At chapter one of these, the verses we've been reading, former treaties have I made, O Theophilus, of all that Jesus began, both to the end of each, until the day in which he was taken up, after that he had, through the Holy Ghost, given commandments unto the apostles whom he had shown them, and whom also he showed himself alive, after his passion by many impalibuses, being seen of them for days and speaking of the things retaining in the kingdom of God. May I please remind you a little of that which we have been considering. We saw the first day how the Acts of the Apostles was going to bring before us something that's the foundation of the church. and went up to Luke to give this wonderful, wonderful natural history of the church. He turned off by reminding us of the great fundamentals of the Christian faith. We saw first of all how he spoke of the one who, as he moved in this scene, not only went about doing good, but he began both to do and do good. And we saw that the outcome of such a life was this, was his passion. Last evening, I was certain that I read the scripture and I'm going to pray like you were, as we thought, and share with you a little, just a little of the passion of the Savior. But now, Dr. Luke, it takes us a step further. It seems to me he's daring to pray. You can never have a church. if you forget the walk of Christ in this scene, if you forget the death of Christ on Calvary's cross, but you can never have a church. And let you remember the glory of the resurrection of Jesus from the dead. I need to ask you to remind you that the Lord himself emphasized this tremendous thing. When on the Isle of Patmos, he revealed himself to John. He said, I am he. It always hurt my heart to remember what he didn't say. He didn't say, I am he who picked the turtle on the map. I am he who made blind farther near the sea. I am he who in a wonky turtle all kinds of water. I am he who penned the hungry and cleansed the letter. Now I will be eternally grateful that Christ did meet the hungry and did make blind pardomiers the sea and did make the lame man who and did cleanse the leper. But I am not unmindful that if he'd never done this, there still could have been a church. Each one of us here could have been here redeemed by precious love. But if he had never drawn them across, if he had never risen from the dead, Not one of us would have been here. So Jehovah did not say, I am he who did these great things. He said, I am he who became dead. And hallelujah, I'm alive again forevermore. And as Jehovah introduces himself, this is just what Dr. Luke does again. And so this morning, with your permission, and I talked with the Lord's help, we're going to consider Dr. Little of the tremendous statement to whom he showed himself alive after his pattern by many infallible proofs. We've been thinking during the past days of the Lord, we ponder at first something called the wonder of its humanity. For this was the one who began both the two and the two. And we're glad this. May I please, for the sake of my younger friends again, remind them of the things they've been told in school and in Bible class. Never let them forget that when we think of the Lord Jesus, we are thinking of the one that Luke Matthew makes the record. Emmanuel, God with us. Wonder of the love of God in heaven. Great wonder. The fact God ever came here is a man and moved among us. Never let us forget that when we think of the Lord Jesus and we think of the wonder of his humanity, that we are thinking of the one who is God with us. I have spent so many times, and yet I dare repeat myself, that when I think of the firm of that day that Bethlehem is, I remember that I gazed at a body that the Father prepared even, and by, a body has now prepared it. I remember again that a body prepared of the Father was produced of the Spirit. For Matthew Derek, how long she conceived of the Holy Ghost? That body that was prepared of the Father and produced of the Spirit, never let us forget, Philippians who was possessed of the Son, he put unto him the form of a servant. When I gain that dark Galilee of darkness and a manger in a stable, I want to take the shoes of all I think. I want the thrill of it ever that dawned on my being and remained there. But this is God's will. God will. Can I look at it? The parents of God will. The parents of the parents. The teachers of the army. Emmanuel had all the wonder of his humanity. But if we think of the wonder of his humanity, we think of the wonder of his holiness. We pondered something of that, did we not? Remember the tremendous story that was told of Jonathan Hulcock, who came one day to Carlisle and said, You know Carlisle, I can say I am one with the Father, just as Jesus said it. Karlah looked at him and said, but the difference is this, my friend. He looked to get people to believe it. Oh, that's it, isn't it? It's all very well to say that I'm God, but can you prove you're God? It's all very well for me to get the correction of the tremendous statement to Emmanuel that would be proved. Oh, thank God for the wonder of his humanity. Oh, thanks God for the wonder of his holiness. He moved among men and proved that he was God. Then if we think of the wonder of his humanity and the wonder of his holiness, why we rejoice, we praise God for the wonder of his humility. But this one so great, it could