's that's a little higher than the Elks Club. That's what 58 00:04:59.079 --> 00:05:04.560 makes that muffin so vincent. But so, I mean, if it didn't 59 00:05:04.560 --> 00:05:09.480 happen, you know, welcome to Duwayne's club or something. I don't know, 60 00:05:09.639 --> 00:05:12.920 but it's bad news all the way around, right. But if it 61 00:05:13.000 --> 00:05:17.399 did happen, this is the most impactful thing you could do. This is 62 00:05:17.439 --> 00:05:21.160 the most powerful thing you could do. Is love him, serve him, 63 00:05:21.360 --> 00:05:26.800 chase him, gather with his saints, build one another up, be strengthened, 64 00:05:26.839 --> 00:05:31.240 partake of him. If this really happened, And I think it's kind 65 00:05:31.240 --> 00:05:36.240 of important that we know, because if it did happen, he really is 66 00:05:36.279 --> 00:05:41.199 the King of kings and the Lord of lords. He really is the Almighty 67 00:05:41.240 --> 00:05:45.000 God. He really is the Prince of Peace. So I want to just 68 00:05:45.040 --> 00:05:50.199 touch on a few evidences of the resurrection, and I'm gonna I'm gonna stay 69 00:05:50.319 --> 00:05:55.839 kind of close to my strip today. We're watching our time and I'll try 70 00:05:55.839 --> 00:06:00.639 to avoid rabbit trails as much as possible. But the first evidence of the 71 00:06:00.680 --> 00:06:10.480 resurrection is the it's called the embarrassing factor. That's the first evidence of the 72 00:06:10.519 --> 00:06:16.399 resurrection is called the embarrassing factor. And what it is is that historically, 73 00:06:16.920 --> 00:06:25.160 or I could say scholars and those who examine history know this about writings and 74 00:06:25.240 --> 00:06:33.360 about documents, that the more embarrassing it may be to the author, the 75 00:06:33.360 --> 00:06:39.680 more authentic it truly is. And that's what we find in the Bible. 76 00:06:39.959 --> 00:06:45.839 The Bible and even the story of the Bible and the story of the Christ 77 00:06:45.839 --> 00:06:48.920 and the Resurrection has got a lot of this embarrassing factor built into it. 78 00:06:49.759 --> 00:06:55.560 And so as critics look at it, they realize, oh, you know, 79 00:06:55.600 --> 00:06:59.759 they probably wouldn't have written that about themselves. So you've got all sorts 80 00:06:59.800 --> 00:07:02.920 oft and you and I know that. I mean, anybody here that would 81 00:07:02.959 --> 00:07:09.560 say I've never lied about myself to make my safe self look better is probably 82 00:07:09.600 --> 00:07:15.240 lying already. And we'll see you in the tank later. Well I didn't 83 00:07:15.279 --> 00:07:19.279 really lie, I just exaggerated. Hello to a lie. There you go, 84 00:07:19.560 --> 00:07:26.160 Thanks for being partially honest. So we know this about human nature. 85 00:07:26.199 --> 00:07:30.279 If you're going to invent a story, if you're going to come up with 86 00:07:30.439 --> 00:07:33.759 a fable, if you're going to build something. Nonetheless, they had to 87 00:07:33.800 --> 00:07:39.439 build something that was written by several different authors, and so they all had 88 00:07:39.480 --> 00:07:46.480 to come into agreement about these fables and these exaggerations if in fact the resurrection 89 00:07:46.720 --> 00:07:51.720 were true. And so you know, we look at this and the Bible's 90 00:07:51.720 --> 00:07:57.800 got all these crazy exaggerations that it just wouldn't exist if they were trying to 91 00:07:57.839 --> 00:08:03.079 come up with or invent a story. Like one of the early ones is 92 00:08:03.759 --> 00:08:09.319 the guy that turns out to be the entire leader of the whole band is 93 00:08:09.399 --> 00:08:13.439 at one point called Satan by the guy that supposedly resurrects. That could be 94 00:08:13.519 --> 00:08:18.800 a problem. If the central figure of the movement at one point was called 95 00:08:18.800 --> 00:08:24.120 Satan, that could be a problem. You wouldn't put that in. It's 96 00:08:24.240 --> 00:08:28.120 like, guys, it did happen, but don't write it in. Like 97 00:08:28.319 --> 00:08:31.919 let's and you got Matthew, Mark and Luke and they're the Synoptics, and 98 00:08:31.960 --> 00:08:35.960 they're they've got a lot of overlap, they've got a lot of agreement. 99 00:08:35.039 --> 00:08:39.360 They call them the Synoptic Gospels. And so those guys really had to conspire 100 00:08:39.440 --> 00:08:45.399 deeply, right if it was fable, and so I mean, I don't 101 00:08:45.399 --> 00:08:46.919 know how they paid each other off, but they would have had to agree 102 00:08:48.080 --> 00:08:50.879 on certain things like and if you know, if they came up with the 103 00:08:50.919 --> 00:08:54.679 idea like, uh, he called you Satan, It's like, what do 104 00:08:54.720 --> 00:08:58.720 you mean, don't write that in there. He called you Satan? Right, 105 00:09:00.159 --> 00:09:01.240 And so, I mean, there wouldn't have been agreement on a lot 106 00:09:01.240 --> 00:09:07.159 of this stuff. But yet it's in there. It's in there, warts 107 00:09:07.279 --> 00:09:13.159 and all every bad thing and every goofy thing is in here. And it 108 00:09:13.360 --> 00:09:18.639 speaks to the veracity of scripture and that there really is truth to it. 109 00:09:20.519 --> 00:09:26.240 At the crucifixion, and we're focused on and centered around the crucifixion. Today, 110 00:09:28.000 --> 00:09:31.919 something interesting happened that again it pertends to the embarrassing factor at the crucifixion 111 00:09:33.639 --> 00:09:37.360 and then the death burial and all of that. We know that men are 112 00:09:37.399 --> 00:09:41.320 supposed to be the cool ones, right, and you think men are supposed 113 00:09:41.320 --> 00:09:46.200 to be cool in this culture, Oh, mercy, that culture, the 114 00:09:46.279 --> 00:09:52.440 men were the cool ones. You think we have macho problems today these I 115 00:09:52.480 --> 00:09:56.720 mean this was macho on steroids, right. So the women were extremely lowly. 