Go with me if you would now to
Matthew chapter 22. Matthew chapter 22. We were just here Sunday morning. And I mentioned to you that we
may come back and look at some things in this chapter in more
detail, and I want to do that tonight. I have not been able to stop
thinking about one line in particular. The end of verse 32, Matthew
22, the end of verse 32 says, God is not the God of the dead,
but of the living. God is the God of the living. The living God is the God of
the living. I'd like for us to enter into
that for a minute tonight. Let's read this section of scripture
again that we read Sunday so we can remember the context of
what is being said right here, verse 23 is where it begins.
And it says, the same day came to him, came to our Lord, the
Sadducees, which say that there is no resurrection. There is
no resurrection. They do not believe there is
a resurrection. They believe once a person dies,
that's it. Life as that person knows it
is over. There are people who still believe
that to this day. People still believe that. Hold
your place right here and turn over to 1 Corinthians 15. 1 Corinthians
15. Verse 12 says, Now if Christ be preached that
He rose from the dead, I'll say some among you that there is
no resurrection of the dead. But if there be no resurrection
of the dead, then is Christ not risen? And if Christ be not risen,
then our preaching is vain and your faith is also vain. Yea,
and we are found false witnesses of God, because we have testified
of God that he raised up Christ, whom he raised not up, if so
be that the dead rise not. For if the dead rise not, then
is not Christ raised. And if Christ be not raised,
your faith is vain, you are yet in your sins. then they also
which are fallen asleep in Christ are perished. If in this life
only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable. But now Christ is risen from
the dead and become the first fruits of them that slept. For
since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of
the dead. For as in Adam all die, even
so in Christ shall all be made alive." What that's saying is
God is not the God of the dead. He's the God of the living. He's
the God of the living. As Christ was raised to life,
every soul in Christ has been raised to life. They were dead, dead in themselves. but made alive in Christ. Those
who have not been given faith to see that truly are the most
miserable in this world. They really are. Go with me back
to Matthew 22. Matthew 22, verse 23, it says,
the same day came to him the Sadducees, which say that there
is no resurrection and asked him, saying, Master Moses said,
if a man die having no children, his brother shall marry his wife
and raise up seed unto his brother. Now there were with us seven
brethren, and the first, when he had married a wife, deceased,
and having no issue, left his wife unto his brother. Likewise,
the second also, and the third unto the seventh. And last of
all, the woman died also. Therefore, in the resurrection,
whose wife shall she be of the seven? For they all had her.
Jesus answered and said unto them, you do err, not knowing
the scriptures nor the power of God. For in the resurrection,
they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are as the angels
of God in heaven. Meaning God's people do not marry,
And they are not given in marriage to each other like we're doing
right now. And it's because they are all
married, they are all given in marriage to Christ. They're the bride of Christ.
That's the reason why. Verse 31, But as touching the
resurrection of the dead, have you not read that which was spoken
unto you by God, saying, I am the God of Abraham and the God
of Isaac and the God of Jacob. God is not the God of the dead,
but of the living. And when the multitude heard
this, they were astonished at his doctrine. As I read this,
I am astonished at his doctrine. I am astonished at his word. I'm astonished at his teaching.
what he's saying. I got to thinking about what
that is saying and it is wonderful. It is wonderful. I pray this
will be a blessing to us. I pray this will be an encouragement
to us. God is not the God of the dead. He is the God of the
living. He's the God of the living. He
said, I am the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. And what he
was saying in that was they are alive. They're alive. You think about that. They're
alive. They're not dead. He didn't say
I was the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. He said, I am the God of Abraham,
Isaac, and Jacob. They're alive. They're not dead
right now. They're alive and well right now. They were dead. That's how every man and woman
on this earth enters this world. Dead in trespasses and sin. Every
soul on this earth enters this world in a body of death. Every soul. That's what the Apostle Paul
said in Romans 7. Who shall deliver me from the
body of this death? The scripture says, and you being
dead. That's what it says. And you
being dead. Why? Because of your sins. You being dead in your sins. The wages of sin is death. The
moment Adam and Eve sinned, they died. And in Adam, we all died. Our body died, our soul died,
our spirit died. Indeed, we died in every way
possible. We died. In the flesh, because
of sin, our bodies are dead. Hebrews 6 says our works are
dead. Dead works, that's what it says
we produce. Dead works, everything we do is dead. It's all dead. Because of sin, everything about
us is dead. Thank God that's not where He
leaves His people. He doesn't leave His people there.
