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This is from Will.
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"Hi Pastor Tim,
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My pastor in my local church
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taught us in one of our Bible studies
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to focus not on the cross,
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but on the resurrection of Christ.
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The reason he gave is that the cross
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is a picture of suffering and punishment
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while resurrection is the victory
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of Jesus over death.
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I somehow feel wrong about that
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because I know that when
I look to the cross,
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I see the love of God for me,
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humility of Jesus,
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and the forgiveness of my sins.
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I know that looking to the cross
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and seeing what God did for me
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is what saved me
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and made me born again.
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Please can you give your
insight over this?
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Thank you and God bless.
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Will."
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Let's think about this.
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What he says is happening is he feels like
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his pastor is putting the resurrection -
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Christ rising from the dead -
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that he's making that more important
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than what Christ did on the cross.
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Now, what I would say is this:
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To this pastor's benefit,
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I have a hard time believing
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that the pastor was actually teaching
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what this guy says.
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Listen to him again.
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"My pastor in my local church
taught us in one Bible study,
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to focus not on the cross, but
on the resurrection of Christ."
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Okay, I can recognize
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that somebody might say that.
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But then he says this:
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"The reason he gave is that the cross
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is a picture of suffering and punishment."
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See, I don't think the
pastor probably said that.
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The cross is a picture.
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When I hear picture, I hear like a shadow.
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Like it portrays something.
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There was actual suffering and punishment
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that took place - I doubt his pastor
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said it exactly like this.
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But just to his pastor's credit,
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listen,
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I heard a beloved brother
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speak on the garden of Gethsemane.
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And he made comments
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that made it sound like in his estimation
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the garden was more
important than the cross.
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Now, I didn't chalk that up
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to this brother being a heretic.
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I chalked it up to the fact
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that he was preaching
two or three messages
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at this conference on
the Garden of Gethsemane.
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He had been immersing himself
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in Christ in the Garden
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and His sorrows and His sweating blood
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and the turmoil in His soul.
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He was feeling it.
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And so it was fresh.
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And so the comments that he made
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I have a feeling were influenced by that.
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I would venture out and say probably,
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this pastor was studying the resurrection.
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If you get all embroiled in
a study of the resurrection,
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you can come forth:
everything is resurrection!
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That's probably what happened.
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But grab your Bibles.
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Go to the book of Acts.
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I mean, I want you to see something
here about the resurrection.
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What's important about the book of Acts?
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Well, the book of Acts is the book
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of church history following immediately
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on the heels of Christ coming
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out of that tomb alive.
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This is fresh with those guys.
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And I'll tell you this,
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they were blown away by the fact
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Christ came out of that grave.
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(incomplete thought)
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You could tell,
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they were absorbed with this.
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They were rocked by this.
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So you go to the book of Acts.
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I'm trying to get there.
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Just start right in the beginning.
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Acts 1:22.
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I mean right from the beginning,
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they wanted somebody to replace Judas.
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They wanted somebody that was there
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from the baptism of John.
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A witness to His resurrection.
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From the baptism of John all the way
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to the ascension,
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but somebody that was a witness
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specifically of His resurrection.
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You go to chapter 2:23.
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"This Jesus delivered up according to
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the definite plan and foreknowledge of God
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you crucified and killed
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by the hands of lawless men."
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I hope you hear: there's the cross.
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V. 24, "God raised Him up
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loosing the pangs of death
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because it was not possible
for Him to be held by it."
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You keep going. Go on in chapter 2:31.
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"He foresaw and spoke about
the resurrection of Christ
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that He was not abandoned to Hades,
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nor did His flesh see corruption."
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V. 32, "This Jesus God raised up,
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and of that we are all witnesses."
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You keep going. Go to chapter 3.
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You see, you go to chapter 3:14,
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"you denied the Holy and Righteous One
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and asked for a murderer
to be granted to you,
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and you killed (there's the cross)
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the Author of life whom God raised
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from the dead."
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You see, the thing is,
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we don't want to separate
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what God has joined together.
