WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:03.500 When we started Northern Hope back in the Eisteddfod 00:00:03.500 --> 00:00:05.339 Hall, who remembers the Eisteddfod Hall? Remember 00:00:05.339 --> 00:00:07.620 the Eisteddfod Hall? Yes. Well, we're in a much 00:00:07.620 --> 00:00:10.380 better place now, aren't we? With more room for 00:00:10.380 --> 00:00:12.419 the children. I've seen the children continue 00:00:12.419 --> 00:00:17.300 to grow here. But it was a great congregation. 00:00:17.460 --> 00:00:19.019 I remember we had to put out more chairs because 00:00:19.019 --> 00:00:21.379 more people were coming than we'd expected on 00:00:21.379 --> 00:00:25.179 that day. And I met at the end of the service 00:00:25.179 --> 00:00:28.039 a lady whom I'm sure you remember, a lady called 00:00:28.039 --> 00:00:32.369 Monica. And she was in her 90s, I believe, when 00:00:32.369 --> 00:00:36.750 I met her. And I talked to her at the door, and 00:00:36.750 --> 00:00:40.210 I said, oh, how long have you been going to the 00:00:40.210 --> 00:00:43.250 Good Shepherd? She said, oh, over 60 years. I 00:00:43.250 --> 00:00:45.670 remember I said to her, that must have been hard 00:00:45.670 --> 00:00:49.570 to leave the building. And buildings are important, 00:00:49.689 --> 00:00:52.130 but to leave the building and all the associations 00:00:52.130 --> 00:00:55.770 of marriage and baptism and children and weddings 00:00:55.770 --> 00:01:00.500 and funerals. and then to come here. And I never 00:01:00.500 --> 00:01:03.100 forget her words to me. She said, look, when 00:01:03.100 --> 00:01:05.299 I heard about Northern Hope and Trevor was going 00:01:05.299 --> 00:01:09.540 to lead us, I was in like a shot. And I thought 00:01:09.540 --> 00:01:12.879 that was just an extraordinary thing. Because 00:01:12.879 --> 00:01:17.290 we know the buildings and congregations and at 00:01:17.290 --> 00:01:19.790 one stage we were going to buy the building from 00:01:19.790 --> 00:01:21.409 the Diocese and the whole congregation was going 00:01:21.409 --> 00:01:23.310 to come, for those of you who remember those 00:01:23.310 --> 00:01:25.989 days, but there were certain legal impediments 00:01:25.989 --> 00:01:31.530 for that, but that's in the past now. I remember 00:01:31.530 --> 00:01:34.030 when Trevor told me that Monica had died and 00:01:34.030 --> 00:01:38.230 gone to be with the Lord. I thought, what a great 00:01:38.230 --> 00:01:42.469 aspect that I think Trevor and the elders chose 00:01:42.469 --> 00:01:48.739 the name Northern Hope. because hope is what 00:01:48.739 --> 00:01:52.060 binds us together. And you're pretty far north, 00:01:52.340 --> 00:01:58.120 so it's Northern Hope. And that sense in which 00:01:58.120 --> 00:02:03.159 hope is what holds us together. And this passage 00:02:03.159 --> 00:02:05.939 from 1 Thessalonians, I thought, is very helpful. 00:02:06.780 --> 00:02:10.060 I think, talking to Jen, that you've had about 00:02:10.060 --> 00:02:12.800 three funerals in the last three years. And I 00:02:12.800 --> 00:02:15.740 guess that's going to continue to happen. And 00:02:15.740 --> 00:02:20.120 in many ways, part of life is also preparing 00:02:20.120 --> 00:02:24.080 for our death. We know it's a reality that we're 00:02:24.080 --> 00:02:26.439 going to die. Benjamin Franklin said there were 00:02:26.439 --> 00:02:31.060 two certainties, death and taxes. And we all 00:02:31.060 --> 00:02:34.400 know the second. But the first is a reality, 00:02:34.780 --> 00:02:37.360 too. And of course, sometimes death comes in 00:02:37.360 --> 00:02:41.460 old age. Sometimes death comes in middle age. 00:02:42.280 --> 00:02:45.620 Sometimes death comes in infancy. or even in 00:02:45.620 --> 00:02:50.120 stillborn children. I'm sure we've all had experience 00:02:50.120 --> 00:02:53.840 of loved ones who've died, whether it's a parent 00:02:53.840 --> 00:02:57.240 or a grandparent, and possibly even a spouse 00:02:57.240 --> 00:03:04.000 or a child. And the great difference that Christ 00:03:04.000 --> 00:03:08.159 makes is that we have hope. Look at the way in 00:03:08.159 --> 00:03:10.780 which Paul expresses it. Brothers and sisters, 00:03:11.280 --> 00:03:15.550 we do not want you to be uninformed about those 00:03:15.550 --> 00:03:19.610 who sleep in death, so that you do not grieve 00:03:19.610 --> 00:03:24.849 like the rest of humankind who have no hope. 00:03:26.050 --> 00:03:30.370 Paul had been to Thessalonica. This was really 00:03:30.370 --> 00:03:32.830 the first time he'd come in out of Asia and into 00:03:32.830 --> 00:03:36.469 Europe. As we know, Thessalonica is in the northern 00:03:36.469 --> 00:03:41.389 part of Greece, and he was there for about three... 00:03:42.090 --> 00:03:45.729 weeks or so, and had a ministry after he'd been 00:03:45.729 --> 00:03:48.949 in Philippi just before that, and then he moved 00:03:48.949 --> 00:03:55.169 on a way down to Athens and Corinth. He writes 00:03:55.169 --> 00:04:02.110 this letter from a lower part, Achaia, in Greece. 00:04:02.650 --> 00:04:05.469 And because he'd heard words and Timothy had 00:04:05.469 --> 00:04:09.270 been bringing him messages back, Timothy had 00:04:09.270 --> 00:04:11.990 stayed there whilst he went on his journey south. 00:04:12.469 --> 00:04:14.550 And what obviously had happened is that some 00:04:14.550 --> 00:04:17.670 people had died in the congregation. Paul had 00:04:17.670 --> 00:04:20.769 been preaching a message that Jesus had died 00:04:20.769 --> 00:04:24.990 and been risen from the dead. That in that three 00:04:24.990 --> 00:04:28.790 days of his experience of death and all the darkness 00:04:28.790 --> 00:04:33.639 of death that Jesus experienced, on our behalf, 00:04:35.279 --> 00:04:38.060 but he was raised from the dead. And actually 00:04:38.060 --> 00:04:41.899 Jesus was a participant in his raising himself 00:04:41.899 --> 00:04:44.360 from the dead. We don't always realize that because 00:04:44.360 --> 00:04:47.680 he is God, it wasn't just that he was passive 00:04:47.680 --> 00:04:50.579 in his resurrection, but actually he was active 00:04:50.579 --> 00:04:54.079 in his resurrection. And that of course was the 00:04:54.079 --> 00:04:57.480 hope that Jesus was gonna come back and draw 00:04:57.480 --> 00:05:00.100 all people to himself. There were some in the 00:05:00.100 --> 00:05:01.939 early church who thought that Jesus would come 00:05:01.939 --> 00:05:05.420 back in their lifetime. And in a sense, that's 00:05:05.420 --> 00:05:09.240 always a good way to live your life, to think 00:05:09.240 --> 00:05:14.240 that Jesus could come back tomorrow. He'd rather 00:05:14.240 --> 00:05:16.699 come back after school holidays, but nonetheless. 00:05:18.269 --> 00:05:22.029 I'll never forget when I was in America, I proposed 00:05:22.029 --> 00:05:24.529 to my wife in America because I was studying 00:05:24.529 --> 00:05:26.829 there. She'd come across, we got engaged, and 00:05:26.829 --> 00:05:29.170 then there was a 12 -month period before we actually 00:05:29.170 --> 00:05:31.610 got married. So it was a long engagement. And 00:05:31.610 --> 00:05:35.089 she said, it sounds awful, I just hope that Jesus 00:05:35.089 --> 00:05:38.410 doesn't come back before we get married. It was 00:05:38.410 --> 00:05:41.149 very selfish of her. But nonetheless, but you 00:05:41.149 --> 00:05:43.490 understand the experience. And of course, we 00:05:43.490 --> 00:05:45.850 should always live in the light that we know 00:05:45.850 --> 00:05:49.680 the sun will shine tomorrow. But Jesus' return 00:05:49.680 --> 00:05:52.800 is more certain than the sun rising tomorrow. 