1 00:00:04,690 --> 00:00:10,130 Greetings. This is Pastor David Bass at New Geneva Orthodox Presbyterian Church with a 2 00:00:10,130 --> 00:00:14,550 moment of truth, where we challenge you to think through an important issue of life and faith. And 3 00:00:14,550 --> 00:00:22,210 today, is the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ from the dead essential or non-essential? 4 00:00:22,870 --> 00:00:30,129 Oh, I ask this question because the governor's shutdown order overlaps with the celebration of 5 00:00:30,129 --> 00:00:37,729 the highest, greatest Christian festival, excuse me, and that's Resurrection Sunday. By the order 6 00:00:37,729 --> 00:00:44,329 of the governor, our Easter morning worship services are considered non-essential. I am sure there's no 7 00:00:44,329 --> 00:00:49,770 ill intent upon the governor's part. I'm sure he has the best interests of the citizens of the state 8 00:00:49,770 --> 00:00:55,310 of Idaho at heart, and we do face a critical medical crisis in our country, and he's acting 9 00:00:55,310 --> 00:01:02,909 in good conscience to try and flatten the curve, as it is called, of the coronavirus infections 10 00:01:02,909 --> 00:01:09,329 in our state. It is my sincere prayer that we can flatten that curve without flattening the country 11 00:01:09,329 --> 00:01:15,870 in the process. And it is also my hope that, in the end, when this is all over, our government does 12 00:01:15,870 --> 00:01:21,950 not stand triumphantly over the corpse of a country and declare, we've killed the patient, but we've 13 00:01:21,950 --> 00:01:28,670 cured the disease. But today, my concern is more with the central tenet of the Christian faith, 14 00:01:28,730 --> 00:01:34,829 and that's the resurrection. If we were to reduce the Christian faith to three words, if I were forced 15 00:01:34,829 --> 00:01:41,290 to do so, it would be those three words we proclaim at the conclusion of the celebration of the Lord's 16 00:01:41,290 --> 00:01:48,950 Supper. He is risen. All other Christian doctrine is dependent upon and subordinate to this one. We are 17 00:01:48,950 --> 00:01:55,969 lost, miserable sinners without a destined for no mere mortal death and terror as the coronavirus is, 18 00:01:56,069 --> 00:02:02,969 but rather a death that is eternal, a death beyond the grave, which the Bible ominously calls 19 00:02:02,969 --> 00:02:09,650 the second death. In contrast, the resurrection assures us of a life beyond the grave, one of 20 00:02:09,650 --> 00:02:16,090 immeasurably greater importance, which extends into eternity and filled with a life and blessings 21 00:02:16,090 --> 00:02:23,110 of being with our creator who loves us, where, as Revelation tells us, behold, the dwelling place 22 00:02:23,110 --> 00:02:28,969 of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with 23 00:02:28,969 --> 00:02:35,770 them as their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more. Neither 24 00:02:35,770 --> 00:02:42,650 shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore. For the former things have passed away." Unquote. 25 00:02:42,650 --> 00:02:49,610 Oh, the resurrection is essential. Why? Two reasons. Number one, the resurrection was essential to 26 00:02:49,610 --> 00:02:57,289 Jesus' mission. The resurrection was essential to Jesus' mission. Jesus' very name means deliverer, 27 00:02:57,490 --> 00:03:03,710 savior, Joshua, for he shall save his people from their sins, as the angel announced to Joseph. 28 00:03:04,050 --> 00:03:11,430 And in order to do this, as the gospel of Mark tells us, he began to teach them that the Son of Man must 29 00:03:11,430 --> 00:03:17,330 suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and the chief priests and the scribes and be killed, 30 00:03:17,750 --> 00:03:25,289 and after three days rise again. God sovereignly ordained that this would be his modus operandi 31 00:03:25,289 --> 00:03:33,030 for redeeming the world. And we have it here in encapsulated form. Jesus would live a fully human 32 00:03:33,030 --> 00:03:38,530 life as the suffering servant, be crucified for our sins, and then be raised from the dead. 33 00:03:38,530 --> 00:03:43,830 The apostle also summarized the gospel succinctly in an early Christian creed. He said, 34 00:03:43,990 --> 00:03:50,689 for I deliver to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins in 35 00:03:50,689 --> 00:03:56,250 accordance with the scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance 36 00:03:56,250 --> 00:04:01,990 with the scriptures. Our Lord's life, death, burial, and resurrection were essential to his saving 37 00:04:01,990 --> 00:04:08,629 ministry. This is why Easter is essential. Secondly, the resurrection is essential to our salvation. 