1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:03,500 Grace, mercy, and peace to you in Christ 2 00:00:03,500 --> 00:00:04,233 Jesus. 3 00:00:06,200 --> 00:00:08,900 According to the historian Herodotus, the 4 00:00:08,900 --> 00:00:11,500 king named Croesus, famous for his vast 5 00:00:11,500 --> 00:00:12,166 wealth, 6 00:00:13,333 --> 00:00:14,966 was visited by the famous Greek 7 00:00:14,966 --> 00:00:16,133 philosopher, Solon. 8 00:00:17,200 --> 00:00:19,600 And Croesus put on a great display of his 9 00:00:19,600 --> 00:00:21,900 wealth and his material possessions and 10 00:00:21,900 --> 00:00:22,266 all 11 00:00:22,266 --> 00:00:24,566 of his power in an attempt to show 12 00:00:24,566 --> 00:00:27,200 Croesus that he was the happiest man on 13 00:00:27,200 --> 00:00:27,833 earth. 14 00:00:31,066 --> 00:00:34,700 Solon did not seem very impressed by all 15 00:00:34,700 --> 00:00:36,800 of Croesus' pageantry. 16 00:00:37,366 --> 00:00:39,100 And after a while, Croesus became a 17 00:00:39,100 --> 00:00:41,133 little frustrated and asked Solon why he 18 00:00:41,133 --> 00:00:41,666 couldn't 19 00:00:41,666 --> 00:00:43,666 convince him with all of this, that he 20 00:00:43,666 --> 00:00:45,833 wasn't the happiest person who existed. 21 00:00:46,833 --> 00:00:48,866 And Solon said, well, there's no way to 22 00:00:48,866 --> 00:00:50,733 know until the day you die if you're 23 00:00:50,733 --> 00:00:51,400 really the 24 00:00:51,400 --> 00:00:53,766 happiest man who ever lived. 25 00:00:54,400 --> 00:00:56,233 We never know what tomorrow can bring. 26 00:00:56,566 --> 00:00:58,133 Maybe your wealth won't make you happy 27 00:00:58,133 --> 00:00:58,566 tomorrow. 28 00:00:59,066 --> 00:01:02,166 There's no way for us to know until the 29 00:01:02,166 --> 00:01:02,666 end. 30 00:01:07,133 --> 00:01:11,033 Salome's words to Herodotus, or not from 31 00:01:11,033 --> 00:01:14,766 Herodotus, as he records it to Croesus 32 00:01:14,766 --> 00:01:16,333 there, speaks 33 00:01:16,333 --> 00:01:19,700 to a reality that we live in as humans. 34 00:01:20,466 --> 00:01:22,000 That for all of us the future is 35 00:01:22,000 --> 00:01:22,600 uncertain. 36 00:01:23,633 --> 00:01:25,833 Life has its shares of ups and downs. 37 00:01:26,700 --> 00:01:28,266 You think you have your Greek down and 38 00:01:28,266 --> 00:01:29,533 then you meet the participle. 39 00:01:30,466 --> 00:01:32,300 You think you're a Lutheran and then you 40 00:01:32,300 --> 00:01:33,166 meet Dr. Okamoto. 41 00:01:35,733 --> 00:01:37,833 You go into life maybe with a great 42 00:01:37,833 --> 00:01:40,266 physical prowess, only then later to have 43 00:01:40,266 --> 00:01:41,000 an injury 44 00:01:41,000 --> 00:01:42,966 that never seems to quite heal. 45 00:01:44,133 --> 00:01:46,766 For other folks, maybe they have a 46 00:01:46,766 --> 00:01:49,900 monetary windfall while others see their 47 00:01:49,900 --> 00:01:50,933 retirement 48 00:01:50,933 --> 00:01:54,066 investments fizzle and economic collapse. 49 00:01:55,000 --> 00:01:58,166 We have fires and floods that we see in 50 00:01:58,166 --> 00:02:01,300 the news all the time right now, taking 51 00:02:01,300 --> 00:02:02,366 away homes 52 00:02:02,366 --> 00:02:04,600 and businesses and sometimes everything 53 00:02:04,600 --> 00:02:05,933 people have acquired. 