WEBVTT 1 00:00:00.240 --> 00:00:02.480 Some of you are on the edge of giving up 2 00:00:02.560 --> 00:00:05.240 right now, and if we could put an X ray 3 00:00:05.280 --> 00:00:10.919 to your mind, it would show you're pretty desperate. Don't 4 00:00:10.919 --> 00:00:17.480 give up, Look up, don't give up. 5 00:00:19.359 --> 00:00:22.160 Look up. The answer is not to quit. 6 00:00:23.239 --> 00:00:27.600 The answer is to get connected, find God's purpose, and 7 00:00:27.719 --> 00:00:30.800 get God's power in your life, and you'll have a 8 00:00:30.839 --> 00:00:35.000 new resurrection in your life. The same power that raised 9 00:00:35.079 --> 00:00:39.399 Jesus from the dead a couple millenniago two thousand years 10 00:00:39.399 --> 00:00:43.280 ago is available to you today. If God can raise 11 00:00:43.280 --> 00:00:45.640 the dead Jesus, he can raise a dead marriage. If 12 00:00:45.640 --> 00:00:47.759 God can raise a dead Jesus, he can raise a 13 00:00:47.799 --> 00:00:50.240 dead friendship. He can raise a dead career, he can 14 00:00:50.320 --> 00:00:53.039 raise a dead dream, he can raise a part of 15 00:00:53.079 --> 00:00:56.600 your life that's just dying on the vine. That's the 16 00:00:56.679 --> 00:00:59.439 kind of God we serve. That is a benefit that 17 00:00:59.520 --> 00:01:02.880 was paid for you by Jesus Christ. Let me show 18 00:01:02.880 --> 00:01:05.280 you some verses. This may be a benefit you didn't 19 00:01:05.280 --> 00:01:07.239 know about. And if you don't know about it, you 20 00:01:07.280 --> 00:01:12.319 can't depend on it. Phesians chapter one the Bible says, 21 00:01:12.359 --> 00:01:18.120 I pray that you will begin to understand how incredibly 22 00:01:18.400 --> 00:01:24.840 great God's power really is, how incredibly great God's power 23 00:01:24.879 --> 00:01:29.319 really is to help those who believe him. It is 24 00:01:29.359 --> 00:01:33.560 the same mighty power that raised Christ from the dead. 25 00:01:33.680 --> 00:01:36.920 Say wait a minute, time out here, Rick, you're telling 26 00:01:37.000 --> 00:01:39.599 me that the same power that brought Jesus back to 27 00:01:39.680 --> 00:01:42.359 life is available to me in my daily life. That's 28 00:01:42.400 --> 00:01:46.079 exactly what I'm saying. That's a benefit you may have 29 00:01:46.120 --> 00:01:50.319 not known about. The resurrection of Jesus comes with a promise. 30 00:01:50.359 --> 00:01:54.200 Look at the next verse. By his power, God's by 31 00:01:54.200 --> 00:01:57.560 his power, God raised the Lord from the dead. And 32 00:01:57.680 --> 00:02:02.200 read this aloud to me, he will also raise Oh, 33 00:02:02.519 --> 00:02:03.239 now we're talking. 34 00:02:05.439 --> 00:02:07.480 The only reason you're going to be raised. 35 00:02:07.239 --> 00:02:09.639 From the dead and have life after death is because 36 00:02:09.719 --> 00:02:10.919 Jesus did it. 37 00:02:11.400 --> 00:02:12.080 That's the reason. 38 00:02:12.319 --> 00:02:14.120 If Jesus doesn't raise you from the dead, you're not 39 00:02:14.120 --> 00:02:17.360 getting raised from the dead. By his power, God raised 40 00:02:17.400 --> 00:02:19.759 the Lord from the dead, and he will also raise us, 41 00:02:20.280 --> 00:02:22.280 so you can have resurrection power in your life. Now, 42 00:02:22.360 --> 00:02:27.039 let me ask you a very personal question. Where do 43 00:02:27.080 --> 00:02:29.639 you need a resurrection in your life? I'm talking about 44 00:02:29.719 --> 00:02:34.800 right now. Let me phrase it another way. What's dying 45 00:02:35.479 --> 00:02:40.000 in your life or is dead and you know it 46 00:02:41.400 --> 00:02:43.680 and you need God's power to bring. 47 00:02:43.520 --> 00:02:44.240 It back to life. 48 00:02:45.560 --> 00:02:49.599 Where do you need a resurrection this year? Where do 49 00:02:49.639 --> 00:02:51.919 you need God's resurrection power? 