WEBVTT 00:00:00.719 --> 00:00:07.519 Well, thank you, worship team, and thank you, congregation, and powerful worship this morning. 00:00:09.359 --> 00:00:24.800 It seems that every word that was sung today helps us as we get ready to enjoy a communion time together as a church with each other. 00:00:24.960 --> 00:00:31.359 You know, it's really hard to believe that this is the first Sunday in August, and uh, you know, uh somebody stole the summer. 00:00:31.440 --> 00:00:34.240 I don't know where it went, they just ran off with it. 00:00:34.399 --> 00:00:44.399 And uh uh Jesse is away with his family uh this week and uh uh a well-deserved time away, and we're pushing the pause button on Jonah. 00:00:44.640 --> 00:00:45.600 Come next week. 00:00:45.759 --> 00:00:46.560 You have to be here. 00:00:46.640 --> 00:00:52.880 This is when he finishes the series on Jonah, and uh it's gonna be a thriller. 00:00:53.679 --> 00:00:56.479 You want to be here for it, so we uh we hope you'll come. 00:00:56.719 --> 00:01:07.040 But we have uh received tremendous feedback from many people about that uh that his teaching from that book, and it's been a blessing to so many and uh look forward to his return. 00:01:07.200 --> 00:01:18.239 Within the past month, we as a country have sort of celebrated uh what took place 50 years ago as we uh saw man first land on the moon. 00:01:18.640 --> 00:01:19.840 It was quite an achievement. 00:01:19.920 --> 00:01:21.519 You you probably heard about it. 00:01:21.760 --> 00:01:27.439 Um and uh and and and I recall at that time I was uh 15 years old. 00:01:27.519 --> 00:01:32.079 So right now, many of you are doing your advanced math uh calculating how old I am. 00:01:32.319 --> 00:01:36.879 But it was it was amazing to see all of the things that that we saw. 00:01:36.959 --> 00:01:50.239 Um just to to recognize that in uh in 50 short years we had a man had gone from walking to flying, and then since then we have uh placed people on the moon and and brought them back safely. 00:01:50.400 --> 00:01:58.480 And uh and so it it's one of the great achievements uh of uh our country and and of mankind. 00:01:58.640 --> 00:02:01.280 Um and we remembered so much from it. 00:02:01.439 --> 00:02:09.360 I I just I kind of went back uh just thinking about it, seeing the video footage of that landing and and the and the first uh steps on the moon. 00:02:09.439 --> 00:02:14.639 And we remember the famous words and what was said and what took place. 00:02:14.719 --> 00:02:18.879 Uh we remember uh where we were when it happened and who we were with. 00:02:19.199 --> 00:02:26.400 Many gathered around um, well, it didn't matter, it was a black and white picture anyway, so uh, but it was it was rough. 00:02:26.479 --> 00:02:33.759 I mean, and and you're trying to see and trying to figure out what is happening, and and uh uh we remember uh all of those times. 00:02:33.840 --> 00:02:40.719 Uh it was like a feeling of celebration, achievement, uh, satisfaction, and what that what that event meant to us. 00:02:40.800 --> 00:02:42.719 Uh it was uh it was it was wonderful. 00:02:42.800 --> 00:02:47.680 I mean, for our family it was great because my dad had an uncle who worked for NASA. 00:02:48.000 --> 00:02:55.759 And uh and a couple of weeks after uh the moon landing, we went on a uh it was a sort of a family torture. 00:02:55.840 --> 00:02:58.960 We went on a month-long trip around the United States in a trailer. 00:02:59.039 --> 00:03:15.280 It was we survived that too, but uh but we went to uh went to see uh Uncle Charlie and and he and he was part of his NASA engineering aspect was to figure out how to make the flag fly with uh without any air up there, you know. 00:03:15.360 --> 00:03:17.039 And I thought he did a pretty good job. 00:03:17.120 --> 00:03:25.280 You know, we were we we we we kind of uh thanked him for that, and it was uh it was just a great time uh in our lives, as I recall it. 00:03:25.360 --> 00:03:34.240 Um but this morning we're gonna take time to remember not just a mere historical event uh of some random accomplishment of man. 00:03:34.639 --> 00:03:44.240 Today we celebrate and remember God's divine rescue of fallen and sinful man in the person of his son, the Lord Jesus Christ. 00:03:44.560 --> 00:03:59.039 Now we often hear of people who are accidentally finding themselves in harm's way, they're entrapped in a life and death situation, the clock is ticking, time is running out, and they are in desperate need of rescue. 00:03:59.360 --> 00:04:13.599 And so somebody somewhere, sometimes it's a government or a local agency, they begin to mobilize, they begin to make plans for the rescue, they develop rescue teams, and they get the equipment and the personnel are all gathered. 00:04:13.759 --> 00:04:16.560 And then the rescue itself is underway. 00:04:16.720 --> 00:04:35.519 And then we, because we have uh global media coverage, you can go anywhere in the world and see what uh what great tragedy is taking place and see how the rescue is prevailing, uh we all as a people hold our breath in anticipation, hoping that it's going to be a successful rescue. 