God's Design, Our Brokenness, and the Gospel's Remedy

Luke chapter 24 beginning in verse 1 and we'll read through verse 35.

But on the first day of the week at early dawn they went to the tomb taking the spices they had prepared and they found the stone rolled away from the tomb.

But when they went in they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. While they were perplexed about this, behold, two men stood by them in dazzling apparel.

And as they were frightened and bowed their faces to the ground, the men said to them, why do you seek the living among the dead? He is not here but has risen.

Remember how he told you while he was still in Galilee that the Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men and be crucified. And on the third day rise.

And they remembered his words. And returning from the tomb they told all these things to the eleven and to all the rest. Now it was Mary Magdalene and Joanna and Mary the mother of James and the other women with them who told these things to the apostles.

But these words seemed to them as idle talk. And they did not believe them. But Peter rose and ran to the tomb. Stooping in and looking in he saw the linen cloths by themselves.

And he went home marveling at what had happened. That very day two of them were going to a village named Emmaus about seven miles from Jerusalem. And they were talking with each other about all these things that had happened.

While they were talking and discussing together, Jesus himself drew near and went with them. But their eyes were kept from recognizing him. And he said to them, What is this conversation that you are holding with each other as you walk?

And they stood still looking sad. Then one of them named Cleopas answered him, Are you the only visitor to Jerusalem who does not know the things that have happened there in these days?

And he said to them, What things? And they said to him, Moreover, some of the women of our company amazed us.

They were at the tomb early in the morning. And when they did not find his body, they came back saying that they had seen a vision of angels who said that he was alive. Some of those who were with us went to the tomb and found it just as the women had said.

But him they did not see. And he said to them, O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe, all the prophets have spoken.

Was it not necessary that the Christ should suffer these things and enter into his glory? And beginning with Moses and all the prophets, he interpreted them in all the scriptures, the things concerning himself.

So they drew near to the village to which they were going. He acted as if he was going further, but they urged him strongly, saying, Stay with us, for it is towards evening and the day is now far spent.

So he went in to stay with them. When he was at a table with them, he took the bread and blessed and broke it and gave it to them. And their eyes were opened, and they recognized him.

And he vanished from their sight. They said to each other, Did not our hearts burn within us while he talked to us on the road, while he opened us to the scriptures?

May God add a blessing to the reading of his word. Please be seated. The entire Bible, Genesis through Revelation, even the maps in the very back, are about Jesus Christ.

And the resurrection of Jesus Christ, contained in its pages, is the cornerstone on which all of the Christian faith rests.

Today we celebrate and give special attention to the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Unfortunately, though, for many, their Easter celebration has little or nothing at all to do with the resurrection of Jesus.

To them, Easter is primarily about visits from a mysterious bunny, who has a proclivity for hiding ornamented eggs around their homes or in their backyards.

For others, it's about dressing their families in bright pastel colors, so that they can capture that precious picture that will serve as a great portrait for them to frame and put on their wall in their house, or maybe that great Facebook picture that later they can use as their new profile pic.

Now, I'm all for getting together with family. In fact, my family is here today, and I'm glad that they're here. I'm okay with dressing in bright colors.

I guess my tie is kind of bright. I don't mind taking pictures, though I'm grateful when that time is over. I guess bunnies are kind of cute.

And I certainly don't have any problems or issues with candy. Thank God for candy. But ladies and gentlemen, these things have nothing to do with the resurrection of Jesus Christ, nor should we allow these things to distract us or allow these things to become the focus of our celebration today on Easter as we celebrate the resurrected Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

With so much attention given to other things besides the resurrection on Easter, I wonder if we've forgotten how essential the resurrection is to the Christian faith.

If there is no resurrection, then Jesus was either lying about being the Son of God, or His death was deemed insufficient by God for the forgiveness of sins.

But since it is true, the resurrection of Jesus Christ is the most significant moment in all of history.

There is no more significant moment than Jesus Christ coming back from the dead on the third day. The sin that has broken you personally, the sin that has broken the world collectively, has a remedy.

And that remedy is found in Jesus Christ and no one or nothing else. All of Scripture, from the very beginning to the end, diagnoses the problem that plagues every single one of us.

And that problem that plagues us is sin and the curse that it's brought us all under. And all of Scripture points us to the remedy which is found again in Jesus Christ via His life, His death, and His resurrection.

This was the point of Jesus' interaction with those two disciples as they traveled to Emmaus.

He is affirming this truth to them and He's using Scripture to do just that. So we enter the scene there in verses 13 and 14 with these two travelers.