00:05:54.220 --> 00:05:56.019 But there was those who had died and there was 00:05:56.019 --> 00:05:58.819 obviously some uncertainty, a letter had come 00:05:58.819 --> 00:06:02.740 back from the Thessalonians to Paul. And so he 00:06:02.740 --> 00:06:05.980 writes this particularly with regard to the question 00:06:05.980 --> 00:06:08.680 of death and how I thought this was a great opportunity 00:06:08.680 --> 00:06:13.040 for us as Northern Hope to understand what happens 00:06:13.040 --> 00:06:16.660 when you die. It's one of those questions that 00:06:16.660 --> 00:06:20.100 you sort of think, we always went, well, what 00:06:20.100 --> 00:06:23.000 happens when, if you go to a funeral and you 00:06:23.000 --> 00:06:26.040 see the casket there? In America, of course, 00:06:26.040 --> 00:06:28.920 they have open caskets, which is not our custom 00:06:28.920 --> 00:06:31.459 in Australia, for which I think I'm pleased. 00:06:31.920 --> 00:06:35.240 And I remember a family was going and they'd 00:06:35.240 --> 00:06:37.540 have a viewing of the casket before the actual 00:06:37.540 --> 00:06:41.360 funeral. And it was a grandmother and the granddaughter 00:06:41.360 --> 00:06:45.050 who was about six or seven. came along and her 00:06:45.050 --> 00:06:47.610 parents encouraged her to say goodbye to grandma. 00:06:48.410 --> 00:06:51.029 And she stood up or was held up because she was 00:06:51.029 --> 00:06:53.689 small, looked in the coffin and there she saw 00:06:53.689 --> 00:06:56.829 a lifeless corpse. And she said to her mother, 00:06:57.209 --> 00:06:59.670 that's not grandma, that's not the grandma that 00:06:59.670 --> 00:07:04.629 I know. She was alive and full of life and there 00:07:04.629 --> 00:07:07.089 that sense in which there was something missing 00:07:07.089 --> 00:07:11.720 in that corpse. because even the very word corpse 00:07:11.720 --> 00:07:15.579 is such a cold, dark, sort of ugly kind of word, 00:07:15.620 --> 00:07:19.360 isn't it, really? It's a lifeless body. When 00:07:19.360 --> 00:07:23.920 God created Adam and Eve, he created them as 00:07:23.920 --> 00:07:28.680 body and soul. There are two aspects to our lives. 00:07:30.199 --> 00:07:36.339 The Greeks had a dualism of body versus soul. 00:07:37.279 --> 00:07:40.790 So Plato would say, The body is just a prison 00:07:40.790 --> 00:07:43.829 house for the soul to be released from and the 00:07:43.829 --> 00:07:46.709 body is of no importance. But the Bible makes 00:07:46.709 --> 00:07:50.110 it very clear the body is important and is part 00:07:50.110 --> 00:07:55.269 of the image of God. It's not a dualism but a 00:07:55.269 --> 00:07:59.170 duality. Remember Jesus' words to the Jews of 00:07:59.170 --> 00:08:03.209 his days, fear not him who can kill the body 00:08:03.209 --> 00:08:07.939 but not the soul. But fear Him who can cast both 00:08:07.939 --> 00:08:12.540 body and soul into hell. I remember when I was 00:08:12.540 --> 00:08:14.000 young, I thought, oh, that must be the devil 00:08:14.000 --> 00:08:16.220 we should fear. But of course, Jesus is talking 00:08:16.220 --> 00:08:20.120 about His heavenly Father. Fear Him who has judgment 00:08:20.120 --> 00:08:24.100 in His hands. We don't fear Satan who can kill 00:08:24.100 --> 00:08:27.220 the body or humans who can kill the body. Death 00:08:27.220 --> 00:08:33.000 actually is not the end for us. But death. everlasting 00:08:33.000 --> 00:08:35.379 death, the second death as the book of Revelation 00:08:35.379 --> 00:08:38.200 describes it, that is something to be feared 00:08:38.200 --> 00:08:41.799 when body and soul are cast into everlasting 00:08:41.799 --> 00:08:46.039 damnation. So body and soul are actually there. 