Amen. So in Deuteronomy 25, I want to look at something there beginning in verse 5 here in a
minute, but this is in reference to Mark 12. This is something that we'll see in here in a second.
If you want to get ready to turn to Mark 12, you can. But this is something that in Mark 12,
the Sadducees actually brought up to Jesus, right, regarding the resurrection. And in fact,
why don't we just go to Mark 12 real quick. We'll come back to Deuteronomy chapter 25 here in a
minute. But just continuing on again from this morning. Again, the Sadducees here, this is
something that they refer to in Deuteronomy 25, but they refer to it in a way to kind of almost
mock Jesus or to try to, you know, stump him in some way. And we'll look at it here in Mark
chapter 12 verse 18. It says, then come unto him the Sadducees, which say there is no resurrection.
Right. So that's, we learn about their doctrine right there. That's what makes,
that's one of the main distinctives between them and the Pharisees. They don't believe there's a
resurrection. They don't believe in the devils. They don't believe in some of the supernatural
things of God, whereas the Pharisees did. At least they had that right. But the Sadducees,
they don't believe in the resurrection. And they asked him saying, master, Moses wrote unto us.
And this is in reference to what we just read in Deuteronomy 25. This is what they're, Deuteronomy
25 is what Moses wrote unto them. If a man's brother die and leave his wife behind him and
leave no children, that his brother should take his wife and raise up seed unto his brother.
Now we just read that, right? We just read, in fact, you don't have to go back to Deuteronomy
25. You can lose your place there. We all read it. Basically, you know, if a man died and he
had brethren living with him there, then it was one of the brother's duties to go and raise up seed
unto him. You know, if he had no seed, he was to take his widowed wife as his own and raise up seed.
And, you know, it's kind of a, kind of an interesting story, right? And the thing is,
what if you refuse to do that, right? Well, then they would tell the elders in the gate
and the wife would spit in the face, would loose his shoe and spit in the man's face.
And then he would be called, you know, him that hath his shoe loosed in Israel, right? Which is
kind of, kind of makes you think that maybe the Mormons were onto something with a name like that,
because the Mormons believe that the Native Americans are the lost tribes of Israel and
they kind of have names like that, you know, he that had his shoe loosed. You know, sometimes if
you hear some of these Native American names, they're kind of like, maybe there's something to
that. Of course, I'm kidding, right? But, you know, I remember I was reading a story, a book
about some of the Navajo tribes here, just the history of the Navajos, and there was a guy,
character was actually named, he who was afraid of his own horse, right? Now,
imagine putting that on the birth certificate every time you had to sign something, you know,
what's your name? I am he who was afraid of his own horse, right? He probably got that name
because he's afraid of his own horse, right? But what was funny about this story is that the guy's
son was actually named the same, but he was called the son of him who was afraid of his own horse.
That was his name. His son's name was the son of him who was afraid of his own horse.
So, every time I read that story in Deuteronomy 25, that I always think about that because it's
kind of a Native American sounding name. He who hath the shoe loosed in Israel, you know, that's
how he's going to be known in Israel. So, anyway, that was a reproach, you know. It was a noble
thing, an honorable thing to raise up seed unto your brother that his name would not die out in
Israel and to raise up a name unto him so that his inheritance would carry on and all of that,
right? So, it was a very important thing that they practiced back then. So, that's what the Sadducees
are bringing up, right? But again, they don't believe in a resurrection, so they're using
Deuteronomy 25 to kind of try to get Jesus or, you know, because remember what we read this morning,
the Pharisees and the Herodians are coming to him, others, and they're trying to catch him in
his words. They're trying to trip him up. They're trying to stump him and, you know, the Sadducees
come here and they really, they ask a really, when you think about it, it's just a stupid question,
right? This is a really dumb question and, you know, nothing's changed. You know, a lot of times
today you have people, even today, who just ask stupid questions about the Bible and it just
proves how ignorant they are, how little, you know, if any reading that they've done at all,
they have no understanding of the Bible, and yet they want to be one of the Bible's biggest
critics, right? For example, you have all the atheists who have just maybe, maybe a passing
familiarity with the scripture, but yet they have all these objections, right? They all share the
same list of so-called contradictions. They never look into, they're never sincere and really
wanting an answer because they've already made up their mind, you know, and this is the type of
people that sometimes we have to deal with in life is people who really aren't sincere in their line
of questioning, don't really want to know the truth. They've made up their mind about what they
believe and now they're just trying to, you know, push that on you and stump you with it and that's
exactly what's taking place here, I believe, in the story. Again, they came unto him, calling him
master, and it says, you know, hey, Moses said that his brother should take his wife and raise
obscene unto his brother. Verse 20, now there were seven brethren. Now that right there, you know,
here we go, this outlandish hypothetical, right? This is the type of stuff that always,
people always come up with. People that just sit around and just dream up strange things to ask,
just they ponder and just navel gaze about the weirdest things sometimes. There were seven
brethren that first took a wife and dying, left no seed. Now do you think this actually happened,
the story here? No, it didn't. I know we haven't read it yet, but we read it this morning,
but, you know, this is such a, you know, extreme example, but this is the type of thing that people
do. There were seven, the first took her to wife and dying, left no seed, and the second took her
and died, neither left he any seed, and the third likewise, right? So they have to keep marrying the
same woman, you know, at, you know, seven husbands into it. I mean, there must have been some pretty
quick succession. After like the second or third one, you know, I'd be questioning this wife. I'd
be wondering, like, why do all your husbands keep dying? You know, like, she's like putting shards
of glass or something in the cereal or whatever, right? She's, something's up, right? I would have
looked into, you know, an investigation should have been opened at that point because that's just,
this is just a ridiculous example, right? Oh, he took her and she died. I mean, it must have happened
so quick. I mean, how, I mean, seven brethren into it. How old has this woman gotten? She's
probably even gotten past childbearing years potentially, right? You know, obviously it could
happen, you know, if it's just, like, they get married, honeymoon, no, no seed is raised up,
the next day he's dead, right? And they just boom, boom, boom, just move right through him
very quickly. You know, by the time he got to the seventh one, he'd be pretty nervous, right? You
know that seventh brother? You got six dead brothers, six brothers in the ground, and it's
like, what did they all have in common? They all marry her, right? So look out. So, you know, I'm
kind of half joking about this, but just because of the fact that just me joking about it shows
you what a ridiculous situation this is, right? It's just a dumb thing that they thought up.