116 00:09:56.120 --> 00:10:00.519 The women were to be quiet. The women had no credit ability, 117 00:10:00.799 --> 00:10:05.320 no testimony they would have brought, would have had credibility. But when it 118 00:10:05.360 --> 00:10:09.639 comes to the crucifixion and the resurrection, the men are all hiding somewhere. 119 00:10:09.759 --> 00:10:15.360 It says, it's recorded the men are hiding for fear. The men are 120 00:10:15.440 --> 00:10:18.000 hiding for fear. The men. Actually, when it came to the crucifixion, 121 00:10:18.240 --> 00:10:22.000 you got Peter, the head of the whole thing, the Nias Christ. 122 00:10:22.080 --> 00:10:26.000 Three times after it's recorded by these guys, he said he never would 123 00:10:26.600 --> 00:10:28.919 why would you put that stuff in there? And then they all run away 124 00:10:28.960 --> 00:10:35.799 at the crucifixion they all run away. And who discovers Jesus, Who sees 125 00:10:35.919 --> 00:10:41.720 him first women. If you were a man, Now, remember this stuff 126 00:10:41.759 --> 00:10:43.799 was written by men. If you were a man writing this, would you 127 00:10:43.879 --> 00:10:54.120 admit that you were kind of like mister wimp himself hiding while women discovered him? 128 00:10:54.360 --> 00:10:58.000 Right, you wouldn't write that. There's no way you would put that 129 00:10:58.080 --> 00:11:01.440 in your book. But it's in the book, and it's part of this 130 00:11:01.600 --> 00:11:11.120 embarrassing factor where the women found him while we were hiding. Not only that, 131 00:11:11.240 --> 00:11:13.879 but one of the women that found him, let's not mention this, 132 00:11:15.039 --> 00:11:18.159 Oh my goodness, why would you mention this? She was demon possessed previously, 133 00:11:18.720 --> 00:11:22.559 so she could have no credibility whatsoever. And then there's stuff like, 134 00:11:22.720 --> 00:11:26.600 you know, Jesus this, you know, supreme King of the universe, 135 00:11:26.759 --> 00:11:33.240 who is the Righteous One, has his feet washed right before the crucifixion by 136 00:11:33.320 --> 00:11:39.039 a known prostitute. You talk about sexual advancements. How brave was she? 137 00:11:39.279 --> 00:11:41.440 I mean, I know he was handsome, but this was ridiculous. Why 138 00:11:41.440 --> 00:11:43.879 would you put that in there? You wouldn't put that in a book like 139 00:11:43.919 --> 00:11:52.879 this. To these things if you were a critic of scripture, and if 140 00:11:52.919 --> 00:11:58.960 you were looking at this in a critical manner, you would say, oh, 141 00:11:58.960 --> 00:12:01.879 my goodness, there so many things. It's thing after thing after thing. 142 00:12:03.919 --> 00:12:09.399 In Matthew twenty eight we not it's the Great Commission passage, but but 143 00:12:09.600 --> 00:12:15.720 he's there in Matthew twenty eight. But it says they wrote this in some 144 00:12:15.840 --> 00:12:20.799 doubted Why would you write that in? Why wouldn't you just write everybody saw 145 00:12:20.960 --> 00:12:24.360 it was obvious he was the Christ. No, they actually recorded, Yeah, 146 00:12:24.399 --> 00:12:26.759 there was some doubtors there, some guy's doubted, some guys questioned, 147 00:12:28.360 --> 00:12:30.879 you wouldn't put that in? And I never put that in my book. 148 00:12:31.360 --> 00:12:37.879 And then he's called a drunkard. Hello, somebody all this stuff and so 149 00:12:37.799 --> 00:12:41.519 this is all Now, what was happening with all of this is that? 150 00:12:43.159 --> 00:12:45.600 And I think this is part of why it's all in there, because it 151 00:12:45.679 --> 00:12:48.440 was all the real stuff. But part of why it's in there, and 152 00:12:48.480 --> 00:12:52.879 it had to be in there, is because Luke wrote the Book of Luke 153 00:12:52.919 --> 00:12:58.039 and the Book of Acts, and the Book of Acts was finished being written 154 00:12:58.080 --> 00:13:03.879 by ad. So, so if you were born about the time that Christ 155 00:13:03.960 --> 00:13:07.240 was born, about the time that Jesus was born, or any time before 156 00:13:07.279 --> 00:13:11.679 the crucifixion, which we're talking about hundreds of thousands of people in Jerusalem and 157 00:13:11.879 --> 00:13:18.919 in that region of Judea. They were born during that time period. They 158 00:13:18.960 --> 00:13:20.480 all knew the whole story. They all knew all about him. They had 159 00:13:20.559 --> 00:13:24.559 seen him around, they knew everything that was going on, they had heard 160 00:13:24.559 --> 00:13:28.840 the stories. So actually, you couldn't even though this stuff was embarrassing, 161 00:13:28.879 --> 00:13:35.559 you couldn't write something different because it had to pass the critique of those who 162 00:13:35.600 --> 00:13:39.639 were actually there. The Bible and the stories of the Bible had to pass 163 00:13:39.759 --> 00:13:46.200 the critique of those that were there. Because even the Book of Acts was 164 00:13:46.240 --> 00:13:50.519 finished being written by eighty sixty four. So if you were born at one, 165 00:13:50.919 --> 00:13:56.440 you were sixty four years old when that book was being distributed, and 166 00:13:56.480 --> 00:14:01.799 we all had record of what happened during the period of the time called the 167 