Welcome to the Rest Podcast. The Rest Conference is designed to refresh, encourage, strengthen, and train the Lord's servants. The messages and lessons you will hear have been taken from the past Rest Conferences. It is our prayer that God will use this episode to encourage you in His work. Let's everybody stand for the reading of God's word. We're going to go to Hebrews chapter 12. Hebrews chapter 12. Hebrews chapter 12. We're going to be reading verses 1 through 3. And I want you to do me a favor. This is the way we do it at our church. So let's read in unison verses 1, verses 2, and verses 3. And when we're through with verse number 3, I'm going to go ahead and pray, and then I'm going to ask you to take your seat, okay? Let's begin reading verse number 1, Hebrews 12. Wherefore, seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight and the sin which does so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God. For consider him that endured such contradiction of sinners against himself, lest you be wearied and faint in your minds. Let's go to the Lord in prayer and then please be seated. Heavenly Father, we thank you for the great opportunity to be here at Tabernacle Baptist Church. We thank you for the leadership of this church. We're thankful for the many people that work behind the scenes, especially those that during this conference worked behind the scenes to make this a successful conference. I pray your blessings upon them. Then we pray for every visiting pastor that you'll minister them. Oh, how we need pastors. to receive the blessing of the Lord and carry that blessing back home to their people. Then we pray for everyone that's here, the preacher's wives, the layman and the layman's wives, we pray that you will bless them as well. Oh God, help them to feel very much that they're a part of this whole meeting and give us that unction, the function for the message, bind the hands of Satan, release the spirit of the Lord to do his work as we've already heard this week Some of the teaching were reminded that the letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life. Oh, Father, we pray that we might have the combination of the truth of thy word and the Holy Spirit power present in this place tonight. And please come, Spirit of the Lord, and do thy work in Jesus' name. Amen. You may be seated, please. It's a great passage of scripture here. Now, some have said that this is referring to those that were spoken of in the 11th chapter. Others said that it's those who have gone on before, and maybe even some that we have known that have gone on before that are making up that great cloud of witnesses. For heaven to be heaven, I don't think that people in heaven could see some things on earth that would be upsetting. Heaven's a place where all tears are wiped away. But I think for special events like when some young man or young lady gets married and their grandparents have passed on, I wouldn't be the least bit surprised if God allowed them to come over to the Bannisters of Glory and just check this out. And there were times even especially since my father passed that There are certain times, especially on Saturday nights, that I have a great overwhelming thought of my father, and I've almost looked over my shoulder to see if he was there. Now, that's speculation. I'm not going to be dogmatic of that. But the Bible does speak about a great cloud of witnesses. The people are watching us. Someone is watching us beside our Lord. Isn't it interesting that not everything that we do comes under the category of a sin, but it could be a weight? A weight to our testimony, not sinful in and of itself. I remember the story of the evangelist that was going to go on a trip, and he was holding a white shirt up to the light, and his wife said, what are you doing? He said, well, I'm checking this shirt out. I don't know if it's dirty or not. And she said, of course, if it's doubtful, it's dirty. And so many times it seems like we're more than willing to ride on the border of something that could be considered sin. Why not go above and beyond? It seems like the people that God uses are those that fanatically go above and beyond the call, where you need to be. I like when one of my kids said, my youngest daughter said once, she said, dad, I figured out who we are. I said, who are we, sweetheart? She said, we're Amish with the TV. I said, well, Even that's restricted, but we tried so hard as the kids were being reared up to just not be on the border of things, to just go above and beyond the call that we can do that. So let us run with patience. That's a great thing. That's a great word. That word encapsules an endurance there. All that we might see, that we might appreciate that. Patience, hypoumonai, which means to endure with perseverance. Let us run with patience, the race. Now, that word race is an interesting word. In the Greek, it comes to us from the word Agon, agon, that's where we get the word agony from. So when we see this race, there's a lot of things that come into our mind. Some may say, well, is that speaking about a sprint? Is it speaking about the marathon? I do not think that it's speaking of the sprint or the marathon. It is talking about the obstacle race. It is the obstacle race. This is where we get the word agony from. Let us agonize in this. Let us go on. In other words, there will be difficulties. That's why we need patience. Hebrews 10.36 says you have need of patience. The race that has set before us looking unto Jesus. It's a great word, looking, aphoreo, which means to look away from and to come fixation upon. To look away from and to look to. You know, sanctification is not only separation from the world, but it is unto the Lord. Looking unto Jesus. who is the author and the finisher of our faith. I was thinking about that great verse as the choir was singing, Galatians 2.20. I'm crucified with Christ, nevertheless I live. Yet not I, but Christ liveth within me. In the life which I now live in the flesh, I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. For the joy that was set before him, The joy that was set before him. Paul spoke to the people of Thessalonica about the joy of seeing them at the judgment seat. The soul winner's joy, Christ himself, knowing the joy of bringing us to himself through what he's about to do, what he did rather at the cross of Calvary. For the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, You know, that's an interesting thought. Christ despised the shame. You know, I've often believed this, and I heard this when I was a young preacher, the greatest comment here on the Bible is the Bible. And let me just share something with you over here in Jeremiah chapter 3. It's Jeremiah prophesying to Judah, who has gone so far away from the Lord. It's interesting to know how that God in his word likens unfaithfulness to him as a husband and a wife. No, you're not. We see in the New Testament that the Bible says, no, you're not, that friendship with the world is at enmity with God, whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God. Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father's not in him. Ye adulterers and adulteresses, no, you're not, that friendship with the world. He likens backsliding to spiritual adultery. And so it says here in Jeremiah 3, verse 1, they say if a man put away his wife and she go from him and become another man's, shall he return to her again? Shall not the land be greatly polluted? And thou hast played the harlot with many lovers, yet return again to me, saith the Lord. Lift up thine eyes into the high places and see where thou has not been lying with. In the ways Hast thou set for them as the Arabian in the wilderness, and thou hast polluted the land with thy whoredoms and with thy wickedness. Therefore, the showers have been withholden, and there hath been no latter rain, and thou hast the whore's forehead and refuses to be ashamed. It's an amazing analogy, isn't it? He said, you are living so wickedly, you have cheated on me so badly that you are living like a whore and you refuse to blush. You refuse to be ashamed. Here it says that Christ endured the cross despising the shame, hating the shame that would have to be taken on him to redeem us. and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God. For consider him. a great word there, analogizamai, that's where we get the word analyze from. So if you break that down, that means to examine very carefully. It means to look in detail, to identify causes, look at the factors, look at the possible results, analyze, analogizio, consider, consider, for consider him. that endured such contradiction of sinners against himself. The one who put up the great, great wall against wickedness and then broke the wall down, took the wickedness upon himself, reconstructed a wall of safety around his people. It's a beautiful concept. He said, consider him, he endured the contradiction of sinners against himself, Then he goes back to saying something to us, lest ye be wearied and faint in your minds. If you can combine those first few words in verse three, four, consider him, and those last words of verse three, lest ye be wearied and faint in your minds. The antithesis of what is stated here is true. If we do not consider him, we will faint. And when I heard that this was the topic, we faint not, this verse came to my mind. Of course, it's also there in 2 Corinthians where these gentlemen are expositing. But I want to speak tonight on the thought, consider him. Because herein is the great help that we will find in standing strong for our Lord. I think that we should consider him, if you'll turn in the Bibles to Hebrews 1, consider him as the co-equal Christ, the co-equal Christ. I want you to see what it says in Hebrews 1, 3. Who be in the brightness of his glory, and I love this, the express image, image, icon, Greek, the express image of his person, and uphold in all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the majesty on high. It's a wonderful thing. He is the express image. He is the equal to the Father, and of course, the blessed Holy Spirit. I was talking to a person once, and I said, they were a member of a cult that believed that Jesus Christ was not deity. I said, so if the Bible said that God the Father said that Jesus was God, then you would believe it, wouldn't you? And they said to me, oh yes, but that's not what the Bible says. So if I showed you in the Bible that that's what the father said of the son, would you believe it? They said, sure, but God's not a liar, and he's not gonna tell me that. But would you believe it? They said, yes, I would. I said, that's all I need to know. In Hebrews 1, in verse number 6, it says, and again, when he bringeth in the first begotten of the world, he saith, and let all the angels of God worship him. And Jesus said in Matthew, That's the word of God. Only God is ascribed worship. Now here's the statement, here's what God says about Jesus. The Father. So if the Heavenly Father calls him God, he's God, isn't he? Consider him as the co-equal, the co-equal Christ. Consider him as the creative Christ. You know, it would take more faith for me to believe in evolution than it would be to believe that in the beginning, God created the heaven and the earth. Wouldn't it, you? I mean, if you think about it, for every result of what we see, there's a cause behind it. If we see intelligent design throughout our universe, surely you must believe that there is indeed intelligent design. But the Bible teaches us that. The Bible says in John 1, in the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same, the beginning with God. All things were made by Him, and I love this, without Him was not anything made that was made. Colossians 1 says, He is for all things, and by Him all things consist, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers, things present, or things that come. All things were made by him and for him. The creative Christ. I love the way that Dr. Lee put it many years ago. Who was it that put the sun up yonder in the tabernacle of the heavens? It was Jesus. Who was it that put the moon shining like a yellow jungle in full bloom? It was Jesus. Who was it that scooped out and made the places for the sea, rolled it off as sand? Who was it that put the beautiful green grass upon this planet and then tacked it down with yellow daffodils? It was Jesus. Who was it that made me? Who was it that made you? It was Jesus, the great creative Christ. All things were made by him, and I love this, made for him. Never forget this, young people. You were made for Jesus. You were made for him. You were made for him. So present your body a living sacrifice. Consider him as the cradled Christ. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, which is Christ the Lord. It said that He came from the glory of heaven to the glory of earth. From the hallelujahs of heaven to the hisses of earth. From the joys of heaven to the jeers of earth. From the comforts of heaven to the curses of earth. Heaven's bread for us hunger. Heaven's joy for us sorrow. What a Savior. It's called in Theology, and it's exemplified in Philippians chapter two, the kinesis, when he emptied himself out here. Here it is a mystery that our little two by four peanut-sized brains cannot comprehend. He was all God, he was all man. Not half and half, he was all God and all man. Never cried for spoiled attention. Think about that. You know, we're born with a nature prone to sin, aren't we? I remember years ago, I was preaching in a meeting. I was sharing with Brother Scott how that when we were youngsters, we always had to stay in preacher's home, and it was always a preacher with a lot of kids and one bathroom. I remember one Sunday morning trying to get ready to go to church for first service that morning, and the door, the light was on in the restroom, and it was kind of cracked, and I didn't hear anything going on, and so finally I couldn't stand any longer, and so I pushed the door a little bit, and it cracked a little bit more, and I heard no voices, and opened a little more, still heard no voices, and then I opened it all the way, and there was a little three-year-old girl that had her mother's powder in one hand, and her mother's powder puff in the other hand, She had powdered the bathtub. She had powdered the commode. She had powdered the sink. And she was covered from head to foot with her mother's powder. And the evidence was in her hand. And I said, her name was Grace. I said, Grace, have you been in your mother's powder? She looked at me with the most serious look that a three-year-old could have, and she went, uh-uh. I didn't have to. Ask the pastor and his wife, did you teach your child how to sin? Do you realize that Jesus never, even as a child, did anything that was wrong? Tempted and like as men are, we are yet without sin. Consider him as that cradled Christ when he was born into this world. Consider him as the curious Christ. We don't say, probably we don't say enough about this in Luke chapter 2, but I want you to see this in Luke chapter 2 for a moment because I just think that every now and then we need to revisit things, and this doesn't get a lot of publicity. It says in verse 41, this is at the Passover. It says, now his parents went to Jerusalem every year at the feast of the Passover, and when he was 12 years old, They went up to Jerusalem after the custom of the feast. And when they had fulfilled the days, as they returned, the child Jesus tarried behind in Jerusalem. And Joseph and his mother knew not of it. By the way, this point is this. I want you to consider him as the furious Christ. It's interesting to note, isn't it, that Joseph and Mary trusted him fully. because usually the families would travel together in groups, and so they knew that Jesus would be with the rest of the family, so they were not worried. Verse 44, but they supposing him to have been in the company, went a day's journey, and they sought him among their kinsfolk and acquaintance. And when they found him not, they turned back again to Jerusalem, seeking him. And it came to pass that after three days, Now, not knowing where a 12-year-old is for three days would be a bit alarming in any age, wouldn't it? In any civilization. And it came to pass that after three days they found him in the temple, sitting in the midst of the doctors. And I love this. Both hearing them and asking them questions. And