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

Thank you very much. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Good morning everybody. Happy Easter. It's great to see everybody here on Resurrection Sunday. If we can all find our seats, we'll go ahead and get started in song number 33. Song number 33, Christ the Lord is risen today. Song number 33. Everybody's singing out real loud on the verse. Christ the Lord is risen today. Hallelujah. Sons of men and angels say Hallelujah. Raise your joys to triumph's height. Sing ye heavens and earth reply. Hallelujah lives again our glorious King. Hallelujah. Where O death is now thy sting. Hallelujah. Dying once ye all does save. Hallelujah. Where thy victory O great. Fights the deeming work is done. Hallelujah. Fought the fight the battle won. Hallelujah. Death in vain forbids him rise. Hallelujah. Christ has opened paradise. Everybody on the fourth. Soar we now where Christ has led. Hallelujah. Following our exalted head. Hallelujah. Made like him like him we rise. Hallelujah. Ours the cross the great the sky. Hallelujah. All right great job everybody. Let's all pray together. Thank you Lord for sending your son to die on the cross for us Lord and giving us his resurrection Lord. We love you and we just ask you to bless this service and we ask it in Jesus name. Amen. All right for our next song let's go to song number 17. Song number 17. One day. Song number 17. Everybody's singing out real loud on the first. One day when heaven was filled with his praises. One day when sin was as dark as could be. Jesus came forth to be born of a virgin. Dwelled amongst men my example is he. Living he loved me dying he saved me. My sins far away rising he justified freely forever one day he's coming oh glorious day. Up Calvary's mountain one day they nailed him to die on the tree. Suffering anguished despised and rejected. Bearing our sins my Redeemer is he. Living he loved me. Buried he carried my sins far away. Rising he justified freely forever. One day he's coming oh glorious day. One day they left him alone in the garden. Angels came down or his tomb to keep vigil. Hope of the hopeless my Savior is he. Living he loved me dying he saved me. Buried he carried my sins far away. Freely forever one day he's coming oh glorious day. One day the grave could conceal him no longer. One day the stone rolled away from the door. Then he arose over death he had conquered. Living he loved me dying he saved me. Buried he carried my sin far away. Rising he justified freely forever. One day he's coming oh glorious day. One day the trumpet will sound for his coming. One day the skies with his glories will shine. Wonderful day my beloved one bringing. Glorious Savior this Jesus is mine. He loved me dying he saved me. Buried he carried my sins far one day he's coming oh glorious day. Great job. Good morning and happy Easter if you did not already get a bulletin you would like one please lift up your hand nice and high one of our ushers and come by get you guys a bulletin on the front we have our Bible memory passage for the week revelation 110 and then on the inside we have our service times are so winning times church stats continue to please update your soul winning captains with all of your church information we have our list of expecting ladies if you'd please also please also be in prayer for them we have our prayer list and please continue to pray for them one to add if you just pray for those are minnows the great his grandmother had passed away so if you just add that to your prayer list on the back we have the note about a baby shower in the honor of the niguiras it's gonna be Saturday April 15th from 1230 to 230 the address is listed there in the bulletin please RSVP to miss Milstead so that way she can help plan everything accordingly also they're registered a baby list if you'd like to get them a gift or if you can even bring a dish or dessert to share that is a big blessing it is nursing's only preferred our Mother's Day tea is May 15th and then also we have some church reminders there please just take note of those also upcoming events our Bahamas missions trip is April 24th through the 29th that's coming up just just as a reminder we have some newer information and some newer items that we can use for soul winning but we have our movie tickets that we've gotten for their preserved Bible and so those are nice to hand out we also have a second movie ticket and it's for the sodomite deception as well so they're both kind of the same concept and they got the QR codes on the back it has a gospel and multiple languages so you can use these freely I usually just put these on the door so you have a lot of those to be able to hand out also our our DVD sleeves came in so the preserved Bible I popped one in and it worked so I haven't tested all of them but you know they should work also these do have a QR code on the back as well so you know even if usually what I ask people is I just say hey do you guys have a DVD player or something like that if they do or they would like one I give it to them otherwise I say hey just scan this QR code and you can watch the film for free online seems like a lot of people that play video games still have a DVD player but other than that I mean it's pretty hard to find so that's about it but we still like to have them we've got plenty to take down with us to the Bahamas as well and so I'm very excited about this it came out really good and so that's pretty much all I have as far as announcements are concerned one other thing tonight we're gonna have our Lord's Supper immediately following the evening service so if you'd like to participate in that please do come for our evening service that's pretty much all I have we'll go ahead and go to our third song we're gonna do Psalm 126 it's in our special handout if you don't have one look on with a neighbor and or you could even use your Bible Psalm 126 all right that was Psalm 126 number 126 when the Lord turned again the captivity of Zion they are like them that dream then with us our mouth filled with laughter and our tongues with singing then said they among the heathen the Lord had done great things for them the Lord had done great things for us where of we are glad turn again our captivity Oh Lord as the streams in the south they that so in tears shall reap in joy they that so in tears shall reap in joy among the heathen the Lord had done great things for up the Lord had done great things for them they are they are glad fourth and we've been bearing precious seed shall doubtless come again shall doubtless come again with rejoicing bringing his sheaves with him then said they among the heathen the Lord had done great things for them the Lord had done great things for us where of we are glad all right great job everybody now as the offering plates are being passed around go ahead and turn in your Bibles to 1st Corinthians chapter 15 that's 1st Corinthians chapter number 15 1st Corinthians chapter 15 the Bible reads moreover brethren I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you which also ye have received and were in ye stand by which also ye are saved if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you unless ye have believed in vain for I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures and that he was buried and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures and that he was seen of Cephas then of the twelve after that he was seen of above five hundred brethren at once of whom the greater part remained under this present but some are fallen asleep after that he was seen of James then of all the Apostles and last of all he was seen of me also as of one born out of due time for I am the least of the Apostles that am NOT meet to be called an apostle because I persecuted the Church of God but by the grace of God I am what I am and his grace which was bestowed upon me was not in vain but I labored more abundantly than they all yet not I but the grace of God which was with me therefore whether it were I or they so we preach and so ye believed 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 is our preaching vain and your faith is also vain yay and we are found false witnesses of God because we have testified of God that he raised up Christ whom he raised not up if so be 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 ye are yet in your sins then they also which are fallen asleep in Christ are perished if in this life only we have hope in Christ we are of all men most miserable 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 but every man in his own order Christ the firstfruits afterward they that are Christ said is coming then come at the end when he shall have delivered up the kingdom to God even the father when he shall have put down all rule and all authority and power for he must reign till he hath put all enemies under his feet the last enemy that shall be destroyed is death for he had put all things under his feet but when he sayeth all things are put under him it is manifest that he is accepted which did put all things under him and when all things shall be subdued unto him then shall the Sun also himself be subject unto him that put all things under him that God may be all in all else what shall they do which are baptized for the dead if the dead rise not at all why are they then baptized for the dead 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 man I have fought with beasts at Ephesus what advantages it me if the dead rise not