Let's all stand together for scripture reading. For our scripture reading tonight, I would like to take you to two places in the scripture. First, our scripture reading comes from Psalm 16, and then the Gospel of John, chapter 11, verse 1 through 45, which will be my text for tonight's sermon. But first, Psalm 16. Preserve me, O God, for in you I put my trust. O my soul, you have said to the Lord, you are my Lord. My goodness is nothing apart from you. As for the saints who are on the earth, they are the excellent ones. in whom is all my delight. Their sorrows shall be multiplied to hasten after another God. Their drink offerings of blood I will not offer, nor take up their names on my lips. O Lord, you are the portion of my inheritance and my cup. You maintain my lot. The lions have fallen to me in the pleasant places. Yes, I have a good inheritance. I will bless the Lord who has given me counsel. My heart also instructs me in the night seasons. I have said the Lord always before me. Because he is at my right hand, I shall not be moved. Therefore, my heart is glad, and my glory rejoices, my flesh also will rest in hope. For you will not leave my soul in Sheol, nor will you allow your Holy One to see corruption. You will show me the path of life. In your presence is fullness of joy. At your right hand are the pleasures forevermore. The Gospel of John, chapter 11, verse 1 through 45. Now a certain man was sick, Lazarus of Bethany, the town of Mary and her sister Martha. It was that Mary who anointed the Lord with fragrant oil and wiped his feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was sick. Therefore the sisters sent to him, saying, Lord, behold, he whom you love is sick. When Jesus heard that, he said, this sickness is not unto death. but for the glory of God, that the Son of God may be glorified through it." Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister. and Lazarus. So when he heard that he was sick, he stayed two more days in the place where he was. Then after this, he said to the disciples, let us go to Judea again. The disciples said to him, Rabbi, lately the Jews sought to stone you. And are you going there again? Jesus answered, are there not 12 hours in the day? If anyone walks in the day, he does not stumble because he sees the light of this world. But if one walks in the night, he stumbles because the light is not in him. These things he said, and after that he said to them, our friend Lazarus sleeps, but I go that I may wake him up. Then his disciples said, Lord, if he sleeps, he will get well. However, Jesus spoke of his death, but they thought that he was speaking about taking rest in sleep. Then Jesus said to them plainly, Lazarus is dead. And I'm glad for your sakes that I was not there, that you may believe. Nevertheless, let us go to him. Then Thomas, who is called the twin, said to his fellow disciples, let us also go that we may die with him. So when Jesus came, he found that he had already been in the tomb four days. Now Bethany was near Jerusalem, about two miles away. And many of the Jews had joined the women around Martha and Mary to confer them concerning their brother. Then Martha, as soon as she heard that Jesus was coming, went and met him. But Mary was sitting in the house. Now Martha said to Jesus, Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. But even now I know that whatever you ask of God, God will give you." Jesus said to her, your brother will rise again. Martha said to him, I know that he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day. Jesus said to her, I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me, though he may die, he shall live. And whoever lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this? She said to him, yes, Lord, I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, who is to come into the world. And when she had said these things, she went her way and secretly called Mary, her sister, saying, the teacher has come and is calling for you. As soon as she heard that, she arose quickly and came to him. Now Jesus had not yet come into the town, but was in the place where Martha met him. Then the Jews who were with her in the house and comforting her, when they saw that Mary rose up quickly and went out, followed her saying, she's going to the tomb to weep there. Then when Mary came where Jesus was and saw him, she fell down at his feet saying to him, Lord, if you had been here, My brother would not have died. Therefore, when Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who came with her weeping, he groaned in the spirit and was troubled. And he said, where have you laid him? They say to him, Lord, come and see. Jesus wept. Then the Jews said, see how he loved him. And some of them said, could not this man who opened the eyes of the blind also have kept this man from dying? Then Jesus, again groaning in himself, came to the tomb. It was a cave, and a stone lay against it. Jesus said, Take away the stone. Martha, the sister of him who was dead, said to him, Lord, by this time there is a sting, for he has been dead four days. Jesus said to her, did I not say to you that if we would believe you would see the glory of God? Then they took away the stone from the place where the dead man was lying. And Jesus lifted up his eyes and said, Father, I thank you that you have heard me. And I know that you always hear me, but because of the people who are standing by, I say this, that they may believe that you sent me." Now, when he had said these things, he cried with a loud voice, ladros, come