And their topic of conversation, the Bible says, is about all these things. So when we read that, we're forced to ask, well, what things?

What things were they talking about? And we see that they are replaying the events of the past few days of Jesus' life which had culminated in His crucifixion and His burial.

And now these recent reports that they've heard that He's back from the dead. So they are trying to mentally piece all of this information, all of the events together in their minds, these reports that they have just received.

And they're probably not sure who or what to believe anymore. And as they are doing this, it just so happens that Jesus comes and interrupts their conversation.

But they didn't know it was Him. Which leads us to ask another question. How could they not know, right? Were they blind? Did they have bad vision? How did they not know that this was Jesus who they were speaking with?

Well, first of all, they thought Jesus was dead. Second of all, and more importantly, Jesus, it says, there hid His identity from them. So then we ask another question.

How could He hide His identity from them? Was He some kind of master of disguise? Well, considering the fact that He was dead and had come back to life, hiding His identity was a piece of cake, relatively speaking, for Jesus.

And so He hid His identity from them. But He asks them a question. He says, what is this conversation that you guys are having? What are you guys talking about?

And there in verse 17, it says that this question caused them to stand still. They stopped literally in their tracks, overcome with sadness, overcome with emotion, overcome with unbelief, unbelief, that here is somebody who hadn't heard all that had just happened.

And they're going to have to give this person this report. And Cleopas answered, are you the only visitor who does not know what has transpired over the past few days in Jerusalem?

So basically, what Cleopas is asking Jesus is, what rock did you just crawl out from under? How could you not know? Everybody is talking about it.

Everybody has seen it. Everybody knows about this. How could you not know? And then Jesus asked them another probing question.

And He says, what things? Now here, it might seem to us that Jesus is messing with these guys. But in reality, what we're seeing is Jesus being the good teacher that He is.

A good teacher asks their students questions in order to teach them something. And so Jesus is asking these guys questions that will ultimately lead to an answer that they need to hear.

and in verses 19 through 21, they said to Him, well, concerning Jesus of Nazareth, the man who was a prophet, who was mighty in deed and word before God and all people and how our chief priests and rulers delivered Him to be condemned to death and to be crucified.

But we had hoped, they say, that He would redeem Israel. See, what they're saying is at this time, the Jews, they were under the power and the control of the Romans, the Roman Empire, and they hated it.

Could you imagine as Americans if some foreign nation came and subjected us under their rule and we were forced to obey them, we would hate it as well.

And so these guys, these Jewish men, hated this and all of them hated it just like we would. And so they were hoping that Jesus would be some kind of revolutionary political figure.

They were looking for a deliverer not from their sins but from the Roman Empire. And so they were hoping that Jesus was going to be that man, that He would overthrow the Romans and that He would establish His own empire.

But He hadn't done that. That wasn't His mission. But we'll come back to that thought a little bit later. Let's continue on. In verse 22-24, they give a report of more recent events and they say, on top of all these things, the unfair trials, the crucifixion, the burial, their disappointment that Jesus wasn't the political person that they hoped that He would be, that now His body is missing and some people, they say, who we know are telling us that He's back to life.

In verse 25, then Jesus breaks back into the conversation and He says to them, essentially, how could you be caught off guard by all of this? How could you not know these things?

If you read Scripture clearly, you would know and understand that all these things that you are so upset about, all these things that you're trying to make sense of, the Bible, Scripture, clearly told you these things were going to happen, that these things must happen.

And then from there, Jesus takes them on a journey through the Scriptures. And it says there, He began with Moses who under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit wrote the first five books of the Old Testament.

And then He went on through the prophets which would refer to the rest of the Old Testament as we know it today. Jesus then, it says, interpreted all of the Scriptures to them these things that concerned Himself.

Now this is amazing to me because here we have the Word of God interpreting and explaining the Word of God. Wouldn't you love to have been a part of this Bible study, right?

Man, I wish that I could have been there to hear the Word of God explaining and interpreting the Word of God. And now this comes back to the point that I want to make to you this morning.

That all of Scripture from beginning to end diagnoses the problem that plagues every single one of us which is sin and the curse that it has brought us all under.

This curse that plagues us all. And all of Scripture points us to the remedy which is found in the Lord Jesus Christ.

all 66 books written by numerous authors over thousands of years speak in unison that God saves sinners.

And He does so through His one and only Son Jesus who is the Christ. Steve Lawson writes, I want to share this quote with you, the Bible says that there is only one origin of the world.

