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It Is Impossible To Stop God

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• Good. Matthew chapter 27, and we're going to read verses 62 through 66. The title of the message is "It Is Impossible to Stop God." It is impossible to stop God. If you'll notice Matthew chapter 27, beginning there with verse 62, the Bible says, "Now the next day, that followed the day of preparation, the chief priests and the Pharisees came together unto Pilate, saying, Sir, we remember that that deceiver said, while he was yet alive, After three days I will rise again. Command therefore that the sepulchre be made sure until the third day, lest his disciples come by night and steal him away, and say unto the people, He is risen from the dead: so the last error shall be worse than the first. Pilate said unto them, Ye have a watch: go your way, make it as sure as ye can. So they went, and made the sepulchre sure, sealing the stone, and setting a watch." Let me begin by making a statement, and I think I will try to prove it to you from Scripture, but here's my statement: the world and the wicked are insane, because fighting against God is insane.

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• It is absolutely impossible to prevail against Him. One of the principles that is given to us in warfare is that we must know our enemy. In fact, even our Lord taught that. If you will look in your Bibles, hold Matthew 27, but turn to the book of Luke chapter 14, you're going to find that our Lord taught that we must not only know our enemy, but we must also know ourselves, which is another rule of war. Notice, if you would, in Luke chapter 14, beginning there with verse 31, our Lord said, "Or what king, going to make war against another king, sitteth not down first, and consulteth whether he be able with ten thousand to meet him that cometh against him with twenty thousand?

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• Or else, while the other is yet a great way off, he sendeth an ambassage, and desireth conditions of peace." So our Lord is saying, you better know the power of your enemy. You better know your own power, your own strength. You better know what he can do, and you better also know what you can do as well. So the interesting thing is, there are so many today that are fighting against God, that hold God as their enemy. And if one is really and truly going to fight against God, they should make a study and at least find out some things about Him.

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• Now, I would just simply say this: a cursory reading of the Bible will show you a number of truths concerning God. First of all, you're going to find out that God is absolutely sovereign. That is, He's King of kings, Lord of lords, and God of gods. I want to give you a verse—I will come back to this verse before I close—but it's Daniel 4 and verse 35, where the Bible says, "And all the inhabitants of the earth are reputed as nothing: and he doeth according to his will in the army of heaven, and among the inhabitants of the earth: and none can stay his hand, or say unto him, What doest thou?" So God, then, is absolutely, totally sovereign. He is the only sovereign. And, of course, even that verse says that He cannot be stopped. The second thing you're going to find as you read through the Bible is that God is solitary. By that I mean He alone is God. There is no other God whatsoever. So the Bible says this in Isaiah 44 and verse 8, our Lord said, "Fear ye not, neither be afraid: have not I told thee from that time, and have declared it? ye are even my witnesses.

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• Is there a God beside me? yea, there is no God; I know not any." Then said to Cyrus in Isaiah 45 verses 5 and 6, "I am the LORD, and there is none else, there is no God beside me." Then he said, "I girded thee, though thou hast not known me: that they may know from the rising of the sun, and from the west, that there is none beside me. I am the LORD, and there is none else." So God then is the absolute sovereign and solitary God. Again, he said in Isaiah 45 in verse 21, "Tell ye, and bring them near; yea, let them take counsel together: who hath declared this from ancient time? who hath told it from that time? have not I the LORD? and there is no God else beside me; a just God and a Saviour; there is none beside me." So anyone who just simply reads the Scripture should find out that God is sovereign and that God is solitary.

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• There are no other gods. So that means He alone is sovereign.

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• Thirdly, anyone who reads the Bible is going to discover that God is also omnipotent. That is, that He is absolutely all-powerful, which means therefore He cannot be defeated. He cannot be thwarted. He cannot be stopped. He cannot be overthrown. Isaiah 46 and verse 10, He said, "Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure." And certainly God is going to do all of His pleasure. In Job 9 and verse 12, the Bible

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• says, "Behold, he taketh away, who can hinder him? who will say unto him, What doest thou?" In other words, when God gets ready to move, there's absolutely no one and there is nothing that can stop Him. So God then is not only sovereign, He's not only solitary, He is omnipotent. But there's another truth: that God is also omniscient. That simply means that He is all-knowing. The Word of God says in Job 42 verses 1 and 2, "Then Job answered the LORD, and said, I know that thou canst do every thing, and that no thought can be withholden from thee." Isn't that amazing? No thought can be withholden from thee. So it doesn't matter what you think or how secretive you plan, how deceptive you really believe you are, the truth is there is no thought that can be held from God, not one. Here's another passage.