00:08:46.460 --> 00:08:49.960 Now listen to the words again if I can repeat 00:08:49.960 --> 00:08:53.279 them though they were read to us so well. Verse 00:08:53.279 --> 00:08:58.440 14, for we believe that Jesus died and rose again. 00:08:59.370 --> 00:09:03.110 And so we believe that God will bring with Jesus 00:09:03.110 --> 00:09:07.669 those who have fallen asleep in him. Notice the 00:09:07.669 --> 00:09:12.870 ground of Paul's hope. It's Jesus' resurrection 00:09:12.870 --> 00:09:17.570 from the dead. He's the first person to be raised 00:09:17.570 --> 00:09:22.889 from the dead, raised incorruptible, raised never 00:09:22.889 --> 00:09:25.759 to die again. Now, of course, you know that in 00:09:25.759 --> 00:09:28.059 Jesus' ministry, he did raise people from the 00:09:28.059 --> 00:09:30.519 dead, Lazarus, for example, and the widow of 00:09:30.519 --> 00:09:35.860 Nain's son. But of course, the raising of Lazarus 00:09:35.860 --> 00:09:41.620 was back into this life, only to die again. I 00:09:41.620 --> 00:09:43.679 always felt sorry for Lazarus' family to have 00:09:43.679 --> 00:09:45.480 two funeral costs. Have you ever thought about 00:09:45.480 --> 00:09:49.919 that? And to think possibly at his second funeral, 00:09:50.080 --> 00:09:54.000 do you think he might rise again? but if Martha 00:09:54.000 --> 00:09:56.200 or Mary were there, yes, he will rise again, 00:09:56.360 --> 00:09:58.580 but at the day of resurrection. The very words 00:09:58.580 --> 00:10:02.159 she spoke to Jesus. And Jesus gave a foretaste 00:10:02.159 --> 00:10:07.279 of that. It was in a sense, It wasn't a resuscitation 00:10:07.279 --> 00:10:09.720 because Lazarus was truly dead for four days, 00:10:09.720 --> 00:10:12.639 as we know, but it was a resurrection back into 00:10:12.639 --> 00:10:15.320 this life. It was a revivication, if you like, 00:10:15.379 --> 00:10:17.679 a better word than resurrection. If we use the 00:10:17.679 --> 00:10:20.919 word resurrection to be breaking the bonds of 00:10:20.919 --> 00:10:26.080 this earthly coil, so we might live in resurrection 00:10:26.080 --> 00:10:32.039 glory with new bodies, with changed bodies. That's 00:10:32.039 --> 00:10:34.899 the hope that God holds out for us. Isn't it 00:10:34.899 --> 00:10:37.039 wonderful? I mean, if you look at your neighbor, 00:10:37.419 --> 00:10:38.980 or perhaps if they look at you, they can see 00:10:38.980 --> 00:10:41.159 those wrinkles in the face and those crow's feet 00:10:41.159 --> 00:10:45.179 and that graying hair. And yes, our bodies are 00:10:45.179 --> 00:10:47.740 aging, aren't they? We see these young people. 00:10:48.279 --> 00:10:50.220 Wouldn't it be great to be young again, but to 00:10:50.220 --> 00:10:53.620 have all the wisdom of older age. That's what 00:10:53.620 --> 00:10:56.419 we'd really like. But resurrection bodies, our 00:10:56.419 --> 00:10:58.519 bodies are going to be perfected and resurrected 00:10:58.519 --> 00:11:01.710 like Jesus' body. It doesn't yet appear what 00:11:01.710 --> 00:11:04.690 we shall be like, but we know we shall be like 00:11:04.690 --> 00:11:08.350 him. But notice the way in which Paul expresses 00:11:08.350 --> 00:11:12.809 this. He says because of Jesus' resurrection, 00:11:15.710 --> 00:11:19.850 God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen 00:11:19.850 --> 00:11:23.809 asleep in him. In other words, Jesus is going 00:11:23.809 --> 00:11:27.549 to bring with him all the saints who have died. 00:11:28.710 --> 00:11:31.549 all those who have put their trust in Jesus, 00:11:32.110 --> 00:11:34.830 all those who have known God's mercy and forgiveness 00:11:34.830 --> 00:11:38.309 and repented of their sins and become members 00:11:38.309 --> 00:11:41.730 of his family. But he then goes on in verse 15, 00:11:42.070 --> 00:11:45.570 according to the Lord's word, we tell you that 00:11:45.570 --> 00:11:50.610 we who are still alive and