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Presented Alive by Many Proofs - part 2 (Acts 1:1-8)
22 Plays1 month ago
Sunday Message recorded 12 April 2026
by Senior Pastor Victor Morrison
First Baptist Church - Columbus, TX, USA
1700 Milam St.
Columbus, TX, USA 78934
Recommended
Transcript
Praying for Needs
00:00:06
Speaker
I think that some of those prompts, they remind us of things we can pray for one another just any day, any week, not just during the 24 hours of prayer. And so I hope that you'll be giving thanks. You'll pray for those who are prodigals, that they'll come back home, that you'll pray for those who are lifting up prayer requests that we send out, pray for personal renewal, pray for our church, pray for our community, pray for our missionaries that are scattered across the world.
Significance of Christ's Resurrection
00:00:34
Speaker
But I want to continue a message that we looked at last time from Acts chapter 1. If you would open God's word to Acts chapter 1, verses 1 through 8. While you're finding that passage, I want to share you some with you some quotations, some of the quotes of people who really study God's word and what they said about Easter.
00:00:56
Speaker
Listen to this. Charles Spurgeon said that the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead is one of the best attested facts on record.
00:01:08
Speaker
John MacArthur said the resurrection of Jesus Christ is the single greatest event in the history of the world. A.W. Tozer had something to say about why would we look at the resurrection? Last week was Easter.
00:01:24
Speaker
Listen what A.W. Tozer said, Christ's resurrection is not truer at Easter than at any other time of the
Disciples' Doubts about Resurrection
00:01:33
Speaker
year. you know that Jesus is still a alive? He rose from the dead.
00:01:37
Speaker
He's alive today. So we can look at this again. C.S. Lewis said the resurrection is the central theme in every Christian sermon reported in the book of Acts.
00:01:51
Speaker
It wasn't just about the resurrection, but the resurrection was not left out of every sermon that's recorded in the book of Acts. And yet, you know, it's amazing how the disciples, we're told, struggled to believe.
00:02:05
Speaker
Maybe you're here today and you say, honestly, I struggle to believe. I want to believe. But please help me to know that it's safe to believe, that it's true, that it's accurate, and so forth.
00:02:19
Speaker
I just want to remind
Biblical Evidence of Resurrection
00:02:20
Speaker
you of some verses that tell us that even when Jesus was standing there right before them, listen to what Matthew 28, 16 says. They saw him, they worshiped him, but some doubted.
00:02:33
Speaker
And he's standing right there in front of them. Mark 16 verses 9 and 10, Mary Magdalene goes back and she says, Jesus is alive.
00:02:43
Speaker
He appeared to me. I saw him myself. And it says in Mark 16 verse 9 and 10, they would not believe it. They would not believe it.
00:02:56
Speaker
Mark 16 verses 12 and 13 says there were two on the road to Emmaus. And when they went back and said, Jesus walked with us. We saw him. He came to our our house.
00:03:07
Speaker
He sat there and he gave thanks for the food. But here's what happened when they shared that. It says they did not believe them. these These apostles, they were real.
00:03:20
Speaker
This is not something that's made up. How would you make something like that up? Why would they want something like that made up? It would make them look bad that they didn't believe.
00:03:30
Speaker
Mark 16 verse 14 says that Jesus appeared to the 11 at the table. And oh, buddy, this is the time. he He rebuked them, it says, for their unbelief and hardness of heart.
00:03:45
Speaker
In Luke 24, verses 10 and 11, some ladies came and said, we saw him. But these words seemed to them, to the apostles, an idle tale.
00:03:57
Speaker
And they did not believe them. Luke 24, verses 38 to 43, Jesus asked to the disciples, he said, why are you troubled? And why do doubts arise in your heart?
00:04:10
Speaker
That's what this passage we're about to read today is going to help us It's going to tell you why we can believe. God's not asking you to take a blind leap into the dark with nothing out
Acts 1:1-8 and Post-Resurrection
00:04:23
Speaker
there.
00:04:23
Speaker
No, there is so much biblical evidence that has been revealed to us so that we can know this makes sense that God would raise Jesus from the dead. He lived a perfect sinless life.
00:04:37
Speaker
And so I want us to look at Acts chapter 1 verses 1 through 8 again as we once again study God. Study this message presented alive by many proofs. Would you stand in honor of God's word?
