I Am The Resurrection And The Life

Now, I want everybody to look at their watch just for a minute so that you've taken care

! of that obligation. I do want you to know it means nothing. I just tell you that ahead of time this

morning. John and I conferred together. I want to say a word of thanks to the blessing of

seeing what God has done here over the years. I remember when John was in junior high and I coached

him. And where is John? Where did you go, John? He stepped out for a second. Well, John was a

coaching opportunity. And it's been a joy to watch him grow. And he has a sensitivity

to the supremacy of the Scriptures that I am blessed by. The reason that we conferred together

here was to check on our lotto numbers. No. I, you know, sorry. Don't send me an email. I know better.

Okay. He asked me, Pastor, should we sing one song or two? And I said, two. That does not mean I will

preach a shorter sermon. But it means that I join you together in the delight of singing the praises

of Christ. And by the way, I love to listen to you guys when you're really into it. You know, I,

you know, when, when, when the Word of God and the Spirit of God connects, listen carefully.

People who love Jesus don't mind blowing it out. You know? And if, if you don't like to sing,

it may be one of the reasons might be that you don't know who you're singing about.

Now, it can be we're not singing a song you know. I understand all that. But

there are broad principles here. So that's a, that's a free sermon unrelated to the one I will preach.

John chapter 11. And before we go into the Word together, I want to stop and pray for Pastor

John 11 · chapter mention

Andrew. He is preaching this morning. And I, you can, how many of you have already received texts

from your children that are in Jamaica to let them, no texts, no Facebook messages or anything?

Oh, you don't have a phone. They don't have a phone. That's right. Okay. So we're going to pray

for Pastor Andrew. I was going to tell you to text him. You can text Caleb and Charity and let them

know that we're praying for Pastor Andrew as he preaches. And by the way, like I said, you're

multitasking. You're praying for Pastor Andrew and you're going to pray for me as well. Let's pray

together for both of us. Our Father God, for us this morning, praying in advance of preaching

and praying during the preaching of the Word of God is not a habit, but it is an expression

of our confidence in you who answer prayer and who choose to use frail vessels that the glory

of God may be clearly seen to be of you and not of us. And so prayer pleads with you to do a work

in the life of the one that you have chosen as an instrument to communicate the Word and also in the

hearts of those who hear the Word. Pray for Pastor Andrew this morning that he might know the power of

the Spirit of God and bringing the Word of God with clarity and passion and with simplicity.

And that those things might be true of me as well as we open up this passage this morning and

revel in the sweetness of the Lord Jesus Christ who we who know Jesus will someday see and be satisfied in.

Pray for those that are here today whose hearts are wounded and grieved by

particular challenges in their life that

in the flesh find no remedy.

That this morning the

truth and the comfort of the gospel might be sufficient and

that they would leave this morning with hearts that are lifted up and

encouraged and strengthened by the reality that you who gained victory

over death

have not left them abandoned in this moment.

I have no doubt that there are those here also Lord Jesus today that do not know you.

And it is my plea that today would be the day of salvation for them.

Lord we ask that

we who know you

would have our hearts

warmed by the sweetness of your truth and your person

and we would long for the day that we will see you face to face.

We ask this

in Jesus name.

Amen.

Well

about

two Fridays ago

Judith and I enjoyed a

wonderful violin recital

and

one of the things that actually made that recital

even more enjoyable was the fact that

before each of the little

musical pieces that

Olivia played on the violin

she gave just a little bit of explanation

so that

that as we were listening we could kind of track along.

I gotta

admit to you that I am not a

violin

affectionado.

It's not one of those things that I listen to on a normal basis.

Beautiful as it is

I just don't listen to music at all

generally other than you singing.

And

having Olivia just explain each little piece

it

it really helped.

I could track the

the progress

and she gave little hints of what was coming

and it

it was

it was a blessing to me

and I want to do something

similar to that

in that I want to tell you ahead of time

what the central focus of this morning's message is.

By the way

that focus

is

one that John

tells us

clearly

in John chapter 20

John 20:31

verse 31

he explains

he says

here's why

I'm writing this book.

Does anybody know what it is?

How many of you know?

