5 Most Amazing Words You Have Ever Heard

That's a scary introduction.

I recall being told of a meeting in America where the speaker was introduced very generously,

and the pedoration, the climax of the introduction was,

I want you to know that our speaker has made a million dollars out of oil in Texas.

Well, this, of course, got the attention of the audience,

and then the speaker stood up and said,

Well, thank you for that, sir, and I appreciate the spirit in which it was said,

but I do think one or two words of correction might be in order.

Firstly, it wasn't actually me. It was my brother.

And secondly, it wasn't in Texas. It was in Oklahoma.

Thirdly, it wasn't oil. It was cattle.

And fourthly, he didn't make a million. He lost a million.

And when I get that introduction, I kind of fear,

goodness, maybe at the end of it all, they'll say,

We've got the guy who lost a million.

But thank you, sir, for inviting me here,

and it's been a great, great privilege to be with you this morning.

Let me begin by asking,

and it's great to be in a church for the first time.

You simply don't know who the people are,

except that I do know Trey and Cinder,

and for a small fee, I'll tell you what I know about them.

But I don't know anything about the other people.

So let me ask you a very simple, basic, straightforward question.

Are you a Christian?

Please don't answer vocally.

Are you a Christian?

Now, I'm not asking,

Do you hope you're a Christian?

Do you think you're a Christian?

I'm trying to be a Christian.

I'm a Southern Baptist.

I come to First Baptist Pickens.

Don't blame you for doing that.

I'd come here if I lived in this neck of the woods.

But are you a Christian?

Do you have a credible testimony?

Could you come up here,

if your knees were tied together to stop them knocking,

and give a credible testimony

that the Lord Jesus Christ is your Savior and Lord?

Now, if you are, I've got some wonderful news for you.

The best news you have ever heard.

News so wonderful that if you grasped,

hear the words carefully,

if you grasped everything that the message means,

you would have a job keeping your seat.

You would be at least metaphorically jumping up in the air with excitement.

Why do I say that?

Because I'm going to tell you the most wonderful thing you have ever heard

about your future home in heaven.

Now, you may have heard many sermons on heaven,

but you may never have heard this.

And I've called it, as I think you will have seen in the bulletin,

by way of a sermon title,

the five most amazing words in the entire Bible.

And Trey Lee was mumbling away some attempts at it yesterday,

but as he also had a 10-foot left to right downhill putt on spiked greens,

he wasn't getting close.

But either with the putt or with the suggestion,

the five most amazing words you have ever heard.

Now, if you're not a Christian,

then I have been praying that by the end of the service,

you will be saying,

that's what I want.

That's what I'm looking for.

If only that were true of me.

And I pray that there'll be a longing in your heart

that that would become true for you,

and that God will graciously meet the longing in your heart.

Turn with me to the first epistle of John.

Right towards the end of the New Testament,

for those unfamiliar with the Bible structure.

And we might just cheat and go to the very end of the letter

for just one text here.

Chapter 5 and verse 13 tells us why John wrote the letter.

I write these things to you who believe,

that is, who trust in the name of the Son of God,

so that you may know that you have eternal life.

So that's the purpose of him writing.

Now get to chapter 3 and the beginning of the chapter.

Look at verse 1.

How great is the love the Father has lavished on us

that we should be called the children of God.

And the phrasing there in the English kind of obscures

the spirit of what was being said,

which is something along these lines.

What kind of love is this?

Now, we can express human love in amazing ways.

Imagine the reference now to being the children of God.

Imagine a family without children of their own,

and they adopt a child from a third world family,

a desperately needy child.

I had an email from a friend just the other day.

They've had three children of their own

and adopted 18 others from needy countries in the world.

Imagine the love that they have poured out upon those children,

taken them from their squalor,

and probably from being deprived of both parents killed in civil war

and in some other way.

Made them their own, taken them into their family,

poured out their resources upon them.

Difficult to imagine human giving love

being expressed in more ways than that.

And John says, yes, but what kind of love is this?

