In this sermon, the speaker focuses on the 40 days after Jesus' death and resurrection. He explains that these 40 days were not arbitrary, but rather a planned transition from how things were to how they will be. The speaker emphasizes that the first event, the death and resurrection of Jesus, teaches us that God is forever satisfied and our debts are paid. He also discusses how Jesus appeared to certain people during these 40 days, giving representative appearances that serve as examples for how he will appear to us in our day.

Father again we thank you for your inspired Word, all the promises that go with it. You've said through the prophet that you're watching over your Word to perform it. We praise you for that. We'd ask you even this evening to perform your Word in our hearts. Lord in a special way since we're touching on this great section which gives your heart how you have said you want to appear to us. We'd ask for grace to understand. We know you have written that for the generations and so give us eyes to see it we pray. Thank you that you will minister because you have promised and we come claiming it in the all deserving name of our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen. You're in John 20 and I'll be there in a few minutes. So let me just set before your heart again the direction of the weekend and what we're looking at and and how as God graces us we'll get there. We're looking at that wonderful 50 days between the resurrection and the sending, the glorious sending of the Holy Spirit and more specifically in a special way at the 40 days between the resurrection and the ascension. I tried to show you this morning in an overview that God has given us a block of time. There's an event and there's a time period and another event and another time period and another event and another time period. Each of them contains a heartbeat of the Lord. God wrote it that way on purpose. It's a transition from how it was and how it will be. And God was laying down in picture form so that we would know forever, this is what you can expect. In a word, the first event, the death, the resurrection of our Lord Jesus teaches us that God is forever satisfied and my debt and your debt is paid. We don't have to pay. We don't have to go to hell. The first block of time, those 40 days, in the Old Testament pictured by the raving of the first fruit seed. In the New Testament pictured by the appearing over and over and over again of our Lord Jesus. The message of that block of time, 40 days, is see Jesus. Behold the living Savior. Look at the Lord who is alive. That's that message. And then the event where our Lord Jesus ascended, still representing us and bearing humanity. He goes right into the presence of Holy Father God. Teaching us that we're not only delivered, but now we're welcomed into the presence of the Holy Father God. Teaching us that we're not only delivered, but now we're welcomed into the presence of the Holy Father God. Teaching us that we're not only delivered, but now we're welcomed into the presence of the Holy Father God. Teaching us that we're not only delivered, but now we're welcomed into the presence of the Holy Father God. Teaching us that we're not only delivered, but now we're welcomed into the presence of the Holy Father God. Teaching us that we're not only delivered, but now we're welcomed into the presence of the Holy Father God. Teaching us that we're not only delivered, but now we're welcomed into the presence of the Holy Father God. Teaching us that we're not only delivered, but now we're welcomed into the presence of the Holy Father God. Teaching us that we're not only delivered, but now we're welcomed into the presence of the Holy Father God. I want to sort of give you a feel again, this is part two of the introduction, and then we'll get to the first event. I want you to understand that that 40 days was not arbitrary. God planned it, you know, He set it up. It was all part of this marvelous picture, illustrated in the Old Testament. And God wanted to accomplish certain things in that 40 days. And I'd like to mention, before we get to the big one, I'd like to mention two other things that God accomplished in that 40 day period. Now the first thing God accomplished in that 40 day period is mentioned in Acts chapter 1 verse 3. Acts chapter 1 verse 3 says, He presented Himself alive after His suffering by many infallible proofs. Many convincing proofs. And one of the purposes of the 40 days was to prove that He was alive. That's one of the things that He did. He proved that He was alive. Now Thomas, you know, takes a rap, doubting Thomas. I'll show you when we get to Thomas, that's one of the stories we'll do. I'll show you what God intended for Thomas. But for now, He represents those that doubt. But you don't need to look all of this up, but you can if you'd like. The record shows that they all doubted. Thomas carried the banner, but they all doubted. Matthew 28, 17. When they