00:14:01.840 --> 00:14:07.480 Book of Acts. So it had to pass scrutiny. It had to pass 168 00:14:07.519 --> 00:14:11.440 the scrutiny of every contemporary person living then. And if it didn't pass the 169 00:14:11.440 --> 00:14:16.200 scrutiny, it would have been historically, we wouldn't. There would be those 170 00:14:16.240 --> 00:14:20.960 who rebuffed it, there would be those who corrected it, there would be 171 00:14:20.000 --> 00:14:26.639 The Jerusalem Times was in full operation, The Judea Facebook was operating at that 172 00:14:26.759 --> 00:14:31.440 time, all you know, and so seriously Josephus. All of his writings 173 00:14:31.440 --> 00:14:35.320 still exist. He was a Jewish historian. There were all sorts of those 174 00:14:35.399 --> 00:14:41.960 who were keeping record, But yet there is not the record of those who 175 00:14:41.120 --> 00:14:46.799 denounced the things that are written in these books in that historical time. And 176 00:14:46.840 --> 00:14:50.799 that's what's so amazing about this first Trinth. Let me read to you Act 177 00:14:50.879 --> 00:14:54.200 chapter one. This is why it had to be though it was embarrassing, 178 00:14:54.720 --> 00:14:58.080 it had to be believable. Acts Chapter one one through three. In my 179 00:14:58.159 --> 00:15:01.759 former book, the I wrote about all that Jesus began to do and teach 180 00:15:03.240 --> 00:15:07.240 until the day that he was taken up to heaven. After giving instructions through 181 00:15:07.399 --> 00:15:11.679 the Holy Spirit to the apostles he had chosen after his suffering, he presented 182 00:15:11.720 --> 00:15:16.679 himself to them and gave many convincing proofs that he was alive. He appeared 183 00:15:16.679 --> 00:15:20.919 to them over a period of forty days and spoke about the Kingdom of God. 184 00:15:20.240 --> 00:15:24.440 We know this. He came back to life, and he walked with 185 00:15:24.559 --> 00:15:28.279 them for forty days. Where's the document that says, no, it was 186 00:15:28.320 --> 00:15:31.639 only thirty. Where's the document that says bat, it wasn't even one. 187 00:15:33.559 --> 00:15:37.120 All we saw was a mannequin. All we saw was an artificial. All 188 00:15:37.159 --> 00:15:41.480 we saw was a look alike. They stuffed him under a rock. They 189 00:15:41.519 --> 00:15:43.440 got a guy with a fake beard on like they did back in Nier this 190 00:15:43.480 --> 00:15:48.240 morning with the kids. And they got this guy and they dyed his hair 191 00:15:48.320 --> 00:15:52.840 just right and put on the same robe that they sold off of him when 192 00:15:52.879 --> 00:15:56.200 they shoved him under the rock. And that's who walked with these guys for 193 00:15:56.200 --> 00:15:58.440 forty days. This whole thing's a big fable. Where's that historical document? 194 00:15:58.480 --> 00:16:03.600 It isn't there. There's nothing like that, because he really did walk with 195 00:16:03.679 --> 00:16:08.159 them over a period of forty days. How do we know that Because the 196 00:16:08.200 --> 00:16:15.759 contemporaries of that moment, and the contemporaries of those writings were living to actually 197 00:16:15.799 --> 00:16:22.039 critique the writings as they were being distributed First Corinthens fifteen, First Corinthens fifteen, 198 00:16:22.440 --> 00:16:26.200 First Corinthens was finished writing by a d. Fifty four. If you 199 00:16:26.240 --> 00:16:32.159 were born on eighty one, you were fifty four years old. This was 200 00:16:32.200 --> 00:16:36.679 being distributed to all of the church in Corinth, but it was being distributed 201 00:16:36.720 --> 00:16:38.919 in all of the synagogues. It's being distributed in all the churches, in 202 00:16:38.960 --> 00:16:42.360 all the house churches. By eighty fifty four, you were only fifty four 203 00:16:42.440 --> 00:16:45.720 years old. You knew this whole thing. And look what it says, 204 00:16:45.759 --> 00:16:51.320 first Corengthens fifteen three through six. For what I received, I passed on 205 00:16:51.360 --> 00:16:55.840 to you as of first importance, that Christ died for our sins, according 206 00:16:55.840 --> 00:16:57.840 to scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third 207 00:16:57.919 --> 00:17:02.879 day, according descriptures. There's not New Testament scriptures. By the way, 208 00:17:03.120 --> 00:17:07.599 the New Testament scriptures didn't exist. Yet. Even as Paul's writing this, 209 00:17:07.000 --> 00:17:11.039 he's he doesn't even think I'm writing the Word of God. Oh I'm I'm 210 00:17:11.079 --> 00:17:15.119 writing the New Testament. Paul didn't know that I'm writing for Strengthen fifteen. 211 00:17:15.279 --> 00:17:18.240 There was no for Strengthen fifteen. He was writing a letter to them. 212 00:17:18.440 --> 00:17:23.279 There were no chapters he was talking about according to this Old Testament scriptures, 213 00:17:23.839 --> 00:17:29.559 according to the previous scriptures, that's what happened. And so he's writing this 214 00:17:29.720 --> 00:17:33.880 and he says, then he appeared Deceiphus, that's Peter, and then to 215 00:17:33.960 --> 00:17:37.720 the twelve after that, he appeared to more than five hundred brothers and sisters 216 00:17:37.039 --> 00:17:41.720 at the same time. Now you have to realize the five hundred brothers and 217 00:17:41.759 --> 00:17:47.480 sisters at the same time they saw that, they read that, they critiqued 218 00:17:47.559 --> 00:17:51.720 that they were living at that time the oldest you know. I mean, 219 00:17:51.799 --> 00:17:55.000 you know, we'd say an old guy would have been fifty four. But 220 00:17:55.079 --> 00:17:57.160 