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whenever i approach the subject of the resurrection

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as though god were somehow saying take off thy

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shoes from off thy feet for the ground whereon

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thou standest is holy ground and i bow with uncovered

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head in the presence of a subject that is so

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wrapped round about with such divine glory, such

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majesty, something that is so solemn, so soul

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-moving that the greatest minds that the world

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has ever known has never been able to fathom

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it. its full depth. The glorious resurrection

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of the very Son of the living God. And remember,

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everything hinges on the personal resurrection

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of Jesus Christ. For the Bible says, if Christ

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be not risen, then is our preaching vain, and

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your faith is vain. But believe me, beloved,

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I give you the fact upon the authority of God's

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word. Jesus did come forth from out of that tomb.

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God did raise him from the dead. All we want

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to know today is why did God raise him? For what

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purpose? What was the reason? Consider with me

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the first. He did it to make good the word of

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his blessed son. Jesus said that he would come

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forth again. If they crucified him, he would

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come forth alive. He would be raised from the

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dead. And God had to raise him from the dead

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to make good the word. of His precious Son, and

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to establish once and for all, and beyond all

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doubt, to establish the truth of His glorious

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divinity. Read it in Romans, the first chapter,

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the fourth verse. Christ was declared to be the

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Son of God with power by the resurrection from

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the dead. If, as the English poet says, the Syrian

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stars look down every night upon his grave, how

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are you going to explain his repeated claim that

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he would rise on the third day except that he

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was a liar or a lunatic? If Jesus had not been

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raised from the dead, he would have been a liar.

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He would have been considered a lunatic. hub

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to raise him from the dead, to make good his

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precious word. He asked the Jews why they were

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stoning him. And they replied, Because you being

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a man claim to be God, and you're a blasphemer.

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He did claim it. And if he was in his right mind,

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it was either so, or it was the very rankest

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of all blasphemy. And Jesus said He would prove

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it by His resurrection. And God had to raise

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Him to make good His Word and so prove Him to

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be exactly what He claimed that He was, the very

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Son of the living God. And His resurrection proved

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that beyond a shade of a doubt. Secondly, He

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did it to furnish every believer the God -given

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assurance that that believer is justified in

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Christ Jesus. That's what the word means when

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it says in the fourth chapter of Romans that

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Jesus was raised for our justification, your

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justification, and my justification. You know,

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Jesus said, He came to offer his life as a ransom

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for many. That he would die to make atonement,

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and he did. But if God had not raised him from

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the dead, we never would have known that the

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atonement was accepted. And so, he was raised

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for our justification. And it doesn't make any

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difference how much you have sinned in the past.

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You may have broken every commandment. You may

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have broken every law. You may be the greatest

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sinner in the whole world this very hour. God

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will count you righteous for Christ's sake if

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you want him to. But there's no way to escape

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the damnation of hell. If you turn your back

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on Jesus Christ, for your justification must

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be in Jesus Christ, the very Son of the living

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God. There is no other justification. There is

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no other forgiveness for your sin. Therefore,

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God had to raise Jesus from the dead to furnish

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every believer the God -given assurance that

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He is justified in Christ Jesus. Let's go a little

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further. He did it to let men know that there

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isn't any doubt about the judgment to come. It

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was Paul who wrote, God hath appointed a day

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in which he will judge the world in righteousness

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by Christ Jesus, whereof he hath given assurance

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unto all men, in that he hath raised him from

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the dead. had to raise Jesus from the dead to

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let men know that there isn't any doubt whatsoever

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about the judgment to come. You know, Jesus said

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the hour was coming when the dead would hear

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his voice and rise. They that had done good unto

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the resurrection of life and they that had done

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evil unto the resurrection of judgment. Ah, they

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laughed. They called him a fool. And God put

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his own seal on the claim by raising his son

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from the dead. There's nothing more certain in

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God's universe today than that there is is a

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judgment day ahead. That is one reason why God

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had to raise His Son from the dead to do away

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with all doubt in the minds of any human being

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about the judgment to come. Let's go one step

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further. He did it so that everyone united to

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Christ Jesus by faith may know that they also

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are going to be raised from the dead. Oh, to

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me, that's thrilling. Easter means something

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that's glorious. I cannot begin to tell you what

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I feel this very hour. I wouldn't exchange what

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I have in my heart this moment for a title deed

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to the whole world. I mean that. I know beyond

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a shade of a doubt that because Christ was raised

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from the dead, that I too shall live one day

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beyond the grave. The grave is not the end. The

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death of this old physical body is not the end.

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When my old heart will take its last beat, that

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will not be the end. It's only the end of chapter

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one. The rest of the book is written beyond the

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grave. My future is bright. My future is glorious.

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The future of God's children living today is

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marvelous. And believe me when I tell you, in

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this day, the only person living who has a glorious

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future, who has a bright future, is the man or

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the woman who is God's child who has had that

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new birth experience. Do you remember what Paul

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said regarding the resurrection? Christ the first

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fruits. Afterwards, they that are Christ at his

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coming. Do you want to know something? Everything

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depends on the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

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Everything. That's the cornerstone upon which

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the whole superstructure of Christianity rises.

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Undermine it and the whole business drops. The

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bottom just falls out. It's the keystone of the

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arch. Knock it out and the whole thing falls

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with a crash. And it's just like that. If Jesus

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Christ did not rise from the dead, how do I know

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that he is the way, the truth, and the life?

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How do I know that he that believeth on the Lord

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Jesus Christ shall be saved? How do I know that

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the blood of Jesus Christ cleanseth from all

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sin? How do I know? that he has gone to prepare

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a place for me and that he will come again and

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receive me unto himself. How do I know that death

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has lost its sting and the grave has been swallowed

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up in victory? How do I know that the Spirit

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of God who raised Jesus Christ from the dead

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shall also quicken my mortal body? How do I know?

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that when he shall appear I shall be like him.

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How do I know that the sufferings of this present

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time are not worthy to be compared with the glory

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which shall be revealed in me? How do that the

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promises of this book are worth any more than

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the ink that it took to print them or the paper

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that it takes to hold them. If Jesus Christ did

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not rise from the dead, then I have nothing to

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do but to take a chisel and a hammer and go out

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to the grave of my loved ones and chisel away

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the beautiful words, I am the resurrection and

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the life. and cut in their place the cold, icy,

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and heartbreaking words, I do not know. I have

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no way to tell. If Christ be not risen, Paul

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says, our preaching is in vain, and your faith

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is vain also. And of all men are we most miserable.

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he did rise they sealed his tomb but it couldn't

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hold him he lay there cold and dead in the grave

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all earth had given up hope but all heaven knew

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better i think gabriel must have said to the

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great celestial choir hold your breath a minute

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now just a minute you'll need it And as the minutes

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of the world's mightiest miracle ticked off,

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the breath of God swept through the sleeping

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clay, and like a flash of light, his glorious

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sun was on his feet again, while heaven's angelic

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choir rose tear upon tear and row upon row and

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shouted, Hallelujah! Hallelujah! Christ is risen.

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The Son of God is alive.