Would you turn back with me to
John's gospel, chapter 11? John chapter 11. One of the distinctive
features of the gospel of John is the fact that it contains
several things that aren't mentioned by the other gospel writers. And one of those things are the
seven great I Am sayings of our Lord Jesus Christ. The first
one is in John chapter 6, where Christ said, I am the bread of
life. I am. No one else is. If we would
live, if we would live spiritually, if we would live forever, we
must eat this bread that came down from heaven. In John chapter
8, our Lord said, I am the light of the world. If we would see
We must have this light. Otherwise, we're in darkness.
And we'll remain in darkness. We won't find our way out of
that darkness unless Christ is pleased to show us himself, the
light. And then in chapter 10, he says,
I am the door of the sheep. I am the door. If we would enter
into life, if we would enter into grace now, and into glory
hereafter, there's only one way. There's only one entrance into
both of those, and that is through Christ the door. And then in
chapter 10 he said, I am the good shepherd. I'm the good shepherd. Not these Pharisees that were
among those he was speaking to, especially to them I should say,
who claimed to be the shepherd of the people. Christ said, no,
they're hirelings. They're hirelings. They're wolves
in sheep's clothing. He said, I'm the good shepherd.
And if we're saved, we must be saved by this shepherd. There's
not another one, Billy. If I'm saved, if I'm lost, and
if I'm found, the good shepherd's going to have to find me. I'm
helpless. And if I'm brought to glory,
if I'm brought out of the pit of my depravity, the good shepherd,
by the arm of his omnipotence, is going to have to reach down
and lift me up out of that miry pit. And then here in John 11,
we read it a moment ago, verse 25, Christ said, I am the resurrection
and the life. I am. It would be, if we would
be partakers of resurrection glory, and eternal life, he who
is the resurrection and the life, must be ours. We must trust him. We must believe on the Lord Jesus
Christ. And then in chapter 14 he says
again, I am the way, the truth, and the life. If we would have
eternal life, we must be in the way, which is Christ. Know the
truth, which is Christ, and be given life, which is only through
Christ. And then the last one is in John
chapter 15. Christ told his disciples, I
am the vine. I am the true vine. If we would
bring forth fruit unto God, we must be grafted into this vine. Now let's look this morning here
in John 11 at verses 25 and 26. What a sweet, sweet promise this
is. Christ tells grieving Martha,
I am the resurrection and life. The old patriarch, Some believe
that the book of Job may even be older than the writings of
Moses. But Job asked a question. The
old patriarch asked, if a man die, if a man die, shall he live
again? If a man dies, will he live again? That man of sorrow, some sorrow,
Job, in the Old Testament, is answered by that man of sorrows
before us here in the New Testament. Here's his answer. If a man dies,
shall he live again? Christ says, I am the resurrection.
There's the answer, the only answer, and the life. He that
believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live, and
whosoever, no matter who he is, whether he lives thousands of
years ago or lives today, whosoever liveth and believeth in me, he'll
never die. He gave this answer by the grave
of Lazarus to a weeping sister of Lazarus, Martha. And how calmly,
I like this, don't you? Did you notice how calmly and
with what certainty and with what confidence our Lord Jesus
Christ speaks? It's no wonder that even his
enemies had to confess. Nobody ever spoke like this man.
He's not like the scribes. He's not like the religious doctors
of divinity. He talks like somebody who knows
what he's talking about. He speaks with authority. There's
no wavering about him. There's no elbow room about the
certainty of the things that he says. Notice how, again, calmly
and with certainty and confidence, our Lord Jesus Christ speaks.
just soon after our Lord had breathed his last. After the
crucifixion, he was taken down from the cross. You remember
what the religious leaders did? They went to Pilate. We have
the record of this in Matthew chapter 27. Matthew 27 verse
62. Now the next day that followed
the day of preparation, the chief priest and Pharisees came together
unto Pilate. saying, sir, we remember that
that deceiver said while he was yet alive, after three days I
will rise again. Command therefore that the sepulcher
be made sure until the third day, lest his disciples come
by night and steal him away, and say to the people he is risen
from the dead, so that the last era shall be worse than the first.
