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[0:00] Thank you for choosing to listen to today's message by Reverend Dr. David Etrie. We know you will be blessed as you seek and serve God. We believe that this message will stir up a desire for more of God even as you listen.

[0:13] Be blessed. This is Easter. And Thursday I spoke about how there were many people who were crucified on the cross.

[0:40] In the days of Jesus. And in those times, that era, the normal mood of execution by the Romans is crucifixion.

[1:00] It started with the Persians, but the Romans took it to another level. And crucifixion was and is believed to be the most cruel form of punishment or execution man has ever known.

[1:21] So, to die by crucifixion means the worst death you can ever be given by man.

[1:39] And, but Jesus was not the only one who died on the cross. I told a story about an evangelist who knocked on doors to preach.

[1:55] So, he went to knock on a gentleman's door to preach. And when the gentleman opened the door, he said, can I come?

[2:06] He said, yeah, step in. And he said, do you have a moment? I want to talk to you about Jesus. Jesus, the man's response was, I am not religious.

[2:17] Then the evangelist said, but who has mentioned religion? Then he said, okay, I am not interested in church. I don't do church. He said, but who has mentioned church? I don't think you listened to what I said.

[2:31] You didn't hear what I said. Did you? He said, okay, what did you say? He said, okay, let's start the process again. I'm going to go out. You shut the door. I'll stand behind the door.

[2:42] I will knock again. Then when you open, we'll start again. So, he said, okay. So, he went back. He shut the door. He knocked the door. He opened. He said, now, listen to me very carefully.

[2:55] Do you have a moment to spare? I want to talk to you about Jesus. He said, well, I'm still not interested. Whatever you say, I'm not interested in Jesus. He said, really? Are you telling me you are not interested in talking about the most famous person who ever lived?

[3:13] Throughout history, the most famous person. You are not interested? He said, is it not just about, then the man says, is it not just about his cross and death? He said, yeah, but have you considered that he wasn't the only one who died on the cross?

[3:25] Many, thousands of people died on the cross. In fact, historians estimate that around the time of Jesus during the Roman power, Roman rule, over 30,000 people died on the cross.

[3:40] Can you mention one of them? Oh, no. Do you know anyone who died on the cross? No. So what is it about this man's death, if it was an ordinary death, cross death?

[3:54] What is it about his death that makes his death so unique that all of history remembers that death? Then the man said, okay, can you sit down?

[4:08] Let's talk then. The death of Christ is not an ordinary death. But yesterday in my submission, I like it so much, I just want to repeat it.

[4:23] Is it okay? Let me just repeat it, and then I go to today's main. Because we didn't have Easter Friday service, I would have taught that. You would not appreciate or understand the cross.

[4:38] All right. You will not appreciate the cross until you understand that God is a God of love. Let me calm down and say this because it's good.

[4:50] God is a God of love. God is a God of love. But not only a God of love. And you understand that God is a God of love. Yeah. Wow. Most people only understand God is a God of love.

[5:03] It's like a, yesterday my illustration was, it's like a bye, bye, bicycle. Yeah. If you remove one of the ties, it's not going to work.

[5:14] It's something else. It's not a bicycle. You have two eyes. If you block one, you will see with the other one. Yes. So the law of God and the love of God is not like you can do without one.

[5:26] Like the way you can do without one of your eyes. All right. It is like a bicycle. You can't do without one tie and still have a bicycle. You can't do without the love of God and still have a comprehensive understanding of God.

[5:45] And neither can you do without the law of God and have an appropriate understanding of God. God is not only a way maker. He's a law maker.

[5:56] Those of us who are only thinking of God, make a way, make a way. We don't, most of the charismatic believers don't even give much regard to the law of God.

[6:08] As soon as he created man, as soon as he created man, he said, eat, don't eat. He introduced law. As soon as he created man, he said, do or don't and don't.

[6:23] He introduced law. And as soon as he formed his people, Israel, and he brought them out of Egypt, he gave them the law. What makes us think that God doesn't care about law?

[6:36] Let's look at it this way. Can you imagine that after church? Because today is Easter Sunday. The government decides that in London, all highway code and law be suspended for the rest of the day.

[6:53] How about that? You'll be walking on the pavement and someone will drive into you. And yet they haven't broken any law. You can't prosecute them. Because there's no law. Where there is more than one person, you need law.

[7:13] So God is a God of law. So why do we think that God, I mean, God is so loving, he shouldn't punish anybody.

[7:24] Are you ignorant of the fact that he's also a lawgiver? And so, because God is a God of love, we only think that he's full of pardon.

[7:38] But he's a lawmaker, which means, watch this. How about this? If the laws are still there, but there's no consequences in breaking the law.

[7:50] Johnny, little boy Johnny, don't pour the water on the carpet. Mommy, Johnny, I told you don't pour it next time. Okay. Little Johnny, don't pour the milk on the carpet.

[8:09] Oh, Johnny, don't do that. Little Johnny, I told you to do your assignment.

[8:19] They didn't do it. Go to school, nothing. Oh, don't worry. That's life. Johnny pours the milk, no consequence. Okay.

[8:30] He writes exam, doesn't prepare. He fails and still gets promoted. Or he still gets, go to the next class. And go to the next, pass through the system. Finishes school, doesn't have any qualification, and still will get some job.

[8:45] But only to realize that, gets to a place to realize that life will always demand of you something that you should have prepared to give. Yes. That's true. That's true. Strong.

[8:57] Very true. So, the point here is that, what is the essence of law that will not come with punishment if broken. No law.

[9:07] Yeah. Don't drive anyhow. Break the speed limit. The speed camera. Don't mind. Just drive. No ticket will come. Yeah. That's true. No law.

[9:17] No law. But God is a God of law. The consequences of human law is three. One. Punishment. Oh, sorry.