forth. And he who had died came out bound hand and foot with grave clothes, and his face was wrapped with the clothes. Jesus said to them, lose him and let him go. The many of the Jews who had come to Mary and had seen the things Jesus did, believed in him. This is the reading of the holy and the infallible word of God. And may the Lord bless the reading of his word into our hearts by the power of his spirit. Our father and our God, And now as we come to the preaching of your word, we ask you to speak to each and every one of us by the power of your Holy Spirit. Oh Lord, illumine our minds and our hearts for the understanding of your word. Help us to humble ourselves before you and before this heavenly voice through the proclamation of your word. We ask you, Lord, to bring heaven down to us, that we not only be blessed but also instructed, not only see the hope of our salvation and the eternal blessing that you have preserved for us in heaven, but also a Christian walk may match with a confession. So we pray that you would attend the preaching of your word by the power of your Holy Spirit, and that you, our God, would arrest our heart and our attention towards you. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. You may be seated. Who is your enemy? I'm sure this question puts you in a very difficult position. And you must be glad that I asked you this question from the pulpit. Because when we ask questions from the pulpit, you are not required to answer. But this is a very important question for all of us. There are times in our Christian life When we think about enemies, we even refer to people around us whom we think they don't like us, or maybe we are suspicious that they might hurt us. So we refer to them as our enemies. And the Word of God is very clear about that. The Word of God gives us a mandate to love one another, John 15, 12. This is my commandment that you love one another as I have loved you. And Colossians 3, 13, even as Christ forgave you, so you also must do. So as far as enmity among ourselves, even as Christians, we have a very clear command in the scripture that we should love one another deeply and from the heart, and we should forgive one another as Christ has forgiven us on the cross. But you know, all of us, we have one common enemy, the enemy of all human race. This common enemy of us all brings terror and grief on those who are stricken by it. This common enemy of us all comes to our life unexpectedly, and at times violently. And it brings to our life, and to the life of those people whom we love, tears, grief, and sorrow. When you see people die from horrible natural disaster or terrorism attack or tragic accidents, what comes to your mind? Apart from the way they died or the way they were killed is very sad and very dreadful. What does your mind reflect on? What do you think about when you see accidents and horrible deaths of people like that? I think we should be reminded and we should reflect on one reality. And that reality, my brothers and sisters in Christ, is we all will die. We all have the sentence of death on us. all human beings will die, and all human beings will live forever. The Bible points us to two places where all human race will live forever, hell or heaven. And the Bible is very clear about us as appointed for death and then later on for judgment. So death, or the sentence of death, is always on us. And the primary message when we see all the things that I have been mentioning to you is it is a reminder and it's a primary message to all of us that we all will die and we are not in charge of it. You are not in charge of your deaths. You don't know when and you don't know how you are going to die. You are not in charge of your deaths. But we all will die. And this is not a word from a pastor. This is the word from the creator. This is the word from God. In Ecclesiastes 8.8, The Bible puts it in this way. No one has power over the spirit to retain the spirit. And no one has power in the day of death. You see, I'm not in charge of your death. Job 18, 14. When death comes to our life, this is what happens. He is uprooted from the shelter of his tent. And they parade him before the kings of terrors. And the king of terrors is death. And in Psalm 90, 10, the psalmist tells us, the days of our lives are 70 years. And if by reason of strength they are 80 years, yet their boast is only labor and sorrow, for it is soon cut off and we fly away. This comes to our life suddenly, and we are not in charge of it. Timothy reminds us in 1 Timothy 6-7, for we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out of it. So is that it? Is that where evolution brought us? Is that the only hope? that we have in the Word of God that we all will die and we will live in this non-existence enemy that we call death? Job was wondering about this, and he asked, and everyone asked this question, and Job asked this, if a man dies, can he live again? Even though he believed in the resurrection at the last day, but we see Job asking this question. My friends, any kind of teaching or belief that says that death is the end of all is a lie. It is deception. It is not from the word of God. Not only you will live forever in spirit, but you will live forever in a resurrected bodily form, both in heaven and hell. In one place, a body to observe eternal punishment, and in the other place, a body to enjoy eternal bliss. everyone will be raised from the dead. In fact, the Bible tells us it is Jesus Christ himself who will rise up all human beings from the dead. John 1, verse 28, Do not