He Is Risen: Past, Present, and Future
First B Jackson
2015-04-05

Automatically transcribed. Where this and the recording disagree, the recording is the record.

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Good morning, everybody. He is risen.

Amen.

Oh, I heard one person say it. Let's try it one more time. He is risen.

He is risen indeed.

Let me share a verse from you. It's from Matthew. The angel said to the woman, don't be afraid. I know that you're looking for Jesus who was crucified. He is not here.

He is risen. That part's been swimming in my mind all week. That's why we're here. If he had not risen, we would not be meeting. But because Christ is risen, here we are to celebrate an empty tomb, a living Christ.

Right? Let's sing of it, shall we? Let's stand up together.

Savior Jesus my lord up from the grave

Good stuff. Vainly, watch. Amen. Clapping is permitted here.

Y'all can have a seat. So, good morning. Is this thing on?

It is.

Yes, good. Got a few announcements this morning. Not a ton of em but welcome. Glad that you're here. I hope you enjoy the pancakes.

I think there's announcement about that. There's no children's church today. So, the kids are gonna be in here with us for the duration. And if you didn't already have pancakes down the hall and sausage and bacon, please, please, please, do that after this service. And might mention, I don't think we have a slide about it but the Flickengers, I've gave you report at the end of the service last week.

They are progressing. Chuck is progressing. Anna is up sitting up in bed and smiling and learning how to use a wheelchair for the next few weeks. She's broken both of her femurs, but she will be fine. She's doing very well ahead of schedule actually.

Chuck is still able to feel his legs but not able to move them yet. So, continue praying praying for Chuck and there will be a basket out on the somewhere. There's Diane with a basket right there in the back. There will be a basket out there. If you would like to make a donation towards helping the Flickengers be able to pay for some of the costs associated with this.

Medical costs are pretty much covered but Cathy being out of town for ninety days while he rehabs is not. So, if you would wanna help with that, there's a basket for that and breakfast was awesome by the way. Thank you very much. There they are. Yeah.

If you're interested in volunteering for Vacation Bible School, it'll be happening June 22 through the twenty sixth. Krista Clemmer is right there waving her hand. Krista is the one that's kinda in charge of everybody who would volunteer and she's a children's director here. So, if you talk to her, she would let you know everything you need to know. Monday nights at First B are happening.

It's gonna be the Monday after Easter Sunday but we're gonna celebrate the resurrection tomorrow night too from the book of Matthew. Mhmm. And We're having our Spanish service starting up at 01:30 in the afternoon. Next week. In this room, we're probably all going to sit on this side and turn on one screen but we're hoping to grow this in this community.

So, we're going to have Spanish. We will be starting in the book of John and going through the same kind of pattern and series that we have done in in our English speaking church. We started with life of Jesus and then went through the life of early church. We're planning on doing the same thing but in Spanish. So, if you wanna join and you like to speak Spanish or you just want to learn Spanish, you're all welcome but it'll be It'll be the whole thing in Spanish and welcome and happy Easter.

Is there anything else?

Garage sale.

I have two. Saturday. Garage sale?

Saturday.

Is next Saturday. If you'd like to bring items that you'd like to donate for a yard sale benefiting the mission trip to Guatemala, then you could bring those Friday evening in here. And then Saturday morning, we'll set up in the parking lot out here. Yep. And there's a book club that is going on discussing the the book is by Erwin Lutzer.

It is the cross and the shadow of the crescent and we'll have that book club on the fifteenth, twenty second, and twenty ninth at 06:30 in the evenings. All that information is in your bulletin. If you don't have one, you can get it. That's it. Stand up and greet one another.

Bring us back together in a song.

Can hold you down and strain you reign forever let your church proclaim. That's proclaiming he's risen.

God sent his son. Let's sing of it. God sent his son.

They called him Jesus. Because he lives. Days because he lives. This is

good news. Let's sing it.

Because he lives. I can face tomorrow And then one day, and then one

Indeed, God, life truly is worth living because you live. You you give us life. You give us breath. You give us meaning and purpose. And there are people all over the world looking for that.

