- Well good morning to all of you that chose to come here and worship upstairs. Good to see, or at least have you see me. I don't quite see you down in the warehouse, but we're glad you're here to worship us. Now who did shovel their drive? Let me see, okay, you're coming to my house after, okay, thanks Bill, appreciate that. This past week I had the incredible privilege of joining with some of our staff and some of our leadership at Rockpoint Church for a conference over in Minneapolis, St. Paul, sponsored by Bethlehem College and Seminary. The theme of the conference was gospel hope, looking forward to the second coming of Christ. On Tuesday night, we had a chance to hear from somebody that you might be familiar with, J. D. Greear, he was talking about how we live in light of knowing that Christ is coming again. And it was fascinating when I got home that evening, because here we were talking about the ultimate hope that we have in Jesus Christ and it was being graphically portrayed to our entire world, how we cannot put our faith in government institutions, if you know what I mean. Our ultimate hope has to be found in something more. What we see happening around us, we cannot put our ultimate hope in it. It must be found in Christ and Christ alone. And it was a graphic reminder of why I am grateful and where our joy needs to come from because there is, amen, there is something that is coming that is far greater than any of the stuff that we battle with and see, that we face here on this planet. It's why we send our teams around the globe. It's because of the hope that we have. And it is why we are gonna take a look at our subject today. Can I get, I just gotta stop for a second. Can I get my slides correct up there, as I kinda transfer over, that'll help me out, thank you very much. As we take a look at really what is part two of the resurrection of Jesus Christ. It is the death, burial and resurrection of Christ that fuels the hope that we have and today, we're actually gonna take a look at what it means to experience that resurrection and live in light of that resurrection to come. Because Christ physically rose from the grave, we have an opportunity to face our world, to face the death that all of us experience and also to begin to live in light of that eternity that is to come. So here's what I want you to do today. I want you to take your notes out that you have, grab a pen and you're gonna wanna write down a ton of stuff this morning. I'm gonna also have you turn to two passages, the first is 1 Thessalonians chapter four, verse 13. Now for those of you that brought your Bibles in here, your electronic versions, just dial it up or turn to it. For those of you that wanna use the chair Bible, it is page 987, you'll get to 1 Thessalonians chapter four, verse 13. And for those of you that are overachievers, okay, anybody willing to admit that they are an overachiever, okay, thank you. Probably shouldn't have done that, but we'll just keep going. You can go to 1 Corinthians 15 and locate verse 35. 1 Corinthians 15 and locate verse 35 and we'll jump to that passage in just a second, now if you'll pause for a minute, here's what I want you to think about, most of the passages we're gonna land, except for those two, are gonna be up on the screen. You're going to feel Scripture-saturated this morning, okay and the reason I'm doing that, okay, for those that are underachievers like me and overachievers, is because I want you to begin to input into your mind, the truth about the hope that is to come. We're gonna return to the second coming of Christ in a couple of weeks. Today we're talking about the implications of a physical resurrection. But because of the subject that we're gonna look at today, which is something that we all face, we need to continue to renew our minds with the truth of what is on the other side. Nobody's been there and come back from the grave, except Jesus Christ, right. So we've gotta look to the truth that he offers to all of us, in order to walk down this road together. As we begin to take a look at the subject of death and then saturating our minds with the truth of what is to come, you're gonna be given a chance to process it in your life groups this week and discuss it. It is important to just put the elephant on the table. Death is a mystery in one sense. We don't have all of the answers. And we all face it, we all struggle with it. Especially if you don't have a relationship with Jesus Christ. Then there are some major questions and that's where we wanna begin. Why do we fear death? What is behind that? Well couple of thoughts, death is a mystery, it's unknown, especially if you're not a follower of Christ. We can only go into this subject of death, based on what is revealed to us through the truth. We have to go back to the one who lives on the other side of the grave to know that. But the reason why many people fear it, is because they don't have the answers, they don't know what's coming. Also many believe we face death alone. Now this is not true for a follower of Jesus Christ. But if you don't know Christ, you enter into a very, very dark tunnel and you have no idea what is on the other side. There's this fear of facing it alone. I can't imagine the dread in someone's soul that actually embraces the concept that there is no God or I'm not sure if there is a God, that's being an agnostic and an atheist, actually says well I don't believe it at all. Most atheists are probably more agnostic, if you really push them hard, 'cause they just don't know. I can't imagine a more depressing thought. I'm gonna live my