I mean there were all sorts of people forty four thirty two, you know, 221 00:17:57.200 --> 00:18:02.400 all sorts of people that were living in eighty fifty four that were aware 222 00:18:02.519 --> 00:18:06.599 of every single thing that happened, and they were aware that Mom was there 223 00:18:06.640 --> 00:18:08.759 in that five hundred or mom wasn't there. No, it wasn't five hundred, 224 00:18:08.759 --> 00:18:11.960 it was two hundred and fifty. That's an evangelistic exaggeration. There was 225 00:18:12.000 --> 00:18:15.559 only one hundred people there. What in the world did you count ears? 226 00:18:15.599 --> 00:18:18.279 What was going on? No, there was no gathering like that. Or 227 00:18:18.319 --> 00:18:22.319 what are you talking about? Where's those documents? They don't exist, they 228 00:18:22.319 --> 00:18:25.799 don't exist. Oh well, the apostles were skillful. They burned all the 229 00:18:25.799 --> 00:18:27.559 documents. They found them really quick. They shut down those radio stations, 230 00:18:27.920 --> 00:18:33.279 killed the Jerusalem Facebook, and they burned all that stuff. No, sorry, 231 00:18:33.559 --> 00:18:41.119 bad theory. This stuff really happened, and it happened in the midst 232 00:18:41.160 --> 00:18:44.599 of the contemporaries of that day. Second reason, we know that they were 233 00:18:44.599 --> 00:18:48.920 telling the truth about the resurrection. Most scholars and historians have reason to believe 234 00:18:49.400 --> 00:18:56.279 that ten of the original Apostles were martyred for their faith. Now, you 235 00:18:56.440 --> 00:19:00.920 might be martyred for something if you believe because you believe it's true. But 236 00:19:02.039 --> 00:19:04.440 nobody in this room will be martyred for something that they know is a lie. 237 00:19:06.559 --> 00:19:11.880 Think about Think about the twelve coming together and they had to come into 238 00:19:11.000 --> 00:19:15.480 a complete conspiracy to pull this off. And then they had to somehow lassu 239 00:19:15.640 --> 00:19:21.799 In, Paul and others who would be contributors to the conspiracy, and they 240 00:19:21.880 --> 00:19:25.400 all had to agree, and none of them could break ranks all the way 241 00:19:25.440 --> 00:19:27.440 to their death. How likely is that to happen. It's not going to 242 00:19:27.480 --> 00:19:30.880 happen. Not going to happen. Today. You can't get all of us 243 00:19:30.880 --> 00:19:33.720 to agree about anything. You can't all of us to get all of us 244 00:19:33.759 --> 00:19:36.279 to agree, let alone a lie. We're all going to agree about this 245 00:19:36.359 --> 00:19:38.079 lie and how the lie that we presented, it's not going to happen. 246 00:19:40.000 --> 00:19:45.519 So here is one of the proofs is that these people were willing and it 247 00:19:45.599 --> 00:19:48.680 wasn't just them. But we can point to the Apostles for sure, but 248 00:19:48.839 --> 00:19:55.359 so many more who were eyewitnesses of Jesus gave up their lives for him. 249 00:19:55.960 --> 00:19:59.799 But they were beaten, they were tortured, they were killed. Imagine this, 250 00:20:00.079 --> 00:20:03.880 the list of perks leaves Judaism. Come on over here, sign up 251 00:20:03.880 --> 00:20:07.480 with us. We don't have any buildings yet. You've got beautiful synagogues. 252 00:20:07.480 --> 00:20:10.359 It's all right, we're gonna have house churches. Eventually, we'll build stuff. 253 00:20:10.400 --> 00:20:12.720 Well, what's the perks? We get beaten, kicked around, we 254 00:20:12.759 --> 00:20:17.799 get stoned, we get tortured, we get burnt on steaks, hung upside 255 00:20:17.799 --> 00:20:21.079 down. This is going to be the coolest thing ever. You can't wait 256 00:20:21.119 --> 00:20:33.000 to join. No, these people gave their lives for this cause, and 257 00:20:33.559 --> 00:20:37.599 it's just nobody's going to join some crazy story that all of us know is 258 00:20:37.640 --> 00:20:44.119 not true and then eventually give up their lives. Fact is, they had 259 00:20:44.160 --> 00:20:48.680 every motive to say these the twelve and Paul, they had every motive to 260 00:20:48.680 --> 00:20:52.559 say the resurrection didn't happen. If anybody would argue against the resurrection, it 261 00:20:52.599 --> 00:20:56.039 should have been them, because they had every motive to say it didn't happen 262 00:20:56.279 --> 00:21:02.759 and no reason to say that it did. Had everything to lose, now 263 00:21:02.759 --> 00:21:10.519 what we know about any kind of fable story invention, murderous conspiracy. We 264 00:21:10.640 --> 00:21:15.920 know three things have to exist, and these things run through all corruption with 265 00:21:15.039 --> 00:21:21.200 all humanity, sex, power, and money. There has to be a 266 00:21:21.240 --> 00:21:23.240 sex motive, there has to be a power motive. There has to be 267 00:21:23.279 --> 00:21:27.920 a money motive. But when you look at the motives of these twelve, 268 00:21:29.480 --> 00:21:33.680 you can't find that it didn't make them richer. It didn't give them more 269 00:21:33.680 --> 00:21:34.720 power. They had to give up their power, They had to give up 270 00:21:34.759 --> 00:21:37.519 their influence, they had to give up their businesses, they had to give 271 00:21:37.559 --> 00:21:42.839 up their wealth. They didn't have adulterous affairs and sexual stuff going on on 272 00:21:42.920 --> 00:21:47.839 the side, and all sorts of little forticate and fun going on, and 273 00:21:47.920 --> 00:21:52.440 none of that was going on. There's no sexual payoff, there's no money 274 00:21:52.440 --> 00:21:56.240 payoff. And it didn't advance them. They had to give up everything. 