sermon now, so if you look at Philippians chapter 3 and verse number 10, Philippians
chapter 3 and verse number 10, it begins by saying that I may know Him and the power of
His resurrection, the title for the sermon this morning is the power of His resurrection.
I will be preaching this afternoon if you're excited to hear about Jeremiah, I will be
preaching Jeremiah chapter 26 this afternoon, okay, but this morning because it is resurrection
Sunday as it is commonly termed, we did need to look at the resurrection, I mean it's the
best topic in the Bible, to me, you know, you say what is the best topic in the Bible,
it's the resurrection of Jesus Christ and everything that entails, everything that is
related to that because even our resurrection, the promise of our resurrection is tied into
the resurrection of Christ, you know, our salvation is tied into the resurrection of
Christ, if Christ was not risen, we would be in our sins and we would be on our way
to hell still and so there are so many important elements when it comes to the resurrection
and I just want you to notice, well let's start there in verse number 9 first, let's
look at Philippians chapter 3 verse number 9 and I will be focused mainly in Philippians
chapter 3, so if you want to keep your finger there when I get you to turn to other passages
because we will be coming back to Philippians and getting a greater truth here, but if you
look at verse number 9, it says, and be found in Him not having mine own righteousness which
is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which
is of God by faith, so what do we learn here, that in order for us to be righteous before
God, we don't have our own righteousness which is by the works of the law, which is by the
law, again, no, we're not saved by the law, we're not saved by being good people or doing
good works or keeping the 10 commandments, you've already failed at that, okay, you're
trying to keep your own righteousness, it's not going to happen, but it says here, but
that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith,
so the righteousness that we stand before God is the righteousness of God and we receive
that by faith, okay, it's the righteousness of Christ, okay, so if you're saved, this
is you, you've been covered by the righteousness of Christ, you've been saved from your sins,
but look at verse number 10, now that we are saved, what is it that we should be striving
for, that I may know him, what a great thing that God wants us to know him, that he wants
us to know Jesus Christ, one of the worst things about Islam is that they don't believe
they can know God, they believe God is just unknowable, I mean it sounds great, he's just
too unknowable, you know, he's just beyond our understanding, that's how the Muslims
think about it, and so they cannot have a personal walk with God, they cannot have this
personal relationship with God, but God, no, God is very different, God says that he is
knowable and it should be our desire to know him, that's a more intimate level, and it's
not just okay, he's the God that saved me, but hey, he's the God that I spend time with,
he's the God that I wake up in the morning and pray to, he's the God that when I open
up his word, he's speaking to me, and we have a relationship, a father and son or a father
and daughter relationship, okay, but not just to know him, which is great, but also the
power of his resurrection, and so we're going to be looking at what is the power of his
resurrection, of course we know it's Christ coming back from the dead, praise God that
happened, but what does that mean for us today, how is it that we can know God and the power
of his resurrection, what does that look like in our lives, you know, what should differentiate
a saved Christian compared to the unbeliever or even an unsaved Christian, plenty of Christians
call themselves Christians, but not even saved, you know, what should differentiate us that
know Christ, that know God and the power of his resurrection, we will notice that in verse
number 10 he continues saying, and the fellowship of his sufferings being made conformable unto
his death, notice the sufferings of Christ is mentioned there, so it's not just the power
of his resurrection, but the fellowship of his sufferings, what is he saying, he's saying
that when Christ, we know that Christ suffered on the cross, and we know that we suffer in
this life, now we're never going to suffer like Christ suffered, you're never going to
have all the sins of the whole world, of every human being put upon you, and the suffering
that they would entail, no, okay, but we do suffer to some extent, to some measure on
this earth, you know, the Bible's telling us here that we can have fellowship with God
even in suffering, you know, so point number one that I have for you, what is the power
of his resurrection, number one, it is the power to endure suffering, it's not the power
to escape suffering, no, we live in a real world, we live in a fallen world, we live
in a wicked sinful world that's going to be suffering this life, maybe you're suffering
right now, I don't know, okay, they could be physical sufferings, okay, you could be
suffering financially, you might be struggling in that area, right, you may be suffering
in your relationships, you may be going through some type of depression, some type of sadness,
right, there are many forms of suffering that we can have in this world, you know, you may
be suffering, you know, from rejection, you know, people don't want anything to do with
you, but you know what, the power of his resurrection gives us the power to endure suffering, not
just endure suffering, but be in fellowship with Christ while we suffer, because Christ
suffered for us, and so we can have this commonality with the Lord Jesus Christ, can you please
keep your finger there and go to 2 Corinthians chapter one, 2 Corinthians chapter one for
me please, 2 Corinthians chapter one, again keep your finger in Philippians chapter three,
and while you're turning to 2 Corinthians chapter one, I'm going to read to you from
Romans chapter eight, okay, you're turning to 2 Corinthians chapter one, I'm going to
read to you from Romans chapter eight, verse number 16, it says the Spirit, referring to
the Holy Spirit, itself beareth witness with our spirit that we are the children of God.