50 00:02:52.919 --> 00:02:53.159 See? 51 00:02:53.159 --> 00:02:57.960 The truth is, I'm sorry about this, but some of 52 00:02:58.000 --> 00:03:03.120 you are in marriages that dying. They're going south real fast, 53 00:03:04.000 --> 00:03:07.520 or maybe they already have died and you're just still 54 00:03:07.520 --> 00:03:08.080 living together. 55 00:03:09.240 --> 00:03:11.639 You need a resurrection in your marriage. 56 00:03:12.919 --> 00:03:14.680 The key to a long marriage can I've been married 57 00:03:14.680 --> 00:03:16.120 forty two years, is you have to learn how to 58 00:03:16.120 --> 00:03:19.439 fall in love over and over again. You know, fall 59 00:03:19.439 --> 00:03:22.719 in love just one time. You have to have resurrections 60 00:03:22.840 --> 00:03:26.000 in your marriage, in your life. Some of you need 61 00:03:26.000 --> 00:03:29.520 a resurrection in your marriage because it's dying. Some of 62 00:03:29.560 --> 00:03:34.919 you need a resurrection in your career. And you think, man, 63 00:03:35.159 --> 00:03:36.879 I thought i'd be a whole lot further along the 64 00:03:36.919 --> 00:03:38.759 line than I am right now at this stage of 65 00:03:38.800 --> 00:03:41.199 the game, At this point in my life, I expect 66 00:03:41.280 --> 00:03:44.719 to be further down the road, but I'm not. And 67 00:03:44.759 --> 00:03:49.360 that's disappointing. And you need a resurrection in your career. 68 00:03:51.400 --> 00:03:54.960 Some of you need some resurrection in your energy. You say, 69 00:03:54.960 --> 00:03:57.840 you know, I'm just tired all the time. I dragged 70 00:03:57.879 --> 00:04:01.680 through the day, fatigued all the time. I don't have 71 00:04:01.800 --> 00:04:04.919 any energy because you're living it on your power instead 72 00:04:04.919 --> 00:04:07.840 of God's power. God never intended for you to go 73 00:04:07.879 --> 00:04:10.800 through life just on your power. You don't have enough. 74 00:04:11.319 --> 00:04:16.279 Human power runs out, human love runs out, which is 75 00:04:16.319 --> 00:04:20.199 why there's divorce. You need supernatural love and you need 76 00:04:20.279 --> 00:04:22.639 supernatural power in your life to make it. 77 00:04:22.560 --> 00:04:23.439 To the finish line. 78 00:04:25.279 --> 00:04:29.800 Some of you need a resurrection of your dream if 79 00:04:29.839 --> 00:04:31.680 you've had a dream in your past about something you've 80 00:04:31.720 --> 00:04:34.720 always wanted to be. You're always wanted to do a talent, 81 00:04:34.800 --> 00:04:37.040 you wanted to develop, a goal, you wanted. 82 00:04:36.800 --> 00:04:39.040 To go after, and the dreams died. 83 00:04:41.839 --> 00:04:45.160 Some of you need a resurrection in your health. You're 84 00:04:45.199 --> 00:04:48.519 not going in the right direction. Some of you need 85 00:04:48.519 --> 00:04:53.399 a resurrection in your motivation. I'm just not motivated anymore. 86 00:04:54.240 --> 00:04:57.399 I'm just kind of putting in the time and waiting 87 00:04:57.439 --> 00:05:02.839 for the payday, checking the clock. I'm not going to motivate. 88 00:05:02.959 --> 00:05:05.360 Nothing motivates to be anymore. You need a resurrection of motivation. 89 00:05:05.680 --> 00:05:08.399 Some of you have had a split in a friendship 90 00:05:09.519 --> 00:05:11.800 with a dear friend, a boyfriend, a girlfriend, or just 91 00:05:11.839 --> 00:05:15.079 a good friend, and there's been a rift, there's been 92 00:05:15.079 --> 00:05:19.480 a break, a tear, conflict. You need a resurrection in 93 00:05:20.759 --> 00:05:24.680 your friendship. So I'm just saying that in so many 94 00:05:24.759 --> 00:05:30.000 different areas, some of you have had your heart broken recently, 95 00:05:32.399 --> 00:05:36.360 and as your pastor, I'm sorry, I really am, and 96 00:05:36.480 --> 00:05:39.639 I pray for people in our family that have a 97 00:05:39.639 --> 00:05:43.040 broken heart, and you need to have your heart repaired, 98 00:05:43.079 --> 00:05:47.240 and you need a resurrection in that area of your life. 99 00:05:47.879 --> 00:05:51.399 You see, this is the difference between human beings and God. 100 00:05:51.639 --> 00:05:56.120 God is God and we're not. Human beings can resuscitate. 