The Life
Series: Let's be Reasonable
Speaker: John Lau
Date: 25th January 2026
Passages:
00:00:00 --> 00:00:06 1989 was the release of the last chapter of the original Indiana Jones trilogy.
00:00:06 --> 00:00:10 ! Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, The Crest for the Holy Grail.
00:00:11 --> 00:00:23 ! Legend has said that drinking from the Holy Grail, which is a cup that Jesus used in the Last Supper, will provide instant healing, and sustaining use will grant immortality.
00:00:23 --> 00:00:44 Anyway, legends and movie plots aside, Google was reported to be investing a huge sum of money since 2013 to support scientists to discover anti-aging drugs by genetic engineering, which could extend human's life far beyond its natural causes.
00:00:45 --> 00:00:52 Researchers think that it could be possible for humans to live until they are 1 years old.
00:00:52 --> 00:00:58 The project has many philosophers and ethicists deeply concerned.
00:00:58 --> 00:01:01 There's the prosper of boredom.
00:01:02 --> 00:01:07 There's prosper of having too many memories to remember any of them.
00:01:07 --> 00:01:19 And adding to that, if you have not worked out your purpose of your life at 70, most likely you still cannot figure it out at 700 years old.
00:01:19 --> 00:01:28 There's also an appealing prosper of someone like Trump or Kim Jong-un.
00:01:28 --> 00:01:31 But what if we could have life?
00:01:32 --> 00:01:34 Real, enduring life.
00:01:34 --> 00:01:40 Life without pain, fear, bondage, failure, and disappointment.
00:01:40 --> 00:01:41 That would be different.
00:01:41 --> 00:01:50 Since the beginning of 2026, over the last four weeks, we are wrestling with three of the outrageous claims of Jesus.
00:01:51 --> 00:01:57 In John 14, 6, which we read just then, Jesus came to be the way, the truth, and the life.
00:01:58 --> 00:01:59 Jesus came to be the life.
00:02:00 --> 00:02:06 And in John 10, 10, he says that he came that we might have life and have it to the fullest.
00:02:06 --> 00:02:11 Four things I want to say about Jesus came to be the life.
00:02:12 --> 00:02:15 Firstly, why Jesus came to be the life.
00:02:15 --> 00:02:18 And secondly, his life challenges our minds.
00:02:19 --> 00:02:21 And then, his life gives us hope.
00:02:21 --> 00:02:24 And finally, his life gives us purpose.
00:02:25 --> 00:02:28 The Bible declares that God is eternal.
00:02:29 --> 00:02:32 God's life has no beginning and has no end.
00:02:32 --> 00:02:38 So, Psalms 90, verse 2, written by Moses, help us to see God is always living.
00:02:39 --> 00:02:46 Before the mountains were born, or you brought forth the whole world, from everlasting to everlasting, you are God.
00:02:47 --> 00:02:51 God never needs to be made because he always is.
00:02:52 --> 00:03:00 In a brief hundred years, this planet will have population of more than 10 billion brand new people.
00:03:00 --> 00:03:06 And all 8.2 billion of us living today will have vanished off the earth.
00:03:07 --> 00:03:08 But not God.
00:03:09 --> 00:03:13 He will never have a beginning and therefore depends on nothing for his existence.
00:03:14 --> 00:03:20 God does not need air to breathe or food to eat or water to drink.
00:03:21 --> 00:03:24 He does not need help with the work he decides to do.
00:03:24 --> 00:03:32 God always has, within his own life, everything he needs for being who he is as God.
00:03:32 --> 00:03:35 And for doing all that he chooses to do.
00:03:35 --> 00:03:40 Everything in the world needs God, but he does not need anything in the world.
00:03:41 --> 00:03:47 God does not have it in him to go out of existence, just as we do not have in us to live forever.
00:03:47 --> 00:03:52 We all age and die because it is our present nature.
00:03:53 --> 00:03:59 God, however, continues forever unchanged because it is his eternal nature.
00:04:00 --> 00:04:02 So God is self-existent.
00:04:03 --> 00:04:04 He has life in himself.
00:04:05 --> 00:04:06 And God is also self-sufficient.
00:04:07 --> 00:04:10 He has everything he needs for his life in himself.
00:04:10 --> 00:04:16 This is why Jesus claims to be the life in John 14.
00:04:17 --> 00:04:21 It is the natural extension of his claim to be this God.
00:04:22 --> 00:04:29 God, Jesus claims to be the life because he is the God who is self-existent and self-sufficient.
00:04:30 --> 00:04:33 Last week, we took a glimpse at John 1.
00:04:34 --> 00:04:39 There, John asserted that Jesus is the Son of God, is equal with God,
00:04:39 --> 00:04:42 and God's agent in creating all there is.
00:04:42 --> 00:04:48 It also says this about Jesus in verse 4 of chapter 1 of John.
00:04:48 --> 00:04:52 In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind.
00:04:53 --> 00:04:59 And a few chapters later, in chapter 5, verse 26, that claim is expanded and clarified.
00:05:00 --> 00:05:06 As the Father has life in himself, so he has granted his Son also to have life in himself.
00:05:06 --> 00:05:13 Jesus is the life because he shares in the self-existing life of God.