54 00:02:07,366 --> 00:02:09,266 It seems like there's really only one 55 00:02:09,266 --> 00:02:11,266 thing that's certain in our future, and 56 00:02:11,266 --> 00:02:11,766 that is 57 00:02:11,766 --> 00:02:12,566 death. 58 00:02:13,333 --> 00:02:15,400 Death is a serious topic, so we try to 59 00:02:15,400 --> 00:02:17,133 avoid it then in our culture. 60 00:02:17,966 --> 00:02:19,700 And then it's all the more jarring when 61 00:02:19,700 --> 00:02:21,633 we have to face it in all of its reality. 62 00:02:23,433 --> 00:02:26,600 When death comes to those we know, when 63 00:02:26,600 --> 00:02:29,766 it comes into our circle directly then, 64 00:02:29,766 --> 00:02:30,833 we starkly 65 00:02:31,333 --> 00:02:33,300 have to deal with its reality. 66 00:02:34,733 --> 00:02:37,433 The reminder that we are all dead and 67 00:02:37,433 --> 00:02:39,900 buried at some point in our future 68 00:02:39,900 --> 00:02:41,233 becomes starkly 69 00:02:41,233 --> 00:02:41,866 real too. 70 00:02:43,833 --> 00:02:45,366 When we look at our world, death seems to 71 00:02:45,366 --> 00:02:45,966 have dominion. 72 00:02:47,200 --> 00:02:49,033 And that's one of the reasons why we 73 00:02:49,033 --> 00:02:50,666 strenuously avoid the subject. 74 00:02:52,666 --> 00:02:54,500 But that's not how it's actually supposed 75 00:02:54,500 --> 00:02:54,833 to be. 76 00:02:55,000 --> 00:02:57,233 Contrary to the way the world speaks that 77 00:02:57,233 --> 00:02:59,566 it's just the cycle of life, we know that 78 00:02:59,566 --> 00:03:02,333 death is not a natural part of life, that 79 00:03:02,333 --> 00:03:04,200 creation was made to live. 80 00:03:05,466 --> 00:03:07,833 Adam and Eve were made to live, not to 81 00:03:07,833 --> 00:03:08,233 die. 82 00:03:08,233 --> 00:03:10,633 There was no such thing in the world as 83 00:03:10,633 --> 00:03:13,066 death until our first father and mother 84 00:03:13,066 --> 00:03:13,966 went against 85 00:03:13,966 --> 00:03:16,633 God and had exactly the consequences God 86 00:03:16,633 --> 00:03:17,433 told them. 87 00:03:17,733 --> 00:03:19,700 When they ate the forbidden fruit and he 88 00:03:19,700 --> 00:03:21,466 said, the day that you eat of it you 89 00:03:21,466 --> 00:03:22,233 shall surely 90 00:03:22,233 --> 00:03:22,666 die. 91 00:03:23,766 --> 00:03:26,433 And with that all creation fell and death 92 00:03:26,433 --> 00:03:28,066 entered into the world. 93 00:03:29,466 --> 00:03:31,533 And it gets worse because that's not just 94 00:03:31,533 --> 00:03:33,500 a physical death that we face, but it's 95 00:03:33,500 --> 00:03:34,100 spiritual 96 00:03:34,100 --> 00:03:35,466 death as well. 97 00:03:35,466 --> 00:03:38,433 That our inclination now is to be against 98 00:03:38,433 --> 00:03:41,333 God and His will, to act contrary to who 99 00:03:41,333 --> 00:03:41,766 God 100 00:03:41,766 --> 00:03:44,100 has created us to be, to put our own 101 00:03:44,100 --> 00:03:46,600 interests and purpose and desires ahead 102 00:03:46,600 --> 00:03:47,500 of His will 103 00:03:47,500 --> 00:03:48,900 and our service to others. 