101 00:05:56.680 --> 00:06:01.160 Only God can resurrect. You know CPR, you know how 102 00:06:01.199 --> 00:06:05.120 to resuscitate somebody, their heart stops, you can resuscitate them 103 00:06:05.120 --> 00:06:09.160 with CPR. If you're a paramedic, you've probably resuscitated hundreds 104 00:06:09.160 --> 00:06:12.879 of people with mouth and mouth or CPR, whatever you 105 00:06:12.920 --> 00:06:16.560 needed to do. Resuscitation happens when they've been dead for 106 00:06:16.600 --> 00:06:20.079 a minute or two or three minutes. But when you've 107 00:06:20.120 --> 00:06:22.439 been dead for three days and buried in the ground, 108 00:06:22.519 --> 00:06:23.639 you don't need resuscitation. 109 00:06:25.120 --> 00:06:26.040 You need resurrection. 110 00:06:27.399 --> 00:06:30.480 And God says, I want to have that kind of power, 111 00:06:30.639 --> 00:06:34.639 not resuscitation power, but resurrection power in the areas youth 112 00:06:34.800 --> 00:06:37.800 like of your life that are dying or have already dead. 113 00:06:37.959 --> 00:06:42.240 They're already dead, and God has not only a purpose 114 00:06:42.279 --> 00:06:45.000 for your life because of the Cross and the resurrection. 115 00:06:45.399 --> 00:06:47.720 But God has a power for your life which is 116 00:06:47.720 --> 00:06:50.040 bigger than the problem you're going through out right now. 117 00:06:52.079 --> 00:06:53.800 Let me show you a couple verses. 118 00:06:55.279 --> 00:06:58.839 First Corinthians, Chapter one, Paul gives a testimony of how 119 00:06:58.879 --> 00:07:03.480 God helps us when we think it is hopeless. Now 120 00:07:03.560 --> 00:07:05.920 Paul says it like this. He tells his own story 121 00:07:06.040 --> 00:07:08.160 of when he was ready to kick the bucket. This 122 00:07:08.199 --> 00:07:10.079 is probably the greatest Christian who ever lived, next to 123 00:07:10.160 --> 00:07:14.079 Jesus Christ. And Paul says, there were times when I 124 00:07:14.120 --> 00:07:17.839 was so depressed. I was readister, throw in the towel, 125 00:07:18.519 --> 00:07:22.600 and he says this. In Second Corinthians, we were really crushed, 126 00:07:23.800 --> 00:07:27.600 and he says, we were overwhelmed, and we feared we 127 00:07:27.639 --> 00:07:33.519 would never live through it. Ever felt like that he crushed, overwhelmed, 128 00:07:34.879 --> 00:07:35.639 filled with fear. 129 00:07:37.000 --> 00:07:39.519 He says, we didn't think we'd live through it. 130 00:07:39.600 --> 00:07:44.680 We saw how powerless we were to help ourselves, and 131 00:07:44.720 --> 00:07:47.160 you just go, Okay, this is not working. I do 132 00:07:47.279 --> 00:07:49.639 not have the power to get done what I need 133 00:07:49.680 --> 00:07:52.120 to get done in my life, I says, don't have it. 134 00:07:52.160 --> 00:07:55.560 I got an energy shortage, I got the energy crisis. 135 00:07:55.639 --> 00:07:58.160 I don't have the power to do what I need 136 00:07:58.199 --> 00:08:01.639 to do. And then Paul says, we realized that we 137 00:08:01.720 --> 00:08:03.519 were powerless to help ourselves. 138 00:08:03.680 --> 00:08:05.079 But that was good. 139 00:08:06.160 --> 00:08:11.480 Huh, How in the world could you feel in crushed, overwhelmed, 140 00:08:11.879 --> 00:08:14.120 fearful and powerless to help yourself. 141 00:08:14.279 --> 00:08:15.560 How in the world is that good? 142 00:08:15.879 --> 00:08:20.279 He says, because then we put everything into the hands 143 00:08:20.279 --> 00:08:24.240 of God, who alone could save us. For he can 144 00:08:24.360 --> 00:08:28.439 even raise the dead. He can even raise the dead. 145 00:08:29.439 --> 00:08:31.160 And he said, and God did help us, and he 146 00:08:31.240 --> 00:08:33.799 saved us, and we expect him to do it again 147 00:08:34.000 --> 00:08:35.080 and again and again. 148 00:08:35.960 --> 00:08:38.080 But you can go all through life totally unplugged. 