00:05:14 --> 00:05:17 That is the first reason he came to be the life.
00:05:17 --> 00:05:26 And secondly, John's main concern is that this self-existing life of Jesus is light for humanity.
00:05:28 --> 00:05:34 John is interested in Jesus being life and light for the salvation of humanity.
00:05:34 --> 00:05:37 Jesus is the source of eternal life.
00:05:38 --> 00:05:48 In John chapter 3, Jesus explains his death on the cross in the term of it being salvation and eternal life to all who believe in him.
00:05:49 --> 00:05:56 Jesus is the life because he is, firstly, the God who always existed and from whom all life flows.
00:05:56 --> 00:06:05 And secondly, because he is the source of eternal life for those who believe in him.
00:06:06 --> 00:06:10 John 11, verse 25, he says,
00:06:10 --> 00:06:12 I am the resurrection and the life.
00:06:13 --> 00:06:16 The one who believes in me will live, even though they die.
00:06:17 --> 00:06:21 And whoever lives by believing in me will never die.
00:06:21 --> 00:06:27 All these claims hang on the resurrection of Jesus.
00:06:27 --> 00:06:32 If Jesus did not raise, then he cannot claim to be life.
00:06:32 --> 00:06:34 The Apostle Paul said the same thing.
00:06:35 --> 00:06:39 If the resurrection did not happen, then Christianity is useless.
00:06:39 --> 00:06:51 So let's jump back to Mark 16 and follow and allow these resurrected life challenges give us hope and change the course of our lives.
00:06:53 --> 00:06:59 The word of challenge for our mind is there in Mark 16, verse 6.
00:06:59 --> 00:07:03 Don't be alarmed, he said.
00:07:03 --> 00:07:07 You are looking for Jesus the last year who was crucified.
00:07:07 --> 00:07:08 He has risen.
00:07:09 --> 00:07:10 He is not here.
00:07:10 --> 00:07:12 See the place where they laid him.
00:07:13 --> 00:07:16 That is the challenge to our minds.
00:07:17 --> 00:07:19 Jesus came back to life after his execution.
00:07:20 --> 00:07:25 The Bible says that after Jesus was killed, he came back to life and appeared to his followers.
00:07:25 --> 00:07:30 The Bible says that it's why Jesus' followers did not go home.
00:07:31 --> 00:07:38 That's why Christianity exploded to become dominant in the Roman Empire within 200 years
00:07:38 --> 00:07:44 and the largest, most widespread of all religious faith on the planet today.
00:07:45 --> 00:07:49 But this is Cheswood in 2026.
00:07:50 --> 00:07:53 And most people around us just do not believe it.
00:07:53 --> 00:07:54 I got it.
00:07:54 --> 00:08:00 So, in challenging our minds, it is important not to be intellectually lazy.
00:08:01 --> 00:08:09 Before we reject the resurrection, some thoughts need to be given to alternative, historically possible explanations.
00:08:11 --> 00:08:16 A general trend is that rather than looking into that evidence,
00:08:16 --> 00:08:23 what follows is a accusation that the tests like Mark, Matthew, Luke, and John are not reliable.
00:08:24 --> 00:08:30 To justify ignorance, there is a temptation to call the historical document legends.
00:08:31 --> 00:08:33 And Mark challenges that too here.
00:08:33 --> 00:08:43 Three times in eight verses in Mark 1540 and 1547 and 161,
00:08:43 --> 00:08:47 Mark recorded the name of the eyewitnesses who saw it all.
00:08:48 --> 00:08:52 Mary Madeline, Mary the mother of James, and Sonomi.
00:08:52 --> 00:08:53 Why three times?
00:08:53 --> 00:08:55 Why three times?
00:08:56 --> 00:09:02 Because these are the marks of ancient historians to emphasize their findings about the fact,
00:09:03 --> 00:09:03 not legends.
00:09:04 --> 00:09:09 These women are clearly described as eyewitnesses.
00:09:09 --> 00:09:15 Notice in chapter 1540, some women were watching.
00:09:16 --> 00:09:24 And again, in 1547, Mary Madeline and Mary the mother of Joseph saw where he was laid.
00:09:24 --> 00:09:33 Then in 164, when they looked up, they saw that the stone, which was very large, had been rolled away.
00:09:34 --> 00:09:39 Then in verse 5, as they entered the tomb, they saw, then at the end of verse 6,
00:09:40 --> 00:09:41 see the place where they laid him.
00:09:43 --> 00:09:51 This is pretty obvious that Mark sees this woman as clear eyewitnesses to the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus.
00:09:51 --> 00:09:56 This is a slam-dump proof that the resurrection is history and not legend.
00:09:58 --> 00:10:04 One of the strongest early arguments against the truth of Christianity is that the account of the resurrection
00:10:04 --> 00:10:08 is based on the eyewitnesses' testimony of women.
00:10:10 --> 00:10:18 A second-century Greek philosopher named Caesar was one of the early opponents of Christianity.
00:10:18 --> 00:10:24 He wrote that the resurrection was a lie because women were the eyewitnesses,
00:10:25 --> 00:10:29 and women were regarded as hysterical and unreliable.