Would you consider yourself a child of God? Now some people think everybody's a child
of God. Sometimes I go, daughter of a soul winning, and they say, well, we're all children
of God. No, you're only a child of God if you've been born of God. If you've been born
again, if you receive Christ as Savior, you can become a child of God, because you're
in Christ, and he is the begotten Son of God. All right, so we understand that the Holy
Spirit bears witness of our spirit that we are the children of God. You know, salvation
isn't this thing that we ought to doubt. I don't know if I'm a child of God. I don't
know if I've been forgiven. You know what, usually, you know, you may doubt as a new
person, but if you're living a Christian life for years and years and years, and you're
constantly doubting, I would tell you, the Holy Spirit is not bearing witness to your
spirit, meaning that you are not saved. You're doubting because there's a part of you that
thinks salvation has to do with you, how I'm performing, and none of us perform perfectly.
So whenever we fail, there's going to be those doubts. But when you understand that salvation
is purely what Christ has done for us, and it's finished work, there is no doubt because
Christ has done everything necessary to save us. And so that is the witness that the Holy
Spirit gives to us. But then it says this in verse number 17,
And if children, then heirs, heirs of God, and joint heirs with Christ.
And then it says this, If so be that we suffer with him, that we may also be glorified together.
So what is this reminding us? That if we suffer for Christ, if we suffer in this world, that
we need to remember that we're going to inherit the same blessings, the same rewards, the
same heaven, the same kingdom as our Lord Jesus Christ. We're joint heirs with God.
So when we suffer in this life, we know this life is temporal. We know we've got maybe
70 years, 80 years, 90 years, 100 years, you know, if you're blessed in that way of life,
right? We've got this limited time on the earth. And look, I'm almost 40. I feel like
my boy, that's that's like halfway, maybe. Who knows? I might pass away today. I don't know.
Okay. But you know what, you know, whatever suffering we go through, we need to remember
that no, we know what God's given us this promise of heaven, heaven, I'm going to inherit this great
kingdom with my Lord Jesus Christ. Why should I be concerned for the little suffering that I have
in this life? In fact, this suffering allows me to fellowship with God. This suffering allows me
to draw closer to God to be strengthened by God. And He will help me to get through this life.
Then it says this, for I reckon, sounds like an Aussie, for I reckon that the sufferings of this
present time, look at this, are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed
in us. Boy, you know, some people suffer to the point where they can't bear suffering anymore.
You know, the Bible tells us that our suffering in this present time is not worthy to be compared
with the glory that God will give us in heaven. Okay. So listen, when you're suffering, you got
to control the whining. You got to control the complaining. Okay. Now listen, go and, go and,
and yeah, go to the Lord, you know, get it off your chest, go and seek comfort. And, you know,
the advice from the Lord and the fellowship from the Lord, but understand that what you suffer,
even if it's a great suffering, the Bible tells us that it cannot even compare to how glorious
our eternal future will be with the Lord God. And so you can see by the power of His resurrection,
it gives us the power to endure our suffering. We have this hope to come. You know, the, the
unbelieving world, they think this is the one life they have. And so when they're suffering,
that's all they can think about. This is my life. My life is suffering. You know,
we have a greater hope to be looking forward to. And then you're in second Corinthians chapter one,
look at verse number three. Second Corinthians chapter one and verse number three. And my mom
and dad, mom, can you guys, I'll get one to sit here and one there, just to make room. Can you
just move there? All right. Second Corinthians chapter one and verse number three reads,
blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God of,
look at this, the God of all comforts, who comforted of us in all our tribulation,
that we may be able to comfort them, which are in any trouble by the comfort wherewith
we ourselves are comforted of God. How many times does this passage talk about comfort? Okay,
what is one of the advantages of suffering? That you can be comforted by God. Because if you're
not suffering, guess what? You don't need comforts. You're doing just fine. Well,
what a great blessing, what a great pleasure to be able to be comforted by God. But in order for
you to be comforted, you must first go through some level of suffering. And then what else did
it tell us here? That we, once we are comforted, in verse number four, that we may be able to
comfort them which are in any trouble. So if there's a brother or sister in the Lord that
are suffering themselves, they're going through difficulties, they're going for trials, we can
comfort them in return with the same comfort that God has comforted us in our sufferings.
So this is a great privilege. Suffering is a great privilege. Don't try to escape suffering.
Don't try to escape difficulties, because that is when you can draw closest with God,
and that is when the Lord steps in to comfort you, and then you can be used by God to comfort
others that are suffering. That's a great privilege. You know, that's a great privilege
that comes with the power of his resurrection. What does it say there in verse number five? Look
at verse number five, there's 2 Corinthians chapter one, verse five, for as the sufferings
of Christ abound in us, so our consolation also are bounded by Christ. What is this telling us?