And what they're really looking for is you. Thank you, God, for being our risen, alive savior. Amen. In Christ alone. Let's sing it out.

There in the ground.

God, we truly are brought brought with this precious blood of Christ. A penalty had to be paid, and you indeed paid it in full. And we realized there's nothing that we could do to earn this salvation that you give. It is a gift freely given, and, we pause just to thank you for it. We truly are grateful and thankful people and Easter people.

People that live in light of your risen life, not just here on Easter, but every day of our lives, recognizing that you live in us. God, we thank you for every gift, every gift that you give. We recognize that everything comes from you and so, we wanna take this time just to say thank you. We love you. We trust you.

Thank you for for everything that you've provided and we give back. In Jesus name, amen. Amen. You can have a seat.

Who taught the sun where to stand in the morning and who taught the ocean you can only come this far who told the moon where to hide

This is kinda this is the Sunday. You know what I mean? If you're the preacher, this is the Sunday. This is the one. This is the Super Bowl.

This is scary. I I've been looking forward all week to to this and I and I have been thinking about how how do you express this? How do you express this? It really is simply tell a story. Simply tell what it is that happened and so, when we're going for resurrection Sunday 2015, I'm gonna do, I'm just gonna explain it first.

This is threefold. We're gonna talk about the past first. We're gonna talk about the present. It won't take quite as long as talking about the past, and we're gonna talk about the future. And I'll tell you what to be expected.

First of all, the past is an extended Easter passage from the Gospel of Luke and that is the Easter story. We'll start on Friday just with the ladies and we'll go through the Easter story in Luke. Then, a playful, hopefully profound mnemonic device from me that I woke up this morning this morning and every morning this week basically thinking about this thing and how it hooks to us today And that video kinda goes along with it. How do we live today based on what's happened in the past? And then an interesting and important take on the future from the Gospel of Mark.

So we're gonna do that. And I have one other word and it's about the past from the Gospel of John. But it extends across the present and the future. So, not a whole lot of grammar today but I take one word. Okay?

One word. We're going to do grammar for one word. The past. This is a true story from God's word. I've been struck lately when in missions conferences and in different places with the fact that between 7080% of the people in the world do not learn the way that most of us learn on the written page.

They learn orally. So, orality is a big deal right now in missions because we had not thought about it. We are so, and I, myself, am so into what the word says and dissecting every single syllable and every single verb and everything else. But just telling the story is a big big deal and that is the way that it spreads. So, this is a true story from God's word.

Specifically, the Easter story from the gospel of Luke and we're going to pick up on Good Friday right here. You can read it in your Bible if you want to. This is the New Living Translation of the Bible. New Living is easier reading. It's a good translation.

So, this is from Luke two thousand three hundred and fifty five and fifty six says, as his body was taken away, this is after the deposition, after Jesus had commended his spirit into God. As his body was taken away, the women from Galilee followed and saw the tomb where his body was placed. On Friday. Then, they went home and they prepared spices and ointments to anoint his body but by the time they were finished, the Sabbath had begun. So, they rested as required by the law.

So, they could not go that night to do the preparation. So, they were going to do it first thing in the morning when they could on Sunday morning. Then, we get to Luke twenty four one through four but very early on Sunday morning, the women went to the tomb which they knew where it was because they had seen it on Friday, taken the spices that they had prepared. They found that the stone had been rolled away from the entrance and so they went in but they didn't find the body of the Lord Jesus. As they stood there puzzled, two men suddenly appeared to them closed in dazzling robes the women were terrified and bowed with their faces to the ground and the men asked, why?

Why are you looking among the dead for someone who is alive? He isn't here. He is risen from the dead. Remember what he told you back in Galilee that the son of man must be betrayed into the hands of sinful men and be crucified and that he would rise again on the third day. Then, they remembered that he had said this.

Sorry. So, they rushed back from the tomb to tell his 11 disciples and everyone else what had happened. It was Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary, the mother of James, and several other women who told the apostles what had happened but the story sounded like nonsense to the men. So, they didn't believe it. Can you identify with that?