saw Him, they worshipped Him, but some were doubtful. Mark 16, 11. When Mary Magdalene reported to the ten, and when they heard that He was alive and had been seen by her, they refused to believe it. Mark 16, 12. He appeared in a different form to two of them, and they went away and reported it to the others, but they did not believe them either. Mark 16, 14. When Jesus appeared to the eleven, He reproached them for their unbelief and their hardness of heart, because they had not believed those who had seen Him after He had risen. Luke 24, 11. The women report right after their visit, early to the tomb. The words appeared to them as nonsense, and they would not believe them. Even after He showed His glory wounds. Luke 24, 41. They still could not believe for joy. That interesting verse. Too good to believe. They couldn't believe it for joy. Over and over and over again in the forty days. Jesus proved He was alive. You know why? Because they needed proof. They needed proof. They all disbelieved it. Only a risen Christ, proven to your heart, will do you any good. Only a risen Christ who comes to my heart with an infallible proof will do me any good. And that was part of the purpose of that forty days. In this connection, I love the record in Luke 24, 22 to 24. They said some women amazed us. They saw a vision of angels who said He was alive. But Him they did not see. I like that little expression. But Him they did not see. The reason I like that is, try to picture it. They saw angels. Angels from God. When's the last time you've seen an angel? They saw angels from God. In one case, sitting on stone. Two inside the tomb at the head. Two at the foot. Two outside the empty grave. They might be the same ones moving around. It's not clear. But they saw the angels of God, but Him they did not see. That's a precious thing to realize. What good is seeing an angel if you don't see Jesus? They saw the angels. But Him they did not see. We need to see the Lord. And tonight or this weekend, if suddenly, a host of angels appeared to us. We didn't see the Lord Jesus Christ. It would be a sad Joshua, not like the others. See, we need to see the Lord. And that was one of the reasons that He appeared in those forty days. So that these hearts of ours could have proof. What He said to Thomas there in John chapter 20 verse 27. So tender. My son helped me study this, Daniel. And we went through it. He said, you know, in all the records. He studied all of these records that we're going to look at. He said, the most tender verse in the whole record that I see. Is chapter 20, 27. When He said to Thomas, be not unbelieving, but believing. That's His heart. Be not unbelieving, but believing. That's why He appeared. In those forty days, grounded those disciples thoroughly. In the infallibility of His resurrection. A second purpose for the forty days. Was to teach the disciples. That He was always there. Even when He was not there. Sort of a transition period. Even though He was invisible. They had to get used to a new means of the presence of the Lord. In John 20, twice we read. Once in verse 19. When the doors were shut, Jesus appeared in the room. Verse 26. Jesus came again, appeared the doors being shut. I don't know how you approach that. I've read some fantastic things. About the doors being shut. You know the Lord Jesus passing right through. I read one sermon one time. It talks about the molecular structure. I'm not into science. But how an atom is made. And it's just a bunch of holes all sewed together. And it's mostly space. And not much matter. God can rearrange molecular structure. In the resurrection body. You can walk right through solid objects. I don't think that was the point of the Holy Spirit. The point was that He appeared in the room. The doors being shut. My guess is He was already there. And just appeared. And over and over and over again. He's there. He's gone. He's there. He's gone. He's there. For 33 and a half years He lived on the earth. For three and a half years. They saw Him. He was there. He was there. And when He wasn't there. They got in a boat and went and found Him. And there He is. Now He's there. And He's not there. And He shows up. And He disappears. And just when they see Him. He vanishes. What's that all about? And I have an idea. God was getting them used to. What we know to be true. He's not here. Oh yes He is. He's here. You can't feel Him. But I know. And we had to get used to that. And God gave that kind of a transition. Now one of the things that Jesus did. Was remind them of the truth of Matthew 28 20. Lord I am with you always. Even to the end of the age. For years I thought that meant. I will be with you forever. But that's not what He said. That's true. That's not what He said. See the Greek is very powerful. And what it says is. I will be with you literally. I am with you all the days. And what that means is. There'll never be a day. When He's not with you. And there'll never be an hour. He's