104 00:03:49,533 --> 00:03:51,800 Paul says in Ephesians 2 at the beginning 105 00:03:51,800 --> 00:03:53,800 of that chapter that we are spiritual 106 00:03:53,800 --> 00:03:54,366 corpses 107 00:03:54,366 --> 00:03:57,000 in our sin, that we are dead in the eyes 108 00:03:57,000 --> 00:03:58,366 of a righteous God. 109 00:04:00,133 --> 00:04:01,933 And in the end no matter how much we'd 110 00:04:01,933 --> 00:04:03,766 like to pretend that we have control or 111 00:04:03,766 --> 00:04:04,233 that we 112 00:04:04,233 --> 00:04:07,100 can convince God that we're good or that 113 00:04:07,100 --> 00:04:09,766 we can even direct our lives with any 114 00:04:09,766 --> 00:04:10,466 kind of 115 00:04:10,466 --> 00:04:14,166 true certainty, we then recognize the 116 00:04:14,166 --> 00:04:17,333 opposite, that we constantly are 117 00:04:17,333 --> 00:04:19,533 struggling with our 118 00:04:19,533 --> 00:04:20,300 original sin. 119 00:04:21,866 --> 00:04:23,300 We're worried about our uncertain 120 00:04:23,300 --> 00:04:23,733 futures. 121 00:04:25,200 --> 00:04:27,266 We have to contend with our own 122 00:04:27,266 --> 00:04:28,066 mortality. 123 00:04:29,766 --> 00:04:32,100 And all those things to talk about them 124 00:04:32,100 --> 00:04:33,033 feels morbid. 125 00:04:34,700 --> 00:04:36,466 Thinking about the future and discussing 126 00:04:36,466 --> 00:04:38,066 it makes us anxious and worrisome. 127 00:04:39,433 --> 00:04:41,933 Talking about sin makes people defensive 128 00:04:41,933 --> 00:04:44,433 and makes us feel awkward in bringing it 129 00:04:44,433 --> 00:04:44,800 up. 130 00:04:46,100 --> 00:04:48,600 And we watch as the world tries to 131 00:04:48,600 --> 00:04:51,300 rationalize away the exclusiveness of 132 00:04:51,300 --> 00:04:52,700 Jesus' call that 133 00:04:52,700 --> 00:04:54,533 He is the only way to the Father because 134 00:04:54,533 --> 00:04:56,300 no one wants to talk about people going 135 00:04:56,300 --> 00:04:56,800 to hell. 136 00:04:59,533 --> 00:05:01,266 No matter how well the moments of life 137 00:05:01,266 --> 00:05:02,733 go, they're always contingent. 138 00:05:04,033 --> 00:05:06,166 We don't know what the future holds and 139 00:05:06,166 --> 00:05:08,400 we're always headed toward expiration. 140 00:05:10,200 --> 00:05:12,166 How it seems to go for us is that we just 141 00:05:12,166 --> 00:05:14,033 live in a roller coaster of uncertainty 142 00:05:14,033 --> 00:05:14,266 in 143 00:05:14,266 --> 00:05:16,433 this life and then we'll all be dead and 144 00:05:16,433 --> 00:05:18,500 buried in our mortality and our sin. 145 00:05:20,033 --> 00:05:21,566 So where then do we turn? 146 00:05:24,033 --> 00:05:26,533 Well, this last Sunday we turned to a 147 00:05:26,533 --> 00:05:28,500 very small river in Israel. 148 00:05:29,333 --> 00:05:30,933 I mean, for us, what, a 10-minute drive 149 00:05:30,933 --> 00:05:32,566 from the largest river in North America, 150 00:05:32,566 --> 00:05:33,066 the Jordan 151 00:05:33,066 --> 00:05:35,000 is like a pittance, right? 152 00:05:35,000 --> 00:05:35,766 It's a stream. 153 00:05:36,966 --> 00:05:39,100 But that's where God called John to do 154 00:05:39,100 --> 00:05:39,700 His work. 155 00:05:40,666 --> 00:05:43,333 And that's where Jesus then meets him in 156 00:05:43,333 --> 00:05:44,866 order to be baptized. 157 00:05:46,333 --> 00:05:48,300 And John's baptism is a baptism of 158 00:05:48,300 --> 00:05:50,533 repentance, of sin, and preparation for 159 00:05:50,533 --> 00:05:51,366 the Messiah. 160 00:05:51,533 --> 00:05:54,266 So what is the Messiah doing there? 161 00:05:55,433 --> 00:05:57,266 Well, it's the same reason He was born in 162 00:05:57,266 --> 00:05:58,900 the world, the same reason that He is 163 00:05:58,900 --> 00:05:59,533 circumcised 164 00:05:59,533 --> 00:06:02,000 on the eighth day, the same reason He is 165 00:06:02,000 --> 00:06:03,600 presented at the temple. 