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Grace,
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mercy and peace be to you
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from God our Father,
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from our Lord and our
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Savior Jesus Christ.
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The Bible passage is one
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Corinthians, chapter five.
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And near the end,
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the Apostle Paul simply says,
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we are always of good courage.
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Yes, we are of good courage.
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We are confident as we walk
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by faith and not by sight.
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Yet times happen when that
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confidence can be shaken.
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There can be doubts and fears,
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and the courage becomes more
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discouraged because of what
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we see or hear or feel.
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Quite a few number of years ago,
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I was not feeling well.
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I woke up on a Saturday morning
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and I knew I was not going to
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preach at Grace Chapel in
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Bellefontaine Neighbors
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that afternoon.
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I went and told my wife sue,
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we need to go to the emergency
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room because there was a pain in
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my lower back on one side that
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was nearly unbearable.
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So we get to the emergency room
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and we wait and wait
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and wait some more.
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Finally the doctor comes in and
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he starts poking and prodding on
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my back and he hits
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that one spot.
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There was a noticeable groan
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in that examinating room.
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Says,
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I'm going to order
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an X ray for you.
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And so it takes a while for
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the X ray to be done.
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And then we go back to that
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examining room and we
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wait some more.
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And finally the doctor comes in.
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It is now in the afternoon.
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And he says, well,
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what the X ray shows is that you
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have a mass on your kidney.
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But that's all we can
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see with the X ray.
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We need to do an MRI in order to
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be able to tell what actually
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is going on there.
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And the person who does the
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MRI has already left,
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so we will need to schedule that
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for you tomorrow morning.
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I can tell you,
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you do not want to hear the
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words mass and kidney and a
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hospital stay because he was
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going to admit me and then
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needing to wait to find out
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what's actually wrong.
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A bit of discouragement or fear
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or doubt, confidence shaking,
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discouraged instead
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of encourage.
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Certainly a moment like that.
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The Apostle Paul knows that
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our bodies will groan
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at the beginning of
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this passage.
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He simply compares our bodies
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to tents. As a tent maker,
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he would know what
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happens to tents.
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They're not a particularly
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permanent or strong structures.
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Winds can come and blow them
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away if they stay up too long.
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The material disintegrates,
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and then they are gone,
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just much like our bodies.
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A few years ago, COVID hit.
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Now,
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we may not have been able to see
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that tiny little virus
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with our eyes,
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but we could see what it did.
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Well over a million people
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die in our country.
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There are still those who
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suffer from long COVID,
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and the fear and the doubt
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can still be there.
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When you hear that word COVID,
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people still die from it.
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Earlier this week,
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we prayed for Andrew Johnson,
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a pastor,
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recent graduate from here
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in his early 30s.
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He received that diagnosis
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of cancer many years ago,
00:03:46.936 --> 00:03:49.220
and it finally took his life.
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Maybe you know of a heart attack
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or heart disease or Parkinson's
00:03:56.802 --> 00:03:58.946
or some other affliction
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of the body.
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Or you can be in a grocery
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store, a Walmart,
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a movie theater, a school,
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a bank at a concert,
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and gunshots will fire,
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and you could be one
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of the next ones
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on the floor in a pool of blood.
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But it doesn't have to be some
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of these really significant
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major diseases or tragedies.
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For many of us
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it's just that our
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bodies wear out
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and you get older. Now,
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I look out at many of these
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faces, and you're still young.
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You may not know this yet,
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but I am almost 68.
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It is time for me to cut back on
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my time here because I don't
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have the same amount of stamina
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and I get tired in the evenings.
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The reflexes are slower,
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the muscles are weaker.
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Last Sunday for Easter,
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we had our son and daughter in
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law and our daughter and son in
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law and our four grandchildren
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over for lunch.
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Easter meal services ran late.
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We're finally sitting down,
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and my youngest grandson,
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who will be two next week,
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had had enough,
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a little cranky.
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And finally my son says,
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you're going down for a nap.
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And he did not like that.
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And when we put him in the room
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for his nap, he was screaming.
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And I'm sitting at the kitchen
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table saying, hey,
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I'll take the nap. I'm tired.