That story sounded like nonsense to them. What have we heard from Paul for months and months now? We've been talking about the message of the cross. The message of the cross sounds like foolishness to those who do not believe. Sounded like nonsense to them.

So, they didn't believe it. However, Peter jumped up and ran to the tomb to look. Stooping, he peered in and saw the empty linen wrappings. Then, he went home again wondering what had happened. Still not believing.

This is Peter, the leader, right? That same day, two of Jesus followers were walking to the village of Emmaus, seven miles from Jerusalem and as they walked along, they were talking about everything that had happened and as they talked and discussed these things, Jesus himself suddenly came and began walking with them But God kept them from recognizing him. And he asked them, what are you discussing so intently as you walk along? Can you imagine this thing? Two of Jesus's disciples walking along and you know they've got to just be swirling over what has happened.

What are you discussing so intently as you walk along and they stop short? Sadness written across their faces and then one of them, Cleopus, replied, you must be the only person in Jerusalem who hasn't heard about all the things that have happened here in the last few days. What things? Jesus said. The things that happened to Jesus, the man from Nazareth, they said, he was a prophet.

Now, this is one of his disciples and his disciples believed he was what? They believed he was the son of God. But these are two of his disciples and when death is a reality for them and they're still not believing, the these things happen to Jesus, the man from Nazareth. They said, he was a prophet who did powerful miracles and he was a mighty teacher in the eyes of God and all the people but our leading priest and other religious leaders handed him over to be condemned to death and they crucified him. We had hoped.

Maybe there'll be one more little grammar lesson here. We had hoped. In the past, we were hoping. We had hoped that he was the Messiah. We had put our trust in him.

We'd started believing everything he had to say. We had hoped that he was the Messiah who had come to rescue Israel but he was saying that that's not our hope anymore because he's dead. This all happened three days ago. Then, some women from our group of his followers were at his tomb early this morning. They came back with an amazing report and they said his body was missing and they had seen angels who told them that Jesus is alive but does it sound like they're believing it?

That they're full of doubt? They don't know what to believe. They said his body was missing and they had seen angels who told them Jesus is alive. Some of our men ran out to sea and sure enough, his body was gone just as the women had said. Then, Jesus said to them, you foolish people.

You find it so hard to believe all that the prophets wrote in the scriptures. Wasn't it clearly predicted that the Messiah would have to suffer all these things before entering his glory? Then Jesus took them through the writings of Moses, all the prophets, explaining from all the scriptures, the things concerning himself. What's funny, is they still weren't with him. They still didn't get it.

By this time, they were nearing Emmaus and at the end of their journey and Jesus acted as if he were going on but this is cool too. They're very hospitable people. They had been with Jesus. They had learned from him. They're still considering his teachings good teachings.

They're still considering that the things that he had taught them were valuable, do unto others as you would have them do unto you. They've been walking, you know, seven miles. By this time, they're near and amazes the end of their journey and Jesus act as if he was going on but they begged him, stay the night with us since it's getting late. So, he went home with them and as they sat down to eat, he took the bread and he blessed it. And then he broke it and then he gave it to them and suddenly, their eyes were opened and they recognized him and at that moment, he disappeared.

They got it. They got it because they saw it. And they said to each other, didn't our hearts burn within us? As he talked with us on the road and explained the scriptures to us and within the hour, they were on their way back to Jerusalem. They were found, there they found the 11 and the others who had gathered with them who said, the Lord has really risen.

He appeared to Peter. So, as they're coming back to tell him that they've seen Jesus, there's they're met with the same. He appeared to Peter. It really did happen. Then, the two from Emmaus told their story of how Jesus had appeared to them as they were walking along the road and how they had recognized him as he was breaking the bread.

Think about the upper room just a few nights before on Thursday night, Jesus instituted this communion, the Lord's supper and it was when they saw that that it all clicked for them. And just as they were telling about it, Jesus himself was suddenly standing there among them. Peace be with you, he said. But the whole group was startled and frightened thinking they were seeing a ghost. Why are you frightened?

He asked. Why are your hearts filled with doubt? So the ones who had already seen him, do you think they were frightened and filled with doubt? Maybe. That's a good guess.