275 00:21:56.440 --> 00:22:00.680 They were known in the Jewish community, They had prominence in the Jews community, 276 00:22:00.039 --> 00:22:07.960 They had stature in the Jewish community. Paul the thirteenth Apostle right added 277 00:22:07.000 --> 00:22:11.079 to it. He was the Hebrew of Hebrews. He had so much stature 278 00:22:11.359 --> 00:22:14.920 that he had to give up. But he gave it up all the way 279 00:22:14.960 --> 00:22:19.880 to death. And so these things again, they speak to the power and 280 00:22:19.920 --> 00:22:25.599 the veracity of the resurrection, that it's not a story, it's not a 281 00:22:25.640 --> 00:22:29.680 fable. We're not wasting our time. You had the best muffin you could 282 00:22:29.720 --> 00:22:36.000 have ever had. The third reason that verifies the resurrection is the conversion of 283 00:22:36.039 --> 00:22:38.920 the Jews. Now, a lot of times we think of we think of 284 00:22:38.960 --> 00:22:44.599 the Jews rejecting Jesus, and we think of that, and there's truth to 285 00:22:44.720 --> 00:22:48.319 that. So many Jews rejected Jesus. But what we know is that the 286 00:22:48.359 --> 00:22:52.720 Gospel was to go first to Jerusalem, and then Submaria and then the uttermost 287 00:22:52.759 --> 00:22:56.920 parts. And we know that the Gospel was supposed to be preached to the 288 00:22:56.079 --> 00:23:00.519 jew first and then to the Gendile. This is that was the formula that 289 00:23:00.599 --> 00:23:04.480 they were told from the very beginning. But what we don't realize is that 290 00:23:04.640 --> 00:23:11.079 thousands upon thousands upon thousands of Jewish people turned to the Messiah. We know 291 00:23:11.200 --> 00:23:15.960 that thousands didn't, We know that hundreds of thousands didn't, But we also 292 00:23:17.440 --> 00:23:22.839 have to realize that thousands did. And what would cause that to happen? 293 00:23:22.119 --> 00:23:26.319 What would cause thousands of Jews? Now you had to realize this is a 294 00:23:26.480 --> 00:23:33.519 fifteen hundred year religion and when you're talking about Jews, you're talking about Orthodox 295 00:23:33.640 --> 00:23:36.799 Jews. You're talking about Pharisees. That's not fair, you see, or 296 00:23:36.920 --> 00:23:40.759 Saducees. They're sad you see. When you're talking about those people, you're 297 00:23:40.759 --> 00:23:48.279 talking about people that are extremely zealous. They're zealous, they're bound up in 298 00:23:48.480 --> 00:23:52.559 this, in this, you know this, you know formula to word God. 299 00:23:52.079 --> 00:23:57.720 They totally believe they alone have the only I'm not mocking them, I 300 00:23:57.880 --> 00:24:03.839 love them, but they totally believe that they had the only pathway to God, 301 00:24:04.640 --> 00:24:11.279 which they did, and they believed that they were God's only true chosen 302 00:24:11.359 --> 00:24:15.880 people, which they were right. But put yourself in their shoes, put 303 00:24:15.880 --> 00:24:21.599 yourself in their shoes that you're living in that day, and you are zealous, 304 00:24:21.839 --> 00:24:26.160 you're sold out, you're committed to the Sabbath, of the law and 305 00:24:26.319 --> 00:24:30.640 the synagogue. What would change all that? Literally overnight? Something changed it 306 00:24:30.720 --> 00:24:33.960 over night. You have to realize, on the day of Pentecost to one 307 00:24:33.039 --> 00:24:36.519 hundred and twenty that were praying, they weren't gentiles, Those were Jews. 308 00:24:37.480 --> 00:24:41.759 Those were Jews. What changed things? The three thousand saved on the first 309 00:24:41.880 --> 00:24:45.279 day, those were not gentiles, those were Jews. The four thousand, 310 00:24:45.279 --> 00:24:49.759 added a little while later. Those were not Gentiles, those were Jews, 311 00:24:51.279 --> 00:24:55.119 and there were thousands upon thousands. There's a scripture here, Acts twenty one 312 00:24:55.160 --> 00:24:57.559 to twenty. When they heard this, they praised God. Then they said 313 00:24:57.599 --> 00:25:03.599 to Paul, you see, brother, how many thousands of Jews have believed? 314 00:25:03.880 --> 00:25:08.119 What caused this to Happen? Listen, listen. They believed they had 315 00:25:08.200 --> 00:25:14.880 all revelation. They believed that they were gods chosen people. They believed that 316 00:25:15.039 --> 00:25:19.319 no man could claim themselves to be God. That was blasphemy. They believed 317 00:25:19.359 --> 00:25:22.000 there couldn't be a resurrection until the end of time, not in the middle 318 00:25:22.039 --> 00:25:27.519 of a time. They believed in animal sacrifice. Now suddenly they're believing there's 319 00:25:27.599 --> 00:25:34.480 no need for animal sacrifice because He has become the Lamb. They believed in 320 00:25:34.559 --> 00:25:38.279 the binding law of Moses, and suddenly they believe Christ's life and his sacrifice 321 00:25:38.319 --> 00:25:42.359 fulfilled to binding law of Moses. They believed in strict monotheism, and suddenly 322 00:25:42.440 --> 00:25:47.000 they believe there's a trinity, that three persons are the expression of the divine 323 00:25:47.039 --> 00:25:49.880 One. They believed in the Sabbath, but suddenly they believe that Christ is 324 00:25:49.920 --> 00:25:53.680 the fulfillment of the Sabbath and that they can celebrate on the day of resurrection. 