The King's Victory

Scripture Reading

Will you please turn in your Bibles with me to the book of Mark, Mark chapter 16. Mark chapter 16, if you're using your Pew Bibles, you'll find that on page 901. The New King James provided Pew Bibles, page 901. And just so you CFYers know, you are the ones coming in at the very end of a long, long sermon series in Mark. We started this in 2022, and I am not smart enough or gifted enough to have finished with the resurrection on this day, but this is where we're at. Mark chapter 16. Mark chapter 16. Brothers and sisters, let's turn our eyes now unto the Lord's Word.

Now when the Sabbath was passed, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James and Solomon, brought spices that they might come and anoint Him, that being Jesus. Very early in the morning on the first day of the week, they came to the tomb when the sun had risen, and they said among themselves, who will roll away the stone from the door of the tomb for us? But when they looked up, They saw that the stone had already been rolled away, for it was very large. And entering the tomb, they saw a young man clothed in a long white robe sitting on the right side, and they were alarmed.

But He said to them, Do not be alarmed. You seek Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He is risen! He is not here! See the place where they laid Him? Go, tell His disciples and Peter that He is going before you into Galilee. There you will see Him as He said to you. So they went out quickly and fled from the tomb, for they trembled and were amazed.

And they said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid. Now, when he rose early on the first day of the week, he appeared first to Mary Magdalene, out of whom he had cast seven demons. She went and told those who had been with him, and they mourned and wept. And when they heard that he was alive and had been seen by her, they did not believe. After that, he appeared in another form to two of them as they walked and went into the country. and they went and told it to the rest, but they did not believe them either.

Later he appeared to the eleven as they sat at the table, and he rebuked their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they did not believe those who had seen him after he had risen. And he said to them, Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature, He who believes and is baptized will be saved, but he who does not believe will be condemned.

And these signs will follow those who believe. In my name they will cast out demons. They will speak with new tongues. They will take up serpents. And if they drink anything deadly, it will by no means hurt them. They will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover. And then, after the Lord had spoken to them, he was received up into heaven and sat down at the right hand of God. And they went out and preached everywhere, the Lord working with them and confirming the word through the accompanying signs."

Prayer for Illumination

Amen. Let's pray. Father, we have read your word. And Lord, we pray now that as it is preached, that You would take this living Word, which does not fail, and You would grave it upon our hearts with a pin of iron. Lord, we pray that we would believe these things. That Your Spirit would be working in our hearts. Lord, I am a weak vessel. I cannot do this myself. But Lord, we pray that Your Holy Spirit would be working this morning. We need you, Lord. Please teach us. In Jesus' name, amen.

Sermon

I had a dream last night. Woke me up dead out of my sleep. This is not the introduction I wrote a few days ago, but this is the introduction that I feel like I was absolutely compelled to tell you. Because last night when I was sleeping, I had this dream that I walked into church and I had this text ready to preach. And as I walked into church, somebody had decided we were going to have guest speakers instead. And I settled down in a pew, ready to hear the end of Mark preached by somebody else. And to my horror, there was movies playing. on a screen. And the guys up front kept saying, isn't that cool? Isn't that cool?

And never once was the Bible open. Never once was Jesus proclaimed. And I woke up out of a dead sleep with a pressure upon my chest to preach to you this morning the truth of our resurrected Jesus Christ. This is something that the Lord has proven to us, has given us in history, and is the foundation of our hope for eternity as Christians.

Why is this text so important? Why was I woken up from a literal nightmare? Because I think eternity hangs upon whether or not you believe these words. Because your life may depend upon it. Because if this story in Mark chapter 16 isn't true, we are above all most to be pitied. The truth I want you to take home with you is that Jesus' resurrection is the fountain of hope for you. Jesus' resurrection is the fountain of hope for the Christian. So look with me first, and this is the longest point, is the despair to amazement that the Marys had.

In verses 1-8, the Marys go to the tomb, it's very early in the morning, and remember the baggage of what's just happened. Who are these two Marys? Well, it's Mary Magdalene, who Jesus had just cast seven demons out of, but it was also Mary, His mother. And think about the psychological, emotional, and spiritual trauma that Mary, his mother, just went through. By the way, if you want to know, go to Mark chapter, I think it's chapter 6 or chapter 4. This is where we know that this was Mary, his mother. Imagine being a mother and watching your son tortured and be executed unjustly.

