(Disclaimer: This transcript is auto-generated and may contain mistakes.)

you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you with lumps breast breast cancer conducting a biopsy I can't because that also holdfast baptized California you is this week on the prayer list. Anyone have anyone anything to update? Yes sir. Wow. That's a huge improvement. So when did that start? Like this during a week? Awesome. Cool. Excellent. Good news. So yeah, Miss Bay is, if you weren't able to hear Brother Austin, you said that she's able to move around and actually get out and kind of do normal things, which she hasn't been able to do for a couple months. She's been plagued with these issues, so that's awesome news to hear that that she's up and feeling better, and we're really happy to hear about that. Is there any other updates to people who are on the prayer list at the moment? All right. Very good. On the next page, we've got the April challenge. So this month, the goal, the challenge is to spend a minimum of one hour every day doing something spiritual. So I have a list of things that are examples like praying, Bible reading, Bible memorizing, soul winning, you know, receiving instruction from the Word of God by watching preaching, things like that. The whole point, though, is to make sure that you're investing your time where you're actually, you know, fully paying attention, not just having some things on in the background. You can be praising the Lord, you know, singing, singing hymns, things like that. All of those things, wherever you're spending your time in that type of service to the Lord, one way or another. So that is the challenge for month of April, spending at least one hour of your time doing that. And yes, coming to church counts, too. So if you're, all of our services are longer than an hour, we'll be singing, you hear preaching from the Word of God. And so that's easy. So the more you come to church, the easier it is to complete this challenge. And then we've got the soul winning marathon results from yesterday. So first of all, just a big thank you to everyone who showed up. Most people were there for the entire day. So, you know, some people show up for different portions, but it was a huge effort. And a lot of people were there. We have a lot of visitors from out of town also came and participated in our event. And, um, you know, I really am glad. I was expecting I was actually not expecting it, but I wasn't gonna be surprised if more people left at lunchtime because it was cold and rainy yesterday, right? I mean, it was cold. No doubt about it. And we're in Georgia, so it's, you know, when it gets when it gets in the in the 40s, it's freezing. I don't know what the temperature was yesterday, but it was it was not pleasant. Okay, it was chilly. Those of you that were out here like, yeah, I know it was cold. You know, they keep telling me. But I appreciate the zeal, the efforts, the, you know, the care, the desire to preach the gospel and to push through whatever, you know, temperature it is because I'll tell you what, it means a lot more to those 33 people who called on the name of the Lord that we ended up showing up. And every individual, there's a lot of people like one salvation here, one salvation here, one salvation here. That's what happens. We have 70 people show up. You're not getting the huge numbers necessarily, but every single one of those people that were able to spend even the whole day and just lead one person to the Lord and spending four hours, five hours, whatever, however long you're out there, that's a big deal. And those people are all glad. I know the person that I talked to, I was able to lead one person to the Lord, and it was the last door of the entire day for me. But he said this, he said a couple times, he said, thank you, thank you for coming out here. He said, you know, it was me and my daughter, and he just, he was very happy and thankful that I came and explained that to him. He was saying, like, you know, I was really confused about this stuff, and you cleared it all up for me. It really makes sense now. And that's just one example. Obviously, those of you that go so early, you understand, you come across these people, you help them to understand, you help them to see the truth, you help them to understand the gospel. They call on the Lord, get saved. What a blessing. That, for me, that one soul is, I mean, the entire day of being cold, rainy, everything else, doesn't matter. My memory is gonna be on someone calling on Christ instead of all the hardship of the weather. So it's encouragement, too, by the way. Having everyone showing up and sticking through like that is very, very encouraging. It's not encouraging me. I'm sure it's encouraging for everyone else as well. The more people we see gathered together, the more it increases the zeal of the church. So, again, a big thank you for everyone. It was a huge, successful day with eight salvations in the morning, 25 in the afternoon, and overall just a great turnout, great results. So thank you all who showed up for that Bible memory passage. So tonight is a deadline for Hebrews 7 verses 1 through 14. If you're working on that, if you haven't quoted it yet, you have until midnight tonight to quote that out loud to somebody else that can make sure that you're saying every word of God, that you have memorized word perfect, and not making any mistakes, and then you'll earn a prize for being able to do that. I'll give the prizes out next week for Hebrews chapter 7 1 through 14, but we're moving right in to the second half of this chapter this week, 15 through 28, so it's the rest of that chapter is our new Bible memory passage. Again, another seven weeks to do that, two verses a week, and if you can do that, you'll also be able to receive a prize for the latter half of the chapter. We've got the upcoming birthdays and anniversaries listed there through the month of April, and then our upcoming events. We've got the church camping trip May 1st through the 6th, and I hope I didn't promise to have everything done by today. The day is not over yet. I'm going to try to work on it in between the church services to see if I can get everything done for the camp for the for the details on cottages and and campsites and everything like that and making sure everyone's assigned and who, you know, where people are going, so I'm going to do my best to try to get that done in between the church services today. If you did not sign up for the camp, but you would like to attend our church camp, okay, it's an entire week. We've got a bunch of preachers. It's going to be an awesome time. This is the highlight of the year for this church. I think it's the best activity that we do. You know, we do four marathons like we did yesterday throughout the year. Every quarter we do a soul-winning marathon, but then we do this week-long event. We have multiple preachers that are invited out. We've got the entire camp essentially rented out, so it's pretty much only church people at the campsite, and we still have a bunch of campsites available, so if you want to come May 1st through the 6th, and you don't have to come for the entire time, we'd love for you to come for the entire time, but if you can only make it for part of the time or understand, just let us know. We've got spots still available, so just use, but you have to make sure you email me or send me a text message if you have my phone number so I could have it in writing that you plan on attending, because if it's not in writing, I won't remember. You come up to me after service and say, pass the prisons, I want to go on a camping trip. Do not rely on that to get your name on the list for the camping trip, okay? Just saying, give it to me in writing. I'll make sure, because if I read it and then I don't deal with it immediately, I mark it as unread, and I'll make sure that it gets dealt with, so just let me know. It's an awesome trip, and you'll love it if you're able to make it out for that at all. July 5th, we've got Pastor Anderson coming out here to preach for us. It's a Wednesday night, and that is about it for our announcements. Trying to think if I'm missing anything. I don't think so, so I'm going to turn the service back over to Brother Peter, and he's gonna lead us in our next song. Song number 33. Song number 33. Christ the Lord is risen in heaven. Song number 33. All right church, let's sing this out on the verse. Christ the Lord is risen in heaven. Hallelujah. Sons of men and angels say, Hallelujah. Praise your joys and triumphs high, Hallelujah. Singing heaven and earth reply, Hallelujah. Fills the head, our glorious King, Hallelujah. Where, O death, is now thy skin, Hallelujah. Dying once ye, all doth say, Hallelujah. Where thy victory, O great, Hallelujah. God's redeeming work is done, Hallelujah. Hark, the fight, the battle won, Hallelujah. Death in vain, for it is in Christ, Hallelujah. Christ has opened paradise, Hallelujah. On the last story now, where Christ has led, Hallelujah. All we are exalted in, Hallelujah. Made like Him, like Him we rise, Hallelujah. Ours across the great, the skies, Hallelujah. All we are exalted in, Hallelujah. All we are exalted in, Hallelujah. All we are exalted in, All we are exalted in, All we are exalted in, All we are exalted in, All we are exalted in, All we are exalted in, Hallelujah. All we are exalted in, Hallelujah. Therefore, we are buried with him by baptism into death, that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection, knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin. For he that is dead is freed from sin. Now if we be dead with Christ, we believe we shall also live with him, knowing that Christ being raised from the dead, dieth no more, death hath no more dominion over him. For in that he died, he died unto sin once, but in that he liveth, he liveth unto God. Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord. Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lust thereof. Neither yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin, but yield yourselves unto God as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God. For sin shall not have dominion over you, for ye are not under the law, but under grace. What then? Shall we sin because we are not under the law, but under grace? God forbid. Know ye not that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey, whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness? But God be thanked that ye were the servants of sin, but ye have obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine which was delivered you. Being then made free from sin, ye became the servants of righteousness. I speak after the manner of men because of the infirmity of your flesh. For as ye have yielded your members servants to uncleanness and to iniquity unto iniquity, even so now yield your members servants to righteousness unto holiness. For when ye were the servants of sin, ye were free from righteousness. What fruit had ye then in those things whereof ye are now ashamed? For the end of those things is death. But now being made free from sin and become servants to God, ye have your fruit unto holiness and the end everlasting life. For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. Brother Austin, can you pray for us? Dear Heavenly Father, thank you for all that you do for us. Thank you for your death, prayer, and resurrection. Lord, I thank you, Lord, that we'll be partakers in your resurrection someday. And I also pray, Lord, that you'll bless the service and that you'll help us to better understand your word and be better Christians, that you'll go past your burdens with your spirit and can preach your fullness. In the name of Jesus, amen. Alright, as I said in the room announcements, I appreciate you all being here with us this morning, this Easter morning, where we celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ. If you're with us on Wednesday, I taught on the death of Christ, right? Where Christ was crucified and remembering his broken body and his shed blood. And that was the focus of our sermon on Wednesday night. If you weren't here and you missed that, you could go check it out online. I preached a sermon on Christ, our Passover. But the most important part, I believe, in why this is such a big day and why it's such a big Christian holiday, celebrating the resurrection of Christ, is because Christ didn't just die on the cross and then just stay dead as just some spiritual leader that lived and died and then we just move on, right? The Jesus of the Jews was a Jesus that failed. He's a Jesus that died on the cross, was crucified, and that's it. The prophets of other religions like Mohammed are people that just die to death and that's it and nothing else happened. But who we serve, our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, he rose again from the dead. He conquered death. He has the keys to death and hell because not only did he die, but he was in the grave for three days and three nights. And then, of course, he rose again from the dead. He physically rose. His body rose again from the dead. He was able to show the disciples the holes in his hands and in his feet and where they pierced him in the side. And he said, handle me and see, right? And believe and know that he came back from the dead. So we serve a risen Savior. I mean, that's the victory. And I mentioned this on Wednesday. You know, Wednesday was kind of a somber sermon where we're thinking about all of the pain and suffering and affliction that Christ went through all the way up to dying on the cross, breaking his body for us. But the celebration is today. The celebration is that victory. The celebration is that resurrection. The celebration is that death can't hold Christ. And that gives us hope. So the resurrection of Jesus Christ provides hope for us. And the title of my sermon this morning is Hope of the Resurrection. OK, now, before I get into the details and that we started off in Romans Chapter six, and I just want to make a brief point here. I'm not going to go through this too terribly in-depth, but the subject of the resurrection itself is a very fundamental, basic doctrine. The Bible talks about a few things that are real basic in Hebrews Chapter six. It lists off a few things. You know, doctrine of baptisms, of laying out of hands. It says then of the resurrection. These are things that are all deemed to be low level, very easy to understand doctrines that are basic, they're fundamental. The resurrection is no different. The resurrection is so fundamental that we see here in Romans Chapter six. This is where we have such the part of the biggest chapter that ties together baptism with the resurrection. I mean, we're Baptists here. And for those of you that don't know, maybe maybe this is new to you. The reason why, one of the reasons why we baptize people and what the picture that we get in Romans Chapter six is that just like Jesus Christ was crucified, dead, buried and then rose again from the dead. What we do through baptism, baptism is a picture of exactly that. That picture of the death of Jesus Christ being crucified on the cross is symbolized by standing in that water when you're dumped underneath the water, completely submerged in the water. That's the burial of Jesus Christ when Jesus Christ died. And then, of course, we don't drown in the tub of water. We bring it back up again, symbolizing the resurrection of Christ from the dead. Right. To walk in newness of life. So just as Christ brings you everlasting life through the sacrifice that he made through his death, burial and resurrection, that brings the gift of eternal life for you. So if you've received that gift, you can outwardly express that faith because it's something that's inward in your heart. The faith is in the heart. God sees your heart. God knows if you're saved. God knows if you're trusting in Jesus Christ as your savior. But you can choose to outwardly express that by getting baptized and showing outwardly, hey, this is what's in my heart. This is what I believe. I'm believing in the Lord Jesus Christ. He died, was buried, and rose again from the dead. And in Romans 6, we just have this tying together of the resurrection with that baptism. And we read the entire chapter before I got up here to preach. I just wanted to point out a couple of things here right near the beginning of the chapter specifically. The Bible says here in verse number 1, we'll start reading again, What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? Which, by the way, this is a continuation from chapter 5 where the Bible says that where sin abounded there in verse 20 of chapter 5, Moreover, the law entered that the offense might abound, but where sin abounded, grace did much more abound. Grace abounds more than every sin, than any sin in this world. And people complain when they hear, oh, easy believism. You know what? It is easy because we don't have to do any work to be saved. It's easy for us. It wasn't easy for Christ. He's the one who did all the work. He's the one who died on the cross and rose again. But it's easy for us. It's a free gift. You just have to receive the gift. You say, well, it sounds like you're getting a license to sin. No, we're not getting approval to sin. We're not getting licensed to sin. But what we are believing, what we are saying is what the Bible says here. We say, hey, even when sin abounds, grace abounds beyond that. It's the only way we could stay saved. You receive eternal life, salvation from Lord, you get forgiveness of sins, but you still sin. Every human being on this earth still sins. The only way you could stay saved is because grace abounds beyond all sin. And it's covered. But just because you're covered through the blood of Christ, does that mean, hey, let's just go off and sin. Let's just live like the devil then. Of course not. What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? Hey, grace is abounding. That's a good thing, right? So let's just keep sinning to make grace abound. God forbid. God forbid we would do that. How shall we that are dead to sin live any land that they're in? Know ye not that so many of us, as we're baptized into Jesus Christ, were baptized into his death? Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death, that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father. Even so, we also should walk in newness of life. So just as as Jesus Christ was brought back to life, he was brought out of the grave, brought out. We should be walking in that newness of life. We should be walking in the spirit. We should be doing what's right. We should be dead to sin. When Jesus Christ died on the cross, he embodied our sin and died and then left that sin in the grave. He left that sin in hell and he ascended into heaven and sprinkled his blood upon the mercy seat as the perfect sacrifice Lamb of God and covered and made the atonement for our sin. So since as his flesh died and was buried, we should be dying to our own self, our own flesh, by not walking in the flesh, by not committing the works of the flesh, the deeds of the flesh. We should die to that flesh and walk in a newness of life, walk in the new man. This is all tied together with the resurrection. And the reason I bring this up is because it's certain. The resurrection is coming and we're going through end times events and we're going to cover some more end times events this evening. I'm going through different timelines and different subjects. And I cover this because I want to make sure everyone's clear. When I talk about the hope of the resurrection, there's no doubt about the resurrection. We use the word hope, but you need to understand there's more than one definition for the word hope. And I think commonly today when we use the word hope, it's something that you're not necessarily certain about. You're just sort of, you're hoping this is going to happen, but I don't know if it's going to happen. You're desiring or wishing for something to happen, but you don't really know. But in the context of the scripture, I'm going to show you this. When we're looking at the word hope, it's not talking about things that are uncertain. And especially when we're talking about the resurrection. Just as Christ rose from the dead, Jesus was baptized with Christ, we are going to rise from the dead also. There is a resurrection for us just as certainly as Jesus Christ rose again from the dead. Titus 1, 2 says, and turn if you would to Hebrews chapter 6. Titus 1, 2, we're a famous passage, many of you use this out slowly, but it says, In hope of eternal life, which God that cannot lie promised before the world began. So it talks about hope of eternal life. Well, can't we be certain that we have eternal life? If your faith is on the Lord Jesus Christ, can't you be 100% certain that you have eternal life? Amen. Why? Because God can't lie. Because God made a promise and he says whosoever believeth. Well, I know that I have eternal life. I know that I'm saved. So, in hope of eternal life, hope is a positive view of something that hasn't come yet that you're waiting for and expecting to come. But it's not a doubtful expectation. In this case, for sure, it's a certain expectation. It's hope because we haven't seen it yet, we're still waiting for it. That's why we're still hoping for it. But it has no level of doubt. And if you look up over in the dictionary too, by the way, the definition that I'm expressing right now is exist. It's just not the primary definition right now. And even if you look it up in the web series 1828, because I did this yesterday, it's the number two definition. And it's the one that's specifically talking about biblical things. It's been widely known and accepted. And I'm just proving it to you by the context of scripture itself that we can see that that word hope, it doesn't have a doubtful ring to it. That's not what we're talking about here. Hebrews chapter 6, we'll see this hopefully even more clearly. Verse 17, the Bible reads, And wherein God, willing more abundantly to show unto the heirs of promise, the immutability of His counsel, confirmed it by an oath. So it's talking about the heirs of promise. Well, the Bible also talks about who are the children of promise. It's those that believe in the promise. Just as Isaac was the child of promise, we are the children of promise when we put our faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. We're putting our faith in the things that are not seen. We're believing in the things that, we're believing in our Savior. That makes us a child of Abraham and heirs according to the promise. And you can read the book of Galatians about that. You can read Galatians chapter 3 specifically confirms this even further. And he's saying, immutability of this counsel, because it can't be changed. When he's talking about the heirs of promise, the immutability of this counsel confirmed it by an oath that by two immutable things, two things that can't change. Verse 18, in which it was impossible for God to lie, we might have a strong consolation who have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set before us. So again, a reference to being, God can't lie. We already read that in Titus 1 and 2 and hope of eternal life with God that cannot lie promise before the world began. This is something when God makes a promise, it can't change, it doesn't change. God's true to his word, it's sure, it's steadfast, it is guaranteed. Whatever his promise is, that will come to pass because the Lord said it doesn't lie. That's immutable, it's unchangeable. So we can have a strong consolation in that who have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set before us. Look at verse 19, which hope we have as an anchor of the soul. If you're going to anchor your soul to something, does it sound like there's any uncertainty? I mean, are you going to tie your soul to something? Well, I don't quite know, but here's my anchor, I'm going to set anchor right here. There's no uncertainty in that. An anchor is solid, it's I'm grounded, I'm founded, this is what I'm relying on. The hope we have as an anchor. So again, in the Bible when we're talking about this hope of the resurrection, this isn't an uncertain thing. Which hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast, and which entereth into that within the veil. Whether the forerunner is for us entered, even Jesus, made an high priest forever after the order of Melchizedek. Turn back if you would to Acts chapter 2. The resurrection is fundamental, and having that hope of the resurrection is fundamental, and it's tied directly in with our own salvation, with our own eternal life. Because the eternal life that we receive is not only a spiritual, eternal life. When you're born again, as we understand being born again today, when you put your faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, you're born again, there's a new creature born inside of you. That is spiritual. That's the new man. There's something spiritual that's going on at that point. But you still have the flesh, the wicked flesh, the fallen flesh, the sinful flesh. That flesh, unless we're one of the ones that remain until the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ, is going to perish one day. It's going to die and hopefully be laid in the ground. But either way, no matter what happens to our body, it's going to remain here on earth. It ain't going anywhere. Until Christ comes back and our body is resurrected. And we're going to go over this later in the sermon in 1 Corinthians 15 that talks about the changing of our body and how it is transformed into new flesh, a spiritual body that we're going to be in. So at the end of things, at the full completion of our salvation, that redemption of our body, we will be body, soul, and spirit, and sinless before Christ, before the Lord. Because we won't have this sinful flesh anymore, and we will be the way that He intended for us to be before sin entered into the world. Now, we're in Acts chapter 2, look at verse number 25, the Bible says, For David speaketh concerning him, I foresaw the Lord always before my face, for he is on my right hand, that I should not be moved. Therefore did my heart rejoice, and my tongue was glad, moreover also my flesh shall rest in hope. And again, another reference there to the word hope, and just resting in hope. If you're uncertain, if your hope is uncertain, you're not going to get much rest. That's not going to be very comfortable. Think about, imagine you go to bed at night. If you have some doubts about whether or not the bed that you're laying on is going to collapse from underneath you, and any little move might make that bed to just fall down, you're not going to probably get very good rest, because you don't have the confidence on the foundation you're laying on. Right? But the Bible's saying, hey, my flesh is going to rest in hope. Because that hope isn't doubtful. So, of course, you're going to receive that rest. And then it says in verse 27, because thou wilt not leave my soul in hell, neither wilt thou suffer thine holy one to see corruption. And of course, this is quoting Psalms, this is a prophecy of Jesus Christ, and regarding specifically the resurrection, which we'll see that interpreted for us in this chapter, in Acts 2, This is the quotation of Psalms. This is what the Psalms says, hey, my