1 00:00:12,087 --> 00:00:17,241 [Music] You might think you have much more time. 2 00:00:17,242 --> 00:00:24,154 But oh, the truth is that there is no hope in time. 3 00:00:24,155 --> 00:00:29,419 Jesus is our only hope in dying. (P) 4 00:00:29,420 --> 00:00:32,659 [Craig] In a couple of days Michael Jackson will be buried. 5 00:00:32,659 --> 00:00:35,790 He will join the likes of these. 6 00:00:35,791 --> 00:00:40,520 He's captivated the world because he was such a unique individual, 7 00:00:40,521 --> 00:00:43,729 really larger-than-life it seem. 8 00:00:43,730 --> 00:00:48,142 And yet now, he's really no different than these I passed by in the cemetery. 9 00:00:48,143 --> 00:00:53,028 That's a sobering thought. 10 00:00:53,029 --> 00:00:59,048 There is a line I remember in his great musical hit, the music video, Thriller. 11 00:00:59,049 --> 00:01:02,401 I remember that video, the demon-filled zombies coming out of the grave, 12 00:01:02,401 --> 00:01:06,749 Vincent Price's spooky voice narrating. 13 00:01:06,750 --> 00:01:09,206 There's a line in there that he sings, Michael Jackson, 14 00:01:09,207 --> 00:01:14,156 and it's really quite chilling when you consider how his life unfolded. 15 00:01:14,156 --> 00:01:16,117 It said, "They're out to get you. 16 00:01:16,117 --> 00:01:19,519 There's demons closing in on every side." 17 00:01:19,520 --> 00:01:24,606 It almost seemed to be prophetic, because as his life would unfold, 18 00:01:24,607 --> 00:01:26,749 demons would be closing in on every side, 19 00:01:26,749 --> 00:01:30,644 so much so that he was never able to rid himself of them. 20 00:01:30,644 --> 00:01:33,310 And they finally took him down. (P) 21 00:01:33,310 --> 00:01:35,984 In the wake of his death, there's a lot being said about Michael Jackson. 22 00:01:35,984 --> 00:01:39,151 But what's true? 23 00:01:39,151 --> 00:01:44,432 A lot of emotions being expressed, but what's true? 24 00:01:44,433 --> 00:01:48,260 The tendency is, when people die, they turn to their emotions 25 00:01:48,260 --> 00:01:50,445 and their affections for an individual, 26 00:01:50,446 --> 00:01:52,250 and truth gets obscured. 27 00:01:52,251 --> 00:01:54,845 Objective truth gets lost in the midst of it. 28 00:01:54,846 --> 00:01:58,396 And people tend to believe what they want to believe. 29 00:01:58,396 --> 00:02:00,793 But what's true about Michael Jackson? Where is he now? 30 00:02:00,793 --> 00:02:04,102 We read these tombstones here: "Asleep in Jesus", 31 00:02:04,103 --> 00:02:07,439 "Sweet Jesus," "Resting in Jesus." 32 00:02:07,439 --> 00:02:10,390 How many really are resting in Jesus? 33 00:02:10,390 --> 00:02:12,037 We can't trust our emotions. 34 00:02:12,037 --> 00:02:17,550 Our emotions go up and down, they come and go. So we can't trust them. 35 00:02:17,550 --> 00:02:20,311 They won't take us to what's true, they won't lead us to truth; 36 00:02:20,311 --> 00:02:23,635 and they certainly won't change what's true. (P) 37 00:02:23,635 --> 00:02:27,995 Yet unfortunately people dwell upon thoughts of their lost loved ones 38 00:02:27,995 --> 00:02:30,676 and they'll rehash their memories. 39 00:02:30,677 --> 00:02:34,792 What so often happens is they're led to embrace falsehood - 40 00:02:34,792 --> 00:02:36,680 things that aren't true. 41 00:02:36,681 --> 00:02:39,324 I mean, things are said even in funerals that aren't true. 42 00:02:39,324 --> 00:02:43,472 How many funerals have you been to, where a preacher says, 43 00:02:43,472 --> 00:02:47,096 "Well I'm sorry, we have no confidence that Mr. so-and-so 44 00:02:47,096 --> 00:02:50,014 (or Mrs. so-and-so) is with the Lord 45 00:02:50,015 --> 00:02:55,881 because the life they lived was completely contrary to the life of a true Christian"? 46 00:02:55,881 --> 00:02:59,185 You've never heard that. I've never heard that. Why? 47 00:02:59,186 --> 00:03:02,215 Because everybody somehow ends up in heaven in a funeral - 48 00:03:02,215 --> 00:03:04,168 even the worst of sinners. 