be said of him and he moved among men that he was meek in lowly a heart. You know what this means, don't you? You know what it means, but meekness never takes a fan. And loneliness never did the fence. And I want to say here, brethren, that it is as fair to take a fence as it is to give a fence. Jesus never came there. But hallelujah, he never took it neither. For he was meek and lowly apart. All the wonder of his humility. Then the wonder of his hate falls. Oh, what a thing to say. Do you dare you just tell us a preacher that Christ hated? That's what I did. No, I'm not. That's what the Bible says in your life. How can the words of Hebrews one? Thou hast love, righteousness, and hated iniquity. Oh, the wonder of its hateful. You know the tragedy of you and me is that sometimes we have a reserve. We find ourselves loving things that we shouldn't love, and we know we shouldn't love. But is it glorious that we have a Savior? Is it tremendous that we have a Savior? We can speak not only of the wonder of its humanity and holiness and humility, but we can speak of the wonder of his hateful, that he hated and he was. Ah, but he loved righteousness. He loved righteousness. Then, of course, there was another wonder in the life of Christ. It was the wonder of his hope. You see, seeing indeed the short reward upon truth, he knew that the psalmist had written, Thou would not leave my soul in hell. And as we thought of his passion yesterday, as we thought that this world should cry like God, why have thou not come unto me, we pondered just a little of that, to which he must fill in, would ask for unity. But we try to gain, and as much as local man is permitted, to see of a majesty, and yet the mercy of the greatness of and yet the glory and grace of our God. And surely one of us was moved when we realized that he went to the cross, and he went there willingly, forever and ever without, ah, would not please my soul it had. Praise God, here we see that hope fulfilled, and we ponder a little on the fact that God raised him from amongst the dead. I will say one or two very simple things about the resurrection. I will not be able to deal with it fully now, when I hope that the Lord will help us, and permit maybe tomorrow we may continue a little further in the doctrine of the resurrection. But the morning I want to say to it, I want to say a word first about the indisputable path of the resurrection. For it is the indisputable path of history, as it is the indisputable path of the God. I am glad that when I speak on the resurrection of Jesus Christ, I am not speaking of that which cannot be proved even on the ground of academic truth. And I want to, this morning, just to ponder a little of that which has been said about the resurrection. For if there is one thing that historians have tried to do, and sometimes I regret to say, men that call themselves theologians have tried to do, they have tried to take away the prick from the hearts of those people of the man that Jesus rose on the dead. But you cannot take away that word. It is the indisputable fact of history. There are, as you know, three theories. There are many more than three, but there are three major theories concerning the resurrection. Very questionable, the theory that I would call the ceiling theory. But did they not come to the soldiers, those Jewish leaders, and give them money, saying, You tell people, while we slept, the disciples came and stole the Bible. But if there's the sealing theory, there's the swooning theory. You know the sort of thing they ask us to believe, and sometimes it's put over as the modern law, although it originated in the fifteenth century. Nothing modern about that. But there's the swooning theory. The Christ did not really die, he just fell off. And then if there is the sealing theory and the swooning theory, the next major theory concerning the resurrection... It's the spirit theory. It is the theory that suggests that Jesus Christ did not rise in bodily form from the dead because it happened and his body got disintegrated into gases and somehow through the cracks in that stone doorway he was able to get out. It is so colorful and yet because it has been advanced by such learned men, we must face it. I said last week in speaking to a crowd of students in Cambridge, not concerning this, but concerning the matter of evolution, I said, gentlemen, I would rather believe the miraculous than the ridiculous. It takes more faith to believe some of the things that have been propounded concerning this than to believe what the word of God says concerning it. But that's either way. Let's look at them for a moment. So first of all, the feeling theory. You remember that when they found out that the stone had been rolled around, when they found out that the Lord Jesus was no longer in the tomb, those two became desperately afraid. And coming to the soldiers, they offered the money, saying, You tell the people the crowd is glad. His disciples came and stole the body. Now I cannot take you anything more ridiculous than this really. And for a matter of fact, just this very early morning, it's very often happens, and it's one of those sort of half days that most of us have. I have it anyway. But every time you're standing in line for breakfast, someone ask me a voice that way. Well, it's very simple. Well, I don't know. I didn't