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Alright, let's get into the sermon then. So as I mentioned, 1 Corinthians 15 is my all-time, I've got a lot of favourite chapters. Sometimes when I preach I'm like, this is one of my favourites, but this is my all-time favourite chapter. It's got so many great truths. Now, what I like about this chapter, of course, we looked at the resurrection of Christ, and then it goes on to our resurrection. And for the longest time, growing up in church, I, as a child, I didn't know that God had like this future plan. Like, I thought, people get saved, people don't get saved, people die, they go to heaven, they go to hell, and that'll just continue forever. Like, I did not know that God, we'd just be in heaven, you know, that's kind of what I thought. That's the picture that I had as a child. I never had this idea that one day, I'm actually gonna have this new body, I'm gonna be like a physical body, walking this new heavens, new earth, you know, and that there's gonna be an end to sin, a complete end to sin in that sense. I did not understand that as a child. I guess, you know, the church that I was at, it wasn't really taught all that much. And that's why I love 1 Corinthians 15 so much. It's because, obviously, as a child, I knew about the resurrection of Christ. I mean, who doesn't know about the resurrection of Christ, right? But then to tie it into our resurrection, I thought was amazing that, you know, you have to believe both. I mean, you know, you can't really choose one over the other. Both of these truths come together. And the other thing that I found quite interesting, going through different churches in my life and mostly Baptist churches, and I didn't really hear this from churches that I was part of. I heard this mainly from other preachers in other churches. But this thought, and maybe you guys have heard this as well, that when Christ came the first time, that really, his plan A was not to die. His plan A, they say, was to bring in the kingdom for the nation of Israel. And because the Jews rejected him, well, he had to do a plan B. And just, oh, I guess I'm gonna die for the Gentiles or something. And so you got this plan B Gentile New Testament church as the plan B. And that was like, you know, again, I've not heard this in the churches that I've been part of, but other preachers, and I just, to me, it just never sat right with me. You know, I just, hold on. Isn't the whole, you know, when we think of churches, when you think about the icons, pictures that people use, usually the cross. And there's nothing wrong with the cross. I mean, that's an, you know, an important part of our faith, the fact that Christ died for our sins. But if we were going to find a symbol that really represents Christianity, it would be the empty tomb. I mean, that is really the, I guess, of greater importance because, you know, anyone could die on a cross, anyone could be buried, but not everybody rises from the dead with a new resurrected body, with a glorious body. You know, that is something, that is the great miracle, right? Something that stood out the fact that Jesus Christ showed he had victory over sin, over death, over hell, and over the grave. And that he can bring back life, you know, not just the life of others, but the life of himself. And so really the empty tomb should be, if we were going to choose a symbol representing Christianity, so that really should be the symbol. But anyway, as I said, I heard preaching people saying, well, you know, it's just a plan B. We just got in because the Jews rejected Christ kind of thing. It's like, that doesn't sit right with me at all, okay? Now let's look at 1 Corinthians 15 verse one. Now this is why it doesn't sit well with me. It says, moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel. So we're about to read what the gospel is. The gospel being declared, which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand, but which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain. See, some people have believed in vain. They haven't believed. They believe something that, yes, I'm a believer, but they haven't believed on the gospel, okay? Their belief is in vain, all right? So what is this gospel? Verse number three, for I delivered unto you first of all, that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins, and the next words are important, according to the scriptures, and that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day, according to the scriptures. See, the gospel, yes, it's the death, the burial, the resurrection of Christ, but it's a little bit more than that. It's the fact that it's according to the scriptures. Now, most often when you read in your New Testament and he mentions the scriptures or according to the scriptures, it's hearkening back to the Old Testament scriptures, to the writings of Moses, to the writings of the prophets, okay? That's when, now, I'm not saying the New Testament are not the scriptures, don't get me wrong, I can prove that another way, but often when the New Testament says according to the scriptures, it's referring to the writings of the Old Testament, okay? Because the New Testament was still being developed, obviously, at this point in time when the New Testament was being put together. And so to say that Christ's death and resurrection is some plan B, it's like, it just kind of happened. It wasn't really the ultimate plan, is in contrast to the fact that the gospel message is according to the scriptures, according to the Old Testament scriptures. You see, it's always been plan A for Christ to come to this earth and bring in salvation through his sacrifice. So what I really wanna do today, well, the title for this sermon this morning is Rose Again According to the Scriptures. Rose Again According to the Scriptures. So what I want to do is not so much preach, but more teach, okay, this morning. So I'm not gonna be expanding on the verses all that much like I normally do when I'm preaching. It's really gonna be a bit of a Bible study. So get your fingers ready, get your pens ready. I want you to, you know, if you can't have time to maybe turn to the scriptures, maybe jot