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The body wears down.
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It grows old, it dies.
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And then what happens
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with that sight and sound and
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touch and all that's going
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on with our mind our
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bodies?
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Tents.
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How does Paul say,
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we are always of good courage.
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Be confident, walk by faith.
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And he knew what happens
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to the body.
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Earlier, in First Corinthians,
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he had had a brush with death
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that shook him to his very core.
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He had been persecuted,
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run out of town, thrown in jail,
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faced death numerous times
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his body was going.
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I'm sure he had hoped that Jesus
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would come back before but now
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he's really beginning to realize
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the end is happening
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and he is soon to die.
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And with that in mind,
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he gives the Corinthians and us
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a better word and a best word.
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The better word is that whether
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we live or whether we die,
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we will be with Jesus
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after our death.
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And then there will come
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a time that's the best,
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because there will be a
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resurrection of the body.
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Good to be in this life,
00:07:11.246 --> 00:07:12.632
to serve the Lord better,
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to be with him after we die
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and before he comes back.
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But the best is yet to come.
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That in between time.
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A time where we are with Jesus,
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a time of peace and rest.
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That's about all we know.
00:07:27.970 --> 00:07:29.562
The body deteriorates.
00:07:29.626 --> 00:07:31.506
We can see it in a
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grave or ashes,
00:07:34.142 --> 00:07:38.610
in an urn or lost or decaying.
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We know what's happening to it.
00:07:41.750 --> 00:07:44.258
And our soul rests with Jesus.
00:07:44.433 --> 00:07:45.960
And that is better,
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Paul says,
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but what is best is yet to come.
00:07:55.210 --> 00:07:58.186
A very gifted writer by the name
00:07:58.207 --> 00:08:01.462
of Chad Bird writes for 1517.
00:08:01.526 --> 00:08:05.290
And one of his recent pieces
00:08:05.630 --> 00:08:07.938
had a title that caught
00:08:07.974 --> 00:08:08.909
my attention.
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It said I can't wait to
00:08:12.628 --> 00:08:13.870
get out of Heaven.
00:08:16.370 --> 00:08:18.286
And what he was getting at is
00:08:18.308 --> 00:08:19.726
we've become sloppy in our
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language about when we die,
00:08:21.118 --> 00:08:21.938
we go to heaven and
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that's about it.
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And that's all we're hoping for.
00:08:24.648 --> 00:08:25.490
And he says,
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that's not our Christian
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hope in its entirety.
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That's not the heaven
00:08:33.069 --> 00:08:34.213
we are looking for.
00:08:34.251 --> 00:08:35.510
And he gives this example
00:08:35.659 --> 00:08:37.138
suppose you have a house that's
00:08:37.154 --> 00:08:38.566
been built to your exact
00:08:38.668 --> 00:08:41.042
specifications by a wonderful
00:08:41.106 --> 00:08:43.559
blue pond. Nice area,
00:08:43.930 --> 00:08:46.002
has all the creaturely comforts,
00:08:46.066 --> 00:08:47.526
everything you ever wanted in a
00:08:47.548 --> 00:08:48.966
home and it's ready for
00:08:48.988 --> 00:08:50.198
you to move into it.
00:08:50.284 --> 00:08:52.120
But it's a two day drive,
00:08:52.970 --> 00:08:54.534
so you spend the first
00:08:54.572 --> 00:08:56.002
night in a motel.
00:08:56.146 --> 00:08:58.542
And this motel is out side of
00:08:58.596 --> 00:08:59.770
the Rocky Mountain National.
00:09:00.250 --> 00:09:02.218
Park, Grand Vistas.
00:09:02.314 --> 00:09:03.962
The room is comfortable,
00:09:04.026 --> 00:09:05.054
a nice bed.
00:09:05.172 --> 00:09:06.222
Everything's been taken
00:09:06.276 --> 00:09:07.454
care of for you.
00:09:07.572 --> 00:09:08.526
But when you wake up
00:09:08.548 --> 00:09:09.566
the next morning,
00:09:09.748 --> 00:09:10.606
you're not going to
00:09:10.628 --> 00:09:11.870
stay in the motel.