life, I go into a grave and then it's nothing? I mean, you know, take me home now, I don't wanna be a part of that at all, right. I mean just so depressing. Well that causes fear. We also fear because we're separated from loved ones on earth. People that don't know Christ, have no hope beyond the grave, they go into it thinking that while I'm dying, I'm going to be separated from the people I love, if you've ever stood around the bedside of someone who's dying, there's that sense you're losing someone. You don't know if you're gonna see them on the other side, apart, again, from the hope that we have in Christ. And then our personal hopes and dreams will not be realized. We come to the end of this life, there's so much to look forward to. It became really clear to me when my nephew died at 23. I mean honestly, it is not right for a grandparent or a parent to bury their child. And when you look at someone, 23, in the middle of a casket, sitting there, with dreams and aspirations to come, there is that sense of loss. That's what sin has done. That's why we've been in this series of unshakeable truths. There is a reality to the difficulties, the struggles, and yes death of life. Well my sister died of ovarian cancer at a young age, she left a husband, she left a daughter, those were dreams that were not found anymore. She had enormous potential. And finally, death is unavoidable. I hate to be morbid, but we're all dying, right. Okay, you are, I am, your, there just comes a point where, life expectancy granted is growing but there's no cup to drink that is gonna keep you going and for a follower of Jesus Christ by the way, I'm grateful for that. Death is actually been turned not from, it has been turned from a curse to a grace because this body is gonna go away, it's tainted by sin, it is no more and the celebration that we have is, I'm gonna be given a new physical body, transformed and changed and that's the hope that we have. So now we turn to finding freedom from the fear of death. Jesus, when he was addressing his disciples, gave us, I believe it's the most frequently stated command in the Bible, if not the New Testament. You know what it is? Do not fear. Do not fear. He said it over and over and over again and the reason he did it and he wanted them to hear it in his presence is because he came to do something, to conquer death and sin and yes the fear that's the byproduct of it all. He came to do something so that in him, in a relationship with him, we could overcome that and therefore as we look, as a follower of Christ at this, through that grid, as someone who has hope in Christ, we find freedom by understanding that Jesus is our resurrected Lord and we are God's resurrected children. Last week, we talked about the physical resurrection of Jesus Christ. That has enormous implications for us today. When Jesus was addressing Martha, whose brother died, Lazarus, Jesus was a very good friend of the family. They were encountering the sorrow of death. And it was Jesus who addressed Martha in that setting, in John chapter 11, verses 25 and 26. "And Jesus said to her, 'I am the resurrection and the life. "'whoever believes in me, though he die'", notice this. Physically, "'Yet shall he live and everyone who lives "'and believes in me shall never die.'" Shall never die spiritually. So never die, we'll never be separated from the presence of Christ. I'll keep unpacking this all morning long. And then he gives this invitation, "'Do you believe this?'" I love that, right. It's an invitation. Hey, look at me, I am the resurrection and the life. He embodies it. He's the source behind it. He is the one who's going to come back from the grave and offer that same life to all of us and then there's this wonderful invitation, you can believe this. And we find out in John earlier in the book, in chapter one, verse 12, he says, "But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, "he gave the right to become," what, "Children of God." Because they've embraced him as Savior and Lord. It was Jesus Christ who came to break the power of sin and death. Physically and spiritually. Now if you weren't here last week, you can dial up the sermons online but here was a verse that I referred to, it was found in 2 Timothy chapter one, verse 10. This was a letter that Paul wrote to this church and Timothy was an elder in the church and probably the pastor, that's why the letter has his name on it, here's the instructions Paul gave him. "And which now has been manifested through the appearing "of our Savior Christ Jesus," Notice this, "Who abolished death "and brought life and immortality "to light through the gospel." The good news, the hope we have is that Jesus Christ died on the cross for our sin, was raised with a physical body and he abolished death, physically and spiritually to give us hope. Hope for eternal life. He came through to pave the way. That's why Paul says in 1 Corinthians 15:20, we'll actually jump into this passage in just a little bit or the chapter. Paul is writing to a group of believers in a church, talking about the physical resurrection of Christ. And he says, "But in fact Christ has been raised "from the dead, the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep." He led the way and those who follow him will experience the same thing. Now I wanna clue you into a term that's used here, it's the last word in this verse because it's gonna open up the idea of what we're now gonna experience, as we work our way through the rest of the passages in the Bible. You notice here that he talks about those who have fallen asleep, he doesn't use