[9:29] Fine. Number two. Imprisonment or death. So, human beings will kill you depending on the nation and what you have done. They will execute you. Or they will imprison you.

[9:40] Or they will fine you. Once you break a law. These are one of three things that will happen. Fine, imprisonment, or death. How about God's law?

[9:51] I'm talking about social law has this three. God's law. It is not fine imprisonment and death. It's only one consequence. Death. That's it. So, God cannot pardon us.

[10:04] Abitrarily. Because he's a God of love. He's a God of justice. So, justice must be carried out. I spoke about a woman who went to court for offenses.

[10:18] And the judge said, I'm going to throw you into prison. And the woman said, please. My husband is dead. I have my children. They are not old. I'm the only one who can take care of them. Please, don't put me into prison.

[10:29] So, the judge gave her a serious big fine which there was no way in her life she could pay. Even if she used work her entire life to pay, she can't pay that fine. Because her offense was big.

[10:42] So, the judge said, I'm giving you a fine. And they gave her a big fine. And the woman broke down crying. And I knelt down and pleaded with the judge that, please. Please, I can't pay this and I can't go to prison because my children are young.

[10:57] I don't have a husband. My husband is dead. Please, have mercy. Have mercy. And the judge said, I'm not here as a person of love.

[11:07] I'm here to just enforce the law. So, you can't be pleading and asking me to show love. I'm supposed to show justice.

[11:19] Fine. Pay it. Big fine. After I gave her the fine, he took his own check, wrote the fine. So, he gave her a fine of $5,000, took a check, $5,000, gave it to the woman.

[11:31] Go and pay it. Wow. Thank you, Lord. If you ignore the law of God and only focus on the love of God, you will never understand the purpose of the cross.

[11:45] No. If God loves, why should he brutalize? No. God is so much a God of justice, he has to punish sin. I'll continue phase two.

[11:59] That's why Jesus died on the cross. But now, today, we are remembering, celebrating the resurrection of Christ.

[12:11] How important is it? I actually wanted to title my message, the greatest if of all times.

[12:24] If. I-F. If. If. If. What if my mother doesn't show up? What if? What if? The biggest of all ifs.

[12:35] The greatest if. Wow. Wow. In the book of Mark chapter 16.

[12:46] Thank you, Jesus. Thank you, Lord.

[12:57] Sometimes, there are a few things in the Bible. The theologians call it the synoptic gospels. When you are reading, like, the story we are about to read, it's all, it was all covered by the gospel writers.

[13:17] So, sometimes, you are not sure which one. Okay, should I read this account? Or should I read this account? Or should I read Matthew's account? Should I read Luke's account? Or should I read Mark's account? And some of it's one or two of them.

[13:31] John also spoke about it. But what I'm coming to read, you find it in Matthew and you find it in Luke as well. Actually, Matthew chapter 28 from verse 1, it talks about early morning, the first day of the week.

[13:45] Okay, it talks about after the Sabbath. Let's say after the Sabbath. After the Sabbath. Let's say after the Sabbath. After the Sabbath. Say after the Sabbath.

[13:56] After the Sabbath. After the Sabbath. The first day of the week. So, the week, first day of the week begins after the Sabbath. Do you know when the Sabbath ends?

[14:12] According to Jews. The Jewish tradition. Do you know when the Sabbath starts? Friday. Night. What do you mean? Friday. What time is Friday? Friday 6 p.m.

[14:25] So, according to Jewish calendar, the day does not start like the Roman calendar.

[14:37] The Roman calendar, the day starts at midnight. When you do insurance. It said it takes effect from midnight. Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, one. It starts.

[14:48] Okay. Okay. Whilst in the Jewish calendar, it doesn't start, oh, oh, oh, one. The day starts, um, one, eight, oh, one.

[15:00] So, from 6 p.m., you start at the next day. Why? In Genesis, Bible says that the evening and the morning was the first day. Right. So, amongst the Jews, it starts in the evening and ends the next day, 6 p.m. or 5.59.

[15:18] Does that make sense? Yes. So, when it says, after the Sabbath, the Sabbath day ends Saturday, 6 p.m. So, after Saturday, 6 p.m., the next day has started, actually.

[15:31] Time will not permit me to go into, I would have laughed, but maybe another time, to go into, Jesus died for how many days? Three days. Three days.

[15:42] He said, as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the whale, I will also be, how many days? Social, three days and three nights. But if he died on Friday and woke up Sunday morning in time for church service, how on earth can that constitute three days?

[16:00] I'm trying to suggest to somebody that possibly, probably, and definitely, he didn't die on Friday. How can you have three days from Friday to Sunday?

[16:17] Sunday morning. Early in the morning. Bible says, a great while before. Put you on the screen, please. Matthew chapter 28, verse 1.

[16:29] After the Sabbath, the first day of the week, sorry, as the first day of the week began to dawn, Mary Magdalene and then they. Luke chapter 24, verse 1.

[16:42] Luke chapter 24. Now, the first day of the week, very early in the morning, they and certain other women with them came to the tomb, bringing spices with them. Okay, so, so, you can see that the events we are talking about happened very early in the morning and one of the accounts, Mark, Mark chapter 16, that's where I started.

[17:07] Let's go to Mark 16, 1. Now, when the Sabbath was passed, Mary Magdalene, I like that, I like Mark. Now, when the Sabbath was passed, Mary Magdalene, mother of James and Salome, brought spices that they might come and anoint him.

[17:30] Very early in the morning, on the first day of the week, they came to the tomb when the son was, when the son had, they came to the tomb when the son had risen.

[17:42] And they said amongst themselves, who rolled away the stone from the door of the tomb for us? But when they looked up, they saw that the stone had been rolled away, for it was very large.

[17:56] And entering the tomb, they saw a young man clothed in a long white robe sitting on the side, on the right side. And they were alarmed, but he said to them, do not be alarmed.

