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Luke chapter seven and starting at verse one.

When Jesus had finished saying all this to the people who were listening, he entered Capernaum. There a centurion servant whom his master valued highly was ill and about to die. The centurion heard of Jesus and sent some elders of the Jews to him, asking him to come and heal his servant. When they came to Jesus, they pleaded earnestly with him. This man deserves to have you do this because he loves our nation and has built our synagogue.

So Jesus went with them. He was not far from the house when the centurion sent friends to say to him, lord, don't trouble yourself, for I do not deserve to have you come under my roof. That is why I did not even consider myself worthy to come to you. But say the words, my servant will be healed. For I myself am a man under authority with soldiers under me.

I tell this one, go, and he goes, and that one, come, and he comes. I say to my servant, do this, and he does it. When Jesus heard this, he was amazed at him. And turning to the crowd following him, he said, I tell you, I have not found such great faith even in Israel. Then the men who had been sent returned to the house and found the servant well.

Soon afterwards, Jesus went to a town called Nain, and his disciples and a large crowd went along with him. As he approached the town gate, a dead person was being carried out, the only son of his mother, and she was a widow. And the large crowd from the town was with her. When the lord saw her, his heart went out to her, and he said, don't cry. And he went up and touched the beer they were carrying him on, and the bearers stood still.

He said, young man, I say to you, get up. The dead man sat up and began to talk, and Jesus gave him back to his mother. They were all filled with awe and praised God. A great prophet has appeared among us, they said. God has come to help his people.

This news about Jesus spread throughout Judea and the surrounding country. Good morning. My name's Pete Woodcock. I'm one of the pastors of the church here. Lovely to have you.

If you're visiting, really great to have you. We finished last week a series on, Hebrews. I don't know how long we've been going through that. And, in September, we're starting a series in Luke. And I thought I'd give you a little peek, a little preview of one of the fantastic stories in Luke.

And then someone else will have to preach it later on another time. But that's what that that's what we're doing today. Let me just pray. Father, help us now as we look at this passage. Please help us to see how amazing you are.

Whatever situation we're in right now, give us space in our hearing and our emotions and our beliefs to, hear these truths and act upon them, we pray in Jesus' name. So what we got here in in Luke seven is these two stories. And I'm going to focus in on the on the the second one. But the first one, you've got this, Roman centurion. And there's a there's loads of stuff here really, because there's a Roman centurion and he cares for his servant.

And then you've got these Jewish people that care for the Roman centurion. So you've got a this is quite an interesting event that's going on here because you've got enemies that are actually enjoying each other and they're all based around Jesus, which is interesting. But what happens is this Roman centurion's servant is very ill and he's about to die and Jesus gives a word. Jesus speaks into that situation. He doesn't even go, to the the servant.

He speaks a word. And the Roman centurions understands who Jesus is, that he can say a word. He's got so much authority. He can say a word, be healed, and the person is healed. And the Roman centurion says that says this about Jesus.

It's an amazing thing. So this man, this servant is pulled back from death. He hasn't died, but he's pulled back from the jaws of death. It's amazing story. And as we go into Luke, we'll we'll see this.

But then verse 11, look at verse 11. It says, soon afterwards, Jesus went to the town called Nain. Now that in literal language soon afterwards in in the in the Greek that was originally written in means the next day, but it's not just the next day. It's the next event. It's it's like the next thing in Jesus' diary.

The next day, the next event, the next thing written in the diary of Jesus. The next day, Jesus went to Nain. The next day, he meets the next stage of body decay. The person in the servant in Capernaum was about to die and he drew him back from death. This young man is dead.

The next event, the next day in Jesus' life was to face death again. But actually, this bloke had died and already the the the burial process is underway. Now you've got to get this because Nain is about 25 miles or 30 miles, 25 to 30 miles from Capernaum. And it's certainly not the next town that Jesus would have gone it gone into. He would have to have gone through quite a number of towns.

Nain is a is a very small village. And it's up in the mountains. So, this is, you know, this is a day's walk. This is 25, 30 miles an hour mile walk and the fame of Nain is only this event. It's never mentioned in the Bible before this or after this.

It's this story that's put Nain on the map. And it's a lovely story. And I mean even there you see something of the kindness and grace of Jesus. He doesn't do this miracle in Jerusalem. He doesn't do it in Rome.