166 00:06:03,966 --> 00:06:06,366 That Jesus, our God, the second person of 167 00:06:06,366 --> 00:06:08,733 the Trinity, puts Himself into the flesh 168 00:06:08,733 --> 00:06:09,033 by 169 00:06:09,033 --> 00:06:11,900 the way of the womb of Mary so that He 170 00:06:11,900 --> 00:06:13,833 can be human as we are. 171 00:06:15,166 --> 00:06:17,500 Jesus is circumcised on the eighth day, 172 00:06:17,500 --> 00:06:19,700 put under the law as we are under the 173 00:06:19,700 --> 00:06:20,133 law. 174 00:06:20,266 --> 00:06:22,833 Jesus is presented at the temple as part 175 00:06:22,833 --> 00:06:24,433 of fulfilling that law. 176 00:06:26,633 --> 00:06:29,000 At His baptism on Matthew's account, He 177 00:06:29,000 --> 00:06:31,233 notes that when He arrives and John's 178 00:06:31,233 --> 00:06:32,033 reluctant, 179 00:06:32,233 --> 00:06:34,566 Jesus says to him, let it be so now, for 180 00:06:34,566 --> 00:06:36,900 thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all 181 00:06:36,900 --> 00:06:37,900 righteousness. 182 00:06:40,333 --> 00:06:42,533 Jesus is not baptized, as you know, 183 00:06:42,533 --> 00:06:45,000 because He's a sinner, but rather He is 184 00:06:45,000 --> 00:06:46,200 baptized because 185 00:06:46,200 --> 00:06:48,900 He has thrown Himself in with you. 186 00:06:49,300 --> 00:06:52,266 Or more correctly, Jesus is baptized so 187 00:06:52,266 --> 00:06:55,133 that as it goes with Jesus, so it goes 188 00:06:55,133 --> 00:06:55,966 for you. 189 00:06:57,700 --> 00:07:00,333 It's a part of making it that everything 190 00:07:00,333 --> 00:07:01,733 will depend on Him. 191 00:07:03,433 --> 00:07:05,433 From there He's tempted as we are, but 192 00:07:05,433 --> 00:07:06,066 overcomes. 193 00:07:06,966 --> 00:07:09,633 He teaches and He heals and He exercises 194 00:07:09,633 --> 00:07:11,466 demons, and in response He's 195 00:07:11,466 --> 00:07:13,266 misunderstood and hated. 196 00:07:14,733 --> 00:07:16,633 He comes to bring life and they plot to 197 00:07:16,633 --> 00:07:17,500 bring Him death. 198 00:07:18,933 --> 00:07:21,733 And when that plot proceeds then, Jesus 199 00:07:21,733 --> 00:07:24,500 is stricken, smitten, and afflicted, as 200 00:07:24,500 --> 00:07:25,166 Isaiah 201 00:07:25,166 --> 00:07:25,600 says. 202 00:07:25,700 --> 00:07:28,766 He takes upon Himself the iniquities of 203 00:07:28,766 --> 00:07:31,866 us all and silently, yet resolutely and 204 00:07:31,866 --> 00:07:32,800 lovingly, 205 00:07:32,800 --> 00:07:35,700 He takes the consequences of our sins 206 00:07:35,700 --> 00:07:36,866 onto Himself. 207 00:07:38,433 --> 00:07:40,933 He's abandoned by God the Father as we 208 00:07:40,933 --> 00:07:42,300 ought to have been. 209 00:07:43,633 --> 00:07:46,400 And then on that cross as evening 210 00:07:46,400 --> 00:07:48,533 approached, Jesus died. 211 00:07:51,100 --> 00:07:53,866 And the few friends He had came and they 212 00:07:53,866 --> 00:07:54,766 buried Him. 213 00:07:56,466 --> 00:07:58,633 As it goes for Jesus, so it goes for you. 214 00:08:00,433 --> 00:08:01,933 Jesus is dead and buried. 