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

All right, we're in 1st Corinthians chapter 15 and 1st Corinthians chapter 15 is a chapter that if you haven't noticed already really just emphasizes the resurrection of Jesus Christ but not just his resurrection it emphasizes our resurrection as well and obviously for a time like this we have we're celebrating Easter what are we celebrating well we're celebrating the resurrection of Christ and what it represents and so that's what we're going to talk about this morning we're going to talk about the resurrection and specifically our resurrection look down at your Bibles at verse number 12 it 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 but if there be no resurrection of the dead then is Christ not risen and if Christ be not risen then our preaching then is our preaching vain and your faith is also vain yea and we are found false witnesses of God because we have testified of God that he hath raised up Christ whom he raised not up if so be that the dead rise not for if the dead rise not then is Christ not raised and if Christ be not raised your faith is vain and ye are yet in your sins then they also which are fallen asleep in Christ are perish if in this life only we have hope in Christ we are of all men most miserable the title of sermon this morning is if the dead rise not if the dead rise not and that's a significant concept that we see there what if the dead what if they don't rise what if Christians don't come back to life in the afterlife what if the resurrection doesn't exist well that changes everything that basically changes everything why is that well because the resurrection is central to our faith it is a cornerstone doctrine of our faith it is a cornerstone doctrine of the Bible it is specifically related and directly points to salvation you see when we think of salvation we think of being saved from hell and being given eternal life but a lot of times people don't think about this that it also includes the resurrection salvation includes a bodily resurrection from the dead now you don't have to turn there but I'm gonna read to you from Hebrews chapter 6 and verse number 1 it says here therefore leaving the principles of the doctrine of Christ let us go on into perfection not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works and of faith toward God of the doctrine of baptisms and of laying on of hands and of resurrection of the dead and of eternal judgment so the Bible is telling us here in Hebrews chapter 6 that a foundational teaching a foundational principle of the Bible is the resurrection what does that mean that means any person who just gets saved right off the bat what are they supposed to learn about the resurrection this is not something we should be ignorant about this is not something we should ever put on the back burner this is something that we should have a good understanding of now I'm not saying a thorough deep understanding of it but we should know of the resurrection okay now why is this important well because of the fact that it is directly related to salvation and sometimes people think you know when I die and I go to heaven you know I'm just going to be like a Casper looking mist of ghosts that just like floats around on clouds I mean that's kind of like the picture that Hollywood and just movies in general kind of portray don't they like a ghost that is just you know like it's just half of it's from the torso up and the bottom of the torso is just like a ghostly looking mist right and that's kind of the picture that people get you know you you don't do it but you look on YouTube about you know appearances of demons or spirits it's always this half person we're just missing the torso or something like that or below the torso but you know what the Bible actually tells us that in the afterlife after the resurrection it's actually a bodily resurrection you know when Jesus Christ resurrected from the grave he wasn't just a spirit in fact the Bible tells us that he was flesh you can touch his flesh you can feel the holes in his hand and the wounds on his side and you could basically see that he was physically there he wasn't someone you could just walk through okay he wasn't like a Casper ghost or anything like that the Bible tells us that it was actual a bodily resurrection and it's representative of our resurrection one day the fact that our bodies will come back from the grave okay now you say well that sounds a little scary you know like what is it like a zombie apocalypse type thing you know I think sometimes Hollywood obviously those who are propagating Hollywood and Hollywood movies they know of these doctrines and what they try to do is actually pervert the ways of the Lord and so they'll create like a sort of counterfeit of the resurrection for example you say how is that well how many zombie movies are out there you know people come back from the crazy when they're just like Michael Jackson you know thriller or whatever and it's just like a rotten body and you know they but you know what the story of the resurrection is told in different religions it's told it's spoken about in Hollywood you know this is not a concept that you know just appeared out of thin air no people have copied this for many many years and it stems from the Bible okay look even there's a day in the month of November or December where the Catholics will practice something called Dia de los Muertos or day of the dead and it's specifically a religious holiday that emphasizes resurrecting the dead for three days okay the spirits of the dead come back and they fellowship with their families this is what they believe this is not biblical but they resurrect them from the grave isn't that ironic that after three days is when Christ arose and it was a bodily resurrection you know that resurrection that they claim to have to believe in is a temporal resurrection that comes once a year whereas the resurrection of the Bible is an eternal resurrection it never ends okay so we're not talking about zombie apocalypse or night of the living dead you know this is a real resurrection that's gonna take place one day you're in 1st Corinthians chapter 15 look at verse 35 now this is a common question that people will ask maybe not in this form but they'll ask this verse 35 says but some man will say how are the dead raised up and with what body do they