this is interesting because before the Socratic method was ever invented by old Socrates, the Socratic method of questioning and answers and dialogue to learn was already practiced by the ancient rabbis. And here the Lord, at the age of 12, is sitting amongst the most educated men of the world of that age. I mean, really, an intelligence that would surpass Aristotle, or Plato, or Ossocrates himself. Listen, he was sitting there, and the Bible said, and I love what it says here, both hearing them and asking them questions. And all that heard him were astonished at his understanding and answers. Now that's interesting, isn't it? So he's asking questions, and he's got the doctors of law. Many of these men, if not all of them, knew most of the Torah by heart, as well as the prophets and the poetical books. And Jesus is inquiring of them about the great riches of the word of God, and they're stumped. He's asking the questions that they cannot answer, and then he gives the answers. In the great emptying of himself here, and we'll play on this in just a little bit, it appears that He had the ability to pull back his omniscience at any point or omnipotence at any point. But he often restricted himself to the man qualities before he exercised that. He's walking along the earth. And he goes out to Galilee and keeps walking on the water. He's man enough to walk on the land, but God enough to walk on the water. He's man enough to get thirsty and sit by a well, but God enough to turn water into the unfermented wine. Man enough that he rides into Jerusalem one day on a donkey, but God enough that he's coming back on a white horse in glory. The deity and the manhood. See, notice what it says in verse number 51 of that same Luke chapter two. And he went down with them and came to Nazareth and was subject unto them. Every time it said thou shalt not, he did not. Every time it said thou shalt, he did. He fulfilled the law, even the law of honoring thy father and thy mother. And by the way, we'll show you this in just a moment, but before I come back to 51, it says, verse 48, And by the way, we'll show you this in just a moment, but before I come back to 51, it says, verse 48, And by the way, we'll show you this in just a moment, but before I come back to 51, it says, And by the way, we'll show you this in just a moment, but before I come back to 51, it says, And by the way, we'll show you this in just a moment, but before I come back to 51, it says, And by the way, we'll show you this in just a moment, but before I come back to 51, it says, And by the way, we'll show you this in just a moment, but before I come back to 51, it says, And by the way, we'll show you this in just a moment, but before I come back to 51, it says, And by the way, we'll show you this He was the genius of fulfilling every jot and every tittle. It says, but his mother, verse 51, kept all these things in her heart. It says, and Jesus increased in wisdom and stature and in favor of God and man. How does God, who is omniscient, ever learn anything? It's the kinesis. He chose to learn the will of the Father as a man, but as God, he could not resist the will of the Father. Amazing conundrum, amazing savior that we have here. There's absolutely no one quite like him. Consider him as the curious Christ. Curious as a 12-year-old boy, wanting to know everything there was to know about this great book we call the Bible. And of course, he being the author of the book, as he asked the question, It seemed to dawn upon him what the answer was. Began to come back at his beck and call. Consider him as the coronated Christ. And this takes us to Matthew 3 and also into Luke's gospel. Jesus tells Mary goodbye. You know, one of my favorite courses when I was in college, and then I had the privilege of teaching that same course for a little while when I was a teacher, was New Testament Survey. And there's a great book that we use there. It's not many times that I will quote the textbooks I had in school, right? I mean, once they were done, it was closed and it was over with, amen? Did you get Machen's Greek? You been reading it lately? Whew. But H.I. Hester, the heart of the New Testament, about Hebrew in his New Testament survey book. I'll never forget, Dr. Morris Roden, my early years of college, said, boys, I can't improve on this, I'm gonna read it. And if I thought about it and knew exactly that I was gonna share this with you, I would have brought it here. But I'll try to paraphrase what I remember. The day came when the carpenter Jesus is about to head down the road, heading for a rather long trip down to the Jordan. Mary knew the promise that was given her by Simeon, remember? That one day a sword will pierce thy own soul. We see our Lord and our Savior as he's made up the bed that he slept in since he was a child, straightens up the room as best he could, he's taken the mantle of the father upon his shoulders after Joseph died, many believe, at the age of around 15. He puts carefully back all the tools that Joseph had instructed him to use. He's already told James and Jude and maybe the others how to handle the tools that they were using. And with his calloused hands, he puts the instruments back. Mary's getting things to ready. As she see the Lord putting together his meager means, putting his things together in a wrapped up little suitcase type thing, knowing why he was doing this, she's preparing the last meal for him. And he's telling her he's got to hurry. Can he take it with him? And she said, I knew you'd want to take it with you. And so I've prepared it for you. You go ahead. He smiles, he pulls the apron off around his head and hangs it up. He fastens his sandals tightly, puts his belongings under his arm and walks over to Mary. And now there's a bit of angst that comes into his heart as he thinks about everything that she went through for him. And he decides to put the bag down for a moment And he widely opens up his arms and embraces her and gives her the kiss that only a son can give his mother on her forehead. And says, I love you. And the tears are now dripping off her eyes. And she said, I've always loved you, even before you were born. I know God has a special thing for you to do. I'll be praying. And he picks up his bag and he heads down the road heading toward Jordan, she looks out the window one more time and then goes to his bed where he slept for over 30 years, or right at 30 years, and cries her heart out as she had to say goodbye to God in the flesh. It is no marvel that Jude and James did not believe in Jesus until the resurrection. How would you like to be reared with a perfect brother? How would you like to heard your mother in exasperation say, why can't you be like Jesus? Consider him as the coronated Christ, the carpenter now, sun bronze, broad shoulders, strong limbs, from fielding trees and picking up great pieces of stone because people believe in his job as carpenter. You see, they were in Galilee. They were in Nazareth, rather. That's where the maids and the butlers lived that took care of Sephora. That's where the blue-collar people lived, the hardworking people. Jesus was one of those crowd. He made beautiful things for people in Sephora. As he's walking down that road, takes the long journey, pauses. What it must be like as he's taking that long trip, hearing the little birds in the air that he made, the sky that he created, the ground that he walked upon and created. Amazing. And when John sees him, John's overwhelmed. He says it one day, and then he says it again the next day. Behold, the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world. And I say, Jesus, walk up to John. Cousin, it's been a while. He said, it's been too long. I've been telling people, I've been telling people, there's one that cometh after me who's mightier than I am, whose shoes I am not worthy to lose. And here you are. John, I want you to baptize. Baptize? I need to be baptized of thee. No, no, no. Jesus said to fulfill all righteousness. To fulfill all righteousness. You know, we are saved and we're given by imputation and impartation the righteousness of God. So Jesus says, John, we've gotta show a picture. We've gotta show people right here, right now, at the