There is only one diagnosis of man's problem. There is only one way of salvation. And there is only one standard of morality. There is one design for the family.

There is one flow of human history. There is one end of this age. There is one final judgment. There is one final eternal state. It is all taught with comprehensive yet perfect precision in the pages of the Bible.

So all of the Bible we must understand points to Jesus. Jesus as the only provision which mankind must be saved from their sins.

And the resurrection of Jesus Christ is essential in order for this to be true. If there is no resurrection then there is no hope for salvation.

What has broken us what sin has done to break us will continue to leave us broken. We will continue to be hopelessly and hopelessly broken throughout the rest of our eternal existence.

God but like Jesus did then I want to walk you through the Bible so that you will see why it was as Jesus said to these two disciples it was necessary that the Christ must suffer these things so that he could enter into his glory.

now I want you to understand as well it was about a seven mile journey from where they were to the city where they were going to Emmaus the average person walks a mile in 17 minutes so the journey would have taken at least about 119 minutes which is less than two hours so I know that some of you maybe have reservations for dinner after this you can go ahead and call and cancel those because we'll be here for quite some time and you're laughing you know I'm joking we won't be here for that long so we're going to take a broader scope here than even Jesus did on that day but what Jesus showed them is that he must suffer that he had to die for sins for the sins of his people and that he must be resurrected as the first fruits of all who will repent of their sins and believe in him so let's begin by seeking to understand why Jesus said it was necessary that he suffer so if you have your notes there go ahead and fill in the first circle let's start in the very beginning with

God's design God's design the Bible says very clearly that in the beginning God created he created the heavens he created the earth the Bible says that there is one God who eternally exists as three distinct persons the Father the Son and the Holy Spirit stated another way God is one in essence and three in person the Bible says to us that the Son who is Jesus Christ was God's agent in creation let's look at a few verses together John 1 1-3 in the beginning it says was the word and the word was with God and the word was God he was in the beginning with God and all things were made through him and without him was not anything made that has been made then we go down to verse 14 and the word became flesh and dwelt among us and we have seen his glory glory as the only son from the father full of grace and truth so hopefully this is becoming clear to you

Colossians 1 16 one more verse there it says for by him all things were created in heaven and on earth visible and invisible whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities all things were created through him and for him the bible says that over the course of a six day period god created everything and that the last thing he created was man who was the pinnacle the apex of his good creation all of the things that god created were good but the bible says only one of those things bore his image was created in his image and that was us mankind now you might be thinking or certainly you've heard someone say before that you know science and evolutionary theory have disproved the bible's account of creation and even in the existence of god come on who hasn't heard somebody say that before and if you haven't then you must be that person who's living under the rock right we've all heard this before but here's what I want to say to that no it hasn't no it hasn't science and evolutionary theory has not disproven the existence of god nor will it ever be able to do!

so in fact I believe that science supports the existence of god and I don't have all the time to go through this morning over all the flaws contained in the theory of evolution but I want to say a couple of things a few things first it requires more faith more faith in the miraculous not less faith to believe that god did not create and order the universe it takes more faith not less if god did not create the universe and all that is in them then at least four miracles must be believed by those who accept that as true I want you to see what those four things are at least four and there are more first the miracle of getting something from nothing there has never been an observed example where something has come from nothing that makes no logical sense secondly the miracle of getting life from non life even if something could come from nothing it would still be necessary for that non living something to become alive how is that possible third the miracle of getting order from chaos how do we get order from chaos personal observation tells us that things tend towards disorder not order left to themselves buildings crumble gardens become overgrown with weeds and living things fester die and decay and if you don't believe that chaos comes out of order and not the other way around

I've got my son and my two nephews that I can send over to your house today and at the end of the day you'll be left with chaos not order fourthly the miracle of getting the immaterial from physical matter and what I mean by this is there's no explanation of the human conscience how do we know the difference between right and wrong we can't learn that through evolution it's God who put his law in our heart wherever you go murder is bad it's wrong stealing is bad it's wrong we know these things because God has put it in our heart because we bear his image we are more than flesh and blood creatures we have minds we have souls we have intelligence we're not like anything else in all of the universe because God created us in his image as the pinnacle of his creation the second thing I want to say about this as well is since the enlightenment since Darwin's publishing of on the origin of species mankind has not progressed as much as he has regressed the 20th century was the bloodiest century in all of history that's post enlightenment we're supposed to be smart we've got it all figured out we know how things work we know how we ought to function with one another no we don't you watch the news you see what's happening in our world we are under the curse of sin things are broken and the more we push God to the outer limits away from our society away from our culture the more things are crumbling are they not disagree with me about that you can't you don't have a leg to stand on because you know it's true you know it's true the bible says that