left until the coming 00:11:50.610 --> 00:11:54.990 of the Lord, we will certainly not precede those 00:11:54.990 --> 00:11:58.850 who have fallen asleep. What does that mean? 00:11:59.509 --> 00:12:03.450 How can we proceed if Jesus is gonna bring with 00:12:03.450 --> 00:12:06.230 him those who have fallen asleep? For the Lord 00:12:06.230 --> 00:12:09.649 himself will come down from heaven with a loud 00:12:09.649 --> 00:12:13.169 command, with the voice of the archangel and 00:12:13.169 --> 00:12:16.350 with the trumpet call of God and the dead in 00:12:16.350 --> 00:12:21.250 Christ will rise first. So here's the conundrum 00:12:21.250 --> 00:12:24.259 as you read this passage. How is it that Jesus 00:12:24.259 --> 00:12:26.320 is bringing with him those who have fallen asleep 00:12:26.320 --> 00:12:29.379 but the dead in Christ rise first and we who 00:12:29.379 --> 00:12:32.500 are left on earth we will then meet the Lord 00:12:32.500 --> 00:12:35.919 in the air and be forever with the Lord? Well 00:12:35.919 --> 00:12:39.139 of course the best way to understand that is 00:12:39.139 --> 00:12:42.519 that Jesus is bringing the souls of those who 00:12:42.519 --> 00:12:47.080 have died. Their bodies are in the grave. So 00:12:47.080 --> 00:12:50.399 the resurrection will take place at that last 00:12:50.399 --> 00:12:55.450 day when body and soul are reunited but with 00:12:55.450 --> 00:12:59.769 resurrection body. Whatever body goes into the 00:12:59.769 --> 00:13:02.990 ground where it's consumed, ashes to ashes, dust 00:13:02.990 --> 00:13:07.309 to dust, whether in cremation with ashes or whether 00:13:07.309 --> 00:13:12.210 in a body buried in the ground, that body will 00:13:12.210 --> 00:13:17.279 decay. and waste away, but God in his mercy is 00:13:17.279 --> 00:13:21.620 going to revive that body, resurrect that body, 00:13:22.080 --> 00:13:26.960 and bring new life into it. Like in Ezekiel's 00:13:26.960 --> 00:13:29.659 vision of the valley of dry bones, where the 00:13:29.659 --> 00:13:34.259 bones are stood up and flesh were added to the 00:13:34.259 --> 00:13:38.259 bones, and a whole army of God's people arose 00:13:38.259 --> 00:13:41.159 from the dead. That picture of the resurrection 00:13:41.159 --> 00:13:45.080 of Israel as the nation of God has its application 00:13:45.080 --> 00:13:48.639 towards us too. Some people have found this difficult 00:13:48.639 --> 00:13:52.320 to understand because as one philosopher said, 00:13:52.700 --> 00:13:56.980 well if the souls are in heaven, how can they 00:13:56.980 --> 00:14:00.679 speak? Because their bodies are the organ for 00:14:00.679 --> 00:14:03.870 speech. I remember I read a philosopher once 00:14:03.870 --> 00:14:05.809 when I was in university. He said, oh, people 00:14:05.809 --> 00:14:07.929 often have these visions of being in the hospital 00:14:07.929 --> 00:14:10.629 bed and then their spirit rises up and they look 00:14:10.629 --> 00:14:12.769 down and see their body. And the philosopher 00:14:12.769 --> 00:14:15.450 said, their eyes are in their body. He said, 00:14:15.470 --> 00:14:16.950 what are they looking with if they're in their 00:14:16.950 --> 00:14:20.090 souls? Well, it's interesting. In the Book of 00:14:20.090 --> 00:14:25.690 Revelation, there's a passage there where the 00:14:25.690 --> 00:14:29.289 saints, the souls of those who've died cry out, 00:14:29.730 --> 00:14:35.049 how long, oh Lord? How long oh Lord and that 00:14:35.049 --> 00:14:39.450 in Revelation 6 that tells you a couple of things 00:14:39.450 --> 00:14:46.009 It tells you that heaven is temporal Time still 00:14:46.009 --> 00:14:48.889 continues in heaven because you can't say how 00:14:48.889 --> 00:14:52.629 long oh Lord Unless you're in time only God's 00:14:52.629 --> 00:14:55.629 outside of time. We will