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• It's one of my favorite, and I'm sure it's probably the favorite of many people. We have a dear friend that lives in North Georgia now; he used to be in our church locally, but his favorite passage was Psalm 139. And in that Psalm, we read about the omniscience of God, where he says this, beginning in verse 1: "O LORD, thou hast searched me, and known me. Thou knowest my downsitting and mine uprising, thou understandest my thought afar off. Thou compassest my path and my lying down, and art acquainted with all my ways. For there is not a word in my tongue, but, lo, O LORD, thou knowest it altogether. Thou hast beset me behind and before, and laid thine hand upon me. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is high, I cannot attain unto it." So what did David say? David said, "You know my downsitting and mine uprising. You understand my thought. You know everything about me.

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• There's absolutely nothing that I can hide from you." And then of course in Ezekiel chapter 11 and verse 5, He said—God is speaking to the people—He said, "I know every thought that comes into your mind." Yea, every one of them. Can you fight against someone who knows every thought in your mind? And moreover, God also said in the book of Ezekiel, "I know your thoughts even before they enter into your mind." So God knows what you're going to think before you ever think about it, because God is omniscient. Now, if I'm going to fight against God, I have to know my enemy. I would have to know that He's sovereign, that He's solitary, that He's omnipotent, that He's omniscient. But hang on. I would also have to know that He's omnipresent. The omnipresence of God just simply means that God is everywhere at one time in the totality of His being. Now I want you to put these things together and think about this, and you will see why I said it's absolutely insane.

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• Absolutely stupid to fight against God. How in the world can you defeat someone who is omnipotent? How can you defeat someone who is sovereign? How can you defeat someone who has been the solitary God forever and ever and ever? He had no beginning. He has no ending. How in the world can you defeat someone who is omnipotent, who has all power? How can you defeat someone who is omniscient? How can you defeat someone who is omnipresent?

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• In other words, you can't slip up on God's blind side because He doesn't have one. You can't plan and scheme and try to deceive and use all kinds of diversionary tactics because He knows every thought. You can't even surround Him because He's omnipresent. He's everywhere at one time in the totality of His being. So when you're trying to fight against God, you're actually fighting a losing battle. You cannot stop Him. You cannot hinder Him. You cannot thwart Him. You cannot overthrow Him. You cannot deceive Him. All you're doing is wasting your breath, wasting your time, wasting your energy, and you're going to end up defeated and destroyed. It's impossible to fight against God.

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• Now, I could continue with a lot of the attributes of God, but I think you understand what I'm trying to say. It is basically insanity to fight against God. And when you stop and think that we are poor, finite, weak, anemic, dying creatures, and God is the eternal, majestic, sovereign One, how puny our little efforts are when we think that we're going to fight against God. And if you took every individual that has ever lived, that is living, and that shall live, and every demon out of hell, and let them all join hands against God, you would occasion God no uneasiness. Not at all. No one or any combination of individuals or things can overthrow God. Let me show you. I want you to hold Matthew 27, but turn in your Bibles to Psalm 2. Psalm 2. This is a wonderful psalm, and it is a psalm that shows you the rebellion of man, and it also shows you God's reaction, God's response to man's rebellion. So this psalm begins with a question.

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• Look at it. "Why do the heathen rage, and the people imagine a vain thing?" Now, something that is vain is something that is useless. It's worthless. It will not work. So he asked, "Why do the people imagine a vain thing?" The people here include the kings and the rulers. He says in verse 2, "The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the LORD, and against his anointed," that would be the Lord Jesus Christ, "saying, Let us break their bands asunder, and cast away their cords from us." In other words, we're going to rebel against God. We're going to fight against Him. We don't like the limitations that He's placed upon us, so we're going to just kind of break every law that He's given us, and we're going to do as we will. So here's the response in verse 4: "He

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• that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh: the Lord shall have them in derision. Then shall he speak unto them in his wrath, and vex them in his sore displeasure." Now I want you to watch this. I'll come back to this verse. God says, "Yet," that is, in spite of all the rebellion, "yet have I set my king upon my holy hill of Zion. I will declare the decree: the LORD hath said unto me, Thou art my Son; this day have I begotten thee. Ask of me, and I shall give thee the heathen for thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession. Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron; thou shalt dash them in pieces like a potter's vessel.