Turn with me over to 2 Timothy chapter 1. 2 Timothy chapter
1. Verse 8, it says, Be not thou therefore ashamed
of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me his prisoner, but be
thou partaker of the afflictions of the gospel, according to the
power of God, who hath saved us and called us with an holy
calling, not according to our works, but according to His own
purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before
the world began, but is now made manifest by the appearing of
our Savior, Jesus Christ, who hath abolished death. I think I really saw this verse
a few months ago. And it really hit me a few months
ago, and I told you, this has really hit me, and it still really
hits me, what Christ did while He was here, what Christ did.
Look at verse 10 again. But is now made manifest by the
appearing of our Savior, Jesus Christ, who hath abolished death,
what an accomplishment, and hath brought life and immortality
to light. through the gospel. He abolished death and he brought
life and immortality to his people. How did he do that? How did he
abolish death and bring life and immortality to his people?
Turn with me to 1 Peter chapter 2. First Peter 2 verse 24 says,
who his own self bear our sins in his own body on the tree that
we being dead to sins should live unto righteousness by whose
stripes You were healed. When Christ bore our sins in
His body on the tree, He bore our death in His body on the
tree. He bore our dead souls. He bore our dead deeds, our dead
works. He bore our dead everything. That's what He took upon Himself,
into Himself. Our dead everything. And He died with it. He died with all of that death. And when he did that, he conquered
death. He abolished death for his people. When he died with the death of
his people, that was the end of death for his people. When He removed sin from His
people, He removed death from His people. And the proof of
that is He arose from all of that death. That's the proof
of it. He arose from all of that death.
Turn with me to Revelation 1. Verse 18 says, I am he that liveth
and was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore, amen, and
have the keys of hell and death. He said, I killed your death. I ended your death. I died with
it, and I arose from it, and behold, I am alive forevermore. And to all of his people, he
said in John 14, because I live, you live also. You live and believe
in me, and therefore you'll never die. God is not the God of the dead.
He's the God of the living. Now, here's what grabbed my attention
about this. All right, this is what grabbed
my attention about this. Everything concerning God is living. Everything concerning God. Everything
concerning man is death. Everything. But everything concerning
God is life. It's living. Everything about
him is alive. Living everything. Just listen
to the wording of Scripture as it speaks of our God, okay? Just
let me quote some of these things to you. 1 Samuel 17, verse 26. David is speaking of Goliath.
And he said, Who is this uncircumcised Philistine that he should defy
the armies of the living God? The living God. David said in
Psalm 42, My soul thirsts for the living God. When the
Spirit of God lets us enter into that, we say the same thing with
David. My soul thirsts for the living
God. The living God. Does that strike
you? Ruth 3.13 says, As the Lord liveth. The living Lord. The living God,
the living Lord. You know that story of the boy
in Mexico whose family worshiped idols and they had seven idols
lined up on a mantel and the boy heard of the true and living
God and he believed and he tried to tell his father and his father
wouldn't hear it. So when his dad was at work,
the boy got the hammer and he smashed all, he smashed six of
the seven idols. He left one and laid the hammer
in front of that idol. And when his dad came home and
saw that, he was furious and looked at that boy and said,
who did that? And that boy said, pointed at
the idol and said, he did it. And he said, boy, you know, he
couldn't do that. And the boy said, that's what
I've been trying to tell you. He's dead. He's dead. He can't do anything, he's dead. We need the true and living God. The living Lord, the one who
says and does, the one who works and decrees, the one who saves
and makes alive, truly makes alive. That Lord told a woman
in John chapter 4, I will give you living water. Isn't that
what He said? Living water. If a soul has the
water of God, that soul will never thirst again because it's
living water. John 6 calls Christ the living
bread. living bread, bread that will
actually cause a man or woman to never hunger again, never
hunger again. God's people are satisfied on
Christ. Do you hunger for something else?
Do you hunger for something else? God's people are satisfied on
Christ and they always will be because He is the living bread. Hebrews 10 calls him the living
way. No, there's only one way. The living way. His way is not
the way of death. It's the way of life. Whenever our Lord went to raise
Lazarus from the dead, Thomas said, well, let's go with him
so we can die with him. Let's follow him into death.
You know, his way will be the way of death. Let's go. His way
is not the way of death. It's the way of life. First Peter
2 says he is the living stone. This is the stone that the builder
said it not. This living think about that
statement right there, the living stone. First, Peter one says in him,
we have a living hope. Our hope is living. Our hope
is alive, that's what it means, it's alive, we have a living
hope and it's because of this living word. This word is alive. This word is living. First Peter
1 23 says this word liveth, which liveth. And it's so, isn't it? God says this word's alive. This
word's alive. The word is living. It speaks
to us. It speaks comfort to us. It speaks
peace to us. It speaks mercy, it speaks grace,
it speaks blood, it speaks righteousness, it speaks Christ. It's living. Every soul in Christ will one
day, real soon, leave this world of death for the land of the
living, as David called it in Psalm 27 and many other places.