49 00:03:04,168 --> 00:03:07,754 People want to think the best. 50 00:03:07,754 --> 00:03:12,102 But what's true? That's all that really matters. 51 00:03:12,102 --> 00:03:15,002 Not what you and I think, 52 00:03:15,002 --> 00:03:18,756 not what the person in the grave thought, 53 00:03:18,757 --> 00:03:20,661 but what's really true? Where are they at? 54 00:03:20,661 --> 00:03:24,491 How do we establish that? Is that left to men and women? 55 00:03:24,491 --> 00:03:28,245 Are they the determining factor of what happens beyond the grave? 56 00:03:28,245 --> 00:03:31,970 Or is there a Creator? What does His Word say? 57 00:03:31,970 --> 00:03:34,699 Our word means nothing. We need to consult God. 58 00:03:34,700 --> 00:03:36,345 God has left us His Word. 59 00:03:36,345 --> 00:03:39,857 This is the revelation of what's true concerning life and death; 60 00:03:39,857 --> 00:03:42,488 concerning what lies beyond the grave. (P) 61 00:03:42,488 --> 00:03:49,480 In the passing of Michael Jackson, some very important realities have come to us. 62 00:03:49,481 --> 00:03:56,396 God has taught us and confirmed to us some very important spiritual truths. 63 00:03:56,397 --> 00:03:59,181 I have ten reasons why Michael Jackson's life and death matter. (P) 64 00:03:59,182 --> 00:04:03,914 The first one is, it teaches us the dangerous power of idolatry. 65 00:04:03,914 --> 00:04:09,080 In 1 John 5:21 we're told, "Keep yourselves from idols." 66 00:04:09,080 --> 00:04:12,143 We're told so because idolatry is sin and it's very destructive. 67 00:04:12,144 --> 00:04:15,295 It's often associated with demonic power. 68 00:04:15,295 --> 00:04:19,481 In Colossians 3:5, it says, "Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: 69 00:04:19,481 --> 00:04:23,612 sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, 70 00:04:23,612 --> 00:04:26,627 and covetousness, which is idolatry." 71 00:04:26,627 --> 00:04:29,622 Idolatry is any thing we put in the place of God. 72 00:04:29,622 --> 00:04:33,450 Any thing that has elevated our heart with affection 73 00:04:33,462 --> 00:04:36,794 over and above Jesus Christ, that's idolatry. 74 00:04:36,794 --> 00:04:40,545 Michael Jackson's life was all about idolatry. 75 00:04:40,546 --> 00:04:42,628 He worshiped music. He worshiped dance. 76 00:04:42,628 --> 00:04:44,922 He worshiped himself and his own image; 77 00:04:44,922 --> 00:04:49,221 and there's nothing to be found of Jesus Christ in his life. (P) 78 00:04:49,221 --> 00:04:53,001 Jesus said, "A tree is known by its fruit." 79 00:04:53,001 --> 00:04:56,042 How do I know an apple tree is really an apple tree? 80 00:04:56,042 --> 00:04:58,282 Maybe it's something else. How do I know? 81 00:04:58,282 --> 00:05:00,147 Well, the fruit is its evidence. 82 00:05:00,147 --> 00:05:02,884 How do I know an orange tree really is an orange tree? 83 00:05:02,884 --> 00:05:04,610 Because it bears oranges. 84 00:05:04,610 --> 00:05:07,628 The same is true in the spiritual realm. 85 00:05:07,628 --> 00:05:09,137 Those who have spiritual life, 86 00:05:09,137 --> 00:05:11,589 those who really have a relationship to Jesus Christ, 87 00:05:11,589 --> 00:05:14,866 they bear that fruit. They bear the fruit of that relationship. 88 00:05:14,866 --> 00:05:19,259 And those who don't, likewise, bear fruit that they're not connected to Jesus Christ. 89 00:05:19,260 --> 00:05:20,657 He's really not their Savior. 