[18:13] You seek Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He is risen. He is not here. Let's all say he's risen. He is risen. Say he's not here. He is not here.

[18:24] Say he's risen. He is risen. He's not here. He's not here. Listen. He is not in the tomb. The only man who died and you can't find him amongst the dead.

[18:43] He's not. He said, you are looking for Jesus of Nazareth who was crucified. He was crucified. But he's not here. Why look at Matthew chapter 8 verse 6, 28 verse 6.

[18:54] All of them verse 6 verse 6 verse 6. Very interesting. Matthew 28 verse 6 that, let's go to verse 5 and read it to verse 6. But the angel said to them, do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified.

[19:07] Verse 6. He is not here for his reason. As he said, come, see the place where he lay. He's not here. Luke chapter 24 verse 6. I like that.

[19:20] Luke chapter 24 verse 6 goes on to talk about, let's go to verse 5 again. Verse 5 again. As they were afraid and bowed their faces to the earth, they said to them, why do you, the angel said to the women, why do you seek the living amongst the dead?

[19:42] You are looking for a living person where the dead people are. Don't add him to Confucius. Don't add him to Mohammed. Don't add him to religious leaders.

[19:56] He is not in their league. He is not there. They are all dead. He is not with them. Why are you looking for the living amongst the dead? Don't classify him with the dead.

[20:08] Jesus cannot be classified with the dead. I'm going to show you something. The reason why I said the biggest if. The biggest if is, if Christ did not resurrect. What's the implication?

[20:19] That means that that is the biggest scam and fraud ever. If Christ did not resurrect. And people have been deceived into believing.

[20:30] I'm talking about millions of people. Millions have been deceived and still believe that he resurrected. That is the biggest scam and fraud of history.

[20:42] If he did not resurrect. And if he resurrected. What are the evidence? What proof that he did? Intellectuals.

[20:55] Thinkers. We want to ask for some evidence. Unfortunately. Watch this. Unfortunately or fortunately or divinely.

[21:08] Amongst. In the thinking of men. Unfortunately. That we cannot give a scientific. Evidence that Jesus resurrected.

[21:20] We can't give it. But. Unfortunately too. For the other side. They can't also give a scientific evidence. That he died. He's still dead. You can't produce a scientific evidence.

[21:34] That he's dead. By showing us his bones. And showing us his body. His dead body. You can't produce. And we can't also produce. A scientific evidence. That he's alive.

[21:45] By showing you his physical body. And we can't produce it. Because science depends on observations. So. For it to be scientific.

[21:57] It must be based on observation. Or experiment. In laboratory. That is repeatable. But if you can't have that. There must be somebody. See. There he rises.

[22:07] There he rises. There he's coming out of the tomb. Science was not there. Even the soldiers. Were so shaken. Bible says. They fell down as dead. They were so shocked. Soldiers. They were so shocked.

[22:18] What happened? There was an earthquake. They were so scared. They. They. They. They lost consciousness. Not that they fell. They lost consciousness. So they didn't even see what happened. God. If you were God.

[22:31] Won't you have let them. Do it at the time. Where they can do. Facebook. Life. Is it not interesting. That Jesus didn't come.

[22:41] In our generation. Where. Or in the generation. Where we could take pictures. Where we could do video. Where we could film. With our phones. So. The argument. Will be easier. The controversy.

[22:54] Will be settled. Because I have. Video evidence. Let's go to. First Corinthians. Chapter 15.

[23:10] Is somebody. Learning something. We haven't actually. Gone. Further. At top. I have to. Do this thing quickly. I believe God. That.

[23:22] He will. Open the scriptures. To us. I would like. To read from. Verse. One. First Corinthians. Chapter 15.

[23:33] And then. I will jump. I will end somewhere. Then jump to. Verse 12. Possibly. And then. Moreover. Brethren. I declare to you. The gospel. Which I preached to you. Which I preached to you. Which also you received.

[23:44] And in which. You stand. By which also. Ye are saved. If you hold fast. The word. Which I preached to you. Unless. You believed in vain. For I deliver to you.

[23:56] First of all. That which I also received. That Christ died for our sins. According to the scriptures. And I mean. I mean. This is so important. Christ. Died for what?

[24:07] I spoke about this on Thursday. That Christ did what? Died for. I can't hear. That Christ did what? Died for our sins. There and there. You see. The law of God at work. Somebody.

[24:19] Needs to die. God cannot just. Pardon. He must punish. And if he's going to. Pardon you. Then somebody.

[24:30] Must take their punishment. So. Theologically. It is said that. Jesus. Theologians put it this way. His death. Was a vicarious death.

[24:41] In other words. He died in the place. Of someone else. The question is. Why should God. Allow Jesus. An innocent man. To die. And him.

[24:52] Allow you. Or me. A criminal. Like me. A guilty person. Like me. To live. Why should he. Allow Jesus. To die.

[25:02] And allow you. To live. Because. He died. In our place. So we can live. In his place. Jesus. So.

[25:13] Jesus did not die. For his sins. Whose sins did he die for? Our sins. So he said. The gospel. Which I preach to you. This is the. The core. Of the gospel.

[25:24] The core. Why have churches. Gone mute. On this. The core. Of the gospel. Is Christ died. For our sins. According to the scriptures.

[25:35] He was buried. Let me read it. It's there. It's there. For I deliver. Verse 3 again. For I deliver to you. First of all. That which I also received. That Christ died for our sins.

[25:45] According to the scriptures. And that he was buried. And that he rose again. The third day. According to the scriptures. Look at the next verse. I love this.

[25:56] According to the scriptures. And that he was. Sorry. And that he was seen by. He saved us. Then. By the twelve. After that. He was seen by over.

[26:08] Five hundred brethren. At once. Of whom. The greater part remain. To the present. To the present. But some have fallen asleep. In other words. Five hundred.