The more we suffer, the greater the consolation, the greater the comfort from God, okay? So look,
I don't know, I kind of feel like, yeah, I've suffered a little bit in life, but really,
you know, this kind of sounds boastful or something, I don't feel like I've suffered
that much. Like I've got a full belly, you know, I've got a big house, I've got a, not a big house,
but you know, I'm talking about my family, you know, I've got a lot of children, I feel blessed,
you know, we've got two churches, one here up there, and I get to travel and talk to the
brethren and fellowship. I, you know, I kind of think, yeah, my life is pretty good, right? And
people think, you know, if I can just have a life without suffering, that'd be great. But the Bible's
telling us, the more we suffer, the greater the consolation, meaning the more you can experience
God's presence in your life. You actually have an advantage if you have suffered a lot in life. You
have the advantage of the greater comfort that comes from God, and then God can use you in a
great way once again to comfort others. Okay, so please consider this when you're suffering next
time. I need to get out of this situation. No, ask God, God, help me for this situation. Comfort me,
give me that great consolation that you promised me in your word. Look at verse number six. For
whether we be afflicted, it is your consolation and salvation which is effectual in the enduring
of the same sufferings which we also suffer. Or whether we be comforted, it is your consolation
and salvation. And our hope of you is steadfast, knowing that as your partakers of the
sufferings, so shall you also, sorry, so shall you also, sorry, be also of the consolation. So verse
number seven is basically saying this. If you suffer and you're experienced suffering, then know for
certain that God will also comfort you. God will not allow you to suffer in this life and not
comfort you. Now you may say, well, I just don't feel comforted by God. Then that is not God's
fault. Okay, the problem with us is when we go through suffering, we think, oh, we can just take
this on our own. We'll just, I'll just deal with this on my own. No, when we suffer, we're called
to go to the Lord. The Lord wants to comfort us. The Lord wants to console us. He's going to give
us the ability to go through this period of suffering, but it requires you to turn to him,
not to rely upon yourself. And so point number one, brethren, when it comes to the power of
his resurrection, number one, it is the power to endure suffering. I hope you think of suffering
in a different light when you consider these passages, that it draws me closer to God, that
it causes God to give me a great comfort. Okay. Now, if you can please go back to Philippians
chapter three and verse number 10, Philippians chapter three, verse number 10, Philippians
chapter three and verse number 10, which said that I may know him and the power of his resurrection
and the fellowship of his sufferings, but now notice the next words, being made conformable unto
his death. Wow, that's interesting. The apostle is able to speak to death and say, you know what,
the Lord is conforming me to this life and ultimately to this death. Point number two,
the power of his resurrection is the power to face death. The power to face death. You know,
that is what a lot of people worry about. What happens when I die? You know, is there a future?
Is there an afterlife? Or what's going to happen to my possessions? What's going to happen to all
the things that I've amassed? People are concerned about dying and you know what, when it comes to
being saved, when it comes to being in the power of his resurrection, it's going to help you have
the power to face death and not have the fears of death. Can you, where are you guys? You're in
Philippians. Turn to Philippians chapter one, please. Philippians chapter one. Philippians
chapter one. And I'm going to read to you from Psalm 116 verse number 15. Psalm 116 verse number
15 says this. Now notice this, what it says about the Lord. It says, precious in the sight of the Lord.
What's precious in the sight of the Lord? Is the death of his saints. Wow. You know, death is
normally seen as this negative thing. You know, you know, the mourning, the sadness that, and there
is a part of that. You know, I'm not trying to remove that from the equation. You know, if any
of us have lost loved ones, you know, you've, I'm sure you felt a great mourning or great sadness,
great sorrow. These things happen, okay. But it's amazing that from God's perspective, if you are a
saint of the Lord, if you are saved, that's what saint means by the way, it means you're sanctified.
It means you've been cleansed. It means you've been saved from your sins. When he sees the death
of his saints, he says, that's very precious to me. Very precious. You know, the time has come for
the saints to pass on. All right. And now he's going to be in my presence. I mean, that's what
death ultimately is, brethren. You close your eyes and then you open your eyes and you're there
before the Lord. I mean, what a great thing. What a great promise. Unfortunately, for those that are
unsaved, as you see in the book of Luke with Lazarus and the rich man, when he opened up
his eyes, he saw himself in flames. He saw himself in torment. I mean, that would be the scary thing
to think about. Where will I be when I pass away? You know, when it comes to the power of his
resurrection, we have the power to face death. We know that as soon as we close those eyes,
we're going to see the Lord God in his glory. I don't know. Some people think, well, maybe
an angel will carry us. Maybe we'll be carried. And we get to see what the heavens truly are like
or whatever. I don't know. I don't know exactly what he looks like. But we will stand before the
Lord. And this is a great thing. So we don't have to be overly concerned about death because we know
it's just the next chapter of our lives. Now, you're in Philippians chapter one and verse
number 21. Philippians chapter one and verse number 21, it says, very famous passage, very
famous verse, it says, for to me to live is Christ and to die is gain. Gain is like profit. Man,
he goes, man, when I die, I'm going to profit from that. It's going to be awesome. That's what
he's thinking. But you know what? It's not like suicidal though. It's not like, ah, you know,
unfortunately, I've seen some Christians like this where they know that heaven's going to be
wonderful. They know the presence of God is going to be great. And they're just having a horrible
life. And they're like, I just wish I died. You know, they have those suicidal thoughts. That's
not how it should be, brethren. Okay. Now, yeah, I'm excited for the afterlife. I'm excited for
eternal life. Amen. But while we're living, it says for me to live is Christ. If we're
excited to see Christ, if we're excited to see the glory of God in death, then we should be excited
to live for Christ. You know, and look, if you if you feel like you have no purpose in life,
you feel like, you know, everyone's left me, you know, I'm all alone, you know, and you know,
these things sometimes do cross the minds of people. Well, the Lord's never left you,
you know, the Lord is your Savior. He's still leading you on this earth. And you know,
all he's simply asking from you, well, if you've got nothing else to live for, well, live for me,
live for Christ. I mean, that's everything to live for. The more you live for Christ,
the greater your glory will be in heaven. Okay. You live for the Lord here, you do the works of
God here, the greater your reward in heaven. Okay. The more crowns you're going to have
to cast at the feet of Christ when you see him. All right. So you know, as Christians,
we've been given the power to face death. Can you please turn to John chapter 11, please.
John chapter 11. John chapter 11.