90 00:05:20,657 --> 00:05:25,111 They're really not saved by His grace. They really don't know God. (P) 91 00:05:25,111 --> 00:05:30,262 Jesus said, "For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also." 92 00:05:30,262 --> 00:05:33,227 Where's your heart? What has a hold of it? 93 00:05:33,227 --> 00:05:34,925 What holds sway over you? 94 00:05:34,925 --> 00:05:38,758 Is it Jesus Christ? Or is something else pulling you away from God? 95 00:05:38,758 --> 00:05:43,776 That's what idols do - they bring men to destruction. (P) 96 00:05:43,776 --> 00:05:47,618 The second reason why Michael Jackson's life and death matter is, 97 00:05:47,618 --> 00:05:53,748 it highlights the reality of 1 Peter 1: 24-25 that All flesh is like grass 98 00:05:53,748 --> 00:05:56,961 and All its glory like the flower of grass. 99 00:05:56,961 --> 00:06:03,165 The grass withers and the flower falls, but the word of the Lord stands forever. 100 00:06:03,165 --> 00:06:06,209 Man at his best is a dying flower. 101 00:06:06,209 --> 00:06:11,067 At his absolute best, he's fading, he's dying, he's destined to die. 102 00:06:11,067 --> 00:06:15,573 That truth alone shows the insanity of one living for his own glory 103 00:06:15,573 --> 00:06:18,267 and not the glory of Jesus Christ. 104 00:06:18,267 --> 00:06:21,038 The world paints Hollywood as the ultimate achievement, 105 00:06:21,038 --> 00:06:23,703 the pinnacle of great success and fame, 106 00:06:23,703 --> 00:06:25,731 the best that the world has to offer. 107 00:06:25,731 --> 00:06:29,462 And yet, look at Hollywood's Tabloids, look at their obituaries. 108 00:06:29,462 --> 00:06:35,926 Look at the end of those who Hollywood holds out to be the darlings of America. 109 00:06:35,926 --> 00:06:41,195 Nearly every one of them are cheaters, liars, adulterers, fornicators. 110 00:06:41,195 --> 00:06:45,285 They commit adultery. They lie about everything that they do. 111 00:06:45,286 --> 00:06:47,349 They're strung-out on drugs. 112 00:06:47,349 --> 00:06:50,097 They're full of makeup and plastic surgery, 113 00:06:50,097 --> 00:06:52,505 just like Michael Jackson was. 114 00:06:52,505 --> 00:06:57,988 But behind the makeup is an empty, lonely, miserable life. 115 00:06:57,988 --> 00:07:01,058 And they spend that life trying to fill the void that's there - 116 00:07:01,058 --> 00:07:04,430 a void that's there because Christ isn't there. (P) 117 00:07:04,430 --> 00:07:07,447 The world is broken, and it's full of broken people. 118 00:07:07,447 --> 00:07:09,234 And I don't care how much makeup you put on them, 119 00:07:09,234 --> 00:07:11,575 and how much plastic you throw on them, 120 00:07:11,575 --> 00:07:13,927 and all that self-enhancement that you attempt to do, 121 00:07:13,927 --> 00:07:17,695 you cannot fill the void. 122 00:07:17,695 --> 00:07:20,198 Because behind it all is just a decaying, rotting 123 00:07:20,210 --> 00:07:22,373 structure with just a fresh coat of paint. 124 00:07:22,373 --> 00:07:26,607 Nothing in this world can satisfy the void that's there because of sin. (P) 125 00:07:26,607 --> 00:07:30,911 Michael Jackson and all his glory; it was great when he was here, wasn't it? 126 00:07:30,911 --> 00:07:33,732 It's all faded away. It's all nothing now, nothing. 127 00:07:33,732 --> 00:07:36,936 It won't stand before the judgment of God. 128 00:07:36,936 --> 00:07:42,646 Now the king of pop is face-to-face with the King of glory. 129 00:07:42,647 --> 00:07:44,104 And let me tell you something: 130 00:07:44,105 --> 00:07:50,505 There's only one King who glories beyond this life - it's Jesus Christ. (P) 131 00:07:50,505 --> 00:07:53,321 The third reason why Michael Jackson's life and death matters is, 132 00:07:53,321 --> 00:07:58,422 it teaches us that enormous wealth is poisonous to flesh. 133 00:07:58,422 --> 00:08:04,571 1 Timothy 6: 9-10 says, "Those who desire to be rich fall into temptation, 134 00:08:04,571 --> 00:08:08,178 into a snare, into many senseless and harmful desires 135 00:08:08,178 --> 00:08:12,574 that plunge people into ruin and destruction." 