There's no way this actually really happened, right? I mean, God commands all kinds of things
in the Bible. God, it's in the Old Testament. He commanded the nation of Israel to do certain
things, to practice certain things, and then you never read about them actually doing it.
The year of Jubilee, the Feast of Tabernacles, these are things that they, you know, rarely,
if ever, did, that, you know, aren't even recorded, right? There's so many things that
they were supposed to do. They're supposed to let the land rest. They failed to do that. They
got kicked out of the land for that, right? So, you know, they all married the same woman. Whose
wife is she going to be in the resurrection? Now you're starting to think, you know, maybe these
people are Mormons. You know, Mormons come back into the picture yet again this evening, right?
Because they think that in heaven, you know, we're going to be, some people can be even eternally
bound to their spouse in heaven, right? I don't know all of their doctrine, but that is not the
case. You know, we are as the angels, the Bible says, and that's what Jesus goes on to explain,
that we are not given or we do not give or are given in marriage. That's why the vows are to
death, until death do we part, right? You know, sorry honey, hate to disappoint you, but you don't
get to be married to me for all of eternity. Like I know, you know, I know that's a disappointment
to you, but you will be in heaven, okay? I promise you'll at least have that going for you, right?
You know, it'll be a bit of a downgrade, I'm just kidding, you know, to go from being married to
moi, to heaven, right? But this is what the Bible teaches, okay? And so, you know, these guys,
they totally missed that point, right? They have this, they're coming into it with this wrong,
you know, preconceived idea that somehow marriage continues in heaven, which is not something the
Bible teaches. So that leads them to this stupid question. And, you know, I don't know what else
to call it. It's just a dumb question. It's a stupid hypothetical that they come up, this
extreme thing, where it's like, well, she had, why not stop at six? Why set, you know, why, why,
why go to seven, right? Because it's extreme. Seven husbands had her. Whose wife shall she be
in the resurrection? And I love Jesus' answer, verse 24. And Jesus answering said to them,
do you not therefore err because you know not the scriptures? Ooh, ouch, you know,
that's embarrassing, right? And it's, he's doing this publicly. You guys don't know the Bible,
is what he's saying. Let me tell you what your problem is, you Sadducees. You know, he's not
trying to play along and be clever. He's like, just straight up, you know, your problem is you
don't know the Bible. That's embarrassing, right? These guys are supposed to be, you know, experts
in the scripture. These people are like the Pharisees, the Sadducees, the scribes, you know,
they're supposed to know this stuff, right? And he's saying, you don't even know this. Like,
you don't even got the basics down. Which again, you know, shouldn't surprise us because as we're
told in First Corinthians, the natural man receiveth not of the things of the Spirit of God,
neither can he know them for they are spiritually discerned. It takes the Spirit of God to understand
the Word of God, right? So even if they are reading, they're not understanding. They're
not getting it. The message is going over their head. He's saying, you know not the scripture,
neither the power of God. They don't know the Bible and they don't know the power of God. They
deny the power of having the form of godliness but denying the power thereof, right? Because
what is it that, how is it that they do not know the power of God? Because they say there is no
resurrection. You know, the resurrection is the manifestation or as the Bible puts it, the
declaration of God's power. You know, there's so many things that are testimony to the power of
God in this world. Creation itself, life, all of that, that's a testimony of God's power.
But perhaps the greatest is the resurrection itself. You know, to raise one again from the
dead, that's an incredibly powerful thing. And that's why he's saying, you know, what your
problem is here with your dumb question is that one, you don't know what the scripture says on
this matter and two, you don't know the power of God. You deny it. You deny the resurrection.
Then he kind of corrects them, right? He goes, let me give you your answer. You know,
but he starts out by putting them in their place. Verse 25, he says, for when they shall rise from
the dead, when they shall rise from the dead, right? He's saying there is a resurrection.
They neither marry nor are given in marriage but are as the angels which are in heaven,
right? The angels are not given in heaven, are given in marriage, which again, you know,
debunks that stupid foolish doctrine of the Nephilim, right? Who's all heard of that theory,
you know? Where, you know, they say that, you know, prior to the flood that the fallen
angels went into the daughters of men, right? And that they lay with them and then, you know,
the same became giants, men of renown. That resulted in this, you know, these huge giants
that roamed the earth, you know, prior to the flood. Even though we see giants, as the Bible
calls them, after the flood, right? And the giant in the Bible is described as being, you know,
Goliath's height, somewhere between nine and maybe 13 feet tall. It's like, that's not that big.