215 00:08:04,066 --> 00:08:06,333 And it seems like death has dominion over 216 00:08:06,333 --> 00:08:06,666 Him. 217 00:08:08,433 --> 00:08:10,266 But then the soldiers are struck with 218 00:08:10,266 --> 00:08:12,300 fear as if they are dead and young men in 219 00:08:12,300 --> 00:08:12,900 brilliant 220 00:08:12,900 --> 00:08:15,166 white robes appear and the immense stone 221 00:08:15,166 --> 00:08:17,000 is rolled away and the women are 222 00:08:17,000 --> 00:08:17,966 astonished and 223 00:08:17,966 --> 00:08:20,400 struck dumb and confused and they run 224 00:08:20,400 --> 00:08:20,866 away. 225 00:08:21,666 --> 00:08:23,533 And the disciples converse with the women 226 00:08:23,533 --> 00:08:25,333 and they're confused too and they go to 227 00:08:25,333 --> 00:08:25,600 the 228 00:08:25,600 --> 00:08:28,000 empty tomb and they don't understand it. 229 00:08:28,666 --> 00:08:31,566 And they all run and collect into the 230 00:08:31,566 --> 00:08:34,633 upper room and lock themselves away for 231 00:08:34,633 --> 00:08:35,566 fear with 232 00:08:35,566 --> 00:08:37,000 nothing to see but one another. 233 00:08:38,733 --> 00:08:40,866 And then they hear a familiar voice with 234 00:08:40,866 --> 00:08:41,766 words of peace. 235 00:08:43,433 --> 00:08:46,966 And then they see Him, that Christ is 236 00:08:46,966 --> 00:08:50,866 risen from the dead, that He is no longer 237 00:08:50,866 --> 00:08:51,933 dead and 238 00:08:52,100 --> 00:08:54,400 buried, that death has no dominion over 239 00:08:54,400 --> 00:08:56,700 Him, that Jesus gained the victory over 240 00:08:56,700 --> 00:08:57,266 sin and 241 00:08:57,266 --> 00:08:59,933 death and the power of the devil so that 242 00:08:59,933 --> 00:09:02,633 forgiveness and life and salvation are in 243 00:09:02,633 --> 00:09:03,466 His hands. 244 00:09:03,766 --> 00:09:07,266 And He gives them out unsparingly to you 245 00:09:07,266 --> 00:09:10,633 that as it went with Christ, so it goes 246 00:09:10,633 --> 00:09:11,600 for you. 247 00:09:11,866 --> 00:09:13,933 Do you not know, says Paul, that all of 248 00:09:13,933 --> 00:09:15,866 us who have been baptized into Christ 249 00:09:15,866 --> 00:09:16,566 Jesus were 250 00:09:16,566 --> 00:09:18,733 baptized into His death? 251 00:09:19,600 --> 00:09:22,400 We were buried therefore with Him by 252 00:09:22,400 --> 00:09:25,533 baptism into death in order that just as 253 00:09:25,533 --> 00:09:26,566 Christ was 254 00:09:26,566 --> 00:09:28,733 raised from the dead by the glory of the 255 00:09:28,733 --> 00:09:30,833 Father, we too might walk in newness of 256 00:09:30,833 --> 00:09:31,266 life. 257 00:09:31,300 --> 00:09:34,100 For if we have been united with Him in a 258 00:09:34,100 --> 00:09:36,700 death like His, we shall certainly be 259 00:09:36,700 --> 00:09:37,700 united with 260 00:09:37,700 --> 00:09:40,666 Him in a resurrection like His. 261 00:09:42,700 --> 00:09:45,100 That in Christ you are spiritual corpses 262 00:09:45,100 --> 00:09:45,700 no more. 263 00:09:46,700 --> 00:09:48,633 That in Christ, original sin does not 264 00:09:48,633 --> 00:09:50,333 have the last say in your life. 265 00:09:50,833 --> 00:09:53,033 That in Christ we can see beyond the 266 00:09:53,033 --> 00:09:55,333 uncertainty of these days and look to 267 00:09:55,333 --> 00:09:56,433 that promise of 268 00:09:56,433 --> 00:09:59,266 the future, that Jesus has conquered sin 269 00:09:59,266 --> 00:10:01,800 and death and the devil, that He has 270 00:10:01,800 --> 00:10:02,566 traveled 271 00:10:02,566 --> 00:10:05,666 from life into death and through that to 272 00:10:05,666 --> 00:10:07,300 life again for you. 273 00:10:09,100 --> 00:10:11,466 That in faith you have already been made 274 00:10:11,466 --> 00:10:13,766 spiritually alive by Christ through the 275 00:10:13,766 --> 00:10:14,633 Holy Spirit. 