136 00:08:12,574 --> 00:08:16,260 Money is often a major snare, why? 137 00:08:16,260 --> 00:08:20,001 Because money is equal to power, and power is what men really thirst for. 138 00:08:20,001 --> 00:08:21,712 They want to be on top. They want to be the top dog. 139 00:08:21,712 --> 00:08:24,423 They want to be God. They want to be king. 140 00:08:24,423 --> 00:08:28,525 Michael, he regarded himself as king and he lived as one. 141 00:08:28,525 --> 00:08:31,065 And you know what, Michael Jackson had his reward. 142 00:08:31,065 --> 00:08:32,822 He's no longer king now. 143 00:08:32,823 --> 00:08:35,989 He's gone from king to a prisoner of darkness. 144 00:08:35,989 --> 00:08:42,326 Just like that. In a moment. He wasn't expecting it. 145 00:08:42,327 --> 00:08:44,879 Now he's singing a different tune. (P) 146 00:08:44,879 --> 00:08:48,190 Jesus said, "You can't have two masters. 147 00:08:48,190 --> 00:08:51,769 You can't serve God and money." 148 00:08:51,770 --> 00:08:54,106 You know why? because you're gonna love one and despise the other. 149 00:08:54,106 --> 00:08:57,569 You're gonna be faithful, you're gonna hold to one; 150 00:08:57,569 --> 00:08:59,253 and you're not gonna be faithful to the other. 151 00:08:59,253 --> 00:09:00,976 You can't love both. 152 00:09:00,976 --> 00:09:02,800 And here's the poison behind money: 153 00:09:02,800 --> 00:09:05,816 Those whose heart is set upon it, they can never get enough. 154 00:09:05,816 --> 00:09:07,931 They can never have enough. It's more and more. 155 00:09:07,931 --> 00:09:09,858 It doesn't matter if you're making minimum wage 156 00:09:09,870 --> 00:09:11,890 bagging groceries, or you're a multi-millionaire. 157 00:09:11,890 --> 00:09:14,444 If your heart is set on money, all you want is more and more. 158 00:09:14,445 --> 00:09:16,652 It's never satisfying to you. 159 00:09:16,652 --> 00:09:22,934 The fact Michael Jackson died 400 million dollars in debt 160 00:09:22,934 --> 00:09:24,923 is an evidence what he was a slave to. 161 00:09:24,923 --> 00:09:28,590 He was a slave to money. That's what he worshiped. 162 00:09:28,590 --> 00:09:34,352 He fulfilled the words of 1 Timothy 6:10. 163 00:09:34,352 --> 00:09:38,766 His love for money produced many senseless and harmful desires. 164 00:09:38,766 --> 00:09:41,547 Those desires ended up destroying him. 165 00:09:41,548 --> 00:09:45,485 So the very Word of God tells us. (P) 166 00:09:45,485 --> 00:09:47,762 How much does money have a hold on you? 167 00:09:47,762 --> 00:09:49,157 Be honest with yourself. 168 00:09:49,157 --> 00:09:53,253 Do you think more about money or about God? 169 00:09:53,253 --> 00:09:56,698 Really, just be honest. Which do you think of more? 170 00:09:56,698 --> 00:10:00,669 That is a great indicator of whose slave you are. (P) 171 00:10:00,669 --> 00:10:04,194 The fourth reason why Michael Jackson's life and death matter is, 172 00:10:04,194 --> 00:10:09,876 it confirms the biblical truth that fallen man is given to self-destruction. 173 00:10:09,876 --> 00:10:14,407 In Romans 3 we have a description; God gives a description of the sinner there. 174 00:10:14,407 --> 00:10:20,608 And in Rom. 3:16, He says destruction and misery are in their ways. 175 00:10:20,608 --> 00:10:25,190 In the Proverbs we read, "There's a way that seems right to a man," 176 00:10:25,191 --> 00:10:29,680 he's convinced it's right, "but the end of it is death." 177 00:10:29,680 --> 00:10:31,381 It's a way that leads to death. 178 00:10:31,382 --> 00:10:33,144 He doesn't start out thinking at least to death, 179 00:10:33,144 --> 00:10:36,267 but when he gets there and it's too late, it is death. 180 00:10:36,267 --> 00:10:39,361 That's a picture of mankind in his lost state. 181 00:10:39,361 --> 00:10:45,172 And do not those scriptures just scream out about Michael Jackson's life? 182 00:10:45,173 --> 00:10:46,658 There was this normal boy. 183 00:10:46,658 --> 00:10:49,318 He had many talents, very likable. 