come I mean that's a pretty genuine question right it's like how is this even possible what about people that were burned right or how about people that were lost at sea and they they went into the water or they were eaten by sharks or something or they died at sea or how about people that were just cremated and they were thrown into the into the ocean you know what about them well that question is not necessarily a good question to ask because of the fact that God in his infinite power is capable of resurrecting anybody from the grave regardless of the state of the body in fact we're not going to turn there but in the book of Ezekiel you find a story of a valley of dry bones this is an army of people who died many many years prior to this event taking place I mean the Bible calls it the valley of dry bones if it's dry that means they've been dead for a very long time right and the Bible tells us specifically that he was able to resurrect these bodies from the dead God is capable of doing it the Word of God has the ability to do that the Bible calls it the power of the resurrection okay now look at verse 36 thou fool thou which thou sowest is not quickened except to die and thou which thou sowest thou sowest not that that body that shall be but bare grain it may chance of wheat or of some other grain now what is it saying here well if you think about it obviously people when they die they they deal with that in different manners some people are cremated you know different ways of of doing funerals etc but the most common way is just to bury someone six feet deep right that is the most common way of burying a body okay well why is that why is it that in the United States and all around the world they practice that of sowing the body into the ground six feet deep well it's from the Bible because of the fact that when you sow a seed for example you sow a mustard seed it goes into the ground and does this huge mustard seed just come out you know this this huge gigantic mutated you know mustard seed come out no actually it becomes a tree so it goes in a seed and it comes back out something completely different but it was originally that seed and what Paul the Apostle is saying here answering verse 35 how are the dead raised up he's saying look when your body is sown into the ground it's gonna come out something completely different now rest assured we don't know specifically how it's gonna look and he describes it we're gonna read them just a little bit he describes it what it's gonna be like but we do know we know we do know this it's a bodily resurrection it's just gonna be completely different than what we have today okay now one of the vast differences of this resurrected body is the fact that the body that's gonna be resurrected is not tempted to sin now there's no body in this world who's not tempted to sin okay and if anybody tells you that they're lying like I'm sinless I've never you know I don't desire to sin I just have all the right desires that you know that's that's impossible because the Bible even specifically tells us that this flesh is corrupt it desires to sin it has the propensity to do that which is wrong to break God's commandments whereas the resurrected body does not that's something that's completely different than what we have today isn't it so it says there in verse 37 that which is that which thou sowest thou sowest not that body that shall be but bare grain it may chance of wheat or of some other grain 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 men another flesh of beasts another of fishes another of birds there is also celestial bodies and bodies terrestrial this is not talking about et by the way okay he's not saying hey there's you know physical bodies and then you got yourself alien and predator okay that's not what that's referring to but the glory of the celestial is one and the glory of the terrestrial is another so celestial sin simply means heavenly body terrestrial is that which is here okay and this on this earth so he's saying there's a distinction there's a difference between the two verse 41 there is one glory of the sun and another glory of the moon another glory of the stars for one star defers from another star in glory now you would we would have to this is another sermon in and of itself but what this is specifically saying is that though saved people those who have trusted in Christ those who have believed on him for eternal life are going to resurrect some resurrections are going to be different than others okay and when it talks about glory glory is often used in tandem with brightness okay and what it's saying here is you know just as the sun has a different brightness than the moon in like manner in the resurrection some resurrected people are going to shine brighter than others now they're both going to resurrect but what is the difference some people are just going to shine brighter than others and we're going to look at it later based upon the works that they do here on this earth look at verse 42 so also was the resurrection of the dead it is sown in corruption it is raised in incorruption it is sown in dishonor it is raised in glory it is sown in weakness it is raised in power it is sown a natural body it is raised a spiritual body there is a natural body and there is a spiritual body so first corinthians chapter 15 delves very specifically in detail what that resurrection looks like and obviously it doesn't give us so many details that we can just know for a fact what is exactly what we can visualize what it looks like we just know for a fact it's a lot different than what we got going on now okay and by the way don't think you know oh man hopefully i got my i get my six pack and the resurrection you know your long flowing hair and beautiful locks and i get to lose weight and you know that's not necessarily the resurrection and the incorruption that god is talking about here it's a it's an incorruption that is void of sin okay it is absent of temptation and sin it's something that actually honors god and glorifies him and the bible says that it's powerful okay it's eternal now this is important because this is actually going to take place one day all right now you can obviously see how important this is because this is talking about people who have been saved from the beginning of time until the end of time i mean that's a lot of people this is going