The Resurrection and the Judgment

Hallelujah, Christ is risen. Christ is risen indeed. Hallelujah. This is the ancient greetings that goes way back to the early church. We're greeted one another on Resurrection Sunday and I pray that it will be truly blessed for you and for yours. The Bible said that the very power that prays Jesus from the dead is working in us the believers.

Do you believe that? Turn with me if you haven't already to Acts chapter 17. The Apostle Paul finds himself in the city of Athens all alone and at this point of history Greece has passed its peak. It was on the decline just like our Western civilization today. The false religions were rampant throughout the Greek culture and because of that the last thing these Athenians needed, the last thing is another philosopher. They were up to the eyeballs with philosophers. The last thing they needed is another fangled teaching about something new. They were knee-deep in false teaching. The last thing they needed is a new religion. They were swimming in all sorts of false religions. What they desperately needed is what our culture needs today, the need to know the truth about the only one who can save them. The only one, the only one true God who revealed himself fully and completely in the person of Jesus Christ his son. So he stands on that hill known as Mars Hill and after he got their attention, he began to tell them about the God of heaven and earth, the God who rose from the dead after three days of being buried, the God who their only hope for escaping the judgment that is coming upon the world. Paul's message is very simple, really simple and the problem is they stumbled over its simplicity.

What is it? That the resurrection of Jesus is a proof that he is the only one true God who became man and then he is coming back to be the judge of the world. Now, Acts 17, not unlike our culture, the Athenians have turned their tolerance into careless indifference. They have turned compassion into compromise. They have turned their need for the one true God into some sort of a mishmash of accepting all kinds of false gods and false religions. Verse 22, men of Athens, I perceive that in every way you are very religious and probably somebody would say, Michael, what's wrong with that? Isn't it good that they're religious? No, it is not because religion kills but Jesus gives life. Today, there are so many people who are religious.

They call themselves spiritual and when you start digging in what they mean by spiritual, you discover there's just a bit of a New Age mysticism. When I tell people that I am not religious, I uphold religion, I can't stand religion, I would give anything for you to see the looks on their faces. Listen, to be sure, to be sure, everyone in the world is religious.

Did you know that? Everyone is religious because everyone worship something or someone. Some people worship self, some people worship money, some people worship sports, some people worship nature. They're all like the Athenians of old. In Paul's day, they worship something and Paul said, as I look around, I saw object of your worship. These are statues that have erected in that Mars Hill area near the Acropolis. He looked at all these statues and see all the names on these statues and then he said, I notice that just to play it safe, you've decided that there must be a God somewhere that you don't know about. There must be a God somewhere we never heard of and in order to play it safe so he doesn't punish you or doesn't judge you out of fear of that God, you have erected a statue calling it to the unknown God. They're covering all their bases.

They're covering all their bases. In fact, it was said of Greece, of old, that they had more gods than men. Think about that. They were forever inventing new gods. They were forever coming up with new gods. In the 21st century, we have many who are like the Epicureans of old. They believe that pleasure is what life is all about. We have many others who are like the Stoics of old. They believe in self-sufficiency and that is represented in Victor's poem, I am the master of my fate and I'm the captain of my soul. And that's precisely why Paul's message in Acts 17 on Mars Hill, it is absolutely the most needed message in our culture today.

It is needed for our generation. What was that message? Your eternal life depends on your surrender to the resurrected Jesus. Your eternal future rests on the belief and the surrender to the resurrected Jesus. Whatever religion, whatever object of worship, whatever philosophy you are pursuing, it will lead you to ruins, not only in this life but for all of eternity. Only the resurrected, glorified and soon coming back, Judge Jesus can bless you both in this life and for all of eternity. Oh, my beloved friends, this is the only Easter message that is worthy of your consideration.

Look with me again. Word of God, Acts 17, beginning at verse 24. The God who made the world and everything in it, oops, they never heard of him. The God who made the world and everything in it, being Lord of heaven and earth. He does not live in shrine made by men nor he is served by human hands as though he needed them or needed anything since he himself gives all people. He gives how many people?

Life and breath and everything they have. He gives everything whether they know it or not, whether they believe it or not. He is the God of power and might. He is the God of glory. He is the God who revealed himself to Israel. Now he is revealing himself to the world. The times of ignorance, look at this verse with me, please.

The times of ignorance God has overlooked, but now he commands everyone everywhere to repent. You say, why? I'm glad you asked. It's a good question.

Ask why? Because he set a day on which he will judge the world in righteousness by the man whom he appointed and by this he assured us by raising him from the dead. Here's the message in all of its simplicity. Up to this point in your life, up to this point before you're hearing the message of the resurrected Christ, the past, whether you knew Jesus or not in the past, whether you believed in Jesus or not in the past, whether you knew that Jesus is the only way to heaven and to the father or not in the past, whether you believed in the resurrection or not in the past, whether you comprehended that he is the way, the truth and the life or not in the past, ignorance or not.