149 00:08:38.960 --> 00:08:42.080 If you are unplugged from God's power, you will never 150 00:08:42.279 --> 00:08:47.480 know God's purpose. You cannot fulfill your purpose in life 151 00:08:47.600 --> 00:08:52.039 unless you're plugged into the power, the power of the resurrection. 152 00:08:53.639 --> 00:08:56.399 And he says, you know, we got the point. We 153 00:08:56.440 --> 00:08:59.360 were ready to just cash it all in and we 154 00:08:59.360 --> 00:09:01.960 were powerless. But that was good because then we put 155 00:09:01.960 --> 00:09:03.399 it all in the hands of God. And God goes, well, 156 00:09:03.440 --> 00:09:06.440 thank God, you finally did it. I've been waiting for 157 00:09:06.480 --> 00:09:09.399 you to get to the end of your rope so 158 00:09:09.440 --> 00:09:12.320 I could take over. How about you let me have 159 00:09:12.360 --> 00:09:18.080 a try and empowering and guiding your life. Now, just 160 00:09:18.159 --> 00:09:24.320 be honest. Are you sick and tired of being sick 161 00:09:24.360 --> 00:09:29.399 and tired? Here's what the Bible says Isaiah forty. God 162 00:09:29.440 --> 00:09:31.679 gives power to those who. 163 00:09:31.639 --> 00:09:34.879 Are tired and worn out, and he. 164 00:09:34.919 --> 00:09:37.840 Offers strength to the weak. He said, Wait a minute, 165 00:09:37.879 --> 00:09:40.559 I'm tired, I'm worn out, I'm weak. I don't feel 166 00:09:40.559 --> 00:09:43.559 any power. Well, let me explain how you get that power. 167 00:09:43.679 --> 00:09:47.600 You get it through faith. You get it through trust. 168 00:09:47.960 --> 00:09:50.480 You get it through believing in the Son of God, 169 00:09:50.600 --> 00:09:52.799 who died on the cross for you and rose again 170 00:09:53.080 --> 00:09:57.039 to give you that power. You can complain to God 171 00:09:57.080 --> 00:09:59.320 all you want. God is not moved by your complaints. 172 00:10:00.840 --> 00:10:02.879 You can whine all you want. God is not moved 173 00:10:02.919 --> 00:10:07.120 by your whining. You can gripe all you want. God 174 00:10:07.200 --> 00:10:09.679 is not moved by griping. But the moment you put 175 00:10:09.679 --> 00:10:14.000 trust in him, pam, God moves according to your faith. 176 00:10:14.039 --> 00:10:14.840 It will be done unto you. 177 00:10:15.120 --> 00:10:18.720 God honors faith, not griping, not whining, not all these 178 00:10:18.759 --> 00:10:22.840 other things. He says, I'll give you that power. He said, 179 00:10:22.840 --> 00:10:28.200 but Rick, you just don't know what I'm facing right now. Yeah, 180 00:10:28.200 --> 00:10:30.159 you're right, You're right. 181 00:10:31.559 --> 00:10:31.960 I don't. 182 00:10:32.960 --> 00:10:35.919 I don't know what you're facing, but I do know 183 00:10:36.960 --> 00:10:40.240 Luke eighteen twenty seven, which says this, what is impossible 184 00:10:40.279 --> 00:10:45.919 with men is possible with God. What looks like a 185 00:10:45.960 --> 00:10:51.679 dead end, what looks like a death is prime time 186 00:10:52.039 --> 00:10:56.039 for a resurrection and a miracle. What looks like you're 187 00:10:56.080 --> 00:10:58.879 never going to overcome, God can overcome like that. And 188 00:10:58.960 --> 00:11:01.159 God can do more. I have seconds in your life 189 00:11:01.240 --> 00:11:04.039 than you can do in five years. But you've got 190 00:11:04.039 --> 00:11:07.799 to trust him. But here's the promise, and I want 191 00:11:07.840 --> 00:11:10.480 you to have the same promise, the promise of purpose 192 00:11:10.799 --> 00:11:14.440 and the promise of power. First Peter Chapter one. Second 193 00:11:14.480 --> 00:11:18.639 Peter Chapter one. As you get to know Jesus better, 194 00:11:19.559 --> 00:11:23.679 he will give you, through his great power, everything you 195 00:11:24.000 --> 00:11:28.879 need for living a truly good life. Now he said, well, Rick, 196 00:11:29.200 --> 00:11:30.879 I don't have everything I need. Well, then you just 197 00:11:30.879 --> 00:11:33.919 need to get to know Jesus better. As you get 198 00:11:33.960 --> 00:11:36.639 to know Jesus better, he's the source of your purpose 199 00:11:36.960 --> 00:11:40.600 and he's the source of your power. Not only does that, 200 00:11:40.639 --> 00:11:43.159 God have a great purpose for your life. And God 201 00:11:43.200 --> 00:11:46.240 has a great power to solve your problems. God has 202 00:11:46.279 --> 00:11:51.480 a great place for me after I die. We learn 203 00:11:51.559 --> 00:11:54.159 that from the resurrection of Jesus. 