it down for your future reference. But I just wanna show you how the Old Testament scriptures spoke of the resurrection, not just the death. We're looking at resurrection Sunday, the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ. Again, the title for the sermon this morning is Rose Again According to the Scriptures. So the first passage I want you to turn to is please, turn to Psalm 16. Turn to Psalm 16. Psalm 16 and verse number eight. Psalm 16 and verse number eight. Now this Psalm was written by King David, okay? And it says in Psalm 16 verse eight, I have set the Lord always before me, because he is at my right hand, I shall not be moved. I wanna stop there for a moment. He says, look, I've set God at my right hand. You know, the Lord God is always nearby. If I need help, I just turn to the right and he's right there, right? Speaking about his fellowship with the Lord, speaking about his prayer life. I've got the Lord right here at my right hand, he says. Let's keep going to verse number nine. Therefore, my heart is glad and my glory rejoiceth. My flesh also shall rest in hope. So it's like his flesh, his body, but he says my flesh will rest, okay? When you, basically it's talking about passing away. It's gonna rest, but when he passes away, it's going to rest in hope, okay? In hope of what? Verse number 10. For that will not leave my soul in hell. Now my question is, did King David go to hell? No, he didn't. He's a believer. As soon as King David passed away, he went to be with the Lord in heaven, okay? So yes, you know, when we look at these Psalms, these are Messianic Psalms. Yes, David speaks about his experience, but then we start to see prophetic words of Jesus Christ. In fact, it's no longer David that speaks really, it's the words of Jesus Christ. I mean, the whole Bible are the words of the Holy Ghost anyway, men moved by the Holy Ghost. So let's keep going there. It says in verse number 10, for that will not leave my soul in hell, neither will thou suffer thine holy one to see corruption. Now I can prove this one way, but basically that corruption is the corruption of the flesh. You know, when a body is buried, it starts to deteriorate, doesn't it? It starts to break down, and eventually all you're left is with bones, basically in the dirt. It gets all rotted away, eaten up by the worms or whatever else that you have there. So the flesh can suffer corruption, but it says you will not allow the holy one to see corruption. That's interesting. Why will his flesh not be corrupted in this sense? Well, of course, the flesh of David has seen corruption. It's not speaking about David, okay? It's speaking of, of course, the Lord Jesus Christ. Okay, so what we notice here is in, oh, sorry, I'll keep going. Verse number 11, it's about the resurrection, not so much about the death, okay? About the resurrection, now look at verse number 11. Thou wilt shew me the path of life. So we talk about Christ's death, but now we're saying, hey, no, we're gonna see the path of life. Look at this. In thy presence is fullness of joy. And then it says this. At thy right hand, there are pleasures forevermore. Remember when David said, I set the Lord at my right hand? But now it says at thy right, at God's right hand, there are pleasures forevermore. And if you know your New Testaments very well, we know about the resurrection of Christ, when he ascended up to be, to go to heaven, where is he situated right now? He's situated at the right hand of the Father, okay? So what do we see here? Death, we see the soul going to hell. We see that the flesh will not see corruption. In fact, the flesh rests in hope. And then we see that it receives that path of life, and it's seated there, situated there at the right hand of the Father. At thy right hand, there are pleasures forevermore. So this is not speaking about King David anymore, though I'm sure he's experiencing some anguish to be motivated and move our Holy Ghost to write these words, but really it is about the Lord Jesus Christ. And I'm going to quickly read to you from Acts 2 24. You don't need to turn there if you don't have time, but Acts 2 24, which in the New Testament confirms that this is about Jesus Christ. Because in Acts 2 24, it says, whom God have raised up, have you loosed the pains of death, because it was not possible that he should be holding of it. And then it says in verse 25, for David speaketh concerning him. So is David speaking concerning himself? No. David speaks concerning him, speaking of Jesus Christ. I foresaw the Lord always before my face, for he is on my right hand, that I should not be moved. You know when David said that he sets God at his right hand? He's speaking about Jesus right there. Jesus is at my right hand, he says. Okay? And then he keeps going, verse number 26. Therefore, did my heart rejoice, and my tongue was glad? Moreover, also my flesh shall rest in hope, because thou wilt not leave my soul in hell, neither wilt thou suffer, though in holy one, to see corruption. So you see, Acts chapter two explains that when David was moved to write this psalm, he did not write of himself, but he wrote of Jesus Christ. These are the words of Christ, about the resurrection. And Romans 8 34, who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us. So who's seated at the right hand of the Father? Jesus Christ. Okay? So that's beautiful. Rose again, risen again, according to the scriptures? Yes! In accordance to Psalm 16. Amen. All right, we go back to the Old Testament. We know about Jesus Christ already. The Bible is all about Christ. You know, the Old Testament points us to Christ. The New Testament points us back to Christ. The Bible is all about Christ. Amen. Praise God. It is according to the scriptures. It's not some plan B. Oh, what am I gonna do now? Okay, no, it's a plan A. Okay, from the very beginning, that Christ would come and lay down his life for us. You're there in the psalm, so please go to Psalm 22. Go to Psalm 22 in verse number one. Psalm 22, verse number one. Psalm 22, verse number one. Now these are words that I'm sure you all know where they come from. My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? Who says those