276 00:10:15,700 --> 00:10:18,433 That by the Word of God working on you, 277 00:10:18,433 --> 00:10:21,266 the Holy Spirit has put His very name of 278 00:10:21,266 --> 00:10:21,900 God on 279 00:10:21,900 --> 00:10:24,300 you in the waters of your baptism. 280 00:10:24,766 --> 00:10:27,700 And knowing that this is so, that you 281 00:10:27,700 --> 00:10:30,766 have spiritual regeneration now and the 282 00:10:30,766 --> 00:10:31,633 promised 283 00:10:31,633 --> 00:10:35,800 full regeneration to come, of what are we 284 00:10:35,800 --> 00:10:36,700 afraid? 285 00:10:40,833 --> 00:10:42,933 Croesus, several years after Solon had 286 00:10:42,933 --> 00:10:44,966 visited, lost his cherished eldest son 287 00:10:44,966 --> 00:10:46,033 and it devastated 288 00:10:46,033 --> 00:10:46,400 him. 289 00:10:47,633 --> 00:10:49,200 And a few years after that, he was 290 00:10:49,200 --> 00:10:50,933 defeated in battle by the Persian King 291 00:10:50,933 --> 00:10:51,366 Cyrus. 292 00:10:52,466 --> 00:10:54,466 And a tale about that is told that as 293 00:10:54,466 --> 00:10:56,566 punishment, Cyrus made Croesus stand at 294 00:10:56,566 --> 00:10:57,466 the city gates 295 00:10:57,466 --> 00:10:59,366 next to him so he could watch his 296 00:10:59,366 --> 00:11:01,566 reaction as his men plundered the city 297 00:11:01,566 --> 00:11:02,433 and took all 298 00:11:02,433 --> 00:11:04,333 of his wealth out of it. 299 00:11:05,300 --> 00:11:08,166 And as Cyrus watched him, Croesus stood 300 00:11:08,166 --> 00:11:10,966 passively by, seemed very calm, seemed 301 00:11:10,966 --> 00:11:12,200 unmoved by the 302 00:11:12,200 --> 00:11:13,533 loss of all of his wealth. 303 00:11:15,833 --> 00:11:18,100 Cyrus questioningly turned to him and 304 00:11:18,100 --> 00:11:20,533 said, you're watching all of your things 305 00:11:20,533 --> 00:11:21,333 disappear. 306 00:11:22,066 --> 00:11:23,366 Doesn't that bother you? 307 00:11:24,733 --> 00:11:26,700 And Croesus calmly turned to Cyrus and 308 00:11:26,700 --> 00:11:28,500 said, well since you'd already been 309 00:11:28,500 --> 00:11:29,233 defeated in 310 00:11:29,233 --> 00:11:30,533 battle, technically all this stuff 311 00:11:30,533 --> 00:11:31,900 belonged to Cyrus and they were just 312 00:11:31,900 --> 00:11:32,600 stealing all of 313 00:11:32,600 --> 00:11:33,366 Cyrus' goods. 314 00:11:34,266 --> 00:11:36,366 At which point it was Cyrus that lost his 315 00:11:36,366 --> 00:11:36,733 cool. 316 00:11:38,333 --> 00:11:41,900 Somewhere along the way between Siloam's 317 00:11:41,900 --> 00:11:45,300 visit and that moment, Croesus changed 318 00:11:45,300 --> 00:11:46,933 his perspective 319 00:11:46,933 --> 00:11:48,366 on what was important in life. 320 00:11:50,100 --> 00:11:52,900 You and I, children of God, we have a 321 00:11:52,900 --> 00:11:55,866 different perspective on the future and 322 00:11:55,866 --> 00:11:57,066 on death than 323 00:11:57,066 --> 00:11:58,233 the world does. 324 00:11:59,266 --> 00:12:02,100 Because our future in Christ is an 325 00:12:02,100 --> 00:12:05,366 eternity of life and hope and peace and 326 00:12:05,366 --> 00:12:05,933 joy. 327 00:12:07,166 --> 00:12:09,066 And we should then be able to face the 328 00:12:09,066 --> 00:12:10,966 uncertainty of our earthly futures and 329 00:12:10,966 --> 00:12:12,033 even death without 330 00:12:12,033 --> 00:12:12,766 flinching. 