[26:18] Most of the five hundred people. Are still alive. As I'm writing this. That's what he said. He appeared to so many people. He appeared to save us. He appeared to the twelve. And he appeared to five hundred.

[26:31] Other people. At once. Most of whom are still alive. As I'm writing this letter. Jesus appeared to many people. And so. There are evidence that.

[26:42] Jesus is. Still alive. By the people who saw him. That's what he's talking about. So. The fact that he's alive. Is not some. Imaginary.

[26:54] Presupposition. By some people. Now let's. Let's. I like verse six. After that. He was seen. That's. I've just finished right. Verse seven said. After that. He was seen by James.

[27:06] Then by all the apostles. Then lastly. And last of all. He was seen by me also. As. By one born out of due time. So.

[27:16] As I write to you. He said. Me too. I saw him. I saw Jesus. And it will be very difficult. For me to deny what I've seen. So. This is someone.

[27:27] Who has seen the raising Jesus. He was a lawyer. By training. He went to the. Yale. Of the. Their day. He was one of the top. Brilliant students.

[27:37] Law students. So. He can't just. Is it interesting. No. Watch this. That's it. Isn't it interesting. That Paul was. A lawyer. He was a lawyer. He wasn't a scientist.

[27:49] God doesn't really use. Scientists. Much of the time. I'll explain it. I'll explain it. I'll explain it. Science.

[27:59] Can science explain a miracle? But law can explain a miracle. The law of faith can explain a miracle. The law of grace can explain a miracle.

[28:10] The law of life can explain a miracle. God has not left his dealings to be explained by science. He has. That's why I tell God is a lawmaker. He works with law.

[28:21] People who deal with law. So our salvation is judicial redemption. It's forensic salvation. In other words.

[28:31] You can prove why we are saved. It's legally. It's a legal thing. That's why you use the word redemption.

[28:43] Redemption is a commercial term. So we have been redeemed. And he has a legal backing. So it's judicial redemption.

[28:54] It's not something that is imaginary. All right. You are owing me money. I come. He said you will not pay. And then your brother who is a soldier said no. If you come and ask the money again.

[29:05] We will kill you. Cancel the debt. No. You see. He's gone free. But it's not judicial. It's judicial. That liberty is not right.

[29:16] Rightful liberty. But our liberty. Even though we were criminals. And now we are free. It's rightful liberty. There's grounds. Because the love of God. And the law of God.

[29:28] Met on the cross. Now look at verse 12. Now if Christ. Ah. This is a serious one. Now if Christ is free.

[29:39] That he has been risen from the dead. How do some among you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? Because in those days people have all kinds of ideas.

[29:52] Just like our days. Where people come up with ideas. Oh no. You know. He didn't resurrect really. He was just sedated. He didn't actually die on the cross. And all kinds of ideas.

[30:06] I. A pastor friend of mine sent me a clip. Short clip. By a certain bishop in America. Excuse me. May I say this? Excuse me. The fact that somebody is a bishop doesn't mean he's working for God.

[30:18] All right. Let's get it. Is a bishop sitting on BBC doesn't mean he's speaking for God. No. A bishop and so what? Even a pastor. There are prophets who are thieves.

[30:30] Prophets who are working for the devil. They call themselves. They are false prophets. So the fact that you are a bishop. You are a pastor. You are a vicar. It doesn't mean squad.

[30:42] Jesus said you shall know them by their fruits. Not their titles. By their fruits. So I'm just trying to educate our well-educated boarding day folks.

[30:54] That the fact that somebody is sitting on television station. Prime time. Being interviewed. And is going there in the capacity of a bishop. A cardinal.

[31:05] A pope. Or a vicar. Does not mean squad. Anybody at all can say what's used to them. The bishop said.

[31:16] Hell. Is not real. He said hell is just Christians have done it to. A bishop. Meanwhile. The hell is not.

[31:28] Watch this. Watch this. You hardly find hell being spoken about in the Old Testament. And when it comes to the New Testament. The epistles didn't talk much about hell.

[31:40] Where do we get it? Because Jesus Christ spoke more about hell than anybody. Jesus himself spoke so much about hell. So how dare someone say what Jesus said was not true?

[31:53] And yet you are supposed to be his representative. You are phony. You are a liar. You are a thief. You are a fraud. You are fraud. A con man.

[32:05] But the truth is. The person may not be a con man. But he's not a representative of Jesus. Yes. Is someone getting this? Yes. So.

[32:16] Look at this again. How come St. Paul is saying there's no resurrection of the dead? But if there's no resurrection of the dead. Verse 13. But if there's no resurrection of the dead. Then Christ is not risen. You see.

[32:28] His implications. If you are saying. Watch this. It looks like Paul's argument here. Is to prove that when you die. Is not the end. Because if death.

[32:40] Physical. Natural death. Is the end. Then you are saying that Christ didn't resurrect. That's the argument. So. He's making an argument for resurrection. That everybody will resurrect.

[32:52] So he says that. Watch this. Let's look at it again. Now. Verse 12 again. Now. If Christ is preached that he has risen from the dead. How do some among you say. That there is no resurrection of the dead.

[33:05] But if there is no resurrection of the dead. Of the dead. Then Christ is not risen. And if Christ is not risen. You see the if. You see the if. You see the if. If Christ is not risen.

[33:17] Then our preaching is empty. And your faith is empty. Also empty. Your faith is also empty. Now.

[33:31] The next verse. Verse 15. Verse 15. Yes. And we are found to be. False witnesses of God. Because. We have testified of God.

[33:42] That he raised up Christ. Who he did not raise up. Did you see that? If in fact. The dead did not rise.

[33:53] He's not saying. He didn't raise Christ. He said. We are saying that God raised Christ. And you are saying. There's no resurrection of the dead. Therefore. It means that our preaching. Is vain. We are false witnesses.

[34:04] Because we are claiming that. God raised Christ. Meanwhile. He didn't raise. If the dead does not rise. If the dead does not rise. If the dead does not rise. That means Christ.

