Category: Pastor’s Thoughts

Pastor Ball Talks about Homosexuality, Same-sex Marriage and the recent Supreme Court Ruling.

Jesus said, “My house shall be called a house of prayer.”  Of all the things we do as God’s people and as a church, there really is nothing any more important than praying.  Prayer changes things.  Prayer changes situations.  Prayer changes people.  Prayer changes us.  Prayer is the key that unlocks the door to revival in a church.  Prayer invites the miraculous power of God into our lives. 

Faith Apostolic Church is a church of prayer.  We know, first-hand, the power of prayer.  We are committed, as a congregation, to continuing steadfastly in prayer.

At the beginning of 2014, we committed to setting aside the first three days of each month for a special season of prayer called, “1-2-3 Prayer.”  We believe that by offering to God a “first fruit” offering of prayer at the beginning of the month, we are inviting immeasurable blessings open the entire remainder of the month. 

I know that summertime is busy.  We have vacations, family reunions, camps, outings and all sorts of activities that can eat up a lot of our time.  I want to encourage you, however, to keep our 1-2-3 Prayer a priority.  Let’s not neglect our commitment to prayer.  For some people, summer is a season that doesn’t seem very spiritual – just busy and chaotic.  For others, summer can be a great season of personal revival and spiritual renewal.  It all depends on our focus.   Summer activities are important, but let’s keep our spiritual focus as well over the next few months. 

Join us the 1^st, 2^nd and 3^rd of June, July and August for a season of prayer at our Carmel campus.  We’ll meet each night at 7pm.  I hope to see you and your family each night!

Pastor Ball

The following is an earlier blog post from Pastor Ball:

The Resurrection of Jesus Christ is a cornerstone of our Faith.  The apostle Paul said if Christ is not risen from the dead, then our faith is vain and we are still in our sins.

Jesus showed Himself alive after His passion by many infallible proofs – proofs of His resurrection!  There is not sufficient space in this short blog to discuss the enormous amount of evidence of Christ’s resurrection.  If you’re interested in a thorough discussion of the subject, I recommend Josh McDowell’s book, “The New Evidence That Demands a Verdict.” http://www.josh.org/.  I would, however, like to discuss just one fact that points to the Risen Savior: His enemies never found a body!

The Jewish religious leaders viciously opposed Jesus throughout His ministry.  After His death they reminded Pilate that Jesus had spoken of a resurrection. They asked Pilate to place a guard at the tomb and seal the entrance so His disciples couldn’t come and steal His body then say He had resurrected.  Pilate agreed to their request.

The Jewish leaders knew where the tomb was.  Their watchful temple guard knew exactly where Jesus was laid.  They were prepared to go to any lengths to suppress Christianity.  All they had to do was produce a body!  All they had to do to put an end to the Jesus movement was produce His body.  All they had to do was put Jesus’ corpse on a cart and parade it through the streets of Jerusalem and Christianity would have died with its Christ.

But there was no body.  The tomb was empty. He arose on the third day!

The Romans persecuted the Christians.  They tried to rid them from their society.  All the Romans had to do was show Jesus’ body in a tomb and that would have ended it.  Are you telling me that the Emperors of Rome did not have the means to produce the corpse of Jesus if there was a corpse?  Augustus? Tiberius? Claudius? Nero? The only thing these Caesars had to do to expunge Christianity was produce a body.  Find His resting place.  Find His body.  Display His corpse in the public square with this inscription:

“Here lies Jesus of Nazareth – impostor who claimed to be God – who said He would RISE again.  Here lies His body!”

That would have sealed the fate of Christianity.

But the Jews and Romans – enemies of the Church –  are throughout all history strangely silent!  They never claim a body.  Why is that? There was no body. He got up!  Jesus resurrected on the third day just as He had said.

Some skeptics say, “The disciples stole His body!”  But what of the Roman guard?  What of the watchful Jewish leaders and the temple guard?  History makes it plain – an official Roman guard would number between ten and thirty trained soldiers.  Due to the circumstances surrounding Jesus’ death, the number of the guard assigned to this tomb was undoubtedly larger!

The tomb was sealed with the imperial seal of Rome, which would have been a high crime to deface.  Roman history is clear that the punishment for quitting a post was death!  Fear of punishment produced faultless attention to duty – especially in the night watches.

And what about the stone?  The stone was so enormous that it would require up to twenty men to move it.  How could the disciples have stolen His body?