words? Jesus Christ, when he's on the cross. Okay, when he took on sin for us, became the curse, became sin for us, and he was separated from the Father. We know these are the words of Jesus Christ. He keeps going there. Why art thou so far from helping me, and from the words of my roaring? All right, so we know that's about Christ. Drop down to verse number 16, just to further prove this is about Jesus Christ. Verse number 16. For dogs have come past me. The assembly of the wicked have enclosed me. Look at this. They pierced my hands and my feet. I mean, who is this about? Obviously, Jesus Christ's been crucified on that cross. Amazing. Verse number 17. I may tell all my bones. They look and stare upon me. To tell all my bones is to basically count. Okay, he can see his own bones. He's been whipped, he's been beaten. He sees his bones are sticking from his body there, you know? Verse number 18. They part my garments among them. They cast lots upon my vesture. Does that happen to Jesus? Do soldiers take his garments and cast lots to decide who's going to take what? Absolutely. This is about Jesus Christ. Verse number 19. But be not thou far from me, O Lord, O my strength. Haste thee to help me. And then it says in verse number 23, it says, Ye that fear the Lord, praise him. All ye seed of Jacob, glorify him, and fear him, all ye the seed of Israel. Actually, that's not the passage, that's not the verse I wanted to read. But say there in Psalm 22, let me just quickly turn there. Psalm 22. 19 and Psalm 22. Oh yeah, sorry, verse number 22. I read one verse down. Verse number 22. So, obviously we're looking at the death of Christ on the cross. And then look at verse number 22. I will declare thy name unto my brethren in the midst of the congregation, will I praise thee. How can these words be of Christ? That he will do this if he's dying on the cross. Well, the fact that Christ will do this, praise God, the Father there, in the midst of the congregation, proves that Christ will come back. That he's going to live again. And so once again, we see it in another passage in the Psalms. Not just the death of Christ, but the expectation that he's going to live again. The resurrection of Christ rose again according to the scriptures. Now, let's go to one of the most famous prophecies of Christ in the Old Testament, which is in the book of Isaiah. Please turn to Isaiah 53. Book of Isaiah, please, Isaiah 53. Isaiah 53 in verse number five. Isaiah 53 and verse number five. Just to give you the context here, Isaiah 53 verse five. But he was wounded for our transgressions. He was bruised for our iniquities. The chastisement of our peace was upon him, and with his stripes we are healed. Hey, who's the one that provides healing by his suffering? The suffering of his body right there. It's gotta be Jesus. Verse number six. All we like sheep have gone astray. We have turned everyone to his own way, and the Lord have laid on him the iniquity of us all. Verse number seven. He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth. He is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he opened not his mouth. All right, let's keep going there, verse number eight. So we know this is obviously about Christ, crucifixion. He did not fight back the charges that were laid against him. Christ knew his mission, his purpose was to die on that cross. It keeps going there, verse number eight. He was taken from prison and from judgment, and who shall declare his generation? For he was cut off out of the land of the living. To say cut off means he died. Cut off out of the land of the living, he died. For the transgression of my people was he stricken. Verse number nine. And he made his grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death, because he had done no violence, neither was any deceit in his mouth. So he speaks about his grave being buried there in that tomb. Now look at verse number 10. And this is the part where we see not just death, but the resurrection. Verse number 10. Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise him. He had put him to grief, when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin. He shall, now it says this, he shall see his seed. So not only will Christ die, but he's going to see his seed. And I preached on this not long ago. The fact that if you're in Christ Jesus, you make up that seed. That is the promises that were given to Abraham and to his seed. And so Christ will see his seed. Christ will see those that have believed on him. It says, let's keep going there. He shall see his seed. Look, he shall prolong his days. What? If this is just about the death of Christ, how can you say his days have been prolonged? It's because he's risen from the dead. And the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in his hand. It does not look like words of just a dead man, does it? Okay, this is of course Christ's pain, the ultimate penalty for our sins, but that he would have his days prolonged, that he would see his seed. He would see those that would believe on him. Praise God for the resurrected Savior. And so we can clearly see just a few passages here. And I've just gone through the most obvious clear black and white passages, just so you can see that these are words definitely about Jesus Christ. And the fact that an expectation of living again is found in these passages. So according to the scriptures, absolutely, according to the scriptures. Now, you know, you might say, well, yes, we can see there that we can see the resurrected Christ in the Old Testament, but it says, Pastor Kevin in 1 Corinthians 15, four, and that he was buried and that he rose again the third day, according to the scriptures. So does the scriptures teach us about the third day where Christ will be risen from the dead? Absolutely, absolutely. And if you can please turn to Matthew chapter 12, turn to Matthew chapter 12 for me. You turn to Matthew chapter 12. Matthew chapter 12. And while you're turning to Matthew chapter 12, I'm going to read to you from Jonah chapter one, verse 15. Jonah chapter, what's Jonah most famous for? We've been swallowed up by a whale. I mean, most kids have heard that story, right? I've been swallowed