Pilate said unto them, you have a watch, go your way, make it
as sure as you can. Pilate said much more than he
intended, didn't he? Make it as sure as you can. So
they went and made the sepulcher sure, sealing the stone and setting
a watch. The hymn writer wrote it, or
put it this way, concerning that time. He said, vainly they watch
his bed, Jesus my Savior. Vainly they seal the dead, Jesus
my Lord. Again, Pilate's words to them
were, go your way, make it as sure as you can, and they did.
Did it make any difference? Did it matter? Did it force God
to change his purpose? Not at all. Not at all. Again
to him, writer, up from the grave he arose with a mighty triumph
over his foes. He arose a victor from the dark
domain and he lives forever with his saints to reign. He arose,
he arose, hallelujah, Christ arose. and the resurrection of
the Son of God by God, the power of God, His resurrection is the
absolute affirmation by God that He, that is God, without a doubt,
without question, accepted the sacrifice of His Son. And when
Christ, just before He breathed out His last, exclaimed, It is
finished. Three days later, When God Almighty
raised his son from the dead, it was God saying amen to his
son. It is finished. I accept your
sacrifice. Atonement has been paid and I'm
satisfied with it. Redemption has been obtained. All that I've given you, you've
died for. All your sheep, all your sheep
shall be saved by grace based upon the sacrifice of my son. 1 Corinthians 15, you're familiar
with this as well. But 1 Corinthians 15 verse 16,
For if the dead rise not, then is Christ not raised? And if
Christ be not raised, your faith is vain. We're not believing
in a dead Savior. A dead Christ doesn't save anyone. Oh no, it's the risen Lord that's
able to save because he ever liveth. The Hebrew writer said,
because he ever liveth, he's able to save to the uttermost
all that come unto God by him. And if Christ be not raised,
your faith is vain, it's pointless, it's futile, and you're yet in
your sins. Then they also which are fallen
asleep have died, like Lazarus, in Christ are perished. If in
this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most
miserable. Miserable because we will never
see that which our heart longs for. We'll never realize that
which we desire the most, but be with the Lord Jesus Christ
to embrace him and to be embraced by him. If he didn't arise from
the dead, we have no hope of that ever happening. Oh, but
Paul seems to sweep all those things aside when he says, but
now, but now, oh child of God, Would God be pleased to bless
these words to our hearts, no matter where now might find you. No matter where this present
moment may find you. May find you weeping, may find
you heavy hearted, may find you burdened down. Oh, listen, but
now. None of those things change this,
but now, Christ your Savior, Now Christ your Redeemer, Christ
the Great Shepherd of the sheep, right now. Christ is on the right
hand of God making intercession and making it effectually. God
hears him. God hears his son on the behalf
of his people. Right now is Christ risen from
the dead. Right now. Oh my soul, if we
could draw back the curtain, that thin veil that separates
eternity from the present. from the earthly, from the heavenly,
and just get a glimpse, get a glimpse of our Redeemer right now as
Christ risen from the dead. And all these things, as Paul
said, we would agree with him wholeheartedly, wouldn't we?
They're not worthy to be compared. These present difficulties, they're
temporary. They're not gonna last, because
right now Christ is risen from the dead, and he became the first
fruits of them that slept. For since by man came death,
and Adam all died, by man came also the resurrection of the
dead. For as in Adam all died, even so in Christ shall all be
made alive. This is what gave old Job such
hope in his suffering, wasn't it? He knew it wasn't going to
be forever. It wasn't going to last forever.
But his life with Christ, and through Christ, and by Christ,
that was going to last forever. This is exactly what the Lord
told Martha. And every believer has the same
hope because it rests on the same foundation, because they
all trust the same Savior. They've all entered in by the
same door. They've all eaten the same eternal
bread of life. They've all trusted the same
mediator. between God and man, the man
Christ Jesus, the only one there is, the only one there ever was,
the only one that there ever shall be. There are not two ways
to heaven. There's only one way. And Christ
said, I'm the way. Thomas, have I been so long a
time with you? And you have not known me? Or
was it Philip? He said that too in John 14.