beginning, why I'm here, why I've come, and you've already said it. The Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world. Let me die here, John. Show him. Put me in the water, John. Bury me. Show him, John. Lift me up. And show him, John, why I've come. So he's baptized to identify himself with us. So then our baptism, we identify ourself with him. And upon coming up out of the water, the Holy Spirit came down in the form of a heavenly dove. And the Father said, this is my son, in whom I am well pleased. The coronation. This is Him, and this is why He came. And John again said later, behold the Lamb of God. This is why He's here. Consider Him as the curative Christ. Yes, He did cure people, but keep in mind what John declared. You are the Lamb of God. You've come here to take away the sin of the world. There never were any blinded eyes that He could not touch and make see. There are never many deaf ears that he could not touch and make hear. There are never any mute mouths that he couldn't touch and make talk. There are never any lame limbs that he couldn't make walk. Moody said I was gonna preach my first funeral sermon. I didn't know what funeral sermon I was gonna preach, so I searched the gospels to try to find out what Jesus did at a funeral. I found out that every time he came to a funeral, he broke it up, amen. I know I dropped that lid there in case you're worried about it, okay? Let me pick it up so y'all won't be worried about it anymore. Here we go. Does it make you thirsty when a preacher drinks water? Mm. And I'm doing this out of necessity here. But think about this. You ever thought about this? You know, I love it when he came to the tomb of Lazarus and said, Lazarus, come forth. I know you've heard it said before, if he hadn't said Lazarus, everybody in the graveyard would have gotten up. It's true. You ever thought about this, that everybody he cured, everybody he healed, even everybody he raised from the dead, died. Every one of them died. Lazarus had a toga that said, been here, done that. You know, he just... So if everybody died, what was his purpose there? It was his calling card. Now, primarily, yes, he did it because he loves people and he hates to see people hurt. Have you read that book, Meek and Lowly? It's a recent one that came out. I thought it was well, the only time that Jesus ever described himself You would think, well, he told everybody that he is loved. No, that's what John said, by the Holy Spirit, God is love. Well, he said, I'm holy. No, no, that's what Peter said, I'm holy. But when he described himself, he said, come unto me all you that labor and have laid, and I will give you rest, for my yoke is easy, my burden is light. I am meek and lowly in heart. He's so condescending. I still believe what old Sib said, there's more mercy in Christ than sin in us. Amen. He loves people. He hates to see them hurt. He loves kids. I love that place, and we mentioned it last night, how he picks the children up. Did I say children's? Okay. And he picks them up, and he puts his hand upon them and blesses them. He loves your kids. The rowdiest kid here, he loves just as much as the angelic kid. And don't let the angelic kid snow you. They're as wicked as the others are. That's the way my brother was. I was very overt. He was covert in his sins. But his sin found him out, amen, because I helped him. Okay, but anyway. So Christ is doing the curing. It's hard to believe, but it's so true. And sometimes we get, you know, I mentioned this, how that people are looking at the patriarchs or the people in the Bible like they're superhuman beings. But the Bible said Elijah was a man of like passions as we are. And we saw that Moses had this incredible temper, but yet when he's right with the Lord, he can pray so powerfully that when he runs out of words, four million people are saved in answer to his prayer. And that's what God said in Psalm 106.23. That's amazing, isn't it? So John the Baptist, among women there's none born greater than John. And then he said, you know, that we that are in the kingdom would be greater than he. That was a dispensational thing. But as far as character and purity and holiness, Jesus just gave him the greatest compliment that had ever been among women that are born. He's the best you'll ever see. And he's in prison now for preaching like the building's on fire and the devil's coming to the back window. He points his bony finger up to Herod's face and said, it is not right for thee to be with her. You have your brother's wife. And they locked him up. And then Herod's stepdaughter did the boogaloo or the bump or the skunk skedaddle or whatever it was, the watushi, and got him all excited and said, what do you want up to have the kingdom? What do you want? And she asked her mother, no, no, no, no, what do we want, mama? The head of John. I was on the plane once, and I had my Bible open, and the waitress, not the waitress, sturdist, every time I say them a word, she says, they're called flight attendants now. Okay, a female flight attendant came up to me, and she said, oh, I see you're reading the Bible. I said, yes. And she said, are you a minister? I said, yes. She said, what kind? I said, a Baptist. And she said, oh. Oh. I said, what kind would you like me to be? She said, well, a Methodist. I said, oh, you know. And then she said, are you one of those Baptists that preach against dancing? I said, ma'am, let me explain something to you. If you read the Bible, you'll find out that there was a Baptist preacher that lost his head at a dance. I'm a Baptist, you dance around me, I get nervous. I mean, John, the last of the prophets, came out of the wilderness. Many believe that his father and mother both died by the 15th year of his life, and he was reared among the Essenes. Knew the book of Isaiah very well. He feared not the face of man, for he lived in the face of God for at least 15 years. 15 years isolated with God in the wilderness. God often pulls a man away from this world when he wants to bring the blessing. That's why Paul was in the Arabian desert for three years. Think about this, the disciples were with Jesus for three years, Paul was tutored by Jesus one-on-one for three years in the wilderness. Something to think about. That's why he said that his gospel, I didn't get it from you, I got it from him, right? Okay, but anyway, you made me chase a rabbit there, but anyway, listen to this. John the Baptist, as pure as the driven snow, He's got two disciples left. All the rest are following Jesus, it seems like. So there's two left, and he says to these two, I want you to do me a favor. I want you to go find out, is he the one, or do we look for another? I mean, I'm ready to lose my head. I just wanna make sure that I'm losing my head for Yeshua HaMashiach. I wanna make sure that he's the one. So they approach Jesus and Jesus gives the list about the people that are healed, about the people that are seen, and the gospel is preached to the poor. And when they brought that back to the man who studied the book of Isaiah out in the wilderness for about 15 years, when they begin, I don't think that they were able to finish it. I think John said, that's him. That's him, hallelujah! Because the miracles were his calling card. See, Muhammad doesn't do this jazz. No. Buddha never did. Only he could do is meditate on his navel fuzz. No, no, no, no. But this was Jesus' calling card. Nobody could do what Jesus did. Miracle of miracles. 