Have you ever been around somebody who's seven feet tall? I mean, I've been around people that
are like six, you know, Pastor Aaron Thompson, you know, he always comes up whenever giants come up,
right? Like I'm six too. And, you know, and people say, man, you're kind of a tall guy. And I guess,
you know, it's above average height, right? But I get around like Pastor Thompson and I just
think, well, this is how everybody else feels. Like, this is what it's like, you know, to feel
little, you know, to be, to feel like the small guy, you know, because he's, and he's only six,
seven, six, eight, right? But, you know, people, they come up with these stupid bogus doctrines
because they don't, they don't know the scripture. You know, they haven't read through the Old
Testament and read the description of actual giants as called by the Bible. You know, they
just have this passing, you know, affiliation with the Bible. It's just passing knowledge is very
shallow, not, you know, just a very unfamiliar position with the Bible. They know more about,
you know, they could tell you all about the book of Enoch. They can tell you all about their,
their favorite playlist of all these stupid harebrained theories that they have on YouTube
or wherever they're putting that stuff, right? They have all their false teachings lined up,
but they don't know the Bible. And then they come up with stupid things like this. And they've never
even read the words of Jesus. He said that, that angels are neither given in marriage, you know,
because they're neither male nor female. They're not, they are not given in marriage. It doesn't
happen in heaven. Okay. So that's just another proof text against this theory of the Nephilim,
right? Not to mention the fact that the Bible says that the fruit of the womb is the Lord's reward,
that he is the one that opened and shut at the womb. Okay. So, you know, that would be God
creating that abomination if that were even possible. But the Bible says that it's not
even possible for angels to engage in, you know, marriage and everything goes along with it. It's
not even something that takes place. Okay. But he's, that's how he's correcting them. He's saying,
look, when they rise from the dead, they don't marry. They're not given in marriage. They are
as the angels, which are in heaven. In what way are they like the angels in heaven? They don't
marry. Okay. So, and then he says in verse 26, and as touching the dead that they rise,
have you not read in the book of Moses, how in the bush God spake on him saying,
I am the God of Abraham and the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob. And he goes on and says,
he is not the God of the dead, but the God of the living either for do greatly err. Right. So this
is pretty harsh rebuke. Right. But you know, if you, if you ask stupid, you play stupid games,
you win stupid prizes. You know, you walk up to Jesus Christ, the son of God and ask a dumb
question. Don't, you know, he's probably going to publicly and, you know, ask something stupid and,
and try to trip him up. You know, he's going to throw it right back in your face. You know,
he's going to call you out. Right. People say, Oh, there's no dumb questions. You know,
maybe, but there are, as I've heard it said, and I believe very well, there might not be
dumb questions, but there's a lot of inquisitive idiots. How about that? Right. And that's kind
of what's going on here. These guys are essentially just asking stupid, a stupid question.
And Jesus is taking the opportunity to put them right in their place saying, you do err. You
don't know the scripture. Have you not read? And you don't know the power of God in the resurrection.
Now you say, how does he, how does this prove, how does you know, in verse 26, where he quotes
Genesis, how does this prove that or Exodus rather, how does this prove that this is
the God is the God of the living, right? Well, it's really simple because in the burning bush,
she said to him, I am the God of Abraham and the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob, not, I
was their God, but they're dead now. Right. Cause when Moses speaks to God, the, you know, Abraham,
Isaac, and Jacob have, have long passed off the scene. Several hundred years have gone by.
And yet at that moment, in that point in time, God says, I am their God. I am the God of these
people. Because why? Because they are alive in heaven. Their souls are in heaven. So you can see
how that's a proof text for the resurrection, right? That our spirits do not just go into
obliteration. There's no such thing as soul sleep. As Paul said, it reminded us, and we'll look at it
a little bit later, that to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord, right? Until
the resurrection. And what I like about this, especially in what we're seeing in Mark, in Mark
12, and you can look at other passages too, is that Jesus, you know, knows when to answer people
and when not to answer them, right? And, you know, there's a time and place to answer questions. And
there's sometimes, there's times where we should just ignore people and not play their game.
And you have to have kind of discernment as to know when it's appropriate, right? Obviously,
it makes a lot of sense for Jesus to do this because it's a teachable moment for everybody
else. And they're kind of coming to him, trying to put him in his place. And he, you know, he has
to kind of prove that he does know what he's talking about. He has authority and kind of put
them in their place. So everybody kind of gets the pecking order and who's who here, right? He's kind
of making a public example out of them. But, you know, the Bible does warn us against answering
every foolish, stupid question, okay? Now, obviously, it was not wrong for Jesus to reply
in the manner that he did or at all, okay? It makes sense, right? If you would, go to Titus
chapter number three. So I don't want to be misconstrued or misunderstood that that's what
I'm suggesting here. Obviously, that's not the case. Jesus knows when to answer. Later, you know,
when he's being questioned by Pilate, you know, he answers him not a word, right? And Pilate obviously
wasn't asking stupid questions. But Jesus doesn't always answer people when they come to him, right?
The Bible says in Proverbs 26, answer not a fool according to his folly, lest thou be like unto
him. Answer a fool according to his folly, lest he be wise in his own conceit. You know, if someone's
just trying to draw you into some stupid argument, so you can, you know, don't answer that person.
But if you can answer a person or a fool that's wise in their own conceit and kind of put them
in their place, you know, take them down a notch, go ahead and answer them, right? But Jesus isn't
trying to engage in a debate here. He's basically just telling them, actually, here's the problem.
You don't know the Bible. You're ignorant of the power of God. And have you not read, you know,
here's what Moses, here's what Moses said, or what God said to Moses, rather. And here's,
here's, you know, some facts regarding the angels, okay? So they're coming to him. They're wise in
their own conceit, right? They're the Sadducees. You know, we don't believe in the resurrection.
We're, you know, they believe in what would probably be the equivalent of the social gospel
today. You know, they don't really believe in the supernatural power of God in the Bible. They just
believe in, you know, the moral teachings of scripture or whatever, right? They're just coming
to him, you know, as the intellectuals or something. And Jesus takes the opportunity to
answer these fools that are wise in their own conceit. But again, you know, there's also a
time when we should not answer a fool according to his folly, lest thou be like him, right? We don't
want to get into this, this back and forth that doesn't go anywhere. Because, you know, this kind
of ends the conversation. Like Jesus basically tears him down, you know, elsewhere it says,
and no man durst ask him any more questions. You know, like at some point they get enough answers
now that Jesus is like, we can't win. Like we're not going to go argue with him. Every time we ask
him a question, he just, you know, we get the smack down basically, okay? Look at Titus chapter
three verse nine, but avoid foolish questions and genealogies and contentions and strivings
about the law for they are unprofitable and vain. We don't want to live our lives or Christian lives
going around trying to correct every wrong in the world. We can't do it and straighten everybody
else out. It's just, you'll be spinning your wheels. It's a vanity basically. It's unprofitable.
