Eagle Heights Cathedral

Bishop James E. Collins: What a day, what a day. Thank you, Lord. Last week we were blessed because Ms. Audrey came to see us, and she's here today. Amen. Then I looked at Pastor Lopez when he was up here, and he said something about feeling like running. And I looked at Ms. Loyda and said, "I have no idea why he would want to run."

Ms. Loyda, it is so good to see you this day. Thank God for the grace of God upon your life. Thank you for a testimony of the goodness and the grace of God. God's been good to you. You ought to thank God for what he's done for somebody else. Amen. Amen. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Take your Bibles and turn with me to Isaiah 53:1-7. I want to use for a subject, "Why I Cherish the Old Rugged Cross."

Isaiah 53, beginning at verse one. Who hath believed our report? And to whom is the arm of the Lord revealed? For he shall grow up before him as a tender plant, and as a root out of a dry ground. He hath no form or comeliness, and when we shall see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him. He is despised and rejected of men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief, and we hid as it were our faces from him. He was despised, and we esteemed him not.

Surely he hath borne our griefs and carried our sorrows. Yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions. He was bruised for our iniquities. The chastisement of our peace was upon him, and with his stripes, we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray. We have turned everyone to his own way, and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all. He was oppressed and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth. He is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before his shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth.

Heavenly Father, I thank you this day. Your word is power all by itself. I thank you this day that we don't take lightly what happened over 2,000 years ago at Calvary. Lord, we're in this room today because we have pinpointed a day to celebrate Easter. But in the heart of the believer, Easter is 365 days a year because we know that we serve a risen savior.

And so this hour, I pray give us ears that hear, eyes that see, hearts and a desire to draw nearer, my God, to thee. May we not take lightly and think this is just another Easter message. But may your word, Lord, may it transform our thoughts and our desires toward you. And I thank you for it in Jesus' name. Amen and amen. You may be seated in the presence of the Lord.

You've heard this little story before, but I like it so much I'm just going to tell it again. One Easter Sunday morning, a school teacher decided that she would teach her class and ask them the question about what is the true meaning of Easter. One of the little girls quickly raised her hand. "Yes, Sarah," the teacher called. "Easter is when all my aunts and uncles come to my house to eat turkey, watch football, and take naps." She said, "No, Sarah, that's Thanksgiving."

Another student raised his hand. "Yes, Billy," she asked. "Last Easter we decorated a tree, sang songs, and got lots of presents," he answered. "No, Billy, that was Christmas," she replied. Now the teacher was getting nervous. "Does anybody know what Easter is?" "I know," little Emily said, confidently standing to her feet. "Easter is a special day to remember that Jesus was hung on a cross, died, and put in a tomb for three days."

"Very good, Emily," the teacher said with a sigh of relief. "Now class, we're going to..." "And on the third day everyone gathers around the tomb," Emily continued. "And they wait to see if Jesus comes out. And if he sees his shadow, that means six more weeks of winter. If not..." The teacher interrupted the class and said, "Class is dismissed."

Now you might be thinking, "What kind of preacher tells a funny story on such an interesting and serious occasion?" Church, I want to tell you something this morning. When it comes to Easter, most of us are one extreme or the other. For some, Easter means nothing more than a time to dress up the kids to look real pretty and real nice, to have Easter egg hunts, and to give out candy and play games, which I am not against as long as the end result is to point them to Jesus.

But there is a danger on this extreme that I want to talk about first. We are living in a day where the message of the church is taking a direction that is the wrong direction. Churches and even whole denominations are moving away from the old biblical message of salvation through the blood of Jesus and the power of the old rugged cross toward a liberal theology. There is an ever-increasing message of salvation and peace through activism and good works.

The bloody message of the cross is quickly being replaced by a bloodless message that lacks power and lacks hope. Instead of hearing the devastating but life-changing news that men are sinners and that people are going to die without Christ, they are being fed the diabolical lie that "I'm okay and you're okay." And sinners, they are leaving this earth without Jesus.

Hebrews 9:22 says, "And according to the law almost all things are purified with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no remission." See, I want to get this out and get it to you very quickly today. In the Old Testament, Moses would come in and he would shed blood constantly from animal sacrifices.

But I want you to understand that that day is over today because Jesus came on the scene. He made one last sacrifice, never ever to be sacrificed again. He canceled out a debt that he did not owe. He canceled a debt that we could not pay. But it seems that grown people's church has joined the little children's church. We give grown adults people this kind of candy apple gospel not only in Easter but through the rest of the year.

But I want to tell you this morning, you have come to the right place at the right time because we're not going to do that today. We're going to speak about this glorious gospel of Jesus Christ. We're going to be serious about those things that happened on those three days of Easter. And most importantly though, I want you to understand that as we walk through this, we're going to have some times of joy and laughter because Easter is Psalm 107:1-2.