00:10:30 --> 00:10:32 And people went, good point, sisters.
00:10:32 --> 00:10:33 That is a real problem.
00:10:35 --> 00:10:37 It was an incredibly convincing argument,
00:10:38 --> 00:10:42 because in ancient cultures, women were marginalized,
00:10:43 --> 00:10:44 and it was hard to believe in their testimony.
00:10:44 --> 00:10:49 But this is the very culture that Mark was writing in.
00:10:50 --> 00:10:54 And if Mark was to make this all up,
00:10:54 --> 00:10:59 then he would never have put women in as the only eyewitness to Jesus' empty tomb.
00:11:00 --> 00:11:06 The only way to account for the women being recorded as the first eyewitnesses of Jesus' resurrection
00:11:06 --> 00:11:08 is that they were.
00:11:09 --> 00:11:10 This cannot be legend.
00:11:10 --> 00:11:15 Mark challenging our minds and worldview here.
00:11:16 --> 00:11:20 He has written this as a historical documentation of actual events,
00:11:21 --> 00:11:24 events that challenge the way we see the world.
00:11:25 --> 00:11:28 At this point, it will be easy to say,
00:11:28 --> 00:11:30 okay, this stuff is written as history,
00:11:31 --> 00:11:33 but we got the facts a little muddled up.
00:11:34 --> 00:11:36 Ancient people were a little gullible
00:11:36 --> 00:11:40 about miracles that do not have our modern, developed mind.
00:11:41 --> 00:11:44 We have learned a thing or two in the past 2 years.
00:11:45 --> 00:11:51 It is easy to assume that they were open to the idea of resurrection where we are not.
00:11:51 --> 00:11:56 So let us not be too quick to assume they were ignorant and gullible.
00:11:56 --> 00:12:03 One thing you will notice as you read Mark is that Jesus tells his disciples quite clearly
00:12:03 --> 00:12:07 that he will die and rise again on the third day.
00:12:08 --> 00:12:12 It's there in chapter 8, twice in chapter 9, and again in chapter 10.
00:12:13 --> 00:12:17 The weird thing is the third day after his death arrives,
00:12:18 --> 00:12:19 no one was expecting a resurrection.
00:12:19 --> 00:12:26 The blokes are not around, and the woman have brought spies to an unthorn a dead body.
00:12:28 --> 00:12:31 As they wheeled around the trolley past the spies at Woolies,
00:12:31 --> 00:12:35 they did not go, oh, spies are on sale.
00:12:35 --> 00:12:39 Unfortunately, we will not be needing those this time around.
00:12:39 --> 00:12:42 Jesus just borrowed the term for a few days.
00:12:43 --> 00:12:46 The disciples were not sitting around breakfast pointing,
00:12:46 --> 00:12:50 ah, it's the third day, maybe we ought to go and take a look.
00:12:51 --> 00:12:51 What could it hurt?
00:12:53 --> 00:12:56 What's more, those who did go to the tomb,
00:12:57 --> 00:13:03 these three women were wondering who was going to open the tomb for them when they got there.
00:13:04 --> 00:13:06 The resurrection took everyone by surprise.
00:13:07 --> 00:13:11 The resurrection was as impossible for them to believe as it is for us today.
00:13:11 --> 00:13:16 Their thirst for us, as seeing the empty tomb,
00:13:17 --> 00:13:19 was not that Jesus had come back to life,
00:13:19 --> 00:13:21 but that someone had stolen the body.
00:13:22 --> 00:13:23 A fair assumption back then,
00:13:23 --> 00:13:26 because grave robbing was a widespread practice.
00:13:28 --> 00:13:30 If you have doubt about the resurrection,
00:13:30 --> 00:13:31 so did they.
00:13:32 --> 00:13:34 But they let the evidence charge their worldview.
00:13:35 --> 00:13:39 It's normal to question the validity of the resurrection,
00:13:39 --> 00:13:42 but if you do, for integrity's sake,
00:13:43 --> 00:13:45 then we have to come up with alternative,
00:13:46 --> 00:13:47 historically possible reason.
00:13:49 --> 00:13:53 Why this little ragtag group explored to all corners of the globe
00:13:53 --> 00:13:58 and penetrated vastly different cultures
00:13:58 --> 00:14:02 and changed the world over 20 centuries.
00:14:02 --> 00:14:04 If we reject the resurrection,
00:14:04 --> 00:14:06 we have to produce an alternative,
00:14:07 --> 00:14:08 historically possible explanation,
00:14:09 --> 00:14:11 what happened with the body of Christ.
00:14:12 --> 00:14:13 The Christians,
00:14:13 --> 00:14:14 the Romans,
00:14:14 --> 00:14:15 and the Jews
00:14:15 --> 00:14:16 all agreed the tomb
00:14:16 --> 00:14:19 they laid Jesus' dead
00:14:19 --> 00:14:21 was empty after three days.
00:14:21 --> 00:14:22 So what happened with the body?
00:14:23 --> 00:14:25 If we reject the resurrection,
00:14:25 --> 00:14:27 then we have to produce an alternative,
00:14:27 --> 00:14:29 historically possible reason.