They watch from afar. It's an eyewitness account. They're watching from afar that they see where Joseph of Arimathea put Jesus' body in the tomb. And they've had to wait all of Sabbath. And early in the morning, when the sun is barely rising, the dew is still on the grass, the birds have just started chirping, they go to the first shop that's open, they find the spices, because they're going to go, and they're going to anoint Jesus, even though He may have died a criminal's death, He was buried with honor, and they were intent that they were going to go and show Jesus that final honor that only a mother could show to her son. Mary had watched Jesus her whole life. She remembered the Magi coming to give their gifts to the King of the Jews, and she had just watched her son be crucified with an inscription over his head, the King of the Jews. You can imagine the distress that she would have been in in this moment, as she went to Jesus' tomb.

It seemed all hope was lost. They didn't know how they would emerge from this gray, dull grief. But they head outside the city. They see the tomb where they know Jesus was laid. They walk to the tomb, determined to show Him honor, but they got a problem. That stone is heavy, guys. There are a couple ladies. How are they going to move this stone? Are they going to find someone to help them? Are they going to get a big stick and use some leverage? They don't know, but they know as they're walking, hey, one of us got to figure out how we're going to move this stone because we're not going to be able to do what we're wanting to do if we can't do this thing first.

As they walk to the tomb, they become, as the text tells us, alarmed. Verse 4. But when they looked up, they saw that the stone had been rolled away, for it was very heavy. It was very large. And they look in. They look in and the alarm of the stone being moved was nothing compared to the alarm that would happen from what they saw in verse 5. And entering the tomb, they saw a young man clothed in a long white robe sitting on the right side, and they were alarmed.

You have to expect that, maybe just be too familiar with this story, but the emotional shock that would come if you went into the crypt or the grave of your loved one, and the body that you're expecting to be there is gone, and instead somebody else is sitting there. The fear that would have gripped these women's soul. Where is He? What have you done with Him? They're afraid and they're alarmed. Has He been stolen? What have you done? Who is this man? Where is Jesus? What happened to His body? How could this have even happened? This is a mother's nightmare. This is not something that a grieving mother would want.

But the angel attempts to calm their hearts. Notice verse 6. But he said to them, do not be alarmed. I got to tell you, you better have some really good excuses if you're going to tell a mama who's afraid about what happened to her son's body, don't be alarmed. You better have some really convincing logic behind that.

And he says to them, he declares to them, you seek Jesus of Nazareth who is crucified. He is risen. He is not here. And he gives them three glorious hooks for them to hang their comfort on. First of all, you're not looking in the wrong place. This really is Jesus' tomb. You're not looking in the wrong place. This is the right address. This is the tomb of Jesus of Nazareth. So don't be alarmed. You're not in the wrong place. Number two, look, this is where they laid Him. This is where His body was put. The angel is telling them, you're in the right place. This is exactly what you saw. You're not mistaken. But point number three, go, and tell his disciples and Peter that he is going before you into Galilee. There you will see him as he said to you." And I could imagine the words that would have flooded their minds because Jesus had told them this was going to happen. Jesus was right about all of this.

Mark 8, verse 31, Jesus had told them, He began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things, and be rejected by the elders, and the chief priests, and the scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again. Jesus had told them in Mark 9, verse 31, the Son of Man is being betrayed into the hands of men, and they will kill Him.

And after He is killed, He will rise the third day. Jesus had told them in Mark 10, verse 34, they will mock Him, and scourge Him, and spit on Him, and kill Him, and on the third day He will rise again. Jesus had told them in Mark chapter 14 verse 25, assuredly I say to you, I will no longer drink of the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it anew in the kingdom of God. But verse 28, but after I have been raised, I will go before you to Galilee. The angel is just saying, remember what Jesus said. He said he would die and three days later, he would raise again from the dead and he would meet you on the way to Galilee. He gives them these hooks of logic that, oh yeah, Jesus did tell us this was going to happen.

Although, what you know in your head and what you know in your heart are sometimes two very different things. It takes a while for that equilibrium to catch up. So they have a mix of fear and amazement. The Marys are fast fleeing out of the tomb. They have tremors in their body, verse 8, so they went out quickly and fled from the tomb, and they trembled and were amazed. This word for amazed here is different than the one before, than alarm. This is the word that we get our word ecstatic from.