If you've seen me, you've seen the Father. I and the Father
are one. Every believer trusts him. Again,
the old patriarch uttered these words in Job chapter 19. For I know, now remember, Job
didn't understand what he was going through, why God sent it,
why he was passing through this difficulty. Neither did Martha
and Mary. Why Christ didn't come at the
first. And she said, if you'd have been here, if you'd have
came when we first sent you the message, My brother hadn't died. This was all unnecessary. So
it was with Job. He didn't understand, but he
knew this. Oh, this was his comfort. He
didn't need to know all mysteries. He didn't need to know all about
prophecy. He didn't need to know whether
it's pre-millennial or post-millennial or all-millennial or blah, blah,
blah, blah. This is what Job knew. This is what comforted
him, as he said in Ashes, with a broken heart, grieving. And
the only comfort he found was the so-called comfort of his
so-called friends. But he said this, I know that
my Redeemer lives. None of this has altered that.
None of this has touched that. None of this has changed that.
I know that my Redeemer liveth. Now what else could be more comforting
to a suffering child of God than to know that? To be reminded
of that. No matter what, my Redeemer liveth. My Redeemer liveth, and that
he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth. And though
after my skin worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I
see God, whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die,
whom I shall see for myself. and my eyes shall behold, and
not another, though my reins be consumed within me. I know
that my Redeemer liveth." Only a living Savior, as we mentioned
a moment ago, can save a dead sinner, can give dead sinners
life. Just as we didn't read it, we
didn't read it, but on down in the chapter, Christ proved to
Martha that he was literally the resurrection and life. That
he was more than a theory. He was more than a doctrine.
He was the present living, reigning, sovereign savior when he stood
before the grave of her dead brother and said, Lazarus, come
forth. And with that command went life.
went life, life from the one who is the reservoir of life,
from whom life is maintained, from whom life comes. Christ
said, Lazarus, come forth. And my soul, can you imagine
that? Can you imagine when they had already prepared his body,
he'd been in the grave four days, and he leans against the wall
of that cave and he comes shuffling out. He's alive. He's alive. And you had him quickened. That's
a picture of what Christ does for dead sinners. We're dead. We don't need a little shove
in the right direction. We need life. We need the Lord
of glory, the resurrection and life to come to these dry bones
like Ezekiel saw in his vision and God said, Ezekiel, can these
bones live? Look at it. Ezekiel said he looked
at that valley and said there were very many and they were
very dry. They were dead. And God said,
Ezekiel, can they live? And Ezekiel said, thou knowest.
Thou knowest. And Christ said, Lazarus, come
forth. And he that was dead He's not
dead anymore. He comes out of that grave and
Christ issues a second commandment. He says, now loose him. Those
grave cloths are not fit and raiment for a child of God. Loose
him and let him go. And the next picture we have
of Lazarus after that is in chapter 12 of this gospel. He's sitting
at the dinner table with the Lord Jesus Christ. How about
that? You had he quickened who were
dead in trespasses and sins. Oh, it is Christ on the throne,
Christ living, Christ reigning, Christ the resurrection, Christ
the life that gives life to dead sinners. One hymn writer, Samuel
Medley, put it this way. He said, I know that my Redeemer
lives. What comfort this sweet sentence gives. He lives, he
lives, who once was dead. He lives, my ever-living head.
He lives triumphant from the grave. He lives eternally to
save. He lives all glorious in the
sky. He lives exalted there on high. He lives and grants my
daily breath. He lives and I shall conquer
death. He lives my mansion to prepare. He lives to bring me
safely there. If he doesn't bring me to glory,
I'll never be there. I'll never get there. If Christ
has not promised his father to bring me all the way home, then
I'll never get there." But he said, listen, listen, verily,
verily, I say unto you, truthfully, truthfully, you can count on
this. I'm staking my honor on this. I'm honored, bound to fulfill
this, as he does every promise to a child of God. In my Father's
house are many mansions. If it wasn't so, if this wasn't
the truth, I wouldn't be telling you this. This is not a fairy
tale. I'm not making this up. I know what I'm talking about,
Christ said. In my Father's house are many mansions. I'm going
there. I'm going there as your representative. I'm leading the
way, and you're gonna follow me. Revelation 14, one description
of a believer is this. These are they that follow the
Lamb whether so ever he goeth. He lives my mansions to prepare.