Just offhand

by the way

you've been here with me long enough

that you know

here's why

John wrote his book

that you might know

that Jesus is

the son of God

and that

believing on him

you might have what?

Eternal life

everlasting life.

And so

I want you to keep that

kind of in the back of your mind

that as we're working our way

through this account

there in John chapter 11

John 11 · chapter mention

I would encourage you to grab a Bible

if you don't have one

there in pew

in front of you

is a Bible

and you can follow along

there's something to be said

by putting your eyes on the text.

So I want you to look at John chapter 11

John 11 · chapter mention

we're going to pick up there in verse 17

and I'm going to read a little bit of this text

and get started

and then we'll work our way through the outline

that I've established here.

Look at verse 17

Now when Jesus came

he found that Lazarus

had already been in the tomb

four days.

Bethany was near Jerusalem

about two miles off

and many of the Jews

had come to Martha and Mary

to console them

concerning their brother.

So when Martha heard

that Jesus was coming

she went and met him

but Mary remained seated

in the house.

Martha said to Jesus

Lord

if you'd been here

my brother would not have died

but even now I know

that whatever you ask from God

God will give you.

Jesus said to her

your brother will rise again.

Martha said to him

I know that he will rise again

in the resurrection

on the last day.

Jesus said to her

I am the resurrection

and the life

whoever believes in me

though he die

yet shall he live

and everyone who lives

and believes in me

shall never die.

Do you believe this?

She said to him

yes Lord

I believe that you are

the Christ

the Son of God

who is coming

into the world.

Now with that

passage in mind

let's kind of step into

the first little piece of it

and recognize

that what takes place

in the early part

of our text

is that faith frames

challenges

with past blessings.

We find here

in the account

that Jesus arrives

at Bethany

and when he arrives there

as it says there

in verse 17

he is told

that Lazarus

has already been dead

for four days.

Now the time frame

may be a little confusing

to us

because you know

you think of the circumstances

surrounding this

and we may forget

that for the man

to travel as a messenger

from where he was

in Bethany

to where Jesus was

across the Jordan

took about a day

roughly

and you'll remember

that that travel

brought him

into Jesus' presence

and he told Jesus

that hey listen

I want you to know

that Lazarus is sick.

The reality of the fact

is that perhaps

somewhere in the near time

around when this man

left Bethany

at Mary and Martha's

encouragement

to travel to Jesus

Lazarus actually died.

The man did not know that

he's trucking along

on his journey

and he arrives

in Jesus' presence

and you remember

what Jesus did

instead of going

immediately to help

he waited two more days.

Then he left.

Jesus arrives in town

and here he discovers

or he is told

that Lazarus

has been dead

for four days already.

Now we find also

in the passage

that it tells us

in verse 18

that Bethany

was near Jerusalem

about two miles off

and many of the Jews

had come to Martha and Mary

to console them

concerning their brother.

Just a little side note here

can you imagine

in our culture

when someone passes away

the average consolation

or the time

that we put into that

is what?

I mean you'll go

to calling hours

isn't that right?

How many of you

have taken a three day break

from your job

just to kind of

sit around in the home

of someone

who lost a loved one?

That doesn't happen.

In the ancient culture

events were not run

by a clock on the wrist

or a watch on the wrist

that you kept track of.

Things happened in days.

And here friends

had gathered

to spend time

with Mary and Martha

and just to be

in their presence.

Not to kind of

blather on

but just to let them know

we care about you

and we're here

because we love you.

In the middle of that

we find that Jesus

arrives

and I want you

to recognize here

that when

Jesus does arrive

it is Martha

not Mary

that goes out

to meet him.

I want you to look

at the passage here

just for a moment

and mark what it says here.

So when Martha

heard that Jesus

was coming

she went

and met him

but Mary

remained seated

in the house.

Now if you have

worked your way

through the synoptic

gospels

you will remember

that Mary and Martha

have more than one

incident of record

in the scriptures.

Isn't that right?

And I wonder

whether or not

you can kind of

refresh your memory

just for a moment

and think about

the circumstances

when Jesus came

and visited

in the home

of Mary and Martha

and Lazarus

and they're kind of

doing the dinner deal

and what is Mary doing?