He does it in this two bit village in the mountains miles away from anywhere. And I I just love that. And I think you're gonna we're gonna see this sort of thing in Luke. I love that, that Jesus isn't about, you know, just being a popular person. He's about where the need is.

He even goes to Nain. He walked 30 miles to get there. And if he go to Nain, he'd come to your house. That's that's really what's going on here. Anyway, the next day, the next event, the next thing in Jesus' diary, he went to Nain and he got there right at the appointed time.

25, 30 miles walk, and he wasn't a second late. Right at that time, look at verse 12. As he approached the town gate, a dead person was being carried out, the only son of his mother, and she was a widow. And a large crowd from the town was with her. Right at that moment, he was right on time.

The appointment in his diary was on time. I I went to the hospital a couple of months ago. I had an appointment at half ten. At half twelve, I was still waiting. I went up to reception and they said, oh, we haven't got you on the books, but I'd already booked in.

So I can't find you. I mean, what's going on? Jesus, exactly on time. Right at that moment, and we'll see that again in a minute. Nain means beautiful.

It's a town called Beautiful. And as Jesus comes into the town called Beautiful, an ugly event is happening. Death is being expelled and coming out of the town called Beautiful. So let's just have a look at this. First of all, I want you to see the two crowds and two crowds meet.

Verse 11 again. Soon afterwards, Jesus went to a town called Nain, and his disciples and a large crowd went along with him. As he approached the town gate, a dead person was being carried out, the only son of his mother, and she was a widow, and a large crowd from the town was with her. When the Lord saw her, his heart went out to her, and he said, do not cry. Two large crowds and they meet.

Two large crowds, and they meet where? At the at the town gate of this town called Beautiful. One's going into the town, and one's coming out of the town. And the one coming out of the town is led by this widow who's crying, and she's followed by the pale horse of death. And this young victim is captive to death, And he's on this it's called a beer.

It's just basically an open sort of stretcher like coffin that they're carrying him on it. So he's clearly there. He's dead. He's another victim of death. And the mourners are made to sing the song of lament whether they wanted to or not that day.

They're singing the song of lament. They're singing a song of lament, which means victory for death because that's not what the song of lament means. Victory for death. Death has taken yet another one. Death has taken yet another young man in this case.

Death has swallowed up in victory. The sting of death has won at this point. So this crowd, full of pessimism, full of loss, full of sadness, coming out of the town called Beautiful. But this other crowd headed up by Jesus is coming into the town, and they've walked all the way from Capernaum. And they're full of optimism.

They've just heard of amazing miracle. They've just seen Romans and Jews get together in friendship over a miracle of Jesus. This is something extraordinary. They would have been talking all the way for 30 miles going up the hill. But not only that, Maine, well, it's a good place for bread.

They have really good bread in Maine apparently. And up in the hills, they have fresh water up there. It's a spring of fresh water. So here they are, full of optimism, full of thinking, I'm going we're going to a town called Beautiful. You know?

We're gonna get some nice bread. They have lots of olives up there. We have some olive bread, nice fresh water. We've walked 30 miles. We're tired.

We're looking forward to it, but we're optimistic. And we're with the one that gave life, dragged this servant back from death, pulled him back from death. So there's optimism. There's pessimism coming out. There's ugliness coming out, there's one crowd full of pessimism and ugliness and death and sorrow and being made to sing one song, and there's another crowd coming up singing victory, Jesus is the one to be with, what a joy to be with him.

Look what he did in Capernaum. We've got olive oil, and we've got bread, and we've got fresh water coming. Two crowds meet. They're like two gangs meeting at the gate of a town called Beautiful. Two tribes as it were, and they're gonna go to war.

So you see the two crowds and they meet. The second thing Luke focuses on is these two leaders then of these two crowds. The two leaders, two people meet. The first one you see in verse 12 is this widow. She's a widow and she's lost her son.

And she's weeping. So we get something of her grief. This couldn't be a darker day for her, could it? She's lost her husband, remember? She's lost her husband.

So she's already known tragedy in her life, and now she's lost her only son. Perhaps her only child. I don't know. But she's at a loss. The one that she had loved, the one she'd given birth to, the one she cared for, the one she breastfed, the one she burped, the one's nappies she changed, all of the love and the kindness and the teaching, all of the care that she put in to this life, gone.