325 00:25:55.240 --> 00:25:57.880 They believe in the conquering Messiah, but now they believe in the sacrificial 326 00:25:57.960 --> 00:26:03.400 Messiah. They believe in circumcision, and it was a must. And suddenly 327 00:26:03.480 --> 00:26:08.440 now they believe in death through water, baptism and a covenant sealed and commemorated 328 00:26:08.519 --> 00:26:12.359 with communion. What would have caused this to happen by the thousands. It 329 00:26:12.519 --> 00:26:19.160 had to be an impact event. It had to be something cataclysmic, and 330 00:26:19.279 --> 00:26:25.839 I submit to you it was the resurrection. Only the resurrection of Jesus could 331 00:26:25.920 --> 00:26:33.519 convince thousands of zealous Jews to turn their lives completely over to following him and 332 00:26:33.799 --> 00:26:41.079 abandon their former life completely. That's reason number three. Reason number four the 333 00:26:41.200 --> 00:26:45.720 growth of this sect in the midst of contemporaries. Now, I talked to 334 00:26:45.720 --> 00:26:51.640 you about how Scripture was written with all of its embarrassment in the midst of 335 00:26:51.759 --> 00:26:56.680 contemporaries. But the other thing that happened is the growth of this sect, 336 00:26:56.880 --> 00:27:03.559 this religion. The growth of it in the midi of contemporaries was mind boggling. 337 00:27:03.799 --> 00:27:07.079 Here's what we know is that the growth rate of this new religion. 338 00:27:07.119 --> 00:27:15.559 We know that thousands, thousands of Jewish people came to the Lord by eighty 339 00:27:15.680 --> 00:27:19.519 seventy, and that's when the Temple was torn down. That's when the Jewish 340 00:27:19.559 --> 00:27:26.119 people were scattered out of Jerusalem and beyond. We know that thousands of believers 341 00:27:26.200 --> 00:27:30.200 existed not only in Jerusalem, but thousands throughout the inhabited world, and so 342 00:27:30.400 --> 00:27:34.799 we know that Christianity was growing like crazy. Here's what we know, and 343 00:27:36.200 --> 00:27:41.519 it's growing right in the midst of all these people who knew of Jesus, 344 00:27:42.079 --> 00:27:48.200 who had a relative that was there when he went up. And by the 345 00:27:48.279 --> 00:27:49.519 way, when he went up, we don't even know how many people were 346 00:27:49.559 --> 00:27:52.400 there. We don't know that that was when the five hundred didgethered. That 347 00:27:52.519 --> 00:27:57.359 was another time when they watched him go up, and he's there for forty 348 00:27:57.440 --> 00:28:00.880 days, walking and being with them. So all of this is happening, 349 00:28:02.359 --> 00:28:11.000 and Christianity is growing like crazy. Forty thousand Christians by eighty one fifty, 350 00:28:11.000 --> 00:28:18.920 two hundred thousand Christians by eighty two hundred two million Christians by eighty two fifty, 351 00:28:18.240 --> 00:28:26.200 and we know that there were six million Christians by eighty three hundred six 352 00:28:26.279 --> 00:28:34.160 million. Now this is when Constantine decrees that Christianity will be the religion of 353 00:28:34.319 --> 00:28:41.920 the Roman Empire. There's six million Christians. It's growing so fast, forty 354 00:28:41.000 --> 00:28:48.680 percent per decade, and by eighty three fifty it grows from six million to 355 00:28:48.960 --> 00:28:56.160 thirty three million and dominates the Roman Empire. This was growing so fast, 356 00:28:56.240 --> 00:29:03.440 faster than a fable can grow, faster than an invention can grow. So 357 00:29:03.559 --> 00:29:07.960 what do we know? We know he rose from the dead. Finally, 358 00:29:08.039 --> 00:29:11.039 my last one I want to touch on. Well, okay, I've got 359 00:29:11.079 --> 00:29:15.519 a couple more minutes further here. I want to just give you this one 360 00:29:15.960 --> 00:29:21.440 that even Christianity is not based on the Bible. I'm gonna just give you 361 00:29:21.480 --> 00:29:30.559 a little heresy. But if you're heresymeter, Christianity is not based on the 362 00:29:30.599 --> 00:29:37.880 Bible, what do I mean by that? That sounds like heresy? Christianity 363 00:29:37.039 --> 00:29:44.759 is not true because of a series of documents that mankind put together, no 364 00:29:44.880 --> 00:29:49.559 matter how eloquent or well written or titled, under a binding called the Bible, 365 00:29:51.880 --> 00:29:59.720 Christianity would be true even if the Bible never existed, because Christianity did 366 00:29:59.839 --> 00:30:06.599 not originate with a book. Christianity originated with an event called the Resurrection. 367 00:30:07.839 --> 00:30:15.160 You have to realize this There were thousands upon thousands of Christians walking the planet, 368 00:30:15.799 --> 00:30:21.799 rejoicing together, enjoying salvation, long before the New Testament was written, 369 00:30:22.400 --> 00:30:26.799 Long before your New Testament Bible was written. There were thousands of Christians. 370 00:30:29.640 --> 00:30:34.200 Why because they witnessed the resurrected Jesus. Because they witnessed the power of Jesus 371 00:30:34.279 --> 00:30:38.640 in their midst to heal the sick, to drive out devils, to heal 372 00:30:38.720 --> 00:30:42.119 the heart of man, to bring peace to the inner man, to heal 373 00:30:42.279 --> 00:30:48.640 families and communities and cities. They witnessed the healing, saving power of Jesus. 374 00:30:48.240 --> 00:30:55.039 Then they wrote about his life and his ministry. They didn't invent it 375 00:30:55.440 --> 00:30:57.880 and write it down and then succor a few people in the believing of a 376 00:30:59.000 --> 00:31:04.559 lie. They witnessed it first, and then they wrote it down. The 377 00:31:04.680 --> 00:31:10.000 New Testament did not. The New Testament writers did not create the Resurrection. 