5,000 men, not counting women and children, and he takes five loaves and two fishes and feeds everybody, and there's 12 baskets left over. You ever wonder what happened to those 12 baskets? You ever wonder what happened to those 12 baskets? People say, well, the faithful disciples. They weren't really faithful. They said, what are they among so many? I think Jesus said, Andrew, Peter, James, John, grab a basket, follow the kid home. I think his mother said, hey, did you eat? Who are those men with you? Disciples of Jesus, mama. Well, what are they doing? They're carrying my leftovers, mama, amen. Boy, we can out-give God, can't we? So the curate of Christ, I mean, he didn't even want people to leave away hungry, but it showed us he was doing something different from other people because he was the Son of God. He was God the Son. We would be definitely remiss if we did not say consider him as the crucified Christ. For this reason came he into the world. For God sent not a son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through him might be saved. And there was one way and one way only. He has the Passover with his disciples. On the night before the Passover, You know, it's interesting. At this time, the population of Rome was about two million people at this time. Scholars who have studied this out have made an educated guess that at that year of the Passover, when Jesus was crucified, it is estimated that there were five million people in Jerusalem and the surrounding area right there, five million. This was the greatest populist sinner in the entire world at that time. See, that's why the Pharisee leaders were not speaking hyperbole when Jesus rides into Jerusalem, and they said, the world has gone after him. That's right, the world has gone after him. Hosanna, blessed be, that cometh the name of the Lord. And they were lifting up palms. You remember, they were lifting up palms. You know where those palms came from? Every Hebrew woman would save two, at least two, of the palm branches from the feast of the tabernacles. The palm branches were great stakes they would use to make those tabernacles for the feast. And when the feast was over, they'd save a couple, because by the time Passover came, they would dry out at the inn, and they would make perfect brooms, and they would sweep their houses clean, preparing for the Passover. When they lifted those palm branches, they were telling the Lord, sit on David's throne. Hosanna, save now. Sweep out the Romans. Sweep out the Pharisees. Clean us up. Settle the throne. Rule and reign. Take your rightful place. Hosanna, hosanna. And Jesus did clean out the temple at that moment. And then he continued to teach and begin to explain the vine and the branches. One beautiful teaching after the other. the exposition of the comfort of coming, the Holy Spirit who would come. And then the day comes when he meets with the disciples the night before the Passover. Because you see, there were so many people at the Passover, they had to divide it, so the northern tribes celebrated Passover on the night before the Passover, and on the day of the Passover, that's when Judah and Benjamin celebrated the Passover. See, all of the disciples of Jesus were from the northern tribes, except one, and that was Judas Iscariot. He was from Judea. So all of the ones that were in the meaningful practice of the Passover were the ones from the northern district. They've eaten the lamb and they've eaten the bitter herbs, and now we have leftovers, the unleavened bread and the cup. And now the Lord institutes the great covenant meal, as every covenant has a meal that celebrates it. They also have a tree that celebrates it. We know what the tree is, but he takes the meal. He looks at his disciples and he takes the unleavened bread. If you've ever seen the matzah, we always use nothing but matzah. We don't use that prefabricated cut stuff. We break the bread. But the matzah has stripes down it and holes in it. If you ever look at the matzah, it's got stripes and holes. It's exactly the way it looked when Jesus brought in the Lord's Supper. And he lifts up that piece of bread that has stripes and holes in it, and he breaks it and said, this is my body, which is broken for you. And every one of those pieces that were broken and handed out to the disciples could have been put together like a puzzle. And in a real sense, that's what the body of Christ is. His body's broken for us and we partake and become bone of his bone and flesh of his flesh. And then he takes the cup and says, this is my blood, the New Testament, the blood which is shed for you. And the Bible says that afterwards they sang a hymn. Have you ever wondered what they sang? First of all, I would have loved to hear Jesus sing. I enjoyed hearing you sing, your son-in-law. He's got a good voice, yeah. I wonder what Jesus sounded like when he sang. Did he have a deep baritone voice? Did he have a tenor voice? My people love to hear me sing tenor, ten or 12 miles from here. The Bible says in Zephaniah 3, 17, that he joys over us with singing. Isn't it amazing that there are times that Jesus himself sings in heaven? What if he leads the choir too? He was leading the disciples that night. As he sings with them, I believe the 118th Psalm, which is the last of the Passover Psalms, at the end of the Seder, they sing the 118th Psalm. which says, bind the sacrifice with cords, even to the horns of the altar. And if you put a line between the horns of the altar, it's in the perfect shape of the cross. Bind the sacrifice with cords, even to the horns of the altar. This is the day which the Lord hath made, we will rejoice and be glad in it. It didn't say all the days were the day. It says this is the day. It was a great day when God created the heavens and the earth. A great day on the sixth day when he made man and woman. Yes, it was, but that's not the day of the text. Psalm 118. It was a great day when Moses was spoken to out of the burning bush, but that's not the day. It was a great day when Elijah called fire down in prayer from heaven. It was a great day. It was a great day when Jesus was born in a manger. The day that he spoke about was the day of his death for us. It is the day of the Savior's doing. It's a day of the saint's delight. He anticipated the day. He outlined every detail. And he authored our salvation. This is the day which the Lord hath made. We will rejoice and be glad in it. We will rejoice and be glad in it. We rejoice and we're glad in it because if it had not been for this day, all of us would be damned to hell forever. Somewhere between this point and Gethsemane, he prays the great Lord's Prayer. The great Lord's Prayer is not Matthew 6 or Luke 11, our Father which art in heaven, because the Lord never needed to pray, forgive us debts. No, he had no sins to be forgiven. But the Lord's Prayer is the 17th chapter. If you've got a red letter Bible, you'll see that most all that chapter, except the very first couple words, are in red. As the Lord prays for his own, as the Lord prays for His own, that we might be one as He and the Father are one. It's estimated there were 275,000 lambs were killed in the Passover season in which Christ died, 275,000 lambs. So when the Lord crosses Kidron's brook that's now stained red, red as it's flowing and He's stepping through and across the blood-red brook of Kidron, He comes now into the garden of Gethsemane, and Mark 14 says that he was sore afraid, or not sore afraid, but he was sore amazed. Why was he sore amazed? Why was he sore amazed? And the heaviness is so strong that it is unto death, and that's not exaggeration. He's literally speaking it. Matter of fact, in Matthew 5-7, we talked about it earlier today, that that Matthew 5-7, when he was hurt for a strong crying and tears, the Bible said he began to be heavy. He began to be heavy. He was sore amazed. There was a Greek scholar that said, you know, Sometimes it's hard to go from one language to another. You know, for instance, there are some words that don't make a clear transition and translation. For instance, there's a German word called Sanzug. There's no English equivalency. To the best of our ability, it nearly takes a paragraph for us to say what Sanzug means. It's a deep, dark longing for someone you've never met and somewhere where you've never been. There's a Gaelic word that's similar to it, haireith, same thing, homesickness for a home you've never been to. Sore amazed is one of those words, what does it mean? And this Greek scholar said, to the best of my ability, there's a phrase that the United States military uses that really defines what that word means, sore amazed, and here it is. Shock and awe, shock and awe. I've said this before, has it ever occurred to you that nothing has ever occurred to God? And that's so true, we come back to the conundrum. He chooses to learn the will of the Father like a man, but he doesn't refuse the will of the Father because he's God. Oh