I have some very good news. In fact, it's the best news. There's no news greater. He is risen. He is risen indeed. The church that we came from, where our founding fathers came from, didn't hear that message so much there. They made a wise decision 50 years ago. That's a long time. Can you imagine? What was going on 50 years ago? Well, Richard Nixon was president. Astronauts were walking on the moon. Gas cost you 36 cents a gallon 50 years ago. Cell phones, nobody knew what that was. In fact, I remember calling Ted Modder one evening and he said, I was hearing some clicking on the phone. He said, you have to be careful what you say. We have a party line. It's about five or six in our party and they all pick up and like to hear what's going on. So, different world back in 50 years ago, was it not? It sure was. In February 1974, three families, the Joneses, the Motters, the Radaballs, left their church they were attending in Genoa, and by God's grace, Ted Motter made the commitment there after the meeting with the minister who denied the writings of Paul, denied the gospel of Christ, The virgin birth of Jesus said, if it's the Lord's will, we will start a Bible-believing church in this area. And God has blessed that, blessed that commitment way back then. They began to meet in Ted Lois' living room, and oh, the difference it made. Take a look at this. There's part of the group right there on the screen. And using a town hall. I believe the town hall was a dollar, was it not, a year? Can somebody confirm that? That's what I recall. And Brother Larry, you had the key to that town hall. I still do. You still do. OK. All right. I thought you might bring it with us today. I should. Wes came to me and said, take good care of it. Yes. Amen. OK. Yeah, you can see where we came from there. And then some of the founding fathers here, Gene Matney, Wes Jones, Ted Motter. This was the Baptist Bulletin back in 1981. as you can see there, the burning of the $45,000 mortgage. It's amazing what this church has done with money. We've always hated debt from the beginning, and Christ took us out of our debt, and we don't like to be in debt. So we've paid our bills off rather promptly in all the buildings. Take a look at this one here. This is our new hall and back. September 5th in 99, we brought a church buildings group in, And with them, we worked on that building and had it up in about three months and had it paid off in a short time later for $300,000 without incurring any debt. So we paid that one off, no debt at all on that last building there. The Lord is good. He has blessed us in so many incredible ways. What was baptism the LBC way? Anybody remember? We had just a little bitty pond out in back. And we'd gather around that pond. In fact, we loved it because the whole expressway going by the world on Route 80 could look down and see us. And we'd give testimony of the new birth in Christ. And here it is here. Some of the folks gather around that. Let me see if I can back that up. Whoops. I guess I'm not going to do it. I thought we had the pond in there, but it's not. The problem with the pond was sometimes it began to dry up. So shortly after that, we got a baptismal and a baptism tank, I should say, and we've been using that ever since. Let's talk about here the death of deaths, the sign of darkness. In Matthew 27, verse 45, if you have the handout there, you're welcome to follow along with us here. But the death of deaths, let's talk about this. H.G. Wells said it like this, the symbol of the crucifixion, the drooping pain, drenched figure of Christ, the sorrowful cry to his father, my God, my God, why have you forsaken me? These jar our spirit and bring us back to the reality of what this horrific cross is all about. Of all the events to ever take place on planet Earth, Nothing, nothing like this one. Sublime, awe-inspiring, profound, weighty, you name it. You get a hold of this, you embrace it, you believe it, you have eternal life. You turn your back on this, ignore it, do your own thing, and you're facing eternal death. God help us. Jesus talked about hell, and then he talked about heaven. We cannot shrink back from either subject. In fact, the first place of eternal torment, this unsearchable place of fire, we see in Mark 9, verse 43. And worm does not die, our Lord tells us in Mark 9, 48. People gnash their teeth there, according to Matthew 13, 42. And you never return once you go there, Luke 16, 19. It's hellfire and it lasts forever and ever. It's the reality. Here it is, a beautiful morning, all dressed up, we're all ready to sit back and enjoy life, but this is reality. We need to face what our early church wanted, and we're getting, and what God has brought to us over that time. So how are us mortals to understand this death of all deaths? 