God has a design for all things and again with man as it's pinnacle and there in Genesis we see at the beginning God declared that all of it was good meaning that it was perfect it was as it should be don't you have this feeling inside of you that things aren't the way that they should be don't you I know that I do when you watch the news when you hear reports about students going into high schools and killing people and besides that just turn on the news the murders the stealing the robberies the terrible things that are going on in our world isn't there something in your heart that says it shouldn't be this way it shouldn't be like this the bible says that the reason why things are no longer good why things are no longer the way that they are supposed to be is because of the consequences of sin it's sin our sin that has created the brokenness that we all experience in genesis chapter 3 it records the fall of man their disobedience to god adam and eve's disobedience and all of creation as a result of that fell into sin and its curse and the consequences of that our physical and spiritual death now you might say ha that's hogwash pastor mike right we're in oklahoma and we say things are hogwash right i'm still learning my oklahoman language lingo but you might say hey that's that's hogwash listen let me tell you something at one time and maybe it's still true today you were you were beautiful you were youthful your belly didn't hang over your pants amen you could walk up a flight of steps and not be winded when you got to the top there was such a day i remember that day you might think well you're not that old well listen i get winded at the top of steps and i am on for the very first time in my life on a diet right and i think this is not the way that it should be i should be able to go to wendy's and get a double cheeseburger right and it not show that's not the way it is let me tell you something it's sin sin can be it's so progressive and it works so slowly sometimes in us physically that we don't even know that it's happening but if i took if i took a young beautiful person full of youth and you saw over a two minute period them age before your very eyes you saw the wrinkles you saw them beginning to crumble they became a shell of themselves physically you would say that person is cursed and you'd be right now the bible says that sin affects everybody every single person romans 3 23 says for all have sin and fall short of the glory of god me you all of us the bible says that everyone is born with a sin nature did you ever notice this parents you have children you know the one thing you never have to teach your children how to do bad things that comes natural to them does it not why is that because it comes naturally to you too because we are born under the curse of sin with a nature from the very beginning to be sinners sin has wrecked god's design and it is the cause of our feelings of brokenness there's

your second circle brokenness the bible says that god having made people in his own image has put eternity into man's heart yet so that he cannot find out what god has done from beginning to end you know what that means that god has made mankind for his eternal purpose and nothing that this fallen world has to offer them can bring them the satisfaction that they're looking for because he's put eternity in your heart he's created you for a purpose that apart from him you won't know what it is so we try to fix our own brokenness and that's what those squiggly lines represent there are many different ways that human beings try to fix what they know is broken within them and what they see is broken in others collectively in their world so next to one of those squiggly lines you can write one of the ways that people try to fix their brokenness is religion now you think you must have misspoken because christianity is a religion well let me tell you what i mean by that i'm talking about a system in which you work to try to attain your salvation it's a system in which you try to make yourself good enough so that god will love you or that god will allow you entrance into heaven when you die so that when you die your good deeds outweigh your bad deeds let me tell you it doesn't work that way it can't work that way there is nothing you can do good enough on your own to overcome sin in your life the bible says that salvation is by grace alone it's not based upon who you are or what you've done it's based upon solely who christ is and what christ has done for you you cannot save yourself you cannot be your own savior it doesn't work that way let's look at ephesians chapter 2 verses 4 through 10 but god being rich in mercy because of the great love with which he loved us even when we were dead in our trespasses he made us alive together with christ by grace you have been saved and raises us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in christ jesus so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace and kindness towards us in christ jesus again for by grace you have been saved through faith and this is not your own doing it is a gift of god not a result of work so that no one may boast a lot of times i hear people tell me you know pastor mike i would come to church but i got to clean myself up first i've got to get good first no you don't you can never clean yourself up enough you can never do enough good it's all based upon what god has done for you in jesus christ not in you trying to do what you can do to save yourself that doesn't work another thing you can write on one of those squiggly lines is politics politics is a way that people try to fix what is broken within them and the world remember in verse 21 that's what these disciples who jesus was talking to were hoping that he would do that he would be the political figure that they're looking for who would who would fix what was wrong with them and in their world now listen to me it doesn't matter the political system or the political party that you think should be in power it will be run by sinful human beings and sinful human beings are corrupt they are corrupted

by sin now there are some political systems and there are some parties that I believe are better than others but listen they will never be able to create heaven on earth for you and for the world because men are sinful they aren't able to do what only god can do that utopian society and world that you're hoping for will never happen in this life apart from Jesus Christ men can't do it another one substance abuse people can't find the satisfaction that their soul longs for so they try to soothe or pacify their longings with substances that dull their senses and take their pain away but it's only a temporary fix which means they have to go back more and more and more to try to get that fix until they become an empty shell of themselves another one is relationships relationships like the woman who