the word death, those have died. He's talking about individuals who have put their trust and faith in Jesus Christ. And the New Testament term fallen asleep, when referred to a believer, actually means those who have put their trust and faith in Jesus Christ, they have not died in terms of separation from God. They've gone immediately into the very presence of the Lord Jesus Christ. And so when you see that word asleep, it's describing what the believer experienced, they have a different hope, they have a different journey. They're immediately in the presence of Christ. Why is that the case? Well, we immediately go into his presence of the Lord after physical death. That's why that verse is important. See I think it is important to say, well what happens to us when we die? What does that look like, what is the truth that's found in the Bible that can inform me? Well one of the passages you need to go to, is where Jesus was hanging on a cross and there was an individual, a thief, a criminal, committed a crime was dying with him, he finally acknowledged him as Messiah and here's what Jesus said to him. You can look it up, Luke chapter 23, verse 43. "Jesus said to him, 'Truly I say to you today you'll be "'with me in paradise."' Immediately, automatically. That happens, that's the hope that we have. Paul expands on this, again in 2 Corinthians, a letter he wrote to, a second letter he wrote or one of the letters he wrote to the church in Corinth. Chapter five, verse eight, he says, "Yes, we are of good courage." We can have courage, that's the idea. "And we would rather be away from the body," physical body, "and we're at home with the Lord." To be absent from the body is to immediately be present with the the Lord. Our conscious soul goes to be with him. Now theologians call this the intermediate state, okay, 'cause man, we're just trying to put our minds around this because we do die, our physical body dies so what happens to the real me, the soul that lives inside of this body that's you know, falling apart every day in a new way, okay. And what happens then after? Well the real me goes to be with the Lord, prior to getting this resurrected body. This is why I had you go to 1 Thessalonians chapter four. As we read starting in verse 13, Paul is writing again to followers of Christ and we won't unpack everything but we'll unpack some of the things that are there. "But we do not want you to be uninformed brothers, "about those who are asleep," that's why I told you what I did earlier about that word, "that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope." Right away in verse 13, Paul is talking to believers and they are concerned because individuals that they have known, let's say it's your nephew, your grandma, your grandpa who are part of the church, they died and so they're asking this very question. Well what happens to 'em? We're concerned, are we gonna be with them again? What takes place, when are we gone, what is all of this look like Paul? Now remember, many of these individuals are brand new believers. They don't even have all of the Bible, okay. So Paul is writing them and he's saying, I mean at least we can read all of this now. They didn't have anything and so Paul says, well let me put it down in writing, from revelation from the Lord, what actually happens here. You have individuals who believed in the resurrection of Christ and put their trust and faith in him, they're asleep but now Paul's going to explain what happens and he details out what takes place. Because he says we have hope. There's something, we don't have to live as those who don't have hope. So verse 14 now. He says, "For since we believed "that Jesus died and rose again," 'kay, so they're followers of Christ here, "Even so, through Jesus, God will bring "with him those who have fallen asleep." So they're already with him, so see to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord. So it's that intermediate state. So they've died, physical body gone, their soul ruled them, that inhabits the body, is with Christ, that's what he's saying. Now verse 15. "For this we declare to you by a word from the Lord, "that we who are alive, "who are left unto the coming of the Lord." Now that's his coming for us. "Will not precede those who have fallen asleep. "For the Lord himself will descend from heaven, "with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel "and with the sound of the trumpet of God "and the dead in Christ will rise first." I'll come back to that in a second. "Then we who are alive who are left "will be caught up together with them in the clouds "to meet the Lord in the air "and so we will always be with the Lord, "therefore encourage one another with these words." Now at the end of verse 16, you have a clue what he's talking about. He says, "And the dead in Christ will rise first." Who are the dead in Christ? Those are the ones who physically died before his second coming who are fallen asleep who are already in his presence who are coming back with him. What is he talking about there? He's talking about the physical resurrection. He's talking about a time when Christ comes again and the trumpet is sounded and he comes back in the clouds, they will come back with him. All those that have died prior to his second coming, they're with him, come back in the clouds, they're reunited with their body but it is a new body, it has been transformed, it is a physical transformed body and then it says those of us who might be still living, when we hear that trumpet sound okay, the voice of the archangel, we will in that moment be given our new