[34:15] We should have. Got him stuck in the tomb. But Christ rose. So that means that. The dead rises. Yes. That's the point here. All right. The if.

[34:26] The if. Verse 16. For if. Did you see the if coming? If. For if the dead do not rise. Then Christ is not risen.

[34:38] And if Christ is not risen. Your faith is futile. You are still in your. You see the implication. He. He died for our sins. Ah. But he didn't raise.

[34:49] Rise for our sins. By saying that. If he does. He did not rise. That means. That. We are still in our sins. The death he did. Was useless. So.

[35:03] The center. The focus. Of Christian message. Has a lot to do. With the resurrection. Now watch this. In the east. Asia area.

[35:14] The emphasis. Has always been. On the resurrection. Whilst in the west. The emphasis. Have always been. On the crucifixion. The crucifixion. Is important.

[35:25] But the resurrection. Is what validates. The crucifixion. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Without the resurrection. The crucifixion. Was not necessary. Okay. That's true. This is a very interesting.

[35:39] Interesting development. As Paul was. Going on. Verse 18. Then also. Those. Who have fallen asleep. In Christ. Have perished. Listen.

[35:53] The implications. Of you saying. That there's no resurrection. Hey. Minister. You know what. I'm getting. He's not even trying to make an argument. For his resurrection.

[36:04] But he's making an argument. For general resurrection. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. So. Hitler. Will rise. Saddam Hussein.

[36:16] Will rise. Your great grandfather. The very humble. Nice shepherd. He will also rise. Everybody.

[36:28] Will rise. I'm going to. I'm going to. I'm going to throw a little bit more light on it. As we. I run up. So. He's making. If. If. If. If. If. Christ. Did not. Rise from the dead.

[36:40] The implication. Is vast. Scholars. Have attempted. To disprove. The resurrection. Because.

[36:50] They know. If. You can disprove. The resurrection. Christianity. Is nonsense. Christianity. Cannot exist. Again. So. Scholars. Have. Targeted. Focus.

[37:00] Their energies. In fact. I heard about. The story. Of. Some two. I think. Oxford. Oxford. Lecturers. Top. Top. I think. Professors.

[37:11] Professors. And. During. The summer break. When they were coming. To the end. Of the summer break. Two of them. They came to an agreement. That all these things. The Christians are saying. That Jesus resurrected. They are top historians.

[37:22] And professors. So. They said. We are going to do a research. We will come back. And we are going to write. Write a book. That Christ. Did not resurrect. And give facts.

[37:33] So. They said. You go. And do your research. I'll go and do my research. When we come back. We will write that book. When. Them resumed. And they came back. One.

[37:43] One of them said. I'm being very concerned. To say this. But. It's sad. That. I'm. Rather being convinced.

[37:55] Otherwise. So. I do not think. I think. According to my research. Jesus actually. Resurrected. And the other guy said.

[38:06] I was just waiting. For you to say. Because. It is. So. They. No. They ended up. I've forgotten the names. They ended up. Writing. A book.

[38:18] On the title. Christ. Actually. Resurrected. And the first. Chapter of the book is. Do you know the title. Of the first chapter. Of the book. The book. That never got written. To disprove.

[38:29] That. You want to disprove. The. The resurrection. Of Christ. They never got a chance. To do it. Because they found. Rather. The opposite. Was true. The opposite.

[38:40] Was true. Now. Let me quickly. Round up. By drawing your attention. To a few facts. About the resurrection. I. I. I. True. In some things. When it comes. To the resurrection. The death.

[38:51] Burial. And resurrection. Particularly. Of Jesus Christ. There are a few things. We have to consider. We don't have to be ignorant. About. Number. Number one. I. I. I. I. Just. Briefly. I. I. I.

[39:01] I. I. I. I. I. I. I. I. I. I. I. I. I. Okay. That. He. Resurrected. On Sunday. All right. The first day of the week. And. I. Didn't want to go too much. Into when he died. The sequence.

[39:12] But. Now. Besides the sequence. We have to consider the evidence. The evidence. That Jesus. Actually. Is alive. He. Resurrected. Number one. We.

[39:23] Cannot have. We. Cannot give a scientific evidence. Did I say that? We. Can't give a scientific evidence. But certainly. We. Can. Give. A. Legal. Evidence.

[39:34] When you go to court. What they are looking for. Is not necessarily scientific evidence. They. What do you say? Witness. Witness.

[39:44] They want witnesses. At court. Witness. Witness. Witness. Witness. Is more important. So. I. Witness. Evidence. And then two. They look at circumstantial evidence.

[39:57] So the jury. Will have to consider. The eyewitness. Evidence. And circumstantial evidence. And to. To draw their conclusion. So now. The eyewitness evidence.

[40:07] We have. Matthew. Said. He resurrected. He wrote it. Mark. Said. He resurrected. Matthew. Mark. Luke. Said. He resurrected. John. Said. The four gospels. Are giving. Their eyewitness accounts.

[40:20] And now. Bible says. That Jesus Christ. Appeared to twelve. The twelve. They all said. We saw him. Not only the twelve. Five hundred more.

[40:31] These eyewitnesses. Are just there. You can't deny. And all of them. Not one of them. Said. It wasn't true. They all. Said. I saw him. They said. I saw him. They said.

[40:41] I saw him. I'm telling. You go to court. And he said. I saw it. This is a serious thing. Sometimes when there is an accident. They are looking for evidence. Who saw it?

[40:52] So they'll put a notice. Who passed here. There was an accident. Around this time. Can you call this number? Why? They are looking for eyewitness evidence. Not the scientific evidence.

[41:03] Because they are about to make a legal conclusion. Draw a legal conclusion. They need eyewitness evidence. And then they need the circumstantial evidence. Which is quite interesting.

[41:15] Circumstantial evidence. You. You know what happened to Oscar. Pisterio.