She's just sitting

there listening

to Jesus

and what is Martha

doing?

She is all about

being the perfect

hostess

in the moment

I mean the food

is coming to the table

and you know

it's just

and she's

kind of really

wrapped up

in the details

of it

and actually

she gets a little

frustrated with her

sister

and she goes

to Jesus

and says

hey

do something

about her.

What does Jesus

say to Martha

at that moment?

How many of you know?

We have this

encouragement

from Jesus

to Martha

hey

you're kind of

wound up over

details

back up

Mary is the one

that is choosing

the better things

in the moment

and so

we may find

ourselves

having this

mindset

that of the

Mary Martha

grouping

the more

spiritual one

is who?

Mary

she's the one

who's got it

all together

she's the

good sister

who has this

discerning spirit

and really is

on top of things

spiritually

we find here

that when you

read the text

you discover

that it's

Martha

not Mary

that goes out

to meet Jesus

there's no

indication

that Jesus

called her

and it would

seem that on

the basis

of her desire

to be around

the Lord Jesus

that she went

now we're going

to get into

this a little

later

next lesson

when we look

at the further

part where Mary

actually responds

but I'm going

to tell you

ahead of time

that both

Martha and

Mary say

essentially

the same

thing to Jesus

in their

first moment

of meeting

him

which is

you know

what

if you'd

been here

my brother

wouldn't have

died

there is a

difference

and we're

going to look

at that

in greater

detail

next pass

there's a

difference

between

the way

in which

Martha

fleshes out

that statement

and the

statement

that Mary

made

Mary

seems to be

a little

more terse

and a little

more challenged

by what had

taken place

here's Martha

she comes

she says

Lord if you

had been here

verse 21

my brother

would not

have died

now look

at verse 22

but even now

I know that

whatever you ask

from God

God will give

you

so I want

to take just

a moment

and encourage

you to recognize

that when you

read this

account of

Martha

you understand

that Martha

evidently had

made spiritual

strides

between the

account that

we find in

Luke chapter

I think it is

Isaiah 10 · chapter mention

chapter 10

yes

and this

moment in

John

where many

months later

there is

another incident

where Jesus

comes in

contact with

these two

sisters

and it is

evident that

the admonition

and the counsel

of Christ

at that

earlier moment

had a

spiritual

impact

and framed

the life

and thinking

of Martha

so I want

you to

recognize

that

one of the

characteristics

of a person

who is a

child of God

is that in

the face

of the

counsel

and encouragement

of Christ

there is

what

there is

good chance

of spiritual

growth

isn't that

right

and so

I want

to encourage

you that

you allow

the corrections

that Christ

brings into

your life

to move

you along

like it

moved Martha

along

I want you

also to

recognize here

that Martha

understood

that Jesus

could have

helped

you look

there in

verse 21

if you've

been here

you could

have done

something

and that

recognition

is based

on the fact

that she

had seen

Jesus do

all kinds

of miracles

already

this was

the John

11 passage

is substantially

later

in the

public

ministry

of Christ

that went

on for

three years

how many

of you

know

what a

harmony

of the

gospels

is

raise

your

hands

if you

know

what a

harmony

of the

hello

okay

let's do

it a

different

way

I asked

the question

wrong

how many

of you

would like

to know

what a

harmony

of the

gospels

is

so you

can use

it

profitably

for your

Bible

study

right

I mean

hey

listen to

me

the more

you know

about

Jesus

the better

off

you are

everybody

said amen

to that

one

right

I mean

you don't

want to

say it

quietly

because we're

Baptists

but it's

like

yeah

the more

you know

about

Jesus

the better

off

you are

okay

so

a

harmony

of the

gospels

is a

thing

that kind

of

puts

things

together

so you

can see

how it

happened

and by

this

time

Jesus

had done

all kinds

of miracles

and Martha

knew about

them

and she

had complete

confidence

that hey

you know

what

he can

do

this

and so

we put

it this

way

Martha

had

confidence

in what

she knew

that Jesus

had already

done

and so

here she

is in

verse 22

even now

I know

that whatever

you ask

from God

God will

give you

I want

to recognize

that by

this time

also

Jesus

had

actually

already

raised

two

other

individuals

from the

dead

this

wasn't

his first

pass

and she

must have

known about

the widow

of Nain

she must

have known

about

Jairus'