And I'll read to you from 2 Timothy chapter 1 verse 10. You go to John 11. 2 Timothy 1 10 says,
but is now made manifest by the appearing of our Savior Jesus Christ. Then it says these words,
who have abolished death. Abolish death. Jesus has destroyed death. Okay. This is why we have
the power to face death, because death will not have power over us. The Lord Christ has
already abolished death. I mean, really, from a Christian perspective, yeah, the body dies,
but that's just the body. You know, that body was always going to die. That body is correct.
We don't want to take this body to heaven. If I could take this body to heaven, I will ruin heaven.
You will ruin heaven with these bodies. Okay. But Christ has abolished death. And then it says,
and have brought life and immortality to light through the gospel, where unto I am appointed
a preacher and an apostle and a teacher of the Gentiles. Why did we have 17 soul winners out
yesterday? Why wasn't? You know what, because we're not afraid of death. We're ready to confront
death. And we're ready to go and talk to someone at the door and say, hey, if you were to die today,
where would you go? Would you be 100% sure that you'll go to heaven? Hey, we have the boldness
to ask such a question. Sometimes people get taken back. Whoa, that's a direct, you know,
you know, sometimes, you know, I got soul winning with, oh, you guys know brother Michael up in the
Sunshine Coast. And he's always like, what's he say? He's got a, he's got a way of saying it.
If I can be so bold, what's, he says something like that, right? If I can be so bold, I'd like
to ask you a very, that's what he says, a very direct question. Cause he knows, I mean, it is,
it is a big question. I mean, how many people do you talk to and actually say to you, you know,
are you ready to die? That's a pretty direct question. Cause people generally don't want to
think about that. Hey, but we are soul winners. We're excited about that prospect. And we're
excited, hey, the moment you die, you can be sure that you're going to heaven. You know, we've been
made these preachers of the gospel because we know that Christ has abolished death. Okay. And
John chapter 11 has some of my favorite words in the Bible. John chapter 11, you're there,
verse number 25. John chapter 11, verse number 25. He says these words after Lazarus, his friend had
had died. You know, you know the story, Jesus Christ ultimately ends up rising Lazarus from
the dead. But he says in John chapter 11, verse number 25, Jesus said unto her, I am the
resurrection and the life. He that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live.
Wow. You want to live forever, brethren? What do you have to do? You have to believe in the Lord
Jesus Christ. Okay. And look at verse number 26. And whosoever liveth and believeth in me
shall never die. Believeth thou this. Amen. Hey, so really, we will never die.
We will never die. I mean, this is why we have the power to face. Yes, this body dies.
As I said, this body can die. Okay. It can go to the grave. I don't want this body.
It's got its problems. Okay. But because we have a living soul, because we have the new man
living in us, brethren, we don't have to be worried about death. We don't have to worry
about, you know, are things going to be worse for me? Or we don't have to worry, am I going to come
back as a worm? You know, there are some religions that believe things like that. You know, I can't
wait to be reincarnated. I might be reincarnated into a worm. Well, that's just great. Honestly,
I mean, is that, really? You want to believe that? Rather than believe that you can live forever in
Christ Jesus, that you can rejoice in the power of his resurrection, and know exactly that you're
going to gain when you pass on from this life? Look how the lady, look how she responds. This
is Lazarus 16, verse 27. She saith unto him, Yea, Lord, I believe that thou art the Christ,
the Son of God, which should come into the world. So what is salvation? What is eternal life?
That we recognize that Christ is the Son of God. That he is the resurrection, okay? That he died
for us and he rose again from the dead. That's the gospel message. That's all you have to believe
to experience this everlasting life. She got it. Do you get it? Or do you still think it's your
good works that saves you? You know, if you think it's your good works, again, if the Holy Spirit
does not testify of your spirit that you're a child of God, if you have doubts about heaven,
come and talk to me. Now don't be embarrassed or talk to someone else in this church.
Don't be embarrassed because this is what you need. This is the most important thing that you
need, the power of his resurrection in your life, okay? Can you please go back to Philippians,
chapter three, Philippians chapter three and verse number 11, Philippians chapter three and
verse number 11. So the first two points, number one, the power of his resurrection gives us the
power to endure suffering. And number two, it gives us the power to face death, okay?
What's the third thing that I have here? Philippians chapter three, verse number 11,
it says, if by any means I might attain unto the resurrection of the dead. So what is Paul
saying? Christ was resurrected from the dead. You know what this means? We're going to be
resurrected from the dead. Point number three, the power of his resurrection is the power to
obtain our own resurrection, our own resurrection. This is why we don't fear death. We don't care
about this body going to the grave. We don't care about this body going to the maggots, okay?
Because God will one day resurrect us from the dead. He's going to give us a new resurrected
body, okay? I remember when I was a kid, you know kids are learning so you know can't be too
high to myself but I thought heaven and I guess it's the cartoons that you watch, right? I thought
heaven literally was a place like, like just, just completely spiritual, like nothing tangible
and you've got a harp and you've got wings and you've got a halo and you're somewhere in the
clouds because that's for the cartoon show, don't they? When you see like Bugs Bunny or something
die, you know, his spirit comes out and he's playing a harp in the clouds. So that was my
impression of salvation. That's what it is, you know, but no, you know, I got excited. I remember
when I first heard about the rapture and it was a pre-trib rapture but anyway, I heard about the
rapture, right? And I was like, wow, what? There's a resurrection? I'm going to get a new body?