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• Be wise now therefore, O ye kings: be instructed, ye judges of the earth. Serve the LORD with fear, and rejoice with trembling. Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and ye perish from the way, when his wrath is kindled but a little. Blessed are all they that put their trust in him." So the psalmist said, for those who want to fight against God, the wise thing to do would be to kiss the Son. That is, you make peace with Him. You submit to Him. You cease your fighting against Him. That's the wise thing to do, and that's exactly what the psalmist is telling that should be done. Now, when you look back in your Bibles in our text in Matthew chapter 27—and I am going

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• to be dealing with that text—but I wanted you to see, before I dealt with this, how insanely stupid it is for men to try to corral God, to control God, to overthrow God. In one sense of the word, when you look at this text, it is humorous. Not that it's ha-ha funny, not that kind of humorous, but it shows us how that religious wickedness and political wickedness plot together in order to try to stop the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. So you have the Sadducees, the Pharisees, and the Herodians on one hand, working with the Roman governor on the other hand. So now you have the religious heretics, the religious elite, and the political elite coming together, not only basically to murder Jesus Christ, but also to make sure absolutely certain that He does not rise from the dead. So the point I'm going to make is this: it's impossible to fight against God, because they cannot stop Him. They cannot overthrow Him, no matter what is going to happen. Shortly, according to Psalm 2, the Father is going to have them all in derision. Now I want to show you something else about this text. This text also demonstrates for us the extent and the depth of sin and wickedness, and men will

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• go to great lengths to retain their power and their control. If men were willing to murder the Son of God to retain power and control, you think that you're something special and they would not kill you to retain power and control? Let me show you what I'm talking about. These people will even attack God Himself. That's what they're doing, by the way. But look in your Bibles to the book of John chapter 11. Look in John chapter 11.

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• And let's begin reading there with verse 47. This is a very informative text. John chapter 11. Look at it, if you would, in verse 47: "Then gathered the chief priests and the Pharisees a council." First of all, the chief priests were the Sadducees. Now we see the Pharisees. Now we have a council. Undoubtedly, the Herodians were in it as well. But watch this. And they said, "What do we?

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• For this man doeth many miracles. If we let him thus alone, all men will believe on him: and the Romans shall come and take away both our place and nation." And one of them named Caiaphas, being the high priest that same year, said unto them, "Ye know nothing at all, nor consider that it is expedient for us, that one man should die for the people, and that the whole nation perish not.

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• Now, just stop there for a moment. Look, if you would please, at verse 47 again: "Then gathered the chief priests and the Pharisees a council, and said, What do we? for this man doeth many miracles." In other words, what are we going to do? We've got to do something. This man is doing many miracles. Now, they could not deny those miracles. And the reason they could not deny them was because they were done openly and they were seen by multitudes. Had they not been done openly, had they not been seen, it would have been very easy to deny them. But it's impossible now to deny them. So they're asking, "What in the world are we going to do?" Now look at verse 48: "If we let him thus alone," that is, if we don't do something, "all men will believe on him.

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• Oh, they would think that was bad. But here's something even worse: "and the Romans shall come and take away both our place and nation." If we don't do something, we're going to lose our power. We're going to lose our position. We're going to lose our control. The Sadducees control the temple. The Pharisees control the people. The Herodians basically were in agreement with the Roman government. So now you have everyone involved to work out a problem. So what are we going to do? We've got to do something. If we don't do something, we're going to lose our place. We're going to lose our position. We're going to lose our power. Watch verse 49.

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• "And one of them, named Caiaphas, being the high priest that same year, said unto them, Ye know nothing at all, nor consider that it is expedient for us, that one man should die for the people, and that the whole nation perish not." Wow. He said the solution is very simple: we kill Him. It's better for one man to die than for all of us to lose our positions, our power. It's better for one man to die than the whole nation perish. So we will just simply kill Him.

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• Note, if you would, "What do we?" They've got to do something. So here's the interesting thing—and I'm going to point it out a little bit later—these people knew what was really going on. They really truly knew the truth. But they were not interested in truth. Just like Jeroboam of old, who was willing to introduce idolatry into the land to retain his place, his position, his power, his kingdom, so these people now are willing to deny the truth, willing to deny that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, in order just simply to preserve themselves and their power. And moreover, they're willing to murder. We'll just kill Him. Now I want to show you their absolute hypocrisy.