daughter

and she

had every

reason to

believe that

even though

Jesus could

have kept

him from

dying

here was

a moment

and Jesus

could respond

to her

request

I think

it's impressive

that in the

face of the

overwhelming

heartache

of having

lost her

brother

that we

find here

is Martha

trusting Jesus

in the moment

and we

do well

when we

find ourselves

in those

moments

when our

life seems

to just be

overwhelmed

and circumstances

are leading us

to the point

of just

absolute despair

we remember

this

the things

that Christ

has already

done for us

give us

great comfort

and confidence

that the

moment he

is in

is not

a moment

of abandonment

he won't

leave us

there

let me tell

you something

this is off

the notes

if he's

willing to

die for you

there is

nothing else

that he will

set aside

there is

nothing that

he will

neglect

in the

moment of

your greatest

need

he will

care for

you

in

absolute

perfection

and when

you get

to heaven

you're

going to

say

wow

okay

and so

when you

find yourself

at this

moment

just kind

of like

overwhelmed

by the

heartache

of the

moment

I want

you to

remember

look at

the cross

he's done

the biggest

thing that

needed to

be done

for you

it's

settled

all the

others

are small

details

and trust

him

having taken

care of the

big one

to take

care of the

other minor

details

and not

disappoint

you

remember what

Christ has

done

and trust

him

despite the

moment

you know

we have no

greater cause

for hope

in the face

of trial

other than the

cross and the

empty tomb

I love the

words of the

song and I

kind of just

recite them here

for a moment

though Satan

should buffet

though trials

should come

let this

blessed assurance

control

that Christ

has regarded

my helpless

estate

and has shed

his own blood

for my soul

that satisfies

the issue

and I

appreciate the

fact that here

is Martha

her brother's

dead

they had sent

off a messenger

saying you need

to come

our brother's

dying

and he

died

and here's

Jesus

and Martha

says hey

I'm glad

you're here

now listen

I know that

if you ask

it'll get

done

that's faith

isn't it

nothing's wrong

with asking

nothing's wrong

with asking

and so here

is Martha

kind of putting

it out to

Jesus

you know

what

if you just

bring it up

your father

will take

care of it

right

now

I want you

to recognize

secondly

that faith

rests on

God's promise

look there

at verse 23

Jesus said

to her

your brother

will rise

again

now

how many

of you

have recognized

in the rearview

mirror

that what

was going

on in your

life

you didn't

understand

quite as

well

as you

should have

at the

moment

how many

of you

have been

there

before

it's like

what was

he doing

and here

is Jesus

waits

four days

Lazarus

is dead

stinking

and Jesus

shows up

and Martha

says

hey listen

if you want

to do this

you can lift

him up

and Jesus

goes right

into it

in verse 23

your brother

will rise

again

instead of

grasping

the sweetness

of this

truth

here's

Martha

who took

comfort

in what

she knew

from the

Old Testament

rather than

what she

knew about

Jesus

just kind

of a

moment

here

for you

to

recognize

this

here

is

Martha

thinking

accurately

theologically

about the

fact

that

that

the

scriptures

made it

clear

that

the dead

would rise

again

and I

have to

tell you

that I

think

at the

moment

there

in

verse

24

Martha

says

to him

I know

that he

will rise

again

in the

resurrection

on the

last

day

in the

face

of the

heartache

and the

challenge

of the

death

that she

was

kind

of enduring

and

struggling

with

she

kind

of

reminded

herself

of the

promises

in the

Old

Testament

so Martha's

faith

rested

in what

she knew

God had

promised

I don't

know if

you've

done

that

most

of us

here

have

lost

someone

that

we

dearly

love

and

that

loss

leaves

a hole

it

leaves

a

deep

abiding

sense

of

loss

and yet

when

we

stand

at the

empty

grave

or when

we go

out

alone

and

stand

out

there

with

a

father

or a

mother

or a

husband

or a

wife

one

of the

things

that

we

take

comfort

in

is

we

know

the

reality

of

the

promises

of

God

to

assure

us

of

the

reality

of

the

resurrection

and we

take

comfort

in

that

I want

you to

think

with me

just for

a

moment

of a

couple

different

passages

in the

Old

Testament

where

the

issue

of

the

resurrection

is

undeniably

clear

Job

Job 19 · chapter mention