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You don't want to say:
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Oh, this one's more
important than this one.
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Listen, you know what Paul said?
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Paul said that he would glory in nothing
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but the cross of Jesus Christ.
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He talks repeatedly about this cross
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and about the blood.
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Look, what we need to recognize is this,
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is the resurrection important?
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You better believe it's important.
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Just look at this. 1 Corinthians.
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We're not going to keep going
through the book of Acts
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because it's everywhere.
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The resurrection is everywhere,
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but so is the cross.
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But when you go to 1 Corinthians 15,
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look with me here.
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V. 1, "Now I would remind you, brothers,
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of the Gospel I preached to you,
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which you received and
in which you stand."
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If you're saved,
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you stand on this truth.
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What?
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"...By which you're being saved."
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Being saved.
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You are presently being saved.
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Not just: you were.
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It's not a one time thing.
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These are truths we rest in,
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we stand in,
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and we're being saved on a regular basis,
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day by day, moment by moment.
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We live from faith to faith
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in these realities.
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What?
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"I delivered to you as
of first importance..."
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What's the first, most important
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aspect of the Gospel?
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He's telling us right here.
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"Christ died for our sins
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in accordance with the Scriptures.
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He was buried.
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He was raised on the third day
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in accordance with the Scriptures."
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You see, both these truths
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are at the heart of this message.
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Now if we keep going,
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look at v. 12.
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"If Christ is proclaimed as
raised from the dead,
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how can some of you say
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that there's no resurrection of the dead?
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If there's no resurrection of the dead,
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then not even Christ has been raised.
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And if Christ has not been raised,
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our preaching is in vain
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and your faith is in vain."
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You see, our faith is in vain
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if Christ isn't raised. Why?
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Because if Christ isn't raised,
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keep reading.
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V. 16, "If the dead are not raised,
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not even Christ has been raised.
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And if Christ has not been raised,
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your faith is futile
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and you're still in your sins."
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Why?
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Well, think with me.
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The wage of sin is death.
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Christ became sin and died.
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But the moment sin is fully paid for,
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death has no claim on Him.
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It can't.
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The very proof He paid for sins.
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If those sins never got paid,
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He's in hell right now.
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The only way He comes out of the grave
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is if my sin - all those He's died for -
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if that sin is paid.
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But you see, here's the thing,
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on the cross, He paid the debt.
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Not in the garden.
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Scripture doesn't say that.
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It's by the shedding of His blood
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on that cross that there is atonement
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for my soul and your soul.
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It's by His blood.
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It's by His death.
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He had to become sin.
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He had to be crushed.
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He had to be forsaken.
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He had to suffer my punishment there.
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And that's what happened on that cross.
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That cross.
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That's where the payment was made.
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That's where the ransom price was paid.
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It comes by blood.
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We are cleansed by the shedding of blood.
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Without the shedding of blood,
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there's no remission.
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(incomplete thought)
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But you see,
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if He didn't come out of the grave,
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our faith is hopeless,
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because it means that He didn't accomplish
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anything redemptive on that cross.
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Both are necessary.
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Both are of first importance.
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We want to preach them both.
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We want to be dogmatic about both.
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Because if He didn't come out of the grave
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you're still dead in
your sins and so am I.
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But He did rise.
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You see, this is his argument.
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He says if Jesus didn't
come out of that grave,
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we of all people are most to be pitied.
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Why?
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Because we're living our life
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following this Christ,
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turning our backs to the world,
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enduring the persecution -
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by the way, that's what Scripture said.
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If you're determined to live a godly life,
you're going to suffer persecution.
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Through many tribulations,
you enter the kingdom.
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Jesus said I didn't come to bring peace.
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I came to bring a sword.
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He says it.
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Did I fight with beasts in Ephesus?
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What's this sacrifice in
this Christian life worth
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if in the end I go to hell?
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He says of all people,
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we're most miserable.
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We're most to be pitied.
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Why?
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Because if the dead didn't rise,
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we all ought to go out this door right now
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and eat and drink and be merry,
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because this is all there is
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and tomorrow we die and we go to hell.