"Give thanks unto the Lord, for he is good, for his mercy endureth forever. Let the redeemed of the Lord say so, whom he hath redeemed from the hand of the enemy." Let me talk to you for a minute. If you've been delivered from the hand of the enemy, you ought to say so. If you've been delivered from the hand of the enemy, you ought to have a shout. If you've been delivered from the hand of the enemy, you ought to have a hallelujah that he hasn't heard yet.

Listen to me, church, because you have a peace that passes all understanding. You have a peace because you know God intimately. And I don't know what you're going through, I don't know what you're into right now. But because of that peace that you have, you ought to choose Psalm 118:24. "This is the day that the Lord hath made. I will rejoice and be glad in it." Why should you be that way? Because Joshua 10:14 says this, "And there has been no day like that before or after it, that the Lord heeded the voice of a man, for the Lord fought for Israel."

I love the words of Joseph Blayley. Listen to what he said. "Let's celebrate Easter with the right of laughter. Christ died and rose and lives. Laugh like a woman who holds her first baby. Our enemy death will soon be destroyed. Laugh like a man who finds out he doesn't have cancer, or he does, but now there's a cure. Christ opened wide the door of heaven."

"Laugh like children at Disneyland's gates. This world is owned by God and he will return to rule. Laugh like a man who walks away uninjured from a wreck in which his car is totaled. Laugh as if the people in the whole world were invited to a picnic and then invite them." Here's what we're going to do, church. We are going to look once again at the serious message of five miracles that took place on Easter.

Some of you are going to laugh, some of you might even cry along the way. But I want to tell you the whole truth is 1 Peter 1:8. "Whom having not seen, ye love. In whom, though now you see him not, yet believing, you rejoice with unspeakable joy and full of glory." Let's talk about five miracles of Calvary. Now here's what I want you to do. Some of you have great imaginations. I want you to use them today.

I want you to imagine with me right now that we are standing at the foot of the cross. Jesus is almost dead. Even the most simple-minded person knows the reality. He might live a few more moments, but death is inevitable. I want it to be known this morning that the Roman soldiers had done their job well. For with every last laboring tortured breath, we see that they were experts at killing.

Satan's plan had gone as he thought it would, at least in his twisted mind. The soldiers' plans had played out as they thought it would. And so they began their plan of destruction. They placed two criminals on each side of Jesus. When the clock struck nine, and I want to say something, somebody texted me the other day on Friday and said, "It's 9 o'clock." Why did they do that?

Because when that clock struck nine, it was the crucifixion hour, and out came the hammer and the nails. I want you to try to absorb this morning the screams of pain. Absorb if you can in your psyche, God in the flesh being stripped naked. I want you to try and imagine the smell of death that is hanging in the air. And church, look at me. I've been around people so many times who are passing away, and I can tell you that you really can smell death.

Absorb if you can the sight of blood oozing, dripping as sweat rolls off his naked body into the cracks of skin opened by the punishing whip. Now I want you to absorb the most appalling thing that happened that day. There are people standing around the foot of the cross. They are laughing and they are talking and they are smirking. And some of them are looking up at Jesus and they are saying, "If you are truly the Son of God, why don't you get off that cross?"

Church, watch now. The pain and the circus of people seeking to embarrass the Lamb of God. It went on for three hours. For three hours, it was very much like any other crucifixion that began in the ninth hour. But then noon came, and with it came some supernatural happenings. With it came the miracles of Calvary. What is the first miracle? Miracle number one: Darkness covered the whole earth.

Luke 23:44-45 says, "And Jesus said, 'Truly this day I say unto you, today you will be with me in paradise.' It was about the sixth hour and there was darkness all over the earth until the ninth hour." Church, follow what happened here. It was 12 noon, and suddenly the whole earth is dark. It happened suddenly and without warning. One minute the sun was shining brightly as if to encourage the party atmosphere that was going on at the foot of the cross, and then suddenly light disappeared.

See it now. It was darkness itself. There was no hint of light. It was thick, it was inky black. It was a darkness that fell without an inkling of light. And so no one moved, no one talked. The commotion stopped. And wonder of wonders, for just a moment, the cursing and the swearing stopped. The profanity falling off the soldiers' lips submitted to the darkness. The place where the crucifixion took place was living up to its name. It was called Skull Hill.

There was something spooky. There was something eerie going on. For the darkness lasted for three hours. See this. 12:30, still dark. 1:15, still dark. 2:10, still dark. 2:55, still dark. Then suddenly at 3 o'clock, just as the darkness came, it disappeared. People began, make, let your imagination come in. They began to rub their eyes. They were confused and they began to ask one another, "What in heaven's name is going on?"