184 00:10:49,318 --> 00:10:51,577 He was a great performer; he was. 185 00:10:51,577 --> 00:10:54,776 He was good at what he did. He seemed to have a level head about him. 186 00:10:54,777 --> 00:10:57,886 But as time brought fame, and fame brought fortune, 187 00:10:57,886 --> 00:11:02,351 his life began to get stranger, and more twisted, 188 00:11:02,351 --> 00:11:06,219 and more wicked, as his life progressed. 189 00:11:06,219 --> 00:11:08,767 And in the end, his legacy is mainly marred 190 00:11:08,767 --> 00:11:12,800 mostly by what he did offstage than what he did onstage. 191 00:11:12,800 --> 00:11:14,246 That's what sin does. 192 00:11:14,246 --> 00:11:17,945 Here was a man desperate for satisfaction and looking for it in himself. 193 00:11:17,946 --> 00:11:19,287 And that's an endless road. 194 00:11:19,287 --> 00:11:23,990 It'll lead everybody to misery - looking for satisfaction in yourself. 195 00:11:23,990 --> 00:11:25,691 Sin is a great destroyer. 196 00:11:25,691 --> 00:11:29,882 It ruins man, just as it did Michael Jackson. (P) 197 00:11:29,882 --> 00:11:34,197 In Matthew 7: 13-14 we're told, "Wide is the gate 198 00:11:34,209 --> 00:11:38,449 and broad is the way that leads to destruction." 199 00:11:38,449 --> 00:11:43,108 And the Bible says, "Many there be that go in that way." 200 00:11:43,108 --> 00:11:47,829 And yet, "Narrow is the gate and hard (or difficult) is the way that leads to life," 201 00:11:47,829 --> 00:11:51,773 and the Bible says, "Few there be that find it." 202 00:11:51,773 --> 00:11:56,071 There's going to be more people on that wide broad road that leads to destruction. 203 00:11:56,071 --> 00:11:58,162 They don't think it does but it does. 204 00:11:58,162 --> 00:12:01,408 And very few, the Bible tells us, Jesus tells us in His own words, 205 00:12:01,408 --> 00:12:07,680 "Very few will find that narrow gate that leads to life." (P) 206 00:12:07,681 --> 00:12:11,218 The fifth reason why Michael Jackson's life and death matter is, 207 00:12:11,218 --> 00:12:14,326 it was an example of a WASTED LIFE. 208 00:12:14,326 --> 00:12:17,504 "What will it profit a man if he gains the whole world," Jesus said, 209 00:12:17,504 --> 00:12:19,118 "and lose his own soul? 210 00:12:19,118 --> 00:12:22,723 Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?" 211 00:12:22,723 --> 00:12:29,265 What is a person willing to trade their eternal never-dying soul for? 212 00:12:29,265 --> 00:12:33,262 Many people, just foolish things. Things that don't last. 213 00:12:33,262 --> 00:12:36,464 Things they can't take to eternity with them. 214 00:12:36,464 --> 00:12:40,424 We all have 24 hours a day, as many days God gives us. 215 00:12:40,424 --> 00:12:42,272 What are we doing with them? 216 00:12:42,272 --> 00:12:44,195 What's our soul invested in? 217 00:12:44,195 --> 00:12:46,698 What are we doing with the time, and the talent, 218 00:12:46,698 --> 00:12:50,125 and the treasures, that God has given unto us? 219 00:12:50,125 --> 00:12:53,288 We're stewards, we're responsible, we're accountable to God. 220 00:12:53,288 --> 00:12:57,379 1 Timothy 6:7 says, "For we brought nothing into this world, 221 00:12:57,379 --> 00:13:01,202 and it is certain we can carry nothing out." (P) 222 00:13:01,202 --> 00:13:05,131 For Michael Jackson, he's been stripped of it all. 223 00:13:05,131 --> 00:13:08,788 It's all gone - every one of his accomplishments, all that he did. 224 00:13:08,788 --> 00:13:13,993 Neverland, ironically, never gave him what he wanted. It didn't. 225 00:13:13,993 --> 00:13:16,730 All his platinum records, all his money, 226 00:13:16,730 --> 00:13:18,601 all his mansions and accomplishments, 227 00:13:18,601 --> 00:13:20,975 they're left to rust and corrupt. 228 00:13:20,975 --> 00:13:25,242 They're still here, he's not. He's gone. 229 00:13:25,242 --> 00:13:30,403 There's nothing in this world that does him any good in the spirit world, 230 00:13:30,403 --> 00:13:34,735 the world now where he's accountable to God and he faces his judgment. 