00:14:29 --> 00:14:31 Why hundreds of people
00:14:31 --> 00:14:33 claim to have seen him resurrected?
00:14:33 --> 00:14:35 And why the opponents
00:14:35 --> 00:14:36 of Christianity
00:14:36 --> 00:14:38 could not produce a body?
00:14:39 --> 00:14:40 Why these early Christians,
00:14:41 --> 00:14:42 most of whom were cowered
00:14:42 --> 00:14:44 at his crucifixion,
00:14:44 --> 00:14:46 joyfully gave their life
00:14:46 --> 00:14:47 to see this message
00:14:47 --> 00:14:48 of the resurrection of Jesus
00:14:48 --> 00:14:50 spread through the world?
00:14:52 --> 00:14:55 His life challenges our minds,
00:14:55 --> 00:14:56 but if we allow his life
00:14:56 --> 00:14:57 to challenge our minds,
00:14:57 --> 00:14:59 then his life gives us hope.
00:15:01 --> 00:15:03 His life is mercy and grace
00:15:03 --> 00:15:04 to our hearts.
00:15:04 --> 00:15:06 Look at this wonderful word
00:15:06 --> 00:15:07 in Mark 16,
00:15:08 --> 00:15:09 verse 7.
00:15:10 --> 00:15:11 Go,
00:15:11 --> 00:15:12 tell his disciples,
00:15:12 --> 00:15:13 and Peter,
00:15:14 --> 00:15:16 he is going ahead of you
00:15:16 --> 00:15:17 into Galilee.
00:15:17 --> 00:15:18 There you will see him
00:15:18 --> 00:15:19 just as he told you.
00:15:20 --> 00:15:22 To understand what
00:15:22 --> 00:15:24 incredible word of grace
00:15:24 --> 00:15:24 and hope this is,
00:15:25 --> 00:15:26 let's consider what
00:15:26 --> 00:15:27 was not said.
00:15:28 --> 00:15:29 He did not say to the woman,
00:15:29 --> 00:15:30 to the woman,
00:15:31 --> 00:15:32 you tell those
00:15:32 --> 00:15:33 faithless,
00:15:33 --> 00:15:34 backstepping coward
00:15:34 --> 00:15:36 that deserted me
00:15:36 --> 00:15:37 and denied me
00:15:37 --> 00:15:38 that I might see them
00:15:38 --> 00:15:39 if they grovel
00:15:39 --> 00:15:41 and they have better grovel.
00:15:42 --> 00:15:43 That, of course,
00:15:43 --> 00:15:45 would have been warranted
00:15:45 --> 00:15:47 given what they did to him.
00:15:48 --> 00:15:49 Instead,
00:15:49 --> 00:15:50 Jesus is forgiving them
00:15:50 --> 00:15:52 and calling back
00:15:52 --> 00:15:53 to himself
00:15:53 --> 00:15:55 even before they have repented.
00:15:55 --> 00:15:57 This is a word
00:15:57 --> 00:15:58 of mercy and grace,
00:15:59 --> 00:16:00 forgiveness and hope.
00:16:00 --> 00:16:01 The greatest,
00:16:01 --> 00:16:02 the biggest word
00:16:02 --> 00:16:03 of grace and hope
00:16:03 --> 00:16:04 is simply
00:16:04 --> 00:16:05 in the name Peter.
00:16:06 --> 00:16:07 Why is it so special?
00:16:08 --> 00:16:08 It's because
00:16:08 --> 00:16:10 at the end of chapter 14,
00:16:10 --> 00:16:11 Peter does what
00:16:11 --> 00:16:12 he promised
00:16:12 --> 00:16:13 he would not.
00:16:13 --> 00:16:14 He disowned Jesus.
00:16:15 --> 00:16:17 He abandoned Jesus.
00:16:17 --> 00:16:18 It's a terrible
00:16:18 --> 00:16:19 betrayal by Peter.
00:16:20 --> 00:16:20 He turned his back
00:16:20 --> 00:16:21 on God
00:16:21 --> 00:16:22 and ran
00:16:22 --> 00:16:23 to save his own skin.
00:16:24 --> 00:16:25 So,
00:16:25 --> 00:16:26 if the word
00:16:26 --> 00:16:26 to the woman
00:16:26 --> 00:16:27 is simply
00:16:27 --> 00:16:29 go and tell the disciples,
00:16:30 --> 00:16:31 Peter may have
00:16:31 --> 00:16:31 concluded that
00:16:31 --> 00:16:33 it did not apply to him,
00:16:34 --> 00:16:35 not after what he has done.
00:16:36 --> 00:16:37 Jesus specifically
00:16:37 --> 00:16:39 said to the women
00:16:39 --> 00:16:41 through the angel,
00:16:41 --> 00:16:42 I have planned
00:16:42 --> 00:16:43 for my disciples,
00:16:43 --> 00:16:44 even Peter.
00:16:46 --> 00:16:48 Peter was the biggest
00:16:48 --> 00:16:48 screw-up
00:16:48 --> 00:16:49 and he became
00:16:49 --> 00:16:50 the biggest
00:16:50 --> 00:16:51 of the leaders
00:16:51 --> 00:16:52 in the early days
00:16:52 --> 00:16:53 of the church.