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• I want you to look in your Bibles to Matthew chapter 27, and I want you to go back, if you would please, to verse 3. Matthew 27, and let's go back up to verse 3, and we'll read through verse 8. Matthew 27 verse 3: "Then Judas, which had betrayed him, when he saw that he was condemned, repented himself, and brought again the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and elders, saying, I have sinned in that I have betrayed the innocent blood. And they said, What is that to us? see thou to that. And he cast down the pieces of silver in the temple, and departed, and went and hanged himself. And the chief priests took the silver pieces, and said, It is not lawful for to put them into the treasury, because it is the price of blood. And they took counsel, and bought with them the potter's field, to bury strangers in. Wherefore that field was called, The field of blood, unto this day." Now I want you to notice something about these people. Look, if you would, in verse 3: when Judas saw that he had not only betrayed our Lord, but our Lord was

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• condemned, the Bible says he repented himself. That was not real genuine repentance; it was not a repentance from God. But he brought again the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests. Look what he said in verse 4: "Saying, I have sinned in that I have betrayed the innocent blood." The innocent blood. The only one who was innocent. "I betrayed the innocent blood." And they said, "What is that to us? see thou to that." You talk about cold, callous.

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• Here's a man who realized what he had done. Here's the religious leaders saying in response to his "I've betrayed the innocent blood," "What's that to us? We got what we wanted. He's condemned. He's dead. We don't care anything about you." And he threw down the thirty pieces of silver. And what did they do? Now watch this. And the chief priests took the silver pieces—they didn't leave it lying on the floor—and the chief priests took the silver pieces and said, "It is not lawful to put them into the treasury, because it is the price of blood." What? We took it out of the treasury to give it to a man to betray the innocent man and have him murdered, but now it's not lawful to put it back into the treasury because it's the price of blood? That is sheer hypocrisy. It was lawful to take it out, according to them, to betray the Son of God, but it's not lawful to put it back in. And so they buy the potter's field.

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• They had no qualms about violating the sixth commandment to rid themselves of an adversary whom they hated, but they had qualms about putting the money back into the treasury. They were nothing but hypocrites. Now that Christ has been murdered by them, now that He's been killed, they want to make sure that He does not rise from the dead. Vain and foolish men often think that they can stop God, that they can overthrow Him, they can overpower Him. So I want you to go back to Matthew chapter 27 and let's look at verse 62.

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• Watch this. I'm talking about hypocrisy to the nth degree. I want you to watch this. "Now the next day, that followed the day of the preparation..." Hmm. The day of preparation was the day before the Sabbath. So verse 62 happens on the Sabbath. "Now the next day, that followed the day of the preparation," which would be the Sabbath, "the chief priests and the Pharisees came together unto Pilate, saying, Sir, we remember that that deceiver said, while he was yet alive, After three days I will rise again." First, I want to reinforce this: that the day following the day of preparation was a Sabbath day. So they had no qualms about violating their interpretation of the Sabbath in order to meet with Pilate to conspire, to get a plan going, to make sure that there was absolutely no resurrection. Secondly, I want you to note what they called Jesus Christ. Note, if you would, they said in verse 63, "Sir, we remember that that deceiver said..." Now the word for deceiver there is the word planos, which means a deceiver and vagabond, a tramp, and an imposter. So they're calling Jesus Christ

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• an imposter. Well, someone who just deceives, someone who's a fake and a fraud. Third, I want to point out that they really and truly understood the words of Jesus Christ. They knew exactly what He meant. And now what they're saying in verse 63: "Sir, we remember that that deceiver said, while he was yet alive, After three days I will rise again." Hmm. I want you to look in your Bibles to the book of John chapter 2. John chapter 2. Look, if you would please, at verse 19. John chapter 2 verse 19: "Jesus answered and said unto them, Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up. Then said the Jews, Forty and six years was this temple in building, and wilt thou rear it up in three days? But he spake of the temple of his body." Now, let me tell you, they understood exactly what He meant. So if you'll go back in your Bibles to Matthew chapter 12, you will see how our Lord made it exceedingly plain. Matthew chapter 12, notice if you would, beginning there with verse 38.

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• Matthew 12 verse 38: "Then certain of the scribes and of the Pharisees answered, saying, Master, we would see a sign from thee. But he answered and said unto them, An evil and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign be given to it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas: for as Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale's belly; so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.