to be a mass you know i was going to say a grave robbery but it's just a mass resurrection of people all the graves from all around the world just coming to life you can see why many people in different religions want to mar and discredit the resurrection because it's so important it's so vital to even salvation in and of itself okay it's directly related to it you know many related religions actually have their form of the resurrection you think of the buddhists who have reincarnation for example you know a lot of religions promise a sort of a resurrection you have the buddhists who who talk about reincarnation you know they'll say that you you'll come back because at the end of the day no one wants to just die and no one definitely wants to die and go to hell you know they want to live on within every single one of us there's a desire to live on forever to not cease existing or not go to hell you know they want to live on forever therefore satan because he copies everything that god does he's going to create concepts and doctrines that are false that are going to basically emulate what the true resurrection is you have for example the jehovah's witnesses they believe in a resurrection but it's a spiritual resurrection in other words it's not bodily you know they believe in actually just a spiritual resurrection where the spirit comes up and there's no body but you know what that's not biblical because the bible actually talks about a bodily resurrection okay and in fact the bible even says that jesus christ when he resurrected ate food i mean i've got a lot of people happy on that one it's like yeah we're gonna be eating here after you resurrect he ate fish honeycomb i mean he was eating okay and the bible even talks about that those who are resurrected in the millennial reign in the book of revelation are eating meat hallelujah you know they're very for how long a thousand years for a thousand years now after the millennial rain is over in the new heaven the new earth you know we go back to the garden of eden conditions where there is no meat and there is no death because obviously if you're eating meat that means there's death of animals for example and people are dying during that time as well but in the new heaven the new earth everyone goes to basically being vegetarian all right but hey he gives us a thousand years all right to get it out of our system so that's a good thing so there's nothing new under the sun because of the fact that the resurrection has always been attacked even in christ day was it attacked hold your place there in first corinthians 15 go to matthew 28 matthew chapter 28 i'm going to read to you from second timothy chapter 2 verse 15 it says here study to show thyself approve them to god a workman that needeth not to be ashamed rightly dividing the word of truth but shun profane and vain babblings for they will increase unto more ungodliness so he says here we need to make sure that we study the bible that we study to show ourselves to prove them to god if we don't we're not going to shun profane and vain babblings and what's going to happen we're going to increase into more ungodliness and what is the result of this what is he specifically referring to what goes on to say and their word will eat as doth a canker of whom is hymenaeus and philitis who concerning the truth have erred saying that the resurrection has passed already and overthrow the faith of some so even in paul's day people were teaching that hey the resurrection has passed you already missed it but that's not true you know the resurrection had not passed the rapture had not taken place but yet we see here people with the agenda of barring and discrediting the biblical resurrection now look at matthew 28 verse 10 this is after jesus christ's resurrection remember he was seen of above 500 people right and look what it says in verse 10 of matthew 28 then said jesus unto them be not afraid go tell my brethren that they go into galilee and there they shall see me now when they were going behold some of the watch came into the city and showed him to the chief priests all the things that were done the watch is referring to the guards that were supposed to stay at jesus's grave to make sure that no one stole the body stole the body right these roman soldiers but what happened he resurrected and they witnessed it they go back there like hey he actually came back from the grave like he he came back to life look what it says in verse 12 and they were assembled with the elders and had taken counsel uh they excuse me verse verse 11 now when they were going behold some of the watch came into the city and showed him to the chief priests all the things that were done and when they were assembled with the elders and had taken counsel they gave large money unto the soldiers saying say ye his disciples came by night and stole him away while we slept and if this come into the governor's ears we will persuade him and secure you so that they took the money and did as they were taught and this saying is commonly reported among the jews unto this day so these the elders referring to the jews they heard about this report and said oh man all right look here's some money just say that the disciples came and took him away you know we do not want people to know that he actually came back from the grave because this is what he's been saying this whole time so they literally paid off the guards to lie and create this fable that his disciples came and took him away and you think well no one believed it well it says in verse 15 that that story is commonly reported among the jews unto this day why because even in those days the resurrection was people were trying to discredit it and mar it why because it's so important now go back to first corinthians chapter 15 let me start off by saying that in order for a person to attain unto the resurrection they have to believe on the lord jesus christ you know you don't attain unto the resurrection because you're a good person in his life you know i believe reincarnation teaches a form of that where it's like based upon the good things that you do if you know if karma comes back and it shows that you've done wrong that you're gonna be a bug on you know your afterlife or whether your next life or something or some sort of animal or whatever you know that's not what the bible teaches it doesn't teach it just