378 00:31:10.920 --> 00:31:18.640 The Resurrection created them. The Resurrection created them. There would be no New 379 00:31:18.720 --> 00:31:26.880 Testament documents written by Jews in the first century. If Jesus had not raised 380 00:31:26.240 --> 00:31:30.279 from the dead, it would have died, it would have passed away, 381 00:31:30.720 --> 00:31:36.119 it would have been refuted, it would have perished. But it didn't, 382 00:31:37.079 --> 00:31:41.119 and so you and I can be confident of this that the resurrection happened. 383 00:31:42.200 --> 00:31:48.079 The resurrection happened, and if the resurrection happened, then he is the King 384 00:31:48.160 --> 00:31:53.519 of kings and the Lord of lords. It means that two point four billion 385 00:31:53.720 --> 00:32:00.799 people who believe in him and believe he is who he says he is, 386 00:32:00.480 --> 00:32:06.799 our right are right. He is the resurrection of the life. He is 387 00:32:06.960 --> 00:32:09.799 the first and the last. He overcame sin, death, hell, and 388 00:32:09.960 --> 00:32:14.240 demonic power. He is the judge of the living and the dead. He 389 00:32:14.440 --> 00:32:17.279 is the genesis of a new race of people, those who were born of 390 00:32:17.359 --> 00:32:22.559 the spirit. He is the supreme overcoming man who has inherited the earth. 391 00:32:22.880 --> 00:32:25.559 He's the only one that can restore us to Father. He's the restore of 392 00:32:25.640 --> 00:32:30.720 our true identity. He brings us into sonship with the Father. He alone 393 00:32:30.799 --> 00:32:37.119 can save us from the wrath of God. He alone can save us from 394 00:32:37.160 --> 00:32:42.960 the wrath of God, because Adam's race is knit to the demonic realm, 395 00:32:43.279 --> 00:32:49.960 and he alone can deliver us and save us. I stand this morning. 396 00:32:50.119 --> 00:32:58.559 I want to dismiss those that are getting baptized to get ready and get in 397 00:32:58.680 --> 00:33:01.200 the position. I've just got a couple more thoughts. Just stick with me. 398 00:33:01.279 --> 00:33:06.640 Worship teams coming. We're going to go right into baptisms. I have 399 00:33:06.759 --> 00:33:08.720 a fear I want to share with you as we close this morning. I 400 00:33:08.759 --> 00:33:14.960 have a fear in light of the resurrection, in light of why we're here 401 00:33:15.039 --> 00:33:21.279 today, I have this fear. I have this fear that we've become passe 402 00:33:21.640 --> 00:33:27.720 about Jesus. I have this fear that we take him too casually. I 403 00:33:27.839 --> 00:33:31.880 have this fear that American Christianity is in peril. I have this fear that 404 00:33:32.000 --> 00:33:39.000 we name him as Christ and we name ourselves with them, but we live 405 00:33:39.119 --> 00:33:49.599 too much for ourselves. I have this fear that we adore the blessings of 406 00:33:49.720 --> 00:34:00.240 Christianity more than the Christ who gave us the blessings. We can't be Christian 407 00:34:00.319 --> 00:34:06.200 in name only. We can't identify with Christ and yet not submit to his 408 00:34:06.359 --> 00:34:09.719 lordship. And just a warning for you, this is Europe right now. 409 00:34:09.800 --> 00:34:14.960 Europe has the cathedrals, and they have the history of Christianity, and they 410 00:34:15.079 --> 00:34:21.360 call themselves Christian. But they're being overtaken by Islam right now because their hearts 411 00:34:21.760 --> 00:34:24.679 are lukewarm to the Christ. It's their history, but it's not their living 412 00:34:24.800 --> 00:34:32.000 life. A history of Christianity does not equal a living relationship with the Christ. 413 00:34:34.119 --> 00:34:37.599 He calls us to lay down our lives for him, just as He's 414 00:34:37.719 --> 00:34:45.239 laid down his life for us. A history of Christianity will not protect us 415 00:34:45.320 --> 00:34:52.320 from destruction. The only bulwark against evil is a red hot walk with God 416 00:34:52.480 --> 00:34:59.039 and his son. That's the only bulwark against evil. It's a red hot 417 00:34:59.159 --> 00:35:04.679 walk with God and his son. The mystery of Christ is a deep romance 418 00:35:05.480 --> 00:35:08.440 with the soul. It's a deep romance with our heart, and he's jealous 419 00:35:08.559 --> 00:35:14.159 over our hearts. It's a romance of the spirit. It's a marriage of 420 00:35:14.239 --> 00:35:19.119 the spirit. But when we have other loves, when we have other mistresses, 421 00:35:19.199 --> 00:35:23.320 when we have others that we entertain with and flirt with and sneak away 422 00:35:23.400 --> 00:35:29.639 with, he would rather us apart completely, because if he can't have our 423 00:35:29.719 --> 00:35:37.360 whole heart, then he doesn't want the half part. This calling of romance 424 00:35:37.480 --> 00:35:40.280 is a burning love. He burns for us. He has fire in his 425 00:35:40.599 --> 00:35:47.840 eyes for us. John saw this when he wrote about the Church and Leodesea. 