 Let's open our Bibles together to Matthew chapter 28 We're going to be looking this morning at verses one through eight as we celebrate the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ As I was mentioning to the church on Friday night And when Jesus Christ was placed on the cross There were there people who were watching his crucifixion And I was I was sharing how that while on the cross he spoke What are referred to today is the seven last sayings of Christ? And we're familiar with those sayings those of us who have been Christians for a while We've read our Bibles. We've read the New Testament. We've read through the accounts of Jesus is being crucified and things that he said Father forgive them for they know not what they do Or to the thief that was one of the thieves that was next to him Today I stand to you. You shall be with me in paradise There are various things that Jesus said well there on the cross to his mother and to John He spoke mother behold thy son to John. He said behold thy mother. He said I thirst Various things that Christ said on that cross. He also said it is finished and And then one of the more touching pictures that you have in the New Testament is when Jesus said Father into thy hands I commit my spirit The Bible tells us he dismissed his spirit And he died I Was mentioning and I've mentioned before that When Jesus had father into thy hands I commit my spirit That was part of the evening prayers that children would learn as they were growing up in a faithful Jewish household They would they would quote that psalm as they place their head on their pillow Every night And for the last time Jesus prayed that prayer For the last time he said father into thy hands. I commit my spirit and he Put his head down on his chest And he began to roll his head to the side placing his head if you will on the pillow of the cross And he died John was there and so was Mary there were others Some of the men the disciples Who should have been there were not they were hiding for fear of Jewish authorities But John came through the love of God drawn to that cross and He was there when Jesus died in and Mary was there and so was Mary Madeline and when Jesus was removed from that cross and He was taken he was taken by a man by the name of Joseph as Well as one named Nicodemus and they placed Jesus in a borrowed tomb a tomb that was owned by Joseph of vermouth. They are very rich man and They anointed him They put various spices upon him The women took note of where it was that Jesus had been placed Because as they were thinking within themselves will return when we're able seeing that the Sabbath is upon us and We can't continue and complete his burial We'll simply come on on Sunday And we'll complete his burial and that's what we see taking place here in Matthew 28 And I'll begin reading at verse 1 read to verse 8 Now after the Sabbath as a first day of the week began to dawn Mary Magdalene and the other Mary came to see the tomb and behold There was a great earthquake For an angel of the Lord descended from heaven and came and rolled back the stone from the door And sat on it his countenance was like lightning and His clothing is white as snow and The guards shook for fear of him came like dead men But the angel answered and said to the women do not be afraid For I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. He's not here for he's risen as he said Come see the place where the Lord lay and go quickly and tell his disciples That he has risen from the dead and indeed He is going before you into Galilee there. You will see him behold. I have told you So they went out quickly from the tomb with fear and great joy and ran to bring his disciples word So Jesus has been crucified Jesus has died and Jesus has been placed in that tomb. He's been buried as Painful as this was the Bible makes it very clear that the death of Jesus Christ had a distinct purpose The Bible makes it very clear that he died in order to secure salvation for mankind. That's why he died The Bible in Romans 5a says God demonstrated his love toward us in that While we were yet sinners Christ died for us Jesus said the Son of man did not come to be served But to serve and to give his life a ransom for many John said for God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son The whosoever believes in him should not perish but have everlasting life for God did not send his son into the world to condemn the world but that the world through him might be saved and That's why the gospel is called the gospel the word Gospels really means the gospel means the good news the magnificent news the amazing news Because the gospel is the great news that God has loved the world has not left the world in sin But has done something to save us and so part of the purpose of Christ's incarnation Would include the fact that God was demonstrating his love That God was demonstrating his concern for us his death had a distinct purpose He died to secure salvation Later on Pentecost the Apostle Peter was preaching his first message and he emphasized this fact he said in Acts 2 verse 23 Speaking of Jesus this man was handed over to you by God's set purpose and foreknowledge and You with the help of wicked men put him to death by nailing him to the cross So as mentioned a moment ago What did his death on the cross accomplish one his death revealed the death of God's love for the entire world? The Bible says whoever believes Shall not perish but have everlasting life this causes us to understand That salvation isn't automatic. It is not something that you get Through somebody else's faith Somebody else cannot believe on my behalf to my salvation It requires me to respond to the invitation It requires me