let us eat and drink for tomorrow we die be not deceived evil communications corrupt good manners awake to righteousness and sin not for some have not the knowledge of God I speak this to your shame but some man will say how are the dead raised up and with what body do they come thou fool that which thou sowest is not quickened except it die and 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 had pleased him and to every seed his own body all flesh is not the same flesh but there was one kind of flesh of men another flesh of beasts another of fishes and another of birds there are also celestial bodies and bodies terrestrial but the glory of the celestial is one and the glory of the terrestrial is another there was one glory of the Sun and another glory of the moon and another glory of the stars for one star defereth from another star in glory so also is 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 and so it is written the first man Adam was made a living soul the last Adam was made a quickening spirit how be it that was not first which is spiritual but that which is natural and afterward that which is spiritual the first man is of the earth earthy the second man is the Lord from heaven as is the earthy such are they also that are earthy and as is the heavenly such are they also that are heavenly and as we have borne the image of the earthy we shall also bear the image of the heavenly now this I say brethren that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God neither does corruption inherit incorruption behold I show you a mystery we shall not all sleep but we shall all be changed 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 be changed for this corruptible must put on incorruption and this mortal must put on immortality so when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption and this mortal shall have put on immortality then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written death is swallowed up in victory Oh death where is thy sting Oh grave where is thy victory the sting of death is sin and the strength of sin is the law but thanks be to God which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ therefore my beloved brethren be steadfast unmovable always abounding in the work of the Lord for as much as you know that your labor is not in vain in the Lord let's pray father in heaven we thank you for the gospel of Jesus Christ we thank you for the free gift of salvation for everlasting life and I pray that you help us to remember these crucial spiritual truths about our salvation today help us to put Christ at the center of our lives and live for him with everything we've got and I pray that you fill pastor Shelley with your spirit now as he preaches to us in Jesus name I pray amen amen 1st Corinthians 15 is a real famous portion of Scripture for being the resurrection chapter and of course what a great day to preach on the resurrection is Easter Sunday because Christ is risen and this is such an important doctrine the doctrine of reservation of the resurrection excuse me and so the title of my sermon this morning is the significance of the resurrection the significance of the resurrection notice in verse 1 the Bible says moreover brethren I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you which also you have received and wherein you stand by which also you're saved if you keep in memory what I preached unto you unless you believed in vain now point number one is really simple but what makes the resurrection so significant is that it gives us salvation point one is it gives us salvation and notice very clearly in verse 2 it says by which also ye are saved so he tells us that the gospel is what saves us and he says that you have to keep in memory what I preached unto you unless you believed in vain now what's so silly about verse number two is so many people will take verse two and then they'll try to teach a works-based salvation they'll say well if you don't continue you know following the commandments if you don't continue in good works if you don't continue doing right if you don't continue going to church well then you've just believed in vain but that is just taking this one verse and isolating it away from the entire context of the chapter because what the Apostle Paul is trying to differentiate is a belief of the gospel and then a belief that's not in the gospel okay so let's keep reading and let's see what it says look at verse 3 for I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures and that he was buried and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures so the Bible gives us the gospel it is the death burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ the word gospel means good news but as defined in Scripture it is the death burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ also the Bible will sometimes just talk about his entire life his entire ministry as being the gospel you can look at books like Mark chapter number one says the beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ and it goes through and talks about all of his works but everything that got everything that Christ did is in essence part of the gospel but specifically when we try to define it first Corinthians 15 is a really good definition here of being the death burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ and of course that death was a death in perfection and innocence Jesus Christ never sinned a single time and he died taking our place taking our sin not only did he die physically the Bible says he was he was buried for three days and three nights his soul descended down into hell but three days later it rose again and he's making it clear that this resurrection experience is really important because look at verse 5 and that he was seen of Cephas then of the 12 after that he was seen of above 500 brethren at once of whom the greater part remain under this present but some are falling asleep after that he was seen of James then of all the Apostles and last of all he was seen of me also as of one born out of due time so according to the Bible he's saying it's really important that you believe what I told you what did I tell you before I told you about the death burial and resurrection and then specifically he goes into explaining what kind of proofs they have of the resurrection notice that he's telling them that every single apostle is a witness of the resurrection of Jesus Christ first Peter then all the 12 then he brings up others even 500 other brethren then he brings up James then he says all the Apostles so every single apostle saw the resurrected Lord Jesus Christ and then the Apostle Paul says even me I got to see the resurrected Lord Jesus Christ and he calls himself an apostle born out of due time or essentially meaning that it took a long time for him to become an apostle in comparison to the others they were there at the beginning of his ministry the Apostle Paul became an apostle later as Jesus Christ revealed himself to the Apostle Paul on the road to Damascus and so we have the emphasis again being the witnesses of the resurrection they are a witness of the resurrection now think about this was the Apostle Paul a witness of the crucifixion I don't know maybe but he doesn't ever really bring that up as being something that he witnessed but you know what he did witness is the resurrection of Jesus Christ and of course he knows that he died he was aware of it he was obviously in you know that part of the world at that time but notice that the emphasis here especially in this chapter is that of the resurrection and he goes on to really explain this notice what he says in verse number nine for I am the least of the Apostles that I'm not meet to be called an apostle because a person the church of God but by the grace of God I am what I am and his grace was bestowed upon me was not in vain but I labored more abundantly than they all yet not I but the grace of God which was with me therefore whether it were I or they so we preach and so ye believe that's a really great worded verse here as this as he's saying we preach and ye believe what did we preach we preach the death burial and resurrection and that's what you guys believe we didn't preach anything else we didn't preach a different form of the gospel we preach the death burn resurrection of Jesus Christ salvation was faith in him and that's what we preach and that's what you guys end up believing verse 12 now of Christ we preach that he rose from the dead how say some among you that there is no resurrection of the dead so he brings up this question if every single apostle if every single disciple of Jesus Christ if every single person is going out and preaching the gospel is preaching that they saw the resurrected Jesus Christ then how is it in your church there are people who don't believe in the resurrection he's saying that's a completely different religion our religion is the death-bearing resurrection of Jesus Christ so if you have a Jesus that didn't rise from the dead or there is no resurrection that's a completely different religion now you got a you got to think about this the Apostle Paul didn't really have a lot of churches to grow up on and learn what church was like he's kind of the first pioneer to start a lot of these churches just think about the surprise of the Apostle Paul how he started a church based on the preaching of the death-bearing resurrection and then there were already people in the church that didn't even believe the