00:16:53 --> 00:16:54 He screwed up
00:16:54 --> 00:16:55 the biggest
00:16:55 --> 00:16:56 in repentance
00:16:56 --> 00:16:56 the deepest
00:16:56 --> 00:16:58 and his grabs
00:16:58 --> 00:16:58 of grace
00:16:58 --> 00:16:59 the greatest.
00:17:00 --> 00:17:01 The good news
00:17:01 --> 00:17:01 of Christianity
00:17:01 --> 00:17:03 is that salvation
00:17:03 --> 00:17:04 is by grace,
00:17:04 --> 00:17:06 not by our work,
00:17:06 --> 00:17:06 effort,
00:17:07 --> 00:17:07 or strength.
00:17:08 --> 00:17:08 Salvation
00:17:08 --> 00:17:09 comes to us
00:17:09 --> 00:17:10 by the weakness
00:17:10 --> 00:17:11 of Jesus Christ
00:17:11 --> 00:17:12 dying for us
00:17:12 --> 00:17:12 on the cross.
00:17:13 --> 00:17:14 Salvation,
00:17:14 --> 00:17:15 eternal life,
00:17:16 --> 00:17:17 comes to us
00:17:17 --> 00:17:17 by Jesus
00:17:17 --> 00:17:19 when we admit
00:17:19 --> 00:17:20 our inability
00:17:20 --> 00:17:21 and weakness
00:17:21 --> 00:17:21
00:17:21 --> 00:17:21 and failure
00:17:21 --> 00:17:23 when we admit
00:17:23 --> 00:17:24 we need
00:17:24 --> 00:17:24 a savior.
00:17:26 --> 00:17:27 Jesus is the savior
00:17:27 --> 00:17:28 we need.
00:17:29 --> 00:17:29 Forgiveness
00:17:29 --> 00:17:30 and life
00:17:30 --> 00:17:30 are offered
00:17:30 --> 00:17:31 to Peter
00:17:31 --> 00:17:32 and to us
00:17:32 --> 00:17:34 with the resurrection
00:17:34 --> 00:17:35 of Jesus.
00:17:36 --> 00:17:37 When a criminal
00:17:37 --> 00:17:38 completes
00:17:38 --> 00:17:39 his jail sentence,
00:17:40 --> 00:17:41 they fully,
00:17:41 --> 00:17:41 completely,
00:17:42 --> 00:17:43 totally
00:17:43 --> 00:17:43 satisfy
00:17:43 --> 00:17:44 the sentence.
00:17:44 --> 00:17:45 When they walk
00:17:45 --> 00:17:46 out of prison,
00:17:46 --> 00:17:47 the law
00:17:47 --> 00:17:47 has no more
00:17:47 --> 00:17:48 claim on them.
00:17:48 --> 00:17:49 They are free.
00:17:50 --> 00:17:51 Jesus Christ
00:17:51 --> 00:17:52 came to pay
00:17:52 --> 00:17:53 the penalty
00:17:53 --> 00:17:53 of our crime
00:17:53 --> 00:17:54 against God.
00:17:55 --> 00:17:56 It was a huge
00:17:56 --> 00:17:56 penalty.
00:17:57 --> 00:17:57 It was a huge
00:17:57 --> 00:17:58 sentence
00:17:58 --> 00:17:59 as the sentence
00:17:59 --> 00:18:00 was death.
00:18:01 --> 00:18:02 He who is
00:18:02 --> 00:18:02 the source
00:18:02 --> 00:18:03 of life,
00:18:04 --> 00:18:04 the self-sufficiency
00:18:04 --> 00:18:08 in his life,
00:18:08 --> 00:18:09 surrendered
00:18:09 --> 00:18:09 that life
00:18:09 --> 00:18:10 so that we,
00:18:11 --> 00:18:12 deserving of death,
00:18:12 --> 00:18:13 may have life
00:18:13 --> 00:18:13 forever.
00:18:15 --> 00:18:16 He must have
00:18:16 --> 00:18:17 satisfied it
00:18:17 --> 00:18:17 fully
00:18:17 --> 00:18:18 because he
00:18:18 --> 00:18:18 walked out
00:18:18 --> 00:18:19 alive and free.
00:18:20 --> 00:18:21 Death could not
00:18:21 --> 00:18:22 hold him down
00:18:22 --> 00:18:23 in Jesus.
00:18:23 --> 00:18:24 God stamped
00:18:24 --> 00:18:25 the pay in full
00:18:25 --> 00:18:26 right across history
00:18:26 --> 00:18:28 so that no one
00:18:28 --> 00:18:29 can miss it.
00:18:30 --> 00:18:30 It's because
00:18:30 --> 00:18:31 Jesus
00:18:31 --> 00:18:32 has raised
00:18:32 --> 00:18:33 from death
00:18:33 --> 00:18:34 God come
00:18:34 --> 00:18:36 can come to us
00:18:36 --> 00:18:37 with a word of grace
00:18:37 --> 00:18:38 and offer us
00:18:38 --> 00:18:38 life forever,
00:18:39 --> 00:18:40 like his
00:18:40 --> 00:18:41 forever life.