What kind of love is this that the Father has bestowed upon us

that we should be called the children of God?

And the difference, and why John is expressing it in this,

but look at the difference way,

is that the parents, these adopting parents,

had nothing against these 18 other children

from different needy countries.

They were neutral as far as they were concerned.

They simply, out of the fullness of their hearts,

had compassion on them and drew them into their family.

Here's the difference.

God had something against us.

It was while we were sinners that Christ died for us.

Our whole natures were corrupt and godless and vile

and had no time for God or for the things of God.

We were entirely opposed to Him.

We were, to give Paul's testimony in Ephesians 2,

we were by nature children of wrath,

which simply means we were by nature born under the wrath of God.

And that's how, left to ourselves,

we would have lived for the rest of our lives.

Imagine that.

We would have lived for the rest of our lives under the wrath of God.

So again, if you are not a Christian this morning,

maybe you think you're nearly one or you're close to one

or you're mixed with the right kind of people.

Let me tell you something unspeakably solemn,

but terribly true.

You are at this moment under the wrath of God.

When Jonathan Edwards preached this great sermon

on sinners in the hands of the angry God,

he said,

it's only of God's grace, I paraphrase him,

it's only of God's grace that this very moment,

the earth doesn't open up and you fall down into hell forever.

Now, my friend, that's where you are this morning,

if you're not a Christian.

So how great a love,

how amazing a love is this,

lavished on us that we should be called the children of God.

And not only does it say it once,

he says it a second time.

Look at the end of verse 1.

And that is what we are.

It's as if he says,

you may not believe this,

so I'm telling you again.

Oh, and look at the beginning of verse 3.

He says the same thing.

Let me read you the whole passage.

How great is it that the love of the Father has lavished on us

that we should be called children of God.

Secondly, and that is what we are.

And then the beginning of verse 2,

dear friends,

now we are the children of God.

If John had been speaking to them word by word

instead of writing to them,

I think he would have said,

as he might have seen frowns of unbelief on people's faces,

watch my lips.

Did you get it?

We are the children of God.

That's what we are.

We are the children of God.

Then something amazing happens to this apostle.

He becomes an agnostic.

It's gone awfully quiet in here.

He became an agnostic.

And here we are.

Look at it in verse 2.

Dear friends,

now we are the children of God,

and what we will be has not yet been made known.

In other words,

he is saying,

look,

what the entire eternal future of God's people is concerned,

the entire line-by-line future is concerned,

we don't know.

We haven't been told absolutely everything.

Of course,

he was writing in ignorance of the television evangelist

who said he'd been to heaven for 45 minutes

and had to work with God,

patted Jesus on the shoulder and come back,

and got it on his television program

and sold a million books.

So he didn't have the advantage of meeting this evangelist.

He said,

look,

there are things we simply don't know.

But his agnosticism lasts

for only the time that he's got to write those words,

because immediately he becomes absolutely certain,

and he says this,

but we know that when he appears,

we shall be like him,

for we shall see him as he is.

So here are the five most amazing words in the Bible.

We shall be like him.

We won't just be with him,

or before him,

or alongside him,

or in front of him.

We will be like him.

Now,

it's impossible for us,

in our finite states,

to grasp anything more than the outer fringes

of what all of this means,

but let's do the best we can

in the course of a service like this

by concentrating just on

what is being said here,

one word at a time.

And it may help us,

believe it or not,

to try to grasp it

if we begin at the end

and work toward the beginning.

There are just a few times when I preach

when I actually begin at the end of a sentence

and work toward the beginning.

Why I do that,

why that works,

I just don't know.

Freud would probably say

that I was dropped on my head as a child,

so I've got all things the wrong way around.

But as Freud was a fraud,

I wouldn't have believed a word he said anyway.

And so,

this is how we're going to do it.

We shall be like him,

like the Lord Jesus.

Now just think of his earthly life.

Think of it generally.

He was tempted in every way,

just as we are,

yet was without sin.

Think of the words that he spoke.

