Give Me the Bible

What Is A Soul?

Three Angels Broadcasting Network

Program transcript

Participants: Pr. Kenneth Cox

Home

Series Code: GMTB

Program Code: GMTB000032


00:18 Good evening and welcome to
00:20 Give Me The Bible with
00:22 Pastor Kenneth Cox.
00:23 Tonight we're coming to you live
00:25 from the 3ABN Worship Center
00:27 right here in Thompsonville, IL.
00:31 And we're so happy that you could join us
00:33 from all around the world
00:36 as you're watching 3ABN tonight,
00:39 maybe today in some parts of the world.
00:42 But wherever you are, we welcome you to this program.
00:45 We've been enjoying the music that we've had night by night.
00:49 The music has added so much.
00:52 And on this particular subject tonight - What is a Soul? -
00:57 it's a subject that really demands
01:02 some encouraging music, isn't it?
01:04 So we have some spirituals - a medley of spirituals -
01:08 to be brought to us by the Hinsdale Men's Chorus.
01:26 Joshua fit the battle of Jericho,
01:29 Jericho, Jericho.
01:32 Joshua fit the battle of Jericho...
01:34 and the walls came a tumbling down.
01:37 Joshua fit the battle of Jericho,
01:39 Jericho, Jericho.
01:42 Joshua fit the battle of Jericho...
01:44 and the walls came a tumbling down.
01:47 You may talk about your men of Gideon,
01:50 you can talk about the men of Saul,
01:53 But there's nothing like good old Joshua
01:56 and the Battle of Jericho.
01:58 Up to the walls of Jericho he marched with spear in hand.
02:04 "Go blow them ram horns, " Joshua cried,
02:07 "as the battle is in my hands. "
02:10 It's me, it's me, oh Lord,
02:13 standing in the need of prayer.
02:15 It's me, it's me, it's me, oh Lord,
02:18 standing in the need of prayer.
02:21 Not my brother, not my sister, but it's me, oh Lord,
02:24 standing in the need of prayer.
02:27 Not my brother, not my sister, but it's me, oh Lord,
02:30 standing in the need of prayer.
02:33 It's me, it's me, it's me, oh Lord,
02:36 standing in the need of prayer.
02:38 It's me, it's me, it's me, oh Lord,
02:41 standing in the need of prayer.
02:44 Not my father, not my mother, but it's me, oh Lord,
02:47 standing in the need of prayer.
02:50 Not my father, not my mother, but it's me, oh Lord,
02:53 standing in the need of prayer.
02:57 I got shoes, you got shoes, all God's children got shoes.
03:03 When I get to heaven gonna put on my shoes
03:06 I'm gonna walk all over God's heaven,
03:08 heaven, heaven, heaven, heaven, heaven.
03:12 Everybody talkin' bout heaven ain't goin' there:
03:15 heaven, heaven, heaven, heaven.
03:17 I'm gonna walk all over God's heaven.
03:20 I got a robe, you got a robe,
03:23 all of God's children got a robe.
03:26 When I get to heaven gonna put on my robe
03:29 I'm gonna shout all over God's heaven,
03:32 heaven, heaven.
03:34 Everybody talkin' bout heaven ain't goin' there:
03:38 heaven, heaven.
03:40 I'm gonna shout all over God's heaven.
03:43 Everybody talkin' about heaven ain't goin' there:
03:46 heaven, heaven.
03:49 I'm gonna shout all over
03:51 God's heaven.
03:55 Shout all over God's heaven! Yeah!
03:58 Amen.
04:02 Thank you! Thank you very much.
04:04 Enjoyed that tonight? That's great!
04:08 Appreciate that. All of us...
04:10 standin' in the need of prayer.
04:12 That we stand day by day
04:14 in need of prayer.
04:16 Very happy to welcome all of you here.
04:18 Appreciate you being here.
04:20 Those of you that are watching by television...
04:23 thank you. We're glad that you're back with us.
04:25 And if it's your first time, we hope it won't be your last.
04:28 That you'll continue to follow as we study God's Word together.
04:32 Also if you've been watching month by month
04:35 as we've gone through the different subjects,
04:37 we hope they've blessed you in a special way.
04:39 Those of you that have listened by radio
04:42 or watched by television many different places
04:45 around the world, thank you for your response.
04:47 Thank you for calling us, writing us.
04:50 We appreciate it very, very much.
04:53 This particular series this month
04:56 is entitled Life in the Son.