always be time bound 00:14:55.629 --> 00:15:01.600 as created beings God is timeless He knows the 00:15:01.600 --> 00:15:04.759 end from the beginning, but we're always in time. 00:15:05.379 --> 00:15:06.919 Now, to the answer to the question, well, how 00:15:06.919 --> 00:15:11.440 can souls cry out? How long, O Lord? My answer 00:15:11.440 --> 00:15:14.000 is simple, in the same way in which God, the 00:15:14.000 --> 00:15:18.720 Father, who has nobody, can speak. He's got it 00:15:18.720 --> 00:15:21.940 solved. We don't need to worry about that philosophical 00:15:21.940 --> 00:15:25.039 conundrum. If God can do it, he can allow his 00:15:25.039 --> 00:15:28.539 souls to do it. Remember the very first aspect 00:15:28.539 --> 00:15:32.179 of God we know of is that God spoke, let there 00:15:32.179 --> 00:15:36.480 be light. Well, he's got power over voice control 00:15:36.480 --> 00:15:40.919 and a voice box and all the rest of it. And so 00:15:40.919 --> 00:15:43.080 these souls, but why are they crying out, how 00:15:43.080 --> 00:15:45.679 long, oh Lord? They're crying out, how long, 00:15:45.700 --> 00:15:50.240 oh Lord? How long before you end this old earth 00:15:50.240 --> 00:15:52.820 and bring in the new heavens, the new earth? 00:15:53.419 --> 00:15:56.120 How long before we get our resurrection bodies? 00:15:56.490 --> 00:15:59.950 How long before we see justice upon the earth? 00:16:01.129 --> 00:16:03.649 Because the prayers are going up of the saints 00:16:03.649 --> 00:16:06.830 in heaven like incense before the throne of God. 00:16:08.169 --> 00:16:12.549 They're actually praying for us. God's people 00:16:12.549 --> 00:16:15.610 are one. And then you might remember the very 00:16:15.610 --> 00:16:19.450 last verse of Hebrews 11. where the writer of 00:16:19.450 --> 00:16:21.669 the Hebrews gives this catalog of all the people 00:16:21.669 --> 00:16:25.429 of faith from Adam right through the Old Testament 00:16:25.429 --> 00:16:29.269 saints. And he says, they were not made perfect 00:16:29.269 --> 00:16:32.590 because they're awaiting us. They'll only be 00:16:32.590 --> 00:16:35.750 made perfect when we join them. The perfection 00:16:35.750 --> 00:16:38.549 of the people of God is gonna come place at the 00:16:38.549 --> 00:16:43.110 last day. And you know, that's exactly, that 00:16:43.110 --> 00:16:46.690 separation of body and soul is exactly what Jesus 00:16:46.690 --> 00:16:52.960 experienced. When you celebrate Good Friday and 00:16:52.960 --> 00:16:58.639 Easter Eve, the Saturday, and then Easter Day, 00:16:58.919 --> 00:17:03.919 the Sunday, we know where Jesus is on Good Friday. 00:17:04.079 --> 00:17:07.240 He's on the cross, isn't he? We know where Jesus 00:17:07.240 --> 00:17:12.480 is on Easter Day. He's risen from the dead. Where 00:17:12.480 --> 00:17:17.819 is he Easter Eve? Where is he on the Saturday? 00:17:18.700 --> 00:17:24.720 Well, we know that his body's in the tomb, sealed 00:17:24.720 --> 00:17:30.500 with a stone. Soldiers taking place. Joseph Arimathea 00:17:30.500 --> 00:17:33.980 had been there and Nicodemus to actually help 00:17:33.980 --> 00:17:37.519 make sure it was secure. The women were coming 00:17:37.519 --> 00:17:40.700 with embalming ointments and things like that 00:17:40.700 --> 00:17:42.740 on the Sunday morning only to be surprised that 00:17:42.740 --> 00:17:47.920 the tomb was empty. But where was Jesus? on Easter 00:17:47.920 --> 00:17:53.359 Eve. His body was in the tomb, but his spirit 00:17:53.359 --> 00:17:56.880 was with his heavenly father. What were the last 00:17:56.880 --> 00:18:00.859 words of Jesus on the cross? Into your hands, 00:18:01.420 --> 00:18:05.400 I commend my spirit. Spirit and soul meaning 00:18:05.400 --> 00:18:08.019 the same thing, different perspectives. What 00:18:08.019 --> 00:18:11.240 