204 00:11:54.480 --> 00:11:55.120 We learn that. 205 00:11:55.080 --> 00:11:57.679 There is more to life than here. And now we 206 00:11:57.799 --> 00:12:02.720 learn that death is not the end. One day your 207 00:12:02.720 --> 00:12:05.960 heart is gonna stop. That's gonna be the end of 208 00:12:06.000 --> 00:12:06.519 your body. 209 00:12:06.879 --> 00:12:08.240 But that's not gonna be the end of you. 210 00:12:08.519 --> 00:12:12.559 Oh no, no, no, you were made to last forever. 211 00:12:13.679 --> 00:12:17.519 And God says, I have proven that there's life after death. 212 00:12:18.159 --> 00:12:19.279 I'm raising my own son. 213 00:12:20.480 --> 00:12:22.879 I think Jesus knows more about the afterlife than you 214 00:12:22.919 --> 00:12:24.399 do or I do, because he's been there. 215 00:12:26.799 --> 00:12:30.080 And this gives us hope. Death is not the end. 216 00:12:30.679 --> 00:12:35.240 And in John chapter eleven, here's what Jesus said, I 217 00:12:35.279 --> 00:12:38.799 am the one who raises the dead and gives them 218 00:12:38.799 --> 00:12:40.960 life again. If you're gonna come back to life after 219 00:12:41.000 --> 00:12:44.000 your death, it's gonna be Jesus who does it. Nobody 220 00:12:44.039 --> 00:12:46.080 else gonna do it. 221 00:12:46.080 --> 00:12:47.000 It's gonna be Jesus. 222 00:12:47.919 --> 00:12:50.720 He says, I am the one who raises the dead 223 00:12:50.919 --> 00:12:52.639 and gives them life. How do I know that he's 224 00:12:52.679 --> 00:12:56.000 telling you because he did it, nobody else did. It's 225 00:12:56.080 --> 00:13:00.080 one of the most attested to miracles in history. Just 226 00:13:00.200 --> 00:13:03.320 spit forty days in Jerusalem after he didn't just say 227 00:13:03.360 --> 00:13:04.879 by to your friends, go back to heaven. After he 228 00:13:04.960 --> 00:13:08.159 raised himself, he walked around eight meals, talk to people, 229 00:13:08.240 --> 00:13:11.360 one time, train five hundred people, many many white eyewitness 230 00:13:11.399 --> 00:13:12.639 accounts over forty days. 231 00:13:14.240 --> 00:13:16.879 And he says, I am the one. Anyone who believes in. 232 00:13:16.840 --> 00:13:21.679 Me, even though he dies, shall live again, and he 233 00:13:21.720 --> 00:13:25.200 gives He has given eternal life for believing in me, 234 00:13:26.399 --> 00:13:27.879 and shall never perish. 235 00:13:28.039 --> 00:13:29.320 How do you get eternal life? 236 00:13:29.679 --> 00:13:32.240 Not by doing good, not by going to church, not 237 00:13:32.360 --> 00:13:35.000 by promising me perfect, not by. 238 00:13:35.080 --> 00:13:36.799 Giving a whole lot of money to help the poor. 239 00:13:36.840 --> 00:13:38.120 What he says, one thing. 240 00:13:38.519 --> 00:13:41.679 You believe that Jesus can raise you back from the 241 00:13:41.720 --> 00:13:45.200 dead too. You trust him as your savior. He is 242 00:13:45.240 --> 00:13:47.320 the source of hope. Now let me just summarize this. 243 00:13:48.679 --> 00:13:51.600 You're never going to find ultimate hope in anything you 244 00:13:51.639 --> 00:13:55.440 can lose. If you want to have a hope that 245 00:13:55.519 --> 00:13:58.240 gets you through the toughest times of life, you must 246 00:13:58.279 --> 00:14:00.919 put your hope and put your trust. 