00:04:51
Speaker
And you open God's word or you can follow on the screen. But here's what it says in Acts chapter 1, beginning of verse 1 and reading down through verse 8. In the first book, O Theophilus, I have dealt with all that Jesus began to do and teach until the day when he was taken up.
00:05:13
Speaker
After he had given commands through the Holy Spirit to the apostles whom he had chosen, he presented himself alive to them after his suffering by many proofs, appearing to them during 40 days and speaking about the kingdom of God.
00:05:34
Speaker
While staying with them, he ordered them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait. Wait for the promise of the Father, which he said, You heard from me for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.
00:05:53
Speaker
So when they had come together, they asked him, Lord, will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel? He said to them, it is not for you to know times or seasons that the father has fixed by his own authority, but you will receive power.
00:06:13
Speaker
When the Holy Spirit has come upon you and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria and to the end the
Evidence Supporting Resurrection
00:06:25
Speaker
earth.
00:06:25
Speaker
Let's go to the Lord in prayer. Lord, we we really, we believe that you raised Jesus from the dead. Some may come today and they're saying, I want to believe, but please help me see the evidence.
00:06:39
Speaker
Help me to know that I'm not going to be foolish for believing in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, as the one risen from the dead. And so, Lord, open up your word.
00:06:51
Speaker
Lord, when those two disciples that were walking on the road to Emmaus, when they heard what you said, it says that he opened their eyes and they believed.
00:07:04
Speaker
Lord, if there are any here that are sincere and they're saying, I want to know the truth, so that I can be certain about this. Would you this day, by your Holy Spirit and by the living, active word of God, open their eyes and show them that this is true, that your word is trustworthy and reliable, and we can count on it.
00:07:27
Speaker
In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. Thank You may be seated.
00:07:34
Speaker
I want to share with you once again these proofs that are found here in this passage, and they also are supported by other passages of Scripture. So we'll look at some other places as we go through. But first, real quickly, real briefly, in case you weren't able to be here last week, I want to review the three that we looked at last week.
00:07:54
Speaker
The first proof that we saw the Lord gave was the confirmation of multiple written accounts that You in a court of law, it makes a difference if someone has kept a log of all the different events that have transpired since whatever it is, whatever incident happened.
00:08:13
Speaker
But you know that here we have the book of Acts. The writer of the book of Acts tells us, you know what? I also wrote another book. He called it in this passage, the first book. But in the first book, which he was saying, that was the gospel of Luke.
00:08:28
Speaker
The Gospel of Luke also verifies that Jesus did die on the cross. He was placed in the tomb. Three days later, he was raised by the Father from the dead.
00:08:40
Speaker
But not just Luke and not just Acts. There was Matthew and Mark and John. They also verify these things. If you were to go to 1 Corinthians 15, verses 1 through 11, there is such an incredible summary of all of those different eyewitness sightings that were mentioned in those gospels.
00:09:01
Speaker
But if nothing else, just stay with Acts. Just read further in the book of Acts because the conversion of someone who was anti-Christian, who was against Christ, who was against those early disciples, a man named Saul, later named Paul, you should read what happened to him.
00:09:19
Speaker
He was on the road and on that road, he encountered the living risen Lord Jesus Christ in Acts chapter 9, Acts chapter 22, Acts chapter 26, three times his testimony is recorded for us right here in scripture.
00:09:35
Speaker
Multiple written accounts. Let's go to the second proof. affirmation of various reliable eyewitnesses.
00:09:46
Speaker
Now these are face-to-face eyewitness encounters. What if you went home today and said, so I heard that Pastor Morrison wasn't at church. And what would you say? No, I saw him. He was there. I saw him with my own eyes. What if someone said you weren't here?
00:10:02
Speaker
And some of us could be called to a witness stand and say, I saw them. They really were here. An eyewitness makes all the difference, doesn't it? And these eyewitnesses were known for honesty, for truth. They were truth tellers.
00:10:18
Speaker
These people were known for purity. These people were known for love and for service. They cared.
Jesus' Post-Resurrection Appearances
00:10:24
Speaker
But the New Testament records 11 appearances to eyewitnesses, people that saw him.
00:10:31
Speaker
And so these, Peter says 2 Peter 1 16, we were eyewitnesses of his majesty. If you read later in chapter 3, verse 15 in Acts, he says, And you killed the author of life, whom God raised from the dead. To this we are witnesses.