38 00:04:09,250 --> 00:04:15,210 As crucial and important as Jesus of Nazareth's life, death, and burial are to our redemption, 39 00:04:15,409 --> 00:04:21,149 the crowning capstone of it is the resurrection. Without it, there's no hope for those of us who 40 00:04:21,149 --> 00:04:27,790 call ourselves Christians. This is why Easter is so important in the church calendar. Paul elegantly 41 00:04:27,790 --> 00:04:32,410 reasons it this way. He says, if there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ 42 00:04:32,410 --> 00:04:37,269 has been raised. For if the dead are not raised, not even Christ has been raised. And if Christ has 43 00:04:37,269 --> 00:04:43,790 not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins. If in Christ we have hope in 44 00:04:43,790 --> 00:04:51,529 this life only, all of you who are terrified indeed by the coronavirus, you should be terrified rather of 45 00:04:51,529 --> 00:04:57,389 the life to come, the afterlife. Because if in Christ we have hope in this life only, we are of all people 46 00:04:57,389 --> 00:05:04,470 most to be pitied. But that is not the case for those of us who by faith know of his resurrection. 47 00:05:05,029 --> 00:05:10,089 Paul also says, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God 48 00:05:10,089 --> 00:05:15,769 raised him from the dead, you will be saved. This is the great convocation of the church on 49 00:05:15,769 --> 00:05:21,930 Resurrection Sunday, where we affirm publicly, we witness confessing with our mouths for all the 50 00:05:21,930 --> 00:05:28,149 world to see that we believe this truth. We are required to do this before the world. After all, 51 00:05:28,230 --> 00:05:34,810 when we own this by faith and testify to it, the promise of Romans 8, 11 is ours. Paul says, 52 00:05:34,889 --> 00:05:40,589 but if the spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from 53 00:05:40,589 --> 00:05:50,310 the dead will also give to your mortal bodies life through his spirit dwells in you. So unlike the 54 00:05:50,310 --> 00:05:56,569 governor of Idaho who tells us by his edict that the resurrection is not essential, the governor of 55 00:05:56,569 --> 00:06:02,990 the universe says that it is. The resurrection and Resurrection Sunday are essential to the faith 56 00:06:02,990 --> 00:06:09,069 and practice of Christianity. And if I hear this excuse once more, I swear I will be tempted to send 57 00:06:09,069 --> 00:06:15,430 such a one to his temporary abode of sleep to the resurrection. And that excuse is, oh, but pastor, 58 00:06:15,829 --> 00:06:24,589 no one is telling you to deny the resurrection. To which I must reply, not yet, but you will. Is there 59 00:06:24,589 --> 00:06:32,170 any living, conscious, thinking soul out there that believes for one second that your benign, benevolent 60 00:06:32,170 --> 00:06:39,250 government, that government, that government who only wants to take care of you, take care of you like 61 00:06:39,250 --> 00:06:47,970 godfather, that benign, benevolent government who only wants to serve you. We only want to serve you. 62 00:06:48,370 --> 00:06:54,810 Rare, medium, and well done. Does anyone believe that this government will not do this again? 63 00:06:54,810 --> 00:07:01,370 With greater, more expansive demands upon your faith and practice, not to mention your civil liberties. 64 00:07:02,029 --> 00:07:07,370 Precisely because we have rolled over and peed ourselves like frightened puppies this time, 65 00:07:07,829 --> 00:07:14,910 crying, save us, oh, good God, government. If so, if you believe this, then I have a bridge in 66 00:07:14,910 --> 00:07:20,050 Brooklyn I want to sell you. I'll cast you as the upcoming role of the naive, charmingly victimized 67 00:07:20,050 --> 00:07:25,490 Pollyanna. We'll send you out to the big game expedition for the elusive fable Jackalope. 68 00:07:25,490 --> 00:07:32,569 That is the level of naivete which we have if we think that this is just a one-off event. 