resurrected body. It's transformed immediately and then it says, we'll be caught up together with them in the clouds. Notice, Christ doesn't set foot on the earth here. That's why that word catching up means rapture. Now, I know that there are different opinions about this, we don't hold a gun to your head here at Rockpoint, so we don't make that an essential to salvation but I will tell you where I'm at on this issue. And that is, I firmly believe that this rapturing of the church, this coming of Christ in the clouds happens prior to a very, very awful time called the tribulation period that will last seven years. And we will be caught up. It's the great hope of the church. And then Christ will come again, at his physical second coming where it is described in Scripture, he will set foot on the Mount of Olives and then he will bring about his millennial reign for 1,000 years. But you can see the hope that is found here. That's the hope. We get a resurrected body, they get a resurrected body and therefore, here's another reason why we can face it and have freedom from it, we look forward to a new, resurrected physical body like his. Romans chapter eight, verse 22 through 23 says, "And not only the creation but we ourselves, "who have the first fruits of the Spirit." First ones that came to Christ. Couple thousand years ago after Christ died and rose from the grave. "Groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, "the redemption," notice what he says. "Of our bodies." That means physical resurrection. "For in this hope we were saved. "Now hope that is seen is not hope. "For who hopes for what he sees?" He's saying, this is future, this is something to come. This resurrection is going to happen. Now again, as I said, for those of you that are overachievers, you're already there, look at 1 Corinthians chapter 15. Find verse 35, it's page 961 in your chair Bible if you need it. And let's take a look. Now let me set it up this way if I can, just real quick. If you're ever looking for a chapter that proves the physical resurrection of Christ, that proves you will have a physical resurrection, this is it. Go back to 1 Corinthians 15. Everything is found there. This is a church in Corinth that had messed up theology in a major way. They bought into Greek mythology and they thought that the body was bad, the spirit is good, the body gets destroyed, the spirit gets released into bliss. Paul comes along, he says, that ain't Biblical. Let's go back to the truth. What actually happens is, you get a physical body. The body's not bad, it's just gonna be transformed. It's tainted by sin but it's gonna be transformed and we will be like Christ. Now Paul actually asks the very question we are asking here. Look at verse 35. "But someone will ask, how are the dead raised? "With what kind of body do they come?" What does this look like? And now the following verses he gives an illustration of a little seed that's planted in the ground and then that seed grows into a plant. His point is, there's been a transformation but there's continuity between the seed and the plant. And his point for us is, there's continuity, I'm gonna be given a new physical body but it will be transformed, it will be different than the body that I have. That's why he says, if you look down at verse 42, he says, "So it is with the resurrection of the dead, "what is sown is perishable," that's this body, physical body here on earth, natural body he'll say in a minute. "What is raised as imperishable," this physical new body I get is not gonna perish, it's gonna be transformed. In other words, I'll say it this way. There are some major upgrades that are coming, right. Verse 43, "It is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory. "It is sown in weakness, it is raised in power. "It is sown in natural body," that falls apart. "It is raised a spiritual body." Now that's not immaterial. He actually says body. His point is spiritual means a heavenly body. A body that is perfect. A body that's been made right. A body that's been made the way God created us to be made to experience his fullness and his joy in every way, shape or form, the body that we were supposed to have is for sin entered into the world, that's what he's saying here. And if there's a natural body, there's also a spiritual body. Thus it is written, the first man Adam, became a living being, the last Adam, that's Jesus Christ, became a life giving spirit. But it is not the spiritual that is first but the natural and then the spiritual. The first man was from the earth, that's Adam and of dust, the second man, that's Christ is from heaven, as was the man of dust, so also are those who are of the dust as is the man of heaven so also are those who are of heaven, just as we have borne the image of the man of dust, we shall also bear the image of the man of heaven, Jesus Christ. And that's why Paul said in Romans 8:29, we are being conformed to the image of Christ. Now look down at verse 53. He says very clearly there. "For this perishable body must put on the imperishable "and this mortal body must put on immortality." John says it this way in the little book that he wrote at the end of the New Testament, he said, "Beloved, we are God's children now "and what will be has not yet appeared." It's coming, that's our hope. But we know that when he appears, we shall be what? Like him, did he have a physical body, yes. So will we because we shall see him as he is. Now I can't describe this morning every characteristic that's in Scripture regarding what this new body is, but one of the passages I would encourage you to