He lives to bring me safely there. He lives, oh, glory to his name.
He lives, my Savior, still the same. Oh, the sweet joy this
sentence gives. I know that my Redeemer lives. It wasn't enough with Job that
he knew that there was a Redeemer which lived, but the sweetest,
the sweetest part of what Job uttered was this. He said, he's
my Redeemer. He's my Redeemer. I know that
my Redeemer, oh yes, He's the only Redeemer. The only Redeemer
there could be, but He says He's more than a Redeemer, He's mine. I am His and He is mine. I don't know what tomorrow holds
for you. I don't know what tomorrow holds for me, but I know who
holds all my tomorrows. And I know I've committed, as
Paul said, by the grace of God and faith in His Son, everything
into the hands, all the capable hands, the omnipotent hands of
the Lord Jesus Christ. And nothing, nothing, no matter
what tomorrow brings, it can't change this. My Redeemer will
yet be mine, and I will yet be His. That's what comforted Job. Job said, it's personal. It's personal. It's personal
with me. Job said, I'm not telling you
something that I've just picked up secondhand. Oh no, I'm telling
you, I know. I know that my Redeemer lives. I know now that after I'm dead,
in my flesh, I will see God with these eyes. With these eyes,
I shall see the Lord of glory, my soul. Is that not the heaven
of heaven? Isn't it silly? The things you
hear people talk about, it's religious folks, about their
concept of heaven and what they want, what they're looking forward
to in heaven. Streets of gold. Mansions. I want my mansion next to mommy's. Oh no, a child of God, you know
what he wants, you know what he desires, you know what is
the greatest promise of the word of God, the greatest thing that
he's looking forward to, the greatest wonder that his sinful
soul is this, I shall see him as he is. Oh, I shall see him. Is that one of Fannie Crosby's
old hymns? I shall see him, I shall see him, I shall know him, and
be known by him. Oh, that was Job's comfort. There
was so much that Job didn't know, just like me, just like me. But
he knew that his Redeemer was alive and well. And if it's well
with him, it's going to be well with me. If it's well with the
great shepherd, it's going to be well with all his sheep. If
it's well with he that's the resurrection and the light, it's
going to be well with all those that he calls to life. Revelation
chapter 1 verse 17. John said, I saw him. I saw him. And what did you do, John? Did
you strut around like a peacock and say, I've got something you
don't have? No, he said, when I saw him, I fell at his feet
as a dead man. That's the place. That's the
proper place. And he laid his right hand upon me, saying unto
me, Fear not, I am the first, and I am the last. I am he that
liveth and was dead. And behold, behold, I am alive. Just as he said to Martha, I
am, right now, at this moment, I am, alive forevermore. Amen. And I have the keys of
hell and death, our Redeemer, The captain of our salvation
has obtained the victory over all that could hinder the glorious
resurrection of all of his people. He's obtained victory over all
of it. Over sin, he put it away. Over death, he conquered death. He took the sting away. Over
hell, over the grave, over the devil, he triumphed victorious
over all of them. Colossians chapter 2. Verse 13,
and you being dead in your sins and uncircumcision of your flesh,
had he quickly made alive, together with him, having forgiven you
all trespasses, blotting out the handwriting of ordinances
that was against you, which was contrary to us, and took it out
of the way, out of the way, cleared the way, nailing it to the cross,
And having spoiled principalities and powers, he made a show of
them openly, triumphing over them in it. Jesus, even at this
hour, this hour of Martha's heartbreak, turns her thoughts to himself. What better could he do? What
better could he do to comfort this poor, broken-hearted, weeping
sister of Lazarus than turning her thoughts to him? What he
is, what he is is the most important thing for her to know. Just like
Jo, there's much she didn't understand. She knew he'd gotten the message.