69 00:07:33,189 --> 00:07:40,149 Additionally, and this is crucial, such Christians make an artificial disjunction between the resurrection 70 00:07:40,149 --> 00:07:47,389 and its witness. Resurrection Sunday, Easter. There is an unbreakable bond between the truth 71 00:07:47,389 --> 00:07:53,629 and the fact of the resurrection and its chief collective witness, which is Easter. The conditions 72 00:07:53,629 --> 00:08:00,209 are clear. Belief and witness to that belief are inextricable. Paul puts it this way. If you confess 73 00:08:00,209 --> 00:08:05,350 with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, 74 00:08:05,410 --> 00:08:12,889 you will be saved. The early church father, St. Chrysostom, preached this yearly on Easter to his vast 75 00:08:12,889 --> 00:08:19,810 assembled flock. He said, let all pious men and all lovers of God rejoice in the splendor of this feast. 76 00:08:19,810 --> 00:08:25,290 Let the wise servants blissfully enter into the joy of their Lord. That's how he began 77 00:08:25,290 --> 00:08:32,429 his Easter sermon every year. And Charles Wesley's hymn captures the communal nature of Easter morning. 78 00:08:32,950 --> 00:08:39,789 He sings, Christ the Lord is risen today. Sons of men and angels say, raise your joys and triumphs high. 79 00:08:39,789 --> 00:08:46,889 Sing ye heavens and earth reply. Now we have been seeing the oscillating voices of heaven and earth 80 00:08:46,889 --> 00:08:53,190 in rapturous worship in our study of revelation and how closely those voices are bound together 81 00:08:53,190 --> 00:08:59,710 one with another. Nowhere is this mystical communion between heaven and earth more palpable than on 82 00:08:59,710 --> 00:09:06,669 resurrection Sunday. The resurrection is the most essential fact in the universe and nowhere is it 83 00:09:06,669 --> 00:09:15,009 witness to more essentially than on Easter. Easter, resurrection Sunday is the linchpin of witness to the 84 00:09:15,009 --> 00:09:23,490 resurrection. The earthly fathers and all subsequently have recognized this. Oh, but pastor, I'm not compromising 85 00:09:23,490 --> 00:09:29,830 my witness to the resurrection at all. I testify personally to it all the time. Of course, squishy 86 00:09:29,830 --> 00:09:37,889 evangelicals excuse their absence from worship with that kind of excuse. Though it's all well and good, 87 00:09:37,889 --> 00:09:44,370 but it's only half of the equation. You are also part of the great cloud of witnesses that comes together 88 00:09:44,370 --> 00:09:52,129 as the one body of Christ on Easter to witness to the glorious resurrection. Squelch Easter, squelch the 89 00:09:52,129 --> 00:09:58,990 resurrection. Choke off the loud, eloquent testimony of resurrection Sunday, and you will choke off the 90 00:09:58,990 --> 00:10:06,409 witness of the church to the resurrection. You'll choke it to a hoarse gasp for the rest of the year. 91 00:10:06,870 --> 00:10:13,289 Oh, pastor, also consider your flock. Not only do you choke the witness to a lost and dying world, 92 00:10:13,870 --> 00:10:20,690 you choke it to new life in Christ, but you also choke your own people by your silence, by your own 93 00:10:20,690 --> 00:10:27,629 diminishment of the witness to Christ's resurrection and blithely going along to get along with a government 94 00:10:27,629 --> 00:10:34,909 that brushes aside the church and its witness to the resurrection as non-essential. Really? Really? 95 00:10:35,210 --> 00:10:42,789 Pastor, if you're silent and compliant here, then you agree by silent consent. Another objection that 96 00:10:42,789 --> 00:10:48,690 I hear, which is a kind of corollary to the one above, goes something like this. If they ever tell me 97 00:10:48,690 --> 00:10:57,389 what to preach, then I'll stand with you. Then I'll take a stand. To which I say, no, you won't. In the first 98 00:10:57,389 --> 00:11:03,789 place, shutting you down on Easter is shutting you up. Instead of particular nuances of doctrine, they 99 00:11:03,789 --> 00:11:09,529 nevertheless do something far more egregious than telling you what to preach. They compel you not to preach. 