00:09:12.850 --> 00:09:14.480
You're going to turn in the key
00:09:14.930 --> 00:09:16.078
and you're going to get back in
00:09:16.084 --> 00:09:18.026
the car because you know there's
00:09:18.058 --> 00:09:19.566
a home waiting for you.
00:09:19.748 --> 00:09:21.280
That's even better.
00:09:23.250 --> 00:09:25.040
And so he says yes,
00:09:25.770 --> 00:09:27.400
that in between time,
00:09:27.850 --> 00:09:29.574
like a motel room,
00:09:29.772 --> 00:09:31.190
can be wonderful.
00:09:32.250 --> 00:09:34.840
But the best is yet to come.
00:09:35.370 --> 00:09:36.870
Because on that last day,
00:09:36.940 --> 00:09:39.910
all of creation is renewed.
00:09:39.990 --> 00:09:41.798
And there is no more groaning,
00:09:41.894 --> 00:09:43.494
no more pain, no more death,
00:09:43.542 --> 00:09:44.694
no more disintegration,
00:09:44.742 --> 00:09:45.930
no more decay.
00:09:48.350 --> 00:09:49.894
And we rise with our
00:09:49.952 --> 00:09:51.200
bodies once again.
00:09:51.970 --> 00:09:54.014
Our eyes see colors more
00:09:54.052 --> 00:09:55.870
vivid than any rainbow.
00:09:56.850 --> 00:09:59.022
Taste buds exploding and with
00:09:59.076 --> 00:10:00.094
foods that we could
00:10:00.132 --> 00:10:01.470
not even imagine.
00:10:02.390 --> 00:10:03.230
Smells.
00:10:03.310 --> 00:10:04.290
Aromas.
00:10:05.990 --> 00:10:08.062
You can touch with nerve endings
00:10:08.126 --> 00:10:10.498
that are just alive once again,
00:10:10.664 --> 00:10:12.819
a face of someone you may know.
00:10:14.390 --> 00:10:15.800
And the sounds,
00:10:16.330 --> 00:10:17.080
music,
00:10:17.530 --> 00:10:19.206
lifting your soul to the
00:10:19.228 --> 00:10:20.550
greatest heights.
00:10:24.010 --> 00:10:27.694
And this we know because Jesus
00:10:27.842 --> 00:10:29.450
is the first fruits.
00:10:31.150 --> 00:10:33.580
That Easter meal with my family
00:10:34.270 --> 00:10:36.540
came after that Easter service.
00:10:37.470 --> 00:10:39.546
And Jesus has risen from the
00:10:39.568 --> 00:10:42.510
dead with body glorified.
00:10:44.370 --> 00:10:45.866
Mary's outside the tomb.
00:10:45.898 --> 00:10:47.354
He speaks her name, Mary.
00:10:47.402 --> 00:10:49.550
And she grabs hold of his legs.
00:10:50.290 --> 00:10:52.206
He sees the disciples in an
00:10:52.228 --> 00:10:53.454
upper room and he eats a piece
00:10:53.492 --> 00:10:54.626
of fish to show him that
00:10:54.648 --> 00:10:55.970
he is not a ghost.
00:10:56.390 --> 00:10:59.394
He can let Thomas touch his
00:10:59.432 --> 00:11:01.234
hands inside and then say,
00:11:01.272 --> 00:11:02.658
blessed are those who believe,
00:11:02.744 --> 00:11:04.418
even though they do not see.
00:11:04.584 --> 00:11:06.518
And he eats a breakfast on the
00:11:06.524 --> 00:11:08.354
beach with his disciples. Jesus,
00:11:08.402 --> 00:11:09.154
the first fruits,
00:11:09.202 --> 00:11:10.722
has risen from the dead.
00:11:10.866 --> 00:11:12.198
And because he has,
00:11:12.284 --> 00:11:14.630
we too will one day rise.
00:11:15.450 --> 00:11:17.746
And that's our permanent home.