247 00:14:00.639 --> 00:14:02.600 In something that cannot be taken from you. 248 00:14:04.399 --> 00:14:06.440 If you put your hope in your bank account, you 249 00:14:06.440 --> 00:14:10.000 can lose your bank account. If you put your hope 250 00:14:10.000 --> 00:14:15.080 in your spouse, you can lose your spouse. If you 251 00:14:15.120 --> 00:14:18.360 put your hope in your health, you can lose your health, 252 00:14:19.720 --> 00:14:22.440 you can lose your mind. You must never put your 253 00:14:22.480 --> 00:14:26.039 hope in something that you could lose. If you put 254 00:14:26.080 --> 00:14:33.080 your hope in your good looks, you've already lost them, 255 00:14:33.120 --> 00:14:37.919 so that that shifts sail friend, I'm sorry. If you 256 00:14:37.960 --> 00:14:41.039 put your hope in your job, it's gonna let you down. 257 00:14:42.559 --> 00:14:46.360 If you put your hope in another person, they will 258 00:14:46.639 --> 00:14:47.440 disappoint you. 259 00:14:48.240 --> 00:14:50.080 Why because they're not God. 260 00:14:51.200 --> 00:14:54.399 You have to put your hope in something or someone 261 00:14:54.679 --> 00:14:58.399 that can never be taken away from you. And there's 262 00:14:58.440 --> 00:15:01.919 only one thing because you can lose everything else in life, 263 00:15:02.519 --> 00:15:09.440 and that is your relationship to God. Your relationship to God. 264 00:15:10.039 --> 00:15:13.240 What I'm saying is that hope is not a principle. 265 00:15:14.080 --> 00:15:19.320 Hope is not a product. Hope is not a program. 266 00:15:19.399 --> 00:15:22.679 Hope is not a pill. I'll get this pill, then 267 00:15:22.679 --> 00:15:26.120 I'll have all the hope I need. Hope is a person, 268 00:15:27.000 --> 00:15:28.720 and there's only one person that you can put that 269 00:15:28.759 --> 00:15:32.399 hope in, Jesus Christ. He is the hope of the world. 270 00:15:32.679 --> 00:15:36.720 That's why it's split into AD and BC. That's why 271 00:15:36.799 --> 00:15:39.440 your birthday is dated according to this event. 272 00:15:41.480 --> 00:15:42.759 You need to get to know Jesus. 273 00:15:44.000 --> 00:15:46.720 And since Jesus raised himself from the dead, and we 274 00:15:46.759 --> 00:15:50.240 know that there's life after death. Here's what we have 275 00:15:50.399 --> 00:15:55.000 look at the next verse, first Peter one. Now we 276 00:15:55.080 --> 00:16:01.200 live with a wonderful expectation because Jesus Christ from the dead, 277 00:16:02.639 --> 00:16:04.559 so we know death's not the end. For God has 278 00:16:04.600 --> 00:16:08.320 reserved a priceless inheritance for his children. That's you who've 279 00:16:08.360 --> 00:16:11.480 trusted in him. It is kept in heaven for you, 280 00:16:12.120 --> 00:16:15.039 pure and undefiled, beyond the reach of change, in the 281 00:16:15.120 --> 00:16:19.360 clay the kay and God in his mighty power, will 282 00:16:19.440 --> 00:16:23.720 protect you until you receive this salvation because you are 283 00:16:23.759 --> 00:16:26.320 trusting him. What does that verse say, Well, let me 284 00:16:26.360 --> 00:16:30.720 summarize all in this. Once you've trusted God for salvation, 285 00:16:31.279 --> 00:16:36.120 it is not your job to keep yourself saved. It's 286 00:16:36.159 --> 00:16:39.320 the Savior's job to keep you safe. It says he 287 00:16:39.360 --> 00:16:41.960 will protect you. He will make sure you get to heaven. 288 00:16:42.159 --> 00:16:48.320 He will guard what you've given to him. When you 289 00:16:48.440 --> 00:16:52.399 come to Jesus and you go God, I'm giving him 290 00:16:52.480 --> 00:16:55.279 my whole life, the good, the bad, and the ugly. 291 00:16:55.320 --> 00:16:57.120 It's not clean up your life and then come to 292 00:16:57.200 --> 00:17:00.399 Jesus like God, here's my greasy hands, my dirty hands, 293 00:17:00.840 --> 00:17:03.840 my filthy hands. God just all a mess in my life. 294 00:17:04.160 --> 00:17:06.759 I put my hand in your hand, and God grabs 295 00:17:06.960 --> 00:17:09.960 your hand. Put your hand in the hand of the 296 00:17:09.960 --> 00:17:11.960 man who's still the water, and he grabs your hand. 297 00:17:13.440 --> 00:17:14.279 And then. 298 00:17:15.559 --> 00:17:17.359 As life goes on, there are going to be some 299 00:17:17.519 --> 00:17:21.640 moments that you don't want to hold onto God's hand. God, 300 00:17:21.720 --> 00:17:24.319 I'm going to a party tonight with a bunch of unbelievers. 