flesh is going to rest in hope. How is my flesh going to rest in hope? Because, one, you're not going to leave my soul in hell, so if Jesus' soul isn't left in hell, you better believe it was in hell. And two, neither wilt thou suffer thine holy one to see corruption. His body did not see any corruption. And his flesh, that was in the tomb, did not see corruption. It didn't decay. So that was the two things. And he said, I could rest in hope. Because it hasn't happened yet at that point. He's talking about dying, but then his flesh is able to still rest in hope, because he knows that this is going to come to pass, because it's of the Lord. Verse 28 says, thou hast made known to me the ways of life. Thou shalt make me full of joy with thy countenance. Men and brethren, now here's the explanation. Verse 29, Men and brethren, let me freely speak unto you of the patriarch David, that he is both dead and buried, and his sepulchre is with us unto this day. Therefore, being a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him that of the fruit of his loins, according to the flesh, he would raise up Christ to sit on his throne, he seeing as before spake of the resurrection of Christ, that his soul was not left in hell, neither his flesh did see corruption. So there's where we have the application, knowing that this is talking about Jesus Christ. We have Peter saying, no, this is what the psalm was about. This is what David is talking about. It's not talking about David. It's not talking about David's soul. It's not talking about David's body. It's talking about the Lord Jesus Christ and his resurrection, that his body did not see corruption and his soul was not left in hell. Let's flip over to chapter 23 in the book of Acts. We're going to see multiple places here. The persecution on the apostle Paul, and the apostle Paul is claiming that the reason why he's being persecuted is because of the resurrection. I mean, this is fundamental to what the apostle Paul was preaching. They're preaching the resurrection. The resurrection is a big deal. The resurrection is what separates true Christianity from the rest of the religions of the world. I mean, even the Romans and other people, they couldn't understand it. He's saying that this guy died, but he's alive now, and these other people are saying he's not alive. They're trying to figure out what's going on with the Jews and why they're so angry at him as he's defending himself. But multiple times we'll see this. We'll go to a few different passages at the end of Acts where the apostle Paul is continuing to say, look, I'm being persecuted because I'm preaching the resurrection of the dead. Because I'm preaching about the resurrection. Because I'm teaching that Jesus Christ came back because he rose again from the dead. And that's a critical element. And look, if someone doesn't believe in the resurrection of the dead, you're not saved. Because if there's no resurrection, then Christ did not rise. And if Christ isn't risen, then you're yet in your sins. Acts 23, verse number 6, the Bible says, But when Paul perceived that the one part were Sadducees and the other Pharisees, he cried out in the council, Men and brethren, I am a Pharisee, the son of a Pharisee. Of the hope and resurrection of the dead I am called in question. And when he had so said, there arose a dissension between the Pharisees and the Sadducees, and a multitude was divided. For the Sadducees say that there is no resurrection, neither angel nor spirit, but the Pharisees confess both. And there's just a good example of two different sects and they're both wrong. The Sadducees don't believe in any resurrection? Well, that's wrong. The Pharisees believe in an angel and a spiritual resurrection, and that's wrong. We don't see anything about angels being resurrected from the dead anywhere. There's a resurrection of human beings. There's a resurrection from the dead that Christ offers for those who are in Christ will also be resurrected. But anyways, he's pointing out here, he's saying, look, this is why I'm being persecuted. This is what's going on. The hope and resurrection of the dead. Flip over to chapter 24. We're going to start reading verse number 14. But this I confess unto thee, that after the way which they call heresy, so worshipped by the God of my fathers, believe in all things which are written in the law and in the prophets. And this was prophesied already in the Old Testament. And the things that supposedly they're supposed to believe is that I actually believe those things. And have hope toward God, which they themselves also allow, that there shall be a resurrection of the dead, both of the just and unjust. And just keep that in mind, there is a resurrection of the just and there's a resurrection of the unjust. And we're going to go through that in just a minute here. The resurrection of the just and the unjust. Flip over to chapter 26. And he mentions the hope toward God there in chapter 24. He's going to mention the hope again in chapter 26. But it's not that he's doubting any of this. He's solid. He's firm. Chapter 26 verse number 4. He's saying, I have the hope of the promise that God made unto our fathers. That's why I'm being judged. He's like, I'm standing before you now because I believe in that promise that God made unto our forefathers. I believe it. I'm hoping for it. I'm waiting for it. Verse 7. He's talking about the hope. The promise. The hope. What was the promise? What was the hope? The resurrection. That God should raise the dead. Why is it such a big deal? Why do you think it's so hard that God's going to raise the dead? This is what he's standing and being judged for. The resurrection of Jesus Christ. And the Apostle Paul is saying, knowing that there's another resurrection to come. He's saying, this is why I'm being charged. This is what people have such a big problem with. Well, this is what we celebrate. That resurrection and that hope of the resurrection. They're looking forward to, there is going to be another resurrection. 1 Peter chapter 1. Turn, if you will, to Luke chapter 20. You can turn to 1 Peter 1 if you want to. I'm just going to read this real quickly. We're going to go to Luke 20 after that. 1 Peter chapter 1, verse number 3 of the Bible reads, Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which, according to His abundant mercy, hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. We are born again. He's begotten us again unto a lively hope. A living hope. Right? Something that's active. It's alive. How is that? By the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. You know, this is so, you cannot separate these things. To an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and that fadeth not away reserved in heaven for you. Who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed. Those people who put their trust in Christ, they're kept by the power of God. When you put your trust in Christ, God seals you with the earnest of the Holy Spirit. When God has sealed you, you're not going to break that seal. No one can break that seal. You're His. Until the day of redemption. And guess what day the day of redemption is? It's the day that Christ comes back and your body comes up out of the grave. And you're complete and fully redeemed. And I say fully redeemed, it's not that you're not redeemed today if your faith is in Christ. The reason why it's not complete is it's not that you're not saved or there's any doubt of salvation. Your spirit's redeemed 100%. There's nothing else that needs a change in your spirit, but your body still needs to be changed. There needs to be a new body. There needs to be transformed. So that's the day where you're fully redeemed and will be with Christ when He comes back in the air and so shall we ever be. And we'll get to that in just a second. But don't miss all these connections with the resurrection, being born again, having that eternal life, having that confidence, having that hope in the resurrection. Being kept here in this verse by the power of God, Luke chapter 20, verse number 34, the Bible reads. And this is when the Sadducees were trying to challenge Jesus Christ and, you know, trying to find a difficult situation. They're all like, well, there's this guy, he has seven brothers and, you know, he marries this woman and they don't have any children. And then the next brother takes her to wife and then all these seven brothers, they all have this woman and wife and no one had any children. And then the last one to die is the woman. Okay, well, the resurrection and whose wife is she going to be? Huh, Jesus? It's just a stupid question, first of all, but second of all, you know, they're devoid of understanding of the Word of God. And Jesus rebukes in another passage. In this one, we're going to see this, it says in verse 34, Jesus answered and said, And the children of this world marry and are given in marriage, but they which shall be accounted worthy to obtain that world, and the resurrection from the dead, neither marry nor are given in marriage, neither can they die anymore. For they are equal unto the angels and are the children