00:11:17.867 --> 00:11:19.626
The immortality we put
00:11:19.648 --> 00:11:20.874
on over this body,
00:11:20.992 --> 00:11:22.582
the earthly tent
00:11:22.646 --> 00:11:24.380
and groaning no more
00:11:25.950 --> 00:11:28.170
but in eternity with Jesus.
00:11:34.450 --> 00:11:36.462
And yet we are not there
00:11:36.516 --> 00:11:39.470
yet. We are still alive.
00:11:40.210 --> 00:11:42.846
And Paul says it is good that
00:11:42.867 --> 00:11:43.806
we are always to be
00:11:43.828 --> 00:11:44.910
of good comfort,
00:11:46.050 --> 00:11:49.630
good courage and confidence
00:11:50.130 --> 00:11:52.030
as we walk by faith.
00:11:52.930 --> 00:11:54.330
And here's the lesson.
00:11:54.410 --> 00:11:56.790
Seeking to please the Lord
00:11:57.610 --> 00:11:59.030
with our bodies.
00:12:01.050 --> 00:12:02.574
And sometimes that calls for
00:12:02.612 --> 00:12:05.054
courage in a world where the
00:12:05.092 --> 00:12:06.302
sanctity of human life
00:12:06.356 --> 00:12:08.000
is often thrown away.
00:12:09.250 --> 00:12:11.562
And so we do take a courageous
00:12:11.626 --> 00:12:12.926
stand for those who have
00:12:12.948 --> 00:12:14.350
not yet been born
00:12:15.730 --> 00:12:17.706
or for the children in an inner
00:12:17.738 --> 00:12:19.520
city who cannot get an education
00:12:21.330 --> 00:12:23.050
or for those who are struggling
00:12:23.130 --> 00:12:24.750
with depression, and
00:12:25.130 --> 00:12:27.414
discouragement and thoughts of
00:12:27.452 --> 00:12:30.118
suicide and for those who can no
00:12:30.124 --> 00:12:31.766
longer fully care for themselves
00:12:31.868 --> 00:12:33.160
in their old age.
00:12:34.330 --> 00:12:36.134
Or maybe it calls for a
00:12:36.172 --> 00:12:37.814
courageous stand in the midst
00:12:37.862 --> 00:12:39.434
of what's all happening with
00:12:39.472 --> 00:12:41.526
sexuality and gender
00:12:41.638 --> 00:12:42.890
and marriage.
00:12:43.710 --> 00:12:45.706
And we simply say it is a
00:12:45.728 --> 00:12:47.386
marriage between a man and a
00:12:47.408 --> 00:12:49.398
woman and all sexuality,
00:12:49.494 --> 00:12:51.330
all nakedness is to conclude,
00:12:51.430 --> 00:12:53.006
be in that relationship and
00:12:53.028 --> 00:12:54.414
that relationship only,
00:12:54.532 --> 00:12:56.174
even though we live in really
00:12:56.212 --> 00:12:58.160
what is a xxx world.
00:13:00.370 --> 00:13:01.950
Calls for courage.
00:13:05.170 --> 00:13:07.114
But perhaps the greatest
00:13:07.162 --> 00:13:08.319
courage is
00:13:10.069 --> 00:13:12.610
to say no to even our own bodies
00:13:13.990 --> 00:13:15.554
for the desires that we have
00:13:15.592 --> 00:13:17.066
that will not please the Lord,
00:13:17.117 --> 00:13:18.754
whether it has a desire
00:13:18.802 --> 00:13:20.440
for more or
00:13:21.610 --> 00:13:24.165
jealousy or an anger or the
00:13:24.188 --> 00:13:26.246
words that we want to use or the
00:13:26.268 --> 00:13:27.254
things we want to look
00:13:27.292 --> 00:13:28.520
at and have.
00:13:29.870 --> 00:13:30.522
Finally,
00:13:30.656 --> 00:13:34.220
the courage is to say no to some
00:13:34.750 --> 00:13:37.046
and yes to what pleases
00:13:37.238 --> 00:13:38.330
the Lord.