2,000 years ago, that's a few years ago, 2,000 years ago, the Lord of this universe, dressed in human flesh, got up on a cross. And what's he doing up on that cross? He's paying the eternal debt, the debt that you and I owe when we sin against God and we're all sinned, for all have sinned to come short of the glory of God. And when we sin against God, we earn a debt. And that debt is never paid off. Every sacrifice had to be perfect for the Jew. The sacrificial sheep, no blemish, no gimpy eyes, perfect. Why? God the Father was pointing ahead to his son, the perfect one to come, the one who knew no sin, who would come dressed in flesh to go to the cross and be the ultimate sacrifice, Jesus. It says in 2 Corinthians 5.21, he made him who knew no sin to be sin for us. Christ knew no sin. Hebrews 4.15, he's without sin. 1 John 3.5, in him there is no sin. In fact, in 1 Peter 119, he was a lamb without sin, our glorious God. So you have the bulletin there in front of you, I trust the outline in it. There are three scenes we're gonna look at this morning, three scenes all dealing with this incredible picture of the cross. The very first one, as we'll see, will be the sign of darkness here. We'll get there in a second. The sign of darkness. Look with me at Matthew 27, Matthew 27 verse 45. Now from the sixth hour until the ninth hour there was darkness in all the land. In Hebrew reckoning a time that was from the time 12 noon to three in the afternoon we're talking about here. Christ was placed on the cross at 9 a.m. He was taken down from the cross at 3 p.m., six hours. Our Lord Jesus hung on the cross. We see it in Luke 23, verse 34. Father, forgive them for they know not what they do. Our Lord's first words from the cross, asking the Father to forgive those who are persecuting him. Isn't that amazing? In 2343 of Luke, truly I say unto you, this day you shall be with me in paradise. This day you'll be with me. And then in John 19, 27, behold your son, behold your mother. Jesus was entrusting the care of his mother to John himself. Amazing. Amazing. Did you notice the focus of Jesus? Who he's concerned about? Who's he talking to? Talking to others. Concerned about others. Next time someone drives a foreign object through your body, let me know what you're concerned about, what you're thinking about, what you're dealing with. Amazing. Remember when Jesus was born, the sky was filled with light. Amazing. Filled with light. Light shone. John spoke of Jesus as the true light. Jesus said of himself, I am the light of the world. But the first miracle at Jesus' death was what? It was dreaded darkness. Darkness covers the land. It was midnight at midday. Amazing. This was supernatural darkness from 12 noon to 3 p.m. Jesus was nailed to the cross at 9 a.m., and when the day began, it had been three hours. Now, the second three hours on the cross, what do we see? We're here in Matthew chapter 27 and verse 45, and what's he say there? Now from the sixth hour until the ninth hour, there was darkness over all the land. Instantly at noon, it became dark everywhere across the land. In fact, in verse 45 of Matthew 27, it says it's over all the land. We don't know what that means. Does that mean just the land of Israel? Or does it mean the whole world? How do we understand that? Either is possible in the Greek. Remember the star that appeared when Jesus was born? Interesting, right? Even the sun is extinguished, put out, as the Lord of Glories is crucified for us. From 9 a.m. to noon, Jesus hung in the light, but then it became dark. is on the cross bearing the sin that we should bear forever in God's eternal fire. Just as on Route 80, you get on Route 80, go down the road, you see a sign that says New York City ahead. So this indeed is a sign, an indicator here, a symbol of what's ahead. This particular darkness is an indicator of something very significant, of the extraordinary nature of what our Lord is doing for us. Nothing, nothing like this one. In fact, Amos in chapter 8, verse 9, it said, it shall come to pass, says the Lord, God, that I will make the sun go down at noon and I will darken the earth in broad daylight. Oh, the power, the power of our God even controls the light that orbits of the planets and even the sun. Often physical depicts the spiritual in God's Bible. The star at Jesus' birth, that spiritual light there. In the ninth plague, think of the ninth plague upon Egypt. Three days they were in darkness in Egypt, judgment of God upon that land. So now we see what? Darkness upon our Lord Jesus. For three hours, he's under the horror of judgment of God's hand from above. This is not just a well-meaning martyr. Somehow things have gone astray. No, no, no. This is no innocent man caught up in some kind of plan. No, this is a divine act of God. God the Father is executing his own son. Of the 30,000 Jews the Romans killed on the cross, only one, only one was their darkness. It was at midnight, at midday. A dramatic declaration that God only judges one thing. What's