because you do good works or bad that you're gonna attain to the resurrection okay or eternal life as the bible calls it you have to believe on the lord jesus christ in order to be saved in order to attain into that resurrection in order to live forever okay if you want to live forever you have to believe on christ jesus said i am the way the truth and the life no man cometh unto the father but by me and look this is not something that's just subjective only to you know a certain group of people you know you believe what you believe i can believe what i want to believe no the bible actually says that this is for everyone okay the bible tells us that god so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son that whosoever believeth in him should not perish but have everlasting life this is something that's for everyone in spite of what ethnic background you come from what religious background you come from what part of the world you're from what upbringing you had it doesn't matter god is no respecter of people and the bible says that he gave his son for everyone okay so that you can attain into that resurrection now but let's ask our let's ask ourselves this is what if there is no resurrection what if we don't resurrect from the grave you know what if this isn't true what if it was a fable and it's not true well number one look at verse 13 it says but if there be no resurrection of the dead then it's christ not risen so number one if the resurrection is not real that means that christ never really rose from the grave because of the fact that our resurrection is based upon him resurrecting from the grave first he said well that's not a big deal well look at verse 20 skip down to verse 20 says but now is christ risen from the dead and become the first fruits of them that slept for since by man came death and by man came also the resurrection of the dead for as in adam all die even so in christ shall all be made alive but every man in his own order christ the first fruits afterward they that are christ at his coming now go to john chapter 10 hold your place there in first corinthians chapter 15 if you're sitting next to a visitor please share your bible with them so they can see the verses there john chapter 10 he said well why is that important you know if christ didn't resurrect i mean he died for us right he died for us and if he died for us that should be that should be sufficient but it's not sufficient because of the fact that throughout the ages righteous men or men self-sacrificing men have given their lives for other people but you know what even though they've given their lives for other people that has that was not sufficient to atone for their sin that was not sufficient not only to atone for their sin that was not sufficient to give them eternal life and if christ did not resurrect from the grave then that means he's not god because only god has the ability to give life to die for us and come back to life only he has the ability to do so look at john chapter 10 verse 16 and other sheep i have this is jesus christ speaking which are not of this fold them also i must bring and they shall hear my voice and there shall be one fold and one shepherd therefore doth my father love me because i lay down my life that i may take it again no man taketh it from me but i lay it down of myself i have power to lay it down and i have power to take it again this commandment have i received of my father you see if he died for us and he stayed in the grave then he's not god you know he's gonna he would be just like any other religious leader throughout the ages who have died has been remembered and that's it this is what separates jesus christ from all the other religious leaders of the world whether buddha or or muhammad or any other religious leader of any religion this is what separates them you know those guys they stayed in the grave you can go into their grave site to this day and find them there okay might be dust but you'll find them whereas jesus christ you go but you go to his grave site he's not there the most common phrase that you'll hear on easter he is risen he's alive today this is what separates because he had the power to take his life again the bible says that when he died on the cross that he himself bore our own sins on his own body on the tree the bible tells us that he died and his soul descended into hell for three days and three nights what is it that he ascended but that he first descended into the lower parts of the earth the bible says he went there to pay for our sins and on the third day resurrected from the grave and why is that because the bible says that he was delivered for our offenses and raised again for our justification it's very important if he did not resurrect then he's not god he's just like you know he's just a good teacher he was a good prophet but here's what separates god from everyone else that he resurrected okay go to first thessalonians chapter four first thessalonians chapter number four you know if the dead rise not then christ is not risen and if christ is not risen then he's not god okay this is the promise that he's that he had given to us through the scriptures and to his disciples throughout the gospels talking about constantly the resurrection of course in john chapter 11 is a famous passage look at first thessalonians chapter four verse 16 it says here for the lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout and with the voice of the archangel this is talking about the rapture when christ comes for for his people and with the trump of god and the dead in christ shall rise first so in first corinthians 15 we see that he's the first fruits of the resurrection what does that mean he's the first to resurrect from the grave and then and then who and then it says here the dead in christ shall rise first those are those who are in christ but they're in the grave they're dead they come up first okay their bodies verse 17 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 he said wait a minute wait a minute if the dead in christ come up first doesn't that mean they're in the grave still didn't you say they're going to go to heaven when they die to be absent from the bodies to be present with the lord yeah of course because when someone dies who is in christ their spirit goes to heaven and when christ returns from the rapture their bodies their bodies in the