Gone. Dead. I was listening to a song by Billie Eilish. Doesn't matter if you don't know who she is. And in the song, she's she's complaining about someone who's died.

And there is that sense that happens in grief, isn't there? You promised never to leave me. You've left me. You don't even know I cry. You don't even see my tears, she says in that song.

You don't even see my tears. And I'm sure these emotions are going around this woman. Husband has gone, and now the the very one I've given all my life to, all my energy to, I fed, and given kindness and loved and didn't even say goodbye. And and you can't even see my tears. And you don't know that I'm so broken about this.

She's overshadowed with death, and her human spirit is broken. Verse 12, the only son of his mother, and she was a widow. Not that she was probably even thinking like this, but her future was bleak. No husband to support her. Remember, we're back in the first century here.

No husband to support her and now no son to support her. Her future's bleak and her present is even bleaker. That's the first, that's the first person leading this big crowd. Here's the second person. And Luke calls him the Lord.

Verse 13, when the Lord saw her, his heart went out to her and he said, don't cry. Now Luke calls calls him Lord. And Lord here in this context and in in in the New Testament really is talking about a deity, God, your God. You're the Lord of heaven and earth. Now Luke, as we'll see when we get into Luke, made sure these events were true.

This is a true story. He was a very good historian. And as we'll hear when we come to Luke, that he's not just someone writing down make make believe stories. He was an incredible historian. And even historians today actually look to Luke as a very, very good historian.

So here's this historian writing and saying, the Lord, the one of heaven and earth, the the one that healed the centurion with just a word. He's the one that spoke things into action. He can speak and life happens. That's a lord, isn't it? He speaks and life happens.

You know, I speak and nothing happens, especially when I'm talking to my wife. But you speak and and something happens. Something happens. And he's lord. But he's not only lord, he's lord with a with a heart.

You see that? You've gotta have those two things. You don't just want a lord who's full of power and control. You want a lord who's got this heart. He says his heart went out to her.

Yeah. You need both if you're gonna do anything. You know what it is when you hear the news. I was listening to last week that man who who who saw his three daughters, three daughters drown down on the South Coast, think it was. Three daughters.

I was listening to their service that they had. Three daughters, three daughters drown one day. And it's just your heart, you and we say, don't we? Our heart goes out and it does. You you if you think about that for just a few minutes, you're, you, you, you, it's hard not to have emotion and your heart goes out to them.

But that's only part of it, isn't it? A heart going out doesn't do anything. I can't change anything. But if I'm Lord, I can. You need Lord and heart.

And he's got both. That's the Jesus of the Bible. We're gonna see this in Luke. He is the Lord of heaven and earth. He can speak a word and pull a servant back from death.

But not only that, his heart goes out. He wants to do that. And he saw her in her pain and in her grief and in her despair and in her hopelessness. He saw her at rock bottom. No pretense in her.

No look at me. I'm a great religious person or anything like that. He saw her broken, no pretense, at her lowest point. And guess what? She may not know have known who Jesus was, but Jesus knew who she was.

That's the Jesus of Luke's gospel, the Jesus of the Bible. He knows the situation. The son of the living God, the lord of heaven heaven and earth knows you in your little town of Nain or wherever it is you are. I I don't know about you, but I find that extraordinarily comforting, don't you? But at the heart of the universe, the lord of the universe knows you intimately, your sadnesses, your brokenness.

You don't need to pretend with him. You don't need to put on sort of holy airs and pretend you're something you're not. He knows you at your lowest point, at the heart of the universe, is a lord whose heart goes out to us. Isn't that extraordinary? Doesn't doesn't that comfort you?

Does it? Amazing. And then he says, in many ways, just the most ridiculous thing, do not cry. What? Now?

Is he now some kind of sadist or something? We just saw his heart went out to him and he said something like that. Do not cry. We'll look at that in a minute. Two crowds led by two different people.

There's lament and mourning, and there's joy and optimism, and looking forward to the town called Beauty. And they meet, and two people meet, and they stop. They halt. And he says, do not cry. Think about tears just for a second.

