I wish I could answer all of your questions.
But if I were able to answer all of your questions,
then I would be God. You must remember that I
have questions that I'm waiting to receive the
answer to. And it's just like that. Oh, sure.
you'd be amazed how many questions that i'm waiting
for the mastery himself to answer for me you
see i'm human too but that's where real faith
and trust and confidence comes in I think so
very often whenever we think of faith, we always
think of it in connection with the healing of
a physical body. Divine healing. Oh, that's such
a small part of faith. When I think of faith,
I think of faith in my relationship to Him. Guarding
his wisdom and his knowledge and his absolute
perfection. When I think about my faith, I always
think about my complete confidence. In his perfect
knowledge, even though I do not understand. His
perfect wisdom. If I have faith in the perfect
wisdom of my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, then
I'll never question anything he does. Never.
Never. Let me ask you, do you have that kind
of confidence in him? Do you have that kind of
faith in him? Do you have perfect faith and confidence
in his absolute judgment and wisdom? Then you'll
never go around bawling around and... Feeling
sorry for yourself and whining and saying, why
did he allow this to happen? Why did this happen
to me? Every time you ask that question, you
prove that you do not have complete trust and
confidence in his perfect wisdom and his perfect
judgment. Well, I just threw it in for good measure.
Because... We've been talking about... Well,
in fact, I started out yesterday to answer the
question that a lady from Long Beach asked. Will
we know our loved ones over there? And I just
got started when I looked up and... Pleasure,
it was time for me to leave your house. I never
had 30 minutes go so quickly in my life. I just
looked up. I couldn't believe my own eyes. I
thought for a minute there was something wrong
with the clock, but nothing has ever gone wrong
with this clock. So I knew it just had gone so
quickly because we were talking about something
that was most interesting to all of us because
it will affect... all of us. We're all involved.
And we're talking about the resurrection of the
physical body. And that's one thing. I don't
care who you are, whether you're rich or poor,
Jew or Gentile, regardless of your race, your
color, your nationality. If you are a part of
humanity, the very thing that I'm talking about
will affect you. You marvel not at this, Jesus
said, very clearly, very distinctly. For the
hour is coming in the which all that are in the
graves shall hear his voice and shall come forth.
They that have done good unto the resurrection
of life. They that have done evil unto the resurrection
of... Damnation. Some claim that the departure
of the soul and the spirit from the body is what
is meant by the resurrection. But that cannot
be so. For as we have seen, the dead are to arise
from their graves and only that can come out
of the grave that went into it. and the only
thing that is put into the grave is the body
i repeat all that goes into the grave is the
body and all that can come out of the grave is
the body then there are those who believe in
what they call the germ theory and this is what
they believe that in every human body there's
a living germ that is indestructible and though
the body turn to dust that living germ will exist
in the grave until after resurrection a new body
shall spring from it this theory explains how
the body may be eaten by animals destroyed by
Lime are grown to atoms, are mutilated by the
loss of limbs, and so on and so forth, and still
the life germ exists from which shall come the
resurrection body. And those who are advocates
of this theory claim that Paul teaches it in
1 Corinthians 15. 14th chapter, where he compares
the resurrection of the body with the plant that
comes up from the seed. Now watch something.
We know that the seed is different from the plant
that bore it, just as the acorn is different
from the oak tree. But the plant that springs
from the seed will be like... The plant that
bore it. And so the body that comes from the
indestructible life germ should be alike in kind
to the body that produced the germ. While the
resurrection body shall be alike in kind, it'll
be different in character. and possess different
qualities. This Paul declares when he says, all
flesh is not the same flesh, but there is one
kind of flesh of men, another flesh of beasts,
another fishes, another birds. And this is what
he's saying, the flesh of God's creatures is
adapted to their environment. Fish flesh cannot
fly in the air, nor bird flesh swim in the sea.
And so there are bodies that are terrestrial,
bodies that are celestial, and the human body
as it is now. as our bodies are constituted now,
could not exist in heaven. Our physical bodies
are not geared for heaven. This old physical
body of mine, even though I'm talking to you
right now, is not geared for heaven. There must
be a change. There's got to be a change. And
this change is brought about by the resurrection.
This is exactly what Paul is talking about when
he says, So also is the resurrection of the dead.
It is sown in corruption. It is raised in incorruption.
It is sown in dishonor. It is raised in glory.
It is sown in weakness. But it is raised in power.