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• Now, they knew exactly what our Lord meant. When He said in John, "Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up," they knew what He was talking about. The leaders did. The Sadducees knew. The Pharisees knew. All of those scribes, they understood. They knew. But here's the problem: they knew that what He had been saying was basically true, and

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• now they feared exceedingly that He was going to rise from the dead. And they had to make sure that that did not happen. So how are they going to do that? Well, look back to Matthew chapter 27 and look at verses 64 and 65. They say to Pilate, "Command therefore that the sepulchre be made sure until the third day, lest his disciples come by night, and steal him away, and say unto the people, He is risen from the dead: so the last error shall be worse than the first. Pilate said unto them, Ye have a watch: go your way, make it as sure as ye can." So they asked Pilate then to command that the sepulchre be made sure, that is, to make sure that it was absolutely secure until the third day. And their professed fear was that the disciples would come and steal His body, and therefore people would really believe that He rose again from the dead. Well, such an incident was hardly likely. I mean, the likelihood of the disciples stealing His body was absolutely totally impossible. Why?

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• Well, I hope you remember what happened in the garden when they came for Jesus Christ. Here's this huge band of armed men, and what does the Bible say? "Then his disciples forsook him, and fled." They left Him. They ran away. In other words, they acted as if they had been defeated and they were cowards. And you must also remember this: they only had two swords. That's all. Peter said, "Lord, here are two swords." Our Lord said, "That's sufficient." So here's a group of men, only have two swords.

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• What are they doing against a Roman army or a Roman legion or any large group of armed men? Moreover, when you read John 21, Peter returns to fishing. He said, "I go a fishing." And Thomas and some of the others say, "We go with you." So, I mean, the disciples were dispersed, and the likelihood of them stealing the body of Jesus Christ was just practically impossible. Now let me point something else out: if the disciples had stolen the body of Jesus Christ, if they had stolen the body of Jesus Christ, do you think that they would have been willing to die

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• for that which they knew was an absolute fraud and hoax and deceit? And how in the world can you explain the change in their demeanor and in their persons after the resurrection? Because before they were cowards, and now they're courageous. And Peter is standing up to all of these Sadducees and Pharisees and chief priests, and he said, "You have taken by wicked hands and have crucified the Lord of glory." He's accusing them of murder. Well, he surely didn't do that when they came after him. But now there is a total absolute change.

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• And all the preaching and teaching now is with power, the Bible says. And these—look at these people—they said in verse 64, "Command therefore that the sepulchre be made sure until the third day, lest his disciples come by night, and steal him away, and say unto the people, He is risen from the dead: so the last error shall be worse than the first." Well now, what they're calling the first error was the preaching and teaching of the disciples concerning Jesus Christ, that He was indeed the Son of God. And now they're saying the second error would be if for some reason they did steal His body or somehow the body went missing, now folks would really genuinely believe that our Lord was raised from the dead. And so Pilate says in verse 65, "Ye have a watch: go your way, make it as sure as ye can." Now note, if you would, "Ye have a watch: make it as sure

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• as ye can." I want to give you a quote by Matthew Henry. He gives an interesting observation on this. Why would Pilate say, "Make it as sure as ye can"? Here's what Matthew Henry wrote: "I am apt to think that by this time Pilate had some talk with the centurion, his own officer, of whom he would be apt to inquire how that just man died, and whom he had condemned with reluctance." Now, let me stop right there. You remember that centurion? When our Lord gave up the ghost, and the curtain in the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom, and there was an earthquake, that centurion said, "Surely this man was the Son of God." Okay. Now, what Matthew Henry is saying: Pilate probably now has had opportunity to talk with this centurion, and that he, the centurion, gave him such an account of those things as made him conclude that truly He was a Son of God. And Pilate would give more credit to him, that is to the centurion, than to a thousand of those spiteful priests that called Him a deceiver.