What is the most amount of tears over? What is the thing if you were going to add up all the tears in all the world? If you said just now, just today, all the people crying, what what is the biggest thing they're crying over? What do you think it is? Death, isn't it?

Death. Because that's our biggest problem. It's death, isn't it? Oh, I know that there's kids crying. My sister had an ice cream and I didn't get one.

Yeah. There's a lot of that stupid stuff. But in the end, the real tears, we call them crocodile tears, but the real tears, you know, when a crocodile pretends to cry and you pat it on the head and then it eats it. That's what kids are like, isn't it, basically? But real tears, real tears.

The the mothers the mothers in Gaza. Yeah? The mothers in Ukraine. The mothers in Russia. The mothers in Iran.

What are they crying over? Their sons, their children. Death, isn't it? Do not cry. How could he say that?

What's going on there? Leads me to my third thing. You've got these two crowds. You've got two leaders of the crowds, but actually what you've really got here is two powers. Two powers meet.

It's death and Jesus. Or you could just say death and life. Look at verse 14. Then he went up and touched the beer. Let's say that's sort of like an open coffin.

He went up and touched the beer. They were carrying him on. And the bearers stood still. He said, young man, I said you get up. The dead man sat up.

I love this. What did he do? He sat up and began to talk. Yeah? And Jesus gave him back to his mother.

It's death versus the living Lord and the author of life. It's the life destroyer versus the death destroyer. And there's a battle. And in short, it's already been won, hasn't it? Surely, Death has won here, hasn't it?

There's no fight going on here. Death has done its utmost. Victory, lament, crying, tears. Brilliant. Death is won again.

He's unleashed his power. But Jesus arrives. And as light expels darkness, you just press a button and light comes on and darkness is gone. Jesus expels death with life with a few words, a few words, and death runs away in defeat. And they can go back into the beautiful city.

Wonderful, isn't it? Look at verse 14 again. Then he went up and touched the bear. They were carrying him on, and the bearers stood still. Two crowds meeting, one lament, one full of joy, and now there's this face off, face off between death and life.

And he said, young man, death seem to have won, but he's speaking to him as if he's not dead. Young man, I said, you get up. What's he talking about? The dead man sat up and began to talk, and Jesus gave him back to his mother. He began to talk.

I mean, what did he say? I don't know. Oh, hello, mom. Mama, nice to see you again. Oh, I was dead, and now I'm alive.

And what's he saying? He's just babbling. He's just pouring out his talk. This is absolutely the Christian, what we call gospel, the Christian good news. This is the Christian message.

Jesus didn't wait for him and take him to the doctor and try to resuscitate him. He didn't wait for him to have any life in him. He didn't have any life. He's dead. Jesus comes to a dead man and pulls him back from the one Way Street, from the dungeon, from the the mouth of the grave that he's just going to be buried in.

He pulls him back into the town beautiful. He pulls him back into life. Turn around, go back to beautiful town. Don't go to the ugly cemetery outside of town. Before Jesus came, this young man's face was empty.

His mouth was dry. His breath stank. His eyes were sunken and his bod body was stiff. Get up. Young man, I said to you, get up.

And at those words of Jesus, life came and every single thing changed. That dry mouth began to talk and the mother saw the son again. I I don't I I really don't know what I'd I'd I'd love to know what the sort of pale bearers, the the people carrying the coffins suddenly thought. They're carrying this dead weight, aren't they? And they're carrying it out mourning, all crying, and suddenly they stop.

And there's I mean, this is this would be a great film, wouldn't it? This would be a great film. This is a moment of lamenting and weeping. You know, we probably need Christopher Nolan to make this. And there's this monster, called death, and they're coming out, and the monster is one, the monster is one, and then comes in Jesus.

And he says, get up, and up he rises. And, mom. Yeah. I was feeling ill, mom. You I did would tell you I was feeling ill, and you didn't give me the Okay.

Let's apply this. Let's just simply apply this. This is a wonderful story. It's a historic event. Luke has given it, but we've got to remember that these stories, these these stories are true.

They're real events. These miracles really happened, but they are like parables. They're given to us to point us, actually, many ways to point us away from the story to bigger events. They're pictures of bigger events. What you've got here in this event of Nain is declaring a really beautiful future.