That's what it's called, the land of the living. God is not
the God of the dead. He's the God of the living. Everything
about God, everything connected with our God is living. 14 days ago, our sister Juanita
entered the land of the living. Land of the living. We have a dear sister in Christ
out in Fresno, California. She's been suffering from cancer
for a long time. And she, they, her and her husband,
I believe they heard the gospel through Henry. They loved Henry
and the men after him. And they've loved the gospel
for decades and decades. She's in hospice care right now.
She'd been suffering for cancer for a long time, and she's in
hospice care right now, and I had the great privilege of speaking
to her on the phone yesterday. And I told her, I am so sorry
you are having to endure all of this pain and suffering. She said, it is all according
to the will and purpose of our sovereign God. I said, Amen. I told her, we'll be praying
for you, the brethren in Kingsport. So I'm telling you now, we'll
be praying for her. We'll be praying for her husband.
But that's what I told her. I said, we'll be praying for
you. And I told her, we love you. And you do, don't you? You love her, even though you
don't know her. She loves Christ. Therefore,
you love her. That's so. Real soon, she's going
to step foot into the land of the living. You know, her body's been breaking
down. These bodies are breaking down. Every time I have something
happen to me, I think I have cancer. Every time. I'll cut
my finger and I think, well, I've got to have cancer. These bodies are breaking down. Very soon, our sister's gonna
step foot in the land of the living. Her living hope is about to give
way to the living sight of her living Lord. The moment death
is laid down, it is going to be life, life, eternal life. That's what dying here is. It is the laying down of death. That's all it is. That's all
it is. It's the laying down of death.
It's just death being laid down forever. And our living God says
it's a glorious moment for his living people. Those who have
been made alive in him, those who live and move and have their
being in him, he says that Our official leaving of death and
stepping into life. And that's what that moment is.
It's just taking off. It's just stepping out of death. And he says it's going to be
the most glorious moment we will have ever known. This is how it works, and this
is how it's going to happen. Turn with me, if you would, to
1 Corinthians 15. First Corinthians 15 verse 35
says. Some man will say, how are the
dead raised up? And with what body do they come?
Thou fool that which thou sowest is not quickened, except it die. You put a seed in the ground,
nothing's going to come up until that seed dies. Verse 37, and
that which thou sowest, thou sowest not that body that shall
be, but bare grain. It may chance of wheat or some
other grain, but God giveth it a body as it hath pleased him
and to every seed his own body. All flesh is not the same flesh,
but there's one kind of flesh of men, another flesh of beasts,
another of fishes and another of birds. There are celestial
bodies and bodies terrestrial, but the glory of the celestial
is one and the glory of the terrestrial is another. There's one glory
of the sun and another glory of the moon and another glory
of the stars, for one star differeth from another star in glory. So
also is the resurrection of the dead. Now see if you can enter
into this and enjoy this, okay? So also is the resurrection of
the dead. It is sown in corruption and that's what happens when
all of this decay eats these bodies up and these bodies just
rot down to nothing and our hip breaks and then we fall on the
ground. It's sown in just corruption,
it's just corrupted and it is raised in incorruption. It is
sown in dishonor. It is raised in glory. It is
sown in weakness. We watch our loved ones just
lay in there so weak and so helpless, no strength. They can't do anything. It is raised in power. The moment
that a child of God steps out of death, steps out of the body
of death, it's raised in power. Verse 44, it is sown a natural
body. It is raised a spiritual body.
Not, not a spiritual haze, a spiritual body. There is a natural body
and there is a spiritual body. And so it is written, the first
man, Adam, was made a living soul. The last Adam was made
a quickening spirit. How be it that was not first,
which is spiritual, but that which is natural, and afterward
that which is spiritual. The first man is of the earth,
earthy. The second man is the Lord from
heaven. As is the earthy, such are they
also that are earthy. And as is the heavenly, such
are they also that are heavenly. As we have borne the image of
the earthy, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly. Now
this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the
kingdom of God, neither doth corruption inherit incorruption. Behold, I show you a mystery.
We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed in a moment
in the twinkling of an eye. At the last trump, for the trumpet
shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and
we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put
on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. So when
this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal
shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass
the saying that is written, death is swallowed up in victory. O
death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory? The sting of death is sin, and
the strength of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, which giveth
us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen. Thanks be to God. God is not
the God of the dead. He's the God of the living. He's the God of the living. In
Him, we are alive forevermore because as He is, so are we. That's going to be revealed to
us very soon. The moment death lays down, it's going to be revealed to
us and it's life, life, eternal life. Glorious life. He's the God of the living. Thank
God. All right, let's all stand together.