100 00:11:09,730 --> 00:11:17,129 Altogether, they compel your silence. Be quiet. Well, pastor, you know, it's just for now. It's just for this 101 00:11:17,129 --> 00:11:22,690 Easter. And well, you know, maybe an indeterminate number of Sundays. We're not quite sure. How is 102 00:11:22,690 --> 00:11:27,690 that going for you? How many Sundays has it been since you worshiped as a gathered people of God? 103 00:11:27,830 --> 00:11:34,590 How many Sundays will it be before you gather again as the people of God? Have you not now done this so 104 00:11:34,590 --> 00:11:41,950 long that it's becoming the new normal? It will become the new normal. It's not so bad. We can adjust. 105 00:11:41,950 --> 00:11:50,350 We can do this. No. Virtual worship is virtual nonsense in the long run. And mostly what I get 106 00:11:50,350 --> 00:11:55,809 from people when I ask these questions is kind of blank stares. How long will it be? Well, I don't 107 00:11:55,809 --> 00:12:03,509 know. Whenever they let us, whenever they turn the spigot back on, right? Someone asked Thomas Jefferson, 108 00:12:03,909 --> 00:12:08,970 how much tyranny will a government impose? To which he replied, as much as the people will permit. 109 00:12:08,970 --> 00:12:18,649 Oh, your compliance in not meeting will go on just as long as you permit. This is a test. It's an 110 00:12:18,649 --> 00:12:24,970 exercise. Like the culture of the TSA at our airports, you are being conditioned for control. 111 00:12:25,429 --> 00:12:32,649 You are being trained for tyranny. Someday in an indeterminate future, this ban will be lifted, 112 00:12:32,649 --> 00:12:38,149 but the training will have been accomplished. Excuse me. Dr. Fauci, head of the CDC, 113 00:12:38,149 --> 00:12:45,549 has already hinted that we may well be in for a kind of rolling lockdown, depending upon the 114 00:12:45,549 --> 00:12:51,389 recurrence of outbreaks or the appearance of new pandemics. And you will not see the last of Dr. 115 00:12:51,490 --> 00:12:58,830 Fauci and his entourage in official-looking white lab coats when this phase of medical tyranny passes. 116 00:12:59,570 --> 00:13:07,629 They'll be back. And you're drawing a hypothetical line like, well, well, well, if they try and tell me 117 00:13:07,629 --> 00:13:14,070 what to preach, then I'll stand with you, that may make of you a legend in your own mind, and it may 118 00:13:14,070 --> 00:13:21,210 assuage your nagging conscience, but it is an empty ego massage that only makes the road harder for the 119 00:13:21,210 --> 00:13:27,549 rest of us down the line. If you will not stand when it is relatively easy to defeat this encroachment 120 00:13:27,549 --> 00:13:33,529 of our liberty, what makes you think you will stand when the stakes are much higher and the cost to you 121 00:13:33,529 --> 00:13:40,210 much greater. If you back down now, you'll back down then, too, probably even more readily. So, at least 122 00:13:40,210 --> 00:13:45,929 have no illusions about this, dear listener. If a lawn chair folds under a little pressure, it will 123 00:13:45,929 --> 00:13:53,690 certainly fold under greater pressure. And for me, perhaps the most convincing and poignant argument 124 00:13:53,690 --> 00:14:02,830 to hunker down and maybe do so indefinitely is that made by the thousands of health care workers 125 00:14:02,830 --> 00:14:09,669 who are risking their health and their well-being. They are the thin white line, if I may borrow an 126 00:14:09,669 --> 00:14:16,450 analogy. Yes, our health care workers are indeed the thin white line who help stay the flood of pestilence 127 00:14:16,450 --> 00:14:24,350 from overwhelming the rest of us. Just like the thin blue line, our police officers stay the flood of 128 00:14:24,350 --> 00:14:31,669 an otherwise pestilence of crime. We all owe them a debt of gratitude, and we owe that thin white line 129 00:14:31,669 --> 00:14:36,850 our sustained cooperation. And several from this community have appealed to me personally 130 00:14:36,850 --> 00:14:44,070 to lessen their burden and risk by suspending our worship for the foreseeable future. Do not risk 131 00:14:44,070 --> 00:14:51,750 overburdening staff or hospital beds or ventilators, and even cryptically, the morgues. Oh, as is going 132 00:14:51,750 --> 00:14:57,490 on in Italy, the morgues are being overwhelmed with the dead. Now, this argument indeed gives me much 133 00:14:57,490 --> 00:15:05,490 pause. And the military analogy, I think, is very apt here. We are in a kind of war where there is a dire 134 00:15:05,490 --> 00:15:12,710 threat, and only a few of us are trained and capable of effectively fighting that threat. The rest of us 135 00:15:12,710 --> 00:15:18,950 back them up as we would our soldiers, and we make sacrifices and we marshal all the resources we can 136 00:15:18,950 --> 00:15:25,590 to support them. For example, one of our elders in the construction trade recently donated his whole 137 00:15:25,590 --> 00:15:33,690 supply of masks to a local clinic that was experiencing a shortage. For every G.I. Joe in World War II, there 138 00:15:33,690 --> 00:15:41,710 was a corresponding Rosie the Riveter at home to back him up. So there is a real correspondence in this 139 00:15:41,710 --> 00:15:49,370 analogy, this military analogy. But there is also a real correspondence in our respective duties. I do 140 00:15:49,370 --> 00:15:56,149 not want to sound harsh or cold or mechanical when I say this. So please, please, please understand it 141 00:15:56,149 --> 00:16:03,370 in the spirit in which it is given. But it must be said, do your duty and I will do mine. You signed up 142 00:16:03,370 --> 00:16:09,029 for this, health care worker, when you entered this field. No soldier, when the shooting starts, 143 00:16:09,029 --> 00:16:16,350 says, I didn't sign up for this. Oh, yes, you did. As Julius Caesar told every one of his legionnaires, 144 00:16:17,009 --> 00:16:27,490 estne oficium tuum, which is Latin for do your duty. Estne oficium tuum, do your duty. And Caesar 145 00:16:27,490 --> 00:16:34,830 inspired their loyalty too by leading out front his troops where the battle was the thickest. So before 146 00:16:34,830 --> 00:16:40,730 you seek to track me down, oh, health care worker, before you seek to track me down and knock my block 147 00:16:40,730 --> 00:16:47,450 off for saying this infuriating thing, and I could see how that could be taken that way. Oh, dear one, 148 00:16:47,610 --> 00:16:54,730 please know that we all know that 99 and 99.9%, excuse me, of American health care professionals 149 00:16:54,730 --> 00:17:01,370 are doing precisely this. They are doing their duty. And most of us and most of them above and beyond 150 00:17:01,370 --> 00:17:07,789 their duty. We owe you a debt of gratitude, both now and when this is all over. And I dare say there 151 00:17:07,789 --> 00:17:15,170 will be many stories of courage and sacrifice in this area, some heroes, even as there are with our 152 00:17:15,170 --> 00:17:21,529 soldiers in battle. But again, no soldier on the front lines ever expects those back home to surrender 153 00:17:21,529 --> 00:17:28,329 their constitutional liberties for the exigencies of war in America. That is precisely what the soldier 154 00:17:28,329 --> 00:17:34,890 was fighting to defend. Oh, and dear health care worker, dear nurse, dear doctor, please remember you 155 00:17:34,890 --> 00:17:41,869 are too, in a manner of speaking, fighting to defend indeed our constitutional liberties. Let us exercise 156 00:17:41,869 --> 00:17:50,869 them because we in the church also have our duty. We have our duty. In weeks to come, we have a duty 157 00:17:50,869 --> 00:17:58,670 to point all mankind to the essential transcendent truth of the whole universe, and that is the 158 00:17:58,670 --> 00:18:05,670 resurrection of Jesus Christ, which makes life beyond the grave possible. This is why we must all work 159 00:18:05,670 --> 00:18:14,369 together as well in order to preserve our liberties. Sometimes the point is made to me that we must be 160 00:18:14,369 --> 00:18:21,470 considerate of others who we may infect. We must be considerate of those then who are weak. We must 161 00:18:21,470 --> 00:18:29,710 virtually shut down the country in order to, we must, excuse me, virtually flatten the curve in order to 162 00:18:29,710 --> 00:18:36,329 flatten the country in order to flatten the curve, excuse me. While indeed this is a noble effort, 163 00:18:36,930 --> 00:18:42,890 we must also remember that there is a kind of social contract. We have one with an, indeed, a 164 00:18:42,890 --> 00:18:50,690 shared amount of risk. If we were to try and eliminate all risk and say that the rule above 165 00:18:50,690 --> 00:18:58,309 all other rules is to keep from hurting or harming or infecting one another, and to do so, we must 166 00:18:58,309 --> 00:19:07,250 sequester ourselves