It's a beauty just think about what the woman, the mother, really felt. You've got to think about these things. How did she feel? She's she's crying. Some bloke comes up to her with these optimistic crowd all talking and looking forward to their olive oil and bread and water.

And he says stop crying. And suddenly, her son's alive again. What do you think she did? Well, I guess she started crying again. It would be hard, wouldn't it?

But it would be a joyful cry. I mean, amazing. That is a foretaste, brothers and sisters, of what Jesus brings in the new creation. If you're in Christ, this is a foretaste of it. You're going to feel this.

You're gonna feel just like that. It won't be crying with tears. It will be crying with joy, won't it? This is a foretaste of the new creation. Jesus has the power of life and death.

He is the resurrection and the life. He doesn't just give you new extended life. He gives you resurrection life, an altogether better life, an altogether more glorious life with all the potential that that you are to be the potential God made you to be forever and ever growing and enjoying resurrection life. We have here a pointer to the resurrection from the dead. These women's feelings are only a little taster of what you feel on that day.

You're going to feel that if you're in Christ. This is like a I mean, you could put it like this. It's like a sort of little rehearsal on a very small scale with one person in this little tiny village up in the mountains of what's going to happen to every single believer in Christ. God, the Lord God, the Lord Jesus Christ is going to come to the grave of you, and he will destroy death forever and raise you to eternal life. When I was, looking at this passage, I thought, what am I gonna say about this passage?

I mean, what what do you say about this? And I was sitting here because I I get I I get up largely very early, and I was sitting there reading this and thinking, I don't know. I have no idea. This is this is normally what happens to me before preaching. I've no.

I don't know. I have no idea how I'm gonna get this across. I don't even wanna do it. Let's go and have a look at another thing. And then it absolutely struck me.

I actually shouted out, I don't know whether I remember this. It was about 05:30 in the morning, and it struck me how stupid I was. And I actually shouted up the stairs, Anne, I'm so stupid. Right? And she was snoring away and didn't care.

Because because she doesn't listen to me. And no. No. I don't what she did. But I didn't just struck me.

There is actually nothing more important than this this, is there? There is nothing more important in the entire world than a man that can deal with death. Whatever you're thinking, whatever you're going through, your biggest issue is death. There is nothing more important in the entire world. And yet the Christian faith unequivocally states that because Jesus died and rose again, we have hope.

We have real significant hope in the one that can do this, the lord of heaven and earth. That is amazing news that everyone needs to hear all around the world, even in war torn places. Because although it's sad that a kid will die, they're going to die anyway, whether it's by war or whatever it is. We're all going to die. The issue isn't even war.

The issue is death. And here is one that can do that. And this is a picture of the last day when he'll say to us, when death has come, get up. Rise. That's the hope.

This is a testimony to the future truth. And I love this bit. Children will be presented to their parents again, all those in Christ, and parents to their children. Look look at it. It's such a beautiful little thing.

Verse 15, The dead man, this this son, the dead man sat up and began to talk. And look at this. Did you notice this? Isn't this extraordinary? Jesus gave him back to his mother.

What a relationship. That's that's that's the God of the Bible. He wants to bring us together into fact, the joy, the freedom, the burden of death taken away, Looking at fear and depression in your face, and Jesus comes and sorts it out. Isn't that extraordinary? Let me just take you to if you've got a Bible, can go to it.

If not, listen carefully. Revelation chapter five. It's one of those amazing passages. Revelation chapter five. Let me just read this.

So there's a question that's gone out in Revelation five to the whole universe, to all the different realms of the universe. And it's a question that shouted out, who is worthy to break the seal and open the scrolls? And the answer comes back, no one in heaven or on earth or under the earth could open the scroll or even look inside it. And then you have this John who's writing this, I wept and I wept because no one was found who was worthy to open the scroll. The scroll really is the whole meaning of life and death.

Who who can do it? No. I wept that the who is who could do deal with death? Is there anyone who deal with death? Well, there are doctors that could keep you alive for a little longer.

There are places in the world that you'll be safer in. But who can deal with death? Because in the end, everyone in this room, everyone in this room, will be die will die. Everyone in this room, is there anyone that can heal these people in this room? No.

No one. But we weep and wept. I wept and wept. No one could be found who is worthy to open the scroll or even look inside. Then one of the elders said to me, look at the words.

Do not weep. See. See. Dry your eyes, mate. See.

