[00:00:00] Let us pray, Grant together on our knees. Let us pray, Grant together on our knees.
[00:00:14] When I fall on my knees with my face to the rising sun, oh Lord ever will see on me.
[00:00:27] Welcome to the Bible Speaks with Elgin Carelock. The Bible Speaks is a weekly ministry of harvest international.
[00:00:33] Our prayer is that the Bible Speaks will encourage you in your study of God's Word.
[00:00:38] You will be able to contact Elgin at the address given at the end of this broadcast. And now here's Elgin.
[00:00:46] God is not a man, so he does not lie. He is not human, so he does not change his mind.
[00:00:54] Has he ever spoken and fell to act? Has he ever promised and not carried it through?
[00:01:01] Brothers and sisters, as we continue our celebration of the resurrection of Jesus Christ, I want to spend the next couple of days just talking about the wonder of who He is and the process of bringing us back into an alignment
[00:01:22] with the new covenant. On the third day after Jesus's death, the tomb where He was laid was found empty.
[00:01:32] The stone that sealed the entrance had been rolled away, not to let Jesus out but to let witnesses in and to show that He had risen.
[00:01:43] As He had foretold, Mary Magdalene, one of Jesus' most devoted followers, was the first to see Him alive, mistaking Him for the gardener.
[00:01:55] Her sorrow turned to joy when He called her by her name, revealing His identity.
[00:02:02] He instructed her to go and tell His disciples that He had risen from the dead. Later the same day, two disciples were walking to a village called Emmaus. Their hearts heavy with grief.
[00:02:16] Jesus joined them, though they did not recognize Him. He explained the scriptures to them, showing them how the Messiah had to suffer before entering His glory.
[00:02:28] It wasn't until He broke bread with them at the table that their eyes were open and they recognized Him.
[00:02:35] He disappeared from their sight, but their hearts were ablazed, and they hurried back to Jerusalem to tell the others.
[00:02:43] That evening while the disciples were gathered together pondering these incredible reports, Jesus Himself stood among them.
[00:02:52] Stardewed and frightened, they thought they were seeing a ghost.
[00:02:58] Peace be with you, He said, showing them His hands and side, bearing the wounds of His crucifixion. Overwhelmed with joy and amazement, they touched Him and shared a meal.
[00:03:11] As He opened their minds to understand the scriptures, He spoke of repentance and forgiveness, charging them to bear witness to what they had seen.
[00:03:23] Thomas, one of the twelve, was not with them when Jesus first appeared.
[00:03:28] When told of these events he expressed doubt, saying He needed to see and touch Jesus' wounds to believe.
[00:03:36] A week later Jesus appeared again with Thomas present. He invited Thomas to touch His wounds and in doing so, Thomas's doubt turned to faith, and He exclaimed,
[00:03:50] My Lord, my God, Jesus responded because you have seen me, you have believed me.
[00:03:58] Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.
[00:04:04] Brothers and sisters, are there times where even though we are assured of our place in heaven through acceptance Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior,
[00:04:16] are there times when we still have trouble believing the power that that brings to us, the ability for the Lord to do exceedingly and abundantly above all we could ever think or ask.
[00:04:33] We say these things but when time comes to living the realization of that promise, do we always have the same confidence?
[00:04:45] When you think about when the women went to the tomb, they were carrying spices which was part of the Jewish tradition to minister to a dead body.
[00:04:57] They did not expect Jesus not to be there even though on many occasions He spoke to them about His death, burial and resurrection.
[00:05:07] And the same is true with the disciples. When women came back and explained to them what they had seen, they at first did not believe.
[00:05:18] And when Peter and John went to the tomb and later came back to share those things, even the disciples that walk with Jesus throughout His ministry did not fully understand what He was saying
[00:05:35] and when time came that He was in fact crucified, they were in a state of disbelief even though they had been told.
[00:05:45] So brothers and sisters as I read in Numbers 23 verse 19 has He ever spoken and fell to act?
[00:05:55] Has He ever promised and not carried it through? God will deliver. He is faithful unto His word, faithful unto His promises and faithful unto us.
[00:06:07] So put your trust in Him. Lean to your hopes in Him and understand that He will never leave you nor forsake you. Until next time, God bless.
[00:06:20] I have wandered far away from the heart.
[00:06:29] This program is cared for by listeners who care, your prayers and financial investment in this ministry helps to keep the good news on the air.
[00:06:38] We look forward to hearing from you and invite you to write us at Harvest International Post Office Box 6690 Ocala, Florida 34478.
[00:06:49] Again that's Harvest International Post Office Box 6690 Ocala, Florida 34478.
[00:07:28] Lord, I'm coming home.