marvel at this, for the hour is coming in which all who are in the graves will hear his voice. and comforts those who have done good to the resurrection of life and those who have done evil to the resurrection of condemnation. You see, death is not the end. There is life beyond grave. There is life beyond death. Death is not the end of our life. But one life will end without God, and one life will continue with God. You see, if we are in Christ Jesus by faith, Jesus Christ has promised to you the continuation of your life. He will raise you from spiritual death, and he will work, he will implant faith in your life, and as an elect, you will have new life. And even if you die, then you will continue to live because you are in Christ Jesus. So my friends, Jesus Christ is not only the judge, but he is the one who gives life, which is eternal. And it is to this biblical reality, to this hope of eternity, that our text points us tonight. We learn from the fifth I am statement of our Lord Jesus Christ, I am the resurrection and the life. We learn this. Jesus Christ is the author and the source of both resurrection and life. He is the one who is the author and the source of both of them. He is resurrection. He is life. And by God's grace, I would like to show you this in three ways. From our text, first we will consider death and divine love. And then secondly, we'll consider resurrection as a person. And then thirdly, we will consider the supernatural power of Jesus Christ over death. So first, let's consider death and divine love. Now, maybe you are wondering, death and divine love, can they go together? In our text, we see them going together in a very beautiful way. For our hope, for our encouragement, and for our instruction. Lazarus was sick and his two sisters Martha and Mary sent a message to our Lord Jesus Christ. They told Christ through a messenger that Lazarus was sick. They were asking Jesus to come and heal him. They were hoping that as soon as Jesus receives the message, He will come and intervene and heal their brother, that He will rescue him from death. But what we see in our text is this. Therefore the sisters said to Him, saying, Lord, behold, he whom You love is sick. In verse 5, our text tells us, now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. He received a message, and at the same time, John tells us that Jesus loved this family. He loved Lazarus. He loved Martha and Mary. But following the receiving of the message, we see Jesus Christ delaying his trip to Bethany for two more days. Now you might ask, is this love? Is this divine love? Is this lack of love? Is this lack of concern for the family who are worried about the illness, the sickness of their brother? Where do we see divine love? We see death. Lazarus died. Jesus told his disciples, Lazarus is dead. So there was this reality of death in this household. They were in tears. They were grieving because their brother was dead. And Christ delayed his trip for two more days. Now remember, divine delay is always with purpose. And Jesus Christ told the disciples what was going on. Jesus told them in verse 4, This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God may be glorified through it. How do you explain God's love for you? People always go to John 3, 16. God so loved the world that He gave His own begotten Son, so that whoever believes in Him will not perish, but have eternal life. That's God's love. Often, when we think about God's love, we go to John 3, 16. But remember, in John 3, 16, the cost of God's love was His Son. God showed his love to the world in the expense of his son. His son, his only begotten son died on the cross so that we would believe in him and have eternal life. So how did God love us? How did Jesus love this family? In the midst of sorrow, death, and tears, he loved them by giving himself to them. Jesus said, this has happened for the glory of God, and then the Son of God might be glorified. This is for a bigger purpose. This is how Jesus showed His love to this family. Them going through pain, through sorrow, through death. Lazarus going through death. Jesus was giving Himself to them. He was showing them the glory of God. In the Gospel of John 1, verse 14. John tells us this, "...and the Word became flesh and dwelt among us. And we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth." When Christ came, took human flesh, and dwelt among us, we saw God's glory. So you see, God's glory is taking its proper place now. Not Lazarus' death, not their sorrow, not their pain. You see, God is good, and everything that He does is good and perfect, including Lazarus' death, including their sorrow, their tears, and their mourning was for God's glory. And Jesus told them that that was the purpose of God. That God will be glorified and his son, Jesus Christ, will be glorified. Meaning that through Lazarus' death and his resurrection, the power that Christ will demonstrate in the grave and in the life of Lazarus, That all the people who will see the miracle and what Christ has done will see the glory of God. And all will come to the knowledge that Christ is the Messiah, that Christ is God in the flesh. Tonight, I would like to encourage those of you who are going through a difficult time in your life. And maybe you are faced with God's delay. You have prayed for a long time for something good to happen in your life. It could be illness. It could be the departure of your beloved ones. It could be marriage problem. It could be a financial crisis. Whatever struggle you have, if you are thinking