05:00 Life in Jesus Christ. What all is involved in that?
05:05 And tonight we're looking at a subject of What is a Soul?
05:10 Which is kind of a pivotal subject because it's very basic
05:15 to this whole concept of life in Christ.
05:18 And so we hope you'll follow carefully.
05:21 Our next presentation is entitled Life in Christ.
05:24 We're going to talk specifically about what that means
05:28 when it says that "If you have the Son, you have life.
05:31 If you don't have the Son, you don't have life. "
05:34 That's what we're going to be looking at.
05:35 And so we hope that you'll tune in again tomorrow
05:39 as we go into the next presentation.
05:41 But tonight, what you want to look at... look for
05:45 as we talk about What is a Soul? What makes up a soul?
05:51 You ever stop to think about it?
05:53 Where? How does it all come about?
05:56 We're going to go to the scripture and find out
05:58 just exactly what it says about a soul
06:02 and how that plays into the whole picture.
06:05 So we're happy that you're here.
06:07 Get out your Bible. Follow.
06:09 Very important that we see what God's Word says.
06:13 What says the Bible, the blessed Bible?
06:16 This my only question be.
06:20 The teachings of men so often mislead us.
06:24 What says the Bible to me?
06:26 That's what we want to find out.
06:28 So we hope you'll be blessed tonight as we talk about
06:31 What is a Soul?
06:32 The Hinsdale Men's Chorus are going to sing for us
06:36 a beautiful song entitled Precious Lord, Take My Hand.
06:55 Precious Lord,
06:58 take my hand.
07:01 Lead me on,
07:05 help me stand.
07:09 I am tired,
07:13 I am weak,
07:16 I am worn.
07:23 Through the storm,
07:27 through the night
07:31 lead me on
07:34 to the light.
07:38 Take my hand,
07:42 precious Lord,
07:47 lead me home.
08:12 Precious Lord,
08:15 take my hand.
08:18 Lead me on,
08:21 help me stand.
08:24 I am tired,
08:27 I am weak,
08:29 I am worn.
08:35 Through the storm,
08:38 through the night
08:40 lead me on
08:43 to the light.
08:46 Take my hand,
08:49 precious Lord,
08:52 lead me home.
09:04 When my way when my way
09:08 grows drear, when my way grows drear,
09:10 precious Lord precious Lord
09:13 linger near.
09:16 When my life when my life
09:19 when my life is gone...
09:25 almost gone.
09:27 Hear my cry, hear my cry,
09:30 hear my call. hear my call.
09:33 Hold my hand Hold my hand lest I fall.
09:38 Take my hand, take my hand,
09:41 precious Lord,
09:44 lead me home.
09:50 Precious Lod
09:53 take my hand.
09:55 Lead me on
09:58 help me stand.
10:01 I am tired,
10:03 I am weak,
10:06 I am worn.
10:11 Through the storm,
10:14 through the night
10:17 lead me on
10:20 to the light.
10:22 Take my hand,
10:25 precious Lord,
10:28 lead me home.
10:34 Take my hand,
10:43 precious Lord,
10:51 lead me
10:56 home.
11:04 Home.
11:32 Heavenly Father, tonight
11:35 we come to You, Lord, just opening our hearts.
11:41 Asking that the Holy Spirit may be present.
11:45 That each of us may be given clear understanding
11:50 of Your Word.
11:53 That our hearts may be soft.
11:56 They may be pliable.
11:59 That the Holy Spirit may be able to lead and guide and direct us.
12:05 Give us enlightenment, understanding...
12:09 that we might each one know how to walk with You
12:15 and follow You and to have a place in Your kingdom.
12:20 For this we ask in Christ's name, Amen.
12:30 What is a Soul?
12:33 A question that an individual
12:36 needs to be extremely clear on.
12:38 And so we're going to go right back to the
12:41 very first of scripture
12:43 because it defines and helps us understand
12:46 what a soul is. So we're going to go to
12:49 Genesis the second chapter and verse 7.
12:52 And it just simply says here:
13:04 So we're going to take this text and kind of break it down
13:07 step by step. It says here:
13:09 "The Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground. "
13:12 You see, God has the ability to make something
13:17 out of nothing.
13:19 In fact, the scripture says
13:21 that He can speak things into existence.
13:26 That He can simply speak it and that He has that ability.
13:29 But when it came to creating man
13:32 it simply says that He took some dust...
13:36 and from that dust He made man.
13:40 Brought him into existence.