not with you. And there'll never be a minute. He's not with you. I'll be with you all the days. All the time. Even though I'm invisible. There's a third reason for the 40 days. And that's what we're looking at. Not only was He appearing to prove that He was alive. Not only was He appearing. In order that they would recognize His invisible presence. But I believe. And this of course is the series. That we're looking on. I believe that in that 40 days. He gave representative appearances. He appeared on purpose. To certain people so prepared. And in certain ways. So that we now in our day. Would know forever. Lord how can we expect you to appear to us. I'll tell you how. Same way I did to Mary. If you get hold of that principle. You'll know how He'll appear. How will you appear Lord in our day. Same way I appeared to those disciples on the Emmaus road. If you can get hold of that. You'll know how to expect to see Jesus. How will you appear Lord. Exactly the same way. That I appeared to Thomas. And to the 11. Exactly the same way I appeared to the disciples. At the sea of Tiberius and so on. And so we're going to look at those representative appearances. Some He hasn't spelled out. He's given us the details on five of them. And because He's only given us the details on five. I'm not saying the others don't tell the story. I'm saying I haven't seen it yet. Maybe it's there. Maybe you'll see it and you'll tell me. I don't really know. I suggested maybe He doesn't give us Peter's story. Because that's supposed to be private. I don't know. Maybe that's the principle. I don't know the principle about these women. Who saw Him and just wrapped themselves around His feet. Maybe that says it all. Maybe when you see Him. You're just going to fall down and worship Him. And embrace His feet. I don't know what He said to His brother James. Bible doesn't tell us that. Maybe there's a message there. Maybe there needs to be a special revelation of God. To those who are most familiar. And should be the ones that already have it. And so on. That He would meet with five hundred. That's one out of ten. Maybe sometime He does appear to the masses. Sometime He doesn't. I don't know. But I do know these five. I speak as a fool. If I were the Lord Jesus. I wouldn't have appeared to those five. I know where I'd appear. I'd go first to the Governor's home. I'm an old pilot. How's it going? I'd go to the Praetorian Guard. I got something to show you boys. Go to the house of Ennis and Caiaphas. And show up in their living room. That's how I would have done it. That's not how He did it. He appeared to only believers. Why? Everything tells a story. God is writing a Bible. God is preparing for the age to come. The age in which we live now. Live in our segment. And so these five stories we'll look at. In order to see how the Lord Jesus. Will appear to us. Now since these five appearances instruct us. How the Lord will appear in the church age. I guess the first observation I should make is this. That in the 40 days. Jesus did not appear. A lot more than He appeared. That's instructive folks. Because as you go on in the Lord. You're going to find that He doesn't appear. More than He appears. Now don't confuse the appearance of Christ. With the presence of Christ. He's with you always. All the days. Even when He doesn't appear. But there are times He will appear. But even when He doesn't appear. He's there. His presence is there. I love to illustrate that by John 20.25. One week before Thomas says. Unless I see Him. In His hands the imprint of the nails. Put my fingers into the place of the nails. And put my hand into His side. I'll not believe. And then next week. When He was in the room. The Lord Jesus appeared. And walked right up to Him and said. Alright Thomas. And I'm sure Thomas looked at him and said. Peter you big mouth. Did you tell him? Who told him? I'll tell you who told him. You did Thomas. Because He was there when you said it. He heard you say it. He was present. And His disciples you know. In the ministry. They walked these seven miles down. I have an idea. They ran back. You know who's running alongside them? Oh they don't see Him this time. But when they arrive He's there. Hello. Maybe we just broke bread down there seven miles ago. He's there. He's there. He doesn't always appear. And most of the time He won't appear. But when He does. I promise you. It will be like this. Five ways. That He always appears. That should tell you how to expect Him. And if God gives you insight. It ought to set up for you. Safeguards. Against how not to expect Him. This is how He will appear. May God help us as we look at it. Alright I promised you. John chapter 20. What I'd like to do is have the 18 verses read. And maybe a couple of brothers can stand. I'm not going to limit it to brothers. Anybody would like to. A couple of people stand up. And just read several verses. And someone else read it. And we'll have the whole thing read. 18 verses please. We'll