You know, our time would be better spent teaching people that actually want to learn. Our time would
be better spent reaching people who actually want to listen, right? And probably one of the
greatest, you know, examples of this is when you're out soul winning. You know, when you're
out soul winning, don't get caught up in arguments at the door. You know, in your personal life,
when you're, you know, your relatives, your friends, your coworkers, you know, if they want
to talk to you about the things of God, if they're genuine and sincere in their line of questioning
and want to learn those things, great, teach them. But, you know, people just want to come
and argue and they just want to pick a fight or they just want to, you know, banter with you about
the thing. You know, we shouldn't answer those people often, you know, and obviously we all have
to use discernment, but we don't want to get involved in foolish questions about strivings
and about contentions. Why? Because they're unprofitable and they're vain. You know, a lot
of people like to enter into these debates and things like that to show off, right? And that's
vanity to just show off, right? That's the problem with debating. You know, if you're good at
debating, you know, it doesn't mean you could win and still be wrong, right? The, the, the
wrong person who doesn't have the facts, the person who's actually wrong about whatever it is being
debated can still win the debate if they know how to argue well. If they know how to like point out
a logical fallacy or whatever, you know, they can, the art of debate, there's debate school,
there's debate teams where the point is just winning the debate. It's not even necessarily
being about being right, right? These contentions, they're vain. And sometimes people, they just want
to get involved in debates with people just to show off what they know. You know, and that's
probably kind of what's going on with the Sadducees here. Oh, he thinks he's one of these
guys that believes in the resurrection. Well, let's go, let's go to him with our hypothetical
situation. See if he can answer the parable of the woman with seven husbands, right? They're
wise in their own conceit, right? And Jesus answered them and put them in their place.
You know, but we have, we're, that's not always going to be the case. Sometimes people are just
going to argue with you, I'm going to argue with you just, just for the sake of arguing.
And we need to not get involved in those kind of debates. Look at verse 10. A man that is an
heretic after the first and second admonition reject, right? They got, they got a couple
admonitions here, right? They got a first and second admonition from Jesus and they didn't have anything
else to say after that. You know, I'm not saying, you know, anytime anybody has a question about the
Bible or anyone raises this kind of objection, you know, we just say, oh, that's it, we walk away.
You know, but we don't want to get drawn into these things. And you can tell when someone's
trying to draw you into an argument. You know, you go out knocking doors, you go out talking to
people about the Bible long enough, and eventually you're going to run into somebody that's just
going to want to argue. You're going to run, that's going to happen enough times you're going to say,
oh, here we go again. This person just wants to waste my time at the door. They don't really want
to talk about anything fruitful. They really don't have any sincere desire to learn or know the truth.
They've just, they like talking about religious things. You know, they've heard other arguments.
They know all the counter arguments. They just want to get into a debate here at the door. This
stuff happens. And, you know, I'm not saying that we should just immediately turn tail and run, you
know, give them an admonition, quote them a scripture. Say, well, you know, actually the
Bible says this. Well, you know, again, the Bible says this, but, you know, that's about the length
of it. The first and second admonition. And then we're out of there, right? You know, it's been
a while, but for a while there I ran into people all the time who said they're not, you say, hey,
we're out preaching the gospel, you know, can I show you what the Bible says about going to heaven,
however I put it. You know, and they would say, you know, I'm not interested. You know,
I'm not interested. I'd be like, okay. But then they would want to start telling me why they're
not interested. Who's ever run into this, right? I'm not interested. Let me tell you why, right?
It's not that they're not interested in talking. It's that they're not interested in listening to
what I have to say, right? They want to hear themselves talk. I'm not interested, they'll say.
But here's the thing. I'm less interested than you are not interested in hearing what I have to say,
right? I'm less interested in hearing somebody who's not interested in hearing what I have to
say. Does that make sense? I'm not going to stand there and listen to somebody, like, tell me why
they're not interested in all their arguments and all their objections from the Bible. Well, let me
tell you why I'm not interested. Because everyone knows it's a Bronze Age book that was written by
a bunch of goat herders. What do you think about that? I think, have a good day. See you later.
You know, the Bible says that, you know, the prophecy came out of any private interpretation,
but holy men of God spake. They were moved by the Holy Ghost. That's what the Bible says, sir.
There's your admonition. Have a good day, right? I'm not going to sit there, you know, get into
a debate about, you know, how the Bible was interpreted down through the ages and, you know,
how all the different translations that were written and all these things that people want
to get caught up in. Why? Because it's unprofitable in vain. You know, and meanwhile, there's a guy a
block or two down. There's a guy a few doors down. There's a guy next door that's thinking, you know,
I wish somebody would just come tell me how to go to heaven. They would sincerely listen that,
you know, maybe God has been working on, you know, but we want to get caught up at the door
arguing with some heretic, right? That's not, that's not, it's unprofitable. It's vain.
So we have to be on guard about that, you know, and it happens to people too. Once they start to
learn the Bible, once they start to know the Bible, once they've heard the arguments and
the counter arguments, you know, they knock on the door of the Jehovah Witness or the Mormon or
whatever and they just think, let's go. It's go time because I know all the answers, right? I
know how to get to this guy. I know how to stump him. Yeah, you can stump somebody, but what is
the profit? It doesn't profit anything. They don't get saved. What's the point of soul winning? What's
the point of going out preaching the gospel? To get people saved. Not to convince some damnable
heretic that they're damned, right? They're condemned of themselves, you know, they're
damned already. You know, what are you just going to make them more, you're just going to make them
even more unsaved? Is that the point? You know, after a first and second admonition, we reject
these people. We avoid the foolish question, right? We answer not a fool according to his
folly, lest we be like him. But, you know, there are instances to answer a fool according to his
folly, lest he be wise in his own conceit. You know, if it's like, oh, I'm going to get a leg
up on this guy and show everybody how wrong you are, you know, maybe there is a time to have,
to put them in their place, such as Jesus did. That's typically not the case, okay?
He says in verse 11 of Titus 3, knowing that he that is such, such as what? One that is
an heretic, right? One that has nothing but foolish questions. One that has nothing but
contentions and vain babblings, right? A person such as that is subverted and sinneth, being
condemned of himself. You know, you can't convince people like this that they're wrong.