The greatest proof of the Resurrection is that the greatest enemies of Christ could never find His body.  If Jesus had not risen, the Jews or the Romans would have found His body, paraded it through the streets and sealed the fate of Christianity.  But they never found a body.  The reason is simple.  On the third day Jesus came out of the grave, victorious over death and hell, and is alive forevermore!

-Pastor Ball

We started off the New Year at FAC with an incredible time of prayer, fasting and consecration.  Each day for 7 days, the largest crowds we’ve ever had at prayer meetings gathered together at the church to pray.  It was a time of deep spiritual re-alignment and re-focus.   The presence of God we sensed each evening was truly amazing.  The spiritual impact that week made on us individually and as a church was immeasurable.

We termed that week a “First Fruit week of Prayer and Consecration.”  Borrowing from the idea of the Old Testament First Fruit Offering, we committed to giving to God our first week of the year in prayer and consecration.  We did it in faith – believing that by giving Him the “first part” of our year in a special season of spiritual consecration, we invited His blessings on the remainder of the year.

As I was praying that week, I was reminded of how important prayer is and how God has called FAC to be a church of prayer. We know what prayer can do! Knowing that starting off the year with a week of prayer would bring all sorts of spiritual blessings throughout 2014, I thought, “Why not start each month with a special season of prayer?”  The more I thought about it, the stronger I felt the leading of the Holy Spirit.  I really felt God directing us to start each month of 2014 with 3 days of prayer, fasting and consecration. Just imagine how that will set the spiritual tone for each new month.

We’re going to give to God a “First Fruit” offering of prayer and consecration on the 1st, 2nd and 3rd of each new month.  We’ll meet nightly at 7 pm at the church to pray.  I encourage you to also spend some or all of those 3 days fasting.  Let us answer the call of God to pray!  Let us “consecrate ourselves today, for tomorrow the Lord will do wonders among us!” (Joshua 3:5) God is going to do great things 2014 at FAC and starting each month with a season of prayer will help all of be spiritually in tune and ready for His will to be done in us and through us!

God Bless!

~Pastor Ball

*whenever the 1^st, 2^nd or 3^rd day of the month is a Sunday, we will meet at 8am to pray on that Sunday.  When the 1^st, 2^nd or 3^rd falls on any other day of the week, prayer will be at 7pm.

It’s that time of year again!  It’s time to change the calendar on the refrigerator, start writing 2014 on our checks and oh, and don’t forget – time to make those New Year’s resolutions!  My wife shared a picture she found on Pinterest.  It pretty much sums up my past success with New Year’s resolutions:

I’ve made plenty of them – lose weight, be more disciplined, maintain a better prayer or study life, get out of debt, finish my book – the list goes on.  As I look back over the past, I must confess, my resolutions have not had a great success rate.  But I’m not alone.  Research shows 25% of people abandon their New Year’s resolutions after one week and the average person makes the same New Year’s resolution ten separate times without success!

I heard someone recently say they would definitely NOT fail in their resolutions because they weren’t going to make any! Well, I am actually going to make some New Year’s resolutions for 2014.  I’ve been thinking and praying a lot in the last few days about changes I want to make and things I want to accomplish in the New Year.  And I believe this year I will see greater success!

Why do I believe this year will be different?  It won’t be the result of my greater will power, determination or because I have a New Year’s resolution iPhone app.  I believe my success will come because I’ve had a fundamental change in my thinking and approach.

My New Year’s resolutions have usually been about me trying to change me.  I’ve looked within to find the determination or will power to change things that really needed changed in my life.  I’ve come to realize that if I had the power to change myself, I would have done it by now.

It was the work of the Holy Spirit that transformed my life when I was born again.  God’s Spirit made me a new creation.  How ironic that after God miraculously changed my life when I was first saved, I would now revert to relying upon my own strength to make further changes and adjustments .  I’m reminded of Paul’s question to the Galatians, “Are ye so foolish? having begun in the Spirit, are ye now made perfect by the flesh?” I don’t want to take that verse out of context, but it makes me think: God is the one who radically transformed my life through His Spirit. Do I really think I can be perfected through my own strength?  I think the only way a New Year’s resolution will be successful is if we allow His power to change us!

I admit – I’m weak.  I don’t have a lot of will power.  I have good intentions, but seem to lack follow-through.  So this year, rather than looking inward, I’m going to look upward.  I’m going to surrender myself to Him, as clay in the hands of the potter, and ask Him to mold and shape me.  I’m going to pray and seek His strength and power to make the needed changes in my life for 2014.