301 00:17:25.759 --> 00:17:28.480 I'd like to not be a believer for about an hour, okay, 302 00:17:30.319 --> 00:17:31.319 And I like to pull. 303 00:17:31.359 --> 00:17:34.079 And you may want to let go of God's hand, 304 00:17:34.200 --> 00:17:35.799 but He's not letting. 305 00:17:35.559 --> 00:17:40.680 Go of yours. Once you have been saved, he will 306 00:17:40.799 --> 00:17:43.400 keep you safe. That's the hope you have. 307 00:17:44.039 --> 00:17:45.599 A lot of people think I don't give my life 308 00:17:45.640 --> 00:17:47.640 to God because what happens if I start on it 309 00:17:47.640 --> 00:17:49.240 and then I kind of mess out and screw. 310 00:17:49.039 --> 00:17:51.240 Up and fail, and then I don't feel really stupid, 311 00:17:51.240 --> 00:17:56.000 and then I lose my salvation. No, you won't. That's 312 00:17:56.039 --> 00:17:57.039 not what the Bible says. 313 00:17:57.839 --> 00:18:01.880 It is safe, secure, it's it's done, it's beyond the 314 00:18:01.920 --> 00:18:02.599 reach of change. 315 00:18:02.599 --> 00:18:05.400 In the ky God and his mighty power will keep 316 00:18:05.440 --> 00:18:07.200 you saved. It's not your power. 317 00:18:07.880 --> 00:18:10.039 He does a save it. He didn't he saves you, 318 00:18:10.200 --> 00:18:14.359 He keeps you saved. You don't save yourself. So what 319 00:18:14.400 --> 00:18:17.279 am I saying that the Bible tells us because of 320 00:18:17.319 --> 00:18:19.279 the resurrection, we have hope because there's more to the 321 00:18:19.319 --> 00:18:21.920 story than just here and now. And we have hope 322 00:18:21.960 --> 00:18:24.440 because God protects your salvation and keeps it and you 323 00:18:24.440 --> 00:18:30.279 can't lose it. And that causes you to face the 324 00:18:30.279 --> 00:18:31.759 most difficult times in life with. 325 00:18:31.720 --> 00:18:37.480 The whole new confidence. As a pastor, I have stood at. 326 00:18:37.680 --> 00:18:40.359 I couldn't count the number of grave sites that I've 327 00:18:40.359 --> 00:18:44.240 stood at in forty years. I couldn't count the number 328 00:18:44.279 --> 00:18:47.480 of funerals that I've done. And so I'm a pretty 329 00:18:47.480 --> 00:18:49.480 good expert at knowing the difference between people who have 330 00:18:49.519 --> 00:18:51.559 hope and people who don't, because you can see it 331 00:18:51.599 --> 00:18:55.920 in their eyes. I have been at the funerals of 332 00:18:56.000 --> 00:18:59.839 people when nobody in the family knows God, nobody in 333 00:18:59.839 --> 00:19:02.839 the family has the hope of the resurrection, nobody in 334 00:19:02.880 --> 00:19:06.079 the family knows the hope of heaven. And for them, 335 00:19:06.359 --> 00:19:08.799 they're losing this person, They're never going to see him again, 336 00:19:08.880 --> 00:19:12.839 and it's over. That's it, it's over. And the terror 337 00:19:12.960 --> 00:19:14.000 in their eyes. 338 00:19:15.160 --> 00:19:17.119 Is something you don't want to see. I've seen it 339 00:19:17.160 --> 00:19:19.279 over and over and over, and I. 340 00:19:19.240 --> 00:19:21.480 Compare that to people who know the Lord that when 341 00:19:21.519 --> 00:19:24.440 they use it lose a loved one who knows the Lord. 342 00:19:25.759 --> 00:19:27.839 They grieve, but they're not grieving for them because they 343 00:19:27.920 --> 00:19:30.799 know where they're going. They're grieving for themselves because they're 344 00:19:30.799 --> 00:19:33.119 going to miss them. 345 00:19:33.160 --> 00:19:35.279 And it's a whole different kind of grief. It's aggrieving 346 00:19:35.759 --> 00:19:36.720 with hope. 347 00:19:38.920 --> 00:19:42.920 You know, the older I get, and the more of 348 00:19:42.960 --> 00:19:45.319 my family that's in heaven, and the more of my 349 00:19:45.440 --> 00:19:48.319 friends that are in heaven, some great, great saints who've 350 00:19:48.359 --> 00:19:51.119 been in this church for over thirty years, they're going on, 351 00:19:53.119 --> 00:19:55.440 the more of my friends and family on the other side, 352 00:19:55.480 --> 00:19:59.880 the more Heaven becomes attractive to me. Not to be 353 00:20:00.039 --> 00:20:01.799 honest with you, when I was a young man, heaven 354 00:20:01.799 --> 00:20:05.039 didn't seem very attractive to me in the first place. 