[41:28] Pisterios. See what happened. No one was there. He said. I didn't kill her. Intentionally. They said. You did it. So now. They have to piece together. They can't have eyewitness. They have to piece together. Circumstances.

[41:40] Like say. A man who has killed his wife. And then they look at their circumstances. They find out that. You have a girlfriend. And then. You have. The week before you killed your. Two weeks.

[41:50] A month before you killed your wife. You claimed insurance. You put her life insurance. And then. And you have booked a ticket. A week after she died.

[42:00] You have booked a ticket to go to Las Vegas. With your girlfriend. No. These are strong circumstantial evidence. That show that you. You killed her.

[42:14] First class tickets. These are circumstantial evidence. So. So. Lawyers. Look for. Circumstantial evidence. Now listen. In the case of Jesus.

[42:25] What are the circumstances? Watch. You have to know this. What are the circumstances? Listen. How can you ask a Muslim? Listen to this. Listen to this. How can you convince a Muslim?

[42:35] For goodness sake. How can you convince a Muslim? To stop. Worshipping on a Friday. And do it Saturday. You are joking. It can never happen. Yeah.

[42:46] You can never convince a Muslim. That please stop. A group of Muslims. Stop worshipping on Friday. And then let's do it on Saturday. It will never. Even to change the direction.

[42:57] It can happen. And how many of you know that the Jews are stronger than Muslims? The Jews, they didn't have a land.

[43:08] They didn't have their own currency. They didn't have their own systems, freedom. But they had their law. They had their circumcision.

[43:19] They had their Passover across. So they were Jews. So before Hitler, they were Jews in Germany. They were Germans, but they were Jews. They didn't have a language. They didn't have a currency.

[43:30] They didn't have a nation. But you can't scatter them. Why? Because they kept the Passover and they kept the traditions. The Sabbath, you will know a Jew when it's Sabbath day. So how can Jews, God-loving, committed Jews, change their day of worship from Saturday to Sunday?

[43:50] That's a serious circumstantial evidence. For Jews to say we are now worshiping on Sunday?

[44:02] Hey! No! These guys must have come into contact with something. Number two, they were afraid of the killers.

[44:14] They went and hid themselves. And they locked themselves in the room. Because the Bible said, for fear of the Jews. They were afraid that they would also be executed.

[44:25] Then, you remember Peter? He said, Jesus, me, I vow. I vow. I will never deny you. It doesn't matter what happens. I will never deny you. And that same night, he said, I swear.

[44:37] I swear on my father's grave. I don't know this man. Peter, fear crippled them. When they saw death coming, they were all scattered. But after they saw the resurrected Jesus, they went out in town challenging the people they feared.

[44:56] They were challenging. They said, tell us who we should obey. Whether you or God. And the same people who killed Jesus, they said, we don't fear you. We don't fear you. You say we shouldn't preach.

[45:07] We'll preach. You guys murdered him. You murdered him, but God raised him. And we are preaching it. They must have seen something. They must have. There are so many circumcision evidence.

[45:18] Now, watch this. None of the disciples who were tortured to death, none of them said, I'll change my conversion. We were told that we should say we saw him. At least one person somewhere.

[45:29] After they're tortured. And you know, when they torture terrorists, some of them speak out to them. That's how they get the information. Some of them speak out. They say, I will say, I will say it.

[45:40] I will say it. You see your child. They're about to slash their toes. I will say it. I will say it. When torture comes, not every human being can still maintain their confession. But these guys maintain their confession, never change their conscience.

[45:56] They died. You see, they are killing Peter. And you are next in line. And they come and take you. They catch your head. That other one, that new believer, is also next in line. And none of them said, no, we don't know. Because they could not deny the evidence.

[46:10] They could not deny it. They could not deny it. And so, circumstantial evidence was so strong that when the jury considers these circumstances, circumstances, the jury will not have a choice but to say that, oh, it looks like this thing is quite true.

[46:30] Jesus really resurrected. And we cannot deny it. Hallelujah. Let me add. And as well, the circumstantial, there are quite a few ones.

[46:45] But think about this too. Think about this too. Millions of people in the world, from the days of Jesus up to now, have always believed that Jesus resurrected.

[46:59] Is that not heavy circumstantial evidence? Including top lawyers, politicians, kings, princes. People actually gave their life.

[47:10] They died for it. Some people left the shores of England with all the lucrative opportunities. Went to China. Went to India. And they signed there. They know they won't come back.

[47:21] But they need to tell people about the resurrection. That's enough circumstantial evidence to tell you that this thing is real. Yeah. Evidence. Evidence. Evidence. Millions of believers all around the world should tell us that we have to give this thing a proper consideration.

[47:39] How about, let me add one more. Circumstantial evidence. How about healings that have happened in the name of Jesus? People have been raised back to death. To life.

[47:50] From the dead to life. People have been raised back to life by prayer. Miracles. The healings. The salvation. My wife's dad was, because he was very successful, very early.

[48:04] Before he was 40, he was a big lawyer. So he had money. And his friends, they were messing up. He didn't know Jesus. When this man found Jesus, the most meek of men, the most gentle of men, the most loving of men, Jesus changes people.

[48:23] Changes people. Some of you, people see you are in church and it's not about religion. You are so changed. I've seen people whose parents, mothers and fathers, have come to church and said, my daughter is so changed, I want to.

[48:36] It is not the pastor. It is the power of the resurrection that changes. Someone shout, power!

[48:47] Power! I mean, shout, power! Power! So we look at the evidence and quickly we look at the significance. The proof.

[48:58] The word. When Jesus was resurrected or raised from the dead, it was significant because it was a proof that God said, I'm proving to you that his death has been accepted.

[49:09] He has done the job. I sent him and it's been done. So God has, his death is satisfying to me. You've done the job. He proved. He said, if Christ did not die, then we are still in our sins.