chapter

19

go ahead

and turn

to that

one

because

I

think

there's

benefit

that

Job

was

in

a

pretty

difficult

and

burdensome

place

here's

what

it

says

in

Job

Job 19:25

chapter

19

verse

25

and

26

for

I

know

that

my

redeemer

lives

and

at

the

last

he

will

stand

upon

the

earth

and

after

my

skin

has

been

thus

destroyed

yet

in

my

flesh

I

shall

see

God

I'm

going

to

see

him

myself

in

person

in

my

flesh

look

at

another

passage

if you

will

Psalm

19

verse

Psalm

Psalms 17:15

17

verse

15

Psalm

Psalms 17:15

17

verse

15

as

for

me

Psalm

Psalms 17:15

17

verse

15

as

for

me

I

shall

behold

your

face

in

righteousness

when

I

awake

I

shall

be

satisfied

in

your

likeness

so

is

this

the

end

of

life

every

one

of

you

here

unless

Jesus

comes

back

can

be

assured

of

this

you

will

die

it's

a

fact

is

that

the

end

of

the

story

the

Bible

says

categorically

no

what

will

happen

is

that

you

will

rise

again

and

for

the

believer

we

have

the

comfort

and

the

encouragement

that

when

we

rise

again

we

are

going

to

be

different

than

we

were

prior

to

our

death

and

we

are

going

to

be

different

than

we

were

in

our

death

and

this

passage

says

when

I

awake

I

shall

be

satisfied

with

your

likeness

it

brings

to

mind

a

passage

in

1

1 John 3 · chapter mention

John

chapter

3

where

it

says

this

it

does

not

yet

appear

what

we

shall

be

but

when

we

see

him

we

will

be

what

what

does

it

say

we'll

be

like

him

now

let

me

give

you

a little

side

note

on

that

one

of

the

blessings

that

we

know

from

the

scriptures

particularly

in

2nd

Corinthians

chapter

3

verse

18

is

that

as

we

grow

in

knowing

Christ

through

the

scriptures

we

grow

to be

more

like

him

as

a

result

of

seeing

him

knowing

him

and

growing

to

love

him

now

listen

to

me

if

you're

here

professing

to

be

a

believer

and

you

cannot

see

any

evidence

of

the

progressive

transformation

of being

who

you

used

to

be

to

being

who

you

someday

will

be

by

grace

you

probably

ought to

double

check

your birth

certificate

because

here's

a

characteristic

of

those

who

are

the

children

of

God

you

change

you

grow

you

improve

you

don't

stay

where

you

were

I

think

modern

evangelicalism

has done

a

harm

to

gospel

truth

by

just

presupposing

that

just

say

a

prayer

and

that's

the

end

of

it

I

know

a lot

of

people

have

said

the

prayer

never

had

a

minute

change

in

their

life

when

a

person

is

genuinely

converted

they

don't

stay

the

way

they

used

to

be

come

back

to

this

passage

here

it

is

in

Psalms

it

says

as

for

me

I

will

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face

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when

I

awake

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shall

be

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with

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going to

be

like

you

do

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for

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for

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and

I

do

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go

to

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in

to

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to

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to

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be

to

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to

I

of

I

to

I

to

lip

lip

lip

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lip

up

it

lip

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do

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and you have Him as your God and Savior, or you're a person who at the moment stands unrepentant,

and if you die prior to faith, your eternity is stunningly horrible.

Listen to what it says in Daniel chapter 12, verse 2.

Daniel 12:2

And many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life.

That's the good part.

And some to shame and everlasting contempt.

One of the reasons that the preaching of the Word of God should always have the undercurrent tone of the sweetness of the gospel

is because the issue of heaven and hell rests upon a person receiving the Word of God

and believing in the Lord Jesus Christ as their Savior that they might not be condemned but have everlasting life.