my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass for me. Nevertheless, not my will, but thine be done. And Mark says that at that time, he cries out, Abba! That's another Aramaic word that's really hard for us to do. I've heard some say, well, that means daddy to us. One man said, it's the same word for dada. I don't think the Lord is doing baby talk. This is really serious stuff. There was a man of God that had learned the language as best he could, and he was visiting Israel, and he said it was in a restroom with a father and a little eight-year-old boy that he learned what Abba meant. The father had commanded the boy to go to the lavatory and wash his hands, and here's what the father said. When you call me Abba, you obey me. And he says, I got it. Abba carries with it the meaning of tenderness and affection, but a dogmatic, I will do what the Father says. If it be possible, let this cup pass from me. Abba, you know I love you. Abba. And this is an amazing thing. How can God so love the world? even before the foundation of the world. Because the Holy Trinity was enjoying the agape love before it was ever introduced to man, before the earth ever came. So when God loves, he loves billions of times more than we can ever imagine. It may be possible if there's any other way. I've often wondered what happened during that time. Because it's apparent that there seems to be dialogue here. My father, I'm ready to die. You know the sentence must be death for sins, and that's what I'm going to do, my father, die for sins. But son, there must be something done that you were not informed when you were 12 or when you were baptized. What is that, my father? I know I'm ready to die. I love the world. Son, the only way it's gonna be efficacious, the only way it's gonna be substitutionary is if you literally become sin. Thou art of pure eyes and behold evil. Oh, my father, if there's any other way, he's understanding the ramifications of what that would mean to become sin for us, what that carries. 2 Corinthians 5, 21 says it very well. For he, that's the Father, hath made him Christ the Son, to be sin for us, who knew no sin, that we might be made the righteousness of God in him. 2 Corinthians 8, 9. For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, that ye through his poverty might be rich. Oh my Father, if there's any other way, It's so intense that Dr. Luke says that he sweat as it were great drops of blood. Medical science points out that your sweat comes from your bloodstream. Under great duress and stress, people have sweat blood, but not like Jesus did that night. As he rises and now he's drenched in blood. He's faltered before he rose. He stumbles a little bit, it seems like. He begins to kill over. Dr. Luke says that the Lord sent an angel. The Father sent an angel to strengthen him. Remember Hebrews 5, 7 was heard in that he feared he was delivered from death. What happened in the garden, I really believe with all my heart, is that the heart of our Lord was so broken that it literally ruptured. A heart is encircled with water, and when the muscle of the heart breaks, the water breaks, the blood begins to flow, and medical science says a man can live five days with a ruptured heart. And the reason we know that, so because in prophecy, Psalm 22, it says, My heart is like wax, it is melted in the midst of my bowels. And when they put the spear into his side, out flowed what? Blood and the water. His heart had burst for you and for me, and for the loss that he was experiencing already from the Father and the Holy Ghost that would take place. He rises from there, John 18 says, to Peter and to everyone listening after Peter pulls out his sword. Of course, you remember what happened. Who are you looking for, Jesus inquires. They said, we're looking for Jesus of Nazareth. And the Bible says, I am he. In the integrity of the King James translator, they put H-E in parenthesis. Do you remember that, brother, in italics? Remember that? I am he, because that means they placed that word in there. In essence, what Jesus said when they said, we're looking for Jesus of Nazareth, they were looking for the carpenter. They were looking for the shepherd. They were looking for the rabbi. When Jesus said, I am, he gave a station identification. You've got a little bit more than a shepherd, a little bit more than a carpenter. You've got, I am that I am. That's why 600 of the 1,200 men, wham, hit the dust. They fell down. You know what some stupid liberal said? What happened is, when Jesus said, I am He, the front line of this group got frightened, and they jumped back, and they knocked over the second line, and the second line knocked over the third line. This is not an aggregate three stages or three stooges, by any means. These were soldiers. They were down because a bit of the Shekinah glory was about to blind them for a moment. That's why I think Peter pulls out his sword. We get any trouble hearing him, eh? Jesus, you give him another I am. Yeah. He dears Malchus. I can see Malchus squalling like a dying calf in a hailstorm. And Jesus grabs the ear, puts it back on. Hush. Thank you. And then Jesus says to Peter and all that are listening, Shall I not drink it? I've often wondered, when John in the Revelation wrote about the cup of God's indignation, did his mind go back to what Jesus said that night in John 18, the cup which my father hath given me? We see it's called in Jeremiah, the cup of God's fury, the cup of God's wrath, the cup of God's indignation, the cup that my father hath given me, shall I not drink it? Shall I not drink it? They have now taken torches to take away the light of the world, shackles to band up the hands that made the bands of Orion and Pleiades. And they lead him away to Annas, to Caiaphas, to Pilate, to Herod, back to Pilate. Between the Jewish council and the Romans, the Bible says they buffeted him. Please allow me to show you what buffet means. It means to do exactly that. Curl your fist and throw all your weight behind it. Jesus was every inch of man's man, for he stood there and took it. How much damage did they do? Isaiah 52, 14. As many were astounded at thee, his visage was so marred more than any man. I think C.I. Skilford had it right when he said his form didn't even look human. His facial features were nearly nondescript. And yet here's a miracle, not one bone was broken. So strong, so healthy. Pilate's wife said, have thou nothing to do with this just man? I've suffered many things today in a dream because of him. I personally believe there were a couple of times that Pilate brings him out, and I think one of those times that he brought him out, he thought that maybe the mercenaries would do a work on him that the people would have mercy upon him. Or see, it's been said that the group that tortured Jesus or other victims like him, but although none like him, were chief experts at insults and torture. And they seem to play a game called Top That to see who can hurt him worse, who can insult him worse. They take two pieces of leather or chain. I agree with Dr. Alfred Edersheim in the Life and Times of Jesus Messiah. Some believe that Jesus was pulled over a stump and beaten over the stump. I don't believe that for a moment. I believe he was stretched out until his toes just barely tangled off, dangled off the ground, if not just barely touching the ground. So his body's in a perfectly stretched position. When they took that whip that had long leather thongs, several of them, on the end of each leather thong was a sharp piece of bone. And when he pulls them back and he throws it into the victim's body, it wraps around it with the ease of centrifugal force and the bone falls into the flesh as easily as a pebble will fall into a pond. And then when he pulls it back, not only does it cut through the flesh, but because of the stretch position, it caused a ripping sensation so that according to Roman history, it was not unusual for a man to be ripped right in half of the whipping post. Again, that's why the Bible says in Psalm 22, which begins, my God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? It says, they pierced my hands and my feet. That never happened to David. And it also says in that same prophetic