that God is not showing His love to you, and He's not answering your prayers, He's delaying the answer of your prayers, remember this delay. It was for good. It was for God's glory. What came out from this was remarkable. What came out from this was about eternity. So my friends, if you are measuring God's love for you with the wealth that you have, with the health that you have, with the success that you have in this life, you are measuring God's love in a wrong way. But if you are measuring God's love to you, on how much God through his son Jesus Christ is showing himself to you. How much he's revealing his love to you. You see, the Christian life, the gospel message, is surrounded by this reality. The gospel message is about God revealing himself to us in Christ Jesus so that we will have this unending knowledge and love and glory of God in our life. Even through dust, even through grief, even through sorrow, If you think God is delaying, then you need to remember Joseph. Joseph was sold to Egypt by his own brothers. He was considered as a dead person. But everything that came to his life was good not only for Joseph, but for the entire nation of Israel. He became the prime minister of the most powerful nation of that time. If we are struggling with God's delay in your life, remember Job and the reward that God gave him after he kept believing and trusting in God, even to the point of death. The man who was born blind, when the disciples asked Jesus Christ, was this man born blind because of the sin of his parents or his own sin? The response that Jesus Christ gave was, it was not his sin, it was not the sin of his parents, but it was so that God would be glorified in his blindness and through his healing. So secondly, we see resurrection as a person. And I want to invite you to look on verse 17 now, the arrival of Jesus Christ to Bethany. In verse 17, our text tells us, so when Jesus came, he found that he had already been in the tomb for days. In the Jewish culture, when a person dies, his spirit hovers over the body of the dead person for three days. On the fourth day, the spirit departs, and that tells them that the person is dead. For sure, the person is dead. No wonder why Christ delayed his trip to Bethany, because he knew their tradition, he knew their way of thinking and understanding. So when Jesus came, it was already four days, and Lazarus was dead. And Jesus Christ came to Bethany, and in verse 18, now, Bethany was near Jerusalem, about two miles away. And many of the Jews had joined the women around Martha and Mary to confer them concerning their brother. We see many mourners. This family must be well known in the region. Many people came to mourn with them and to comfort them. And they were even professional wellers. It was a different culture. Mourners stay with a family who are mourning on the loss of their beloved ones for seven days. And they don't eat any food until the body is taken to the grave. So all these mourners came to Bethany to convert Martha and Mary. And they will be witnesses of what is going to happen. And in verse 20, then Martha, as soon as she heard that Jesus was coming, went and met Him. But Mary was sitting in the house. Now Martha said to Jesus, Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. Now this is typical Martha. You remember, we met Martha and Mary previously in their house. They received Jesus Christ and Martha was distracted. She was concerned about what they should prepare to the visitors. But Mary sat under Jesus feet to receive heavenly instruction. And Christ rebuked Martha for criticizing her sister. And he told her Mary put her priorities on the kingdom of God, on the instruction of Jesus. And now she is doubting. She is kind of rebuking Jesus Christ. If you were here, my brother would not have died. And the response that Christ gave her was this. Martha first said, but even now I know that whatever you ask God, God will give you. And Jesus said to her, your brother will rise again. Then Martha said to him, I know that he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day. She believed in the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. The Pharisees believed in Christ's resurrection, but not the Sadducees. So she knew about the resurrection of the body. She believed in resurrection, but it was not good enough for her. She wanted Jesus to come and heal her brother, and she was thinking that it was too late for Jesus to do anything to the dead brother. So Jesus replied to her, I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me, though he may die, he shall live. Christ's response, my friends, was, Marta, remember to whom you are talking. Remember who is standing before you. I am the resurrection and the life. Jesus was pointing Marta to himself, claiming to be the resurrection and the life. Jesus was telling Marta, I am the resurrection. Jesus was telling her resurrection is not only an event. Yes, it's an event. It's going to happen. But the person who is talking to you, the person who is standing before you is resurrection and life. I am the resurrection. Job, in Job 19, 25-27, For I know that My Redeemer lives, and He shall stand at last on earth. And after My skin is destroyed, this I know, that in My flesh I shall see God. And Daniel, in Daniel 12-2, and many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life and to shame and everlasting contentment." Martha had a sound doctrine, even though she was doubting, she had a sound doctrine. Because she said to Jesus Christ in verse 27, she said to