he judge? He judges sin. That's all he judges. This divine judgment on sin, God empties his wrath out. It's interesting. In 1 John chapter 2, Verse two, he himself is a propitiation for our sins. That's a powerful word, that word propitiation. We heard of the word expiation, exit? That simply removes it. But propitiation means it's intended for a target. It's intended for the Lord Jesus Christ. He stood in the father's wrath. He took our judgment. He died for us. Propitiation. In fact, the father looks at the son on the cross, and who's he see there? He sees you, he sees me, if you're a believer in Christ. That's us on the cross, that's our representative, that's our vicar. He stands in our place, he takes the hit that we deserve. Jesus Christ does that for us. I think we all know John 3.16, can we say it? For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son that whosoever believes in him should not perish but have everlasting life. Powerful, powerful. That's a gospel in a verse right there. Nothing more powerful than what our Lord has done for us. Okay, I think my PowerPoint's gonna come in to where I wanna be, so here it is. We're gonna look at the sign of the fourth cry now. We see it in Matthew 27, verse 46. through 49. There's a link now here between the darkness and between the light. There's a link, very close. One outlines the other. Can you see it? Can you feel it? Take a look here. Matthew 27, verse 46, in about the ninth hour, Jesus with a loud voice saying, Eli, Eli, samat sabathani, that is to say, my God, my God, why have you forsaken me? That's a quote from Psalm 22, verse 1. Amazing. He's being crucified. Nails are driven through his body. And what's he doing? He's quoting scripture. Of all things to come out of our mouth in that kind of situation. Amazing. He's dying in the greatest pain possible, paying the greatest price possible for our sin. And again, what does he cry out? Of all the things in the world to cry out, he quotes the Bible. Actually, the complete verse is from Psalm 22, verse 1. Psalm 22 verse one says it like this, my God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from helping me? And from the words of my groaning. You ever been there? I think we all have. Those low times, when you kinda think it's over, what's the point? They did this to me, they said that about me. I gotta deal with this. What does the sun mean here? What can this cry mean? the depths of his anguish, he reaches down into his soul and cries out to his father above. God the father and God the son have been in union from eternity past, a perfect harmonious union. Get a hold of that, eternity past. We can't begin to conceive of that, I don't believe, I can't. But now, in space and time, there's a kind of separation of sorts going on with our triune Godhead. a judicial judgment going on. The Father gazes upon the cross, He sees His Son there, He sees His Son covered in our blasphemies, our independent living, our doing our own thing, all of our sins laid on Him. And the Father empties his wrath out. He sees you and me and our sin, and that's our substitute there. The Lord Jesus Christ, our representative, he picks up all of our sin and rebellion, all our lies, all our blasphemies, and now he dies for the likes of us. You and I should beware. We should be in hell forever and ever, the moment we take that last breath. But by the grace of God, by the work of the cross, by believing on him, we have an eternity destined for glory. And God keeps every one of his promises. Only Matthew and Mark have this one saying here, just the one. Luke and John have the other six sayings. Jesus spoke seven words from the cross, seven sentences. But only Matthew and Mark have this one. Remember the first prayer on the cross, the very first prayer? He starts out, remember how that starts out with a prayer? Father, forgive them, right? My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Our Lord said that. So there's some significance there. How do we understand these statements of him? Jesus refers to God the Father about 170 times in the New Testament. 170, he uses the term Father. But now on the cross, he uses the term God. In fact, it's the first time, first time in eternity we ever see that term being used, addressed, by the second person of the Trinity as God. The only time. Now Jesus experiences what? This is separation. This is judgment. He experienced the fiery wrath of the Father raining down on him. 14 times in the Old Testament, God is referred to as Father. But never does a person call God above their father. You never see that. Never did an individual Israelite look up and call God his father. Never happened. But Jesus, the one born in Bethlehem, He calls God above his father. But when the Lord Jesus came, he not only used that term individually, but instructs us. Listen to what he says in Matthew 6, 9. Remember the Lord's Prayer? Our Father