resurrection you'd be like that's weird but this is we have to understand is that there are plenty of plenty of churches in this world that do not believe the Bible even though they go to a church where they claim to believe the Bible where they don't believe certain doctrines that are important for salvation notice what he says in verse 13 but if there be no resurrection of the dead then it's Christ not risen and if Christ be not risen then our preaching vain and your faith is also vain so now we have the tieback from what he said in verse number two notice in verse number two he said that you had believed in vain and then he tells us in verse number 14 that their faith is also vain so what is a vain faith what is someone believing in vain it's that they don't believe in the resurrection does it say that they didn't continue following a good works does it say that they didn't continue being a good person does it say they didn't continue repenting of their sins they didn't get baptized no it has nothing to do with that believing in vain is believing some aspects of Christian doctrine but not believing in Christ for salvation okay so what would be an example of this well you know the Jehovah's Witnesses they believe in certain aspects of Christianity the Jehovah's Witnesses will believe that Jesus died I mean on a torture stake it's kind of weird but they don't believe in the bodily resurrection of Jesus Christ and here's the thing they'll believe large large sections of the Bible they'll point to them they'll base their life on it but Jehovah's Witnesses believe in vain because they don't believe in the resurrection of Jesus Christ and if you deny the resurrection of Jesus Christ like Martin Luther King jr. then you're not saved a lot of people look up to him and and praise him as being one of the greatest leaders of our time and look he said good things I mean I like the fact that he said that we shouldn't judge people based on their skin color but judge them on the content of their character I agree with that statement you know what when it came to Christianity he was a heretic he did not believe in the Bible he did not believe in the resurrection and so his belief was in vain and let me tell you something those who are praised of this world are often if not always heretics and unsaved false prophets the Bible makes it abundantly clear woe unto you and all men shall speak well of you for so did their fathers under the false prophets so the popular preachers of the day Billy Graham he believes in vain now here's the thing would Billy Graham give lip service to the resurrection sure but you know what he's not trusting in the death-prone resurrection for his salvation he's trusting and repenting of sins but let me go further because Billy Graham did actually say on national television that you didn't even have to know the name of Jesus to go to heaven Billy Graham got a national television and said as long as you just follow the light that you have I believe you'll be in heaven with us liar now he might be with Billy that person might be a Billy Graham but guess what that light is hellfire and in fact you can't even see somehow okay because hell is outer darkness and you know what whatever Billy Graham believed he believes in vain because you know believing in vain according to the scripture is not especially in this chapter is not just well you didn't do enough works it was that you didn't believe the right doctrine because you know what gets someone into heaven believing the right gospel the reason why someone doesn't go to heaven is because they didn't believe right and people get mad at us and at fundamental Baptist and they'll say oh you guys think that y'all have the right answer and it's like yes oh you think that people that don't believe like you aren't gonna go to heaven you're right absolutely just like the Apostle Paul's explaining these people look if you don't believe correctly if you don't believe the gospel that we preached unto you then you're just not saved and you believed in vain and it's a weird exercise think about this why would you want to base your religion on Christianity when every single founder all believe in the resurrection and then you decide not to believe the resurrection I mean isn't that kind of bizarre and yet we see the same thing happen today where a lot of churches a lot of Christianity they're giving lip service to the Bible but they don't even believe the Bible and you would think like you know the liberal forms of Christianity today they'll just you just show them things in the Bible just like well I don't really agree with that and it's thinking like why would you base your life on the Bible and then not believe the Bible why would you base your life on the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ and then not even believe in the resurrection and let me make it clear this church had people in it that weren't saved if you don't believe in the resurrection you're just not saved okay so of course he explains this further look at verse 15 yay and we are found false witnesses of God because we have testified of God that he raised up Christ whom he raised not up is so be that the dead rise not up now he's being kind of sarcastic here and and that's one of the beauties of the Bible I love sometimes the sarcasm of the Apostle Paul but he's just saying well if there's no resurrection that I guess we're liars because all of us preach the resurrection and if and not only that Christ isn't even raised verse 16 for the dead rise not then is not Christ raised and if Christ be not raised your faith is vain year yet in your sins so again he hammers it twice of what a vain faith is if Christ didn't rise from the dead then you basically you have a you have the wrong faith and if Christ didn't raise from the dead notice something really important here yet in your sins meaning what without the resurrection of Jesus Christ we could not be saved now look does the Bible emphasize the death of Jesus Christ yes does the Bible emphasize the cross yes did Jesus Christ say when he was on the cross it is finished yes those words came out of his mouth albeit not in English unless you're ruck night and yet we have to understand though is that if he didn't rise from the dead all of its meaningless because anybody can die but you know what only one person could rise from the dead okay now of course not only that he died but he died for our sins he was a perfect sacrifice obviously none of us could do that but even Christ dying doesn't give us power over the grave and power over hell what gives us that power is Christ's resurrection and Christ being raised is what allows us to have forgiveness of sins notice what it says in verse 18 then they also which are falling asleep in Christ are perished so you know what he's saying he's saying if there is no resurrection of the dead then you we're in sin and as soon as we die we're gonna go to hell because the parish is in reference to going to hell think about John 3 16 right who's ever believed them should not perish but everlasting life that's talking about how he's saying every single person that's ever lived David Solomon Abraham would all be burning in hell if there's no resurrection they would all perish they'd all be perishing says in verse 19 if in this life only we have hope in Christ we are of all men most miserable now he even goes further he's really sarcastic in this chapter if you understand what he's saying he's saying if there is no resurrection then I am the most miserable person on the planet because he said the only purpose I even have in my life is to serve the resurrected Jesus Christ I mean the Apostle Paul's dragging himself all across the world traveling all kinds of inconveniences getting stoned shipwreck beaten lied about constantly under threat of death and he's saying man isn't my life pretty pointless if there is no resurrection he's like I would be the most miserable person on the planet if that were the case verse 20 but now is Christ risen from the dead and become the first of them asleep so he kind of went on this little folly with them for a moment kind of is ingested them a little bit but then he says but wait a minute no Christ is risen and he says for verse 21 for since by man came death by man came also the resurrection of the dead for as an Adam all die even so in Christ shall all be made alive so we have some great verses in here that explained to us that without Jesus Christ resurrection we could not have salvation we get our salvation through his resurrection and we have to believe in the resurrection I mean probably one of the most famous verses when it comes to salvation is Romans 10 9 and 10 that if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus and shalt believe in thine heart that God raised them from the dead thou shalt be saved so when the Bible is telling us explicitly how to be saved you know it doesn't bring up the death and the burial and look I'm not saying they aren't important but you know what it really emphasizes the resurrection it's saying look but of course in order to believe in the resurrection you also have to believe he died you know it's kind of hard to have a resurrection if you haven't died okay so it's pretty implied in that passage but let me tell you something the emphasis is on the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ why is it that we have Church on Sunday because he rose on the first day of the week praise God you know we could pick a lot of different