They're both ecstatic but also trembling with fear. It's amazing that the human soul has this capacity for multiple emotions at the same time, isn't it? You know what this is like, sometimes you can be happy and sad at the same time. Blue in their hearts started to mingle with a glowing light. They had woken up with sorrow, but as the day warmed, so their souls at this point had a glimmer of hope. I think you know what that's like in your own life too, is you have despair at times.

As we look around at our society that seems to be crumbling and its cultural values around us, we could be driven to despair. When we see the breaking down of family ties, we can be driven to despair as Christians. When we see our children behaving in ways that we don't like and we don't accept, we can be driven to despair. When we face financial problems, the Christian soul can at times despair. When we struggle with sins, it seems like we just can't shake. Sometimes we can get that sense of despair. And sometimes when we enter into a new season of suffering, it seems like despair comes knocking at the door again. And when we come face to face with the shock of sudden death, we may be even tempted to despair then. So where do you go for hope, Christian? Where do you go for hope in the midst of despair? Well, that's what we find in the following verses. Look at me at verses 9 through 14.

By the way, I just need to go on a quick textual. This is a nerdy note. I'm not going to take a long time here. I've given my four reasons why I think this is actually in the Bible, right? And so I'm going to read through those real fast. There's two different old manuscripts. They're called Codexes, Vaticanus and Sinaiticus. They don't have these verses in there. So we have two. 2, right, not 4, 2, that don't have it. And then we have thousands and thousands and thousands and thousands and thousands and thousands and thousands of other ones that do have this.

We have early church fathers, such as Irenaeus, who's writing in the 100s, who quotes Mark chapter 16, verse 15. We have the whole church across Christendom who accepted these verses as original. And we also see in these verses that there's nothing out of line or wacky or crazy with the other Gospels, nor is it just like whoever the supposed editor was, just copy and pasted from the Gospel of Luke into the Gospel of Mark, right? We don't see that happening.

So for those four reasons, I think I have justification to preach from these passages. And so, first we notice that the attitude of Mary as she reports to the disciples and their reaction. Look with me at verses 9 through 11. Now when he rose early on the first day of the week, he appeared first to Mary Magdalene, out of whom he had cast seven demons.

She went and told those who had been with him, as they mourned and wept. And when they heard that he was alive and had been seen by her, they didn't believe it. No. Can't accept it. It's too far-fetched. So what happens in verse 12? Does it get any better?

Well, after that, He appeared in another form to two of them as they walked and went into the country. They're headed out of Jerusalem. They're going to go to Emmaus and then up on to Galilee, where they're from. And they went and told, and Jesus appeared to them in a different form, and they went and told it to the rest. So they're so excited, they run back to Jerusalem.

And they don't believe it. But they did not believe them either. And then we come to verse 14 and 15. Later, He, that being Jesus, appeared to the eleven as they sat at the table, and He rebuked their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they did not believe those who had seen Him after He had risen. We are questioning and disbelieving type people naturally.

I was just listening to the public radio station yesterday on my way home from an event, and they were talking about some cockamamie idea from some Eastern mystic that I just immediately blew off. I don't care. I think it's a bluff. But there's a reality that many of you, and I don't know many of your hearts this morning. Many of you. I might recognize your face, but good luck if I remember your name. There's a lot of you.

The reality is that we don't just stuff disbelief down. I want to recognize that in this room today, there may be some of you who are struggling with faith. There may be some of you who are intellectually and emotionally wrestling with, do I actually believe these things to be true? My children and I have recently just watched a movie for a second time called Littlefoot, a great movie made by a bunch of agnostics and atheists, all about how religious people, if you have questions, what are you supposed to do?

Just shove it on down, down, down, right? Don't talk about it. Don't deal with the disbelief. Don't deal with rational arguments against things. Just be quiet and accept it. That's not the faith that Mark gives us here. That's not what Jesus does. No, undoubtedly in a group this large there has to be at least one person wrestling and questioning with this.

So my question, are you the type of person who's determined in your heart that you're going to question anything and everything? Maybe there's one of you in this room who's begun to doubt the historicity of this event. Maybe there's one of you in this room who has begun to deconstruct your faith because of today's cultural standards. Maybe one of you has begun to try to rigidly understand everything by a closed system of the universe that has to be understood only within a scientific experimental way. Maybe some of you are thinking to yourself, I'm just too logical to believe this ancient fable of a guy rising from the dead. I'm going to suggest to you that's normal.