away. That would indeed give us little more than a monastery, a worldwide isolated 167 00:19:07,250 --> 00:19:14,269 monastery. But no, instead, there is indeed that sense of shared risk that we all have with one 168 00:19:14,269 --> 00:19:19,130 another, and it is part of the social contract. So we must keep this in mind, too, in the larger 169 00:19:19,130 --> 00:19:25,829 culture. And remember that we in the church have our duty also, not only the healthcare worker, but also 170 00:19:25,829 --> 00:19:33,009 those of us in the church. We have our duty also. We have a duty in weeks to come to point all of 171 00:19:33,009 --> 00:19:38,609 mankind to that essential transcendent truth of the whole universe, the resurrection of Jesus 172 00:19:38,609 --> 00:19:45,170 Christ, which makes life beyond the grave possible, dear listener. There is a world beyond this one that 173 00:19:45,170 --> 00:19:51,789 is eternal and everlasting. We point to that one. We are prevented from declaring this, and as I have 174 00:19:51,789 --> 00:19:58,710 just shown you, that is precisely what is at stake. Well then, as the apostle says, if in Christ we have 175 00:19:58,710 --> 00:20:04,930 hope in this life only, that is redemption and salvation from the coronavirus and other kinds 176 00:20:04,930 --> 00:20:12,730 of things, if in Christ we have hope in this life only, we are, of all people, most to be pitied. 177 00:20:13,089 --> 00:20:20,869 If we are prevented, if we are prevented from doing our duty, if we are prevented by edict of the 178 00:20:20,869 --> 00:20:25,609 governor of the state rather than the edict of the governor of the universe, if we are prevented 179 00:20:25,609 --> 00:20:31,670 from declaring the hope of eternal life, then the saving of mortal lives in this pandemic, as valuable 180 00:20:31,670 --> 00:20:39,190 as that may be, and I'm not diminishing that in the least, well, still, the saving of mortal lives here 181 00:20:39,190 --> 00:20:46,529 only delays eternal death to another day. It will come to all of us. None of us get out of here alive, 182 00:20:46,670 --> 00:20:53,109 do we? So, despite all of our best and sometimes heroic efforts, and I don't want to diminish those 183 00:20:53,109 --> 00:21:01,230 again, despite all of these efforts, some of us will still die in this pandemic regardless. And we, 184 00:21:01,670 --> 00:21:08,190 in the life of the church, we have a duty to declare that hope of life beyond their swiftly 185 00:21:08,190 --> 00:21:15,109 approaching grave. Despite being blithely brushed aside as non-essential, we have the most essential 186 00:21:15,109 --> 00:21:20,970 mission of all, and that is to hold out the hope of life beyond the grave. Oh, and that grave, 187 00:21:20,970 --> 00:21:27,130 dear listener, isn't it? For so many of us, that grave draws closer. It almost seems palpable now 188 00:21:27,130 --> 00:21:35,329 in this day, threat of death by coronavirus all around us, but we have hope that we offer beyond 189 00:21:35,329 --> 00:21:41,349 the grave, a life that has been pioneered by the one who has gone ahead of us, our Lord Jesus Christ. 190 00:21:41,769 --> 00:21:47,029 As the apostle John calls him in the book of Revelation, the firstborn from the dead, 191 00:21:47,029 --> 00:21:53,609 birthed from the dead, raised from the dead. But he is not the last born from the dead either, 192 00:21:54,009 --> 00:22:00,690 because the promise is to us, those of us who are his, those of us who believe in him, who indeed 193 00:22:00,690 --> 00:22:06,630 believe that God raised him from the dead. We are also second and third and fourth and fifth, 194 00:22:07,029 --> 00:22:14,170 innumerable numbers are born from the dead as well, because we have followed in the footsteps of the 195 00:22:14,170 --> 00:22:21,950 firstborn from the dead. And this reality as well dispels fear and panic in the heart of the one 196 00:22:21,950 --> 00:22:30,329 who so believes. One who believes thusly and knows this to his toenails indeed has a spiritual poise 197 00:22:30,329 --> 00:22:36,089 that you will not see in the world. And if you see a Christian panicked, if you see a Christian in 198 00:22:36,089 --> 00:22:41,849 mortal fear, you need to reassure him of this truth. And indeed, if he does not come around, 199 00:22:42,009 --> 00:22:49,049 then there is something wrong