days they have the Sabbath on Saturday we could just pick any kind of random day but you know what we love about Sunday is that is the day that Christ rose and it reminds us of the resurrection every time the Sun rises it's a picture of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ every time you plant something into the ground you know the in this chapter brings up grain you plant grain but then it comes out as wheat and so you see that that death burial and resurrection process happening over and over in our society and in our world it's the picture the resurrection of Jesus Christ it's the picture are also hope in resurrection as well so what happens if people don't believe in the resurrection well let's skip down just a little bit to verse 29 else what shall they do which are baptized for the dead if the dead rise not at all why are they then baptized for the dead now I think he's just again mocking there is no such doctrine of being baptized for the dead unless you're Mormon but they believe in a weird Jesus okay so but I think that he's just pointing out that some people do this practice and and what kind of a weird practice would this be if they don't even they don't even like believe in a resurrection now I think the reason why he does something like this is he's just kind of pointing out the obvious like sometimes in the Bible to point to heathen or ungodly people even having the right doctrine on a particular issue just to show how obvious it is you know and I'll say this like Catholics believe in the Trinity if Catholics can be right on the Trinity how much more should fundamental Baptist be right on the Trinity or think about this the Bible bring up how the devil's believe and tremble that's that's not necessarily like ooh Devils are awesome it's just saying like man even the Devils realize God exists so for you to not even believe God exists just showing you how stupid you really are I mean the Bible says the fool has said in his heart there is no God even the Devils believe in tremble okay so I think it here he's just saying man even look at all these weirdos being baptized at the day how do they believe in the resurrection you guys don't like what kind of a weird cult are you in when the cult people are believing in the resurrection okay the Q non people believe it it's like then you should believe right he says in verse 30 and why stand we in jeopardy every hour so you know this also gives us some insight the Apostle Paul's life was very tumultuous and notice how he describes it he's in jeopardy in every hour so every hour of his life is in jeopardy of losing it that's how intense the world is that he lives in that's how intense the persecution is against the Apostle Paul and he's saying why in the world would I stand here in jeopardy every hour for a belief or a doctrine that's not even real that doesn't really make any sense he says in verse number 231 I protest by your rejoicing which I have in Christ Jesus our Lord I died daily if after the manner of men I fought with beasts at Ephesus what advantage is it me if the dead rise not let us eat and drink for tomorrow we die so he's saying look every day I'm dying to myself I'm not living my life to be pleasing unto myself I'm dying to the the lust of my flesh I'm dying to my own personal desires so that I can serve God and then he says why in the world would I go to Ephesus and have to battle with beasts now of course when he says beasts here he's not talking about Fido he's not talking about kangaroos or something he's talking about disgusting wicked evil people and he calls them beasts you know it's funny one person got really mad at me for using the word dog in reference to people and they're like when did Jesus ever call anybody a dog and it's like well give not that which is holy unto the dogs how about that verse and they're like they would never speak that way about people Jesus called people dogs and Philippians the Apostle Paul says beware of dogs in first Corinthians the Apostle Paul says that the people that were in Ephesus were beasts in the second Peter chapter 2 and in Jude the Bible calls people brute beasts so you know what it sounds like name-calling is kind of a popular thing in the Bible because it's giving a description of what these animals are like the Apostle Paul warned of wolves amongst the sheep you know it's so annoying to me how how so many people they think like oh well these disgusting perverts as long as they just live their lives then it's fine as long as they're not affecting me that'd be like well as long as the wolves can just live in the chicken coop and not affect the chickens it's fine but how naive is it to think that you can just put wolves in a chicken coop and no chickens are gonna get eaten that the chickens won't get attacked I mean that's that's the silly idea as having all the perverts and weirdos in our society and then constantly being like well as long as they're not hurting anybody but they can't help themselves they're gonna hurt they're a wolf they're a beast they're a dog in fact it's funny who has a dog okay I just want to know I'm not gonna be mad at you okay all right lots of dogs when you who in here when they go like out of town or something they'll leave food out for the dog who's gonna anybody do that okay a few people but here's the thing no matter how much food you leave out doesn't the dog eat at all instantly like if you leave out a bunch of food for a cat it'll just come and nibble and it'll just kind of pace itself but man I mean you put five days where the dog food out it'll eat five days where the dog food I mean it just can't help itself and it's like that's like these beasts they just can't help themselves and the Apostle Paul said like why in the world am I dealing with all these problems for nothing for vain for vanity it wouldn't make any sense now what does he say in verse 33 be not deceived evil communications corrupt good manners now I love taking this whole chapter in context a little bit because we've squashed two really dumb false doctrines that are coming out of here number one is that believe in vain is work salvation and then number two what this verse 33 actually means what what is verse 33 talking about it's talking about people if they don't believe in the resurrection why would they then suffer persecution in this life they're not gonna do that they're just gonna say hey tomorrow we die why don't we just eat and drink why don't we just have fun why don't we just party and so what he's trying to explain is that when someone has bad doctrine it's gonna change your life it's gonna change your lifestyle it's gonna change your behavior when you believe certain things not believing in the resurrection is gonna significantly alter how you live your life and make it clear how you believe certain doctrines is gonna change your life you know when you get saved it's gonna change your life you know whenever you believe the King James Bibles the Word of God it's gonna change your life whenever you believe in the importance of soul winning it's gonna change your life whenever you believe certain doctrines of the Bible it's gonna change your life for all of eternity once you realize that this life is just a journey that we're passing through and that our home is in heaven it's gonna change how you live your life that's why he says in verse 34 awake to righteousness and sin not for some have not the knowledge of God I speak this to your shame so saying some people here aren't even saved how embarrassing how embarrassing to have a church full of people and a large section of them don't even believe in the resurrection but you know what that embarrassment is realizing a lot of churches today there is a lot of churches today where people are showing up and they're not even saved and you say how do you know that pastor Shelley because when we go out we knock on doors and we talk to people they'll say I've been a Baptist my whole life and it's like what do you have to do be safe be a good person it's like how embarrassing for that church to have people in its congregation that have never been explained the gospel that don't even believe in the gospel that are even right don't even have eternal life I mean this is step one this isn't even hard being saved is easy it's the easiest thing you'll ever do you don't even have to go to church to be saved let alone you've been to church your whole life and you're not even saved I mean that's embarrassing but we have to realize that salvation is coming from the resurrection go to Romans chapter number five for a moment go to Romans chapter number five I want to finish this point a little bit further we must have the resurrection you know when Jesus said it is finished he really meant what he said the problem is people attach a weird a weird context to that they'll say everything necessary for your salvation was was accomplished when he uttered the phrase it is finished but let me remind you of a couple things number one when Jesus Christ had mentioned on the cross that is finished he hadn't died he hadn't been buried and he certainly hadn't been resurrected so actually every single element of the gospel defined in first Corinthians 15 had not even taken place yet when he uttered the words it is finished so then how could someone then just genuinely say well as soon as he said it is finished it was it was finished it's like no nothing about this what did he actually mean by it he meant that all the works that he was an accomplished