Noah's a good guess. Maybe. We've been talking about these resurrected bodies and the differences that will be the incorruptible, imperishable, able to go into rooms that are locked, able to disappear, that sort of thing. And that sounds pretty sketchy for a modern or postmodern especially. Sounds like, wow.

I don't know. I'm not sure I believe that. I believe all the rest of that stuff but not that. Why are you frightened? Why are your hearts filled with doubt?

What are you afraid of? Basically, is what he's asking. Look at my hands. Look at my feet. You can see that it's really me.

Touch me and make sure that I'm not a ghost because ghosts don't have bodies as you see that I do. And as he spoke, he showed them his hand and his feet and still they stood there in disbelief, filled with joy and wonder. And then he asked them, do you have anything here to eat? He's gonna prove it another way. They gave him a piece of broil fish and he ate it as they watched.

Can you imagine that room? Jesus is standing up before him. No, really. You could touch me. It's alright.

Everything's cool. It really is me. Oh, give me something to eat and he's eating in front of and they're sitting there spellbound. They have been spellbound at Jesus before but this is a new thing for them. It's very new.

Then he said, when I was with you before, I told you that everything written about me in the law of Moses and in the prophets and in the Psalms must be fulfilled. Then, he opened their minds to understand the scriptures. So, these guys who have been struggling and sticking their foot in their mouth for years with him. Making silly, silly, silly thoughts. Coming up with all kinds of stuff and getting the answers wrong a lot of the time.

Right here, Jesus explained things to him and that he opened their minds to understand the scriptures. That's amazing. So, the past that we were talking about that, that is the story of Jesus and his resurrection and it's true from the word of God. These oral cultures and the the way to spread the gospel in oral cultures, a lot of people nowadays are just taking the Bible for what it says and often times, they'll have one person whoever's leading missionary, whoever they may be, could be any of you, will tell the story. As it's written, but just tell it.

To another person and let that person listen or a group of people but tell the person ahead of time, I'm going to ask you to tell me the story when I get through. So, pay attention. This is a true story from God's word and as that person listens, they try to get the details. They try to get the whole story and then, when I finish, that person would start up. I was going to do that to y'all this morning.

It's coming, okay? Be be beware. It is coming. We're going to do that at some point. Just tell back the short story and they've broken the Bible up into lots and lots of these little stories and when that person comes back with it, usually the crowd will fix their mistakes.

The crowd hears it all at once and they'll say, wait a second. No, he's a blind man, not a deaf man. No, who's this, not that? Yeah, oh, but no, Jesus, she invited him into the house, Mary, Martha, that deal. They'll fix the details and as that kind of interplay goes on, it's interesting to see what God does is people are really thinking about the story.

It's no longer what you're telling me. It's what's happening. What does the story tell us about God? What does the story tell us about each one of the characters? And how does that help us in the way that we live our life?

It's that simple and right now, the gospel is expanding in the world in unprecedented numbers. It's amazing to see how fast this kingdom is advancing. I wanna mention one word from the gospel of John. I'm gonna do it in two verses but I'll go back to the one word. Further insight, this is from God's word.

It's a little further back. We'll go back to Jesus actually on the cross on Good Friday. John, the eyewitness, he saw this. He was standing there, says that Jesus cries out in a loud voice this, to tell us die. To tell us die, pronounced like that, to tell us die, is a verb and it is translated.

It it happens twice in this two sentence passage in John. After this, Jesus knowing that all things were now accomplished. Actually, a probably better translation, all things had been accomplished but it reads better in English. All things were now accomplished that the scripture might be fulfilled. He said, I thirst.

Now, a vessel full of sour wine was sitting there and they filled a sponge with sour wine, put it on hyssop, and put it to his mouth and so when Jesus had received the sour wine, he said, it is finished and bowing his head, he gave up his spirit. So to tell us that is translated these two different ways. All things were now accomplished, and it is finished. Here's the grammar. So to tell us that.

Third person singular, so everything would be better than all things, but everything. Indicative mood means it is a statement of fact. It is not subjective, subjunctive, I'm sorry, subjunctive where it depends on any other contingency. It is a statement of fact. It's in the perfect tense which means it had been done.