– Pastor Ball

2 Cor 12:9 – “And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness…”

Let’s Connect on:

 

“Believe and Receive.”  “Heirs of Everything.”  “The Anointing to Prosper.”  “Explosive Blessings Are Coming Your Way.”

These are just a few recent sermon titles by prominent U.S. Christian pastors.  And the list of similar sounding titles goes on and on. And on.

While I believe that God wants us all to prosper and be blessed, I think we all know the underlying message of many of these sermons: if we are living in God’s favor, we should own extravagant homes, drive fancy cars, enjoy a fat bank account, and delight in a lifestyle made complete by Rolex, Louis Vuitton, Bentley, and Armani.    I’ve even heard it said and frequently implied that if you don’t have these “blessings” you’re not walking in favor and must be lacking in faith.

Last night was the premier of “Preachers of L.A.” I didn’t see the show (nor do I intend to watch it) but I did see some preview clips.  The message seemed clear: Christian success is equated with having an abundance of material things – the same things that unbelievers equate with success.  I was flabbergasted to hear one of the preachers say, “P. Diddy…Jay Z – they’re not the only ones who should be driving Ferrari’s and living in large houses.”

I know God blesses people financially – especially those who are good stewards and honor God with their finances.  I’m not opposed to Christians having nice homes, great jobs and new cars – I’m thankful for my own nice home and new car.  What I am saying is many people misunderstand what it means to be “favored” of God.

The angel said to Mary in Luke 1:28, “thou that art highly favored.”  Wow!  She wasn’t just favored, but “highly favored!”  What was the result of Mary being “highly favored?” Her entire life was turned upside down.  She was thrust into a season of hardship and pain.  She was misunderstood and ridiculed.  Her fiance wanted to “put her away privately” because it appeared she was pregnant out of wedlock.  When it came time to give birth, she was alone.  There was no fancy hotel available – not even a room with a bed.  She gave birth in a stable.  Her only companions were Joseph and the stable animals.  She and Joseph were so poor, they didn’t even have clothes for the child.

Later, when she took baby Jesus to the temple, she was met by a prophet.  Simeon took Jesus into his arms and proclaimed that the child was the Christ, who had come to bring salvation.  Then he looked at this young girl who was “favored” by God and declared, “Yea, a sword shall pierce through thy own soul also, that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed.”

Mary, you are walking in divine blessing.  You are “highly” favored of God.  Oh, by the way, a sword is going to pierce through your soul.  Your son will die as a young man.  You will watch Him suffer torture and death.  All this because you are walking in divine “favor.”

Favor is not about cars and houses and a big bank account.  Favor is not about God spending on us.  It’s about God spending us.  Mary was highly favored because she was a conduit of God’s purpose and plan.  She was blessed because she was used by God to bring the Savior into the world.

The disciples walked in divine favor.  John the Baptist was so “favored” that Jesus said there’s never been a greater man in human history.  They were all favored, yet they all suffered persecution and hardship.  They were ofttimes destitute.  They all died without the things our American society equates with success.  But they died rich! – Rich because God spent them.  Rich because they were channels of God’s glory.

The unfortunate consequence of espousing an erroneous concept of “favor” is that many people, when going through trials, tests or a season of scarcity, buy into the lie that they are not “blessed” or favored of God.  Sometimes being used of God leads to seasons of sacrifice.  You can’t always equate your lack of material possessions with a lack of God’s favor.

A further distortion of “divine favor” is thinking that when God does bless us with financial blessings it is for us to live in self-indulgent luxury.  In James, God pronounced judgment upon those who “hoarded wealth in the last days” and “lived on earth in luxury and self-indulgence.”  Whenever God blesses us with financial resources it is not for us to lavish things upon ourselves – it is for us to use those resources to further the Gospel.  The favor is not the “things” – the favor is that God has chosen to use us.

I have traveled overseas and seen many of my Christian brothers and sisters who are living a meager lifestyle.  They have little, if any, material possessions.  But they are so favored.  They are being mightily used of God.  They are instruments in the Hands of God.  To think they are lacking in faith or God’s favor because they don’t have the material possessions of the “Preachers of LA” is ridiculous.

God’s favor is more about us being used in His purpose than it is Him blessing us with material things.