in this physical life they were accomplished wouldn't that make sense right before he's about to die he's like hey I finished all the work I had to do before I die and then he says this it is finished and when he said that he meant it if he said it is finished and everything was accomplished for our salvation already then he didn't really mean it he was kind of just talking in hyperbole or eventually it's gonna happen or something like that so again you have to understand that not only is Jesus Christ's death important his resurrection is also important and we're not just saved by his death look what it says in Romans chapter 5 verse 10 for if when we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his son much more being reconciled we shall be saved by his life notice what gives us salvation in this verse his life his resurrection also gives us that life look at verse 5 of chapter 6 just right there on the page chapter 6 verse 5 for if we have been planned together the likeness of his death we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection knowing this that our old man is crucified with him that the body of sin might be destroyed that henceforth we should not serve sin for he that is dead is freed from sin now if we be dead with Christ we believe that we shall also live with him knowing that Christ being raised from the dead dieth no more death hath no more dominion over him for in that he died he died in the sin once but in that he liveth he liveth unto God so according to the Bible Jesus Christ died and according to the scripture death had dominion over him now that doesn't sound like victory that's not victory you know it's victory is when he rose from the dead and he conquered the grave and he conquered hell and he conquered death that was the victory and of course death did have a temporary dominion over him in essence but you know what revelation chapter 1 verse 18 says that he has the keys of hell and of death so he conquered that go to Acts chapter 2 go back to Acts chapter number 2 now we have to understand is that death in the Bible often simply is referring to hell and of course death is more than just hell there are instances where the Bible says the body without the spirit is dead so we understand that that's a definition of death there's other ways that death or death being dead can be described but often when the Bible talks about death or being dead it's simply just in reference to hell or describing hell and you could think about all kinds of great verses in Hebrews the Bible says that Jesus Christ should taste death for every man what does tasting mean tasting is a small duration a sample it's not a lot and here's the thing Jesus Christ he didn't go to hell for all of eternity he only tasted it he only went for a short duration and he tasted that death which of course means that you and I don't have to taste of that death in fact the Bible says that if you believe in Jesus Christ you should not taste of death or you should not see death so we'll never know exactly what hell is like because we've already been saved we've already believed on Lord Jesus Christ but you know what he had the taste that for us Acts chapter 2 look at verse 23 him being determined by the I'm sorry him being delivered by the determinant counsel for knowledge of God he have taken by wicked hands of crucified and slain whom God hath raised up having loosed the pains of death because it was not possible that he should be holding of it so it's not possible that Jesus Christ would stay in hell for all of eternity so what happened after three days God loosed him from the pains of death and of course what is the pains of death well that's the sorrows of hell you know the Bible talks about the sorrows of hell keep your finger here because what I want to come back to this verse but go to Jonah all the way back you know Jesus Christ alluded to this in Matthew he said for his Jonas was three days and three nights and the wells belly so shall the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth so Jesus Christ told us very clearly that he would suffer in the heart of the earth for us and we have great pictures of this and I want to preach the whole sermon on this later but I think it's important to still mention this look at Jonah chapter 2 verse 1 then Jonah prayed unto the Lord his God out of the fish's belly and said I cried by reason of mine affliction unto the Lord and he heard me out of the belly of hell cried I and thou heard is my voice so for Jonah it's a metaphor but think about it from a literal interpretation of the Lord Jesus Christ that it's saying out of the belly of hell cried I and thou heard is my voice there's so much reference to Jesus Christ especially in the Psalms and other places of Jesus crying out to the Lord when in hell and that the Lord did not forsake him but the Lord heard him and delivered him out just like the whale vomited up and spit out the the Prophet Jonah is the same way that the Lord Jesus Christ was risen again from the dead and just like Jonah saw no physical corruption the Lord Jesus Christ so now fit so Saul no physical corruption go back to Acts chapter number 2 Acts chapter number 2 let's keep reading a little bit here it says in verse 25 for David speaketh concerning him I foresaw the Lord always before my face for he is on my right hand that I should not be moved therefore did my heart rejoice and my tongue was glad moreover also my flesh shall rest in hope because that will not leave my soul in hell neither wilt thou suffer thine only one to see corruption now in verse 27 it's kind of making a difference or distinction between two different elements isn't it it's saying on one hand that he's not gonna leave his soul in hell neither meaning in addition to that what's gonna happen his flesh is also not gonna see corruption so before his flesh could rot in the tomb what happened his soul was resurrected and reunited with his physical body in the tomb and he walked out of the tomb says in verse 28 thou hast made known to me the ways of life thou shalt make me full of joy with thy countenance men and brethren let me free freely speak unto you of the patriarch David that he is both dead and buried and his sepulcher is with us unto this day therefore being a prophet and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him that of the fruit of his loins according to the flesh he would raise up Christ to sit on his throne he's seeing this before spake of the resurrection of Christ that his soul is not left in hell neither his flesh is a corruption you know what's interesting about these two verses David saw the resurrection before the resurrection ever happened didn't it notice what it said in very clearly that he said that he would raise up Christ there's the resurrection of Jesus Christ and then it says very clearly in verse 31 he's seeing this what does that mean David seeing the resurrection David having understood of the resurrection what do you understand that his soul would not be left in hell neither sweats his corruption so when David's talking about being in hell in Psalms and I could show you all kinds of Psalms that talk about the sorrows of hell he's like that's not me that's Christ but Christ is not gonna stay there he's gonna raise Christ up from the dead and of course you know Peter here explaining this chapter to us is using human reasoning and there's nothing wrong with human reasoning there's nothing you know the Bibles reasonable facts are on our side when it comes to the Bible okay you know we don't just believe in arbitrary things and notice what the the Apostle Peter is explaining to us hey David said all this about being risen from hell and being risen again and David is not here we don't have physical David therefore it couldn't be about David meaning what whenever physical reality denies your interpretation your interpretations wrong okay so what is he saying it wasn't about David we already know David's dead and we still have his grave we still have his physical body some of his bones he's not risen from the dead so who is he talking about Jesus verse 32 this Jesus have God raised up where we are witnesses therefore being by the right hand of God exalted and having received of the Father the promise of the Holy Ghost he has shed forth this which he now see in here for David is not ascended into the heavens but he saith himself the Lord said to my Lord sit down on my right hand now something I want you to understand here about this verse is when it says that David is not ascended into the heavens I do not believe what he's trying to say here is that David's not in heaven because we know that the Saints are a great cloud of witnesses looking down upon us from heaven but you know what David did not physically and bodily ascend into heaven there's only one person that we know of that's done that is the Lord Jesus Christ we have allusions to this when we have like Elijah being carried up in a whirlwind but we don't know exactly what happened maybe he was changed I don't know what happened but the only resurrection the first fruit resurrection is the Lord Jesus Christ and he's the first one to go into heaven bodily and physically he even tells Mary Magdalene whenever he rises from the dead touch me not for I have not yet ascended unto my father and what's so funny to me is people will be aware of that verse and they'll say oh Jesus is already in heaven and I'm like that's kind of weird since he said that he had not yet ascended but he