Even if you did not know, it doesn't matter. That time God is overlooked. But now, as of this day, when you've heard the message of the resurrected Jesus, when you heard the good news of the Gospel, from now on you know that there's only one option. If you want to save your soul, repent of your sin, repent of your unbelief, repent of your indifference, repent of your ignoring God's message to you that's been speaking to you in a variety of ways for so long, repent of your hesitancy to commit your life to him and come to him that he may bless you out of your socks.

Now that's a rough translation, but you get the meaning. As of this Easter Sunday and going forward in your life, turn around from your dark and weary road on which you've been traveling. Turn around from pursuing false philosophies. Turn around while you can. Turn around before it's too late. Turn around and receive God's mercy while it is found. Turn around and experience the grace of God while it is possible. For the time is coming where the one resurrected Jesus who wants to be your savior and your friend now will be your judge.

The time is coming when everyone who have rejected him as savior and a friend and a redeemer will have to stand before the bench and face him as judge. Why? Good question.

Why? Why can't I just believe whatever I want to believe and get away with it? Why can't I just believe that if I'm a good person, God will have no choice but to accept me?

Why can't I just think I can do my best and then God will have to accept me? First of all, we don't make the rules. If you have a kid in school, goes up to the headmaster, we say, I don't like this idea of coming to school at 8.30 in the morning. I want to come at 10.30 in the morning.

I want to sleep in. We know what happens. We don't make the rules. God makes the rules.

And God said in his word that there is no one, not one other than Jesus who's good. No one. None of us. Not this pastor, nobody.

Nobody. That we're all born with our backs to God. That we're all born to say no to God. And so God made a way to remedy the situation. Only one way. He didn't say, well, here's a variety of ways, choose your way.

No, no, no. There is one way and only one way. His son who coexisted with him in the Holy Trinity, the son, the second member of the Holy Trinity left heaven because he loved us enough, came from heaven to earth as the only perfect person ever, ever lived. The only sinless person ever lived so that he can redeem repentant sinners like me. On the cross, Jesus died to redeem everyone, everyone who would come to him in faith, believing in him, repenting of their sins. Then he rose again to assure every one of his believers of their own resurrection in heaven. My friend, make no mistake about it.

And I've been around for a long time. All the so-called founders of other religions, they're all dead and then their tombs. Only Jesus Christ tomb is empty. And because of that empty tomb, not only that he has set apart, he has no equal, he has no rival, and nobody even come close.

Not only sets him apart, but he commands everyone everywhere to repent and turn to him. Don't miss this. Please don't miss this.

Don't miss this. He said, God commands everyone everywhere. He didn't say, well, God just requests or that God suggests or God really recommends that everyone.

No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no. Why? Because his resurrection power qualified him to be the only judge of the universe. Because of his resurrection power, he's the only one who has the authority to command. So you can either, thankfully, accept the gift of forgiveness of sin and eternal life.

The choice is yours. I so vividly remember the story I read that back in 1938, 1938, that's a true story. On September of 1938, Mr. John Martin of Long Island, New York ordered a barometer in the mail. He wanted a barometer. Since he was a boy, he wanted a barometer. He wanted to own a barometer. And so now that he has a job and he earns money, he goes and ordered a barometer. And so in the morning, the barometer came in the mail.

He literally tore the box open and he was so excited to check that barometer that he always wanted. But to his deep disappointment, the barometer needle was stuck on the section that says hurricane. It stuck. And so he did what every respectable man does with a gadget that he doesn't know how to operate.

I'm one. He shook it. He banged on it. And the needle wouldn't budge to no avail. So he sat down that night and he wrote a very nasty letter to the manufacturer. And he complained bitterly of that faulty barometer that he spent money on. And the next morning as he was going from Long Island to Manhattan where he was working, he took that letter and he mailed it, put it in the mail to the manufacturer.

That evening, that same evening where he mailed the letter in the morning, he returned home to Long Island to find his house totally destroyed. If you guessed it, by hurricane. The barometer needle was not stuck. The manufacturer did not make an error. The instrument was not faulty.

The barometer was doing its job. It was Mr. John Martin who refused to heed the warning. Oh beloved, heed the warning. Heed the warning.

None of us can guarantee one day of life. Some of you here are angry with me right now. And you were saying to me, I don't like this business of someone commanding me. I don't like this business that there's only one way to God the Father and to Heaven. I don't like this business that I have to accept Jesus as my only Savior and Lord of my life to be saved. Others may be totally indifferent.

And they're saying, yeah, so Jesus rose from the dead, so what? Totally indifferent. You don't care if this is your last warning or not. You don't care if God speaking to you and trying to get your attention or not. You don't care about the resurrection or the judgment of God that is coming.