The vast population of the world over history has also rejected this. The resurrection of Jesus is highly, highly irregular. And it's supposed to be. It is a once-for-all event that Jesus went through. And I want to propose to you that the resurrection of Jesus can be proven by historical data. And why do I say that? Well, both historical data and empirical data, because I think sometimes when people come to the resurrection, they want to see it for themselves. But the issue is that's not how historical events happen.

The empirical data was proven to the Marys. The empirical data was proven to the doubters in that room when Jesus came to Thomas who doubted, and he said, Thomas, you doubt, put your finger in my hand. Do you still want to doubt? Put your finger in my side. Right? The empirical data was for them. When the disciples didn't believe and they thought maybe he was a ghost, Jesus sat on the seashore with them and ate breakfast. Why? Because ghosts don't eat food. Jesus was proving to them He was bodily resurrected.

We believe the historical data because the tangible evidence was there at that time. That's why John in 1 John says, this was the truth that they had seen and heard and felt themselves that Jesus was alive in the flesh. We don't need to see or smell the smoke of a shot at Lexington to believe that it happened. We don't need to hear with our own ears a recording of Lincoln's voice to believe that he actually spoke the Gettysburg Address. We're able to trust the historical data from that time period that that happened. There were eyewitness accounts. We can trust the historical record. And brothers and sisters, let me tell you, there are so many scant things that we believe in ancient history, that if we have one manuscript to prove it, we go, man, that definitely happened.

But for some reason, when we come to the Gospels, and we have four different accounts from ancient manuscripts that are well preserved all throughout history and all over the known Western world, people say, well, we just don't really have enough historical evidence. You don't believe that about Plato being alive? Or Socrates being a real person? Or Homer's writings that have any historical value?

But how can we trust that this miracle was actually true? Well, because I think this book was given to us purposely because God gave it to a bunch of skeptics. He gave it to Mark through the preaching of Peter. Because Peter was one of those who didn't believe at first. Jesus appeared to them and proved to them He was alive in the flesh, and once they were convinced, they never turned back."

Chuck Colson, who was one of Nixon's advisors in the 80s. Nixon was caught in Watergate. He was trying to cheat and spy on the Democratic Party and stuff like this, right? And a whole bunch of his advisors, including Chuck Colson, all got together, right? And they were trying to keep together this lie about Watergate. And Chuck Colson, after he went to prison and became a Christian, he said, I believe in the resurrection because of Watergate. Because in Watergate, there was just a group of us guys, and we couldn't keep a good lie together for more than a few weeks. But when it comes to the resurrection, you have 11 guys who hold on to this for decades, and they're willing to die for it. Peter is crucified upside down, willing to die on the veracity of the crucifixion. Matthew, the apostle, is stabbed by a sword, witnessing about Jesus' resurrection in Ethiopia. They tried to kill the apostle John by boiling him in oil.

But he didn't change his opinion about Jesus. Nathanael was whipped to death in Armenia and never changed his story. Why? Because they believed it was true. The apostle Andrew was crucified and preached to the people who were crucifying him for two days before he died. Never changing what he believed about the life and death and resurrection of Jesus. Why? Because he knew it was true. Thomas, doubting Thomas, was stabbed by a spear in his side while he was evangelizing in India. Why? Because he knew that the resurrected Christ was real. Why would these guys die for something if they could have easily have just walked away?

So my question for you who may be deconstructing or disbelieving Maybe you need to hear Jesus' words. And He rebuked their unbelief and their hardness of heart, because they did not believe those who had seen Him after He had risen. I don't think the problem is the historical record. I think the problem might be hearts that don't want to believe it.

The disciples were rebuked, and they did something about it. They believed. And so Jesus did something to them. He changed all history in verses 15 through 18. Once they're convinced of the resurrection, Jesus goes on in verse 15, and He said to them, Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. He who believes and is baptized will be saved, but he who does not believe will be condemned. And these signs will follow those who believe in my name. They will cast out demons, they will speak with new tongues, they will take up serpents, they will drink anything deadly, and they will by no means hurt them, and they will lay hands on the sick and will recover.