00:04:35.680 --> 00:04:45.519 And then after that, we will have thousands and thousands of stories, human interest stories, about the entire thing, and then after that, we'll go on to the next rescue, right? 00:04:45.600 --> 00:04:47.279 Isn't that usually how it happens? 00:04:47.519 --> 00:05:04.639 Well, the scriptures tell us that the first man, Adam, fashioned and created in the image of God, and in whom God breathed life, was designed to walk in fellowship with him, but he succumbed to temptation and fell into sin. 00:05:05.839 --> 00:05:19.120 And his act of willful disobedience, he was doomed to live in a broken state, in a broken world, apart from any ongoing holy communion with God. 00:05:20.160 --> 00:05:24.399 All of that prompted God to ask, Where are you? 00:05:25.439 --> 00:05:32.399 Calling out to him, knowing that he was lost, because he was lost. 00:05:33.920 --> 00:05:45.839 But even in Genesis 3, as God was comforting the offenders with their sin and judging the serpent, he included a promise that we celebrate today. 00:05:46.240 --> 00:05:52.160 He said, enmity would exist between the offspring of the serpent and the offspring of the woman. 00:05:52.480 --> 00:05:55.040 And God said these beautiful words. 00:06:00.000 --> 00:06:02.959 That's the first offering of good news. 00:06:03.439 --> 00:06:09.199 That a rescue is underway, and fallen man will be delivered. 00:06:09.519 --> 00:06:15.360 And for those of you who like a more visceral description, I like what the NIV translation says. 00:06:15.680 --> 00:06:20.879 It renders God saying to the serpent, he will crush your head. 00:06:24.560 --> 00:06:35.120 The seed of the woman was Jesus, who would one day provide the means and the opportunity to save mankind from the eternal consequences of sin. 00:06:36.480 --> 00:06:42.079 But those consequences still remain with us, some of those two. 00:06:43.040 --> 00:06:45.600 How did the fall affect humanity? 00:06:46.480 --> 00:06:50.000 Well, it was catastrophic in every way. 00:06:50.800 --> 00:06:58.720 Because just as sin entered the world through one man and death through sin, in this way death came to all people because all have sinned. 00:06:59.439 --> 00:07:03.680 You know, you think of the plague of the Ebola virus, that it's so lethal. 00:07:03.920 --> 00:07:07.439 You think of the black plague in the Middle Ages was horrific. 00:07:07.600 --> 00:07:16.879 The fall of man put him on a course not just of physical devastation, but of spiritual destruction, eternal suffering as well. 00:07:18.000 --> 00:07:21.519 The effects of the fall are numerous, they are far-reaching. 00:07:22.000 --> 00:07:25.040 It's affected every aspect of our being. 00:07:25.920 --> 00:07:28.720 It's affected our lives on earth. 00:07:29.360 --> 00:07:31.600 It's affected our eternal destiny. 00:07:32.480 --> 00:07:36.079 One of the immediate effects was that man was separated from God. 00:07:36.959 --> 00:07:47.199 Whereas Adam and Eve experienced perfect communion and fellowship with God, their rebellion against him caused that fellowship with him to be broken. 00:07:48.079 --> 00:07:54.480 Their eyes saw that the created world was made in it, and they were innocent eyes, seeing everything. 00:07:54.720 --> 00:08:00.000 But because of their sin, their eyes and their minds became corrupted. 00:08:00.399 --> 00:08:02.800 No longer innocent because of their sin. 00:08:02.959 --> 00:08:07.120 In shame, they began covering themselves and hiding themselves from God's presence. 00:08:07.279 --> 00:08:08.480 They hid from him. 00:08:08.720 --> 00:08:14.560 And truthfully, man has been hiding and covering self from God ever since. 00:08:16.160 --> 00:08:27.839 I remember as a young father when I'd arrive home from work, and my two little sons, Michael and Andrew, would run to meet me at the door, and man, that filled my tank. 00:08:28.079 --> 00:08:43.519 Whatever the day was like, it all went away because we would, they would come home to the door, I would come in through the door, and they would grab me by one on one leg and one on the other, and we'd walk our way into the living room, and then a massive wrestling match would ensue, and it was just wonderful. 00:08:44.000 --> 00:08:58.720 And I can't even imagine what it would be like to have that relationship broken to those who I love, who are a part of me, running from me instead of to me. 00:08:59.919 --> 00:09:01.440 But that's what man did. 00:09:02.320 --> 00:09:12.320 Once the sin was committed, they were running, running from God, hiding from God, separating themselves from God. 00:09:12.480 --> 00:09:17.679 And not only did they separate themselves from God, their own relationship was fractured. 00:09:18.159 --> 00:09:22.480 Remember what Adam's response was to God after being confronted with his sin? 00:09:22.639 --> 00:09:30.240 He says, The woman you gave me to be with me, she gave me of the tree and I ate. 00:09:31.200 --> 00:09:35.440 So in one sentence, he blames God and he blames his wife. 00:09:38.399 --> 00:09:42.799 Where does Eve have an opportunity to blame someone? 