of God, being the children of the resurrection. Now that the dead are raised, even Moses showed at the bush, when he called the Lord the God of Abraham and the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob, for he is not a God of the dead, but of the living, for all live unto him. Now, what we see in this passage here, first of all, I just want to point out in verse 35, but they which shall be accounted worthy to obtain that world. Who is worthy to obtain the kingdom of God? Who's worthy? To save. Is there anything that you can do, like, what is our worth without Christ? All our righteousnesses are like filthy rags in the eyes of God. We need the forgiveness of our sins, of course, but we also have the righteousness of Christ imputed unto us. We don't have a worth, you know, accounted worthy to receive an inheritance other than the worth that comes through being a child of God. Which is why it brings up the children of God and the children of the resurrection. Verse 36 says, neither can they die anymore, for they are equal unto the angels and are the children of God. Well, I'm pretty sure the Bible says that in John chapter 1, but as many as received him to them gave you power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name. That they are the children of God. Well, we're the children of God. If you're born again, you're a child of God. And then it says here, being the children of the resurrection, and we have the hope of a resurrection to come. Bible talks about then further in verse 37 and 38, hey, the dead are raised. Even Moses taught this in the sense that he talked about the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. Because God's not the God of the dead, he's the God of the living. And meaning Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob are alive. They're not dead. And the biblical definition of death and life, see, people in the world have a skewed sense sometimes of death as meaning ceasing to exist. But nobody ceases to exist. Nobody does. Okay, so death is not a ceasing to exist. Death is a place. Death is going to be where you're at. You either have life or death. Now physically our bodies are going to die, but even our bodies aren't going to cease to exist because there is a resurrection of the just and the unjust. The bodies are coming back for everybody. Even that definition of death, the physical death, your body isn't going away forever. It's going to be on this earth and it's going to decay and rot and everything else that happens here, but God is going to bring that body back at one of those resurrections depending on where you end up. Just like death, okay, even the fact that Jesus Christ was dead, why was Jesus Christ considered dead for three nights and three nights? Yes, his body physically lay in the tomb, but his soul descended into hell. His soul was in hell. Hell is a place of the dead. People who are in hell are considered to be dead and we'll see that a little bit later in Revelation chapter 20 that it's those who are in hell are dead. And those who are in heaven are not dead. Even though their bodies passed on, as the Bible is pointing out here in Luke chapter 20, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, their flesh died. They're not roaming around on the earth at this point in Jesus' ministry, but he's saying even in Moses' ministry, right at that time, they weren't walking around, but God's not the God of the dead, he's the God of the living. Implying Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob are alive because they had eternal life. Flip over if you were to John chapter 11. John chapter 11, we're going to start reading in verse number 23. John 11, 23, the Bible says, Jesus saith unto her, That brother shall rise again. Of course, is that the death of Lazarus? Jesus shows up before he calls him out of the tomb. He's talking to Martha, he says, That brother shall rise again. Verse 24, Martha saith unto him, I know that he shall rise again in the resurrection at the last day. She knows. Now look, she knows that he's going to rise again. It's not based on how good he was, or is he worthy enough to see the rest. No, I know that he's going to rise again. I know he's going to rise again. Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection. So even more probably, so do you have Christ? Do you have Christ? Is Christ in you? You have the resurrection. Because Jesus said, I am the resurrection and the life. He that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live. And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Never die. Now physically, do our bodies pass away? Absolutely. But what's the definition of death in life? Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob were alive, but they were saved. You know who the dead are? The dead are the ones in hell. If you have Christ, you're never going to hell. Ever. Because if you live and believe in Jesus, you're never going to die. So you'll never be counted with the dead. Flip over if you were to 1 Corinthians chapter 15. We're going to close in 1 Corinthians 15, and I'll just read for you from Job chapter 19. And when I say we're going to close in 1 Corinthians 15, okay, there's a lot of content in 1 Corinthians 15, so don't think we're going to be done in five minutes. This is kind of the meat of the sermon that's going to be in 1 Corinthians chapter 15, so everything's been a warm-up to this point. Kind of. The resurrection was a very old doctrine. This is something that's been around, I would say this teaching, this truth, this understanding has been around forever in Scripture. And even in the book of Job, Job's one of the oldest books as far as people who lived on this earth, right? Job understood the resurrection. In Job 19 verse 25, I read this for you, the Bible says, for I know, this is Job speaking, by the way, in the book of Job. Obviously he has his friends talking, and there's different things going on there, but this is a portion of Scripture that Job is the one who's speaking. He says, for I know that my redeemer liveth, and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth, and though after my skin worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I see God. So he's saying, even though I know that even after the worms eat my flesh, because I'm going to die and my body's going to be put in the grave, and the worms will eat my flesh, he says, I still know that I will see God in my flesh. And that's what the resurrection brings, it reunites you with your flesh, where God gives you that new flesh, where you say, we're going to see God in our flesh. He says, whom I shall see for myself, and mine eyes shall behold, and not another, though my rains be consumed within me. His rains, he's talking about his innards, his intestines and stuff, be consumed within me. Even though I know that this is going to happen physically, he says, I'm still going to see God in the flesh. And total confidence, no doubt there is, I know this, but that's the hope of the resurrection. He's looking forward to that day, to seeing Christ in his body, in his resurrected body. 1 Corinthians 15, I'm going to turn there myself, because I only copied a small portion onto my notes. I'm not going to go through the entire chapter verse by verse, so don't worry about that, because it's a long passage. Although it would be applicable, because the entire passage really has a lot to do with the resurrection. Let's start reading, I'm going to start reading before my notes here. Verse number 12 is we're going to start reading here in 1 Corinthians 15, the Bible says, Now if Christ be preached that he rose from the dead, how say some among you that there is no resurrection of the dead? So this is where we kind of get started into this whole resurrection topic in this chapter. Other than the fact that at the very beginning of the chapter, he's saying, he's basically defining the gospel that he preached, the death, the burial, and the resurrection of Christ. So he's bringing us up there, he's saying, hey, if Christ is preached that he rose from the dead, how could there even be people saying there is no resurrection of the dead? How could there be some people among you saying, hey, there's no resurrection? If here we are, we're preaching Christ, we're preaching his resurrection. But if there be no resurrection of the dead, then is Christ not risen? Yeah, if there's no resurrection, then how could Christ have rose again? And if Christ be not risen, then is our preaching vain, and your faith is vain also. It's meaningless. If Christ then rise from the dead, everything's meaningless about it then. He was just another guy that lived on this earth and died and went away. And then he says this in verse 15, furthermore, yea, and we have found false witnesses of God. Because this is a testimony of the apostles saying, look, we've witnessed the resurrected Christ. That we know we've seen Christ, and that's part of who the apostles are, those that were, you know, other than the apostle Paul, they ministered with him previously, and then they saw physically with their own eyes the resurrected Christ, and they're