00:18:43 --> 00:18:44 If we allow
00:18:44 --> 00:18:45 this life
00:18:45 --> 00:18:46 to change our minds,
00:18:47 --> 00:18:48 then this life
00:18:48 --> 00:18:49 will give us hope.
00:18:49 --> 00:18:50 And then,
00:18:50 --> 00:18:50 lastly,
00:18:51 --> 00:18:51 this life
00:18:51 --> 00:18:52 will give us
00:18:52 --> 00:18:52 purpose
00:18:52 --> 00:18:53 to our life
00:18:53 --> 00:18:55 and we shape
00:18:55 --> 00:18:56 the way we live now.
00:18:57 --> 00:18:58 The purpose
00:18:58 --> 00:18:59 I'm speaking
00:18:59 --> 00:19:00 of is captured
00:19:00 --> 00:19:01 in the little word
00:19:01 --> 00:19:02 go.
00:19:03 --> 00:19:04 Go and tell
00:19:04 --> 00:19:05 people about
00:19:05 --> 00:19:06 the resurrected
00:19:06 --> 00:19:07 Jesus.
00:19:07 --> 00:19:08 Go and communicate
00:19:08 --> 00:19:09 in every way
00:19:09 --> 00:19:11 about the resurrected
00:19:11 --> 00:19:11 Jesus.
00:19:12 --> 00:19:12 This is why
00:19:12 --> 00:19:13 verse 8
00:19:13 --> 00:19:15 is such a shocking
00:19:15 --> 00:19:15 way of Mark
00:19:15 --> 00:19:16 to end his
00:19:16 --> 00:19:17 gospel account.
00:19:19 --> 00:19:19 Trembling
00:19:19 --> 00:19:20 and bewildered,
00:19:21 --> 00:19:22 the women went out
00:19:22 --> 00:19:23 and fled
00:19:23 --> 00:19:24 from the tomb.
00:19:24 --> 00:19:25 They say nothing
00:19:25 --> 00:19:26 to anyone
00:19:26 --> 00:19:27 because they were
00:19:27 --> 00:19:28 afraid.
00:19:29 --> 00:19:30 The resurrection
00:19:30 --> 00:19:33 is such a great news.
00:19:33 --> 00:19:33 how could you
00:19:33 --> 00:19:34 not shout it out?
00:19:35 --> 00:19:36 The resurrection
00:19:36 --> 00:19:37 is the answer
00:19:37 --> 00:19:38 to our deepest longing
00:19:38 --> 00:19:39 to live life
00:19:39 --> 00:19:40 well forever.
00:19:40 --> 00:19:41 That's why
00:19:41 --> 00:19:42 the beauty industry
00:19:42 --> 00:19:43 is booming.
00:19:44 --> 00:19:44 That's why
00:19:44 --> 00:19:45 baby boomers
00:19:45 --> 00:19:46 wear jeans
00:19:46 --> 00:19:47 and we want
00:19:47 --> 00:19:48 to be young,
00:19:48 --> 00:19:48 fragrant,
00:19:49 --> 00:19:49 healthy
00:19:49 --> 00:19:50 because those
00:19:50 --> 00:19:51 were the days
00:19:51 --> 00:19:52 before emotional
00:19:52 --> 00:19:52 pain,
00:19:53 --> 00:19:53 responsibility,
00:19:53 --> 00:19:54 and clarity.
00:19:55 --> 00:19:56 We want to live
00:19:56 --> 00:19:57 and live well
00:19:57 --> 00:19:58 and one of the
00:19:58 --> 00:19:59 reasons it's
00:19:59 --> 00:20:00 so hard to suffer
00:20:00 --> 00:20:01 is that we think
00:20:01 --> 00:20:02 that this physical
00:20:02 --> 00:20:03 world is it
00:20:03 --> 00:20:05 and when you
00:20:05 --> 00:20:05 lose it,
00:20:05 --> 00:20:06 you lose the best
00:20:06 --> 00:20:07 and most precious
00:20:07 --> 00:20:08 things.
00:20:09 --> 00:20:09 Resurrection
00:20:09 --> 00:20:10 means that
00:20:10 --> 00:20:11 this is not it.
00:20:12 --> 00:20:13 There's more
00:20:13 --> 00:20:14 to come.
00:20:14 --> 00:20:15 The resurrection
00:20:15 --> 00:20:16 means that God
00:20:16 --> 00:20:16 is going to
00:20:16 --> 00:20:17 perfectly
00:20:17 --> 00:20:18 remake this world
00:20:18 --> 00:20:20 and the resurrection
00:20:20 --> 00:20:22 changed everything.
00:20:23 --> 00:20:24 This is hope
00:20:24 --> 00:20:25 for the wheelchair
00:20:25 --> 00:20:26 barns and the
00:20:26 --> 00:20:27 people with
00:20:27 --> 00:20:28 crippled emotional
00:20:28 --> 00:20:29 pain.
00:20:29 --> 00:20:30 No religion
00:20:30 --> 00:20:31 in the world
00:20:31 --> 00:20:32 except biblical
00:20:32 --> 00:20:34 faith promises
00:20:34 --> 00:20:35 new and perfect
00:20:35 --> 00:20:36 mind, heart,
00:20:37 --> 00:20:37 and body
00:20:37 --> 00:20:37 forever.