Everyone was amazed at the gracious words

that came from his lips.

Think of his meekness.

I am meek

and lowly of heart.

Think of his patience.

When they hurled insults at him,

he did not retaliate.

When he suffered,

he made no threats.

Think of his compassion.

Time and again,

he was moved with compassion.

Think of his humility.

humility.

I haven't come to be served,

but to serve.

Think of his faith.

He entrusted himself to him

who judges justly.

Think of his obedience.

My food is to do the will of him

who sent me

and to finish his work.

And yet,

when we've ransacked the Gospels

and the Epistles,

for example,

of his perfect character

during these 30-something years on earth,

we've only touched the surface

of what John is saying

because he is not speaking about,

he's not looking back

and speaking about the earthly Jesus.

He is speaking about Jesus

as he now is.

He's speaking about

his glorified humanity.

And amazing and staggering,

and this gets more amazing

and staggering

as it goes along,

Jesus is referring

to his glorified humanity.

And the clearest confirmation

we have of that

is in John 17,

the high priestly prayer,

where Jesus prays,

I have given them the glory

that you gave me.

Oh, not his eternal glory.

We don't become divine.

But all that Jesus did,

all the glory that was poured upon him,

he accepted,

not for his own benefit,

but for ours.

And that's the glory

that we will share with him

in heaven.

We are heirs of God

and co-heirs with Christ.

So we shall be like,

we shall be like him.

And then secondly,

we shall be like him.

You know,

when babies are born

into families,

there's always some

very interesting discussions

going on among family members.

Who does he look like?

Oh, I think he's got

his mother's nose

and his father's eyes

and his grandpa's cheekbones

and all that kind of stuff,

you know.

Well, it's a genetic certainty

because parents do pass on

their genes.

It's a genetic certainty

that the parents

will be represented

in the children.

They will bear some resemblance

even if it's not always

and strikingly apparent.

But the time is coming

or truthfully,

eternity is coming

when all Christians

who have ever lived

will be like him.

we shall be like him.

And we can certainly

flesh that out

in two ways.

First of all,

there will be a physical transformation.

Turn back with me,

but keep your finger in,

first John, there,

to Philippians chapter 3.

Philippians 3 · chapter mention

And in Philippians 3

and verses 20

and 21,

Paul says,

says,

our citizenship is in heaven.

And we eagerly await

a Savior from there,

the Lord Jesus Christ,

who by the power

that enables him

to bring everything

under his control,

will transform

our lowly bodies

so that they will be like

his glorious body.

Now, the bodies we have

are truly amazing.

C.S. Lewis once said,

you've never met

an ordinary person.

Our bodies,

our physical bodies

are truly amazing.

When you go into the details,

the more amazing they come.

In the psalmist's words,

we really are fearfully

and wonderfully made.

And yet,

as the result of the fall,

how feeble

and frail

and fragile

they have become.

Every atom of our bodies

is prone to

disease

and deterioration

and decay

and eventually

to death.

But not when

we see him.

we will be physically

transformed.

Our bodies,

and we really can't

totally get our heads

around this,

our bodies will be

identifiable

with our present bodies.

You'll be able to tell

the pastor from his wife.

Okay.

You'll be able to tell

the pastor from his,

you can do it now,

I hope,

and you'll be able to,

she's the good looking one.

And you'll be able

to tell the difference

in heaven.

So our bodies

will be identifiable

with our present bodies

but not identical

to them.

Because our present bodies,

presently constituted

and subject to the ravages

of the fall,

can't be in two places

at once

and are currently designed

and limited

by their humanness

and by their inability

to do a thousand

and one things.

But our heavenly bodies

will not be

so constricted.

They will be adapted

to live in eternity

and not merely

in time.

And just as

the body Jesus

now possesses

is no longer subject

to the limitations

of time and space,

so neither will ours be.

The perishable

will be clothed

with the imperishable

and the mortal

will put on

immortality.

Don't we all long

for that?

And I have news for you,

the longer you live,

the more you long

for that.