with his faith and his belief, because a spiritual poise should 200 00:22:49,049 --> 00:22:57,210 enfold and overwhelm the one who knows that his eternal life is safe and secure and enfolded in 201 00:22:57,210 --> 00:23:04,990 his savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. So, dear healthcare worker, dear governor, if you would like 202 00:23:04,990 --> 00:23:13,170 some assistance in calming the hearts and spirits of Americans, let us do our thing. Let us do our 203 00:23:13,170 --> 00:23:22,630 duty. Oh, Americans will not fear and panic and act hysterically if indeed we are allowed to do our 204 00:23:22,630 --> 00:23:31,490 duty. Fear makes you do stupid stuff, doesn't it? Like hoard toilet paper. Oh, Americans, do not fear 205 00:23:31,490 --> 00:23:38,410 and panic and act hysterically when you indeed know your destiny, regardless of our earthly circumstances. 206 00:23:39,049 --> 00:23:47,529 Dear governor, we can give the people a hope and a faith based in reality, and that is the reality 207 00:23:47,529 --> 00:23:55,269 of the resurrection, if you will let us proclaim it, but we cannot do it in its full power without the day 208 00:23:55,269 --> 00:24:04,809 given us, and that is Resurrection Sunday. On that day, we are able to promise that on a soon coming 209 00:24:04,809 --> 00:24:11,809 day, as the apostle Paul promises, the trumpet will sound and the dead will be raised imperishable, 210 00:24:11,809 --> 00:24:18,809 and we shall be changed. For this perishable body must put on the imperishable, and this mortal body 211 00:24:18,809 --> 00:24:25,569 must put on immortality. When the perishable puts on the imperishable, and the mortal puts on 212 00:24:25,569 --> 00:24:31,430 immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written, death is swallowed up in victory. 213 00:24:32,049 --> 00:24:38,170 Oh, death, where is your victory? Oh, death, where is your sting? Join us. Come and join us, 214 00:24:38,170 --> 00:24:44,950 those of you who have yet to believe in this certain reality that is promised by the living God, 215 00:24:45,369 --> 00:24:52,069 a transcendent reality, a reality that is essential to the universe, though it may be 216 00:24:52,069 --> 00:24:58,849 non-essential to the reigning government at this stage. Death is swallowed up in victory in the 217 00:24:58,849 --> 00:25:04,730 resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ. Ah, death has a sting. We see it all around us, don't we? 218 00:25:04,730 --> 00:25:11,390 Especially those who are gripped by fear, who are gripped by hysteria. That is part of the sting of 219 00:25:11,390 --> 00:25:18,529 death. But in Christ, knowing in his resurrection, and knowing that because he is raised from the dead, 220 00:25:18,710 --> 00:25:26,049 we will be too, death loses its sting. Death loses its victory. Christ has triumphed over death 221 00:25:26,049 --> 00:25:32,250 and the grave by his resurrection. Come and join us, those of you who have yet to believe. Come and 222 00:25:32,250 --> 00:25:38,410 join us, those of you who have yet to know this truth through your bones. Come and join us, those 223 00:25:38,410 --> 00:25:45,710 of you who want life, life eternal, life in our creator who loves us and has indeed chosen in his 224 00:25:45,710 --> 00:25:51,450 son, Lord Jesus Christ, to give us that life, give us that life eternally. And that's a life that we can 225 00:25:51,450 --> 00:25:59,630 know now, such that we have a spiritual poise, a calmness, a centeredness, a certain knowledge 226 00:25:59,630 --> 00:26:06,710 that we will indeed be raised again from the dead. When eventually, when all of us will reach the lip 227 00:26:06,710 --> 00:26:14,109 of the grave, and all of us will eventually indeed die, we will die knowing that one day we will rise 228 00:26:14,109 --> 00:26:21,690 again. This life can be yours for faith in the risen one, our Lord Jesus Christ. We declare 229 00:26:21,690 --> 00:26:29,470 this coming Resurrection Sunday, nothing can stop it. He is risen. This is Pastor David Bass at New 230 00:26:29,470 --> 00:26:36,750 Geneva Orthodox Presbyterian Church. We meet for holy worship on Sunday at 10 a.m. at 101 4th Street on 231 00:26:36,750 --> 00:26:49,230 the corner of 4th and Boulevard. Call us for more information at area code 208-523-0196. Area code 208-523-0196.