Wow! And this body cannot sin? This body is perfect? Yeah, you know, not only did Christ
rise from the dead but the Bible tells us he's the first begotten from the dead. The first begotten
from the dead meaning that the rest of us can also be come back from the dead out that we will have
this new resurrected body. The Lord will take whatever parts are left of our old sinful flesh
and change it and give us this powerful body that can never sin and that can stand in the presence
of God. It'll be a tangible thing, okay? In other words, we can go to our heavenly father and hug
him, okay? We're going to have a tangible body, not some spiritual thing just in the clouds. No,
it's a real place. Heaven is a real place. God one day will create a new heaven and a new earth
and it requires tangible bodies. Point number three, it is the power to attain our own
resurrection. Can you please go to 1 Corinthians, please, chapter six. Again, stay in Philippians
chapter three for me but go to 1 Corinthians chapter six. 1 Corinthians chapter six.
1 Corinthians chapter six and verse number 14. 1 Corinthians chapter six and verse number 14 reads
and God have both raised up the Lord and will also raise up us by his own power.
Man, you know, right now we're celebrating the resurrection of Christ and the power of
his resurrection, all right? That the tomb was open, the stone was rolled away, they came looking
for the body and it was gone. And the Lord Jesus Christ who left his, you know, nice and neat,
you know, all the wrapping that he was, all the cloth, whatever he was wrapped in, you know,
Christ was not in any hurry. He was neatly placed in the tomb, you know, he got out of there and
it's amazing. That is, that's an, look, that moment, okay, defines Christianity, okay? That
moment defines Christianity. That moment shows us that Christ was not just some religious leader.
This proved to us that he is the son of God, okay? He proved to us that he is the living God. The
Bible tells us that he could raise himself up from the dead, okay? It shows us his power and this is
why our calendar is still divided before Christ and after Christ. I mean, something significantly
happened with this Lord Jesus Christ. I thank God that we believe the right Jesus Christ. I
thank God we don't believe some crazy, you know, religion of reincarnation or, you know, or just,
you know, the idea that you cannot know God like Islam does. You know, I thank God that we believe
in the, you know, biblical Christianity. But you know what? We're excited about the resurrection
of Christ. Well, you know what? That same power, the same power that rose Christ is going to rise
you from the dead, okay? Your graves are going to be open. You're going to come out of those graves
with those new resurrected bodies and just like Christ afterwards ascended up to heaven in the
clouds. Well, we're going to experience that at the same time, okay? At the rapture, at the
resurrection. Please go to 1 Corinthians chapter 15. 1 Corinthians chapter 15.
1 Corinthians chapter 15 and verse number 42. 1 Corinthians chapter 15 and verse number 42.
The Bible reads, so also is the resurrection of the dead. It is sown in corruption. It is
raised in incorruption. What is it saying? That the body that we currently have is corrupted,
okay? It's going to get sown into the ground like a seed that gets sown into the ground
by incorruption, okay? You can't fix this body. You cannot reform this body. Again, people that
think I can be saved if I clean up my life, if I do the good works, if I keep all the commandments,
it's corrupted. Your body's, you can't fix it, okay? It's corrupted. But it'll be raised
in incorruption, okay? So the new body can never ever be corrupted ever again. It can never sin,
okay? You won't even be, oh man, I wish I had those old days when I can do those old sins.
You won't even have those temptations, okay? It'll be non-existent. Verse number 43. It says,
it is sown in dishonor. It is raised in glory. Our bodies are dishonorable, okay? But one day,
this body will be glorious, okay? It'll be raised in glory. It says, it is sown in weakness.
That's why you're sick, okay? That's why as we get older, we lose our strength, okay? It's a
weak body. But then it says, it is raised in power. Man, God's got these promises for this
new body, a powerful body. Verse number 44. It is sown a natural body. It is raised a spiritual
body. There is a natural body and there is a spiritual body. And so one day, brethren,
we are promised this spiritual body, okay? And it is not just some, like some foreign creation,
okay? Because the Bible tells us in 1 John chapter 3 verse 2, beloved, now are we the sons of God,
and it doth not yet appear what we shall be, but we know that when he shall appear, we shall be
like him, for we shall see him as he is. So what is this body that we're going to get? We don't
fully know all of it yet. You know that God still has a lot of mysteries. He's got a lot of stuff
that he's going to reveal to us at the resurrection. But one thing that we know for sure, when we are
resurrected from the dead, that we shall be like him. We're going to be like Jesus Christ. Now,
I'm not saying we're going to be God, okay? That would be blasphemy, okay? But the resurrected body
of Christ, okay? I mean, he was able to do amazing things. He was able to go through walls,
right? He was still eating, wasn't he? You know, when he was resurrected from the dead,
he still enjoyed it and was still cooking a bit of fish and enjoying fellowship. Hey,
it was still a very tangible body, okay? But it was a powerful body. And you know what? We're
going to be given an amazing powerful body. You know, there are athletes that train every single
day just to get some gold medal. It's not even real gold. I think it's gold plated. But anyway,
they spend every single day, right? Going for this gold medal, you know, pushing their bodies
to the limits. You know, you might be a very weak person, but the body that God gives you is going
to be much more powerful than any, like any athlete, okay? It's going to be an amazing body
that he promises us. And it's going to be a body like that of Jesus Christ. Back to Philippians
chapter three, please. Philippians chapter three. And just drop down a little bit further in that
same chapter. Philippians chapter three and verse number 20. Philippians chapter three and verse
number 20. It says, for our conversation is in heaven. Conversation there means your behavior.