13:43 The reason for that - and we'll find that out as we take a look
13:46 at scripture tonight - why He reached out
13:48 and took a handful of dust and created man.
13:53 But this is the way He made man.
13:55 And when it came to Eve,
13:57 we find that it says this:
14:25 So since Eve was taken from Adam -
14:29 Adam's rib -
14:31 then basically she falls into the same category as Adam.
14:37 And that is meaning that she came from the earth.
14:40 Because he came from the earth
14:42 and he was created from it, so she also come there.
14:45 So when it comes to this question of a person
14:49 and how they came into existence
14:51 both of them came out of dust.
14:55 This is the way they came into being.
14:57 And so when you take a look at the composition of man -
15:03 and I always hate to do this -
15:05 because when you take a look at the composition of man...
15:09 there's not a lot there.
15:12 Uh, you can take a look at this here.
15:15 These are the elements, composition of man.
15:18 You can see 65% of us is oxygen.
15:21 In other words, we're just a big bunch of hot air!
15:25 That's... that's really the truth of it.
15:27 In fact, as you go through, you have...
15:30 Yeah, there's 18% carbon.
15:32 But then 10% of it's hydrogen.
15:35 And then 3% is nitrogen.
15:37 And then you have some calcium and some phosphorus
15:40 and some trace minerals.
15:42 Really, when you break it down,
15:44 most of us are just air.
15:46 That's what we are.
15:47 But God had the ability to take and make man of that.
15:53 So it says that when He formed man
15:56 He took the dust of the ground
15:58 and brought man into existence.
16:02 OK. So this is where we come from.
16:04 There's no use going out trying to think that we came
16:09 from some other place. The scripture is very clear
16:11 that we came from the dust of the ground.
16:14 All right. Let's go back to that text.
16:27 So it says He breathed into man
16:30 the breath of life
16:33 and he became a living being.
16:35 So we find that the scripture tells us that this word breath -
16:40 the Hebrew word for that is Nishmat -
16:43 and that word means breath,
16:46 wind, breeze, spirit.
16:49 All those are words that it's used for.
16:52 And so when it says that He breathed into man
16:55 He breathed into him the breath of life.
17:00 Now understand... that is not talking about oxygen.
17:07 OK?
17:08 We get the idea He breathed into him the breath of life
17:11 that God just gave him some oxygen. No!
17:14 Listen to this:
17:22 So it's talking about the spirit of God
17:25 or the breath of life that's there.
17:27 You see, in the delivery room
17:31 when that baby is born
17:34 if that baby does not breathe,
17:38 if the breath of life does not take place there,
17:42 the doctors could pump oxygen into that baby all day long...
17:46 it still wouldn't live.
17:48 So when we're talking about the breath of life
17:51 we're talking about more than oxygen.
17:54 It's the breath of life.
17:56 It's God's ability to give life.
18:00 That He can speak and breathe into that person
18:05 the breath of life. "And they become a living being"
18:10 is what the scripture says.
18:12 So you have man.
18:15 God created him out of the dust of the ground.
18:18 And there... there Adam lay.
18:22 Had eyes... but they didn't see.
18:27 Had ears... but they couldn't hear.
18:31 Had a heart... but it didn't beat.
18:35 But God breathed into him the breath of life
18:41 and all of a sudden that heart started beating.
18:45 And now he could see. And now he could hear.
18:49 Scripture says with that things changed.
19:01 So what I'm trying to tell you is this is more
19:05 than just oxygen. It's the breath of life that God gives.
19:10 Now going back to that text again, it says:
19:20 I much prefer the old King James version here
19:24 because it says "and man became a living soul. "
19:29 That's what it says.
19:31 Now if you followed what we've talked about here step by step,
19:34 you found out that there are certain things that are
19:37 involved here. The body: God formed it.
19:41 And then He put the breath of life in it
19:43 and he became a living being.
19:46 That's what the scripture says.
19:48 The scripture does not say this, folks...
19:52 get it clear... it does not say
19:54 that God had a body and here He had the breath of life
20:00 and here He had a soul
20:02 and He put the three together.
20:04 Does not say that.
20:06 It says that He had a body
20:09 and He put the breath of life in that body
20:12 and it became a living soul.
20:16 OK? Great, great difference.
20:18 So when we're defining a soul,
20:21 a soul is made up of a body and a breath of life.
20:25 That's what makes a soul.
20:27 In other words, you are a soul
20:31 because you have a body, you have the breath of life.
20:36 Therefore you are a living soul.
20:39 That's what makes a soul.
20:42 That's very, very important.