Now, that perfect tense means it had been done at one action in the past that can the past and continues forever into the future. It's in the middle passive voice. This is always interesting to me and I've pointed out. Either it is Jesus had completed all things for himself but since it was translated by John up above, it can't be that. It's got to be passive which is the divine passive.

God brought this to be. Jesus recognized that in his life, as he lived his life, everything that came to pass in that last week of his life was divinely ordained of God and had now come to pass. And when he said, it was ended, finished, accomplished, paid, completed, it was. He meant it. And then, crying out in a loud voice, shows it was not by just mere suffocation or asphyxiation that he died.

He took that breath, stood up on the block, took the breath, and said, it is finished. Everything has been accomplished. At that point, everything that needed to happen to secure salvation for his friends, for those who would trust in him, for those who believe in him. Everything had been accomplished. Amen.

And saying that, he commended his spirit to God. He gave up his spirit. So, that's the past. That's the past portion of this. As I woke up, Wednesday morning, maybe Tuesday morning, I I woke up with an unusual thought and I mean, first B, this is where we are.

This is what we call it. First B, right? We usually don't call it First Baptist. I hardly ever do. I'm not not exactly ashamed of it but sometimes to just denominationalize something kinda implies superiority of some way.

You know? So first b, I always tell people we downplay the aptist. Aptist. The aptest. Even aptest.

That's a misspelled superlative for apt saying, we're more apt than anybody else to tell you the truth. And as long as we stick to the script, as long as we stick to the story, that's not true at all. That's not true at all. First b. And the more I thought about it, you you ever see a word or think about a word so long it doesn't make sense?

I had to check the spelling on first this week because I've been thinking about it all week long. First b. And this struck me, an imperative. First, be. First, just be.

And by that, I mean, first, be real. Be what it is that you are. Now, some of y'all here are here every Sunday and love it, love it, love it, love to be in church. Those of you among that crowd that comes all the time. Some of you are really into Jesus and he is the one that fires your burners and he's the one who brings you in here in the mornings.

He's he is the one and then there's some of you who come every single Sunday that he's he's not. You come because you just come and your parents made you come. I was that guy. I went every Sunday from the time I was negative nine months old. And Wednesday night and Sunday night as a matter of fact.

But at some point, it became mine. And so I'd say, first, be real about who you are. Be real. If you are a believer in Jesus, then that video fits. You know, the video that was about how he lived his life.

That's that's what kind of drives how you would live your life. If you're not a believer in Jesus and you don't and you know that you're not but you're just kinda trying to play through it. I'd rather you just be real about it and not and not kinda pretend so that you know where you stand. One, there's somebody here, a good friend that he's always talking about self evaluation. For Christians, it's absolutely essential to evaluate self and self and see where you are, see where you stand.

But as real, just regular, everyday people, it's good for us just to see where we are. Be real about it. Don't try to hide it. There's no there's no reason. God sees the heart.

If he exist, he certainly knows what's going on, right? So, be real. The biggest complaint non Christians have about Christians is that they're hypocrites. Be real. Don't try to pretend you're better than you are.

If you wanna say you got a better savior than you are, amen. First, behold. First, First, be. First, be real. First, behold and it's not sequential.

Sometimes, people behold what God has done before they ever get to being real. It's amazing. When in seminary, they had us do our two zero four point theological statement of what we believe. I got to point 186 and it said, what is the Ordo Salutis? What is the order of salvation?

And I started pouring through the scriptures and in some places, repent and believe the gospel to be saved. In another place, it it was slightly different, slightly different, slightly different. Sometimes, it was obvious that Christ just knocked Paul down. So, it wasn't all about self evaluation and then realizing that you had been on a bad way and turning around. It it's not necessarily sequential.

So, all of these things are first. First, be who you are. Whether it's in Jesus or out of Jesus, be who you are but recognize sitting here today, you came here. Is God drawing? Is he pulling?

Is he bringing you in? First, be real about who you are. First, behold what it is that God has done and that's why the story in the past is so important. That past history, the resurrection of the God man, Jesus Christ, is what Christianity hinges on. It is not the teachings of Jesus.