00:09:42.960 --> 00:09:44.960 Well, she pins it on the animals. 00:09:45.360 --> 00:09:49.600 The serpent deceived me and I ate. 00:09:50.000 --> 00:09:56.480 You know, there were no streets in Eden back then, and there were buses hadn't been invented yet, but they were both throwing each other under the bus. 00:09:56.559 --> 00:09:59.440 So, you know, it was it was a mess. 00:10:01.039 --> 00:10:02.720 All because of their sin. 00:10:04.000 --> 00:10:12.159 And it doesn't take the appointment of a special prosecutor to understand they were guilty, fully guilty. 00:10:12.480 --> 00:10:14.399 The evidence was plentiful. 00:10:15.440 --> 00:10:24.559 They only had one thing that they had been asked not to do, but they willfully chose to do it anyway. 00:10:25.600 --> 00:10:29.360 And because of the fall, death became inescapable reality. 00:10:29.840 --> 00:10:32.559 All of creation was subject to it. 00:10:35.200 --> 00:10:37.600 Because of sin, all men die. 00:10:38.480 --> 00:10:40.799 Because of sin, all animals die. 00:10:40.960 --> 00:10:43.600 Because of sin, all plants die. 00:10:44.399 --> 00:10:47.840 Because of sin, every living thing dies. 00:10:50.879 --> 00:11:03.279 Paul was right when he said in chapter 8 of the book of Romans, he said, creation is in bondage to corruption. 00:11:04.240 --> 00:11:07.440 And then later he says, the whole of creation groans. 00:11:09.440 --> 00:11:13.759 All awaiting the redemption from the effects of sin. 00:11:14.080 --> 00:11:17.759 And there's no immunity, there's no inoculation. 00:11:19.200 --> 00:11:22.240 Paul said, the wages of sin is death. 00:11:23.039 --> 00:11:30.559 And worse still, we not only die physically, but if we die without Christ, we experience spiritual death. 00:11:31.039 --> 00:11:34.879 And the Bible gives it a name, and the name is hell. 00:11:37.039 --> 00:11:42.960 And that's one of the things that's often not preached in churches in this day and age. 00:11:43.200 --> 00:11:48.320 That somehow God just seems to say, no problem, no harm, no foul. 00:11:50.399 --> 00:11:56.799 But to the religious establishment of his day, Jesus was very direct in confronting them. 00:11:57.679 --> 00:12:05.279 See, they were masquerading in self-aggrandizing and self-focused acts of false worship. 00:12:06.480 --> 00:12:19.679 And in the 23rd chapter of Matthew, Jesus prophetically pronounces seven woes upon them, and he concludes by saying these not so seeker-sensitive words. 00:12:20.240 --> 00:12:27.519 You serpents, you brood of vipers, how are you to escape being sentenced to hell? 00:12:31.840 --> 00:12:37.600 So to love God is at the heart of everything that's good. 00:12:38.399 --> 00:12:43.200 But the idol of self is a result of the fall. 00:12:43.919 --> 00:12:47.759 And what follows are other sins that are equally offensive to God. 00:12:49.039 --> 00:12:52.320 In all ways, sin is exalting oneself. 00:12:53.840 --> 00:12:56.559 And it shows in how we live our lives. 00:12:57.679 --> 00:13:04.080 Pride, arrogance, self-importance, vanity. 00:13:04.960 --> 00:13:11.759 We often call attention to ourselves and our good qualities and our accomplishments and ignore the things that offend God. 00:13:12.080 --> 00:13:15.679 We minimize those shortcomings, those weaknesses. 00:13:16.320 --> 00:13:19.840 And we seek after special favors and opportunities in life. 00:13:19.919 --> 00:13:23.440 We want to get an extra edge so we can outdo the other guy. 00:13:24.320 --> 00:13:31.360 And we display determination in seeing that our wants and our needs are met while we ignore the needs of others. 00:13:32.159 --> 00:13:40.639 In short, we place ourselves on the throne of our lives and we cast God to the outer courts of our existence. 00:13:41.279 --> 00:13:46.720 And the old line, and I have heard it, I'll call him if and when I need him. 00:13:47.200 --> 00:13:49.360 Right now I'm doing okay. 00:13:50.000 --> 00:13:54.879 This is how most people in our culture address their relationship with God. 00:13:56.720 --> 00:14:00.879 When Adam chose to rebel against his creator, he lost his innocence. 00:14:01.120 --> 00:14:04.240 He incurred the penalty of physical and spiritual death. 00:14:04.320 --> 00:14:10.080 His mind was darkened by sin, and so were the minds of his descendants. 00:14:11.120 --> 00:14:19.679 The Apostle Paul said of pagans, since they do not think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God, he gave them over to a depraved mind. 00:14:22.480 --> 00:14:26.080 Paul also described our condition in 2 Corinthians 4 4. 00:14:26.159 --> 00:14:37.440 He said, The God of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is in the image of God. 00:14:39.120 --> 00:14:47.919 John's gospel quotes Jesus this way: I have come into the world as a light, so that no one who believes in me should stay in darkness. 00:14:48.799 --> 00:14:53.200 But it seems that that is where man likes to reside. 