It is sown a natural birth. body. It is raised
a spiritual body. This does not mean that it
will have no substance. We cannot conceive of
a body that is to have the faculties of the spirit
body not having form and substance. I believe
with every atom of my being that our spiritual
bodies, our resurrected bodies, will absolutely
have form and have substance. I believe there
will be bone. I believe that we will recognize
our loved ones. I believe with every atom of
my being that I'll recognize Papa and Papa will
know me. I'll recognize Mama and Mama will know
me. You'll never, All of the forces of this earth
could never change my mind on that. Now, I'll
tell you the reason why. Christ's resurrected
body is a sample of what ours is to be. And I
have read everything. I have studied everything
in the Word of God. regarding the body of Jesus
after His resurrection. For the Bible teaches
that our resurrected body shall be like unto
His. Therefore, if you and I know what His body
was like after His resurrection, then we'll know
what our bodies will be like. While it is true
that his body did not seek corruption, and he
rose in the same body that was laid in the grave,
while it was the same in identity, it was different
in character. All right? Let me read you a personal
word of God, as recorded in the 20th chapter
of John. This now, is after his death, his burial,
and his resurrection. And I'm beginning with
the 19th verse. Then the same day at evening,
being the first day of the week, when the doors
were shut, where the disciples were assembled
for fear of the Jews, came Jesus and stood in
the midst. and saith unto them peace be unto
you the doors were closed they were shut never
before had he appeared to them in this way before
his death burial and resurrection but suddenly
the doors being shut where the disciples were
assembled for fear of the jews i dare say they
had them locked but suddenly came jesus and stood
in the midst and saith unto them peace be unto
you He stood there. He's standing there in their
midst in bodily form. And when he had so said,
he showed unto them his hands and his side. Then
were the disciples glad when they saw the Lord.
They saw him. They rejoiced. They knew it was
the Lord. They recognized him. His body had flesh.
His body had bone. It had form. It had shape.
There he stands in their midst. and jesus said
unto them peace be unto you as my father hath
sent me even so send i you and when he had said
this he breathed on them saith unto them receive
ye the holy ghost oh you know the rest of it
but there was one thomas one of the twelve who
was not with them when Jesus came. And the other
disciples therefore said unto him, We've seen
the Lord. They knew him. They recognized him.
We have seen the Lord. But he said unto them,
Except I see in his hands the print of the nails,
and put my finger into the print of the nails.
and thrust my hand into his side i will not believe
i've got to be sure i can't just take your word
for it and after eight days again his disciples
were with him and thomas with them then came
jesus the doors being shut and stood in the midst
and said unto them peace be unto you then saith
he to thomas reach thither thy finger behold
my hands reach hither thy hand thrust thee into
my side be not faithless but believing And Thomas
answered and said unto him, My Lord and my God.
And Jesus saith unto him, Thomas, because thou
hast seen me, thou hast believed. But blessed
are they that have not seen, and yet. have believed.
He was talking about us, about you and me. They
saw him after his resurrection. They conversed
with him. They ate with him. They partook of
the fish. Sure. Sure, Thomas. Thou hast seen
me, and thou hast believed. But looking down
through the telescope of time, he thought about
you and he thought about me, those of us who
did not look upon those nail -pierced hands.
who have not seen him in bodily form. Blessed,
Jesus said, all they that have not seen and yet
have believed. Going back to the physical body
of Jesus after his resurrection, I still contend
that his resurrection body was a sample of what
ours is to be like after our bodies are resurrected.
While the nail prints and the spear wound were
visible, it could pass through closed doors.
It could appear and disappear at will. It had
flesh. It had bones. Read it. The 24th chapter
of Luke. The 39th verse. But not blood. There
was no blood in that resurrected body. For flesh
and blood cannot enter the kingdom of God. For
blood is that which causes corruption. To preserve
a body, it must be drained of blood. Are the
blood chemically preserved by an embalming fluid?
As the sacrifice was to be bled, so Jesus left
his blood on the earth. Our resurrected bodies
will have visible form and shape. I believe that.
It stands to reason that our physical bodies,
after its resurrection, will have a framework
of flesh and of bones. It will be the flesh and
bones adapted to its new environment. And it's
just like that. Go back again to that wonderful
verse of scripture. The first chapter of Acts.
It was not a spirit that they beheld. It was
a body that was visible to the eye. Those last
moments before the feet of Jesus left this old
earth. and when he had spoken these things while
they beheld he was taken up and the cloud received
him out of their sight and while they looked
steadfastly toward heaven as he went up behold
two men stood by them in white apparel which
said unto them Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye
gazing up into heaven? This same Jesus. Oh, I
love those three words. This same Jesus. The
same Jesus who challenged Thomas. The same...
Jesus with the print of the nails in his hand,
the wound in his side, the same Jesus whose physical
body came through doors that remained locked
and closed. This same Jesus was taken up from
you into heaven, shall so come in like manner
as ye have seen him go into heaven. in bodily
form. And our bodies, our resurrected bodies,
will be like unto His body. As He was recognized,
so will we be recognized by our loved ones. God
bless you.