have to do it one at a time. Now on the first day of the week. Mary and I went into the tomb early. While it was still dark. And Saul had been taken away. Stone had been taken away from the tomb. Then she ran and came to Simon Peter. And to the other disciple. Whom Jesus loved. And said to them. They have taken away the Lord out of the tomb. And we do not know where they have laid Him. Peter therefore went forth. And the other disciple. And they were going to the tomb. And the two were running together. And the other disciple ran ahead. Faster than Peter. And came to the tomb first. And still being in looking in. He saw the linen wrappings lying there. But he did not go in. Simon Peter therefore also came following him. And entered the tomb. He beheld the linen wrappings lying there. And the face cloth which had been on his head. Not lying with the linen wrappings. But rolled up into place by itself. Then entered in therefore the other disciple. And all of them. Who had first come to the tomb. And he saw and believed. For as yet they did not understand the scripture. That he must rise again from the dead. The disciples went back to their homes. But Mary stood outside the tomb crying. As she wept. She bent over him. Over to look into the tomb. And saw two angels in white. Sealed where Jesus' body had been. One at the head. And the other at the foot. Then her woman watched them leave. She says to them. Because they have taken away my Lord. And I know not where they have laid him. Having said these things. She turned backwards. And behold. Jesus stood there. And knew not. That it was Jesus. London. Why are you weeping? Who are you seeking? I suppose I am seeking a guardian. She said to him. Sir if you have carried him away. Tell me where you have laid him. And I will take him away. Jesus said to her. Mary. You are not journaling. Jesus said to her. Stop blaming him. For I don't even have gathered cities for my father. I go to my brethren. And say to them. I assigned my father. To your father. And I died, and you are dead. Maryructing to sin. And answered with this Bible. Okay. Thank you very much. I'm going to share with you, the Holy Spirit is the one, of course, always, who must communicate. In a special way, on all these appearances, I feel the frailty of human language to communicate. This is so big on God's heart, to tell us how he will appear to us. And I'm going to ask you, as we go along, that you keep a prayerful spirit, that words won't get in the way of the communication. God is saying, this is how I'll appear. We don't want to just formulate doctrines here. I don't want you leaving this place saying, alright, now we got five doctrines, and this is how we can expect Jesus to appear. God is talking about how he will come to us. We just can't reduce that to a principle. I have to teach in principles, I don't know another way to teach. But it's not a principle. It's the heart of God saying, this is how I will appear to you. So, you can write down a principle if you want to. But beyond that, let God communicate to you what his heart is saying, this is how I'll appear. Having said that, we'll get right to it. In verse 17, the Lord Jesus said to her, stop clinging to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father. But go to my brethren and say to them, I ascend to my Father and to your Father, to my God and to your God. That little expression stated in the negative, stop clinging to me. King James, touch me not. Mary, I have been appearing to you in a certain way, I'm changing gears. We're changing things. Stop clinging to me. Do not touch me. What does that mean? I know it cannot contradict Matthew 28, verse 9. Matthew 28, 9, these are the women. They came up, took hold of his feet, and worshipped him. When they laid hold of his feet, and the Greek is Paul, they wrapped themselves around him. When they wrapped themselves around the feet of our Lord Jesus, he did not look at them and say, stop clinging to me. So Mary was doing something different than that. Whatever it was, stop clinging to me. It cannot contradict Luke 24, 39. Luke 24, 39 says, see my hands and my feet, that it is I myself. Touch me and see. A spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see me have. When Jesus said, touch me. When he said to Mary, don't touch me. Stop clinging to me. He invited others to touch. He said, Mary, I've got to use you. I've got to lay down a principle here. I've got to teach them how I'm going to appear. I know it cannot contradict what he said to Thomas in verse 27. Reach here your finger. See my hands. Reach here your hand and put it into my side. He invited Thomas. No record Thomas ever did it. Probably didn't do it. But he invited him to do it. To Mary he says, stop clinging to me. Some commentators try to explain it because he had not yet ascended. Meaning that there was more than one ascension. And so by the time the women wrapped themselves around him, he had already ascended and