who art in heaven. It's okay for us. He started it there at the cross. We continue it as the Lord's Prayer gives us that direction. Yes, when we are born again, we repent of our sin. Yes, we trust in Jesus Christ alone, nothing else, but him alone is my security of getting to heaven. Yes, Emmanuel, the orphan cry, and his universe has been shaken. He went up with a single, echo-less, my God, I am forsaken. He went up from the holy lips with his most holy creation, that of all the lost, no son should use these words of desolation. Our six sayings of our Lord at Calvary, nothing quite like it. They all speak of what? His glorious nature. Can you imagine that? Here he is on the cross, and he's praying for us. He's talking to his father. What are you talking about? What are you thinking about when somebody drives metal through your body? What's the first words out of your mouth? Amazing, amazing, this Lord of our universe. Elizabeth Browning had it down quite well. Yes, once, Emmanuel's orphaned cry, his universe had shaken. It went up single, Echolus, my God, I am forsaken. It went up from the holy lips amid his lost creation, that of the lost no son should use those words of desolation. One last point. The sign of the last cry in Matthew 27.50. What do we see here, Matthew 27.50? Jesus cried again with a loud voice and yielded up his spirit. Think this. What kind of voice? It's another miracle. He's been on the cross now six hours, ready to die. Most would not stand a few hours on the cross. They'd be gone long before. But our Lord is there and all he has been through and he cries out. Think of it, the lashes of the whip, the nails driven into him, the cries. Let him be crucified. The lies they hurled at him. Remember what they said? If you are the son of God, come down, taunting him. Judas, the betrayer, for Jesus, for 30 pieces of silver, which is what? About $300 today. Can you imagine? The creator of this universe, the second person of the triune God, God the Father planted, God the Son carried out creation, and God the Holy Spirit fine-tuned it. All three of the Trinity are involved in creation. But our Lord is the one who brought it all about. In fact, the sin of lying is there, right? The elders sought for false witnesses against Jesus. The sin of being unwilling to stand for the truth. How many Jews of that day were convinced, Nicodemus included, that he was really who he said he was? But who stood up for him at this time when he needed someone? The sin of lying. The sin of being unwilling. Remember Nicodemus in John 3, 2? No man can do these things unless God is with him. He understood. They love their sin more than God. And how many go to hell because of that? God help us. Oh, the foolishness. The foolishness of the human heart. May God help us to understand his word, to do his word. The necessity, really, of reading the word on a daily basis. How important is that? Three times on the cross, he broke his silence. There they are. How much do you love the Lord Jesus Christ? Do you follow him? Do you profess him? Do you read his love letter? Can you imagine somebody writing you when you're dating someone a love letter and you don't quite get it out? You don't quite read it? When the saints are gathered, you want to be there, right? In John 3, 18, he who believes in him is not condemned, but he does not believe him is condemned already because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten son of God. It is, right? Life is short. It's going to soon pass. Only what's done for Christ, that's what's going to last. Have you? Have you really trust in the Lord Jesus Christ? Is he really your savior, the way you live, the way you move? Interesting, in John 3, 18, we see these words, he who believes in him is not condemned, but he who believes not is condemned already because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. That word there, believe in him, in the Greek, that's ace. It carries movement with him. It's like you're walking or moving somewhere. It's like when the elevator pulls up, you know, in order for you to go up, you have to what? Move into it, you have to ace. Whoever believes in him, we have to step into that elevator. If you don't step into it, what's going to happen? You don't go in. Have you believed into Christ? Have you turned from your sin? Does your life show it? Is there a love for his word now? I'd love to talk about him. I'd love to go and worship him. See, it's coming to a point in my life where I will walk away from the old ways of sin and walk in the power of the Holy Spirit. I turn from that and now I follow Him, my Lord Jesus. Have I really done that? Do I really practice that with my life and with my lip? The very last words of our Lord Jesus Christ, he cried out on the cross, remember those last words? John 19, 30, what did he say? It is finished, it's all done. He completed his work. He came for