up by that whale. Why? Because he refused to preach the words that God wanted him to preach, all right? And I'll just quickly read to you from Jonah chapter one, verse 15. You go to Matthew 12, Jonah 1 15. It says, so they took up Jonah and cast him forth into the sea and the sea ceased from her raging. Then the men feared the Lord exceedingly and offered a sacrifice unto the Lord and made bows. Now, the Lord had prepared a great fish to swallow up Jonah and Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights. Say, pastor Kevin, that's about Jonah. That's not about Jesus. Jonah's the one that's in the belly of the fish for three days and three nights. Where in the scriptures does it say that Christ would rise again on the third day? We'll look at Matthew chapter 12, verse number 38. Matthew chapter 12, verse number 38. Then certain of the scribes and of the Pharisees answered saying, master, we would see a sign from thee. Don't forget that Christ has been doing amazing miracles at this point. You know, he's healing the sick. He's doing amazing things. And the Pharisees, we still wanna see a sign. What is the sign, great sign that you are the Christ? We'll look at what Jesus Christ says in verse number 39. And he answered and said unto them, an evil and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign and there shall no sign be given to it but the sign of the prophet Jonas. For as Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale's belly, so shall the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. So do the scriptures, the Old Testament scriptures testify of Christ being buried and rising three days later? Absolutely, though it's a little cryptic, you know? But what did I say earlier? The Bible is about Christ. I thought I was reading the story of Jonah. Yes, you are, but it's about Christ. Everything is about Christ. Every book of the Bible is about Jesus Christ. You just have to find him. And what's wonderful about the New Testament, many times it goes back to these cryptic writings about Christ and just declares it openly that it's always been about Christ. It's amazing, it's always been about Christ. We've seen some black and white scriptures. Yep, it's definitely Christ, rising from the dead. We've seen some cryptic passages here in the book of Jonah. Jesus Christ himself testifying that this was about him. This would be a sign. And again, listen, when we go and we preach the gospel to the community, what are we preaching? The death, the burial, the resurrection of Jesus Christ. The sign that he would rise again. He would not be held down in death for eternity. No, but that he would rise again from the dead. That's the gospel message, right? If they're seeking after some other sign, I'll believe if God just appeared in front of me, hey, they're just telling us they're a wicked and adulterous generation. And the only sign they're going to receive is a sign that we're given. You know, don't get distracted. If people try to debate you about creation, people try to debate you about whatever, all right? Or they try to say, you know, just, no. The only thing you need to hear is the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. That's what I'm here to do at your door. You want to talk about anything else? See you later. I'm going next door where maybe somebody will be ready to hear the gospel. Okay, so we don't get distracted. Jesus Christ was not distracted. The Pharisees, show me a sign. Look, it wouldn't have been that hard for Jesus to just do some miracle right in front of them. Okay, because no, you got the sign of Jonas. Okay, three days and three nights, speaking about himself, rising from the dead. All right, can you please turn to Genesis 22? Turn to Genesis 22. Do we have any other important passages in the Bible that just teach us about Christ and his resurrection? Absolutely there is, okay? And now that we understand that a lot of the stories in the Bible are to teach us about Christ, are to be signs or pictures or foreshadowings or types of Christ, then we can better understand the story that we read here in Genesis 22. Genesis 22, verse number five, Genesis 22, verse number five. This is the famous story of Abraham, who prepared himself to offer Isaac as a sacrifice. God had challenged, tempted, testing Abraham to see whether he would be faithful. Abraham, it took him a long time and his wife to have this child. They believed that maybe they were too old to have a child and they ended up bringing forth Ishmael through the bondmaid. But no, God did deliver on his promise. Abraham receives Isaac, his son, and then God says, look, can you sacrifice Isaac, your son? Okay, and it says here in Genesis 22, verse five. And so, I'll just bring you up to speed. So he starts on a journey with his son, Isaac, to go to the place where the sacrifice will be, okay? And they begin the journey with some servants. And it says here in verse number five, and Abraham said unto his young men, so that's unto his servants, abide ye here with the assholes. Just stay here with the donkey. Then he says these words, and I and the lad will go yonder and worship. We know he's gonna go sacrifice his son. But then he says this, and come again to you. He says, the lad and I, we're going to go worship. He doesn't say I'm gonna sacrifice him. But then he says, we're coming back, okay? Do you see that immediately? Abraham had an expectation that not only would he offer up Isaac as a sacrifice, that he would come back with Isaac to meet up with the other servants and the donkey, okay? Abraham already knew that if he was to kill his son, that his son would rise from the dead, okay? Let's keep going there, verse number six. And Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering and laid it upon Isaac his son. Of course, that's picturing the fact that Christ would bear his own cross on himself as he walked out of Jerusalem. And laid it upon Isaac his son, and he took the fire in his hand and a knife, and they went both of them together. And Isaac spake unto Abraham his father and said, my father, and he said, here am I, my son. And he said, behold the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for