And especially those

who have reached

the metallic age

with gold in the hair

and silver in the teeth

and lead in the boots.

And when I said that

to somebody,

they said,

you've forgotten,

titanium in the hips.

And yeah,

I mean,

we long for all of that

to be over

and done with.

We long for our new bodies

which will have none

of those things.

And that is the glorious

prospect that lies

before us.

Romans 8,

we wait eagerly

for our adoption

as sons,

the redemption

of our bodies.

Now that wasn't

current thought

2,000 years ago.

The Greeks

and other pagans,

well,

what is happening

at death

is that

the spirit

at last

gets out.

Listen to the difference.

Escapes

from this prison,

this earthly,

bodily prison,

and now

the spirit is free.

Now what that idea

of freedom was

and what in the world

that spirit would do

is another matter.

But you see,

they saw death

as meaning

the permanent

splitting up,

well,

the escape

of the spirit

from the body

and at last

the body's no longer

going to mess us around

and do us any harm

because it simply

won't exist.

That's not

what the Bible teaches.

Christianity

totally rejected that

and said,

no,

what we are waiting

for is the redemption

of our bodies.

There is a wonderfully

physical element

in the future home,

the new heavens

and the new earth

of God's people.

And the bodies

will be there.

We're not going to

leave them in the grave.

But they will be

reconstituted

as glorious,

eternal bodies.

And there will be

a spiritual transformation

as well.

This is the second way

in which we should be

like Him.

Now,

what is Jesus like

now?

Well,

we can say

about Him

whatever we can say

about God.

But there's no need

to speculate

what John

especially has in mind.

Look in the text

with me

at these

three specific things

and notice the way

that John uses

the present tense.

Look at verse 3.

The last words,

He is pure.

That is,

He's without

any contamination

or defilement.

In His very nature,

He is morally perfect.

Then look at verse 5.

In Him is no sin.

And this follows

from the first.

And what a tremendous

encouragement that is

in the context

of the promise

we are studying.

And then look

at verse 7.

He is righteous.

And we have that

repeated for the

note takers here

in chapter 2

verse 1

and chapter 2

verse 29.

He is righteous.

The word is just.

It means in complete

conformity

with the rightness,

the consistency,

the integrity,

the justice,

the truthfulness

and the faithfulness

of God's law.

So,

Jesus

is pure

and sinless

and righteous.

And these are,

if you like,

John's shorthand notes

on the heavenly

character of Jesus.

Now comes the

how can you sit

in your seats bit.

We shall be

like Him.

As pure

as He is pure.

As sinless

as He is sinless.

As righteous

as He is righteous.

There will not be

any difference

in our purity

and sinlessness

and righteousness.

we will be

exactly

the same

in those qualities

and characteristics

of Jesus.

We will be

as pure

as He is pure.

As sinless

as He is sinless.

As righteous

as He is righteous.

All that can be said

now

about the heavenly

character of Jesus

will be true

to be said

about you

if you're a believer

in that day.

we shall be like Him.

We shall be like Him.

Now it gets

even more exciting.

We shall be like Him.

John doesn't say

well you know

it's a possibility.

And for those

who did very well

in the Christian life

for those

who made great progress

those who were

greatly used

those who were

pastors of

First Baptist churches.

We.

All of us

who are believers

shall be like Him.

It is not just feasible

it is factual.

Peter says

when the chief shepherd

appears

you will receive

the crown of glory

that never fades away.

Paul in Colossians 3

when Christ

who is your life

appears

then you also

will appear

with Him

in glory.

But the strongest

of all the

endorsements of that

comes in that

great passage

in Romans 8.

Let me tell you

a story.

I was preaching

in America

a number of years

ago now

and a pastor

said to me

would you have a word

with the man

in my congregation?

He's a Christian

he's a fine Christian

and a brilliant man

in his field.

which happened

to be dentistry

but that's putting it

mildly as far

as he was concerned.

He was an implantologist

and I don't know

how many ologists

rolled into one

and his offices

I was later to see

was just

didn't need any wallpaper

it was entirely

covered with diplomas

and honors

granted to him

around the country.