was already there like how did that work obviously he hadn't ascended yet because he descended first before he then ascended and the Bible makes that abundantly clear in several places in the Bible that he first descended into the lower parts of the earth and then he ascended and he ascended above and above all things now go back to 1st Corinthians chapter number 15 go back to 1st Corinthians chapter 15 what what's so significant about the resurrection well if Jesus Christ could bodily rise again from the dead and ascend into the heavens then we also have the hope that we will be saved and that will be resurrected and that we too can ascend up where Christ is in fact that's what the great hope is of the of the rapture is that we will be caught up together with Christ in the clouds and so shall we ever be with the Lord so we'll get to also ascend up with Christ in our new body but we only get that salvation because Christ did if Christ think about this if Christ didn't rise from the dead why would I get to you know he had to set the example for us he had to conquer that for us and defeat that for us so that we could also have that salvation so that so the resurrection is really important if someone doesn't believe in the resurrection they're not saved they must believe also if you preach the gospel you you better preach the death burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ because without those things then you're not saved of course some people would say oh well how are people saved in the Old Testament well they believe what David did about the resurrection okay it's not like you know whenever Jesus rose from the dead and he's on the walk to Emmaus and these two guys are like doubting and confused about the resurrection what happened he didn't say like oh yeah it's confusing isn't it he said Oh fools he said how do you not already believe all the prophets spoke up he's like you should already believe this you should already know this they shouldn't even be confusing to you in fact Jesus himself preached the gospel repeatedly and that was the Old Testament I mean when you have to understand Jesus Christ ministry was the Old Testament the New Testament didn't start until his blood was shed and he rose again from the dead and the the veil of the temple was rent so consistently throughout the Old Testament the gospel was preached the death burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ that's what saves us but point number two of my sermon this morning is this is that when we understand that we are going to rise again from the dead it gives us purpose in life it gives us purpose in life and you know the Apostle Paul is really kind of hammering that point because he's constantly saying like why would I be doing all these things that I'm doing if there's no resurrection and and frankly speaking having an atheistic worldview is gonna give you no purpose in life yeah what what is the purpose for an atheist just to enjoy their life as much as possible just as much satisfaction is much pleasure just fulfilling the lust of the flesh there would be no reason to ever deny yourself think about the Apostle Paul he's saying I die daily why would you ever want to deny yourself when this is your one chance and this is where that philosophy comes in YOLO it's probably outdated by now anybody say that anymore I don't know is there a new phrase but you know YOLO used to be popular like I don't know decade ago maybe I don't know what it was what is YOLO you only live once and there's some aspects of that that are true and beneficial but you know if you're taking it from an atheistic worldview it's really bad because you know what I'm not gonna only have one life I have a next life I have an afterlife I'm gonna be with Christ living and this is the life to suffer not the next you know those who suffer in the next life are not gonna have fun hell is not fun those who don't believe in the Lord Jesus Christ you know that's not gonna be a pleasant experience they're gonna have weeping and gnashing and teeth and and regret for their eternity but look at verse 34 again the Bible says awake to righteousness and sin not for some have not the knowledge of God I speak this to your shame what is the Bible saying it's saying hey if you're gonna rise again from the dead if you are truly gonna have resurrection then you need to do something you need to wake to righteousness why awake because the Bible says that she that liveth in pleasure is dead while she liveth if you're saved if you believe the Lord Jesus Christ you cannot alter the fact that you're going to heaven you will go to heaven period but if you don't have any works that accompany your faith then according to James to your faith is dead and having a dead faith is not gonna benefit you in eternity now of course your dead faith gets you there it gets you to heaven but then you don't have anything to show forward afterwards so what is he saying wake up awake to righteousness meaning what do something with your life for God actually serve God why because the rest of eternity is impacted by your decisions now the rest of your eternity is impacted by your decisions now think about how many decisions you make for sure short term satisfaction I mean why ever work out isn't the reason to work out is so that you'll be in better shape or you'll be stronger or faster in the future but you know what when you work out here's here's a sad reality about working out it has a diminishing return because let's say I lift weights today well that strength that I may have added to myself will eventually go back to nothing if I don't keep working out I have to just keep working out to even maintain that plus here's another problem I'm gonna age in fact I age every day I age every second I just got older I'm a lot older than when I started the sermon okay and you're gonna all be really old by the time it's over okay and you know when you age you eventually lose strength you know these guys that are super strong they're not that strong when they're 90 they're not that strong when they're a hundred and think about this all the working out they've ever done in their entire life at that point is really kind of wasted you know dieting and exercise and you know vanity all the makeup that you put on all the makeup you put on last year doesn't benefit you today did you realize that all the times you styled your hair last year doesn't benefit you today but you know what we'll make all kinds of decisions now you know saving money into the bank might be good but it might be gone tomorrow so we make all these decisions for the future in this life but wait a minute what's way more important this is making decisions for the eternity that we're gonna live with Christ because the decisions you're making right now every decision you make today you will have to reap in eternity forever think about that whether you go soul-winning whether you don't whether you pray God's commandments or you don't whether you raise your children for God or you don't whether you read the Bible you know whatever sin that you have in your life that's keeping you back from serving God you know what you're not gonna be proud of that sin in eternity it's better to you know purge yourself of that wickedness try to say no to the flesh deny yourself take up your cross awake to righteousness notice it says awake to righteousness you know why be striving to follow God's commandments because some people say oh you're giving people a license to sin you say that you can live however you want still go to heaven yes you can but why would you wake to righteousness then because let me tell you what you're gonna be more greatly used by God the less sin you have in your life then if you just decide just live however you want just like you know let's say there was a football player out there that gets a guaranteed contract he's guaranteed money but like is there still an incentive for him to actually work out and try and play the games yeah he's gonna get great rewards for playing and working and doing the right thing even though he's got a guaranteed contract and the same as with us hey I got a guaranteed contract I'm going to heaven but let me tell you something you know what there's a lot of incentives for serving God and of course the Bible says he's not forgetful to forget your work and labor of love so God is not going to just allow you to work for him and not get paid who in here has worked for their boss and they didn't get any extra money for it you know yeah you work an extra Saturday or Sunday or you work at night maybe your salary maybe even your hourly I remember I worked for Wells Fargo which is you know basically like working for Satan and it was not fun and I remember when I worked there my boss would say you can she's like you need to get 40 hours a week and I'm like okay and she's like but I need you here from 9 to 6 Monday through Friday and then half day Saturday and I'm like okay well that's like 45 hours and she's like yeah but I need you to work 40 hours and I was paid hourly and I'm like but I can't I'm like okay she's like I can't tell you to work more hours than 40 hours but I need you here from 9 to 6 Monday through Friday and half day on Saturday and I'm like okay so then I work and I just log all my hours and I get like 44 hours or 45 hour and then I get reprimanded like you're only allowed to work 40 hours but I need you here from 9 so basically I learned okay I have to work 45 hours a week and then to put