the burnt offering? And Abraham said, my son, God will provide himself a lamb for the burnt offering. I love that about the King James Bible. The fact that it says that God will provide who? Himself, okay, for a burnt offering. Himself a lamb, we know who the lamb was, the lamb that taketh away the sin of the world. And so, you know, I mean, Abraham's already speaking prophetically to his son, that one day God will provide himself as that lamb, okay? And let's keep going there, verse number eight. Sorry, verse number nine. And they came to the place which God had told him of, and Abraham built an altar there and laid the wood in order and bound Isaac his son and laid him on the altar upon the wood. And Abraham stretched forth his hand and took the knife to slay his son. And before I keep reading, God never wants human sacrifice, okay? God was not expecting that Abraham would completely carry out this process of murdering his only son, okay? No, what are we seeing here? We're seeing a picture, we're seeing symbolism, just like Jonah in the whale's belly, a symbol of Christ. We are seeing symbolism here of a father willing to sacrifice his son. Of course, that pictures God the Father seeking and ultimately did sacrifice Jesus Christ, his son. And look at verse number 11. And the angel of the Lord called unto him out of heaven and said, Abraham, Abraham. And he said, here am I. And he said, lay not thine hand upon the lad, neither do thou anything unto him. For now I know that thou fearest God, seen thou has not withheld thy son, thine only son from me. So it was a test. God was testing Abraham. You know, would you prioritize God or do you prioritize the life of your son? Abraham said, no, I'm gonna prioritize obedience to my Lord God, even if it means the sacrifice of my son. All right, can you please turn to Hebrews 11. Hebrews 11, verse 17, please. I haven't finished on the topic of Abraham just yet, okay. But I wanted to show you, even in the Old Testament, Abraham was expecting that he and his lad, his son, the lad, his son, would come back, okay, from their journey worshiping the Lord God. And what's wonderful again about the New Testament, it just cements the fact that Abraham was expecting a resurrection if his son would die. Hebrews 11, verse 17, Hebrews 11, verse number 17. Hebrews 11, 17 says, by faith Abraham, when he was tried or tested, offered up Isaac and he that had received the promises offered up his only begotten son, of whom it was said that in Isaac shall thy seed be called. Now look at verse number 19, accounting that God was able to raise him up, even from the dead. Do you see that? The New Testament confirms. Abraham just, I know, if I carry this out and I sacrifice his son, as hard as it is, I'm expecting that God's gonna raise him up from the dead. Why? Why was he expecting that? Let's keep going there. From whence also he received him in a figure. Isaac was a figure. He was a picture. He was a object lesson, okay. He was to symbolize Jesus Christ. Abraham knew that Christ would rise from the dead. And if my son is this figure, this Old Testament figure of Christ, not only will he die, I know that God will raise him from the dead. So what do we learn there? That Abraham knew about the death, the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Abraham knew, okay. And again, we have this wonderful story, this symbolism in the Old Testament, according to the scriptures, that Christ would rise from the dead. So don't tell me it's some plan B. Don't tell me, you know, God was not expecting the Jews to reject him, therefore he had to go and die on the cross. Don't tell me that. It's found all, and I'm just giving you the most basic, obvious ones that are out there. You know, if you spend time in the Bible, you'll find other passages that speak of the sacrifice, the death, the burial, the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. Now I'm going to get you to turn to John chapter two. Turn to John chapter two. One other thing that I love about the resurrection of Jesus is the question that, the question is who rose Christ from the dead? Who did it? You say, well, God did it. Well, of course God did it. Okay, so it's only a supernatural miracle that God can do. But I love this about the Bible. I love this about the resurrection of Christ so much. You go to John chapter two and I'll read to you some other passages. I'm reading to you from Galatians 1, one. You say that in John chapter two. Galatians 1, one says, Paul an apostle, not of men, neither by man, but by Jesus Christ. Then he says, and God the father who raised him from the dead. Hey, who raised Jesus from the dead? God the father, amen. All right, but that's not the end of it, okay? Let me read to you from Romans 8, 10. Romans 8, 10. It says, and if Christ be in you, the body is dead because of sin, but the spirit is life because of righteousness. See brethren, we have this spirit of the Holy Spirit, the spirit of life. Then it says in verse 11, but if the spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his spirit that dwelleth in you. So who rose Christ from the dead? According to Romans chapter eight, the Holy Spirit did. The same Holy Spirit that lives inside of you, that indwells you. And the promise was there. It says, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken or make alive your mortal bodies by his spirit that dwelleth in you. The fact that we have the Holy Spirit live in us gives us further proof, further confirmation that one day we too will rise from the dead. Because he rose Jesus Christ from the dead. So who rose Jesus from the dead? The father did. The Holy Spirit did. Okay, and you're there in John chapter two verse 19. John chapter two verse 19. Jesus answered and said unto them, destroy this temple and in three days I will raise it up. Hey, who's going to raise up this temple? Jesus himself. I will raise it up, he says. Then said the Jews, 40 and six years was his temple in building. And will thou rear it up in three days? But he spake of the temple of his body. His body. Hey, who rose up the body of Christ from the dead in three days? I, he says, will raise it up. Jesus Christ said these words. Who