to hear what God is saying and to respond to that and that's what takes place It's an individual call for individuals whoever believes speaks of an individual personal decision But as Jesus dies on that cross he is he is Accomplishing something called redemption He's purchasing us and the cost of redemption the scripture says is his blood in Revelation chapter 5 verse 9 it speaks of those who sang a new song You are worthy to take the scroll to open its seals Because you were slain and with your blood you purchased men for God from every tribe and language and people and nation and Then a third thing that was accomplished with Satan was conquered According to Hebrews chapter 2 verse 14 and 15 Because God's children are human beings made of flesh and blood Jesus also became flesh and blood by being born in human form For only as a human being could he die And only by dying could he break the power of the devil who had the power of death Only in this way could he deliver those who have lived all their lives as slaves to the fear of dying So Jesus Christ accomplished these purposes demonstrating the love of God redeeming the world overcoming the enemy and he did that on our behalf as Mentioned after Jesus died a rich man. His name was Joseph Claimed his body buried it that fulfilled a prophecy made by Isaiah over seven centuries before Isaiah 53 verse 9 says they made his grave with the wicked, but with the rich at his death Now the Jewish officials were taken measures to prevent what would be called a resurrection hoax When you look at verses 62 through 66 and in chapter 27 It records how the officials approached Pilate Received a Roman guard in order to set a watch over the tomb The chief priests of Pharisees went to Joseph's private garden to the tomb a guard was posted They sealed the tomb in order to ensure no deception would occur Today there are those who do not believe that Jesus was crucified That he was buried and that he was raised from the dead There are those that teach that Jesus was not crucified They actually say that somebody else took his place It was not some other man who was crucified though. The Bible makes it very clear. It was Jesus himself who was placed on that cross I Was reading how Muslims dispute the fact of Jesus's crucifixion Arguing that Allah would never have dishonored his prophet by allowing him to undergo such a death Muslims believe that Jesus was miraculously caught up into heaven and that someone perhaps Judas Iscariot Secretly took his place on the cross There's a Christian Apologist that I respect his name is Josh McDowell and Josh McDowell said many theories have been advanced attempting to show that the resurrection of Jesus Christ was a fraud I Believe that many of the people who came up with these theories Must have had two brains one lost and The other out looking for it. I like that You can clap. That's okay Overwhelming applause, but that's good Of course, that's what that's the opposite of what the Bible teaches a sinful man did not die for Jesus Jesus died for sinful man After his resurrection One of his apostles a man by the name of Thomas Thomas refused to believe that Jesus was alive The Bible records how Jesus had appeared to some of them, but Thomas was not present when that had happened and so These men had told Thomas, but he didn't believe them John 19 25 says the other disciples therefore said to him We've seen the Lord So he said to them unless I see in his hands the print of the nails Put my finger into the print of the nails and put my hand into his side. I will not believe I need physical proof in other words that it's Jesus, but a week later Thomas got Jesus's response to his unbelief John records again in chapter 20 verses 27 through 29 that Jesus said to Thomas Reach your finger here and look at my hands and reach your hand here put it into my side Do not be unbelieving but believing and Thomas answered and said to him my Lord and my God Jesus said to him Thomas because you have seen me you have believed Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed Blessed are our Us today. We were not there. We were not present, but we have believed to the saving of our souls Now the question would be asked if this was not true Why would God command a lie to be spread around the world? Why would God allow people to be deceived and what would that accomplish? Well, obviously it would accomplish nothing What we have is an actual fact what we have is something that actually occurred We have the resurrection of Jesus Christ and that's what we're looking at here in chapter 28 of Matthew Now notice in verse 1 after the Sabbath as the first day of the week began to dawn Mary Magdalene and the other Mary came to see the tomb. It's now Sunday morning The Sabbath has come and gone Mark tells us in chapter 16 verses 1 and 2 when the Sabbath was over Mary Magdalene married the mother of James and Salome bought spices so that they might go to anoint Jesus's body Very early on the first day of the week just after sunrise. They were on their way to the tomb According to the Jewish method of calculation three days have now passed You see the Jews consider the reference to a day as meaning any part of that day Jesus had been buried on Friday afternoon. His body was in the two-mile Saturday and into Sunday morning, which made up the three days He had prepared his disciples for what would occur in Matthew 16 21 He said Messiah must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things at the hands of the elders chief priests and teachers of the law and He must be killed and on the third day be raised alive Well at that time his disciples obviously didn't really understand what he was saying From the beginning of his