See the lion of the tribe of Judah and the root of David has triumphed, and he is able to open the seal. Then it goes on, you are worthy to take the scroll and open its seal because you were slain, and with your blood, you purchased for God persons from every tribe and language and nation, and you have made them to be a kingdom of priests to serve our God forever and ever. An amazing thing. There is no one like Jesus. No one.

No one like him. Stop this nonsense of comparative religion. It's not a blasphemy. Mohammed is as good. No.

He's not. He's dead. You can go and see his bones. Jesus conquered death. Buddha, he's got something to say.

No. He hasn't. He has nothing to say. That's why he didn't say anything. Yeah?

Jesus is the resurrection and the life. He's the one. Is there anyone that can deal with death? No. Except Jesus.

Jesus. Just go quickly. Revelation 21, the last book of the Bible again, almost the last chapter. Revelation 21 verse three, it says, and I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, look, look, God's dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them, and they will be his people. And God himself will be with them and be their God, and he will wipe every tear from their eyes.

There will be no more death, nor mourning, or crying, or pain, for the old order of things have passed away. That's Jesus who does that. That's Jesus who does that. And this little story in Nain is pointing forward to that, brothers and sisters, there is going to be joy forevermore. How did that woman feel?

You're gonna feel that if you're in Christ. That's my first thing. The second thing I think to say about this story is just how wonderful Jesus is. He's willing and he's able. I've already said that.

He's Lord, but he's got a compassionate heart. He's willing and able. And the Lord Jesus Christ, because he died and rose again and is alive and is on the throne. We've seen that in Hebrews. It's the same yesterday, today, and forever.

He's the same Jesus as he was in then as he is now. And I love it that he comes to an obscure town that no one really had heard of. And on the way out of a town called Beautiful, he turned everything round. Taking out you see, the thing is about death, even your even the ones you love, you can't stand to be around. You can't stand you have to take them away, because they stink.

Even the ones you love, when death touched them, you have to expel them. You cannot make them beautiful. You have to bury them or burn them or get them out. Isn't that extraordinary? But Jesus will come to us in that decay, in our issues, in our problems, at our gates.

He knows us. He understands us. He's not only only sees it. He wants to help. It was in his diary.

And perhaps today, I don't know who you are, some of you. I know a lot of you, but I don't know some of you. God has brought you here to hear this message, specifically to hear this. And you can react. Oh, I'm an atheist.

Oh, don't be stupid because you're not no one's an atheist. Now stop it. Stop being silly and stop being proud. Just stop that nonsense. And you know it's nonsense.

Here is Jesus, this historic figure that did this historic thing. Have you come have you come to him? Have you allowed him to come to you? Have you allowed him to speak to you? Life.

As I say, these miracles are are they're true, they happen, but they're like parables pointing to us. And they do point to our spiritual death, because we're all spiritually dead. And I love this. When you're spiritually dead, you can't do anything to make yourself right with God because you're dead. You can't do it.

And this is the gospel. This is the good news. It's not about you becoming religious. It's not about you becoming some kind of person that you're not, you're dead. And you need a life giver.

And you need Jesus to come into your life, to resurrect you spiritually, to resurrect you. You need the word of Jesus in your life to just say to you, get up. Come to your senses. Come alive. And Jesus does love to do that.

But there's another thought here as well. Some of us here have loved ones that are spiritually dead. They're dead, aren't they? And we weep over them. We're mothers to them.

Perhaps it's Sunday school kids in this church. Perhaps it's your husband or your your wife or your children, and they're dead spiritually. And they're coming out of a town called Beautiful, and they're moving towards ugliness and destruction because lies and the devil will destroy us. There are so many lies in this world. And lots of young people are drawn to the lie and the serpent breath.

And they're taken out of the town called Beautiful where it's beautiful in there. And they're drawn to ugliness and even death sometimes. And they're drawn to this, and we we weep as parents. We weep as parents. That's okay.

Keep weeping, actually. Keep weeping until you hear the words, do not weep from Jesus. Don't you think Jesus knows your heartache? Don't you think Jesus knows your prayers for your loved ones? He does, you know.

He does. And then there's just another thought here. Notice in verse 16 what happened. They were filled with awe and praise. They were filled with awe and praise.