on my time card 40 hours and I was like this sucks you know this is frustrating because I don't like working here let alone the fact that I'm not I'm getting ripped off by you guys because you forced me to be here and work but I can't even be on the clock making any kind of money but you know what God doesn't do that to you God's not gonna be like hey I know you worked really hard today but it was off the clock those hours didn't really count no no no God is gonna hope is gonna give you every single reward that you deserve you're never gonna work for the master and not get that particular reward and so it gives you a purpose for your life go to 2nd Corinthians chapter 1 you might not even have to turn the page 2nd Corinthians chapter 1 look at verse number 8 for we would not brethren have you ignorant of our trouble which came to us in Asia that we were pressed out of measure above strength in so much that we despaired even of life but we have the sentence of death in ourselves that we should not trust in ourselves but in God which raised at the dead who delivered us from so great a death and ducked the liver and whom we trust that he will yet deliver us he also helping together by prayer for us that for the gift bestowed upon us by the means of many persons thanks may be given by many on our behalf so this is what the apostle Paul said he said we had the sentence of death and so he's like I just wanted to die life was so hard I literally just wanted that I but notice what he says he didn't trust in himself but he trusted in God which raised at the dead now this is this is intense but but those of us that actually want to serve God with our lives where we're gonna act if you're gonna actually be a disciple of Christ if you're actually gonna follow Christ some of us if not many of us might actually have to at times put our life on the line Priscilla and Akila had to lay down their necks for the Apostle Paul the Apostle Paul had to be in jeopardy every single hour and you could think like why would someone be willing to put themselves through such torture there is such adversity it's because they realize they're gonna be risen again from the dead eventually think about it this way you know if you if you play a video game which most of us probably played a game we could we can understand this if you're playing like you know a shooting game or Mario or something you're gonna do things that are way more dangerous in that game than you would actually do in real life right you're trying to run across bridges that are that are falling and you can fall into flames I mean doesn't Mario like run across the bridge it's dissolving and you could die in a fire how many people would just try that in real life but you know why you do that in the game because as soon as you die new life you just respawn right you're in a shooting game and you run around the corner and you get shot by the enemy but then what happens you just respawn and then you just keep playing whereas in real life you'd probably be like hiding in a corner with your gun like you'd be terrified you wouldn't just be running down the field just like you know you live a little more carefree when you realize you get to respawn don't you and that's what the Apostle Paul is trying to explain to us hey I already know I'm gonna be risen from the dead I already know I'm getting a new body so who cares what happens to this one I'm willing to sacrifice it all because guess what I'm getting a better one later anyways go to Hebrews chapter 11 go to Hebrews chapter 11 let's prove this point even further so what is what understanding the resurrection is such an important doctrine you know I think of it this way anytime I've ever traded jobs anytime you're leaving your work and you're gonna start a new job you get this like extra energy in the last few weeks because you think this you know what I don't have to care about these problems because in two weeks I'm gone you know you look at all the problems of your company and you're like that sucks for y'all but I'm not gonna do it you know you're looking I remember I worked for a company and they had me working on software like I was making changes to their code base five minutes before I quit which was kind of crazy because usually whenever you quit a job like that they just terminate all your access right away but they wanted me to keep working and and I kept thinking like I don't know who's gonna fix all this when I'm gone but bye but I didn't care I'm just like sure I'll work to the bitter end sure bye you know y'all have fun with that y'all have fun enjoying this experience and you know for the Apostle Paul he has a desire to depart and be with Christ which is far better but you know what he buys in the flesh for other people to serve God to get other rewards but if you realize that this life this is your one chance then you're gonna give it all you got I think about it this way you know sometimes sports athletes they're kind of like in their last season you know someone reason like Tom Brady or or maybe a Wayne Gretzky or any of these people they know like this is my last season this is my last chance and maybe they get to the final match you know the Super Bowl or the Stanley Cup finals it's game seven it's game seven of the World Series whatever event it is and those individuals might be injured or they might be hurting and they might even know like if I continue playing in this game I could really hurt myself but they realize this is my one chance this is my one chance to win it's all on the line it's now or never and so you'll see great athletes play injured you'll see them play when they're hurt I remember Tiger Woods really incredible feet but for a US Open he had like he had hurt his knee so bad and he could barely even walk and he was supposed to have surgery in like a week or a month or something later but he was in contention for the for to win this major and he ended up tying with a Rocco immediate and so they went into a playoff the next day the playoff the next day was a whole nother 18 holes so he had to play like a whole nother 18 holes and like Tiger Woods is like you know he can like barely even walk and then like when he hits the ball you can just see him he's like you can just see like hurts him every time he swings and it's like damaging further and further but you know what he's like this might be my last chance this might be my one opportunity to get this done and I think even after the 18 holes I think they tied again and they had to play like another playoff hole but you know what he ended up winning and it's arguably one of the you know greatest feats for a golfer to have one considering how injured he was and how difficult it was you know they all do that to win a corruptible crown we're doing it to win an incorruptible crown and it's saying like even if I had to trash my body to win this incorruptible crown I should be willing to do so think about what the Bible says in Hebrews 11 this is talking about the faith chapter but it says in verse 32 and what shall I more say for the time would fail me still Gideon and Barak and Samson and Jephthah David also and Samuel and of the prophets who through faith subdued kingdoms wrought righteousness obtained promises stop the mouths of lions quench the violence of fire escape the edge of the sword out of weakness were made strong wax valiant and fight turn to flight the armies of the aliens women receive their dead raised to life again and others were tortured not accepting deliverance that they might obtain a better resurrection why in the world would anybody ever not just take deliverance when they're being tortured that doesn't even make sense what is there what is their motivation what is it because they want to have a better resurrection talk about someone that has faith you're in the you're in the process I mean there's that movie Braveheart where he refuses to take mercy and they just say like hey just just say just say mercy and we'll give you mercy and then he screams freedom you know at the end and then they just give him mercy anyways but you know that's kind of a picture of how the Christians are it's like hey just announce Christ it's like no hey just give just say Catholics are saved no just whatever it is he's just like hey just say that trannies are really you know you know men are really women no right he's like hey I'm not gonna give into this you can torture me you can try to give me all that you got but guess what this life's gonna be destroyed anyways and because of their purpose they can endure torture even to the point where they won't even accept deliverance verse 36 and others had trial of cool mockings and scourging game moreover of bonds and imprisonment they were stoned they were sawed asunder were tempted were slain with the sword they wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins being destitute afflicted tormented of him the world is not worthy they wandered in deserts and in mountains and in dens and caves of the earth and these all having obtained a good report through faith receive not the promise God having provided some better thing for us that they without us should not be made perfect what's the significance of the resurrection it gives us purpose it doesn't just give us salvation it gives us purpose to live our lives and to say you know what I'm just a sojourner I'm just passing through this life is meaningless who cares what clothes I have sheepskin who cares what kind of food and clothing and all the