00:10:53
Speaker
The we's talking about the apostles. He said we saw him. He was alive. We saw him. We were eyewitnesses. So let's move from the second proof of affirmation of various reliable eyewitnesses to the third proof that we looked at last time.
00:11:07
Speaker
The compilation of undeniable, verifiable evidence. That's what he says in verse 3, right? He presented himself alive to them after his suffering by many proofs.
00:11:20
Speaker
Many. Many. Well, if you were just to take one, remember we went over to Luke chapter 24, verses 36 down through verse 43. And the disciples were having trouble. I mean, for joy, they couldn't believe it. Like they're saying, Jesus, how did you get in this room? The door was locked. You just appeared here. We don't understand.
00:11:42
Speaker
And Jesus said, I want you to be at peace. I want you to come over here and here are the nail prints. I want you to put your hands in the nail prints. want you reach your hand in my side. And then he says, have you got anything to eat here? See, it was a bodily resurrection.
00:11:56
Speaker
So Jesus wants to provide evidence so they can relax, so they can know the truth. This was not a phantom, a group of 10, 11. ten and eleven They were all seeing this at the same time.
00:12:08
Speaker
And he says, let me let me have that little piece of fish right there. So he ate that. So you're thinking there was the verification of the senses. They saw him. They heard him.
00:12:19
Speaker
And then there was the examination of the scars. They put their hands right there where the nail prints were. it was real. But beyond that, there's so much more. i mean, we could look at the evidence of the empty tomb.
00:12:31
Speaker
We could look at the stone that was moved away. It was like one to two tons back then. It was sort of on a little bit of a downhill, so you'd have to roll it uphill to get it out of the way. Did the women do that, that were there?
00:12:44
Speaker
No, even the disciples themselves couldn't have done this. This was incredible. You have the testimony of the guards. They go and they tell the high priest, and they say, you can't tell anybody what happened, because they shook for fear. They saw what happened. They were like, this is really spooky.
00:13:02
Speaker
And then you have the appearance to women. So it's like back then, women did have not have the status that you have today. You know, Jesus is the one that changed all of that.
00:13:13
Speaker
He began to say that we should respect women. We should respect what God is doing in their lives as well. And then why would all of those Jewish believers suddenly, who've always worshipped for centuries, not each one, mind you, but for their whole lives, they had worshipped on Saturday.
00:13:31
Speaker
That was their Sabbath day, Saturday. But suddenly, after the resurrection, they start worshipping on Sunday. Why would that be? Because they wanted to honor the risen Lord who was raised on a Sunday.
00:13:45
Speaker
I'm telling you, there's ample evidence. There's ample proof for those who just genuinely want to look at it. But I want us to go to the fourth proof. So this is breaking new ground today. If you're a note taker, then look at this. Continuation over an extended period of time.
00:14:05
Speaker
continuation over an extended
Group Sightings of Jesus
00:14:07
Speaker
period of time. So in other words, did ah did all of this just happen in one night? Did all this just happen one morning? Is that what we're talking about here?
00:14:17
Speaker
No, it's not what we're talking about. Let's go back to our our touchstone, to verse three. He presented himself alive to them after his suffering by many proofs. How long did he do it?
00:14:29
Speaker
Appearing to them during 40 days. And speaking about the kingdom of God. Why not 40 minutes? Wouldn't that be enough time? Wouldn't that be sufficient? A lot can take place in 40 minutes.
00:14:43
Speaker
But Jesus stayed. He lingered. He dwelt among them. He appeared to them over a period of 40 days. He wanted them to know how real this was. He was verifying his resurrection.
00:14:57
Speaker
This was reality. This wasn't someone's dream. You know, it's interesting how many of the eyewitness sightings during that 40 day period, they were not at the same location.
00:15:12
Speaker
And so let me just kind of really quickly go through those those various sightings where people said, I saw him. I saw him myself with my own eyes. I saw him.
00:15:23
Speaker
Let me give you a list. How about on Sunday, Mary Magdalene sees him in the garden. Then you see a group of women who run into Jesus when they were told, I want you to go tell the disciples that the tomb is empty and tell them that they're supposed to meet Jesus in Galilee on the mountain. So there they go and on the way they meet Jesus.
00:15:47
Speaker
And that's why it's so surprising when they they get to the disciples and they said, we saw him ourselves. They're saying, we can't believe that. That's not true. But then thirdly, how about those guards?