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Which, by the way, if you're in this room
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and you have not embraced
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this sacrificial death on that cross
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and this hope of resurrection,
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that's exactly - we aren't
the most to be pitied.
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You know why?
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Christ did come out of the grave.
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(incomplete thought)
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You know who's most
to be pitied in reality?
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You are.
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You know why?
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Because you are under the sound
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of the Gospel
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and Jesus said to His disciples,
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if they hear you preach
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and they don't receive it,
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it's going to be more tolerable
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for Sodom and Gomorrah than for them.
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You know who is most miserable?
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You know who's most miserable?
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It really isn't the guy out there
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who doesn't know any of this.
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And I know that.
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When I was lost, I could sin.
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I could sin. I could drink it like water.
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But you know what?
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I thought it was okay.
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I thought well, I'm not that good,
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but I'm not that bad.
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And I'm going to get this right.
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I'm going to play the religious game.
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I'm going to get this right.
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And so you know what?
Even while I'm living it up,
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and I'm living this crazy life,
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I really thought I was going to heaven.
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But you know what?
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I recognize this with my son Joshua.
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He knew so much truth,
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when he tried to play with sin,
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it was right there all the time:
"You're going to hell."
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You know what he told Ruby and I?
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He just tried to convince himself
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hell was endurable;
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that he could endure it.
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That's what he tried to convince himself.
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Because you know what, if
you've sat under the truth,
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you of all people are most miserable -
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if you're going out there in the world
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and you're trying to drink your sin,
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because you know there's a hell.
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And you know there's a God.
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There is a God who deals -
it seems severe.
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Scripture says so.
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The severity of God.
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His justice is severe.
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Not that it's unjust.
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But I'll tell you what,
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for any infraction of His law
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to be sent to hell forever,
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that ought to tell you,
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all you have to do is look at that cross
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and hear Christ:
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"My God, My God, why
have You forsaken Me?"
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You look at that cross
and it will tell you
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what sin deserves.
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You of all people are most miserable
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if you have not embraced this Christ.
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Because while you're
trying to drink your sin,
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you can't do it freely.
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There's always a shadow.
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There's always your conscience
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beating this drumbeat:
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hell, hell, hell...
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it's forever, forever, forever.
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No, those of us that have embraced Christ,
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we of all people are not most miserable.
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We are the most to be envied,
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not the most to be pitied.
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Because we found it!
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We've found the Treasure of all treasures.
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We have found pardon for our sin
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and it opens the way to eternal paradise.
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And you go on your way in your sin,
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and it's only going to open
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into eternal despair.
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Live it up now.
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That's what Paul says.
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Eat and drink, for tomorrow we die -
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if the dead aren't raised.
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But you know what?
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That's what you ought to do
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if you're just going to
go on rejecting Christ.
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Go eat and drink.
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Live it up.
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Don't play the game.
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Don't play at Christianity.
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One foot in, one foot out.
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You are most miserable
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among the children of men.
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Why? Because you're
trying to play the Christian,
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and all the time you want the world.
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So you're not really accepted by both.
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The world looks at you and says
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you're a religious nut.
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Christians look at you and they say
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you don't smell right.
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You constantly have your
eyes on the world.
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And you of all people will
be most miserable
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because you're trying to
play the Christian game
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and in the end, you're
going to lose your soul.
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What you want to do is see Christ
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dying on that cross
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and know this,
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He became sin.
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God laid sin on Him.
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And He suffered and He died.
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Scripture says He was crushed.
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God crushed Him on that cross.
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God put Him in the vice of His wrath
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and He squeezed
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until His soul ran out of Him.
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Spilled - that's what Psalm 22 says.
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Poured out like water.
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He just wrung Him out.
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Why? In the place of sinners.
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But then He burst forth from that grave
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to show it was paid.
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Satisfied.
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We don't want to let go
of either of those truths.
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They are both of principal,
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primary importance.
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First magnitude when it
comes to the Gospel.
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Amen.