00:14:54.000 --> 00:14:59.519 And if you're here today without Christ, you are in a condition of darkness. 00:14:59.919 --> 00:15:03.759 But the good news is it doesn't have to remain that way. 00:15:05.120 --> 00:15:10.240 Paul told the Ephesians, you were once in darkness, but now you are in the light of the Lord. 00:15:11.279 --> 00:15:19.840 The purpose of salvation is to open the eyes of unbelievers and turn them from the darkness to the light and the power of God. 00:15:22.080 --> 00:15:23.279 How about you? 00:15:24.639 --> 00:15:30.720 Are you stumbling about blindly or are you walking in the light of Christ? 00:15:31.519 --> 00:15:32.799 Is he with you? 00:15:33.200 --> 00:15:34.399 Is he in you? 00:15:36.240 --> 00:15:38.080 Are you his child? 00:15:39.519 --> 00:15:42.960 Let this day be the day of your salvation. 00:15:44.799 --> 00:15:52.960 Well, in this state, man is utterly incapable of doing or choosing that which is acceptable to God apart from divine grace. 00:15:53.759 --> 00:15:56.879 Because the sinful mind is hostile to God. 00:15:57.360 --> 00:16:00.720 It doesn't submit to God's law, nor can it do so. 00:16:02.000 --> 00:16:05.519 Only through Christ can that fellowship be restored. 00:16:06.399 --> 00:16:15.039 Because in him we are made as righteous and sinless in God's eyes, just as Adam and Eve were before they sinned. 00:16:17.440 --> 00:16:26.960 2 Corinthians, Paul says, God made them who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. 00:16:27.519 --> 00:16:33.679 And without the supernatural regeneration by the Holy Spirit, all men would remain in a fallen state. 00:16:34.000 --> 00:16:49.120 But because of his grace, his mercy, his loving kindness, God sent his son to die on a cross and take the penalty of our sin, reconciling us to God and making eternal life with him possible. 00:16:49.919 --> 00:16:56.080 So that what was lost at the fall can be reclaimed at the cross. 00:16:57.120 --> 00:17:01.200 Our salvation comes through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. 00:17:01.679 --> 00:17:04.400 And he made it happen in this way. 00:17:04.640 --> 00:17:06.799 First, he became a man. 00:17:07.039 --> 00:17:14.000 If you open your Bibles to Philippians chapter 2, we'll read these familiar words. 00:17:14.319 --> 00:17:18.480 It talks about how God became man. 00:17:19.920 --> 00:17:47.279 Verse 5 says this of Philippians 2 have this in mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men, and being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. 00:17:47.519 --> 00:18:04.480 Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that the name of Jesus, every knee should bow, and in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confessed that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father. 00:18:05.119 --> 00:18:08.960 Let's talk about the emptying of Christ. 00:18:10.559 --> 00:18:16.000 Some would say that he stopped being God for a while and became man. 00:18:16.400 --> 00:18:17.839 There's a word for that. 00:18:18.000 --> 00:18:19.680 It's called heresy. 00:18:21.359 --> 00:18:25.839 Christ surrendered none of his attributes of his deity. 00:18:26.720 --> 00:18:39.200 But rather he voluntarily restricted the independent use of those attributes in keeping with his purpose of living among men and their limitations. 00:18:39.680 --> 00:18:43.039 And he had limitations as a man. 00:18:43.359 --> 00:18:44.960 He was tempted. 00:18:46.559 --> 00:18:48.079 He faced distress. 00:18:48.880 --> 00:18:55.519 He faced weakness, hunger, thirst, pain, sorrow. 00:18:56.640 --> 00:19:16.880 And just so that we might understand that just as he was fully man, so he was fully God, as evidenced in his miracles: walking on the water, calming the sea, healing the blind, cleansing the lepers, raising the dead, feeding the multitudes. 00:19:17.839 --> 00:19:31.839 And on a more personal level, as he evidenced his divinity in his transfiguration, and in his resurrection, and in his ascension. 00:19:33.920 --> 00:19:44.960 From the glory of God to the humanity of earth, Christ emptied himself and further emptied and humbled himself in his humanity to suffer and die for us. 00:19:45.839 --> 00:19:49.759 In all aspects, he was fully God and fully man. 00:19:50.640 --> 00:20:02.559 And he even reminded those who were with him, when he was arrested, do you not think that I can appeal to my Father and He will at once put at my disposal more than twelve legions of angels? 00:20:03.839 --> 00:20:07.599 Now you know how many is in a legion? 00:20:08.240 --> 00:20:10.000 Well, you know how many twelve legions? 00:20:10.079 --> 00:20:12.000 It's 60,000 angels. 00:20:12.319 --> 00:20:16.559 Jerusalem would have become very crowded at that point in time. 00:20:18.799 --> 00:20:23.039 He knew he had the power and the ability. 00:20:23.440 --> 00:20:26.079 But there was a far greater purpose. 00:20:28.480 --> 00:20:36.400 While on earth Jesus had full possession of his divine nature, his divine attributes, his divine rights and privileges. 