You know, our behavior ought to be heavenly like, all right? Like, we know that we're going to be
in heaven, where we should already be living like that on this earth, okay? But then it says,
from whence also we look for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, look at verse number 21,
who shall change our vile body, that he may be fashioned like unto his glorious body,
according to the working whereby he is able even to subdue all things unto himself, okay?
So, you know, we strive in this life, in this Christian life, to live a life
that is subdued or submissive to the will of God. And this body doesn't always obey. This body,
when it sins, it rebels against God. It's not always submissive to the Lord, okay? But this new
glorious body will be subdued unto the Lord Christ, okay? Again, we're going to be in complete
obedience, okay? It'll be your will. It'll be your desire to obey the Lord Jesus Christ. You will not
have any kind of desire to sin and to rebel, not when you have these glorious bodies. This is why
I'm excited for the future, okay? I mean, I love this life. I love this nation in a sense. There's
a lot of freedom still. I enjoy life in general, right? But I don't, you know, I'm still very
hopeful. I'm still very excited. In fact, I'm more excited about what the future holds in heaven with
our new resurrected bodies than what I do about this earth, okay? This is the power of God unto
salvation. We have a greater hope, brethren, than what is just on this life. I know we can get
frustrated by the evils of this world, but it's not even going to compare. It's not even going
to compare. So far, the three points that I have for you, the power of His resurrection gives us
the power to endure suffering. It gives us the power to face death. Number three gives us the
power to attain our own resurrection. But you're in Philippians chapter three. Let's keep going
there in verse number 12. Philippians chapter three and verse number 12. It says, not as though
I had already attained, either were already perfect, but I follow after, if that I may
apprehend that for which also I am apprehended of Christ Jesus. Now look at verse number 13.
Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended. So it says, look, I've not fully reached what God
wants me to reach, because we still have the resurrection, all that kind of stuff, right?
But then it says this, but this one thing I do, there is one thing that I can do on this earth,
even though I still don't have those resurrected bodies, we're not living that life just yet,
but there is one thing that I do. Look at this, forgetting those things which are behind
and reaching forth unto those things which are before. So what's the fourth point? The power
of his resurrection gives us the power to forget the past. The power to forget the past. Brethren,
if you want to do great things for God, okay, you need to move on from your mistakes, okay?
You need to move on from the wrong things that you've done in the past. We've all done wrong
things. We've all made mistakes. We've all suffered in a great way, differently, different
people with different ways, okay? We all have a past, okay? But here's the thing, if you just dwell
in the past, woe is me, you know, it's not going to allow you to do what the Lord wants you to do.
You know, the greatest freedom you can have from the past is to forget it, okay? Paul,
Paul's the one writing here. What was he doing in his past, okay? He was following a false religion,
he was not even saved, okay? He was persecuting the people of God. I'm sure that was a great guilt
that was on his, on his conscience after he got saved, right? That the Lord Jesus Christ still
loved him enough, you know, still, you know, showed him the gospel and, and Paul still got saved
even after such a horrible past that he had, right? But you know what? Instead of dwelling
on the mistakes of the past, instead of dwelling on his sins, he says, you know what? The power
of his resurrection gives me the ability to forget the past. Forget the past, okay?
Does that mean you get a mind wipe? No. It doesn't mean your mind's wiped from your mistakes, okay?
But to forget means that you don't remember, you don't recall to remembrance the same things that
you've done in the past, okay? I'm telling you, one of the things that's going to hinder you
in your Christian life is just dwelling on mistakes. Now, are there consequences to sin
that may play out in the future? Yes, there are always consequences to sin, okay? But don't keep
beating yourself up about things in the past when, especially when God has already forgiven you for
those things, okay? If God has, has God forgiven you all your sins? Of course he has. So if God
can do it, you've got to learn how to forgive yourself then, okay? Forget the things of the past
and Lord, what is it that you want me to do now, okay? I mean, that is such a precious thing when
you can forget the past. Now, it's not only that, it's not only the wrong things, the harmful things,
the sinful things that you need to forget and not call to remembrance, but maybe in your past life
before you were saved, maybe you had great riches, you know, maybe you had great wealth, maybe you
had great prosperity, you know, and now that you're saved, you know, you realize, you know what, that
that's just, that wasn't really, that's all vanity, like that wasn't really what God wanted in my life.