00:13:40.430 --> 00:13:42.670
And that's a courage that comes
00:13:42.740 --> 00:13:44.430
not from within ourselves
00:13:45.010 --> 00:13:46.746
but from that promised,
00:13:46.858 --> 00:13:49.760
guarantee spirit within
00:13:51.569 --> 00:13:53.834
who works through his word and
00:13:53.892 --> 00:13:55.474
his sacrament to give
00:13:55.512 --> 00:13:57.890
us that good courage
00:13:59.190 --> 00:14:00.210
even when everything
00:14:00.280 --> 00:14:01.540
we see in here
00:14:02.950 --> 00:14:04.740
can discourage us.
00:14:08.250 --> 00:14:09.640
Go back to that
00:14:10.650 --> 00:14:12.280
emergency room,
00:14:13.210 --> 00:14:14.422
the examining room,
00:14:14.476 --> 00:14:17.542
I said to my wife after
00:14:17.596 --> 00:14:18.706
the doctor left,
00:14:18.828 --> 00:14:22.810
please go home and get my Bible.
00:14:25.310 --> 00:14:26.540
And that night
00:14:27.790 --> 00:14:29.914
I read Psalms like I had never
00:14:29.952 --> 00:14:31.500
read the Psalms before.
00:14:33.810 --> 00:14:35.614
And I read promises from the New
00:14:35.652 --> 00:14:36.862
Testament like I had never
00:14:36.915 --> 00:14:37.920
read them before.
00:14:41.090 --> 00:14:42.800
Was I scared? Yes.
00:14:44.130 --> 00:14:45.754
Discouraged, disheartened,
00:14:45.802 --> 00:14:46.670
fearful,
00:14:48.130 --> 00:14:51.520
doubting? Yes, I'll admit that.
00:14:52.210 --> 00:14:53.694
Yet in the midst of that,
00:14:53.812 --> 00:14:55.710
that guaranteed spirit worked
00:14:55.780 --> 00:14:58.150
in me good courage.
00:15:00.570 --> 00:15:01.950
To walk by faith.
00:15:03.810 --> 00:15:05.070
Now, as it turned out,
00:15:05.140 --> 00:15:06.634
it was not a cancerous
00:15:06.682 --> 00:15:07.802
mass on my kidney.
00:15:07.866 --> 00:15:09.914
I had an infection in my kidney.
00:15:10.042 --> 00:15:12.334
And the fluid had pushed the
00:15:12.372 --> 00:15:13.854
outer wall of the kidney away
00:15:13.892 --> 00:15:15.454
from the kidney itself and gave
00:15:15.492 --> 00:15:16.718
it an appearance of a
00:15:16.724 --> 00:15:18.430
mass on the x ray.
00:15:19.570 --> 00:15:21.214
A significant dosage of
00:15:21.252 --> 00:15:23.118
antibiotics and about three,
00:15:23.204 --> 00:15:25.686
four weeks of staying at
00:15:25.708 --> 00:15:26.678
home took care of it.
00:15:26.684 --> 00:15:27.960
And here I am today.
00:15:31.100 --> 00:15:32.216
And yet I'll tell you,
00:15:32.238 --> 00:15:33.130
that night
00:15:34.860 --> 00:15:36.600
that night was one
00:15:36.750 --> 00:15:37.876
of difficulty
00:15:37.908 --> 00:15:39.480
to be of good courage.
00:15:41.500 --> 00:15:44.104
And yet the Spirit guaranteed it
00:15:44.222 --> 00:15:47.236
for me and guarantees
00:15:47.268 --> 00:15:48.650
it for you as well.
00:15:49.900 --> 00:15:51.500
It is good to walk by faith
00:15:51.540 --> 00:15:53.424
and not by sight in this
00:15:53.462 --> 00:15:55.456
life to be of good courage to do
00:15:55.478 --> 00:15:56.780
what is pleasing the Lord.
00:15:56.860 --> 00:15:58.176
It is better to die and
00:15:58.198 --> 00:15:59.600
to go and be with him.
00:15:59.750 --> 00:16:03.090
And what is best is yet to come.
00:16:04.340 --> 00:16:05.410
And so
00:16:06.819 --> 00:16:11.600
always we are of good courage.
00:16:12.819 --> 00:16:14.460
Amen.