20:44 You see, because you are a soul,
20:48 listen carefully...
20:51 You see, when you're born
20:56 and which each person is born on this old earth
21:02 you are not just something that's here.
21:07 Person that's born and that's all...
21:09 I don't care where you are.
21:11 I don't care if you're born in the farthest parts
21:15 of uninhabited world...
21:19 I don't care who you are...
21:22 when you're born, you are special.
21:28 Put it down! You are a special creation.
21:32 God said here:
21:43 He said "Before you ever came into existence
21:46 I knew you. "
21:49 Before you ever came into existence God knew you.
21:56 He knew who you were, and He knows you each one.
22:00 And the scripture even says that He is so mighty
22:03 and so absolutely beyond human understanding
22:07 that He knows every hair in your head.
22:09 That you are special. Listen...
22:13 listen as David... David talks about...
22:16 about this. Listen to what David said:
22:39 Saying: "You saw me before I ever existed.
22:45 Before I even came into existence. "
22:56 He said: "Before I ever was born You knew who I was. "
23:00 And so every last one of you
23:02 if you're here tonight,
23:04 if you're watching by television,
23:06 if you're listening by radio,
23:08 I don't care where you are in the world
23:11 God knows you and you are special.
23:18 Now listen to me because it says this:
23:32 Knows every person... where they were born.
23:36 So each one of you is totally and completely unique.
23:42 There is not another person like you
23:46 anywhere in the universe.
23:49 There never will be.
23:52 You are special.
23:56 And because you are unique,
23:59 because there's not another person like you,
24:02 the Lord Jesus Christ said
24:06 "I'll come and I'll pay
24:09 the price for you. "
24:12 You see, you're a soul,
24:15 and as a soul you have certain qualifications.
24:19 Your DNA is like nobody else's.
24:24 The genetic make-up of you
24:28 is totally and completely different
24:31 than anybody else.
24:34 You're unique.
24:37 You're intelligent.
24:39 You're special.
24:42 Therefore, you are worth saving.
24:46 And Christ said: "I would die
24:49 if there was only one of you. "
24:55 That's a soul.
24:57 You're a soul because you've got a body
25:01 and because you have the breath of life
25:03 and you have a totally unique genetic make-up
25:08 that's different than anybody else.
25:10 That makes you a soul.
25:13 OK. Because you are a soul
25:17 and because God in His love and in His wisdom
25:23 and in His kindness
25:25 reached out and created man
25:28 and gave to man the right
25:32 to say "yes" or to say "no. "
25:38 God gave you that right.
25:41 And man rebelled against God.
25:46 And when man rebelled against God,
25:50 then death came in...
25:55 because life is found in God.
26:00 If you forsake God,
26:03 you forsake life, folks.
26:06 That's where life is found: it's found in Him.
26:09 So since death came in
26:11 what you have is creation in reverse.
26:17 That's simply what you have is creation in reverse.
26:22 And the scripture describes it that way...
26:24 that this is creation in reverse.
26:40 And you and I have stood at funeral services
26:45 and we've heard the minister say those words.
26:48 "Ashes to ashes, dust to dust. "
26:52 We return back to the dust: creation in reverse.
26:57 So our bodies go back to the earth
27:02 from which it was taken.
27:04 Fortunately, it says:
27:19 What happens to us.
27:21 God takes away the breath of life...
27:25 we die.
27:27 You see, you're sitting there tonight
27:30 or you're watching on television tonight
27:32 and you're breathing.
27:35 But you're breathing because God has permitted it.
27:41 Because with the stroke of His hand
27:45 He can stop you from breathing.
27:48 We breathe because He gives us that opportunity.
27:52 In Ecclesiastes it gives some counsel to old people
27:57 particularly. It says:
28:03 See...
28:24 You see, the breath of life...
28:26 and this again, folks, as I said this is more than oxygen...
28:30 when that person dies,
28:32 that breath of life goes back to God.
28:36 He gave it in the beginning and it goes back to Him.
28:41 Now don't misunderstand. That doesn't mean that
28:44 it's something that looks like you and looks like me
28:47 that has intelligence. That isn't what it means.
28:50 It means it is God's ability to give life...
28:55 that went back to Him.
28:57 So it goes back to God who gave it.
29:01 Creation in reverse.
29:04 That's simply what it is.
29:20 You see, we have this strange idea
29:25 that when people die they don't die.
29:29 We get this idea.
29:33 When you go to cross the road
29:36 which way do you look first?