luxuries and the pleasure of this life it's all meaningless the only thing that matters is serving God and serving Christ with my life and let me tell you something I can get up and scream and yell but I can't even make it as important to you as it needs to be you will spend eternity with Christ but you know what how you spend that eternity is based on decisions you make today go if you would back to 1st Corinthians 15 we'll finish and I have one quick last point point 1 the right the significance of reservation and salvation point 2 is the significance gives us purpose in our lives but point 3 is that it gives us a spiritual body look what it says in verse 42 so also is the resurrection of the dead it is sown in corruption is raised in incorruption is sown in dishonor it is raised in glory is sown a weakness that is raised in power and it's sown a natural body is raised a spiritual body there is a natural body and there is a spiritual body so according to the Bible you know flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God so you and I have no chance to go to heaven in our current state so if it weren't for the fact that we would get a resurrection we could not be with God that's why it's so important that we have the resurrection so that we can be with God you know God cannot dwell with flesh you know he destroyed flesh in Genesis chapter number six and he said my spirit should not always strive with flesh and so he has to give us a new spiritual body so that we can have fellowship with him go to 1st John chapter number three first John chapter number three this is an important point because God obviously wants to have a complete and restored fellowship with him and you know you'll have liberals they obviously say things that are true but they kind of minimize other doctrines they'll say oh hell is separation from God and it's like yeah that is true you know what's worse than that is hell okay let's not let's not say that the only punishment for sin is separation from God that's one aspect but it's also hell and often they want to downplay hell because separation from someone that you've never known isn't that scary right what if I said hey I got I know a guy back home you've never met him how disappointed are you that you never met him you're just like I don't I don't know I don't really care you know okay so it's like they're trying to motivate people and getting to heaven by saying you're not gonna have a relationship with God they're like okay now obviously it's still blasphemous to not think that you'd want to have a relationship with God God's great to have a relationship with and fellowship and be around but let me tell you something not only do you miss out on that cool experience you're also burning in hell for all eternity and that's usually a more motivating factor for people you know I've never met someone that said I got saved because I just wanted to have a relationship it's most everybody's just like I didn't want to go to hell and that that's okay there's nothing wrong with that there's a lot of reasons to get saved it doesn't it's not like well that was the wrong reason to get saved you know as long as you believe on Jesus you're saved but we need the spiritual body so that we can actually have restored fellowship with God that fellowship was broken with sin Adam and Eve were kicked out of the garden they weren't having that same fellowship the same relationship with God and God is too holy to have a relationship with sin so we have to have a spiritual new body in order to have fellowship with him think about it this way you and I can't stare at the Sun I mean if you try you're just gonna like it's gonna hurt it you're incapable of doing such a thing here's another thing you're also incapable of standing on the Sun because you would instantly liquefy we couldn't even get close to the Sun we would instantly liquefy okay the same as with God God is so holy and so righteous that if you were in his presence you would just die that's what God says he said no man shall see my face and live because God is too holy it's too bright it's too brilliant it's too glorious we just can't handle it so we need a new body so that we can have that relationship God look at what it says in first John chapter 3 verse 1 the old what manner of love the father has bestowed upon us that we should be called the sons of God therefore the world knoweth us not because they knew him not beloved now are we the sons of God and does not yet appear what we shall be but we know that when he shall appear we should be like him for we shall see him as is you know we're the sons of God but that hasn't fully come to pass we're only the sons of God spiritually speaking we're not physically yet but there will be a day when we take on a new spiritual body and just like we took on the physical form of Adam we're gonna take on the spiritual body of Jesus Christ go to Revelation 22 is the last place we'll go to now of course Peter Ruckman said that we're gonna all be physical images pictures of Jesus you know we're all 33 year old men that look exactly like Jesus that would be weird how would you even know it's like we all look exactly the same it's like are you Ben or Dylan or you know Bob or I mean it's like you're my wife like Terry it's like what yeah Peter Ruckman taught that all women become a 33 year old male Jesus in heaven you think like Ruckman is not a big deal well look what other weird things that they think and here's what Ruckmanites always do they always come to these overly literal interpretations don't they it's always an oh we're this we're gonna be exactly in his image wrong you looking like Adam which most of us don't I have no idea what he looked like but we all look so different you know that's the same way that we're gonna look like Jesus okay in the same way that we took on Adams form is the same way we're gonna take on Jesus form but you know who's gonna look like Jesus Jesus okay not us that's like a satanic doctrine that you're gonna look like Jesus but you know what we'll put on the spiritual body now here's what here's one of the coolest benefits though of looking like Jesus look at Revelation 22 verse 3 and there should be no more curse but the throne of God on the Lamb shall be in it and his servants shall serve him and they shall see his face and his name shall be in their foreheads and there shall be no night there and they need no candle neither light of the Sun for the Lord God giveth them light they shall reign forever and ever number one you and I can't sustain ourselves all day I mean I have to sleep I need sleep we don't even have here there's not even night anymore not only this your body you can't sin you're gonna it's gonna be way different there's no you know tears the Bible says this is gonna wipe away all tears there's no more tears there's no more sorrow there's no more pain you know this is an incredible experience but here's the greatest thing we'll be able to see his face without the resurrection you would not be able to see his face in fact in the judgment those are the unsaved they can't even stand in the judgment and they want to be hidden from the face of God they can't even look it's kind of like the Sun is just too brilliant for them only those who are saved get to see the face of God and live what a privilege what a privilege that we get salvation that we skip hell what a privilege that we have a purpose for our lives that our lives have meaning and what a privilege that we get a new body a spiritual body that's like Jesus and that we can see God the Father's face and we can have fellowship and a relationship with him let us never take for granted the important doctor the resurrection but rather celebrate it as we do on Easter let's close in prayer thank you Heavenly Father for giving us this opportunity to be resurrected through the victory that your son gave us for him conquering death and hell for us thank you that you give us salvation so we don't have to go to hell which was what we deserve thank you for giving us a purpose for our lives to know that the things that we do are not just going to be temporal or perish with us but rather we can actually restore we can store up eternal rewards in heaven I pray that we would be motivated to not worry about the temporal but rather be concerned with the eternal and thank you so much for giving us a new body so that no matter what happens in this life we can have true joy and restoration in heaven in Jesus name we pray amen all right in closing let's go to song number 34 song number 34 I know that my Redeemer liveth song number three four everybody sing it out on the first song number 34 song number 34 everybody sing it out real loud I know that my Redeemer liveth and on the earth again shall stand I know the eternal life he giveth and grace and power are in his hand I know I know that Jesus liveth and on the earth again shall stand I know I know and grace and power are in his hand I know his promise never fail the word he speaks it cannot die my flesh I shall see him by and by I know I know that Jesus liveth and on the earth again shall stand I know I know I'd be giveth that grace and power are in his hand I know my mansion he prepareth that where he speak there I may be Oh wondrous thought for me careth and he at last will come for me I know I know that Jesus liveth and on the earth again shall stand I know I know that life he giveth and grace and power are in his hand all right great job everybody you're all dismissed