00:20:38 --> 00:20:39 Only in the
00:20:39 --> 00:20:40 gospel of Jesus
00:20:40 --> 00:20:41 Christ do people
00:20:41 --> 00:20:42 find so much
00:20:42 --> 00:20:43 hope for life.
00:20:44 --> 00:20:45 The resurrection
00:20:45 --> 00:20:46 of Jesus
00:20:46 --> 00:20:48 changes everything.
00:20:49 --> 00:20:50 If you know
00:20:50 --> 00:20:51 that this is not
00:20:51 --> 00:20:52 the only tangible
00:20:52 --> 00:20:53 concrete life,
00:20:53 --> 00:20:54 who cares what
00:20:54 --> 00:20:54 people do
00:20:54 --> 00:20:55 to you,
00:20:56 --> 00:20:56 the resurrection
00:20:56 --> 00:20:57 makes you free
00:20:57 --> 00:20:59 from this life
00:20:59 --> 00:21:00 enough to be
00:21:00 --> 00:21:00 brave,
00:21:01 --> 00:21:02 courageous,
00:21:02 --> 00:21:03 sacrificial,
00:21:04 --> 00:21:04 generous,
00:21:04 --> 00:21:05 patient,
00:21:05 --> 00:21:05 and joyful.
00:21:06 --> 00:21:06 The resurrection
00:21:06 --> 00:21:07 means you can
00:21:07 --> 00:21:08 face the worst
00:21:08 --> 00:21:10 things in life
00:21:10 --> 00:21:10 with joy and
00:21:10 --> 00:21:11 hope.
00:21:12 --> 00:21:12 According to
00:21:12 --> 00:21:14 1 Corinthians 15,
00:21:14 --> 00:21:15 the resurrection
00:21:15 --> 00:21:16 means you can
00:21:16 --> 00:21:17 give yourself
00:21:17 --> 00:21:18 to serving God
00:21:18 --> 00:21:19 in this world
00:21:19 --> 00:21:20 with purpose
00:21:20 --> 00:21:21 and meaning.
00:21:22 --> 00:21:23 Not in
00:21:23 --> 00:21:23 vanity,
00:21:23 --> 00:21:25 that's what we
00:21:25 --> 00:21:26 all want to
00:21:26 --> 00:21:26 say about
00:21:26 --> 00:21:27 our life,
00:21:27 --> 00:21:28 to finish it
00:21:28 --> 00:21:28 and say that
00:21:28 --> 00:21:30 has all
00:21:30 --> 00:21:31 had purpose
00:21:31 --> 00:21:31 and meaning.
00:21:33 --> 00:21:33 The resurrection
00:21:33 --> 00:21:36 also means
00:21:36 --> 00:21:37 life forever
00:21:37 --> 00:21:38 with joy.
00:21:38 --> 00:21:39 Not just a
00:21:39 --> 00:21:40 thousand years,
00:21:41 --> 00:21:41 Jesus
00:21:41 --> 00:21:42 promises
00:21:42 --> 00:21:43 eternal joy.
00:21:44 --> 00:21:44 The end of the
00:21:44 --> 00:21:45 Bible has a goal
00:21:45 --> 00:21:46 of all things,
00:21:47 --> 00:21:48 God
00:21:48 --> 00:21:49 dwelling with
00:21:49 --> 00:21:49 people.
00:21:50 --> 00:21:50 No more
00:21:50 --> 00:21:51 tears,
00:21:51 --> 00:21:52 no more
00:21:52 --> 00:21:52 death,
00:21:52 --> 00:21:53 or mourning,
00:21:53 --> 00:21:54 or crying,
00:21:54 --> 00:21:54 or pain.
00:21:56 --> 00:21:57 To the thirsty
00:21:57 --> 00:21:58 he promised water
00:21:58 --> 00:21:59 with her cause
00:21:59 --> 00:22:00 from the spring
00:22:00 --> 00:22:01 of the water
00:22:01 --> 00:22:01 of life.
00:22:02 --> 00:22:03 Jesus came
00:22:03 --> 00:22:03 that we might
00:22:03 --> 00:22:04 have life
00:22:04 --> 00:22:05 and have it
00:22:05 --> 00:22:05 to the fullest.
00:22:06 --> 00:22:07 Jesus purchased
00:22:07 --> 00:22:08 it and offered
00:22:08 --> 00:22:09 never adding life
00:22:09 --> 00:22:10 to us.
00:22:11 --> 00:22:12 Jesus is
00:22:12 --> 00:22:13 the only way,
00:22:14 --> 00:22:15 the only truth,
00:22:15 --> 00:22:16 and the only
00:22:16 --> 00:22:17 life.
00:22:18 --> 00:22:18 Have you
00:22:18 --> 00:22:19 received what
00:22:19 --> 00:22:20 Jesus offers
00:22:20 --> 00:22:20 you?
00:22:21 --> 00:22:22 What is the
00:22:22 --> 00:22:23 hope and purpose
00:22:23 --> 00:22:24 for your life?