Jesus met at Jacob's well if you remember who had been married five times and divorced and was living with a man who was not her husband she kept looking to others to be her savior and her god to provide that satisfaction that she knew was missing in her broken heart the problem with this is that people aren't god and when you believe that people can give you the satisfaction that your soul longs for that they can heal you that they can mend you what you're doing is making that person a god and let me tell you that human beings make for poor and awful gods to serve because that person will let you down at some point in time and there are many other things that we could add there addictions money people think that'll be the solution if I just had enough money my problems would go away success fame you name it there are a host of things that we try to use to heal our brokenness but all this to say that none of those things can fix you none of them are capable of recovering

God's design for your life there is only one thing that can recover that design and that one thing is the gospel of Jesus Christ that's it that's all you need the gospel provides the only cure and solution for sin in Genesis 3 15 the gospel is mentioned for the very first time after God meets with Adam and Eve he calls them out of hiding and he's there with Satan and he tells them what's going to happen as a result of sin this curse and what it's going to mean but there for the gospel and in Genesis 3 15 God himself is the preacher and Satan is the audience whom he's speaking to and there he says I will put enmity between you and the woman and between your offspring and her offspring he shall bruise your head and you shall bruise his heel and what

God is proclaiming here is that this he is Christ that he will be bruised by Satan yes he will suffer on the cross but ultimately he will recover from that suffering to deliver the death blow to Satan himself and to sin Satan would nip and bite at his heels but Jesus would smash his brains in is what God is declaring there and then after this after this very thing we see that blood is shed for the very first time when God takes an animal and he uses its skin to cover up Adam and Eve's nakedness because as a result of their sin they were aware of their nakedness and for the very first time ashamed and all of that was foreshadowing the blood that

Jesus would shed for the sins of his people on the cross so that in repenting of their sins and believing in him they would be covered in his righteous blood that was shed in their place for their sins and that when they do that God no longer sees a guilty sinner but he sees somebody who is innocent of sin and pure in Genesis 4 Christ's suffering is foreshadowed by the blood of Abel's sacrifice which must be shed in order for it to be a better more acceptable sacrifice in Genesis 22 it foreshadows Christ's substitutionary suffering in the ram that was caught in the thicket who God provided as a substitution in place of Abraham's son Isaac the Passover lamb that was slain foreshadowed Christ's suffering as his blood was applied as its blood was applied to the doorposts of the

Israel's houses while they were enslaved to the Egyptians and it spared their lives delivering them from slavery Christ the lamb of God was slain to deliver his people from the slavery of sin the entire Levitical sacrificial system was a foreshadowing of the suffering of Christ in Leviticus 1 through 5 we read that the head of the household must slay the young bull and offer up its blood for himself and his family he must skin the burnt offering and present these things as atonement for sin the the the!

the the He would be pierced, his hands and his feet.

They must divide his garments, it says. It was foretold in the Old Testament that he must be betrayed by a friend who would eat bread with him.

And he must be betrayed for 30 pieces of silver. He must be pierced and looked upon as a public spectacle. But his bones must not be broken.

The servant of the Lord passages in Isaiah 42, 49, 50, 52 and 53 speak of how Jesus must suffer. He must be despised.

He must be abhorred by the nation. He must be forsaken of men. He must be acquainted with grief. He must bear the sins, bear the griefs and carry the sorrows of his people.

He must be pierced for our transgressions. He must be crushed for our iniquities so that by his wounds we can be healed. And there is so much more.

But it's sufficient to say that there is this clear message in the Old Testament that this Messiah who would come must suffer rejection.

He must suffer death. He must be the one who will be cast down before he will enter into his glory. This is what the disciples had missed.

This is what we more clearly understand in light of the New Testament. The message of the cross is offensive. Jesus laid down his life.

Bleeding and dying in the place of sinners. Giving his life as a ransom for many. It is a message of great sorrow and suffering and sin bearing.

However, his suffering is not the end of the story. It's simply the means by which he would enter into his glory.