did he say to the thief on the cross? Today, 00:18:11.980 --> 00:18:16.420 you'll be with me in paradise. But that thief's 00:18:16.420 --> 00:18:21.099 body was still in the ground or in the tomb wherever 00:18:21.099 --> 00:18:27.099 he was buried. His body was there. After the Day of 00:18:27.099 --> 00:18:29.579 Pentecost, they talk about the coming of the 00:18:29.579 --> 00:18:32.920 Messiah. The Messiah had to be David's son. And 00:18:32.920 --> 00:18:37.779 of course, Peter says, well, we've got King David's 00:18:37.779 --> 00:18:40.759 burial plot here in Jerusalem. His body's there. 00:18:41.240 --> 00:18:44.549 It's fit for corruption. but David's greatest 00:18:44.549 --> 00:18:48.089 son is going to overcome corruption and then 00:18:48.089 --> 00:18:50.430 all God's people will be raised from the dead. 00:18:51.269 --> 00:18:53.029 So if you look at it that way, have a look at 00:18:53.029 --> 00:18:56.170 these verses again you see. So in verse 14 we 00:18:56.170 --> 00:18:59.289 have, we believe that Jesus died and rose again 00:18:59.289 --> 00:19:02.529 and we believe that God will bring with Jesus 00:19:02.529 --> 00:19:06.289 those who have fallen asleep in him and that 00:19:06.289 --> 00:19:10.390 in him is very important because the souls of 00:19:10.390 --> 00:19:16.410 the saints are in Christ. Death does not separate 00:19:16.410 --> 00:19:19.750 us from Christ. Isn't that a wonderful thought? 00:19:20.910 --> 00:19:24.849 Death will not separate us from Christ. But according 00:19:24.849 --> 00:19:29.190 to the Lord's word, that we who are left alive, 00:19:29.230 --> 00:19:32.549 if Jesus was to come back today or tomorrow, 00:19:33.089 --> 00:19:36.849 then we would see Jesus bring the souls, then 00:19:36.849 --> 00:19:39.950 we'd see the dead rise in Christ, and then we 00:19:39.950 --> 00:19:43.089 would join him. So therefore he says, for the 00:19:43.089 --> 00:19:45.450 Lord himself will come down from heaven, verse 00:19:45.450 --> 00:19:48.869 16, with a loud command, with the voice of the 00:19:48.869 --> 00:19:51.630 archangel, with the trump of call of God, and 00:19:51.630 --> 00:19:55.309 the dead in Christ will rise first. And after 00:19:55.309 --> 00:19:59.730 that, we who are still alive and are left will 00:19:59.730 --> 00:20:03.410 be caught up together with them in the clouds 00:20:03.410 --> 00:20:08.450 to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be 00:20:08.450 --> 00:20:15.730 with the Lord. forever. Northern Hope. You're 00:20:15.730 --> 00:20:20.789 about giving hope to Australians or even foreigners 00:20:20.789 --> 00:20:25.309 who may be living in Cairns, to bring them into 00:20:25.309 --> 00:20:29.369 the hope that only the Lord Jesus can do. Only 00:20:29.369 --> 00:20:32.529 He has conquered death. Every other religion 00:20:32.529 --> 00:20:35.769 has all kinds of strange views about reincarnation 00:20:35.769 --> 00:20:39.210 or what happens after death, but none of them 00:20:39.210 --> 00:20:43.160 have that combination of body and soul, that 00:20:43.160 --> 00:20:46.099 sense of the unity that God created in the very 00:20:46.099 --> 00:20:50.480 beginning, that unity which reflects the image 00:20:50.480 --> 00:20:54.940 of God so that our bodies are important. That's 00:20:54.940 --> 00:20:58.000 why sexual sins are so important in the New Testament 00:20:58.000 --> 00:21:01.200 because don't just think you can be freelance 00:21:01.200 --> 00:21:05.740 with your bodies as if your soul is pure. No, 00:21:05.740 --> 00:21:09.150 it's body and soul which has made us. Remember 00:21:09.150 --> 00:21:12.430 when Paul writes to the Philippians and he says, 00:21:12.930 --> 00:21:15.230 I'd rather be away from the body and at home 00:21:15.230 --> 00:21:18.430 with the Lord? That sense in which he recognizes 