rose Jesus from the dead? Himself, okay. I love that, I love that. You know, when you think about God, his triune nature, God in three persons, they were all involved in raising Jesus from the dead. You know, and that's another reason why, we're a Baptist church, don't forget that. That's another reason when we do baptisms, we baptize in the name of the father and of the son and of the Holy Ghost. Why do we do that? Because all free members, all free persons, however you want to say it, of God was involved in the rising of Christ. You know, baptism is, you know, baptism pictures the fact that we're buried in Christ Jesus. You know, we're buried as it were in his tomb and we rise again from that, we rise out of that water, picturing the resurrection of Jesus Christ. That's why we do it in accordance to the name of the father and of the son and of the Holy Ghost. You know, to just baptize in Jesus name only, I mean, I mean, you know, name of Jesus is all powerful, but you're neglecting the fact that the father was involved, the Holy Spirit was involved. You know, even when it came to the baptism of Jesus in Luke 3 21, now when all the people were baptized, it came to pass that Jesus also being baptized and praying the heaven was open, verse number 22, and the Holy Ghost descended in a bodily shape like a dove upon him, and a voice came from heaven which said, thou art my beloved son in thee, I am well pleased. That voice from heaven, my son is obviously the father. The Holy Ghost falling upon Jesus as he was baptized, Christ himself being there physically in person as he entered in that water and rose again. You know, even the picture, or not a picture, even the fact that Christ was baptized, what do you notice? All three persons of the trinity, of the trial nature of God involved in that process of that resurrection. You know, this was the beginning of Christ's ministry. He said, no, this is what I'm gonna start with. I'm gonna start my ministry by baptism, which what, pictures the fact that he was going to die and rise again from the dead. All right, can you please turn back to 1 Corinthians where we had the reading from? 1 Corinthians 15, 1 Corinthians 15. I hope you're enjoying the Bible study so far. 1 Corinthians 15, verse 12. 1 Corinthians 15, verse 12. Now, the Corinthian church was infested with false brethren, was infested with false prophets. And obviously, if you've got a church infested with these kinds of people, even the believers, even God's people can start getting messed up in doctrine. Okay, Paul had a big job to do to clean up the errors of the Corinthian church. And one of the errors that was being taught in the Corinthian church, in 1 Corinthians 15, verse 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? Okay, this is kind of like, as a child, it's not that I didn't believe in a resurrection, I just didn't know about it. Like I said to you, I just thought world just continues as it is. I didn't realize there was this like, physical resurrection, this rapture, the end times and the coming of Christ, that was beyond my understanding for a while as a child until I started to realize, God has this ultimate plan, okay? But you know, there was some in the Corinthian church that was basically saying, it's not like they just didn't know, they were preaching against the idea of a resurrection. He says, look, if Christ rose from the dead, how can there be no resurrection? Like I told you earlier, the fact that Christ rose from the dead, it comes together, you cannot separate our own resurrection because we're in Christ Jesus, because we have the Holy Spirit living in us, the same Holy Spirit that rose Christ from the dead. Verse number 13, it says this, but if there be no resurrection of the dead, then is Christ not risen? So if you go around teaching that there is no resurrection, even for believers, you might as well just say that Christ did not rise from the dead. Okay, that's how bad the doctrine is. It's a complete false doctrine, okay? It's another gospel is what it is, if you're actually saying that Christ did not rise from the dead, okay? It's another gospel. Hey, who teaches that Christ did not rise from the dead bodily? The Jehovah's Witnesses, okay? That's another gospel, they're not saved, it's a cult, it's not even Christianity. You know, I mean, if you want that label of Christianity, you must at least believe that Christ rose bodily from the dead, okay? Anyway, we're getting sidetracked. Verse number 14, look how bad this is. And if Christ be not risen, then is our preach in vain, and also your faith is also vain. Vain means empty, it's worthless. Yea, and we have found false witnesses of God. That's what the Jehovah's Witnesses are. False witnesses of God that do not believe Christ rose again bodily from the dead, okay? This is, that's it. Like, if you don't believe in that resurrection of Christ, then you are found as false witnesses of God. Because we have testified of God that He raised up Christ, whom He raised not up, if so be it that the dead rise not. For if the dead rise not, then is not Christ raised. And if Christ be not raised, your faith is vain, yea, yet in your sins. So notice how important the doctrine of Christ's resurrection is. So important. If there is no resurrection, if you teach, we don't even have a resurrection, you're also teaching that Christ do not rise from the dead. And if you're teaching that Christ do not rise from the dead, you're basically saying, we're still in our sins and we're gonna die and go to hell. It's another gospel, okay? I mean, I've never really heard that being taught in any major church, but hey, if someone starts saying those words, you know, this is the false prophet. You know they're a false witness. They're not teaching you the truth of God's word. Verse number, what am I up to? 18. And then we have, speaking of Christ's resurrection, oh, death and resurrection, verse 18. Then they also which are fallen asleep in Christ are perished. So even the believers that have died, they perished. They're just burning in hell for eternity, okay? Verse number 19. If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable. Reverend, if there's no