go to, is found at the end of your New Testament in Revelation chapter 21, verse four. Where it describes it to some extent. "He'll wipe away every tear from their eyes "and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning "nor crying, nor pain anymore, "for the former things have passed away." And that is all because of the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ that we have hope. So because of this, that gives us hope. We don't have to fear death. We don't walk alone because Christ is with us. We have a chance to see loved ones on the other side of the grave, right. Because they've passed on but they have put their trust and faith in Jesus Christ. Now the reality is, if there's heaven, there's a hell, okay, it's eternal punishment forever and ever. We don't, you know, don't like to talk about that but if you don't talk about it, then you don't understand the need for heaven. That's the point. So how do we begin this process then of learning to live with eternity in view? Well Paul begins in Colossians, he puts these principles throughout the New Testament but one of the passages I would encourage you to memorize, chapter three, I would memorize all the way through verse four but I'll read for you on the screen, verses one and two. "If then you have been raised with Christ." Those of us that have experienced this, now he's gonna tell you how to live. "Seek the things that are above." Get your gaze out there, that you're gonna have a resurrected body, that Christ is coming again so that you start living right. "Where Christ is seated at the right hand of God", 'cause he finished the work for us. He's given us hope, that's the idea. "Set your minds on things that are above, "not the things that are on the earth." That's what I told you, we're gonna saturate you with Scripture. You gotta start thinking about God's thoughts, about life today. Why is that case? Because we get caught up in the here and now. We've got taxes to pay. You may or may not like the IRS. You have a job, you have kids to take care of. You've got a mom or a dad that you've gotta take care of, because you're in that zone in life. You're having a kid, you've got your life in front of you, whatever it might be. We get focused on the things of life. Now God cares about those things but he doesn't want that to be our focus. That's why living in light of all of this, means first to trust God's provision for today and for tomorrow. This is important because then you get your priorities right. If you just start focusing on all this stuff here, you end up forgetting living for him, getting those priorities right, so that you're buying into a transcendent cause beyond you, you're living for him and when you do that, not only does he provide for you but your soul begins to find the kind of soul satisfaction and transformation in this life and you get to experience the joy he has planned for you and understanding what it means to be born and live reflecting the image of God, that's the point. Living by his priorities gives you the joy, if you don't live by his priorities, you don't get the joy because we continue to experience the fall of sin. That's why Jesus said in Matthew six, 31 and 33. He said, "Therefore do not be anxious, saying, "'What shall we eat' or 'What shall we drink?' "or 'What shall we wear?' For the Gentiles seek after all "of these things and your heavenly Father knows "that you need them all." He cares about that. But look, he reorients your priorities. "But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness "and all these things will be added to you." Put me first, that's why this principle is so critical. Place Christ at the center of your life. He must be the all-consuming passion of your soul. Otherwise, if you're looking at the here and now, you begin to fill your life with a bunch of counterfeits that will never satisfy your soul, that will keep you searching day in and day out and you'll never experience the transformed life that we talked about a few weeks ago. It's why I love what Paul said in Ephesians three. We spent some time there. And he's really giving a prayer for the church in Ephesus, the believers, but it's a prayer we should be praying into our own lives and for others. And here's a portion of it. "That according to the riches of his glory," From all that he has, "He may grant you to be strengthened "with power through the Spirit in your inner being," because every follower of Jesus Christ has been indwelt with the Holy Spirit, you get everything you need for life and godliness. No second blessing to come. So that Christ may, notice this. Dwell in your hearts through faith. Are you praying that into your life? Are you praying that into the life of others? Now the key word is dwell. Dwell means abide. Dwell means that Christ becomes the driving influence in every single area of my life. It's what we mean when we say, have you fully surrendered to the Lordship of Jesus Christ? That's what that means. Letting him be your all-consuming passion to change your affections, your attitudes and your actions. Now Jesus said it in John chapter 15, verse five, when he said "I'm the vine, you're the branches. "Whoever abides in me and I in him, "he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me," You can do what? Nothing. Absolutely nothing of eternal value. Nothing of eternal consequence. I have to put him first and then when he becomes the driving passion of my life and soul, then I begin to do his life in me and he begins to transform me in the process. Now abiding, he explains that a little bit further. In chapter 