share what you see. Well, you see, what I'm trying to emphasize is this. Do you know what happens when you're asleep? Now we were asleep, the disciples came and stole the body. How do they know what happened if they were asleep? Oh, ridiculous! Such an argument as this. I suggest that in the name of common sense, any one of us here can dismiss the stealing theory or... sealing theory is associated with the fleet of those folks. Then, of course, there is not only the sealing theory, but there is the swooning theory. As you know, in fact, for many of you young folks in school have had to face it like sure. In effect, the argument goes like this, that they took the Lord and they knelt him to Calvary's cross. And so intense was pain, for he not only had he knelt there, but he had been scourged, And it is an interesting fact that many researchers in history have spent much time and much effort in trying to find anyone or the record of anyone who's been charged with the end of it with a loss. And there has not been a historian, there has not been a researcher in history who has ever yet been able to give any evidence of anyone having been charged with the end of it for a loss. All the evidence says that the end of the turkey line surges with that scourge, a person who's dead. Jesus was not only alive, but hallelujah, able to carry his cross halfway up the hill. I say, you young men, do you want to hear her? Do you? I've got a crotch through every inch of him with a man. Now have the hair cut from his face and the limit scourge to his body and still male enough to carry a cross? They say it was so intense with the pain of hell, Rick, that on that cross he fell unconscious. And because the soldiers who came around were not medical men, they didn't realize that this was unconsciousness. They thought it was death. He was taken down from the cross and placed in a tomb. And there was a coldness of food. There is deep in that tomb he revived. And somehow he got out of the tomb and went away from the hill and did it to a better direction. I don't think any world needs to give a lot of thought to it, and let it be to us for those that throw it to us very lightly. It's sufficient to remind ourselves that they take the Lord in the tomb and they found him graceful. I want to ask a very simple question. I hope it does not sound out of place when we're dealing with such holy things. But how many of us who, in the course of our years, walking maybe down a path or carrying over some rubbish, we are panned ourselves with our foot upon an air? How could we are feet square? Many a person might have been hobbling about when all they did was to stand on a peacock. Yet here was one. And to his feet were driven down, and to his hands were driven down, and he hung on those nails for hours until he saw it. They tell me that having found it round and round and round with grave bones, he suddenly became conscious, and with hands that in the ordinary text of things would have swung them beyond you from me. that would have sworn that he could not have stood upon them. He not only was able to unwind somehow in the grave clothes, but grind them flat and place them in perfect order, for they saw those grave clothes lying in order, and then he was able somehow, without the soldiers knowing, to walk indeed to the mouth of the tomb, to roll that stone, the lower field was upon it, to roll it back, and then to walk a grave mile from Jerusalem. And every now and again meet some of his disciples and say, I can give them the impression that all God can believe the miraculous and the legit. I wonder that men never forget what they do. And in the campus of Academy. I think we can dismiss this wounding theory. There are too many questions that cannot be answered. But then, of course, if there was the feeling theory and the wounding theory, there was the spirit theory. Very simply, the spirit theory works like this. However, the Lord did not rise. Lovely. As you know, there are many groups of people, J.W. along the Christmas album, who say this. But what happened is that that body disintegrated into gaffes and somehow it got out. And it was not a pinnacle body. It was a spirit body. But they never answered the great list of all questions. That when Jesus stood underneath the title, he offered them in hands and said, Has the spirit flesh and bone? As you see, I have. Jesus answered them. And the wonder to my heart is mostly the people that suggest this spirit theory are people who tell us they believe the Bible. Yet Jesus Christ has a spirit, has a spirit, flesh and soul. As you see, I have. All the three major theories concerning the resurrection, why, I don't think they need a tremendous amount of consideration. Yet the wonder is, they're still from now. They are still believed in the circle of Christendom. I want to tell you, young people, something. I'm not going to spend one minute of my life trying to build up something that one day God is going to destroy. Not me. I want to be finished with Christendom. And all that is left behind. I want to take my stand by the side of the lonely man of hell. I want to walk in fellowship with him. There is one other thing, I think, that they'd be rather subjective. You know, I sometimes, when speaking to youngsters in school about the resurrection, I sometimes say this. I sometimes say to the