And so here we are looking at this passage in John chapter 11,

John 11 · chapter mention

and Jesus says to Martha,

Hey, listen, your brother's going to rise again.

She says, Yeah, yeah, yeah, I know it's going to happen at the end.

And I've got to commend Martha.

I respect the fact that even in the moment of this great grief, the loss of her brother,

she holds on to the promises that she did know in the Bible.

So here you are today, 21st century,

and I've got to tell you that I join you in not always knowing exactly what God is doing in my life,

but there's wisdom in holding on to the promises that are clear.

Treasure truth that He's already given you

and allow that to be the comfort that brings you through the moment and heartache that you're enduring.

I love what follows now in verse 25.

Look there, it says,

Jesus said to her,

I am the resurrection and the life.

I've got to tell you,

I want you to think with me just for a moment

of Martha running up into Jesus' presence

and her heart just bubbles out.

Can you imagine her waiting for Jesus to arrive?

We send off the messengers.

He needs to get here.

Get quick.

Lazarus is going to die.

And he dies.

And then Jesus comes and He says,

You know what?

If you want, you could raise Him.

And Jesus says,

Your brother's going to rise again.

And she doesn't connect the dots.

Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah.

That's going to happen in the resurrection.

I got you.

Jesus stops in this very emotional moment

to state an unbelievably profound truth.

I am the resurrection and the life.

And what Jesus is doing is helping Martha recognize

an undeniable truth that faith centers on Christ Himself.

I want you to mark that and understand that.

In a moment, Jesus was going to raise Lazarus from the dead.

He was going to perform an undeniable miracle

that was going to be the talk of Jerusalem.

But He wants to make it very, very clear here to Martha.

And He wants it to be clear in our lives

that the moment and the issue that was going to take place

really is actually inseparable from the person Himself.

Against Martha's faith in the future of the resurrection,

Jesus announced that,

I am the resurrection and the life.

Jesus had already proclaimed

that He had the power of resurrection in His hand.

He'd done that a number of different times.

We're not going to look at it this morning,

but Mark, in John 5, verse 21,

John 5:21

He made it clear.

The Father has given me the power of the resurrection

and judgment.

I have that right.

In John 5, verse 25 through 29,

John 5:25–29

again that thing comes out.

In John 6, verse 39 and 40,

John 6:39

the reality of Christ being the one

who has the power of the resurrection

had been made very clear.

And here is Jesus challenging Martha

to move from faith in the abstract

and to step into having a very real

and personal relationship with Him.

Well, what Jesus made clear to Martha

was that the truth of the resurrection

that she was hoping in

and the truth of life that she was actually hoping in

was inseparable from Himself.

There was no disconnect.

There's this abstract theological truth

that you kind of hang your head on.

No, no, that's not the issue.

It is actually apart from Jesus,

there is no reality.

There is no hope.

There is no certainty.

There's nothing.

Yes, it's true.

Apart from Jesus, there's nothing.

Apart from Jesus, there's nothing.

And here is Jesus standing in the face of death.

And by the way, why is it that we die?

What's the answer?

Death came because of sin.

That's why.

The reason that death came into the world

is because men rebelled against the holy word

and instruction of God

and they chose to go their own rebellious way

rather than to submit and worship God.

Death is the outcome.

And here is Jesus in the face of all of that

saying something stunningly true.

He says, listen, I want you to understand

that this business of the resurrection

is not some kind of abstract theological truth

that sits over here and,

well, yeah, I believe in it someday.

It's out there and it's okay.

He says, no, no, no.

I want you to understand

all of truth is wrapped up in me.

Me.

All other religious systems

that you can look at and consider

offer a plan and some hope of self-improvement.

That's a fact.

Regardless of what that system is,

it proposes that at the end of the day,

the thing that needs to be done

is you need to go about this process

of making some improvements

and changes in your life

and you listen to all that's going on

in the world around us.

And I've got to tell you,

this last week has been profoundly troubling.

I'll tell you one of the reasons

it's particularly troubling.

It's troubling because in the face

of the absolute chaos of our culture,

instead of hearing leaders speak truth,

I hear leaders who are just playing

to their particular audience

and are interested in continuing

to magnify the turmoil in our culture

for their own benefit.