They'll argue with you six ways to Sunday. So, you know, that's one thing we get out of this text
here in Mark chapter 12. One, that Jesus knows when to answer. Jesus knows how to put people
in their place, but that's not necessarily something we should be trying to do. You know,
every time we run into somebody that's got a foolish and unlearned question, we should be
avoiding these things generally. And he also says to them, you know, you know not the scriptures.
And that's often the problem with most people that have a bunch of dumb, vain babblings and stupid
questions and ridiculous unbiblical doctrines is they don't know the Bible. Because if you knew
the Bible, a lot of these false things that people believe would just, they'd just be debunked.
You ever believed something and then read the Bible and go, oh, I was wrong about that. Yeah,
I've done it. I've even believed things about the Bible and, you know, had an idea about the
Bible, thought I knew something about the Bible, had a doctrine, you know, from the Bible, and then
turned out, you know, read elsewhere. It's like, oh, I was actually wrong about that. I misunderstood
that. I misapplied that. I misinterpreted that. You know, if you read the Bible, it will straighten
you out. It'll correct you. There's nothing wrong with that. You can't know everything.
But see, that's the problem that St. Joseph's had. They knew not the scriptures,
nor the power of God. Had they read the Bible, if they knew the Bible like they were supposed to,
they would have known that the resurrection is a very real thing.
I mean, there's some things you can get wrong about the Bible, some things,
some obscure things you might not know or realize or have to be taught. But good night,
the resurrection? One of the most powerful truths in the Bible? You better know that.
You better believe that. How can you read the Bible and not know about it?
If you would, go over to Romans chapter number one, Romans chapter number one.
You know, on this topic of the resurrection, the Bible says a lot about it.
Now, in the Old Testament, they had at least Daniel chapter 12.
And, you know, Job talks about the resurrection, that how in his flesh he would see God,
that he would stand on the earth in the latter day, right? The resurrection is discussed in
the Old Testament. Daniel chapter 12, verse one. And at that time shall Michael stand up,
the great prince which standeth for the children of thy people. And there shall be a tribe of
troubles, such as was since there was a nation, even at the same time. And at that time,
thy people shall be delivered. And every one of them shall be found written in the book.
And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life,
and some to shame and everlasting contempt. What's he talking about here? The resurrection,
right? With the Sadducees, they must have skipped that over. You know, that went over their head.
They didn't read that. You know, they glossed over this. You know, they just got the cliff
notes on the book of Daniel. They didn't teach this in Sadducee school apparently, right?
A lot of people's false doctrine would just be taken care of if they just actually read and
believed the Bible. But again, you know, the problem is sometimes with a lot of people is that
even that people, when you show them things from the Bible, they don't believe it anyway.
There's a lot of Christians out there that claim the name of Christ today. They don't even believe
the Bible. You show them something out of the word of God. They have excuses. I don't believe that.
It's like, why are you calling yourself a Christian? Why do you say that you believe
in the God of the Bible, the God, you know, the living God, the God of Abraham,
Isaac, and Jacob? If you don't believe what his book says, it's odd. It's to say the least.
Verse three, he said, and they that shall be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament,
and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars forever and ever. That's a great verse.
They that be wise shall shine as the stars of the firmament forever and ever.
They'll be varying degrees to our glory in heaven. Because not every star shines that bright,
does it? Some stars are harder to see than others. Some stars are very bright, very noticeable,
some stars are very bright, very noticeable. You know, we could,
I'm not, I'm not really big on astronomy, so I couldn't tell, name you any, you know,
Cirrus Maximus or anything like that. I don't know all the names, but we could all look up at the
sky and say, well, that one's brighter than that one. That one's bigger than that one. That one
seems to shine and spark a little bit more than this one over here, right? And that, you know,
that's Daniel saying, you know, that's what we're going to be like in the resurrection.
I believe that is part of our reward, is that we'll be given a degree of glory to which,
you know, according to our wisdom, as according to as many as we've turned unto righteousness.
You know, we spend our lives winning souls, bringing people to the knowledge,
a saving knowledge of Christ. There will be a reward for that. You know, we don't need to do
it just out of a sense of duty. We can do things because we want to have that reward. God offers it.
And, you know, and that's kind of a, can be kind of a scary thought when you think about it because
of the fact, you know, it might, there's going to be people that outshine us, right? I doubt that
I'm going to be the the brightest shining star or whatever you want to call it in heaven. You know,
there's going to be other people who've done greater works and things like that, you know,
but how sad would it be if you got there and you were just like, what do they call the Italian
bulbs, right? The real, the real light ones, you know, like, I remember there was a,
downtown where I grew up, there was a marquee for a movie theater and it had all these little
yellow light bulbs in it. And I had a friend, and I could tell this joke because an Italian told it
to me, okay? It was Mr. Fazzi, okay? My friend had, his dad, his last name was Fazzi. He's very
Italian, okay? And he said, hey, you know why they call those Italian bulbs? I said, why? He says,
because they're dim. Think about that later. Some of you might be Italian tonight, I don't know.
But, you know, I don't want to be one of those dim little bulbs. You know, we want to be one of
those megawatt, you know, high lumen LED, just like blinding. That's, we should desire that,
right? Look, that is the resurrection. That's a, that's a facet of the resurrection that,
you know, we would do well to wrap our minds around, understand. But the Sadducees, they
don't get it. They don't get it at all, right? They don't even believe in a resurrection, okay?
I'm assuming everyone in the room believes the resurrection tonight. Well, you know, there's
some things to consider about the resurrection. You know, one is that it's part of your reward.
You know, we're going to get the resurrection no matter what because we're saved, we're born again.