him, Yes, Lord, I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, who is to come into the world like Job and Daniel. This woman, theologians call this woman a saint of the Old Testament. She believed in Christ's resurrection before even Christ died on the cross, before he raised from the dead. That event was coming. He was going to raise himself from the dead. But she believed in Christ's resurrection. and notice her knowledge, her sound understanding of who Christ is. This woman understood Christology. She said to Jesus Christ, you are Lord, you are the Christ, the Son of God who is to come into the world. She believed in incarnation. She believed that Jesus Christ came down from heaven. to face death, to die for the sake of his people, that he is the Messiah, that he is God himself. She knew all these things. But you see, when you look into verse 25, she wanted more. This was not good enough for her. But Jesus told her, I am the resurrection and the life. Now notice Jesus is not saying, I will be the resurrection and the life, or I can be the resurrection and the life. I am the resurrection and the life. And what does Christ mean by that? First, I am the resurrection. Jesus was saying, I am the source of life. My friends think about creation. God created the universe. out of nothing by the power of His Word in the space of six days. That was the work of creation. God gave, brought life to the world with the Word of His Power. And God, through His Son, Jesus Christ, and through the mighty work of the Holy Spirit, He created new life in you as His child. He gave you new life through His Son, Jesus Christ. He created you for eternal life. He created you for the knowledge of God and the mystery of salvation. Not only the work of creation, but the work of your salvation as the same as the work of creation took place in your life as a Christian. So when Jesus said, I am the resurrection, he was pointing Marta. Marta, death is not going to limit me. This doesn't have ultimate power over me. And I will show you. Just wait. I'll show you that it is true. But for now, know and remember that I am the resurrection and life. So by resurrection, Jesus meant I am the source of life. John 14, 19. Because I live, you will live also. In 1 Corinthians 15-20, Paul tells us that Jesus Christ was the firstborn of those who are slept. Because he lives, we live also. Resurrection, you see, is the person, not just an event. By this claim, I am the resurrection and the life. Jesus was teaching, He was showing Martha and all of us tonight, that there is no life apart from Him. No Jesus, no life. No Jesus, there will not be any event of resurrection. We have to be in that person, in Jesus Christ. for us to be partakers of the victory of his resurrection. Jesus told Martha, anyone who believes in me, even though he dies, he will live. But also by his claim, Jesus was teaching her this. that He is not only the resurrection, but also the life. 1 John 5, 11-12. And this is the testimony that God has given us eternal life. God gave us eternal life. But where is this eternal life? Where do we find this eternal life? God gave us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. He who has the Son has life. He who does not have the Son of God does not have life. Life is in Christ Jesus. John the Baptist, you see, At the moment he started his ministry, he said, and in him was life. Not only life, but in him was life. Life in Christ and resurrection in Christ. The Apostle Paul, referring to the bodily resurrection of believers in 1 Corinthians 15, he says this, for this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. So when this corruptible has put on incorruption, this mortal has put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that it is written, death is swallowed up in victory. And this hope, my friends, is in Christ Jesus only. There is life. There is eternal life beyond grave, beyond death. And that's what Christ was communicating, that's what Christ was telling to Martha, that He is indeed the resurrection and the life. But thirdly, Christ's supernatural power over death. In verse 28, We see Jesus Christ approaching to the tomb. In verse 28, our text says, And when she had said these things, she went her way and secretly called Mary her sister, saying, The Teacher has come and is calling for you. As soon as she heard that, she arose quickly and came to Him. When Mary came to Jesus, She said to him, Lord, in verse 32, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. Now Mary is following Martha for the first time. She's acting like Martha now. She's rebuking Jesus. If you were here, my brother would not have died. And when Jesus saw Mary and all the mourners weeping and being in tears, The Word of God tells us that Christ wept. He's a very compassionate redeemer. He's a very compassionate shepherd of his people. But we need to think about why Christ wept. He didn't weep because he was unable to raise Lazarus from the dead. He didn't weep because he was helpless. He loved Lazarus, he loved Mary and Martha. Jesus helped strangers in his earthly ministry. He healed strangers, not only his followers. But it tells us something about his true humanity. He was truly human. He was man, truly man. He can sympathize with us. He can share our tears and our sorrow when we go through pain, tears, and grief. And that was what was going on. He was emotionally charged, but he also saw the misery that sin and death brought to human beings. So he was sorrowful. grieving over what sin and death brought to humanity. You