come back. Then later he's going to ascend again. I don't read about a lot of different ascensions. Probably you wouldn't agree with Paulus. Who wrote, quote, do not lay a finger on me because my womb's still smart. Can you believe that? Almost swallowed my tobacco. Some suggest maybe the Lord Jesus was just being modest. You know, the appearance of evil is just him and a woman. Don't touch me. And of course we reject all the suggestions that Mary was trying to make some immoral advance. Some teach that. No, there's a principle here. And I think it is the very key to how our Lord Jesus will appear until the end of time. According to the lexicon. It says, do not fasten yourself. It's the word that means to hang on, to grip tightly. One Greek scholar says, quote, this is Charles Wordsworth. The Greek here not only forbids clinging as an act, but carries the nuance of a habit of life. It forbids clinging as a habit of life. Mary was clinging to Christ in the flesh, whatever that means. We'll touch on it in a minute. Mary was clinging in the flesh. And the Lord Jesus was saying, from now on, I will appear in the spirit. That's the principle. How will he appear? In the spirit. To the spirit. And not to the flesh. Mary was trying to do what she had done for the years that he was on the earth. Cling to a Christ that she could see. Probably Paul had this in mind when he wrote in 2 Corinthians 5, 16. Even though we've known Christ after the flesh, henceforth we know him no longer after the flesh. I think we have some advantages those early disciples didn't have. They have some we don't have. One that we have that they didn't have is we don't have a mental picture of the Christ we pray to. That must have been tough for them to shake that. Because they had that mental picture. They remembered him. His look, his smile, his appearance, his countenance. They remembered that when they prayed. It must have been hard to get rid of that idea. We don't have that problem. We have what Epiphanius gave us in the 4th century. The only description of Christ. 6 foot tall, ruddy hair, ruddy cheeks, strong nose. And all the artists followed that. And that's what we got. But when we pray, it's a spiritual thing. We worship him in spirit and in truth. Now in order to make this intensely practical, I know Mary was clinging to Christ in the flesh. I know it because Jesus said stop. Don't do that anymore. And so God has given us the record. And where I might not be able to say here's what a definition is of clinging in the flesh. I can't find the words for that definition. But I can describe it. I can look at Mary's life and I can see what it was. And he said don't do that anymore. And when she didn't do it, I can see a change. I can stand in the bathroom and I can look in the mirror. And I can see reflected in the mirror and in Mary's life what it means. Let me show you some characteristics in Mary's life. She was clinging in the flesh. And because of that, let's look at Mary. Dear Mary. Oh how I love Mary. Let's look at her. And then let's watch her deliverance. Mary was a beautiful woman. I'm not talking about the flesh. I'm talking about this heart of Mary. If anyone in the Bible was a lover of our Lord Jesus Christ. Mary Magdalene was a lover of our Lord Jesus Christ. God gave her an honor that nobody else on the planet earth ever had. And nobody else on the planet earth ever will have. You know what that honor was? It can never happen again. Somebody had to be the first witness of the living Christ. And there could only be one. Mary, that's you. What a privilege you got, Mary. Last at the cross, first at the tomb. Because of her heart for the Lord Jesus. I believe she was selected because she illustrates. Now watch. A backslider. He's talking about how he is going to appear. Implied, how I will appear to the lovers of the Lord Jesus. You're not just going to appear to anybody. How he appears to those who love the Savior. And are clinging in the flesh. Oh precious. Aren't you glad? That he has promised. And the first thing he said in all of his appearances. He's saying, I will appear to those who love me. And are clinging in the flesh. Boy, I'm so glad for this first revelation. There are 14 references in the Bible to Mary Magdalene. There's only 3 events, but 14 references. We see Mary at her conversion. We see Mary at the cross. And we see Mary at the tomb. Loving Jesus every time. She's just a lover of the Lord Jesus. By the way, her last name is not Magdalene. She was from a town of that name. And therefore, she carries that name. My name is not Edward Waterbury. I was born in Waterbury, Connecticut. And that was her Mary Magdalene. She was from that little town. Also, by the way, we're not 100% clear that the immoral woman in Luke chapter 8. Is Mary Magdalene. She gets the same wrath Thomas gets. And there are houses, Magdalene houses for fallen women all over the place. Because her testimony is in chapter 7. And this other woman is in