29:39 To the right or to the left?
29:42 Hmmm?
29:44 A bunch of you don't even know, do you?
29:48 OK. You all look to the left
29:51 because that's the way the traffic is coming from.
29:53 See. But if you do any traveling
29:59 you'd better be very careful
30:01 because I have almost got it
30:04 several times because looking to the left
30:06 and boy, there it came by me, you know.
30:10 So you've got to watch where you are. See?
30:13 But let's say I'm not watching where I'm going.
30:15 I step out in the street...
30:18 a car hits me.
30:20 Knocks me down. Knocks me unconscious.
30:25 OK?
30:26 Do I know anything?
30:28 No, I'm unconscious. I don't know a thing.
30:32 They call the ambulance.
30:35 Ambulance picks me up; they rush me to the hospital.
30:37 They roll me into the operating room.
30:40 And the doctor examines me
30:41 and he says: "this man's hurt internally.
30:44 We're going to have to operate on him. "
30:46 And so they call the anesthetist.
30:48 The anesthetist comes and begins to give me the
30:51 anesthetic and puts me to sleep. Do I know anything?
30:54 No I don't. I'm asleep.
30:57 And the doctor comes in and begins the operation
31:00 and while he's operating on me
31:03 uh, my ticker quits beating
31:07 and I die... and now I know everything.
31:14 Huh? No!
31:16 No. It just simply says that when a person dies
31:20 the body goes back to the dust.
31:23 The breath goes back to God who gave it
31:26 and life ceases.
31:28 I just had an operation here a month or so ago.
31:31 Wasn't a serious one, but anyhow they put me to sleep.
31:35 Man, I can remember I was laying there in the operating room
31:39 and they said: "Uh, we're going to give you some stuff
31:42 to put you to sleep. " That's the last I remember.
31:45 I mean I was gone and I didn't remember a thing after that
31:49 until I woke up several hours later.
31:51 OK. It just puts you to sleep; you don't know anything.
31:55 Same thing is when a person dies.
31:58 And folks say: "Well, what... what happened to the soul?
32:02 Where did the soul go? "
32:04 Well, let's see if we can try to help you understand
32:07 where the soul goes or what happens to the soul.
32:10 We live in an age of computers.
32:12 We all use them, and if you don't use them
32:16 well you may be better off... but I don't know.
32:19 Anyhow, we'll just call the computer here...
32:22 We'll say that it's a body
32:24 because you have a... you have a keyboard,
32:27 you have a screen, you have some microchips.
32:31 You have different things all made up of the body.
32:34 See, that's what it is.
32:35 But it won't do one lousy thing for you.
32:39 I mean it's just there; that's all.
32:43 But then you take that computer
32:45 and you give it some electricity
32:51 You plug it in, and all of a sudden it comes to life.
32:57 See?
32:59 Begins to do things.
33:01 And so you have a body.
33:03 Give it electricity and it comes to life.
33:06 We can call that the breath of life.
33:09 And all of a sudden that computer comes to life
33:12 and you can put information in it.
33:15 So you type and put information in it.
33:19 Not only can you put information in it
33:21 you can ask it to give you that information back...
33:25 and you can ask for it to even give that information
33:27 back to you in different ways.
33:30 And it'll use that information and turn it around
33:33 and change it and do all kinds of things for you.
33:36 Operates that. You can enter all that information.
33:42 You unplug it.
33:45 What happens?
33:48 You unplug it and it won't do a thing for you.
33:54 You take away the electricity or the breath of life
33:58 and it's dead.
34:01 Let me ask you a question.
34:04 It's dead. Is the information gone?
34:11 Huh? No.
34:13 You can plug it back in again
34:17 and all that information is there.
34:19 So with us.
34:24 The body goes back to the dust,
34:27 the breath goes back to God who gave it
34:30 and basically just doesn't exist...
34:34 until the body is formed again
34:39 and the breath of life enters that person.
34:44 And all of a sudden all that comes back...
34:48 comes back again. That becomes a living soul.
34:54 That is simply what the scripture tells us happens...
34:57 takes place in our lives and all.
35:00 Umm... you know, if we don't understand that, folks,
35:05 we get some very, very strange ideas.
35:09 I had a... I have a friend who
35:12 when her girl was about... oh, I don't know, she was
35:15 probably four, five years old...
35:19 she took her out to the cemetery to put some flowers
35:22 on her aunt's grave.
35:24 They got out to the cemetery
35:26 and they took the flowers they had bought
35:28 and they laid them on the grave there.