You see, church, this was no eclipse or some kind of suffocating sandstorm that darkened the sky. It was a supernatural miracle that was wrought by a supernatural God. Darkness was sent from heaven. In April of 1940, Dr. Immanuel Velikovsky reconstructed the history of Middle Eastern cultures, using the possibility that a near miss by Venus had orchestrated many events at the same time period that Christ was crucified.

And whatever those events were that took place in that time that Christ was crucified, it caused the sun to be obscured and darkness to be over the land for three hours. You need to know that this event, church, was prophesied in your Bible. Isaiah said that it would happen, and it was fulfilled in the New Testament. What does that supernatural act mean? Jesus' first words on the cross had been, "Father, forgive them."

His last words was, "Father, into your hands I commit my spirit." In between, he cried out, "Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani? My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" In that agonizing moment, Jesus bore the sins of the world. And your Bible says in Isaiah 53, "He was smitten by God and afflicted." But on that day, he was never afflicted again.

Jesus died with the knowledge of knowing that the price had been paid in full, the cup had been emptied, the battle had been won, the struggle was over. Whatever happened in those three hours, that day it was now past. Miracle number two: The veil of the sanctuary is torn. Matthew 27:51, "Then behold, the veil of the temple was torn from top to bottom."

Now I want to give you a little bit of Jewish history. Everything about the Jewish temple taught people to keep their distance. There were courts that separated the women and the Gentiles, the non-Jewish people. There was a brazen altar over in sacrifices had to be made. There were steps leading up to the temple for worship. There were two main rooms in the temple, the Holy Place and the Most Holy Place, sometimes called the Holy of Holies.

Church, in the Holy of Holies, only the priest was allowed to enter, and that was only at certain times to do certain functions. Unlike people today who think that the church is just some place to hang out, that the sanctuary is some place to play, and please understand that I believe that relationships should be made and maintained in the house of God.

But the thing I want you to understand is that back then people did not play with the anointing. They did not play with the presence of God. They understood and understood that you came to do God's business and then you left. It was not a place of pleasure. Work of great import was done there, work that was performed by men who were set apart from God.

But then there was a place on another level even more sacred than the Holy Place. It was called the Most Holy Place or the Holy of Holies. It was a very small area where the heart of Jewish worship took place in a small area. Leviticus 16 tells us that only one man was allowed to enter, and he had to put on special garments. And when he went in, he had to bring with him the blood of a goat. And when he did that, he would sprinkle it on the mercy seat.

And if anyone other than the priest went in the Holy of Holies, God would strike them down. Now watch this. If the high priest entered on any other day, God would strike him down. If he went in there without bringing the blood of the goat, God would strike him down because it meant that he was not prepared and he was not anointed spiritually to do what he was sent to do.

Again, it meant that the anointing was not played with by the priest. And everything about that place, it shouted, "Stay away, don't come near, don't play with the presence of God." It said something. It said, "You're not qualified to come on your own." It was as if the temple itself was a giant roadblock, making sure that no one could come into the presence of God without an invitation.

And watch this. If the Jewish people were tempted to forget the prohibitions, if they decided that they knew better how to get into the presence of God, God ordered that a giant thick curtain be hung between the Holy Place and the Holy of Holies. Now focus with me for a moment, because this is one of those things that I said last Sunday that you don't want to miss that comes in between the outline, the stuff that you want to grab today.

Matthew tells us that that curtain was torn from top to bottom, signifying that this that was done could not have been done by a man, it could only have been done by God. Watch this, church. The Holy of Holies was 30 feet long, 30 feet wide, 30 feet high, which means the veil was also 30 feet long. It was 30 feet high to totally block the view of the holies. Watch this.

In the Holy of Holies, there were two angels that were 15 feet tall, they were called cherubim. They would stretch out their arms and their wings and their wings would touch one another's wings, and the other wing would touch the side walls in order to block the view and anyone coming into that place without God approving them. Thirdly, the veil was 30 feet high and wide because the glory of the Lord was aboding above the tabernacle.

The thickness of the veil is believed to have been six inches thick. It is speculated that two horses could not pull that curtain apart. Many focus on that being spectacular. It also says that not only was it not pulled apart, it was ripped from top to bottom. That is impossible. Even the strongest and the men in the world could not have done that.

But more important, why is it that God ripped that veil from top to bottom? Watch this now. In the Old Testament, the law had condemned us and separated us from God. That day that Jesus died, listen closely, the old law died with him. Which is why Paul said in Romans 8:1, "There is therefore now no condemnation to those that are in Christ Jesus."

On the day that Jesus died, it became a way that people could come forward and they could get into heaven at any time, anywhere, and anyone could come. Now please pay attention. What that means is that you don't need a preacher to get right with God. You don't need a priest, you don't need a bishop, you don't need a pastor to get right with God.