Why didn't he come when he first got the message? Can you imagine
the questions she had in her mind for those four days that
our Lord did not come? Oh, but he reminds her that the
best thing for her to know is who he is. If she knows him,
life and death will have no unsolvable problems, no hopelessness for
her, believing on the Son of God. That's exactly what Paul
said when he sat in prison, didn't he? Timothy, I'm an apostle of Jesus Christ
by the commandment of God our Savior, which is our hope. Remove those two words. They're
in italics. They weren't in the original.
It reads like this. The Lord Jesus Christ, our hope. Our hope, nothing else. Nothing
else. Jesus Christ is the believer's
hope. Our hope is in him. All our hope of eternal life
is built upon him. And Christ in us is our hope
of glory. I love how our Lord took Martha's
thoughts of a distant, vague theory, it seemed, that's what
the resurrection was to her, and replaced it with that one
who at that very moment stood before her. Martha, this idea of the resurrection
to you, it seems to have no immediate comfort right now for you. Your
idea of it is offering you no hope right now. Martha, look
at me. Look at me. Focus your attention
on me. Do I have your attention, Martha?
Now listen to this. I am the resurrection and the
life. And in a moment, you talk about
a visual demonstration. Wow. When she stood with her
weeping sister in the front of the grave of her dead brother,
that sepulcher, and saw the Lord Jesus Christ pray, and heard
those words Lazarus come forth, and saw her dead brother raised
back to life. You talk about a different idea
of what the resurrection was from that day forward, I don't
think Martha ever thought about the resurrection apart from the
Lord Jesus Christ. That's exactly what John wrote
in his first epistle, what our Lord said here. Listen to this,
1 John 5. 1 John 5 and 11, and this is the
record, that God has given us eternal life, and this life is
in His Son. He that hath the Son hath life,
and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life. These things
have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son
of God, that you may know, that you may know, not that you may doubt or pout,
but that you may know that you have eternal life, and that you
may believe on the name of the Son of God. Eternal life's source
is in the Lord Jesus Christ. There's no place where eternal
life exists for a sinner except in Jesus Christ. You can't get
it anywhere else. God the Father has eternal life,
yes he does. God the Holy Spirit has eternal
life, but a sinner cannot receive this life eternal from either
of them. For this reason, God's committed everything into the
hands of His Son. John 5 and 25, here in the Gospel
of John chapter 5 verse 25, Jesus again says, Verily, verily, I
say unto you, I'm talking now, listen to me Christ said, truthfully,
truthfully, the hour is coming and now is when the dead shall
hear the voice of the Son of God and they that hear shall
live. Didn't you? Didn't you? For as the Father hath life in
himself, so hath he given to the Son to have life in himself,
and hath given him authority, power, to execute judgment also,
because he is the Son of man. Marvel not at this, for the hour
is coming, into which all that are in the grave shall hear his
voice, and shall come forth, they that have done good unto
the resurrection of life, and they that have done evil unto
the resurrection of damnation. There's no place for a sinner
to come for life except to the Lord Jesus Christ. For the life
was manifested and we've seen it, John said, again in his first
epistle. We've seen it and bear witness
and show unto you that eternal life which was with the Father
and was manifested unto us. Again, from John 5 verse 39,
Christ said, search the scriptures. For in them you think you have
eternal life, and they testify of me, and ye will not come to
me." It doesn't make any difference what else a man does. No matter
how much religion he professes, no matter how much tradition
he clings to, if he doesn't come to Jesus Christ, he does not
have life. And Christ said, you will not
come to me that you might have life. You remember what Pharaoh
said concerning Joseph? He put Joseph in charge of everything. When there was a famine in the
land, he sent out this decree. Don't bother me. I don't want
to hear about it. You need grain? You need grain? You've got to come to Joseph.