Because following his rejection would be his reign. And following his death would be his victorious resurrection. So what is the proper response to all of this?

Two responses. First there in verse 32. We see that after Jesus vanishes from the sight of his followers.

They say, did not our hearts burn within us while he talked to us on the road? While he opened up the scriptures? So the first response we see is this. Do you want to be on fire for the Lord?

Then you must open up and read his scriptures. You must hear his word taught and preached. But for those who don't believe, the response is this.

Repent and believe in the gospel. Jesus. What is the gospel? It's this. Jesus entered this world born of a virgin. He lived a sinless and perfect life.

He lived the life that you and I could never live. And his perfect righteousness is what is credited to our count when we believe in him. He was qualified to go to the cross.

And there he was lifted up to die. And God transferred the sin of his people to him. And transferred Christ's righteous perfectness to them.

And he who knew no sin. God made to be sin on our behalf. He suffered. He bled. He died on the cross.

He gave his life that you and I might have life. He shed his blood to make the only atonement for our sin. He was the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.

And having made atonement for sinners, he was laid in a borrowed tomb. And on the third day, he was raised from the dead.

Where he ascended and he entered into his glory. The Bible promised just as he'd come that he will one day come back.

And that whoever shall call upon the name of the Lord will be saved. So having heard the gospel and having repented of your sins and believing in Christ as your Lord and Savior, all that's left to do is recover and pursue God's design for your life.

I want to end with one quick story about a good friend of mine who is spending his first Easter in heaven. His name is Melvin Lynn.

And I first met Melvin about four years ago. I know I've talked about him before, but I want to share about him again today. For years, his wife came to church by herself.

And their daughter and her husband and his grandkids came to church, but he was never there. Not even a creaster. He wasn't even one of those guys who shows up on Christmas and Easter only.

He never came. One day, he was in the hospital. He was suffering from issues with colon cancer. And his wife didn't like driving out of town, and so I offered to take her to him.

And all I knew about Melvin was that he was tough. His son-in-law told me he was tough. His wife, his daughter, his grandson.

He's tough. He's in the Navy. He was a boxer. A mechanic. And so I went up there knowing that I was about to talk to a really tough guy.

And he looked tough. Even as he was there, sick, not knowing what was going to become of himself. And I offered to pray for him. And I remember in this grovely voice, he said, oh, sure, that'd be okay.

And I prayed for him. And I left. And I went home. And Danny said, how did it go? And I said, well, either he liked me or he didn't. I don't know. I got a phone call a couple weeks later.

He was out of the hospital. And he asked me to come over to their house. And I'll never forget sitting across from him at his kitchen table. And he was afraid.

This tough man who nobody would mess with was afraid of death. And he had come close. And he was afraid of dying because he didn't know what was going to happen.

After he died. He'd grown up in church as a little kid. But he had never gone back, as I told you. And he had questions. And so there for about an hour and a half, I talked to him through the Bible about sin and its curse.

And the gospel of Jesus Christ that breaks it. And this tough old guy shed a tear. And his wife was in the next room.

And I could tell that she was sobbing in there as well. Her prayers had been answered. And Melvin Lynn, at about 72, 73 years of age, was baptized in our church in Leavenworth.

And for the next two years of his life, he was one of the most consistent members that we had. Almost every Sunday, he was there, close.

You know, he sat close. Which, come on. In a Baptist church, back row Baptist, you know. He wanted to hear the word of God. And he was always there. His cancer came back.

It was lung cancer just this past year. And slowly, this strong, tough man eroded.

And I'll never forget also seeing him for the last time. In his house, on his bed, too weak to move. Trying to stay cool because he was just so hot.

And he was like a skeleton. Laying in that bed. And when I walked in, I didn't know, what am I going to say? Lord, what can I say to Melvin?

And he saw me and he smiled. He said, hi, pastor. He was no longer afraid of death. And it was knocking at his door.

You know why? Because Jesus Christ is the resurrection and the life. And he was confident. That his sins had been atoned for. He had repented of them.

He had believed in Christ as his Lord and Savior. And I confidently tell you today that this morning, my friend is with the Lord. And because of Christ and what he's done one day, I look forward to seeing him again.

But more importantly than that, I look forward to seeing my Lord who took my sins upon himself. Who died in my place. And if you're hearing this today and you're repenting of your sins and you want to believe, you're believing in Jesus Christ and what he's done for you, we're going to have an opportunity, an invitation for you to come forward after I'm done praying.

Just come forward. I would love to be able to talk to you some more and pray with you. God is good. Thank you.