youngsters, like, what actually did they do to the bottom? And it's not long before the clouds will say, well, they placed it in a tomb, and they want it they do. And we find out they've rolled the stone. And then what did they do? they set a field, all. And then what did they do? They stood a soldier. Now you'll never forget, actually, it's similar to being. A stone, a field, a soldier. And then I asked the youngster, tell me, what kingdom is so? All they get, they went out of their way, all that, and then all kingdom. And what kingdom was the shield? And with a little help and explanation, they find out that this was the vegetable kingdom. And what kingdom was the soldier? Oh, they've got that. That's the animal kingdom. Is it remarkable, if, by the way, in the light of what we're going to consider at the kingdom of Satan and of God, is it remarkable that all Satan, the three kings, the three kingdoms, is how much everything falls? mineral, vegetable, animal, and said, I'm going to keep the king of kings right in there. But hallelujah, he is the king of kings, isn't he? And whether it be mineral or vegetable or animal, hallelujah, I'm from the great hero with a mighty triumph on his throne. But one of the things which has, for many invalid in palatable groups, one of the things which has settled in my heart forever, the bodily resurrection of Jesus Christ on the dead. It's not hard. Maybe it won't help you at all. I can only may have helped me. But you will understand that in my studies I very frequently have to give time to considering the religions, the other religions, especially those that appertained in that day. And the remarkable fact is that even in our day, as in that day, most religions have associated with them women. And it seems without academic doubt that mainly the women, when some of their leaders and guys, have been the cause of the erection to their memory of memorials. Have you ever thought to consider why it was that as far as the Christian faith is concerned, five hundred and twenty-three years passed. The first memorial was erected to Christ. Five hundred and more years before the first memorial was erected to Christ. It was the women that came to the tomb. so blessed women, glorious women, they came to the tomb, they came first. Why is it that they are so different to all other women of all other relations, for other women of erected their memorials and not these women? There's only one answer, isn't there? You don't reckon a memorial to someone who isn't dead, do you? They realize he was alive. They never erected anything to a dead Christ, for he was living. It wasn't until Romanism began to lift his head five hundred years after. They even started to think about it. I want to say here and now that I have not followed cunningly devised faith. And the Christian faith to me is not just a matter of emotion. The Christian faith to me is there which can stand the searchlight of the preacher, thinker. yet claim the trust of the humblest saints. I assure you, it's not in the first category I would like myself. I only know this, that he showed himself by many intallible proofs. This is the indisputable act of history. But then I want to remind our hearts, in the light of the building of the church, of the CNNS, that it is not only the indisputable fact of history, but it is the indispensable fact of the gospel. I might ask what portion of the Word of God should go to to preach the gospel. The parents of the man that can turn away saying, I preach the gospel, unless he has mentioned the resurrection of Jesus Christ from among the dead, he may have not dealt with him as an object. He may just have reminded men and women that people live, that there can be no gospel, and that Jesus be raised on the next day. When the Apostle wrote to the Church of Corinth, he said, this is the gospel, that Christ died for our sins, that he was buried, that the third day he rose again. This is the gospel. His grace, he died. His grace, he was buried. His glory, the birthday he rose from the dead. This is God. The more you and I think of the gospel, the more we realize that the next Jesus lives, we've nothing to offer. But hallelujah, Jesus does live. I don't see it so much as I did see it three or four years ago, but three or four years ago, I used to find myself many a time on a campus that I would see there on the wall, God is dead. I don't see it so much today, do you? God is dead. What a ridiculous thing, you know, people don't even think of what they write today. I mean, if they really fall, they'd be very frightened, wouldn't they? God is dead, they write. So that means that once he was alive. And if once he was alive and he is God, how ridiculous people get it? How can he be ridiculous? Thank God I believe that that faith is almost powerful and huge today. I only know that my God isn't there. Hallelujah, my God is living as ever he was. For men that come to him very often are dead in passages and things. But God is dead. God is alive. And I remember that while he was late, there is for you and me all that exist. There is the forgiveness of death. You remember the lovely story, that tremendous story in the thirteen chapter of Acts, when the servant of God stands and dares to say, But he who called raised up an egg for no corruption, and be it known, therefore. How many times have your Sunday