I've committed all that authority into the hands of Joseph. even
so with the Son of God. He says, Whosoever believeth
that Jesus is the Christ is born of God. And every one that loveth
him also that is begotten of him. A believer, a child of God,
this is what he told Martha in plain words, didn't he? You'll
never die. You'll never die. A believer
can never die spiritually. You know why? The life that's
in him is the same life that's in Jesus Christ. It's not a different
life. The same everlasting eternal
life that is in Christ our head is in every member of his body. We derive our life from him.
Because I live, Christ said, ye should live also. Christ will
have to die before one member of the church, which is his body,
can die. It's no wonder he said, I give
my sheep eternal life and they shall never, never, never, never
perish. It's never going to happen. There's
never been a believer, there's never been one that whom God
chose the salvation. There's never been a believer
that Christ redeemed. There's never been one he called
out of darkness and gave faith and life to that's ever opened
their eyes in hell. It's never happened and it's
never will. What a dishonor that would be
to the Son of God. We rejoice to hear him say, I
am he that liveth, and I was dead. I was dead. But behold,
look now, behold, I am alive forevermore. And I have the keys
of death, of hell rather, and of death. God's committed him
to me. Our faith is the evidence of
the new birth, is it not? Everyone that believeth Jesus
is the Christ is born of God. It's the evidence of being born
again, not the cause. You hear religious people all
the time, preachers all the time say, well, believe and you'll
be born again. That's the opposite of the truth. That's the opposite
of the truth. The truth is, I'm born again
and then I believe. I can't believe until I'm born
again. An entrance into the kingdom
of Christ, an entrance into grace, as well as the entrance hereafter
into his kingdom and glory, can be accomplished no other way. Ye must be born again. Both that
grace on earth and glory in heaven come from that eternal life we
have in the Son of God. Eternal life is possessed because
of Jesus Christ. He that hath the Son, John wrote,
he that hath the Son hath life. And he that hath not the Son
of God hath not life. Literally, this is how it reads.
He that hath the Son hath the life. That's how it reads. He that has the Son has the life,
the life of God, life everlasting, life unending, the incorruptible
seed. Because he lives, we live. Life and resurrection is not
only an experience Christ purchases and bestows, but he himself is
our life. Oh, how safe a believer must
be. What eternal life he must possess if it flows from the
fountain of the Lord Jesus Christ. When Christ, who is our life,
shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him in glory. We
can no more die and perish than he can." Think about that. We can no more die and perish
than he can. If one believes and is in Christ,
though his body's in the grave, he's not dead. That's what he
told Martha about her brother Lazarus, didn't he? He's not
dead, he lives, for he's one with Christ. Remember what he
said to religious leaders, the Pharisees one time? He said,
I'm the God of Abraham. Have you not read this? Do you
remember what the Lord said to Moses at the bush? He said, I
am. There's one of those, I am. 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. That's exactly what God said
to Moses, and that's exactly what our Lord said to Mary, or
Martha, rather. I am the resurrection and the
life, the same eternal, self-existing, unchanging God. Christ says,
I am. I am the Lord, I change not. Moses said, before the mountains
were brought forth, Ever thou didst form the earth and the
world, even from everlasting to everlasting, thou art God. God was before anything else
was. God was when nothing else was. It was certain that Abraham,
Isaac, and Jacob were all alive, otherwise God would not have
said, or rather God would have said, if they hadn't been living
in the presence of God, He said, I was their God. I was their
God. He said, no, I am their God.