231 00:13:34,735 --> 00:13:38,749 Jackson lived for his own glory, and not for the glory of Jesus Christ. 232 00:13:38,749 --> 00:13:42,919 That, my friend, is a WASTED life. (P) 233 00:13:42,920 --> 00:13:47,373 The sixth reason why Michael Jackson's life and death matter is that, 234 00:13:47,373 --> 00:13:51,068 life is a vacuum outside of Jesus Christ. 235 00:13:51,068 --> 00:13:55,393 In John 1:4, Scripture says, "In Him was life (in Jesus Christ, that is,) 236 00:13:55,393 --> 00:13:59,806 In Him was life, and the life was the light of men." 237 00:13:59,806 --> 00:14:00,790 Really, it's that simple: 238 00:14:00,790 --> 00:14:05,261 Jesus Christ is life; and there's no life outside of Him. None. 239 00:14:05,261 --> 00:14:06,396 None whatsoever. 240 00:14:06,396 --> 00:14:08,644 And praise God if you've found Him to be so, 241 00:14:08,644 --> 00:14:11,906 because, as we already said, not many find it. 242 00:14:11,907 --> 00:14:13,958 Not many find that path that leads to life. 243 00:14:13,958 --> 00:14:16,375 And that path is Christ. (P) 244 00:14:16,375 --> 00:14:20,982 Many of you may be aware of Tom Brady's comments in the 60-minute interview he had: 245 00:14:20,982 --> 00:14:24,010 "But with all that money, fame, and career accomplishments, 246 00:14:24,010 --> 00:14:26,561 we were surprised to hear this from him, 247 00:14:26,561 --> 00:14:29,050 'Why do I have three Super Bowl rings 248 00:14:29,050 --> 00:14:33,796 and still think there's something greater out there for me? 249 00:14:33,797 --> 00:14:37,757 I mean... Maybe a lot of people would say, "hey man, this is what it is. 250 00:14:37,757 --> 00:14:41,818 I reached my goal, my dream. My life is..." 251 00:14:41,818 --> 00:14:45,510 Me I thank God, there's gotta be more than this.' 252 00:14:45,511 --> 00:14:46,945 "What's the answer?" 253 00:14:46,945 --> 00:14:50,470 "I wish I knew... I wish I knew..." 254 00:14:50,470 --> 00:14:53,477 which is just an incredible insight. (P) 255 00:14:53,477 --> 00:14:56,526 Here's this man, multi-million dollar contracts, 256 00:14:56,526 --> 00:15:00,835 making millions of dollars a year, winner of three Super Bowls, 257 00:15:00,835 --> 00:15:04,471 three-time MVP, dating a supermodel. 258 00:15:04,471 --> 00:15:06,537 According to the world he had it all. 259 00:15:06,537 --> 00:15:09,778 But he reveals to the whole world in that interview, 260 00:15:09,778 --> 00:15:13,038 he thinks there's got to be something greater out there for him. 261 00:15:13,038 --> 00:15:16,816 He says, "There's got to be more than this. There's got to be." 262 00:15:16,816 --> 00:15:19,512 And that's a question really that everybody grapples with. 263 00:15:19,512 --> 00:15:23,541 And they seek many different avenues to find its answer. 264 00:15:23,541 --> 00:15:25,260 And even the greatest of Icons - 265 00:15:25,260 --> 00:15:27,396 it shows in Brady, it shows in Michael Jackson - 266 00:15:27,396 --> 00:15:32,136 even the greatest of Icons are sinners in need of a Savior. (P) 267 00:15:32,136 --> 00:15:36,695 That question "there's got to be more than this; there's got to be more", 268 00:15:36,695 --> 00:15:38,152 that's what drives people to drugs. 269 00:15:38,152 --> 00:15:41,094 That's what drives people deep into sin. 270 00:15:41,094 --> 00:15:42,870 They're looking for satisfaction. 271 00:15:42,871 --> 00:15:46,180 They're looking for that answer, and that answer is only found in Jesus Christ. 272 00:15:46,180 --> 00:15:47,942 Outside of that, life is a vacuum. 273 00:15:47,943 --> 00:15:49,559 Self-fulfillment is a great lie 274 00:15:49,559 --> 00:15:55,753 because self can never give the fulfillment that a sinner is looking for. 275 00:15:55,754 --> 00:15:57,135 It's only found in Jesus Christ. 