testifying of that resurrection. And the apostles Paul, he's the last apostle because he is born out of due time, where he saw the resurrected Christ, but it was on the road to Damascus, where he had the vision and saw Christ, and, you know, he's able to be called an apostle. But he's saying basically we're false witness because we have testified of God that he raised up Christ, whom he raised not up, if so be, that the dead rise not. He's saying if there's no resurrection, then we're just a bunch of false witnesses because we're testifying that Christ rose from the dead. So trying to say that there's no resurrection is a stupid doctrine for anyone to try to hold to. I mean, at least you can't call yourself a Christian and not believe in a resurrection. Because in order to do that, you have to call all the apostles liars. You might as well then just become a Jew because that's what they do with the testimony of all the witnesses of the New Testament. They're just, ultimately they're saying they must just be, they're just a bunch of liars because they're confessing something to be true that they don't believe is true at all. Verse 16, for if the dead rise not, then is not Christ raised, and if Christ be not raised, your faith is vain, ye are yet in your sins, saying you're not even saved. Verse 18, then they also, which have fallen asleep in Christ, are perished. So we're saying not only is your faith vain, but also all of those who trusted in Christ now and have passed on, they're perished. They're gone. It's good for nothing. If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we have all men most miserable. If it's only just about this life, he's like, man, of all people in the world, we're going to be the most miserable. Because we're living for the resurrection, we're living for that afterlife. You know, if that's not going to happen, if there's no resurrection, then man, we're really wasting our time, aren't we? Because then you might as well just live for the day, live for the world. No. No. Verse 20, but now is Christ risen from the dead and become the firstfruits of them that slept. And the Bible doesn't always use this term in reference to people who are saved, but when it does use this term, it's talking about people who, you know, they're asleep in Christ because they're not actually dead. It uses the word to draw a distinction between death and someone who her body is physically passed on. You know, some people have this crazy doctrine of soul sleep where they just think that people are just sort of asleep in the grave, like, and their soul doesn't go anywhere, and it's just there. I think that's totally proven wrong easily by Luke 16. And there's another passage you can turn to. Luke 16 is very clear that when someone dies, their soul is either going to heaven or hell. It's going to one place or the other. So when it's talking about people being asleep in Christ or slept, it's because they're not actually dead, because God's not the God of the dead or the living, just like Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob aren't dead, they're alive, but they're asleep in Christ because their body is perished. Where are we at here? So, verse 21, For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, that's our sinful flesh, as in Adam, even so in Christ shall all be made alive. So what are we talking about in context here? We're talking about the resurrection still. This whole context from where we started reading until now is still the resurrection. And when he says as in Adam all die, that's true, our physical flesh here is going to perish, but those in Christ all shall be made alive. But every man in his own order, it's talking about being made alive, verse 23, every man in his own order, Christ the firstfruits, afterward, they that are Christ's at His coming. Not they that are Christ's and are really good at being a Christian, no, they that are Christ's at His coming. All of those are, who belongs to Christ? Everyone who put their trust in Him. Everyone who put their faith in Christ. They are Christ's at His coming. That's another resurrection. See, Christ the firstfruits, that's the order. Christ is that, was the firstfruits of the resurrection. Because Christ rose from the dead, there's also the small resurrection, you should read about that in the Gospel of Luke, of some of the saints that came out of the graves and testified of Christ. There's not a whole lot talked about that in the Bible, interestingly enough, but we do see that that happened. So that's like the firstfruits, there's this very small event that took place of this resurrection, but the focus is on Christ, of course, His resurrection being the firstfruits. Afterwards, so the next event is, they that are Christ's at His coming, which we would call the first resurrection, or the resurrection of the just, because we're justified in Christ, not our own works, we're justified in Him. Verse 21 says, Then cometh the end, when He shall have delivered up the kingdom to God, even the Father, when He shall have put down all rule and all authority and power, for He must reign till He hath put all enemies under His feet. The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death. Now, keep your place here in 1 Corinthians 15, we're going to go to Revelation chapter 20. 1 Corinthians 15 clearly says, There's Christ at firstfruits, then they which are Christ's coming, then the end. The end being referenced here is after the millennial reign of Christ on this earth. And that's the second resurrection. We saw the reference to the resurrection of the just and the unjust, the Apostle Paul said. He didn't mention timing or anything like that, he says he believes in the resurrection of the just and the unjust. Okay, just to be fair, just to make sure you're all aware of that, that's what it says. We're going to see in Revelation chapter 20 more information about this. We'll put all these bits together and see our doctrine here. Let's start reading verse number 1. The Bible says, And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand. And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the devil and Satan, and bound him a thousand years, and cast him into the bottomless pit and shut him up and set a seal upon him that he should deceive the nations no more till the thousand years should be fulfilled. And after that, he must be loosed to little season. This is the time that Jesus Christ is going to have his kingdom set up here on earth. And we'll go into this in more detail in the evening series that I'm doing on end times events. This is the millennial reign of Christ. It's going to be perfect. It's going to be great. Jesus Christ is going to be ruling and reigning with a rod of iron, and Satan is not going to be deceiving anyone like he does today. He's not going to be going and being an adversary and going to the Lord and talking about how people are doing this and that and trying to get people in trouble and trying to mess with people. He's going to be bound in hell. He's in the bottomless pit. He's not going to be allowed to mess with anything, to screw up anything on the earth. That's a thousand years. Verse 4 says, And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them. And I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus and for the word of God, and which had not worshiped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads or in their hands. And they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years. But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection. So the first resurrection happens before the millennial reign, right before it's set up, because they're going to reign with Christ for a thousand years. So that first resurrection happens. And you can say, well, Pastor Williams, why does it only mention these people who went through that tribulation of not worshiping the beast? Because it's in the context of Revelation, you read the whole story here of things that are going on, it just makes sense. But these people, we know, are people who are saved. And you combine this with what we see in 1 Corinthians 15, it's they that are Christ's that is coming. They're included in this, and so is every other believer. It's not only, the royal reign isn't only for those who were alive during that great tribulation and didn't receive the mark, and they're the only ones who are going to rule and reign with Christ. No. It's for those that are Christ's that are going to be part of this resurrection. Now, they are going to rule and reign with them because they're going to have more rewards given to them for their faithfulness, right, for their endurance to the end. But everyone will be part of this resurrection, okay, and will be able to live on the earth with Christ and never die. As the Bible said, verse 5 says, but the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection. So, 1 Corinthians 15, Christ the first fruits, then they that are Christ's that is coming, that's the first resurrection, then cometh the end. Well, let's keep reading here in Revelation 20, verse 6, blessed and holy is he that art in the first