It is the perfect life, sacrificial death, and resurrection of Jesus. That's what it hinges on. So, behold that that's what God has done and Jesus says, he's done it for all who would believe and that it is completely done, completely finished on the cross. There's nothing that you can add to it. We're in Galatians.

We started last week. We're gonna go into Galatians again next week. In Galatians, Paul says, it's over, buddy. Everything that needs to have been accomplished is accomplished. Now, you can live your life in freedom knowing your salvation has been purchased from God by God.

Amen. The finished work on the cross. First, behold what Christ has done and first, believe. That is the difference for God so loved the world that whosoever believes in him should not perish but have everlasting life. That belief is the bridge.

It is through belief. It is not through what you do. It is not what other people expect for you to do. Believe is where it's at and once you have believed, once you have grappled with it and graft God's grace, his unmerited favor towards you and accepted that for yourself, then, behold, what God will do in your life. It is amazing.

Is there anybody who wants to raise their hand right now and witness to the fact that God changed your life at the moment of belief? Amen. Isn't that amazing? First, behold that he made that change for other people. If you're sitting in here and you say, oh, oh, oh.

Behold, there was a whole bunch of people and then Christian, after you have believed, be real. Don't ever get away from that. Don't ever feel like, oh, I'm a Christian. I'm supposed to be. No.

Be real about who you are. If you struggle, struggle. Struggle through. Look into Jesus, look into his body here on Earth to help you with what it is you struggle with but be real about it. If the number one thing that's keeping people away from Jesus is Christians, that's bad.

And hypocrisy, that's bad. Now, there will be some trumped up charges. You're following your savior. Were there trumped up charges? Yes.

Will you be crucified? Probably. Maybe not physically but you'll be persecuted. It'll happen. But be real through it.

Christians being real through the course of suffering is a real advance for the church. So, in the moment, first, be. Just be. Be real about it. Behold what God is doing and believe and I looking at this, I was reminded of the keyastic structure that they teach so much in seminary.

The the most important thing is in the middle. It's right there. Believe. That's what he's calling out for. Now, are you incredulous?

Are you having a hard time with it? Maybe so. Were the disciples that spent three years with him? How can this be? How can he be raised from the dead?

He had told you he was going to do it for crying out loud. Isaiah told you he was going do it a thousand years before. David mentioned it before. All of the prophets, all of the Psalms, all of the law of Moses point towards it. First, it's about belief.

A godward life should follow but it's not about that. As I thought about past, present, and future, we can only act in the past. Right? We can promise toward the future and we can regret the past or we can be thankful for what God has done in the past but in the present, we have the Lord's supper right here in front of us today. The communion table is ready.

I'm going invite the elders if they would to come forward and we'll finish the future part after this, alright? In fact, Paul says that we are finishing the future part right now doing this. For communion, I'm going go to first Corinthians and Paul and he just kind of outlines what it was that Jesus instituted and he gives us the words that we normally repeat. It does not have to be this. I've had communion where it was Mountain Dew and Reese cups because that's what we had.

Lord God, would you please bless the people in the pews and as we are seeking to be what we are and seeking to be real. Lord, would you remind us of what it is that you have done? Would you remind us, bring to our memory right now, lord, the things that we have done that are just still sin. They're still wrong and you, would you let us be real about it, not try to justify it or or do anything that what can wash away our sin? Nothing but the blood of Jesus.

Lord, as we've contemplated, seen movies this week, read books, listened to songs, seen plays, videos, we've seen your broken body, and lord, we thank you for the stripes that you endured for us. So, God, would you please bless this bread and each one here today? Would you forgive us of our sins, lord, as we recall your suffering. In Jesus name, amen. And on the same night that Jesus was betrayed He took bread after supper and after having given thanks, he broke it and he said, this is my body.

It's given for you. Do this as often as you will in remembrance of me. God almighty, we thank you for accomplishing on the cross and in the life of Jesus from his very virgin birth. All that was necessary for our salvation. Thank you for wiping out sin and lord, the way that you did it is through his blood.