35:29 And they were just standing there, and this little girl...
35:32 the process, the thoughts
35:34 were turning. And she kind of
35:36 tuggin' on her mother's dress
35:37 and she said: "Is Aunt Polly in there? "
35:40 And the mother said: "Oh, no, no, no. "
35:42 She said: "Aunt Polly's not there; she's up in heaven. "
35:46 The little girl thought about that a little bit
35:49 and she tugged on her dress and she said:
35:51 "Why are we putting the flowers here? "
35:54 And of course, that really kind of threw the mother.
35:59 And she said: "Well, uh, Aunt Polly's body is there,
36:03 but she's up in heaven. "
36:04 The little girl thought about that a little bit, and she said:
36:07 "Aunt Polly's up in heaven running around without a body? "
36:11 You know, it just... We get ourselves into all kinds of
36:15 trouble when we don't take the scripture for just exactly
36:19 what it says.
36:21 One of the great illustrations that are given in the Bible
36:24 that makes this completely clear concerning what happens
36:29 when Jesus comes back is found in Ezekiel the 37th chapter.
36:34 A chapter that... there's a song written about it
36:37 called "Then bones, them bones, them dry bones. "
36:41 You remember that song?
36:43 OK. I want you to listen to what it says about it.
36:46 It says:
36:57 So here the prophet Ezekiel is out in this valley
37:00 and it's full of bones. Listen:
37:18 That means they had been there a long, long time.
37:22 Laying there in the sun. Bleached, dry bones.
37:28 And God asked Ezekiel
37:32 a very, very important question:
37:43 Can these dry bones live?
37:53 Said: "Is it possible that these dry bones
37:57 could come back to life? "
38:07 "Prophesy to these bones"
38:24 He's telling them: "Breath's going to enter into you
38:27 and you shall live. "
38:41 Said: "I'm going to cause you to live... " - these dry bones.
38:45 Let's watch what happens:
39:01 You remember the song?
39:04 All of a sudden there was a rattling and a shaking,
39:09 and it says that the "leg bone came to the knee bone,
39:14 the knee bone to the leg bone and the hip bone... "
39:17 You know how the song goes, OK.
39:19 The bones came together "bone to his bone. "
39:23 There they lay: skeletons.
39:26 All right?
39:40 All of a sudden those skeletons took on form.
39:46 There they lay.
39:48 They had eyes... but they didn't see.
39:54 They had ears... but they didn't hear.
39:59 They had a heart... but it didn't beat.
40:03 There was no breath in them.
40:07 OK?
40:25 "Come, Spirit... breath of life...
40:31 breathe upon these slain that they may live. "
40:35 The breath of life coming in, entering into them,
40:41 and thus it says:
40:54 The breath of life entered into them
40:59 and they came back to life.
41:00 They became, folks, a living soul.
41:05 "They stood upon their feet an exceeding great army. "
41:25 Are you getting the picture?
41:28 Are you seeing what God is saying that's involved here?
41:32 That He is the one that gives life.
41:35 And that person lives because of Christ
41:39 and what He's able to do because He's the Creator.
41:42 Because He's God!
41:43 Not... not within ourselves.
41:48 Nowhere... nowhere in this book
41:51 does it say that you have an immortal soul.
41:56 It doesn't say that, folks.
41:58 It says: "The soul that sins
42:01 shall die. "
42:04 Our hope is not in ourselves.
42:07 Our hope is not in what we are!
42:10 Our hope is in Christ.
42:12 That's the One that has the life.
42:14 And so I must look to Him.
42:16 I must trust Him; I must have faith in Him
42:19 because He's the One that can give life.
42:37 When is He going to raise him up?
42:40 "The last day. " Doesn't say that when you die
42:44 all of a sudden you're going to be raised up.
42:47 It says that when you die
42:49 "He will raise you up in the last day. "
42:53 Watch, He says this over and over in the scripture.
42:55 I'm not talking about one place. Look at this:
43:06 See? Making it clear that's when it's going to happen...
43:10 not now. Those people who in faith -
43:13 the faith of Jesus Christ - believe in Him...
43:17 who have died, and they died in the faith,
43:21 those are the people in the last day that are going to come out
43:24 just like those dry bones.
43:25 They're going to come out of the grave.
43:27 They're going to live,
43:28 and they're going to be given life.
43:31 "And this mortal shall put on immortality. "
43:36 That will be given to them.