resurrection and all we can hope in Christ is living today, that's it, this is all we hope for, then we're just miserable people. Why do you go to church? Ah, just miserable. No, that's not us. We have a hope, we have an expectation, okay? This is not, this life, this vapour, this potentially 70, 80 years that we live, you know, 100 years, if God blesses you that long, it's so insignificant. It's so small in comparison to eternity, in comparison to a thousand years with Christ. How exciting. So we're not most miserable, verse number 20. But now is Christ risen from the dead and become the firstfruits of them that slept. For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive. So, brethren, every single human being that lives on this planet is in Adam in that sense, because we have all come from Adam and Eve. And if you come from Adam and Eve, every single human being will die. But if you want to be made alive, you not only need to be found in Adam, because that body's going to perish, but you need to be found in Christ. Even so, in Christ shall all be made alive. If you're saved, if you believe in the Lord, you've caught upon his name for salvation. You can be sure that you'll be made alive once again. You'll have that resurrection, okay, and you'll be made like unto Christ. Let's drop down to verse number 50. Same chapter, 1 Corinthians 15, 50. Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, neither of corruption inherit incorruption. Brethren, we can't go to heaven with these fleshly bodies. Okay, this flesh and blood, it's sinful. Why do we want to go to this perfect place and take our sinful bodies? We'll destroy it, okay, we'll destroy it. Flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God. And let me also say, if someone preaches that salvation is by cleaning up this body, you've got to turn from your sins to be saved. What are you saying? So you've got to clean this body to be saved? Flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God. In Adam, we don't go to heaven. We go to heaven in Christ. But you've got to deal with your sins, yes. We deal with them or we dealt with them on the cross. 2,000 years ago when Christ was crucified, our sins was crucified with him, all right? I mean, that's how we deal with sin. Christ paid for it, okay, he paid for it all. Do you believe you've got to turn from sins? Of course turn from sins. Most of my preaching is about turning from sins, but not to be saved. Salvation is trust in Christ alone, okay? Here's death, here's burial, here's resurrection. Verse number 51, behold, I show you a mystery. We shall not all sleep. That means we're not all going to die, but we shall all be changed. So even if we live to the rapture, okay, our bodies are still going to change, okay? Verse number 52, in a moment in the twinkling of an eye at the last trump, for the trumpet shall sound and the dead shall be raised incorruptible and we shall all be changed. For this corruptible, that's our bodies, corruptible bodies, must put on incorruption and this mortal must put on immortality. I'm so worried that I've been vaccinated with all these poisons and I've breathed in the chemtrails past the cavern and I'm drinking the fluoride water. It's all corruptible anyway. Even before those things were invented in the time of Paul, the bodies were already corrupted and corrupted with a greater poison, the poison of sin that sends your soul to hell. But Brevin, don't worry, we're going to get new ones. Incorruptible bodies, immortal bodies, bodies that will never die. Can you please turn to John chapter 11, we'll end on this one. John chapter 11, John chapter number 11. John chapter number 11. And so Brevin, why is it so exciting? You know, not just, you know, an Easter Sunday, it's good, you know. Again, I'm preaching nothing you guys already know. But it's so good to remember Christ, it's so good to remember his sacrifice and to rejoice in his resurrection. So good, it's so good. And then that hope, well, we're going to be resurrected. I'm going to live forever. You know, Christ has power over death. You know, yeah, okay, this body dies. In Adam, this body's going to die. But as soon as his body perishes in Christ, I'm with Jesus Christ. I'll be in heaven. I know that for sure. Once saved, always saved. There's no, look, I don't have to sit there in doubt. You know, I was talking to someone on the phone once, was it on the phone? Or even, yeah, I mean, I have several conversations, even in person once. And I told him, look, I just know for sure that if I close my eyes and perish right now, that I'll open up in heaven. And they're like, what, amazed, like what, you really have that confidence? Yeah, just as confident as I am that Christ rose from the dead, I'm confident that I'm going to be in heaven and one day have a new resurrected body. You can't separate these doctrines. It's all one and the same. The power of the resurrection. Anyway, John chapter 11, verse 17. And we're looking at the story of Lazarus, Lazarus who died. You know, Lazarus was one of Jesus' close friends. And it says here in John chapter 11, verse 17. And when Jesus came, he found that he had lain, sorry, he found that he had lain in the grave four days already. So Lazarus is already dead for four days, all right? I mean, he's definitely dead, okay? Verse number 18. Now Bethany was nigh unto Jerusalem, about 15 furlongs off. And many of the Jews came to Martha and Mary. Martha and Mary were the sisters of Lazarus. In fact, it says, to comfort them concerning their brother. All right, so this is normal practice. You lose a loved one, people you know are gonna come alongside you and try to comfort you, encourage you, come alongside and weep with you, all right? Just to show that you understand that they've experienced a great loss, your mourning. This is good things to do. This is not wrong. These are good practices to have, all right? Verse number 20. Then Martha, as soon as she heard that Jesus was coming, went and met him, but Mary sat still in the house. Then said Martha unto Jesus, Lord, if thou hadst been here, my brother had not died. I almost feel like Martha's a little bit angry at Jesus by these words. If you