15, verse 10. He says, "If you keep my commandments, "you will abide in my love." If you do what I say, if you get to know me and follow me, then I will become the all-consuming passion of your life and soul. "Just as I have kept my Father's commandments "and abide in his love." And it is the resurrection of Jesus Christ that makes that possible because it helps us restructure our priorities so that we start living with heaven in mind and that's why this next principle is important, don't forget where you're going. Don't forget it. Make that a part of everyday thinking. Paul in the midst of a jail cell, okay. This guy was experienced, you know, smells and stench and ugliness in the midst of a jail cell, actually writing to a church, telling them, eventually in chapter four, that he's content in everything. I mean the last thing I'm probably gonna be doing if I'm in a jail cell or a smelly place, is thinking, God, I am not content, get me outta here! But notice what he says, he says, "But our citizenship is in heaven," He's not focusing on the stench. He's focusing on what is to come. "And from it, we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, "who will transform our lowly body," That's the resurrected physical body that's coming to us, "To be like his glorious body "by the power that enables him even "to subject all things to himself." His resurrection power gives us that hope. And it is because of that, knowing where we're going, that we can start living the kind of holy life that Peter tells us to in the midst of suffering, in the midst of the jail cells, 1 Peter 1:15 says, "But as he who has called you is holy, "you also be holy in your conduct," In terms of how you live. Now weddings are a wonderful display of human behavior that I get to observe because we do weddings as pastors. Absolutely fascinating to see what happens. And on our particular wedding, I made sure because you know and it depends on the level of the parents involved quite frankly and the couple that's getting married, as to whether or not they're overachievers, I've used that term or underachievers because some want everything perfect, I mean believe me, I've done one that was, really choreographed, it was incredible like Mom stands up at a certain part of the song and all this stuff and then there's others who just, they just want to get down there and you say, you're married, sign it and get them out of there, okay. I've done the gamut. On my particular wedding, I wanted to make sure everything would go as planned on my end with the guys, when that would take care of her side of the bargain or covenant, whatever. You know, she'd make sure everything would happen. And I made sure the guys tried their tuxes on, okay, right, that's important, yes. So I made sure everybody's good and then I went to her aunt, I stayed there, I got up the next morning and ready to go and I decided to put my tux on, the problem was, when I put the pants on, I realized that the pants were made for somebody who's 6'5" and built like a rail and obviously I'm not built like a rail. So I didn't get ready. I didn't get myself ready and I didn't do the very things I told everybody else to get ready to get ready for this big day. The point is this, when the big day's coming and the New Testament actually uses in several ways, this metaphor of a wedding celebration of joy that is coming when the church, the bride of Jesus Christ, is united with the groom Jesus Christ, that's the metaphor that the New Testament uses. It is a grand day of celebration of joy, when this body is fully realized as to what God wants me to be as I'm joined with his resurrection body, I move into eternity with Jesus Christ, that day is coming, this world will pass and I get to experience eternity with all the joy and the fullness, that's where I'm going and what he's saying here is, that hope should drive how you live today. Because if you're focused just on the stuff of today, you won't experience the transformation in the here and now, you won't experience the joy and you'll keep trying to fill yourself with the counterfeits and you won't be ready when he comes again. Now we'll come back to that subject in a few weeks. C.S. Lewis said it this way, "Aim at heaven "and you'll get earth thrown in. "Aim at earth and you'll get neither." How true it is. And finally, in the process, we live by faith through the seasons of life. What is faith? Well in this marvelous chapter in the New Testament, Hebrews chapter 11, it is described for us, it says, "Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, "the conviction of things not seen." The assurance of things hoped for, what is he saying there? He's saying, confident trust, that's the idea. There is a confident trust for what is to come and then he gives you example after example after example of these great individuals in this chapter of faith that actually had a confident trust in the eternal promises and character of God, he culminates it in the greatest display of faith, the Lord Jesus Christ, who actually lived the perfect faithful life before us, because we couldn't. And that's why by the time we get to Hebrews chapter 12, verse one and two, he says, "Therefore, since we are surrounded "by so great a cloud of witnesses," Those that trusted in the character of God, in the here and now and trusted him, "Let us also lay aside the weight," Let's get going on this path of faith. And don't get hung up on the things that keep us from walking this road. And that's why he says, with this great cloud of witnesses in view, "Let us also lay aside every weight "and sin which