A great prophet has appeared among us, they said. God has come to help his people. This news about Jesus spread through Judea and the surrounding countryside. That is exactly what the church is about. That's church there.

We hear about this news. We spread the news out. We're full of awe and praise. We started off. Rory started it off with praising the lord.

We've praise the lord. How can you not praise the lord? When we've got this lord. There are lots of lords I don't wanna praise, but this lord, praise the lord, and the good news spread. So let me finish.

We're in one of these crowds, my dear friends. You're in the crowd moving away from life, the beautiful city, beautiful town, or you're in the crowd that's full of life and full of beauty. You're going out or you're coming in. Which which one are you? You ask yourself that.

Who's leading you? Lament and death or Jesus? Let me just give you a few of these. These are interesting. Wonder what has happened to them in eternity.

We know in eternity. These are all atheists, famous atheists on their deathbed. This is, Thomas Paine. He's a leading atheist in America he was. This is him dying.

He's not got long left. Listen to him. He's asking his servants. Stay with me for god's sake. I cannot bear to be left alone.

Oh lord, help me. Oh god. What have I done to suffer so much? What will become of me hereafter? I would give worlds if I had them.

The age of reason wrote a book he wrote against god and that he's an atheist. The age of reason had would never have been published if he'd known this stuff. Oh, lord, help me. Christ, help me. No.

Don't leave me. Stay with me. Send even a child to stay with me, for I am on the edge of hell. Here alone, if ever the devil had an agent, I had been that one. Wonder what happened to him?

Interesting. Jesus does hear prayers like that. Perhaps at the gate, Jesus came to him. I don't know. Perhaps it was too late.

Here's another one. Thomas Scott, chancellor of England, he was. Until this moment, I thought there neither was a god nor hell. Now I know and feel that there are both, and I am doomed to perdition by the just judgment of the almighty. Wonder if he cried out to Jesus.

Maybe he did. Jesus is so full of grace that even a life like that he can save. Voltaire, very famous French, anti Christian atheist. Listen, on his deathbed, I'm abandoned by god. Well, he didn't believe in him.

Now he does. I'm abandoned by god and man. And he said to his physician, who was with him on his deathbed, I will give you half of what I'm worth if you will just give me six months of life. And the physician said, I can't I can't do that. And he said, Voltaire said, then I shall die and go to hell.

The nurse who nursed him said this, for all the money in Europe, I wouldn't want to see another unbeliever die. All night long he cried for forgiveness. Perhaps he was forgiven. Jesus hears those cries or maybe it was too late for him. Napoleon, Napoleon Bonaparte, I die before my time and my body will be given back to the earth, such is the fate of him who had been called the great Napoleon.

What an abyss between my deep misery and the eternal kingdom of Christ. Which group are you in? You don't have to leave it to your deathbed, and I wouldn't do that if I was you. You can cry out to Jesus now. Why wouldn't you do that?

Why wouldn't you come and sort out your issue with death with the life giver? Are you that proud and that stupid? Really? Or wouldn't you now humble yourself and say, Jesus, life giver, save my soul. Be my Lord.

Why not do that? Now, let's bow our heads and I'll hand over to Rory. I declare to you, brothers and sisters, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. Listen, I tell you a mystery. We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed.

In a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. For the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable and the mortal with immortality. When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true. Death has been swallowed up in victory.

Where, o death, is your victory? Where, o death, is your sting? The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to god. He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

Father, we praise you for Jesus. We praise you that he is the life giver. We praise you that he can walk into the clutches of death and bring life and bring a world of no tears and bring us back into the beautiful town where we may enjoy being with you and with each other. We thank you that the lamentation, the victory for death cry no longer stands because Jesus both died but ultimately rose again, And so death has been swallowed up in victory. Death no longer has a victory.

Death no longer has a sting, but the victory belongs to our lord Jesus Christ who we sang about before, who said, it is finished. Who we sang about before left our death in the grave, who we sang out before, who doesn't want us to die, but comes to us in our sin and in our weakness and in our today, our spiritual death and brings us to spiritual life. We praise you for Jesus, and so we pray that you will help us to rejoice and praise and go to a world that longs to know that their greatest opponent that is death has been dealt with by our great Lord Jesus Christ. And we pray these things in his name. Amen.