He was a very

very top man.

But said the pastor

although he is a Christian

he would say

his sins are forgiven

he cannot be

absolutely sure

depending on

what might happen

to him in this life

that at the end

of life

he will spend

eternity in heaven.

He lacks

permanent assurance

of his standing

in Christ.

Would you have

a word with him?

Now I kind of

wince when pastors

say that

and I think

you've been preaching

to him for 10 years

and you think

I'm going to sort him

out in half an hour

but anyway

I said

I'll be glad

to have a word with him.

So we met one day

came into

we sat in a Sunday

school room somewhere

and this great man

and he is a great man

in his field

sat down with me

and told me his story

and yet that's exactly

as the pastor had said

and when he'd finished

I must confess

I thought

what in the world

can I say to him?

What can I

what point would I

take up with him?

And I turned instead

to Romans chapter 8

Romans 8 · chapter mention

and if you want

to turn to me now

that would be fine

and I read to him

of course verse 28

that we all know so well

and we know that

in all things

God works for the good

of those who love him

who've been called

according to his purpose

and then I'm sure

I explained to him

that the earlier part

of the chapter

is actually speaking

about the very fragile

breaking up

crumbling away world

in which we live

creation in bondage

to decay

what if Paul

had been a scientist

he would have called

the second law

of thermodynamics

the available energy

in the cosmos

in a closed system

is just cracking up

and that's

so here is everything

going wrong

on a mega scale

and Paul says

and we know that

in all things

so he's just writing

in this column

doesn't matter

what's going wrong

we know this

that God works

for the eternal good

of those who love him

and then someone

asks well

how can he know that?