00:15:58
Speaker
The guards knew what happened. As a matter of fact, if you don't do your due diligence as a Roman guard, when you're placed to be there at ah at a you know a tomb and they have a stone rolled over it and you're supposed to guard it, if something happens to the body inside of there, you know what happened to them?
00:16:16
Speaker
It was a real incentive program. Yeah, they'd be killed. It's like, well, man. So they go back and they tell the high priest, I don't care what you do. We know what happened.
00:16:27
Speaker
He's not in there. He came out of there and that stone rolled away and it scared us to death. And we're here to tell you. And I bet you they were telling them with eyes big as saucers. You know, it's like, I'll tell you.
00:16:38
Speaker
So the guards report in the temple. And then the temple leader said, we got to pay you off. You can't tell anybody else this. And they said, well, you better give us enough to live on for the rest of our lives because we're going to have to go off the radar.
00:16:52
Speaker
There's also Cleopas and his friend on the road to Emmaus. They encountered Jesus walking. He just starts walking with them. And he starts talking to them and opening up their minds to the scriptures and so forth. And then they say, you want to stop and have supper with us?
00:17:09
Speaker
He said, yeah, I'll stop and have dinner with you tonight. So they stop and have dinner and they said, would you do these us the honor of asking the blessing on the food? Sure. When he started praying, they said, it's him.
00:17:22
Speaker
And then suddenly he's gone. He's gone. And so you've got Cleopas. We're even given his name in one of the gospels. Cleopas and his other friend, the two on the road to Emmaus. But then you have the personal meeting.
00:17:34
Speaker
Of Peter. Jesus appears to Peter by himself. Then he appears to 10 disciples. Why just 10? Thomas wasn't there that day. Maybe Thomas was struggling.
00:17:45
Speaker
He was like, no, you know what? It's done. I saw him down the cross. I don't want to go hang around you guys anymore. Whatever happened, it's finished. But you know what? Jesus showed up.
00:17:57
Speaker
And he said to those 10 disciples who were gathered, look, here's my hands. Here's my side. You know, he had the broil fish and so forth. Eight days later, those same disciples are gathered together and they had gone and told Thomas and Thomas says, well, if all of you saw him, maybe it's real.
00:18:15
Speaker
Thomas is there this time. Eight days later, And guess what? Jesus appears again. And Jesus said, Thomas, come here. I bet Thomas was like, sorry about that, Lord. i am so sorry about that, Lord.
00:18:29
Speaker
and he And he said, I heard that you said you would not believe unless you put your hands in the nail prints and your hand in my side. I want you to do that right now.
00:18:40
Speaker
And he did it. I'm telling you what, that is proof. That is evidence. And it didn't just happen once. It happened over 40 days time. Peter and the six disciples were out fishing.
00:18:53
Speaker
I know we've got fishermen in the room. And so they were out fisher fishing. It's a biblical thing. Don't ever pick on a fisherman because they're doing what God would want them to do. But anyway, the the Peter and six other disciples are fishing and Jesus cooks them breakfast on the shore and says, hey guys, come on in.
00:19:09
Speaker
And man, did ever, they said, it's Jesus. They saw him on the top of Mount Olivet. Over 500 at one time saw him. The half brother of Jesus saw him.
00:19:21
Speaker
There was some kind of gathering happening here in Acts chapter one. So maybe, maybe that's a separate occasion. We don't know if that was one of the others or when, but at least you got the gathering in Acts one.
00:19:34
Speaker
And then got Paul on the road to Damascus. All I'm saying is, He took his time. He took his time for a reason because he knew in 2026, not in Israel, but in America, all around the world, he knew there were going to be people who say, did that really happen?
Faith and Understanding God's Plans
00:19:52
Speaker
I've never seen anybody be raised from the dead. Neither have I. I haven't ever seen anyone else raised from the dead. All I know is the biblical record tells me so. And so I believe what I've read because it makes sense, because there's such corroboration, which I want to go to the fifth thing. Let's look at a fifth fruit.
00:20:14
Speaker
Speaking of corroboration, the corroboration of simultaneous group sightings. So it's amazing that these things happened while people were in groups.
00:20:27
Speaker
Some of them happened when there's just two, but others happened when there were over 500. And so notice even in our text in Acts chapter one, in verse, let's say three, two times it uses the plural pronoun them.