ministry. He had been making it clear that he would die be buried and resurrected All the way back in John chapter 2 when his ministry was just beginning Jesus was confronted by religious leaders called Pharisees and As they had confronted him he had made a declaration to them in John 2 19 through 21 Jesus said to them Destroy this temple and in three days. I will raise it up The Jews said it has taken 46 years to build this temple and will you raise it up in three days? John goes on to say but he was speaking of the temple of his body One of the things you've learned if you're a Christian is most lessons are repeated often Because you don't learn them the first time But as they're being repeated it actually deepens the impact of that lesson They had heard it, but they didn't understand it. Nobody had been resurrected like this before So it's something they are progressively learning and so as this is taking place first one tells us Mary Magdalene and the other Mary Came to see the tomb the other Mary is the wife of a man by the name of Kloppus the mother of James and Josie's There's another woman by the name of Salome there and they came that that morning very early in order to complete the burial Joseph and Nicodemus had lavishly buried Christ, but for them it was not enough So this is a picture of complete and loving devotion to Christ These are women who had remained with him throughout his crucifixion and his death They may have followed him as he carried the cross and they saw him when he was crucified They had also been with Joseph and Nicodemus when Jesus was buried So they've returned in order to complete the burial process and as they're walking they're speaking amongst themselves They're dealing with a concern Mark tells us what that concern is in chapter 16 verse 3 They wonder who will roll the stone away from the entrance of the tomb Well, that's a good question because the stone was very heavy weighing between four to six thousand pounds It was on a wheel on an incline. It was lodged in a section that had been carved out and so When you consider this in reality though this this sounds almost heroic and in fact It's really rooted in unbelief because they're fully expecting to find a dead body even though Jesus had said he'd be resurrected their concern is About something that isn't necessary to be concerned about Under the duress and under the incredible grief they have forgotten what he has said He has been telling them that he would be resurrected. They forgot Just a week before Jesus had once again stated he'd be raised from the dead Matthew 20 in verses 17 through 19 says Jesus Going up to Jerusalem took the 12 disciples aside on the road said to them Behold we're going up to Jerusalem. Son, man will be betrayed to the chief priests to the scribes They will condemn him to death deliver him to the Gentiles to mock to scourge to crucify The third day he will rise again Again as I mentioned many of the lessons the Lord intends to teach requires repetition Because the theoretical needs to become the experiential Well as they arrived notice verse 2 behold there was a great earthquake for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven came and rolled back the stone from the door and sat on it the Tomb is open an earthquake occurred when the angel descended from heaven The angel had rolled back the stone He was there seated and according to verse 3 his countenance was like lightning his clothing as White as snow He's radiant. He's a picture of purity a picture of holiness and as this takes place first for the guard shook for fear of him Became like dead men The word shook is the same root word as earthquake. They actually were shaking without an earthquake Now these these individuals that are being mentioned here these guards There were 16 commandos They made up what was called a security unit They were what would be equivalent to the Roman special forces and they were fearless they were Incredible warriors they could withstand an entire battalion of infantry and That they couldn't stand before one of God's angels and they were afraid and they shook for fear and Became like dead men, but verse 5 the angel answered and said to the women Boo, no said to the women Do not be afraid For I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. He's not here for he has risen as he said Come see the place where the Lord lay and go quickly tell his disciples that he's risen from the dead indeed He is going before you into Galilee There you will see him behold. I have told you they went out quickly from the tomb with fear and great joy and Ran to bring his disciples word Now notice verse 5 Though they did not express fear the angel knew they were afraid at the sight of such glory. They immediately were caused to tremble and So he calms the women he soothes them. They're startled. They need comforting at the sight that they're beholding The guards had every reason to be afraid the women need not fear notice verse 5 notice what he says I know you seek Jesus You saw him die. You thought his body would still be in the tomb Luke 24 5 says in their fright the women bowed down with their faces to the ground But the men said to them, why do you look for the living among the dead? Do you know we're still doing that to this day? Why do you look for the living among the dead? Now this is not speaking simply of the one who has returned to life This is speaking of the one who is altogether the living one because in him is life Someone said it is useless to seek the one who lives in dead works dead formulas for dead or dying religious institutions in other words what good Has your religious traditions done you and that's true. Why do you seek the living amongst the dead? Why