276 00:15:57,136 --> 00:15:59,932 There's a void without Him. 277 00:15:59,933 --> 00:16:02,571 Yet mankind never seeks to defy that truth. (P) 278 00:16:02,571 --> 00:16:06,240 The seventh reason why Michael Jackson's life and death matter is, 279 00:16:06,240 --> 00:16:10,117 it's a great reminder that it's been given unto man once to die, 280 00:16:10,117 --> 00:16:12,950 and then the judgment. 281 00:16:12,950 --> 00:16:16,833 You know, there's only really two certainties about life: 282 00:16:16,833 --> 00:16:20,177 it's death, and it's judgement. 283 00:16:20,177 --> 00:16:22,332 Those two things are certain. 284 00:16:22,332 --> 00:16:25,340 God's judgment, my friend, is far different than man's judgment. 285 00:16:25,340 --> 00:16:27,611 God's not impressed with Michael Jackson's moonwalk. 286 00:16:27,611 --> 00:16:30,327 He's not impressed with the success that he had in this life. 287 00:16:30,327 --> 00:16:34,219 Not at all. His judgment scale is far different. 288 00:16:34,219 --> 00:16:36,048 When Michael Jackson stands before God, 289 00:16:36,048 --> 00:16:39,752 God requires an absolute perfect righteousness. 290 00:16:39,753 --> 00:16:43,389 No man alive has that. Not one. 291 00:16:43,390 --> 00:16:46,220 Michael Jackson is in the same dilemma you and I are in. 292 00:16:46,220 --> 00:16:48,204 We have no good to offer God. 293 00:16:48,204 --> 00:16:51,585 In fact, before Him we're a putrefrying rag. 294 00:16:51,585 --> 00:16:57,199 We're a sinner deserving of eternal damnation. (P) 295 00:16:57,199 --> 00:17:00,501 No, don't get the idea, as so many people view, 296 00:17:00,502 --> 00:17:03,878 this false idea that there's a scale in Heaven, 297 00:17:03,878 --> 00:17:05,742 and God's gonna put our good deeds on one side, 298 00:17:05,742 --> 00:17:07,433 and our bad deeds on the other. 299 00:17:07,434 --> 00:17:08,865 That is not true. 300 00:17:08,866 --> 00:17:13,031 You place one bad thing on that scale, it'll cost you all eternity. 301 00:17:13,031 --> 00:17:14,108 It will. 302 00:17:14,108 --> 00:17:17,333 What you need, you need a Substitute, you need a Savior - 303 00:17:17,333 --> 00:17:20,862 One that's fully perfect, perfectly good. 304 00:17:20,862 --> 00:17:26,136 One that has taken all your bad upon Him, and in turn put all His good upon you. 305 00:17:26,137 --> 00:17:28,827 That's salvation! and it can only be obtained 306 00:17:28,839 --> 00:17:31,012 when a person turns from their sin - 307 00:17:31,012 --> 00:17:34,823 it's called repentance - turning from a life of sin unto God, 308 00:17:34,823 --> 00:17:39,752 and faith in Jesus Christ, trusting in Him and Him alone as your Savior. 309 00:17:39,752 --> 00:17:42,106 That is salvation my friend. 310 00:17:42,106 --> 00:17:44,590 Michael Jackson didn't have it. (P) 311 00:17:44,590 --> 00:17:48,769 The eighth reason Michael Jackson's life and death matters is, 312 00:17:48,769 --> 00:17:53,522 it teaches us the vanity of popularity. 313 00:17:53,522 --> 00:17:59,209 Jesus said, "Woe unto you when all people speak well of you." 314 00:17:59,209 --> 00:18:02,686 Wow. That's strange, isn't it? 315 00:18:02,686 --> 00:18:06,114 Don't we want people to say good things about us? 316 00:18:06,114 --> 00:18:08,246 Why would Jesus say that? 317 00:18:08,246 --> 00:18:12,019 He said that because mankind loves darkness more than light. 318 00:18:12,019 --> 00:18:18,009 In fact, strangely, man loves what God hates, and he hates what God loves. (P) 319 00:18:18,009 --> 00:18:23,034 Luke 21:17 says, "You'll be hated by all men for My name's sake." 320 00:18:23,034 --> 00:18:24,840 Jesus is talking to His disciples here. 321 00:18:24,841 --> 00:18:26,762 "You'll be hated," He said. 322 00:18:26,762 --> 00:18:28,762 That's the testimony of one who truly loves Christ, 323 00:18:28,762 --> 00:18:32,756 one who's really owned of Christ and has a true saving relationship to Jesus Christ. 324 00:18:32,756 --> 00:18:34,819 They'll be hated by this world, not loved. 