Church, let me talk to you. You don't need the sacraments nor the rituals of this church or any other church to be made right with God. You don't have to pray for X amount of hours every day to be right with God. Because this Bible says in Romans 10:8, because the veil has been torn, "What saith it? The word is nigh thee even in thy mouth and in thine heart. That is the word of faith we preach. And you can be saved if you will confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and shall believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you shall be saved." Don't let your sins keep you away from the King of glory.

You know, church can do a lot of restricting. We can put a lot of things on people. And we can hinder people from coming to King Jesus. And don't get me wrong, every church ought to have some guidelines and some rules. But here's our problem. We have been made to believe that there are certain things that we have to do in the natural to come to Jesus.

Listen, when Jesus cleared the path, it was a freeway to heaven. When we went to Chicago to visit my parents, we took Jessica and Shawna and Fareed and we took them to the college where Lady Brenda and I met. And we drove over to the spot where Lady Brenda gave her heart to Jesus. I want to remind you of something, church. This preacher did not pray with her. This preacher did not tell her what to do.

She asked me, "How do I ask Jesus into my heart and life?" I gave her that scripture. She sat down under a tree and she said, "God, if you are real, come into my heart and live." And that day she got born again. And I'm here to tell you once again that I knew that God had done something because she stopped cussing, she stopped swearing, she stopped smoking. Don't tell me that the way to heaven is paved by men. It is paved by the blood of Jesus.

Miracle number three: The earthquake and the rocks split. Matthew 27:51, "And the earth did quake and the rocks rent." The earthquake happened causing the rocks to split. Now how many of you don't need me to tell you that earthquakes are not very good? A few years back, an article came out and it was titled "Israel is hundreds of years overdue for massive earthquake."

The article speaks of many fault lines that run through Israel. Now Israel is in this tight, tough neighborhood. It is jostled between the four tectonic plates. It is Nubia which is Africa, Sinai which is Israel, and Arabia and Anatolia which is Turkey. Now, church, watch. That is the science of the equation. But the miracle is the timing of the earthquake.

God shook the earth the moment Jesus, the precious Lamb, died. An earthquake shook Mount Sinai when the law was given to Moses in Exodus 19:18. Now there is an earthquake when Christ dies, signifying the end of the law once and for all. See it now. At Mount Sinai, the law condemned but could not save. At Mount Calvary, Christ died that condemned men might be saved.

Please don't receive that lightly. The earthquake at Sinai reminded men that they could not approach God on their own. The earth shook beneath the cross giving power to the reality that what we could not do under the law, Christ did for us when he died in our place, paying the price for the debt he did not owe. Hear this. Anytime there's an earthquake, what happens? Business as usual comes to an end.

There is something that stops us in our tracks and it brings us the reminder that we are not in control. When an earthquake comes, we run for cover beneath the earth as the earth gives way beneath us. And I don't think I'm stretching this, but I believe that earthquake on that day, God was preaching a message without talking. He was saying what he is saying today: Stop, look, listen. This is my Son who died for you. Run to the cross and be saved.

Miracle number four, this is the one I really like: The saints were raised from the dead. Matthew 27:52-53. Now bear with me because I might get a little Pentecostal here for a second. It says, "And the graves were opened, and many bodies of the saints which slept, who were dead, arose, and came out of the graves after the resurrection, and went into the holy city and appeared unto many."

Now this is confession time. I want you to know that I really don't understand everything that went on there, but this one thing is clear: the earthquake split the rocks around Jerusalem and it opened up many tombs. Many of the saints, those who believed in God, were raised from the dead, church. The graves opened up on Friday, but the saints were raised from the dead on Sunday.

Watch this now. Christ rose first, then the saints were raised, and after they were raised, the Bible says they went into the holy city. What was the purpose of those people who were dead getting up and going into the holy city? Watch this now. The Bible says when they went in there, they began to testify to the living about the death-destroying, life-giving power of Jesus Christ.

I don't know how many were raised, I don't know how long they stayed out of that grave, but this thing I do know: the graves were opened at 3 p.m. when Christ died, and they remained there for all to see on that Friday and on the Sabbath. Let me tell you what it was. The reason that God did that, he wanted them to go and send a sign from heaven that death had been annihilated.

You see, it has been said when Jesus Christ went into the realm of death and came out holding the keys of death and Hades in his hands, that death died. Revelation 1:18, Jesus said, "I am he who lived and was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore. Amen. And I have the keys of Hades and death."

One of the things that I noticed about us on Easter weekend, many times we visit the graves of our loved ones. It's a solemn thing when you walk through a cemetery that is serene and beautiful and quiet and undisturbed. And as we visit our loved ones, we think about how much we miss them, and many even some of you hearing me right now are probably thinking and wondering: Where are they now and will I see them again?