-Pastor Ball

*I welcome your comments and feedback

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5 Impacting Things We Can All Do Regardless of Our Natural Abilities

I’m fascinated by people who are exceptionally gifted in some area of life or ministry.  I know some people who are incredibly good with people.  Their charisma is magnetic.  They don’t know a stranger and can win over the toughest adversaries.  Others are exceptionally talented musicians or singers.  They can play or sing with a level of skill that surely causes angels to envy.  I’ve listened in utter amazement to gifted public speakers who can capture the attention of the hardest audience and hold them spellbound.  The world has many people with amazing gifts and abilities who are able to do what may seem impossible to you and me.

Sometimes the great talent we see in other people makes our own abilities seem inferior. At times, we’ve all felt intimidated and looked at our own lives and wondered if we had any special talents or abilities at all!  But the reality is we are all gifted in unique areas.  God has given all of us differing talents and abilities.  He bestowed a diversity of gifts to different people so that we would all need one another.

I’ve accepted the fact that there are some areas where I’ll never make a great impact because I’m not gifted in those areas.  That’s ok.  I will try to focus on my areas of giftedness because, obviously, that is where I’ll make the greatest impact.  But regardless of the gifts any of us possess or don’t possess there are some things that we can all do – things that really make a difference.  There are some areas where we can make an impact and there are no special gifts required!  Let me quickly identify a few:

1. Kindness.  We can all be kind.   We can all demonstrate kindness.  We can all be gracious toward people. There’s no special gift required.  It may never be said of me, “He brought the house down with that song!”  But I can be kind.  It can be said of me, “He is so caring and thoughtful.”
2. Encouragement.  We can all be an encourager.  The world is a discouraging place.  Our adversary is discouraging.  Life can be discouraging.  People are desperate for encouragement.  We can all be an  encourager.  There is no special gift or talent required to simply offer words or gestures of encouragement to the people in our lives.
3. Integrity.  We can all people of integrity.  Regardless of what special gifts I have or don’t have, I can be a man of integrity.  I can do what I say I’m going to do and practice what I preach.  We can all be people of character and integrity.
4. Prayer.  We can all pray.  We don’t have to possess some special talent or ability to pray.  Prayer changes things.  Prayer changes people.  Prayer changes situations.  Prayer changes us.  And anyone can pray.  I may not be a gifted singer, musician, speaker, writer or creative genius, but I can pray – and prayer makes an impact.
5. Faithfulness.  We can all be faithful – faithful to God, faithful to our calling or ministry, faithful to our spouses and family, faithful to our church, faithful to our vision and mission.  Diligent, consistent commitment to what’s important in life makes an incredible impact – and you don’t need any special gift to be faithful!

I’ll never play or sing at Carnegie Hall.  I’ll probably never receive a Pulitzer Prize for a literary masterpiece.  There are some things in life that I’ll never achieve because, frankly, I’m not gifted in those areas.  But in spite of what talents we may or may not possess, there are some things that we can all do – things that will positively impact our lives and the lives of those around us.  There are some areas of greatness where no special gifts are necessary!

– Pastor  Ball

I welcome your comments and feedback!  Please subscribe to this blog using the “Subscribe” button at the top right of the page.  You can follow me on Twitter and Facebook by clicking on the images below.

          

                                                                    

I’m often amazed by what I see happen at Faith Apostolic Church.  After just about every weekend service I leave in awe of the great things I see God doing in and through His people.

Last Sunday was one of those days.

A family in our church came to service carrying an unspeakable burden.   Their daughter had just been raped earlier in the week.  I can’t even imagine the pain and confusion this young, innocent, fourteen year-old girl was feeling.  I’m sure her father wanted to find the low-life perpetrator and give him what he deserved.  I didn’t know what to say or how to minister to a family in the jaws of such a deep sorrow and grief.

As we all began to worship, the Spirit of the Lord swept through the building like a cool, refreshing breeze.  I sensed that gentle nudging of the Holy Spirit and, in retrospect, I’m so glad I followed His lead.  I didn’t tell the church the details of what happened, I just mentioned that this family was dealing with a terrible situation and that we needed to pray for them.

The members of our church poured out of their seats and filled the aisles and packed in the rows around the family.  They literally locked arms in concentric circles around them as if to make a human shield that would ward off all the fiery darts of the enemy.  Without even knowing the details of the incident, our church began praying and interceding.  They wept and sorrowed with that grieving family.  Compassion and concern gave way to deep empathy and true burden-bearing.  It was like the whole church shouldered the weight of that tragedy.