grave are going to meet their spirits in the air that's called the resurrection now i don't know how that's going to look you know i've probably seen way too many movies when i was a kid so i could like create some cgi scenes in my mind where just like crazy dirt flying everywhere you know people in their white suits when they were buried and stuff like that just coming out that's what it's going to be go to act chapter 23 so that's that is the sequence of order you have christ the first fruits who resurrected first then they which are dead in christ shall rise first after that and then we which are alive and remain this is referring to the last 75 days prior to what the bible referred to as his second coming we would we would call it the rapture okay it says here in verse number six 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 this when he has uh when he had so said there arose a dissension between the pharisees and the sadducees and the multitude was divided for the sadducees say that there is no resurrection neither angel nor spirit but the pharisees confess both look we have sadducees today they're not necessarily called sadducees they're just called unbelievers who don't believe that there is an afterlife they reject the concept of a resurrection but let me say this you know if you don't believe in gravity it doesn't mean it doesn't exist you know for those of you who don't believe in gravity this is what i encourage you to do but don't do it you know get on the roof and jump you know you can get on the roof and just say well i don't believe in gravity so when i jump i'm a flight you can believe that all you want you know you could you could have the power of positive thinking and just try to think that into existence but you jump you know we're taking you to the hospital they're after why because what you believe does not determine reality he said well what about what you believe well what i believe is based upon god's word and the bible tells us that god is not a man that he should lie so if god is not a man that he should lie we know that everything he says is true and here's the common here's the common argument well that's your interpretation of the bible though which by the way there are some doctrines of the bible are subject to interpretation the cryptic ones but there's certain teachings of the bible that are just crystal clear where god has placed chapters upon chapters books upon books clear statements to tell us that this is what he wants us to know you see god if he wants us to know of salvation he's going to make it clear throughout the bible you know what i mean it's not going to be something that you can be confused about hey whosoever shall call upon the name of the lord shall be saved that's pretty clear you know believe on the lord jesus christ and thou shalt be saved well that's subject to interpretation not really you know you can cut it however you want it's basically going to come out the same way you believe on christ and thou shalt be saved okay go back to first corinthians chapter 15 so we see here that if the resurrection you know if the dead right is not then christ is not risen and at that point let's go home at that point go eat drink and be married for tomorrow you die there's no reason to live just as a song we sound we just sung because he lives you know i can face tomorrow because he lives uh i don't remember this how does the song go i'm gonna sing a special real quick i'm not gonna sing a special let's see let's see the chorus because he lives i can face tomorrow because he lives all fear is gone fear of what fear of dying you know people fear to die they're afraid to die but you know what if you're saved death is only just a transition from this life to eternal life you know to be absent from the bodies to be present with the lord all fear is gone because he because i know he holds the future and life is worth the living because he lives you know this is what makes life worth living knowing the fact that christ resurrected and he's alive today okay but if he didn't resurrect then we should go home so if the dead rise not then christ is not risen look at verse 14 and if christ be not risen then our preaching is vain so if the dead rise now what is it saying you know what this is just a bunch of fluff more specifically he's referring to the preaching of the gospel okay now let's skip down to verse 30 it says here and why stand we in jeopardy every hour i protest by your rejoicing which i have in christ jesus our lord i die daily if after the manner of men i have fought with the beast at ephesus what advantages me if the dead rise not let us eat and drink for tomorrow we die what is he saying look i'm hazarding my own life to preach the gospel now this is not the society that we live in today where you know you could potentially die for preaching the gospel in those days paul was near death for just preaching the gospel but that's not to say you don't receive persecution okay and what he's stating here is this look if this is all fake am i preaching is vain why am i putting my life on the line for something that's just completely vain you know the bible tells us in uh acts chapter 4 verse 1 and as they spake unto the people the priests and the captain of the temple and the sadducees came upon them being grieved that they taught the people and preached through jesus the resurrection from the dead when we go out and preach the gospel we're preaching the death burial and resurrection of jesus christ we're not just telling them that hell exists we're not just telling them that god loves them we're not just telling them that you know they have to believe on christ we're explaining to them that when they believe on christ they get eternal life this is part of the message go with me if you would to let's see here go to first corinthians excuse me go to romans chapter 1 romans chapter number one you know our preaching is vain and look our church does a significant amount of what's called soul winning now what is soul winning so many is a term that you can find in the bible okay and it's basically refers to the fact that when we go out and we pre we knock on doors and we present the gospel the death baron resurrection to people all around our city and in surrounding cities and all over the world we preach the gospel so they can be saved okay now look our church just the bare