00:22:28 --> 00:22:29 I invite you
00:22:29 --> 00:22:30 to take a
00:22:30 --> 00:22:30 moment to
00:22:30 --> 00:22:31 consider Jesus'
00:22:31 --> 00:22:32 challenge to
00:22:32 --> 00:22:33 your life
00:22:33 --> 00:22:34 and to accept
00:22:34 --> 00:22:35 his offer for
00:22:35 --> 00:22:36 you to have
00:22:36 --> 00:22:37 eternal life.
00:22:38 --> 00:22:38 I will lead us
00:22:38 --> 00:22:39 in a prayer
00:22:39 --> 00:22:39 after a brief
00:22:39 --> 00:22:40 moment.
00:22:41 --> 00:22:42 Please repeat
00:22:42 --> 00:22:42 the prayer in
00:22:42 --> 00:22:43 your heart and
00:22:43 --> 00:22:44 speak with me
00:22:44 --> 00:22:44 afterward.
00:22:45 --> 00:22:46 If you have
00:22:46 --> 00:22:46 prayed with
00:22:46 --> 00:22:46 me.
00:22:57 --> 00:22:58 Lord Jesus
00:22:58 --> 00:22:58 Christ,
00:22:59 --> 00:23:00 I come to
00:23:00 --> 00:23:01 you now.
00:23:02 --> 00:23:02 I confess
00:23:02 --> 00:23:03 to you my
00:23:03 --> 00:23:04 sin in
00:23:04 --> 00:23:04 thoughts,
00:23:05 --> 00:23:05 words,
00:23:05 --> 00:23:06 and actions.
00:23:06 --> 00:23:07 I am truly
00:23:07 --> 00:23:08 sorry and
00:23:08 --> 00:23:09 turned from
00:23:09 --> 00:23:09 living without
00:23:09 --> 00:23:11 you to ask
00:23:11 --> 00:23:11 for your
00:23:11 --> 00:23:12 forgiveness.
00:23:13 --> 00:23:14 Thank you
00:23:14 --> 00:23:14 that you
00:23:14 --> 00:23:15 came from
00:23:15 --> 00:23:16 heaven to
00:23:16 --> 00:23:16 save me
00:23:16 --> 00:23:17 by dying
00:23:17 --> 00:23:17 on the
00:23:17 --> 00:23:18 cross for
00:23:18 --> 00:23:19 me and
00:23:19 --> 00:23:20 raising again
00:23:20 --> 00:23:21 for eternity.
00:23:22 --> 00:23:22 I know that
00:23:22 --> 00:23:23 I cannot do
00:23:23 --> 00:23:24 anything to
00:23:24 --> 00:23:24 earn your
00:23:24 --> 00:23:24 forgiveness.
00:23:25 --> 00:23:25 You have
00:23:25 --> 00:23:26 done it all
00:23:26 --> 00:23:26 at the
00:23:26 --> 00:23:27 cross.
00:23:28 --> 00:23:29 As best as
00:23:29 --> 00:23:29 I understand,
00:23:30 --> 00:23:31 I gratefully
00:23:31 --> 00:23:31 give my
00:23:31 --> 00:23:32 life back to
00:23:32 --> 00:23:33 you, asking
00:23:33 --> 00:23:33 for your
00:23:33 --> 00:23:34 forgiveness and
00:23:34 --> 00:23:35 acceptance.
00:23:36 --> 00:23:36 Please come
00:23:36 --> 00:23:37 fully into
00:23:37 --> 00:23:38 my life as
00:23:38 --> 00:23:38 I trust you
00:23:38 --> 00:23:39 alone to
00:23:39 --> 00:23:40 save me.
00:23:40 --> 00:23:41 come in as
00:23:41 --> 00:23:42 my Savior to
00:23:42 --> 00:23:43 wash away
00:23:43 --> 00:23:43 my sin.
00:23:44 --> 00:23:44 Come in as
00:23:44 --> 00:23:45 my Lord and
00:23:45 --> 00:23:46 be in charge
00:23:46 --> 00:23:47 of my life.
00:23:47 --> 00:23:48 Come in as
00:23:48 --> 00:23:49 my friend to
00:23:49 --> 00:23:50 be with me
00:23:50 --> 00:23:50 always.
00:23:51 --> 00:23:52 Please send
00:23:52 --> 00:23:52 your Holy Spirit
00:23:52 --> 00:23:53 to live within
00:23:53 --> 00:23:54 me and make
00:23:54 --> 00:23:55 me a child in
00:23:55 --> 00:23:55 your family.
00:23:56 --> 00:23:57 Thank you for
00:23:57 --> 00:23:58 hearing and
00:23:58 --> 00:23:58 answering my
00:23:58 --> 00:23:59 prayer.
00:23:59 --> 00:24:00 In faith, I
00:24:00 --> 00:24:01 place my
00:24:01 --> 00:24:01 hope and
00:24:01 --> 00:24:02 trust in you,
00:24:03 --> 00:24:03 my Savior and
00:24:03 --> 00:24:04 Lord.
00:24:04 --> 00:24:05 Amen.
00:24:05 --> 00:24:05 Amen.