You know, but part of that resurrection is being glorified, giving that glorified body,
given that new body. In fact, let's skip Romans 1, go to 1 Corinthians 15, and get into it because
this is the resurrection chapter, and there's a lot here to go over, right? He said to the
Sadducees, you do greatly err not knowing the scriptures nor the power of God. We don't want
to err and not understand tonight the power of God, the power of the resurrection. That's what
he's referring to there because the Sadducees say there is no resurrection. He's saying, you know
what, one of your problems is, you say, I just use one, you don't know the Bible, you don't know
the scriptures, and two, you don't know the power of God. You know, it's one thing to know the Bible,
it's one thing to know what the scripture says, and it's one thing to even understand and believe
in the resurrection, but let's not forget about the power of the resurrection. It's the power of
God, the resurrection. It's a powerful thing that we need to think about tonight. The Bible says a
lot about it, and we're just going to look at a few things. I'll just read to us from Romans
chapter one. It says there, Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle separated
under the gospel of God concerning his son Jesus Christ our Lord, which was made of the seed of
David according to the flesh, and declared to be the Son of God with power. Jesus was powerfully
declared to be the Son of God according to the spirit of holiness. How was Jesus Christ declared
to be the Son of God? Just because someone went around and powerfully said, and very loudly said,
he's the Son of God. No, he was declared to be the Son of God with power, powerfully declared,
by the resurrection. The power of the resurrection is, you know, or the declaration of Christ's
power, or of his sonship, is the powerful declaration of his resurrection. That's a pretty
bold, I mean, it's saying something when you rise again from the dead. It's a powerful declaration,
the resurrection, okay. We don't want to miss that. We don't want to miss out on that.
Not the resurrection itself, but not fully comprehending, and not that we could completely
comprehend it here on this earth, but to just have this passing or just surface level understanding
of the resurrection. Yeah, I know one day we're going to live again. Yeah, I have eternal life. I
know one day God is going to call me up, and my body will be reunited with my spirit, and I'll
partake in the resurrection. That's, you know, we all get that. You have to understand that. That's
the power of God unto salvation, right. That's the gospel of Christ. That's part of it, the death
barrel and resurrection, but what we don't want to miss out on is the true power of the resurrection.
You know, it ought to motivate us. It ought to spur us on to do and attempt great things for Christ
in this life because there is power in the resurrection.
One, we saw in Daniel that, you know, some people are going to be resurrected,
and they're going to shine as the brightness of the firmament.
Does that mean everybody gets that to the same degree? Well, do all the lights of the
firmament shine to the same degree? I'm real glad that the moon isn't as bright as the sun
because, you know, that we wouldn't get any sleep, right. No, the truth is, is that there's
varying degrees of glory, and it's all based upon your service on this earth. You got to understand
that. That's part of, that's an aspect of the resurrection that we have to wrap our minds around.
1 Corinthians 15, verse 12. There's so much here. I'll try to get through most of it, but he said,
Now if Christ be preached that he rose from the dead, how say some among you that there is no
resurrection of the dead? You know, these Sadducees are still around apparently. Now,
they're even infiltrating churches or something, but there's people in this church that are saying
there is no resurrection or that it be passed already. But if there be no resurrection,
then Christ is not risen. And if Christ is not risen, then our preaching is vain, and your faith
is also vain. If there's no resurrection, what's the point, he's saying? Yea, and we have found
false witnesses of God because we have testified of God that he raised up Christ. We've been going
around telling everybody that Christ was raised up. That is the power behind the declaration of
his sonship, is the resurrection. And if we've been going around saying that, then our message
has no power. We're liars. Look at verse 17. And if Christ be not raised, your faith is
in vain, and you are yet in your sins. Then they also which are fallen asleep are perished,
and if in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable.
Without the resurrection, what's the point? Eat, drink, and be merry, for tomorrow we die.
But now Christ is risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that slept.
For since death came, by man also came the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam
all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive. But every man in his own order, Christ
the firstfruits, and he's the firstfruits, even though there were other people that were
resurrected in the Old Testament, there were other people that were resurrected even in the day of
Christ. If you remember at his crucifixion the graves were open and the saints walked, but the
difference is all those people died again. Christ is risen again to die no more. Behold I am he that
liveth and was dead. Behold I'm alive forevermore. I have the keys of hell and of death. He rose to
die no more. The other resurrections that you see in the scripture throughout time, those people
all died again. You know once wasn't enough apparently. You imagine that. You know here we go
again. I don't know if it gets easier the second time, right, but the difference is that Christ
died, but you know when he resurrected he's never dying again. That's why he's the firstfruits,
right. He has that glorified body, and that's something to think about because the Bible says
in First John that when we see him we shall be as he is, right, and he's going to go into that here
in First Corinthians 15 about how there's a difference between our earthly body and our
heavenly body. There's a difference between your earthly, you know, the body you have now and the
one that you'll have in the resurrection. You know when Christ resurrected he went his disciples
and he said a spirit hath not flesh and bone as you see me to have, right, and he was able to show
them, you know, the wounds in his hands and his side, right. So there was obviously that he was
familiar looking. There's some his likeness hadn't changed, but there's something on a
physiological level that had changed. He said flesh and spirit hath not flesh and bone as you see me
have, and if you recall elsewhere the Bible says that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom
of heaven and that the power of life is in the blood, right. So it appears that in our
resurrected form what little we know about it is that there won't be maybe a circulatory system,
right. The spirit of God is what gives us our life in our in our glorified form.
We see through a glass darkly. We don't understand everything or how it's possible,
but it is. We know what we do know is pretty amazing, right. One is flesh and so there's
something to our glorified form and of course we could talk about the abilities that Christ had
in his glorified form, right. He was able to manifest or appear or teleport I guess it would be,
you know, before in his disciples on the first day of the week they had locked the doors for fear of
the Jews and then Jesus appeared in the room and the Bible is really clear that he didn't sneak in,
right. He just was there which makes sense because part of our reward is also to rule and reign with
him, right, in the millennial kingdom. He will say, you know, in the parables Christ said, you know,
be thou over five cities, be thou over ten cities, right, meaning we will have some authority to rule
and reign with Christ the millennium. So if you're some kind of a magistrate here on earth during
millennium, you know, you can't just you don't want to get caught up in the commute, right.
You know what you can't just hop on the the westbound train for for whatever city you're
over, right. It'd be a lot more convenient if you could just go there, right, and just be there
instantly but that would make a lot more sense. So there's some practical things about it. Now that's
pretty cool, right. That's a pretty cool aspect of it. So when you start to kind of piece these
things together what you see the details in the scripture you start to get some idea about the
resurrection and what you start to realize about the resurrection is that it's a powerful truth
and these Sadducees are missing out. They don't know the power of God. But what about you tonight?