What's the difference between a disciple and an apostle? A disciple is somebody who follows and is learning. But there's a shift that happens here that we might not understand at first. They move from being disciples of Jesus, learners of Jesus, followers of Jesus, to being commissioned apostles. An apostle is somebody who is given authoritative power to go and proclaim the message that the one commissioning them has given.

Jesus changes the direction of world history by no longer just telling them, okay, just keep learning from me, keep studying the Torah, keep finding out about the prophecies, and keep it to yourself. No, Jesus says, now your job, boys, go turn the world on its head. He gives them the great commission. Go and preach. Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature.

This is not suggesting, this is not just making up cute illustrations so people will believe. This is proclaiming like a herald of the king saying, thus has the king of the universe spoken. This is true. Believe it and be saved. This is no suggestion. This is the King's message. And what is this good news that they were to preach? Death has been swallowed up in victory.

The King of the universe has paid the redemption price. The Lord of hosts has declared that there is peace with Him. The Master of the universe has declared freedom to the captives. The Giver of all life has displayed the depths of His love in that He did not even spare His own Son, but He sent Him to die for you. The Lamb has been slain.

The God of justice has given a way for us to be justified by faith, because Jesus rose from the dead. There is no charge against God's elect. There's hope today. And there's hope beyond the grave as well. This is hope beyond despair and he gives them two assurances.

Now I'm sure the disciples look back with this over the years and they remember Jesus's words and cling on to Jesus's words because man they must have given them a lot of confidence. Look with the two different pieces of assurance he gives them. Promises he gave to his disciples that their work would be accomplished. Assurance number one, whoever hears their message and believes it, and is baptized, what's it say will happen?

They will be saved. Now, if they believe it, they're baptized, and they work the rest of their lives to be really, really, really, really, really, really good, then maybe they'll be saved. No! No, if they believe and are baptized, they will be saved.

Assurance number one, their work wasn't just entrusted to men's hands, but it was based upon the triune work of God himself. Now the inverse of that is also true. By he who does not believe will be condemned. God's word doesn't return void. God's word is always efficacious. It's either working unto salvation or unto condemnation. But the second assurance he gives them will be fulfilled throughout the book of Acts.

And these signs will follow those who believe. And here I think he's specifically speaking to the apostles as those who believe and are preaching the gospel. They would cast out demons by his name. And guess what? The apostles did it. Acts chapter 5. And the people believed. They would speak in tongues. And guess what? The apostles did it. Acts chapter 2. And people believed. They would take up serpents. And guess what happened when Paul was on the island of Malta and a serpent came out of the fire and bit him on the hand and he shook it off and it went back into the fire. And they were waiting, when's he going to die? When's he going to die? When's he going to die? He doesn't.

Acts chapter 28, and the people believe. They lay hands on the sick. It's exactly what the apostles did, Acts chapter 9, and the people believe. It is a sign to them that the Holy Spirit was going to give them these signs, and people would believe. We find all throughout the book of Acts this history of the working of the Holy Spirit throughout the known world. They did these things, and early church literature tells us that even some of the disciples may have drank different types of poisons and yet survived. But the disciples were given hope and driven by one other thing though.

Look at me at verse 19. Jesus displays His glory. So then after the Lord... By the way, don't you love it? That's how they describe Jesus there, the Lord. So then after the Lord had spoken to them, He was received up into heaven and sat down at the right hand of God.

What would have happened if the ascension never occurred? We think often about the death of Jesus Christ. We don't think very often about the resurrection of Christ, but I think we think even less often of the ascension of Jesus Christ and His session, His sitting at the right hand of God the Father Almighty. What would have happened if Jesus had risen from the dead, but then let's say 30 years later had died of a heart attack? He would have just been a resurrected martyr. You know, just somebody who just died. It would have been miraculous, but not somebody worth following for for all eternity. But see, there was another prophecy that needed to be fulfilled. Jesus had told the high priest to his face just a few days earlier. He asked him, are you the Christ? And he said, I am.

And you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the power and coming with the clouds of heaven. See, Jesus ascended up into heaven in His resurrected body, and He was given all power and might and dominion and glory, and He sits at the right hand of God the Father Almighty, waiting for the day of His return, when He will come again in the clouds with that great trumpet day, with the flash of lightning, and our risen Savior, Jesus Christ, will raise all the dead in their graves again. The claims of Jesus were proven true by Jesus ascending up into heaven.