just stayed with us, Jesus, my brother would not have died, why? Because we've seen Jesus perform miracle after miracle after miracle of healing the sick, you know? And like, you know, we're your friends, Jesus. You've gone out there. You know, this is the kind of thought that I get from Martha with those words. You know, you're out there healing all these other people. What have it asked? You're friends. You know, if you just had been here, my brother had not died. But I know that even now, and these are the words of Martha, remember, this is under Old Testament times. Okay, what does Martha say? But I know that even now, whatsoever thou will ask of God, God will give it thee. And then Jesus Christ says in verse number 23, Jesus saith unto her, thy brother shall rise again. Look what Martha says in verse number 24. Martha saith unto him, I know that he shall rise again in the resurrection at the last day. How did Martha know that? The New Testament wasn't written yet. Why? Because we know about the resurrection according to the scriptures. Martha's living in the Old Testament times. You know, she probably doesn't even have a copy of the Old Testament. You know, in these days, you would have to go to the synagogues to hear, you know, the Bible read. I mean, you know, they didn't have these printing presses like we do now. They didn't have the internet. We can just download an app on your phone or whatever and have the Bible. Praise God for the technology. Praise God for the, you know, for what we've been given. You know, the fact that we can have all six schools of Bible and we just take it for granted. But somehow Martha knew by the teaching of the Old Testament that there will be a resurrection at the last day. And I love these words from Jesus. Verse number 25, Jesus saith unto her, I am the resurrection. Whoa, man, how good is that? We think of the resurrection, okay, we're coming back to life, but Jesus is the resurrection. There is no resurrection without Jesus. There is no such thing. You know, there are some religions that teach, what do they call it, you know, when you come back? Like if you're really bad, you come back as a worm or something. Reincarnation. That's basically a type of resurrection, okay? A type that you will come back, you know, and if you lived a good life, you know, you did the best, maybe you'll come back and be a rich man on the earth. But if you've just been this horrible person on the earth, you know, religions like Hinduism, religions like Buddhism, they teach these kinds of things. And if you've been wicked, you'll just come back as a caterpillar maybe. And you've got to work your way back up to be a man. And you're like, their goal, their thought of heaven is you just work your way up to be this ultimate person and then you kind of cease to exist. That's like heaven for them. You know, you just cease to exist. But no, we believe in life eternal. You know, that's our hope. That's what we get excited about. To live forever in a place without sin, without a sinful body. But I love the words, I am the resurrection. There is no resurrection without Jesus Christ. You must be in Christ Jesus to be saved. If people believe in some other, look, was it Billy Graham? Who was it that said that God has a people in all religions? If they just follow their, is it Billy Graham? It is Billy Graham, yeah. If people just follow their lights, right? If the Buddhist just follows the light of their religion and the Muslims, they just follow the light of their Islam. And if the atheist just follows the best light they can, then God has a people and he's bringing them from all these places and they'll just, they'll all be in heaven. Even if they've never heard the name of Christ. That's rubbish. Jesus says, I am the resurrection. You cannot have it without Christ. So important that we preach the gospel of Jesus. So important, brethren. I am the resurrection and the life. He that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live. So what do we have to do to be saved? He that believeth in me. Is that it, Jesus? Yep, though he were dead, yet shall he live. Why didn't Jesus say he that believeth in me and goes to church? He that believeth in me and actually cleans up their life and gets rid of all their sins and reads the Bible cover to cover and gets baptized and lives a righteous life and brings 10 people to church at least. And I don't know, man. What a burden, what a burden. No, Jesus Christ, you just believe in me? Here's the resurrection, here's the life. And though he were dead, yet shall he live. Verse number 26. And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Believest thou this? She said unto him, Yea, Lord, I believe that thou art the Christ, the Son of God, which should come into the world. Amazing, that's what salvation is, brethren. You know, Martha's just testifying of what she's already believed. She's already believed in Jesus, okay? And Jesus has just given her a little bit further understanding, I am the resurrection. You know about the resurrection, but it's actually all through me. You know, she goes, yeah, I know, I believe, right? She's already a believer of the Lord Jesus Christ. That's all that is required to be saved, okay? What a beautiful thing. And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Believest thou this? We already saw that the body dies, but that body's not going to inherit heaven anyway, brethren. As I said to you, you know, we're never, if you're in Christ Jesus, you're never going to experience real death. As I said, this body will perish, you just look again, and there we are in heaven. There we are with the Lord Jesus Christ. Or at the very least, being carried by the angels for a brief moment before we see Jesus Christ. I'm not sure how it all works, okay? But we were going to live forever in Christ Jesus. We're going to be resurrected because we are in him. All right, brethren, the title for the sermon was Rose Again According to the Scriptures. It was never a plan B. It's always been recorded for us in the Old Testament. Even Martha herself knew, before the New Testament was written, that there would be a resurrection from the dead. Okay, let's pray.