do we feel it more important to hold fast to the traditions we receive rather than the truth that is given to us by the gospel Why do we hold fast? I've had so many conversations with people over the years speaking to them concerning the claims of Christ and On more than one occasion. I've had people say to me. I'm gonna hold fast to that which I was taught I had a friend of mine. I was in the military with his name was rich and and I was speaking the gospel to him And I was sharing them within the word of God And he said this is what God's word says rich. This is how you're born again and Rich said to me. I'm gonna hold fast to what my mom taught me My mom wouldn't lie to me. I Said rich your mom's not intending to lie to you. She's just simply repeating the things that she's learned But these are not the things that the Bible teaches don't hold fast to these things hold fast to God's word I was speaking to somebody else and I said This is what the gospel says about coming to faith in Christ and being born again And that person said to me Well, I'm gonna hold fast to the things that my mom has taught me my mom would have a broken heart If I were to become a born-again Christian like you're speaking I'm gonna remain in the religious faith that she gave to me and I looked at this man And I said to him are you willing to go to hell for your mother? And he responded and said yes, and so I slapped him no he I He responded and said yes, I am and I said I wasn't willing to go to hell for my mother But I wanted to bring my mother to heaven. That's how I came to faith in Christ, and that's how I led my mother to Christ I was raised like many of you I was raised in a particular religious denomination and So I clung to the things that I was taught when I went through my what we called catechism classes and all I went through a Variety of things I was raised Roman Catholic some of you were to some were raised Episcopal some of you were raised Baptist Methodist Whatever it's a religious tradition. I Was raised in the Catholic tradition. I believe that I was born again when I was water baptized I believed I needed to receive the sacraments and I did I Received the baptism I received the sacrament of confession. I received sacrament of communion I also was was Confirmed and I went through the basic sacraments. That's what I did and I how fast are those things at least mentally and Believe those are the things that brought me to life But the bottom line is is at the age of 15 I got into alcohol and then drugs and lived a life that was anything but a Christian life and I was clean to my my liturgy. I was clinging to to the faith that I was given. I I believed it to be true I simply wasn't living it out and Yet it wasn't true Because what I was believing was not leading me to life. I Was holding fast. I was seeking the living amongst the dead the institution in and of itself was not bringing me life I was lost. I Was lost like so many of my friends. I was lost without Christ yet. I thought I was religious I would argue with people about the truth as I was taught it Because I held fast to it my mother was very devoted and I held fast to the things that she taught me I wanted to honor my mom But the bottom line is I was unsaved The bottom line is I didn't have a relationship with Christ. I didn't know Jesus Christ. I was an alcoholic I was a doper. I was promiscuous. I was lost But if you asked me if I was saved I would have said yes I am a Christian if you to ask me do you know God I'd say yes I could recite various things. I believe in God the Father Almighty creator of heaven and earth and in Jesus Christ There's only begotten son. I was able to speak those things as I was taught those things But I had no life in me I was seeking the living amongst the dead and then somebody came and shared the gospel with me And I was upset because I didn't want to hear it I didn't want to hear the things he was saying because that meant that everything that I had based my spiritual life on was not true And I was upset with them But I kept on listening and eventually one day in December of 1970 The gospel was proclaimed in a clear way and I stepped from darkness into light I got saved and began to follow Christ It's the truth that sets you free It's the truth that sets you free in heaven. There aren't little places where you have You know the Methodist here and Episcopal there and in Calvary Chapel off in this corner over here Pentecostals in the front row jumping around. It's not like that We're one family in Christ Because we came to faith in Christ. He is our Savior and That's the whole question whether or not you really have a relationship with him or not Do you know Jesus Christ? Do you have a relationship with have you been born again? Are your sins washed is your name written in the Lamb's book of life? Is he one day going to look at you and say well done my good my faithful servant Is he going to say to you enter into the joy thy Lord which has been prepared for you from the foundation of time? One of these days it is my hope and and my and my faith Trust I will hear those words and he's not going to say oh you were a pastor He's going to say you were my sheep you came into relationship with me and you followed me And that's what you need to do to if you're religious without a right relationship with God You need to give your heart to Christ today You need to come to faith in him today because the question is being asked Why do you seek the living amongst the death? Why are you pursuing that which will not bring you life? You need to have a relationship with him The Bible makes it very clear in verse 6. He's not here He's risen as he said notice how he comforts he comforts them by