This is the miracle that answers that question. There is a promise in the word of God that as just as those saints on that day got up in the crucifixion and they rose and they went physically into the city and presented themselves in Jerusalem, this Bible says the day will come when our loved ones who knew him, they will get up out of their graves, they will be free of death, free of disease, free of corruption, they will never die again.

And now stay with me for a moment because medical clinics are popping up all across the country, promising clients live longer and better, that is as long as you can pay. Longevity clinics, they aim to do everything from preventing chronic disease to healing tennis elbow, all with the goal of optimizing patients' health for many years. The price tag for most clients is $100,000 a year for some if not most unproven treatments, including biological testing for early cancer screenings which we all should do, stem cells therapies and hair rejuvenation, which I think I'm going to invest in.

Watch this now. The centers capitalize on America's obsession with living longer. Many doctors caution that some clinics' treatments lack robust scientific evidence or introduce health risks. One researcher said, "Anybody who is treating your toenails can say they are contributing to longevity." Most of the people who go to these places are between the ages of 40 to 60, and they're showing signs of aging.

Several providers say that they've noticed now the clientele is as young as 20-somethings in recent years. Another article talks about the rich trying to cure aging. Google founder Larry Page has tried, Jeff Bezos has tried, tech billionaire Larry Ellison and Peter Thiel, they have tried. Now the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, which has about as much money as all of them put together, they're going to try.

Church, listen to this. Saudi Arabia is slated to spend $1 billion a year to slow aging. Lady Brenda, I said to her the other day, I said, "Babe, you know, it's amazing to me the crazy things that we do to prolong and live longer." And she looked at me and gave me a very sobering remark. She said, "Isn't that what we're all trying to do?" Let me just say this before I go any farther.

I have two torn meniscus, a torn meniscus in both legs. And what you don't know about a meniscus, it's about that long, real skinny little dude. But let me tell you, when you get it cut away twice, it never grows back. And so what happens is that that little guy, he keeps your balance. Sometimes you'll be walking and you think you're picking your legs up and you're not. My wife is probably tired of all of the smudges across her wood floor because my foot drags and I don't know it.

And I found out something. In other countries, they are now taking meniscus from cadaver, a cadavers rather, and putting them in the living. And they said they won't do it in America. So I'm fasting and praying and I said, "Lord, when I get one, I want to get the meniscus from a guy that was a 3:55-miler. I want to be the oldest miler and the fastest in the world."

But I thought about what Lady Brenda said. I said she was right. I don't know anybody who deep down inside wants to die. Let's get real for a moment. There are a lot of things that I'm interested in, but dying's not one of them. Let me tell you something, if somebody comes along with something that's going to keep me living longer, my family living longer, my friends, you living longer, saints, I want you to understand that I am in it.

And somebody's going to listen to this message and they're going to send me an email which I'm not going to read, but I know what it's going to say: "I thought you were more spiritual than that, you're real fleshy. That's not a kingdom mindset." Listen to what I'm saying. Tell your neighbor, he's just trying to help. Let me tell you something. I ain't interested in dying. I want to go to heaven, just not now.

Let me help somebody in here. You can talk about heaven and how you can't wait to get there. Let me give you a message from the heart of God: heaven can wait. And I'm not afraid to die. But I got something driving me. I want to stay on this earth because I want God to anoint me more and more so that I can be used for his kingdom to come, his will to be done in the earth. I want to be a part of the generation.

Now with all that said, I am for finding a cure for cancer. It is the evil king that needs to be dethroned. I'm for finding cures for many things that ail our physical bodies. I believe we need to find cures for cancer so most of us can live longer. But let me tell you what you don't know. You believe, I believe, people make us believe that if they find a cure for cancer, we'll all live many more years. That is not true.

Harvard demographer Nathan Keyfitz calculated that if science cured all forms of cancer, people would live only merely 2.2 years longer because they would die from something else. Unless science cures the majority of all diseases, as author Steven Cave writes, then the result is not a utopia of strong-bodied demigods but a plethora of care homes and hospitals filled with the depressed, the diseased, and the incontinent old.

In that case, it's not about living longer but dying slower. Pope Paul VI said, "Somebody should tell us right at the start of our lives that we are dying, then we might live life to the limit every minute of every day." Do it, I say, whatever you want to do, do it now. There are only so many tomorrows. Now everybody look at me because I'm not trying to rain on anybody's parade.

But this Easter, this morning, I am coming to tell you: you can spend $100,000 to get caked up, baked up, shaked up, get your lips puffed up. But the day is going to come, you're going to die. That's why I love Easter because it's kind of a first fruits of the dead in Christ. I believe that God on that first Easter, he took to let us know that death is not the last stop, that death cannot stop those who die in Christ.