Please, please, please, I plead with you. Do not blame the manufacturer. Do not blame the warning that your Creator and your Maker and your Redeemer is giving you.

Don't just shrug and say, who cares? Eternity is a very, very, very long time. Trust your Creator. Trust your Maker. Trust in the one who loved you enough to die on the cross for you. But then there may be others here or watching again around the world at the sound of my voice who are living a stressed out life, who are experiencing emotional depression and don't know how to get out of it. There are some probably questioning the very meaning of life. Today I'll tell you on the authority of God's Word that today the one who rose from the dead can meet you at your very point of need.

He knows your need and he wants to meet that need. Only Jesus can do that. Church cannot. Pastors cannot.

No one can. Only Jesus can. And he can do that today, here and now, today, and give you meaning in your meaningless life.

The time of ignorance God has overlooked. But now he commands everyone, everywhere, to repent. Question, why does he command us?

Oh, because he loves us enough not to leave us in a life of purposelessness. I want to tell you this as I conclude. I pray to God that if the Holy Spirit has spoken to you, wherever you are, that you would not leave your seat today without coming to Christ, receiving him as Savior and Lord, and then tell somebody about it.

Come and tell us about it. Many of you have seen the Titanic movie, the old one, the newer one, everybody probably at the sound of my voice know about the Titanic. But what probably you don't know is that after the sinking of the Titanic, the families and the friends of the passengers who were on that terrible ship, the loved ones, they all flocked to the head office of the company that owned the Titanic.

It was White Star Line in Liverpool, England. They came from all over. And they filled the streets in front of the head office there. They filled not just the street in the front, but streets on the side everywhere anyone can find a place to stand. They were happy to come.

I just want to know if the loved ones made it or they've drowned in the Atlantic. The company officials put two signs on each side of the door of their head office. One sign read, the names of those who are known to be saved. And on the other side it says the names of those who have perished.

Two categories, two signs, no third. Every now and then one of the company officials would come with a cardboard with a name of a person on it. And he would hold that cardboard high so everybody can read it, everybody can see it. And they said that every time a person comes out with that name on a cardboard, you've experienced even though there were masses of people, deathly silence, deathly silence.

People literally were holding their breath to see on which side the name is going to hang. Is it among those who are saved or those who perished? Two categories, no third. Oh my beloved friend and far greater way, far greater way, far more eternal way, on the day of judgment there are going to be two signs, two categories of people.

The saved and the lost, no third. Which side will you name beyond? Which side will you name beyond?

Which side will you name beyond? I pray to God everyone at the sound of my voice would say, I'm among the saved. But if you're not, that's okay, if you're not sure, we're going to have a great opportunity now to make absolutely sure. Would you pray with me please? Lord Jesus Christ, I thank you for dying for me on a cross and rising again. I thank you for allowing me to heed this warning and to ensure that my name is written among the saved. Help me to walk with you all the days of my life. Thank you, Lord Jesus. All of God's people said amen. A reminder of the power and perseverance of the resurrection from Dr. Michael Yousaf. Hey, thank you for joining listeners right there in your neighborhood and in neighborhoods like yours all around the world for Leading the Way. And if you have faith questions, please consider speaking with a Leading the Way pastor or counselor.

They'd be so happy to listen and offer help. Just visit ltw.org slash Jesus. A true servant of Jesus will always, always, always be an enigma and a paradox to this fallen world. What is truth and how is it presented?

That question is something that my generation is thinking about, not taking for granted, and is going to be thinking about for a long time. To present the Bible as exactly what God says it to be, what God set it out to be, is to stand in stark contrast to presenting God and truth as whatever you feel it to be. Dr. Yousaf and Leading the Way, the mission of holding to that understanding of absolute truth is the proper answer for all of the cultural dilemmas that we face today. The foundation of our faith is Jesus and Jesus alone. This is one of the bedrocks is that Dr. Yousaf is pulling from the word and shepherding his people not from his own intellectual pursuits or what he perceives the culture to be or how he thinks he can bend the narrative a little bit to get people in the doors. But this unwavering commitment to what the Bible says, and I appreciate that as I'm at school going to war in the battle of ideas and the battle for truth and asking these questions and realizing he will not compromise. You see, the world system will never understand or comprehend that we see the unseen that we conquer by yielding that we find rest under a yoke. It is incredibly meaningful to me to realize that what I'm hearing on Sundays is being broadcast all over the world to reach souls who are in developing countries, established countries and our own country. And you think about how a Christian my age sees leading the way. You mean I get to participate on a global scale in presenting truth, absolute truth? I'm in. Learn more about the impact of Leading the Way with Dr. Michael Yousaf when you visit us at ltw.org or speak with a representative at the Ministry Call Center, 866-626-4356. This program is furnished by Leading the Way with Dr. Michael Yousaf, passionately proclaiming uncompromising truth around the world. Learn more at ltw.org.