00:20:43
Speaker
It's not him. Jesus didn't, you know, appear to him in these passages. He's saying he appeared to them. So there's more than one And of course, if you go back to the antecedent, the antecedent there is the apostles that he chose. And we know from scripture that he chose 12, but Judas fell away. So there would have been 11.
00:21:05
Speaker
And so isn't this amazing that there's 11 gathered together at the same time. And there is Jesus talking to them. The 11 disciples all go on record as we're eyewitnesses.
00:21:20
Speaker
Then you have Matthew 28, 9 and 10. Like I said earlier, when you've got Mary Magdalene and the other Mary, you've got so many different opportunities to bear witness like those two men on the road to Emmaus.
00:21:32
Speaker
They also bear witness in Luke 24, 13 to 35. But the largest recorded gathering, it was a group sighting. It's pretty hard for it to be a hallucination that everybody sees.
00:21:45
Speaker
I mean, if something happens in here, you wouldn't call it a hallucination if all of us in the room saw it, would you? And we're not even 500. And so just think about how amazing this is that 1 Corinthians chapter 15 verses 3 through 8 says that more than 500 people says that more than five hundred At one time, more than 500 at one time, most of whom are still alive.
00:22:11
Speaker
That's more significant than we could ever know in 2026 over here in the United States. Because what it's telling us is, if you don't believe me, Paul would have been saying he was the human instrument that the Holy Spirit inspired to write the go the the first Corinthians. So he's saying, if you don't believe me, they're still alive. Why don't you go ask them?
00:22:32
Speaker
They know. They were there. They were a part of the 500 whenever Jesus appeared to them. It goes on because in verse 6, let's just think about this.
00:22:43
Speaker
Think about reality, okay? A question and answer time. You're having a question and answer time between Jesus and those 11 disciples.
00:22:54
Speaker
They're asking him questions. He's answering them questions. They can see him. They can hear him. He can hear them. He can see them. to me, I think that's amazing when it says, so when they had come together, they asked him, Lord, will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?
00:23:16
Speaker
And he answers them. I mean, you probably have dreams, right? But buddy, if your dream answers you, you might want to wake up. Somebody might be in the room. But anyway, it's like he asked them, they asked him something and he answered them.
00:23:31
Speaker
It's not for you to know times or seasons that the father has fixed by his own authority. Wow. Isn't that amazing? You know, maybe, maybe somebody in this room is like me. When I was a teenager, I was sincere and I went out into my grandfather's pasture. We lived right beside my grandfather's a house and his farm and so forth. So I grew up basically on the farm. It was his farm, but we worked at And I remember going out to the pasture one day and it might've been Easter. I don't remember, but I remember standing out there in the pasture and it was a hot summer day.
00:24:05
Speaker
And I said, you know something, God, if you're real, then make the wind blow against my face right now, really hard. You know what? The wind didn't blow. Because God is not going to play those kind of games with us.
00:24:18
Speaker
God's already put enough evidence in scripture already. He does so much already. Even to confirm in our daily lives that he's alive. But can you imagine some some guy about 16, 17 years old.
00:24:33
Speaker
Having the audacity to challenge the Lord God the Almighty. Make your wind blow in my face. And God says, I'm not going to do that. And so just think.
00:24:43
Speaker
Whenever God says, I'm not going to do that, how do you respond? You know, look at what he says. He said to them, it's not for you to know. Maybe there's somebody struggling. You're saying, I just don't understand Jesus is real.
00:24:59
Speaker
Why didn't he do this? Why didn't he do that? Why didn't he heal this person? Why did this person die? Why did this accident happen? And the Lord said, it's not for you to know.
Fulfillment of Prophecy
00:25:08
Speaker
It's not for you to know the times, seasons that the Father has fixed by his own authority.
00:25:15
Speaker
But I tell you something that is good enough to know. If you know that Jesus rules and reigns, that he overcame death, man, to know that he's a Lord, that's enough.
00:25:27
Speaker
That is enough. That's enough to face cancer. That's enough to face the loss of a loved one in some kind of car accident or whatever. All I'm saying is it makes so much difference whenever you realize, you know what, God, you really did run things.
00:25:44
Speaker
You really have been running things after all. I'm so sorry that I doubted you, but he has his plans and he has things that are fixed. The sixth proof would be the realization of relevant prophetic predictions.