resurrection, on such the second death hath no power. But they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign within a thousand years. And when the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison, and shall go out to deceive the nations which are in the four quarters of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to battle, the number of whom is as the sand of the sea. And they went up on the breadth of the earth, encompassed the camp of the saints about, and the beloved city, and fire came down from God out of heaven and devoured them. And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night, forever and ever. All of that happens, but that's not the second resurrection yet. We're going to get to it right now. Look at verse number 11. And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away, and there was found no place for them. This is, again, we'll go a little more in detail when we go through end times events, but this is like, I mean, the heaven and the earth now are going to be, essentially, they're going to go through a resurrection because there's going to be a new heaven and a new earth. God's going to transform all this stuff, and this is the last, this is the great judgment day, final judgment being passed, given out at this point. Later it rains over, Satan comes and tries to give one last ditch effort to usurp God's authority and attack the believers and everything, and he's just swallowed up immediately, just loses that battle, and is tossed in the lake of fire. Great white throne, heaven and earth fled away, verse number 12, and I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God. And the books were opened, and another book was opened, which is the book of life. And the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books according to their works. When God's judging people on the things written in the books according to their works, and it references the dead, these are not the believers. Because we're not going to be judged according to our works at this great white throne judgment. Now there's a judgment seat of Christ, it's different, that happened already in the chronology. Again, I'll go over that later, I have to prove that later. This is the great white throne judgment, this is the resurrection of the unjust, look at verse number 13, the Bible says, and the sea gave up the dead which were in it. And death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them, and they were judged, every man, according to their works. And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire, this is the second death, and whosoever was not found, written in the book of life, was cast into the lake of fire. So, this is death also being destroyed, by the way, that's the last enemy that needs to be destroyed is death, so when death and hell are cast into the lake of fire, this is it. That's that final judgment, this is the final judgment of the unjust because it keeps talking about the dead, the dead were brought up out of hell, they're being judged, they're getting all the reasons why they're in hell, because they're being judged according to their works. I believe that the people who die today that go to hell, you know, they're not, God's not telling them all the reasons why they're in hell, but they're there. Just like, again, Luke chapter 16, you look at the rich man in Lazarus, the rich man says he lifted up his eyes in hell, being in torments. Like, he died and he's, there he is, he's there. And this is when everyone will know why they're, where they're at, why they're in hell, why they've been there, because they're going to be judged according to their works. And when you start out the books being opened, I believe that's the Bible, the books of the law, because that's how he's going to judge people, they're being judged according to their works, that the works will be based on what the law says. So you say, okay, well here's what the law says, you did this, here's what the law says, you did this, here's what the law says, you did this. Guilty. And that's the final judgment. And that's the last resurrection. First fruits, Christ. First resurrection, second resurrection. Let's flip back to, actually flip to 1 Thessalonians chapter 4, because this is also applicable. We're almost done now. Maybe. Revelation 20 points out the first and second resurrection, 1 Corinthians 15 talks about the first fruits, then the first and second resurrection, and then 1 Thessalonians chapter 4 is referencing here the first resurrection. Verse number 13, 1 Thessalonians chapter 4, the Bible says, but I would not have you to be ignorant. I don't want you to not know about this. Brethren, concerning them which are asleep. The reference to those who are asleep, again, they've passed away, but they're in Christ. He's talking about people who are saved because they're asleep. That ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope. People who are not in Christ, people who have not put their trust in Christ, they have no hope. And they sorrow for people who have passed on because their chance for salvation is over. But those who are asleep in Christ, they've made the right choice. They're saved. He's going to explain further now, verse 14, for if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, if we believe in the resurrection of Christ, even so, them also which sleep in Jesus, will God bring with Him? Don't be ignorant of this. If we believe that Jesus Christ died and rose again, even so, those which sleep in Jesus, those who had Christ as their Savior, will God bring with Him? For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord, those people who are still alive when Christ comes back, shall not prevent them which are asleep. Those that are resting in Christ right now because they've passed on but they're in Christ, as well as those who are alive and remain when Christ comes back, all are going to be at that resurrection together. Essentially at the same time. Those who are alive and not going anywhere first, they're not going to prevent them. They're not going to come before them. For the Lord Himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the trump of God, and the dead in Christ shall rise first. So when Christ comes back, first there's going to be a resurrection of the dead, those that are asleep in Christ. Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air and so shall we ever be with the Lord. And you know, maybe you picked up on this before, maybe you didn't, but when it says in verse 14, for if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with Him. They're coming down, who they are are in heaven. They're coming with Christ down from heaven and their bodies are being brought up from the earth and being reunited together. That we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air and so shall we ever be with the Lord. Wherefore comfort one another with these words. From the time Christ comes back, you will forever be with the Lord. Amen. That's good news. That's the resurrection. That's the hope that we have. That's what we're looking forward to. The resurrection. The resurrection of the just. The resurrection of the believers. The resurrection of those who are in Christ. Finally, back to 1 Corinthians 15. Hope you kept your place there. I said we're closing it out on 1 Corinthians 15. That's a true statement. We are closing it out on 1 Corinthians 15. We kind of went a couple other places in the meantime, but we're back at 1 Corinthians 15. Let's finish this off here as much as possible and I encourage you to study that whole chapter later on because there's so much good stuff here. Verse number 38. The Bible reads, But God giveth it a body as it hath pleased Him, and to every seed His own body. All flesh is not the same flesh, but there is one kind of flesh of man, another flesh of beast, another of fishes, another of birds. There are also celestial bodies and bodies terrestrial. Celestial means heavenly. Terrestrial means earthy, right? Of the earth. But the glory of the celestial is one and the glory of the terrestrial is another. There is one glory of the sun, another glory of the moon, and another glory of the sun. Glory is, in the most simplest terms, brightness. The sun has its brightness, the moon has its brightness, the stars have their brightness, and there's a glory associated with the celestial body, terrestrial body. It says, For one star differth from another star in glory. Verse 42 says, And so also is the resurrection of the dead. It's a similar fashion. It's bringing up these concepts and relating it to the resurrection. It is sown in corruption. It is raised in incorruption. We have corrupt bodies. We have sinful bodies, so that's what's being sown into the earth is our corrupted body, but when it's raised, it's raised incorrupted. It's raised perfect. It's raised anew. It is sown in dishonor. It is raised in glory. It is sown in weakness. It is raised in power. Our bodies are weak. Our bodies are sinful. Our bodies are corrupt. Our bodies, our flesh, bring dishonor. That's how it's sown. That's how it's put into the ground. But when it's