Notice the first word

of verse 29

for

which means

because

notice the link

Paul says

we know that everything

is working

for the eternal good

of God's people

and this is why

we know

now listen carefully

God

God

for

those God

for knew

he also predestined

to be conformed

to the likeness

of his son

that he might be

the firstborn

among many brothers

those he predestined

he also called

those he called

he also justified

those he justified

he also glorified

and so I went

through them again

and here was this

great man

with his pencil

making notes

and I explained

for example

those God

for knew

which I said

means much more

than well

God knows everything

and God knows

ahead of time

who's going to become

a Christian

and who isn't

so that's all

that that means

God has omniscience

concerning the future

and I said

no

that actually means

something quite different

it means God

doing something

specifically

for a specific people

and for each of

the specific persons

within that group

of specific people

it means God

set his love

upon them

there's a parallel word

we don't have time

to look to it

in Amos

where the writer says

God knew you

above all the nations

of the earth

it doesn't mean

God would have said

search me

I don't know

if there are any

other nations

on the earth

it means God

chose you

set you apart

from all the other

nations on the earth

so that's the first thing

but all of those

God foreknew

he predestined

and there are people

in our circles

who wince a bit

draw back a bit

whenever you use a word

like predestination

and they may say

I don't like the sound

of that

well I don't like

the sound of

some things I hear

in church worship services

but I like every sound

I heard here

this morning

let me say

my answer to that

is well

have a word

with the author

because I didn't

write it

God wrote it

so if you've got

a problem

ask him

God predestined

and just nobody

I can't think of a Christian

who would

wince

and hold back

and say

well I'm not really sure

that I want to believe that

with the phrase

that we're studying

this morning

we shall be

like him

what Christian would say

I really don't like

the sound of that

I mean

they would say

well that's terrific

and I would say

well

but how do we know

that it's true

well

precisely because

of what he said here

you see

what is the predestination

about

predestination

to be conformed

to the likeness

of his son

that's the whole point

God has predestined

all of those

on whom he said

his love

that they will be

conformed

to the likeness

of God's son

in eternity

we shall be

like him

so the two

are absolutely

tied together

and so

Paul goes on

those he predestined

he called

which doesn't mean

he arranged

that they heard

the gospel

most people

who hear the gospel

reject it

and they're not

included in this

call

and it doesn't

matter how many

systems

we invent

within the

organized Christian

church

to have this

and that event

and we're looking

for X people

to be saved

and all the rest

of it

that's by and large

nonsense

this is

the inner call

the inner call

if I'm in an airport

and I hear all sorts

of announcements

being made

about there's a delay

in this flight

there's a change

of gate

there's a this

and there that

and I yawn

through it all

and think

nothing whatever

to do with me

but as soon as I say

well Dr. Blanchard

on the flight

they've got my attention

I hear that call

that doesn't just

reach here

it reaches here

and these two things

down here

and I get there

as quickly as I can

that's the difference

between the outward call

and the inward call

and maybe

that some of you

here this morning

and you've heard

the outward call

how could you do otherwise

than hear the outward call

under this man's ministry

and you know the gospel

if I said come up here

and give me a brief outline

of the gospel

you could do it

you could do it

you could talk about

God's creation

man's fall into sin

Jesus coming into the world

to save sinners

dying on the cross

rising again from the dead

you could rattle all that off

so you've heard

the outward call

a hundred times

but have you heard

the inner call

the inner call

in the heart

which is irresistible

the irresistible

grace of God

so Paul goes on

those he called

he also justified

he made them

right with God

look

treat this podium

as time

so time

looking from your angle

starts here

and finishes there

so here we are

God

for you

before time began

he predestined

before time began

during time

during your lifetime

if you're a believer

he called you

and he justified you

so now we've got

for new

predestined

called

justified

oh and there's one more

and those

he justified

he also glorified

so that of course

is in the eternal future

so

went through all of that

and he had pages

of notes by now

and I said

just one more thing

what do you think

are the tenses

of the verbs

that are being used here

for example

what is the tense

of

for new

he said

that's a past tense

so out came his pencil

I said you're right

past tense

and what about

predestined

what do you tense

well that's in the past tense

past tense

and what about

called

well that would be

in the past tense

what about justified

past tense

what about glorified

he put his pen down

he said ah

now you're trying to trick me

and he said

and that's my problem

I can see all the others

but it's this question

of will I be glorified

that's it

will I eventually

get there

and I said

Max

listen carefully

the word glorified

is in the past tense

Paul is so certain

about something

that's going to happen

in the future

that he messes around

with the grammar

in order to magnify

the grace of God

it's in the future

it is as certain

as any of those

in the past

he put his pen down

I saw a tear

trickle down his cheek

and he said

John

30 years of doubt

have just rolled away

and correspondence with him

afterwards convinced me

that it had

so we shall be like him

so to recap again

we should be like him

we should be like him

we shall be like him