know, the gods of the Greeks, they had no feeling. They have gods, but their gods had no feeling. But that's not our God. That's not our Savior. Our Savior understands our pain and our sorrow. But then we see Jesus' crucial question in verse 34. And he said, Where have you laid him? They said to him, Lord, come and see. So they led him to the tomb where Lazarus was placed. And Mary and all the people who came to mourn with them followed him. So you have all these people. coming to the tomb where Lazarus was placed. And when Jesus told them to remove the stone, Martha again told Jesus Christ, it has been four days since my brother died, and the smell is terrible. And Jesus said to Martha, did I not say to you that if you would believe, you would see the glory of God? Now, notice Jesus didn't say, if you believe, your brother will rise from the dead. But if you believe, you will see the glory of God. You see, all is about the glory of God. All is about what God gives to His people, that is Himself and His Son Jesus Christ, the knowledge of God and the gift of eternity. In verse 41, Then we come to the capstone of this miracle. This is the last miracle that Christ performed on earth. This is the capstone of the ministry of Jesus Christ on earth. Then they took away the stone from the place where the dead man was lying, and Jesus lifted up his eyes and said, Father, I thank you that you have heard me. What was Jesus doing here? Marta is observing. Mary is observing. You remember Marta previously said to him, but I know if you ask your father anything he will give you. Now Jesus is praying to his father as if he's telling Marta, you see, I do the will of my father. I came to the world to do the will of my father and I'm praying to my father and my father will give me my desire, the desire of my heart, which was the resurrection of Lazarus. But Jesus shouted at the grave, at Lazarus, saying, Lazarus, come forth. Some people, they have misunderstood what Jesus did here. When Christ shouted, He was commanding Lazarus to be raised from the dead. Now you need to think this, who is approaching the grave? God is approaching the grave. The same God who created the universe with the word of his power is approaching the grave. Who is approaching the grave? The son of God who has the keys of hell and death is approaching the grave. the Alpha and the Omega, Jesus Christ, the Son of God is approaching the grave. And it is the same Christ who raised from the dead, approached the grave and commanded Lazarus to come out. And when Christ gave the command, his bones were revived, his blood circulation was restored. And Lazarus, who was dead, came out from the grave alive. And all the people saw what was taking place. All the people saw what Christ did. And His glory, the glory of His Father, was demonstrated to all the people. And the Bible tells us all the people who saw what has happened, believed in Christ Jesus as the Son of God. The question to all of us tonight is this. You see, Jesus asked Marta and the resurrection and the life. Do you believe in this? And my question to all of you tonight is this, do you believe that Christ is the resurrection and the life? Do you see your life, your eternal life in Christ Jesus by faith in him? Do you fear death? When death comes to your life, are you going to be afraid? Are you going to lose hope? Are you going to say, Lord, I don't want to die? Or are you going to say for me to live is Christ and to die is gain? Do you feel that? Is Christ your resurrection? Are you standing on the person, the resurrection himself, Jesus Christ, the son of God? Is he your resurrection? Is he your life? And are you working your Christian life in a way that is worthy to this confession of yours that Jesus Christ is your resurrection and life? Do you live as if Christ, the person Christ, is your resurrection and life? When you worship, do you worship God as Christ is your resurrection and life? When you fellowship with one another, do you fellowship with one another with this conviction that Christ is your resurrection and your life? You see, Christ, when He defeated death for us, He changed the nature of death. from being the greatest and the last enemy of the people of God, to being the gate through which we go to the presence of God. So death is no more a threat to the children of God. Death is a gate through which we go to the presence of our Savior, Jesus Christ. So, when you leave this place tonight, take this with you. Christ is your resurrection and your life. And keep trusting, not only in the event to come the resurrection of all believers, but also live and walk as a resurrected child of God. to tell this wonderful news to all people around you that Christ is the resurrection and the life. Let's pray. Our Father and our God, once again, we rejoice in who Christ is for us. Often we fear death, There are times in our life, even as Christians, that we doubt if there is really hope and life beyond the grave. Sometimes we struggle with the assurance of our salvation and what is waiting for us ahead. Tonight, with the message that we have heard from your word, We ask you to strengthen and encourage our heart, to fill our heart with this hope of eternity, especially for us to believe in the person of Christ as the resurrection and life. Help us to not only to see, but also to find our resurrection and our life in Jesus Christ. Help us to walk the Christian life in a way that would match to a confession that Christ is the resurrection and the life. And it is in his name that we pray. Amen.