minimum i'm just talking about the bare minimum okay you know sundays thursdays and saturday's if you're to add up all the hours we go out for approximately 264 hours a year that's quite a bit that's just bare minimum that's not counting mission trips or even when we go to compton it's not referring to the so many mega marathon that we did yesterday and different times that guys go out throughout the week let's not talk about those times bare minimum it's like going 11 days straight now look if christ be not risen if the if the dead rise not you know what that means that's all in vain going out and just meeting strangers and telling them about hell the resurrection and how they can be saved would all go down the toilet fast and look there's religions out there they practice their form of proselytizing that is vain i'll just be honest with you it is you know and this is not a criticism of religions this is not this is just fact because of the fact that we see in the bible that jesus christ sent them out two and two preaching the kingdom of god the word of god that can get them saved but look you know yesterday we saw 2441 souls saved you know if the dead rise not we didn't see that and if the dead rise not this doesn't mean anything okay now look what the bible says in roman chapter 1 verse 16 so as much as in me is i am ready to preach the gospel to you that are at rome also for i am not ashamed of the gospel of christ for it is the power of god unto salvation to everyone that believeth to the jew first and also to the greek for therein is the righteousness of god revealed from faith to faith as it is written the just shall live by faith you see the gospel is the power of god unto salvation you know you have a lot of programs today they want to help people live their best life now you know they want to help people change their destiny they want to help people's situation and circumstances right and i'm not necessarily against helping someone change their financial uh situation or their health situation or you know their mental state or whatever it may be but you know what at the end of the day the most profitable profitable message that we can give to someone to change their eternal destiny is the gospel you know what good is it if i give someone bread and water but they'll want that bread and water again they'll thirst again and they'll be hungry again but what if we give them of that water where they shall never thirst what if we give them of that bread where they shall never hunger what if we give them the gift that keeps on giving that's better you see at the end of the day we need to look at where is our true investment in i'm not against a motivational speech to get people going and get people encouraged to do whatever it may be but you know what the greatest thing that we can impart unto someone else is eternal life the greatest relationships that you can have in this world the greatest friendships you ever have are those which surround the gospel salvation why because the friends that you make through eternal life through salvation you will always have you'll always have you'll always know them you'll always see them you know family is important family is very much important amen but it becomes that much more important in salvation you know why because at that point you will see your family again after this life every person has a desire to see their family again every single person has a desire to see their mom again or their father their cousins their brothers but it's only through christ where this is possible right okay first corinthians 1 18 says for the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness but unto us which are saved it is the power of god the bible says verse uh chapter 2 verse 4 says in my speech and my preaching was not with enticing words of man's wisdom but in demonstration of spirit and of power go to john chapter 11 hold your place in first corinthians 15 and go to john chapter 11 now in john chapter 11 you hear the story where you have these two sisters who lost their brother okay lazarus he died okay and i think this can hit home to people just in general because we have family members who die right and you know the world the world that does not know the bible the world that does not know christ death is a horrible experience it's a terrible experience in fact it could just destroy someone's life it can literally derail someone for the rest of their life sometimes you think of parents who lost their children right that could completely derail them for the rest of their life it had to have a hard time recuperating from such a traumatic experience but death just in general is not a it's not a good thing for just people in general right and we see this that two sisters lost their brother and look what makes it even worse is the fact that jesus christ was walking on the earth during this time so what what are they what what is their common response is like man if christ had been here he had not died right look at verse 21 then said martha and to jesus lord if thou hadst been here my brother had not died but i know that even now whatsoever that will ask of god god will give it thee jesus saith unto her thy brother shall rise again what is he he's gonna come back again you know death for christians is only momentarily from our loved ones we only depart from them for just a moment they will rise again verse 24 martha said unto him i know that he shall rise again in the resurrection at the last day jesus said unto her 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 believeth thou this she saith unto him yea lord i believe that thou art the christ the son of god which should come into the world it says verse 26 whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die now look we all know that physically we're all going to die but is christ lying here no he's stating he's talking about the resurrection and look if you read first first thessalonians chapter 4 god specifically instructs us as believers to use this as comfort you know a lot of people even when they lose their loved ones they visit the grave sites over and over and over for years hispanic families they'll actually like have lunch at the grave sites why because they have a hard time kind of having closure of the dead their dead loved ones whereas christians on the other hand you know we understand that they're