I am their God, they're with him now. Every believer that
departs this world departs to be with Christ. He that believeth
in me shall never die. Shall never die. He may not have
the riches of this world, but he's got the riches of God's
grace because he has God's Son. He may not be known as anyone
of importance here, but he's known in heaven. He's known in
heaven. The Lord knows those that are
his. He may not have membership in any great club here, but his name's written
in the Lamb's Book of Life. He may not have an inheritance
here, but he sure has one in heaven, doesn't he? Peter said,
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which
according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a
lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead
to an inheritance. incorruptible and undefiled,
and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you. Child of God,
remember, nothing can take Christ from you or take you from Christ. There's something else stated
in those verses we read from 1 John 5 a moment ago. He that
had not the Son of God had not life. A man can have religion,
but he won't have life. He can have the right doctrine,
but not have life. You can have baptism, but not
have life. Without the Son of God, you're
without life, without God, and without hope. Christ again says,
I am the resurrection and life. The whole power to impart life,
to maintain life, to give life, and to keep one alive resides
in Christ. In him was life, and the life
was the light of men. He that believeth in me, Christ
said, though he were dead, yet shall he lived. The believer's
debt shall be swallowed up in life, and his life shall never
end in death. As death comes by sin and as
life flows through the righteousness of Christ, it is his to communicate
and to maintain, and he does, doesn't he? Paul in Romans 5
and 21, that as sin hath reigned unto death, even so might grace
reign through righteousness unto eternal life, by Jesus Christ
our Lord. The temporary separation of the
soul and body is here regarded as not even interrupting the
new and everlasting life imparted by Jesus to his believing people. No sooner, Robert Hawker wrote
this, he said, no sooner does the life of faith cease than
the life of sight begins. And then that eternal life, here
begun in grace and there consummated in glory, And all and in and
from Jesus Christ will bring the whole church of the highest
state into the united praise of the holy and undivided three,
which bear record in heaven, and these three are one. When
Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear
with him in glory." We began this message by reading the question
asked by Old Joe. If a man die, will he live again? Let's conclude the message by
asking another question by Job's God and Savior that he asked
Mary. Believest thou this? Or Martha,
rather. Believest thou this? Do you really
believe that I'm the resurrection and the life? Do you really believe
that? Do you really believe that whosoever
believes in me shall never die? Martha, do you really believe
that? Do you really believe that? Do you believe that, Billy Cobb? Do I really believe that? If
so, if I really do believe that, then I've been blessed by God.
God's done this for you. If you believe that, this is
what's happened. This is the reason God, who commanded
light to shine out of darkness, has shined into your heart to
give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face
of Jesus Christ. And because God's done that for
you, you can say this, I'm not ashamed. I know whom I have believed
and I'm persuaded. I'm persuaded that he's able
to keep that which I've committed unto him against that day. The apostle, believing Jesus
Christ who abolished death, changed the whole aspect of death for
him, didn't he? Paul and every child of God.
Instead of it being something to fear, a terror it becomes
God's angel that will bring him the glory, that will come into
that prison cell like it did Paul, and touch him and say,
arise, and the fetters will fall off. This old fleshly man will
fall off forever. The gate will open, and he'll
find himself in that city whose builder and maker is God. And
there shall be no night there, and they need no candle, neither
light of the sun, for the Lord God giveth them light, and they
shall reign forever and ever. Do you believe these things?
Listen again to the words of him who cannot lie. He which
testifieth these things, this is the last sentence of our Lord
in the New Testament, Revelation 22 and 20. He which testifieth
these things saith surely I come quickly. It's as though our Lord
is at the door. Before he opens it and goes out,
before he departs, he looks back and says, remember this, remember
this, I'm going away but I'm coming back. And it won't be
long. Surely I come quickly. I was
reading a message that Brother Don preached the other day and
he said this, Brother Don Fortner, he said, in sickness we're calm
because we live in hope of the resurrection. In sorrow we are
peaceful because we live in hope of the resurrection. In trial
and affliction, we are at ease because we live in hope of the
resurrection. In bereavement, we are confident
because we live in hope of the resurrection. And we hope to
die in confidence and joy because we live in hope of the resurrection. May we leave this day with this
promise of our great God and Savior rejoicing our hearts,
surely, surely, I come quickly. And the response of this church,
every believing sinner is this, amen. Let it be so, even so come
Lord Jesus. He lives to silence all my fears. He lives to wipe away my tears.
He lives to calm my troubled heart. He lives all blessings
to impart. He lives my kind, wise, heavenly
friend. He lives and loves me to the
end. He lives and while he lives I'll sing. He lives, my prophet,
my priest, and my king. Amen. Jesus Christ, our resurrection. and our life. The Lord bless
you.