355 00:20:05.640 --> 00:20:09.519 No picture of it on earth is correct. I mean 356 00:20:09.720 --> 00:20:12.039 the picture of heaven on earth. Right now that you 357 00:20:12.079 --> 00:20:15.279 hear there's heaven, it's all white. There's no color in heaven. 358 00:20:16.200 --> 00:20:21.279 There's fog up to your feet. You walk around, everybody's 359 00:20:21.319 --> 00:20:25.000 in a white robe with wings playing a harp. 360 00:20:25.240 --> 00:20:26.119 That would be hell. 361 00:20:28.279 --> 00:20:32.200 If that's heaven, no, thanks God. I just soon have 362 00:20:32.279 --> 00:20:33.640 my sunrise of sunsets and. 363 00:20:33.599 --> 00:20:34.240 A cool surf. 364 00:20:37.759 --> 00:20:40.359 That's not heaven. You can't even understand what heaven's going 365 00:20:40.400 --> 00:20:43.079 to be like. It's so cool. Even in the world 366 00:20:43.119 --> 00:20:47.400 that's broken, filled with suffering, sorrow, sadness, sickness, it's still 367 00:20:47.400 --> 00:20:53.799 a pretty cool place. We're enjoying it right now outside. 368 00:20:54.319 --> 00:20:56.359 Most of you know that four years ago, the week 369 00:20:56.400 --> 00:21:01.559 after Easter, our family lost the youngest member, my youngest son, Matthew, 370 00:21:01.720 --> 00:21:03.279 after a lifelong battle. 371 00:21:03.640 --> 00:21:04.960 The mental illness, died. 372 00:21:06.759 --> 00:21:08.519 And it was the worst day of my life, and 373 00:21:08.559 --> 00:21:11.759 his brother and sister's life, and his mom's life, and 374 00:21:11.799 --> 00:21:13.359 everybody else in our family. 375 00:21:13.599 --> 00:21:17.960 Who loved him. Many times over the last four years, 376 00:21:19.119 --> 00:21:19.960 I've been asked. 377 00:21:20.200 --> 00:21:24.759 How did you handle that? How did you handle the 378 00:21:24.880 --> 00:21:27.480 death of a son who struggled his entire life of 379 00:21:27.519 --> 00:21:32.279 mental illness. I want you to listen very carefully, because 380 00:21:32.279 --> 00:21:33.839 you're going to have loss in your life. 381 00:21:33.880 --> 00:21:34.640 I guarantee it. 382 00:21:35.359 --> 00:21:38.039 There is no life without loss, there is no loss 383 00:21:38.079 --> 00:21:42.359 without pain, there is no pain without grief. You're going 384 00:21:42.480 --> 00:21:45.079 to go through this in life. So somebody who loves 385 00:21:45.119 --> 00:21:48.559 you as your pastor, as your spiritual coach, that's my 386 00:21:48.759 --> 00:21:51.640 job to if you get ready for this kind of stuff. 387 00:21:53.119 --> 00:21:58.440 And listen carefully. The way you live with hope in 388 00:21:58.480 --> 00:21:59.599 the middle of pain. 389 00:22:00.880 --> 00:22:06.240 Is to enlarge your perspective, to change your viewpoint, to 390 00:22:06.319 --> 00:22:08.880 get your eyes off of what's happening right here and now, 391 00:22:09.119 --> 00:22:12.160 shift your perspective, change your focus, and begin to live 392 00:22:12.200 --> 00:22:15.680 in light of eternity. As I said, your life on 393 00:22:15.720 --> 00:22:18.400 Earth shore you get maybe one hundred years. That's not 394 00:22:18.640 --> 00:22:22.119 very long compared to the trillions of years you'll spend 395 00:22:22.119 --> 00:22:25.039 in eternity. And so you get your eyes off the 396 00:22:25.119 --> 00:22:28.319 here and now and you get it on eternity, and 397 00:22:28.359 --> 00:22:29.920 you see the hope that's there. 398 00:22:30.440 --> 00:22:32.240 Here's what the Bible says, look on the screen. 399 00:22:33.759 --> 00:22:38.039 So we don't focus on the troubles we see right now. 400 00:22:39.400 --> 00:22:42.480 Instead we look forward to what we don't see yet. 401 00:22:43.480 --> 00:22:48.400