there their bodies are there but their spirits are not if they're saved okay but we also understand that we will see them again okay because they shall never die now go with me if you would to titus chapter 1 titus chapter 1 so if christ be not risen then christ is not risen you know if if the dead excuse me if the dead rise not christ is not risen if the dead rise not then our preaching is vain not just not just of the gospel by the way just preaching in general is in vain this preaching if we don't rise is completely vain you are dismissed if this is completely vain if this is empty why is that well because of the fact that the bible specifically instructs us to preach the word to be instant in season out of season to reprove rebuke exhort with all long suffering and doctrine and obedience to the bible's preaching will yield you a better resurrection look what titus 1 3 says it says but hath in due times manifested his word through preaching which is committed unto me according to the commandment of god our savior obedience to god's word yields a better resurrection okay now what do i mean by a better resurrection go to hebrews chapter 11 if you would what i mean by a better resurrection well as i mentioned if you're saved you're going to have a resurrection but the bible actually promises a little more than that if you're willing to put in the work okay it's like this it's basically if you're saved you everyone gets a brand new car but if you put in a little more work you'll you get the bells and whistles to go along with that vehicle as well new paint job and you know i don't know subwoofer or whatever pimp my ride type thing okay just put it that way you basically get a better resurrection so god not only promises you a resurrection but if you obey the commandments of the lord if you live for god if you see souls saved if you are a servant of the lord guess what you actually get something better so we all go on the same plane but some people go first class you know how many of you guys fly anybody front fly pretty frequently anybody okay you know when you fly you have it's like the worst feeling to go to that first aisle because you go through first class and you see they got all the leg room and you know just all the bells and whistles and the cheese you know would you like some cheese uh you know and i got my my cheese stick that i packed away or whatever but you go through that you're like wow this is first class huh you know they get the little things or whatever and then you sit down here just next to your person sorry sorry and you just apologize it's terrible okay now that's that's a bad illustration but it's kind of helping you to to understand what the resurrection is like because look both first class and coach fly on the same plane it's just that one actually gets treated a little better okay now they're both going to the same destination right but just one gets a little arrives there in some with some class with some with some extra bells and whistles you know you know instead of coke they have i don't know uh what's up what's a fancy soda come tell me what mexican coke you know what's up man there you go yeah instead of the little can they give you the actual bottle you know so that's what the better resurrection is like sort of okay what i'm saying is you get an upgrade is what you get now look you don't have to and if you choose not to labor for the lord if you choose not to win souls to christ if you choose not to live for god for the rest of your life if you believed on christ you still attain them to the resurrection but you know what if god's offering it why not if god is offering you a better resurrection why not take it you know what because you're going to be there for the rest of eternity and you know what i don't want i don't want to live in regret for the rest of eternity wishing i had done something in these 50 60 80 plus years that i'm here like man i should have taken those years to just work for god to win souls to christ and now you know instead of shining as bright as the sun i'm just like a fluorescent little light where the battery's about to go out okay look at hebrews 11 35 says this is the the chapter referring to the hall of faith we would call it the hall of faith those who live for god and exercise faith it says women received their dead raised again to life and others were tortured not accepting deliverance that they might obtain a better resurrection so we see here that there are women who received their dead back to life but there are others who are actually tortured and didn't accept that they didn't accept the deliverance why because they wanted a more glorious resurrection they were willing to suffer in this life for the sake of having a better resurrection you see to have a better resurrection you have to forego some things here in this world your time your talents your treasures you basically you don't accept certain things of this life because of the fact that you want that better resurrection are you a bad person if you choose not the better resurrection no you just don't get a better resurrection okay now go to revelation 20 revelation 20 if you would if the dead rise not then christ is not risen if the dead rise not our preaching is vain if the dead rise not this is the worst part we are yet in our sins that's not good news if the dead rise not because the bible says you don't have to turn there i'm in first corinthians 15 verse 14 says and if christ be not risen then our preaching vain and your faith is also vain verse 17 and if christ be not raised your faith is vain ye are yet in your sins the bible says the bible says in john chapter 5 verse 28 marvel not at this for the hour is coming into which all that are in the grave shall hear his voice and shall come forth they that have done good until the resurrection of life and they that have done evil until the resurrection of damnation now what is that referring to well here's the thing everyone everyone saved or unsaved christian or not will have a resurrection every single one of them you said what in the world i thought you said there's only the resurrection you know are those for believers those who believed on christ well yeah the resurrection unto life but there's actually a resurrection unto damnation where god will is going to literally resurrect your physical body so you can be judged according