00:20:36.640 --> 00:20:42.799 But in the taking of the form of man, he willfully withheld the expression of what made him divine. 00:20:43.680 --> 00:20:53.039 You know, we sing this beloved carol every Christmas, hark the herald angels sing, and Charles Wesley described it beautifully, the emptying of Christ in this way. 00:20:53.200 --> 00:21:03.680 In verse 2, he says, Veiled in flesh the Godhead see, hail the incarnate deity, pleased is man with men to dwell, Jesus, our Emmanuel. 00:21:03.920 --> 00:21:17.440 And then in verse 3, mild he lays his glory by, born that man no more may die, born to raise the sons of earth, born to give them second birth. 00:21:18.319 --> 00:21:23.119 This emptying was a part of what saved us. 00:21:24.559 --> 00:21:28.000 We will see his full divinity on display. 00:21:29.440 --> 00:21:31.279 It will overwhelm us. 00:21:32.400 --> 00:21:35.039 The power of the risen Christ. 00:21:37.279 --> 00:21:41.119 But that we might be saved, the Son of God became a man. 00:21:41.519 --> 00:21:44.880 And secondly, he suffered and died for us. 00:21:45.119 --> 00:21:54.880 In Isaiah 53, we read these words He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows, acquainted with grief. 00:21:55.119 --> 00:21:59.039 And as one from whom men hide their faces, he was despised. 00:22:00.160 --> 00:22:01.359 Esteemed him not. 00:22:02.000 --> 00:22:11.839 Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows, yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. 00:22:13.039 --> 00:22:15.920 But he was pierced for our transgressions. 00:22:16.480 --> 00:22:19.039 He was crushed for our iniquities. 00:22:19.839 --> 00:22:27.200 Upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and by his wounds we are healed. 00:22:27.839 --> 00:22:32.160 Think for a minute about his emotional suffering. 00:22:34.160 --> 00:22:40.880 Rejected by the religious leaders of Israel. 00:22:41.440 --> 00:22:48.799 Betrayed by one of his disciples, denied by another one of his disciples, despised. 00:22:50.000 --> 00:22:53.200 None of his friends were present to defend him. 00:22:53.440 --> 00:22:55.759 His followers had scattered. 00:22:56.480 --> 00:23:00.480 False accusations made against him by false witnesses. 00:23:01.440 --> 00:23:14.960 He was manipulated like a political football, tossed from the Sanhedrin to the Roman governor Pilate, who tossed him over to the provincial ruler Herod Antipas, who royally mocked him and then sent him back to Pilate. 00:23:15.119 --> 00:23:28.160 And after that, his life was put up for auction alongside a rebellious robber named Barabbas with cries from a bloodthirsty mob, hollering at the top of his lungs, crucify him, crucify him. 00:23:29.599 --> 00:23:32.160 Think of the emotional suffering. 00:23:34.799 --> 00:23:37.599 Think of the physical suffering. 00:23:39.359 --> 00:23:45.440 When Jesus asked of the high priest for witnesses to be brought, he was struck in the face. 00:23:46.000 --> 00:23:47.680 He was spat upon. 00:23:48.000 --> 00:23:52.319 He was slapped with an open hand, he was beaten with closed fist. 00:23:52.799 --> 00:23:56.000 A crown of thorn was placed on his head. 00:23:56.640 --> 00:23:59.359 He then received an awful and brutal scourging. 00:23:59.519 --> 00:24:08.880 Rightly did the writer of Psalm 129 say this in verse 3: The plowers have plowed upon my back, they have made long their furrows. 00:24:10.160 --> 00:24:13.359 And then he was crucified. 00:24:15.759 --> 00:24:18.160 Think of the spiritual suffering. 00:24:21.200 --> 00:24:27.839 Jesus, the Lamb of God, became sin on our behalf. 00:24:28.480 --> 00:24:49.279 Never having sinned, never having known guilt, never having known shame or disgrace, never having felt hate or lust, at Calvary, the torrential flood of all the sins of the whole world are placed upon him on the six hours that he's on the cross. 00:24:50.640 --> 00:24:51.839 Think about that. 00:24:54.319 --> 00:25:43.599 Every bad thought that has ever been thought, every act of immorality, every adulterous affair, every hateful and foul word, every act of theft or bribery, every whisper of gossip, every physical assault, every murder, every profanity-laced sentence, every act of deception and dishonesty, every slanderous comment, every act of disloyalty to a wife, to a husband, to an employer, to a friend, every disobedient act of children toward their parents or to those in authority. 00:25:44.079 --> 00:25:52.880 All sin in all the world for all time is placed upon Jesus Christ. 00:25:53.839 --> 00:25:59.839 And then on that dark good Friday, that first good Friday, the darkness descended. 00:26:00.079 --> 00:26:11.759 The wrath of God is placed on his Son as full atonement is being made for sin, so that forgiveness might be extended to those who believe in Jesus. 00:26:12.400 --> 00:26:17.759 Indeed, the Lamb of God was taking away the sin of the world. 00:26:18.880 --> 00:26:23.359 And that spiritual suffering also included separation from his father. 