chapter 8. Because Mary Magdalene had 7 demons cast out of her. We assume that she was the fallen woman of chapter 8. That's not proven. Nobody knows if that was her or not. Maybe, if you have 7 demons, I wouldn't put her past her. I'm not suggesting she wasn't immoral. But I know this. She that's forgiven much, loves much. And whatever is included in 7 demons. And being delivered of 7 demons. This woman loved much. This woman was delivered from much. And she loved much. I call attention to that because I don't want you thinking that those who cling to Jesus in the flesh. Are just backsliders and rebellious and cold and formal and hard. In most cases. Those kind of people don't cling to Jesus even in the flesh. Now Mary was a lover of our Lord Jesus. I cling to the Lord in the flesh. Those things that were true of Mary Magdalene in the limited record we have will be true of us. Let me give them to you as principles and then God deliver you from my principles. You know, I don't know another way to teach. But we want life. You can't worship a principle. You can't fellowship with a principle. You can't. They're just designed to show you him. These are characteristics of Mary's life. Every time anybody. You, me, anybody. Mary, anytime anybody. Clings to Christ in the flesh. They will be limiting the Lord. Mary limited the Lord. Now on a weekend like this. Some of us know others. But I don't know a lot of you. And we sort of have clinging in the flesh. Kind of a fellowship. When we're here. We pass smiles and hugs and handshakes. And some surface conversation. And there's no real spirit. Sometimes, praise God, there's the exception. And God allows spirit to touch spirit. But a lot of it is just on this kind of a surface thing. Mary missed Christ. Because she was looking for Christ. As she last saw him. Mary missed Christ. Because she was looking for Christ. As she last saw him. And the last experience that she had of Christ. Hindered her from a new revelation. She had a preconceived idea of how he would appear. Luke 23. The last time she saw him. He was hanging on a cross. He was dead. And then the Bible says she followed Joseph of Arimathea. And Nicodemus. And when they went down and took the body. She followed them. And when they anointed the body and wrapped the body. She was in the woods looking. And when they laid it in the tomb. She saw where the tomb was. And she saw the stone. She knew where he was. She was spying. And the last time she saw Christ. He was dead. And this Sunday morning. She got up to look for a dead Christ. Because she was clinging in the flesh. Her Christ was the Christ of a previous experience. And she began to limit Christ. He was dead. He was wrapped. He was anointed. He was buried. And that was her whole vision. And to put it in a doctrine. I know Christ. He died for me. People never get beyond that. You know. And that's the last vision they see. And every time you see him. That's all they talk about. Am I undermining the death of the Lord? You know better than that. I'm not doing that. On Sunday morning. She went out to look for a crucified Christ. She loves Jesus. But she can't see him. She expected to see a dead Christ. And so the angels show up. She says to the angels. You see where he laid him? You take him? When she saw Jesus. She said sir. Have you taken him? If she saw his corpse in of the bushes. She'd been happy. That's what she was looking for. A dead Christ. Jesus is standing right in front of her. But she does not recognize him. Because she was not expecting to see him that way. I hope you've come to this weekend. Not expecting to see Jesus as you've already seen him. Because what if he wants to show himself another way. And you're expecting to see him as you've already seen him. You might miss him. You might miss him. And that frustrates love. To miss Jesus. Because he doesn't appear as we expect him to appear. I guess I'm speaking for you. I'm speaking for me. I've stood with Mary. In the presence of a savior. That I loved but I couldn't see. With spices in my hand to give him. I couldn't find him. Have you been there? And your heart loves him so much. But you've got this limited view. And someone else said, the Lord appeared to me in a certain way. And you say, well no, he's never appeared to me that way. I'm not sure that was true. If you say, he can't appear that way. He won't. Even if he does. Chill on that one. Second characteristic. Not only will you limit God. By looking for God in some way you've already seen him. But you will be spiritually dull. Spiritually dull. You will not know spiritual truth even when it's under your nose. If you're clinging to Christ in the flesh. That stone on the way. Told a spiritual story. But Mary did not get the spiritual story. You know we sort of read this thing, la la la. Angels appeared to Mary. Angels from heaven. From the presence of God. And here's their description. Matthew 28.3 Their appearance was like lightning. Garmin