God did a miracle that morning.  He didn’t change what had happened to the young lady.  He didn’t take all the pain and hurt away.  He didn’t erase all feelings that she and her family will have to sort through.  But, He did use a church family to minister healing and comfort.  It was like God opened a vial – a vial full of the prayers and tears of the saints – and poured it upon the wounds of that family. Like a healing salve, it brought them comfort.  It eased the pain.  It brought hope and peace. 

The book of Revelation records a scene in heaven.  Twenty-four elders are before the Throne of God and they have vials in their hands which contain the prayers of the saints.  An angel takes the prayers in those vials and offers them up to God.  The aroma and fragrance of those prayers fills the room.  It is a sweet smell that blesses and ministers to God.

The gospel of Luke records a woman coming to Jesus with an alabaster box of precious ointment.  She breaks open the box and pours the ointment upon Jesus’ feet along with her own tears.  Jesus tells the onlookers that by her act of pouring oil and tears upon His feet she was “anointing His body.” 

We know that pouring our tears and prayers out to the Lord is like offering to Him a sweet incense that ministers to Him and blessed Him.  Could it also be that when we pour out our tears and prayers for one another we are ministering to “His body?”  We are the hands and feet of God.  We are the body of Christ.  When the woman poured the oil on His feet, Jesus said, “She has anointed my body.” 

Our Prayers and tears are like incense that ascends to the Throne and blesses God. But, so are the tears and prayers we pray for one another like a healing salve that blesses the Body of Christ.

When our church family began to pray on Sunday for one of our families who was suffering, it was like a vial of salve was opened and poured upon the wounds of that family.  Our tears for them and prayers for them were like a precious ointment that ministered healing and hope.

Ministry like this is so needful in our world that is so full of hurting people. I pray the church will always know how and be ready to “open the vial” and pour out our prayers, tears and intercession for one another. 

 Pastor Ball

 

Please feel free to leave a comment

 

Facebook, Twitter and Unrealistic Expectations

In less than ten years, Facebook has grown from a small network of Harvard students wanting to stay connected to a worldwide phenomenon with over 1 billion subscribers.  Twitter was launched just a few years ago by Jack Dorsey.  Today there are over half a billion users and that number is growing by 135,000 a day!

Social media has become part of our everyday lives.  It’s radically changed the mode of communication in the 21^st century. Some people love it. Others hate it.  But, love it or hate it, Facebook, Twitter and the growing number of other social media platforms are here to stay.

Social media can be a valuable tool.  It can be used to report up-to-the-minute news, promote a cause or just stay connected with old friends.  But like anything else it can also be used for less-than-honorable purposes.

A brick can be used to build a school or break a window.  How it’s used depends on whose hand it’s in – a builder or a thief!  Whether social media has a good or bad impact depends upon the person using it.

Social media is a great tool in the church world.  It’s used to connect with people, promote missions, offer encouragement and even share the Gospel.  Unfortunately, it’s also used as a platform for gossip and criticism.  It’s sad that marital infidelity oftentimes begins with inappropriate interaction on social media.  But, just like we don’t outlaw bricks because some people use them to break windows, we can’t ignore the value of social media or boycott it just because some people misuse it.

There is another, less-obvious danger of social media – especially in the church world.  What we read on Facebook or Twitter can result in us having unrealistic expectations about our churches and ministries.  If we’re not careful we’ll compare our behind-the-scenes life with everyone else’s highlight reel!

You know what I’ve NEVER seen on Facebook or Twitter?  A post like this from a pastor or church leader….

“Terrible crowd today.  Worship was dead.  Praise team missed it.  My sermon never got off the ground. Met with a family after church who’s decided to leave.  I feel like quitting.”

Never once have I seen a post like that.  It’s always something like this:

“WOW! Unbelievable service today!  Packed house.  497 baptized.  Miracles of healing.  Message was incredible!”

The truth is we all have sub-par church services on occasion.  Sometimes our sermon just isn’t that good.   Sometimes the praise team chooses the wrong song.  Sometimes disgruntled people leave the church.  But we don’t ever share that.  I wish people would on occasion.  I think I will.  The next time we have a sub-par service, I’m going to share the “not-so-spectacular” report on social media.