In fact, watch this. Your Bible says in 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18, "But I do not want you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning those who have fallen asleep, lest you sorrow as others who have no hope." Now look at me. I think we ought to stop telling people, "This is not a funeral, it's a celebration, so don't weep and don't mourn." Because I wonder if we're really helping people. Do you understand that weeping and mourning is part of the healing process?

Jesus knew that he would raise Lazarus from the dead, yet he wept over his death. You see, watch this. Why do we cry? Because death is not normal. It's part of living in a sin-cursed world. But watch this. When you know Jesus and what he did at Calvary, you weep but you don't weep as the world weeps. You don't weep as those who have no hope because you don't know where you are going, you don't know where your loved ones are.

You weep because in this worldly context there is loss, but it is not because we have no hope. Listen to verse 14 of 1 Thessalonians 4, "For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them which also sleep in Jesus shall bring forth with him." Verse 15, "For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep."

Now I love it and I believe it, verse 16. "For the Lord himself," everybody say the Lord himself. "For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God, and the dead in Christ shall rise first. Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so shall we ever be with the Lord."

Church, then he says after that, "Therefore comfort one another with these words." There's a song that the saints used to sing off of that. They used to sing, "One glad morning when this life is o'er, I'll fly away. To a home on God's celestial shore, I'll fly away." Let me tell you something. I never met my mother's mother because she died when I was little. But I'm going to tell you when she gets up out of that grave, I'm going to recognize her, and I'm going to say, "Grandma, hold on, let me catch up to you."

Because this Bible says, listen now, you need to understand, we believe in miracles in this church. We're going to keep praying for miracles in this church. We have seen miracles in this church. There's a miracle sitting right there, there's a miracle sitting right there, there's a miracle over there, there's a miracle over there. We believe in miracles in this church and we're going to keep believing God for them. We are going to see them.

But I've come to tell you this Easter morning, I need to comfort somebody with these words. Because even Lazarus, when they raised him from the dead, Jesus raised him, eventually he had to die. So to the one who has lost that child, it's all right, one glad morning. To the one who lost a spouse, it's going to be all right, one glad morning. To the parents who instead of you aging out and your kids burying you, you buried them, I want you to understand today, feel the pain, but it's all right because one glad morning there will be a trumpet that will sound.

It's going to be heard all over the world. I can't wait because let me tell you something, they're going to hear it over there in Russia, they're going to hear it in China, North and South Korea are going to hear it, South America is going to hear it, and thank God the United States is going to hear it. And then they're going to get the trick they never saw before: those that are in the grave are going to get up and they're going to say, "There is a God in heaven."

You see, those we love who died in Christ will rise from the dead. And here's the fun part: some of us going to live to see it. And as they rise, we'll be caught up with them to meet them in the air. So miracle number five, and this is where I close today: The centurion testifies to Jesus' authenticity. Now you've heard the story before, but again I like it, so I'm going to tell it again.

A man took a vacation to Israel with his wife and his mother-in-law. During the time in the Holy Land, she passed away unexpectedly. Following the day the husband met with a local undertaker to discuss the funeral plans. The undertaker explained, "In cases like this, there are a couple of options to choose from. You can ship the body home for $5,000, or you can bury her here in the Holy Land for just $150."

The man took a minute to think about it and then he announced his decision to take her home. The undertaker, intrigued by his decision, said, "That's an interesting choice. Can I ask why you would pay $5,000 to ship your mother-in-law home when you could bury her here for $150?" The man promptly replied, "About 2,000 years ago, a man died and was buried here. Three days later, he rose from the dead, and I ain't taking that chance."

Oh, hallelujah. Funny little story. But it speaks to the reality that some people are aware of the power of Jesus. But what they miss is that the reality of the resurrection is more than just a story. It was and it still is the most important, significant, and powerful human event in history. After the darkness filled the earth, after the veil in the sanctuary was torn, after the earthquake and the rock split, after the saints were raised from the dead, somebody finally got it, church.

Matthew 27:54 says, "Now when the centurion and they that were with him watching Jesus saw the earthquake and those things were done, they greatly feared, truly saying, 'This was the Son of God.'" Now I want you to go with me for a little while longer. This centurion and his role in Jesus' crucifixion, it was not some small deal. He was front row and center in that he was the leader of a hundred men who were all there that day.

This is a man who was an officer of great esteem. He had to be a man of good character with a proven military record to know how to carry out orders promptly. He had to be an expert with the sword and with all other military weapons. He was a proven leader above all things. He had headed up and seen many a crucifixion in various forms. And that day started out like any other normal crucifixion.

But it mattered not to him that Jesus was hanging between two thieves. It mattered not to him that though these two were worthy of death, Jesus was not. In his mind, it was simply carrying out his orders with the expertise, listen now, until something happened. Something happened in the realms of the supernatural. It was so unexplainable that all he could do was submit, and he had to undeniably say, "Surely he was the Son of God."