43:38 In fact, when Lazarus had died
43:42 and Jesus went to the home,
43:46 as He was getting close to the home
43:48 Martha heard that He was coming and she went out to meet Him.
43:52 And when she got there to where Jesus was, she said:
43:56 "If You would have just come
43:58 when we sent You the letter...
44:00 If You had just come at that time,
44:02 Lazarus would not have died.
44:05 If You had just come. "
44:06 And Jesus said to her:
44:09 "Martha, Lazarus will live again. "
44:13 And I want you to listen to her answer:
44:22 When?
44:23 Now folks, there is nothing wrong with her theology.
44:27 I mean, she knows what the scripture says.
44:30 She said: "I know that Lazarus is going to rise
44:33 in the last day. " There's nothing wrong with her theology.
44:37 You know where here problem was?
44:41 Jesus was trying to tell her: "Listen, Martha,
44:45 I am the resurrection and the life. "
44:49 I'm the One that has that power.
44:51 That lies within Me
44:53 to speak and to bring that person to life.
44:57 "I am the resurrection and the life. "
45:09 Even though that person may die, he shall live.
45:14 Because He is the One that has life.
45:18 It's found only in Christ.
45:21 Nobody else.
45:22 And so tonight, a soul
45:27 is made up of a body and the breath of life.
45:33 God gives that to you, friends.
45:37 That's given to you by Him.
45:40 He has every right to take it.
45:45 You see, you can abuse it.
45:48 You can take it yourself.
45:52 Some people do.
45:56 Or you can die at the hand of somebody else.
46:01 That happens.
46:04 But God is the One who holds the breath of life
46:10 in His hands.
46:12 You have something that makes that absolutely sure
46:16 for you and for me.
46:19 Paul... Paul gives a defense for this.
46:23 And dear friends, on that everything rests.
46:47 He's saying if Christ didn't come out of the grave,
46:51 if He wasn't resurrected,
46:53 then you and I don't have any hope
46:58 because it rests in Christ.
47:02 That's what we have: hope in Him for what He has done.
47:05 That He came, He lived, He died,
47:07 and He rose again!
47:10 And as He told them... He said: "I lay down My life
47:14 and I am able to take it again. "
47:20 Because He is God.
47:24 He has life.
47:28 Listen as Paul goes on:
47:37 See if there's no resurrection,
47:40 if Christ didn't come out of the grave,
47:41 then all those that have died in faith down through the centuries
47:46 have perished.
47:48 But no... No! There is absolute proof
47:53 that He came out of the grave.
47:58 The Word of God states it.
48:00 Folks, it doesn't just state it. It gives you example
48:03 or case after case after case
48:06 where people saw Him after the resurrection.
48:10 That He was alive.
48:12 Hope that you and I have in Jesus Christ.
48:16 That's what is given to us.
48:27 If all that we have is hope in Christ
48:32 and the death and the resurrection of Christ
48:37 didn't happen,
48:39 we don't have anything.
48:43 See? But unfortunately man sinned
48:49 and death passed on the whole human race.
48:56 And you and I as souls
49:01 can die.
49:05 We lost it.
49:06 We can perish.
49:09 But fortunately, Jesus came and said
49:14 "I will redeem. "
49:17 "I will redeem man back. "
49:20 "I will give him life again,
49:24 and even though you may die
49:28 yet you shall live. "
49:32 And so you and I have that hope.
49:35 I don't have to fear.
49:38 I don't have to fear what the future holds.
49:42 I can rest in absolute assurance
49:45 that on that resurrection morning when Jesus comes -
49:49 and it says He's going to come with a shout,
49:52 with the voice of the archangel and the trump of God -
49:56 and it says all those who have died in Christ
50:00 shall come forth.
50:02 They'll come up out of the grave.
50:05 Why?
50:06 Because He has life and has given them the breath of life
50:12 and they have become living souls.
50:16 But the marvelous thing about that, folks, is
50:19 no death.
50:23 They come forth out of that grave immortal.
50:27 "This mortal shall put on immortality. "
50:33 Never again down through the ceaseless ages of eternity
50:37 will we ever face the question of death again.
50:41 That will be put out of existence.
50:45 Will be no more because Christ is the lifegiver.
50:59 Oh dear friends... absolutely so vital, so important
51:03 that you and I have Jesus Christ
51:07 because He is the One that has life.
51:13 Nobody else can offer that to you.
51:17 Only Jesus Christ.
51:20 He is the One. He has the power
51:24 to bring people into existence.
51:27 He has the power to speak, to breathe
51:33 on that person and they will come to life.