00:25:59
Speaker
Sometimes they had to wait a long time. Sometimes we have to wait even still for some of those prophecies that have not happened yet. And so sometimes we have to wait.
00:26:10
Speaker
One of my favorite pastor's was Dr. Adrian Rogers. Here's what he said. You can save a lot of time by waiting on God. I love that. If you let that sink in and you'll get it in a minute, you'll start laughing. Don't laugh during the sermon. But anyway, no, you can save a lot of time by waiting on God.
00:26:30
Speaker
What did he order them to do? Oh, there it is. He ordered them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait. To wait for what?
00:26:41
Speaker
To wait for the promise of the father. If you're waiting on something with God, it's not wasted time. It's worth it to wait on him. You know why? Because God keeps every single one of his promises.
00:26:55
Speaker
All the prophecies that are recorded ah through all scripture, Old Testament, New Testament, it all happened. It all happened. It's all going to happen if it hasn't happened yet. you know they said there's 300 prophecies about Jesus Christ that were given in the Old Testament?
00:27:11
Speaker
That came to pass in the New Testament. You know I was sharing with you. Luke 24 a while ago. You ought to go back to Luke 24. And you'll hear what Jesus said. To those two guys on the road.
00:27:24
Speaker
It says. 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 to them.
00:27:35
Speaker
All the scriptures. the things concerning himself. That's Luke 24 verses 26 to 27. You see, Jesus was predicted long before he came in Bethlehem.
00:27:48
Speaker
You've also got Luke 24 verses 44 to 45, where this analytical doctor, a physician says, I want to make sure I get it down right. I want to make sure I write it down correctly.
00:28:00
Speaker
And here's what he wrote down in Luke 24, 44 to 45. Then he to them, then he said to them These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you, that everything written, everything written about me in the law of Moses and the prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled.
00:28:24
Speaker
Then he opened their minds to understand the scriptures. Jesus is all over the Bible, cover to cover. Genesis to Revelation. He's all through there. He's the main topic.
00:28:36
Speaker
He's the theme, what it's all about. And so I just find it amazing that his birthplace was told in the Old Testament. His birth mother, his betrayal, his suffering, his tomb, his resurrection, and his return.
00:28:52
Speaker
It's all there. But now you look in Acts and you can even see something else. Jesus is referring to a promise he made also in Luke 24, a promise about power.
00:29:05
Speaker
A promise about the Holy Spirit and a promise about his plans, the father's plans. If you were to go to Luke 24 and read some of these things, you would say, there it is in verses 48 and 49.
00:29:19
Speaker
That's where he told those disciples, I want you to wait until the promise of the Holy Spirit comes to pass. And so I'm just thinking, man, this is incredible how all of these things happened.
00:29:32
Speaker
Just like the Lord said. He said, for John baptized with water in Acts 1 verse 5, and you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.
00:29:43
Speaker
It happened. Exactly. like Just keep reading in Acts. Go to chapter 2 and you'll see where it happened. All I'm saying is there's proof. Well, let me give you one last proof that's very, very up to date.
00:29:55
Speaker
It's very current. And that is the validation of globally convinced disciples. Do you know that more and more people, young people, Middle-aged people, senior adults, young adults, median adults, all in between.
00:30:10
Speaker
Kids, teenagers, college students, they're giving their lives to Christ. You know why? Because they're convinced. He's worth following. He's alive. He can help me. He can guide me in my life.
00:30:22
Speaker
He can give me strength that I don't have. And so Acts 1-8 is all about that. I mean, here's these disciples saying, okay, Lord, we would like to talk prophecy. And the Lord said, you know what?
00:30:33
Speaker
We're not going to talk prophecy right now. We're going to talk proclamation right now. They're like, okay, what are talking about? He says, when the Holy Spirit comes, you're going to receive power and he's going to come upon you and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria and to the end of the earth.
00:30:54
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You see what's going on? He's saying the Spirit's gonna give you power so you can bear witness to me. So you can tell other people that the Lord's changed your life, that the Lord has forgiven your sins.
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You see, before Jesus could send the church into the world, he had to send the Holy Spirit into the church so that we had power. You've got God's backing behind you.
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Why would we be timid? You know, I've gone on different mission trips around the world. I got to look and I thought, okay, I've seen globally convinced disciples in Canada, in Japan, in Mexico, in Nicaragua, in Ethiopia, in the Philippines, in Bangladesh.