reminding them of the promise of God In Luke 24 6 through 8 It reads he is not here He has risen remember how he told you while he was still with you in Galilee The Son of man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men be crucified and on the third day be raised again Then they remembered his words you can always trust what God has to say Numbers 23 19 says God is not a man That he should lie nor a son of man that he should change his mind Does he speak and then I'd act does he promise and not fulfill? He says in verse 6 come see the place where the Lord lay Mark 16 verse 6 says don't be alarmed. You're looking for Jesus the Nazarene who was crucified. He's risen He's not here see the place where they laid him and then in verse 7 go quickly tell his disciples That he's risen from the dead the angel gives an order go quickly tell his disciples Mark 16 verse 7 says go tell his disciples and Peter That he is going before you into Galilee. There you will see him just as he said To you the disciples are in a state of mourning They had forsaken him and they had fled only John was there at the foot of the cross But Peter was deeply mourning So go and speak to him and bring comfort to him Remember how the Apostle Peter had boasted of his love for Christ Remember how he had said that I love you more than these Though all were to forsake you yet. I never I will die for you and even that night Even that night When they came to take Jesus there in the garden he pulled out his sword and he tried to take off The head of a man by the name of Melchus. He was there fighting and yet at the end He first shook the Lord and he fled. This is a man who said everybody else Will leave you, but I never will I Would die before I betray you But he left when Jesus was being tried Peter came into that courtyard and And he caught a glimpse of the Lord Jesus and Jesus looked at him and the Bible tells us That when he saw the Lord he was broken he wept He knew he denied the Lord His heart was torn Jesus hadn't been surprised by this at all even told Peter. It's gonna happen in Matthew 26 34 and 35 Jesus said assuredly I say to you that this night before the rooster crows. You'll deny me three times Peter said to him even if I have to die with you. I will not deny you So said all the disciples But instead of dying with Jesus he ended up denying Jesus So Peter needed to learn a simple lesson It isn't his great love for the Lord Instead, it's the great love the Lord has for him You know there are people in this room right now who from your earliest childhood Felt a desire to serve God But over the years as you grew up One failure led to another and ultimately in your life. There was nothing but discouragement You need to remember. It's not your great love for him. It's his great love for you You need to know that no sin is unforgivable If we confess our sin, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sin and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness Every sin you've ever committed can be forgiven if you just forsaken and turn to the Lord and ask God for forgiveness So she went to talk to Peter because Peter was broken It's likely that the shadow of his sin clouded his spiritual sight Psalm 40 verse 12 says troubles without numbers surround me My sins have overtaken me. I cannot see They are more than the hairs of my head My heart fails within me Our sins sometimes can be the only thing that we do see we become depressed filled to sorrow Unable to function filled with sadness no hope and no joy It's very a very famous story of King David who committed adultery with a woman named Bathsheba Impregnated her she told him she was pregnant with his child So he made an order gave an order for her husband Uriah to be placed in the hottest part of a battle and he ended up dying So King David not only committed adultery, but also Conspired for the death of this man. It was very faithful to him And he thought he got away with it But he didn't and one day the Lord inspired him to write about what he was feeling as he was carrying that burden Psalm 32 verses 3 through 5 David writes when I kept silent my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long For day and night your hand was heavy upon me my strength was sapped as in the heat of summer Then I acknowledged my sin to you did not cover up my iniquity. I said I will confess my transgressions to the Lord And you forgave the guilt of my sin God will forgive you You just need to repent turn from it come to him Filled with grief filled with self-condemnation. He needed the truth that would set him free in Matthew Jesus had said in chapter 11 verses 28 through 30 come unto me all you who are weary and burdened I'll give you rest Take my yoke upon you learn from me for I am gentle and humble in heart You will find rest for your souls My yoke is easy My burden is light Peter needed to know that though his sin was deep God's grace is deeper still And it's interesting to me That it's women who receive the word of his resurrection first It seems that they were driven by love to be at that place Well, the others were not and in verse 70 says go quickly. Tell us disciples. He's risen from the dead Tell them because they're mourning and they're mourning the deepest They're guilty of unbelief But their sorrow needs to be turned into joy Awaken these broken men Awaken them to the joy of the resurrection. Tell them their mourning may be turned to joy and Let them know I'm gonna keep my word. I'm going into Galilee. You'll see me So they went out quickly According to verse 8 from the tomb notice with fear And great joy. There's a mingling of fear Filled aw and rejoicing fear because they've been in the presence of a mighty angel