We recognize that and we look to you to not just save us by that blood but to sanctify us by that blood. Lord, as we partake right now, we are remembering you. Lord, would you bless this as we distribute this cup? In Jesus name, amen. Paul says in first Corinthians 11, that for every time that you eat this bread and drink this cup, you're announcing the Lord's death until he comes again.

So, the future part that I was alluding towards is this, it is the church being the church coming together around the body and blood of Jesus. Taking on his role. Everything has been done to accomplish salvation on the cross but there are people who don't know. There are a lot of people who just don't know. When we wonder a lot about the interesting stuff, the prophecy stuff and so when asking about the end times, if we were to do a class on the end times, we'd have tons of people show up.

This great commission that Jesus gave, we all know. I'm not even going repeat it. When his disciples were asking him in Mark 13 about the end time stuff, tell us then Jesus, when will all this happen? What's the end of the world? What's coming?

What sign will show us that these things are about to be fulfilled? And Jesus replied, don't let anybody mislead you. For many will come in my name, they'll claim that I'm the Messiah, they'll deceive many, and you will hear of wars and threats of wars, but don't panic, don't be in a panic actually. Yes, these things must take place, but the end won't follow immediately. Nation will go to war against nation, kingdom against kingdom.

There will be earthquakes in many parts of the world as well as famines but this is only the first of the birth pains. More to come. When these things begin to happen, they'll watch out. Behold, that's the behold right there. You'll be handed over to local councils and beaten in the synagogues.

You'll stand trial before governors and kings because you're my followers. But this will be your opportunity to tell them about me. That's what the future of Christianity is. There are 2,300,000,000 Christians in the world right now in a in a world of between seven and eight billion. 2,300,000,000 and Jesus is building this church.

It's growing at an unprecedented rate. This will be your opportunity to tell them about me. For the good news must first be preached to all nations. But when you are arrested and stand trial, don't worry about it in advance what to say. Just say what God tells you at that time.

Be real. Be real. Tell your story. If you can't get out anymore than Jesus, man, that's enough. Just say what God tells you at that time for it is not you who will be speaking but the Holy Spirit.

Blake, can you pull up that other map thing? So, this is a map. You see the little dots up there? I just think this is cool. It's not the same thing as how many missionaries are witnessing to how many people and who is accepting Christ.

This is the age that we live in and the technology which is so often used for bad stuff is also being used for good stuff. Global media outreach has number of gospel visits. Each little blue thing that pops up right there in real time right now, each one of those things that pops up is somebody wanting to know the gospel. They're clicking on it. You'll see a lot of them in the 10:40 window, missions window.

That's happening in real time. This is feeding back to the central servers and they're they run this full time all the time and today, there have been 274,800 and whatever people that have clicked on what is the gospel. I want to know it. Been presented it. Out of those, 31, zero have indicated the decision for Christ.

Are these numbers exact and real? I don't know but it's awesome to see em clicking like that. It's happening. People are hearing about it. Discipleship follow-up is up today actually.

Way up. I've been watching this for several days. Over a million a day, over a million people a day have a gospel presentation and it's by the internet but you know what? If you're in a country where persecution is very strong and you don't have a Christian witness or missionary in your neighborhood, the best place you're going to get information Maybe an internet cafe. So, I just wanted you to see that because sometimes things can seem pretty bleak if you watch the news.

I love this though. Between a 2,000,000 a day, every day, all the time. And this is just an indicator. Like I said, there are a lot of people that are sharing their faith individually, person to person. But I thought I'd show you that.

You can flip back over and I want to finish with this. Mark thirteen ten says, for the good news must first be preached to all the nations. Preached, proclaimed, and I just thought that was cool. After my waking state, I want for us to be in the middle of it. I want for us to be in the middle of it.

It's something that changed our life so completely that we're doing something about it. Nothing more than telling the story which we have right here and your story which you have right here and that's it. Carl, can we sing a song? Alright, would you all stand with us and we're going to sing what it is that we believe.

We

in God the Father. We believe in Jesus Christ. We believe in the Holy Spirit, and he's given us new life. We believe in the crucifixion.

Let's end with praise God.

Amen.