says, white as snow. God shook for fear. Because of these creatures from heaven. The other women, it says. Seeing the angels were amazed. They fled. They were astonished. Mary saw the angels and it was like talking to a mailman. Two angels in white. One at the head. One at the foot. And they say, why are you weeping? Keep taking. If an angel that looked like that appeared to you. Wouldn't it be awesome? But if you're clinging to Christ in the flesh. And you're not expecting much. You're going to miss spiritual truth when it's right under your nose. And when it's going on all around you. And when everyone else is seeing it. And you're going to walk right by. And you're going to be oblivious even to the angels of God. It comes to a climax, you know. When the Lord Jesus is standing in front of her. A savior alive from the dead. She doesn't have a clue who he is. If Clinton came to town. Nobody would mistake him as a gardener. But our Lord Jesus. We'll have more of that in another connection. Not about Clinton. Here's my spiritual life. And we're going to have a Bible study now. And we're going to pray now. And we're going to have missions now. And we're going to sing spiritual songs now. Here's my other life. My natural life. My carnal life. And we're going to have sports now. And have a game now. Or we're going to go shopping now. Life as a university. If you're seeing Christ in the spirit. Everything is spiritual. About your life. If you're seeing Christ in the flesh. There's this division of that which is spiritual. And that which is natural. You're not going to be missing spiritual things. If you're clinging to Christ in the spirit. Because everything is spiritual. You're going to be alive. Cling to Christ in the spirit. Everything is spiritual. I was talking to a brother today. What's going on in your life? I'm fishing. Yeah. Threw the line back. And I realized. You know if you're going to win souls. You better be prepared for fishing. He said. Hey Lion. You know the bait is important when you're fishing. He said. Got my line all tamed up. He said. Oh boy. Talk to me. Spoke to me. That guy's fishing. He has no right to be spiritual when he's fishing. Clinging to Christ in the spirit. Everything is spiritual. Cling to Christ in the flesh. And you won't know an angel when he's under your nose. Oh this is Mary. There's a third characteristic. Not only when you cling to Christ in the flesh. Do you miss seeing spiritual reality. But when it is under your nose. You misinterpret it. You misread it. You misjudge it. That stone rolled away. God did that. You know. And that told a spiritual story. God was saying. Let's give him some good news. Roll that stone away. Mary come up over to hell. Saw the stone rolled away. Bad news. Bad news. And she ran to the disciples. She said. Got bad news for you. Somebody stole it. On what basis. On what evidence. Did you come up with that bad news. But you start clinging to Christ in the flesh. And evidence bad news. And all the good news is bad news. And that comes to a climax. When the Lord Jesus stands before her. And she accuses her best friend of being her enemy. You're the reason I can't see Jesus. It's Jesus she's talking to. And she accuses him of robbing her. Of the joy of embracing a dead Christ. Amazing. One more characteristic. If I cling in the flesh. Christian service. And I'm going to take it beyond that. Christian service. Will become an awful burden. Odd. Will become an awful burden. This dear Mary. Living God. Spiritually dull. Misinterpreting good news. And now the poor lady is worn to a frazzle. Loving a dead Christ. Trying to give a service which will never happen. This woman is running her legs off. What a living Christ she wants to serve. It's a dead Christ. She wants to serve a dead Christ out of love. And when you serve a dead Christ out of love. Your Christian service soon becomes a burden. And so does your God. Chapter 20 verse 1. Mary. Gets up early. For devotion. Now I added that. Not for devotion. Mary gets up early. She rises. While others are still sleeping. For love of a dead Christ. She gets up early. Before the dawn. To plan this wonderful service. She planned to bring spices. I don't know what it took. To get those spices ready. She had to wait till the Sabbath was done. And she prepares all this service. These spices. Mark 16. To bring to Christ. She'll never get to use it. One sense it was a waste of sleep. Waste of perfume. He's alive. Chapter 20 verse 2. She runs. Don't just read this. La la la. Mary. Bad moves. They took the stole. They stole the body. Peter and John. What? They run. Mary. And she runs behind him. And she's crying all the time. This woman loves the Lord. She is running her legs off. She gets up early. She prepares spices. She runs all the way to the disciple. She runs all the way back to the tomb. Verse 15. Tell me where you've laid him. And I'll take him away. Mary listen to yourself. You're going to take him away. How are you going