325 00:18:34,819 --> 00:18:37,020 Certainly not worshiped. (P) 326 00:18:37,020 --> 00:18:40,580 In John 17:14, "The world has hated them." 327 00:18:40,581 --> 00:18:42,470 Jesus is praying to His Father here. 328 00:18:42,470 --> 00:18:45,793 He says, "The world has hated them," speaking of His own disciples. 329 00:18:45,794 --> 00:18:51,308 Why? "Because they're not of the world, just as I'm not of the world," 330 00:18:51,309 --> 00:18:53,293 Popularity in this world, my friend, 331 00:18:53,293 --> 00:18:57,312 is nothing more than a signature that you are of the world. 332 00:18:57,312 --> 00:19:00,654 And if you are of the world you're not of Christ's. 333 00:19:00,655 --> 00:19:03,659 Jesus clearly taught that His people are not of this world, 334 00:19:03,659 --> 00:19:07,770 and as a result they're despised and hated. (P) 335 00:19:07,771 --> 00:19:13,156 In the end, Michael Jackson's fame was completely vain and worthless before God. 336 00:19:13,156 --> 00:19:16,243 And all the attention his death has received as a result, 337 00:19:16,243 --> 00:19:18,665 is an evidence of how much stock people put 338 00:19:18,665 --> 00:19:22,010 into what is of such little or no value. (P) 339 00:19:22,010 --> 00:19:26,124 The ninth reason why Michael Jackson's life and death matter: 340 00:19:26,124 --> 00:19:29,629 it reminds us of how short life really is. 341 00:19:29,629 --> 00:19:33,947 James says in James 4:14, "Life is a vapor. 342 00:19:33,947 --> 00:19:36,517 It's here for a little while and then vanishes away." 343 00:19:36,517 --> 00:19:39,006 Just like that. It's gone. 344 00:19:39,006 --> 00:19:45,569 Yet, how this vapor is lived, what you do with this vapor, has eternal consequences. 345 00:19:45,569 --> 00:19:50,578 We could talk about eternity; how do you compare eternity to this life? 346 00:19:50,578 --> 00:19:51,671 You can't. 347 00:19:51,671 --> 00:19:54,642 I mean, if I pluck one little tiny piece of grass: 348 00:19:54,642 --> 00:19:58,195 that's this life, in light of all eternity 349 00:19:58,195 --> 00:20:00,317 (all these other blades of grass in the cemetery.) 350 00:20:00,317 --> 00:20:05,090 Even if I compare it to this city, this state, the United States, 351 00:20:05,090 --> 00:20:10,734 it still pales in comparison because eternity is forever. 352 00:20:10,734 --> 00:20:12,210 It's infinite. 353 00:20:12,210 --> 00:20:15,911 Yet, what happens in this little speck of time that God gives us, 354 00:20:15,911 --> 00:20:18,140 has eternal consequences. 355 00:20:18,140 --> 00:20:20,072 That's serious. (P) 356 00:20:20,072 --> 00:20:24,802 The tenth reason why Michael Jackson's life and death matter 357 00:20:24,802 --> 00:20:27,014 is because, in the end, he's just another man. 358 00:20:27,014 --> 00:20:30,120 He's just like you, he's just like me. He is. 359 00:20:30,121 --> 00:20:33,917 Yet, we have the same disease, the same need, 360 00:20:33,917 --> 00:20:40,715 and we're gonna face the same Judge, our Creator Jesus Christ. (P) 361 00:20:40,715 --> 00:20:44,811 Let me ask you: When is your heart attack coming? 362 00:20:44,811 --> 00:20:46,412 When is that car accident coming to you? 363 00:20:46,412 --> 00:20:49,509 When is that sudden death of some sort coming? 364 00:20:49,509 --> 00:20:51,039 You don't know, do you? 365 00:20:51,040 --> 00:20:52,853 I don't know either. 366 00:20:52,854 --> 00:20:56,908 But are you ready to face the King of kings and the Lord of lords? 367 00:20:56,908 --> 00:20:59,230 Because when it happens, that's what you'll be doing. 368 00:20:59,230 --> 00:21:02,023 You'll be giving an account to Him. (P) 369 00:21:02,023 --> 00:21:04,624 I want to close with a quote from a missionary 370 00:21:04,636 --> 00:21:06,693 back in the late 1800s, early 1900s. 371 00:21:06,693 --> 00:21:11,826 He said this: "Tis only one life, only one, 372 00:21:11,826 --> 00:21:15,756 and soon shall pass (oh it passes fast), 373 00:21:15,756 --> 00:21:18,556 and only what's done in Christ will last."