well what do we make of this

we shall be like him

we shall

our bodies

we've touched on that already

our lowly bodies

full of so many weaknesses

they have sickness and death

written all over them

I have a very large volume

at home called

Guide to Family Health

and if I have a little ache

or a pain

or something

I flip open these

hundreds of pages

to look at what I've got

and you know what happens

the symptoms could also be this

and something

it's like googling something up

and three hours later

you haven't reached the end

of the rabbit trails from it

and I wind up thinking

I've got about 157 diseases

as I can understand

at the moment

I don't feel

I don't feel in pretty good shape

at all

so that's what our bodies

are like

and our spirits

subject

by nature

objects of God's wrath

and spiritually

the things that there are

in our bodies

and in our spirits

that would cause us

to look twice

at this phrase

we shall be

like him

think of some of the

sins

that have stained

and polluted

and plagued

your life

Jesus at one stage

when people were discussing

where sin had its

genesis

said this

what comes out of a man

is what makes him

unclean

for from within

out of man's hearts

come evil thoughts

sexual immorality

theft

murder

adultery

greed

that ring a bell

malice

deceit

lewdness

envy

slander

arrogance

folly

all these evils

come from inside

and make a man

unclean

see the problem

is not that we're

deprived

but that we are

depraved

we're by nature

corrupt

and vile

and godless

and you know

the more spiritually

mature we become

the more we know

those things to be true

Paul in Romans 7

says

I know that nothing

good lives in me

that is in my

sinful nature

I've heard people say

well Paul was looking

back to his

pre-conversion days

and say

boy I was a mess

then

and

I can't

find any way

to interpret it

as being

autobiographical

autobiographical

and looking past

before his

conversion

I tell you

the further you go

in the Christian life

the more you identify

with Paul who says

I know that in me

that is in my

sinful nature

the idea that when you

become a Christian

your sinful nature

is removed

and you go through

the rest of life

whistling a happy tune

with never to worry

in the world

is baloney

that could hardly

even find a place

on religious television

though it does make

a big attempt

the fact of the matter

is

that in our

sinful natures

there dwells

no good thing

and we

shall

be

like

him

C.H. Spurgeon

received a copy

once of Andrew

Bonner's commentary

on Leviticus

Bonner was a

Scottish preacher

he was so blessed

he sent it back

to him

and said

could you

autograph it

and give me

a photograph

now I'll be happy

to sign your books

afterwards

but no photographs

please

nor would you

want one

and

Bonner replied

dear Spurgeon

here is the book

with my autograph

and my photograph

if you had been

willing to wait

a short season

you could have

had a better

likeness

for I shall

be like him

I shall see him

as he

is

so will all

who belong

to Christ

now

those of you

who are Christians

isn't that

wonderful news

and you're a Christian

and there have been

ups and downs

there have been

doubts and fears

struggles with that

and fears within

and sometimes

you've been hit

by very heavy blows

and sometimes

two or three

triple whammies

and you've wondered

at times

nothing wrong with that

the best of Christians

as I see it

reading history

have had their

moments

but isn't it wonderful

to have this reassurance

we shall

be

like

him

oh and if you're

not a Christian

as we come to the

end of this service

would you like to be

like him

almost four years

to the day

I laid

the body

of my wife

Joyce

in

her grave

and I'm sure

it will not be

very long

before

I join her

there

and if you were

to go to

Epsom Cemetery

just that side

of London

you would find

a beautiful

headstone

in black

marble

with gold

lettering

across it

and her name

Joyce

Sylvia

Blanchard

date of birth

2nd of December

1933

date of death

17th of February

2010

and underneath

these words

with Christ

which is

far

better

than a big

space

and you know

what's going

there

I've booked

that

and the reason

I chose the text

is this

even when I'm

dead

I'll be

preaching

and everybody

who passes

will look

and whether

they've got an

interest in my

name or not

will say

and I've known

people mentioned

to me already

they passed

that and read

the text

with Christ

which is far

better

now my friend

as I leave

you

and perhaps

never to see

you again

let me

urgently ask

you to give

serious weight

to this

when the moment

comes for you

to die

and I don't know

what the marker

will be on your

grave

or whether you'll

be cremated

that's immaterial

this is for

illustrative purposes

only

on your headstone

one of two

things could be

could be written

maybe you or

your family

have something

else in mind

but one of

these two

could be written

with Christ

which is far

better

better than

anything

you have ever

experienced

and better than

anything you

could ever

imagine

or

without Christ

which is far

worse

worse than

anything

you have ever

experienced

or anything

you could ever

imagine

will you

come to Christ

and join

those of us

who rejoice

in this

amazing

wonderful

staggering

almost

unbelievable

truth

but it's

believable

because God

said it

through his

servant

we

shall be

like him

let's pray

father

thank you

for giving

us this

sacred

hour

together

and I

pray that

you will

give to

each one

of us

the grace

of understanding

and even

more

the grace

of obedience

and I

pray especially

that any

who has

become to

this moment

in our

service

are knowing

in their

hearts

that these

things are

not yet

true for

them

Lord by

your spirit

work in

their hearts

that they

might call

out to you

to be saved

and join

those of

whom

these words

are wonderfully

true

so that

they too

shall be

like

him

and we

ask it

in his

name

amen

W

He

What

you

what

he

He

what

he

what

he

Lord

He

He

What

What