We have been having a wonderful time together
in these heart -to -heart talks regarding the
resurrection. And those of you who have been
following me in these broadcasts, remember that
I made a very definite statement that the Word
of God teaches three kinds of resurrections.
The first, a national resurrection. which refers
to Israel. Then the spiritual resurrection. And
that was the resurrection that we discussed in
our little heart -to -heart talk the last time
I was in your home. That resurrection that happens
every day in somebody's life happens to that
one who accepts Jesus Christ as his Savior. that
spiritual resurrection here and now. Oh, that
resurrection is marvelous. And that was the resurrection
that is referred to in the fifth chapter of John
when Jesus himself said, Verily, verily, I say
unto you, He that heareth my word and believeth
on him that sent me hath... Everlasting life.
That means here and now. You don't wait to receive
your everlasting life after the grave. No. Hath
now. The very moment that you accept Christ as
your Savior. Hath everlasting life that instant.
And shall not. come into condemnation, but is
passed from death unto life. Oh, isn't that glorious?
Every person who's been regenerated, every person
who's had that born -again experience, whether
they be Jew or Gentile, whether they be Catholic
or Protestant, whoever that one is, Every born
-again person has had a spiritual resurrection
and hath passed from death unto life. Every time
a soul is born again, there is a passing from
death unto life, a spiritual resurrection. Now
then, having finished, the national resurrection
regarding Israel, having finished the spiritual
resurrection, which concerns the passing from
death unto life, we are going now into the material
resurrection. And I shall begin my next heart
-to -heart talk And exactly the very place where
I will have to leave you today. Now, see something.
When we come to this spiritual resurrection,
this is regarding the dead body. Now, the spirit
of man does not die. Do not think for one split
second that the spirit or the soul of any man
dies. It does not. At no time does the spirit
die. When death comes to the body, the spirit
goes back to God who gave it. If right now, even
while I'm speaking to you, this split second,
my whole heart would take its last beat. In that
split second, As I'm sitting here on this chair
before this microphone speaking to you, my body
would topple from the chair and probably fall
to the floor. But in that split second, quicker
than you can blink your eye, my soul and my spirit
would leave the body and would go back to God
who gave it. In other words, Two -thirds of me
would go, and only one -third would remain. That's
all. For man is the trinity, body, soul, and
spirit. The body goes back to the earth from
whence it came. For man is a strange combination
of the temporal and the eternal. The body is
the temporal, but the soul and the spirit is
eternal. Forever and forever and forever. And
death never touches the spirit. It never touches
the soul of man. You'd be amazed how many letters
I receive regarding cremation. And I somehow
have a feeling that when these folk write to
me and speak of cremation, I often wonder if
because of their insecurity, because of the fear
of what may happen after death, they want their
body to be cremated, to be dead sure, as sure
as is humanly possible, that they are absolutely
dead when they die, and that is the end of all
things. There is no such thing as annihilation
when it comes to the soul and the spirit of man.
Your body can be cremated. Your body can return
to ashes. And a physical body will return to
the dust of the earth from whence it came. But
no fire, no water, no power. will ever be able
to destroy the soul and the spirit. For when
death comes to the body, the soul and the spirit
returns to God, goes back to God who gave it.
Before I go deeper into this discussion regarding
the resurrection of the body, I must make this
very clear. And you must have a definite understanding
as to what happens when death comes. How often
I have seen folks stand before an open casket
and weep. Oh, beloved, I have done likewise.
We're human. Oh, beloved, how often I too have
stood there with the tears raining down my face.
But because of that glorious hope that you and
I have in the Lord, because of my confidence
in Him, I know that that one whose body is lying
in the casket is not there. That's only the physical
body. That's all. That body will go back to the
earth. That body is only temporal. I'm not really
looking upon that one who's lying there in that
casket. Sure, I can recognize those features.
I recognize the body. But the real person is
not there. The soul and the person, that which
gives personality. That which makes you separate
and apart from everyone else, that which makes
you, you, is gone. It is not there. I shall never
forget when that became such a reality to my
heart. I'll never forget it. Sure, I had preached
on the resurrection. I had preached many a sermon
on the resurrection. There was never an Easter.
of what I had preached on the resurrection of
the body, but it never became real to me until
that day in that little Baptist church, Concordia,
Missouri, when the church was emptied and no
one was left but just Mama, my brother, my two
sisters. the mortician, the preacher. Just before
the lid was closed for the last time, I had an
experience that I have never had since, and it
was my first, when I reached over and laid my
hand on Papa's shoulder, the shoulder on which
I had laid my head. ever since childhood. And
that I laid my head on that shoulder I had told
him all my sorrows and all my troubles, all my
woes. On that shoulder I felt comfort. No matter
how terrific my toothache was or my earache,
no sweet oil in that ear ever did for that earache
what Papa's shoulder would do. No dentist ever
gave relief to a child's aching tooth that my
papa's shoulder would give to mine as I laid
my face on that shoulder. No one ever received
comfort from any human being as the comfort that
I have received by just laying my head on papa's
shoulder. In that moment, I laid my hand on that
shoulder. But in that split second, I knew that
was not Papa. Papa was not there. Sure that was
his body. Sure, the world said, that's Joe Kuhlman.
But my Papa. had left that body. My papa, the
spirit, the soul of my papa, had gone all the
way from earth to glory. As I stood there, that
open grave, and saw them partially lower that
casket in that little cemetery a mile and a quarter
from town, I knew that was only the shell. No
grave could hold my papa. No. When I lay those
wreaths of flowers on that grave, I know that
my papa is not there. He's very much alive. He's
living. My papa and my mama are together. Dead?
No. This isn't death. It's glory. It isn't grief.
It's having one's last tear wiped away. Oh, beloved,
it's the end to praying. It's speaking face to
face with loved ones. It's meeting loved ones
again. Beloved, it's the end of pleading. It's
the end of pain. It's the end of sorrow. We'll
not even have the memory of suffering. Beloved,
it's even the end of faith. I think of that so
often. In that moment, There'll no longer be
such a thing as faith. You and I live by faith
now. By faith, we must accept these things. By
faith, we see him. I love him. I've given my
life for him. But I have never seen him. I have
talked with him. I have known his glorious presence
more real to me than any human being that I have
ever met in my life. And yet, I have never seen
him. It's a life, it's a walk of faith. But in
that day when my old heart takes its last beat,
That day when they say death has come to the
preacher lady. I will have preached my last sermon
on faith. I will have taken that last step of
faith. I will no longer even speak the word faith.
For that which has been faith all of my life
will have become death. A reality. Oh, to me,
that's marvelous. That's real. That's that glorious
resurrection. That's what it's all about. And
then in that moment, remember something. My redemption
will have been perfected. But you see, Miss Kuhlman,
you're born again. You're a Christian now. I
know. I know. But my redemption will not be perfected
until that day when I stand in His glorious presence.
That day when it is no longer a life, a walk
of faith. That day. When I see Him face to face,
in that moment, my redemption will have been
perfected. Again, I say, I wouldn't exchange
that glorious hope and that truth for a title
deed to the whole world. God bless you.