one objective after it was all said and done, and that's just to be born of a virgin, not just to be here for 30 years and encourage others, but to get to a cross and to die. for his people. It is finished. He completed the Father's work. That's what Jesus is saying. Salvation's finished. History. Interesting word, right? You can break down the word. Two syllables, right? His story. Is it ever. It's Christ's story. It's God's work being worked out in the life and planet of planet Earth and we will someday see it all the more glorious in his presence. History. Is that your life? Is it a history of the Lord Jesus Christ? The steps I take, the thoughts I think, the motivations that drive me, when I look at those, do I see the footprints of Christ there, or do I see another direction in my life, one that doesn't really follow Christ? Is God telling us something? There's no such things as accidents, no such things. Everything's Father-filtered. There's incidents, and God has a reason for what we're going through right now, a purpose. And someday we'll step back and see how it all fits into his perfect plan, if we're one of his. And if we're not one of his, we need to flee to the cross now. We need to believe in Christ. Are you taking care of the little things in life, with the family, with the kids? Sometimes it's the littlest things are the most important things, right? Little bitty nail, insignificant, right? For want of a nail, A shoe was lost. For one of the shoe, the horse was lost. For one of the horse, the rider was lost. For one of the rider, the message was lost. And for one of the message, never got through, the battle was lost. Sometimes the littlest things in life. can cause the biggest problems. Be careful. Watch where you walk. Watch what you think. There is a reason you're here today. Do you know the Lord is your Savior? Do you? Are you walking with Him? If not, it's not too late. See one of us. Come. Come to the Savior. John 3, 16, right? Let's say it again. John 3, 16. For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whosoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. Let me end with this. A woman joined a Book of the Month Club. Got a book every month, and she loved to read it. So she got the new version in, got the new book in, and began to read it. She couldn't wait to get home and read it. And got the box of chocolates out, the big glass of water, had a chocolate, turned the page. Had a sip of water, turned the page. And pretty soon, before it was over, after four or five hours, at 3 AM in the morning, she finished the book. And she leaned back and declared, The worst book I ever read. She couldn't stand it. Threw it up on the top shelf, never thought about it again. But about three years later, she met a man and started to date him. At the end of the meal, she asked him what he did for a living. She said, he said to her, well, I happen to be an author. And then she had the nerve to ask him, what book did you write? Well, it just happened to be the one she got so sick about and put it on the top shelf, never to look at again. And at that point, she said, I'm feeling rather sick. Can you please take me home? So she did. So she got that box of chocolates. She got that cold glass of water. She got that book down from the shelf. And sure enough, she read that entire book. And by 3 AM in the morning, she had it digested. And you know what her conclusion was? The best book I ever read. What changed? Well, not the book. Her heart changed. She met the author and fell in love with him. My question to you today is, have you met the author? Are you in love with him? If you are, you're gonna be devouring this. You can't help it, you're gonna be reading it. If not, I invite you, please see one of us. Come to the Lord Jesus Christ. I'm told there's three surprises when you get to heaven. First of all, who's there? You couldn't believe, what are you doing here? Who's there? Second of all, those who are not there. Oh, they didn't come, pastor's not here. And the third one, the fact that you are there. Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you will have eternal life. Let us pray and let us thank our great God today for his great salvation. Father indeed, how incredible it is, how good it is to know that there's nothing, nothing we can do for life, eternal life, you've already done it. It's all complete in Christ. And we thank you for our early founding families who understood the importance of a Bible-believing church where the gospel goes forth. Father, we thank you for them. We look back to them. Some are even here today. Thank you for that. Thank you for our first convent, Jerry Endicott being with us today. And thank you, Father, for each one being here. May we take these words to heart. May we live them for your glory. We know you're about to return. We ask it all for the Lamb's sake. And all God's people said, amen.