to your works like how can you how can a loving god do that well think about this first the first question you should be asking you is like wow how can a loving god send his son to die for me you know if you ask yourself that question first you won't have to ask the second one because the first question answers that god so loved the world it is willing to give a son for you okay look at revelation chapter 20 verse 11 and i saw a great white throne and in that sound on it from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away and there was final place for them and i saw the dead small and great stand before god and the books were opened and another book was open 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 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 you see the bible tells us that the great the great white throne judgment is for those who are resurrected unto damnation it's not so you can resurrect the sea if you've done enough good to get into heaven this resurrection is basically to show that you're just you're guilty this is why you're guilty and by the way the people who are being judged at this point have already spent the good part of their you know eternal lives i guess you could say in hell they're taken out of hell okay they're taken out of hell their bodies meet them because the bible says that the sea give up their dead great and small to be judged the bible says that the books are open what are the books that we're referring to these right here because though this is one book there's 66 different books within here and these 66 different books have the commandments of god so these this book is open and then the book of life is open and you're judged according to those things found in the books and at that point you're cast into the lake of fire so at the end of the day you do have a choice you're gonna have a resurrection all every single one will have a resurrection difference is if you believe on christ you get the resurrection into life but if you choose not to believe on christ he that hath not the sun hath not life and the wrath of god abideth on him your resurrection will be unto damnation well how can i change that just believe on christ and in fact look if there's someone here today that you're like i don't want to i don't want the resurrection into damnation i want the resurrection into life well you can change that today but i would say this don't leave these doors before you come talk to me or someone in this church to say hey and look we said well what do i how do i ask someone just go up to someone and say hey i want to be a part of that resurrection into life can you show me real quick don't leave here because here's the sad thing is that there's a lot of people in this world this this chapter we just read highlights people who could potentially are in this room right now you will find that resurrection unto damnation there is no hope in the afterlife if christ be not risen okay and this is basically go go to first thessalonians chapter 4 and we're done here first thessalonians chapter 4 you see at the end of the day you could either pay for your sins yourself or you can just accept the payment that god has already made with the blood of his son because the bible says that jesus christ is the propitiation for our sins and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world propitiation basically means that through his death the the wrath of god was placated so you could either allow jesus christ to pay for your sins or you could make the decision to pay for them yourselves i don't know about you but i'd rather have just jesus pay for them and thank god he did that for me 12 years ago for you it could be today look at uh first thessalonians chapter 4 and verse 13 we read this earlier but we're going to read a little more here it says but i would not have you ignorant brethren concerning them which are asleep this is referring to the fact that they've died that you sorrow not even as others which have no hope for if we believe that jesus died and rose again even so them also which sleep in jesus 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 shall not prevent them which are asleep 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 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 verse 18 wherefore comfort one another with these words with what words that we're going to see each other again now look if you're if you're here today you don't know that get it settled today to attain into the resurrection of eternal life why is the resurrection so important because of this because of this because it's directly tied to salvation we don't want anybody to leave here without knowing for sure that if you die today you go to heaven okay now i believe the vast majority of the people in this room know but look let me say this is that better to say i don't know than to act like you do know and potentially you know you're obviously you're not saved or you're not you don't you're not gonna attain into the eternal life better to just go to someone and say hey i need someone to tell me okay and look no one's gonna look down on you no one's gonna get mad there will they will happily show you from the bible how you can know for sure so why so we can see you at that resurrection amen inspire heads and have a word of prayer father we thank you so much for this day we're thankful for the resurrection of christ and what it means to us thank you for the promise of eternal life we're thankful that one day when we die and we're buried that our our souls and our bodies will meet together in the air for that great day of the lord and i pray god that you'd um you'd help us that we think upon the resurrection uh on a continual basis that that would be our motivation to preach the gospel to live for you uh to rescue people out of the fire as well but also just to live a life that's pleasing unto you while we're here because of the fact that we do want a better resurrection we're not perfect no one's perfect we make mistakes but may we attain for that better resurrection on a day in day out basis and i pray that you bless us for doing so lord i pray also if there's someone in here who's not saved that you would touch their hearts that they would not leave these doors without getting that settled first and lord we love you so much we thank you pray these things in jesus name amen