They saw with their eyes the Lord of glory and knew that He had entered into His heavenly reward. But they also knew that He was coming again. Look with me at verse 20. And they went out and preached everywhere, the Lord working with them and confirming the word through the accompanying signs.

When Jesus had gone up into heaven, Luke tells us in Acts chapter one that he went up into heaven and a cloud received him. And after the cloud received him, all of a sudden two angels show up dressed in white, the same way in which that man was sitting next to Jesus in his tomb.

I'm gonna put this into Brian language. Get your jaws off the floor. What are you talking about? He told you this was gonna happen. And he's gonna come again. The same way in which He departed. Jesus is in heaven, but He will return again. The apostles went out and preached everywhere because they knew that King Jesus was victorious, D-Day had been won, and someday the war would be over. They had hope because Jesus was alive, and I am convinced that Mark, the writer of this gospel, wants you to know that this story is true. It's not just a fable, but it is historical fact. These things happened, Jesus was really alive, the apostles were sent out, they did these things, and our hope in Jesus is not in vain. And when you despair, and there will be time to despair, we can have hope. Because when death comes knocking at your door, you know that your Redeemer lives.

I need to warn you. Let me wrap this up. I need to warn you that you need to be careful. Right? You need to be careful because if this truth, if this faith takes hold of your soul, I can't promise you it won't ruin your life. I can't promise you if you take hold of the hope of the resurrection and you hear this call to go and preach the good news to all the nations, I can't promise you that you won't stop loving Jesus more than your family. I can't promise you that this love for Jesus Christ might call you to move away from where you live and go travel halfway across the globe to go share the gospel with another living soul. I can't promise you that you're going to have great health and wealth and prosperity if you follow Jesus. I'm going to actually make the same promise Jesus does. They'll most likely hate you if these truths take hold of your soul. And they might persecute you for this. But the King is worth it. The eternal reward of being with Jesus forever is worth it.

I'm going to close this sermon with a story of One of the amazing men who served this congregation for decades, Bob McElhaney. Bob was a farm boy. Man, Bob was strong and he was big. I was always intimidated by being around Bob, right? He was really nice, really kind, really gentle, not far from a laugh type guy, but he was just a big dude.

He knew how to work and he knew how to work hard, but when the COVID crisis came, some type of disease got ahold of him, and I remember going to his bedside And I mean, he was just a shadow of the man that he was. And he knew death was coming. And after they had taken out the tracheotomy, he couldn't talk anymore, but he was not sedated anymore.

And his family was there, and they had a board with different words on it as they were trying to communicate, because he couldn't talk. And they were trying to ask Bob, would he go through being intubated again? And on all those words on that board that his family had, Bob pointed. It took all the strength to do this. He pointed at two words on the board. God and me. Because you see, Bob had a hope.

That death was not the end of that story. That the resurrection was true and that even though he might die, he would live forever. And even though his body rests in the grave here to the side of the church, it rests in its grave awaiting the day of resurrection. But his soul was immediately made perfect in holiness and he enjoys communion with his Father in heaven because Jesus promised him he would have a place in heaven prepared for him. Bob trusted those promises. He knew his Redeemer lived. My question is, do you know your Redeemer lives? Do you have hope? Do you believe in the resurrection and that Jesus will come again to judge the living and the dead? I think that's what Mark intended for you. And that's what I'm gonna pray for now.

Father, all the reading of the Bible and preaching in the world could never save a person unless you give faith. So Father, we pray that for those of us who believe in Jesus Christ, that we might be encouraged and strengthened in our faith, deeply rooted in Jesus Christ and built up.

Lord, that we would have an enduring hope. Father, we pray that this morning that your Holy Spirit might be working even in those who have been holding you off at an arm's distance this morning. Lord, we pray that you might even soften their hearts this day. Lord, we pray that you would please... Lord, I don't know if there's someone in this room who might be questioning or doubting or wrestling with things. Lord, I pray that they might have found comfort for their souls today.

That in your word and in the truth of your resurrection and your ascension into heaven, Lord, that they would have something far greater than gold and sweeter than honey, that they would have hope even unto eternal life. Lord, worthy is the Lamb who was slain. Thank you for giving us our King. In Jesus's name.