Now if you follow the crucifixion biblically, John gives us a piece of the story in John 19:30 that the others don't. He said, "When Jesus therefore received the vinegar, he said, 'It is finished.' Then he bowed his head and he gave up the ghost." Watch this. It was at that moment that the first four miracles of the crucifixion took place. And if the centurion had any doubt about who Jesus was, it was wiped away that day.

The first four miracles happening now, watch this, meant that they were leading up to the most important miracle. It is a miracle that happens when you give your life to Jesus. It is the miracle that is available to those who need to experience it. It is the miracle that Jesus gave to the one hanging on the cross beside him. It is the miracle that Paul talks about in 2 Corinthians 4:4, where the power of Jesus removes blinders off of people's eyes, and he still does it today. Let me stop right here, I want you to watch something. Amen.

Now let me share with you why I shared that with you. There is a lie that is being perpetrated that is so dangerous. Listen to my heart, church. The lie is this: all religions lead to God. One young lady even said, and she's claiming to be a Christian, "When will Christians understand, will people get it, that God and Allah are the same?" Let me talk to you for a minute. Don't get mad, don't get sad, get glad. God and Allah are not the same.

And all religions do not lead to heaven. In a video based on Book 3:16, "Stories of Hope" by Max Lucado, listen to what he says. He says, "All roads lead to heaven? Well, the sentence makes good talk show fodder, but does it make sense? Can all approaches be correct? How can all religions lead to God when they are so different? We don't tolerate such logic in other matters. We don't pretend that all roads lead to London or all ships lead to Australia, all flights don't lead to Rome."

Imagine your response to travel agent who proclaims they do. You tell him you need a flight home to Rome, Italy. So he looks on his screen and he offers, "Well, there's a flight to Sydney, Australia at 6 a.m." "Does it go to Rome?" you ask. "No, but it offers great food and movies." "But I need to go to Rome," you say. He says, "Well, let me suggest Southwest Airlines." "Southwest Airlines flies to Rome?" "No, but they win awards for on-time arrivals."

You're getting frustrated, so you reiterate, "I need one airline to get me to one place, Rome." And the agent appears offended. "Sir, all flights go to Rome." Look at me, church. You know they don't. Different flights go to different destinations. Please understand, that is not a thick-headed conclusion. It is the honest truth. And just like all flights do not go to Rome, please understand every road does not lead to God. That's why Jesus said choose the narrow path.

I love you. And I can't let you leave today without you understand that Jesus said in John 14:6, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except by me." And church, listen to my heart. This world can try to erase that truth. They can try to dilute that truth. But I want to tell you as the son of a preacher growing up in a home where there was one time when I doubted that God was even real, that I can tell you today that he is King of kings and Lord of lords.

And I want you to listen to this. You've heard this in pieces, but I finally found the true author of what I'm going to close with. His name was Dr. Shadrach Meshach Lockridge. He was the pastor of Calvary Baptist Church in San Diego, California from 1953 to 1993. And you've heard variations of this, but I want you to hear what he said on that day.

Here's what he says about our King. "My King was born King. The Bible says my King is a seven-way King. He is the King of the Jews. That's a racial King. He is the King of Israel. That's a national King. He is the King of righteousness. He is the King of ages. He's the King of glory. He's the King of kings, he's the Lord of lords. That's my King."

"David said the heavens declare the glory of God and the firmament showeth his handiwork. My King, there's no means that can measure or define his limitless love. No far-seeing telescope can bring into visibility the coastline of his shoreless supplies. No barrier can hinder him from pouring out his blessings. He's enduringly strong, he's entirely sincere, he's eternally steadfast, he's immortally graceful, he's imperially powerful, he's impartially merciful. He's God's Son, he's the sinner's savior, he's the center of civilization. He stands alone in himself."

"He's august and he's unique. He's unparalleled, he's unprecedented. He's supreme, he's preeminent. He's the loftiest idea in literature. He's the highest personality in philosophy. He's the supreme problem of higher criticism. He's the foundational doctrine of true theology. He's the core and necessity of spiritual religion. That's my King. He's the miracle of the age. He's the superlative of every good that you choose to call him. He's the only one able to supply all your needs simultaneously."

"He supplies strength to the weak. He's available for the tempted and tried. He sympathizes and he saves. He's our guard and he guides. He heals the sick, he cleanses the lepers, he forgives sinners, he discharges debtors, he delivers the captives, he defends the feeble, he blesses the young, he serves the unfortunate, he regards the aged, he rewards the diligent and beautifies the meek. Do you know him?"