[49:23] That means our sins haven't been paid for. If Christ did not resurrect. But if he resurrected, that means that he actually paid it. He's paid it. He's saved his term. Because he saved his term, God has resurrected.

[49:36] But not just that, God was proving, proving. You know, do you know Jesus was tried at a human court? And he was found guilty? God should have intervened.

[49:47] He said, no, no, he's not guilty. God didn't do anything. He said, you punish him. When they punish him, he said, I'll raise to declare. You know why they judged him? They convicted him. They convicted him because the Jews said, he said, he's the son of God.

[50:00] But when they went to the Roman authority, you can't use that to, it's not part of Roman rule, to kill somebody for saying they executed him. So they have to find another one. So they said, he said he's the king of the Jews.

[50:12] It's a political thing. And they said, if you don't kill him, if you don't execute him, you are not a friend of Caesar. So they made it a political thing. But their actual charge was that he make himself the son of God.

[50:23] They killed him because he said he was the son of God. But Bible says that, Romans chapter one, verse four. Look at it. I want to show you something there. Romans chapter one, verse four.

[50:35] Let's look at verse three. It will make sense when you read from verse three. Give me the NIV. The NIV, please. Regarding his son, who as to his human nature was a descendant of David, verse four, and who through the spirit of holiness was declared with the power, sorry, with power to be the son of God by his resurrection from the dead.

[51:00] God said, he said, he's not my son. I'm going to raise him to show you that he's my son. So it was a state. Now, when you read the Bible very carefully, much of the time, it never said, Jesus raised, or rose from the dead.

[51:14] Even though they may use one, it was raised. But God raised him. God got involved. He said, you kill him for saying he's the son of God. I'm going to prove you wrong. I'm going to raise him to show you that he actually is what he said he is.

[51:29] That's the significance. The other significance is that he, Jesus said, I will resurrect. I'm going to come back to life. Didn't he come? So those, the world who don't believe him, God proved them wrong.

[51:43] Jesus is true. What, God was validating everything Jesus said. Because if he hadn't resurrected, that means a lot of other things he said, you can't, you can't work with it.

[51:53] Yes, yes, yes. But if he resurrected, then everything he said, if he said there is hell, that means there will be hell. Yes. If he says that the angels of God are ascending and descending, that means that they are doing it.

[52:05] Yes. If he said that anyone who has me has life, that means he has, what you have, you have life. If he said that I am the bread of life, that means he is. Yes. Hallelujah. Yes.

[52:16] Let me quickly go on the consequence, the consequence of the resurrection. Oh, if the resurrection happened, did you remember the argument? That means that when we die, it's not the end.

[52:27] Yes. According to Daniel chapter 12, verse 2, put you on the screen quickly. Magata, shakata. Is somebody learning something at all? Yes. Let's already out from the screen.

[52:38] Daniel chapter 12, verse 2. Oh, so the resurrection is not only for people who believe.

[52:52] Wow. Everybody. It is also for those who don't believe. We are all going to rise, but some into shame and damnation and others into everlasting life.

[53:05] Daniel prophesied this. Daniel. Daniel. Daniel. Jesus was not silent about it. In John chapter 5, verse 28 and 29, Jesus also said in the last day, John chapter 5, verse 28 and 29, do not marvel at this, for the hour is coming in which all who are in the graves, who hear his voice, go to the next verse, and come forth, those who have done good to the resurrection of life and those who have done evil to the resurrection of condemnation.

[53:37] We are all going to resurrect Hitler, but it's not good for, it's not good news for Hitler. It's not, listen, it's not good news for evil people. On the resurrection, it's going to be bad news for many people.

[53:51] But some of us who are in Christ, for those of us who are in Christ, for those of us who are in Christ, it will be the best news and greatest of all times.

[54:02] Amen. And it's not only, Jesus said it again, you can write it, you don't have to go to, Matthew 25, verse 32. Jesus said it. He said, I'll separate the sheep from the good at the end.

[54:14] And then Paul also, Pastor, I like the way Paul puts it, in Acts chapter 24, verse 15 and 16. Oh, thank you, Jesus. Acts 24, verse 15 and 16.

[54:26] It says, I have hope in God, which they themselves also accept, that there will be a resurrection of the dead, both of the just and who?

[54:39] And the just. Daniel said it. Jesus said it in the New Testament. Paul said it. It is going to happen. It is going to happen.

[54:52] The consequences of Jesus' resurrection means that we are all going to rise to be judged. But I left one more, one important thing which I need to throw in because it's very important.

[55:03] It's very important. The implication of the resurrection, the essence. I've left that link to talk to you about that. The essence of the resurrection.

[55:14] You know what? I like that. Say new creation. New creation. Say new creation. New creation. What does that mean? When did Jesus resurrect? What day is it?

[55:26] When? On the third day. On the third day. When? What day is it? Sunday. So long as God is concerned, watch this, you need to hear this.

[55:37] Sunday, the Sunday, as we all know, according to a Jew, Sunday is the first day of the working week. Hello? Hi. Sunday is the first day of the working week.

[55:50] Sunday is the first day of the second week. Does that make sense? The second week. So let's start. It's that Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Friday, Saturday, one week.

[56:03] Let's go to the next week. Sunday, Monday. So it's the first day. When did God start creating the heaven and the earth? It started the first day on Sunday.

[56:14] He created. Second day, He created. Third day, He created. Fourth day, He created. Fifth day, He created. Sixth day, He created man. And the seventh day, He rested. And from that time, He's been resting and resting and resting until the resurrection, which is the first day of His second creation.

[56:35] When you read the Old Testament, you hardly find new, new, new, new. Suddenly, when you read the New Testament, there's a lot of new, new, new, new. He actually says, behold, I make all things new.

[56:47] So I want you to understand there's something very significant here. That is why the church worships on, that's why the church worships on Sunday.