00:26:24.400 --> 00:26:28.640 Think about it, every prayer that he had given before was to his father. 00:26:28.799 --> 00:26:30.880 He addressed him as Father. 00:26:32.720 --> 00:26:41.519 But at that moment, when sin came upon him, he cries out, My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? 00:26:43.680 --> 00:26:46.880 Jesus suffered and he died. 00:26:48.240 --> 00:26:51.039 His death was validated by experts. 00:26:52.160 --> 00:27:02.640 When the order was given to break the legs of those being crucified so that they would not violate the propriety of the Sabbath, Roman soldiers saw that Jesus was dead. 00:27:03.200 --> 00:27:12.240 As in, Jesus was no longer breathing, no longer displaying any kind of physical movement, no pulse, no signs of life. 00:27:13.759 --> 00:27:24.720 Many who have analyzed the death of Christ have said it this way: that he sustained a rapid heartbeat caused by hypovolemic shock that causes fluid to gather in the sack around the heart. 00:27:24.880 --> 00:27:29.759 And this is called pericardial effusion, and around the lungs it's called pleural effusion. 00:27:29.920 --> 00:27:40.640 This explains that after Jesus died and a Roman soldier thrust a spear through his side, piercing heart and lungs, that blood and water came out. 00:27:41.279 --> 00:27:51.519 These facts are recorded in all of the Gospels to give graphic testimony that the crucifixion of Jesus caused him to die. 00:27:52.559 --> 00:28:01.680 And following his death, the Gospels tell us that Joseph of Arimathea, a member of the Sanhedrin, came to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. 00:28:02.640 --> 00:28:14.000 As is the case with some crucifixions, it might take days for the victim to succumb and die of the horrific death that takes place there. 00:28:14.079 --> 00:28:18.640 But Jesus was on the cross for only six hours when he died. 00:28:18.960 --> 00:28:25.279 So before releasing the body to Joseph, Pilate made inquiry if, in fact, Jesus had died. 00:28:25.680 --> 00:28:28.880 And he didn't take the word of some representative of the Sanhedrin. 00:28:29.039 --> 00:28:32.799 I think he had had it up to here with the Sanhedrin for that day. 00:28:34.000 --> 00:28:36.960 Nor did he take the word of some foot soldier. 00:28:37.200 --> 00:28:46.720 But he received direct eyewitness report from a Roman centurion, the backbone of the Roman army, responsible for a company of a hundred soldiers. 00:28:47.039 --> 00:28:54.559 Centurions achieved their rank through demonstrating bravery, loyalty, character, prowess in battle. 00:28:54.799 --> 00:28:59.759 A centurion would be well equipped to determine if an individual was dead. 00:29:00.000 --> 00:29:06.880 And the centurion standing before Pilate reported that Jesus was in fact dead. 00:29:08.000 --> 00:29:11.839 So he became a man, he suffered and died. 00:29:12.400 --> 00:29:16.160 And thirdly, he was buried and rose from the dead. 00:29:16.400 --> 00:29:24.160 Paul in 1 Corinthians 15, 3 and 4, says this for I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received. 00:29:24.400 --> 00:29:32.720 That Christ died for our sins in accordance with the scriptures, that he was buried, and that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the scriptures. 00:29:33.759 --> 00:29:47.519 Two members of the Sanhedrin, Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus, took the body of Jesus to a tomb owned by Joseph, which was conveniently located in close proximity to the place of the execution. 00:29:48.000 --> 00:30:03.119 The Synoptic Gospels each claim that Joseph provided a linen cloth, and the Gospel of John adds that Nicodemus, another member of the Sanhedrin, who visited Jesus by night in John chapter 3, he provided 75 pounds of burial spices. 00:30:03.279 --> 00:30:05.200 And they laid Jesus in the tomb. 00:30:05.359 --> 00:30:15.759 They shrouded him, they placed the burial spices over his remains, they rolled a stone over the entrance of the tomb upon completion of their preparation of the body. 00:30:16.000 --> 00:30:26.079 Outside of the tomb were women from Galilee, among whom were Mary Magdalene and Mary, the mother of Joseph, who were eyewitnesses as to where the tomb was. 00:30:27.680 --> 00:30:48.720 Meanwhile, while fearing that Jesus' disciples might steal the body on the third day, the next day, being the Sabbath, the Jewish leaders negotiated with Pilate to have a guard assigned to the tomb with an official seal placed on it, warning that any who might break the seal and enter the tomb do so under penalty of death. 00:30:48.960 --> 00:30:51.680 And Pilate gave that authorization. 00:30:54.880 --> 00:30:58.240 But the resurrection was coming. 00:30:58.960 --> 00:31:03.759 And that Sunday morning it was unlike any other before or since. 00:31:04.480 --> 00:31:07.680 It begins with grieving women on their way to the tomb. 00:31:07.920 --> 00:31:09.920 An earthquake takes place. 