Well, you know what, those attractions can still be there, you know, those lusts for mammon, for, for the
love, you know, the love of money, the love of possessions, it can still be in your life. Well, you
know what, if you consider and focus on the resurrection of Christ, he can give you the power
to forget the past, to help you overcome those temptations that you have so you can live a life
that is glorious and focused upon the Lord Jesus Christ. It's a great thing if you can forget the
past. Now if you can please turn to, turn to 1 John chapter 3, 1 John chapter 3, again keep
your finger there in Philippians chapter 3, but turn to 1 John chapter 3, and I'm going to read
to you a few other passages. I'm first going to go to the Old Testament in the book of Isaiah,
Isaiah 43 verse 18, you go to 1 John chapter 3, I'll read to you from Isaiah 43, and look this is
about the nation of Israel, but it gives us some great principles, some great truths about our Lord
God. It says in Isaiah 43 18, remember ye not, so remember ye not, so don't remember the former
things, okay, so it's not a mind wipe that God gives you. He says, look, just stop remembering
the former things, stop meditating on the past. He says, neither consider the things of old,
behold I will do a new thing, it shall spring forth, shall ye not know it? I will even make a
way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert. So your past may feel like a wilderness. God says,
look, stop thinking about it, you know, don't remember it anymore, God can give you a path
away from that wilderness. He makes things new, new, okay. 2 Corinthians 5 17 reads,
therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature, old things are passed away, behold all
things are become new. So since you've been saved brethren, you can put away the past and move on
and focus on the future. I promise you, you dwell in the past, you will not do great things in the
future. Maybe you've done great things in the past, okay, but ah man, I did such great things
in the past, you keep thinking about the past, again, you're not going to do great things for
the future. Thank God you've done great things in the past, great, you know, thank God you've
served God in the past. Hey, we went soloing yesterday, but you know what, that was the past,
okay, and I can rejoice and I had a great time, but you know what, now I'm thinking about the
next time I go soloing in, okay, because if, oh man, the past, the past, the past, what about the
future? Okay, you can't change the past, but you can definitely make the future and serve the Lord
of your future. But remember what I just read to you that when we believe in Christ, the Bible says
he is a new creature. Okay, now some people misunderstand this, they think this old creature
has become the new creature. No, we already saw this body is corrupted, it's going to be sown,
corrupted, okay, it's dishonorable, okay, it's a wicked body, this body has not been changed.
The new creature is the new man within this corrupted body, okay, it is the spirit that has
been revived, it's the born, when Christ said you must be born again, he didn't say this body must
be born again, he was speaking about the spirit, okay, you've been spiritually dead, that spirit
must be born again, that which is born of flesh is flesh, that which is born of spirit is spirit,
okay, the dual nature that we have in the Christian life. Now I'm going to turn to 1 John
chapter 3, okay, 1 John chapter 3 verse 9. Some of you have made some horrible sins and made,
you know, had done some horrible things in your life. Some of you guys in your past have
committed some horrible sins, okay, I don't know what they are, but I'm sure you have, okay.
But again, God has made you a new creature, okay, this is what's going to help you move on from the
past. 1 John 3 verse 9. It says, Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin, for his seed
remaineth in him and he cannot sin because he is born of God. Now some people read that and they
think, see, in order for you to be saved you have to stop sinning, you have to repent of your sins
to be saved. No, that's not salvation, okay, this flesh was not born of God. This flesh was born of
my parents all the way back to Adam, okay, this is the flesh of corrupted man, alright. What has
been born of God is the new creature, is the new man, it's a spiritual man that is within you,
brethren, okay. So yeah, okay, maybe in this body you've committed some horrible, wicked sins,
it's still in your nightmares, I'm telling you, move on from that, okay, and remind yourself that
there is a part of you that has been born of God and that part of you has never sinned. It doth not
commit sin. So even today, if you were to sin, you know what, the old man, the flesh, sinned,
but the new man, the born again man of God has not sinned. It's still undefiled, it's still perfect,
and it's looking forward to the new resurrected body that would be without sin so that the spirit
without sin can be united with the body that is without sin, okay. So don't dwell on the past,
don't dwell on the mistakes of the flesh, think about the new man that is in you,
it is sinless, you haven't corrupted it yet, okay. You can press the restart button right now,
man of God, new man, perfect, without sin, I'm going to keep, in fact, you don't have to keep
it that way because it can never sin, all right, it can never sin, okay. Focus on the new man,
not the old man, not the flesh, okay, that's going to help you forget the past. Now,
back to Philippians 3 please, Philippians 3 verse number 14.
So forgetting the past is essential to the next and final point that I have for you,
okay. Philippians 3, 14. So he forgets the past and then in verse number 14 he says,
I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. So you know what,
God has a high calling for you, he expects great things from you, brethren, and he's going to give
you the ability to do those great things but you must forget the past, you must move on, okay.
Point number five that I have for you, the power of his resurrection gives you the power
to fulfill a high calling, okay. God does not call you to high things if he does not give you
the ability to do those high things. You can do great works for God in your life right now,
I don't care how shy you think you are, I don't care how insecure you think you are,
or how weak you are, or how unknowledgeable you are, God has a high calling for you and
he's going to give you the tools to accomplish that high calling. Do you want it though? It's
up to you, it's up to you, okay. God wants to give it to you, he's got you, the calling's there,
he's called you to do great things for him, all right. Now what are those things? Well,
you know, I love preaching about soul winning. I can't think of a greater work
and what saddens me is how many churches that are independent, fundamental Baptist, King James only,
right, sound of the gospel, how many are not going soul winning. How many? I mean this is,
I mean what could be higher on this earth than bringing forth people, you know, causing them to
be born again, causing them to believe in Christ, to know that they're going to heaven for all
eternity. I mean what greater calling could there be? You know, we had someone, I won't mention names,
but someone came to our church on Queensland, the Sunshine Coast, and they were like, okay,
you're soul winning, but you're just, it's too much soul winning, you know, you got to feed the
poor. It's like, so feed the poor and then they still die and go to hell? I mean, okay, yeah,
I filled their belly for one day, but that's temporary. I mean any other charity, any other
kind of things that we could do, I'm not against feeding the poor, if they're really up for people
in Australia, I doubt that, but anyway, I'm not against that idea. I'm not against looking after
widows if they got no one else to care for them. I'm not against caring for orphans and all these
kinds of things, brethren, but you know what? The greater work than all of this is causing someone
to believe in Christ and for them to have the same assurance of heaven that you have. I mean,
what could be greater than that? That is a high calling and you know what? You don't need to know
the whole Bible. All you need to know is salvation. All you need to know is the gospel. This is how I
got saved. Now I've got to tell someone else how they can be saved, the same way. It's not a
different way to someone else. It's the same way, okay? You know you're saved. You can help someone
else know that they are saved by believing in Christ, okay? What a high calling that Christ
has led us to. Now if you can please turn to Revelation chapter 1. Turn to Revelation chapter 1.