joy Because Jesus is alive and the fear and the joy provoked them to leave the tomb quickly. They ran they told the disciples They were about a half mile away from the tomb and the fear and the joy provoked them to bring word that Jesus Christ is alive and That's what provokes us to this day is to share that Jesus Christ is alive. He'll forgive you of every sin But we also need to remember that today is the day of salvation. It's not something you put off for another time It's something that you receive when offered when I go through Easter services I Always think of this one story. Some of you have heard me tell it before true story We were having Easter's we were having a service here a Sunday service and at the end of the service I was standing at the platform foot of the platform when a young man walked up to me and began to speak to me Introduced himself to me. He said my name is Sam And I said you like green eggs and ham. No, he said my neck. My name is Sam and I wanted to share with you for a moment and I said, okay He said well, let me tell you this. He said a while back He said When you were in Ontario because our church used to meet at the Ontario High School He says I went to a church service there. He said I sat there and I listened to the worship team. He said I I Really enjoyed the music and then you came out and began to give him a message. He goes and I have to tell you He saw I instantly disliked you So I said I'm so blessed to hear that. Thank you. What else would you like to say to encourage me today? He said I instantly disliked you and I made up my mind That I'm never going to go back to that church again. I Said oh, okay. He says so He said a while back recently He said I was Looking for a church to go to on Easter. I was coming here and pipeline going north and I knew there was a church there And so I got in line to pull into the parking lot, but it was such a long line He said I got frustrated and I said to myself. I'll just come next week He said so I came the next week And I said really and he goes yeah, he said so I came and he said I'm here in the chapel here This is before we built this this building. He goes. I was there in the church and Again again. I enjoyed the worship and then you came out He goes and I thought oh no, that's a guy. I don't like and he goes but this time I listened He says that I want you to know I gave my heart to Christ. I came to faith in him and so so amen and So I smiled and I said well, that's wonderful and he was real direct. So he says I'm not through I Said okay He goes I really what I wanted to tell you was I need prayer. I Said well, of course, what can I pray for? He says I got a phone call recently from a girl that I'd been intimate with and She had gone to doctor because he wasn't feeling well. She had blood tests and They took a variety of tests and came back. She came they came back HIV positive And so the doctor said that she needed to contact any that she that she had been intimate with To let them know so that they could go and receive a test to see if they're HIV positive He said and then she told me that if I'd been with anybody else that I needed to contact her and let her know He said so I did I had another woman I'd been with And so I had to contact her and tell her to get a test He said so she went to get a test I Went to get a test and as we were awaiting results and all He said I got another call from the woman who had been the first one I had been with and she said that she'd had a second test and It turned out that she was not positive and that I needed to go and have a second test He says that around that time I get the results of mine and I came out HIV positive So I contacted the woman that I'd been intimate with after and she had Come out HIV negative she was she was not positive. He said so I'm thinking there's got to be a mistake So I went and had a second test HIV He says I came out positive a second time pastor. I have HIV and I need prayer and So of course I prayed God be merciful to Sam God in Jesus name, but you know what happened is the HIV Became full-blown AIDS Sam was with us for several years as he struggled with AIDS and finally he died We buried him and as we were performing his funeral service. I couldn't help but think If he would have responded to the first invitation Instead of leaving the church angrily saying I'll never come back He wouldn't have not gotten HIV He wouldn't have slept with that girl. He'd have had a new life and Sam would be with us to this day Serve in the Lord because Sam got involved in missions. He would go to Mexico to minister even with HIV He was out serving the Lord as a mission-minded man who fell in love with Jesus But we ended up burying him and it hit me as I was helping to conduct his funeral services Had he received the Lord instead of rejecting him. He would not have had AIDS He would not have died Now that may sound like just a story. I'm telling you to scare you. It's the truth God gives you opportunities He speaks to you And he says come and we say some other time later on When I finished doing the things I want to do when I'm so old I don't feel like sinning anymore and I can't anymore. I'll come to God No, that's not what happens. You get hardened in your sin And it becomes more and more difficult for you to ever break away Today is the day of salvation now is the acceptable time This is God's opportunity that he's given to you and don't pass it up Jesus Christ is alive and he can make you alive He can bring you from your spiritual death into life and he can change your life 100% he changed me from a liar a thief and promiscuous to a pastor of A church he can do that for you. He can do a work in you that will change your life