426 00:35:49.880 --> 00:35:53.840 The Lord lifted up his vision and gave him a vision, and he 427 00:35:54.000 --> 00:36:00.440 wrote this visionary word in the Book of Revelations, chapter three, verse fourteen, 428 00:36:00.800 --> 00:36:02.920 to the Angel the Church of Ladiesea. I write, these are the 429 00:36:02.960 --> 00:36:06.880 words of the Amen, the faithful, and the true witness, the ruler 430 00:36:07.000 --> 00:36:12.079 of God's creation. I know your deeds that you are neither cold nor hot. 431 00:36:15.039 --> 00:36:19.280 I wish that you were either one one or the other. So because 432 00:36:19.320 --> 00:36:22.480 your lukewarm, neither hot nor cold, I'm about to spew you out of 433 00:36:22.599 --> 00:36:25.760 my mouth. You say, I'm rich, and I have acquired wealth, 434 00:36:27.039 --> 00:36:30.159 and I need nothing, But you do not realize that you are wretched, 435 00:36:30.320 --> 00:36:35.280 pitiful, poor, blind and naked. I counsel you to buy from me 436 00:36:35.480 --> 00:36:39.239 gold refined in the fire so that you may become rich, and white clothes 437 00:36:39.360 --> 00:36:44.960 to wear so that you may cover your shameful nakedness, and sab to put 438 00:36:45.000 --> 00:36:49.199 on your eyes so that you can see. To those who I love, 439 00:36:49.320 --> 00:36:55.880 I rebuke and discipline to be earnest and repent. Here I am. I 440 00:36:57.119 --> 00:37:00.880 stand at the door, and I knock. If anyone hears my voice and 441 00:37:01.079 --> 00:37:07.039 opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person, and 442 00:37:07.239 --> 00:37:12.760 they with me. To the one who's victorious, I will give the right 443 00:37:12.880 --> 00:37:15.880 to set with me on my throne, just as I was victorious and set 444 00:37:15.960 --> 00:37:23.679 with my Father on his throne. Do you have ears? Whoever has ears, 445 00:37:23.880 --> 00:37:32.440 let them hear what the Spirit is saying to the church. Head's about 446 00:37:32.480 --> 00:37:37.400 all across the auditorium, eyes close, just for a moment, if you 447 00:37:37.480 --> 00:37:39.920 would, I just want you to go into a prayerful mode as we get 448 00:37:40.000 --> 00:37:44.840 ready for the baptism. I'll only be another moment or two, but I 449 00:37:44.920 --> 00:37:52.400 want to appeal to you and lead your heart this morning in a prayer of 450 00:37:52.559 --> 00:37:59.360 opening up to the fire of Holy Spirit, new and afresh, welcoming Jesus 451 00:37:59.480 --> 00:38:05.360 to live on the inside of you, welcoming the life that He gives to 452 00:38:05.559 --> 00:38:10.760 be pre imminent and predominant within you, welcoming Him to be the lord of 453 00:38:10.880 --> 00:38:17.119 your life. God is calling us into a fiery romance, and he calls 454 00:38:17.239 --> 00:38:28.119 us out of passive name only Christianity into a life of fire and fiery pursuit 455 00:38:28.199 --> 00:38:32.519 of Him. I'm going to ask every Christian across the auditorium to pray with 456 00:38:32.679 --> 00:38:37.519 me. I don't want anyone feeling like they are pointed out in any way, 457 00:38:38.000 --> 00:38:40.840 but I do want you to pray. If this is your heart this 458 00:38:42.039 --> 00:38:45.480 morning, and you want the fire of God to reignite your heart, you 459 00:38:45.599 --> 00:38:50.679 want the fire of God to live within you. Maybe you already responded this 460 00:38:50.840 --> 00:38:55.000 morning as Pastor Dennis made an appeal and called you forward. Maybe you already 461 00:38:55.039 --> 00:38:59.239 heard Holy Spirit tugging on your heart. I want you to pray this prayer 462 00:38:59.320 --> 00:39:04.599 with me. Pray it and meet it from your heart. Let's say it 463 00:39:04.679 --> 00:39:14.119 together. Father, I'm coming to you through the sun, never to take 464 00:39:14.199 --> 00:39:20.519 him for granted, never to be passe about him, never to look at 465 00:39:20.719 --> 00:39:27.480 his power and his resurrection without reverent fear. Father, I turn my heart 466 00:39:27.599 --> 00:39:31.360 toward you. I want your Holy Spirit to live within me. I welcome 467 00:39:31.480 --> 00:39:40.960 the forgiveness of sin and the forgiveness of a lukewarm heart toward you. Ignite 468 00:39:42.119 --> 00:39:50.199 your passion within me, reignite my spirit with yours. Bring me back into 469 00:39:50.320 --> 00:40:02.360 communion oneness with you. I welcome you right now. I cut off every 470 00:40:02.519 --> 00:40:12.559 other love, every other thing that I've let come up and crowd you out. 471 00:40:14.280 --> 00:40:20.360 No more, no more, no more will I let you be crowded 472 00:40:20.400 --> 00:40:28.519 out. I welcome Jesus to be the Lord of my life. In his 473 00:40:28.800 --> 00:40:35.360 Holy name. I pray, Amen, give him a thank offering this morning. 474 00:40:35.519 --> 00:40:42.599 Church. Now you have to know that this is just the beginning. 475 00:40:42.679 --> 00:40:45.800 Of a new walk. It's the beginning of a new place with you. 476 00:40:46.440 --> 00:40:52.599 These waters of baptism are important because this is where we put the desire to 477 00:40:52.719 --> 00:40:54.639 sin and the power to sin, and the power of rebellion, and the 478 00:40:54.719 --> 00:40:59.360 power of pride to death, and the power of the old nature to death. 479 00:40:59.400 --> 00:41:05.159 There's just so much more. The Bible says when you welcome him through 480 00:41:05.239 --> 00:41:08.960 this prayer of salvation, that you've just come into the door of the Kingdom 481 00:41:09.000 --> 00:41:16.159 of Heaven. You've just come into the door of understanding, and illumination comes, 482 00:41:16.199 --> 00:41:20.880 and understanding begins to come, and a whole new life is before you. 483 00:41:21.800 --> 00:41:24.480 So don't think now you've arrived. Just think that now you're in the 484 00:41:24.559 --> 00:41:29.599 door, and there's so much more for you. And I invite you to 485 00:41:29.719 --> 00:41:34.719 continue to pursue him, love and fellowship. Share with others what you've done. 486 00:41:35.159 --> 00:41:37.760 That you've opened your heart to him. You've confessed that you want to 487 00:41:37.840 --> 00:41:44.000 follow him and run after him with all of your heart. Amen, Oh 488 00:41:44.159 --> 00:41:45.400 Amen, Amen, Amen, God bless your church.