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I've seen people so convinced that Jesus Christ... is Lord, that he's risen from the dead. And then I look back at Luke. Here's this doctor turned historian, turned missionary partner of the apostle Paul.
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And I thought, there he is. Luke says, you know what? I can validate that I saw, and and he makes the list of them all in the book of Acts. He said, I saw the gospel go to Israel, Syria,
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Cyprus, Lystra, Iconium, Derbe, Ephesus, Corinth, at Athens, Thessalonica, Berea. You know what he's saying? I saw it.
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These people were convinced. They said, I'm going to live for Jesus Christ every day that I have. So why do physicians like Luke and let's say this other guy, let me introduce to you Dr. Joseph W. Bergeron.
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He conducted conducted careful examinations of the biblical accounts of the cross and the resurrection. Knowing the facts helps Dr. Bargeron and helps all of our medical doctors here in Columbus, over in Katy and wherever you go. It helps medical doctors to have an accurate diagnosis when they know the facts.
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That's why they have to do tests, blood tests or MRIs or CT scans and so forth. And so it informs them so that they can give us reasonable expectations in a prognosis.
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See, Dr. Bergeron studied medicine at St. Louis University School of Medicine. And then he spent decades in treating musculoskeletal injuries.
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And so he's written some peer-reviewed articles in the Journal of Forensic and Legal Medicine. And so what he used was this right here. He said, you know what?
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When I read that, it fits together so cohesively. It's tight. And so it didn't matter that there were skeptics like German theologian in
Scientific Support for Resurrection
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1835, David Friedrich Strauss, who claimed the disciples' reports of a risen Christ were subjective.
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They were internal visions caused by grief. They missed Jesus. And he reads the accounts in the scripture and he says, no, no, no, that's not right. That's not what happens in hallucinations.
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And so he begins to write about it. He begins to study it further. And Dr. Bergeron concludes that Christ was not a hallucination. No, he said these disciples were witnesses to a miraculous bodily resurrection.
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That's what happened. He said, that's what I came to after I studied the facts.
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Makes a big difference, doesn't it, when you're facing your final days? Jesus really overcame death, or if he didn't, it makes a huge difference. Dr. Josh McDowell wrote of Christ's resurrection, no matter how devastating our struggles, the resurrection of Christ promises you a future of immeasurable good in heaven.
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Jesus looked Martha straight in the eye after the death of her brother Lazarus. They were so sad. Everybody there in that account in John 11 was said, Jesus looked at her and he said, I am the resurrection and the life.
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Whoever believes in me, though he died, yet shall he live. And everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. And then he asked her this question and I close with it.
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Do you believe this? Do you believe this? After examining the facts do believe this? There he stands in front of her.
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And he said, do you believe this? And then you know what he said? Roll away the stone in front of Lazarus's grave. They rolled it away. And he said, Lazarus, come forth. And a dead man came forth.
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How in the world could he do? He's the son of God. He's the son of God. That's why. And he overcame death, his own death later. That's why. And so all I want you to know is when we're asking you to put your faith and your trust in Jesus Christ, that he did go to the cross.
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He did die on that
Believing in the Resurrection
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cross. He suffered and bled and died as the perfect sacrifice for our sins, to cover for our sins. They placed him in a tomb. And the scripture says three days later, they raised him from the dead. I just want you to know there's evidence.
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But then it comes down to that question. Do you believe this? It's so important that our answer to that is yes. I know for maybe everybody, maybe most people, but maybe not everybody.
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You've never given God a yes on that one. But we want to have a time of invitation. You can come and say to the Lord more than to me. Yes, I believe you.
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Would you stand? Let's pray together. We're going to have this time of invitation. Lord, we've reviewed the facts. We review the biblical evidence that's presented before us that Jesus gave to those disciples.
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And it was enough for them. It's enough for me. It's enough for many of us in this room, if not all of us. But maybe, just maybe, someone's in the room and they've never said, believe that.
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I believe Jesus rose from the dead. I believe Jesus died on the cross for me. I believe that his blood can wash away my sins that I've committed. And so God, if that's the case, then let them know that this is a safe place.
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Trusting in Christ is such a safe place. And from this day on, that we'll be in the safest place in the whole universe in Christ. We pray these things for Jesus' sake and in his name.
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Amen.
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This is a ministry of First Baptist Church located at 1700 Milam Street, Columbus, Texas.