00:21:18.430 --> 00:21:22.430 that separation, but he'd rather be further clothed, 00:21:22.430 --> 00:21:25.809 that is, to have that resurrection body. And 00:21:25.809 --> 00:21:28.329 the word further clothed is like a double, it's 00:21:28.329 --> 00:21:30.170 like a pullover. You know, we think of a jumper 00:21:30.170 --> 00:21:32.309 as like a pullover. You pull it over something, 00:21:32.690 --> 00:21:34.650 that body will be, that resurrection body will 00:21:34.650 --> 00:21:36.950 be pulled over, if you like, that naked soul. 00:21:37.099 --> 00:21:40.440 That's the glory for which the saints in heaven 00:21:40.440 --> 00:21:44.059 are now waiting. They continue to call out, how 00:21:44.059 --> 00:21:48.539 long, oh Lord? And they're waiting for us. They're 00:21:48.539 --> 00:21:52.220 waiting for us to join them. You've all seen 00:21:52.220 --> 00:21:55.059 the difference between the funeral of a non -Christian 00:21:55.059 --> 00:21:57.519 and the funeral of a Christian, haven't you? 00:21:58.240 --> 00:22:02.960 It's so palpable. It's so sad. Because those 00:22:02.960 --> 00:22:07.410 who die outside of Christ die without hope. But 00:22:07.410 --> 00:22:13.789 those who die in Christ die with hope. They're 00:22:13.789 --> 00:22:17.589 much far better off. It's we who are left behind, 00:22:17.789 --> 00:22:21.950 but we don't need to worry about that. So dear 00:22:21.950 --> 00:22:26.410 Monica, she's with the Lord. She is there. And 00:22:26.410 --> 00:22:28.789 all the other saints that you have put to rest, 00:22:29.269 --> 00:22:33.250 and you yourself, when the time comes, your hope 00:22:33.250 --> 00:22:38.430 is in Jesus. who alone has conquered death. Therefore, 00:22:38.569 --> 00:22:43.410 our trust in him is there. So what are Paul's 00:22:43.410 --> 00:22:47.970 last words? Therefore, encourage one another 00:22:47.970 --> 00:22:52.630 with these words. Where to encourage one another 00:22:52.630 --> 00:22:55.809 as we gather together week by week or in our 00:22:55.809 --> 00:22:58.869 growth groups as we seek to learn more of the 00:22:58.869 --> 00:23:02.150 Lord Jesus through his word. We encourage one 00:23:02.150 --> 00:23:06.359 another to say, yes, fear not. Death is not the 00:23:06.359 --> 00:23:10.799 end. It's just a new beginning and the resurrection 00:23:10.799 --> 00:23:14.720 that will bring even a whole new phase of God's 00:23:14.720 --> 00:23:17.839 recreated order with a new heavens and new earth 00:23:17.839 --> 00:23:23.019 where every tear we wiped away where death itself 00:23:23.019 --> 00:23:27.680 will be no more and all the agonies and pains 00:23:27.680 --> 00:23:32.380 and horrors of this world will disappear and 00:23:32.380 --> 00:23:35.700 we shall be in the presence of the Lord resurrection 00:23:35.700 --> 00:23:40.359 bodies forever. May God strengthen us with that 00:23:40.359 --> 00:23:43.660 hope. May He encourage one another with these 00:23:43.660 --> 00:23:47.920 words and may we invite others to join us in 00:23:47.920 --> 00:23:53.359 that hope for Jesus sake. Let's pray. Father 00:23:53.359 --> 00:23:56.920 God we thank you for your word, for the certainty 00:23:56.920 --> 00:24:01.299 of the word that breaks the fears of death and 00:24:01.299 --> 00:24:04.160 gives us that wonderful encouragement that you 00:24:04.160 --> 00:24:07.440 are sovereign over life and death, and that you'll 00:24:07.440 --> 00:24:11.099 bring us one day before your presence, and one 00:24:11.099 --> 00:24:14.259 day in your mercies and in your timing, you'll 00:24:14.259 --> 00:24:17.000 give us those resurrection bodies which we'll 00:24:17.000 --> 00:24:19.740 share with the Lord Jesus, and so be able to 00:24:19.740 --> 00:24:23.160 serve you forever. And we ask this in his name. 00:24:24.039 --> 00:24:24.299 Amen.