51:39 Jesus offers that to you and to me.
51:43 And thus it says:
51:54 Breathe on me, oh breath of God.
52:02 Breathe on me, breath of God,
52:09 till I am wholly Thine.
52:15 Until this earthly part
52:20 of me
52:23 glows with Thy fire
52:28 divine.
52:34 Let us pray.
52:36 Father in Heaven,
52:37 tonight we see
52:41 that we are just dust.
52:46 That our make-up is so
52:52 small, so minute,
52:54 that the only way
52:58 we have any substance is in You.
53:04 Because without You, we're like the grass.
53:08 We vanish away; we are no more.
53:14 That we have nothing...
53:16 except in Christ Jesus we have life.
53:21 And Lord, we thank you.
53:24 We thank you that You loved us enough
53:28 to come to this old earth
53:31 and to give us life.
53:34 That in You we can live and have our being.
53:40 And tonight, those of you who are watching by television
53:44 or listening by radio or here in the audience tonight,
53:48 if you don't know Jesus Christ
53:52 as your personal Savior,
53:54 that you've never reached out
53:57 and accepted Him
53:58 and given you heart to Him and received from Him
54:03 the gift of life,
54:05 that even though you may die yet you shall live,
54:08 tonight I'd like to invite you -
54:11 invite you just by faith -
54:14 to reach out and say: "I'd like to accept Christ
54:19 as my Savior, give my heart to Him. "
54:22 Because, dear friend, there's nobody else
54:26 like you in all the universe.
54:30 You are unique; you're special.
54:34 You're worth saving.
54:36 So tonight, won't you just reach out and accept Him
54:40 and give your heart to Him
54:43 and say "Yes, Lord, I want to accept You
54:46 as my personal Savior. "
54:48 Heavenly Father,
54:50 bless each one here tonight
54:52 that by faith they may reach out.
54:57 Take hold of the promises of Your Word.
55:01 Claim them, and accept You into their heart
55:05 as their personal Savior
55:07 that they may have life.
55:10 For these things we thank you
55:13 in Christ's name, Amen.
55:16 Remember, our next presentation is entitled
55:21 Life in Christ.
55:24 We've talked about what's a soul,
55:27 and now tomorrow we're going to take a look at
55:29 how all that comes together
55:31 and what the scripture promises you
55:33 as life in Jesus Christ.
55:36 So we appreciate each one of you being here.
55:39 We appreciate you tuning in
55:40 by radio or watching on television.
55:43 We hope that all of you are blessed.
55:45 Have a great day.
55:46 God bless you.
55:47 We'll look forward to seeing you next presentation.
55:52 You can find them everywhere.
55:54 In every city, town, out-of-the-way place.
55:58 In some areas, they're more plentiful than gas stations.
56:02 Small and large. Modern, old-fashioned.
56:05 Millions of them exist all over the world.
56:08 We're talking about churches, of course.
56:11 Houses of worship.
56:12 They stand as a testament to the hunger for truth
56:15 that's built into the heart of every man, woman, and child.
56:20 But truth cannot be found in a building.
56:23 In fact, churches are homes to millions
56:26 who still don't know Jesus.
56:29 And that means they don't know the truth.
56:32 In John 17:17
56:35 Jesus prayed to His Father asking that His followers
56:39 not be taken out of the world
56:41 but that the Father protect them and sanctify them
56:44 by the truth.
56:46 Then Jesus said: "Your Word is truth. "
56:50 Think about it.
56:52 "Your Word is truth. "
56:54 But friends, just reading the Bible is not enough.
56:57 Knowing the truth without a relationship
57:00 is like an empty church building
57:02 without people to give it life.
57:05 It's knowledge of God's law
57:07 without power to live up to it.
57:09 To be a true Christian
57:11 we must have a relationship with the author of truth.
57:15 By beholding the One to whom the Bible points
57:19 we are changed into His likeness.
57:21 In John 14:6 Jesus says:
57:25 "I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life.
57:29 No one comes to the Father except through Me. "
57:32 That's why we're doing this series:
57:34 so you can develop a wonderful relationship
57:37 with the author of truth, Jesus Christ.
57:41 With your help, we can bring the truth to the world.
57:45 Please consider what you can do
57:47 for those who still don't know about Jesus.
57:49 As the Holy Spirit impresses,
57:51 you may send your tax-deductible gifts to:
58:05 Thank you for helping us to bring the Blessed Hope
58:08 to millions all around the world.


Home

Revised 2014-12-17