Do you know about the power of God and the resurrection? Have you contemplated what a
powerful truth that is? Look at verse 35, but some man will say, how are the dead raised up and by
what body do they come? Well how is it possible? You know that's the Sadducee speaking there.
Well what do you mean? How does this happen, right? And I love his response, thou fool.
That which thou sowest is not quick and except it die and that which thou sowest thou sowest not that
body that it shall be that shall be but but bare grain it may chance of wheat or of some other
grain he's saying you don't put something in the ground you don't put a seed in the ground expect
another seed to come out you put a seed you know you put a tomato does a tomato seed look like a
tomato no okay you're getting a little horticulture tonight okay a little ag a little ag lesson right
i know we're so far removed from that world of city dwellers right but these these fruits of
vegetables they don't they don't go into the ground or you know looking like that they come
off of a tree that looks nothing like it an orange comes off an orange tree but is it doesn't
mean the the the tree is orange it's not talking about the color right it looks like just another
tree right and he's saying you fool just look at the natural world you know you put something in
ground something else comes out you die get buried why would it shock you that you come out differently
you know with what what form do they come in you know how is it possible it happens all the time
in agriculture it happens all the time in farming we do it all the time we see it all around us
it should not surprise us that it's going to be the same way in the resurrection and what he's
saying is it's not going to be just like this in the resurrection much too many of our relief right
there is hope yet right we're gonna i don't know what that glorifying form is going to be but it's
going to be something different and it's going to be better i mean it's certainly going to have
to be much more capable not to mention the fact that it won't die we'll never have to experience
death again no sickness no illness no death it's all going to be gone in the glorified form it's
all going to be gone in heaven that's the power of the resurrection powerful truths you know that
you don't want to miss out on in your christian life don't take them for granted and if you've
never contemplated them you need to don't be like this Sadducee you know who just you know has
nothing to live for right that's what paul is saying if christ be not risen that we are of all
men most miserable and our preachers in vain and your faith is in vain but the resurrection is true
and it's a powerful truth tonight verse 38 but god giveth it that thing that comes out of the ground
that fruit that plant a body as it pleases him and to ever see in his own body it's getting the
same way in the resurrection all flesh is not the same flesh there's one flesh of men another flesh
of beasts another flesh of fishes and another of birds there are also celestial bodies meaning
heavenly bodies celestial right and bodies terrestrial right terra firma the ground the earth
and the glory of this one is and but the glory of the celestial is one and the glory of the
terrestrial is another they're different okay our glorified form will be different in some way
probably to a great degree than the bodies that we have now i mean jesus was in it he was
recognizable as a human being right he had hands feet arms legs eyes nose mouth
but there was something different in that resurrected form it had been changed
and you know it had abilities all flesh is not the same flesh there's celestial there is
terrestrial there is one glory of the sun another glory of the moon another glory of the stars
and one for one star dithereth from another star and glory as we read over there in daniel 12
right there's differing glories in the heavens so there shall be in the resurrection we will all
have different you know varying degrees of glory in that resurrected form and i believe
it is all based upon our merit based upon our works here on earth you know and look i you know
you start talking like this and even sometimes even god's old people start going cross-eyed on you
and they think oh is this some baptist fairy tale you tell your children to get them to behave
this is the bible folks this is what the bible teaches the resurrected form the rewards in
the celestial body the differences thereof between that and and the and the terrestrial
heavenly and the earthly and it's a powerful truth that needs to be taught and it needs to
be comprehended and understood contemplated because if we do if we grasp this and start
to believe this it will change our life it might change the way we conduct ourselves it might
change our priorities it might change uh you know our attitude towards the things of god
if we really let this sink in down past our ears and into our hearts tonight this is a powerful
truth and he goes on about how it's sown in in dishonor raised in glory sown in weakness
raised in power so in a natural body raised a spiritual body and he goes on uh but let's wrap
this up here quickly though he goes on and says in verse 50 now this i say brethren that flesh
and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of god verse 50 neither doth corruption inherit incorruption
right again as i was alluding to earlier there's something about that resurrected form where the
blood is absent in christ's case but look at verse 51 he said behold i show you a mystery we
shall not all sleep we shall all be changed so it's talking about the rapture that's what we
call the rapture right we shall not all sleep right he's not talking about when you go to church
he's talking about debt you know to the christian death is just a is sleep you know a dirt nap you
ever hear that expression he's taking it he's taking the long dirt nap right he's just sleeping
and that's really what death is you know for us when we look at that saved born again believer
being buried in the earth it's like you're just they're just going for a long sleep
you know how many sleeps to the resurrection we don't know okay but that that's a reference to
that now we understand of course that the soul is in heaven alive in heaven because he is the god
of the living of abraham isaac and jacob but he's saying here you know we shall not all sleep meaning
some people there's some people that will not even experience death this is amazing truth
this is powerful i mean i who would like to be a part of that well hang on because remember this
all happens you know with christ coming we were talking about this morning you know three and a
half years you know with the tribulation basically right before you know when god pours out his wrath
it'd be great to be part of that group but you know but that group is going to earn it too
right and we go to revelation where you know those that have been martyred for christ those
that have given that in that time you know the bible says that they are the temple of god day
and night praising god they're they're in closer proximity to the lord than other saints again
showing us that you know how you conduct yourself and why i just harp on this fact over and over
again about the rewards in heaven is that because they are very real and they're significant
you say oh i could go without a crown i could go without a crown or two or a few precious stones
whatever it is you know i don't care if my mansion is a little smaller what about the
proximity you can have to christ what if your proximity to the lord was based by part of your
reward i believe that's the case i mean you see people in heaven that are closer we can't all
occupy the same space it's still a physical body right it's flesh and bone it's a resurrected form
you know i mean we all have to you know the fire code you know is you have to have at least three
square feet per person that's how they determine the occupancy here i don't know what the fire code
is in heaven but it's the same concept we can't all inhabit the same you know same space there's
got to be some elbow room right and the people that you know gave their lives during the
tribulation the people that actually are martyred for the cause of christ they're in the temple of
god praising him day and night and that the sun doesn't shine upon them they're in the presence of
god i mean if you had your pick at heaven where would you want to be and you know we we would
like to think we'd say it was close to the lord jesus i can hopefully that's everyone's answer
but you know maybe some people don't that's not their answer because they haven't really let that
center what that's really like to be in the presence of god to come into his presence and
to dwell there for all of eternity that's never going to get boring folks that's always going to
be an amazing thing right that to see the lord to look in his face to hear his voice to be in
his presence there's no better place to be okay not everybody gets to have that
some people are going to be in the back 40.