When, multiple times a day, we read all the great victory reports, we are tempted to compare our week-in and week-out reality with other people’s best moments!  We think, “Why isn’t my church seeing those fantastic results every week?”  The reality is that we all have off weeks; we just don’t post about them.  Facebook and Twitter can set us up for unrealistic expectations.  Nobody (but Jesus) is on 100% of the time.  I have a secret about that pastor who just posted that incredible report – it was probably his first post in 10 weeks!

I’m not implying that we should be timid about reporting the great things that God is doing.  We should not keep silent about growth, revival and victory!  (As long as our motives are about exalting Him and not us.)  I just think that when we ONLY share the pinnacle moments, we can actually discourage others when we are hoping to build their faith.  Perhaps when I have a “not-so-great” week and share it on social media it could actually be an encouragement!  I love to hear great reports of what God is doing in churches around the world.  But when I hear a great pastor of a great church admit that sometimes even he has an off week, I realize I’m not alone in being human.  To me, that’s encouraging.  I’m not encouraged by someone else’s bad week, but by the reality that, if another pastor had an off Sunday, but he’s pressing on – then I, too, can recover from a bad Sunday and go on and have revival!  Being honest about my own weaknesses may even bring a greater dimension of God’s strength into my situation.

I’m not advocating that we use social media to give glory to the devil (bless his holy name!) I just think a little honesty would serve us all better than implying that EVERY Sunday is “Off the Chain!”

~ Pastor Ball

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The Resurrection of Jesus Christ is a cornerstone of our Faith.  The apostle Paul said if Christ is not risen from the dead, then our faith is vain and we are still in our sins.

Jesus showed Himself alive after His passion by many infallible proofs – proofs of His resurrection!  There is not sufficient space in this short blog to discuss the enormous amount of evidence of Christ’s resurrection.  If you’re interested in a thorough discussion of the subject, I recommend Josh McDowell’s book, “The New Evidence That Demands a Verdict.” http://www.josh.org/.  I would, however, like to discuss just one fact that points to the Risen Savior: His enemies never found a body!

The Jewish religious leaders viciously opposed Jesus throughout His ministry.  After His death they reminded Pilate that Jesus had spoken of a resurrection. They asked Pilate to place a guard at the tomb and seal the entrance so His disciples couldn’t come and steal His body then say He had resurrected.  Pilate agreed to their request.

The Jewish leaders knew where the tomb was.  Their watchful temple guard knew exactly where Jesus was laid.  They were prepared to go to any lengths to suppress Christianity.  All they had to do was produce a body!  All they had to do to put an end to the Jesus movement was produce His body.  All they had to do was put Jesus’ corpse on a cart and parade it through the streets of Jerusalem and Christianity would have died with its Christ.

But there was no body.  The tomb was empty. He arose on the third day!

The Romans persecuted the Christians.  They tried to rid them from their society.  All the Romans had to do was show Jesus’ body in a tomb and that would have ended it.  Are you telling me that the Emperors of Rome did not have the means to produce the corpse of Jesus if there was a corpse?  Augustus? Tiberius? Claudius? Nero? The only thing these Caesars had to do to expunge Christianity was produce a body.  Find His resting place.  Find His body.  Display His corpse in the public square with this inscription:

“Here lies Jesus of Nazareth – impostor who claimed to be God – who said He would RISE again.  Here lies His body!”

That would have sealed the fate of Christianity.

But the Jews and Romans – enemies of the Church –  are throughout all history strangely silent!  They never claim a body.  Why is that? There was no body. He got up!  Jesus resurrected on the third day just as He had said.

Some skeptics say, “The disciples stole His body!”  But what of the Roman guard?  What of the watchful Jewish leaders and the temple guard?  History makes it plain – an official Roman guard would number between ten and thirty trained soldiers.  Due to the circumstances surrounding Jesus’ death, the number of the guard assigned to this tomb was undoubtedly larger!

The tomb was sealed with the imperial seal of Rome, which would have been a high crime to deface.  Roman history is clear that the punishment for quitting a post was death!  Fear of punishment produced faultless attention to duty – especially in the night watches.

And what about the stone?  The stone was so enormous that it would require up to twenty men to move it.  How could the disciples have stolen His body?

The greatest proof of the Resurrection is that the greatest enemies of Christ could never find His body.  If Jesus had not risen, the Jews or the Romans would have found His body, paraded it through the streets and sealed the fate of Christianity.  But they never found a body.  The reason is simple.  On the third day Jesus came out of the grave, victorious over death and hell, and is alive forevermore!

-Pastor Ball