to do that? How much did he weigh? If he's dead. We know he was anointed with at least 100 pounds of spices. We're talking 200 or 250 pounds. And Mary in love says. I'll take him away. I'll carry my God. Something's awfully wrong here. The Christian service has become such a burden. She's doing all those things that we talk about. Let's get up early. Let's prepare the ointment. Let's bring it to Jesus. Let's run here and do this. And run here and do that. And let's get all out of breath. And let's carry the Lord. And let's carry him to work with us. And carry him to school with us. And God becomes a burden. And the Christian service becomes a burden. And after a while you just go. Oh Lord. I need some help. And then you look around. And you start judging brothers and sisters. They're not helping. There's so much to do. Dear Mary. Legalism is always the fruit of clinging to Christ in the flesh. Aren't you glad. That a living Christ. Always stands between you and the dead Christ. That a living Christ is always there. This he's promised. This is the first way he's going to appear. To those who love him. And have worn themselves ragged. And are missing spiritual truth. And have put God into a box. And have limited God by the last experience they've had of him. He says to that one I will come. And I will reveal myself in the spirit. How did he do that? And this is where I'm saying. Trust God with me. To help you see. What is burning my heart. And I don't have words for. So. Help. You can't take notes on this. I don't have notes for this. But I'm going to try to communicate spirit. Pray with me on this. In one word. Chapter 20 verse 16. He said. Mary. It's over. On the level of earth. The one I love the most. Is Lillian. On the level of earth. I love Lillian. If she died. And I was grieving because she died. And suddenly she's alive. And she said. Honey. Or. Edge. That wouldn't do. If she come out of the grave. You better believe I'm all over that woman. I'll be hugging her. Right. I'd be kissing her. I'd be swinging her around. And when I stopped I'd hug her again. She just said. Edge. I said oh. I laughed. Finally. Somehow. He says. Don't cling to me. Listen. Mary. And he gave that one word. Because that one word. Represented the whole person. What he's saying. I don't want perfume. I want you. And in that one word. He hugged her spirit. In that one word. He kissed her spirit. You didn't come up here. I hope you didn't come up here. To Joshua. To learn five ways. God will appear to us. In the church age. Great honk in the morning. Be delivered from that. He doesn't want your perfume. He doesn't care if you get up early. He doesn't want you running your legs off for him. He wants to call your name. He wants you. And what he's saying is. I will appear. To the real you. That which is represented by your name. I'll say. You're an egg satisfied man. You know the last words in the bible. Of Mary Magdalene. The last words recorded in the bible. Of Mary Magdalene. I have seen the Lord. I've seen the Lord. You know why? Because he reached down. And he hugged her spirit. He said I'm going to appear spiritually. Don't cling to me in the flesh. I'm going to appear spiritually. In such a way. That you're not going to have this. Confined vision of me. That doesn't allow surprises. Let me surprise you with my revelation. I love you. Don't answer. When's the last time. That truth. Burned itself indelibly. Into your soul. It's you. They say. I'm going to leave hospital. And I've got a new dedication. And I'm going to get malnourished. And I'm going to give demission. And I'm going to go here. And I'm going to. Forget that. I'm not saying forget that. You know what I'm saying. I'm saying listen. When's the last time. You let Jesus. Hug your spirit. When's the last time. You let him kiss your soul. When's the last time. You let him enjoy you. He said. That's what I want to do. You know how I want to appear. I want to find those people. That love me. And have. Because of their love. Embrace the dead Christ. And I want to be a living Christ. In them. And I want them. God wants you this weekend. He wants to show himself. To you. To the whole world. I don't know how he's going to do that. I don't know what that will mean. In your particular case. But I know. The first appearance. He says. Don't cling to me in the flesh. He said Mary. And it dawned on her. Teacher. You have taught me. How to hold on to you. In the flesh. And she walked away. And she was free. She was free. He's going to appear. Four other ways. But the first way. He appears. Is to get hold of you. He loves you. He wants you. He cares for you. Don't substitute service for that. And I'll get involved. And I'll be this. And I'll be that. And I'll dedicate. And I'll give my life. He wants you. He loves you. That's the first way. He's going to appear. He'll appear four other ways. May God help us with this. Let's pray. Heavenly Father. Speak our name. We ask in Jesus name. Amen.