[56:59] It's not that it is the Sabbath. The Sabbath is Saturday. But we worship on the Sunday, the resurrection day. Because on Sunday, God started creating again.

[57:12] That is when, so He created and He rested on the sixth day, seventh day. And then on the eighth day, so it's the eighth day of creation. God never created anything again. But as soon as Christ comes in, He resurrected, creation started.

[57:25] He's creating new. The Bible says that we are new creation in Christ Jesus. All right. We are new creation. The Bible says that for you are, Ephesians chapter 2, verse 10, it says that, it says that, yeah, for we are His workmanship.

[57:44] What? Created in Christ Jesus. Where? Where were you created? In Christ Jesus. All right. So as soon as Christ resurrected, that day, God started creating again. What did He start creating?

[57:55] Watch this. You would like this. He started creating new people. The homo, homo, novus. It's a Latin word.

[58:06] A new man. Homo. Homo. So in fact, you can claim and walk around and say me, people don't know me. But you know what? I am a homo novus.

[58:18] I am a homo novus. You can type it. Google it. N-O-V-U-S. Novus. It's a Latin word which means new person.

[58:30] A new, now, in those days, in the Roman times, you are not, your family is not in the political elite. And then for some reason, you start rising and you break into the political, you are a new person.

[58:41] You have been born into a new, so you are a new person. That's the word. So, homo novus. Now, we, because of Christ, you are not the same. That's what happened here. If you, since you became born again, people look at you, you have really changed.

[58:54] You are a different person now. Yeah, because you are homo novus. But you wouldn't be a homo novus outside of the resurrection. So, on the resurrection, God started birthing us again.

[59:04] But watch this. You need to understand this. Watch this. It's not only men and women who are being created new. Christ is the first fruit. Or, put it this way, He is the firstborn.

[59:17] Colossians chapter 1, verse 15 and 18, it says that Christ is the firstborn from the dead. He is the image of the invisible, the firstborn of all creation.

[59:29] So, He is the firstborn in what says, when God comes to start His new creation, the old creation is passing, is dying. Now, there's a new creation.

[59:40] And we, Christ is the first and we follow. Look at verse 18. Verse 18 of Colossians 1, it says that, and He is the head of the body, the church, who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead.

[59:53] He is the first, not the only. He is the first. And we are following suit. And so, everything is going to be made. Watch this. In the old heavens and the old earth, I like this.

[60:04] Bible says, in the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. And then after He created the heavens and the earth, He created man unto it. Now, in the new creation, He is creating man, a new man and a new man first.

[60:18] And then later on, He is going to, I saw the new heaven and the, oh, come on. I feel like preaching. I feel like preaching. So, watch it. What I'm trying to say, because of the resurrection, we are the new creation.

[60:31] And man first created before He's going to create the new heaven and the new earth. The new creation. Revelations chapter 21, verse 5.

[60:42] He said, Behold, I make all things new. Praise God. So, so, watch this, so, scientists have been saying, but people are not believing it.

[60:56] The earth is dying. The earth is dying. I'll say it again. Scientists have been saying it, and people are demonstrating.

[61:07] The earth is dying. Maybe the demonstrator said, don't let it die quickly.

[61:17] But everything created in the old world is dying. It's passing. You are dying. I am dying.

[61:28] We are all dying. As soon as you are born, you start dying. Because you are in an earth that is dying. So, at times, nobody can stop the dying process.

[61:40] If you can stop people from dying, then you can stop the earth from dying. Nobody has developed and come out with it. You can have anti-aging cream, not anti-dying cream.

[61:50] Everything is passing away. So, that's why God said, make our soul.

[62:03] It's not only us who are going to be new. The entire creation, everything is going to be new again. Because the old is going to die, watch this, and the new is going to be resurrected. Now, that is the implication of Jesus' resurrection.

[62:16] It means that everything is going to pass and new one is going to come. What a word. Everything is dying.

[62:29] Everything is dying. So, what have I got to do with it? Personal experience matters. How do I know he's alive?

[62:40] Talk to him and see. Talk to him. Talk to him. Get somewhere. Say, Jesus, how many of you are afraid and see God answered in a very interesting way?

[62:52] Telling you. Talk to him and see. Personal experience tells you he's still alive. Amen. Your personal experience is still alive. Our Jesus is alive.

[63:04] Amen. And because he lives, we will live. Amen. The days ahead are glorious. Amen. I submit to you, this is not all there is in life.

[63:16] But because he resurrected, there is hope. Paul puts it this way. If only in this earth we have hope in Christ, we are of all men. Most...

[63:28] 1 Corinthians 15, I think 17 or so, 17, 18. He said, if it is only, say, if it is only in this world we have hope in Christ, we are of all men, including the others who don't believe are better than us.

[63:43] Yes, yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. If in this life only we have hope in Christ, believers, Christians, what you behave, like life is all just about now.

[63:56] Mm-hmm. What, you believers? I know you want to marry, but for goodness sake, there's something better ahead. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. I know you want money, but for goodness sake, there's something glorious ahead.

[64:10] Yes. Don't leave us no, it is all about today. Yes. Pastor, stop chasing money, preach the gospel. Yes. Pastor, heaven and earth shall pass away.

[64:23] Yes. The early church always look forward to his coming. Pastor. Pastor. Don't train church members to only look for material possession.

[64:34] That's right. Yes. Yes. Yes. Thank you. What does he profit a man if he gains the whole world and lose his soul? Jesus.

[64:46] Jesus. Life is not just here. Jesus resurrected to let us know there's a resurrection coming. We thank God for using this sermon, Reverend Dr. David Entry, to share this awesome word.

[64:59] If this message has blessed you in any way, please spread the word by sharing it and send us an email to amen at karis.org. Remember to stay connected with us on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and Twitter for regular updates on what God is doing here at Karis Ministries.

[65:15]  Stay blessed.