"Well, my King is the key to knowledge. He's the wellspring of wisdom. He's the doorway of deliverance. He's the pathway to peace. He's the roadway of righteousness. He's the highway of holiness. He's the gateway of glory. He's the master of the mighty, he's the captain of the conquerors, he's the head of the heroes. Here's a good one. He's the leader of the legislators, he's the overseer of the overcomers, he's the governor of the governors, he's the prince of princes, he's the King of kings, he's the Lord of lords. That's my King."

"Listen now. His office is manifold, his promise is sure, his life is matchless, his goodness is limitless, his mercy is everlasting, his love never changes, his word is sufficient, his reign is righteous, and his yoke is easy and his burden is light. I'm not done yet. I wish I could describe him to you, but he's indescribable. He's incomprehensible, he's invincible, he's irresistible. I've come to tell you that heavens can't contain him, let alone a man explain him. You can't get him off of your mind, you can't get him off of your hand. You can't live with him, but you can't live without him."

"The Pharisees couldn't stand him, but they found out they couldn't stop him. The witnesses couldn't get their testimonies to agree. Herod couldn't kill him. Death couldn't handle him, and the grave couldn't hold him. That's my King. Listen now. He has always been and will always be. I'm talking about my King. He has no predecessor and he'll have no successor. There is nobody before him, there'll be nobody after him. You can't impeach him, and he's not going to resign. He's my King. Great is the Lord, that's my King. Thine, thine is the kingdom, the power and the glory. Let me say it again. Thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever and ever and ever and ever. And when you get through with all the forevers, you got to shout amen. Can I hear you shout amen? Can I hear somebody say hallelujah? He's worthy! My God!"

Now just stay where you are. Dr. Lockridge is with Jesus now. Can you imagine if that's how he described Jesus looking through a dark glass, what is he saying now that he sees him face to face? I want you to watch this and then I'm going to get out of the way and let them sing. A Franciscan university in Ohio posted a series of ads on Facebook to promote some online theology programs.

But Facebook rejected one of them because it included a representation of the crucifixion. The monitors of Facebook said the reason for their rejection was that they found the depiction of the cross shocking, sensational, and excessively violent. But I love the response of the Franciscan University in Steubenville. They responded with a blog that I do not doubt blew Facebook away. Here's what they said.

"Indeed the crucifixion of Christ was all of those things. It was the most sensational action in history. Man executed God. It was shocking, yes. God deigned to take on flesh and was obedient unto death, even death on the cross, Philippians 2:8. And it was certainly excessively violent. A man scourged to within an inch of his life, nailed naked to a cross and left to die. All the hate of all the sin of the world poured out its wrath upon his humanity."

Then they went on to say that it wasn't the nails that kept Jesus on the cross, but his love for mankind. He was God. He could have descended from the cross at any moment. No, it was love that kept him there. Love for you and love for me, that we might not be eternally condemned for our sins but might have eternal life with him and his Father in heaven. Who wouldn't serve a God like that?

I want to thank you for joining us today and for watching this message on our stream. We are flowing now from the worship of hearing and receiving God's word into the worship aspect of giving into the kingdom of God. And as the God has spoken to your heart, I pray that you're able to join us in giving and bringing him his tithe and our offering. I want to share a little piece that's very interesting that you might even find interesting.

People were asked how much money would it take for us to have enough money. Remarkably, every person said, "If I could have a 10 percent increase, it would be enough for me to live and have a comfortable lifestyle." I share that with you because it's interesting that God says, "But if you will give me 10 percent." In Malachi 3:8-11, he talks about, "If you give me that 10 percent, you will have more than enough, there will be an overflow."

So why is that number significant in your giving today? The number is significant in that in your desire to live and have a healthy life, you want 10 percent. God says, "If you give me 10 percent, I'll make your 10 percent multiply in your life." And so as God leads your heart today, I ask you to first be obedient to the Lord and bring that 10 percent, that tithe. And then let the Holy Spirit speak to your heart as you give an offering above that. That will open the windows of heaven. I thank you in advance for your faithfulness in giving to the work of the kingdom so that we might expand God's kingdom. Let me pray for you now.

Father, I thank you for these that have committed this day to be obedient to your word. Because, Lord, they understand that sometimes thanksgiving is merely an act of obedience. And since we are thankful people, we obey you this day to bring you your tithe and to give our offering. We thank you in advance that you will open the windows of heaven, pour out blessing we will not have room to receive. We will be blessed spirit, soul, and body, and this we pray and believe for in Jesus' name. Amen.

Just lift your hands where you are. Though you may not be in this sanctuary, you become aware that we have words on this wall that are not just words, they are the biblical words from the very throne room of heaven. Let me speak them over your life. May the Lord bless you and protect you. May the Lord smile on you and be gracious to you. May the Lord show you his favor and give you his peace. God bless you as you receive it.