331 00:12:13,100 --> 00:12:15,433 You and I, in contrast to the world, can 332 00:12:15,433 --> 00:12:17,766 hold that all life is valuable, not just 333 00:12:17,766 --> 00:12:18,666 a flickering 334 00:12:18,666 --> 00:12:21,166 candle to be snuffed out in these days. 335 00:12:21,433 --> 00:12:23,700 As we look to the Sunday coming up here 336 00:12:23,700 --> 00:12:25,900 and marches for life, we should of all 337 00:12:25,900 --> 00:12:26,533 humanity 338 00:12:26,533 --> 00:12:29,266 be ones who can spend time with the sick. 339 00:12:29,700 --> 00:12:31,600 We of all people should not be those 340 00:12:31,600 --> 00:12:33,666 abandoning the elderly to nursing homes 341 00:12:33,666 --> 00:12:34,600 to be forgotten 342 00:12:34,600 --> 00:12:36,866 but finding time for them. 343 00:12:37,766 --> 00:12:39,666 We of all men should be those who 344 00:12:39,666 --> 00:12:41,933 advocate for those who are yet unborn. 345 00:12:42,366 --> 00:12:45,300 Of all people, those who can speak about 346 00:12:45,300 --> 00:12:48,166 eternal death so that we can also speak 347 00:12:48,166 --> 00:12:49,333 about eternal 348 00:12:49,333 --> 00:12:50,166 life. 349 00:12:52,666 --> 00:12:55,366 The future of your life here on earth, as 350 00:12:55,366 --> 00:12:57,866 you look to your training here, as you 351 00:12:57,866 --> 00:12:58,333 look 352 00:12:58,333 --> 00:13:01,666 to your calls, as our SMP guys look to 353 00:13:01,666 --> 00:13:05,300 continue on in their next steps, whatever 354 00:13:05,300 --> 00:13:06,333 your life 355 00:13:06,333 --> 00:13:08,033 may hold, good or bad, is not worth 356 00:13:08,033 --> 00:13:09,766 comparing to the eternal part of our 357 00:13:09,766 --> 00:13:10,633 lives in Jesus. 358 00:13:12,866 --> 00:13:15,133 Because death isn't the only reality. 359 00:13:15,866 --> 00:13:18,300 For the people of God in Christ, there's 360 00:13:18,300 --> 00:13:20,766 another thing that's certain, that as it 361 00:13:20,766 --> 00:13:21,433 goes for 362 00:13:21,433 --> 00:13:24,033 Jesus, so it goes for you. 363 00:13:25,233 --> 00:13:27,133 That when the time comes, you too can 364 00:13:27,133 --> 00:13:29,266 look death in the eye and stare it down. 365 00:13:30,366 --> 00:13:32,700 Because for the people of God living in 366 00:13:32,700 --> 00:13:34,766 Jesus and His kingdom, death has no 367 00:13:34,766 --> 00:13:35,733 dominion over 368 00:13:35,733 --> 00:13:36,066 you. 369 00:13:36,633 --> 00:13:38,566 Death itself is dead and buried in 370 00:13:38,566 --> 00:13:39,066 Christ. 371 00:13:41,666 --> 00:13:44,400 So as we live these days, we look to the 372 00:13:44,400 --> 00:13:47,100 time when this veil of tears has passed 373 00:13:47,100 --> 00:13:47,700 and we 374 00:13:47,700 --> 00:13:50,433 will hear His familiar voice with words 375 00:13:50,433 --> 00:13:51,200 of peace. 376 00:13:52,433 --> 00:13:55,433 And then we will see Him and be in the 377 00:13:55,433 --> 00:13:58,666 eternity that He has prepared in love for 378 00:13:58,666 --> 00:13:59,233 you. 379 00:14:00,133 --> 00:14:03,400 That as it goes for Jesus, so it goes for 380 00:14:03,400 --> 00:14:03,866 you. 381 00:14:05,066 --> 00:14:05,300 Amen.