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• And if so, no marvel that he tacitly derides their project in thinking to secure the sepulchre upon Him who had so lately ripped the rocks and made the earth to quake. Tertullian, speaking of Pilate, said—I'm quoting—"in his conscience, he was a Christian." And it is possible that he might be under such convictions at this time upon the centurion's report, and yet never be thoroughly persuaded or thoroughly converted, any more than Agrippa or Felix were to be a Christian. So he's saying Pilate may have had some convictions at this particular time. And Pilate is saying, "Make it as secure as you can." Now Pilate certainly had an interest in knowing how Jesus Christ died,

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• because if you look in Matthew 27 and verse 18, look at this. Matthew 27 and verse 18, here's what Pilate knew absolutely. He said in verse 18, "For he knew that for envy they had delivered him." He knew that Jesus Christ was innocent, and yet he condemned Him anyhow. He knew that Jesus Christ was completely, totally innocent, and yet he wanted to please the Jews. This is why Pilate said, "Ye have a watch: go your way, make it as sure as ye can." Now let me tell you what Pilate actually said. When he said, "Ye have a watch: go your way, make it as sure as ye can," actually, what he said was, "You have a guard.

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• You have Roman soldiers at your disposal." The word "watch" is the Greek word koustodia. It's the word from which we derive our English word "custodian" from. So he said, "You have a watch. You have a custodian's job, so to speak. You're to take care of this situation." Now look at it. A Roman guard was usually made up from 4 to 16 soldiers. When there was battle, the Roman guard or the Roman watch, whether it's 4 or whether it's 16, would form a square. So if it's just 4, it's 1, 2, 3, 4. If it's 16, it's 4, 4, 4, 4. They would form a square, which means they're defending now from every angle and for every area. And you have to remember that these Roman soldiers were experienced fighters. And so they were trying to make sure that no one could get past these Roman soldiers.

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• No one who's going to try to steal that body, because these were experienced fighting men. Now here's something else: what they tried to do in stopping the resurrection of Jesus Christ actually worked toward exposing their corruption and revealing the truth of the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Because these guards could not stop the resurrection. And these guards were some of the first to tell what happened. They were there. They had firsthand knowledge. They were eyewitnesses.

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• Now, so once our Lord has been buried, the stone has been placed in front of the sepulchre. Now it is sealed with a seal. When our Lord was put in that tomb, not only was there a guard, there was a seal. Look in verse 66, Matthew 27: "So they went, and made the sepulchre sure, sealing the stone, and setting a watch." Sealing the stone meant they either used Herod's seal or, probably more probably, the great seal of the Sanhedrin. In other words, here, this sepulchre, this tomb, is sealed by our authority. Here are soldiers guarding to make sure that this seal stays intact. Now the seal and the guards may have stopped the disciples from stealing the body. The seal and the guards may have stopped grave robbers from coming. The seal and the guard may have stopped vandals from vandalizing the tomb. But neither the seal nor the guards could stop the resurrection of Jesus Christ. They could not stop God from raising His Son from the dead. They could not stop Jesus Christ from raising Himself from the dead. He said Himself He had power to lay down His life, and He had power to take it again. You just cannot stop God.

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• It is impossible. I got another quote for you from Matthew Henry. I want you to listen: "The wonderful care they took hereupon to secure the sepulchre. They seal the stone, probably with the great seal of their Sanhedrin, whereby they interpose their authority, for who dares break the public seal? But not trusting too much to that, withal they set a watch, to keep his disciples from coming to steal him away, and if possible, to hinder him from coming out of the grave.

  #44 | 42:33 to 43:12 | cleaned

• So they intended. But God brought this good out of it, that they who were set to oppose his resurrection thereby had opportunity to observe it, and did so, and told the chief priests what they observed, who were thereby rendered the more inexcusable. Here was all the power of earth and hell combined to keep Christ a prisoner, but all in vain. When his hour was come, death and all of those sons and heirs of death could then no longer hold him, no longer have dominion over him. To guard the sepulchre against the poor, weak disciples was folly, because it was needless. But to think to guard it against the power of God was folly, because it was fruitless and to no purpose.

  #45 | 43:13 to 44:05 | cleaned

• And yet they thought they had dealt wisely." Isn't that astounding?

  #46 | 44:06 to 44:11 | cleaned

• Now, here's the crazy thing. When the angel rolled away the stone, what did the guards do? They fled. They fled. The seal was useless. The guards were useless. And of course, I'm going to read it to you in just a moment. They said, "Well, the guards were asleep, and of course the disciples came and stole His body while they were sleeping." Really? May I remind you that sleeping on guard duty merits the death penalty. Hmm. No, they weren't asleep. I want you to look in Matthew chapter 28, if you would. Matthew chapter 28, and let's begin reading there with verse 11. Watch this: "Now when they were going, behold, some of the watch came into the city, and shewed unto the chief priests all the things that were done." Now, let me just stop right there. The chief priests knew what happened. The guards came and told them that Jesus Christ bodily arose from the grave. They told them. Now watch verse 12: "And when they were assembled with the elders, and had taken counsel, they gave large money unto the soldiers, saying, Say ye, His disciples came by night, and stole him away while we slept.