raised, it's the exact opposite. It is sown a natural body. It is raised a spiritual body. So our body won't be exactly the same when we're raised. And that's why earlier it's talking about these different types of flesh and these different bodies. Fish have a different flesh. You eat fish, it's different than chicken. It's different than the flesh of human beings. We have different types of flesh, but it talks about a heavenly and an earthly. So we're going to be, the resurrection is a heavenly body or spiritual body that we're going to be receiving at the resurrection. The Bible says in verse 45 there, And so it is written, The first man Adam was made a living soul, the last Adam was made a quickening spirit, howbeit that was not first which is spiritual, but that which is natural, and afterward that which is spiritual. The first man is of the earth, earthy, the second man is the Lord from heaven. As is the earthy, such are they also that are earthy, and as is the heavenly, such are they also that are heavenly. And as we have born the image of the earthy, right, we in our physical appearance were naturally like Adam, that first man, the first physical man. We're descendants of Adam. We carry Adam's likeness because we have a physical body. Well, when we have the new body, it says here, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly. So, we're going to see Christ like He is at His coming, and we're going to be made like Him, and we're going to be made conform to the image of the Son. So we're going to have Christ's likeness because we have that spiritual body. And we're losing the earthy. Which is also why, you know, the Bible says in Christ, there's neither male nor female, there's not, you know, all these different things, all these different attributes that are of the physical body. It's different with the spiritual body. Also, when you read about it, I didn't have this in my notes to turn to, but when Christ showed Himself then to His disciples, He says, you know, they thought He was a spirit, and He says, you know, not to be afraid. He said, a spirit doesn't have flesh and bone that you see that I have. So we definitely know that there's going to be flesh and bone involved. But He doesn't mention blood. And I think the reason why is because right now in our fleshly body, the blood is the life. The Bible talks about the blood being the life thereof. But in the world to come, Christ is our life. We won't have need for the blood. Now, I don't know how that works with the matter itself. I don't need to know how it works. And you know what, if I'm wrong about that, I'm wrong about that, but it makes sense to me. Let's keep reading here. But we're definitely going to bear the image of the heavenly, which is Christ. We're going to bear His image. Verse 50, now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God. Yeah, flesh and blood can't inherit it. But flesh and bone can. Not inherit the kingdom of God, neither does corruption inherit incorruption. Behold, I show you a mystery. We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed. Again, it's referring to people who are still alive and remain at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. Because they won't be asleep. The people who are still alive won't ever have that physical death where they're asleep in Christ, but all will be changed. Whether you're not asleep in Christ or you are asleep in Christ, all will be changed in a moment in the twinkling of an eye. Just instant. At the last trump. Again, that's something for another day when we go through end times events. For the trumpet shall sound and the dead shall be raised incorruptible and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption and this mortal must put on immortality. Flesh that never dies. A body that never will die. A body that's not weak. A body that will be strong and continue and be in eternity. So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory? The sting of death is sin and the strength of sin is the law, but thanks be to God which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye steadfast, unmovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, for as much as ye know that your labor is not in vain in the Lord. Why? Because we have the hope of the resurrection. Your work, your labor, your service to the Lord is not in vain. It's not meaningless. There is a resurrection. There's a life to come. There's a world to come. There's rewards that will be meted out at the judgment seat of Christ for the work that you do here. It's not in vain. Don't live for this flesh. Don't live for this world. Don't live for this body. That's going away. That's going to be changed into something completely different, into something new. That's what we live for. We live in hope of that resurrection. When you hope for something, you're waiting for it. You're expecting, man, I can't wait. I hope for that day of getting that new body. I hope for that resurrection where we could be gathered together with all the saints that have gone on before us, any loved ones that were saved that have died in the past at the coming of Christ. We're all going to be reunited and we're going to meet the Lord in the air if we're still alive and remain together with those that were asleep in Christ and get that new body. We're going to be transformed. It's going to take a moment. It's a twinkling of an eye. It's just going to be like, boom, you're going to look and be like, wow, I've got a new body. It's going to be instant. You're going to go from either being in the spirit and then just looking down and be like, boom, in the flesh, in a spiritual body, spiritual flesh. It's going to be awesome. We live our life in hope of the resurrection. We preach the hope of the resurrection. We let people know, hey, there's a resurrection. It's not all about this life. There's an eternity to come. There's a life to come that's way better than this life. So let's live for that life. We're going to live for that resurrection, not for what this world has offered or getting focused around or even sad about the death of things in this world. We're going to be looking forward to that new, changed, new man, new body. Let's bow our heads up, word of prayer. Dear Heavenly Father, Lord, we thank you so much for everything. Thank you for loving us. We thank you for dying for us. We thank you for that great gift that was purchased through the death, burial, and resurrection of your son Jesus Christ, dear Lord. I pray that you would please help us to show our gratitude and thankfulness to you for saving us, for giving us eternal life as a free gift, for saving our souls, dear Lord, and that you would help us to just learn more, to understand your word more, to increase in knowledge, dear God, and that you would help us to live in a manner that's reflective of our faith, that we know there's a world to come, and that we're expecting that new man, that new creature, as far as being complete in you at the day of redemption, dear Lord. And I pray that you would just help us to ever strive for that, work for that day, and strive to bring as many people with us as possible, dear Lord, by preaching the word and preaching the gospel to Jesus Christ, Lord. We love you. It's in Jesus' name we pray. Amen. Alright, we're going to sing one last song before we're dismissed. Brother Peter, will you please lead us? We open up to song number 38. Song number 38, Hallelujah We Shall Rise. Song number 38. Alright church, let's sing about that resurrection morning on the first. In the resurrection morning, when the truth of God shall stand, we shall rise, Hallelujah, we shall rise. And the saints will come rejoicing, when the tears of life be found, we shall rise, Hallelujah, we shall rise, Hallelujah, we shall rise. In the resurrection morning, when the prayers of God shall come, we shall rise, Hallelujah, we shall rise. In the resurrection morning, what a meaning it will be, we shall rise, Hallelujah, we shall rise. When our fathers and our brothers, when our loved ones we shall see, we shall rise, Hallelujah, we shall rise. We shall rise, Hallelujah, we shall rise, Hallelujah, we shall rise. In the resurrection morning, when the prayers of God shall come, we shall rise, we shall rise. In the resurrection morning, what a meaning it will be, we shall rise, Hallelujah, we shall rise. I shall see my blessed Savior, so freely die for me. We shall rise, Hallelujah, we shall rise. We shall rise, Hallelujah, we shall rise. We shall rise, Hallelujah, we shall rise. In the resurrection morning, when the prayers of God shall come, we shall rise. We shall rise, Hallelujah, we shall rise. In the resurrection morning, we shall live in the end. We shall rise, Hallelujah, we shall rise. And be carried unto the reason our God so bright and fair. We shall rise, Hallelujah, we shall rise. We shall rise, Hallelujah, we shall rise. We shall rise, Hallelujah, we shall rise. In the resurrection morning, when the prayers of God shall come, we shall rise. In the resurrection morning, we shall rise. Amen church, great singing, thank you so much for coming you guys. Thank you.