i believe that the new you go read about the new jerusalem it's huge it's huge you know i haven't
done the i haven't calculated you know looked at a map since i've moved here but you know we used
to talk about this when i lived in michigan it was from like northern michigan like the tip of
the mid of michigan down to florida made once you know one side of it and it's four square it's as
wide as it is tall as it is high it's it's cubed right those are the dimensions that's like 1300
miles or something like that that's a big city it's huge massive right and you know some people
are going to be farther away at in that city from the throne of god than others it's just a fact
some you know what what are those those binoculars they put on the empire state building
right you know the tour you know the grand canyon stuff you put the quarter in
you look through it and see really far you know i wonder if there's going to be some of those in
heaven for people that might be the case for some people they want to get a look at the lord jesus
it's like you're gonna have to go break a dollar you're gonna have to get your banachs out
this is a truth of the resurrection you know we need to know these things we need we need to
let these things sink in and look if we just think like well no big deal you know that's
that's saying something about us that's saying something about our spiritual condition if that
if that doesn't matter to us and look i'm not trying to turn it into some kind of competition
with other christians but you know we should try to get as close to god as we can we should
try to get the maximal reward that we can on this earth because we have this life only in which to
serve christ and then it's over and then it's whatever we did that's what we're going to be
awarded for for eternity you know and we want people to give uh you know we want to give an
account for the people that we we pastor and lead with with joy and not with grief i don't want to
see anybody miss out on what they could have had in heaven you know i'm not i'm sure there's not
you know there's no disappointment there or whatever i'm sure everyone's gonna just be glad
to be in heaven because it beats the hell out of hell you know but that that's not you know that
i don't want to spend eternity going well this is not hell you know i'm always be grateful to not
be in hell but the thought that i could have had more i could have done more i could have served
more and look no matter how much we serve or how much we do that will always be the case
but that's not a reason not to try and to and to do the most that we can for god in this life
you know people people should attempt to do great things for god you know this is that the what the
resurrection shows us is that god is powerful you know and that god you know would work on
he wants to show himself strong on behalf of those that would serve him i believe that
it's a powerful power of powerful truth resurrection look at 52 again in a moment
in the twinkling of an eye at the last trump for the trump shall sound and the dead shall
be raised incorruptible and we shall be changed right of course we understand uh from elsewhere
first thessalonians that you know the dead in christ shall rise first then we which are alive
and remain shall be caught up together with them and so shall we ever be with the lord
okay so they precede us if we're that group of people that live unto the coming of the lord
he says uh in a moment we shall be changed for this corruption corruptible must put on in
corruption and this mortal must be put on immortality it's a necessity to have the
resurrection resurrected form you know that's why it says in first johnny when we see him we shall
be as he is every man that hath this hope in him purify himself even as he is pure
it's a necessity but again going back to the power
this corruptible have shall put on in corruption and this mortal shall have put on immortality
then shall be brought to pass the saying that is is swallowed up in victory
the sting of death is oh death where is thy seeing a grave where is thy victory
the sting of death is sin the strength of sin is the law for death and the grave we we you know
we're not we're not going to be just obliterated or go and be destroyed or go into oblivion there
is a hope that is given unto us in the resurrection that's what makes it so powerful
know the power of god and of course that's understandable when you're talking to a
bunch of unsaved you know christ-denying people who don't even believe the bible let alone know
the bible who deny the resurrection outright when you deny the resurrection of course you don't know
or believe or understand or moved by its power but let that not be said of any of us tonight
that we aren't familiar and know and are moved by the power of the resurrection
you ever read these verses and just want to shout amen you ever read these verses just get excited
death where is thy sting grave where is thy victory thanks be to god which give us the victory
over death in the grave amen it's a powerful truth the resurrection that's a reality
and no matter how you live your life as god's child no matter what you do with this life
that's a reality you're going to experience if you're saved you can't get out of it you get
saved that's it it's coming it's gonna happen you can't back out of the deal you've been sealed
under the day of your you know we want to go out and just forget about the things of
god and go live for the world okay you're gonna be disappointed when i look on that face that scar
tattered face i wish i had given him more it's true whether we realize that now
or not that is something we will come to terms with at the resurrection
and i love how he ends this this is a great chapter on the resurrection explaining the power
of the resurrection look how he ends it verse 58 therefore my beloved brethren
right therefore what's the therefore therefore fast unmovable always abounding in the work of
the lord for as much as you know that your labor is not in vain our labor what we do for christ on
this earth matters more than you could ever comprehend what we do for christ in this earth
we might not have the praise of men you know the world's never going to come pat us on the back
and say attaboy but you know what our labor is not in vain why because of the power of the
resurrection because of the truth and the reality of the resurrection resurrection we know it
matters that's why paul's saying be steadfast be unmovable always abounding in the work of the lord
this matters what we're doing it matters what we're doing as a church it matters what we're
doing day by day if we're serving god if we're reading our bibles if we're praying if we're
winning souls if we're telling others about jesus if we're leading our families according to the
word of god if we're doing those things which always please them or not it matters why because
of the power of the resurrection it's reality it's something you're going to face as god's child
whether you want to or not you cannot escape it and paul is simply saying after 57 verses
serve god that's what he's saying he's gathering his breath and saying all that to say this
keep serving god because it matters because there is a reward to those that labor there's a reward
therefore always abound in that work don't miss out on the power of the resurrection
and the reward thereof let's go and close in a word of prayer