  #47 | 44:12 to 45:54 | cleaned

• And if this come to the governor's ears, we will persuade him, and secure you. So they took the money, and did as they were taught: and this saying is commonly reported among the Jews until this day.

  #48 | 45:56 to 46:09 | cleaned

• Now, here's what I want you to see. I want you to see and perceive the absolute wickedness, vileness, and hypocrisy of the chief priests and of the elders. Are you listening? They knew the truth. They knew the truth. They received first-hand information from the guards who observed. They knew the truth, and they hid the truth. Do you realize this is exactly what is happening in our country in America? Those who are supposed to be rulers, they know the truth. They knew the truth about the so-called vaccine. They knew the truth about January 6th. They knew the truth about everything. And yet they hid it deceitfully, wickedly, because they want their power. They want their control. And they want their position. It's just that simple. These people knew that the resurrection of Jesus Christ was real. They knew that He rose literally and bodily from the dead, yet they purposely hid that truth, because all they wanted was their position and their power. So, since the resurrection is true, it means all of these people are liars and deceivers.

  #49 | 46:10 to 47:40 | cleaned

• Since the resurrection of Jesus Christ is true, it means they are frauds and heretics. Since the resurrection of Jesus Christ is true, it means all of these people are washed up. And on their part, they deny the resurrection to the nth degree, even though they knew the truth. I don't know if you've ever thought, I wonder if these men are thinking now, "Was it worth it?" And obviously, it would not be worth it, because all of those who fight against God ultimately lose. They lose. It's impossible to fight against God.

  #50 | 47:40 to 48:29 | cleaned

• Let me make a couple of applications. Here's the first one. Don't you listen. I'm going to give you a quote again from Psalm 2. Told you I was going to come back to a verse in Psalm 2. I want you to hear the words of the sovereign God of heaven and earth. He said, "Yet." Hmm. What does that "yet" mean? "Yet." Well, if you go back to verses 1 and 2 and 3, all these kings, all these rulers, all these people are uniting in rebellion against God. They're fighting against God. And you skip down and He says, "Yet." That is, in spite of all of this, "Yet have I set my king upon my holy hill of Zion." In other words, you're not going to stop Me. You're not going to overthrow Me. You're not going to overthrow My Son. I've set My King upon My holy hill of Zion.

  #51 | 48:30 to 49:33 | cleaned

• And His kingdom is secure. His dominion is real and genuine. You're not going to stop Me, and you're not going to stop Him. They could not prevent the Father from raising Jesus Christ from the dead. They could not prevent the Father from Jesus Christ ascending into heaven. They could not prevent God the Father from seating Him at His own right hand. They could not prevent God the Father from making Him judge of all the earth. And they cannot prevent God the Father from sending Him back to judge His enemies. It's insane to fight against God.

  #52 | 49:35 to 50:14 | cleaned

• You might want to ask this question: Why did they hate Jesus Christ so much? Why did they want to murder Him? Why did they want to make sure that He remained dead? Are you listening? Because they could not control Him. They could not entrap Him. They could not ensnare Him. They could not deceive Him. They could not get Him to go along with their misinterpretations and misapplications of God's law. No, no, no. He was going to stand for the law of God and for truth. And they did not want the law of God. Neither did they want truth. And so they hated Him and crucified Him and did everything they could to hinder His resurrection.

  #53 | 50:17 to 51:11 | cleaned

• Now, here's the second application. Since "know your enemy" is a rule of warfare, it should be obvious that those who stupidly and wickedly fight against God do not know Him. If they did really know Him, they would not fight against Him. If you'll look in your Bibles to Acts chapter 5, you'll see the counsel that Gamaliel gave these people on one occasion when they were going to imprison the disciples. Notice, if you would, in Acts chapter 5, beginning there in verse 38, Gamaliel says this: "And now I say unto you, Refrain from these men, and let them alone: for if this counsel or this work be of men, it will come to nought: but if it be of God, ye cannot overthrow it; lest haply ye be found even to fight against God.