school teachers reminded you that whenever in the Bible you come across the word, therefore, you need to have a second look at it to see what it's there for? And here it is as simple as can be, as simple as can be. Why, he says, but he who, God raised from the dead, saw no corruption, and be it. No, therefore, because God raised him from the dead, because he saw no corruption, because of this, be it known therefore unto you, men and brethren, that through this man is preaching unto you, the forgiveness of things. Oh, hallelujah. Didn't I say it was the indescribable act of the gospel? But Jesus rose from heaven. I'm glad the day that I can go out and in the name of the prophetic Christ offer to men and women the forgiveness of sin. But I remember there is not only the forgiveness of sin found in Christ, but praise God there is comfort found in Christ. Do you have favorite verses in the Bible? I'm sure you do. I know I'm... Of course, I don't know if it's a tragedy, but it's the fact that my favorite verse mostly changes every day. But nonetheless, it's a lovely sin to have favorite verses, isn't it? The writings of Hebrews have been a chapter which over the years I have spent very much time in. I've lived in the writings of Hebrews very much. I believe the flirting of Hebrews has as much to say to us as almost any chapter in the Bible. It brings the whole matter of salvation, separation, sanctification, service, sacrifice. It brings the whole matter of the world. But in that flirting of Hebrews, there's a lovely, lovely statement. This is what it says. This is what it says. I will never leave the liquidation. He hath said, I will never leave thee. That we might only say, The Lord is my helper. You have one. You would stop at every word, couldn't you? The Lord is not there, and we deserve a lot of that, couldn't you? the lord is well that's what we've been doing today we've been speaking about the fact that the lord is whenever the lord is and a realization dawns on our soul that the lord is whenever the lord is the people the lord is my helper i will not hear what men shall do underneath you know i didn't know this morning Most of you, I didn't know until this morning that our dear sister had this call. You know what, I'd love to have that. I'd love just to have whispered to her in the face of her in the ambulance. I will not fear what men shall do unto me. Because Jesus is. And in every circumstance of life he promised to be with us. He had not promised to deliver us necessarily from the pain and suffering and sorrow. Of course he hadn't, but he told us that he'd went up in it all. And then we hear this go, and we're playing that military husband, standing by the side of a man who's gone over a landmark. A man who's lost a leg, for it has been blown up, and both arms have been blown up, lost the side of his face, so he was both dumb and blind, and I don't know how he lived. I walked toward that little room. The dear matron of godliest scripture almost tied back. Dear matron Morgan, said to Miss Dan, tell him God loves us. Tell him God loves us. How do you tell a man God loves us when he's lost a leg and some harm from the point of his face that he can't see you or speak you? the hand and the snub of his shoulder and with a great lump on the throat for I was night riding. And said, Jimmy, you can't see and you can't talk from it, but I want to tell you this. I've never been called to pass through what you've been called to pass through. But if I had been called to pass through it, I'd rather pass through it with people than without him. fellow sisters. We don't know what tomorrow brings forth, but we know it is. He'll be there. Hallelujah. And the Lord is my helper. And I will not hear what men shall do unto me. Oh, what a thing. What is it, Luke, dare to say? He began. Both to do and teach. And if words mean anything, hallelujah, he's still doing it. He began then, and he's doing it now. He began what to do and to think. Passion pre-went on to the cross. But his glorious resurrection pre-lived today. And we can say that this is this indisputable fact of the gospel. Because Christ died, because Christ lived, he owned the key of death in the past. The unglad of past. I'm glad of that. He didn't want to behold the keys of hell. You know, if you're a Christian, you couldn't go to hell if you wanted this. He's got the keys. He won't look for you. Praise God he looks. This indisputable path of history and this indisputable path of the gospel is that which God in his mercy wants us to rest in. Amen. Don't let you have me live in an academic past. Let's know it's a living reality. Let's remember he's made because I live. Hallelujah. We know him. And this is life. We may know him. The only true God. I'll grant that we may know it. Praise God. Amen. Well, just one other little word about these notes. You know, lots of folks are coming to me and saying, I tried to get little gospel, but I can't help that, come up. And they're there. But you won't forget that they were typed on a typewriter that was made in Germany. And I bought it in Australia. And it's English papers that tap it out in America. So you must expect some mistakes, don't you? You won't hold any spelling or typing mistakes against me. Whatever I ask you to do. The Lord bless you. And brethren, let's go from this place and live with you.