clings so closely "and let us run with endurance the race "that is set before us," Notice this. "Looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith." Jesus Christ was the author with God the Father and God the Holy Spirit of this magnificent plan of redemption from Genesis to Revelation, whereby, he knew you were stuck in your sin, he died for you, rose again, is coming back to set us free from this filthy world of sin in every way, shape or form, it is Jesus Christ who authored that because he loves you and he wants a relationship with you. And for joy, "For the joy that was set before him." He knew he had to go to the cross. And he would go to the cross to give this plan of redemption so that he would give you the opportunity to follow him, paving the way for us and then he will continue to perfect our faith as we live by faith, trusting in his character, his will and his ways. Just like those in the Old Testament displayed to us in Hebrews 11. And therefore because he wanted that for you and me, he endured the cross, despising the shame and finished the work and that's why he's seated at the right hand of the throne of God. We look forward to the hope of a resurrected body, which helps us look forward to the second coming of Jesus Christ, which drives everything that we do. You wanna live by faith, what does he say, what's the key? Look to Jesus. You wanna walk this road, look to Jesus. Why, because when I look at Jesus and I look at the truth, I begin to realize he is everything he claimed to be. He did it all. I mean that's why we spent the last week talking about the physical, historical evidence of the physical resurrection of Jesus Christ. Why, because it's all true. It is way, folks, it is way beyond a reasonable doubt. And because he is alive and because he's coming again, I have this confident trust, it's all true. And if it's all true, I look to Jesus. I look to the one and every time I'm in the Scriptures, every time I spend time with him, he proves himself more and more and more and by his character and in how he's changing me and transforming me and as I fall in love with Jesus and I start letting him be the driving force of my life and I start abiding by how he tells me I should live my life. Then notice what happens, I begin to experience the very same thing he did, transformation because he went through the cross, he suffered, he died and he rose and isn't it fascinating, it's stated throughout the New Testament that as we go through the trials, the sufferings, the difficulties of life, do you know what that really is? That's death to self and being raised to new life. Right here in the here and now. As you go through those times, as you trust him, the one who can give you the strength and power, when you go through those times, it really is a death to self because I'm living his way, not my way and I'm beginning to experience this new life, right now and in that sense, our faith becomes sight, even in this world to be fully realized when I'm in the presence of Jesus Christ. And so now the issue is, are you ready to live in light of that great truth? As we come to a table that we refer to as communion, we come to a time when we focus on the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ. For those of you that are in this room, we're gonna pass the elements, I want you to hold on to them, I'm gonna give you a couple of things to do. For those that are down in the warehouse, you'll have a chance to come forward and take communion on your own. But let me set it up this way. When we come to this table, we hold both the bread and the cup. We reflect upon what Christ has done for us. And for those of you that have made a decision to put your trust and faith in Jesus Christ, as Savior and Lord, we invite you to take communion with us and what I mean by that is, you've come to that place of confident trust. You believe it's true that he died for your sin. You believe that you're a sinner and you need a savior. You have to come to this moment in your life. And then when that happens, you turn to Christ and trust in the person of Jesus Christ, who paid the price for your sin and rose from the grave. That's where new life comes. And so now as we go into this time, I want you to first thank him for the gift he's given to you. That's where we begin. Second, we are reminded when we take communion, not only of his sacrifice but of the fact that he's coming again. Jesus actually made this statement that he will not drink from the cup again until he is with us in paradise. You know what that's a reference to? Second coming. He's coming again. And so now that you give thanks for what he has done, in the next few moments, I want you to, in so many words say, Spirit of the living God, what is it in my life that needs your lordship, your abiding presence, because I'm not letting go of that and God, what is it in my life that is keeping me from living fully devoted to you? So I can be ready when you come again. I want you to ask yourself that question. And God's gonna reveal whatever needs to be done, right there in your heart. I want you to confess it and then I want you to make a statement of recommitment. That when you leave this place, you will be living with the hope of knowing that when he comes again, you'll be ready. Let's pray. Father, thank you for the hope we have in Christ and guide us now Lord as we spend time personally with you, may your Spirit move in our hearts and lives and do the work that only you can do. May we recommit to living for you. In light of the hope that we have. It's in Christ's name we pray, amen.