00:31:10.400 --> 00:31:14.640 Dazzling clad angel descends from heaven, rolls away the stone, and sits on it. 00:31:14.799 --> 00:31:17.279 Guards, trembling, become like dead men. 00:31:17.599 --> 00:31:27.519 The angel announces to the women that Jesus is risen and reminds them about what Jesus had said, that this would happen, and to go and tell his disciples. 00:31:27.759 --> 00:31:37.039 The women run for joy to tell the disciples the good news, and they encounter Jesus for a brief meet and greet, and he tells them, Go, tell the disciples. 00:31:37.279 --> 00:31:45.119 The guards go into the city to report to the chief priests that for some reason the tomb that they had been tasked to guard it is now empty. 00:31:45.440 --> 00:32:02.880 So now we have a hastily called chief priest and elders meeting, followed by the procurement of large sums of money given to the guards to tell a contrived story about doing what guards don't do, namely sleep on duty, along with the promise that if the governor hears about it, we'll take care of him as well. 00:32:03.200 --> 00:32:09.839 Meanwhile, the women tell the disciples of the resurrection of Jesus, but they are not believed. 00:32:10.240 --> 00:32:17.039 Immediately following that, we have the first apostolic foot race, beginning with Peter leaving the gathering and running to the tomb. 00:32:17.279 --> 00:32:19.680 But he's outrun to the tomb by John. 00:32:19.920 --> 00:32:29.759 John wins the race, but Peter gets points for bravery because he actually goes into the tomb and sees the linen wrappings and the facecloth lying apart from each other. 00:32:30.240 --> 00:32:36.559 And as they return to where they were staying, Mary Magdalene returns to the tomb and stands outside weeping. 00:32:36.799 --> 00:32:42.640 Looking inside the tomb, she sees no one but two angels in white sitting where Jesus had been placed in the tomb. 00:32:42.880 --> 00:32:44.880 And the angels ask her, Why are you weeping? 00:32:45.039 --> 00:32:48.880 And she responds, She doesn't know where they've taken the body of Christ. 00:32:49.599 --> 00:32:53.680 Jesus answers her as she's weeping and says, Who is it you're looking for? 00:32:53.759 --> 00:32:56.559 And she turns around, thinking she's speaking to the gardener. 00:32:56.799 --> 00:33:02.559 Jesus says to her, Mary, and immediately she recognizes and falls before him and clings to him. 00:33:03.119 --> 00:33:08.160 Jesus prophesies to her of his ascension and sends her to the disciples to tell them. 00:33:08.400 --> 00:33:12.480 And she does as she's asked, but they still don't believe her. 00:33:14.319 --> 00:33:21.119 Not long after that, two men, one of them named Cleopas, travels seven miles northwest from Jerusalem to the town of Emmaus. 00:33:21.519 --> 00:33:25.200 Along the way, they're joined on the journey by a man they don't recognize. 00:33:25.440 --> 00:33:33.839 They discuss the recent events of the execution of Jesus, whom they thought to be the Messiah of Israel, and that his once-entombed body is now missing. 00:33:34.079 --> 00:33:43.519 The stranger then begins to conduct what I call the first mobile prophetic conference linking Old Testament prophecy with the fulfillment found in the risen Christ. 00:33:43.759 --> 00:33:47.440 And it being late in the day, the travelers say, Come, stay with us. 00:33:47.680 --> 00:34:00.240 And as they sit down to eat, he breaks bread with them, and it is then that they recognize him as Jesus, the Messiah, the risen Christ, and then he vanishes before their eyes. 00:34:00.480 --> 00:34:08.880 And so at that point in time we have the second foot race of the day, as those two guys hightail it back to Jerusalem to tell the disciples all that they have seen. 00:34:09.119 --> 00:34:16.719 And upon arriving there, they're informed that where the disciples have gathered, they find out Jesus has also appeared to Peter. 00:34:16.880 --> 00:34:35.760 And while they were talking about all that had taken place that day, Jesus miraculously appears in the middle of the room to his ten disciples and the two travelers from Emmaus, and he shows them his wounds, and he asks for something to eat, validating this is a physical, bodily resurrection. 00:34:35.920 --> 00:34:38.400 And the witnesses are plentiful. 00:34:38.800 --> 00:34:58.000 Because in the next 39 days until his ascension, he makes post-resurrection day appearances, and Paul writes with confidence in Corinthians in the 15th chapter of his first letter, he was seen by more than 500 people at one time. 00:34:58.880 --> 00:35:02.480 And so, friends, the good news is the facts are in. 00:35:03.519 --> 00:35:04.800 He is risen. 00:35:07.039 --> 00:35:08.159 Let's do that one more time. 00:35:08.320 --> 00:35:09.360 He is risen. 00:35:11.519 --> 00:35:15.679 And this is the fact that separates Christ from every other belief system. 00:35:16.320 --> 00:35:22.559 They stand on foundations of quicksand, they're contrived fallacies and fantasies filled with false promises. 00:35:22.800 --> 00:35:28.800 They're myths that exist to deceive man and separate him from his maker and his savior. 