Psalm, I may tell all my bones, they look and stare upon me like ivory fingers coming out of bowls of blood. It was a miracle that he wasn't ripped right in half. And when they let him down, he stands there as they clothe him with a purple scarlet robe. and crowned him with thorns, six to nine inches in length, wrapped around, sharp as a needle in the hand, nearly strong as a 10-bitty nail. And when they bowed their knees and mocked him, king of the Jews, they were driving the crown of thorns into the scalp so deep that it scraped the skull, falling down over the face that they'd already spit over and pulled the hair off. Isaiah 56, I gave my back to the smiters, and my cheeks of them that plucked off the hair, I hid not my face from shame and spitting. And he stands there like a king. How do you do that? Medical science says that a man may grow in strength and improve in strength to at least 34 years of age. You may increase bulk, you may get definition, you may grow in strength to your 34. At the age of 34, no matter how many gyms you go to, no matter how many vitamins you take, you're not gonna be able to overcome the second law of thermodynamics. At 34, your health begins to deteriorate. You know you're getting older when you lean over to tie your shoe and you ask yourself, anything else I can do while I'm down there? The old gray mare won't be what she used to be. You realize that when Jesus died upon the cross, he was at the peak of perfect manhood strength. He gave you his best as a man. And he always gave his best as God. What a savior. Whom we are that I release unto you, Jesus of Barabbas. Now remember, Barabbas is 800 yards away. He doesn't hear the dialogue. All he hears are two things. All Barabbas hears is crucify, crucify! Give us Barabbas! Many believe that he was a folk hero like a Robin Hood, and he was to die on the center cross, and his two lieutenants were to die on either side of him. So that cross in the center was meant for the ringleader and his lieutenants on the side. And he's thinking to himself, crucify, give us Barabbas. I thought they loved me. I guess they know I'm a criminal and they're giving me what I deserve. And they unlock his door and open it up and nobody grabs him. And he says, what? They said, you can go. Well, go, why? We don't know why, but the crowd out there shows you over Jesus. Jesus took the criminal's cross. Jesus took the place of a very sinful man. But Jesus took my place and your place, didn't he? In some ways, I feel like I'm Barabbas. We can't say that, well, he died in my place, I should have died on the cross, but even if I died on the cross, I couldn't redeem you. That could only be done by one person, and that's Jesus Christ. That's the only way. Up, up, up, the Via Dolorosa. They lay the cross in its full extent on the hill. Some think that the vertical was in the ground and he was nailed to the horizontal. I believe the greatest tradition there was the full cross. I can see them turning around, getting the hammer that's more like a sledgehammer, the nails that are more like spikes. And they turn back around, and he's laid himself down. And he said, well, this is different. We're not having to wrestle him. He's just laying down on his own. Greater love and nobleness than a man laid down his life for his friends. They lift up that cross up, up into the air. You can hear a sickening crack as the cross falls into the ground, and you hear that thud as it hits, and the popping sound of the bones come out of joint. And then he speaks from the cross, Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do. Thieves begin to rail on him. One of them wises up, and he said, Lord, remember me when thou comest to thy kingdom. Jesus says, Verily I say unto thee, Thou shalt be with me in paradise. To be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord. He sees Mary. He sees John. Behold thy son. Son, behold thy mother. There he is. Honor thy father and thy mother. There he is fulfilling all the commandments, even while he's dying. Darkness begins to come across, six hours on the cross, darkness begins to come. I'm gonna reverse things a little bit. Imagine as the Lord has said, I thirst. I know we did thirst. Last time he said anything about drinking was back in the Garden of Gethsemane. I thirst, I think, if I can use your imagination a little bit, Father says, now's the time, now's the time. Take it, angels, take it. And the essence of our sins and all of our sins came upon Jesus and were poured upon his person as he drinks that bitter cup, my cup and your cup, as it becomes Johnny Pope, as it becomes Scott Hooks, as it becomes you and me. From that darkness, he cries out, and forgive me for reversing it, but I see as he cries out, he's saying so much, when he says, and that is to say, my God, my God, why has thou forsaken me? The Holy Spirit can be grieved and quenched so easily. Now as all of my sins and your sins are poured on Jesus, the Holy Spirit has to say, Yeshua, I must go. And the Holy Spirit takes his flight. He who flew down upon him in coronation in the baptismal waters, now he takes his flight. And Jesus says, as the Holy Spirit exits, my God, And then if we can use that anthropomorphism as God the Father is in heaven, and I see 72,000, because that's at least how many angels Jesus said he could call 12 legion of angels. That's 72 to 144,000. At least 72,000 angels in heaven pulling out flaming swords of scarlet sheaths. Think about this, one angel in the Old Testament took out 185,000 Assyrian soldiers. Can you imagine what 72,000 really bent out of shape angels could do? Turn around, angels, but Father, turn around. And the cherubim, seraphim, fold their wings, resheath their swords, and they turn around. If ever angels had tears, I believe there were tears in heaven on this day as the angels were about-facing. And then as the Father himself turns about-face, anthromorphed perfectly, and Christ cries out when he realizes what is happening. My God, why hast thou forsaken me? Imagine this, God forsaken of God. We can't understand it, can we? Forsaken. The darkness is coming to an end. And he says, It's translated, it is finished. But that was the word that was used whenever someone would bring a Passover lamb after the priest would examine it. In the Koine Greek, he would say, no flaw, no blemish, meet for the Passover. It was the same word used whenever a painter or a sculptor had a perfect masterpiece. He would say nothing could be added to it. The final stroke was given. It's finished. It's the same word used when a man was in debtor's prison and he had a group of ordinances and laws that he had broken. They were listed on a parchment placed on the door of his jail when a benefactor, usually a loved one, would pay his crime debt. then that piece of parchment was pulled away from the door and stamped to tell a sign meaning paid in full and the prisoner's free. It's the same word used by the Cyclops when they were in battle. The runner would be near the battle. If they overwhelmed the enemy and the enemy was not going to get up again, then the runner would run back to the edge of Athens and mothers and dads and wives and children and grandparents and all manner of kinfolk would be there, and when they hear one word from the runner, they would jump for joy, and the word was titelistad, meaning overwhelming victory. When Jesus cried, it is finished, what's he saying? It's finished to his life. He's saying, I am the Passover lamb. I have paid man's debt. It's a masterpiece, no more strokes, and the victory's being won right now. It is finished! It is finished! And somewhere in that splitting timing, he says, now Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit. And down yonder in the temple, and by the way, from Gordon's Calvary to the temple, and I believe they could hear echoing in the halls as they're slaughtering the lambs, and they're coming to the very end of the Passover, the literal Passover, coming at the very end moment, they hear the voice of Jesus echoing. It is finished. Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit. I know there's a difference of opinion on this. You're ever welcome to be wrong. But what I really believe is what the Bible says happened. In Hebrews 9, 14, how much more shall the blood of Christ who offered himself without spot to God through the eternal spirit. Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit. What a savior. But he was wounded by our transgressions. He was bruised by our iniquities. The chastisement of our peace was upon him. And by his stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray. We've turned everyone to our own way. And the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all. And he shall see the travail of his soul and be satisfied. And now in the sequence of the messianic psalms, my God, my God, Psalm 22, why hast thou forsaken me? They pierced my hands and my feet. Psalm 23, yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, darkness over the face of the land. And then Psalm 24, who shall ascend to the hill of the Lord? He that hath clean hands and a pure heart. And you come to the end of that psalm, and it says, open up your gates. I think in split-second timing, Jesus came to the gate of glory through the eternal spirit, and he says, open up your gates, and be you lifted up, you everlasting doors, and the king of glory shall come. Who is the king of glory? Who is the king of glory? The Lord's strong and mighty in battle. Open up your gates and be lifted up, you everlasting doors. Gabriel, yo, Mike, that's him. Open up. And the doors open up. And the seraphim that are pictured in the Holy of Holies like this, I believe they were literally doing this as Jesus walks in. Their swords are down and their wings are up and the smiles on the angels' faces. as they've been beholding this stuff for a long time, and now he's back home, at least in the spirit realm, and Jesus comes up to the Father's throne in heaven, and the Father, as the covenant demands, comes back around, and Jesus takes his own blood and puts it on the mercy seat, because Hebrews says, these are the shadow of things that were up, and he places his blood on the mercy seat in heaven, and in essence says, Father, this is my blood for their sins, Tis done! Tis done, the great transaction's done. Split-second timing, he goes down to paradise. Abraham, David, ready to move? And he preaches to those that are in Gehenna, you should have believed. And on the third day, hallelujah. Consider him as the conquering Christ. Oh, I must hasten, I know you've been here a long time, but what do you do, ask me to leave? So Jesus, rises up from the grave. Death! Yes, your satanic majesty. Do you have him? Yes, I do. The devil says, where's corruption? Thou shalt not suffer, thine holy one, to see corruption. Where's corruption? Do you know we work hand in glove? Yes, I do. Where is he? I don't know. I'm sure I'll show up. Devil walks away. Corruption! Corruption, where are you? Get here, hurry. Death! Yes, your majesty. Do you have him? I got him. I got him just like that Baptist preacher. He's not going anywhere. Just like that David. Speaking of David, where's corruption? Corruption? Corruption! Where is he? I don't know, but I promise you he's dead. I know he's dead, but where's corruption? You know, we work together. Shut up and get him here. Yes, sir. The devil walks away. Corruption, please hurry up and get here. Hurry up and get here. Morning of the third day before the devil, get very close, death has to throw his hands to his face and says, look out, look out, I can't hold him, I can't hold him any longer. Corruption never showed up and up from the grave he arose. And I can see the devil mattered in a wet hen and he races to the tomb, throws one talon to one side, another talon to the other side, as Jesus is folding the napkin. Thank you, brother Clyde, amen. And the devil says, where are you going? Jesus says, out of here. Devil says, I didn't give you permission. Jesus said, I didn't ask. And the devil says, no! And Jesus says, yay. In him are all the promises. Yay and amen to the glory of God by us. And Jesus raises that nail-pierced foot. The devil looks at that nail-pierced foot and remembers Genesis 3.15, the protevangelum. Thou shalt bruise his head, but he shall bruise thine. And the devil says, get your foot off my face. And I will, but you've got something that belongs to me. And he takes the keys of death, hell, and the grave. And he runs away with it. Consider him as the conquering Christ. But oh, as we sit here today, we need to consider him as the coming Christ. For the Lord himself, the same one that died, the same that was pierced, this same Jesus shall come again. Oh, this same Jesus. For the Lord himself shall descend in heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, with the trump of God, and the dead in Christ shall rise first. Then we which are alive remain, should be called together to meet the Lord in the air, and so shall we ever be with the Lord. Behold, I show you a mystery. We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed. In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, that's light, that's not blinking, we're moving at 186,000 miles per second. He shall change this corruptible body. This mortal shall put on immortality. This corruptible shall put on incorruption. We are looking now for the coming Christ. I've been asked, do you believe, Brother Pope, that these are the last days? I said, Better than that, these are the last of the last days. If ever we win souls, now's the time. If we ever do the work for God, now's the time. Night cometh when no man can work. Tribulation's right around the corner, but before tribulation comes here, we that are saved by the grace of God will be raptured up. He's coming again. Even so, come Lord Jesus. Consider him. Analyze him. Analyze him. Think about him. Lest ye be weary and faint in your minds. What will keep me from fainting? What will keep you from fainting? Being so in love with Jesus that you think about Him all the time. And when you pray, you pray in His name. That'd be so wonderful if we all would consider him tonight. Let's pray. Thank you, Heavenly Father, for the precious Word of God. Thank you for the precious promises of the Word, for you being who you are. Thank you that you took the agony of the cross for each and every one of us here. Thank you, Lord, as I looked out in the audience, everyone that I saw is one for whom Christ died. Everyone that I saw is one for whom you love. And I pray that that everlasting love that you talked about in Jeremiah would be appreciated by each and every one of us as we consider how much you love us tonight. Thank you for so loving the world and thank you that we're there in that crowd. with heads bowed and eyes closed. How many can say joyfully, I'm saved and I know it? Would you raise that hand? I'm saved and I know it. You can put your hands down, heads are bowed and eyes are closed. Is there one that would say, Johnny Pope, I don't know for sure I'm saved, but I don't wanna go to hell. I'd like to be saved tonight. Anybody would raise a hand on that one, anyone at all? Front all the way to the back, center, section, right section, left section, anybody like that? Heads are bowed and eyes are closed. You do not have to lift your hand on this. This is a rhetorical question. Have you been considering Jesus? Have you been contemplating Him? Nothing makes me want to live for the Lord more than when I consider what He did, especially what He did for me on the cross. And I pray that you'll consider the same thing, too, what He's done for you on the cross. And can it be that I should gain an interest in the Savior's love, amazing love? Can it be that thou, my God, shouldst die for me? Tonight might be a great time to rededicate one's life. Be filled with the Holy Spirit. Bible commands us, be not drunk with wine where it is excess, but be filled with the Spirit. Let us be filled with the Spirit so that we can serve the Lord in gladness. He's so much more worthy than the life that I've given him thus far. I want to give him more for what he's done for me. Thank you for listening. The Rest Conference takes place around Labor Day each year on the campus of the Tabernacle Baptist Church in Hickory, North Carolina. To access more resources, visit our website, therestconference.com, or follow us on social media.