  #54 | 51:11 to 52:12 | cleaned

• Fighting against God, trying to stop God, trying to thwart Him, trying to hinder Him, trying to overthrow Him is all in vain. You remember that passage I quoted in Daniel 4 and verse 35, where the Bible said, "And all the inhabitants of the earth are reputed as nothing: and he doeth according to his will in the army of heaven, and among the inhabitants of the earth: and none can stay his hand, or say unto him, What doest thou?" You can't stop Him. It's impossible to stop God. We have to learn the simple truth of Isaiah chapter 46 and verse 10, when God said, "My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure." And that's true.

  #55 | 52:14 to 52:57 | cleaned

• I want to show you two things very quickly that the resurrection of Jesus Christ proves. I want you to look in your Bibles, first of all, to Romans chapter 1, and look, if you would, at verse 4. Romans chapter 1 verse 4. The resurrection of Jesus Christ proves beyond a shadow of a doubt that Jesus Christ was and is indeed the Son of God. Was and is indeed the Son of God. Romans 1 and verse 4: "And declared to be the Son of God with power, according to the spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead." What did the resurrection from the dead prove concerning Jesus Christ? He was indeed the Son of God. God raised Him from the dead. Here's the second thing. Before I say that, let me say this: if Jesus Christ had been a fraud, if Jesus Christ had been a deceiver, if Jesus Christ had been a fake, if Jesus Christ had been an imposter, God the Father would have never raised Him from the dead. Moreover, He would have

  #56 | 52:59 to 54:03 | cleaned

• not had the power to raise Himself from the dead. If Jesus Christ was not the Son of God, He would still be in that tomb. Here's the second thing. If you'll look in your Bibles in Ephesians chapter 1, beginning there with verse 19. Ephesians chapter 1 and verse 19. The second thing the resurrection proves is not only that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, but it also proves that the sacrifice of Jesus Christ was accepted by God the Father and was sufficient. Look at it, Ephesians chapter 1 verse 19: Paul said, "And what is the exceeding greatness of his power to us-ward who believe, according to the working of his mighty power, which he wrought in Christ, when he raised him from the dead, and set him at his own right

  #57 | 54:03 to 55:02 | cleaned

• hand in the heavenly places, far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come: and hath put all things under his feet, and gave him to be the head over all things to the church, which is his body, the fulness of him that filleth all in all." So Jesus Christ gave Himself a sacrifice, and that sacrifice was accepted by God. And so God the Father raised Him from the dead, placed Him at His own right hand, gave Him all dominion, and put everything under His feet. We know that the sacrifice of Jesus Christ was accepted by God the Father, for God raised Him and exalted Him. Now let me give you one more, and that is this: when men and women come savingly to Jesus Christ, they throw down their weapons of warfare and rebellion against Him. Hmm. The Bible says in Romans 5 and verse 1, "Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God." In other words, we're no longer at warfare with God.

  #58 | 55:02 to 56:14 | cleaned

• We're no longer fighting against God. Those who come savingly to God the Father, to the Lord Jesus Christ, cast down those weapons of warfare. They bow to Him. They submit to Him. They acknowledge Him. They confess Him. They love Him, and they serve Him. Anyone who's still fighting against God is not a Christian. They cannot be a Christian, because those who come in a saving, repentant mode cast down their weapons of warfare. We're the ones that have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.

  #59 | 56:14 to 57:00 | cleaned

• You look at the turmoil that the world is in. You look at the turmoil that America is in. You look at the political arena or any arena, and the fact of the matter is, men are fighting against God as hard as they can fight against God. It is insanely stupid, because God is sovereign. He is solitary. He's omnipotent. He's omniscient. He's omnipresent. He is God. And there's no way in the world that a puny, finite, weak, sinful man can successfully fight against God. It's impossible.

  #60 | 57:02 to 57:45 | cleaned

• The psalmist said it right: "Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and ye perish from the way, when his wrath is kindled but a little. Serve the LORD with fear, and rejoice with trembling. Blessed are all they that put their trust in him." That's what we should do. Father, in the name of Jesus Christ, we bow to Thee this day. We thank You for Your Word. We thank You for Your truth. We thank You, Father, that Thou art God, and our God alone. Besides Thee there is none other. We ask, Father, for grace that we may serve Thee acceptably with reverence and godly fear. In the name of Jesus Christ we ask and pray. Amen.

  #61 | 57:47 to 59:07 | cleaned

deepseek | deepseek-v4-pro | clean_readable_transcript | 2026-06-05T18:16:13Z