The power to fulfill a high calling. The Bible tells us in 2 Corinthians 5 19,
to wit that God was in Christ reconciling the word unto himself, not imputing their
trespasses unto them and have committed unto us the word of reconciliation. Now then we are
ambassadors for Christ. That is a high calling. Man, I am an ambassador for God. I am an ambassador
from heaven. I mean that's a high office. That's a high calling to reconcile this world to the Lord,
okay? Uh, we're ambassadors for Christ as though God did beseech you by us. We pray you in God's
stead. Be a reconciler to God. That is our job. That is our calling to firstly be reconciled.
Check. We've done that. We're saved. Now go and reconcile others. Go and be an ambassador. Go and
do the work that God has called you to do. The high calling. Again you don't have to be a pastor
to do the high calling. You can be saved today and tomorrow you can already be doing the high calling.
Going out preaching. In fact you can do it today. Preaching the gospel. But you know what? That is
temporary, okay? I mean when you pass away you're not going to be preaching the gospel anymore.
When Christ comes back you're not going to, well maybe, I don't know, maybe in his kingdom we're
preaching the gospel. But there comes a point, right, when the Lord creates the new heaven and
the new earth, the eternal state, you know, soul will be finished because everyone you meet will
be saved, okay? There'll be no more soul when all the souls would already have been saved, okay?
But you know what? Even considering that, that should move us. So there comes a time when this
job will no longer be required. So I better get as much done as I can now, right? While I can,
right? But Revelation chapter 1 verse number 5. Revelation, there is a, there is another high
calling that we have. Revelation chapter 1 verse number 5. It says, and from Jesus Christ who is
the faithful witness and the first begotten of the dead, already kind of mentioned that passage
to you before. So if he's the first begotten, the rest of us are going to be begotten from the dead
as well, amen? Then it says this, and the prince of the kings of the earth and to him that loved us
and washed us from our sins in his own blood, look at verse number 6, and have made us kings
and priests unto God and his father to him be glory and dominion forever and ever, amen.
We're kings and priests unto God and his father. We're going to be kings and priests forever.
I mean, what is the highest office on this, on this earth? Usually it's the kings,
right? Usually it's the queens and the kings, those in authority, but you know what? They're
going to die and their kingly line is going to get passed down to their kids unless there's some
revolution in that nation, okay? You know, but my point is even those offices are temporary.
We get an office of being kings and priests for all eternity because we're priests unto God and
his father. Look, unto him be glory and dominion forever and ever. The dominion of God will be
eternal. That's a high calling. That's a high calling. Kings and priests for God's kingdom.
Can you please go to Revelation chapter 20 and verse number 6.
Revelation chapter 20 and verse number 6.
We're talking about the resurrection of Christ and what that means for us.
Revelation chapter 20 verse number 6 reads,
We really saw that's us. Just saved. You're going to be part of this first
resurrection. The Bible tells us because of that we're blessed and we're holy. Now what does that
mean? It says on such the second death have no power. What's the second death? The lake of fire.
We never have to be even worried about the lake of fire. We don't have to be worried about hell.
There is no power in that area for us that experienced the first resurrection,
but then it says this, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ. We already saw that in
chapter 1, but now it says and shall reign with him a thousand years. So yeah, the eternal state.
That's wonderful. There's a high calling there, okay? We have a high calling now to preach the
gospel, but then Christ is coming with his kingdom. You know what? And the high calling
for us is that we're going to reign. Who reigns? Kings reign. People in authority reign. You know
one day you're going to be in authority of this earth. One day you're going to be kings and queens
I guess for the ladies on this earth. You're going to be able to pass judgments. You're going to be
the law, okay? You're going to be carrying out the law of God. What a high calling. Now look,
if I want to do a good job in his kingdom, I better know God's laws now. I want to get ready
now. I want to get ready for the work, okay? We've got work experience now. Getting ready for the big
job coming up for a thousand years. I'm looking forward to it. I'm looking forward to reigning
with you guys. We're going to be in charge of the whole earth, okay? And all the other Christians
that have gone before as well, okay? But that is most definitely a high calling, you know?
Please look forward to that, okay? Look forward to passing judgment and forcing the laws of God.
Once again, you need to get into your bible style. You need to know what God has to say now.
All right brethren, so in conclusion we're looking at the power of his resurrection,
the power of Christ. And what a glorious thing that he arose from the dead. I'm not trying to
take away from Christ at all, but I want us to consider what does that mean for us now? Okay,
we're saved. We know what it means for salvation, but that's done. We're saved. Okay, hopefully,
hopefully you're saved. Again, if you're not sure, please talk to me or someone else after the
service. But for us now that you are saved, in conclusion, those five points. Number one,
it gives us the power to endure suffering. Number two, it gives us the power to face death. Number
three, it gives us the power to attain resurrection. Number four, it gives us the power to forget the
past. And number five, it gives us the power to fulfill the high calling. Let's pray.