WHAT DOES THE BIBLE MEAN WHEN IT SAYS WHEN CHRIST RETURNS, THE DEAD IN CHRIST WILL RISE? IS IT SCRIPTURAL TO CLAP AFTER PRAYER OR PRAISING?
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All right.
And it's time for
your email questions
and some honest answers.
And we're going to start
with this one from Donna.
She says, "I
believe when we die,
we immediately go to heaven.
What does the Bible
mean when it says
when Christ returns, the
dead in Christ will rise?"
Gordon, this one
is always kind of--
This is one of your questions.
Yeah.
It bothered me a
little bit, too.
It's also Wendy.
That's right.
Yeah.
I want to know.
I always though we
immediately went.
The Bible says to be
absent from the body
is to be present to the Lord.
WENDY: Yes.
Jesus says, as you quoted
in the break, that this day,
you will be with me in paradise.
And he's saying that to
the thief on the cross--
Amen.
--because he acknowledged
that he was the Messiah.
So this day, you will
be with me in paradise.
Great.
That's good.
So what does it mean?
So you die.
You're with Jesus.
What does it mean when the
dead in Christ shall rise?
I believe in the
resurrection of the dead.
And that means a
bodily resurrection.
And one of the oldest books
in the Bible, the Book of Job,
he says there will be a day
where I will stand on the earth
and I will see my
redeemer face to face.
Awesome.
OK.
To be absent from the body,
you're present with the Lord.
But in that state,
you're looking forward
to the bodily resurrection
back here on Earth
and then the millennial reign.
This is a win-win.
Yay
This is great news.
Both are right.
Both are right.
Both are right.
It doesn't get any better.
It's good news.
Awesome.
Thank you, Gordon.
That almost stumped me.
All right.
This is from Dee.
She says, "I attend a church
where the congregation claps
after a person prays.
They also clap at the end
of a praise or worship song.
Is this scriptural?"
Dee, the scripture says
that the trees of the field
will clap their hands.
And what are they clapping for?
They're clapping about the
great things that God has done.
So if people want to clap, I
think it's a very old behavior.
It's tough to find scriptural
references for a lot of things,
a lot of the liturgy, a
lot of the traditions,
a lot of the customs
of the church.
But at the same
time, clapping just
seems to be a normal human
response that goes way back.
So if people are
excited about something,
why not let them clap?
It's OK.
I know.
Can you imagine--
You got a problem
with clapping?
Can you imagine
you're preaching
and everybody's
completely silent?
That happens all the time.
[CHUCKLING]
Sometimes, I hear snoring.
And it's OK.
I'm a clapper and a
shouter in any manner.
So praise the Lord.
All right.
This viewer says-- and
Gordon's a great preacher.
Don't let him fool you.
All right.
This viewer says, "I would
like to know what Jesus meant
in Mark 16:17 through 18
when he said, 'In my name,
they shall take up serpents.'
I have heard this quoted
in the pulpit many times,
but have never
heard it explained."
I actually have never
heard it from the pulpit.
I think most people
skip over it.
You look at this.
And boy, does some bad doctrines
come up where you actually
have churches that
believe in snake handling
and-- as some kind of proof of
their holiness or their belief.
And all they're doing
is really tempting
God, certainly tempting
the snake to bite them.
There's a parallel,
and you find it
in Luke chapter 10,
where you will tread
on serpents and scorpions.
And Jesus isn't saying
to his disciples,
please find a bunch of
serpents that you can walk on.
What he's saying is
that you have control,
you have dominion,
over the demonic.
And that is a wonderful thing.
And we need to not be
afraid of the devil.
He is a defeated foe.
There's another side to it.
And it's a perfectly
good interpretation
because the verse
goes on that you can--
you're not going to die if
you happen to drink poison.
And so you look at scripture.
And the Apostle Paul stuck his
hand into a bunch of sticks
to put them in the fire.
And a viper bit him.
And it had no effect on him.
So don't tempt God with it.
But understand He's with you.
And if you're doing
His work, He's
going to protect
you from all harm.
And in Luke 10, that's
exactly what Jesus says--
"And nothing will, by
any means, harm you."