00:35:29.199 --> 00:35:35.360 They force their adherents to work their way to a certain, eternal, uncertain, eternal future. 00:35:35.599 --> 00:35:39.280 Their leaders are dead, their remains are entombed. 00:35:40.079 --> 00:35:43.199 And that, my friends, is the opposition. 00:35:43.519 --> 00:35:56.719 King David's song in 1 Chronicles 16, in celebrating the ark returning to Jerusalem, says this: For all the gods of the peoples are worthless idols, but the Lord made the heavens and the earth. 00:35:57.519 --> 00:35:59.119 So our Messiah is alive. 00:35:59.199 --> 00:36:02.079 He's seated at the right hand of God, interceding on our behalf. 00:36:02.159 --> 00:36:04.159 He's preparing a place for us. 00:36:04.400 --> 00:36:10.880 Stephen saw him when he was being stoned to death as he was confronting the Sanhedrin with the murder of Christ. 00:36:11.119 --> 00:36:17.679 Paul, on a mission to destroy the church, sees Jesus and becomes its greatest missionary. 00:36:17.840 --> 00:36:21.440 And John describes his victorious return in Revelation. 00:36:21.920 --> 00:36:25.199 So we remember today his suffering, his death. 00:36:25.360 --> 00:36:29.840 Let's not lose sight of the fact that he is returning for us. 00:36:54.400 --> 00:37:00.320 And if we have Christ's forgiveness of our sins, we have a future home in glory. 00:37:00.639 --> 00:37:09.840 I love what the writer of Love Lusters at Calvary in the Puritan Book of Meditations, The Valley of Vision, said as he describes what Christ did for us. 00:37:10.239 --> 00:37:42.000 Christ was all anguish that we might be all joy, cast off that we might be brought in, trodden down as an enemy that we might be welcomed as a friend, surrendered to hell's worst that we might attain heaven's best, stripped that we might be clothed, wounded that we might be healed, a thirst that we might drink, tormented that we might be comforted, made a shame that we might inherit glory, enter darkness that we might have eternal light. 00:37:42.320 --> 00:38:07.920 Our Savior wept that all tears might be wiped from our eyes, groaned that we might have endless song, endured all pain that we might have unfading health, bore a thorny crown that we might have a glory diadem, bowed his head that we might uplift ours, experienced reproach that we might receive welcome, closed his eyes in death that we might gaze on unclouded brightness. 00:38:08.880 --> 00:38:12.639 He died, that we might live forever. 00:38:12.960 --> 00:38:16.159 And the good news is the story is not over. 00:38:16.559 --> 00:38:21.280 With Christ, every promise that he has made are promises that he will keep. 00:38:21.679 --> 00:38:28.880 When Jesus comes for those who have trusted in him, God will restore all things, he will make all things new. 00:38:29.199 --> 00:38:41.039 Mankind will no longer be fallen, but we will realize the redemption that he has given for us, that he has made for us, and we will forever be his. 00:38:41.840 --> 00:38:44.559 And we are included in his story. 00:38:45.280 --> 00:38:51.280 And so this morning we remember the greatest event in all of human history, Christ's sacrifice for us. 00:38:51.519 --> 00:39:03.440 That he gave up the glory of heaven, he set aside his position, submitted to the will of his father, and that he took on the form of man, lived as a servant, suffered, was crucified, died, and was buried. 00:39:03.679 --> 00:39:16.480 But the good news that he rose from the dead, and that if you have believed in him, you have placed your faith in him alone for your salvation, then he has brought you out of darkness into his light. 00:39:16.880 --> 00:39:19.280 You are adopted into his family. 00:39:19.519 --> 00:39:29.760 Your sins are forgiven, they are covered by his blood, that you are no longer dead in your sins and transgressions, but are alive because of your faith in him. 00:39:30.159 --> 00:39:36.719 And at his return you will be glorified with him and enjoy eternity with him forever. 00:39:37.119 --> 00:39:45.199 His mercy and grace and steadfast love are beyond our comprehension, but they are not beyond our reach at all. 00:39:45.440 --> 00:39:46.880 He has made it so. 00:39:49.199 --> 00:39:50.880 Thank you for being with us today. 00:39:50.960 --> 00:39:53.599 And now a parting word from Pastor Jesse. 00:39:54.320 --> 00:40:01.760 If you have any questions about what you heard today, or if you want to learn more about what it means to follow Christ, please visit our church website, emmanualbible. 00:40:02.719 --> 00:40:05.599 If you're not a member of the local church and you live in the Washington, D.C. 00:40:05.760 --> 00:40:08.320 area, we'd love to have you worship with us in your dominion. 00:40:08.719 --> 00:40:11.039 We'd love to personally meet you this Monday afternoon. 00:40:12.000 --> 00:40:17.760 But no matter where you live, it's our hopeful that everyone who uses this resource is involved in their own local church. 00:40:18.079 --> 00:40:24.559 And that may God bless you that we can use it constantly and serve the Lord faithfully and hear the gospel locally.